#also hello 2am!! this is a new time for me

[dear-ao3]

greetings my friends, romans and fellow countrymen. the time has come once again for me to spin you a yarn of a ridiculous, but absolutely true, tale.

is it candles again, saph? nay.

delaware, then? regrettably, no.

it is a ghost.

as you may know, katya (the other mod on this account) and i have recently moved into an apartment together, which is something that should have never been allowed but alas someone gave us adult money the power to make silly decisions and we went buck wild.

said apartment is weird and old. it may have been a hotel at one point. the building is entirely crooked, and we have 70s parquet floors, popcorn ceilings and a heat lamp in our bathroom.

katya was at the apartment (hereafter referred to as "the popcorn palace") before i was and one night about a week ago called me at 9pm to say "holy shit bestie i think i just saw a mouse"

mice in apartment buildings are not uncommon. and i said as much.

katya searched the whole apartment for the mouse or evidence of mice and came up empty. it was only then that katya told me that he had been sitting in the dining room at the time of the mouse sighting and thought that he had seen it out of the corner of his eye. and, that he was prone to seeing things that weren't there. and he was also tired.

nevertheless !!! katya went down to the front desk and said hello we have a mouse and the front desk said ok bet an exterminator will be there on tuesday.

a few days goes by. there are no more mouse sightings.

and then i moved in.

the day of the move in i woke up at 6am, drove 3.5 hours with my dad blasting a playlist of billy joel, pitbull and children's music, scrubbed crusty vomit out of my sisters new dorm room's carpets for 11 hours and finally arrived at the popcorn palace at 1am. to put it simply, i was exhausted.

katya was not at the popcorn palace that night. this is a crucial detail.

i went to shower around 2am and afterwards was standing at the sink brushing my teeth. out of the corner of my eye. i see something small run across the carpet in the hall.

my first thought was holy shit its the mouse

my second thought was wait a minute did i really see it

i went into the hall, half naked, and searched for the mouse. i found nothing. and then i went to bed.

the following day when katya spawned in i said, oh by the way i may have seen the mouse, but it was 2am and i had been up for 20 hours and it was out of the corner of my eye.

and katya looked me in the eyes and said.

"hey bestie. what if its a ghost. what if we have a ghost mouse."

it is important to note that neither of us believe in ghosts.

we named the ghost mouse desperaux.

you may think this is the end of the tale, but no.

nay! weary reader!

last night katya, fennec (katyas partner) and i were all in the apartment. we were up late dealing with a situation. at about 12:50am we all said goodnight and went to bed.

i turned off the bathroom light, the hall light, and then closed my door and hopped on tumblr for a few minutes. katya and fennec were still awake and at about 1am i saw the hall light turn on. i was like hm. they must still be awake. and so i went to bed.

i woke up at 7am to get ready for work and noticed that the hall light was still on. i figured that they must have forgotten to turn it off.

i turn off the hall light on my way to the bathroom and go about business as usual. katya comes out of his room to go make coffee and i say casually.

"oh bestie, why was the hall light on all night?"

and katya says "i thought you turned it on"

and i said "i was already in my room when it turned on"

katya looked concerned.

and i said "i turned the light off before i went to bed and i heard you guys still awake and then the light went on so i figured you went into the hall and forgot to turn it off"

and then katya said, very slowly, with fear in his eyes, "we were still in my room when the light went on because fennec got up to go check that the door was locked and said "oh the hall light is on, saph must have turned it on"

we both stared at each other in mild shock horror. do we have a ghost? it seems likely. did the ghost mouse turn on the hall light? potentially.

the exterminator is coming today. hopefully he specializes in ghosts.

we will keep you updated.

[chuulyssa]

after dark. (l lawliet)

↷ A/N ─ apologies for slightly drifting off canon ryuzaki here. i mean, who doesn't like a dom detective /j also not proof-read yet ahhh i have school < / 3

also !! im switching to one post a week because of academic stress im sorry :(

★ COUNT ─ 1.6k

!! TAGS ─ l x reader, f!reader, dom!lawliet, smut, teasing, dry-humping, fingering, choking, degradation, praise kink, nicknames (good girl, bad girl, etc.), cockwarming, unprotected sex, p in v, slight (?) exhibitionism

★ PROLOGUE ─ you try to convince your workaholic boyfriend to take a break

SMUT, 18+, MDNI

You frowned at your boyfriend's hunched position on his chair, crouched in a highly uncomfortable posture with his knees bent against the palms of his hands and his head drooped in a trail of thought.

"Did you hear me?" you snapped your fingers in front of his eyes sternly.

He hummed in response, not looking up from the huge computer screen in front of him.

"Hello? Ryuzaki?" you repeated. "It's 2am. Bed. Now."

"Hm, no," he said softly. He lifted a finger to his chin and rubbed it thoughtfully, trying to decipher a new clue.

You felt frustrated at his lack of response, but you knew his work was equally important. Still, you leaned in closer to rest a hand on his shoulder.

"Honey, seriously, it's time for bed now. You've been at this for hours," you insisted.

He sighed, finally tearing his gaze away from the screen to meet your eyes.

"I can't just leave this case unsolved, Y/N," he explained in a small voice. "There is something here. Something really, really important. It seems so close to me yet so far away." Your concerned eyes met his tired ones. He continued, "This is crucial for the case. I cannot afford to slack off, and you know that, darling."

You took a deep breath in. Of course, you knew how significant this case was, not just to him but also to the entire police force. But that didn't mean you would allow him to jeopardize both his physical and mental health.

"You can pick it up tomorrow. Your health is much more important than this, Ryuzaki."

He shook his head vigorously and returned his attention to the computer screen. "I told you. I can't afford to slack off. At all."

Your frown deepened. So this was how he wanted to play. Well then, he'd get exactly what he wanted.

Without a word, you placed the still-filled coffee mug on the table a good distance away from him and tapped his bent knees. He raised his eyebrows and confusedly put his legs down. Immediately, you sat on his lap.

His fingers paused over the keyboard. Perfect. His attention was now fully on you.

"Is something wrong?"

You didn't answer, instead choosing to wrap your arms around his neck and lean in for a soft kiss. Ryuzaki widened his eyes and leaned backwards at the unexpected move.

"What are you doing?"

"Forcing you to take a rest," you said, kissing his lips once more.

He blinked but eventually gave in to the kiss. His hands ran up and down your back, knocking the fork off his desk. His fingers went up to your hair and got tangled in it. He pulled away shortly after to look at you in the eyes.

"Is this going to go where I think it will?" he asked, to which, you gave a little nod. He nodded back at you and shifted you so your back faced him, your ass rubbing against his crotch and instantly hardening it.

He slid a hand inside your pants and under your panties, brushing your clit. You gasped, taken aback by his bluntness.

"Ryu-"

"This is what you get for trying to distract me from my work, love," he whispered into your ear, his other hand holding you close to him so you couldn't escape.

His fingers worked faster on your clit, and you leaned your head back against the crook of his neck, arching your back at the blissful sensation. L slowly slid a finger inside you, and you let out a loud moan. His breath was heavy against your ear and his frequent whispers of "Yes, that's right. Such a good girl," and "So obedient for me. So good," drove you crazy.

Suddenly, he stopped. You whined and tugged at his shirt, gesturing for him to continue assaulting your pussy. He shook his head with a little smirk on his face and ran a finger all the way from your hips to your clit, dragging the fabric of your panties down. You bucked your hips up excitedly, allowing him to completely strip your bottom down.

You sat on his clothed crotch once more, anticipating the magic of his fingers on you again. But he merely caressed your thigh and typed something on his computer with the hand he was holding you with. You pouted and turned halfway to meet his eyes and dug your teeth into his neck, earning a barely heard intake of breath from him.

His fingers automatically slid back inside you while your teeth licked and sucked on the skin of his neck and collarbones. L turned you back around to face his desk and brought a hand out to choke you lightly from the front. You gagged, enjoying the feel of his pretty hands wrapped around your throat.

"You're being a naughty girl, Y/N L/N," L growled into your ear. "Do you really want punishment?"

You stopped. This was one of the rare moments where your boyfriend actually behaved this way - talking about punishment and ordering you to be submissive. Usually, he was one to settle down to lazy, morning sex. Needless to say, you were more than happy to accommodate his current desire. You nodded furiously.

L smiled before putting a hand in front of your face, covering it as if shielding it from something. Out of the blue, he stood up a little, making you skate forward. He gently laid your head on the desk so that your breasts were now practically floating in between the desk and his chair.

You were still seated on his lap, but he lifted his hips, tightening his grip on you so as to prevent you from falling over. L then frantically yet so calmly unbuttoned his pants and slid his boxers down with one hand. He pumped his thick, hard dick a few times before rubbing it against your pussy.

"Apologize," he commanded you.

Your words were incoherent as you tried desperately to say sorry to him for your behaviour. They were interrupted by loud whimpers and moans of need.

"Ryuzaki, please," you panted, your face pressed sideways into his desk. "I need you inside me- ah! Please, don't tease-"

"I said, apologize," he ordered firmly.

You were leaking now. The liquid from your stimulated pussy was dripping all over L's chair, but he did not seem to care. With tears in your eyes, you yelled out, "I- I'm sorry! Please!"

L nodded in satisfaction, patting your ass proudly. "Good girl. Now, a reward for my pretty baby."

He entered your pussy slowly and carefully. It seemed as if he wanted nothing more than to savour every inch of your tight, wet pussy. He knew your body so well - perhaps because of his detective tendencies. Because when his dick entered you, he immediately swung it around to hit your most sensitive spots, making you curl your toes in pleasure.

He pulled back and thrust back inside, repeating the process for what seemed like a thousand times, each thrust earning howls of praise from you. You were a screaming mess, hands running all over his desk, typing senseless words on his keyboard which you were sure would earn you another punishment soon.

"Ryuga, please, faster," you begged, and L obliged, picking up the pace by raising his hips even higher. The faster the movements became, the louder you began to babble.

He tried to keep as quiet as possible throughout the scene, occasionally letting out a few grunts as you told him to go rougher and harder on you. He smacked your ass once, making you shut up and enjoy him as he filled you in completely.

"Oh, god, you little slut," he said between breathless panting. "How horny are you for me, huh? Not even letting me work in peace," he smacked your ass and you cried out, your moans probably waking up the entire hotel.

L was now pounding into you with all his might, your body practically bouncing up and down on the desk uncomfortably. His dick was thrusting in and out of you and his balls were hitting your clit repeatedly at an inhumane speed.

"Now tell me who you are?" he slapped your ass hard.

"I'm- I'm your slut," you whimpered, trying not to pass out with the pleasure you were receiving.

"And what do you want?"

"You-"

He hit your ass even harder, making you yelp in pain.

"Wrong answer. Try again. What do you want?"

"For you to- to fill me up with your cum."

"That's right. Good girl," he growled, his hands latching onto your hips, and his nails digging into your skin to hold you in position. "I will come inside you now."

You nodded shakily. L let out a loud groan for the first time as he came hard into you, filling your pussy with his hot cum. You moaned along with him, jabbering inaudible sobs of his name, coming shortly after him.

For a while, the two of you stayed in the same exact position; your face pressed up against the table with your ass in his lap. His dick was still inside you, unwilling to let go of the warm feel of your pussy. Slowly, he pulled you by your neck back against his chest and pushed his chair forward.

He pressed backspace on his keyboard to delete the words you accidentally wrote, and, with one hand on the side of your hip even now, continued his investigation, leaving a kiss on your neck every few minutes. As the clock struck 4:30am, you slowly drifted off to dreamland, your boyfriend not paying any heed to your concerns. But you had learnt your lesson now, hadn't you?

© chuulyssa, 2024 - do not copy, plagiarize or repost my works on any platforms. do not translate.

[unlosts]

hi !!

i'm pretty sure it was me w the perfume request! (my brain is so scattered i barely remember what i asked for but!! i'm so so excited to read it when you're done <33) (btw i'm loving the spencer fics and i'm psyched for more, your writing is so beautiful 🥹🫶🏼)

A/N: Thank you so much for your request! It was exactly the one I lost. Hope you like it, I had a lot of fun with it 🫶🏼.

Also no one asked but I'm a firm believer that Hotch is a Grey Vetiver by Tom Ford guy, or he should be!

At exactly 9:18 the sound of the elevator opening interrupts the quiet morning, Aaron Hochner walks out heading briskly towards his office, coat over his shoulders and briefcase in hand, nodding in greeting to the rest of the team who collectively turn to stare at him with various degrees of confusion plastered on their faces. 

“I was about to call a S.W.A.T team,” Says Emily, stopping him in his tracks “again.” 

At that Hotch finally turns to face them, his usually pristine white shirt wrinkled like he had picked it off the floor that morning. 

“Excuse he?” He asks, brow arched. 

Derek lets out a laugh at this, languidly spinning his chair from side to side but before he can say anything JJ, ever the mediator, interrupts “You’re just not usually this late, we were starting to worry.”

“Yeah, cuz y’know you have a bad track record” Says Penelope with a grimace, she’s perched by Morgan's desk toying with a feathery pink pen while she talks.  

“They were worried, I just knew you were maybe having some fun for once” Derek chimes in with a smile, letting out a huff when Pen pokes his side with her pen. 

“There’s no need to make a scene out of it, I’m sure I've been late plenty of times before” He tries to say in a stern enough tone that they’ll hopefully drop the subject. 

It would be easy to classify it as merely teasing but Hotch knew the entire team worried about him, namely about his lack of a social life outside of work. And usually he would entertain their banter for longer but he really is late today and he can already feel the beginning of a headache forming. 

