#LOLOL.... this will flop sorry !

[gratisdiamanten]

TRANSCENDING, AUGMENTING : DOPAGE, SUFFERING, GOD AND CYCLING

Pope Warns Athletes on Doping, Huffington Post, 2010 / A blood bag confiscated as part of an antidoping raid, Operation Puerto blood bags must be released to authorities, judge orders, The Guardian, 2016 / A Belgian relic of Christ's blood, Jezus Christus, de bekendste relikwieën, Recordatio, 2019 / The Transcendent Pain, Bill Gifford, Bicycling, 2012 / Unknown cyclist peels skin off palm, CYCLING ART BLOG (Blogspot), n.d. / Jesus Protruding from the Sepulchre, Antonio Vivarini, 15th c. / Why we like suffering, Frank Strack, Cyclist, 2016 / Primož Roglič celebrates winning the 17th stage of the Tour de France, Getty Images, 2017 / Primož Roglič suffers as he crosses the line following a crash at La Vuelta de España, Getty Images, 2022 / The Cyclist and His Shadow, François Thomazeau, 2022 / Saint John the Baptist looking up to the right, holding a bowl, Guercino, n.d. / Tadej Pogačar cracks during the Tour de France, Vincent Kalut, 2023 / The Cyclist and His Shadow, François Thomazeau, 2022 / Lance Armstrong winning the 17th stage of the Tour de France, Associated Press, 2004 / Padre Pio shows his self-inflicted stigmata, n.d. / Marco Pantani wins at Montecampione during the Giro d'Italia, Bettini Photo, 1998 / The Cyclist and His Shadow, François Thomazeau, 2022

[1onescu]

ok lolol this is kinda cliche but. i think it's cute still! can i request an ayanna x ballerina reader?? like the reader cld be a ballerina who's friends with azzi and she basically tries to teach the girls a class and ayanna is like crushing lol. and it would be cute cuz the reader knows ayanna is crushing and keeps teasing her. ok ty! sorry for the yap session.

𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 - ayanna patterson

The sun was setting over Storrs, Connecticut, casting a golden hue over the UConn campus. In the Huskies’ practice gym, the usual sound of squeaking sneakers and bouncing basketballs was replaced with the graceful strains of classical music. Today was different. Today, the women's basketball team was trading their jerseys for leotards and tights.

"Alright, gather 'round!" Azzi clapped her hands, trying to get the attention of her teammates. "Today’s practice is going to be a little different. Today, Y/N here is going to teach us some ballet."

Y/N, a ballerina with a graceful poise and a warm smile, stepped forward. "Hi, everyone! This should be fun. Ballet is great for flexibility, balance, and control—all things you can use on the court."

Ayanna's face warmed up as Y/N looked around the circle of athletes. She had been nursing a crush on Y/N ever since Azzi had introduced them. Today, Ayanna felt both excited and nervous; she wanted to impress Y/N but was also worried about making a fool of herself.

Kk, nudged Ayanna. "You ready to pirouette, Yanna?"

Ayanna rolled her eyes, felling the heat warm up her face. "Shut up, Kk."

Y/N began with some simple stretches, guiding the team through each movement with patience. "Remember, it's all about control. Feel the stretch but don't push too hard."

Paige,her competitive self, tried to match Y/N’s flexibility, earning a chuckle from Ice. "Careful, Paige. You don’t want to pull something."

Nika, with her usual energy, was attempting every move with gusto, even if her form was far from perfect. "This is harder than it looks!" she exclaimed, wobbling on one leg.

Kk was having a hard time taking it seriously. She mimicked Y/N's moves in an exaggerated manner, earning laughs from the team. "Kk, you’re supposed to be a swan, not a chicken," Y/N told her.

"Hey, chickens can be graceful too!" Kk shot back, flapping her arms wildly and clucking.

Y/N tried to maintain her composure. "Alright, let’s try some partner work. Yanna, why don't you come up here and help me demonstrate?" Y/N asked her, as she flashed her million dollar smile.

Ayanna’s heart skipped a beat. "Uh, sure."

They moved to the center of the room, and Y/N guided Ayanna through a series of simple steps. "Just follow my lead," Y/N said, giving Ayanna an encouraging smile.

Kk, unable to resist, started humming a romantic tune, earning a few giggles from the team and a glare from Ayanna. Paige joined in, pretending to be an opera singer, her off-key notes echoing through the gym.

"Alright, Kk, Paige, pair up let's see you try it," Y/N said, grinning.

The gym filled with laughter and the occasional yelp as the basketball players tried their best to mimic the elegant movements. Y/N moved around the room, offering tips and encouragement, but she couldn’t help but keep an eye on Ayanna, who was doing surprisingly well.

"You’re a natural, Yanna," Y/N said as she passed by, giving her a teasing smile. Ayanna’s heart soared at the compliment.

Nika, meanwhile, was struggling to balance on one leg. "This is impossible! How do you make it look so easy?"

Ice tried to help, but her idea of assistance was to lift Nika off the ground. "See? Now you don't have to balance at all!"

Nika flailed in Ice's arms. "Put me down, Ice!"

Kk and Paige, having given up on actual ballet, started a comedic rendition of Swan Lake, complete with dramatic flops and exaggerated twirls. "Look at us, we're prima ballerinas!" Paige announced, pretending to faint into Kk's arms.

"Encore!" Y/N cheered, doubling over with laughter.

"Alright, everyone, let's settle down a bit," Y/N said. "Let's focus on some basic jumps next. They're great for building power in your legs."

Kk immediately jumped into action, leaping around like a kangaroo. "How's this for power?" she shouted mid-air, nearly colliding with Paige, who ducked just in time.

"Kk, we’re not trying to fly here," Y/N said, laughing.

The team lined up, attempting the jumps with varying degrees of success. Ayanna, focused on impressing Y/N, put in extra effort. Y/N noticed and decided to have a little fun.

"Looking good, Yan," Y/N said as she passed by, giving her a teasing smile once again. Y/N walked over to Yanna bringing her to the center again, Kk couldn’t help herself. "Cue the romantic music!" she called out, earning more laughs and a mock bow from Paige.

Y/N guided Ayanna through a series of turns. "Just remember to spot," she said, demonstrating the technique. "It helps you keep your balance and direction."

Ayanna tried to follow Y/N’s instructions, her eyes meeting Y/N’s with each turn. "Like this?"

"Perfect," Y/N said, giving her an approving nod.

As the class progressed, the team grew more comfortable with the movements. There were plenty of mishaps—Paige accidentally kicking Nika, Ice tripping over her own feet, and Kk’s ongoing comedic commentary—but everyone was having a great time.

By the end of the session, the team was exhausted but smiling. They gathered in a circle, panting and laughing. "Thanks, Y/N. That was amazing," Azzi said, clapping her on the back.

"Yeah, we should do this more often," Paige added, stretching out her sore muscles.

Y/N walked up to Ayanna and smiled, a playful glint in her eye. "You did great, Yanna. Maybe we can have a private lesson sometime?" Ayanna’s eyes widened, and she stammered, "Uh, yeah, I’d like that."

Kk, overhearing, couldn’t resist one last tease. "Looks like someone’s got a new favorite sport."

Y/N and Ayanna both laughed, and Ayanna felt her nervousness melt away. Maybe this crush wasn’t so one-sided after all.

As the team left the gym, Ayanna found herself walking beside Y/N. "So, about that private lesson…"

Y/N grinned. "How about tomorrow after practice?"

"Sounds perfect."

[starcrossedxwriter]

Wicked Fantasies Part 11.1 (MBJ x OC)

A/N: Ummm so welcome backkk! This is 11.1 because there's a second part to this chapter (I know... my self control keeps getting worse lolol) But I hope you enjoy!

TW: grief

“I’m never fucking drinking again,” Raven moaned to herself as she stumbled out of the comforts of bed. She felt like hell, if hell had a truck run over its head a few dozen times. 

Raven generally considered herself an early riser but nothing could pull her out of bed that morning after what was, objectively, the dumbest night of her life. Part of her wished she had had one or two more drinks so she could have officially transitioned into the ‘blackout drunk’ phase. So that she would, at least, be spared the embarrassing memories. But no, every horrible moment of the night from dancing wildly at the bar to Michael saving her was etched into the crevices of her brain with shocking clarity. 

Now, it was after noon and Raven still found herself wanting to be curled under her blanket asleep so she could escape her embarrassment. 

A knock at the door pulled her out of her wallowing self pity. She did not make an attempt to move, expecting Tiffany to answer. However, when the voice of their landlord rang out and her knocking persisted, she quickly slid on her robe to open the door. She decided Mrs. Winters would have to get over the fact that she looked like death reincarnated. 

“Rough night, dear?” 

Raven grimaced for a moment, she did indeed look as terrible as she felt. 

“Something like that,” Raven offered a tight smile, her body slumping against the door. “W-what can I do for you, Mrs. Winters?” 

“Oh I’m just letting everyone know that we had a pipe burst on the floor above. We’ll have folks in and out and you might hear some noise and stuff. But if you see any leaking into your unit, give me a ring?” 

“Of course. Will do. Thanks, have a good one,” Raven tried her best to politely shoo the woman away. However, she lingered. 

“Oh I meant to tell you, that boyfriend of yours is just such a good egg. So kind and polite. Admittedly I haven’t met many famous people,” she laughed. “But you just don’t expect them to have such good manners, you know?” 

Raven stopped. “My boyfriend?? Sorry… When was he here?” 

“He stopped by this morning. Gave me a check for your rent for the rest of your lease. Oh and asked where your mailbox was, said he wanted to drop something in it.” 

Raven was worried her jaw might come completely unhinged as the woman spoke. 

He did what?? 

“Are you alright, dear??” 

“Y-Yea, yea. Just… a bit of a surprise. Thank you.” 

And with that, Raven immediately closed the door, not listening to the elderly woman’s reply. 

“This nigga… I hate him,” she muttered to herself as she slumped against her door. 

Every cell in her body knew that was not true. But she also knew that everything she had told him last night was still accurate. She was too tired to forgive him and not just him… anyone ever again. The world has used up all of her second chances and she did not have it in her heart to be disappointed by him again. The narrative in her brain was so set in stone, she did not think anything he could say or do would make her believe anything else. She could not even make herself go retrieve the note that was apparently waiting for her in her mailbox. 

“Such a coward,” she grumbled as she flopped back into bed. 

She stared at her phone for several minutes, her text thread with Michael open. She wondered what she could even say? Thank you?

She knew any conversations demanding she pay him back or he rescind the money would be moot. Even if she had the mental fortitude to argue with him right now, she would still lose. But she could not just accept it without trying to push back. 

She typed and erased and typed and erased before lamely landing on: 

Raven: You can’t pay my entire rent. I can’t accept that. 

Raven: I don’t want that.

Michael: Yea you can. Told you… gonna show up every day tryin’ to fix us. You just gotta let me.

Raven: Money isn’t gonna fix this, Michael. 

Michael: I know. But it can fix the tangible things I fucked up for you

Michael: So let me fix that for you. 

Raven paused, as a warm sensation filled her, a warmth she had not felt in over a month now. The warmth of being cared for. She had never had someone take care of her without wanting something in return, except Michael. Even when their relationship was built on transactions, he still took care of her without needing or asking for something from her. The book deal, her rent were just the tangible examples of how he had stepped up to right the wrongs he could and she could not deny that those actions meant something, softened something inside her. 

He was doing exactly what he promised he would do the night before. He was fixing what could be, he was showing with his actions that she meant something to him. And yet, that blockade that stopped that belief from taking root was still there, still prohibiting her from believing these actions were anything more than a skilled manipulation. 

He would draw her back in, he would not change, and when he got ready, he would hurt her again. That’s what everyone in her life did. 

Raven: It doesn’t change anything

Michael: I know… didn’t expect it to.

She tossed her phone to the side and grabbed her pillow, screaming into it as her frustration got the better of her. The complex web of conflicting feelings with Michael B. Jordan trapped at its center only continued to grow. She wanted him to let her go, to stop caring and trying and going out of his way for her because that fit into the narrative nailed to the cross of her brain, it would confirm her beliefs and fears. 

But instead he continued to do the things that made her fall in love with him the first time, things that only reignited the dimmed but still existent flame that was her love for him. And she knew she would never get over him if she kept letting that happen, kept letting him in. 

So she did not even respond. Instead, she just closed the thread and tossed her phone to the side. 

