#I was trying so hard not to lose my shit in the tube

[irregularbillcipher]

had to have two cardiac MRIs today, so i was in the tube for nearly three hours with some youtube playlist of show tunes droning on between breathing instructions. anyway i’m here to tell you that the only authentic way to listen to beetlejuice’s “girl scout” is to be jumpscared by it on hour two of your extremely uncomfortable test for your very own tetralogy of fallot with pulmonary atresia, listening to skye’s chirping about “tetralogy of fallot in my pulmonary artery” getting cut off by instructions on how long to hold your breath for, only for the instructions to end, allowing you to breathe again as the lyrics kick back in with “even if you're born with congenital heart disease, and you could be killed by a random sneeze.” so blessed and lucky to have had the ideal listening experience today

[misserabella]

catch me if you can

street racer! ellie williams x fem! reader

summary; heat rises on the streets, blood pumps with adrenaline in the race, and bad memories come up to the surface with a swing of the steering wheel.

cw; tension, swearing, mentions of death and death of a fictional character, anxiety… in the future there would be +18 content!

special thanks to @winfleurs and @atomicami for inspiring me i luv u! 🎀

“dina! wait up!” you screamed, your heels making it not quite easy to run after your best friend.

your ears were buzzing with the roaring of the audience and the car’s engines. it was a fresh saturday night, and the city seemed as bright as a constellation. adrenaline was pumping through your veins, you shouldn’t be out today. in fact, you’d sneaked out of your house. but you couldn’t help it if your friend asked for it so badly. her boyfriend, jesse, was supposed to be racing today. there was a lot of money on the line. probably about 500k. and dina had to be there. you know, the ‘good luck’ kiss and all that.

the cars looks amazing, modified with the newest technology. you could see the NOS tubes peeking though, ready to push though the chambers of the cars and burn the tires in the asphalt.

shit, you were getting excited.

you followed your friend through the crowd, trying to not lose her black wavy hair out of sight.

“jesse!” she screamed, a huge smile on her features as she ran towards the cars and her boyfriend, jumping onto his arms.

“hi beautiful.” he smiled, giving her a kiss as he held her. you made a gagging sound that made them laugh and pull apart.

“nice to see you too, jesse.” you said as you met up with the two of them. jesse chuckled.

“hey trouble maker, what are you doing here?”

“oh, you know… being a good best friend and all that.” you rolled your eyes, a playful smile on your lips.

“of course.” he hummed, squinting his eyes.

“although i really wanted to see you lose too.” you added and he laughed.

“there it is. i could see it coming.” you winked at him.

“i see you’ve got competition.” you looked around to the cars placed for the race. and you whistled. “a 2015 Lykan HyperSport? that’s gonna be hard to beat.” jesse frowned. “but of course yours is not that bad…” you placed your hand on its surface. “Nissan Skyline GT-R R34… 1999 right?” you inquired and he nodded.

dina seemed just as surprised as him.

“yeah… how do you know all this stuff about cars?” you froze. shit.

“uhh…” you shrugged. “my father. he’s a fanatic.” you quickly spurted out, and the two of them nodded, letting it slide. ‘cause they couldn’t think anything else about it, of course. you were no longer in LA, you were safe.

you sighed. almost fucked it up.

“hey, jess!” the three of you turned around at the sound of a low and sultry voice. your eyes met a pair of evergreen ones, silky auburn hair —tied half and half on a messy bun— and freckled cheeks. she was seating on the hood of her car, girls with tiny skirts and exposed cleavages surrounding her. her legs were spread, a black tank top hugging her chest and toned abdomen, leaving her strong arms exposed.

she was hot. really hot.

“yo williams.” jesse smirked. “ready to eat dirt?” she scoffed, showing off a confident smirk.

“you talk too much for someone who hasn’t beaten me once.” people around you hollered.

“and you talk too much to have that shit of a car.” you huff, and she arched her eyebrows. “Subaru WRX. year 2008.” you pointed out, your heels clicking as you got closer. “i’m sorry for your wallet. the engine and drivetrain must have given you a lot of problems.” you saw the way her jaw ticked and you smiled. “uuuh, seems like a touched a tender spot, didn’t i? i mean subarus are impressive. but not even an STI? come on. you hurt me.” you pouted and she chuckled.

“well, look at that. here i thought your pretty face would be the most interesting thing about you. but you’ve got brains.” she said, jumping off of the hood of her car, getting closer to you as she eyed you up and down.

“not like your kitties here.” you nodded at the girls and they all stared dirtily at you, what made you smirk.

“careful doll, they might scratch you all up.” she warned, playfully, so close to you you could smell her perfume. “and we wouldn’t want that beautiful face of yours to go to waste, do we?” you smirked.

“i would like to see them try.” you muttered, leaning until your faces were mere inches away. she pursed her lips and took a look at you, at your exposed legs and cleavage, beautiful hair and glossy red lips. you had gone for a simple tight tube leather dress that pushed up your tits a little bit too well, and a pair of red thin high heels. a red pendant hanging from your necklace.

“see something you like, ‘williams’?” you inquired, sultry, teasingly and she smirked.

“maybe.” she tilted her head slightly backwards. “what about you? you see something you like?”

“i do…” you nodded, droopy eyes on her own green ones and she smiled. “your car.” she let out a sarcastic laughter, shaking her head.

“but weren’t you just saying how much of a shit it was?” she inquired, eyebrows arched in disbelief.

“now it is. it won’t be once i’ve got my hands on it and touch her all up.” you said as you stared at the cherry red car. the people surrounding you let out ‘uuu’s that made you smile. “you know… a short throw shifter, maybe a new intercoolers…”

“and how are you gonna do that, princess?”

“with a race.” the crowd roared and your friends frowned. dina approached you.

“are you crazy?! do you even know how to race?” you looked at her, and took one of her hands.

“dina… i’ll explain later, okay? but now i need you to trust me on this one, alright?” jesse and dina looked at you, into your eyes, and saw your determination. silently, he handed you his keys.

“if you’re gonna race, you’ll need a car.” you looked at him, and he smiled. you returned it, taking the keys. “if you lose i’ll kill you.” he warned though, and you laughed.

“i never lose.” you promised.

“what do i win if you do?” ellie stepped into the conversation, eyebrows raised. “need to hook me in, gorgeous, i’m betting my car after all.”

“i’ll tell you what.” you smirked, turning towards her. “since it’s not gonna happen. i’ll bet you anything you want.”

“anything i want?” she inquired and you nodded. “don’t pull back later on your promise, princess.”

“i won’t.”

-

you could feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins, the tingling of your hands. you pressed on the gas, hearing the engine roar, and your heart stammered. shit. it’s been so long.

you had promised yourself you wouldn’t do it ever again. but how could you get away from all of this? from the only thing that made you feel something? that made you weak on your knees and your heart race? it was like a drug. every time you took it you’d find yourself begging for more. you needed it on your system.

you had learned how to race since a very early age, even before you had enough age to get your license —yeah, you got in trouble with the police more than once, but they could never catch you—. and even if you loved it, you’d left it all after your best friend had died while racing, in the hands of a crazy dick who made him crash against a building, making the NOS tanks blow up and burning him alive.

you still could remember your screams, how your friends had grabbed at you so you wouldn’t get closer. ‘let me go! let me fucking go!’

you’d watched the only person that got you and unconditionally loved you die in front of your eyes.

after that you’d used the millions of dollars your family name had to drown your sorrows in alcohol and drugs, getting away from the city that had taken away your everything from you and building a brand new life where nobody could know you.

you’d been hard to get to know, always having everybody at an arm’s length until dina had come along, with her stupid smile and warm personality bringing you back to life. you’d forever be grateful to and for her. but her past was something you’d never talked about, and she didn’t want to force you into it.

“i see you shaking there, princess. scared?” williams screams from her car, who just had positioned itself to your right. you scoffed.

“oh yeah, terrified.” you sarcastically said, and she smirked.

“don’t worry babe, you can always sit on my lap later, i have something that will calm you down.” she winked and you rolled your eyes.

“no thank you, once i’m done i’ll be sitting on your car and driving back to my house.” you winked back, and she chuckled, mouthing something to herself that you couldn’t figure out.

“you guys readyyyyyy?!” a girl in a mini skirt came in between the two cars, a gun in hand. the audience roared, and so did your car. there were phones everywhere, recording the impending race —and your victory—.

you bit down on your lip. you were gonna make win that pretty girl, in heels.

“set!” another girl to your right yelled, and your engine roared again, the tires burning.

“ready!” another to your left, one more roar.

“go!” the girl with the gun shot up to the sky, and before you knew you were flying. the world stopped. there was no future. no past. just the present. just that moment.

ellie took the lead, and she smirked to herself, looking at your car through her mirrors. but she just had to take her eyes away from you for two seconds to lose you. “what the-“

she took the curve, and with a honk, you drifted right beside her, in a swift motion getting in front of her backwards to the road, facing her car. you smiled at her, and send her a kiss with one of your hands before harshly spinning the wheel and drifting once again to face forwards, using the NOS to catapult yourself through the asphalt. you relished on the shock of her face. god you could never get used to it. it never got old.

ellie cursed, following right behind you, adrenaline pumping through her body.

“i’ve finally got you.” she smiled, changing gears and speeding up. another closed curve came into your view and you sped up, in a quick movement changing gears and pulling on the break as you harshly manhandled the steering wheel. you could almost see everything on slow motion, the people outside of the car roaring as you perfectly drifted in an U shape.

you screamed, euphoria in the pit of your stomach. ellie used the inertia to pull up by your side, lowering her window. you did the same. you two were on the final straight line. “you ready to lose princess?” she inquired, and you scoffed.

“catch me if you can, williams!” you screamed, and changed gears before pressing the gas. you press the NOS button, the strength making your back press tightly against your sit. you flew through the straight line, ellie copying you and keeping up with you. you could see the finish line getting closer and closer, and the speedometer getting higher.

you knew you couldn’t over do it, the crowd was waiting for the winner there, you couldn’t hurt them, you wouldn’t.

100mph, 125mph, 150mph, 165mph.

“3…2…1…” and just as you crossed the finish line, mere inches ahead from ellie, you harshly rotated the wheel, drifting as you stepped and pulled on both breaks, the tires burning against the asphalt and leaving marks as you finally stopped the car. the crowd roared and quickly approached you. dina and jesse were hollering.

you stepped out of the car with a smile on your face, your best friend jumping to hug you and jump into your arms, making you laugh.

