#by backwards I mean. 9 to 7 to 8

[skymantle]

hey i accidentally started watching rwby backwards which is a very scary thing for me. related i regret everything ive ever done (not negative..?)

[moonstruckme]

roomate jamess 😭😭😭💓💓🤍😭😭💓

I agree !

part 1 │ part 2 │ part 3 │ part 4 │part 5 │ part 6 │ part 7 │ part 8 │ part 9 │ part 10 │ part 11 │ part 12 │ part 13

roommate!james x shy!reader ♡ 733 words

James gets the text just as he arrives home: Are you hungry?

He grins, putting his car in park as he types out a reply. 

I’m wounded. We’re coming up on our one-month roommate anniversary, and you still don’t know I’m always hungry? 

This makes a grand total of four texts between the two of you. You’d conversed a bit more on Craigslist before agreeing to let James move in with you, but barely. Your radio silence is much like your actual silence, but he’s happy to be making a dent in either. 

Your response comes while he’s fishing his keys out of his pocket. Sorry. Want thai?

James laughs, opening the door and toeing off his shoes. He calls in the general direction of your room, “I hope you’re joking about being sorry.” 

He’s hoping for maybe a reply via text, so it comes as a pleasant surprise when you appear on the stairs. You move like a ghost; if he put you and Remus in an old manor together, James is half sure it’d qualify as a haunted house. 

You’re in your pajamas, which means you must already be done with work for the day. James has noticed this is one of your habits; once you’ve decided you’re staying in the house, your outside clothes hit the hamper and you’re living in fuzzy socks. These ones, standing halfway up the staircase, are blue with white stars. Something about seeing you in full cozy mode makes James’ stomach twinge. 

“Do you want Thai?” you ask again, longer and in person. Several decibels quieter than he’d just been.

“Sure.” James gives you a smile, flopping backwards over the arm of the couch. He was going to cook pasta for dinner, but he’s a bit tired anyway and agreeing to the first bonding opportunity you’ve offered him takes precedence. “Do you wanna use my card, or should I pay you after?” 

“Don’t.” You wave him off, already typing on your phone. “I’m getting it.” 

“Not happening,” James replies. He starts digging in his pocket for his wallet, unearthing a half dozen gum wrappers and a receipt from last March. “But in theory, to what do I owe the honor?” 

Your eyes flit to him, something like accusation in them. James feels his eyebrows lift. “I know you don’t have that many leftovers,” you say. 

So, you’re onto him. “I cook a lot,” he replies with a shrug. “If there’s extra, someone should eat it.” 

“But why not you?” 

“Why not you?” he counters. 

You look suspiciously as though you might be biting down on a smile. A real one. “The point is, I owe you at least a meal. Do you want to see the menu?” 

“Sure, thanks.” He reaches out a hand. You come down the stairs to give him your phone, but once it’s in his hand your eyes narrow mistrustfully, fingers tightening on the device. 

“If you try to pay,” you tell him, “I’ll hide the money in your room so you don’t find it until you move out.” 

A laugh bubbles up out of him at your serious tone. “We live together, babe. I think I’ll come across it at some point.” 

“Not with your room as messy as it is.” 

Damn it, you’re right. “Fine.” James holds up his hands in surrender, credit card between his fingers. “But when I make dinner tomorrow, just eat it while it’s hot, yeah? Let’s do away with the pretense.” 

You sigh through your nose, sitting down beside him with one leg curled under you. You’re attempting something that’s probably supposed to be a glare. James would hate to have to tell you how unintimidating it is, but he may if you keep it up much longer; it’s almost too adorable to take. 

“I appreciate it, but you really don’t need to cook for me,” you say. “I eat plenty when you’re not here.” 

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” 

“That’s the point, James.” You roll your eyes, looking halfway amused. Shit, the day he actually makes you laugh he’s gonna have to bake a cake. “You’re not here to see it.” 

“Do you wanna watch a movie while we eat?” He passes you back your phone, having added his order to your cart. “They’ve just added a slew of new movies to Netflix. Also, for tomorrow, do you prefer pasta or chicken?” 

[larluce]

Arthur and Merlin travel back in time without knowing the other is from the future too AU

LINKS TO THE OTHER PARTS OF THIS AU HERE: PART 1 , PART 2 , PART 3 , PART 4 , PART 5 , PART 6 , PART 7 , PART 8 , PART 9 , PART 10 , PART 11 , PART 12 , PART 13 , PART 14 , PART 15 , PART 16 , PART 17 , PART 18 , PART 19 , PART 20 , PART 21 , PART 22 , PART 23 , PART 24 , PART 25 , PART 26 , PART 27 , PART 28 , PART 29 (You're here), PART 30

Gaius: (sighs) My boy, I don't think crying for your life to the King is going to work.

Merlin: Is not him I'm going to cry to.

Gaius: ...

Merlin: I know, I know. This is so absur-

Gaius: Brilliant! 😃 How didn't I think of this before? (quickly looks for some medicine and gives it to Merlin) Here, a couple of drops in your eyes should be enough.

Merlin: I can't believe you're really supporting this madness.

Gaius: Madness is what Arthur will do if you don't change his mind soon. (starts pushing Merlin out of his chambers) Now go, I can't keep the King assleep much longer. (ends to push Merlin outside and closes the door)

Meanwhile in Arthur's Chambers.

Arthur: (on his desk with a bunch of parchments with names, strategies and possible scenarios, thinking) This was not supposed to happen so soon. I had I plan goddamit! (sinks his face in his hands) Why father? Why do you always want to take away everyone I love? First Gwen and now...(sighs and gets the hands off his face) I hate you, so much... but I don't want to kill you. I don't want to do any of this, but I have to. You'd do the same for my mother. I hope you understand, because even now I can't bare the thought of you not forgiving me.

Merlin: (enters hanging his head)

Arthur: (letting out his frustration) May I know where have you been? 😡 This room is not going to clean itself. I have a lot of work to do and you are-

Merlin: (lifts his head to reveal two rivers of tears under his eyes, face red, hiccuping and whining)

Arthur: Merlin! (jumps from his sit and runs to Merlin, almost in panic) What is it?! Did something happen? (checks him, worried) Are you hurt?! Tell me!

Merlin: (thinking) Me eyes hurt! 🥺 Why does it have to burn this much? 😭(says) Please, Arthur, stop this! This is your fault! (hits Arthur's chest)

Arthur: What?! What did I do?! 😨

Merlin: (thinking) Shit, I did it backwards. (says) I mean, MY fault! (hits his chest) It's all my fault! (hits his chest harder) My fault, my fault!

Arthur: (very concern) Will you stop that?! You'll hurt yourself! Merlin! (grabs Merlin by the wrists) What's gotten into you?

Merlin: Please, Arthur. I can't-(thinking) Wait, I forgot to kneel. (drops to his knees)

Arthur: What the- 😨

Merlin: I can't live with myself if blood is spilled because of me! 😭 (tries to hold Arthur's hands, but can't see well through the tears so he ends up pulling his trousers in a crying mess)

Arthur: (definitely in panic now) What are you doing?! Merlin, stand up! My trousers are going to fall. Merlin! (kneels too and cups his face, comforting) I get that you're scared, but everything will turn out alright.

Merlin: (thinking) Nooo! It's not working! And I can't hug his legs now! (says) No! No! You have to stop this-Argh! (thinking) Damn it! It's burning too much! I can't open my eyes! (hides his face in his hands, pretending he's crying harder)

Arthur: (even more worried) Merlin look at me, please.

Merlin: (thinking) No! He'll realise I'm faking if I can't open my eyes. What do I do? What else was in Morgana's script? Oh, right! (says) If you do this, I… I'd rather… disappear! (faints dramatically)

Arthur: (catches him before he hits the floor in reflex) Merlin? (pats his face) Merlin! (shakes him) Merlin, open your eyes.

Merlin: (thinking) I can't. I fainted.

Arthur: Wake up, come on. Merlin! (Shakes him harder)

Merlin: (thinking) Ow! There is no need to be so rough. 😠

Arthur: (concern) He fainted.

Merlin: (thinking) Don't say!

Arthur: I need to take him to Gaius. (carries Merlin bridal style)

Merlin: (thinking) Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! why are you carrying me like this? 😳😫

Arthur: (Runs outside with Merlin in his arms and yelling) Gaius! (Runs through the castle staff) Everybody, get out of the way! It's an emergency! Gaius!

Merlin: (thinking) There's no need to be so dramatic either! 🤦‍♂️

In Gaius' Tower.

Arthur: (enters kicking the door open) Gaius!

Gaius: (looks Merlin in Arthur's arms, alarmed) What happened?!

Arthur: I don't know! He-

Gaius: Lay him on the bed first. I need to examine him.

Arthur: (Lays Merlin on the bed quickly)

Gaius: (while checking Merlin) Now explain.

Arthur: (paces, anxiously) He came to my chambers crying and saying that this was all his fault, hitting himself like a madman. Then he begged me to stop the rebel-the back up plan and he kneeled, Gaius, he KNEELED before me! When has he ever done that? I tried to calm him, but he just wouldn't stop crying! And then suddenly he fainted!

Merlin: (pinches Gaius subtly)

Gaius: (realices he's faking) I see... (gets an idea) Oh, my poor, poor boy.

Arthur: (stops pacing) What? What is it?

Gaius: It seems that Merlin is in a very bad state of... anxiety, Sire.

Arthur: Anxiety?

Gaius: Yes, that! He fainted from the anxiety. I know he doesn't show it always, Sire, but Merlin is very... sensitive. Sometimes his heart cannot bear strong impressions and, apparently, the approach of a rebellion was too much for his... delicate heart.

Merlin: (thinking, offended) That's not true! 😠

Arthur: (thinking, between concerned and confused) How can this be? Not even when his father died I've seen him so distraugh. Does the rebellion really worries him this much? (says) But he'll wake up, right? He'll be fine.

Gaius: He will, but I fear that... (dramatic pause)

Arthur: What? Tell me!

Gaius: If he continues receiving news that could cause him any anguish he could become seriously ill to the point his heart could... stop beating completely.

Merlin: (thinking) Really, Gaius? 🙄 What was the need of making up this diagnosis?

Arthur: (desperate) No... No! there must be something you can give him! Some medicine, a treatment, ANYTHING!

Gaius: The only thing that can help Merlin now is rest and tranquility. ABSOLUTE tranquility.

Arthur: (sinks in a chair nearby, filled with guilt) This is my fault, isn't it? He's like this because of me.

Merlin: (thinking) No, no, no. Don't think that! ☹️

Gaius: You had no way of knowing this would happen, Sire.

Arthur: What do I do now? If I keep up with my plan I lose him if I don't I lose him too. (looks up at gaius with watery eyes) I can't lose him, Gaius. (thinking) Not again, not again. Please.

Merlin: (thinking, his heart beating like crazy) He... He never cared for me like this in my other life. It feels... nice.

Gaius: (puts a comforting hand on Arthur's shoulder) Rebellion is not the only answer. You said yourself it was just a back up plan. You can still reason with the King or we can put Merlin safe somewhere.

Arthur: But he'll be away.

Gaius: But safe. Isn't that what's important?

Arthur: ...

Gaius: Whatever it is you'll do, I know you'll make the right decision, your Highness.

Arthur: (sighs, stands up, aproaches Merlin and caresses his hand lovinly)

Merlin: (tries very hard for his heart and breathing to stay even)

Arthur: Tell me when he wakes. I need to take care of some things.

Gaius: Of course, Sire.

Arthur: (gives a last look at Merlin and finally leaves)

Merlin: (sits up as soon as the door closes) What the hell was that?! 😡

Gaius: That was me saving us all.

Merlin: "Anxiety"? "delicate heart"? "his heart could stop beating completely"? There was no need to scare him like that!

Gaius: You are the one who decided to faint. Why did you do that?

Merlin: Morgana told me to.

