#Do I need to tag all of them? I don't want to so I won't lol

[unknownati]

xi. christmas!

a/n: guys part of this was supposed to be the PROLOGUE to a 12 part sfw and nsfw winter/christmas themed drabbles (mini fics?) but i got too busy 💀 literally had 4 days left to write but then the 12th went by and i was like... damn

its ok tho i might upload the finished days just as separate fics

while we're here why does nle choppa have a christmas song

warnings/tags: none rlly, just fluff, SO corny, SO sappy, no use of y/n, no description of reader's features, gn!reader, decorating w/ ekko 🎉, reader is a THIEF, pre-arcane plotline (choosing happiness)

_______________________________________________

christmas in zaun was nothing close to ideal. it was never if people celebrated, but more if they could afford it, which most of the time was a no. unless people had kids, they weren't going out of their way to make it a whole thing. not only that, but people didn't really care for it, anyway. they had other things to do. sure, maybe you'd see some extra lights around, or maybe a few lopsided wreaths hanging on a weathered door, but it was always the bare minimum.

but ever since you snuck into piltover as a kid right at the tail end of december, your world was absolutely rocked by the blinding lights and stars and bows and garlands and wreaths and the huge tree sitting smack dab in the middle of the city, illuminating the night sky.

after that, you were obsessed with the idea of christmas. you never had the funds, nor the time, nor the energy, nor enough friends or family to make anything happen all by yourself. but the dream stuck to you.

and then came ekko, and with him, a chance. a huge tree? with an abundance of people living there? it gave you the best idea.

*✲ﾟ*｡⋆

cool november air was giving way to the first hints of winter, the sharp bite of cold nipping at the cheeks of zaunites. warm colored leaves were shriveling into themselves and trembling down onto the concrete, scattering through the town. settled in uneven piles, nestled in corners, where the wind could push them no further. christmas has long began to be advertised in piltover, and your excitement was uncontrollable.

quiet as a mouse, you slipped into ekko's work room. he's sat on his stool, elbows rested on the table with his figure shadowing over his work. your fingers glide across his biceps, chin resting against his right shoulder.

"hey handsome," you chirped, working your digits over the curves of his muscles. your lips curled into a grin you were incapable of withholding. "y'got a minute?"

"for you, always." he turned, hands hoisting the weight of his upper body on his knees. his eyes softened upon looking at you. "what's up?"

you slid on his lap, feet swinging back and forth, pendulum like. "soooo," you begin, leaning back on his shoulder. "i'm sure you know what christmas is."

"yeah, why? want me to get you something?" his fingers twisted at the hem of your sweater. you shake your head—not the goal right now.

"no. well, yes, but not what i'm asking you for right now," ekko's head tilts in response. your voice dropped into a playful yet unsure murmur. "iiiiii wanted to know if you'd maaaybe be willing to decorate the base and celebrate it this year?"

his thoughts stutter, and then he laughed. "baby, you know i'd love to, but i can't. don't have the time or the money."

a pout formed on your face, lips jutting out. "we don't have to spend money, we can use what we have lying around! and i have some extra money on the side. we're not flat broke."

"doesn't solve the whole time thing."

"oookay, make time. we'll have the kids help, too! you won't even have to do much, like—seriously, think about it. we don't even need to get a tree because the firelight tree, duh. we can use big cardboard boxes to look like fake presents, we can steal lights 'n' other stuff from the pilties—"

you rambled on, every idea you've ever had since childhood resurfacing and bubbling out of you in an unstoppable torrent. each thought, each plan, all of it spilled out, an overflowing pot.

"hey, hey—" he interrupted, thumb stroking your thigh. "listen, those ideas are great. but we can't. and you have got to stop stealing from topside."

your smile faltered. "but why!? think about the kids, think about me!" ekko hesitates to speak, eyes darting around the room as your face transitions into a pleading pout. "please? pretty please? i'll do the dishes for a month?"

"fuck," your eyes filled with stars. ekko groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "fine! fine, jeez."

the squeal that exited you entered directly into his ears, lips pressing kisses into his face in rapid succession.

"thankyouthankyouthankyou!!! oh my god, it'll be great, we can have the kids make little snowflakes, we could have a little fucking wish box to get gifts for some of the kids—" you gasped loudly upon a realization, planting your hands onto his shoulders. "—you can be santa!!!"

he scoffs, brushing a loc of white hair out of his face. "don't push your luck."

you sigh in mock defeat. "fine, hiemerdinger's got that. i'll take what i can get."

"isn't he kinda short for santa?"

you shake your head. "don't height shame."

*✲ﾟ*｡⋆

ekko rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, a small groan rumbling in his throat as he reached over on the bed to find you.

empty.

his head flipped. you've left a now cool dent in the bed in your wake, blanket left in a wild mess.

he frowned, sitting up and looking around. you're nowhere to be found.

maybe you got up to use the bathroom, he thinks, standing up to search the place for you.

the second his feet hit the floor, his brows furrow.

'...glitter?'

his gaze lifts, and his eyes widen as they follow the specks of glitter scattered across the floor, which caught the faint morning light that bled through the curtains.

he followed the trail, small drops of glitter turning into discarded cardboard scraps, which turned into unfinished rolls of ribbon, which lead him to his workroom, where the door was slightly ajar.

he slowly pushed the door open, finding you hunched over a box that you were decorating to look like presents. you tilt your head up to look at him, a smile spreading ear to ear.

"w'ssup?"

he glanced at the small clock on his desk. "it's...five in the morning, why are you up so early?"

you gestured towards the pile of finished boxes in the corner. "working!" the sound of tape ripping off of the roll fills the air as you took a strip, taping the box shut. "i already collected a bunch of paper for the kids to make snowflakes, borrowed some lights 'nd garlands from topside, aaand i'm almost done making all these boxes."

a lot done considering you had had that conversation just the night before.

ekko crouched down to your level, eyes meeting yours. "but...you're gonna clean all this up, right?"

silence.

"right?" he repeated.

your eyes narrowed. "yes?"

"why is that a question?"

you scoff, pressing an empty roll of wrapping paper into his chest. "why are you asking me so many of 'em? get to work. and i need you to use your hover board to fly around and get those lights up," you nod towards a pile of lights on his desk without looking away from your box. he opened his mouth to reply, but you cut him off. "thank you!"

he rolled his eyes and stood, tossing the wrapping paper roll into the recycling bin.

at a more appropriate time in the day, you stood at the top of the firelight tree after capturing everyone's attention. public speaking wasn't exactly your thing, but ekko insisted you do it since everything was your idea.

you cleared your throat as the crowd settled into silence, all eyes on you. you shifted your weight onto your other leg.