“Actually," Spencer adds without looking up from his paper“this year, you were only late three times, the last one being about two and a half months ago on July when you had a flat tire and had to wait for triple A”.

“Thank you for that, Spencer” Hotch says, shooting him a look.

“No problem”   

“Nothing happened, I just got stuck in a bad pile up on my way there and I was already cutting it close beforehand, so if you all could focus back on your files that would be great, we have to present our consults before 5 today” He says trying, and failing to regain a modicum of authority. 

Just when he thought that they had tired themselves out, the elevator opens up again and you spill out of it, carrying with you the floral scent of your perfume and a dazzling smile that spells nothing but trouble for him. The kind that makes him stay up until 2am in the middle of the week and turns what was meant to be a quick shower into a half hour delay. 

“Hello hello, sorry for being so late, there was a bad bad pile up on my way here” You speak without pausing once for breath, your heels click clacking on your way to your desk where you unceremoniously dump your coat and purse on top of your desk. Heading for the kitchen to brew a new pot of coffee. 

On your way there you playfully ruffle Spencer’s hair and wink at Pen, who can’t help but comment on your good mood “Well aren’t you happy this morning missy” 

You make eye contact with him for a split second and Hotch can feel his throat dry up, he always felt like you breathed life into any room you walked in, the sun patterns following your steps whenever you went. So it makes sense that even now in the middle of fall he feels something warm settle over him even with such a brief look. 

He thinks he’s been staring at you for hours when it couldn’t have been more than a couple of seconds, by the time he snaps out of it he finds Emily regarding him with a quizzical eye and a smile that does nothing for his brewing headache. 

“Well, I’ve just been having a very nice week” You reply pointedly “even went and got myself a new perfume” He did, actually, but it’s not like you can say that. 

Seeing an out in the conversation he starts once more to go towards his office before he’s interrupted, once again, by one Emily Prentiss. 

“Huh” She says, pinning him down with a perfectly arched eyebrow

“What?” He asks exasperated, quickly losing his patience. 

“Aren’t you testy today?” She teases “I was just thinking about the fact that you both got stuck in traffic, despite coming from opposite sides of the city, that’s all” And with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders that’s anything but, she turns to work on her files. 

You pop out of the kitchen carrying with you two expertly done mugs of coffee, and even better timing, hastily sitting by Emily’s desk and leaving one mug in front of her. 

“I was hoping you could look over one of my cases with me? I’ve been stuck for ages and I could use a fresh set of eyes?” 

“So this is bribery coffee?”

“No, the bribe is the very nice bottle of red I have back at my place that’s all yours next girls night, the coffee is just because I’m a delight to be around” You reply grinning at her. 

Emily huffs a laugh and with everyone distracted Hotch finally makes his escape, shutting his office door and basking in the blissful quiet of his office. 

He spends the next hour and a half failing to fill expense reports, his mind wandering to your hair splayed on the pillows this morning; you staring up at him in the shower, a droplet of water running from the bridge of your nose to rest on your lip being kissed away by him. The exact dazzling smile from this morning but all his to keep.

The lost twenty minutes after dressing he spend with you pressed against the entrance door, your hands running over his back.  

With an hour left to go before lunch and a creek in his neck from leaning his head on his palm all morning he gives up and goes to get himself his second coffee of the day.

In the kitchenette right by the vending machine is his headache personified, getting herself a bag of skittles. 

While he makes his coffee Emily pauses next to him and extends the bag of candy in a silent offer that he declines with a shake of his head, right before leaving she says “I do love the new cologne, very summery fresh, but just a heads up, I do think she wears it better than you” 

[lexisecretaccx]

A+ Student FINALE

Masterlist!

(Femreader, pretty long, drama, fluff, I didn’t rlly know how to end this bro, not proofread!)

Summary: Y/n is a great student in her college, always getting good grades. Her college professor Matt, thinks she can get even higher ones with some “extra credit.” That is until she meets her new gym teacher..

Y/n POV

I get woken up by my phone buzzing, it’s 2am who’s calling me? I sit up and grab it off my bedside table. Chris? I answer it, “hello?” I ask sleepily. “I’m so sorry I woke you up,” he spoke softly, “it’s okay, what’s wrong?”

“Please don’t drop Matts class, I had a talk with him everything’s okay he just doesn’t want you to throw away something you’re good at.” Chris replies. “Everything’s good with you and him? And me?” I need to make sure, “yeah he said he wants you to be happy and he’s not going to mess with your feelings, he knows how much I like you.” I can’t see it but I know he’s smiling.

“Really? That’s great!” I sit up further, “Fine, I won’t drop his class then, I do enjoy the subject I just didn’t wanna be in the same class as him but if it’s all good then okay!” I say enthusiastically.

“Can we meet up tomorrow? After college?” He asks me, “Yeah sure,” I groan as I stretch. “Go back to sleep y/n, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He chuckles, “Goodnight.” I mumble as I fall further into my pillow. He hangs up as I instantly fall back to sleep peacefully.

I’m glad everything is good between them, I feel bad for being mad at Matt but.. I did have a right to, but him and Chris also had a right to be mad at me.. I won’t dwell on the past.

My alarm chimes, “Fuck..” I sit up and shut it off, I go to shower and get dressed before applying makeup and getting my bag ready. I walk downstairs, toast a waffle and eat it up to my table.

“Hey sweetie.” my dad walks down the stairs, “Morning dad, you sleep well.” I ask him as he makes a coffee, “Eh, same as usual.” He groans, he sits down opposite me, “No syrup or anything with that?” He points at the waffle on my plate, “No I didn’t want any.” I smile, “Weirdo.” He laughs sipping his coffee.

I check my phone, and he checks his and then it’s time for me to leave. “I’m gonna head off, see you later dad!” I stand up, “See ya Pumpkin.” He waves from the table, “Wait dad I forgot,” I turn around, “I’m going out with a friend after college so I’ll be back late.” He smiles, “That’s okay I’ll be in work anyway, but stay safe!”

I leave and start to walk, I make it to college early and walk in and sit in the library. “You’re here early.” Matt spoke, my head flicked up from the book I was reading, “I underestimated my walking speed.” I chuckle quietly. “Can I sit?” He points opposite me, I nod.

“Chris talked to you yesterday right?” I whispered, we’re in a library even though literally nobody is in here. “Yeah, I just want you to know that there’s no hard feelings, I liked you but not the same way you liked me whereas Chris.. you’re one of the only things he talks about.” Matt chuckles.

It hurt hearing him say he didn’t like me the same way I liked him but, I don’t have those feelings for him anymore so it doesn’t matter. “Really?” I smile, “Yeah it’s always, y/n this.. y/n that.. and in between he talks about some bullshit nobody really understands.” He grins, “I really like him Matt.”

“I told him I didn’t wanna get in the way of you both, I mean.. he literally quit his job for you, that’s something I couldn’t do for anyone.” Matt sighs, “And I apologise.. for messing with your head and lying and everything. Just know I won’t do that again, you and Chris can be happy and I won’t ruin that.” He smiles softly, “Thank you.” I nod.

“Thank you, for not dropping the class, you’re the top student.. You’re an A+ Student.. even without ‘extra credit’ and you will pass the course easily.” He spoke quietly. “It’s okay, I’m sorry for being rude to you yesterday, I was just upset.” I added.

“It’s alright it’s understandable-” he goes to speak but he gets cut off by his phone pinging. “Oh shit I gotta go to set up class, I’ll see you in a bit.” He gets up and walks out the library.

After 10 minutes I leave the library and turn down the hallway, I see Lizzy, Mason, Ethan, Myla, and Kelly all talking and laughing. I walk over to them, “Hi.” I smile, they instantly stop talking and turn to face me, “Oh hey.” Lizzy spoke awkwardly. Kelly is staring into my soul, why have they all stopped talking when I show up?

“What are you guys talking about?” I try to break the awkwardness, “Oh nothing much.” Mason nods, “You can continue talking, don’t let me stop you.” I chuckle nervously, “Uh.. Mason and Kelly how did your date go yesterday?” Ethan changes the subject, I look to Mason and Kelly who are both blushing.

I guess she has a type.. anyone who shows interest in me. I’m joking but still, “It went well.. we’re sorta dating now.” Kelly giggles, “Yeah.” Mason looks directly at me for a response, “Congrats.” I smile. I’m not jealous at all, I’ve got Chris.

“Did you know Mr Sturniolo quit his job?” Ethan says to Mason, “What why?” He replies, I fiddle with my hand’s anxiously. “He had ‘more important things to focus on’,” Ethan scoffs, “My mom is the headmasters assistant so she told me, but if you ask me.. I think he was fucking a student.”

I look to him instantly, “What made you think that?” I ask him, “Apparently he had Hickeys on his neck, but here’s the thing.. he didn’t have them when he got here.. he must’ve got them from someone here.” He chuckles, “Are you sure he wasn’t dating one of the staff here?” I tried to hide my nervousness.

“Why are you defending him,” Ethan laughs, “Are you the student he was sneaking around with.” He crosses his arms, “What no! I wouldn’t date a teacher.” I try and defend myself, “I never said date, plus he quit his job so he’s not a teacher anymore.” He snarks.

“Can you just stop, I’m too tired to deal with bullshit.” I sigh, “Tired from fucking Mr Sturniolo is it?” Lizzy joins in, “Liz what?” I scoff, “I was joking.” She awkwardly chuckles. Kelly doesn’t say a word, “You okay?” Mason wraps an arm around her, I know what she’s thinking, she’s fucked Matt and is nervous anyone might find out.

“Yeah, great.” She replies. “You a teacher fucker Y/n? Hm?” Ethan leans down to my ear, I shake my head. “Ethan I said stop.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Everything okay here?” A familiar voice, Matt. Kelly turns around so quickly you would think someone was offering a million bucks for free.

“Yep professor, everything’s peachy.” Ethan fake smiles and places his hand on my shoulder. “Ethan’s being a dick.” I spoke out, his expression shifts to betrayal or some shit. “Yeah well y/n is a teacher fu-” Ethan goes to speak and cuts himself off as Matt is Chris’ brother.

“Kelly you didn’t do your homework that was due Friday.” He spoke to her, her face so sheepish you woulda thought she saw a ghost. “Sorry Mat- Professor.” She stutters, I try not to laugh because of how nervous she is. “It’s fine but get it done by tomorrow.” He nods going to walk away until he stops and turns on his heels.

“And Ethan?” He calls, Ethan looks up.. “Don’t spread rumours about my brother, I could get your mother in trouble for telling you confidential information.” He tilts his head, “Sorry sir.” He looks down at his feet. Matt walks away.

“What was that about Kels?” Liz asks Kelly, Kels? Since when were they that close friends, “What?” Kelly stutters, “Your little nervous moment then.” Liz chuckles, “You gotta crush on Professor Sturniolo?” She smiles, “No!” Kelly shakes her head, Mason looks down at Kelly confused.

“It’s fine, I know someone else who does.” Liz looks at me and smirks, “Nope, not anymore.” I look at her, “Mhm sure.. what about Mr Sturniolo, you told me you liked him.” She teases, “Whatever.” I roll my eyes I’m sick of this what is she doing?

“I’m gonna go to class.” I push past Mason and Ethan, “You got another 20 mins, do you just wanna see Professor Sturniolo?” Ethan teases, “No, I just wanna get away from you all. The only one who isn’t being an asshole is Kelly.” I nod at her, “I’ll go to class with you, so you aren’t alone.” She smiles and walks next to me.

“Yeah okay.” I nod, and we walk to class. I knock the door, before walking in with Kelly. Matt turns to us, “Everything good?” He asks me, “No they pissed me off so I came to class early, Kelly came aswell.” She walks in next to me, “Hi.” She waves nervously, “Hey you okay?” He smiles, she nods.

I never thought I’d be friends with the girl who Matt fucked without me knowing, but she’s nice. We sit down next to each-other in my row, just until class starts. “I feel bad that they were teasing you.” Kelly whispers so Matt doesn’t hear, “Yeah it’s fine.” I sigh, I pull out my notes. “If I’m being honest, I also had a crush on him.” She points at Matt who is sat at his desk writing stuff down.

“I know.” I chuckle a bit, “How did you know?” She tilts her head, “I could just tell by your body language whenever he would talk to you.” I smile at her, “Oh that’s so embarrassing.” She covers her face, “It’s fine don’t worry.” I start to write down some notes.

“Ethan said he saw your insta story the other day.” Kelly whispers, my head turns to her, “The car one?” She leans closer to me so she can speak quieter. “Don’t ask me how I know but, that was his car right?” She points at Matt again, “yeah but.. not him.” I sigh, “Oh shit.” I speak again as I realise what I was talking about.

I don’t even know her enough and I basically just admitted to the thing that Ethan was accusing me of, “It’s fine, wanna know a secret?” She smirks, “What?” I reply and she sighs “don’t tell anyone please?” She looks at me, “As long as you don’t tell anyone what we’re talking about in general here.” I nod.

“I promise not to,” she puts her pinky out and we pinky promise on it. “I fucked him..” she signals to Matt, “I feel super guilty about it too because I shouldn’t have but.. it was in the moment and you know.. but I called things off almost instantly. I still feel awkward though but he said it’s okay.” She sighs.

“It’s alright, I won’t tell anyone.” I smile at her, I’m glad I’m making a new friend because Lizzy has changed. Little does Kelly know, both of us have fucked Matt but I’m not gonna tell her that. “So you and Mr Sturniolo did.. fuck?” She whispers, I nod, “So Ethan was right?” She sighs.