Gaius: (in understanding) Morgana! I should've known it was her idea.

Merlin: Yes, the idea was to use tears to persuade Arthur of not doing the rebellion. This is outright lying to him! And you know I hate lying to him, Gaius! (rubs his eyes) Ugh, my eyes still burn a bit.

Gaius: This should help (gives him a bowl with water and Merlin starts washing his eyes). I'm sorry I lied to Arthur, but I figured that if he was doing this rebellion to save you, the only way to stop him was if he believed you'll be in danger if the rebellion were to happen too.

Merlin: (sighs) What's done is done. (gets off the bed)

Gaius: What are you doing?

Merlin: Going to do my chores.

Gaius: You can't! You are supposed to be ill. Remember?

Merlin: So what? You expect me to stay in bed all day?

Gaius: That's exactly what you'll do. Now, lay down.

Merlin: But-

Gaius: Lay down.

Merlin: (recluntanly lays down) Can I read a book at least?

Gaius: I'll bring you some.

Time skip. Arthur with Kilgharrah.

Kilgharrah: I don't understand. Don't you want to start your reign, young Pendragon?

Arthur: Of course I do! But not at the cost of Merlin.

Kilgharrah: It's not just about saving him. It is Uther who persecutes Merlin and his kind. Even if Uther were to spare his life, which I doubt, your warlock won't be free until Uther dies.

Arthur: I know. But everything is getting out of my hands! I can't go back to my original plan and the back up plan is not an option now. (holds his head in desperation) How did everything turn out this bad? This never happened in my timeline!

Kilgharrah: Every change you've done, even if it was small, could lead to a complete different scenario. Being from the future won't prepare you for that.

Arthur: What do I do then? There's no pacific way to get out of this.

Kilgharrah: Maybe not pacific but, perhaps, a least violent one. Just enough to not worsen your warlock's state.

Arthur: Which is?

Kilgharrah: You needn't to involve others when the enemy is only one.

Arthur: ...

Kilgharrah: You already thought of it.

Arthur: (sighs) I did, I was just hoping you'll come up with something different.

Time skip. In Uther's chambers.

Gaius: (preparing another sedative)

Arthur: (enters) You don't have to do that anymore, Gaius.

Gaius: (turns to him, surprised) Sire!

Arthur: (smiles) Let him wake up. I want to speak with him alone.

Gaius: (nods in underdstanding) I'll prepare Merlin's things just in case.

Arthur: That won't be necessary, Gaius. Don't worry.

Gaius: ... Sire?

Arthur: (gives him a calm smile) You really don't have to worry, Gaius. I found I way to convince him. He won't be able to deny me this. You can go in peace.

Gaius: (unsure, but bows and leaves)

Arthur: (his smiles fades as soon as Gaius is gone, checks the doors are closed and then turns to Uther) This was not supposed to happen like this. (walks to the bed) I was going to give you an honorable dead, you were going to be remembered as a hero, even though you don't deserve it. You've hurt a lot of people, father. Murdered thousands of innocents in your grief... but aren't I about to do the same? Haven't I already done that to be where I stand? (pulls Uther's hair out of his face) It makes me wonder. Were you always a monster, father? Or you only turned this way when you lost my mother? You always insisted I marry for duty even though you married for love. Was it because you feared what I'll become if I were to fall in love like you? (lets a dry laugh) I guess what is inherited is not stolen. (grabs a pillow) There's a difference between me and you though. I'd never blame others for my own mistakes and I would never risk Merlin like you did with my mother. (holds the pillow close to Uther's face) I'm sorry.

Anhora: (appearing out of nowhere) Arthur Pendragon.

Arthur: (lets the pillow fall to the floor, almost jumping out of his skin, but quickly composes himself as he recgonises him) The keeper of the unicorns.

Anhora: Glad I don't have to introduce myself. I have come to deliver a message.

Arthur: (tired) Please don't tell me you'll curse Camelot. I don't have time for this. I let your unicorn go.

Anhora: For which I'm in debt with you. Whoever dares to slay a unicorn meets despair, but those who save one can be rewarded.

Arthur: Do you have an enchantment that can make my father forget all his absurd suspicions about Merlin? Because if you don't I don't know you how else you could help me.

Anhora: This is what I don't get. You spared the life of my unicorn, which is an act of a pure hearted person. Yet your heart is anything but pure. You are ready to enchant your father, to take his life just to fullfil your selfish desires.

Arthur: Is this my reward? A sermon?

Anhora: No. (gets a bracelet out of his pocket) this bracelet made of unicorn hair is a lucky charm. It could help turn chances at your favor, but it'll disappear as soon as you achieve your goal.

Arthur: You said could. You mean is not certain?

Anhora: You have to make your part and it'll only help you with one aim. The more short term and specific the better.

Arthur: That's a very useless lucky charm. 😒

Anhora: Useless or not it's yours. I beg you to use it wisely (extends the hand with the bracelet)

Arthur: (grabs it) Thank you.

Anhora: (about to leave, but turns) Prince of Camelot, if you keep down this pat you build and embrace the darkness in your heart to protect your love ones, that darkness will end up harming those you hold most dear.

Arthur: You think I don't know? You think I like doing what I'm doing? (laughs without humor) Is ironic. Where I come from you determined I was "pure of heart" for the same reason now you are determining I'm not. Because I wanted to save Merlin, to keep him safe. But even then I was willing to leave my kingdom without a heir just so he wouldn't die. My love was never pure.

Anhora: (with sadness) It was. It once was. One of the purest love I've ever seen. Or at least it could have been. Now it's corrupted.

Arthur: (surprised) You... you are-

Anhora: If something goes wrong this time, there will be no going back. And it will not be fate's fault. The blame will fall entirely on you, Arthur Pendragon. Are you prepared to assume the consequences of your actions?

Arthur: (serious) Yes.

Anhora: Then you are doomed (dissapears)

Arthur: (sighs and looks at the bracelet, thinking) This better work. (puts it on)

Uther: (wakes up) What…? Where am I?

Arthur: (takes a chair nearby and sits next to him) In your chambers, father. You had a seizure.

Uther: (still kind of groggy) Oh...

Arthur: Father, I know Merlin behaved very poorly and I take complete responsability for that. I've given him too many liberties since he is under my service. I failed to properly teach him how he should adress his superiors and for that I'm sorry. It won't happen again, but please, I beg you, spare his life.

Uther: (smiles softly) Alright, I'll spare him.

Arthur: (very surprised) Really? (thinking) This thing is more effective than I thought!

Uther: (smiles more brightly) Of course! Anything for my son.

Arthur: (thinking) ...okay, something's wrong. (says) Father, how many fingers do you see? (raises 3 fingers in front of his eyes)

Uther: Hmmm... Six!

Arthur: (lets out a sigh of exasperation, thinking) No! He's still drugged! It won't matter if he spares Merlin's life now, he'll take back his words as soon as he comes back to his senses...unless... (stands up and searches around the room quickly)

Uther: What are you doing son?

Arthur: (picks a parchment and a quill and sits back next to Uther) Can you show me how you sign your treates, father? I want to see if I'm doing it correctly.

Uther: My son, always looking for perfection. Alright. (signs)

Arthur: (thinking, looking at the parchment) The writing is stable enough. (says) Father, I just remember there are some urgent documents that need to be signed. I really don't want to bother you, you've just woken up, but you're the King. You're the only one the can do it.

Uther: I understand. You can bring them to me.

Arthur: I'll be right back. (stands up and goes to the door)

Uther: Arthur!

Arthur: (turns around)

Uther: I love you, son.

Arthur: (thinking, holding back the tears) Of course the only times you've told you loved me would be when you're drugged or in your deathbed. (says) I love you too, father. (leaves)

...

Anhora I hate you for stopping Arthur from killing Uther but I also love you cause now Arthur can go back to his original plan :D

How will Uther react when he comes back to his senses? Will Merlin really be safe? Find out in the next part of "Merlin: The Favourite of crocodile tears"

Also credits to my best friend Rosangela, who is practically beta and almost co-writer of this AU now.

Tagging @aceauthorcatqueen , @fallenxjas , @smileytrinity ,@lucifertookmyshoe , @an-entity-i-think , @thecornerofbelu , @griffonskies , @odinjm , @cinnabon-sweetroll-tiramisu , @thelady-mary , @bennedict , @nightninjaboy , @st8-of-grace , @star-rie , @error-username-not-available , @dogberryrowan , @jamieweasley13 , @tansyuduri , @tercais , @robynnemrys , @evadne01 , @serasvictoria02 , @hairdryerducks , @hopeaha , @curiously-lazy , @ harriettesthings , @andrealux16 , @wacko-weirdo , @greatdonutenemy , @yougottobekittenme , @anxiousosaurus , @kinkforwings , @someweirdassnamee , @impracticalantlers , @miyriu , @hobipabo , @whitemaskcd , @cute-girl-next-door , @bogslob , @tkmaras , @cunts-and-kermits

[avengers--assembly]

Hoodie thief

Summary: Y/n is sick (although she won't admit it) and steals Bucky’s hoodie. He wants it back. No can do. Let's argue about breakfast food instead?

Prompts used:

7. Borrowed Hoodie

15.” Who decided __is ‘sick person food?”

25. Summer flu

Word count: 1028

Warnings: none

●◇●◇●◇●◇●◇

Sweltering hot temperatures all week long. That’s what the weather app said. That’s what everyone was warning against. Drink plenty of fluids. Sunscreen. Stay inside. All the usual warnings for a normal temperature spike. So why exactly was Y/n shivering like crazy wrapped in one of her thickest blankets?

She wasn’t completely sure, just that the sun was shining through her bedroom window in greeting, and she was in no mood to stand up. Or get out of her blanket burrito. But all that said, her stomach had a dull ache that she was blaming on hunger, meaning she had to eat something.

Her body gave one more shiver as she placed her feet on the floor and hauled herself up. She wasn’t sick. Really, she wasn’t. She had too much stuff to do, like enjoying the nice weather outside. Because it was nice, and her body was just late on getting the memo. She glared at the blanket that dropped on the ground. Her lazy ass decided it was too much effort to pick it up again, so she left it. Stupid blanket.

Walking down the hallway, her summer pyjamas did nothing to help her mismatched body temperature, leaving goosebumps prickling her skin. Scowling, she stomped only slightly into the living room, gaze tracking for any movement.

No one.

Good.

Her gaze landed on an oversized hoodie that was thrown over one of the couches, and she inched closer for a better inspection. Definitely not hers... but big, black, and warm. It met all her requirements. Who cared who it belonged to?

She slipped it on, hands disappearing in the too-long sleeves. The oversized hoodie hung far enough to completely cover her shorts. She allowed a smile to cross her face. Perfect.

Except for a certain super soldier who didn’t share her feelings. Bucky glowered at her, arms crossed, “Cute. 10, 9, 8.” His voice was calm, but his eyes were narrowing in warning. Y/n knew Bucky hated when people touched his things, but by the time she realized it was his, she was already too comfortable to care.

“You’re really going to count down?”

“Take it off.” Was his only response, his irritation obvious. Y/n let out a huff, folding her arms right back at him, “No.”

“Y/n” He warned, taking a step forward. She narrowed her eyes at him, “I’m not scared.”

“My hoodie. You have your own, don’t you?”

“They’re not as comfortable! And they’re all the way in my room!” Y/n complained, pouting at him. He muttered something to himself, rubbing a finger across his brow, eyes closed, “Stop that” He snapped.

“What?”

“Pouting. Makes you too damn cute.” She smiled slightly, but before saying anything, he continued, “Why do you need a hoodie anyway? Isn’t it like 30° or something?”

"I’m cold. No, leave me alone. I want to make breakfast.”

“You’re cold?” His frown deepened, concern flickering in his eyes, only to be replaced by frustration, “And I’ll leave you alone as soon as you return my hoodie.”

“Make me.”

