#but i’ll be so real i was thinking about fight club when i was writing thi

[whatsupspaceman]

presses my head up against the barrel of the gun you have pointed at me and smiles at you with all the love in my heart i have

[jamesmydeer]

Would you do a first big fight type of thing for the marauders? I love angst to fluff stuff. I also love how you write them so...

thank you so much!! i’m a sucker for angst to fluff as well, so everyones happy :)) hope you enjoy <3

masterlist

james

(i’ve already written one for james x, but another one won’t hurt)

- this boy is so precious

- he would never consciously do something to hurt you

- ever

- but oh boy is he dumb sometimes

- you had made plans to study in the library

- and i know what you’re thinking, but HE was the one who organized the whole thing

- he picked the exact spot, time, and material you would be studying

- and all day he had been talking about it

- remus asked if you wanted to work on the potions essay together?

- james is sprinting to tell him no

- you don’t think much about it when he doesn’t show up to walk with you

- but 30 minutes in and there’s still no sign of james?

- suspicious

- you decide to stay, you still have work to get done after all

- 1 hour, no james

- hour and a half, no james

- at the two hour mark, you’re done with your work and you are PISSED

- because you could have gotten this done in one hour had you accepted remus’ offer

- you trudge back to your dorm and head straight to the shower to distress

- once you come back, you’re startled by a very regretful looking james potter on his broom outside your window

- you walk slowly towards the window

- and you can see the hope building up on his face

- only for you to close the blinds and walk back to your bed

“y/n! please let me explain! it’s cold!”

- you begrudgingly walk back to the window and open it for him

- in true james fashion he stumbles inside and is about to start laughing about it

- until he sees your face and he straightens up real quick

- explains that there were first years who needed extra help after practice

- and he was really trying to keep track of time!

- but before he knew it it was dark and you weren’t in the library anymore

- you tell him that’s not a good excuse

- and that he really hurt your feelings

- he hesitates for a moment, then grabs your hand and leads you to your bed

- he motions for you to sit down and kneels in front of you

- he’s so so sorry

- and he lets you know that

- apologizes while holding your hands and looking into your eyes

- he looks pitiful

- you know how much the thought of you being upset with him must be bothering him

- so you remove your hand from his to run it through his hair

- but the second he feels your hand leave his, he looks at you with the saddest eyes you have ever seen

- and it breaks your heart

“aww jamie!”

- you cup his cheeks and lean down to kiss his forehead

- he wraps his arms around your middle and hugs you tight

“i’ll make it up to you baby”

“i know you will jamie”

- he gets up and sits beside you, pulling you into his lap

- he caresses your back as he tells you all the things he’s gonna do to make up for it

“i do still need help on that paper though”

sirius

(i also already wrote one for sirius x, this one is pretty much the same but with an alternate ending :))

- sirius is flirty by nature

- blame it on his hot shit mentality

- so if there ever were any problems between you two, his flirtatious tendencies usually played a part 

- one day, when you and sirius are walking through the halls, a member of his fan club walked up to you

- and completely ignored you, as they tend to do

“hey sirius, are you free this weekend?”

- you had already had a bad day, and you just knew this would set you off

- so you just tuned out the conversation, which you expected to not last more than three seconds

- because all sirius had to say was no

- but of course he couldn’t do that

- of course he had to make a show out of it

- you were tired and just wanted to get to the common room

- so you decided to shorten the conversation yourself

“he actually has a girlfriend”

“i do?”

- and he was joking

- you knew he was joking

- but it sent you over the edge

- so you pulled your hand away from his and stormed off in the opposite direction

- he would yell after you, easily catching up and stopping in front of you

- the glare you sent him was enough for him to let you walk past him

- you stayed in the dorm during dinner

- you needed a good cry, and what better time than when no one else was in the dorm

- hours later you hear the door open and you assume it’s one of your dorm mates

- then your curtains are being pulled back

- and it is a VERY disheveled looking padfoot

- he’s holding a cute little tray of food and there’s little spills all over it and a small one on his shirt

- but he tried <3

- and you can tell by his demeanor that he knows what he did was wrong

- not very good with verbal apologies

“i’m the worst”

“yeah”

“you shouldn’t forgive me”

“i shouldn’t”

- he sets down the food and plops down beside you

- rests his head on your shoulder and looks up at you with puppy dog eyes

- when you smile he knows he is in the clear to hug you

- so he pulls you into him and rests his head on top of yours

- muttering apologies and reassuring you he’s gonna do better

- he’s so good at reassuring you

- he doesn’t need to be told it’s okay

- when you snuggle into him and kiss his neck lightly, he knows he’s forgiven

“is this a bad time to mention how hot you being all jealous was?”

remus

- if you could use one word to describe remus, it would be gentle

- the boy is the definition of "gentle giant"

- so its hard to imagine him getting angry in general, much less at you

- its common knowledge that werewolves get agitated around the full moon

- however, its not common knowledge that remus is a werewolf

- so not only are you not used to him getting angry, you're clueless as to why he is

- unlike the other two, it’s not one big thing that causes the fight

- for the past few days, remus had been short with you

- you would ask him how his day was and he would say “fine” instead of going into detail about how james and sirius did xyz

- or you would ask about his book and he would look at you over the top of it and point to the blurb on the back

- he’s so sassy y’all

- but he’s not doing it on purpose!

- and he actually really likes your company during that time of the month

- needs the quality time

- sure he gets snappy with you, but you bring him a lot of comfort that no one else does

- but you do not know that

- so you assume that he is trying to tell you he wants some space

- during class you only give him a soft smile of acknowledgement instead of your usual greeting

- in the common room you don’t sit as close to him as possible

- at dinner you decline his offer to make your tea

- and it’s hurting his feelings dammit!

- the last straw is when he sees you wearing one of your own sweaters instead of his

- he walks up to you and apologizes to whoever you’re talking to, then proceeds to drag you away

- when you’re alone he lets go if your hand and crosses his arms

“what’s wrong with you?”

“what’s wrong with me?!?”

- he explains how you’ve been distant lately

- and you look at him like 🤨

- because YOU’VE been distant lately???

- isn’t he supposed to be smart?

- and you convey these thoughts to him

- and it clicks

- his shoulders sink and he pinches the bridge of his nose

- you think he’s still mad so you turn to walk away

- but he comes up behind you and hugs you to his chest

- he nudged your neck with his nose and you relax against him

“i’ll explain everything, just let me hold you for a minute”

- you swear you hear him mutter “just in case”

- you turn around in his embrace and hug him back

“you know you can talk to me about anything mus”

- and he does

- but everything has been so good up to this point

- he doesn’t know what he would do if that came to an end

- you pull away just enough to look him in the eyes

- he knows what you’re thinking

- he always does

“i’m scared you’ll think of me differently”

“i might. but it could never be a bad different”

- you kiss his cheek and he visibly relaxes

“let’s go sit down. you’re gonna have to give me a minute to figure out how to tell you this”

[blorbofightclub]

The first rule of Blorbo Fight Club: you don’t talk about Blorbo Fight Club.

Welcome to the Blorbo Fight Club. Here, you can send in your Blorbo to be beat the shit out of other competitors in a “who would kick the others ass hardest” poll match. Winning Blorbos will be returned to the fighting pool and matched again at a later time. Losers are removed from the Club.

Any Blorbo may be submitted, excepting real life serial killers, dictators, and otherwise in-poor-taste submissions. I reserve the right to remove any Blorbo from Fight Club if I feel it crosses the line of poor taste, which is the second rule of Blorbo Fight Club.

Please submit your Blorbo via askbox. If asked off anon, I will answer privately when your Blorbo has been added to the pool. If anon, your ask will be deleted after your Blorbo has been added.

Matches will be queued in advance once I have enough Blorbos to fill the pool. Two Matches per day will be posted.

More information can be found under the cut.

When will we find out the Ultimate Winner?

This is not a bracket tournament. Blorbo Fight Club will go on for as long as there are Blorbos to pit against one another! But after a few matches have passed, I may create a Blorbo Leaderboard to show which Blorbos have won the most matches.

How do you choose the Blorbo matches?

It is done randomly. Blorbos are weighted by the number of matches they’ve already been in, in an attempt to keep one Blorbo from showing up seven times while another has only been in one match. Sometimes I might also pair a match on purpose if I think it’s really, really funny, but for the vast majority of matches, Blorbos are selected at random.

Has my Blorbo already been submitted?

As time goes on, I’ll find a way to streamline the Blorbo submission process. Right now, I’m okay with duplicate submissions; no worries about checking if your Blorbo is there first, you can just submit them.

What if I think the Matched Blorbos wouldn’t fight/would kiss instead/etc?

You should write a fanfiction about that. For the purposes of this blog, only one of them can win, and one of them MUST win.

Okay, so what if it’s a tie?

If a Match ends on exactly 50/50, I’ll consider it a draw and both Blorbos will return to the pool, but neither will get a win.

My question isn’t answered here!

Send me an ask! This FAQ will grow as time goes on, I’m sure.

[ryuichirou]

I saw in the dark headcanon post that Ortho does some upsetting things to Idia at times. Could you give examples of that if you don’t mind? :3

Here is the post that I mentioned it in! Yeah, the idea was that after getting a “heart” Ortho began to enjoy messing with Idia’s head and playing with his emotional state a little bit. He is quite mischievous… or maybe just a little sadist, who knows :3

That original post was almost a year ago, and I am very happy people are still invested in this theme and send asks about it (there are a couple of more asking for hcs and god I hope I’ll finish these soon). Thank you for your interest, Anon!

Anyways, here are some examples of things that Ortho might do, starting with the milder ones:

Little things: putting obstacles on the floor and cables around Idia’s legs when he either focused on gaming or nodding off in his chair. Sometimes Idia instantly knows that it’s just Ortho messing around with him, but there are moments when he genuinely thinks that he is just that clumsy and gets embarrassed and upset. If he spills something on himself, it’s extra points for Ortho, because that always gets Idia upset.

