#Hopefully you have missed my essays because they are back

[countessofravenclaw]

Anchor imagery and Gastina

I don't know if anyone has noticed that Nina wears a weird amount of Achor patterns on her clothing.

Let me show you:

S1E78

S2E9

S2E36

S2E48

These are just the ones I remember. There might be more.

The interesting thing about these is that she wears anchors in a lot of scenes that have something to do with Gastón. Their first kiss, the scene where he teases her about learning to skate, and the scene with Xavi where Nina literally described her relationship with Gastón as "too intense".

Anchor biblically symbolizes hope and it part of the Faith, Hope, Love trio.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

- 1 Corinthians 13:13

Anchors are nautical devices that provide stability to ships during harsh storms, protecting them from being tossed around at sea. Throughout history, anchors have served as a much-needed device for sailors. In the Bible, an anchor is used as a symbol of our hope in Jesus which gives us stability and steadfastness in life. In ancient days, the anchor was used in artwork and engravings as a symbol of Christianity. Anchors appear in the Roman catacombs on the tombs of Christians, showing the Christians’ steadfast hope in eternal life.

I don't mean to get too preachy here and we don't even know the religious stance of DCLA, even when can just assume that everyone is catholic. That being said, I do Hc just a little bit that Gastón maybe grew up a little bit more religious than the rest, and I feel it first with his parents getting themselves out of poverty by a bunch of small miracles. This is not the point of this though.

Anchors symbolize hope and stability. Something that Gastón represents for Nina.

She is a divorce child from a broken home. She has been fought over by her parent for who knows how long, but long enough for it really to impact her mental health and self-esteem. She doesn't feel worthy of any love, because she has been fought over like an object with no free will for most of her life.

Gastón was probably one the first people to just love her unconditionally, without having some need to prove that he loves her more than someone else, and she herself was enough. (I don't mean to leave Luna out of this. We'll come back to her later) Gastón loved Nina for who she was, and who she could be for herself.

I don't think Nina has ever known a happy whole family life without her parent fighting. Gastón is from a nuclear family with two parents happily married (Technically my headcanon, but I think canon speaks for it very strongly). I think Nina was definitely taken into his family right away. His parents very possibly were one of the first exposures that Nina had to a healthy long-term marriage.

Anchor represents hope for steadfastness and security. We didn't see this much, but it is pretty fair to say that Gastón probably was quite protective of Nina, Gary would have not gotten even close to her in S3 if he had been around. He often provides her with stability, full-on physically by often having an arm around her shoulder or waist or just by emotionally. With him, she has a hope of a better future and life for herself with him

These are things she lacks in S3 a lot. She doesn't know what she wants to do, and struggles with clarity and writing, especially with the skating site. Her anchor is gone so to say, and she drifts off to sea.

None of this meant to say that she can't be her own independent woman, she absolutely can and is, but that doesn't mean that she can't consider the person she loves as someone who provides her security and stability.

Anyways, these are the reasons why Nina backtracks in character development. She still has Luna as support, but how I view her development is that she needs both, Luna and Gastón. Luna got her on skates in S1, but it was Gastón who helped her almost as much with it. He taught her how to stop and assured her that it was okay to fall and that nothing bad could happen to her. Luna was the one who Nina moving, but Gastón was her anchor.

When you view things like that, you alos notice how similar Gastón and Luna's backgrounds are. They are both from happy homes with two parents with healthy relationships. This can be also kind of applied to Matteo as well, since he is from a broken home in a different way, and why Gastón and Luna were the people for him too.

[peachtea-and-paint]

much needed distraction

modern! college ellie williams x reader

your girlfriend has been busy with midterms all week, and you've been missing much more than her company...

cw: 18+ MDNI! established relationship, masturbation, fingering, *oral sex r! and e! receiving, strap, dom!Ellie, sub!reader, breeding kink, dacryphilia if you squint, degradation, aftercare* (*part 2 will feature the strikethrough bits)

AN: This is my very first fic, so please be honest and kind! This is a WIP, so I will be updating w/ part 2 soon if this does well <3

Ellie rubbed the bridge of her nose, leaning back in the chair as far away from her laptop as she could. The lines of text began to blur together, the bright light starting to stab into her eyes. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t write the rest of this goddamn essay. She picked up her phone from the desk, desperate for a distraction. Behind the bolded 2:28 AM was a picture of you laughing in her arms, wearing sunglasses and Ellie’s favorite green sundress that flaunted your curves and was featured in some of her most favorite- yet less than… shareable… memories.

She scrolled through a sea of notifications, having put her phone on silent to try to focus on the essay that was kicking her ass, when her eyes paused on your name. She clicked on the notification banner.

Her heart jumped into her throat. You had sent 11 messages, all unread. Hopefully not time sensitive, she prayed silently. The first text read, “Hey you up?”. She quickly relaxed, smirking. Ellie knew exactly what you wanted, without having to read the other messages. That was something she loved about you: you were always so easy to read. She continued down, seeing an increasingly needy string of texts pile up.

1:30 AM        hey you up?

1:41 AM        baby pleeeeeease i’m so bored

1:48 AM        girl please, i need you

1:49 AM        like… in a biblical way

1:52 AM        ellie baby, i miss you

1:57 AM        sure i can’t tempt you?

1:57 AM        *picture attached*

Her eyes widened, bringing the phone closer to her face. It was needy all right. Ellie’s favorite sight, your face, was not in this particular photo. But she was not sad, as her second favorite sight, your breasts, were. A black lacy bra was covering almost none of you, allowing for Ellie’s eyes to lovingly caress the curves of your chest. Her eyes lingered on dip of your collarbone, remembering the countless hickies left nearby because she loved the soft gasps in her ear whenever she nibbled the sensitive skin.

Warmth started to pool between her legs. A second photo revealed that you were wearing a matching set. Ellie had probably bought this one for you, but to be honest she couldn’t really remember. The ones she would buy you were either ripped or on the floor so fast that she could never really get used to one set.

The third and fourth photos didn’t even gain Ellie’s attention. You seemed to have taken off everything by 2:10 AM, but by this point all she could focus on was the video sitting tantalizingly at the bottom of the text thread. Her hands scrambled for the headphones she left by her laptop, popping them in her ears and pushing play on the video the second the Bluetooth could connect.

A giggle, quickly followed by a quiet, breathy moan filled her ears. Ellie listened intently, pressing her legs closer together. The video was black; you had only sent the audio, knowing without a doubt it would drive Ellie even crazier since she couldn’t see what you were doing. No, she couldn’t see anything… which made every desperate little sound coming out of her headphones all the more intoxicating. Ellie squeezed her eyes shut, easily conjuring up an image to go along with your pretty little sounds.

You started off slow, in Ellie’s mind, your free hand caressing over your breasts first, pausing over the nipple to tease and play with, then dragging your fingers further down. A sharp inhale: you ghost your cold fingertips over the searing skin of your stomach, leaving a trail of goosebumps. You moan louder then, and Ellie imagined a finger brushing just underneath the waistband of the black lace. A small snap confirms this. Fingers stroke lower and lower, rubbing directly over your clit, eliciting more than a few curses out of your mouth. You teased yourself endlessly, this much Ellie knew for certain. You could never seem to get enough when Ellie teased you just to the edge, always begging for more despite the fat tears rolling down your cheeks. F-fuuuck, Ellie cursed in her head. The thought of you crying for her strap made Ellie as breathless as you were in the audio.

Gasps, moans, and low whispers of how much you needed her to come over right this second left Ellie dazed. So dazed, in fact, that she didn’t realize the video had finished a while ago. Her eyes shot open, mental images disappearing and replaced with the bright fluorescent computer screen glaring back at her. She removed the hand from the jeans she didn’t even remember unbuttoning. Somehow, despite the distance, Ellie could practically taste the heady scent of sex in the air, could feel the way your body arched through the phone. She suddenly remembered where she was and scanned the room, embarrassed that she could be caught by her roommate in such a precarious position as getting off in the living room from her girlfriend’s video. Haphazardly wiping her fingers on the black denim of her jeans, and satisfied that the room was completely roommate free (they were on vacation but old habits die hard), Ellie turned her attention back to her phone. She wondered for a moment if she could just listen to it again in the privacy of her room, but that thought left the instant she saw the time stamp.

5 minutes ago. Shit, you only sent this 5 minutes ago. Ellie’s heart started to pound. Her thumbs furiously typed a response and hit send.

Ellie 2:31 AM           Hey baby u still need me in a biblical way?

The three dots popped up almost instantly. Ellie could feel her boxers grow wetter by the second, the fabric clinging to her at the fucking thought of seeing her fantasy come to life. The three dots disappeared, and her fingers itched to send a second question. But she didn’t; after all, this was Ellie ‘Ego’ Williams. She never double texted, not even when her life- or her sanity- depended on it.

After what seemed like an hour (10 seconds), a blue bubble graced her phone screen. Ellie shot up, tripping over her feet to grab her jacket and bookbag. She shoved her converse on without even doing the laces and ran out the door. The normal 15-minute drive through quiet suburban neighborhoods became a 6-minute drive in a grand prix, blasting through every stop sign and practically drifting through roundabouts. Ellie pulled up to your apartment complex, miraculously remembering to lock the car before fumbling with her keys at the front door. She slid her copy of the key into the lock and burst into the door. Happily, you had no roommates, so Ellie didn’t have to worry about being loud. In any way.

She kicked off her shoes and placed her keys on the counter, but the adrenaline began to settle as she took in the stillness of the room. No sign of my girlfriend, she noted. The last photo you sent had clearly shown you sprawled on the couch, so the empty living room was strange. Curiosity piqued, Ellie slowly padded into the kitchen listening intently for anything that would give away your location.

Silence.

Ellie moved towards the hallway, getting ready to call out your name. The adrenaline and anticipation mixed together were coursing through her, setting her even more on edge. She passed the first door without a thought. Roommate’s room is always off limits, you weren’t that freaky.

(A/N: y’all don’t have sex in other people’s rooms/beds, it’s weird and violates SO many boundaries)

A sound whispered from down the hall, stopping Ellie in her tracks.

“…”

She moved forward wordlessly, inching towards the last door. Your door.

Another soft rustle, followed by a more distinguishable sigh reached her ears, sending a delicious shiver down her spine. Another moan, this one louder, spurred Ellie on. You were touching yourself, she thought, even though I was already on my way… Soft light filled the hallway as Ellie nudged the door open quietly, where her eyes settled on the object of her search: you.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You had had a very long day, and the absence of your girlfriend during her midterms could only be endured for so long. The worst period cramps of your life had stopped you and Ellie from being intimate for a while, so the timing of her being busy for a week with essays just happened to coincide with the most horny ovulation phase you’d had… ever. You were feral, having to take more than one bathroom break during work shifts to survive. You were having daydreams, starting to fantasize about Ellie taking you in the breakroom of the café you worked at. Bending you over the back counter and eating you out from behind. Fucking her strap into you as you tried and failed to do the dishes. Her staring down at you as you sat on your heels, gazing with heavy-lidded eyes as she fucked into the back of your throat.

No wonder you couldn’t get anything done today.

