#I guess I'm not shocked by how many people pick saving her but I'm shocked at how vehemently they hate the other option

[agentark]

I genuinely feel shocked when I see how many people pick chloe over arcadia bay ngl

[gabgabwrites]

DEVIL WEARS PINK | Eddie Munson [pt. 1]

summary ⇝ Eddie can’t help but be utterly infatuated with you, hawkins high’s most popular, prissy and preppy girl, who has one mean, vile streak for everyone, everyone but him.

warnings ⇝ bitchy!reader, language, bullying, mentions of divorce, sexual towards the end but overall not too bad, did I mention reader is a BULLY?? Ik there’s no smut, but mdni

part 2

You're everything Eddie doesn't like (or so he thought)

You dress in pink, you're preppy, you're popular. You're known to have the 'wrong' kind of fun, your type is jocks as jacked up dudes. Everyone at Hawkins High is scared of you on different degrees as you've been known to lash out.

That's why people thought you were trying to manipulate Eddie when you were spotted one day, leaning over his desk and talking to him, or when you'd greet him in the halls, even with a quick wave.

"Dude! She's psycho! How can you not see that she's trying to dig her talons into you and brainwash you?!" Dustin screamed as the group sat at a cafeteria table.

"She's not that bad..." Eddie quietly replies.

"Oh no, l'm afraid you've already been brainwashed!" Dustin clutched his chest in panic, his eyes wide and eyebrows raised. "It's too late!"

"Come on man, it's not that big a deal!" Eddie groaned, leaning back in his chair.

"It kinda is," Mike shrugged. "She is like the devil in pink, don't you know what she did to Greasy McGregor?"

Eddie rolled his eyes, "what exactly did she do to McGregor?"

"She pretended like she wanted to, y'know...shaboink him in the janitors closet, stole all his clothes—and I mean all, then locked him inside." Dustin told him.

"When the janitor opened the closet, McGregor came running out, not caring about being covered," Mike said with a shake of his head. "He was the laughing stock for the whole month."

"...did you just say shaboink?" He laughed out loud, "man, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. And he's fine now, isn't he?"

The other boys exclaimed nervous looks.

"His dad had to enroll him in a different school in Barcelona."

"Yeah, cause that's soooo terrible, living in Spain,” Eddie rolled his eves again. "You're definitely overreacting."

Dustin shook his head, looking down and picking up a mini carrot before dipping it in the humus. "Point is, she's crazy and you're next."

"Or, hear me out, maybe I'm the first person to realise that she's actually a nice person. Crazy, huh?" he said sarcastically, waving his hands mockingly.

"Insane." Jeff mumbled.

Eddie crossed his arms and gave Jeff a pointed look, "Just because you think she's evil, doesn't make it true, you'd be shocked at how wrong you really are."

"Oh yeah? Then why is she laughing at Caity?" Mike jerked his chin to your direction, where you and your two tight knit friends were giggling at the poor girl who had her yogurt accidentally spurt all over her. Eddie turned his head, frowning as he caught sight of Caity wiping her face desperately with a handful of napkins.

He bit his lip, contemplating whether or not to say something or just ignore it.

"She's—." he started, but just sighed and shut his mouth, looking back down at his food.

"Save it dude, there's no point."

"Yeah, guess you're right." He said after a few moments, pushing his food around his plate, "Maybe I was wrong. She is kind of a dick."

"Oh yeah, big time." Dustin shook his head, the boys went back to talk about other stuff.

For the rest of lunch, Eddie kept his eyes down at his food, not daring to look anywhere near your direction, just keeping a low profile.

He got out of his seat as the bell signaled the start of the next class. He grabbed his food and tray, walking them over to the garbage bin and dumping the contents inside before throwing away the tray.

"Right...time for English..." he mumbled under his breath before turning around and walking out of the cafeteria.

Eddie contemplated skipping, but he had more absentees than present classes, and Wayne had scolded him so many times.

He let out a sigh as he made his way down the hallway.

"Why the hell do I even care..." He whispered to himself. He kept his head down as he walked, kicking himself mentally for thinking you might be anything other than what everyone told him you were.

"Hey, Eddie." You said, as you passed his desk. You were clutching your pink note book that had poorly drawn designs on it. You gave him a sugary smile that stretched across your glossy lips as he looked up.

Eddie looked up once more, his breath hitched as he was met with the bright smile that almost seemed to burn into his skull. He took a shaky breath before replying, "Uh, hey."

"I was wondering if you'd wanna hang out this weekend? There's this new Italian restaurant that opened and I've been wanting to go." You told him, shifting your weight from one foot to the other.

Eddie stared up at you, completely taken aback as you asked him to hangout with you.

This was the last thing he expected when he was warned to stay away from you.

But that wasn't what surprised him the most, no, what surprised him the most was that he wanted to say yes.

He swallowed hard, trying to find his voice as he stared at your face.

"What...me? You want to hangout... with me?" He asked quietly, trying not to seem to dumbfounded at the question.

"Do you know another Eddie?"

"No,” He chuckled, shaking his head. "But, I mean, don't you have other people you'd rather hang out with? People a lot cooler and more fun than me?"

"Cooler? Yeah. Fun? Maybe," you dropped down, leaning your elbows against his desk, your low cut top falling down a tiny bit. Your strawberry and blossoms scent filled Eddie's space. "But not as interesting as you." You whispered.

Eddie felt his jaw nearly drop as he got a better smell of your scent.

He tried his best to keep his eyes on yours, but you were giving him a hard time trying to do that as he tried not to let his gaze fall down to your chest.

"I'm—,” he was struggling with words again, looking down at your top for a split second. "I'm interesting?"

"Oh yeah, totally." Your voice was almost like a purr as you brought your manicured fingers to his hair, before gently grabbing a few strands and twirling it. Eddie's body felt like it was on fire from your words alone, and he had to fight himself to not shiver as you played with his hair.

He bit his lip, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart before speaking, "You sure you want to hangout with a freak like me?"

"Uhuh, I like freaks." Just as your words finished, Mrs O'Nelly entered the classroom, leaving you to smirk before pushing yourself off his desk and walking to yours.

Eddie nearly let out a swear word and just sat in shock, as he watched you waltz away back to your seat, leaving him completely flustered.

He sat there for a few seconds before looking forward and taking a deep breath to try and calm himself down. His mind kept going back to your words and your touch, burning the memory into his mind.

He had to snap himself out of it when class started, but he was barely paying attention all class, his mind occupied on just one thing.

Class had ended, and Eddie was quick to turn around, only to find you gone.

Eddie's eyes widened as he looked at your now empty seat, disappointment filling his chest.

He couldn't understand how he could be so upset over something so small. He never usually cared about girls like this, not even the girls in his D&D party were an exception.

He pushed his chair in and let out a huff as he picked up his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder.

"You're fucked, Munson." He whispered to himself as he raced out of there. He decided to screw the rest of his classes and leave to go to Family Video, where he knew he'd find Steve.

Eddie walked in, raising his eyebrows as he saw Steve behind the counter.

"Hey, Harrington." He called out to Steve, walking over to grab some tapes from the nearest shelf.

"Oh, hey dude. Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Yeah, but a couple of free periods won't hurt, right?" Eddie answered, waving a hand dismissively as he set the tapes down on the counter. He leaned on the countertop, letting out a sigh.

Steve just frowned before taking the tapes and scanning them, snickering on the stupid Sci-Fi and horror names. "Uh, what's up?"

Eddie huffed, "Oh nothing... well—actually...I need your help with something,” Eddie ran a hand through his hair, looking down at the counter in front of him. "Okay, promise you won't laugh at me?" Eddie looked up at Steve expectingly, biting his lip anxiously.

"I don't do promises." Steve told him as he put the tapes in a packet.

Eddie rolled his eyes, "Whatever, just don't laugh and try to be helpful. Now, tell me something...hypothetically speaking, right?" Eddie leaned in on the counter. "If a girl...and let's say this is also hypothetically a girl who's considered to be...popular for 'the wrong reasons', what would you say if she asked you to hangout?"

Steve gave him a confused look. "What wrong reasons, Eddie?"

"Uh...let's say she's been called a bully..." he rubbed the back of his neck, "A dick to more than just some kids at school, in fact, a whole bunch of the school."

Steve blew air out his mouth. "She wants to hangout with you?"

"Yeah, yeah, see, it's crazy, right?" Eddie threw his hands up. "Like, what reasons could she have? It's probably just one of her tricks, right? She's probably trying to get blackmail or something to hold over me, or hell, to hold over all of us."

"Did you ask her why?"

Eddie stared at Steve with a 'are you kidding me' look. "Are you insane? How am I supposed to ask her that without sounding like a complete and total idiot? Come on, man!"

"I don't know! Who is she anyways?"

Eddie paused, hesitating to say it for a split second before sighing, "promise you'll keep it to yourself?"

"I said I don't do promises." Steve put his hands up in surrender.

"God Damnit Harrington, fine!" Eddie grumbled in frustration before telling Steve your name.

Steve's eyebrows rose. "Oh, I remember her. Did you hear what she did to Greasy McGregor?"

"Yeah, Dustin told me all about it." Eddie rolled his eyes, "It doesn't matter anyway, what the hell am I supposed to do? She wants me to hangout with her, like actually hangout, and I have no idea what to do! It's driving me crazy!"

"Do you like her?" Steve winced.

Eddie froze, his eyes widened as he looked at Steve.

"No!" He said quickly, shaking his head. "Absolutely not! Wh-what gave you that idea?"

"I don't know, man. Look if you really don't like her, say no, easy."

"Yeah, yeah, easy...simple," He said, sighing before leaning his chin on his hand. He then sat up and groaned again, "God, I'm gonna sound like an idiot, but say, hypothetically, that I did like her. What do I do then?"

Steve looked at Eddie, his mouth opening to say something before a third voice popped in. "Don't listen to him for girl related issues!" It was Robin.

Eddie spun around, his mouth falling open a bit as he saw Robin peeking out from one of the shelves behind him.

"Jesus—you need to stop doing that, Buckley!" He exclaimed.

"If you do hypothetically like her, go out with her, but, she is a total wacko who will bite your head off, both of them, so perhaps take a gun and a knife and bear spray and a laser gun, do those even exist?" She rambled.

Eddie let his head fall back as he heard Robin's response. "Okay...yeah great idea...just turn the hangout into a whole damn military mission..." he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes once more.

"Look, maybe say no, and see her reaction? Take that as a hint to what you do after."

Eddie's mind went back to your smile, your laugh, your touch, that stupid strawberry and blossom smell—He shook his head harshly to snap himself out of it. He let out a sigh as he nodded, "Yeah...yeah, you're right. Thanks, Robin."

"But I still say bring the bazooka...just in case." Robin added jokingly.

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up..." Eddie smiled at her, flipping her off jokingly. The rest of the week was torture for Eddie. His mind was constantly plagued with thoughts of you. No matter how hard he tried to forget, he always ended up thinking of your beautiful smile or your laugh that echoed in his head endlessly.