"um—wow, okay, hi guys. so, i'm sure you've all...heard of christmas. and i know it's usually kinda lame, but truuust me, this year i'm gonna make sure it's—" you gather your fingers, kissing the tips of them and flaring your hand out. "—chef's kiss."

eyes leave you to glance at other's reactions, the silence lifted by an excited murmur.

"yeah, but i'm gonna need help. i have a bunch of paper that i need to be made into snowflakes, so that by the end of the day this place can look better than it already does."

you shifted their focus to scar, who carried a large bin of scissors, string, and paper of various colors. (earlier, scar questioned how you got all these supplies. you just smiled at him.)

after a quick tutorial, children started racing to gather around him, picking their colors and scissors. within a few minutes, the kids were gathered in groups on the floor, cutting out their best attempts at snowflakes.

pride swelled in your chest and you looked up into the bulk of the tree's leaves, ekko's form flying around in circles with lights being strung along behind him. with fists on your hips, you beam. "i'm amazing," you praise, making your way back inside.

everything came together surprisingly quick. ekko had never seen you that focused—hanging up lights, making paper bows to place at the points where lights held, and placing those big fake presents around the tree. of course, other people helped too, which made the work lighter.

you mostly left the mural alone, only placing a few extra candles and waving to the colorful portraits.

by the time night fell, the project was close to finished. it wasn't perfect, but to you, it was. the entire base was illuminated in warm, white lights, paper snowflakes dangling from the branches and twisting in the wind. the beat in your chest stuttered. it all felt...magical.

*✲ﾟ*｡⋆

over the next few weeks, you kept adding and adding to the scene. and it was all finished just in time for today, christmas eve.

by now, you'd forced ekko into so many christmas activities, some more enjoyable than the others. he thoroughly enjoyed making matching pajamas with you and drinking cocoa that was overflowing with marshmallows—being constantly tricked into mistletoe kisses, not so much. at least, he acted like he hated it. he secretly adored accidentally walking right into your trap of a hidden mistletoe and being attacked by an onslaught of messy kisses.

ekko finds you at the balcony again, glancing out into the scene below. "hm. not bad." he leans against the railing, hips bumping into yours.

"yeah, cuz it's awesome. i did that, thank you."

warm lips meet your cold cheek. "mhm. you did." he paused, tongue running over his molars. "i-um...got you something."

you perked up at his words, head whipping around to face him. "ooh, you just reminded me that i have to finish making your gift, i—"

as you're speaking, he pulls a little box from his coat pocket, black with a messy red bow.

"it's not perfect, but...y'know," his voice trails off. he pops the box open and offers it to you.

inside rested a delicate necklace, light reflecting off of the silver metal and glimmering into your eyes. the chain was thin, the links very neatly melded together, and a little circular locket hanging off the center.

you take the box and reach in, mouth agape in awe, gently pushing the locket open. inside was a tiny picture of the two of you, laying in bed, with you sound asleep on his shoulder. ekko's eyes were shut as he was in the middle of pressing a kiss to your forehead.

you smile down at the picture, warmth flooding your chest. for a long moment, you're just staring at it, ekko awaiting your reaction. your lips press together, your vision starts to blur, and a tear rolls down your face and into the velvet lining of the box. then they just kept streaming down.

ekko's face drops, immediately reaching to wipe your tears. "hey, it's okay, if you don't like it i can get you something else."

you hiccup, shaking your head. "shut up, i love it so much, this is just everything i've ever wanted for my whole life, and it's so stupid but you've literally made this the best christmas i've ever had a-and this necklace is really cute and this was so worth doing the dishes—"

you could've kept going but your joyful sobs cut you off. it was all too much, all the decorations and all the traditions you once wished for finally coming into fruition. ekko's arms wrap around you and you return the gesture, fingers twisting into his coat.

"i'd do it again in a heartbeat." he whispers, moving to peck your wet cheek. once, twice, three times.

"boo," a voice calls below you. "get a room."

*✲ﾟ*｡⋆

[wings-of-ink]

Hello, my friends!

Just wanted to pop in with some info and updates.

*The "Cursed Birthday" won the 2k follower celebration poll. Sorry dads! I don't have an ETA for that just yet. I may write it here and there until the end of the year as the motivation strikes. I think the easiest way to tell the tale would be from Oswin's POV or even a shifting POV between him and Da (Kip). I'll decide for sure once I begin to write it. Also playing with the idea of doing this in Twine to make it playable. That way you could put your MC's specifics in for maximum emotional damage.

*I will still write things about the dads though, so all my Papa and Da fans out there won't be left in the dark forever.

*I will be "patching" Chapter 5 in the near future. I redid Zahn's scene (again) which gave me such a headache on release day. I formatted the beginnings in a much more streamlined way and fixed some bugs. When I have more time to sit and go through error reports, and make more corrections to typos, grammar, and code - then I will put the patch through.

*All chapters will be getting a scrub for issues in the text in the coming months. I will do my best to find them, but self-editing is very difficult (there's good reason that professional editors exist). In the future, I may need to ask for testers/editors.

*ASKS will be changing a bit. I do not know the full extent of how because it's a trial by fire. The rules will be updated as I come across things. But, here's why:

Spoiler prevention - as much as it is possible, I want to limit spoiling content for both new and existing readers. Not just for the plot points that are developing, but also for our mystery suitor who will have a lot of unraveling in the coming chapters. I will probably make a specific tag for answers that may contain spoilers, but some of the issue is the information in the Ask itself, which I can't hide. I may opt to compile these in a big post like once a month or so. This way, if anyone does not want to see anything spoilery, it's easier to avoid.

Time management - reaction asks specifically will remain limited and they will honestly have to be a lower priority depending on the condition of my inbox. I am very sorry for this, but these can take an inordinate amount of time. I write this IF in my downtime from work and personal life, and I also use those moments to manage Tumblr. I need to balance those so I can work toward releasing more of the IF.

Patreon - I still plan to give Patreon a go probably starting January. This will help me fund things for the game, such as art, and help me justify spending even more of my time writing chapters and extras. But like everything else, I will need to allot time to work on these things.

Personal Development - I'm taking a coding class! I can work on it at my leisure and it won't take a ton of time during the week, but it will take me out of my Tumblr time a little bit I think. Fingies crossed, I will learn a lot that will help me code a better game for you!

*Inbox - I have several Asks awaiting responses about chapter 5. As noted above, I am holding these due to spoilers to give readers a chance to catch up. (I may opt to compile these in one large post.)

Anyway, that's all for now (it's at least all I currently remember, lol).

Take care, all!