So when you had finally made it home, you tried to unwind by half-heartedly watching a movie on the couch. Unfortunately for you, the show you picked had a sex scene 20 minutes in that yanked you right back into lusting after your absentee girlfriend. You sent Ellie text after text, trying to nudge her into coming over. But by the 4th photo with no response, you begrudgingly took matters into your own hands.

You meandered (albeit naked) to your bedroom and rummaged in your dresser for your favorite toy. Plopping down on your bed and getting comfortable, you shut your eyes and started to conjure up the work fantasy from earlier.

A desperate thought crossed your mind, and you reached for your phone, pressing record before you could pause and regret. Moaning as needily and enticingly as you could (though it wasn’t that hard considering how sensitive you were), you sent the audio.

No sooner had you started to touch yourself again when a notification alerted you. Your eyes widened with giddy anticipation as Ellie messaged you. You confirmed that you were in fact still dying of need-to-get-railed-itis and eagerly awaited an “omw” text, but it never came. Maybe she’ll call? you thought, but the idea of waiting was just too much. Your thighs ached and underwear was already off.

Impatient fingers slipped down your curves, feeling your own skin prickle with goosebumps as you teased around your stomach and onto your inner thigh. You brushed against your clit, seeing if you were still as sensitive as you were a minute ago… You were. You gathered wetness on your fingers and then began to just lightly ghost around your pussy. Soft sighs escaped your lips as you pushed a finger in, moans growing louder as you slipped deeper into yourself and your fantasy. In your mind, Ellie had just slipped her strap inside you, as you begged her to go deeper. A particularly good stroke of your fingers made you gasp, and you begged fantasy Ellie to fuck you just like that.

A chuckle from across the room made your eyes shoot open. As you blinked away the fantasy and lust, the real Ellie stood before you; leaning across your doorway with the most irritating smirk you had come to know and love.

(they fuck, the end lol)

(jk, part 2 will get down to business in great detail. comments are appreciated)

[infamous-if]

Dec ✮ 12 ✮ 2024 – update

Part of me hates doing these mostly because it's a whole lotta nothing and me just repeating everything I said the last update (lol) but I do like doing it because I like keeping people updated, even if it's a non-update. I may sound like a broken record (pun not intended) but I know a lot of people don't catch my updates every time so it's nice to just keep people informed yk yk

✮ — Part 2 + rewrite

Fun fact: I had written an entire essay about my excitement for the rewrite and chapter 3 and beyond but it got too long!

It boiled down to me wondering why I'm so excited for this rewrite and realizing it's because I feel comfortable enough to approach it with complete creative freedom. I wrote the first iteration of the demo with the constant worries swimming in my head like "I hope people understand what I'm trying to say here" and "I hope this situation is being read the way I intended for it to be read." And I think I sort of had those thoughts tenfold while writing Part 2. If you paid attention, you can probably see where I was trying to shut down certain discussions in the narrative lmao

Recently I had a tiny epiphany and reminded myself that it's not always about what I intend to write, but what is being understood by each reader. And yes this is basic writing 101 but let me have this moment of clarity okay. Embracing that means I can proceed with Infamous without holding back and sticking to my guns in regards to what I want for this story aka I'm just going to write what I write and like....not worry about the rest you feel (while of course integrating the common critiques and suggestions and improving on the things Infamous falls short in—I am not Shakespeare lmao)

ANYWAY my point is that I'm excited to fix up the demo !!! and just go back to it with complete confidence in myself and write whatever the heck feels right to me (and write the rest of the story lolol) and return with a better story than I have now for everyone!!

✮ — December will be for

planning what I'm going to improve and squeezing that in a reworked outline so it can flow much better narratively.

Outlining Chapter 3 and hopefully have the bare bones first draft drafted up which is mostly just be writing blocks of descriptions

I'm not sure I'll have anything substantial to justify looking for beta testers so soon yet but maybe!

work on my spice writing babey writing/reading spice makes me actually physically recoil but im determined to get better! which reminds me to finish the 6k follower gifts!

And also take a small breather because I am moving!

✮ — Patreon

I've already mentioned this on Patreon and a few times on here, but I do want to reiterate that Patreon content is coming out in bulk this month, in case anyone was wondering why I'm not posting as frequently. The content is still the same in terms of the quantity, it just won't be released every few days! thank you guys for being understanding of that <3

✮ —

My activity has is decreasing little by little due to my move but I do read every question and try to at least answer one question a day. I get quite a few mentions lately so I have to sort through those since I do get tagged in things, but I miss them due to my notifications. Usually I hope for the best and hope tracking the tag puts it on my dashboard <3 im not ignoring anyone!

That's all for now! Hope everyone has a happy December and Happy Holidays!

[1pepsiboy]

He surprises you after being gone (Matt Sturniolo request)

Matt Sturniolo x reader

Word count: 710

A/N: sorry I've been MIA recently! Work has actually been the death of me and there's been no room in my head to write when I've had time off. But hopefully this makes up for it! PSA my Chris stuff IS coming, I promise!

***

You tapped a pen on your lip, looking at the blank document that’s supposed to have a fully written essay by now. But your boyfriend was on the road and you had to keep up with him and his brothers adventures. Also, you missed him. You really, really missed him. 

You never imagined that you would be this type of person. Unable to focus the moment their significant other wasn’t around. Granted, it wasn’t like you did focus well on classes when he was around. Procrastination was a superpower you had mastered over the years. 

You opened the textbook for your gen-ed college course and groaned in frustration. As if Matt knew you were struggling, his photo popped up on your phone screen. 

You answered the facetime immediately. “Hey, babe!”

“Hey babe.” Matt cheeses a smile, then rubs his eyes. “Whatcha up to?” 

You shrugged. “Trying to write an essay. Nothing exciting… Where are you guys at? Are you almost home?” 

You noticed he’s walking down some hallway, none of the others were there. At least it didn’t look like it. Which was a little strange, but he probably just went somewhere else so it’s quiet. 

“Yeah, yeah, we uhm… We’re at our last hotel of the tour and then I’ll be back in a couple days.”

You jutted out your bottom lip, pouting fakely. “I wish it was now.” 

Matt stopped, the phone view switched around to show a door and apartment number. It was a wood door painted white with black metal numbers. You furrowed your brows because it looked very familiar. Then it hit you. That’s the door to your place. You were almost certain it was.

“Babe…”

“Babe,” Matt mocks lightly. 

“Are you actually here right now? Or are you fucking with me?” 

“Open your door and find out.” 

You hurried to your front door, stubbing your toe in the process. You let out a small curse before peeping through the hole. There was your boyfriend’s face, looking like he had the fish filter on. Your heart raced a million times a minute. To the point that it felt as if you were going to pass out. How much water did you have today? Not nearly as much as you should. 

After swinging the door open, you jumped into his arms and wrapped your legs and arms around him like a monkey. Matt stumbled back a little, but managed to keep both of you upright and encased his arms around you. His face nestled into your shoulder. He was really here and not on your phone screen.

“I never want to be away from you for that long again,” he muffled.

You laugh-cry. “Me either.” You begin to kiss him all over his face, and he chuckled. Then your lips connected momentarily. 

Then another voice cleared their throat. “Get a fucking room, why don’t you?”

You look in the direction of it, blushing furiously. Chris stood there with a phone in his hand.

Immediately, you slid down out of Matt’s arms and brushed the hair out of your face. Then wipe the water from your eyes. 

“Sorry.” 

Chris laughed. “Listen, what you guys do in private should stay private. That’s all I’m saying.” 

Matt rolled his eyes and groaned. “Shut up.” He looked back at you with a smirk. “Want to skip the essay and come over?”

“Orrrr we could hang out here… alone?” You shoot him a look, biting your bottom lip. 

Matt cleared his throat and looked at Chris. “You’re on your own, bro. Sorry.”

The two of you quickly step inside and close the door, giggling under your breaths. 

“Matt!” Chris yelled through the door. It was quiet for a few seconds, then, “Matt! You fucking drove! You asshole!... I hope the sex is worth our brotherhood!”

Matt shook his head. “Stop being dramatic and Uber home.”

You decided to throw in, “I’ll reimburse it!”

“Yeah, you fucking are, (y/n)! For being a dick while getting dick!”

Your face flushes, but there are still laughs escaping your lips. Matt glances at them and your eyes trail from his dangling planet earring, down his slightly stubbled chin, to his soft lips. 

“So worth it,” you whisper and close the gap between you two. 

[izzasecretredacted]

Homework for Those Who Have No Context for Drake's Public Execution

I've been an off and on fan of rap for a while, based on whether or not my hyperfixations takes me there. With the absolute blindsiding of the Kendrick/Drake beef breaking tumblr, I figured I go back and find some stuff I remembered hearing about in the past. I'll put them here as a brief history lesson, in case you want to know just what Kendrick is talking about and why everyone is rejoicing in the downfall of some popstar that you maybe heard at the supermarket or something...

btw, I'm not posting these in chronological order, but the order of how relevant I think they are and the order I think they're best absorbed.

This is an essay from about 2 years ago, and is the most indepth source that I'll post here. It talks a lot about Drake's place in Hip-Hop, and also goes into the idea of Drake as a culture-vulture.

This is a 3yo article that has a lot of "Fresh Hot Drama" vibes to it (might be a misread on my part tbf), but is a great secondary source of things that made people question whether Drake was a predator. None of it is completely definitive, but at least a handful of what's presented is very Yikes.

This is a very brief video that's a whopping 7 years old, but really only stopped being relevant this month (with the exception of a period in time about 2 years after this which will be clear later). It explains Drake's reputation as being untouchable whenever he finds himself in a rap beef, even when very real violence is involved. It also has some foreshadowing to present day. 4:06 in particular is really interesting in hindsight.

Lastly is the only diss track before now that really put a mark on Drake's reputation, even if it was a small one in the strictly long term. I'm posting a lyric video because the cover to the single is an old picture of Drake in the most blatant blackface imaginable (no, really, blackface is super fucked up in all forms, but this is ssuuuppppeeerrr fucked up) and I didn't want to lock this behind a content warning. The song mentions some of Drake's family (such as his parents, Sandi and Dennis), as well an extremely wild allegation that I guarantee you could not make up. You'll know what it is when it comes up in the song, it's why the song is called "The Story Of Adidon". Its also important to note that Drake admitted that that allegation is true... after a year.

I'm open to anyone else commenting on what I might've missed, but hopefully this should be enough that you can go through was is now an EP's worth of diss tracks from Kendrick and get a more full sense of what's happening around them.

[7thleveldown]

Tumblr for Werewolves

So… If stiles existed you KNOW he would have had a Tumblr. In this essay I will…

Derek walks over to the dining table to pick up his laptop which Stiles had been researching on. Well, research? He's pretty sure this isn't research.

“Stiles, what the hell is this?” Derek gestures to the open webpage on the laptop.

“It's the internet Derek, I know I've explained this to you before.” The smirk from Stiles is so unbelievably arrogant Derek could slap him. But maybe he could have a little fun with this.