He avoided eye contact with you, knowing very well he'd be lost the moment he looked at your sparkling eyes and your glossy lips that looked so delectably addictive that it made him weak in the knees. Eddie was unusually quiet at DnD night

The party all shot each other looks as they played, watching Eddie closely as he seemed to be distracted with his own thoughts.

At one point, Dustin leaned over to Lucas and whispered, "What’s with him?"

"I don't know dude."

Mike looked back at Eddie. "Earth to Eddie." He called out. "You paying attention there?"

Eddie snapped out whatever trance he was in. "Uh, yeah, yeah."

The boys exchanged another look, all of them knowing it was a lie.

"Dude, you've been off the entire week. You sure you're good?" Mike asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I'm fine, are you fine? You don't look fine? Does he look fine to everyone?" Eddie went of a word splurge.

The other boys all mumbled, "uhh... yeah...he's fine."

"Dude, we're not the ones that have been zoned out the entire week." Dustin said as he folded his arms.

Eddie frowned. "Right, sorry, back to the game..." he mumbled. "Where were we? Oh, so then the Paladin class gets attacked." He picked up the di, and threw them against the table.

The next day, Eddie came into school looking as though he'd been dragged through a bush of thorns. His hair was a mess, he had bags under his eyes, and just looked incredibly exhausted.

He went through his classes in a daze, barely paying attention to anything that was said the whole time.

It wasn't until the bell rang signalling lunch that he snapped out of it for the first time that day. He sat at the table, picking at the folds of the cardboard juice box

He poked at his food with the plastic fork in his hand, his mind wandering all over the place.

He was snapped out of it when Mike's voice called out to him, "Eddie...dude... you look like crap."

"Well, gee thanks, Wheeler."

Mike huffed, raising his eyebrows, "Well, have you slept at all this week? Like at all?"

Eddie was going to say something, when the sounds of all too expensive high heels clacked towards them. Eddie's eyes widened as his breath hitched, knowing exactly who those hitched, knowing exactly who those expensive high heels belonged to.

Just like everyone else at the table, he looked up as you approached the table, all eyes falling on you.

The corners of your mouth lifted, but the smile was bitter, your eyes raked over everyone, biting your tongue to stop yourself from saying something about the way they stared and glared. "Hey, Eds."

'Eds?' the boys internally screamed

Eddie took a sharp breath, his hands clenched at his sides tightly as you spoke, using that stupid nickname that you always used.

He tried to speak through his dry throat. "H-hey.....what's up?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you accepted my invite?" You asked, dustin shot Eddie a deranged look of confusion. Why hadn't Eddie told them?

Eddie's mind was running a thousand miles a minute as you spoke, his heart feeling like it was going explode in his chest.

He could feel the table of boys looking at him, all of them curious why he'd never mentioned anything about your hangout.

He cleared his throat, "Uh... that...yeah... about that—."

He was cut off when Dustin spoke up,

"What're you talking about?"

Great, just what he needed. Eddie shot Dustin a look, silently screaming at him to shut up.

"Did Eddie not tell you?" You asked with a tilt of your chin. "Well since you're all friends I thought he would."

Eddie's eye twitched, his hand gripping the table as hard as it could.

"Oh yeah...l forgot..." he said through clenched teeth.

"So do you want to go?"

Eddie wanted to say no. He really did.

He didn't want to fall for you. He didn't want to get dragged into whatever games you had up your sleeve.

But something inside him said yes.

Something that whispered to him that maybe you were being more sincere than everyone gave you credit for.

With all eyes burning into him, he finally answered, "Sure...I'll go with you."

Your smile broadened, it was one of those post cover girl smiles that you'd see models give to a camera, hard to tell if it's artificial or not. "Mkay, great. I'll meet you there at seven tomorrow, do you want my number to keep in touch?"

The sight of your smile alone made his stomach turn upside down, his heart thudding against his ears.

"Yeah...yeah, sure..." He was able to say, trying desperately to keep himself from sounding like and idiot and failing miserably.

He could feel the group of boys practically burn holes into the back of his head as they continued to stare, but that was the least of his worries right now.

You looked up. "Does anyone here have a marker?"

Mike, who was sitting just closest to you, reached into his backpack and pulled out a black sharpie, reaching it out to you, "Here."

"Thanks," When your nails scraped against his fingers as you took the marker, Mike could've sworn you had talons, long, thick talons you probably used to shred apart your victims. "Arm." You instructed, pointing to Eddie's arm.

Eddie was reluctant at first, but he slowly pulled up his sleeve, holding out his arm for you.

He tried to ignore the group of boys' stares and questioning glances that were thrown his way.

You uncapped the marker before writing for your number across his pale, freckled skin, even adding a big heart next to the last digit.

Eddie could do nothing but sit there, letting you write your number on his arm, trying to pay as little mind as possible to the boys behind him that were no doubt watching you like hawks.

When you finished, Eddie quickly pulled his sleeve back down and shoved his arm back under the table.

"I'll see you there, later boys!" You gave them all one last look before spinning around and leaving.

Eddie watched you leave, his eyes lingering on you until you disappeared from his sight.

Once you were gone, he whipped around and let out an irritated sigh before glancing at the gawking faces of the boys.

"What the actual heck!?" Dustin exclaimed

Eddie looked from Dustin's confused face to the rest of the boys'.

They all looked beyond clueless and utterly dumbfounded.

"Look, it's not what you think—." he started, holding his hands up in defense.

"Yeah? Then what is it?" Gareth snapped.

Eddie rubbed his face, his brain feeling like it was going to explode. "I don't know...I don't know...one minute she's asking me to hangout and the next she's writing her number on my arm!"

Eddie took a deep breath to try and calm himself down, his leg bouncing up and down under the table.

"Don't tell me you like her." Dustin groaned.

Eddie's heart stopped in his chest for split second. "What?! No! Hell no! Where on earth would you ever get that idea?!" He exclaimed, waving his hands around dramatically.

He didn't like you, he didn't like you, he didn't like you. He repeated it over and over again in his head like a mantra.

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? If you don't like her then rub off her number."

Eddie's heart thumped in his chest once more, racing like a thousand horses stampeding against his ears.

He had to bite back the urge to cry 'no!' over and over again, trying desperately over and over again, trying desperately to come up with some excuse in his mind.

He looked at his arm and the numbers that sat so perfectly on his skin, his eyes burning at the idea of erasing it, the idea of losing that link to you.

"Go on..."

His heart was going going a million miles a minute, racing like never before.

He knew he had to do it. There was no way he'd be able to explain to any of the boys how you'd made him melt from just a single smile and a touch.

He let out a shaky sigh, before using his sleeve to wipe the numbers from his skin, his heart aching as he did so.

The numbers began to blend into each other, Mike even went as far as grabbing the small sanitiser bottle his mom made him keep, and squirted some on Eddie's arm.

Eddie kept his eyes on his now clean arm, the numbers now gone, completely gone.

It didn't make him feel better. It didn't take away the aching throb in his chest at the idea of you.

"Good, glad to see you've gone back to your senses." Dustin clapped Eddie on the back.

Eddie's face contorted uncomfortably, his heart twisting as Dustin patted him on the back, nodding in approval.

He let out another sigh but said nothing, keeping his eyes on his blank arm.

Eddie looked to the side, where he saw you, talking to Barb. Eddie grimaced slightly at the sight, knowing full well that you only used her to your advantage.

He could make out the faint sound of your laughter floating toward him, that annoying, stupid sound that made his heart backflip in his chest every single time.

The weekend rolled by, and Eddie had to distract himself from knowing that it was close to seven, the time you had wanted to meet. He didn't know the restaurant's name, he didn't know where it was to begin with. He'd asked Wayne about it and Wayne said he didn't know of a new Italian restaurant that popped up.

Ultimately, he decided to ditch you.

Eddie sat on the couch in the trailer, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Wayne had gone on a night shift, leaving Eddie by himself in the house. For once he actually wished Wayne was home, just so someone would keep him company. He checked the time, five minutes to seven. You'd be there soon.

Eddie let out a sigh as he checked the time on his watch once more. It was five minutes past seven.

He couldn't understand why he could still feel the aching throb in his chest as the minutes ticked past.

Part of him couldn't help it by wondering if you were pissed at him for what he'd done, but he also couldn't deny the other part that was silently hoping you would be pissed. At least that'd show you actually cared.

Eddie groaned, digging a hand into his pocket before pulling out a blunt, he thought that by smoking it, it would dissolve all his worries, and all thoughts of you.

Eddie lit the blunt, holding it up to his lips and taking a deep drag.

He blew out a cloud of smoke, hoping that it would help calm his racing mind and quell the painful throb in his chest.

But it didn't.

If anything, it made everything worse.

The high seemed to make him more hyper aware of everything his surroundings, the silence of the home, the pain in his chest.

His heart rate was up, his leg was bouncing up and down, and no matter how hard he tried to shut you out of his mind, you were still there, constantly reminding him of that aching in his chest.

He took another drag of the blunt, holding onto it for a few seconds before letting out a harsh breath, blowing out another cloud of grey smoke.

Eddie felt on end on Monday, if you found him you'd probably be mad, he'd be killed on spot. Eddie actually had yet to see you in the halls, or in class, but you hadn't come. In done way, he was thankful.

Eddie had tried to stay as low key as possible through the day. He sat through his classes, his leg bouncing as usual and his mind elsewhere.

He'd constantly looked ahead himself, bracing for the possibility that you would pop out right in front of him, but you never did.

He'd even scanned the cafeteria during lunch, praying you wouldn't pop up out of nowhere and confront him. But once again, you never did.

He didn't know whether to be thankful that you hadn't appeared, or upset. It was killing him not knowing where you were or what you were thinking.

But, the last thing he wanted to seem was obsessed with you and your whereabouts, so he played it safe and didn't ask anyone about you.

And it turned out, you'd be absent the whole week.

During the week, Eddie found it impossible to focus on anything. The lack of you anywhere in the school was a constant distraction.

He found himself listening out for your voice, or your laughter, any little sign that you were there.

He'd even looked out for you in the parking lot, hoping beyond hope that the BMW would pull in. But it never did.

So Eddie was back at Family Video after school on Friday, Eddie had actually attended every class and stayed the whole school day in hopes of seeing you.

Eddie had practically dragged himself into Family Video, slumping himself against one of the display cases.

He felt tired, both physically and mentally.

He rubbed his face in exhaustion, his mind racing as he tried to think about where you were and why he hadn't seen you all week.

"You look like you've had a rough week."

Suddenly Steve's voice echoed out through the store, drawing Eddie's attention. Steve stood by the counter, a smirk on his face as he looked Eddie up and down.

"You could say." Eddie sighed.

Steve leaned against the counter, folding his arms and letting out hum.

"You're usually in a good mood by Friday. But you look worse than Dustin when he's lost his D&D book."

Eddie snorted.

Steve chuckled, raising an eyebrow as his eyes darted along Eddie's face.

"Let me guess, this has to do with a girl." Steve stated.

"It's just, everyone, and I mean everyone says she's awful, yet the few times we've talked she's been fine. Then last week she wrote her number on my arm, but I got held at gunpoint to get rid of it, I flunked our...hangout—which I said yes to, sorry. Thought she's yell at me on Monday, only for her to be absent this entire week."

