#“if you want content make it instead of complaining— bro listen just i plan to

[lapetitechatonne]

literally going insane because @half-dead-ham put the idea of dick grayson/koriand’r/wally west in my head and there’s so little content. i am slowly losing is. well. maybe not slowly.

[geminidentitycrisis]

Fatgum x F!reader "What a Hero SHOULD do"

Whew.

You guys.

I've been gone a long while, life has been a rollercoaster, but I don't really wanna get into all that noise. Just happy to be in a good place right now.

That said, this was painful to write because I had planned the ending very differently...

I'm not officially in the bnha/mha fandom but, I just got into it recently and wanted to show some love to my favorite Pro!

Hope you guys like it!

I haven't written anything in a while, so please go easy on me...

_____________

(WARNING! Mild angst)

"Hey, Fat...can I ask you something kinda personal...?"

Fatgum glanced down at his young intern with an eyebrow raised, tilting his head in curiosity. "Huh? Oh, sure. What's on yer mind?" he gave an encouraging grin to put Kirishima at ease. The red head craned his neck to look up at his boss, his own mouth twisted into a small frown.

"Have you asked _______ on a date yet...?"

He stumbled a bit but keeps walking, caught off guard by the question, a slight blush rising to his cheeks. "Woah, where did that come from?!" he asked in return with a nervous chuckle. "Well..." Kirishima continued "You guys seem really close. The way you look at her when you see her-"

"Hahaha!" the burst of anxious laughter interrupted and Red Riot looked up at Fatgum again in confusion. "You're reading too deep into it, man! We're just friends! Heh..." Toyomitsu tried to act casually, but it wasn't working at all.

Kirishima pouted a bit, deciding to push a little harder.

"...but, I think she has feelings for you, too-" the blonde stopped walking and stared down at him, his blush growing darker and spreading across the bridge of his nose, cutting him off again. "Okay, let's change the topic, huh? Maybe we should go somewhere else for lunch..."

Eyes widening a bit, Red Riot raised both hands defensively and shook his head. "No, no! I'm sorry...I won't mention it again..." his expression became one of defeat and disappointment, shoulders slumping as he continued to walk, staring down at the sidewalk.

With an inward wince, Toyomitsu followed close behind, his own gaze dropping to the ground as well. Silence passed between the Pro and his sidekick for several minutes before Fatgum spoke up again.

"Honestly, she deserves better..." he mumbled.

This was a surprise to Kiri, his mentor was always inspirationally self-confident, it was disheartening to hear such a comment from the man he so deeply admired. He opened his mouth to argue, but stopped himself when he remembered that he had already promised to drop the subject.

He felt bad for bringing it up now.

_______ was a sweet lady, she was funny and friendly, vivacious and beautiful, generous, tough and a fantastic cook. All Kirishima wanted was to see them both happy together. When they spotted each other through the window of the diner, their eyes lit up, a smile instantly formed on their lips, they would practically start glowing.

She always ran to jump into his arms, hugging around his neck, never failing to say how she missed him. He caught her every time, hiding his face in her hair as he hugged her back and would say he had missed her too, but especially her cooking!

If that isn't true love, Kiri thought, then what is...?

They finally made it to the diner and stopped outside. Fatgum looked through the window, and when he didn't see ______ anywhere, glanced at Red Riot again with a frown. "Listen, can I count on you to keep that little conversation between us? I don't want ______ to know how I feel..."

"You're not sick, are you??" a soft voice piped up from beside Toyomitsu.

It made both of them jump, startled. Fatgum whipped his head around to see ______ standing there, instead of her pretty smile, her face was flooded with worry at the thought of her Hero being ill or injured.

The Pro forced a crooked grin as the blush returned to his cheeks. "N-no, no, I'm fine! How's it goin'...?" he stuttered weakly.

She was clearly not convinced, the concern in her bright (e/c) eyes only deepened. "C'mon...all this time we've known each other, you think I can't tell when something's bothering you...?" he started to panic a bit but Red Riot swooped in to save the day like the rising star he was.

"Aw, he just had a big breakfast, that's all...he doesn't wanna hurt your feelings if he can't finish lunch." Kirishima answered casually with a lightly teasing undertone, arms crossing over his chest. She looked from him up at Fatgum who responded to her questioning expression with a sheepish grin and shrug.

At this, her smile bloomed in place, eyes twinkling mischievously as she playfully elbowed his broad, squishy belly. "Oh, c'mon! When have you ever left here without takeout, even after filling up?! As if it matters..." she giggled, hopping up into his arms as always, chin resting on his shoulder as she nuzzled against him sweetly.

"I'm just happy you're okay...I missed you!"

Bending at the waist with his arms extended, the blonde caught her effortlessly when she hopped up for the hug, sighing and closing his eyes as he rises to his full height, squeezing the small girl gently.

"Ahh, I'm fine, I'm fine...I missed you too..."

Kirishima gave a soft smile as he watched the exchange, dropping himself into the patio chair where he always sat when they came to the diner.

When he set her down, ________ smiled from him to his sidekick. "Your food should be done soon. It's a new recipe! I hope you guys like it!" then she waved over her shoulder as she walked back inside. Exhaling softly, Fatgum turned to sit as well. He glanced over at Red Riot, blushing a bit, only for it to get worse when he notices the toothy grin he's being flashed.

"...Oh, knock it off..." the pro grumbles, arms crossing and lowering his eyes to the tabletop.

"I didn't SAY anything...~!" Kirishima taunted childishly, arms folding behind his head as he leans back and closes his own eyes. "You didn't have to, punk." Tai shot back in typical big-bro style, reaching out across the table to muss the teens perfectly sculpted hair. "Aw, quit! It takes 40 minutes to set every morning!"

Fatgum chuckled, eyes rolling.

After some minutes passed, _______ returned with another server, both carrying trays of food which they placed on the table in front of the two heroes. "Wow! It looks so good!" they said simultaneously, earning a laugh from her.

"Well, I hope you like the taste even more. It's a cheeseburger-tater-tot-casserole. Dig in!" wasting no time, Kirishima and Toyomitsu start chowing down, both groaning happily around mouthfuls of the meal and nodding in approval. "Mmm...!" _______ laughed again, giving a thumbs up.

"Glad to hear it! I'll be right back with your drinks."

She left again but came back quickly with two pitchers and a cup, putting them between their plates. "Yer an angel, _____." Fatgum said with a grin, taking one of the pitchers and starting to drink from it. Red Riot snickered quietly before sipping his own drink.

"Oh, I just remembered! Check this out!" she said cheerfully, reaching behind her neck and starting to untie her apron. Upon glancing at her and noticing this, Fatgums eyes grew wide and a dark blush pooled in his cheeks, choking slightly on the ice water. "...?!"

Kiri froze, his eyes getting big as well and blushing slightly.

She dropped the top, revealing...

A tank top. With a picture of a sombrero. It said "If you don't like TACOS, I'm NACHO type"

Red Riot started laughing, covering his eyes with a hand as he tipped back his head. "Cute, right?!" she asked enthusiastically, looking from one to the other. Smiling weakly, Fatgum gave a slow nod. "It's great...really clever..." he wondered if steam would rise off him if he poured the rest of the water down his neck.

"Yeah, I knew I had to have it when I saw it. Anyway," she started to fix her apron again. "I'll let you guys finish eating. Let me know if you need boxes and your takeout oughtta be done before you get done with those. Enjoy!" with that, she walked off.

The blonde watched over his shoulder as she left before sliding his plate out of the way, folding his arms on the table and burying his face in them.

Grinning, Kiri nudged his foot under the table. "DON'T. SAY. A WORD." this reply only got him to laugh again, head shaking as he resumed eating. "Whatever you say, boss..." the red head hummed.

Between them, they were able to clear their dishes, waiting by the front door for the takeout, both content and full of tasty food. "Alright, guys. Here ya go! I'm glad you liked lunch, lemme know when you wanna try it again." Tai smiled down at her when she came out, taking the bags gratefully. "Yeah, definitely. Will do!"

______ hugged Kirishima tightly, pulling him down to place a kiss on his forehead, surprising him and making him blush faintly since she hadn't done it before. "Be safe, young man, you hear me?" she demanded. He answered with a broad smile and a nod. "Gotcha!"

"Ooh, do I get one of those?" Fatgum asked half jokingly, blushing too. Some color rose up on her cheeks as well, giving him a warm smile as she reached up for the BMI hero.

He put down the food to pick her up again for another hug, chuckling softly when she pressed a tender kiss against his cheek. "Aw, that was sweet!" Kirishima called up to them, earning a swift kick to the ass. "Ow! Hey!" the red head complained, rubbing the spot.

He set her down carefully with a deep sigh. She didn't let go of his arms and he looked at her in confusion. "Please be careful out there, Taishiro...I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you..." he grinned, placing a hand on her head. "I will. I'll be back before ya know it!"

She pressed herself into his tummy, coming nowhere close to being able to wrap her arms around him but she gives him her best hug anyway. The pro didn't have to look at his intern to know he was smirking smugly. He hugged her back before stepping away to grab his bags again. "Well...see ya, _____."

He waved, smiling, then turned so they could head back out. They only took a few steps before Fatgum stopped and glanced back at her over his shoulder.

She was still there, offering another small smile and wave of goodbye.

"C'mon, man! Just go for it! You TOTALLY got this!" Kiri urged desperately. But he was still hesitant. It wasn't an issue of his own self-confidence, but his career. He was so busy that he would hardly have time for you, and the way Toyomitsu saw it, you deserved to be waited on hand-and-foot.

He dreamed about being with you, which meant his worst nightmare would be a villain or criminal using you as leverage against him. It was best to leave things the way they are. It's what he SHOULD do.

A real Hero isn't so selfish as to put their own desires ahead of the safety of those they cherish, he reminded himself. With a heavy heart, he forced a smile to hide the pain and waved back before looking down at the ground and sighing, eyes closing slowly.

"...I just...can't...

[byunbaekby]

title — a chaotic christmas pairing — doyoung x male reader genres — angst, fluff, soulmate au, christmas! warnings — language word count — 3.5k summary — you’ve finally come to terms with the fact that you have a crush on your friend, doyoung. but something throws a wrench in your plans, and all of a sudden nothing is going right anymore. additional — this is a very late and very belated fic release gift for my favorite doyoung simp @puppywritings​​. it’s me! i’m your secret santa and i come bearing gifts of soulmate!doyoung. when i saw that i had gotten you, i was so excited to write for you and our favorite boy! i’m sorry that i released this so late, but it’s here now. you requested a mix of angst and fluff, plus chaos and “everything would be solved if they just talked to each other.” hope you like it! may 2021 bring blessings and more doyoung content for you, love. 

“So, you like Doyoung.”

Ten’s bold statement causes you to choke, spitting out the hot cocoa you’re currently consuming. Heat covers your throat, but your coughing interrupts the sweetness of the chocolate. In your fit of coughs, Ten doesn’t even laugh.

When you finally come to, you sputter. “What—What makes you say that?” Now, your friend laughs, but it’s a dry chuckle that leaves his lips as if he’s laughing at you. “I don’t—” You cough again. “—like Doyoung. I mean, he’s nice, and tall, and funny—especially when he’s making fun of you, but, no! Well, I like him as a friend, I mean.” 

The look on your friend’s face is not at all convinced. “Sure…” 

You lean forward. Clearly your act is done and the curtains are closed. Now, your voice suddenly dips lower into a whisper, as if anyone in the mall food court would be listening to you. “How did you know?” 

Ten scoffs. “Sweetheart, everyone knows. Everyone except you and Doyoung, apparently.” A groan leaves your lips as you sit back in the seat, placing your cup of hot cocoa onto the table with a disgruntled expression. “Why don’t you tell him?” 

“We’re not soulmates, and everyone deserves to be with their soulmate,” you answer, eyes sad as you play with your cup mindlessly. Ten shoots you a pointed look before saying, “Not everyone has to be with their soulmate, Y/N. You know that.”

It’s true. Everyone is born with a soulmate, whom they must find because they share a tattoo somewhere on their body. Though the world loves to push soulmates together, it’s become commonplace for people not to pursue their relationships with the ones the universe had deemed them perfect for. Sometimes those relationships don’t work out, or people are unhappy with who they have. In any case, it’s fairly common for people to choose their own relationships. But, that’s not the case with your friend group. Though it had been just you, Doyoung, Ten, and Kun since the beginning of university, the group had been expanded when the latter two introduced their soulmates into the friend group.

“Easy for you to say, you have Johnny,” you scoff, crossing your arms across your chest. “And Kun has Seunghee. You guys are the perfect couples, and I don’t want to mess up what Doyoung and I have because we tried to date but weren’t soulmates.” Your voice is sullen as you shake your head, as though the action could dispel any lingering thoughts and romantic feelings you had for your friend Doyoung. 

“Listen,” says Ten, voice suddenly serious. “He likes you too.”

“Don’t give me false hope.” 

“I’m not!”

The look you give him is enough to make him do a double take. “Did you ask him, or hear it directly from him?”

“... No.”

His answer brings about a roll of your eyes. “Then you don’t know that he likes me back.” 

“It’s obvious! Just like how your feelings are obvious,” he exclaims, downing the rest of his coffee down his throat (along with a shake of your head). When you ask why he cares so much, he sighs. “Because it’s so goddamn frustrating! You guys have known each other for years now, and you’ve been tiptoeing around each other for so long, it’s so annoying.” His hand comes out to rub his forehead, as if your mutual (?) pining with Doyoung could bring about physical pain. 

It’s true that you’ve hidden your feelings for Doyoung for a while now… When the four of you met at your university’s freshman orientation, you and Doyoung had instantly clicked. Of course, you were all close but it seemed that you and Doyoung always had an especially close bond. You do like him; he’s intelligent and well-spoken (and perhaps a little blunt), but his gummy smile makes your heart melt every time. You just hadn’t realized that it had been so deathly obvious to your other friends. Hopefully… Doyoung hadn’t caught on either. 

Biting down on your lip, you look up from where you had been staring at the ground in thought and back to Ten across the table. “You really think he likes me?”

“I’m about 89.45% sure. I should talk to him about it.” 

“No!” You suddenly exclaim, not realizing how loud your voice rose in the public food court, attracting a few eyes from nearby shoppers. “Wait—maybe… maybe you should. You can talk to him and then tell me what he says. But don’t make it obvious! Don’t tell him we talked about him.” 

Ten rolls his eyes at your dramatic worry. “I’m not completely conspicuous like you are.” Then he stands, tossing his empty Starbucks paper cup into the nearby trash can. “Now hurry up, I have to get Johnny’s gift before they run out of maid’s outfits.”

Your hand meets your forehead in a facepalm. 

-

It seems like nowadays Ten’s mission is to annoy Doyoung to the max. 

“Is Johnny busy or something?” asks Doyoung through gritted teeth as Ten spins around in his desk chair. The former had been trying to study when the Thai man paid him a visit at his apartment to disturb his peace. Ten simply continues to spin in perpetual circles on Doyoung’s chair, seemingly not a care in the world. 

“No,” replies Ten. “I just wanted to hang out with you, bro.”

Doyoung grimaces at his friend. “Please don’t call me that.”

“I could call you mom like I call Kun.” 

“No thanks,” responds the dark haired male with a quiet chuckle as he grabs a packet of ramen from the pack atop his fridge. As Doyoung begins to pour some water into the pot on the stove, Ten suddenly stops spinning and he’s seemingly not dizzy at all, seeing as he walks forward to lean on the kitchen counter. 

“So, how are you, buddy?” He suddenly asks, trying to remain casual but failing poorly. Ten’s never been the type for small talk. 

Doyoung knows this, so he cocks an eyebrow over his steaming pot of ramen. “I’m doing just fine, buddy.” Ten nods in understanding, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. At this point, Doyoung has given him a clearly confused expression. “Okay, what do you want? You only show up unannounced to steal my food or complain, and you’re doing neither.” 

The man in question fakes an overly dramatic gasp, hand on his chest. “How could you accuse me of something like that? I just want to catch up with my friend.” 

Pouring his ramen into a bowl Doyoung rolls his eyes. “Are you here to gossip then?” 

“Ask me how I am first.”

A dry laugh leaves Doyoung’s lips before he capitulates. “Fine. How are you?”

“I’m doing great, thank you for asking. You know why? Because I found out some spicy information.” 

