#(so we're back to where we started on that point)

[captainclickycat]

Whoops turns out I have Further Thoughts on this.

So, here's the thing. We could argue a lot about whether or not characters in horror films make stupid decisions and how it depends on the individual film and what have you all day long. And I'm sure we could come up with a few examples on either side of the argument.

But I think there's a broader point here which is that when people say "what if there was a horror movie that featured a convenient and straightforward way for the characters to get out of trouble without making any sacrifices along the way, so they did that and were fine, the end", and especially when they present this as some kind of refreshing new take on the genre...

Well, aside from the fact that this would make for a very boring and disappointing story for anyone who actually wanted to watch a horror film, it has the same energy as those people who are presented with moral dilemmas as a thought exercise and get fixated on "what if there was a way to stop the trolley and save all six people" "what if you could replace the Omelas kid with a robot" and so on. It's a copout, and it really does come off more like they're balking at the idea that suffering is sometimes unavoidable, that sometimes there are no easy answers and any decision you make comes at a cost.

It reminds me of this other post that was going round a decade or so ago, where the title was something like "horror movies for our generation" and the gist of the whole thing was essentially "if millennials were in a horror movie scenario we'd be able to fix everything and save ourselves straight away because we're so smart and progressive and have the best resources!" (Which to add a bit of extra context was clearly pushing back against a lot of the "millennials are stupid children who don't know how to do anything" think piece discourse that was floating around at the time) and a lot of people in the notes (possibly even including me, at the time) going "omg I need this!! I'd watch the shit out of this!!" which, when you think about it, is really weird when you acknowledge that the scenarios being described were essentially just "what if something that claimed to be a horror story actually just had no plot."

The idea of a horror story where the characters make sensible, realistic, understandable decisions is potentially a great premise (and again, there are plenty of existing horror stories that already meet that criteria.) Crucially, though, that can't be enough to get them out of trouble, at least not instantaneously.

If you could avoid getting lost in the scary woods just by using your trusty functioning gps tracker, there would be no story. So in an actual horror story, the gps wouldn't work, or it would be hijacked by some sinister entity and end up landing the characters right back where they started, or lead them further into danger. The characters happen to have the exact right combination of personalities and skillsets to instantly defeat the monster and go home? Well, first of all that's just dumb luck, and second of all that can't work right away either. There would be a different monster that they can't defeat so easily, or they simply don't have enough information or opportunity for most of the story to be able to actually use their collective skills against it. You managed to evade the killer and get out of the creepy log cabin unharmed? Congratulations. Your best friend is still in there, though, and they might be injured. Are you comfortable leaving them behind and hoping they can fend for themself while you get away? What if it's your child? Sometimes the "stupid" decision is the one you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you didn't make.

I'm going to give the "cozy romance" person props because at least they're honest about the fact that they don't actually want a horror story, and at least the story they're proposing would actually have a plot, just not a horror one. I can see where their thought process was going; there is something cool about the idea of a secret secondary plot going on in the background that the protagonist managed to narrowly avoid, that we can put the pieces together about if we pay close enough attention. (It's not the best example, there are undoubtedly better ones, but it reminds me a bit of Shaun of the Dead where we get these hints that there's a doppelgänger squad running around in the background, and it seems like just a one-off joke until one of them shows up at the end with the military in tow.)

But the thing about that example and a lot of the other ones is that there's eventually a payoff. Ultimately it does affect the protagonists in some way, even if it's sometimes a subtle way. And there's something sort of weird, and just a little jarring, about the idea of reading a story where you're sort of vaguely aware that horrible things are happening to some poor bastard in the background, and your only takeaway from that is supposed to be "oh well, sucks to be them. Let's continue to enjoy watching these Sensible people kiss! Yay!" Apart from maybe being a cool sort of easter egg, what exactly is the point of this subplot, besides imparting the profoundly unsatisfying message of "you can easily avoid danger and have a wonderful life if you're just smart and sensible enough!" when that's so often and so tragically untrue in real life.

And that's why I feel like this would be a much better premise if the horror eventually caught up with the protagonist. Because sorry folks, but escaping the genre unscathed is too easy and too unsatisfying. It has to at least be a challenge, or there's no story worth reading.

You can't just replace the Omelas kid with a robot.

people are so mean about horror movie victims like. sorry but if i had gone to a cabin in the woods with my friends as a teenager you couldn't have stopped us from reading aloud from the evil tome. how were they supposed to know the ancient curse was real they're like 17

[harunayuuka2060]

Azul(?): What does this mean? Are you protecting them?

MC(?): The guests haven't violated any rules.

Azul(?): He was alone. Surely, that gives me the right to—

MC(?): It is forbidden to harm guests who have been following the rules. I urge you to be patient and wait for the hunt. *bows their head*

Azul(?): ...

Azul(?): I will let this slide for now. *glances at Kalim and Riddle before turning away*

Kalim: Wh-Whew... That was a close call...

Riddle: Kalim! What were you thinking, running off on your own?!

Kalim: Sorry... I heard a kid crying for help—

Riddle: We don’t have the luxury of worrying about anyone else right now! Do you understand?!

Kalim: Y-Yes...

Kalim: *glances at MC*

*Kalim saw the glint of concern dance in their eyes for a second, even as their expression remained stoic.*

Kalim: !

Riddle: Kalim!

Kalim: Y-Yes... I'm sorry...

Leona: The "hunt"?

Riddle: Yes. I wasn’t able to ask, but it seems we’ll all be killed on that day.

Azul: That’s all the more reason to escape this place.

Azul: But the question is... how?

The dorm leaders: ...

Malleus: We haven't fully explored our options yet.

Vil: Are you suggesting we conduct an investigation?

Malleus: If we remain isolated in this room, we won't be able to accomplish anything. Additionally, I think we are safest when we stay together in pairs.

Leona: That idea would be great, but the question is, would those doppelgangers just stand by while we roam this place?

Malleus: If push comes to shove, we’ll just have to eliminate them.

Idia: No, no. We're not doing that.

Leona: I agree with Radish Sprout here. Also, how are you so sure we can beat them, huh?

Malleus: Are you scared, Kingscholar?

Leona: Ha! Why? You think it’s baseless? Then why not ask Vil?

Malleus: Schoenheit?

Vil: ...

Vil: When no one was looking, Kalim’s doppelganger snuck up on me from behind.

*The room went silent.*

Azul: Why didn't you tell us this sooner, Vil-san?

Vil: I don’t see the point of it. However, we should be cautious. None of you noticed. He could’ve dragged me away, and it would’ve been too late.

The rest of them: ...

*Someone knocks on the door.*

Leona: Who is it?

MC(?): It's me.

Kalim: *opens the door*

Azul: Kalim— *sigh*—Nevermind.

Leona: What's your business here?

MC(?): ...

MC(?): These are not enough, but…

*MC(?) rolled up their sleeves, revealing small daggers embedded in the flesh of their arms. They stifled grunts of pain as they carefully pulled each one out.*

*The dorm leaders stared at them, horrified, and felt pity as they witnessed the scene.*

Vil: Potato...

MC(?): *blood still dripping from their arms*

MC(?): Please use these to protect yourselves.

Leona: Oi, Fake Herbivore, why are you doing this?

MC(?): ...

MC(?): There can't be two in the same world... One must die. I sincerely hope... it won't be any of you.

Leona(?): You should've been more generous with the weapons you offered. What could those little daggers possibly do, hm?

Leona(?): *has grabbed MC(?)'s hair*

Kalim(?): The hunt is approaching. Could it be that they've done this to make it more thrilling? *giggles*

Azul(?): In that case, this punishment is meaningless.

Malleus(?): I agree.

Leona(?): *shoves MC(?) to the ground, with Malleus(?) catching them*

MC(?): ...

Malleus(?): It's alright, my dearest. I understand that you still desire fairness.

MC(?): You are kind.

Azul(?): *looks displeased*

*Azul(?) dragged MC(?) to his room and started stabbing them, while they made no effort to resist.*

Azul(?): I'm angry...

Azul(?): Really... angry...

MC(?): I understand...

Azul(?): YOU DON'T!

MC(?): ...

Azul(?): *his voice softens* You... Your smile... Where did that go?

MC(?): ...

MC(?): I don't understand... what you're asking me.

Azul(?): ...

Azul(?): *releases them, his expression shifts back to its usual cold demeanor*

Azul(?): They will never escape this place. *leaving MC alone*

MC(?): ...

MC(?): I must hurry...

[rafesbuzzcutseason]

chasing city lights

chapter 11 - flatline

synopsis: you move to new york to start fresh, hoping to find comfort in the city’s atmosphere. that’s when you meet sarah cameron, where she takes you to a concert and you catch sight of the lead band member, rafe cameron. it only takes a moment for you to realize you’re captivated by him. as sarah helps you navigate your new life in the city, you start to get pulled deeper into rafe's world—the music, the fame, the chaos. the more you get to know him, the more you realise that rafe is not just the rock star he seems to be. he’s wrestling with his own demons, and the last thing he needs is someone like you getting close.

masterlist

cw: language

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ ☾. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

after your day with rafe yesterday, the girls had so many questions and you told them everything, down to the song he wrote for you. what you didn't expect however, was that the song was going to be released in a few days time.

"i genuinely can't believe this," sarah started, "i mean him opening up to you? the commincation? the song? where is rafe and what have you done with him." she giggled.

"no y/n i don't think you understand the extent of this. like we've all been friends with rafe for a good 6 years, and i have never seen a girl have this affect on him before."

"guys stop you're making me think i'm some kind of miracle." you laughed with them.

"that's because you are a miracle." cleo joined in.

"so do you think you'll become official soon...?" sarah questioned.

"i don't know, the fans already think we are." you stated.

"the fans are fucking crazy. you'll get used to that i promise. when me and pope started dating everyone went bonkers over it." cleo reassured you.

"i guess so, it's okay i don't mind it, it's just getting used to seeing my face whenever i open twitter." you said. "whatever, we've got a flight to catch." you all finished your last minute packing and made your way into the car that was waiting for you outside the hotel.

part of you was sad to be leaving the state you had made so many memories in, but you knew heading back to new york all together was just the beginning for this new chapter for you and rafe.

once you made it to the airport, you found the rest of the boys who had left earlier as they all entered 'dad mode' and were getting stressed, john b to blame for that.

"finally you're here!" john b began as he saw you walk through the door.

"yeah thought we were gonna have to leave without you." pope said sarcastically.

"enough. we're here now aren't we?" cleo said rhetorically.

"yes ma'am" jj joined in, everyone was in agreement that cleo was the boss of the group.

you made your way to say hi to topper, who was slowly starting to become his usual self again, you assumed him and rafe had a conversation to try and clear the air.

but you eventually made it to rafe, who looked like his was patiently waiting his turn to get your attention, "hey you" he said.

"hey" you replied with a slight blush, "i didn't know you were actually going to release the song." you rushed out.

a look of concern took over him, "do you mind?" he asked worriedly.

"no! no i'm happy" you started, "but the fans are a little crazy."

"yeah i know they are and i should've warned you about that, but the best ones mean no harm and all you can try and do is ignore them." he replied.

"hard to ignore them when they're commenting on everything i post." you quietly said.

"i can say something if it really bothers you, okay?" he softly reached out to give your hand a squeeze.

"okay" you smiled at him, always putting you at ease.

"ok love birds pack it in," jj hollered "i don't think this plane is going to wait for us."

"whatever dude" rafe grinned, "ready?" he turned to you.

"ready."

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ ☾. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

a/n: sorry guys i made this chapter a lot more smau, just as i had the idea to do the thread (which took me ages LAWD) and also wanted to get the song mentioned ! 5 points to anyone who knows the actual song and band🙈

taglist: @hoefordrewstarkey @marleymarleymarleymarley @bee-43 @cherryhoneybabe @skye-44 @drewrry @drewrry  @yesterdaysproblemm @pogueprincesa @dylsdaily @rafeysworldim19 @valyrianflower @kaiparkerwifes @judesgfirl @4urvalidation @chillgal135 @drewstarkeyslover @yesshewrites1@amterasuu@babykhloutofthisworld @blushmimi  @moonywhisp3rs @rafeysworldim19 @marleymarleymarleymarley@sabrina-carpenter-stan-account@vcnillafairy @bambii1i @sammyrenae68 @popou61

[fuctacles]

If you saw the snippets where i fucked up the timeline no u didnt.

