oh play it again for me

semi selective indie, written by diana. draft count: 00. mobile nav.

[paintingskylines]

PINNED POST !

diana , 30 , she/her/hers , est . slowing coming back to this account .

[ rules / banned fcs / muses / navigation ]

[hvzeful]

maya's face burns hot at the words, blood rushing to her cheeks so fast she feels dizzy, and when she opens her mouth to deny it, the words die in her throat. the look in victoria's eyes says she knows with cold, certain clarity what she's been getting up to late at night when maya thinks she's fast asleep in the other room. she wants to step back, to put space between them, but her feet won't move—trapped by the sudden overwhelming awareness of every secret she's tried to keep hidden behind these godforsaken thin walls. maya realizes how naive she's been and that she probably should've known better. but a tiny part of her has been hoping she would be able to get away with it. "you weren't supposed to hear any of that," she finally whispers, the admission slipping out before she can stop it. her humiliation only seems to grow bigger as she lets out an involuntary whine at victoria's words. "that's... that's not fair, v."

[paintingskylines]

victoria had maya exactly where she wanted. she could tell she was doing everything to make the other flounder in the best way. licking her lips, she stared at maya, uncontrollable lust in her eyes. her lips turn into a smirk. "so you're not denying it then? you admit that you touch yourself and think of me?" she puts her hand on maya's thigh, slowly moving it up. "what's not fair is that i have to hear you moaning my name and i don't even get to be a part of it." she feigns hurt with a pout and adds, "how do you think that makes me feel? you're excluding me from all of the fun." narrowing her eyes on maya, she moves her hand even closer to where she knows maya wants it most. "see, you're even whining right now because you want it, want me so bad."

[vindicatcs]

austin would be telling a big fat lie if he said he didn't miss gabriel. maybe not outwardly , but somewhere in the depths of his heart. something that wasn't ignited until this interaction. he tired not to think about it , tried really hard to avoid these feelings. and until now , he had been successful. " oh , so definitely drink it. okay. " he jokes back gently , a soft smile coming across his face. for a second , he wonders if it's a good idea for him and gabriel to be drunk in the same room together , but he lets the thought slip from his mind. he didn't need to think about the right now. in truth , he was trying very hard to avoid what this was going to do to their relationship. " oh. " eyes catch the other's after the compliment , and it's like he's suddenly remembering how beautiful he is. " will do. you gonna match me ? we're trying to sell something here , right ? gotta make it believable. " and what happens when they start to believe it too ?

[paintingskylines]

gabriel had always been the kind of person who was a hopeless romantic, an eternal optimist. so maybe there was still a part of him that hoped that the breakup between him and austin would just be temporary. of course he missed austin but he also wanted to give him the space he needed. and perhaps, this was the best way they could still hang out while doing that. a bit of mental gymnastics because the real reason was just that gabriel missed austin. "hey, if you wanna drink it, don't come crying to me when you find yourself in a strange city you've never been to." he laughs. he missed seeing austin's smile and joking with him. fuck, he practically missed everything about him. "yeah, i can wear green. it is one of my favorite colors." probably because his favorite movie is peter pan and his favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip. "unless you have something else in mind." maybe gabriel was fishing for compliments a bit because who wouldn't want to hear you look so good in that, wear that? sue him.

[paintingskylines]

just wanted to apologize for my inactivity, my health and mental health has been a bit all over the place recently and then things Just Keep Happening but i am going to try to be better about coming on here <3

[dcgtown]

His heart is trying to pound it's way out of his chest the moment he hears Charlotte's question question. It was truly the moment he had spent so long waiting for. Yearning for. He didn't want to let it slip through his fingers. Her eyes flicker to his lips and she steps towards her, hand cradling her cheek for a brief moment before he leans in pressing his lips against hers in the way he's wanted to all this time. "That a pretty good start?" He smiles against her lips before kissing her again.

[paintingskylines]

as bruno kissed her, charlotte remembered why losing him the first time hurt so bad. because what they had was so damn good. and she didn't want to lose it again. because this proved to her that the spark was still there. she can't help but smile against the kiss, remembering all of the times she had wished for this and the songs she had listened to thinking of him. "i'd say so." she says with a grin, scrunching her nose. "god, you have no idea how long i've been wanting that. wanting this. us."

[canthelps]

open to: f/m/nb 25+ plot: here (your muse just admitted to having a crush on katy in high school)

katy couldn't stop her eyebrows shooting up towards her hairline at their confession, eyes immediately darting away as she lets out an awkward chuckle. "yeah well... its probably a good job we didn't hang out then. I was a complete bitch as a teenager. lots of.... internalised angst"

[paintingskylines]

nasrin had never really been the kind of person who usually reminisced on her high school days. or really any school days. "weren't we all just the most angsty people in the world?" she asks with a laugh. "besides, you probably barely noticed me in high school." it wasn't like nasrin hid but she didn't exactly make herself known or put herself out there at all. in real life, at least. online was a different story. "i was like...super quiet."