“Yeah.” I scribble on the plain paper infront of me, “Your secret is safe with me I promise, I fucking hate Ethan in general and he made me so annoyed when he was pressing you about it.” She scoffs, “He usually tells his mom everything.” She rolls her eyes, “Ugh.” I groan.

We talk for a bit and class starts, Kelly returns to her seat and people come in, Matt starts the lesson.

Halfway through the class Ethan and his mom walk in, my heart sinks. What are they doing here, I pretend to continue doing my work and Matt walks up to them. I look up and see Ethan pointing at me, Matt walks up next to me and leans down “They want you to go with them, I think Ethan said something about what he was talking to you about earlier.” Matt pulls an awkward face.

“Oh shit.” I stand up and walk down to them, Ethan grins and I roll my eyes, “Y/n we have to talk to you, Ethan go back to class.” His mom dismissed him and walks to the principals office with me, my heart is beating so quickly.

She lets me in and instantly I’m greeted by the principal. “Sit down.” He’s a tall man, like super tall. 6ft 4 at least. He looks down at me as he demands me to sit. I do exactly that and sit in the seat across from his desk. “We’ve had a very serious accusation..” he sits down opposite me.

“Mrs Winters’ son has told her some information you need to clear up.” He signals her to come closer, “Ethan has revealed to me that he has suspicions that you had a physical relationship with a teacher here. Is that true?” She stands infront of me, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ethan was accusing me of it earlier and stuff but it’s not true.”

“He also told me that you had told him some information, but that was confidential information so that’s not good.” I turn the tables and start accusing her, her eyes widen. “Do not switch the topic.” She demands, “Oh no I’m not, it’s very much on the same topic.” I lean back in my chair. The principal looks at her, “Is that true?” He asks.

“I had only told him about the situation with Mr Sturniolo and the hickeys on his neck, and the reason he quit his job and I told him I thought it was suspicious!” She defends herself, “That was private between Mr Sturniolo and us, you shouldn’t spread that. But on the topic of Mr Sturniolo.” He directs his attention to me.

“Did you, or did you not.. have a sexual relationship with Christopher Sturniolo during his time teaching here?” He spoke more sternly. “I did not.” I lie, “Why was there footage of you and him in a car together, not long ago? Also an instagram story that shows different.”

Fuck.. my own actions coming back on me, something I did just to make Matt jealous is coming back at me. “Well..” I try to defend myself but get interrupted. “The car you had on the instagram story is the same one that Professor Sturniolo drives, and if I’m correct, he shares that car with his brother Christopher Sturniolo.. right?”

I nod, “So you’re admitting it?” He tilts his head, “He’s not a teacher anymore so there’s no problem with it.” I cross my arms, “So you do have some sort of relationship with him?” Mrs Winters asks me, I shrug. “It wasn’t bad. We didn’t do anything until he quit his job.” I lie but it was a good lie.

“But the hickeys on his neck?” He looks at me, “It was just a make out session, I didn’t know I did that.” I pretend to feel guilty but I don’t, I meant every single one of those marks I left on his neck. “Y/n you know what this means?” He leans forward and sighs, “If your grades weren’t A’s and A+’s you would have to be expelled.”

“But, since you’re a good student, you’re good for our public scores so selfishly of the school we will keep you here, but if we catch any suspicious activity we will not refrain from taking immediate action.” He spoke sternly. I nod, “okay thank you, I’m sorry.” I sigh, I can feel Mrs Winters’ eyes burning into me.

“What happens now?” I ask quietly, “We will have to send you home until tomorrow.” He looks at me with disappointment. I get out of the chair and walk to the door, “I’m sorry again.” I look back, he nods before signalling for Mrs Winters to sit down. She was telling personal information to her son that’s gotta get her in trouble.. right?

I walk past the English classroom and remember that I left my jacket in there. “Shit..” I mutter under my breath. I knock the door timidly and walk in, the class still full of students learning. “I need my jacket.” I mumble, “Are you not staying?” Matt tilts his head and I shake mine, “I got sent home.” I turn away from the class and widen my eyes at him.

He gets the idea of what I mean and nods quickly, “Oh.. okay.” He goes back to his desk, I walk to my seat next to Kelly and grab my jacket off the seat. “What’s happening?” She whispers to me, “You know what I told you?” I whisper back to her, “Yeah..” she leans to hear me better, “They had evidence or something, I’m not expelled but just suspended for a day.” I sigh, “Oh no.. I’ll see you tomorrow though.” She smiles gently.

I walk out the English classroom, giving a small wave to Matt and walking down the hall and out the school door. I grab my phone out and text Chris, he can pick me up now. “We can meet up now. I’ll explain, can u pick me up? xx” I text him. Not even 5 minutes pass before his typing bubble pops up.

“Ok ma On my way! x” I chuckle, his text was followed by an “omw dk why it auto corrected x” I smile to myself and wait outside the school gates until I see the minivan pull up. The window rolled down he leans over to me, “Matt took the Porsche.” He rolls his eyes and I hop into the passenger seat.

“Why are you out early?” He looks at me, “I got kicked out, just for today but they found out about us.” I put my seatbelt on, his eyes widen, “Oh shit, how?” He starts to drive and rests his hand on my thigh, “Mrs Winters was telling Ethan about your personal meeting with the Principal and Ethan borough up the insta story and everything and you know..” I sigh.

“I’m sorry ma.” He gives a gentle squeeze to my thigh, “No it’s okay, if I wasn’t an A+ Student I would’ve gotten expelled according to the Principal, they need me for their publicity purposes.” I laugh, he chuckles too. “Selfish fuckers, but it’s good for you.” We stop at a stop light and he looks at me, “Wanna go for food?” He smiles.

“Yes please, I’m starving.” I pretend to rub my stomach. “What does your stomach crave my dear?” He puts a fake posh English accent on and leans closer to me, “McDonald’s.” I nod grinning. “What fine cuisine.” He jokes still in the awful English accent. “You’re bad at the accent.” I smirk.

“We aren’t going to McDonald’s if you hate on my accent.” He huffs before smiling lightly. “It’s really bad though.” I snark, “don’t be bratty.” He scoffs at me and squeezes my thigh tightly. “I’m sorry, I love the accent.” I lie. “Okay we can get McDonald’s now.”

“What do you want, in advance?” He asks as he drives towards the McDonalds sign in the distance, “Hm, McNuggets please.” I ask in an overly polite tone, “Alright.” He replies, “We can get a share box if you want.” He pulls into the drive thru, “Yeah sure.”

He orders the nuggets, fries and drinks and we pick it up after he pays. We pull into the parking lot to eat the food, “You should’ve had a large fry like I did.” He spoke, stuffing his mouth full of fries. I laugh, “What?” He asks me, “Swallow your food before talking.” I continue laughing.

He finishes his fries before talking, “Y/n I have something I want to ask you, a serious-ish question.” He turns to face me fully, “Yeah? Ask me anything I smile at him admiring his features. “Would you.. do you think you- will you be my girlfriend?” He whispers slightly, my eyes widen and I smile at him. “Really?” I smile widely.

“No I’m just joking,” he sarcastically spoke, “Yes really? Will you?” He smiles, I nod quickly, “Yes! Of course.” I lean to him and grab his face before pushing my lips against his. His hand makes its way behind my neck to deepen the kiss. We part our lips and sit back down normally, “I’m glad it’s official now.” He eats some chicken McNuggets.

‘Yeah.” I smile, my cheeks flushed. I look down to eat the nuggets, “Chris!” I raise my voice, “What?” He asks. “You’ve eaten almost all of them! We said 10 each, you’ve eaten 14.” I pretend to cry, “I’ll go buy you more if you want? Sorry baby.” He goes to get out, “No it’s okay,” I laugh, “just let me eat the rest of them.

I snatch the box out of his hand and eat the rest of the 6 nuggets that are left. “Can I have some of your drink?” He asks me, “Drink your own.” I chuckle, “I did, it’s empty now.” He sighs, I scoff. “Fine have a sip.” I look at him to make sure he is, he gulps twice. “That was two sips.” I joke, “Don’t boss me around or I’ll chug it.”

“I’m breaking up with you if you chug my drink.” I laugh, he instantly puts it back down. “Also.. what you said yesterday?” I bring up the conversation we had yesterday, “Yeah?” He hesitates probably trying to remember what he said, I speak again..

“I think I love you too.”

A/n: Omg u guys it’s finisheddddd, I hope the ending is okay, I couldn’t be bothered to explain like any more of the school stuff in the story bc I felt like it was taking too much time but I hope y’all liked this series I loved writing it. New series at some point but I might take a slight break for a bit and only put out one shots for a bit js bc I need a break for a bit❤️❤️ love y’all!

@blahbel668 @mattsleftnipple03 @rac00ns-are-c00l4 @hysteria-things @mattybslover @jakevwebber @braindead4l @mattybearnard @st7rnioioss @junnniiieee07 @bueckerslover @fratbrochrisgf @sturniol0s @alwayssublimedelusion @certifiednatelover @freshsturns @riasturns @sturniololvrrr @maryx2xx @whicked-hazlatwhore @cammie4298 @sturnsjtop @sturnzblog @chr1sgirl4life @evie-sturns @milasturniolo @jaxyy219 @mattsturniolosbae @h3arts4harry @littlebookworm803 @realqueenofpepsi @elsxz1 @jnkvivi @nayveetbhh @sturnsmadl @mattspleasure @m0r94n @raysmayhem-72 @flamethrower313 @carolinalikesthings @itssophiasstuff @joemamaaa42069 @creamoncreamoncream2 @conspiracy-ash

[theangelcatalogue]

WHAT'S WRONG? || YANDERE FRANCIS X READER! || ★!

★ - Romantic or Platonic(?)!

★ - Gender Neutral reader!

★ - One shot!

★ - Before we start: Idk why i did this, but i saw fics of him, and people going crazy over him, so why not?? I don't even write for that's not my neighbour, but i love the game! So let' go! Also sorry if is confusing! My mind is kinda tired and idk why i wrote this at 1AM(Is i wrote this at 1AM, remade some parts and posted it at 2AM) (Pls check Tw before reading it! <3)

★ - TW: YANDERE, DOPPELGANGER, BLOOD, BAD ENGLISH, BAD GRAMMAR AND MADE BY A MINOR!!! PLEASE TELL ME IF I MISSED SOMETHING!!!

   ˚๑ ✦ Y/N!!! ✦ ๑°

・・・ ★ ・・・

︶ ꒷ ︶ ꒷ ꒦

Just a normal day in work!

This work is not that bad, i mean, i have to focus in every single neighbor, check some papers and be careful because some of than can be actually doppelgangers that will kill me and the persons that live here? Yeah-

But is guess i am getting used to it! And some neighbors are really nice! And others are just weird and rude! But what i can do? People are like that!

It's kinda weird that no one is showing up now, but i can have some time to rest now! Just me, a good coffee and my jornal/book(it can be a jornal or a book!)

Now i am just reading, waiting for anyone, i mean the today's list is short today! Lucky me i guess? I get kinda focused in the reading, the content is kinda depressing and boring, but is what i have for now

" Hello Y/n. "

I heard someone saying, Oh! I can't forget this voice!

" Francis! Tired as always? Well, let's see if you are in todays list! "

I said not taking the eyes of my jornal/book, i am lucky that Francis is the one who showed up! He is kinda nice! Just a tired guy but hey! He is a hardworker!

" Sounds good for me. Here is my entry request and ID "

I could notice him giving the papers, now i notice his hand is kinda dirty and his voice is kinda off, more tired than usual...

" Oh! Thanks- "

I respond him finally taking my eyes of the book, now i can see Francis better let's say, he is covered in a red liquid with a weird smell

It is what i am thinking? Oh yeah! A doppelganger! But i never thought a doppelganger would commit a error like that, why blood...? Some are a missing eye, others just say peach and others are a long neck and etc, what if is not a doppelganger...?

" What's wrong Y/n? Something wrong about the papers? "

He says noticing that i am kinda nervous, i just pick the papers and the clickboard as usual, first thing to question?

His looks.

" Francis! What happend? You are corvered in...what is that? Can you explain? "

Francis just looks at his outifit and then back at me, the same tired look, but something about the way he looks at me is different, i can't tell what is

" Oh this? It's a new milk! Scarlett Milk! It's a Milk with Red coloring, and Yes, it's food coloring! Not used in clothes... "

" Really Francis? So tell me! How did you got corvered in...Scarlett Milk...? "

He was getting tired of me questioning i guess, okay, i have three options!

1. It's really a milk with food coloring

2. It's a doppelganger

3. Francis is a killer or just got crazy

Please let it be 1-

" Accident at work. Just that, can i go in? "

He asks me looking at me deep at the eyes, i feel like he is judging all my sins, i break the eye contact and look at the Red button and then at the phone

Should i call the police or my boss?

" Look Y/N, i am really tired, just let me in, so i can go take a shower and rest. Maybe after you are done, you can go to my room, drink some coffee together! I heard is your favorite drink, what about a coffee with milk uh? "

He says to me, i think he is getting impatient

OH REALLT Y/N L/N!? DON'T TELL ME

" I- "

" Come on darling. "

He gets closer to the window, supporting his one of his arms in the glass

" Let. Me. In "

✦ - NOTES!!!

