#anyway posting this now because i'll be gone all day tomorrow

[supernovafics]

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑

"i'll be there for you" universe masterlist

pairing: bestfriend!roommate!steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 4.2k words

warnings: explicit language, fluff, smut (minors dni), fingering (f receiving), protected sex

summary: in which after a long drive back from denver, you and steve are back in your apartment and can finally lean into the fact that everything has changed

author's note: i told myself that i was gonna take at least a little break after the last thing i posted for this series/universe, but then i got this idea and i had to run with it because i have no self control lmao Anyways! hope yall enjoy this!<3333

general note: everything in this universe/series can be read as standalone oneshots but to understand the full “lore” it would prob be best to read the other stuff too<333

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Winter 1986

The first thing you noticed was that his hair was damp from his shower, and the first thing he noticed was the pajamas you changed into after your own shower; a simple black tank top and a pair of shorts because it was really warm in the apartment for some reason. 

You had initially come out of your bedroom to say a quick goodnight to him. It was almost eleven and after driving back home from Denver— a drive that actually felt a lot longer than the initial one— all you wanted to do was sleep for at least the next ten hours. You had especially been craving your bed at home during the final hour of the seventeen-hour car ride.

However, now you were looking at Steve and he was looking at you, and it seemed as if the current set of circumstances you were in hit you both all at once. 

You were completely alone for the first time since things changed, since you both jumped into being something more with each other. You hadn’t even kissed since that first night— although you both had desperately wanted to— because the timing was never right. A movie night led to all of you falling asleep in the living room Saturday night, and then Sunday night mainly consisted of you all trying to get as much sleep as possible to prepare for the long drive back home. 

Now it was Monday night and there was absolutely nothing bad about this timing. Even the exhaustion you’d felt before you took your shower and washed the entirety of the day away was long gone. 

You joined Steve in the kitchen where he was drinking a glass of water. “Hi.” 

“Hi,” He said as he set the glass down next to him and you leaned back against the counter across from him. 

That short exchange was the extent of the conversation at that moment. You could’ve shifted it in absolutely any direction right then— mention picking Harold up from Dustin’s house tomorrow since he’d been taking care of the hamster for the past few days, or even randomly talk about how you two would be back in your Film & TV history class tomorrow and you’d forgotten to do the reading— but you didn’t want to say any of that. 

After these last few days of pretending that everything was normal between you two around Robin and Eddie, it felt almost unbearably obvious what you both wanted to happen right here in this moment. But neither of you made any move to do it; maybe it was a little game of “who’d do something first?” that you two were unspokenly playing right then. 

Your eyes flickered down to his lips for the briefest of moments and you could feel your cheeks warm at him taking in the entirety of your form; the simple tank top and pajama shorts you put on with the initial thought that you’d be going to sleep soon after you did— now sleep was the last thing on your mind. You suddenly felt so exposed, but at the same time, you didn’t really feel that shy under Steve’s gaze. 

Still, though, you were feet away from each other, and neither of you took the plunge into finally acting on everything you’d wanted to for the last couple of days. 

“This feels kinda weird, right?” You abruptly asked. “It’s the first time we’re entirely alone. And we actually don’t have to pretend that nothing has changed between us.”

“A little weird, yeah,” Steve answered as he finally stepped closer to you. “But, also, not really.”

He closed the entirety of the distance between you two and his hands found your hips. You could only smile up at him at first. The warmth from his touch made you inwardly sigh in contentment, and it made you want more.  

“Actually, you’re right. This isn’t weird,” You decided with a quick shake of your head. “Just different. Good different.”  

“Good different,” He agreed with a nod, smiling back at you. 

One of his hands came up to softly cup your cheek and you instinctively leaned into him, letting your eyes slip shut as he dipped his head down toward you. Your noses brushed and his lips ghosted over yours just for a second. It was slow and teasing, and you knew that he was doing it on purpose, dragging out the moment that you both had been craving since the first time it happened in your bed at the cabin. And at first, you didn’t mind it— his lips pressing against the corner of your mouth and then against your other cheek and then your nose— you could see yourself wanting every single kiss you shared with him to be as drawn out and as sweet as this felt. 

But then the anticipation became too much, and you were desperate to have his mouth against yours, so after his lips landed on your forehead, you whispered a soft and pleading, “Kiss me, Steve,” and you didn’t need to say it twice. 

From there it was as if a flip was switched and there was no longer anything slow about this moment. His mouth was against yours and you hurriedly kissed him back, already reaching up to thread your fingers through the damp hair at the nape of his neck. 

Just like it had that first night, this kiss felt so right and damn near perfect. You inwardly smiled and let out a happy hum against his lips, not wanting to pull away just yet although you could already feel yourself getting lightheaded. 

You pushed yourself up on the countertop with the help of Steve’s hands on your waist, only detaching your lips from his for the briefest of moments to do so, and then you gripped the sides of his t-shirt to tug him closer to you. He was standing right in between your parted legs and your chests were flush against each other, but that still didn’t feel close enough to you.  

There were probably a thousand things you wanted to say to him right then, mainly statements that would’ve started and ended with quietly muttered I love you’s. But, Steve fucking Harrington was a phenomenal kisser, and every thought you had in that moment seemed to vanish as soon as it came. He so easily turned you into a pile of want and need. 

You were able to catch your breath when he pulled away from your lips and tilted your head upward so that he could kiss along your jaw and then move down to your neck. When he pressed his lips against a particularly sensitive part of your neck, it elicited a soft whimper from you, and you could feel him smile against your skin in response. 

Steve pulled back to look at you, searching your face and seeing through you completely, he could probably easily read your current incoherent thoughts. 

Even though he was the one pretty much doing everything right then, he still looked just as fucked out as you felt; flushed face and disheveled hair, you couldn’t even remember running your hands through it or pulling at it that much in the past few minutes. It felt nice to see the effect you had on him too. 

One of his hands moved to your hip and started teasingly playing with the thin waistband of your shorts before slowly snaking its way inside of them. You sucked in a quick breath when his fingers made contact with the small wet patch at the front of your underwear. 

You were absolutely soaked, that didn’t surprise you in the slightest, but you still couldn’t help but shyly turn your head and look away from him. 

“You’re cute when you’re shy.”

You rolled your eyes and still avoided his gaze. “Shut up.”

Steve laughed at that. “Very, very cute, actually.”

You didn’t get a chance to say any sort of playful comeback to him because he started lightly teasing your clit through your underwear, which made everything you were about to say become lost on the tip of your tongue. His other hand moved to push the thin strap of your tank top off of your shoulder so that he could press a soft kiss against the skin there. Your brain was very close to completely short-circuiting, and you knew that he could tell that. 

You were barely able to keep your eyes open, but you finally met his gaze again. Instead of looking even the slightest bit smug about how easily he was making you fold with everything that he was doing, even with the subtlest of touches, there was only the sweetest look written across his face and it made you want to combust. It still felt a bit insane to you that any of this was finally happening in the first place. 

Steve’s hands hooked themselves into the waistband of your shorts and underwear. “Can I?”

“Please.” You were quick to nod at his question and were already lifting your hips a bit so that he could pull your bottoms off of you.

Your shorts and underwear were gone in one quick movement, hanging off your right ankle for barely a second before falling to the floor. 

Steve gave you a look that was so full of lust and adoration that it made you feel flustered all over again. It was a look that had never been reserved for you. But, now, it was, and you knew that it always would be if everything stayed this way.  

His fingers worked their way through your folds and teasingly traced up your slit. Your nervousness was immediately washed away when his middle finger slowly pushed into your entrance. The only thing falling from your lips was a quiet moan, and your hands found the edge of the counter and gripped tightly. Your eyes squeezed shut and you let out a louder moan when he added another finger inside of you. 

It all too suddenly hit you that it was him doing this to you right then— way too easily turning you into an absolute mess on his fingers. 

Your best friend. Your Steve. 

The softest laugh fell from your lips at the abrupt thought. 

“You okay?” He asked, and your eyes met his as you nodded because it was pretty much the only coherent thing you could do at that moment. 

You leaned in to press a quick kiss against his lips, but then your brain was once again reminding you of what was happening and you abruptly let out another little giggle.  

Steve gave you a curious look. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m okay, I’m good. And this is good too. Really, really good,” You assured him, somehow able to find your voice, even as his fingers continued their slow and steady movements inside of you. You let out a quick breath. “It’s just my mind keeps randomly reminding me that it’s you doing this right now, and that just seems so fucking surreal. Like, in a way, I kinda can’t believe this is happening. And none of what I just said probably even makes sense.” You let out another breath that turned into a moan. “Ah, but, anyway, I promise I’m so good right now. Really good.” 

Steve only laughed at your rambling and then pressed a soft kiss against your lips. 

His free hand found your hip again and he guided you to the edge of the counter so that he could hit a deeper angle with his fingers. 

“Shit, fuck,” You breathed out at the new feeling. You couldn’t even feel embarrassed at how quickly he was bringing you to the precipice and how quickly you were about to fall over the cliff because you just felt so fucking good. 

One of your hands let go of the counter and moved to find your clit; you just needed that little bit of extra pressure against the sensitive nub to fully send you over the edge. But, Steve was nudging your hand away before you could touch yourself so that he could do it instead. The pad of his thumb started stroking your clit almost too perfectly in quick circles and you had to bite your lip to keep from immediately screaming. 

“M’gonna come,” You were probably moaning too loud at this point, but you didn’t care. 

He kissed your cheek and then his mouth was right against your ear. “Go ahead. Come all over my fingers.”

His voice was low and could barely be heard over your moans and whimpers, but you still heard him perfectly. And with one particularly rough brush against your clit, you were squeezing tightly around his fingers and coming hard; heart pounding in your chest, ready to burst out of it completely, and seeing something equivalent to stars behind your shut eyes. 

“Fuck, fuck, Steve,” You whispered, head tilting upward as he continued fingering you through your orgasm, trying to prolong it for as long as possible. 

“You’re so fucking pretty,” He was smiling at you as you came down from your high and your bleary-eyed gaze met his. 

In that moment, you could only smile back and slightly shake your head at him in response. Your brain was now a complete pile of mush, to say the least. 

You let out a soft breath and leaned back, abruptly hitting your head against the cabinet behind you with a hard thud in the process. “Ouch.”

“Shit. Are you okay?” Steve asked as his hand came up to rub the back of your head and you leaned into his touch.

“Yeah,” You laughed a little. “I’m fine. It doesn’t really hurt.” 

“You sure?”

“Mhm,” You nodded as your eyes traveled downward and you saw how noticeably hard he was beneath the navy blue basketball shorts he was wearing. 

“Are you okay?” You asked, meeting his eyes again and smiling. You didn’t give him a chance to respond before you were reaching into his shorts and pushing past his boxers so that you could immediately wrap your hand around his length. 

“Jesus Christ,” He muttered as his eyes slipped shut and you leaned in to kiss his neck. You stroked his cock in a soft and teasing way and could only smile at the strained “Fuck” he let out.

“Is that okay?” You asked, lips right against his ear. 

“Perfect. Fucking perfect,” He answered in the quietest whisper before he dropped his forehead against your bare shoulder and then let out a soft chuckle against your skin.

“What?” You asked as you continued your slow movements. 

“You were right,” He said, letting out a quick breath. “This does feel so surreal. But, really, really good.”

You laughed a bit. “Told you.” 

After just a second, he pulled away from your shoulder and stopped your strokes by placing a hand on your wrist. 

You tilted your head at him. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t wanna cum in my boxers. I need to be inside of you,” He said, and you immediately nodded at his words because there was actually nothing more you wanted than that too.

The next few moments moved in a quick kind of blur, and when you would later look back on this entire night, it would feel as if simply fingers were snapped and one moment was switched to the next. Steve was lifting you off of the counter and bringing you to his bedroom after your soft words of, “We can’t do it here because we’ve ruined the kitchen enough for one night.” You were simultaneously laughing and kissing his face as he led you to his room, arms circling the back of his neck to keep you steady. 

He set you down at the foot of his bed and you moved upward. It wasn’t until your head was against his pillows and you were looking at him standing a few feet away from you that you noticed the difference between you two right then— he was still fully clothed, and all you had left on was your black tank top.

“This isn’t fair.”

“What?”  

You propped yourself up on your elbows. “I’m basically naked, and you still have all of your clothes on.”

He nodded at your words and then peeled off his t-shirt and slipped out of his shorts so that he was just in his boxers. “Is that better?”

You nodded and smiled at him. “Mhm, much.”

Your head fell back against the pillows again and he simply stared at you for a few moments, eyes traveling from your bare legs all the way up to the small smile on your face. 

“This slightly reminds me of that one game night we had at your house when we were sixteen.”

All you could do was laugh at the randomness of his words at first. “How can you possibly be reminded of Monopoly right now?”

“Not that night,” Steve said, laughing a little as he shook his head. He stepped into the bed and leaned over you, one hand brushing your side before settling on your bare hip. “The night when you invited some people from your school over too and someone suggested we all play strip poker.”