“what?! i mean- what?!? that was amazing!!! since when could you race?!!?? oh my god!!!” you chuckled, trying to calm her down.

“i’ll tell you everything about it later, alright?” she nodded. jesse tried to say something but he was out of words. “it’s okay big boy, don’t waste your breath.” you tapped her shoulder, and he scoffed. “and now…” you turned around, watching ellie as she stepped out of her car. “i’ll be taking my prize.” you smirked, spreading out your arm and showing her your palm. she tilted her head to the side, a playful smile playing on her lips.

“sure. but first aren’t you going to introduce yourself for me, princess?” she inquired. “or should i do it… viper?” your blood froze, as well as the whole crowd. ellie smirked. “you really thought i wouldn’t recognize those drifts?” you quickly got closer to her, your breaths mingling.

those surrounding you started mumbling. your breath was shaky and your body, still filled with adrenaline, slowly filled with anxiety and bad memories.

“viper the street racer?”

“no way!”

“she disappeared years ago, is it really her?”

“i would shut up if i were you.” you hissed, and she leaned in, the smirk on her lips growing. your lips were almost brushing, and with the hand in which she had her keys, she cupped your chin.

“why don’t you make me?”

you needed to get out of here.

why… why now? why after all this years was your past catching up to you?

you quickly took her —your— keys, watching her smile as you got into your new car and started it. the crowd was unraveling and you knew soon they’d start either jumping at you or taking pictures to expose you.

“see you soon, princess!” she screamed as you drove out of there, groaning at the buzzing of your phone. “i caught you.”

-

a/n; ty’all for 7k! i’m so happy that such a large number of people enjoys my work :(🎀 i love u!! also hope you liked this fic! would you like a part 2? let me know!

[afewproblems]

Christmas Party Wish Part One

After The Christmas party, Steve manages to avoid everyone for all of two days before Robin shows up at his front door, ready to knock it down.

He crosses from the kitchen and into the foyer just as Robin starts yelling.

"Steven Marie Harrington, you open up this door or so help me--"

Steve rolls his eyes, pulling the door inward quickly enough that Robin loses her balance and nearly topples onto the inside floor mat. If not for Steve's quick reflexes she would be face down in a heap, he tells her as much with a sly grin as he helps her to stand.

"And whose fault would that be? Nice way to treat the person who is here to help you out Dingus," Robin huffs, brushing off imaginary dust from her shoulders while Steve moves aside to let her in.

"Merry Christmas to you too Rob," Steve says tugging her towards himself. He sighs as she immediately wraps her arms around his neck, content until she blows a long wet raspberry into his check. Steve drops her with a yelp and wipes away the wet mark she left behind with grinning lips.

"That was for ignoring my call," she says with narrowed eyes, "you were supposed to come for supper on Christmas day remember?"

She shrugs off her blue parka before lifting each foot to pull off her snowy boots, Steve takes the coat and tosses it over the back of the closest chair and crosses his arms over his chest.

"I know," he manages after a beat, sighing as Robin scoffs. She turns on her heel and wanders into the kitchen, leaving Steve to trail after her.

"I can only assume it's because you had other plans, you can't have possibly ignored my call for some other reason, hmm?"

Steve lifts his head to stare at the ceiling and count to five.

The thing that Steve both loves and hates about his best friend is her ability to read him through and through and call him on his shit. He'd hoped to have at least a little more time to wallow in self pity though.

"You've been wallowing for two days Steve, and I know it sucks," she chews her lip for a moment before sighing, "I'm sorry about the wish game, I feel like it's my fault".

Steve shakes his head and moves to the fridge. He opens it and reaches inside for two cans of cola before turning and using his foot to nudge the door closed again. He stacks the cans, holding them both with one hand and he moves to the pantry, grabbing an old open tube of Pringles, before making his way back to the kitchen island.

"Nah," he says eventually, "it wasn't your fault, if anything it proved why I was right not to say anything".

Steve places Robin's cola and the chips on the counter beside him and cracks the tab on his can with one hand as he leans heavily against the edge. He takes a long swig from the can, pounding his chest as he finishes to release a long burp.

Robin grimaces and swats at Steve's bicep as she grabs her own can and hops up onto the counter next to Steve.

"Dis-GUST-ing," she enunciates, wrinkling her nose, "and it doesn't prove anything Steve, of course Eddie would wish for his band to succeed, he doesn't even know you're on the table".

"And besides," Robin continues, gesturing to Steve with the can, "Nancy and Jonathan don't know that I'm a friend of Dorothy and we've known each other for over a year now. You've known them for three years and haven't said anything either, Dingus, so why would Eddie feel comfortable sharing something like that in front of everyone?"

And, huh, well what Robin says does make a lot more sense than the rambling depressing thoughts that he's been playing on repeat since their movie night.

He and Eddie have gotten a lot closer since they escaped from the Upside Down for the last time. Since Steve managed to carry him out of hell and got them to the hospital in time.

And Steve has been trying so hard for months not to expose himself, to show the most vulnerable parts of his heart to someone that could stomp on it as easily as Nancy did.

But Robin has a point.

On the one hand Steve has been protecting himself, and on the other he's also made sure that there would never be a possibility of--

Steve shakes his head, "first of all, I only just figured all of this, Bi-Sectional stuff, out Robin--"

"Bisexual," she sighs as Steve keeps talking.

"Whatever, and second, we have no idea if Eddie swings that way either…I just don't want to take the risk and end up fucking it all up".

Robin stares at him, an unhappy frown marring her normally sweet features. It feels too much like she's evaluating the inside of his mind --though she did always have the uncanny talent of knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"And what would you say if I told you I had a plan?" Robin says slowly, her gaze unwavering still.

Steve meets her eyes for a moment, taking in the smirk and the raised eyebrow. There's a challenge in her expression and Steve knows there's nothing for it but to listen to what she has to say.

"I'm going to regret letting you in today aren't I?" Steve says as he lifts his can towards her own.

Robin answers with a wide grin and knocks her can into his with a metallic click.

"Don't you always? Anyways," she clears her throat and looks at him with a mischievous smirk, lifting her hands into the air and wiggling her fingers, "I'm thinking, are you ready? New Year's Eve!"

"No--"

"New Year's Eve Steve, come on!" She insists as Steve grazes on a stack of chips from the Pringles tube.

"All we need to do is invite everyone over, Eddie included, to Casa Harrington for a little New Years Party," Robin continues, ignoring the eye roll Steve sends her way, "with enough liquid courage you'd have another opportunity to actually talk to Eddie, confess your feelings, and Boom! Maybe even get a midnight kiss out of the whole thing!"

Steve stares at her wide eyes and wider grin, forcing himself to keep his expression blank.

"So, just to be clear," Steve says eventually, around a mouthful of chips. Robin exaggeratedly gags and snatches her own stack from the tube.

"Your plan is for me to host another party and talk to him".

"Well, yeah--"

"...Robin, that's not a plan, that's a repeat of what already happened," Steve groans as he puts down the chips and runs his hands over his face until they've tangled into his hair.

"No, no, nuh uh, because you didn't say jack shit to him all night," she huffs, gently pulling his hands down, "the crucial difference my sweet bozo, is that you are actually going to tell him how you feel this time".

"How am I supposed to do that with my ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend, and everyone else here smart ass," he counters, letting her continue to hold his hands in her own smaller ones.

She rolls her eyes but squeezes his fingers as she continues, "it will be easy to get him alone, come on, you could tell him you want to give him his Christmas present in your room, you could ask him to go for a smoke outside, you could show him the basement stereo and your ridiculous music collection, must I go on while you don't write this down?"

With every suggestion Steve feels a surge of warm affection for his friend and allows for a fond grin to replace the skeptical frown on his face.

"Do I have to do all of those or should I pick one?" Steve asks, lifting his now free hands to protect his face as Robin whips her own at his chest and head.

"How you were ever considered a ladies man, I will never know," Robin says, though the words are rather undercut by a laugh that turns into a giggle as she finds a particularly ticklish rib and begins her assault.

"You are a fucking menace birdie," Steve manages to say as he catches the offending hands and steps away from the counter and his friends attack.

"You love it," she scoffs, stealing another chip and crunching it loudly as though to make her point.

And he does, Steve thinks to himself.

They have five days to figure out the final details, and Steve can't help but move back to the counter to swing an arm around her shoulders.

Because when in doubt, he can always count on Robin.

"Okay, New Years it is".

[helenabuu32]

Finally thought of some more headcannon ideas! So here’s my hc’s for who in the Bucci Squad is good at cooking!

Bucci Squad cooking + bonus cooking for their S/O or crush!

Bucciarati:

Of course mother can cook

For real though, he’s one of the best cooks in the group.

I can imagine a young Bruno learning how to cook with his mother, and after she decided to leave it was something he kept up and just kept getting better at

Could also see him going out of his way to cook food for homeless or elderly people around the city just because he loves helping others so much.

He loves cooking for the rest of the squad and likes to have nights where everyone gets together and he can just make a bunch of different dishes and have a great time with his friends. He always make sure that everyone has at least one of their favourite dishes on the table, even if it means spending the entire day in the kitchen

When he has a crush or is in a relationship, he loves cooking for them and secretly learning their favourite dishes so he can surprise them with a romantic dinner. Candles, red roses, fancy wine and music, the whole classic dinner date thing.

Excellent cook, but not as good at baking. Still good though.

Mista:

This man burns water

He’s so bad. He tried to help Bucciarati once when everyone was supposed to come over and Bucciarati had to hide himself gagging. He then tried his best to fix the dish while Mista got distracted so he didn’t have to throw it out and make him feel bad…

…because of this, Mista thinks he’s a great cook.

Even when he makes something bad, he’ll try it and think it’s fine…I imagine he’s like Joey from Friends and will literally just eat anything

He cannot bake either, at all. Even if someone hands him one of those tubes of the pillsbury premade dough things that you literally just have to place on a pan, he will burn them

The first time he tried to cook for his s/o or crush he set the oven on fire

Proceeded to serve the meal after spraying everything with a fire extinguisher

They ended up ordering take out that night, but s/o or crush says next time they’ll help him because they can see how hard he was trying :)

Narancia:

Okay he’s still pretty bad but surprisingly not as bad as Mista

He’s not great with measurements and following instructions because he doesn’t read, so he kinda learned over the years what works and what doesn’t

He still often gets distracted or will put his headphones on and miss the timer, so he often overcooks or burns things…but every once in a while he actually comes up with something edible

He likes trying to help Bucciarati in the kitchen but gets frustrated easily and is known to just be like “fuck this” and go off and listen to music somewhere

He actually tries to bake for his s/o / crush the first time and the cookies look really good!

