#anything to get the results she needed/wanted

[na0koz]

can you pls write more toxic vi🤤

yes i Can!

the moment vi realised she actually likes you, your relationship instantly became impossibly more difficult. she avoids you even more and if you do hang out, she tries her best to keep your interactions to a minimum (fucking then leaving your apartment while you’re asleep).

after a couple of weeks of her acting up - somehow even more than she already had been - you called her about a thousand times until she picked up.

“the fuck do you want? christ…” she practically barked, running her hands through her hair as she leant on the front door of her apartment.

“i want you to hang out with me, violet! you’re acting even more like you hate me than usual recently, and i do not like it. if you want this to be over, just say it ‘cus i’ve had enough of you honestly,” you gush, sitting up in your bed and waving your hands around as if she was really in front of you.

there was a beat of silence, and you briefly thought she hung up on you when you brought your phone away from your ear. surprisingly, her contact was still displayed on the screen with the call still running.

“don’t call me violet,” her voice sounded softer than when she first answered your call. she sounded upset.

you scoffed loudly, “are you fucking kidding me? that’s all you have to say?”

more silence followed, and your patience was running thin.

“hello? i asked you a question.”

“don’t really know what you want me to say.”

you groaned at her tone of voice, bored and uninterested. “well for starters-“

vi was quick to interrupt you. “i don’t really have the energy for this. see you,” she hung up before you could even get a breath in.

in the following two weeks, you only saw vi once. even that was a result of her physically running into you by accident on a street near your apartment.

her eyes widened as she realised it was you who she’d bumped into, quickly changing her ‘watch where you’re fucking going’ to an ‘oh sorry’. she grimaced slightly at the way you gave her a horribly dirty look, clearly not too pleased to see her.

she swiftly made her way around you and hurried away. you could’ve sworn you heard her mumbling ‘fucking idiot’ to herself as she walked away.

about a week after that, you heard some loud knocking at your front door. groggily grabbing for your phone, you see that the time reads 4:23am. who the hell is at your door at this hour? you whine as you drag yourself up to answer.

swinging the door upon while rubbing sleep from your eyes, you’re faced with a slightly drunk vi leaning on your door frame.

“um?” you rasp, sleep clouding your voice.

“hey…” vi mumbles. “i.. i need you, [name].”

she slumped forward into your shoulder as she babbled, you trying your absolute hardest to hold her muscular form upright, hearing her whining out a ‘please’ as you reluctantly shut the door behind her.

“you can’t just show up asking to fuck after barely speaking to me for three weeks, vi.”

“what-? no no. i’m not here to fuck you. i need you, please.” she squeezed her eyes shut and groaned at the sudden brightness as you flicked the light on.

you couldn’t even muster anything to say, pushing her to sit down while you stand opposite her. she squints up at you in return, looking completely helpless. sighing at her messed up state, you decide to join her on the sofa.

“what?” you question, trying your best not to get annoyed with her for showing up unannounced like this for the millionth time.

“just-“ she interrupted herself with a burp. “just like… hold me. please.”

before you can react, she leans herself onto you, resting her head in the space between your shoulder and chest. her weight pushed you to lie down on your sofa and she took the chance to make herself more comfortable.

her leg wrapped around you as she clutched your waist with one hand, using her free arm to push you to put your arms around her. she sighed shakily as your hand relaxed onto her back.

“sorry princess, i jus’ need this, okay?” she said quietly, her eyes drooping in time with the rise and fall of your chest.

you don’t say anything in return. you know she’s drunk, you can smell it on her, but a small part of yourself feels like she’s serious. drunk words are sober thoughts, right?

but of course, you wake up cold and with vi nowhere to be found. the only proof you have of her even being there was a faint smudge of her black eye makeup on your shirt.

she got scared and bailed in the middle of the night. again. she’s embarrassed, and toys between the ideas of either blocking you, changing her number or going back to your apartment and telling you how she really feels.

in the end, she doesn’t choose any of them. she can’t lose you completely, but she’s way too much of a coward to express her true feelings towards you. shocker.

[0rczy]

I really like analyzing Varigo, one thing I've noticed recently is how different their approach to romance (and human connections in general) really is, but also how they're pretty much the perfect foils in this regard.

Varian grew up sheltered away in their mansion. He didn't have much clue about socializing, so when Rapunzel came to him, he gives all of them proper respect (calling Rapunzel "Princess", Eugene "Flynn Rider", as in the full name). You could assume it's because of his dad; later when the two confronted each other, Varian called him "Sir". Probably because Quiring taught him to be respectful of others, and they both clearly take this social rule rather seriously.

So then Cassandra comes in and saves Varian, for apparently no selfish reasons. She likely just didn't want to have a child get crushed when she could've prevented it, but to Varian, this changes his view on people. Cassandra isn't just a distant figure to respect; instead, someone he could have a connection with. And this is where one of Varian's most essential traits come to light: when comfortable, he treats situations like an experiment. He immediately starts calling her by a nickname, "Cassie", to see how she would react. At the day of the expo, he keeps trying out different tactics, trying to essentially just get close to Cassandra. One could Interpret this romantically, but I personally like to think he just really wanted a friend. A lonely kid, seeing someone cool show any kind of affection for him immediately made him go "there could be something here! I need to find out!", and so he does. In his own, nerdy way.

Hugo, on the other hand. He, unlike Varian, grew up having to socialize all the time. Having to talk his way out of situations constantly, he learned to put up walls so that the most desirable results come out, benefiting him and his missions. When he weasels his way into the Team, he also calls them nicknames. In his case, it stems from a need to distance himself from people, so that he doesn't get attached. One slight exception though is Varian, as Hugo seemingly not only uses nicknames on him to keep up built-up walls, but to get a reaction out of him. This is very similar to how Varian approached Cassandra when he was younger. He's interested in Varian from early on, and he handles this in his good old Hugo fashion, because he finds Varian entertaining. Varian at first doesn't trust Hugo, but when he proves himself trustworthy, he gives in. He's willing to reach out, making Hugo more than a means to an end. Eventually, the two become friends! Then more than friends!

And then, their approaches change.

I'd like to think that it was Hugo, who fell first. Or at the very least, he's the first to realize it, and he HATES THIS. His flight or flight is activated, and he really wants to flee. He's the type to ignore his feelings, try to bury them. That's all he knows how to do, really. Especially because for what could be the first time in his life, he's actually falling for someone who is his friend. Someone who means a lot to him! He wouldn't want to ruin things, especially because he knows that betraying Variant will break the guy's heart, once he finds out. Therefore, the less pain, the better.

Varian is the exact opposite of this. It takes him a long time to figure out what he feels, and that it could be romantic (he didn't exactly have the history with romance before. The "puppy crush" on Cassandra could have easily been more of an obsession with the possibility of someone showing affection towards him). But once he realizes that there's a chance that the two could be a thing? He doesn't have to think hard about what his next step should be: he likes Hugo, and he's a scientist. Trial and error is practically in his blood at this point, so if there's even a small possibility of them getting together? That Hugo likes him back? Varian will do anything to find out how probable his theory is. And so, once again, he treats the situation like an experiment. Wasting no time, he tries to confess or bring up the idea as quickly as possible. And Hugo FREAKS OUT. He's not ready!

Varian's other big trait is his stubbornness. He's not satisfied with an uncertain answer. He wants to know Hugo's view on them, as clearly as possible. So he keeps poking around, trying to find an approach that brings out different reactions, different answers as to why Hugo would be scared of them being together. Again. Really similar to how he treated Cassandra at the expo back then. This is the only way he knows how, though. And he needs clear answers.

He gets one at the last trial. Boom. Heartbreak. This isn't about angst though, so I'll end it here.

I find them so interesting. How their upbringing influenced their view and approach to people, to friendship, to romance. To each other. They are both scientists, but one is more afraid of the results than the other.

So it all boils down to the importance of clear communication: another big theme in Vat7k, what with Ulla and Donella setting an example as what not to do.

I could ramble about these characters for ages, but yeah. This is my view on them, I loooove reading different Interpretations in fan fiction though!

[soobnotfound]

Thinkin bout you chapter [01. well...hello there my skibidi queen]

When  Zaidaan Amin lead guitarist of popular band Burnouts posts a not so tasteful comment about his labelmate katseyes logo their PR teams force the two groups to merge and befriend each other.What happens when shy Yn Vaughn, the lead singer of burnouts catches the eye of socially awkward dancer Megan Skiendiel?

The strong scent of coffee wafted around the  café as the low sound of discussion flowed through the building. Priya and Yn sat next to each other, Yn on the edge of the seat because yn had already formed the 'perfect' escape plan if anything went wrong. Priya played with a small rubix cube that her brother gave her (although it was missing a square). Meanwhile Flynn was reprimanding Zaidaan and telling him how to react when katseye got there. The group was so absorbed in their own world that when Sophia greeted them the first two times they hadn't realised at all.

"Yo. We're here garage band" Daniela said irritatedly which gauged the attention of the band

"We don't use fucking garage band" Zaidaan had mumbled to himself equally as irritated as Daniela due to the comment.

The members of katseye sat opposite the members of burnout a thick awkward tension lingering in the air that desperately needed to be broken, so taking it upon himself Zaidaan spoke first.