~Lunan ^_^

[crimsoncandy04]

omg love ur writing in the scaramouche tag and was wondering if i could place a request because i thought of scaramouche with a stubborn reader who refuses to submit to him so he punishes her via fucking machine until shes broken down and begging for him... its just some brainworms of mine

*scuttles out from underneath your bed and gently tucks my response underneath your pillow before returning to my nest*

Marry Christmas ya filthy animals lmao

(Hehe. I've been excited to write this)

(Bondage Scaramouche!)

You sigh softly as the gentle hum of the large vibrators fill your ears. Your wrists are handcuffed to a wall behind you on either side of your head. a locked metal chastity belt prevented the painfully enormous insertions from slipping out of your ass and cunt. This had been HIS sick way of punishing you for spitting in his face yesterday when he originally had tried to kiss you.

Scaramouche.

The fucking Balladeer.

You hated that self absorbed and condescending humanoid bastard but unfortunately for you, he had grown attracted to you.

He had wanted you.

And he had gotten you.

It was as simple as that. Or was it?

"Enjoying yourself?" A cold voice suddenly sneered from somewhere in front of you. You knew even through the blindfold that it was him. As if you could ever get off from something as disgusting and evil as what this sociopathic harbinger had done to you. Grabbing you. Pinning you to the ground beneath him as he had attempted to press his lips to yours.

He was lucky you didn't bite his tongue off instead of just spitting at him.

"Fuck you!" You hiss through your teeth. Your body is still trembling from the unwanted orgasms you were experiencing. You could hear the keys to your belt jingling from somewhere on him.

"Is that right now sweetheart? Finally come to your senses?" He reached out and ran a gloved hand across your cheek.

"Absolutely not you disgusting bastard! You know what I meant!"

A silence follows as you feel him pull away from you.

Then you feel a sharp sting in your neck.

"Ah! What the hell are you doing!? Stop!"

"You can't say I haven't been nice. I thought you would have seen reason by now but it appears your stubborn attitude will need correction first." He whispers in your ear. His cool breath sending shivers down your spine.

"This should make you a little more agreeable you ungrateful little cockroach."

You start to feel hot suddenly. You want to scream as you hear him still kneeling in front of you. Yet as you hear the click of a button being pressed and the vibrators deep in your holes start to move faster than before, you can't do anything but gasp suddenly and try in vain to close your knees and ignore the way your body quickly begins to tingle.

"I hate you! I won't... Ngh~" you have to bite your lip to keep from moaning. Whatever Scaramouche had injected you with was causing you to lose your composure fast. And also...become unbelievably overwhelmed with lust.

"Does it feel good? You like the way my toys are fucking that tight little cunt of yours?" He purrs as you feel him spread your knees apart and move to kneel between them. Scaramouche reaches out and pinches one of your nipples. Tugging on the sensitive peak ever so slightly as you squirm and writhe.

"You know, if you stop acting like such a pain in the ass, I could make it all better. Make the uncomfortable feeling in your body go away. Make you want me." You feel him lean in. His lips graze yours as he whispers.

"Why don't we try that kiss again hmm? This time, if you know what's good for you, you won't pull any more foolish stunts."

Before you can respond in any way, Scaramouche's lips are on yours. He moves his free hand to play with your hair as he continues to fondle your breast with the other. After a few seconds he shoves his tongue into your mouth and for a moment you almost falter. You want nothing more than to moan and cry and scream for this man to touch you. To fuck you. But as you suddenly jerk your head away and curse him under your breath, you come back to your right mind and immediately feel violated and enraged over what this lowly bastard is trying to do.

"No! How dare you! Don't touch me!"

You hear him get back to his feet. Feel his sharp and sadistic gaze on you as you are forced to cum again thanks to the toys buried in you still.

"You don't want me to lay my hands on you?" Scaramouche asks in a sinister tone. He chuckles softly.

"Well then, have it your way dear."

You try to kick as you feel him suddenly move close to you again and prick your neck a second time. But he's too fast and far too strong for any normal human to be able to apprehend on their own. And as you feel the new medicine quickly coarse through your veins and cause you to feel drowsy, you swear you hear Scaramouche laughing again and the sound of keys jingling.

You open your eyes sometime later and feel your wrists and head aching. You lift your head as best as you can in your semi-conscious state and realize that you're just dangling from the ceiling with your feet about a foot from the tatami floor beneath you. Your wrists are bound together by a red rope that is attached to a thick wooden rafter high above you. And to make things possibly even more humiliating, one of the ropes was tied carefully through your long hair and was tethered to something in your ass that caused your scalp and asshole to ache every time you tried to move your head or lower body. It was all so uncomfortable and yet you couldn't even adjust yourself without feeling your wrists burn or your hair getting yanked.

"you're finally awake. I was hoping you hadn't gone and died on me before we even got to the best part yet."

Scaramouche strode over to where you were hanging and reached out to feel your wetness. His long slender fingers easily slid into your sopping cunt and began to move. Wiggling around inside and teasing you before he abruptly removes them entirely. Leaving you irritated and slightly disappointed that he had left your aching sex empty again despite how aroused you still were from the earlier injection.

Scaramouche brings his fingers to his lips and grins mischievously as he licks them clean, commenting on how nice you taste as he watches a light blush form on your face.

"What an interesting expression. You want me to play with your cute little pussy more? Too bad. Don't blame me though. I'm simply giving you what you wanted. You don't want me to touch you. Remember?"

You felt burning hot anger suddenly rise within you. He wanted this.

That vile bastard wanted you to beg for him and plead for him to fuck you.

Archons, was he so grossly full of himself.

You grit your teeth and force yourself to glare at Scaramouche as you now struggle to fight the intense and overwhelming feeling of lust that plagued every inch of your hot feeling and quivering form.

"You won't break me you sick fucker!"

Scaramouche raises an eyebrow at your words.

"You think so huh? Well, let's just see."

He moves fast. Too fast.

One second he was standing in front of you and then you blinked and now he was behind you. You heard something big being placed just behind you. Mere inches from your throbbing sex as you hear Scaramouche comment about how he's going to enjoy watching you lose yourself after this and before you can figure out what he's planning, suddenly the sound of a machine buzzing to life fills your ears. Seconds after a thick dildo suddenly forces itself deep into your pussy and begins thrusting. Slowly at first, but after a few seconds it gets faster. You feel the silicone tip pound against your cervix. The thickness fills every inch of you and stretches your pussy to its limit. Making you shudder and finally...moan.

It was accidentally. You immediately regretted it.

But Scaramouche had heard it.

"Oh? Enjoying this are you? You seem to like my toys a lot huh?" You feel him rub his hand across your ass cheek and then squeeze a little.

