#Even Betty on occasion

[i-really-like-phrogs]

Pork Fiction doodles

[maddie-grove]

I do love the Bennet marriage because man they really do make each other worse. He’d still probably be a high-handed prick if he’d married a sensible, economical woman, but he wouldn’t be putting the family at risk of poverty and scandal on his own initiative. And she would still be irritable and foolish, probably, but a husband who was nice to her but capable of saying “we can’t afford that” or “Lydia can’t go to Brighton” would neutralize a lot of the effects.

[drabbles-mc]

Off the Record

Danny Lyon x F!Reader

Warnings: 18+, language, drinking, smoking, no use of "y/n"

Word Count: 3.5k

A/N: thinking about danny and his cute lil smile always

The best and worst thing was that everyone was just somebody who knew somebody. Anytime a person tried to ask about anyone else, the immediate answer was just who they happened to know, or be married to, or be related to. They were always someone’s friend, some guy that this person knew.

Danny knew that it wasn’t just him that was getting those answers. He knew that people from other clubs would ask Johnny about him, ask who this kid was following them around with a microphone and a camera. They’d ask, understandably so he supposed, why some kid who had to hang onto the back of someone else for dear life had his own set of colors to wear.

Johnny always answered the questions by giving as little of an answer as possible.

“He’s a friend of ours. Good kid.’’

“He takes pictures—can’t ride and take pictures at the same time, now can he?”

“He’s one’a us, the fuck’s it matter to you?”

Danny was smart enough to know that Johnny’s vague, and slightly aggressive, answers to people outside their own club probably saved his ass on more than one occasion. He knew that, was thankful for it too. The frustration came from being on the receiving end of those answers that didn’t do much to answer anything. He wondered if Johnny even knew that he was doing it.

The crowd at the Dayton picnic was massive—bigger than any gathering that Danny had been to so far. There were plenty of people to talk to, more photo opportunities than he had rolls of film. He’d been making his rounds, making sure not to stray too far from the pack that the Vandals had shown up as.

He had the camera strap around his neck, but he didn’t let it hang and rest against his chest. He was still holding onto it, ready to lift it and snap just the right photo at just the right time if the opportunity presented itself. He was scanning the crowd for just that opportunity when he saw you. You were sitting on the closed trunk of someone’s car, maybe it was yours, not that it mattered to him right then. Your legs dangled over the edge of it, boots swinging slightly in front of the license plate. You had a beer in your hand and a grin on your face as you listened to whatever conversation was happening in front of you, the guys all sitting on the ground around one of the dozens of coolers that people had shown up with.

Danny made his way back towards the crowd, keeping you in his peripheral as he walked up to the table that Johnny was sitting on, Betty sitting on the bench in front of him between his legs. He snapped a quick photo of that before approaching to talk to him.

He slunk up to the table, leaning against it but not quite venturing to sit on it the way that Johnny was. He cleared his throat quietly first and then spoke up. “Hey, Johnny?”

Johnny turned to look at him, one hand on Betty’s shoulder, one hand holding a cigarette. “Yeah?”

“I got a question.”

Johnny chuckled. “You always do. That’s kinda your whole thing.”

Danny smiled, giving a shrug as he nodded. “Yeah. Not, um,” he cleared his throat, “not for the book.”

Johnny’s eyebrows shot up at that but he didn’t say anything. Danny couldn’t help but to notice the fact that even though most everyone else wasn’t paying attention, Betty had tuned into the conversation as well. What had originally felt like a bit of a silly question to ask, now suddenly felt much more embarrassing and he hadn’t even spat out the words yet.

He fiddled with the camera in his hands for a moment, cleared his throat again even though there was no need to. “Who’s, you know,” he nodded over in your direction, still perched so nicely on the trunk of that car, “over there on the car. With the boots and…” he trailed off before he made a fool of himself more than he already had.

Betty did him the courtesy of not looking directly at him, which is something that Danny was thankful for even if he didn’t say it. But he could tell by the smile stretching across her face that she knew exactly what was going on.

The same couldn’t be said for her husband, though. Johnny looked over at you, knit his brows in thought for a moment, and then shrugged. “Ah, she’s, you know, she’s one’a Gina’s friends I think.”

Danny nodded to show that he was paying attention, hoping that it would get Johnny to keep talking. He should’ve known better than to hope for that, since Johnny only ever seemed to carry a conversation in three-to-eight-word segments before passing the baton back off again.

“Right,” Danny said, fighting the urge to twist the strap of his camera. “What’s the—”

“Hey!” Johnny called out, cutting Danny off when he saw an argument starting to break out across the lawn. He gently patted Betty’s shoulder, a cue to let him get up. Whatever Danny was going to try and ask him became the least important thing as he took off to try and mediate the mess that was happening.

Danny stood there beside Betty, both of them watching as Johnny stalked off to try and shut down whatever it was that was happening. Considering that Corky was one half of the argument, it couldn’t have been anything too extreme. A nuisance, probably, but nothing that would result in any fists being thrown.

“She’s sweet,” Betty said, still looking at Johnny.

Danny turned and looked at her. “What?”

Betty finally looked up at him, giving a small nod. “She’s a nice girl.”

Danny nodded as he took in what Betty was saying, the look on her face. He and Betty knew each other, of course, but she didn’t ever seem too keen on interviews. He got some photos of her, some of her with Johnny. They’d chat sometimes, but never with a microphone between them. The conversation they were having now felt even more off the record.

“If you want to know what her deal is, I’d suggest you ask her.” There was a levity to her tone that had Danny smiling despite the blush warming his cheeks.

“Right. I just,” he chuckled nervously, “you know.”

Betty laughed as she grabbed the beer bottle that Johnny had been drinking out of. She took a sip before saying, “Put that microphone to good use.”

He cracked a full grin at that. “Yeah, maybe.”

They both turned to look at Johnny, and whatever the argument had been must not have been that important because it was all done and over with now. Johnny and Corky were walking back towards the table with a couple men from a different club in tow. Danny went to lift his camera up to try and snap a photo but before he could press the button, Betty spoke up.

“Go on. There’s a hundred of these guys runnin’ around here today.”

She didn’t say it, but Danny still heard the unspoken, “So use your film for something worthwhile instead,” that was thinly hidden at the end of her statement. He knew that he’d never stop kicking himself if he didn’t take her advice, because it wasn’t as though she was typically one to be doling it out to the guys in the club. So, he let his camera drop back to his chest, and gave Betty a tiny nod of thanks before turning and heading back over towards you.

The guys noticed Danny approaching before you did. Cal and Wahoo were both camped out, half-sprawled on the ground around the cooler. They were watching Danny, smiles growing as they thought up their greeting remarks. Meanwhile your focus was trained on the cigarette between your lips, or more precisely, the lighter you were trying to flick to life to light it. Something about the concentration on your face, the furrow of your brows, had Danny fighting the urge to pick up the lens and snap a photo of you.

“Look who it is,” Cal spoke up with a wave.

“Came to find your models, right?” Wahoo joked, but the proud smile on his face said that he was hoping Danny would humor him.

Danny chuckled, shaking his head. “Almost outta film. Gotta be careful with it.”

They both made sounds of offense that quickly dissolved into laughter. “This fuckin’ guy,” Wahoo muttered, shaking his head.

There was a beat of quiet, the chatter of other groups around keeping it from falling into real silence. You still hadn’t gotten the flame of your lighter to catch. Wahoo’s hazy focus had drifted to other things. Danny was watching you with that little perma-grin on his face and Cal was seeing the whole entire thing.

He chuckled, sitting himself upright, palms flat on the ground now. There was a knowing glint in his eyes. “Danny, you met—”

“Shit,” you muttered, not meaning to cut Cal off but accomplishing that anyway. You shook your head before angrily pitching your lighter as far away from you as possible. You were about to give up and shove the cigarette back into your pack too when all of a sudden there was another lighter being held up in front of you.

“Here,” Danny’s lighter came to life on the first try, his hand cupping to shield it from the non-existent breeze.

You looked at him, your skepticism shining through for a moment before you leaned forward and lit your cigarette off the tiny flame he was offering you. You nodded as you pulled away, smoke slipping from between your lips as you said, “Thanks.”

He smiled as he tucked the lighter back into his pocket. “Welcome.”

Cal spoke up, not willing to let this die out with a three-word exchange. He looked at you, dopey smile on his face. “This is the guy we were tellin’ you about. You know, making the book.”

You turned and looked at Danny then, really looked at him. Maybe you should’ve known that’s who he was. Not that you tried to make a habit of judging based off looks, but he didn’t seem quite like the rest of the guys in the club. Sure, he was wearing the colors, he had his own little gold earring in his ear, tiny bit of scruff coming in. But there was a sweetness to his face that the rest of these guys didn’t have. Didn’t mean that they weren’t nice, of course, but living rough gave people a roughness about them. Danny didn’t look like he had that.

“You’re the one makin’ these guys think they’re pretty enough to model, then?” you asked with a laugh.

Danny laughed, shoulders relaxing at the apparent success of his introduction, even if he wasn’t really the one introducing himself. “Yeah, that’s me.”

You gestured to the two men on the ground in front of you. “Like these boys don’t have big enough heads already.”

Wahoo spoke up, pointing at you with no actual malice. “My head is perfectly sized.”

You rolled your eyes with a grin as you tapped the ash off the end of your cigarette. “Why don’t you lay off the beer for a couple hours and then we’ll talk about it.”

As the laughter among you was starting to quiet, Cal gestured to the trunk of the car where you were sitting. “Sit down, man. Come on. Stay a while.”

Danny chuckled and shook his head at Cal’s lack of subtlety, but he still looked over to you to see if you were going to protest it at all. A smile curled the ends of your lips before you took another drag off your cigarette. You saw the way that his cheeks started to turn pink, but you decided that you’d be kind enough not to say anything about it. Instead, you made a small motion with your hand to the empty side of the trunk, a wordless confirmation of Cal’s invite.

He sat down next to you, camera now in his lap because of the way that the two of you were sitting. He was looking around, trying not to just stare directly at you. It was cute—so was the way that he was still holding onto his camera like he’d be ready to use it at a moment’s notice. You leaned back slightly, bracing yourself with one hand against the car while the other held your cigarette. You smiled before initiating a real introduction, something a little more informative than the commentary Danny had been greeted with. At least this way he’d actually learn your name.

“So,” you inhaled off your cigarette again before continuing, “what do you do when you’re not on the back of one of these guys’ bikes?”

Danny chuckled, looking into your eyes for a moment before he went back to looking at everything else about you too. Suddenly he was thinking that he should light his own cigarette just to have something to keep his hands busy. He didn’t have the security blanket of a microphone between you now.

