#cuz like they were kids. when you’re a kid you don’t really usually think about that. but then in the finale when they realised how much-

[fireoiny-daily]

dumb stupid cocky annoying idiot who makes me indescribably happy if i look at him for too long

[caelum-in-the-avatarverse]

Fandom can do a little gatekeeping. As a treat.

So I finally decided to archive-lock my fics on AO3 last night. I’ve been considering it since the AI scrape last year, but the tipping point was this whole lore.fm debacle, coupled with some thoughts I’ve been thinking regarding Fandom These Days in general and Fandom As A Community in particular. So I wanna explain why I waited so long, why I locked my stuff up now, and why I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a-okay with making it harder for people to see my stories.

Lurkers really are great, tho

I’m a chronic lurker, and have been since I started hanging out on the internet as a teen in the 00s. These days it’s just cuz I don’t feel a need to socialize very often, but back then it was because I was shy and knew I was socially awkward. Even if I made an account, I’d spend months lurking on message boards or forums or Livejournals, watching other people interact and getting a feel for that particular community’s culture and etiquette before I finally started interacting myself. And y’know, that approach saved me a lot of embarrassment. Over the course of my lurking on any site, there was always some other person who’d clearly joined up five minutes after learning the place existed, barged in without a care for their behavior, and committed so many social faux pas that all the other users were immediately annoyed with them at best. I learned a lot observing those incidents. Lurk More is Rule 33 of the internet for very good reason.

Lurking isn’t bad or weird or creepy. It’s perfectly normal. I love lurking. It’s hard for me to not lurk - socializing takes a lot of energy out of me, even via text. (Heck it took 12 hours for me to write this post, I wish I was kidding--) Occasionally I’ll manage longer bouts of interaction - a few weeks posting here, almost a year chatting in a discord there - but I’m always gonna end up going radio silent for months at some point. I used to feel bad about it, but I’ve long since made peace with the fact that it’s just the way my brain works. I’m a chronic lurker, and in the long term nothing is going to change that.

The thing with being a chronic lurker is that you have to accept that you are not actually seen as part of the community you are lurking in. That’s not to say that lurkers are unimportant - lurkers actually are important, and they make up a large proportion of any online community - but it’s simple cause and effect. You may think of it as “your community”, but if you’ve never said a word, how is the community supposed to know you exist? If I lurked on someone’s LJ, and then that person suddenly friendslocked their blog, I knew that I had two choices: Either accept that I would never be able to read their posts again, or reach out to them and ask if I could be added to their friends list with the full understanding that I was a rando they might not decide to trust. I usually went with the first option, because my invisibility as a lurker was more important to me than talking to strangers on the internet.

Lurking is like sitting on a park bench, quietly people-watching and eavesdropping on the conversations other people are having around you. You’re in the park, but you’re not actively participating in anything happening there. You can see and hear things that you become very interested in! But if you don’t introduce yourself and become part of the conversation, you won’t be able to keep listening to it when those people walk away. When fandom migrated away from Livejournal, people moved to new platforms alongside their friends, but lurkers were often left behind. No one knew they existed, so they weren’t told where everyone else was going. To be seen as part of a fandom community, you need to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known, etc. etc.

There’s nothing wrong with lurking. There can actually be benefits to lurking, both for the lurkers and the communities they lurk in. It’s just another way to be in a fandom. But if that is how you exist in fandom--and remember, I say this as someone who often does exist that way in fandom--you need to remember that you’re on the outside looking in, and the curtains can always close.

I’ve always been super sympathetic to lurkers, because I am one. I know there’s a lot of people like me who just don’t socialize often. I know there’s plenty of reasons why someone might not make an account on the internet - maybe they’re nervous, maybe they’re young and their parents don’t allow them to, maybe they’re in a bad situation where someone is monitoring their activity, maybe they can only access the internet from public computer terminals. Heck, I’ve never even logged into AO3 on my phone--if I’m away from my computer I just read what’s publicly available. 

I know I have people lurking on my fics. I know my fics probably mean a lot to someone I don’t even know exists. I know this because there are plenty of fics I love whose writers don’t know I exist.

I love my commenters personally; I love my lurkers as an abstract concept. I know they’re there and I wish them well, and if they ever de-lurk I love them all the more.

So up until last year I never considered archive-locking my fic, because I get it. The AI scraping was upsetting, but I still hesitated because I was thinking of lurkers and guests and remembering what it felt like to be 15 and wondering if it’d be worth letting a stranger on the internet know I existed and asking to be added to their friends list just so I could reread a funny post they made once.

But the internet has changed a lot since the 00s, and fandom has changed with it. I’ve read some things and been doing some thinking about fandom-as-community over the last few years, and reading through the lore.fm drama made me decide that it’s time for me to set some boundaries.

I still love my lurkers, and I feel bad about leaving any guest commenters behind, especially if they’re in a situation where they can’t make an account for some reason. But from here on out, even my lurkers are going to have to do the bare minimum to read my fics--make an AO3 account.

Should we gatekeep fandom?

I’ve seen a few people ask this question, usually rhetorically, sometimes as a joke, always with a bit of seriousness. And I think…yeah, maybe we should. Except wait, no, not like that--

A decade ago, when people talked about fandom gatekeeping and why it was bad to do, it intersected with a lot of other things, mainly feminism and classism. The prevalent image of fandom gatekeeping was, like, a man learning that a woman likes Star Wars and haughtily demanding, “Oh, yeah? Well if you’re REALLY a fan, name ten EU novels” to belittle and dismiss her, expecting that a “real fan” would have the money and time to be familiar with the EU, and ignoring the fact that male movie-only fans were still considered fans. The thing being gatekept was the very definition of “being a fan” and people’s right to describe themselves as one.

That’s not what I mean when I say maybe fandom should gatekeep more. Anyone can call themselves a fan if they like something, that’s fine. But when it comes to the ability to enjoy the fanworks produced by the fandom community…that might be something worth gatekeeping.

See, back in the 00s, it was perfectly common for people to just…not go on the internet. Surfing the web was a thing, but it was just, like, a fun pastime. Not everyone did it. It wasn’t until the rise of social media that going online became a thing everyone and their grandmother did every day. Back then, going on the internet was just…a hobby.

So one of the first gates online fandom ever had was the simple fact that the entire world wasn’t here yet.

The entire world is here now. That gate has been demolished.