[lovetique]

"oh come on, don't be a scaredy cat." blues rolled playfully, "there could be," brows lift, "if you'd stop bein' stubborn." tiny southern blonde taunts. "and please, that's all just a myth or whatever." lola banters, snorting to herself, giving a dismissive wave of her hand as if that's just some crazy talk. well, at least she's actually smart because there's truth in it. but okay, she was only trying to steal to get a way back home AND she'd only been arrested once. a girl had to survive! "and how tall are you? you could be crazy too, but i won't complain. crazy keeps life interesting." shoulders lifted in her blue babydoll dress then fell.

[paintingskylines]

tzipi can't help but roll her eyes. she knows this girl didn't just call her a scaredy cat. if the blonde did, lola didn't know what was good for her. "i'm not scared, i'm skeptical." she is a bit intrigued about what she could possibly mean about something being in it for her but she's honestly more concerned about letting a stranger into her car than potentially getting something out of it. "i'm 5'11 which means i am closer to god than you. not that i really believe in god like that." she sighs, her resolve fading because what is the worst that could happen with this girl? "okay, fine. i'll give you a ride. get in. but you don't control the radio. i don't want to listen to whatever top 40 bullshit i'm guessing you like."

[bcdchem]

continued from here ( @paintingskylines )

Amelia stayed curled on her side, tracing the faint pattern of the duvet cover with a single fingertip as she listened to what Kamala was saying. Different. It was a dangerous word, a favorite word of theirs, trotted out every single time they managed to unravel each other's carefully built resolves. Slowly, Amelia pushed herself up on one elbow, finally turning her gaze from the discarded fabric on the floor to meet Kamala's eyes. "You always say that," Amelia said, wanting to roll her eyes at the absurdity, but she refrained. She let her gaze drop to the floor and back up, a dry, bitter laugh escaping her lips. "And yet, your clothes are on my floor. Proof that your resolve lasts roughly as long as it takes you to reach my front door." The popstar let out a quiet breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, sliding her legs over the edge of the bed and reaching blindly for the silk robe pooling on the chair beside the bed. She draped it loosely over her shoulders, then tied it together over her waist as if she was shutting out what had just happened.

[paintingskylines]

amelia was right. she did always say that. and she wanted this time to be different but maybe it wasn't. and maybe wanting it to be different wasn't enough. staring at the aforementioned pile of clothes on amelia's floor, kamala nodded. "you're right but...it's not like your resolve is any better. how many times have you ended up at my place with your clothes on the floor?" she sits down towards the edge of the bed where amelia is sitting. "come on, we're just gonna go through the same patterns again. you say this isn't going to happen again, it does...why bother with all of that?" she leans towards amelia, whispering in her ear. "if you want this to truly be the last time, i need you to tell me that this doesn't feel good." kamala peppering amelia's neck with kisses, sucking on the spot she knew the blonde liked the most while moving her hands up her thighs.

[vindicatcs]

complete opposite of his ex , austin was quick to shut his own feelings off. pretend it never happened. it helped him get over people quicker. except this ? he feared the bandaid was ripped off before the wound fully healed , and now he risked infection - which , of course , would present as him falling completely head over heels again. by instinct , he wanted to insist he didn't want that , but god - maybe he missed gabriel. " can i drink at the party ? " it's a joke , but being able to loosen up a little may help him feel better. then again , maybe being drunk around his ex wasn't smart. " i'll be okay. it's just a party. i can handle a party. and your family is fun as hell. " he notes with a small smile. " i just didn't expect this. i didn't know what to expect when you asked to meet. " he admits then. " but yeah , fuck it. let's do this. "

[paintingskylines]

gabriel knew deep in the back of his mind that this was probably a bad idea and not a fair request to ask austin. but maybe he was a little selfish because sure, he didn't want to let his family down but he also just missed spending time with the other. once you break up, every interaction feels clouded with awkwardness, what could have beens, and regret. he wanted to hang out with austin without all of that, where they could pretend to be who they used to be when they were together. "of course you can drink at the party. but stay away from the sangria. it's so strong i once woke up in a different state." he laughs, running his fingers through his hair. gabriel wonders what austin was expecting. to get back together, maybe? gabriel hopes that what he was expecting and also hoping. "amazing. you should wear that button-down top, you know the uh...green one. it looks really good on you."