“I’m in school.” He held up his camera for a moment. “Photography.”

You smiled, nodding. “Makes sense.” You pulled a final drag off your cigarette before flicking the butt of it away. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

He laughed, the tone of it asking the question of, “That obvious?” without him having to say it out loud. “No ma’am. I’m from New York.”

Your eyes widened, the last tendrils of smoke slipping past your lips and into the air as you reiterated it back to him. “New York? And you decided to come here?” You motioned to Cal and Wahoo, who were now both trying to reach in and grab beer bottles for themselves while moving as little as possible. “For them?”

The smile on Danny’s face was warm, a little bit of a sparkle in his eyes. “It’s been fun. I’m glad I’m here.” He paused. “What about you?”

You chuckled. “I’m from around here, yeah. Not, you know,” you gestured to the field, “here. But back home.”

His cheeks darkened. “Yeah, right. No, I meant, um, what do you do? When you’re not,” he mimicked your gesture from a few seconds before, “doing this.”

Whether it was because you’d been smiling so consistently, or because your smile had just kept growing, you weren’t sure, but either way you could feel the ache starting in your cheeks. It wasn’t enough to dampen your expression. “This how all your interviews go?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t think this was an interview.” He dragged his hand down the side of his face, fingers running through his beard. “Would’ve prepared better.”

“Probably still should have!” Wahoo piped up.

You rolled your eyes at him. “Make yourself useful, will ya? Grab us a couple’a beers?”

He groaned dramatically. “Gonna make me get up?”

You nudged him lightly with the toe of your boot. “Yeah, I am.”

You let the silence stretch for as long as it needed to while Wahoo grabbed beers for both of you. He grumbled the whole time but you also caught the fact that he was trying not to laugh. It was too much fun giving each other a hard time. You were waiting for him to dramatically throw himself back onto the ground, but instead he headed off to where some more of the guys were sitting. It only took a couple seconds for Cal to get up and wander off in a completely different direction, leaving the two of you with some comment about having seen some guy with a bike that had carburetors he wanted to take a closer look at.

Once you took a swig of the beer Wahoo had handed you, you got around to answering Danny’s original question. “I work at a diner across town from The Stoplight.” You chuckled at his slightly confused expression. “That’s what I do when I’m not doin’ this.”

He laughed, nodding. “Right.” He toyed with the bottle between his hands. “How’d you meet these guys, then?” He chuckled. “They don’t seem like the diner types.”

You could feel how ridiculous and cheesy your grin was but you couldn’t stop it, either. “No, no they’re not. Not anymore, anyway.” You paused, bringing the bottle to your lips. “Gina did my nails a couple times. We got talkin’ and she asked if I wanted to grab a drink.” You laughed and shook your head at the mild ludicrousness of it all. “Didn’t think that she was gonna take me to the other side of town and into a biker bar, but it turned out alright.”

“Seems to be a common theme,” Danny commented with a soft laugh.

You shrugged. “Yeah, kind of. But I think it’s, you know, it’s ‘cause they’re just guys. They’re guys with bikes. And yeah, they’ve got,” you gently tugged on the hem of the vest he was wearing, “matching outfits and loud mufflers. But they’re alright. Just…don’t’ look it when they’re all traveling like a pack of wolves together.” You paused and saw that starry look back in his eyes again. “Now this feels more like an interview.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “No microphone. All off the record.”

“Real reassuring, thank you,” you joked, allowing your shoulder to press up against his. You paused. “How long before you go back to New York?”

He shrugged. “At least ‘til I finish school—got a few more years. Why?”

You shook your head. “Just askin’. Making the interview go both ways.”

There was a flutter in his chest when he saw your smile, the glint in your eyes. He turned his torso so that he was facing you more directly. “If we’re interviewing, then I need to take your picture.” He set the beer bottle down on the trunk and lifted the camera instead. “For the book.”

“Mhm,” you hummed, letting it dissolve into laughter as he brought the camera up in front of his face. “For the book, I’m sure.” You watched as he lowered the camera just slightly, enough so that he could look you in the eyes. “What do you want me to…?”

He shrugged. “Whatever you want. It’s your picture.”

You rolled your eyes. “It’s your book.”

“I almost took one of you earlier,” he confessed without thinking twice about it, “when you were trying to light your cigarette.”

That got a loud but genuine laugh out of you. “Something about me lookin’ pissed off felt photo-worthy?”

He was still just smiling, nodding. “Something, yeah.”

You were laughing, rolling your eyes as you rested your beer bottle on top of your leg, not caring about the condensation soaking into your jeans from the bottom of it. “You are somethin’ else.” Just as you tilted your head back up to look at him again you heard the click of the camera. Your face instantly felt warm. “Do I at least get to see it before you go sendin’ it places?”

“I’ll let you see it,” he promised with a nod.

“Alright. Guess that’s fair.” Setting your bottle off to the side, you wiped your hands off on your jeans before motioning for him to hand the camera over to you. “Let’s see that.”

“What?” he asked, a confused laugh tumbling past his lips.

“Photos go both ways too,” you quipped with a grin.

He hesitated for a moment, but he handed his camera over to you. He saw the way you were practically giddy as you held it carefully in your hands.

“Not usually on this side of the lens,” he said as his gaze diverted off for a moment.

Your smile softened. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine. You can do whatever you want, remember?”

He laughed and shook his head at you. In his time following the Vandals around, he’d come to realize just how easy it was to feel so close to people. There was an immersive nature to the club and the people in it. Still, he found himself getting a little bit of the wind knocked out of him as he looked over at you, watching the way you carefully turned his camera over in your hands to look at it more closely.

You felt the way that he was watching you, and for a moment you thought that he was just making sure that you weren’t about to drop or break one of his most prized possessions. But when you actually looked at him, and saw the wistful expression on his face, those worries instantly faded away.

Lifting up the camera, you pressed your eye to the viewfinder. When you filled the frame with Danny, a little glimpse of chaos in the far-off background but all the real focus on that quirky little smile on his face, you felt like you were starting to understand why he was content to follow these guys around like this. You must’ve been lost in your thoughts long enough to make him wonder, because he gave just the tiniest tilt of his head as he laughed, and that was when you snapped the photo.

Handing the camera back to him, you said, “Gotta let me see that one too.”

Danny chuckled and nodded, red blooming across his cheeks again. “I’ll make sure of it.”

(divider by @saradika-graphics 💖)

The Bikeriders Taglist (please let me know if you'd like to be added to any of my taglists!): @garbinge @narcolini @xxanaduwrites @sirbogarde

[swarvey]

paper rings | harvey x f!reader

summary -> harvey forgets something a bit important; you make a surprise appearance. warnings -> self-deprecating thoughts, panic attacks, drinking wc -> 3284

a/n: alternate chapter title: all too well. (just between us, did the love affair maim you too?)

ugh another chapter with a hard title to pick! i was completely torn between betty and all too well, but betty ultimately ended up fitting the story pretty well.

hope you enjoy!! <3 there is more to come, so let me know if you want to be tagged in the following parts!!

ch. 9 | ch. 10 | ch. 11

paper rings masterlist

chapter ten: betty -> "so i showed up at your party."

Harvey quite liked the snow. It wasn’t as gloomy as the Spring rain, nor was it as draining as the Summer sun — it simply fell peacefully from the sky, covering the earth in a chilly blanket. Pelican Town looked beautiful during the Winter, and although it was the busiest season for the clinic, Harvey would say it was his favorite time of the year.

Usually it was, anyway. It was a bit hard to enjoy the first snowfall when he was locked up in his room, dried tears sitting on his skin as he flipped through the photobook you gave him as a gift after he graduated high school.

He was sure he looked pathetic; he hadn’t left his apartment for three days, barely eating and not bothering to change out of his pajamas. What was the point? Nothing was really making sense anymore. His life had been stable for so long, but now, he felt like everything had changed. There was no one to blame except for him, of course. 

So, instead of dealing with the present, Harvey chose to dwell on the past, sniffling as he looked at your picture smiling up at him. His head throbbed, surely due to dehydration, but he ignored it, continuing to wallow in the memories where he was still just your best friend from Pelican Town. He stopped at one particular photo that carried a bit more meaning to him, though he was sure you would write it off as just another day.

The two of you were standing in front of Harvey’s first car — it was used and beat to hell, but it was his nonetheless, and, not to mention, a gift from his parents. He was seventeen at the time, and had already been borrowing the family car for ages. To make the occasion even more special, you’d been visiting him when they surprised him with it, clasping your hands together as he walked up to it in awe.

“Quick, you two, let’s take a picture!” his mom had said, holding up her old polaroid. “Oh, Harvey, stop being shy, get closer. There you go, ready?”

It was a nice photo, he couldn’t deny that. What Harvey remembered the most from that day, though, was what happened after. 

Your phone rang, your new boyfriend’s name taking up your phone screen. Harvey always had to bite his tongue whenever you mentioned him — he was his complete opposite, after all. He’d always subtly question you about him, asking how he treated you and if you were happy, but was never convinced he was really right for you.

That is, until he saw how your face lit up; how your laugh rang loudly in his ears, only when you were talking to him; how you were undoubtedly happier than you’d ever been, all because of him.

Harvey never made you laugh like that, did he? Would your eyes ever shine like that because of him?

That day, a new insecurity was lit inside him — was he even enough for you? Was it selfish to want you all to himself, when you found so much joy in others? What if he made a mistake that made you regret being with him?

Harvey let the photo album slip from his fingers, landing on the floor beneath him as his head fell into his hand. He hated being such a coward, but at that point, he figured it must be in his blood. He couldn’t remember a time where he wasn’t so weak, so dependent. It made him an easy target throughout grade school and middle school, only lessening up in high school when he started to keep to himself more. Although it was a bit of a cold thought, he remembered being grateful you didn’t live near him at the time. It meant you never got to see his true self; a loser who ate lunch by himself every day and was in love with his best friend, but didn’t have the courage to do anything about it.

I suppose some things never change.

As he solemnly lifted his head, Harvey’s glassy eyes focused on the snowflakes falling outside his window. The only image stuck in his mind was of your devastated face as he left you on your porch, shocked that he had managed to do the one act he’d sworn to avoid with his life — he hurt you, and he was sure it was by far the most shameful thing he had ever done. 

By some twisted reasoning, though, he was convinced it was for the better. 

Harvey was weak where you were strong; he lacked confidence where you took charge; he hid and lied while you spilled your truth to him, and all he could do was panic. You were the blazing Summer sun, bringing life and hope to the land, while he was the bitter Winter snow, killing anything in its path. He wasn’t meant to be with someone like you. He was beyond disappointed in himself for not realizing it sooner. You were the one shining flame of light he’d known his entire life, and he put you out. 

