#I'm saying we do this because it's the best tool we have right this second to fight the legal machine

[theinstagrahame]

Hey, Cis Folks. You want to take a concrete action to help your trans friends out?

Call your senator. Write them letters. Email them.

Don't assume someone else will, because a) they might not, and b) two voices are louder than one. They're already not getting a ton of calls, so, give them a ton of calls.

Calls are better than letters, but letters aren't nothing

Letters are better than emails, but emails aren't nothing.

(Faxes are actually better than emails too, because like, who sends a fax anymore? Rarity is good here)

As the thread points out: call them if your senators are Democrats, don't give them the "nobody called" excuse.

Call them if your senators are Republicans, let them know you are watching, and you think the whole thing is creepy.

Do not threaten them. It undermines your point, and I think it's a crime.

But the most important thing is, contact them. Just do it.

(Also doing a fake hick voice is gross.)

[In the interest of post length, I'm not including all of the subthreads - you can read this thread starting here if you have a BlueSky login:

]

[Spider's note: yes, she means the House version of the bill, HR 28.]

[chdarling]

ok so, I can't, like, set a precedent for every time there is a catastrophic event in my country I post a TLE spoiler because let's be real, that's gonna be every day for the next four years at least and I only have so many non-major-spoilery TLE bits to share. But I'm making my way through an emergency bottle of prosecco and texting my friends about how in the face of the endless onslaught of late stage capitalism, fanfic -- a community built purely around love and joy and not a single drop of money being exchanged -- is in a small way something radical and precious and dare I say holy (did I mention I was drunk) and that should be honored on today of all fucking days, and ALSO we should all spend less time staring at gifs of that evil-ass motherfucker doing nazi salutes and more time crafting joy and creating community with each other so

here is a lil snippet from TLE3

as with all my spoiler snippets, I reserve the right to completely rewrite this before the final draft because honestly this was mostly an exercise in me learning how to craft sentences again mid-burnout, but!!!! here, have a lil moment of joy, maybe. i love you.

Excerpt from The Last Enemy: Marauders’ End

“So, what do you think?”

Sirius turned expectantly to his best mate, who stood beside him as the boys peered through the doorway of Sirius’s second bedroom. The room had been unoccupied at the time of Sirius moving into this flat a few weeks ago. Now…it decidedly was not.

“Er…” said James, who did not quite seem to know how to answer the question.

“Her name is Lola,” Sirius added in a reverent tone.

“She has a name, does she?”

“Of course she has a name, you pig.”

“Right,” said James. “Well, then frankly, I’m a bit hurt you moved out and left me for Lola.”

Sirius knocked his shoulder against James’s. “Come on. I didn’t leave you. We’ve been over this. I’m of age, I was going to have to get my own place eventually.”

“Yeah, okay, sure, but you barely made it a month before you shacked up with your new flatmate, Lola.”

Sirius grinned. “She’s sexy, isn’t she?”

“She’s…very shiny.”

“She’s the goddamn love of my life.”

“Okay, ‘she’ is a motorbike, mate. You’ve gone completely batty.”

Sirius laughed and strode further into the room where indeed the Muggle motorbike had been set up, dominating the space. It was a thing of beauty, all sleek lines and silver glint. The floor around the motorbike was haloed with the detritus of Sirius’s last few delicious days: all sorts of mechanical bits and bobs, empty beer bottles, an ashtray, a crumpled up bag of crisps, a few oily rags, and a confusion of Muggle tools, the names of which Sirius kept mixing up — a socket wrench, he thought that one was called. The spare bed that had once been the primary feature of this room — a springy mattress James had transfigured for the nights he was too pissed to apparate home (“Mum won’t mind, she put the security spells on your flat herself.”) — had been shoved into the corner to make room for this new sacred altar.

James did not seem as impressed with Sirius’s new acquisition as he felt his friend ought to be. “You’re just jealous,” Sirius told him, “that you’ve never known a love so true.”

“Ha. Touché.”

Sirius pulled a rag from his back pocket and began to lovingly polish a spot on the seat of the motorbike.

“You know,” said James, still observing from his post at the doorway, “I’m not sure it’s healthy, you spending so much time by yourself.”

“What time by myself?” laughed Sirius. “You’re here almost every day.”

This was true. Hardly a day had passed so far this summer that James hadn’t found a reason to come by. Not that Sirius minded. Though he’d never admit it, he liked living on his own rather less than he’d expected.

“Yeah, well…” James strode closer to inspect the motorbike. “Someone has to make sure you don’t go completely bonkers, all on your own here. Lola, I ask you. You know, if you start talking to the bike, mate, I’m hauling you off to St. Mungo’s too.”

Sirius leaned down and whispered to the handlebars: “Don’t listen to the mean man, Lola. I’d never leave you.”

James sat down on the spare bed with a mournful creak. “Besides,” he said, “Potter House is too quiet now, with you gone and dad all…entombed. Some days I think if I don’t get out, I’m the one who will go bonkers.”

Sirius turned back to his friend, suddenly somber. “Hey, you know I’m just joking, right? You’re always welcome over here. I love having you here.”

“Yeah,” said James, though the faintest tint of melancholy compromised his credulity. Sirius watched as James plucked an oil-stained rag from the bed, sniffed it, then tossed it aside with a wrinkled nose.

“How are things…?” Sirius ventured. “With your dad?” Fleamont Potter’s health had been in steady decline for years, but last Christmas things had taken a turn for the worse. The diagnosis seemed to be simply that he was old…though Sirius had a hard time wrapping his head around that. “Have things gotten any better?”

“No,” said James shortly. “And they’re not going to. It is what it is.” He glared at the wall for a brief moment, then sighed — a deep, intentional sigh, as though exhaling all his miseries in order to transform himself back to Sirius’s good-natured friend. “So…does she work?”

“The fuck d’you mean, ‘does she work?’”

“Well,” said James, “it hasn’t escaped my notice that the bike is in your spare bedroom, rather than, say, on the street. So either you and Lola have a far kinkier relationship than I care to know about…or she doesn’t work.”

A pause.

“She’s a work in progress, okay?”

“Knew it,” grinned James.

“Hey, have some respect,” said Sirius. “I’m fixing her up myself. It’s far cooler than just buying some shiny toy from a shop. This is my bike. Mine. I’ll make her fly, just you wait.” He stroked the bike handle. “Isn’t that right, Lola?”

“Yep,” sighed James. “Completely bonkers.”

[crusty-chronicles]

heey! Good morning/night! So I was thinking about how Kurapika, Feitan and Chrollo would react to their S/O seeking to annihilate all the members of their own family because they think their blood is cursed (in a headcanons form if possible), since whenever someone in their own family gets involved in something this thing It always ends with someone dead/hurt but like on a extreme way. That's why their S/O was so difficult to get close to, and like they are VERY strong, well even if you don't make that request I would like to praise your writing!! 💗💗 (I'm using a translator, so any mistakes I apologize)

Apologies, I don't write for any of the phantom troupe, buuuuuut I do write for Kurapika so these head cannons will be based around him. Thank you 💕

Kurapika With An S/O Who Hunts Down Their Family

—---------------

Cold and calculated.

If you were to ask Kurapika what he thought of you, that's what he would say.

You were always so distant from everybody else. Finding solace in the quiet. Yet you were still very aware of your surroundings.

He'd met you formally as one of Neon’s bodyguards.

You were a blacklist hunter hired for extra help. Your specialty being claiming bounties.

Had he done the research back then, he would've seen that all your targets had one thing in common: they were all related.

But he didn't, and now he was left with the mystery of you.

Why were you here?

What did you gain by helping the Nostrade’s out?

Answers he wouldn't get for a long time.

Not until he'd caught Uvogin and dealt with him, did he learn about your motives.

He was doing his best to suppress his blood lust. Trying to calm himself down before he lashed out. He didn't even notice when you walked in.

Too lost in the feeling of the way blood coated his hands to process your presence.

“This is personal for you, isn't it?” You asked.

It was the first time he's ever heard your voice.

And it had him on edge.

Jumping back in surprise the second it hit his ears. He needed to be alone right now.

One wrong misstep and he'd hurt you.

But you didn't seem afraid. You didn't even acknowledge his disheveled appearance.

Instead taking a step closer.

“Maybe we could help each other out? My next target is someone who owns a pair of Scarlet Eyes.”

His eyes widened before narrowing in hostility. Immediately one of his chains had wrapped around you.

You didn't flinch.

“How do you know about that?” He questioned. His chain tightening around you.

What exactly did you know?

Were you working with someone?

Could you be apart of the troupe?

“You forgot to put your contacts in.”

You gestured towards his eyes.

Oh.

How foolish of him to act so impulsively. He released you. Yet there was a nagging feeling telling him to continue interrogating you.

You knew about the Kurta clan, or at least what happened to it.

And you'd deduced from his reaction that he was connected to them in some way. His own eyes only confirmed it for you.

“I don't plan on being here for long. I'm leaving after the auction. I'll give you some time to think about my offer.” Your voice snapping him from his thoughts.

He already knew his answer, but what he wanted to know was-

“Why?”

“Why would you help me? How does me tagging along benefit you?”

He just couldn't wrap his head around it. What use could he possibly be of to you. Did you just want someone to get their hands dirty for you? Or would this be a true partnership?

“I lost my Hunter license years ago. I unfortunately don't have access to the information I need. And there's places I can't get to without a license,” you explained.

“So you want my license in exchange for information?”

“Not necessarily. I have no desire to keep it. It would just be nice to have some more tools at my disposal. You don't have to say yes. I could always give you the eyes when I'm done.”

No, he needed to be involved. He wouldn't forgive himself if he let someone else avenge his clan, even if it was unintentional.

Thus your partnership began.

You were still distant. Treating your alliance as purely business.

Kurapika didn't mind. It meant he wouldn't get attached to another person. He wouldn't have anyone else to worry about.

But…. there were times when you were warm.

When you allowed yourself to grin so brightly.

When you opened up ever so slightly.

And in those rare moments, he found himself wanting to be close.

When he'd gotten sick in York New, you were taking care of him alongside Leorio.

He remembers the feeling of your hand on his forehead. The coolness of your skin.

He remembers refusing medicine and only accepting when you asked him to.

‘It's for your own good, Kurapika. Please open up.’ your tone cooing.

And he remembers reaching for your hand in his sleep. Awakening blearily to you still grasping it.

In his mind, you were friends to some extent.

He'd looked after you too. The first pair of eyes you collected together, you'd gotten wounded badly by your target.

Bleeding out and yet for some reason, you were dead set on claiming the bounty.

Not stopping until they were dead at your feet. And only then had you collapsed.

He spent days watching over you. Making sure your wounds were clean and stitched up.

A part of him worried he'd lose you.

He couldn't help but scold you when you awoke.

‘Do you have any idea how bad your injuries were? How much blood you lost? Why? Why didn't you just stop?’

You didn't answer him.

Confused as to why he cared so much.

If you died, what did it matter to him?

Maybe a part of you realized your relationship had become more than surface level.

‘I’m sorry,’ you offered.

You were always more careful from then on.

And your trust in the blonde only seemed to grow.

He'd treat your wounds after fights, and you'd take care of his.

When he was overcome with emotion, eyes glowing with his anger, you'd find a way to calm him down. Watching as the red faded little by little.

You should've known something would go wrong.

Things never tended to last when your people were involved.

This target you were chasing was vastly different from your previous ones.

You tried to go it alone, but Kurapika insisted on helping you.

You should've said no.

Your target laid beneath your foot. Kurapika a few feet behind you.

You should've been quicker to end them

But you weren't. You'd had the misfortune of letting them identify you.

An expression of distaste on their features before they spoke.

“So you've finally found me? Some sibling you are.”

You'd immediately taken their life, but the damage had already been done.

“What did they mean by that?” Kurapika questioned. His tone accusing.

“It’s nothing.” You dismissed.

But you'd spent far too much time together for him to fall for it.

“Don't lie to me. All this time.. All this time you were hunting down your family?”

He stood in front of you now, eyes a bright scarlet.

“You don't understand-” You tried to explain.

“What is there to understand!?!” He snapped.

“They're murders!”

“They're your family!”

Did you have any idea what he would have given to spend one last moment with his family? And here you were justifying taking the lives of your own. it made his blood boil.

He trusted you.

“Only by blood. Don't you dare group me in with them!” you screamed.

You refused to be associated with those monsters.

You two stood in silence. You didn't know how to show him the things you'd seen. How to convey the exact opposite of what he was thinking.

He was hurt, that much you could tell.

“Kurapika, they're horrible evil people. Everywhere they go, there's a path of pain and destruction left behind. They're- they're cursed.” You were pleading with him to listen to you. Sounding desperate and crazy in the process.

But you were scared.

Scared of losing him.

“Does that make you cursed? If they're evil, then what does that make you.” He asked. His voice rising as he came closer to you.

“Am I going to end up hurt following you around? Are you gonna end up killing me?”

He was trying to make you see this wasn't the way. That you were going too far by doing this.

You wouldn't hurt him. He knew you wouldn't. If your bloodline was cursed with carnage, surely you would've demonstrated it by now.

“I don't know.” You answered honestly.

“But I have to stop them.” You met his fiery gaze with determination. You weren't backing down.

“You're not like them. Stop while you're ahead.”

Before your anger had consumed you.

“I can't. I thought you of all people would understand that.”

You want to walk past him, stopping when he grabbed your arm.

“Then we'll find another way to stop them.”

He was in too deep with you.

“We?” Your tone was skeptical.

“You still need me right? Justice will prevail. But you cannot stoop to their level to do it.”

Why was he still trying? Why couldn't he just let you go?