“Oh, that night,” You responded, quietly sighing in contentment at the feel of him tracing circles against your skin. You thought about the memory he was referring to. “That was the first time I saw you shirtless in a non-swimming or beach setting.”

He dipped down, nose brushing over yours before softly pecking your lips. “And that was the first time I ever saw you in just your bra and underwear.”

You playfully smiled up at him as you pushed a hand through his hair. “We really suck at poker.”

“Yeah,” He said, smiling back at you.

“And we both ended up making out with someone that wasn’t each other that night.” You weren’t entirely sure why you decided to bring that up when Steve was on top of you, settled between your parted legs with his boxer-covered hard-on pressing perfectly against your inner thigh. 

You almost regretted saying it for fear of ruining “the mood,” but then he was laughing and kissing you again. 

“And look at us now; finally making out with each other. Full circle moment.” 

You smiled again. “I think we’re doing a lot more than just making out, but yes, very full circle.”

You started playing with the hem of your tank top and Steve helped pull it up and off of you. He tossed it somewhere on the floor and one of your hands found the back of his neck to bring him toward you in a needy kiss. He pulled away after a second and started kissing along your jaw and then moved down to your neck, leaving deep red marks against your skin that you knew would probably be annoying to attempt and hide from your friends later, but you couldn’t really find it in you to care about that right then. You were tugging harshly at his hair, which elicited the softest sounds from him, as you let out your own contented hums because of how much you adored having his mouth against you. 

Everything felt so good right then, but it wasn’t enough. 

“I need you. Please,” You told him, hips bucking upward so that you could feel something more and Steve groaned in your ear. 

Your hands went to the waistband of his boxers, hurriedly trying to push them off of him. He moved away from you for a second, completely ridding himself of his boxers and then he started rummaging around in his nightstand drawer for a condom. 

Before this moment— Steve seconds away from being inside of you— things felt unreal and in some ways a little funny because of how surreal it all was, but now it didn’t feel that way at all. He was the one person that knew almost everything about you and now you two were doing one of the few things that you actually didn’t know about each other. Surprisingly, that didn’t worry you in the slightest or make you feel scared, and maybe that said everything you needed it to. Things felt so real and so fucking right, and that made you smile. 

“What are you thinking about?” He asked as he settled back on top of you. 

“Nothing, really. I’m just so happy this is happening right now.” 

“Me too,” He whispered before softly kissing your lips. 

When he slowly entered you, every thought was wiped from your mind and all you could do was moan at the feeling of him filling you up so completely. 

It was soft and sweet and everything in between. Steve moved slowly, pulling his length out of your dripping core until only the tip of him was inside of you before gently pushing back in. 

He swallowed your moans and gasps with his lips, and you couldn’t help but close your eyes, savoring everything you were feeling at that moment, even though you wanted to hold his gaze. 

“I love you,” He muttered against your warm cheek in between deep thrusts. He linked his fingers with yours and brought your intertwined hands over your head. 

At first, all you could do was nod in response because your mind was so far gone, but then you were finding your voice and whispering the softest, “I love you too,” in the darkness of his bedroom. 

Coherent words became lost from there, but with every haphazard and messy kiss that was shared between you two, everything was still conveyed. 

The nearly pornographic sounds of skin slapping against skin along with your moans and his groans filled the quiet. You both were probably being way too loud, and maybe now was when your neighbors would start hating you two, but it was hard to feel bad about it right then. 

Steve’s other hand suddenly firmly grabbed your hip so that he could push into you deeper, harder, which nearly sent you tumbling over the edge. 

“I’m so close,” You heard yourself whispering, and you weren’t sure how the three words were even able to form on your tongue. 

Steve’s hand moved away from your hip and started playing with your clit instead. 

“Shit, yeah. Right there,” You said and he continued his steady movements, not letting up in the slightest. 

Your orgasm hit you so abruptly, and you were coming around him with a loud cry before you could even realize it. How tightly you were squeezing his cock as you came only spurred on his own release. His forehead dropped against yours as he pushed as deep as he could inside of you and spilled into the condom.

Chest against chest, you found his lips in a slow kiss as you both came down from your highs and your collective breathing returned somewhat to normal. 

The exhaustion from the day was finally catching up to you and you were close to falling asleep, eyes already falling shut, but Steve’s warmth leaving your body woke you up. He was slipping out of you with a low groan and then getting out of the bed to toss the condom in the garbage can that sat in the corner of his room. As he did that, you maneuvered around so that you were underneath the covers and he joined you. 

Limbs became tangled beneath the blanket; his arms circling your waist to hold you close, your arms around his back and tracing mindless circles on his skin, and legs entangled. It was comfortable and perfect, and you were about to fall asleep just like that, but then an idea hit you.

Your eyes were shut and your face was buried in his neck. “We need to go on a first date.” 

You felt Steve’s soft chuckle against the side of your head. “We’ve already said I love you and had sex. I think we’re far past the first date.”

“We have to do it,” You told him. “And we should make it super cheesy and dumb.” 

“Fancy restaurant?” Steve asked, deciding to go along with the idea.

“Yes. And a movie too! Preferably, a very, very bad romcom,” You smiled into his neck. “Or, wait, actually I think a horror movie is much more first date appropriate.”

“Ah, yes, so I can put an arm around you and protect you from all of the scary scenes.” 

“Yeah, exactly. Even though it will probably be me doing most of the protecting because I know how you get with scary movies,” You said, and then let out a laugh when he playfully poked your bare side. “Oh, and we should dress up really nice for it too. I expect to see you in a suit, Harrington.” 

“Okay, well, in that case, you have to wear your prom dress,” He joked back. 

You couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, deal.” 

Steve held you tighter against him, pressing the softest kiss against your forehead, and you fell asleep to the feel of his steady breaths fanning against the tip of your ear. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

let me know ur thoughts<333

(requests are open for stuff you wanna see in the universe/series!🫶🏾)

[sen-ya]

Life After Info Post

[Click here to access the Life After Digital Comic Book]

Summary: Two years ago, a viral outbreak rose the dead. Considering how his life had gone up to this point, surgeon Trafalgar Law figured this might as well happen too. When a supply run into the nearby city gets intercepted by a seemingly reckless and impulsive former patient, the dependable routine Law had settled into in this new life shatters. He finds himself exposed — his body out in the infected landscape, his conscious clawing to define what he believes is right, his heart begrudgingly deciding to find a new home on his sleeve. Maybe there’s more than a virus roaming the new world that can bring a dead man back to life.

Content Warnings: Canon typical violence, zombies/body horror (but lbr I am not good at making scary things look scary)

Relationships: Luffy x Law

Update Schedule: New page every Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Page Count: [37 posted | 55 drawn]

Latest Update: [7/21/24] WOWEE did I get myself carried away this morning. I just spent 5 hours organizing my comics and creating the digital comic book pages. I could have spent that time drawing or idk not doing what I do for my job, but I cannot be stopped. Anyway I blocked out 30 pages of this comic last week and they include the most intense action sequence I've ever done in my gotdang life. Wish me luck because I am nervous about tying down all my drawings lmao.

OLD UPDATES:

[6/29/24] HULLO! I'm doing so bad at keeping my masterposts updated lately I am sorry. All pages of life after are tagged life after if you're ever looking between masterpost updates! Also exciting update, I finally have figured out all the different plot points i'm gonna be hitting (yay!). I got hung up on something for awhile that made me not wanna work on this project, but I'm back at it. I think we'll end up with 6-7 parts! I have probably another 80-100 pages to draw lol. Also i got the app Magic Poser and it's AWESOME and I immediately used it to block out sets cuz MAN I hate backgrounds.

[6/10/24] HELLO. I'm sorry I've been shit at updating my masterposts lately. It's easiest to do from my computer, which I rarely use, and life has been happening. I also can't believe I bungled the queue and posted pg19 before pg18 i am very sorry 🤦 Eventually I'll have to turn this into an airtable base I'm sure, but until that day comes where I have like 100 pages of this comic we're stickin to the regular post lmao

[5/26/23] I got real caught up in doing summer of lawlu comics this week and this is the first week since the first week of April I haven't drawn new Life After pages and it feels weird 🙊

[5/19/24] More Luffy backstory comin' this week! :^)

[5/12/24] Updating now so get myself on schedule to update on Sundays like I had been with my other comic master post!

[5/8/24] Thank you to everyone who's liked/reblogged/comment on the first few pages!! It means the world to me that anyone's reading my silly little comics.

[4/28/24] HULLO. It’s happeninnng. I’ve spent the last few weeks working on this comic, and I gotta make this post so I can start queuing pages & link this in them! This is the most like….legit? Comic endeavor I’ve undertaken perhaps….ever. I’m very nervous about committing to how long it will need to be lol. This story is dear to my heart — zombie content is kind of my very favorite. I’ve always found it to be a great backdrop for exploring themes like grief, coping with change, community, and learning to live again. It’ll be a long haul but I hope you’ll ride it out with me!! Tomorrow I’ll be posting the first two pages. After that a page will post every Monday/Wednesday/Friday. As of this post I’ve completed over 20 pages so that I have a good lead on what’s posting and continuing to write, so I’m hopeful that’s a cadence I’ll be able to maintain. I’ll update this post weekly to include the most recent pages the way I do with my main comics master post. All pages will be tagged 'Life After' and I'll tag any pages with zombies in them with 'zombie' for blacklisting etc.

[helloalycia]

𝐌𝐘 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃 [𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄] — 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐎𝐑

one / two / four / masterlist / wattpad

summary: you find out the reason why Jeff cheated, you and Jackie start to spend more time together and a familiar face makes a return...

warning/s: mentions of cheating.

author's note: here’s part 3! glad you’re all enjoying this one and sorry it’s posted a bit late, i’ve been fasting so time has been a whirlwind lately lmao

After reconciling with Jackie, our relationship returned to normal, or at least as normal as it could be now that she wasn't dating my brother.

Whenever we saw each other around, she'd smile or greet me, and I her. We'd make small talk every now and then, and I accepted that this was how it would be from now on. There was no need for her to make an effort with me anymore, as sad as that was.

One day after school, I was practicing with the Music teacher and school orchestra for the school play that was happening next month. It was relatively new, but I was enjoying it. Afterwards, as I was walking to my car, I noticed the Yellowjackets leaving the field and heading in the same direction. That was where I saw Jackie, chatting with Taissa but waving at me when she saw me. By chance, we fell into step with one another.

"Hey," I said with a smile, before glancing at Taissa. "Hey, Tai, how are you?"

"Good, just tired from practice," she said, returning my smile. "You?"

"Band rehearsal," I answered, motioning to the guitar case on my back. "Tired too."

She snickered. "Nice." Then she looked to Jackie and added, "Wanna give me your bag and I'll meet you at my car?"

"Thanks, Tai," Jackie said to her, before she jogged off to the parking lot to throw their bags in. Her attention returned to me as she said, "So, band rehearsal?"

"It's for the school play," I clarified.

"You? Acting?" she teased, and I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Hilarious," I said, shooting her a look. "I'm in the orchestra."

"Ah, that makes more sense," she played along. "Though seeing you up on stage in some Shakespearean garb would've been quite the sight."

"You wish," I mumbled, making her laugh. "So, how was practice?"

She shrugged. "Not bad."

But judging by the sideways glance she gave to Shauna, who was walking to her car also, I knew things weren't great.

"Everything still weird?" I asked sympathetically.

Jackie sighed, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Yeah. How could it not be? I lost my best friend and boyfriend in one fell swoop." I frowned, unsure what to say to make her feel better, but she shook her head and tried to change the subject. "It doesn't matter anyway."

"It does," I said softly.

"It's just awkward at practice now," she admitted. "And it's not supposed to be. I'm the captain and I can't even look Shauna in the eye. I'm still upset, but what can I do? I have to get over it for the team."

If Jeff hadn't gone about this the way he did, none of this would be happening. Would he have done something different if he knew the repercussions of his actions?

"I'm sorry," I said, smiling sadly. "I wish I could help somehow."

She relaxed her shoulders and gave me a small smile. "You are."

I disagreed, but she was stubborn, so I didn't comment.

"Anyway, I'm tired from practice now, but we haven't had a proper catch up since...," she started, but paused, unsure how to mention the cheating thing. "Yeah. Do you want to come 'round to mine tomorrow?"

My eyebrows raised, not expecting her to say that. And as much as I wanted to accept, I couldn't tomorrow.

"Not to sound like a nerd, but I have homework," I said with a slight chuckle.

"Oh, I can help," she offered, before smiling cockily. "I've done it all before, remember?" I laughed at her eagerness, and her amusement was replaced with sincerity as she continued, "Just because Jeff isn't in my life now, doesn't mean you don't have to be. I'm still here for you, y'know."

Hearing her say this warmed my heart and put any doubts I had about our relationship to rest. Maybe I wasn't just Jeff's little sister after all.