The falling snow looked as if it were dancing, and Harvey had never missed you more. 

As he bent down to pick up the photo album, his eyes caught the calendar beside the window. His eyes widened slightly, humorlessly laughing to himself as he put the photos away.

It was his birthday, and he hadn’t even realized.

-

You knew what day it was. Of course you did, it was the only date you had yearly reminders set up for, not that you really needed them. Since Harvey’s birthday was during the Winter, it meant you almost never got to celebrate with him in person, except for the rare occasions where you would go and see him. You could still vividly picture the first time you surprised him in college during break — you kept in touch with his parents so you could plan out your trip with them, much to their delight.

“Don’t tell him I said this, but Harvey’s always had a bit of trouble making friends at school,” his mom once told you, a soft sadness in her eyes. “He’s very lucky to have you as a friend, you know. You’re good to him.”

Not good enough, apparently, you sourly thought. “Angry” was an understatement to how you felt — you were frustrated and exhausted, not just because he’d shut down your feelings, but because it felt like Harvey essentially threw away all the years you spent being his best friend. None of it made sense to you, how he said he cared about you and then had the nerve to walk away. Honestly, it felt like you were dealing with a moody teenager who blasted angsty music in his room all the time. You scowled.

“Moo.”

One of your cows looked at you expectedly, and you realized you were still holding the bundle of hay in your arms. 

“Sorry,” you apologized, quickly throwing it in the trough. She seemed to huff a thanks to you as she slowly bent her head down, blissfully careless about any complex relationship problems. You envied her.

As you left the barn, you couldn’t help but let your guilt consume you. You had never missed a birthday text to Harvey before, and although you weren’t quite sure what terms the two of you were on, it still felt wrong. You knew him well enough to know there was probably some stupid reason for his actions that he was hiding from you, but you couldn’t figure out what it was. You hated it when he pulled stupid moves like this — in the past, he would always keep his mouth shut whenever you tried to plan something with him, never failing to say, “We can always do what I planned next time. I don’t mind, really.”

You scoffed at the words he’d said to you countless times over the years, angrily letting your front door shut as you threw your gloves on your table. It sometimes felt as though he thought being a couple years older than you meant he knew everything, that his needs should always be put last when it came to you. Sure, it was cute the first couple times, but it didn’t take long for you to start feeling bad. You couldn’t remember the last time he got first pick for a movie or a restaurant — unless, of course, you “coincidentally” wanted to do the same thing. It was infuriating, really, and definitely not thoughtful or heartwarming at all. You hated it. You absolutely hated it. 

At least, that’s what you kept telling yourself.

Deep down, you knew it was one of the reasons you adored Harvey so much. No matter the situation, his care for others always prevailed above any of his other feelings, even when it meant he would get hurt. A fatal flaw, really. You reminded him of his habit whenever you got the chance, but he always brushed off your comments with a light laugh. 

“Now who’s worrying too much, hm?”  

You let out a sigh as you sat on the edge of your bed, eyes flitting over to the collared shirt hanging in your closet. You quickly realized the grave mistake you’d made after leaving Harvey’s apartment that day, as you swore your entire house smelled like him now. It probably didn’t help that you hadn’t done many renovations yet, so the space was pretty confined. The lasting power of his cologne was impressive, to say very the least, but not impressive enough to make your mood any better. The smell made you miss the person you felt was your other half.

Truthfully, you doubted anything could lift your spirits. The last time you felt so lost was after you quit your job at Joja, but at least your grandfather’s note had saved you back then. You choked up at the thought of him, wishing more than anything that he was still alive to give you some wisdom. There wasn’t a day that passed where you didn’t think of his warm hugs and tender voice.

With him gone, who was left? 

You paused at the thought, looking back at Harvey’s shirt. You could practically see his little smile and sunkissed cheeks.

No. You couldn’t see him, you didn’t want to see him, not after what he’d done. You had enough self-respect to put your foot down when you knew you needed to. Who needs him? I was fine without him then, I can be fine without him now. 

That’s what you told yourself for a solid couple of seconds, maybe.

Then, you thought about all the times Harvey never got to eat at his favorite restaurant and missed the movie he’d been wanting to watch, just so he could see you smile.

You hadn’t even fully registered your thoughts as you grabbed the cursed shirt from your closet and took the dried bouquet off your wall, running down your porch before you could change your mind.

-

Harvey hadn’t cried so much since he was a kid. A sad reality he had to face on his birthday of all days, but it was true.

Actually, the last time he’d found himself bawling so hard his chest hurt was when he’d been saying goodbye to you the last summer before the two of you entered high school. The place you were attending was a bit further away, and mixed with the fact that Harvey would begin to take summer courses, you both knew your visits to Pelican Town would be limited. Even back then, he couldn’t bring himself to shed tears in front of you. As far as you knew, he left you with a smile and a wave, not the hiccuping sobs he dealt with back at home.

Now, a familiar, suffocating feeling consumed Harvey’s chest as he buried his tears in his arm, the nearly half-empty bottle of whiskey on the table most certainly not helping his case. It wasn’t like him to drink his feelings away, much less on his birthday, but he figured it was a special occasion. It wasn’t every day he lost the one person he’d sworn to never lose. 

God, it hurt to think he would never make you laugh again, make you happy. That’s all he ever wanted, ever since he was little. Even on the days where he got home from school sporting a fresh bruise on his face, his face would light up at the sight of a phone call from you, feigning a happy tone as he listened to you talk about your day. It helped him get through it, in a way, to hear about your life. The way your voice pitched higher every time you got excited was something he would always treasure.

He loved you, more than anything, and in the end, that was what made him push you away.

Harvey lifted his head, wiping his face as he stoically poured himself another glass. The liquor went down smoothly, leaving a satisfying burn on his tongue. Part of him wished Elliott or Shane was there to console him, but he’d been adamantly ignoring their texts and calls. He hoped they would find it in themselves to forgive him.

Two knocks on his door broke him out of his thoughts, making him jump in his seat.

“Harvey? You there?”

He froze. 

No, it couldn't be. Am I really that drunk?  

“Open up. Seriously, Harvey, come on.”

He was on his feet in an instant, his hand resting for a moment on the doorknob before pulling it open.

Snowflakes were scattered on top of your hair and eyelashes, making you seem to glitter in the light of his kitchen. He wished he could tell you how beautiful you looked. 

“Y/N,” Harvey breathed, and he felt a stray tear run down his face at the sight of you. “Y-You’re here.”

“How could I stay away, asshole?” you asked, voice filled with a mixture of anger and sadness. He let out a light grunt as you forcefully shoved something into his chest, pushing past him and into his apartment wordlessly. After closing the door, he turned to face you, noticing your crossed arms and how you were looking at the ground, certainly in an effort not to start crying. It was a tactic he’d seen you pick up over time.

“Y/N,” Harvey repeated, savoring the sound of your name leaving his lips. “I—”

“Save it.” 

He looked down to realize he was holding the shirt you borrowed from him, along with the bouquet you usually had beside your bed.

In other words, he was holding a bouquet. A dried one, sure, but a bundle of flowers nonetheless, and it was from you.

His heart seemed to lurch, and he gently laid both on top of his bed.

You didn’t even mention the items you handed him. Instead, your nose scrunched as you turned to his dining table, picking up the whiskey bottle. “Have you been drinking? Yoba, Harvs, you know you’re supposed to do something fun on your birthday, right?” He didn’t miss the slight shake in your voice as you put it down. “Seriously, have you been home all day?”

Harvey cleared his throat, wiping his face with the back of his hand. “Yes, um, I’ve been home for quite a bit, actually,” he admitted, feeling the haze of the alcohol fog his thoughts. “I . . . couldn’t bring myself to leave.”

You paused to think about his words, then shook your head. “You know you fucked up, right?” you questioned, a fiery look fueling your eyes — though Harvey could also see the hurt lying underneath. “I’ve called you a lot of things over the years, but a liar has never been one of them. You said everything’s about me, that you love me—”

“That wasn’t a lie,” he interrupted, suddenly desperate. He stepped towards you, feeling a part of his heart break off when he saw tears shining in your eyes. “Please, if there’s anything you take away from that, from us, just know everything I said was true.” Harvey took a shaky breath, fighting to keep his voice from breaking. “Everything reminds me of you — the sun, the beach, the forest, the city, this entire damn town is filled with bits and pieces of . . . of just you. There’s not a moment that goes by where you’re not on my mind, Y/N, I assure you. You truly are the light to my darkness.”

You took one step back, looking at him with emotions swirling in your gaze. “You say that, and yet, there’s still a part of you holding back,” you whispered brokenly, and Harvey had never hated himself more. 

“Why are you so scared, Harvey?”

“Because I don’t deserve you!” he cried, tears running freely down his cheeks as an all too familiar panic swelled in his chest. He turned away, rubbing his face with both his hands in an effort to steady himself. He kept his back to you as he spoke to the floor. “I love you, with all my being, but I know I’ll only hold you back. It’s what I’ve been doing since we were kids, it’s what I always do. I-I can never be enough, no matter how badly I want to, no matter how hard I try—”

Strong arms wrapped around his torso from behind, and Harvey felt as if his world was crashing down.

“That’s the thing, Harvs,” you said quietly, and he could tell from your voice your own tears had broken loose. “You’ve always been enough, but we’ve both just been too dumb and blind to see.”

Harvey managed a defeated laugh at that, making sure his breaths were even before turning to see your face. You looked at him with a sad smile, keeping one hand on his back as you reached over to swipe his wet cheek with your thumb. He leaned into the warmth of your palm and closed his eyes, reveling in the contact he’d missed dearly. 

“I love you,” he murmured, opening his eyes. 

You nodded, bringing your hand down to the nape of his neck. “I love you, too,” you replied, “no matter how much of an idiot you are.”

He huffed another laugh, feeling lighter than he had in weeks. “Well, I suppose you’re not wrong. I did go to medical school, you know.”

“They obviously didn’t have a class on, ‘Telling Your Best Friend You’re in Love with Her,’ did they?”

“Not exactly.” 

You rolled your eyes. “The flowers are your gift, by the way,” you mentioned, suddenly growing a bit shy. “Not my best effort, I know, but think of it as karma.”

“Your karma backfired, then, because that was the best gift you could’ve given me.” His arms tightened around you. “I knew there was something suspicious about it.”

“Whatever.” Your fingers grazed through his hair, and Harvey shivered at your touch. 

“We’ll take things slow,” he promised quietly, and by then, the two of you had leaned impossibly closer to each other, lips grazing against each other’s as you spoke. “If that’s okay with you, of course.”