“Why do you want to help if what I'm doing goes against your morals.”

You looked up at him once more. The red becoming faded. You could see nothing but a yearning behind his eyes.

“Because you're important to me.”

And you could feel it. The subtle way your heart beat faster.

[reblogandlikes]

No allies UTM, Rhysand? None? (Ramble)

I genuinely want to know, but seriously, Rhysand didn't make one alliance with the other HL's or anyone during the years of Amarantha? Not a single side plan that would have me think, "Yeah, he's done fucked up things for her, but he's also been actively working against her the entire time with proven plans, proven things gone wrong and right. Proven anything but weak his say."

Not to mention, please don't make someone the most powerful mind reader if they won't capitalise on that power. A very useful power, yet criminally under utilised in this series. There would have been ample time to create an alliance, and for his own safety/self preservation, occasionally ensure they would not spill the plan or fuck them up before they ever could. That would then play into his grey morality for the betterment of everyone further down the line even if it means cutting people loose. Hard, but necessary. I mean, unless that forever unknown daemati made it hard. Though this unknown other figure couldn't have been that good when the other HL's rebelled. Yeah, they failed and died doing it, but they still made a plan and tried. Rhysand hasn't don't anything off the sort.

But, he must of had a hint of an alliance because why would he and Helion be so buddy buddy in the later books? He saw all that Rhysand had done during those years. Saw his "Mask" presented as "him" and yet Helion no qualms or think to be standoffish afterwards? Like, "Damn, you went a little hard core, don't you think?"

Unless his friendship curated with Helion was just a way for sjm to try to absolve Rhysand from receiving too much heat and generalised, consistent hate from everyone outside of Velaris. "See, look. This fun, cool HL guy loves Rhysand! He's also POC, Bi, sex positive, with progressive ideals. His judgment can't be wrong." It felt like sjm was using Helion as a tool to enforce Rhysand’s greatness than having built a genuine friendship we could read; so instead rely heavily on Helions traits when knowing Helion embodies a lot of the characteristics her target audience wants to see more in books, yet for me, made my guy Helion feel like a token. I don't like it. (Side note, I'm still pissed they stole from my sweetheart Tarquin when he was so open. They still have not apologised, either!)

Anywho, where was this so-called friendship UTM? A union between the solar courts, at least. Something!

50 years. He should have come with some receipts of his efforts. Anything on Hybern since he was already suspected of them making a move in the later books. To me, these books are the best example of just making shit up as you go along. SJM just writes, and we simply consume. Nah, mate. You can catch these critiques.

Crazy, you'd think acotar was her first series, not her second.

[dreamofbecoming]

more stobin nonsense from your resident trash goblin. feat. shitty harrington parents, lavender marriage, full party found family shenanigans, steddie flirting, steve&will bonding, and a severe lack of dialogue tags

rating: t wc: 5k ao3

“I knew it!”

Steve sighs. Listen, he knew the minute he opened his mouth that this was coming. There was always a zero percent chance Dustin was ever gonna let him get out the whole thing before bursting in with this exact interruption, but that doesn’t make it less annoying. If the little shithead would just let him finish--

"I knew you were perfect together, I can't believe you didn't tell us you were dating! How long have you been a thing? I have money to collect! Can I be your best man? Never mind, obviously I'm gonna be your best man. You so owe me for not telling me sooner! I cannot believe-"

"Henderson!"

"What?"

"We're not together like that."

In fairness, Dustin is not the only one to give them an incredulous look for that one.

"Steve. You literally just announced you and Robin are getting married. What is even the point of pretending you're not in love anymore? What are you still trying to prove? Just admit I was right the whole time!"

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose and forces himself to take a deep breath, instead of wringing Dustin's weird little boneless neck. It's not his fault, he reminds himself. They haven't gotten to the second part of the announcement, so his assumptions are natural.

Now, it is Henderson's fault that they haven't managed to say the rest of what they came here to say, so maybe he can keep blaming him after all.

"Do you remember when we sat down and we asked you guys to let us say everything we were gonna say without interrupting?"

"Uh, yeah dude, it was like ten minutes ago. We're not stupid."

"Has it occurred to you that maybe we weren't done saying everything we were gonna say, considering I was halfway through a sentence when you jumped in?"

"I mean, I guess, but like, it's pretty obvious where you're going with this, Steve. You're not a complicated guy, no offense. Now, where did we land on the best man issue?"

Nancy must see the offense very much taken on his face, because before he can open his mouth and say something probably horrifically rude that would feel amazing in the moment and which he would immediately regret, she jumps to his rescue.

"Dustin, you're being very rude. Steve and Robin came here to talk to us, and we promised to listen. Let them finish."

It's nice of her to back Steve up, considering how weird this conversation must be for her. Hopefully it gets less awkward soon.

Henderson grumbles mutinously, but years of dealing with first Mike and then the rest of the little dickheads have left Nancy's control ironclad, and he waves sarcastically for Steve to continue.

This kid is spending too much time with Eddie, the attitude is getting out of hand.

"Right. Thanks, Nance. As I was saying, Robin and I are getting married, yes. But not because we're in love. I mean, I love her, obviously, but as a friend. Only a friend. Or, well, I guess a friend and soon a...friend...wife? Frife? Wend? You guys get it."

"We very much don't." Alright, well, fine, add Max to the shitlist.

He looks over at Robin, hoping for help, but she's stiff as a board and trembling all over.

He doesn't want to be the one to say the words for her. They agreed together to tell everyone the truth, it was her idea even, but the last thing he wants to do is steal that moment from her.

Maybe he can just…talk around it, until she feels up to it. And if not, he’ll just tell them his part of it and call it good.

“We’re getting lavender married.”

Okay, so that’s probably not like. A normal way to say that or whatever. Robin just used that term like fifty times last night, alright? She was really excited about the article she just read about it, something about how it was a thing in, like, olden times or whatever, and now it’s coming back because Reagan is a fucking tool, Steve’s not sure, he was only kind of listening. Regardless, now it’s stuck in his head. Sue him or whatever, geez.

Anyway, he isn’t sure how many people in this room will actually understand what that means, but Nancy’s mouth drops open in a perfect little O the way it only does when she’s genuinely surprised by something, and there’s a tiny gasp from over by the table that he thinks might have come from Will, and Max mutters to herself “Oh shit, that explains so much,” so it’s not none of them, which helps. No pitchforks yet, at least.

Jonathan is eyeing him speculatively, and Argyle is offering him an enthusiastic thumbs up, which is nice.

Unfortunately, the other boys and El are giving him blank, expectant stares, and Erica is eyeing him with both confusion and annoyance, so it looks like he still has some explaining to do.

“What the hell does your color scheme have to do with this? I’m not helping plan the wedding, dude, I don’t care that much.”

Steve mumbles a “Language,” on reflex, but his heart isn’t in it. This is somehow more nerve-wracking than evil Russians.

“Mike, that’s not what it means. Now shut up and listen, or I’ll tell Mom how that red sock ended up in her load of white delicates.”

“Oh come on, she’ll kill me!” When all he gets in return is a single raised eyebrow, he groans and slumps further into his seat, glaring at Steve.

“Right. Okay. So basically, last night, my parents--”

“I’m a lesbian!”

There’s a beat of dead silence, which in this group is more unsettling than just about anything else.

Steve keeps his eyes on Robin, who looks just about as shocked at her own outburst as everyone else in the room. He takes her hand, squeezing gently until she unfreezes a little and looks back over at him. She looks terrified, and it breaks his heart a little.

“You okay, babe?” He keeps his voice low, murmuring just loud enough for her to hear. He knows this moment is the opposite of private, but she needs him to pretend for a second, so that’s what he’s gonna do.

She nods, a little jerkily, but she grips his hand back and intentionally evens out her breathing. She’s so fucking brave. He would burn the world down for Robin Buckley, and he doesn’t care who knows it.

He can’t believe she’s willing to do this for him, but he’s so grateful he feels like he’s choking on it.

“Henderdork will literally never shut up and let you live it down if we do this and he doesn’t know the truth. Not even for a single second for the rest of forever, and I, for one, am not putting up with that shit until death or legal marriage reforms do us part, Dingus.”

It was a solid point last night when they came up with the plan, curled on her bed while she stroked his hair and generously pretended he hadn’t soaked the shoulder of her shirt with his sobs, all his worldly possessions packed into a duffel on her bedroom floor, but he knows her insistence was more about knowing how much he hates lying to the kids than it was about protecting herself from irritating teenagers.

He doesn’t think there’s enough room on the whole planet to hold all the love he feels for her, even if you count the Upside Down and any other weirdo dimensions floating around out there waiting to ruin his day.

“I’m okay, bubba. Don’t let go?” Her hand is shaking in his, but he just squeezes harder.

“Never.” He turns back to the room, eyes hard as he scans the faces of their family for any hostility. He wouldn’t have agreed to this part of the plan if he thought any of them would be a problem, but he’s not taking anything for granted with Robbie’s safety. Not now, not ever. "Everyone's gonna be cool about that, right?"

"Of course we are, right, guys?" From the pained grunt that follows her words, Steve assumes Max has dug her elbow into Mike's ribs.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"I suppose this makes you slightly less lame, Buckley. It's definitely better than when I thought you liked this loser." Wow, okay, thank you Erica.

"Yeah totally! Thanks for trusting us, Robin." Lucas is a sweetheart, he really is. He's also glancing surreptitiously at Will while he nods enthusiastically, who is still staring open-mouthed at Robin with wide, shiny eyes.

"Yes, thank you for trusting us, Robin." Nancy is smiling kindly, but she's got that glint in her eye that Steve knows means she just came up with more questions and is waiting for the right moment to strike. Fair enough, at least she's letting Robs have her moment first.

He finally drags his eyes back to Dustin, who he doesn't really want to admit, even to himself, he's a little worried about. Not that he'll be shitty about it, necessarily, but there's nothing that brings out Henderson's bitchy side like being wrong, and he's been so fucking wrong this entire time. It's bound to upset him.

And maybe Steve will never say this out loud where the other kids might hear, but the truth is that Dustin's opinion matters to him more than just about everyone else's. Dustin was the first person in the whole world who saw Steve, the real Steve, and decided he was worth keeping around. If Henderson can't accept this part of Robin, it means he can't accept this part of Steve, and if that happens...if that happens Steve isn't sure he'll be able to come back from it.

So he's...not worried, okay? Worried is not the right word. Anxious, maybe. Concerned.

Okay fine fuck off he's worried.

Dustin...looks like he's about to cry. Shit.

"Did you think you couldn't trust me?" His voice is so small. Steve doesn't think he's ever heard it so small. It feels wrong. Henderson's voice should fill every room he's in, always. "You didn't have to lie. You could have told me the truth."

Aw, fuck.

"Buddy,--"

"It's not that simple, little man."

Steve whips back around to look at Robin. Are you sure you’re up for this? She purses her lips and narrows her eyes. Yeah, Dingus, this is my mess. Let me clean it up. Put the lance down, White Knight. Well, alright then. He waves for her to continue, ignoring the looks the others always shoot them when they do their silent conversation thing. Not his fault they can’t read each other as well, it’s not like it’s hard.

"Before today, Steve was the only person in the world who knew about me. And honestly, I don't know if I would have told him if we weren't both coming off torture and truth serum. I've worked hard to hide it my whole life, baby Dingus, that's not an easy thing to stop doing. It's scary."

"But we're your friends. We're your family! We saved the world together! You should trust your family, right?"

Aw, jeez. Steve forgets, sometimes, how young they are. They've been through horrific supernatural trauma, but they're still the kind of kids who think life is a story with a happy ending, like their little dragon game.

"Yeah, bud, you should, but it's not always that easy. There can be really serious consequences for telling the wrong person. Like, last night my parents found out I'm bisexual by accident and now I...well. Now I don't have parents anymore." Oof, okay, little blunter than he meant to be, but Robbie's getting anxious again so he has to take the focus back.

There's an eruption of sound, as every voice in the Party starts shouting all at once, turning the Wheeler's basement into Steve's own personal migraine generator.

"Did they kick you out?"

"You're bisexual?!"

"What's bisexual?"

"They can't just do that!"

"Does this mean we have to find somewhere else for Hellfire nights?"

That last one earns Erica several Looks, but she doesn't flinch. "What? I'm just being practical."

He wishes Eddie was here. The gremlins actually listen to him, unlike Steve, on account of as their Hellfire DM, he has leverage they care about to threaten them with. Well, most of them, but it's definitely a help when he's around.

Sadly he and Wayne are at some kind of Munson family reunion down in West Virginia this week, so Steve is gonna have to do this whole spiel over again when he gets back. He and Robin thought about waiting until he got back and the whole Party could be together, but the kids would definitely notice him not living in Loch Nora anymore pretty much immediately. And Steve hates the idea of telling him over the phone, so double coming out/engagement announcement it is.

"Alright, Jesus Christ, enough! One at a goddamn time, you animals."

He looks back at Dustin, who's definitely crying now. "Yeah, buddy, they kicked me out, but I'm okay. I'm staying with the Buckleys for now, and Rob and I have been saving up to move in together soon anyway, so all this did is move up our timeline. I'm safe and I'm fine, okay? I promise."

Dustin plasters himself to Steve's front, squeezing like he's worried Steve is going to shatter into pieces and he can hold him together by sheer force of will. It's very sweet, even if it's crushing his lungs a little.

"I'm sorry you felt like you couldn't tell me." The words are muffled in Steve's chest, he's not sure anyone else heard him.

"Aw, kid, it's okay. I trust you, alright? Always. You die, I die, remember? I was just...figuring my shit out, that's all."