“Let him go, Rae,” she demanded to herself. “You don’t deserve him and he doesn’t love you.” She repeated that a few times before it felt real again, before all that had started to soften was once again as solid as a block of ice. 

***

“You look like shit,” Alex moaned as she watched Michael’s makeup artist, Shanta, struggle to make him look less like a living zombie ahead of his Oprah interview. 

They were tucked away in a suite in Oprah's sprawling LA estate. It was difficult to make Michael feel poor but Oprah was certainly one of the few people in the world who could do so. 

“Thanks, appreciate that.” 

“You know I don’t believe in lying to you. Make sure you get those bags under his eyes,” she instructed. “Alright, this is it. Final stretch. Movie’s out and every review is stellar so far. Do this interview, it’ll air this week, Oscars on Sunday and then you can sleep. Though I bet it’s not the schedule keeping you up? Talked to her since the premiere?” 

Michael forced his body not to sag at the mention of Raven as to not disturb the hard work of the woman trying to make him look alive after days of no sleep.  

“She texted me about the rent thing the next morning. But it’s been radio silence ever since.” 

It had only been a few days since the fiasco after the premiere but Michael’s concern for Raven had not diminished one bit. He  could not let her go as she requested but he tried his hardest to respect her desire for space. His heart was stuck in the quicksand that was Raven and he had no desire to pull himself out. He wanted to be right there. He knew eventually he would have to accept defeat, accept that she had moved on. But he could not do it while she still questioned her own deservedness. She could hate him for the rest of his life, it would be her right. But his soul could not allow her to live thinking so lowly of herself. So if he had to pay 30 years of rent or call in favors to make her life easier and make her see that she deserved care and someone to sacrifice for her, he would do it. It was high time someone in her life put her above themselves. 

“Well, at least she talked to you. That’s something. You’re doing what she asked. Sis has lived a life, she needs time and space. Keep doing what you're doing. Except for the no sleep. For the love of God, by the Oscars, please get a good night’s rest. That’s your night.” 

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Alex…” 

She scoffed. “You’ve won the big four, Mike. It’s not just because I believe you deserve it… Statistically, Best Actor is yours. The Oscars is your night. Have a little faith in yourself.” 

“I hear you. I just don’t wann-” 

“Excuse me?” A young man poked his head in the door. “Apologies for interrupting. I’m a PA. Just wanted to let you know that we’re almost ready? I can take you out to the garden when you’re ready.” 

“Be right out. Thank you,” Alex called. 

Shanta did her last quick finishing touches before Alex gave him her customary once over. 

“Shanta, my girl, you’re a miracle worker per usual.” 

They both offered Shanta their thanks, Michael rolling his shoulders before heading out the door to walk out to the gardens. 

He had met and interviewed with Oprah once before so he was not particularly nervous. But despite having done millions of interviews, there was always a kernel of nerves right beforehand that he could just never shake. 

He was dressed in slacks and a light black sweater, thankful for a cooler day as he walked out into her expansive gardens where the Oprah Winfrey waited for him. The cameras were already rolling, capturing footage that may or may not make into the hour-long special. 

“The man of the hour!” she called, her arms stretched wide to wrap Michael in a hug. “Actually I think man of the year is more appropriate. Welcome. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have you here.” 

“Thank you, thank you. It’s so good to be here.”

“Have a seat,” she gestured at the very comfy chair across from hers. “And we can jump right in.” 

***

Raven’s head was propped against her fist as she stared at her computer. A sentence. That was the grand total of her hard work for that Wednesday afternoon. But it was something, she supposed. Weeks of hard work had amounted to maybe two or three pages of her book. She had been offering Angelina vague answers on her progress, ducking and dodging her to avoid admitting that there was no way in hell she could have a draft by March 15 like they talked about. 

“Rae? You busy?” 

She turned in her chair toward the door to find Tiffany’s head poking in. 

“Nope… I’ll never be busy again at this rate,” she grumbled. “What’s up?” 

“I just turned on the interview… if you want to watch?” 

Raven scratched her head, unsure if she could even watch him? See him happy and thriving without her? Despite everything happening between them though, she could not pretend there was not a part of her that still wanted to celebrate this moment in his career. Interviewing with Oprah the week he was poised to win his first Oscar? How could she ever forgive herself if she did not watch this? Even if it hurts? 

“I’ll… be there in a sec. Thanks, Tiff.” 

Raven let out a deep sigh before she grabbed the blanket off her bed and dragged herself to the living room. The interview had already started and he looked gorgeous. Tired, she could tell, in the way he constantly had to readjust his posture, in the bags under his eyes that the makeup artist could not quite fully cover. But even at his worst, he looked captivatingly good. 

Raven found herself studying him so intently that she did not even comprehend the words he and Oprah were sharing. She just watched him and his mannerisms, she focused on the glimmer in his eyes that sparked every so often. She missed looking into his eyes, missed how expressive they were.  

This moment only amplified how much she missed him, missed hearing the deep baritone in his voice and the spark in his eyes when he spoke about his passions. She missed his bright and uninhibited laughter, how his hands were always on her in some way. She just missed him. But she had pushed him away, had told him to let her go. And even if he had not fully let go of her yet, she felt too scared to open that door again, even if her soul ached for her to. Particularly when he continued to try to show up for her in small ways. 

And despite how angry she still wanted to be at him, she had never had anyone show up for her quite like this… try for her like he did. And everyday, her brain took up far more mental space than it should have, debating whether she should follow her foolish heart and forgive him or listen to her logical brain and cast him aside. Days passed and she still did not know the answer. 

“So I’ll admit,” Raven’s ears finally started to pick up the conversation between Oprah and Michael, “I watched Waves more times than appropriate. But Gayle and I saw it at Sundance and we both thought it was just the most heartbreaking and poignant look at loss and grief that we had ever seen. While still being engaging and funny and so relatable. The journey your character goes through is just… I mean I think grief is one of the few universal experiences that we all will have at some point. And you really brought that to life through this character and his struggles with addiction. And the fact that you filmed this while engaged in completely different projects with complex characters like Killmonger in Black Panther and Adonis in Creed 3… I’m curious what you pulled from to give that performance?” 

Michael shifted in his seat as he chuckled, Raven had missed how passionate he got about this project, even though he had been talking about it and doing press for it since they first started dating. She knew he had not truly expected the role to blow up in the ways it did but she could tell he was grateful for it, nonetheless. 

“Well first, thank you. Yea aside from Oscar Grant, Andre was the hardest character I’ve ever played and he stretched me as an actor in ways, you know, I didn’t really expect? And I learned so much from him in his sort of journey through grief. You know, when I read the first script, the line ‘grief is the final stage in love’s evolution,’ really stuck out to me. When you lose someone, grief, this enduring pain you feel, is that love shifting and changing because it has nowhere to go, there’s no outlet for it anymore. And so, Andre really reframed my own thoughts on grief and loss and how I process that and allowed me to pull from personal experiences with loss to pour into that character.” 

“Yea I will say, that line was one of my favorites. I sat with that long after the credits rolled.” 

“Yea same. I remember sitting a-and thinking about that one for a while after reading it. And I loved that even in the more comedic moments of this movie, we still had those lines that made you wanna stop and really sit with what the characters were going through.”  

“Definitely, I was dissecting this movie for weeks after. It’s just amazing. So I do want to shift gears to talk about this moment you're experiencing because of this movie. This really is the biggest moment of your career. You’re nominated for your first Oscar and a favorite to win, so far in 2023, you’ve won a SAG Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA. And you, as of two days ago, just had your directorial debut in Creed 3. First question, how are you still awake?” Both of them shared a laugh. “But serious question, how has this moment felt? How does it feel to be having this moment at this stage of your career?” 

“Oh wow, when you list it like that, I don’t know how I’m awake either,” he chuckled. “But seriously, you know… it’s been a ride. I know you’ve felt this too but you know, you don’t often take a moment to just pause and soak it in. You finish one interview or award show and your mind automatically just jumps to the next one. And I think what I’ve been trying to force myself to do in the later weeks of this insane time is just to slow down and enjoy it. Not rush through it and really enjoy the fruits of… really years of hard work and sacrifice. But that also means sitting with… you know, the challenges of this time too, which isn’t as rewarding,” he admitted with a sad smile. “But I’m growing and learning alot so it’s worth it.” 

Oprah nodded. “You know I always appreciate when people don’t let the 24 hour news cycle and gossip sort of steal their thunder and moment from them. And I applaud you for sort of moving through the more gossipy side of the last few months with grace and maturity. But you haven’t really talked much publicly about those stories and the effect they have had on you. And you don’t have to get into it if you don’t want but I am curious on how you navigated that and really came out on the other side, from what I can see, stronger for it?”

Michael bowed his head and chuckled. “Um… you know a good friend of mine told me that she thought this was the most vulnerable and most genuine I had ever been publicly on this press tour and I think it’s because I’ve had to navigate some really personal stuff during this great but hectic public moment? And that’s new territory for me.” 

“And I think that friend is right. I don’t think we have seen or learned this much about you ever.” 

“Yea and I wish I could take some credit for it but… it was all one person: Raven Turner. And the way we met, now as the world knows, was extremely unconventional and I can admit that our relationship started as a complete lie. A lie I thought would help me be seen as this serious, mature man my team was worried I wasn’t. And I wasn’t,” he admitted. “I was cold and guarded and not at all the best version of myself. And while I regret how we started and trying to fool the world into thinking I’m something I’m not, there isn’t a bone in my body that regrets falling in love with her.” 

He leaned forward a bit as he spoke. “Because all those walls and barriers we build around ourselves to survive in this world of Hollywood? To endure the criticisms and insanity we deal with? She's the first woman to see me. Not the actor and the money and the fame but just me. And in that, she saved me… without trying or intending to. She just loved me and loving her, choosing her is the single greatest decision I ever made. And I hate how this moment has fallen on her, how my terrible decisions led to these pretty disgusting misogynistic attacks on her. And I think my biggest regret is putting someone as pure as her in the line of fire like that and not doing enough to protect her. And you know, I have to live with that, which is tough.” 

“You know I’ve interviewed thousands of people in my career and while I believe you have to change for yourself and on your own, I also have found that the ones who love us, really love us, are often the most powerful catalysts for change in our lives. I’ve certainly seen and experienced that in my own life and it’s important to spotlight those who were that catalyst.” 

“Oh 100%. Especially when, I think this version of me was always there? I was just too hurt to trust anyone with it, so no one saw it. I buried me under this facade I thought was better? But I fell in love with a woman who taught me that you can’t be guarded, you can’t shut down just because you’re hurt. Life is about getting up every day, being authentically you, and reaching out and loving and risking your heart every time. And sometimes you’ll get swatted away and sometimes you’ll get an embrace. But you just deny yourself love when you don’t show up at all. So I’ve been trying to live by that more lately. Because she showed me what real strength and courage looks like. And I want to have that, I want to lead with that.” 

“Wow… you know people are going to watch this and I think, applaud that vulnerability. It’s refreshing to me because I don’t think our world incentivizes or encourages people to admit when they aren’t being their best selves. So I think for you to do that, at a moment when you’re at the top of your game, is commendable.” 

“She deserves to know the positive effect she’s had on my life. To be celebrated for how she supported me. And you know it’s not just me? When we first started dating, I remember her one stipulation was that we couldn’t go out on Wednesday evenings because she hosted a book club for kids at the library she worked at. And that was the most important thing to her, being there for them. The day of our first date, she spent an hour delivering books and SAT prep books to those same kids she worked just because. There’s just a selflessness to her that is truly admirable. And I think while people are attacking her and calling her these vile names because she made a certain choice during a hard time, they should know who she really is. A woman that would drop everything to help you even when you don’t really deserve it. A woman who I’ve seen give others all she had because they needed it more even when she did not have a backup plan for herself. I could honestly talk about her for the rest of this interview because she deserves celebration far more than I ever could. Genuinely good people don’t always get the shine they deserve, they don’t always get the love and care they deserve because we can often take them for granted. But no one deserves to be celebrated more than her, to be celebrated loudly more than she does.” 

“I love that… she seems like quite the woman.” 

“She is… and I hope she knows that.” 

“So tell me about…” 

The words faded away as his words tumbled through Raven’s head. They clashed jarringly against every belief she had internalized about herself, like metal against metal. But she found herself wanting to believe him. Believe the words a section of the world just heard. She wanted to believe that what he saw in her, even over the course of six months, was who she truly was. Not this broken, damaged scapegoat life had fashioned her into. 

There has to be more than this, right? 

