#both games I've got thousands of hours in!

[sucodelaranja86]

- i'm sorry ( part 1 ) : ★

pairing: hyun-ju cho x reader ☆

summary: waking up in a strange place and being forced to play life or death childhood games was not what you were expecting. What you were expecting even less was to find your girlfriend there. However, her protectiveness comes out in a way she did not mean.

warnings: transphobia, canon violence.

A/N: my first work, please be nice. Requests are open. :)

★ . ★ . ★ . ★

➤ Everyday. Every single hour that passed felt painful. As you walked through the streets, your heart stung like thousands of little glass pieces shattered and made deep cuts inside of it.

You felt dumb, you felt stupid. Seeing couples around the street; kissing, holding hands, taking pictures... It was something you had, but you knew you couldn't get anything more than those simple actions. The feeling reminded you of when you were single, but you had a girlfriend now- an amazing one, that is. So why were you feeling like this, you say?

Your partner, as amazing and flawless as she was (and you reminded her of it every single time), simply couldn't see herself as so. You could kiss her, snuggle her, love her as much as you could, but it wouldn't get past that. She wouldn't allow it.

You were tired, exhausted. All you wanted, all you asked for, your simple wish was for her to see herself as gorgeous as you saw her. Why couldn't you love her in public without her fear of unwanted attention? Why couldn't you give a simple step on your relationship without having to comfort and reassure her for hours over the simple fact that she was, indeed, a real woman?

Both you and her were drowning in debt, but you couldnt shake the painful and dark feeling inside the deepest spots of your heart. So you worked, worked, worked, and worked. Sharing the bills with Hyun-ju, buying food, buying basic home supplies, paying for your faculty... Until you simply couldn't work anymore. If having those surgeries meant that you could finally have a real relationship with her, then so be it. Right?

Your determination was quickly shattered after passing out on the streets and having your wallet and phone stolen. Your worried partner, who came after you on the way to your job after you didn't return home 2 hours later than expected, was relieved that you were unharmed. You got a scolding to rest properly, a warm meal, a prepared shower... Everything was perfect, right?

Except for the fact that you and her just lost 4 months worthy of saving for a damn surgery.

Well, isn't that so great?

"my love, please don't blame yourself. I am not mad at you." her comforting words did nothing to soothe you, and you had a lingering sensation that they only served to make you more feel more anxious.

"i'm sorry, Hyun-ju. I am so sorry- please forgive me."

"Shh. It's alright. I am- i am not mad. I have already said it." her comforting tone that meant to calm and comfort you held an undeniable disappointed tone. You could feel her holding her tears with the knowledge that one of her possible surgeries would undeniably need to wait for an unplanned, extended period of time. And that saddened you even further.

You were the worst.

-

You hold painfully your bruised arm, stumbling across the dark and lone streets. You finally managed to give the final payment of your debt, but they didn't simply let 5 months of delay slide. You were absolutely broke, but you didn't own anyone now.

Anyone but yourself.

What would you say to Hyun-ju once you stepped inside your home? Hey, i lost all our money that we saved for a high step on your transition, but i've managed to clear all my debts!

On the way back home, you were contemplating on what to say or do, when an elegant man approached you. He had a cat-like smirk (that you were sure that held anything but good Intentions), he was dressed in a black suit which didn't possess a single flaw, and had a dark suitcase that matched his entire eerie aura.

As he walked towards you, your path was sealed before you even knew it.

If you could help your girlfriend, anything was worth it. Right?

-

Waking up in a green uniform in a strange place that held multiple people inside a closed dorm was not what you were expecting.

And you know what else you were absolutely not expecting?

"what the hell are you doing here-?!"

Seeing her getting slapped in a big television in front of all the players, and afterwards finding her personally after the first game. What a lovely surprise.

"I- i could be the one asking you this!"

"Didn't you quit all your debts? You shouldn't be-" she was quickly interrupted.

"How do you even know this?!"

"Do you think you can simply hide important things like these from me, and expect me not to know?"

You always hated arguing with her. Mostly because all the time she was right most of the times. She was caring, mature, and all she did was look out for you. But this time, you felt like you needed to get your point across.

"Tell me, and truthfully. Why are you here if you debts are all paid? Are you hiding something from me-" she was, once again, interrupted.

"I just want to help you with your surgeries!"

A ringing and uncomfortable silence was placed between the two of you. You looked down, unable to meet her expression. You couldn't.

"Hyun-ju, i want to-"

"This is none of your business. Step out of my problems like you are my mother. I didn't ask you to come here. I- i never asked you to."

And with that, she left to her bed. Leaving you alone with intruding thoughts and a situation you couldn't resolve on your own.

What could you do?

-

[aimedis]

WORST KIND OF FLIRT (A TEASE) | WIP WEDNESDAY !!

vincent x lovely actors!au | happy new year everybody! i hope 2025 treats you all well. as my gift to you i shall present you with none other than the unedited version of chapter one of this idea that i talked about ages ago. i've had this chapter written for like about a month and a half but don't get your hopes up for the remaining chapters 😭 i'm gonna try but i honestly can't write for shit and i have no motivation. but if you guys like it, i'll try harder ig lmao

cw - actor au obvi, directors!angel and david, love at first sight but it's literally just lovely and vincent flirting immediately (they don't actually fall in love until later), lovely being a bit insecure, mainly lovely's pov (it switches to angel and david for a second), korean!vincent and lovely, mentions of vincent being adopted by william at ten years old for unspecified reasons, we're ignoring the drama going on between them rn okay, darlin shows up for half a second and sam for even less, says 'laughs' way too much, i know nothing about acting and auditions and whatnot okay 😭

wc - 3.6k

hope you enjoy!

“You’re going to be a star.”

Lovely’s been told that close to a billion times in their life. It used to make them really happy when they were a kid. They’d grin up at their mom when she would tell them about all the awesome movies and TV shows they would act in once they were older. They’d practice in front of a mirror for hours at a time, reciting the few lines they were expected to memorise as a little eight-year-old. Even at that age, they wanted more. More lines, more chances to prove themselves worthy of the big screen, more of the spotlight. They only wanted to shine as bright as possible, to make their family proud.

“You’re a star.”

It feels egotistical to them, to say that they’re a star. But it would be completely ignorant of them to pretend they hadn’t made it far. Getting recognized every time they stepped foot outside, having people stand in line for autographs, people using their name and face for school projects, and not to mention, getting thousands of dollars just to say the name of a brand. As much as it warmed their heart, it got to be quite disorienting at times. To think that they went from being a complete nobody outside of their school plays and small commercials to being so… well known.

It was also really privacy-invading. Paparazzi was going to be the death of them.

But that’s the price I pay, Lovely muses to themselves as they try their best to breeze past the flashing lights and cameras being shoved in their face while they try to walk into the studio.

“..they could be a little less obnoxious about it though. Can’t believe this shit’s legal.”

Lovely looks up and squints to regain steady vision from nearly being blinded. Belatedly, they snort when they see Darlin glaring at the door they had just walked through.

“Yeah,” They say breathlessly, slipping their jacket off.

Darlin pats them on the head, “You need anything before they call you in? They said in about half an hour.”

Lovely leans into their hand, “‘M okay. I’ll just play games on my phone. Did Sam go in already for Daniel?”

The (slightly) taller of the two nods and gently leads Lovely over to a few seats in a slightly secluded area, “He should be done a little while though. I already went so do you want us to wait with you before you go in? We can take you home.”

Lovely was tempted to say no, say that they don’t need to look after them. They wanted to say that they weren’t a baby (even though they were significantly younger than both Darlin and Sam) who needed to be coddled.

But when Darlin guides them to sit down, fixing their hair, they only exhale softly. As long as they don’t need to call an Uber.

“Yes please. If it’s not too much trouble.”

Darlin grins, “Never for you, spark.”

Lovely huffs and pouts up at them, “Don’t call me that, weirdo.”

They only laugh and sit next to Lovely, sliding their phone out of their back pocket.

They rest their head on Darlin’s shoulder, going to scroll on their own phone to kill time.

✩★✩★✩

Lovely inhales sharply when their name is called out along with someone else. They clear their throat, and stand up, “Wish me luck, I guess.”

It shouldn’t still make them so nervous to do auditions after doing so many of them in their life. And it usually doesn’t. However, not only was this film one of the bigger ones they were called in to audition for, their agent said this one was right up their alley. And after they read the summary and script, they agreed. This one was perfect for them. The character Kaia was perfect for them. They wanted this role more than they’ve wanted any role in their life.

The male lead Lucas also happened to be their ideal type but that was neither here nor there.

“Good luck,” Sam flashes them a smile, “This is easy work for you.”

Darlin nods, “Don’t stress, you’ve got this in the bag.”

But what if someone better comes around?

Lovely leaves that unsaid, now was not the time to be insecure. They needed to have confidence.

But really they couldn’t help themselves, they read a couple hate comments too. Of course, they tried to tell themselves that the positive outweighs the negative and that the good comments were always so much more detailed and substantial than just “they’re not pretty”.

They take a deep breath and nod once, hardly noticing the other actor who stood up at the same time, walking back into the audition room. They smile back at Sam and Darlin before turning around.

They’re a star.

✩★✩★✩

Lovely walks slowly into the backroom where the auditions were being held, seeing only one other person standing around the door. They were so stuck in their own head about the person they would be acting with that they failed to notice the person they would be acting with.

They’re going over their lines in their head as they step into the hallway, reminding themselves to breathe when a voice knocks them out of their train of thought.

“So, you’re my Kaia.”

Lovely’s face prematurely scrunches in disgust before they even turn to look at whoever this guy was, not registering his tone and utterly annoyed they had to act with one of those guys. Again. They’ve worked with people like him before, revolting middle-aged men who only looked younger and thought it was okay to touch and sleazily flirt with their young co-star because they played love interests. Every other film they’ve acted in since they were 18. They were sick and tired and really wanted to enjoy this one so they turned to face this supposed middle-aged man so they could tell him off and set some boundaries.

However, they were met with the most handsome face they’ve ever seen in their life. He was smiling, not smirking, at them, his eyes shimmered even in the bright fluorescent lights, and his face looked sculpted by the gods. Lovely couldn’t help but let their eyes trail further down, scanning his body that they could somehow tell was just perfect underneath his hoodie and baggy jeans.

He laughs and—holy shit, Lovely thinks they’ve died and gone to heaven, he was so beautiful. Lovely snaps out of their little trance and meets his eyes properly, his beautiful brown eyes, when it clicks.

Oh my god, this is Vincent Solaire.

They also hadn’t known him personally, they acted in very different genres. They hadn’t even been a fan, per say. But he was just as well-known as they were. William Solaire, his father and agent, was a director they had worked under and that was one of their favourites.

Lovely inhales when Vincent brushes his hair out of his face.

“I would say you match Kaia’s description perfectly but.. I think you’re better.”

“Oh yeah?” Lovely laughs breathily, “Do you flatter all of your co-stars like this, or am I special?”

Vincent looks them up and down slightly and Lovely swears he looks at their lips, “You’re definitely.. special, Lovely was it?”

They nod, “Vincent?”

“In the flesh,” He grins.

Lovely smiles back, not having it in them to feel ashamed at the blush spreading across their face, only because he was blushing too.