You hummed, smiling. “More than okay on my end,” you said, pausing before you added, “but a kiss isn’t too much, is it?”

He pretended to think before shaking his head and leaning forward. “Not at all.”

As Harvey’s lips gently met yours, he imagined he was healing the cracks he put in your heart, hoping you could feel all the unspoken words left on his tongue.

I missed you, but we’ll be okay. 

[julietsbb]

so pondphuwin legal drama tv show where phuwin is a famous boxer with anger issues and pond is a defence lawyer

brought to you by a) pw being cute and doing silly boxing moves as they were shooting stuff for promoting fancon b) the pictures on pond in specs today and c) ppw in suits (and d) i want more unhinged angry phuwin content HE WOULD DO IT SO WELL and e) I want pond in more three piece suits and glasses and I’m desperate for him to have another role where he gets to sound intelligent/smart)

so Phuwin absolutely loses his shit at some asshole and beats him bloody I don’t care if it was justified or not or betty or righteous doesn’t matter but the dude hits him with an assault charge

And Phuwin can’t go to jail because then he can’t box and that would make him lose his mind because it’s the only way he knows to process his anger so IN COMES DEFENCE LAWYER POND who doesn’t even fucking want this case, he spends his time defending like, actually down on their luck people who deserves an extra chance BUT he’s also working in a corporate word that needs to make money and his boss told him to take the case because he’s friends with phuwin’s agent and pond is the bestest or some such and he owes his boss a favour

Anyways they obviously hate each other because phuwin’s anger at the entire situation keeps going off and makes pond’s job harder etc etc (also both of them are very attractive and they also hate that about each other)

And so it’s the night before the first hearing (they’ve been trying to dig up stuff to discredit the victim somehow) and pond snaps and is like “Jesus Christ if it can stop you from going off in court tomorrow just punch ME and get it out of your system I would prefer that actually” (it’s 2am and he has no filter left)

And pw’s character is like “????? what”

And pond is like “never mind I’m just tired” and pw’s like “no wait punching you sounds good actually could we do that because I’ve been wanting to punch your stupid fucking face with your stupid fucking glasses—“ and pond’s like “well if you’re punching me it’s sure as fuck not on my face because a) I need my glasses and b) it wouldn’t actually help your case if I showed up looking like my client with the assault charge just assaulted me, so it would defeat the purpose of it all” and then pw’s like well where the fuck can I hit you then and pond gives it serious consideration and it becomes, slowly, apparent, that he Knows Things™️ about being hit, saying stuff like “the meat of my thighs if I sit down or my buttocks if I’m lying down somewhere but that would be more awkward. possibly my chest too but let’s avoid my diaphragm and gut area” and like, he gets up and takes off his jacket???? and tie!??? and phuwin’s like “????????” but it also kind of makes him want to hit him more and pond tells him to control his punches so they don’t accidentally hit somewhere they shouldn’t and phuwin laughs in his face because don’t he know he’s talking to a professional boxer actually??

And so they find some way Phu gets to punch him in a way that’s Safe Sane and Consensual and phuwin thinks it’s weird as shit wtf kinda lawyer did they GIVE him but he…… can’t deny he feels better afterwards. And pond gets some MEAN bruises but they’re all covered up by clothes so it’s fine actually as he’d hoped his brain is much clearer after (actually after the first two punches pond has to tell him that he can hit harder than that it’s okay. phuwin hits harder)

Anyways court the next day isn’t a total disaster they haven’t lost YET bought themselves some more time the team celebrates with a beer that evening and they’re the only two left and phuwin’s tongue is loose enough to ask about it and pond’s is loose enough to answer, tell him about how people can enjoy pain in different ways, how it’s something he practises on occasion but has done so for a good long while and Phuwin is like o______o and like… “so it’s not just… punches?” And pond laughs in his face and tells him about how there’s a million different ways and types and personally he would usually prefer a heavy flogger to his back on a normal day but he’s tried this and that.

And phuwin’s char is FASCINATED and his fingers are starting to itch like they usually do for a boxing glove but less familiar and well worn, more new and existing. Exhilarating.

Anyways so Phuwin gets a new way to channel his anger and becomes the calmer for it in the rest of his life and pond guides him through it all very patiently whilst a) having a Great Time but also b) having a very Bad Time because he’s entering into a non-work intimate-but-not-sexual (yet) relationship with Important But Obnoxious Work Client (who really is less obnoxious once his shoulders unclench)

Also phuwin’s character has a cat that’s as aggressive as he is.

(Ps: maybe it turns out the “victim” was actually paid by one of pw’s competitors to deliberately piss him off to sabotage him or something I don’t know but they discover SOMETHING shady and thus there is plot they can bond over)

(Pps: they fall in love your honour)

[the-paper-apricot]

John, Paul & the Shangri-Las

Whatever happened to The life that we once knew?

It's fairly well known that these lines from the bridge of 'Free as a Bird' are adapted from the lyric of 'Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)', written & produced by Shadow Morton and performed by the Shangri-Las. Where the Beatles, in lyrics begun but not completed by John, call up shared memories, Mary Weiss sang of "the boy that I once knew". That John reused these lines to voice his own preoccupation with an unresolved past adds much tenderness to 'Free as a Bird'. Being a Shangs fan, there are a couple of other connections that I just wanted to write about.

The Shangs looking dangerous.

Today I love you more than yesterday

'I Know (I Know)' from Mind Games (1973).

Although the melodies are completely different, the Shangri-Las song 'Love You More Than Yesterday' seems to find an echo in the most emotive lines in the bridge of John Lennon's 'I Know (I Know)'. The song was a B-side to their 1966 spoken-word ballad 'Past, Present & Future' (which, incidentally, took Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' as its theme, like the Beatles' song 'Because' after it). Quite rightly the nod to 'Yesterday' is what strikes us most, but I'm not at all sure that the similarity to the Shangri-Las title is pure coincidence. We saw in Get Back how easily song titles and lyrics were used by John and Paul in the current of their talk.

It proved difficult to find John speaking about the Shangri-Las, despite the Beatles' enjoyment of records by other girl groups like the Shirelles, and they're not among the artists on John's famous 40-disc mobile juke box that he brought when the Beatles went out on tour. (Only one woman, Fontella Bass, appears among the discs. The juke box doesn't even include 'Angel Baby' by Rosie and the Originals, whose fresh, unrefined first-love sentimentality appealed to him so much he covered it.) It's a little easier to find something from Paul on the subject however.

Mary and Betty Weiss from the Shangri-Las, photographed by Jini Dellaccio in 1966 (left: screenshot by @ohhellno on tumblr*; right, my screenshot, both from the documentary Her Aim is True, about the photographer).

Of course he calls out "Shangri-Las versus The Village People!" at the beginning of 'Mr. H. Atom'. But glorious as that is, perhaps more informative are the occasions where Paul has spoken of his enjoyment of the Shangri-Las' style, and the way he appreciated Linda's voice in this mode.

If she’s a singer, she’s very much a Shangri-Las type singer; I don’t think any of them could get into opera, but I prefer them to opera. Linda wouldn’t put herself up as a great vocalist, but she’s got a great style. I think anyway.

'McCartney Gets Hungry Again', Musician, Feb. 1988

I've always maintained that she has a kind of Shangri-Las type of appeal.

'Can Paul McCartney Get Back?' Rolling Stone, June 1989

When you know how warmly Paul regarded their style, you can't miss the similarity of Linda's spoken intro and closing of 'Wide Prairie' ("I was in Paris, waiting for a flight..."), answered by Paul, to the chat in Shangri-Las songs like 'Give Him a Great Big Kiss', where the other girls ask Mary Weiss whether her guy is tall ("Well, I gotta look up!") or if he's a good dancer.

Did they meet?

On the 20th September 1964, the Shangri-Las performed on the same bill as the Beatles, at a benefit concert in New York for a cerebral palsy charity. Mary Weiss explained that Mary Ann Ganser was jostled backstage as one of the Beatles sought them out:

“She turned around and it was Ringo. So that was some contact, anyway. I almost wanted her to take his drumsticks.”

'Weiss Leads Again', the New York Sun, September 2007.

This seems to be the only documented contact between the groups, although if you know of others, or further instances where John or Paul spoke about the Shangs, I'd love to hear about them. The music that the Beatles listened to has been written about extensively, and there's almost a canon of influences that's become pretty standard. Given their admiration of their performance, and seemingly in John's case, of Shadow Morton's words**, I hope for some recognition of both Lennon and McCartney's creative responses to the Shangri-Las.

(* Many thanks to @ohhellno for letting me use this great screenshot.)

(** The interest was of course mutual, as Morton produced the Beattle-ettes single 'Only Seventeen', supposedly a response to the Beatles from the girl's perspective, with hand claps and cries of "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" The single, by an untraced group, was released in 1964. In summer the same year his first songwriting hit, 'Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)' was the breakout success for the Shangri-Las. It was racing up the Billboard Hot 100 as the Beatles toured the States in the second half of August. By the time they had a day off in Key West, on the tenth of September, it had reached the top ten, one place below 'A Hard Day's Night'. If John or Paul tuned to a pop radio station, they'd have heard it. The song peaked at number five.)

from the Billboard Hot 100, week ending 12th September, 1964.

[heckcareoxytwit]

The wedding misadventures of Rick Jones and Marlo Chandler

As the wedding is about to begin, Hulk and Captain America are helping a very nervous Rick Jones into his tuxedo. While in another room, Marlo is being helped into her dress by Betty Ross and some other women. As she looks into the mirror, Marlo is frightened by the brief appearance of Mephisto reflected back at her. Before the ceremony, there were some surprising appearances such as Northstar who happens to be dating Hector (Hulk's friend from the Pantheon) as well as Rahne Sinclair, Guido Carosella and the unmasked version of ROM Space Knight.

As the wedding ceremony begins, the priest who looks like Peter David reads the book to the bride and groom when they are interrupted by the arrival of Drax the Destroyer. Everyone is surprised when Drax presents an invitation, even though he wasn't mailed one. Nonetheless, they have Drax sit next to Adam Warlock. Next, the wedding is interrupted by the supervillains - Wizard, Absorbing Man, Mister Hyde and the Living Laser. However, they have not come not as wedding crashers, but as attendees, as they too have invitations. In reality, the invitations got mixed up so they were given to the wrong people. The Hulk is about to start a fight with them anyway, however, Doc Samson convinces him to stand down. Rick Jones then agrees to allow the villains to stay for the ceremony. Things get even worse when Kree and Skrull ships arrive with more attendees. The special occasion does little to soften the relations between the two races. When one of the Kree tries to start a fight with Talos the Tamed, the Silver Surfer steps in to prevent the situation from escalating further.