“Yes. I am aware,” he says, completely deadpan, “you took great pains with it. Or caused me pain anyway. But I meant this specifically�� This… Does not look like pack research. I don't admittedly know what to does look like, but…” he scowled at Stiles 

“What are you…” Stiles muttered as he came back from the kitchen, looking confused, before barking out a laugh. “Nah, man, that's just Tumblr, I was taking a little break from the research to clear my head.”

Derek put on his best (hopefully) confused and grumpy expression at Stiles’ reponse. “But, what… Is it?” Derek saw Peter appear on the sidelines. His ability to pick up on mischief, whether he was creating it or not, was terrifying.

“Dude! Come on! Tumblr? It's probably older than you are!” Stiles laughed and then seeing Derek's face, he pretended to pout. “Aww, did they not have Tumblr for technologically backward werewolves who only want to scowl? Poor sourwolf, you don't know what you've been missing! The fanfiction alone! The memes! The in-jokes!” Stiles was gesticulating more and more wildly, pacing around the room.

“Oh come on Derek, you-” Derek shot Peter a look and a smirk that made Peter falter just a little as he realised what was going on, but not enough for Stiles to notice. “You must remember Tumblr, Laura was always on there.” Derek sent Peter the slightest nod of thanks, and Peter's eyes lit up in glee.

“Laura had Tumblr? Do you know what her username was? We could find it! I could find it, we could see what she…” Stiles trailed off as he realised what he was saying. “You know, I could try, if you wanted me to?” 

Stiles had stopped pacing, his voice softening and his arms wrapped around himself. This had taken a turn Derek had not expected.

“I guess I might be able to remember… Maybe if you explain it to me, because it just seems so…”

Stiles’ face lit up in response. “Course! I mean, we gotta start with bringing you into the 21st Century sometime, or at least the 19th would help, because the whole Heathcliff lurking in shadows thing is kinda old. We need to get you to understand our references!”

“I know who Heathcliff is, if that's any help?” Derek said, trying to sound a little coward and out of his depth. Stiles could be such an ass sometimes, and Derek would get his own back.

“Of course you do, big guy, of course you do.”

So, Derek sits back and makes Stiles try to explain exactly what Tumblr is, in excruciating detail. And then pretends to still not understand it. Peter has had to leave the room several times so he doesn’t burst out in laughter.

“Derek! Come on! This is not that hard! For the love of….” Stiles flounces around the room, getting redder and redder in the face, and even Derek is beginning to break at this.

“Stiles, what was it you were saying about codes? I think I remember something about that…” Peter asks, distracting Stiles’ attention from Derek for a moment.

“Yes! Yep, codes… It's one of those things so people would say a phrase, and it would identify them to other Tumblr users in the real world, but mean nothing to anyone else… it’s um…”

“Stiles, don’t tell me that great brain of yours has forgotten the code? Wasn’t it about liking something?” Peter was not holding back his smirk.

At that moment, in a moment of weakness, Derek replies “I like your shoelaces.” He screws up his face as he realises what he has just said out loud.

“I fucking KNEW IT!” crows Stiles, spinning on the spot to point the finger at Derek. “I will find you in there, you can’t hide from me, there is no getting away from me now, I will find you.”

Derek sighs. Great. “This isn’t Taken, Stiles. Stop trying to channel Liam Neeson.”

The sound that is emitted from Stiles could best be described as a squark. “But you don’t…. But you….” He flails between Derek and Peter, who is laughing so hard he’s struggling to breathe. Stiles spins himself around so much, he ends up making himself dizzy and ends up on the floor with a thump.

Peter stops laughing long enough to glare at Derek. “Did you HAVE to break him? He’s my entertainment!”

Derek raises an eyebrow.

A slurred "I'm okay" is heard from the floor.

[z0mbiekisses]

Another request QUEEN!! I loved loved loved the Josh fic it was amazing and has me coming back for more! First of all though, how are you? I realised we haven't talked much before lol. Anyways, my amazing spectacular request!!

RAB Tyler who is best friends/hiding his feelings with the reader. She's someone who works super hard, gets good grades and almost drives herself insane with all the extra curriculars she does yet still doesn't feel good enough. After having a stressful day she stops by his house feeling worthless and he comforts her, refusing to let her believe she's not amazing.

Thanks bestie!

AHHH THANK YOU BFF!!!🤗🤗 thank you so much for requesting more, you’re always welcomed i LOVE your ideas . i did kind of write this in a highschool setting 😣😣.

i’m okayy, very tiredd BUT we’ll push on through (hehe)💪 TYSM FOR ASKING, how are you??😁 it’s always nice to hear from you 🫶

thank you guys so much for ur recent support!! it means smmm, sorry this took so long and it’s short, i have some more things in the drafts that hopefully make up for it 🫶 requests are opened !!🩶

THIS IS ME TRYING !

i always did my best. in school, life, everything. i needed to get into college, i NEEDED to get out of my house. however, college isn’t cheap. and i don’t exactly have the best support system, so it’s up to me. i’m in film club, national honors society and student council. i spend whatever free time studying or at my best friend, tyler’s house. it’s overwhelming, but i didn’t have many options. if i wanted to get into a good school and start living my life the way I want to, this had to be done. but today was rough, i spent all of last night finishing my college essay just to go to school bright and early the next day. i was so exhausted, but what else was new. except i had a test in my first two classes, a presentation for national honors society. and i had to stay late for a student council meeting.

i was used to the stress, however today was just awful. every little thing that could go wrong went wrong. i was late to school because my car broke down, which meant i missed taking the test. i tried to beg my teacher to still let me take it but he only said he'll think about letting me make it up. i NEEDED to take this test, it was a huge part of my grade. it wasn't fair. i gave my presentation for NHS, which went fine. except everyone's presentations were WAY better than mine was. it was obvious the amount of effort and time they spent on it, sure i put effort into mines. i was just missing the time, since i stayed up all night wednesday putting it together. i felt like an idiot. i sat alone at lunch, i only shared my lunch period with one of my friends. but she was busy hanging with her boyfriend. i ended up skipping and just spending the time volunteering at the library. the more hours the better. the day seemed to drag on, especially since i had to stay later. like most if not all the other kids who did student council, we were only doing it for our college applications. i didn't get along well with the other kids. not in the way where we would fight or anything. they were all just so pretentious and snobby. they would always undermind me, as if i could never be an intellectual individual like them. i spent the whole 4 hours i had to stay there wanting to stick my face in a hot pan of oil. when it was all FINALLY over, i sat in my car for a minute. i felt so.. worthless. everything i did didn't feel like enough, maybe it wasn't enough. what's the point of doing all these things if i wasn't even good at any of it? it wasn't long before tears filled my eyes. but i watched as the other kids from student council walked over to their fancy cars. and i realized the last thing i needed was for them to see me crying in car that probably should've been in a junkyard AGES ago. i didn't want to go home, my parents would only make me feel worse. i called tyler and asked if i could come over. he said yes and with that i drove over to his house in silence. my thoughts racing through my head were the only things i could hear. i will never be good enough. for anyone, for anything. what is the point in even trying?

eventually i knocked on tyler's door. to which he answered with a smile. it was a struggle for me to return one back. i didn't say anything at first, tyler was telling me about some story about him and josh. i couldn't focus though, my head was spinning. tyler noticed, he reached out and touched my shoulder lightly. "what's going on y/n?", tyler spoke softly. i tried to shrug it off, but tyler was more stubborn than i was.

"i know you're not okay, what's up?", tyler looked over at me softly. i wanted to tell him not to worry about it. my problems were stupid anyways. but i knew tyler wasn't one to let these kind of things go.

"what is the point of trying if i'll never be good enough.."

"trying to do what?"

"everything.", i let out a sigh.

"all i do is try, try, try. and yet i always fall short every single time i mean- it's exhausting.", as much as i tried to fight it tears fell from my eyes.

"i'm not good enough i-"

"y/n please.", tyler reached out and held my hand.

"you are more than amazing. you are the most hard working, driven person i know."

"you have to say that-"

"i mean it.", my cloudy eyes met tyler's brown ones.

"i think you're more than enough, you have such amazing things ahead of you. and that's all because of your dedication. i'm so proud of you.", i practically fell into tyler's arms. he rubbed my back as he spoke over my muffled sobs.

"you're so perfect to me y/n, i admire you.", those word silenced the negative thoughts pounding in my head. tyler's arms made me feel safe. i finally felt okay. i always knew tyler had a way with words thanks to his music. but this was so much better than that. i finally felt like i was enough.

“look at me y/n.”, i hesitated for a moment before i lifted my head up. this was the closest we’ve ever been, our inches only inches away from each other.

“i think you’re so lovely.”, my cheeks flushed a little bit. tyler’s compliment making my heart skip a beat.

“as long as you think so.”

[xflippinfrogx]

No title because I’m lazy

A/N~ Heyy sorry I’ve been so inactive the last while I’ve had severe writers block but I’ll try my best to get a few things done in the next week or so.. well hopefully lmao!! Yes it is another marauders post but it’s been in my drafts for over a year and plus I rarely see any new ones so why not put some out there myself?? Anyways enjoy the fic and I’ll hopefully write again soon💕

🛑WARNING: THIS IS A TICKLE FIC IF YOU DON’T LIKE, DON’T READ🛑

Lee(s): Mainly James but also Sirius, Remus and Peter

Ler(s): James, Sirius kinda Remus and Peter

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

James Potter was what people would call a very tactile person. He showed his love and affection through touch.

He was never seen without an arm around Peter or his hands tangled in Remus’ hair. Sirius never thought about his actions until today when he was visited by a familiar friend of his..

The tickle monster.

“Jahaahahamehes stAHAP IHIHIT” He writhed beneath his attacker. James let up noticing the alarming colour of red that had engulfed Sirius’ face.

“Maybe next time don’t provoke me then okay?” He smirked.

Sirius was left alone sat on his bed when he began to think. James was always tickling him and the others, it was just another way he showed affection. But then it suddenly hit him that it was always James doing the tickling..

He couldn’t remember the last time James had been properly reduced to a pile of giggles and tears. He could name hundreds of times James was doing the “reducing”.

He decided to watch carefully for the next while to see if he could figure out if maybe James was actually doing this in hope of receiving the same affection back..

•~•~•~•~•

That evening, Peter spilled ink over an essay James had spent ages working on and they all knew exactly what was about to happen to poor Pete. He apologised hundreds of times but James had already set his target.

Immediately the room was filled with please and squeals as James got his well deserved revenge. It only lasted a minute or two but Peter was a mess by the end. He helped James clean up the mess and re write his essay and everything went back to how it was.

Sirius however hadn’t missed the slightest blush grazing his best friends face and a look of what he thought was disappointment?

Was James hoping it would escalate further into him being the victim? Definitely. In all honesty Sirius could just put James out of his misery and tickle him then and there but he was enjoying watching his friend become embarrassed and flustered by the situation.

Anyways, he needed to be 100% sure that James was really looking to be tickled before he struck. You know, incase he didn’t actually like it and Sirius was misreading the whole thing..

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

The next morning as always, James was the first to wake. The only difference is that Sirius woke up early too, he was too giddy about his experiment to sleep any longer.

Peter got up as well hearing the other two pottering about the dorm. Only Remus remained in his bed. As Sirius had predicted, James wasn’t having it.