“You don’t usually act in rom-coms,” Lovely hums, leaning back against the wall, “Why this one?”

Vincent’s grin widens, “You keep tabs on what I act in?”

Lovely shrugs, “I mean you’re not a nobody, I’ve seen you around. And where you are, Sam is. Gotta support my best friend’s man, you know?”

Vincent breathes a laugh, “Ah, that’s right. You’re Darlin’s twin flame.”

“In the flesh,” They repeat with a matching smile.

Vincent scoffs playfully, “Copy cat.”

Lovely snorts.

“Well,” Vincent continues, “I just wanted to try something new, you know? You can only act in thrillers and shit like that for so long before you need to switch it up to something more lighthearted.” He says, still smiling.

Lovely senses that wasn’t the whole truth but they nod, “I see. I’ve only acted in a handful of horror movies but I get it. They’re a little draining.”

“Oh yeah, you were in Locked Down.” He recalls, “I love that movie, you were phenomenal in it. Your acting was so realistic.”

Lovely smiles slightly, they always got a little sheepish whenever they got praised for their acting or any skill at all. You’d think they’d be used to it by now.

“Yeah well,” They clear their throat, “Screaming so much made my head hurt for days so I would hope it was good.”

Vincent laughs a bit hesitantly, “I’d say it paid off.”

Lovely laughs as well, going to say something else but the door in front of them swings open a little. They glance over only to freeze at the familiar face of Angel Shaw themselves standing in front of them.

Not familiar on a personal level, of course not. Lovely had never met them personally, but they and their husband were some of the most famous actors turned directors in North America. Lovely grew up watching Angel on TV and they were part of the reason Lovely even wanted to act in the first place. But even as they rose in popularity, Lovely always admired Angel and David and any film they directed. It was another recent dream of theirs to act under them, and this was their chance.

Angel looks at the two actors standing around the door and they smile, stepping out to show their full body, “Good morning, you two! Good to see you again, Vincent. We’ll be right with you both in a moment.” They turn to look at Lovely specifically, “Hi, there. I know we talked over the phone once and I’ve spoken with your agent but it’s nice to see you in person.”

You wouldn’t believe how happy I am right now, Lovely cried internally, trying to hide the star struck look on their face.

They clear their throat, “I-It’s nice to see you too. I’m a really big fan of your and David’s work.”

Angel laughs softly, “Why, thank you! That means a lot. We also enjoy watching you act, it’s truly beautiful.”

Lovely nearly died on the spot and they prayed to whatever god was listening that it didn’t show on their face. They barely squeak out a ‘thank you’ before Angel settles back into their professionalism.

They look at their clipboard, “So, you’ve both been called in to play the main characters and love interests Kaia and Lucas obviously. This “audition” is mainly just to see how well you two act together. Your chemistry, if you will. You’ll have like five-ish minutes to talk with each other and introduce yourselves and then we’ll start, okay?”

They both nod and Angel looks back up.

“Okay!” They smile and peer back into the room, “David? Are we good to go?”

“Yeah, send ‘em in.”

Angel nods towards the inside of the room, “Come on in then.”

Lovely dazedly steps into the room.

The room was bigger than it looked from the outside. There was a long table with six seats, four of which were occupied, the one to the right of David Shaw was empty, Lovely assumes that’s Angel's seat.

Angel points to the small table, “You guys can sit over there and get to know each other a little better and we’ll call you over, alright?”

Lovely and Vincent both nod and step in sync over to the corner. They both sit down and smile at each other.

“So Vincent, where are you from?” Lovely asks.

Vincent grins, “Well, I think it’s common knowledge that I was adopted by William when I was 10. But my birth parents were Korean and so were most of my foster parents until William adopted me.”

Lovely’s eyes light up, “Oh same!” They pause with a small laugh, “Not that- not that I was adopted but my parents are both Korean immigrants.”

Vincent laughs as well, “Really? Do you speak Korean then?”

Lovely’s nose scrunches, “I’m like- fairly fluent. I’m not as well-spoken as I am in English. My dad dogs on me for it all the time. You?”

“God, I have the speaking ability of a fourth grader.” Vincent scoffs, “Obviously, since I was adopted at 10 by a non-Korean man, my Korean just stopped ageing with me once I stopped putting in effort.”

They nod with a smile, “I get it. Have you tried learning more now that you’re an adult?”

“Not really? I think I tried a couple times when I turned 21 but I got impatient. But hey, maybe you could teach me,” Vincent tilts his head to the side, smiling at them.

Lovely stops breathing as they glance down at his lips.

“Yeah… I could.”

They blink when Vincent laughs, focusing back on his eyes.

“Mesmerized, Lovely?” He hums, beaming from ear to ear.

Lovely scoffs playfully, “You wish, pretty boy.”

“Think I’m pretty, huh?”

“Yeah well,” They smile a little more shyly, “I’m not blind.”

They delight in seeing the slight pink tint that spreads across Vincent’s cheeks.

He grins slightly, returning the small glance down at Lovely’s lips, “Yeah? I think you’re pretty too. Gorgeous, even.”

Lovely breathes a short flustered laugh, “Jeez, is this a part of the script? This is a lot of flattery for getting to know my co-star for an audition.”

Vincent laughs a little louder, “I’m only getting into character, of course. My Kaia.” He reaches over to gently hold Lovely’s hand laying on the table.

And Lovely feels their entire stomach light up brighter than a Fourth of July night. They swallow, forcing themselves to keep their breathing stable. They sigh shakily, “Yeah…”

Neither of them realize how long they’ve been looking into each other’s eyes until David’s voice calls from the other side of the room.

“We’re ready to get started, you two. Are you ready?”

Neither of them flinch. Not at all.

Vincent looks away first and gently drops Lovely’s hand, nodding at the directors. The two stand and walk over to stand in front of the table.

“Alright,” Angel looks up from the papers in front of them and smiles, “You can start whenever you’re ready.”

Vincent and Lovely both nod at the directors and then at each other, settling themselves into their roles. By the light waltz music starts playing softly in the background, they are both fully immersed into another world.

Vincent smiles completely poised in a way that is unlike earlier, holding his hand out towards Lovely, “Kaia. I’ve heard a lot about you from your father.”

Lovely grins back at him hesitantly, taking his hand, “That so? Lucas, is it?”

He hums as he pulls them into a slow dance of swaying back and forth, holding onto their waist loosely with his free hand, “That’s me. Prince of the House of Solaire.”

Lovely rests their right hand on Vincent’s shoulder, “Not the typical name for a royal, hm? I saw a picture of you and assumed James or Alexander.”

Vincent laughs.

✩★✩★✩

David leans over to whisper in Angel’s ear as the other casting directors spoke to the two, “They’re really good at this. I could hardly tell they were reading off a script.”

Angel snorts, tapping their pen against their paper, “Uh huh.”

He furrows his brows, “What, you don’t think they’re good?”

“No, no, not that. They’re wonderful,” Angel shakes their head with a laugh, “They’re just uhh- it feels like a little more than acting, no?”

David shrugs with a small smile, “I don’t know, Angel, maybe they’re just good at their job.”

“Right.” They roll their eyes, “And they were eye-fucking over there without the script for fun.”

“You shouldn’t speak about your actors like that, Angel.” David breathes a laugh, “And you know how insane actors are these days when it comes to getting into character. Remember Milo and the FBI Agent Incident?”

Angel stifles a louder laugh, “Oh god. They weren’t even using real guns for the shoot, he didn’t need to go to a shooting range everyday for a month.”

David bites his tongue with a grin, turning back to the two once Babe had finished speaking. He writes something down on his sheet of paper, “That was great guys, thank you so much. That’ll be it. We’ll get back to you in the next week.”

Angel bids the two goodbye and rests their head on David’s shoulder once they’re out of the room, looking down at his papers and snorting, “Didn’t need any time to think about it, huh?

David shakes his head, “God, no. They’ve had the job since they walked in here.”

✩★✩★✩

Vincent holds the door open for Lovely as they leave, to which they snort.

“Thanks, prince charming.” They pat his shoulder playfully.

He laughs and closes it behind him. Lovely jerks their head to the side to indicate Vincent follow them back to the main part of the building with a confidence they did not feel.

Vincent sticks his hands in his pockets, “Not to sound too proud, but I think we nailed that.”

“Obviously,” Lovely nods with a smile,”You could have looked at my lips a little less though.”

His eyes scrunch up into those little half-moons again to emphasize his amusement, “Well, who could blame me? They’re very nice to look at.”

Lovely raises an eyebrow, stopping once they reach the end-of-hallway door, “Only to look at?”

Vincent, once again, glances down at their lips as they spin around to face him whilst leaning against the door. He breathes a barely there ghost of a laugh, “Maybe more. Who knows?”

Lovely can’t contain the wide smile that overtakes their features, squeezing a fist behind their back to attempt to contain their excitement. Vincent looks back up at their eyes after a moment, shifting back into focus.

His head tilts slightly and he smiles sincerely, “You have beautiful eyes, Lovely.”

How they didn’t collapse right then and there, they’ll never know. Feeling crimson creeping onto their cheeks, Lovely laughs lightly and scratches their nose.

They had never been able to take praise of any kind without feeling like their entire body was on fire. They always laughed the compliment off or redirected it out of pure embarrassment. Recently, that is. Being in the spotlight so often since the age of 17 had indirectly forced them to be better at accepting the praise. Being ‘The Star of the Big Screen’ meant being continuously lauded all over the internet and often to their face during interviews or fan-meetings. They had spent so many hours in their bedroom, in cars, or in hotel rooms practicing their “poker face” and willing themself to never show a single person outside of their close circle how much a little praise flustered them.

The way Vincent spoke to them undid all of that. The tone of his voice, his gaze, his fucking confidence. If their body was on fire when it came to anyone else, he made them feel like they had just been thrown into a volcano.

And they could only thank whoever was listening that their days of tripping over their feet, choking, or sometimes straight up running away were over. The only thing that would be more humiliating than being complimented by the most beautiful person they’ve ever seen would be fumbling themself in front of him.

Shaking off their inner-monologue, they grin at him again, “Thank you. All the compliments today, are you sure this is still ‘getting into character’?”

“Of course, I have to really step into Lucas’ shoes.”

“Uh huh,” Lovely shakes their head with a laugh, “Sure.”

“Really! In fact, I’ll do the most Lucas thing ever and ask for your number!” He grins again, reaching into his back pocket for his phone.

They stare at him with barely concealed mirth, “The most Lucas thing ever? Really?”

“Nah,” He snorts, unlocking his phone, “It’s a Vincent thing for sure.”

Lovely doesn’t think their heart is supposed to skip that many beats but they chuckle and accept the phone offered to them, typing in their number quickly.

“Thank you kindly,” Vincent says, taking his phone back. Lovely hums and leans off the door, swinging it open and stepping in time with Vincent back to the entrance.

They both wave to Sam and Darlin’ still sitting there in the corner. Sam stops talking when he sees the two of them, waving back and the two stand up.

“Hey.” Darlin says, stretching their arms, “How’d it go?”

Lovely and Vincent exchange a short look.

“Good,” They both say at the same time, sharing a smile.

Sam raises an intrigued eyebrow but he smiles back, “That’s good. Do you know when you’ll get the call back?”

