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ladyluscinia · 7 months

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Izzy Hands Is Manipulative, But Not That Way

...or I finally finish that long ass meta post about why I love the fucking Navy Plot lol

The Izzy manipulation debate has been really interesting to me pretty much since it started, because I'd see a post arguing he's manipulating Edward and go "No, and he couldn't if he tried" and then the next post would say he sucks at manipulation because he's a blunt fucking instrument and I'd go "Yea- wait. Hmm. No, he can be targeted and tricky as fuck." Which does, on its surface, seem like a contradictory stance, but I swear it works.

Because the thing with Izzy - and this is such a fun thing imo - is there are two core types of manipulation that characters engage in, and Izzy fucking sucks at the one you expect his style of antagonist to focus on. But he's scarily good at the other.

Long meta under the cut, so get comfy.

...

From his role under Edward to the protagonist vs antagonist dynamic setup to his introduction scenes, Izzy is very much invoking the conniving second in command. We know this character from other media. He doesn't have the full power he wants so he's constantly scheming to get it. He can't or won't challenge his boss for some reason, so he settles for being the devil on their shoulder or working behind their back. He's the voice constantly ready to inflame insecurities and turn relationship cracks into chasms, and usually he's lying constantly to do so. His fingerprints are all over his boss's problems up to the moment they show some weakness, and then their loyal second goes right for the backstab. He is THE ambitious manipulator. The shady advisor. The snake.

And then you actually look at Izzy and he is not that guy. In fact, it's a testament to the strength of Edward's character arc how much his evil little henchman is not causing his problems.

So - Izzy and manipulation:

Izzy Can't Convince People To Do Things

Like. He really can't.

This interpersonal struggle is fairly fundamental to his character. And moreover, it's a skill that Izzy is intensely aware that he lacks, so usually he doesn't even try.

In his first episode he walks right up to Buttons and just straight up asks him for the information on his party. He doesn't even resolve to steal the hostages until he realizes that Stede has lost them in the bush already, and Izzy obtains them by buying them. When Stede confronts him they end up splitting the pair in a very above-board negotiation and he pretty much just goes with what Stede suggests.

Then in 1x03, people make a big deal of Izzy "manipulating" Edward by not clarifying that Stede didn't know who he was when he turned down the invite, but kind of importantly he repeats the damning line of the conversation faithfully. If he was going to lie, then why not lie? Why even go see Stede at all? And, if he didn't want Stede dead until after the conversation (understandable, tbh, since "Iggy" was stab-worthy), surely he could invent a better insult to rile Edward up. It makes his omission hit more like being bitchy about Stede not recognizing the obvious - namely that Izzy Hands works for Blackbeard and literally everyone knows this - than a slander campaign to get him killed. And once we properly meet Izzy and Edward in 1x04, Izzy's inability to manipulate becomes his main struggle.

Izzy's a blunt and direct person. He leans on authority bestowed by Blackbeard to take control of situations, playing the role he's supposed to play, and without it he lacks a Plan B. In 1x04 he doesn't have any authority over Edward, so his efforts to get him to take the danger of the Spanish seriously amount to "Well as bored as you might be, if you don't make a decision soon we're gonna fucking die." And this is true! There might be a very subconscious attempt at manipulation in his resignation speech before the "That's Blackbeard. I'm Stede, remember?" line - of the piss him off to get him to get his shit together variety - but Edward literally makes a joke out of it so not exactly effective.

And once Edward stops giving Izzy authority in general, his plan to make Lucius do stuff is still just... brute force. Which works at first when Lucius doesn't realize that Izzy's on his own now, and stops working as soon as Fang breaks ranks. His last ditch blackmail attempt isn't manipulative either - he just plans to tell the truth to Pete and assumes he'll be pissed about it. My guy loses a fight over the pirate equivalent of making an uppity employee clean the coffee maker while the boss is out. Not only does he fail to manipulate the crew in a conniving antagonist way... he doesn't even try.

I mean, the only time he (somewhat) succeeds in talking someone into things is 1x06. Getting Edward to agree to killing Stede isn't really manipulation - Izzy gets Fang and Ivan to back him in a very straightforward way because they all actually do have a stake in this - but he's passably able to push Stede to go through with the fuckery via fake compliments. It's not exactly high level work, though. Stede being vulnerable to ego-stroking / dares is pretty obvious.

So what is Izzy good at?

Well, if you can't make people do anything other than what they were going to do in the first place, you might as well lean into that.

...

Izzy Manipulates Situations, Not People

Situational manipulation is one of those fictional tropes that rarely can happen in real life, but there's not much resemblance because real life rarely gives you all the building blocks for a proper gambit and lets you loose. Too many factors. In narratives, though? It becomes one of my favorite ways of having a character be clever.

And before I get into this too much, a really fun sidenote - I think Izzy does situational manipulation more like the way protagonists do it. See, antagonists are usually emotionally and situationally manipulative (ex: provoking the hero to lash out and using it to frame them for a bigger crime), but it's not a good look when your hero drives the target to do something bad and then punishes them for it. So heroes lean on stuff like Batman Gambits - where the lynchpin of the scheme is the target fucking themselves over by behaving completely in character. They've written Izzy so ineffective at emotional manipulation that he pretty much has to rely on other characters' flaws or histories to cause problems, which has a very similar result. And it's wild.

...

Going back to the 1x03 confrontation in Jackie's bar, Izzy doesn't really do anything abnormal in how he conducts himself, but people are picking up on an agenda for a reason. Namely, the whole damn conversation quickly turns into a trap, and Izzy fully sits back and watches Stede spring it from sheer idiocy.

There's no indication that when Izzy walked up he wasn't going to carry out his task with all the bitchy professionalism expected of him, while probably hoping that Stede would eventually stick his foot in his mouth without Izzy's help (assuming he's the kind of idiot Izzy thinks he is). His first section of this conversation is nearly polite:

Izzy (about the Nose Jar): "I have a few colleagues in there." Stede: "Ugh. You again." Geraldo: "Mr. Hands, welcome. It's been a while." Izzy: "(To Geraldo) Yeah, because I hate this fucking place. (To Stede) But for some inexplicable reason, my boss would like a word with you. Bonnet."

It's not until Stede starts talking that I think Izzy clues in that Stede doesn't actually know who his boss is. He didn't introduce himself until the literal last second of their 1x02 interaction, so it wasn't obvious Stede wasn't literally bolting into the forest in horrified realization.

And Stede? He goes hard on being a bitch right out the gate. Brushes Izzy off, tells him to "get in line", calls him the wrong name, says he doesn't care who Izzy is...

Izzy so far has met Stede in a public place, in front of people who clearly treat Izzy with respect and fear. He doesn't bring up their previous interaction, Stede does. He doesn't even goad Stede beyond existing. He corrects him on his name, and watches it not register in the slightest. The next line is the clincher:

Izzy (slightly incredulous): "So I'll tell my Captain that you're declining then, yeah?"

As Izzy is speaking the conversation becomes a trap - he chooses a reasonable way to refer to Edward that isn't "Blackbeard" and waits to see if Stede will make this worse. The jump from "no I'm busy" to "tell him he has terrible taste in flunkies and he can go suck eggs in Hell" is all Stede, completely ignoring context clues as Geraldo stares on in horror. Hell, Jackie only refrains from later de-nosing Stede on the spot because Geraldo knows what's up, and Stede still doesn't pick up on the fact he should maybe be asking some questions (though I'll give him the knife was distracting).

Izzy returns to the ship, quotes Stede directly for his damning line, and waits to see what Edward will do with it. It's not good behavior on his part (and if he could have seen the future he might have tried worse), but switching mid-conversation to offering Stede an opportunity to fuck himself over is a very different mindset than simply lying to / provoking Stede or Edward to get what he wants. He's mostly being petty.

Stede did insult Edward of his own volition, after all, and just because Izzy fudges the truth to hide he didn't know he was insulting Blackbeard instead of just Izzy and a random stranger doesn't change that. All Izzy did to "escalate" that conversation was give Stede a second opening to do so himself.

But there is a far better example of Izzy masterfully manipulating a situation than this in-the-moment bit of pettiness, so let's move onto my favorite bit... explaining in extensive and slightly awestruck detail why the Navy plot. Fucking. Rules. Because it does. Ready?

...

How to Mastermind the Decisive Removal of One Stupid Fucking Stede Bonnet Over Drinks

Ahem. The Navy plot. Masterclass in intimate betrayal. Izzy's biggest escalation in the total collapse of Edward and Izzy's relationship, but also a completely fucking fascinating glimpse into whatever tangled web of codependency they've got going on, because Edward isn't even mad after 1x09. This wordcount is going to be insane enough without me getting into the Blackhands relationship connotations, so I will... attempt... to stick to breaking down the actual scheme.

And what a scheme it was.

Let's start at the beginning. Jack showing up to lure them into the trap at the start of 1x08? Nope, earlier. Izzy getting kicked off the ship and going to Jackie at the end of 1x06? Further back. Edward proposing the "kill Stede" plan at the end of 1x04, which is the domino that starts all this, right? Closer, but still no.

Izzy's first appearance on screen is in episode 1x02, and that episode is where the seeds of the Navy plot are first planted. See, during Stede's confrontation with Izzy, both of the hostages chime in:

Hostage 1 (Wellington): "Believe him, he's quite insane." Hostage 2 (Hornberry): "He does have the eyes of a madman. Sorry, you do."

Wellington says his line in a tone of voice that clearly indicates a story to tell, and it should also be noted that he is the same one who earlier jumped at the chance to tell the tribe chief about Stede murdering their captain - Nigel. And he's the one that Izzy leaves with, in a sour mood and wanting information about this "Stede Bonnet" character.

When Izzy later reaches out to the Navy, it's no coincidence that he finds Chauncey. He's known since right after their first meeting that Stede was directly responsible for the murder of an Admiral's brother and that the English Navy would know soon enough, since he was literally about to ransom a hostage back to them who would tell the story. And he filed that information away until it was useful or relevant like a clever pirate should.

Moving on to Jackie's bar in 1x03, Izzy gets more potentially useful observations / inspiration. Jackie is actually the first person in the series to make a deal with a naval power. Izzy and crew track the Revenge to the Spanish warship, which means they must see Geraldo sold out Stede to them. Izzy isn't stupid. He knows Geraldo and Spanish Jackie, knows that she's the brains and brawn behind this deal, and has seen enough of Stede that he'd absolutely believe that he did something to get Jackie pissed enough to plot his murder. File away Jackie wants Stede dead and details of how she nearly succeeded in offing him for later.

Izzy spends 1x05 up to the fuckery demonstration observing Stede's crew while waiting for Edward to pull the trigger. I definitely want to note the scene where they interrogate the Frenchman at the beginning of 1x05, because Izzy is staring directly at Stede as he leans away from Edward threatening violence (we know this will later be in his love montage so not actually a turn off, lol, but like... it looked like one). His opinion of the crew is that they like to fuck around without structure (1x05 during the party), probably that they enjoy more standard pirate levels of violence (not shown directly since they are kept out of the 1x05 raid, but fairly obvious), and that they are really easily awestruck by the chance to hear "real pirates" tell charismatic stories (1x06 ghost story).

Any of that sounding like someone we know?

And now to go back to Izzy in 1x06, when he gets sick of Edward being cagey about the plan to kill Stede and decides to "make" him stop stalling, he's straightforward again. Getting Ivan and Fang to back him isn't emotionally manipulative, but it does give him weight in the conversation. They are the ones who bring up the whole "love of a pet makes a man weak" thing, and they do it in the context of calling out hypocrisy. Izzy knows the standards Edward holds his crew to. He lets them convince Edward it's time.

Taking the chance to suggest Stede try a fuckery is a strong blend of situational and emotional manipulation, and later challenging him to a formal duel knowing he'd be overconfident enough to accept is more situational again. Even the terms of the duel are designed to take advantage of the situation. And then Izzy loses in the most comedy way possible, Edward lets him get banished, and Izzy decides that if he was ok with just sending Stede Bonnet on his way to fuck-off before... he's fucking gonna kill him now.

