#and the videos are somehow worse this round

[dailydoseoffanfics]

⭐️ SELF AWARE FORSAKEN AU (GENERAL HEADCANONS)

⭐️ a/n: my first x reader post that i actually wrote (i think) heh. /silly ANYWAYS this idea has been my brainrot for a while and TBH i'm not sure if I'm able to execute it well but. fuck it we ball 🔥🔥🔥🔥 ALSO I'M ONLY GOING TO DO NOOB, TWO TIME AND CHANCE FOR NOW CUZ THEY'RE THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT I HAVE SOME IDEAS FOR.... (DON'T WORRY I'LL MAKE ANOTHER POST ABOUT THE OTHER SURVIVORS AS WELL)

⭐️ warnings: possibly ooc but I DON'T GIVE A SHITE 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥 (kinda), also really fucking long

⭐️ reader is gender-neutral so they/them pronouns are used!

You're a really normal fan about a Roblox game called "Forsaken".......yeah.....totally a really normal and sane fan about that game. But lately, you've noticed something weird about the characters you're playing.

The characters have varying reactions into finding out they're being controlled by something....or someone (you).

⭐️

NOOB (Noob uses they/them pronouns btw if ya'll forgot!)

Bro has NO clue what's happening right.

It was that one specific round, the usual running away from killers, hiding behind walls hoping that they don't get spotted. It just another round. Or so they though.

During that round, while they're in hiding, they felt some type of.....warmth.

They ignored it at first. Could be just instincts.

But this warmth was....growing? In a way that this warmth was growing stronger, and they feel this type of.....force.

It was controlling their movements, and Noob could hear a faint voice.

Noob is looking around, their mind running places. What is going on? Who is controlling them? And WHY are they doing this???

Noob felt their fear increase. It was already bad that they're getting chased by killers every single round, but when they become aware of this type of, weird force, that's somehow controlling every single of their movement, and hearing a voice that's so far yet so close? Not too mention that Noob didn't even know who you are, no face, no name, nothing. Noob just thought that they lost their mind for good.

What's even worse is that they don't if they can actually trust you. For all they know, you might be some kind of sadistic person that controls people for fun and takes pleasure in seeing people suffer.

That's why Noob tried to stop whatever force this is. Keyword: tried.

No matter how much effort they put into escaping this grasp, like trying to go into an opposite direction or just standing still, it wasn't enough.

Eventually, when the round ends, Noob is just in their designated room, laying on their bed, wondering what in almighty christ just happened.

Their mind kept replaying that incident. Genuinely WHO WAS THAT PERSON? AND WHY WAS THIS PERSON CONTROLLING THEM? WHAT DID THEY EVEN DO TO BE SUBJECTED TO...WHATEVER THIS IS???

Their paranoia is multiplied by 10x. Every new round, their face is noticeably more fearful, they're more jumpy, and they're looking around EVERYWHERE. They look like they're on a brink of a mental breakdown. Usually the other survivors got used to Noob's shakiness, but when the survivors noticed Noob getting jumpscared by literally any sounds, that's where the suspicion comes in (Two Time was the first to notice).

Even if Noob feels dread whenever they feel that same warmth, somewhere deep inside of their mind, it feels..... oddly calming?

Overall, Noob is NOT having a good time. Noob will flat out NOT trust you in the beginning, and probably thinks you're up to no good, so they'll try to avoid you as much as possible (even if they fail everytime). You're gonna have to be REALLY patient with them, Noob being trapped in this time-looping game is already bad enough for them. (Think about this video LMAO)

⭐️

TWO TIME (also uses they/them!)

Two Time is......perplexed. They don't know how to feel about this.

Before Two Time gained awareness, Two Time noticed Noob being more jittery than usual. So they confronted Noob about their behavior lately, and (tried to) comforted Noob. (I headcanon Two Time to be a pretty observant person, and while Two Time is usually closed off, they interact with Noob the most. Second being Elliot.)

So this situation about some kind of....force....controlling Noob? Hm.

Two Time thinks about that interaction, and doesn't just brush that conversation off. They will keep in mind of that, questioning about this "force", with furrowed eyebrows and a questioning gaze on their face as they walk down the hallway of the cabin they live in with the other survivors. (I also headcanon Two Time to be kind of...an overthinker. A great listener, but I think they would think too much about things. ALSO also feel like they're generally an anxious and paranoid fella, and it's canon that they're a little crazy in the membrane, so uh, they're pretty much unstable.)

And that's where it happened. Right after that interaction with Noob with a new round started, they felt warm. The type of warmth Noob described, a type of force that's controlling them.

Two Time felt their blood ran cold. Oh...wow. Two Time understands Noob's fearfulness now.

Immediately doing everything on their willpower to escape out of this force even just for little. They're LOCKED THE FUCK IN trying to stand like a statue (with the survivors giving Two Time weird looks and YOU, my dear player, being confused by this absurd behavior your character that you're playing as right now is showing).

Unfortunately, Two Time's attempt was futile, as their legs are jerked forward, forcing them to participate in the round. Throughout the round, Two Time's mind is running a marathon, while also making more attempts to get out this..warmth feeling off of them.

When the round ends, they would....keep this as a secret for some reason. We all know that Two Time's an enigmatic person, they want secrets to be kept as secrets. (Even then, their weird behavior earlier might've confirmed Noob's suspicion that there was, INDEED, something is controlling them.)

I feel like bro would just go from "OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK I WASN'T EXPECTING THIS SHIT HOLY SHIT I DON'T LIKE THIS PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE" to "wait.....what if they're some type of god...omg am i the chosen one ?!?! 🤯🤯🤯"

So the more rounds you played, the more they're starting to think that you're.....a type of deity. And they're slowly starting to stop their escape attempts of the "force".

It's canon that Two Time used to be a part of a cult that believes in the concept of respawning, and this belief grew stronger as time went on, so Two Time thinks that they've been blessed by the gods, and while Two Time can't really hear well of what you're saying, YOU might possibly get them out of this hellhole.

So basically, they slowly went from dreading your presence to......seeking your presence.

Doesn't help that they're pretty unstable though. My guy's gonna look STRAIGHT at you the screen with a smile that you don't whether they despise you or they worship you, which scares the LIVING shit out of you, making you exit out of the game QUICKLY.

And when you exit the game, the warmth automatically disappears from Two Time......which Two Time immediately felt disappointed with. They didn't mean to make you scared! They just wanted to know more about you!

Yeah, Two Time's bummed about that, but now, you're on their mind, and their feelings is having a battle of whether they should be weary of you or trust you.

(Will they eventually be obsessed with you and be desperate of your approval making them do anything, and by ANYTHING, they do for you? Maybe......possibly......likely....)

Overall, Two Time won't trust you at first. But overtime, they'll think you're like a deity or something similar, which is where they'll let you do whatever you want with them. (And where their obsession slowly starts.)

⭐️

CHANCE (canonically uses he/they!)

Chance is.....confused by all of this.

Chance was the third person to notice Noob's weird behavior. Overtime, they also noticed Two Time being...more in La La Land as well.

Chance just shrugs it off. Eh, he just thinks both of them are generally paranoid, and doesn't think too much about it.

HOWEVER, something weird happened to Chance today. When a new round started, they felt something.....odd in their body.

They felt warm, but a type of warmth that is....controlling his movements.

.......Ooooookay. This is weird.......... DEFINITELY weird.

Chance is caught off guard by this, and while some type of force is making him go to who knows what, his mind is jumbled.

Bro is CONFUSED, BEWILDERED, SURPRISED. He's having profound feelings of confusion.

They would be a teeny tiny bit scared at first, because, WOAH, HOLY SHIT, WHAT IS GOING ON????

But eventually, they would become....curious about this force.

Not only do they feel this type of warmth, but they also hear a voice as well......the voice's too muffled. Chance thinks it's probably his luxurious headphones, so he takes them off. The voice's still too muffled, damn. (You definitely noticed Chance taking off their headphones. You immediately go suspicious. Is your mind playing tricks on you or was this just a new animation apart of the new update that the developers forgot to mention?)

I feel like Chance would be the most calm about this. His canon personality type is ENFP, and ENFPs are usually social and open-minded, so I definitely see Chance wanting to know more about you. He doesn't think of you as a scary individual, and yea sure, he may be a little bit on edge, but he feels like you don't seem to be a bad person, which is why Chance becomes interested in you.

Chance would try to communicate with you by looking at the screen and giving you a smirk......which you immediately close your laptop.

Chance feels the warmth disappear, he feels like that one Spongebob meme that has a teardrop, while you on the other hand, feel like you're going insane.

Welp, guess he's gotta find a way to talk to you without making you feel scared.

He wonders if you'll like his pet bunny, Spade.

Overall, the most chill about this situation. He wants to interact with you more.

[greyias]

Oh god… they’ve returned. On a completely different post this time around.

Cue me making melodramatic memes and finding my fainting couch

[werecreature-addicted]

Werewolf bf sulking because he loves you you look in lingerie. But the problem is he loves it too much - it just never stays on long enough for him to fully appreciate you because you just look so good he can't help himself but devour you then and there. He would ask you to model it again for him after, but all that will accomplish is another round

Werewolf boyfriend who is condemned to torture (not being able to see you in sexy panties) You can send him nudes and videos of you in your lingerie teasing him from afar. but he never gets to see it in real life, the second he sees that pretty lace or soft satin flush against your skin he starts drooling and he just needs to get you naked and on his cock.

He always digs his claws into you when you two have sex so it's natural that they're already out, he tries to be delicate but things always end the same, with your pretty panties in shreds on the floor and your boyfriend's balls deep.

He insists that you give him a little fashion show after he's calmed down and cum inside of you. surely if he's too spent to go again so soon, and he really does want to see what lingerie you bought.

You pull up the shredded clothes and awkwardly hold the fabric scraps to your body. Somehow it's much much worse. The slivers of skin he can see through the rips make his brain short-circuit. And he's back on you.

You can try crotchless panties, but with his newfound love of ripped clothes, he might shed your lingerie even if he doesn't technically need to.

[wagconts]

Challenge | Héctor Fort

summary :: where you participate in the 'guess the weight' video with your boyfriend.

warnings :: none...!

word count :: 1.363 words

notes :: video link here ���

I stood in front of the cameras, positioned next to Hector. The marketing team I worked with for the Barcelona squad had decided it would be a good idea to pair me and Hector for a video on the club's channel.

After all, according to them, Hector’s fans and Barcelona supporters were always rooting for a moment of us together on camera, especially if it involved something playful.

— Hi, I’m Hector Fort, and I’m here with my girlfriend to play ‘Guess the Weight' — he introduced the video.

The camera focused on me, so I waved and smiled.

— Today we’re making mac and cheese! So we’ve got pasta, cheese… — I introduced the ingredients. — …and some other stuff I’m a bit lost about.

Hector glanced at me, grinning. — Really? — he asked. I just nodded with a smile.

First up: 40 grams of butter.

— Do you think 40 grams is a lot? — I asked, trying to guess the weight just by holding the cup.

— Forty grams is forty grams! — he replied sarcastically.

— Seriously? — I shot back. — You don’t even know what 40 grams looks like.

I watched Hector, who seemed just as clueless as I was, as he cut a block of butter in half. Meanwhile, I confidently went to check the scale.

— Each line is 20, right? — he asked, joining me. The production team confirmed.

I placed my cup on the scale, and the needle moved to exactly two lines.

— Spot on, 40 grams! — I said with a triumphant smile.

— You’re joking! — he exclaimed. — How?

— I’m just good at everything. — I teased, winking at him. — Your turn!

— I think I’ve got less. — he said, placing his cup on the scale.

Sure enough, the scale read 36 grams. — It’s because I cut the butter. — he explained.

— It’s fine, Hector, it’s fine. — I teased, giving him three light taps on his arm before moving on to the next round.

Second round: 30 grams of flour.

I started scooping flour into my cup, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hector looking completely lost, holding the butter cup to compare weights.

— Are you crazy? — I asked, noticing the ridiculous amount of flour in his cup.

— Why, my love?

I didn’t say anything, just placed my cup next to his. The difference was glaringly obvious.

— No! No! No! I put in too much, didn’t I?

He started removing some flour, smiling nervously. When he weighed it, the scale read 20 grams.

— You’re terrible! — I said with a grin as he gave me a disappointed look.

— If you’re so good, let’s see yours.

I placed my cup on the scale, and it also read 20 grams.

— You’re just as bad as me, cariño!

— You somehow manage to be worse, trust me. — I said with a mischievous smile.

He quickly changed the subject, focusing on the tie for that round.

Third round: 400 ml of milk.

— This one’s going to be tough for me. — I whispered.

— It’s still easy for me.— he replied confidently.

I held the pasta container to get a sense of weight, and Hector decided to tease me back.

— Looking lost, cariño, or am I wrong?

— You’re definitely wrong. The problem is this is heavy, so it’s tricky.

— I’ll give you the honor of going first.

I ended up with a surprisingly low number—200 ml. I quickly removed my cup, trying to keep Hector from seeing the result, and added more milk.

— Hey, stop that! — he protested. — She did 200!

— 200? — someone from production asked for confirmation.

— Yes!

With a victorious grin, he stuck out his tongue at me and started measuring his own.

— That’s not 400! — I said.

— But it’s 370! — he said, his grin growing wider.

— Okay, let’s see. — I placed my cup back on the scale.

— No! You already measured.

I waited, and the scale remained at 370. This led to more teasing from him about how I couldn’t even beat him when I was “cheating.”

— This round is mine!

Next up: 150 grams of cheddar cheese.

— Is 150 a lot or a little? — It was his turn to ask a “silly” question.