“Ah, David said within the next week,” Vincent says.

The two in front of them nod and Sam glances to the door.

“Is William picking you up, Vincent?”

Vincent nods and takes a look at his phone, “And he’s already here.” He looks up with a little smile that was mostly directed at Lovely, “Bye, guys. See you later.”

Lovely waves back at him, letting their gaze linger a little longer than normal until Darlin’ clears their throat.

And whatever confidence Lovely had vanished the second they were alone with Darlin’ and Sam.

────────

so uh, i meant to post this before 12am where i am buttttttt.... it's surely still january 1st somewhere 😄

[vault81]

ik i already did smn like this before but im doing it again!!

(template below cut!)

[christhopersturniolo]

୨ HOCKEY PROBLEMS ୧

summary: you have been having some problems in your relationship with Chris, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t loves you.

notes: this is my first time writing a fanfic, I've always wanted to create one since 2020. english isn't my first language, it's probably not very detailed and there might be some mistakes, so don't expect too much lol. but give me feedback tho, l'd love to know what you think!

warnings: sexual assault, cussing, fluff, about three thousand words I think.

୨୧

My relationship with my boyfriend Chris is not the best. Well, at least, not now.

Lately we’ve been arguing all day long over stupid things, like who gets the last slice of pizza, or who gets the last word in a discussion. And it always ends in the same way. Silent treatment, from both sides. But it's not like Chris or I enjoy it. Most nights, I hear him in the bathroom, where he spend hours in tears. It’s horrible and makes me feel like a piece of shit. Hearing him cry only adds to my own feelings of guilt.

And how do we make things up? Sex, over and over. He would fuck the attitude out of me if he had to.

Me and Chris made a pinky promise that I would never miss any of his Hockey games. And I never did, cause i know how much my presence is important to him. And especially cause we are always in good terms the days before any of his games, but not today, we just argued again about nothing, we haven't talked for the past two days.

Nick and Matt, Chris's brothers, usually text me and offer to pick me up for Chris's games, but this time, their texts never came. It’s like they knew how our relationship was going. Chris definitely told them something.

Now you see myself driving to the arena where he plays in, the game is about to start in 20 minutes, and with this traffic, I don’t know if I will be there in time.

Red sign for the past 5 minutes. I have cars in front of me, behind me and next to me. Fuck. I start getting anxious. My nerves are on edge. I bit my nails subconsciously, the habit I got from my dad. My leg starts shaking. I can’t mess up things even more, I gotta be there, I have to be there.

After what feels like an eternity stuck in traffic, the car in front of me finally starts moving. I let out a sigh of relief as I find a parking spot. After that, I enter the venue where Chris plays (Which wasn’t that big, cause he plays in a small team in our city.)

Before taking a seat I scan the crowd anxiously, searching for any familiar faces, no one, I can’t find anyone, not even his two brothers. “Fuck it” I mumble to myself and I just get in a seat with some random people next to me.

The game is about to start, the crowd is already cheering. The players are drinking water and getting ready to get in the rink. My eyes examine each one of them, looking for Chris, number three. He was with a serious face. ‘Are he’s eyes red?’ I think to myself as I narrow my eyes, my vision is bad as shit, but I can tell he’s eyes are all puffy. He has some big dark circles underneath his pretty blue eyes, he looks fucking exhausted, It was evident that he was crying just now.

The players finally begin to take to the ice, their skates gliding across the surface as they prepare for the game to begin.

On Chris's team, there are six talented players, used to winning every single game. However, this time, they were against a really good team. Chris hated that team. I hated that team. Well, not really the team, but one of the players: Cam, Cameron.

Cam is a completely fucking jerk, in college he would always try to hit on me, but I’ve never really went with his face, what would get on his nerves, especially when I started dating Chris. It went to the point where he would force me to have intimate things with him. He was the worst human alive, and I would do anything to see him dead.

FLASHBACK

I just had PE, finding myself alone in the girls locker room as I change clothes. The sound of the front door opening echoed, followed by quiet footsteps creeping up behind me, sending shivers down my spine. I try to ignore it.

As I slipped my shirt back on, I felt two hands grip the sides of my hips, and a warm breath brushed against my neck. I freeze for two seconds. I know this is not Chris. Without thinking, I instinctively push the hands away and I turn around quickly, only to come face to face with Cameron.

I glare at him, my heart racing with a mix of fear and anger. His smirk widens as he takes a step closer, invading my personal space. "What's the rush, sweetheart?" He whispers, his voice dripping with arrogance.

I take a step back feeling the wall behind me getting closer "What are you even doing here? Get the fuck away from me, Cameron" I say firmly, trying to sound like i’m not scared, but the reality is that I’m pissing my pants.

He chuckles like he’s making fun of me, his eyes glinting with malice. "Or what? You'll tell your precious boyfriend Chris?" He teases, moving closer until I can feel his breath on my face. grabbing my waist and pinning them against the wall. "Come on, babe, you know you want it as much as I do.." he affirms, leaning in to kiss me, touching his lips on mines.

“Get the fuck away!” I whisper yell as i try to punch him away but he grabs my wrists. I struggle against his hold, but his grip tightens, his fingers digging into my skin, definitely leaving red marks.

I don’t know what to do. I can’t move. I start panicking. This is my end.

Tears blur my vision as I plead "Cameron, stop!" My voice trembles with fear as he kisses me, his lips rough and demanding against mine. Each kiss is a painful reminder of my vulnerability. Each kiss feels like a violation. I feel dirty, tainted by his touch everywhere in my body. A wave of nausea churns in the pit of my stomach as I try to move him away from me.

"Stop fucking fighting, you are not getting away from me" He murmurs against my lips "You deserve this, you want this.” I try to move as he keeps pinning me "You think I don’t see the eyes you give me when I walk by? Huh slut?" He scoffs, his hot breath against my face. "You were begging for this."

“I wasn’t begging for any of this. I never gave him any ‘eyes,’ he’s fucking delusional!” I think to myself, but my words remain trapped in my throat, suffocated.

As his lips travel down to my neck, leaving a trail of unwanted kisses, I can’t do anything more than start crying and screaming, kicking my legs and arms.

I never went back to those lockers again.

END OF THE FLASHBACK

I hated him so fucking much, and Chris did even more. And now, they are about to compete against each other.

The moment Chris stepped onto the rink, I could see his eyes looking for someone known on the crowd. Desperately, I raised my hand and waved, hoping he would spot me. And he did. His face automatically softened into a gentle smile, erasing some of the tension that had been weighing on me, but he was still with his tired eyes.

The game started with an intensity that matched the tension in the air. Both teams were determined to win. Cameron eyes were burning with rage. At this point, they weren’t competing as a team, it wasn’t about the game, it was about their personal life.

As the game progressed, the rivalry between them two escalated. They began to argue on the ice, each vying for control of the puck with increasing aggression.

Chris managing to gain possession of the puck and score two goals in less than five minutes. But Cam, folded by his own anger, refused to back down. Without thinking he charged towards him at full speed. Cameron swung his stick, causing Chris to trip and fall hard onto the ice.

“What the fuck is he doing?” I say out loud as I get up from my seat to get a better view. Chris remained on the ground for what felt like an eternity, clearly in pain. Every player on the ice stopped and looked around confused without knowing what to do, but not Cameron. He keeps going with the puck in direction to make a goal, with a visible smile on his lips. But then he notices how everyone really stopped and he slows down too, annoyed, not showing any regret.

The thing is, my boyfriend is in a fetal position on the ice, unable to move and no one is doing anything about it? That’s not happening, not with Chris. Without a second thought, I get up from my seat, whispering apologies to those I brushed past as I made my way to the rink. Ignoring the stares and comments from the crowd, I stepped onto the ice, my focus solely on reaching Chris. I get in the rink. I don’t give a shit about who’s watching me.

Kneeling beside Chris. His nose was bleeding, he looked pale and disoriented. Gently, I placed a hand on his shoulder, my voice trembling with concern. "Chris" I whisper, my voice shaking "Are you okay? Please look at me..” I beg in a desperate tone

Chris struggled to respond, his voice barely above a whisper as he fought through the pain "Y-Yeah.. I’m fine.." His eyes half-closed in discomfort.

Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps drew my attention, and I glanced up to see some of the players from both teams getting around us, their expressions a mix of confusion and concern. Sensing the seriousness of the situation, a few of them hurried off to get help, while others stood by, unsure of what to do.

“Is he okay?” One of Chris's teammates asked as he knelt beside me, his voice filled with worry.

My anxiety spiked at the sight of Chris's condition, and I couldn't help but let my frustration show. "No, he’s not!" I replied, my voice unintentionally louder than intended. "Don’t you guys have nurses or some kind of medical staff here?!"

The teammate glanced back at me, his expression uncertain. "Yeah, I’m pretty sure they're on their way, don’t worry, he will be fine” He said sounding unsure.

I gently place Chris head on my lap, whispering sweet and calming words on his ear while we wait for someone help us. What I was saying was comforting me more than Chris.

Finally the arena's medical staff arrived, urging us to clear the area around Chris. They place him on a stretcher and wheeling him out of the rink. As they took Chris away, I followed closely behind them, my steps quickening to keep pace with their hurried movements. "Hey, excuse me," I called out to one of the workers, my voice tinged with desperation "Is it okay if I stay with him?" But they seemed way too focused on their task, ignoring me completely as they rushed Chris to a small emergency room they had here, leaving me behind on the hallway, my heart pounded with worry and frustration. But before I could even process what was happening, a familiar voice cut through the silence. I turn around,

Cameron.

"Look who it is" He says, his gaze fixated on me with an unsettling intensity. "Never thought I'd see you here, playing the concerned girlfriend” He chuckles.

My blood boiled at his words, the memories of his unwanted advances and aggressive behavior flooding back with nauseating clarity. "You're sick, Cameron." My voice trembling with rage “You can’t even stand losing a fucking game, you are insane.” I stay some seconds in silence before talking again "You better stay the hell away from me and Chris."

Cameron's smirk widened, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction as he reveled in my discomfort. "Or what?" He teases, taking a step closer "You gonna hit me? Huh?” He talks in a mocking way

I raised my hand and delivered a good slap on his left cheek, the sound echoing through the empty hallway. "I fucking hate you!" I yell, my voice trembling with rage as I glared at him with undisguised contempt.

Before Cameron could react, the sound of approaching footsteps coming in our attention, and I glanced up to see some of Chris's teammates rushing towards us, their expressions a mix of concern and confusion.

"What's going on here?" The same blonde guy with a four in his shirt asks, his voice tinged with urgency as he eyed Cameron with suspicion.

"Nothing," he muttered, attempting to regain his composure, "I was just.. checking on Chris. But the workers said we have to wait, and unfortunately, I've got somewhere else to be." Cameron lies, fuck he’s good at lying.

He gets closer to me, placing his hand on my shoulder, rubbing it gently. “I hope he gets better” He said in a fake nice tone, like he means it, I move his hand away from me, making him get slightly angry again, he leaves. I watch him go, feeling a sense of relief wash over me knowing that he was finally out of here.