Steve let out a small whistle, his eyes widening at Eddie's words.

"Yeah...that's not good, man." He said, letting out a sigh, "but, what do you mean you got held at gun point to erase her number?"

"The whole group said if I didn't have feelings for her, l'd have to erase her number off my arm. Ugh, I'm so stupid."

Steve rolled his eyes, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Oh come on, the group was clearly being over dramatic. You could've ignored them."

He folded his arms once more, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Eddie.

"It was either that, or they never talk to me again over some stupid, dumb, mean, terrible... pretty, girl."

Steve chuckled once again.

"You think she's pretty?" He shot at Eddie, a sly smirk on his face.

Eddie sighed, dreamily. "Yeah, man. She has such soft looking hair, and pretty eyes, and her smiled, dude, let me tell you."

Steve made a face that looked like a mixture of amused and bewildered.

"Damn man, you've got it bad. " he said, leaning even more on the counter.

"I know." Eddie mumbled, solemnly.

Steve sighed, pity in his eyes as he watched his friend wallow in his own misery.

"Look man, you like her, a lot. But the rest of your friends hate her guts, it's not going to end well." Steve said with a shrug, "how do you even know if she actually likes you?" "I..." the words died on his tongue. 'Don't' he wanted to say.

Steve seemed to notice the change in Eddie's demeanor, taking a more softer approach. "You don't know whether she likes you or not, do you?"

Eddie looked over at Steve, with sad eyes.

It was then that his heart dropped to the depths of hell when he heard a laugh.

Your laugh.

Eddie stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening at the sound of your laughter.

The sound of you brought a flurry of mixed emotions, ranging from worry to excitement. His heart was back to its usual race from that familiar thump, thump, thump and his palms became sweaty.

Eddie whipped his head and peered round the corner where you stood with your friends, laughing at the funny covers of some of the films. Eddie swallowed thickly at the sight of you. You looked, well, you looked amazing, as usual.

He scanned your face, his eyes roaming over every feature of your face, his heart aching when your mouth curled up into that familiar smile.

He watched as you picked up a copy of The Thing, examining the cover and giggling with your friends.

All he wanted to do was go over there and talk to you, to be next to you, but he stayed rooted to the spot, watching you with a mixture of dread and relief.

"I'm going to go find a worker, I'll be back." You said to your friends, before turning around in search of a staff member.

Eddie felt his heart thump in his chest as your friends nodded and said their goodbyes to you. He watched you turn towards the counter, praying to all the gods, new and old, that you somehow missed seeing him.

Steve had to go attend to your needs, being one of the few staff on the clock.

Eddie let out an internal sigh of relief as Steve stepped out from behind the counter and went to serve you, which left him out of sight of you for the time being.

He slumped against the display once more, his eyes on you and Steve talking.

"Do you have a copy of Heathers?" You asked, nails drumming against the counter. Steve's eyes widened at your choice of movie, before he quickly covered it up with a smile.

He glanced over his shoulder for a split second, making eye contact with Eddie, before refocusing on you. "Yeah, we do have a copy, I'll go find it for you." He said, walking past you and heading into the back.

You nodded as you waited for him to get it.

Once Steve was out of sight, Eddie's eyes were immediately drawn to you once more, watching you quietly.

He let he eyes roam over the familiar features of your face, the features that he'd been thinking about for the past week. He was trying desperately not to notice the pang in his heart as he looked at you.

Before he knew what was happening, Steve was back, a copy of the film in his hand. He placed it on the counter next to you, ringing it up with a smile.

"Oh, and one more thing, tell Eddie I say hi, I know he's hiding behind that shelf." You told Steve before grabbing the bag and leaving.

Eddie froze. How did you know he was there?

When he was sure you were gone, he peered out from behind the shelf, an utterly bewildered look on his face. Steve was standing at the counter, trying desperately not to laugh at Eddie's dumbstruck expression. "She said hi, by the way." He said with an amused smile on his face.

"How did she know I was here!?" Eddie exclaimed, standing up from his hiding place and approaching the desk.

"Well it's not every day you see some guy dressed in leather and denim hiding in the soap opera section."

Eddie made a face at that, but chose not to comment.

Instead, he slammed his hands down on the counter, leaning forwards and looking at Steve.

"Did she look angry?" Steve shook his head. "She wasn't pissed?" Eddie asked, his heartbeat picking up once again. It was a good thing, right? You weren't mad, so that had to mean you were fine with what he'd done.

"There was no look of death in those pretty little eyes of hers." Steve replied, a smirk on his face.

Eddie gave him a look at his choice of words.

"What?" Steve said, his smirk only widening. "I'm just stating the facts."

He let out a small chuckle at Eddie's expression, a slightly amused look in his eyes.

Eddie grumbled a goodbye before leaving

"Bye!" Steve called out as Eddie turned and left the store.

Steve let out a small chuckle as he watched him go.

"Oh yeah, he's definitely got it bad."

Eddie was back at home, the air on had bust, and Eddie was dying. He'd long taken off his shirt and changed into black pair of shorts as he lounged around

The fan was on, but it was doing nothing to cool him down. He'd stripped down to just a pair of black shorts, his bandana in its usual spot on his forehead.

He slumped down onto the sofa, his chest and face glistening with sweat as he tried in vain to keep cool.

knock knock knock.

Eddie groaned as the sound echoed out through the home.

He knew he should have ignored it, hoping whoever it was would just go away. But he couldn't, he found himself stumbling off the sofa and walking to the door, opening it.

And there you were.

Standing there, a small, hesitant smile on your face, with your arms folded.

Eddie froze, eyes widening at the sight of you.

Surely this was just a hallucinations from the heat. A trick of the mind, or a fantasy come to life.

It was only when you spoke that he realised this was, in fact, real, and you were actually here, at his front door.

"Can I come in?" You asked, looking up at him through your lashes.

Eddie realised he'd been stood in stunned silence for probably way too long. He quickly shook himself from his daze, and realised he hadn't answered your question. Quickly, he nodded.

"Yeah...yeah, of course, come in." He said, standing aside and letting you inside.

Eddie began to feel conscious of the fact you had now seen him shirtless, you had indeed seen his few tattoos he'd gotten.

He didn't mind anyone seeing, in fact he wanted people to know about his sick tattoos, but there was something about you.

You sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't show up on Saturday."

Ok good, he thought, you wouldn't have known he also didn't show up.

Eddie shrugged gently, sitting down on the couch and watching as you sat on the armchair opposite him.

"It's all good."

It was silent for a few moments.

Eddie was silently thanking the gods you'd shown up in a simple vest, and jean shorts. The look was innocent, but for some reason, it was making the breath get caught in his throat.

You chewed on your bottom lip. "You're not mad?"

Eddie quickly shook his head. "Of course not."

He wasn't mad. In fact, he was overjoyed that you'd came here of your own free will, that you actually wanted to seek him out.

He took in a deep breath, trying desperately not to let his eyes linger on the way your vest hugged your body.

You nodded. "Okay, okay good. It's just, something came up and that's why l've been absent, I don't think you would've noticed."

Eddie had to resist the urge to laugh.

He'd noticed your absence painfully well, it had been all he had thought about all week.

He tried to keep his cool though, not wanting to come on too strong.

"What happened?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at you.

You looked down at your lap. "Can I trust you?"

That question caught Eddie off guard.

He leaned forward a little, studying your face, the way your face was contorted into one of slight worry.

"Yeah, you can trust me." He said, nodding once.

"You sure? You won't go around and tell everyone?" You asked, before taking in a breath. "I know how I act so you could use this as dirt on me."

Eddie had to once again stop himself from laughing at your words. No, he wouldn't use this as 'dirt' on you.

Why would he do that? He wasn't going to run off with the news the moment you told him what was going on.

He shook his head once more. "I won't tell a soul."

You nodded. "My parents are...they're no longer staying together," You head dropped. "It's just been hard at home."

Hearing that information shocked Eddie.

Your parents, the parents who always seemed so put together, and happy.

They weren't together anymore?

"Jesus..." He mumbled, running a hand through his sweaty hair.

"I mean, it's no excuse to be a shitty person, I guess l've been deflecting on others," You sighed. "Um, I should go."

At that, Eddie spoke up.

"Wait!" He exclaimed, stopping you as you moved to get up.

You froze, and slowly turned to look at him. Eddie swallowed thickly, his heart beating quickly in his chest.

"You don't have to leave just yet." He said, trying to keep a sense of control in his voice. He took a shaky breath."I mean, it's a hell of a lot hotter outside. You'll fry in that summer sun."

You let out an amused huff of air at his words. "I suppose you're right."

Eddie tried to ignore the way your voice sent a shiver down his spine.

"Stay a while." He said, attempting to maintain the cool, casual demeanour. "It's lonely here by myself."

"I bet." You grinned as you walked over to him before sitting down besides him.

Suddenly the air felt hotter for Eddie.

Your proximity was doing a number on him.

He could almost feel the warmth of your skin against his own, and suddenly the heat was back with double the force.

He was trying desperately to keep his eyes on your face, and not roam over the skin of your legs which were left on show with those shorts.

"U-Uh, you want one?" Eddie stammered before he picked up a cooler, showing you a range of popsicles.

He mentally cursed his own voice for how it caught in his throat.

He hoped to the gods you didn't notice the way his voice had wavered.

"Sure, why not?"

You picked up a red one, cherry flavoured, before pushing the treat out the packaging and wrapping your lips around it. You let out a small groan as the flavour seeped into your mouth and the colour stained your lips.

And there went any hope of Eddie remaining even remotely cool, or casual.

Your eyes flickered over to his, and he swore he could cum on spot. Your lips popped off the popsicle as you tilted it in his direction. "You want a taste?"

Heat immediately rushed to Eddie's cheeks as your words sent a jolt straight to his core.

He swallowed thickly, his eyes roaming over your face and landing on your lips, cherry stained and covered in the red liquid.

"U-Uh...sure." He said, clearing his throat.

"Open up." He hated how quickly he obeyed your command. Without another word, he parted his lips for you. Waiting.

You brought the cold treat to his lips, watching as they closed around the part you had previously sucked on.

Eddie tried desperately to focus on anything but the sight of your lips on that popsicle, the image burned into the back of his mind for later.

He felt the coldness of the flavour against his tongue, and he let out a soft moan around the popsicle.

"Do you like it?" You asked softly. Eddie didn't want to tell you he'd had this flavour a dozen times, yet none tasted as sweet as this one.

In fact, he was going to buy a whole box just so he could remember this taste.

He nodded, the popsicle still in his mouth, before pulling it from his lips.

"Yeah... do." He said in a low voice, his eyes still trained on your cherry stained lips.

Your eyes watched as a small, red dropped dribbled down the corner of his lip. "Can I clean that up?"

A shiver ran down his spine at that, and he couldn't stop the way that heat once again pooled in his stomach. He let out a shaky breath before slowly nodding his head, his eyes still locked with yours.

What he didn't expect was for you to crane your neck, and to feel your tongue brush his bottom lip, before your lips cushioned around it as you gently sucked the juice off.