"I know," I confirmed. "I'm happy to stop by tomorrow. Thanks, Jackie."

She flashed me a smile, and I tried not to get distracted by how beautiful she was. Jeff was pretty stupid, wasn't he?

—

As time went on between Jackie and I, it felt like we actually became friends and not just circumstantial acquaintances. I tried my best to be there for her, both because I wanted to be and also because it felt right after my brother was the reason for her hurt. She never visited my place because Jeff lived there and she didn't want to see him, so I'd stop by hers if we hung out outside of school.

She never spoke more on the Shauna/Jeff situation, even when I knew she hadn't properly talked to either of them since finding out. Despite it all, I knew she missed Shauna, her best friend, but it was all still fresh and I just guessed she was bottling it away for now. I wondered how long she'd last like that – maybe forever – until she finally broke.

A few weeks later, a month after they'd broken up, I was watching a Yellowjackets game with Jeff at school. As always, they'd dominated the game with a 3-0 advantage and the crowd were on the pitch celebrating in no time. My plan was to congratulate Jackie, glad she'd worked on whatever problems had been developing in practice, when I noticed Jeff had wandered off in a different direction. I didn't really pay him much attention as I scanned the pitch for Jackie.

"Jackie!" I called over the noise of the crowd when I spotted her.

She wasn't looking at me, her expression dropping as she looked right past me. I followed her gaze, realising she was staring at Jeff who was hugging Shauna. I raised my brows with surprise, not realising they'd made it official now, and then he kissed her and she let him and I didn't know what to think. It felt inappropriate considering everything, but they didn't seem to care. Maybe they'd deemed a month long enough before going public.

I looked back to Jackie, whose jaw was clenched as she glared at them, and then before I could go to her, she stormed off angrily. I cursed inwardly, glancing at Jeff and Shauna once more – they hadn't noticed, too enamoured by one another.

Following after Jackie, I ran off the pitch and saw a streak of blonde heading back into the school. Worried, I chased after her, catching sight of her running down the hall.

"Jackie, wait up!" I called after her, breathless. Geez, was I really this unfit?

She kept running, going to the locker room and slamming the door behind her. I sighed, letting myself in, and she spun around at my entry. Tears were streaming down her face and she hastily attempted to wipe them away, making my chest hurt.

"What is it?" she asked calmly, though her hands were shaking.

I frowned. "I didn't know he was... seeing her now."

Feigning indifference, she said, "What does it matter? Obviously it was going to happen. They didn't fucking cheat for nothing, right?"

"Not so soon though."

She smiled bitterly, squeezing her hand into a fist as she tried to collect herself. But the tears were welling in her eyes again, and then she suddenly punched the locker angrily.

"Fuck him!" she yelled, startling me, before hitting the locker again. "Why does he get to be happy when I'm not?! How is that fair when he did the bad thing?!"

I let her calm down, figuring she needed to get her frustration out somehow, and then she frowned to herself, lips trembling.

"It's not," I agreed. "You're right."

She hugged herself, tears rolling down her cheeks silently. "If I'd just slept with him, if I hadn't waited, maybe he'd...," she began to mumble to herself, but stopped.

I was both grossed out and furious when I heard this. I'd never known the reason for their breakups, but this wasn't what I'd expected. And now Jeff had got what he wanted whilst Jackie was left to question everything. God, if I wasn't annoyed at him before, I definitely was now.

"No," I told her, irritated, but at my idiot brother. "That's not the right way to think. What he did was horrible. Whether or not that was the reason, he shouldn't have cheated. He's a coward, Jackie, and you shouldn't be here upset thinking about what ifs."

She shook her head, voice stuck in her throat, and then looked at me with glistening eyes. It broke my heart, seeing a usually confident and sure-of-herself girl broken at the hands of some guy.

"Oh, Jackie," I said sympathetically, stepping forward to hug her.

She fell into my arms, hiding her head in my shoulder and sniffling quietly. I didn't let go, one arm around her as the other rubbed circles on her back.

"You deserved better than him anyway," I told her quietly, lips moving against her hair. "I love him, he's my brother, but it wasn't right what he did."

She didn't reply, but she didn't make a move to leave either, so we stayed like that until I led her to the bench between the lockers, still entwined. Her sniffling lessened and the wet spot on my shoulder grew cold when she finally pulled back; her hand found mine and she didn't let go.

"Thank you," her voice came out as an unintentional whisper, making her clear her throat. "Things have just been so hard. Shauna was my person, and I'm just– I'm so hurt by her actions."

"I can imagine," I said, squeezing her hand gently. After a pause, eyes taking in her red, swollen ones with concern, I asked, "D'you think you'd ever forgive her?"

She exhaled shakily. "I don't know."

I nodded, waiting for her to take a breath. She let go of my hand finally, wiping away the remaining tears on her face before growing embarrassed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to cry on you," she apologised. "You definitely didn't sign up for this."

"It's alright," I assured her. "I'm just worried about you."

She looked down at her hands, knuckles red from punching the locker. "All that talk about me being there for you and, really, it was me who needed you."

I cracked a small smile in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Well, the extent of your support was tutoring me in French, and you're shit at that. Pas bon du tout (not good at all)."

She let out a laugh, and it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Making her laugh after she'd just cried, admiring the way her eyes glistened with tears but in a way that made them sparkle because of her momentary happiness... I'd never seen anything like it.

"I'm gonna pretend I understood that," she spoke with a raspy voice, before hugging me once more.

"C'mon," I encouraged, standing up and pulling her with me. "This isn't how you should be celebrating your victory. You're the team captain for crying out loud!" She smiled, and I continued, "Don't you usually go to those after parties?"

She pushed her fringe from her eyes. "I'm not really in the mood. Shauna and Jeff will probably be there...”

"Okay, how about celebrating with the girls?" I asked, not wanting to upset her so quickly.

Judging from her expression, I knew they'd be at the party too, so that was out. I pursed my lips, trying to think of a way to cheer her up, and then decided to just do it myself.

"Right, get ready and then meet me outside," I instructed.

"What?"

I was already heading to the door as I answered, "I'm taking you out. My treat."

She tilted her head, giving me a knowing look. "You don't have to do that."

I shrugged. "I want to."

She sighed deeply, smile curving on her lips gratefully.

As promised, I took Jackie out that evening, treating her to some ice cream at the fancy parlour in town and buying her whatever she liked. We talked about everything and anything, and I hoped that, for at least a moment, she could forget all about Jeff and Shauna.

—

It took a while after Jeff and Shauna had gone public with their relationship for Jackie to finally accept it and try to move on. Personally, I don't think I could have had it in me to be the bigger person, but when Jackie came to me telling me she wanted to clear the air with them, I knew she'd made up her mind.

Ultimately, it was her choice and I was happy that she finally felt like she was in a place where she could move on. Whatever she'd said to them had done wonders for her, as she no longer avoided my house anymore when she wanted to hang out, and I sometimes saw her talking to Shauna without staring daggers into the side of her head. It was progress I never thought I'd see.

Shortly after that, Shauna brought it upon herself to try and fix things with me. We'd never talked much before, but since she was Jeff's new girlfriend, she must have felt she needed to make things right. That was one awkward conversation, and I was still upset at her for how she'd handled the situation, but I knew that if Jackie could forgive her, then so could I.

So, that was how everything had settled into a new 'normal'. My friendship with Jackie had grown stronger and I was on somewhat good terms with my brother and Shauna, and I guess that was all I could need right now. Of course, that didn't change the fact that I still had a massive crush on Jackie, and anytime she'd show any interest in me, I grew flustered.

Take this one time when she was sat in the school theatre, waiting for me to finish up practice for the school play after school. It was in two weeks and we were doing final run-throughs with the music and acting together. Jackie was only here because we had plans to grab food afterwards, since she'd finished soccer practice today too.

After what felt like forever, the Drama teacher finally dismissed us all and I joined Jackie by the exit.

"That was actually pretty good," she said when she saw me, nodding to the stage where the other students were finishing up.

"It's not a bad play," I said with a shrug, before shouldering my guitar case. "You planning to get tickets?"

At this, she looked to me with a smirk. "Well, of course. Gotta support you, right?"

She was teasing me and I began to grow warm at the way she was staring at me, and then she was grinning at my reaction and I avoided her stare. Times like these were when I really wished I could get over her.

—

I was cleaning out my bedroom, per my mum's request as she wanted to do a spring clean even though it was the middle of the summer, when I heard Jeff calling me from his room.

"Coming!" I called back, before dropping what I was doing to see what he wanted.

If my room was a tip, his was much worse. But when he saw me, he had a neatly collated box of items in hand, holding it out to me.

"What's this?" I asked, accepting the box that he practically thrust in my arms. When I looked inside, I saw some girly items that definitely weren't his.

"They're Jackie's," he answered awkwardly. "It's just some stuff she left behind that I never got around to returning. I'd go, but I think it might be better if you do."

"Right," I breathed out, before nodding. "I'll sort it."

He offered me a small smile. "Thanks, Y/N."

I gave Jackie's house number a call, ending up in a polite conversation with her mother who loved to talk my ear off and, of course, ask about Jeff who she still wasn't letting go of. After I finally got to the point of my call, she encouraged me to stop by so I thanked her and made my way over to the Taylor residence, only planning to make a quick trip.

When I rang their doorbell however, nobody answered. I rang it another time and even knocked a few times, but there was nothing. And then I fell silent as I heard a faint beat playing from somewhere. Following the sound of the music, I found myself walking around to the garden, realising there was a pool party going on. The Yellowjackets were all here from what I could see, some lying on sun beds whilst others played in the pool. Music was blaring from some speakers and they all seemed to be having the time of their life in the sun.

"Y/N, hey!" I heard Jackie, and searched the space to find her in the pool.

My mouth went dry when I saw her climbing out, only in her two-piece swimwear. As she approached me with a smile, I was certain I'd forgotten how to breathe, unsure where to look because it all seemed inappropriate. Her hair was wet, water droplets rolling down her tanned skin, and I wouldn't have been surprised if I had a heart attack from how hot she looked there and then.

"My mum said you were stopping by," she said, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

I looked at her eyes and only her eyes, hoping my face wasn't as hot as the sun felt right now. "Yeah, I rang the doorbell but nobody answered."

"My bad, sorry," she said with a laugh. "I'm having a team pool party. Team building and all that. The music must have been too loud."

"It's all good," I said quickly. "Erm, I've got some of your things. You left it at ours when you were... yeah."

At the implication of Jeff, her smile faded naturally. Glancing at the box, she nodded gratefully.

"You alright to follow me?" she asked, grabbing her towel from the chair.

"Sure."

As she led the way, some of the girls said their hellos when I walked past, and then Jackie led me through her mansion of a home before settling in the kitchen.

"You can just leave it on the table over there," she said, nodding to the dining table whilst drying herself with her towel.

All I could do was nod as I went to set it down, and then she was suddenly behind me, the scent of chlorine and suncream washing over me.

"I was wondering where that necklace was," she said with amusement, looking over my shoulder and down at the necklace at the top of the box.

I shivered at how close she was, acutely aware of her minimal clothing and trying so hard not to let my eyes wander.

"You seem nervous, are you okay?" she asked, before walking to the fridge. "You want a drink?"

I swallowed hard, shaking my head. "No, sorry, I've gotta go finish cleaning the house with my mum. It's just hot out."

She smirked, clearly aware of the effect she was having on me, but I was too flustered to comment on it.

"That's too bad," she said with a pout. "You can stay if you want."

I waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, it's a team thing. I'll be okay."

She chuckled, eyeing me curiously, probably noticing the way I couldn't even meet her gaze anymore. "C'mon. I'll walk you out."

I followed her as she led me back into the garden, where the others were still having the time of their life. Jackie stopped and flashed me another picture perfect smile.

"Have fun cleaning," she said, patting my shoulder. "Maybe next time, yeah?"

I nodded, suddenly finding the space behind her head very interesting. She hugged me, making me freeze at the contact of both her body and the water on my clothes. She had to be doing this on purpose, surely.

"See you later," she said sweetly, eyelashes fluttering.

I nodded, quickly backing up, and stupidly almost slipping into the pool as I grew distracted by her yet again.

She laughed, warning, "Be careful!"

I smiled awkwardly, before taking extra care to leave without making even more of a fool of myself. Could you blame me? The last thing I needed right now was to be in close proximity of a half dressed Jackie Taylor.

—

Jackie Taylor was on everyone's radar, even when she was taken by Jeff, so I should have expected someone to make their move once enough time had passed since their breakup. Still, knowing it would happen didn't make it any easier to witness.

There was a fair in the park and the band and I had secured a gig there, playing a few sets during the evening. We played some covers and a few originals, the first we'd ever performed that I'd written. It was surreal, but everybody seemed to like it which made the smile permanent on my face the whole time.

After our first set, we all went offstage to take a quick break, and that was when Jackie found me. It was the first I'd seen her all evening, since she'd arrived with her friends and I was busy up until now.