Turning back to Chris's teammate, I say “Anyways..” I take a deep breath “I will just wait here until they say something”

The blonde one nods understanding. “Yeah, that sounds like a plan to me” He replies, his voice filled with sympathy “So, the game was canceled, and we got shit to do, so we can’t really wait here”

“Yeah sure, no problem, I understand” I respond, I try to sound so nice as he is sounding “I'll make sure Chris texts you guys after he leaves the room.”

Chris's teammate nodded appreciatively and they all began to leave to the same direction as Cameron. I sit into a chair next to the door where Chris was, my mind racing thinking about Chris.

Some good ten minutes after, one of the workers is leaving the room, I look up at him, catching his attention. “Excuse me,” I begin, my voice laced with anticipation “can I see Chris?”

He nods, offering a small smile. “Of course, go ahead” He replies kindly before disappearing down the hallway.

Before I enter the room, I take a few deep breaths to control my anxiety. Knocking gently on the door, I slowly open it. He was sitting in a long bench with elastic bandage on his ankle and wrist. Chris's eyes light up at the moment he sees me and a warm smile spreads across his face.

“Shit Chris, I just slapped Cameron in the face!” I say as I close the door behind me. Chris immediately starts laughing. his laugh is contagious. I sit down next to him. “You did not” He keeps laughing

“What’s so funny? I’m being serious” I chuckle, feeling the tension ease from my mind as Chris's laughter fills the room.

"I'm sorry, babe" he says between laughs "But when was that?”

“Literally like fifteen minutes ago! Gosh he’s so fucking annoying! And did you see the way he literally made you fall on purpose? I could break his face right now” I say in a dramatic tone, making him laugh even more.

“Anyways he doesn’t matter..” I look around thinking about what to say “So what did the nurses say?”

Chris's laughter subsides as he leans back against the bench, his expression growing more serious “Nothing much.. I just sprained my foot and my wrist, but nothing much”

“Nothing much?!” I say slightly shocked with his words.

Chris chuckles softly, shaking his head at my reaction. "Okay, maybe it's a bit more than 'nothing much,' but I'll survive" He says with a reassuring smile, though I can see the pain behind his eyes.

I gently reach his injured hand, my thumb tracing comforting circles on the back of his hand. "I'm just glad it's nothing too serious," I say softly, my voice filled with genuine concern. "But still, I can't believe Cameron did that to you! He's such a pussy!" My last sentence makes Chris laugh again.

As I watch him, a sense of relief washes over me, knowing that despite everything, we are still able to find humor in the situation.

Some minutes talking until the silence fills back the room. We are definitely both thinking about the argument we had days ago, cause we didn’t talked since.

“I.. I wasn’t expecting for you to watch the game today” Chris says slightly looking down.

I stay in silence for some seconds “Listen, Chris" I begin, my voice soft but determined "About the arguments we've been having lately.. I know things haven't been the best.. But..” I sigh “But I still care about you, and I always will.”

Chris looks up at me, his eyes softening with emotion as he listens to my words. "I care about you too" He says, his voice filled with sincerity. "I hate that we've been arguing so much, especially over stupid shit.. I just.. I don't want to lose you.”

A small smile tugs at the corners of my lips as I reach out to gently cup his cheek. "You're not going to lose me, Chris." I assure him. My thumb brushing over his skin affectionately.

He gently buries his face on the crook of my neck, I lay my chin on the top of his head, and I wrap my arms around him, holding him close.

"I'm sorry for everything," Chris murmurs against my skin. "I don't want us to keep fighting like this."

Now I run my fingers through his hair, feeling a sense of peace settle over us. "I'm sorry too.." My voice sounding like a whisper. "Let's try to work through this together, okay?" He nods softly.

I kiss his head “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He answers quietly.

୨୧

hey, this is the end! i hope you have enjoyed it, if u saw any miss spelling or anything tell me in the comments, please.

also, i think it got kinda confusing cause i was using words on the past and in the present, but idk 😭😭

[mxrvelouss]

The Scene at the Mall (pt 2) | Mike Schmidt x Reader

warning: brief mentions of a toxic relationship and harrassment, fluff

note: be sure to read pt 1 if you haven't already! :)

also! there is a hunger games reference, see if you can spot it! ;)

--------------

Your gentle laugh rings through Mike's ears, causing him to look at you with a wide smile. The two of you walk through the mall, hands intertwined, staring into each others' adoring eyes.

"I love my necklace," you say, softly touching the shiny piece of jewelry that sat on your chest.

"You picked it out," Mike laughs.

"Yeah, but you paid," you retort, giggling. The two of you continued to smile at each other. Oh, how you wished you could stay in this moment forever.

******

Ever since he potentially saved your life at the very same mall about a year ago, you made it a point to go there every time after work, since it was just right down the street from the restauraunt you waitressed at. And every single time, there he was, patrolling the place as a security guard.

He sure works a lot, you remember thinking to yourself. It wasn't until a few months after you met that you found out the reason for that was so he could take care of his little sister, Abby. "I'd do anything for her," he told you one night as he walked you out to your car after his shift was over. "Even if it means working a thousand hours a week- as long as it means a better life for her, I would do absolutely anything."

And now here you were, holding hands with this perfect guy. You two had offically been a couple for two and a half months now; and you had never been happier. Abby loved you, and you would help her and Mike at every possible chance. For once, the both of you were off work today, and Abby was at school- so the two of you decided to go to the mall after having breakfast at his house.

"Aren't you sick of that place?" you teased as you got into the passenger seat of his car.

"Yeah, but I want to buy you a necklace," he said, blushing. "I've been saving up."

"Mike!" you exclaim. "No. You know you don't have to get me-"

He reached over and softly put his index finger on your lip, cutting you off. "Shhh. I've made up my mind."

You sit back, sighing in mock defeat. "Alright, you win," you giggle.

Once the two of you got to the mall and went to the jewelry store, a beautiful, silver necklace with a heart at the end caught your eye. When you saw the price, however, you didn't want to ask- but it was too late. Mike already saw the way your eyes lit up, and he got a worker to get it out of the glass case before you could even react.

Mike looked over at you as the worker handed him the jewelry. "Don't feel bad. I promise this is what I want for you. Okay?"

You nodded, and he started to bring the necklace up to your neck. "May I?"

He went behind you, gently bringing the necklace over your shoulders and clasping it around your neck. The feel of his fingers against your skin made you shiver.

"There," he said, turning you around to look at the necklace.

"Mike Schmidt, you're better at putting on necklaces than me!" you laughedd.

"Well," he grinned. "I've had some practice with Abby. My mom has a few necklaces that she likes to wear sometimes." He looked down and started to shuffle his feet.

You put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you," you said softly. You take his hands, lean in, and give him a soft kiss on the cheek.

Once Mike paid, the two of you walked out, hand in hand, and started to stroll down the area.

"It's definitely a lot easier to enjoy the mall when you don't have to work," Mike says.

Your gentle laugh rings through Mike's ears, causing him to look at you with a wide smile. The two of you walk through the mall, hands intertwined, staring into each others' adoring eyes.

"I love my necklace," you say, softly touching the shiny piece of jewelry that sat on your chest.

"But you picked it out," Mike laughs.

"Yeah, but you paid," you retort, giggling. The two of you continued to smile at each other. Oh, how you wished you could stay in this moment forever.

But all good things must come to an end, because at that moment, a voice from behind catches your attention, immediately sending chills down your spine.

"Well, well, y/n. Nice to see that you moved on."

You whip around, letting go of Mike's hand. The man (now in front of you) continues.

"It's been, what, two years since the breakup?" he sneers. "You won't be able to forget me, no matter how hard you try, y/n." Everything in you just wanted to run as far away from him as possible. This was Danny, your ex-boyfriend from high school. What started as a typical high school romance turned into a controlling, toxic relationship. You felt your cheeks turn red as Mike protectively inched closer to you. You could feel his body starting to tense up.

"Do you know him?" he asks, his voice low.

"'Course she does," Danny says. "We have a lot of...history. Don't we, y/n?" He looks down at you, a twisted smile spreading across his face.

"Why are you acting like such a creep?!" you burst out. "Leave us alone." You couldn't deal with this, not now, not ever. Things were so perfect with Mike, and now you were scared that, somehow, in some way, Danny would convince Mike that you weren't good enough for him.

Just like he convinced you you'd never fall in love again.

Suddenly Danny's eyes start to travel down your face, your neck, and then lands on your chest, where the necklace lays. You feel sick.

"Ah, so did Lover Boy over here buy you this?" Danny suddenly stretches out his arm and grabs hold of your necklace.

"What the-?!" Mike screams, shoving Danny away and grabbing hold of your hand. He places himself in front of you and Danny, who is smiling, as if he's amused by the whole situation.

"Don't you ever touch me again," you say, your voice trembling. Mike looks at you, concerned, and gives your hand a reassuring squeeze before he lets go. He walks toward Danny, inches away from his face.

"Get out of here," Mike says, his voice dangerously low. "And don't ever come near y/n again."

"Or what, Lover Boy?" Danny sneers again.

"Or I'll call the authorities and have you arrested for assault." Mike reaches into his pocket and pulls out an ID which says he's a mall security guard. "Unless you want me to do so right now? I do happen to know the head of security here..."

You smile. Go, Mike! you cheer in your head.

Danny's arrogant smile fades. He looks at you one more time. "It won't last," he says. "Soon you'll be running back to me."

"Get. Out." Mike growls. And finally, Danny turns and walks away.

Mike turns to you, grabbing hold of your hands. You start to talk. "I'm so, so sorry-"

"Hey, hey, hey, you don't have to apologize for anything," Mike says, gently placing his palm on your cheek and brushing a strand of hair out of your face. He pulls you into a hug, and you happily accept it, letting the warmth of his strong body spread over you.

"I guess you can see why that relationship didn't work out," you say into his shoulder with a weak laugh.

"Maybe you should stop going to malls," Mike jokes back as he pulls away from the embrace and looks at you with loving eyes. You chuckle, looking back into them.

"This will last," he says confidently, his hands on your shoulders.

"I know," you say with a soft smile. "And this will prove it."

You wrap your hands around his waist, pulling him forward, and softly press your lips against his. He kisses back with such love and gentleness that you just want to explode with emotion. He brings his hands through your hair and then pulls back, his hands now cupping your face.

"I love you," he whispers.

"I love you too, Mike."

[oizysian]

II. MEETING BRIE

All Eyes on Me masterlist

Word count: 1.4k

•

The following day, Twitch made a Tweet about our charity stream, showcasing Brie and I as advocates for LGBTQ+ youth. I was honored, completely taken aback by the influx of positive comments and support. We had done something great and would hopefully inspire others to do the same.

Brie messaged me once she saw it, excited that I was getting the exposure I deserved for being a content creator. I didn't feel as though I deserved the popularity just because I was doing something decent. I just wanted to help people, not become famous from doing good deeds.

I gained thousands of followers overnight, and an overwhelmingly large amount of them found me through Brie despite the shout out from Twitch. At this point, I owed her a lot.

She helped me book a flight and hotel in Los Angeles for the next few days so I had a chance to explore with her before the party. My flight was in a few hours and, naturally being me, I haven't finished packing yet.

"Yeah, no, I really have to go soon. I need to finish packing. I've only put together my toiletries so far." I spoke to Claire via my headset. We were playing a round of Call of Duty Zombies instead of having me pack.