When James is up everyone has to be up.

He had already called Remus to wake up multiple times. The others knew Remus hated mornings but James wouldn’t take no for an answer, even if it was a Saturday. James quietly tip toed towards the unsuspecting boy and crawled carefully onto his bed. With one leg either side of his friends torso he began to lightly walk his fingers up and down his sides.

Remus was laying on his stomach, hands above his head, leaving his entire back and sides completely vulnerable. He shuddered feeling the light pressure from James’ hands.

Too tired to know what was happening, Remus just lay there for a moment. Half asleep, he began to squirm and James’ actions had drawn a few sleepy giggles from the boy.

“Moony don’t make me do this, wake up mate!!” James insisted. All he got in return from Remus was a grunt.

“You leave me no choice..” He rapidly spidered his hands all over his ribs and sides. Remus jerked and burst into fits of giggles.

Once again it didn’t last long, just enough time for Remus to get in a few pokes himself, nothing major. James however fell off the bed in suprise!!

“James, don’t ever do that again or I swear to Merlin I’ll murder you!!,”Remus said helping James up off the floor.

This time, James’ face had very obviously reddened but Remus had the decency not to mention it.

Sirius did not.

“Mate you are as red as Lily’s hair, you alright?” He remarked with a grin

“Just fine thanks Pads.”

James rushed off and the others didn’t see much of him that day. Sirius suspected he must have been rather embarrassed and needed some alone time.

•~•~•~•~•

That evening James returned to the dorm back to his usual bubbly self.

Sirius decided he had waited long enough and now was his time to strike.

James sat by Peter and Remus, they were currently in the middle of a very intense game of exploding snap. Sirius moved quietly from his bed to the floor behind James.

It was James’ turn and Sirius decided it was now or never. James went to place his card when he felt two hands kneading his sides. He elicited a loud shriek and his card fell from his hands causing a minor explosion.

“Haha James you lose!!” Peter laughed dusting off the ash from his face.

“C’mon Pete let’s get cleaned up, we’ll be back for round two in a bit James!” Remus explained. The real reason he was dragging Peter out of there was because he totally knew what was going on and he wanted to, well, help Sirius on his investigation.

“Sorry James, that was a pretty illegal move there. I know you hate when I do that, I won’t anymore, promise.” Sirius was really trying to rile him up now.

“I uhm, I don’t mind it.” James mumbled so quietly that if sirius had been any further from him he wouldn’t have noticed he’d even spoke.

“You what?” He asked with an underlying tone of mischief. Finally, James turned to face him and blurted out “I saidthatIdontmindit-”

“Don’t mind what prongs?” Sirius enquired with a smirk on his face. “When you.. you know.” He gestured his hand at Sirius trying to explain what he meant. Sirius acted as though he had no idea what James was on about. “God Sirius I don’t mind when you tickle me ok!? You’re awful at taking hints,” he huffed while simultaneously covering his red hot face.

“No need for the attitude Potter,” he rolled his eyes in false annoyance and swiftly brought his hands down to his friend’s sides again preparing for attack. “You’re in no position to be rude right now.”

James burst into laughter as he was tickled to pieces on the dormitory floor. Even if you hadn’t done all the research Sirius had on him it was clear that James was really enjoying himself. He had one of those smiles plastered across his face where it was so wide he felt that if it got any wider that his cheeks would split. Sirius mirrored this because seeing his best friend so happy was everything he could want.

James didn’t even try to flee at this point because a mutual understanding was formed between them that this wasn’t embarrassing and he could just enjoy himself.

He spent the majority of that evening giggling away as Sirius poked, squeezed and scribbled over every spot he could find and it sent James into hysterics. Once Sirius reached his ribs though, he lost it.

“OHOKAHAHAY OKAHAY THAHATS ENOUGH!! PLEHEHEASE”

“Hmmm I don’t know Jamesie are you sure you’ve received all the attention you so clearly wanted?”

“YEHES”

“You 100% certain?” He was really teasing now.

“SIRIUHUS IHIM GONNA KILL YOHOUU”

“I’ll take that as a yes then.”

The curly headed boy flopped over as he regained his breath, hands attempting to rub away the phantom tickles he felt lingering.

“James you know if you really wanted me to do that you could’ve just asked?” Sirius was actually being sincere this time around, he wanted James to know he wasn’t judging at all.

“It was just embarrassing I guess, not really the normal thing to like eh?” He was still terribly red but he kept his wide smile.

“Doesn’t mean it’s embarrassing, sure I’m going to tease the hell out of you about this for the rest of your life but really, it’s not something to hide,” he grinned that Sirius black grin as his friend shoved at his shoulder.

“Thanks mate, I appreciate” sarcasm dripped from his voice but he smiled getting up from the floor.

They spent the rest of the evening playing exploding snap and yes Sirius did use that illegal move many more times but they all knew James didn’t mind. Let’s just say the next time he set off the cards he seemed to find his punishment very amusing and the gryfindor boys dorm was filled with laughter once again.

[writtenbymisunderstoodnerds]

You didn't actually think I would miss this, did you? (Tobin Heath x Reader)

Just a short little fic for Tobin's birthday. Not really edited so mind any mistakes. Hope you enjoy!

Between work getting busy and studying, life has been busy lately so writing has unfortunately been put on the back burner so fics might take longer than usual. My final essay is due in less than 2 weeks so hopefully I'll have more time to write after that!

Words: 1.4k

Y/n: Nobody on earth can make me feel the way you do. Everyday I wake up you continue to amaze me in every way possible. Your kindness, empathy and compassion are what make you the most amazing woman I've ever known. Please never stop being the beautiful, confident and sexiest person that I am madly in love with. Everyday I am blessed to have you by my side. I hope today is filled with love, friendship, surprises and fun. Thank you for going through life with me. Happy birthday my love. I love you today and always.

Toby: Thank you baby. There's no one I'd rather go through life with than you. I love you so much.

Toby: I wish you were here with me today... I miss you

Y/n: I miss you too Toby. We'll see each other soon. I'm sure you'll have an amazing day regardless. I wanted to have this text ready for you to wake up to, but I got busy :(

Toby: It's okay, facetime later?

Y/n: Wouldn't miss it. I have to go, but I'll message you a bit later. I love you

It was Tobin's birthday today. We had been together for 7 years and this was the first birthday that we would be apart for. Since we started dating, we had always made sure to be with each other on our birthdays. This year though, I was playing in Europe meaning I couldn't be there this year. Well that's what she thought anyway. I was out for a couple of weeks with an injury and coach had agreed that I could return to the states as long as I kept up with physio. 

Tobin's birthday happened to fall in the middle of a national team camp. One that I couldn't attend due to being injured. I knew they would be planning something so I had reached out to Ali to let her know I was surprising Tobin. I trusted her to not let it slip and she was able to keep me updated on their plans so I could surprise her. I didn't want to miss her whole birthday, instead I had found a flight that would get me there in time to surprise her at lunch. 

I got through security as quickly as possible. Knowing I was so close to seeing Tobin again was making me impatient. This was probably the longest we had gone without seeing each other. I hated it, but playing internationally had always been a dream of mine. They had organized lunch in the meal room at the hotel seeing as there were so many of them. I quickly dropped my stuff in Tobin's hotel room and cleaned myself up a bit before heading down to the meal room. 

Ali had organized a game of guess the person. Tobin was blindfolded and had to guess who was in front of her based on the feel of their hands and face. The girls smiled widely when they saw me, somehow managing to not completely freak out. I watched Tobin go through a few more of them. There was a wide smile on her face, the corners of her eyes no doubt crinkling. I knew pretty much all of Tobin's expressions at this point, even without properly seeing them. It made me happy knowing that even though she was missing me, she was still able to have fun and be genuinely happy. 

After a few minutes, I stepped up to Tobin, placing her hand on my arm first then my face. I knew there was a high chance that once she felt either of my hands she would know it was me. Besides the years of almost constant hand holding, I had a scar on one of my hands that was very noticeable.

I lent into her touch, enjoying the feeling after almost six months away from her. That must have been a give away, because her hand froze briefly before moving to my eyebrow that also had a scar then my left hand. She ripped the blindfold off, eyes wide as she stared at me in shock. 

"Y/n!" Tobin pretty much squealed, jumping up, arms wrapping around me as she jumped up, legs around my waist, "You're here, you're actually here."

"You didn't seriously think I would miss your birthday did you?"

Tobin kissed me hard, filled with passion and love. I knew the team were watching, fake gags coming from them, but I did care as I cupped the back of her head, not letting her move until we were both out of breath. Tobin watched me for a few seconds before speaking, "I love you so much. How long do I have you for?"

Reluctantly, I put her down, feeling my knee starting ache, "A couple of weeks. Pretty much until I'm ready to join practice again as long as I keep up with physio here."

Since there weren't any real plans for after lunch, Tobin and I snuck off to the room. We didn't do anything other than cuddle and make out a little bit. I was exhausted from my flight, all I wanted to do was hold her after months apart. When Tobin eventually had to go to the bathroom, I got the piece of paper and ring box from my bag. I quickly hid the ring box as Tobin came back into the room. I still wasn't sure if I was going to propose right now with just the two of us or do something with the team later. I wanted to have it with me for when I decided the time was right.

"I got you something."

"You didn't have to, just being here is enough."

"Shush and take it. I think you're going to like this."

I handed her a piece of paper. She read over it slowly before jumping on me, peppering kisses across my face, "You're coming back?!? We get to play together again?"

"I'm coming back. I still have to be there for a couple more months though. I love playing for arsenal, it's been a great experience, but it's not worth how much I miss you." 

A few tears fell down her cheeks as she kissed me slowly before a smile stretched across her face, interrupting the kiss. Her smile was one of my favourite sights so I wasn't mad about it, "You are amazing, I love you Y/n."

"I love you Toby." 

Once again I found myself watching her. Taking in her smile, the way her eyes crinkled, the dimples I was obsessed with, her beautiful eyes that I could look at forever and the short hair that drove me crazy. It was my first time seeing it in person, I had ran my fingers through it countless times already and was currently resisting the urge to do it again. I loved her more than I thought it was possible to love another person. She was the person I craved, the first person I thought of when I woke up or before I went to sleep, the first person I wanted to tell when anything happened. She was the person I wanted by my side for the rest of my life. 

"I meant what I said in my text."

"Which part?"

"All of it. Even after 7 years, you still make my heart race, butterflies and sparks to explode at even the slightest touch. No one has even made me feel the way you do and no one else ever will. I thank everything in this world that you chose me, that I get to be with you and love you every day. You are the only person I want by myside through everything life throws our way. The good, bad, funny, messy, whatever it is, it will be okay because I have you. I am so madly in love with you Tobin Powell Heath, I want to do life with you for as long as you'll have me. Will you marry me?"

Tobin launched forward before I could even get the ring box. She hugged me tightly, tears landing against my neck, "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I love you so fucking much Y/n."

My own tears fell, the happiness bubbling over as I chuckled, "Can I get the ring now?"

"You got me a ring?"

I reached under the pillow for the ring box, opening it for Tobin to see. It was just a simple rose gold band, it fit who she was and the type of style she liked. She grinned widely as I easily slipped it onto her finger, "Of course I did. I've been planning to do this for months now. Only the best for my girl or should I say fiancé?"