Internet trolling. This one is also tricky, because if anyone knows how to differentiate an actual troll from a fake one it’s Idia, but then again, if anyone knows how to trick Idia into believing he is arguing with a real person it’s Ortho. He knows how Idia operates, so he could create an entire nonexistent person behind some imageboard Anon that somehow says just the right things to make Idia all heated up and upset. This one is exciting, it’s like a game! <3

Sending some guy from the Film Research club to talk to Idia. Ortho would write an entire script for him, because he knows how Idia is going to react a lot of times, so it’s not that difficult to come up with a conversation that’s going to spiral from just mild annoyance to Idia shaking and wanting to escape and yet being unable to do so. Honestly, it’s up to that random guy not to react to Idia starting to visibly panic. Ortho could also organise hazing, but I mentioned something similar in the original post.

Messing with Idia’s food and drinks. Ortho monitors so many of Idia’s body functions, it’s very easy for him to figure out how much of potion/drug to add to whatever he’s eating or drinking so his body reacts in an upsetting way, but doesn’t harm him in a long-run. Ortho also knows that Idia gets way too focused on videogames and programming and neglects his natural urges, so a drink that fills his bladder quicker and “expands” inside of it is a perfect choice: the moment Idia figures that he should probably take a toilet break, he’ll already be leaking.

… or puking; and in that scenario Ortho would bring him a bowl (or take him to the toilet), help him out, hold his hair, pat his back and make him promise that he’ll always listen to Ortho and eat properly. Idia will shake, hiccup and swallow tears, but promise with a weak voice.

But the most cruel thing of would be to act upset at Idia for no reason, making it seem like Idia should know why Ortho is so angry at him and doesn’t want to talk to him. They’ve never had a serious fight before, and Idia really isn’t used to Ortho avoiding him. So not only it’s super interesting to watch Idia just shut down and get all quiet, and then get upset and maybe even a little mad, but then quiet again. It probably won’t take long until he breaks. And how clingy he’s going to be when Ortho loves him again! This is the best <3 But this one is definitely something that Ortho should do suuuuper rarely.

[hana-no-seiiki]

some random idea i got in my head idk if youve done this or not but

yan!oc (any of them) x yan!reader who already has a darling

maybe yan would kill readers darling? but how would yan!reader react to that?

just wanted to share

YAN OCS x YAN! READER HEADCANNONS (isayasifimnotthecreatorofthesecharacters)

Note that I won’t include much reactions moreso ways reader can respond or work around the OCs. Otherwise it’s up to your imagination how you would feel/react to these scenarios.

Been a while since I wrote for my children. I really miss Eve and Amir ngl oTL

Since it’s been such a long time I’ll semi-write this as if I’m talking about them for the first time.

Midnight Darling (College Based OCs)

I feel like many of my yan! ocs especially the college based ones (midnight darling tag if you’re interested in them) just wouldn’t care. They’re already in a harem you’ve created and don’t expect you to be monogamous. They’re more yandere in the sense that they love to invade your privacy/think they know what’s best for you/have no concept of boundaries whatsoever. Like loyal rabid fans.

Specifically speaking for Midnight Darling, you’d have to show extreme favoritism and be super obvious about your feelings for your darling to be suspected and to be targeted.

I think Reader of that universe would be smart enough to use the Yandere Harem to their advantage instead of exposing themself.

Your darling might take advantage of that though. Tell you that you don’t really love them if you keep sleeping around so often.

But in reality you do that just to appease those animals for the sake of your darling’s safety.

Oh and the faculty just shit on your darling’s grades. Your darling prolly gets bullied on the daily too.

In the case of Guest is God (Host Club Based OCs)

Another contender for,

Monogamy is a social construct we don’t give a fuck

Especially since many of these people are a bit more mature and smart than the college ocs.

In this scenario though, they’ll be the ones using your feelings as an advantage.

You want to be alone with your darling? You have to make sure your guest is completely satisfied by the end of the night. You want to take a break so your darling can give you some comfort head? You have to hit the quota for this month then, you slacker!

One thing they’ll have over your head though is that your darling can very much be forced into Host work like you were. So you have to work really hard in order to prevent that. Right?

Next up we have Love Multiplied: Invasion of Your Heart! (Idol Industry Based OCs

Eve (Yan! Idol) would be just-

He would honestly fucken steal your darling.

Of course he would play around them and treat them like shit. But that would be your fault after all!

He only wanted to be yours, but you went ahead and cheated on him with this nobody!! And that nobody doesn’t even love you like he does.

He’s a charming piece of shit when he wants to be. He’s an idol after all. It didn’t take too long.

You have two options here:

You can appease him. Say that he’s your main hoe and that your darling is just a past-time. Jisoo(his real name, Eve is his stagename) would never fucken believe that ofc that perceptive mf but it’ll sooth him enough to have him let go of your darling for a while.

Orrrrr you could just fight him. Yandere on Yandere. Wholeass murder his ass.

You could even do both.

My other LM:IOYH ocs aren’t fully fleshed yet so I’ll just generalize the rest.

The idols would most likely do some gaslight, girlkeep, girlboss tactics to your darling and either do a Jisoo and steal the damn person or make your darling hate you.

The managers/higher ups would most likely organize something to have darling killed.

And the friends outside of the industry type characters would most likely just straight up resort to murder. Direct and to the point. If not sour your opinion on darling.

Next are misc ocs!

Our ever popular Himbo! Yan would probably support you. As long as you manipulate him well enough. That is until he figures out that he likes you in a non platonic manner. Then shit hits the fan.

Amir (Tsun! Yan) would probably lose his feelings for you. Or at least desperately try to. He doesn’t match well with someone who likes someone else. Much less is yandere for someone else. One of if not the only yan who has the mind to let go. Out of fear or betrayal? Who knows.

Tries to avoid you but then literally everything reminds him of you so he’s just dying inside.

Smol chance but he could attempt to be your darling/replace your darling. He at least has the fashion/style know how down. He can try his darn hardest to act like them too.

Mori (Yan! Delinquent) would prolly have a voyeuristic view on it. He would imagine himself as your darling. His head would be in full delulu. Might even help you just so he could watch potentially fuck your darling and finger himself to it (he’s trans)

For @yoru-no-seiiki readers, Cassiel (Yan! Protagonist) doesn’t even see darling as competition. Like unless you’re the yandere to actively harm your darling, they wouldn’t give a crap about them. If you are however, they’d most likely keep you two apart. They can be sadistic if need be, and sees the idea of you not even knowing if your darling is alive or not as exciting. If anything it’d be good fuel for you to keep harming them.

But yeah my yans aren’t really murder hobos since I prefer writing the DISRESPECT part of yanderes rather than the violence. But yeah!! here are their ways of dealing with yan! reader.

[joanvisitsrome]

stars between us - ch.7 - h.c

I am actually so sorry for the wait. I've had some serious writer's block writing this, and then also have been so busy these past few days. I have decided to write an epilogue for this, since I'm literally having so many problems with parting with this series. I promise though, only 2 more chapters. Next chapter is the smut chapter btw 🤭 As usual, comment to be on the taglist, and feel free to send in requests!

Summary: You and Hazel embark on your first real date.

Contains: Fluff, light teasing, slight angst, hazel venting a bit, justin beiber reference, romeo and juliet reference, tybalt reference

I am genuinely so sorry for the amount of outside references in this. I think we can tell I genuinely had a lot of fun writing this. Yes, I know about french tybalt. And yes, i googled how many times they say Baby in the song baby.

You and Hazel agree to go out to dinner Friday night, and then hang out at her house after. Still fairly in shock from the day’s events, you make sure that Hazel wants this. After all, she had voiced how concerned she was to start something more than friendship.

“We’ll never know if we try,” she had said, head laying on your chest. “I kissed you because I realized that I was playing it too safe.” You nod, showing that you’re listening to Hazel while stroking her hair. She snuggles into your chest as you scratch her scalp.

“This is quite nice,” Hazel admits, “I haven’t felt this attended to in so long. It started about a year before my parents’ divorce. When they started fighting. And then they split up, and both were too hurt to help me. And now, my mom’s fucking Jeff, even though, that’s like, fucking illegal.”

“Well I’m gonna stay and take care of you whenever you need it. Okay, Haze?” you give her a soft kiss on the forehead before seeing the clock.

“I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow, okay Haze?” you sit up on the bed and hold her hand.

“Yeah. I’ll walk you out.” Hazel walks you to your car, and makes sure you exit her driveway safely, waving as you exit her driveway.

The next few days at school go quite well. You sit with Hazel at lunch, discussing everything under the sun. Of course, you both had to endure a number of teasing exchanges from the rest of the fight club, from knowing smirks shot across the lunchroom, to kissing noises whenever the two of you walked by anyone in the fight club. They all knew that you and Hazel had the hots for each other, even though neither of you had said a word to anyone. You both agreed that it would be better for the both of you, and the sake of your relationship, whether that meant you got together or stayed friends, that your friends had no say in it. Which meant not talking about anything that had happened recently. They already knew enough from the camping trip anyway.

On Thursday night, Hazel comes over your house to study for a quiz the two of you had in Mr. G’s class the next day. After ‘studying,’ and totally not just saying a bunch of bullshit to each other, since Mr. G’s class was a joke, and the two of you didn’t want to study, the two of you got entangled in another make-out session. You straddled Hazel’s hips again, pulling her closer to you by her chains, as she held your waist, rubbing it with her thumbs. You didn’t realize it, but you were moaning in between kisses, but Hazel took large notice. She began to slip a few of her fingers under your shirt, testing the waters. To be honest, Hazel didn’t know how to respond to this, and was too scared to point it out, worried you may find her inexperienced.

“Hey, is this okay?” she says, out of breath. You don’t even realize that Hazel has begun to slip a few fingers under your shirt.

“Maybe not today, if that’s okay? I’d rather us be in a relationship before we started doing this.” you motion to Hazel’s hands, still holding on to your waist under your shirt. She quickly removed her hands and put her hands on your thighs, running them up and down slowly.

“I think that’ll be good. I’m glad you said that, since I was feeling that way too.” You give Hazel another kiss before getting off of her.

“Do you mind if I sleep here tonight? I think I saw my mom picking up Jeff after school today.”