"It's so crazy that we're all here together two groups under HYBE x geffens getting along, ten crazy ki—"

YNS pov 

   "Our logo isn't stupid." The blonde one spoke interrupting Zaidaan (thank god).  

Zaidaan unfortunately being the argumentative and impulsive person that he is felt the need to respond to her "well it kind of is...I mean what is even going on with it? What's it mean, ya know I'd expect a cat to be on there or some—" 

I really tried to care about whatever the hell those two were talking about but I found it really hard, especially when the ginger one was looking at me. Like...full on staring me down, it was quite scary actually she kind of looked like she wanted to pounce and me and kill me. 

I sunk into my seat uncomfortably and attempted to avoid eye contact completely. 

"Girl she's totally checking you out" Priya mumbled poking my shoulder with the biggest grin known to mankind on her face.  

"No I think she just has a staring problem" I Whispered back to her trying to be as discreet as possible so the ginger girl didn't notice we were talking about her. 

I felt I needed to get out of this situation as soon as physically possible because the more the girl looked at me the more terrified I was, so I excused myself to the bathroom and immediately found refuge there.

3rd person Pov

Megan watched as yn left her seat which prompted Lara to play wingwoman for her hopeless friend 

"pretty sure you scared her off with your insistent staring, it was like you were trying to melt her with heat vision"

"I- no? She was just uh...okay you know what Lara, I don't appreciate your judgement." Megan attempted to switch her focus to her friend. 

"Right but you need it because this is hopeless...you should go talk to her alone and apologise for freaking her the fuck out" Lara squeezed Megan's shoulders whilst simultaneously pushing her to stand up.

"In the bathroom? Lara this is actually wild-" 

Lara cut her off "Bye bye now" waving her hands shooing Megan off to the bathroom.

“Uh hello? You in here, Miss band lady?” 

Yn held her breath hearing Megan's voice "what the fuck" she mumbled under her breath bracing herself and pushing open the door

"OH MY GOD GET BACK!" Yn shouted using a bidet to protect herself which proved to be both pathetic and ineffective only resulting in both yn and Megan soaked in water.

"WHAT THE FUCK CHILL!" Megan screamed as she pulled the bidet from yns hands and  turned it towards yn further drenching the poor girl

"Dude what the hell!!?" Yn grabbed the bidet and threw it to the ground.

...

The two girls stood in silence for a moment, their bodies entirely drenched in water, hair sopping and clothes dripping.

Yn looked up at Megan and a small grin appeared on her face. 

Megan looked up at Yn and began to laugh, the two girls both began to burst into a fit of giggles.

Yn smiled and extended her hand to Megan.

"I'm Yn Vaughn."

"Megan Skiendiel"

[throatgoat4u]

hold me again

previous parts: part one | part two

word count: 1.3 k

summary: in a desperate attempt to see you again, matt succumbs to something so pathetic, and foolish. returning to the park every single day.

warnings: angst, mentions of cheating, obsessive behavior, unhealthy relationships, mental heath issues (kinda).

a/n: this may feel like really really repetitive but that the point! it’s supposed to be repetitive to make it sadder. like the whole thing is just one big repetition for a reason. i hope you like it. this part is the one that makes me cry so i hope it does the same to you!

matt was sick to his stomach after the encounter he had with you. it made him overthink every single bit of his relationship with victoria. did he really want to be with her or was he just trying to fill the void that you had left in him. either way, he was overthinking.

one thing matt was positive about was that he needed to see you again—to talk to you again. so, that led him to return to that very park bench, every single day.

everyday—whether it was after filming a car video, or doing absolutely nothing—he’d go to the park, sit at that same bench, and wait.

all day, his thoughts were plagued by you. the park, that day, you walking away, it replayed over, and over in his head. the regret of letting you go a second time weighed heavily on him. he was desperate to see you again. he knew you’d be mad if he showed up at the restaurant where you worked as a waitress, or at your apartment. so the bench was the next best thing he could manage.

at this point, going to the park was second nature; it was in his routine. on a busy day, he’d wake up, do all his work, and then immediately rush to the park and sit at the bench for the remainder of the day. on a not-so-busy day, the moment he finished his morning routine, he’d head to the park. matt was usually the type to wake up at around 1pm. but now? now he woke up at 8:30 every morning so he could get whatever it was that he had to do done so that he could spend the rest of the day there.

he’d go, sit on the same bench, and pray. he’d pray, and pray, and pray that you would show up. he didn’t know if you would—he was more than sure you wouldn’t—but he always kept hope in his heart that you would. the thought of you never returning, the thought of never being able to see you again, drove him insane. so instead, he’d sit there, and the whole time, to distract himself from reality, he’d make up scenarios in his head. some scenarios were about what would happen when you’d come back. he’d imagine you in that same white dress, running up to him with that beautiful smile on your face and giving him a big kiss, telling him you missed him. other times, he’d imagine the life you two could’ve had if he had never done what he did. he missed you. all this time, he missed you. but he could never admit it to anyone. he could never tell a soul how much he wanted to see you again.

the entire time, he was filled with hope. he’d always come to the park, ready, and hopeful—beaming with excitement as he sat down, and waited. though, the results were always the same. complete and utter disappointment.

but matt—being matt— was stubborn. the constant disappointment was not going to deter him. if anything, it fueled his resolve. every time he came home, he told himself tomorrow was going to be the day. tomorrow you’d show, and it would all be worth it. he held onto that thought like it was a lifeline, even as the days turned into weeks. 

his friends began to notice his absence from their usual outings, and victoria… well, she was beginning to piece things together. she confronted him quite a few times, asking why he was always gone, and why he seemed so distant lately. his answer was always the same, he was working. it wasn’t all a lie, he reasoned. waiting for you was work. grueling, heart-wrenching, and entirely self-imposed, but work nonetheless.

this continued for a while. him coming home late, victoria confronting him, him using the same excuse, and then them getting into an argument. victoria couldn’t take it anymore, she was sure he was cheating. so she packed all her stuff into bags, wrote him a letter, leaving it on the table, and left.

when matt came home that night, he saw the letter on the table. all he needed to read was the first sentence before he stopped caring. over the few weeks he spent at the park bench, his love for her had slowly started to fade as he realized it was you he loved. it always has been you, it always will be you.

soon enough, the weeks were turning into months. where were you? there’s no way you haven’t once been to the park. the thought gnawed at him day and night. maybe he had missed you. maybe he had gone for a coffee run at the wrong time, or had left a minute too early. nonetheless, those thoughts were eating him alive. the possibility of him missing you haunted him, and he started to grow paranoid. so—like any logical human being—he started to stay longer, arriving earlier, leaving later, completely cutting his coffee runs out of the schedule. even then, he never saw you—you never showed.

matt was slowly going insane. he started to analyze the faces of passersby, just incase one of them was you in disguise. it sounded ridiculous, but at this point, matt wasn’t necessarily running on logic anymore. he was running on the need to see you, hug you, hold you. he knew he was driving himself to insanity, but he found himself caring less and less about his own personal being. 

december was slowly approaching but that didn’t stop him. he started wearing more and more layers. base layers, two long sleeve t shirts, a hoodie, a jacket, and then a coat on top. he wasn’t going to give up. he couldn’t… he couldn’t.

the park was dusted with snow. it was cold, and dark, but matt still sat there, not budging even if he was still shivering through all his layers. there was no way you’d show. why would you be at a park in this freezing weather? but his paranoia—the small voice in his head—kept him there. he was fearful that the second he’d get up, and leave, you’d magically appear at the bench. so he waited. he waited for you to magically appear.

his teeth had began to chatter, his nose turned red, and his lips blue. he could barely feel any part of his body, especially not his ass. he shoved his gloved hands into the pockets of his coat and pulled the hood up over his beanie, but it did little to warm him up. he was going to get hypothermia at this rate. 

he really should’ve gone by now, he knew he should’ve been gone hours ago. but, he couldn’t bring himself to get up, he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving right before you came. so he remained seated. his leg bouncing up and down, trying to get some movement in that would hopefully warm up his body.

the world around him seemed to slow as the biting cold settled deeper into his bones. matt’s breath puffed out in visible clouds of smoke, the only sign of him still being alive and stubbornly clinging to hope. he tried to distract himself, playing back his memories of you—your laugh, the way your eyes lit up when you were excited about something, the way you’d sound saying his name. it wasn’t enough to keep the cold away, but it was enough to keep him there.

“hey are you alright?” a familiar voice from behind him called out.

he froze in an instant. that voice… no… no, it couldn’t be. could it? could it really be you?

he turned his head around, looking at the face that matched the voice. it was her. it was his girl, his doll. it was the girl he had spent almost a year and a half at a bench for. it was the girl he longed for every second of the day. 

his chest tightened, and for a moment, he thought he might actually stop breathing. you were standing there, looking just as he remembered—maybe even better, if that was even possible. the cold had painted a faint blush over your cheeks, snowflakes speckled in your hair, sparkling like tiny stars under the dim light.

 it was you. it was really you.

a/n: i know the breakup with matt and veronica isn't long, i just needed her out of the way and could not be bothered with writing a long ass breakup.

toodles sluts :)

[lillaydee]

Uncoupled - June

Roommate! Joel Miller / Reader

Two people leaving their marriages ended up going through the mandatory one year separation together before filing for divorce.