— I have no idea! — I said as I placed a spoonful of cheese in my cup.

— Well, I think this is it! — he said, lifting his cup confidently.

How could he? He barely added three spoonfuls of cheese before going straight to the scale. I didn’t say anything and let him proceed.

— You’ve got to be kidding me! — he exclaimed.

I glanced at the scale and understood his shock.

— I got 50! — he said, making me laugh uncontrollably. — Stop laughing.

— That was ridiculous!

— Let’s see you, then!

I smiled confidently as I placed my cup on the scale. It didn’t reach 150 grams, barely 100. Had I really done worse than Hector?

— I got 40, cariño! — I said with a disappointed smile, as he celebrated next to me.

— Alright, point to Hector! — I said, pretending to be upset.

Next up: 180 grams of Parmesan cheese.

I watched as Hector poured the Parmesan straight from the container into his cup. — Use a spoon, Hector!

— I don’t need one! This time, I’ll be spot on.

— Alright, then! — I said, smiling slightly.

When I was done, I set the container aside and checked the scale. The result wasn’t as expected. I had exactly 100 grams.

— No! No! — I ran my hands through my hair.

— Nice try, cariño!

— You probably got the same amount. — I said, eyeing his cup, which looked about the same.

It was close, but not quite a tie—he had 95 grams.

— Let’s call it 100 for both. — he suggested.

— No! You got 95! — I pointed to the scale’s line.

— Trying to cheat?

Despite Hector’s attempts to claim a tie, he failed. This round was mine.

Final round: 150 grams of pasta.

This was probably the easiest round to measure. We simply poured the pasta into our cups, waiting for each other to finish.

Hector went first and ended up with 200 grams. — Ole… 200! — I booed him.

— She won… she put less than me. — he said grudgingly.

I held my cup close to my face as if sniffing it.

— Can you smell that? The scent of victory.

— In the last round, we tied, but you cheated. That was dirty! — he tried to argue.

— Can you smell the victory? — I teased, ignoring him and pointing the cup toward him.

— No! No! You cheated! — he insisted. — Come on, put the cup on the scale.

Victory was certain, 150 grams of pasta, just as required.

— I’m the winner, right?

— We need to recount the scores.

— I guessed two right, and you guessed one. The rest were basically ties! — I told him.

— I don’t remember that. — he said, pouting like a child.

Final score: Hector Fort 3 vs. (your full name) 4.

— They’ll recount, and you’ll see this win wasn’t fair.

— We’ll see, Hector. We’ll see!

After a few more protests from him, we stood in front of the camera again as he closed out the video.

— CUT!

The production team called out, turning off the cameras.

— It was nice competing with you, but winning was even better!

I gave him a quick kiss on the lips before heading back to work.

— Stop your teasing, it was all rigged! — he called out loud enough for me to hear.

[ctimenefic]

the living and the dead

A little entry for @motorsport-halloween fest that's the closest I've got to actual horror.

It's too short to summarise without giving the whole game away, but, uh, warning for character deaths? Plural? And ritualised violence, and blood, and dismemberment, I guess.

It hadn’t made any sense, how right Albon seemed. They always come back wrong. 

He misses Logan’s call because of a sponsor event; six hours later, when he’s staring blankly at the blood oozing down from the ragged hole in his kitchen wall, Albon’s call comes through loud and clear.

“Oscar,” he says. His hesitance sounds pathetic. “Don’t do it.”

“Fuck you,” Oscar replies, and hangs up. When he flexes his hand, the serum-shiny clots on his knuckles break open. 

It takes him a while to realise the ringing isn’t in his ears again. 

“Really,” Albon says, more certain now, insistent. “It’s not worth it. Don’t do it.”

“You’re there, aren’t you?” Oscar asks. Even to himself he sounds flat. Finished. “Grove. You fucking watched.” He hears Alex swallow round his tombstone teeth. 

“I- He was okay. He understood. Oscar, seriously, don’t do it. He won’t thank you for it.”

“Fuck you. Don’t bury him deep,” he warns, and ends the call. 

He’d liked Albon, is the thing. When he’d first been in the F1 paddock, as a reserve, he’d expected something a bit more gruesome. Something wrong. But Alex had smiled, and cracked bad jokes, and touched his mechanics and other drivers without making them shudder. Even close up, he looked normal. His t-shirts sat high and tight on his neck, sure, but that was hardly uncanny. He sweated. He breathed. He hadn’t looked like Ocon, red-eyed, waxy and sallow and so obviously desperate to rip out Pierre’s throat that Renault had wired his jaw shut. 

It hadn’t made any sense, how right Albon seemed. They always come back wrong. 

At Monza ‘22, Oscar had assumed the subterfuge had been stretched too thin. He didn’t want to dwell on it, but he’d had a vague idea of something out of The Exorcist, Alex crawling across ceilings, spewing bile. After all, a dead man couldn’t have appendicitis. 

Except, it turned out, he could. 

He’s dwelling on it now. 

Oscar had missed Logan’s call, so he’d found out through notifications. First:

George Russell has removed Logan from the GPDA Drivers Chat

Then

BREAKING: Logan Sargeant CULLED as Vowles rededicates Williams

And

WATCH THE VIDEO: Grove ceremony called a “bloody mess” by F1 legend 

Another one slides onto his screen now, right under another call from Albon he declines.

George Russell: Do you want to know how?

He hits the autoreply that WhatsApp prompts: Yes

There was no doubting that Albon had been culled. Oscar had seen the pictures, nineteen and in awe of what Red Bull would do for victory. (It had only been photos, no video. The rumour was they’d had to drug him, that he’d stumbled to the altar and still fought there, and it’d be a bad look to have their sacrifice calling for his mum.) 

They’d cut his throat to the white of the bone. The blood had flowed down across the bodywork of the cars – both of them, Alex’s and Max’s – before it hit the earth. Oscar had wondered if it made the sponsors happy, the evidence of Christian’s commitment splattered bright red over their names. So much blood, it couldn’t be denied, couldn’t be fake. And anyway, there was the last picture, of Albon pale and split and unmistakably dead, curled over the halo, the candlelit shallow grave just visible in the background. 

And yet. Come 2022, he smiled. He joked. He touched. 

Somehow, George Russell had dragged Albon’s filthy corpse into Grove and brought him back whole. 

So it can be done. 

George is still in Monaco. Oscar rings round, has a private jet refuelling on the tarmac in Nice, a helicopter ready for him in twenty minutes. George had said it wouldn’t take long to teach him. 

They meet on a beach by the helipad. There’s not much moon left – and it makes it worse, that Vowles couldn’t wait a week for the new moon and an auspicious time before sharpening his knife – but what little light there is makes George stark against the pale sand. His shadow stretches back almost to the cliffs. 

“Terrible business,” he says in greeting. “I’d thought they’d go for retirement.”

Oscar swallows round the rock of guilt in his throat. He’d thought it too, since almost the start of the season – that Williams would let Logan go, and Oscar would have to bully him into wielding the knife, carving through his wrists. Not ending up like Latifi, too stubborn to see he’d run out of track, culled by default, an afterthought disposed of somewhere in the winter break.

He’d have cut off Logan’s hands himself to keep him. Pressed kisses to the stumps. Hell, Fernando still drives like a champion with his prosthetics, and yes, maybe he casts two shadows now, but that’s better than culling. 

“I’d’ve thought James could cut more cleanly,” George adds, a disapproving note in his voice. “Ruthlessness needs a steady hand.”

“Can we not?” Oscar interrupts. “Just- what do I need to do to get him- what do I need to do?” 

“Well, you’ll need the body first. Can’t do anything while he’s still inside her. Try to get as much of the dirt off as possible. You’ll want to check his mouth.” George pauses, and Oscar shoves his hands deep into his pockets to avoid picturing mud on Logan’s white teeth, his blue lips, his limp, cold tongue. 

“She’s clingy,” George adds. It makes Oscar feel uneasy, hearing him so dismissive, flippant, about a power so beyond knowing. “We called her Gaia, at Williams.” A little smile plays at the corner of his mouth, like it’s a secret. Like Oscar cares about names right now. 

It’s mostly common knowledge, anyway. Red Bull call her Mother, because they don’t much go in for subtlety. McLaren use Terra, which Oscar thinks fits better. Terror. That’s what she is. 

She’s had many names. Only one state, though. Hungry. 

The earth is hungry. They pump out her blood, rip her flesh, burn her in their cars and she wants recompense. 

“That’s the easy bit. After that, you have to consider the price.”

Oscar squares his shoulders. The lights of Monaco are all behind him, only the black of the ocean ahead. The entire city could wink out of existence, and he wouldn’t know. 

For all he cares, it already has. They filmed Logan’s cull, they put it on the internet, but Oscar’s just as dead without him. 

“What is it?”

George’s smile has too many teeth. “What do you think?”

He thinks of the earth’s anger, how the McLaren might fade away underneath him, like the Mercedes does to George. How it might snatch his home race, his poles, give Lando an advantage he doesn’t deserve. He could live with that. 

He thinks of the way George talks about a WDC sometimes, like it’s a decade or more out of reach. Like twenty years in the sport won’t wear the flesh from his bones, and take his hands at the end of it all the same. He could live with that. 

He thinks of Latifi, face down in the dirt. There hadn’t been a video then either. Toto had been busy, skiing – someone else had stepped in, carved him up. The photos hadn’t captured their face, but the long arm had worn a sponsor’s watch. 

He could live with that.

“Anything. I’ll pay anything.”

George chuckles. It sounds wrong.

“Are you sure?”

He turns to argue, shout, punch it out of George if he has to. George doesn’t move his body at all. But his head turns. His eyes are too large. Too dark.

Before Oscar can speak, a large wave breaks too close, a crack of saltwater against rock and sand. Sea foam races up the beach, drenches Oscar’s thongs.

A perfect ring around George’s feet remains bone dry. But where the sand is wet, things squirm under the surface. Hundreds of lugworms raise wiggling paths away, away, away from the shape of him, the cast of his shadow. 

Alex smiles-

but not at George. 

He cracks jokes- 

but not with George. 

He touches-

but not-

He came back right. But he hadn’t walked out of Grove alone. 

George unhinges his jaw. A thousand voices speak.

Deep in his pocket, Oscar’s phone starts ringing. 

“Are you sure?”

---

Logan Sargeant rots in a shallow grave and a dead man wins a championship. 

---

“Hey. It’s me. Obviously. Uh. So. It’s not gonna be an easy retirement like we thought. They- they think she’s too hungry. After the crash. The factory shook and- well. It’s my job. But, um, if you can get here. Before- I’d like that. I miss you. I will miss you. I’ll keep my cell on, so- yeah.”

[sixosix]

indebted | mikage reo

( ? ) reo spends money on someone who refuses to be indebted to anyone, FLUFF I SWEAR

( A/N ) why are my bllk fics literally about meeting again i think i have some strange obsession with this trope. ANW THIS FIC IS SOOO CLICHE but i think reo is cheesy like that

the sky is a pretty shade of blue, birds are chirping sweet songs from where they’re perched on branches, and cherry blossom leaves are floating along the wind; some are even pooling around his feet. love is in the air, one could say. pluck out every element you could see in a high school-inspired love song music video, and you’ll get precisely what reo is experiencing.

but none of those are what reo is looking at right now.

no, not when you’re standing before him, and his pulse is unsteady. 

“i like you,” you say. “i want to go out with you.”

reo’s eyes go round, spluttering syllables that are strung together hastily. he settles with a: “w-whuuu…”

the small group of students who decided to tag along with reo all gasped and ooh?. reo doesn’t know why he’s the one feeling mortified, heat crawling up across his cheeks.

you’re staring at him with a fierce expression, refusing to back down and shy away despite the crowd. it’s like you don’t care what they think or say so long as you get your words across. he honestly respects it.

reo scratches the back of his neck, guilty for some unfamiliar reason. he’s gently rejected countless others before, so he’s unsure why he’s so reluctant this time. maybe it’s because you’re looking at him like you know what you want, and it’s making him feel flustered in a way he hasn’t felt before.

“don’t just stand there, reo!” someone butts in, as if it’s his business. as if he’s confessing or being confessed to.

you and reo turn to glare venom at the guy, who shrinks under both your gazes.

reo’s gaze finds yours once again, trying for a comforting smile.

“i’m sorry. i can’t accept your confession,” he murmurs and winces at the feigned cries of the people around him. his heart pangs painfully in his chest when he sees your crestfallen expression. “i really am sorry!” and he is. “i bet you’re nice—“

you hold up a hand, a universal sign to shut the hell up, you’re making it worse, idiot. “it’s fine. you don’t have to say anything else aside from a ‘no’, reo-san.” the smile you give him is pretty painful. or is it painfully pretty? “thank you for your time.”

reo blinks when you swivel around. he feels incredibly horrible, to be frank.

reo watches you leave until you’re out of sight, only snapping out of it when nagi shoulders him to tune back into the laughter of his classmates, teasing him relentlessly about the confession.

“man, are you always this nice to your fans?” one of them snickers. “you’re sick for leading the l/n y/n on.”

reo frowns. “i’m not leading them on, i’m just trying not to be an ass to people who admire me, unlike some people.”

“oooh…”

reo sighs, leaning against nagi’s terrifyingly solid figure. “y/n, huh?” he mumbles.

the hallways are unusually empty today. reo is usually swarmed by students from his class or even others, especially during the hour of lunch break.

there seems to be an influx of students crowding downstairs, though, judging by the faint cheers he can hear all the way from the fourth floor.

someone passes him, brushing his forearm, and reo almost ignores it.