And it’s a lot easier to find us now. Even scattered across platforms, fandom is so centralized these days. It isn’t a network of dedicated webshrines and forums that you can only find via webrings anymore, it’s right there on all the big social media sites. AO3 didn’t set out to be the main fanfic website, but that’s definitely what it’s become. It’s easy for people to find us--and that includes people who don’t care about the community, and just want “content.”

Transformative fandom doesn’t like it when people see our fanworks as “content”. “Content” is a pretty broad term, but when fandom uses it we’re usually referring to creative works that are churned out by content creators to be consumed by an audience as quickly as possible as often as possible so that the content creator can generate revenue. This not-so-new normal has caused a massive shift in how people who are new to fandom view fanworks--instead of seeing fic or art as something a fellow fan made and shared with you, they see fanworks as products to be consumed.

Transformative fandom has, in general, always been a gift economy. We put time and effort into creating fanworks that we share with our fellow fans for free. We do this so we don’t get sued, but fandom as a whole actually gets a lot out of the gift economy. Offer your community a story, and in return you can get comments, build friendships, or inspire other people to write things that you might want to read. Readers are given the gift of free stories to read and enjoy, and while lurking is fine, they have the choice to engage with the writer and other readers by leaving comments or making reclists to help build the community.

And look, don’t get me wrong. People have never engaged with fanfic as much as fan writers wish they would. There has always been “no one comments anymore” wank. There have always been people who only comment to say “MORE!” or otherwise demand or guilt trip writers into posting the next chapter. But fandom has always agreed that those commenters are rude and annoying, and as those commenters navigate fandom they have the chance to learn proper community etiquette.

However, now it seems that a lot of the people who are consuming fanworks aren’t actually in the community. 

I won’t say “they aren’t real fans” because that’s silly; there’s lots of ways to be a fan. But there seem to be a lot of fans now who have no interest in fandom as a community, or in adhering to community etiquette, or in respecting the gift economy. They consume our fics, but they don’t appreciate fan labor. They want our “content”, but they don’t respect our control over our creations.

And even worse--they see us as a resource. We share our work for free, as a gift, but all they see is an open-source content farm waiting to be tapped into. We shared it for free, so clearly they can do whatever they want with it. Why should we care if they feed our work into AI training datasets, or copy/paste our unfinished stories into ChatGPT to get an ending, or charge people for an unnecessary third-party AO3 app, or sell fanbindings on etsy for a profit without the author’s permission, or turn our stories into poor imitations of podfics to be posted on other platforms without giving us credit or asking our consent, while also using it to lure in people they can datascrape for their Forbes 30 Under 30 company? 

And sure, people have been doing shady things with other people’s fanworks since forever. Art theft and reposting has always been a big problem. Fanfic is harder to flat-out repost, but I’ve heard of unauthorized fic translations getting posted without crediting the original author. Once in…I think the 2010s? I read a post by a woman who had gone to some sort of local bookselling event, only to find that the man selling “his” novel had actually self-published her fanfic. (Wish I could find that one again, I don’t even remember where I read it.)

But aside from that third example, the thing is…as awful as fanart/writing theft is, back in the day, the main thing a thief would gain from it was clout. Clout that should rightfully go to the creators who gifted their work in the first place, yeah, but still. Just clout. People will do a lot of hurtful things for clout, but fandom clout means nothing outside of fandom. Fandom clout is not enough to incentivize the sort of wide-scale pillaging we’re seeing from community outsiders today.

Money, on the other hand… Well, fandom’s just a giant, untapped content farm, isn’t it? Think of how much revenue all that content could generate.

Lurkers are a normal and even beneficial part of any online community. Maybe one day they’ll de-lurk and easily slide into place beside their fellow fans because they already know the etiquette. Maybe they’re active in another community, and they can spread information from the community they lurk in to the community they’re active in. At the very least, they silently observe, and even if they’re not active community members, they understand the community.

Fans who see fanworks as “content” don’t belong in the same category as lurkers. They’re tourists. 

While reading through the initial Reddit thread on the lore.fm situation, I found this comment:

[ID: Reddit User Cabbitowo says: ... So in anime fandoms we have a word called tourist and essentially it means a fan of a few anime and doesn't care about anime tropes and actively criticizes them. This is kind of how fandoms on tiktok feel. They're touring fanfics and fanart and actively criticizes tropes that have been in the fandom since the 60s. They want to be in a fandom but they don't want to engage in fandom 

OP totallymandy responds: Just entered back into Reddit after a long day to see this most recent reply. And as a fellow anime fan this making me laugh so much since it’s true! But it sorta hurts too when the reality sets in. Modern fandom is so entitled and bratty and you’d think it’s the minors only but that’s not even true, my age-mates and older seem to be like that. They want to eat their cake and complain all whilst bringing nothing to the potluck… :/ END ID]

-

“Tourist” is an apt name for this sort of fan. They don’t want to be part of our community, and they don’t have to be in order to come into our spaces and consume our work. Even if they don’t steal our work themselves, they feel so entitled to it that they’re fine with ignoring our wishes and letting other people take it to make AI “podfics” for them to listen to (there are a lot of comments on lore.fm’s shutdown announcement video from people telling them to just ignore the writers and do it anyway). They’ll use AI to generate an ending to an unfinished fic because they don’t care about seeing “the ending this writer would have given to the story they were telling”, they just want “an ending”. For these tourist fans, the ends justify the means, and their end goal is content for them to consume, with no care for the community that created it for them in the first place.

I don’t think this is confined to a specific age group. This isn’t “13-year-olds on Wattpad” or “Zoomers on TikTok” or whatever pointless generation war we’re in now. This is coming from people who are new to fandom, whose main experience with creative works on the internet is this new content culture and who don’t understand fandom as a community. That description can be true of someone from any age group.

It’s so easy to find fandom these days. It is, in fact, too easy. Newcomers face no hurdles or challenges that would encourage them to lurk and observe a bit before engaging, and it’s easy for people who would otherwise move on and leave us alone to start making trouble. From tourist fans to content entrepreneurs to random people who just want to gawk, it’s so easy for people who don’t care about the fandom community to reap all of its fruits. 

So when I say maybe fandom should start gatekeeping a bit, I’m referring to the fact that we barely even have a gate anymore. Everyone is on the internet now; the entire world can find us, and they don’t need to bother learning community etiquette when they do. Before, we were protected by the fact that fandom was considered weird and most people didn’t look at it twice. Now, fandom is pretty mainstream. People who never would’ve bothered with it before are now comfortable strolling in like they own the place. They have no regard for the fandom community, they don’t understand it, and they don’t want to. They want to treat it just like the rest of the content they consume online.

