#How to boost engagement with search

[asleepinawell]

Tumblr’s Core Product Strategy

Here at Tumblr, we’ve been working hard on reorganizing how we work in a bid to gain more users. A larger user base means a more sustainable company, and means we get to stick around and do this thing with you all a bit longer. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. The @labs group has published a bit already, but this is bigger. We’re publishing it publicly for the first time, in an effort to work more transparently with all of you in the Tumblr community. This strategy provides guidance amid limited resources, allowing our teams to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblr’s future.

The Diagnosis

In order for Tumblr to grow, we need to fix the core experience that makes Tumblr a useful place for users. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. But this expectation introduces friction to the user experience and only serves a small portion of our audience. 

Tumblr’s competitive advantage lies in its unique content and vibrant communities. As the forerunner of internet culture, Tumblr encompasses a wide range of interests, such as entertainment, art, gaming, fandom, fashion, and music. People come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this culture, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless connection between people and content. 

To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.

Our Guiding Principles

To enhance Tumblr’s usability, we must address these core guiding principles.

Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Improve the platform’s performance, stability, and quality.

Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.

Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Tumblr has a “top of the funnel” issue in converting non-users into engaged logged-in users. We also have not invested in industry standard SEO practices to ensure a robust top of the funnel. The referral traffic that we do get from external sources is dispersed across different pages with inconsistent user experiences, which results in a missed opportunity to convert these users into regular Tumblr users. For example, users from search engines often land on pages within the blog network and blog view—where there isn’t much of a reason to sign up. 

We need to experiment with logged-out tumblr.com to ensure we are capturing the highest potential conversion rate for visitors into sign-ups and log-ins. We might want to explore showing the potential future user the full breadth of content that Tumblr has to offer on our logged-out pages. We want people to be able to easily understand the potential behind Tumblr without having to navigate multiple tabs and pages to figure it out. Our current logged-out explore page does very little to help users understand “what is Tumblr.” which is a missed opportunity to get people excited about joining the site.

Actions & Next Steps

Improving Tumblr’s search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards.

Experiment with logged out tumblr.com to achieve the highest conversion rate for sign-ups and log-ins, explore ways for visitors to “get” Tumblr and entice them to sign up.

Principle 2: Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

We need to ensure the highest quality user experience by presenting fresh and relevant content tailored to the user’s diverse interests during each session. If the user has a bad content experience, the fault lies with the product.

The default position should always be that the user does not know how to navigate the application. Additionally, we need to ensure that when people search for content related to their interests, it is easily accessible without any confusing limitations or unexpected roadblocks in their journey.

Being a 15-year-old brand is tough because the brand carries the baggage of a person’s preconceived impressions of Tumblr. On average, a user only sees 25 posts per session, so the first 25 posts have to convey the value of Tumblr: it is a vibrant community with lots of untapped potential. We never want to leave the user believing that Tumblr is a place that is stale and not relevant. 

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content each time the app is opened.

Make it easier for users to understand where the vibrant communities on Tumblr are. 

Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds. 

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Part of Tumblr’s charm lies in its capacity to showcase the evolution of conversations and the clever remarks found within reblog chains and replies. Engaging in these discussions should be enjoyable and effortless.

Unfortunately, the current way that conversations work on Tumblr across replies and reblogs is confusing for new users. The limitations around engaging with individual reblogs, replies only applying to the original post, and the inability to easily follow threaded conversations make it difficult for users to join the conversation.

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.

Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs. 

Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.

Make it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread. 

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads. 

Explore the feasibility of removing duplicate reblogs within a user’s Following feed. 

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

Creators are essential to the Tumblr community. However, we haven’t always had a consistent and coordinated effort around retaining, nurturing, and growing our creator base.  

Being a new creator on Tumblr can be intimidating, with a high likelihood of leaving or disappointment upon sharing creations without receiving engagement or feedback. We need to ensure that we have the expected creator tools and foster the rewarding feedback loops that keep creators around and enable them to thrive.

The lack of feedback stems from the outdated decision to only show content from followed blogs on the main dashboard feed (��Following”), perpetuating a cycle where popular blogs continue to gain more visibility at the expense of helping new creators. To address this, we need to prioritize supporting and nurturing the growth of new creators on the platform.

It is also imperative that creators, like everyone on Tumblr, feel safe and in control of their experience. Whether it be an ask from the community or engagement on a post, being successful on Tumblr should never feel like a punishing experience.

Actions & Next Steps

Get creators’ new content in front of people who are interested in it. 

Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting.

Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral.

Expand ways to co-create content, such as by adding the capability to embed Tumblr links in posts.

Principle 5: Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Push notifications and emails are essential tools to increase user engagement, improve user retention, and facilitate content discovery. Our strategy of reaching out to you, the user, should be well-coordinated across product, commercial, and marketing teams.

Our messaging strategy needs to be personalized and adapt to a user’s shifting interests. Our messages should keep users in the know on the latest activity in their community, as well as keeping Tumblr top of mind as the place to go for witty takes and remixes of the latest shows and real-life events.  

Most importantly, our messages should be thoughtful and should never come across as spammy.  

Actions & Next Steps

Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.

Address the issue of notifications getting too noisy; throttle, collapse or mute notifications where necessary.  

Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages. 

Test what the right daily push notification limit is. 

Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.

Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.

The stability and performance of our mobile apps have declined. There is a large backlog of production issues, with more bugs created than resolved over the last 300 days. If this continues, roughly one new unresolved production issue will be created every two days. Apps and backend systems that work well and don't crash are the foundation of a great Tumblr experience. Improving performance, stability, and quality will help us achieve sustainable operations for Tumblr.

Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.

Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users. 

Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs.

Conclusion

Our mission has always been to empower the world’s creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that prioritizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we couldn’t be more excited about our current strategy.

[dhrubo-organization]

Social Media Advertising for Sports Brands

How Dhrubo Organization Helps Sports Brands Succeed with Social Media Advertising Social media advertising has become an integral part of any successful marketing strategy, and sports brands are no exception. In fact, sports brands can benefit greatly from social media advertising, as it allows them to engage with their target audience, showcase their products and services, and increase brand…

[wip]

Disabling likes.

Hey, folks! We’ve received numerous questions about disabling likes as a way of forcing people to reblog, so we thought we would put this answer together before WIP takes a short break over the holidays.

Unfortunately, we don’t think we would ever add an option to control likes in the same way we have the option to control reblogs and replies on normal Tumblr blogs. Likes serve an extremely important function as a way for us to understand how to recommend content to others—and it very much affects those algorithms that help power the For You feed, the “Because you liked…” recommendations, and how we sort posts in search results. People engaging with a post in any way—liking, reblogging, replying, Blazing, following—can help boost that post to people who haven’t seen it before.

However, we did make the conscious decision not to include likes in our new Communities feature and instead focus on comments. We may revisit that, but the idea with communities speaks to a need you’re talking about—the desire to have a known group of people who will appreciate your work, instead of throwing it out there to the void and hoping people see it.

We hope you try that out and see if it helps here! Thanks for your question.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Basics: Descriptive Verbs

A verb is a word that’s used to describe an action.

Descriptive verbs - (or strong verbs) are single-word actions that add to the tableau in the reader’s mind, giving it a boost of color and energy.

In many cases, an engaging, vivid verb is more concise and telling than a straightforward, overused one.

The man ran quickly toward the smoke, versus 

The man sprinted toward the smoke.

Weak verbs are simply common ones—words that describe the bare minimum of the action. Sometimes that’s the best way to keep your writing clean and direct, but it can also lead to a lack of color, or personality.

Types of Descriptive Verbs

The most powerful verbs evoke imagery and emotion in the action of the verb itself. A dog doesn’t just eat its food—it gobbles it. The glass doesn’t just break—it shatters.

Questions to consider when replacing your verbs:

Verbs of movement: Movement is especially ripe for descriptive words. Movements communicate how your characters feel, what they want, and how they present themselves to the world. Is your character merely walking along from point a to b? Or do they project more attitude with a saunter or perhaps swagger? Are they in a skipping mood? These movement verbs can also denote a sense of place, and urgency: Depending on the terrain, perhaps they plod through mud or stagger over jagged rocks. Suspicious characters might slink away into the darkness, or scamper just out of reach.

Verbs of stillness: In real life, stillness is never entirely devoid of movement, and is equally revealing. A nervous character doesn’t merely sit, they perch on the edge of their seat. A rude character might slouch in their chair. A character who has just received terrible news may slump on the couch.

Verbs for speech and expression: With dialogue attribution, you could write an entire novel using only “said,” without having to resort to more descriptive verbs like “shouted,” “cried,” or “whimpered.” The best answer is a balance: try to keep your language from jarring the reader out of the story, but considering your character’s intent when searching for the right descriptive verb in dialogue also allows you to quickly deliver more information to the reader. When is a laugh so cruel it becomes more of a snicker, or so unguarded it bursts forth as a guffaw? Muttering a word under the breath might be a sign of dissent, while a whimper is one of surrender. Create volume in your dialogue by introducing sound-oriented synonyms, like whispers or shouts.

When to Use Descriptive Verbs

The best verbs help you hone your prose to give you the effect you wish to achieve. Think about the tone do you want to set—what feelings or mood do you want to evoke? What kind of language will best deliver the story you want to tell?

Reading your work aloud is an excellent way to both hear the sonic effects of your prose and catch awkward repeated sounds or other unintended effects. Read through your writing and make a note of where things feel too slow, or stale.

Where are the moments where your prose stalls out? Highlight all the verbs you’ve used in that section and find stronger words to heighten the tension or enhance the mood of the scene.

Reasons to Use Descriptive Verbs in Writing

Using descriptive verbs is especially useful when considering pacing; active verbs help anchor your writing in the present tense, contributing to the exciting (or suspenseful, emotional, moody, exuberant) tone you might be going for.

Weak verbs, in general, are often supported by adverbs of manner (those descriptive words that end in “-ly”). Good descriptive verbs rid your sentences of the need for too many adverbs, and can also keep state-of-being verbs (like am, is, are, and was, which lead to passive voice) in check.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[cute-sucker]

now you knew that rafe was trouble, that wasn't the issue.

 yet you liked the way he always seemed to know what you wanted. the bag you had been looking at for ages? yours. the cute puppy you always had wanted? yours. did you want that small top in every colour of the shade of pink? yours. 

you liked the way he treated you. as if you were his little bunny, and you acted the part, coming to his office for his lunch, his heavy hand on your mini-skirt, and his hot breath fanning over your shoulder. you would beam at him, and he would smile smugly at you. people would sometimes look over to see you, a cute girl in his domineering stance.  

this was the dream life. he got what he wanted, a nice life with a nice girl. you were wife material, no you were dream girl material. you didn't care that he was a bit mean, or that he would get in your face sometimes. no, he was your dream man. 

after all, everything that he did was for you. the last time you had gotten in trouble with him, which ended up in a scuffle at a bar when a guy looked at you for too long. rafe hadn't asked you to change your outfits - some guys would have, after all, you were wearing a skimpy dress that bunched up at your thighs, and boosted your chest - no, rafe had simply told him to fuck off and to get some manners.

then he had told you to go to the car so he would deal with it. he had come back with blood splattered on his white shirt and a bruised hand. you had felt so bad for him, slowly reaching to hold his hand. sometimes he would brush you off at times like this, but instead, he let out a harsh breath, and let you hold his hand. 

when the two of you reached your house, he had parked the truck to a stop, his steely blue eyes searching yours. his hands cupped your chin, and you felt your heart skip a beat, as you desperately gazed into his eyes "y'know 'm doing this for you? being proactive. being your man. it's what you deserve," 

that had scared you, but you willed yourself to be stronger and nodded eagerly. it was what you deserved. 

as a kook, a trust fund baby, you knew you were going to get handed off to some man, some ravenous man that would take your body as your worth. when your father had told you that rafe cameron was going to be that fine man- you had cried for weeks on end before your blind date. 

your friends had told you he was a hottie, sure but one with a cruel facade. he blew past girls like a chain-smoker would to a pack of cigs. he had that frat boy feeling, and he was older. not too old, but enough for you to feel like a kid compared him. and now here the two of you were, tethering on the line of being engaged and you were scared? sometimes you would stand by the edge of the country club's pool to watch him laugh and scour the area for girls. you would always hide before his eyes reached yours.

but now you couldn't reject him. 

so, you forgot about that time. blocked it out. instead, you decided to throw a party with your girls, stems of cherries in your mouth, and a sweet facade laid out for you. your girls were linda and marry anne. you were the hostess, handing out the drinks, and trying to make sure everyone was happy.

finally, when things calmed down, you found yourself lying by the pool while mary anne recounted her story with the pool boy. the sun felt nice on your skin, as you felt yourself relax. 

marry anne giggled, nails sparking in the light, her bikini top itty bitty as she shimmered closer, "i don't know what to think of him. he's so innocent. nothing like the men we have to cater to. i liked it." then she blushed, "what! stop, don't give me that look."  

linda bit the straw of her drink, and shook her head, "you know what, i don't think the men are a drag, i mean c'mon you know she," linda murmured out dainty finger point at you, "she's had her fair share of men. and now rafe! how nice," she swooned fixing her blond curls.  

it was here that the two of them traded a look. a look that was unwelcome.  

you felt your eyebrows furrow, as you wiggled out of your position, and gave both of them a confused look, "what about him?" 

suddenly things went dead silent, as linda let out a sharp giggle, almost uncomfortable. you felt the hairs on your arm stick up, "guys! what about him?" now you were demanding, as marry anne gave you a pointed look, as linda continued to shake out her hair. 