"I can't believe you're going to LA without me. To meet celebrities."

"You don't even live in this country. You'd probably miss the party even if you left right now." I teased her.

"Yeah, well, you still could have invited me."

"I didn't even invite me." I chuckled. "Brie had to convince me to go."

"Oh yeah, sure. I bet she really had to pull some teeth to get you to travel to meet Elizabeth Olsen."

"It took at least five minutes of convincing before I agreed." I tried to defend myself weakly. We both knew it truly didn't take much to get me to go.

"Mhm. Come revive me."

"Alright, but after this, I really need to go."

"Okay, okay, go. But once you get home we're streaming together again. I miss our dynamic."

"People think we're gay and dating."

"We are gay, Y/N."

"But not dating, loser."

"Don't you have something you should be doing?" She laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"You're right, I do. See ya, loser."

I left the game and the party, tossing my controller and headset on the bed before leaning back and sighing. I was stressed as all hell about this trip. I was going to meet Elizabeth fucking Olsen. Or maybe I wasn't and Brie was just fucking with me.

I groaned, sitting up on the bed fully and pushing myself to get up and finish packing. I was only staying for a few days so I didn't need much, but I still managed to pack more than I needed to.

I called an Uber to take me to the airport and I couldn't help but fidget nervously as we drove. What if she was just playing a joke on me? What if this was all an elaborate scheme to make me look and feel stupid?

No. Brie was my friend.

I knew this was just my anxiety talking, trying to make me doubt everything I knew and find the bad where there's actually good.

I took a deep breath and tried to relax. This was going to be an amazing couple of days and my anxiety was not going to ruin it for me.

After thanking the driver, I got out with my suitcase, lugging it behind me as I entered JFK airport. At least I would be able to nap once I got on the plane.

Once I got through security and boarded my flight, I found that it was impossible to nap. My nerves were just through the roof. Brie had messaged me before I got on the plane that she would be waiting for me when we landed and that gave me a little bit of extra comfort. I never really traveled by myself so I was a little nervous to be on my own.

I was lucky enough to get a window seat, probably thanks to Brie, and I spent the whole six hour trip looking out the window. Time flew by when my mind wasn't racing with anxious thoughts.

As promised, Brie was waiting for me when I got off the plane and collected my luggage, although I didn't recognize her until she came up to me. She was wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap to hide her identity, and it worked really well.

"Hey there, Y/N." Her smooth voice startled me and I had to do a double take before realizing it was her.

"Brie?" I asked before smiling, wrapping my arms around her in a big hug.

I wasn't usually a hugger, but it felt like I was seeing an old friend after many years of being apart. She squeezed me back even tighter than I squeezed her and I was momentarily reminded that she was an Avenger, and that she was very strong.

"How was your flight?" She asked as she led me out of LAX.

"It was okay. I mostly just watched the clouds."

"Were the movies that boring?" She joked and I smiled, shaking my head.

"No, I just think a lot. Plus, it's not often I find myself in the sky."

"We'll have to get you out here more often then."

We drove to the hotel, chatting casually about what there was to see and do in California. I was excited to experience everything the state had to offer, but hearing her describe everything was a little overwhelming.

"We're not doing all of that in one visit, are we?" I asked playfully.

"Of course not." She shot me a crooked smile. "The things we don't see and do will give you an excuse to come visit again."

"I just got here and you're already planning my next visit?" I joked and she laughed, nodding.

"Absolutely. I'm glad to have you here. We're gonna have a good time."

"Definitely." I agreed as she parked near the hotel.

She came up to my room with me, helping me drag along my luggage.

"What the hell do you have in here? A dead body?" She groaned as we entered the room.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic." I threw myself back onto the bed, sighing as I sunk into the comfortable mattress. "It's not even that heavy."

"Yeah, sure, and I'm six feet tall."

"Shuddup." I laughed as she dropped down on the bed next to me.

We laid together for a while, relaxing until our bellies growled and we had to order room service. This hotel was pretty fancy as the menu served items in other languages and I could only imagine how much it all cost.

Brie ordered wine and we ate and talked until it was nighttime. It felt good to just be myself with someone who seemed to understand me. She wasn't a typical celebrity. Brie was down to earth and damn near normal for an Oscar winner and an Avenger.

"So tomorrow we're gonna go out to eat at this really great restaurant I was introduced to recently and then we'll go explore downtown. There are some awesome shops you'll definitely want to visit at least once while you're here."

I smiled at her excitement.

"Hopefully I can afford stuff here. Everything seems so expensive."

"Of course you can afford stuff. You're a big Twitch streamer now." She teased.

"No, I'm not big. I'm not even medium."

"Stop selling yourself short!" She smacked my arm and I feigned injury.

"Ow, oh no, I'm crippled now. Oh, the pain." I pretended to writhe on the bed next to her and she raised herself up on her elbows, looking down at me.

"Boy, you're a good actress. Do you need me to kiss the boo-boo better?" She asked with a playfully raised eyebrow.

I smiled up at her and grabbed at my arm dramatically.

"I might need more wine, actually."

"Oh, and then you'll want a kiss?"

"Heh, maybe." I sat up, retrieving my glass from the end table and refilling it with the nearby wine bottle. "You wanna kiss me that badly, huh?" I joked.

"Maybe." She whispered and I turned to look at her, her eyes heavy and clearly glazed over with intoxication.

"You're sloshed, Brie." I laughed, sipping from my glass. "You need to sleep."

She looked at me for a moment before laying back down on the bed, rolling over on her side and sighing.

"You're right. I'm exhausted."

A moment later, she was snoring softly, and I was left wondering if I would've actually kissed her if we had both been sober.

•

@oh-thats-cute @marvelwomen-simp

[antimony-medusa]

MCYT on Ao3 - February '24

The state of MCYT on Ao3, just for fun. Yes I do this every month, I like numbers.

The Cube SMP (8 works)

Slamacow Minecraft Animations (Web Series) (10 works)

iDots SMP (23 works)

30 Day SMP | Free Trial SMP (27 works)

Legacy SMP (27 works)

Cogchamp SMP (29 works)

Content SMP (30 works)

Epic SMP (34 works)

Art of Survival SMP (36 works)

Dominion SMP (40 works)

Tiredtwt (Video Blogging RPF) (42 works)

Showtime SMP (48 works)

Shady Oaks SMP (49 works)

X Life SMP (51 works)

100 Hours Hardcore SMP (55 works)

IvoryCello's Prison Escapes (Web Series) (56 works)

Bear SMP (59 works)

SadSMP (66 works)

My Inner Demons - Aphmau (Web Series) (70 works)

Mer SMP (84 works)

Area Unknown SMP (88 works)

Kaboodle SMP (94 works)

Tortillaland SMP (115 works)

House Builder Gang SMP | HBG SMP (151 works)

Slimecicle Cinematic Universe (Web Series) (174 works)

New Life SMP (177 works)

WitchCraft SMP (190 works)

Rats SMP (238 works)

Pirates SMP (233 works)

SMPLive (299 works)

SMPEarth (318 works)

Mianite (Web Series) (386 works)

Afterlife SMP (402 works)

Outsiders SMP (413 works)

MindCrack RPF (505 works)

MyStreet - Aphmau (Web Series) (567 works)

Evolution SMP (713 works)

Karmaland SMP (857 works)

Minecraft Diaries - Aphmau (Web Series) (964 works)

Fable SMP (1,072 works)

Origins SMP (1,594 works)

Lifesteal SMP (1,607 works)

The Yogscast (3,220 works)

Empires SMP (6,596 works)

QSMP | Quackity SMP (8,104 works)

3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series (10,894 works)

Hermitcraft SMP (20,809 works)

Dream SMP (84,460 works)

Minecraft (Video Game) (110,435 works)

Video Blogging RPF (282,935 works)

Some notes

A new fandom this month! Showtime SMP is new, bringing this up to 49 tags that I track.

Fics are still primarily in english, but we have three exceptions with significant spanish fics. Karmaland (750 of 857 are in spanish, from 740 last month), Tortillaland (109 of 115 are in spanish, down from 110 last month), and QSMP (827 of 8104 are in spanish, from 752 last month.)

QSMP also shows 43 fics in French, up from 39 last month, and 452 in Brasilian Portugese, up from 405 last month. While I did not check every language this month, I checked on the languages I knew had a fic in QSMP and we see 1 fic in ASL (probably a misclick as it appears to be in english), 1 fic in Bahasa Malaysia, 1 fic in Dansk (Danish), 1 fic in Deutsch (German), 1 fic in Esperanto, 1 fic in Filipino, 5 works in European Portugese, 2 fics in Polski (Polish), 7 fics in Русский (Russian) (up from 5 last month), 1 fic in Suomi (Finnish), 1 fic in Svenska (Swedish), 1 fic in Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese), and 3 fics in 中文-普通话 國語 (Mandarin Chinese, I believe). While a 한국어 (Korean) speaker was recently added to the QSMP, there are currently no fics in 한글 (written Korean).

In the small and micro-sized fandoms, several of the smaller fandoms posted a decrease, including Legacy SMP, Bear SMP, and Area Unknown. HBG, on the other hand, posted a frankly impressive 16-fic increase, and both New Life and Witchcraft saw a 8-fic increase.

In the mid-sized fandoms, the showstopper was Minecraft Diaries, which went up a staggering 140 fics, which makes me suspect a sub-tag got wrangled into them. Pirates SMP and Outsiders SMP both saw 20 fic increases, and Mystreet saw an increase of 24 fics.

In the post-canon big fandoms, Empires went up by 188 works, which is an increase on both January's 178 and December's 117, but not beating November's 240. Dream SMP's increase of 591 works is the single lowest number I've seen since I've started tracking tags, being exceeded by both January's 918 and December's 767, which were the first months I'd seen the increase being lower than a thousand. 3rd Life, now that we're outside of a season, posted a respectable 558 fics, down from last month's record high of 831.

In the currently airing big fandoms, Hermitcraft saw that new-season boom, as it posted 716 fics, not as high as January's 784 (holiday exchanges), but beating both December and November's 574 and 651. QSMP posted 729 fics this month, which is part of a four-month decline (865 last month, 894 the month before, 913 the month before), but is still the fandom with the single biggest increase over a month. Incidentally, that means that Dream SMP is beat by both Hermitcraft and QSMP this month, and 3rd life is close behind it.

Overall, the number of fics posted under Video Blogging-RPF (the umbrella fandom that contains all MCYT), is 3,513 fics, down from January's 4,223, December's 3,489, and November's 4,035. Incidentally, it's very close to what we saw last year at the same time, as February '23 saw a VB RPF increase of 3,674.

Detailed breakdown under the cut.