"What if I were to remove this hook and fill your fat ass with something particularly large instead? Like the one in your cunt. Would you moan? Cry? Beg for more? Or would you continue with this annoying attitude of yours and let me ruin your perfect little holes in the process?"

Scaramouche suddenly slaps your ass hard. Making you whimper a little as you try to close your eyes and regain control. But as you try, suddenly another painful slap stops you.

He continues to spank you several more times before pausing and caressing your sore cheeks with his hands again. After that he began again. Your ass hurt, your pussy clenched and fluttered around the dildo as it thrust in and out of your oversensitive cunt, as the sensation of both pain and pleasure overwhelmed your senses, suddenly you gasp and let out a small whine as you feel yourself squirt.

Scaramouche laughs a little as he finally moves from behind you after that. Staring at you with a smug expression as you go limp while still being fucked by the machine behind you.

"That was quick. Clearly someone enjoyed themselves." He places his hands on either side of your face. The gesture is oddly gentle.

"Just relax. Stop fighting me. I don't want to punish you. It gets boring after a while. But if you continue to defy me, I won't hesitate to remind you of your place." One of his thumbs rubs a tear from your cheek that you weren't even aware had fallen.

"If you give in now, I can make you feel better than any mortal ever could. Don't you want that little bug? Humans like feeling good. Doesn't this all feel uncomfortable? Humiliating? I can make it stop if you just quit resisting." His touch was softer. But Scaramouche had no affection behind those indigo eyes of his as he gazed at you intensely.

You just gave him a look of reluctance as another small moan was forced out of you.

"Looks like you still need some convincing." He lets go of your face and suddenly reaches into the small pouch near his waist to retrieve a small remote. He smirks as he pushes a button and suddenly makes the dildo in your pussy begin to vibrate. He then increases the intensity. Your legs begin to shake as you finally stop trying to stay quiet.

It's too much.

"Fuck! It's hitting so deep! Scaramouche... I can't!" You try to wiggle your hips a little but the hook in your ass suddenly yanks on your hair again and you struggle to remain still.

You just...need more. You need to cum. You can't take this anymore.

Scaramouche unties his belt as he watches the machine continue to ravage you. It drops to the floor and after that you watch as he tugs down his shorts a little and reaches for his cock. He starts jerking off to the sight of you and even presses another button on the remote with his free hand that makes the dildo piston in and out faster.

"If it's too much. Just ask for me instead. Give in. And I'll make it stop." He leans in and kisses you again as he gets off to you. Swallowing your moans and sounds of pleasure as you feel yourself cum again. Finally as you feel another overwhelming wave of pleasure and swear the room sways a little around you as scara backs away, you finally give up.

"Scaramouche please fuck me. I can't stand this anymore! I want...i want your cock in me."

"Are you sure? You don't sound like you do. Maybe if you convince me I'll oblige."

Gods no.

He was making you beg.

You lowered your gaze as you felt your pride wither.

"Please Scaramouche, I don't want this fake cock in me. I want your dick. Please fuck me. Please...i need your big cock in my pussy!"

You don't even realize you're cut free from your binds after you finish pleading until you feel yourself hit the floor.

And feel Scaramouche grabbing your ass from behind.

"Who am I to deny such a needy girl? If you insist then I'll fuck you stupid you pitiful little worm."

He roughly shoves himself into your throbbing core to the hilt. Digging his nails into your hips before fucking hard into you. His movements are quick too. Scarily quick.

You feel yourself turn to jelly in his hold as he slams into your g spot and makes you squeal. You cry out as you feel yourself climax violently and yet he doesn't stop.

You don't want him too either.

"Scaramouche you feel amazing!" You gasp as you feel him reach for a tit and squeeze. His finger teasing the nipple.

"I know sweetheart. Just keep taking it. You feel so tight. Just like I knew you would." He groans before leaning down and wrapping his arms around your middle. Fucking you fast enough to make you scream as you feel yourself squirt again on his thick shaft.

"Fuck I'm gonna keep you. This cunt of yours is perfect." You hear the sound of electro before you feel it as Scaramouche suddenly tightens his hold on you and ejaculates.

A powerful jolt is sent deep into your womb and makes you climax again instantly. You feel a small lingering tingle in your belly and as Scaramouche releases you, you turn over slightly and notice that a strange mark has formed on your lower abdomen. It glows to life as Scaramouche rubs his cock against your slit and after that you feel yourself get excited again despite being beyond exhausted.

You hear him hum a little as he slowly slips into you once more.

"Don't worry about that my little insect. This just shows that you're mine and prevents you from enjoying anyone else. It has some special properties that will affect you but nothing unpleasant."

He begins to thrust again.

"After this, all I need is to knock you up. Shouldn't be too hard now that I gave you that. Then you'll be by my side forever. My pretty little toy~"

You can only feel pleasure as Scaramouche begins to use your pussy again. Deep in the back of your mind there's a small nagging feeling that this is wrong. But how could it be when everything about it just felt so right?

[probablyreadinsmut]

Fallin - Joel Miller X Afab! Reader

Chapter Two - The ties that bind

Remember, images in the banner above are just for aesthetic purposes, reader is you. Carmy is in there bc readers husband looks like him in my head, just to avoid confusion lol.

Summary for this chapter: Reader is pushed to her breaking point when an unexpected letter shows up in the mailbox and an equally unexpected bond forms between her and Joel.

Warnings/Tags for this chapter: Prepare yourselves. This chapter has some heavy topics in it. Don't say I didn't warn you. Financial struggles, Alcoholism. Alcohol abuse. Readers landlord has shitty timing. Weaponised incompetence. Reader belittles herself. Discussions of past physical abuse (this did not happen to reader). Shared trauma. Reciprocating soothing touches (oooh). No beta so autocorrect takes all the blame if I've missed something! Tommy eating with his mouth full, Momma Miller is rolling in her grave! Reader sleeps with socks on - don't @ me, my autistic ass can't sleep without them on, that's my only self insert haha.

Title taken from this song:

A/N: I'm thinking there's going to have to be a chapter 2.5 because there was another part to this that I wanted to add but the transition to it wouldn't have made sense so... There may be smut next half chapter though!

Word Count: 4.3k

Previous Chapter

Series Masterlist

///

May 31st 2003

It had been a long ass month.

You picked up extra shifts at work, agreeing to help on the line if it meant you could work overtime. It wasn't your favourite thing to do, working with the chefs instead of being tucked away in the back able to get on with making pastries and decadent cakes. They all had short fuses and you had enough of that shit at home, but you desperately needed the money so you did it, even if it meant working six days a week with a bunch of assholes. Honestly though? You were kind of thankful that you weren't home a lot of the time these days.