Until they take a bite and they realize he accidentally used salt instead of sugar…s/o / crush laughs it off and they make another batch together that actually turn out pretty good :)

Will leave the kitchen a mess for days after he’s done if nobody makes/helps him clean up

Abbacchio:

Boy can COOK

He actually might be better than Bucciarati…

But he doesn’t do it for everyone that often because he doesn’t like drawing the attention to himself. When he helps Bruno in the kitchen, everyone just kinda assumes that Bruno did most of the work. He doesn’t really mind as long as he knows deep down that people are enjoying what he made, he doesn’t care about being praised for it.

If the others try to help in the kitchen he gets annoyed and just starts drinking wine.

Will eventually get so fed up that he goes to the dining room table and continues to sip his wine while he listens to all the chaos going on in the kitchen so he doesn’t lose his shit at everyone (mostly Mista and Narancia)

When he first cooks for his s/o or crush he actually tries to pretend that Bruno made it or that he got takeout from a fancy restaurant “this isn’t even a date, shut up and eat.”

Obviously s/o crush can tell he made it. He forgot to clean up around the stove because he was actually panicking about them coming over. S/o/crush won’t out him but won’t stop going on about how DELICIOUS the food is…

…He lied, he loves the praise.

Fugo:

He’s actually a pretty decent cook!

He’s good at following instructions, so he’s naturally just good at following recipes. What idiot couldn’t follow a book….

…Oh. Yeah he’s not allowed in the kitchen when Narancia is there because once he got so angry at him that he broke a wine glass over his head.

When Narancia (and Mista tbh) aren’t there though, he really enjoys helping Bruno in the kitchen. He’s not on the same level as him or Abbacchio, but at least everything he makes ends up tasting good.

I feel like he would be even better at baking actually, because I find baking tends to use a lot more numbers and measuring out ingredients to exact numbers. It’s like science and Fugo loves that.

The first time his S/o or crush tastes his cooking or baking, it’s actually because he brought it “for the squad”. He’s too embarrassed to admit that he just wanted to see if they’d enjoy what he made. He gets all flustered when they tell him how good it is and leaves the room. But then starts bringing stuff almost every week for them to try.

Giorno:

I feel like he’s on the same level or a little better than Fugo…

He always had to kinda take care of himself, so naturally he learned to cook for himself as well

Unlike Fugo, he doesn’t go by the book as much. He just picked up from restaurants and over time learned what worked together

He does also enjoy baking sometimes because he has a bit of a sweet tooth, but just basic things like cookies, brownies, etc.

He doesn’t really help Bucciarati in the kitchen because Abbacchio just glares at him the whole time. Leone hates that he’s actually okay at cooking. Can this kid just be bad at something wtf.

If Abbacchio does get fed up and goes off to sulk somewhere, he doesn’t mind stepping in to help out though

When cooking for an s/o or crush, he has a similar approach to Bucciarati. He likes to make it romantic but in a more light-hearted way? Like he prefers more upbeat music, maybe even sitting on the couch and watching a movie instead of at a table. He will always make sure to sprout a beautiful bouquet of their favourite flowers to be on display nearby, though.

Trish:

Trish just doesn’t really like cooking

She doesn’t like how sweaty the kitchen can get, and hates how onions make her cry. Her mascara is expensive!

Just sits back and lets the boys take care of everything when Bucciarati has the squad over for dinner. Cooking is already stressful enough without 3 fistfights breaking out…

Although she doesn’t like cooking, she wouldn’t be terrible at it if she were in a situation where she had to.

She does on the other hand enjoy baking though!

She always loved baking with her mom growing up. Her favourite thing to make is cupcakes because it’s so much fun to decorate them with colourful icing and cute sprinkles when they’re done!

The first time her s/o or crush tries her baking, they’re just hanging out and she all of the sudden gets the idea to make frosted brownies. She has a lot of fun seeing the different approach they take to decorating them. They start to have weekly baking dates where they try something new every time, and sometimes brings the boys leftovers :)

Yaaaay another one done! I really do love making these. My asks are open so if you enjoyed reading this and would like to see my hcs for a particular situation, go ahead and let me know! I’m also always looking for more moots to talk about JJBA and other stuff with 💖

[r4ins]

Bruce Wayne x Male Reader

cw. bottom bruce x dom male reader

“Y/N, I need you here, right now,” was all Bruce said before he looked at his watch and waited. Bruce hadn’t seen him in any non-League capacity for the past few months, and he was horny enough to want to make the most of this brief twenty-minute reprieve between meetings.

Y/N showed up in a blur of wind in his full hero costume in about two minutes, looking worried.

“B?” He asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Bruce answered as he shrugged off his suit coat. “Except I haven’t touched you in nine weeks, five hours, and twenty-three minutes.”

The worry immediately melted off Y/N’s face and was replaced with a smirk. “You missed me that much?”

Instead of responding to that he simply gave Y/N a heated look and said, “Take off the suit and sit on the couch.”

The high points on Y/N’s cheeks brightened but he did as he was told, and, in a blur, he was on the couch in nothing but his underwear looking slightly bemused. Bruce loosened his tie and pulled a tube out of his desk before he stalked over to Y/N like the other was a feast and Bruce had been starving all week.

“You couldn’t wait until you got home?” Y/N asked when Bruce got on his knees and pulled down Y/N’s jockstrap.

“I haven’t had a moment’s peace in ages and I’ve been so horny today, I feel like I’m losing my goddamn mind.” Bruce glanced at his watch before he pulled off his own clothing.

“We have seventeen minutes left, I plan to make the most of it.”

Y/N opened his mouth to be the voice of reason (they hadn’t even locked the door for Rao’s sake!) but what actually came out was a strangled moan when Bruce sucked down most of his cock in one swift motion.

“Holy shit, B,” Y/N choked out and Bruce looked up at him under his eyelashes with his reddening lips stretched wide over Y/N’s dick. He looked positively sinful, and that moment was probably the quickest it had ever taken Y/N to get fully hard. He nearly felt dizzy with the force of his arousal. Bruce made a noise in his throat as Y/N hardened, a choking sound, and Y/N put his fist against his mouth to muffle his whimper.

Bruce relaxed his gag reflex and kept going until Y/N was completely down his throat. It was no easy feat, but it was something that Bruce had dreamed about doing for several weeks now. He was already fully hard against his own thigh, loving the weight and taste of his lover.

In the meantime, he squeezed some lube on his fingers and pushed one into his asshole. He was already so ready for it there was hardly any resistance, so he pushed in another to stretch himself as quickly as possible.

Y/N groaned again, face flushed, as he watched Bruce do this, and had to bite his knuckle by the time Bruce had three fingers inside of him and moaned around Y/N’s cock. If they weren’t under a time constraint, and if Y/N’s brain wasn’t being blown out through his dick, Y/N would try to take back some control and play a little. When they had time, Y/N would take the other apart and praise and simultaneously slutshame him until Bruce was begging to come.

As it were, Y/N knocked his head back against the wall and stifled another moan when Bruce began to work up a rhythm, bobbing his head up and down Y/N’s cock inch by inch. Drool dribbled down his chin. It was obscene and gorgeous, and Y/N scarcely wanted it to end. At the very least, Y/N wanted to come like this. Bruce had other ideas though, and Y/N made a noise of disappointment when Bruce pulled away with swollen, wet lips. Bruce leaned in and licked up a bead of precum forming on his tip and Y/N couldn’t help but bite his lip, completely turned on. The moment was ruined when Bruce glanced at his watch and muttered,

“thirteen minutes.”

Bruce squeezed lube on Y/N’s cock, which twitched in response, and stroked Y/N once or twice before standing. With little preamble, Bruce climbed onto Y/N’a lap and angled Y/N’s dick to go into his hole. It was a little overwhelming with how quickly they were going.

“Do you want a condom?” Y/N grunted out when Bruce held him still.

“No,” Bruce answered simply and sank down slowly on Y/N cock. It was slow going because of how big he was, and Y/N’s hands went to hold Bruce’s hips automatically, even if he felt like his participation in this scenario hardly mattered. Even if Y/N was a little annoyed at how Bruce had reduced him to his dick, the billionaire felt wonderful around him. He was hot and tight, and Y/N memorized every little twitch on Bruce’s face while Bruce stilled to adjust to Y/N’s size.

There was a hot flush on the billionaire’s chest running up his neck to his cheeks and a bead of sweat forming at his grey temples. Y/N didn’t have much time to admire all these little facets because Bruce soon became comfortable enough and lifted himself up to slam back down on Y/N’s cock.

Y/N moaned. Bruce felt so good and Y/N knew Bruce knew it because even with his pupils blown wide and the flush on his cheeks, Bruce had on that little self-satisfied smirk. It drove Y/N wild, and he held Bruce’s hips to fuck up into him as Bruce pounded down, and Bruce lost his rhythm, moaning openly for the other to hear. Y/N kissed him solidly and swallowed down those moans as their tongues entwined and Y/N kept fucking.

Bruce took it so wonderfully. Y/N was like a firebrand inside of him, stretching him deep and wide, and Bruce wasn’t quite sure how he had survived without this. Y/N had the thickest real dick he had ever taken; even Bruce’s toys hardly compared. Bruce had spent several nights, when the adrenaline of a patrol hadn’t quite worn off, fucking himself on his biggest toy imagining it was Y/N. He had literally fantasized of this exact moment, on his knees on his bed, moaning into his pillow, imagining it was Y/N that was really pounding him. The real thing couldn’t compare.

Bruce’s rhythm was now thoroughly off as Y/N took complete control and kept Bruce suspended above his knees. Bruce guessed that they had about five minutes left, and he could feel his orgasm approaching, just out of his reach.

Y/N sensed this and changed angles, so he glanced right against Bruce’s prostate and was a little smug at Bruce’s sudden shout. Bruce panted in Y/N’s ear as he grappled for purchase against him when Y/N didn’t let up against his prostate. Electricity sparked from his toes to his eyes and he shook, closer than he thought.

“Fuck,” Bruce rasped and repeated it like a mantra when Y/N sped up, hitting that spot directly, making him spasm with pleasure. It only took a moment and then, Bruce was coming with a yell. His cum spurted on both of their abs and Y/N kept fucking him through it until he was pushed over the edge himself by Bruce squeezing and twitching around him.