"Y/N, you were amazing up there!" she complimented as soon as she saw me, pulling me in for a hug.

"Thanks, Jackie," I said appreciatively, returning her hug. "How long have you been here?"

"Your whole set," she said with a smile. "And would you look at that – I finally heard some original songs."

My cheeks grew warm as she shot me a teasing smile.

"I don't suppose you'll tell me who they're about?" she asked innocently, giving me her best puppy dog eyes.

"You supposed correctly," I retorted with a knowing look, making her curse quietly with defeat. I laughed and added, "Look, I appreciate your curiosity, but maybe they're just songs, d'you ever consider that?"

She eyed me suspiciously, smile ever present. "I guess... but I've got my eye on you, Y/N."

I rolled my eyes lightheartedly, hoping she couldn't hear my heart racing in my chest. Green-brown eyes met mine, sparkling with mischief, and I forced myself to endure, not wanting to raise suspicion. Hopefully she'd never find out they were all about her.

After chatting with her on my break for a little longer, I rejoined the band onstage and performed a few more songs. It was easier to spot Jackie in the crowd now that I knew where I was looking, and she looked so cute as she stood there with her friends, dancing along to the music. It was almost a dream, and then it wasn't. Because as I was performing, I noticed some guy talking to her, the flirting very obvious even from where I was stood.

I tried to stay focused, purposely avoiding looking in her direction, but I couldn't help myself. My eyes would drift back over to her, and that damn guy was still there, trying his luck as she entertained it for a bit. I knew I never had a chance with her, but seeing the girl you liked chatting to another guy was always a kick in the teeth, especially when it meant she wasn't paying you any attention anymore.

After a few more songs, the band and I called it a night and wanted to enjoy the fair together. Jackie was still being talked to by that guy, so I attempted to ignore it and focused on having a nice night out with my friends.

After playing a few carnival games and going on some rides, Jackie found me again, standing with my friends as Y/BF/N bought some ice cream for herself.

"Hey, guys, nice performance tonight," Jackie complimented the others, who chorused their gratitude. She added, "You mind if I steal Y/N away for a bit?"

"Oh, no, go for it!" Tommy insisted with a grin, tugging the others away before I could protest.

I sighed as Jackie flashed me an enthusiastic smile. "I've been dying to go on the bumper cars. Wanna come?"

"I, er, I'm not really in the mood," I said, possibly being a little petty but I couldn't help it, I was just sad.

"Oh, c'mon, it'll be fun!" she exclaimed, shaking my arm. "You're not seriously gonna leave me hanging, are you?"

I chewed on my lip as she watched me hopefully, and it only made me realise how stupid I was being. She couldn't help it if a guy wanted to hang out with her, and I definitely had no right to be jealous. I'd watched her be my brother's girlfriend all these years, surely I could live with the fact that she'd inevitably get another boyfriend and I'd never have a chance with her.

Before I could give in and agree, the guy from earlier approached us again, checking Jackie out in a not so subtle way.

"Hey, Jackie," he said with a smile, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, jealousy returning in an instant. "You wanna go on the ferris wheel with me?"

I crossed my arms and looked away momentarily, anticipating the part where she'd say yes and this would all be for nothing.

"I appreciate you asking, Matt, but no thanks," she said politely.

"Oh," he said with surprise, and then grew awkward, probably not expecting her to decline. "Okay."

He left soon enough, embarrassed, and I glanced at Jackie with suspicion.

"Why not?"

She looked back to me, quirking a brow. "Huh?"

I motioned in his direction. "Why didn't you wanna go with him? He was flirting with you earlier, wasn't he?"

She suppressed a smile, eyes meeting mine with amusement. "Because I'm trying to hang out with you, idiot, if you'd only say yes."

My gaze flickered to the ground sheepishly as she let out a quiet chuckle.

"Bumper cars," I confirmed. "Sure."

Her smile widened. "Awesome. C'mon."

I let her drag me to the bumper cars, lightening up as we spent some time together. The longer the evening went on, the less this 'Matt' guy was gnawing at me, because Jackie chose me and that was something, right? We went on rides, played some stupid fair games at her insistence, despite them definitely being rigged, and she forced me to win her a prize even when I lost several times. But all in all, she was happy, and so was I, and I suppose that was all that mattered in the moment.

—

The first night of the school play was finally upon us and I was backstage getting ready when Jackie paid me a visit, surprising me with a bouquet of flowers.

"These are for me?" I asked with genuine surprise.

"What is it they say in showbiz? Break a leg?" she asked rhetorically, before laughing at her own joke.

I smiled to myself as I looked down at the flowers in my hand. "Jackie, they're beautiful. Nobody's ever got me flowers before."

She tilted her, confused. "Well, that's not right."

I chuckled, gaze falling to her. "Thank you."

Heart warming in my chest, I pulled her into a hug with my free hand, grateful for her support.

"You deserve it," she said simply, before squeezing me tight then letting go. "I should go find my seat. I'll be right at the front where you can see me."

I laughed. "I'll keep an eye out. Thanks, Jackie."

She flashed me a smile before leaving to find her seat, and I couldn't stop smiling as the Drama teacher briefed us once more before final call.

The show went on with few hiccups, probably the best run we'd ever done, and the audience seemed to love it, giving us a huge round of applause. When the orchestra got their own special shout-out, I caught sight of my family in the middle, applauding, and then Jackie, who was cheering me on so loudly at the front that I couldn't help but flush with embarrassment.

Once the curtains closed, the orchestra had to go backstage for another word with the teachers before we were finally alright to leave. I found my family waiting for me at the back of the theatre and walked by the other students receiving praise from their families.

"There she is!" Jeff exclaimed when he saw me, grabbing my shoulder and squeezing it supportively.

I smiled as my parents pulled me in for a hug and congratulated me on the show.

"Thanks, guys, thanks for coming," I said gratefully, looking between them all. "You really didn't have to. I wasn't even in the show."

"Nonsense," my mum said with a wave of her hand. "You played beautifully, sweetie."

I breathed out deeply, both embarrassed and appreciative of their support. And then Jeff's expression dropped and I realised Jackie was approaching, flashing my parents a smile.

"Jackie, how lovely to see you," my mum greeted her. "You're here for Y/N too?"

"Yes, she did great, didn't she?" Jackie asked, putting an arm around my shoulder playfully.

"She did," my dad replied with a proud smile, before raising the flowers Jackie got me in the air. "And thanks for the flowers. It was kind of you to get them for her."

"Anytime," Jackie said with a shrug, before looking to me. "Are you free now or d'you have plans?"

Before I could respond, my mum insisted I celebrate with Jackie, trusting her. Since her breakup with Jeff, Jackie was still a favourite of my parents, understandably so. After saying our goodbyes, I was left with Jackie, who seemed excited about something.

"What are you thinking?" I asked her with amusement.

"I wanna hang out, my treat," she said nonchalantly.

My smile grew. "Seriously?"

She linked arms with me and began leading me to the door. "Seriously."

And that was how we ended up at the arcade that evening, with Jackie keeping to her word and rinsing all her pocket money on the arcade machines that were definitely a waste but she didn't seem to mind. We played air hockey, skeeball, a zombie shooter game and a bunch of other stuff that I didn't think she liked, and it was awesome.

After spending over an hour messing around, she generously bought me dinner there, some burgers and fries, and I was certain I was dreaming.

"You have your own ketchup, y'know," I said with raised brows when she dipped her fries into mine.

"I ate it and there's none left in the bottle," she claimed, before going in for another dip.

"Then ask for another bottle!" I exclaimed between a laugh, pulling my tray away.

"Quit being selfish!" she retorted with a grin, before leaning over the table to land a swipe.

"Jackie!" I scolded, and she winked as she ate her fry.

I rolled my eyes at her petulance before recognising someone behind her, approaching our direction. After a double take, I realised it was Eve Perkins, captain of the Lions soccer team and the girl Jackie utterly despised. The memory of the party from last year came to mind, including the whole argument I had with Jackie afterwards, and I suddenly prayed Eve wasn't here to cause trouble.

"Okay, don't freak out, but Eve Perkins is heading this way," I said calmly.

Jackie was surprised, straightening up in her seat and dying to turn around, but she kept her cool. "I won't."

"So, let me get this straight," Eve said as soon as she stopped by our table, looking down at Jackie with irritation. "You freak out at me for hanging with a sophomore, only to hang out with her yourself? What? Was her brother not enough?"

I almost choked on my drink at the abruptness of her words, worrying when I saw Jackie beginning to clench her jaw and fix Eve with a glare.

"Firstly, that's none of your business," she said lowly. "And secondly, you bitch."

I sighed inwardly, already expecting an argument, and Eve laughed bitterly.

"Tell me, Jackie. You still worried we're gonna beat you next week?" she asked condescendingly.

"Not worried at all," Jackie said through gritted teeth, reaching for her drink to calm down.

Eve smirked with satisfaction before looking to me. "Y'know, it's a shame you're hanging out with her still. You were cute. And you definitely deserve to be more than Jackie's sloppy seconds."

Mean girl fighting was never my thing, and I was stunned into silence at how rude Eve was being, clearly because of some unresolved business with Jackie. I was also a little embarrassed at what she was implying was between Jackie and I, unsure how to respond.

"Fuck you," Jackie said instantly, not at a loss for words, and it made me realise just how quickly things had taken a turn for the worst.

"Okay, how about we just leave it?" I said, looking between them both before settling on Eve with pleading eyes. "Please?"

Eve seemed to give in, rolling her eyes before walking off to rejoin her friends by the arcade machines. I sighed with relief before returning my attention to a distracted Jackie.

"Are you okay?" I asked with concern.

She breathed out slowly. "Yes. Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm just surprised Eve reacted like that. It came out of nowhere."

"I'm not," Jackie mumbled under her breath, only confirming my suspicion of some unfinished business between her and Eve.

I chewed on my lip, still a little concerned, but then she met my eyes with apologetic ones, expression softening.

"I'm sorry she said all that," she said sincerely, though her cheeks were tinged pink. "You're not my... it's not like..." She was struggling, eyes flittering around uncharacteristically, before she finished, "You're more than my sloppy seconds."

Realising why she was awkward, I began to chuckle. "Jackie, I know. I don't believe what she said. And besides, no sloppy seconds would be treated as wonderfully as I have tonight."

She hid a smile as she nodded. "Right."

It was easy for things to return back to how they were after that little interruption, and Jackie and I finished the rest of our meals in peace. Once we were done, I grabbed our trays to throw in the bin and she waited for me by the door. As I was dusting my hands off, I felt a presence beside me and looked up, not expecting to see Eve yet again. I hoped she wasn't here to start another argument, especially because I knew I'd lose it.

"I meant it when I said you deserve better than Jackie Taylor, you know that, right?" she said with a quirked brow.

I frowned. "That wasn't very nice. Jackie's a good person."

Eve snorted in disagreement. "Sure she is."

I shifted my weight between my feet awkwardly., "Look, your feud is your feud. I'm not gonna get involved."

She shrugged. "Fair enough. Sorry for involving you."

I nodded appreciatively, and she gave me a small smile.

"See you around, cutie."

Again, I was speechless as she walked away, wondering if she was trying to mess with my head to somehow get back at Jackie. Either way, there wasn't reason for me to see her around since we went to different schools, so I didn't let it worry me too much. Instead, I returned to Jackie who was glaring at Eve from across the room.

"What did she want now?" she asked with annoyance.

Not wanting to give her more reason to be frustrated, I said, "She just wanted to apologise."

Jackie glanced at me, unconvinced, but I shrugged and held open the door for her.

"Let's get you home, Jackie."

Thankfully, she didn't question me.

[sugawhaaa]

BEOMGYU X READER

☆•[Behind closed doors]•☆

☆•{{ date night }}•☆

Warnings//genre:: friends to lovers, slow burn, idol AU,

Pairing:: idol!beomgyu x idol!fem!reader

A/N:: here is part three that literally no one asked for 😍 I think the last part in the least popular fanfic I have ever posted 💀

Chapter 2:: 🎤

Taglist:: @run2min

🎧::

Previous chapter

“Well maybe someday we can chat a little more than just this five minute walk hm?” He grins and you blush softly.

“Yeah, I'll chat with you soon,” you smile and you can see him holding back his giddy grin.

“Sounds good,” he watches as you start to head for the stairs. “Have a good night Y/N~” he smiles with a little wave and you wave back.

“Goodnight!” You hop up the stairs and Beomgyu watches in admiration, adoring your innocence. He makes sure you get inside safely, just like last time, before walking off. He put his hand on the shoulder you touched, rubbing it softly with a cheeky grin

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○

It has been about two weeks since you last saw Beomgyu. You've been busy and he's been busy so you haven't met up at yet, though you do text a lot. One day he messages you.

Gyu-have you gone ice skating before?

you look at his message from your living room, hanging out with some of your members.

you- A few times

you- Why?