<< 16 | 0 | 18 >>

"What's his name?" Steve asks, playing with the bunny's paw. The only time he let go of him since last night was to use the bathroom.

"Frankenbunny," Eddie answers, and smiles when Steve snorts after hearing it. "My grandma made him from fabric scraps grandpa would bring from work. I've made the vest, though." He stretches and blinks his eyes open properly, in time to see Steve's impressed expression.

"Really?"

"Well, Wayne helped," he added. "It's actually made from the same jacket I turned into my vest." 

"Oh, that's so cool!" Steve turns the bunny around to take a better look at the details. The tiny vest even has frayed edges and Dio stitched on the back. "You guys match."

Eddie snorts. 

"Yeah, we're both full of stitches," he points out dryly. 

Steve hums, pressing the toy closer to his face. It's something he's done before sleep, too, but last night Eddie wrote it off as a drunken mirage.

"And both pretty handsome fellas," he says, face half-hidden behind the bunny. He opens one eye, looking from under his eyelashes shyly, trying to gauge Eddie's reaction. 

Which, Eddie would love to know and understand as well.

"Oh, I don't know," he shrugs, reaching out to poke at Frankenbunny's face. "He doesn't have the signature Munson dimples." When in doubt, joke, as the Denial Decalogue says. 

Steve hums. 

"Yeah, I guess he can't hold a candle to the real thing. Not as talkative, for one."

Eddie can't help but stare, still leaning over his friend as he processes what he's heard. 

"You like my constant yapping?" he asks in surprise. Even his uncle seems tired of it, at times. Only his players appreciate his word flow, but that's with benefit to them.

"Of course." Steve focuses his attention back on the toy. "When you talk, I don't have to, I can just listen. And that's good because I tend to say some stupid shit," he says, almost absentmindedly. "This way, I'm not the dumb one in the room for once."

The casual innocence of his voice makes the meaning of his words miss Eddie completely until the air waves hit his other ear. 

"Oh, you little..."

As Steve's cheeky smirk grows, he pounces. 

Frankenbunny falls away, the hands holding him now focused on guarding all the ticklish spots. 

"Eddie!" Steve laughs, trying to grasp his wrists and squirm away. "We need to be quiet." 

"Should have though of it before being a brat!" Eddie grins at him, doubling his efforts and moving to pin him in place. 

Steve makes a distressed sound and writhes under him, bending hard enough it dislodges Eddie off of him but also, off the bed. He falls down with a surprised squeak.

"Sorry!" Steve barely suppresses his laugh when he looks down at him. "You alright?"

"No," Eddie groans, splayed on the floor. "I got back-stabbed."

"The dramatics are intact, you'll be fine," he rolls his eyes and steps over him. Eddie makes an even more wounded sound, but Steve ignores him, choosing to look for something comfy to wear instead. He throws a tshirt that doesn't smell of barbecue at Eddie's face, mistakenly assuming that's it—they are going to leave his bedroom and start on breakfast for the others. 

Wrong.

As soon as he has a pick of clothes in his hand, and is trying to get to the bathroom, Eddie grabs his ankle. He makes an undignified yelp and lands on the other boy. Which, serves him well. 

They roll on his carpet in an impromptu wrestling match, grinning at each other and muffling their laughs, trying to get the upper hand. 

Until Steve snaps his teeth at Eddie.

They freeze, two pairs of wide eyes staring at the other in silence. 

Steve moves first, backing away and almost falling over Eddie's knees. 

"Shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that," he explains quickly, scrambling to get off his friend. Eddie doesn't stop him, just stares openly at the mesmerizing specimen in front of him.

"That was so fucking hot."

"I don't know why I did—what?" Steve sits back on his haunches, eyes even wider as he stares at Eddie. At his wild hair splayed around his head, at his flushed face. The sliver of skin visible where his shirt has ridden up while they were roughhousing. 

"What?" he parrots, licking his lips nervously. 

"What did you just say?" Steve presses, voice turning desperate, pressing. But Eddie seals his mouth into a tight line. Lead by a hunch, he looks for his answer down the line of his body.

"Hey!" Eddie protests, sitting up and pulling his shirt down. But it was too late, the tent in his pants has been seen. "What the fuck, man?!" he hisses, his face red and eyes wide in panic. 

"Sorry, I—" Steve bites his lip. "But I snapped at you? That's weird, right?"

"Well, I'm apparently into weird, so..." Eddie trails off, looking away. Pointedly avoiding Steve's searching eyes. 

"You're into it?" he prods, but all Eddie can give him is a shrug. It's too fresh of a feeling to properly explain. Hell, he hasn't full came to terms with it himself yet. 

"Is it like a... a sex thing?" Steve tries again. 

"Maybe? Probably? I don't know!" Eddie snaps defensively, folding in on himself to hide his thankfully wilting erection. 

Steve's silence is terrifying, and when he looks up, he finds his eyes still studying him.

"Quit staring, man," he mumbles, squeezing his thighs together. "I'm sorry."

"Don't." Steve shakes his head. "It's fine, it happens. But just... don't move for a second."

"It happens," Eddie is muttering mockingly, when the rest of his friend's words register in his brain. "What?" But Steve is already too close, and he can't escape. Not that he wants to. "Steve," he says quietly, between a warning and a plea, when warm breath hits his neck.

Steve is sniffing him. At the crook of his neck, where undoubtedly his embarrassment has gathered in a pool of sweat.

He's terrified in a way that has nothing to do with fear. Worried what Steve might smell on him, when his surprisingly cold nose brushes his skin. 

Or maybe it's him running hot with whatever has just transpired. 

Eddie flinches at the touch and Steve moves away, his eyes big and warm with something he can't read. 

"You're fine," he says, and it sounds more like a relief of his own than reassurance for Eddie. "I'm into weird too."

Eddie looks at him quizzically, until he realizes it's not Steve's face holding his answers. He trails his gaze down, and immediately aims it back upward, over-correcting towards the heavens, where maybe he'll get some guidance.

"Shit," he croaks out from his closed up throat. Steve is way too close to him too, from his impromptu sniffing session. Eddie coughs to clear his airways. "Why did you smell me? Is it that bad?" he jokes, but has a feeling Steve won't take the out. Not with the curious way he's looking at him. 

"You smell like want," he answers with painful honesty. "Embarrassment."

Eddie blushes at that one. Well, yeah. Popping a boner in front of your, uh, something, will do that to a man.

"But also joy, affection," Steve continues. "And no fear."

"Why would I fear you? We were just playing around. It's not like you're gonna bite me," he focuses on the safest option. He's not unpacking his feelings for Steve first thing in the morning. Maybe after a coffee. 

It's Steve's turn to go beet red. 

"Sometimes I want to."

"What?" 

He shuffles back sheepishly. 

"Sometimes I see you and I really, really wanna bite you."

Eddie stares at him.

"In like, a werewolf way?" he asks dumbly, earning himself a flat look.

"I think we've established this is not how werewolves are made. I meant in, like, a playful way," he explains. "Like, I'm so excited and happy I can't hold it in anymore, way."

He wants to ask if it's a pack thing, but bites his tongue, not sure if anyone has even taught Steve pack rituals. The guy is going through pure instincts alone, and should be supported in it, so really, there's only one thing he can say.

"Well, why won't you?"

They stare at each other in stunned silence, until a clatter comes from downstairs.

"Steeeeve! The express is doing it again!"

Eddie deflates with a groan, falling back onto the carpet. What the fuck did he just say? He won't survive this crush. Steve will be no help, as he's now hovering over his body.

"We'll get back to this," he says quietly, in a promise or a warning, before clambering upright and out of the room, yelling at Robin.

"Do not press the fucking button!"

Tags: @noodle-shenaniganery @jaytriesstrangerthings @imaginary-maggie-waggie @samsoble @croatoan-like-its-hot @dragonmama76 @storyranger @scoops-aboy86 @ollyxar @estrellami-1 @stevesworldxx @ajeff855 @live-laugh-love-dietrich @thelittleclare @wheneverfeasible @bumblebeecuttlefishes @blasvemous @phantomcat94 @n33dlew0rk @manliest-of-muppets @ravenfrog @dreamercec @tartarusknight  @eyehartart @ellietheasexylibrarian @im-sam-fucking-winchester

[drinksglue]

Chiming in because as of late this is something that's been really bothering me.

The big problem is that the people who claim to be the Enlightened Neutral Party in pro/anti discourse:

Have been acquainted with the discourse for no more than three collective minutes, so they have no idea what it's about or what kind of behavior has been surging in frequency in the last decade or so --- and because of that, they are unable to process the real-world ramifications of these talking points becoming popular (parallels to real-world hate groups who push for censorship, for example)

Have been fortunate enough to not be harassed over their ships (or watch someone they care about be harassed) to the extent that others have been, if at all

Assuming we're talking about people who are clueless and not people who are antis who don't want to be loud and proud about it, they have no actual experiences to go off of when it comes to this debate, so to them it's just "online discourse". They believe there are no real-world consequences, being either willfully or unintentionally ignorant of the fact that people do get doxxed and stalked in real life over petty fandom morality bullshit.

No halfway decent person is going to watch somebody beat the tar out of another person, and when the person getting beat finally punches back, try to "both sides" the situation and insist they're both in the wrong because "it's just a stupid fight. Just stop fighting, idiots!" Meanwhile, the person who is getting beaten up on very much agrees! They would LOVE for the fight to stop! But they did not start the fight, and the person who did has no intention of stopping. The victim is blamed for the aggressor's refusal to stop being an aggressor.

Pro-ship and pro-fiction folks also think fandom discourse is fucking stupid! We agree! But as long as antis keep causing issues instead of just blocking shit they don't like, the pro/anti discourse is going to continue.

And again, all of this is caused by the fact that neutrals are either antis who won't admit it, or people who have not seen the full scope of the problem. They try to speak on the subject, trying to sound enlightened and "above it all", despite not knowing anything about it. They do not see, or pretend to not see, people being doxxed over ships. They do not see, or pretend not to see, cases like IAmLunaSol where artists are stalked IN REAL LIFE over fictional characters. They do not see, or pretend not to see, the people who have attempted and/or successfully committed suicide as a result of witch-hunts led by antis ever since the early days of modern fancop activity in the Steven Universe fandom.

TL;DR if you're "neutral", you're either an anti and trying to hide it, or you have no idea what you're talking about and should either take the time to talk to us to learn what's been going on, or you should keep your pseudo-philosophical faux-enlightenment to yourself.

Still really hating those posts that are like "not anti or proship but a secret third thing; an adult with a job" Like??? I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you this, but most adults with jobs still care about people getting harassed until they kill themselves. 😭😭

[okaysonny]

business advice ╏ hudson ahn

★ summary: hudson gets a noise complaint ─ from one person.

★ details: fluff, f! reader, spoiler free.

★ wc: 1.4k

★ A/N: who else has a crush on him

"YOU! YELLOW HEAD!"

hudson's eyes widen, looking around.

but no, jay isn't here. and everyone else has dark hair. which can only mean…

hudson turns to face the girl approaching him, who looks comically angry. he can practically see steam coming out of her ears.

his eyes narrow. "are you talking to me?"

she's now right in front of him, pointing aggressively. "yeah i'm talking to you! don't you own this place?" she gestures to ansan's night club just ahead of them.

"i do. are you here to talk business? although…" he eyes her hoodie and sweatpants. "…you don't really look the part"

she blinks, not expecting a belittling so soon, but quickly shakes her head. "no i'm not here to talk business" she mimics his voice at the 'business' part. hudson feels a vein on his forehead throb.

"you need to turn the music down at night!" she huffs. "i can hear it from my window…" she points at an apartment building in the distance. "…all the way over there! some of us are trying to sleep, y'know?!"

he waits to see if she's finished her piece, before simply saying:

"0 points"

she blinks again. "…the fuck?"

"0 points. that's the score i give you. one…" he starts counting on his fingers. "…you show up sloppy. two. you disrespect me. and three. you start complaining about music when we're doing nothing wrong. where's your decorum?"