Bruce looked wrecked when he pushed back his sweat slicked hair and stood on wobbly legs. Anyone who looked at him would be able to tell he had just had sex, if they couldn’t smell it on him. It was a minor miracle that Bruce had had his office soundproofed a long time ago. He looked completely unconcerned when he glanced at his watch and bent down to pick up his trousers. Y/N couldn’t help but stare; Bruce had a fantastic ass and when cum dribbled down the back of Bruce’s thigh, Y/N had to stop himself from pushing Bruce over his desk to fuck him again.

“You aren’t going to wear underwear?” Y/N asked when he remembered to speak again. It was an odd decision, considering what had just happened.

“I wanna feel your cum drip out of me,” Bruce murmured, as if it were normal thing to say, and Y/N sucked in a breath, completely aroused.

“You can’t just say stuff like that, B,” he complained.

Bruce raised an eyebrow. “Why, what are you going to do about it?”

Before Y/N could respond to that, Bruce’s intercom beeped, and his secretary said,

“Mr. Wayne, your three o'clock is here.”

Bruce pressed a button and answered, “I’ll be there in a minute, Holly.”

It was amazing how easily he disguised how raw his throat must have been.

To Y/N, Bruce said, “Be at the manor at five thirty.”

And Y/N knew he’d be right on time.

[bullet-prooflove]

Lake Tahoe!Series Part Three: Goodbye - Manny x Reader

Tagging: @darqchilddaydreamz @theesirenteller @crazy4chickennuggets @kmc1989 @withakindheartx @wnbweasley @bonni-98 @skyesthebomb @yezzyyae @delightfulbelieverwerewolf @redpool

Part One: Black Bear Lodge - Your life changes when you meet Manny at Black Bear Lodge.

Part Two: Something Special (NSFW) - Manny gives you a night like no other.

You spend three days with Manny.

Whiskey tasting in Westland Distillery, comparing notes and swapping glasses when you found one he loved and you hated. You come back to his suite a little tipsy, a little playful, nipping at his lower lip as he fucks you on the couch. You fall asleep, entwined with him, blanket strewn over your naked bodies as his fingers comb through your hair.

You hit the Golden Nugget casino, where you discover you’re terrible at Poker but half decent at Blackjack. You win some, you lose some, but it doesn’t really matter because you haven’t smiled like this for a long time. When the band starts to play, Manny pulls you onto the dance floor. He’s a good dancer, better than you but he doesn’t seem to care, he just likes the feel of holding you close, of the music rushing through his veins as dances with a beautiful woman.

On the last night, you sneak into the outdoor hot tub after hours, both conveniently forgetting your swimsuits. He makes love to you with the jets running, his fingers running through your damp hair as you climax so hard you see stars.

Those three days, it’s the most fun you’ve had in forever.

You’re packing your things when he enters your room, propping his suitcase up alongside of the door. He watches you for a second before he picks up one of your shirts, folding it neatly before placing it inside your go-bag.

“Where are you off to next?” He asks, before he picks up the next item of clothing.

“Thailand.” You tell him, a small smile crossing your features. “I’m writing an article about the metal tube technique and how it ties in with the culture there. It’s a very spiritual practice, I’d like to learn more about it.”

The thing he’s learned about you over the past few days is that you have an affinity for spirituality and culture. When you talk about your experiences, the rituals you’ve viewed, the knowledge you’ve gained it’s always with respect and reverence. It comes across in your writing. He’s read a few of your articles online whilst you were in the shower, and you were talented. You'd won an award a few years back for your photography showcase called ‘The Ancient Art’ documenting different tattoo methods throughout the world.

“You should send me a postcard.” He says, the edges of his mouth twitching up.

“Where to?” You laugh and that sound it resonates right through him. “Manny at the Black Bear Lodge, I don’t even know your last name.”

Manny reaches over to the nightstand; picking up the pen and paper residing there before he scribbles something down and hands it to you.

“Now you do.”

He sees the expression on your face.  He understands your reservations. You’ve been burned before. The man before him wanted a partner, someone to share his life with. You aren’t that woman, you need independence, freedom because at the heart of it you’re a nomad, seeking out adventure and living for new experiences. Trying to stifle that would be like caging a bird, it needs to be set free, to fly.

“I’m not asking for anything from you.” He tells you resolutely. “I’ve got my own shit going on. Between my kid and the Presidency, I don’t have time for anything else, but it would be nice to get something in the mail that isn’t a bill, maybe see the world a little too.”

You smile at that. He thinks you understand it in your own way. The responsibilities you free yourself from are the ones he willingly accepts. His daughter, his club, his community. He’ll never be able to break away, but he doesn’t want to. He’s in the exact place he’s supposed to be.

“I’ll see what I can do.” You tell him before zipping up your go-bag.

“I’ll hold you to it.” He teases, picking up your bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

His fingers link with yours, his thumb smoothing over the apex of your hand as the two of you walk down to your car, shoulders and hips bumping. He’s not ready to be out of your proximity just yet. He usually doesn’t have a problem with leaving but you, you’re different. He hasn’t felt this content in a while.

“Hit me up next time you’re in town.” He whispers as he tips your chin up with his fingertips so he can look into your eyes. “You’re a lot of fun to be around.”

You’re going to miss him; you realise in the moment. His easy-going nature, his humour, there’s something about this man that’s gotten under your skin, and you just can’t seem to shake it.

“I will.” You promise him, your lips brushing over his. “You’re a lot of fun too.”

Love Manny? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[deathofpeaceofmiiind]

illicit affairs | twelve

*Noah’s POV* After I shut the door, I braced myself against it, taking a huge breath. She looked so fucking good, I thought I was going to lose my composure. I wasn’t sure what was in store for tonight, or what her intentions were with me. She never mentioned anything about Matt, so I have no idea if they were still together or not. I guess I’ll just have to leave the ball in her court for now. 

I turned on the shower and let it heat up as I scanned around her bathroom. It was pretty modern with marble and black accents. She put her own flair on it with artificial roses, candles with black and white towels. Her ysl perfume was on the counter, along with her tube of red lipstick she was wearing tonight. I smirked, realizing it was the same one she wore the night we met. I picked the perfume off of the counter and took a deep inhale. Fuck the smell was damn intoxicating, almost as intoxicating as she was.

I got out of the shower, got dressed into my matching black Lululemon shorts and t-shirt, and put on a few more sprays of my cologne than I normally do. My facial hair looked like shit so I quickly shaved it off and threw on my Canucks baseball cap before heading back out into her living room. My heart skipped when I saw her sitting in her kitchen scrolling on her phone with a glass of red wine in her hand. I noticed her nails were long and black, something she didn’t have before. I guess not working in the hospital anymore gave her that freedom. She looked up and softly smiled at me, causing me to completely crumble at her feet. “What?” I nervously asked when she kept her gaze longer than I expected her to. “Nothing” She replied, putting her wine glass down, “It’s just.. I didn’t think you kept that hat.” “It’s my favourite.” I said as I sat down beside her. “I actually started watching their games this year. Even went to see them when they came to LA” “Really?” She questioned, her eyes widening, “I’m impressed.” “Thanks.” I chuckled, my hand immediately going up to my necklace, something I started to do when I got nervous. Her eyes followed my every move, slowly blinking as I fiddled with the charm she gave me. “I can’t believe you wear that after all this time .” She whispered, bringing her hand up to where the charm dangled. Her fingertips brushed mine and sent tingles down my arm. Her face was so close to mine that I could see the freckles on her nose peeking out through her make up. All I wanted to do was kiss her but I wasn’t going to touch her until I knew she wasn’t with him anymore. “You know after you gave it to me, I thought I lost it at our hotel in Vegas but I found it months later.” I swallowed a lump in my throat as she sat back up and took a long sip of her wine. God I wish her lips are on me instead of that glass, “I put it on and…it made me feel connected to you again.” She had such a sad expression on her face as she took in what I just said, “Meanwhile I shut off everything that reminded me of you.” “You had every right to do that, I didn’t treat you well…” “Yes you did.” She responded quietly, “up until that last night.” “I don’t expect you to forgive me, cause I haven’t forgiven myself either.” “I know.” She sighed, nodding slowly. “I’ve spent all this time trying to forget about it and I want to keep it that way.” My knuckles were turning white as I tried to refrain from grabbing her hand. I needed to know, “El, I have to ask. Are you and Matt -“ “That’s over.” She cut in, “he actually broke up with me.” “Really?” I was actually surprised. I figured he wouldn’t ever let her go if he got his chance. “He didn’t want to get between you and me, actually. He seems to think we’re not done yet.” “Well are we?” I asked with hesitation. I was having a hard time reading her right now, she looked defeated. Maybe what they had was real? “It’s 7pm, we should go.” 

[tobiasdrake]

Yuma's found his nerve.

Creed says you're supposed to be a lone wolf and rely on nobody. But hey, maybe the creed's full of shit. Maybe you should take it down and burn it as soon as you get back to the agen--

Oh, wait, Makoto already did that for us.

Thanks, brother-from-another-test-tube!

Just. Don't. Lose sight of the "to make everyone happy" clause of that. The truth doesn't necessarily make everyone happy in and of itself. Like all things, what matters most is what you do with it.

I think it's worth trying. Why don't you? Better to reach for the stars and fall short than to keep your feet on the ground and never strive for more.

The reveal that Mystery Phantom Yuma was Mystery Phantom Makoto all along is a clever twist. I like that.

It was a sitcom-esque Wacky Misunderstanding! I called that! I just thought he was going to be Real Yuma.

Also, fuck you and your adherence to the Great Man of History philosophy. I don't think either Yuma or Makoto can singlehandedly save Kanai Ward. But I have faith that Kanai Ward can save Kanai Ward.

Yuma: Yuma Kokohead quit to go make ramen! That means his name and identity can be mine now, for good! No backsies! Makoto: Wait, so you're forsaking the name and identity of Number One entirely? Yuma: You heard me. Makoto: Oh cool. That means we don't even need to fight anymore. I get to be Number One now, for good. Yuma: Wait, that's not what I-- Makoto: Ah ah ah, no backsies. Yuma: I'm not going to let you take over the WDO! Makoto: Be quiet, Yuma. I don't think a rookie detective should speak that way to his boss. Now go make me a pot of coffee!

Danganronpa's always struggled with making its climax feel intense. For a series that is essentially just people standing around talking at each other until they can figure out the solution, it's hard to give it that CLIMACTIC. ACTION. FEEL. How do you make a Final Boss Fight in a mystery-solver?

Ace Attorney runs into similar issues, having to strike a careful balance between dynamically fighting off an archvillain with words and oh my god when will it end why is he still going.