Nothing could possibly happen in a year, right?

WARNINGS: Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us), Ellie & Joel Bonding (The Last of Us), Good Parent Joel (The Last of Us), Soft Joel (The Last of Us), Joel Needs a Hug (The Last of Us), Hurt Joel (The Last of Us), Protective Joel (The Last of Us), No age gap, Roommate Joel, Teacher Joel, Handyman Joel, Insecure Joel, Minor Character Death, Grief/Mourning.

SERIES MASTER LIST

May

---

Joel sat in the waiting room, a very jittery Jen next to him. The results of the biopsy was in. He hadn’t wanted to be there for Jen, initially. There was a part of him that was convinced Jen was doing this to try to guilt him into staying. He didn’t want to chance it, he was finally happy. His life with you and Ellie had been perfect. He was not going to ruin this.

He was looking forward to the divorce, so much so he declined alimony, just so he didn’t have to be tied to her in any way. Since she was the ‘at fault’ party and made so much more than him, he could get it, but he had a feeling Jen would stretch the process and rather than go back and forth on this whole thing he just wanted out. She would get anything in her name, the house, the car, her money, and he would be free of her. That was all he wanted.

He told you he didn’t want to go. He told you he didn’t want to be involved. Whatever it was, he could support her from afar. There was no need for him to be there with her. Heck, even her own parents and siblings didn’t want to be there for her. Her success and ‘glow-up’ didn’t just isolate him, it extended to her family as well, effectively isolating herself from everyone who could’ve been there for her.

But you. You were too soft hearted, you talked him into being there for her. We got lucky, you told him, we found each other. She didn’t have anyone. Be there for her. She was the woman you loved for 15 years. Do this for her. He tried to tell you that Jen would stick to him like a leech if they found something malignant, guilt him into staying, but you told him that the two of you would cross that bridge then, if it came.

So he called her, went with her for the biopsy, held her hand through it all. Drove her home after, made sure she was alright and had everything she needed. He was actually starting to feel glad he could do things like that for her and not have it be an awkward situation. That they could sort of be friends.

And then she kissed him.

Jen just found out that she was all alone, Max declining to be involved at all despite their history, and she was desperate. The reality of her actions pushing the one man she now knew she could rely on was hitting her hard, and she was willing to do anything to win him back.

Jen saw immediately who Max was once they got together officially. He was a man who only thought of himself, his reputation, his comfort, his needs. He was slowly suggesting that a woman’s place was at home, not out in the world like she was, working side by side with men. He was threatened by her success, even if it was nothing compared to his. She saw now that you opening the bakery was the starting point for his unrelenting search for power; he was afraid you would be successful. More so than him. Max was not someone who could handle that. And the moment she made it clear that she was never giving her career up, their problems started.

She began to miss Joel then. He was never threatened by her success. He even worked harder to try and contribute more, but in her egotistical mind, that was not enough. She regretted that now, but even she could see that she treated him horribly once she found success. And now he’s all happy with you, someone who, according to Max, was her opposite. Someone Joel could easily find happiness with. So she was determined to win him back.

But Joel was still level headed. He wasn’t surprised, he knew she would try something like this. Rather than pushing her off him, he gently turned his head and pulled himself off her, turning and leaving before she could say anything else.

He told you about it the moment he got home. He could see your face turn to anger, but you true to your form, you told him she was probably just an emotional mess right now and wasn’t thinking.

Joel was not happy about it, though. He made sure to physically distance himself from Jen, not meeting her unless necessary. She began sending him suggestive texts, all of which he ignored, and making appearances where she knew he would be, even going to his school to see him without your knowledge.

She even went to see you behind Joel’s back, telling you that if you had any decency at all, you would leave him, let him go back to her, she obviously needed him more right now. God only knew how long she would have left with him. She wasn’t shy to use such lines with him either, although he never took the bait, and neither did you.

But when she began suggesting for him to not go to get the results, he knew something was wrong. He knew she was being conniving, planning something. Hiding something. She even changed the appointment time, thinking he wouldn’t find out. Except the doctor’s office emailed him the new appointment time too, and the look on her face when she saw him at the hospital was a confirmation of his suspicion.

The result came back as benign. She would still need surgery to remove the mass, but it wasn’t cancerous. And the growth was small enough for her to have an outpatient surgery, no hospital stay required. Just a few hours of observation. She wouldn’t even need aftercare, so there was no need for Joel to be there for her for days after the surgery.

He did, though, agree to be with her on the day itself.

That should be enough.

**********

Max had kept trying. Calling and texting and visiting begging you to reconsider the divorce. Jen’s initial diagnosis made him scared. Not for her, but scared that should anything like that happen to him, he would have no one, just like her. He knew Jen was never going to support him, hold his hands through something like that. But you would. He knew that. He had always known that. That was one of the reasons he fell in love with you. It was you who shared a dingy room with him when the two of you first got married, sleeping on a used mattress and eating sparingly when money was tight.

When your bakery started making money, he became threatened, worried that you would start bossing him around, so he worked harder to be more successful, to make sure you would never outearn him. He got there, and somehow, began treating you the way he was worried you would him in the first place.

He wanted you to give up the bakery, make sure you would only be relying on him. That you would be lost without him. He needed that validation to feel like a man.

But you had a great support system. Eddie would die for you. Tess and Frank had the knowledge, the money, the resources to help you out. And you seemed unphased when he was treating you like garbage. So he did more. He found faults with you where he didn’t before. He wanted you to put you in a position where you would finally say fine, you’ll give up the bakery and stay at home, just so that he would treat you better. He didn’t know why, but he wanted you to beg, wanted you to curl into a foetal position and cry, tell him you couldn’t live without him.

Instead, you left him.

And the moment you did, he realized how alone he was in the world. His friends, at least the ones who would drop everything to rush to his aid had been your friends. His work friends were never going to do that for him, they were networking, not making loyal, lifelong connections with him. He had pushed his own family away in his mission to put you down; they had all been on your side, knowing how he had treated you.

He wanted you back. So badly. But you had found Joel. And he knew Joel was the anti-Max. Joel would never be threatened with your success. You might actually be happy with him. You were so adamant on the divorce you waived alimony, which if you didn’t, would erase all your money issues. But you didn’t want to be tied up to him anymore. You just wanted out.

It stung him, how badly you wanted to get away from him, when all he wanted was to win you back.

**********

It was a week before the legal separation was due to end. You were home early that day, Ellie told you her head hurt, and Joel was at the hospital with Jen for her surgery. You were looking at the contents in your fridge when someone knocked on the door.

Max.

He told you he was just there with some of your stuff, the ones you left at his house. True enough, there were boxes in his car. So you let him unload them into your living room. He looked… resigned, defeated, accepting. He stood in front of your door, hands in his pocket, asking you what it was that Joel had that he didn’t. He didn’t get it. He could give you much more than Joel could. Look at this house, look at the house you left, he told you. When you didn’t answer, he asked if Joel was more gifted than him, between the legs – Jen had never told him, but he had a suspicion he was right.

You rolled your eyes. Even after everything, Max was still so immature.

“The measure of a man is not how much money he has in his bank account, or what is hidden in his pants, Max. Joel is a man, through and through. He’s a good man. Honest, reliable, protective, kind, considerate, and above all, secure. He doesn’t need me to look a certain way or stay at home and wait on him hand and foot to know he’s a man.”

He looked at his feet. “I’m going to miss having you around. I already do.”

“No, Max, you miss what I did for you. You don’t miss me. You miss the person who folds the laundry and cooks and cleans. Even when I did do that for you, you chastised me and made me feel like shit for doing them in the first place, always putting me down, nothing was enough. I think you just miss having someone to be cruel to.”

His head snapped up, his eyes filling with tears. “I’m so sorry I treated you like that, Lil. Really. I don’t know what got over me. I know that now. Please Lil, give me another chance.”

“Once bitten, twice shy, Max. I’m not that dumb.”

He nodded, his tears falling to his cheeks. He quietly asked for a hug. Just to say goodbye. Please?

You stepped outside and let him hug you. He breathed you in, his nose in your hair, his eyes closed. He held you tight, and you let him. For a moment, you felt a bit emotional. This was the man you had thought you would spend the rest of your life with. Sure, it was your choice to leave, but it didn’t mean that you weren’t sad. He treated you badly for four years, but there were those 11 years before that, when you shared so many happy memories with him. Even in your impatience to get it all over and done with, you still had to admit; you were heartbroken that your marriage was coming to an end. You didn’t start it with the intent of it turning out this way. No one does. Everyone who married for love thought they would live happily ever after, but things happen. People change. Hearts change.

You pulled back from him, only for him to grab your face and kiss you in the mouth. Hard. Passionate. It took you by surprise, but you pulled back from him, immediately going inside and shutting the door to his face. He didn’t protest, leaving as soon as you did.

You knew you were going to tell Joel about it later, but somewhere in your heart you figured it was just Max’s way of saying goodbye.