"God I can't wait to marry you Y/n."

[spacedustpan]

I wanted to make my own separate post as opposed to commenting on the other one.

I get that sometimes when you see a bunch of people laughing and having fun with the funny part of something important it can sometimes feel like they missed the point of the important thing.

But just because people are talking to each other about the funny part on tumblr and Facebook and Twitter doesn't mean that they didn't pay attention to the important part.

It means that they probably didn't have anything substantial to say or add about the important part.

And in the case of the hbomberguy video where the important part is properly giving credit and payment to researchers, writers, and artists whose material is used for creation of youtube videos and other paid creations:

He stated it pretty clearly and provided a great playlist for people to take immediate action with by checking out those creators and subscribing to anyone they vibe with.

There are 4 obvious actions in response to the video:

Dunk on the bad actors listed in the video - easy, funny, low effort, and it gets more people to watch the videos by Harris and Todd that not only inform on who is plagiarizing but what it is and why it's bad

Subscribe to smaller creators whose work is good and is often jacked by larger creators - easy, fun, low effort but medium time investment

Provide information about another plagiarizer/someone that doesn't give meaningful credit - high effort, requires time to research and compile evidence, has a risk of backlash

Put together a post highlighting writers or artists whose work could be used as a resource for youtube videos or written essays - could be low or high effort, takes time to compile and link examples of the work you'd like to highlight, likely may not be seen by anyone that would actually use those resources and may end up as wasted effort

You're going to see a lot of #1 because it's normal to joke about things and discuss things on social media. And #1 does have the benefit of exposing a larger audience to the videos and informing them on the topic.

A lot of #2 IS happening, but most people don't post to Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr when they subscribe to a new youtube channel or follow a new writer on social media.

Most people don't have the time or energy to create something for #3 or #4 and the ones that do might be drowned out in the circulation of the easiest one which is #1.

Because #1 is easiest there's going to be a lot more of it.

I get the gut urge to assume that people are missing the point because they're not shouting out artists and writers they like.

But realistically that's not the only action to be taken and the easiest actions with positive effects have likely already been taken, in that the actual creators of the stolen content have gotten more traffic and hopefully will get more credit and pay in the future and other creators that needed a spotlight have been spotlighted not only by Harris but by other creators as well.

For example I recently followed La'Ron Readus by reccomendation of FD Signifier who likes La'Ron's content and gave the shoutout in his community tab in reference to Harris's video in order to get La'Ron some more subscribers.

If you have someone cool to show off in your back pocket and you have either an audience that will take a quick link and click it with just a simple "they're cool check them out" or if you don't have an audience but do have the skills to make a convincing pitch about why someone should check them out as a resource for their business or paid creative endeavor please do so! Now is a great time!

TLDR

People at large/the crowd are gonna have some fun with this, but the positive actions that are easiest to take are personal and private so you likely won't see them other than in follower counts --- or (hopefully) a greater shift in youtube etiquette to better credit, pay, and direct an audience and other creators (as potential employers) to the people that made the resources used in videos.

Shout out posts that hype up an artist or writer are great but not everyone is equipped to make them. Not everyone is a hype person or sales person.

If you aren't, then no sweat. It's fine to just bring attention to Harris and Todd's videos through jokes so that more people check them out and get informed.

[unquietspiritao3]

kayfabe in rpf

I’m back with another meta-essay on the nature of RPF! Did you miss me?

This time, I was inspired by some notes on a poll about shipping Greg/Alex which seemed to me to imply that some anti-RPF people believe us shippers want the real people to break up with their real partners and publicly get together. And…darlings, no.

But also, this essay isn’t really aimed at those people. I know there will always be antis, and I don’t expect to change their minds. My audience here is actually other RPF fans, because I believe I have a useful word for a concept we’re all familiar with, and adopting it more widely might help avoid confusion both amongst ourselves and with outsiders.

The word is

✨kayfabe✨

Now, I didn’t make up this word. I’m borrowing it from the world of professional wrestling—you know, Hulk Hogan and all that stuff.

Kayfabe (rhymes with ‘say babe’) refers to:

the tacit agreement between pro wrestlers and fans to pretend the staged/scripted events are genuine, and

the play-acting involved in maintaining that illusion of genuineness.

In the past, kayfabe in pro wrestling was almost never broken. Wrestlers stayed in character whenever they were in public. That’s lessened over the years, though, and these days all wrestling fans (unless they’re very young, I suppose) know what they are watching is fake and happily suspend their disbelief to keep kayfabe.

Hopefully you can already see the connection to Taskmaster here. When Alex goes on Sunday Brunch or whatever other UK show and talks about Greg being his ‘boss’, that is kayfabe. When he was asked at the NYC premiere to list five things he likes about Greg and one of them was “he’s a gentle lover”, that was also kayfabe. Conversely, when they went on Seth Meyers and Alex took the time to explain very carefully to the maybe-unfamiliar-with-Taskmaster audience that it’s his show and was his idea to make Greg the Taskmaster, he was breaking kayfabe.

(It should be noted, sometimes the division between kayfabe and reality is murky, like a real-life marriage getting written into a wrestling storyline, which is a whole other interesting discussion. Little Alex Horne’s wife is often mentioned on the show, but when Greg used Rachel’s actual name, some of the contestants were taken aback—did he blur the line of kayfabe a bit too much? But that’s beyond the scope of this essay.)

Now let’s expand this to the fandom. When we as shippers talk as if Greg and Alex have an actual sexual/romantic relationship, all knowing full well that they don’t, without explicitly acknowledging to each other that it’s a fantasy—a fiction we’re creating together—we are also keeping kayfabe. But if we wanted to talk about their real-life friendship behind all that, for instance, we could say, “Let’s break kayfabe for a moment…” and everyone would understand it’s time to set those shippy tendencies aside. It could help make the line between fiction and reality clear, both to ourselves and to outsiders looking in.

Of course none of this is limited to Taskmaster, it’s just the RPF fandom I’m in most deeply right now. I think it’d be useful for all RPF fans. At the very least, it’s fun to say. Kayfabe!

[txtmetonight]

Second Chances?

call summary ⋆ ★ Maybe he's too good for you or maybe your just an asshole

or

"reader accidentally cheats on member while drunk when he's overseas and he comes back and finds out even though reader tried to hide it from him. but reader truly doesn't want to break up and with a heavy heart tells him to do the same so that they would be even."

caller ID *. * Anonymous

pairing ⋆ ★ OT5 x Fem! Reader

genre *. * Angst, Fluff

warnings ⋆ ★ Cheating, erm toxic behavior, crying, bad grammar bc I was too lazy to check it lol, alcohol

call duration⋆ ★ 4.2k (Headcannons + a little story)

a/n*. * omg sorry this is so late 😭 I work with kids and no one tells you that working with small children gives you the immune system of a Victorian child 💀 and 3 of my classes had assigned me several essays to write. Hopefully this satisfies you bc i changed some of the stuff around so it didn't seem repeated for each member and may have taken your request and just ran with it lololol. Also if you see an uncanny similarities between one of my enhypen headcannons...no you don't zbzbzbz.

Soobin ˚ · • . ° .

✭ The first night that Soobin has ever cried to you, his lips trembled as he tucked his head into the crook of your shoulder, he had asked you not to leave him–to stay with him thick and thin for he couldn’t live a life without you 

✭ Pressing soft kisses to his head, you lifted his head to leave a long-lasting kiss on his lips, melting into him before you pulled apart, love swirling on the pads of your fingers as you wiped away his tears 

✭ “I will never ever leave you. I promise.” 

✭ And you don’t, you really don’t, but now your lips are bruised with guilt that you can’t get rid of as many times as you wash your face, and your eyes are rimmed with tears that can’t seem to stop falling even each time you think that you’re leaked them all 

✭ The bathroom mirror reflects a version of yourself that you wished to never see yourself–a lying cheater when your poor hardworking boyfriend was overseas 

✭ You really suppose that you didn’t mean to, but you’ve been missing the touch of someone or maybe you were missing the feeling of exhilaration thriving underneath the skin so that’s why... 

✭ That’s why you let Hyunjin let you kiss you so soft underneath the club’s lights while your brain fell into a drunken haze that you couldn’t escape 

✭ You don’t dare to tell anyone though and for days on end you’re ridiculed with endless guilt and insecurity as you wait for your lover to come back home–which even them brings you more despair 

✭ You love Soobin and your heart aches for him and so with much mulling over a despicable thought you had decided that you would hide the sinful kiss and continue with him normally even though your stomach churned in guilty displeasure 

✭ And when your boyfriend came back with a flourish of his love, you kiss him hard against his lips trying to erase the pain that stirred deep inside you 

“Are you alright babe?” He chuckles, pulling away from you to scan your face, cradling you in his arms. “I... I just missed you a lot” You whisper and pull him back into a kiss again, tears threatening to flood down your cheeks, a promise to yourself that you’d never ever let him find out–even as much as guilt as you felt.

✭ Too bad you weren’t as careful as you thought you were–because, after nights of unrestful slumbers and gut-wrenching pain, you find yourself in the hands of your own karma, hands that choke you slowly when Soobin pulls out a piece of paper that you didn’t even know existed 

✭ That sinful night when you committed an act of immorality, it seems so that Hyunjin has slipped his number and rather disgusting words down the pocket of your jeans

“Soobin...” Your head hangs low as you chew on the bottom of your lip, swaying side to side as you watch your boyfriend unfold the slip with a tremble in his hands. “I had fun with you. Hit me up again? XOXO Jinnie.” His eyes are rimmed with red and you your guts swoop and tumble up your throat where they threaten to spill out of your tongue.

“I didn’t mean to,” you cry, walking a step closer to him, but stop when he flinches. “How am I–how am I supposed to trust you.” His words are vile like poison and send you spiraling and before you know it, you’re on you’ve buckled down onto your knees and Soobin’s right by your side in a worry. “(Y/n)–” 

“I’m so sorry Soobin! I really–really didn’t mean to, I dunno what happened and all of a sudden, I–no he kissed me and I just–” You’re breaking down and your lover is wiping away your tears and kissing your cheeks. You feel worse than you felt before. You’re not sure why he was doing this but your heart aches for him. It’s about to burst.  

“Calm down.” He sighs, pushing back your hair, gently turning your jaw to look at him with pity lacing his eyes. “You’re not going to leave me, are you?” You whimper, eyes widening and jaw going slack when he doesn’t answer. “Soobin?” You’re gasping for air by now and your brain makes you pant when you clutch his hands against you.  

“Soobin–you can–you can cheat on me if you want to! I really–please don’t leave me!” 

His eyes widen in shock before he shakes his head and pulls you closer to him, letting you curl against his frame while you shake. “(Y/n), sweetheart, I–no. I’m not going to do that.” He reassures but those aren’t the words you’re looking for, searching the expanse of his tearing eyes for them instead. Soobin notices and kisses you softly on the forehead.  

“And I’m not going to leave you either.” 

Yeonjun ˚ · • . ° .