He swore time stopped entirely, and all he could focus on was the feeling of your tongue on his lip, cleaning up the sticky liquid left behind by the popsicle.

The heat flared, and he couldn't control the low, guttural moan that escaped his lips.

"Well, fuck me." He mumbled to himself, as he watched you innocently go back to enjoying your popsicle. He had to throw a pillow over his lap, and ignore the feeling of him aching between the legs

Eddie was thankful for the fact you'd gone back to eating that popsicle like nothing had happened, as if you hadn't just made him let out that pitiful moan.

He shuffled in his seat, attempting to create some pressure for himself as he gritted his teeth together.

[kissorkill16]

Hello Neighbor: Kept Secrets

By JJ

Summary: With Nicky missing, and no one around to help, it's up to Trinity and the rescue squad to investigate the neighbor and save their friend.

Chapter 4

I kicked open Enzo's bedroom door, sweat dripping down my face, and my face filled with panic.

"HE TOOK HIM!"

Enzo put his book down and looked at me in shock, he stood up and walked over to me. "Trinity, what -"

"NICKY'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!", I kept screaming. "WE HAVE TO SAVE HIM, HE'S IN TROUBLE!"

Enzo grabbed my shoulders and shook me gently, it made me calm down, but only a little bit. "Trin, take a breather. Who took Nicky?"

I took a deep breath, and then I tried to explain. But just as I was about to tell him, I heard a crash, then a bang coming from Maritza's room. The noises made me jump.

"What's going on in there?"

Enzo rubbed the back of his neck, looking at his feet, "Maritza's been really acting out lately, and she's been taking her anger out on a couple of things and people.", he said. "Me and Dad tried talking to her, but she'll just throw another chair at us."

I stared at him in shock, then I walked to Maritza's room, I opened the door as slowly as I could, just to be safe that she wouldn't throw something at me.

My eyes widened when I saw the huge mess in her room. There were so many torn up pillows, Barbie dolls with their heads ripped off, the curtains were ripped off her window, and in the center, I saw the photo with her, Lucy, and Mya.

I picked it up, careful not to cut myself on the broken glass. Then I turned around to look at Maritza, and I didn't like what I saw.

She looked like an absolute animal. Her hair was messy, she wasn't wearing her usual headband, and she was clutching that old baseball bat she used to play with when she was in elementary school. I carefully stepped forward to her, extending my hand to put on her shoulder.

"Mari, are you -"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!", she yelled at me, swinging her bat at me. Luckily, I was quick enough to move out the way. However, that only led to her breaking her own wall. Thankfully, it didn't break enough to have a pipe burst through the wall.

"Mari, calm down!", I tried. "I know you're upset about -"

Mari let out a dry laugh, nothing close to joy. She almost sounded insane. No, scratch that, she did sound insane. "Upset?", she asked, letting out another laugh. "That's a good one."

She paused for a minute, but then she swung her bat at her bookshelf, breaking one of the shelves in half.

"I'm not upset, Trinity. I'm overly pissed!", she said. "I keep losing people for no damn reason at all! First it was Lucy, then it was Mya, and now it's Nicky! I didn't do anything to deserve this!"

She let out another dry laugh, this one sounded more like a sob.

"But,...I guess I do deserve to lose Nicky.", she whimpered. "He needed someone to believe him, someone to be on his side, and I abandoned him just like everyone else."

I'm not going to lie, I felt like crying right now too. She was right. She did do that. We all did.

She took another swing at her bed, then she threw her bat at her window, nearly breaking the glass. Then she collapsed on her bed and started crying.

I sat down beside her, putting my hand on her back and gently rubbing it.

"I know you're overly pissed about Nicky's disappearance,...", I started off. "But taking your anger out on the people who are trying to help you isn't going to bring him back. We all feel guilty about how we treated Nicky before he was kidnapped, and I promise you, we know exactly how you feel. But -"

Maritza's head snapped up, and she looked at me with her eyes widened. "What did you say?", she asked.

"About what?", I asked.

"You said Nicky was kidnapped.", she said. She picked up her bat, "Who took him?"

I was scared she was going to hit me, but I knew I had to tell someone the truth.

I took a deep breath before I started.

"Everyone thinks Nicky ran away, but earlier this afternoon, I saw Mr. Peterson holding Nicky in a tight grip.", I said. "Mr. Peterson is hiding him somewhere in his house. I always wondered why he was the only one not helping, and now I know. He's the one who has Nicky."

Mari slowly stood up, walking towards the door. I jumped up and ran towards her, afraid she might do something irrational, and I wrapped my arms around her. She struggled in my arms for a while, but then she dropped her bat and broke down again.

She wrapped her arms around me, and cried into my shoulder. I didn't even care that she was getting my favorite shirt wet, what mattered more to me was that she was calming down.

We stayed that way for a while, and then I felt her sniffling and snoring. That's how I knew she was asleep. I gently picked her up, and carried her back to her room. I laid her down on her bed, then I put her blanket on her, warming her up.

Enzo walked in the room, careful not to step on any broken glass. "You got her to calm down?", he asked.

"Uh huh.", I replied, gently rubbing the back of Maritza's head. "I guess all she needed was a little cry and comfort."

"Probably."

We sat down in silence for a moment.

"By the way, I heard something about Mr. Peterson. But I didn't really hear much since there was a lot of noise going on in here.", he said. "What's going on?"

This was going to be tough.

I already knew what happened to Nicky. I knew if I told anyone about this, they'd all think I was crazy just like Nicky, and that would drive me to do the same stupid thing he did and break into Mr. Peterson's house to save him.

But I had to try. For my friend.

"Let's go to your room.", I said. "I don't want to wake Maritza up."

We quietly walked out of the room, going to Enzo's room and closing the door behind us.

When we sat down on his bed, I told him everything I saw today at Mr. Peterson's house.

And his reaction was not anything like I expected.

[queen-scribbles]

Breather

My SWtOR Secret Santa gift for @ishallobservethis! I had to do something with Felin soon as I saw she had a "tripped and fell in love by accident" arc with Koth. I love the Smuggler, I love accidentally falling in love pairings, and Koth always need more love. So I wrote them a little scene between chapters 7 & 8 of KotFE.

---

Despite her best efforts in the moment, Felin had never been all that good at subtlety. So it wasn't really a surprise when Koth caught one too many of her 'surreptitious' glances in his direction.

It was enough to prompt him to look up from his half-disassembled rifle, arching a brow at her. "Need something , Outlander?"

"No, um, I just... the stuff with the Heralds was... a lot." Felin set down the tools she'd been using to repair her own blaster. "Wanted to be sure everyone's okay after that, you know?"

"And I'm first on your list?" A wink. "I'm flattered. And fine. The rifle took damage, not me." He shrugged. "Not the first time I've been in a fight like that, anyhow."

Former military. Right. On the run for deserting because he had a conscience. He was used to danger, used to Zakuul and Asylum and didn't need her fretting over him. But I want to.

She didn't want to dwell on why that was. She cared about all her comrades in arms, that's why.

"Good," she said, clearing her throat. She picked up the tools and went back to work. There was just a little carbon scoring to clear away, but better to have it in working order now, under the circumstances. "I gotta ask, Koth," she started after a few minutes' companionable silence working side by side, "especially after that mess, what exactly did Lana tell you that had you all gung-ho to bust me out?"

"Bunch of stuff," Koth laughed, turning back to reassembling his rifle. "Findin' the lost riches of a crime lord, taking down some bigshot admiral--not to mention a near-mythic Sith. Or was he a Jedi?" He shrugged, brow furrowed as he slotted the casing back together. "Point is, she spun you up as this dashing hero who thrives on long odds."

Felin chuckled. "Somethin' like that. And what, your curiosity got the best of you?"

"Somethin' like that," Koth said, shooting her a grin. "Gonna take someone experienced with long odds and pulling down powerful Force users to deal with Arcann and Vaylin. Wanted to see if you were the real deal. She didn't mention you have a great smile, though."

She smirked down at the blaster. They'd traded flirty banter a couple times in the swamps; if he wanted to go again she was happy to play. "Can't imagine how that slipped her mind, it's one of my best features."

"Guess she was distracted by the skytroopers and Knights and wildlife chasing us," he deadpanned.

"I do bring a flare of adventure to the lives of most people I meet," Felin joked, biting back the odd little squirm that didn't want to see him hurt in the course of this adventure.

"Only most?" Koth asked, half-joking, as he secured the last pieces back in place.

"Some are too boring to be helped," she said with exaggerated drama, biting the tip of her tongue. as she finished and holstered her blaster. "Not you, though," she winked.

"Well, that's a relief," Koth said with a laugh. "Think I'd be a little intimidated if you found my life experience boring."

"You mean running from a galaxy spanning empire with a price on your head isn't normal for you, Vortena?" Felin said with faux-shock.

"Right now it is."

"Touché."

The hum of the engines shifted, rocking the shuttle just a little. The computer beeped, and Koth wiped his hands on his jacket as he leaned over to check it.

"We're dropping out of hyperspace," he reported. "Almost there. I should check on the Gravestone repairs when we land. If we're gonna use it to save the galaxy."

"Yeah, be bad for that hope--and the engines--to go up in flames when you try to take off," Felin said dryly. "Would hate for our dashing heroics to end before I have a chance to really see what y- the ship can do."

Koth chuckled, sent her a smirk. "Have a little faith, Outlander. Let me show off her moves." His expression sobered as a view of Asylum flashed outside the shuttle. "Be careful down there, huh?"

She nodded as they headed to strap in for landing. "Do my best."

The flicker of relief in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. Or two. Maybe she wasn't the only one worried.

Maybe she liked that thought a bit more than she should.

[magicwhiskers29]

For the latest ask game...Great Ace Attorney, specifically

Favourite Character:

Gina, my girl Gina!! I love her development!! She adds to the atmosphere so well in Unspeakable Story, and I love her and Gregson's dynamic in DGS2!

Least Favourite Character:

Roly Beate. I think his gag is a little obnoxious, but I'm less endeared to him than Pat, so... I don't really actively dislike him that much, but he annoys me, so if I have to pick a least favourite...

5 Favourite ships (canon or non-canon):

-Ginasusa

-Haosusa (/Susarei)

-Ginasusaohao

-Asoryuu

-Nikosusa

Character I find most attractive:

Uhm. I don't know if I feel qualified to answer this. Maybe I'll just say whose design I like best... In which case, Gina again, maybe? I think she's very well-designed! :)

Character I would marry:

Also not that qualified to answer this one, uh... I could marry Courtney Sithe to make her history of marriages/relationships even more confusing? lol

Character I would be best friends with:

Iris!! We both like writing and science so I think we'd be cool buddies

A random thought:

Killing off Jezaille Brett at the start of DGS2 is an excellent way of setting the tone for the rest of the game, as well as setting up that, yeah, important characters can just die, so that Gregson's death works better later. I think it's a very shocking reveal that she's the victim, and I like it a lot.

An unpopular opinion:

Idk if this is that unpopular, but I asked my friend, and they told me this is at least a weird opinion, but Return of the Great Departed Soul is my favourite case in the doulogy, and my favourite case in Ace Attorney overall.