**********

Joel sat by Jen’s bedside while she was still unconscious, although she did wake up every now and then, still groggy and very much under the influence of her anaesthesia. Surgery had gone well, scans were clean, she should be okay to go home in a few hours. She would need follow up scans and consultations for them to keep an eye on the site, but she was fine. Joel found himself a bit melancholic – he had loved this woman. In some ways, he still loved her. You don’t love someone for 15 years and stop in a second. Sure, she treated him like shit these last few years, but he had 11 happy years with her. He was so happy when she said yes to marrying him. To spending the rest of her life with him.

While he was looking forward to the divorce, he had to admit that he was mourning it as well. He was mourning the young man who was so in love, so hopeful about starting a new life with the woman he loved. He didn’t marry with the intent to leave when things got rough. But the last four years was so hard on him he could feel himself start to change – he was starting to be bitter, hateful, and that was not the person he wanted to be.

He looked at his soon to be ex wife’s face, the beautiful face she had paid for, and for a moment, he saw the plain young girl he fell in love with, completely unaware how much she could change. He wondered if somewhere in there, that young girl he had fallen for was still around.

She was awake for the first ten minutes she was wheeled back into the day care room they had provided for her, yammering on and on about how thankful she was for him to be there, how thankful she was that he was in her life, how much she loved him, what a good husband he was, that she’s the luckiest woman on earth to have him as her husband. But then she stopped, and Joel had the mind to ask her why she didn’t want him at the appointment for the results. She told him, quite honestly, that she was planning to lie to him about the results to guilt him into staying. She began sobbing, telling him how much she regretted what she did to him, that she was only trying to fill a well of needs that she knew would never be filled.

She pleaded with him to stay, telling him she knew he didn’t really want to leave. Because if he did, he wouldn’t have left something extremely valuable to him with her at the house. Please, Joel, come back to me. I’ll do better, she said, practically grabbing his arm to lay in bed with her, before losing consciousness again.

His thoughts and reminisces of their past life was suddenly interrupted by his phone dinging. Someone had texted him. An unknown number.

‘You sure your girlfriend doesn’t want her husband back, Miller?’

A picture quickly followed. Joel could feel his heart drop to the floor, the picture blurry from his immediate tears, his insides turned ice cold.

Another text. From you, this time.

‘Max just stopped by. Something happened. I’ll explain when you get back, okay?’

And whatever warmth that his body had left just escaped his form altogether.  

**********

You waited patiently for him to return home, you wanted to tell him what Max did. But you didn’t feel right telling him on the phone or via text. Plus, he was taking care of Jen. You shouldn’t be the pushy girlfriend, right? You had been together a little over a month. You hadn’t even said ‘I love you’ yet. And you were still married to your husband, and him to his wife. One week. And they would be served. It would finally be over, and you and Joel could move on.

What was taking him so long? The surgery was this morning, he should be home by now. His dinner was waiting. It’s past Ellie’s bedtime. You had tried calling, but your calls went straight to voicemail. Your texts undelivered.

You weren’t nervous to tell him about the kiss. You didn’t do anything wrong. But with your calls and texts not going through, you had to wonder what was going on, and to be frank, you were starting to feel a bit worried.

His truck finally drove in to the driveway. You shot up and opened the door.

That’s weird. Jen was in the truck with him. He got out and told her to wait for him, engine left idling. He walked past you, not saying anything, his face unreadable, leaving you confused in the entryway. Jen was looking at you with the smuggest look. She beckoned you to go to her. So you did, she was medicated, might as well, you thought.

She lowered the window, smirking at you like she’d won something.

“You know, I knew you would come to your senses. But let’s be honest for a second. Even if you didn’t, what made you think you would be good enough for him? What the fuck could you ever offer him that I couldn’t twofold? Look at you, look at me.”

You were so confused. But she wouldn’t let you get a word in edgewise.

“Look, I’m sorry things turned out this way, but it’s for the best. I promise.”

Joel came back out, his suitcases in his hands. He placed both of them in the back of his truck.

You didn’t think Jen could be any smugger than she already was, but clearly, you were wrong. She sneered at you, lifted her left hand at you, her old engagement ring and wedding band back on.

“Toodles,” she said, waving them at you, before giving you the middle finger, the biggest shit-eating smile on her face.

Joel looked at your confused face, everything seemed unreal, blurry. He spoke to you, his face passive and emotionless. His voice sounded like he was underwater. He told you he would be back for his stuff. He got back in, shut the door and buckled up. He put the gear in reverse and backed out of your driveway, leaving you standing there clueless, your feet rooted down as if weighted down by the heaviest of anvils.

You went back inside, trying to make sense of what just happened. You picked up your phone and saw a text from Max, followed by a picture.

It was a picture of the two of you from earlier, passionately kissing.

‘Wonder what Boyfriend Dearest thought when he saw this picture. You sure you want to sign those papers?’

Fuck. Max had tricked you. He had planned this. He sent Joel the picture.

And then realisation hit. The passive face. The unread texts. Jen’s wedding ring. The suitcases.

He had left you. He had gone back to his wife.

---

The Beginning

[witchygagirlwrites]

Come Back

Connor Rhodes x Reader

Part 2 of Can't Take it Back

@desimarie12

“Connor” Maggie's voice was light as she shook him awake. He flinched, eyes immediately moving from your still form down to your stomach then to the two monitors. “The board wants to meet with you and her sister as to how you want to handle her treatment plan. We need something in place if the baby goes into distress or if her body starts to fail”

He nodded numbly “I know. They need everything in writing” his eyes stayed on your face as he spoke, one hand on your stomach, feeling the baby move under his palm. “Will you stay with her please? I can't leave her alone” “Of course”

He slowly stood, letting his hand slip from your stomach before leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead where there were no injuries “I'll be right back baby. Maggie will be here” he looked at her and nodded “Thank you”

________________

Your sister stood just outside of your room in the hallway, tears streaking down her face. “Hey” he greeted and she threw her arms around him “Please tell me what the results mean Connor. Are-are we going to lose them both?”

He ran his hand down her back, trying to soothe her as best as he could “The tests were promising. The baby is strong, his heart and lungs are performing where they need to be. They successfully extubated her last night. She's on a high level of oxygen but she is breathing on her own again. She's a fighter, we know this. She's not gonna leave that easily and he's a part of her so he's got that fight too”

She smiled up at him “You're a good man Connor. My sister loves you and I know you love her. What happened before the wreck..”

“I'll never forgive myself for what I said to her” he cut her off and her smile softened “she'd already forgiven you. She told me when she called me at lunch that she knew you didn't mean it, that she knew you were just scared. She was coming home to talk it out” he felt tears spring to his eyes at her words “I'd give anything to be the one in that bed and for them to be ok”

“I know. Now let's go talk to the board because I have to follow your lead on this. I have no clue what half of this crap means but I trust you to do what's best for her”

Voices, you could hear voices and monitors? It sounded like heart monitors like they used at the hospital. Wait, hospital!

Memories of the wreck flooded your mind. Sliding on the ice, over correcting and when the car started to roll. You'd tried so hard to shield the baby. What happened? Where was Connor? Did the baby make it? Did Connor hate you if he didn't?

You had to concentrate to force your eyes open, it felt like there were weights sitting on them both. The bright fluorescents hit your eyes and a groan left your lips. “Turn down the brights please” you muttered and heard April's voice “Oh my god. Get Connor!”

_______________

“RHODES!” He heard Ethan calling his name and started running without an explanation, thinking the worst.

When he got to your room he could hear April, Maggie and Will's voices but the one that stopped him dead in his tracks was the achingly familiar, albeit hoarse from the vent,sound of your voice. “Will, where's Connor? What happened to my baby?”

The sounds of your broken sobs ripped his heart out on top of the fact that it just now felt like it was beating again knowing you were awake. He stepped into the room and all four of you turned towards him. When you saw him you broke down sobbing “Con”

He was across the room and to your side in a heartbeat, pulling you into his arms and nodding to April. “Love, it's ok. You gotta take slow breaths. Your body has been through hell”

You winced and he saw pain flash across your face “They had to take him out, didn't they?” You asked, one hand hovering over your stomach.

He nodded, hand covering yours as the other cupped your face “He's ok baby..he's ok” you started to cry all over again “He is?”

About that time April came back into the room with your son in her arms. Connor stood and took him from her before turning back to you “You went into distress because your body was routing all healing efforts to this little man. He's a little early but all his functions are perfect, he's six pounds even”

Connor placed him in your arms and sat down next to you, slipping his arms around you both. “He's perfect Con. He looks just like you” you whispered, kissing your son on the head.

“He's all you sweetheart. That's why he's such a fighter” he replied, pressing a kiss to the side of your head as he felt tears slipping down his face. You came back to him, you and his son were in his arms. “I love you so much. Both of you, you're my entire world” he spoke against the side of your neck.

You leaned back against him and smiled “I love you too Connor. You're gonna be a good father” he reached over you to run his fingers down the baby's back “He needs a name..and I was thinking when you get out of here..maybe it's time you get a new last name too”

“Connor, did it only take me and your son almost dying for you to propose?” You asked and he shook his head “I've had the ring for over a year. I've known you're my world”

“Yes I'll marry you” you replied, letting him support your weight because you were still exhausted. He kissed the side of your head again “Thank you for not leaving me here alone” "How could I leave you alone? You need us too much" You replied and he laughed lightly "I need you and him more than anything on earth love"

[brunosaderogatory]

Hello.