"okay. well i think he's kinda of a dick? like remember that shit he pulled on in new years?"

you shook your head, sighing, "i thought you guys got over that." 

"he got mad at you trying to kiss a guy for new years! he was practically having sex with that disgusting girl down by the bay." linda blurted out, eyes bugging out of her head. you found your arms wrapped around your waist, feeling defensive. 

"well, i was kinda promised to him? y'know. i shouldn't have tried to kiss that anyway," you murmured out softly. at this linda let out a laugh, to which marry anne silenced her. 

"listen honey, i think you should be careful. promised or not. you have freedoms, and rights as a girl," marry anne continued, with a raised eyebrow, "and me for one- i would not be able to handle a man like that-oh-"

a hand snaked behind ur shoulder, and you turned around to face the person a beam on your face. "hey!" you giggled out before realising rafe was there. he was wearing that white shirt that made you go crazy for him, and while you wondered why he was there; he had a strange look on his face.

"mary anne, linda, nice to see ya guys. taking care of my girl? i bet you are." rafe muttered, turning back to look at you. you were practically ready to jump into his arms, a clear pout on your face. it was almost as if he knew that you needed him. 

you sighed, and leaned into him, before whispering something into his ear. "don't wanna be here anymore." 

at this, you saw rafe's eyes flash with anger, before grinning that snarky smile you knew so well. all of a sudden you were straddled on his lap, like a little girl as you played with his rings. he was inspecting lina and mary anne with a look of predators. "so, what are you guys talking about?" 

linda quickly blurted out, "nothing! nothing at all. y'know what, i think anne and i should go. gotta an appointment at 5." mary anne looked close to rolling her eyes, but nodded before getting into more discussion. their smiles looked fake, as they gave you a quick wave, and ran as quick as their heels could take them.

you found yourself lying in rafe's lap, completely tired. he was brushing out the baby hairs out of your face, before softly dropping a kiss on your forehead. you exhaled, wiggling closer to him. he was never like this. so full of love to share. 

"gonna make you mine, all right?" he whispered in your ear, before nipping at your jaw, "gonna give you my kids, a house full of them, and some better friends, bun. you're the sweetest." 

and just like that any thought of leaving him was gone. 

[maxxxineminxxx]

I wanna be more || eddie munson

Part two : https://www.tumblr.com/maxxxineminxxx/731064587980521472/i-wanna-be-more-part-2-eddie-munson

warnings : jealousy, angst, fluff and cursing.

paring: y/n x Eddie Munson

summary: Y/n tells Eddie she wants to join the cheer squad he has a bad reaction at first but then he calms down. y/n thinks everything is fine until she sees her replacement standing at eddies locker. they look close?

a/n : I'm thinking about uploading a part two but i kind of hate this lmao.

In the halls of school, you tuned out the chatter of passing faces, finding solace within your close circle of friends, Hellfire. They were your everything, your unbreakable bond. Yet, starting senior year, you’ve felt like you need more experiences and friends. This is why you have chosen to join the cheerleading team. Since forever you’ve wanted to be a cheerleader, to rally for your team at sports events, and soak in the electrifying atmosphere. This final year of high school arrives and your determined to make the most out of every moment. Your just not sure how well Eddie is going to react once you tell him.

The noisy cafeteria buzzes with activity as you find a seat. The clatter of trays, the hum of conversation, and the occasional burst of laughter create a lively atmosphere. You settle into your seat at the lunch table, greeted by the familiar faces of your friends. The conversation flows around you, but your mind is preoccupied with the weight of the news you need to share with Eddie. You take a deep breath, trying to find the right moment. As you engage in the conversation you steal glances at Eddie, searching for the right opening. Finally, as the conversation dips into a lull, you catch Eddie's eye and motion for him to join you for a moment. Taking another deep breath, you prepare to share the news with him, hoping for understanding and support.

“WHAT?’’ Eddie screams across the cafeteria. Yeah, you figured he wasn't going to take this well.

“I want to try out new things Eds” you explain to him with pleading eyes hoping he understands.

You've observed Eddie's feelings towards the cheerleaders, and it's clear he's had negative experiences with them in the past. However, there's a glimmer of hope in Chrissy, who stands out as a kind and considerate person. You hold onto this as you approach Eddie. To explain that they are not all bad.

“I know what you're thinking, you're thinking I'm going to turn into one of them. I promise you I won't ever be like that besides look at Chrissy. She hangs out with them daily and she's as sweet as can be.” He lets out a big sigh and gives you a stern look.

“You are still coming to hellfire, and you have to promise you won't ever miss a meeting or campaign.” He says whilst embracing you into a tight hug. “I’ll come support you at try-outs, I'll even bring a sign.” he laughs and places his hands onto your cheeks. Looking into your eyes adoringly

“It's going to say, go y/n you're a superstar!” he teases, squishing your cheeks together making your lips look like a fish, whilst laughing loudly. You push his hands away and try to run away from him.

“Please god no, you can watch but no signs, cheering or whistling.”

“Whistling?” he says acting confused.

“I know you Eddie Munson and I don't want a peep coming out of that mouth”.

He gestures a zipped mouth. As you resume your seat at the table, the conversation shifts gears towards brainstorming new campaign ideas. The atmosphere becomes more focused and animated, with everyone eager to contribute their thoughts.

The nervous energy in the gymnasium is loud as you enter. However, seeing Eddie's smiling face in the crowd offers a reassuring boost of confidence. His presence is a source of comfort, and you know that he's there to support you.

To your surprise, the girls on the team welcome you warmly. They shower you with compliments on your appearance, instantly putting you at ease. Their kindness and willingness to help with the choreography made me feel welcomed. It’s a pleasant surprise to encounter such a supportive and friendly group.

As you begin to practice and interact with the team, you realize that this experience might be more enjoyable and fulfilling than you initially thought. The positive atmosphere and warm reception from everyone make you feel like your part of a team that genuinely cares about one another. This realization boosts your confidence and eases any remaining nerves.

You got accepted to be on the team and you ran straight to eddie.

“Guess who's a cheerleader now?” you said , buzzing with excitement.

Eddie's excitement is contagious, and without a moment's hesitation, he pulls you into a tight embrace. You can feel his genuine happiness radiating through the hug, and it's as if the world spins around you both. Laughter bubbles up from both of you, filling the gymnasium with a light and joyous energy. He whispered a million congratulations in your ear. As we pulled away from the hug He looked like he had something on his mind. Something important to tell you but he quickly shook the expression off and went back to congratulating you.

“We should celebrate over milkshakes, my treat okay?” he said, brushing a piece of your hair behind your ear. You looked up at him with a smile, the kind of smile you made whenever you were about to cause trouble. ”Race you to the car” you said, running out of the gymnasium and sprinting to the car. Suddenly, you feel strong hands on your waist, and before you know it, you're lifted off the ground. You let out a surprised laugh, feeling weightless for a moment. It's Eddie, his laughter mixing with yours as he playfully swings you around. “Gotcha” he whispers in your ear. He opens the passenger door and gestures for you to get in with a bow.

We arrived at benny's burger bar and ordered two chocolate milkshakes

“Carol, you know the one with the short blonde hair, well she invited me to a party to celebrate me joining the team i'm not sure if i'll even go it'll probably just be a bunch of jocks making out ” you rambled on while sipping on your milkshake, he let out a loud laugh causing everyone in the diner to look at us. After he composed himself he finally spoke.

“Maybe go for an hour then see how you feel and if you're not having fun or something happens call me okay. please?” he grabbed your hand from across the table giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I will, I promise.” You stayed silent for a moment

‘’You know you could always come with me” “nope” “eddie come on please” “not happening sweetheart” you crossed your arms and gave him a defeated look with a pout

you could tell he was trying to hold in his laughter.

The evening continues in a warm and comfortable manner. Eddie pays for the milkshakes, a gesture that makes you grateful. As you leave the diner, you walk hand in hand, a familiar and affectionate gesture between you two. It's not the first time that people have mistaken you for a couple, but you're both used to it by now. Eddie would always brush it off when someone would ask if the two of you were together but you couldn't help but want him to say yes. You wanted him to want you as something more than just his best friend.

The drive back is filled with easy conversation and shared laughter. Eddie drops you off at your house just in time for your curfew, a small but thoughtful detail that shows how much he cares. Eddie's thoughtfulness has always been a defining trait in your friendship. It's those extra gestures, like paying for milkshakes or making sure you get home on time, that make him stand out. It's not just about the big moments, but also the small, thoughtful gestures that make you feel valued and cherished in your friendship with Eddie. Like when you were young and he would paint your right hand nails with polish because you were still figuring out how to paint with your left hand. So he would try to do it for you, he would always give you the last slice of pizza even if you were full and the way he always made sure you were okay.

The street lights cast a soft, golden glow on the pavement, creating a serene atmosphere. You stand on the doorstep, reluctant to say goodbye after such a wonderful evening. As you bid Eddie goodnight, you're filled with a sense of contentment and gratitude for the special friendship you share. Waving and blowing kisses at him as he drives away.

At times, you found yourself wondering whether Eddie shared the same sentiments you had towards your relationship. You yearned for him to perceive you as something beyond just a friend.

Because every time you pictured yourself with anyone it was always him.

you had not seen Eddie all weekend, normally he would call or come over but not this weekend apparently. You went over to his trailer on Sunday but nobody was home, he normally went out of town with his uncle a couple times of the year so you assumed it was just that.

Entering the school halls, a subtle shift came over you. Adorned in your cheerleading attire to match the other girls, with your hair elegantly curled, you became a beacon of attention. It was as if every gaze was directed towards you, but in a most positive and affirming manner. You walked towards hellfire to say hi, but you were dragged away by carol who started introducing you to the cheerleaders.

“So are you coming to the party tonight? If you are, come to mine before we are all going to get ready together.” she said whilst reapplying her lip gloss.

“Okay yeah I will” you replied buzzing with excitement. She smiled and complimented your hair. You felt overjoyed at this new attention you were getting.

Turning towards Eddie's locker you saw a girl standing beside him she had a hellfire shirt on, loads of piercings and raven black hair. Eddie hand his hand on her waist and was smiling brightly at her. All of the hellfire members were staring at her as if she hung the moon.

You felt a wave of hurt rush over yourself. Carol turned to you and followed your gaze. Along with Olivia and Layla who were very close with carol and were also on the team.

“that’s the new girl Olivia was talking about I think her name is Roxanne or something. Apparently she’s a total loser, Wouldn’t be surprised.” Carol said with a laugh.

"apparently they have been seen hanging out all weekend" Layla said as she looked at the pair with disgust

“I heard she’s joining hellfire, which is like the worst thing you could ever do no offense y/n” Olivia said whilst fixing her hair. “Your pretty so you can get away with the whole nerdy thing” she slammed her locker shut.