And then they’re surprised when those of us who understand fandom culture get upset. Fanworks have existed far longer than the algorithmic internet’s content. Fanworks existed long before the internet. We’ve lived like this for ages and we like it.

So if someone can’t be bothered to respect fandom as a community, I don’t see why I should give them easy access to my fics.

Think of it like a garden gate

When I interact with commenters on my fic, I have this sense of hospitality.

The comment section is my front porch. The fic is my garden. I created my garden because I really wanted to, and I’m proud of it, and I’m happy to share it with other people. 

Lots of people enjoy looking at my garden. Many walk through without saying anything. Some stop to leave kudos. Some recommend my garden to their friends. And some people take the time to stop by my front porch and let me know what a beautiful garden it is and how much they’ve enjoyed it. 

Any fic writer can tell you that getting comments is an incredible feeling. I always try to answer all my comments. I don’t always manage it, but my fics’ comment sections are the one place that I manage to consistently socialize in fandom. When I respond to a comment, it feels like I’m pouring out a glass of lemonade to share with this lovely commenter on my front porch, a thank you for their thank you. We take a moment to admire my garden together, and then I see them out. The next time they drop by, I recognize them and am happy to pour another glass of lemonade.

My garden has always been open and easy to access. No fences, no walls. You just have to know where to find it. Fandom in general was once protected by its own obscurity, an out-of-the-way town that showed up on maps but was usually ignored.

But now there’s a highway that makes it easy to get to, and we have all these out-of-towner tourists coming in to gawk and steal our lawn ornaments and wonder if they can use the place to make themselves some money.

I don’t care to have those types trampling over my garden and eating all my vegetables and digging up my flowers to repot and sell, so I’ve put up a wall. It has a gate that visitors can get through if they just take the time to open it.

Admittedly, it’s a small obstacle. But when I share my fics, I share them as a gift with my fellow fans, the ones who understand that fandom is a community, even if they’re lurkers. As for tourist fans and entrepreneurs who see fic as content, who have no qualms ignoring the writer’s wishes, who refuse to respect or understand the fandom community…well, they’re not the people I mean to share my fic with, so I have no issues locking them out. If they want access to my stories, they’ll have to do the bare minimum to become a community member and join the AO3 invite queue.

And y’know, I’ve said a lot about fandom and community here, and I just want to say, I hope it’s not intimidating. When I was younger, talk about The Fandom Community made me feel insecure, and I didn’t think I’d ever manage to be active enough in fandom spaces to be counted as A Member Of The Community. But you don’t have to be a social butterfly to participate in fandom. I’ll always and forever be a chronic lurker, I reblog more than I post, I rarely manage to comment on fic, and I go radio silent for months at a time--but I write and post fanfiction. That’s my contribution.

Do you write, draw, vid, gif, or otherwise create? Congrats, you're a community member.

Do you leave comments? Congrats, you're a community member.

Do you curate reclists? Congrats, you're a community member.

Do you maintain a fandom blog or fuckyeah blog? Congrats, you're a community member.

Do you provide a space for other fans to convene in? Congrats, you're a community member.

Do you regularly send asks (off anon so people know who you are)? Congrats, you're a community member.

Do you have fandom friends who you interact with? Congrats, you're a community member.

There’s lots of ways to be a fan. Just make sure to respect and appreciate your fellow fans and the work they put in for you to enjoy and the gift economy fandom culture that keeps this community going.

[leighsartworks216]

Christmas Suprises

Zayne x AFAB!Reader

When I say I don't enjoy pregnancy fics or proposal fics, I NEED you to believe me cuz WHY did this fester in my brain until I put it down in a doc

Warnings: Christmas, fluff, domestic fluff, unplanned pregnancy, marriage proposal, crying, literal sleeping together, cuddling, anxiety

Word Count: 2,514

Main Masterlist

First Love and Deepspace Masterlist

Second Love and Deepspace Masterlist

AO3

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You stare down at the little white stick, mouth falling open in shock. You can���t even hear the grating alarm of your phone going off anymore, or the eager knocking on the bathroom door. It’s like your mind hasn’t caught up to your body yet. You don’t think about reaching out and opening the door; your body just does it.

“Well?” Tara asks excitedly. “Yes or no?”

The world around you comes back into focus. You blindly paw at your phone screen to hit the button to shut up its alarm. You think your hand is shaking when you look up at your friend.

“It says… I’m pregnant.”

She squeals and throws her arms around your neck, bouncing on her feet, bursting with joy. “Congratulations! Oh, I’m so happy for you!”

You cling onto her. She doesn’t seem to mind, even as you wipe your eyes over her shoulder and sniffle by her ear.

You can’t believe it. You’re actually pregnant. You really, really are. You’re going to have a baby. You’re going to have a baby.

Tara pulls away with a gasp. “How are you gonna tell him?” she asks conspiratorially.

“God, I have no idea.” You stare at the two pink lines on the stick. Pregnant. “He doesn’t even know I’m late for my period, Tara. How am I-?”

“Oh, oh, I know! Tell him on Christmas!”

“On Christmas? Are you sure? I mean, what if he doesn’t want kids? We’ve never talked about it before.” You scoff, rubbing your eyes at the mounting worry welling up within you. It swirls around in your stomach, growing larger and larger as your panic bleeds into it. “We’re not even married! What’re his parents going to think? Shit, what about his career?!” You grab Tara’s shoulders, jostling her slightly with the force. “What if his reputation is ruined because he had a kid without being married?!”

Tara grabs your shoulders in turn, rubbing them sympathetically. “Calm down first, okay? You don’t have to do my idea, but I think you’re overthinking this.”

You sigh. Slowly, you let go of her. “No, no, you’re right. I- I’ll think about it. Thank you for helping me out, Tara.”

“Of course! Just keep me updated, okay?” She giggles. “I need to know how he reacts!”

Even as you’re led to her couch and offered a soothing cup of tea, the panic doesn’t untwist from your guts.

-

You’re awake first. This doesn’t usually happen, but it’s only fitting that the anxiety that kept you from falling asleep easily last night also wakes you up earlier than needed. You study Zayne’s face in the dim moonlight.

He looks utterly at peace. There’s no tension in his brow. His eyes are relaxed, fluttering under his eyelids to watch a dream play out. Lips slightly parted with soft breaths.