So... What do you think of Daniela and/or Lorenzo?

Hello, and oh buddy don't get me STARTED /ref

Honestly, I do not know where to begin with these two. I love them. I hate them. I want to keep them in a controlled environment so I could conduct a study of them with a little microscope and also squeeze them until their eyeballs pop out as if they were a pair of Panic Petes. In other words, I like them a lot as characters in a narrative and characters in a world. My opinion of them as people differs from minute to minute, but that is because they reflect the morally ambiguous, and sometimes outright cruel--but equally often loving--world in which they exist.

That being said:

At first, Lorenzo seems to be a very two-dimensional character. He's just a goofy dad who is more concerned with his avocations than he is with his son or wife, a painfully overdone trope in the world of children's cinema, but a few key details (and a bit of useful input from Enrico Casarosa) reveal something more.

For starters, Lorenzo is a lot like Luca. Rather, he is Luca---or who Luca could have very easily become. Lorenzo is meek and lets his wife take the reigns when the situation gets tough. Lorenzo is often off in his own little world, not paying much attention to anything but his own interests and inclinations. Lorenzo is kind-hearted and seems to want change, but is too burdened by his own anxieties or past failures to work up the courage again. And, I do say "again" because the search for his son was not the first time Lorenzo was on the surface.

His older brother (and possibly twin) Ugo was not the only one in their family to have explored the surface world before; Lorenzo was, most likely, right along beside him. Now, we don't know what exactly happened that resulted in Lorenzo's parents sending Ugo to the deep nor Lorenzo to stop trying to get a taste of the human way of life, but Ugo was sent. And Lorenzo did stop. However, it is unlikely that any tragic event took place. Rather, I believe the conclusion to Lorenzo's explorations happened out of conformity to the rules and traditions of his culture because Lorenzo never once spoke ill of humans.

Daniela calls them bloodthirsty lunatics. She insists that Luca has a death wish, and, very explicitly, she insinuates that he will die trying to hang with the humans. On the other hand, Lorenzo only gawks at his son's audacity and tenacity. Lorenzo even tries to reel in Daniela as she threatens Luca with a trip to the deep, but, of course, it is a fruitless attempt because he is meek. He does not have his son's tenacity nor his audacity---those traits were derived from Daniela alone. And this impotence serves as his most abhorrent attribute.

No, he's not doing anything wrong, but he's being a willful bystander. He's compliant with the evils, and, when it gets down to it, he backs them up! He makes no decision for himself, but when he does, he either chickens out of it at the last minute or doesn't know how to bounce back from a failure. Despite being fully aware of what the deep sea can do to a person--despite very likely disagreeing with his wife--he allows her to almost put their son, his son, in a situation that will inevitably, undeniably, deform (translucent skin, eroded teeth, discolored eyes, discolored fins) and disable (cardiovascular issues) him with time.

I'm glad he changed his side for the brighter half in the end, but I didn't see any actual change happen. He's still following his wife around from the looks of it, and that isn't what's needed for him to grow as a person and as a character. Although he's a three-dimensional character that appears to have only two, he's a static character that's been played off as a dynamic for far too long. He was a meek follower in the beginning, and he was a meek follower in the end. The only reason he came onto the good side of things is that the person he was following changed paths, and that isn't enough for me to truly like him (but it sure as hell does give me a lot to work with as a fanfic author, so thank you, Luca crew!).

Now, Daniela. When I think of Daniela, I think of a girl that (for lack of a better metaphor) was raised in a church who could have very well turned out queer, but due to the teachings she was fed---and possibly a very messy lesbian breakup---turned into a very, very hateful woman who, years down the line, rediscovered her bisexuality after the boy she was raising to be a goody-two-shoes, god-fearing, church-going fellow come out to her as vivaciously gay. That is to say, if it wasn't for Massimo, Daniela would be the most dynamic character in the movie. And if it weren't for Alberto, Daniela would be the most complex character in the movie. This is because, like her husband, Daniela tried out the surface life before, but unlike her husband, Daniela is a cruel, unjust force actively working to destroy her son's hopes and happiness at whatever cost necessary--even if it means her son's mental, social, and physical wellbeing. However, the force is derived of only love, fear, and care.

Just as it was in Lorenzo's case, but now far more severe, we lack explicit information about Daniela's past. All we have are the behaviors and beliefs displayed in the movie and information graciously given to us by Enrico Casarosa. These behaviors, beliefs, and Casarosa-given information are: having previously been to the human world; calling humans "bloodthirsty lunatics"; believing humans only go out on the waters for murder; understanding the motions made with a harpoon; attempting to send Luca to the Deep; waiting for Ugo to arrive rather than confronting Luca when she first notices his whereabouts; helicopter-parenting her son; being aware of Luca's interest in the surface/dissatisfaction with the sea; ensuring that Luca stays "safer than safe" while still letting him run off to Genova.

Given these, we can begin to piece together the picture: In her youth, Daniela adventured up to the surface and explored the human way of life, but something went wrong. She was caught in some dangerous situation that likely involved harpoons, or she bore witness to the same thing Luca did as he walked into Portorosso---the statues, the wanted posters, the carvings, the propaganda strewn about, adorning every angle of the town. Regardless, she became terribly fearful of humans and never returned to the surface again.

Unlike Lorenzo, Daniela is not simply abiding by the rules and traditions of their underwater society. Her evasion of humans is born of a completely justifiable fear. Humans hunted sea monsters. Humans put up wanted posters worth $4.5k in today's money for sea monsters captured, dead or alive, and fishermen armed with harpoons lined the waters for a children's race. I feel this is an often forgotten fact when the topic of Daniela's control over Luca comes up: Luca was in real, mortal danger going into Portorosso. Daniela might have been wrong to send Luca to the Deep, but from there, it becomes a discussion of which is worse: possible disability or possible death. Such a discourse grows even more complex when you call to mind that Daniela might not have even been aware of the physical and physiological changes the Deep has on a sea monster before Ugo's arrival.

Daniela's attempted actions are cruel, no doubt, but they are not at all unwarranted. She wants Luca, who she adores and deeply cares for, to be as safe as possible. If she has to be the bad guy to keep her son alive, then she will be the bad guy.

However, Daniela does not stay the bad guy. When she realizes Luca is safe in Portorosso (rather, when Portorosso becomes safe for Luca), she becomes open to the possibility of allowing him to continue living on the surface. She even, after a bit of convincing from Alberto and Libera, allows him to attend school in Genova for nine months out of the school year. At the end of the movie, she is assured of Luca's safety and the humans' ability to change for the better---to stop all the killing, hunting, and fear and begin a peaceful coexistence. This stability allows her to relinquish control over her son and support him in his dreams, even if it means she'll only see him in the summer months.

Daniela is an intensely dynamic and intensely complex character. She's a beautiful foil to her husband, and, quite frankly, I'm obsessed with her and desperately wish to see more of her growth and her past.

Also, Daniela and Lorenzo are peak malewife x girlboss material and I will not be hearing any slander toward their relationship. no idea how Lorenzo managed to bag her, but so glad he did. beautiful. love it. 10/10.

[hadleyr]

I appreciate the thought process in constructing this, but I fundamentally disagree with the conclusions, both In & Out of Universe. As far as I see it:

In both the main universe & the AU, Jayce is the one judged responsible for the magical explosion, given the gems were his illegal creations. However, he dies in the blast (presumably along with Caitlyn), so he never gets to meet Viktor - which also means that Viktor likely dies shortly after, given there's no Hexcore/Shimmer to sustain him. Evil Cosmic Horror God Viktor either doesn't need to remember, or doesn't even look at, the universes where he dies before the anomaly comes into existence.

Grayson, being a more pragmatic Sheriff than Marcus would have arrested the kids not for the explosion, but for the Breaking & Entering. They didn't leave with anything, so even charging them with burgulary is a bit of a big ask. Given that their ringleader died in the process of the crime, the remaining kids likely get little more than a caution - especially with Vander's deal with Grayson; they'd probably negotiate some kind of resolution that day, instead of the protracted mess that happens in the main universe. Part of the reason things play out so badly in the main universe is the effort to hide what happened & who was involved - that manhunt never happens in the AU because the kids never flee the scene.

There's no guarantee that Vander & Silco's reconciliation happens as a result of the blast - could have happened at any point between Vander's attempted murder and shortly before the "present". It's not unreasonable to think that the cycle could have been broken at any point, the lack of shimmer production in the AU suggests Silco never turned to that as a means for power/revenge. However, if it is as a result of the blast, Vander's grief makes him seek out that old connection, and it's not ridiculous that Silco would be more accepting of a clearly regretful, humbled Vander, especially if they both can forgive the original grievances. The fact that Vi & Powder are the only legacy left of Felicia, and one of those is now gone, the two likely bond over her memory, and that helps rebuild the bridges.

As for Powder, yes, she carries a lot of guilt for Vi's death, but she didn't have the experience of her worst fears being validated (Vi calling her a Jinx - hell, Milo only calls it her in the show as a result of her losing the stolen goods; that doesn't happen in the AU) and believing she was being abandoned before being raised by a man who didn't understand how (or want) to help her heal from her trauma. I'm sure Powder blames herself, and still has work to do to address/recover from her trauma, and yes, her underlying mental illness maybe still be there, but everyone in her life is much more supportive and would be able to help her heal as much as possible.