"...what- you-" she stammers, clearly speechless at his obviously correct evaluation.

she grits her teeth in frustration. "you wanna talk about decorum? it's not very um…decorum of you to play such loud music in the night!"

he sighs in disappointment. "bad grammar too. - 1 point"

"who gives a fuck?! now you're just nitpicking! and tell your employees to turn the music down!"

"…you're the only one complaining. why should i lower it for one person?"

she pauses, unable to think of a counterargument. "…um…"

hudson doesn't wait for her to finish. "ansan is critically acclaimed for its nightlife. it's what everyone comes here for. the loud music, which isn't even that loud by the way, is to be expected. if you don't like it, then move"

her jaw drops. "you…you ignorant, naive little─" she exhales slowly, composing herself.

"…can you just please turn it down?" she mumbles.

he runs a hand through his hair, getting tired of this argument now. "…like i said, you're the only one complaining. i'm assuming you didn't take this higher up, right? so, i have no obligation to lower it. come back with a court order and then we'll talk"

she sighs in defeat and starts walking back, flipping him off. "fine! but this isn't over, yellow head! i'll be back with that court order!"

hudson shrugs. "go ahead"

she can try, but it won't make a difference. channing can wrap anyone around his finger.

he shakes his head, heading back into the club. what an unsophisticated lady.

he hears her footsteps stop. "…your drinks are crap, by the way"

hudson hates that he can't hide his surprise, but the comment catches him off guard. "…what?"

she clearly notices it, because she wears an evil grin before continuing. "well…my friend likes to go clubbing a lot. she likes everything here, except the drinks"

now it's his turn to blink. well…the drink sales have been down lately. but everything else is in tip-top shape. he just put it down as an anomaly in the market.

he waves a hand dismissively, recovering from his brief surprise. "we take great care in analysing these things. we know what we’re doing. not that i'd expect you to understand"

she rolls her eyes and looks away for a moment, second-guessing herself. "...i'm not saying i know how to run a business or whatever. i’m just saying...my friend complains about the drinks all the time. and not just her ─ her other little clubbing friends say the same thing"

hudson tilts his head slightly, her words starting to pique his interest despite himself. "...what do her and her friends say?"

she shrugs. "i dunno. i don't really pay attention. she just says they’re kind of…boring, i guess? same old classics, nothing new or exciting. um…" she pauses, trying to remember. "oh yeah! seltzer's. they wish you had seltzer's here"

a flicker of curiosity crosses his face. "...seltzer's? you mean..."

"yeah, like the fruity, canned drinks everyone’s obsessed with these days" she speaks with less hesitance now.

"i work night shifts at the convenience store nearby, so i see what people like...and it matches up. everyone loves them. so i dunno, maybe there’s something to it"

he doesn’t respond, his mind starting to piece things together.

it's bizarre. they were just arguing a few minutes ago. now they're discussing alcoholic beverages.

she looks at him cautiously before continuing. "and uh...customers buy soju obviously, but they take a lot of fruit to go with it. strawberries and watermelon, stuff like that. it seems trendy these days. do you do soju cocktails?"

...they don't.

hudson stays quiet, arms crossed as he processes her words. she's not an expert, but she isn’t completely off the mark.

he hadn’t considered the problem might be the drinks themselves. ansan had always stuck with the classics, assuming they’d appeal to everyone, and it's worked for ages.

but maybe tastes were shifting. if soju cocktails and seltzers - which they didn't sell - were in demand...it could be worth researching what else customers like. lighter, trendier options…freshening up the menu could attract a whole new crowd, even boost overall sales.

the girl sighs, annoyed by his lack of response. "anyway, sorry. i went off on a tangent. keep serving whatever you want"

she turns, walking away again. "but i was serious about that court order, yellow head!"

hudson closes his eyes, feeling irritated. how has this not crossed his mind before? why does this random girl in sweatpants unknowingly know more than him?

her words stay in his head, and hudson knows he won’t be able to let it go.

"...wait" he says, sighing.

she turns around once more, her brows raising in confusion.

he pinches his nose bridge, preparing himself for what he's about to say. "that was...helpful. i suppose i could ask my guys to...turn the music down"

she stares at him, taken aback, before smiling. not the weird evil grin she wore earlier, a real one. "...you will? seriously? i just...really need some quiet, so i can study"

huh. "...yes" he says, a bit softly.

her smile grows wider, flashing her teeth at him. "wow...thanks a lot. really. i know it's a nuisance for you, yellow he-" she pauses, looking sheepish. "hey, what's your real name? i'll stop calling you yellow head now"

"hudson ahn...sun of ansan"

weird. he's talked to plenty of girls, all of them more beautiful than she is. why are his cheeks heating up now?

"...sun of ansan?" she covers her mouth, perhaps trying to stifle a laugh. "that's...cool"

"what's yours?" he can't help but avoid eye contact.

she looks pleasantly surprised. "me? i'm─"

─ beautiful. her name is beautiful. she is beau─ actually, what's he even thinking? is central seoul's romantic guy rubbing off on him?

hudson rummages in his pocket, handing her a business card. "here. it's my contact details. just in case you want to...point out anything else you notice"

she eyes it peculiarly, before shaking her head in disbelief. "i guess all business guys just have these handy, huh?"

still, she doesn't give it back, or tells him to get lost, or rips it up. instead, she keeps it.

she turns and starts walking away ─ for the final time. she looks back at him, waving the card as she speaks. "bye hudson ahn sun of ansan" she giggles. so, she was in fact, laughing at his title.

he watches her figure get smaller, the tiny dot turning into nothing.

a girl giving him business advice...and it's useful? he never thought he'd see the day.

he only saw her smile once, but he wouldn't mind seeing it again.

hudson heads back into the club, getting preparations ready for the night ahead.

she still lacks etiquette. she also giggled at the title he's so proud of. but...that doesn't stop him from muttering to himself.

"100 points"

A/N: okay...i know his hair is more light brown than yellow, but "brown head" doesn't have the same ring to it. just imagine...the sunlight makes it seem yellow, because he's the sun of ansan bye

divider: @thecutestgrotto

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

hey so can I have Kurt x reader where neither has said I love you yet and they’re just spending time together, enjoying each other’s company and s/o actually springs on him “I love you” in german? He never taught s/o that.

~Sweet How The Words Slip~

Pairing: Nightcrawler x Reader

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: not a single one this is so cute

Genre: fluff

Summary: As it turns out, you're in love with your boyfriend, and now you have to tell him.

A/N: Thank you for each and every one of your requests <3

***

Jean and Storm are sitting on your bed while you clean your bedroom. You'd asked them to sit with you so you could actually get some stuff done.

"We're happy to be here while you do your chores or whatever but you have to spill." Jean says.

"Spill what?" You ask.

"I think she's talking about you and Wagner." Storm chuckles.

"Of course I am. They spend so much time together I'm surprised he's not hiding in her closet right now. I was starting to think we'd have to surgically remove him to ever get her alone again." Jean says and even though you're not looking at your you can feel her eyes roll.

"Surgically remove him?" You scoff out a laugh as you toss an old dress you never wear hiding in the back of your closet.

"Well yeah he never leaves you alone." She says.

"Alright don't talk about him like a pest he's- welcome. He 'never leaves me alone' because I don't want him to. I enjoy being around him as much as I assume he enjoys being around me." You shrug.

"Ah the honeymoon phase. Everything is sweet and perfect and the world revolves around nothing but your love." Storm teases.

"I didn't say any of that?" You frown.

"Everything isn't sweet and perfect?" She asks flatly.

"Well not perfect! Kurt is incredibly sweet so that's not really relationship specific but we're not perfect!"

"Girl who are you tryna fool?" Storm scoffs.

"It's fine if things are perfect. You're still so fresh I find it hard to believe you're already fighting." Jean says.

"We're not fighting." You shake your head.

"Of course you're not. He's obsessed with you." Storm says.

"Obsessed is a stretch I feel like." You say.

"It's not. He looks at you like you put the stars in the sky." Jean smiles.

"You guys are being ridiculous."

"So you're telling me he's not already planning the rest of your lives together?" Storm asks.

"Don't... get ahead of yourself Storm we've only been partners for a few months now." You say.

"We know it's on the horizon." Storm says.

"Yeah he's already made it clear how head over heels in love with you he is." Jean says.

"Girl what are you talking about?" You shake your head.

"What?" Her eyes widen. Even Storm shifts, sitting up in her surprise.

"What?" You ask

"The guy's been into you almost as long as he's been an X-man and you're telling us he hasn't said 'I love you' yet?" Jean gasps.

"Why are you freaking out? We haven't been seeing each other that long."

"It took him less than 6 weeks to make you his girlfriend after he finally asked you out, he had a crush on you for years before that and you don't think it's I dunno surprising that he's not said 'I love you' already?" Jean asks.

"No, I don't find it surprising. He's probably trying not to freak me out."

"What?" Storm asks.

"I dunno I'm sure he's getting advice from Logan or Scott and they probably told him it'd be unhinged to say I love you in the first 30 days of a relationship and now he's paranoid about saying it too soon. What if I don't say it back?"

"Would you?" Jean asks.

"Would I what?" You ask.

"If Kurt came in here and said 'I love you' would you say it back?" She clarifies.

"Yeah I think I would." You nod.

"You think?" Storm asks.

"Well I've never really vocalized it, but since you've asked and I'm actually considering it saying it back feels right."

"You gonna let him know that?" She chuckles.

"Sure! At some point, but it's not like he doesn't already know I care about him." You shrug.

"But that's not always the same thing." Jean shakes her head.

"What?" You frown.

"It's very squares rectangles. Of course you care about the people you love but you can care about people without loving them too. Especially as a superhero, you care about most people, but you don't love all of them. You love him, and caring about him is nice but he'd be foolish to assume that it implies the other thing here." Storm says.

"You have to tell him how you feel, it's important that he knows how deeply you feel because I'm sure he's probably terrified he likes you more than you like him and that's-"

"Okay Jean stop. I get your point. I'll tell him that I love him just- chill out."

"Chill out?! You just realized you love your boyfriend and you weren't even going to tell him."

"Okay well in my defense if we hadn't had this conversation I probably wouldn't have had that realization today so- there'd be nothing to tell for a while maybe." You say.

"But now there is something to tell!"

"I know, I know! I'm gonna tell him, calm down."

"You better or else."

"I get it, you're invested, no need to threaten me." You scoff.

There's a knock on your door that pulls all of your attention to it.

"Come in!" You say.

"Hello liebling- oh are you busy? I didn't know Storm and Jean were here." Kurt smiles peaking his head through your door.

"Not busy! I was just cleaning and the girls are here to help me stay on task." You smile at him.

"Are we still on for movie night later?" Kurt asks.

"Of course. Did you pick a film yet?"

"I did. I hope you like the choice."

"I will. Anything's great if we're watching it together." You say.

"Agreed. Snacks?"

"I'm on it. See you in a few hours."

"Can't wait." Kurt says and slips back out.

"Wow that was so freaking cute!" Jean gushes.

"Oh man I almost said it just then." You gasp.

"What?" Storm asks.

"Just then, before he left? I wanted to say 'I love you', had to catch myself."

"Awwwww! Ugh I'm so jealous." Jean sighs.

"Wow, you really are just so into each other." Storm muses.

"Yeah, I guess."

"It's cute, don't get all shy now." Storm smiles.

"I will kick y'all out if you don't quit it."

"Fine, fine. We'll stop." Jean throws her hands up in surrender.

"Thank you. Sheesh." You shake your head.

You spend another couple of hours on your chores, talking about any and everything, besides your relationship with Kurt. Eventually though, you do need to meet him for movie night so you shoo your friends out.

Something you've been doing passively and in secret is learning German. When Kurt talks to himself it's always in German and while he's never expressed that he struggles with English, he's clearly more comfortable in the former. You figure you could kill two birds with one stone here, confess your love for him and surprise him with a bit of your new skill.

The movie Kurt picked is one you've seen before, but he seemed so excited to see it that you wouldn't tell him that. Plus you like the movie, so you don't mind watching it again. You're nearing the end of the film and part of you is getting a bit nervous. You told yourself you'd confess tonight because you can't imagine holding onto this information. I mean, you knew for 5 minutes and you almost told him. You are not equipped to keep this a secret from him.