“Yeah, some of us aren’t that lucky” carol said staring at Roxanne with a smirk.

As the bell echoed through the halls, you said bye to the girls and quickly rushed off to the bathroom. Fixing your hair and reapplying your lip-gloss. You stared at yourself in the bathroom mirror replaying the scene you had just seen. Why was he looking at her like that. Shes why he didnt call.

You hadn't really seen Eddie all day except once at lunch. He was avoiding you and you knew that because every time you would walk up to him to say hi he would bolt the other way. He was sitting with hellfire at their lunch table, all of them laughing together. your heart swelled with relief as you caught sight of him. There he stood, a beacon of happiness, his face lit up with a radiant smile that seemed to chase away any lingering doubts or worries. It was as if his joy was contagious, enveloping the space around us with a warm and inviting glow. He was talking to Gareth and throwing his head back with laughter, but as you walked over to the table, you noticed her sitting next to him. In your spot. So, you did what any mature teenage girl would do. And instead of confronting her.

you walked straight past the table and headed over to the jocks table. Deciding to sit with them instead because when the cheerleaders saw you walk towards their table their smiles grew and they made space for you to sit with them. You felt wanted and included here. you looked over at Eddie and to your surprise he was already looking at you. Your smile faded once you saw his expression. He looked hurt. You saw Roxanne holding onto eddies arm and you looked away.

Were they dating? No way its been like 3 days. Maybe they have known eachother for longer? where did they even meet? why did he like her? You were so lost in your thoughts you didn’t notice Chrissy talking to you.

“y/n are you even listening right now” Layla another cheerleader said with a pout as she stared at you waiting for you to reply. “Yeah, sorry what were you guys saying?”

“Does my hair look flat” they all said in union. You shook your head fighting the urge to laugh.

Turning your gaze back to Eddie, you observed him and Roxanne sharing a moment of genuine happiness. Their laughter danced through the air, painting the scene with vibrant hues of joy. You watched as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and winked at her. you needed to get over this crush now.

but you missed the way that when you looked away from Eddie his gaze and attention was all on you.

[bloatedandalone04]

Romance is (not) Dead

➪the one where ethan is your boyfriend and you’re his alibi.

Warning: spoilers for scream vi, blood, swearing, making out, mentions of blood, mentions of death, character death, you're literally dating a killer, mentions of smut, possessive ethan, lowkey yandere ethan

Word Count: 4.3k

Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine <3

Man, did you hate frat parties. Especially the one you were at now. 

These ones were the worst; the loud music, the smell of booze and smoke, the overly confident (and unbelievably unattractive) men, the horrid dancing. 

No fucking thanks.

Maybe you weren’t like most college students as you didn’t enjoy partying all that much and would rather stay in studying or watching whatever movie you felt like that night, but what can you do? 

This was definitely not your scene. 

And it was definitely not your boyfriend’s scene, either. 

You slouched against the uncomfortable cushion of the couch, your arm pressed to Mindy’s as the space was limited. Anika’s legs were draped over both yours and her girlfriend’s as they talked between themselves, effectively cutting you out of the conversation you didn’t want to take part in to begin with.

Looking around the room, you tried to locate Ethan and came to the conclusion that he was no longer in it. He and Chad must’ve wandered off in search of alcohol or something else to keep them entertained. 

You tip the cup in your hand, seeing that it was still half full, and reach over to put it on the table beside the couch. Standing up, you push Anika’s legs off yours and wince at the cracking sound that came from your knee. 

Had you really been sitting for that long?

“Hey,” Anika called out to you once she felt the push you gave her legs. “Where are you going?”

Mindy answered for you, “Probably to go find her boyfriend,”

You shrugged, paying no mind to the teasing wiggle of her brows. “What if I am?” You ask, matching her tone. “What, you’re the only one allowed to get any action tonight?”

Mindy raised her hands in defense. “Hey, I’m not judging,” she said. “And TMI, by the way.”

You rolled your eyes, grabbing your jacket from off the couch. “I had to sit next to you two making out every five minutes and I’m the one who is giving out too much information?”

Mindy looked at Anika then back at you. “Point taken,” she agreed and wrapped her arm around Anika’s shoulders. “Go on, then.”

Shaking your head, you bid them both a goodbye and take off in search of your boyfriend. You find him in another room with Chad, and already you could see that his roommate was trying to boost his confidence. 

You lean against the doorframe and watch as Chad pushes Ethan forward and towards a group of girls. A heat burns in your bones as Ethan shakes his head and turns away, only to be pushed back by Chad, this time with his arm around his shoulders as he did the talking for him.

It was as if Chad didn’t care that Ethan had a girlfriend, you, and wanted him to talk, and probably flirt, with as many girls as he could without you being in the room.

Fucking Chad.

The girls laughed at whatever Chad said to them before turning away from the guys, no longer engaging in a conversation with them. 

You smirk to yourself at that. Ethan really didn’t know how to flirt, and it was a miracle he somehow worked up the courage to ask you out a year and some ago. 

Ethan went to the same high school as you, and in your senior year he built up enough confidence to ask you out on a date. Well, sort of. He saw you rummaging around your locker and walked up to you, a folded piece of paper in his hand. When you noticed the cute boy from your English class leaning on the locker next to yours, you offered him a smile. He smiled back before handing you the note and you took it from him, a quirk in your brow as you read the messy handwriting. 

It was one of those cheesy I like you, will you go out on a date with me? questions, completed with two boxes, one for yes and one for no. 

You shook your head and reached up, grabbing a pen off the top shelf of your locker. Scribbling a quick check mark onto the box next to the yes, you hand the paper back to him and watch as a smile forms on his face and from then on it was history.

You were brought back to reality when your eyes met his and you can see the excitement swimming in the brown irises, his roommate quickly forgotten about as he walked away from him and towards you. 

He took off the cheap head piece of his costume and held it in one hand, using his other to make a mess of his flattened out hair. 

Once it was a perfect mess of curls, he stood before you in all his glory. “Hey, hotness,” you greet him, crossing your arms as you continue to lean against the door frame. It was as if the whole house had quieted down just for the sake of you starting a conversation with your lover, and you nodded at the group of girls that had obviously turned down his unwanted advances. “New girlfriends?”

Ethan shook his head, leaning down to press a quick kiss to your cheek. “Yeah, right,” he answered, towering over you and looking you up and down. He was with you when you dressed yourself in the angel costume that included a white dress, wings and a halo, as you got ready at his place and walked to the party together, but that didn’t change the fact that you looked unbelievably hot, even more than usual. You had long since ditched the accessories, now only being left in the dress, fishnet stockings and your black ankle boots. “You know, I think Chad does a better job at embarrassing me rather than boosting my confidence.”

You laugh quietly, shaking your head as you tug him closer by the waistline of his pants. “Poor you,” you murmur, tilting your head up so you can look him in the eye. “Guess you’ll just have to settle for me.”

Ethan gave you a sly smirk, leaning down to reduce the gap between the two of you. “Who’s settling for who?”

You shake your head with a grin, draping your arms around his shoulders and leaning up on the tips of your toes. Pressing your lips to his, you kiss him slowly, unknowingly taking his breath away and he drops the headpiece to grip your waist, pushing you closer to the frame. 

Space became limited between the two of you and you had no room to arch your back like you normally did, so you settled on pressing flat up against the wood, your hands tugging Ethan closer by his biceps. 

If there was one thing you loved most about him, it was the confidence he gained whenever he was with you. He was his true self when he was alone, or in this case, ignored with you. No one paid any attention to you, continuing their conversations or just walking past one of the many couples making out. It was like the world became just the two of yours and everyone else didn’t matter anymore.��

With that being said, you would much rather be doing this somewhere more private, preferably in the comfort of his apartment as you knew Chad wouldn’t be there, but that still didn’t stop you from deepening the kiss by gripping the sides of Ethan’s face and tilting your head for better access. 

In the midst of it all, you don’t notice the quiet, hardly audible thud of your green jacket falling to the floor as Ethan twists the fabric of your white dress in his hands. His tongue runs along the length of your lower lip, and before you could part it from your top one, Ethan is tugged away slightly by Chad.

He muttered something about Tara and then he was gone, disappearing further into the house. 

Ethan sighed out of annoyance and lifted his hand to wipe away the smeared lipstick from your chin, his thumb lingering on your bottom lip before he took your hand in his, following the path that Chad cleared. You couldn’t wipe the giddy smile from your face as you place your free hand on your boyfriend’s forearm, allowing him to guide you in whatever direction he believed Chad took off in.

That wasn’t your first heated make out at a party, and it wouldn’t be your last, but it still left you breathless and with an ache that you only wanted Ethan to relieve. 

However, when you see the concerned look that both Anika and Mindy wore, you quickly forget about your own needs and instead ask, “What is going on?”

“We’re trying to stop Tara from going upstairs with this loser,” Mindy told you, her eyes never leaving the man beside your friend. Chad was on the first step while Tara and the guy were a few above him, and she was doing a really bad job at acting like she wanted to go anywhere with this guy.

“I’m fine, guys,” Tara insisted, though you could still hear the doubtfulness in her voice. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Tara, don’t go with him,” Chad said, daring to move onto the second step.

“Yeah, just come back to the party,” you add, lacing your fingers with Ethan’s. “It is downstairs, after all.”

What happened next happened in a blur. Tara was tugged back on the steps, causing her to fall over, Chad pulled the guy away from her, Sam showed up out of nowhere and tased him in his…well, let’s just say that the area she tased him in had him on the floor within seconds. Tara yelled at her older sister and fled the house and everyone followed them outside. 

Before you could leave the house, Ethan told you to stay by the door while he went to go grab something. When he returned with your jacket in his hands, you didn’t bother holding back the smile that took over your face as he threw it over your shoulders before taking your hand again. 

You probably would’ve forgotten it had he not gone back for it, and you couldn’t be more grateful as the temperature you were met with once you stepped outside wasn’t exactly warm. At this point, you didn’t care about the whereabouts of the rest of your costume as they were cheap accessories that could easily be replaced, so you didn’t mind leaving them behind. 

You met back up with the group just as Sam got a drink thrown at her and been called a murderer by a group of girls. After yet another bicker between the sisters, Tara walks off with the others following behind her, leaving Sam to stand by herself. 

As you begin to tug Ethan in the direction of the others, he stops beside Sam, fumbling around in his pocket for something. “Here,” he said, holding the white fabric up. “Sorry, I only have, like, three tissues.”

You held back a laugh as Sam grabbed them from him, glaring at the two of you as she uselessly wiped at her soaked chest. Tugging on his hand again, you leave her behind as you walk the short distance back to his apartment. 

When you were in the privacy of Ethan’s room, you shrug off your jacket and sit down on his bed, leaning against the headboard and stretching your legs out in front of you. “Chad’s not home,” you point out the obvious and make sure to have a sultry tone to your voice. 

“No, he’s not,” Ethan replied, taking off the rest of the knight costume and dropping it by the growing laundry pile by the desk. “He probably went to check on Tara at her place.”

You nod as he sat next to you, his fingers trailing down your legs until they reached the zipper of your boots. “So, what I’m hearing is,” you trial off as he unzipped your boots and slid them off of you. He had his eyes on your legs, focusing on his task of ridding you of as many articles as he could, but the curve in his brow told you he was listening. “We’re all alone?”

Ethan dropped your boots to the floor, the thud sounding throughout the quiet room as he nodded, meeting your eyes. “Mhmm,”

You lean back on your elbows, watching as he moved so he was hovering over you. “We should really go see if she’s okay,” you say but make no move to stop what is bound to happen if one of you doesn’t pull away within the next few seconds. “You know, just to be sure.”

Ethan hums in agreement, situating himself between your legs, his hand sliding up your dress to tug at the hem of the stockings. “Yeah, we probably should go check on her,” he mumbled as he ghosted his lips over yours. “And the others.”

“Agreed,” you nearly whisper as your hands tug at his shirt, your hips bucking up into his just slightly. It was enough to soothe the ache you both were beginning to feel, much like how you felt earlier with him at the party.  “But we’re not going to, are we?”

He hummed, shaking his head before connecting your lips.