“oh, hi, reo-san!” the voice says, and it snaps him right out of his wondering.

reo blinks, doing a double take. “ah, y/n.”

you skid to a halt, facing him over your shoulder with a pleasantly surprised expression. “you know my name already?”

reo feels caught, somehow. he doesn’t know what to say, so he nods and smoothly switches subjects. “where are you runnin’ off to?”

you don’t move from where you’ve stopped, and reo feels the need to catch up, so he jogs like an obedient dog. the nearly terrifying grin you shoot him does little to cover your amusement. “you’ve been spacing out during class, top of the class? there’s a parade going on right now for the school festival, i’m heading down to watch.”

oh. so that’s where everyone went.

in reo’s defense, he went to the bathroom minutes before break—most likely when the teacher announced anything regarding a parade. and nagi is nowhere to be seen to inform him about it. knowing nagi, he’s hiding away on some random floor’s stairs to play games on his phones quietly.

reo nudges you with an elbow and realizes halfway through that he never asked if you’re even okay with him doing that. he clears his throat, “let me come with you, then.”

“c’mon, pretty boy.” you pick up the pace, and he could’ve tripped on air hearing that. “don’t make me miss out on the fun waiting for a snail like you.”

reo makes a show of scoffing, but he can’t hide the smile in his voice.

you both make your way downstairs, chatting idly all the while. it’s small talk—mindless, almost, but reo finds himself relaxing quickly in your presence like he didn’t just meet you yesterday. like you didn’t just ask him out, and he rejected you yesterday.

“ahh, the stalls are up already?” you frown, scanning the area and onto the line of students swarming the field. “i thought they wouldn’t be serving anything this early.”

“if it’s what you’re worried about, it’ll be my treat,” reo finds himself offering without thinking.

“will it, now?”

minutes later, you two find yourselves walking out of the line of stalls with bags of snacks and street foods (even trinkets you weren’t planning to buy but reo wanted you to have). it was all a blur. reo didn’t know he could start from roaming the hallways to having a nearly empty wallet with you by his side.

blinking incredulously at the heap of bags slung over your forearms, you say, “i’ll pay next time.”

reo shrugs, pleased with himself but trying so hard not to show it. “it’s fine.”

“what? no, it’s not fine. i’ll pay you back,” you say, stern. there is no room for dispute.

“it’s really no big deal…” and it’s not. he gets enough money to fill up his wallet easily once more. upon seeing your glare, he concedes. “fine, do what you want.”

your bright smile at that response makes him realize something about you.

reo is ashamed to say it, but ever since yesterday, he’s been noticing you more and more often.

it’s embarrassing to admit that he hasn’t paid attention before, but it’s even more embarrassing to realize that he keeps finding you everywhere—it’s almost incredulous to think that he has never met you earlier.

what’s worse is that reo is excited when he does catch sight of you.

images of your moment with him come to him in a flash, and he almost fucks it all up by approaching you out of nowhere—he could, but he doesn’t know what you still think of him after that. he, for one, would feel as if he’s being pitied when the person he confessed his feelings to starts coming up to him without any good reason.

that’s the thing: reo can’t think of a good reason.

“stop overthinking,” is all nagi says to reo’s mindless rambling of his current crisis (read: above). “you shouldn’t look too deep into it, idiot. if y/n can confess to you just because, then y/n can tell you to screw off if you make things weird.”

that is surprisingly a piece of very reasonable and thought-provoking advice.

“okay,” reo says. it makes sense.

he doesn’t have to do anything, though, because nagi looks up from his phone, sees something, and tells him reo can just text him what happens because he’s heading straight home.

“what? what? where are you going, nagi?”

“reo-san—” reo jumps in surprise, “—sorry, did i scare you? haha, that was cute!” he turns and sees you grinning up at him, impudent like you hear precisely what is going in his head.

“y/n,” he says, horrified to feel sudden warmth crawling up his cheeks. how do you keep doing that? “when did you…”

“are you free? i still have to pay you back, don’t i?”

he wants to say that if you feel like you owe something, you don’t, and reo doesn’t care about the money he spent on you, seeing how much fun you had yesterday. yet the excitement evident in your voice kills off the rebuttal on the tip of his tongue.

reo finds himself laughing, mostly out of disbelief. “alright.”

you beam, his expression softens, and the sunset is beautiful this afternoon.

“come on, i know this really good place,” you tell him, reaching for his hand like it’s natural. reo’s eye catches on the charm dangling on your bag. his heart does something weird when he realizes it’s what he picked out for you. “you mentioned you like ichibo steak yesterday, right? you’re in luck.”

reo should really get checked up. he’s been feeling incredibly warm lately.

you two decide to ride a taxi. reo texts nagi that he is out on a platonic—emphasized platonic, in bold, italic, and even underlined—date with you, as friends, and all because you felt guilty. the sticker nagi sends in return says he does not care.

along the way, you two fall into easy conversation once again. reo feels so relaxed that he doesn’t realize until later how wide his grin is. and when he does, it’s when he starts to notice everything else, too.

“it’s weird! i just passed them, and they gave me weird looks. i wanted to square up and ask, what? you wanna fight? i would beat them, no doubt,” you say, huffing. reo chuckles a little. at the sound, you pout. “what’re you laughing at? you don’t believe me?”

“of course i believe you.”

you grin. “that’s right.”

the car stops, and you pay for the ride before reo could even blink and lead him outside. your enthusiasm is endearing, reo has to admit. it feels like you actually like him and like being with him.

the gentle hold you have on him, the way your fingers are absentmindedly rubbing circles on his skin, the way his brain is melting out of his ears—when did he get so soft like this? it’s insane.

it probably means he is happy to have you as a friend, right?

in a seat for four people, reo pointedly decides to sit next to you because sitting across would make it look weird—it will feel like an actual date, and reo is not sure how he can handle the thought of that.

you don’t question it, and reo feels embarrassed to think you probably think he’s so strange that you don’t blink at it. instead, you tug him closer by the sleeve, pointing at his favorite food with sparkling eyes. it’s adorable. you’re so damn excited that it’s rubbing off on him.

reo’s mouth again runs off before his brain can catch up. “are you alright with us hanging out like this? after…”

you understand immediately. reo can’t quite see your expression properly because you’re leaning down to study the menu; however, your answer seems unfazed: “i don’t mind. i like you, don’t i? you already knew that, so that’s a silly question.”

you turn to him, smiling. “of course i’d like being with you, too.”

“ah.” reo’s face is on fire. “so… why did you even like me?”

“hm.” you make a motion of rubbing your index finger and thumb together. “money.”

reo eyes you with a scrunched nose, speechless.

you laugh brightly. “kidding! kidding! kind of.” reo nudges your knee with his as a warning. “okay, okay. i thought you’re cute, alright?”

“really?”

“really.”

it’s almost enough to make him forget how your face fell when he rejected you. almost.

is it normal to think about that so much?

(no. the answer is no, obviously. but reo doesn’t want to think about the reason why it’s a no.)

reo slouches against the seat, his arm brushing against your side. “oh.”

“that was so good,” reo groans. he burps inelegantly afterward, laughing along with you. “fuck, you were right. i’m coming back here again.”

you snort, waving your fork around. “i told you! i’m never wrong, don’t doubt me about anything ever again.” there’s sauce on the side of your mouth; reo brushes it off with his thumb without thinking, as if in a trance.

you pause, going still. you’re staring at him wide-eyed, flustered, and reo finds himself thinking that he likes that look on you.

he snaps out of it the second after, blushing profusely. “sorry, i don’t—” to save himself from explaining, he calls for the waiter for the bill instead. real smooth, reo. did it like a real rich kid.

“hey, wait, why are you paying?” you ask, frowning.

“you already paid for the ride earlier, remember? you don’t owe me anything right now, so let me pay.”

“reo—”

the waiter comes, reo scans the receipt quickly, and slips money in. he also tells them to keep the change, to which the waiter starts bowing and thanking him for, which probably means he paid them more than he’s supposed to.

you slump, bottom lip jutted out. “now i’m indebted to you again.”

reo grins. “i know.”

you become something else to him entirely. more than friends, though not quite lovers. tip-toeing lines, ready to risk it all, but never crossing over.

reo laments this to nagi, who he realizes suddenly becomes an expert.

“for someone who didn’t hesitate to reject y/n, you’re quick to regret it every day,” nagi remarks. “don’t be stupid, reo. the answer is right there— oh, i lost.” nagi is sad now, not that reo can see it because he’s having a crisis.

by the time reo realizes that what he feels for you is more than a simple crush, it’s far too late. he’s on the bus, your last message with him is a goodbye, and his life is flipped upside down.

TIMESKIP

reo sits alone on a bench in the middle of a public park, holding a popsicle and checking his watch occasionally. his knee bounces, impatient, but his last text will stay as: i’ll wait for you no matter how long.

he sighs, his head slowly tilting up to face the sky.

it’s as beautiful as he remembers it—the day he regrets more than anything. all that’s left is for birds to chirp and leaves to dance around his feet.

he had to reject his friends’ offer to go out, as it’s not often blue lock members are given off days. however, it’s a small price to pay if he gets to see you again.

“i’m here!”

reo nearly jolts in surprise, his whole body instinctively preening at the familiar melody of your voice. he turns, and his heart bursts.

it’s been so long. too long. yet every detail about you is still the same as he daydreams about when it gets a little too lonely: from your smile to the way you’re looking at him with overwhelming fondness. there’s no mistaking it—the happiness tickling his chest says more than words could.

he is so fucking in love.

you stand there, a little nervous and hesitant like you’re ready to run with one wrong move.

so reo won’t fuck this up. not anymore or ever.

“y/n,” he breathes, tugging you by the arm to pull you closer. “i missed you.”

“i missed you, too,” you say, melting in his grasp. “i didn’t think you’d— i didn’t expect you to still want to see me after high school.”

“don’t be stupid,” he chides, gently flicking your forehead. “of course i’d want to see you.” your gaze shifts to the plastic he’s holding in his other hand, and he almost smacks his face for forgetting. “right, here. i bought you ice cream because it’s a bit hot today. thought you’d like it.”

“so thoughtful,” you coo, poking his cheek before gratefully taking the popsicle from him.

he pats the vacant spot next to him. it took all his willpower and rationality to not gesture his lap.

“um,” you fidget, tongue darting out quickly to lick on the icy treat. reo is not getting distracted, he’s not. “what was the question you said you wanted to ask? that text almost made me want to chuck my phone across the room, you know? we haven’t talked for months, and that’s the first thing you send me.”

“sorry,” reo can’t help but chuckle, scratching the back of his neck. “i just want to do this before i regret anything again.”

“you have regrets with me?” you frown, hurt.

reo nods, and fuck it, reaches out to cup your chin. there’s a smidge of melted ice cream; he swipes it away with a thumb. “the day we met,” he says distractedly.

there’s a moment where you can only look at him incredulously, a little offended. but understanding dawns on your face soon after. “that was the day i confessed.”

he nods, proud. “you’re still indebted to me, aren’t you?”

“yes? you made sure you were the last one to pay for anything when you won me that plushie at the arcade a week before you left,” you recall fondly.

“alright, then.” reo takes your free hand to pull you closer to him, stunning you to silence. the popsicle starts melting at the sides—it could be from the heat or from how intense reo is staring at you. “pay me back by going out with me. as your boyfriend.”

THIS IS SO RUSHED I KNOWWW but take it and appreciate it please i dont even kno where the reo brainworms came from

[victoria-daydreams]

The Winner Takes It All ||Challengers

Part II: Maneaters

AN: I'm back y'all! I'm sorry for the delay in posting, classes are over but my god did work quickly fill the vacuum of the little free time I had. Buckle up everyone, we're experiencing our first time jump! And once again, a big thank you to has followed this story!

Trigger warnings: slight homophobia

Word Count: 6.1k

Taglist: @seriousaliysa @hopeless-y @malscorner @miximora @urfavesim @mmmunson @jackierose902109 @youngestxhearts @blkdivinefeminine @kalikailz @lottiematthewsceo @lonnie2390147 @begoniaespresso @everydayimagineer @pnkstali @softimgyu @amethystwonders11 @hazbinh0e @ysuftmikey @summerssover @hummusxx @callumturnerwife23 @whitewashedghanian @brunettegirl @igotmajordaddyissues

I tried to tag everyone who commented, but tumblr is being weird so I don’t know if you’ll get the notification.

Part III: The First Crack

13 YEARS LATER - NEW ROCHELLE, AUGUST 2019

In the mostly empty lobby bar of The Ritz-Carlton, a woman occupied the furthest seat of the counter, alone. Her eyes were glued to the screen of her iPad Air as vibrant, moving images reflected perfectly in her eyes. "Electric Lady" by Janelle Monae played in the background of the video while several women and a few men were dancing or goofing around against a lilac backdrop. The camera cut to a shot of a smiling woman, striking several posses for it, showing off the makeup flawlessly applied to her face. Suddenly, the woman was lightly shoved out of the frame by two laughing women all sharing resemblance of each other as they began using the camera as a mirror to apply lipstick or lip gloss. The camera zoomed in on the round and square tubes of the products, displaying the white lettering printed across it.

Another model popped up on screen doing a twirl before the camera focused in on the eye makeup painted on his face. Just as the music was slowly beginning to fade out, the camera positioned itself into an overhead shot, showing the set in its entirety. On both sides, models were crowding in front of mirrors inside a beauty bar. The woman from the beginning of the video confidently strode down the middle of the space, the camera slowly panning down to bring it down to eye level.

"Ace Beauty. Keeping your game face effortlessly chic and always classic," she recited smoothly, a charming smile on her face as she signed her name on the lens with lipstick.