“Do share,” drawls Doyoung as he blows his ramen, though he seems not at all interested. Oh, he’ll be interested after this, thinks Ten mischievously. 

“I found out that Y/N has a crush on someone.” 

A sputter is heard from Doyoung’s end as he chokes on the few ramen pieces he had been slurping during his friend’s reveal. Wow, thinks Ten. The two of you are more alike than you think. After he clears his throat, he speaks, “Y/N has a crush on someone.” Ten nods proudly. Doyoung blinks, running a hand through his dark locks. “Okay, um… that’s good for him. Why are you telling me this though?”

The man in question shrugs, a mischievous grin on his lips. This is exactly how he wanted it to go. “Just thought I’d let you know. So you can prepare for having another person join the group.”

“Oh, well… I guess that leaves me as the only single person in the group, then,” says Doyoung, voice softened as he looks down at his noodles. 

“Yep,” responds Ten with a tone much too cheerful for his friend’s previous tone, popping the ‘p.’ If he hadn’t been so occupied with staring thoughtfully into his food Doyoung would have noticed. Ten’s plan is working just as desired. 

“Oh,” Doyoung suddenly speaks up. “I forgot to tell you. I found my soulmate.” 

Oh, shit. 

Ten blinks. “W-What? You met your soulmate?”

Now Doyoung rubs his nape, looking a bit sheepish. “I did…” With the slight smile that Doyoung wears on his lips, Ten can see that the man must be enamored by his new soulmate. When had he met them? How had he found out? Did he see their tattoo? Ten is seeing his plan crumbling right before his eyes. 

Of all their friends, Doyoung was the most hopeless romantic. He romanticized the idea of finding his soulmate, someone who held half of his soul. He would surely much rather pursue his soulmate, but Ten hadn’t taken that into consideration. After all, he hadn’t expected Doyoung to find his soulmate right as he planned to get his two best friends together!

“Well, that’s… good, isn’t it?” 

Still looking down, staring deeply into his bowl of noodles, Doyoung nods. “Yeah, I guess it is.” 

Oh god, Y/N will be devastated to find out, and it’ll be all his fault. 

-

The look on your face when he tells you is one he’d like to forget. You’ve liked Doyoung for so long, even if you had only come to terms with it a while ago. Ten knows this, and so he feels even worse for being the one to give you hope. 

“Y/N, I’m s—”

“Don’t apologize,” you cut him off, wearing a cheery smile on your lips. Even from a mile away, Ten would be able to tell how fake it is. “This is good, right? I told you, he’s supposed to find his soulmate. That’s how the universe works.” 

Today instead of the mall, you’re both sitting on the couch in Ten’s apartment and now you hug the couch pillow close to your chest. You look sad, and Ten almost feels pain from how defeated you look. “I’m sorry, because I gave you hope and you told me not to.” 

“It’s okay,” you say, suddenly standing from your spot on the couch. Next, you give a dry laugh, but it comes out strained. “Since when did you ever listen to what I said, anyways?” 

“Y/N, it’s okay to be upset.”

“I’m not,” you deny, beginning to walk out of the living room. “But I have to go get some more Christmas gifts before the mall closes. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Y/N,” he calls once more. There’s no stopping you, he knows, so he follows you instead. “It’s snowing outside. Let’s go together, at least.”

“No,” you say, giving him a small smile as you slip your shoes on. “You’re one of the people I have to get gifts for. I’ll just take a taxi or something. Bye, Ten. Thanks for… trying, I guess.” And then you leave, and he swears that as you disappear from his home and out onto the snowy cold street, he sees the ghost of pain on your face. 

-

It’s a week of avoiding Doyoung and practically everyone when he finally calls you. Seeing his name light up on your phone makes you bite down on your lip in fear. You don’t know what it is that’s made you ignore him and the rest of your friends for a week, but… you needed time apart. 

“Hello?” You ask, trying to keep your voice natural.

“Y/N,” says Doyoung on the line, and you have to physically stop yourself from sighing into his tone. His voice is dark and deep as usual, you’ve missed hearing it. “Why have you been avoiding me?” 

He’s always been straight-forward, and you don’t even have time to be surprised that he’s caught you. But, you can’t tell him the truth. “I haven’t been avoiding you,” you lie. “I’ve just been… busy. Christmas shopping and stuff. Plus, it’s really cold outside, I don’t really like going outside.” 

There's silence, then Doyoung sighs. “Is everything alright?” 

No, not really. “Yeah,” you tell him. “Everything’s fine, I promise.” 

“Is it about that person? Ten mentioned that you liked someone, and were considering telling them.” It’s you, you dimwit. You want to tell him that, but you can’t. It’ll only ruin everything he’s supposed to have with his soulmate. “You know, you can always come talk to me about it. I’m not experienced in dating, but I’ll give you all the advice I have.” His words are accompanied by a small laugh.

You can’t help but smile. That’s why you’ve always liked him so much. Despite being blunt and sometimes brutally honest, he is always there for you. “Thanks, Doyoung,” you respond gratefully. “I’ll be in touch, I promise.” 

“Okay, good. I miss having you around, anyways. You left me to fifth wheel the couples,” he says, referring to your friends and their significant others. 

You laugh, and it’s a happy sound albeit dampened by the reminder that you can’t like him anymore the way you do right now. “Sorry about that. I’ll be around soon.” 

“Okay. Talk to you later?”

“Yeah.” 

Then he hangs up, and when he does, he’s left staring at Kun’s face from across the table. “I don’t know what to do,” he admits to his friend.

-

“What the hell did you do, Ten?” Kun says as he bursts into Ten’s apartment, having just finished meeting Doyoung at the coffee shop. The man in question is sitting on his couch watching a movie when he looks up at the sudden appearance of his friend. “How can you be sitting on the couch when your friends’ friendships are falling apart?”

Ten’s eyes widen. “You mean Doyoung and Y/N?” The Thai man suddenly jumps up to his feet, knocking over his bowl of popcorn. “I don’t know what I did! I was just trying to get them together and then everything went to shit!” 

He runs his hands through his hair, making it run crazy. Even without the appearance of Kun to scold him, he’s clearly been torn up by the situation as well. 

“Just… tell me what you did,” says Kun calmly, for he had always been the calm and level-headed mediator.

“Okay.” Ten takes a deep breath, recalling all of the events of the past few weeks. “Y/N told me that he liked Doyoung.” At Kun’s pointed look he retracts his words. “Okay, I tricked him into confessing it to me, but that’s beside the point! Then, he asked me to talk to Doyoung about it and find out if Doyoung liked him too. But then Doyoung told me that he found his soulmate! And when I told Y/N he got really sad and upset about it, and now he’s been ignoring me for a week!” 

“Y/N is Doyoung’s soulmate, you daft twit!” 

Ten stops in his tracks, eyes wide. “Wait—what did you just say?”

“I just met with Doyoung, and he told me that Y/N is his soulmate. He said he didn’t tell anyone because you told him that Y/N likes someone else, when we all know that Y/N has been heart-eyes for Doyoung since the beginning of time!” Kun exclaims at him, rubbing the space between his eyes where a headache has formed when he finishes. 

Ten simply stands there in the mess of popcorn and couch pillows, blinking with his crazed hair. “Oh god, I’ve created a shit show.” 

“Everything would be solved if they just talked to each other,” whines Kun as he collapses onto the couch. Ten follows beside him, simply staring into the space before sighing. “We have to fix this.” 

Then suddenly, as though possessed by a strange energy, Ten asks, “Why did Doyoung tell you and not me?” 

“He was asking me for advice. And obviously he wouldn’t tell you, look at the mess you made!”

-

Your fingers are freezing as you type out a text to Kun on your phone. He had asked you to meet up with him at the cafe you often frequented in the town square to catch up over hot chocolate, and despite the fact that you had been ignoring your friends for quite a while, you figured… you’ll have to face them eventually. The only problem is… he’s late. 

The snow crackles beneath your shoes as you rock back and forth on the balls of your feet outside the cafe. Kun isn’t one to be late, always favoring punctuality, so you’re perplexed. But it’s only his first time being late, so you’ll go easy on him. 

“God,” you sigh. Tapping your hands on your cheeks, where the cold has begun to steal your sensation of feeling from them, you look around again. “Where is he?” 

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

You turn to find the owner of the voice, but it’s not Kun. A breath leaves your lips, seen in the air. “Doyoung? What are you doing here?”

“You’ve been ignoring me,” he says, straight-forward as always. Though you haven’t seen him in a short while, he still takes your breath away upon first glance. He’s dressed today in a black coat atop a black turtleneck, and you see even the bulb of his nose has become reddened from the cold. Now there’s really no avoiding the situation. “I figured you wouldn’t respond if I asked, so I had Kun set it up.” 

He’s caught you in the act. “I…” You don’t know what to say. “I’m sorry.” 

“Why?” He asks, hands tucked into his pockets. The way his eyebrows furrow into his forehead make him look even more hurt beyond understanding, and you feel horrible. 

You can’t tell him… It will ruin everything he’s supposed to have with his soulmate. You’re sure by now, that he must have already had time to spend in the presence of his soulmate, learning their ins and outs to savor for the rest of their lives together. But even against your common sense… it comes out. 

“I like you.” 

Doyoung’s lips fall open just the slightest, but you continue. “I like you, God, I like you so much. But Ten told me that you found your soulmate, and I didn’t want to ruin anything. I know that soulmates are just stupid excuses for the universe’s matchmaking, but even so, you should be with your soulmate… Doyoung, I like you so much, and knowing that I couldn’t have you just hurt even more. I know, it was selfish of me to ignore you but I just… can’t look at you and accept that.” You sigh. “It doesn’t matter anyways. I… I’m sorry.”

You begin to turn away, figuring you’ve all but ruined your friendship with your favorite person, but a force tugging on your hand causes you to stop. Doyoung has wrapped his nimble fingers around the circumference of your wrist, and he speaks firmly:

“You are my soulmate.”

You stop in your tracks. Eyes wide, you turn back to him. “What did you just say?”

The eyes that he looks at you with are warm, like a blazing crimson fire in the cold night of winter. “You’re my soulmate. And if you were hurt thinking I found my soulmate, imagine how I felt being ignored by my soulmate.”

“How do you know?” You ask. You’ve been friends with Doyoung for years; there’s no way this information of him being your soulmate has evaded you this long. “How do I know you’re not lying?” 

“Do you remember that night, a few weeks ago? When we got caught in the rain walking back from the library, and ran into my apartment? I gave you a shirt so you could change, and then I saw it.”

Your soulmate tattoo. 

“A rabbit, on the side of your torso.”

Your tattoo (which had been the source of your embarrassment for many years) had never been seen by any of your friends before. Now, it’s your time to be surprised, lips falling open. Despite the cold, you feel heat rise in your body and your heartbeat begins to quicken. 

“You’re…” You start, but find yourself speechless. He finishes for you, a sweet smile on his lips.

“Your soulmate.” He takes your hand in his. “And you’re mine.” 

“Oh my god,” you sigh, free hand coming to meet your forehead in a facepalm. “I’ve been such a shitty person the past few weeks, I’m so sorry. You’re… You’re really my soulmate.”

“Yeah, I am.” He smiles, gums showing proudly as you finally let him in.  Now, he holds up a finger. “And I’ll forgive you for ignoring me, on one condition.” 

“What is it?”

��Go into this cafe with me, let me buy you hot chocolate, and tell me everything about my soulmate.”

A laugh leaves your lips, delighted and emotional as you nod. “We’ve been friends for years, you already know everything about me.” He begins to pull you by the hand into the cafe, the ringing bell of the door sounding familiar to his laugh.

“Well, tell me again. I’d love to hear it.” 

[fallen-gravity]

Fightin’ Back Chapter 5

Chapter Notes:  Heeeere’s Sock Opera! Clocking in at over 5k, this is the bulkiest chapter in the entire fic, and if the final one following this ends up even longer I'll be officially terrified of the power I have. This time around this chapter's dedicated to @eri-descent,  because her works were a huge inspiration and drive for this chapter.

Bit of a content warning in this chapter for mentions and references to past child abuse. Not in regards to Dipper or Mabel, but there are quite a few nods to Filbrick sprinkled in this chapter. Fuck him.

AO3

“Seriously, I need to go to the hospital”

“Pssh,” Mabel waves a dismissive hand. “I’m sure that’s just the haven’t-slept-in-three-days-and-haven’t-eaten-in-eighteen-hours talking. Nothing a little ordering a pizza can’t fix, right Grunkle Stan?” 

“No promises,” Stan quips, and stands from his charred theater seat. “Theater folks are probably already planning on charging me for your little fireworks stunt. What kind of caretaker would that make me if I bought you pizza after all of that?”

“Uh, a fun one?”

Stan blinks. “You know? You’re absolutely right.” he stuffs his camcorder into his suit jacket. “C’mon, if we book it now these theater jerks’ll never be able to catch our plate in time”

“See?” Mabel turns back to Dipper. “What’d I tell you? Pizza solves everything”.

Dipper blinks very slowly. “Actually…” he places a hand covered in cuts gently over his stomach. “Pizza does sound really good right now”

“Great!” Mabel beams, and starts half-skipping towards the small staircase attached to the side of the stage. “First one back to the car gets shotgun!” 

“Mabel, you know running is the last thing I’m capable of doing right now” Dipper follows sluggishly behind. “If anything I should be getting carried to the car, in case I-” 

Stan’s just quick enough to turn back towards Dipper to see his eyes roll into the back of his head. He only has one foot on the step below where he’d just been standing, but Stan isn’t taking any chances. He just barely hears Mabel’s horrified “Dipper?” before he rushes forward to catch Dipper as he faints. Stan’s relieved that Dipper’s head smacks into his arm, rather than the floor or the stage, but adjusts him in his arms so his neck won’t hurt when he wakes up again.

“Dipper?” Mabel chimes in again, and she’s by Stan’s side in a moment. When she catches sight of Dipper’s paling face and gently closed eyes, her breath audibly hitches in her throat. “Dipper, can you hear me?” she shouts towards her brother’s unconscious body, but keeps her arms glued to her side like she’s afraid he’ll shatter if she touches him. Instead, she places a hand on Stan’s arm, and when he meets her gaze there are tears building in his eyes. 

“I thought he was exaggerating! I thought for sure it was because he hadn’t slept, because we both fell from the catwalk in the cake prop and I walked it off fine, I should’ve listened to him the first time he told me something was up and needed my help, because now he could be hurt or worse, and-” 

“Hey,” Stan takes a knee and places a gentle hand on Mabel’s shoulder the best he can. “He’s gonna be okay. Probably just passed out from exhaustion like you were saying earlier. You see his chest rising and falling like that? Just means he’s sleeping. Think it could be a good idea to bring him to the hospital, since, uh, that was a pretty far drop, but it’s just precautionary, okay?” 

She sniffles. “Okay”

He gently taps her shoulder since his arms are too preoccupied to rustle up her hair, and he stands to his feet. Just as he’s about to head towards the door, though, another thought comes to him. “One more question, okay, sweetie?”

“Yeah?” 

“This have anything to do with that spooky journal? I couldn’t help but notice he was chasing you around stage trying to take it from you”. 

Her shoulders tense, which is good enough an answer without her even opening her mouth.

“Look, I’m not gonna be mad, okay? Dipper and I talked about this earlier. I’m not gonna take it away if you say yes. I just wanna know the severity of what we’re dealing with here. Don’t even gotta specify which monster it was, if you don’t wanna”

She buries her mouth into the neck of her sweater, and for a moment Stan’s sure she’s not going to answer. He adjusts Dipper in his arms again to prevent him from slipping, but just as he’s about to walk away again she murmurs the quietest yes he’s ever heard.

“Okay,” he sighs. “Okay. We can work with this. Just means he’ll probably be staying for a few hours instead of a quick checkup, okay? Let’s get him to the car”

Mabel squirms a little bit, like there’s something she still isn’t telling him, but she squashes that down and gives him a half-smile. “Okay.” 

The walk to the parking lot isn’t a very long one, but Stan swears it’s the longest the three of them have ever gone without speaking a single word all summer. Sure, Stan will give some of the credit to the fact that Dipper’s currently passed out in his arms, but every other time that he and Mabel have been alone together this summer she’s talked his ears off for nearly an hour straight. 