But here? Here, we get to punch the bad guy right in his fucking face.

It's a nice bit of escalation with some genuinely cool imagery.

That ultimately does little to disguise the fact that this fight is still just Yuma briefly summarizing the facts of the case, then smacking the facts with his sword to make them bean Makoto in the face.

Sounds fake but go on.

That sounds more believable. Makoto wanted to do all of this in the Mystery Labyrinth so that he could take another look at everything he's done and reassess himself and the decisions he's made. I can believe that. That sounds like a thing he'd do.

You took too much on yourself, man. That's the problem with the WDO's creed. It discourages cooperation.

As I've often said, there is no greater problem-solving resource than another human being. Kanai Ward doesn't need a Great Man of History to save it. It needs a chance to crowdsource a better solution.

I don't know what the answer is. I don't have a PHD in genetics or culinary arts. But someone might.

Hold up, are we talking about turning off the cloud generator right now? Because that's not the right answer. Definitely not.

Your options suck and I hate you. Let's do something else instead.

Oh shit, they really are going to make us choose. The metaphysics demand it.

I mean. Obviously we reap Makoto's soul. It's the only way to leave and it's not like it will matter anyway. It has been firmly established that homunculi can regenerate from soul-reaping. If the defective homunculi can do it then Makoto can too. This wouldn't kill him in any way that matters.

I don't want to kill Makoto. I think he has good intentions and just needs to learn to see past his own bullshit. Fortunately, this won't kill him so let's bounce!

I mean, it probably will actually perma-kill him despite violating the internal consistency of the game's metaphysics. Writers tend to forget what they've already established when they try to write these Cruel Choice conclusions. That same problem hit Life is Strange like a ton of brick with their poorly-conceived final choice.

But I choose to hold the game to what it's previously established. If soul-reaping could perma-kill homunculi then we wouldn't have seen Yakou and the other killers in the Restricted Area.

If your metaphysics will allow that, sure.

Yuma's coming around. Discarding emotion to reach a logical conclusion is a bad way of helping people.

My dude, idealism solves everything. No progress would ever been made if it weren't for idealistic fools believing it could be done. We wouldn't have planes today if some dipshit hadn't gone, "I'm gonna try to fly, and fuck you if you think I can't."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA YES

I did not think we'd actually get Yuma this far but he made it! Let's crowdsource this shit! In this complex moral debate between Yuma and Makoto, I fucking won!

This final chapter has been extremely validating for me. ^_^

[toeveryenemy]

Well. I gotta say, my life is pretty shit at the moment. TW sui & ed stuff (no, not pro shit, I'm super fucking against that. This is just venting)

Read at your own risk. I won't talk about this regularly, I tend to keep to myself on socials. so don't worry about this stuff flooding your dash.

I'm currently hospitalized after my third suicide attempt in 3 days. I've been taken away from the train tracks by the police, taken to mental health services that thought it would be OK to send me back home, where I immediately overdosed on my meds and ended up hospitalized. The next day I was released from the hospital with 2 insulin pens, and I overdosed on insulin right away when I got home and was hospitalized that day again. It's been 3 days now and I'm in the ICU. they're planning on getting my ass to the MPU (psychiatric unit) for maybe 2 days and then I get send home again.

Reason why? I suffer from eating disorders, and I'm pretty sure I won't fucking recover anymore. I tried calling for help, but people keep telling me to be patient. I am a type 1 diabetic and people try to force me to keep drinking my nutritional drinks even though I barely can do that- and I was promised tube feeding - which was a promise which was then ripped away right before my eyes. I am hopeless. I can't eat anymore. I'm afraid of how long they'll keep me waiting. I've reached my limit long ago. They don't know how hard I've been fighting. I've begged them.

Now here comes the kicker - my best irl friend, who is hospitalized in a mental health clinic - messaged me yesterday saying she doesn't know how to resume our friendship once she's back home. She's hurt because I couldn't keep contact with her. I literally explained to her why that is - it wasn't because of her, it is because of my trauma of that clinic she's in. But she doesn't have the mental capacity to understand. I'm not trying to be mean by saying that. She literally admitted to that, she doesn't understand. She hopes I'm not angry. I shouldn't be angry. I am. I'm losing ANOTHER friend because of *my* mental health. All while I'm suffering.

It's like it's not worth it to be fighting for my life anymore. Whenever I try to choose for my life, people shit all over me, and I suffer for what I've done. I try to do good for me, and life decides I need to suffer for it.

It's so fucking unfair.

Anyway, rant over.

[vulturesawake]

Not exactly sure how to phrase this but. If you are in the throes of an eating disorder and don't feel ready to recover, take a peek under the readmore.

I struggled with various eating disorders for many years. For most of it, I thought I was doing it the "safe" way. I was hitting my micros/macros, eating almost every day, and making sure to eat nutrient-rich, low-calorie foods along with vitamins. I didn't even lose any hair or get black nails or anything like that, even though I lost over 100lbs in a year. And you know what?

I still fucking disabled myself. I can no longer work even half as much as I used to. I get tired just sitting up. I'm exhausted every minute of every day. If I have a hard shift at work, I can't do anything but lay in bed after, sometimes for days. I'm always in pain. I'm forced to depend on others to survive. I never thought I was "that sick", even refusing to admit that I had an eatong disorder, just "disordered eating".

Enablers, along with your disorder, will have you picturing dying from an ed as being a tender waif wasting away in bed surrounded by people quietly mourning, asking God why he took away someone so young and beautiful. Oh, how we regret our part in this. If only we could have done more! We will remember you as our sweet darling whom we failed so miserably forever.

In reality, you'll die shitting yourself, screaming at hospital staff for giving you a feeding tube, nails brittle and hair patchy and skin yellow and blotchy, wracked to the bone with anxiety and anger and despair, completely out of control. All while everyone else around you is bitter and angry at you because you could be better, you could be alive and well and none of this would be happening, if only you would just Fucking Stop. They're angry at you because you're killing yourself in one of the most horrible, violent ways imaginable and forcing them to watch. The friends and family you have left, anyways, since eds famously force you into isolation.

And what if, at the end of all of that, you don't even die? What if you're like me and many others and you just have to live with the consequences for the rest of your life?

It's not my intention to guilt trip you here. I'm trying to give you a reality check. I know that recovery is hard and scary and some days feels so far out of your reach that it feels like you don't even want it. I understand you and feel for you; recovery is undeniably one of the scariest and most exhausting things you'll ever do. But trust me, eds are so so so much scarier.

You're never "not sick enough" to warrant recovery. The moment you develop disordered eating thoughts, it's an emergency. I'm not kidding. Eds are the most dangerous mental illnesses. They will destroy you from the inside out and it will hurt the whole time you're dying. It's like strongly considering putting yourself through a wood chipper, no hyperbole or irony.

You may not always win. You may not always trend upward, even. But for the sake of yourself and everyone else around you, please please keep fighting it as much as you can possibly muster.

[diagenetic-nostalgic]

the longest decade of the shortest century:

losing the 70s

the clientele - losing haringey

In those days, there was a kind of fever that pushed me out of the front door, into the pale, exhaust-fumed park by Broadwater Farm or the grubby road that eventually leads to Enfield: Turkish supermarket after chicken restaurant after spare car part shop. Everything in my life felt like it was coming to a mysterious close: I could hardly walk to the end of a street without feeling there was no way to go except back. The dates I’d had that summer had come to nothing, my job was a dead end and the rent cheque was killing me a little more each month. It seemed unlikely that anything could hold much longer. The only question left to ask was what would happen after everything familiar collapsed, but for now the summer stretched between me and that moment

It was ferociously hot, and the air quality became so bad that by the evening the noise of nearby trains stuttered in in fits and starts, distorted through the shifting air. As I lay in the cool of my room, I could hear my neighbors discussing the world cup and opening beers in their gardens. On the other side, someone was singing an Arabic prayer through the thin wall. I had no money for the pub so I decided to go for a walk

I found myself wandering aimlessly to the west, past the terrace of chip and kebab shops and launderettes near the tube station. I crossed the street, and headed into virgin territory - I had never been this way before. Gravel-dashed houses alternated with square 60s offices, and the wide pavements undulated with cracks and litter. I walked and walked, because there was nothing else for me to do, and by degrees the light began to fade

The mouth of an avenue led me to the verge of a long, greasy A-road that rose up in the far distance, with symmetrical terraces falling steeply down then up again from a distant railway station. There were four benches to my right, interspersed with those strange bushes that grow in the area, whose blossoms are so pale yellow they seem translucent, almost spectral; and suddenly tired, I sat down. I held my head in my hands, feeling like shit, but a sudden breeze escaped from the terraces and for a moment I lost my thoughts in its unexpected coolness. I looked up and I realized I was sitting in a photograph

I remembered clearly: this photograph was taken by my mother in 1982, outside our front garden in Hampshire. It was slightly underexposed. I was still sitting on the bench, but the colors and the planes of the road and horizon had become the photo. If I looked hard, I could see the lines of the window ledge in the original photograph were now composed by a tree branch and the silhouetted edge of a grass verge. The sheen of the flash on the window was replicated by bonfire smoke drifting infinitesimally slowly from behind a fence. My sister’s face had been dimly visible behind the window, and -yes- there were pale stars far off to the west that traced out the lines of a toddler’s eyes and mouth

When I look back at this there’s nothing to grasp, no starting point. I was inside an underexposed photo from 1982 but I was also sitting on a bench in Haringey

Strongest of all was the feeling of 1982-ness: dizzy, illogical, as if none of the intervening disasters and wrong turns had happened yet. I felt guilty, and inconsolably sad. I felt the instinctive tug back - to school, the memory of shopping malls, cooking, driving in my mother’s car. All gone, gone forever

I just sat there for a while. I was so tired that I didn’t bother trying to work out what was going on. I was happy just to sit in the photo while it lasted, which wasn’t for long anyway: the light faded, the wind caught the smoke, the stars dimmed under the glare of the street-lamps. I got up and walked away from the squat little benches and an oncoming gang of kids

A bus was rumbling to my rescue down the hill, with a great big ‘via Alexandra Palace’ on its front, and I realized I did want a drink after all

Gábor Balázs: “Because who said it was impossible?” — the Italian long ‘68, part 8

"Autonomy turned into the deification of individual enterprise, the drastic reduction of wage labour into the subordination of the totality of our lives to the logic of value production, the harsh critique of culture into an all-encompassing lack of culture, ignorance and cynicism.