"Your parents are mouthbreathers." Steve chuckles a little at the mutinous glare on El's face, not pausing his hand where he's stroking Dustin's hair.

"You're not wrong, Supergirl. But it's fine, honestly. They've always been dicks, I've been planning to move out for a long time. They just...gave me the final push, is all." He's definitely leaving out the part where he broke down sobbing in Robbie's bed last night, asking her over and over why he was so broken that his own parents couldn't love him, but the kids don't need to hear that part of the story.

"Does this have something to do with your whirlwind engagement?" There she is, ace reporter Nancy Wheeler. Observant as always.

"Yeah, pretty much. They disinherited me, but they're still legally my next of kin."

"And Dingus has had far too much head trauma for me to trust he's not gonna end up back in the hospital for something at some point, and the last thing we need is Mr. and Mrs. von Child Neglect getting that call. And I was just reading about gay men and women who are marrying each other so they can have someone allowed in to see in them in the hospital, because of the virus, you know? And I thought, hey that's not a half bad idea! We're gonna be living together anyway, and it's not like I'm marrying anyone else, and it'll be good for both of us to have someone who knows about, y'know, monsters and all that jazz, to do our power of attorney stuff, so, voila! Mr. and Mrs. Bucklington!"

"We are not changing our name to Bucklington."

"Well Harringley is worse, so suck it up, buttercup."

"I'm not interested in keeping the Harrington name, Bobs, I'd rather just be a Buckley."

"Aw, bubba, you're gonna make me cry!"

"You should both become Hendersons! Then we'd really be brothers!"

Steve erupts into laughter, the tension effectively broken by Dustin's wide, toothy grin. "What d'ya say, Bobbie? Steve and Robin Henderson?"

"Would we get access to Claudia's lasagna recipe? Because if so, I'm behind this plan one hundred percent.”

"By 'we' you do mean me, right? Because I love you more than life, Bobs, but I'm not letting you anywhere near a casserole dish. I've learned that lesson."

"It was one time!"

"It took me three days to get all the cheese off the ceiling! There's still a stain!"

"Well good! Ceiling grease stains can be the Harrington's problem now, anyway. They deserve it!"

Argyle is nodding sagely from on top of the incredibly deflated bean bag he's sharing with Jonathan. "I do like Bucklington, it makes you sound like a fancy butler. But family is important, brochachos, and so is lasagna. I vote Henderson."

This spurs impassioned arguments from all corners, which Steve is more than happy to relax into the couch cushions and let wash over him.

There's a light, bubbly feeling in his chest. For the first time since his dad walked in unannounced yesterday, interrupting his phone call with Robin at the worst possible moment, the knot of fear and grief in his stomach starts to loosen.

Robin smiles at him, and he grins helplessly back. Who needs parents when he's got a soulmate? They're together, they're safe, they're surrounded by their family. Steve holds Dustin tighter to his side and lets himself feel loved.

He takes advantage of a lull in the Last Name Wars to get out the last of the speech he'd planned. "Anyway, we decided to tell all of you the truth when we came up with this plan last night, because we do trust you and we didn't want to lie to you, and also because we knew you shitheads would never shut up about us being in love if we didn't and that sounded awful."

He laughs delightedly at the chorus of indignant outbursts this gets him before continuing.

"It's really important that you don't tell anyone outside the Party the truth, alright? We're gonna tell Eddie when he gets back, and we might tell Joyce and Hop eventually, but that needs to be our choice to do. You can't do it for us, and you absolutely can't tell anyone else. The whole point of this is to keep us safe by keeping people from finding out the truth, okay?"

El looks vaguely uncomfortable, but not upset. "Will you tell my Dad soon?"

Steve glances at Robbie, who's looking anxious again, and then over at Will. His shoulders are tense, hunched up around his ears, and he's staring intently at the table in front of him.

Steve isn't sure if anyone else knows what he thinks he knows about Will, but he's pretty sure he recognizes the specific flavor of isolation he can see Will struggling with sometimes, and he's definitely sure he recognizes the looks Will shoots at Mike whenever Wheeler isn't looking. Tommy used to look at him like that.

Either way, he knows the kind of fear the kid must be suffering, just like he knows how terrifying today was for Robin. For Steve, the worst case scenario has already happened, so he has a lot less left to lose. He can afford to smooth the way a little, to test the waters and make sure they're safe for everyone else.

It's not that different from his normal role in this group anyway, just a different kind of monster. He's always been good at taking hits so the others don't have to-- this is just another threat to step in front of.

"Tell you what, Ellie, I'll talk to Hop and Joyce this weekend, that way you won't have to keep secrets from him for too long. I'll just tell him about me, though, at first, okay? That way we'll know if it's safe for Robbie." Or anyone else, he doesn't say.

Jonathan hears it, at the very least, and shoots him a look that's equal parts surprised and grateful. Maybe Will has someone else in his corner after all, then.

El nods happily, satisfied with that.

Before anyone else can jump in, there's a clattering on the basement stairs. None of them have time to tense up too badly before the door bursts open and Eddie comes tumbling through it in a flurry of dark curls and frayed denim.

"Fear not, my wayward wastrels, for I have returned from far off lands, bearing tidings and the promise of libations!"

Steve only recognizes, like, four of those words, but seeing Eddie gives him the same happy, fizzy feeling in his gut that it always does these days, so he grins.

"You're back early, Eds, everything ok?"

Eddie blinks at him, then around the room, looking surprised to see it so packed.

"Yeah, my cousin Clarence accidentally broke my MeeMaw's pasture fencing and set all the goats loose in the hills, and if we stuck around we were gonna have to help round them back up, so Wayne and I snuck out early. I was coming to invite the gremlins out for pizza to tell you all about it, but this is more people than I was expecting. Y'all having a family meeting? Without little old moi?"

Steve valiantly suppresses the shiver that the twang in Eddie's voice triggers. Steve's not sure if Eddie notices the way his accent gets stronger when he's been talking to family, but he's had to work very hard to make sure he doesn't notice the way it affects Steve.

Steve has barely tested the flirting waters with Eddie since admitting his crush to Robin, he's definitely not jumping right in with 'It makes me tingly all over when you start talking with a drawl, wanna call me darlin' and see what happens?'

Luckily Bobbie notices his inner struggle and comes to his rescue.

"It was kind of a time sensitive issue- not a life or death one! Or like. Not a monster one, anyway. But shit went down last night and we needed to brief everyone before the geek squad figured out something was funky and came beating down the door. Steve wanted to tell you in person so we were gonna wait til you got back, but here you are!"

Eddie's looking at Robin with an amused smile on his face, one eyebrow raised and his lips quirked in a lopsided grin that is, frankly, unreasonably attractive. "Here I am indeed, my fair Lady of Feathers. So what's the scoop?"

He plops down next to Jonathan and Argyle on the beanbags, nearly sending them all toppling before Argyle hooks both of them around the waists and drags them practically into his lap.

Steve is not seething with jealousy. He's not.

A half a dozen voices chime out all at once.

"Robin's gay!"

"Steve's homeless."

"Robin and Steve are getting married!"

“Purple married.”

“It’s lavender, dummy.”

“Lavender’s a kind of purple!”

"They're gonna be Hendersons!"

"No they aren't, weirdo, they're gonna be Buckleys."

"Bucklington is clearly the superior choice, even if Argyle was right about the butler thing."

“Bucklington my ass, y’all dumb as hell if you think Mom and Dad aren’t gonna try and make him a Sinclair after this.”

"Mama and Papa Harrington didn't like that Stevie boy has double the love to give. Totally bogus. Bi bros for life, man."

"I still call Steve's best man!"

Eddie blinks a little when everyone quiets down, looking vaguely shellshocked. "That was. A lot of information to get in thirty seconds."

And, listen, Steve is like, 97% sure Eddie's cool. More than cool, even. He moves that bandana to the same pocket every time he changes his jeans, no matter what outfit he's wearing. There's no way that's an accident. But if Steve is being totally honest, which he's trying to do more these days, at least inside his own brain, this is maybe not the way he'd have chosen to come out to his crush. It's somehow way more nerve-wracking when he didn't even get to say it himself.

Oh well, it's out there now. It's fine, probably.

Still, there’s a definite feeling of relief when Eddie turns that megawatt grin on him again.

"Man, I wish I'd known there were other queers in Hawkins, I might have listened sooner when Henderson told me how cool you guys were!"

Steve laughs, only a little hysterically. "Dude, if you thought you were the only one, what the hell have you been wearing that hanky for? Who are you hoping will see it?"

It's a little gratifying to see Eddie go flaming tomato red in seconds. "I am not talking about that in mixed company, Steven. There are children here!"

"Ugh, we're literally teenagers."

"Tiny baby infants! If you're so curious, you can ask me again later."

"Promise?" Steve can't stop himself from grinning wolfishly.

Eddie tugs his hair in front of his face to hide, and the frantic little giggle and the quiet "Oh my god," he lets out both sound more than a little strangled. Steve's having the time of his life right now.

"Gross." Ugh, rude. He glares at Robin for ruining his fun. She sticks her tongue out at him.

Before they can devolve into the inevitable slapfight, Nancy cuts in again.

"Alright, unless anyone else has anything to share in private, I think we should take Eddie's suggestion and get something to eat." Good thinking, Nance. "To celebrate the happy couple, of course," she adds with a smirk. Yeah, that makes more sense.

"Onward then, my noble companions, to pizza and to paradise!" Eddie vaults off the beanbag, sending Jonathan and Argyle tumbling. Argyle laughs and accepts Eddie's hand up, while Jonathan just rolls his eyes good-naturedly.

Eddie slings an arm around Robin's shoulders as they head for the basement door. "So, Birdie, what's this I hear about a wedding? I need context."

As the kids go thundering up the stairs, arguing about who gets to drive in which car, Steve lingers. He noticed Will hanging back from the others, and now they're the last ones left, Will still slowly packing up the pens and notebooks he seems to carry around with him everywhere. Jonathan is hovering anxiously in the doorway, so Steve sends him a nod and waves him off. He's got this.

"You ready to go, kid?"

Will fidgets with the zipper on his bag for another few seconds before looking up at Steve through his, frankly tragic, fringe. "I'm sorry your parents suck."

"Yeah, man, me too." Steve shoots him a wry little smile. "It's alright though, sometimes we're better off without them. I've got plenty of family here that love me, I'll survive without Richard and Diane."

Will studies him for a minute. Steve's not sure what he's looking for, but he hopes he finds it.

"That's what Jonathan says about Lonnie." Steve nods, trying not to wince at the memory of the things he spat at Jonathan that day in '83 when everything changed. "I used to think it was my fault he left, but Jonathan says he was just a bastard, and it's better he's gone anyway."

"I didn't know Lonnie," he's careful not to say your dad, "but from what I've heard, Jonathan's probably right. And he's definitely right that it's not your fault."

"Like it's not your fault your parents kicked you out?"

"Yeah, exactly like that. If it was my fault, that would mean I did something wrong. The only thing I did was exist, and be different than they thought I would be. If they can't love the kid they had, then they shouldn't have had a kid at all. That's their problem, not mine. There's nothing wrong with me."

It doesn't matter if he heard all of these things from Robin first, if he's still trying to learn to believe them. Will needs to hear them like they're true, the same way Steve does.

"Are you sure?" Will's voice is trembling now. He's looking at the floor, but Steve can tell there are tears coming. "How can you be sure this is how you're supposed to be? Wouldn't you rather be normal?"

Oh, kid. "I mean, yeah, maybe it would be easier if I only liked girls, but I don't. I tried for a long time to pretend that I did, but it didn't make it true. And yeah, part of me wants to hate myself, because that's what they taught me to think, and I still kinda wish doing that would make them love me, but it won't. But honestly, you wanna know the biggest thing?" Will nods.

"I can't hate that part of myself without hating Robin, and there's no universe where I could hate Robin. Robin's perfect. She's the best person in the world, and she's gay, so being gay can't be bad. It's impossible. So whenever that voice in my head starts saying shitty things to me, I just think about how much I love Robin and tell it to shut up."

There's a beat where Will seems to be absorbing this.

"How did you know it would be safe? To tell us the truth?"

"I didn't."

Will stares at him in shock.

"Not a hundred percent, anyway. I was pretty sure, but it's never a guarantee with stuff like this, you know? But the other option was never telling anyone, and that...it gets tiring, you know? Always having to hide. Always having to check yourself. Lying when people ask the wrong questions. It wears you down. And I've fought monsters with you guys. I've been tortured by spies with you guys. If I can't trust this group to have my back, I can't trust anyone, can I? And I didn't want to live a life of not trusting anyone. I didn't want Bobbie to live a life like that. So, we took a chance. And it paid off, because all of you are the people we thought you were, and we were right to trust you. But it was a leap of faith, dude. It always is."

"What if I'm not ready?" Fucking shit, this kid. He's been through more than any of them, except maybe El, and he's still so goddamn brave. Steve would have crumpled like a tin can in his place.

"Then you're not ready. It's not a test, Will. There's no right or wrong answers. But I will say that every single person out there loves you, and they'll keep loving you no matter what you do. They're not like my parents, or Lonnie. Our friends aren't broken inside the way they are. Their love isn't conditional. You won't chase them away. You couldn't if you tried."

Will lets out a shaky breath, clearly fighting back tears. Steve leans against the table and keeps his head down, offering the kid the illusion of privacy while he pulls himself together. After a few minutes he speaks up again.

"You ready to go, you think?"

Will nods. He goes to walk past Steve to the stairs before hesitating and, to Steve's surprise, wrapping his gangly arms around him in an awkward hug.

"Thanks, Steve," he mumbles into Steve's shoulder.