My guy is not a creative thinker, but he's definitely a logistical one. And as he rows away from that ship, all the pieces fall into place.

First, Spanish Jackie. Who listens to him bemoan his relationship woes because she likes him (Izzy gets Jackie in the divorce). Who wants Stede dead and has the clout to summon and deal with a distasteful ally - Chauncey. Together, they concoct an arrangement where a trap will be set and Chauncey gets Stede and only Stede. This isn't a tip-off or a free-for-all. Stede comes from Chauncey's world and they are sending him back. Permanently.

Then it's time for the trap itself, which needs to do two things: get the Revenge somewhere that Chauncey can corner it, and get Edward out of there. And Izzy? Izzy knows Edward. Knows there's one particular person in his past that will have no trouble integrating with the crew, getting Edward to act more like a pirate than a gentleman, and who happens to have a great ambush location on hand.

I've said this before but I'm gonna say it again - I don't think outside characters realize how hard and fast Edward is falling for Stede. The BlackBonnet bonding moments happen almost exclusively when they are alone. The place Izzy dramatically fails to manipulate the situation is not having the evidence he would need to predict Edward going back for Stede. He (and Jack) both think that a precise wedge between BlackBonnet - one that Jack delivers near flawlessly by playing into real issues - will be enough to remind Edward that Stede isn't his people. This isn't a plan to murder the love of Edward's life while his back is turned. It's a plan to get rid of Stede, and remind Edward why he was on board with doing that in the first place. "That's fair," Izzy says about a punch to the face.

Instead, Izzy's plot accidentally backs Edward into a corner and forces him to publicly pull a grand-gesture relationship level-up that he was not emotionally ready for, and the fallout from that explosion is way worse than any of our conspirators were counting on.

Still... you gotta admit. It was a really good plan.

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123puppy · 2 months

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(Im)proper Meeting Part 2

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Characters: Angel Dust, Lucifer Morningstar

Lee!Lucifer Ler!Angel Dust

Note: Now it makes sense to add tickling.

Update 2/17/24: I might add/fix this up at some point. I always was impatient writing these particular parts because I like to get to the fun parts. I'll try to keep in as much as possible, I just need to 'polish' some of it so I can stop thinking about this like I made a mess of a fic XD

---

Lucifer felt very comfortable this morning. Not that he's not ever comfortable, but his pillows are extra soft today and he slept through the night without waking up and possibly never going to sleep from restlessness or nightmares. Maybe both.

He did not wake up, once.

And he didn't want to start now, nuzzling his cheek into the pillow and smacking his lips.

A sharp intake of breath makes him freeze. Since when can his pillow breathe? He forces his eyes open and is greeted by white instead of red. He doesn't have a white pillow.

Lucifer reluctantly detaches his face from the fluffy white cushion to get a better look at what he's holding.

"Mornin', cutie" Angel mewls.

Who in hell's name is this!? How did this sinner end up in his bed!??? Did they-?

"WhaaaAHHH! WHO ARE YOU WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, IN MY BED? OH MY GOD WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING DID WE? HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY S-Mmph!"

One hand is placed over Lucifer's mouth while the lower set of hands cup his rosey cheeks, guiding his face towards Angel, eyes blown wide in his panic

"Deep breaths, doll." Angel's breaths are exaggerated as he stares into the smaller man's eyes. Lucifer follows his breathing, and though it took a few minutes, he began to settle down. His body is still suffering the aftershocks, frame trembling as he continues to stare at Angel Dust with severe unease.

"First things first, we didn't fuck so you can rest easy," THAT got Lucifer to breathe properly and sag all the way down on the bed like a puddle. Angel snickers, "Second, you can be pretty convincing to get someone into bed with you just by being adorable. Very cuddlebug material."

Lucifer covers his face in shame, ears flushed. " I am so sorry, I shouldn't have forced you like that, I never sh-ack! Hehey!" The shorter male yelps as his side gets a sharp poke, immediately throwing his hands down to shove the appendage away.

Angel noticed the reaction but needed to focus on important matters."Ya' didn't do no such thing. I jus' couldn' say no to a precious face like this~" He grasps Lucifer's cheeks and squeezes them. The blush returns full force and the man squirms in his hold. "And I got to sleep in the most comfortable bed with the softest sheets to boot, so it's a win-win on both parties, baby!"

Lucifer grumbles and Angel can see the remnants of sadness from last night shimmer in his eyes. The Porn Star frowns, then remembers what he did earlier and grins.

"Ya know, I can't help but notice how jumpy you were when I got you on ya' side." He sees the panic in the King's eyes and his grin widens.

"Y-You startled me is all!" Lucifer pulls away from Angel's hands. He doesn't look the sinner in the eyes, fidgeting. "I...," He swallows, "... haven't been in physical contact in a long time. I mean, uh... I-I..." He mumbles and Angel leans forward.

"What's that?"

Lucifer goes red again. He just can't stop blushing today! "I'm sensitive okay? Its been so long, I'm not used to touch."

Angel looks at Lucifer with a soft smile. "Well, maybe I can help with that."

Lucifer's eyes widen. "I-I don't think that's necessary."

"Not what you're thinkin', hun." Angel chuckles, edging closer to the nervous fallen angel. His smile turns mischievous. "This is 100% vanilla."

"What do you me-" Angel's top set of hands scuttle along Lucifer's sides. "Wait waitwaitwaitwaitwaihahahait!"

"Ohhh so the King of Hell is ticklish." Angel creeps his nails up higher and pokes at each individual rib, causing the shorter male to curl forward, trying to cover himself. "Ah ah ahhh," Angel's bottom set of hands find their way to Lucifer's exposed hips and presses the pads of his thumbs against the soft thin skin. The shrill laughter that comes out is almost enough to stop the assault as Lucifer jerks at the sensation, bucking and thrashing on the sheets.

"Ohohoho my gAHahahahahad nohohohoho I cahahan't!"

"Already tappin' out?" Angel lightens his touch and brings out his third set of arms. He uses his top set to grab Lucifer's flailing arms and presses them above his head. The middle set of arms gently drag up his sides, pushing up Lucifer's shirt. The shorter male seized at the feather light touch to his sensitive skin and squeaks with each nail that drew patterns at the sides of his tummy.

"Dohohon't!" He wiggles around and cries out when Angel teases his belly button, drawing circles around it. "STAHAHAP!" He squeaks out, unable to keep the desperation from his voice, cheeks pink and eyes popping wide open.

"Don't stop?" Angel cooes, "So you like it when I dooo this?"

A shriek emits from Lucifer when Angel plunges his finger in his navel, wiggling rapidly. Pin prick tears appear at the corners of Lucifer's eyes, back arched as he kicks a pillow across the room. "NO!" He did not like that, he wanted to yell that out too to get his point across but squeaky laughter is all he can muster as he bucks and kicks about.

"Okay, okay I'll go back to this then." The wiggling stops and Lucifer drops on the mattress with a whine "That betta'?" The smugness in his tone has Lucifer thinking about setting the archnid on fire if he had enough mind to concentrate without that damn finger sending him into panicked fits of giggles.

"NohohoHOHO!" The King cries out.

"You gotta make up ya' mind," Lucifer hiccups before a shriek comes out when Angel wiggles his finger again.

It felt like an eternity to Lucifer before his laughter goes silent. That's when Angel slows his assault, removing his finger from the bright pink area all around Lucifer's navel, pretty much petting Lucifer's belly. Which is miles better than what he endured a moment ago.

He doesn't know how long it's been but he's not going to complain getting free belly rubs. He should tell the sinner to stop and leave his room this instant, but his tongue proceeds to poke out between his upturned lips in a form of contentment. He was a weak man to receiving affection.

"Holy shit," The Porn Star places a hand over his mouth, unable to contain the starstruck look on his face at the King of Hell practically melting under his touch. He's released Lucifer's arm a while ago, but the smaller man never moved them from where they've been pinned. He's practically stretched out, welcoming every bit of attention he got. It isn't long until a strange rumbling sound draws Angel's attention. He felt it, in the King's chest where one of his hands lay. It could be him just hearing things but his fingers are vibrating where they rest. He is! The King is... purring!?!?

Angel stops altogether, stunned as Lucifer's stirs from his trance, face pink from exertion, hair stuck out in all directions from tossing and turning in his laughter induced state.

Lucifer peels his eyes open and tries to glare at the Spider Demon, but he's too relaxed to work his best growl that comes out to be a whine.

Angel snickers, "Is that your way of asking for more, shortcakes?"

"..."

"Oh my God, you're too precious-"

"Shut. Up."

#hazbin hotel tickle #hazbin hotel #lee!lucifer #ler!angeldust #my writing #writers on tumblr #sfw tickle #tickling

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thursdaygxrls · 10 months

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Helloooo (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠). Maybe ST 4 steve Harrington x femreader ? Where steve thinks he looks great flirting with reader but he gets embarrassed when he sees a robin camera recording (because robin was spying on them). Maybe a cute and fluffy ending between steve and reader???.

I know it doesn't make much sense but it seems kind of cute to me and I'm still in love with joe keery 😞💗

I love your beautiful writing. Have a nice night/day. Bay!💗

~🦕

stop because i loveeee this. i’m convinced this happened at some point or another canonically.

Fast Times at Family Video

summary — steve’s great a flirting. that is, until robin gets involved.

pairing — steve harrington x fem!reader

disclaimer — i do not own stranger things, the characters, or that gif.

warnings — steve harrington thinking he’s the shit

“So, you liked Fast Times?” He asked, strategically leaning against one of the shelves in the narrow aisle. From this angle, she could get a perfect view of his arms.

“Yeah,” she grinned at him, her fingers gently smoothing a patch of her shirt, “It was fun…and sort of stupid. A nice simple watch.”

“Have you seen The Breakfast Club?” He asks, an easy smile on his lips, “It’s a little less lighthearted as Fast Times, but I have a feeling you’ll like it.” He stood up from his relaxed position and bent down a bit, thumbing through the stack of VHS tapes under a shelf labeled ‘Teen Comedies.’ Eventually, he landed on the tape.

“Here you go,” he grinned, handing it to her.

“Rad, thanks,” she smiled back. When she took it from him, their fingers brushed, and the familiar ring of her nervous giggle sounded in his ears just like he hoped it would.

“Anything else you’re looking for?” He stretched as he spoke, his arms coming behind his back. The movement causes his shirt to stretch with him, and the unbuttoned collar of his polo shirt reveals a few of his scruffy chest hairs. She noticed, just like he knew she would.

“Uh, yeah—” Her eyes met his a bit sheepishly, “—I was thinking something scary.”

“Something scary?” Steve repeats, his smile widening, “Sure thing.” He leads her down the aisle and past a few customers scanning the shelves until he eventually lands in the horror section.

“Alright,” he begins, glancing up at down at the shelves, “You have your classics, of course: Psycho, The Exorcist. But, if you want something really scary—” He slips a VHS tape from the shelf, “—I’d go with this.”

The title reads Re-Animator. On the cover, there’s a man in a lab coat holding a syringe of neon liquid. In front of the man is a decapitated head on a pan, and behind him is the rest of the body, reaching out to grab him. She studies it with a smile on her face.

“What do you think?” He asks, waiting for her reaction. He’s impatient, almost nervous. It’s just a movie recommendation, but he so badly wants her to like it.

“Looks scary.” She nods, looking back to him. A wide grin breaks out on his face at that. It’s the perfect opening. Once again, he leans against the shelf, his eyes taking her in with a calculated calmness.

“Y’know, if it seems too scary, I could always watch it with you,” he says nonchalantly, “I have a pretty nice setup at my place, too. Speakers—”

He freezes when he hears a familiar raspy laugh. Though she tries to stifle it, when Steve’s eyes meet the end of a camcorder lens that’s poking through the horror shelf, Robin knows she’s been caught.

“Robin!” Steve exclaims, shoving his hand towards the camera, “What the hell?”