"Wow- that was such a good movie! Did you enjoy it?" Kurt asks looking at you.

"It's a great movie. I really liked it." You nod.

"We should watch another. Do you have one that you'd like to watch? Or rewatch maybe?"

"Kurt?"

"Yes liebling?" Kurt's eyes widen, he's giving you his full attention. You bring a hand up to his face, cupping his cheek as you look at him just as intensely as he's looking at you.

"Ich liebe dich." You say. "You love me?" He whispers. "I do." You nod, smiling at him softly. Kurt jolts back, blinking wildly. "Wait sorry I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you say that in-"

"Ich liebe dich." You repeat. Kurt lets out a soft sound as the disbelief on his face melts into a smile. His eyes are so gentle, so full of emotion that they're glistening, it's almost cartoonish and under different circumstances you might've giggled.

"You- you learned to say it in German?" Kurt sounds so light, just barely above a whisper.

"Ich unterrichte es selbst." You say just as softly back. You're teaching yourself. That's what you told him.

"I had no idea. Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt smiles.

"I wanted to surprise you." You tell him.

"Oh I'm surprised alright." He chuckles.

"I love you." You say grinning.

"I love you too." He says back and you gasp.

"You do?" You were fully prepared to not hear it back tonight.

"Of course, more than anything."

"I'm really happy." You practically sigh.

"As am I." Kurt wraps his arms around you tightly and there's literally nowhere else you'd rather be than here.

***

[43501]

Opened my copy of Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases for the first time in a decade and man, I forgot this is a goldmine of info and Mello characterization. It lets us know what kind of person Mello is almost more than the source material. Every time he's on panel/screen he's always so intense, it's fascinating to see him write and kind of get this feeling of "oh, he is also a normal guy outside of those situations".

He says he had one extensive in-person meeting with L, which is backed up by this other post of mine where I point out that, in the anime at least, Mello references having spoken to L personally. If we take it as canon it means L and Mello met at some point between Kira emerging and L leaving England for Japan.

He expresses a strong sense he might die. I've seen people say that he's "narrating from beyond (heh) the grave" and it's nonsensical, but that's not what's happening here. He's just writing while anticipating his death and writing as if these notes may be discovered posthumously.

He thinks that, in the event he dies, Near is the one who will discover his writings. This is interesting to me because it suggests Mello either knows Near knows his whereabouts, or would figure it out and recover his belongings. I actually think this is outright supported by canon - we see Near eating Mello's chocolate in the manga's epilogue. I don't think he instructed his staff to go out and buy that same chocolate, I think that's straight up Mello's stash.

At some point he started identifying less with the "Mello" alias and calling himself Mihael.

He's so sentimental... ending the prologue simply with "Good memories and nightmares". Bro.

"Imagine you were going to kill someone. What do you think would be the most difficult part? .... The correct answer: killing someone." Damn, I love you Mello lol. Also fascinating when you remember that he achieved his status in the mafia by beheading someone. Yes, he would know how hard it is to kill a person.

Mello states that he and Near belong to the "fourth generation" of Wammy's House kids.

He expresses open sympathy for Beyond and his state, twice... based on his own narration and how he portrays B in the course of the story, he definitely relates to B's emotions.

"Perhaps these gods actually wanted a blood soaked world of betrayal and false accusation. Perhaps the entire episode exists as a lesson to teach us the difference between the Almighty and the shinigami." I can't entirely make sense of this, and I don't want to get ahead of myself, but is "Almighty" capitalized here to definitely refer to the divine? Like, the Christian God but in a bit of a sidestepped, roundabout way? Wish I could see the original Japanese text for this line. If anyone has essays/posts about it, please show me.

And on a meta-textual level, the ambiguity of our role/perspective as the reader of these notes is also interesting. We're probably just an omniscient, unmoored observer being told about this set of notes Mello wrote and his line to the effect of "if it happens to turn into [a book]" is tongue-in-cheek. I know there's a slight, hanging implication that Near did in fact publish his notes, but I think that's unlikely since they contain so much sensitive/classified information.

[illuminatedferret]

About TGCF Canon: I just realized that the missions Jun Wu gives to Xie Lian are very disadvantageous for Xie Lian.

He immediately butted heads with Pei Ming on Mt. Yu Jun (PM's own territory) and on Ban Yue missions, both striking where it's most personal: PM's ex-lovers and family matters.

Next is Ghost City, and I'm certain it's to sour the relationship between him and Hua Cheng with LQQ's loud righteousness right in the middle of Ghost City, infamous for its inhumane atmosphere. Additionally, "Ming Yi" was already 'a spy for the heavens' in Ghost City, so the risk of offending HC and/or Ghost City is very, very high.

I think JW's refusal to banish XL (Fangxin Guoshi) was also partially to stoke more fire between XL and LQQ (or, potentially, with everyone else as this puts distinction between XL and other gods by this point; LQQ already thought it doesn't matter if XL was banished again or not anyway)

And then Brocade Immortal; JW told XL to go with Quan Yizhen, infamous for not playing well with other gods / not sociable / fights even his own followers. I also don't doubt that this is to have XL and Ling Wen's "good coworkers" relationship go downhill.

Which means, JW tried to pit XL against literally all the major martial gods (other than FX and MQ who, logically from outside PoV, already have a strained relationship with XL), The major civil goddess, and the most powerful ghost king/supreme.

...Insane.

(Bonus: if Shi Wudu's impending heavenly calamity timing was also by Jun Wu's design, JW also managed to pit XL against SQX (friends) and SWD, both major elemental gods and also Black Water (the other calamity) in one fell swoop...

I count this separately bc we don't know if the timing is actually by JW's design. Plus HX has nothing against XL, and SQX/SWD has no prior connection to XL. In short: if Black Water Arc had happened before XL's third ascension, it'd just happen the exact same way without XL... which makes the timing suspicious, especially the closeness to Mt Tonglu's reopening. I have a headcanon about this but that's kind of a different topic)

-🍁

Yes to all of this! Jun Wu was definitely angling to create conflict between Xie Lian and his peers in the heavens, and I think he had two goals in doing so. The first was to isolate him by sabotaging his relationships, and the second was, I believe, to show Xie Lian the worst of the heavens and to encourage resentment towards them.

I don't think the /timing/ of Shi Wudu's Heavenly Tribulation is suspect, just because we're never given any suggestions in-novel that it's possible to manipulate the timing of Tribulations like that (and I think it would have come up), but He Xuan finding out about the fate swap was definitely Jun Wu's machinations! Hualian talk with Mei Nianqing a little about this- holding onto that piece of information until he wanted to get rid of Shi Wudu, then letting He Xuan discover it. In the end it's getting rid of two birds with one stone- remove the Water Tyrant, who was getting a bit too big for his britches, and Shi Qingxuan, who was Xie Lian's only friend in the heavens.

Also, you may not want to go into the opening of Mount Tonglu, but I do! Jun Wu absolutely timed that. I don't care how bad of luck Xie Lian has, that the ghost rut started right when Xie Lian was alone with a Supreme ghost?? He was definitely hoping Xie Lian would get hurt in some way, and his relationship with Hua Cheng would be ruined. No way that wasn't him. There's this ongoing reflection I have with TGCF after reading it for the first time where I look back and realize how much of Xie Lian's 'bad luck' is actually Jun Wu. When you learn about the second shackle, you think it's just that, but no, it's the all-powerful man in the sky who's obsessed with you and wants you to suffer and be his Junior. It's fucked up.

[gothamite-rambler]

Batman and Jim faced a woman who has the flu, her boyfriend was on the floor crying with a knife in his thigh.

Liz: I have the flu, not that 'flu', but regular flu. I am not feeling well. I just wanted to have my broth and relax in bed until my flu went away. Then… that motherfucker!

Liz pointed to her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend who glared back at her.

Liz: Was like, "Let's cook together! Let's cook together!" Like a damn Muppet!

Kyle: I don't sound like Kermit the Frog!

Jim: Maybe don't keep talking.

Liz: Thank you! Anyways, he said if I went to the store to shop, he'd make me a meal that I could digest, because you know I'm sick! So I relented, we got the stuff, went home and I couldn't 'cook together'. I couldn't stand… I could barely walk! Kyle sucked his teeth in denial

Liz: I went to bed and thought he would leave me alone, maybe bring me some Campbell's soup. He came in the room with a cutting board, a bell pepper and a knife.

Batman (pointing to the knife in the man's thigh): The knife that's in his thigh?

Liz nodded, hands on her hips.

Liz: Oh yeah, I lost it. I'm not proud to admit it, but "cooking together" with that man is me doing ninety percent of the cooking! He does this with all his family and I can usually let it go, but not when I'm going through the flu!

Kyle: Oh my God, I had a cold at ten and it wasn't even that bad. You're such a—

Liz tossed the bell pepper she had been gripping in her hand directly at Kyle's head, making him grunt and interrupting his whining for a second.

Kyle (whining again): I just wanted to cook together!

Jim: You keep saying that, but that doesn't mean anything. Especially since she's sick. Why would you want her to cook when she has the flu? Also you lied to her, you promised her a dinner you'd cook.

Kyle: There is a knife in my thigh!

Jim (jokingly): You're alive. I got stabbed once and could still work so that means yours can't be that bad.

Liz: He's done crap similar to this. One time he did that stupid TikTok challenge where the guy says 'what's for dinner, bitch?' and I let it slide, but what he did was uncalled for! Batman has said anything, but I'm ready for my scolding.

Batman covered his mouth, unintentionally laughing. He turned to Jim, placing his hand on the man's shoulder.

Batman: This is fucking wild!

Jim nodded, rubbing his eyes and laughing as well.

Batman: I'm sorry, I just keep picturing you grabbing the knife and jabbing it into his thigh and he shouts "I just wanted to cook together!"

Jim: This fucking guy. He's like the dog that keeps bringing the ball back and I just want to rest.

Liz started laughing next, still pissed but glad two other men were on her side.

Liz: Dude, agree. I couldn't take his nonsense anymore.

Kyle: I'm right here!

Liz scoffed rolling her eyes.

Liz: Look I know I overreacted, but he promised to make dinner and give me my medicine then brought me a cutting board!

Batman: Which is the worst task to give a sick person. Bringing a knife and cutting board in bed. You're going to prison, but I don't blame you.

Jim: Yeah, you overreacted, but he's alive. We just have to wait for the EMTs to take him away and then take you in for questioning. Honestly you might not get jail time.

Kyle (defiant, whining): I'm suing her either way!

Liz: I'll pay half of your medical bills douche. This was a good reason to dump him at least. Kyle, pack your shit later and leave. We're through.

Kyle: Fine! I'll find another—

Batman and Jim: STOP SAYING COOK TOGETHER!

Kyle pouted, resting on the ground with his arms cross while Liz sat down to blow her nose.

Based off a reddit story I saw on smosh pit that angered me so much I had to write a what if. In the AITA post OP is the boyfriend who brought in the cutting board and she didn't stab him (I would've hit him with the cutting board at least). I can only hope she dumped his ass.