-

You were sitting with your back pressed against the headboard, a blanket covering your naked body and your phone in your hands. You scrolled through one of the articles posted about the killings that happened earlier in the night, which something you had no clue even happened. 

Ethan was at the end of the bed, half dressed as he couldn’t be bothered to put his shirt back on at the moment. 

Just as you were about to inform him of the two students that were killed, Chad bursted into the room. “Tara and Sam were just attacked,” he said. “Where the hell were you and where the hell is-” he cut himself off when he saw your bare shoulders peeking out from under the blanket and the annoyed face you gave him.

Ethan cursed him out as he moved back to block your body from Chad’s view. “Jesus, don’t you know how to knock?” He asked angrily, grabbing a grey shirt from off the floor and giving it to you. 

“Um, yes, I do,” Chad mumbled, embarrassed at what he just walked into. “To be honest, I was coming in here to accuse you of being the one who attacked them, but I see you’ve been…busy with something else.”

“Yeah?” Ethan asked as he pulled a grey henley over his head. “What gave you that idea?”

“Yeah, heh,” Chad trailed off, scratching the back of his neck. “I guess you don’t need me to be your wingman afterall, huh?”

When neither you or Ethan laughed, Chad cleared his throat and shook his head, pointing behind him with his thumb.

“Um, Mindy wants us all to go to Tara and Sam’s place,” he said. “So we’re all together and no one becomes suspicious of one another.”

“Really?” You scoff as you put the shirt on and throw the blanket off you. “Is this what our life has become?” You ask no one in particular and take the pair of sweatpants Ethan held out to you. 

He shrugged and covered your body with his as best as he could as Chad let out an awkward laugh. “Yeah, you know what?” He slowly backed out of the room, making both you and Ethan look over at him. “I’ll just see you guys over there, okay?”

You rolled your eyes when he closed the door again, sitting up straight once you were dressed. “I seriously can’t stand your roommate, you know that?”

While you began moving various blankets and pillows on the bed in search for your phone, you become too distracted to hear the way Ethan agreed with you, mumbling a quiet, “Yeah, me either,”

-

You had nearly dozed off multiple times during Mindy’s rant about the rules of horror movies and how to narrow down the suspects. You had your chin pressed to your hand that was resting on Ethan’s shoulder, your eyes feeling heavier as she continued to ramble. When she mentioned that newcomers, aka new friends, are most likely the killer, you lifted your head and furrowed your brows. “I’m sorry, but I don’t see how I could be the killer,” you say and gesture over to where Sam was sitting. “I don’t even know her.”

“All the more reason you could be out to get her. You have no connection, but you’re friends with Tara, who was also attacked,” Mindy said, her eyes cold and accusing. “Now that I think of it, where were you when Sam and Tara were attacked? Everyone was at their place except for you.”

Before Chad could interrupt his sister’s interrogation and come to your defense, Ethan grabbed your hand. “She was with me last night,”

Mindy glared at him. “And where were you?” 

“At home,” Ethan answered. “In my room.”

“TMI,” Mindy shook her head, taking her eyes off the two of you.

“It is true, though,” Chad said after a few seconds, raising his hand as if he were answering a question. “I might have accidentally walked in on them.”

You give him a sarcastic smile and stand up. “There, it wasn’t either of us,” you say and tug on your boyfriend’s hand. “Can we go now? This is boring.”

Mindy squinted her eyes at you before shrugging. “Fine,” she said. “But I’ve got my eye on both of you.”

“Maybe you should have your eye on your girlfriend, too,” you point out and hear Anika scoff. “She’s also a newcomer.”

“Yeah, okay,” Anika muttered. “And maybe you should care more about your so-called friends rather than slutting it up with your boyfriend.”

You rolled your eyes at that, the words hardly affecting you and you pulled on Ethan’s hand, not noticing how his eyes were cold and hard. He glared at Anika, her harsh words about you playing on repeat in his head, before he let you lead him away from the group. 

-

At the sound of Quinn and her boyfriend going at it, you regret not asking Ethan if you could go with him to econ. Earlier you were sitting next to him on the Carpenter couch and were prepared to fall asleep with your head on his shoulder when he got a text. 

You were too distracted by his phone wallpaper, which was a picture of the two of you on your third date, to see what the text he had received said. He gave you a chaste kiss, mumbling something about needing to go and the word econ before he was gone. 

Now, still on the couch, you were sitting next to Anika as she flipped through the channels on the TV. At the sound of four distinct phones going off, you sat up and watched as Sam, Tara, Mindy and Chad stood up from their chairs at the table and ran towards Quinn’s room.

This made both you and Anika stand up as well and follow after them, all six of you pausing outside the closed door. “What is going on?” As soon as you asked that, the door was pulled open and Quinn’s bloodied body was thrown at Anika. The force of the body took her to the floor and chaos erupted as the killer, dressed in a black robe and mask, stepped out of the room. 

They sliced up Mindy’s arm as Chad and Tara ran out of the apartment completely, leaving the four of you behind. The killer turned to you and you let out a small scream as they grabbed onto your arms and threw you into Quinn’s room. 

You landed on the floor with a harsh thud, a jolt of pain shooting down your arm. You watched in horror as they picked up Anika and plunged the knife into her stomach, twisting it and sliding it upwards. Sam came running out of the kitchen with a knife block in her hands and she slammed it against the head of the killer, making them fall to the floor with a grunt. 

“Guys, in here,” you yelled out and got up quickly, pulling them into the room with you. Sam slammed and locked the door, telling Mindy to do the same to the bathroom door. When she came face to face with ghostface, she tried closing the door before they got in, but failed to do so. She instead opted for the other door and slammed that one, but everyone knew it wouldn’t be long until it was broken through. 

It was then that Sam opened the window and secured the end of a ladder to the frame, successfully creating an escape route into the apartment next to hers. “You go first,” you say as you help Mindy hold the dresser against the door. After a quick debate, Sam finally gave in and began crawling across the ladder, yelling at the three of you once she was on the other side. 

“You next,” Mindy said to you and you shook your head, nearly losing your balance when the killer gave a particularly hard shove to the door. “Yes, go. I got Anika. Go.”

At this point, ghostface had his arm in the room and began swinging it around. As you gave Mindy a nod, the blade sliced against your back, cutting the shirt you were wearing as well as a layer or two of skin. 

You cry out in pain and rush towards the window. You avoided looking down as best as you could, listening to Danny and Sam’s words of encouragement as you crawled as fast as you could across the ladder. Danny easily pulled you into his apartment once you were in reaching distance, and the three of you began yelling for Mindy and Anika. 

Mindy made it across and Anika would’ve, too, had her wound not worsened and had she not wasted too much time crying over how high up she was. She was about half way when the killer finally broke into the room and walked to the window. They dropped the knife and grabbed onto the ladder, swaying it in a mocking manner. Anika cried out once she was about half way, giving up on trying to crawl the rest of the way.

What none of you knew, at that moment, was how the degrading words Anika had spit at you earlier played through Ethan’s mind, making his hold on the ladder tighten. He stopped moving it for just a second before gathering the strength he needed and flipping it onto its side, sending Anika falling several stories down. Her head slammed off a dumpster before her body fell limp a few seconds later, her lifeless face staring up at the four of you.

-

The sun was glaring down at you as you sat in the back of the ambulance. The paramedic examines your arm after she places a large bandage on your back, successfully stopping the blood flow from the cut. She came to the conclusion that your elbow was sprained and after she finished wrapping it in a sling, your eyes met a familiar pair of brown ones. 

Ethan ducks under the caution tape as you quickly stand up and take off in his direction. He drops his bag to the ground as you throw yourself at him, not caring about the pain that shoots up your arm at the force of your body hitting his. You wrap your free arm around his shoulders, pulling him down into as you cry, your fingers tangling in his hair. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there,” he said, guilt evident in his voice. “Are you okay?” He asked quickly, hearing you whimper in response. 

You shake your head and he wraps his arms around you protectively, eyeing the body bag in the alley way with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Chad makes his way over to the two of you, his defensive side coming out. “Where the hell were you last night?”

“Back off, man,” Ethan muttered, standing up straight and keeping his arm around your shoulders. “I had econ. Ask anyone I was with last night.”

Chad scoffed. “You were the only one who wasn’t here last night,”

You had grown tired of the countless accusations thrown around and lifted your head to glare at Chad through teary eyes. “Would you give it a rest?” You ask angrily. “I think I would know if my boyfriend of almost two years is going around killing people.”

“I thought the same thing,” Sam mumbled as she stood next to Chad. “But I was wrong.”

“Guys, come on,” Ethan sighed, feeling like he was being backed into a corner but not letting his defensive side come out. It would give everything away. “I already told you where I was. Ask one of the hundred people who I was with.”

At that Chad and Sam backed off, walking away with heavy shoulders.

You press your head against his chest once they leave, small whimpers still escaping your lips. Ethan holds you tightly, his eyes narrowing at the cut in your shirt and the glimpse of the white bandage he could see under it. 

He presses a kiss to the top of your head as he stares at the Carpenter sisters and the twins, his eyes holding a deadly glare. 

It’ll all be over soon. He thinks to himself. 

And when it is, it’ll just be you and him - just like how it always had and always will be.

-

Thank you all SO MUCH for the love and support I received on the teaser. It blew my mind as I truly wasn't expecting it :') I hope you all enjoyed this <3 (ps. I tried to make it as accurate as possible to the movie, but I have a terrible memory heha.)

I don't normally tag people, but since you asked ;) @anonoussy

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

𓅨 The Endless’ Adventure with Animal Control: Chapter One

The Endless’ Adventure with Animal Control: You are being courted by Morpheus, one of the seven Endless. Then you get stood up on your date, and find out the shocking reason why.

Warnings: None.

To Note: Morpheus x Reader, Destiny = Russian Blue, Death = Sphinx, Dream = Mainecoon, Desire = Bombay, Despair = Exotic Shorthair, Delirium = Bengal.

Word Count: ~3.4k

Masterlist | Next

Apparently, having an Endless ‘court’ you means being showered with attention, gifts, and being treated like royalty while visiting the Dreaming. A quick Google search makes your situation clear. Courting is basically dating with the intention to marry, the step before engagement. So, you’ve essentially told Dream of the Endless he could court you and potentially marry you. Wow, you really have a knack for getting yourself into situations!

On the bright side, you enjoy the intimate time spent with Morpheus as he shows you places within the Dreaming you’d never imagined. Despite all the ethereal beauty and wonder you gaze at, Morpheus always keeps his eyes on you. That makes you feel special, beautiful, and seen—a first in your life.

It’s also an ego boost for the Endless to watch you fawn over his creations, as there’s nothing you don’t find awe-inspiring or amazing.

Morpheus’ courtship sweeps you up in a romantic swirl of magical dreams, picnics, and strolls, making you feel like you’re living a never-ending fairytale. But fairytales always end, right? You don’t think it’s going to crash and burn; you’re just suspicious of how well things are going in your life. Nothing has ever been this smooth and easy for this long. You’re suspicious, to say the least. That’s how you find yourself absentmindedly stirring muffin batter while lost in thought.

“Hey, uh, Y/N?” Matthew chitters, his head cocking to the side. “I think you’re over-stirring the batter…” You blink out of your tumultuous thoughts and glance down at the bowl. Damn it.

“It’s banana muffins,” you mutter, trying to hype yourself up. “They’re forgiving… right?” Matthew has no idea if banana muffins are forgiving, as he doesn’t bake, but he remembers that over-stirring muffin batter is a kitchen no-no.

“No idea, but sure, they’ll taste good either way,” the raven replies from his perch on the window sill. You installed a little bird perch for him after Morpheus began courting you. Matthew cocks his head further at you while you spoon the batter into the muffin tray. “So, you’ve been really lost in your thoughts lately, Y/N. Something wrong?”

You don’t reply at first, choosing to collect your thoughts while spooning dollops of batter. With a more than necessary drawn-out soft sigh, you finally reply:

“I feel like I’m in a fairy tale,” you explain almost numbly, realizing that admitting your thoughts out loud makes them true. “A stupid Disney fairy tale where all my wishes and dreams come true.”

Listening to your softly spoken words, Matthew is confused by how down you seem about those words. You’re happy with your life, right? It sure seems like it with the way you smile when Morpheus is with you—you practically glow! Clearly, everything isn’t fine in reality.