Powder never lashes out at the council, because there's: 1) No loss of support network for resolving her trauma 2) No rising escalation between Enforcers & The Lanes 3) Reconciliation between Silco & Vander 4) No Hextech for her to even weaponise 5) No paternal figure encouraging her to lash out at the council in response for his death

Also, Caitlyn is also presumed to have died in that explosion too, in which case, Cassandra Kirraman might have even been forced to step down from the council (Jayce was sponsored by her, there'd be some social consequence there). So Cassandra might not even have died even if Powder were to attack the council.

No Hextech means Ambessa looks somewhere else for a weapon to wield against the Black Rose, so she doesn't ever engineer the circumstances to push Piltover to declare Martial Law, so no Dictator Salo/Cait (even if she's not dead). No Dictator means no strike team, and no genocide.

So no, everybody would not die, and not just because of "The power of love and friendship", though Powder having a life full of those things (rather than basically devoid of them) would make a big difference to her wellbeing & development/behavours.

It's not the writers forgetting things, it's them reassessing a lot of the instigating events of the series and looking at what happens if they play out differently. There might be even more opportunities for things to play out differently that you could spot if you went back through Season 1 Episodes 1-3 in more detail!

The writing in the AU episode is so weird.

Enforcers don’t care about arresting children and innocents. So in the AU Timebomb episode, am i suppost to believe that Powder blew up a rich guy's house and they...let her go?

Piltover has killed a bunch of children, they are not going to care about this two kids who were stealing things from them.

Jayce would be arrested for tempering with magic, regardelss of Vi dying or not, he would meet Viktor and he would convince Jayce to make hextech. He would become obsessed with viktor and fuse him with the hextech.

Evil cosmic horror god Viktor told us that! He said "IN EVERY REALITY HE LOOKED".

Guess the writers just forgot about that detail.

- Powder would definitely be arrested and she would have gone crazy with grief and guilt.

- Vander and Silco would not become besties 4ever after a murder attempt.

- Silco would still go after power and revenge.

-And Powder would hate Piltover for killing her sister and for the arrest.

Powder would probably hate Jayce and try to kill the council. Caitlyn's mom would die and Caitlyn would become a shitty dictator and commit genocide. Because she has a massive ego and has to make everything about her and make everybody suffer just because she is sad.

And without Vi around, guess she would never get her weak ass "redemption arc".

Everybody would die.

But i guess everything just got better with the power of love and friendship!

[sturniolo04]

could you do another sturniolo little sister one? but maybe where she hasn’t come out to her brothers yet and she’s secretly dating madison beer and they catch her or find out somehow

sls!fwb!reader x fwb!Madison A/N: I hope you enjoy this it was definitely out of my normal for sure in terms of what I write, sorry it took me so long to get this completed. Also, if you don't like the preadded name in my stories, you can either add your own name or not read it; it's up to you- Charli

Dividers: @bernardsbendystraws

Layla and her brothers were always super close even though she is the youngest in the family and there was nothing you haven't told your brothers; you tell each other everything... except this one thing

That one thing being that you are gay and have been having a thing for you guys' best friend, Madison. It wasn't that you didn't trust them with this information, you just simply couldn't figure out how to tell them about this identity change and secret friends-with-benefit relationship you were currently journeying on. This is resulted in the shameful feeling of sneaking behind your brother's back and you knew you were going to have to tell them at some point and figuring out how you were going to do so.

"do we have to go to this party guys I kind of wanted to stay at home"

Layla groans out simply because she knew that madison would be there and being at a party like that wouldn't necessarily cover the sneaking around, I mean anything could happen anything.

"why wouldnt we"

chris shrugs as him and matt walk into your room where you and nick were since nick was helping you get ready against you will.

"i dont know its just not our scene"

you kind of lie it being not your scene.

"oh stop it will be fun plus you look good"

nick states as looks at your finished look in the mirror pulling your hair behind your shoulders.

'almost too good"

matt groans out going into protective mode before we even get to the party, little did they know. You let out a little huff in defeat just agreeing to go to the party and subtly hoping nothing bad happens.

"madison"

nick exclaims as you guys finally run into her at the party which was bound to happened.

"hey you guys how are you"

she greets hugging your brothers in a group hug. you stand there kind of awkwardly, blushing slightly at how good she looked tonight.

"yeah i feel like we havent seen you in a while"

matt states as nick and chris agree.

"yeah it definitely has been a minute but I mean i've-"

she trails off pushing some of her brown hair behind her ear showcasing her iconic hoop earrings you always loved on her. it was just something about how to complimented her face, skin tone and her brown doe eyes.

" hung out with layla"

she shyly states as you two make eye contact with each other as she softly smiling.

"oh yeah we have you know girl time"

you agree breaking eye contact with her looking everywhere else but her eyes.

"oh she is the favorite i see"

chris jokes as shoves your shoulder slightly.

"yeah she is"

madison giggles as she abruptly cuts herself off wanting to get you alone away from your brothers.

"im actually im going to steal her you wont be needing her anytime soon"

madison jokes with your brothers grabbing your hand pulling you away from the three.

you and madison a snuck off to random empty room in the house to get some time with you.

"finally"

madison giggles taking your hands in hers after closing the door.

"hi"

she softly whispers out giggling pushing some hair out of your way behind your ear. A pink tint rising on your face looking down at the carpeted floor.

"you look good"

you sigh out subtly biting your lip and looking into her eyes as you two begin lean in.

"yo where did madison and layla go"

chris questions matt and nick as he makes his way over to where they were sitting.

"i dont know they were somewhere"

matt shrugs ready to go home already.

"i think madison went upstairs but im not sure where layla went though"

nick states looking at his phone then up at his younger triplet brother.

"isnt madison sleeping over though lets go find him I'm honestly ready to go"

chris groans out as matt and nick stand up to follow him upstairs.

"same here im soo ready to go"

matt agrees as they begin to trek upstairs. They slowly make their way to the door not even thinking to knock before opening it.

"oh"

matt states shocked as you and madison pull away.

"i can explain"

you rush out.

"wait layla youre gay"

nick questions with his jaw dropped.

"ye-yeah"

you stutter out finally admitting it

"i just didnt know how to tell you guys I'm sorry"

you rush out again and nick comes up to you resting his hands on his shoulders.

"lay its okay we support you plus"

nick chuckles out

"we love you either way"

chris chimes in as him and matt make their way over to you as well as madison as she beings to rest her head on your shoulder.

"okay"

you sigh out.

"plus yall are cute or whatever"

matt jokes.

Taglist @mintsturniolo @dirtylittleheart333 @wh0resstuff

@stayingstromboli @spicymuffins03 @chaoswithus @ksturnz

@emely9274

[i-reblog-everything44]

The fandom when Anya is nice to jimmy and compliments/butters him up after the crash: obviously this is a fawn response. She doesn’t actually think these things about jimmy, she is simply trying to protect herself against a volatile, unstable person by placating him

The fandom when curly tries to placate jimmy by telling Jimmy he’d fix things, after being very nervous about jimmy’s anger and reaction when talking to Anya right beforehand and his heart racing so hard on the way to confront jimmy that he’s likely on the verge of a panic or anxiety attack: hmm. Obviously everything curly is saying to jimmy here is completely genuine and not motivated by anything. He obviously doesn’t care about the fact jimmy raped Anya and only cares about helping jimmy at the detriment to Anya. He’s a rape apologist. There could literally be no other potential explanation for why curly is saying the things he is saying right now. Let’s take everything curly is saying here completely at face value and not analyze anything else about Curly’s behavior or the rest of the scene.

[seriously why are people only capable of recognizing the fawn response in Anya and not Curly]

[taylorrepdetective]

I know she had era tour but I don’t think I can do it w a broken heart is actually eras tour

I thought of this too. Maybe sometime down under? No way to know, but I did think the line she threw in at the end “Try and come for my job” might have hinted at something. I can read it both ways. As always, we’ll never know for sure. But I think it’s fair to say she has felt this way many times. It reminded me of Katy having to go on stage immediately after having her husband tell her he was filing for divorce. And it’s relatable. We’ve all had to put on a happy face at work and pretend things are fine at home.

[themysteriouswaylon]

I really don’t agree with this post TBH. smithers is My special interest so I have a lot to say, thus putting the rest of this under a “read more” label.

because it’s so long, I also put My main points in bold, just in case you aren’t able to/don't want to read everything.

(also, quick disclaimer: reading over this, I’m not sure if I’m coming off as belligerent? a lot of this is autistic infodumping, so I wrote it with getting My point across > social niceties, but I’m not certain on how that has Me coming across. whoops)

“like, they had burns pestering smithers for help early in the episode to the point it was a catalyst for the plot, and yet, when smithers is INCARCERATED burns doesn't notice until he's specifically told?”

perhaps this is a nitpick, but mr. burns wasn’t exactly “pestering” smithers for help; most of what smithers did for him in the opening was off of a checklist and done while mr. burns was either absent (E.G. evicting the children’s hospital, taking out the trash) or seemingly oblivious to her presence (dropping the ducks).

the only point in the episode where I would say burns does anything close to “pestering” smithers for help is when he coughs up his adam’s apple. even the wine-tasting earlier on doesn’t make burns come off as needy or hyperdependent.

now, I will give credit where it’s due and say that how much burns relies on smithers in general—with the latter functioning as his caregiver—would make it strange for him to have not noticed her absence.