He lifted a surprised eyebrow at her, but there was a playful glint in his eyes now.

“You sure you want that, doll?”

“I could take you,” Y/n said, still defiant.

He walked towards her, slowly at first, and the pace made a brief flash of fear settle in her stomach. Oh, shit. She was still shivering, albeit less, and her muscles were sore. He was a super soldier with decades of training—and a metal arm to back it up.

“Wait, I didn’t mean right now,” she blurted, trying to keep the nervousness out of her tone. She forced herself not to step backwards. It would be ridiculous if she couldn’t meet her own stubbornness.

“I think now is perfect. You still have something that belongs to me.” Before she could react, he scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder with ease. Y/n shrieked in surprise, hands scrambling to find balance as the world tilted beneath her.

“Bucky! Put me down!” He ignored her protests, walking towards the kitchen counter. Only then did he lightly place her on the marble surface, hands hovering a few inches from her waist until she caught her balance. The sudden shift upwards again made her head spin, black spots dancing in the corners of her eyes.

“Nop,” she muttered, closing her eyes, leaning her head against Bucky’s chest.

“Doll?” Concern was evident in his tone. He placed a kiss on the top of her head, hands wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer. “Yeah?” She hummed back.

“Why are you cold?”

“Flu?” she said back, almost too quiet for him to catch. He nodded along, “You planning on ignoring it?”

“I’m not sick.”

“Fine. Let me make you breakfast.”

“Just cereal.”

“Oats.” He argued, shaking his head at her choice, “You need better nutrition than that sugary stuff.”

“Yuck.” She leaned back from him, her nose scrunched up in distaste, “Who decided oats were good for sick people?”

“It’s nutrition values.”

“Could be fake,” she reasoned.

“Could be. Toast then?” He bopped her nose playfully, smiling as she swatted away his hand.

“Why do you hate me so much? I need sugar to survive,” she said dramatically.

“I mean, you did steal my hoodie.” He answered back, raising an accusing eyebrow.

“If I give it back, will you love me again?”

“Mmm no.”

“What? Why?” She gaped at him, a brief look of confusion on her face. He smiled, “It’s full of your germs now. Don’t want it anymore.”

“Hypocrite. You just hugged me.”

**

They settled on toast with jam in the end. On the couch, they watched some silly comedy, Y/n still wearing his hoodie, an extra blanket lying nearby. The water and medicine were only a precaution for when she stopped ignoring the facts.

Bucky chose to stay indoors today, and Y/n simply joined him to keep him company. No other reason. The other Avengers didn’t need extra information, even when pool day turned into movie watching instead. Nat had joined them later, settling comfortably next to Y/n and only stealing her food when she thought Y/n wasn’t looking.

[solangelotus]

she's thunderstorms

luke castellan x reader (MDNI!)

and sit a little closer

summary: expressing your frustrations to silena and clarisse after a fling leads someone to your bed

word count: 4k

warnings: zeus!reader, implied smut with a different character, making out scene, clarisse x silena, plus size reader, teensy bit of angst from loser luke

author’s note: we’re back! this is a prequel post to my original post here <3 if you take a peek at the masterlist, it will have a list of parts and when everything should be published!

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masterlist | series masterlist

skipping stones across the camp lake wasn’t how you imagined spending your friday evening. your stomach growls but it’s dull compared to the empty ache that fills your chest.

“why are you here alone?” you hear someone question. the voice was light, full of warmth, and melodic, and all signs pointed to it belonging to your best friend, silena beauregard. her rosy, cherub cheeks widen with a smile as you turn to look at her. her hand is enveloped by her girlfriend, clarisse la rue. you give them a half-hearted smile, and sit down on the edge of the dock, waiting for them to join them. “you skipped dinner. luke figured we would find you here.”

“i’m shocked he didn’t come with the both of you.”

“so, why are you out here alone?” clarisse questions, grabbing a stone from your hand and throwing it into the water. you give her an exasperated look and she grins in a way you can only describe as shit-eating. she always steals your rocks from you and purposefully fails at skipping them.

you look at them, their joined hands, and think of all their sneaked touches. of their love that everyone can see. it’s something that isn’t for you, something just as forbidden as your existence. you shrug and break your silence, “bad hookup.”

“again? seriously? you should really let me pick them out.”

“silena!” you scold, “the sex wasn’t the worst i have ever had. i just don’t want a relationship, and i thought i made that clear. that’s why i’m upset.”

“yeah, yeah,” she lets go of her girlfriend’s hand to wave you off. clarisse grabs her hand and pulls it down in between them. the daughter of aphrodite is always nothing but supportive, however, she does fail to understand your motivations. her whole existence is based on love, she was created out of the purest love and is full of it. she is full of beauty and often misses out on understanding that the less beautiful parts of life, like how intimacy without love, can be just as wonderful.

“lena, don’t be mean.”

“i’m not! i just don’t understand not wanting romance.”

“it was sherman yang,” you confess and stand to your feet. they both look horrified as you slowly walk backward from them, but you’re not sure you can blame them.

“my brother?!”

“sorry, clarisse,” you laugh and turn to go towards the campfire. you enjoyed your alone time, but you knew the two girls would enjoy it far more together on the dock. “i’ll see you both at the campfire?”

clarisse still looks as though she’s processing the information you dumped on her, meanwhile, silena bites her lip to hide a sheepish grin. “i think we might stay here for a bit.”

“i figured as much,” you say with a wink. clarisse wraps her arm around her girlfriend and leans in closer, but you begin your walk towards the campfire. voices bounce around the woods when you near it, and a grin plays at your lips as you see the campers dancing around and belting at the top of their lungs.

chris drones on about something clarisse did to him during combat lessons as luke stares at the tree line. your two friends went to talk to you, but deep down he hopes you will come join him at the fire. an uneaten s’more rests on a napkin in his hand. just as he decides that he could take it to your cabin later, he notices an outline at the base of the forest. chris punches his arm hard enough to throw the dessert from his palm to the dirt. “dude, you’re not even listening.”

“sorry,” luke mutters and rubs his arm. chris’s eyes search for what his brother had been staring at and when they land on you, he almost feels bad for the sweet food now on the ground. almost.

“i heard something about y/n today.”

“what?!”

“sherman was going on and on about how they hooked up and how he’s in love with them. it was annoying,” chris explains and luke’s sure he misheard. that or he was about to lose his own eaten s’more to the dirt in front of him too. “i just know you like them so i wanted you to hear about it.”

“i do not!”

“yes, you do.”

“no way,” luke tries to convince his brother but it’s a lost cause. chris knows all about the feelings he harbors for you, and his knowledge is only proven further when you approach luke from behind. you wrap your arms around his neck and lean in to rest your face beside his. “h-hi.”

“hey,” you whisper, and he feels his whole face heat up. your lips were so close they were practically brushing against his ear. a smirk plays on your lips as you turn your head to look at the other son of hermes. “hey, chris.”

“hey, y/n. luke had a s’more for you but i punched him and it ended up on the ground.”

“what?” you question in disbelief as you squeeze between the two boys. a grassy, charred marshmallow beside two chocolate-covered graham crackers catches your eyes and you glare at chris. “go make me a new one.”

“why?”

“i swear to the gods that i will interrupt lee’s beautiful song right now just to ask him to put a rhyming curse on you. again.”

“no, you won’t,” chris scoffs, but you stand and kick the pieces of the discarded s’more into the fire before making your way toward lee. when you open your mouth – presumably to yell – chris shoots up and yanks your arm back so you can’t keep walking. “i’ll make you one now!”

other campers take notice of chris’s yells and his sulking on his way to the table where the supplies lay. a chorus of giggles sounds throughout the large group, and you even catch a wide smile on lee’s face as he puts the pieces together. you return to your spot on the fallen tree log and rest your head on luke’s shoulder. “you feeling better, stormy?”

“i was fine, just a little off all day. i will be better once chris replaces my one chance at food for tonight.”

“why did you skip dinner?”

“just needed space to think,” you answer him in full honesty. hookups were fun for you. control was something you lacked in your life thanks to your divinity and parentage; control within yourself was so easy when it came to sex. your body was your own, your actions were calculated, and you could choose who and how someone could make you feel. pleasure was something entirely you, something mortals could attain too. it was something out of the fates and prophecies' control, which only made you love it more. 

something you couldn’t control was the other person though. you tried your hardest to be open and honest about it; relationships aren't for you. they never would be. they never could be. yet, much like sherman, the other person always wanted more than you could give. you lift your head from luke’s shoulder and give him a small smile. the firelight dances beautifully on his deep, brown eyes. there was something about the color that you found easy to get lost in. a color that reminded you of the earth, of something so simple and yet vital to existing. you were sure luke was something vital to your existence. “i’ll be okay.”

he inspects your face and slowly rakes his eyes down your form. you put him in a trance. the curve of your jaw, your smaller hands, your thighs that press against him while you sit side by side, and the crinkles beside your eyes as you laugh at the song lee chooses to sing next – he fails to find something about you to focus on. dwindling you down to a singular feature feels pointless; you are anything but simple. he swears there’s nothing more ethereal than you, but especially today.

you had driven him crazy since he caught his first glimpse of you earlier in the day. your baggy, low-rise shorts, and cropped paramore tour shirt left little of your body to his imagination. he had seen you in bikinis many times before, even in less clothing than what you had on at the moment. but the shirt was from the first concert you went together to, and it ended just above your belly button. your belly hung slightly over the waist of your denim shorts as you sat; he thought he might start drooling. “do you want to talk about it?”

millions of thoughts run through your mind as you notice the way he blatantly stares at your chest. you look down at your chest to make sure there isn’t a stain on your shirt, and your brows furrow in confusion as you realize there’s not. what was he staring at? you look up at him and his eyes are looking directly into yours now, “are you okay?”

“peachy,” he says, turning his head to look at the fire. his mouth feels dry and he feels stupid. thoughts of sherman being able to press his lips and hands wherever he wanted on your body plague him. “sleepover tonight?”

“my place?” you question, even though that’s always where you host your secret sleepovers. you were the only one in cabin one, zeus’s cabin, and he was one of many in his own.

“of course.”

chris finally returns to the both of you and hands you a fresh s’more that you immediately indulge in. you did need time alone to think earlier, but you were heavily regretting losing track of time and missing dinner. 

chocolate takes residence on the corner of your mouth while you eat and remains there well after you clean your hands on the napkin. luke notices it and nudges you to point it out. “you have chocolate there.”

“here?”

“no,” he shakes his head as you wipe at the opposite corner. you miss it again, wiping too close to your lip. he uses his thumb and wipes it off for you. “there.”

the melted goo rests on the pad of his thumb, and you retrieve the napkin to hand it to him. before he can take the cloth square, he dips his thumb into his mouth and sucks lightly on it. your mind swirls before you can even comprehend exactly what he’s done. a blush reaches your cheeks. he smirks to himself and thinks that that singular act is more than sherman ever could have given you.

-

when luke walks into your cabin after making sure all of his little siblings are tucked in, he certainly is not expecting to see you in a tank top and thin linen shorts. he feels like you are testing him, which he realizes is ridiculous when he sees the layer of sweat across your chest. there’s an active heatwave, of course, you’re wearing as little as possible. “hey, stormy.”

“hey, sorry, the heatwave came out of nowhere earlier and i forgot to turn on my air conditioning. it’s going to be hot for at least another hour.”

“it’s okay,” he says and his eyes drift to your bed. he feels insecure, and inadequate, as he thinks of anyone else sleeping in your bed. you had been best friends since your arrival, many sleepovers had occurred in both of your cabins and they had all truly been innocent. at least on your part.

he looks at the sheets and back at you, your full chest rising and falling as you take in deep breaths from the air of the fan. you turn your gaze to him and concern fills you. you notice the distant look in his eyes. “what’s going on, luke?”

“can i ask you a question?”