His parents called yesterday, wishing they could be here and apologizing for their gifts being sent late due to the inclement weather where they’re stationed. Zayne always got this childlike sweetness to his expression whenever they were involved, smiling without restraint and allowing himself to be more outwardly affectionate. You’d seen it before when you recorded a video of him on his birthday to send to his parents, but seeing it now, picturing that same happiness on his face with his own child… He’d caught you staring at one point. You’d smiled and tried to play it off. You’re not sure he bought it, but he didn’t say anything about it after the call ended.

You really can’t sleep now. Your heart is beating too fast, tight in your chest with worry. You slowly roll onto your back. The white ceiling stares down at you. You stare right back, chewing mindlessly on your bottom lip.

Time passes by in a blur. You’re not sure how much has gone by when a finger carefully frees your lip from your teeth’s assault. You turn your head to see a freshly-woken Zayne. His hand falls to rest on the bed between you.

“What has you so worried?” His voice has a quiet rasp to it in the morning, especially when he whispers. You could listen to it for hours.

You shift to lay on your side, facing him once again. You distract yourself by playing with his fingers. “Nothing,” you lie with a placating smile. “I’m just hoping you’ll like the gifts I got you.”

He hums, but he doesn’t say anything for a minute. Instead, he captures your restless hand and brings it to his lips. Those pretty hazel green eyes of his close with the kiss he places on your knuckles. “I’m sure you chose the best gifts,” he says. “You know me too well to get me something I wouldn’t like.”

“True…”

He guides your hand to rest on his face. He’s warm from sleep, the barest hint of stubble starting to come in along his jaw.

“Can we open the gifts first today?” He opens his eyes to look at you again. You can feel the way he studies you. You try not to falter as you add, “I know we usually have breakfast first, but…”

A flicker of confusion, gone in a flash. “Of course. But it’s still early. You should try to get some more sleep.”

Maybe he can sense the exhaustion underneath your anxiety, or maybe he can see the bags under your eyes in the dim light. Or maybe he just knows you better than you think he does.

He reaches under the blankets to grab your hip, drawing you toward him like he has on so many restless nights before. You’re powerless to refuse the silent request. So you scoot closer, forming yourself to fit perfectly against his chest. He slips his arm under your head, letting you use his bicep as a pillow. You tuck your head under his chin and press your face against his neck.

Arms wrapped around each other, holding one another close before the breaking dawn of Christmas Day. He traces soothing shapes against your spine. You count his heartbeat as it thumbs by your ear. Somehow, you’re able to find sleep again.

-

Wrapping paper - neatly undone or carelessly torn - sit in a pile on the floor. Various gifts sit stacked or folded in neat piles on the coffee table, organized by Zayne. There aren’t many gifts in all. Really, you both had most everything you could ever wish for.

But now it’s time for the final gift. You jump up from the couch with a smile. “I have one more gift. Lemme go grab it.”

He shoots you a look. “And why isn’t it under the tree?” he teases.

You wish that simple question didn’t pour gasoline into the firepit of anxiety in your stomach. You wave him off, covering up your uncertainty with playfulness. “It was too important to go under there. I’ll only be a second.”

He hums, but doesn’t say anything more about it, watching silently as you retreat back into the bedroom. You pull the present out from your nightstand drawer. Is it the most secure place to keep something? Well, there’s nothing else really in there; nothing you’d need on a daily basis, anyway. And Zayne would never go in here without your permission. So, you trusted it more than your other idea of hiding it in your jacket pocket.

You hold the box tightly to your chest. God, please, please, please, let this go well.

You almost want to curse Tara for convincing you to go through with this. If the news ends up ruining Christmas and your relationship with Zayne, you’re going to unleash hellfire down on her.

With one last, steadying breath, you head back out to the living room.

Zayne is still waiting patiently, taking this opportunity to look at the cases of the games you got him. He sets them back down when you round the couch and sit down beside him once more. You hope he doesn’t notice your hands shaking when you pass it over.

The gift is small and thin, rectangular and lightweight, he turns it over to find where you’ve taped the decorative paper down to begin unwrapping it. You readjust to sit on your feet with your knees to your chest. Your body screams for you to hide, to escape all the possible outcomes of this situation you’ve forced yourself into. But you want to watch. You need to see his reaction.

He pauses in his unwrapping to look at you. “Are you alright?” he asks, frowning as he wraps a hand loosely around your ankle to rub soothing circles into the jutting bone there.

You force a smile you hope isn’t as strained as it feels and nod. “I’m okay,” you lie. You nod toward the present. “Open it.”

He doesn’t let go right away. You think for a moment he may not even continue. But, thankfully, he pulls away to finish removing the paper. He drops it onto the pile with the rest.

The box itself is a blank white. There are no marks, no labels, no details of any kind that could give away what lay inside.

You hug your legs to yourself. You can’t bear to look away from his face, not even to watch as he unfolds the tab at one end and slides the little stick out. It’s ultimately more rewarding, you think, to see the way his eyes widen ever so slightly. To see him lean forward as he flips the test over in order to read the results. To see the way his mouth falls open with a quiet breath.

He turns his whole body to face you. “You’re pregnant…?”

You nod shyly. “Are you upset?”

He sets the test on the table quickly, but as if it’s the most fragile thing in the world, before holding your face in both of his hands. “Why would I be upset?”

God, he looks at you so earnestly, so tenderly, you’re tearing up before you can stop yourself. Choking up over words that have suffocated you since you were hiding away in Tara’s bathroom.

“‘Cause we never talked about it before and-” A whimpering sob cuts through your words. You inhale shakily. “And we’re not even married or anything, and your job-”

“Hey, shhh.” He brushes away your tears with his thumbs. He leans forward to brush a soft kiss to your forehead, ducking down to stay close to you as he meets your eyes once more. “I have one last present for you, too,” he whispers. “Can I go get it?”

You sniffle and wipe your face with your sweater sleeve. You probably look like such a mess; you can’t seem to get the tears to stop now that they’ve started. “Why isn’t it under the tree?” you tease.

He smiles. “It was too special. Wait here, okay?”

You nod. He presses another kiss to your head before he gets up and disappears down the hall.

While he’s gone, you try to collect yourself. You lower your knees, wipe your eyes until they burn from the friction, and try to even your breathing. Right now, each breath comes in little hiccups, jittery and broken up and unproductive. You haven’t improved much by the time he gets back.