Matt hadn't got the job, which in turn had sent him into a further spiral of depression and drinking.

You hated seeing him like this, the man you'd loved. The man you'd married. This wasn't him, he was never a big drinker before all but now? Now you're getting belligerent texts from him mid shift, asking you to pick up a six pack on the way home from work everyday. The one time you forgotten to, so drowsy you'd almost fallen asleep behind the wheel of your car, he screamed at you for an 30 straight minutes before he left the house to go to a bar instead.

Your Internet search history, once full of recipes and forums for the hobbies you enjoyed, was now full of frantic searches for 'How to know if my partner is an alcoholic?' 'How to get help for an alcoholic' 'What to do if an alcoholic won't seek help'. He definitely didn't think he had a problem and you couldn't bring it up to him. This new version of Matt scared you, whether it was in the sense that he was so unpredictable in his moods or that you had this fear that he'd get himself so drunk he'd vomit in his sleep and choke on it, who knew? Either way, it was like having a ticking time bomb in your home, just waiting for it to go off.

You'd just about scraped by on paying bills this month too, resorting to selling your beloved kitchen aid mixer and a few pairs of shoes that, yes, you were going to miss sorely, but you'd rather go without if it meant you didn't miss paying your rent, you'd much rather have a roof over your heads, even if you're hardly ever there these days.

You really needed Matt to be out and working again, but somehow, it didn't look like that was going to happen, so this was your life for the the foreseeable future, working back to back shifts, eating at work so you didn't have to buy extra food at home, holding your breath while the tips were being divided at the end of the day with a figure in your head of how much you needed for gas money. You're keeping your head above water. Just barely though.

Your one day off a week was spent tidying up around the house, picking up after Matt where he failed to throw away bottles, empty ashtrays, throw away takeout containers. Another expense, even though you made sure to leave food for him in the fridge while you were out working. It was like taking one step forward and three steps back half the time.

You'd had a lot of time to think recently, really reflecting back on your entire marriage, drifting away getting lost in thought as you cranked out orders at work. Even while not at home, your thoughts were still there.

You'd come to realise that maybe you'd been looking back at things through rose coloured glasses considering how it was now. He'd always had a short fuse, running out of patience quickly. Passive aggressive comments were his forte, although you found yourself laughing them off most of them time, like water off a ducks back. A lot of things had been left up to you, in charge of making sure the bills were paid even before all this. In charge of keeping the household running. You'd argued about it before and he'd told you he was too busy and stressed with his workload to help, you considered yourself lucky that he remembered to load the dishwasher sometimes and even then he expected a thank you for it. A thank you that you never received yourself.

Everything had been put on your shoulders for so long that you'd just gotten used to it. It had you wondering if you'd always been such a doormat? Self deprecating thoughts were nothing new either.

Slowly, you were beginning to wake up and smell the roses. Realising that nothing had ever actually been perfect, he hadn't been perfect. You hadn't been either, but the give and take in this relationship was completely unbalanced from the get go.

///

June 1st 2003

It was your day off today and the second your dry, tired eyes fluttered open that morning, you resigned yourself to the monotony of your day ahead. You turned to look over your shoulder at Matt snoring loudly beside you, out cold. You had no idea what time he'd come to bed last night, leaving him awake and drinking by himself after he told you to fuck off when you asked him is he could possibly throw away the takeout container full of days old food that was now growing an entire ecosystem inside it. There was no point arguing with this man.

You got up and headed downstairs, silently cursing that creaky ass step that was a constant reminder of how broken your household was, in more ways than one.

With a soft yawn, tying up your bathrobe, you poke your head out the front door, to check that the coast is clear, no neighbours to spot you in your pyjamas, which consisted of leggings, an oversized tee and mismatched socks that you'd pulled on in the dark last night before bed. The mailbox flag had been upright for days, you hadn't had time to check it and Matt simply didn't give a shit.

You weren't prepared for what you'd found in there though, regretting your decision to check it before yous caffienated.

"Oh my god" With the letter in one hand, watery eyes scanning it, your shaking hand against your lips, you stare at the words on the page but they all begin to blur together after the first few sentences, you didn't need to read more than that:

'To the tenant(s) at 16 Sycamore Street. We regret to inform you that your landlord has decided to put the property on the buyers market and has received an offer. Completion is expected to commence by the first week of October. Please vacate the premises no later than 10/1/03....'

Eviction.

They didn't even have the decency to name you on the letter, citing you as 'tenants'. Just another number, just another easy paycheck.

Cold and clinical, washing their hands of you. It felt like such a slap in the face after you'd worked so hard, scrimping and scrounging money to pay the rent this month.

Gut punch after gut punch after gut punch.

There's only so much one person can take. You thought about the idea of having to tell Matt about this, it would somehow be your fault. You thought about the stress of having to find another place on one Salary. The home you were in now was a steal, the landlord had offered it to you at a reduced rate if you agreed to foot the bill for minor repairs, such as that stupid creaky step. Being young and naive, you and Matt had accepted those terms. , You thought you'd got lucky with it when you found it, instantly falling in love with how quiet the cul-de-sac was, how family friendly it was. Envisioning maybe starting your own family here too.

The person you were three years ago when you moved here was an entirely different person to who you are now. You're broken now. Broken and openly sobbing on the sidewalk, screwing the letter up, throwing it back into the mailbox before you angrily slam it shut.

You'd been so wrapped up in the grief of all this happening to you that you hadn't heard the quick footsteps of a certain raven haired neighbour crossing the street,

His tone was all concern and a little hesitation as he spoke "Darlin? Hey you okay?"

///

Joel

It had been over a month since he last really saw you, since you'd snapped at him for poking his nose in, not that he'd intended to.

He'd caught quick glimpses of you as you rushed from your door to the car in the morning, looking more frazzled each day. He'd seen you coming home late at night too, six pack in hand most nights, it couldn't have all been for you.

Joel had thought about quickly catching you one morning during one of those times but he decided against it, he'd considered leaving an apology note on your car too but he thought that was too impersonal.

He'd started to piece things together though, Joel was observant by nature. Hearing the loud rattles of glass being emptied into the garbage truck each week, seeing that trashcan full to the brim with bottles, along with the fact that Jimmy had said he'd still been hearing the arguments coming from your house, he'd also noticed that you'd hardly been home... Things definitely weren't good between you and Matt. This wasn't just run of the mill marital problems, it was a hell of a lot more complicated than that.

It definitely wasn't his place to intervene but there was no chance he was going to just stand by and do nothing either, it was just a matter of when and how.