The collective experience of the rejection of wage labour, the practical ways of living outside capitalist society, boomeranged back after the defeat: automation, reconstruction, unemployment, flexibility, precariat, the end of the working class… The end point of the "trend" was not the last hours of wage labour (or the "de-socialisation" of work), but the bizarre, terrifying reality of a work-based society based on less and less work.

[...]

Meanwhile, in the labyrinths of the big cities, silence, loneliness and helplessness reigned. The same meaningless words poured from the mouths of serial politicians on television screens. The eighties had begun.

The years of cynicism, opportunism and fear.

And we have not even mentioned what has happened since then.

[...]

Autonomia showed what could be possible - it is no coincidence that after the debacle there was such a strong sense of disillusionment, which (as usual) sooner or later led to indifference and then regression. If you think about it, Italy's next two decades were dominated by Andreotti, Bettino Craxi and Berlusconi - few countries in the western half of the continent have been lower. Perhaps none. And perhaps this is also the reason for today's Italian disaster: while other countries where anti-fascism is a national tradition (Greece, Spain, Portugal, France perhaps the borderline case) are quite well resistant to the current fascist wave, there is not much left of the Italy of Bella ciao (or what remains is a cultural enclave - but that they also have elsewhere)."

[lovemesomesurveys]

This past year... who were your favorite singers, musicians, or bands? I really didn’t listen to much music last year, but there’s a few songs I liked and that stood out for me such as Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush, I Like You by Post Malone, About Damn Time by Lizzo, Goo Goo Muck by the Cramps, and Bloody Mary by Lady Gaga. A few TikTok songs, too. 

what were some of your favorite foods? Well, last year was rough and I wasn’t enjoying food a whole lot at the beginning of the year. In fact, it was actually hard for me to eat. Then for 3 months in the hospital I was unable to eat or drink anything and could only have this formula stuff through a feeding tube. That was a really rough time. When I finally got home, I could only eat a few soft foods, including mashed potatoes and gravy which I ate a ton of for like a month and a half lol. When I finally moved up to being able to eat whatever, my obsession became Taco Bell. I eat that 5 days a week :X I’m also seriously obsessed with Reese’s. Oh, and I may be slowly getting back into my Wingstop obsession, ha. 

what was your favorite dessert? Reese’s for sure for the past few months, but before that when I could only eat soft foods I was really into ice cream and cheesecake. 

what was the best thing that happened to you? While my time in the hospital was long, hard, stressful, and scary, it ultimately ended up being the best thing for me. Making that decision truly saved my life and put me in the right direction to get back on track. Making it through the year and working on my health has definitely been the best thing that happened. To be perfectly honest, there was a time in the beginning when it looked like I might not stand a chance. I was so much worse than I ever thought. 

what was the worst thing that happened to you? My health decline for sure. Like I’ve said many times, I was in really bad shape and it was a very rough time. It wasn’t looking good for me. I’m still dealing with a lot and have quite a ways to go, but I’ve come further than I was then and have made a lot of improvements. 

how have you grown as a person? Honestly, I feel like I’ve kind of regressed and feel stunted. I just kind of feel stuck if that makes that sense. It’s like everything has been put on hold since my health issues began. Last year feels like it was completely stolen. I have a lot of growing up to do still even as a 33 year old woman. A lot of catching up to do. There’s still much I need to work on and be more responsible about. 

what have you learned? You shouldn’t put off things that have to do with your health. You can’t just ignore shit and hope it goes away. Sometimes things may get better on their own, but some things can end up progressing and becoming so much worse. It’s best to get it checked out because it could literally cost you your life. I also need to work on really hearing and considering the advice given to me and stop thinking I know better or more. I need to learn not to let my fears dictate everything. I had been in denial in regards to how bad things actually were. God gave me another chance and I need to do something with it. 

how old did you turn? I turned 33. 

what did you do for your birthday? I was in the hospital unable to eat, drink, or do anything really so that sucked. My mom was really sweet, though, and brought big balloons and birthday hats for us to wear. My brother also brought me big balloons. My dad was able to come by for a couple hours after work to spend some time with me.  My family did the best they could given the situation to try and bring me some joy.

what did you accomplish? Making it through the year and making improvements. 

where did you live? At my house and the hospital for a few months.  

who was your best friend? My mom and brother.

This past year, have you.... made a new friend? No.

lost a friend? No. I didn’t have any friends, so there was no one to lose. 

made a new best friend? No.

lost someone close to you? No. 

attended a funeral? No.

attended a wedding? No. 

gave birth to a child? 🤰 Nooo.

"came out of the closet"? No. It’s not a secret that I’m straight.  

traveled? I did back in March and April. felt depressed? 😔 Of course. I have chronic depression and last year certainly didn’t help. It was a very low time. 

felt suicidal? 😔

felt happy? 😃 At many points throughout the year. I’m largely healed now which is great.

felt at peace? 😊 With certain decisions I made in the hospital.

felt overjoyed? 💃 No.

felt blessed? 😇 Absolutely. I’m still here because of God. 

felt amazed? 🤩 No.

fallen in love? 😍 No.

had your heart broken? 💔 Yes, a few times and not just in the romantic sense. 

got a new car? 🚗 No.

graduated? 👩‍🎓 No. 

experienced something miraculous? ✨ Yes.

had a better year than last year? In a way. Like, in the sense that I finally took some things seriously and did some things I should have done awhile ago to help get better. It took a lot to get me there, though, and it definitely wasn’t easy. I still have work to do, but I’m so blessed to even still be here and be given that chance. There’s been good changes. 

had a worse year than last year? I’d also consider it the worst year of my life. I can’t believe things were as bad as they were and ended up in the hospital for so long. I can’t believe all that happened while I was there. My life changed so much to say the least and I’m not in the clear, yet. While there’s been some improvements, I’m also still having a hard time with some things. Apart from my health, I’m also struggling with being bedridden and missing out on life. 

been to see the doctor? 👨‍⚕️ Yeah, several times. I also saw a ton of doctors in the hospital. 

been to the hospital? 🏥 I think I’ve made that pretty clear. 

had a severe allergic reaction? 🤧 No.

had COVID? 🦠 Yes, but fortunately I was asymptomatic. 

found out someone you knew had COVID? 🦠 My parents, brother, my aunt, my grandparents, and my cousin all got hit with it.  used an epi pen? 💉 No.

had a fever? 🥵 Yes.

had a migraine? 🧠 No.

gone on a date? 🌹 No. 

written in a journal or diary? 📔 Yes. My mom had gotten me one with various prompts to give me something to do in the hospital. 

given someone a hug? 🤗 Yeah. 

cut your hair? 💇‍♀️ No.

danced around your living room? 💃 No.

prayed? 🙏 Yes, a lot. 

worshiped Jesus? Yes.

read the Bible? 📖 Yes.

discovered a new favorite book? 📕 Yeah, a few. 

gone to church? ⛪️ I’ve only been able to watch the livestreams. 

went for a walk in the fall? 🍁 No. 

set up and decorated a Christmas tree? 🎄 We had our tree up, but I wasn’t able to help. 

threw up? 🤮 Yes.

almost threw up? 🤢 Yes. 

discovered a new music artist you really liked? 🎤 I did. 

discovered a new song you really liked? 🎶 Yeah, a few.  seen snow? ⛄️ No.

seen beautiful fall foliage? 🍁 No.

gone to the beach? 🏝 Yeah, a few times at the beginning of the year. I was supposed to go a few times in the summer, but.... :/

rode a bike? 🚴 No.

rode a horse? 🐎 No.

swam? 👙 No. It’s been over a decade since I’ve swam. 

worn makeup? 💄 Nope. 

done a craft project? Yeah. I did a couple for Easter and then a few a couple weekends ago with my aunt.

made a scrapbook page? No.

written an essay? 📝 No.

painted something? 🎨 Yes. The craft projects I said I did involved painting.

drawn something? ✍️ Yeah, some random little doodles. 

sketched in a sketchbook? ^^^

written someone a letter? 📝 No.

been to a concert? 👩‍🎤 No. I haven’t been to a concert since 2009. :( I miss them. 

driven a car? 🚘 No.

kayaked? 🛶 No.

gone on a cruise? 🚢 No.

made a big purchase? Well, purchases when I did my Christmas shopping. 

moved to a new home? 🏡 No. My family and I really want to move, though. 

got a new pet? No.

lost a pet? No.

gotten a tattoo? No.

gotten a new piercing? No. 

started a new hobby? Not a new one, but I briefly got back into one I hadn’t done in awhile, which was bracelet making. 

worn a mask? 😷 Yeah, whenever I went somewhere. 

felt afraid to leave your house? I still worry about COVID. I rarely go anywhere now due to being bedridden.

celebrated your birthday alone? No.

celebrated Christmas alone? No.

went for a long walk through the neighborhood? No.

Favorites of this Year (Pick one for each.) Song: I already listed them in the first question, but I’ll give you my top 3: Goo Goo Muck by The Cramps, Bloody Mary by Lady Gaga, and Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush. 

Book: I didn’t read nearly as much last year as I usually do, but the few I read from a couple series I’ve been reading I enjoyed. 

TV show: Oh man, I watched and obsessed over so many shows last year. If I had to give my top 3 I’d say Stranger Things, Wednesday, and Daredevil. There’s several more I could include as well. When I was in the hospital I binged a ton of shows. 

Youtube channel: Several ASMR channels, a couple vloggers, and a couple Disney channels. 

Food: I answered this already as well, but I’d say my biggest obsessions were mashed potatoes and gravy, Taco Bell, and Reese’s. 

Dessert: Reese’s and cheesecake. 

Drink: International Delight iced caramel macchiato, Starbucks Doubleshot energy drinks, and the peppermint white chocolate mocha from Starbucks.

Friend: I don’t have any friends. 

Thing you did: The beach trips I had at the beginning of the year. 

Place you went: ^^^

Person you spend time with: My mom and brother. 

Thing you did for your birthday: I talked about what I did for my birthday, which unfortunately was spent in the hospital so I couldn’t do much, but I did get to spend it with my family. 

Celebrity: Alexander Skarsgard of course, but I have a few new favorites as well such Sebastian Stan, Oscar Isaac, Pedro Pascal, and Jenna Ortega. 

Website: Tumblr and YouTube.

Emojis: I use the laughing face with the tears, the goofy one with the tongue sticking out, and the slanted sad face emojis most often. 

Colors: Pastels, rose gold, sea foam green, coral, and yellow. 