“I wasn’t doing anything,” she protests, though, she can’t help but let another laugh slip, “I just wanted to make sure you were properly helping one of our customers.”

“Were you spying?” His eyes widen even further, and he feels himself flush at the thought.

“I wouldn’t call it spying,” Robin shakes her head, “More like…employee analysis.”

Steve lets out a groan, and when he turns away from Robin and back to the girl he’d been talking with, she’s miraculously still there. She looks a bit nervous, but she also can’t contain the small smile on her lips.

“Hey, Robin.” She waves through the shelf where Robin’s face has replaced the camcorder lens.

“Hey,” Robin replies happily, taking in the VHS tapes in her hand, “Breakfast Club? Haven’t you rented that one like ten times already?”

At this, it’s her turn to be embarrassed. Her eyes widen at Robin’s words, and she spares a quick glance at Steve. Though his cheeks are still dusted a light pink, he looks confused. Her attention quickly switches back to Robin.

“Yeah,” she says softly, “Um, I guess I have.”

“Still a good choice,” Robin gives her a knowing smile, “Well, I gotta motor. I’m gonna go rewatch everything I just recorded. Steve, keep showing off that chest hair for me.”

Before Steve could even think of a reply, Robin is off, scampering down the aisle. He lets out another groan, wiping his face with his hands. His eyes peek out between his fingers.

“You’ve seen Breakfast Club?” He asks, looking at her.

“A couple times,” she responds.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” His brows furrow at her admission, “I could’ve found something you haven’t seen before.”

“Well,” she lets out one of those nervous giggles that’s just music to his ears, “You seemed pretty excited about it. And I don’t mind watching it again.”

Steve looks at her, and all of his cockiness evaporates. For the last few weeks, every time he’d seen her enter the store, he’d been able to put up a flirty front, to make her laugh and smile. But now, he can’t help but feel downright nervous.

“Oh?” He tilts his head at her words, though, he’s regained none of his swagger.

“Yeah,” she responds, “It gave me an excuse to look at your smile.”

He cracks a grin at that, both flattered and flustered. It was easy for him to put on the ‘pretty boy’ act, to talk to girls, to be confident. But at her words, he melts a bit.

“I could’ve just smiled at you anyway,” he shrugs, the wide grin still on his lips.

“I guess you could’ve,” she laughs, “But, I already have the tape. And I wouldn’t mind rewatching it with company.”

“With company?” He repeats, and his grin turns into a downright goofy smile.

“Totally,” she nods, “And, like you said, Re-Animator seems pretty scary. I’d hate to watch it alone.”

“It is pretty scary,” he chuckles.

“If we’re gonna be watching these together, does that mean I get your discount?” She asks, a smile on her lips.

“Is that all you’re interested in? A discount?” He jokes. He’s unable to contain his excitement as he watches her.

“No, but it’s a perk.” She let’s out a soft laugh and grins.

“Well, then,” he says, gently taking the tapes from her hands, “How does Saturday sound?”

“Saturday sounds great,” she replies.

“Sounds great for me to!” Robin interjects, passing by the two with a cart of movies labeled ‘To Be Returned.’

“Robin!” Steve exclaims once more, huffing at the interruption. With a sigh, he turns back to the girl before him and smiles.

“I’ll go ring these up,” he grins, “They’re on me.”

After a moment of shy goodbyes, he returns to the counter and logs the tapes under his account. Free movies were a part of the job, so why not use it? He couldn’t stop smiling as he slipped the tapes under the counter, making sure to take them home when his shift ended.

“Are you abusing company policy?” Robin gasps out dramatically, sliding by him on the ‘To Be Returned’ cart. He shoots her a glare, and she puts her hands up defensively.

“Hey, big man, I come in peace,” she says as she reaches into her pocket, producing a scrap of paper, “Your girl had to go, but asked me to give you this.”

Steve takes it from her hands, eyeing her suspiciously. Though she’s technically not ‘his girl’ yet, he makes no attempt at correcting Robin. He unfolds the paper and smiles when he looks down at it. In rushed handwriting, there’s a number scrawled across the page and a note written underneath:

Page me about Saturday? :)

a/n — i haven’t written for stranger things in forever, i hope this is good, but i literally have no clue. i really loved this request, keep ‘em coming!! also, if you’d like to be added to my stranger things taglist or any other taglist of mine, you can the form attached to my page navigation post (it’s pinned).

#stranger things x reader #stranger things idea #stranger things #stranger things fic #stranger things drabble #steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington fluff #stranger things fluff #steve harrington fic #steve harrington drabble #thursday writes #robin buckley

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updownlately · 10 months

Text

can't stand (when you're not close to me)

absolutely cannot get this idea out of my head so i need to share it somehow. if you're confused on what this is, check this out :) song: notice me by role model

might not ever write this properly tbh

smidge of angst with fluff, just softness between the two characters

in my mind its an alessia fic (im just on an alessia arc don't mind me)

the whole thing really starts after you come back in after a night out with a bunch of friends

the group was huge, a mix of teammates and a few of everyone's personal friends just coming together to enjoy the start of summer

everyone was having fun, at least you were trying your best to make sure of that

alessia however, had been slightly quiet the whole night, not letting herself be as loose as she normally would

it concerned you, but you brushed it off after the first three times she told you she was fine

you tried to stick by her for a lot of the night but you eventually got swept away by friends, old and new

the night passes, you both don't interact much, not for your lack of trying, but it was just like the universe didn't want you beside each other. plus, even if you absolutely tried your hardest to be near the other girl, she was distant, no matter how close you guys sat

when it comes time to leave, alessia's quiet, not protesting like she normally would, adding to your worry

"you sure you're alright babe?"

a hum is all you get in response

when you make it back to your shared apartment, the walk back one of the quietest you've both ever had (and not in a good kind of way) she wordlessly puts her handbag to the side, removes her shoes and heads to your guys' bedroom, not waiting for you

you just stand there, sighing, locking the door behind you. you didn't realize it till now but her distancing herself took its toll on you

the whole night, all you wanted to do really was be by her, in her arms, kissing her, touching her in one way or another, anything really, just wanted her near you, yet she didn't want the same

it didn't help that she was dressed to the nines too, the black dress that she wore hugging her frame perfectly, her hair in loose waves, a personal favourite of yours, and makeup making her look ever so angelic, the world's most beautiful, ethereal human in your opinion.

all in all, all you really wanted was a nice night out with your friends and then a soft night in with your lover, someone who clearly couldn't stand to be near you right now, this night immediately losing its place as one of your favourites taking a deep breath to call yourself down, you follow her lead,

removing your shoes, locking up the rest of the house and heading to the bedroom

entering, you could hear the water of the shower running, sadness enveloping you just a little more

more often than not, practically an unspoken ritual of yours now, you both would get ready for bed with the other, showering the night out away together, just a small little tradition that charged both of you up, the intimacy of it all calming to you, strengthening

you wait for her to finish up, sitting on the edge of the bed, her appearing out of the bathroom practically ready for bed

catching her softly by her arm when she doesn't look at you, you ask "hey, are you sure we're okay? did i do something to upset you? cause if yeah, please tell me so i can fix it" you're practically begging, looking up at her, alessia barely meeting your eyes before darting them elsewhere

"we're fine. i'm just tired"

you knew that was bullshit. any time a woman, especially a girlfriend, said she was tired whilst she was ignoring you meant that you fucked up, one way or another. it was very much a no brainer. yet, in that moment you chose not to press it, knowing alessia and aware that it wouldn't end well if you prodded right now.

so instead you nodded, placing a tender kiss to the back of her hand before heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed yourself

what you didn't see on the way out was the unshed tears in alessia's eyes, how she stood frozen in her spot for a minute, the ghost of your lips on her hand taunting her

she didn't know how to tell you, but ever since the both of you had walked into the dinner venue and heads had turned, many of the gazes taking you in, your outfit and the air of confidence that surrounded you, (in my mind reader's wearing a suit or maybe just a button down with slacks, radiating an aura of power), alessia had been uneasy with the attention

it wasn't often that she doubted herself, rarely on the pitch or during trainings and even more seldomly when she was with you.

so she didn't know why, here in this moment, the assault of thoughts telling her she wasn't good enough for you was the only thing on her mind.

the repeated thoughts of how you could do better, how any of your other friends or the other girls at the dinner would look so much better on your arm instead of her were on the forefront of her mind throughout most of the dinner, only easing just slightly in the club due to the sheer loudness of the music playing.

she thought about telling you, aware that you wouldn't mock her for it like she feared, yet the fear itself of the possibility of you leaving her at how pathetic she was stopped her

instead, she willed for the thoughts to go away, waiting until they would pass before she came in contact with you, knowing you'd otherwise read her like a book (being in a relationship for two years would do that to a person). deciding that sleeping it off would be best, she had made a beeline for exactly that the second you had both entered the apartment.

she knew she was hurting you, you never one to hide your emotions from the blonde, but yet, in the this moment, fear with its hand wrapped around her throat, alessia didn't know what else to do but protect her heart (something a part of her knew you would do too, without a second of doubt)

however, her plans fall short the second you reenter the room, ready for bed, smaller frame being swallowed in a hoodie of hers

as you tuck yourself in onto your side of the bed, alessia facing away from you, the back of her head and torso the only things visible, you consider giving it one more try, going for a gentle approach this time

you roll onto your side, your front facing her back now, running a featherlike touch over her bicep, trailing down to her forearm before wrapping it around her waist

"please talk to me love. it's killing me seeing you like this...seeing you so far away from me, your sweet smile not on your face." its a hushed whisper, too afraid that if its just a decibel too loud the whole world would crash and burn

when seconds pass, turning into a minute, then almost nearing two, you're about to give up and just call it a night

right as you go to pick up your arm from where it laid across the striker, you feel the mattress move from body movement that most definitely wasn't your own

holding your breath, you wait

slowly but surely, alessia turns to face you, her head hung down, eyes not meeting your own

reaching out, you intertwine your hands with hers, your other hand coming to rest at her hip

"i'm sorry"

"less...don't be. just let me in yeah? what's going on in that pretty mind of yours?"

swallowing hard, her eyes flicked up to meet yours before coming back down, gaze fixed on your interlocked fingers

"i just-" taking a sigh, she reminded herself this was you. the same you that had stuck by her even after seeing her at her worst after losing so many important games. the same you that had always diligently taken care of her the few times she was sick. the same you that would always know how to take care of her on her worst days, magically always making the perfect dinner, running her baths, cuddling her until she couldn't help but smile. this was that you. you were that you. and you were safe. she knew that. she just had to believe it, had to trust in it.

"it's stupid"

"wanna let me be the judge of that? plus anything that's bothering you isn't stupid my love. in fact, if it's bothering you as much as this is, it's actually quite important to me. you're important to me"

closing her eyes, alessia inches closer towards you, foreheads nearly touching now.

"i can't help-... i can't help but think sometimes how you'd be better off with another girl. it's silly, i know. but like even today, when we walked into the restaurant, so so so many people turned to look at you, and before you say anything, yes they were looking at you, i saw their gazes scan you.

you couldn't help but smile at how well she knew. even with her eyes closed she was ready to cut off your imminent statement.

shoulders relaxing at your silence, recognizing your genuine intent to listen (mentally cursing herself for ever doubting your love for her) she continued.

"even at the dinner and then the club afterwards, you just looked so...i don't know...relaxed? with the other girls around you. and they weren't worried about you like i was. they weren't stuck in their own heads. they were just there. just pretty, holding the conversations well, making you and others laugh, not stuck in their own heads, questioning why you were with them, doubting yourself, and it just...i can't help but think, you'd be so much better off y'know..."

alessia trailed off, eyes still closed, the last sentence hanging heavily in the air

you took a deep breath in, shaking your head ever so slightly before pulling the taller girl into you.