Not that he’s complaining! He wouldn’t want anyone else to blabber his ears off about things he doesn’t understand. But right now Mabel isn’t speaking a single word. She’s staring at Dipper passed out in his arms like a hawk, like she’s at the ready to catch him if as much as his arm slips out of place. Once they’re back at the car, she opens the back door for Stan to help Dipper inside, and won’t even climb in herself until she’s sure Dipper looks comfortable. 

When Stan climbs into the driver’s seat and adjusts the rear view mirror, he notices that Mabel’s shifted in her seat so Dipper can lie against her to prevent him from falling over and smacking his face into the seat. Stan smiles, and rolls his eyes at the pair as he pulls out of the parking lot. 

About a minute passes before Stan hears the sound of even more shifting around from the back seat, and a tired, raspy voice.

“Grunkle Stan?” Dipper slurs, and blinks slowly two times. “Wha happen? Where are we?” he places a head to his forehead. “Why am I so dizzy?” 

“There you are, kiddo” Stan lowers the rear view mirror so Dipper can see his face better. “Mabel and I were worried sick over when you were gonna wake up”

“Wake...up?” Dipper repeats, like he’s processing each of the words individually. His face pales. “Did I pass out? What day is it? What year is it?”

“Whoa, whoa, let’s not get you worked up and passing out again. It’s only been a few minutes. You passed out walking to the car from Mabel’s puppet show. We’re driving you to the hospital to check and see if you’ve got a concussion or anything”

“Ugh,” Dipper moans. “Good thinking. I already feel like I’m about to pass out again” 

Stan smirks. “Yeah, well, your sister’s right there. Pass out all you want. But if you even start feeling a little nauseous, you’re telling me so I can pull over. I’m not letting anyone blow chunks all over my baby” he taps the dashboard of the car affectionately.  Dipper groans again, and leans against Mabel, smushing his face into her shoulder.

“Got it,” he mumbles, and his voice is muffled by the fabric of Mabel’s sweater. His eyes close again, but thankfully this time Stan doesn’t notice them rolling into the back of his head, which means he probably closed them voluntarily to stop the car from spinning. The sound of his breathing increasing in volume concerns Stan for a moment, but when he double checks through the mirror and just sees that he fell asleep, Stan sighs in relief. 

Dipper’s real lucky he decided to faint after the show ended, rather than before, because if they’d left the theater just ten minutes prior they would've been stuck in dinner rush traffic for at least an hour. Thankfully, though, all of that’s passed, and since everyone who came to see Mabel’s show left much earlier than they did, the drive to the hospital is a quick and smooth one.

“You think you can walk in on your own, bro-bro?” Mabel asks as he unclicks herself. “There’s no way I’m letting you in there without me either way, but say the word and I’ll piggyback you in there myself” 

Dipper’s laugh is weak but genuine. “I don’t think they’ll let either of us in if you tried that, Mabel”

“Oh boo,” she pouts. “We never get to use the piggyback maneuver” 

He laughs again. “I’ll tell you what, if they don’t make me stay here overnight, we can use the piggyback maneuver to get out of here” Dipper offers out his hand, and Mabel beams as she takes it in her own.

“It’s a deal!”

Stan clears his throat. “I appreciate the enthusiasm about getting out of here as quickly as possible, but if we don’t get inside soon they’ll make him stay over just for checking him in too late, which means charging us more for no reason, which nobody wants.” 

“...Right, sorry” Dipper mumbles, and stumbles out of the car. Mabel’s beside him in an instant, throwing an arm around his shoulder to help support his balance. He reciprocates the gesture, and the two of them hobble towards the entrance behind Stan. Luck must really be on their side tonight, because there’s not much of a wait in the waiting room lobby of the hospital, either. 

Upon noticing both of the children behind him hobbling in slowly, the receptionist stands to her feet. And maybe it’s Stan’s eyes playing tricks on him, but he swears that she’s staring daggers into him for a moment before she reaches into her desk to pull out an admission form.

“Alright, who are you checking in?”

“The boy,” Stan gestures with his thumb towards Dipper behind him. “His sister’s fine, she’s just helping him walk so he doesn’t pass out” 

The receptionist doesn’t respond. She scribbles something down on the paper. 

“Where’s the worst of his injuries?” 

Uh. 

Stan glances back towards the twins. Dipper’s standing on his own now. He shrugs his shoulders, immediately regrets that decision, and tentatively rubs at his shoulders in a gentle motion. Stan tugs at his collar. 

“Nowhere. Uh, I mean, no, he didn’t have time to specify where. Soon as he passed out uh, at home, I drove him right over here” 

She doesn’t seem to like that answer either. Her mouth forms into a thin, tight line, and she scribbles an even longer sentence down on her paperwork. 

“Did you find him passed out, or did you see how he hurt himself?” 

Stan’s not sure the last time he’s felt this interrogated by someone who wasn’t a police officer. These are standard hospital entry questions, he knows, but there’s something...off about the way this lady is questioning him. 

“Uh, yeah. He, uh…”

 He what? He fell 15 feet from a theater catwalk? He hasn’t slept in three days? He was attacked by some monster he found in the middle of the woods, because he got too caught up in reading a spooky journal he found lying around whose author disappeared under mysterious circumstances? 

“He fell down the stairs! Kid’s so sensitive, he fainted at the sight of his own blood” 

“I see…” the receptionist’s expression remains stone old, until she clicks her pen and places it down in front of her. “Mind if I talk to the kid? I need to ask him a few questions too”

“Uh, sure” Dipper replies from behind him, and steps forward to stand beside Stan. 

“Date of birth?” 

“August thirty-first, nineteen ninety-nine” 

“Cause of injury?” 

Dipper doesn’t hesitate. “It’s like my uncle said. I fell down the stairs” 

“Name?” 

“Dipper Pines” 

She shakes her head. “I said your name, not your nickname” 

Dipper shares a very brief, very confused glance with Stan. “I...just told you. It’s Dipper Pines.”

She audibly sighs, pinching at the bridge of her nose. “Listen, kid, I don’t have time to joke around. There are hundreds of other patients in this hospital, and I don’t appreciate you taking my time away from them because you won’t give me your real-”

“He’s not joking” Stan interrupts her before she can finish that sentence. “And I don’t appreciate you trying to tell my nephew what his name is or isn’t. If he insists that his name is Dipper Pines, that means his name is Dipper Pines”

She’s staring daggers into him again, before she sighs and sits back down in her swivel chair. She rolls herself over to the computer where she prints out Dipper’s wristband for him, and gestures towards the hallway to the left of the lobby. “Alright, then, Pines family, come with me”  

She leads them down a fair number of different hallways until she brings them to a room with a single bed in it. Dipper is quick to climb into the bed and under the covers, and Mabel is equally quick to pull up a chair beside him. She leans in real close to whisper something to him, something Stan can’t hear, but the journal is unmistakable when she pulls it out from under her sweater and slides it under his pillow. 

Stan can’t help but smile.

Those kids never change, do they?

“Don’t get too comfortable,” the receptionist says, once she looks up from her clipboard and notices that Dipper’s already lying in bed. “I have to go submit this paperwork, but a nurse is gonna come by and take you to radiology so they can give you an X-ray and check for any fractures or breaks, okay?” 

Dipper sits up, his hair somehow already affected with bedhead. “Okay”

Just as the receptionist turns heel to leave, Stan speaks up as well. “And, uh, I’m gonna run to the cafeteria to get some coffee. I’ll be right back”

He follows the receptionist out of the room, and just as they’re out of ear and eyeshot of the twins, he taps her on the shoulder. “Hey, mind if we talk?”

“Mister Pines, I don’t have time for this”.

“It’ll be quick, I promise,” he says, and removes his fez to demonstrate the sincerity of the statement. 

She sighs, but tucks the clipboard under her arm and leans against the wall. “Fine. What do you need?” 

Stan fidgets with the tassels of his fez. 

“I know what you’re insinuating” 

“What?” 

“I know what you’re insinuating about the kid. Look, I know the injuries look bad, and the story doesn’t make any sense, but I promise that it’s not what you think it is. Those kids’ parents trusted me over any of their other relatives to take care of them for the summer. They’ve been staying with me for a little under two months now.” 

Stan’s not typically an anxious person, not in the least. But even the thought that the hospital could let one bad lie slip and send the kids back to California by tomorrow terrifies him to his very core. 

“I love those kids in that room more than anything else in the world. I’m getting older and don’t have much, but those two are the light of my life. I’m not the kind to go around telling strangers my life story, but I need you to understand that I’d never do anything to hurt them. I’ve been through that wringer enough times myself to never wish that kind of treatment on anybody.” 

There’s a deafening silence, as she reads his face like she’s searching for a lie.

“Please,” he murmurs, even though the word still makes his chest burn.

She sighs, taking another glance at her clipboard. “It checks out. I could see you three talking in the parking lot before you came in. He seems perfectly happy. I’m so sorry I was being so accusatory.”

Stan waves a dismissive hand as he puts his fez back on. “Eh, I’ve been accused of a lot of things” he shrugs, and reaches into his coat pocket for a wallet. “But just so we’re clear, this conversation never happened” he pulls a fifty out, and gestures vaguely towards her clipboard. “And that never happened either. You let any misinformation on that clipboard slip and I’m suing the hospital for malpractice.”

Her face pales. “Understood,” she replies, swiping the fifty from him before starting her way back to reception.

Stan watches her go for a few moments, just to be sure that she’s not going back on her words, before he turns heel and heads towards the arrows pointing out the cafeteria. With all the adrenaline from driving Dipper over and checking him in gone, Stan’s finally come to the realization that he hasn’t eaten in a few hours. 

He knows, realistically, that he can’t leave the kids alone in that hospital room for long. But Stan also knows how hospitals work, and how they can only bring so many meals to so many patients so quickly. He’s not even sure he remembers the last time he saw Dipper eating anything in the past few days, and he knows if they try poking his arms with shot needles and IVs without any food in him the kid’s gonna black out for sure.

As he’s passing the fridge full of cold sandwiches on the way to the coffee machine, Stan grabs the thickest ham and cheese sandwich he can find, and a bag of barbecue chips from the rack beside it.  Beside the coffee dispensers is a small display of wrapped baked sweets, and once he picks out a toffee brownie and makes himself an extra-large cup of coffee, he hauls his load over to the checkout. 

“Long day?” The cafeteria employee asks. 

“More like a long week” Stan replies, pulling his wallet out of his pocket again. “Most of this stuff’s for my nephew, though. Poor kid hasn’t gotten to eat all day” 

“Yeah, hospitals will do that to some people” they reply as they punch their numbers into the cash register. The screen dings with the total amount. “Hope he gets better soon”

Stan grabs his haul in one arm and drops the money on the counter in the other. “I’m hoping too,” he says, and without another word he’s on his way back to the kids’ room. He gently shoves the door open with his shoulder, and when he turns to hand Dipper his food, he notices that he’s fast asleep in the bed with the journal opened face down at the foot of his bed.

“How’s he doing?” Stan asks as he takes the seat beside Mabel. “He pass out again?”

“Nah,” Mabel shrugs. “Finally convinced ol Dipdop to take a nap. Willing to bet this being his first time in a bed in over twenty four hours also had something to do with it too”

Stan laughs, taking a sip from his coffee. “Nice try, kiddo. But the nurse is coming by to take him to his X-ray in about five minutes, so it won’t be much of one”

“Oh, boo” Mabel crosses her arms. “I was so sure that he’d be out long enough to sneak him out and bring him home early”

Stan laughs again, and there’s a light knocking on the door as a nurse walks in. The noise startles Dipper awake, and he sits up, stretching his arms. “Am I all done? Are we going home?” he asks, and his voice is groggy from his short nap.

“Fraid not, kiddo” Stan replies, reaching a hand over to ruffle up his already messy hair. “You still gotta go and do your X-ray and sit through a bunch of boring tests first. Could still be a few hours”

Dipper flops back against the pillow, groaning the same way he would if Stan had just asked him to clean out the attic. Stan chuckles, but the nurse clears her throat before he can say anything in return. 

“I don’t mean to rush you two out of the room, but we really have to move things along”, she says, tapping at her wrist. “If you could wait in the waiting room we’ll gladly call you back in when he’s all done”.

Mabel’s the first to jump from her seat, grabbing the journal from Dipper’s bed on her way out the door. The walk back to the waiting room is a near silent one, and at first sight of a chair she climbs on board and hugs her knees to her chest. Reaching under her sweater, she pulls out Journal 3, and holds that close to her chest as well. 

If he looks close enough, her hands look like they’re trembling.

Stan takes a seat beside her. “Something on your mind, sweetie?”

Her face flushes pink, and she buries her mouth into the collar of her sweater. “Grunkle Stan?” she pauses a moment to turn her pleading brown eyes towards him. “Is Dipper going to be okay?”

Stan blinks. “Of course he is, sweetie. What makes you ask that?”

Her blush darkens, and she buries herself even further in her sweater.

“I mean…” she twiddles with her fingers. “Dipper and I have gotten hurt a bunch of times fighting the supernatural over the summer, and this is the only time either of us have been hospitalized for it?” She hugs the journal even closer. “I just...I can’t imagine why that would be unless all those times were okay, and this time we messed up real bad and I underestimated how he was feeling”

Now Stan’s the one blushing, because he can imagine exactly why they hadn’t taken a single trip to the hospital since arriving. 

When Dipper came back to the shack from the woods the first afternoon the twins had arrived, Stan was the one who patched up his cuts and cleaned up his scratches. When he’d come home from supposedly getting into a fight with one of Wendy’s friends, Stan had been the one to give him some home remedy tips he’d had left over from his boxing days. Even when he’d just had a bad day, and didn’t need any medical attention at all, it was Stan who intervened.

If Dipper hadn’t passed out walking out to the car, Stan wonders if he’d come to him for help this time around, too. 

“I’m sure he’ll be better than okay, sweetheart. You said it yourself. You and him have been fighting these monsters all summer and you’ve walked away from them fine.” Stan smiles.  “Matter of fact-” he starts, fully intent on telling her everything, but before he can get another word out the nurse from before pokes her head from around the corner.

“Pines family?”

Stan and Mabel jump to their feet at the same time. “How is he?” they ask, also in perfect synchrony.

“He’s fine, just resting in his room while he waits for his x-ray results. I told him he could have the time to rest up by himself, but he insisted that I come back because he wants to talk to you guys instead,” she rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “You really ought to fix that sleeping schedule of his fixed”

“Trust me,” Mabel says. “I’ve been trying to get him to work on that for years”. 

When they get back into the room, Dipper’s sitting up in the bed munching on the bag of barbecue chips, with the half-opened sandwich pack sitting on his chest.

“Hey, buddy” Stan waves a hello before he reaches to open the sandwich for him. “How are you feeling?” 

“Tired,” Dipper groans, and takes a giant bite out of the fattest part of his sandwich. “Starving” 

“Yeah, we didn’t need the hospital to tell us that. How did the tests go?” 

“Oh,” Dipper replies through a mouthful of sandwich, and wipes some excess honey mustard off of his face with his now-bandaged wrist. “They didn’t think they saw anything, but they’re gonna give me stitches so my cuts won’t reopen” 

Mabel frowns. “Are they gonna make you stay overnight?” 

“Nah,” Dipper shrugs. “Just for a few hours. If the rest of it really is paperwork, I’m gonna try to sneak in a nap or three before then” 

The same nurse comes knocking on the wall again. “Sorry, one more time.” She says, and when she comes inside she’s followed in by a doctor. “I’m sure he’s already told you, but all we have to do now is stitch up some of those cuts, and then he should be good to go” she flips through the stack of papers in her hand. “There’s nothing in the x-ray that could indicate breaks or fractures, so the only follow up you’ll need is to have the stitches removed in a few weeks.”

She checks her wristwatch. “A lot of patients prefer to be alone when they get stitches so they don’t get too fidgety and distracted, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave one more time. I think the cafeteria should still be open for another half an hour if you wanted to grab food. I’m more than sure he’ll be all done by the time you finish eating”

Despite Stan being in the cafeteria just a few minutes before, it seems much quieter now. He’s willing to chalk that up to the fact that he’d been in a hurry and probably also going into sensory overload from all of the uncertainty of Dipper’s condition. But now that they’re certain he’s coming home tonight, and they don’t have to sit in the waiting room anymore, Stan can feel every last nerve in his body relaxing at once.

He turns to Mabel, holding out a five dollar bill. “Here you go, sweetie, buy yourself something nice”.