Tiffany nudged her with a box of tissues in her hand. Raven had not even realized she was crying but she accepted them gratefully. 

“Don’t know how I still have tears over this man left,” she whispered as she wiped her eyes. 

“I don’t think those tears are because of him, sis.” 

Raven sniffled and grabbed another tissue. “You m-might be onto something. I can’t watch anymore. Night, Tiffany.” 

However, before she reached her bedroom, she heard Tiffany call her name. 

“I know what he did… sucks. And hurts. But that’s a man who loves you, Rae. More than anything. After that? The only person in the world who still won’t believe it is you.”

She turned around to face her, the back of her hand wiping away a few more stray tears. “You know he said the same thing?” 

“Well, I generally don’t think actors are that smart,” Tiffany admitted with a laugh. “But he’s right about that. You deserve to believe good things about yourself, we all do.”

“Nothing good has ever lasted… I always ruin it somehow. I tried to believe I deserved him and life proved that I didn’t,” she answered, her voice small. “D-Don’t have it in me to try again.” 

“Raven… I know we aren’t best friends or anything. But how many times have I watched you forgiven your dad and sister? Let them back in, try to make things right with them? Try to build the family you want?” 

“Too many…” 

“Right… So why does Michael only get one shot when you found the strength to give them 100? When he’s the one actually showing up for you? He’s the one who actually is trying to earn another chance?”  

“It’s not that simple and you know it.” 

“I know that the only person denying you happiness right now… is you. You push away the good people and things in your life because you feel like you don’t deserve it but no one would be here if you didn’t. Michael, the kids in your book club… me. I don’t keep signing leases with you because you’re a terrible person who ruins everything, no one has a gun to our heads, Rae. We’re here because you do deserve it.” 

“Tiff…” 

“Nope, shut up. This pity party is getting old and tired. It doesn’t matter what I think of you… or what Michael thinks or anyone out there.” She gestured toward the window. “All that matters is the narrative you’ve created and until you decide to believe something else, all you’re going to do is push people away and fuck up and self sabotage because it’s all you think you deserve. You gotta wake up and do some fucking work, girl. Cause until you figure out how to erase this narrative from your brain, you’ll never be happy. And you’ll never fall in love with anyone except for someone who treats you like crap. You’ll never build your own family. You’ll never finish your book or have another fulfilling career. You’ll just be stuck in this broken version of yourself alone… forever. And I’ve seen a few different versions of you over the last two years but this is by far the most pitiful.”

Raven had never heard Tiffany be so blunt. The words were biting but she could not deny that some of them rang true in her ears. And that was always the hardest information to hear. 

“Damn… tell me how you really feel.” 

“The soft gentle love wasn’t resonating clearly so had to go with a different tactic…. Just think about it. And once you fix all this shit and move to a mansion in the hills, don’t forget about me.” She winked at her, causing Raven’s jaw to drop slightly. 

“How do you even know that’s gonna happen?” 

She shrugged and grabbed the remote to press play, Raven not even noticing that she paused it.

“Just got a good feeling about the two of you. Now go so I can lust after him in peace while he's still single. Kidding! Kinda..."

Raven let out a small laugh as she shook her head. "I know you're not kidding. Night, Tiff.” 

She slid into her bed, her only refuge of late, and stared at the ceiling. She was surprised she was not tired of looking at it by now. Michael and Tiffany’s words wrestled with her own thoughts for hours

What was her problem, really? It was not that what Michael did was unforgivable because it wasn’t. Some distant part of her, too quiet to break through the noise of her anger, always wondered if there was more to the story, believed that he had to have had some reason. But she was too angry to allow him to explain. It just became vicious ammunition that no one could ever love her or care about her… that she was the problem. 

Well, that’s true… no one’s ever loved you. And everyone who does leaves. 

She supposed her mother must have loved her, but she would never know. She would never feel it. And her grandmother’s love was so distant, so long ago, that it no longer felt tangible, was no longer a tether to anchor her self worth to something positive.

Instead, the only thing that tethered her sense of self worth to anything was her family’s disdain. Disdain that made her question what Michael could’ve seen in her, how he could ever love someone like her? That disdain which made it far easier to believe that what he did was proof that he did not love her than that he possibly did do it to protect her in some weird way. No other thought could live long enough in her brain to take hold. 

And she did not know if doing what Tiffany suggested would fix that. There was not enough time in the world for her muster the courage to interrogate and confront the source of these feelings. She had hoped she would never have to see her family again. Some days, never felt like too soon.

But she knew she could not avoid it. They were the root cause, the narrative in her head was fueled and sustained by them. And screaming at them across the Thanksgiving table and never speaking to them again was not the closure she needed. She thought she had dropped the weight that was her family when she cut them off. But she was still dragging all the luggage they gave her around and it was time to give it back. 

She knew her family did not want to see her either, knew it would be difficult to get them to even speak to her after everything. But she knew she had to try… because she knew there had to be more to life than this. That she had not been born to only suffer through life instead of live it. So she needed to confront her demons for herself, even if her relationship with them did not change one bit.  

She grabbed her computer and her wallet. It was time to go home.

***

Raven’s eyes remained trained on her dad’s house across the street as she sat in her rental car. She was almost shocked that none of her family’s nosy neighbors had not called the police yet as she sat there for nearly an hour, summoning the courage to actually go inside. 

She had felt so sure this was what she needed when she bought her plane ticket. And that confidence did not waver when she stepped onto the plane or during the long journey from LAX to Charlotte, NC. However, once she was in her rental car, she found herself waffling, aimlessly driving around for hours. Her brain seemed unable to direct her to the place she knew she needed to go. Home. 

She just could not make herself do it… not yet anyway. So she did not. Instead, she finally went to her hotel to try to get some rest and her night’s rest turned into the entire Friday holed up in her hotel. She had not booked a return ticket, prayerful and hopeful that there would be a reason to stick around for a few days. But that also meant she did not have the incentive of time to make her move faster. 

But she could not even make herself do this. Because she did not know how to be brave like this. Her life had been nothing but running from pain and confrontation. This was so contrary to that. She did not know how to do any of this. She tossed and turned all night, unable to get any sleep particularly when there was only one person who she wanted to talk to, wanted to seek courage and strength from. Because when she felt scared, when she did not feel strong, he was the only person she wanted to reach for. But she was not sure he would even answer. She had pushed him away, told him she needed space. 

But she had not felt like she could do this alone. So last night, she called him. 

“Rae! Everything ok?” he asked immediately, his question met with silence. 

Raven did not know what to say and regret filled her like ice water in her veins. But she knew it was too late to hang up, she had to see it through. She paid for that moment of weakness when she hit the call button as her throat closed at the sound of her voice. She found it impossible to speak, even if she knew what words to say.  

“I’ll wait until you’re ready, Rae. Got all night for you.” 

And she knew he was not just talking about waiting for her to speak. 

“Why?” she whispered, the simple word coming out in a strangled sound as she tried to push past the tightness in her throat. 

“Why what?” 

“Why even answer after everything I said to you? W-why do you keep trying?” 

“Because I love you,” he answered simply. “And you’re worth it. I’ll keep reaching out, baby girl. Even when you swat me away.” 

“You might be the only person who thinks that,” she whispered back as a tear fell. 

“I don’t think that’s true. But even if it was, knowing one person is in your corner is all you need sometimes.”

She laughed lightly. “That press tour got you only speaking in motivational boxing terms or something?” 

His deep laughter filled her ears and filled her soul with such joy that she had forgotten. She had forgotten what these moments felt like, the two of them on the phone or curled up together in bed, just talking. She missed it… she missed him. But she could not say it, could not bring herself to pull her body out of the water to make that long trek back up the cliff to where he waited for her. Everything in her brain screamed at her that she couldn’t do it, that she did not have it in her. And she hated herself for it. Hated how she clung to the ice barriers around her heart, even though they were utterly fractured and ready to fall. She just was not ready yet. 

She let out a shuddering breath as she hastily wiped away her falling tears. “I… don’t know why I called. I s-shouldn’t have called.”

“Call me anytime, Rae. I’ll always answer. I’ll always show up for you. I hope you know that… at least.” 

“Y-Yea… I think I do… or at least, it’s getting harder to deny it,” she revealed. “Your interview with Oprah… it was really good,” she offered lamely. 

“You watched??” she could hear the surprise in his voice. 

“Yea… I almost didn’t,” she admitted. “But I caught most of it. Did you mean it? Everything you said?” 

“Every single word.” There was no arguing with the definitive tone in his voice. “I get that you don’t trust me anymore. I lied and kept secrets. But one thing I never lied about is how much I love you.”  

Her eyes clenched shut for a moment. That was one thing he had always been consistent about, her ears had just been perpetually shut to it. 

“I… um… I gotta go. Early day tomorrow,” she lied as she sniffled. “I’m sorry for bothering you. Bye, Michael.” 

She was not sure what she had expected to get from that call and, at first, it felt as if she only got a firm kick in the heart for it. But for the first time since she landed, Raven had enough strength to finally drive to her family’s house. She had rolled her eyes at his boxing motivational quotes but hearing someone say they were in her corner, that had given her courage. To just feel like someone was behind her, even if she was alone, that meant something to her. 

She took a deep breath and got out of her car, forcing her legs to carry her to the front door. 

Her rounds of knocks went unanswered, Raven getting slightly frustrated but determined not to leave the porch. If she turned around and walked away, she’d never come back. 

After an extremely brief internal debate, she decided to simply let herself in, deciding that since she contributed to the mortgage, she had a right to come in as she pleased. And her father still, foolishly, kept a spare key underneath the welcome mat.

Though she had not been to her family’s home in two years or so, it still looked the same. Her father’s favorite work boots were thrown haphazardly at the door, several pairs of her sister’s shoes lined up next to them. She was an utter mess but she was, at least, somewhat neat. And it still felt… cold. And it had nothing to do with the cold winter east coast weather. The house had always felt like that, void of warmth and love that made a home a home. 

“Kiara?” she called out. “Dad?” However, she was met with utter silence. 

Part of her supposed she was thankful they were not home and that they had not just ignored her or something. She stood in the living room, staring around the room at the pictures that lined the walls and shelves. So many of her mom, her dad, and Kiara but there were none of her. That was not a surprise, it had always been that way. But that did not make it sting any less. All they had ever wanted was to erase her from their lives and if a stranger walked into this house, it would be as if she never existed.

She started up the stairs, her eyes refusing to linger long on any of the photos there. They were all lies anyway, a picture perfect family that did not exist because she had been born. She decided to ascend to the attic once she made it upstairs. Because that was where all her grandmother’s and some of her own things now lived. She had never really gone through her grandmother’s things after she passed, no one aside from her dad to pack them up. But she knew there was so much of their lives, so many memories she had forgotten of the one person who loved her, forgotten in those boxes that she now desperately needed to remember. 

She ignored how narrow the opening to the attic was, realizing that it had been easier to maneuver up here when she was a young teenager. Everything was still neatly packed away as if her grandmother would be back one day to pick it up. 

She started to open each box, pulling out and examining her grandmother’s things, so many beautiful things forgotten in this attic no one went into. For the first time in nearly two decades, she felt close to the only maternal figure she had ever had, felt like her grandmother’s hand was on her shoulder as she reminisced on their short but well-lived time together. 

She found the old costume jewelry her grandmother used to let her play with, laughing to herself as she thought back to dressing up in front of her vanity mirror pretending to be a model or whatever silly idea the pair had thought up. She almost cried as she found a very crumpled piece of paper with the last story she gave her grandmother to read before she died, a random short story that she had written for class. She had not realized, as she found a folder, just how many of her stories her grandmother had kept. 

A gold glint caught her attention, Raven reaching into a giant box to find a shoe box. Raven had seen that box 100 times but her grandmother had never let her touch it, claiming that it held priceless family heirlooms that she did not want Raven or Kiara to mess up. Raven rolled her eyes that something her grandmother had valued so much had been discarded and forgotten haphazardly at the bottom of this box. 

Finally giving into her childhood curiosity, she opened it. It was still filled with things, part of her thankful that Kiara had never found it. The jewelry and pieces in it were gorgeous and indeed priceless. She took her time as she examined each one, wondering if they had belonged to her mother or her grandmother or some other relative she never met. However, it was what existed underneath the jewelry that caught her eye: piles of tied up envelopes, one with her name on it and one with Kiara’s. 

The handwriting was not her grandmother’s, which made Raven even more curious. 