“of course, anything,” you say and pat the ground beside you. he sits in the spot beside you on the carpeted floor and fidgets with his fingers as you look at him. he’s nervous, that much you can tell.

“did he stay here last night?”

“he?”

“sherman,” luke states, and you think your heart stops at those two syllables. no one was supposed to know aside from silena and clarisse. the two boys never talked, which meant that sherman had told someone else who subsequently mentioned it to the boy in front of you. fear fills you; your sex life was supposed to be something no one knew, something that stays personal. the last thing you need is someone saying you have the same reputation as your father.

“how do you know about that?”

“chris told me,” he pauses and sighs, realizing the panic in your face, “apparently sherman said he was falling in love with you. i didn’t know you were dating.”

a cackle escapes your throat, “dating? absolutely not. he knows that.”

luke can’t help but grin at your distaste for the son of ares. “so, you two?”

“just hooked up,” you shrug, feeling bashful suddenly, “it was why i was weird all day.”

“he didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“no, slow your roll,” you rub your eyes with your palms, trying to think of what to say to your best friend. the two of you had never strayed to this topic before. “he just…”

“didn’t finish you off?” luke questions and your eyes go wide. this was the boy who had never been in a relationship, had his last kiss when he was sixteen, and had never had sex because he was too focused on running camp. you didn’t expect him to be so blunt. you feel the flush all over your body.

“luke!” you chastise, even though he wasn’t entirely wrong. “no! i mean, i was close but i guess you’re right. my complaint is that i told him i didn’t want to date him – don’t want to date anybody, actually – and he blatantly ignored that. he’s been bothering me all day, trying to ask me on a date. at least the others always understand.”

others. the only word luke finds himself focusing on. now that he knows sherman is out of the picture, all he can think about is who is in the picture still. “others?”

“um,” you pause, the heat in your body is from embarrassment now despite the cold air blowing heavily throughout your cabin now, “there’s no one else, now. there’s only been a few.”

“few.”

“i’m not naming them, luke,” you say, sternly. you dislike his interest in the topic. usually, your fear surrounding your sexuality stems from not wanting to seem promiscuous, and not wanting to be shamed. luke shows no interest in making you feel guilt or shame but instead seems hurt. “no one’s even supposed to know.”

“can i ask you one more personal question?” you sigh and nod at his request. you prepare yourself for the worst, most invasive thing that could have come to his mind. he surprised you just a few moments ago with his bluntness, but now you can see the pink at the tips of his cheeks and the purse of his lips. whatever he’s thinking of is making him bashful, and it’s almost a relief until he finally speaks again. “why have you never asked me?”

“what?!” you squeak in surprise.

“is sherman more attractive? or the others?”

“what? no! luke, this is crazy,” you tell him and reach for one of his hands in reassurance. “that’s not- i mean, ugh. luke, you are beautiful. it’s not about anyone being more attractive.”

“you think i’m beautiful?”

“this is an insane topic and i don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“why not?” luke whines. his sudden change in demeanor in the evening makes sense now – he was jealous? or insecure, perhaps?

“why are you pushing it?”

“because i’m tired of being inexperienced! i want to have sex and learn all of these things that all my brothers tease me about, but i want it with someone that i trust. and i don’t have time for a relationship, which everyone else who has shown interest wants. we already hang out all the time too, so it’s not like we have to sneak off or carve out time for each other!”

“what if i don’t want to have sex with you?”

“that’s fine.”

“and what if it affects our friendship?”

“it won’t,” he shakes his head, and he feels pathetic. he’s practically begging, and you love it. “we can set rules and boundaries.”

“okay.”

“okay?” he asks, giddily. he scoots closer to you, and suddenly his face is too close. the act isn’t new territory, but with luke it is. you nod, however, letting him bring his face closer to yours. “can i kiss you?”

“no,” you whisper, your lips nearly brushing, “we’re going to sleep on it. then we can talk more tomorrow, and set some rules before anything happens.”

you pull away from him and go to settle yourself into bed while he grabs the light. the vents slowly allow a faint chill to settle in the air, so when he lays down, you pull the blanket over the both of you. his breathing is slow as you reach out and pull yourself into him so you are face to face. on a typical night, he always falls asleep before you since you are often stuck in your head. even now you assume he already fell asleep with his steady breathing and closed eyes. you run a hand through his hair and he sighs.

“i can feel you staring at me,” he mutters and you blush. you thank the gods that it is too dark for him to notice if he decides to open his eyes. 

“i don’t know what you’re talking about,” you play dumb and close your eyes. you scoot down to rest your head on his chest. he toys with the ends of your tank top and reaches under it to rest a hand on the skin of your lower back. a shiver runs through you. this is new. he pushes against you lightly until you are flush against each other. you feel your heart race and your whole body feels warm. the warmth is overwhelming even with the air conditioning on full blast, yet you’re sure it’s going to get worse. you were sure you wouldn’t be able to sleep with this heat, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to push away from luke. there is something so intoxicating about feeling so close to him, about feeling the lines of his abdomen against yours.

“stormy, relax. go to sleep,” luke whispers, and kisses the top of your head. you take deep breaths to try to calm yourself and wrap your arm around him too. eventually, the sound of luke’s heartbeat and the faint sounds of the thunderstorms from your cabin walls lull you to sleep.

-

when the sunlight flows in from the windows and luke begins to wake, he fully believes the night before was a dream. you stir beside him; your hair splays over his arm that rests underneath you, and a small smile tugs at your lips when you realize the body beside yours is his. “morning.”

“good morning,” he grumbles. you laugh and suddenly he’s happy to be waking up so early. “what time is it?”

“dunno,” you answer and retrieve your watch from the nightstand beside you. it was your mother's, he thinks, and the engraved initials on the band that differ from your own confirm it as you slide it on. “almost time for breakfast. you need to go make sure your cabin hasn’t burnt down.”

“don’t i get a goodbye kiss?”

“no,” your answer wipes the smirk off his face and you laugh at his antics. you lean over to his side of the bed and press a chaste kiss to his forehead. “we will talk later.”

“how much later?” he pouts, and you almost lose your reservations for the future. truthfully, you could have jumped him then and there but he continues to make you nervous. you never sleep with friends, although sometimes your hookups infiltrate your friend group (one in particular). you never even allowed yourself to think of luke – your closest friend – in any way other than platonically. thoughts of his body plague you now; thoughts of his lips, his thighs, his hands.

“well, silena, clarisse, and i have beach plans this morning. lunch after that, and then i have archery lessons with lee. so i’m free after dinner and the campfire.”

“sounds like you’re really trying to postpone sex,” he jokes, and you punch him in the arm, “i’m kidding!”

“we’re not having sex tonight.”

“we’re not?”

“no, we’re taking this somewhat slow. you’re my best friend who i love very much, not some acquaintance i see occasionally throughout camp,” you explain. luke was telling the truth, he was very inexperienced. there was little to no doubt that he was truly ready, but you could never deprive him of everything that could lead up to a person’s first time. “tonight, we will talk and slowly progress towards more.”

he groans and rolls out of your bed dramatically. you stifle a laugh until he finds your hands and pulls you to the floor. the straps of your tank top fall off your shoulders, and luke’s lips find their way to your collarbones once you softly land on top of him. a gasp escapes your lips as he holds you tight, his fingers pressed hard against your spine. the warm heat from the kisses trails all the way to the tips of your shoulders, and you pant, thinking about how nice it would feel if he just used his teeth a little bit. “i just needed to do that finally.”

“finally, huh?” you question, lightly pulling the hair at the nape of his neck. he maneuvered you both until you straddled him with his back against the side of your bed. your closeness should be more than enough, yet luke wants nothing more than to pull you closer. nothing would ever be close enough. “how long you been thinking about it?”

a blush rises on his cheeks and settles on his neck. the confidence he had just seconds ago disappears in light of your question. “i think since that time you beat me and pinned me down during capture the flag.”

“we were like sixteen!”

“and it was hot! oh my god, you staring down at me drove me crazy.”

“you horny ass! is that why you let me beat you now?”

“oh, i don’t let you beat me,” he admits, and your eyebrows shoot up in surprise, “you just are that good with your sword.”

you always assume luke pulls his punches (or his strikes, you suppose) with you because you’re such close friends. it’s reassuring that you come as a close second to the best swordsman at camp – however, percy is learning fast.

the conch horn sounds throughout camp, and soon everyone would gather for breakfast. neither you nor luke moves from your position; he stares at you with those deep, brown eyes, and every decision you thought you made before wavers. laughter and shouts from outside start to fill the quietness of the cabin, and you decide it isn’t so bad to let the guard down sometimes.

luke’s body momentarily tenses up as you slam your lips into his. he quickly relaxes, moving his hands to your plush hips. the touching is vulgar, but the kiss is so soft. his thumbs dip into the very top of your linen shorts, tracing the curve of your stomach and hips. your hands grip his forearms in an attempt to keep them on you for as long as you can – yet he can’t even imagine letting go. 

your lips move languidly, your tongue barely grazing his bottom lip as he pushes his face more into yours. he gasps when your core grinds against his subconsciously, needily, and you take the chance to slide your tongue against his.

although it’s the last thing you want at the moment, he pulls away whenever your stomach lets out a loud rumble. you rest your head against his shoulder as your bodies shake with laughter. “let’s go get some food.”

taglist of those who showed extra love on the first post 🫶: @kamaluhkhan @fubureaders @daisydark @wstcoastcoll3ctive @nina-isabelle

[snowysosturn]

Speeding Car - Matt Sturniolo Part 12

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29

Pairing : y/n x Matt Sturniolo

Summary : After six years with your boyfriend Alex, you start to mentally check out. At a UCLA party, Alex reconnects with his childhood friend Emily, who proposes a double date with her boyfriend Matt. Your attraction to Matt grows as he pays you the first real attention you've had in years, sparking a complicated emotional journey.

Warnings : MDNI, tension, angst

The silence in my apartment was suffocating after Alex stormed out, slamming the door behind him. I replayed our argument over and over, each word cutting deeper. How did we get here? I’d spent the last month caring for him, rearranging my life to cater to him. Now, he was off to Barcelona with Emily, leaving me to pick up the pieces. A bitter laugh escaped me. Of course, he chose her over me. I couldn't even spend our last night together before his trip.

I angrily wiped away tears, trying to suppress the rising wave of emotions. It wasn't just the argument with Alex that hurt, it was everything else too. Matt’s silence since the fight, the confusion about what almost happened between us, and the sinking feeling that maybe I wasn’t enough. Not for Alex, not for anyone.

Curling up on the couch, the apartment felt empty and cold. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Now there was nothing to distract me from the growing loneliness. My phone buzzed, and my heart skipped a beat, hoping it was Alex with an apology. But it was Nick. Surprised, I hesitated before opening the message.

 "Hey, are you okay? I heard Alex is staying here tonight.. Do you want to hang out?"

A wave of gratitude washed over me. I hadn’t realized how much I needed someone to reach out until I saw Nick’s message. I quickly replied, "I’d really like that. I can order you an Uber?"

His response came instantly. "Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks."

As I waited for Nick to arrive, a mix of emotions swirled inside me. I hadn’t expected to hear from him, let alone tonight. The last time I saw Nick was the same night I last saw Matt, and now that he was coming over, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But one thing was clear - I was grateful someone cared enough to check on me, even if it wasn’t the person I had hoped for.

When Nick arrived, his soft smile and warm greeting were comforting. “Hey girl” he said, his voice soothing. We sat on the couch, and after a brief silence, he said, “I’m really sorry about everything that’s been going on.”

“Everything’s just a mess, you know? I’ve been trying so hard to make things work with Alex, but it feels like I’m the only one who cares. And now he’s off to Barcelona with Emily, and I’m just.. here.”

Nick nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I get that. It’s not fair that he left like that, especially after everything you’ve done for him, but don’t worry we’re making sure you’re busyyyyy while he’s away.”