“Of course Haze.” The two of you cuddle in your bed the whole night, tangled in the sheets. You have to admit, sleeping in Hazel’s arms sober feels amazing. You feel cared for and safe, causing you to fall asleep very quickly.

That Friday, the next day, school goes agonizingly slow. Minutes feel like hours, and hours feel like days. All you want is to go on your date with Hazel, and have a good time. That’s it. You daydream all day about your date, thinking out every single possible scenario. In case you two decide to be friends at the dinner? Check. In case you two make out in the back of her car? Check. In case you guys run into PJ stalking you two with binoculars? Check.

 You practically run to your car when the last bell finally rings. You take your time getting ready for Hazel, making sure every strand of your hair was in place, that your outfit looked good, and that you looked absolutely perfect. Hazel notified you earlier in the day that she would text you when she made it to your house. Until then, you paced in your room, thinking up your possible situations again. 

You receive a text from Hazel. i’m outside

You quickly grab your bag, take one last look in the mirror, and head outside, to see Hazel leaned up against her car. She’s wearing a white button-down shirt with small brown stripes going vertically, along with her signature bowler’s jacket, and black jeans. She straightens up seeing you, eyes widening at your beauty.

You truly were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

“You look… really nice,” she says while running around her car to open the door for you.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” you reply wittingly as you get into the passenger’s seat.

“Do you like pasta?” Hazel asks, adjusting her seatbelt. You nod, already taking a huge breath of relief. This was already feeling a lot more natural than you thought it would. You begin to feel a lot more comfortable in mere minutes of the car ride. Hazel lets you know that she made a reservation at Olive Garden, to which you tell her was a great choice.

The whole car ride, you and Hazel spend your time talking about music, since Hazel had her playlist going. The two of you argue over who has the more superior music taste, spatting a few playful insults back and forth, and acting dramatically offended when the insult is pointed at each other.

“Would someone who has a superior music taste have Baby by Justin Beiber on their playlist?” you ask Hazel playfully.

“Yes! I believe that it’s a classic for our generation!”

“It says BABY fifty-six times! That’s not a classic!”

“Nuh uh!”

“Just admit it Hazel, you’ve got Beiber fever.” Hazel rolls her eyes, swatting her hand, as she pulls into the Olive Garden. She stops the car and runs around to open the door for you. You get out and hold Hazel’s hand after she clips her keys onto her carabiner.

The two of you are seated at a table for two, next to a wall. Hazel pulls out the chair for you, pushing you in before seating herself. The two of you order, and begin talking again. Much to your surprise, this is going quite normally. You expected things to be awkward, but it was almost like you two were meant to be together. Each thing you said to each other complimented the other perfectly, like two voices in harmony.

“You know, we’ve talked about me a lot tonight,” Hazel mentioned, “I want to learn more about you.” You nod, still chewing on your food.

“Ask away, Haze.”

“So other than reading and astronomy, are you into anything else?”

“Not really. I tend to just do things centered on that most of the time.”

“Well, what’s your favorite book?” Hazel asked, taking a sip of her water.

“I really enjoy Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. I know it’s pretty basic, and maybe a bit weird, but I really like re-reading it.”

“Romeo and Juliet? Please tell me your favorite character is Tybalt, at least.”

“Of course it’s Tybalt! He’s literally so underrated!” you exclaim.

“Have you heard,” Hazel asks, her voice low, “of French drag Tybalt?”

“It’s like you’re reading my mind.” you say, laughing. You genuinely feel like Hazel just gets you in a way that no one really understands. Matching your energy, not laughing at you for your niche interests, but instead, supporting them. This date had gone a lot better than you had expected, that’s for sure.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Hazel asks, during the car ride back to her house.

“Yeah, Hazel. What’s up?”

“Will you be my girlfriend? I know I said before that dating would ruin our friendship, but honestly, I haven’t been this happy in a long time. This date helped me realize that we really should be together. That, well, I truly want you to be my girlfriend, and that it’s not going to ruin anything.”

“I really want to be your girlfriend too, Haze.”

“So will you be my girlfriend?”

“Of course.” You say this while pulling into her house.

taglist: @at1nyzen@slaughtercarrie@sophia2414@canmargesimpson @sam-cooperrr @rubycruzin4abruzin

[kristeristerin]

I’m obsessed with Taylor songs and acotar charaters!!! Could you write one where the reader is pining for Azriel and admiring his beauty!! I’m thinking Gorgeous from reputation!!!

AN: Thank you for the prompt! This was a little something I threw together real quick and I hope you like it!!

Song: Gorgeous

Pairing: Reader X Azriel

Content Warning: None

Words: 801

Most nights you enjoy the feeling of the pounding bass and the sweat-slick bodies at Rita’s, but tonight everything seemed too loud and too close. Finding an unoccupied corner to the right of the bar you close your eyes as you let your head fall back against the wall.

You take several deep breaths before opening your eyes only to find the bane of your existence staring at you from where he sat across the club. You allow yourself a moment to take the Ilyrian in. He’s ditched his usual fighting leathers and is instead wearing a fitted black shirt. It leaves little to the imagination when it comes to his impressive physique. You let your eyes drift back up to his face and when you’re once again looking into his hazel eyes you can’t help but shudder at the smirk on his face.

“Cauldron damn me, that male could ruin my life,” you whisper to yourself before pushing off of the wall and making your way toward the exit of the club.

You are almost there when a hand wraps around yours. “Leaving so soon, yn?”

You turn, but miscalculate just how close he is to you and run directly into Azriel’s chest. He swiftly wraps an arm around you to prevent you from falling to the ground.

“I just need some air,” you manage to murmur as you move to leave his grasp. His arm tightens around you.

“I’ll join you then.” When he lets go of you he once again takes your hand in his, interlocking your fingers, and leads you toward the front doors.

You expect him to let go of your hand once the two of you are in the cool night air of Velaris, but instead, he gently pulls you into an ally beside Rita’s.

“So,” he lets go of your hand and turns to face you fully, “are you going to explain to me why you’ve refused to acknowledge my existence? Outside of ogling me from across the room that is.”

You take a step back further into the alley to put some space between the two of you and find a rather interesting discarded wine bottle to look at before answering him, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Azriel.” He steps toward you, causing you to take another step back.

“That’s bullshit, y/n, and we both know it.” He sighs and runs a hand through his dark hair. “Have I done something to offend you?”

Your eyes snap up to him, “No, you’ve done nothing wrong.”

He nods but grimaces when he takes a step forward and you take another step away, this time your back coming in contact with the brick wall at the end of the alley. “What is it then? You get along with everyone else just fine. Fuck, I’ve even seen you joke with Nesta, but I can’t even get you to hold a conversation with me.”

You close your eyes and take a steadying breath. “I have avoided you because I’m attracted to you.”

“What?”

When you open your eyes you can see he’s watching you with his eyebrows drawn together.

You take another deep breath and decide to continue before you lose your nerve, “At first when I was seeing Finnian it was easier to avoid you because there was no use pining after someone who I was not involved with. When he and I broke up I was devastated, but not because of the end of that relationship. I was devastated because I had to face the reality that I was truly pining after the most gorgeous male I had ever seen, and I didn’t stand a chance.”

He took another step forward, this time caging you in with his body. “You beautiful, infuriating, silly, female.” He breathed, “I’ve been trying to get your attention for months and I couldn’t figure out what I’d done to push you away. It wasn’t until you were watching me tonight that I thought maybe there was hope after all. Can I kiss you?”

Your breath hitched and you nodded.

It was all the confirmation he needed and in a second he lowered his lips to yours. The kiss started slow and sweet, but as the need grew he pulled your lower lip into his mouth and bit it before gently sucking. The sensation caused you to groan.

A cough at the end of the alley caused the two of you to jump apart. “We’re all leaving and heading back to the townhouse. Are you two coming?” Mor stood with a brow raised and one hand on her hip.

You shook your head.

“No, I think I will head home alone tonight.” You paused and looked over to Azriel. “Unless you’d like to come along?”

[khaleesiofalicante]

Hello!

I was finally able to post that jealousy fic I've been working on, I hope it is something you like. No pressure if you don't have the time right now, I know you are swamped with work hehe.

But, I did want to let you know that your writing has brought me a lot of comfort and clarity recently. It means a lot to me that I have that. So thank you. I hope this brings you a smile during your busy week.

P.S. They might seem a bit OOC because writing about Max's insecurity is still hard for me. Plus, they are not my characters so I am bound to maybe not write something the way you would, but I think that's why writing is great. It's all up to interpretation sometimes.

Anyway, I hope enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's pinned on my profile for when you have the time. on to writing the body-image fic I have in my head for them.

Jade!!! This was so cool!! Thank you for writing (and sharing!!!)

First of all, gotta compliment you on this moodboard because it's stunning ahhhh!

This was NOT what I expected at all! I thought it was a jealousy fic but the fic being about David being frustrated over Max's lack of jealousy is very in-character! Of course, his insecurities would make him think it's because Max doesn't care about him that much. We def would've explored it in LDV if it was written from David's POV, so I was very happy to see it.

I love a good masquerade ball so this was AMAZING. I was wondering if you had any inspo for the outfits or had any songs you listened to when you wrote this? Just curious 🥹

Some of my favourite parts:

When Max said everyone was there for the prince, but he was there for David. That's it. That's the essence of their relationship.

The black mesh lace shirt 👀

"Every romance book he’s read, or movie he’s watched has shown that one couple in the club where one of them gets hit on and the other one gets super-hot and bothered. They get jealous because their person is important to them." - This bit was REALLY cool because it shows that every idea David has of love is from the media he has consumed (which is not healthy) and that is influencing his expectations for a real relationship. I loved this!!

Also there is always that creepy guy in a mavid fic istg NEED THEM AWAY FROM MAVID

" I want to make him jealous, not hurt" - a very David thing to say.

“He looks a bit too comfortable, no?” + “I mean yeah I guess, it's your relationship”  - MADELEINE STFU

“Do I care more about our boundaries and monogamy than him?” “Was that biphobic? I think that was Bi-phobic” - This was a very interesting/important connection to make. I loved that you did that because that is indeed a stereotype attached to a lot of bi people. At least my boi is self-aware 😌

“I’ll guard the door while you two imbeciles work this out" - Jackson 🩵

“No, you did nothing! That’s the problem.”  “I don’t get it?”  - THIS IS SUCH A ROMCOM FIGHT AND I LOVE IT.