[babybearnation]

polyam!landoscar = red string connecting you to your soulmate(s); reader can see strings, but landoscar can't—they're already dating, but as far as they're concerned they've found their soulmate and that's that (even if they both feel something missing). reader is childhood friends with sighted!alex maybe and he realises that reader is landoscar's soulmate but doesn't want to say anything so he says something for them

(aka: non-sighted established landoscar; sighted reader who's too shy/scared to tell landoscar; sighted alex who meddles (possibly background logalex but :3))

im obsessed with everyone's rsv ideas, i wont lie - also we get some new rsv lore here regarding polyamory heheh

non sighted!established!landoscar x red sighted!gn!reader (ft. red sighted!childhood bff!alex albon)

lando and oscar felt a connection the moment they met each other

they knew it'd be risky to start dating if they weren't soulmates but they went through with it anyways because the bond they felt was so strong

worked out in their favour though because, after sharing their first kiss, lando and oscar can see their strings... kind of

you see, lando and oscar unknowingly had a third soulmate - you

due to the rarity of polyamorous soulmates, it wasn't common knowledge on what would happen if not everyone involved kissed each other

lando and oscar could see their strings but they were faint, almost pink, and they couldn't touch them like red sight would allow them to

also, oscar and lando were almost positive they had two strings each but they could hardly see their strings and therefore couldn't track where the potential extra one led to

enter you

you know who their missing soulmate is

its you

the twined strings that looped around your finger always lead you to them and they tugged insistently pretty much every single race weekend

you were best friends with none other than alex albon and therefore, you had spent ages around lando whilst growing up and travelling with alex to his competitions and stuff like that

you'd known from the instant you met lando that you were his soulmate, but the extra string pointed somewhere else and it bothered you to no end

plus it nearly always tugged when you were at race tracks - less persistently than with lando's string, sure, but it still tugged

when oscar became alpine's reserve in 2022 and started attending every race track on the f1 calendar, you felt it every race weekend - you couldn't ignore it

when you realised it was oscar, you felt relieved - two drivers made things easier to manage!

but when you finally decided to do something about it, it was too late

lando and oscar were already together and they seemed perfectly content

maybe... maybe the universe was playing a cruel joke on you?

alex, however, was tired of watching lando & oscar play oblivious and was tired of dealing with a tragically depressed you

he was gonna say something

if it wasn't for his own soulmates stepping in and telling him that maybe he should speak to you first, he would've marched right on over and told lando and oscar the truth to their faces that very second

you talk to alex about it (george & logan on standby to control their boyfriend if needed) but it just leads to a big argument that has you storming off to mclaren

even though you refused to tell lando & oscar the truth, you still couldn't stay away from them and the three of you quickly became fast friends

so you rush to them for comfort without thinking about it

you end up spilling the truth to lando & oscar as you vent about how stupid alex is and its only when lando covers your mouth with his hand and whispers the words "we're soulmates?" that you realise what you've done

you go to apologise when lando leans in and kisses you

he pulls back and stares down at his hands, giggling and clapping excitedly when he notices the actually red string now

oscar bites his lip before shyly kissing you as well, gaining his own red sight

as you shyly tell oscar and lando the truth about how long you've known and how you didn't want to ruin anything with your strings, alex, george & logan watch on, all happy you three have finally sorted your shit out

© all rights to babybearnation 2025.

[h3arts4harry]

- trapped -

warnings: angsty, ghosts, haunted house, mentions of abuse & sa, bit disturbing, lmk if i missed any

ghost!reader x sam and colby

- ghost!y/n 17 -now 34- sam golbach 28 colby brock 27 amanda 24 tyler 41 -was 24-

-

"what's up guys! It's Sam and Colby! And welcome back to hell week!" the brunette boy intensely yells, with the blonde jumping in "Today we are at the famous 'yln' house with one of our favourite guests…. Amanda!" Sam introduces, "Hey guys!!" Amanda smiles and waves to the camera. "do you want to explain who you are for any new watchers?" Colby asks stepping behind the camera, turning so Amanda and Sam are in view. "of course! My name is Amanda and I'm a medium, if you don't know what that is, it's that I can sort of talk to the dead, whether it's through feeling, words or seeing them" the girl softly explains. "how excited are you to be here right now?" Sam asks, glancing at Colby before facing Amanda again, "very excited, I've been wanting to come here ever since I heard about it"

-timeskip-

"so this is y/ns bedroom, she's basically always in here, she doesn't like to leave this room" the tour guide, Becky, says walking backward into a dark room, the paint on the walls was faded and washed away. "it's like her safe haven?" Sam asked looking around the worn-out room. "yea exactly, it's her place of comfort, where she would go and hide from everything and everyone" Becky says slowly approaching the long window. confused faces are shared between the three visitors before one speaks up. "why would she have to hide" Colby asks, "she had a lot against her, including her own family and boyfriend" the forty-year-old, ginger woman sadly says, hesitant to go into depth of the story in case the ghost girl was around and listening.

Amanda's eyes divert away from the group towards the closet behind the view of the camera "She here right now" she reveals, "she is?" the tour guide quickly replies, slightly relieved she didn't open up about y/ns life in front of the (old) young girl, as the last time she did it didn't go down to well. "yea she's stood right there, just listening to us" Amanda says pointing to the closet door. "well hi y/n, I'm glad you could join us" Sam pipes up pointing the camera to the closet door. "yea, please feel free to follow us around while we're here" Colby adds.

I stand in the doorway of the closet, crossing my arms over my body. I watch as the new visitors and Becky talk and look around my beloved room. the blonde girl looks at me and walks over, I instinctively step back and away from her, deeper into my closet, to which she takes a small step back. I look at her blankly and she looks at me with a kind smile, "are you okay?" she whispers, the others can't hear. but before I can answer the familiar, intensely tight feeling in my chest grows. I know what's coming.

Amanda furrows her eyebrows as y/n fades from her view and disappears. "hm" she confusedly hums. "what's up?" Colby asks turning to the girl. "I asked if she was okay and she just left" she replies turning to the brunette boy, her eyebrows still slightly furrowed. "maybe she didn't like that you could see her?" Sam suggests, pointing the camera at the pair. "no" she slowly shakes her head in thought, "I could tell she didn't mind, she seemed to quite like it… it was like she realized something cause her face just dropped, sadder than before, then she just disappeared" the girl continued. "what time is it?" Becky pipes up, "it's urm, 11:20pm" Colby answers after quickly pulling out his phone to check. "ah, she'll be in the basement. she's always there between 11:15 and 4:30am" Becky adds, telling the group where the girl had disappeared to. "should we continue the tour then head down there?" Colby asks turning to Sam, then back to the tour guide, to receive nods in agreement from the group.

-time skip-

"Okay guys it's currently 1am so-" Sam starts while lifting the recording camera up to film the trio, "it's actually 1:23" Amanda corrects him jokingly, "yea yea my bad, it's currently 1:23 and we are about to head down to the basement to try to talk to y/n, Becky, our tour guide, said that y/n stays down there between 11:15 and 4:30am so we have a few hours to try to communicate."

The two best friends stand close to the bottom of the stairs, the older boy looks around the room, the walls and floor are the same colour and dirty, there are chairs and tables piled in the middle of the wall, in the furthest corner there were chains and shackles attached to the wall. the younger explains their current setup to the camera "We have the rem pod up near the corner of the room where y/n would be shackled to the wall and viciously abused by her parents" he begins, "that's actually so sad, she was just a child" Sam sighed turning towards the boy and the camera in his hand.

"hey guys-" Amanda starts, walking down the stairs almost tripping on the last step "Oh fuck" she curses as she stabilizes herself, "you good?" Sam quickly asks, "I'm okay," the girl says, looking up at the boys. Colby and the camera watch as the colour fully drains from her face as she stares behind them as if she's in a trance. "Amanda?" Colby says softly "What is it?"

Sam looks up from the camera screen to see what Colby is talking about, his heart jumping at the sight of Amanda's face. "i-it's y/n" she swallows harshly, her eyes not moving away from the sight in front of her "She's-" Amanda struggles to describe what she sees, it being so sad and unsettling. Colby looks to Sam before turning back to Amanda "Do you want to go back upstairs?" he asks concerned for his friend. "n-no its o-okay" she stutters out, wanting to tear her eyes away but she can't seem to actually do it. "are you sure? we want you to be comfortable and feel safe at all times" Colby carries on, "I'm sure."

the entire conversation Amanda's eyes haven't moved once from the view ahead, as she starts to explain what she sees her stare slightly relaxes, no longer in shock, but doesn't move away. "it's urm, y/n, she's on her knees, her arms held back by the handcuffs on the wall. before she had a few tears in her eyes but she looked okay-ish. but.. but now she's like screaming crying, and she has all these cuts and bruises covering her, literally head to toe, which she didn't have before. it's so real, like she's really being beaten right there in front of us" She quietens dramatically towards the end. "holy shit" both boys say over each other, "I've never seen anything like it before which is why it shocked me so much" Amanda reveals, finally pealing her eyes away from the brutal view. "that's so crazy, it's like she's reliving what happened to her" Colby thinks out loud, "do you think she knows we're here?" Sam asks, his eyes flicking to check the camera is still recording, "I'm not sure, her head is hung looking at the floor" she says stepping closer to the hurt ghost. "y/n?"

my head shoots up hearing my name, the new blonde girl is standing in front of me again. embarrassment and fear fill me as I scurry back into the corner, attempting to pull my hands to hide myself forgetting about the cold metal they're stuck in. "it's okay, you don't have to be scared, we're here to help you" she says gently, sitting down on her ankles. I lift my head up slowly, looking at her through my hair "W-who are you?" I bring up the courage to ask. "my names Amanda, it's nice to meet you y/n" Her small smile is empathetic but pitiful. I hate it. "how do you know me?" I question furrowing my eyebrows slightly in confusion. "a lot of people know who you are, your house is known worldwide because of what happened to you here" Her words make my heart drop "Worldwide? n-no ppl can't kno-" I begin before letting out a loud pained cry. A long cut on my cheek formed out of nowhere. Amanda's eyes widen in shock, "what the hell just happened" she mumbles. "i-its my parents, t-they t-old me no one c-can know. i-if people know they'll k-kill me-" I struggle to choke out, tears streaming from my eyes. the pain is too much for me to handle, all I can do is cry out in torment until it no longer hurts, even though I know it always will. "the rem pod-" Colby points out to the red circular device lighting up like crazy, Amanda looks between it and me noticing the pattern of the beeps and flashing bright lights match my screams. before it goes dead silent.

"what just happened??" Sam yells with furrowed eyebrows, taken aback and confused. "y/ns gone" Amanda says turning to look up at the boys as she stands she thinks out loud "Hey what time is it?" Colby whips out his phone "It's 4:30 on the dot?" he quietly replies, his mind racing about everything that just happened. "Becky said y/n leaves at 4:30, how have we been down here for 3 hours already, it only felt like an hour- maybe 2" Sam rambles, still not fully processing anything. "I'm not sure, we didn't even get to ask y/n anything," Colby says slightly disappointed. "I doubt we could've anyway, it was like she was actually being physically tortured in front of me, but I don't understand how.." Amanda thinks out loud. it feels like another hour passes with everyone standing in complete silence, trying to make sense of the past couple of hours.

"Why don't we head upstairs and see if we can find her?" Colby suggests, Sam and Amanda nod helping collect the equipment before walking up the stairs. "guys I can't open the door" Amanda struggles with the handle pushing back and forth trying to open the door, "what? let me try" Colby says slipping past Amanda, trying to push the door "Sam it's not opening", "holy shit" Sam curses from behind the camera. Colby forcefully pushes at the door, desperate to get it open, almost hurting his own hands and shoulder barging at the door, when Amanda gets an idea. "hey y/n! if you can hear me can you open the door?!" Amanda calls out, hoping the spirit can hear.

I hear Amanda calling from downstairs, 'Why can't they just open the door?' I wonder as I quickly wipe the stray tears that were falling. I slowly creep out of my room, trying not to make a sound. looking around trying to find the group, I hear the basement door banging, I quickly drop behind the sofa at the loud noise, my heart races in fear. "y/n please open the door" Amanda calls out again from behind the door, I peak out above the couch at the rattling door before letting out a breath in relief. making my way over pulling the door open for Amanda, Sam, and Colby to rush out. Sam quickly slams the door behind them, making me flinch and hide back behind the couch where I previously was, catching Amanda's attention. "thank you y/n" she smiles faintly, looking in my direction. "she's here?" Colby asks following Amanda's gaze pointing the camera towards me. "yea she opened the door for us, she's behind the couch" the blonde girl nods towards me. "ah, well thanks y/n, I was shitting myself" Colby laughs "Me too brother me too" Sam joins in.

I peek over the couch at the chuckling boys, turning over to see Amanda, who was already looking at me, "hey" she says softly. I gulp standing up fully, wrapping my arms around my body, looking between the three. "are you okay? what happened down there?" she warily asks, still keeping her voice soft to not scare me away. i quickly shake my head not wanting to talk about it. "the boys have some equipment so you can talk to all three of us at once, they'll explain what you need to do okay?" she continues, before i can reply Sam starts to speak, "okay y/n we have two flashlights, you can say yes by turning on the red one and no by turning on the blue, this way we can communicate through yes and no questions, are you up for that?" he explains, pointing to each flashlight before waiting for a response. I'm hesitant for a moment but decide to walk over to the red flashlight turning it on, signaling that I'm going to talk to them. "holy shit" "Oh my god" the boys yell in surprise, as they normally would. the loud outburst causes me to turn the light back off and scatter off into the next room, the kitchen.