[cliqbaits]

he's at an impasse. in the past nico would just lie, say he was making the change for whatever reason he could conjure up. but he doesn't want to lie, not to bash. and isn't that a sign of change? still, he's quiet, taking the moment to let bash's demands settle as he does his best to come up with something to say to make bash want to stay. it's futile though, if he can't lie, and he can't honestly say he wants to change for his own good, what is he left with? "i can't give you what you're asking for..." and it hurts, because he wants to be able to do that, give bash everything he wants. he's just not capable. at least that part isn't a surprise to nico, there was so few things he was capable of it seemed. "i'm sorry. i know it's selfish to ask you to want to stay anyways but...maybe i'm just a selfish person, because i'm asking you to stay. and not to give up on me"

[paintingskylines]

bash nods. he's been in this situation before. and there is a logical part of him that is telling him to run. to tell nico that he's not going to stay. but he had never been logical, especially when it came to stuff like this. he wasn't someone who left, even when things were hard. that was when he was compelled to stay even more. even if deep down he knew that he couldn't help nico because nico couldn't help himself, he stilled hoped. he clung to it. "it's okay. i'm not leaving. that's not me." maybe it should be, maybe he could stand to have less of a savior complex. but right now, he just saw someone he thought needed him. and part of him hopes that maybe nico will change for him at first and then realize he wants to do it for himself too. "i'm not going anywhere."

[hvzeful]

maya's brain seems to short-circuit entirely. her eyes widen at the nickname, and whatever comeback she'd been scrambling for dissolved the second she caught the look in victoria's eyes. "i..." she starts, then stops, letting out a breathy laugh that sounds more nervous than amused. "you really enjoy watching me panic, don't you?" maya finally relents, forcing herself to step in the room and sit down on the bed. "you're impossible," she murmurs, the corner of her lips curving up into a smile. "but for the record..." she glances away immediately, cheeks burning. "...i still think you're bluffing."

[paintingskylines]

victoria was having too much fun. it was so easy. she felt like she didn't need even need to do that much to make maya squirm. "i think i'll enjoy you watching do other things more." she says with a smirk on her face before licking her lips. she's surprised that the other accuses her of bluffing. "why would i bluff? you think i'm just all talk and no game? we're roommates, you know that's not true." she lets out a laugh. "i hear you too, you know. touching yourself. you think you're so quiet and no one can hear you. but i hear everything, all the panting breaths and the whimpers." she turns more towards maya and inches closer to her, so that she's almost whispering in the other's ear. "i hear the restraint, i hear the small moans you try to repress." a wicked smile appears on her face before she adds, "i even hear you whimpering out my name."

[dcgtown]

Bruno can hear that dreaded ‘but’ coming the moment she starts speaking.  He’s already having to force his stubborn walls from going back up, but he knew that would do him no good.  In fact it would only keep him from letting the good in.  There was no reward without any risk, right?  It’s only when Charlotte is listing her reasonable fears that Bruno finds the courage to meet her gaze.  God, she was beautiful but now wasn’t the time to get distracted.  “I’m not going to change my mind and there’s no way I could find anybody better,” he says as if it’s the most simple fact in the world.  “Maybe there’s nothing I can say for you to know I mean every word, but please let me show you.  I’ve spent too long missing you, Char.  I know what I want.”  

[paintingskylines]

the anxieties in the back of charlotte's head all went out the window when bruno looked in her eyes. she had never really been the kind to usually dwell on those things, diving headfirst into love. but that's what she did the last time she was with him and that didn't turn out well. charlotte thought she must be dreaming. bruno was saying everything right. "how are you going to show me you want me?" she asks, hope and maybe a little bit of lust in her eyes as they flickered down to his lips.

[vindicatcs]

he sighs softly , nodding his head. " yeah , yeah , don't get so excited. " he's trying to downplay this , trying to make it seem like it isn't concerning to him what this will do to effect their relationship. but deep down , austin realizes this is likely a mistake. there was no way this could be something normal for them , but he couldn't back out now , could he ? " when even is this ? what are we even doing ? " he realized he let pity get the best of him and didn't even get any details. still a sucker , he realized. " guess i'm gonna need some details if we're doing this. "

[paintingskylines]

austin telling gabriel not to get too excited brought gabriel down to earth a little more. he sometimes forgets that they broke up, like he did just moments ago. that was probably the hardest part for him. that he couldn't just unlove someone and he was a romantic at heart, always wanting to live in that fantasy where nothing ever went wrong. nonetheless, he realizes that he can't look at this completely like that and returns austin's nod. "it's just a party. it's like one to two hours. but you know, my dad's family is always going to be a little crazy so who knows." he says it with a laugh. "but maybe we should have a signal or something or a code word. if you need space or something."