She pulled out the stack with her name on it and undid the thin ribbon that tied them together. There were ten letters there in total, each one with a different note scribbled on the envelope. 

To Raven on your 18th birthday 

To Raven on high school graduation 

To Raven after your first love 

To Raven after your first heartbreak

To Raven on college graduation 

To Raven on your wedding day 

She only had to flip through a few of them to realize who they were from. Her mom. 

“You’re killing me,” she muttered to the sky, unsure if she was speaking to God, her grandmother, her mother or all three. 

Her hands trembled slightly as she ripped open the one on top, addressed to her on her 18th birthday. These were some of the only words her mother would get to say to her, she did not care how long ago she should have read it. She would savor each one. 

To my sweet darling girl, 

If you are reading this, it means that I am not physically there with you on your birthday. It means that I’ve missed 18 birthdays and too many milestones to write a letter for and for that, I am sorry. You might be wondering why there is not a letter for all those milestones and birthdays that have taken place but this felt like the best place to start and the appropriate age for reading the musings of a dying woman. If there’s even such a thing.

We learned your gender today. Another sweet girl. If the doctor somehow got it wrong, these letters will be incredibly awkward. But I know they are right. Because you, my darling girl, are the manifestation of my wildest dreams. I dreamed of you almost a year ago, this beautiful girl with half my face but all of my spirit and personality. And every night since then, I prayed, begged God to make that dream a reality… no matter the cost. And he did. 

I know my body is not strong enough to be your mother, to be around to be the mother someone as brilliant as you will deserve. But I hope you know that deciding to have you and keep you, regardless of the risks, is the single greatest decision I ever made. You were not an accident or a misfortune given to me. You are my dreams. And if my last moments on this earth are spent looking at you, it will have been worth it. 

I waited until 18 to start these letters because I worried a child could never understand the choice I made. And you may still not. And if you resent me for leaving you before you could know me, I understand that too. But I hope that through these letters, you will get to know me. And you will feel some semblance of the immense love I have for you. 

I don’t have much advice because you’ve likely heard it all at this point. But the two most important things I can tell you, that I wish someone had told 18 year old me, is to know that failure is part of the journey. Your grandmother used to always tell me to keep reaching out your hand even if it doesn’t work. I didn’t really understand it soon enough but I hope you do. Life is about risks and if you don’t reach out your hand out of fear, you’ll protect yourself from pain but you will also miss out on the gifts God is trying to hand you. As a daughter, I hated to admit it, but mama was right about that… and so many other things. 

And finally, more importantly than anything else I could offer you in these letters, please remember every day that you are so, so loved. 

Know that regardless of what happened to me, I loved you with every fiber of my being until my last breath. Know that you were a gift from God. And every day you venture out into this world, know that you are worthy of so much because you were so loved from the moment you were dreamed up. Do not let anyone or whatever will happen to you in what I pray is a long, rich, happy life diminish that light, diminish your worth. I know how special you are and I don’t even know your name yet. And while I hope that your father and grandmother will affirm you daily, you don’t need other people to tell you that you are special. You have to know it for yourself. That’s the most important advice I can give you. Know who you are and your worth and take up as much space in this world as you want. And as long as you never forget how special you are… how deserving you are, you’ll move through this world shining bright. And the world will be forced to know it too and move to give you what you deserve. It’s not much and a bit cliche perhaps but I’ve been torn down enough to know that sometimes we all need the reminder. But those are stories for another letter. 

By the time I write my next letter, I promise I will have picked out a name for you. I read a book the other day where the main character was named Raven… I had not thought of it before but I like it. 

Happy Birthday. 

Love, 

Mom

The river of tears streaming down Raven’s face splashed against the slanted handwriting on the page, Raven quickly whisking them away so the words would remain legible. Raven did not even know how long she sat there staring at the words on the page, her heart bursting with the knowledge that her mother’s hand had touched this very paper, that she had poured her heart and soul into every word etched into it. 

It was like proof she had been real and not this entity Raven had conjured up in her head. Raven could not stop herself from ripping open all the ones that she should have gotten along the way. The one for her first love and the separate one on heartbreak were four pages each, and Raven did not pay attention to the clock as she absorbed each and every word. 

Everything she had learned about her mother had been through her grandmother and she had always wondered if her grandmother told her things just to make her feel better. But she realized that her grandmother had been telling the truth, she and her mother were so much alike. She found herself nodding and laughing along to her mother’s stories and wisdom embedded in all those pages. She was a prolific storyteller too and an amazing writer, another trait Raven realized she must have inherited from her.

For the first time in 30 years, Raven did not feel weighed down by this unbearable guilt. She felt lighter than she had ever been in her entire life. Perhaps this was what God wanted her to find here, not a confrontation with her family, but these words. This tangible proof that her mother had chosen her, wanted her… loved her and that she had not ruined anything at all. 

Her mother would not have wanted her to carry such guilt around for so long because there was nothing to be guilty about. 

The letters were scattered across the attic floor when she heard the faint sound of their garage opening. She quickly folded up all of her letters and stuffed them back into the box, tucking it under her arm as she climbed out of the attic. She did not make much noise as she closed up the attic, just as she heard her father and sister close the garage door and enter the kitchen. 

Their voices drifted up to her ears as she started to climb down the stairs, deciding that she might as well get the pure unpleasantness of this moment over with. 

“Wait… you hear that? Is someone in the house??” she heard her sister ask, knowing that they both could hear her footsteps against the old floorboards. 

“Don’t get your gun,” she called out as she started down the stairs. “It’s just me.” 

She was greeted with less-than-welcoming expressions from her family, such disdain that it made her want to scurry away. But she did not. She had done enough of that in her life.

“Adding breaking and entering to your criminal activity, now?” 

Raven scoffed as she placed the box on the kitchen counter that stood between her and her family. 

“Don’t think you can break into a house you helped pay for?” she answered coolly. “And I’m not the one with a mug shot here if I remember correctly.” 

“No you’re just the one who sold her cheap ass for a quick buck.” 

Raven shook her head, opening and closing her mouth for a few moments as she tried to find the words. 

“Yea I did… And I’m not proud of it,” Raven admitted. “But I won’t let you or anyone shame me for doing what I needed to do to survive. What helped the two of you survive too.” Raven scratched her head, realizing that trying to get closure from her family was unnecessary. Her mother’s words had given her all the closure she had ever needed. That’s what she had come home for. 

“You know, I got a plane ready to rip you both a new one for 30 years of abuse and torture. To try to force you to admit that I’m not the villain you made me to be. But… I don’t need that anymore. Because the cross of guilt and shame you two forced onto my back for all these years isn’t one I should have to carry. But I did because I thought it was the only way to keep you two around. And even without you two in my life, I still drag that cross around because I thought I deserved it. But I realized today, way too late, that I don’t need a damn thing from either of you to put it down.” 

“So you came here to what? To chastise us and steal?” her father asked, gesturing toward the box on the counter. 

“You can’t steal things that belong to you. These are letters mom wrote to me,” she lifted the open letters out before sliding the unopened pile to her sister. “And to you.” 

“Your mother wrote these?” he asked, his jaw tensing as he looked down at the stack. 

“Yeah, she did. You’ll enjoy yours… she was a really good storyteller,” she glanced at Kiara. “These letters just told me something I should’ve realized long before Thanksgiving. That cross? That guilt? It isn’t mine. And I am done wasting my life trying to rectify the mistake of being born. Because it wasn’t a mistake. She chose me… prayed for a second daughter knowing the cost and she decided it was worth it. And hearing her say that? That’s all I need to know that I deserve so much more than this… so much more than you.” She took a deep breath. “Being a grieving husband isn’t an excuse to be a terrible father and I’ll just be grateful I found some way to survive you and this. And jealousy doesn’t give you the right to be a shitty sister.” 

“What the fuck do I have to be jealous of??” 

“I always wondered that. But reading those letters… I finally got it. Because even as a failed author and prostitute, I’m everything she was. Grandma used to always say I had her personality… her talent. I always thought she was lying to make me feel better. But you knew she wasn’t and you could never stand it. Couldn’t stand that I was more like her than you.” For the first time, her sister was speechless. A good look on her in Raven’s opinion. “Mom wanted so much better for me than this and I’m gonna go and find it. Because I’ve wasted too much energy trying to earn the love of people who don’t deserve it. So if you want to go to your graves hating me, making me the scapegoat for every problem in your miserable lives, have at it. But know that I don’t hate you even after all this. I won’t be weighed down anymore by any feelings toward either of you ever again. You aren’t worth it.”

Raven pulled herself to full height and rolled her shoulder back as she scooped up the box and folder she had taken from her grandmother’s stuff. 

“Now I’m gonna go and have that long… rich and happy life mom wanted for me. And I hope you two do the same.” 

She did not look behind her as she walked away, a soft smile on her face as she walked out of her family’s house for the last time.

She let out a long laugh as she sat in her car, so much of the weight she had been carrying around gone. It did not feel sad like when she cut off her family at Thanksgiving. She finally felt as if she had cut the anchor away and she could float away, she could move forward and heal all the broken pieces of herself that they had gleefully chipped away at. 

When she got back to her hotel room, she just kept rereading her mom’s words. She would memorize each letter at this point. A part of her desperately wanted to open the other ones but she had not reached those milestones just yet so she left them where they were. For some reason, she worried her mother would disapprove of her breaking into them early. 

One line of five letters she read and reread stuck to her bones above all else. And of course, as if her mother had known, it was embedded in the letter for her first love. Love… the thing that had cracked her wide open and brought her to this moment in the first place.

You’d be surprised to know that this was the hardest of the letters to write. Because everyone has some prolific idea of what love is and feels like. And I realized I don’t… because I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the love I pray you are as you read this. That’s not to say I don’t love your father, I do. But I want something different than convenience for you. I hope that the love you feel is safe, allows you to feel the full spectrum of what it means to be human - strong and vulnerable, insecure and confident, boisterous and timid. I hope it feels like stepping out of the cold air and into a warm embrace. I hope it is loud and unapologetic because you deserve nothing less. And I hope it makes you feel so enraptured that everything else in the world goes quiet. And lastly, I hope, more than anything, that it feels like home. That when you’re in this person’s embrace, you feel as if your soul finally landed right where it is supposed to be. 

Her eyes scanned that passage over and over again, realizing that she had found the exact love her mother described. She had come back here thinking she was coming home. But this wasn’t home at all. Home was where he was. And he was back in LA, about to prepare for the biggest night of his life in 24 hours. And regardless of whatever trust needed to be rebuilt and conversations needed to be had, she could not allow herself to miss it. She could not allow herself to not show up for him.

Raven scrambled to find her phone as it was hidden beneath sheets of paper. She scrolled through, praying she had not deleted a long forgotten group thread that housed one number she had once thought she would never need but now was the most important phone number in the world. 

She almost shouted praises to God when she found it, clicking the call button on the unsaved number. She paced up and down beside her bed as every agonizing ring dragged on. 

“Didn’t think I’d see your name pop up on my phone ever again.” 

Raven let out a sigh of relief as her voice filled her ears. “I know… me either. But I need a favor.” 

“Does it involve a certain award show tomorrow night?” 

“Yes. Is it too late?” 

“Yea it is.” she knew Alex could hear the tiny sigh of sadness she let out. “For anyone but me. I’ve earned enough favors around here to create a miracle or two.”

“Really?? Cause I need like more than one or two miracles… a dress, hair, makeup… hell a flight from Charlotte to make it back in time. Without him knowing?”

“Consider all of it done. Hope you don’t mind getting up at the ass crack of dawn though.” Alex asked, Raven hearing the smile in her tone. 

“For him… I’ll get up anytime.” 

“Good. Then I'll take care of everything... I'll have to tell his mom but she'll love this. And probably be happy as hell that she doesn't have to go anymore. I'll text you details in an hour."

"An hour?? That's all you need??"

"You're new here so I'm gonna choose to not be offended by that."  

"Noted." She was about to hang up when she stopped herself. “Hey… Alex? Thank you.” 

“Don’t mention it. Seriously. Just make sure your ass is on that plane and in LAX tomorrow when Allen picks you up, got it?” 

Raven chuckled. “Yea I got it. See you tomorrow.”