Restaurant: I haven’t gone out to eat in quite awhile, but my favorite takeout is Taco Bell and Wingstop. 

Tea flavor ☕️: Peppermint or chamomile. Final Questions!

Would you say this past year has been a good year overall? I’ve talked about how I felt about last year in great length already. 

What are your goals for the new year? To continue working on my health and making improvements and hopefully be able to do some things as well as a little traveling again. 

How old will you turn next year? This is meant for 2023, in which case I’ll be 34. 

Did you make any big mistakes this past year? I made huge mistakes. 

Do you have any big changes coming? I really hope big positive changes are coming my way.

How will you be celebrating New Year's Eve this year? I hung out with my aunt and watched the NYE stuff on TV. 

What was the best day of this year for you, and why? I mean, as scary and awful my time in the hospital was, it saved my life and led to good things, so I’d have to say the day I finally admitted myself was ultimately the best in that regard. The day I finally came home from the hospital was another, and the day I finally was able to start eating and drinking normally again was as well. 

What did you spend the most time doing this year? Trying to get better. 

[bl6ckr0s3]

Thinking Deeply

I sometimes truly question whether I am making another mistake putting my faith & trust into Joshua. He clearly tells me that he doesn't want to be like my exes where he will be just another story to tell another guy. I said that I sincerely doubt that would be the case. When he constantly questions me about leaving or having doubts about this relationship, his reason would be that he wants to make sure that I know what I want. I would usually feel like he doesn't have faith in my love for him, or he just clearly is paranoid and always fearing that he knows his mistakes can push me away to leave him. I said that's a possibility if he means to destroy my life.

If I worked hard for something for a long time and you expect me to just give up my job and leaving my family for your sake of chasing your dream, you better damn well that I'm not gonna regret doing it because I don't want to throw away the good things in my life for him and end up being in a worst place because of that choice if he doesn't do anything good for the both of us. I begged God Almighty to give me some answers about where me and Joshua's future is going, whether us moving to Tennessee is really going to be better for our future? Whether making this sacrifice of leaving my son is going to be worth it in the long run and if leaving my family is only temporary? Sometimes there are just empty promises.

From all I been seeing with Joshua is failure after failure. He can't save any money, he can't keep a regular job, he can't pay his bills, he is on the brink of losing his car that his mom helped co-sign to even get the car that he barely can afford maintenance or even afford to keep it registered or insured. He owes so many people money that it's not even funny. He's lucky that he has come this far with the amount of people that were nice enough to help him. Some people have came back to him expecting to be paid back already, but he still doesn't have the money to pay them back because he's still fuckin broke or too focus on paying the people in the music scene off rather than the people he owes money for a long time off instead. I begged God Almighty that if this is truly a mistake and that if Joshua is going to destroy or ruin my life, that I don't want to continue this relationship further down the road.

I made a lot of sacrifices for Joshua. I cancelled and stop my tube tying surgery right when we were starting to date. I was about to just tie my tubes and not worry about getting pregnant by the wrong man again. I attended and became the member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo church so that he wouldn't have to worry about dating a non-member of the church & risk being expelled. Now he hardly even attends church and so have I because of all the stress and bullshit he has been putting me through. I told him the last thing I want is to be homeless. What does he do? He abandons helping with our apartment, but he's selfish mainly. He seems to only think of himself sometimes. He asked me why I never told him about how I felt about Beck Park Apartments when we first came to look at the place. He said he seem to set on just wanting to move here to Los Angeles in his own apartment already. We only had the place for 7 months and we already lost the place because we couldn't even pay the rent on time since we moved here. We were always paying late rent. The only time we didn't was when we first put the deposit down for the place and I had extra money in my bank from my tsp savings retirement. Now I'm trying to pay back part of my retirement. The money was also used for his music production which was gone just like that. He is very stubborn. If he doesn't get what he wants, I will continue to suffer with him unless I make a sad choice to leave him before he destroys my life.

I only now hope to God that that's not going to be the answer because I love Joshua so much, I am deeply in love with him and I want to be with him for the rest of my life. If he can't get his shit together, how am I going to survive or live? Josh's sensei told him that he shouldn't even be getting with a woman if he's doing what he's doing because he's only gonna drag her down with him. His cousin Nicole said the same thing. That it isn't right that he's gonna drag me down to this condition to have me sleep in the car because we lost our home because of his irresponsibility.

[skaruresonic]

So the Dark Beginnings short made the "low gravity" bullshit canon? Fuck me, I just knew the other shoe had to drop sometime, and lo and behold, it finally did. Can't have shit in this Chili's.

The mere assumption that the ARK has low gravity because it's set in space is a huge "bitch where" moment.

The interior of the ARK has the same gravity as Earth, which is most of the ARK, including the Cannon's Core. You would know this if you've played literally any ARK level ever, but Crazy Gadget especially, where you have to manually turn off the gravity in areas where cargo is being transported.

Somehow, I doubt Gerald is giving Maria the Aperture Science pneumatic tube treatment and vacuum-sealing his granddaughter into remission.

- on top of simply being not canon because the inside of the ARK has perfectly normal gravity in the games! Unless you want to imply Maria liked to play in Meteor Herd!

Since Maria says the gun lift is only used in times of emergency, I can't imagine Gerald would simply let her fuck around outside on an ordinary day. And even then, as I've said, gravity must be manually manipulated by way of throwing a switch.

If low gravity sufficed to keep her condition at bay, why was Gerald so desperate to find a cure? If it were that simple, there would be no reason for him to dangle the hope in her face that one day she'd be able to visit Earth, since she'd always need low gravity to keep her condition in check. It'd be cruel. Not to mention how you would literally have to ignore canon, science, and common sense in order to buy it as an explanation.

God, I was telling Woodchipp this yesterday but it's like Sega's trying so hard to appease fans by "fixing" their "inconsistent" canon that they're now actually breaking what was never broken to begin with.

It wasn't that inconsistent before, all things considered, because they used to have faith in the idea that we weren't fucking idiots who needed explanations for every little thing, but it certainly is now.

You guys think the SA2 pandering is bad? How do you think I feel, seeing nearly every aspect of my all-time favorite Sonic game get retconned and #aestheticized, its rotting corpse milked for profit? Why do you think I slowly grew averse to the idea of an SA2 remake over the years?

This is why. Better SA2 remain a bittersweet memory than stuck in the Xerox machine, each copy losing more of the original's quality than the last.

Maria has the Sonic universe's version of AIDS. They really didn't have to make the reason for her being in space anymore complicated beyond keeping her away from all of the pathogen's back on Earth that her condition would have made her vulnerable to.

Damn! If only during the epidemic someone started a program to send everyone with AIDS to the moon for it's lack of gravity. So many lives could have been saved!

Maria's illness has always been described as an immunitary one (Neuro-Immune is a mistranslation: the Japanese name is 先天性免疫不全症候群, which is simply primary immunideficiency. The N of NIDS stands for "native". It really isn't that complicated). Low gravity mostly affects your bones - negatively, at that. You don't need a biology degree to know that the best "remission" for someone with a weak immunitary system is keeping them in a sterile environment, which the ARK could have been for all we know!

What really irritates me is that after being included in the notoriously error-riddled Encyclospeedia, this low gravity stuff is being treated as canon! Both the manga and Dark Beginnings mentioned it! And as I said, I know the Sonic universe doesn't operate on the same physics as our world, but in a serious story like Maria's, it breaks too much the suspension of disbelief - on top of simply being not canon because the inside of the ARK has perfectly normal gravity in the games! Unless you want to imply Maria liked to play in Meteor Herd!

It's such a frustrating thing because the solution was right there and I have no idea how you can even conceive "low gravity keeps an immunitary deficiency in remission", what is the jump here

[ktmarison]

ride  the  cyclone  sentence  starters.

'  it  turns  out  being  told  the  place  and  time  of  your  death  in  front  of  your  family  with  a  mouthful  of  corn  dog  at  a  fairground  is  the  very  opposite  of  fun.  '

'  meet  my  executioner.  '

'  i'm  well  aware  rats  cannot  play  musical  instruments.  '

'  when  you've  been  alone  for  as  long  as  i  have,  you  tend  to  anthropomorphize  your  friends.  '

'  the  armrest  to  your  left  is  yours.  the  one  to  your  right  is  your  neighbors.  if  you  believe  both  armrests  are  yours  exclusively,  you  are  part  of  the  problem.  '

'  this  just  shows  the  high  standard  of  excellence  !  even  in  competition  against  yourself,  you  can  still  walk  away  a  loser  !  '

'  tonight,  we  shall  raise  a  middle  finger  to  that  most  ruthless  adjudicator  called  time.  '

'  something  doesn't  feel  quite  right.  '

'  how  can  this  be  fair  ?  '

'  what's  the  point  of  even  suing  ?  '

'  there's  nothing  left  to  do  except  to  rot.  '

'  i  hope  i  wiped  my  browser  history  clean.  '

'  i  did  not  feel  safe  at  all  .'