Gianna stared at herself in the video, the end of her Apple Pencil pressed against her lips. Her own makeup line, Gianna could hardly believe that's a sentence she could say. It made sense to pursue the business endeavor though, her makeup looks off the court were always being discussed by her fans. Her Instagram comments were constantly flooded with questions: what techniques does she use, how did she achieve a certain look, what products is she wearing, etc. The makeup line scheduled to drop the same day as the start of the US Open Tournament, this of course was by design; what better way to promote your new brand than doing it on the same day when millions of eyes are already on her.

"You actually came,"

The sound of his voice made a grin tug on Gianna's lips.

"Well why wouldn't I, Patrick?" she questioned, placing the stylus down onto the bar. "I said I would I come, and here I am," she said, turning to look at the dark haired man with a laugh.

Gianna slid down from the stool and onto the floor, holding her arms open invitingly for an embrace. Though they were a few feet apart, she couldn't help but notice that Patrick was a little worse for wear. Like he was constantly at war with life itself and lost many battles in the process, but somehow was still here. Gratefully, Patrick accepted the hug, but Gianna was unprepared for how tightly he held onto her. He was like a child holding their favorite stuffed animal, it couldn't have been clearer to Gianna that Patrick was in need of comfort. In need of a friend.

"Okay, okay, Patrick, it's great to see you too buddy," Gianna said, patting his back lightly a couple of times. But you are squeezing the life out of me," she wheezed, and Patrick immediately released her.

He pulled back, running his hands down her arms while letting his eyes roam over her freely.

"You look damn good Gianna," Patrick complimented, shaking his head and laughing.

She shrugged her shoulders, "Hmm, I know," she agreed, twirling around in her ivory Ralph Lauren sleeveless jumpsuit. "You don't look so bad yourself, Patrick," she complimented back.

Those gray eyes, worn and tired, but still the same eyes that lit up whenever he had seen her. Still the same boy underneath it all.

"Come, sit with me," Gianna encouraged, walking back to her corner stool.

Taking a seat next to her, Patrick propped his arm up against the counter and leaned his head against his fist.

"How's your dad?" he wondered curiously, smirking a little.

A breathy chuckle escaped her, "It is very brave, kind really, of you to ask about the well being of my dad," Gianna commented, something which Patrick laughed at. "He's fine all things considered, misses coaching me, but with his heart attack it's best he focuses on his tennis academy. Less stressful," she answered, unlocking her IPad.

"And what does father dearest think about you coming to a challenger tournament to see me?"

Another laugh left Gianna, this one harder than the previous one, "You do not want to know," she warned, dragging her finger across the screen to start her makeup ad from the beginning.

"Come on, what did the old man say? You piqued my curiosity now," he said, wearing a challenging smirk.

Gianna's eyebrows shot up, her head tilting to the side to wordlessly convey the question of, "You sure about that?" It only made Patrick's smirk deepen.

"Alright, you asked for it, but don't say I didn't warn you," she began, lifting her hands up. "My dad said it was beneath me to even be anywhere in your proximity," Gianna answered bluntly.

"You know, I gotta admire the old man for his never wavering in his hatred of me," Patrick joked. "At least you still came and didn't listen to him like you would've before,"

"Yeah, I did take some words of wisdom from you the day we broke up," she admitted, looking over to him. "You were right, you know? I always allowed my dad's words to sway me much too easily," she remarked. "Though, you are wrong about one thing. My dad doesn't hate you. Initially, he did," she informed, watching Patrick's eyebrows rise. "No, what he hates is watching you squander the potential you had as a tennis star," she corrected, shrugging her shoulders.

"Ouch," Patrick said, pressing his hand over his chest in fake pain.

Gianna thought she saw a brief flash of hurt in his eyes, but in an instant, it was gone and she was forced to think she had imagined it.

"Listen, not saying this tournament won't work out for you, but if doesn't, I have a proposal that my dad is probably going to kill me for," she said, resting her arms on the counter.

"And that is?"

"I'll get you a position at the Maurice Langdon Academy as an instructor," Gianna offered.

Patrick's head jerked up from his hand, "You serious, Gia?" he asked, a glimmer of gratefulness shining in his eyes.

"Serve normally, and I can almost guarantee you that my dad will take you on," she assured, pointing her finger at him.

"This isn't charity, right?" Patrick asked, a flash of skepticism appearing on his face. "My dad, who's a big fan of yours and a donor to your dad's academy, didn't put you up to this?" he questioned.

"Patrick, the only person who put me up to this was me," she answered. "Plus, it's like what you told me over the phone, you have one good season left in you. Who's to say after this challenger you don't go on to achieve your dream," she suggested, shrugging slightly. "This is a job offer, Patrick, one that is waiting for you no matter which way the wind blows," she said simply, smiling at him.

Before Gianna knew it, she became the receiver of a very tight bear hug that seemed to last for an eternity. Patrick shook with laughter, the sound reverberating against her as Gianna found herself smiling at his reaction just before he pulled away from her.

"This is the kindest fucking thing someone has done for me in a longtime," he informed, his voice slightly muffled against her shoulder. He pulled back. "Tennis superstar, Olympian, philanthropist, fashionista, friend," Patrick listed, shaking his head as another laugh escaped him. "Is there nothing Gianna Langdon can't do?" he wondered.

She chuckled, "I'm still working on that last part," Gianna said, shaking her head. "I haven't been the greatest at it in the past," she admitted, her eyes lowering.

Patrick grabbed a hold of her hands, "But you're here now, Gianna," he pointed out, bending his head so he could meet her stare. "I called your number with little hope that you would pick up, but you did," he reminded softly, running the calloused pads of his fingers across the back of her hands. "Hell, I thought the moment I dialed your number it would go straight to voicemail," he confessed, with a small smile before the two shared laughter.

Gianna glanced up, "It means a lot to me that I was the first person you thought to call for support," she confessed.

"Couldn't think of a better woman to be in my corner," Patrick reasoned, letting a lopsided grin grow on his face.

Just like that, old butterflies that Gianna believed had gone dormant awakened inside her stomach, fluttering and flickering about wildly. Giggling, she slowly pulled her hands from Patrick's and ran one of them through her freshly silk pressed, honey brown hair.

"Control it," she thought.

She cleared her throat, "You forgot to add one more feather to my cap," she commented, deliberately changing the subject.

"And what's that?"

"Entrepreneur," she beamed proudly. "Patrick Zweig, you are looking at a future beauty mogul," she proclaimed.

"You know once upon a time, the woman in front of me was worried no one was going to take a chance on her, glad to see those worries were unfounded," he recalled, mirroring her expression.

"I am too," she agreed. "Want a sneak peek of the fruit of my labors?" she offered.

Answering with a grin and nod, Gianna unlocked her IPad and tapped play on the screen. Just as Patrick began to watch her commercial, Gianna let her eyes wander into the hotel foyer until they landed on a pair of strikingly blue ones. Her breath hitched uncomfortably in her throat, while her heart nearly stopped in her chest. For a fleeting moment, time suspended itself and it was as if they existed in a universe all of their own. Nothing was there, nothing except for those bright blue eyes, boring into her own. Gianna could hardly believe, stomach, who the set of eyes staring back at her belonged to, for it was none other than Arthur Donaldson.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as blood thudded audibly in her ears from the erratic rhythm of her heart beating. Gianna swore the thumping of heart would drown out the sound from the video and be heard by Patrick. They stare at each other, nearly a decade of unspoken words flowing between them without either of them ever opening their mouths. In truth, the silence was far louder than anything they could have said. Confused shock painted itself all over Art's features, an expression mirrored on her own.

Instantly, Gianna's mind was flooded with memories with the force of a tsunami. The two of them goofing off in her dorm room when they were supposed to be studying for class. Her birthday dinner date, that was not a date. His touching gift to her on her birthday which led to a moment of weakness that set off a terrible domino effect. Gianna remembered everything. The catalyst event which decimated a friend group within a single day, tore best friends apart, and formed a rift which Gianna believed would never mend. She couldn’t forget their history, it defined who they were now.

"Were those your sisters in the commercial?"

Patrick's voice was faint and faraway, everything for Gianna was muffled and distorted, like voices being heard underneath water. The impact of a hand on her knee ripped Gianna out of her trance. Blinking a few times, Patrick's face came back into her focus.

"I-I'm sorry what did you ask?" Gianna questioned, pointedly ignoring Art's eyes being trained on her and burning holes into her face.

"Was that Alicia and Farrah I saw in the commercial?"

"Yeah—Yes, they were," Gianna confirmed distractedly, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You alright Gia? You've been looking over my shoulder for a solid minute now," Patrick remarked, raising a brow. "Is there someone you know here?" he questioned curiously, beginning to turn around.

Gianna had never moved quicker in her life, her hand darting out to grasp his chin with two fingers and redirecting his attention back to her. The world's awkwardest ex-friend's reunion was not going to happen on her watch.

"No one worth mentioning or addressing," Gianna assured, an easy smile on her lips. Releasing his chin, she lightly hit her palm against the counter. "Let’s have a drink, yeah?" she suggested, getting the bartender's attention.

"To celebrate you or me?"

"You, silly," she answered, before motioning to her drink for a refill and ordering for Patrick. She still knew his drink of choice despite the passage of time. "And a little bit of me as well," she admitted playfully, moving her head side to side. "I'm serious though, Patrick. I know how much this tournament means to you and how much you have riding on it. I am proud of what you accomplished, truly," she praised, her eyes twinkling in delight.

"Receiving high praise from Gianna Langdon," Patrick began, as their drinks were slid across the counter in front of them. "I'll be damn near unstoppable on the court now," he joked, grabbing his glass.

Gianna grabbed her own drink, "To future successes," she wished, raising her glass.

"To future successes," Patrick echoed, the rim of his glass softly clinking against hers. They both take a sip of their drinks and Patrick grinned against his glass as if he just remembered something. Lowering the cup from his lips, he placed it on top of the counter. "I forgot to wish you a happy belated," he mentioned.

"Birthday?" Gianna asked, bringing her glass down from her mouth. "That was way back in early spring, but thanks regardless," she said, with a laugh.

"No, silly," Patrick said, with a grin. "Happy belated Pride! Congrats on coming out as bisexual!" he cheered.

"Oh fuck off!" Gianna said, laughing heartily and hitting his arm.

"What? It was very brave of you to do so," he complimented, laughing himself.

With a playful roll of her eyes, Gianna shook her head.

"Bravery had nothing to do with it," she corrected. "I mean, it's what I am. I discussed coming out to the public with my dad, and he said no better time to do it than in the month where it celebrates folks like me," Gianna recalled, shrugging and lifting her glass to her lips. "I'm already a beloved athlete, it was only going to be a net positive for me," she reasoned, leaning back against the backrest of the barstool.

"Always about the optics with you, Gia," Patrick said, his tone biting.