“Five dollars?” Mabel snatches the bill from him, beaming. “I’m rich! I’m gonna buy one of everything!” She squeals, and bounces off towards the kitchen.  Stan smiles as he watches her go.

The list of things he’d do for these kids is endless, he swears.

He finds a table to finish off his coffee and his toffee brownie, and soon enough Mabel comes slinking slowly out of the kitchen with a large bowl of soup, moving like she’s afraid that if she drops the bowl it’s gonna flood out the entire cafeteria and lead them all to their brothy  demise, or something.

Stan’s chest warms at the thought.

“Hey!” she grins once she sits down. “Sorry that took so long. They told me I could take the rest of the soup since they were shutting it down for the night and I may have gone a little cray-cray with it”

Stan chuckles, dismissing the comment altogether, until she rolls up her sleeves to eat and she notices that her arms are spotted with bruises and scratches, too.  

“Hey, uh…mind if I take a look at those?” he gestures to her arms.  “Might save us a trip if you need stitches from falling from the catwalk, too”

“Oh, uh…” she hesitates, rubbing at her arms for a moment. “...sure!” she half-smiles, and rolls up her sleeves before offering her arms to him. He takes them gently in his hands, turning them over to check for any deep cuts or splinters.

“Mmm, doesn’t look to me like you’re gonna need stitches, but some lotion and a bandage or two couldn’t hurt. Should still have some of both left over in the car if you don’t feel like waiting until we get home”

“Left over from what?” Mabel cocks her head to the side, but before Stan can even open his mouth to respond, her eyes go wide and she gasps in realization.

“Grunkle Stan, have you been the one taking care of Dipper all this time?”

He leans back in his chair, laughing. “What, have you been thinking that all this time Dipper’s been taking care of himself? Kid wouldn’t be able to win a fight against a punching bag if his life depended on-”

He’s cut off by Mabel nearly knocking him off his chair in a hug.

“Grunkle Stan, you big softie!” she squeals, and his cheek flush pink as he pats her head in response.

“Yeah, yeah, okay” he rolls his eyes to divert eye contact. “How’s about you finish up that soup so we can head back and bring your brother home? I’m sure he’d much rather fall asleep in his own bed then in that stuffy old hospital bed”

“Okay!” she grins, pulling herself away from the hug. “I don’t think anyone can realistically finish this much soup in one sitting, though, so I’m just gonna smuggle this out to the car in a to-go cup so I can eat it in bed later”

“Hah!” Stan ruffles her hair. “That’s my girl.” He stands to his feet and stretches his back. “But seriously, we have to leave before it gets too late. Apparently it’s “illegal” for me to drive too close to the town border after midnight, whatever that means”

She snickers, moving to grab a to-go cup from the coffee dispensers near the entrance. “Before we head back to Dipper’s room, though, you think I can stop over to the vending machine? He mentioned wanting a candy bar when you went to get your coffee, but I think you were too far away to hear it. Do you mind?” she holds out her hand for another dollar bill, and Stan swears if anyone else on the planet kept asking him for money he’d just laugh in their face.

But…if she runs off to the lobby, that means that he could have a moment alone with Dipper. Stan wants answers about what happened today, and Mabel’s not budging.

“Fine,” he grumbles, reaching into his wallet for a single dollar bill. “But only one.”

She beams, taking the bill from him and sprinting her way down the hallway. “Thanks Grunkle Stan!” she yells after him, waving a hand in the air. He smiles after her, and once she’s out of his sight he shoves his hands in his pockets and starts making his way back to Dipper’s room.

When he knocks on Dipper’s door and invites himself in, he’s sipping from a plastic cup of ice water. “Where’s Mabel?”

“Raiding the vending machine for you. How’d all this go?”

Dipper’s cheeks flush. “Well, uh, it was going great! It was going so well when they came in the room and started talking to me, but, uh…” he takes another sip of his water and evades eye contact. “…I blacked out as soon as the needle hit my skin, so they had to wake me up and bring me some water so it wouldn’t happen again”

Stan snorts. “Yeah, well, maybe if you didn’t keep running around picking fights with monsters six times your size, you wouldn’t need stitches in the first place”

Dipper frowns into his plastic cup, and murmurs something that Stan can’t hear.

Stan raises an eyebrow. “Come again?”

“I said it wasn’t like that,” Dipper murmurs, nervously crinkling with his cup. “I-I mean, in the past, sure, maybe, but it really wasn’t this time! All that was happening was that I got too caught up in my research trying to figure out the password for the laptop we found last week, and I couldn’t bring myself to hurt Mabel’s feelings and ignore her project to work on it during the day, so I ended up spending at least four nights straight trying to solve it at night, and the night before the show I tried moving up to the roof so she wouldn’t wake up, but then I-”

“Whoa, whoa, back up. What laptop?”

Dipper’s cheeks burn red. “D-did I say laptop? I, uh, I meant the journal! We were investigating the journal”

Stan sighs, scrubbing his hands down his face. “Dips, what did I tell you about keeping these kinds of secrets from me? I don’t care if you found a laptop, or a game station, I don’t even care if you found Bigfoot. I’m not gonna take it away from you and lock it up forever. I want you to tell me these things because I need to know if it’s something you need protecting from. I’d never forgive myself if anything serious ever happened to both of you because you kept me in the dark one time too many. I shouldn’t have to be asking your sister how you got hurt while we’re driving to the hospital.”

Dipper’s face is flush with embarrassment. “I…” he says, staring down at his hands. “You’re right. I’m sorry”

Stan sighs. “Look, I know I’m not the gentlest person you know. I know a lot of these townsfolk think I’m crooked. But I don’t want you to feel bad about this, okay? I guess I just must’ve inherited some of the tough talk from my dad”

He nearly flinches at the comparison, but he buries that down for a conversation at another time.

“I love you kids. You know that, right? All I wanna do is keep you safe”.

Dipper painstakingly pushes himself up into a sitting position, and reaches for Stan to wrap his arms around him in a hug. “I know,” he sighs, and if he hadn’t been hugging the kid back, Stan’s sure he wouldn’t have been able to hear him murmur “We love you too.”

[baseballbitch116]

Insecurity

Pairing: Stiles Stilinski x reader

Request: Bro congrats on 2,000!! You deserve it!! If you still need a request I'm always down for some jealous!Stiles x reader?? Ly!!

Word Count: 1198

Warnings: A littleee angsty, angry Stiles

Masterlist | Fandoms | Submit A Request | Support my blog ♥

Obviously, Stiles and Derek’s “friendship” was always complicated. Stiles was always a bit intimidated of him, and never quite trusted him. So when you ended up finding out about their world and inevitably meeting Derek, Stiles was less than pleased. He feared for your safety, and he did not want you anywhere near the alpha.

Turned out though, Derek had taken a liking to Stiles girl - Y/N. You ended up having to hang around Scott and Stiles a lot more often in order for them to keep you in the know and safe - not that you were really complaining. Stiles was only displeased because of the scenario. Derek had come by the school to inform Scott about a new threat. “He can’t just text you?” Stiles complained when he spotted Derek approaching them from the parking lot. Scott shrugs his shoulders and Stiles crosses his arms, glaring at the older boy. He was just glad that you weren’t here... Oh.

“Hey guys!” You greet your boyfriend and his friend as you make your way over to them from the stairs. Your smile warmed Stiles heart, until he heard Derek’s voice - then it dropped. It was obvious that Derek was so much better looking than him - he could be a damn model! Why would Y/N ever pick me over him?

You spot Derek just as he steps up to Scott’s side, shooting a grin in your direction. “Oh, hi Derek.” You greet him as you get closer, smiling shyly at him. Stiles looks between the two of you and lets out an audible groan. You cock an eyebrow at him before you place a kiss on his cheek and lean on his shoulder as you readjust your stockings under your skirt.

“What’s going on, Derek?” Scott asks the alpha standing beside him, stealing his attention away from Y/N’s legs.

“Not here.” Stiles rolls his eyes at Derek’s request to speak somewhere else. There was no one within hearing distance of you guys - why does he do this? Stiles puts his hand on your hip as you finish fixing your stockings, watching you intently - trying to see if you were going to look over at Derek. Instead, you glance up at him, shooting him a little smile. “What?” You ask, unaware of what was going through his head.

“They should come too.” Derek continues, meeting your eye once again. Stiles eyes him as he looks at you, his grip on your hip tightening. You look back up at your boyfriend and furrow your eyebrows. “What, Stiles?” You ask, confused about his odd behavior.

He drops his gaze to look at you momentarily until Scott speaks up.

“I can practically smell the testosterone right now, guys.” Scott groans, shooting a look between his friend and Derek. You look between the three guys, trying to figure out what you were missing. Derek scoffs as Stiles glares at him once more. “C’mon, don’t got all day.” He demands, nodding his head for you guys to follow him. You let it go for now as the three of you follow after Derek. He leads you guys out toward the end of the parking lot, where he parked his motorcycle. You admire it momentarily before focusing your attention on the two werewolves, awaiting whatever information they had.

Derek goes on to explain the situation with the tension forming with the pack that had just come into town, the one that the twins belonged to. You listen carefully as Derek and Scott a plan of action, unaware of Stiles glaring between you and Derek. He felt like you were paying too much attention to him, his jealousy and insecurity getting the better of him. When Derek looked in your direction, Stiles threw his arm over your shoulder and leaned into you, smirking proudly at the older boy. “Seriously, Stiles?” Derek scoffs.

You glance in between the two guys, wondering what the hell just changed.

“Hm?” Stiles responds shortly, his eyes locked on Derek.

“You think I don’t know what you’re doing?” He questions, facing your boyfriend and crossing his large arms. You tense under Stiles arm and wonder why they are picking a fight with one another.

“Would you guys stop it?” Scott asks, clearly exasperated. 

“What is up with you two today?” You ask, moving away from Stiles so that you can look up at him. He finally looks away from Derek, his gaze softening when he looks at you.

“He doesn’t want me near you.” Derek states, his arms flexing slightly against his chest. You return your gaze to Stiles, awaiting an answer.

“You’re damn right.” Stiles growls. His body is stiff and tense, he almost looks like he might try to fight Derek - if he weren’t an alpha werewolf. 

“Babe? What’re you doing? He’s not gonna hurt me.” You say, placing a hand on his arm to try to relax him. He rolls his eyes and Derek laughs behind you.

“That’s not what he’s worried about.” Derek interjects, and you shoot him a look.

“Stop acting like you got all the answers!” Stiles shouts, grabbing your hand from his arm and pulling you into him, dragging you away from the two of them. You allow him to pull you along, utterly confused and shocked by his weird behavior. After you are on the other side of the parking lot, Stiles lets you go and paces, glaring over at them every so often. “Hey! Stiles!” You shout, stepping in front of him so that he has to look at you. “Talk to me.” You ask, grabbing his hand, brushing your thumb against his palm.

“I don’t want you around him.” He growls.

“Why?” You ask. He closes his eyes in frustration until you reach your hand up and cup his cheek. “Why, Stiles?” You ask, trying to resolve whatever was going on.

“Why’re you even with me? He clearly wants you - why don’t you leave me for him?” Stiles demands suddenly, his angry eyes turning soft and sad. You are shocked by his statement and let out an audible gasp.

“What? Baby. Stiles! Look at me.” You start, grabbing his chin to make him look at you again. “I don’t want anybody besides you. You, Stiles. I’m not leaving you for anyone.” You state, staring up into his eyes, not a bit of dishonesty in your face. He stares at you for a moment before nodding, pulling you in for a hug. You wrap your arms around him tightly, letting him envelope you into his chest.

“I’m sorry,” He mutters into your hair, placing a kiss on the top of your head.

“It’s fine. You don’t gotta worry about him, Stiles. He’s got nothing on you.” You promise, leaning up to press a soft kiss against his lips, fully aware that Scott and Derek are probably watching. When you part, you smirk up at the flustered boy. “Come on, let’s finish hearing what he has to say so we can get home...” You trail off, winking at him and toying with his hand in yours. He grins back at you, interlocking your hands as you walk over to rejoin the others.

---

If you would like to be added to my taglist / would like more Teen Wolf content - let me know! ♥

@cathwritestragediesnotsins​

[lake-arrius-caverns]

Prologue - pt 3

content warnings strong language

ik im a bit late with this one, writers block got me hard 😔

next coming hopefully Sunday? lol

read under the cut or on AO3, cheers 👍

:: First :: || << Previous << || >> Next >> || :: Masterpost ::

— — — — — — — — — —

Fahjoth’s mood was as dull as the weather as he hastily returned to the Waterfront, completely drenched from head to toe as a result of the sudden onslaught of rain that showed no sign of letting up anytime soon. Typical of the skies to open up while he was wandering around the Market District of the city, strolling around while trying to work through the muddled thoughts circling in his head. He had been in a dour mood when he embarked, and now it was even worse on his return.

He should have seen it coming, he reflected ruefully; the thick blanket of heavy, dark cloud overhead had not shifted since it first settled in that morning. There was bound to have been a downpour sooner or later. But Fahjoth had to get away from the Waterfront for a while, to go somewhere where he could be alone with his thoughts. And there was plenty to think about. 

They should be hearing from Shadra soon enough, bringing news from the cult currently spending far too much time in the city. The problems were already apparent - within hours of their arrival, the guard patrols had increased and even the most mellow of innkeepers and traders were on edge. And yet, Fahjoth wasn’t confident that a direct confrontation would go at all as well as Cassius seemed to anticipate. 

Fahjoth felt another flicker of bitterness in his chest. Cassius, in all his unrelenting stubbornness, had refused to listen to Fahjoth’s attempts to reason with him. It wasn’t the first time, but now, when it came to such an unpredictable affair, he was frustrated that Cassius had declined to even consider listening to him. Not only was it infuriating, but it was slightly hurtful as well. 

So he had taken a walk in an effort to clear his mind and relax; perhaps stop by the docks on the way back and watch the boats drifting back and forth, as he and Ribyna had done with Abik so often growing up. But his plans were spoiled as he got caught in the lashing rain, ending up soaked to the skin and in an even worse mood than before. It was with some slight relief that he reached the Waterfront again, immediately spotting a welcome sight; a large tent comprised of leather and linen sheets, under which a handful of people and a dog sat. Even through the rain-haze, it was easy to identify Ribyna, Merrick and Abik, and Fahjoth didn’t hesitate to approach, immediately ducking under the shelter to join them. 

“Alright, lads?” he said by way of greeting, roughly shaking his head like a wet dog and allowing a shower of droplets to come flying from his shaggy black hair. Ribyna groaned in annoyance, leaning over to protect the piece of parchment that she and Merrick were holding. 

“For fuck’s sake, Fahjoth, you’re gonna ruin our map!” she complained, staring at him reproachfully. “Where’ve you been, anyway?” 

“Just for a walk,” Fahjoth replied, slightly unwilling to go into detail. He managed a smile as 

Pip came shuffling over to greet him, wagging her tail and poking her nose into Fahjoth’s face as she lathered her tongue over his nose. With a humorous grimace, he playfully pushed her away until she lay back down and then turned his attention back to his twin and the others. “What’ve you been up to?”

“Me and Merrick have been reading this map,” Ribyna said, puffing her chest out with pride. “I can pronounce Fana... Fanasces...” She stopped and grimaced. “Well, I could five minutes ago! I’ve forgotten now.” 

“Never mind the Ayleid ruins,” Merrick interjected with a smile. “She can spell Cheydinhal now! Without needing to look.”

“Yeah!” Ribyna agreed, beaming. “See, I am getting better.” When Fahjoth didn’t offer much of a response, Ribyna reached out and prodded his shoulder. “Come on. What’s the matter?” 

Again, Fahjoth didn’t respond immediately. He simply sat in silence, absently ruffling Pip’s ears and listening to the muffled crackling of the raindrops hitting the sheets overhead. “It’s just... I haven’t spoken to Cassius since... well, since we argued. I’m kind of worried about what’s gonna happen with this cult. If they don’t agree to piss off, and we do end up going to ‘deal with them’... well, I told him it could be dangerous, but he won’t even listen to me!” He winced as he heard the frustration seeping into his voice during his rant. “He never listens to me. Normally it’s fine, y’know, I can deal with it, but... this? It’s like he always knows best, even when we’ve got no idea what we could be up against. How can he possibly know for sure?” 

His three companions remained silent and attentive while Fahjoth ranted, and once he was done he felt his cheeks flush warm with embarrassment. But then Abik spoke up in his usual calm, reassuring tone. 