I smirked at his last comment, I could really use more time out of the house. “I just don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. Why does it feel like I’m never enough?”

“You’re not doing anything wrong,” Nick said firmly. “Alex is the one who’s screwing up, not you. You’ve been bending over backward for him, and he’s just taking you for granted.”

His words hit me hard, and I had to look away, blinking back tears. “It just hurts, you know? I’ve given so much, and it feels like he doesn’t even care. I just feel so lonely.”

Nick placed a comforting hand on my arm. “You deserve better than that, Y/n. You deserve someone who actually appreciates everything you do. Maybe it's time to end things with him?”

No one had ever said those words to me before, so it came as a shock. “Maybe.. But thank you, Nick. It means a lot.”

We talked for a while,  gossiped and watched some episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race and slowly, the weight of the evening lifted. 

Matt’s POV

The next morning, the blaring jingle of my alarm pulled me from a restless sleep. I quietly got dressed, trying not to wake Emily, who was sprawled across the bed, completely oblivious to the storm brewing in my head.

Once I was ready, I nudged Emily gently. “Hey, we need to get going soon if you want to make your flight.”

She groaned, burying her face in the pillow. “Just five more minutes…”

“Emily, come on,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “You’re gonna miss your flight if you don’t get up.”

“Ughhh, fine,” she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She looked at me through half open eyes, clearly not a morning person. “Why do these flights have to be so early?”

I didn’t answer, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference. I grabbed her suitcase to carry it downstairs and started wheeling it towards the door. Alex was already waiting, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He looked just as groggy as Emily, but there was a tension in his jaw that told me he hadn’t forgotten our argument. I knew better than to bring it up again.

The car ride to the airport was quiet, filled with the sound of Emily typing away on her phone. She showed me pictures of clubs and bars she wanted to visit in Barcelona, but my mind was elsewhere.

“Do you know anyone in Barcelona?” Emily asked suddenly. “Maybe you could get us into some VIP sections or something?”

“Emily, I’m just a YouTuber. Who the fuck would I know in Barcelona?”

She pouted slightly, disappointed. “Oh, come on, you must know someone. Doesn’t everyone in LA have some kind of connection?”

“Not really my scene, Em,” I replied, focusing on the road.

We pulled up to the airport, the morning sun just starting to peak over the horizon. I parked the car and helped them with their bags. The airport buzzed with people rushing to catch flights.

I gave Emily a kiss goodbye as Alex walked to check in. “See you in 10 days, don't miss me too much! I love you!” Emily said, looking over her shoulder as she walked toward Alex. “Have a great time Em, love you too.” I lingered by the entrance, watching them navigate the crowd together. Emily clung to Alex’s arm, talking animatedly about something. Alex seemed more interested in getting their bags through. I felt a strange emptiness in my chest. The argument with Alex, the tension between us, and now this… something had to change. But I wasn’t sure what or how.

I drove back home, the sun now fully up. The roads were clearer, but my mind was anything but. The silence in the car was deafening, and for the first time in a long while, I wished Emily was here with me, chattering away about something meaningless purely to take my mind off everything. My mind was a mess of thoughts, always circling back to Nick and Y/n. I couldn’t get over the fact that Nick had gone to her place last night. Why did she call an Uber for him? Was she avoiding me? I know I hadn’t been in touch with her but It wasn’t intentional, things got so complicated. But maybe that was just an excuse. I was scared.. scared of what might happen if I did see her again.

A notification popped up on my dashboard screen, snapping me out of my thoughts. A message from Nick: “Can you come pick me up from Y/n’s?”

My heart skipped a beat at the sight of her name. I made Siri send a quick response, “On my way!”

The drive to Y/n’s apartment was short, but it felt like forever. My mind raced with questions. Was I going to see her? When I finally pulled up outside her building, my heart was pounding. I scanned the area, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but there was no sign of her car that's usually parked in the same spot. I parked up, texting Nick to let him know I was outside and waited.

After a few minutes, Nick emerged, smiling as he spotted my car. I couldn’t help the wave of disappointment when I realized Y/n wasn’t with him to show him out. Nick got in, buckling his seatbelt.

“Morning,” he greeted.

“Morning,” I replied. “Where’s Y/n?”

“Oh she went to work hours ago.” Nick explained. “She told me I could stay as long as I wanted when she left, she just put the door on auto lock so it would close properly behind me.”

Nick kept up a steady stream of conversation on the drive home, mostly talking about how nice it was to hang out with Y/n last night. I tried to focus, but my thoughts kept drifting back to her. What if she was mad at me? What if she regretted almost kissing me? Did she even mention me at all? The uncertainty was eating me alive.

Nick must have noticed my silence. “You okay, Matt? You’ve been pretty quiet.”

I forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired, I guess, from being up so early..”

Nick didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t push it. Instead, he leaned back and let the music fill the car, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

By the time we got back to the house, I was exhausted, not just physically, but mentally. The weight of everything that had happened over the past few weeks was pressing down on me, and I knew I couldn’t keep ignoring it. But right now, all I wanted was to crawl back into bed and shut the world out, even if just for a little while.

Y/n’s POV

The blaring sound of my alarm clock pulled me out of the depths of a short sleep. Nick and I were laughing so much last night that it ended up being very late getting to bed. I groaned, rubbing the exhaustion from my eyes as I rolled out of bed. Today was the last of my early morning shifts at Target, and the thought of returning to a normal schedule next week was the only thing keeping me going. These early shifts had been isolating, to say the least. It felt like everyone else was living their lives in a different time zone, and I was drifting in a space where no one else existed. Even Jess, who used to be my go to for venting about the monotony of day to day life, had been absent. We hadn’t seen or heard from each other since the night of Alex’s fight either. Opposite shifts had kept us apart, and I missed her more than I realized.

By the time my shift ended, I felt drained, not just from the physical exhaustion, but from the emotional toll everything had taken on me. I checked my phone as I walked out of the store, blinking against the harsh daylight. There was a text from Alex. Hesitating for a moment, I finally opened it.

“I’m sorry about last night. I know I’ve been a lot to deal with lately. I don’t want you to feel like you’re not enough because you are. I promise I’ll make it up to you when I get back. I love you.”

Reading his apology didn’t bring the comfort it might have once. Instead, it felt like another weight pressing down on me, making it harder to breathe. I realized, in that moment, that I was done. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. But admitting it to myself and actually going through with ending things with Alex were two very different things. I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to face that yet. Not now, not with everything else piling up around me.

I typed out a quick response, keeping it brief. “Okay. Have a safe flight. Love you too.”

Moments later, another message from Alex popped up. “Thanks. Can you keep an eye on my email while I’m gone? Still waiting to hear from the board about their decision.”

My heart sank. I completely forgot the internal investigation after the fight had weighed heavily on him, and me by extension. The Bruins management had mentioned the possibility of a suspension or even stripping away his captaincy, a prospect that had left him in a state of constant anxiety. I’d been there for him through it all, yet it seemed like no matter what I did, it was never enough to pull him out of his own head.

When I finally got home, the only thing I wanted was to collapse into bed. The thought of facing the day was too much to bear, and I let myself fall into the comfort of my blankets. The weight of the last few weeks pressed down on me until I drifted into a fitful sleep.

When I woke up, it was dark outside. I felt disoriented, my mind still tangled in the remnants of dreams I couldn’t remember. The apartment was silent, and the loneliness hit me harder than I expected. I’d grown used to having someone around, even if that someone was Alex, with all his faults and shortcomings. But last night, when Nick had stayed over, it had been different. There was something comforting about his presence, something that made the emptiness feel less suffocating.

But it made me realise how much I missed Matt. The way he’d disappeared from my life so suddenly had left a void that no one else could fill. Even having Nick around hadn’t been enough to keep me from thinking about Matt. The connection we’d shared, brief as it was, had been real. I could still feel the electricity from that almost kiss, the tension that had hung between us like a charged wire.

In a moment of weakness, I found myself reaching for my phone. I wondered what Matt was doing right now. Did he ever think about me? Did he miss me as much as I missed him? My thumb hovered over the Youtube search bar, a reckless idea forming in my mind.

The Sturniolo Triplets.

It didn’t take long to find their YouTube channel. My heart raced as I clicked on the first video that caught my eye, the familiar sound of Matt’s voice filling the room. As the video played, I felt a strange sense of comfort wash over me. This was probably the closest I’d get to him again, watching him through a screen, pretending he was still a part of my life.

But as much as I tried to lose myself in the videos, the loneliness crept back in. The emptiness that Matt’s absence had left was still there, refusing to be ignored. Just as I was about to close the app, my phone buzzed with a new message.

Nick 💜:  “Want to hit Topgolf in a bit? One of our friends from Boston is here. We can pick you up on the way.”

We? who was we?

a/n: okay kind of a filler chapter buuuuut maybe just maybe a certain two people reunite in the next chapter

taglist : @muwapsturniolo @anitahunt @sturnfannn @jayde510 @chrissfavhoe @babyalliah-777 @v33angel @urmom69lol @willowrites @ribread03 @2muchofaslvt @sturnsaver @sleepysturniolo @jcsturniolo11 @jessie-essie @hoeforchrizz @mynbbys @sturniolopanini @mattsturnxoxo @delicatechrry @t77te @sturnsyaper69 @hotdismylife @maggot3647 @ivysturnss @noplaceissafeanymore @mattssgf @yourfavsturniologirl @maethem0nth @sillyponygrl @mattyblover07 @imjusthereforthesturniolosmut @dominicfikeenthusiast @mattsfavbigtitties @ncm9696

[fate-motif]

list of voyager characters ranked by least to most done dirty by the writers

10. tom paris: this boy got everything he could have ever wanted from a trip to the delta quadrant. he got a bestie who’s way too good for him, a wife he refuses to cherish and yet she married him and had his child!!! and authorities who refuse to punish him most of the time because he’s a pretty talented flyboy. even modern day trek writers cannot start lavishing praise on this douche and like, okay, he’s not all bad, but compared to what other voyager characters had for story potential and performances it’s crazy how good he got it. the only true indignity this bitch got was threshold.

9. neelix: i feel like neelix lovers are gonna brawl with me about this but i’m still steadfast that neelix was one of the characters least done dirty in voyager, but only comparatively. like, if neelix were on ds9 or on tng he would absolutely be considered an insane waste of story potential with his sad clown complex and his weird little relationship with tuvok but lbr. if they had gone even harder on neelix’s tragedies it would have felt less like he’s a sad clown and his sad all the time and that takes away the appeal of the character. also the mere fact he got to date kes when he never would have deserved her in a million years is already too huge a win for him. i mean it. 

8. the emh: he gets to be a step above neelix because the writers are so fucking bad at writing about hologram rights that it’s a serious disservice to him when the whole of the show star trek voyager bends over backwards over this guy and i cannot stand him. he gets all the screentime, all the tragic episodes, everyone is forced to be sympathetic about him, but at the same time the show makes everything so much worse for him by letting him engineer hologram characters on the holodeck to be his toys (when there’s a whole episode where we realize yes the holodeck characters are real and do not like being murdered, so maybe having two hawaiian babes or your white blond 50s housewife fawning over you is horrifying???) the writers of voyager suck so hard they can’t even write their golden boy well enough to actually make the core of his very character ideologically consistent. depressing.

7. seven of nine: i know people want me to put her over janeway, and i refuse. i’ve made no secret of this, i resent seven, i resent her so hard for taking over everybody’s screentime, i find how serious and untouchable and perfect she’s supposed to be among the voyager cast, the show writers absolutely screwed over every other character save for the emh for her sake and i resent that!!! i will never forgive her, even if it’s not her fault!!! but i’m gonna be realistic. it’s the catsuit. it’s the catsuit, it’s the obsession of putting her in the most stereotypically feminine storylines as an extension of finding her humanity, it’s the mere extension of being a woman written by mostly men. she was screwed over, hard, but i’m serious when i say: not compared to everyone else above her.