Steve runs a hand down his back uncertainly. "Anytime, kid."

He keeps his arm around Will's shoulders tentative, but when the kid doesn't shrug him off or move away, he lets it settle more firmly, tugging him closer.

“Come on Baby Byers, let's go get some pizza. You think I can milk the disownment thing to get Eddie to pay for extra toppings?"

Will snorts. "I think Eddie would pay for as many toppings as you want as long as you do that little eyelash thing at him again."

Steve throws his head back and laughs, long and loud from his belly. Yeah, it's gonna be a good night.

my head hurts too much to keep writing this but please know that the pizza parlor engagement party involves plenty of arguing about roles in the wedding party, resulting in MOH erica/best man dustin (scoops troop babeyy), flower girl team lumax (max demanded the role bc her wheelchair means she can carry extra baskets of petals, and lucas will be pushing the chair so her hands are free. he's just excited to be there.) nancy/el bridesmaids and byler groomsmen (mike grumbles and groans but he's secretly thrilled). jonathan does the pictures and it turns out argyle got ordained back in cali as a joke so he officiates. eddie plays crimson and clover for robin’s wedding march. there’s a bit of a kerfuffle when claudia and the sinclairs both try to claim steve as their son, but after someone makes the argument that charles and sue have two kids to carry their name while claudia only has one, they end up hyphenating and becoming the buckley-hendersons. yes, claudia cries. yes, they get the lasagna recipe.

(at the pizza place, eddie asks what his role will be and steve says he doesn't know yet, but he'll save him a dance regardless. eddie has to hide in the bathroom to stop blushing.)

[vulpixisananimal]

(Self harm scars below the read more!)

(You wake up.)

(The last time you woke up, you got a name.)

(Null.)

(Null, nothing, nobody. Blank slate. Actor. Tool. Whatever. You don't know why you chose it, maybe it's because that's what you are, a nothing.)

(No, not a nothing. You exist now, after all. You curl your fingers, feeling the warm sheet on your body. That's right, you had made it to a bed. You open your eyes.)

(You're alone in a room, big enough, one bed. Looking to your side, you see the signs of a second person who had already gotten up and dressed. You must have slept through it.)

(You look at your hands, you hold them close, stretch them to the ceeling, clasp them together. They're wrong. They're frail, pale, with teltale scars on the wrists. They're not your ams. Sitting up, you see your legs. Shorter, you're short. Your hair is a mess. Your body aches and you haven't even done anything yet. This is the body of somone who spends their life traveling, being sneaky, and couldn't lift a sword to save their life. Yet, it was your body.)

(Null Null Null. . . Where did you come from?)

(You stood up and walked to the window. It was raining. Your memory is mixed, jumbled, confused. On one hand you remember that ever changing house, you remember fighting that person who you couldn't touch, and you remember a play. Many plays.)

(On the other hand, you had memories of a city of bright lights and rain. You could remember the blood, and the tears. You could remember how time bent to your will, how everything slowed around you. You remember the masks, the little girl, that panoramic feeling, and-)

(And you remember that it's all fake.)

(Everything. All those memories. They're not, real. They're of a story, a play, a show. It was a tragic story. One that you loved, or Siffrin loved, as a child. You couldn't remember all of it, but you could remember enough.)

(That's why you're Null.)

(. . . You get dressed. You don't like it. "Your" clothes feel off, distracting, annoying. You don't know how you lived with it before. The hat was distracting, your hair was distracting, the eyepatch was distracting. You hated it, you really, really hated it. You rub your wrist.)

(Come to think of it, you had yet to be "in charge" alone. Finally. Might as well meet the rest of your companions. Companions? Fellow actos? Friends? You'll figure out a good name. You head downstairs.)

(Ah, the common area. There were a few people there, as well as a couple of your companions. Mirabelle was sitting at a table with some plates of food on it, she was writing something, and Isa was chatting with one of the other patrons.)

(Isa was talking to some tall girl with silver hair and a winter coat. At another table were two other people, one with hair down to his shoulders and a cloak, and another with a fancy vest reading a book, they were bickering. Seeing you come down, Isabeau quickly said goodbye and went to Mira's table and waved you over. You join them.)

"Good morning Siffrin!" (Mirabelle says cheerily.)

"Morning." (You say, get into character.) "Did I miss much?"

"Hah! Not at all Sif!" (Isa said, sitting down.) "Sif, right?"

"Yep!" (You lie.) "I slept like a rock."

"I'm not surprised, we had a long day yesterday, eat up!" (Mira said cheerily, oh! The food was for you! It was samosas, you start to eat.)

"Everyones doing their own thing right now." (Isa thought for a second.) "Bonnie's becoming best friends with Jan in the kitchen. Nille wanted to get unpacking properly. Odile. . . I think is still asleep? And Ramos went for a jog."

"Ramos jogs?" (You say, tilting your head.)

"Yup. They're a good runner, better than me." (Isa says.)

(You think back to when you fought them. Upwards of ten times you had to try that fight, they were fast. You roll your eye.) "And they said they weren't strong."

"Exactly!!" (Isabeau waves dramatically.) "It's just mind boggling if you actually get to know them. Sure they're not a hard hitter but that's fine! They're fast! You're like that and you're the strongest here!"

"Yes, it's because I'm fast." (You wave a hand, voice dripping with sarcasm.) "The time loops have nothing to do with it at all."

"W-well--" (Isabeau stumbles over his words.) "I-I mean, you were strong anyways?"

"You flatter me~" (You chuckle, this was fun.) "Who were you talking too, by the way?"

"Oh!" (Isa looks over to the girl with silver hair, she's writing in a notebook.) "She's a traveler, like us! We were swapping stories."

(Hmm, you smelt a lie in there.) "Nothing too personal, I hope."

"O-oh! Of course not no!" (Isa turned back to you.) "Just a friendly conversation."

(You let it go. If needed, you'll interogate her later. You finish up your food and stand up.) "I think I'll go on a walk."

"Didn't we do a lot of that yesterday?" (Isa asks, jokingly.)

"Well, yes, but. . ." (You look off to the side.) "I noticed there's a Favor Tree. I wan't to go see it."

"O-oh, will, will you be alright?" (Mirabelle asks, worried.)

"I'll be fine. No wish making for me, either." (You respond, smiling.)

"Just be careful of the rain, Sif!" (Isa encouraged you. You smile back, say your goodbyes, and head to the door.)

(It was a light rain. A nice rain. You felt the raindrops fall onto your hat, and slide off of your cloak. You stay there for a moment, feeling the rain, hearing the rain. It's nice. You walk towards the Favor Tree.)

(It's up a short hill, a well worn path marking where to walk. It was a large tree, you didn't know what kind. Turning to look behind you, the homestead looked much smaller now that you were further away and above it. How many people have gone through here, you wonder. How many have made their wishes, correct ritual, or not. You don't know, it didn't matter.)

(You stood at the base of the grand tree. It's branches spreading up and around you, engulfing the sky in a natural painting of a lightless night. The rain was gone, here. It was eaten by the leaves and wood above you. It was nice.)

(You had no wish to make. You had no wish you WANTED to make.)

(You sit down at the base of the tree, the soft earth is comfortable beneathe you.)

(Who are you, Null? Who are we.)

(For the first time, you've been able to walk on your own. Talk on your own. You met your companions, even if it wasn't under your own name. You're living in this world. But. . .)

(You close your eyes. To sleep? No, no. You wanted to talk. Talk to them.)

(The book reading one and the cloaked one belong to @fungal--wastes and @neoncityrain)

[whowantslovergirl]

Sharpest Tool

track four of the short n sweet series

JJ Maybank x reader (reader is female with she/her pronouns)

warnings: kinda suggestive, cursing, jackson not being the best guy

Summary: If what you and JJ have is casual then you’re an idiot

posted: Dec. 6, 2024

I know you're not the sharpest tool in the shed

We had sex, I met your best friends

Now you wouldn’t call JJ dumb but he’s definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed.

You guys had sex last month and you met his friends then he acted like nothing even happened.

I don't hear a word 'til your guilt creeps in

On a Tuesday, send a soft "Hey"

As if you really don't recall the time

It was Tuesday morning and you get a text from JJ.

JJ <3

Hey

Why did he act like nothing happened?

We were going right, then you took a left

Left me with a lot of shit to second guess

Guess I'll waste another year on wondering if

If that was casual, then I'm an idiot

After that little hiccup there was another problem. Before the particular problem you and JJ were actually going right but it felt like he took a left.

You were at the chateau with all of JJ’s friends and you see that he’s getting very comfortable with this girl named Kie. Which made you second guess yourself.

He tells you he loves you then flirts with another girl right in front of you?

If that’s casual then you’re an idiot.

I'm looking for an answer in between the lines

Lying to yourself if you think we're fine

You're confused and I'm upset

But we never talk about it

“I just don’t understand JJ!” You two were arguing because of his flirting with Kie.

“I don’t understand why you’re so pressed we’re fine we’re in a good place and you wanna ruin that!”

“Is that what you’re telling yourself Jay?”

‘I’m confused!’ Which is what you wanted to say but you didn’t talk about it.

‘Well I’m upset!’ Which is what Jay wanted to say but he didn’t talk about it.

All of this would’ve been resolved if you tow just talked about it.

All the silence just makes it worse, really

'Cause it leaves you so top of mind for me

All the silence is just your strategy

After the argument you both just stayed silent when this time could’ve been used to talk it out. The silent was suffocating and the only way to breathe is to talk but it’s just silent.

You feel like it’s a tactic that JJ uses to get you to open up with him but he never does the same.

Always made sure that the phone was face down

Seems like overnight, I'm just the bitch you hate now

We never talk it through

How you guilt-tripped me to open up to you

You and JJ were watching a movie and his phone vibrated he checked it then put it down, face down.

You feel like overnight he just hates you. You do start 90% of the arguments. If you were him you would hate you too.

______

“It just feels like I’m doing something wrong because you don’t talk.” Here he goes again. Guilt tripping you to open up to him.

“You don’t either Jay.”

“Yea but you know why I got a lotta shit on my mind but you don’t.”

Not true but you fell it for it anyway.

We were going right, then you took a left

Left me with a lot of shit to second guess

Guess I'll waste another year on wondering if

If that was casual, then I'm an idiot

It happened again.

Even when you and JJ had problems you were still surprisedly doing right until he took a left again.

There’s no way that what you have with JJ is casual.

I'm looking for an answer in between the lines

Lying to yourself if you think we're fine

You're confused and I'm upset

But we never talk about it

“JJ can we talk?” He nodded.

“What is this?”

You should’ve never open your mouth.

______

“Don’t ask me dumb ass questions Y/n!” You just sighed frustratedly. “I just want to know do you think what we have is casual?! You’re confused and I’m upset but we never talk about it JJ!”

We don't talk about it, we don't talk about it

You and JJ are slowly dying out. Argument after argument takes a lot out of someone. Again it can all be solved if you just talked if both of you just talked.

Seems like overnight, I'm just the bitch you hate now

We never talk it through

JJ and Y/n are finally done. It seems like overnight you’re just a bitch he hates now. You will always love JJ and that’s the sad part.

We should’ve talked it through.

We don't talk about it

An: it’s finally done omg 🫡🙂‍↕️ but dw guys it’s finally the weekend so ima lock in

[sailorstar9]

After Being Cheated, I Changed My Groom Into A Man Who Shocked Everyone

Figured I might as well start on the Mikage Reo fic Himasgod (https://www.tumblr.com/himasgod) requested.

Trigger warning: Cheating

A/N: Reo is a simp for F/N

As the wedding approached, F/N's boyfriend went to accompany his mistress and scolded F/N for being petty. He told her that if she didn't want to lose him, then she should postpone the wedding.

F/N dialled her rival's number and said, “Today's wedding is missing a groom at eleven o'clock; Mr. Mikage, do you want to get married?”

“Mieko is really sick this time with a high fever. Every time she falls ill, I am by her side, unable to rest easy.” Takeshi's voice came through the phone, but it no longer pierced F/N's heart.

On F/N's birthday when Mieko had a minor accident while filming, he left F/N to rush to take care of her. On their anniversary, when a crazy fan sent her a dead rat and scared her, Takeshi left F/N to go comfort her all night. Even on the night before their wedding, when Mieko claimed to have a fever, Takeshi immediately abandoned F/N and secretly bought a plane ticket to fly and be with her all night.

“Takeshi, I'll ask you one last time. Can you make it back for the eleven o'clock wedding today?”

Takeshi let out a sigh and sounding helpless, said, “F/N, I'm on their set right now and it would take over three hours to get to the airport. I won't make it in time. How about we postpone the wedding for a day?”

“Postpone the wedding?” F/N snorted incredulously. “All our friends and family are either here or on their way to the hotel and you're telling me to postpone the wedding? On what grounds?”

“F/N...”

“Is it because Mieko is your mistress?”

“F/N, it's not what you think between Meiko and me.” Takeshi protested. “Don't be so petty.”

“Am I being petty?” F/N scowled. “I think you and Meiko should get married on the spot. Why bring calamity upon me for so many years?”

Four years; F/N had watched the two of them act for four whole years and she's tired.

“If you can't make it back today, then we're done.” F/N sneered, giving Takeshi an ultimatum.

“F/N, I understand you're jealous and saying things out of anger.” Takeshi pacified. “But as I've said, I simply can't make it back. If you don't want to lose me, then you'll postpone the wedding.” with those words, he angrily hung up the phone.

It was as if, from start to finish, F/N had been the one at fault.

Never again. F/N swore. Turning around, she grabbed a chair next to her and viciously hurled it towards the large wedding photo hanging on the wall.