“For what it’s worth, I agree with you,” he said. “I do think we need to be more careful. A lot of people seem to agree with Cassius though. They’re gonna go along with whatever he suggests. So I reckon the only thing we can do is be there for them, whatever happens.” His dark brown eyes were pensive as he continued. “From what I’ve heard from Vyk, right now, we’ve got the advantage over them in numbers. The worst thing we could do as a group is fracture and split up.” 

“Plus, it might not even come to that,” Merrick piped up, ever hopeful. “They might just leave without making a fuss. I don’t think it’s helpful to worry about something when we don’t even know what’s going to happen yet.” 

Ribyna nodded enthusiastically in agreement, and Fahjoth dipped his head to the three, admittedly beginning to feel reassured. “Yeah... I suppose,” he said cautiously. “It’s just hard not to, y’know?”

“Of course. But, Fahjoth...” Abik added. “You should talk to Cassius about this too. Tell him how you feel. Communication is important.” His expression became momentarily grave. “Not to mention... if the worst does happen, you’d never forgive yourself if you two didn’t make amends. Trust me.” 

Fahjoth inhaled, knowing full well that Abik was right. “Yeah... I’ll- I’ll find him later. ... I will!” he insisted, raising his palms up defensively on seeing Abik give him a knowing look. Abik merely chuckled. 

“Good. I don’t like it when you kids argue,” he sighed. “We’ve got to stick together and look out for each other out here, ‘cause Talos knows no-one else will.” 

“Kids?” Ribyna questioned. “We’re not that young!”

“Compared to me, you might as well be,” Abik chortled. “I’ve been here long enough that I’ve raised half of the people here. Including you lot. It’s like a family - a dysfunctional family, but a family still.”

“You can’t spell dysfunctional without fun,” Merrick chimed in, and Abik pointed at him emphatically. 

“Merrick’s got it. Anyway, bottom line is, you’re all basically my kids. So for gods’ sakes, can you all just get along? That‘d be great.”

Ribyna snorted with laughter. “Hah! What, d’you want us to start calling you dad now? ‘Cause we will! Soppy old git.”

Abik laughed, though he didn’t rise to the teasing. Instead he focused on Fahjoth again. “Still worried, mate?”

Though the discussion had been a welcome distraction, Fahjoth found his mind wandering back to the troubles at hand yet again. “Yeah,” he admitted. 

Before Abik could respond, Ribyna had risen to her feet. “Come on then!” she declared, loping out of the shelter and standing in the sodden grass, beckoning Fahjoth to join her. “Let’s have a match. Get some practise in for when we go to war!”

“What, now?” Fahjoth replied incredulously. “In the rain?”

“Where else?” Ribyna shot back, splaying her arms out tauntingly and raising her voice over the endless lashing of the rain against the saturated ground. “Run at me, bro!”

Dumbfounded for a moment, Fahjoth hesitated. Then, he shrugged and bounced to his feet, darting out into the torrential downpour and squaring up his twin. “Alright, come on then!” he called. As Ribyna whipped out a dagger, Fahjoth did the same; the goal wasn’t to injure, of course, but any practise would be useful. 

“Just be careful, you two!” Abik warned, as he and Merrick watched with interest. “Try not to take any eyes out.” 

Fahjoth and Ribyna began to prowl around each other, each holding back and waiting for the other to make a move. Eventually, Ribyna leapt forward and lunged out at her sibling’s shoulder with the flat side of the blade, which Fahjoth narrowly avoided by stumbling back with haste. He almost lost his footing on the damp grass, feeling his gut lurch as he suddenly slipped, but with a vigorous windmilling of his arms he was able to regain his balance. His recovery didn’t come fast enough, however, as Ribyna took her chance and jumped forward again with another mock whack of her dagger. Fahjoth grimaced as he felt the weapon connect with his ribs with a soft thud, and still wasn’t quick enough to block it with his own. Ribyna’s victorious smirk was both amusing and annoying. 

“Got you!” she taunted, twirling the blade in her fingers. “If this was a real fight, you’d be so dead.”

“Ah come on, I slipped!” Fahjoth protested, remaining on guard in case Ribyna attacked again. Sure enough, she didn’t hesitate. 

“Yeah? Well, slip on this!”

This time, Fahjoth was expecting it. Keeping his stance firm and balanced, he was quick to retaliate - Ribyna’s dagger came sailing past his face as he sidestepped to avoid it, throwing up his own arm to knock Ribyna off-balance. However, a terrible error in judgement resulted in his bunched fist connecting sharply with Ribyna’s face. 

After the second it took to process what had just happened, Fahjoth gasped and immediately retreated, dropping his dagger and bringing his hands up to his face in horror. “Oh fuck Beebs, I’m sorry-!” He blabbed his apologies as Ribyna stood there in mute shock, watching her own blood flowing from her nose and peppering the sodden grass underfoot, mixing with the raindrops and forming watery maroon stains which lay stark against the greenery.

“I told you both to be careful,” Abik groaned. He and Merrick both rose to check on Ribyna, as Fahjoth took a few cautious steps forward himself, but before anyone had a chance to speak, Ribyna pounced. She threw her full body weight into Fahjoth, tackling him to the ground and somehow managing to secure him into a tight headlock before he could even react. 

“Right, that’s it! You’re getting it now!”

“Ribyna-!”

Though it was a relief to know that Ribyna was relatively alright, Fahjoth still wasn’t too keen for a wrestling match at that moment - especially not in the pouring rain over muddy, sludgy ground. But he took the challenge and gave it his best, reluctant to be bested by his twin. Unfortunately, try as he might to free himself, Ribyna wasn’t showing any sign of letting Fahjoth escape; to exacerbate matters, their antics had attracted Pip’s attention, who came bounding over to them with excited barks. Tail flailing from side to side, she lunged at Fahjoth, once again licking his face as she joined the fray. 

“Say you surrender!” she jeered, grinning wickedly as she held her brother tightly in an unforgiving chokehold. 

“Gerroff! You’re getting blood all over me!” Fahjoth exclaimed, wrinkling his nose in disgust despite laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. Eventually though, he figured it would be better to give in. “Alright, alright! I surrender! Now for fuck’s sake, get off-!”

At last, Ribyna accepted his yield and she let Fahjoth go, snickering as she returned to the tent and attempted to wipe the blood from her face. Fahjoth trooped in after her once he managed to calm Pip down again, soaking wet and covered in mud from the rain, while Merrick was on hand to offer Ribyna a handkerchief for her nose. 

“Right, well, have you two gotten that out of your systems?” Abik asked, brow raised as he appraised the twins with a mock stern expression, and the both of them grinned back sheepishly. 

“Yup. That was fun,” Ribyna said, holding the handkerchief to her nose. Abik scoffed and shook his head in response, while Merrick gently held Ribyna’s face with one hand and raised the other to her nose. 

“I think we’ve got different definitions of ‘fun’, Beebs,” he remarked, a warm golden glow beginning to radiate from his palm. Ribyna sat still and allowed herself to be healed, grinning all the while. 

“At least we know I can kick Fahjoth’s arse, whatever the weather” she drawled, and Fahjoth snorted derisively. 

“Says the one who’s covered in their own blood!” he retorted, unable to contain a laugh. Abik rolled his eyes and tossed Fahjoth over a clean scrap of linen, and the four of them winced as Pip entered the shelter and shook off her thick grey fur, covering them all in flecks of dirty water. 

“Get yourself cleaned up too, Fahjoth. Don’t want you dripping muck all over the place.”

Fahjoth obliged, gazing around the shelter in admiration as he stopped to really take it in. “How’d you keep it so dry in here, anyway? I thought it’d be soaked through by now in this weather.”

“Oh, that’s just Merrick being a genius,” Ribyna answered him proudly. “He used a water walking spell on the top. It’s keeping the water right off!” 

Merrick blushed, dismissing the praise with a wave of his hand. “It was quite simple. Not a big deal at all, really.”

“You say that, but magic is hard! Me and Ribyna can barely manage a flame spell between us,” Fahjoth laughed. Ribyna, however, appeared inspired. 

“After this cult bullshit is done with, can you teach me some spells?” she asked, gingerly tapping her nose as Merrick finished up his healing magic. He paused, seemingly surprised before he nodded with enthusiasm. 

“Yeah, course I can! What d’you want to learn the most?”

“Everything!” Ribyna gushed. “Healing, fireballs, invisibility- oh, and levitation! Imagine being able to just fly whenever you want!”

Merrick responded with a wry grin. “Even if I knew levitation magic, I couldn’t teach it to you. Didn’t you know? They banned it earlier this year.”

Ribyna’s face fell at the news. “What?!” she exclaimed, not bothering to hide her disappointment. “Seriously? That’s bullshit!”

Merrick shrugged with a sympathetic smile. “I know, it’s a shame. I wouldn’t have minded learning it myself.”

“Maybe it’s for the best. I think I’d shit myself if I saw Ribyna suddenly flying towards me in midair,” Fahjoth commented, laughing as Ribyna pouted and gave him the middle finger in response. However, Fahjoth’s attention was suddenly grabbed by the arrival of a blonde Imperial to the Waterfront, and he bit his lip with trepidation while considering his options. A knowing look from Abik settled his resolve, and Fahjoth stood up once more. “Hey lads, I’m just gonna...” He gestured vaguely towards the newcomer, and his companions nodded in understanding. 

“Good luck!” Merrick said, giving Fahjoth a thumbs up. 

“If he upsets you again, come tell me and I’ll beat him up!” Ribyna added, and Fahjoth snorted. 

“Yeah, I believe you! I’ll let you know,” Fahjoth joked, flashing them all a grin before taking a deep breath and stepping out into the downpour once more. Jogging slightly to catch up with the Imperial, Fahjoth raised his voice. “Cassius!”

Cassius stopped, squinting against the rain as Fahjoth hastened to catch up with him. The awkward air between them was more than tangible, and Fahjoth was for a moment lost for words. “Can we talk-?” he started, only to shut his mouth instantly as Cassius spoke. 

“Look, Fahjoth, I’ve been thinking, and I... I need to apologise,” he said, his expression remorseful. “I shouldn’t have just... dismissed your worries like that.”

“Oh...” Rather stunned by the quick turnaround, Fahjoth managed a weak smile. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

“You know what I’m like. I can be such a dick sometimes.” Cassius shot Fahjoth a grateful smile, offering out his hand which he took without hesitation. “Are we okay?”

“Yeah, course we are,” Fahjoth replied, feeling an overwhelming sense of contentment and relief as he gave Cassius’ hand an affectionate squeeze. “Has there been any news yet?”

“Not yet, but I can’t see Shadra being much longer. She should be back... any time now, really.” Cassius turned his gaze out towards Lake Rumare, softly intertwining his fingers with Fahjoth’s. “You’re not still worrying, are you? ‘Cause I promise, I wouldn’t have challenged them if I thought there was any real danger.”

Deep down, Fahjoth did indeed still have his misgivings, but he decided to hide them for the sake of avoiding confrontation. Instead, he shook his head. “I’m fine. I was talking to Abik and Merrick as well, and... well, I feel a bit better.”

“Oh yeah? Gossiping about me, were you?” Cassius teased, and Fahjoth playfully knocked his shoulder against his. 

“Not everything’s about you, y’know!”

“Hm, I dunno. That sounds fake,” Cassius laughed, only to pause and look around as another voice suddenly called for him, loud and clear despite the incessant rain and soft rumbling of thunder in the distance. 

“Cassius.” 

Instantly, Fahjoth’s worries returned and amplified tenfold as Shadra approached them. The look on her face was enough to tell them everything, but Cassius inquired anyway. 

“What’s the verdict?”

Shadra paused to take a deep breath, before making the grim announcement Fahjoth had been dreading. 

“They didn’t take the bait. They’re meeting us here at dawn. Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Cassius frowned, suddenly looking concerned. Evidently he hadn’t been expecting such a development so soon. “Alright... cheers, Shadra. Let everyone you can know... I still don’t think it’ll come to anything, but we need to make sure we’re all armed as well.” 

“On it,” Shadra replied, dipping her head towards them both before departing once more. Cassius turned to Fahjoth, trying to look reassuring but failing to completely conceal his grim expression. 

“It’ll be fine, Fahjoth. Try not to worry, alright?”

He leaned in close to leave a soft kiss on Fahjoth’s lips, before excusing himself and walking off into the haze. Fahjoth watched him go, then glanced over to the makeshift shelter, where three pairs of inquisitive eyes stared back. Fahjoth heaved a sigh. He was well and truly soaked by now under the lashing rain, but somehow he no longer cared, and he frowned and rubbed his brow with unease. 

“Gods, I wish I had your confidence...”

[magpiemorality]

Another request, if it's okay ofc, Canon or AU both are fine, Deceit and Remus both being interested in Patton and trying to gain his affections and being dramatic rivals. Patton is a bit obvious to it all at first but it ends with him cheerfully saying he likes them both so they both can become his boyfriends, they don't have to fight

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 AO3

Warnings: cursing, judgemental characters, a character dismissing polyamory as an option

***

“I just don’t know what to do!” Patton flopped down on his bed, keeping his phone up by his ear and pouting at the ceiling. 

On the other end, his best friend Remy sighed before replying. “Maybe you could just go and do something about the situation instead of always whining to me about your crazy lucky love life?!” he suggested. “Because gurl, you’re lucky! My dry spell has been over a week now and I’m starting to go mad-” 

Patton giggled and tuned out as Remy kept on complaining about his own lack of a dating life, twirling a curl around his finger and chewing on his lip thoughtfully. 

It was a pretty heavenly dilemma to have, really. It was just so gosh darn upsetting that Patton had to solve the whole thing by making a decision, instead of just riding the euphoria forever. 

The dilemma was this: Patton had two potential boyfriends and he was only allowed to choose one. 

On the one hand; Dexter O’Reilly was drop dead gorgeous, and climbing the social ranks fast by essentially just building his own and declaring it lord of them all. He was mysterious and exciting and surprisingly sweet, and he was a total bad boy. Patton’s parents would never approve (the fact their wholesome Mormon beliefs didn’t approve of most of his life choices notwithstanding…) but that just made it all the more exciting. Dex would be the type of guy that turned Patton from Sandy at the beginning of Grease; to Sandy at the end of Grease, and he was sorta tempted by the idea of a change. Being perfect all the time was a bit of a drag after a while. 

On the other hand there was Remus Duke. One of the defensive end’s of the football team, he was big and strong and, well he was a football player. Patton was a cheerleader. It was practically the law. And Remus was always smiling, always living his life loud and proud and defending his ideals no matter what it took. More than once Patton had heard of him getting into a fight because someone had said something rude to one of his friends, which should not have been as hot as Patton had found it, but gosh, loyalty was sexy okay?! Don’t judge him. Remus was not quite as much a bad boy as Dex was, but he filled the criteria nicely enough. 

Patton was completely torn. 

“-babes you’re not even listening to me, you complain about your dynamic duo all the time and you won’t even listen to me bitch about all the boys that don’t want to date me?!” 

“Gosh, sorry Rem. I just- I can’t help myself!” 

There was a moment’s silence before the sound of a cup being sucked nearly dry nearly burst Patton’s eardrum. “Hey, that’s not fair you promised not to do that without warning again!” 

“Babes, deal with it. Now I gotta go get ready for class, but I’ll speak to you soon. And Pat?” 

“Yeah?”

“Sort your head out soon. Rumour on the blog discord has it that Duke isn’t gonna wait for Prom anymore and wants to pop the question by Spring break. If you’re gonna pick him you’ll want to let the other one down gently before that happens, ‘kay?”

“Mm.”

“Okay babes, ciao!” 

“Ciao, Remy,” Patton mumbled, dropping his phone by his head and letting out a loud groan. Easier said than done. Especially when it wasn’t just his head that had high stakes in the matter; his heart was going all in. 

***

“Mr Duke, will you please focus?!” Dammit, had he been zoning out again? Fuck. Remus lifted his hand with an apologetic grin, turning back to the experiment his group had running on the counter in front of them. 

“How does she always know?” Toby muttered, eyeing their Chem 3 professor suspiciously. “I was totally covering for you dude, I swear. I know how you get.” 

Remus shot him a grateful smile, swirling the contents of a test tube until the mixture was evenly dispersed. “I know, it’s all cool. She’s just some kind of teaching cryptid, probably. Never doesn’t know every single thing happening in class…” 

“So what was it today? You need to run it off later?” Toby offered once they’d started the bunsen burner and set the timer, sitting back to watch and wait for the reaction. “Bad or good?”