6. janeway: oh boy. i know, i know, how dare i put janeway over seven when janeway wasn’t forced to wear shrink wrap, but she’s up this high because the writers could not agree over anything she ever did and it shows. god bless kate mulgrew for making a consistent character out of that mess, but if it weren’t for her sheer talent and professionalism, janeway would be up there with archer in the list of captains with the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair. the rest of the shows lavish love on their captains. they talk about their backstory in-depth. they let them have romantic adventures every once in a while. janeway gets to be almost solely defined by her mission to bring her crew home and considering how multidimensional characters like picard and sisko are, that’s…depressing. to say nothing of how kate mulgrew was being forced out of spending time with her family for a show that in the later seasons started to edge her out in favor of the bouncier, sexier girl they brought in. like. as a captain, janeway was done SO dirty by the writers. it’s crazy. we should talk about this more. 

5. tuvok: why is he above janeway? … aside from the fact that after they introduced seven his screentime went to the chopping block. to put it simply, waste of potential. so many of tuvok’s episodes rehash his insistence on staying steadfast to traditional vulcan values, which is great, except for the fact that we don’t need that story told over and over and over again when they could follow more interesting avenues that several tuvok-centric episodes pointed towards. we could have seen more of his relationship with janeway in the past. we could have seen him truly come to terms with trusting the maquis with his life in the earlier seasons. we even had a planned episode where we met his family! imagine if we had actually seen t’pel and have her be an actual character instead of a representation of why we’re not seeing tuvok fuck! it’s tragic. it’s absolutely tragic. 

4. b’elanna: ending up with tom paris the way he treats her should make this one a no-brainer, but i’m going to keep going, because there’s a lot more to be done here. the white male writers have no idea what they’re doing writing this character, and yet, much like janeway, roxann just barely claws out a cohesive character from the mess she was given, but that doesn’t mean that the process was graceful. so she hates herself because she thinks her klingon traits make her unlovable, then why make the other voyager characters berate her on her temper incessantly and with no room for argument and make them in the right? are we also supposed to see her as hindered by her klingon ancestry? yes. the answer is yes. the writers are racist. the writers are so goddamn racist it’s nit even a joke b’elanna i’m so sorry they did this to you you deserved so much better. 

3. kes: yes she’s in third place. nobody wants to talk about kes, because her writing was weird, and jennifer lien wasn’t as successful in sculpting an engaging character out of the garbage writing she was given, i say that if b’elanna had been taken out of voyager in s4, the same could be said for her. everything that the writers do to disrespect janeway and seven is triplicated in her, even more so magnified because she’s not a tough boss ass bitch who uses guns, but a lowly nurse, which means the writers are completely disinterested in exploring her inner life. i cannot stress this enough. kes left her homeworld when they are going to lose all support making it in a desert planet frequently raided by slavers, and we never talk about it again. it is galling how little the writers ever give a fuck about her and nobody mentions it, because again. she’s the most feminine of the female characters, which means not even the fans who understand how misogynistic the voyager writers are care about interrogating her inner life and that is the most depressing thing of them all. that’s why she’s the female character done dirtiest by the writers.

2 and 1. harry and chakotay: they’re tied. they’re tied because the racism is just inescapable in both their characters and it’s so ever-present, so impossible to ignore, so repellent that most people give up on even looking at them as characters because they so often end up channelling the writers’ naked, unabashed racism you want to avert your eyes. i mean it. i mute most early voyager episodes when chakotay is onscreen because i hate that fucking pan flute. if you fuck up writing a character of color this hard, you automatically owe reparations. and that’s why i’m fine with that insufferable republican freak robert beltran having been on prodigy because look at me in the eye and tell me paramount did not owe him from everything they put him through while working on voyager. and that’s also why i’m demanding harry be rescued the same way in the future. it’s just reparations. garrett wang is owed so hard i’m not even joking. i don’t care about debates about the other spots on this list so long as you admit that in first place rightfully goes to harry and chakotay. 

[cosmerelists]

Adolin asks: "Would you still love me if I was a cremling?"

A direct sequel to that time Kaladin asked that same question.

[Some Stormlight spoilers in this!]

1. Renarin

Renarin: Yes. Ever since Kaladin asked me this question, I've been contemplating it. Renarin: I would definitely still love my cremling brother, and I've already done some research into cremling diets and habitats so you'll be well taken care of! Adolin: Great! Uh.......your answer doesn't relate at all to your future sight thing, right? Renarin: [smiles beatifically]

2. Elhokar

Elhokar: No. You'd be ugly. Adolin: You wouldn't love me just because I'm an ugly bug?? Elhokar: Oh, suddenly this isn't safe space.

3. Dalinar

Dalinar: Of course. Dalinar: I will love you on any stage of your journey, cremling or otherwise. This has long been my philosophy. Adolin: You have a philosophy about me being a cremling? Dalinar: I meant--more the journey thing, but--

4. Sadeas

Sadeas: I would love you exactly the same amount as I do now. Dalinar: Awww! Sadeas: [glaring at Adolin] Adolin: [glaring at Sadeas] Adolin (hissing): I'll kill you! Sadeas: (hissing): Not as a cremling you won't!

5. Shallan

Shallan: Of course, Adolin. In fact, did you know that some male cremlings fight for territory? Adolin: Uh... Shallan: That means you can still duel! Adolin: Isn't that kind of...unfair, though? I mean, I would be a super-intelligent cremling, as cremlings go. Shalln: Hmmm...I could ask Sja-anat if she knows any enlightened spren currently inhabiting the body of a cremling who want to thrown down? Adolin: You would do that...for me? Adolin: That IS love!

6. Navani

Navani: If I can love a woman who is a crab, I can love a son who is a bug. Adolin: Awww, thank you!! Adolin: Wait what was that first part? Navani: Let's not spoil this moment.

7. Jakamav

Jakamav: Honestly, I would crush you immediately and with prejudice. Adolin: Still mad about the duel, huh? Jakamav: YES I AM STILL MAD ABOUT THE DUEL

8. Danlan

Danlan: Yes!! Adolin: Wow! Your enthusiasm is...touching? A tad suspicious? Danlan: You'll be able to get into SO many spaces in secret! With you on my side, I'll be the greatest spy EVER! Adolin: ...you're a spy? Danlan: I hope you'll be faster on the uptake as a cremling.

9. Jasnah

Jasnah: Do I have any way of knowing that it's you? Adolin: Yeah, you know it's me. Jasnah: How? Adolin: Uh...you just do? Jasnah: I just do? Really? Adolin: What if you...watch the transformation happen in real time and then you, like, ask me ten yes-no questions relating to little-known aspects of my history that a fake-Adolin would be unlikely to get completely right by chance, and I, like, dance back and forth for no and hop forwards and backwards for yes? Jasnah: In that case yes I would continue to love you. Adolin: I'm exhausted! Jasnah: That's just how love is.

10. Kaladin

Kaladin: Yes...but I won't be happy about it. Adolin: Meaning?? Kaladin: It would be SO much harder to protect you if you're a cremling! You'd be so small! So crushable! Kaladin: I guess I'd keep you in my pocket. Adolin: I am NOT living in your pocket. Kaladin: I'm your bodyguard! You'll live in my pocket if I SAY you live in my pocket! Adolin: I will BITE you. Kaladin: Cremling don't have TEETH probably! Adolin: I'LL FIND A WAY

[captainhunnicutt]

Season 10: Closing shots of every episode

Corresponding Opening Shot Post: Season 10

NOTE: In this series, "closing shots" means "the cleanest full shot right before the fade to black effect happens," OR "the cleanest full shot right before the freeze frame." It's a pain in the ass to try to find it frame by frame... backwards. Why did I decide to do this?!?!?!

Season 9 // Season 8 // Season 7 // Season 6 // Season 5 // Season 4 // Season 3 // Season 2 // Season 1

[shinynewmemories]

Final lines of every chapter in the Hunger Games (book 1)

Chapter 1:

It’s Primrose Everdeen.

Chapter 2:

Of course, the odds have not been very dependable of late.

Chapter 3:

She hops in her pointy shoes around the pool of vomit and flees the room.

Chapter 4:

Which also means that kind Peeta Mellark, the boy who gave me the bread, is fighting hard to kill me.

Chapter 5:

Right on his bruise.

Chapter 6:

I wonder if she’ll enjoy watching me die.

Chapter 7:

Then I give a slight bow and walk straight toward the exit without being dismissed.

Chapter 8:

“Peeta has asked to be coached separately.”

Chapter 9:

“Because . . . because . . . she came here with me.”

Chapter 10:

“Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!”

Chapter 11:

The voice belongs to Peeta.

Chapter 12:

It would be hard to miss the wall of fire descending on me.

Chapter 13:

Then, without even rustling a leaf, her little hand slides into the open and points to something above my head.

Chapter 14:

Then the ants bore into my eyes and I black out.

Chapter 15:

“I think we’re going to have to fix that, Rue.”

Chapter 16:

Then the apples spill to the ground and I’m blown backward into the air.

Chapter 17:

She just has time to reach her hand through the mesh and say my name before the spear enters her body.

Chapter 18:

Before I can stop myself, I call out Peeta’s name.

Chapter 19:

“Peeta, look what Haymitch has sent you.”

Chapter 20:

The rest of Panem can.

Chapter 21:

The last thing I remember is an exquisitely beautiful green-and-silver moth landing on the curve of my wrist.

Chapter 22:

But in my head I can hear Haymitch’s smug, if slightly exasperated, words, “Yes, that’s what I’m looking for, sweetheart.”

Chapter 23:

In answer, I hold out the berries.

Chapter 24:

Then I am stumbling blindly after Cato with no thought of anything but to save myself.

Chapter 25:

“Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark! I give you — the tributes of District Twelve!”

Chapter 26:

And right now, the most dangerous part of the Hunger Games is about to begin.

Chapter 27:

I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.

[seuonji]

night shift ★彡 xu minghao

xu minghao x yn ln

彡when yn’s juniors finds trouble with some fellow college mates, yn goes through mountains just to get them justice, even if it means needing to infiltrate and make friends with the most intimidating clique on campus.

masterlist

#7 7th chance! | #8 wasted times! | # 9 yn’s boyfriend!

notes: there’s a writing part after the cut! <3 (1k words!)

you turned your phone off and redirected your attention to minghao and his friend that tagged along who’s name was…kwon soonyoung? you were mildly acquainted with both of then due to chan’s dance club but other than that, you really have never had a conversation with them so the walk to icey milk was ought to be interesting.

when they first approached you, minghao was quiet and cold as ever. perhaps that was just his default character. soonyoung on the other hand greeted you with such friendliness that it shocked you.

now you three were on the sidewalk making your way to icey milk.

awkwardly, you were walking beside minghao.

soonyoung walked on a faster pace so it were as if he was leading you two.

“so, what’s it like being vice yn!” soonyoung turned around, walking backwards as he asked.

you giggled at his eagerness, you’ve never met someone so interested in the role of a vice, “well, i kinda just do whatever the president tells us. but there is times i get to boss people around aswell.”

“you boss people around?” minghao suddenly chirped in.

“hard to believe?” you titled your head.

“not really,” he faced to the front again.

“i’ve always wanted to get acquainted with you guys, you all seemed like fun but i was scared it was prohibited.”

you held back your laugh, from the corner of your eye, you saw minghao doing the same. “like we’re celebrities or something? come on, it’s really nothing like that, we’re all students just like you,” you casually responded.

you caught the attention of minghao while your attention was on soonyoung. today he realised, you probably aren’t the snob-could be apart of the mean girls trio-obnoxious-not humble type of person he portrayed you be in his head. you were pretty decent and he could see himself being alone in a room with you without going insane.

but what was he thinking? it’s only been a 2 minute walk so far he could only judge so much.