✮ " Sky wtf was that? " I DON'T KNOW LOL ✮

✮ The fandom go crazy about him gosh ✮

✮ Okay should i write for TNMN??? ✮

✮ Anyways have a good day my loves! <33 ✮

[lesbianherald]

hello!! right off the bat i just want to say i absolutely ADORE coming home and im not even done reading it, you have absolutely no idea how much it means to me already. ive been very emotional throughout LMAO

BUT im not here to talk about my thoughts (just know i think youre absolutely phenomenal and im so thankful youre sharing this story with us)

what i wanted to ask is! do you have any specific song/s that you think fit chapter 9 the best? ive been really loving your song choices for the chapters and before even reading them i always check for your song choice to read throughout them

i know you shared your playlist, but i just NEED to know the specifics, otherwise i might go crazy

edit?: i just checked the notes for the remaining chapters and you also dont have any specific ones written out so could you also share those if thats not a problem??

SO sorry if this is a stupid question or if this ask is jarringly incoherent its literally 2am i have work in the morning and i was literally about to read chapter 9 but i just dont think i can do it without your specific music choice LMAO

ANYWAYS if you do see this i hope you are having an amazing day/night/anytime and i hope you know how much this story means to us readers, thank you SO much <33

you are so kind thank you so so much both of you ! including this ask above in the mix too because they're both playlist related.

i'm fully aware my playlist is so like. emo lesbian pilled because that just happens to be the music I listen to (wonder why), but I also fully believe in my heart of hearts that they are very sufjanpilled.

your ask last night made me kind of do some reflecting on the whole playlist by the way? because I've been meaning to structure it more chronologically for a really long time. so I have - and I've added some new songs. I'm going to map it out here for you :)

so here's the playlist mapped by chapter

(stars mean for the flashback, there's a couple I've kept from adding that remind me of 13 that I'll add once the chapter's posted)

an added ramble because i'm annoying -

i have a lil poetry background and just love music and lyrics so much. heat lightning might seem an odd choice for chapter 9 - but in thinking about it - since its from viktor's pov - I didn't want something traditionally overtly romantic. i wanted something very heady and serious and cosmic that references a sort of surrender of self.

i also love recommendations

[radioroxx]

hi pluto i’m here to ask if u have any isat headcanons. about anybody! hope u have a good sunday :))

HAPPY SUNDAY VIA can i call you via. hello

ive mentioned my tattoo hcs before but im gonna expand on them as best i can rn because i think about it occasionally (i am making a lot of this up. right now! for you!)

ok so odile has a lower back tattoo she got in her 20s and i feel very strongly about this one 1. because i think its funny 2. because it makes her 10x cooler. the other day in my moots disc we talked about the idea of odile having a past polycule that she broke off from and so ive adopted that idea and decided the tattoo is a matching one. she does not regret it at all and is still (somewhat) in touch with her ex’s. siffrin was the first person she told about this, drunkenly btw, and for months afterwards he couldnt remember if it was Actually Real or just something his brain made up (and they were too scared to ask lol)

siffrin has star tattoos on his back and shoulders! i was considering giving him sleeves but i changed my mind,, he got them while he was still travelling on his own. possibly theres a region that is more well known for tattooing (havent decided what this would be though)! he was interested from a ‘learning about new culture’ perspective, also just because Why Not. he chose to get stars because it felt right. he somewhat regrets it. (maybe, post canon and later on their journey, he would try out something else. different designs. things inspired by his family! or things he wants to remember)

isabeau has no tattoos. not from not wanting them, but from just never really having the interest. UNTIL travelling with the party. until staying up late with sif in their shared tent and finding out that, on his travels, he learned how to (very basically) give people tattoos. and begs him for one. its like 2am and neither of them are thinking clearly so they agree. they ‘borrow’ odiles ink pot she uses for writing, a sewing needle that isa happens to have on hand, aaaand it. goes very poorly. as youd imagine. he is lucky to have the long sleeves to cover it up. whatever design theyd been going for was absolutely not achieved. but! he cherishes the memories regardless. (incredibly, they would try this twice. the second time would be after bonnie joined the crew, who would catch them awake, beg siffrin for a tattoo of their own, be told ‘no’, but would still be allowed to watch as long as they PROMISE not to tattle to madame and mira in the morning. bonnie absolutely tattles).

mira! does not seem like a tattoo person to me. i think she would be intimidated by the idea- partially in relation to the change belief, partially because she wouldnt know what to get. i like to think tattoos are probably pretty controversial to the religion… some people think they are a very powerful form of change! something you cant take back. others disagree for the same reason, that its permanent. so pre canon no tattoos for her. but!! but! as i mentioned before with siffrin getting tattoos for his family, i think mira might consider something as well (confidence boosted by the fact that the others will be matching). other than that though, it just doesnt appeal to her much.

bonnie has no tattoos also aaand it will stay that way for. a little bit. this is something that upsets them greatly because i also like to believe that nille has PLENTY of tattoos! possibly some she even got when she was much much younger! irresponsibly, of course, and many of them are regrettable. so she steers bonnie away from making that same mistake too young (tries to encourage them to wait until they are 18 at least). maybe bambouche as a whole is a very tattoo-supportive town, which is where bonnie got their interest. this does not stop them from making little paintings up their arms and having the others help out as well, to make up for it, in a non-permanent way.

i havent actually designed what any of their tattoos would look like… thats gotta be something i sit down to think about,,, one day maybe ehe

[therobotmonster]

A Baffling Tribute to 80s Music Video Weirdness

The music video was more than just a great way to advertise your band, it was a way to do something weird as hell that would stick in your audience's mind and give a director or team of animators a chance to really stretch their legs.

Yeah, we'll be hitting some classics you knew, but hey, here's that song from Ferris Beuller's Day Off and about a dozen other movies, TV shows, and food commercials.

Turns out the song is about the beauty of nature, and "Yello" isn't even a reference to the color, but is rather "A Yelled Hello". This is, from what I've gathered, pretty standard for a Swiss Electronic Music group.

Untapped potential for the indie horror genre in Herbie Hancock's "Rock it" with whole new fields of strange animatronics.

Strange abstract costumed characters interacting in a song that makes a lot more sense with the original uncensored lyric "when I was a very small boy, very small boys talked to me, now that we've grown up together, they're all taking drugs with me."

TMBG would be a huge selection of weird music videos if I let them, so we'll focus just on Istanbul (Not Constantinople). TMBG had a policy of the videos never really having anything to do with the song lyrics, and every one is a weird surprise because of it.

You are commanded to enjoy.

The Talking Heads also had a lot of weird videos, and while everyone would expect Burning Down the House, I like Road to Nowhere better. Enjoy.

I saw this on an AlTV special, and could never find it because there's a lot of songs with this name, and Hilly Michaels isn't well known.

It's a sort of colored pencil rotoscoped animation thing and it's just perfect.

Oh hey guys, is this really necessary, can't we leave the deli tray out and split out of here?

TOO LATE! I'm posting Gor-Gor by GWAR. If I had to have my mind blown at 2am on Headbanger's ball at a sleepover at my cousin's place, you can have yours blown on the tumblr.dot.com in the year of your lord 2024.

Is Devo cheating? I feel like it might be.

Cyndi Lauper made great videos, but for absolute mind bending oddness, the Goonies tie-in video "Goonies R Good Enough" qualifies on the basis of the 2:15 minute mini-movie featuring Cyndi Lauper, her real life dad Captain Lou Albano, and a host of (at the time) WWF wrestlers that frames the video with Rick Flair trying to foreclose on the family gas station.

The music video ends on a cliffhanger. To this day no one knows how Cyndi got out of that mess. Someone rescued her. Moe, lets say.

I believe this is the Avant-Garde, and it does apear they never give up.

Curses, the ten video limit is hit! I may return soon!

[ejamesquijano]

LET’S GET OUT SOMEWHERE FAR THIS TIME In search of kindness, purity, and serene happiness

There is this one question that always stuck with me ever since I have read it somewhere: When was the last time you did something for the first time? Such a simple sentence yet the weight of it lingers in me thereafter. Today though, I’ll have an answer to that question, this is also a simple one but certainly one for the books of this dear existence too — Another first time to ever happen in my life was that I lived in a different country for a month.

And it really warms my heart to meet you again, Taiwan.

Since I tell the stories of my life in here and if you’ve been reading them, you would know that I did have a rough start this year and it was just recently that I am slowly bringing myself up from the chaos. But in the middle of 2024, I was offered an opportunity to work overseas and I seized it immediately. I can say now that it was one of the best decisions I have made this year because I never thought that this work trip would save me in more ways than one. I was working, yes, but for lots of reasons this felt like some sort of an escapade.

The Supercut:

Quick stop at Geo’s. Morning rush. Sunny flight. Hello again Taipei. Meeting the Taiwanese team. Stayed at Taoyuan. Life in Aspire Inn. Rm 3107. Ah Mu Ping adventures. Ximen Reservoir. Sesame Hotel’s grandeur. 13 shooting days. 2am Walk. Quick visit at Dihua St. Reverse Shoot calls. Nightly pagpags. Rainy afternoons. 7 Eleven nights. Google Translate. Night out at a Breeze rooftop bar. Midnight snacks at Mcdonald’s. An afternoon photowalk in Taoyuan. Digicam Memories. Fun times with actors and crew. Learning Taiwanese phrases. Appreciating new-found Taiwanese friends in the same field. 2 days in Taipei. Night biking at Chiang Kai-shek Park. Dinner x Booze night with Art Department. One bottle at Revolver. Visited Eslite Bookstore. Golden hour walks at Chiang Kai-shek Park. Foodtrip at Raohe Night Market. Booze night with Camera Department at Jellyfish Bistro and Bar. Picture wrap at Sesame. Afternoon road trip to Taipei. Quick photowalk x biking at Ximending. Visited The Red House x DVD Shop. Passed by Fong Da Coffee. Explored the roads around Ximending. Wrap Party at a KTV room in Partyworld. Sing-along featuring Meteor Garden OST. Bought treats x Xing Fu Tang milk tea at Ximending before calling it a night. Packing my stuff at dawn. 6am ride to the airport. Feeling everything at this point. Lim Giong’s 單純的人 in my playlist. Airport things. Afternoon Manila touchdown. KFC for lunch. Another stop at Geo’s before my bus ride home.

Sometimes my life seems like a blur when I am working, but as I write this and reminisce, I can actually say that I was so fucking happy. This second visit to Taiwan was an escapade indeed, and now it seems like I am coming back to reality. Well, it just feels surreal living somewhere far for a month and doing the job that I love which is making a film. What an experience, truly. And it felt really bittersweet to think that every great thing always ends in goodbyes. But I am happy, I won’t dwell in the blues today ‘cause this memory will always bring me indescribable delight.

That’s a wrap Taiwan. You will always have a special corner in my heart, so I’ll see you again someday.

*** 35mm Kodak Gold 200 June, 2024

[bluehourbucky]

cookies

pairing: steven grant x reader

summary: steven helped you move into your new apartment you want to thank him with some homemade cookies

a/n: I got such a soft spot for steven he's the sweetest most cutest person ever

[dont know why everything is lower case sorry abt that i was already too far in to change it when i noticed]

| main | bucky | moonkinght |

________________________________________

you've been wanting to do something for your neighbour since you moved in since he had helped you carry your furniture into your apartment.

not only did he help with moving in he also went out of his way and asked if you need help with rearranging furniture or building something, you declined politely. it didn't help that steven on top being kind is also incredibly handsome and you had immediately developed a crush on him.

however you hadn't managed to say thank you yet.

you didn't know how to say thank you but you thought a batch of cookies wouldn't be a bad idea.

and a good idea it was, in case you had sugar which you didn't.

so you shamefully walk across the hall and ring stevens door, he's the only neighbour you actually met enough times to ask for stuff.

"hello!" you say when steven opens the door, he looks even more handsome since the last time you saw him. to be fair you've never seen him in his at home clothes and it's absolutely a breathtaking sight.

"'ello?. you alright?" it takes everything in you not to literally run back to your apartment.

"yeah yeah. great. so uh you have any sugar I promise to give it back?"

"sure, come on in, don't stand in the hallway, just gotta find it." steven curses himself for inviting you in as his house is a mess and he legitimately has shackles attached to his bed.

you awkwardly walk inside and only take two steps then you stop not wanting to overstep.

"oh you have a fish." its the first thing that comes to mind to fill in the silence.

"yeah that's gus. gus say hello to our guest." steven says and your heart does a little flip.

"oh so rude of me hello stevens roommate." steven let's out a laugh which makes you blush.

"here,love." steven gives you sugar and you blush even more, you assume the nickname was accidental but doesn't mean your heart knows the difference.

"thank you. bye." you quickly leave and almost stumble.

steven curses himself, he didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, the word just slipped without him thinking. he's had a crush on you since he saw you the day you moved in and now you probably think he's creepy.

after getting into your flat, you immediately start making the cookies. you really hope steven likes them you put a lot of effort into them.

you stand a few minutes in front of his door like a weirdo until you get the courage to knock again.

"hi! It's me again. here some cookies for you. I just wanted to thank you for helping me move in and for being so kind to me. okay bye." you push the cookies into steven's and try to leave but steven grabs your hand.

"wait. what if we ate them together? that's of course if you want to. and you really didn't have to I helped because I wanted to." steven still holds your hand and waits for your reply.

it's not like you're going to miss this opportunity and not with the way he's looking at you.

"sure."

you take the time to look around and really take in the sight of his apartment, the books, the aquarium - it's just so steven.

"please, feel comfortable. thank you so much for making this for me. i'm sure it took bit of your time."