Max calling David 'my man'.

"There are so many people in your life who tell you what to do, especially with your body. I don’t want to be one of them, I won’t be one of them. " 💙

"they do not threaten me because they will never love you like I do." - 🥹🥹

"You are a good man" SAY IT LOUDER

This was so much fun to read! Thank you, babygirl 💜

[wordofthewise]

Get up.. please?

SPOILER WARNING FOR THE LAST OF US P2!!

Pairing: Joel Miller x !fem!reader

Description: Y/N witnessing Joel’s death, and not knowing how to cope.

Warnings: suicidal thoughts, mentions of not eating, angst.

Words: 893

A/N: I wanted to write this, because I’m still not doing too well after playing some of TLOU P2. This is basically me going through it. I fucking miss him. This is also the first thing I've posted on here, so please don't judge.

When Y/N found out that Joel and Tommy were missing, her mind went crazy. She was desperate to find them, she needed them to be okay. She climbed onto her horse and headed East, searching everywhere she could, screaming their names, not even caring if it drew out the infected. Her priority was finding them.

She stopped as she noticed a lodge not too far from her. She tied up her horse, and made her way around to the back, where she found an opening for her to sneak in. She debated whether or not to call out their names, but decided against it, as to not attract unwanted attention.

She crawled her way into the lodge, through a hole in the wall, grabbing her gun just in case shit went sideways. She heard the soft sound of muffled cries coming from the basement, and without thinking, she bolted for the basement door. Peeking through, she saw a girl with a long blond braid, gripping onto a golf club, looming over an injured, bloody Joel.

Before she knew it, Y/N had made her way into the room, where she was quickly tackled to the floor by one of the men. She thrashed and kicked, desperate to get out of the grasp of the man, though a few others had joined in, helping pin her to the ground. She was facing Joel, making eye contact with him as he bled.

“How’d you find us!” The girl yelled, pointing the golf club at Y/N’s head, though she didn’t even notice, she was too busy trying to fight off the people that held her down.

“HEY!” Another man spoke, pushing the golf club away from Y/N. “What are you doing, Owen?” The girl replied, getting up in his face. “No, what are YOU doing, Abby? We want him dead, not her! She’s just a kid!” He yelled, standing his ground. “SHE WAS THERE! SHE WAS AN ACCOMPLICE!” Abby retorted, her voice raising. “SHE WAS JUST A CHILD!” Owen replied, before taking in a deep breath. “Look, if she was able to find us, they will be able to as well! We’ve got a whole city that’s probably looking for us, right now!” He explained. “We need to get out of here, and fast! Get it over with, I’ll start packing” He finished.

Y/N’s eyes widened. “Get it over with” She was about to kill Joel. This forced Y/N to fight, kick and scream harder than ever. Abby slowly walked over to Joel, making eye contact with Y/N, whilst an evil smile spread across her face. Her eyes welled up with tears, still trying to fight. “Joel! Please! Get up, Joel! GET UP!” She cried, begging him to fight. She watched as Abby raised the golf club. She knew that this would be the final blow. “NO! NO! PLEASE, STOP IT, PLEASE! GET UP! GET UP, JOEL! DON’T GIVE UP, PLEASE!” Joel looked at Y/N, a soft, comforting smile on his face, as the golf club hit him for the final time.

Y/N’s mind went blank, as she watched Joel’s life leave his eyes, before being knocked out cold.

“Y/N! Wake up” A voice called, lightly shaking her body. It was Dina. Y/N thought that just for a second, that it was all just a horrible, horrible nightmare, though when she noticed Dina’s expression, she knew it was real. Dina had a solemn look on her face, whispering a soft ‘sorry’ before moving out of the way.

And there he was, the man that had always protected her, lying dead, in a pool of his own blood. Y/N sat up quickly, throwing up next to her as the memories came flooding back.

“I should’ve fought harder! Joel would’ve” she said to herself, as she cried.

It was damn near impossible for her to be okay, watching as the closest thing she ever had to a father get murdered right in front of her. She couldn’t even function, she did nothing but lay in bed, clutching onto his favourite jacket. It still smelt like him.

She couldn’t bring herself to sleep, as every time she closed her eyes, she would see him covered in his own blood. She couldn’t eat, as every time she smelt food, she would feel sick. She stared at the knife that sat on her bedside table. She contemplated whether or not to take her own life.

“What’s the point when Joel isn’t here?” She thought to herself.

She thought back on all the times Joel had risked his life to protect her, all the times that he had fought for her survival. She felt as if she failed him. If the tables were turned, Joel would have already slaughtered every single person in that room before they could even lay a hand on her. She recalled how she had begged him to get up despite his injuries. She felt as if it was selfish to have asked him to fight for her, especially after the trauma he had faced, mentally and physically. She felt it was selfish for her to have spent his last few moments begging him to get up, when she wasn’t even hurt, and she couldn’t.

She remembered how Joel had taught her how to swim, how to play guitar and even how to write songs. She remembered the song he used to sing to her whenever she was sad, or whenever she couldn’t fall asleep.

She gripped onto his jacket, as she quietly sung to herself to sleep, imagining that Joel was there.

“I’m so sorry, sweet girl”.

[lala3244]

When the protectors are gone Part 10

~Hi everyone! I don't know if anyone wanted a new chapter for this serie but I decided to write one anyway. I am not sure about this chapter. It hasn't been proofread (as usual).~

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Warning: some violence.

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The newcomer helping me was Amelia. I pushed her away not as harshly as I wanted but I had no strength in me. “Stop fighting me and let me help you up.” I sighed and glared at her but I was silently thinking that she actually saved my life so I let her help me. “What… What happened there?” I looked at myself in the mirror and watched the bruises forming slowly on my throat. I had nothing to hide them but Amelia handed me a silky scarf. I grabbed it and put it around my neck. “Hey, are you alright?” I nodded but tears started to form in my eyes. She came closer and rubbed her hand on my back. “She… uhm… She threatened me because of Mammon.” She squeezed my arm. “Couldn’t you do something with your powers?” Tears were now falling down my cheeks, I was ashamed. “I froze, I actually never used my powers in real situations.” She hummed and we waited silently for my tears to stop falling. “What are you doing here?” She kept rubbing my back. “I came here with a couple of friends. I saw Mammon’s girlfriend going into the bathroom then you and I heard her telling some of her friends that if she happens to find herself alone with you, she would make you understand that Mammon is hers. So when I realised you were going to be alone with her, I interfered how I could.” 

I stared at her, trying to understand what happened to her. She was the one who wanted me hurt and now she saved my life? “I know what you are thinking.” I raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I know you were hurt because of me but I talked to a lot of people and they made me realise that we should be allies in this world instead of enemies. I know I started it…” I straightened up and faced her. I undressed slightly and showed her my scars. “You started it?! I haven’t even got a choice in it! I actually liked you! And you said you loved me but LOOK!” She looked away and I sighed, leaning against the sink. A demon entered the room and we watched them coming. We stayed silent until they left. I was actually surprised that the bathroom was not actually busy despite all the people inside the club. I started to go towards the door. “But you are right, we should be allies but believe me, if you betray me one more time…” 

I walked back towards the VIP section and was joined by Satan who put his arm around my shoulder. “Hey. Are you okay?” I looked at his soothing face and smiled tightly. “I think I am ready to go home.” He nodded and led me towards the exit. We turned around when we heard Asmo calling us. “Where are you guys going?” Satan answered for us. “We’re going home.” He turned us around and we left the club without waiting for a response from the Avatar of Lust.

Satan, like the gentleman he is, accompanied me in front of my door. He leaned in and kissed me softly on the cheek. “Thank you for today. You don’t owe me a favour anymore.” I smiled and shook my head. “I wouldn’t call spending some time with you a favour, Satan. I still owe you one… And if you want to hang out again, I’ll always say yes but don’t call that a favour.” Satan chuckled at my words and agreed. “I will hold you to that.” I hugged him and I went inside my room. I got  myself ready for bed and lied down. 

I must have fallen asleep without realising it because when I looked at my D.D.D, it was already late morning. I had several notifications but I couldn’t be bothered to check them. I stayed there, laying down thinking about last night and before I realised it someone was shaking me to wake up. I jumped out of bed and tried to hide but some strong arms grabbed me. I stopped fighting as I realised where I was and who was with me. I relaxed and leaned against his chest. I could feel his hands caressing my head, soothing me. “Are you alright?” I nodded. “Are you sure? You spent all day in your room without eating and I had a hard time waking you up.” I stayed silent and shrugged. He hummed and slowly rocked me. I was shocked by the gesture but I embraced it. After a few seconds, he pulled away. “Dinner is ready”. I started to walk towards the door but realised I was still in my pjs. “Hmm. I will change first and join you after.” He just nodded and left. 

When I arrived in the dinner room, everyone was already there, even Mammon’s girlfriend. She stared at me as I walked over to the only empty chair which was next to Mammon. Mammon smiled at me and leaned down towards me when I sat down. “Hey human. We didn’t see ya at all day! Are ya alright?!” I nodded and proceeded to ignore him during dinner. I could feel Amelia’s gaze on me. We finished eating and I went straight to my room as soon as I closed the door, I heard a knock. I reluctantly opened it. Amelia was standing in front of me, looking sheepish. I sighed and moved out of the way so she could come in. She looked around my room. 

After a couple of minutes, she took a deep breath in and turned around to face me. “How are you feeling?” I tilted my head, confused by why she was here. “Okay. Why are you asking?” She paced around my room. “I saw how you ignored Mammon and how SHE looked at you when you came into the dinner room.” I nodded. “Yeah, she clearly doesn’t like me.” She stopped pacing. “What are you going to do about that?” I freeze. “What do you mean?” 