Tag List: @readinghere2023 @blackerthings @prettyisasprettydoes1306 @physicxal @purplehairgawdess @miyuhpapayuh @rueruesclues @geemamii @certifiedlesbianbaddie @pipsqueak-98 @nyifly22 @destinio1 @twocentaur @gopaperless @musicisme333 @roguekiki @majesticbrownjawn @taurusqueen83 @mysteryuz @miamormilan @itsknor-thedeep @naj-ay444 @mads-grace4 @nayaesworld @kholdkill @msniaimani @nccu-rnc @apenasumlug4r @dezzy154

***

A/N: So now will y'all stop yelling at me LOLOL our good sis is going back to her man! We love to see it! How surprised do we think Michael's going to be? Part 11.2 will be the Oscars! Drop a comment and let me know what you thought! And as always, thanks for reading!

[darlingian]

tag game tuesday <3

thanks for the tag and making this week's game @deedala! Another this or that! The rules are simple: here's two things, you must choose one from between them!! aaand go! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

iced coffee or hot coffee?- iced coffee 🥤💅

iced tea or hot tea?- hot tea

lemonade or sweet tea?- lemonade

minty gum or fruity gum?- minty gum unless its the now discontinued peach Extra stick gum.

pasta or potatoes?- pasta. pasta is love. pasta is life.

olives or pickles?- olives.

rice or bread?- rice.

cookies or brownies?- chocolate chip homemade cookies. But most store bought brownies are better than storebought chocolate chip cookies.

hand written reminders or phone reminders?- handwritten

pull-over hoodie or zippy hoodie?- For being cozy around the house, pull over. For fashion? Zippy.

jeans or sweatpants?- Jeans. (I know, I'm sorry, I just hate how sweats feel.)

flip-flops/thongs or slides?- neither. I get blisters with both. birkenstocks only for sandals. lolol

paperback book or ebook?- physical book supremacy. (but I have an ebook for fic. lol)

enemies to lovers or fwb to lovers?- enemies to lovers! (but they gotta be real enemies. Not just dislike each other.

only one bed or fake dating?- fake dating is so goooooooood.

hurt/comfort or whump?- BOTH. Don't make me choose!!!

mutual pining or amnesia?- mutual pining. (but i have some amnesia faves!)

cannon compliant or alternate universe?- canon.

soulmate au or sports au?- im kinda meh about both.

celebrity au or coffeeshop au?- I think the only celeb AU I've read is Cooperative Gameplay. And that one is so damn good.

one-shot or longfic?- i freaking love a good oneshot.

AND FINALLY....😈

milkovich or gallagher?- Gallagher. <333 @michellemisfit @too-schoolforcool @mickeysgaymom @creepkinginc @gardenerian @heymacy @heymrspatel @gallawitchxx @juliakayyy @metalheadmickey @sam-loves-seb @callivich @stocious @deathclassic @deklo @crossmydna @mmmichyyy @sickness-health-all-that-shit @whatwouldmickeydo @lupeloto

[midesastremanifiesto]

Lecfosis are truly one of the worse fanbases. Had to block a lot of them on tumblr cos they keep spewing a lot of hate on other drivers’ tags especially Carlos’.

Charles is a talented driver but it is very arrogant and disrespectful of them to think Charles is better than 4-time WDC Seb Vettel or 7-time WDC Lewis. Maybe Charles should try to win at least 1 WDC first before they declare him as better than 2 racing legends? Lolol.

It’s quite laughable that Lecfosis think Lewis will play second fiddle to Charles and help Charles win the WDC. I’ve also seen many of the Lecfosis using racist slurs towards Lewis. Despite his multiple achievements, elevating this sport to a global audience and being at the top of this sport, Lewis is constantly treated with disrespect and racism by many of the rival fanbases. Which is truly terrible. I’m not surprised why Lewis’ fanbase are so protective of him.

If Carlos does go to Williams next year, I hope he thrives and the team values him. He’s a great driver and I hope Fred regrets all the rude things he has said about Carlos to the media. I also hope Ferrari does not succeed next year lolol, mainly cos of the Lecfosis, and Fred thinking he currently has 1.5 drivers (a disrespectful way of saying Carlos is worth only 0.5 driver). If Ferrari does win anything next year, hopefully only Lewis wins lolol.

sorry for this rant 😅 felt like sharing my thoughts about this current situation. Hope you have a good day ahead 💛

Don't worry for the rant, I love rants!!

Lecfosi are delulu if they think Lewis is going to play second fiddle to anyone. This being said, I think Charles might have an advantage at the beginning because he's been in the team for so long, so if Lewis doesn't addapt well at the start, they might not be as close as someone could think (and that doesn't mean Charles is better than Lewis by any means, but going to a new team is always difficult).

I'm not going to lie, I can't wait for the civil war between Lecfosi and Team LH. Also I hope Ferrari flops, that's the most important thing (they wont, but I have hope).

[semperama]

post the current first sentence(s) of your wips!

I was tagged by the lovely @powerful-owl! <3 I don't have many WIPs right now, but here they are nevertheless!

As he comes up over the ridge, Max looks down on the farmhouse nestled among the blue-green foothills and lets out a weary sigh.

It’s raining when Max bursts out the back door.

George can’t say he’s shocked when he comes back to the table and finds it empty.

They stumble through the door, drunk on adrenaline and lack of sleep, and Daniel doesn’t remember he has his own hotel room until Max flops down in the middle of the bed and spreads his arms and legs out like a starfish.

Whether any of these will ever be finished and whether these will still be the first sentence when they are remains to be seen lolol.

I'm not sure who's been tagged so sorry if I'm getting you twice, but I'll tag @apeacebone, @trailsofpaper, @toastandvegemite, @lilyrizzy, and @missyourflight

[crimson-calligraphyx]

21: IDWT$

A/N: I'm running out of ideas for titles to name these damn chapters lolol and one of my readers and I joked about naming one IDWT$, so...here ya go

Noah

I’m such an asshole.

I tried my best to apologize to Liv before she took off back to her place, but she didn’t so much as glance my way. Rightfully so.

It was incredibly awkward when I made my way back into my house. You could see the tension. You could cut it with a butterknife, that’s how tight it was pulled. No one said a word to me as I helped with putting away the food and clearing the decorations, and I felt the guilt build more and more with each item I handled. Liv had put a lot of effort into this, and it was clear how ungrateful I was.

I sat on the edge of my bed, twirling the card that Olivia had thrown at me before she stormed off. I must’ve read the little birthday note on the backside a million times before I finally scanned the QR code, which only made me feel worse about my actions the second I laid eyes on the image. It was a picture of a gift receipt for the guitar I had been eyeing for months—I couldn’t justify spending the money on it since I already had a few guitars lying around. This was incredibly thoughtful of her, and I proved to everyone, and myself, that I didn’t deserve it with the way I treated her.

After several unsuccessful attempts of calling her, I groaned and flopped back against the mattress. I decided to give her space for the night, accepting the fact that I wasn’t going to get even a wink of sleep, knowing the uncertainty of her wellbeing would keep me up all night. I couldn’t stand the thought of her crying all night or maybe even relapsing because of me again.

When the sun began to rise with birds singing their morning tunes along with it, I had enough of tossing and turning. I made my way over to Liv’s place, reciting the words that I wanted to tell her over and over in my head, hoping she would at least give me the time of day to apologize. It was early, and I knew she would be annoyed that I woke her up, but I just couldn’t stand it anymore.

Her having given me a spare key, I let myself into her condo and made my way to her room. I could just barely make out the shape of her from the small amount of sunlight peeking through her blinds. She was tucked into a ball while clutching the stingray stuffie to her chest, breathing deeply as she slept. I couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corner of my lips, admiring how precious she was.

As I carefully sat on the edge of her bed, I took notice of how puffy her eyes were—my stomach dropped when I realized it was from crying. Crying because of me. I sighed quietly as I brushed her bangs away from her face, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. I watched her eyes twitch ever so slightly to the touch, waiting to see if she’d stir. When she doesn’t, I continued running my fingers through her hair delicately, enjoying how soft her locks were.

She lets out the tiniest whine, rolling her face into her pillow, indicating she was starting to wake up now. She loosens her hold on the stuffed animal, draping her arm across my lap blindly. I chuckled quietly as she pulls herself closer to me, nuzzling her face against the side of my thigh. “Why are you here?” She mumbles without opening her eyes. “I wanted to apologize for last night,” I keep my voice low, still playing with her hair as I waited for a response.

“I’m waiting,” she mutters after a moment of silence. I snorted, amused with the sass she gave me while half asleep. Her lips curl ever so slightly, telling me she was just being funny. “I’m sorry for blowing things way out of proportion, Liv. I hope you know it wasn’t anything personally against you.” She peeks her eye open, “Could’ve fooled me.” “I mean it,” I say, still combing my fingers through her hair. “Birthdays have always been hard for me, and I let that out on you when I shouldn’t have. When I helped clean up, I saw how much effort you put into the party and realized how ungrateful I had been. I appreciate every little detail you put into last night, and I’m so sorry for acting the way I did.”

She inhales deeply, rolling onto her back to stretch before sitting up and facing me. “The guys told me that what I did was fine, that it wasn’t too overboard with the whole birthday theme,” she tells me sadly. “And it wasn’t, I just let my past influence my reaction,” I take her hand in mine, running my thumb over her knuckles. “It doesn’t excuse my actions, but may I explain why I don’t like celebrating?” She nods shallowly. “I grew up in a very religious household,” I start, watching her furrow her brows, trying to understand where I was going with this. “My birthday being on Halloween didn’t sit well with my family. They associate the day with worshipping the devil, so they refused to celebrate my birthday in fear that I was the devil himself.”

Her mouth drops. “You’re joking. Please tell me you’re joking!” I shook my head 'no' and let out a sarcastic laugh. “Nope. So when I saw in school that all these kids were getting presents from their family and friends on their birthdays, I started to feel left out. I remember begging my parents to let me have a birthday party one year, but they still refused. I felt that their ‘God’ was more important to them than their own flesh and blood.” “I’m so sorry, Noah. I had no idea,” she whispers, putting her hand on top of mine and giving me a firm squeeze. I shook my head, “Please, don’t feel bad. It just put a sour taste in my mouth, and by the time I had friends who wanted to celebrate it for me, I didn’t want it because I resented my family so much for it. It has nothing to do with you, but everything to do with me handling my past.”

The sun was now beginning to brighten up her room more and I could see the tears starting to gloss over her eyes. “Nope, no, no, no. Stop that,” I chuckled, cupping her face in my hands. “We’re not starting the day off with you crying, especially because of me.” She giggles, nodding in my hands. I bring her face to mine, giving her a firm kiss as she wraps her arms around my waist. "One more thing," I say as I pull away from her. "Hm?" "I'm giving you money for that damn guitar; you did not need to spend that kind of money on me." She laughs and shakes her head, "I don't want the money, Noah. You deserve it after all you've done for me."

We bickered playfully about whether I deserved it or not from the way I reacted, poking and prodding each other until we both gave up. Exhaustion finally consumed me; I laid down and pulled her into my arms to catch some much-needed z's.

-

Olivia

I couldn't help the delight I felt as I breathed in the aroma floating about in the kitchen. The comforting scent of vanilla with just a hint of cinnamon emanating from the batch of cookies I had baked filled the room, along with the cheerful holiday music playing softly in the background.

It was Thanksgiving Day, and it was my first time cooking part of the feast single-handedly. Well, I had Noah's assistance, which helped keep my mind from the looming realization that I wouldn't be celebrating with my family. This was the first real holiday without my dad, and every time I checked to see how the turkey was coming along, I felt my heart sink just a tad. He was always the one in control of the bird, fending it off with a playful swat of the oven mitt atop our heads when we neared the oven.

I laughed sadly to myself at the memory just as Noah emerged behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist in a comforting embrace. He placed his chin on my shoulder, swaying us side to side ever-so-slightly. "How are you holding up?" he asks, knowing that this past week had been hard for me. I shrugged, "I'm okay. Just wish my parents could be here, ya know?" My mom didn't want to come out, worried she wouldn't be able to handle the holiday without my dad. I understood, but it still dampened my mood.

He gives me a kiss on my cheek. "I know, love," he says gently, spinning me around. "Dance with me." I shoot him a questioning look as he takes my hand in his, extending it out and plants the other on my hip. His lips curled into a gentle smile as his chocolate eyes glistened while gazing into mine. I giggled and placed my free hand on his shoulder as he started our waltz, "I have two left feet, so bear with me." He breathes out a laugh, "Don't worry, I'll lead."

I couldn't help but laugh at myself as I tried my best to follow him, occasionally stepping on his feet. I apologized each time I stepped on him, but he would simply smirk and continue to dance until I eventually figured it out.