“What’s wrong with that?” Matthew broaches, ruffling his wings. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Fairy tales come to an end, Matthew, and I’m starting to wonder when mine will do the same.” You reply with a shrug, setting aside the now empty bowl and grabbing the filled muffin tray. “I’m not going to pretend that this is going to last forever. Nothing in my life has ever been without problems or heartbreak.”

“What exactly are you saying? Things are going too well between you and the boss man?”

“Pretty much,” you say, putting the tray in the oven and setting the timer. “I mean, do you know what it means to court someone? It isn’t dating, Matthew.”

“Uh, you’re gonna have to clarify for me because I have no idea what courting even is…” the raven responds sheepishly. You lean back against the kitchen counter and stare out the window.

“It means you get to know someone with the intention of marriage,” you explain to the raven, feeling silly for even saying the words. In what dimension would an Endless want to marry you?

“Wow, boss, you’re really going for it,”

Sitting on the park bench where you’ve spent countless hours next to a certain brooding man, your jaw clenches and fingers grip the worn wood tightly. Morpheus is never late. In fact, it always seems like he waits for you to arrive. He’s always careful never to have you wait on him and extends every chance he has to spend more time with you. So why isn’t he at your meeting place today?

Perhaps something has come up in the Dreaming, and he had to tend to that incident first? No, Matthew would have come to inform you of such an event. You spend many of your waking hours in the raven’s presence, and he keeps you well informed about what’s going on in the Dreaming. They wouldn’t leave you sitting all by yourself on this bench wondering...

“Maybe I was right,” you softly speak to yourself, thinking back to the conversation you had with Matthew about how your life is a fairy tale. Perhaps this is the great end you’ve been expecting? No, Morpheus wouldn’t do that to you. He dotes on you like a loyal boyfriend and worships the ground you tread! If you and he were going to end your relationship, no doubt it would be an explosive event with anger and tears. Not this nothingness. “They wouldn’t do this to me, they wouldn’t do this to us.”

You repeat those words in your mind, trying to convince yourself that nothing is wrong and that, for once, Morpheus and Matthew are distracted by something to miss your bi-weekly date at the park. Tonight you’ll enter the Dreaming and hunt down Lucienne to find out what happened. An Endless hellbent on courting you like a queen wouldn’t ghost you.

Sighing in dejection, you rise from your seat and stuff your hands in your pockets. Clearly, your date is going to have to be postponed. So you turn and slowly begin walking back towards your home, trying not to let your mind turn upon itself. Following the winding path, you pass a group of children kicking around a soccer ball and a pair of gossiping women. The pathway bends around a group of trees that obscure the rest of the park, and while you glance at a flowering bush, a cacophony of birds and breaking branches startles you out of your inner thoughts. You look up in time to see a black mass of ruffled feathers shooting directly at you and take the bird straight in the chest.

Obviously, you fall on your ass with a less-than-graceful yelp. While your palms sting from rocks and gravel digging into your flesh, you grunt and shift into a sitting position as the black bird rights itself.

“We’ve got a MASSIVE problem, boss lady!!” Matthew thunders from where he’s still perched in your lap, feathers askew and very ruffled. You blink at him in surprise, wondering why the hell he would be pulling such a stunt in broad daylight around the public. But before the flustered raven can tell you exactly what’s going on and why it’s such a huge problem, your phone’s ringtone goes off.

“Hold that thought, let me get off the ground and check my phone. It might be work…” Moving Matthew so he’s perched on your shoulder instead of your lap, you pull yourself to your feet and slip your phone from your pocket. The moment your eyes glance at the screen, your brow furrows. “Why on earth would they be calling?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you!” Matthew all but shrieks in your ear. “The boss is a cat again!” Dear sweet Jesus, not again! At least the animal shelter has your number on file and is calling you. Accepting the call, you hold the phone to your ear while speed-walking home.

“Hello?”

“Hello! We are calling you to inform you that we have picked up your cat Morpheus after he was found at the scene of an accident with other felines. We suspect that someone might have been trafficking purebreds given the conditions he and the others were found in. We’ll give him a once-over before you take him home.”

Well, no wonder he hadn’t shown up for your date!

Never mind that, brain. Morpheus is a cat again and possibly mixed up in animal trafficking? You need to get over to that shelter pronto!

“I’ll be right over as soon as I get home,” you promise before ending the call.

“Boss lady to the rescue,” Matthew sighs in relief. “I’ve been trying to bust him and the others out for at least two hours, but I got chased off.” The raven explains. “You have no idea how despondent the boss was when he realized he was going to miss your date. Thought he was going to start crying… can cats cry?”

“No idea and I do not want to find out.” You muse, crossing the street and setting your eyes on your front door. You unlock the door and throw yourself into your home, searching for your car keys. “Stay here while I handle this. It shouldn’t take long since they’ve dealt with him before.”

“Well, yeah,” Matthew agrees, coasting to his perch. “But what about his—” you’re already out the door, the wood slamming shut behind you. You know Morpheus isn’t in any danger of being neutered by the staff, but you do know he isn’t too keen on being touched and prodded while being examined. The last thing you want is for him to get injured a second time while in cat form… which makes you wonder how the hell this happened a second time!

Your boyfriend has a lot of explaining to do. Boyfriend. Gripping the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip, you stare at the red light holding you in place, wondering when you began to think of him as your boyfriend. It makes sense; he is courting you. Has been for several months. But you’d never put a name to your relationship like that, just worried that things were going too well.

“It was a cat that got me into this, and a cat that will probably get me out of this,” you sigh to yourself, pressing the accelerator when the light finally turns green. The only question is, how long are you going to have to wait this time? Hours? Days? Are you going to wake up in bed with him naked again? You wouldn’t complain about that if it did happen again. But seriously, Morpheus really needs to stop getting stuck in cat form because once was excusable but twice is just ridiculous. Especially for an all-powerful Endless.

While you aren’t feeling as stressed as you did the first time entering the animal shelter, you’re still jittery about the idea of an Endless confined in a feline form. Trotting up to the desk, you give the receptionist a smile and tell her that you’re there to pick up Morpheus.

“He’s in back with the other five cats. Follow me,” she says. You do as told, following the receptionist to the back of the clinic and to a room marked ‘holding.’ The moment the door is opened and you step inside, your eyes zero in on the large form of your boyfriend currently sulking in a corner while a gorgeous Bengal bounces off the walls with energy near him. They couldn’t be more opposite! Letting out a breath of relief, you take a step forward, ignoring the dark-bodied Sphinx that trots up to you and sniffs your jeans.

“Morpheus?” you call softly, not wanting to spoil his mood further. Azure eyes settle on you, and in less than a second, the Black Maine Coon is launching himself at you. “Oh jeez,” you exclaim, awkwardly catching the flying form of your boyfriend as he latches onto you with his nails and instantly begins rubbing his face everywhere he can. “Mor—Morpheus, is this… is this really necessary?” you question, pulling away from his nuzzles. A rumble sounds in his body.

They must know you are mine.

You have no idea what he’s talking about, let alone who ‘they’ are. Perhaps the other cats? Your eyes glance around the small room as you hug Morpheus to your chest to support his weight. Obviously, there’s the energetic Bengal and the dark Sphinx, but a black cat with the most peculiar golden eyes lounges on a table observing you while what you think is an Exotic Shorthair lazes about. Finally, your eyes catch sight of a looming body perched on top of a bookshelf, glossy blue-gray fur shimmering in the light while an eyeless gaze stares into your soul.

Holy fuck.

“Family,” you whisper faintly, realizing what this is. The whole Endless family has been turned into cats. Destruction is clearly not here, he’s been missing for a long time, but the six remaining siblings are all accounted for. “How—how did this happen??”

I am afraid we cannot speak of what took place, beloved.

Morpheus’ words draw your gaze from the sightless, but not unseeing, Destiny. You look at him with panic in your eyes.

“Morpheus, Morpheus I am not—” You cut yourself off when a worker pops in.

“Hello! You must be Morpheus’ owner! We’re so glad to reunite him with you after the accident. We haven’t been able to identify the owners of the others, but they are obviously well-fed and cared for…” You speak before you can think your words through.

“They’re all mine,” you blurt out. “The cats. I mean, I’m not a crazy cat lady, I just… love cats…” You ramble as your face heats up, but the worker doesn’t even blink at your claim. The Sphinx obediently sits at your feet, looking up at you. The Bombay gets to its feet, stretches, and jumps down to the floor to get closer, and the Russian Blue, who has been the most aloof, gracefully leaps to the floor and joins the Sphinx. Clearly, they know you and are comfortable with you. “It’s complicated.” You finally sputter out.

“Just means a little extra paperwork, but we are glad to see that they have a loving home to go back to,” the worker replies. “We were real worried about a bunch of families missing their cats.”

“Nope,” you say in a high-pitched voice, cringing on the inside because you clearly need to calm down. “All mine, and clearly I need to make sure to fix whatever they used to get out.”

“I’ll go grab the paperwork and get the cardboard boxes ready. Hang tight,” she says, leaving you alone in the room with six of the most powerful beings in creation, all stuck in cat form.

“Someone better start speaking because this is above my pay grade,” you state, turning back to gaze at Morpheus’ siblings. This is not how you pictured meeting them. You never expected to meet them in the first place! “I—Let’s just be clear that I am a mortal human, and I do not play around with supernatural bullshit on the regular.”

That is understandable; this must be quite a shock for you, Y/N. You look down at the Sphinx, hearing a gentle female voice coming from that direction.

“Great, so I have no idea who is who except I can guess who is Destiny.” The Sphinx blinks at you, and you could swear you receive the cat version of a smile. Meanwhile, Morpheus is still rubbing his face everywhere he can reach.

I am Death, and I am pleased to meet the one who holds my brother's heart.

“Do Endless even have a heart to be held?” you wonder aloud.

Not a physical one. This time, the voice is suave and silky, drawing a low rumbling growl from deep within Morpheus. He pulls away from your neck, where he had been furiously rubbing his scent, and settles his gaze on his sibling.

Do not meddle with my beloved, Desire. Desire, the gorgeous Bombay, doesn’t even bother to bat an eyelash at the hostility in Morpheus’ voice and words.

Oh big brother, must you be so protective? It’s not every day that we get to meet the one who currently holds your attention. You can’t help but flinch at that wording. Hold his attention. Is that all you’re doing? You’ve heard bits and pieces of Morpheus’ past lovers, and by far, you’re the plainest. But you also know about Desire and their love for stirring shit up in the family.

“Desire, I presume?” you ask, stroking Morpheus’ body in an effort to calm him down before a full-on cat fight breaks out in this room. His hackles are already raised.

A pleasure. You must meet my twin; we’ve been ever so curious about you. Twin. Despair, the Exotic Shorthair, who is almost as sulky as Morpheus but barely makes any effort to move from where she lounges. That must mean…

“So you must be Delirium,” you surmise, turning your gaze to the Bengal that’s exploring the room and getting distracted by every little thing she comes across. “I didn’t exactly expect to meet you all like this, but I guess this is what was in the cards?” Your eyes glance down at the silent, eyeless Russian Blue. It’s a little creepy to look at him, but you can’t deny his beauty. Which is odd to think because he’s currently a cat. A cat with no eyes.

This is as planned. That’s a relief to know. Destiny, after all, sees everything. But still, how long is this going to last?

“Okay, and how long should I expect you all to be like this? If you can even tell me about that…”

Not for long, beloved. Morpheus reassures you, only taking solace in the fact that you won’t be subjected to his sibling’s noxious presence for very long. A few days at most.

“A few days, I can do that,” you breathe out, steeling yourself for a few tense days before everything returns to normal. You hug Morpheus to your chest for comfort, which the Endless certainly is pleased about, until the small cardboard boxes arrive to package up the cats for transport.

Morpheus’ ears go flat on his head, and a soft rumble emerges from his throat. Desire slips far away from you, clearly understanding what’s going to happen. Destiny, Death, and Despair wouldn’t care about being shut in the cat carriers, but Dream, Desire, and Delirium are probably going to be another story!