“so i could totally just try and be friends with the student council?” soonyoung continued his questions. that one kind off took you aback, did he have some sort of student council addiction, why was this man so invested. but perhaps this interest could be an asset to you.

“of course! we don’t bite. actually jeonghan might but he’d only do it as a joke,” you joked.

“who’s jeonghan?” soonyoung tilted his head.

minghao snorted out a giggle, “so much for wanting to be friends with the student council.”

“ouf,” you blurted almost letting out a loud laugh. jeonghan always swore everyone knew who he was, you wish you caught what soonyoung said on tape.

you proceeded to give brief descriptions on everyone from student council but before you knew it, you reached icey milk. you parted ways with soonyoung. you think you made a good impression since soonyoung insisted that you and him should hangout again. that felt like an accomplishment!

soon enough, you and minghao went to the back to start work.

-

it was a slow day seeing as it was a weekday which allowed you and minghao to focus on training more today.

he trained you in ice cream scooping, the right way to wash the dishes and since icey milk also sold milkshakes, minghao was able to train you on that aswell.

“so that concludes your training, anything else just ask me,” he had a slight smile on his face.

you let out a breathe thankful for the zero mishaps that happened that day.

“thanks, mind if i take a break?”

“not at all, go ahead”

you were able to confide in the space of the employee room to text seungcheol. afterwards you shut your phone tired of the situation but laughed cause it was pretty funny.

you had your earphones in and looked up into the ceiling, letting your playlist run wild.

few songs had passed and you heard someone walk in. you lowered your volume down just in case someone spoke.

unbeknownst to you, minghao walked in and caught a glimpse of the song that was playing on your phone. it was showcased on your lock screen and he pointed it out.

“hey, you listen that artist too?”

it took you a bit too long to realise he was talking to you but you pulled out one of your earphones and you peeked at your screen. an artist song was playing, an artist you swore only you listened to. “yea, holy shit i’ve never met someone that knew them.”

“yea, they’re kinda underground.”

“i like them that way,” you giggled.

he had the same smile on his face as he laughed, “me too.”

huh, you two finally agreed on something.

he sat infront of you, going on his phone aswell.

this was your chance.

“did you hear they’re coming to town this year?”

“huh they are?” he placed his phone down giving you his full attention.

“yea! i mean it’s not a huge concert, it’s more like a live house but, would you go?”

“probably not, it would cost money i can’t spare,” he looked defeated.

your eyes grew bigger from the reality check as your plopped back into your chair, “that’s true.”

“i mean, we could just take the cash from the register and go,” he shrugged his shoulder and joked.

you let out a laugh, he was capable of making jokes? you swear he was a robot. “that’s genius actually!”

“let’s plan it out then,” he said with such seriousness it didn’t seem like a joke anymore.

you enjoyed the conversation, just as you were about to prolong it, the chimes rang as the front door opened, alarming you two that there was a customer.

minghao instantly stood up to attend to them as you followed behind. as he opened the door, he whispered to you, “here comes our money for the concert!” he did a small jazz hands gesture before returning back to his employee mode. you watched him at the side and quietly let out a sigh of relief.

maybe you could enjoy working around him.

funfact: when yn went back home they searched up the meaning of the song wasted times. they could see some correlation and they definitely didn’t let him breathe because of it.

taglist: @weird-bookworm @kissesfrmwonwoo @haecien @amxlia-stars @addyanm @anemoiant @kokoiinuts @leewonkyeom @silver-liner @zzenkha @buffhoshi @woozixo @porridgesblog @ilovehimyourhonour @koala-wonderland @bangantokchy @limbomoon @som1ig @imprettyweird @hyelium @sikuthealien

send an ask to be added to taglist! (replies are fine but i may not see them!!) — please check your visibility before asking to be added to taglist! if your account is hidden it won’t allow you to be tagged on posts!🤍

[southernprideyall2]

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW IF YOU MOVE TO THE SOUTH

1. A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.

2. There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in the South.

3. There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 of them live in the South, plus a couple no one's seen before.

4. If it grows, it'll stick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha.

5. Onced and Twiced are words.

6. It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy!

7. Jawl-P? means: Did you all go to the bathroom?

8. People actually grow, eat, and like okra.

9. Fixinto is one word. It means I'm going to do something.

10. There is no such thing as lunch. There is only dinner and then there's supper.

11. Iced tea is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar. It is referred to as the Wine of the South.

12. Backwards and forwards means I know everything about you.

13. The word jeet is actually a question meaning, 'Did you eat?'

14. You don't have to wear a watch, because it doesn't matter what time it is, you work until you're done or it's too dark to see.

15. You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH em.

16. Y'all is singular. All Y'all is plural.

17. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect, or animal.

18. You carry jumper cables in your car for your OWN car.

19. You only own five spices: salt, pepper, mustard, Tabasco, and ketchup.

20. The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local high school sports, motorsports, and gossip.

21. Everyone you meet is a Honey, Sugar, Miss (first name), or Mr (first name)

22. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.

23. You know what a hissy fit is..

24. Fried catfish is the other white meat.

25. We don't need no dang Driver's Ed. If our mama says we can drive, we can drive!!!

[ruanbaijie]

我会保护你，保护你一辈子。无论是你的一辈子，还是我的一辈子。 ARCS OF THE SPIREALM 致命游戏 (2024) [in/sp]

@userdramas event 15 something new: a new show from 2024 @asiandramanet mar creator bingo board ⎈ typography ➻ notes for translations and motifs (spoilers!) used below the cut

Arc 1: 雪村 Snow Village

Quote: 一人不如庙，二人不观井，三人不抱树，独自莫凭栏 One person shall not enter the temple, two people shall not look into the well, three people shall not hug a tree, one shall not lean against the balustrade alone. - the death rules of this door

Motifs: a circle meant to represent the well, split into two to represent (what are assumed to be) the "real world" (top half) and "virtual world" (bottom half). note where rnz is placed

Arc 2: 菲尔夏鸟 Fitcher's Bird

Quote: 小老鼠搬鸡蛋，鸡蛋太大怎么办？一只老鼠地上躺，紧紧抱住大鸡蛋。一只老鼠拉尾巴，拉呀拉呀拉回家。小老鼠搬鸡蛋，鸡蛋太大怎么办？一只老鼠地上跑，紧紧抱住大鸡蛋。一只老鼠拉尾巴，拉呀拉呀拉回家。Little Mouse, carrying an egg, what shall it do if the egg is too big? Little Mouse, lying on the ground, tightly hugging the big egg. Little Mouse, pulling its tail, pulling and pulling and pulling it home. Little Mouse, carrying an egg, what shall it do if the egg is too big? Little Mouse, running on the ground, tightly hugging the big egg. Little Mouse, pulling its tail, pulling and pulling and pulling it home. - the creepy as hell nursery rhyme recited by the three girls

Motifs: broken egg, clock ticking backwards that's formed by the staircase that's rotating clockwise (which I realised was a neat little trick to hint that they were travelling forward in time) and the cut birthday cake

Arc 3: 阿姐鼓 Sister Drum

Quote: 她不见了，找不到她了 She's gone, I can't find her - the words written by the older sister in her diary

Motifs: top view of a Chinese drum, bamboo

Arc 4: 佐子 Zuozi

Quote: 我的腿没有了，你的给我好吗？My leg is gone, can you give me yours? - the death line of this door

Motifs: ripped pieces of paper, handwriting, slowly appearing words

Arc 5: 威福利山疗养院 Waverly Hills Sanatorium

Quote: 已经过了八点了，你们为什么不睡觉？It's already past 8pm, why are you still not asleep? - what the nurse says right before she starts chasing after the players who are outside their rooms

Motifs: room 502, overlapping but non-concentric circles representing a Russian doll

Arc 6: 雨中女郎 Woman in the Rain

Quote: 总不能是你一直保护我们吧 It can't always be you protecting us - what lqs says to convince rnz to let him go into the painting world

Motifs: picture frames shifting from scenes of the players to scenes of the door god and painting world, and back again

Arc 7: 哭儿郎 Crying Baby

Quote: 天惶惶，地惶惶，我家有个哭儿郎，过往恩客念三遍，一觉睡到大天光 Panic in the skies, panic on the earth, I have a crying baby at home, when the kind guest who passes by recites three times, they will sleep till the next morning - the line that will save you in this door. Interesting to note that there's actually a similar line that exists, except one of the changes is instead of 恩客 (ēn kè "kind guest"), it's 君子 (jūn zǐ "gentleman"), and while I translated 恩客 literally as "kind guest" here (what each of the individual characters means), the word itself actually in the past, used to refer to "benefactors" - the customers whom prostitutes fell in love with

Motifs: a lamp with lqs as the flames (vague hint at what rnz always tells lqs) and rnz as the base (note the orientation and negative colours), swirls meant to mimic water as in the book, this door was slightly more strongly related to the river god

Arc 8: 扫晴娘 Rain Doll

Quote: 如果这样，明天还是阴沉下雨的话，我就砍掉你的头 If it's still gloomy and rainy tomorrow, I will chop off your head - the line to recite in this door in order to make it rain

Motifs: umbrellas in the corners, a window (there's this one beautifully framed scene in this arc where they both open the windows of their room at the same time) showing the iconic nanqiu umbrella scene (each of them coloured differently on purpose) vs. the outside of the window with the rain dolls and additional rain overlay layer

Arc 9: 箱妖 Box Demon

Quote: 别看那个箱子，看我 Don't look at that box, look at me - what lqs tells rnz when he gets "hypnotised" to open the box

Motifs: diamonds forming 3d boxes

Full list of scenes used since this gif moves too quickly: rnz waking up from his "hypnosis", rnz and lqs staring at each other after rnz returns from his "death", cyx turning around to look at lqs when they thought rnz was dead, cql being pulled into the box, juxtaposition of rnz (upright) and ybl (upside down) in front of the stained glass windows, one of the box people in the box rnz nearly opened when he was "hypnotised", rnz being full of shit in front of everyone else (as usual)

Arc 10: 无��� Insoluble

Quote: 二人去一人归 Two people go, one person returns - the hint that appears consistently for the 11th door

Motifs: kaleidoscope of the final scene before rnz walks away

I put the two final doors (百鬼夜行 "Night Parade of Hundreds of Ghosts" and the "real" "12th" door) together because I really like how the hint applies for both the 11th door as well as the ending of the show

I also used 无解 "unsolvable" (the original name of the final chapter in the novel) for the name of this arc because of how short and simple it is, but also how it just summarises the 意难平 (idrk how to translate this, but sort of like the bittersweet feelings, being unable to let go of the past) of this arc and the entire show. Just like how there was no way to solve the 11th door with a happy ending for both people (assuming only two people went in lol), there was no way to solve the 12th door and the entire game with a happy ending for both rnz and lqs

However, instead of translating 无解 as "unsolvable", I used "insoluble" instead as it sounds just a little more poetic and is more symmetrical, and also hints at how lqs's memories of and feelings for rnz, whether his whole experience was a dream or otherwise, never dissolved with time 🥲

[elliesbelle]

almost like we knew

chapter 8

pairing: ellie x reader

synopsis: it all began online—the whirlwind long-distance, years-long romance between you and young artist, ellie williams. despite all the history and heartbreak and regrets, you keep dancing backwards into each other. the time just never seems to line up.

content warnings: ellie's POV (and briefly dani's POV, ellie's fiancée), modern au, artist!ellie, cursing, angst, mentions of hospitalization, mentions of death, mentions of alcohol, relationship problems, minors do not interact

chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 6, chapter 7, chapter 8, chapter 9

series masterlist

my masterlist

i have a ko-fi if you like my work so much that you feel compelled to tip me ♡︎

based on the lauv and julia michaels song “there’s no way”

Present Day

Ellie’s POV

Dani's POV

Ellie’s POV

author's notes:

sorry for taking so long to get this out! i've been swamped, plus the app i use for my text fics is soooo glitchy and i had to do so much more editing than i wanted to ugh

and tbh i'm also likeeee struggling a little bit mental health wise so if i take a while to get my WIPs out, please be patient!

btw bindi and i were just talking on discord about how so many of us creators' engagement has been so low and it's very disheartening tbh :\ i mean, y'all don't have an obligation to us, but if you do appreciate our works, please do show us by showing support in different ways &lt;3

taglist: @sawaagyapong, @elliewilliamsmissingfingerss, @lonelyfooryouonly, @abbyily, @spaceshipellie, @ximtiredx, @elliessknife, @aouiaa, @godisacirclemp3, @uberyellowsheep, @alexpritch, @fireflyelllie, @machetegirl109, @millersaurora, @ellieslegalwife, @jokerpokimoon, @gold-dustwomxn, @carmellie, @ellieswifee, @robinismywifee

please let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist or if you'd asked previously and i missed you! and please have your age in your bio if you want to be added to the taglist!