"less, baby...i don't want any else but you." pausing to place a soft kiss on forehead, you continue. "all night, all i could think of was how gorgeous you looked y'know? the whole time...dinner, the club, even the walk home love, you didn't leave my mind. i couldn't wait to get home to be with you, just us two, in our apartment, our bedroom, together."

you could hear alessia hum at your pause, her eyes still not meeting yours, her heart still not believing you.

"i want you. just you. only you. i can't stand it when you're not close to me y'know. just having you near, hands intertwined, or maybe not, maybe you're just beside me, yet each time my hearts doing summersaults. hell sometimes i can't even manage to fathom how i got you to date me. you're perfect, and everything in between y'know."

it was as your last sentence trailed off that Alessia finally looked up, meeting your eyes for half a second before they fell on your lips.

giving her a nearly imperceptible nod, you let yourself lean in, meeting her halfway.

your grip on her waist tightened, alessia's own hands reaching out, grasping at your hips, tugging you closer to her, bodies now flush.

between gentle kisses, featherlike touches, and quiet whispers, sighs, and gasps, you let your actions speak.

chaste kiss after chaste kiss, you chased her lips each time she pulled away, not wanting to spend even a second an inch apart, not when she'd been so far from you all day.

it was when alessia pulled away, air likely finally an issue that you scanned her face. this time though, all you could see was apologetic eyes and a tired mind.

"i love you alessia. so fucking very much. and just know that you're the only person i ever wanna love. ever in my whole life. i want to love you forever."

and when you received your favourite soft smile in return, followed by a quiet murmur of 'i love you too, so much' against your lips, before another kiss is placed upon them, you know that this may not have been the best night of your life, but it was one of your favourites with the blonde. just the pair of you, cuddled up, loved up, relaxed, together.

you both knew that the intrusive thoughts hadn't left her mind, at least not yet, but you were going to make sure that eventually, no matter how long it took, you'd make sure that she knew she was the only one for you.

(a small part two to the initial idea, read if you want :) technically a continuation)

its why just before going to bed that exact night, you suggested having a date the next day. "just the two of us, you and me, lets spend the day together yeah?

and so when you wake up the next morning, you do so with the blonde's arms wrapped around your midsection, your back pressed tightly to her front, her face snuggled into your neck, slight puffs of her breath tickling your collarbones.

your guys' morning goes by quietly, just pure softness really

it starts of with you both just laying in a bed a bit longer, cuddling after you eventually wake up alessia (after you've taken the time to admire her and her little freckles, and the curve of her nose, and ran your finger over the gentle wrinkle lines that were beginning to form on her face ofc),

the pair of you brush your teeth together, you pulling silly faces and catching your lovers eyes in the mirror before you end up making a mess around the counter, you both giggling whilst cleaning up after your impromptu mr. bean impressions

after freshening up, the pair of you head downstairs, you starting the coffee pot while alessia hangs off your back like a koala, hunching over just a little so she can comfortable smush her forehead into the space between your shoulder blades

breakfast goes by without a hitch really, you both not leaving the other's side for more than a minute at any given moment, even going as far as eating at the island so you could pull two stools impossibly close together

its as you get both get dressed and alessia's asking you where you want to go out for the day, that you decide that now was the perfect time to set your small surprise into motion.

convincing the blonde to go to an outdoor shopping centre isn't hard at all, since she's smitten with you

what is difficult though, is hiding your intentions from her

so when you eventually lead her into the fifth jewelry store of the day alessia can tell something is up

and when she prods you on your intent, you can't help but shrug, wanting her to witness your idea for herself

so as you talk to the jeweller (you have a good feeling about this store having what you're looking for) you can feel alessia drape herself over your back once more. except this time, alessia sneakily slips her hands under your (technically her) hoodie, resting them on your stomach, skin only separated by the thin cotton t-shirt you had on under.

you do your best to try to finish telling the jeweller what you were looking for without stuttering too much, the warmth of her palms pressed flat against your midsection sending butterflies throughout your chest

as you chastise her quietly without turning around (not wanting her to see the smile on your face). "lessi you need to stop, they're going to end up asking us to leave otherwise" you pout

despite of your tone, you can feel her silently laugh into your neck, placing apologetic kisses along your nape

slapping her arm, you composed yourself just in time for the person you were talking to earlier to show up, a velvet box in her hands

taking the box from her hands, you gently opened it, revealing the small platinum chain, a small 'R' hanging off the middle.

tapping alessia's arm, you grab her attention, her head popping out from where it rested in the crook of your neck

"whatchu think?"

flipping over the charm, you felt alessia take in a sharp breath, her grip on you getting just a tad bit tighter

"i-... what? are you sure?"

you shrugged in response, a smile taking over your face.

"pretty sure yeah. i know what i want babe. it's you."

letting her finger run over the engraving on the back, alessia couldn't hold back her smile, in awe of the way you knew exactly how to make her feel better.

and as you go ahead and finalize the purchase, alessia offering to pay before you can even take out your wallet, you both have the biggest smiles on your face.

just before you walk out, you let her examine the 'alessia' written on the back

"can i put it on you?"

you nod eagerly, moving your hair out of the way.

you feel her fingers skim your nape before she sets the necklace perfectly across your collarbones, clasping it into place

finally walking out, ready to make your way home, you reach out intertwining your hands with hers

you knew you both would have your ups and downs, your love for each other being tested so often. but you also knew that if you had to walk through hell for anyone, with anyone, it would be the blonde beside you, the striker that had your heart.

letting your love envelope the quiet surrounding you both, you quietly made your way home, the silence comforting this time, a unsaid promise of support, of love, of forever.

lyrics this is based off of (not many btw, the idea came to me first, the song after but oddly enough so many lyrics fit perfectly with my idea):

"you're perfect, and everything in between"

"keep going, until they tell us to leave"

"let's dance when we're not supposed to be"

"can't stand when you're not close to me"

"damn, can't believe you notice me"

"now i'm angry, cause i'm fallin' in love"

"i'm mad, 'cause i used to hate all this stuff"

"and i won't let this go, never fell this far"

okay damn. i had to make multiple text blocks, i wrote that much holy shit. its 3k words of an unfinished idea...this is killing me.

i don't know if i'll ever write this one out properly, but i might maybe. we'll see. anyways, this was just a nice little idea/scene that played out in my head that i decided to continue and then eventually added the second little part bc i thought it would be cute (i'm sorry you cannot tell me alessia wouldn't absolutely lose her mind seeing you wear a necklace with her initials). hopefully the cuteness was retained as the ideas went from visuals in my head to actual text.

anyways, i hope y'all enjoyed and that this makes sense grammatically bc this was not at all proof read.

take care 🫶

#storylines #cs #cs(wynctm)#woso imagine #woso fanfics #alessia russo x reader #fluff #alessia russo imagine #my writing

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daydreamgoddess14 · 10 months

Text

Landslide pt. 2

MASTERLIST here

Chapter 1 here

Summary: Jason approaches a singer/songwriter about a request for Ted Lasso Season 3.

Jason Sudeikis/Reader Insert (OFC, no use of y,n/l,n)

Rating: General for now... we'll see how it goes 🤭

Disclaimer: I absolutely own none of these songs, I also don’t want to diminish Sam Ryder’s contribution in creating Fought and Lost. This is all completely fictional. I also know nothing about the music industry so this is drowning in artistic license!

Playlist Link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1crFZfdqL1fspNXb80u5sK?si=e90f5f8f357b4647

It leans very Swift heavy but also has songs that I feel fit the main character and her style. I've never created a playlist for a fic before but it seemed appropriate given the main character's profession.

Songs used in Chapter 2:

Lover of the Light - Mumford and Sons (https://open.spotify.com/track/2rjOBgZ6vmRhzf4AbQbbvZ?si=3cdfe7ca63294533)

I Will Wait - Mumford and Sons (cover by Matt Johnson & Amber Leigh Irish: https://open.spotify.com/track/6pZ37H5lrW2v26D9Sbx6Yo?si=0fb2b5b84b0a4c92)

Chapter 2

The blue carpet was packed full of people, you weren't entirely sure where you needed to go but followed the other guests towards the doors of the auditorium, it was one of those situations where your fame came in useful, crowds parted and support staff were always happy to make sure you were going in the right direction.

"Why do you always look like a deer in the headlights at these things? You need a better poker face." A voice chastised behind you. You whipped round to see Marcus and Carey. Insanely grateful for familiar faces you hugged them both happily, over the moon to see them.

"I fucking hate these things. I always feel like an imposter."

"You sold out an arena tour in a day, what the hell are you on about?!" Carey laughed. You shrugged,

"It could all come crashing down, you never know!"

"Alright doom and gloom, here the kids wanted you to see this." Marcus handed you his phone so you could see the picture of their kids dressed up as Spiderman and Thor, wielding a ukulele and a keytar.

"Ohhhh!" You shriek, bubbling with laughter. "They are the cutest! Clearly they take after Carey." Between the two of you, Marcus paused to wave further up the carpet, your laughter had caught the attention of some photographers. You looked over to see who he was greeting and locked eyes with the man of the hour, Jason. You managed to raise a shy smile which he returned. It felt like an eternity but was probably only about 5 seconds before you were back talking to Carey as if nothing had happened. Something had definitely happened though, your skin felt tingly, you could feel the blood in your veins heating up, and your legs felt like jelly. It was like meeting at the studio again except instead of poor Tom being the gooseberry, half of Los Angeles were.

"We're doing a little set tonight." Marcus explained.

"Oh nice, I haven't heard you guys for ages." You brought yourself back down to earth.

"You could," he cooked his head with a wink, "y'know… join us?"

"No way, I'm not remotely prepared, I haven't sang live for weeks. I don't even remember half the words to your stuff!"

"Thanks mate."

"You know what I mean, It's too much pressure."

"As opposed to every other time you perform. Go onnn! It'll be fun!"

"For who?!" You try to counter, but he's winning you over. It really had been quite a few weeks since you'd last performed to an audience and you were feeling the pull. There was also that intoxicating way Jason had looked at you - the urge to do something unexpected and surprise him was pretty strong. "OK, say I said yes, who would we be pissing off - apart from my entire management team?"

"Nah, no one. No one even needs to know, we'll just tell the floor manager to get an extra mic set up and everyone else will be none the wiser. It'll be a good surprise for Tom and Jason to hear you properly live with a band." Yeah… you couldn't argue with that.

"OK, OK, let's do it." He whooped and the three of you started moving a little quicker to the doors. You passed by a handful of the cast still having photos taken, a couple of them recognised you and a buzz went up from the photography area. You hesitated before stopping for some pictures, it was a premiere after all and you had dressed up for it in a dress which was the visual representation of exuding confidence. Confidence which you were absolutely winging at the moment in an ultimate ‘fake it til you make it’ strategy.

"How come you're here tonight?" One of the photographers shouted, “What do you think of your ex’s new girl?”