She chuckled. “Are you really going to let her threaten you like that?” I frowned, not really understanding what she meant by that. “You don’t remember what you did to me? All the planning you did?” My eyes widened and I laughed after. “That’s different, she didn’t make other demons do it. She did it herself.” I saw a glint of guilt passing through her eyes but her face was more determined. “So? If you don’t do anything to stop her now, she will always be a threat to you!” I crossed my arms. “If I stop spending time with Mammon I should be fine and also she comes from a powerful family. I can’t get around and kidnap her and do whatever to stop her. It doesn’t work like that.” 

She pondered for a second. “Can’t you tell Diavolo? Or Lucifer?” I sighed and shook my head. “Nah. I don’t want to. It’ll be fine, don’t worry.” She smiled, genuinely, which surprised me. “If you say so. You seemed to have gotten used to life in the Devildom better than I do.” I laughed. “So have you! Better than me. You had demons willing to kill when you asked!” 

She lowered her head and she looked ashamed. “I had to trade favours. I thought they were my friends but I realised they used me as I used them. I… I guess being in the Devildom made me go crazy and I did things that I would have never done in our realm. I actually think we could have been really good friends. I was jealous of all the attention you got from the brothers and Lord Diavolo. Especially when I first arrived. Instead of going to you, I thought I should eliminate you because, and I know it doesn’t make sense, I wanted you only for myself. I could see what they saw in you and what I wasn’t. After what you did to me I realised I wasn’t angry at you but at me because I wasn’t as kind and nice. I had that darkness inside of me and the demons I talked to saw it and exploited it.”

I hummed. “I know it’s easy to fall inside our darkest side, especially with demons around us.” She hugged herself. “You didn’t…” I laughed. “You have a short memory. You just talked about what I am able to do. Isn’t that dark?” She shrugged. “I guess…” I approached her and put my arm on her shoulder. She jumped at my touch, looking at me with wide eyes. “All humans can do bad things. It doesn’t mean they are inherently bad people.” She nodded and went in for a hug. I froze for a second but I wrapped her in my arms. 

She sighed. “Thank you for listening to me. I know it doesn’t mean anything to you but I regret my actions and putting you in harm’s way…” Before she could finish her sentence my door room opened violently. “Human!” We both jumped at the noise of the door hitting the wall. Mammon walked inside my room, as usual without being invited. “Mammon?” He looked at the two of us and frowned. “Amelia? What are ya doing here?” She faced him, her face angry. “Me? And You what are you doing here?!” He stepped back, flustered by her outburst. “It’s none of yer business!” I stepped between the two of them. “Alright, Mammon what do you want?”

He looked at me, his hands scratching the back of his neck. “Can I talk to ya alone?” I nodded while looking at Amelia. “I’ll talk to you later.” Mammon and I looked at the other human leaving the room. I turned to face the demon, annoyed. “What do you want, Mammon?” He frowned. “What’s up with the attitude, human?” I grunted. “Stop calling human” He gasped and approached me. “What’s wrong?” I turned my back to him, I couldn’t face him while I talked to him. “You have a girlfriend Mammon, we can’t hang out like we usually do.” He stayed silent for a few seconds and he took a few steps towards me. “Why? What do ya mean?” I finally faced him. “Look Mammon. I love spending time with you but I have this rule… If someone I do care about is in a relationship, I won’t interfere with it, which means no spending time alone with them, no hugging, no talking, nothing. So can you please leave my room. I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast.” I pushed him gently towards the door and closed it behind him before he could say a word. I leaned against the wall, tears falling down my cheeks. 

I locked the door, I didn’t want any impromptu visit. I curled up on my bed with my cat waiting for my tears to dry off. As I was cuddling my cat, I could hear my phone vibrating. It kept going off for a few minutes so I grabbed it as it drove me mad. I read the notifications. It was Mammon. I just sent one message.

*Stop texting me.*

I went back to my cat and fell asleep. 

I woke up a couple of minutes before my alarm went off. I layed there wondering if I could really face the day. I stayed a couple of minutes, psyching myself up. I put on some music, a playlist that always makes me feel better and I got ready for the day. I went to have breakfast with the brothers and sat next to Mammon again. It was unofficially my place but right now I did not want to be next to him. I sighed when I saw no other empty chair and sat down next to the demon. He ignored me but I caught him looking at me when he thought I wasn’t watching. I ignored him too as per my earlier words. Not a glance not, not a smile. It did make me sad. I listened to the conversations going on around me while eating my breakfast. We left for RAD where Mammon’s girlfriend joined us. 

I sighed and left the brothers to join Simeon and Luke who had just arrived. Simeon stared at me even though he had his signature smile. “Are you okay?” I hugged the angel and nodded. He hummed. “Ok, if you say so. Come on, let’s go to class.” He grabbed my hand while leading me to the classroom.

Simeon stayed by my side all day, fending off the brothers from annoying me too much. I was grateful to him, I don’t know how he knew something was off with me but that was such a thoughtful gesture. The day went smoothly and I appreciated that the angel just stayed by my side, quietly, just being a soothing presence. At the end of the day, I was going to walk back to the brothers but when I saw them there she was, she was staring me down. I slowed down. I did not want to deal with that again. I looked at the angel and he smiled down at me. “Do you want to go for a coffee?” I looked back at the group again and nodded. “Yes, I would like that.” He intertwined his fingers with mine and led me to one of my favourite café. 

We sat in my favourite booth and he ordered my favourite drink. I sipped in silence for a few minutes, quietly enjoying my beverage but a question kept coming back into my mind. “Simeon? How did you know?” He was looking around before turning his gaze to me. “What do you mean by that?” I stared at him wondering if he was playing coy or not. “You knew something was wrong before I said anything.” He smiled and he took my hand, rubbing his thumb on the back of it. “You have this  sparkle in your eyes that illuminates your whole face. This morning it was gone.” 

I laughed. “What?” My laughing made his smile grow bigger. “You didn’t know?” I shook my head. His face became serious. “You know, we know when you are not feeling good. The brothers know too. I think Mammon told them what you said.” I hummed. “He doesn’t know the whole story either.” He kept staring at me, waiting for me to say more but I couldn’t bring it up. I changed the subject and we spent a few more hours talking about everything and anything. 

We walked together to the House of Lamentations but he stopped me a few metres from the entrance. He turned me so I could face him.

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THE END

It ends like that on purpose BTW.

Part 9

Masterlist

[latibvles]

Poet i am obsessed with the Mouse Hole crew and have been rereading some of your fics about them! Just wondering if you had any hcs for the more (imo) underrated gals of the group like Lorraine, Lena, Harriet, Fern and Carrie? Keep up the great work, love your writing!!

Hi friend!!! Glad you’re rereading and enjoying them!!! It feels like a good start just to know people read them, let alone go back and reread. I definitely do because all 10 of them rattle around in my brain like ping-pong balls. For the sake of the fact that I’m a yapper I’ll throw them all under the cut and break them up by character: I have a lot to say!

LORRAINE IVANOVA

So I think I’ve said this to friends but Lorraine’s older sister Vera is the one who writes their stories down after the war. Which says a lot because I think Lorraine’s relationship with her older sister is… strange, a little strained because they’re so different. But the love is there.

She’s bilingual! She speaks Russian and English. She and June are the ones who were raised by immigrants who didn’t have English as a first language.

She’s the second tallest out of the girls at a whopping 5’9”

She has a lot of respect for Jack Kidd and I think that, if they had spent more time around each other, they could’ve been very good friends.

I wrote about Lorraine being the one to get into some trouble in this fic for the prompt list. Of which to say I definitely think she and June are a bit of a tandem when it comes to fights. Lorraine is a woman of action and very few words at the end of the day.

LENA CONNOLLY

No siblings and apart of the only child club. I always imagined that she’d work with cars or something after the war because Lena is still a very hands-on person.

Out of all the guys in the 100th she and Crank get along great, but predictably Curt is the one she jives with first as two New York Irishfolk.

I’ve always wondered if she gets with anybody after the war / if it would be a OC or an opportunity for a crossover moment with BOB or TP. She has a very “brothers I never had” view of the guys she served with so she isn’t exactly going home with a wartime sweetheart.

Most often Fern’s co-swindling conspirator. And the one scrutiny June by the neck to keep her from getting them kicked out of a pub with her short fuse.

Very good at baseball, and a big fan of the sport. It’s something she and Major Egan bond over in the POW Camp.

HARRIET MORGAN

I’ve said this before: biiiiiig crush on Helen when they first meet. She’s all heart eyes over her for a little while like a schoolgirl until things start getting Real for Harrie in terms of the war itself.

I went “how neat would it be to crossover her and Malarkey and make them friends” because of their extremely similar circumstances (losing their best friends since training, cold trauma, etc). So I think they end up in a similar circle after the War.

Harrie has a way of worming herself into everyone’s hearts but if I HAD to pick a 100th Bestie™ for her, it’s a toss-up between Blakely and Dougie. She and Blakely have a brother/sister dynamic in my head

Rainy days are her least favorite. So we can imagine that she’s struggling a little in England. Good at persuading officers into giving her free bike rides.

I think out of everyone, her shift in personality from the start or the war to the end is the one that’s most noticeable for better or for worse. My sweet girl.

FERN CARMINE

If she didn’t make it in the USAAF she was going to become a USO Girl for the obvious reason: she has the voice and the charisma for it.

Went to boarding school for most of her life & her first kiss was with a girl. And has been the first kiss / awakening for many girls since.

Has always been close to her father and her dark secret is that she still wrote him even when he initially wasn’t writing her back. Eventually he starts though.

Gets interviewed a lot at the beginning because she’s apart of an Old Money Family. This tapers off just slightly when they get to England, but she was photographed with Viv for a TIME cover (which she enjoyed quite a bit, to be fair).

She and Curt would dance together quite a bit at Thorpe Abbotts. His is the death that hit her the hardest.

CARRIE HUGHES

As nervous as she gets, she really hates the days when the 349th flies a practice mission while the others go on a bomb run. The waiting aspect of it makes it considerably worse for her.

Her dad is a cop and her mom is a school teacher! Carrie is very girl-next-door-like in nature, the type to hide behind her mother’s skirts as a kid.