Gianna lifted her drink to her lips, "I am my father's daughter," she said dryly. "For better or for worse," she added quietly, knocking back the rest of her drink.

~~~x~~~

13 YEARS EARLIER - STANFORD UNIVERSITY, 2006

Move-in day was hot. Scratch that, it was scorching outside underneath the California sun. The blistering heat made the task of transporting Gianna's belongings to her dorm room a miserable one. The thought of forgoing her clothes all together floated about in Gianna's head if it meant some relief from the heat. Though, she knew her mom and dad would be none too pleased at the gesture, especially since the two helpers in their amidst was Art and Patrick.

Being the ever helpful boyfriend, Patrick lent his hand in assisting both Gianna and Tashi move into their dorm rooms. Despite his helping hand, Gianna's dad was still none too impressed by Patrick.

"I don't like it, he's too arrogant for my liking," the salt-and-pepper haired man groused, shaking his head, clearly displeased by Gianna's taste in a boyfriend.

Mrs. Langdon snorted softly from her seat within the trunk of their truck.

For as long as Gianna could remember, her mother had always exuded an air of sophistication and chic that she hoped she could match one day. Of course, when her mother being a former American Ballet Theatre ballerina, it came with the territory. People always told her she had mother's soft face or most commonly said she, “stole her whole face from her momma”. To Gianna, her mother was absolutely stunning, like straight out off the front cover of Ebony magazine. More importantly, her mom was the yin to her dad’s yang, her gentleness balanced his sternest.

"What? He's just a younger version of you Maurice, but," she paused, tapping a finger to the palm side of her hand and smiling at her husband.

"Well, unlike him, I didn't have wandering eyes," he retorted, taking off his horn rimmed glasses, to wipe away the fog from his lenses. "Gia, darling, are you sure that Patrick is dating you for you, or because of your access to Tashi?" Mr. Langdon questioned sincerely, his brow arching.

"Ohh, this is awkward," Gianna thought.

Telling her mom and dad she and Tashi were both dating Patrick, she would simply have to be waterboarded for them to get that information out of her.

"Patrick is dating me for me," Gianna reassured, nodding her head while wiping at the thin line of sweat trickling down her forehead.

"Your dad is worried about Patrick, while my concern is with your friend, Arthur," Mrs. Langdon stated, shifting her body to face Gianna fully.

"Art?" Gianna repeated, disbelief all over her face. "What, come on? Art is probably the nicest, sweetest guy I've ever met," she defended, an incredulous laugh belting from her.

"Honey, those are the ones you have to be the most careful of," Mrs. Langdon warned, placing her hand on Gianna's knee. "Boys like Art, are able to get away with much because people believe the same way as you do," she explained. "I've seen the way he looks at you, how he looks when you and Patrick get affectionate with each other," she noted, staring pointedly at Gianna. "I say this as your mother, as a woman, be careful around Art. I fear he's the type to throw stones and then hide his hands, if it means getting what he wants," she advised.

Gianna rolled her eyes, "Mom, that's ridiculous," she protested.

"Gia!"

"Speak of the devil," she thought.

Standing at the doorway of her dorm building was Art with his trademark backwards Stanford hat and a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

"I guess that's our sign to hit the road again," Mrs. Langdon noted, with an exhale. "Your dad and I still have to go to UCLA to visit Farrah and make sure she's all squared away for her sophomore year," she reminded, pushing herself up from the trunk bed and reaching her hands out for Gianna.

"Call me the moment you make it to campus," Gianna ordered, taking her mom's hands to jump down onto the ground.

"Yes, ma'am," Mrs. Langdon answered, nodding her head and chuckling. She ran her hands up and down Gianna's arms, giving her a once over. "Can't believe I'm dropping off my baby girl to college!" she exclaimed, bringing her in for a tight hug. "One step closer to being a big name tennis superstar!" she cheered, as Gianna returned her hug. "I'm so proud of you!" she stated, pulling back from her.

Gianna beamed at her mother's words as the older woman pressed a kiss atop of her head.

"Your mom offered you some words of wisdom, now it's my turn," Mr. Langdon said, gathering Gianna in his arms for another tight embrace and swaying them side to side. Pulling away, he gave her biceps a squeeze as his demeanor became a little more serious. "Don't let her run you," he instructed vaguely.

Gianna frowned, "What?" she questioned, her head tilting.

"Do not let Tashi Duncan run you," he repeated slowly. "You've allowed her to get away with it for too long, but starting today, that shit dies," he said sternly.

"Tashi does not run me, Dad," Gianna disagreed, scoffing quietly. "I think we both witnessed that at Juniors this year," she pointed out.

"You seem to have a great handle on that, tennis wise," Mr. Langdon began, pressing his palms together. "But for life in general, you're lacking severely," he retorted. "Let this be the last day I ever hear you say the words, 'Tashi says', 'Tashi wants', or 'Tashi believes', alright?" he questioned, staring over the rim of his glasses. "I'm trying to make you a superstar, not a sidekick to another superstar. It's time you shed that image once and for all, and to do that, you must start thinking for yourself. Making a name for yourself. Got it?" he asked, both his brows raising.

"Yes, sir," Gianna answered tightly.

Mr. Langdon nodded approvingly, "Atta girl," he replied, before bringing her in for a second hug. "Have fun in college, but not too much fun," he murmured, against her head. "Kick ass and take names, we have a dream to fulfill," he said, with a pat against her back.

"Yours or mine?" Gianna thought bitterly.

Her dad released his hold on her, moving to shut the trunk door close. Gianna watched her parents get into the truck, the doors slamming close in unison.

"Gia, just please consider what I said earlier, for me," Mrs. Langdon said, looking back at her from the passenger seat.

"Yeah, I will, I will," she answered, brushing off her mom's concerns.

With one final wave, her parents pulled off from the parking lot and Gianna felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest. She was finally free. For the first time in her life, Gianna would be able to navigate life where tennis and her dad were not wholly the center of her universe. She now had the chance to do something she always dreamed of doing, just being a normal 18 year-old. Exploring old hobbies and new, hanging out with friends, going to parties, it was all there for the taking now that her dad could no longer constantly breathe down her neck. Smiling to herself, Gianna turned around and jogged to the entrance of her dorm building where Art patiently waited for her.

"Everything good?" Art wondered, as she climbed the last step up.

"Never been better!" Gianna answered, a delighted smile on her face.

Walking past him, she nimbly snatched Art's hat from his head and ran into the building.

"Hey!" he cried playfully.

Gianna sprinted up the staircase to her floor, giggling every step of the way as Art was hot on her trail and laughing along with her. Just as she approached the doorway to her room, she suddenly felt herself being lifted off her feet and spun around, briefly feeling weightless.

"Your girlfriend is a thief!" Art informed breathlessly, with a laugh as he put Gianna back down on her feet.

Another series of giggles left Gianna as they entered her room, "Do not listen to such slanderous lies! I'm innocent!" she proclaimed, placing Art's hat on her head.

Making a beeline to her bed, she plopped down on it next to Patrick who was casually stretched out across the mattress. In an instant, his arm naturally wrapped itself around Gianna's waist while he shifted himself into a sitting position.

"Look at this face Art," Patrick began, using his free hand to take her chin in between his fingers and playfully squeeze her cheeks. "Does this look like the face of a thief?” he questioned. Gianna shook her head in his grasp, her eyes warm with mirth. "Exactly Gianna, that's what I think as well," he agreed, before swooping down to attack the side of her face with kisses.

"Patrick!" Gianna shrieked in laughter, writhing in arms.

Tashi started making fake gagging sounds and Gianna eyes flickered over to hers.

"Don’t be like that Tash," she said, a fake pout on her lips. "There's plenty of love to go around," she reminded, outstretching her hand towards her girlfriend.

"You sure about that?" Tashi asked, her face contorting in a look of faux outrage. "Because it seems like Patrick is hogging you all to himself,"

Gianna only snickered in response, her eyes rolling before meeting Art's stare. It made her smile falter when she did. There was the faintest twitch of a muscle in his jaw, a scowl threatening to cloud his features. His eyes hardened at the edges to the point they resembled ice. And she was the only one noticing the drastic shift in Art's cheery demeanor, it sent shivers down her spine. Vaguely, Gianna felt Patrick's lips peppering kisses up and down her neck while talking to Tashi in between each one. Without taking her eyes off Art, she reached behind her and lightly tapped the side of Patrick's face.

Gianna cleared her suddenly dry throat, "Alright, alright, easy there lover boy," she joked, tearing her eyes from Art's face for a quick glance to his throat where his Adam's apple bobbed in agitation.

Patrick chuckled against her skin and pulled away from her, resting his back against the wall while bringing her down with him.

"So uh, what do you guys wanna do now?" Art wondered, his usual bright attitude returning without missing beat. "The day is still young," he added, lowering himself down to have a seat onto the plush rug covering the floor.

"Hmmm," Gianna hummed in contemplation, adjusting Art's hat to fit snug on the top of her head.

It was an action that left Art's gaze lingering on her. Gianna wished he would quit staring at her like he was a man dying of thirst, ready to drink her up and gulp down like a glass of water when placed in front of him. And it was not because she found it creepy, it was the fact that it was stirring up physical and emotional responses she should not be having when her boyfriend and girlfriend are literally in the room with her.

"I think—" Gianna began.

"We should go hit around on the courts," Tashi suggested, swiveling back and forth in the desk chair. "Can't think of a better group to do it with," she reasoned, her lips curling upwards.

"What? Oh come on, no!" Gianna complained, raising up from Patrick's chest. "We're all gonna have plenty of opportunities to hit a tennis ball around the court," she said in exasperation. "We're in college guys—well most of us are in college," she corrected, earning her a squeeze to her side from Patrick. "Let's be normal college kids and have some fun for once and enjoy our freedom," she suggested.

"What did you have in mind Gia?” Patrick asked, his fingers softly trailing up and down her waist.

"There's a mini golf course not too far from campus. I saw it on the way here with my parents," she answered, looking around at everyone.

"That does sound fun to do," Art grinned, nodding his head in agreement.

"Gia, you know complacency breeds mediocrity," Tashi warned.

"God, does she sound like dad!" she thought.

Gianna spoke before she could stop herself, "Yes, and, being hyper focused on one, single thing makes a person super fucking boring too," Gianna shot back.

The swiveling of the chair came to an abrupt halt. Gianna could almost physically feel all the air sucked out of the room. Nobody moved and Gianna found herself engaged in a staring match with Tashi in a battle of wills.

"Are you calling me boring?" Tashi challenged, her eyes narrowing.

Art breathed out a nervous chuckle, "Tashi, I don't—" he started.

"No, no, let Gianna answer," Tashi interrupted, holding her hand up in his direction without looking.

"Yes," Gianna thought.

"I didn't say you," Gianna pointed out. "It was a generalized statement," she continued.

"Is that so?" Tashi asked, doubt coloring her tone.

"Yeah, it is," Gianna answered, arching her brow in challenge.

"Come on Tash," Patrick called, sitting up from his spot against the wall. "It's not a bad idea, all of us are going to have our hands full for the next couple of months," he said, his eyes dancing between the two girls.

"We can make it a going away party for Patrick before he's off to the pros," Art chirped in.

"Yes, exactly Art!" Patrick agreed. "And what better way to be sent off than having my two, beautiful girlfriends by my side,”

Gianna stole a quick glance at Art after hearing Patrick's words and she swore she saw his forehead vein pulse with unusual intensity.

"Okay, fine," Tashi huffed, and Gianna's eyes flitted from Art back to her.

Gianna softly pushed Patrick's arm from her waist and stood up to sit on Tashi's lap.

"It'll be fun, Tash!" Gianna promised, looping her arms around Tashi's neck. "You'll see," she encouraged, pecking her forehead.

"Yeah, yeah," Tashi groused.

~~~x~~~

With pursed lips, Gianna drew her arms backwards then forwards to make sure that the little, white ball was aligned with her club before gently swinging at it. The precise hit sent the ball rolling down the green in a perfectly straight line, right into the hole.

"Nice shot Gia!" Art cheered, sticking his hand out for a hi-five.

"I try," she smirked, slapping her hand against his. "Your turn, partner," she said, motioning him to take his position.

It was Gianna's idea to split the group into teams, that way both Gianna and Tashi could both somewhat get what they wanted, a fun but fierce competition. Art set his ball onto the green, getting into his stance and took aim.

"So, are we gonna talk about it?" he asked, the club solidly hitting the ball in the center.

Gianna frowned, "Talk about what?" she asked back, watching his ball stop just short of the hole.

Art turned around, an incredulous look crossing his face at her question.

"What happened in your hotel room," Art supplied as if it was the most obvious answer, before moving closer to his ball.

"Oh, that..." Gianna trailed off, following behind him. "What about it? What is there to talk about?" she questioned dismissively, twirling her club in her hand.

Just as the questions left her lips, Art tapped his ball into the hole with ease.

"That what happened between us is constantly replaying in my head 24/7," he explained, turning around again. "And it's torturous," he went on, his eyes desperate.

Gianna only blinked in response, genuinely perplexed on what Art wanted her to do or say about that.

"Well get it to stop," Gianna suggested lamely, lazily tossing one arm up. "I don't know what you want me to tell you," she added, with a shake of her head.

"Get it to stop?" he repeated, in disbelief while taking a step closer to her. "Gia, you gave me a handjob!" he exclaimed lowly, so only she could hear. "You can't do that to a guy and expect him to just forget it!" he insisted.

"What I did could hardly qualify as a handjob, Art," Gianna argued, her voice matching his. "It was one pump at max," she pointed out.

Gianna knew this was childish, to be arguing the technicalities of what is a handjob, but she needed to quash what she thought Art was poking at. They didn't need to talk about that ever again, it was… it was a good time, it basically meant nothing. All she had to do was bury her budding feelings deep down, and make an active effort to never acknowledge them again.

"Why did even tell me this, knowing I'm dating your best friend?" Gianna questioned, anger rising in her voice.

"Because despite that, I think you like me too," he countered, his frustration growing more palpable by the second.

"Look Art, we had some fun in my hotel room. You, me, and Patrick, we all did," she deflected, shaking her head again. "Fun," she emphasized.

"Fun? That's all that was?"

God, did she feel like a bitch, watching Art's face crumple made her almost reconsider everything, but she was in too deep now to back out now.

"In that instance, yes," Gianna answered bluntly, watching how that verbal blow knocked the wind out of him. "I'm sorry, did you think it was more?" she asked coldly.

With each word she uttered, it visibly pained Art and the lines in his forehead grew deeper and deeper. He looked like a kicked puppy, and god did she hate when he looked like that. Silence fell between them, the most uncomfortable silence of Gianna's life.

"Fuck! This was supposed to be a fun night!" she groaned, before turning away from Art and walking away from the hole they were at.

"You never denied it," Art remarked, his words were spoken softly, barely a whisper, but to Gianna they were deafening. So much so, that she abruptly froze mid step, her shoulders visibly stiffening. "That you had feelings for me," he finished quietly.

Gianna was like a deer in headlights. She had hoped the harshness of her words would cause Art to fail to notice what she didn't say. He was far more attentive than she realized. Swallowing uncomfortably, Gianna all but sprinted to where Tashi was, not daring to look back.

"Hey Tash," Gianna greeted, forcing a smile on her face as she approached her. "How's your game going? Where did Patrick go?" she questioned, praying she wasn't noticeably acting strange.

Tashi didn't bother looking up at her, "Oh, you know," she began, her voice monotone. "It goes," she answered, barely making an effort to hit the golf ball into the hole. It pitifully only moved a few feet from them. "Patrick, on the other hand went to buy food for us," she answered flatly.

Gianna felt her grip tighten around her club, "You know could at least make an attempt to actually try and have fun," she commented.

Tashi's head whipped up, a frown already etched on her face.

"I didn't want to come here in the first place, and you know that," Tashi stated, carelessly letting the golf club fall from her hand. "Fun, fun, fun. That's all you seem to care about now!" she snapped, folding her arms against her chest.

Gianna rolled her eyes, "Excuse me for daring to indulge in my newfound freedom from being under my dad's thumb for the first time in years," she responded sarcastically.

"I'm sure he'll be just thrilled to learn the placeholder for his own lost dreams immediately took her eyes off the prize the second he left her alone," Tashi said, a derisive chuckle leaving her.

"Fuck you! That's a low fucking blow even for you Tashi!" Gianna hissed, stabbing her finger in the air toward her best friend. "I pray you never find yourself in the same position which I've been put through," she wished.