He guides me away from him with his arm and spins me, quickly bringing me back to him. I laughed when I collided with his chest, only to have him lower me into a dip. I lost my footing briefly, but he wrapped his arm around my waist and caught me while brandishing a wide smile, his eyes crinkling in the outer corners. After giving me a firm kiss, he brings me back to my feet and places his forehead against mine. My heart swelled as he looked at me with adoration, my whole body buzzing with joy.

The action reminded me of how my parents used to do the same on holiday mornings, and how it always put a smile on my face seeing how much they loved each other. Even though I could feel the love that Noah was portraying towards me, there was still a bit of nostalgia that plagued me. I abruptly shoved my face against his chest as tears brimmed my eyes and let out a single sob when the memory consumed me.

"What's wrong, love?" Noah asks quietly and starts to knead his fingers through my hair. "This just reminds me of my parents," I say, muffled by his shirt. "I miss them so much." "I'm sorry," he whispers before pressing a kiss to the top of my head. He let me cry it out for a minute, holding me in a warm embrace until there was a knock at my door. Stifling my cries, I picked my head up and wiped the tears from my cheeks and apologized for crying. "It's okay, Liv," he assures me while rubbing my upper arm. "Let's bring the guys in before they break down the door." I chuckled, nodding my head in agreement as I made my way to the door.

I greeted the boys one by one as they carried in a piece of the potluck each, happy to have their company; they had become a second family to me.

I was surprised when Vic came in through the door since she told me she was heading back home for the holidays. I was taken aback even further when my mom emerged holding her signature apple crisp that was to be baked later. I waited for her to set the dish down before throwing myself on her. We hobbled back and forth as we squeezed each other breathless.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her while trying to hold back tears of joy. "You said you didn't want to come out!" She laughs, "I didn't until someone reached out and convinced me." I beamed over at Vic, but she shook her head 'no' and waggled her eyebrows while smirking. She thumbs to her right while cocking her head in the same direction. "Noah?" Arms folded over his chest, he mirrored Vic's smug expression and nodded.

"That boy really cares about you, Heather—err—Olivia," my mom informs me. Fresh tears welled up at her words, appreciating the fact that she understood that I no longer went by my legal first name. I wrapped myself around her again, tears spilling down my cheeks while she held me with the motherly embrace that I missed dearly. "So, do you believe me now?" she asks. I pulled myself away from her, shooting her a quizzical look. When she winks, it dawns on me what she meant. I let out a giggle and wiped under my eyes, nodding. "You were right all along. My eyes are blue, and I got them from you."

"Enough with the sap, the turkey's done and I'm starving," Victoria announces, causing the whole room to erupt in laughter. "She hasn't changed a bit, huh?" Mom says as she rubs my back and walks us to the kitchen where Noah was now carving away at the turkey. I laughed, "No, not at all. You should hear the voicemail she left me after she got hit by that car."

After we had finished dinner and the Nick's parted ways, Jolly, my mom, and Vic hung around as the warm scent of brown sugar and fresh apples filled my condo. Mom had put the apple crisp in the oven as we nearly finished dinner like she always did when I was growing up but was disappointed when the guys left without trying it. She understood that they had their own families to spend time with, but I could see the hint of defeat on her face.

I took it upon myself to dig into the dessert, breaking through the golden streusel and scooping five heaping spoonful's into their own separate bowls. I topped two of them off with vanilla ice cream, which immediately began melting down the sides and swirling into a pool with the molten apples. I brought one over to mom, watching her face perk up as she took it. "Thank you, honey," she smiles up at me, her eyes now glistening with joy. "You didn't have to serve me." I returned the smile, waving her off. "It's the least I could do. I'm really glad you could make it out."

I wasn't sure if the others wanted ice cream on theirs or not, so I left the remaining three alone, grabbing my own and taking a seat next to my mom. I waited for everyone else to take their desserts and join us at the table, wanting to witness their expressions when they took their first bite. Mom makes a mean apple crisp; Jolly and Noah were in for a treat.

Noah glances at me suspiciously when he sees I'm staring at him smugly, narrowing his eyes at me while bringing his first spoonful to his mouth. "Careful, it's—" I began to warn him. "Hot!" Noah finishes my sentence, eyes growing wide as he fans his mouth with his hand, trying to cool it off. I cover my mouth with my hand trying to hide my snicker as he continues to let it sit in his mouth, exhaling harshly while still chewing it. His face begins to redden, his eyes watering. "It's not funny," he whines, but chuckles at himself after he finally swallows it. "I'm sorry," I laugh, "but everyone does that their first time trying it." My mom playfully swats me on the arm. "Olivia, don't be mean," she scolds me, but begins to laugh herself.

I watched Jolly take a very hesitant bite before I asked them what their verdict was. Judging by the groans they expelled after savoring their first bites, I took it as them thoroughly enjoying the dessert. I looked at my mom who was smiling ear to ear—I knew she was overjoyed by them enjoying the apple crisp, which in turn made me feel elated.

I may not have spent Thanksgiving with my immediate family, but I have never felt more at home than I do right now. I was more than thankful for my second family.

|Chapter 22|

[muff1nqwq]

sorry i havent been around in a while, things have gotten crazy, im sure you get it. my first day of being a sophmore (10th grader) starts tomorrow and while im not extremely nervous it is also 11:50 at night and i have to wake up at 6:15, ignore the specific time as it is never specific, its an estimate at best.

i have this thing called band camp that has been going on for the last couple of days. basically i play my trumpet (her name is Margaret) for 4 hours in preparation for football season (im in the band, we have to play at football games) idk where you are ofc, so to clarify, this is american football. the concussion sport.

i picked up tarot reading and it's super silly, i would recommend. its funny to think that the cards are supposed to have their own personality. id say that i dont see it, but they told me to shut up once, sassy ass cards...

i havent been hurting myself as much because of how busy i am + how cold it is. a thing about me is that i cannot ever cvt when its cold. maximum discomfort. 0/10 stars. not funky fresh.

my ex and i started talking less often and im kinda glad it happened, which might be mean to say, considering were friends still, but theres so much to do, to worry about that i can barely keep up with things.

anyways, i think thats most of it. btw if you ever dont know how to respond to one of my rambles, id love it if you might just add your own story? about anything!!!! i like hearing from you!

— rin

hiya Rin :DDD I missed u!!

GL in school!! I'm gonna b a Freshman this year and I'm excited-nervous abt it... At least its gonna b the same ppl ( even though the principal warned us abt a rush of new students, but its better than going 2 a brand new school ) I gotta fix my sleep schedule so bad, I stay up till 3am and wake up at noon :'3

:0000 IM IN BAND TOO :DD I play clarinet :3 ( btw I love how u called football the "concussion sport" XDDDD )

Tarot reading sounds so cool :000 i rlly like astrology and numerology ( I'm an Aquarius :3 )

4 me it's still hot af here, even though snow melted like 3 weeks b4 summer break :> but yesterday I went 2 go walk my doggo and right as we were turning back, it started raining, and my dumbass didn't bring a jacket and I was wearing an oversized T-shirt and shorts, so I was running ( in flip-flops ) 4 ten mins in the rain tryna get back 2 my house lolol X'3

That sounded like a line from a book I read a few yrs ago XD ( but I hope ur still finding time 4 urself :) )

A few nights ago I was rlly, RLLY hyped up 4 highschool... Same school, few new kids, new teachers, maybe a new rep... Then I thought abt what my rep would b like. I mean tbh I don't mind if I'm known as a weirdo furry theatre kid, but last yr my ex-bestie spread nasty rumours bout me, manipulate me and my friend group, and overall make everyone avoid me. At least my friends knew what she's all abt and stuck w me 4 the whole yr, but like... What if the rumours spread 2 the new kids and bad stuff happen?? So then I stayed up thinking bout that and at 2am I multiswiped 10 times and I named the cvt Jeffo :3 ( I haven't cvt in weeks cuz I didn't have many Band-Aids left )

Have a good day Rin :DDD

-Muffin

[singitforthegirls]

EDIT : wait, now that I've had time to process shit. Damn, do I love when they are Dorito shaped. XD Smaaaaaall waist.

Lolol. I'm sorry Ryan but I just can't with the flip flops. My ace ass just started thinking about how annoying those are.

Like between your toes and how you both have to be lifting your whole body with your arms AND keep those toes clenched so the flip-flops don't fall off!

Also how sometimes the flip-flops go all weird (kinda bend) and when he's lowering himself down if he doedn't bend his feet right one of those might get in the way and then you can fuck up an ankle. Lmao.

Hey, I don't have anxiety for nothing. XD And adhd (&possibly autistic) so my balance is the worst & worst case scenarios. Lmfao.

Also it's just dorky! 🙈🙈🙈

But yay ses 8!

[amimons]

Me waking up to more...miraculous instagram posts 

[bellafragolina]

Hello there beautiful!! I hear you're back open for business. Can I get an order of a terrible bed partner (ie hogs all the blankets, takes up the whole bed, sleep kicks/punches, etc) with Ingo Bingo, Kermet the Emmet and Colress/Maxie (I love science boys) which ever you're are more comfortable with writing for. Please and Thank you!

In all seriousness though, lovely to see you again and to read your writings! Hope you are having a grandbull day!

hello!! thank you for the compliments, and the cute pun!! i love it, so cute!! also, coming right up!! *yelling at the back like there's someone else there* YO TONY WE GOT AN ORDER OF THE BED KICKER AND COVER HOG WITH THE BOYS!!

🍓🍓🍓

Ingo:

Ingo is used to Emmet crawling into his bed at night, or vice versa, and Emmet is no better. So sadly he is used to terrible bed partners. He's a pretty light sleeper, but losing the blanket doesn't really bother him that much. He's warm with or without. But when you nudge against him and kick him in his sleep, that's another matter

When he wakes up to your sleepy flailing, he just sighs and rolls over, laying on top of you to help pin you down. You squirm a little, but usually can't do much, so he gets peace and cuddles while you stop moving. An overall win in his book.

Should you take up the whole bed, Ingo doesn't mind. He actually enjoys waking up to find you sprawled on top of him in some way. He finds it cute you sought him out in your sleep (even if that's not technically the case, don't tell him, let him feel warm and fuzzy about it). He'll carefully peel you off, kiss your face, and let you take up all the bed space as he readies for work

Emmet:

Emmet is a bad sleep partner. He does everything you do, so sleeping is an MMA fight most nights. Not that either of you two wake up for it. You'll wake up in the morning looking and feeling like you both had a brawl, but nah, you both just flail in your sleep

Emmet is one to get huffy over blanket hogging. He gets cold easily, so he tries to burrow up and conserve warmth how he cans. If you steal the covers in your sleep, he's yanking them off of you so he can meld himself into your skin to stop you from doing it again. He gets blankets, warmth, and cuddling, so win-win-win, and Emmet likes winning.

Should you take up the whole bed, Emmet doesn’t care. He stays right where he is, not budging for you, so you usually just end up flopping on top of him or pressing up into his side. But hey, more cuddling for Emmet, so yet another win to add to his endless repertoire, one he hopes to keep expanding

Colress:

You exasperate Colress, just a little bit. The man runs cold, so he needs the blankets protection to sleep, so you stealing them is detrimental to his sleeping. He loves you so much, but he is going to drop kick you off this bed if you insist on cutely rolling yourself into a burrito with the blanket while he freezes to death next to you. He will fight your sleeping form if it comes down to it (he doesn’t win)

Your sleep flailing he cares less about. He’ll sleep through an earthquake and he’ll sleep through you somehow maneuvering yourself beneath him as you both sleep side by side. You’ll wake up in funny positions that he either blushes or teases you about, but you’ll stay lying in them for a time, sweet almost uncomfortable cuddles in the morning

Taking up the bed is a similar experience. Colress lets you do as you please, but he rolls with your insistent pressing so you can and will shove him off the bed. Colress is usually so startled though that you can get away with the crime if you act caring and cooingly enough. Sleepy Colress doesn’t think past your soothing presence and warm embrace, so you can get away with murder in the early morning

🍓🍓🍓

Lolol thinking about the boys with a s/o that just flails in their sleep is so funny. Arms are going everywhere. Legs too. You’re getting punched, sorry.