“The quicker you get into the carriers, the faster we can get home, and the faster you can get out of the carriers,” you announce to the cat Endless. The cardboard carriers are lined up, and you’re happy to see that Destiny and Death don’t hesitate to walk over and climb in one—they’re sensible enough. Desire glares at the boxes in disdain but ultimately sulks over, calling for his twin at the same time. All that’s left are Dream and Delirium.

Delirium is still bouncing off the walls and playing with every little thing she can get her paws on before getting distracted by another object… and Morpheus is still covering you in his scent and refusing to ease his claws out of your shirt.

“Morpheus, my love, box,” you chide him while peeling his claws from your shirt. “I need to get Delirium into a box before she gets out of the room and we have to chase her down.” Your boyfriend couldn’t look more pathetic than he does when you place his massive body in the extra-large box and close it up. Sighing, you stand up and look at Delirium.

She’s currently pawing at the space beneath a storage cabinet. Something has caught her attention.

“Delirium?” you call, and the Bengal turns towards you, revealing one blue and one green eye. “It’s time to go to my home. You can play around there as much as you want.” The youngest Endless blinks at you, and for a moment, you think she’s going to ignore your words and go back to bouncing off walls… but she runs over to you, full of energy, and launches herself into the box with an excited meow. “Thank you.”

With the six cats boxed up neatly, a worker helps place them on a rolling cart to make transport easy. Of course, you have to fill out paperwork for each of your five new ‘cats,’ but with Morpheus already in their system, it’s not that long of a process. While you finish up the last bits of paperwork, the cats are loaded into your car, and with a profuse apology on your part, you scurry to your car to get the Endless back to your home.

Date Published: 11/13/24

Last Edit: 11/13/24

Masterlist | Next

[lecsainz]

hiii could i please request an paul aron x reader where he is not so happy with a race Result and the reader cheers him up.

BAD RACE

parings: paul aron x girlfriend!reader

authors note: I loved writing this one! PS: I tried to look at thousands of pictures of him but couldn't come to the conclusion if his eye is blue or brown, so I went with blue 🤷‍♀️

✩. . . masterlist !

Paul Aron had just crossed the finish line of yet another race, and the result was far from what he had hoped for. His frustration was palpable, and he couldn't shake off the disappointment that clouded his features.

Y/N, his ever-supportive partner, knew all too well how he reacted when races didn't go his way. Paul could be moody and grumpy, dwelling on his performance for days on end. But she also knew just how to cheer him up.

As Paul and his teammate Dino made their way back to the Prema garage, Y/N was waiting for him. She was surrounded by a few mechanics who offered her friendly smiles, aware of her role in boosting Paul's spirits after a tough race.

Paul walked alongside Dino, his head hanging low, lost in thought. Y/N watched them approach, her heart aching for her boyfriend's obvious disappointment.

"Hey, champ," she greeted him with a warm smile as he finally reached her.

Paul managed a weak smile in return, but the disappointment still lingered in his eyes. "Hey," he replied, his voice heavy with the weight of his performance.

Y/N didn't waste any time. She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him into a tight embrace. "I know it wasn't the race you wanted, but you'll bounce back," she reassured him, her voice filled with unwavering confidence in him.

He sighed and buried his face in her hair, inhaling her comforting scent. "I just messed up, Y/N. I had a shot, and I blew it."

Y/N leaned back slightly, cupping his face in her hands so that their eyes met. "You're not defined by one race, Paul. Remember all the victories you've had. This is just a bump in the road. You'll come back stronger."

Paul's blue eyes searched hers for a moment, and he found solace in her unwavering support. He leaned in and kissed her, a silent thank you for always being there for him. Paul's lips met Y/N's in a heartfelt kiss, their connection speaking volumes even without words. It was a kiss filled with gratitude, love, and a promise that they'd tackle whatever challenges came their way together.

Breaking the kiss, Y/N flashed him a mischievous smile, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "You know, Paul, I've been thinking."

He raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "About what?"

She shrugged playfully, her fingers tracing a pattern on his chest. "Well, I hear that some racers have lucky charms or rituals they do before a race to ensure good luck."

Paul's lips curled into a grin as he caught on to her idea. "Are you suggesting I need a lucky charm, Y/N?"

She leaned in, her lips brushing against his ear as she whispered, "I'm suggesting I could be your lucky charm."

His heart raced at her words, her suggestion making him forget about the disappointment of the race. "I like the sound of that," he admitted, his voice husky with desire.

Y/N chuckled softly, a teasing glint in her eyes. "Great. Now, we just need to figure out what kind of good luck charm activities we should engage in."

Paul's hands found their way to her waist, pulling her even closer. "I think I have a few ideas."

Their playful banter was interrupted by the cheerful voice of one of the mechanics. "Hey, Paul! Don't forget, we have a team dinner tonight."

Paul sighed dramatically, his forehead resting against Y/N's. "Team dinners after a tough race are the worst."

Y/N laughed and pecked his lips. "Come on, champ. It'll be fun. And maybe they can give you some tips on how to make me your official lucky charm."

Paul grinned, his mood significantly brighter. "You're right, as always. Let's go at a dinner with the team."

[ancha-aus]

RealAgeAU Drabble - Meet Up

We are so close you all! So so so close :3 @spotaus get in here friend :D

It is so nice to just uplaod the first drafts of these drabbles! :D Makes them so easy to make and finish <3

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*---------------------*

Killer runs straight home and doesn’t bother to act as if he has a normal monsters stamina. He needs to get home now and warn the others.

He is so lucky that Ellie kept him out of sight from Dream and Blue.

Because apparently those two are here now!

How did they even find them?! Especially as Ellie told him that she thinks they are looking for them.

Yeah no kidding! Killer didn’t even bother to deny it as he muttered he just needed to get home. Ellie advised him to go behind the buildings as that is mostly out of sight and should keep him hidden and out of sight.

Killer quickly set off to get home.

He is by now just running through the forest and going full speed. The LOVE in him making it easy to keep running for long times and boosting both his speed and his stamina.

He gets out of the forest in their area and rushes into the house.

Killer searches and relaxes as he sees Nightmare right in the nest where he should be. Nightmare seems to be scribbling in his little journal.

Horror walks out of the kitchen and he looks around worried himself “Crop just called.”

Killer nods as he pants “Dream and Blue are in town.”

Nightmare freezes and looks between them panicked.

Killer goes to Nightmare’s side and looks at Horror “Cross and Dust?”

Horror speaks “should be in the garden. I will get them.” and he goes outside.

Nightmare whines softly and Killer quickly pulls Nightmare close “It is okay tiny boss. No one is going to get you.” No one. Killer is going to allow anyone to touch their baby. Nightmare is their just as much as they all are Nightmare’s.

Horror returns with Cross and Dust and they all sit in the nest as they discuss what just happened.

As expected Dust immediately went around to close all the curtains and check the locks while Cross looks anxious “What if they find this place? I know we are hidden but everyone in town knows where we live. What if someone believes them and sends them our way?”

Horror shakes his skull “They won’t. Crop and Straw are going to make sure people don’t say stuff and they know not to talk about other people’s personal stuff.” Horror has yet to stop rubbing Nightmare’s tiny skull to reassure him.

Nightmare just stays plastered against Killer’s front. His souls is getting slightly squished between them but Killer doesn’t mind and it feels nice to feel Nightmare that close.

Dust nods “We stay inside. Stay quiet and lay low. Keep an eye out. We already did the big harvest and sale anyway. We can afford to hide before we need to prepare the farm for winter.”

Killer nods and grins at Nightmare “That sound okay baby? Just relax and cuddle in the nest together?”

Nightmare looks a bit unsure still but nods as she nuzzles closer to Killer and a part of Killer melts at the sight. Killer holds him close and purrs softly “That is it baby. Just let us worry about these type of things okay?”

Their phone rings in the kitchen and Dust stalks over to it before picking it up but not saying a single word. He listens for a moment before speaking “Crop.” He listens again and gives a small nod “You two can come by.” And he hangs up quickly afterwards.

They remain near each other as they talk about possible ideas on how to keep an eye out but not run the risk of being spotted. They quickly settle on that Cross can go around to check things while invisible but that he shouldn’t engage any combat. They are just discussing if Cross can keep someone else with himself invisible for long times when they hear a knock on the door.

A quick check later and they invite Straw and Crop in.

The two brothers tell them what happened with Blue and Dream in town and confirm that they are very obviously looking for them.

Straw slowly holds up a package of papers “I do think you may want to read these.”

Dust frowns and takes them to read through quickly together with Cross.

Straw nods “For what we could see. They seemed honest about it all! Even if they are rather pushy in the way they go about it.”

Crop walks out of the kitchen where he cleaned up some groceries “The others in town all agreed the two are shifty and not to be trusted.” Then a bit more amused “Heads up. They also kinda assumed that either or both of them are Nightmare’s other parent.”

Dust freezes and makes gagging noises at the very idea while Horror chuckles and pats his back.

Cross pouts as he crosses his arms and mutters about Dust being way out of their league and Killer snorts as he nuzzles Nightmare “Better for us. Makes everyone want to keep the two away from us with all the ground work we laid concerning the ‘other parent’ and how they were messed up.”

Nightmare just shrugs as he stays close with Killer.

Dust focusses back on the papers and frowns “Are they for real with this?”

Crop shrugs “We aren’t sure. They seemed honest but we can’t check the multiverse stuff easily.”

Killer frowns as he takes the paper to read through it with Nightmare as the others discuss ways to check if they really are truthful about it.

The announcement that Dream hadn’t done his job right. How Nightmare had been right. That Nightmare had never been a danger to the multiverse. How Dream had made things more complicated and how he should never have involved others into the mess.

How Dream never was a god of positivity and that he misunderstood his job. How the balance has been restored and so Dream won’t interfere with it anymore as it also is no longer his actual job.

Just lists upon lists of him going around and making sure everyone who knew about them knew the new truth.

It is so much.

Killer frowns as he sneaks a look at Nightmare. Nightmare just stares at the reports. His face blank.

Oh no.

Killer frowns and pulls him close “Nighty?”

Nightmare just stares at the reports “I told him this so many times… So long ago… why… why didn’t he believe me?” and he just looks at Killer sadly “Why did he never believe me?”

Killer frowns and holds their babybones close “I don’t know Nighty. I really don’t know.” He doesn’t have an answer. He doesn’t know what Dream was thinking or why he did what he did. All Killer knows is that their baby needs support and love and he can give that.

Dust joins their side and holds Nightmare’s hand silently. Just being there.

Cross looks at Horror “So how do we keep them away?”

Horror frowns as he clearly thinks before answering “We can’t. If they are still doing this after all this time? There is no dodging this. We will need to at least meet up to get them to stop.”

Cross looks deeply unhappy and Killer agrees.

Cross sighs and nods “How do we want to do that?”

Horror thinks before getting a small smile “I have an idea. We will also need to contact Error.”

--

Killer watches the empty road a few cities further along. He checks his phone for any new messages. It is still just the message he send the two Stars with this location and them sending back they are on their way.

Killer looks back at the street and quickly hides further behind the tree.

Dream is rushing up the road as he looks from side to side. Blue close behind him.

Killer mutters softly “They are here. You ready?”

Cross answers from wherever he is hidden “Ready.”

Killer would do the talking and Cross will be his backup in case he needs it. While they confront the Stars Dust and Horror will talk with Error about hiding this universe.

Easy does it. Blue and Dream walk by his hiding spot and Killer goes to the other side of the tree and just leans against it. His knife out. “what do you two want?”

Dream turns quickly and smiles “Killer! I am so happy to see you!” he takes a few steps but Killer holds his knife out aimed at him.

“Yeah. I can’t say I feel the same. What the fuck do you two want with us? I thought we made it clear that we didn’t want to see either of you the last time we met up?” Killer twirls his knife around as he makes sure to look unimpressed.

Dream frowns but takes a deep breath and steels himself “I want to see Nightmare. I want to see my brother. And I know if anyone knows where he is it is you four.”

Killer laughs and shakes his skull “Nah. You can go back to sniffing and shitting out good deeds. You are not going near boss.” Like hell Killer is going to allow Dream to come near Nightmare.