My canon OTP:

There aren't that many canon ships, to my memory, but the Vigils (Evie and Daley Vigil), I guess? Better than the Beates or the Garridebs...

My non-canon OTP:

I guess since this says OTP I can't say Ginasusahao, so uhm... Ginasusa, maybe? That's probably my favourite DGS ship, but I'm not like, that attached to it specifically, so...

Most badass character:

SUSATO MIKOTOBA!!! She saves you in court so many times, and she will take down anyone she needs to with a Susato takedown <3

Pairing I am not a fan of:

Hm... The most I think I get towards DGS ships I don't care is ambivilent, tbh. I can usualy see why people like them, though. I guess the ones I stear most clear from would be Baroryuu or Asobaro? Nothing against then, and I can get why people ship them, but they're not really my thing.

Character I feel the writer's screwed up:

Right, this isn't so clear-cut as it would be as if I was writing this about PL, but if you'll allow me to be petty for a moment, I do have a few minor grievances with Susato. I love her writing for the most part, but I think there was a major missed opportunity in the specifics of her ending.

I don't think her thematic beats about choosing her own path work quite as well if her sole motivation to return to Japan at the end of DGS2 os for Ryuunosuke. Like, yes, she chooses to follow him over Kazuma, that's something, but she's still just choosing to follow another character, when she was previously set up in Blossoming Attorney to be capable of standing on her own if the law only allowed it! I think i would have liked it more if it was at least implied that she returned to Japan to help Ryuunosuke AND start to try to begin her own legal career.

Otherwise, I think her ending's uncomfortably similar to the midpoint in her arc for the ending of Unspeakable Story. Albeit indirectly, she's once again returning to Japan upon her father's request, and I think that could have been avoided a little if her motivations for wanting to return were established as being outside of what other characters want, because that is her arc!

Favourite friendship:

Kazuma and Susato. Everything they do with those two is so interesting to me, and I love writing about it. It's so interesting how core Kazuma is to Susato, but how also she can't mean as much to him, because he only met her properly after he's already decided his mission. But she still means a lot to him, and I just, augh. I love the tragedy.

[alitgblog]

volume XI thoughts

I did in fact have access to this on Tuesday and started to play but then got distracted and didn't finish until like 2am when I couldn't sleep anyway (this was a mistake I was so tired at work)

movie night!!! And fun movie night titles!! ofc MC doesn't get her own custom one bc everyone's got different names but my MC is named Maya and with how things have been going I'm pretending her movie title is Messy Messy Maya 🤭

Emel and Oakley both being unfaithful in casa but finding (forcing?) their way back to each other and forgiving each other feels very much like something in the show so I appreciate that storyline tbh

Felicity is too beautiful of a sprite to waste as a Casa girl that only shows up for movie night.

Sienna going "I don't care if it's egotistical, pick my movies" because no one else is gonna care to pick hers 😬😬 id feel bad for her if she wasn't so mean

Hari and Hazel are so cute together but it seems like it's gonna die out soon 🥲 Like I see why if Hazel is panicking and Hari isn't the most reassuring guy and also not completely over MC but aghhh he's gonna fumble Hazel to LIAM. Hazel, not LIAM plsss

Absolutely awful that Liam is so funny bc he's such a piece of shit (awful in the best way, like he's so Messy Mitch from LI UK s10 coded and while I don't like him I appreciate the fun he brings). Saw someone suggest that he could be a late game LI and if he evolves and changes, sure, but a lot is gonna need to happen, otherwise give him a last minute jokey option like Hamish.

I think the thing stopping me from going full in on this Claudia route is she keeps going back to Theo, and not like she has to be pursuing MC 100% for me to pick her but I'm just getting mixed signals with her trying to save her relationship with Theo when they clearly aren't into each other anymore but there are plenty other people around.

Not on a Theo route and haven't talked to him but ngl his little video clip was cute like I almost jumped ship to be messy but nahh. I wonder how that's like if you're actually pursuing him though like does it feel like pay off or shock or reassurance or anything.

very nice they had Jin spell it out to Sienna in front of everyone. like kind of mean, but if it was gonna happen at any time, Movie night is definitely the time to do it.

Like even MC's movie clip playing, first of all was just if she slept with someone in casa I think (which, it's fair enough considering the game's limitations but I was missing all the other times she hoed around). So for my MC it was with Claudia, and Claudia barely has a response to it. And so I'm kinda just going towards the character actively pursuing and paying attention at this moment and it's Jin.

I guess MC was honest to Jin so he didn't mind the movie night thank God but also I want to replay to see the drama unfold. but in my head for some reason he'd be shocked it was Claudia bc she didn't say anything and like it'd be one thing if it was someone she just met like Max who she's been friendzoning ever since but another thing for it to be her best friend in the Villa. but alas, that is a large amount of branching and coding and dialogue to write so I'll let it slide.

a recoupling so soon after?? it's not like the season feels too rushed, but like I mentioned before, the pack in so many things in each volume you don't get much of a chance to chill out with the characters and pretend it's a vacation for your character lol

the problem with me playing early is I'm so curious how everyone else's game went. like is it only your OG LI or Casa Boy that can pick you?? And the chat you have with your partner after, does that lock your route because after this I feel there was a little bit less attention on MC from the other LI's (which I don't mind, so they can have their own stories now, but I wanna knowwww)

Shower scene, Sienna throwing another fit one last time for good measure

But now MC is back with Jin and they have all the cutesy interactions again yay

And then we have no rest in the morning, just straight into a DAYTIME heart rate challenge??? I just think this challenge should always happen at night idk

I forked over the gems for the cowgirl outfit (partly bc the mermaid dress was awful and bc my MC has red hair so I wasn't gonna make her dress like Ariel) but i wish there was a costume that was free instead of just your partywear dress? Like it can be a shitty costume but I understand people not wanting to pay gems for one outfit for one night of the game.

Hazel's outfit though 🥵

Such a minor detail, but I do love that despite her being so awful to MC, that Sienna canonically is a very conservative dresser. like we all see her churchy outfits. and I think maybe she's a little insecure about her body and stuff. that being said, the dialogue she has when she's in costume about feeling confident, and her costume isn't super revealing, and the girls being shocked at her dance, is all very good to have. like it's nice to have that type of character around and the fact that she's also the villain rn? she contains multitudes (or I'm reading into it too hard 😂)

mentioned briefly before but Hazel and Liam??? tf??

And now Claudia and Bea flirting with each other? Okayyy I mean my fingers are crossed so here's hoping they find each other if not MC. and they have a lot in common but feel like different characters so like pls let them be together (I say this as someone every few months posting about how it shouldve been Cora and Angie not friendzoned Oliver and Angie in the s4 finale)

ok but his entrance feels so overshadowed by other things going on though like I feel like he didn't get a chance to really bombshell to the point where I think he should've been introduced next volume instead. like have him have a normal bombshell entrance with dates or smth, then maybe when they're all chilling the next day and getting to know him someone brings up he missed heart rate challenge and they suggest he dances for the characters he's most interested in, if we really wanted to get his messy entrance in.

Two unfortunate things are true in my mind: Logan is very attractive (at least when he's got the hat on) and also he looks like Liam 🫣

depending on how this goes my MC may be hoeing around one last time

cliffhanger being the challenge results is lame

am i,,,, actually excited to replay this season 🫣

[snowywolf1005]

TRIGUN STAMPEDE

VASH X PLANT READER

EPISODE TWO: THE RUNNING MAN

Vash and y/n at the dinner table with merly and Roberto.

"So let me make sure, I'm followed, This Bad man running around, stealing plant, is not you? And this guy who looks like you, but he's your twin brother." Vash nodded, Roberto smoking, y/n cough, "there's no proof, though, " said merly.

Vash was doing fake cry.

"Crying won't help your case," said merly, Vash put his head down. Y/n put him on his back.

"That guy knives, stealing plant. What did he want from it?" Said Roberto, "The money? Or is it about honor? " said Merly.

Then a little boy come up to them, bringing some bugs in a cage.

"Hey there, kiddos," said Robert, "or those guys for us" y/n question. "Thanks you Tonies, I keep your budding safe," said vash, patting in the head.

"What a heartwarming scene. Hehe, are the bug gone?" Said merly, "almost. ".

"Okay, quite that. Tonies, how many times I told you? Don't bring your worms here! Mama loves you, baby! Now shoo!" Rosa yelled.

"Sorry, vash and y/n," she said, pulling her gun at them. Everyone else pulled out their guns, too. "It the cash, not you two," said Rosa.

TIMESKIP

"AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!" vash scream, "Y/N!!! HELP ME!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!" vash screams top of his lungs.

"Don't let them get away!!" Rosa yelled, vash running for life, while y/n swinging around with her blade like spider-man.

And she is looking for vash as well. Y/n dough all the bullet.

(She spider-girl, spider girl), and she finally found vash.

He was surrounded by six people. "VASH!" y/n yelled, grabbed vash.

"Vash! Y/N! Over here!" Merly called out. Y/n landed safely, "Y/N! THANKS YOU! THANKS YOU!" said vash, hugged y/n.

Later.

Vash and y/n looked at the photos of themselves. Vash made a frown face, "Why do they use this photo?" Y/n asked, "that you're issues," said Roberto.

"So this journey, folks are part of this gang?" The man asks, vash and y/n, and other steps away back.

"Who cares? I can't wait to meet them anyway," said the other man.

After moving somewhere.

"This is why's we don't save lost puppies," said Roberto, "Sorry," said merly, while their walking. "Hey puppy, it would be easier if you pick up a fight," said Roberto.

"Huh!? Are you really in the mood for a shoot-out? Y/n is a good fighter, and she even has her blade, " said vash.

"What you deal!? oh wait, let's me guess, you forgot ammo," said merly, "no, I got extra, I prefer not to use it, bullet are too pricey, " said vash

"YEAH! Even pain our pill!" Said merly, "I can buy one bullet or two thousand doughnuts," said vash.

"Oh my God, vash, but I do have a plan, though," said y/n. They look at y/n, "OK, what your plan?" Said Roberto

The man sees a red coat. "This way!" He said running, "someone saw him!" Said the other.

"There!" He yelled, "That a dead end!" The other guys yelled, but they were shocked to see.

"Damn, they got us," he said. It was a blue bird. Y/n looked around, "Cost is clear come on," she wisperd, they walked. "You're plan works!" Said merly.

When they about leave. Rosa and two other women come out pulled out their guns. Y/n and other stop, "vash, y/n, don't make harder for me," said Rosa.

They dropped on their knees and put their hands behind their back. "With the plant(something, something), the money is our only hope," said Rosa.

"How could you! They scrafic their life, they save you twice," said merly,".

Rosa said (something, something, something, something, something, something, something, something,".

Then a big car coming towards to tonsi. "Tonsi!" Rosa yelled, y/n stood up and pulled out her blade, grabbed Toni's.

"VASH THE STAMPEDE AND Y/N THE STAMPEDE!! YOUR COMING WITH US!" An old man yelled.