"Just a fan of the show." You smiled and posed, ignoring the second question. Once inside, Carey waved you off with a grin while you went backstage with Marcus.

~~~~~~~

"So we're doing the theme song - you don't have to do that - then in between the two episodes we're doing 2 or 3 songs while everyone has a break, then I think we'll do one after the screening as well. Happy with that?" You nod, "I'll come back to watch the first episode so you come back with me just before that ends. I'll go out as planned, introduce you and you can join us. Bit of backing, bit of melody. It doesn't matter if you really have forgotten all the words." You thank him gratefully. Back with Carey, you cheer for Marcus as he performs the theme song. At the other end of the same row, you can't help but steal a glance at Jason. He looked across to you just as your attention was drawn back to the stage. You managed to sneak out just before the end of the episode to wait for Marcus to introduce you. As expected, with only a few people knowing that you were there and no one at all expecting you to join the band on stage, the screening audience went crazy when you were introduced.

"Hey everyone, thanks for letting me crash the party. Hope you're playing something I remember, Marmar." You tease lightly. He puts a hand to his heart,

"Some of you may have seen us in the early 2010s on tour with my good friend here. You might remember that she used to join us for a banging version of Lover of the Light?" He looked to you for confirmation that you remembered enough to get by, and then you brought the fucking house down. With the first couple of songs under your belt, you were much more relaxed watching the second episode. It had been such a rush performing live on a total whim, it had been years since you'd done something so reckless and unpredictable regarding your music. Your phone was already blowing up in your bag with Twitter notifications - your management team would have a field day again, you still weren't exactly in the good books. Marcus had saved your favourite of his songs for last - I Will Wait. Similarly to Lover of the Light, the pair of you used to do a storming version together many, many years ago and you loved it so much that you'd recorded an acoustic version for one of your albums and you had been known to wheel it out during live shows as well. It wasn't until you were back up on the stage though that Marcus pretty much reduced his own role to backing singer and had gently nudged you to front the band. It was a damn good job you'd known them all for the better part of 15 years. Your unrehearsed, pared down version was a winner. You kept your eyes in the general direction of Carey and didn't let them stray to the opposite end of the row until the very end when you couldn't resist stealing a look at Jason any longer. He looked happy - fortunately - really happy, and you could feel your stomach tighten at the vaguely familiar notion of genuine attraction to someone. With the impromptu mini gig over, you had a quick 5 minutes with the band before heading off with the intention of finding a bar and a very alcoholic drink prior to catching up with Jason and Tom. Dutch courage was very much on the agenda. You ordered a whiskey and watched from the bar as the cast and creative team started making their way in, stopping every few seconds to be welcomed and congratulated by guests, media and family. You'd gotten talking to a couple of the writers who'd recognised you.

"I was at your last gig in New York, it was so much fun!"

"I love shows in New York," You grinned, "I get to sleep in my own bed for a change!"

"Ugh hotel beds are a menace. I either sleep like the dead or not at all."

"Tell me about it, buses are the worst though - be so glad you don't have to sleep on a bus! I did a week of shows in the UK last year and we were so tight on time that I'd finish a gig, go to sleep on the bus and wake up in a new city. I don't even think we bothered with hotel rooms, just drove through the night." You grimaced. Your back still hadn't forgiven you for that, and your tour manager was under strict instructions to avoid that debacle for future shows.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, congrats guys!" Jason reached in to say hello to his writing team first.

"You too boss! Have you guys met?" They gestured to you, "I had no idea Marcus was going to bring her, did you?"

"I did know. Thanks for coming." Jason finally turned to you with a smile that made you forget your own name.

"Thanks for the invite. And sorry for the surprise set. It was Marcus's idea." You looked up while the writers filtered away to see other people, leaving the two of you alone. You took a long drink, buying you time to compose yourself because holy shit he looked so good. You wondered if it would be better to hold the meeting at separate ends of the room and communicate via smoke signals to save your blushes.

"Oh no, I loved it! Instant validation for the request I sent to Tom and Marcus, as if hearing you in the studio wasn't enough. You sounded amazing." You wave the compliment away,

"I'm way under rehearsed, I'm still under strict instructions to lay low for a while so I haven't been in front of a big audience for ages."

"It didn't show, really, you were great. Better than Marcus."

"Stop, he'll never forgive me!" You nudged him, laughing.

"Can we sit?" You nod and his hand brushes the small of your back, guiding you to a booth. It’s warm through the thin fabric of your dress and you could curse when your treacherous body shivers in response.

"Congrats on tonight, it looks like it's been a huge success."

"Ahh we'll see, it's a long way to go till the end of May. How's your week been?"

"Pretty good thanks, a few meetings. Plenty of writing."

"Anything you'd like to share?" He asked curiously.

"Not just yet,” you tease lightly, “give it another day or so and maybe. Also it might be wildly different to what Tom's expecting so I don't want to get in trouble."

“You don’t strike me as a troublemaker.”

“I’m on my best behaviour. Unfortunately. One more bad headline and-” you draw your finger across your throat.

“No way? Those headlines are not your fault - you defended yourself.”

“Hmm but there are a lot of people out there who don’t believe that I’m defending myself. They believe that I’m the problem.” He looks at your hand resting on the table near his and you think he’s about to take it, but he moves his own away at the last second. “So… troublemaker, that’s me.” You smile ruefully.

“Well I think I’ll reserve judgment.” He does move his hand then, but not to take yours, instead it goes around you to rest on your hip furthest from him, the action sliding you across the seat a few inches closer to him. He holds your gaze, an unspoken request for permission/forgiveness. You can’t help but feel a little unsure, automatically defensive. You’d spent three years being belittled, gaslit, shamed and manipulated in every aspect of your personal life, and now you were trying to recover from that whilst simultaneously trying to prove that those things were really happening to you and that you’re not a cold, calculating and manipulative bitch. You had no idea who you could really trust, who was supporting you or who was in the pocket of your ex. It was draining trying to mentally vet every reaction, conversation and person before letting your guard down. Something in his warm eyes lets you think you can trust him though, so you lean into that and into his hand just a little. Your eyes flash down to his mouth and back again and you hope you were quick enough that he didn't notice because you hadn't meant to do it. Well, not exactly. Your time alone is cut short though when Tom comes over with more drinks.

"So that was unexpected." He said, handing you a glass. "Brilliant, but unexpected." Jason moves his hand from behind you to take his drink from Tom.

"Told you."

"Hush, you. Thank you, Tom. I caved to peer pressure. Marcus bullied me into it."

"I should get him a drink then." You unlock your phone and slide it across the table, the notes app open. As it passes him, Jason tries to sneak a look but Tom grabs up the phone and reads. "Keep going, you're nearly there." He advises firmly. "Though I want to hear it, I'm in meetings all day tomorrow but record a quick voice note, give me an idea of pace and melody and I’ll think on it."

"Can you send it to me too?" Jason asked.

"Nope." You reply with a smirk, for a moment he looks confused. "I don't have your number. But also, I’m not about to send you a half arsed voice note just yet." You shrug. He's about to reply when a few people start milling around looking like they need him. He excuses himself and you and Tom compare some notes on the start you’ve made to the song. He next finds you back at the same table catching up with Carey.

“-I’m just saying I would pay good money to see you recreate that Tom Holland Lip Sync Battle rain dance!” Carey giggled.

“Oh god, I’d fall over and break something! Besides, I’m not built for dancing - especially not dirty rain dancing!” You reply gleefully, the giggles getting the better of you both.

“Who’s doing dirty rain dancing?” Jason grins, handing both of you a drink, “Saw you both from the bar.”

“Ahh I’ll never convince her. Maybe Marcus will do it instead.” She takes a sip of her drink, “I’m going to be so hungover on the school run tomorrow.”

“Same.” he agrees.

“I’ll come with you, I want to see the kiddos and I’ll bring the biggest coffees I can find.”

“Thanks, love. If I’m already going to be hungover I might as well finish this drink as well! Thanks Jason, and congratulations!” As the party slows and people drift off, including Tom, you talk Carey into staying for another drink, not quite willing to leave Jason’s company just yet. He’s been sitting next to you again, not so close that it would make Carey uncomfortable or would seem rude. Close enough that when he talks with his hands they brush against your arm or hand. When they’re finally still and he puts them on the seat between you both, his fingertips can catch against yours or (very bravely) ghost over the hem of your dress. Meanwhile, you’re trying to look casual, trying to act unruffled but there’s a marching band inside your body banging your heart like a bloody big drum and it might as well be bursting out of your chest like a cartoon. When Carey gets up to track down Marcus so you can share an Uber with them, he turns on the seat to face you.

“Can I give you my number?” He asks, watching your eyes widen in surprise. “For the voice note you're going to send me,” he teases.

“I’m not sending you the bloody song over WhatsApp. Tom can show you whatever he chooses, but you’ll get nothing from me until I say so.”

“Nothing at all huh?” He moves closer on the seat. You smile shyly,

“I’d strongly advise against whatever it is you think you’d like to do right now.”

“There’s a lot that I’d like to do, you might need to be more specific?” You shake your head in exasperation.

“My life is a fucking mess.”

“So is mine.”

“So you wouldn’t want to make it worse.”

“I really think I might actually want to. Might make it better.”

“The paps are-”

“Intense, rude, intrusive?”

“My ex-”

“Is a dick.”

“Can we be serious for one minute? One minute. I don’t want you to drag you into this shitshow, my name is mud everywhere at the moment - I might as well be public enemy number one. No matter how… brief this might end up being, it’s still not fair on you, or your family, that you get associated with it all.”

“I don’t need to be, we don’t have to broadcast it.”

“I’m pretty sure they know my diary better than I do.” You counter, then pause, taking in the hat, the custom made tracksuit, the dimples. “But… I can avoid them most of the time. I try to… protect myself.”

“We could try that? Because I’d really like to kiss you before Carey gets back and you have to leave.” You can’t help the smile that tugs at the corner of your mouth at that. The hint of a smile is enough for him to lean in and press a soft kiss to your lips making you hum happily. “Wanna come to a basketball game?”

“And sit about 10 seats away from you pretending I’m not checking you out?”

“Amazing coincidence, that’s exactly what I’d be doing too.”

“I’d love to. Especially the checking you out part.” You grin. Out of the corner of your eye you can see Marcus and Carey coming back for you. “Looks like my time is up.” He slips his phone out of his pocket and opens the screen before handing it to you to add your number.

~~~~~~~~

Over the next couple of days, the tabloids seemed to wake up to your arrival in L.A, though they did at least leave you alone and keep their distance. A handful of pictures cropped up on Twitter and Instagram - you holding hands with one of Marcus and Carey’s kids, giving them a piggyback after school, some of you from the Ted Lasso premiere and one of you collecting takeout the evening after the premiere. You knew there would be photographers at the basketball game you were attending so you’d planned to go with an old friend. Despite Jason being the one to ask you to go, you knew that you’d be unlikely to even be able to say more than hello to him with so many eyes around. You sat one row back from the courtside and about 10-15 seats further along the row than Jason sat with his castmates and son. He’d sent you a message before you’d even pulled up at your apartment after the premiere, you’d replied of course and the message pingpong had been pretty regular in the run up to the game. He’d seen you arrive, he’d been loitering at the edge of the court talking while the seats began to fill up. You’d smiled and held your beer up in greeting.

You look great, I’m glad you came

Thanks, you too. This doesn’t count as a first date though.

That’s fair, I’ve got to get O home after this, but we could hang out later in the week?

Sounds good, enjoy the game

After the game, someone had pushed a ball into his hands while people were milling around the court. He’d been laughing and joking with Toheeb and Kola and you’d been perfectly happy just watching him have a good time. He took his cap off and turned it around on his head so he could better line up his shot. You had been halfway through a conversation but god fucking damn your jaw near hit the floor when he bounced a little and the ball had travelled near half the length of the court and straight into the basket. Someone had been filming it and Kola had excitedly told him to tell the camera that it had been one take. By this point, you’d long given up on talking with your friend and she watched in amusement while your words had trailed off. She followed your gaze to the scenes on the court.

“That’s emmm… that’s pretty hot.”

“I’m not usually a men doing sports type of person. In that it normally doesn’t affect me in any kind of way.”

“How you feeling now?”

“Pretty fucking affected. Jesus.” You reached for your phone while the image and the thoughts were still fresh in your mind - though there was no doubt that the visual would be there for a very long time to come.

That was insane. I truly hope you know how hot that was because I… I’m speechless.