He sits down close to you, wrapping a warm arm around your shoulders to pull you even closer into his side. A small velveteen box rests in his hand. He offers it to you. “I didn’t expect to be giving it to you today,” he admits bashfully, resting his cheek against your head. “But I can’t think of a better time than right now.”

You don’t have to open it to know what’s inside. All the fear that suffocated you for the last couple weeks goes up in a puff of smoke. Instead, it’s like a soothing orb of light has taken its place, healing the burns left behind and filling you with immense happiness. You turn your body into his and wrap your arms tightly around him. He rubs his thumb methodically over your shoulder.

“Should we start talking about children now?” He kisses your head. “Assuming you agree to my proposal.”

A choked, relieved laugh jostles out from your chest. Your tears get on his shirt as you nod stupidly against him. “Of course I agree!” You pull away just enough to meet his eyes. “You’re really okay with this? You… want kids with me?”

He smiles warmly, openly, as if his parents have just called and he’s already given them the news of your engagement. “I couldn’t imagine a better partner to raise a family with.” He brushes the back of his fingers across your cheek, still holding the ring box. “Are you okay with it?” he asks softly, brows pinching together slightly and eyes sharpening. “We never did talk about it. Are you comfortable with carrying a child to term?”

“It’s scary,” you admit. “But… I want this. I want a family, with you.” Your smile feels sure and solid as you whisper, “I love you.”

The seriousness in his expression fades away, replaced with contented joy. This conversation isn’t over, not by a long shot. You know there are still so many things to ask about. Questions about your future together. But they can wait a few more hours.

He sets the ring aside, right next to the pregnancy test. Both hands free, he pulls you into a secure hug, head lowered to rest on your shoulder, cheek to cheek with you. He absolutely envelops you. All you can see, feel and hear is Zayne.

He presses a kiss to the exposed skin of your neck. It’s not feverish and seeking. It’s soft, reverent, grateful. It pours out every emotion that wells up inside of him that can’t seem to fully escape. “I love you, too,” he whispers back.

You slide a hand along his back until you can tangle your fingers in the soft hair at the back of his head. He releases a shuddering breath, heavy with the relief that this is real.

Struck with an idea, you drag your other hand from his back down his arm, gently coaxing him to let go of you. Even in his confusion, he does what you want, slipping his hand from around your body. You guide it to rest over your belly, holding it there with your own. He buries his face further into your neck with a shaky sigh. “How long have you known?”

“If I tell you, you’re going to go into Dr. Zayne mode,” you tease. You press a sweet kiss beside his ear where you can reach.

You feel the grin that curves his lips. “Alright,” he relents quietly. “I’ll stay in fiancé Zayne mode for a bit longer.”

You release his hair in favor of wrapping your arm around his upper back, squeezing him closer, as if such a thing is even possible with how you’re already holding one another. “I’d like that.”

He squeezes you gently in return. “Me, too.”

---

Tag List:

@the-golden-jhope @deepzombieyouth @huen1ngk41 @armycaratlover @cheesemachine44 @nyx2021 @angel-jupiter @thelittlebutton @pikachuzhc @pomegranatepip @cordidy @an-ever-angry-bi

[urhoneycombwitch]

thinking about post-vecna Eddie in recovery with a little bit of post-traumatic amnesia

it takes him a bit to remember the kids and the adults, but it isn't long before he's falling back into his usual repertoire with them

but for some reason, his brain just blocked out significant other!reader. Having them around is comforting and he knows that they are important to him, he just can't figure out why

And the nurse advised against telling Eddie too much too soon because it might be overwhelming so reader is stuck between a rock and hard place of whether they're should tell Eddie they are/we're dating or if they should wait until maybe he remembers or wants to start a relationship (but there's also the fear that maybe the knock to his head might have changed his affections and he won't want them anymore)

Until finally they end up telling him, all emotional and worried how he's gonna take it

But all he does is flop his head back against the hospital pillow going "Thank GOD" because he finally understood why he was getting so jealous when reader and Steve came to visit him and why it just felt wrong when Steve's arm was slung around reader's shoulder comfortingly

He had already been planning to ask reader out anyways, when he was all better and rockin' and cool, but now he's over the moon with relief and happiness that hey, they're already together!

amnesia trope my beloved!!!!

yeah Eddie’s watching you from his hospital bed thru the little hallway window. you’re talking quietly to Steve- why he’s gotta be here Eddie’s unsure, seems like it’s just to flirt with you 🙄. but why would that matter to Eddie? you don’t belong to him. not his property. or his girl.

doesn’t change the fact that he’s getting grumpier by the second, as you touch Steve’s arm (you’re simply saying goodbye but Eddie’s spiraling a lil). when you come back in the room and take your place by Eddie’s side again you can tell something’s off, he’s pouting, distant-

“are you okay?”

the concern in your voice sits like a rock in Eddie’s stomach. he wants to do anything but make you feel bad. he twists one of the hospital wires that he’s connected to in his fingers, still slightly sulky- “yeah. I just… I know I don’t really have any right to say this to you, ‘cuz you’ve been a really good friend, better than I deserve through this whole weird time. but- I’m saying this as Steve’s buddy, too- I don’t think you two are right for each other.”

your silence is deafening. Eddie thinks he’s fucked everything up. and then- wait, are you laughing?

through a fit of giggles, you’re leaning over to take Eddie’s hand in both of yours- “sorry. sorry. I really don’t mean to make fun… it’s just- you do have a right. to be jealous.”

“I’m not jealous,” Eddie says too quickly. “…but if I were… what do you mean, I do have the right?”

there’s an emotion Eddie’s never seen before on your face- or maybe he has, ‘cuz that look in your eye (like you’re fighting something back) is striking a chord from deep in the recesses of his memories. fuzzy and unclear but deeply affecting.

he sweeps a thumb down the length of your palm, like he’s done a thousand times before.

the storm brewing in your eyes clears, and when you lean forward to kiss him, Eddie swears he can taste the sunshine in your mouth.

“not Steve’s,” you pull a hairsbreadth away to whisper.

Eddie is cupping the backs of your elbows, holding you in place, gaze roving over your face, heart thrumming quick in his throat as that same chord strikes, memories swimming a little further to the surface.

“kiss me again?” it’s an inch away from begging, he knows- must be reaaaal soft on ‘em to be speaking like that- but luckily, you seem to like it, leaning in again with a soft smile.