Just before the ceremony is over, it is interrupted by a final surprise guest, Mephisto, who has come to claim Marlo's soul. However, he faces opposition from both the Silver Surfer and the Hulk. The Hulk resolves to handle the situation himself, and seeing a bright light in the sky, he admits his belief in the possibility of a higher power. This apparently gives the Hulk the strength to beat Mephisto back, forcing him into retreat. However, Mephisto gloats how this "defeat" is part of a much larger scheme to damn the Hulk. The wedding is quickly completed and Rick and Marlo are made man and wife. During the reception, Marlo is congratulated by the various guests including the surprising appearance of Death of the Endless, who has come to give Marlo a gift. Once Marlo accepts it, Death quickly leaves. Marlo isn't sure who the woman was, but she and Rick open the box and find a beautiful hairbrush inside.

Incredible Hulk #418, 1994

[whenanafallsinlove]

hihi ana!! congratulations on 150!! can i get..

✒️"SAD PROSE" - send a character + your favorite folklore lyric, and I'll write a short blurb

with hitoshi & “the only thing i wanna do is make it up to you” from betty !! 🤍🤍

ahhh tysm elle! sending looove <3

✒️"SAD PROSE" - send a character + your favorite folklore lyric, and I'll write a short blurb

THE ONLY THING I WANNA DO IS MAKE IT UP TO YOU!!! -HITOSHI SHINSO x reader

"Please babe, I swear it wasn't on purpose!"

Shinso had been apologizing for the last hour, but you were still too angry and worried to even look him in the eye and engage in the conversation.

You continued walking through campus, looking in every corner, with a mopy Hitoshi by your side.

"Tell me how to help, I'm really sorry." He continued.

You sighed, and stopped on your tracks. You turned around to see him and finally find two seconds of patience to talk to him.

"Toshi, I know you're sorry. But right now I'm still angry and I don't feel like having a heart to heart; I feel like finding my cat before something happens to him." You turned around again and continue your walk.

Hitoshi knew he had messed up. You and him often had sleepovers in each other's rooms, loving to spend time together playing video games, reading, watching movies... But you always fell asleep too early, at least for Shinso's liking. So, whenever his insomnia was making it too hard for him to pass the night, he went out to the balcony and let the cool air swirl away his thoughts.

You never had a problem with that, you had even accompanied him in a couple of occasions. The only thing you had asked him was that he was careful with closing your balcony door, so your cat wouldn't take the opportunity to sneak out.

And, oops! This time he had completely forgotten about your cat (strangely, since he loved it too), and as you had predicted he escaped...

So now, while strolling through the entire campus you could only wish that 1. Your cat was okay; and 2. That a professor wouldn't find it, because you would probably have to give it out.

You weren't even that mad, you were just too worried. And Hitoshi's neverending apologizing was only irritating you more.

"Please, Y/n. I'll tell the others to help us, we'll make a search party. The only thing I wanna do, is make it up to you..." Shinso almost whispered, about to give up.

You took a deep breath, feeling guilty for making your boyfriend almost beg for your forgiveness, when he was probably as worried as you and already feeling accountable for the situation.

You walked up to him and hugged him; burying your face in his neck. He was startled by your sudden change of attitude, but he felt relieved, and hugged you back.

"I really am sorry, I promise you we will find him." He spoke again, giving you a small kiss on the temple.

You moved your face to meet his gaze.

"Stop apologizing; it's fine. I know he won't be missing for long." You said, offering a smile.

"What are you two problem children doing here? You're supposed to be at the dorms, aren't you?" A voice behind you spoke, making you falter and break away from Hitoshi.

It was Aizawa. But he was not alone; he was holding your cat.

You felt the blood from your face drop, but before the situation got worse, your boyfriend intervened.

"Ah... Sensei, can I talk to you for a moment?" He said, and Aizawa raised an eyebrow, before nodding.

Shinso and him walked away a few meters, and you couldn't understand what they were saying; but suddenly, you saw Aizawa handing your cat to Shinso, while he gave him a scolding look. Shinso then thanked the professor and started to walk back at you, with a grin on his face.

"Told you I would make it up."

"Shush. I'm just glad he didn't get lost. What did Aizawa say?"

"He said that if he sees it roaming around ever again, he's taking it."

"Oh."

"Yeah." He shrugged. "Don't you think I deserve a kiss for rescuing our son from getting kidnapped, tho?" Hitoshi spoke, with a smirk on his face.

"Ew! Don't say it like that!" You smacked his arm laughing, and kissing him anyway.

[anavi-vrg]

Undead Unluck Cinderella!AU: The Masterpost

Hi :3 it's been a while, but i had been non-stop drawing to bring you all the Cinderella!AU cast with UU characters, i will write the basics of the story later bc i'm incapable of writing long paragraphs.

The drawing that made me start this AU

Let's start with our protagonist, Fuuko as Cinderella:

But our dear protagonist needs her mice friends:

We got our mains first: Haruka, Top, Gina, Sean and Chikara, taking the places of Jaq and Gus

I remember that there were mice kids/children, the younglings!

Phil, Bunny, Tatiana, Lucy and Betty (almost forgot her)

Mice! Veronica and Tella are here to take care of them/protect them from the evil cats

With how many chores have to be done everyday around the house, there have to be some specialised mice:

In the kitchen, Billy works with the sweets, Enjin helps with the almost everything (he's too passionate for this job) and Rip cuts the veggies. Yusai can´t be let near the drinks alone, but she always knows the best one for the occasion.

There's so many clothes that need mending and cleaning, the Sewing Team: Latla, Kurusu and Leila, are the right mice to do the job.

(ps. i bet Kurusu and Gina smugled that book to make cute dresses for Fuuko)

Sooo many books to keep clean and organised in this house, good thing Mice Anno Un and Akira are doing their damn best to keep the house library in peak condition, they even have the time to dramatise Fuuko's favorite romance books for everyone

Mouse Feng does everything around the house, why? because he wants to be better than Fuuko in everything

Miscellaneous Mice bcs i don't know in what role do they fit: Grandpa Isshin, Creed, Mei, Shen, Mui, Mui's little brother (do we even know his name?), Ms. Hawkins and Void.

And we can't forget our dear doggo Burn, taking dog Bruno's place

This Au is not complete without some villains

Human! Luna as Lady Tremaine, BUT she's not Fuuko's stepmother, Lady Luna is a distant relative, grandfather's niece and further kinda deal

Lady Luna has three kids:

Big Brother Soul, the kind of person to say "BuT wE aRe FaMiLy" when he does something bad to Fuuko but would absolutely not tolerate any of Fuuko's mistakes

Middle Brother Apocalypse, evil? no, no, no, he's a tsundere, the kind to say "i'm not washing the clothes because i want to help you or anything! it's just that you are too clumsy". Fuuko sees right through his bullshit and thanks him eveytime she can to Apocchy's embarrassment

And Little Bother/Sister Ruin (i'm more inclined to fem!Ruin), she's considerably more aggressive to Fuuko than the rest, her aggressiveness spurred on by her mom Luna and big brother Soul. Apocalypse has tried to help her to no avail.

THE CAT! Why should we limit ourselves to one evil cat, when we can have FOUR?

Shadow hides in the dark corners and stairs, waiting for an unsuspecting victim, putting themselves in the middle of the path to make them trip

Blood wakes up and craves violence, he scratches the furniture, the curtains and people... Fuuko stays the fuck away from this evil cat

Spoil can't be let alone with the food, he steals it but he doesn't eat it, no, he enjoys watching it spoil and the faces of disgust from the people that find his masterpiece, fortunately dogo Burn is always guarding the kitchen.

Seal enjoys watching the desperation in peoples' faces as he slowly pushes the fine glassware from the top drawer to the cold hard floor, unfortunately for Seal, Mouse Feng is always watching

Do you remember the Gran Duke? the poor man was so close to die, but for this AU, we have the Grand Duke and Duchess, Nico and Ichico (Which one is who is up to you)

We got our King! King Juiz, KING JUIZ, KING JUIZ!!!

If you saw the third animated Cinderella movie, you would remember the Queen's paintings, and i decided that we need a Queen (an alive one), salute our dear Queen: Queen Victor!! (do you forgive me for putting him on a dress? 🥺)

At last, we need our prince for this AU, but why have only one?!

Crown Prince Andy and Second Prince(ss) Julia

We need our Fairy Godmother to bring some miracles to life! And i couldn't pick anyone else for this role than my beloved, Spring 🌸

Let him have some fun!!

This is the real last one, but although it wasn't a sentient character, it would be unforgivable not casting Clothy as Fuuko's dress

(Can you imagine what Andy would do to Clothy once he discovers that he's Fuuko's dress? 💀)

That's all the character designs for this AU, and now i can start drawing some scenes for this AU.

Enjoy this AU compiled timelapse for all the designs in the meantime!

[pinkiedev]

Conflicting Desires Ch. 2

G/T Will Graham in Hannibal's home continues!

Previous: Ch. 1

Next: Ch. 3

--------

Will’s first look at his new (temporary) home’s owner was less than a day later. 

Having spent the majority of the time before that just exploring the insides of the walls for a secure place to set up base, it was already turning dusk again by the time he saw the man through the slats of the vent showing into the dining room.

A single look, a single thought:

Predator.

Will hadn’t stayed long to observe, after that.

Even so, the sight felt like it’d lodged itself into his mind. This human was nothing like Old Miss Betty with her short (for her species) stature and her frail limbs, with her weary-jointed walk and her poor eyesight.

No. This giant was able-bodied. He looked to be in his forties or so, but even the three-piece suit he wore couldn’t disguise the firm outline of muscle beneath it. He was sitting when Will saw him, but that didn’t hide his undoubtedly towering height nor his wide-set frame either.

And when he took a measured bite from the fancy-looking plate of food set out in front of him, a chunk of meat larger than Will's entire torso easily disappeared past his maw.

What really managed to chill Will to his core, though, were the man’s eyes.

Not exactly brown, not quite the color of rust. More than their unusual hue, though, was how Will couldn’t glean a single thing from behind them - like water off a smooth rock. 

It wasn’t normal. Hell, it was abnormal. Will had been able to read Betty just as easily as he could any borrower. And yet he saw nothing behind this human's eyes.

And that…

That was terrifying. 

So, Will had left, and he'd distracted himself by exploring some more, the rain still beating against the windows in a seemingly never-ending deluge.

He mostly stayed on the ground floor, since hiking up to the second was an undertaking in and of itself, and the rooms there were so pristinely kempt that there really wasn’t anything for him to scavenge, anyways. 

He visited the basement once.

Just once. 