With the rest of the court clearing out, you took your empty beer glasses and took one last look at Jason. He spotted you so you gave a quick glance around for potential photographers before very obviously fanning yourself with your hand. He laughed and winked.

~~~~~~~~~

#jason sudeikis #jason sudeikis rpf #jason sudeikis fanfic #jason sudeikis imagine #jason sudeikis x reader

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sylvia-forest · 9 months

Text

[CN] Shaw's Field Date (Part 1)

⚡Warning: This post contains detailed spoiler's for a Date which hasn't been released in EN yet!⚡

[This date was translated with the help of Google translate!]

✧[Section 1]✧

Shaw's message: "If the old man doesn't grant me leave, I won't be able to come back to celebrate the Qixi Festival." MC: Hm…

Looking at the text on the phone, I let out a long sigh.

During this period, I will be filming a cultural and tourism promotional program about ethnic fashion. Shaw will be accompanying the professor for field research, and both of us was away from Loveland City.

As a result, what should have been a joyous "couples' summer vacation" has now turned into being apart from each other.

We had previously planned to set aside at least two days for Qixi Festival to find a place and have some fun together. However, upon seeing this message…

MC: "It's okay, let's forget about it... Um, will he think I'm being stubborn?" MC: "It's okay, I can't take time off either... Wait, this sentence sounds a bit strange, let's delete it…"

Characters are jumping on the screen, and I keep withdrawing them.

Just as I was considering how to reply, the director nearby called me.

Director: MC, it's possible that we won't be able to film the scenes about Miao Village the day after tomorrow. MC: Huh? Why? Director: We didn't notice before, but just now we sent a drone out, and we realized that on the other side of the mountain, at Cuisong Slope, it seems like some archaeological excavation is taking place. Director: The entire area is full of pits and uneven terrain, it's impossible to capture on camera! MC: How about letting the drone shoot from a different angle? Director: We just tried it, and the results were just okay. The main issue is that Cuisong Slope is right between the bamboo forest and the Miao village, and it's difficult to frame the shot properly…

The director paused, as if he had an idea.

Director: Wait a moment, maybe we should talk to them. It might be possible to ask them to stop work for two days, move the excavators and such away, and then we could manage with the visuals? MC: That could work... I'll try talking to them and see if we can find a compromise.

After making up my mind, I asked the production team to contact the local cultural and tourism bureau. Meanwhile, I set off to meet the archaeological team in person and have a face-to-face discussion.

As soon as I got in the car, my cell phone rang.

MC: Oh, shit!

With this unexpected turn of events, I haven't had a chance to reply to Shaw's message yet!

I hastily pressed the call button, and a low-octave voice came over immediately.

Shaw [on the phone]: I saw you typing for almost two minutes, and then you disappeared. What happened? Shaw: ...you're not mad at my message, are you?

Even though his voice sounded confident, his sentences were subtly probing. I found it amusing and couldn't help but curl my lips into a smile.

MC: I'm not upset at all. I just got caught up with work and couldn't reply to your message right away. Coincidentally, you called just as I was about to respond. Shaw: Fine.

Shaw hummed twice, which could be considered him acknowledging my explanation. At that moment, I heard a burst of noise on his end, as if he was arguing about something.

MC: What happened to you guys? Shaw: Oh nothing, just now a program team called and wanted us to stop work so they could shoot. MC: …..? Shaw: Now the program producer over there says they want to talk face-to-face with us. Tsk tsk, quite arrogant. Your company shouldn't learn from them. Shaw: Old Man Shen wants to take me along. He said we must show that arrogant producer who's in charge when the time comes. Shaw: But if they do stop work, it seems like I might be able to fight for some time off again… MC: ….. MC: …Shaw.

I interrupted Shaw's muttering.

Shaw: What's wrong? MC: I never asked before, where is your field research site? Shaw: Even if I told you, you probably wouldn't know. It's called Cuisong Slope, right next to a Miao village, extremely remote... Why suddenly ask about this? MC: ….

I took a deep breath, signaled the driver to increase the accelerator, and spoke with a smile.

MC: The producer of the program you're about to dismantle… should be me.

✧[Section 2]✧

Shaw: ….. MC: …… Professor Shen: …..

In the afternoon at the archaeological site, there was complete silence. Professor Shen wiped a thin layer of sweat from his forehead and gave a slight cough.

Professor Shen: We originally thought that we encountered some unreasonable program group, but we didn't expect it to be...... MC: It's okay. It might have been a little misunderstanding from the start of our phone conversation, which led to the confusion on your part as well. Professor Shen: Hahaha it's okay.

…There was silence again.

I turned my gaze to Shaw, desperately sending him a "help" signal. He subtly glanced at me and then spoke up.

Shaw: What's so awkward about it? Worst case, you two can pretend not to know each other, and I'll just introduce you again, right?

He gestured with four fingers close together, pointing at Professor Shen, and then pointed at me.

Shaw: This person— is Professor Shen, in charge of the Cuisong Slope archaeological excavation work, and this person is Miss MC, the producer from [MC Company's Name]. Shaw: Is this formal enough?

Professor Shen shook hands with me, and the atmosphere relaxed.

I formally expressed the needs of our program to Professor Shen, and he nodded happily.

Professor Shen: Since you also want to promote the customs and culture here, of course we can cooperate. Professor Shen: You don't need to worry about the duration of the work stoppage. I'll communicate with the team here. Besides…

The old gentleman glanced at Shaw who was at the side, and lowered his voice.

Professor Shen: Some people have asked me for time off multiple times, eager to spend the Qixi Festival with their girlfriends. Now they're finally getting their wish fulfilled.

Shaw: Hello, you two don't think I can't hear you. Shaw: Moreover, when have I taken time off multiple times? Am I the kind of person who can't separate work and personal matters? Among the whole archaeological team, I'm the most dedicated person…

Professor Shen: So, starting from today, the archaeological team is taking a break, and you can continue working. Go be a tour guide for your girlfriend. How about showing some "dedication to the job"?

Professor Shen waved his hand generously, and blocked all Shaw's stubborn words.

I chuckled, took Shaw's hand, and waved towards Professor Shen.

MC: Thank you, Professor Shen, for cooperating with our work and letting us borrow your star student!

Back in the car of the production team, Shaw and I sat side by side in the back seat. He had his arm propped up, looking out the window, but suddenly he turned his head…

Shaw: Why are you staring at me? MC: ...Is my gaze really that noticeable? Shaw: It's obvious from before even getting in the car.

My face flushed, not wanting him to catch on to the uncontainable longing. I coughed awkwardly.

MC [blushes]: It's nothing, I'm just surprised to see you dressed so casually for once, it's a bit unexpected~

The Shaw in front of me now feels completely different from the Shaw in Loveland City.

The Shaw I usually see is always the most conspicuous one in the crowd, but today he's just wearing a simple vest covered with work overall.

The fabric was stained with dirt and mud spots, clearly indicating that he had spent this time in the dirt pits.

I reached out and poked the small cluster of hair tied up with an elastic band at the back of his head. It was a little prickly and a little itchy.

MC: Your hair has gotten longer.

Shaw: I've been so busy, and I didn't want Tony, the local hair stylist, to touch my hair, so I just let it grow.

Shaw shrugged nonchalantly, and my fingers shifted along the tips of his hair. I poked the slightly reddened sunburn on his cheek.

MC: You've gotten tanned as well. Shaw: Yeah, digging in the soil during the peak of summer, it'd be strange if I didn't get tanned.

He paused, and suddenly looked at me suspiciously.

Shaw: Are you…? MC: What? Shaw: …nothing. MC: What "nothing," why stop in the middle of your sentence?!

But no matter how much I pestered him, Shaw refused to speak, and even put on his earphones.

Hmph!

After the car returned to the shooting location, there was still a lot of work that I needed to continue to participate in.

I gave Shaw an apologetic look and then turned to coordinate with my colleagues to wrap up the remaining tasks.

MC: I'm off work, do you want to go to a nearby town to have a good meal tonight?

Shaw [someone feeling jealous]: Who were those guys wearing ethnic clothing just now? MC: Just now?

I froze for a moment before realizing that Shaw was referring to the male models who came to ask me about the filming of the Qixi Festival at the end.

MC: They are the models we hired for the Qixi Festival. Since we are filming an ethnic-themed program, they naturally need to wear ethnic clothing.

Shaw: …..Do you still want to shoot during the festival? MC: Exactly, these are the hardworking laborers. MC: Speaking of which, why did you suddenly ask about them?

Shaw: Nothing much, just... they were dressed so flamboyantly in ethnic attire, and their appearances seemed so mature for their age, it felt a bit strange. MC: ?? Mature? My eye for choosing models shouldn't be that bad, and besides, their ages are similar to yours.

As soon as I said that, Shaw seemed to have been poked by something, and his expression subtly changed.

Shaw: …… Shaw: ……

He opened his mouth, then closed it, and tugged at his dusty work overall.

Shaw: I'm hungry. How about having some local specialty sour soup fish for dinner? MC: - That's a great idea! - Wait, why did you change the subject again?

Seeing Shaw about to walk away, I quickly grabbed his arm and took the opportunity to express my confusion.

MC: Shaw, I have a serious question for you.

MC: Did you got jealous when you saw me talking to the male models?

—

⚡ Part 2

#my tumblr was lagging so I divided the date into two parts!#mlqc spoilers #mlqc cn #mlqc shaw #mlqc ling xiao #mlqc translations #mr love queen's choice #mlqc #love and producer

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half-truths-and-hyperbole-louk · 3 months

Text

Louk's Bad Batch rewatch part 9 batchersss

Let's do it 🤟

The Bad Batch 1x05

"I get my own comm device?" she's so excited and it's so big on her lil arm 🥺🤲

Wrecker working out with Gonky

Echo: "the jedi trusted him" Tech: "the jedi who are all dead" bro 💀 I mean he has a point but still

dad batch telling Omega her comm isn't a toy...

*2 seconds later* Omega sneaking off to use her comm as a toy 😂

Echo and Hunter mom and dad going through the rules with Omega

(fun fact my mum knows their rules because I say them to her lmao)

Tech's reaction to seeing Cid's place is literally "charming 👀" oml he's roasting her before he even meets her I love him sm

the two guys Ahsoka set free !!! on Oba diah !!!

Hunter: 'who is Cid?' Echo: 'I literally have no idea' 💀

Tech: "that would've been information to share earlier" brooo his sass level as at an all time high this ep 👑

TURN AROUND RN BOYS ITS NOT WORTH IT

Omega is so smart fr 💕

Echo mom grabbing Omega's hand before she touches the sharp thingy

CID WHY TF DO YOU HAVE CLONE HELMETS IN YOUR STUPID LITTLE OFFICE LIKE THEYRE DECORATIONS

I don't hate a lot of star wars characters, but Cid is definitely one of them now ngl

DONT DO IT BOYS IT'S A TRAP

Wrecker and Omega high five 💕💕💕💕

Cid called Wrecker "it" I'm- 😡

Wreckers headaches are getting worse 🥲🙃

I know someone has spoken about this before but I just cannot get over the way Omega hugs her little clone doll when she finds out some people are sold and treated like property 😭💔 it's like poetry but not the nice kind

Omega: "poor Muchi she looks scared" 🤲

another fun fact my dad says this all the time hehe oops (no my parents have not seen tbb)

oop Hunter dad told Omega to stay on the ship

shhh they're sneaking 🤫

I MISS THEM SO BAD THEYRE DOING MISSION THINGS LIKE "Echo, sitrep" idk it just feels so tcw I'm emotional 🥲

Wrecker hits his head count: 5

Hunter and Tech got the zappy net oop

Omega: "now she's a bad batcher" screaming, crying, kicking my feet, throwing myself across the room

Omega always calls for Hunter first 🥺

STOP ZAPPING OUR BOYS 😡

Wrecker trying to comfort the lil green baby 🥲

Tech's dramatic sigh count: 583

Omega has the brain cell this ep fr

THE TALKING WITHOUT WORDS GETS ME EVERY FREAKING TIME I SWEAR

ew get ur crusty feral slaver ass outta here, skug

lmao Echo shouting to Omega like 'we are unarmed pls arm us' 😂

WAIT I saw someone posting about this, if anyone knows what I'm talking about pls tag the op or something please !! but they were talking about how Echo seems so willing to work with Omega in the field, like he trusts her despite her being a child, possibly because he'd worked alongside Ahsoka as a child, like for him it's normal to work with a child soldier. so while the rest of the batch are like ??? how to talk to babies ??? Echo is giving her battlefield instructions and gives her a bit more 'freedom' (for lack of a better word) in the field

lmao Wrecker's way of distracting the guards is to take out some guy's ankles 💀

"I wasn't sneaking... I was unlocking" YESSSS OMEGAAAA 🥰💕👑🙌

screwdriver hand go brrr

Echo: "the rancor is Muchi???" 🤨🙃 poor baby just needs a nap fr

okay but Hunter just throws Echo's pack at him from like 10ft away 💀 then Wrecker immediately throws him his helmet 👀 yes I watched it multiple times 🤫

Echo again !! he straight up volunteers to take Omega with him 💕

Tech is an ipad kid

OMEGA GRABBING THE LITTLE GREEN BABY'S HAND 🥺

get them Muchi !! tear those slavers apart !!! (insert evil Nimona face)

Wrecker's big nod to slide his helmet over his face properly teehee

Wrecker hits his head count: 6