✭ Yeonjun is truly one of a kind–a man that you couldn’t even start to explain even as much as your tongue twisted and turned with words that tried to describe him 

✭ Yeonjun who is your boyfriend, Yeonjun who you love very much that your heart feels like it would explode in adoration, Yeonjun who you’re sure makes out with half of the girls he meets because, he is just so pretty and handsome, and he just can’t help it 

✭ Perhaps you are really stupid, too blind in love to notice his tousled hair every other night, or the bright red lips that plaster his neck–a color that you don’t even own! 

✭ And maybe you’re tired of it, you really are, but every time you have your body aches to leave him, you always find yourself back at step 1, kissing him fondly as he whispers sweet nonsensical words to you, having you drink it in like ambrosia 

✭ You suppose you miss true love once more–and crave it in ways that you couldn’t imagine 

✭ So, when you let a childhood friend that you’ve known has liked you for years, back into the space of your living room, just because you were starting to feel the shadows of Yeonjun’s absence on you... 

✭ You let him tap his finger on your jaw and pull you in to softly kiss you, raw emotion bursting in your gut when Changbin pulls away, his fingers wiping away the tears that you cast 

When Changbin places another kiss right on the corner of your lips, your heart melts and you sob, tucking into his chest for a chance to escape. “(Y/n), I don’t know why you’re still with him, but I promise I can treat you better.” You nod, closing your eyes as crimson paints your mouth, and after much thought, you say what you believe you deserve. “I–I’ll break up with him.” 

✭ Yeonjun is more caring than ever when he comes back, and you wonder what happened in the span of a few months 

✭ He stays behind more, helps you with the chores and you wake up every morning with his head snuggling the crook of your neck, placing kisses of love that you couldn’t find before 

✭ He blamed it on the homesickness because you’re his home and he loves you very much 

✭ And you blame it on the guilt and the bullshit 

✭ But you can’t help getting the words out of your mouth and it scratches your throat as you stand next to him, in his embrace, where you find a bruise on his neck 

✭ But you suppose fate was giving you one more chance when Yeonjun found Changbin’s sweater in your shared room 

“(Y/n) whose is this? This definitely isn’t mine.” Yeonjun spits, throwing a bright blue sweater at your feet when you enter the room. Your eyes widen and you shake your head, mouth trembling when you pick it up. “It’s–it’s...” Looking at his furrowed brows you falter and take a step back. “I don’t know.” Yeonjun sneers, ‘Really? Is it not Changbin's? Do you really think I’m that dumb?!”

Tears leak down your cheeks when you realize that this is your chance. But you’re too afraid–you think. Too scared to imagine your life without Yeonjun. And so, you shake your head at his words, saliva slowly sticking your teeth close. “You’re such a fucking–” He bites his lips to stop his words and messes up his hair in frustration.

“Yeonjun...” You cry.

“What!” He barks.  

“You can cheat on me back if you want to.” 

Yeonjun’s lips quiver into a smile before it diminishes into a tight lip, slowly walking towards you to back you into the wall. “What kind of boyfriend would I be to do that? Cheat on my girlfriend? I’m not you, am I?” He chuckles, pulling back your hair when you look at his feet. “No, you’re not,” You say, softly pushing at his arm. “It’s whatever, sweetheart. I’m such a good boyfriend, not leaving you.” 

You nod and clench your fists. “I’m so sorry Junnie. You’re an amazing boyfriend.” 

✭ You don’t meet Changbin’s awaiting eyes when you and Yeonjun walk past him, figure trembling when Yeonjun flips him off 

Beomgyu ˚ · • . ° .

✭ You and Beomgyu were complicated, but he doesn’t think so 

✭ “He liked you” he would say, but he always seemed to ignore you in the eyes of the public, lips always tearing into a sneer when he found you staring at him with a rather pitiful look 

✭ But why did he kiss you so softly every night, holding you in his arms when you cried to him about it 

✭ You don’t understand him at times–he gives you severe whiplash and you’re not sure if it was intentional or not 

✭ He gives and takes, and you’re exhausted when you watch him flirt with another girl in front of you but then drag you to the nearest alley because he missed your lips  

✭ You’re not official in the eyes of his friends but you’re official in his heart–and it stabs you in the heart every single time when he acts like he cares 

“You’re so pretty” He softly says, kissing the spot right below your ear when you turn around and face him. You have more to say, and he notices so he shuts you up with his lips. “Beomgyu I...” You pull apart and fiddle with his shirt, but he ignores your saddening mood, instead grabbing his phone. His eyes light up when someone texts him and you try to melt into the couch, shying away your gaze to the window. “Hey (Y/n), I have to go. I’ll text you later, kay?” He doesn’t even wait for your response and leaves the door shut in his wake. 

✭ When Beomgyu leaves for a while, you come to an area of realization that him leaving you for a few months feels the same when he uses you like a toy–you’re alone in all the ways possible 

✭ And you’re moping–which gets your friends confused and annoyed, so they’ve convinced you to go out with them for drinks 

✭ Which ultimately ends up with you in the arms of an old friend that you haven’t seen in years, bringing Jaeyun back home with your lips tangled with his and his hands in your hair 

✭ Yet you feel some sort of hole in your heart– and it aches and burns when his fingers expanse over your stomach and your neck 

✭ When he leaves small kisses against your cheeks and forehead, while you two settles against the couch–the same couch where Beomgyu called you his so lovingly  

✭ And it feels so wrong when he cuddles into your side, watching a movie that you supposed you loved when it was actually Beomgyu’s favorite 

✭ So, when Jake quietly apologizes and says that he needed to pick up Heeseung because he shit-faced over a few drinks, you feel as though the rock on your chest had been lifted and you can suddenly breathe again  

✭ But it’s back again, heavier than ever when you find Beomgyu ringing your doorbell just moments after, with a suitcase in hand and an angry tremor on his lips–which you just find so absurd

“Beomie, what...what are you doing–” 

“Who was that?” He sputters, letting himself into your apartment. “No one.” Your mouth is clenched when you close the door behind him, cursing at yourself underneath your breath. “Seriously? No one?” He mocks, crossing his arms over when you don’t respond, but how could you when anger rolls off you and your nails dig into your skin? “I don’t know why you even care!” You yell, throwing a pillow at him in frustration.

“Ow! I–what do you mean I don’t care, of course I care!” You shake your head and grab his suitcase to take it back outside. “You’re always acting like I don’t exist when you’re with your friends but then you come back to me like nothing’s wrong! Are you embarrassed of me or something?”  

“No of course not.” 

“Then why?!” You stare at him for an answer, but he just looks at the ground, shuffling around with his feet. You sigh and tap your feet against the floor. “Whatever Beomgyu, just get the fuck out of my house.”  

“Wait, (Y/n), I’m so sorry, I don’t know why–" His hands clasp around yours, pulling you back into him. "Just leave me alone, find another girl to cheat on with or something, because I'm done with your bullshit." You crack and suddenly you're being hugged, quivering when you start to cry.

"I'm so sorry."

Taehyun ˚ · • . ° .

✭ The first time you’ve ever cried over a movie was actually a Disney movie–Rapunzel at that 

✭ And you were just sobbing because Flynn Rider loved Rapunzel and not you...which you quickly found out in a few years was a really stupid thing to cry over and served your mom a lifetime camera roll of videos that exemplified pure embarrassment 

✭ But here you are now, almost 15 years later and tearing up over a boy (Jay Park) that you’ve had your eyes on for so long but can’t attain in a relationship 

✭ Taehyun is in the same situation too, lost in the eyes of another girl (Yu Karina) whom he can’t help but admire 

✭ So, when you sob to Hyuka about it, he immediately consults you to Taehyun and proposes a rather idiotic but genius plan that leaves you and the pink-haired boy nodding along idiotic but a genius plan that left you and the pink-haired boy nodding along 

“You two should totally fake date! You know, like making whoever you want jealous. I think it would work out!” Kai’s loud and his words seem to echo inside your head while the boy you’ve met just a few moments ago stares at his friend with a rather interested look on his face.

“That’s not...a bad idea, actually.” He then turns towards you as you shy away into where you were sitting, looking back at Kai for help who does nothing but shrug. So, you sigh and slowly nod your head, growing a grin on Taehyun’s face. “Sure, why not. Wouldn’t hurt to try, I think.” 

✭ Everyone was certainly shocked and surprised; eyes widening and several gasps falling from your friend’s lips (except for Kai) when you came out to everyone that you and Taehyun were dating–after some very detailed rules that you both agreed upon 

✭ And it was nice you suppose, especially when you find Jay staring at your interlocked hands with Taehyun, or when you pretend to kiss him

✭ Yet sometimes, when Taehyun tucks your hair back and hugs you to his chest, your chest thrums a little in warmth and you long to indulge a little more in him 

✭ You think you’re about to go insane–in turmoil, as your stomach aches each time you look at Jay and Taehyun, lips quivering at night at your feelings of love 

✭ And oh god, it didn’t help that Taehyun was so nice to you, all gentlemanly-like while he pretended to care, pretended to love you as your own tenderness seemed to fester underneath your beating heart 

✭ You were confused and hurt about yourself, so when Taehyun goes off for a while and you’re stuck at home, your fingers scratch at your skin for answers that you craved, bleeding at the tip of your tongue as Jay finally took his chance to kiss you in the back of a parking lot 

✭ For a kiss you thought would be joyous, it was stale and gross when you recount it back sadly to Hyuka, cheeks red with shame when you see Jay’s text following up

✭ You weren’t exactly dating Taehyun so you haven’t done anything necessarily wrong, but the remnants of sourness burn your stomach, as though you were caught doing something so immoral 

✭ When Taehyun comes back, you wish to cut off your lips so you wouldn’t tell him what had happened–but you quickly find out that your mutual friend had called him the very morning 

The air is warm and mellow but inside your throat, it rages a storm of guilt and despise as you stare at Taehyun at the door, swaying softly on the balls of your feet when you both exchange greetings filled with unease. You’re being eaten alive, you presume when you let him in, knees becoming Jello when he sighs.

“You and Jay, huh?” He finally teases but his words don’t have a joking tilt to them, and rather are dull and blunt when it hits you. You’re not sure what to say, because you have millions to spew out to the boy next to you, a whirlwind of emotions that you want to express, but you stay silent and stare at your newly bought red boots next to the front door.  

“It would’ve been nice if you told me earlier.” 

“I’m sorry.” You softly whisper, not flinching at the way that his fingers rub at your knuckles. “It’s fine...I was going to ask you to ‘break up’ anyways, I didn’t think that it was working.” Your head shoots up at his words when you suddenly dawn on the situation at hand, on why your gut was churning so much when you kissed Jay.

It meant that this whole ordeal with Taehyun was going to disappear like nothing ever happened between you two. You also realize that you’re really fucking dumb when you reach out to grab his wrist, stopping him from getting up. His eyebrows raise and you feel bile in your mouth, swishing around as you try to figure out what to say.  

“I–I don’t want you to leave.” 

“Huh?” 

You quickly shake your head, playing with the tiny rip flannel as you try not to erupt in a multitude of emotions. “I really don’t want you to leave. Just please–I... you can cheat on me if you want to, but please don’t leave me.” Your brain hurts when you think about him kissing another girl, but you’d do anything for him to be by your side, just for a little longer.  