“Oh, kinda… both? No running necessary, bro, thanks, but maybe, maybe some house rules mariokart after practice. It was Patton again.”

Toby winced in sympathy. “Our itty bitty pretty cheerboy has got you bad, Duke. What is this, year two, month three?” 

“Something like that. Do you think I should go back to the plan to wait for prom season? It’s just… that would be easy but then I’m wasting time and I already missed the winter formal chance and now there’s this other guy-”

“Wait what other guy?” Toby asked, leaning forwards to check the timer quickly. “There’s another guy?”

“Yeah, the fancy one. You know the one, he’s got the birthmark all over his face?”

“Huh, I thought you only liked the pretty ones-”

“Hey. We don’t make those jokes, remember? We’re better than that now. And besides, he’s not another guy for me, he’s another guy for Patton. They spent loads of time together over Winter break, and he’s like, super weirdly popular or something. Like a mob boss. He probably has way more to offer Patton than I do… Ow!” He glared at his friend, rubbing his shoulder. “What was that for?” 

“For shit talking my best friend. Besides dude, this could be your motivation, right? You need something to get you moving, because shit if you aren’t gonna do it on your own…” 

“Harsh, but fair.”

“So think of it like a competition. You’re good at those.”

Remus blinked, tilting his head. The timer went off before he could reply, so they tabled the conversation. He brought it back up again when they were on the field stretching before practice, eyes straying frequently over to the gym wall where he knew the cheerleaders were inside doing their own practice session. 

“So, about that competition idea… What did you have in mind?” He asked, attempting to be casual and failing. 

Toby grinned. “Alright, here’s the plan.”

***

“Here’s the plan,” Dex told himself sternly in the mirror. “You are going to go up to Patton and ask him if he wants to get coffee. You are going to go up to Patton and ask him if he wants to get coffee. Shit, no, he prefers tea…” 

He sighed, walked in a frustrated circle around his room and came back to the mirror, pushing his hair back and starting again. “You are going to go up to Patton and ask him if he wants to get tea. With you! You are going to- oh what is the point?” This whole exercise was useless. It hadn’t worked for the past three weeks- why would it work today? He was going to pass Patton on campus and give him the usual strained smile and mumbled greeting before hurrying on with his day, annoyed and frustrated and disappointed and another day closer to losing Patton to Remus Duke. 

Dex would rather die than let that neanderthal win. 

And based on the information he was gathering on his blog, he was running out of time to ensure that didn’t happen. Today was going to be crucial- if he could break his routine of failure that was… Maybe a new plan would help? He could take Patton’s favourite order with him and offer it to him when he saw him and use that as a conversation starter instead? Now, that sounded more achievable. 

The next morning Dex got up early to detour via the cafe, picking up his own and Patton’s orders and wandering through campus until he caught a flash of blond hair and a musical laugh. It all seemed to be lining up nicely until he caught sight of his rival approaching from the other side of the quad. Fuck no, Remus was not getting there first! 

Dex sped up, noticing Remus notice him and seeing the moment he clocked that this was turning into a race. The footballer’s legs were longer and stronger than his own, but Dex had the headstart, and he made it to Patton just in time to hold out the cup of tea with a hopeful smile and open his mouth to explain his offering, when Remus crashed into him and the two of them went sprawling on the ground. 

The drinks were spilled and Patton shrieked in surprise, trying to help them both up at the same time, and then apparently clocking that it was the two of them. He squeaked and went red, recoiling and running away, leaving the two boys to scowl at each other. 

Dex rubbed his hip where he’d fallen and Remus brushed himself, looking very unapologetic. “So, you’re Remus Duke. I’ve heard all about you…”

“Oh yeah? You scared, O’Reilly?” Remus shot back, rolling his eyes. “I don’t need to know shit about you to know I’m gonna be the successful one out of the two of us. I mean it’s the law right- cheerleader plus footballer equals happy ending?” 

“Back off Duke, you wouldn’t know how to treat him right anyway. He’s not a trophy to tick of your perfect life checklist!”

“No you back off- I saw him first! I liked him since freshman year, dude, this is just unfair of you.” 

Dear lord was Remus actually pouting? Dex looked at him scornfully. “Patton isn’t an object. He makes his own decisions. He will pick the better man.”

“Yeah he will. And I’m gonna show him that that’s me.” Remus said with a proud smirk. Dexter stared at him. “I’ve got a plan,” Remus elaborated cockily, and Dex really wanted to wipe that look off his face, but he had better things to do and a reputation to maintain. And a replacement coffee to buy, if he wanted to get through today’s classes. 

He lifted his chin and pulled his messenger bag higher up his shoulder with a scoff. “Well I look forwards to seeing what a brute like you can produce to woo a delight like Patton. In fact, I welcome the competition. It’ll make me look even better by comparison.”

Remus was back to scowling, and Dex tallied that as a win for himself. “I won’t even interfere, you’re going to fuck it up all by yourself, I’m sure. Just look at you,” he sniffed, looking Remus up and down with judgemental eyes. “You’re a mess, Duke. Bye now.” 

He turned to go, leaving Remus huffing and puffing behind him, speechless with fury. 

Things were off to a good start.

***

End of part 2 (woops this is going to be longer?)

[theobsessor1]

Soulmate au

A soulmate au idea if you will indulge me

Im just ramble on about the idea because I feel like I would suck actually writing the fic or probably won’t ever get around to actually attempting to write it. Warning this is long Do with this what you will. Write your own if ya want, just wanted to share my thoughts. So! Soulmate au, your chest glows when your close to your soulmate. Maybe they glow in different colors, maybe it just white light ((idea from this post (link)))

The possibility of glowing starts from age 12, and so begins your optional search for your soulmate.

Not everyone takes it seriously, it's like the universe is giving you a suggestion. Saying hey your a really good match for each other, most people listen to it, but not all.

In comes our boys under the cut

Roman:

He’s a radio show host, does a range of things on his show. Playing music by queer artists or their allies. Talks to listeners and giving them advice the best he can and just a safe space to talk for the queer community. Cause even tho the universe will say that two men are meant to be, there are those who still are disgusted.

After all no one knows how or why the chest glowing is a thing, it just is. So who’s to say it is good or bad?

Roman is a strong believer in soulmates, after all he does love his fiance more than just about anything. He still can’t help this small feeling that something is missing tho.

Roman loves to go see plays during his free time, sometimes he accidentally rambles on about them on his radio show. Has gotten into a few debates with his listeners and even got his fiance riled up into joining one such debate.

Lives in a nicely sized homemade for two, plus a guest room at the insistence from Logan that they must have one, even tho neither of them really invite friends over opting to head to friends houses instead.

Logan:

Roman’s fiance. They don’t plan to get married any time soon, really just got the rings for people to leave them alone and stop asking if they were dating because their chests glowed.

Logan is the co-owner of the radio show with Roman. He rarely ever goes on air, he works mainly with their equipment and making sure they keep to a relatively to the same schedule every day.

He writes in his spare time, hasn’t really published anything yet. He’s more content to just share it freely online at the moment. 

Insisted that they have the guest room just in case anyone does ever come over, because he will not allow anyone to sleep on the couch like a heathen.

Has a large bookshelf in their living room stuffed with books, most are his.

Patton:

I was thinking baker at first cause why fix whats not broken but then a better idea struck!!

A childcare assistant! He works at a children’s daycare, keeping an eye kiddos while there parents are at work.

He’s the kiddos favorite but ssssh, don’t tell any one. 

He sneaks them extra snacks if they behave, or read them bed time stories during nap time to help them snooze. 

Patton of course bakes and knits in his free time. 

He lives in a relatively nice one bedroom apartment, with his plants. 

Patton stumbles upon Logan, quite literally, in the library when he’s looking for a book to help him with his knitting.  Several flustered apologies later as they dust each other off from the fall Patton realizes their chests are glowing!!!

It’s so exciting!! Patton practically squealed, with a startled Logan trying to wrap his head around what was happening. Let’s just say Logan panics and it takes some time for Patton to calm him down. 

Once calmed down Logan tries to politely excuse himself and takes off. He of course goes crying to Roman, how could it be possible. He’s heard rumors of course of rare cases where people have glowed around more than one person but he never really thought it was possible. 

This causes them both to freak out some. Later on of course Roman will get Logan to warm up to the idea, I mean its twice the amount of love come on. He can shower even more people in affecton! And this stranger sounds down right adorable so why would he complain.

Poor Patton isn’t sure what to do, so what’s he do well. He calls for advice to that wonderful Radio show of course!

Shenanigans ensue!

Virgil: 

Virgil works with a small animation studio, making art and costume clothes in his free time. He made his patched hoodie after all.

Virgil isn’t all that confident in soul mates, just isn’t his thing. 

He lives in a dingy apartment, makes magic work with just noodles and some left over meat. Is kinda broke if ya couldn’t tell. That’s why he has taken to a talent of recycling clothes and making something new out of them. Plus it fits his aesthetic. 

Only ever leaves his house to visit his best friend Remy’s cafe. He’s allergic to the outside he likes to say while hissing at the sun.

Has Roman’s radio show playing as background noise most of the time. Found that one with the poor guy tripping in the library interesting. Poor guy didn’t get such a great first impression.

Virgil is visiting the cafe one day with his bro Thomas, chilling at one of the tables when Patton comes in dragging Roman and Logan in with him happily talking their ears off to try the stuff there. 

Virgil definitely didn't stare for along time observing them, with all their own different attractive assets. He’s just people watching shut up Thomas. 

It isn’t until later when the group sit down at a table that Thomas points out that Virgil may be glowing under his thick hoodie. Causing the emo to panic and off course hide that fact as the group seems to take notice of themselves glowing. 

Let’s just say its one hell of a first meeting. Virgil could hardly talk through his gay panic when the guys finally realize he was the last one. Luckily Thomas is there to help him out, that little shit.

Deceit: 

I like giving him the name Dean. 

Surprisingly he’s soulmate’s with Thomas. Tho he doesn’t really do much about it, they’ve become QPPs.

Dee has known Virgil and Thomas since highschool, he was much more of a delinquent back than. The two, mostly Thomas has help keep him out of trouble for the most part. 

He lives with Thomas, they have their own bedrooms. No one is sure what his job is. 

(He’s a police detective, mainly works in homicide usually, but shoosh don’t tell it’ll ruin his reputation of being a heathen)

Just because he works with the police doesn’t mean he cares for the law, you wanna break a few rules you go right ahead child, here have a lolipop too. 

He has a dark sense of humor, Oh you have a problem with some one just murder them! 

Thomas- No!      Dee- fine, a light stabbing then  Thomas- NO!

He is protective of his cinnamon roll Thomas, and takes great pleasure in rilling him up. 

Was able to convince Thomas to allow him to have two pet snakes, two ball pythons his precious babies. 

Him and Remy can go on flirting with each other for hours those dorks. Its like a contest who can get the other to fall flat first.

Remy:

The man that embodies sass. 

He opened a cafe, encouraging other people’s coffee addictions and satisfying those with a sweet tooth. 

Knows every single one of these poor gay idiots and is watching with a bag of popcorn at their horrible attempts at romancing one another. 

He an Emile are just betting one who does what and enjoy the chaos of the oblivious pinning. 

The one to introduce Dee to Thomas.

Emile:

Of course he still is a therapist, what else would he be.Still obsessed with cartoons.

Is best friends with Virgil and Thomas. Is a bit weary of Dee, but what can ya do.

Absolutely adores Remy, that’s his sass man. They’ve known each other since childhood, practically declaring to mary each other with candy rings.

Remy and him are happily soulmates, living in a nice quite home. 

They have a cute mainecoon named pumpkin spice, pumpkin for short.she sleeps with Emile’s stitch plush on their couch.

Emile is ecstatic to hear that Virgil found his soulmates when he tells him. Or even that he was talking to people in general that weren’t Remy, Dee, Thomas or himself for once.

Hopefully these new guys can get Virgil out of his house more often, he’s a little concerned about his vitamin D intake. Don’t tell me that mister, your not allergic to the sun!

Don’t know if I’ll actually write this at any point in time, feel free to use with credit i guess. Idk just sharing my ramblings.

[dokidoki-tae]

could you describe a happy day in the la squadra team?

Not sure if you mean as a team or individuals. I’ll with individuals for now.

Risotto: When he’s completed the paperwork for the month and has time to relax. He usually relaxes in the living room at HQ, drinking wine and reading a book he’s been meaning to finish. While reading, his subordinates pass through, greeting him but not bothering him. He catches some conversations going on between Formaggio and Prosciutto, another between Illuso and Pesci, and hears a slight squabble between Melone and Ghiaccio. Risotto can’t help but crack a smile. His team is valuable to him and to feel their presence in such a mundane setting brings him a moment of peace. 

Prosciutto: It would start with him waking up later than usual, probably 10:30-11am since he’s usually up at 5-6am. He usually wakes up groggy and sluggish. He might remain in bed for a couple more minutes. He’d be relaxed because he knows he doesn’t have much to take care of, just a few chores. It becomes perfect when he wakes up and finds out that Pesci has taken care of the chores he was planning on doing and with the help of some of the other members. Then his day would consist of him showering, wearing his velvet robe and slippers around HQ and listening to one of his records. You can bet Pesci is there to make sure his bro is relaxing.

Pesci: Has always felt like an outsider growing up and feels it again when joining La Squadra. He constantly being criticized while on the field and mocked for his ‘softness’. He felt like he didn’t belong. But when he’s asked for assistance by the others, he feels happy. One day, Ghiaccio said it was his turn to do grocery shopping and invited Pesci. It was filled with Ghiaccio complaining about random things, but Pesci didn’t mind. Illuso and Melone told him to help them sort out some paperwork, so he sat with them while conversing about random things. The day ended with Formaggio and Prosciutto inviting Pesci to have a drink with them. Pesci honestly couldn’t stand the taste of alcohol but his heart was overjoyed because it was in those rare moments that he knew he wasn’t an outsider. These guys were his family. He did belong.

Formaggio: Waking up without a hangover and without needing to do paperwork or missions. A good day for Formaggio (which everyone can notice) is when he wakes up at 7am and goes and makes himself a cup of coffee instead of grabbing a beer. It would be him going out for a casual walk, no intention of buying anything, just a walk, enjoying the fresh air. He’d stop at a park and lay down next to a tree, using its leaves to block the sun. He’d relax there, the gentle cool breeze lulling him to sleep. Then he’d get up and walk back home, and if he was feeling really content, he’d buy his team some pastries for dessert.

Illuso: He’s a bit of a recluse and enjoys days when his space isn’t being invaded by the others. So if he walks into the kitchen for a cup of coffee and he’s greeted by a nod instead of a conversation, he feels relaxed and relieved. Illuso likes to use his morning to recharged before interacting with the others. He’d lock himself in his room and watch some of his favorite programs for a while. After, he’d go and join whoever is in the living quarters. There he would converse about whatever the other person wanted to talk about. It would absolutely make his day if one of the others watched one of the shows he recommended and end up talking about it. 

Melone: His days usually start off pretty well, but when he has time to go to the bookstore and add to his collection, it’s an amazing day. Eccentric as he can be, Melone values days where he can just retreat into himself and expand his knowledge and maybe get a gift for the others. He’d scan the shelves, pick out some novels the others might like. And heads home. He’d likely buy some flowers for decor in the kitchen. Once home, he’d wrap up the books with a note with a handwritten letter by him, explaining the reason he got the book for them and would add a flower from the bouquet he bought. His thoughtfulness was appreciated, and they requested his time so they can talk about the novel together when they finish.

Ghiaccio: Begins his day with an intense workout session. He likes getting his body started for the day and get his blood pumping, just for him to go back to HQ and laze around aka get to play his video games. Ghiaccio won’t admit how he likes when one of the others keep him company. Purposefully sets up is a console in the living quarters so it’s easier to invite someone to play than if it was set up in his room. If it’s in his room, he’s basically admitting “I want your company.” Prosciutto might approach him and ask him what he’s playing and Ghiaccio gives him a controller and tells him to just play to find out. Eventually, everyone is gathered around the tv, some screaming and groaning as they play. Ghiaccio tries to hide the smile threatening to appear on his lips. He hopes for more days like this.