[cliqbaits]

nico knows there's a right thing to say in this situation, he just doesn't have a clue what it is. bash was right, he had to change, but he didn't understand the insistence on changing 'for himself'. he wasn't worth all that, he wasn't some guy with untapped potential if only he was a better person. he was just nico. a guy who's best qualities were his looks and his rich parents. it's a fact he's always known about himself, which is why he's never complained about his shallow friends, and their vapid interests. why would someone like him attract anyone who'd ever had a thought of value in their entire lives? it's why he can't let go of bash, because he's different, he's special. and he does make nico want to change. but not for himself. "why isn't it enough?" his voice is weak as he asks it, "i want to change for you, why isn't that worth anything?"

[paintingskylines]

"it's worth something, it's worth a lot actually. it just can't be the sole reason." he doesn't want to give up on nico. he's not that kind of person, he's not a quitter. he is always the kind of person to try to lend a helping hand and save whoever he can. but he knows that changing is only possible when you're changing for internal reasons. he wants to help nico and be who he needs. but he also has been down this road before. where someone says they'll change but because their only motivation is to change for him, it's not as genuine. because if this explodes, will nico still want to change without bash in the picture? bash wants to see nico have the motivation to be a better version of himself with or without him in the picture. "i just want you to have another motivation. i want you to change because you believe you're worthy. because i do." bash moves his hand from nico's shoulder to cup the other's face. "i believe that you're capable of change. and that you're worthy of change. but i want you to believe that regardless of me. i want that for you."

[lovetique]

⤷ open to anyone. ft, lola-blue lennis. ♡

"so you gonna give me a ride or what? wouldn't just keep me stranded, would ya? not like i'm tryin' to rob you or anything at five foot even." laugh sounded from her like that was silly. no, of course not... or maybe it's exactly her plan.

[paintingskylines]

"and why exactly would i give you a ride...? is there anything in it for me?" tzipi asks with a raise of her eyebrows. she wasn't the kind of person who just gave strangers rides all willy nilly. "is your height supposed to convince me that you're not going to do anything crazy? short girls are insane, closer to hell or whatever."

[enbloom]

                      ❝   it's  nothing  personal.      i  mean,   i  don't  think  you  specifically  are  going  to  embarass  me   —   like,   obviously  you're  beautiful  and  perfect.   ❞      she  blows  out  a  sigh,   knows  that  she's  mourning  the  idea  of  their  connection  before  it  even  really  takes  flight.      ❝   but  what  if  you  change  your  mind  about  all  of  this  tomorrow?      what  if  we  make  our  big  time  debut,   then  you  decide  i'm  not  what  you're  looking  for?      like, that  would  be  humiliating.   ❞

[paintingskylines]

it  might  not  have  been  personal  to  emory  but  it  felt  personal  to  brooklyn.  and  she  had  a  hard  time  separating  the  two  things.  and  they had  never  been  one  to  read  between  the  lines  very  easily  so  she  replied,  “  you  didn't  say  that  though.  you  said  if  i  make  you  look  like  an  idiot.  ”  she  crosses  her  arms,  pouting  a  bit.  they're  glad  that  emory  said  beautiful  and  perfect  but  it  doesn't  stop  the  fact  that  she's  still  a  bit  hurt  that  emory  thought  she  could  be  a  problem  tonight.  “  that's  not  gonna  happen.  i'm  not  the  kind  of  person  who  just…changes  my  mind about things like that.  i'm  not  wishy  washy.  you  know  that.” 

[vindicatcs]

" not ideal is a massive fucking understatement , gabriel. " austin wasn't good with emotions as it is , but having to pretend to be back together ? well , that was certainly not something he was eager to do. but , part of him understood. gabriel was close with his family , and austin liked that they liked him. considering he wasn't close with his own family , he had begun to cherish his ex-partners. and now , well , he thought he wouldn't be seeing them again. maybe this could serve as closure. " god why does your family have to be so sweet ? " he retorts , knowing he's going to regret this decision. " okay. fine. one night. i ... god damn. i cannot believe i'm agreeing to this. " he'll tell himself he's doing it for the others family , but that would only be part of the truth.

[paintingskylines]

gabriel sighs because he knows that austin is right. it's not fair of him to ask and normally gabriel would tell anyone who was in austin's situation that the other party was being selfish. so he had to kind of reluctantly admit that he was being selfish. and maybe a small part of him still wanted to live in the fantasy. that he and austin were still together. when austin agreed, a smile and a sigh of relief came across his face. "thank you! you are the fucking best!" he almost goes in for a hug but he catches himself. they are not pretending to be a couple right now and they are still broken up.