Taehyun furrows his brows and lets himself sit back down, taking your hands into his when you look away. “What’s going on?” 

And finally, you sob. “I’m just so fucking sorry. I know I promised that I wouldn’t like you or whatever and that Jay was who I liked, but I can’t help it! And I really regret kissing him, and I really regret telling you to kiss another woman, because I’m going to be really fucking jealous–” 

You’re shut up when Taehyun kisses you so softly, his hands tucking back a stray piece of hair from your face. “Taehyun...” You sigh, trembling against him when he wipes away a stray tear. “I like you too, pretty girl. But you promise you don’t like Jay anymore...” 

Yoru heart clenches and your teeth grin but when he pulls you back into his chest, you nod.  

“I promise.”  

Kai ˚ · • . ° .

✭ Kai was your first sweetheart–the one that you suppose you’ve loved for your entire life without even knowing 

✭ And oh god he’s so sweet, with honey eyes that never left you or a smooth tongue that spewed out countless messages of his love towards you with his tender fingers brushing a strand piece of hair away while you sat in his lap 

✭ But as of now, your heart throbs with trouble and agony when you catch his faltering smile and when his plastic lips kiss you tightly, and you think that you’re going to sob–hard 

✭ You assume that this was natural, feeling as though you were slowly breaking apart with him, but you find yourself praying over that it wasn’t, that you still love him as much as you did before 

✭ But all that ended up doing was leave sour blood in your mouth from the number of times you bit your cheeks, hands tainted with guilt when you stared too long into the distance–just past your lover 

✭ Falling out of love was maybe the best but you can’t seem to reason why 

✭ Your teeth are starting to fall out and your head hurts as you try to wrap around the explanation–the revelation that’s making you and Kai feel this way 

Your eyes hold tears that refuse to fall. Kai doesn’t notice and it hurts even more, but you sit next to him, watching the clock tick. You wonder if a clock was an animated object–would it get tired of its clicking? Tick Tock. Tick Tock. Tick Tock.

Your heart doesn’t beat faster anymore next to him, and you think that it got bored. When his fingers rub at your knees, rubbing in a scar, you do nothing but stare at the time. Time used to go fast but it’s dulled now into an inconsistent background noise of humming.  

✭ Kai has never liked leaving you alone for so long nor did you, always whining on the phone for him to come back to you 

✭ But now you find it almost melancholy when the house is empty and the thoughts of another don’t infiltrate the air–and so you breathe deeply 

✭ You take fulfilling breaths that you couldn’t do, lips drawing into a smile when you eat breakfast or talk to your friends or when you start drinking bottles and bottles of Soju that leave you crying over lost love in the middle of the night 

✭ It’s bad you know, but it’s the only way you know to cope, feeling alone in a maze that you were supposed to get through with Huening 

✭You’ve never in your life thought about the prospect of cheating, not with Kai who was the world’s biggest lover 

✭ But you think that you’ve just soiled your lips with the mouth of another, in a haze that you were slowly falling deeper and deeper into, desperately trying to climb yourself out before everything caved into itself  

✭ You feel wrong and like throwing your guts back up when you realize what you had just done but you hadn’t drastically pale too much upon the thought even though you should have 

✭ Your thoughts don’t run a million miles per hour, rather just a thousand but it’s still bad... 

✭ Yet you come to a realization and a questionnaire after a cup tea and some crackers for your upset stomach–Would Kai even care? 

✭ It shatters your heart though you know that the both of you are stringing the other on but can’t leave, like you’re addicted to a lasting bitter taste that resides just after a sugary smidge 

✭ When he arrives back, you try your best not to slip up, though you really should

✭ An Instagram post spills your secret instead

You’re not crying, surprisingly. You really should be though when Kai sends you a screenshot of you in the background of Yeji’s picture kissing Sunghoon at a small dingy bar. You don’t respond to his text either, but walk solemnly back to your shared house, the smell of decaying love just on the tip of your nose.

And when you open the door, the smell wafts through the hall and the kitchen, where Kai sits at the dining table with a huge frown on his face. “I’m sorry.” That’s the first thing you utter when you walk inside. “You didn’t mean to, did you?” He asks and his words are like tiny daggers that prickle at your skin when you nod, pressing deeper and deeper as he stands up.

“(Y/n) I don’t know if I can do this anymore. I–I think I...” He trails off and tucks his lips under his teeth. Tears begin to well in his eyes and it hurts you to the point you can’t inhale. “I know. Me too” You whisper, pulling and teasing at a hangnail, sighing when you try to throw a watery smile at him.  

“If you want to, you can...can cheat on me too. You know, kiss another girl, your choice.”  

Kai chuckles. “That’s not healthy and you know that (Y/n). Maybe this was for the best.”  

“So, are you just going to leave?” You ask, tonging at your raw cheeks.  

He nods slowly and looks at you once more, straight in the eyes so you could flinch away from him. As though you’ve been slapped. “Yeah, I think so. For the best?” 

“For the best.”  The clock stops ticking.

[unmotivatedwrit3r]

Autumn Winds and Boyfriend Hoodies

jason todd x reader

(A/N): So my last few weeks have been something like open and close a show, then get COVID, then have 6 essays due this week, but after his week, I'll hopefully have breathing room.

This is a birthday gift for the wonderful Citi @citrinesparkles who has been so patient about my ramblings and is just a lovely human. Citi, I hope you love it :)

warnings: none that i can think of?