“portrait of a lackey on fire” does show burns’ ability to hyperfocus for prolonged periods of time, at the expense of recognizing others’ absence, but since this post’s main argument is that the modern burns/smithers dynamic is broken, I recognize that this is a weak defense for this decision, especially since burns wasn’t shown to be preoccupied with anything in this case.

“without smithers, burns becomes just an evil old rich man. without burns, smithers kind of just exists??? they are both SO important for contextualizing each other and creating respective depth.”

this is gonna sound mean, but this paragraph is a GROSS disservice to both burns and smithers as characters. I cannot understate this enough.

they both have so much going for them outside of each other. sure, I can understand preferring them together (like most people, I absolutely love them as a duo), but to say that they’ve only ever been given development and character in relation to each other is so incongruent with how they’re actually written.

let’s start with mr. burns. for organizational purposes, I’m going to restrict Myself to pointing out just a handful of bullet-pointed complexities of his:

the modern timeline (as early as S24’s “dark knight court,” IIRC) shows that he was abused and neglected as a child; his pervasive need for attention and power comes not just from the evil of being a white male billionaire, but also from the fact that he was ignored and defenseless throughout his formative years. some of his most extreme interpersonal tendencies result from him trying to avoid being put in such a traumatizing position ever again. the fact that his trauma still impacts him today isn’t just speculation, but it’s a major plot point in both “monty burns’ fleeing circus” and “bobby, it’s cold outside.”

mr. burns’ relationship with others as a whole is complicated, not just his dynamic with smithers. the aforementioned need for validation and control plays a strong role in how he relates to others, the former more so in modern seasons and the latter in classic seasons. in the classic seasons, his relationships with marge (as his crush in “marge gets a job”), bart (as his son in “burns’ heir”), and jacqueline (marge’s mom; as his bride in “lady bouvier’s lover”) all hinge on how much control he has over them: he’d do anything for marge…until he finds out she’s not sexually available to him; he welcomes bart with open arms…until he doesn’t feel comfortable choosing him over homer; he…was never good to jacqueline. I’ve heard somebody suggest that he wanted her only to take her from abe, which I feel is absolutely correct, especially considering that S27’s “puffless” has him seducing her and then outright admitting he only did it to spite grampa. (note: I’m not trying to excuse his behavior as “just trauma.” he’s obviously a misogynist and an abuser, unrelated to his childhood) meanwhile, post-classic seasons emphasize his need for approval, which lends itself to a lonelier characterization of burns: “monty can’t buy me love,” “monty burns’ fleeing circus,” “undercover burns,” and “burger kings” are all ultimately episodes about him chasing after the public’s affection, even at the expense of his own comfort. he’s also been portrayed as rather prone to idealization, taking a selfless yet naive perspective on his relationships with gloria (S13’s “a hunka hunka burns in love”), jay G (S28’s “the great phatsby”), homer and friends (S32’s “undercover burns”), and persephone (S35’s “thirst trap”).

lastly (for what I’m saying here), burns deals with a persistent sense of emptiness. although I’d argue this has always made sense for his character (especially with episodes like “rosebud” in mind), this is shown mostly in post-classic episodes, through his various instances of thrill-seeking (“homer vs. dignity,” “dark knight court,” “opposites a-frack”), people-pleasing (“monty can’t buy me love,” “undercover burns,” “burger kings”), suicide attempts (“the fool monty,” “burger kings”), and depression (“monty burns’ fleeing circus,” “bobby, it’s cold outside”).

now, it’s obvious that the trajectory of his character development has changed over time, but at no meaningful point in the series has he truly just been “evil” and nothing else, including in episodes where he’s largely distanced from smithers as a character.

speaking of smithers:

I’d say that love is at the core of smithers’ character, both her ability/willingness to love unconditionally and her long-unmet need to be loved back. this is—of course—shown mostly with mr. burns, but this has also been shown as just a general fact of smithers’ life. she’s consistently looking for an actual partner, even before the most recent seasons: she dated john in S7’s “homer’s phobia,” is shown with a man in a crowd mostly consisting of established couples in S13’s “the bart wants what it wants,” has an off-screen commitment ceremony in S19’s “sex, pies, and idiot scrapes,” tries to get with abe in S24’s “gorgeous grampa,” dates julio in S27’s “the burns cage,” and—most recently—dates michael in S33’s “portrait of a lackey on fire.” although the earlier cases are simply jokes about smithers liking men, the more recent examples, particularly “lackey on fire,”highlight the actual feelings she has regarding romance, not just who these feelings are directed towards: she’s lonely and yearns for unconditional love, someone who’s kind and attentive. this lack of affection is a major source of discontentment in her life, thus her seemingly frequent relationships despite her perpetual singlehood.

smithers is also shown to have low—or at least fragile—self-esteem. although she’s an incredibly resilient person, rejection can bring this more insecure side of her out. for instance, when she’s rejected from a gay club in “flaming moe” for her appearance, she tells moe that “no one wants an executive assistant who only works out six hours a day.” this tendency to generalize rejection (“no one wants,” as opposed to “they don’t want”) is also shown in “lackey on fire,” when she says “if only i’d been born into a litter of puppies, then maybe someone would love me.”

in general, she’s much more emotionally troubled and unstable than her outward temperament would suggest. there are many points in which she’s rather passionate/intense, even in the absence of burns, such as in “lisa vs. malibu stacy” and “american history X-cellent.” like burns, she feels empty, despite her ability to hold herself together most of the time. this can be inferred from her general sense of loneliness, but lines like “i’ve done it, i’m happy” (“the burns cage”) and “for the first time in my life, i feel free” (“bottle episode”) make it clear that she generally lives in a state of dysphoria, that the happiness she experiences is so fleeting that it hardly even matters at all.

although smithers hasn’t gotten as much development as mr. burns has (which I assume is related to the fact that they were grossly limited by censorship early on: “homer’s phobia” was rejected for glorifying homosexuality until new management came along), I really do feel that—with all this in mind—it’s a disservice to say that smithers has no character outside of her relationship with burns.

“along with that, i think smithers' personality has become way too reliant upon his gayness. in the name of "representation," they've brought it into the forefront of his characterization and, in doing so, dropped most of the shit that actually made him unique in the first place.”

this throws Me off a bit, NGL. I’m not saying you’re homophobic—since that’s a bold accusation and, considering tumblr’s userbase, I’d be more surprised than anything if you weren’t LGBT yourself—but how does smithers simply dating men erase her personality?

it’d be one thing if she was totally without agency in episodes like “the burns cage” and “lackey on fire,” but she isn’t. it’d be one thing if none of her defining features remained in these episodes, but they did.

let’s talk about “lackey,” since that’s My favorite of the two. smithers is clearly shown to have multifaceted thoughts, feelings, and beliefs throughout that episode.

act three is a good example of this: when she finds out michael runs a sweatshop, she initially refuses to condemn this as evil. this aligns with her preexisting tendency to idealize the subjects of her affection (E.G. burns), to the point of putting her morals aside and letting their perceived greatness overshadow their obvious cruelty.

this shines through further as she repeatedly tries to find a reasonable explanation for these unconscionable business practices, first going to mr. burns and then to michael himself. another detail worth noting is that she continues to wear the bowtie michael gave her up until they finally break up, further signaling to her unyielding faith in him.

when confronted, michael tells her to ignore it and “be adored.” smithers almost falls for this, as it plays right into her previously (and now currently) unmet emotional needs. the only thing that causes her to reconsider is seeing him abuse their puppy.

although smithers has previously stood alongside mr. burns as he has committed many acts of abuse—including animal abuse—it’s rather obvious that she isn’t comfortable with it. for example, she tries to discourage mr. burns from killing the puppies in “two dozen and one greyhounds,” and the same episode has a deleted scene in which burns notices her glaring at him for his decision to do so.

I wouldn’t say that this scene erases smithers’ complicated morals, but instead just places them in a different context: she hasn’t been emotionally dependent on michael for the past 20 years of her life, she’s not dependent on michael for a paycheck, michael doesn’t depend on her to survive; she can easily leave him. burns, not so much.

as for “bottle episode,” I see it as a particularly poor example of smithers being reduced to her orientation. there’s absolutely no reference to smithers being gay this episode; no attraction to men, no disinterest in women, no femininity. she’s literally just getting involved in a scheme, totally unrelated to who she does and doesn’t want to fuck.

“of course the writers can't see why he would like mr. burns anymore! they just see him as a nondescript spineless gay guy!”

once again, I strongly disagree with the idea that smithers is in any way “nondescript” nowadays. as for her being “spineless,” it’s true that we haven’t gotten any more “who shot mr. burns?”-esque condemnations of burns in recent seasons, but that’s in major part due to his villain decay, not smithers lacking any willingness to diverge from her expected submissiveness.