'  democracy  rocks  !  '

'  even  in  death,  i  can't  escape  her  !  '

'  well  played,  satan,  well  played.  '

'  being  the  only  gay  man  in  a  small  rural  high  school  is  kind  of  like  having  a  laptop  in  the  stone  age.  i  mean,  sure,  you  can  have  one,  but  there's  nowhere  to  plug  it  in.  '

'  i'm  really  freaked  out  right  now.  '

'  do  you  want  to  know  what  really  freaks  me  out  ?  '

'  when  a  lioness  has  children,  she  stops  making  love  to  the  lion.  the  lion  gets  jealous.  sometimes  so  jealous  that  he  eats  the  children.  you'd  think  this  would  upset  the  lioness,  far  from  it.  they  make  love  again  as  if  the  children  never  existed.  '

‘  i’m  going  to  stand  a  little  farther  away  from  you.  okay  ?  ’

'  ever  since  i  was  six  years  old,  i  knew  i  wasn't  long  for  this  world.  '

'  don't  interrupt,  sweetie.  '

'  i  am  the  best  by  any  metric  of  society.  i  get  that.  but  if  that  is  how  worth  is  measured,  i  want  no  part  in  it.  '

'  okay,  it's  clear,  i'm  the  top  of  this  class.  '

'  fetch  me  a  coffee,  shine  my  shoes.  '

'  some  of  us  are  winners,  some  were  born  to  lose.  '

'  he'll  rob  a  7-11  and  go  straight  to  jail.  '

'  what's  he  gonna  do,  solve  a  rubik's  cube  ?  how  long's  he  got  if  we  feed  him  through  a  tube  ?  '

'  he'll  never  learn  to  read.  he's  never  gonna  breed.  he's  going  to  jail  guaranteed,  and  she's  a  freaky  monster  !  '

'  we  need  a  little  less  of  them,  a  little  more  of  me  !  '

'  you  just  told  your  best  friend  that  her  greatest  achievement  in  life  will  be  to  become  an  organ  donor.  '

'  that's  okay  !  it  kinda,  really,  super  hurt,  but  .  .  .  '

'    what  i  did  there  is  exactly  what  you  shouldn't  do.  '

'  you  challenged  my  preconceived  notion  that  all  gay  dues  are  fun  to  be  around.  '

'  sweet  jesus  christ  on  a  bike.  '

'  i've  seen  the  movie  the  blue  angel  about  a  billion  and  one  times.  '

'  mom  tells  me  i  gotta  try  to  blend  in  so  i  tried  really  hard  to  dial  it  back.  '

'  i  wanted  a  man  that  would  drive  me  to  drink.  '

'  can  you  keep  it  in  your  pants  for  one  second,  you  horrible  succubus  ?  '

'  i  embrace  a  new  man  every  night.  '

'  i  want  to  be  that  fucked  up  girl.  '

'  i  think  i  am  in  love  with  you.  '

'  i've  heard  that  lie  a  million  times  before.  '

'  tell  him  that  like  him,  i  choose  to  burn  out,  rather  than  fade  away.  '

‘  that  was  dope  !  ’

‘  level  up  !  ’

'  in  my  country  it  is  natural  for  two  men  to  show  affection  by  kissing.  '

'  there  is  a  difference  between  affection  and  smut.  '

'  what's  the  lesson  ?  '

'  not  every  story  has  a  lesson.  '

'  every  story  has  a  lesson  except  saw  five.  '

'  porno  ?  that  is  a  genre.  that  doesn't  tell  a  story.  '

'  i  think  it's  messed  up  that  we  celebrate  violence  and  demonize  the  very  act  of  love.  porno  is  magical.  '

'  i'm  never  mad  at  you.  i'm  just  frequently  disappointed.  '

'  just  cause  i'm  all  gangsta  doesn't  automatically  make  me  a  homophobe.  '

'  that  shit  was  emotionally  devastating.  '

'  we  were  engaged.  '

'  i  have  no  respect  for  this  country.  '

'  my  life  is  awesome.  '

'  this  beat  is  awesome  !  '

'  i  am  vulnerable  now.  '

'  i  lay  my  masculinity  at  the  altar  of  your  maidenhood.  '

'  i  wanna  be  with  you,  baby.  '

'  love  conquers  all.  '

'  look  at  me,  i  am  physically  weeping  !  '

'  and  that  is  why  not  everyone  should  have  a  library  card.  '

'  the  world  needs  more  poets.  '

'  and  this  is  why  you  both  sucked  at  math  !  '

'  there  are  no  accidents.  '

'  since  we're  all  sharing,  i  would  like  to  talk  about  my  religion.  '

'  for  lo,  i  am  a  prophet.  '

'  i  guess  you  could  say  i'm  pretty  sexy  on  another  planet.  '

'  who  are  you  right  now  ?  '

'  we  need  your  fantastic  seed.  '

'  i  know  you've  heard  the  legend  of  the  sexy  cat  women  from  zolar.  '

'  won't  you  please  help  save  our  galaxy  ?  '

'  what  would  you  do  in  my  place  ?  '

'  oh  my  goodness,  what  have  i  gotten  myself  into  ?  '

'  i'm  a  lover,  not  a  fighter  !  '

'  i  wanna  hold  your  hands.  '

'  i  have  no  desire  to  rule  the  galaxy.  to  hold  you  close  is  enough  for  me.  '

'  i'm  gonna  give  you  the  cliff  notes  for  every  prophet  that  ever  lived:  life  is  hard  enough  without  making  up  reasons  to  be  dicks  to  each  other.  '

'  let's  take  care  of  each  other.  '

'  for  love  is  the  closest  you  can  come  to  another  person,  for  it's  the  closest  you  can  come  to  being  another  person.  '

'  and  then  peace  was  restored.  '

'  there's  only  one  commandment  in  my  bible.  don't  be  a  dick.  '

'  in  choosing  myself,  that  would  be  the  ultimate  dick  move.  '

'  i'm  the  same  person  i  always  was.  it's  just  no  one  ever  listened  to  me.  '

'  if  the  holy  people  are  to  be  kept  harmless  from  war,  then  make  all  people  holy.  '

'  we  all  know  the  worms  must  be  fed.  '

'  my  soul.  is  it  here  ?  '

'  cruel  existence  was  only  a  shame.  '

'  won't  you  tell  me  at  last  who  i  am  ?  '

'  i  hear  the  anguish  of  the  street.  '

'  if  this  is  how  i  die,  lord,  why  be  left  with  no  family  and  no  friends  ?  '

'  time  eats  all  his  children  in  the  end.  '

'  this  is  no  way  to  die.  '

'  isn't  there  anyone  to  tell  me  who  i  am  ?  '

'  that  song  is  so  overplayed.  '

'  how  did  you  find  the  entire  meaning  of  my  life  in  such  a  phrase  ?  '

'  not  even  the  dutch  speak  dutch.  '

'  i've  never  been  drunk  before.  or  kissed  a  man.  '

'  your  life  was  tragic.  '

'  how  do  we  know  it's  my  birthday  ?  '

'  what's  a  savannah  ?  '

'  it's  a  fire  sale  in  my  brain  and  everything  must  go.  '

'    you  know  i  envy  you.  '

'  i  was  building  a  life  and  you  were  satisfied  doing  nothing.  '

'  i  thought  my  life  had  meaning,  turns  out  it  didn't.  '

'  my  death  has  really  affected  me.  '

'  naturally  my  death  has  affected  you  !  can't  you  just  listen  for  once,  without  making  everything  about  yourself  ?  '

'  i  lost  my  virginity  to  a  carnie  in  a  porta  potty.  '

'  he  had  this  tattoo  on  his  forearm.  it  was  of  two  skeletons  having  sex,  and  it  said  born  to  bone  on  the  bottom  of  it.  '

'  after  a  while,  i  started  feeling  crummy  about  stuff.  '

'  i  really  wish  i  never  thought  those  things.  '

'  i  just  wanted  to  do  it,  so  i  didn't  have  to  think  about  doing  it  anymore.  '

'  i  used  to  think  that  life  was  just  a  heart  breaker.  it  breaks  til  you  can't  take  no  more.  '

'  there's  nothing  wrong  with  being  the  nicest  girl  in  town.  '

'  you  knew  all  along  i  could  never  do  it.  '

'  no  one  will  win  here,  and  no  one  can  lose.  '

'  no  one  keeps  score  of  how  hard  we  tried.  '

'  your  lucky  number  is  seven.  '

[rockingrobin69]

Win-win-win

It only worked the seventh time, and pretty much by accident. The flowers Harry got were infested with—Luna called it ‘Snorkiees’ when he frantically called, but anyway they wilted by the time he got off the tube. A squirrel stole his box of chocolates—actually stole it out of Harry’s distracted grasp, then ran up the tree with what he could only call a vindictive smirk. The restaurant cancelled his dinner reservation because ‘if he really was Harry Potter he wouldn’t have called himself’, so ‘plan for success’ was a bust, and the perfect blue-sky afternoon turned into a horrible downpour of an evening. Draco found him by the tree, still begging the damned squirrel, soaked to his socks and nearly in tears.

“What—” Draco paused, pale and worried. Harry’s stomach twisted with how terribly he wanted this to work. Even worse with how horribly it was going to fail, just like the previous six times. Like always. “Potter, what the hell are you doing?”

“Erm,” was apparently not much of an answer, because the harsh frown didn’t soften.

“Did you forget where I live? You’ve come over often enough.”

“No, I know where... I just had… erm.”

Draco didn’t have an umbrella either. Or a jacket. He crossed his arms, face scrunched with this guarded expression Harry thought they finally put behind them.

“Did you change your mind?”

He blinked a million and twelve times. “About?”

“About—this. Me. Did you decide it wasn’t so important after all to try and win—”

“Win?” he wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, whether he was already crying, or if Draco was maybe laughing at him. “Win? What the fuck have I—I’ve nothing but lost for the past six months, you arsehole. First I lost my heart to you. Then my fucking head when you wouldn’t even notice. Time after time when you didn’t believe I was—then I lost the bloody chocolates and the flowers you explicitly said one must have when asking a man on a date, and damn it, but I’ve been trying so hard, and if I lose you—if I lost you too, if you didn’t even want to be my friend after this, I don’t think I could—”

He only stopped because something hit him on the head. At first he thought maybe the squirrel was back for round two, but no, it was just Draco. Must have been, because now his arms were wrapped around Harry, and his frown finally melted, dripping down his long eyelashes, soaking his expensive cashmere jumper. Harry covered him best he could with himself before remembering to ask:

“Wait, what are you…”

“I don’t need flowers,” Draco said. “Although chocolates would be nice.”

“Shut up,” Harry found he was laughing, no idea why.

“I suppose I was only trying to… I didn’t mean to make you lose your head.”

He wiped a wet cheek with wet fingers. “Yeah you did.”

“All right, I did.”

Draco’s lips couldn’t decide between a pout and a smile. They were so close, and so wet. Harry could do this all night.

“So you’ll go on a date with me? A proper date, with all the—yeah?”

“Is that a question or a statement?” grey eyes opened, alight and so much an invitation Harry felt weak.

“I’d beg if that’s what it took. Please?”

Draco laughed, and laughed, and came a bit closer in Harry’s arms, and laughed. It was such a soothing sound, Harry would forgive any squirrel in the world.

“Okay, fine. A proper date.”

“Thank god, because I’ve already booked dinner,” he confessed into the crook of his neck. Then: “Shit, I forgot, we lost the table to some grade-F celebrity who—”

“Doesn’t matter,” Draco chuckled in his ear, “we’ll go to mine, I need to dry you up anyway. There’s so much I want to…”

“I know,” Harry nodded enthusiastically, “so much, there’s so much.”

They walked together, still rambling, both too giddily happy to stop, to notice the rain or the street. Or the squirrel, smirking on his tree, rubbing little paws together in a self-satisfied way. A win-win, if you ask him.

For the lovely @theoneindenial and her hilarious prompt, with my sincere apologies for how long it took! 700 words of fluff and a - squirrel? For some reason?