Gyu- Would you wanna go with me?

he then sends a little gif that's a dumpling smiling with circle blush. You were taken aback by the question, so straight forward and bold. You think for a moment before replying.

you- when are you thinking about going?

Gyu- I'm free the next five days so whenever you wanna. It'd be nice to go at night time though

After some more back and forth chatting you decide that tomorrow after dinner you are going skating with Beomgyu. It's a beautiful outdoor rink with fairy lights and decorations for the lunar new year. You told the members you were going out but...not with who. Before you know it, the next day arrives and you're eating dinner at the kitchen table. You're phone rings mid-way through a conversation, Beomgyu's calling. "Sorry, I got take this," You smile and dismiss yourself from the table. Just as you say hello Beomgyu calls out into the speaker.

"Y/N-AH!" He shouts playfully and you take your phone off your ear. The members look at you weirdly and you brush it off.

"What!? I'm eating dinner," You sigh and Beomgyu makes a little "oh" sound.

"Just making sure you're still coming, I have skates here in your size...I think," He holds up the skates as he holds the phone between his cheek and shoulder. "Anyway, you getting all prettied up?" He asks in a friendly teasing way. "Oh and dress warm, it's cold out tonight," Beomgyu's voice is light and free spirited.

"W-Will do," His comment from earlier still has you blushing.

"now finish eating, get nice and full because I am not buying you anything while we're out," He giggles.

"Hey I have my own money-"

He then hangs up and you groan. He's such a headache sometimes but you love him...platonically of course.

"What was that about?" Yina asks as she holds her chopsticks between her fingers.

"Just a friend," You pause. "I'm going out with her tonight," You nod, covering up the fact you're going out with a man of all people. The rest of dinner becomes a Q&A between you and your unnies. It was a long process but you quickly make an escape to get dressed and put make-up on. You go out to the entryway and put on your outer gear.

"That's quite the get-up for a friend outing," Mi cha comments. You pat down your body and realize you forgot your phone in your room. You rush back to grab and see a message from beomgyu.

Gyu- Here!

You rush out to the front door to see Mi Cha has opened the door to Beomgyu. "That doesn't look like a woman," She comments with an arched brow before looking at you. She then turns back to Beomgyu, "You must be beomgyu or something right?"

"Ah, you must be Mi Cha," He leans down to her level, a smug look on his face as he looks her up and down, not even trying to hide his judgement of her character.

"Sorry Gyu I was in my room," You push passed Mi Cha and she scoffs.

"Gyu...cheesy," Mi cha mutters.

"Okay! Let's get going," Beomgyu puts a hand to the small of your back, pushing you towards his body which ticks something in Mi Cha's head. "Bu-bye now~" Beomgyu says in a friendly tone as he closes the door but there was a hidden sass in his voice. As the two of you walk down the hall he lets go of your waist. "She's irritating," Beomgyu scoffs and you chuckle.

"Don't hold it against her," You say calmly and gyu sighs.

"Maybe," He takes you out to the parking lot and to his car. In the back seats he has a bag of skates and extra mitts and hats just in case. The drive to the rink was far from quiet; he played lot's of music including some of your songs and his. The two of you also talked each others ears off and you found yourself comforted in Beomgyu's presence. He is weird and loud but he's sincere, relatable and non-judgmental, it's refreshing. You then pull up to the rink and he takes the bag with him to the bench you've chosen. Beomgyu helps you put your skates on, kneeling in front of you as he ties the laces. "Is that tight enough?" he asks as he puts his hands around your ankle, testing the tightness.

"Yup, it's good," You idly wait next to him as he does his own skates, watching the other people skate around the outside of the lake, the pole in the center holding up some lanterns for the new year. You felt a rush of excitement to circle around the lake with Beomgyu, it's gonna be so special.

"Okay, let me help you up," Beomgyu stands up in front of you. "It's all about balance, use your legs," he extends his thinly gloved hands out to you and you take them. You pull yourself up, Beomgyu pulling you as well. You already begin to slip on the ice and gyu catches you. "The beginning is always the hardest, let's get moving," Beomgyu skates backwards as he pulls you with him "There we go! You're getting it," He cheers as you begin to skate faster.

"Kinda," You chuckle shyly as you skate around the lanterns. You look up, looking at the strings holding up all the lanterns, your eyes filling with light.

On Beomgyu's end he watches the way you admire the sight, your eyes full of the glimmer of joy and excitement. He finds his eyes locked onto you, his pull on you growing weaker and his awareness falling around him. He then stumbles over the edge of the rink, falling into the snow and taking you with him.

The warmth of his body and cold of the snow catches you by surprise as you pick yourself up off of him, looking down at him. "Are you okay?" You chuckle as you try to wiggle off of him but your skates make it hard.

"I'm good," He tries to help you off his lap but you slip and he suddenly jerks his legs up with a little cry of pain. "Okay, okay not as good," He pulls himself up before standing up on the ice again. He extends his hands out to help you up. "Yup one leg then the other," He lifts you up to your feet and your skidding around with him again. Before you know it the moon is held high above the two of you and most people have left. "This has been fun but unfortunately we should get going," The two of you make your way over to the bench again and change back into your usual boots and shoes. You then hop into the car and patiently wait for Beomgyu to put the skates in the back again.

The drive home felt way too short and before you knew it he was walking you up to the dormitory door. "We should do something like this again soon," He smiles with a nod and you nod in agreement.

"Whenever we get a day off," You say as you stand in front of him, not wanting to go home yet.

"Yeah like that ever happens," He scoffs and you chuckle.

"Well then we could compromise right? Maybe give me some private dance lessons?" You tilt your head with a mischevious smirk.

"That could work, Yeonjun trains with new jeans a lot so I can't say why I couldn't~?" He puts a finger to his chin playfully. "Now you should get out of the cold and rest, that was a lot of excitement," He pats your head, reminding you of the height difference between the two of you. You go on your tippy toes and give him a peck on the cheek, leaving a stain of lipstick on his cheek.

When you get back into your dorm you're approached by Areum.

"How was your date?" She crosses her arms and you roll your eyes.

"It wasn't a date,"

"But you were out with a boy. A male idol," She emphasizes the "idol" bit.

"Oh come on, Beomgyu would never think of me like that," You say as you kick off your shoes and jacket.

"That doesn't matter," She shakes her head. "It's how you think about him,"

Beomgyu POV

He yawns as he comes through the doorway only to see the two screen zombies playing video games again while Yeonjun sits to the side watching them. He also has some kind of drink in his hand. "Hey how was your date?" He smiles and Beomgyu smiles blissfully, Yeonjun then notices the stain on his cheek. "Oh, that seems good. Did you tell her yet?" He asks and Beomgyu snaps back to reality.

"Hah, no. We've only been talking for like, three weeks, not even a full month," He explains as he puts back the winter gear and skates.

"Still, she clearly likes you back. That's like the second kiss she's given you. That's not platonic,"

"You should do it chicken," Kai chimes in.

"You'll lose her before you know it," Soobin adds.

"Oh shut up," Beomgyu huffs before going to his room.

To be continued...

[anamoon63]

Guys, I'm not gone, I'm around, but I got caught up with work for a day later than usual. Also, of all the cities in the Gulf of Mexico the first tropical storm of the season decided to make landfall in my town early this morning. There was no major damage, but we've had intermittent rain, at times heavy, and a couple of power outages. This storm, as silly as it may seem, is welcome in this region as we are in the midst of a severe drought. For a month or so we have been on a rationed and scheduled water service, and have struggled to get bottled water because of the drought too. (Every day and night there are temperatures between 35 and 40° C).

Luckily, we are getting out of it little by little, authorities are doing what needs to be done, but all this situation is precisely why this storm and the rains it brings, rather than bothering us, have made us happy.

Ok, enough of the weater channel, lol, I hope to be able to post something tomorrow, if we don't have any more outages. Although truth be told, with all the preparations to receive TS Alberto, I haven't been able to sit at the computer much this week, except to work, and in the evenings play a little bit of games to relax.

Anyway, I'm not gone, I'll catch up with you all shortly. In the meantime, for those living along the Gulf of Mexico coast or any other area affected by tropical storm Alberto (now a tropical depression), stay safe and well informed. The forecast for my area is that it will rain for 5 days. Which is fantastic because it hasn't rained here in months!

Well, that's all for today, guys. I'll be back soon. Love you all! 😘

[soaps-mohawk]

Okay so this week...

With October being tomorrow (I know where has September gone?) That means it's the first day of Kyletober!!!! 🥳

So, that being said, I still have a bunch of replies and asks regarding CRCB, so I will be posting those throughout today and tomorrow to get them through and of course if any come in during October then I'll answer those as they come. Just because I'm taking a break from it doesn't mean you can't talk about it.

But also the first Kyletober fic will be posting tomorrow. It's posting at the same time CRCB usually does (5 am pacific) and I'll be linking the fic on the taglist blog post (once I get up) as well as adding it to the masterlist which is linked in the navigation post now. I may also queue it to post throughout the day as well just for those that come straight to the blog to find it.

That being said, I'll likely get behind on responding to asks and comments and such especially this week. I will be tagging all the asks and reblogs with "#kyletober spoilers", so if you can't read them right away then you can filter that tag to avoid spoilers. I also always tag comment reblogs as "#comment reblog", so if you don't want to see fics reblogged 103820 times, then you can block that tag as well.

There won't be any posts on the weekends, weird I know. Kyletober will be posted during the week. The first week you get four fics and then from there until the last week of October you're getting three on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Don't stress too much about the schedule, just follow the taglist blog and she'll guide you lol.

Anyway yeah. Just wanted to let everyone know that's how things are going to go. The masterlist is undergoing some cosmetic updates so the look will change here soon, but otherwise I'm super excited for Kyletober. Let's give our babygirl malewife pretty princess some love 💚

[project-sekai-facts]

What are your predictions for the lineups of the next event(s)? Cause at first we were thinking tsukasa5 lim but then VBS got it,and now we have the Toya mixed event with a Toya, Kanade, and An 4 stars as the event starting tomorrow , when a lot of people were expecting kamiyama2 with Mizuki, so now what do you think?

yeah sorry i didn't do an event prediction post this month. i already made predictions for a lim mixed event and my though process was "i'll read lead to shine more and then do a prediction post in the morning". and then it was the morning and mmj hakolim 4 existed. anyway.

the lim event for this month is. kinda hard to predict despite the lack of options. obviously we have to consider the 4th anniversary banner at this point in time, which has six rateups and takes a lot of options out for this month's event.

so i'll start with my 4th anniversary predictions

emu banner. unless she's august, it's her. it can't be rui or tsukasa, and she's gone longer without a lim than nene. while that doesn't really mean anything, the fact she's getting incredibly close to 4 years without a mixed event it makes sense and lines up pretty well for this to be emu mix 2

haruka 3*. the only mmj characters eligible for the banner are haruka and airi. ideal idol just happened and capped haruka at 7 lims and while airi isn't capped, haruka's gone longest in the game without a 3* card.

the rateups i'm less sure about. i think the vbs rateup will be toya, if only because he has less lims than an. niigo will most likely be ena. mizuki5 is likely gonna be either 1 or 2 events away from this so. yeah. leoneed i'm less sure about. there's a leoneed event in september definitely, but i'm not sure who it will be. i initially predicted ichika but considering something shiho said in leoneed wle i wouldn't be surprised if it was her. if it's a shiho event, saki's on 4th anni. if it's an ichika or honami event, shiho is on 4th anni (probably unless they make saki reward card AGAIN).

yeah so emu/toya/ena/saki or shiho 4* + haruka 3*

oh yeah rin is almost definitely fes that'll be explained in like 2 seconds (watch me be wrong)

anyway now that that's out the way

rui basically controls everything here. he has to get a lim this month or he's fes. unless clpl decides to keep him waiting even longer than the gap between kanade fes 1 and spojoy. i've seen some spec over rui/honami/mafuyu but imo...nah. actually this is less for it being darkfes again and more for the mafuyu/rui kizuna that just dropped.

not sure how many people have picked up on this, but the game tends to hold off on giving kizuna until they're "done" with a pair. it explains why groups like the rainbow canvas trio got kizuna immediately but groups like thrilling white day trio took ages to get kizuna. the latter 3 attend the same school and interact quite a lot, so they held off so they had more fleshed out dynamics to pick title names from, but ena doesn't really have a huge window of opportunity for further interaction with emu and honami, so they're about as fleshed out as those dynamics will get after one event.

obviously the stories are only written so far ahead, so things do change, like shizuku and tsukasa interacting again in pandemonium ages after their kizuna title released (though their titles probably would be the same had the kizuna released later). this would also explain the delay on emu + bad dogs kizuna and the mafuyu/rui one, maybe they planned something more but the opportunity never came so they gave in. like seriously if mafuyu and rui are gonna have an event together soon why would they add their kizuna just before it? like maybe hypothetical honami/mafuyu/rui event provides nothing for their dynamic but i dunno it feels like an odd choice.