“you can have all the kisses you want, Eddie. from now on.”

[hxjikonn]

(Artist: @/nemurihm on twtr)

Malleus and Lilia’s Reaction to “would you still love me if I was a worm?”

Malleus Draconia and Lilia Vanrouge x Reader (separate)

Synopsis: Them reacting to GN! Reader’s rather odd question. (Mostly crack) (Malleus confusion 1000) (I got carried away with Lilia’s so it’s really long 😭)

Warnings: can come off as OOC??? I think??? Idk

Malleus Draconia

Was perplexed by your sudden odd question, would first think that it’s a human thing like a joke or somewhat of a test. Still he tries his best not to offend or hurt you so he thinks of an answer even though he feels the smoke coming out of his ears due to him thinking about it too much.

You were laying on the grass beside him as he sat down looking up at the stars with you, it was yet again your usual meeting time outside the Ramshackle dormitory. You enjoy these moments with him and so does he, just being close and spending time together whether that be with you two talking about various things or just comforting silence.

“Tsunutaro…would you still love me if I was a worm?” You blurted out, it was just a random thought, no real meaning behind it…you’d think he’d laugh in amusement or take it as lightly as you are but you were met with silence, causing you to look at the horned fae who was looking right back at you.

“Uhh you good?” You waved your hand in-front of his face, attempting to snap him out of his confused trance. Malleus for once seemed to not have an answer, but of course he didn’t want to disappoint or upset you…so he asked first to make sure…

“Do you wish to be a umm….a worm?” He asked, he would grant it if you did, but He wasn’t sure if you were kidding or you WANTED to be a worm, he finds you unpredictable most of the time after all, you giggled at his question “No of course not, It’s just a dumb question forget about it” you smiled looking back up at the stars.

“I would.” He said, you turn to look at him again questioningly, “would what?” You asked. “I would still love you, I’d take care of you and I’ll even ask Jade for those terrariums to keep you safe in for as long as your worm life may live” He patted your head smiling.

You didn’t expect such an answer, you were just joking, but it made you happy nonetheless. You lay your head in his lap and cupped his face with your hands “You’d really take care of a worm?” You laughed, he leaned into your touch “not just any worm, I’d take care of a YOU worm” he also laughed softly. The rest of the night was just you two laughing about it (mostly you laughing cuz he kept asking you why you wanted to be a worm out of all things)

Lilia Vanrouge

Would be amused by the question, he knew it was a joke so he teased you about it, until you had enough of his teasing and hit him with the nearest object you can find.

You were sitting on his bed curiously looking at the various items scattered in his room, while he played games on his PC, you were used to waiting for him to finish his games before he could spend time with you by now, it didn’t upset or bother you cuz you were pretty much occupied with his little trinkets and artifacts too.

A certain object caught you’re attention, and you were about to examine it when Lilia spoke “Don’t touch that love, you can get cursed into a being hideous beast for all eternity” He warned still having his attention on to the screen in front of him. You pulled your hand back and sank on his bed, making yourself comfy with his pillows and blankets.

“What if I get turned into a worm?” You asked, he laughed “okay and?“ he asked also amused by where this conversation is heading “Well? Would you still love me?” You question, it was stupid sure but you wanted to know.

He fell into a fit of laughter, while he was clicking and scrolling away with his game. “Uhh well let’s see…I’d take you outside in a jar” he started, you were listening eagerly waiting for him to continue, “It’s a picnic date by the lake” he added, you smiled feeling content…

“And then I’d use you as bait to go fish for the food I’d serve in the picnic” he finished and then laughed, you’re smile disappeared and was converted into a frown as you glared at him. “WOW. Okay yeah sure good plan.” You said sarcastically and turned away from him his blanket still wrapped around you.

“I’m joking!” He defended, “okay then what would you REALLY do?” You turned back facing him again, “Okay on a more serious note….” He started again, “Go on…“ you said urging him to continue “I’d probably forget that you were a worm and accidentally step on you” he cackled once again, feeling happy with himself cuz he also won the game he was playing

You threw a pillow at him angrily, He dodged it of course still grinning at you teasingly “You’re an ass” you snapped at him as you rolled away in the corner of the bed back facing to him, he chuckled and climbed on the bed with you, as he inched closer to wrap his arms around your waist.

“I was kidding love~” he cooed, peppering kisses on your shoulder, “uh huh, sure buddy whatever you say.” You spat annoyed at him, he wasn’t fazed at all by this though, in fact he was amused…but it obvious you weren’t so he played into your little game

“If you were to turn into a tiny worm, I would carry you around with me everyday in my palm and show people that my dumb little s/o got turned into a worm” he said, he still didn’t hear any sign of satisfaction so he continued “but, I’d still love my worm s/o and I’d protect them from getting stepped on or eaten by a fish…or a bird….or headmaster Crowley…he looks like a bird so he’s still a threat” he stated earning a giggle from you.

You finally faced him and buried your face in his warmth, “okay you pass….for now” you threatened, he scoffs and shook his head “You humans and you’re little games” he sighs and kisses your forehead “You’re a weird little thing aren’t you?” He pulled you closer an played with your hair “another weird little thing to add to my collection I guess” he chuckled while you slowly gave in to the comfort and took a nap with him.

A/N: AGAIN I DID NOT PROOFREAD THIS 💀 I got carried away with Lilia’s bit but it’s just too cute I couldn’t stop writing 😭

[your-unfriendlyghost]

I have two things to ask:

1.-Can we be friends?

2.-Do you have any Outsiders headcanons (or any that you haven't submitted yet)?

I mean sure?? Idk who you are since you’re on anon, so not REALLY, but I’m always down to talk!

2. Yeah lol- tons. Too many. Here’s a few (okay like 25 oops) off the top of my head lol, some serious/angsty and some lighthearted/kinda stupid without any real order. (Lotta ‘em are about Steve tbh -there’s so little to him in canon that I have the freedom to hc pretty much whatever I want)

Steve Randle’s nearsighted and has no idea, which is why he’s literally always squinting. (I’ve had that one for like months but only recently mentioned it on here lol.) Steve thinks his vision is completely normal

Dally and Sylvia genuinely cared for each other, but they were both so horrible at having healthy emotions that they just made each other worse. In a bad way, not a fun way.