[shanastoryteller]

Happy Christmas! Can I request some triwizard champion Draco please? <3

set in the same universe as this and a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Tonks is extremely cool and Harry loves hanging out with her. The fact that her auror status means Sirius and Narcissa will let them deal with the cursed rooms as long as she's there is just a bonus.

"You guys are pretty good at this," Tonks says, supervising from her perch of atop the armoire.

"We were Triwizard champions," Draco says snootily before diving behind a bed to keep a cursed scarf from trying to strangle them.

Harry casts a freezing charm at it, but it just slows it down enough for him to take two awkward hops backwards to get out of its path. "It was rigged."

"A win's a win," Draco says, peering out over the edge of the bed. He jumps up, waving his arms to get the scarf's attention, and then levitates a bust into his place at the last minute so the scarf attacks that instead. It squeezes the bust with another strength that it shatters into several pieces. "That wasn't someone important, was it?"

"Probably an ancestor," Tonks shrugs.

"Well, considering it's a bust and not a portrait, it was probably an ancestor's enemy." Draco tilts his head to the side. "Do you think we should revive the practice? It might be a little difficult for you, Harry. You have a lot of enemies."

Harry intends to say something snarky in reply, but the scarf gets bored of attacking marble pieces and heads his way, forcing him to dodge or get strangled by unfashionable accessory, which Draco would never let him hear the end of.

[lightandheatao3]

The Bunker - Criminal Minds

Chapter 11: The Bolt

Summary: Spencer Reid wakes up in a locked bunker to find half the current BAU and two of its departed members unconscious on the floor. The old team is back together but the reunion is not what any of them would have wished for. An Unsub from their past has decided it's time they all stop keeping secrets, even if it means exposing them by force.

Hotch and Derek have been pulled back into a world they tried to escape. Emily, Rossi, and JJ are doing their best to keep it together. Spencer is falling apart.

AKA a found family is reunited and forced to go through the most nightmarish version of family therapy imaginable.

Set months after the end of Criminal Minds: Evolution. Evolution referenced, but not necessary to understand the story.

Chapter Summary: Spencer has a plan. Derek wants to talk.

Read chapter 11 on AO3 or under the cut. Please check AO3 for content warnings. All comments and reblogs are extremely appreciated <3 I would love to know what you like about the story :)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10

He twisted the bolt, gripping it with all the meager strength he could muster. For the first time, he was truly glad that the others had refused to let his muscles atrophy into nothing, despite his protests.

His finger tips had developed calluses over the past five food delivery cycles since he’d started working the thick, entrenched bolt loose. It was spot welded, but water had dripped onto it and anointed it with blessed rust.

In stolen moments, when nobody was paying enough attention to wonder why he lingered just that little bit longer at the sink, he worked away at it.

Now, as they all slept, he gave it one final twist.

Then it was his.

The rusted, two inch long, half inch thick bolt sat in his palm looking entirely not worth the effort. It was brittle, but it had a surprisingly sharp edge on the bottom.

It was fine. It was good enough to serve its purpose.

Now, it was all about the timing.

The next delivery would be soon after they all woke up, if everything went to schedule. They had built their sleep cycle around it, so it resembled something like breakfast.

He had to make his move when he knew she’d be watching.

Quick enough that the others couldn’t stop him. Effective enough that she would have to intervene immediately, without having time to gas them.

A shuffling sound from somewhere to his left alerted him that one of the others was awake.

Just in time, he deftly slid the bolt into the hole he’d created in the elastic waistband of the scrub pants the Unsub had dressed him in. The years of practicing sleight of hand as a child had payed dividends throughout his adult life.

“What are you doing?” whispered a groggy Derek, leaning against the empty door frame of the tiny, prison-like bathroom.

“Just needed some water,” he whispered back. “Couldn’t sleep.”

It felt like they were meeting in the dead of night, like it should be dark. It reminded him of the whispered moments they used to have in dark motel rooms on cases when neither of them could keep the nightmares at bay.

Derek folded his arms over his chest. “I’m glad I got you alone for a second,” he said, glancing backwards to where the others soundly slept. “I want to talk to you.”

He sat down on the closed toilet lid like it was a chair. Spencer considered dodging past him, but instead he leaned back so he was sitting on the edge of the low sink. It almost felt like they had privacy.

“What’s up?” asked Spencer, like they’d just run into each other at the water cooler at work.

Whatever Derek had to say, hopefully he would get it over with quickly. He wanted to care, really. He did. But he had more important things to focus on than trying to conjure up his absentee feelings for a heart to heart.

“I just wanted to say… You know I love you, right?” he said, nudging Spencer's leg with his foot. “I know I’ve been kind of a dick, but it’s just because…” he looked out at the grey concrete and the solid steel door. “Well. You know.”

Spencer softened. Something close to sympathy crept its way through the invisible glass bubble that was separating him from the rest of them, and he almost felt it for real. “I know,” he said. “Me too.”

“Good,” said Derek. “Because I’m worried about you, pretty boy. You’re really freaking me out.”

Spencer stared at him blankly. “I think you have bigger things to worry about right now, man.”

Derek huffed. “Maybe. But I’ve got a bad feeling. I mean, none of us are really okay right now. I get that. I know I’m not. But you’re being weird, even for you. Do you realize you’ve stopped quoting statistics at us? You’ve been in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds and still quoting stats at me,” he said. “I don’t like you being this quiet.”

“I don’t have any good statistics for this situation,” he said. “Do you really want to hear the chances of us being found alive after so long?”

“It’s not just that,” said Derek. “It’s like a part of you has shut off. I’m worried. I’ve seen you do some reckless, self-destructive shit over the years, especially when you get it into your head that it’s the only way to protect other people.”

Spencer’s mind raced. Could he tell what he was planning? What was he getting at?

“I’m fine,” he said. “I mean, not fine, but you don’t have to worry. It’s like you said, withdrawal has screwed up my neurotransmitter levels, and the lack of vitamin D and iron aren’t doing any of us any favors. But I’ll be okay once we get out of here,” he explained, trying his hardest to sound reassuring despite his complete inability to believe for a single second that he was ever going to be okay again.

Derek smiled tightly, straining to keep his voice light, even as his nails dug into his biceps. “I want to believe that, pretty boy, I really do. But the thing is, I think you were pretty fucked up before we ever woke up in this godforsaken bunker, and that you’ve probably been seriously depressed for a long time, because the thing is, happy people don’t do heroin. And I think if we get out of here, you fully intend to go right back to shooting up.”

He sounded like he was speaking to one of his kids. Spencer had been there once when his son had come home from kindergarten crying because another boy pushed him, and Derek had sounded exactly like this when he tried to talk his son through how to handle the situation.

“What’s your point?” he asked.

He hadn’t intended to sound petulant or sarcastic, but even he could hear how it came across.

Derek grit his teeth. When he spoke, he forgot to whisper. “My point, is if that’s the only future you’re capable of imagining for yourself right now, you might not be motivated to do everything in your power to keep yourself safe.”

Spencer stood up straight.

He knew. Derek knew.

“Whatever happens, Derek, you have to know that I am doing everything I can to get you out of here. To get all of us out,” he said calmly, stepping towards the doorway and the main room.

Derek put his arm across the exit, blocking him in.

“Give it to me, Spencer.”

"Give you what?" he shot back.

"Man, I saw you. You might be quick, but I know what to look for. Just hand it over."

The sound of the others stirring caught both of their attention. “What’s going on?” came JJ’s voice.

As soon as Derek turned his head, he took his shot.

He ducked under his arm and darted into the room, pressing himself against the corner farthest from the half-awake group.

Derek cursed and swung around to face him. The others scrambled to their feet.

“What’s going on?” repeated JJ urgently.

“You’re the one who said it first,” pointed out Spencer, still focused on Derek. “We need to do something extreme.”

“We doesn’t have to mean you, Spencer,” he said, stepping forward.

“Then who? You? I don’t have kids waiting for me to come home to them.”

Four sets of eyes widened in shock and comprehension.

“What are you doing, Spencer?” asked Emily, raising her hands and taking a step forward.

Faster than the rest of them could get to him, he pulled out the bolt, pressing the sharp, ragged end to his wrist. “Stay away!” he shouted.

JJ lunged for him. He pressed harder, ready to move, but Derek grabbed her and hauled her back.

“Everyone calm down!” yelled Derek.

“Spencer, what the fuck are you doing?” shouted Emily, who for the very first time since waking up in the bunker, looked like she was about to fall apart.

He glanced up at the camera. “I wanted to time this better,” he muttered, mostly to himself. “Emily, I’m sorry,” he said, meeting her eyes.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” said Hotch, putting a hand on Emily’s shoulder and as she clasped her hands over her mouth and fought back tears. “This isn’t the way, Reid. We don’t even know if they’re watching.”

“No, but it’s close to the next delivery and she likes to time them for dramatic effect. Have you noticed that? I’m willing to bet she is watching. Besides, I’m on camera now. We won’t have another shot at this.”

Rossi raised his hands. “It doesn’t need to be you. I’m a lot older. I’ve got less on the line.”

“Nobody is doing anything,” said JJ furiously. “This is ridiculous! Don’t you fucking dare, Spencer, or I swear to god I will never forgive you.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “There’s no time to discuss it.” He glanced up at the vent, afraid he had already waited too long. “This instrument is imprecise, but if I do it right I'll have three to five minutes. That number goes up if you put pressure on the wound. She won’t have time to knock you out if she wants to save me, so someone is going to be coming into this room. Be ready for it." He took a ragged, steadying breath. "She’s not going to let me die. It’s going to be alright.”

He shot one last guilty look at Emily. This was cruel on all of them, but after everything, it felt like it was cruelest on her.

“You promised me you wouldn’t do this to me,” she said through silent tears.

“I’m sorry,” he said one last time.

He pressed down on the bolt, driving the sharp edge into his wrist hard, and dragging it up his forearm in one swift and violent motion. No hesitation.

Somewhere, a vast distance away, he heard screaming.

He was utterly transfixed as dark, shining red came pouring out of his arm.

After a small eternity, there were people, grasping at him, pulling at his body. The waterfall on his arm was covered by a pair of strong, dark hands, holding his skin together like Atlas held the world.

Oh.

Oh.

There it was.

All those things he hadn’t been feeling, there it all was.

The edges of his vision darkened. All around him there was noise, but he couldn’t extrapolate meaning from any of it.

All that existed in the world was the unyielding, crushing hopelessness that came rushing into his body with every drop of blood that rushed out.

Had this unbearable, all encompassing sadness been with him the whole time?

He’d been telling himself the same thing that he told the rest of them. He was doing this because somebody had to.

He was doing it because he had the least to lose.

He didn’t really believe she’d let him die if she could help it, and if she couldn’t help it, then at least he’d given them a chance. It was a noble sacrifice.

“Hang on, Spencer,” came a voice from somewhere above him. “Just hold on.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again.

As consciousness slipped away from him, he finally understood that the awful truth.

He realized that he didn't really want to wake up.