The Cube SMP (8 works, 8 last month, 0-fic increase)

Slamacow Minecraft Animations (Web Series) (10 works, 10 last month, 0-fic increase)

iDots SMP (23 works, 23 last month, 0-fic increase)

30 Day SMP | Free Trial SMP (27 works, 27 last month, 0-fic increase)

Legacy SMP (27 works, 28 last month, 1-fic decrease)

Cogchamp SMP (29 works, 29 last month, 0-fic increase)

Content SMP (30 works, 30 last month, 0-fic increase)

Epic SMP (34 works, 32 last month, 2-fic increase)

Art of Survival SMP (36 works, 36 last month, 0-fic increase)

Dominion SMP (40 works, 38 last month, 2-fic increase)

Tiredtwt (Video Blogging RPF) (42 works, new tag this month)

Showtime SMP (48 works, new tag this month)

Shady Oaks SMP (49 works, 49 last month, 0-fic increase)

X Life SMP (51 works, 51 last month, 0-fic increase)

100 Hours Hardcore SMP (55 works, 54 last month, 1-fic increase)

IvoryCello's Prison Escapes (Web Series) (56 works, 56 last month, 0-fic incrase)

Bear SMP (59 works, 60 last month, 1-fic decrease)

SadSMP (66 works, 66 last month, 0-fic increase)

My Inner Demons - Aphmau (Web Series) (70 works, 67 last month, 3-fic increase)

Mer SMP (84 works, 82 last month, 2-fic increase)

Area Unknown SMP (88 works, 89 last month, 1-fic decrease)

Kaboodle SMP (94 works, 91 last month, 3-fic increase)

Tortillaland SMP (115 works, 115 last month, 0-fic increase)

House Builder Gang SMP | HBG SMP (151 works, 135 last month, 16-fic increase)

Slimecicle Cinematic Universe (Web Series) (174 works, 174 last month, 0-fic increase)

New Life SMP (177 works, 169 last month, 8-fic increase)

WitchCraft SMP (190 works, 182 last month, 8-fic increase)

Rats SMP (238 works, 234 last month, 4-fic increase)

Pirates SMP (233 works, 213 last month, 20-fic increase)

SMPLive (299 works, 294 last month, 5-fic increase)

SMPEarth (318 works, 304 last month, 14-fic increase)

Mianite (Web Series) (386 works, 379 last month, 7-fic increase)

Afterlife SMP (402 works, 395 last month, 7-fic increase)

Outsiders SMP (413 works, 393 last month, 20-fic increase)

MindCrack RPF (505 works, 504 last month, 1-fic increase)

MyStreet - Aphmau (Web Series) (567 works, 543 last month, 24-fic increase)

Evolution SMP (713 works, 693 last month, 20-fic increase)

Karmaland SMP (857 works, 842 last month, 15-fic increase)

Minecraft Diaries - Aphmau (Web Series) (964 works, 824 last month, 140-fic increase)

Fable SMP (1,072 works, 1,012 last month, 60-fic increase)

Origins SMP (1,594 works, 1,575 last month, 19-fic increase)

Lifesteal SMP (1,607 works, 1,546 last month, 62-fic increase)

The Yogscast (3,220 works, 3,215 last month, 5-fic increase)

Empires SMP (6,596 works, 6,408 last month, 188-fic increase)

QSMP | Quackity SMP (8,104 works, 7,375 last month, 729-fic increase)

3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series (10,894 works, 10,336 last month, 558-fic increase)

Hermitcraft SMP (20,809 works, 20,093 last month, 716-fic increase)

Dream SMP (84,460 works, 85,051 last month, 591-fic increase)

Minecraft (Video Game) (110,435 works, 110,119 last month, 316-fic increase)

Video Blogging RPF (282,935 works, 279,422 last month, 3,513-fic increase)

[ctimenefic]

Trick or treat!

Oh, it's a Freddo bar! For that, you get a fic concept that belongs very firmly in the "write in 2025" list because dear god I need to clear some wips.

It is a nightmare of a concept to me because the outline - THE BULLET POINT OUTLINE - is 2,000 words long. That is a thousand words longer than the outline for Triple Crown, which is still unfinished but looking like a 40k-ish fic. I hope. God help me.

I don't do longfic. The longest thing I've ever finished is like, 20k. But. Still. This one yearns to be written.

It's a Galex The Nanny AU but George is both the nanny and the repressed uptight one. And here's the first quarter (lol) of the outline:

The divorce had been “amicable”, which as far as Alex could tell meant that he and Lily walked around with open chest wounds only the other could see, and everyone told him he was doing well, “considering”. They never told him what they were considering.  

It’s 2028 or thereabouts. Alex Albon, Red Bull’s perennial second driver, finally has a shot at being the team’s priority now Max has retired. The car is decent(ish), the chance is there. But retirement is also looming on the horizon – if he can’t pull it off now, he never will.

It’s not his priority, though. That would be the kids. How many kids? Hard to say, they seem to multiply every time he looks away. 

Lily has just cracked the top 100 in the rankings and gets a sudden last minute invite to a Major tournament (golf fans don’t tell me if this is bollocks I need it for plot reasons) ((do actually tell me though but help me fix it please)). Trouble is it clashes with one of Alex’s races and none of their relatives can take the kids. 

Alex’s manager gets him the number of an ultra posh nannying agency that can handle emergencies. Four hours later, George Russell shows up at his door. All he’s got with him is a leather weekend bag. The strap is worn, slightly frayed; the leather looks butter soft, but the kind of softness that comes from age and wear, not expense. “Is that it for your stuff?” Alex asks. George pinkens. “They said I’d need to get a helicopter from Nice. I didn’t know how much luggage you could get in one of them.”

Alex has minor misgivings which he pretends are totally not about George being young, hot and male because he’s an enlightened man. George formally rattles off his CV - former paediatric nurse, more formal qualifications than seem strictly feasible - and, well, that’s in order.

Then George starts sending his nightly reports while Alex is at the race and oh god this guy is a psychopath. He’s recording screen time, milestones, mood levels, meal times, bed times, EVERYTHING. Alex is certain he’s going to come back to four robots who’ve had their souls sucked out by the relentless pursuit of quantitative data.

Instead he gets back early and George opens the door with play-doh in his hair and the youngest on his hip as the kids sing off-key Mandarin nursery rhymes and play the "set the table" game and Alex thinks: oh. You can stay.

[galactic-knightmare]

not my usual kinda post but like

HOLY SHIT WE'RE GETTING A SEQUEL

I've played Okami since I was thirteen (I'm twenty-four now). even before that I used to watch my older brother play it on the playstation.

Its been literal years and its still my favorite game of all time, and I'm not kidding. I used to spend hours all day playing it on the playstation. I 100% both the original, Okamiden, and HD. I'd spend hours just replaying it for days, even just wandering around the world and not actually doing anything specific. It got to the point where I had to delete saves because I kept running out of space. I might only have 48 hours on HD, but I have thousands of hours on the original, not even counting how long I might've taken on Okamiden. I even made an Amaterasu plushie before I even learned how to make plushies. (I used fabric markers and an arctic fox plush. it was surprisingly effective) Just. I am so hyped right now. I haven't drawn anything Okami in years BUT NOW I'M GONNA

Just. today is a good day. Not only am I getting the next episode of tADC but now I've also gotten to see one of my favorite games rise from the dead LMAO

I apologize to everyone that follows me for exploding, but holy shit words cannot describe how I'm feeling right now.

[stonathandreamer]

Married!Stonathan with a daughter headcanons to brighten your day ✨

🔸 Stonathan Masterlist

🔹 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 5 | Part 6

A/N: I've been thinking about Steve and Jonathan having a kid a lot lately! Also, might've turned this into a semi-fanfic, but I don't care!

✨ First of all, I want to tell you that I headcanon Jonathan as being a photojournalist (because that's his dream job and I want my baby boy to be HAPPY!) and Steve... Well, I imagine him as a police officer (maybe because of the fact that Joe Keery played a cop in the 5th Season of Fargo, but it also opens the possibility of imagining Steve working with Father-in-law!Hopper!);

✨ Their daughter's name is Elizabeth Harrington-Byers, but they call her Lizzie or Liz (because I love the name "Elizabeth," and it's definitely a name Steve and Jonathan would pick);

✨ They only call her "Elizabeth" when they're mad at her (which is practically never);

✨ Steve tries teaching her how to say his name as her first word (because "daddy" could be either of them), so Jonathan tries teaching her his name;

✨ Joyce watches over her when they're at work. Steve and Jonathan (mostly Jonathan) call her every hour or so to check on Lizzie;

✨ Jonathan takes thousands of pictures of Lizzie and proudly shows them to Nancy;

✨ Nancy and Robin proudly take on the role of the "cool aunts";

— Robin: [Holding Elizabeth and pointing at Steve] Say "dingus", Lizzie!

— Steve: [Taking Elizabeth from Robin's arms] Don't come near my daughter ever again, Robin.

✨ One time, Elizabeth babbled something that sounded eerily similar to "mama," and it sent Steve and Jonathan into a spiral of panic;

— Steve: Did she just say "mama"?!

— Jonathan: No, no, no, no! It’s just baby talk... Probably.

✨ Her first word was, obviously, "dada," and she said it while pointing at both of them;

✨ Thanks to Steve's lack of a baby filter, Elizabeth knows a couple of bad words;

— Joyce: [Calling Jonathan] Your daughter just said "shit." You, Steve, and I are going to have a talk later...

— Jonathan: But, mom! It's Steve's fault...!

✨ Uncle!Will has a special nickname for his niece - Lilibet - and no one else is allowed to use it, not even Mike;

✨ They often get confused whenever Elizabeth calls dad because they don't know which one she's calling;

— Elizabeth: Dad!

— Jonathan: Yeah, sweetie?

— Elizabeth: No, Dad Steve!

✨ Elizabeth, in turn, gets confused when Steve and Jonathan call themselves "dad;"

— Steve: Okay, Lizzie, dad's going to work now, and your other dad's staying here with you.

— Elizabeth: Which one?

— Steve: Me.

— Elizabeth: So... You're staying home with me?

— Jonathan: [Sighs] No, sweetheart, I'm staying home with you.

✨ These are life long confusions, by the way;

✨ Uncle Will and Uncle Mike, who are a comic book illustrator and a writer, respectively, make several special comics for their niece;

✨ Elizabeth calls every member of the Party "Uncle" or "Aunt" much to El, Will and Mike's (her real uncles and aunt) annoyance;

✨ The party definitely teaches her how to play D&D - they haven't played that game in years, so they're a little rusty;

✨ As his daughter gets older, Jonathan starts to worry if she'll stop seeing them as her parents because they're not biologically related, or if she'll start asking for a mom;

✨ They're terribly concerned if she'll suffer bullying when Elizabeth starts at school;

✨ Jonathan is a bit more overprotective than Steve, and also a bit more strict too (but just a tiny bit);

✨ But he also has a huge soft spot for her. All Elizabeth needs is a "puppy eyes" stare, and Daddy Jonathan will do anything she wants;

✨ One time, Elizabeth got into a fight at school because some students were making fun of her for having two dads, and Lizzie, being Jonathan Byers' daughter, kicked their asses.

— Steve: Ha! She has your fighting prowess, Jon!

— Jonathan: Don't encourage her, Steve.

— Steve: Oh, come on, she was just defending our honor!

— Jonathan: [Sighing] Alright, fine... It was kinda cool.

✨ They freaked out a little bit (actually, a lot) when their daughter had her first period;

— Steve: [Holding two different brands of pads at the pharmacy] What's the difference between this one and this one?

— Jonathan: Uh... This one is regular and this one is ultra-thin.

— Steve: Ok... So what's the difference?

— Jonathan: [Sighs] We should've called Nancy... Or Robin... Or any woman...

— Steve: We're taking both!