When Steve gets kicked out, sometimes he hangs with Johnny in the lot. They don’t really talk about anything important like their shared experiences of having lousy parents. Instead they talk about cars, girls, music, school…lighthearted stuff. Sometimes Johnny will find Steve crying, which he never mentions- he’ll just sit down as per usual, which Steve appreciates. Steve almost never finds Johnny crying though. Johnny doesn’t cry much.

Okay tangent- I love how Steve and Johnny are low-key foils. Like Steve always seems tough but then cries when pushed to his limit, while Johnny always seems skittish until he’s under a bunch of pressure- in which case he suddenly is confident. (Not necessarily thriving obviously, but confident yk? Like grinning while saving those kids in the fire.) I know SE Hinton probably didn’t intend that at all, but it’s just such an interesting detail to me. One of these days I’ll put it into words better

Johnny’s jeans-jacket is a hand-me-down from either Steve or Two-Bit. (I can’t decide which lol) (obviously Dally would make sense too, but honestly I think it’d add more depth to flesh out Johnny’s relationships with the other members of the gang)

After the events of the book, Two-Bit starts hanging around the Curtis’s place even more. At first the gang assumes he’s trying to lighten the mood. It’s only after he gets sent to the cooler for a month due to drunk driving that they realize he was actually hanging around so much because he was trying to keep his kid sister from seeing him so drunk…

Two-Bit likes to joke that he keeps failing junior year so that him and his sister can graduate together. Which is a very bad idea since his sister is a year younger than Ponyboy.

Sodapop often feels like he’s only good for looking pretty and not all that useful or interesting otherwise. He likes himself, but when he stops to think about it too much, he starts to wonder if he really has anything going for him at all

My H/C for Steve’s home life is that his Mom is sick w/ like cancer or something. Before she got sick, Steve’s life was pretty alright for an eastsider- he and his dad fought, but they always made up for the most part. They weren’t perfect, but they loved each other. But after she got sick, she wasn’t there to mediate between Steve and his Dad anymore, and the fighting got worse and worse. And then Steve’s dad started drinking more and it was pretty downhill from there. Steve’s Dad still loves him, but sometimes Steve wishes that he didn’t. If he didn’t, then he could hate him. But his dad does love him, so he can’t get himself to.

Steve and Dally taught Johnny to drive when they were all like fourteen-fifteen-ish. Johnny is a very reckless driver. He loves speeding.

Johnny also loves fast roller coasters and stuff.

Dally doesn't ‘cuz he’s low-key scared of heights- he likes riding broncos and rodeos, but put him at the top of a roller coaster and he’s convinced that it’s gonna break and he’s gonna die. He pretends he doesn’t mind. The only people who know he’s scared of them are Johnny, and before she died, Mrs. Curtis.

Steve has a napoleon complex. Johnny, who is shorter than him by a few inches, likes to bully him for it sometimes

Ponyboy and Cherry don’t interact much in the school year after the book, but in the summer after, they start to hang out. Eventually they become pretty close. They fangirl over Paul Newman together

Ponyboy still doesn’t let Cherry read his theme though until years later

Marcia and Two-Bit re-meet a few months after the book. (Two-Bit is really scared that she’s embarrassed to be dating him, and Marcia is really scared that he’s embarrassed to be dating her. Neither of them are embarrassed. They both adore each other.)

Two-Bit likes to watch Marcia barrel racing. One time while he’s there, he runs into Ponyboy watching Cherry barrel race and immediately tells everyone much to Pony’s chagrin

Evie knows a little bit about cars, and she sometimes helps out at the DX during summers. Steve is so whipped for her lol (and Soda too Steve has two hands)

Evie and Sylvia are besties, but Steve and Sylvia hate each other. They act civil in front of Evie, but as soon as her back is turned they’re growling at each other like dogs. (Well Steve is. Sylvia just acts condescending as hell. Sometimes it goes over his head, so Steve knows she’s insulting him but isn’t sure what the insult is/means. Which makes Steve kinda want to kill her.)

Steve and Soda are low-key co-dependent. (Steve more so- Soda has his family at least, while to Steve, Soda and Evie are his whole world pretty much) It’s probably not super healthy, and both of them are vaguely aware of that, but are trying not to think about it too hard rn

Ponyboy’s friend group in high school consists of Curly Shepard, Mark Jennings, Scout Jenkins (from the tv show), and eventually, in her senior year, Cherry Valance. (There’s others too but those are the main ones.)

Pony dates Cathy Carlson for a while too, idk if they’re good for each other or not- I kinda like the idea of them being a sweet couple tbh, but no one else on here seems to care about them so I haven’t really explored the idea much lol

In a Dally lives au, Mark Jennings and Dally end up spending a bit of time together through Pony, and at some point they realize that they’re half-brothers lol. Mark is a deeply obnoxious little brother to have, and he drives Dally nuts on purpose. Weirdly I think Dally’s a relatively good influence on him, as much as someone like Dally can be. And Dally does care for Mark, though not as much as he cares for Johnny- Mark is, in his head, not exactly his responsibility.

Well I have (so many) more, but I think that’s enough for now lol. Point is, even though I haven’t drawn in a minute, I love these characters and their romanticized version of 1960s Tulsa so much and I think about them way too often lol

(dw once i get more into the swing of school I’ll be doin more art!)

[rosesradio]

Hi, do you mind if I pick your brain about the pro/antiship thing? I'd like to check first because it's a dumpster fire of a controversy in fandom spaces and I'd 100% understand not wanting to touch it with a ten-foot pole. But also cuz it mentions somethin triggering+disturbing.I've always wondered what another person might think but I usually try to stay miles away from fandom drama, but you seem like, not chronically online about it

lmaoo thank you, i try to make my blog a chill, safe space to come to despite me being. Not chill about anything ever 😅

so here’s the definition of each that i added to the poll:

Proshippers argue that shipping is all fictional, so there is no harm in shipping characters who shouldn’t be together in real life. Anti-shippers argue that fiction reflects and influences real-world beliefs and behaviors, so fans shouldn’t romanticize unhealthy relationships. You can be proship and not ship any problematic ships, or vice versa.

i got these definitions, with my own addition at the end, from a Reddit thread you might find helpful.

so i’ve been in fandom for many years, and up until around 2022 i was mostly what would be considered an anti-shipper.

within the (*gags*) sanders sides fandom, there was a ship called remrom. this was the ship between the characters roman and remus, canonically twin brothers. i never shipped it, not my thing, and it caused a lot of division in the fandom. people would often put on their wattpad (yeahhh wattpad era babey) profiles & even their fics “dni & leave if you ship remrom, go die” etc. i don’t think i put that on my own fics, but i was hostile & blocked people i found shipping it. because how could you ship twin brothers, that’s disgusting!!1!