It was cold (too cold for someone as small as he was, who couldn’t retain body heat as well as a human could and didn’t have thick enough clothes to help him do so), it looked meticulously kept, and the only things in sight were a table full of wicked looking tools, another table with thick, black straps in multiple places, a strangely out-of-place-looking plastic tarp set-up, and what looked to be a large fridge or freezer. 

It also had that sense of dread that’d never really left him crawling its way back up his spine until the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

So. 

Just the once. 

The only thing was, after having thoroughly explored (finding a comfortable enough spot in a hollowed-out nook near what he thought was an office space) and scavenged the bare means of what he’d need for his own survival (too wary of taking more at the risk of his theft being noticed), Will found himself gravitating towards the giant.

Not fully - God no. Will wasn’t suicidal. He just meant that he’d sort of taken to watching the human whenever he came home.

It was almost a morbid fascination, in all honesty. Kind of like watching a horror movie even though you knew there was a jump scare around the corner. The other borrowers had done just that on more than one occasion when Betty’s T.V. had been left to play through whatever was on.

All this to say - Will was sure the man wasn’t normal. 

He seemed more like an actor playing a part than a real person. Too perfect, too meticulous, too controlled.

Even here, in his own home where he had to think he was alone, he was behaving that way. Like the suit he wore was a costume and it covered more than just skin deep. 

-

It had taken Hannibal just under a week - six days, to be precise - to allow his suspicions to solidify into fact:

He was being watched. 

The first incident in which he had felt eyes upon him, he had been in disbelief. He had not allowed the sentiment to show, of course, instead continuing to cut into his thick, succulent slice of long pig without pause, but his guard had been raised and he had no plans to easily allow it to fall. 

In that first incident, the sensation of being watched had faded quickly, and he had constrained himself to finishing his meal before he began his search.

He found nothing. 

No cameras hidden within the nooks along his walls, paintings, or light fixtures; no microphones taped innocuously under his table or his chairs. His curtains had been closed too, and there was not a living soul in sight.

But Hannibal had not survived so long, especially not as a free man, by allowing himself to fall lax and wave away his own intuition. 

Thus, he feigned proceeding as normal, all the while waiting. Watching and waiting.

He was not disappointed. 

Less than two days later, the gaze returned upon him, and with it, a thrill of anticipation within Hannibal’s gut. This was a novel experience for him - one he had yet to discern whether he fully appreciated or not, but novel all the same. He would savor it until he brought it to its end, for which he had no doubt he would do so.

He was a patient man, after all. An endurance hunter, if you would.

It was only a matter of time before the culprit behind his feeling of being watched (however it was they were doing so) slipped up and revealed themselves to him.

And then...

Well. 

His meat stores were rather in need of fresh goods.

--------

Well, the pair are off to a great start, huh? XD

[ripley-dean]

LSP AND MARCELINE'S RELATIONSHIP

I feel as if this is something that Isn't really talked about too much among AT fans is LSP and Marceline's relationship and after the end(?) of fionna and Cake (which i loved and I'll be talking about it later) I started thinking about it alot

Their first real time interaction in "Princess Day", at first glance, feels a lot more like the writers threw names at a dartboard and got them. But the interactions they have are a lot more genuine than one would expect.

I'm not going to do the complete play by play of princess day because you can just watch episode lol. But, you can see from the first few minutes that marceline knows of lsp and vice versa and have a moment to more genuinely interact with one another. Throughout the episode they do a lot of random shenanigans that end in KIDNAPPING

But throughout, they grow closer to each other to where they can reassure and calm one another down. They feed off of the idea that the other is 'bad" at first making one another a worse influence but they begin to have this quiet understanding that they both just feel somewhat rejected.

And a few cute things are in the episode "Be Sweet" LSP calls her to tell her about her "new life" where she is completely supportive of LSP even though she doesn't really believe her and says "did you break into someone's house again?" Implying they've called in several occasions.

And at the "Come along with me" they can be seen closest to one another

THEY'RE BEST FRIENDS JUST FROM THESE INTERACTIONS ALONE

But let's go another step and talk about fionna and Cake.

When Fionna needs to get a cheaper Vet appointment, Marshall lee recommends this guy Ellis P (obviously LSP) and after getting scammed by him they're seen together by the Betty statue drinking and chuckling in dumb and dumber fashion

And in the "The Star" THEY'RE BOTH HANGING OUT IN FIONNA'S APARTMENT.

WHY DOES NOBODY TALK ABOUT THIS

Just like in every universe gumlee is meant to happen, LSP and Marceline are bound together like PLATONIC SOULMATES

This is one of the minor, unspoken things that make me love adventure time so freaking much!!!

I haven't looked into their interactions in the comics yet but this is all for now.🫡

[obscurecharactershowdown]

Obscure Character Showdown FINALE

[image ID: the first image is of image is of No Significant Harassment, a shadowy figure standing behind a sleeping pink-red, fox-like creature. their green hands seem to be holding up the floating creature. the second image is of Granger, a girl with green eyes and short, wavy or curly black hair. in her hair is a red hat or ribbon. she's wearing a black turtleneck sweater, blue overalls, and a green coat. end ID]

No Significant Harassment

[NSH has beaten Akama (The Idiot (1951)), Libby Day (Dark Places), Sally Swing (Betty Boop), Shrimp (The Upturned), Oopsy Bear (Care Bears (2007 series)), Hikaru (Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu), and Diggory Graves (Hello from the Hallowoods)] They're just a silly little guy. A jokester. Significant harassment if you will. Anyway, a more in depth run down: They're a city sized supercomputer built by a Buddhist adjacent society to figure out how to transcend the 'Great Cycle' (semi-metaphorical cycle of death and rebirth) in a safer way than the previous method (submerging oneself in the 'void sea' which is a mysterious golden liquid that dissolves whatever it touches). Despite being built for this express purpose NSH never really shows a pressing interest in ascension, even cracking jokes about those who are still looking for a solution. Whether this is due to indifference, dislike of, or humor to cope with being unable to ascend is not clear and really up to interpretation. Example: NSH: I wish them super good luck in that endeavor. How is it going to happen? Have the overseers gnaw through bedrock until their entire can crashes down in the void sea? BSM: Please be respectful when speaking of the Void Sea. Grey Wind, where did you hear this? CW: I really shouldn't say. He's going to attempt some sort of breeding program. Thought you might want to know. NSH: Haha with the slimers, lizards and etceteras? Surely the answer was in a lizard skull all along! He's very flippant, but does care very intensely for those close to him. NSH: Moon? It's me again. NSH: I do not know if you are receiving these. Please signal in any way you can. NSH: I need to talk to you. I need to know you're okay. NSH: … NSH: Its difficult for us to assist you over this distance. NSH: Even more difficult for us to do anything in the midst of these tantrums. NSH: Were going to try everything that we can. NSH: Just hold on a little longer. (Context for previous convo: They genetically engineered a super organism of a slugcat (the species you play as in Rain World) to help reset his coworker/sibling after her collapse and restart her systems. He was so desperate to fix her that he accidentally messed up the slugcat's (Hunter) genetic code and as a result it became riddle with the Rot (relatively similar to aggressive cancer) :( which parallels his other coworker/siblings condition who also has the rot. ) He canonically uses he/they pronouns too! Nonbinary swag! NSH has major internet troll vibes. He has sent a data pearl of "something distasteful" to his neighbors on several(?) occasions and causes chaos. If he had access to the wider internet he'd probably be an influencer So…yeah! Vote NSH this website likes the allure of heavy machinery and stuff like that so… there you go. Kind of a blorbo. End post.

Granger

[Granger has beaten Chopfyt (Oz), Wolfman (Darkwood), Gaap Goemon (Mairimashita! Iruma-kun), Forest Friend (Gris), Turnip (Chicory: A Colorful Tale), Gary (Faith the Unholy Trinity), and Stag Malinay (Krystar First Fragment)] so granger is the main character of the indie game "NeverHome" Chapter one, which is only $1 on Steam, is called NeverHome: Hall of Apathy. if ur a fan of young protags being put in RPG maker horror games, then this is the game for you!! so granger is just that… she wakes up to find herself in a strange, hostile world. she, along with the friends she makes, must solve the various puzzles before them while creatures are out to kill them… and along the way they can uncover the secrets of these never ending halls… her dynamics with the cast is also super fun… each character gets their moment or moments with granger. and what's so cute is that there's unique art for each pair that highlights the fact you cant get through these halls alone!! she also has her own theme song!! here!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_vwtmIj5cw it's called cyclical tragedy AND HERE IS AN ANALYSIS OF THE THEME!! MUSIC THEORY!!! written by my good friend @HIEMIOLA "cyclical tragedy" embodies the protagonist, granger, through the music theory behind the track and ties itself back into the main track as well. to begin with an overview of the track, the key is D minor and hte time signature is 3/4. the piece begins with a broken minor third starting from the tonic. that is, it begins on the main note and moves along the main chord, D to F. the next set of notes are C to E, which is shifted down a step. the phrase repeats again, this time D to F, then G to E, which is an inverse movement from the original sequence. even in this first part, we could tell that the protagonist begins from square 1 with a simple pattern, then tries it again when it works. however, the inverse breaks that expectation of repetition, thus showing the diverse variations of solutions she comes up with using just the tools she has (the two notes moving in thirds). just like the game, she is given a handful of objects as well as a knife to defend herself and solve the mysteries of the world she exists in. with her creative uses of the items given to her, she continues on her way through the plot. we will keep moving. the melody begins. true to the title of the track, the melody cycles around the same beginning note, D, that she always returns to at her square 1. this is a nod to the save states she is allowed to keep to make sure that we the players don't lose the game, but it also references the health bar that appears as a circle around her avatar. the melody, mapped out, is also moving in an up-down wave movement across the sheet music. granger is creative with the knife she has and the quest items she obtains throughout the story, but she is not entirely reckless. rather, she knows when it is time to return to the safe rooms to rest. to time her returns requires skill because she must run to cover without being caught by varying her path so the enemies don't corner her as she tries to return to the room. most of the time, she is successful, shown through the consistent return to the beginning note. let's keep going. i would like to turn your attention to the main theme briefly. in the bass notes, you can hear arpeggios and outlined chords. this makes up the bulk of the accompaniment in the main game theme. [mod note: the rest of the essay, and some more propaganda, is continued under a cut because tumblr will not process more text than this in an indent. sorry to split it up, please continue below for the rest of the essay and additional propaganda (including art) !]

the third variation of granger's theme also has arpeggiated chords in the accompaniment while the melody features broken chords. at this stage, the pattern switches to eigth notes instead of the quarter notes at first. with greater movement and heightened senses, she runs throughout world and befriends other people, thus interacting further with the environment. while she isn't exactly someone we would call open, she is respectful to the people she first meets and has no problems with asking them for help when she needs it. because of her openness to working together, she speeds up her progress by asking for aid at obstacles that would be too difficult for her to overcome on her own, such as asking a teammate to break things, move things, or reach into smaller holes. fusing the main theme elements with her own theme marks this step as the inciting incident that sets her on the path to escape from this world. we'll continue.