✨ Jonathan teaches her photography and even buys her a Polaroid camera for her birthday;

✨ Steve teaches her basketball, but Elizabeth's favorite sport is soccer. They watch soccer matches together, and Steve lets her curse freely, much to Jonathan's chagrin;

✨ They enjoy torturing Elizabeth's boyfriends. After all, a boyfriend's worst nightmare is meeting his girlfriend's dad, and Elizabeth happens to have two, so double the nightmare;

✨ It's Jonathan who teaches her how to drive because, and I quote, "your dad Steve drives like a cop chasing robbers";

✨ They love embarrassing her with stories of when they were younger;

— Steve: Hey, Liz, have I ever told you how I fell in love with your dad?

— Elizabeth: Ugh. Not again...

— Steve: He kicked my ass in high school! That's when I realized, "This is the man I want to marry!"

— Jonathan: And did you know your dad used to work at an ice cream parlor called "Scoops Ahoy"? Steve, go grab the photo album, show her the pictures I took of you wearing that cute sailor uniform!

— Elizabeth: Please, no!

✨ Elizabeth would never do even half of the stupid things Steve and Jonathan did when they were teenagers. Still, they worry she might do something dumb;

— Jonathan: But Liz is such a good kid...

— Steve: Yeah, but she's also our daughter!

— Jonathan: ... Fair point.

✨ When Elizabeth turns into a teenager, Steve realises his dream of having "six little nuggets" would be a nightmare, so they decide to stick with just one kid... For now.

[the-alliance-maker]

More art from my younger sister, yay!

Mask (Baby Hero of Time) looks like that because he's worn the Fierce Deity Mask too many times for extremely long periods, and now it's started to stain/scar his skin.

I'm also putting her little doodle she made me bellow too.

Mask (Baby Hero of Time) has a/his shadow following him around. This is apparently my sister's view of their relationship.

(She was nervous about letting me post the gif and required that I clarified that it's a low effort, quick animation she only made to get a laugh out of me, lol. She was correct about making me laugh. I was in tears for, like, an hour.)

More explanations (And lack there of?) about it under the cut.

These pieces of art are both from an AU of mine that we roleplay a lot.

I'd explain more, but it's built off an alternate timeline/universe of @wutheringmights story "Call them brothers". And I'm not sure what her rules are about fanart or fanfics, mostly because I never asked or looked into it and I never intended to.

I make AUs for the fanfics I read, write fanfics for those fanfics with thousands upon thousands of words in them and then never post them or do anything other than hand them to my sister to read. She does the same with her art.

...Fandoms are messy enough without me accidentally stepping on someone's toes. (I think my sister doesn't post her art because she's too unconfident though.)

That aside, Call them brothers is literally my favorite fic I've ever read. I know we like to throw that phrase around in the fandom a lot, but I have every intention of getting that sucker printed and bound once it's finished. I've been reading Fanfiction for nearly a decade and this is the first one I've wanted to do that for.

If you're a person who enjoys darker stories and want a story line with some actual consequences for the characters, I'd totally recommend it. The last time I was this gut punched over characters and their development was Red Rising by Peirce Brown (My favorite published book series ever), and Wuthering's descriptions of a war ravaged country and all it's horrors is fucking immaculate.

I found Call them brothers through my desire to see a longer fic that had Spirit Tracks Link, and it did. not. disappoint.

Wuthering's takes on what Spirit's abilities, character traits, and game culture/lore are currently my favorite I've seen from anyone in the fandom, and I would doubly recommend the fic just for that.

That said, it's not a story for the faint of heart. It's Dark. With a capital 'd' for a reason. Wuthering doesn't add all those tag warnings for no reason. Also, if you can't stand to see one of the Link bois written as anything other than what the mainstream interpretation for them is, this isn't for you. War isn't out of character, but he's certainly a bold take. A fantastic one, but bold none the less.

Plus there's mild mentions of Links being interested in other character's that aren't their Zeldas or their typical love interests. There is NO shipping of the Jojo's characters amongst each other, but if you're the kind of person who can't stand alluding to characters having crushes that aren't Link x Zelda, it isn't for you.

I know there's some people in the fandom who don't like that kind of thing, so I thought I'd mention it. Also, you've been warned so no being mean to Wutheringmights about it!

If you're okay with the things I've listed, please, please, please give it a read. @wutheringmights deserves all the love for writing something so good.

(Anyway, I could ramble for hours about all the reasons Wutheringmights is my favorite Author in the LOZ fandom, but this was supposed to just be a post about my lil sis's art that got waaaaay away from me.)

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Hi :) I'm new here, I accidentally chose the best time to finally watch GO, some 2 weeks ago, not knowing there's gonna be S2 in 2 months lol. I've watched the show a couple of times and I'm in the middle of reading the book but I still don't quite get Aziraphale's thought process after he figured out where to find Adam. Why didn't he tell Crowley at first and why did he break up with him? Did he have any ideas what to do when he did eventually try to tell him? I'm sure the fandom has worked it out and I could find it somewhere but the search function is hopeless and wading through 4 yrs worth of meta would take a lot of time lol. So could you explain please or point me in right direction? Thanks and also greetings from a fellow ace 😁

Hiya! :) Welcome to the fandom! :) The breakup is in the show, in the book not so much :). I do feel the book and the show a bit different - the book more witty and the show with more emotions, both absolutely brilliant. The break up in the show is there because it is more focused on the love story of Aziraphale and Crowley :), the angel not telling him is part of what I believe is Aziraphale's story and growth and realization of what Heaven is truly like.

In the book Aziraphale it is I think nicely described by this part:

Aziraphale was dithering. He'd been dithering for some twelve hours. His nerves, he would have said, were all over the place. He walked around the shop, picking up bits of paper and dropping them again, fiddling with pens.

He ought to tell Crowley.

No, he didn't. He wanted to tell Crowley. He ought to tell Heaven. He was an angel, after all. You had to do the right thing. It was built-in. You see a wile, you thwart. Crowley had put his finger on it, right enough. He ought to have told Heaven right from the start.

But he'd known him for thousands of years. They got along. They nearly understood one another. He sometimes suspected they had far more in common with one another than with their respective superiors. They both liked the world, for one thing, rather than viewing it simply as the board on which the cosmic game of chess was being played.

Well, of course, that was it. That was the answer, staring him in the face. It'd be true to the spirit of his pact with Crowley if he tipped Heaven the wink, and then they could quietly do something about the child, although nothing too bad of course because we were all God's creatures when you got down to it, even people like Crowley and the Antichrist, and the world would be saved and there wouldn't have to be all that Armageddon business, which would do nobody any good anyway, because everyone knew Heaven would win in the end, and Crowley would be bound to understand.

Yes. And then everything would be all right.

Here we can see that Aziraphale really wants to tell Crowley, but feels his angelic duty to tell Heaven and then convinces himself that if he tells Heaven everything will be fine - Heaven will dispose of the Antichrist and everything will be tickety boo - Crowley will surely understand that.

And then when Metatron talks to him and Aziraphale understands what Heaven is like and then they don't want to avoid the War and don't care about destroying Earth, he calls Crowley :).

[wunderflammer]

So, a few nights ago I worked a last minute stage management gig at an invite-only event with a few thousand people in attendance. I met the most singular stage invader I've ever had to deal with. Story under the cut.

So, to start, I'm a musician. I've been dealing with stage invaders for years, whether at my own gigs (from the punk rock dive bar years all the way up to current day) or hosting other events. It's always a stressful experience and the stage invader is usually drunk/belligerent.

So, Thursday night's event in detail:

I'm standing sidestage while the last DJ plays. There's about an hour left until close. All the sudden, a woman climbs up the front of the stage (only about 2.5/3ft high) in her dress and heels. She does so with shocking ease.

She looks to be in her late 20s/early 30s. She has a plastic cup of wine in one hand. She makes a beeline for the DJ booth and starts TALKING WITH THE DJ WHILE HE'S SPINNING. I immediately spring into action and run up to rectify this because WTF IS GOING ON. It's all happened in the blink of an eye.

She is coherent but definitely a bit drunk. She has zero concept that she shouldn't be standing on stage behind the DJ booth during a live set at a private event. Drunk people are similar to toddlers in that: they are SO surprisingly fast for being kind of uncoordinated and you also can't exactly reason with them. So I gently take her by the hand and we have this convo. Everything is yelled over the loud house music.

Me: hi there, can you come with me?

Her, attempting to take a selfie with the DJ: why?

[She motions for me to get into the selfie. I do not.]

Me: he's actively working and you're not supposed to be up here.

[She looks at me with genuine confusion, as though I've just dropped out of the sky. She puts her phone back into her clutch.]

Me: it's not safe to have you on stage with all the cables and wires, and you don't have a VIP wristband.

[Obviously there's more to it than that, but we are doing some gentle parenting at this point. She seems receptive and cooperative. There's no security or staff around to help me. The name of the game is safe de-escalation at this point.]

Her, raising her hand to show me a chewed up wristband from some other event: ???

Me: I'm so sorry, that's not for this event.

[She nods gravely and takes my hand, allowing me to guide her away from the DJ booth. When we get to the edge of the stage, she puts on the parking brake, as it were. I'm attempting to cajole her down the two tall stairs to ground level. Her expression changes.]

Her, alarmed: oh my god, am I in trouble?

Me: no, I've just got to get you back into the crowd. You can't come back up here, okay?

Her, almost tearful all the sudden: I'm REALLY SORRY-

[She nearly eats shit trying to step off the stage with both feet, clearly thinking it's a much shorter drop. Full newborn baby giraffe legs. I pull her back, absolutely terrified she's going to hurt herself.]

Me, so stressed but trying to play it cool: hey! It's all good. Calm down. Cmon, let's go down these steps together. One at a time. I'll help you.

[We make it down to sidestage ground level and I'm opening up the stanchion rope so she can go back into general population. She puts on the parking brake again, still holding my hand.]

Her, seriously: I'm really sorry. I didn't know I couldn't be up there.

[At this point, she feels guilty. I'm not going to pile on.]

Me: Just don't do it again, okay? Do you have any friends here?

[She nods and points to a small group in the front. They're looking for her. We're obscured by a huge tower of speakers.]

Me: okay. Let's get you back with your friends. Can you stay with them the rest of the night?

[She suddenly hugs me very tightly. I'm completely caught off-guard.]

Her: I just wanna tell you, I didn't drive. We all got an uber. I'm gonna be SO safe, okay?

Me, genuinely relieved: thank you for telling me. I'm really glad.

[When she lets go, I manage to grab the attention of her friend group and wave them toward us.]

Me: will you go get some water? That whole bar right there is only sparkling water.

[She nods as she sees her friends, finally stepping out from behind the security rope so I can close the area off again. She is still holding my hand.]

Her, with the seriousness of a knight of old committing to a blood oath, leveling my gaze: thank you for being nice to me.

Me, solemnly matching her energy: thank you for cooperating. Please get home safe.

Her, turning her attention to her friends, immediate girlypop energy taking over: girlies, I need WATER!

[She lets go of my hand and off she goes, practically jogging in her heels, teeny tiny rhinestone clutch in tow. The DJ, who never faltered, and I exchange bewildered looks. The head sound engineer looks at me from the booth mouthing "what the FUCK?!" I shrug back at her. It's all in a night's work, after all.]