Vash and y/n hopped on blue bird. Y/n is riding it, "money! Come back!" He yelled, merely and Roberto followed them, "what your plan now y/n?" Said vash.

She looked around and saw some rocks. A hand almost hit y/n and vash. The car is slowly down, and they stop, "they stopped," said merly.

Then, a hand came out and grabbed sleeping bags cause the birds get scared. They went off again. "Come on, fight me! You are a gunman, "an old man yelled.

"Nope," said y/n, vash laughs. Then the bag came off, the old man and his son fell.

After Merry takes vash, he has to fight back and can't run away. Leaving y/n to help him while she was injured.

"Help! We need backup! Bac- augh!"

"Coming," said y/n, they look at y/n. "Coming with wha?" Said Roberto, "the plant," she said. They were shocked, vash get on the blue birds, and took off.

Later (Sorry)

The old man fired a bomb at y/n, but she missed it. "Vash!" Merly scream. "That was a close one," said vash. Old man jaw dropped.

"Y/n, let's me protect you. You have enough to protect me," said vash. After some fight and talk. The bridge is falling apart, y/n used her blade to pull up the bridge so the old man came back, but her hands started Bruning.

Later again

They have drink. Y/n and vash packed their things and about to leave, but they were stopped by Roberto. "You shouldn't say goodbye, the people miss you, what are you running away from? Oh, right, he told me morning million knives, " he said

Then, a loud scream comes from the dinner. "What going on!?" Said vash. A spider creature crawling around on gofes. The spider trun red

He ran outside, and then he exploded.

[clairelsonao3]

Author Ask Tag Game

Thanks to @i-can-even-burn-salad @tabswrites and @mysticstarlightduck for this tag a few weeks ago, around the time I took a break from tag games. Back on the horse, though.

1) What is the main lesson of your story (e.g. kindness, diversity, anti-war), and why did you choose it?

I don't really "choose" lessons or themes. They emerge. But if Good Slaves Never Break the Rules had a lesson, it's probably about The Power of Love, not only romantic love, even though it's a romance, but love for our fellow humans and love for ourselves. And the power of choosing love over hate, despite how cruelly we may have been hurt in the past -- or how we may have hurt (or perceive that we have hurt) others.

2) What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding (like real-life cultures, animals, famous media, websites, etc.)?

The world of GSNBTR owes a lot to (mostly) fanfics with modern slavery AUs that I have read and enjoyed over the years. I basically took all my favorite elements from those stories, mashed them together, and threw in a few of my own unique touches. And of course, the worldbuilding has expanded from there, in many cases in much more detail than I imagined it would when I started.

3) What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, help readers grow as a person?

My two MCs both start out with their separate goals -- her to get through university and become independent, him to find his sister -- which end up merging into one singular goal (save their loved ones and defeat the villain, essentially) by the end of the story. Learning to trust and work together is part of the journey they undergo, and with their individual strengths, they end up making an incredible team. So I guess demonstrating that is what I'm trying to achieve with them.

I want to make readers feel something. It doesn't even have to be necessarily what I feel, or what I set out to make others feel. If you feel anything -- love, fear, sadness, shock, hate, disgust -- while reading this, my work here is done.

4) How many chapters is your story going to have?

At this point (I just posted Ch. 27), I suspect not more than 40, give or take. (But take this with a grain of salt; the number has already expanded several times). We are in Act III and it's outlined in detail, with may of the scenes at least partially written, but I'm just not sure how long each chapter/scene is ultimately going to be and how and where they'll be divided. I have an idea of that, but I can't decide it ahead of time; I only know when I sit down to write and edit the chapters.

5) Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

Original (although I'm not afraid to admit there are some fannish elements/tropes to it) and I'm posting it on Ao3! It will eventually be an ebook as well. It probably won't ever migrate over to Tumblr, unfortunately, not only because of the time and energy that would require but also because the NSFW and romance elements make it much better suited for Ao3, I feel. Also, having it in one place only allows me to gauge exactly how many people have read it and engaged with it (not that that really matters, but still!)

6) When and why did you start writing?

When? As soon as I could pick up a pencil and string together letters on a page to form words. Why? Because telling stories is in my blood (literally; my dad is also a writer).

7) Do you have any words of engagement for fellow writers of Writeblr? What other writers of Tumblr do you follow?

Write what you want. It sounds simple, but I spent way too many years of my writing life writing what I thought OTHER people wanted, and it almost derailed my ability to write altogether because it made me so damn miserable.

For newer writers: If you find yourself beginning a writing question with the words "Is it okay to..." or "Can I..." just stop right there. The answer is "yes."

I follow more people than just about anyone I know and I think most of them are writers; it's in the 4 digits. So I'm going to put this question aside for now and start working on a post of my favorite Tumblr writers and stories, so for future similar questions, I'll be able to direct you to that.

This one was going around a few weeks ago and IDK who's done it so OPEN TAG!

Template under the cut

1) What is the main lesson of your story (e.g. kindness, diversity, anti-war), and why did you choose it?

2) What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding (like real-life cultures, animals, famous media, websites, etc.)?

3) What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, help readers grow as a person?

4) How many chapters is your story going to have?

5) Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

6) When and why did you start writing?

7) Do you have any words of engagement for fellow writers of Writeblr? What other writers of Tumblr do you follow?

[mommymothma]

Dave who gave you permission to tug on my heart strings like that?

Here is like the most concise version of my thoughts I am capable of generating 5 minutes after the finally

1. Ezra ahsoka and Sabine are the knee father son and holy spirit I love them and would die for them

2. Sabine's helmet just auto generating into the world was awesome. It means ahsoka picked it up and brought it for her queen behaviour

3. I appreciate that they mention Kanan by name this live action shows sometimes have a habit of just not mentioning important animated characters (like how Satine wasn't mentioned once in the mandalorian)

4. Sabine's family being wiped out on mandalore... I don't know why it took me so long to piece that together that yeah... they probably died. I guess I assumed people kind of just left after the siege but it was intact then and.... can't tall forever moving on

5. It was a violation for that trooper to just pluck Sabine's helmet off her head like that. A disgrace to the way. I'm a little shocked her helmet doesn't seal? I thought most of them did but what do I know

6. Yaya new kanan inspired lightsaber for Ezra just dropped.

7. Force sensitive Sabine. I have mixed thoughts on this but it was awfully convienient

8. I would love if Ahsoka just dual wielded one lightsaber and then Morgan's sword I think it was such a badass as thing for them to do a real win for the gays

9. Ahsoka being afraid of being left alone to die... just think about how many times that thought has crossed her mind. ESPECIALLY with the "all your friends are dead" line.

10. Baylan you SOB. Get your ass back here and stop cosplaying force daddy. Shin needs you. Also, highly sus by the way. But could be cool if it ever leads to a baylan, ahsoka and whoever the "son" will be trio eventually.

11. Manifesting the purrgils return to come save our girlie pops. Really thought that's what the hole in the sky was for.

12. I see u. I see u Dave with the whole "shadows in the stars" thing. I see anakin. And as much as I love the idea of him watching over ahsoka, I also don't like it because he's probably teaching her to be a force ghost which sets her up to die i am weary

13. Ezra not taking off the stormtroopers costume before dropping in on a republic ship is the most Ezra thing ever what a mad lad. Also, go hug your mom bro

14. I don't like them being left behind. But there is something to be said about the possibility of wolfwren now

15. Ahsoka fearing Sabine would turn to the darkside because she experienced loss is such a real reaction for her. She's seen what loss can do to a person

16. Um what was that cargo? Were those bodies in caskets. Clones? Dathomir stuff? I'm not sure but I don't like it

17. They better find their way home in the first episode of season 2 I need this rebels reunion ASAP stop holding out on me filoni

[temporalbystander]

I'm not sure if it's because this is all action oriented so far or what but there doesn't seem like many good scenes to stop on and talk about.

I picked this one because it's just the typical Ladybug trying to talk the Akuma down. With all three sides wanting to "save" Kagami, is it weird that I'm kind of siding with Felix? I mean I already made that decision earlier this year, not the time for that discussion though, but I can't help but think that ... Well... That if anyone should be the true holder of Duusu. It's him. I believe I said this in Emotion too, Kagami is safe with him. Probably safer than with Ladybug and Chat Noir, if not just as much. Though I am now looking forward to a reluctant team up some point in the future.

Huh. She's actually worried for him... Good for her. Good for him too I guess... *sighs* I knew when I started watching these that I wouldn't see any of the impacts I had made on my friends lives. But since everything seemed to have happened more or less the same I'm questioning just how big of an impact I actually made. Now that I'm watching the future?

... it's got me wondering if I even want to make a change at all. Things seem to be going well for everyone so far. Kagami has someone willing to do anything to protect her, Felix has someone else to focus on. Marinette is brave enough to stand up to Gabriel. Honestly maybe it would be better if I just hang back a bit and let this all play out.

As sweet as that sentiment is, he does realise that as long as Kagami holds onto the ring she is free? It seems Felix has a little bit of a certain mindset when it comes to solutions. Specifically about how permanent they need to be.

So... After Kagami expresses her shock at almost being shot at by her mother. Felix says this. About his father. That? Has terrifying implications that I do not like. (And I thought the line his mother gave about only his father being able to control him was a reference to him being a sentimonster.) Times like this? Kind of makes you grateful to be an orphan, seems like half my class has parental issues of some sort.

Okay, we all know that the fan will be back next time he transforms, that doesn't stop this moment from being sweet as all hell. I seriously did not think Felix had this type of heart. I used to be so good at reading people too but Felix just threw me for one hell of a loop. If any of this is faked I'm going to be very upset.

... have to say. The dude makes sense. He did say not to call them sentimonsters though. So... What do we call them? Amoks? I mean, clearly Felix and Kagami still classify as people but what about the red moon or the lollipop construct? Those that are clearly a summoned entity brought forth with a different purpose in mind?... I never thought I would have to be so careful about my words regarding what comes from a magical feather.

Oh... Wow he really does sound like a father here. Much better one than Gabriel and his own that's for sure. Kind of sad though huh? That the peacock does hold the power to make such a creation, yet it's a one time deal. You get one chance and that's it otherwise you have to accept that you're choosing to kill a living being.... Well. Now I know I was right to trust Felix. And I am beyond glad he trusted me. I think I need a bit before I continue this episode.

[a-mag-a-day]

MAG 48 - apple cutting

Did someone say anchor statement???

"I’d pick up travelling companions for a few days here and there, but for the most part I would spend weeks without speaking my own language." - As someone from East/Central Europe with a bunch of US friends I talked about this a lot and how it affects us. Like the US is huge, but in every state they will speak your language. In Europe I can drive 100 north, boom, Czech. 250 km to the south, boom, Slovenian. 300 km south, Italian. 300 km east, Hungarian. 300 km southeast, Serbocroatian… Only big brother Germany is convenient xD And trust me, there are so, sooo many people who really can't speak English in Europe. There was a study not long ago which claimed that Austria was the second best European country regarding being able to speak English (Number 1 was the Netherlands, if I remember correctly) and I was shocked, like "How bad is it in other countries then because Austrians are shit when it comes to English."