ANYWAY maybe i'm wrong. for some other possible lineups, there's ichika/honami/rui who all have some level of interest in gardening, ichika/nene who aren't on first-name basis even after that one 4koma where they accidentally slipped up, mafuyu and nene have no proper interactions yet so that's an interesting dynamic you could explore, or you could do an an/ichika broadcasting club event (this is the least likely option). i mean maybe they will just eliminate almost everyone who's still on 5 lims in one fair sweep by doing honami/rui/mafuyu august event into saki/toya/emu/ena anni + honami/rin fes, but seriously when has the game been that nice with distribution meta, especially with whatever is going on right now.

oh yeah for normal september events it'll be leoneed and niigo. saki basically has to be rateup whatever way you do it. maybe ichika/saki/honami or ichika/saki/vsinger. mizuki5 is where things get interesting because although people have speculated mizuki/ena/meiko, there's the possibility of this backing onto the anniversary event where one of them has to be limited. you could always do n25->ln->anniv tho and that solves the problem. or mizuki5 could be mizuki/mafuyu/meiko if the game decides it hates the concept of plot relevant 4*s.

i think i've contradicted myself like 5 times now. here's a rough mockup of some of my thoughts (ignore where it says EN name i just write my notes in the ensekai column)

[voidofthevoidmv]

So I was reading through some of my old unfinished fanfic stuffs and google docs- And I found this gem that I apparently finished. It was made back when I was REALLY REALLY INVESTED in the Invader Zim fandom and I had just finished binge reading the official comics. I’m not sure if it’s all in character but I figured I’d post it anyways because if I don’t some of this stuff would never see the light of day again lol. So enjoy if you can- Lol.

D-> Dib

G-> Gaz

M-> Membrane

Z-> Zim

In which Dib is spiteful to prove a point:

*We pan to the membrane household living room, where Gaz and Dib both seem to occupy at the moment. Dib is sitting lax on the couch while Gaz stands over to the side clearly fuming.*

G: “So you're just… Letting Zim take over the world?... JUST to prove a point?”

D: “... Mmm. Yerp. Sounds about right.”

G: “Oh. Um. Ok, whatever. The world is in chaos so I assumed you would be… Out there. Fighting Zim. And stuff.”

D: “Well not today. You said that Zim plans will always just backfire on themselves anyways and my efforts don't actually prevent anything. So, I figured, let's test that theory.”

G: “... Uh huh... Whatever. Just don't stink up the place with your sweaty anxiousness to save the world.”

D: “Oh I'm not worried. Once you admit that Zim is a real threat to humanity, then I'll go save the world.”

*Outside, a giant flaming meteor could be seen plummeting to earth accommodated by screams- Buildings on fire, and Zim leading an army of giant robots smashing anything. Gaz looks and sits on the couch next to dib.*

G: “Ok then…”

D: “Let's put on something to watch, yeah? You can pick, for old times sake.”

*Gaz flicks through the channels, but all of them are nationwide emergencies- Ranging from China to Egypt, to England, to places all around the world- All in a panic and the world on fire. Dib continues to sip juice.”

D: “Huh. Would you look at that, it's gonna rain tomorrow. Maybe that'll put a damper on all these TEMPORARY fires happening all over the place…”

G: “I know what you're doing Dib but it's not going to work. I bet you're ITCHING to go out there and beat that alien guy to kingdom come. But I'm not changing my mind. A little measly fire never hurt anyone…”

D: “Whatever you say Gaz. I’m actually pretty content here. Yep. Not gonna be moving for a loooong time…”

G: “...”

D: “...”

*Screams continue in the background. Gaz walks away for a few seconds before coming back with a soda. She splashes it on her brother.*

D: “HEY! Why would you do that!? Now I'm all sticky… You got it all over the couch…”

G: “Just checking if you were a robot. So. You really aren't going to do ANYTHING about Zim’s invasion?”

D: “Nope.”

G: “People are dying out there.”

D: “Not my problem. It'll all die down anyways and be forgotten, just like you said.”

G: “This is a new level of petty, even for you.”

D: “I'm not being petty. I'm proving a point. Now, unless you plan on admitting your wrong, move on with the subject- It's not a big deal.”

*Suddenly, Membrane burst through the door, decked out in a gas mask and holding two mini hazmat suits in their size. He slams the door shut, initiating lockdown protocol.*

M: “CHILDREN! THERE APPEARS TO BE A BIG DEAL GOING ON!!! It would seem that the government has FINALLY fallen to Terrorists of the outer space kind! They are here to enslave us to do their bidding- But do not worry. As long as we stay here, we SHOULD be safe from their MIND CONTROLLING radiation waves.”

G: “Don't you not believe in aliens and stuff Dad? Dib, you're seeing this right?”

M: “Ah Gazlene, my poor poor impressionable daughter- It would seem that your brother's insane ramblings have gone to your head. Of COURSE they don't exist! NOT SCIENTIFICALLY POSSIBLE! No no no, Space terrorists are a different concept entirely.”

G: “Dib. Aren't you going to say something?”

D: “What for? There isn't an alien threat going on AT ALL, remember Gaz? Space Terrorists are different.”

M: “Good to know you are coming to your senses, Son. Maybe soon you can return to the labs alongside your father?”

D: “Not a chance dad.”

M: “I predicted as much.”

G: “Ok. NO. This is all WRONG.”

D: “I don't think so. This is all gonna blow over soon anyways- No intervention needed.”

M: “Rational thinking my dear son, perhaps you can be the first to take your portion of beans…”

*Suddenly, a giant laser beam cuts a giant hole in the ceiling, and a load of robot minions in black suits on ropes swung down. Holding guns up to their heads, the robots gesture to a cage landing from the sky next to them, attached to a chain.

R1: “Get in the cage or perish at the might of our lord and master INVADER ZIM! Failure to comply will result in immediate spontaneous combustion!”

R2: “What he said! All electronics have been deactivated!(*Membranes raised robot arms fall limp at his sides*) Surrender in peace or in PIECES!”

D: “Huh. Well this is weird. Reminds me of the good old days of saving the world from a nonexistent threat… Oh well. It's not like it matters, It'll all work itself out in the end… Unless it doesn't…”

M: “The good have fallen, whatever will become of us all…”

G: “Dib! This isn't FUNNY anymore! Stop being a spiteful bump on a log and do something like you usually do!”

D: “What is there to do? Zim isn't a threat to anybody, so I shouldn't bother trying to stop him! Unless you admit otherwise, I'm going to assume it'll all blow over soon. Just. Like. You. Said.”

*The three of them end up going into the cage, which is now lifted up by a giant robot drone, heading towards a giant alien tower in the distance. Many cages could be seen heading that way- With pigs, humans, and bicycles. They soon reach the top floor, a throne room. They are brought to the front to be inspected by Zim, who was decked out in royal gear.*

Z: “Hello filthy humans! What a surprise- No effort from the Dib human this time it seems? Have you finally come to terms with how INFERIOR you are and surrendered your planet to ME?”

D: “Sure. Whatever. How about it Gaz, let's humor the idea! It's not like he can ACTUALLY win…”

M: “Hmmm… That green space terrorist looks oddly familiar…”

Z: “Good good! Excellent! Just had to clear that up before I- You know- ENSLAVE YOU!”

G: “Dib. Do something!”

D: “It'll be fine Gaz- He's going to screw up eventually! I already told you, I'm not going to do anything! Unless of course…”

G: “No. I refuse to even THINK about it! This is all just dumb luck- I will admit to n o t h i n g!”

D: “Ok. Your choice.”

Z: “Away with you now- your human stink is making my throne room reek- Try to enjoy the last few moments of your home planet that you can- BEFORE I SEND ALL HUMANS INTO SPACE INSIDE A GIANT GIFT BASKET FOR THE TALLEST! So uh, yeah, away with you…”

D: “Haha, imagine if that works- Too bad nobody would have been there to protect the planet!”

G: “Your. So. DEDICATED. To this bit AREN'T YOU…”

D: “Very.”

*The cage they are in is now seen being flown over to, you guessed it, a giant spaceship shaped like a wicker gift basket, hundreds upon millions of people in cages stacked inside. A large crane drone thingie could also be seen precariously placing a bow on it. Even so, Dib continued to seem indifferent, Sharing some tea with his dad and Gaz’s eyes were wide with anger and terror. Then she faces the two of them.*

G: “Arrrghhh… FINE DIB! I admit it- Your KINDA important when it comes to saving the world from Zim and junk! And I GUESS Zim can SOMETIMES be a threat to Earth for real. I admit it- Are you happy? Are you HAPPY now? Huh? HUH? Now so help me- If you do not get us out of here and fix all this Zim dookie- I WILL DESTROY YOU PERSONALLY MYSELF!…”

D: “Oh… Well, alrighty then, if you really insist Gaz…! Now that that's decided- I should probably go do my job now.”

G: “Erg, I wouldn't say JOB…”

M: “Son? Son! SON!? What are you doing!?”

*Dib, already managing to unlock the cage with ease, pulled a cord on his coat sleeve and kinda turned it into a sort of wingsuit. He turned his head to face the two family members dramatically*

D: “I'm doing what I always do… Saving the world from that ALIEN MENACE!”

M: “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

*Later… Dib could be seen dusting off his hands with a grin on his face and soot smeared all over his face. His trench coat could be seen still smoldering as the clouds seemed to dissipate in under a few seconds, revealing the usual red sunny sky as if nothing bad happened. His surroundings were a wreck and behind him, Zims castle base thing could be seen collapsing into a pile of rubble.*

D: “Haha, a job well done! Point one for the human race… Point nothing to Zim! All is right once again…”

G: “Whatever…”

M: “To think- I had FINALLY been getting through to him… But alas, his insanity has returned…”

Z: *Pops out of nowhere from the rubble near dib* "HahahaHAHA! Victory for ZIM! That'll show the GAZ BEAST TO UNDERESTIMATE THE THREAT THAT IS ME!!!"

D: "Zi- Wait, stop, stop, shut up, shut up, she can still hear you idiot-"

G: "What are you guys on about now… Wait… You… Him…"

Z: "Oh yes! What a FANTASTIC PLAN IT WAS TOO! Of course, the part where I- The great and mighty Zim loses could use some weakling might need some work- But-"

G: *At this point, Gaz is fuming- Teeth clenching causing sparks to fly- All while Dib attempted to shut the ignorant alien up- But unfortunately everything seemed to be falling into place. Slowly, Gaz turns to Dib- Stiffly pointing at the two boys in front of her. "You two… All this… TO TRICK ME into thinking you guys were VALID in some way-"

D: "Gaz- I can explain-"

Z:"Yes that is exactly what happened- Because it's true! Zim is something to be FEARED-"

G: "I don't want to hear it. I'm giving you both 5 seconds to run."

D: "Wait- WAIT-"

Z: "NOPE!" *Shoves Dib out of the way and breaks into a run- Dib looks up only to find his little sister- Her gaze is cold enough to cause the next ice age. Dib screwed up.*

Later that night….

M: "Hmmm… I wonder where my dear children have run off to… Hopefully it has nothing to do with all that craziness about aliens and bigfeets…"

*Enter Gaz, smudged with dirt and grass, while dragging a large shovel behind her.*

M: “My my Gazleen, you're looking awfully dirty- Have you been roughhousing again?”

G: “Gardening. Getting rid of some WEEDS.”

M: “That’s wonderful! I’m glad you’re branching out and thinking of the planet!”

[hxneyfarm]

18. “I shouldn’t be in love with you.” 💕💕

hhhh i love this prompt thank you so much <33 prompts from this post.

Y'know that thing people always say? About how absence makes the heart grow fonder? Yeah. Eddie gets it now.

It's been five months since Robin whisked Steve away to Chicago so she'd have someone close while she's in college, and if Eddie thought he had it bad for Steve while he was right there at his side all summer long, it's got nothin' on how bad he's got it now. Steve calls him every other Saturday, and Eddie watches the phone all fuckin' day waiting for the damn thing to ring.

It's not like they don't see each other. Steve came home with Robin over Christmas, and he spent most of his time here at the trailer with Eddie. They're not a thing, not really. They're touchy and affectionate with each other, but they always have been. That's no different than it was the summer they spent in each other's orbit, never too far out of arm's reach from one another.

But they're not a thing, because Eddie's too much of a coward to risk their friendship by confessing his feelings when there's a very real chance he's being fucking delusional.

The thing is, though, Steve doesn't call anyone else on the kind of schedule that he calls Eddie. And when he calls, they stay on the phone for hours. There shouldn't even be that much to catch up on, but Eddie finds himself making note of every little thing that happens in Hawkins that he wishes Steve could be there for.

On Eddie's birthday at the end of January, decidedly not one of their designated call days, Steve calls him. It's two minutes after midnight and Eddie's got his guitar in his lap and a pencil wedged behind his ear, and the phone rings.

"Happy birthday," Steve says quietly when Eddie picks up the phone.

Eddie twists the phone cord around his fingers. "Thanks, Stevie."