She painted sets for school musicals when she was in high school! I think she’s very creative but is also humble to a fault about it. Always a little nervous when asked to talk about herself.

A fairly decent darts partner though, mostly taught by friends in her neighborhood.

Her favorite part of the flight is being over the channel because she has a very romanticized idea of the ocean & the beach. She really loved the flight from Greenland to England guys

Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing those!

[yeehawpim]

My long-winded love letter to D20

When I was in grade three, I didn’t think much about stories. I was a voracious reader— it was quiet and engrossing, all that could be asked of a kid at home. I walked the shelves of the city library in summer with eyes flitting from spine to spine, too excited about the possibilities now that it was summer reading club time, and my mom had to bring me there. I even wrote an endless stream of unfinished stories for class, the half-nonsensical kid stories that didn’t have endings.

But I never really thought of them as real. Not that the stories I read were real in the literal sense, but when I would later learn that people thought of themselves as going to Hogwarts, it was a concept completely foreign to me. Stories existed in a space apart from my little existence, where everything seemed to happen to other people. I wasn’t sad about it until I was older, when I couldn’t connect that my loneliness had to do with my tendency not to participate. How do you interact with friends when you’d rather watch them play video games than join in? How do you talk to people about the things you enjoy and what you feel when you don’t know that’s a thing you can do?

I have a mom who loves me, but would say “be careful” before she said “be kind,” and my parents almost never joked or played with my brother and I. We weren’t taught to look out for each other, just to get along and focus on school. How do you be around people who make you happy? How do you be kind for kindness’ sake, and not because you’re afraid any stranger will hurt you if you’re not polite?

I think the answers were always there, even if I didn’t see them. I read so much as a kid, Percy Jackson and Harry Potter and Bone, and even before that Geronimo Stilton and Captain Underpants and World of Wishes. They probably did teach me things, even though at the time all I was thinking about was fighting boredom.

But I don’t think all that really important stuff didn’t hit me until the past year or so, when I finally felt myself climbing out of the terrible time I was having after secondary education. Without getting into it, I was collapsing under a lot of stuff I didn’t understand as things I hadn’t processed started catching up. I finally scrounged up the energy to get actual counseling. I started to make friends I felt like I could go to if I was in trouble. 

One of my friends introduced me to D20, which I’d only been aware of through a single episode being played in our university dorm common room two years ago. It was the first episode of Fantasy High, and I thought it was good then but I didn’t go seek it out after. High school stories haven’t ever really clicked with me, I think because my own high school experiences were so different. (Don’t kill me, it’s totally a series I’ll get to someday. Someday. First I need to watch Pirates of Leviathan. And Coffin Run.) I found Bloodkeep on Youtube for free though, and after hearing there was a behind-the-scenes on Dropout immediately paid for it after finishing the series.

Then I heard Crown of Candy was like Game of ThronesXCandyland, and I had to see that. And then I saw a clip of Mice and Murder on Youtube with Rehka’s incredible nat 20 (you know the one, the one that fucked all of Brennan’s plans), and went to see that too. And so on and so forth.

For a long time, I enjoyed it pretty much the same way I enjoyed all media. It helped me when I was sad and didn’t have the energy to do anything, it was there to fill up the empty spots of boredom. Sure, I watched The Seven even though I wasn’t big on high school stories and immediately cried in the first episode. Nothing had even really happened yet. The PCs were just such good friends with each other, in a way I realized was what I desperately wanted to be at that age. Sure, when Ravening War came out I watched every upload and wrote fanfic, the most I’d ever managed to write anything since I was 12. Never mind I’d felt unable to create anything except for brief stints and mandatory school projects since high school, never mind that I was actually waking up excited to make something. 

I watched Dungeons and Drag Queens and was on edge for the first few episodes off my own fear of being watched while learning new things. By the end I was getting through whole episodes in one sitting because I needed to know what was going to happen. I cried like hell at the finale. The me that gets critical about plot holes shut the fuck up and it only mattered that the characters and the players were doing their best to be kind.

I know it’s a funny haha improvised show. I know obviously it’s a performance on screen, but I think somehow without me noticing it, D20 has given me stories that feel Real. Maybe because all the intrepid heroes and Brennan really are friends having fun even as they’re working. I think I saw them and all these stories and realized at some point that that’s actually possible. It feels obvious, of course it’s possible to laugh and joke with a group of friends and share something you all care deeply about. Of course, that’s a way to be happy with the people you love. Of course choosing kindness is the most radical thing you can do, of course it’s not stupid to care about things and try your hardest.

It all feels like stuff I should’ve fully absorbed as possible way sooner than now, already at 23. But I’m learning to be better to myself, and I’m glad that I got here and I’m still alive to think and write about it. I’m glad even though I don’t entirely know yet why I’m feeling better, I am able to feel like the things I make matter, that the things I do can make a difference even if it’s just to the one or two people that like my fanfic.

Maybe it wasn’t fully because of the silly little actual play show that I turned to for a smile when I was down, that’s probably too much to put on any piece of media. But D20 was definitely there through it with me, and it was there when I woke up at 5am today, unable to go back to sleep, wondering am I a person who believes in things now?

So I want to thank everyone who produces it, everyone on the art team, the intrepid heroes and Brennan, any guest star who was ever on it (incredibly special scream to Aabria and her Wuvvy and Karna, my beloveds. ALSO ERIKA AND DANIELLE.), literally from the deepest sincerest part of my heart. From someone who thought they wouldn’t make it alive at some point in the foggy future, thank you for making something that was there when I was in some of the worst times of my life and there for when I started to climb out.

I’m participating in the D20 zine jam now collabing with the friend who introduced me to D20, and I hope we can help raise money for WWRAP (Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project)! Please go check out all the fan work that's coming out in August!!!

[morganitering]

Tie a Cherry (Toji x fem!reader) part 1

Rating: T (future E)

Contains: Alcohol/cigarette usage, crude language, no beta, eventual smut, Porn with plot, no usage of y/n, i'll update this list as i go

Word count: 3,1k

Summary: You don't completely hate your job at the club, it's okay money and it keeps you afloat, but it has its downsides. One of them being your customers. As you struggle with your mundane life as a young adult, you meet a dark featured man, who is almost impossible to read. He has some red flags, but unfortunately, it's your favorite color.

A/N: I wanted to write about Toji, a longer fic perhaps! Here you go, enjoy!

Read on ao3

The rain whipped the asphalt and the drops turned into puddles. The parking lot was almost empty besides some older cars from the 20th century littered streets. Fall had come with a full force coloring the view into yellow and orange and finally leaving behind only stubby trees and almost decomposed leafs. 

The concrete block of a bar was located in one of the seedier urban areas, host clubs, massage parlors and karaoke bars fighting for the highest spending anonymous clients. You worked in one of the rowdier establishments where music was mind numbingly loud, leaving your ears ringing every time you went back to your studio apartment. Silence after a shift felt almost as painful as the noise at your work. 

The customers were men and women of various ages. They were usually well off, new money, judging by the designer they loved to flaunt. If they weren’t rich, they were in debt or spending someone else's fortune. The whole place smelled like expensive cologne, weed and sex. 

It was repetitive work. Grab glasses and take them to the dishwasher, bring out new stockpiles of citrus, berries and herbs, talk to men who in a group setting became dumber than dumb. Easy, eight hours spent swimmingly. 

Your make up was practically stuck on your face, eyeliner almost tattooed on your lids. The little dress you wore had made you initially uncomfortable, not due to the revealing nature of it, but because it was simply ugly, but for what men liked to see, they were willing to tip, making up for the emotional damage of wearing a complete fashion disaster. 

“There’s going to be a birthday group coming to table six. The client wants a bottle of champagne to share and make sure they keep drinking.” That’s what your shift manager had told you earlier this evening, when you were still perfecting today's look.

Every so often you kept eyeing the wall that had big tacky plush seats in the shape of a semicircle. The floor was slightly raised up, almost to make fun of the normal customers, who were forced to sit on uncomfortable bar stools with a backrest made out of translucent plastic that bent every time they moved an inch.

“Hey, I think your clients are here,” your coworker leaned towards your ear, a smell of pungent perfume almost suffocating you. 

“Oh shit,” you cursed under your breath, holding a tray of dirty glasses in your hands. 

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll handle that. You go and do your thing,” she said, grabbing the tray to her hands, glitter sparkling as the deep blue lights crossed her face for the tenth time. 

You picked up a clean metallic container and shoveled ice in it, enough to keep a body cold. You buried a bottle of champagne in the middle of it. You could have as well stuffed hundreds of bills down your throat with the amount of money one bottle cost. 

Picking up your pace, you felt your heels set on the hard flooring as you took confident strides towards the table of maybe four men sitting and chatting. Taking a deep breath, you slipped on the customer service personality once again, switching from the real you to a service worker you, with such ease that it muddled the line of who you were. 

“Gentlemen! Sorry for the hold up,” you heard the nasally sound coming out of your mouth. The bucket’s content rustled with ice as you placed it on the table with a thump. 

“No worries miss, we are in a good mood and having a girl like you with us. It makes the hold up all the better,” one of the men said. 

They were an odd bunch, probably all of them in their thirties. Three of them looked like they had dressed up for the occasion, wearing ill-fitting suits. It was subtle, but you could notice it from the way the cloth hung on their body, sleeves a tad bit too long or too short, ties slightly crumpled and few buttons popped open from their dress shirts.

Then there was this fourth man who didn’t look like he belonged to the rowdy friend group. He sat quietly on his spot, but he wasn’t curled up nor did you catch any hint of insecurity or shyness. He simply was, as he scrolled through his phone, walls of texts changing to advertisements to small snippets of videos, that he did not bother to watch too long. 

“So what’s the occasion?” The champagne bottle’s pop got almost drowned out by the loud music.

“Well, my little bro is turning twenty nine today!” Man in the black suit answered happily.

“Oh really? Well happy birthday. Do you want me to sing for you?” You asked jokingly as you poured the champagne in the glasses without looking at your hands, making brief eye contact with the man who looked slightly embarrassed by his brother’s blabbering. 

“You don’t have-”

“Of course we want you to sing!” The men continued arguing with each other, joking around and laughing loudly, moving on from your prompt quickly. 