~Renee

[ohworm-writes]

hi hi~! not sure if requests are open, but can I ask for sniper mask x a kind, motherly s/o who loves kuon as a daughter/younger sister, and whenever kuon gets in trouble all of s/o's nerves go MOM MODE and she like decimates whoever is trying to kill kuon? sorry just an idea that popped in my head lolol

High-Rise Invasion/Tenkuu Shinpan: Sniper Mask Boyfriend Drabble

high-rise invasion/tenkuu shinpan masterlist

‼ Sniper Mask with a s/o who is motherly towards Kuon ‼

Featuring: Sniper Mask, Yuri Honjo, Mayuko Nise, Kuon Shinzaki

Warnings: blood, minor gore, injury

a/n - sorry this took a bit dear, but i hope you enjoy it! a little shorter than i would have liked, but fun to write nonetheless!

content below the cut!

even before you had started dating Sniper Mask, you had always loved Kuon as a daughter

she was taken into this world at an age younger than yourself

she had her whole life ahead of her

and yet, she was subjected to the horrors of the High Rise world

you always made it a point to look out for her, protect her

Sniper Mask adored your motherly instincts towards Kuon

the way you did everything to keep her happy

as well as teaching her lessons she needed to know to survive here

he wouldn’t lie, he found it quite attractive

so when you started dating him, you and Kuon got even closer

the two of you would ramble about him for far too long than you should’ve

but it was all in good fun

you made sure that she was still able to be a kid while she was here

you always found a way to sneak her out of repercussions from her actions

maybe not the most responsible choice, but what are they gonna do?

that was, until a powerful mask came and attacked your group

You heard another loud shot, followed by a bullet shell clinking against the concrete roof of the high rise. You held yourself against the wall, Kuon by your side, fear evident in her eyes.

“What are we going to do?!” She whisper-yelled at you, tears pricking at her eyes. You looked over the edge of the wall, seeing the mask attempting to slash at Mayuko, Yuri, and your boyfriend.

“I’m sure everything will be alright.” You tried to reassure her as your turned back to her. You heard yelling from the others, panicked, you looked back over the wall. To your misfortune, the mask was running straight towards the two of you, a bloodied sickle in their hand.

You braced yourself in front of Kuon, holding her behind you as you got ready to take the hit, but one sidestep from your attacker let them cut a long gash down Kuon’s arm. Her high-pitched scream resonated in your ears.

Everything around you muffled, except for her screams. Something inside you clicked, a fire, and the next thing you knew you had disarmed the mask, cutting pen their neck with their own weapon. The lifeless body flopped to the ground, your chest heaving.

Without missing a beat, you turned back to Kuon, ripping off a clean portion of the sweater you were wearing and wrapping it around her wound. “That gash is deep, you’ll need stitches. I’ll help with it the second we get back. Are you alright? Did they get you anywhere else?”

Through your ramble, you didn’t even hear the footsteps of the other members of your group running up to the two of you. While Yuri and Mayuko were focused on the dead body at your feet, blood pooling around it, Sniper Mask was more focused on your actions towards Kuon. Something about it made him warm, happy.

He knew, without a doubt, you would protect that girl with your life. Whether or not that was a good thing, he didn’t know.

[durrtydawg]

I Think We've Got Chemis-tree (Part 3: Sniffles and Small Talk)

(Sam Drake x F!Reader miniseries)

A/N: Here’s the third part of my little festive series...There’s probably only going to be one or two more chapters, depending on how efficiently I manage to write it lolol. This one’s a bit rushed, but i’m over it.

Enjoy! <3 [also available on ao3]

Part 1: Candle Store | Part 2: Flu | Part 4: New Year, New Us?

Summary: Still recovering from your mutual illness, the pair of you decide to watch a festive film as suggested by Sam. You end up chatting more than watching the movie, leaving a few interesting thoughts floating around.

Word count: 1.2k | Warnings: None, apart from usual swearing

Three: Sniffles and Small Talk

“Here ya go.”

“Thanking you.” You sniff with a lazy smile, taking a steaming mug of tea from Sam.

You push yourself up with an elbow, holding the mug close to your face so the steam decongests your nose.

“What bit are we on now?” Says Sam, sitting beside you on his couch.

You take a small sip, scalding your tongue - a small compromise for how good it made your throat feel. 

You swallow the tea, contorting your face at the temperature before you reply. “They’ve just snuck into Alexandra Palace. They’re ice skating- or at least, he is, and she’s trying to.”

The pair of you watch the TV screen as Sam sinks back into the couch, getting comfortable. He brings you towards him with an arm around your shoulder so you’re resting on his side. You swish the blanket wrapped around you so that it goes over his knee.

“When I asked for a Christmas movie suggestion, this was the last thing I thought you’d choose, to be honest.” You speak, taking another sip of your tea. “Would’ve taken you for more of a ‘Die Hard’ kind of guy.”

You would be more inclined to understand Sam’s choice if it was more of a classic festive film, but 2019’s ‘Last Christmas’? The sappy romantic comedy featuring a load of Wham! songs? Certainly not.

Sam laughs through his nose. “Well, firstly, ‘Die Hard’ isn’t a Christmas movie, and second-”

“Hmm, I beg to differ.”

“Shush. Secondly, underneath my rugged, strong exterior,” his joke-boastfulness draws a chuckle from you, “I have a soft spot for rom-coms. Fills a gap, so to speak.”

Fills a gap? “Fair enough.” You continue, smiling in thought as Sam looks down at you. He resumes his viewing of the TV, absent-mindedly stroking his thumb over your shoulder.

“Plus, and I’ll admit this only to you, I’m a bit of a ‘Wham!’ fan.”

“What?” You giggle. “Now that is hard to believe. You’re telling me you, like, shower to ‘Wake me up before you go-go’ or something?”

He nods, furrowing his eyebrows as he looks up to the ceiling in thought. “Oh, yeah. ‘Club Tropicana’ when I’m getting dressed. ‘I’m Your Man’ is great when you’re on a run, too.”

You snigger at the thought. “I…I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not.”

“I guess it’ll remain a mystery forever.” He grins down at you.

Your shoulders shake with laughter, which progresses into a cough. You sit up, and Sam takes the mug out of your hands to prevent you from spilling it, with a sympathetic grimace, before he begins to pat your back.

Your cough settles down and you flop back onto the couch.

“Ugh.”

“Ugh indeed.” Sam responds with a sniffle. He’s still a little nasally, though far better than you are; hence for the past two days he’s had you holed up in his apartment together to recover. “Sorry, sweetheart. It’s my fault.”

“Yeah it is.” You grumble with a sniff, though you’re not serious. You take your tea back from Sam and take another swig. “Nah,” You swallow, “Someone needed to take care of your incompetent ass, and I knew there was the risk that I’d catch something from you, so really it’s my fault.”

“Incompetent?” He questions, hand raised to his chest in feigned upset. He scoots himself around, hanging his legs off of the arm of the couch, laying his head onto your lap. “It’s almost as if I’ve not been making you world-class cups of tea every other hour for the past few days.”

You laugh. “It’s good tea, I suppose.”

The pair of you sit in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, watching the movie. Looking down at Sam, you notice a twitch on his lips; a warm smile forms as he watches the main character, Katarina, make in idiot of herself on the ice rink.

“When you’re better, I’m gonna take you skating.” Sam says, eyes still glued to the screen.

“Pfft. No chance.” You reply, looking at him. “You ever seen Bambi?”

Sam chuckles knowingly.

“Yeah, well he’s olympic standard compared to me. I don’t think I could deal with that kind of embarrassment. Or broken limbs.”

He turns his head to look up at you.

“So do I get to add ice skating to the very short list of things that I’m better than you at?”

You smile, unsure of what he means. “Short? That’s got to be a pretty long list, surely?”

Sam wets his lower lip. “So far, there’s;” He holds up a thumb, “ice skating, quiz shows, playing the guitar, reaching high up things, being miserable, and... dressing badly.” You scrunch your face up as he adds up on his hand.

“Bullshit. I dress almost as bad as you most of the time.”

He snickers. You continue.

“Any physical activity is something you’re infinitely better at-”

“Oooh, any?” He wriggles his eyebrows suggestively. You jostle your legs to shake him for interrupting. Ass.

“Gross. Anyway, you’re also far more intelligent than I’ll ever be, aaaand…” You pause to think. “Oh yeah. You can flirt your way out of any situation, which annoys the fuck out of me. Why can’t you face the consequences of your actions like the rest of us?”

He shrugs with a half-smile. “Can’t help being drop-dead gorgeous.”

You shake your head as he turns back to the screen. You drink your tea. Fair play, Samuel.

Sam watches the main characters share an embrace, and he sniffs. Oddly, he doesn’t feel too upset. Sure, he misses the intimacy and contact of his ex, but at this very moment he’s content enough not to have his mind drift into a rift of jealousy-fuelled misery.

“They’re cute.” He hears you murmur, and he can’t help but smile and nod in response.

“Mm.” He mutters, turning his head ever so slightly. His eyes turn you as you’re completely absorbed by the TV. He takes a deep breath, revelling in the amount of comfort he’s feeling.

He wants to say something. Some sort of expression of gratefulness for your constant companionship, or a ‘thank you’, for being there for him over the past few weeks. 

He appreciates everything you do and have done for him, but deep down he’s worried that he’s giving you nothing in return. 

He struggles with words at the best of times, but for some reason, right now he’s struggling to come up with something to say to you without coming across as too...well, sappy.

Fuck it, maybe he should just straight up tell you that he-

“Whatcha thinking about?” You sniff, looking at Sam who looks caught in some sort of intense daydream.

His eyes snap back into focus and make contact with yours. “N-Nothing.” He says, clearing his throat. His eyes flicker around, before they settle back on you again. You’re confused as he bites his lip.

“You look like Rudolph.” He finally says.

Nice save, He thinks.

“Huh?” You ask in surprise.

Sam smiles and pokes your nose. “Your nose is all red.”

You scrunch your face up, trying to look at your sore nose, which obviously doesn’t work.

“Whatever. At least I don’t sound like a duck.”

He laughs, turning back to the movie.

“Well, this duck and reindeer dynamic duo need to hurry up and get better so they don’t miss their upcoming New Year’s Eve party.”

“Oh god, I forgot about that. You think Elena will mind if I don’t make it?” You say.

"Yeah. She loves you. Besides, we'll both be good by then. Which would mean that I couuuld actually have my bed back."

"Hey! I said I was more than happy on the couch."

"I know, I know. Joking." He smiles, watching the film again.

“Hey, Sam.” You say, looking at your mug after a few beats.

“Hmm?”

You smile cheekily. “My tea’s cold.”

[simpingw0lfi3]

gamer boy

smut warning!

“Shh, you wouldn’t want your friends to hear you.” An eager but conniving smirk plastered on your face, loving the look of how the boy would bite his lip with the red tint painting his cheeks all the way to his ears. Yoosung was seated on his gaming chair with his headset on, the mic near to his mouth as small huffs escaped from his lips. He supposedly had an appointment to play games with his friends today, but you couldn’t stand the fact that he was going to be stuck on his PC for the whole of Valentines Day without even taking you into consideration. You forbid it. You sat on his lap, occasionally grinding down on his crotch making him arch his head backwards violently, a hand over his mouth to prevent his friends from hearing his lustful moans. “You masochist, you’re actually enjoying this, aren’t you?” A finger trailed down his torso causing him to flinch, the bulge at contact with the fabric of your underwear only throbbing and growing larger. “Do you want me to help you with-” You bucked your hips and pressed down on his tent, earning a whimper from the puppy-like blonde, “that?” 

“Y-Yes, please...” Tears rimmed his eyes as he murmured, threatening to escape should you tease him any further.

“Yoosung? Are you okay?” A faint, digitalised voice leaked out from the headphones, someone you assumed was one of his friends that he had been playing LOLOL with. 

“Y-yeah- mhm~” You crawled between his legs and palmed his crotch, feeling the tent grow in your hand. He seemed more excited than usual; maybe the risk of being caught while he called his friends thrilled him. You leaned in, breath tickling the bare skin just above the waistline of his pants, his sensitiveness just putting him on edge as he expected something more. Biting onto the zipper, you pulled it down all while maintaining eye contact with the blonde boy, blood rushing to his cheeks as he watched you unzip and free his cock from the restraints of the fabric painfully slowly. You wanted to take it slow and make him feel good, something memorable on this special day. Just the way he liked it. Retracting the elastic band of his boxer briefs, his cock sprung free, throbbing in front of your face as it begged to be pleasured. “Y/n...”