It was still fairly early on Sunday morning when he'd darted out to his truck, forgetting that he'd left his cellphone in there over night, he always liked to keep it by his side incase an emergency job popped up, he could always use the extra cash after all. He hadn't actually noticed you across the street until the slam of your mailbox, making him nearly smack his head against the roof of his truck.

That's when he sees you there, in your pyjamas, bathrobe and mismatched socks, having a complete meltdown in front of your house.

He tried calling out to you from across the street but you hadn't heard him and when he sees you getting increasingly distressed he decides enough is enough, even if he's nervous that he may get his head bitten off again. He's not the kind of person to just pretend he hadn't seen something like that either.

Not to mention it was breaking his heart a little bit to see you like this. So despite his trepidation, he swiftly crosses the street to come to your aid.

//

You sit at Joel's dining table, eyes puffy and red from crying, staring down into the cup of coffee he'd made you. Despite your tearful protests, he'd guided you across the street to his house. You'd been trying to explain what was wrong but it had all been coming out as garbled sobs. Knowing that you didn't want to be the gossip of the street, he'd taken it upon himself to get you calm again.

You can feel his eyes on you as he leans against the kitchen counter, cradling his own cup of coffee in his hands. You didn't want more pity, right now you were throwing yourself the biggest fucking pity party already.

"'M sorry its not the real stuff, if you don't like it I can make you a tea or-" He wasn't the best at soothing people while they're upset but being a dad to a growing daughter meant he had at least some tricks up his sleeve. The day Sarah had come home from school upset over some crush of hers was a horrible one, holding her and stroking her hair until her sobs dissolved into little hiccups. Joel's momma had always had a healthy stock of tea at home for things like this. 'Tea won't solve all your problems, but it'll sure make things a lil sweeter for a minute'. Wise words from Momma Miller.

You sniffle, still staring down into the cup with a shallow shake of your head. "This is fine, thank you" Your voice is so small. Whatever happened has really messed you up.

"Oh!" he says suddenly, pushing off the counter, turning to grab a tupperware container out of the cabinet. "Sarah has actually been baking..." if you don't want to talk, maybe he can distract you instead, walking over to where you sit, shoulders heavily slumped. He sets the container down beside you, just in your peripheral, it's full of homemade chocolate chip cookies. "She's kinda been bitten by the baking bug now, thanks to you. Here, I know she'd be honoured to get get your opinion on them."

Your eyes raise from the cup in front of you finally, meeting his gaze with puffy eyes and a weak smile. You pick the most delicious, chewy looking cookie from the top of the pile and take a small bite, eyes widening when you taste how good it is.

"Oh my god" you half chuckle behind your hand, needing to finish your bite.

A proud smile stretches across his face. "Good right?"

"Good? I genuinely think these are the best fucking cookies I've ever tasted."

"That's my girl. She'll be fuckin' thrilled to hear that. Ever since you gave her that brownie recipe she's been printin' out recipes to test out and she's on my ass about gettin' one of those um... What are they called? The swirly things that cost a fuckin' arm and a leg?" He makes a bowl and mixing gesture with his hands and you can't help but let out the tiniest of chuckles.

"A Kitchenaid?" He snaps his fingers and nods "Yeah... I had one of those, costs a small fortune but honestly? So worth it. I uh... I actually just sold my one recently, if I'd have known you were looking.."

Something in your tone and the way your eyes fall back to the coffee cup again gnaws at him, unable to stop his curiosity getting the better of him.

He pulls up a chair across from you, grabbing a cookie from the tub, staying quiet for a moment to let you speak if you wanted to.

"I uh... There's just a lot going on right now. Had to sell a few things.." You shift in the chair as you begin to open up. "Matt he... He lost his job a while ago and it's been... It's been really fucking hard honestly? I'm doing extra shifts to make up for the loss of his salary and even then we're just barely making ends meet. We were a little short this month so I sold it" A small butter chuckle leaves you before you continue. "it's funny but, I was so scared that we wouldn't make rent this month and um... Then today I checked the mail and... There was an eviction notice in there." You can feel your eyes misting up again as you speak and he notices it too.

For a moment he's silent, going through a range of emotions in the short amount of time that he's listening to you speak, seeing the broken exhaustion written on your face, hearing it mirrored in your voice. "I... Jesus christ darlin'. I'm so sorry."

It's then that he does something that surprises both of you, setting the cookie down, he reaches across the table to rest his hand on your wrist, gently rubbing his thumb back and forth agaisnt the exposed part of skin in a soothing gesture. "How long have you got 'til you gotta leave?"

You manage a grateful smile at the gesture, it's barely there however. "4 months, they want us out by October 1st."

"Does Matt know?"

You didn't even want to think about telling him right now, but you knew you couldn't ignore it either. "No I... That's what all that was about out there earlier I... I went and checked the mail, first thing I get is an eviction notice. Lucky me."

"I take it that it's probably gonna go down like lead balloon?"

"That's putting it simply. I'm glad I was the one that found it but it doesn't mean it's going to be any easier telling him."

He knows there's more to it, he wants to ask, desperately, but he's unsure about crossing the line after last time. So, he swallows the lump that's formed in his throat, about to tell you something he's never shared with anyone else before, wanting to bridge that gap so you know he's not judging you.

"My uh... My old man... He had a drinkin' problem. He'd drink whiskey like it was water most nights and my momma, god rest her soul, she... She tried. She really tried to keep it from Tommy and me. She never wanted us to see him for anythin' else other than our dear old dad." He pauses for a second, just needing to take a breather, he could do this, it was difficult but he'd get through it. "Anyways, we got older and more wise to it. We weren't stupid. We knew he wasn't just 'sleepin' in' or 'under the weather'" His thumb is still rubbing back and forth on your wrist and what was originally for your benefit, is now self soothing, keeping himself grounded. "I um... I was about 15 when my momma started trying to hide her bruises and... She... She begged me to leave it alone. I wanted to strangle that son of a bitch with my bare hands but I couldn't. For her sake. Then... Then one day I came home from school with Tommy and found him laying into her in the kitchen, all over the fact that she'd burned his... Fuckin' toast."

You're on the verge of tears for a completely different reason now, watching his expression go from sombre to aggrivated as he revisits those memories that he'd worked so hard to suppress. "Oh Joel..." Your voice cracks slightly, now it's your turn to extend the gesture, resting your hand on top of his, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

He has to finish. He's started now, he's not telling this story for sympathy, but to show you he can relate. "That was the day I lost it... Told Tommy to run to the neighbours and call 911, he was just a scared kid who'd just watched his momma get beaten black and blue so... I gave my old man a beat down. Me. I made it hurt, I made sure he'd never ever lay a fucking finger on her again and you know what the sad part is? The whole time... The whole time she was still begging me not to. The bastard had crushed her spirit so badly and yet there she was with a busted eye socket and broken nose, begging me not to hurt him."