Upon hearing the loud crash, people rushed in, shocked to see the smashed photo frames.

“F/N, what's wrong? What did Takeshi say?” Rie, F/N's best friend, rushed over and grabbed F/N's hand as F/N prepared to lift the chair again. “Don't hurt yourself. Let me do it for you.”

F/N's mother came to her side, patting her shoulder, “Forget it. It's better not to have this wedding. I'll talk to your father and grandfather later.”

F/N looked at her mother, a forced smile on her lips, but determination in her eyes, “Who said I'm not getting married?”

Ignoring everyone's surprised looks, F/N dialled her rival, Reo's, number. The phone rang several times, but no one answered.

Just as F/N was about to hang up, the voice of a man came through, “Hello, F/N?”

“Yes, it's me.” F/N responded. “Today's wedding is missing a groom at eleven o'clock; Mr. Mikage, do you want to get married?”

There was silence on the other end.

“F/N, are you kidding?” Reo's voice came through after three seconds. “I'm willing. But, just so we're clear, I'm not going to be a tool. When I get married, I want a real wife. At the very least, someone who can lie next to me and make me feel the warmth of flesh and blood. You understand?”

“Deal.” F/N's answered without hesitation.

“What do I do now?” Reo asked.

“Be at the hotel before noon as my groom and we need a bridal suite.” F/N replied.

“Leave it to me.” Reo assured. “I guarantee you'll be pleased.”

“Mikage Reo who's also your rival in business?” F/N's mother choked. “But how is it possible? Isn't he your business rival? Is he going to take advantage of the situation? Will he deceive you?”

“What's wrong with that, Auntie?” Rie interjected. “I think it's great; Reo is handsome, the heir to the Mikage Corporation and is a better business genius then his father. I think he's much better than that unreliable Takeshi.”

Takeshi's parents called F/N, acting as mediators for Takeshi, saying he really couldn't make it back and persuading her to postpone the wedding until the next day. They warned that if F/N had insisted on not delaying the wedding, then she'd be the one embarrassed in front of everyone and there will be no groom as his family, the Kanemaru family, wouldn't show up. She simply told them the wedding would not be delayed. The Kanemaru family thought F/N was throwing a tantrum, saying things out of spite and scolded her for being immature and inconsiderate. Takeshi's mother even went as far as to say, “Our daughter-in-laws are all very obedient and well-behaved. F/N, if you want to marry into our family, then you, with your competitive and strong-willed nature, should learn to be more submissive and change a bit.”

F/N merely hung up the phone directly, too lazy to listen to their nagging. Me and Takeshi getting married? They're living in a dream. The Miyazaki have only one daughter, and out of love for F/N, thought the house Takeshi was allocated as a university professor was not spacious enough. So, they brought another townhouse in the Minato Ward to be their bridal suite. After the wedding, the property would be transferred to the married couple and the Kanemaru family accepted willingly.

After smashing the photos, F/N returned home and had the makeup artist start working on her makeup. She began getting ready at seven-thirty in the morning and was in her wedding gown by nine-thirty.

But what F/N never expected was that Reo showed up; another one of F/N's bridemaids rushed into her room, smiling. “F/N, Mikage Reo has arrived. There's a long caravan of limousines outside.”

The Miyazaki relatives at home had already received the groom and his entourage.

Not knowing what Reo was planning, F/N put on her heels and went downstairs.

In the lobby, Ba-Ya, in a formal kimono, stood behind a middle-aged man in a tidy suit with a crew cut and a dignified appearance who was staring intently at the Miyazaki patriarch.

F/N instantly recognized him as the head of the Mikage Corporation; Reo's father and she had crossed paths with him a couple of times in business. It was also the first time she had seen the Mikage matriarch; she was elegant and beautiful.

Reo, who was standing on the side, took bold strides towards F/N.

F/N extended her hand and pulled him over, walking into an empty room on the first floor. She turned her head to look at the line of luxurious cars outside the window., feeling a bit amused and mildly annoyed. “In just two hours, how did you manage to do so much?”

Reo's purple eyes stared at F/N for a few seconds, before a faint smile tugged at his lips. “Compared to you, this is nothing difficult. Should we go out now?” he looked at his wristwatch. “We're running a little late. Should we hurry?”

“Okay.” F/N nodded, flushing slightly.

Without a word, Reo effortlessly lifted his new bride in a bridal carry and headed towards to the wedding car.

The banquet started at 11am.

After the bride and groom went on stage, it caused quite a stir.

“Isn't this groom wrong?”

“Wasn't the groom supposed to be Kanemaru Takeshi?”

“This guy is much taller and more handsome than Takeshi.”

“Did F/N change grooms at the last minute?”

Just as F/N was about to take the microphone to explain, Reo stepped in, “Hello, everyone.” he greeted the wedding guests. “Let me introduce myself. I'm Reo, F/N's husband. Today, I'm thankful that you could come to our wedding and witness our love that had weathered many storms and finally emerged into the sunshine.”

After the san san ku do ritual, it came the part of the ring exchange and Reo insisted on putting the ring on his finger. However, when the ring was presented, F/N froze, realizing it was not the initial ring box. “You...” she turned to Reo, who opened the velvet box to reveal a dazzling large diamond ring.

“Such a big diamond ring!”

“Must be at least 10 carats.”

After the banquet, an envious female guest suggested going to see the wedding room.

F/N was about to politely decline when Reo spoke up, “Welcome everyone; join the wedding caravan. Don't worry.” he assured F/N.

When the wedding caravana arrived at the location, F/N realized Reo had already arranged everything.

The vast mansion was adorned with lights and flowers; a red carpet laid out and a wedding arch made entirely of red roses.

“The decorators just left.” Reo whispered into his new wife's ear.

From the entrance into the mansion: all the way to the wedding room, it was arranged perfectly. The most surprising thing was that there were even wedding photos.

After a tiring day at the wedding, F/N took a shower, put on a nightgown and climbed up to the three-meter wide wedding bed.

After a while, Reo came out after his shower and F/N had to avert her gaze when she spotted him only in pyjamas pants.

Just then, F/N's phone rang and she reached over for the phone on the bedside table. It was a call from Takeshi.

“Takeshi?” Reo immediately guessed why F/N hesitated to take the call.

As soon as F/N pressed the accept call button, Takeshi's voice came through with the familiar gentleness. “F/N, I'm boarding now. Can you pick me up at the airport in two hours?”

F/N chuckled in exasperation, “Takeshi, are you out of your mind?”

“F/N, I apologize for leaving you.” Takeshi admitted. “I shouldn't have done that. I brought a gift for you.”

“Takeshi.” F/N retorted. “I got married today.”

On the other end, Takeshi chuckled, “Sweetheart, stop being mad. Neither I nor my family showed up, so why did you go ahead and get married?”

“Indeed,” F/N drawled. “Neither you nor your family showed up. I managed the wedding all by myself. Even though you couldn't attend, your family didn't bother to try and explain to the guests or the situation when I had to postpone the wedding. A simple phone call asking to postpone it was all it took. But, Takeshi, there is more than one man in this world.”

“What do you mean?” Takeshi's voice turned serious as he demanded. “F/N, what are you implying.”

At that moment, Reo reached out his hand and F/N handed the phone to him.

“F/N, say something.” Takeshi barked.

Reo put the call on speaker and his magnetic voice answered, “It's late at night. You can find someone else to pick you up but you have no right to order my wife around.”

“Mikage Reo” Takeshi instantly recognized the voice and immediately got agitated. “Who is your wife? Why are you holding F/N's phone?”

“Kanemaru, my wife is F/N, of course.” Reo replied. “Stop pretending you don't know what's going on. You should know your place. Don't disturb my wife anymore or the consequences will be on you.” with that, Reo hung up the phone.

But soon after, F/N's phone rang again. Upon seeing Takeshi's name as the caller ID, F/N added the number to the block list.

The next morning, F/N awoke to the morning sunlight seeping through the curtains. She reached for her phone by the bedside table and saw it was past nine in the morning.

As she freshened up, she left the room and went downstairs where she saw Reo reading the financial news on his laptop.

The purple-haired man turned when he felt F/N's presence, stood up and walked over. Holding her hand, he teased, “Looking so put together. Are you going to work?”

“Not quite.” F/N replied. “Don't you remember? We're supposed to go home today. Besides, Grandfather didn't say anything at the wedding yesterday, but I can sense his unspoken discontent and anger. We'll have to explain things after we go back.”

“Young master, you forgot, didn't you?” Ba-Ya rebuked her young master as she brought out two sets of prepared breakfast.

F/N took a sip of the kabocha miso soup and found it really warming.

Just as Reo and F/N were about to leave, F/N's mother called; she informed them that the Kanemaru family were causing a commotion at home.

Entering the Miyazaki household, F/N overhead the Kanemaru matriarch accusing F/N of being shameless and getting involved with other men.

“The Kanemaru family.” Reo retorted and causing everyone's gaze to turned towards the newly wedded couple.

Takeshi's mother stood up, her face turning livid. “You two vile people!”

“Shut up!” F/N's grandfather slammed the floor with his walking cane, looking around the room with authority. “Do you think I'm dead? How dare you! Leave!”

Takeshi's father, looking grim, said, “I didn't expect you two to show up without apologizing.”

F/N's mother, who usually had a gentle demeanour, couldn't stand it anymore and came forward. Grabbing Takeshi, she said, “We had an agreement that after F/N got married, the villa could be registered under the two of them. But our son-in-law is not Takeshi; my son-in-law is Reo.”

The Kanemaru family left in bewilderment and with a rusty expression that hinted of lingering consequences. As they departed, Reo's phone rang.

After ending the call, he turned to F/N, “I'm going out now.”

F/N's eyes watched as Reo's assistant handed a sealed document folder to Reo, who then passed the folder to the Kanemaru family through the iron gates. Takeshi's father hesitated for a moment before accepting it and left.

Reo then returned to his car for a moment and brought out a rectangular box, along with two smaller boxes from the backseat.

“What's all this?” F/N's mother asked, entering with a fruit platter.

Reo with to F/N's grandfather, holding the rectangular box and said causually, “My grandfather instructed me to bring this gift for you, Grandfather.”

“We're all family members.” F/N's grandfather looked coldly at the completely unfamiliar grandson-in-law; not really knowing him and not having any good feelings for him. “What gift to give?”

“It isn't a valuable gift; I just heard Grandfather like collecting decorative plates and that you're missing a 'Wind God and Thunder God' piece.” Reo's answer was quite straightforward. “Grandfather, please take a look.” he opened the box. The decorative plate was in a board white frame, the images of the Wind and Thunder Gods were embossed in a golden-dusted background.

“This is undoubtedly Grandmaster Sakai's work.” F/N grandfather was impressed.

And in the other two boxes; a tea set and flower vase from Bizen.

When they were about to leave in the evening, F/N's grandfather specifically instructed, “F/N, Reo is a good boy. You two should live well together in the future; this marriage is already a regret once; don't make it into a laughingstock. You two, go get the marriage certificate tomorrow.”

On the drive home, F/N suddenly blurted out, “Why did you agree to marry me?”

“Why wouldn't I agree?” Reo chuckled. “You're beautiful, intelligent, kind and a perfect match for me. Marrying you means one less strong opponent for me. Besides, Mom already likes you.”

The following night, a strange number called F/N five times before bed.

“Why didn't you call me?” F/N asked Reo, seeing the last 'Missed Call' notification was just three minutes earlier.

“Out there.” Reo simply pointed outside.

F/N peered out of the window, phone in hand, and noticed a car parked outside the villa and a standing figure illuminated by the entrance lights.

“How does he know where we live?” F/N recognized the figure as Takeshi.

“On the wedding day, with so many people, there are always a couple of people who don't mind stirring up trouble.” Reo racked his fingers through his hair. “Takeshi must have caught wind of it through someone.”

F/N's phone rang again and F/N noticed it was a text message from the unknown number: F/N, I am right outside your bridal suite. I know you're looking at me. Come down. I have something to tell you.

“Have you made up your mind?” Reo asked cautiously.

“For the last time.” F/N nodded. “Reo, come with me.”

“Okay.” Reo replied.

As soon as F/N opened the front door and stepped outside, Takeshi rushed over. “F/N, you finally acknowledge my presence.” however, he then saw Reo standing beside F/N and his expression changed. “F/N, I have something to tell you; he can't be here.”

F/N simply smiled and looked at the woman standing at the front of the car, “Mieko, if an outsider like you can be here, why can't my husband be present?”

“Husband?” Takeshi looked incredulously at F/N. “So, you two have been having an affair behind my back? F/N, you truly are a despicable person.”

F/N slapped Takeshi hard across the face, “This is the last time.” she snarled. “Takeshi, stop pretending. When you were with Mieko, you should have known it would come to this.”

“You know?” still holding his burning cheek, Takeshi's eyes widened.

“Ask her.” F/N nodded at Meiko. “She sent me those photos of you two to my email.”

Takeshi stared wide-eyed and turned to Mieko. “You promised me you wouldn't let her know.”

Meiko remained silent but gave a faint, wistful smile.

“Save some face for yourself.” F/N gave Takeshi her parting words. “From now on, we go our separate ways.”

As the dejected Takeshi drove away with the simpering Meiko, F/N planted a kiss on the corner of Reo's lips. “Reo, let's get our marriage certificate first thing tomorrow.”