Sorbet: Of course any day where he woke up with Gelato was alive and well was already a great start to the day. But he loves waking up to Gelato’s singing. Gelato rarely wakes up before him, so Gelato has something planned. He’s proven right when Gelato comes in with a tray full of food enough for both of them. Gelato opens up the curtain to let the natural light in and Sorbet relaxes on the pillows. They have a mundane conversation about what they should do on their day off as Gelato feeds and pampers him. Sorbet just wants Gelato there, to value their time together, not wanting to share him with the world.   

Gelato: Spending the day in the outdoors with Sorbet would make him considerably happy. If the team were to join, he wouldn’t consider it a bad day. He might pretend to be annoyed that they are there alone time away but he’s so weak in his protest, no one believes him. When Risotto invites himself and the whole team to go to the beach with Gelato and Sorbet, Gelao feigned annoyance. On that day, Gelato couldn’t stop laughing at everyone’s antics, taking dozens of photos so they can look back and laugh. That was the normalcy Gelato wouldn’t have minded leaving Passione for.

[thezippingeon]

To be the Best(Kanto): A Pokémon Fanfic Chapter 1: Brother and Sister

“Brrring, Brrring” The ringing of a telephone broke the silence of an otherwise dead quiet building. Not three rings in, and the call was answered by a purple haired woman with fiery red glasses to match her eyes and a mahogany colored business suit.

“You’ve reached Team Rocket headquarters, this is Matori speaking, how may I transfer your call?” She asked into the other line. If one was far enough way, only incoherent babbling could be heard, but Matori, keeping the receiver close to her ear listened to every word and smiled, “I’ll get him on the line as soon as possible.” Matori pressed a button on the intercom next to her and spoke into it, “Sir, you have a call from the Saffron City prison, I’m transferring it to you right now.” In what seemed like nanoseconds, Matori no longer took to the call, instead, a tall man shrouded in shadows took over, his sleek beige cat Pokémon Persian on his lap, napping away and allowing its master to stroke it.

“This is Giovanni speaking, if this is Jessie and James calling, hang up now.” The man said before a few seconds of silence. “Ah, Butch and Cassidy, my favorite cohorts, what is it you need this time? Another bail out of prison? I’d be happy to do so.” The man’s assumption was shot down as the conversation continued, “I see... yes... a marvelous idea... perhaps with that insolent child away at who knows where, we can finally get some things done around here... We’ll follow through with your plan... The Kanto region will never suspect a thing...” Giovanni chuckled darkly as he hung up and continued to pet his Persian.

“Mrrrr... Miaow...” Persian happily cooed as its master pet it affectionately.

“Soon, my pet, we’ll have all of Kanto to ourselves, everyone, that’s EVERYONE will answer to only one name: Team Rocket!”

—————————————————————

The World of Pokémon, a place filled with creatures and people of all shapes and sizes, though it may seem impossible, humans and Pokémon have been together since the dawn of time, and have grown and evolved to share the small world with which they inhabit. Some people use Pokémon to fight each other in hopes of one day becoming Pokémon Masters. Others have them as pets, and some even use them for research purposes. With 18 elemental types and over 800 creatures in the world with more being discovered day by day, the world continues to flourish and adapt to make these two species continue to coexist in harmony even amongst conflict.

In the beautiful Kalos region, a small sleepy town by the name of Vaniville received a special wake up call when a bright red and white bird Pokémon flew in from the sky and landed on the mailbox of one house, reached into its bag-like tail, and pulled out an envelope before finally depositing it into the slot of the mailbox.

A young teenage boy watched the sight in anticipation and wonder from the window on the inside. He had messy dark grey hair, almost black, and lighter grey eyes, as well as a bright yellow sweater, concealing a navy blue t-shirt underneath, which matched his pants, and black shoes to match his hair. As soon as the Pokémon deposited its mail, the boy ran outside and smiled brightly.

“Thanks, Delibird!” He shouted as he waved goodbye to the mail Pokémon

“Deli-Deli!” It cried, waving back before flying off into the horizon.

The boy excitedly opened the mailbox and saw the very same envelope Delibird had delivered, not taking into account any other letters the Pokémon may have dropped off.

“Addressed to: Francois Robin Jr...” He read as he tore open the envelope hastily, praying in his head that what he opened contained what he was so desperately waiting for. He closed his eyes tightly and reached inside. Thin pieces of paper, rectangular shaped, two by four feeling. He narrowly and slowly opened one eye... and the other one shot open in excitement when he finally unveiled the contents: two tickets for a one-way trip to the Kanto region. “Yes!” He shouted before running excitedly back inside, “Maria! Sis! Maria!” He cried as he entered his room, amongst all the Pokémon books that stood tall on his bookshelf next to his bed that had its covers cast aside to the floor, there was another bed in the same room, this one was fluffier and pure white, in contrast to Francois’s maroon red bed sheets. In the bed was a teenage girl, about Francois’s age, but perhaps a month or so younger, unlike her brother, her hair was light brown, which complimented her hazelnut eyes, and her pajamas were light pink, she had her head buried underneath her pillow and groaned.

“Frankie... What time is it...? Can’t it wait til I wake up...?” She complained groggily.

“Yeah, it could, but then we might miss our flight...” Frankie said, this comment piqued Maria’s interest as she lifted the pillow from her head and groggily stared at her brother.

“Flight? What are you talking about?” She asked with a yawn as she rubbed her eyes.

“Only... THIS!” Frankie wasted no time in shoving the tickets to Kanto right in Maria’s face, and just like that, she was wide awake and snatched one from him in awe.

“No way! They came?! For real?!” She asked

“Yeah! I got up at 6:00 just to make sure I got them the moment they arrived!”

“You got up at 6?” Maria scratched her head in confusion, “You went to sleep at 5:00 if I’m not mistaken...”

“I know! I’m really sleepy and I wanna drop dead from exhaustion right now! But I can’t and I won’t! This is too good to disrespect with a fainting spell! Maria! 14 long years of waiting... And today’s the day we finally become Pokémon trainers!”

“No fooling! I need to get ready!” Though Frankie knew Maria well as being laid back and somewhat lazy, he was happy to see her as ecstatic as he was about such an occasion. When both were infants and needed to be occupied for a bit while their parents focused on something, Frankie and Maria were sat down in front of the TV to watch official Pokémon league battles. Maria watched in intrigue, but Frankie couldn’t believe his eyes, the biggest and toughest Pokémon were what piqued his interest the most, as such a small young man, showing off with a huge Charizard or Gyarados would be sure to strike fear into opposing people’s hearts and make them think twice before messing with him.

During summer months, while Maria watched tv, exclusively Pokémon related shows be it mystery or cartoon, Frankie was reading every last bit of information on Pokémon he could. He didn’t know when exactly he would become a trainer, but he wanted to be ready for it, as such, he was able to memorize nearly all known Pokémon’s movesets, typing, evolution lines, and locations to find them, and while catching them all wasn’t a goal of his, he did want to one day stand with the best, no matter how long it took, and as a growing boy, seeing a few pretty faces here and there was a bonus to his eventual travels.

While Maria wasn’t nearly as well versed in Pokémon as her brother, her consistent viewing of Pokémon related shows opened her eyes to all the kinds of moves Pokémon could learn, and whether or not they were good, she just had to see the moves executed in real life for once.

Frankie was in the kitchen making breakfast, bacon sandwiches with fresh Moo Moo Cheese, in anticipation for Maria to make herself presentable, though the smell of delicious food attracted someone else, his father. His father was huge, dark skinned and somewhat squinty eyed, his hair was jet black like his sons, but his eyes were as brown as his daughters, the two take a lot more from their mother, who had moved to the Alola Region in the far South to pursue a more well paying job opportunity, but both sides still keep in touch, and remain loyal to each other even to this day.

“Good morning, son.” Frankie’s father said in his deep rumble voice, not too different from a Charizard’s.

“Hey, Papa, breakfast is ready!” Frankie replied, causing the older man to chuckle

“That’s my boy, ah, if your mother could see you now... and she said getting you involved in the culinary world would be a waste of time!” At this point, Frankie’s father, formally known as Mr. Robin grabbed a sandwich and helped himself to Orange Juice, “I hear Maria in the shower, is today what I think it is?”

“Yeah! I was getting a little worried, but the tickets finally came!” Frankie showed his father the tickets, who let out a booming laugh

“Good! Good! You’ve been waiting too long for this day! If you ever get to Alola, make sure you tell Mom I said Hello, and that I’m ready to cook for her once she gets home.” Mr. Robin tussled his son’s hair, earning a chuckle from him

“I will, Papa... I hope my first Pokémon will grow to be big and tough just like you! I want a Charmander! Getting to fly on the back of a huge hulking Charizard, breathing fire, striking terror into people among the mountains and on the ground, riding into battle—“

“Well, I don’t need to ask if you’re excited, I suppose! Maria must be too if she’s up this early!” At that very moment, Maria came into kitchen

“Morning bro, morning Pop!” She said, rejuvenated from her slumber. Maria donned a mahogany colored sweater with brown leggings and boots and a pair of dark purple suspenders. Her outfit complimented her brown eyes and sharp light brown hair done up in a ponytail well. “Is that breakfast I smell?”

“Sure is, better start eating up, we don’t wanna miss our flight!” Frankie said as Maria grabbed a sandwich

“Wait, you just barely got your tickets today, the day of your flight?” Mr. Robin asked

“If we’re blaming anyone, it should be the mail people” Maria said with her mouth full before swallowing, “Frankie’s been keeping updated on the delivery of the tickets ever since he ordered them.”

“I was crying two nights before thinking they’d never come in” Frankie admitted

“Well, whatever. You two best get a move on in that case. Your old man can guard the fort all by himself well enough.” Mr. Robin glanced at a Poké Ball on a shelf hanging above the kitchen cupboards, right next to it was a photo of him when he was ten years old and a small chubby blueish Pokémon, a Munchlax, and next to that picture was him a little older with his fully evolved Snorlax.

“We know, Papa...” Frankie said as he and Maria hugged their father tightly, “We’ll miss you...”

“Yeah... But you’re gonna do good, ok? Good looks ain’t the only things you took from papa, eh?” Mr. Robin asked his son as he ruffled his hair, earning a chuckle from him. “Same goes for you, Maria, it’ll be good for you to get moving around anyway.”

“Yeah... Moving around...” Maria said with a slight smirk, thinking of the pleasant thought of getting a large flying Pokémon for her to ride on when her feet got tired.

“Now I love you two very much, but you need to get out of here! Quick! Go go go go!”

“You’re right, papa! We love you too! We’ll see you later!” Frankie said as he ran in place in anticipation, followed by Maria saying,

“If we don’t come back, tell our story!”

“Don’t say that!” Frankie yelled as Maria chuckled, both rushing out the door and into town as their father smiled.

“Good luck you too...” He said before looking to the sky, wondering what their mom would say had she been there.

—————————————————————

The plane was a distant walk over to the grand Lumiose City, so Frankie And Maria had to pick up the pace as quick as possible.

“Maria, come on! Get those feet moving!” Frankie cried, his sleeplessness seemingly gone away in exchange for pure excitement, as Maria walked behind him

“I would if you slowed down!” She complained

“If I slow down we’ll miss our flight! And I’m not missing our flight! Cuz if we do, I’ll snap.”

“Still... It’ll be a while ‘til we can see Kalos again... How about we power walk and take everything in one last time?”

“Well... I suppose that’s... not a bad idea.” Frankie then turned to the wilderness that existed beyond his home town, “Don’t worry, Kalos! We’ll be exploring you soon!”

“Well said! Continue to lead the way, bro! At a slower place...”

“Yeah... sure thing...” He said with a slight blush, and with that, the two young siblings were off on their own for the very first time, expecting to see many new things. Whether it be Pokémon not native to Kalos, beautiful women and attractive men, different smells, or even the fresh tasting Kantonian air, both couldn’t be any more excited. However, their anticipation would be met with something much, much more different than anticipated...

[diaryofseraph]

icks because i need it UGH

- has a tic of scratching/rubbing his nose super hard

- pimples on chest and wherever there’s hair 

- dry cracked lips

- doesn’t really show affection....punched my arm instead of giving me a hug when i said i was sad abt my score

- avoidant when i show affection or ask questions about what we are :”) keeps going back to the classic line of “we’re having a good time now and i’m happy where we are”

- weird looking nips/chest

- really fucking long torso, proportions are weird

- keeps randomly pretend-punching my abdomen lol, like are you 12

- really childish...lol....hasn’t changed since like 11 years ago since he was 15 bruh 

- only does nice things because he’s being a polite guest and reciprocates favors (e.g. replaces alcohol he drinks, gets food for me because i cook for him every weekend lol)

- lied about not having his own place???? only came clean when i suggested stopping by his place ??????

- cheapskate lol

- rly big nose and small eyes

LIKE THIS

- makes fun of me of stuff like saying i’m like a toad for putting on skincare,,,,or i look like an art hoe for wearing a crop top,,,,or i look like a prep school girl,,,no compliments here

- keeps bringing up his exes, like PLEASE LOL i don’t want to know abt how ur ex serenaded you while naked singing kina grannis, don’t ruin that song for me while we’re doing a music listen party, and don’t randomly name drop her either

- got me ice cream bars after 1 month but didn’t want to get chocolates because “that was too much” (i don’t care much about the content of the gift but he worded it so weirdly)

- gets my hopes up.....

- asking if i wanted to come to the sushi thing with his mom and then changing his mind because he only asked because he felt bad :”)

- keeps joking about how i’m not the only girl he’s seeing, i have to be fit into his schedule/penciled in, he’s a free man and can’t be chained down, like I GET IT OK LOL

- takes up all my weekend time, and i have to host every damn time 

- i lose sleep every time he’s here, like a lot of sleep

- having MULTIPLE MORNING ALARMS 

- honestly he’s kind of annoying and has no filter

- making my grades decline...........i’m not getting study time in....

- keeps complaining about how he’s losing sleep and i’m sucking fluids/time from him,,,like don’t come if you don’t want to bro lol

- keeps complaining about how expensive eating out is :”) i cook so much for you my guy, and we go 50/50, i’m literally paying you to be my bf at this point

- DOESN’T CLOSE THE DOOR WHEN HE USES THE RESTROOM, LIKE BRUH DON’T BE LIKE MY DAD

- DOESN’T BRUSH HIS TEETH BEFORE BED, gross

- pores are as large as his freckles jfdfdf

- had a hernia LOL, i don’t claim those genetics

- says “whatever” when i ask a yes or no question

- (potential) when i asked him “would you like to go out with me” and he pretended to still be asleep

- lied about not remembering the drawings, i think he just didn’t want to say anything about it lol because it would make things awkward for him to address it

- i keep having to set up plans the day of doing something, he never texts first........

- his snoring is SO LOUD, i have to physically distance myself because it’s so loud

- keeps trying to make franken food and i simply do not care or want to eat it

- i think he knows i like him a lot and he’s still leading me on -_-

- eats a lot of fast food that’s not even that good??

- i can see why his prev relationships ended,,,bruh,,,he’s a handful

- cares weirdly about shaving

- crooked teeth

- always hopping around on one foot to another, it’s annoying LOL

- i feel like i don’t have that much space to share about myself or my day, not really sure if he remembers much about me at this point, like me liking flowers, candles, drawing/art...all he knows is that i have cats -> i like cats

- really fucking weird and juvenile humor

[cosmiciaria]

Final Fantasy XV [long] Review (minor spoilers!)

This is going to be my first review here on Tumblr, and I thought, why not start with something that’s still boiling out there? 

FFXV was many things for me. It was one of the three reasons why I bought a PS4 (the other two being Persona 5 and… eventually, KH3); it was, in fact, the first game I played on that console! I went from having a PS2 to a complete and brand new PS4, and it was all so overwhelming and beautiful for me, that I couldn't not feel amazed by everything.

Ok, so let's clear something out of the table: did I like FFXV? Yes! I thought it was a good game. Was it perfect? Hell no, I'm not blind, people! But, is there anything outside that it's perfect? *cof cof don't throw The Last of Us at me cof*

FFXV was highly expected by the audience, and after '10 years' of waiting, they were thirsty for something innovative, fresh, new, creative and mind blowing. What we did get, nonetheless, was a game that was worth only the four or three years in development that it actually had. The so called Final Fantasy Versus XIII never saw the light of day, much to many people's disgrace, and all those years that supposedly the game was being developed vanished entirely from the face of earth. What happened, we'll never truly know, and one can only speculate.