I feel the aforementioned ending of “lackey on fire” disproves the idea that smithers is nothing but a doormat nowadays. unlike modern burns, michael showed her a new level of cruelty that she didn’t expect from him, thus something to challenge. meanwhile, mr. burns has long passed the peak of his villainy, thus smithers is mostly dealing with more of the same.

“and yet he's also not allowed to be gay FOR mr. burns.”

smithers is still attracted to mr. burns, she’s just more independent nowadays:

“and mr. burns is a pathetic old man, but he's not allowed to need smithers because he has to be one dimensionally evil and capable of performing functional independence.”

there are too many modern jokes about burns needing smithers for bADLs (basic activities of daily living) for Me to count, but it’s certainly still there. it’s just that it’d damage the plot to randomly throw burns into purely smithers-centric episodes or vice versa, thus why we don’t see it as much in spotlight episodes than we do in minor appearances.

“they got the "smithers likes mr. burns" thing down and they don't seem to know anything else about them and i'm just staring at them like there is no world where mr. burns marries a random shady woman who is blatantly using him for his money and smithers is just like Yeah she's cool because she likes Mr. Burns too! No. He would want to kill her and wear her skin”

I largely didn’t like “thirst trap,” but smithers’ acceptance of persephone was actually the highlight of the episode IMO; it’s character development.

smithers doesn’t NEED to constantly be obsessed with mr. burns. she doesn’t need to walk around thinking “if mr. burns marries someone else, i’ll either kill them or myself.” they aren’t trying to erase smithers’ personality, they’re trying to make her happier.

her realization that burns—her employer that she is not in a mutual, monogamous relationship with—is not “hers” is a great way of showing that she’s no longer doomed to suffer through however-many-more decades of pining and unrequited love; mr. burns can find someone he’s genuinely into, and she can find someone who’s genuinely into her.

it’s subtle, but I’m fine with them not spelling it out for the viewer; they can just develop smithers throughout her appearances, without it always needing to be a spotlight episode. I don’t need her to turn to the camera and say “I AM FINE WITH THIS BECAUSE I HAVE GROWN AS A PERSON” for Me to understand what’s going on.

(late addition: I realize I totally forgot to address the “using him for his money” part of the argument. I feel this is a matter of “not overly involving smithers in burns-centric plots,” as I mentioned in regards to mr. burns’ independence.

it’s not difficult for Me to suspend My disbelief here, since smithers got so little screentime and has sometimes been shown to be passive to the point of letting burns get himself in bad situations (E.G. “the old man and the lisa,” “opposites a-frack,” the comic “a brand new burns”), but I can understand that part of the argument, since she’s also been shown to warn mr. burns about threats on other occasions (E.G. “the musk who fell to earth”))

“they don't just like each other, they NEED each other, and that fact is supposed to create an obstacle that defines them intrinsically.”

I disagree with all of the points made here.

firstly, burns and smithers’ relationship has always been more complicated than just “they like each other.” it’s a love-hate relationship on both ends: mr. burns has a soft spot for smithers, but his “soft side” is still so callous that he continues to dehumanize her as simply a source of labor; smithers loves burns, but she also has a repressed resentment for him, shown as recently as “frinkcoin” in 2020 and simpsons illustrated’s “police chief wiggum’s case no. 209” in 1992.

secondly, burns needs smithers, as shown by the failure of his attempts to replace her in “them, robot” and “the burns cage,” but smithers doesn’t need burns. that’s part of what her development is saying, IMO.

she’s spent most of her life thinking she needs burns, but she doesn’t. he berates her, he overworks her, he underpays her, he puts her in danger, he physically abuses her, he sometimes outright scares her (“three eyes on every fish,” “blood feud,” “bottle episode”), but she pushes down all of the anger that it evokes in her and tells herself that he doesn’t really mean it and that she deserves what he does mean.

at this point, the simpsons is trying to give its cast happy endings: moe is getting married, ned has gotten to process the deaths of his wives, carl has a girlfriend and is generally learning more about himself as a person, sideshow bob has given up on killing bart and focuses on his own relationships, CBG and willie are already married, so on and so forth.

smithers growing apart from mr. burns is just another part of that. just like bob with bart, she realizes that her obsession with him is just doing more harm than good, thus has begun to focus more on her own needs and the people around her.

now, am I saying that I believe smithers is ever going to completely separate from mr. burns? no. smithers is a burns-centric character, so her relationship with him is what connects her to the main family. even “bottle episode” only set her and marge up through that smithers-burns-homer connection.

unless they were to branch out and suddenly make her “marge’s friend” rather than “homer’s boss’s assistant,” (which I don’t see happening and honestly wouldn’t want) staying with mr. burns is the only way she can stay in the series.

plus, although there have been some status quo changes, none of them radically change the dynamic of the series. for example, moe getting married hasn’t taken away from his commitment to his tavern, and carl’s personal development hasn’t separated him from lenny or his other friends.

smithers is definitely in for some type of change (I theorize they’ll try to give her a permanent romance in the next few years), but I don’t see there ever being an episode in which she quits her job, or even develops a permanent assertiveness in her interactions with burns (ned temporarily stood up to homer when he got with edna, but that didn’t last; sometimes a character’s submissiveness is too important to fully write out).

however, My point here is that the simpsons doesn’t have some weird vendetta against burnsmithers or its fans, nor is it acting out of a disregard for burns and smithers as characters. they’re just developing her, which isn’t bad just because it doesn’t revolve around your ship.

thinking abt bottle episode now -_- i think it's so exhausting to watch burns and smithers in recent seasons because it feels like the writers are trying to write AROUND their codependency? they can acknowledge it exists on paper, but in practice, they fail to anchor their interactions in a logical understanding of it.

like, they had burns pestering smithers for help early in the episode to the point it was a catalyst for the plot, and yet, when smithers is INCARCERATED burns doesn't notice until he's specifically told? it just feels like the writers don't want to engage with how these two need each other to function, not just from the watsonian perspective but doylian as well.

without smithers, burns becomes just an evil old rich man. without burns, smithers kind of just exists??? they are both SO important for contextualizing each other and creating respective depth.

along with that, i think smithers' personality has become way too reliant upon his gayness. in the name of "representation," they've brought it into the forefront of his characterization and, in doing so, dropped most of the shit that actually made him unique in the first place. of course the writers can't see why he would like mr. burns anymore! they just see him as a nondescript spineless gay guy! i believe his writing is way more homophobic than it was in the early years because it feels like being gay is all he has at this point. and yet he's also not allowed to be gay FOR mr. burns. and mr. burns is a pathetic old man, but he's not allowed to need smithers because he has to be one dimensionally evil and capable of performing functional independence.

their newfound lack of chemistry drastically impedes their ability to be enjoyable and entertaining, and i think the writers know that but don't realize it's their own fault. it seems like they don't have fun writing the two as the unit they're supposed to be, so they go to great lengths to mischaracterize them even further just to keep them from interfering with each other's plotlines. i mean god, take thirst trap for example. i'll just post what i said about that one on discord.

[text: they got the "smithers likes mr. burns" thing down and they don't seem to know anything else about them and i'm just staring at them like there is no world where mr. burns marries a random shady woman who is blatantly using him for his money and smithers is just like Yeah she's cool because she likes Mr. Burns too!

No. He would want to kill her and wear her skin]

more than anything i wish that burns and smithers would be allowed the codependency that defined them in the first place. they don't just like each other, they NEED each other, and that fact is supposed to create an obstacle that defines them intrinsically. that's where their writing begins. can we just go perform a simpsons coup d'état

[marshmellowtea]

celia hates basically all of chris's friends by virtue of them Being Chris's Friends (it personally offends her that there are people who love him better than she ever could in his life), but she has a special distaste for sandra, who she not only dislikes for being a dirty whore promiscuous, but she's also openly accused her of trying to steal chris from her, an accusation that held no weight when it was first leveled at her cuz sandra hadn't thought she cared about chris like that but it slowly became a self fulfilling prophecy as she spent more time with him and his parents and decided "yeah, actually, i am going to steal your son from you and your creep husband you piece of shit, fuck you celia fuck you fuck youfuck you"

[knifekris]

every day i struggle to make choices

[cuteniaarts]

@katkastrofa, circa 40-ish hours ago: Hey, what if our newest bunch of OCs adopted a baby from one of the other brothel girls who knew she couldn’t afford to raise one? That would make for some fun shenanigans :D

Me, with a notoriously non existent sleep schedule, instinct of self preservation or concern for my poor wrist: Alright, bet. Watch how fast I can make you fall in love with this hypothetical baby >:)

Daneli as a gentle and loving caretaker-turned-adoptive-mother is something that can be So Personal, actually, and originally I was going to leave it at this quick sketch, but then I got carried away thinking about what this child will grow up to be like raised by this little gang of misfits, so…

Here she is!! A little older and so, so beautiful, I need more of her in my life immediately, she’s way too precious

And, because I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t also add a sapphic element to this absolute cinnamon roll, a small crack ship that I’m only half serious about for when she’s a little older still:

All in all, we may be getting impossibly far from canon, but I for one already cannot get enough of sweet darling Kumisai <3

(I fully drew three pieces from scratch in 9 hours I cannot feel my brain or my hands anymore send help)