Hunter grabbing the whip. Hunter grabbing the whip. Hunter grabbing the whip. Hunter grabbing the-

do not ask me how many times I've watched this scene... just don't

but the answer is yes

anyway back to being normal lmao

Omega finding her laser bow 🙌 !!! + Echo mom calling aftet her lololol

Muchi thrashed that slaver pet fr

Wrecker: 'challenge accepted' *fights rancor*

Bib Fortuna and the guards for the ot vibes 🥰

Omega riding Muchi !!! very Fett of her hehe

"I'm good with secrets" yeah and I'm good at going to bed before 3am 🙄 pfft good with secrets my ass Ciddarin 😠

tysm for joining again friends 💕 I actually meant to post this yesterday but I fell asleep oopsie

but I'm running out of time lolol so I'm gonna have to watch a few eps a day now !!

who else is terrified for s3 👀

It's almost 3am and these are the only 2 pics I can find from this ep 🥲 feel free to reblog and add more 💕

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ravenstargames · 1 year

Text

✦ Lost in Limbo Devlog #2 | 02.28.23

It is time for our second devlog! 💜 🎉 We made it!

Sadly and as we anticipated, February has been a hell of a month, and March is promising to be the same. I'm mostly glad we made it through. We have a lot of work to do as the trimester comes to an end and there's a considerable amount of things due to before March ends in regards to our intensive master. The team and I are a bit on the stressed side, but we'll make it.

Let's see what our overworked and exhausted souls have managed to pull off this month, shall we?

Warning: Seyl is lacking sleep. The amount of typos and oopsies in this devlog may be higher than usual. Apologies in advance!

Raquel started to fix some sprites this month as we had planned, starting with Neela, the second supporting character you'll meet in the demo, who needs a bigger revamp than the rest of LIs. The three characters left without a sprite already have their character sheets and moodboards done, so that's something! We do not want to spoil anything from the character department as we think it's cooler to meet them with their info sheet and with their sprites polished and pretty, so we are hoping we can speed up the process during March!

One of our goals this month was to do some promo art for Valentine's day, and we somehow managed! Special thanks to Raquel who was very excited and invested on this wonderful piece of Xal! 💜

I also worked on the Valentine's cards last minute and just for the funsies, so I really didn't expect them to be as well received as they were! Thank you all so much!

A bit of lore here: Raquel, Astro and I have a class assignment due in March where we have to fully design and render two backgrounds—one interior and one exterior. It's a ton of work, but luckily both Raquel and I have had the chance to orient at least one of those backgrounds to Lost in Limbo.

Raquel is working on Amon's office (and it's looking so great already!) and I'm doing an isometric view of Ara's room. We are always looking for ways to work on the game while doing our master's assignments, but it's not always possible. Hopefuly we can also work on two exterior backgrounds for the demo with this assignment!

A very simple man, Amon is. Can't you tell by how minimalist his office looks already? *cue laugh track*

This is just a sliver of our flowchart's power! You shall tremble!

This month has been more about planning than writing for me. Remember last devlog when I said I wanted to do some tweaks to the demo script? Well, I have at least been able to properly think about it and draft it. The only thing left is writing it down and implement it to the current script to see how it flows. There'll be even more changes (again) because I have some THOUGHTS (again), and I'm really excited about them. It's adding more content of each LI to the demo to balance things a bit.

I have also been doing some cleaning to our lore documents and I have finally sat down to write every little piece of story from Lost in Limbo in 'chronologic order', more or less. It will help me to always have the bigger picture in mind when writing the routes, and I would love to have everything important settled before the demo release. It's a loooooot of information—not only about the characters and their past overall, but about the world, its many systems, its people...It'll be equally fun and stressful!

In the programming department it has been all about adjusting positions, sprites and definitions to make all the characters fit properly in different scenarios as I code more of the script. Solo, with two characters in screen, with three, with four... It has been a ride (and still is, because I have not finished yet) but it's very rewarding to see everything starting to fall into place. I have also tested more things, like the CGs, the animated backgrounds or some cool transitions! I can't wait to implement the GUI when it's done, uuugh!

Just three besties going to the forest in the middle of the night. Nothing to see here.

This month we have an amazing preview of our GUI! It's still cooking, but we hope we can show you the finished version very very soon! We are soooo excited about it, it's looking perfect so far. There's a few changes to make, but we wanted to at least show you a screen so you can have an idea of how the game will look like!

We want to add more options like a dyslexic font, a skip mode that jumps directly to the next choice without having to wait for all the text to be skipped, and more utility / accessibility options!

Lost in Limbo and Ravenstar's color? Not purple, of course. Why do you ask?

This month hasn't been as productive as we would have wanted it to be, but we have managed to still get some progress done. We are begging for March to give us a bit of freedom, specially mental because we honestly need it. It has been difficult to deal with the pressure of our studies and the weight we place on our shoulders wanting to dedicate as much time as we want to LiL. It's frustrating! But we'll get there. Baby steps, as they say!

Exciting things are on the horizon, that is for sure. This devlog has been a bit short and I'm honestly exhausted, so I'll free you! Thank you so much for reading and for your unending support. We are incredibly thankful for all of you! 💜

#lost in limbo #devlog

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onyourowndaisymae · 4 months

Note

Hello hello!

I am here for crumbs about the hurt/canon drabbles and obey me mc x reader wips! 🎤

hehe. you've come to the right place!

the hurt/comfort drabbles are old and sitting half-completed in my drafts. i wrote them about just basically needing someone someone to cuddle up to back when i was going through something. i think i worked through whatever that was, though, considering i don't even remember what it was, so the drabbles were left to rot in the drafts. here's a snippet from lucifer's section:

he seems to understand that whatever was on your mind was too much to share in that moment. lucifer pushes himself away from his desk and leans back in his chair. the pat pat of him beckoning you to sit on his lap echoes through the room. you accept this gracious offer and scurry across the room to his side. you sit in his lap and cuddle into his chest. he's warm. his coat is hung around the back of his desk chair, and the fur of the collar tickles your face as the two of you lean back. the scent of smoke and cologne fills your nose. it's nice; it's so him. and it's just what you needed.

and the oc x reader... hehe. i've been waiting to introduce her. i've talked a little about her here but i'm still tossing around ideas on how to introduce her properly. i want to do an x reader series with her as well as an oc x canon series with one of the characters (i also have some ideas for a sort of "non-canonical"-- as canon as oc stories can get at least, lol-- poly situation with her, but that's mostly just for fun). here's a snippet from the piece (suggestiveness warning):

she's panting underneath you, cheeks flushed and lips red as you tug her sweater off over her head. as soon as it's gone, she chases your lips again– but you have other plans. you press a quick kiss against her lips before yanking her tank top off, too. she shivers. her eyes widen for a brief moment before you're all over her again, your lips kissing and sucking at her exposed neck. you feel her hand come to rest on the back of your neck, and a breathy noise leaves her lips, her throat rumbling under your own lips as you decorate her skin with little marks. she gasps so beautifully when you nip at her skin that you don't even feel bad for the spit-sheened bruises you're leaving in your wake. her stomach jumps when your lips and tongue find home there instead of caressing her sternum like she expected. she gasps, sharply, eyes widening when you look up to meet her startled gaze.

hopefully that satisfies some of your curiosity? :3

got questions about my works-in-progress?

#obey me #daisy answers asks

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gretahayes · 10 months

Note

are there any characters you wish would meet/interact more?

Dick and Tim I miss them :(

I also wish something more was done with the Dick-Cass-Tim dynamic in Bludhaven, though I know why it couldn't have been done back then, but it really had potential.

Hm I think Roy and Dick need to interact more they're really cute & I dislike jayroy on principle mostly

Cissie with any of the arrowfam would be hilarious I hope she meets either Roy (they immediately start arguing) or Dinah first.

Lian and any of her aunties & uncles, I hope they don't make her apathetic to them, they helped raise her and were a really big part of her early life.

I'm really looking forward to the dynamic in Jai and Irey's team, even if it has s*persons. There's so many people that seem really fun and I can't wait to see how they interact.

Uhm, characters I wish would meet—Garth, Donna and their kids 😊 DC what did Wally do with those damn kids, there's no way he just DIDN’T tell them right?? Right??

I NEED Jai and Irey to meet Chris like I'm not even joking. I know it's impossible in current canon but I REALLY think they could be so fun together, the three of them...little kids with unfathomable power...

Can't remember if Anita and Cass ever Properly met but they need to anyway. They would be friends...

Kenan & Judy I believe in my heart she'd bully him so hard and Avery wouldn't even try and stop her. Also JESSE and Judy I think she'd give Jesse a heart attack ❤️

#asks #anon #dc

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ne0nwithazero · 4 months

Note

I have an idea that might solve your whole 'Host being part of final boss but also secret boss' problem.

Being that if and how you fight Omega Host is what decides whether or not Mike ends up in Castletown.

Mostly because I just couldn't get behind the post about how with no secret boss fight he just heads to the town and just leaves without knowing where Host is. They're too close for Mike to just go 'oh well you musta left them behind u suck'.

So what if instead; by the end, when you face him and whatever boss mooks he whips up to fight you at the fountain, he seems distracted. When you beat him and are about to go close the fountain, his main concern is that Host is awol.(at this point character development lets him let you close the fountain so that's settled) so he goes off to find them while you finish up business in Home before closing it off.

And this is where Omega comes in. All secret bosses so far have partially tested toby's whole 'how far will you go to find every secret' deal. First by making you find key fragments then by doing the key-basement fetchquest. This one tests how much you've actually been listening to the npc's. Throughout the chapter there are various hints about where to go and what to do("host's being hanging out at X lately", the signal is strongest at X",etc.). Rather than being told what to get and where to go, you use such info to figure out where to find the boss arena.

Mike going looking is the prompt to put all that info together, but of course plenty of players will find Omega way before then. If you do, then at the fountain fight, you tell Mike what happened(Susie does it despite Ralsei's objections). He refuses to believe you, and once you show him Host's item, he's enraged that you hurt his beloved and a much harder form of the final fight ensues. On losing, he either despairs and lets you take him to Castletown or bitterly storms off to wait to be turned to stone depending on your relationship with him(like how Birdly may or may not hurt his arm depending on previous choices).

If you do wait to do the fight until Mike goes to find Host, then you walk in on him and about-to-transform Host. Tragic dialog ensues, Host goes nightmare tower, and the fun gang jumps into the ring. Mike keeps begging Host to stop, and once again based on previous choices, will eventually either help you vie support magic or help Host the same way(fight's much much harder if Mike helps Host). If he helped you, the ending in the room video happens. If he helped Mike, he begs you to kill him to(you can't, Ralsei stops you) and then runs off to await stone-oblivion.

And if you never fight Omega at all, then that's the last time anyone sees Mike. No one ever knows what happened to either of the Home leaders.

I appreciate the determination to write your own take on it LOL :B But the Omega Host fight is something I'm trying to keep under wraps for now until I'm able to properly show it :) So I can't fully explain some of the decisions that went into it as they fall into spoiler territory

Mike doesn't know that Host went to do secret boss things nor are you given a chance to tell him, he just figures that Host will tag along when they're moved to Castle Town, in a "We'll meet there" sort of deal.

He's busy because [Spoilers] and he figures Host is multitasking as much as he is.

But Mike and Host get separated in every route except for Voltrage (My AU's weird route), which is the worst ending they can have

I also have a much different idea for how the quest for Host goes, but like I mentioned, it's spoilers so I don't want to speak much of it as of yet ^^ Mike can't come along because he wouldn't want Host to do it, and Host knows he'd be able to talk them out of it.

They also know it's dangerous for a darkner as fragile as Mike is. He could never join them in Omega form, I'm almost certain it would kill him and Host is not taking that risk.