"Obviously, I couldn’t do another four months, but I figured that just the one would let me revisit my favorite spots in the south – Slovenia, Switzerland, Bavaria, Italy, maybe Monaco or bits of southern France." - Wow, wonderfully left out the obvious space of Austria there, I'm heartbroken (jk, I know Austria gets full attention in two statements).

Somehow, now hearing a British person talking about travel in Italy I can't think of anything other than James May, our man in Italy! XD

Last year for vacation I was in Italy in September as well. It's really perfect, school has started again so you're off-season and the weather is still super warm or even hot.

"He was pale, scrawny almost, and looked utterly out of place. His loose, bright shirt was in stark contrast to his long, black hair." - Gerry!

"He was staring at me with an air of concentration. Like he was trying to read something written very small on my forehead." - Hahahaha, I imagine him squinting at Andrea Nuniz with a puzzled look on his face XD

"what he wanted was to have a nice holiday in peace. He said it in a really accusatory way, like I was ruining his holiday somehow, and I said so. He sighed and said that he wasn’t in the business of helping strays" - very subtle static there. Also I just wanna say that I love Gerry. Good-hearted characters are often described as Golden Retrievers, which doesn't really fit him very well, so I'd say he's that stray dog that pretends they don't care but is actually really friendly and kind.

"Was I married? Did I have a fiance, partner, friends? I told him no, not really. I was just about sick of his stupid questions, but he sounded oddly desperate. Siblings? No." - Desperately scrambling for an anchor to save that poor traveller's life.

"Mother? Of course I had a mother." - lol

"As I left, I heard him call after me, telling me to remember my mother, to keep her face in my mind." - anchor, anchor, anchor!

"My first move was to try and locate that street market he’d mentioned. Perhaps it wasn’t just hidden away, perhaps it had been actually illegal, and he’d gotten caught up in something he shouldn’t have." - Well good idea going to look for him on your own, I guess?…

"My first move was to try and locate that street market he’d mentioned. Perhaps it wasn’t just hidden away, perhaps it had been actually illegal, and he’d gotten caught up in something he shouldn’t have." - Good job, Jon!

"She’s been doing her work with the same diligence as before the Prentiss incident" - I think it's hilarious that the Not!Them had to work an office job for about 6 to 7 months XD

Oh yes, ending with a wonderful scene about evidence of Jon getting more and more unhinged. Great comedy! On my first listen I really didn't expect Elias to be the big bad at this point, just a normal corporate asshole. I actually thought Martin was kinda sus, disappearing into the tunnel during the Prentiss attack, finding Gertrude's body, the letter to his mother etc. Not in a bad way sus, I just thought he would definitely be more involved than it seems.

He was a lot more involved in the end

[achaiapelides]

Kit's Diary

Chapter 13

Dear Ty,

I just realised that I forgot to tell you about my therapist appointment last week. As I told you, I had to take notes about what I remember about my childhood. I asked Tessa and Jem about if I should tell her about the first heir stuff and they reminded me that the whole Unseelie Court knows about me anyways for some reason. So I decided to tell her about that too at the next appointment. Mrs. Sullivan, being her enthusiastic self, gave nice commentary like "mmhmh" and "mkay". Please note the sarcasm here.

After my long ass monologue finally ended, the therapist confirmed that I definitely have trauma from what happened since my dad was killed and I found out I was a Shadowhunter, but also possibly some trauma from experiences I made in my childhood, that my brain made me forget to save me from being too traumatised. She asked me if I was willing to be hypnotised, so that she can find out what this traumatic experiences were to be able to help me better. I agreed. Mrs. Sullivan said she would contact a warlock who was able to do that and I suggested that maybe Tessa would have this ability too. I guess I feel more comfortable with having Tessa know my past memories that I don't even remember myself, than some random warlock I never met.

In addition to that Mrs. Sullivan also suggested that I might have ADHD. She printed out some sheets with the traits she observed in me and some other ones typical for ADHD and asked me to give it to several people I know, preferably some with little connection to each other. They should pick all the traits they have observed in me. I'm also supposed to fill out one sheet because some questions are about how I feel about certain things and how I think I behave, which obviously only I can answer. Then we made another appointment in two weeks, because Mrs. Sullivan is on vacation the next week. Well, this week I mean.

When I got home I gave Tessa and Jem one of the sheets and told them all the therapist said. They suggested to give one of the sheets to my school friends and one to Hazel, because she surely observed something about me too, as my ex-girlfriend. Jem even send the photo of the sheet to Emma, so she and Julian can point out, what they observed about me, too. And Tessa agreed to do the hypnosis thing and said she would also feel more safe about me, if no random warlock we don't know found out about me being the First Heir.

I have to tell you about something else, too. In school everyone is obsessed with this one singer from America, who just published her new album. Her name is Taylor Swift and she's apparently super popular, especially in America. I didn't know her. Was I living under a rock for the past years? Yes probably. (That was a metaphor by the way. I don't actually live under a rock obviously. It just means being unaware of mainstream things. Like Taylor Swift apparently. Lol.)

Anyways, back to Taylor. Once Leo found out that I didn't know, she forced me to listen to all of her songs and give her my opinion. After doing that I finally realised why she was so shocked. These songs are amazing. And she has so many different ones. Heartbroken songs, angry songs, love songs, revenge songs, calm songs and sad songs. Even some rocky songs. And some "I don't give a shit" songs. She really has everything you could ask for. Apparently she also is friends with Ed Sheeran and sung a duet with him. Yes I know Ed, but not Taylor. I'm weird, I know. I swear if Jem and Tessa listen to "Perfect" one more time, I'm sending Ed a marriage proposal on their behalf. Maybe he's Will Herondale reincarnated and I just don't know about that. You never know with this Shadowhunter stuff. Lol. And I changed topics again. Come on Kit. You can do better.

Anyways, back to Taylor, AGAIN. If you ever read this and you haven't listened to her songs yet, which I highly doubt, considering your literal twin sister is Livvy, you should listen to "Wildest Dreams". I think you might like it. And "Begin Again", too. I also just found the perfect song I can listen to on loop, when I'm missing you again. It's called "Haunted" and for some reason it fits perfectly to us. And it gives me feelings. Much feelings. Why can this woman describe my feelings better, than I can? If she ever stops her career, she should consider becoming a therapist. Wait a second, Julian just called and asked to speak with me. I'll be right back.

Holy shit. You won't believe what just happened. Well, you will actually because it was you idea, haha. Anyways, Julian called and said they saw the sheet Jem send them and were discussing it, when you randomly visited and after they told you what they were doing, you wanted to help them because you knew me best. Holy shit. What? Huh? Am I dreaming. What??? I couldn't believe that was true and literally asked Mina to trip my leg really hard so that could bring me back to reality. But this is real. What? Omg. I think I broke. Where is Taylor when you need her? She better have a song about this.

Sorry, I'm back from my lovesick happiness trip now. Calm your shit, Kit! (oh a rhyme!) He just helped. You didn't even interact. What will you do when it comes this far? Die? Yeah probably. So if I black out, when we see eachother again, don't worry. I'm good. Just lovesick.

Oh man, I'm talking to myself again. I think I need an extra therapy session for this.

Aaaaanyway. (I used this word too much today, I know.) So, Emma send back the sheets with her's, Julian’s and your comments. And I can see so clearly what you wrote. Aaaaahh. Thank you so much. Aaaaahhhhhh.

I think I should stop writing for today. It's dinnertime now anyway. But maybe I can hope that you're thinking about me now too? Is that too much to ask?

I love you so much, Ty. I wish we could be together again. But I guess we both need some time to heal. Don't think I won't miss you every second of it, because I will.

All my love, Kit. (Hopefully yours one day)

Author's note:

What a coincidence that of all the times my friend could have forced me to listen to all the Taylor Swift songs and made me get a bit too obsessed with her, she chose the time when I was writing chapter 13. This was not planned. What the hell?

[singofsolace]

This is a fascinating interview with Catherine Zeta-Jones all around, but the part that stuck out to me the most is that this is the only interview I've seen (and having been down an endless YouTube rabbit hole, I've seen a lot), where Catherine admits that the infamous story of how she and Michael Douglas met was actually a scary situation for her, and not the lighthearted, romantic thing that they usually present it to be when they talk about it in live interviews.

Here is an except of what I'm talking about:

What were you doing when you met Michael [Douglas]?

I was shooting “Entrapment,” and I was promoting the European release of “Zorro” at the Deauville Film Festival. I did the event on a Friday night, and I was going to fly to Scotland the next day to meet Sean [Connery] on the Isle of Mull. Michael was there promoting “A Perfect Murder,” and he asked to meet me. I remember I walked through the door of the hotel when I arrived, and he walked right past me with his golf bag on his shoulder. I went, “O.K., guess he really wants to meet me, he just walked right past me.” He knew Antonio [Banderas] and Melanie [Griffith] for many years, and he joined us all for drinks and dinner. That night we found out we have the same birthday.

And it moved pretty quickly from there?

Well, he said he was going to be the father of my children.

What? He said that the first night he met you that he wanted to be the father of your children?

