#but also my boy is oblivious

[zimms]

ollie and wicks invite bitty and jack on a double date but they are very unaware that ollie and wicks are dating. thoughts? (@gothlesbianlardo)

yesssss!

it's only as bitty sits down next to jack at the restaurant that he realises that this is actually an awfully fancy place to be just meeting up with college friends. like this is a place that he comes to for dinner with jack on dates, rather than somewhere he'd necessarily meet shitty for a catch up. he shakes off the thought though; maybe ollie or wicks is just a food snob? that feels like something he could expect from one of them.

bitty peruses the menu diligently, whilst ollie and wicks do the same, and he can't help but note, with a glance over his menu, that ollie and wicks are sat pretty close together. surely it can't be that comfortable? like surely their thighs would be touching? but maybe that's just what happens when you're two ginormous hockey players. bitty wouldn't know personally.

jack shuts his menu (he'd clearly already decided on his chicken tenders) and asks ollie and wicks about their post grad plans. bitty opens his mouth to say that he already knows, but he quickly realises, that he does not in fact know.

"oh!" ollie says, "we've got jobs at a couple of start ups here in providence actually! that's why we're here at the moment actually! and then we've put in an offer for a house out in pawtucket!"

wow. a house is definitely a big investment for just two best friends, but ollie and wicks have always been codependent. it's no more than what ransom and holster would do.

it's only at the end of the evening, after a very lovely meal, that bitty realises that the two of them have only been speaking in the first person plural all night. we this, and us that, and our whatever. but what really tips him off is when ollie and wicks share a quick kiss before walking to their (their!!) car.

bitty turns to jack "wow i did Not realise they were dating."

jack blinks. "wait, they're dating?"

bitty stares at jack incredulously. "honey, they literally just kissed. did you think that was platonic?"

"shitty kisses me like that all the time. i saw ransom and holster shares like six kisses yesterday alone."

okay, that's a good point.

[miguxadraws]

Pardon me but can we get a full body drawing of Swap Pomni? She looks so cute!

You're totally right, she is cute

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

i have a Scene - a Plot if you will - that backs this as context. y'all are gonna have to trust me on this one <3 or read the tags...

[hanakihan]

listen I’ve been plagued by idea of Apothecary Diaries AU and Rook is MaoMao you need to see my vision—

[heartscrypt]

errr ahhh um. cfv twst au upon ye (content made for me and only me)

if u couldn't tell kai here is twisted from the beast from beauty and the beast b/c i wanted to make him go through the horrors. i am normal about him

[vickyvicarious]

Seward: Euthanasia is a comforting word...

Van Helsing: And what is happening on the ship? Open your mouth wider while you answer please.

Seward and Van Helsing: *exchanging "subtle" glances of concern and having private conversations about Mina*

Jonathan: I am going to sharpen this knife now. I am going to very casually and calmly mention that my wife is sleeping very soundly and peacefully. I am being very deliberate in all my actions and keeping very alert at all times.

Seward: Thank goodness Jonathan doesn't know of our suspicions! It would break his nerve, the poor man.

Jonathan: That is so true. :) I am readying myself to kill Dracula only. :)

[japeneselunchtimerush]

CROSS COLORS VALENTINES DAY EDITION!!!!!

I wasn't able to find any whole scenes so there's only little tidbits from different events :(

Anyways one of the scenes begins with rakuzan practicing in the gym. And there's a long line of people outside. Mayuyu being his usual self is annoyed af and asks why tf there are so many people outside. Then Nebuya says "Theyre lining up to give akashi chocolates right?? Amazing!"

Now we definitely know that akashi is really popular but it wasn't put into perspective just how popular he actually is. But a long line of girls waiting to give him chocolate is very kise levels of popularity.

Speaking of Kise, according to him, akashi is the most popular member of the teiko gang. Apparently, during a valentines day in teiko, in order to allow kise to actually get to practice without being bombarded with chocolates, akashi went ahead and talked to each person but instead of collecting chocolates, he ended up receiving their feelings(word for word what he said btw)

But people called him akashi-sama lmao I'm not that surprised by these turn of events

The funniest thing about all of this is that akashi doesn't even realise that it is valentines day and until Mibuchi drops a couple of hints😭😭😭😭

[dennisboobs]

some of you should not speak on dennis until you've rewatched sunny in full instead of just the macden-centric eps.