Once upon a time, much like Gianna, her father was a talented tennis prodigy who was on the cusp of a promising career in the pros. However, just as his career started, it was snatched away within a blink of the eye with death of his father, forcing him to return home to take over the family horse ranch. And Gianna has had to suffer for circumstances beyond hers or her father's control ever since.

"You don't know what it's like, to have your own dad be your coach as well," Gianna went on, her fist balling up. "And being forced to reckon that you begin to see him as less of a father and only as a coach," she added, faintly feeling her nails digging into her palm.

"Poor fucking me, I'm Gianna Langdon who's had a silver spoon in my mouth since I could walk," Tashi mocked. "My life is so difficult because I have to play a sport I'm wonderful at and my dad has went above and beyond to make sure I excel at my craft, like having a fucking personal tennis court built in my backyard!"

"And you think that's a blessing?" Gianna asked, the pitch in her voice rising. "It was a curse! My own personal gilded cage, a constant reminder that I've never really had any say at all to explore life outside of tennis," she exclaimed, dropping her own club now.

"You like baking,"

"Ooh one whole hobby," Gianna deadpanned, raising her hands and shaking them. "You know what you're supposed to do at college besides learn?" She questioned. "Party and find yourself,” she listed, ticking them off with her fingers.

"You're at Stanford to play tennis on a full ride scholarship," Tashi reminded firmly.

"Well it's a good fucking thing I can multitask," Gianna retorted. "Come on Tashi, think about it. Outside tennis, what else do you and I do in our spare time? Talk about boys?" she said exasperatedly.

"Yes, and its worked for us this entire time. Why change now?" Tashi replied, a soft frown creasing her forehead.

"Because we were friends then, but now we're girlfriends—"

Tashi scoffed, "Girlfriends? You haven't even publicly came out and stated that we're dating," she pointed out.

Gianna could only bite her tongue, because Tashi was right, she hadn't. Although, she had her reasons, they were wholly self-serving, but there was logic behind them.

"I know you haven't told your mom," Tashi began. "And I know damn well you haven't said anything to your dad," she stressed. "So, what is it? Are you afraid of ruining your ‘golden child’ title if your parents find out you're queer?" she taunted.

"You think my parents care if I'm gay?" Gianna asked incredulously. "They've known Farrah is a lesbian for nearly two years now," she informed.

"She plays women's soccer, I'm positive your parents weren't surprised about that revelation," Tashi said dismissively. "The closet was made of fucking glass," she quipped.

If Gianna wasn't so frustrated and infuriated with Tashi, she would've laugh at Tashi's remark.

"Alright, fuck it, you want to know why I don't to want go public? Why I refuse to?"

"I'm waiting with bated breath," Tashi answered sarcastically.

"It's because I have a goddamn name and image to uphold," Gianna said frankly. "We both do," she added, her tone softening.

"Oh my god!" Tashi complained. "It's always about image with you, with your dad!" she snapped.

"I'm being pragmatic here and you know it, you're just being too stubborn to realize I'm right," Gianna claimed, crossing her arms.

"Billie Jean King, a tennis legend is an open lesbian,"

"Yeah, and did you skip over the part where she was forcibly outed, shunned, and lost all her endorsements soon after?" she shot back. "Do you want that fate for the both us when either of us have barely even made a start in our careers?" Gianna questioned, no trace of anger in her voice only sincerity.

Tashi never got the chance to respond as an arm snaked its way around Gianna's waist.

"Now, what are you doing around in these parts?" Patrick asked humorously. "Is Art doing that bad you had to switch sides?" he guessed.

Gianna looked over at him, "I came to see how you two losers were doing," she lied, grinning at him.

Her eyes found Tashi's once more, their argument from moments before still raging silently between in stares, and all the while Patrick is none the wiser. He didn't notice the obvious growing tension between his two girlfriends, between two best friends.

Part IV: Cocky Af

[nerinefy]

hellooo may i rq an obey me imagine where a blank faced , cool and calm mc who is exceptionally good at seductive speech-craft just drops the biggest flirt on the brothers and just acts cool about it not giving them a reaction. how would the brothers react ? tyy - 👺 anon

OLDER BROTHERS VER. !! (PART 2 WILL BE DECIDED.)

- details: pronouns: you/yours | headcanon | crack + fluff | word count: | warnings: slight cursing if you squint + some...jokes

- author's note: im back ig, and im sorry if this req took like a year :')

LUCIFER !

you really are a pain, truly. the avatar of pride may try his hardest to hide the effect you have on him yet he was proven the opposite. surely you wouldn't have noticed?...right? wrong. why would you continue teasing the absolute devildom out of him if you didn't notice?

the way he looks away and adjusts his perfectly neat tie is one thing, but looking closely, why would someone unaffected have short and shaky breaths with slightly flushed cheeks?

at this point, mans just gave up and ran with it. what do you mean you had him flustered? are you sure you've been sleeping well? he's known all along and sure is amused, yeah, he definitely thought of that at first.

even with his rough start, he managed to win you over. not like it was a competition in the first place but he'll take it as one for the sake of his image. he surely did a number on you later on. did you really think he'll let you do that to him? yeah, maybe after this life, just maybe.

eventually you'll be even more of a mess than him if he takes up the challenge. the other brothers may have complained more than once since you two have been going at it ever since you started teasing him using your 'assets'.

MAMMON !

unlike lucifer who eventually leaves you high and dry (or wet, idk about you), mammon fails, and he fails at the worst possible way. at least in his eyes, he is an overdramatic little shit if you've forgotten.

he acts as if you haven't taken his breath with just one word. he can't really convince anyone with forehead dripping with sweat and his entire body shifting and squirming whenever you take the smallest step closer to him. go easy on him though, please. he's trying his best.

he doesn't recover well the longer you speak to him, he brushes it off with the brightest blush you've ever seen even though he swears it's just the heat going on these days (it was not hot, actually, it was very cold at that time.)

you'd likely have to watch out, he might faint even at the sight of you. he just can't help it you know, you already look so irresistible doing mundane things, so you directly giving him all your attention, and with that voice of yours...it most definitely will leave him melting in your arms.

it's utterly embarrassing for him to be a mess in front of you, but soon he just accepts it. if that's the way you'd like him to be, then he'd be just that. only for you. of course, he'd never in his very long life admit it out loud but you get the point.

LEVIATHAN !

this one is a tough one for sure. not because you have no effect on him, it's most definitely not that. it's more like he's actively finding a way for you not to approach him. he's hiding and running away from you like he did numerous crimes bad enough to not be spoken of, not like that'll work on you though.

you've already traumatized him enough with his first encounter with you, he's not willing to go in for a second round. one word from you and he might actually faint. it's bad enough that you're the most enchanting person he's ever seen, but you going out of your way to speak to him with that mesmerizing voice of yours, it's like you came straight out of a video game with how unimaginably beautiful you are.

if you ever have him cornered, he just might have the courage to face you somehow. unfortunately, his newfound confidence will be immediately replaced with clammy hands and teary eyes. and yes, hugging him to comfort him would make things worse.

just a thought though- please go easy on him.

©nerinefy do not plagiarize, repost, or translate. | reblogs are appreciated!

[thefirstknife]

New article with more details (from Jason Schreier who first broke the story). If you can't see it, I'll copy the whole text under read more.

About 100 employees were laid off in total (8%) and one of the main reasons listed is "underperformance," "sharp drop in popularity" and "poor reception of Lightfall."

So you know when for the last year and a half content creators have been shitting and pissing on the game as a full-time job and the amount of negativity and ragebait content became the only thing to make content about for them? Well they certainly won't take the blame, but I will let it be known. These people either don't understand the influence they have or they do and they're doing it on purpose, and I don't know which of these two options is worse, but I am 100% confident that their campaign of rage and hate contributed to this.

You don't base your entire community around constantly hating everything about the only game you play (despite clearly not enjoying it anymore) and somehow avoid galvanising thousands and thousands of people into perceiving the game negatively. Imagine being employees who have barely worked there for 2 years and the only community reception they've seen is 24/7 hate train for their work and then they get fired because of "poor reception" and "drop in popularity." How can they not take that personally? I am absolutely devastated for these people who delievered a banger product and who were met with an unrelenting barrage of toxic gamer children which ended up having more sway over their boss than them.

Which brings me to the next bit and that's FUCK THE CEO. He is now my mortal enemy #1. I am projecting psychic blasts directly into his brain. What an absolute spineless coward who is more willing to bow down to fucking gamers than to protect his own employees. This is absolutely rage inducing because this has happened before. From the article from 2021 about the toxic culture at Bungie:

Reading this shit from the new article absolutely fucking sent me into blind rage because I immediately remembered this. Another instance of employees suffering because of comments on reddit. And because of toxic players. And proof that leadership is not protecting employees and is instead siding with players.

Match made in heaven. Asshole gamer content creators and asshole CEOs, all of whom sit at home on piles of money made from someone else's labour. I hope they all explode. None of the people that worked on this game deserve this.

Another article with an infuriating comment from the CEO:

In an internal town hall meeting addressing a Monday round of layoffs that impacted multiple departments, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons allegedly told remaining employees that the company had kept “the right people” to continue work on Destiny 2.

"Kept the right people." Really. Veteran composers weren't the right people? Die!

Bloomberg article in full:

Bungie’s decision to cut an estimated 100 jobs from its staff of about 1,200 followed dire management warnings earlier this month of a sharp drop in the popularity of its flagship video game Destiny 2. Just two weeks ago, executives at the Sony-owned game developer told employees that revenue was running 45% below projections for the year, according to people who attended the meeting. Chief Executive Officer Pete Parsons pinned the big miss on weak player retention for Destiny 2, which has faced a poor reception since the release of its latest expansion, Lightfall. The next expansion, The Final Shape, was getting good — not great feedback — and management told those present that they planned to push back the release to June 2024 from February, according the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The additional time would give developers a chance to improve the product. In the meantime, Parsons told staff Bungie would be cutting costs, such as for travel, as well as implementing salary and hiring freezes, the people said. Everyone would have to work together to weather the storm, he said, leaving employees feeling determined to do whatever was needed to get revenue back up. But on Monday morning the news got worse: Dozens of staffers woke up to mysterious 15-minute meetings that had been placed on their calendars, which they soon learned were part of a mass layoff. Bungie laid off around 8% of its employees, according to documentation reviewed by Bloomberg. Bungie didn’t respond to requests for comment. Employees who were let go will receive at least three months of severance and three months of Bungie-paid COBRA health insurance, although other benefits, such as expense reimbursements, ended Monday, sending some staff racing to submit their receipts. Laid-off staffers will also receive prorated bonuses, although those who were on a vesting schedule following Sony Group Corp.’s acquisition of Bungie in January 2022 will lose any shares that weren’t vested as of next month. The layoffs are part of a larger money-saving initiative at Sony’s PlayStation unit, which has also cut employees at studios such as Naughty Dog, Media Molecule and its San Mateo office. TD Cowen analyst Doug Creutz wrote in a report Monday that “events over the last few days lead us to believe that PlayStation is undergoing a restructuring.” PlayStation president Jim Ryan announced last month that he plans to resign. Many of the layoffs at Bungie affected the company’s support departments, such as community management and publishing. Remaining Bungie staff were informed that some of those areas will be outsourced moving forward.

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Rose Quartz Propaganda

"We saw her character arc in reverse!! We first saw all the good she did and then learned of her terrible actions in the past. If her story was told the other way around, it would have been a great redemption arc. Yes, she did some terrible things, but she had no choice. She did everything she could to stop the colonization of earth peacefully buy nothing worked. Blue and yellow diamond just didn't listen to her and when they did, THEY were the ones who made the zoo and shit. Rose wanted to free them but couldn't get to them after the war! And with the corruption, there's no way she could have known that'd happen. There's so many things she wanted to do but just couldn't. And with spinel, yes it was shitty to leave her alone for so long, but again, between running her court, running the rebellion, dealing with earth, she likely wasn't a very high priority and like with the zoo, there was no way to get to her after the war since the galaxy warp was destroyed. And don't forget, she was practically a child around this time. You're saying you didn't do any stupid, selfish, or harmful things as a kid? She learned from her experiences and grew, we just saw that growth in reverse, leaving us as viewers with a poor perception of her."

"Rose Quartz is Steven Universe’s dead mom. Initially, she’s set up as sort of an ethereal perfect figure who everyone misses and compares him to. Later we get to see more of her backstory and discover that she’s actually like, a person, with flaws, who has done some bad things, but she did those bad things largely in the course of trying to escape an abusive home life and save the people and planet that she fell in love with. It’s very clear that despite her flaws she was trying to do the right thing and that she deeply cared about others. Unfortunately, a woman who was not a Perfect Martyr was way too much for the Steven Universe fandom to handle. She pretty much set off the wave of SU crit blogs because these people were furious either that she had taken violent measures to solve her problems, that she hadn’t taken violent enough measures to solve her problems, or both somehow. Lots of “Why didn’t she just murder her abusive parental figures?” Lots of “She was evil for having a baby even though she knew she’d die in childbirth!” Lots of “She should’ve been able to protect everyone from a magic nuclear weapon with the power of love somehow.” Lots of “She shouldn’t have rebelled (even though not rebelling would’ve meant the destruction of Earth) because her abusers retaliated and that’s her fault.” LOTS of people drawing her as stick thin even though she was fat in the show. People treated her like she was on the same level or even worse than her abusive parental figures who were also the main villains of the show. It was unbearable to witness."