"guys I don't think she likes loud noises" Amanda states after watching the young girl leave. "what do you mean?" Colby asks, "Well when the door slammed she hid behind the couch, then just now when you guys yelled, she ran out the room" Amanda explains pointing to the door leading to the kitchen. Sam quickly walked into the kitchen, Colby following behind with the camera. "hey y/n, please could you come back? we're sorry for yelling and we won't do it again" Sam says before returning to the living room area where they were previously. Amanda looks over to me walking through the door, my head down staring at the floor. "the door-" Colby points the camera to where I just was, the door slowly swinging shut. "y/n are you frightened by loud noises?" Sam asks, I turn on the red flashlight, yes. "okay, good to know" Colby nods. "are you okay? Amanda told us about what she saw happen downstairs" Colby questions, a little uncertain of the reaction they might get. I stare blankly at them for a moment, I hate talking about it. but it seems clear that they're different from others that's visited here. I leave the red light on but also turn on the blue one. "both yes and no?" Sam points out. "maybe she doesn't know if she's okay" Colby guesses. I turn the blue light off, saying Colby is right. I really don't know if I'm okay.

"Does she even know what happened to her" Sam ponders, pivoting towards his friends? what happened to me? I turn off the red light, leaving the only light source to be the light attached to the top of their camera sitting on the fireplace pointing at us. "oh… I think we should bring out the spirit box, so she can actually talk to us" Sam proposes, excited to use their new device as their previous one stopped working during their last investigation. "yea I agree" Colby nods, beginning to walk to the kitchen table, where their bag of equipment laid. Colby comes back with a black rectangular box with a silver metal rod sticking out of the top, which I guess is the 'spirit box' they just spoke about. he turns it on and places it in the middle of the coffee table. "okay y/n, this is the spirit box, if you just speak into it, it should repeat it so we can hear what you say" Sam explains. I walk and sit on the sofa by the device, I slowly lean forward at the box, hesitantly speaking to it, "hi" I say into it, doubting it will actually work. "hi" it says out, I lean back in shock, it actually works? "hey y/n, so we asked if you knew what happened to you, you said no?" Colby begins the verbal conversation. "what do you mean?" the box repeats, "do you know what happened to you downstairs" he says. "what normally happens. it's the same thing every night, except I thought it would change when people started randomly coming over because they don't want anyone to find out. Obviously, I was wrong..." I mumble, shaking my head in thought. "people randomly coming over? What do you mean?" Sam questions, "I don't know, people just started randomly visiting one day and asking me a bunch of questions, and my parents don't like it at all. Becky comes over a lot and my mum hates her, I don't know why she lets them in, actually, now that I think about it, everyone just walks in with Becky. And when Becky comes alone she just walks right in." I stop talking, drifting into thought about the whole thing before Sam abruptly pulls me out of it "you died y/n" Sam starts before I cut him off. "yea right." i scoff . "I'm being serious-" "stop. that's not funny" I say firmly, my mind races, I can't be dead. They're fucking with me. "I'm sorry but we're not joking. you died on the 19th of October 2007" Colby reveals, his words coated in sympathy. "….what? no that's my birthday I can't die on my birthday that's crazy" I breathe out, they have to be joking, if I were dead I wouldn't be here speaking to them. but then again it would explain why no one can see me. but then how does Amanda see me- "yea y/n, you died 17 years ago," Sam says sitting on the armchair to my right. "liar." "they're not lying y/n" Amanda sits next to me on the end of the sofa, "you're lying!" I stand up and away from them, anger and confusion rising through me. "it's okay y/n-" Sam starts before I interrupt him, "No! Shut up you're all lying to me! tell me you're lying! I-I can't be dead I'm right here?!" I yell at them. They don't say anything, all looking at each other, not knowing what to do. "TELL M-E YOURE LY-ING" the box speaks, but it starts cutting out a little due to the volume of my voice, "we're so sorry y/n," Colby says looking up and around the room, as his eyes pass mine, it's like he could tell I'm here, him looking away showed he didn't. "what.. how?!" no one responds "tell me what happened.. please" I sit on the carpet leaning against the wall, bringing my knees against my chest wrapping my fingers in my hair.

"This is what we read online, if you remember anything that's different, please feel free to correct us" Colby starts before starting again, "you and your boyfriend were hanging out here like you did every Saturday as your parents went to the pub all day and would return between 4-7am. one day your parents came home early, at 6pm, and walked in on you and Tyler cuddling on the couch watching a movie."

"Tyler.." I whisper, shivers sending down my spine. I haven't heard that name in so long. "Yeah, he was your boyfriend at the time right?" Sam asks from the couch looking to Amanda to see where I am, Amanda nods in my direction "I- yea. I- keep going" I struggle to find words that can explain what's going through my head, and I give up telling Colby to carry on telling the story.

"it says they went crazy, beat you both black and blue, and kicked Tyler out. quite literally. he stumbled a little but got up and ran home. unfortunately for you, you were stuck here in this house." "Yeah" I mumble, recalling the next events

"they beat you for hours then dragged you down into the basement handcuffing you to the wall with the shackles" "stop." "Are you okay?" Amanda asks, sitting near me on the rug "n-no. just carry on. please." "Are you sur-" "keep going."

"Okay.." he starts looking down at his notes to recall the events correctly" The cuffs were tighter than usual, instantly leaving marks on her wrists. they grab the worn-down paddle and the old belt and start repeatedly hitting her while she cries. both parents screaming and shouting profanities and degrading insults at her" a tear falls down my cheek, the memory in my head once a blur now so clear; "disgusting" "disgrace" "whore of a daughter" "all we did for you for nothing" "wasting it all for some boy" "why couldn't we of had a son" replaying from that night. "she cried loudly until there was no tears left in her eyes. she was weak and dangling from her red wrists, small dribbles of blood slipping from the marks caused by the tightness of the metal, that was cutting off her circulation." i drop my head onto my knees hiding my tearful face, my arms wrapped resting on my raised legs, a sob escaping me that only Amanda heard as the spirit box didn't seem pick it up. "her dad hit her across her already bruised face with the belt yelling at her again "you're disgusting, i wish we aborted you when we had the chance." and with the next whack her vision went black." Colby stops the words that fall out of his mouth. "around 36 hours later when your parents went to let you out the basement they found you still dangling just like they left you except you were no longer breathing. they were scared, not for their dead daughter, but for what would happen to them. in the end, they were caught and arrested, prosecuted with life in prison with no chance of parole. and your boyfriend fortunately walks free." Sam ended the explanation.

"fortunately?" I repeat with a scoff, "yea, it's not reported where he is now but we know he's started a new life and is happy," Sam says, glancing at the notes to check he's correct. "dick" I curse banging the back of my head on the wall behind me. "is that not a good thing?" Colby asks confused, "fuck no" I look at him with a glare like he should've known, I mean if he knew all that how didn't he know anything about Tyler. "why not? if you don't mind us asking?" Sam questions. I stay silent for a moment, looking around the room biting my bottom lip, and accidentally making eye contact with Amanda. "what is it?" she asks tilting her head to the side. "he was a huge dick. which is ironic as fuck cause he didn't have one" I shake my head, forgetting the spirit box was on. Colby and Sam laughing reminded me. "right, spirit box, forgot that was a thing" I mumble, "yea sorry y/n," Colby said, still laughing a bit at my previous comment, "s'fine" I nodded, "anyway what's the deal with Tyler?" Amanda asks, I vaguely answer "he hurt me."

"like your parents?" Colby guesses, "yeah sort of, he would hit me with his hands and slam me into walls which I guess is like my parents but he would also-" I cut myself off, why am I telling a bunch of strangers my whole life story. well, I guess they already knew, but they somehow didn't know about Tyler. if they knew about me that must mean others know, right? So they must think that Tyler is a good person too. "fuck" I mumble, "What is it?" Sam questions, "Nothing." "do you wanna continue? you don't have to if you don't want to" Colby speaks sincerely. "it's fine. I guess." I take a breath before continuing. "Tyler would also- I'd tell him no but he- he wouldn't listen to me... i know now that he just wanted me for that kind of stuff, i mean why else would a 24 year old date a 17 year old." I say scoff again, feeling the tears brim my waterline but I quickly wipe them away. Amanda moved closer to me, she went to put a hand on my knee to comfort me but her hand fell straight to the floor, forgetting that I wasn't a living 17-year-old sitting there. I moved my hand onto hers, obviously, we weren't actually touching but in a way we were. She had a big sister energy to her, something I longed for my entire life.

"that's so fucked up I'm sorry you went through all of this y/n," Sam says with a saddened look on his face. "it's oka-" "Okay" I frown, my sentence being cut off. "the spirit box died, it was fully charged when we turned it on" Sam states looking to Colby, who pulls out his phone looking at the time. "we've been talking for hours, its 8am" Colby reveals shocked. "does that mean you're leaving soon?" I ask, my chest hurting slightly. "yea, we need to leave within the hour" Amanda says with a small frown. "please don't leave, I- I don't want you to go" I beg. "we have to y/n, we're sorry" she says, they all stand up and start packing away their stuff.

"so what the fuck was this then? you came into my home, told me that I'm fucking dead, I tell you about horrible shit that I've been through and then you fucking leave?!" I spit angrily at all of them, even tho only Amanda can hear me. I still have no idea how the fuck that's happening. I feel so angry and hurt as I watch them put the last items in the bag.

all of a sudden the lights start rapidly flickering. the shut doors swing open. the furniture flying back and crashes into the closest walls. my heart is racing, I don't know what's happening, and by the looks of it neither does Colby, Sam, and Amanda. "A-Amanda what's happening?" my voice trembles in fear looking around at the room. she doesn't say anything, it's like she can't hear me- how- why- "Amanda?!" I yell but again she doesn't respond, I walk over to her but she doesn't see me. "AMANDA PLEASE" I yell begging her to hear or see me, why can't she no longer know I'm here, what the fuck is happening. I watch as they bolt to the door. 'no.. they can't leave me here alone…' it slams shut.

they jump back and look at each other stunned in fear, "Y/n you cannot keep us here." Amanda shouts firmly. "what do you mean me? how am I keeping you here?" I'm so confused how could I possibly be doing all this? "we command you to let us go" Sam says loudly. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN??" I scream the lights start aggressively flickering even faster, but the hope for them to hear me seems pointless. Colby tries kicking the door down, and Sam joins in trying to help. "guys what's happening" I cry out, watching the three. Amanda turns to me, did she finally hear me?

"y/n you have to let us go" she pleads, "how- what do you mean? I don't know what's happening" I feel my whole body shaking. her face softens as she realizes, "-what?" "what?" "are you doing this?" she tilts her head, "no...or at least not on purpose, this has happened before, and i-i don't know how to stop it" i ramble panicked. "Guys stop" she says to the scared boys "Wha- why" Colby says confused, "she doesn't know what she's doing", "How doesn't she know?!" Sam yells in fear, anger, and confusion. "Sam she didn't even know she was dead" Amanda barely yells back to the boy. the pair look at each other confused then back at Amanda.

As I watch the three talk, I feel my heart beating out of my chest. Amanda turns around and walks over to me. I instantly stepped back and away from her, how could I trust her anymore when she was just going to leave. "y/n it's okay, you need to calm down" she spoke gently, "I can't calm d-down. You guys are leaving me, everyone always leaves me here and i-i can't leave too- I'm trapped here-" it feels like my heart is beating in my head. "trust me okay" she tries to calm me. "n-no, you're just g-going to leave m-me" she takes in a breath looking to the boys then back to me. she probably looks crazy to them. talking to thin air. "ill stay" she nods "What?!" "Amanda no- are you crazy?" the boys yell over each other. "no it's okay, she's not dangerous, she's just lonely" the girl speaks "I'm right here okay y/n" I nod looking into her eyes, the same sisterly feeling coming back. my breathing and heart rate calms down. "see you got it" "i-i'm sorry, I didn't mean to I swear-" "I know I know"

"can we leave now?" Colby asks, still terrified from the nights events, "w-what?" my eyes wide looking between the boy and Amanda, "you guys go, I'll join you in a moment" she says confidently, the boys are wary but don't doubt her, they turn and rush out. "please don't leave me, you just said you'll stay, please its scary here" I beg, a few stray tears fall down my cheeks. I don't know how I still have tears left to cry. "I have to but I'll come back okay? do you trust me to come back?" I shake my head "No one ever comes back" I mumble "but I will. We'll have more time and we can talk okay?" I don't say anything and shake my head again, "you're lying.." I accuse, "I promise I'll be back, I'm not lying to you. I'll be back soon, goodbye y/n", "Wait! please!" I yell as she exits the house. As the door shuts a shiver runs down my spine and then a loud, sharp, high-pitched noise blasts through the house, and all of the windows shatter, shards flying everywhere.

the familiar cold, lonely feeling that left earlier today, returns, filling the building. I sink down leaning against the wall, pulling my knees up into a ball. I'm once again all alone, trapped in this house.