[crithaus]

I'm into jjk now and it kiiiiills me how despite all his dickheadery and bluster, satoru gojo really just submits to the idea that he's a tool for jujutsu society to use, he's a good soldier like the best soldier and when the orders given nine times outta 10 he'll jump. None of this is new information to yall but it's new to me goddamnit

it makes me sad as hell, sometimes he's fully aware of the chains around his neck, sometimes he'll be tugging to little avail and sometimes he's just docile about it, mocking the higher ups asses is as disrespectful as he'll be, and the real gag I think is it takes suguru defecting for satoru to even start disobeying direct orders. Riko shows up, he's like ah it's time for you to fulfill your role just like me girlie aha have fun experiencing the Horrors of being Us™️, then he's told nah let her have fun on her last days out in the world Mr. Regularly-gets-bounties-put-on-his-ass and is initially like ew no wym what about the Horrors, what about our jobs??? And ofc suguru is like no baby let her have some fun and satoru is like yessir ofc as you say and immediately commits to staying up however long riko is outside of warded walls on non-stop surveillance and this being before he gets RCT mind so as shoko later on says he's constantly at risk of frying his brain up bad right

Like and him seeing riko be sad at her brief time being human come to a close capitulates even harder and that's so sweet but it's still well in line w his orders while suguru is the one to decide aaaactually this shit is stupid, we aren't leading you to the alter little miss lamb, like I fully believe suguru could convince him eventually if they'd ever had a chance to talk BT, before Toji, but I think it'd be an aaaaargument, course he snaps back with the hey let's start slaughtering fools afterwards and suguru uses his last coin of common sense to stop that but it kinda snuffs the biggest flame of rebellion in gojo for a while, like yea gojo (and geto) is absolutely right that it's way smarter in their situation to work to undermine the higher ups and raise a better generation that'll raise in turn a better generation rather than dodge burn and murder everyone who disagrees with him, but also as maki proves sometimes some Action is Necessary, like gojo is on call all day everyday and still his most rebellious moments are Actually Doing his Job and putting suguru down because its necessary and time for it and done with respect and love and ish and not bc hes been ordered to do it, and protecting his boys from getting executed, small shit tbh drops in the bucket,

satoru is a good man but he was raised to be a good soldier first with the good man being kinda shoved in while suguru still had the ability and habit in him and no matter how much gojo grows and rebels that kick is always looming over him and ARGH it drives me up walls I'll throw up right this very second, jujutsu society is so so evil for chewing those kids up like that

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.30

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: None

It is my honor to reveal what I think Riven should look like. I hate him in the Netflix series because he looks sickly or as if he is a junkie. I would also like to say that I have no idea who this gentleman is or why his trainer slaps him around so brutally, but honestly, if I were Riven's teacher, I would do the same.

As the hour with Palladium ends, he asks me to stay behind. Several girls, clearly on Stella's side, smirked as they seemed sure I would be reprimanded for my outburst. Nevertheless, I stay behind and wait until everyone leaves. Only then do I rise from my throne, raise my hand, and clench it into a fist. Suddenly the throne disappears, as the stones were formed by pure magic instead of the environment. I've never been able to do this before, but since the other cores were taken out of me, I feel so much energy pulsing through me that I just had to try it.

“I see you are learning quickly,” Professor Palladium commented on my performance, smiling.

I'm already exhausted, even though it's still early in the day. Right now, all I can do is roll my eyes. "Please just tell me what you want to talk to me about. I'm not in the best mood, and honestly, there's nothing I want more than to sleep right now."

The older man nods understandingly. He walks around his desk and leans against it, barely sitting on it since he is relatively tall. "You can't blame them forever-"

"I can," I interrupt him. "There has not been a single apology, and as I have already promised, I will treat them the same way they treated me until I receive that apology."

The man sighs heavily and wipes his face. "I'm unsure if you understand the possible repercussions, but many of these fairies are princesses and future queens."

"With all due respect, Professor. I understand that fact. The problem, however, is that none of them seem to understand that I, too, will soon be ruling. I'm just waiting until my old grandfather finally dies, and then everyone will see what they did wrong."

“What does that mean?” he asks skeptically.

"For example, I want to see how Solaria harvests its food without tools or how Eraklyon makes weapons without its ore." I grin at the old man, who, like the others, doesn't seem to know where I'm the crown prince from.

I walk away, feeling like our conversation is already over, and walk past Palladium, who is visibly speechless. To my surprise, I see someone standing outside the classroom. She looks up at me with her green, gentle eyes and a cautious smile on her lips. But she seems surprised at me, smiling back.

We walk to our next class in silence. Either she feels guilty for what happened or she must have smelled that I wanted to go somewhere else because this whole class environment makes me sick. I'm just not used to sitting around for so long doing nothing but trying to remember shit; I'll probably never get used to it again.

Although I feel uncomfortable in the classroom, Professor Palladium's classes are quite interesting; brewing potions can always be useful, especially to make my home world fertile again someday.

As soon as we enter the next classroom, I turn around. If she hadn't caught me by the arm, I would have been out of there in a flash.

"Excuse me, sir. I've heard of you." A small woman with prematurely gray hair and a red hat interrupts my storming thoughts. "My name is Professor DuFour, and I teach etiquette, usually to princesses and other noble ladies, as well as all female fairies, as their work often has a diplomatic undertone."

I close my eyes for a second to gather all my willpower, turn around again, gently take the girl's arm from mine, and step forward, directly in front of the professor. "May I ask your rank, professor?"

She seems nervous but still tells me she is a countess. I nod absentmindedly as I look at her sympathetically and noticeably relax. Instead of stiffening when greeting someone superior, I simply extend my hand. Without hesitation, she lays her hand on mine. I gently stroke the soft back of her hand, lift it, and press a kiss to it without breaking eye contact. "It is a great pleasure to introduce myself to you, Countess DuFour; my name is (Y/N), Prince (Y/N), if you wish."

Her pink eyes sparkle at my introduction, and I even see her cheeks begin to glow a similar color. Her mouth opens, but nothing comes out—clearly just a reaction. It's not the first time a woman has reacted to me like this. I've always been very popular with both genders.

As I slowly lower our hands and a moment later release hers, I look around. Every face I see is stunned. Maybe it's because I introduced myself impeccably like a true nobleman or because I mentioned my rank. Although I hope not many people heard it because that would only complicate matters.

The professor compliments me but tries desperately to downplay it with a noticeable cough. Although I'm not as smart as my younger brother Galan, I was still raised like a prince and was always better than everyone else at everything that didn't involve stupid books. Galan can't even talk to other people without stumbling over his words.

After a few minutes, she has collected herself again. "It's good that we have a handsome young man with impeccable manners. Please ladies introduce yourselves to him one by one, as if you met at a ball, just like we have been practicing for the last few weeks."

Her words don't immediately sink into my mind. But when it does, my head slightly snaps in the professor's direction. Although I smile widely, inwardly I'm burning with a fury I can't contain. Even though I promised to treat them like they treated me, it could affect my grade. So I take a deep breath and take a moment to collect my thoughts.

Once I've gathered my willpower, I let my smile fade slightly to make it seem more genuine. I straighten up, standing strong and proud. Extending my hand, some of the girls seem almost exuberant, while others are still wary of me.

A girl with dark blue hair steps forward first, bending down in front of me, feet crossed, body stretched straight forward, bowing to me, and lifting an imaginary dress with her hands. Her form is pretty good, I'd say. I hold my hand out to her, and she comes up from her bow. As I look into her eyes expectantly, she blushes slightly. "My name is Musa," she tells me breathlessly. "I am the future guardian fairy of the Kingdom of Melody."

She puts her hand in mine, and unlike with Countess DuFour, I lift her hand halfway up to me, and the rest of the way I bend down to kiss the back of her hand. My other hand is behind my back, my left hand slightly bent, the greatest bow I can make to a person of no rank. Yet, when we both look up, we end up pretty close.

"A girl with a beautiful voice like yours shouldn't be this nervous. Be more sleek." Her blush deepens, but as I look around cautiously, I know I have to hurry. "Please excuse me, Lady Musa, but unfortunately I still have to greet a few more ladies"- I discreetly make a hand half-moon movement only in her sight to emphasize my words- "but don't be discouraged; I will never forget our first eloquent meeting."

After giving her hand a light squeeze, I turn away from her and greet the next girl next to me.

Most of the other girls were not that remarkable, rather average or unwilling to greet me. All of them were around Stella, except Musa, who had already greeted me and the red-haired girl. But the moment the latter is about to come toward me, Stella pulls her back and quietly reprimands her. 

Almost immediately after Stella finishes her tirade, the red-haired girl looks at me apologetically, which I wave off with a smile.

The professor wasn't happy about the incident; perhaps she had not been there when I arrived at Alfea. At least her friendly behavior suggested that. She apologizes for the girls' behavior toward me, but it's not her fault.

After leaving DuFour's class, the rest of the day is mostly a blur. However, I'm starting to feel like I overreacted earlier, but I'm not going to apologize for it because they're just presumptuous little girls.

When class is finally over, I stumble back to my room and fall onto the bed to take a quick nap. Until suddenly someone shakes me. Dazed, I turn around only to see Riven's stupid face way too close.

“Dude!” he shouts, almost deafening me. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean?” I ask sleepily, wiping my eyes.

For a moment, it's completely silent. Riven looks almost like he's desperately wanting to vanish into the ground. His behavior confuses me, so I punch him in the side, which seems to work because he shakes his head and carefully steps back. Quickly, his pale cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“What’s wrong?” I inquire further, still not fully awake.

Riven clears his throat and turns away. "Afternoon classes are over, and the teachers asked where you were because they wanted you to show off some of your fighting techniques and asked me to find you." He shifted nervously in place, which made me wonder what was wrong with him. "A red-haired chick told me she saw you strolling back to our room, and then I found you sleeping so peacefully I didn't want to wake you, but then some hair fell in your face and-„

"And you were my knight in shining armor who got the offending hair out of my face, right?" I ask him cheekily, interrupting him mercilessly even though I'm still half asleep. After a moment, I slowly sit up, grinning one-sidedly at him.

"I-I mean..." His violent stutter is followed by silence. His cheeks turn even redder. It suddenly hits me.

My one-sided grin turns into a full smirk. I move quickly, grabbing Riven's tight uniform and tugging on it. He stumbles, forcing me to fall back into my pillows as well, his arms on either side of my head, his breath mingling with mine.

"I knew it!" I whisper. Riven could only raise her eyebrows in confusion, or perhaps fear. "You think I'm hot," I state. "Are you a little into guys, Riven?" With my other hand, I trace his sharp jawline, which looks great with his long, diamond-shaped head and perfectly styled hair. If he wasn't such a psychopath, I would have pulled him even closer to me.

Riven, however, makes no attempt to escape me. His eyes dilate, and he sensually runs his tongue over his lips.

I feel my body getting warmer, my stomach tightening, and my hands starting to sweat. Before I know it, all I can think about are his lips. However, when I realize what situation I have created, I quickly push him away, sit up, and soon find myself standing next to him.

"Sorry," I murmur meekly. "I didn't mean to force you to admit something you're uncomfortable with."

Riven stares at me with an indescribable expression. I can clearly see the deep conflict within him, as his indigo eyes reflect the storm that seems to consume his mind. He shifts nervously as if he's trying to make a decision. Somehow I'm afraid of this because when a psychopath like him has to make a decision, nothing good can come of it.

I try to sneak away and quickly get to the door. Even as I reach for the doorknob, Riven is still staring at me, torn, but seemingly far away in his own little world.

As I open the door, it suddenly squeaks something that should never have happened since it is made of magic. The squeak wakes Riven from his lethargy. With a few quick movements I barely notice, he is at my side and pushes me against the door, slamming it back shut.

My breath catches in my throat. His proximity and the strong scent of lavender make me dizzy. Combined with his long, rough hands tracing my body and his muscular chest pressing me against the door, I feel my resolve slowly crumbling.

"Riven," I barely press out. But it seems enough, as his vision clears, if only a tiny bit. He shakes his head in confusion and then looks around. It takes him a moment, but soon he pushes himself away from me, nervously scratching the back of his neck.

A weak apology rolls past his lips as he quickly walks to his side of the room and exits through his door. Both his neck and ears were as flush as his cheeks. He leaves me pressed against my bedroom door, reeling from the aftereffects of his impulsive jabbing and unwelcome closeness. But was it really unwelcome? My heart hasn't beat this fast since him. That could be a good sign, or it spells total disaster. After all, I know better than anyone that I'll probably never get over him. We were meant to be together, but I ruined it. Although the memories don't hurt as much as they once did, I still feel the longing for him.

Why can’t things be easier?

I feel as if I'm slowly drowning in my long-suppressed grief. My knees are weakening. I am afraid of falling victim to the darkness in my heart again. I take a deep breath, gather my last strength, stand up, lean against the door, push away from it, raise my hands, and slap myself, not once or twice, but six times. I do it until I feel a burning sensation in both cheeks.

Maybe one day I can open my heart to someone new. Whether Riven can be that person is questionable, but he can at least help me heal my broken heart. Sky would normally be more my type since he is so much bigger; his docile, almost submissive behavior makes it difficult to see him as anything more than a loyal dog.

[Masterlist]

[bardoftheshire]

Weird Science | Chapter IV

Egon Spengler x Fem! Reader (But can be read as NB)

Summary; Basically just a timeskip to when Y/n actually becomes a Ghostbuster. I don't know what else I could've put here because it's that simple.

Notes; I literally started writing this an hour after I saw Frozen Empire (it was great, watch it if you haven't already). Really happy about this though and that it got me to write out another chapter.

Warnings; Mentions of smoking and foul language, as always.

Chapter 4/? | <Previous Chapter Next Chapter>

꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶︶︶꒦꒷꒦︶︶꒷꒦︶︶꒦︶︶︶꒦꒷

You stood in the laundry room, now covered in slightly dry ectoplasm from the suits that you just put in the wash. The boys went out on a mission and all three of them got slimed by a class 2 apparition, leaving all three of their suits soaked.