He takes a shuddering breath, raising his gaze to meet yours, his expression is serious and tinged with anguish. "Darlin' I need you to promise me somethin'..." He moves his hand from under yours, grabbing your hand, taking it in his holding it firmly, brushing his thumb over your knuckles. "I need you to promise me you'll get out before that happens to you. I know right now he's not hurting you like that, trust me, I'd see the signs and if he was I'd have been across the street beatin' on him in a heartbeat. It don't mean that it's not takin' everythin' in me now not to do that either but... Don't stay. Don't wait for things to get better, cause they won't. Take this eviction as your oppertuinity to start over without him. I know it ain't as simple as that and you'll have a lot of plannin' to do to get there but you ain't alone. If you ever need to talk or--or get away for a while... I hope you know you can come to me, okay?"

You relish in the physical contact, it had been a long time since anyone had treated you with a kindness like this, his hand was big and warm, slightly rough against your softer skin, from years of manual labour. Even despite the heavy subject, you appreciated it and without meaning to, it had ignited a flicker of something inside you. A shared bond, an understanding of what it meant to live under the same roof as a narcissist.

Swallowing hard as you mull over his words, your waterline still damp with unshed tears. "I... I'll try..." You smile sadly, knowing this is as best as you can offer right now and he knows it too

"Okay Darlin'... Okay. A-and I'm sorry by the way... for what happened before... When um... When I kind of accosted you a few weeks back... I... I didn't mean to stick my nose where it didn't belong."

A light chuckle leaves you at that, wiping away your tears with your free hand. "Apologies don't mean shit Joel. Actions speak louder than words and... Everything you've done for me today? Telling me something incredibly personal like that? That meant more to me than you could possibly know so... Thank you. Your Momma sounded like she was a strong lady."

He smiles wistfully at that, she'd have liked you, he sees a lot of her in you. "She was and so are you."

///

Tommy

It's a little after 9am when Tommy is pulling up to Joel's house with Sarah in the back of his truck. He'd offered to have Sarah for the night so Joel could have some alone time, he was always telling him he should use that time wisely, go out to a bar, live a little, encouraging him to find a girl and take her home for some fun. It was a pass time of his to tease Joel about his sex life, or lack thereof. 'Your virginity must be growin' back by now, brother' he was proud of himself for that one. It had always fallen on deaf ears though, that's where he and Joel differed, Tommy was more of a risk taker, not even 30 yet, still acting like a horny teenager running around Austin breaking hearts. Whearas Joel was more closed off to that kind of thing, it just wasn't his scene. The heartbreak from Sarahs mom leaving had been enough to shake his confidence when it came to love, choosing to focus on his baby girl instead.

So imagine his surprise when he sees Joel in the doorway, watching a pretty lady as she walks away across his front lawn, he recognises that look in his eyes and the way he's unable to pull his gaze from her, his big brother was all gooey eyed over this girl... Granted her attire doesn't scream 'Picked her up at a dive bar' but who was he to judge?

Sarah pipes up from the backseat "Hey that's our neighbour, yknow the lady who gave me the recipe for those birthday brownies you loved?"

"Oh reeaaaally? She's purty." He drawls, pulling up into the driveway.

"Yeah don't even think about it Uncle Tommy. She's married."

Married? Joel you stupid son of a bitch what are you getting yourself into here?

///

Sarah has gone upstairs to put her things away, the sound of her latest Destiny's Child cd echoing upstairs, this is why Joel loved weekends. Especially if it was a rare one like this where he wasn't working.

"So..." Tommy starts as he helps himself to a cookie, taking a big bite before he continues, even with a mouthful of food. Momma Miller raised him better than that. "You got somethin' to tell me big brother?"

A heavy sigh leaves Joel, he knows Tommy saw you leaving the house, he can already tell where this is going. Joel's pouring out two cups of coffee with his back to him, replying with a hint of annoyance in his tone "About what?"

Tommy has the manners to finish his mouthful this time before he speaks. Small graces. "Don't play dumb Joel, 'bout that pretty little thing I saw leavin' your house. Now unless you were just havin' a slumber party over her, considerin' her get up..."

"Tommy.." He warns as he turns to face him.

"Joel."

"It ain't like that she's-"

"Married, I know, Sarah told me. But you can't bullshit me brother, I saw the way you were lookin' at her."

Joel's brow furrows, lips stretching into a thin line. "What are you implyin' exactly?"

"What I'm implyin' brother, is that you have a thing for a married woman. Even I'm not dumb enough to go for the taken ones and you know me I'm down to fuck just about--"

Joel holds up a hand stopping him, pinching the bridge of his nose with the other hand "I beg of you, please don't finish that sentence"

Tommy's hands raise in fake surrender, a small smirk on his face. "Alright, alright. I hear ya loud and clear. All I'm saying is-" He takes another bite of his cookie and starts talking with his mouthful once more "-Is be careful with that one. Don't do anything stupid."

Joel knows better than to lie to him, he knows better than to lie to himself too, he had felt something for you today, beyond the sympathy of your shared trauma. "I appreciate the concern Tommy, but I'm not dumb enough to make a move on a married woman." He turns to grab the cups of coffee "And for the love of God, stop talkin' with your fuckin' mouthful, Momma raised you better"

Tommy just takes a bigger bite and gives Joel a shit eating grin.

///

General tags:

@drewharrisonwriter @baronessvonglitter @joelmillerisapunk @mysterious-moonstruck-musings @bitchwitch1981 @kirsteng42 @morallyinept @cheekychaos28 @itwasntimethatdidit40 @almostempty @lovely-vamp-princess

Tags for those that asked:

@deepestchaoslove @mystickittytaco

Tysm for reading 💜

[muninnhuginn]

Mun!!! :0 I wanted to ask if you watched the new Link Click op and if so, what are your thoughts on it? And also for season 3 in general if you have any expectations for it

Hi! I've seen it, yes. Managed to watch before work, but not had the chance to properly sit down and digest it all before now. Going to put my thoughts on it all below.

Some things to keep in mind: I've watched the opening and I've skimmed the Tumblr tag a few times since then, but I've not gone deep dive or anything. So if I say something that's been said loads already that's probably because I've not seen everyone else saying it yet. The other thing is that I may comment on the lyrics of the song, but not in relation to potential foreshadowing, given bai sha jaws have been pretty clear they're not really privy to any more info than we are as the audience.

With that out of the way, let's go.

We start with the focus on the camera, which transitions to the basketball court. The use of the feather to carry the transition is one of those "which could mean nothing" details, because the use of feathers is pretty prominent in some of the official art pieces.