* * *

10/10 wild interaction.

It was nice to not have a violent or resistant stage invader on my hands. She was cooperative and her friends took care of her. I'm so glad she was not there alone. Definitely better than my incident at this same event last year, in which I had to dispose of a bag of suspicious white powder dropped outside the VIP area.

I managed to get a couple security guards up by the stage as a preemptive measure in case anyone else got any ideas. One breach per event is already too many. The rest of the night went off without a hitch, thank goodness. Currently formulating my thoughts for the eventual event debrief. Just wanted to write this out while it was fresh.

All in a night's work, right?

[captainsophiestark]

Go Bearcats

Luke Castellan x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my Year of Olympians and part of a bigger challenge being run by @yearofcreation2023​! It features a ton of other awesome creators and runs all year, so go check it out!

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Prompt: Hermes; Travel, boarders, games

Summary: The summer before Percy Jackson came to Camp Half Blood, Luke Castellan's SO convinced him to leave camp with them for a new life.

Word Count: 1,175

Category: Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"I cannot believe you did that to me," I said, shaking my head in disgust with my boyfriend, Luke Castellan. He didn't even have the decency to look ashamed.

"I'm sorry. But it was the best way for me to win."

"Cheating isn't winning."

"Technically, choosing an object outside of the car that we left in the dust ten miles ago isn't cheating."

"You sound like Malcom," I huffed, crossing my arms and leaning back in my seat. Luke just chuckled, shooting me a grin from the driver's seat as we cruised along the highway. Luke and I had been in the car for almost three hours now, on the sixth day of our cross-country road trip from camp. For the first time in a very long time, we were leaving the place we'd called home and had never really been allowed to leave.

I'd gotten to Camp Half-Blood the year after Luke, although we were the same age, and with one exception that hadn't gone well, neither of us had left the camp's boarders since. Until now.

This past year, Luke and I had decided it was time for us to leave, to go do something with our lives now that we were both technically adults. Sitting day after day, month after month, within the boarders of Camp Half Blood wasn't sustainable for the rest of our lives, and I'd noticed it having a bad effect on Luke especially. So, we'd spent the last year preparing for and submitting applications to college, and by some miracle we'd both gotten into the same place. Annabeth, although she would only be starting sixth grade in the coming weeks, had helped us a lot, and about six days ago Luke and I had officially left camp with the end goal of Salem, Oregon in mind.

It hadn't been an easy road trip, especially since we couldn't use phones to help with navigation. But we'd managed alright. We were together, after all, and I swear with every mile we put between us and Camp Half-Blood Luke's spirits had lifted. Enough for him to tease me while cheating at I Spy.

"Alright, new game," I declared, sitting forward in my seat and looking at the scenery around us. "How about... twenty questions?"

"Sure," Luke said, still with a little laugh in his voice. As annoying as his cheating was, I couldn't ignore how happy I was to see him smiling so freely again.

"Alright... I've got something, go ahead."

Luke and I passed another hour that way, laughing as we thought up more and more ridiculous things to try to get the other to guess. After four years of knowing each other and dating for a year and a half of that, we knew each other well enough that truly stumping each other was basically impossible. After Luke successfully guessed that I was thinking of a bearcat, our new school's mascot (whatever the hell a bearcat was), he pointed up ahead of us instead of continuing the game.

"Look, we're officially crossing the boarder from Idaho to Oregon. Last one before we get to school."

"Home stretch," I said, smiling and reaching over the console in the middle of the car to take Luke's hand. "I'm glad we decided to do this."

"Me too."

A little glimpse of the storm clouds passed over his face, but unlike at camp, this time they cleared quickly. He shot me another smile as we drove over the state line and into Oregon. With more than two thousand miles in our rearview mirror, only about two hundred were left between us and the newest chapter in our lives.

"I hope Annabeth's going to be alright without us there," Luke said after moment's hesitation. We'd both been hesitant to completely leave her behind, but she'd assured us all summer that she wanted us to go.

"I'm sure she will be," I said. "Besides, we can Iris Message her all the time to keep in touch. It'll be like we never left."

"It's times like this that the no technology thing gets... frustrating."

"What?" I asked, feigning surprise and putting a hand to my heart to really sell the drama. "You're telling me you're not looking forward to taking only paper notes for college, and to figuring out how to turn in assignments without using a computer?"

"Believe it or not, no," said Luke with a little laugh. There was no question that the year ahead of us would be incredibly strange and full of challenges, but I knew we'd figure out a way through them, together. That's what all our training at camp had been for, after all. Although, the problem solving they'd been preparing us for had been a little more combat-based.

"Maybe Annabeth can come visit us for a break or something," I mused, kicking back in my seat and watching the trees fly past us on either side. I'd never been this far West before, and it looked incredibly different than anything I saw back home.

"Do you still want to visit camp over the winter break?" he asked. His voice was casual, but I thought I heard something else underneath his words, something a little more tense and brittle. "Go back for the Winter Solstice on Olympus?"

I paused, thinking my words over carefully and trying to gauge how Luke felt. Finally, tentatively, I responded.

"I don't know... If we're settled in here, and neither of us really wants to fly... I don't know if I'll want to leave our new lives after only four months being here."

Luke nodded, and I thought I saw his shoulders relax, just slightly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so too. We can decide later, of course, but... I think I want to stay here too."

I squeezed his hand lightly, and gave him a warm smile when he turned to look at me. He returned with a grin of his own, and after a moment of just enjoying the moment here, together, the two of us against the world, I leaned forward and cranked up the volume on the radio.

A little bit of luck must've followed us so far, because one of my absolute favorite songs was on, and I didn't hesitate to scream-sing the words at the top of my lungs. By the end of the day, Luke and I would be moving into a tiny apartment we'd found just on the edge of campus. In the morning, we'd gather materials and get ready to start our classes, and then the day after our new lives would begin. I had a feeling we probably wouldn't go back to our old lives, ever, even though Luke didn't seem to want to talk about permanently closing that door yet. But I didn't mind. The Olympians were overrated anyway, and I'd be happy to live like a normal college kid with the guy I loved, free from their influence and the problems they brought with them.

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Everything Taglist: @rosecentury

Percy Jackson Taglist: @valkyriepirate

[loquaciousquark]

I thought my patience would last a little longer, but I installed my first mods tonight. Well, installed the one mod I wanted (an approval adjustment mod), and then the three additional mods needed to generally manage mods and also re-enable achievements in Steam.

If the underpinning mechanics of this game were better understood, and if I had more understanding of the overall framework of the game structure & relationships, and I could trust that I wasn't really screwing myself (no pun intended) 150 hours down the line with one particular choice I'm making right now, I wouldn't bother with mods at all. But as it is I've already lost 14 hours because I didn't understand a choice I made way back in hour nine wasn't something I could revisit or undo the way I originally thought from its phrasing, and I just can't bear to do that again. (A dialogue option was repeatable in a conversation, so I did the Bioware thing and repeated it, making the same choices until the option disappeared, not realizing it was meant to be a chance for the PC to change their mind later. Instead I just locked myself into an option I didn't want long-term and it took me 14 hours to figure that out, and it was important enough I felt like I needed to redo it.)

Anyway, I found myself opening approval guides for all the companions and going line by line and arranging party composition for max approval on all decisions after that, and panicking every time I got one "wrong," which was both maddeningly slow and also resulted in a lot of spoilers for every single quest area in Act 1, including the three I hadn't been to yet. That's just not how I want to experience this game!

I want to be friends with everyone and I want to not feel like I'm losing out on content/relationships/storylines for playing the character the way I want to, and despite having finished DOS:2 years ago I don't know this developer well enough to trust them to give me ways out, ways to keep people around even with low approval. Since I don't have a thousand hours to replay this over and over again to get exactly the right outcome with the advantage of a fully fleshed out wiki, mods it is.

[wishful-seeker]

My simplified story of my CRPS and experience with ketamine.

I've had crps for 5 years now. I developed it at 18 years old after completing a triathlon and getting tendinitis in my knee, which became crps. Over the course of 2 years it spread to both knees, both elbows, and both wrists. For the past 3 years i have been mostly bedridden. I couldn't walk for more than 3 minutes and even when i did it was excruciating, i couldn't touch a computer, any video games, i couldn't write anymore, i could barely make art anymore, i had to stop writing in my journal and had to keep it on my phone because of my pain. I cannot even sit in chairs or drive or run or jump. I use a wheelchair when i leave the house. When it was its worse it felt like i was being burned alive. I remember days when feeling okay lasted literal seconds and then it was gone. I remember days being in so much pain i couldn't pick up my phone and my mom had to spoon feed me. Days where all i could do was lay in bed and think. I remember days when i desperately wanted to go outside and feel the sun, when i walked outside i would count to 10. I would soak up everything i could in those 10 seconds, the colors of the sky and the fresh air. When the time was up i went back to bed and couldn't do that again for another few days.

I started ketamine infusions a year ago, i was diagnosed last year. I had infusions before i was diagnosed. First we did a 2 hour infusion. It worked wonders, for six weeks i actually jumped on a trampoline for a few minutes almost everyday, i even climbed the low branch of a tree and sat on it. Then we did a 4 hour infusion. The results were not the same. I tried four more 4 hour infusions every six weeks, but there was no relief. I was devastated. I thought the universe was cruel to even give me such hope. Then i got diagnosed and i was told of a place in Clearwater Florida with dr. Hanna that did infusions differently. I went there and met him, he prescribed a 4 hour infusion every day for 10 days, 5 days, the weekend off, then 5 more days, he also prescribed oral ketamine, 30mg 3 times a day on the weekend, one at night on infusion days. I did that. It was the hardest thing I've ever been through. It felt like dying a thousand times. I almost gave up and left early because i hate the experience of ketamine so much. But after the fifth day my dad noticed me bouncing my leg when i was sitting, something i did all my life up until crps which made it too painful. Thats when we realized, since the second infusion, i was in ZERO pain, none at all. That continued until i got home and i had a flair. I always get a flair after infusions, this is very normal for me, but it was scary. I worried the hardest thing i had ever done wasn't worth it. The flair ended, and i tried playing minecraft, my favorite game I've been unable to play for years. I had a system: play for 20 minutes, rest for 20 minutes, and repeat. I played for HOURS. I tried again the next day and it was the same, and the day after that, and the day after that. Six weeks after Clearwater i had whats called a booster infusion, which was 2 days of 4 hour infusions. Then i went two MONTHS until needing my next infusions, which i had two weeks ago.

Here is what my life looks like now: im still in bed most of the time, but i do not think of the pain, it doesn't distract me. It used to be 7-10/10 now its 3-6/10. I play minecraft with my best friend almost everyday often all day. Last week i painted a dresser. I have a garden i lightly care for each day. After the infusions before this one i had a day where i was completely able bodied, i baked a pie, went to the park, transplanted plants and played minecraft. Not only this, but even when the infusions wear off it still has permanent beneficial effects. In the past, no ketamine meant i was taking 4 scolding hot baths a day to soothe the pain in my knees. Now no ketamine means bath some days, maybe 2.

It's over. I made it. I made it to a life i thought was impossible and its not even done getting better. I am happy. I am not suffering. I am regaining freedom. It. Is. Over.