It was just a joy that being part of the Ghostbusters means that you get to wash and scrub off slime off of coveralls, the Ecto-1, and some of their equipment as your own suit and Proton Pack were still in the making.

The whole proton pack thing was partially your fault that it wasn't done yet.

Since you'd been working with the boys, with nothing to do you would just tinker around and put the Proton Pack together, of course other than having to take care of all of the ectoplasm. With you being in the lab so often, you got to know Egon a *little* bit more.

Him and you were both quiet, so conversation wasn't really a big thing especially when you were trying to concentrate on something that could go wrong when a small thing is misplaced.

"Hey, Y/n. Me and Peter are going to get some takeout, do you want anything?" Ray asks, leaning on the door frame.

"Awesome! I'll just have what I usually get. Do you guys need any cash to help pay?" You say, getting off of the washer to pull your wallet out.

"No, it's alright, don't worry about it. You've been cleaning off all of the ectoplasm off of everything you don't have to worry about it."

"Alright, thank you, Ray."

"Of course, we should be back in 10 minutes. Don't have too much fun doing the laundry." Ray shouts as he leaves the laundry room.

Right.

You head up into the lab so you could try to get more progress on the Proton Pack, only to see Egon working on it, too.

"Hey, Egon."

Egon quickly looks up, dropping one of the tools that he was using out of his hands, earning a small grunt of frustration from him.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to alarm you. Here." You apologize, going up to him and pulling a crunch bar from your pocket.

You had quite a sweet tooth yourself, so carrying around sweets with you was common. Ray had always poked fun at you about it, saying how I'm a scientist and was eating all the junk that people advise you not to, but he couldn't really say anything, or maybe he could, as both of you smoked regularly.

Egon looked at you and took the candy bar from your hands and putting it into his lab coat pocket, maybe not the best place to store it. "Thank you."

You nod and bend down to pick up the tool that fell on the ground, handing it to him.

"So, what are you working on, now?" You ask, putting your hands on your hips as you look at the machinery.

"I was working on the motherboard. I'd misplaced one of the wires going into it. That's why it wasn't making the proton wand work correctly, but it's an easy fix that will only take a few minutes."

"Okay, well do you need any help with it?" You ask leaning on the table.

"No, it's fine. But thank you." Egon says, continuing on what he was fixing.

"Okay then. Ray and Peter went out to get takeout for us, so they'll be back in a bit. I'll be in the garage getting that slime off of the Ecto-1 if you need me." You walk away.

"Hey, Y/n!" Egon called out.

"Yes, Egon?"

Egon hesitated for a second and went back to his work. "Nothing, sorry."

You knit your eyebrows in confusion. "Alright. Let me know if you need anything." You say, leaving the lab and going down to the garage.

I wonder what that was about? You thought to yourself.

"No, it was your fault, you're the one that didn't ask." Peter says, clearly sounding annoyed.

"We go there all the time, and the meal even said it came with peanut sauce! You can't blame me for it!"

Peter always seemed to like to argue, and about the stupidest shit, too. You shook your head, walking to the source of the bickering.

"What are you two fighting about this time?"

"Ray forgot to ask for peanut sauce." Peter says, crossing his arms like an upset child.

"It's not that big of a problem, Peter. Calm down so we can eat." You sigh, making your way into the "dining area" or "living area". Though, you couldn't really consider it that, it was only somewhat close to that because of the couch and small table inside.

You take a piece of small machinery that you were working on off of the table and place it on the couch, hoping that no one would sit on it.

Ray was unpacking the contents of the bag and placing them onto the table.

"This is your stuff, Peter. Then, Y/n, yours is over here. This one's mine, and then this one's Egon's. Okay, lets chow down." Ray says, looking into each box individually.

You sit in your seat and open your boxes of food and grabbing a fork to eat.

Egon walks in and everyone else sits down and eats their food in silence.

Today wasn't really eventful, the boys surprisingly didn't have a single call today, so they either worked on something else or lazed about.

Egon took the candy bar out of his lab coat and began to unwrap it.

"Did someone give you a little treat, Egon?" Peter says in a singsong tone.

Egon shoots daggers at him, you doing the same as Peter looks at you.

"I'm going to head off now. I'm tired of the events of today. Goodbye now!" Peter says, getting up and cleaning up after himself.

"Oh, you're tired from doing nothing?" You say.

"Yup! See you guys tomorrow!"

Peter still managed to be just as obnoxious as he was in college, if not maybe a little less. You have no clue how Ray and Egon managed to handle his antics and overall personality for all these years and counting. You were barely able to handle him for more than a couple of hours.

You sigh and get up from the table. "Okay, well I'm gonna head out now, too. Thank you for the food, Ray. Don't miss me too much."

"Alright goodnight, Y/n. Be safe!" Ray says, waving goodbye to you.

"Will do. Goodnight, guys."

After you had walked out of the firehouse and at least a block down you realized that you had forgotten to put the laundry into the dryer.

Shoot! I'll just go back and put them in, I'm not that far and I don't want it to get all weird overnight.

You make your way back into the building and head into the laundry room and take out the suits, then put them into the dryer and turn it on.

"Y/n? What are you still doing here? You left 10 minutes ago."

You turn around to see Egon standing in the doorway with a laundry basket in his hands.

"Oh, I forgot to put your guys' suits into the dryer so I came back to put them in." You say, rubbing your hands on your pants to get rid of the slight dampness that came from transporting the laundry.

"You didn't have to do that. I could've put them in myself."

"Well I guess it's a little too late for that now, huh? Thank you though, Egon." You laugh lightly.

"Uh, yeah. I fixed that motherboard by the way, I think the only thing left to do is connect all the wires of the proton wand to the pack. If you don't mind helping me with that tomorrow.." Egon says, adjusting his glasses up on his nose.

"Yeah, of course. Thank you for fixing it by the way. I'll have to get you another "treat" for tomorrow." You say, quoting what Peter had said earlier.

"Right. Well, goodnight, Y/n. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Egon." You place your hand on Egon's arm and leave. You could've sworn you heard a sharp inhale coming from him.

꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶︶︶꒦꒷꒦︶︶꒷꒦︶︶꒦︶︶︶꒦꒷

I think I got this done in like four or five days and I think it came out okay. Thank you for the comments and stuff that I got from this, it makes me really happy to hear that you guys like it!!

@dragonashtray (Here's that reminder!!)

[captainuranium543]

Hi! I just wanted to know your thoughts on this post here: https://www.tumblr.com/yamishika/761491771751596032/something-that-has-been-bothering-me-regarding-the

Do you agree with this? Disagree with this? Was this just a light comedic moment? It def feels out of character for Jellal to a large degree. You have such great takes on Erza in general, that I wanted to check about this. I tried looking at your posts (now that I have better cell service) and didnt see this on your posts list. Apologies if you’ve covered it already. Thanks in advance!

the post in question^

thanks so much for this ask actually cuz I have been resisting the urge to yap about this forever and now I have an excuse ahaha.

honestly I completely agree, I've been saying it forever but as fairy tail has gone on Mashima has kind of stopped putting as much thought into it has he did early on. Early on the characters where the center of the narrative and honestly I think that's when ft is at its best because that has always been the best part if ft as a whole. The tower of heaven and the trauma Erza and Jellal faced along with countless others had so much impact on the story as late as season 6 because of just how massive a tragedy it was.

starting with Erza and Kiria, it feels especially disgusting for this to happen to specifically Erza because she has spent so much of her life being treated as less then human already. In the tower her purpose was literally to work herself to death, they needed sacrifices and lots of them. As soon as she wasn't useful to them anymore she would killed without a second thought and her life would only be another number added to the massive death toll of the r system project. she wasn't a person in there, she was a tool. Even after the tower she was still under someone else's control (on a leash you might say) with Jellal holding the lives of her friends over her head to keep her quiet, constantly taunting his power over her by spying on her with seigrain in the magic counsel. this is exactly what happens with Kiria and it feels genuinely horrifying to see it happen again but still its just played for fanservice and I find that incredibly irritating.

as for the Erza vs Jellal fight in the Aldoron arc, here we have a scene that is objectively horrifying to both of them. Erza and Jellal share INTENSE trauma associated with mind control and the loss of free will, and yet the scene is played for laughs and fanservice.

I do understand why Hiro did this, if they took the scene seriously it would probably set Jellal right back into his old ways again of avoiding Erza like the plague which he doesn't want because he's trying to push them closer together. I get that but its still feels like such a missed opportunity to give them some kind of emotional development which neither has had in so long. I'm gonna get into my own idea for the fight here so bear with me.

The fight begins and they intercut it with flash backs to the tower of heaven arc, or even further back to their actual childhood, showing how genuinely afraid of him Erza is right now while also trying to control herself and keep her "fight" instinct at bay because she doesn't want to hurt him. the fight from her perspective should be chaotic, rapidly throwing her between past and present while she desperately tries to hold onto a sense of reality and remind herself its not him.

now imagine this, at some point she loses control and really starts to spiral and he gets the upper hand. she's totally beaten and exhausted after trying to fight him and her demons at once and while she's on the ground he approaches her, lifts her up, and we get a call back to this scene.

throughout this fight we never really see Jellal's face, its mostly been from Erza's perspective and when we do see his face its a flashback to a different time while he was mind controlled. Now in the present jellal says something, idk what he would say exactly, but its something similar to the "it was the color of your hair" moment where it reminds Erza of something he said to her while he was himself. Erza finally snaps back to reality, she looks down at him and we finally get a clear view of his face in the present, and we see that he's crying.

that is enough to fully snap Erza back and finally give the fight her all, because its not just for her sake its for both of them. he would never forgive himself if he hurt her so she's going to have to be the one to do it even if it hurts because its the only way she's going to save him. and more than anything she wants to save him. (Again, call back to the tower of heaven, she was to late to save him then and it weighs on her to this day, she wont be to late this time.) anyway fight ends shortly after that she knocks him out and she's crying because obviously she never wanted to hurt him either she's just taking one for the team (like always but that's another rant). Just before Jellal passes out he looks at her and he thanks her for saving him (ONCE AGAIN CALL BACK TP THE TOWER OF HEAVEN but this time its not manipulation he's being fr showing us that its really him now). he passes out, erza gets up, looks back at him maybe one last time, says shes sorry, then goes off to go keep fighting. fight over

case and point I think this could have been sick as hell and i'm sad it didn't happen. its not that I have a problem with fanservice I just think it should be tasteful at least a little.

[theshiftingwitch]

Hello ^^

I really want to make a shifting affirmation tape for myself and give it try, it kinda resonates with me and it feels right. I’ve been trying to use LOA to shift to my DR but it has been on and off so that’s why I haven’t managed to get anywhere yet.

I just keep stopping myself with doubts, anxiety and horrible intrusive thoughts, I’m also dealing with depression and with a 3D that I just want to escape from. Sometimes I can feel at ease and think I’m already in my DR but then the 3D hits me and I just start spiraling with doubts and fear throughout the day, specially in the night (‘what if it doesn’t work?’, ‘what if I never shift’, ‘what if it’s a lie?’, ‘what if I’m doing things wrong?’… and I could go on with so many more examples).

How can I learn to trust and knowing it’ll be okay? Did you ever felt this way? I want to completely surrender because I’m so tired, but I’m scared I’ll stay here forever being unhappy. I’d love to wake up in my DR one day and act as if all of this was only a long bad dream.

If I start listening to tapes for shifting during the night, how can I make sure to not mess up with the process when awake? How can I stop feeling so anxious and trapped in fear?

I know no one can do anything for me but myself, but maybe you have some kind words and advice that could help. Do you have recommendations or something you’d do in my position?

Thank you for taking the time if you answer this, and I’m so sorry for the long ask. Stay healthy and happy. 🥺

If an affirmation tape feels like the right thing to do, you should definitely do it.

I always emphasize the importance of following one's intuition. Whatever feels right, feels good, brings you joy and peace, is what you should be doing at all times.

Having doubts, anxiety, fear, paranoia... Most of us have been through the exact same thing. I know I have. I shifted twice and I still get those nights when I'm convinced I made it all up and my mind is playing tricks on me and I'll never escape. What helps is just letting those thoughts flow in and out. The truth is, nothing and no one can stop you from shifting, not even yourself. People have shifted by complete accident. Anti shifters shifted on their first try when they only wanted to prove that shifting is not real. Imagine that, our biggest opps became a part of the community when all they wanted was to prove we were crazy!

Once you decide that you are a shifter, nothing will derail you from that path. It is inevitable, unavoidable, destined. It is done. Whether it happens this next second or it happens in a couple of years, it will happen regardless. And once you shift, nothing about this 3d reality would even matter anymore. Not how much time you spent trying, not anything that went wrong, not even your cr self would have any say in it anymore.

The best advice I can give you: don't give up. Everything else is noise. You owe it to yourself to see this through. You owe it to yourself to finally accomplish the one thing you've wanted more than anything in the world. You owe it to yourself not to give up on all of your dr selves. They are you.

Methods, subliminals, tapes, saturation sessions, meditation, robotic Affirmations... They are all tools to help you on your way. You don't need them, but if they make you feel better then by all means, use them. But at the end of the day, you only need one thing.

Decide. Stick with that decision. Don't change your mind. Tune out everything that's not working on your favour. You need tunnel vision, everything else besides your goal is a blur. Focus.

You already shifted.

I hope this helps!