Dream glares at him and takes a step closer. Killer can hear Cross get his knife out somewhere near him. Dream clearly can’t see him as he glares at Killer “I know things have been rough. And I know I made mistakes. But I have been fixing those and actually making things right. I want to make things right with Nightmare. But for that I need to see him.”

Killer snorts “Just because you are selfish we should just lay over and let you get whatever you want? No.”

Dream glares at Killer “Really? What if Nightmare actually wants to see me? What if he actually also wants to talk about what happened? He wanted before. I am late and I know I was blind and acting stupid. But I want to listen. I want to hear what he has to say.” Dream takes a deep breath to calm down again as he keeps looking determined “I need to see him.”

Killer glares and hisses out his answer “No. You are not going near him.”

Dream glares right back “Like it or not but we are brothers. We are twins. We are both gods. We are always going to be connected in some way. Keeping us separate may just cause more trouble.”

Killer glares as he holds out his knife “Are you seriously trying to threaten me?”

Dream shakes his skull “No! I am not trying to do that! I just…” he holds hugs himself close “Don’t you sometimes wish you got a second chance? To make up for what you did wrong? For the pain you caused?”

Killer feels himself freeze. He has no doubt that Cross isn’t doing much better.

Dream just keeps talking “I know I messed up. I messed up badly. I just… I just want a chance to make things right. And I have done that for the multiverse… but I haven’t apologised yet to Nightmare. That is all I want Killer. I just want to see my brother and tell him I am sorry. That I am sorry for everything.” He looks desperate “please… You guys have to understand that feeling.”

Killer doesn’t like this. This still seems like such a bad idea… Cross holds his hand and squeezes it. Full trust in his decision.

Killer groans as he looks to the side “We can discuss stuff… See if he even wants to see you or prefers to just keep you as a thing of the past.”

Dream smiles and moves closer “Thank you! thank you so much-”

“I am not promising anything.” Killer glares “I will ask everyone. However. If he says no. If he says he prefers to keep you as a thing of the past. We will respect that. And you will have to respect that as well.”

Dream looks pained and shakes his skull “But… But I want…”

Killer glares “I don’t give a flying fuck about what you want or how you feel. You abandoned him. You betrayed him. You hurt him. You never listened to him. Just because you now finally got your head out of your own ass doesn’t mean he owns you anything. Least of all a second chance.” Killer keeps glaring at the god. “Am. I. Clear?”

Dream looks pained but he nods.

Killer nods himself “Good. Now leave. You are causing more problems for this universe than you are worth.” He turns and starts to walk away “When we made a decision I know how to contact you.”

A moment of silence until “At least tell him I am sorry… please… I need him to know that I am sorry and I want to do better…”

Killer stops but nods “Fine.” And he keeps walking.

This meeting could have gone better… Now to get home and let Nightmare decide what he wants.

*---------------------*

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[warningsine]

Living online means never quite understanding what’s happening to you at a given moment. Why these search results? Why this product recommendation? There is a feeling—often warranted, sometimes conspiracy-minded—that we are constantly manipulated by platforms and websites.

So-called dark patterns, deceptive bits of web design that can trick people into certain choices online, make it harder to unsubscribe from a scammy or unwanted newsletter; they nudge us into purchases. Algorithms optimized for engagement shape what we see on social media and can goad us into participation by showing us things that are likely to provoke strong emotional responses. But although we know that all of this is happening in aggregate, it’s hard to know specifically how large technology companies exert their influence over our lives.

This week, Wired published a story by the former FTC attorney Megan Gray that illustrates the dynamic in a nutshell. The op-ed argued that Google alters user searches to include more lucrative keywords. For example, Google is said to surreptitiously replace a query for “children’s clothing” with “NIKOLAI-brand kidswear” on the back end in order to direct users to lucrative shopping links on the results page. It’s an alarming allegation, and Ned Adriance, a spokesperson for Google, told me that it’s “flat-out false.” Gray, who is also a former vice president of the Google Search competitor DuckDuckGo, had seemingly misinterpreted a chart that was briefly presented during the company’s ongoing U.S. et al v. Google trial, in which the company is defending itself against charges that it violated federal antitrust law. (That chart, according to Adriance, represents a “phrase match” feature that the company uses for its ads product; “Google does not delete queries and replace them with ones that monetize better as the opinion piece suggests, and the organic results you see in Search are not affected by our ads systems,” he said.)

Gray told me, “I stand by my larger point—the Google Search team and Google ad team worked together to secretly boost commercial queries, which triggered more ads and thus revenue. Google isn’t contesting this, as far as I know.” In a statement, Chelsea Russo, another Google spokesperson, reiterated that the company’s products do not work this way and cited testimony from Google VP Jerry Dischler that “the organic team does not take data from the ads team in order to affect its ranking and affect its result.” Wired did not respond to a request for comment. Last night, the publication removed the story from its website, noting that it does not meet Wired’s editorial standards.

It’s hard to know what to make of these competing statements. Gray’s specific facts may be wrong, but the broader concerns about Google’s business—that it makes monetization decisions that could lead the product to feel less useful or enjoyable—form the heart of the government’s case against the company. None of this is easy to untangle in plain English—in fact, that’s the whole point of the trial. For most of us, evidence about Big Tech’s products tends to be anecdotal or fuzzy—more vibes-based than factual. Google may not be altering billions of queries in the manner that the Wired story suggests, but the company is constantly tweaking and ranking what we see, while injecting ads and proprietary widgets into our feed, thereby altering our experience. And so we end up saying that Google Search is less useful now or that shopping on Amazon has gotten worse. These tools are so embedded in our lives that we feel acutely that something is off, even if we can’t put our finger on the technical problem.

That’s changing. In the past month, thanks to a series of antitrust actions on behalf of the federal government, hard evidence of the ways that Silicon Valley’s biggest companies are wielding their influence is trickling out. Google’s trial is under way, and while the tech giant is trying to keep testimony locked down, the past four weeks have helped illustrate—via internal company documents and slide decks like the one cited by Wired—how Google has used its war chest to broker deals and dominate the search market. Perhaps the specifics of Gray’s essay were off, but we have learned, for instance, how company executives considered adjusting Google’s products to lead to more “monetizable queries.” And just last week, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Amazon alleging anticompetitive practices. (Amazon has called the suit “misguided.”)

Filings related to that suit have delivered a staggering revelation concerning a secretive Amazon algorithm code-named Project Nessie. The particulars of Nessie were heavily redacted in the public complaint, but this week The Wall Street Journal revealed details of the program. According to the unredacted complaint, a copy of which I have also viewed, Nessie—which is no longer in use—monitored industry prices of specific goods to determine whether competitors were algorithmically matching Amazon’s prices. In the event that competitors were, Nessie would exploit this by systematically raising prices on goods across Amazon, encouraging its competitors to follow suit. Amazon, via the algorithm, knew that it would be able to charge more on its own site, because it didn’t have to worry about being undercut elsewhere, thereby making the broader online shopping experience worse for everyone. An Amazon spokesperson told the Journal that the FTC is mischaracterizing the tool, and suggested that Nessie was a way to monitor competitor pricing and keep price-matching algorithms from dropping prices to unsustainable levels (the company did not respond to my request for comment).

In the FTC’s telling, Project Nessie demonstrates the sheer scope of Amazon’s power in online markets. The project arguably amounted to a form of unilateral price fixing, where Amazon essentially goaded its competitors into acting like cartel members without even knowing they’d done so—all while raising prices on consumers. It’s an astonishing form of influence, powered by behind-the-scenes technology.

The government will need to prove whether this type of algorithmic influence is illegal. But even putting legality aside, Project Nessie is a sterling example of the way that Big Tech has supercharged capitalistic tendencies and manipulated markets in unnatural and opaque ways. It demonstrates the muscle that a company can throw around when it has consolidated its position in a given sector. The complaint alleges that Amazon’s reach and logistics capabilities force third-party sellers to offer products on Amazon and for lower prices than other retailers. Once it captured a significant share of the retail market, Amazon was allegedly able to use algorithmic tools such as Nessie to drive prices up for specific products, boosting revenues and manipulating competitors.

Reading about Project Nessie, I was surprised to feel a sense of relief. In recent years, customer-satisfaction ratings have dipped among Amazon shoppers who have cited delivery disruptions, an explosion of third-party sellers, and poor-quality products as reasons for frustration. In my own life and among friends and relatives, there has been a growing feeling that shopping on the platform has become a slog, with fewer deals and far more junk to sift through. Again, these feelings tend to occupy vibe territory: Amazon’s bigness seems stifling or grating in ways that aren’t always easy to explain. But Nessie offers a partial explanation for this frustration, as do revelations about Google’s various product adjustments. We have the sense that we’re being manipulated because, well, we are. It’s a bit like feeling vaguely sick, going to the doctor, and receiving a blood-test result confirming that, yes, the malaise you experienced is actually an iron deficiency. It is the catharsis of, at long last, receiving a diagnosis.

This is the true power of the surge in anti-monopoly litigation. (According to experts in the field, September was “the most extraordinary month they have ever seen in antitrust.”) Whether or not any of these lawsuits results in corporate breakups or lasting change, they are, effectively, an MRI of our sprawling digital economy—a forensic look at what these larger-than-life technology companies are really doing, and how they are exerting their influence and causing damage. It is confirmation that what so many of us have felt—that the platforms dictating our online experiences are behaving unnaturally and manipulatively—is not merely a paranoid delusion, but the effect of an asymmetrical relationship between the giants of scale and us, the users.

In recent years, it’s been harder to love the internet, a miracle of connectivity that feels ever more bloated, stagnant, commercialized, and junkified. We are just now starting to understand the specifics of this transformation—the true influence of Silicon Valley’s vise grip on our lives. It turns out that the slow rot we might feel isn’t just in our heads, after all.

[wingzie]

The Definition of Jikook: Through Others Eyes

“Becca, how would you define Jikook?” In the last few months I have been asked this several times. And not by Jikookers. Since my bad experiences with offline events, I decided (in typical “me” fashion) to just throw myself out there and keep moving forward. This included joining more Twitter GC’s or Discord Servers and going to more offline events. In one of the most recent events, I lived locally and wanted to help. Therefore, I offered to escort some anxious Army from the train station to the venue.

Anyway, I was still cautious about going and, though there were a few odd moments, the event went really well overall. Something else kindled during this event that I did not expect: The desire to talk more about jikook. Before, even mentioning Jikook as a unit and not as Jimin and Jungkook was almost seen as a taboo. Especially compared to the other units that we are familiar with. Due to me no longer giving a damn and using my main twitter account, people relating to the event knew who I was and they had questions. Very interesting questions. About Jikook. About their enlistment. About the travel show. This was a pleasant surprise and it shocked me that some of these people already knew quite a lot without me telling them anything. Including some information that I thought was only in the Jikook circles. I asked one person why they didn’t talk about Jikook as much on Twitter and they said because they were scared with all the shipper fights. Which is quite valid really. If all you see whenever Jikook is mentioned is constant fighting, then you would distance yourself. It made me realise something though: 

Even if someone isn’t talking about Jikook. They are still watching and are very much aware of what is going on.

Sometimes we amplify the wrong things and we give the loudest voices to the negative comments. When I do the Live Reactions series, I will sometimes have hundreds of positive screenshots to go through and then(somehow) pick twenty-five of them for the thread. It was really interesting to see so many people talking about Jungkook going Live whenever Jimin went overseas or about the travel show. It also reminded some of moments that were sadly forgotten about.

This touches on something else too. Our traditions as a fandom have somewhat changed. With the removal of the social media awards, we no longer boost BTS’ history like we used to. Elon has also changed how we find content, with the removal of “moments” and advanced searching now being really difficult to find things. There is still hope though. With Jin’s return, it was lovely to see so many asking about Jin as a person or how Festa would work. Sharing old memories and watching Bang Bang Con together added so much value to our experiences together as a fandom.It’s something we should treasure. 

BTS have shared so much with us and it’s why I’ll forever be thankful for archive accounts. With every post or comment shared with others, we encourage them to learn more about the members or to watch content they may not have seen before. I experienced this myself when I mentioned Bon Voyage to someone who didn’t know what it was. They had only watched “In the Soop” and were excited by the concept of the members going abroad together. I hope they enjoy it!