Mahiru Propaganda

"They got unfairly voted guilty in the first round and keeps getting blamed She never meant to hurt anyone and the only reason she did was cause she couldn’t read social ques"

"Mahiru Shiina is the most traditionally feminine character in Milgram, and she’s very in love with the idea of love. That makes her an easy fandom target. In Milgram, we are introduced to ten murderers. It quickly becomes apparent that not all of these murders are conventional. By the time we are introduced to Mahiru, we already know most of these unconventional murderers. Mahiru’s first music video depicts her going on various dates with her boyfriend, even though he is not shown in the frame. At the end of the video, Mahiru wakes up, turns to the camera, and has a horrified expression. Whatever happened, she didn’t want it to happen. And then a lot of the fandom accused her of being a stalker. Was that what got her a 55% guilty/unforgiven vote? I don’t know. I wasn’t there. But she heard what the fandom said. She heard these voices saying she couldn’t be forgiven. Saying that she was a stalker or that she didn’t really love her boyfriend, even though that wasn’t true. She was beaten to near-death by Kotoko, a vigilante who was forgiven by 67%. Fuuta, who also sustained serious injuries from Kotoko, calls out the audience surrogate, saying what we did with our verdicts would have made us the same as him if Mahiru had died. And yet Mahiru doesn’t blame either us or Kotoko. Mahiru’s second music video shows that she was indeed in a proper relationship with her boyfriend. She smothered him with her love. The video slowly revealed the toxicity in their relationship. She asked why she can’t do anything right. The fandom perception was better in that she was safely voted innocent/forgiven. Still, there are issues. Some infantilize her or say that she’s delusional. Yes, she had a sheltered upbringing and has difficulties reading social cues, but that doesn’t take away her agency. On the flip side, some have theorized that she kidnapped her boyfriend and wasn’t in a proper relationship with him. (Not sure what to say about that, but this is a series about sympathetic murderers.)"

[ryuichirou]

So here's the thing, imagine the twisted boys at the beach, living their best lives until they get stung by a jellyfish. The only way to ease the pain is by getting peed on, no magical cures. Which ones would rather enduring the pain than asking someone to help them? Who would they trust to pee on them? Also, the other way round, which ones would be willing to pee on others? Does anyone have a secret piss kink? Sebek is the one I'm most curious about, like if there was a mysterious and dangerous enough jellyfish to cause pain to Malleus, would he enthusiastically offer his services? Would he adamantly refuse to do such an offensive act despite the pain Malleus is suffering? So much to ponder…

This ask made me so unreasonably happy, this is so stupid and so NRC style lol Oh to be Sebek in such a troublesome situation! A dilemma! A conundrum!

Jokes aside, I think it’s important to note that no one should pee on a jellyfish sting because it actually makes it worse… But who out of the NRC boys is even aware of that? 🤔

Your ask also reminded us of this video, and honestly it feels like a very 1styears thing to do. In this particular video I can imagine every 1st year in every “role” and somehow it still makes sense lol They really would do stupid shit like this.

Still! Let’s go through the list and think about it.

Riddle – he didn’t even know people had this “peeing on someone” idea in their heads! Why would they do that?! Why is everyone taking their dicks out?! Wait- stop it immediately! (Too late… I’m sorry, Riddle)

Ace – he is the first one to volunteer. He would pee on anyone, he doesn’t mind. That being said, if he himself was stung, he wouldn’t want to ask others to pee on him… he’ll try to pee on himself, but that wouldn’t work, so he’ll have to ask others for help. Begrudgingly… He’ll ask Deuce, of course. He’ll take him somewhere private first, too.

Deuce – he isn’t as eager to pee on others as Ace, but he would help a friend out if he has to. Even if this is embarrassing and gross! What if his friend dies?? He has to pee on him! What kind of friend is he otherwise! Ace would egg him on… Deuce would also get peed on by every 1st year and some of the 2nd years…

Trey – he also knows that you shouldn’t pee on jellyfish sting, but he won’t stop the boys in time… how did he miss it? How did this happen to Riddle? He’ll help him to clean himself, but somewhere deep into his heart Trey kind of curses his own knowledge and sense of responsibility because doing something so gross sounds as horrible as it is kind of hot. Wait, what was that thought?

Cater – he isn’t aware that you shouldn’t pee on a jellyfish sting. He is the one who suggested it the moment someone got stung. He wouldn’t participate himself, but he would pull his phone out almost unconsciously and reflexively, because this imagery is unforgettable. If he got stung himself though, he would yell that he doesn’t want to get peed on. Too bad, Cater, this is a pee fest now.

Leona – how did you even manage to get stung, loser? Anyways, he’d better run before the rest of Savanaclaw gets eager to help him out because if there is anyone in NRC that is eager to pee everywhere but in the appropriate places, it’s the Savanaclaw students. In any other situation, Leona would suggest peeing on a jellyfish sting sarcastically, but everyone would take it seriously.

Ruggie – he’ll pee for money. And knowing his luck, he’ll manage to get paid somehow. I don’t know who the poor victim is, but they just bought Ruggie’s precious medicinal pee lol If Ruggie gets stung himself though, he’ll crawl away as fast as he could – he doesn’t trust these fuckers.

Jack – he gets very aggravated and nervous because of the unfamiliar pee smell, so even if it wasn’t dangerous to pee on a jellyfish sting, he would get very angry, anxious and a bit aggressive, so please let’s not give Jack any golden showers lol He also wouldn’t want to participate in peeing on someone else, but he isn’t impossible to convince…

Azul – absolutely no! Even if it were a legitimate remedy, Azul wouldn’t want anyone near himself. Put your dicks away, or he will chop them off! He also won’t participate in it himself. Too gross. He doesn’t understand why others get so eager to pee on each other.

Jade – oh he is aware that the pee would only make it worse, but he’ll still pee on a person just for funsies. He might even suggest that a merman’s pee pH-balance is perfect for this type of injury. It is a lie, of course…

Floyd – same, he’ll pee just for fun. He is tired of everyone arguing about it, it’s not a big deal. He’ll be especially excited if he gets to pee on poor Riddle… I think Floyd might have discovered a kink. Skedaddle, everyone! If any of the tweels get stung though, they’ll go straight to Azul to ask him to heal them. Even if it doesn’t work, there is no way they’re letting others pee on them, they know it’ll hurt like a bitch…

Kalim – surprisingly, he knows that you shouldn’t pee on a jellyfish sting. Everyone would get shocked by hearing an actual piece of advice from Kalim, but then they’ll know that he learned it the hard way… Poor little Jamil…

Jamil - … yeah, poor little Jamil. But also, knowing Jamil’s luck, knowing that one shouldn’t pee on a jellyfish sting probably wouldn’t save him from people around him getting way too excited and eager to help him out. He is one of the guys that gets peed on by an entire crowd…

Vil – are you people out of your mind? This is the last time Vil hangs out at a public beach. He’ll try to stop some of the first years from peeing on Epel and get a little bit sprayed himself… well NOW they should really skedaddle.

Rook – I don’t trust this man. Of course he knows that you shouldn’t pee on a jellyfish sting, but a part of him gets excited by the idea of someone hurt and vulnerable getting this kind of help from their friends. Such an awkward and embarrassing but strong bonding experience! He might not stop it if he sees it. But right after that he’ll interfere and help. If either he or Vil gets stung, he’ll also suggest it playfully and get smacked.

Epel – a disaster. It’s as bad as Deuce’s situation, maybe even worse. Even if he doesn’t think this is a good idea, he’ll get peer pressured easily, and if this isn’t him who got stung, he’ll be the more eager one. He’ll yell while doing it to fight his embarrassment. And if he gets stung and isn’t miraculously jumped by everyone around him instantly, he’ll probably crawl to Rook to super awkwardly ask him for help, almost on a verge of crying. Rook’s heart wouldn’t survive this.

Idia – he is so sick of this trope! This is stupid, and Idia believes that this myth was created by a lobby of golden shower lovers or something like that. He’ll cry of embarrassment if he gets peed on by someone else, especially publically, especially if this is an entire squad of people… But he might also be taken away by the Tweels (or even just Jade) to do it in private. Or maybe Lilia… He just said that he didn’t want to do it at all..!

Ortho – he knows that he should stop others from harming themselves and being stupid, but he actually really likes this trope because of how embarrassing and cringeworthy it is to watch (Idia always reacts in a funny way when it happens in media!). So he’ll suggest it himself… and watch. He is so sad he can’t also pee on poor guy… he should upgrade his beach gear.

Lilia – oh he is so sure it’ll work. He can actually argue with facts on this one because this isn’t the first time he pees on someone, and it always gets better instantly! He wasn’t born yesterday, you know? In fact, he was born too many years ago... So yeah, he might pee on someone even if they are aware that this isn’t the way to go lol And if poor peepaw gets stung himself, he’ll get annoyed and moody, but ask Silver to help… And Silver won’t hesitate to help because he wants his father to be safe.

Silver – if he lived near the beach, he would’ve been aware that this doesn’t work, but… Unfortunately, we have on our hands a boy who would go “understood” and do it if asked. And if Silver gets stung himself and someone drops an idea of peeing as a remedy on him, he might even bow and ask people around him to do it… oh no, Silver, no no no please don’t Silver, please-

Sebek – the star of the post lol Blame the first years, they are the ones who made him think that it works!! And the chaos was so insane that he didn’t even get to see or hear that it doesn’t in fact work! So if right after that he saw Malleus getting stung, his heart would drop and he would feel both cold and hot at the same time. Even if he manages to suggest his help, even if he manages to explain what kind of help it is, even if Malleus goes “oho? I haven’t heard of this kind of remedy, go ahead”… Sebek wouldn’t be able to pee on him. Because he would get hard-

Malleus – I kind of lied in the previous one, he probably knows about this thing from Lilia who has too many stories to tell. So while the previously mentioned scenario is possible, he might also suggest peeing himself in a teasing way, like would you dare to do it? Kind of way. But in that case he is way more interested in Sebek’s reaction… and Sebek surprised him a lot. He expected him to run away or even do it, but not this. Wow. In any other scenario, I don’t think Malleus would be too bothered by a jellyfish sting. Sebek shouldn’t have been worried in the first place.

[aprofessionalwithoutstandards]

Mercs ranked by how well they'd do on here. (Numbers wise and their own mental health-wise)

Scout: Terrible at posting. He'd be bigger on a different platform but he doesn't have the sea legs for Tumblr. Stresses himself out about all his posts flopping

Soldier: I don't think he knows what a "post" is I think he opens Tumblr and wonders why they updated Minesweeper to look like this. If he finds the right audience though I think he'd be a big hit

Pyro: Their silent fursuiting TikToks get reposted onto Tumblr to tens of thousands of notes. They are blissfully unaware of this

Demo: Niche internet microcelebrity people are constantly surprised to find out is also hot. Popular enough to get reposted onto Instagram but not popular enough to have his shit jacked for Tumblr merch

Heavy: Basically uses Tumblr like it's Facebook or Instagram. Does middling numbers

Engie: Gets videos of his cool machines stolen off of Reddit and reposted with no credit. I think if he had Tumblr it would actively make him worse

Medic: America's next top Tumblr funnyman, everyone thinks he's doing an elaborate mad scientist roleplay bit but he's being dead serious

Sniper: He posts nothing but 2-note vents and 360p webcam photos of his own midriff. Small but extremely devoted following of other insane trans people

Spy: Runs one of those accounts that just reposts #aesthetic images from Pinterest that somehow consistently get thousands of notes. Purposefully vague about her identity

BONUS LIGHTNING ROUND:

Pauling: Mildly successful poster of middle-of-the-road jokes about being trans and overworked

Admin: So terrible at posting people think she's a bot and block her immediately

Saxton Hale: Writes off Tumblr entirely because it doesn't make any money

[swissboyhisch]

MASTERLIST

JAMIE DRYSDALE

Last Call Inspired by "Last Call" by Will Linley.

NIKITA ZADOROV

My Jersey After a little rain comes sun... And thunder. Thunder in the form of a six-foot five Russian defenseman.

That Scar Hurt By The Way In a world where everyone has a soulmate link, you happened to luck out with a pain link.

NATHAN MACKINNON

Lost In Japan Inspired by "Lost In Japan" by Shawn Mendes.

TYLER SEGUIN

Picasso The perfect family... Mum. Dad. And three dogs. With a touch of fluff and uninformed comment.

DYLAN LARKIN

You know I love you right? After bad game, what more could you ask for? Maybe just chinese, Netflix and some good old cuddling.

CONNOR MCDAVID

I’m Your Favourite, Eh? An All-Star Competition and a married couple with a kiddo. What more could you ask for?

I Brought Too Many Sorry Female issues are always a fun time of month. Even worse... running out of pads in a time of need. Luckily someone comes to the rescue, a little too well.

MATTHEW TKACHUK

Surprise Cheerleader Surprises from one party to another during a big Volleyball game.

All-Star Love The NHL All Star weekend is always fun. But bring in a romance… Then that's when it becomes interesting.

GUSTAV NYQUIST

Hey There Delilah Inspired by "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's.

NICO HISCHIER

Thanks For The 20 Kiddos Hosting hockey players was normal. Guys that would become brothers. Until him.

Cupid Cousin First game against his old team for your cousin and he wants you there. Luckily some of his ex-teammates are cute.

The Aussie BBQ Experience You finally got to take Nico home to Australia. He got the true experience of an Aussie BBQ.

The Aussie Easter Experience Nico gets to experience an Aussie Easter after being not making the playoffs.

The Aussie Snack Experience As a marketing idea, you get to feature in a video with Nico trying snacks from your home country.

The Aussie Chrissie Experience Since Nico is injured just before Christmas, you head back to Australia for Nico to experience an Aussie Chrissie.