Happy shifting ❤️

[zee-has-commitment-issues]

Young Royals Characters as Short 'n' Sweet Songs

this post came to me in a dream but I can't not do it now, so buckle up. No audios for Please Please Please or Espresso because you know exactly which songs those are and you do not need the sample lol.

Taste - Simon

oh I leave quite an impression - In fact he does. you're wondering why half his clothes went missing, my body's where they're at - shout out Simon wearing Wilhelm's blue/green sweater in season 3, shout out the stolen orange sweater in season 2. you'll just have to taste me when he's kissing you - that whole thing where Wilhelm literally told Felice he kissed her to see if it was like kissing Simon. I've been there, done that once or twice - he in fact broke up and got back together with Wilhelm five times.

Please, Please, Please - Sara

Whatever devil's inside you, don't let him out tonight - she in fact dated the worst person on the planet. And please, pleasе, please, Don't bring me to tеars when I just did my makeup so nice - it's giving the valentines dance, it's giving the shooting range scene, it's giving the third year's dinner. I beg you, don't embarrass me, motherfucker - Sara, I'm gonna hold your hand when I say this... And we could live so happily if no one knows that you're with me - they kept their relationship a secret for a reason and she had the common sense to think twice about going public at the valentines ball.

Good Graces - Wilhelm

I won't give a fuck about you - Wilhelm doesn't give a fuck about anyone but Simon When I love you, I'm sweet like an angel - he is in fact the most bashful little guy around his boyfriend. Boy, it's not that complicated, you should stay in my good graces - we have many examples of why that is a good idea, see the difference between how he treats Felice and how he treats August 'Cause no one's more amazin' at turnin' lovin' into hatred - every single member of his family feels this line on a personal level.

Sharpest Tool - Felice

I know you're not the sharpest tool in the shed, we had sex, I met your best friends then a bird flies by and you forget - remember that brief relationship with August? Yeah... that. we were goin' right, then you took a left, left me with a lot of shit to second-guess - she thinks about Sara when she hears this line. You know it, I know it, her friends know it, the bus driver knows it. Everyone knows. Seems like overnight, I'm just the bitch you hate now - literally how everyone treated her after those Wilhelm rumors went around. Or when the school got shut down and for some reason everyone blamed her? Fuck everyone else leave Felice alone.

Coincidence - Marcus (stop booing I'm right)

Now her name comes up once, then it comes up twice -Marcus was in fact the one to bring up Wilhelm's name both once and twice. Last week, you didn't have any doubts, this week, you're holdin' space for her tongue in your mouth - Did someone say Valentines Ball? No? Just me? What a surprise, your phone just died, your car drove itself from L.A. to [his] thighs - lmao Simon claimed his phone died multiple times in order to dodge Marcus. To the point that Marcus went to Rosh and Ayub who then had to pretend they didn't know Simon was going to hook up with his ex. Oh wow, you just broke up again - oh I just know Marcus felt vindicated when Wilmon kept being on again off again after that 💀

Bed Chem - Wilmon (need I explain? No, but I'm going to anyway)

got me scrollin' like out of breath - Wilhelm stalking Simon's instagram... How you pick me up, pull 'em down, turn me 'round oh, it just makes sense - Simon in the hallway scene fr How you talk so sweet when you're doin' bad things - throwback to when Wilhelm dropped like a whole poem full of metaphors over the phone to Simon while high out of his mind. Where art thou? Why not uponeth me? - literally Simon at any given time. that boy is feral.

Espresso - Fredrika (could be Simon too but I'm trying not to repeat)

I can't relate to desperation - Season 2 Fredrika for sure. Season 3 Fredrika took that statement back. And I got this one boy and he won't stop calling - that "one boy" is actually Stella and her poem. he looks so cute wrapped 'round my finger - again, "he" is just Stella staring at her from across the room. My twisted humor make him laugh so often - throwback to when she stated she would be the surrogate for wilmon's royal baby.

Dumb and Poetic - Wilmon (I know I just said I wasn't going to repeat but this is my blog so sue me)

You're so dumb and poetic, it's just what I fall for, I like the aesthetic - Wilhelm and Simon are in fact both dumb and poetic. Both of them. Shoutout football field scene, shoutout Simon's song, shout out the Jubilee speech, shoutout Wille's song. You're so sad there's no communication, but, baby, you put us in this situation - every single music room scene in which they fight about something that could have been avoided by a singular conversation. Just 'cause you act like one doesn't make you a man - because they're not men. They're teenage boys and literally everyone in their lives just decided to forget that for some reason.

Slim Pickins - Nils (also Felice but I'm trying not to repeat)

Guess I'll end this life alone, I am not dramatic, these are just the thoughts that pass right through me - Nils is actually very dramatic, but he also probably thought this many times while he was in the closet. All the douchebags in my phone - in his grindr era Oh, it's slim pickings, if I can't have the one I love I guess it's you that I'll be kissin' - .... *cough* Vincent *cough* I'll just keep on moanin' and bitchin' - Nils 24/7 is bitching about something. He can't not complain about something. "Good job on coming out but it was dumb" BITCH JUST SAY YOU'RE PROUD FOR ONCE.

Juno - Stella

You make me wanna make you fall in love - good old fashioned pop love song seems fitting for Stella. Especially this line, because she is absolutely trying her damnedest to make Fredrika fall in love. late at night, I'm thinking 'bout you - "I scream your name every day, I whisper your name every night" - a real, canonical thing Stella wrote about Fredrika. Can't help mysеlf, hormones are high - that time she danced with Rosh and then pulled a 180 like a month later?

Lie To Girls - literally any girl in this entire fucking show

I'll go for lyrical examples to, but literally every girl in this show was treated so bad. The moms, the main girls, the side girls, the extra girls. Like, some of them were bad people, but they were still treated so bad.

No, don't say it was just an isolated incident that happened once - Felice when August tried to get back at her by kissing her best friend, then going on to date that best friend, and take that best friend's virginity. I've never seen an ugly truth that I can't bend - Sara looking at August. We love to read the cold, hard facts and swear they're incorrect - Linda. We love to mistake butterflies for cardiac arrest - Kristina. Girls will cry and girls will lie and girls will do it 'til they die for you - Stella, Fredrika, Madison, the background older girls, Sara, Felice, August's mom, Felice's mom, Kristina and Linda, the Headmistress, the replacement headmistress. I could go on. I won't, but I could.

Don't Smile - August

Don't smile because it happened, baby, cry because it's over - he cried a lot when he realized it was over with Sara. I think I counted him crying like six times in season three alone. My heart is heavy now, it's like a hundred pounds - and now he also has the weight of the monarchy on his shoulders.

__

So.... that was that. Let me know if you want me to do other albums like this lmao. I don't know why I thought of this.

[kiwioala]

all (or most) of the books cellbit got from the strange guard today! they're definitely not all in the correct order but i did the best i could

Hello Cellbit. You don't know me but I know you.

Exactly. And you've been an amazing asset to our organization. Every single task we've assigned you was completed in a perfect state.

I know. I've been the one writing those tasks. From the beginning.

(there was a book in between here that said something along the lines of "but i never mentioned an invitation to presentation A0")

Ha, ha, ha! I see! You're right, Max was there, but because I told him to go. And he made a mistake, he died. Thus, leading you to get the invitation.

Don't you hate it? When no matter what you do, everything just falls apart?

Cucurucho is the perfect employee. The ultimate tool of the federation. Nothing he ever does is wrong.

I need you to do something tomorrow. Of course, I don't expect you to do it for free. I'll give you something in exchange. Information, of course!

What do you know about project A0? [...] It's a bit vague, but yes. You're on the correct path.

We used to be a small team, you know? Ah yes, everything was so much better back then. But something went wrong and we all paid the consequences. [...] A0 was our way to make it right.

Tomorrow everything will make sense. It's an important day for Cucurucho. But I say, it won't.

We will sabotage it. You already know where the conference will be, every password is different, and there will be multiple entrances to the hall. No one will notice you're there.

But we can't do it alone. You'll need to bring multiple people with you.

They'll present something and you all will need to steal it.

They'll also talk about something interesting, I invite you to listen to every single word. Once the presentation is over, move and don't stop.

That doesn't matter. You probably won't see me around that much. I prefer my office, you know? But I've seen and lived too much not to take this perfect opportunity. Cucurucho shall fail tomorrow.

Cucurucho asking all of the questions from the beginning, and all these people disappearing. You need to be a fool to believe it was all a coincidence.

We don't know. That's why you need more people with you. There's multiple people working for the federation, it could be anyone.

Unfortunately, no. The top ranks never leave anything to chance. Everything is changed, removed or put in pace for a reason. Nobody knows what the place looks like.

You seem to know about our ranks, huh? There is an even more secret circle who have access to that information. They all talk about it within the system, I don't know more.

This system only allows not only allows us to send messages, but it has many secrets.

I'm not sure, but the system is old. We've been using it for years. There should be a way in.

You're looking for some eggs, right? Their whereabouts are still a mystery, but they might have some clues.

The main channel is restricted. You need a user and a password. But to get one is difficult.

You do? Mh, that's interesting. I want to ask where did you get it, but I won't. If someone shares their information, it's almost suicide. But let me see what I can do to get you in. (second page: "i'll send you more information in the following days")

Just like the federation, I change the location of my office everyday. It should be no issue.

Tomorrow, in the afternoon. Be ready. I will see you but you must not see me. Stay hidden.

Hahaha, if you want to open, it just open it.

It was. I told you. I've been keeping most of it. They are all copies, though.

Sounds like a plan. But you shall remember, the moment you signed it, you chose to live with the burden of working for the federation. So make sure no one sees you.

[a-star-that-burns-brightly]

Do you have any theories about David and Arei’s convo in the relaxation room? Since I do think it’s most important for David and especially Arei (if Ace’s account is 100% true) since I feel the moment is important for her arc before she ended up dying.

Hello anon! I apologize for the late reply to your ask, I've been writing up a lot of different posts + It was hard for me to come up with a theory for what you asked, cause this is a part of the trial I don't necessarily think about a lot. But I'll try my best for you! Before we get into it though, I guess I should start off by saying that like you alluded to in your ask, we don't even know if Ace is telling the truth or not. Both him telling the truth and not telling the truth have inconsistencies in their logic that we simply do not have enough information to confirm or deny. That being said, however: I personally do think that Ace is telling the truth about David and Arei's conversation. For one, from Ace's perspective, I don't necessarily see the logic in telling a lie. Ace isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he is very aware of how others feel about him.

(x) Ace: Ooohhh, I get it. Ace: You all think I'm damaged in the head. I got that. But more than that... Ace: Levi, Teruko, Nico, Veronika, and everyone else. You all think you can say whatever the fuck you want to my face, right? Ace: I'm stupid, irritating, a good-for-nothing, and a spineless coward. Ace: Is that what everyone really thinks about me? And it's fine that you drill it into my head over and over again, because you think that I'll forget about it in 5 minutes like you do?

Hell, him waiting until he's basically the main suspect to release his alibi most likely hints that he knew that the cast wasn't going to believe him (which he was right, most didn't), and if that really was his thought process, why would he lie when he knows the cast will most likely not believe him anyway? The second reason as for why I think Ace is telling the truth with his testimony is because of this

(x) David: My secret is that I have a family history of depression. Veronika: My, coming right out with it. Arei: ... David: The reason you're all fighting... It's because you're stressed from this killing game, right? More specifically, stressed over this motive.

I recommend watching the actual clip because it's hard to capture what I mean in just text, and I fear this might be a slight asspull, but at the same time I have learned that DT-Dev doesn't just include dialogue to fill space, everything a character says, even if it's just ellipsis, more than likely has a purpose behind it. So why is Arei shown to say nothing in response to David, instead of just cutting to David's next line after Veronika's? To me personally, I think it was to show Arei's understandable confusion at David saying a secret that wasn't the one she saw. So I do think that Ace was telling the truth with what he saw. That does open up a few question marks, like why Ace didn't hear anything after a certain point despite being literally right near the door, but I assume those will be filled in as time goes on if he really is telling the truth. With that cleared up, I think we should get to what you actually want to hear anon: What happened during the conversation itself. Something about David is that when he is interrogated, especially of something that goes against his image, he has one of two reactions: A) he'll shoo the person away, acting dismissive and blunt

(x) Teruko: Then which one is yours? Tell me, since you're all about sharing secrets-- David: Seriously, will you shut up already? David: ...Please?

or B) he'll completely double down

(x) David: I'm a lying, manipulative, scumbaggy piece of shit. Is that what you all wanted to hear?

(x) David: Tch. Listen to me. I'm not the killer-- David: ... David: [Sigh] David: I know when to give up. Like I said, I don't want to end up like Min. Futilely fighting a war that I can't win. David: Tch. Fine. David: Hahaha... David: Ahahahaha!! Oh, fucking fine. David: I... David: I killed Arei. David: Does hearing that make you happy?

(honestly the last 17 minutes of ch2-11 can be described as david doubling down, but these are the main two examples.)

Personally, I think David ended up doing both in the Arei conversation. At first he tried to dismiss her accusations, but since Arei is an incredibly stubborn person, he ended up doubling down on them, most likely acting very similarly to how he does in the latter half of CH2-11. This would most likely follow up with an argument between David's philosophy that no one will ever change and that people are born either good or bad people, and Arei's newfound desire to become a good person after bullying and manipulating others for so long, a hope that David gave her. Both of the people in this scenario are very much guided by their emotions, and said emotions are very high by the time Ace's flashback is cut off. I'd say it's an inevitability. As for what would happen after that, I'm not entirely sure. But those are the predictions that I'm sure about. If anyone has something to add, than please do so in the notes. I'd really appreciate it. Thank you so much for the ask!