"i wanted to, I hope you like them." you expectantly look at at steven while he takes his first bite.

"so?"

"best cookies I ever had." steven says and you blush.

" im sure that's not true." you shyly say.

"sure are."

at some point you and steven sit on the couch and talk, he tells you about his work at the museum some fun things you can see there and offered to give you a tour when he's not working.

somehow the time flies and suddenly it's 2am and when you see the time you jump from the couch.

"oh im so sorry for keeping you up so late! i should go."

"I didn't notice how much time passed I'm sorry for keeping you. I been rambling a lot." steven scraches the back of his neck awkwardly, and he really hadn't noticed the time he was really just enjoying his time with you.

"i guess I'll hold you to your promise for the special tour of the museum?" you smile at steven.

"of course."

the last thing steven remembers is you going to the door and now he's suddenly kissing you?

as you were about to leave steven pulls you in for a kiss, at first you're shocked, but it takes you just few seconds to return it. it starts off rough but suddenly it melts and softens as if you're kissing another person.

at first stevens hands are on your hips but as the kiss softened they are suddenly on you cheeks.

when you finally pull away you feel like you're as red as a tomato.

"sorry." steven mutters out an apology.

"its okay. that was nice." you can see that his shoulders relaxed at your words.

"uh the tour could we turn that into a date?"

"i'd love that. good night steven."

you kiss him quickly again and leave.

"good night" steven whispers to himself.

____________________________________

"you helped the worm. it is amusing." khonshu laughs.

"it was impossible to watch that. besides he just needed a little push it was going well." marc replies and puts on the suit going off into the night.

_____________________________________

[the end]

likes comments and reblogs are appreciated <3

[scammysmileroksuu]

hello it’s 2am here and I’m running on 2 hours of sleep since yesterday but I suddenly remembered my old brainrots about Cale adopting baby Sui (back when I was waiting for lcf s2)

honestly I might as well make a fic where cale just raises baby sui like he’s his father. I can’t stand the fact I was robbed of the opportunity of seeing cale spoiling baby sui and raising him into the happiest baby reincarnator ever. Also I used to think Sui would be a baby vampire so yk. It gave me ideas. like, I wanted to see Cale being the one to protect Sui khan this time. The canon reunion was so good, like, Sui finding Cale just like how lsh found krs in the debris, flying to Roan the instant he got his memories. And kimcale recognizing his team leader instantly like it’s natural. The awkward but very warm atmosphere between them after the reunion, it all made me the happiest reader on earth.

but I can’t seem to give up on my old brainrots. They were what kept me alive throughout the seven months of college entrance exams where I had no source of happiness except for my fics and brainrots. So I’ll bring this back to life eventually.

yes, I’m sleepy and idk what I’m writing. The art is messy and I haven’t even colored it properly yet but I don’t think I’ll finish it anytime soon so-. The new semester will apparently start in few days and I’m mentally not prepared yet.

[ulquichaan]

Miraculous Ladybug - my thoughts.

Hello!

It's been a while, I know. But I come back to rant yet again! I'm sorry for any mistakes in advance - its 2am and the thoughts won't let me sleep so I have to get them out there somewhere. If you don't want to waste your time - skip it. If you actually want to read it, I'll have a cookie waiting for you at the end of this. :3

My journey with MLB.

Miraculous was that one show that I got to know about through a parody of it on polish yt channel called Surreactor. I didn't know what it was about but it looked interesting and that was a point in time when season 3 was just starting to come out. Sooo, as the curious child I was - I gave it a go. And it captured me very easily.

At first all I wanted is for Adrien and Mari to finally get together. I never had big thoughts about it. Then I got bored between new episodes and just... forgot about it.

After some time however I came back to it. It was somewhere around 4th season airing. I returned to it, watched it all over again and it captured me yet again. I completely fell in love with Adrien as character and started to read loads of fanfiction about the two main heroes. I got invested, started to draw the characters in different settings and what not. I started even posting here on tumblr the rants that blew out about Adrien and about Black Cat holders as a whole just because I was frustrated on how little love he got or that I couldn't find any theories that would make sense.

I made new friend, started to plan stories more than I did before, returned to RP with my old friend through messenger and more.

It was a blow of creativity of mine at that time. You maybe you know of "Sky Is The Limit"? That was the point for me where I had so many ideas that I had to do something with at least one of them. Talking about an overload, right?

Season 4 finale - the best finale in this show in my honest opinion. Though I am based so who cares.

The point is - I deeply fell in love with this fandom for the most part.

And then... season 5 happened.

At first I was hooked. Really. I felt that it was going in the right direction and I even wanted to watch it later so I could see it in order.

Oh boy, did I get disappointed. Very disappointed.

I was never a Senti-Adrien fan, let's be real. But the execution? Even worse.

The finale? The fight yea, fun. But why cut out Adrien out of it???

Chloe as mayor? ARE YOU FOR FUCKING REAL? It's losing braincells more and more.

And I know the plot armor was always evident in this show and all.... but i feel like it was knocked up 10 times or more in season 5 to the point it could beat Game of Thrones seasons 7 and 8. (Yeah, I know what should compare two shows where one is fenomenal and the other has always been trash, but you can't argue with me that seasons 7 and 8 weren't rushed and had very poor execution)

To say that I was angry is an understatement. I HATED season 5 with every fiber of my existence. I still do, but I'm far more calm about it than I was originally. Believe it or not.

I saw all the drama in the fandom. When people complained about the show and other people came in to defend it. And I have to say - I can see where both sides are coming from.

To the people who enjoy it, all of it - I'm glad you do! I really am!

However.

I can clearly see where the hate is coming from and anytime I saw a valid critique I couldn't help but agree with it. There were some awesome responses to that critique even from people who do enjoy the show still, but there were always people who I'll call "white knights".

Aka people who will ride-or-die for the show and always say there is nothing wrong with it!

Oh how I hate this way of thinking....

Little message to those white knights - yes there are pure haters that hate just to hate, but in the spectrum of people who are critiquing the show are also people who loved it and got disappointed. When people are angry/dissapointed they usually feel the need to express themselves and forums like Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter, are just perfect for ranting. I have spent fair share in the horse gaming community to know that every flop will have a retaliation and shutting up people will make them only more angry. :|

I stopped liking the show. Why am I coming back to it?

That's a question that started to bother me just as I was going to sleep.

I have watched Hazbin Hotel (Lucifer my beloved) and fell deeply in love with it. I always liked Vivzie's Hellaverse being it Helluva Boss and now Hazbin, but there is something that just came back to me.

I started yet again imagining Adrien and Marinette but in the helllaverse. Or what if I merged hellaverse and Miraculous together in some way. Or other crazy ideas that will never see the light of day.

It's always those two characters for the most part. But the moment those two show up, the rest of Miraculous cast does too.

I fell put of the show. I don't like it. Why do I keep coming back?

My thought is - the fandom and the work it did for the characters.

I have always loved to read fanfiction even it came to miraculous. And it's always SO MANY! With many different variants of the world or entirely different settings. Ofc there are some bad fics, but the good ones are those that captured my heart and made me love the characters even more.

Let's put in some examples (and recommendations if you want to check them out):

Happiness by Somewhere_Out_Here

Once a Thief, always a Thief by @saijspellhart

Bakery Enemies by @buggachat

Heaven in hiding by @livinglittlelie

I'll guess your heart, if you guess mine by PurpleHeartsOne

Chat Blanc's Moon Waltz by @rileyclaw

The comic dubs by PhantomSavage

The little comics like "Passionate Kiss" by @edendaphne

All of these are just very few examples from multitude of content I devoured when I was in the love stage for MLB. And those things are STILL SO GOOD. (You have to check it out if you haven't already)

The point is - the fandom fell in love with the concept and if not that, then the characters. Yes, they aren't perfect. Some would say they are very much Mary Sue-ish. Some would say they are badly written. While the fact is - the characters themselves aren't badly written, the plot is just badly handled.

I can see why people love Marinette, she is quirky, funny and her ideas, while absurd most of the time, they work. And that's fine! She is supposed to be creative and what not. A great friend to have in corner, that for sure :3

Adrien on the other hand is supposed to be a bundle of issues that come with living a sheltered life and the want to be free.

(The movie handled Marinette much better than the show, let's be real here)

Sad fact - the writers of the show couldn't handle all of the potential they set up. But the fandom could and that's what's beautiful in my opinion.

The show may not be a masterpiece but they made some aspects of it so enjoyable and investing (love-square) that other people decided to execute those good things in their own stories and create something else.

The characters are just so easy to put into other stories too. Because they are written in the way they are (even if poorly handled at times) the aspects of them are very flexible, which in turn makes them easy to incorporate into other AUs.

For me it proves that you don't need a very complicated and deep character to make your story memorable. Even tho that certainly helps depending on your story. Miraculous was really lucky it got that creative fandom in the first place.

And this is what is beautiful.

Ending, some plans of mine that who knows if they will see the light of day. :]

This is only for those who are interested what I have been up to and what do i plan with this blog:

I am not quitting tumblr, oh no. I'll be probably reposting some stuff that I like from time to time.

I am returning to write "Sky Is The Limit", however I am completely rewriting it for the.... 7th time? Something like that. I doubt I'll finish it anytime soon at this rate and if I get the need to draw I might draw few characters from there or designs I have planned.

I have a very big project in mind that I might probably make a new blog for. It's still just an idea but I getting closer to actually being made so stay tuned.

I will start posting stuff from Hazbin Hotel. I fell deeply in love with Lucifer's character and you can't unglue me from that duck man!!

Other than that I went to university and I'm enjoying my time here so yeah.

And here is your cookie for reading all that! You're a legend!

(I'm open for any discussions as long as they stay respectful. Feel free to DM me :>)

[donnabenevientosimpingzone]

Dangie Headcanons for my blog cuz I can’t shut up about them

- They share one braincell. You’ll find these bitches up at 2am air frying lunchables

- Angie is absolutely 100% the closet stealer. When Daniela gets new clothes- it’s THEIR new clothes.

- Which is ironic because Angie is the one who knows fashion, Daniela doesn’t know shit lmao she’ll walk into a conference wearing sweatpants.

- The way they dance together is very similar in style to west coast swing, although neither one of them learned how to dance.

- Angie is the spider killer. Daniela has crippling arachnophobia (all the Dimitrescu sisters do).

- After they became a thing, they’ve both began to noticeably drink less. They claim it’s because they spend more time on dates, but in reality it’s because they wanna live together for as long as possible.

- Daniela is the cook and learned all of Angie’s fave dishes from Donna.

- They absolutely communicate with extreme baby talk gibberish at random.

- Angie’s abandonment issues and massive anxieties never fully went away, but Daniela continues to work with her on them.

- Similarly Daniela’s feeling of inferiority and lack of individuality are being tended to by Angie.

- “Hello this is my ex-friend” “stop introducing me like that! She’s my girlfriend”

- Swap jewelry all the time, specifically necklaces. Angie’s necklace was originally her mothers, so it’s a special moment whenever she lets Daniela wear it.

- Call each other by their own last names sometimes (i.e. Daniela Beneviento and Angie Dimitrescu), but before Alcina started getting a fucking grip on being a mom, Daniela was seriously considering dropping the Dimitrescu name

- Angie is a switch but tends to favour bottom, strictly a little spoon though

- Hands. Just. Hands. They’ll play with each other’s hands, fiddle their fingers together, run the palms with the pads of their thumbs, actively search to hold each other’s hands, grip onto them instinctively- hands is their ultimate physical affection tool.

- Angie is laughably awful with a skateboard. Daniela likes to annoy her about it.

- They don’t do chores. They’ll wait for the last possible minute to finally give in and do it. They will wear the last clean pair of pants for as long as fucking possible before they do laundry.

- Snacks are hidden around the house. You could be talking with one of them and suddenly the other is getting up to grab protein bars out of a vase.

- Daniela is a middle of the bed sleeper and Angie tends to curl around the edge of the bed

- On the topic of that, Daniela is a deep sleeper and Angie is a really light sleeper. Yes, Angie has a lot of selfies and pics of her sleeping girlfriend.

- Matching pfps on everything! They also tend to put the stupidest pictures of the other as their phone wallpaper- and their nicknames for each other in their phones are also stupidly romantic.

- Their text history is the most entertaining thing to read. They’ll go back to read it pretty often, and screenshot their favourite parts.

- Angie is the aesthetic selfie sender and Daniela tends to reply with an in-the-moment unflattering selfie without a second thought.

- When Angie is actually focusing really hard on something, she makes this face that Daniela is just absolutely enthralled by. Like. Oh my god. That’s my girlfriend.

- Deeply protective of each other and possessive. Angie is definitely the more jealous one.

- Fun fact: originally Angie and Daniela’s routes were planned to take place and interconnect with a cat cafe plot. I still have a PNG of an Angie sprite where she’s holding a cat. Therefore they’re both cat people. Hands down.

[peaceoutofthepieces]

Uh hi! So I know you usually do ship stuff, but I am desperate for some Isaac Henderson angst content. I’ve found a few here and there but most of them aren’t actually super angsty and a lot somehow feel more about the other characters even if they’re meant to be about Isaac. They’re good but nothings really scratched that itch so far. Could you write something using #12 from the angsty dialogue prompts? Or honestly if you’d rather not do that one, any one of the prompts would be great. I’ll leave it up to you what exactly it’s about and who the line is directed at, I just wanna see my fave go through it.

hello!! i'm sorry this took so long! i would like to clarify that i started it ages ago, but it was at less than 1000 words yesterday evening, and then it was finished at 2am last night. (i got so into it i'm currently in the mindset of "that's it, i'm going to try and post at least a fic a week now 😤", but we will see if that actually happens.) so, i hope if nothing else it's sufficiently angsty and not too ooc. you did give me quite a bit of freedom, and it remains unclear if that was a good choice or not 😅 anyway, enjoy!!