Me, personally, I wasn't interested in FFvXIII. It wasn't until this game was rebranded as FFXV that it caught my attention. And with each trailer, I grew more and more hyped. I started being a fan of Final Fantasy games in late 2014, when I was in my most stressed month of first year of college, and I needed something to clear my mind after hours of studying. Final Fantasy games showed me that videogames can have plot!, can have good characters!, can have good plot twists!, can rip your heart out and twist it in their hands and then give it back to you all broken and shattered! So, of course I was going to be hyped for this game: it had a prince, it had four handsome characters, it had an awesome car, it had magic and it had crystals. A complete score for me.

FFXV, for those who haven't played it, is about the heir of the Kingdom of Lucis: Noctis. Noctis isn't your average prince: he's more the lazy kind of royalty child. And no, he's not emo. Yes, he likes his hair like that. Yes, he can see through it. Stop considering him as an emo. Play the game, you'll learn why. Anyway, Noctis's kingdom is in turmoil and fighting against the Niffleheim Empire, a technologically advanced country that's using the power of Magitek Troopers to submit as much as Lucis's territories as it can. Only Insomnia, the Crown City capital, remains safe behind its magical walls.

The political truce comes by the hand of Niffleheim chancellor Ardyn Izunia, a very funny character (and funny here meaning strange – oh I'm beginning to sound like Lemony Snicket) who's obviously up to no good. He proposes the marriage between Noctis, the prince of Lucis, and Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, the Oracle of Tenebrae. This is kind of ironic here, because Luna and Noctis knew each other from when they were children, but that's another story. Go watch the anime Brotherhood.

The kingdom of Lucis accepts this truce, albeit with suspicious eyes. Noctis, unaware of his father's true plans, is sent on a trip with his boyfriends – I mean, best friends, to Altissia, the city in which he's gonna marry Luna. He's happy, though. So happy that he even jokes about it to his father.

The moment he leaves Insomnia, all hell breaks loose. His city is attacked, destroyed, massacred, and many other synonyms, and his father dies in battle. The truce was no truce at all, the marriage was a façade, and the whole purpose was to wipe the Lucis Caelum dynasty from the face of Eos. Noctis, with the help of his bros, has to reclaim back his throne (huh, ring a bell? Back cover of the game? No?), by requesting the help of the Six Astrals (a.k.a. gods, a.k.a. gameplay wise, summons) and by seeking the Royal Arms, weapons wielded by Lucis Kings of old, his forebears.

So that's the set up. You start here, and everything goes downhill.

I'm going with the bad news first: what did FFXV do wrong – so wrong that it makes you wanna throw the game and ask yourself 'why did I buy this! This is no FF at all!'?

The FIRST thing this game did wrong was to be rushed. Yes. People are still saying that this game was ten years in development: guess what, it wasn't! Until Tabata relieved Nomura as director, the game was going nowhere. They had little time to create something worth the wait of ten years, and, inevitably, things were going to get crazy for these people working under pressure. I DID feel the game was rushed in the last chapters after leaving Altissia. The chapters that occur on the train feel like a plot device: we're moving, but there's nowhere to go, but the plot goes on, and so you gotta go on too, go with the flow, don't ask questions, just go there, do the thing, come back here, sit down, keep doing it. In one moment, after losing Prompto to that fall and witnessing the demise of Tenebrae (well, 'witness', we arrived just after the attack), I was just sitting there, watching Noctis and Ignis having a conversation and asking myself 'why the hell are we here, where are we heading'. MANY things happen off screen, and it gets on my nerves every time I think about it: the transformation of emperor into Foras, a demon that hunts you down during Chapter 13; the betrayal of Ravus Nox Fleuret; whatever happened to Verstael (is that man still alive? I guess we won't know until Episode Prompto DLC). We also don't get to see the content of Kingsglaive movie and the anime Brotherhood in the actual game, so if you were expecting some kind of backstory for each character, sorry to disappoint you, you gotta watch 'em all.

Actually, I do wanna do a sidenote here: the anime is pretty good. It's short: only an hour long, and it provides you with a lot of info you'll be glad to have. Also, it makes you like the characters even more. Yes, the content should've been there in the game SOMEWHERE (we don't ask for much), but still, it's worth your time. Kingsglaive, on the other hand… yes, it provides with crucial information for the start of the game that you SHOULD know, but that's only some minutes in the movie. The rest is just Nyx's story, and we're not really here for Nyx, are we?

At any rate, the second thing people are complaining more about is the cut content. There are lands and lands and lands AND LANDS of explorable places in the game that you CAN'T reach. They're there, they were supposed to serve some purpose, but you can't touch them. Shuuu. Also, prior to the game, many trailers were released and many scenes shown there didn't make it to the final product. Where is Luna's backstory? Where is that kid Noctis and king Regis scene from the Dawn Trailer? Nope, not for you! Sorry to disappoint ya!

That doesn't bother me too much. I don't pretty much look at the cut content: it's not in the game, it shouldn't be taken into account while reviewing it. But it's there, I guess.

What it actually bothers me a lot, is that you can't control your whole party. You only control Noctis. And that's fine, when you haven't played Final Fantasy Type 0, which was directed by the same man here. And in FF T0 you can control and SWITCH between 14 characters. All the time. Whenever you want. Always. And you're left wondering how the hell was that possible in a PSP game, but not in a PS4 game. I wonder.

The third thing I personally hate about this game, is Luna. Really. She's such a wasted potential that makes me wanna hit something. Period. I shipped Noctis more with the car than with her (joking, actually I ship Noct with Iris, but that's just me).

ALRIGHT, let's go with the good news now! Hell, how did you manage to like the game after all this that you've mentioned?

Like? Like? I LOVED the game!

Bear with me a little longer.

Yes, the game it's flawed in more ways that should've been allowed. But it also does many things well. Very well. The core of the game is on its gameplay: addictive, fun, not so strategic at the beginning, but still worth it. I spent hours killing fiends just to feel the enjoyment of smashing that sword and warping around with the prince of pain! The game has many optional dungeons, and some of them are nightmares made flesh, and if you want even a harder challenge, you have the dungeons inside of the dungeons, which are even more nightmarish! There are optional bosses here and there. It'll take some time before you run out of things to kill in the game. And even then, you can try your platforming skills in the Pitioss Dungeon, although I'd advise you to take it easy, because you're gonna have a bad time. Trust me, I'm an enginstudent of law.

Alright, you don't like the gameplay? Still, there are plenty of things to enjoy. The visuals in the game are awestriking. I used to hate driving in the car, but now, I enjoy the view and I listen to the music of older FF's, because everything there is worth seeing. The amount of details put into the game is amazing: how things get wet when it rains, even the car's glass gets pixelated with drops; how Noctis and the others interact with the environment; how the AI is programmed to make them react to different things in different ways. Even when Ignis, while driving, takes his Ebony coffee, the can doesn't disappear into thin air, but it's instead placed in a coaster in the car. It's a tiny thing, but it's there, people worked on it and it deserves praise!!

Fine, fine, you're not looking for details. Ok. Then you gotta love the characters. The way they interect with each other. Yes, we didn't have backstory for any of them. We don't know where Prompto comes from, or what Gladiolus wants, or why Iginis is likes he is. But, who cares. The time you spend with your bros is where the real trip is. No wonder Tabata said he wanted to make the 'roadtrip with friends' the main idea of the game. You grow fond of them without even noticing it, you start caring for them, even more when bad things start happening to them! Oh, my god, could SOMEONE hug PROMPTO, FOR F*CK'S SAKE HE NEEDS A HUG RIGHT NOW!!

And it's not just the main characters: Aranea Highwind is such a good asset in your party, that people even found the way to force her permanently in your team! (although they say new patches have removed this glitch – unfortunately) Iris Amicitia, Gladio's sister, is also a good change of pace for the male party members. And, hey, what about the main villain? Ardyn Izunia may very well be one of the best antagonists ON EARTH. I just love him so much, him and his plans and his voice actor.

OKAY, you don't like any of this! What about the music? It's gorgeous, it makes you tear up and have goosebumps. I cry myself to sleep with the soundtrack!

Music either…? Alright, alright. Maybe the ending of the game will compensate for something. No? Fine… maybe, just MAYBE FFXV isn't for you. And I'm not judging you!! Between us, my favorite FF is FFX.

Anyway, yes! I loved the game! And I cried a thousand rivers! And I started a new game + right after finishing it while still having tears in my eyes! Because this game, flawed though it is, means a lot to me. Really. It has given me many laughs, many cries, and it has made me feel real friendship. It's been a long time since I don't feel something real coming from a story, but this game has made it.

At the end of the day, this is the story of four friends: Noct, Iggy, Prom and Gladio. It doesn't matter the future of the kingdom. It doesn't matter how this war is going to end. What's important is the time you spend together with them. And how they, slowly but steadily, make their way into the player's heart.

So now, I do have a soft spot for this game in my heart. Although I know it's not perfect, it makes me glad to see how many people out there are still supporting it, and how the development team 'keeps on keeping on, the only way they know how'.

If you ever liked a Final Fantasy game… please, just give it a shot. If not, you can come to me and complain all you want, but don't miss the chance of playing this awesome game.

My final verdict, is an 8 out of 10. Could've been better, but still worth it. Really worth it. 

[theconservativebrief]

Twitter has finally brought back exclusively chronological timelines, more than two years after phasing them out.

In a move many would characterize as restoring a functionality it never should have removed in the first place, the social media platform announced on Monday that it will now allow users to fully opt out of “curated” timelines, in which “top-ranked” tweets — according to an algorithm, anyway — are shown first, above more recent tweets displayed in chronological order.

Users have always had the ability to turn off the curation function, which is listed as “Show the best tweets first” in Twitter’s settings menu — but only in a limited sense. Even users who disabled the “Show the best tweets first” setting were shown curated categories of tweets they couldn’t opt out of seeing (including popular tweets from people they didn’t follow) and which affected the order of their feeds. In essence, there was no such thing as a purely chronological timeline.

But now, citing user feedback, Twitter has restored the ability for people to view their feeds in all their completely uncurated glory.

6/ Our plan is to eventually replace this setting when the easier-to-access switch described above is available. We’ll keep you updated and are listening to your feedback – let us know what you think!

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) September 17, 2018

The changes followed a wave of clever workarounds and DIY filtering shared among users in an effort to achieve a change that many people wanted, but Twitter seemed unwilling to make.

In August, developer (and high-profile Twitter user) Andy Baio used Twitter’s search function to concoct a filter that displayed users’ timelines in uncurated, chronological order. It quickly became the engine behind a “new” website, realtwitter.com:

You know, I’ve had the domain https://t.co/Nu7N4UZsmF for years now, and never did anything with it. I just made it a forward to your filter url, for the benefit of mankind.

— Erin Sparling (@everyplace) August 17, 2018

Baio’s simple yet much-lauded hack was followed by multiple viral tweets about how to tweak your Twitter settings to reverse-engineer the chronological timeline of your dreams.

The best workaround I’ve found to Twitter’s horrible new algorithm is putting this in the search bar:

filter:follows -filter:replies include:nativeretweets

You will get your old chronological timeline back with no “likes” and with retweets from people you actually follow.

— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) September 12, 2018

Uh. Muting suggest_recycled_tweet_inline and suggest_activity_tweet actually has fixed my timeline. It’s all chronological and there are barely any “x and y liked” tweets. pic.twitter.com/Dva6LPQyLF

— Emma (@EmmaKinema) September 16, 2018

A Twitter spokesperson told BuzzFeed that the timing of the chronological timeline’s sudden reappearance was just a coincidence. After the announcement, the mood among many Twitter users ranged from delighted to jubilant to ecstatic.

Did Twitter just restore the chronological timeline? Is that nightmare over?

— Craig Bro Dude (@CraigSJ) September 18, 2018

Adding my hot take to the return of chronological timeline hot takes. Much more serendipity to the content & what I’m seeing is more interesting and varied. Optimising algorithms for past behavior certainly drive digital metrics but it risks leading you straight into a fishbowl

— Charles Ubaghs (@charlesubaghs) September 19, 2018

The chronological timeline is wonderful. I’m seeing followers that have been hidden from me for *ages*. The only problem I have is that eventually, twitter stops loading new tweets and I have to start over.

— Lisa Harney (@lisaquestions) September 19, 2018

The origins of Twitter’s algorithmically curated timeline date back years, with the platform implementing some of its components gradually. The company first began to officially phase out a chronologically organized timeline in February 2016, when it introduced the algorithmic timeline — in which “top-ranked” tweets, scored by a “relevance model,” were automatically curated to appear first and most frequently. Often, people would see tweets from users they didn’t even follow, above more recent tweets from those they did.

Initially, people could opt-out, but that wasn’t true for long. By early 2017, many users were complaining frequently of seeing tweets from people they didn’t follow, as part of Twitter’s ongoing attempts to recommend content to its audience.

A Twitter spokesperson emphasized to Vox this week that, while the company has restored the chronological timeline option in response to user feedback, its research has shown that people find Twitter more relevant and useful when they’re shown the “best” tweets first.

You might be wondering why being able to view tweets chronologically ever became an issue at all. Who cares what order tweets are displayed in? Aren’t they all just tweets? Well, yes and no.

The emphasis on curated timelines and recommendations across several social media platforms — Facebook and Instagram also surface content based on what an algorithm thinks users will be most interested in — has often baffled and frustrated users.

While the platforms say that filtered and curated timelines provide more value to users, users themselves have frequently said that, in practice, they are regularly shown content that’s already several days old, which is served up instead of newer content they would prefer not to miss.

Some user experience designers have chalked up the desire for a chronological timeline to FOMO (“fear of missing out”). Others, including Twitter engineer Andrew Huang — who wrote extensively about the algorithmic feed when it was first implemented in 2016 — have said that users’ FOMO was what proved there was a need for curation. (Some industry observers have also speculated that Twitter’s decision to introduce the algorithmic curation was driven by investors who felt the platform was failing to elevate important content.)

People who revert to a chronological feed on Twitter will undoubtedly miss seeing the most popular tweets on any given day. But the ongoing friction between social media platforms and their users over the desire for a chronological feed is about much more than just a preference to read things in order. It’s also about a growing distrust and weariness of algorithmic curation, the way social media algorithms increasingly help to spread misinformation, and the loss of user control over what they see on their feeds.

A chronological timeline isn’t just a timeline ruled by a clearly defined order; it’s a feed in which information is neutral. In a social media world full of chronological timelines, virality is organic, achieved only through retweets and reblogs, without any algorithmic boosts. The power of using hashtags to amplify and expand conversations or broadcast events isn’t filtered or limited because an algorithm doesn’t see certain posts as “important.”

All of this is crucial to understanding why so many Twitter users are loyal to the platform despite Twitter’s ongoing controversies and numerous failures. When it’s unfiltered and uncurated — and when your feed isn’t overrun by bots, fascists, and/or disingenuous trolls — Twitter can fulfill its stated mission to serve as a “public square,” where ideas get promoted because people find them worthy of discussion, not because a robot thinks you might like them. That is, it’s democratic. And at a moment when people are worried about the literal death of American democracy, that’s not insignificant.

To be fair, a chronological timeline isn’t a cure-all for Twitter. Between the bots, the trolls, the fake news, the Nazis, and the algorithmic curation that’s unavoidable on other parts of the platform (namely in hashtag feeds and the search function), even reverting to a chronological feed won’t give you a completely “neutral” view of Twitter — that’s an idealistic dream that seems increasingly out of reach.

But the simple option to read tweets chronologically will at least give users more control over a system that often feels uncontrollable, and hopefully remind us of what Twitter can be at its best.

If you’d like to restore your timeline to a chronologically ordered view, navigate to your “Settings and Privacy” page, which you can get to by clicking your Twitter avatar. From there, scroll down to the option to “Show the Best Tweets First.” You want to make sure that option is unchecked.

As part of its announcement on Monday, Twitter explained that this week’s changes are just a first step, and that once they’re fully implemented, users will have the ability to easily toggle between a chronological feed and a curated one. With that final change, hopefully we’ll have the best of both worlds, and Twitter users can resume their other favorite Twitter activity — complaining about the lack of an edit function.

Meanwhile, it’s your move, Instagram.

Original Source -> At long last, Twitter brought back chronological timelines. Here’s why they’re so beloved.

via The Conservative Brief