Almost everyone had gotten their drinks leaving only one to go. As you were filling up the champagne flute you heard a peculiar question.

“Fushiguro, do you think she’s pretty?” The voice asked, full and low. You felt the need to roll your eyes, but that action quickly came to halt, when you noticed who was the one spoken to. 

Fushiguro, the man who looked like he was bored out of his mind, straightened his back. He wore a black shirt that hugged his upper body in a tightness that put your own dress to shame. He looked strong, muscles bulging with no effort. His black hair was flat and clung to his forehead and you noticed a small scar that went through the corner of his lip. There was something dangerous about him. He was the real deal, whatever that meant. 

Fushiguro’s gaze pierced yours, dark eyes flashing a tint of playfulness that was gone in mere seconds, leaving you puzzled, had you made it up in your head. His gaze did not linger, which surprised you, but somehow left you feeling more naked than any ogling you had encountered during a work day.

“No,” he said and you felt a pang of hurt in your gut. With a wavering smile, you placed a glass in front of him which he took in his other hand. “I don’t think she’s pretty,” he drawled out, holding onto the eye contact with you. You admired his features as the discomfort of being called unattractive settled to your mind. You appreciated his jawline and the sheer strength that emanated from him. 

“Wow Toji, what a way to talk to a lady. How the hell have you ever landed a woman before?” His buddy said, reprimanding the bigger man apologetically. 

“I know how to talk to a ‘lady’ – when I want to.” The tension, that you swore was present, fell flat like a souffle cake on the counter after a few hours, his voice covered now in disinterest as he took a sip from the champagne. The glass looked ridiculous in his big hands, almost as out of place as he was from the crew he was associated with, or maybe even more. 

Wow, what the hell is his problem? 

“Yeah sure, sorry for this grumpy fuck. He lacks manners,” the friend continued. He sounded like he meant it. 

“Nothing I haven’t faced before,” you said cheerily, hiding the discomfort with ease. “Anything else for you gentlemen?” 

“No, this is good for now, we’ll alert you if we need something.” And with that you were dismissed. 

As you turned your back to the group of men, your shoulders immediately slumped a little. You tried to not to think too much of it, it wasn’t like this was the worst people have thrown at you, work wise or not. When you walked to the counter smiling and nodding at customers you sneakily took a glance at the table. 

There he still sat, looking slightly to the side, maybe even listening to his friends speak who had clearly found a new thing to laugh at. He looked thoughtful, still bored, but his face was lax. He seemed more engaged than initially when you had catched him going through his phone. As if he had a sixth sense he turned his face to look at you, expression exactly the same.

Suddenly your heart was beating in the same rhythm as the sleazy bass that bled over from the dance floor, shaking you subtly. Maybe you could pretend that you were scanning the tables for dirty dishes, but you knew yourself well enough. 

“Sorry,” you got bumped into, by a group of friends giggling and elbowing their way in the sea of people and with that the moment was gone. 

The next time you went to the table to bring more drinks, the man named Toji Fushiguro had gotten up and left. 

***

Mistakes were not supposed to be made. No girls like you weren’t supposed to make any at all, so were the rules of this world. So when you had bumped into one of the clients tripping on your feet, your heel giving out, your ankle bending to unnatural directions, you had poured the whole bottle’s worth of contents on a man’s lap. He was one of the regulars, often coming in the club with plenty of women hanging onto his arm. They were always different ones and he was always flaunting his wealth with the excessive consumerism he practiced. 

Pain made your face frown, as your ankle tingled, when you tried to regain your posture. He was yelling, cursing, so loud that other people around you had turned their heads to look at the commotion you were causing. Fuck this, you thought to yourself as you tried to diffuse the situation, voice squeaky as you apologized profusely offering free drinks, anything to calm the man and his group down, tears rising to your eyes that you fought away desperately. 

The work day had already been awful. Sounds were overstimulating, the crowds too much to bear and you were understaffed. Some hiccups were bound to happen in a rush like this, but the nice co-workers weren’t around, leaving only the harder people to work with you. 

You were in the staff room hands pressed to your head as your shift manager criticized you. 

“This kind of thing shouldn’t happen, you do realize that?” Her harsh words dug into your skin. 

“You’re not a trainee anymore. Do you have any idea how much we might lose?” She kept calling you out. 

You were aware, very well aware, of how bad of a position you were in. One could think that an establishment that relies on fueling alcoholism in young adults would not collapse entirely if there was one less asshole, but the woman in front of you begged to differ.. You didn’t understand how some people took so much pride in being a fucking shift manager in a club, but you guessed that these types of people got to take their wins from somewhere. Had you had any other higher up working with you today, you would have gotten a pass and a pat on your back. 

“I know I’m sorry,” you mumbled. “This won’t happen again.”

“It better not. Go for a cigarette. Clear out your head or whatever you want, but when you come back, you get your act right,” she spat out seething and closed the room with an explosive bang. 

You shook silently at the table. The party area might have looked like it was made out of the finest designer, but it was all a front. The staff rooms were cold and dark. It reminded you more of the seedy bar bathrooms with occasional unorganized shelves full of weird stuff, small pallets of drinks stuffed to the fridges with lime wedges. 

Breathing in one more time, you tugged at a thin shoulder strap and walked to the changing rooms. You grabbed your fluffy winter jacket and made your way to the back of the club, music and laughter echoing from somewhere far away.

The winter air was punishing its bitter feel pushing needles into your almost bare legs. The rough texture of the blue crate you had sat down on stamped your bottom with the outline of smaller squares. The metallic cigarette bin next to you smelt like burnt damp tobacco. 

You cried, the stress bursting at the seams, no longer containable in the slight moment of privacy. You pushed your hand to your pockets feeling miserable, as you searched around for the familiar pack only to find them empty. Goddammit.

Engrossed in your own troubles, you had not noticed the man who had kept an eye on you smoking calmly, his eyes never leaving you. 

“Here,” his voice boomed, breaking the silence. He offered you a pack of cigarettes, half of them already smoked. “You look like you need it,” he continued, his demeanor stoic. 

You gawked at him confusedly. He was wearing a white sweater and a black winter jacket that he had left open. Nothing about the way he stood there said that he was particularly friendly, simply indifferent, as he towered over you. You realized you knew him from somewhere. It was the man who called you ugly few weeks ago. The first time you had met him wasn’t exactly pleasant either, so his presence left you uneasy.

“Th-thanks,” you stammered as you took one smoke from him and he quickly offered you a lighter. The wind was howling as small snowflakes bordering on raindrops fell onto your head making the white part of the cigarette turn to gray as it got soggy. You flicked the lighter furiously, turning and bending your body, still sitting on the crate, as you tried to shield it from the wind. Small sparks appeared, but not for long enough. 

“Get up,” Fushiguro said. 

You pushed yourself up swaying slightly on your heels, the remnants of warmth leaving you as you were unwillingly embracing the bad weather.

Toji got closer to you, uncomfortably so, shielding the lighter that you still had in your hand, near the tip of your cigarette that was hanging out in between your lips. The winter breeze calmed down as his body was now in front of yours and the next time you flicked the zippo the flame turned to ablaze as you both nurtured it to a confident droplet of fire that rocked slowly side to side with the air current. 

The familiar taste of smoke filled your mouth as you inhaled deeply. Toji dropped his hands around yours and lit up another cigarette for himself. You stood in silence enjoying the bitter taste of it. You swiped your face from the stray tears, trying to look somewhat human.

“Why do you care?” You asked, even though you weren’t sure you wanted to know. 

“I don’t,” he answered. Ouch. “I just didn’t want to listen to you wail, I like to smoke in peace,” he explained nonchalantly, looking at the street and not at you. 

“Is that why you are smoking here rather than with the other customers?” You asked, your voice now your own, not a hint of the customer service person in sight. 

“Yup,” he said with a little smile tugging on his scarred lip. 

“I didn’t know you were here tonight,” you said, as if it would matter. You shouldn’t even remember him. 

“I figured. I saw you fighting it out with that fella,” Fushiguro told you. Of course he had seen it. 

You were blatantly staring at him, devouring the way his cheeks had a hint of pink on them from standing outside. You admired his dark droopy eyes and the way his neck connected to his shoulders, which were now hidden by the coat. Maybe he was aware of your gaze trailing over him or maybe not, but he did not react to it. 

“Quit your job,” he turned back to you. 

“What?” 

“You heard me. Quit it. You’re young, you’ll figure something out,” Fushiguro said and dropped his smoke into the cigarette bin between you and him. 

“It’s not that easy. I need the money,” you said. 

“Everyone does, but don’t you think you’re worth more?” He asked. His question was a curious one. 

“Are you judging me because of my occupation?” You shot back and folded your arms defensively against your chest.

“No. I have nothing against your job, you do what you have to. I can respect ambition and independence. But I think that if you’re going to be shoveling shit as a job you might as well get a better cut from it. Learn to play the system for the successful never have what they have because they played it fair,” he said his words with confidence, voice almost gentle, but there was an edge to it. Something told you that there was more story behind his musings.

“But what do I know, I’m just some guy,” Toji shrugged it off, yawning, clearly losing interest in the conversation.

“Thanks for the advice,” you said, not wanting to push it further. Every time you met him it felt like a whiplash. One minute he was insulting you and the next he was talking to you like an equal human being. You peered at him intently as if looking at him hard enough would give you answers. 

“Give me your number, you’ve been staring at me long enough,” he demanded while grinning. Is this flirting? Was he flirting? 

“I’m not staring” you retorted, the red rising to your cheeks dangerously.

“Sure you aren’t,” he spoke with that gravelly voice that made your heart skip beats. “Hurry up, I ain’t got all day,” he continued, forcing the phone into your hands. 

You wrote your number and name quickly, fingers almost freezing due to the cold. 

“Nice,” he was smug and put his phone back, not attempting to share his own info and you didn’t want to seem clingy immediately, so you didn’t ask. He turned around to leave but stopped as if he had forgotten something. 

“My name’s Toji Fushiguro,” he added, looking over his shoulder. “See you around.” 