“Mhm, I know.” You brought it closer to your mouth, grazing the tip on your lips before taking it fully in your mouth. Lapping its skin with your tongue, you could feel it throb inside of your mouth, Yoosung’s muffled moans echoing in your ear. The taste of his bitter pre-cum enveloped your mouth, encouraging you to continue. Eagerly, you hollowed your jaw, sucking as much as you can while your hands pumped up and down where you were unable to reach. 

“Fuck... I’m sorry Y/n!” Forcefully, he placed his hands on the back of your head and pushed you down, the tip of his cock hitting the back of your throat. Eyes rolled to the back of your head from the pleasure, moans being intercepted by your gagging as he mercilessly bobbed your head up and down. How sloppy his handling got and the string of sporadic moans signalled that he was close. As if he wanted to tell his friends on call that he had someone on Valentines Day, that he was feeling good of her own accord. “I’m gonna cum-!” A raspy slur of words escaped his mouth, back arching forward and thrusting his cock all the way to the back of your throat, ropes of his cum spurting down. At the end of his release, the man heavily panted, pulling your hair to take a look at your face, drunk on his arousal. Eyes lust incarnate, drooping and desperately begging for more. “You look so sexy...”

“Yoosung?” Another voice piqued up nervously after hearing everything, knowing exactly what had happened. 

“Sorry guys, I’ll play with you tomorrow.” Hastily, he disconnected from the call and picked you up bridal style, flopping you onto the bed as his eyes trailed down your body, worshipping every feature that turned him on so. “You, on the other hand, are going to be dealing with me until the sun rises.”

[mammonprotectionsquad]

hello, i would like to ask for a request. im new in this blog but i have seen that you do write for yoosung (which, i really like the way you characterise him), so may i suggest a writing of yoosung x mc where mc realises she actually has romantic feelings for him but is too afraid to say something and get rejected? please dont do it if its not of your liking 😊😊 (sorry for the english xx)

Thank you so so much, dear anon! And don't worry, the request is exactly of my liking :D I just hope I managed to reach four expectations for this 😊 and don't worry, your English is totally fine! 💕

Realizations

Yoosung x Reader

The phone vibrating in your pocket made you avert your attention from the laptop screen, heart skipping a beat as soon as you fished it out and saw who just sent you a message.

Ever since you joined the RFA, you'd gotten along best with Yoosung. He was sweet, not to say downright adorable, funny... There was not a single moment where you didn't enjoy talking to him.

Things got even better when you found out you were actually going to the same college, by bumping into each other in the hallway. Understandably the blonde was pretty confused when you dropped his name so casually, since he hadn't known what you looked like. Though soon enough confusion made room for surprise, followed by genuine joy.

Ever since then you two spent as much time together as possible. Lunch break, free periods... One of you always asked the other to hang out.

That day it was Yoosung who asked, telling you he had some free time now and was wondering if you'd want to grab something to eat with him.

Naturally you said yes, along with telling him that you were currently in the library, but would be with him as soon as you could.

When you shouldered your bag and left the library, you were already met with a big, if a little sheepish, smile. Making it sheer impossible not to smile right back.

"I uh... thought I'd come pick you up. The library was on my way anyway", he explained, at the same time casually grabbing your bag to carry it for you.

"My, what a gentleman you are", you chuckled, feeling your cheeks flush. Though you didn't hesitate to reach out and take his hand.

At that point it was nearly normal to do that. It didn't only give you a rush of happiness and made your heart beat faster, but it also helped you calm down. Especially when you were stressed about upcoming exams. Having him around in general was enough to achieve that, actually. But you've never questioned it.

It was nearly like he was your rock, an anchor. And you hoped you were something similar for him as well.

That's when it suddenly hit you like a brick to the head.

Shit, I fell in love with my best friend..., was all that went through your mind.

Thankfully he was too lost in telling you about his latest big Lolol raid to notice your internal freak out or how quiet you'd gotten all of a sudden.

You tried your best to act as normal as possible for the rest of the day. But as soon as you were back home? Your thoughts went a mile a minute, all while you paced around the place, hands occasionally ruffling through your hair.

"That's so stupid and cliché... I can't be in love with him! He... We... We're just friends. He probably doesn't feel the same about me."

Eventually you flopped down on the couch, dropping a pillow to your face and letting out a long sigh.

You couldn't tell him. Under no circumstances. Not only because you were wholeheartedly convinced your feelings were unrequited, but you also didn't want to risk losing your best friend, in case you should have the guts to confess.

If you'd just act normal, ignored the butterflies and the way your heart began to race at every interaction you had with him, you'd be able to get over it, sometime. Easy.

Or so you thought. No matter how hard you tried to pretend like nothing was going on, you still involuntarily distanced yourself a little from Yoosung, during the next couple days. You didn't even notice it yourself, but apparently he did. Because when you were on your way to head outside and spend your free period in the sun together, he rested a hand on your shoulder to stop you. Concern fairly visible on his face and it immediately made you feel somewhat guilty.

"Hey, are you okay? You've been a little off, lately..."

"Yeah, I guess I'm just a bit stressed and tired. Nothing to worry about", you tried to soothe him, even doing your best to smile convincingly.

What you hadn't expected was him pulling you into his arms without any warning, the action enough to make your heart beat hard and fast in your chest. It was impossible not to melt into the embrace and you felt yourself lean into him, your face buried on his chest.

"Stop cuddling your girlfriend and being disgustingly cute like that! Some of us don't need the painful reminder of how single they are", you heard one of his friends call out your way.

"Sh-shut up!", was all Yoosung stammered as a reply, pulling you just a little bit closer.

And you? You couldn't help but notice how he hadn't corrected his friend. That he hadn't told him you two weren't a couple. It did little to nothing to calm down the butterflies in your stomach. In fact, they actually went on a rampage. Leaving you to have to remind yourself about how you shouldn't get your hopes up...

You remained in that hug for a bit longer, before he finally let go, but was quick to take your hand as he gently pulled you along to the tree you usually rested under, when the weather was nice. His face as red as what you assumed yours must've been as well, from how flushed it felt.

For a while neither of you said anything, just sitting next to each other. Close, but the only physical contact you had were your intertwined hands, since Yoosung kind of refused to let go.

Platonic. It's all platonic. We've always held hands, it's normal. There's no deeper meaning behind it..., your thoughts began to run wild once again and you only really got pulled out of them, when the boy next to you cleared his throat rather awkwardly.

"So uh... I-I know we're friends and all, but uhm... W-would you maybe like to go on a date with me?"

"Huh?", was all you managed to get out. After all, the last thing you expected to happen was for him to ask you out.

"D-do you want to go on a date with me?", he repeated and you weren't entirely sure if it was his hand that got clammy, or your own from the shock and excitement of your feelings apparently not being unrequited. "Of course it's totally fine if you don't want to! It's just... I really like you and I've been trying to gather up the courage to-"

You decided to cut off his rambling by pretty much throwing your arms around his neck and sure enough, he did go quiet. Even needing a couple seconds until he was able to wrap his arms around your waist in return.

"I'd love to go on a date with you..."

Not only did you hear him let out a relieved sigh at your answer, but you could also feel him relax.

"Picnic sounds good?"

"Sounds amazing", you beamed, pulling far enough away to be able to look at him. And the bright smile he aimed at you was enough to make your breath hitch ever so slightly.

"I take care of the food and you pick a place. Deal?", he murmured, twirling a strand of your hair around his finger.

"Deal~"

As it turned out, there had been nothing to worry about to begin with. Seeing how you would actually be going out with the guy you fell head over heels for...

Masterlist I Masterlist II

If you'd like to get added to the tag list, please let me know 💕

@ayamewhump @the-purpleblushh @ultrasupernini @just-a-key @dis-gorl @otomaticallyobsessed @latte-delf @hopebunnywrites @duhsies

[dreaming-of-assclass]

AssClass Bedroom Headcanons: Part 2

Part 1 Here

Kataoka

Definitely has the neatest room.

Her room is very light-colored with a lot of white furniture because she loves how classy it looks.

Her floor has to be clear or else she’ll lose her mind.

Has pastel feminine bedspread and decor because she likes the frills and girly vibe.

Has lots of posters of her favorite swimmers and women she looks up to.

Even her books and school supplies on her desk are so organized.

Enjoys stepping onto her soft, warm fluffy rug in the mornings.

Okajima

Has a comfy bed but honestly, this boy lives on the mini couch seating instead.

Like 99% of the time, he’s crouching there doing homework or camera stuff. Or also flipping through magazines.

Has a big window with nice curtains so he can control the lighting for picture-taking purposes.

He has the most boring ass covers lmao, it’s like a thin sheet that he sleeps under. His female friends roast him all the time for it.

Has a couple bookshelves filled with textbooks and photography equipment!

There’s a couple of plants but they were gifts from Sugaya.

Overall the vibes are nice and cozy. Slightly hermit vibes but it’s all good.

Kayano

I’m sorry but this room is so gorgeous to me, I just had to give it to her.

So like she lives in an apartment as a 3-E student and she definitely would be able to afford a rlly nice one, with her money from acting.

The room has really lovely boho vibes, but it’s also rlly modern at the same time??

Has a very large window with a stunning view that she looks at often, in thought.

Keeps a couple books at her bedside, along with painkillers and manuscripts.

Tbh it’s somewhat neat because she can’t stand messiness. But it gets messy often because she has other things to focus on and she’s sad.

There’s a bunch of pudding wrappers all around on the floor.

Hayami

Her room is a little basic by these standards tbh, but it’s super comfortable.

It’s fairly spacious since she practices dancing in there sometimes.

Has a lot of windows because she likes natural sunlight. And at night, she keeps them open slightly to enjoy the sounds of the night, like crickets, cars passing by, etc

Owns so many adorable cat plushies that she keeps in her bed.

I’d say her room is pretty neat, but during her time in 3-E, I can see Hayami throwing things around more often. Like she has other things to think about.

Her furniture is all so aesthetic looking and pretty. Like the vibes are very pretty in the room overall.

Sugino

I’m so sorry y’all, but I feel like his bedroom would be plain af 😭

Like it’s Sugino lmao. I can’t see him really thinking about “aesthetic” or “decor” lol. BUT don’t fret, it’s still very charming in its own way!

It would be pretty small since in canon, his family lives in a certain type of public housing/apartments.

His bed frame would be the kind that’s very low to the ground. Which is nice so he can just flop onto there when he’s dead tired.

Has very thick black-out curtains to block any sunlight since the boy wants all the rest he can get.

Has a single desk for his PC and as a place to do schoolwork. Also where he can play some video games lol.

Would have a couple stuffed animals on his bed UwU.

Yoshida

I’m getting very suave vibes for his bedroom tbh. Like out of all the guys, he’s the best at decorating.

Given that his family isn’t very big, I wanna say he’d have a decently-spaced room.

There’s super cool lighting in the room with the lights he hung up, and his lamp. Like the ambience is just 👌

Has pictures of his family and friends framed and sitting on his dresser. It’s so sweet.

Also has a stuffed teddy bear that he got when he was kids and playing with Hara.

Tbh he’s barely in his room. He’s usually either with the class, squad, or working on his motorcycles.

Has many books on physics, mechanics engineering, etc in a single bookshelf in his room.

Kimura

Idk, my first thought was that he’d have a small-ish room that’s packed with lots of stuff.

I feel like Kimura is the type of gremlin who would lowkey hoard things lmao. Like it would sit in his drawer for 4 years before he decides what to do.

But yeah. I can see him with small shelves filled with various different things. One of them has some indoor workout equipment.

He has a desk that’s constantly cluttered, no matter how often he clears it. It also has his computer.

The only reason his room is ever clean is because his mother has cleaned it. As soon as the 3-E girls find this out, they absolutely give him a lesson on tidiness.

Has some stuffed animals that he bought to try impress Kurahashi but he ended up loving them for real lmao.

Ritsu

Ok so of course, Ritsu has probably made her own lil world and home digitally. But that means she’d also decorate/create her own bedroom!

I’m a big advocate for a Ritsu who always changes aesthetic but I think her bedroom is pretty easy to figure out.

First of all, it would be hella random lmao. Like the absolute weirdest items and decorations are just all around, on the floor, wall, etc lmaoooo.

THE BED HAS TO BE EXTREMELY COMFY WITH A CUTE SPREAD. This will be her main residing area when she binges K-Dramas and other shows she loves.

Also there’s a giant TV in the room lmao.

All of her books, games, and forms of entertainment are probably lying on the floor lolol.

Yeah it’s pretty messy. One of her classmates or teachers has to remind her to clean up.