continuing the same part, we hear some secondary fifths. i'm not entirely sure if this is what you call it, but it is a nod to the parallel key, D major. depending on what theory class you take, this could also be considered the other half of the key. i dont know how else to describe it, but i digress. these are glimpses to different dialogue options she could take, glimpses to a different key or a different ending. because this game only has one chapter ending so far, we are unsure of what other paths granger will end up in; we only know that there are certainly other endings she will experience, only to begin the cycle again when the save state is loaded for players to reach another ending. both A major and G major are chords that signify different choices that may lead her elsewhere only for her to return back to the tonic or main note, D. despite this, she keeps going, as will we.

at the midpoint of the track, we see a quick shift in patterns. instead of upward leaps in the notes, the melody falls in stepwise motion. true to the plot, this is another turning point of the game when she is forced to make a choice: continue or stop. after facing the spoiler event, her once determined personality is challenged as she struggles to keep herself and her team together. despite being the headstrong protagonist who spearheaded solutions, even now she finds herself doubting and taking smaller steps, smaller risks.

even after all of this, she rises to the challenge as the melody returns to its beginning sequence. true to a protagonist she gets up again despite the events that transpired and keeps her team moving in their lowest points. the thirds return as she finds more objects to solve more puzzles to open more rooms to save more friends. this repeating part of the track only solidifies her resolve as the piece ends with a broken chord in the main key, her key, of D minor. despite everything that transpired, she stayed true to herself."

the game is also so, so charming with the art, music, and story made by the same person… its so clearly loved and full of passion!! i love listening to the game's ost on occassion!! since it's all on youtube!

ok one last thing thing!! on may 8th, the game hit 100 downloads (on both steam and itch.io). you can see the creator of the game celebrate that with this lovely drawing of granger: https://twitter.com/NeverHome_Game/status/1655761270694633472

so at most, only a bit over 100 people have played the game… id like to say that makes it obscure!!

anyways granger and neverhome!! we love to see our protagonists put in horrific situations and isn't she super cute with a lil bow on her head? she is my daughter…

[additional propaganda 1] [additional propaganda 2]

[additional propaganda 3] [additional propaganda 4]

[additional propaganda 5] [additional propaganda 6]

[additional propaganda 7] [additional propaganda 8]

[additional propaganda 9] [additional propaganda 10]

[additional propaganda 11]

[whatamessofthoughtswithjess]

Just some random thoughts I’d like to mention:

ADHD chaotic word vomit commencing in:

3……2…….1……. 💥

1. Fandoms can be extremely toxic. Like SCARY TOXIC! 🥴

2. PR Tours aren’t geared towards the established fans. PR tours are to engage new viewers. PR tours are created to sell the story being told. If you’ve got a romance show that’s trying to sell a story of “friends to lover’s” the PR tour will lean into the natural chemistry between the leads, they’ll create an atmosphere to enhance the chemistry, and they’ll use whatever techniques necessary in order to sell the story.. to bring in new audiences.

3. We all fell for the #Polin PR tour. Nicola and Luke have unsettling chemistry & Shondaland knew this as well. They also knew how much they could play off of their chemistry and bring in a large viewership. 2.3 billion minutes watched the first week alone? The PR tour paid off really well for them. I can’t even be mad at them at this point. You can’t say it wasn’t smart financially.. even if it was quite shitty to play with the hearts of Polin fans.

4. Luke and Antonia didn’t deserve the hate that was and continues to be thrown at them. They’ve been linked together for over a year now. He never hid her existence. The fandom chose to ignore her existence. That’s on the fans.. not Luke.

5. This one is going to piss a lot of folks off. Sorry not sorry. Luke Newton doesn’t owe the fandom anything. The “he has yet to claim her” comments are ridiculous. This man has been seen with her on multiple occasions, he has travelled with her, he’s been papped multiple times with her, he brought her to both Bridgerton premieres. That is claiming her. He doesn’t have to post her on his professional instagram just to appease his fans. He owes you nothing regarding his private life. Stop with the entitlement. It’s icky.

6. It’s never okay to bully anyone. Ever. The bullying against Antonia and now Jake Dunn is GROSS! It’s even more gross watching grown ass women bully a 23 year old young lady. It’s giving “I’m jealous” vibes. Do I like the way Antonia has acted towards the fans? No. She’s been a petty Betty at times.. however.. I can’t say I wouldn’t have been myself. That young woman has watched thousands of people publicly ship her man with his costar. She’s been bullied non stop & ridiculed for her body, her looks, her work, everything. I’d be acting a bit petty too if I were in her shoes. Grace is free & showing grace isn’t hard. She is human like the rest of us.

7. Now let’s talk about Nicola Coughlan and Jake Dunn. The absolute bullshit hate comments being left on Jake’s instagram are absolutely ridiculous. This man has done NOTHING WRONG except for crush any insane delulu you have in your mind. If you have something negative to say about this man? Do it in your private spaces & don’t take it to this man’s social media. Do you truly think Nicola will have any sort of respect for you by saying such hateful and nasty things to someone she clearly cares deeply for? Newsflash! She won’t. She’ll probably dislike you greatly for such vile behavior. Grow up. It’s legit that simple.

8. Like with Luke, Nicola owes you nothing regarding her personal life. Who she dates, spends her time with, chooses to love is no one’s concern but her own. She deserves to be able to live her life with who she wants and how she wants without fans acting the fool.

9. We don’t speculate on people’s sexuality. That’s gross behavior. That’s extremely disrespectful and invasive. Touch grass. Oh and did you know that you can tell your friends you love them without being gay? Shocking, right? Who knew? 😉

10. Stop. Full Stop. With stating your personal delulu opinions as facts. The biggest reason why this fandom is so toxic and drunk on delulu is because so many larger creators have planted false information in their minds as facts.. now they can’t see past the delulu & anything that goes against what they’ve convinced themselves of in their minds is false.. regardless of the receipts that are dangling in their faces. Please stop. It’s time to come back to reality.

11. Bullying one another for different opinions is TOXIC AF! There is no reason for people to be bullied off their own platforms because you don’t agree with their views. Take that toxic behavior right on out of here.

12. Colin Bridgerton is the BEST of the Bridgerton men.. apart from Edmund Bridgerton of course. You can’t convince me otherwise.

13. The best Bridgerton characters are as follows in this specific order:

Penelope Bridgerton

Lady Agatha Danbury

Queen Charlotte

I can’t be convinced otherwise. I stand by these choices.

14. Daniel Radcliffe will always be Harry Potter. I don’t care who they cast to play him in the new HBO Max series. Daniel is Harry. Point. Blank. Period.

15. Draco Malfoy deserved better.

16. Cats are the superior pet.

17. Shrimp is GROSS. You can’t change my mind.

18. I could have fixed Anakin Skywalker. 😅

19. Heck I could have fixed Kylo Ren too.

20. Pumpkin spice is trash. Apple cider is where it’s at. Fight me. 🍏🍎

Chaotic enough for you? I know it was for me. I’ve been wanting to get some of those thoughts out of my head. What better way to do that than here? Welcome to the asylum y’all. Enjoy the chaos! ✌🏻

[bettyfrommars]

Betty, betty, betty! I’m just back from a low-key stag do for my uncle-to-be with my da (back in the motherland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 for the special occasion), bit tipsy and thinking of biker!steve. Honestly, I’ve been away from home for 7 weeks now and anytime I need a bit of maladaptive comfort before bed, those fics are where I go 🥰 Right now I’m wondering how biker!steve would react to our new/back-in-town!reader getting drunk and needing a little help home x

Mel the way I am kissing you consensually across the miles right now aalkfdajlkljklj I've been needing a biker!steve fix so bad 😭 I wrote this in a frenzy this morning, so I hope it's not garbage, and I hope you like it.

Also, this is Ring of Fire biker!Steve, an alt universe version of I'm on Fire biker Steve. A fic within a fic, if you will. These Steves are similar but not the same.

biker!Steve x fem!Reader

wc: 1k

18+, alcohol consumption, creeps, violence, yearning, mutual crush

You decided to skip on the old faithful Blue Light Tavern that night and leaned into the peer pressure of meeting up with a friend at a newer bar downtown. The drinks were fancy but weak, and the packed crowd didn't seem to mind paying twice as much for less. Heather, a part time cashier at the gas n' sip, had you doing shots with her before you ever had any food in your stomach, and that was a rookie mistake.

During a clumsy game of darts, you spotted Robin, and it made your blood race to think that Steve might not be far behind. She tipped her chin at you from across the room, and you waved the dart in your hand, losing total concentration on the game until Heather nudged you.

"You know Robin?" Heather asked, buying two more drinks from the passing waitress.

"I've seen her around," you muttered. Steve was nowhere in sight, but that didn't stop you from checking every time the door opened.

Heather's boyfriend showed up unexpectedly and so all of a sudden, there you were---a solid third wheel. While they made out at a table in the corner, you took your wobbly legs over to the only available seat at the end of the bar.

The problem with that stage of intoxication was that you felt really good, like maybe one more would make the experience even better.

Just a beer though, just one light brewski before you headed home on foot.

"Have a shot with me?" The guy next to you said, pushing his shoulder into yours.

You didn't recognize him, but his highlighted hair was a bit too perfect, his teeth way too white; he was a dead ringer for Zack Morris. You'd barely taken a sip of your beverage and already you regretted the decision to stay.

"I'm good, thanks."

He scoffed. "Not even one shot? I saw you drinking with your friend over there, I know you can handle one more."

Sober enough to catch his condescending tone, you glanced back to see that Heather and her boyfriend were no longer at the table. They'd most likely gone somewhere to fornicate, and you'd be fending for yourself for the rest of the night.

The guy bought two shots, anyway, sliding one over to you. You stared at it for a reluctant beat before moving to get off of your stool. Your footing was a bit unsteady, prompting the blonde guy to grab your arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" His booze breath was hot in your face.

"She's with me."

Making you do a double take, Steve stepped between the two of you, staring the guy down. Chewing gum so that the muscles in his jaw bulged, Steve dropped one arm behind him to support your hip and help you keep your balance.

"She doesn't look like she's with anyone," the blonde guy challenged.

Steve realized then that the idiot must've been new in town. Somehow, he'd missed the significance of what wearing a Coffin Kings kutte meant.

Steve could take him out to the alley and put a knife in his gut without a drop of moral conflict.