Yes! And I went, “All right. I’ve read a lot about you. I’ve seen a lot about you. I heard a lot about you. Good night.” And I went to bed and got up at 5 a.m. I went to London, changed planes, went to Aberdeen, got on a ferry across to the Isle of Mull. And there was a big bouquet of flowers saying “I’m sorry if I scared you. Love, Michael Douglas.” He always says whoever was the florist who got those flowers to the Isle of Mull saved his life. I will say if somebody says they’re going to father your children when you’ve just met them, it is a little scary. Unfortunately he was right, again.

~~~

While journalists like Hota Kotb have occasionally pointed out that it was incredibly bold of him to say this to her on a first date, it has always been played off on live tv by both Michael and Catherine as a lighthearted story, because he wound up being right about being the father of her kids... but clearly, from this 2021 interview that's in print, it's not a wholly light-hearted memory for her...?

I just feel like a 53 year-old man doesn't frantically send flowers to a 28 year-old woman with a note saying "I'm sorry if I scared you" unless it was incredibly apparent at the time that that's exactly what he did...? She said "good night" to him in a way that very much implied finality. She said no. The apology flowers only add to the creepiness, in my mind.

I know everyone probably has an "it's all well that ends well" attitude toward it, because they've been married 23 years, and I admit that it is absolutely none of my business, and not my place to judge, etc., but having watched so many interviews where they happily bring it up unprompted, I had started to feel like I was going crazy, thinking "does no one else think that is an incredibly creepy pick up line, or is it just me?"

They always tell the story like people are meant to laugh with them about it, like we're in on the joke, and maybe most people are, but this interview of Catherine's is the first time I've felt validated in my shock at the pure audacity that someone would say this to a woman on their first date, and that instead of it being a low point they would try to downplay or forget, it is recalled fondly, because it "worked."

[spaceytingz]

1, 13, 23, 48, 58, 59, 79, 83, 85, 100.

hi bestie, thanks for the ask!

1 . What's your biggest insecurity?

That I might be too much for people. Like, everyone is so low energy, so apathetic, so laser focused on what they already know and their comfort zone that I feel like any connection I might want from a person might overwhelm them. also other things but we are NOT getting into them today.

13. Tell a secret

I ratted out my best friend for using drugs to her mom cause she ratted me out for something small (and changed the facts to make me look bad) cause she was being spiteful and we were arguing before that. She still doesn't know, I manipulated literally everyone involved to mask my interference. In a sense I actually did the right thing considering her life was going extremely downhill cause of addiction and technically if I were a truly good friend I should have ratted her out earlier. Sadly, her mom learning about it didn't make her stop and she's been rolling downhill for a while.

23 . Do you believe in an afterlife?

Not really, I think the traditional idea of an afterlife is stupid. I think if I die, my "soul" would just merge with the universe. Maybe another way of existing, who knows. However, I'm also a fan of the theory that everyone's afterlife depends on their belief.

48. Are you afraid of death?

Inconclusive. To me, death is an exceedingly boring concept, second only to decay. If I were to die in ten seconds, I don't think I would care, simply cause I can't panic much in ten seconds. If I knew I'd die in a week I'd be mad as fuck. Honesly, if I knew I'd die anytime I'd be mad as fuck. I'm not afraid of death, I'm angry at its inevitability.

58. What's the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to you?

Honestly, I don't dwell on the bad parts of my past, so I really can't remember anything I'd define as terrifying. Like sure, there's been some times I almost got ran over by a car, the time my legs got stuck in mud and couldn't get out, that one random party where a psychopath was threatening to pull a knife on everyone but like.... i didn't get run over, my dad pulled me out of the mud and the psychopath got handled and even if he didn't i could have beaten his ass with a chair so................ honestly the only form of terror i feel is when I'm faced with the possibility of things not turning out in the best way possible.

59. What's the happiest day of your life you've ever had?

I think that's a question no one but married couples or people with children can genuinely answer cause.... I'm having a lot of fun most days, but I don't think I've had one day that's sooo much better than the others. I'll take the safe answer and say one of the days in september while I was in Italy and having fun and drinking limoncello every day.

79. What's your most prized possession?

I don't....really have any valuables. Love my laptop but it can be replaced. Love my books but I wouldn't die to save them from a fire. Love my childhood plushies but I don't play with them anymore.... Frankly I'm a bit of a hoarder so I don't think I can pick one of my many beloved things.

83. Do you like it when people guess how you're feeling?

Not really, I don't really like when people assume I'm feeling some way and I hate it when they're correct cause......what do you mean i'm not like super mysterious and baffling.....how dare you assume you can read me

85. What kind of interview questions do you answer to yourself?

When I'm pretending I'm getting interviewed on TV, I love answering questions about my personality. Like.... maybe a bit of a shock factor for the audience, just.... maybe it's a fantasy that me just being #real and funny would be enough to entertain the audience.

100. Are you okay?

Yup! You know, there might be some things to work out, but as I've said before, I think I'm the only truly happy person I know.

[bonaesperanza]

#I love that in so many direvtions#cold military science as the new Hell#angel weapons#Or a direction of the heirarchal layers of baurocratic government not being unlike the tiers of heaven#Mm that has a lot of tasty ditections

So it kinda went in most of those directions actually.

It was set in a highly rigid, vicious and militaristic society in a fantasy version of the late 19th/early 20th century, and it initially followed two young military officers from an aristocratic background. They were brothers and one of them was a bastard with a sweet personality who was bullied by the legitimate one. It started as a kind of coming of age for them where they had to come to terms with the society they lived in and how to deal with it, with one becoming vicious to get ahead and justifying it with his birthright and the other one kind of floundering and withdrawing into himself.

The angel was a kind of... representation of love and kindness and gentleness and innocence (duh), and I guess the fact that she was immediately picked up and half torn apart for parts for a fantasy A-bomb was I believe probably allegorical even though I hadn't intended it at the time (I used to be VERY good at unintentionally creating symbolism as a teen - sometimes I look back on the stuff I made and I'm kind of shocked both at how cool the symbolism was and how well it reflected my internal states that I wasn't conscious of LOL).

So the sweet brother accidentally discovers the angel and tries to save her (I keep saying "her" but the angel was really only nominally female, today I'd probably say that they were nonbinary but I didn't know what that was at 15) even though that will mess up the war effort. He becomes sort of obsessed with her and clings to her as the only pure or beautiful thing he can find in the world.

And then there's a more hard worldbuilding subplot with all kinds of angel weapons, one of which is a blood curse that ends up being used on the brothers' posh family by their political enemies. And the vicious brother is the only one in the family who doesn't die, making him discover that he was adopted/switched as a baby (after a mystery subplot about why he didn't die and the exact parameters of the curse), which completely crumbles all of the foundations of his identity, pushes him into a psychological crisis and makes him realize that the status and birthright that he'd been using as a justification for committing all his acts of aggression are an illusion. Which prompts a redemption arc after which he's the one who ends up definitely saving the angel in his dead little brother's memory and making friends with her.

So there was a lot of themes about people making a hell on earth through their ambition and insistence on power and hierarchies and violence, and there were several coming of age stories about how different people dealt with that as they stepped into adulthood and were dealt variously good or shitty hands in life, and just how it affected them generally, and there was also a subplot about the innocent angel reacting to all of this and how it changes them to see how people are acting on Earth, but also cool magic fights with angel weapons and tons of political intrigue :) And there were also some other worldbuilding elements that tied into all these themes that were also cool but I won't get into them so I don't make it too long.

Looking back on it it was a neat story, especially since I was like 16 when I thought of it. Looking back on it some more it was a period when I was watching trashy shounen anime, reading Dostoevsky and learning about the world wars at school, so it checks out

EDIT: oh and it's worthwhile to note that the angel wasn't fallen because they rebelled against god, they were sent to earth as some kind of messenger and were shot down by some kind of magical anti-aircraft gun.

fallen angel being immediately stripped for precious metals and parts by scavengers as soon as its impact radius has cooled enough to approach

[the-canine-king]

Okay so funny story, I was listening to Uninstall again and it became an earworm before I finally decided to check out the media where this song came from (or at least the manga), Bokurano

After reading the first volume I literally couldn't put it down and committed to finish reading it. Here's my honest thoughts on it (not really a formal review). Also I'm gonna spoil it bc there's no way not to spoil it if I want to talk about the story lol

First off, I'm actually a complete sucker for dark psychological/ existential stuff that talk about morality and life and don't mind darker tones being addressed in stories. The manga does not shy away from the ugliness and tragedy of it all and it's the centerpiece to a lot of the character's stories. Characters having to choose which choice is the "right" moral choice is always so fun to read. Plus, all of them don't share the same moral compass which is always so fun to read different perspectives and arguments. Compared to the saturation of "being the good hero" in stories, I love when characters are cruel and selfish for their own personal gain. I don't like them as a person but as a writing device? A painful yet entertaining read.

Despite the story being pretty simple (due to it feeling "episodic" since it just develops one pilot at a time) and predictable (in some parts lol), I really enjoyed the story through and through and in my opinion it worked pretty effectively. I was going to try to pick out a favourite pilot, but I honestly think almost all of them had a solid, satisfying story despite the tragedy. … Almost all of them.

Kanji's probably felt the weakest one. Each character had a chapter or so to establish who they are and their story so far. For Kanji, it almost felt incredibly nonchalant? Despite being the third last battle, it didn't feel completely satisfying on how it ended his story. Sure, it might've been set up for Ushiro's battle (the question of "would you kill an ally to save 10 billion?" leading up to "would you destroy a world to save your own?" all very fun moral conflicts), but it almost felt like there was no build up or "resolution". He died shooting an ally which is such a rough thing to put a kid through, but at least the others had some sort of "conclusion" on their life stories. (Such as having the resolve to protect others or having the last chance to be with a parent that neglected them) I did like that tactical planning involved and it was an incredibly depressing read when they were at their wits end. Him dying on top of his mother's building was really touching in a way(??? idk how else to explain) but again it was disappointing that there was not much with him.

Chizu's story I'm incredibly annoyed with. I wish nothing but a thousand deaths for the teacher and those associated with him. I'm so… fucking pissed that he got away with it. Like how?? AND he still got hired WHILE he's STILL doing that?? AND Like there was nothing in the story that pointed towards any good reason to keep him alive (revenge is bad, he's a good guy in a way now, people change, etc.) like MAYBE if there was some sort of discussion on the justice system or how things like these are always going to continue to happen to other girls (like the new girl he started talking to). But it was so dog ass lame that I seriously just couldn't believe he went away with it. I was shocked when Kirie stabbed him, I thought he killed him and it was going to be about the cycle of revenge or it contributes to his apathy towards life itself. While I highly enjoyed Kirie's story, I honestly think he should've killed him lol. Also, it's so fucking annoying that there was a whole discussion about the moral conflicts of protecting those close to you even if it means killing a stranger and then… Chizu's family is so okay with what happened between her and her sister?? Like I guess they wanted to show how despite it all she still killed many in her quest of revenge but at the same time she's your family member that got pregnant and raped by a teacher how is that in any way a good message. Chizu's sister pissed me the fuck OFF. "Oh I don't talk to him anymore" HOW ABOUT YOU FUCKING DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR SISTER…? PLUS, he was the major tip/ leak about the pilot's identities, if the government was so hellbent on making news outlets and tabloids keeping it a secret WHYYYY did they fucking release him??? I read someone's complaints about it on reddit and I completely agree w/ almost every point. Like idk about you but kids having innocent crushes on adults are completely normal, rapists and pedos are a terrifying reality that can happen to other people too. Doing nothing about said criminals either in a good or darker way? Absolutely unforgivable. Again, I would've been (to some extent) fine with it if there was SOME sort of discussion or critique about him getting away with it, but it's completely brushed off (worse that they tried to make Chizu JUST as bad as him).

And now with Machi… I'm incredibly conflicted on her story and twist. To be fair it was 3am and I was binge reading w/ a headache near the end so I probably missed a lot of details. But now that I'm awake and read some explanations about it I guess it works…? Again this is because I was completely confused during this time but now that I get it I think I have a new appreciation to the character. So at first it was gonna be rant but I concede since I'm actually just a dumbass lol.

Also I just want to say the art is seriously not as bad as people make it out to be lol. They make it sound like it's some amature work, but all of the characters have such a refreshing look to the style with their diversity of design. I mean it's not that extreme of a diversity but it's nice to see varied head and eye shapes in a manga since nowadays it's the same proportions.

EDIT: I forgot to say but idk how I felt about the kid's ages for the sake of the story. Like yeah it's children fighting a battle to determine which world gets to live and it's sad but at the same time it reads too mature for them? I suppose it's meant to be similar to a coming of age story and children being more philosophically open/ curious about life and death but lol. a fourth grader talking about the relationships and family blood in some mature way is kinda jarring

Overall, great story and great read. After clearing up my confusion I honestly think I might raise my score a little. 7.5/10 to maybe even an 8/10 (high maybe, i felt like it could've done a bit more but at the same time it was good enough?). Would highly recommend for those who like dark, depressing tales and a discussion on the importance of life and moral choices.