Sorry But I Really Like Her You head to Newark to see your parents new place after avoiding it like the plague. Maybe this time, something with make you want to come back.

We're Not Naked You just wanted some time alone with your partner. Sadly, your brothers are clingy.

Hughes Siblings Acquired (Part 1) Somehow, the New Jersey Devils acquire a player who will fit in well on the team.

Welcome to New Jersey (Part 2) Quinn arrives to New Jersey and has his first training with his brothers and new team.

The Sugar Fix After opening your cafe and bar, a familiar hockey player comes in opening day. Seems like he remembers you too.

JACK HUGHES

Prom Queen Inspired by "Prom Queen" by Molly Kate Kestner.

LUKE HUGHES

Don't Want to Lose You (Part 1) You notice something is wrong with your body. A wrong diagnosis then something you never wanna hear.

Will You Be There When I Wake Up? (Part 2) Two weeks pass and it's time for surgery.

I'd Marry You Tomorrow (Part 3) As a precautionary measure, you follow through with the doctor suggestion to collect eggs. It wasn't as an easy process as you thought.

MACKENZIE BLACKWOOD

Home Inspired by "Home" by Phillip Phillips.

MAT BARZAL

Opening Night For once Mat is your pretty accessory for your big night. Instead of the other way round.

Drunken Mistakes (Part 1) After receiving some bad news, you just wanted to not be alone. After a couple drinks, what most likely is a bad decision, starts to sound too good to miss.

New York Luck (Part 2) After a lovely holiday, your partner breaks up with you and so you turn to your only friend in the city.

CARTER HART

Something In The Orange Inspired by the song "Something In The Orange" by Zach Bryan. Little Miss Klutz Despite you hating your pain link to your soulmate, he had a tendency to look on the brighter side.

BRAYDEN POINT

You’re Not Useless Broken bones and being bed bound can affect you more than physically. Fighting words are thrown between the pair.

STEVEN STAMKOS

WAG Meetings After it's confirmed that the boys will go to playoffs for another season, the WAGs have a meeting to discuss the most exciting part. WAG Jackets.

AUSTON MATTHEWS

My Family A pair of friends reunite with a surprise in store for one of them. Oops, it's a baby.

Bad Day = Cuddles After the worst day you have had in a long time, your boyfriend at home was ready to take care of you.

You're My Favouite A visit to your family goes wrong when Auston meets your Aunt.

MATTHEW KNIES

Halloween Surprise The team's Halloween party seemed like the perfect time to reveal to everyone who you were dating.

MITCH MARNER

God, You’re Amazing A championship game ends up being the best day for multiple people's lives.

Stop Flirting With Marner! A few Leafs spy a figure skater practicing on the ice of the All-Star Arena. After persistent bugging from his friends, one finds himself embarrassing himself to try score a date.

WILLIAM NYLANDER

Flirt With Her Tomorrow A day spent at a stable as a team bonding exercise turns out to be a great place to meet people for some.

Never Letting You Go Again Bumping into exes are always fun. But with a little meddling from a sweet cafe owner who's missed her favourite regulars, some truths are revealed.

ANTHONY BEAUVILLIER

Baking Antics A rainy day means baking and dancing in the kitchen.

Kick Ass Your first time back in a competition and your luck charm definitely helped.

QUINN HUGHES

Support My Girl The final dance concert comes around and you're lucky to have such a supportive family.

SOCIAL MEDIA FIC MASTERLIST

ALL WRITING AND GRAPHICS USED ON THIS POST IS MINE. I CREATED THE VISUALS FOR THIS ON CANVA.

UPDATED: 9/11/23

[oh-stars]

Speculating Specters

Ghost

a Stobin Month 2024 prompt | 672 words | CW: talks of afterlife and ghosts | Rating: G

--

Ghostbusters is playing on the little TV above the counter. They’ve done everything possible until closing and Robin doesn’t get paid enough to scrape the gum off the shelves, so she’s laying back in the one chair they're allowed and watching it. 

Steve’s standing with his hands on his hips just outside the boundaries of the counter, squinting up at the TV. He was supposed to be putting the cart back but he stopped about three steps away to watch with her. 

It’s the scene with the little green guy in the hotel, the ghost is shoveling food into his mouth when Robin turns to Steve. “Do you think ghosts are real?” 

“I mean–” 

She snaps quickly. “Yes or no, dingus?” 

“Yes,” he says, shrugging. 

“Really?” She leans forward. 

“Uh, yeah, Rob,” he says with a laugh. He lets his hands fall to the side as he rounds the counter to hop up next to her. “You’ve seen some of what I’ve seen,” he says, emphasizing his words with raised eyebrows and wide eyes, “after all of that, I don’t think ghosts are a stretch.” 

She considers this. “Fair point.” 

They watch until the Ghostbusters save the hotel before Steve continues with a, “Would you want to be a ghost?”

“No,” she says. 

“Why not?” 

“We don’t know ghost rules,” Robin says, spinning to face him instead of the tiny TV. “What if my ghost has to stay in the room I died in? Or do I get attached to an object? What if we can’t roam and interact with the world? Can we even see what’s going on in this plane or would we be stuck reliving our death over and over again in one of those loop things?” 

Steve’s brow is creased as he stares at the floor. It’s his processing face, the one she has to wait to see the crease smooth out or else he gets a migraine or very, very lost in the conversation. 

She waits patiently as the words soak into the folds of his brain. When he looks back up at her, hazel eyes clear and attentive, she continues. “I just think that wouldn’t be a very fun afterlife, ya know?” 

“It could be fun,” Steve says with a shrug. “Think of all the people you could haunt.” 

Robin sits up. “Who would you haunt?” 

“The boys,” Steve says with a smirk. “It’d be fun to mess with them.” 

“You’ve thought about this,” Robin says with a gasp. 

“A little.” 

“Please share your devious, spooky haunting plan with me, dingus.” 

“I just feel like haunting Henderson and Wheeler could be fun. I wouldn’t do anything to, like, scar them for life or something,” Steve says with a small smile and a shrug, “just be a nuisance in their lives like they are in mine.” 

“Such as?” 

“Twisting Henderson’s cap around when he’s studying and not paying attention,” Steve says. “Or moving Mike’s shit around in his room the tiniest amount where it’s noticeable but not enough to tell anyone. And I’d probably just try and spook Sinclair for Erica’s benefit.” 

“And Will?” 

Steve shakes his head. “I’d be a very helpful ghost to him. He’s the nicest out of the four and been through the most, I’m not going to make that worse.” 

“You do know the girls would be pissed that you’re not haunting them, too,” Robin says. 

He frowns. “I wouldn’t mess with them, though.  Max and Erica would be liable to somehow kill me again if I tried to haunt them.” 

Robin grins. “They wouldn’t kill me, though.” ‘

Steve raises an eyebrow. “Want to bet?” 

The door opens with a ding and both of them roll their eyes with silent, internal groans. Without saying a word, they do a quick round of rock, paper, scissors. Robin loses, her paper crumpling to Steve’s scissors. 

Her haunting plan will have to wait. She heaves herself up and out of her chair with a cheery, “Welcome to Family Video. May I help you with anything?” 

--

Thank you @lady-lostmind for beta reading!

Ao3 Link

[rc-writes]

𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 | 𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢  

pairings: benny weir x reader

warnings: one curse word i believe, not much of benny actually in it sorry

part one

a/n: well look who wrote benny hcs not at 1am for once lol (finished this before 10pm) anyways, these hcs are more of you (the reader) getting your turn to have your realization moment. which because of that benny isn’t actually in this all too much. i hope you all enjoy it anyway!!

you had called benny the day after you were let out of the hospital and asked if he wanted to hang out

he quickly said that his grandma was making him clean the whole house so he couldn’t come over

and then quickly hung up

this was very strange because 1. he didn’t go on a rant about how much he did not want to clean 2. he wasn’t even allowed to do more than dusting anymore

last time he tried to spell the house clean and somehow the bathroom was full of chickens

and to add to the strangeness you spotted benny with ethan in ethan’s backyard later in the day

you definitely weren’t spying

another weird event happened when the school week began

usually you and benny would sit next to each other in english but on monday morning he was sitting on the other side of the room

when you questioned him he was quick to say that the teacher moved him for some reason

on any other day you’d just brush it off because teacher’s like to move kids for no reason sometimes

but since benny was acting weird you decided to ask the teacher after class and it turns out benny was the one to ask to move

now you were more confused as ever

not only has benny avoided you twice, but he had lied to you twice

a couple different thoughts ran threw your head at once

maybe he’s trying to distance himself so it doesn’t hurt him as much if you were to get hurt again?

does he still feel terrible that he couldn't prevent you from getting hurt and thinks you blame him?

or worse, is he upset that you did something wrong and by getting yourself hurt someone else could also have gotten hurt?

you know that the last option would be completely out of character for benny but you couldn’t let the thought fully leave

this was when you decided to question ethan again

and once again he pretended like nothing odd was happening

even after half of an hour of nonstop questioning he would fess up

you then decided to just go ask benny himself

once you got to the weir household you were met with a “sick” benny who didn’t have time to talk because he “didn’t want you to get sick”

you might have believed him if it wasn’t for the fact that before you knocked on ethan’s bedroom door earlier you heard them both video chatting while playing a video game

and benny did not sound at all sick at the time

but you decided to just drop the matter and sulk back home

maybe this weird thing would be over in a few days?

maybe there was a completely reasonable reason as to why one best friend was ignoring you and another was covering for them?

unfortunately for you it was a week later at this point and nothing had changed

you’re wrist being almost completely healed was the only thing you seemed to change

safe to say you were upset

so here you lay on your bed watching the ceiling fan go round and round

you missed your best friend

you missed benny

the benny who would have been knocking on your door with a box full of games before you even finished saying you were bored over the phone

the benny who you had known to be an amazing friend since you met him back in middle school

hell you couldn’t even remember the last time it had been this long since you had a full conversation with him

what would you even do if you didn’t have him in your life??

it was at this moment, with this thought, was the exact moment a bomb had gone off in your head

“that can’t be true”

“what a crazy thought that was”

“pfft there’s no way that was a true thought”

“ha ha real funny”

“that doesn’t even make any sense”

“ha ha right?”

“right??”

there was no possible way you actually had feelings for your best friend, right?

but what if you did?

no that’s crazy, anyone would be upset if their best friend had suddenly stopped talking to them

but why did it feel like you missed more than just a best friend?

now as any person with more one than one good friend you had to go tell ethan about this whole mess of a situation you just got in

well after you spent a few hours spiraling

ethan being the good friend he was decided to not reveal benny’s similar secret to you

which he did get very close to just telling you, but he then remembered benny swore he’d “accidentally” say the wrong spell too close to him if he did and decided against it

cue ethan being just so done with life because now he has to deal with the both of y’all being oblivious idiots

[starsomens]

Noah and his not so gamer girl imagine cause I'm bored and have a bunch of ideas to share with the world. hey Siri, play Video Games by Lana Del Rey.

you're not the type to spend free time playing video games. it's just not exactly your form of escapism, you prefer listening to music, dancing, watching movies and tv shows, cooking, even crying your heart out over tiktok videos with cute puppies, basically anything. but playing games? not really. and it's not because you suck at it, nah, absolutely not. or is it?

but Noah loves video games and sometimes you're in a mood to share his passion despite the lack of fast reaction, coordination or even gaming experience. it doesn't matter. more so, this is the only time being really bad at something benefits you.

this is his chance to be your knight in shining armour and he gladly takes the opportunty. he's gonna carry you the whole match/round/level/quest/whatever that is if you're struggling without making you feel useless. oh, you can't progress through that one hideous quidditch match in an old Harry Potter game? don't worry honey, he's gonna take care of that while you can sit beside him with you cup of hot chocolate and chill.

actually, this level is worse than he thought, so you sit there for half an hour watching him cursing the game, the broom, the whole existence of the world and it's the funniest thing ever. streamer Noah was and still is your favorite era of his and now you have an exclusive access to it irl.

remember Among Us? this may be the only game you're good at. not just good - excellent, you're a pro mind gamer. whenever you get the imposter role you make sure to either kill Noah first just to mess with him while he's screaming 'I knew it' down the hall or to keep him alive til the very end acting soooo very innocent that it blows his mind to find out it was you all along.

Noah, however, is still in his knight arc so he keeps you alive because he just can't do it to you. that makes him lose all the time because everone knows if you're still running around it's him not being able to kill you again. or when he's a crewmate and gets killed, his little ghost follows you everywhere you go as your little guardian angel. it's sweet but he could be a bit more helpful in his afterlife doing the tasks to help you win sooner though.

you have this love-hate relationship with horror games. you're intrigued and scared as fuck at the same time. Noah is not there to make it any easier for you. he loves to jumpscare you out of the sudden. he swears he's not gonna do it again and still proceeds to scare you one more time when you're fully relaxed and least expect it just to hear you screaming at the top of your lungs. once you got so scared you threw your controller across the room and broke it. he promised to stop doing this shit. of course he lied. this bish!

he's so unserious when you two boot up The Sims. his character never looks like him, he creates the ugliest mf with the weirdest clothing choices and insists to romance your character because who else? then, when you get to make your sim and spend like three hours on it, he patiently waits and says it's cute but not as beautiful as you are even if it's an actual virtual goddess on your screen. then you two sit there and plan how your sims are gonna live and somehow it always ends up with planning your actual real life together - the cabin, the dog, the kids and their names, all this lovely stuff.

ANON AGAIN???? Girl I had a long work day and this honestly helped me to unwind THANK YOU I NEED TO SEND YOU FOREHEAD KISSES. HOW DO I SEND SOME THROUGH THE SCREEN????