"Was I first?"

Eddie huffs out a laugh. "Yeah. Didn't even give anybody else a chance. It's barely midnight. Shouldn't you be in bed? You have work tomorrow, don't you?"

"Mmm," Steve says, a little sound of confirmation. "Wanted to call anyway. So what do you want for your birthday this year?"

You.

Eddie's overcome with that feeling again, the tingle all the way down to his toes when he thinks about how gone he is on Steve, when he imagines his smile and his laugh and the warmth of him at his side. Eddie misses him a little more every single day.

"I mean... I dunno if you could deliver, Stevie."

"Try me."

Eddie aches. It's like Steve is begging him to say it. He wants to say it. So badly.

"I shouldn't."

"You shouldn't what?"

"I shouldn't be in love with you," Eddie whispers, and then he holds his breath.

It's quiet. Steve is too quiet for too long and oh, god, he's done it now. Stupid. That was so stupid. Such an idiotic thing to say, fuck.

"I'm coming home this weekend," Steve says at last. "I'm coming home to see you and take you out."

"Because...?" Eddie's voice shakes with hope.

"Because I... I haven't felt this way about anyone in a real long time. You really couldn't tell? We almost kissed on New Years, Eds."

"Well, y'know..." Eddie stammers. "Thought I imagined that."

He remembers how close they'd been that night, how Steve's breath had smelled of beer, how Steve looked at Eddie's mouth before Eddie'd turned away from him. Here he'd been thinking he'd stopped himself from making a stupid, terrible mistake.

"I can't play it cool anymore. Being away from you has been..."

"Hard," Eddie finishes for him.

"Yeah. I wanna try this with you. I wanna try... us. That okay?"

"Seems too good to be true."

"Maybe it is. We'll never know unless we try, right?"

Eddie twists the phone cord around his fingers again and tries to hide his smile behind the receiver, even though Steve's not here to see how stupid and love drunk he looks right now.

"Sooo... I did manage to charm you with my irresistible good looks and excellent taste in music?"

"Something like that," Steve says, and there's a smile in his voice. "I'll see you this weekend."

"Can't wait."

"Happy birthday, Eds. I... I'm sorry it took me so long."

"Better late than never, big boy."

still taking requests!

[fuckblast]

In honor of David Lynch I want to encourage you all to check out your local art museum.

This is a long post so I'll cut it. I've bolded my main points but I've been a member to the art museum on the nearby campus for about a year now and I've fucking loved it.

I know the quality will vary by place but I became a regular level member at mine and it's been the best investment I've made this year. Even if you don't have the means, see if/when they have "community days" that let people in free like mine does.

If somehow you're on Tumblr and following me and have kids, or hate kids (more likely), there's usually a section specifically for kids. I haven't spent a lot of time there as a single childless adult, but I went there on "family day" by accident and found there were not a ton of loud and unruly kids as their energy was previously redirected in engaging activities. I'd still avoid field trip hours.

I regularly get to see movies on a big screen at a reduced price that aren't showing in theaters anywhere else. They played Werner Herzog's Nosferatu (1979) a few months before the new one came out. They were on a Herzog kick for a bit and I lived for it. My family went to a documentary on the "happiness auditors" of Bhutan who perform censuses to determine the national gross national happiness and it's influences (Agent of Happiness, 2024). I took a friend to a short film about an American-Palestinian grandmother and granddaughter having a meal together, which included a Q&A with the writer and director, who said the photo used of their old family home in the film was a real one from his own grandmother (Maqluba, 2024)

I get free access to monthly events which include guided tours, live music, and access to special exhibits. Also those have additional vendors present that do neat things for additional money, like the tintype portrait I got done. Definitely worth it.

I mean this this is on a metal sheet done old school. The guy explained the chemistry to me as it soaked and really loved that I was interested. (Didn't get the print til a few weeks after bc it had to cure)

Reduced additional ticket prices are also awesome because while I'm there all the time now, I've observed and done sketches of a good bit of what they've got. But I love bringing other people there. I've gone on several curator tours now so I've got fun inside info on several pieces, and I love to share trivia. And everyone sees art differently so you always get new takes and appreciation. Plus while they take in awesome or notable pieces I've already digested, studied and sketched I get to spend a bit of time looking at works I previously overlooked, which is also nice.

Not even beginning to mention rotations and new acquisitions, which keep it fresh. We just got in two Barbara Kruger's!! If you're familiar with the brand "Supreme" they hijacked her whole shit. She's my #2 text artist only because I'm a Holzerhead. I didn't even know they'd be there. There's some Bosch's scheduled for October that I'm dying for. Plus they also got in this piece by a local artist and I'm so in love I can't stand it.

And tomorrow I'm going on a free tour about queer artists (Sundays are the free days, not a member thing, and the tours are always free if you're physically there) and since this is a new and local piece to the museum I know they'll cover it and I'm so excited to know more about it.

Anyways support your local art museum. At least give it a visit and see if you like it enough to support it. I was there a good few visits before I was like "oh fuck this place rules and I'm here often enough that it's more logical to just to get a membership."

[breyito]

@zukaangweek

Day 5: Captured/Safe

Everything is Lost AU

As the Fire Palace scrambles to get the rumours of treason whithin the Royal Family in regards of the Avatar's escape under wraps; Aang and his friends ride Appa to the only place that feels safe at the moment: the Southern Air Temple. The mood is sombre; and they are all shaken up. Aang and Toph are barely put together, both feeling the acute loss of Zuko and forced to face the grim reality that the other boy might not see another sunrise.

Meanwhile, Zuko convalesces in the Infirmary. The angry red burn is stark against his skin, due to all the blood he had already lost to arrow wounds before Ozai's attack. The Fire Lord has ordered him to be cuffed to the bed. Lu Ten sits besides him, ruffled, worried, in shock and incandescently furious. Just this evening they were celebrating the Day of the Dark Sun in Crescent Island, like they have done every time for as long as he can remember.

Zuko had taken ill these past few days and so his abscense had been excused. To think it was all for this... just how badly had that bastard of a man ensnared his baby cousin? Lu Ten knew that Azula's idea had been an awful mistake. Zuko is too sensitive to be exposed to that level of violence every single day. He's always been eager to compete, but never to hurt. Of course such soft and kind soul would begin to care for the prisoner that was his responsability.

To think that filthy nomad took advantage of that care to transform it into infatuation (love, as Zuko had said, like he has any idea of what love is, besides what his plays portray) and then twisted it into this devotion Zuko feels for him... How far had he gone, to win Zuko's heart? He's just a boy, which such a tender heart...They've known each other for a few short months, and still. Still. Zuko feels so much for that man...

And said devotion is what made Ozai snap and punish him in such a savage way. If Lu Ten could bear to separate himself from Zuko's side, he would be dismembering that arrogant bastard himself. Attempts on his life were nothing, but trying to kill Zuko? The sheer audacity makes his blood boil.

His baby cousin's journey to health will be long and arduous. His freedom will be strictly reduced and he will be monitored at all hours. Father will take a long time to forgive him. But he will. The Fire Lord has only ever truly loved three people: his wife, his son...and his 'grandson'. Anyone else and they would be dead already. But Father has always been different with Zuko. And they had time. After all...

The North has been under siege for almost a year. By the time Sozin's Comet arrives, their rebuilt walls will melt all the way and their starved warriors will be easy enough to go through to kill the Royal Family. (He hopes the rumours of their warrior Princess are actually true, and she presents a challenge. If not for him then at least for Azula. Maybe they'll let her remain as Consort to the new Governor. After all, it's important to keep the succession line, even if they previous ruling family are mostly just non-benders.)

Omashu has managed to keep themselves isolated and relatively secured, but now that Ozai had fled there their information well will run dry. The mad king might have discovered how to bend metal, but lava? Lava is a whole different game. Sinking the whole city into molten rock is such a brilliant idea.

And the Avatar? Well, he's sure to fly to where he feels like is secure. High ground. One Temple is already occupied, so three options remain.

Hunting him down again shall be fun.

Sorry it took me so long, I just got incredibly stuck on Lu Ten! And his relationship with Zuko (I may or may not have made 10 different versions of their joint moodboard....) Anyways, tomorrow I'll be posting those ones. And let's just say that Lu Ten is...*fans herself*

Anyways, more backstory:

-In this AU, Ozai almost missed his firstborn's birth because he was too busy 'hunting the Avatar' (and failing, again). He spent about 8 months away, so...

-There have always been rumours about Zuko being either Iroh's or Lu Ten's (since he was 14-15 at the time). The preferential treatment from both of them just feeds the flames.

-(Is either one of them his blood father? No clue! I can't decide, lmao. Still, their relationships with Zuko are very different than with anyone else. Lu Ten's especially adores Zuko. Has and will kill again for him.)

-Ozai absolutely loathes this. If he could have, he would have killed Zuko the minute Azula made sparks. (He never knew if he believed those rumours, and never confronted either of them. He did confront Ursa, and she denied it, obviously. But after the letters of her previous lover...)

-They are both completely aware of said rumours, whereas Zuko isn't. Neither one knows whether the other one slept with Ursa. Neither one asks, they just play a mental game with each other to see which one caves in and aks first.

-Zuko is kept prisoner about 1,5 years. Piandao is still part of the White Lotus (he just faked an injury to retire and went to work as a spy inside the Palace) so he helps him escape when the time is right.

-He finds the Freedom Fighters on the way to where Aang is. He gets along brilliantly with them (since they left the village and are roaming vigilantees).

-In this one, Zuko wears the Blue Spirit Mask when he fights, but as he travels he wears a weimao with a black veil, since his scar is very noticeable.

-Oh, Bumi is the Grand Lotus. Desperate times need desperate meassures.

-Lu Ten and Zuko both train with Piandao. Zuko is trained more in stealth, since he's not the Heir. He manages to make fire dance with his swords. Lu Ten manages to use his sword as a lightning rod and direct his lightning to very specific targets.

-(Yes, Azula does still master the blue flame.)

-Ursa didn't dissapear, she was killed, along with Azulon, by one of Ozai's plots. (I debated a lot whether to keep her or not, but decided not to. Zuko needs some trauma lol)

-Bumi managed to track down some descendants from the Air Nomads, and has kept them hidden and tried to train them. After his escape, Aang takes over and, although they are so few, he's not alone anymore.

-Aang notices that, since he couldn't have weapons with his hands free, and Zuko was allowed shaved him once a month; now he can't do it without thinking about him and missing his shivering inducing touch. Zuko always finished with a kiss to his arrow. He sees him everywhere, even in this place where he's never been.

-Yue became a warrior when in the first full blown attack on the city, a squad managed to get in to try and assassinate the Chief. She pulled with all her will when she saw her father about to be killed and ice spikes came from under them, killing the six soldiers inmediately. She refused to be kept away after that, and most of the women agreed that they needed to be able to fight too. She has a reputation for slashing through whole ships on the full moons.

-Toph only managed to compete (and win, of course) in one Earth Rumble before Gaoling was taken by the Fire Nation. It was all very civil, luckily, but anything that had to do with earthbending was forbidden. She hated the fact that just as she learned what she was missing, it got taken away.

-They were introduced by Lu Ten when she was 10 and Zuko was 14. She and Zuko got along because she noticed to softly he moved around, and how trained he seemed to her senses despite never fighting. So she started throwing rocks at him until he responded (Zuko was horrified for a whole minute while she made her eyes watery, but then bursted out laughing.) They secretly train together ever since.

-Zuko was a nervous wreck when he asked her if she would want to leave and help him with Aang's escape. She made him sweat a little but then told him she'd noticed his coming and goings weeks ago.

-They went to many stealth missions masking them as 'dates', to map the most secure route for their escape.

ALSO. This is important since it won't leave my brain alone

AU OF THE AU: Zuko dies in Lu Ten's arms in the escape. Lu Ten goes on the warpath to absolutely destroy the Avatar and the rest of his group.

[on-a-lucky-tide]

Post-Surgery Day 35 (but three days late)

cw: surgery, bodies, medical

- Good news! The wound separation in my nipple has healed closed and scarred up, and all the scabs are gone. I'm so, so frickin' happy and glad I kept my anxiety in check over it. There were so many times I wanted to pull the scab away and see the damage, or send a billion questions to the surgeon. But I trusted what the nurse told me to do, and it's fine.

- I've been a biiiit naughty with the reaching and the stretching and I've got a bit of a ache in my ribs, like, just beneath the incision? I think it's muscular in that I've obviously been hunched over and fairly stationary while I heal. I figure I'll be getting some physio and exercises after my appointment in a week. The incisions are fine and neat AF, I can't remember whether I mentioned that the part under my arms is already so faint? I thought I'd need to get some tattoos to camouflage it but I don't think I will.

- Still chonk. Sigh.