Going back to Jikook, I have seen an increase of positive engagement surrounding them. This includes in both online and offline spaces. It makes me excited for when the travel show comes out and the conversations it will create, with so many already floating around. When I am asked how I define them myself, I try to turn it around. It doesn’t matter what I think about Jikook or how I define them. That should be obvious by my account. What matters is how others do and the respect that it holds.

[aces-and-angels]

ART CAMPAIGN BOOST SUBMISSIONS:

edit: i hit the image limit for this post, so any new additions will be included here

the tag is starting to get kinda crowded (great problem, dw). i just thought compiling them all here would make things easier for everyone to find! all of the art displayed below is free to use for the purposes of promoting vetted gfm's here on tumblr. no credit is needed unless specified (marked = ***). if you have any questions regarding how to craft a post using any of the art provided -> please do not hesitate to reach out to me! note: please press follow post as i will most likely need to update this masterlist from time to time.

some info is below the cut on how to best utilize this material. please read it in its entirety before using any artwork. thank you 🖤

learn how to make art for this project here:

---

this project has gained a lot of momentum and has shown very promising results. the level of engagement once art is attached to a vetted gfm increases significantly. you will see what i mean as i have linked example posts of how to best use these pieces to help families in need.

i currently have a list of over 20+ families that i am spotlighting in my own personal progress tracker (the list has gotten so long that i now need to make a second version to accommodate all the families trying to get in contact with me).

this art campaign boost is truly meant to be utilized by anyone. i would sincerely appreciate it if y'all could take some time and pick maybe 1-2 people from this list and use the art below to create your own signal boost posts on the families' behalf. as someone who is periodically tracking their progress- i know that donation rates have slowed for a number of them. i am one person and can only do so much on my own. the essence of this initiative is to get more people to mobilize as a collective. it will take everyone to get on board in order for these families to be able to reach their goals. that means spotlighting their accounts/campaigns periodically.

you need to keep up the momentum.

the individuals you are helping currently live in areas with minimal internet connection, meaning it is very difficult to spotlight themselves on their own. especially since this site is continuously suppressing/deleting their accounts. they need you to interact with their content. tumblr isn't like other social media sites. it's known for being very 'anti-algorithm' and it's common culture for many of us to not really care about our levels of engagement (i.e. follower count/amount of notes per post). it's very hard for your own content to "break" your inner circle of followers and gain traction if the topic of the post is not "popular" or "trending" these families are not operating on this site the same way you are. you may be using this platform as a means to "just vibe" but they are using it as a desperate attempt to raise essential funding to save their lives. the importance that their posts be elevated cannot be overstated. anyone who has ever created any sort of og content here knows how quickly a post can die out if no one interacts with it. this cannot happen with them.

tips for making your own signal boost post* (*for vetted campaigns):

-> make it easy to read + eye-catching: the problem i am seeing when you search many of these families' accounts is that their "tag" (username of their account) is full of the same types of posts (i.e. a generic response to their initial message to another person on tumblr) <- aka it is very easy for people to tune out which is the opposite of what we want to happen. creating your OWN posts in response to their asks allows the art to appear FIRST when people look up someone's account via tumblr's search bar, which will attract more attention to their accounts. it also forces people who are making these posts to actually sit down and read the stories they are sharing with the rest of their mutuals/lurkers alike -> include verification sources: the main reason people are searching for these accounts is b/c they are trying to see if it is okay to reblog/share their campaign with their own following. if you address this plainly and early on in your post that includes artwork -> people are more likely to interact -> tag the account you are promoting: please include the families' account as one of your #'s so it will appear when you search for their names on tumblr. also try @'ing their account in your post so it'll be easier for these families to find your work. some of them are incredibly new to the platform and may not be aware of all its features. something that you may find intuitive may not be as easily understood for these individuals. your role is to make them as easy as possible to find for others so they can gain more support. --- don't have time to type out a whole post for a family on their behalf? -> interact with one of theirs! attach something nice/helpful to their posts so it is more readily available for others to share. the same rules apply from above. as i said before, some of these accounts are brand spanking new and are not formatted in the same ways as others that may be more well-versed on how tumblr operates in terms of promoting their campaigns. (for example: even if the account has been vetted/verified by multiple trusted individuals- the owners of that account may not know to include that info in their posts about their campaign every single time they post. you can make their lives easier by including that info for them by reblogging one of their og posts and adding the necessary info on their behalf)

you can also find a more comprehensive list of vetted campaigns by el-shab-hussein/nabulsi here <- their list is now over 200+ with several campaigns that are "in the red" (very low in funding). please do not hesitate to try to spotlight anyone from this list as well!

el-shab-hussein also has a masterpost pinned here with additional campaigns (including those for other countries like sudan)

alright i've explained enough- time for the art!

artist: @rhq274 | @rhq2744 *** free to use, credit required meet raghad (read and share full post here) Hello, I am Raghad Qanou, a medical student from Gaza City. My people and I have been subjected to genocide for more than 230 days. My family and I have lived through various types of torture and inhumane conditions. This link is my only chance for me and my family to escape death and try to start over. This is not easy. But we are trying, and we would be happy to have you help save our lives and our future. instructions to utilize artwork: those who wish to share raghad's art MUST do ALL of the following: -> follow raghad on tumblr @rhq274 | @rhq2744 -> like + reblog one or more of her posts seen on her account that promotes her fundraiser (you may also include additional art shown below to help further boost her campaign; see example) once those actions detailed above are completed, you may use raghad's art to promote her campaign. *if you are utilizing this art for another campaign that is not raghad's -> you must also mention + link her fundraiser as well /// for those able: please consider donating to raghad's campaign here (vetted; no 221 on el-shab-hussein/nabulsi's sheet)

artist: me lol free to use, no credit required example

artist: @lampyri free to use, no credit required example

artist: @aria-ashryver free to use, no credit required example

artist: @monmonp0k free to use, credit not required- but if given, is appreciated example

artist: @juudaimes-true-form free to use, no credit required example

artist: @gaiuskamilah free to use, no credit required example

artist: @marnota free to use on all social media platforms (i.e. tumblr, insta, twitter, etc), no credit required example

artist: @marquainequeen free to use, no credit required example

artist: @palms-upturned free to use, no credit required example

artisit: @inkyswampbones free to use, no credit required example

[invisiblefoxfire]

Big Boy Genius Plan To Get Attention And Money When Plan 'A' (Steal Everything) Has Failed

Make apology video. Make it suck, make up ridiculous excuses, give it a stupid title, fill it with ads. Truly make it awful.

Fucking idiots hate-watch the video over and over again, leaving angry or mocking comments and thumbs-downs which boost engagement.

Video rockets up the YouTube search results and recommendations algorithm.

Everyone starts talking all over the internet about how stupid the video is. The whole world is talking about you again!

All that discussion prompts more people to go watch the video, further boosting the channel in YouTube's algorithm.

Re-post old videos, make new ones, who fucking cares buddy? Your bullshit apology has gone viral and now you're at the top of the search results again!

New people who aren't aware of all the thievery you did will continue watching the videos (AD REVENUE $$$$$) and maybe even sign up for your Patreon.

You're back on top, baby! Everyone is watching, talking about, and thinking about you, and the money is rolling back in! Sure, most people are talking about how much they HATE you, but all that does is bring you more of that delicious (and lucrative) attention!

Seriously, don't watch the apology video and do not give him any more attention. Don't spend the whole day talking about this asshole. This is what he wants. Do not feed the troll. Go watch the playlist of queer youtubers Hbomberguy made instead. They are the ones who deserve your attention.

Your time on this earth is finite. Don't waste it on someone who doesn't deserve it.

[breeding-puppie]

Normalize supporting sex workers.

Why?

Making and posting content is still a job. End of story. It's continuous work no matter how they decide to execute it. Videos/images/writings/etc are all time consuming processes. Don't think so? Go ahead and try to run your own page with regular content postings and report back.

Here's some ways you can show your support:

Likes/reblogs/comments/asks/etc - most sites feed off engagement for the algorithm to boost any posts. Doing any of the above and leaving the original content posted to their account (NO SAVING) provides that.

Be respectful - Just cause you're horny off your ass doesn't mean anyone wants to deal with your harassment for free. If you want custom content or chats then rule of thumb is you're gonna have to pay for it. You're not allowed to walk into any business with the mindset that you get what you want for free, same rule applies.

Monetarily - A lot of sex workers post content for free. Appreciate that! If you want to show them you favor their content there's a variety of ways you can do that for a small amount. Sometimes that $5 is a big deal to someone.

Frequent engagement - This goes hand in hand with the first one, but engaging on a regular basis makes a big difference! Have their post notifications on. Check their hashtags. Make sure you follow them. Search up their account when you're on.

Remember: Most sex workers are NOT in it for the money. They enjoy the process and being able to express themselves how they feel comfortable. They're able to freely post their kinks and find similar people. It's a fulfilling process. Don't be a dickwad and assume everyone wants to make a quick buck.

[mariacallous]

One of the biggest challenges schools across the United States face at the start of 2025 is the persistently high levels of student chronic absenteeism. Having skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest data shows it remains almost double pre-pandemic levels, with approximately one in four students missing more than ten percent of school days each year. Frustratingly, for everyone involved, including school leaders, teachers, families and students themselves, schools have only seen marginal decreases in the years since the pandemic.

Education leaders at all levels—from state chiefs to district superintendents to school principals—are searching for solutions. Many are talking to families about the importance of sending their children to school every day through awareness campaigns, by providing awards for good attendance, or by sending letters home to parents with warnings about potential consequences for children missing more school. But rarely do they talk with families about how engaged their children are at school.

Yet, decades of evidence point to the importance of families in student motivation, engagement, and outcomes. One significant review of evidence showed that the way parents and caregivers interact with their students at home was two times more predictive of students’ interest and learning in school than socioeconomic status.

Boosting student engagement is an area ripe for family-school partnership. Not only do families play an especially important role alongside teachers and schools in supporting engagement, student engagement can change relatively quickly when students’ contexts change. But to work with schools to support student engagement, families have to know how engaged their children are. Our research shows that parents, which for the purposes of this report includes any adult caring for a child, are woefully unaware of how engaging their students’ learning experiences are at school. This is not the fault of parents, who track their children’s engagement in their learning at school based on the indicators schools typically provide, including attendance, grades, and biannual parent-teacher discussions. Parents are in the dark because schools rarely have in-depth discussions with families about the quality of students learning experiences which directly shapes their engagement in school.

The goal of this report is to elevate student engagement as an important indicator to not only combat chronic absenteeism but to help young people thrive in school. By sharing insights on both students’ and parents’ perspectives on their learning experiences, we aim to help focus the education conversation on how parents and educators can better understand student engagement, more accurately assess students’ engagement in school, and ultimately help improve it.

One of the best ways to understand students’ experiences and engagement is to ask them. In this report, we share what we have learned from children in the U.S. about their engagement and experiences of school through a survey of over 65,000 third through twelfth grade students. We also share what parents’ perspectives are on their own children’s schooling experiences from a survey of almost 2,000 parents who have children between third and twelfth grade. Both surveys are nationally representative by age, gender, SES, and race/ethnicity.

We found that parents consistently overestimate the quality of learning experiences that students report having in school. For example:

Only 26 percent of 10th graders say they love school but 65 percent of parents with 10th graders think they do.

Only 44 percent of 10th graders say most of the time they learn a lot in school while 72 percent of parents with 10th graders think they do.

Only 29% of 10th graders say they get to learn things they are interested in while 71% of parents with 10th graders think they do.

Only 33% of 10th graders say they get to develop their own ideas while 69% of parents with 10th graders think they do.

Only 42% of 10th graders say they use their thinking skills rather than just memorizing things while 78% of parents with 10th graders think they do.

Only 39% of 10th graders say most of the time they feel they belong at school while 62% of parents with 10th graders think they do.

In the first section we define student engagement, introducing the four modes of engagement framework. In the second section we review the conditions and experiences influencing student engagement. In the third section we discuss the importance of asking students about their learning experiences to understand how engaging and supportive their school is. In the fourth section we review the survey methodology. In the fifth section we discuss our four main findings and in the final section we share three recommendations for action.