I can say something though. Host does not want to be followed. And they do not want you to interfere with their plans. This applies to Mike as well, though their priority is making sure he does not get hurt.

But yeah, Mike always ends up alone in Castle Town unless it's the Voltrage route. He puts up a happy front to Fun Gang because he does not want them to see the grief he's going through because of Host being gone.

At the end of the chapter, he does care about them too, and as much as he loves Host, he understands that the kids had no choice but to defend themselves.

#Jay Asks #Aniverous #Omega Host #Host #Mike #Narratively speaking I'm happy with how both of them end up after the chapter #I like the pattern of secret bosses having some form of unresolved conflict or situation that happened with a character close to them #I find it compelling and the Lack of Closure is something I personally find that I really connect with in stories

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valkyrieblogs · 2 years

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okay here's an ask for you! you mentioned that okino's feelings towards hijiyama change in the yakisoba pan scene. do you feel that it's the beginning of him seeing hijiyama as something more than "a tool," a realization of pre-existing feelings, or just something on the subconscious level (kind of like hijiyama, how his heart starts beating faster even as he denies his attraction)? a lot of what we see of hijioki is hijiyama pining, & i wish we'd gotten to see more of okino's pov :")

THIS IS SUCH A GOOD ASK thank you!!

so i do feel like he's viewed hijiyama as more than a tool for awhile. back in sector 5, they confirm in the developers' talk that when okino first meets hijiyama, the reason he's acting awkwardly and isn't really engaging until hijiyama specifically addresses him is because he's aware he's going to be experimenting on hijiyama. and so i think at least initially, his intention was to interact with him as little as possible, or at least keep some distance. (i imagine that hijiyama makes this pretty impossible, even if he's respectful about any interactions he has with okino as kiriko.)

but then, by the time he flees sector 5, he clearly has some affection (non-romantic at this point is my headcanon), especially since when he says his farewell to hijiyama, he even says that he's reluctant to part with him in japanese. this is despite the fact that until that point, okino's been in this self-imposed isolation ever since the 2064 kaiju invasion.

THEN we get them to be reunited in sector 4, and i'm just going to copy some of what i said in another post:

and when hijiyama arrives in sector 4, okino studies him, watches him for awhile. he knows what hijiyama's been up to. where he's been living (or more accurately, where he hasn't been living), how he's been surviving with working manual labour, and how he's never given up looking for okino this whole time. and when he finally does run into hijiyama one day… he doesn't run from him [like he does with other characters]. yes, he leaves the scene, but he allows himself to be followed. he allows hijiyama to find the hideout. and he's even thoughtful, buying his favourite food for him when he knows he lost his meal that day. and when they finally reunite properly, hijiyama fully realizing who he is… he invites him to stay, and even says he wants his help. for someone who, until this point, has been in self-imposed isolation, it really says a lot about his feelings for hijiyama that he actually lets him get involved. even if he's not telling him absolutely everything yet.

like!! to me it's so clear that he cares for hijiyama, even if he doesn't necessarily have romantic feelings for him at that point.

but then i really do feel like this changes with the yakisoba pan scene. i feel like, unlike hijiyama, okino isn't dense about his feelings. they're just not necessarily relevant, and he's got better things to do. he obviously knows about hijiyama's feelings for him, but i feel like until this point, it's just kind of a game for him. he teases hijiyama for reaction constantly. we never see him do this with other characters. but i think it's less a pre-existing feelings situation, and more that it's just fun. the yakisoba pan scene is where i feel like that changes and okino realizes oh, wait a second, i think i'm feeling something in return. especially since i feel like hijiyama being kind to him here is a moment where the relationship stops being transactional post-reunion from hijiyama's perspective. it's not to get something from him. it's just because he cares about okino, which is something okino isn't used to. and i especially love how okino gets a little flustered by it, because of how much he wasn't expecting it? he seems so unflappable when he's teasing hijiyama, only to be startled by this moment of kindness from him.

after that point, i feel like we don't get too many moments of okino flirting with him again outside of the love letter scene. and it does really make me wonder about okino's intent in that scene. obviously we know that he's written hijiyama an explanation about the sentinel, and the activation switch. but the choice of delivery being a love letter, it being a confession styled like the one he gave ogata… in japanese it sounds clear to me how okino puts on this affect (using anata instead of kimi, playing up being a girl in this moment), and he even says that he's joking shortly after hijiyama's initial response. but he also seems genuinely disappointed, and maybe a little hurt when hijiyama comments that getting a confession from a guy wouldn't make him happy. to me it sometimes reads like, he's doing a confession like this because it's easily denied if it goes badly. and it does. but those feelings for hijiyama are definitely there.

honestly, while i'm not sure if we'd see okino pine the way that hijiyama does, i do feel like he might get frustrated with hijiyama at times. hijiyama has so much to untangle about his feelings for okino (his gender, getting over the betrayal of him posing as kiriko, being used by okino, even whether his flirting is actually flirting or just a game), and i do feel like it would still take him a bit to work through that. meanwhile there's okino, fully aware of how hijiyama feels and how he feels, just waiting and still flirting viciously all the while. i know in some fan content (especially the japanese stuff i've read) it sometimes gets into okino wondering if hijiyama prefers kiriko and that being a sore spot for him, which is something that i like the idea of.

#valkyrie replies #valkyrie plays 13 sentinels: aegis rim #hijioki #13 sentinels: aegis rim

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charmixpower · 2 years

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What would you change about Believix design wise?I think I remember someone said to make it superhero themed

Jdjejd

Hey, hi, hello

That was me 💗

Which was base on this part of s4

I wrote some realistic ideas of a redesign in this post

But the general idea would just be to mix the normal street wear Believix designs with something like this!

Tecna would properly do the full bodysuit and face mask bc duh, while Stella would be more wonder woman

I feel like Believix is bad in concept? Like the whole thing is just having people believe in magic, which makes them stronger against the people who can absorb Enchantix level spells because reasons

Hmmm Believix being a transformation that increases physical strength so they can just fucking punch the Wizards would be a fun away to get around the absorption problem, fit the super hero theme, and not condesne Enchantix

Obviously the Believix wings would stay and they'd still be fairy like, just with some comics book inspired changes to their outfit...

Musa but her outfit is slightly inspired by Harleen because I'm very normal about both of these fictional characters and do not have a Harley Quinn Funko pop. THE PIGTAILS—

I don't think that would look too odd on the girls? And it would match the earth thing? It would take some of the tropes of super hero costume and make them 🧚‍♀️✨ fairy ✨🧚‍♀️, and super hero costume already kinda look like a less sparkly magic Winx so I don't think it would be a huge stretch

I just???

Tecna brings up becoming superheros to the earth people to increase their Believix powers, and starts talking all about comic books and I thought it would be fun to incorporate that! Especially because once you notice that Aisha/Musa and Stella/Bloom's outfits share most of the same elements it slowly will drive you crazy... Or is that just me?

Musa is already rocking the superman pants!!! Fnnsndnsdn, it's perfect/j

The only ones this design wouldn't vibe with as well is Flora and Bloom

Bloom I can't see liking comic books all that much (she's a die hard classic fantasy nerd) so her outfit would be very similar to the one she has now, and Flora's general vibes don't match up with super heros all that well so she probably wouldn't bother leaning into the idea all that much

Plus it's an excuse to give Stella something like her shorts back bc I miss them

Here's some doodles I made while waiting on food

I drew these before having to run out the house, and ran out of space on the page. That's why they look shitty

Aisha's Believix top is literally already perfect. Just like pull it down to be a jump suit, maybe with a skirt like her Lovix

Just imagine it's a full shirt like in this doodle I made before I remembered her Lovix, and cursed myself as I realized in the middle of outlining

God I have no clue for Flora....

Ummm maybe Posion Ivy meets supergirl?????

Don't even ask about Roxy I do not know, not even a little bit

All I have is boy wonder robin bc I think it would be funny

Musa, Tecna, and Aisha are gonna have more masc transformers with outfits that are more practical; while Stella, Bloom, and Flora are going to have more femme transformations that say practicality whomst

These are all ideas off the top of my head

If you cannot tell I'm not super into comic books, so gjsjdje trying my best

The important part is that Tecna should be visiblely having fun with the outfits—

#believix #rus chatters #winx redesign #rus has ideas

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writingonesdreams · 2 years

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Happy Blorbsday!

I'm also here with questions about Cameron. I think I kind of missed that he was one of your OCs, but then I saw that "I can fix him" incorrect quotes and definitely needed to know more.

How does he become part of the group? How does Zephyr feel about him? How does he feel about Zephyr? Does that change? What do they learn from each other? What do their interactions look like? (I know you answered this a bit in another ask but now I really just want to know all the details of their dynamic 👀)

Happy Blorbsday, Avra^^

Cameron is quite new character and even newer addition to the main cast. I had a different character reserved for later parts of the story that would show more of Zephyr's blowing up problems, until Cameron walked in and declared he would take all these parts and more upon himself.

I plan to properly introduce him in the next snippet called "Snake charms". Cameron was send from the International Dragon Management Organisation to check if the Dragonknight Academy would truly get a licence and legal backing for their interferences and interaction with dragons.

I don't much want to spoil that first meeting and how it will turn out :D. To be vague, Cam as a person is very much an antithesis to Zephyr. He is carefree, flirty, provocative, likes to rile people up. His main hobby is analysing people quick and well enough to know their sore spots and hit them at the first opportunity for fun.

He is also calculating, self-aware, egocentric, tends to think way too deeply about himself - he is my first enneagram type 4 character to date - and enjoys tricking people, making up personalities and masks only to change them with the next person. It's all fun and games, but it also makes him good at seeing people's masks.

His entry into the group happens through Skye and the sheer relief it brings her that someone can see through her very pressure inducing niceness disguises. It's the first someone enjoys Cam's skin deep guesses, quite a shocker for him XD, meeting someone as self-aware and arrogant and terrible as him.

He is also openly flirty with Skye, which flatters her, and drives Leander crazy...but leaves Zephyr weirdly calm and polite, like it's no big deal. I can't wait to write the scene where Leander tries to shake some sense into him with "dude, he was openly hitting on your girl and you invited him to lunch".

Anyway, Zephyr and Cameron go on a dragon management mission together to see the Academy operating in action (the next snippet afterwards "How the snake and the hawk went on a dragon hunt"), where Zephyr's behaviour outside the Islands and his friends' watchful eyes is revealed...another big spoiler lol. Let's just say Zephyr acts a lot different around people he doesn't care about and Cam gets to be quite horrified and fascinated by this.

Big reveal or not, horrified Cameron is packing, when Zephyr invites him to stay with the Academy as a consultant, even offers him to learn the Art, if he wanted. Cam, not used to being invited anywhere, is moved impressed and worried yet again. Zephyr warns him off now that he ain't worried with Skye and him being friends, but for having bad intents with his provocations and playful jabbing, he will get his revenge by becoming his friend.

This is the start of their dynamic that I'm currently experimenting with in the Star Wars inspired h/c AU - where Skye, Cameron, Leander and Zephyr want to create a magic enhancing soul bond, except it isn't working, cause they aren't as close as they should be, and ironically, Skye is closer with Cameron than even Leander is with Zephyr, and that is a high standard already. I want to explore what they look and act like at their best, when their relationships are close and open, but still missing something, when their natural differences and rivalries play off each other, when they are already caring, knowing, invested and with years of memories behind them.

Thanks for the interest in my new boy^^ and let me know what you think✨

#blorbo blursday #ask #writeblr #wip: tears of iron #Cameron

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