[queenerdloser]

so thinking back i haven't reread the captive prince trilogy since kings rising came out. which is wild bc it's one of my favorite series in the universe BUT also tracks bc when it exists in a subsect of my books where i know if i read it my entire personality will be subsumed. but i'm rereading them now now and my GOD what a delight. i devoured the first two in a day and remembered exactly why they were so so so so good. and i've saving kings rising bc that one changed my brain chemistry when it came out, i've never read such a tightly done, masterfully paced final book in a series to match it.

[queeringclassiclit]

Peter Pan

from Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J. M. Barrie

[neilsracquet]

neil josten

[handlingwelcome]

They both love this idiot 💖💖❤️

[thebirdandhersong]

Okay y'all it is over it is done the conversation has been had he knows I love him we are still friends I have cried my eyes out properly I have laughed again my heart will keep on hurting for a while but it is FINISHED

[piplupod]

feels like the isolation is a gushing wound and going to the centre is just a small bandage. i think perhaps i am not really ever going to feel okay unless something miraculous happens. i am retaining some semblance of sanity now that I'm leaving the house and socializing with non-family more than once a week, but i am still hurting more than I can really tolerate and I don't know what to do about it. there doesn't seem to be a fix for this that I can enact.

[raiiny-bay]

they...... are precious to me

[onstoryladders]

A Byler flashfic because why not 🥰 light angst, emotional hurt/comfort, coming out. Maybe a bit ooc but I don't give a damn. Enjoy 💖

NOT MY TYPE

“I thought you liked her”.

Mike doesn't know why he said that – the words just rolled off his tongue without so much as a warning, and he let them. It feels good, though, and it's worth it just to hear Will's soft laugh so close to his ear.

“You thought I liked Angela?”

Mike snorts. “Yeah, well. I didn't know she was an asshole at the time, cut me some slack”.

“Sorry, it's just-- so absurd”.

He elbows Will's side. “It's all your fault!”

“I didn't even speak a word to her, Mike”.

“It was-- it was before that. I mean, you didn't give me the painting at the airport, so I thought, y'know-- it had to be for someone else. And since we were meeting El's friends at the rink-- well, it sounds dumb now that I know, but. Yeah”. He shrugs. “I didn't have all the facts. I had no idea she was Satan incarnate”.

“You're doing Satan a disservice”.

“No doubt about that”.

They remain silent for a little while. It's nice, sitting so close to each other, this time with clean clothes and no smoke twirling above their heads. Just them and the stillness of a Friday evening – as still as the end of the world can be.

When Will speaks again, his soft voice sends shivers down Mike's arms. “I wouldn't like her anyway. Even if she was nice”.

“What, you don't like blondes?”

“I mean...”

Will turns to the side, and Mike does the same. He's not sure it was a smart decision, because now their gazes are interlocked, so close that they can see their own reflection in each other's eyes, and his gut is twisting with something warm he cannot name.

“I've always been partial to darker hair”, Will says.

Mike's throat is suddenly dry. “How dark?”

He doesn't know why he asked. It's a stupid question, it barely makes any sense at all, and-- and what answer does he expect to get?

Like yours, a little voice in his head supplies.

That makes his stomach churn even more, and suddenly it's like he can feel all his thoughts and emotions on his face, written with fire on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. He turns away.

“It's not about her hair, though”, Will says.

“Hm?”

“Angela, she's-- she's just not my type”.

“Yeah?” Mike bites the inside of his cheek. He wishes he was wise enough to let the conversation die, but he's always been a little bit of a masochist. “What's your type, then?”

For a few seconds, Will doesn't answer.

Then: “Taller. Broader”, he says. He sounds a little weak, a little strained – like he's forcing himself to go on even though every molecule in his body is against it. “With bigger hands and-- a deeper voice”.

Mike frowns. That's not the description he expected. Those aren't traits that people usually ascribe to girls. It almost sounds like Will's talking about...

“Boys”.

Oh.

Mike's breath catches.

“Oh”.

When he turns towards him, Will is staring at his own hands. He looks scared, and Mike doesn't even think before reaching out to take his hand and hold it.

“Hey”, he says softly. “It's okay”.