"Get lost," Steve cocked an eyebrow, never breaking eye contact.

The blonde guy snorted a laugh. "How about you get fucked?"

He jammed a palm into Steve's shoulder, and before another thing could be said, Steve took him by the back of the neck and smashed his face onto the edge of the bar.

You stifled a scream, but the place was so packed, and the music so loud, that no one seemed to notice or care as the blonde slumped to the floor. The people next to him simply shuffled over to take his seat, oblivious.

Steve turned to find you, both of your chests heaving as he leaned in.

"You ready to get out of here?" He whispered it softly, brushing his knuckles down your arm. His eyes were such a throbbing hazel at that moment you swore they were about to explode gold flecks all over you.

A nod was all you could offer at the time, and then his arm was around your waist, helping you out of the crowd. Your head bobbed like it was on a spring, making you realize how tipsy you actually were.

Outside, the cool air in your lungs was a relief, and it suddenly registered that Steve's motorcycle was positioned illegally up on the sidewalk.

Before you could question his parking choice, he mumbled. "I was in a hurry," before snatching the helmet off of the handlebar to pass to you.

"What are you doing here?" you turned to find that your lips were inches from his. Steve held his breath, not wanting to move, but also not ready to find out how deep the taste of you would bury him.

"You're not the only one who likes to have fun," he moved his head back to meet your searching gaze, the flicker of a grin teasing the corner of his mouth.

"No, I mean---" you looked down, swallowing hard. What were you even trying to say?

"Robin told me you were here," he admitted, bucking his chin at the building in question. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be caught dead in a tourist trap like that."

You'd figured as much, but never expected him to fess up to coming there just for you.

"But how did Robin---?" She must've called him from a pay phone or...

"You ask a lot of questions." He took over adjusting the strap under your chin, noting that you were having a hard time with it.

"Where are you taking me?" Your speech was a bit slurred, but at the time you were too buzzed to give a damn.

"What do you mean?" He wanted to take you somewhere and press his aching body against yours; to fall asleep holding your hand.

You hated the way he was making you explain yourself, as your brain scrambled for the right words. "The other day, you said you had something you wanted to show me."

"There are lots of things I want to show you," he kicked his leg over the seat to straddle the beast of a motorcycle and waited for you to follow suit. "But there's plenty of time for that. Let's get you home first."

He held onto your thigh, urging you closer until your heat was flush to his lower back.

"Hold onto me, okay?" He said over his shoulder, revving the engine to life. "Don't ever let go."

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

Watching episode 22, and I'm now realizing that one of Betty's many fantasies actually became true. Twice. The first it was a dream come true, and the second, a nightmare come true.

On episode 22, Betty is stuck on an awful double date with Aura Maria, her hookup, and another ugly as hell dude who is angry and disappointed that Betty isn't hot like Aura Maria. After trying a lot to make and keep a convo with this ungrateful rat-looking dude, Betty gives up and starts fantasizing that Armando shows up and asks her to dance. They begin dancing rather close and romantically, and, at this, rat-man gets angry and confronts Armando. Armando punches him and goes back to Betty, who says that he shouldn't have done that, but he tells her how much it bothers him when she's harassed.

Something rather similar happens in real life when Armando fights Román. Armando and Betty are having an intimate moment when Román and his friends show up and begin harassing Betty. Armando gets angry, fights them, and after all that, Betty says he shouldn't have, but he answers that he can't stand it when she's harassed oh to be Betty....

Armando in her imagination is gentlemanly, soft with her, and punches her harasser quickly and is over with it and then the whole scene goes back to only them and their moment of intimacy as if all the anger and violence had evaporated of Armando’s system in that quick hit. Armando feels no pain even though he punched a man in the face and threw him to the floor. Even the red lights of the scene give a rather fantastical element to the fight and the dance. It's quick and the viewer forgets about it immediately because what matters is the dance and the romance.

Armando in real life isn't soft or romantic. He's angry because he got hurt because there was real, prolongued violence. He doesn't speak softly or goes straight back to loving her. He's an actual human who really got angry and actually is in pain from the fight. The scene itself doesn't seem to see violence as something beautiful or romantic. Betty can see it, but she loves it nonetheless because she has always dreamed of him as her savior. How wouldn't she fall face flat in love with him when he straight up brought her fantasy to life?

It gets taken to the horrible extreme with the fight with Nicolás. Once again, Armado is "defending" Betty. Except this time there's nothing remotely romantic. It is Armando taken to his very limit and exposes just how dangerous and violent the whole "defend her honor" could get in a real scenario. It also shows how on many of these occasions with romance stories, this violence doesn't only come from a selfless desire to protect, but also to defend themselves and what they believe is theirs.

I just fond it rather interesting how it started so beautiful and romantic and fantastical, and ended up so brutal and horrible.

Also, I'm sure there could be a wholeeee analysis of how Armando is the stereotype of the "perfect" love interest but twisted in a very dark and human way. Also how ysblf's romance is very organic and not fantastical at all

[wolfofansbach]

Personal thoughts and meditations upon the occasion of the Riverdale series finale. 

Probably like four people are going to read this but I feel compelled to write it out anyway. This show has genuinely been a massive part of my life. I watched the first episode because some high school friends encouraged me to (IRONICALLY, BRO). I was in high school when I started this show. Those friends of course long ago fell away, unable to continue, unable to wacth anymore, but I have kept the faith. All seven seasons. Every. Single. Episode.

I’m not even entirely sure what captivated me so much about the show. I loved the atmosphere of season 1. I genuinely wanted to find out who killed Jason Blossom. Was genuinely fucked up by episode 1 x 12 and the first season finale.

I have such fond memories of watching the first season. I distinctly remember a road-trip I Tok with my friends the summer of 2017, and joking about  maple syrup drug empires and the “weirdo” line back when that was the wildest scene on the show. Joking about how sick of the song ‘Believer’ by Imagine Dragons (2017) we were. 

And then I decided to get involved in a fandom for the first time in a couple of years, and so I revived my old Tumblr, and I began Posting. And reading posts.  

That was my last summer after high school and I was so nervous about college but this show and this fandom helped me get through it. My freshman year I lived in a dorm, and if you wanted to watch TV you had to go down to this common room, so every Thursday I would go down there like an hour ahead of time and occupy the place to make sure the remote was in my hands by 7 PM. A few times I failed, and I missed an episode because of it. But rarely! 

I remember that slowly dawning feeling as season 2 progressed. Scrolling my Tumblr feed and slowly seeing people come to the realization: “wait…is it just me or does this show actually suck.” Was kind of frustrating at the time, realizing that the writers just like…were bad, but in retrospect? Beautiful. Incredible. Legendary. 

And you could even say that’s where the fun really began. Yes, there’s plenty to hate, but also Riverdale is brilliant. The show of all time. For real. No other show has done it like Riverdale. They just haven't, and they never will. The age of the cable television teen drama is ending, and what a hell of a last hurrah Riverdale has been.

The Red Circle. Jingle Jangle. The Gargoyle King. Edgar Evernever and his fantastic rocket. Bret Weston Wallis and Donna Sweett (genuinely cannot say their names without giggling). Jughead getting hit in the head with a rock and faking his death for like…some reason? I genuinely can’t remember, something to do with the Hardy Brothers idk. Tabitha sprinkling the devil with the tears of the Virgin Mary. The normies can laugh all they want about “epic highs and lows” but do they remember the even funnier lines like “if there’s no wedding, that means the gargoyle king has won” or “word of my exploits serving Nick his comeuppance…” THEY NEVER WILL. ONLY THE TRUE FAITHFUL UNDERSTAND. 

And is silly as it all was, I have genuine affection for these characters. Like Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Archie, Cheryl, Toni, actually mean a lot to me. YES they’re fake but I want the best for them (and for Beronica to be canon but you know we can’t win them all). I’m genuinely grateful that this show has existed and been a part of my life for the past six years. 

Moreover, I credit this show for seriously getting into writing. I’ve actually written almost a million words of Riverdale fanfiction. Much of it will never see the light of day, but it exists. Maybe I even have one or two left in me, I don’t know. At the very least I’d like to finish a few uncompleted fics. But I’ve also branched out. Since I started seriously writing in 2017, I’ve also finished several original manuscripts, and who knows, maybe one day I’ll get one published. Stranger things have happened. 

So, thanks Roberto.

And thanks to all of the very cool people I’ve run into in this fandom. I honestly wish I’d gotten to know most of you better, but them’s the breaks. Hopefully this isn’t weird but I’m going to tag a few people in particular. 

@village-skeptic. I know you’re not in the fandom anymore (lucky you), but thank you for, once upon a time, reading every one of the 200,000+ words of a 17-year-old kid’s turgid, indulgent, Riverdale Spanish Civil War fan fiction. I never, ever would have finished that story without you, and I credit it with giving me the confidence to keep writing, and in fact to write everything I’ve written since then. You’re brilliant and awesome. 

@satelliteinasupernova. Thank you for also reading Interbellum (are we noticing a pattern), and more importantly for all of your wonderful drawings. INCLUDING fanart of some of my fics. You have no idea how happy that Strange Death of Elizabeth Cooper piece made me. You rule. 

@sullypants. You were a perennial presence on my feed. Always wonderful to see. I love your taste in art, and I love those ‘penguin classics’ covers you made for a few of my fics. Thank you also for beta reading a few fics for me back in the glory days. And thank you for chatting with me a couple times over the years, including a few times when I was in quite unhappy places. 

@stillhidden. I’m not sure if we’ve ever actually talked, but you like or reblog everything I post and it makes me feel like I’m not just shouting into the void. Same goes for @frauleinfunf Thank God for dutiful mutuals. 

@sonyascomet. I can’t remember when I started following you but you have a really good sense of humor. And I’ll always remember when you kept posting about “Greg” for Succession and I, not knowing anything about Succession, kept imagining Greg Heffley. 

@stillhidden thank you for your world-weary Riverdale posts. You truly understand fandom like few others.

@halcooper. Your devotion to the neglected parents of Riverdale is truly admirable. Every time I see Lochlyn Munro in some weird low budget horror movie I’ll think of you.

I hope I didn’t forget anyone who would be offended by my forgetting, but I doubt it. 

All this to say this show has been a genuinely huge part of my life for six years. SIX YEARS. I graduated college, my God. I wish I could say I became a millionaire or a successful author in that time, but nah. Maybe one day, but for now I’m just kind of vibing. And unfortunately, I’ll have to vibe without Riverdale from now on. 

But as I sit myself down to watch the very last episode of this show, I remind myself that we’ll always have the memories. And I’ll always be an unapologetic Riverdale enjoyer. As a great man once said, snakes don’t shed their skins so easily.