You peeped out a bye as you watched him leave, completely flabbergasted. Your eyes followed the sway of his hips. He moved smoothly like a cat, despite his large frame and the air around him turned to mist as he breathed out. Meeting him right now made you forget about your own worries leaving a warm feeling in your belly. God you had a poor taste in men.

[tako-cafe]

uhhhh

🥊🧣 for either!!

I’ll just do both then. Easy solution.

🥊-Has your character ever been in a fight? Did they win? Do they fight often? Are they professionally trained or self taught? Do they enjoy fighting or only do so when necessary?

Hemingway has not only been in a fight but he’s a boxer ironically. That emote fit him weirdly well. But for a funny moment (he’s an ikevamp OC btw) He has actually punched Arthur. Punched him within the first 5 minutes of meeting him infact. When he arrived to the mansion he kinda wondered off. Found a writers club meeting and recognised Arthur’s Name. Now irl Arthur was super athletic. I have it set he doesn’t do that anymore. So Hemingway kinda knocked him out in one go. But it was great entertainment for Will and Dazai.

For Damir he couldn’t be more the opposite. He isn’t a fighter at all. He isn’t even aware of his species (Cherub angel) he’s far more defensive based having the ability to summon a shield at will. He could sword fight if he needed to…but he really doesn’t want to ever. As far as training goes? He was made not born so he just runs off angelic instinct for basic knowledge on sword fighting. In none of his stories I have going he’s discovered it yet so I’m not sure how I’ll go about his reaction yet.

🧣 - What comforts your oc? Is it an item?An action? A person? Whatever it is, how and why does it comfort them?

Hemingway…well he’s an alcoholic. No real hiding he isn’t comforted more so coping. He’s been through a lot and isn’t great at dealing with any of it. And going to the mansion means he needs to basically restart a lot. But at least he has his writing to lean on I suppose? Writing I would think helps. But he can only depend on it so far. Burn out happens often with him so it’s a 50/50 there.

Ah Damir…safe to say my sona I’ve kept my same bad habits. Meaning he depends on people around him for comfort. He masks heavily and depends on them wanting him. He wants to be useful. He needs to be useful. Even if it means camouflaging between groups. He loves the comforting feeling of being the therapist friend. The comfort it brings doesn’t ever last once he’s alone…but he tends to do okay with distraction based comfort with media. Just don’t look past his surface.

[glenngaylord]

Bloody Good - Film Review: Bottoms: ★★★★

For me, anything remotely socially redeeming has always felt like the death knell for comedies. Whenever Hollywood has a lesson to teach me, I would prefer to skip school, thank you very much. I like my teenage movie heroes dazed, confused, and taking days off if they want to make me laugh. Well thank goodness Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott got the memo, because their new film, Bottoms, aims gorgeously, deliriously, perfectly low and hits a bullseye. Think Porky’s meets Fight Club only with horny lesbians lusting through those shower peepholes and kicking serious ass. Oh, and did I mention, it’s hilarious?

Seligman’s feature debut, Shiva Baby, which starred Sennott, skillfully showcased their abilities to sustain a claustrophobic, nervous energy over its 77 minute runtime. Working together again, this time co-writing the screenplay, they’ve tackled a completely different tone, opting for an over-the-top sensibility yet with two very grounded characters at the center of it all. PJ (Sennott) and Josie (The Bear standout Ayo Edebiri) play two outcast high school seniors who start an all-female fight club as a front for losing their virginity to a pair of hot cheerleaders. They also want to improve their station at school. Improving things with violence! What could go wrong?!

PJ’s messy, a bit of a braggart, overly confident, and let’s face it, kind of an asshole, while Josie stays crushingly in a low self-esteem deadpan space. Sennott and Edebiri, who in real life, along with Seligman, met in college, have such a vivid chemistry, they make this outrageous premise feel strangely purposeful and with real emotional stakes. That’s no easy feat when the film is so completely bonkers.

Imagine a high school in which the football players wear their uniforms to class, or that has a P.A. system blaring humiliations no Board Of Education would ever allow. Into this fray we have our heroines who concoct a fake murderous backstory. They claim they did time in juvenile hall in order to lead their self-defense workshops and enlist a teacher, Mr G. (the scene-stealing Marshawn Lynch) to barely serve as an adult supervisor. Next they invite as many girls as they can for some truly bloody hand-to-hand combat, roping in their true targets, Brittany (Kaia Gerber) for PJ and Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) for Josie. The latter has an on again/off again relationship with the horribly douchey quarterback Jeff (Red, White & Royal Blue breakout star Nicholas Galitzine), but it’s not a stretch to see that Josie’s the better choice. Galitzine is a comic wonder in the role, leaping off the screen, using his elastic facial expression and loose body language to create a sensational villain. This actor has quite a range. Same goes for Miles Fowler as his overly protective BFF Tim. They’re two of the gayest straight characters I’ve seen onscreen in a long time, perhaps a nod to the gay football players from Heathers. Out SNL regular Punkie Johnson also contributes a funny scene about the insane lore of the rival football team. Ruby Cruz and Summer Joy Campbell also shine as standout members of the fight club with emotions dangerously close to the surface.

Seligman and Sennott pile on so many details about past traumas, who’s lusting after who, player allergies, and opposing team threats that it’s easy to dismiss the film as sheer nonsense. To that I say, it proudly wears that on its blood-soaked sleeves. This remains especially true during the insane third act when the filmmakers go for broke and attempt South Park levels of violence and conflict. Our main characters learn absolutely nothing, or at least kick that can down the road for another day. Their reaction to all that has come before, in fact, that usual moment in most films where someone learns a valuable lesson, earned the biggest spit-take laugh from me. Seligman has outdone herself for her sophomore effort going from twitchy indie to a comedy I’ll be watching over and over again for years to come. Likewise, Sennott and Edebiri make for a powerhouse comedy team because you want to lean in and eavesdrop while simultaneously shielding your eyes from their oh-so-wrongdoings. Give these bottoms all the power.

[the-one-where-casey-watches-tv]

Abbott Elementary episode 2.16 "Teacher Conference"

Quinta has said she’s not trying to reinvent the wheel with this show, Janine and Gregory in particular, and I think she’s proving that she doesn’t need to. Abbott is cozy and cute and laugh out loud funny, all precisely due to the sense of familiarity that it evokes. I can go into every episode knowing that everyone will be kind to each other, live happily ever after, and maybe even score some new glue sticks.

            I’ll come back around to everyone else, but let’s get right to it: the kiss! Gregory is my favorite character, but to be honest I don’t think I would actually enjoy being friends with either him or Janine. But Abbott walks the fine line of character personalities that I wouldn’t want to encounter in real life, but that I love to see on my TV. They’re great characters for a will-they/won’t-they because they’re both so intensely innocent that the smallest hints of sexuality have me like “woo! Get it!”. The two of them grinding in the club was one of those moments, and so was Janine grabbing Gregory by the lanyard (lol) for another kiss.

            It was inevitable that they would chalk that up to a mistake and try to get back to business, but I almost wish they wouldn’t. Janine is still dating Maurice and of course she wouldn’t cheat on him, but at this point I feel ready to see them together. Which is why I was kind of surprised to see that the question everyone seems to be asking this week is if Abbott jumped the shark with the kiss, if it happened too soon.

            I say no, but maybe the skepticism of others means they’re right to at least not have Janine and Gregory leaping into a whole relationship right now (though who knows what next week holds). Regardless, I think it brings up an interesting conversation about audience involvement with story.

            I read a lot about story structure, and as a writer I’m extremely wary of books that are so specific with their breakdown of story structure that they can tell you the exact page every piece of action needs to occur on. I think structure is really important- it can almost always explain why something worked or didn’t work- but I see it like musical notes. There are a finite number of notes, and rules to be followed when writing and playing music, but is there a way to put them together that hasn’t been done yet? There better be, or a lot of people are out of a job.

            Part of new and innovative storytelling is, of course, the creativity of the storyteller, but it’s also an awareness of the audience’s own grasp of story. Fight Club, in its time, was doing something brand new. Watching it now, though, I find it to be a kind of exhausting three hours. We just don’t need to go that slow anymore; we’re an audience who’s already been taught all the clues to look for, and we can keep up just fine.

I’ve written before about Frasier- Niles and Daphne’s will-they/won’t-they went on for about eight years. Abbott isn’t reinventing the wheel, and, as viewers, this isn’t our first rodeo with a sitcom romance. I would be tearing my hair out if I was going to have to wait another six years for this kiss, the one everyone knew was coming by episode 3, if not the pilot. This is one of those times where we can slide our hand across the piano keys and get there a little quicker.

But Abbott Elementary is more than just Janine and Gregory! And I would like to talk about Jacob, who I actually find myself thinking about a lot when this show comes up. I’m not gonna say he’s not corny, but he is definitely a really great friend to Janine. They’re platonically perfect for each other, and the two of them jumping up and down about this conference, while I’m sure it would annoy me to witness for real, made me smile.

He's a dork, but I was happy to see him making some other friends outside of the Abbott crew, and to see him appreciated for who he is. I actually thought this storyline was going to take it a step further: he and the teacher from Addington hit it off so well that I thought she was going to mistake their chemistry for flirting and try to kiss him.

Maybe they didn’t want to step on the toes of The Kiss of this episode, but thinking that was going to happen made me realize that I actually would like to see that happen. I love every glimpse we get into the pureness of Jacob’s heart (the way he stood up for Janine when she was out sick was sooo sweet), and I bet him letting this girl down easy would have been a really cute moment. It’s also not too often that we get to see Jacob in his element where he’s actually popular among the people around him.

I hope this isn’t the last we see of that dynamic. Addington is just a couple blocks away, after all, maybe there’s an arc to be seen where the Addington teachers try to poach Jacob. Now that I’m thinking about it, there would be a lot there with Melissa’s sister and Barbara’s surely hurt feelings of not being the desired teacher. I can already feel my heart growing like the Grinch at everyone wanting to prove to Jacob that he’s valued at Abbott.

Well if that happens, you heard it here first folks! And what do you think, was the kiss too soon? Do you still think Fight Club is the right length? Let me know!