Will shakes his head. “They were right”.

“Who?”

“My father, Troy. The others at school”.

“Those jerks weren't right about anything”.

“But they were!” Will raises his head, and Mike's stomach knots up when he realizes he's crying. “Don't you get it, Mike? They took one look at me and knew, even before I did. They were...”

His voice breaks, and something deep inside of Mike shatters just the same. He grabs Will by the shoulders and pulls him into a hug. “Wrong”, he says, arms tightening till their chests are pressed against each other. “They've never known shit about you, Will. Not Troy, not your father, not the other assholes at school”.

Will grips Mike's shirt. “They weren't wrong”.

“So what?” Mike threads his fingers in Will's hair. The awareness of just how close they are would drive him insane if he couldn't feel the dampness of Will's tears against his neck. “All the things they said to you-- it was bullshit, Will. All of it. And it's got nothing to do with whether they were wrong”.

Will shakes his head, tries to push Mike away. It's weak and half-hearted, and Mike doesn't let him.

“Listen to me”, he says, feeling his heart in his throat. “Remember what they used to call Dustin and Lucas? Or even me?”

“That's different”.

“Why? I am a nerd. Lucas is black. So what?”

Will doesn't answer that, and this time it's Mike who pulls away so that he can look at his face, all red from crying. Will is a pretty crier, and Mike would kick himself in the face for thinking that in a moment like this, but right now his priorities lie elsewhere.

Seeing Will like this hurts too much.

“So what?”, he asks again, trying to convey his sincerity through his eyes. “And they didn't know, Will. They just assumed something about you and decided that it was a bad thing, but you know what? There's never been anything wrong with you, so screw them”.

New tears stream down Will's face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Screw every. Single. One of them”.

That makes Will chuckle, and Mike preens at the sound. “You made your point”.

Mike scrunches up his nose. “I don't know, you don't look too convinced”.

“I'm not sure I even look alive right now”.

Mike snorts. “You look fine”, he says, and before he knows it his hands are on Will's cheeks, thumbs swiping under his eyes to dry them from tears. “Just a little red all over”.

Will's eyes widen slightly. “Because I cried”.

“Yeah, I know how crying works”.

“Just making sure”.

Mike doesn't lower his hands after that. He keeps brushing his thumbs against Will's face, touch as soft as a feather, and Will lets him. His eyes are still wide, alight with a flame that Mike has never seen before. It turns his insides into liquid heat.

“Thanks for telling me”, he whispers. His own voice is startling in the silence between them.

“Thank you for not freaking out”.

“Hey, you're my best friend, Will. I love you”.

And it's so easy – letting the words out. He doesn't need to think about them, doesn't have to wonder what they mean, because it's second nature: he knows he loves Will like he knows he needs oxygen to live, one of the undeniable facts of life. Connotations don't matter here.

Except that they kinda do, now, because as easy as it was to say it, Mike's hands are still cupping Will's face, and his eyes keep flickering to his lips, and nothing about this feels like it's supposed to do. The warmth in Mike's body is familiar yet strange – and for a second he wonders if Will's confession did change everything, after all.

Am I such a bad friend?

“What's wrong?”, Will asks.

Mike raises his gaze. “Huh?”

“You're crying too”.

Mike blinks, and a wet veil drops in front of his eyes. “Oh, shit. I don't-- I don't know why”, he says, suddenly feeling small and weird and like he shouldn't be here. “Shit, sorry”.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Because it's dumb to cry without a reason”.

“It's not dumb”.

Will raises his hand, and for a second Mike thinks – hopes – that he's gonna reach out and wipe away his tears like he did for him, but Will seems to change his mind halfway through. His lets his arm fall in his lap again. His fingers curl.

Mike wants to tell him that it's okay, that he can and should touch him back if he wants, but doesn't know how to do that without turning into glass – cold and fragile and see-through.

Vulnerable.

He takes his hands away and rubs his eyes.

“Are we okay?”, Will asks once he's done, and whatever doubts Mike was feeling disappear without a trace at the earnestness in his gaze.

“Of course”. Mike smiles. “We're a team, right?”

Will smiles back. “Best friends”.

“Cool”.

“Cool”.

Mike's confusing feelings can wait a little longer.

This is all that matters now.