- I am exhausted after my first week (and a half) back at work. I've been relatively good and not lifting stuff too heavy, or reaching too high. My colleagues have been awesome, and I mean awesome. I've received so many hugs and big smiles; they genuinely missed me, which... I'm actually shocked? I didn't realise how much healing I still have to do in terms of self worth. The damage done by a handful of people a year or so ago has clearly impacted quite deep. But, anyways, people keep coming up to me to tell me their kid is trans or non-binary or gay, or they know someone who is, or their kid's partner is... They are so excited about it.

- I have had one encounter with someone I think has terfy leanings. It was an assessor from a training body we use for our trainee teachers. She kept using my deadname, even though her institution has been updated. Now, I need these teachers to pass so I bit my lip. My headteacher, however, a big Welsh dude, informed her that if she couldn't address his teachers with respect she could leave the premises. I was... shocked. So was she. I was named appropriately for the rest of the day, and when I thanked him later he just said that some people have no class, and ambled off to herd some kids. 🤣

- My driving license came through! That's the second government body that has acknowledged my new name and gender. My bank is sorted too. I'm going to sort out the mortgage (second bank, land registry), the vehicles (car and bike) and my passport. The passport I am worried about because I've reached that they can be picky about the GIC. We'll see.

- I am delivering a conference for the first time tomorrow as myself and I'm actually a little bit nervous? I don't think anything of talking to rooms full of 100s, usually. I'm an expert in my field and that's why I'm there. But. As me now? The person I've had to keep protected and quiet for years? Scary.

- Six more days until my final appointment with my surgeon. I hope I get good grades in healing so I can go back to the gym. :3

[gaslightgallows]

September 2023 Writing Round-Up

I just checked my tags, and I haven't done one of these since… three years ago. Exactly three years ago yesterday (9/29/20), to be precise. Which was pretty much when my mental health and my personal life started to crumble in earnest, and it took my desire to write for public consumption along with it.

Most of what I did for the rest of 2020/2021 were either struggling to finish works in progress (and largely failing) or archiving stuff from my LJ days. I didn't post anything in 2022. I was still writing (a lot) but it was either for Patreon (…fuck, right, I have a Patreon) or it was personal, not meant to be shared.

And then Good Omens came back and ended up being really fucking relevant to my life, and @meldanya44 was there urging me to get back into writing for other people besides her. I think it was a good idea, over all. ♥

So… yeah. Thanks, Good Omens fandom, for reminding me that writing is meant to be shared, and that I am a prompt-based lifeform. (I'll be putting up a new prompt list tomorrow, if anyone wants an artisanally crafted bespoke ficlet of their very own.)

Anyway, here's what I did in September:

Authorial Intent (G, one-shot): Michael’s plan to erase Aziraphale from the Book of Life has certain… flaws. A revision of the final season of S2 Ep6, where the Metatron does not make an appearance. (Actually posted at the end of August but this is my list and it counts. Written very shortly after I finished S2 for the first time. Effervescing with joy.)

Put Out the Stars (T, currently a one-shot, planning to continue): Crowley stole the photo of himself and Aziraphale from the shop a long time ago. (Inspired by one of @fellshish's asks. Angst angst angst… with more to come!)

An Invisible Wound (T, one-shot): “I almost killed you tonight.” “I almost got you killed tonight.” Their first kiss, soft and futile, is in 1941. (Bittersweet canon-compliant 1941 truthers unite.)

After the Rain (T, one-shot; for @meldanya44): The Second Coming has come and gone, and Crowley was calling him ‘angel’ again. (Wonderful quiet post-series fluff.)

Like Petals in a Storm (M, currently a standalone but working on a sequel; for @meldanya44): Between the discorporation and the almost-execution, Aziraphale’s having a bit of trouble keeping body and soul together. (My reputation-mandated 'one partner helps another bathe' fic.)

The Taste of Salt (G, one-shot; for @iamhisgloriouspurpose): The lingering taste of ox ribs are bitter and rich in Aziraphale's mouth, and he isn't sure what he believes anymore. (Continues the 'I'm not taking you to Hell, angel' scene in the Ep2 minisode. Nice and angsty. No one seems to like this one and I'm not sure why.)

Pipe Dream (G, one-shot; for @unwholesome-gay): All Aziraphale has ever wanted is to give heaven back to Crowley. (Domestic fluff about Aziraphale buying the South Downs cottage for Crowley. Fun fact: I struggled to write this and finally posted it in dismay and tried to forget about it. And then my inbox exploded with HEARTS, so I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought.)

The Patience of Angels, Chs 1-4 (M, multi-chapter WIP): An old enemy is on the hunt for the demon known as Crowley, and it will take all the powers of one very protective angel to save him. But in keeping Crowley safe, Aziraphale will uncover more of the terrible truths of Heaven than he ever wanted to know. (The longfic I first conceived of in 2019 and then never got around to finishing enough to post, and am now trying to revise the HELL out of in real-time because the original version doesn't work anymore. I love this fic with a burning passion and hope it finds an audience someday… which it probably will if I can update it, y'know, more often than once a month…)

Fics Posted: 8 Word Count: 28,182

I'm never going to be as prolific as I was when I was in the MCU fandom and had a much less-hectic job, but I'd call that a decent comeback. Thanks, everyone. ♥

[dandyshucks]

ooooh babeyyy who's the best headmate? yeah, that's right - it's me LMAO. hi everyone, how y'all doing, it's Chase again 👋 in an effort to be somewhat social and also to brag about my capabilities, I am making a post on this blog lmao.

Look at this shit y'all (idk what mobile formatting looks like so uh. use desktop maybe):

You get a secret sneak preview to this lmao, the link isn't anywhere on the main page yet.

Anyways in the past three days while Juno's been AWOL, I've figured out how to add an audio player; how to layer elements on the webpage; and how to align the text and images beside each other inside the scroll box while maintaining the vertical scroll (it kept lining everything up horizontally for a while lmfao).

The text beside the images is just some bullshit that Lake and I came up with (based off of stuff Juno's written/brainstormed in the past) to test the text alignment out since Juno isn't around to give me any input, but I feel like we did a good job making it sound like some shit they'd come up with lol.

I'll give a small update on The Situation while I'm here in case anyone's wondering what's been going on:

I never know how much I'm supposed to say about anything lol uhhh.

TL;DR is just that Juno was having a very difficult time the past week because of Things, and is now unreachable and thus won't be fronting for an indeterminate amount of time - they could be back tomorrow, they might be back in a week, I have no fucking idea tbh. So this blog is on semi-hiatus until they're back because the rest of us either don't have a lot of interest in the s.elfship stuff ourselves or we just don't want to like... intrude on this space.

slightly longer version of it (TW abuse and suicide mention):

some emotional abuse stuff at home has been ramping up significantly, and this has been having an extremely bad effect on Juno (understandably so) especially since they've been trying to handle this shit without our help, so we've had to put them on lockdown essentially so we can like. remain alive lol. I'm trying not to be too flippant about it but uh yeah. that's the gist of it. love a good suicide scare, amiright? I'm not in charge of the decision to put them on lockdown, I have no say in how it all gets handled, I'm just here to fill the host role while Juno's gone.

They'll be gone until Kam and Lake decide they're okay enough to not do anything stupid and desperate the moment they get into front lmao, so in the meantime I'm the one who'll be fronting for the most part. And while I do like the idea of getting with G.uzma myself, I don't have much of an interest in posting about it LMAO - plus my own dynamic with the guy would be pretty fucking different from Juno's, and that's not what y'all followed for.

(Kam - "gatekeeper"/the one who's basically in charge of shit and also the resident lesbian; Lake - bisexual swag with big caretaker energy; Chase (me) - faggy freak who probably shouldn't have this much responsibility lmaoooo)

[ladykailitha]

WIP Wednesday Game

It’s WIP Wednesday, time for a little accountability, sharing your work, and getting a kick in the pants.

Here’s how it works:

In a reblog (or new post w/ rules attached), post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can't share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post. If you tag me in your post, I will send you an ask request!

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

If you see someone posting a WIP Wednesday Game snippet, send them an ask! Make them write.

My only problem is that I tend to file name what the title is so I can find it easier, so...here’s what they were called before I titled them.

"File" Names

Soulmate AU

Omega Escort Steve

Boy w/a Bat Book 2

Steve is in a Metal Band (The Fallen)

Snippet

Steve paced back and forth in his front room as he waited for Chrissy to come over. It wasn’t as though she lived far away. She lived like two floors below him.

She was younger than he was by about two years. Like Tommy and Carol everything was happy town with her boyfriend Jason until she presented and was found out to be infertile.

Jason and his parents fought hard to have her put in the Church to be a celibate nun. But thankfully for Chrissy her dad had more sense. Not her mom though. Her mom had gone so far as to drive her to the local nunnery and drop her off.

But after a talk with the Mother Superior and a call to her dad, they made the arrangement that Chrissy would finish up her schooling at the nunnery and then when she turned eighteen she could choose to stay or take one of the other two options.

When Chrissy chose Starcourt, the money was split between the nunnery and her dad.

****

You'll notice that two of people's favorites aren't up there this week. That's because I have gotten too far ahead in either The Harrington Pattern or Well Met By Moonlight for me to post snippets. Now, I could do what I've done before and write for the requested story plus one of my choosing and only post the latter, but...that was exhausting.

So you get these four instead. Just a reminder The Fallen one is about the Sleep Token-esque metal band with fake names and masks.

I run this game from 8am-11pm MST and I will be taking questions all day. But it's also my husband's birthday tomorrow so I'm not sure how much time I'll have (he works during the day) but if I don't get to all of them before 11pm, I will work on the rest tomorrow.

That said, there isn't any need to be shy. Ask as many times as you like, as often as you like. Go nuts, have fun!

[cruorcrave]

19 December 2024

(TL;DR at the end.)

Today was pretty alright. I mostly just finished up xmas shopping (took a while cuz my mother had a lot of places to go) but it was made more fun by the fact I finally got my sister's present. I bought her a bag of chocolates as well as a 10-pack of ciders, and I wrapped every item individually then put them back in their respective packets. Hopefully she finds it funny (me and my sisters prank each other with our presents - but we also make sure the presents are actually good and what they wanted, just in the most annoying way possible.)

Other than that, I haven't done much today. I'm trying to get myself into the mindset of drawing/writing/creating even if it's not good. Even if it isn't perfect I should still be creating because it's what I want to be known for and it's what I want to do, it just takes a bit of effort. Gonna try to get a drawing out today or tomorrow.

One of my new tumblr-made friends is being a bit distant and I'm worried about them. I haven't known them for long (literally like a month) so I don't know their habits or anything yet. I'm just hoping I haven't upset them or scared them off, or that something particularly bad has come up in their life. Hopefully they're alright.

The school morning tea was good. My friend picked me up in her car and luckily there weren't a lot of people there. Only about 10 of us from a class of about 75, and it was all people I liked or tolerated. My friend who wants me to be in his upcoming zombie short film chatted with me about it, I saw teachers I like again, I got like three cans of free Sprite, it was great all round. Me and a few friends have another get together some time in the next few weeks which will be nice as the people I hate/cannot tolerate aren't invited. Yippee!

tw discussing s/h briefly

As was probably clear from last night's posting, I relapsed. However, there is a silver lining here. I didn't cut myself or draw any blood in any way. I hit myself and got a small bruise, but it's already starting to fade just a day later, and the headache was gone by mid-morning. I'm dedicated to trying to get to 3 days right now, and then hopefully to a week. Trying to focus on the positives. My longest streak in a while has been 3 days and so I'm trying to break that. I'm still counting hitting (whether against something hard or with the pliers) as a relapse because one, it usually leaves a bruise and gives me a killer headache (sometimes for days on end) and two, it is to harm myself. I'm still struggling with thoughts of.. man, I gotta find a name for this. "drinking" feels wrong - its not that much blood - but maybe "taking" is more accurate? Let's go with that. I'm still struggling with thoughts of taking but I'm trying to acknowledge them and then move on. Rather than ignoring them, I'm telling myself "Okay, I want to do that, but I know I'll only feel worse for it, and even though I don't know what's causing the feelings directly, I know it's a problem and has to do with my mental illnesses, therefore I shouldn't give in." It's worked so far today, if only for today. I still can't help but wonder why I ever had the feelings in the first place, though. I just want them to go away now is all I know. Either way, this approach definitely works better than telling myself "If you give in you'll go crazy and never be able to stop like some freak vampire-hannibal hybrid so ignore the hunger." That definitely wasn't working.

Anyway, wish me luck. 1 day clean as I write this.

Song of the Day: Pieces - Sum 41

Also, I'm going to start putting TL;DRs at the end of my diary posts cuz they're long as shit and ain't nobody got time for that.

TL;DR:

Today was okay. Did Christmas shopping, ready to prank my older sisters. Didn't do much else, want to draw more. One of my friends is distant, I'm a bit worried. Final exam debrief morning tea was good. Relapsed but wasn't as bad as usual. Trying a new approach to staying clean; acknowledging urges and validating them. Trying to get to 3 days, then a week.

Clean since 18 December 2024