12. "Help me."

Post-prom, Isaac felt out of sorts. 

His situation with James and his odd encounter at Elle’s exhibition had been eye-opening, to say the least. Angela Chen’s Ace still resided on his nightstand, though he’d finished reading it two days after lifting it from the library. He couldn’t bring himself to return it just yet; he found himself going back to it at night, rereading sections over again as if they would tell him something new, feeling he was still missing something. And anyway, they were still on summer holidays. The school wouldn’t miss it for now. 

No one seemed to be missing him much, either.

It was becoming more noticeable, this summer break, how he was the odd one out. He’d been aware his friends were essentially coupled off for months now, and Paris had cemented it, but Paris had also kept them stuck together as a group. 

(Plus, most of the Paris trip had been before things had become royally awkward with James, but he was mostly avoiding thinking about all that.)

The situation with Darcy had understandably taken a bit of a priority in the past couple of weeks, but it didn’t explain the shift that had seemed to happen within all his friends since prom. Isaac had figured for a while that Elle would be leaving, and he assumed it was why she and Tao had been attached at the hip. He didn’t begrudge them it, really. He had watched them pine over each other long enough that leaving them this time together felt warranted. Besides, it wasn’t like they were asking Charlie to movie nights recently, either. 

But it also wasn’t likely Charlie was waiting to be asked, these days. He and Nick had seemingly re-entered their honeymoon phase, which was fair given that they finally could be as coupley as they wanted wherever and whenever they wanted. Isaac just found it odd that it seemed to be more since prom than Nick’s coming out, but he was not going to ask about that. It made sense he didn’t want to think about. The intense, somewhat dark cloud that seemed to still hang over Nick around Charlie was more worth questioning, but it was also part of what kept Isaac from encroaching on them recently. 

Everyone seemed to have something going on. His going-ons felt a little unworthy, in comparison. He wasn’t sure if he was feeling shit about himself because he didn’t want to put an extra burden on his friends and it was a bit sad he considered his feelings a burden, or if that was an excuse for not having to talk about it because he didn’t really know how and it was making him feel shit. 

So, yes. Out of sorts. 

Out of sorts and alone, most of the time. 

He was not in the habit of pitying himself, however, and he was not about to start now. So what if he was having some life-defining realisations about himself and he had no one to share them with? He’d coped with life mostly on his own so far and he’d continue to do so. 

And he was coping. Perfectly. 

Kind of. 

Sitting in one of his best friend’s houses, surrounded by their other friends and staring into a book was how he always coped, so this was perfectly normal. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t absorbing the words and everyone seemed louder than usual. He hadn’t been sleeping well. He was tired. That’s all he was feeling. 

Tara tugged at his foot from where she and Darcy were perched on the floor by his armchair. “Isaac, we're gonna play a boardgame. Put the book down and come join us!”

Isaac looked, but Tao and Elle were still wrapped up in each other in the corner and Nick and Charlie were nowhere in sight. He raised an eyebrow at Tara. “We are?”

“Yes! Nick and Charlie are away to get them right now, so come get comfy.”

Darcy snorted. “Good idea, because we could be waiting for a bit.”

Tara slugged her shoulder and Darcy only giggled again. 

“Shouldn't they have passed the honeymoon phase by now?” Isaac asked, lowering his book slightly but not yet closing it. 

“Nick and Charlie?” Tara grinned. “I'm not sure those two will ever come out of it.”

“Well, I can't say I don't understand,” Darcy quipped, leaning in to Tara with a grin. Tara turned towards her, and their smiles melded as they kissed.

Isaac snapped his book closed. “Actually, I think I'll go to the loo while we're waiting.”

No one gave any sign of hearing him, so Isaac slipped quietly out of the room and up to the bathroom. He rolled his eyes at the giggles coming from Charlie's room and didn't pause. Closing the bathroom door behind him, he finally released a sharp breath. He perched himself on the edge of the bath and pulled out his phone.

Instagram was a distraction he did not often indulge in. His follow count was small—only his friends and favourite authors alongside a small cluster of bookstagrammers he'd found to have good taste. He saved a couple of recommendation posts, then began clicking through stories, pausing when he reached James's. 

The story was almost timed out, all of it from last night, seemingly at a party. Isaac had stopped on a video where James appeared to be singing along to the song playing with another boy. In the middle of it, the boy had swooped forward to kiss James on the cheek. 

Isaac stared at James’s delighted expression and something complicated clenched in his chest. He quickly locked the phone and set it beside him, directing his focus to the wall. 

It was good, he rationalised. James was wonderful; he deserved to be going out and having fun, and he deserved, without question, to have a handsome boy having fun with him. Whether they were friends or something more didn't matter, but the something more definitely seemed possible, if not likely. And James deserved someone who could give him that. 

Isaac had not been able to give him that—did not want to give anyone that, could not derive any joy from it, even from the chance of it giving joy to someone else. 

He was not incapable of love. He knew that. When he looked at his family, when he looked at Charlie and Tao and Elle, he was always so full of love he felt he might explode from it. It wasn't romantic, and it wasn't physical, but it was love, in its purest form it seemed, to him, given he did not want anything in return for it but their happiness and their continued place in his life. 

It was love, uncomplicated, unconditional love, and why wouldn't that be enough? 

He never seemed to be enough. 

He always did what he could to be a good son and a good friend, and he had never doubted it until recently. James had been one of those good friends. He still was, as far as Isaac was concerned, but their relationship had undeniably changed. Maybe it was simply in an awkward phase that would pass, but Isaac, at the moment, could not believe it would ever be the same. For a time, James had been something of his best friend—not because Isaac liked him more than Charlie or Tao or Elle, or because he really spent more time with him, but because James was Isaac’s friend in a way they were not. They spent time together, the two of them, and shared interests the two of them, and when they had been together they had not felt the need for any company outside of the two of them. 

But that had not meant the same to James as it had to Isaac, and Isaac could not give him anything more. He understood that his rejection would not be taken without consequence, but he hadn't been prepared to be, in a way, rejected in return. 

Was this all he would ever achieve? Having friends who would always be somewhat distant—who would always have someone closer, someone better—or having someone close who would eventually want that closeness in a way he did not. Before, he'd worried he was not worthy of that want to begin with. Never had he thought it would be his inability to return it that would be the issue. Could he be upset, that it was his not wanting to be too close that lost him all closeness as a result? 

He was alone on an island of his own making. He couldn't blame anyone for leaving him there if he wasn't going to invite them in, could he? 

Was this, then—alone in the bathroom of his best friend's house with his phone locked beside him and tears in his throat—all he was destined for? 

Isaac Island, party of one. 

A knock on the door startled him, and he swore quietly as he knocked his phone onto the tiles. As he picked it up, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and blanched. There were no tears, but his eyes were red and his face was blotchy and the tears were waiting in his throat, they surely would be there if he went back downstairs to—

Another knock.

“One—one minute,” he tried, clearing his throat when his voice cracked. He quickly turned on the tap and ran his hands and wrists under the cool water, but it did nothing to steady his breathing. The thought of his aloneness had choked him, but the thought of returning into company strangled him. It was not his friends’ fault—he refused to make it his friends’ fault—but at the moment, he couldn't bear them all the same. 

He cupped more cold water in his hands and scrubbed it over his face, but it did not shock him out of the spiral of his thoughts. The third knock barely registered over the growing ringing in his ears. 

“Isaac?” Not Charlie, like Isaac had thought. Not Nick either, or Tara, or any of them. “Are you okay? I'd really like to use the loo.”

His island, he thought deliriously, was sinking; he was drowning, and still, he could do nothing but soak his hands under the tap and soak his face in turn and suck in breaths that did not hold enough oxygen. He was drowning, he was sinking, he could not see it but his body felt it and his lungs were going to seize, he was dying—

He cut the knocking off by throwing open the door and gasping, “Help me.”

Isaac had one second to appreciate Tori’s bewildered expression before it turned serious and she took to action. “Isaac? Hey. Look at me.” She set her hands on his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around his middle, still heaving. “I'm assuming you didn't just get diagnosed with asthma,” Tori said, still impossibly calm—perhaps he was actually the sea, he thought, undefinable and raving, and she the island, unravagable. Isaac shook his head. “Alright. I think, then, this is likely a panic attack. Would it help if I get Charlie?”

Isaac shook his head more vigorously. 

To her credit, Tori only considered him for a few seconds, and didn't argue. She guided him back into the bathroom and gently kicked the door closed. “Sit,” she told him. He did, and she crouched in front of him. Immediately, with his knees pulled to his chest and the bath supporting his back, it was better. He was not so adrift. “You're alright. It will pass. I know it's stupid, but you really do just have to focus on breathing.”

She started counting. It was only when she'd repeated the numbers four times that he understood she was telling him how long to breathe in and out for. Then he tried to follow it, and slowly, air felt like it was moving through him regularly again. 

Isaac wiped at his cheek. To his embarrassment, his fingers came away damp. He didn't look at Tori, but he said, “Thank you.” Then, “Sorry.”

She didn't brush off his apology, or tell him to get out now so she could actually use the loo—both of which would have been fair and not unexpected responses. Instead, she turned and sat next to him. She leaned against the bath to his left, a few inches between their shoulders, and stared at the wall quietly with him. 

When his skin stopped vibrating, he tucked his arms around his middle again and breathed out. “How did you know what to do?” he asked. 

She glanced at him and shrugged. “I didn't, really.”

It was all she offered, but it seemed honest. Isaac decided not to push. He was too grateful to care much. 

“Do you want to tell me what it was about?” she asked, softly. 

Isaac looked over at her. She was looking back, unsmiling but not unhappy. She reminded him a lot of Charlie, Isaac had always thought. They seemed similar in ways they likely weren't even aware of. It was both comforting and unnerving. “Do you really want me to?”

Tori shrugged again. “I'd prefer it if you told Charlie or your other friends, because I think that would be more helpful. But I don't think you want to. So you can tell me, if you need to tell someone.”

That was—exactly what Isaac needed, really. He didn't exactly think it should be Tori. They'd known each other a while, and they liked each other well enough, but they weren't friends. Plus, Isaac knew she and Charlie were actually close; it felt weird and unfair to tell her something and then ask her to keep it from him. 

But in this moment, he could not think of a better option, and the mere thought of getting the weight off his chest was a relief. 

“I think I'm going to end up alone,” he said, blunt and ridiculous. Tori, completely fairly, raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “Not because I think I'm unlovable or something like that.” Although that was part of it. “But because—” Could he say the actual words? “—I think I'm asexual, and aromantic, so I don't think I'll ever love love anyone, and I think that means I'll always be a bit alone.”

He could. 

It still seemed sad and pathetic when he said it out loud, maybe even more so, but the act of it—the unretractable reality of it—settled something in him. 

Tori's expression, a little confused but free of judgement, only added to that feeling. “So, you don't feel romantic or sexual attraction,” she said slowly. “At all. Is that what you mean?”

Isaac was vaguely impressed. He nodded. 

“When did you figure this out?”

Isaac took a long, heavy breath. “I think, properly, I started to figure it out in Paris, when I realised this guy liked me and I was trying to figure out if I liked him back? But I think I'd been starting to realise it long before then. I just…hadn't known what to call it, or what it meant.”

Tori, he noticed gratefully, took time to process this before nodding. “And now?”

Isaac blinked. “Now?”

“What do you think it means now?”

Oh. Isaac hadn't expected the question, and he found himself unsure of how to answer. “I think it means I'm always going to be lonely.”

Tori tilted her head. “But you didn't think that before.”

“What?”

“You said you don't think you're unlovable. And I agree. I think Charlie loves you a lot. I think most people would, because you are a very nice person. You didn't think of that as less important because it wasn't romantic before. What changed?”

Changed? Nothing. Everything. They were growing up, and love had more meanings when you grew up, and some of those meanings became less important. He looked at the wall again. “They have other people they love more,” he said softly. 

“And you won't ever have that,” Tori returned, equally soft. Not a barb, not a rebuke, nothing negative at all. Just realising; working through it alongside him. “So you think you won't ever be the most important person to someone.”

Isaac swallowed, unable to answer. Not because he didn't know the answer—because it was yes, it was true, she was right, of course she was—but because it was impossible to admit. 

“I think that's the case for most people,” Tori said, at once blunt and thoughtful. Isaac looked back at her, awaiting an explanation. “Think about it. Even the most in love people usually have children, and then their children are the most important people, or at least equally important. And if they have more than one child, no one of them is the most important, and neither of the parents are the most important to the other. I think, instead of having one supremely important person, most people have a group of important people in their life.”

She looked over at him and continued. “There probably are different levels and different kinds of importance, but I don't think that necessarily means one is worth less than the other.”

Isaac sat, for a moment, and absorbed that. Could it be true? He thought of his family. He was lucky, in that scenario. His parents were kind, were wonderful, and he knew without question that they loved him, and he loved them. Neither one of them, he realised, was more important to him than the other. He had different relationships with them both, but each of their losses would leave an equally sized hole in his heart. 

He knew that probably wasn't the same for most people, but if he could find that one example in his own life so easily, he couldn't deny it was possible in others. 

“I suppose,” Isaac said. “I think I know what you mean. I don't think it's the same, but—I know what you mean.”