-

NOTE: MY FIRST FIC OF THE YEARRRR😛😛 I'm gonna try get on my game this year (but DO NOT hold me on that cause i'm probably lying🌚) with writing cause I looooovee when I finish them and get to post😻 ALSOOO lmk if you want a part 2🤷‍♀️

thank you soo much for proofreading @sturniolohohoho ily🫶

as always feedback is appreciated <333

THANK YOU FOR READING

LOVE U BITCHES N HOES

taglist: @m0r94n @chrisgetsmewetterxo @raysmayhem-72 @junnniiieee07 @sturnzsblog @sturniolo-slvt @mattspolitank @cerismo @chrispotatos @ncm9696 @pvssychicken

[greyyson-but-no]

Hey! Can I request a Jake Peralta fic when he’s coming home from Florida or prison and he finally gets to see his s/o (reader) again? Just like super fluffy and cute

that's just the way things go

; yes you can!! requests are my fav ; fem reader ; pure fluff but oopsie that iconic angst as well I just cant help myself ; author doing research for a request? unheard of ; 2.2k is crazy ; 16+ ;

the squad had been nothing but worried for you these past six months. when jake was first sent to prison, you had fallen into a fit of depression, taking weeks on end away from work and letting all your cases go to waste. eventually, you made your way back into work and started on cases again - holt understood completely and did his best to not get you fired over those weeks.

soon enough you managed to come into work regularly, but it was always obvious how the loss of jake had changed you.

together, they had decided it was best to leave you out of the investigation to get him out of prison - just in case it didn't go well and you were crushed again.

so without your knowledge, the squad had been going between precincts, all over new york, to both prisons and back again several times in one day, all to prove jake and rosa innocent. and they had gone and done just that - but you had no idea.

the team had made up a fake case the sergeant was supposed to be working on. somewhere along the way, he had to go pick up information about a higher up in a drug gang from someone down in south carolina. you knew that's where jake's prison was, but why would you ever make that connection? visit day wasn't for another two weeks.

terry had convinced you to go with him, it was on the journey to the prison, where you started to connect the dots.

"hey, sarge?" you questions, terry humming in response as he drove past a sign titled 'jericho supermax prison', "why are we in south carolina again?"

he shrugged. "my informant lives around here."

coughing into your fist, you started to recognize the motorway's surroundings, it hadn't been the first time you had made this drive. a couple months ago; visiting day. "you couldn't just give him a call?"

terry shook his head, signaling to turn into the next lane. "insists on meeting in person..."

you caught his eyes as he looked over at you when he spoke. he knew immediately from the dull look from your eyes that you knew he was lying. you hated people lying to you, the whole squad knew that. terry sighed.

"so you know how boyle and holt have been disappearing every now and again for that murder case?" he asked, and when you nodded he continued. "there was no murder case. they were down here."

furrowing your eyebrows, you spotted yet another sign directed for the prison. "what were they doing?"

"trying to prove jake and rosa innocent."

you swallowed, stomach tightening at his speech, turning your head to look out the window. "and?" part of you didn't want to know the outcome, but then... if there was a chance, you wanted- needed to know.

terry let the smile creep into the corners of his lips. "why do you think we're on the way to the prison?"

"sarge?" you really didn't want to get your hopes up, but all the signs were pointing in the best direction. "don't play around-"

"charles and gina are currently on their way to get rosa, and we wouldn't be on our way to the prison if jake wasn't getting released today."

"he's free?" terry hadn't seen your eyes go to bright in all the six months jake had been gone, but there they were.

he nodded, grinning now and turning into the prison pick up. "yes!"

happiness, hope. for the first time in six months, your boyfriend would be a free man and everything would go back to normal. the two of you would go back to new york and finally be together again.

when terry was finished parking, the two of you swiftly left the car and entered the main part of the prison. there were a couple others standing around, also waiting to pick people up but you stood out in the open, making sure you were visible easily to anyone that walked through the corridor.

the place was a shit hole, to say the least. even this waiting area was drab. yellow, bordering on beige walls, the stone and brick still visible in a lot of places. down the corridor, you could take a peak at where ex-convicts stood to finish the paperwork and pick up their belongings. a tired officer in a beige uniform sat behind a glass screen with a speak on each side, stamping each piece of paper that was slid underneath the glass. he probably hated his job just as much as the convicts hated being in the prison.

it was as you noticed a mother to the left of you hugging her 20-odd year old son who was just released, when you saw him.

he had the largest smile possible on his face, still in the beige prison uniform, donning a beard that had only been a work in progress since you last saw him. you didn't hate it, you realized, as you watched him pick up his stuff, a bit of cash, keys and the clothes he first arrived in all those six months ago. oh, it felt like a lifetime ago, now.

when he turned, his eyes were at his feet. the officer accompanying him undid his handcuffs, letting him go. you saw him thank the officer before moving forward. he was truly a sweetheart, even in the worst possible circumstances.

then he saw you, and his smile only grew larger.

you caught his eyes, dropping your bag at your feet, knowing terry would take care of it while you were away. you ran to him.

"jake!" you shouted, as you did so, jumping into his arms as he also dropped what he was carrying. he caught you perfectly as he mumbled your name, burying his face into your neck as your legs wrapped around his waist. "oh my god."

"i missed you so much." he sighed into your skin, breathing you in and simultaneously breathing in the reality: he was a free man now.

dropping your legs from around his waist, you resting a hand on his cheek, pulling him down to your level. his hands fell to your hips, one moving to the small of your back as he kissed you like a starved man finally given a meal. okay, the beard was definitely growing on you, you had to admit.

pulling away, you grinned up at him. "what's it feel like finally being a free man?"

"so good, babe." he cooed, soft 'baby browns', as charles called them, staring back down at you, reaching down to take your hand in his in order to start walking back to terry. "there's so much i've missed, i wanna do everything."

"ti-"

"title of my sex tape, i know." he chuckled under his breath, looking at you with purely a look of love. full of hope, full of a future. just a couple days ago, the world looked bleak; he had years left rotting away in prison, but now everything was looking up. life would go back to normal. "come on, let's get home, i need to get back to normality as soon as possible."

you hummed at him, making your way back over to terry.

"it was so difficult keeping it from you!" boyle admitted, taking a sip from his beer as he was sat at the booth's table at shaw's a day later.

jake slid into the booth, sat next to you, the next round gathered between his hands. "they didn't tell you?"

when the three of you had landed back in brooklyn, nobody wanted to do anything. you texted rosa, making sure she was okay and everything went well with her release but soon enough, you and jake had caught an uber back to your shared apartment and collapsed into bed, too tired to do anything but sleep.

the next morning, the captain arranged a set of drinks at shaw's for everyone to meet to celebrate jake and rosa's return. everyone that was important turned up. after so long without jake, you were practically glued to his hip. rosa and gina were catching up with holt up by the bar, terry and sharon had to leave early to get back to the girls, which left you, amy, jake, charles and genevieve in one of the booths.

you laughed at jake as he rested a hand on your thigh, drinking from his glass as he looked to you for an answer.

"no, i had no clue." chuckling, you turned to charles. "they were so worried i'd fall into yet another pit of depression if it didn't work, they just didn't involve me, then suddenly terry had got me onto a flight to jericho, and well, you know the rest."

everyone but jake laughed, with eyebrows furrowed he set his beer down onto the nearest coaster, looking directly at you. you noticed, but didn't get to say anything before charles continued the conversation further.

he shook his head, laughing. "i tried to get the sarge to let me take you down to jericho instead, but of course, there was no way i would have been able to keep the secret for even five minutes so terry insisted he take you."

"you were so bummed." amy chimed in.

picking up your own drink that jake had bought over just a couple seconds ago, you took a sip, trying to distract yourself from jake's gaze.

it wasn't that you didn't want him to know about your state when he was away, you just didn't want to have that conversation. him being gone had knocked you down an insane amount, and that was embarrassing to admit. you had personally decided it would just be better for him to never find out about it. to save yourself and him having that conversation.

but jake peralta was an insistent man. he wasn't going to let it go unnoticed, that was for sure.

as charles, amy and genevieve fell into conversation, jake turned to you, lowering his voice in order to not let the others pick up on what he was saying. you gulped as he started speaking. "babe, what did you mean by a pit of depression?"

"don't... uh, don't worry about it." you brushed it off, trying to weave yourself back into the groups conversation, but jake simply did not let that happen.

"please talk to me about this."

you looked him dead in the eyes, seeing love and worry mixed in with the brown and knowing that you would have to speak about it. you nodded, gesturing to the door and watching as jake slipped out of the booth, taking your hand.

"jake and i will be right back." you spoke, letting the others wave you off as jake let you outside.

it wasn't cold outside, still early september, but a shiver ran down your spine as you leant against the brick wall of the alley that ran down the side of shaw's bar.

swallowing, you crossed your arms over your chest and watched as he looked over your figure. "jake, i think you might possibly be the best thing that's ever happened to me. so, naturally, having to live in our apartment without you, having to wake up without you, go into our place of work knowing you wouldn't be there, having to work on cases without your input, it got to a point that i couldn't handle."

his eyes softened at you, your gaze falling to your shoes against the ground. "oh, honey."

"it got better eventually, but for a couple weeks, i let cases go, i stayed home a lot, you get the idea." you admitted, laughing a bit about it now, knowing that jake was standing right in front of you and everything was okay again.

"it makes sense why the squad didn't tell you that they were investigating my innocence," he nodded as he spoke, understanding the situation better. "because i don't even want to think about what would have happened if you had known and they hadn't been able to get me out."

smiling softly at him, you nodded.

"c'mere." he mumbled, palm against your cheek as he lend down and softly, softer than ever, pressed his lips against yours. you let yourself fall into him, fingers grasping at his shirt as he hands slid around your waist, pulling you flush against his body.

you sighed through your nose, eyes fluttering open as he relaxed backward. "i love you."

smiling, he lifted your chin with his index finger. "i love you more, always. i'll do anything to make sure i never leave like that again."

hand in hand, the two of you made your way back into the bar. you knew you wouldn't stay for much longer, just wanting to spend time with each other. as you slid into the booth again, jake leant into your ear for one last comment.

"i think you're the best thing to ever happen to me, too, by the way."

you smiled as he pulled back, inserting himself into a conversation with charles again, watching as he spoke. everything was okay again, after six dim months: everything was okay, and it would stay that way for as long as the two of you were able to make sure it did.

[dracoroma]

Now that the campaign is over, I think I should drop my full thoughts.

As a start: I intitally liked the finale for the most part. We'll get back to why I said initially. However, I have one major gripe.

The first is that reviving Ashton really fealt like it cheapened their sacrifice. It was such an interesting choice that they gave up their life purely out of spite. In Ashton's eyes, it wasn't about saving the gods, it was about humbling them. That's fun, and interesting, and as much as I have feelings about Aston that we'll get back to later, it was cool. And I also think it left their budding relationship with Fearne off on an interesting note. All of that is completely undone by reviving them.

Anyway, onto the campaign.

I was really into the game in its initial sandboxy arc. The cast was fun and their interactions were all neat, and Inwas interested where the plot was going.

And then the god plot came in. And I have so many feelings.