wc: ~1200

~~~~

It’s been a long day. There’s no special reason, nothing you did or didn’t do. You had the right supplies for your before-work caffeine and you left on time. You even found a ten at the bottom of your bag that you’d completely forgotten about when you went to buy lunch. But you feel like you didn’t sleep as well last night, and someone opened a window somewhere before you’d even arrived, giving the late autumn winds full permission to whip through the building, leaving an unshakeable chill in their wake. 

It’s an even chillier two block walk from the bus station to your building, and you welcome the heat as you step inside. Your plans tonight: shower, heat up leftovers for dinner, and watch a movie or two on Netflix before you go to sleep. Even better if your boyfriend can in fact make it over by 8. You got a text earlier in the day that he’d gotten safely home from his two-day mission with minimal injuries, so you’re optimistic. You open your text chain with Jason as you walk up the stairs to the third floor to let him know you’re home and he can come by whenever. 

And then you get to your apartment, walk inside, and it’s freezing. You toe off your shoes and head towards the heater. There’s no warm air blowing — which is expected as it feels like it’s 60 degrees in your apartment — and the light that glows to indicate it’s on isn’t blinking a dull green as usual. Five minutes of fiddling later, you give up and email the maintenance for your building. The automated response you get says that they close at 6 in the evenings except for emergencies—which you don’t qualify as—and they won’t get back to you until tomorrow morning.

“Great, just what I needed,” you mutter to yourself, stripping off your coat to hang it up and dropping your bag by the door. You take off your shoes and put your keys on the hook by the door. You’re already getting chilly. “A hot shower sounds really good right now.”

There’s a knock on the door 40 minutes later, after you’ve showered and heated up dinner and gotten your food and drink to the coffee table. The TV is on, showing you the Netflix home screen. You don’t want to put your blanket on your lap while you’re eating, so you resign yourself to just being chilly for the next half-hour or so. The knock comes as you’re scrolling through your list, searching for something low-effort to watch, and you let out a heavy breath before untangling yourself from your squished position on the couch in order to put your bowl and the remote on the coffee table and open the door.

Jason’s on the other side when you open it, in sweatpants and a hoodie under a leather jacket. Just seeing him makes your evening so much better. He looks exhausted, heavy bags under his eyes and in soft clothes, and there’s a spark of warmth in your chest because he trusts you enough to see that part of him and you feel so incredibly lucky. 

“Hi,” you say, and you can feel a dopey smile crossing your face. You see Jason’s eyes scan you quickly, traveling over your snowflake pj pants and fuzzy socks and one of his t-shirts, and he smiles back at you. 

“Hi babe. Did you want to stand in the doorway all night or?” You step back, opening the door wider as he comes inside. 

“You know Jay, if you didn’t want to eat the remaining leftovers in my fridge, you could have just said so.” Jason laughs, a bright thing that makes you smile too. 

“Missed you too.” 

He takes the door to close it behind him and then leans towards you. You catch his face with your hands as his arms circle around your waist and back. It’s a soft kiss, and his lips are warm, staving off the chill that you’ve felt since you walked in, and you take a second to press your forehead against his temple, just relishing in the fact that he’s here, safe, with you. 

He’s a little taller than he usually is, and you look down when you step back; he’s wearing work boots. He only wears those when he needs to fit something bulky in his shoes because he doesn’t have to tie them. 

“Minimal injuries, huh?” you ask. Jason follows your eyes down to his shoes and shrugs. 

“I’m walking, so I’d say it’s minimal.” You turn to the kitchen. 

“Sit down and put whichever ankle it is on the coffee table. I’ll get your food. And an ice pack.” 

When you look back at him, Jason is grinning. He hangs his leather jacket on his hook on your coat hanger. 

-

By the time you get back to the coffee table, any warmth you’d been feeling is gone, and the ice pack you have in your hands isn’t helping. You hand Jason the ice pack first and he positions it properly over his ankle before you hand him his food. He takes it with a murmured ‘thanks,’ and you hum in response, picking your food back up and sitting back in your spot on the couch. Your food isn’t warm anymore, more lukewarm, but you’re not willing to uncurl again just to heat it up. 

Jason’s settled on a movie, you realize; there’s something paused on the screen. You didn’t even hear him start it. 

“Babe, you okay?” When you look at him, Jason’s face is creased with concern. You feel guilty for making him worry when he just got back and you’re frustrated at yourself that it’s something so mundane. 

“I’m cold.” The words sound sort of whiny and pathetic to you when they come out of your mouth, but Jason’s face lights up. 

“Hold this,” he says, passing you his bowl. You take it, confused, as he wriggles around, pulling off his hoodie. It’s dark red and huge and has a tiny logo in the corner of what you think is a Wayne Enterprises shelter in the narrows. Jason takes his bowl back and hands you the hoodie, then motions for you to give him your bowl. You hesitate, fingers twitching towards the sweatshirt.

“I run warm, so don’t feel like you’re putting me out. It’s all yours, babe.” 

It takes you a second to find the hood and the sleeves, but it’s warm and smells like Jason’s favorite cologne and a little bit of cinnamon.  

You turn to Jason, fixing the hair that had gotten messed up as you yanked the hoodie over your head. He’s staring at you, a smile on his face you’d never seen before. 

“What?” you ask, taking your bowl back from him. “Are you realizing I look better in it than you do?” 

A snort of laughter from him startles you into your own laughter. For the first time all day, you don’t feel a chill.  

-

Later on, when your food is finished and there’s a large bowl of popcorn on Jason’s lap that you’ve both been taking from throughout the movie, you’re sure you’re keeping the hoodie. And you’re right; Jason doesn’t get it back until he moves in with you, years later. By then, the logo’s peeling, but it’s softer than it used to be. 

The smiles Jason makes when he looks at you though? Those are the same. 

[goombasinastack]

splatoon 3 hot take turned impromptu essay

was stuck offline in splatoon 3 because internet was actin up and i realized how pretty the photomode splatoon 3 filters are compared to the actual game

i was taking photos on brinewater and thought. damn. this game looks fine but i miss how VIBRANT splatoon 1 was! i wish i could play sploon 3 with this photomode filter on all the time. and brinewater is the best map for this because of the sunset lighting! so i went to one of the worst offenders mapwise for general color—undertow spillway. it is a warm gray mess:

for someplace underground, it’s WAY too warm of a tone—even if there are skylights, they aren’t very well defined, as they’re off in the background—they’d be better with some light shafts to pop out more, imo.

so here’s undertow with photomode filter #6 (this would’ve been a video but tumblr limits to 1 video per post):

and i think this looks a lot nicer, colorwise! the icky warm gray is shifted to a soft pink—and while that’s still not in keeping with the lack of obvious skylights, it works better than warm gray.

so then i opened ibis x paint and got to work on a filter that would hopefully help elevate the entire game’s look:

on top is photomode filter #6, in the middle is the original screenshot, and on the bottom is my proposed filter.

i upped the contrast, brightness, and saturation a bit, then added a 5% pure magenta (#FF00FF) overlay layer on top of that. then i added a slight gaussian blur to emulate antialiasing, which nintendo refuses to do for some reason!

and i wanna play splatoon like that! i miss the vibrancy and intricacy of splatoon 1…

incoming splatoon 1 essay‼️

not only were the colors eye-bleachingly bright, but the overall game feel was much more immersive—especially in ink physics. you could paint trees, and the ink would drip down through leaves as if it were rain… ink splatter would respond to the movements of platforms, keeping its intertia as it dripped! you could see the textures of surfaces through the ink, as if it were an actual liquid instead of a layer of thick oil. 3 doesn’t have any of those special touches.

there’s also the music… 1’s ost feels so much more WEIRD and experimental than the later games, and that really helps cement that this is not human society—this is a new thing—which tracks for splatoon 1, as it was so zany nobody had ever seen anything quite like it before! splatoon 2 follows this sheer melting-pot of brashness and creativity with evolving and varied styles—where once was punk and weird samples in Squid Squad is now groovy rock in Wet Floor, jazz in Ink Theory, and also whatever Sashi-Mori was. also i <3 chirpy chips. splatoon 3’s music goes back to that punk, but i feel that it loses some of the charm and creativity of the first two games. C-side is pure metal, and hardly uses any weird instruments. there have sparsely been other splatbands involved with regular battle music—Yoko&tgb call back to the jazz of Ink Theory which i love! Off the Hook’s new tracks delve into a new style in piano rock. but the main band kind of falls flat to me. :(

let’s talk stages. in splatoon 1, stages were wildly different from each other, including skateparks, construction sites, underpasses, malls, sewage plants, and other locals that are culturally underground. the rest of the trilogy moves away from this in a story standpoint, as ink battles evolve from punky, diy competitions into full-fledged championships in 2 and 3, with advancing battle infrastructure as time progresses. that’s fine, and honestly it’s cool to see that kind of worldbuilding! but in 1, each stage was designed about and influenced by the area it represented. Arowana Mall is a straight line with high vantage points on the second/third story because it’s a mall. Pirahna Pit features convenyor belts that shuffle refuse around because it’s a trash plant. Blackbelly Skatepark has so many hills and valleys because it’s a skatepark, for goodness sake. splatoon 3’s original stages have some of this charm, but it feels lost in ambiguity. why doesn’t Mincemeat Metalworks have small moving platforms on cranes or other heavy machinery? Idk, have some grates and one-way drops, and a car on a post. why isn’t there any water incorporated into the stage design of Brinewater Springs? Idk, have 2 paintable walls and a tetris piece. 3’s original stages have little to no connection between their locals and the geometry, which make it feel same-y compared to previous games.

maybe this is because of the inflexible philosophy of the designers—or their corporate oversight, maybe. for stages, you need to make a straight line or tetris piece with few routes to push, in an effort to promote the game’s main premise of Chaos. for music, you need to make punk songs that aren’t too weird so they don’t drive away the parents. maybe the little ink touches could have been missing because development was rushed?

i honestly dont know why it happened out this way—perhaps the splatoon team just needed more time to cook, in order to squeeze out that extra 20% of game feel? or maybe it was that speculated corporate oversight, i dunno. things WERE missing on launch—notable exceptions being X rank, online tableturf lobbies, and no more than three salmon run maps. i know we’ve yet to even get the DLC but for being about 75% of the way through the game’s content lifespan, but splatoon 3 feels incomplete. there have been improvements, yeah! i just wish there could’ve been more. i would rather have waited another year for splatoon 3 if it were polished that much better, y’know?

i honestly feel like splatoon 1 captured that creative, no-holds-barred mantle of Chaos better than 3 does. 3 feels… flanderized, in a way. the curse of trilogies, perhaps? writing about it more, it feels like not only have the in-game sports of turf war been ripped out of its seedy home and thrust into the spotlight, and gone “mainstream” (see: massive squidsport companies investing in multimillion battle lobbies with holograms and lockers [sunken scroll about that!], flying coffee machines that grant you brief invincibility, new rules and techniques that allow squid surges and rolls, etc.), but also the Real Life Physical Video Game Cartridge of Splatoon has been popularized massively with the sequels on the Switch. maybe i’m not missing the “vibrancy” of splatoon 1 when i look at the colors and photomode filters of splatoon 3, but instead the inherent punkiness and counterculture inspiration that i see in the original.

fuck capitalism, i guess!

[bleue-flora]

Well, now I feel challenged /lh /j.

I think that cDream being autistic make sense quite a lot BUT I definitely think that it is not a root of all / most misunderstandings - at least at the beginning, he was being absolutely challenged by cWilbur and cTommy and I think that he did the only logical thing, trying to protect his server and friends. His friends later turning their backs on him bc he was unable/unwilling to explain his reasons and feelings adds to the autistic theory but as a toxic cDream apologist I can not help but blame them for just abandoning him without really trying to understand him - like, even if he could explain himself better, I really don't think that would change that much - the root of all problem here would be more other people being unable to understand HIM, not the other way around (although cDream definitely made some wild assumptions(or didn't understand how some people think at all) regarding certain people (*cough* Sam) that backfired spectacularly)

(again, this is meant to be completely light-hearted, I like your hot take, just wanted to challenged it. This is also my first time trying to analyse dsmp outside of my brains so sorry if it's weird 😅

Nah not weird, welcome to the fun! Glad you’ve decided to share. (Hopefully this won’t deter you from pitching in in the future. <3) Don’t worry it’s all light hearted around here, as far as I’m concerned this blog isn’t about arguing it’s about discussion. Agree, disagree, further add, I just have a good time talking about my obsession. :) Generally speaking, to me I don’t think it’s about right or wrong (though to be clear I am always right/jk lol XD) because I think there is typically a bit of both mixed in and there is always something to take away.

Anyways… yea so challenge accepted lol. (just as fyi I did write this and the essay kinda simultaneously so umm whatever I don't cover here is probably in that... somewhere....). Now, I did pick my wording very specifically and it’s ok to kinda miss exactly what I was saying. So just to clarify, I did say ‘a’ root because while I believe it is a huge factor at play I do recognize that it is by no means the only factor at play. Along the same lines, you are exactly right, it is not just about him failing to understand or communicate but also largely about them misunderstanding him. It is very much a failure on both sides and assumptions made that cause this miscommunication. When I mean misunderstanding and miscommunication I mean all around. Though I also agree. As an autistic person (and a c!Dream apologist) I do tend to see it more as a failure to understand c!Dream and a lack of willingness to try on the part of the others. Because as an autistic person I am often the one without the information to realize that something has gone wrong. I may not recognize when I’ve broken an unspoken rule or when I’ve failed to communicate properly. But even if I did the other people have to be willing to hear me out in the first place and understand my actual intention.

With that in mind, it does go back to the very beginning. I challenge you to watch the early streams (especially when c!Wilbur gets involved) and see c!Dream struggle to be heard and get his viewpoint across. The founding of L’manberg? Make no mistake it was in large part due to declaring c!Dream the unfair tyrant and villain. And it was easy for them to do so because a) c!Dream is at a disadvantage to communicate the latter. - And it’s not for a lack of trying. Because he does try, he pulls out dictionaries, he pulls out former events, he tries so hard to get them to hear him, but time and time again they miss it. And make no mistake that is on them, as you said they are to blame here. -

And, b) because c!Dream is different that spurs people to think he is wrong, often more subconsciously. (I’m not going to get into too much more detail on this point as this is already so long and I meant for it to be shorter…. oops. So I am aware this is overly simplified and likely poorly worded, but I'll try and cover it more in the essay.) But yes not only is miscommunication and the misunderstanding at play but also misunderstanding in relation to their perception of each other. Both their misconceptions about c!Dream - taking c!Tommy and c!Wilbur’s words at face value, making poor assumptions about him, and fearing/hating what they don’t quite understand - and his poor assumptions about them (don’t even get me started on c!Sam…), often stemming from their brains being literally different.

[thearchercore]

Hi!

Adore your essays on Lestappen gate! It fuels all my delusions, hopefully we will see them turning into reality someday!

I know you touched on it previously but do you think RBR is not interested in Lando anymore? With all the recent rumors and news, it seems like he is the hot commodity every team wants (apparently 👀), although I don’t really get the hype. And to me it seems like Lando is more likely to get out of Mclaren if they don’t perform this year, than Charles out of Ferrari. Especially if Oscar starts beating Lando consistently.

i do believe rb may have been interested in lando at some point, he's region-wise marketable in the UK and the US, good driver, and at some point was friends with max.

why would they not be interested in him? multiple cons are there too

lando still has no wins, while his rookie teammate won a sprint in the most RBR dominant year. why? lando seems to have a hard time fighting max, or even getting poles. he panics quite often and goes wide in the last Q3 lap etc. it's a repetitive pattern that kept going even after mclaren fixed their car and made it actually competitive last season. if lando has a hard time catching up oscar, how would he perform next to max? it will all depend on his performance next year to truly showcase his abilities to turn a good pole position into a race win

lando has been friendly with max for a long time but recently tried to distance himself from max: in an interview given after abu dhabi called ‘Don’t ever say that again’ – Lando Norris shuts down question on Max Verstappen he said:

Speaking to the media after the Abu Dhabi season finale, one journalist called Verstappen Norris’ “BFF”.

The Briton snipped back: “He’s not my BFF. Don’t ever say that again.

“We respect each other and we get along, kind of friends away, but that’s it. We just have a lot of respect for one another.”

so if he talks about max like this, when they're not teammates, how functional would their teammate relationship be? checo/max seem to work because they treat each other as co-workers and respect each other. dealing with a driver that is too out spoken could be a PR issue on their end.

again, mclaren seems pretty keen on lando, and they fully treat him as their #1 driver. they recently confirmed they're in talks of contract renewal. so again, he does not really miss in the team car-wise since the car turned out to be a podium worthy contender, but more about his ability to deliver a good quali performance and then translate it into a full blown win