Tori did smile, now. A barely there thing, but warm and kind, all the same. “It probably isn't the same. I know me saying I love my brothers equally and neither of them are less important doesn't mean anything for your friends treating you the same as their partners, or even other friends. But I think—every relationship is as important as you make it. And sometimes, people might not know they aren't making it important, if they don't know what's important about it to you.”

“Has important stopped sounding like a real word to you, too?” Isaac asked. 

“About six ‘important’s ago,” Tori agreed. 

Isaac laughed, and his relief grew. Tori's smile also grew, just a tick. 

“You're saying I should just talk to my friends,” Isaac noted, eventually, and Tori's smile grew wry. 

“I did say that at the very beginning, yes.” Isaac laughed again, and she shook her head. “But I am saying you should explain to them. I can't promise you're wrong, or tell you everything will be fine,” she said truthfully. “But I don't think you can assume people can't give you what you need, if you don't tell them what that is and let them try.”

Isaac’s chest tightened again, but it was different to the breathless feeling from before. Instead of hopelessness, it was an anticipatory sort of buzz. There was a sureness that hadn't been there before. 

There was a clatter from outside, and this time it was Charlie's voice that called out. “Isaac! Are you still up here? We have the game set up.”

Isaac looked from the door back to Tori. She gave him another smile and nodded. “Go on. I have really needed to pee for about ten minutes now.”

Isaac laughed, again, and got to his feet. Tori passed his phone up to him, and he thanked her once more. He knew she could tell he meant for everything, and she wouldn't appreciate him making more of it, so he took his leave without another word, leaving her to pee in peace. 

Charlie was hovering at the top of the stairs. His face broke into a smile at Isaac’s appearance. “There you are. You've been up here ages.” His smile drooped slightly as Isaac came closer. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Isaac nodded. “Sorry, I got caught talking to Tori.”

“In the bathroom?” Charlie huffed, bewildered but amused. For a moment Isaac pictured Tori's expression when he'd opened the door to her, and he smiled. 

He only hesitated for a second before saying, “I wanted to talk to all of you about something, actually.”

Immediately, Charlie's expression softened. “Yeah?” When Isaac nodded, Charlie smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, tugging him towards the staircase. “Come on, then. The game can wait.”

[theclaravoyant]

teach me how to make tiramisu ~ Buck & Bobby - 7x9/10 fic

"Your work is not done." Buck gets a call in the middle of the night. A reflection through food.

AN ~ yall I am sooooo not ready (but also, bring it on <3)

MAJOR 7x09 SPOILERS and some 7x10 promo used for inspiration. Canon Compliant up to the end of 7x09 including references to Bobby's implied suicidality. Angst, hurt/comfort.

Relationships: Buck & Bobby, background bathena, bucktommy, 118

Read on AO3 (3200wd)

-

teach me how to make tiramisu

It's too-early-to-read-the-time o'clock when Buck's phone starts ringing. Or rather, buzzing: it's on silent because it always is, but even just the vibration breaking through his Do Not Disturb never fails to set his heart racing. Buck reaches for it on instinct before he's even really opened his eyes, and when his hand knocks it off the unfamiliar nightstand he flops out of bed after it, frantic.

“H-Hello?”

“Evan Buckley?”

“Speaking.” He scowls. Rubs the sleep from his eyes. He knows that voice. “Teresa?”

“Buck-” she says, because he's on a first name basis with half the staff at First Presbyterian at this point. She sounds choked up.

“Who is it? Is Christopher okay?” He doesn't wait for her to answer. Something inside him just knows that isn't right. “Is it Eddie?”

“I'm afraid it's Captain Nash.”

Buck's pretty sure he stops breathing.

Teresa tells him what's happened, as much as she can. Something about a fire. Fully involved. She explains that the reason she's not calling Sergeant Grant right now as next of kin is that Athena was right there with him – she's still in and out of consciousness. Severe smoke inhalation. And Bobby... Bobby is...

Buck's distantly aware that the phone is slipping from his fingers. He's already bee-lining for the door like the station alarms are ringing and nothing else matters.

Tommy runs after him down the driveway without question. Bundled into his arms are Buck's phone, two jackets and a set of car keys.

Oh yeah, Buck thinks numbly. Gonna need those.

-

The first time it happens, Buck is still in his early days. He's been un-fired, and he appreciates it – really he does – but old habits die hard. So if he's maybe a little too lost in his phone while it's … uh, peaceful, and if he's giggling away at some potentially inappropriate jokes, and even more inappropriate pictures he may or may not have taken in a most definitely inappropriate bathroom, who's to blame him?

Bobby, apparently. He slaps a chopping board, a knife and a red bell pepper onto the island so close to Buck it makes him jump.

“Dice it.”

“What?”

“Chop it up into little squares,” Bobby says, and if he thinks he's being funny there's not the slightest hint about it on his face. “Like dice. I'm cooking for twenty people, Buckley. I need an extra pair of hands.

“Last time I helped in the kitchen you about took my hand off.”

Bobby huffs, but he decides not to argue about what constitutes 'helping' as opposed to 'stealing cheese', and busies himself with several dozen eggs and a mixing bowl instead.

Buck's not satisfied with that as an answer – which, in fairness, is a quality Bobby is trying to encourage in the kid, irritating as it can be. So he sighs.

“Just keeping you out of trouble. You've got that 'about to steal City property' look about you again, and I don't like it. You wanna be part of this house, stop kicking your heels like a twelve year old and pitch in, Firefighter.”

Buck picks up the knife, and starts dicing.

-

Buck's brain is starting to catch up with itself by the time they pull into the parking lot. Tommy hovers around him nonetheless, ready to swoop in if his panic-stricken brain decides to walk into traffic or something, which it probably would have done if that was the fastest way to get inside. It's just gone 2am and it's freezing. Good call on the jackets. Buck shoves his hands deeper into the pockets as Teresa approaches him with a solemn expression.

“The good news is; Sergeant Grant is stable,” she assures him. “She's in recovery, and we expect she'll be waking soon.”

Buck nods, but he still can't quite get oxygen into his lungs. The gaping, silent, and the bad news... almost swallows him whole. He knows what wing they're in. The hallway she nods toward. He knows it so well his knees don't even collapse on him. He's had more than one nightmare about this hallway, in which the distance from the ICU to Recovery seems to stretch and stretch and stretch the more he tries to get there.

Walking the other way, Buck finds the distance isn't nearly long enough. He's barely registered taking a step before he finds Bobby, trapped on the other side of the glass in a room of his own. Lifeless. Literally. He's a shadow of himself; pale and gaunt and imploding. Looking at him, Buck is struck by a memory of the man from years ago, looking pathetically up at him and Hen from the bottom of his shower.

“Help.”

-

“Eddie: Engines. Hen: Laundry. Chim: Inventory,” Bobby commands. “Buck, you're riding the bucket. Lunch is upstairs when you're done.”

There's grumbling stomachs and smiling faces all around as they dissipate off to their house tasks. Buck doesn't mind the sweeping and mopping as much as the others: call him crazy but he actually kind of enjoys cleaning. He likes to sing to himself and bop around as he watches all the dust gather and the floor begin to shine. Or he lets his mind wander. Like, how is there always so much hair in here? It's not like any of them have any to speak of. He imagines there is a dog here after all. The spirit of a dog, maybe, living in the walls. He's a Dalmatian, naturally, and he's probably called something obvious like Spot, but Buck likes Fiver. He chuckles to himself as he imagines Bobby full-naming Five Alarm Fire to let him know he's serious about getting out of the damned bin. The man seems to laugh a lot more these days. He'd probably be up for it.

In defence of his mucking around, time passes quickly like this, and Buck finds he's beaten almost everybody back upstairs. Only Eddie's there, doing a crossword, and Bobby, who is of course manning the kitchen.

“Can I help?”

“Sure, kid.” Bobby smiles, and gestures toward a deliciously seasoned roast chicken with his own cilantro-speckled knife. “Wanna shred the bird? Here, use this.”

Bobby passes over a glass bowl and pair of forks. He makes a gesture suggesting how to use them which Buck mimics effortlessly and of course, it's brilliantly effective. Strips of succulent meat fall away and not for the first time, Buck notices something in the way the repetitive movement seems to calm his perpetually overstimulated nerves. It's not unlike cleaning in that way. He sighs. He can't help it. Something primordially anxious inside him is just... relaxed.

Damn, Bobby's good.

“Is this...” he wonders, and trails off because it sounds silly in his head, but Bobby is watching. He's paying attention, with that same quietly invested expression he had when Buck asked about the difference between mesclun and spring mix, or why they prep the hoses with the little loop in them at the end.

“Is this some kind of Mr Miyagi thing?”

Bobby laughs. “Wax on, wax off?”

“Yeah.”

He's being serious.

Bobby looks down at the tray of neatly arranged part-burgers before him. A dozen buns; all lightly toasted and sporting a tiny heap of grated cabbage, carrot, and cilantro; a couple bearing tofu and the others just awaiting their chicken topper. He methodically adds a near-matching drizzle of sweet chilli sauce to each one.

“You know what,' he muses, “maybe it is.”

-

Tommy's hand trails gentle circles around his back. It feels like he's been sobbing for hours.

Buck leans over his knees in the seat, slowly turning the plastic cup of water in his hands. He tries listen to Tommy's heart or his breathing or something to make the world feel steady again, but the rhythmic beeping of the monitor is the only thing he can hear. And the quiet shhk, shhk, as the ventilator pushes Bobby's chest up and down. At least there's that. For now.

Is this how it felt, for Bobby? For all of them, rotating through at his bedside with nothing to do but count every pseudo-breath and wait?

“Bobby -”

A familiar voice, devastated, snaps both of them to attention as Athena bursts into the room. She runs straight for his bedside like she hasn't even noticed they're there. Maybe she hasn't, as she clutches at his chest with shaking hands and presses her face as close to Bobby's as she can get and Buck's pretty sure she's crying. She never cries, not in front of people. But then she asks, without turning to look -

“What happened?”

“There was a fire,” Buck says, at the same time Tommy supplies -

“He had a heart attack.”

She turns away from Bobby then, her whole expression racked with desperation and pain.

“He didn't do this?”

“Wh- no.” Buck frowns. “Athena. He had a heart attack after he pulled you out.”

“A heart-? Okay.” She nods, then nods some more, and glances back at Bobby like she doesn't really believe it. She's at war with her own arms, refusing to let them cross over her chest and betray the fact that she's losing the battle against the screaming pain inside. Frazzled is not a word often used to describe Athena Grant, but maybe this is it. She pushes through it nonetheless. “You said there was a fire? How did it start? Who started it?”

“I don't know, I- I was going to ask you.” Honestly, he hadn't even thought about it.

Tommy stands up. “Please, Sergeant- Athena, I think you should sit down.”

Athena makes a bristling, flicking gesture that says in no uncertain terms: don't come near me, don't touch me, don't tell me what to do. There's a steely glint in her eye in spite of the tears and Buck is once again struck by her tenacity. She may be breaking down, but that woman never stops moving. She paces like a caged tiger.

“I'll call Lou,” she decides, and begins to pat herself down and then she realises – her phone is in the house. Buck watches the horror seep into her face and grind her gears to a halt as that thought leads to another and another and it starts to catch up with her; what's happened to the house, where she's probably lived since he was in diapers. Where she'd met them all, made two marriages, raised her kids... He can't even imagine.

“Hen will be here soon,” he offers quietly. “Athena. Maybe just...”

They're interrupted by a knock at the door. “Excuse me,” Nurse Simon interrupts, as gently as he can. “Sergeant, there's some detectives at the desk for you. Hollis and Barnes, they said... from Arson.”

Athena nods, manages a shaky thank you and promises to be right out. Simon leaves, at least enough to let the door close for a moment and before Buck can even open his mouth to suggest that maybe she shouldn't go out there right now, Athena's mind is made up. She takes a deep, deliberate breath, and it's like the emotion just folds back up inside her. The tears, the shaking, it quiets down to a dull roar emanating from her that only somebody who knows her might detect. Before him stands Sergeant Grant again. Mostly.

“You look after him,” she commands. Then she's off to fight dragons, and Buck is feeling awestruck and if possible even more pathetic, because he's pretty sure he couldn't even stand up right now if he tried.

-

The smell hits his nostrils, and Buck throws his head back and moans with delight.

“Lasagne!! Fuck yeah!!” he cheers. His mouth is already watering as he leans over the loft railing and shouts down to the others - “Hey guys!! It's a six cheese day!”

There's a round of drowsy cheering. They're into day two of an aggressively medium, surprisingly dull forty eight. Bobby must have figured they could use the pickup. He doesn't even argue when, on his way to the coffee machine, Buck pinches a couple fingers of cheese and sprinkles them into his mouth. Bobby likes to say he's given up trying to stop him but honestly, it's gone further than that now. It's become a familiar little ritual and dare he say it, the man is fond. He even grates a little extra these days, for just that purpose.

“I figured it out, by the way,” Buck says.

“Figured what out?”

“The sixth cheese. It's Romano. The real stuff, with sheep's milk.” He shrugs, with a smug smile, and pinches just a little of that one too. “Nice touch.”

“You figured that out just by taste?” Bobby blinks, trying not to show his incredulity, and Buck basks in it for a moment before shrugging it off.

“Nah. Grocery store receipt.”

Bobby laughs and shakes his head. Ingenuity; that's one way to do it.

“Alright,” he says. “I think you're ready. Come here, Grasshopper.”

“What?”