Next, Cheng Xiaoshi takes Lu Guang's hand and pulls his past self onto the court. The implications of this are pretty obvious (the 'current' Lu Guang is left unsaturated as his past and Cheng Xiaoshi are held in soft light; Lu Guang doesn't feel like he belongs in this treasured past), but I like the extra little aspect of the basketball pitch being the setting because it means the fencing acts as prison framing. And the prison framing is perfect for the line "trapped in a rewind".

Lonely road, long shadow, it's the heat of the summer and he's small against the backdrop of the street. Stick a pin in this one because we'll return to it later.

And over to fake London and its red doubledeckers. Xia Fei looking out when something (someone?) catches his attention. We're then shown Lu Guang in front of one of Xia Fei's posters, but my instinct is that what Xia Fei is looking at/for is unrelated. Anyway, Lu Guang still desaturated, still not fitting in.

Heh. No comment. (Although, tangent time! I've not been able to pause fast enough to catch the 'afternoon tea' sign but I feel the need to point out something after skimming past some posts that have mentioned it. 'Afternoon tea' isn't a drink. It's more a meal? An event? Say, sometime between lunchtime and dinnertime (I won't confuse things further by referring to the latter as teatime here) it'd be a get together where people would have scones and hot drinks and cake, etc. It's honestly low-key posh so it's far from a daily thing for most people, but it's the sort of thing you'd do for an extended family get together.)

Onto Liu Xiao reading some more Shakespeare. My Shakespeare knowledge is limited to Othello and Romeo and Juliet so... I'll leave this one to other people.

More Lu Guang being out of place.

Someone having tea (the drink) followed by a cipher I'm pretty sure people have already cracked:

Then onto this character:

Not gonna speculate too heavily at this point, but I know people are guessing she's either related to Xia Fei or *is* Xia Fei, given the shared eye and hair colour. I lean towards the former being more likely given the whole thing on the bus where Xia Fei's attention was seemingly caught by something/someone outside. Also, flower in the forefront, not 100% sure here but looks a bit like a yellow daffodil. Possibly a bit out of season for them if this is summer, but we don't care about that. We care about the meaning of a daffodil which is rebirth/new beginnings/all that jazz.

And back again to Lu Guang, who immediately reminds me of something I thought was cool earlier but forgot to mention. Lu Guang is entirely desaturated in this opening, yes, aside from the use of red. Is it original? No. Is it effective? Yes.

Puddle of blood and we meet again, dear white feather:

(The puddle of blood is actually completely still until the feather hits it, at which point *everything* in the scene lifts up).

And we're into full colour (light pouring in from the window) as we see photos (memories) fly around:

And these scenes focus on both Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi. First, them interacting with each other, then with the unseen narrator (presumably Lu Guang). They both brighten his world.

Lyrics of "there will be a fire when it all unfolds". Liking the 'unfolds' maybe callback there to op 1 Vortex and also the snow/ash/fire thing reminds me... so, like I said, not gonna use the lyrics themselves as foreshadowing, but the backdrop in the next section is fair game and there's a pretty clear fire there. I know it doesn't *have* to be a literal fire, but it was pretty striking so I think it's more likely than not there'll be some fire in Yingdu itself?

Flash through Lu Guang against different backgrounds. Won't spam them all, but we start with the photo studio transition through various Yingdu related backdrops then the clock backdrop (which ofc takes my mind straight back to Madoka) and back to the studio (this time ft. gun in gloved hand (possibly same gloved hand as the teacup earlier - possibly possibly vein, idc to speculate too hard on that point) and finally! We're back to the start of the opening and the basketball court. The whole scene is now washed out and Lu Guang matches it as he wipes his tears, before Cheng Xiaoshi grabs his arm and the colour floods back in.

(Also tangent again but "we fought the tides" as another lyrical callback to the season two ending, nice nice)

And speaking of returning to earlier in the opening, here's the road again:

All three of them running forwards as we pan up to the light in the sky.

And those are my thoughts. There's a lot I skimmed over either because it doesn't much interest me or because I'm pretty sure others'll have written essays already but yeah. Solid opening. Time to jettison my hopes before they get too high.

In terms of the second question, I've not been counting Yingdu as season three in my head, but I'm still genuinely unsure whether it "officially" counts or not. That said, my thoughts on a season three after Yingdu are so murky that I'm going to treat your question as though Yingdu is season three because then I can actually provide some kind of answer.

Basically, I've been thinking of Yingdu as something adjacent to Madoka episode eight - there to provide extra context but technically extraneous to the overall series. This is partly because of the different production layout behind the scenes, with a different studio and directing setup than the 'main' series. I'm basically expecting this arc to help raise the emotional stakes on Lu Guang's side of the situation without actually providing a resolution to the overarching plot.

[royalarchivist]

I say this in the kindest way possible, but I think this style of prose is more appropriate for a personal account rather than an update account. I have no idea who's being talked about half the time. 🥲

[ Tumblr meme via @mikaikaika ]

[sysig]

Finally made a Parapluesch OC, introducing Mama Oz ♥ (Patreon)

[meownotgood]

i have so many thoughts about arcane but I'm so tired because it's 5 in the morning and I'm starving because i didn't eat and my brain is functioning at about 2% and all of my insides feel like mush.

[gwydionae]

SAY IT WITH ME:

FEMALE CHARACTERS CAN BE WARRIORS AND FEMININE

MALE CHARACTERS CAN BE SMART AND MASCULINE

BEING BOTH IS NOT A "FLAW" WHERE ONE NEEDS TO BE REMOVED

IT'S CALLED "COMPLEXITY"

[izzy-b-hands]

Was doing okay holding back all of the fear re: the potential election outcome until literally this second what the fuck to my brain lmao

[fridayyy-13th]

wow. not even a week into college and i'm already behind on work. fucking lovely.

[autumn-applepie]

University ever pushes you so low you have to go buy a couple of beers? /srs/neg

I'm gonna vent in the tags for a moment humor me for once /gen

[backpackingspace]

Hey this just in? Ptsd sucks balls

[doodlingwren]

It's 2024 can we please stop saying it's normal to trace or copying an entire drawing and pretending it's 100% your work? Just bc you changed the character or added clothes on a base you found on pinterest it doesn't mean you created original art

[chocolate-cream-soldier]

//rant.

[medicinemane]

Honestly a lot of the time, it's not even about people having to agree with me, it's about needing to know that they actually heard and listened to what I had to say even if it didn't persuade them

Just... some basic indication that there's enough respect to give a shit about what I said, and also to make sure that they disagree because they actually disagree and not cause they just didn't bother listening

It's all I really ask