As a religious person (hellenist and heathen), I felt constantly letdown this entire story. At the end of the day, there was no real evidence given in a pro or anti god direction. We're told they're tyrants who have too much control over mortals, but most people have problems because of a lack of intervention. The divine gate keeps demons and devils at bay, but there's other sources for that. There's no consequences to any option. And because of that, we're left with endless debate because we have no solid evidence.

All of this leads to the debate just turning into teal world reddit aetheist plot points because there's nothing in world to debate. This also felt incredibly dismissive of actual faith. Do I need to remind everyone how Ashton would not let FCG just be at peace with worshipping Avandra? That was incredibly frustrating. They also don't address at all how getting rid of the gods affects those who gind meaning in religion. The Hells and Keyleth were just like, "eh. Get over it. World's still spinning. " Excuse me, did we forget how much meaning Fjord told the hells he got out of his relationship with Melora!?

From a writer's perspective: well, all of this. But it was also incredibly boring because it means nothing is happening. This wasn't a complex, morally grey debate because there was absolutely no nuance. We don't see how the gods (or, in particular, the primes, because we know the betrayers all suck) are bad, and how things will be fine forever without them. So it's an endless de ate with no point that follows the same formula every time: same 3 points why gods are bad. Someone says "hmmm, i don't know". We end by saying "let's kill Ludanis because he sucks".

And frankly, nothing was happening for so long. So much of the campaign is an indistinguishable blob of time in my memory, with the standout moment being Aeor. And I think Ahton is the perfect case study. Talesin is on record saying Ashton was a critique of the obnoxious parts of the punk mindset, and they had no character growth. Their character development after shardgate reverted soon after, and their position was always completely dismissive of any other perspective.

All that being said, the most fun I had in the campaign was actually the live show. In part because I caught it live. I was on a family trip in the area already, and so my girlfriend and I made it to the show. And frankly, it was a really good session. It was mostly self-contained, which was good for her, who had not seen a single session of C3. It didn't involve the god debate, which was good for me. And it introduced Breius, who I genuinely think is one of the best PCs of the campaign despite coming in late.

Because Breius is sich a good deconstruction of cults and toxic relationships and why they're appealing, why you come back, and he ended up breaking free at the end!

But, now I think about the finale again. And I'm less positive about it than I was. Because I realize that most of why Infelt good was because this mess of a campaign is finally over. I overlooked how Orym and Opal and Imogen did not face lasting effects from their actions because I was so ready to be done with the god debate that goes nowhere.

[loopy777]

What do you think about the take that maiko was written to show that they were dysfunctional and shouldn't be together but the writers made them endgame in the last minute to tidy things up?

I think it's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. But you were probably expecting that. XD

Let's prove it mathematically. Toph is a main protagonist. Toph has a romance teased with Sokka that doesn't go anywhere. Toph also gets a lesser romantic tease with Zuko. Toph doesn't get an endgame romance. If the storytellers cared about pairing people off for "tidiness," then how could they leave one of the main protagonists single after establishing two different crushes for her? If Zuko needs a romance for "tidiness," why wasn't he paired with Toph? QED.

But that's not as much fun as talking about Maiko. So let's trace the arc and see if it actually looks like a dysfunctional dynamic turned into a positive romance at the last minute.

The only place where Maiko seems even a little dysfunction in The Beach; otherwise, they're almost always getting along and being affectionate with each other and Zuko is always smiling in Mai's presence unless he's thinking about his father or Azula is present and actively trying to ruin their fun. And The Beach portrays the root of their problems being Zuko's self-loathing, not any problem with each other. Sure, Zuko talks about Mai being a "big blah," but he also insults Ty Lee there for walking on her hands, so I think he's just cranky and picking on the girls' most obvious characteristics because he's a bully and misogynist. Once he admits to being angry at himself, he's able to get along with everyone again, especially with Mai and including some characteristically physical affection.

So if the intention was for them to be dysfunctional, that's a huge writing failure. It's not present in the story, which is especially odd if that was the real intention and the Happily Ever After was a last-minute whim. We can't even say that Mai was a bad influence on Zuko, as she literally never influences him in any way at any point in their relationship -- except for one, which will discuss in a moment -- merely supporting whatever it is he thinks he wants at any given second.

And that one moment of influence Mai has? She's part of the group encouraging Zuko to be honest with himself about the source of his anger. And I'm having a hard time figuring out how that's toxic.

As I like to say, if someone is arguing that some other ship would have been written better than Maiko, then no, it wouldn't have been. It would have been written by the same people who are terrible romance storytellers no matter what ship we're talking about. But by all means, if militant Zutarians want their ship written by the geniuses behind Makorra and/or Gene Yang, I think their cluelessness is self-evident and it would be impolite to point out how stupid they are.

Anyway, back to the other half of the allegations, that Maiko happened by accident at the last minute to make things "tidy" even though everyone's story arcs were planned in advance of the season's production.

(I swear, some of these fans act like high-quality animation is the same thing as a low-budget live-action scifi show filmed in chronological order by a cast of drug-addicted actors trapped in Toronto. )

The ending of The Boiling Rock where Mai saves Zuko is a load-bearing plot point. The entire second half of that two-parter is made to build up to it, with scenes between Mai and Zuko showing their continued affection for each other and eroding Mai's commitment to the Fire Nation. Then she betrays the Fire Nation, accomplishing her switch to being a Good Guy, and she gets the confrontation with Azula which starts off the absolutely critical Azula Loses Control character arc which directly leads to her defeat.

And that arc is present in all Azula's appearances after Mai's betrayal. She can't stand on her own when she orders Mai and Ty Lee locked up, the first sign of her waning sense of control. Her voice is raw and emotional when she attacks Zuko at the Western Air Temple, and there's the way she has to unpin her hair to save her own life in a series where the hairdos are highly symbolic. Then in the finale, she explodes at Ozai, her godlike father figure, about her treatment. Before her fight with Zuko, spends an entire episode being paranoid and hallucinatory. All of that is caused by Mai.

If Mai wasn't meant to become a Good Guy, where does Azula's arc come from? If Azula wasn't meant to fall apart like that, where else is her character supposed to be properly explored? Was the entire tone of Zuko's confrontation with his sister supposed to be completely different, and not a contrast in their states of mind that conclusively proves the self-destructive nature of Ozai's Fire Nation culture? The whole back-half of the third season for the Fire Nation characters hinges entirely on Mai's grand romantic gesture of saving Zuko.

If the storytellers planned to do all that, then didn't intend for Mai and Zuko to have a triumphant reunion, I don't know how they can consider themselves professionals.

Unless the theory is that it would have been easier to just stick Ty Lee in Mai's place? But then I don't think Zuko's interactions with Ty Lee were any less toxic, so we're still left lopsided there.

I dunno, I'm a bit freaked out at the lengths some people will go to pretend that the Maiko endgame wasn't a regular part of the story. Do they know it's been 17 years since that first aired?

[defuckingthrone-dot-com]

Gutten Morgen, Ich bin back once again👹 So, I just wanted to ask if you can write about the triplets. Of course, if you don't want to you don't have to.

With love, Deutsch Nonnie❤️👹

Summary: Noah x Reader finding out having triplets  

Pairing: Noah x Reader

TW: none, maybe fainting? But just a cute little blurb.

N/A: for my Deutsch Nonnie, sorry it took me so long to post this, been through chaos, but I hope you like it! almost I'm sorry if this isn't accurate, I don't know anything about pregnancy or babies to be quite honest with you, but I tried my best <3

Divider by @bernardsbendystraws

Ever since Noah and I found out I was pregnant a few weeks ago everything has been like a dream. It feels so surreal to me that I’m starting a little family with the love of my life. He's been very attentive to my needs. 

Today we had our first check up just to make sure everything was going to plan and hopefully we would be able to hear the heartbeat of our little. 

“Are you nervous?” I asked Noah as he pulled out of the driveway of our home. 

“I'm more excited than anything.. i can't believe we're having a baby” he replied back, sounding ecstatic. “I know where probably not doing this the conventional way, i mean were not married yet and were having a baby now but i wouldn't want to do it with anyone else”

A small sigh escaped my lips and I spoke once more  “I wouldn't want to do it with anything else either. Plus we don't need to be married or we don't need to do anything how everyone else thinks it should be. i'm happy just the way we are”

He grabbed my hand over the middle console with one of his while his other hand remained on the steering wheel. “Yeah me too” he said in almost a whisper.

We had the radio as background for the rest of the drive. It didn't take long to arrive at the clinic. 

“Hi im here for my 2 p.m. appointment” i spoke with the receptionist outside of the office of my doctor,

“Yes, Mrs. Y/L/N, follow me” she signalled with her hand. 

I intertwined my finger with Noahs and started to follow the receptionist. 

She knocked on the door and poke her head in “Dr. Quinn your next appointment is here”

“Yes thank you Martha, i'll take it from here” i hear the Dr, voices right as we walked in 

After a couple of minutes of introduction we started a regular check up and made my vitals where they needed to be. 

“Now it's a bit early to determine the sex of the baby but we can listen to its heartbeat, if that's okay with you?” Dr Quinn asked with a smile on her face.

Both Noah and I nodded in unison, too excited to speak.

“Okay i'm gonna have to lay down on the bed here and please pull your top up just a little bit for me please. I'll start getting the machine ready” she commanded.

I did as she said and laid there with my baby bump exposed to the cold air, it was starting to show more and more everyday and I was starting to feel the baby move around. 

She inch closer with the machine in hand and started to also put on gel on my belly.

“Okay here we go”

At first there wasn't any sound coming from the little speaker by the machine and made me very anxious that something might be wrong but after a minute of moving the handheld device around we could hear your baby's heartbeat.

Thump, thump, thump..

It was so magical, my eyes started to water from the emotion, I reached out to grab Noah's hand once more and squeeze it and I could feel the same way as his eyes started to crystallize with adoration.

Thump, thump, thump…

“Heartbeat is where it should be everything seems to be normal but i do want to do an ultrasound to see if we can't get a look at how big the baby is” Dr Quinn said already grabbing whatever she needed to complete the ultrasound

“I'm so happy you have no idea” Noah admitted with a sigh

“So am i can't believe we got to hear your baby's heartbeat” i said 

Noah gave me a forehead just as Dr Quinn walked right back in, she placed more gel on my belly and continued “Ok let's look here” she pointed at the monitor that hung from the wall.

“ok here's the head and those are its arms and legs…”

“I don't know how you can define a baby form, it all just looks like a blob to me,” Noah said probably without thinking. 

“Noah!” I said, thankfully Dr Quinn thought it was funny since she let out a small laugh.

She started to move around my belly once more with the machine. “oh well you look at that..there's…”

��Where's Dr? Is everything okay?” I was a bit worried.

“Everything is okay, there one, two, and three heads, looks like you're having triplets! the heart beats we hear a beat earlier where from different little babies”

Did I hear correctly? there's 3 babies growing inside of me?

“TRIPLETS?” Noah shouted before he took a stumble down, he fainted with the impression of the news

“Noah!” I screamed once more but this time to try to get to him. “Dr please you gotta do something” 

Dr Quinn got as fast as she could to grab a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol to put it under Noah's nose so he would come back to his senses. 

“What..happened.. ?” he said with a disoriented tone.

Dr Quinn looked at me as if to say I should let him know what went down.

“You fainted..because..we just found out we were having triplets..” i said with an almost guilty smile, 

He shook his head as if he wasn't understanding what just said to him “Triplets?” he asked again with a bit of a calmer voice.

Dr Quinn nodded her head before saying “Yes, but i'm gonna leave you two alone for a couple of minutes so you cant talk” with that she walked out of the room.

“I feel like I'm in a fever dream,” Noah spat out.

“ A good one or a bad one?” i asked 

“I don't know yet honestly..” he sighed. 

“I know you're scared…and to be quite honest with you so am i” i took a pause “but i know we will get through this together. remember i wouldn't want anyone else to do this with. i love you”

“you're right, we're in this together, I can't wait to have 3 little goblins running around our home” he squeezed my hand this time. “I love you too.. now where have to start tripling up on everything” he said with a small laugh.

I know that this pregnancy would probably be beating the shit of me, once i got the last trimester but I couldn't wait to have 3 babies in our home causing the best kind of chaos. Life would be a bit haptic, but I knew with Noah by my side everything will be alright.