Bobby shuffles out of the way of the largest bowl, where ground beef and tomato and onion and herbs are coming together into something magical. Buck moves into the open place with a slightly hesitant sense of awe. Bobby just smiles gently, and if he notices Buck maybe getting a bit choked up when he takes the tea towel from his own shoulders and slings it over his, he doesn't say anything. Just pats him on the back, and leans over to instruct;

“So, next is the garlic.”

-

It's hard to believe it's been almost a week now.

He's at least managed to go home, get some sleep albeit terrible, and change his clothes. They've all been taking turns sitting with Bobby – even Hen and Eddie, with their own life catastrophes, can't bear to leave him entirely alone. Athena virtually camps out in his room, splitting her time between the hospital and the station. Nobody wants to put too fine of a point on how she doesn't have anywhere else to go. (Even though she does. Of course she does. But she won't – not yet. She's fighting dragons).

Buck's arrival at least lets her settle enough that she allows Hen to take her down to the corner for breakfast. He's happy to help, even if happy is the wrong word to describe anything about this. Touched, maybe, and grateful to be of service. Then she hugs him, and a hollow sort of dread washes through him like a haunted wind.

Hen sends a message after they leave.

Still no improvement. The docs came by last night for first official talk about a Decision.

If you have any deaths door secrets, Buckaroo,now's the time.

Love you.

He pulls up a chair to Bobby's bedside, and collapses into it with a heavy sigh. His eyes full of tears, he looks around and it's equal parts comforting and terrifying: Bobby's room is slowly filling up with well wishes and trinkets, flowers and children's drawings. Like a grave site. Like a shrine.

His bedside table has been kept mostly clear except for a lamp and some water, a worn old prayer book, his own brown glass rosary, and a familiar St Christopher medallion. The patron saint of travellers, or so says the internet, and protection against sudden death. To Eddie, the man himself had once explained, it means Christopher, of course, and the rest is just a story. But Buck wonders if those aren't actually the same thing. If coming back for your child, against time and distance and death and all odds, is not the most powerful thing in this world. He's seen it happen.

Then again, he's seen it fail too.

He's seen people give up, he's seen them surrender. He's seen them fight to the last bloody breath and it still not be enough.

Please, he begs silently, please be enough.

And then: please be fighting.

And he's not sure why it's taken this long to hit him. Why it hasn't occurred to him earlier that Bobby could be anywhere else but inside his own mind somewhere, lost and trying, finding Athena and Michael and shenaniganising his way through life lessons. Running down that mind-bending hallway like his life depends on it and smashing into that locked room because it does.

But maybe he's not.

Maybe he'd come to find Buck in the locker room that day to try and tell him something. Maybe he'd given away his prayer book and his apron and his firehouse for some other reason. Maybe Athena knows, and he can hear it in her voice as he replays it in his head, and he can feel it in her arms that gave him that tight, brief, heartbroken embrace.

“He didn't do this?”

Well. Maybe he's ready to let go, but Buck isn't ready to let him.

He leans over and squeezes one of Bobby's hands. It's still warm, which is kind of eerie, but it gives him hope that maybe the man can hear him. After all, he could when he was down there. Sort of. He closes his eyes and digs deep.

“Come on, Cap,” he whispers. “Come home. Seven more years, remember? You promised.”

Did he promise? Or did he look him forlornly in the eyes and vaguely agree when he'd actually already resigned and hadn't told anyone?

Fuck.

Tears splash down Buck's cheeks, and he squeezes tighter until he can feel it in his own chest.

“I want to talk to you about Tommy,” he says. “Even if I don't need to. I want to. I'm- I'm so happy, Bobby you don't even know. It's like you said. I'm at ease. I finally feel- and I couldn't have done it without you. I can't do it without you. I can't -”

Sobs threaten to choke him and he tries to swallow them down. He's not sure he has it left in him, to cry so much again.

“If you don't want to be Captain anymore, that's fine, but can you just – can you just come back and be Bobby? Please? 'Cause if I ever have a kid I want them to call you grandpa and if I ever get married I want you to walk me down the isle and if I ever get my own station I want to knock on your door in the middle of the night to bug you for advice -” He laughs a strangled laugh - “'cause you know I would. I will. I swear.”

Bobby's face remains impassive. The machines tick and beep and whirr steadily on. Buck tries to find the promise in that. To centre himself. It would be nice if the man could wake up jolting and screaming right about now. Make him feel like he's having some sort of effect. But even if he isn't, the reality is, he might not get another chance.

“I had a dream the other night,” he continues, “that you were teaching me how to make tiramisu. I don't even like tiramisu, but I'd learn it from you. And your peach cobbler - you have to show me that. And I bet you do a killer apple pie. And are you really going to leave it to Eddie to show me dulche du leche? Come on.”

He covers Bobby's hands with both of his this time, and leans so far forward his forehead rests on the scratchy teal hospital blanket.

“Your work is not done, Bobby. Please.”

He holds his breath -

- and he could swear, something moves.

[yolowritter]

In Defense of Chloe Bourgeois Part 3: Why Thomas, WHY?

Hello everyone! In case it wasn't obvious by the title, this is a part 3 to this post right there! I'd sincerely recommend reading it since you'll need the context. Anyhow, moving right onto where I left off! Yes I copied the message too, it's 2am leave me alone.

[...]

Mind you, I'm not saying that there shouldn't be one at all, but that Miracle Queen was absolutely not the right time to go for it. Assuming that Chloe's fall was planned from the start, then I'll admit that it was the right call from Astruc and Co. Why? Because Seasons 2 and 3 give us an excellent analysis of Chloe as a character, and a lot of time for her to try and acclimate herself to the new circumstances of actually belonging somewhere. But...they also don't provide Chloe with the oppurtunity to figure herself out that much. She's preoccupied with Akuma fights whenever she's Queen Bee, and doesn't get much time to actually talk to her would-be friends as herself, at least outside the context of beating up this week's fashion atrocity, courtesy of the local Butterfly Man. And to be honest? The only reason I don't love Miracle Queen as an episode is because Chloe's fall didn't get proper buildup. If Astruc had devoted time to show us what was happening, then I'd be head over heels for the sheer amount of potential doors this storyline was opening!

Unfortunately...Thomas decided to double down on a terrible writing mistake...with Queen Banana. Dear Nooroo, the sheer amount of hate I have for this episode is almost as bad as my seething rage for Ephemeral! I'll talk about that disasterous stew of rotten eggs and horrendous writing some other time, but Queen Banana nearly takes the cake for my least favorite episode in Season 4! Would you like to know why? Because I was inhaling one thousand cubic meters of copium when I predicted that Astruc would actually bother doing something worthwhile with Chloe! And I'll admit, I do see what they were going for here. Make Chloe as bad as possible to replace her with Zoe. But that just ended up undermining both of them so badly that it actually hurts me to watch Queen Banana and Sole Crusher! I honestly don't think it was 100% intentional to make it look like Zoe was her half-sister's replacement, but the fact that it even looks that way from what I believe to be a decently unbiased point of view...is a problem. Don't get me wrong, I love Zoe! She's amazing, and Season 5 made her even better! But her introduction was so poorly written that it feels that way.

And Thomas certainly didn't help matters with the way Chloe was portrayed in those episodes. People have said that "she was being nice to Zoe at the start" and that "Chloe was trying to help with the movie, she had a really cool idea!" and both of those are true, yes, but look at the way that she goes about it. Chloe cranks up her "Audrey-ness" from the 8.5 we see on a good day, to the 10 of Style Queen...to a good ol' 27. Mind you, this could have been very well done! It could have been made obvious that Chloe is intentionally falling back into old habits as a defense machanism or a way to cope by deluding herself into thinking she doesn't need anyone because she's a Bourgeois! Would have made for a wonderful plotline, especially since she broke off her and Adrien's friendship. If I recall correctly, he told her she's being unreasonable, which Chloe absolutely was the entire episode, at least in the way she went about interacting with people. Naturally, Chloe insists otherwise, and decides that she doesn't need him either! This would be a wonderful moment to have her cry in the limousine, or maybe we could have gotten a scene where she's regretting cutting him off in Sole Crusher! Even at some later point in the Season! It would have been great! It would have given Chloe proper depth and made the approach of her fall in Miracle Queen have actual consequence in regards to her character! It would have severely complicated Chloe's relationship with the now only positive influence in her life, Zoe!

Speaking of Zoe, there's a huge theme hanging between her and Andre about breaking cycles of abuse. I won't talk about it here since it fits into a future post, but there's already a lot of analysis posts out there, especially about their relationship, which I personally find fundementally flawed. Andre is in general a really shitty person who I don't think ever should gotten a redemption arc, especially one that amounts to "Oh well, the problem child (that I am responsible for failing to raise) is gone now, time to receive zero consequences and enjoy my life after being a corrupt politician for almost a decade!" Can you tell I do not like that by the way? Can you tell? I swear I am giving this man a downfall arc to end all downfalls in a fic one of these days...

Anyway, point is that Chloe and Zoe are both screwed over by their incredibly horrible parents! And to anyone who says "but Zoe isn't a bad person, she's just different", kindly think about why that is. Chloe spent her entire childhood begging for her mother's attention and then being taught how to bribe, extort, blackmail and bully people into submission by Andre. Which is canon by the way! Meanwhile Zoe spent a significant amount of time with Audrey, and therefore doesn't idolize the mom she never knew.

Now, I'm not going to speculate on Zoe's childhood, but it seems pretty logical that Zoe was at the very least witness to a frankly ludicrous amount of Audrey's "you're ridiculous, utterly ridiculous" moments, to the point where she's sick of it. Like c'mon, if you had anybody in your house firing their unpaid intern 27 consecutive times in the span of maybe an hour, you'd quickly get used to it, get annoyed by it, and then promptly decide the behavior isn't worth emulating. Especially if you're sick of their shit by that point, which we can logically Zoe is. Therefore, she doesn't act like Audrey. Considering Andre didn't know she existed, he never poisoned her with his slimy politician ways, Zoe's behavior is different from Chloe's. As an aside, she still does try to emulate her actions when she first arrives at Dupont, if only for a couple minutes. Zoe wants to fit in, and even if she doesn't like what Chloe does, she's willing to play the part at least for a moment to get close to her sister. Fits really well with her wanting to be an actress, so I wanted to highlight it!

Anyway, the point is that there is some great foundational material here! Regardless of whether or not Chloe "fell" in Miracle Queen, there's amazing potential for a proper conflict between these two! Because as a reminder, we deduced earlier that Chloe was jealous of Marinette because of the latter having what she didn't! Zoe presumably had Audrey's love (in Chloe's mind at least), hence she would treat her differently. Be it either with seething hatred or jealousy is up to whomever writes the story. Alternatively, Chloe could (in the scenario where Miracle Queen didn't happen) believe that Zoe is a similarly abusive situation as she, and we go from there for a plotline between the two. Irrespectively of which route they wanted or could have taken this, any potential for character development between these two is utterly ruined from the very moment they first interact on screen.

This because Chloe is now reduced to a one-dimensional "school bully" character, which would have made logical sense if the writers explained it as a self-defense mechanism, but without any context or exploration of her mental state post Season 3, it can only be seen as character regression, which is never a good idea! Not to mention that Lila Rossi exists specifically to fulfil the role of antagonist for Marinette's personal life now! I know as well as everyne else how much Lila gets ignored and underused in this show, but the fact that Thomas and Co. took time to forcefully shove Chloe back in a role that no longer fits her instead of using the villain they spent three Season Finales hanging in front of us like a carrot on a stick is ridiculous to me! Therefore, Chloe's entire character development, which I would have been completely fine with if anybody bothered to treat her downfall with even the minimum amount of respect it deserves, if solely from the perspective of not leaving a gaping plothole bigger than the cavern in Gabriel's basement in the middle of their storyline! I know I already brought up me having an aneurysm once because of these crappy writing decisions, but we are well past the point of a mental breakdown and headed directly to a freakin' heart attack!

Why? Why??? How do you even manage to disrespect your own character to the point where you ruin two villains simultaniously, and the new heroine you're introducing??? Thomas Astruc! Have you ever taken a Writing 101 class before? Do I need to borrow Nathalie's crossbow and force you into one? Yeah okay, we get you don't like Chloe, but I honestly cannot accept that her botched downfall would spiral into the utter butchering of two more characters with unlimited potential, one of whom is supposed to be the villainess for your protagonist's personal life and the new Hawkmoth! I am well aware that Thomas doesn't even know I exist, but the sheer amount of beef I have with this man solely for being incompetent it honestly starting to become too much! I'm sitting over here desperately trying to retcon and re-write his characters in my head to at least make logical sense! And he just adds even more steaming-hot garbage to the pile of inconsistency, insanity and bad writing decisions! Meanwhile, we're missing 100% of logical sense, character respect, or at the very least some kind of way for the audience to understand what you're trying to communicate! Just tell us in a twitter post at this point! Please, be clear with your writing!

Okay...I'm sorry, this post has gotten way too long. Ridiculously long. Including this paragraph, it's actually almost 7.5k words in total. Hence why I've split it into so many parts. I sincerely hope you got the point. To summarize, regardless of if Chloe was redeemed or not, there were incredible oppurtunities for storytelling, and Thomas missed the wide side of a barn with this one. If you ask me I can go into way more detail, and yes that's despite the 7.4 thousand words in this series of posts. Anyway, I am now going to cool off, and quite possibly (maybe) sleep. I'll see you all next time (when I wake up from my coma), but until then, Stay Miraculous everyone!

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