…the funny thing about sanders sides, though, is that all of the characters represent fragments of one guy’s personality. roman is his creativity, remus is his dark!creativity, etc. the fandom shipped many other pairings with the (non-related) characters, the most popular being Roman and Virgil (anxiety). (Yes this is causing me physical pain to type out thanks for asking 🧍). so all that exposition aside…we were all shipping selfcest. and in a way, is selfcest any worse than incest? i suppose that’s subjective, but it just goes to show a bit of hypocrisy.

i also shipped some “problematic” pairings over the years, but changed them up to be “non-problematic”. for example, i had a billdip fic in which i made bill bodily 15 to match dipper & had him turn magically human (does this make the ship entirely non-problematic? hell no lmao, but as is the way of 15-year-old rose)

so that aside, i joined tumblr in 2022, in the cobra kai fandom. there’s a ship in the cobra kai fandom called silverusso, a ship between an insane(ly hot? don’t look at me 🫣) karate instructor named silver and the main character, daniel larusso. this ship is extremelyyy toxic on several levels. for one, daniel is freshly 18, while silver is assumed to be in his 30s(?) during karate kid 3 (please watch karate kid 3 but also be sure you’re sober when doing so because the movie is a trip, lol). for another, silver essentially seduces daniel into devolving into a violent robot, primed for silver’s command & corruption.

now for me…i’m not going to get into the details because i don’t want to, but i had experienced trauma somewhat related to the silverusso dynamic the previous year (only with minimal karate, lol). even three years later, i am still impacted by said trauma in small ways. i was honestly insulted by people shipping this ship, because it felt like they didn’t care about victims & were romanticizing and sexualizing situations i was having nightmares about.

that is, until i made some friends in the fandom. i bonded with them on our common interests, and then i got to see a bit more into the silverusso shippers’ heads rather than the horrible things i was hearing about them from others. i learned that they really weren’t that bad people at all, all well-intentioned & respectful of boundaries. some of them were even victims of trauma similar to my own, who used darkfic as a place to vent their emotions. considering i had told very few people of what happened, considering no one really understood, i felt safe.

not to plug, but this is a fic i wrote sort of in that space lol

so anyways, i learned more & more about proshipping ways, profiction, anti-harassment, & anti-censorship. i adopted the take that fiction can be a good place to explore complex emotions or even just compelling ideas.

(because you do not need to be traumatized to be interested in darkfic! in fact, the anti-ship take of “darkfic is okay if you’re recovering from trauma” is often harmful to victims, forcing them to out themselves for a stranger to judge if they’re “traumatized enough” to be “allowed” write darkfic. people should be free to write whatever with no explanation, just respect to others & proper tags/warnings).

i would like to think that the anti-ship ideals are in the best interest of others. they often do speak from a place of wanting to respect trauma victims (even if the hate messages they’ve sent me aren’t very respectful, lol). i can see how easy it is to be swept up into the moral quandary of it all because i’ve been there. in fact, if i saw trauma victims who were anti-shippers today, who felt the same resentment i did in 2022, i would feel sympathy for them and wish them the best in their recovery. darkfic has definitely helped me, though it is not for everyone. (though to those people i would also recommend they block bothersome tags and try to clear it from their mind).

i do wish people would approach actual proshippers to ask the way you are right now, anon. i think the spread of misinformation on how “being proship = shipping only problematic pairings” or god forbid “being proship = being a pedo” means a lot of well-meaning people obviously are disgusted and don’t bother to seek out the actual meaning of the term.

you don’t have to ship problematic parings or like darkfic to be considered proship. in fact, a lot of my mutuals here only like fluff & traditionally “healthy” pairings, but they support people’s right to ship and write whatever they want, provided it stays in its properly tagged lane. it’s just important to not push for censorship on sites like ao3 (one of the last safe spaces for every kind of fanfic), as well as not harass anyone in fandom for what they do with fiction. it’s not proper fandom etiquette, and it’s not a good thing to do.

fictional characters are dolls. real people are real, as are their feelings.

one last thing

i hope all of that answered your question, anon, and feel free to return with any more questions you might have 💌

[sickness-stricken]

Analyzing Lily Orchard losing her fucking mind in real time

@lily-is-a-gooner has the post debunking the fact that this event was not staged, but I wanted to go over some of the noteworthy things I think are worth dissecting. Strap in, this one’s probably gonna be long.

Video link for anyone playing along at home:

[3:15] “You’ve got these things causing fucking car crashes, cuz they go off in people’s cars, startle them and cause them to veer into oncoming traffic!”

I’ll need to see a source on that before I believe it. Looking up “car crashes caused by amber alert” only brings up instances of kidnapped children that the amber alerts were for being involved in a car crash. Wouldn’t there be some study showing that reports for car crashes have an uptick within the hour of an EAS alarm being sent out?

[3:26] “AND THEY SEND THEM ALL THE GODDAMN TIME! […] You’re gonna get one of these things once a fucking week!”

No you won’t. Like. That is factually false. Excluding the test that just got sent out this month I get MAYBE one every three months. They are NOT common.

I thought maybe I was the outlier in that I live in Middle-of-nowhere, Alberta so I asked my Ontarian friend if they were more common there (you know, given the larger population) and what do ya know

[3:42] “We had one of these come out when Covid was happening! Like, Stephen, we all knew Covid was deadly, we didn’t need you to blow up everyone’s phones over it!”

I was ready to clown on this given I thought she was referring to Stephen Harper who hasn’t been PM since 2015 but I THINK she’s referring to Stephen McNeil who was the Premier of Nova Scotia in 2020. I don’t personally remember that alert going out (but I also have the memory of an anemic goldfish so that isn’t a high bar to clear) so maybe it was only a NS thing but I would assume for a national state of emergency that would be sent out by the NPAC? So, all parts of Canada? What would that have to do with Premier McNeil?

Don’t take this part super seriously I’m mostly just spitballing, this very well could just be an honest slip up on Lily’s part

[5:52] “I get amber alerts for shit that happens in Yarmouth! That’s a 3 hour drive away from me, the fuck you want me to do?!”

Hey, you know how earlier you said the amber alerts are usually about kids that wander off or are taken by a parent in a CUSTODY DISPUTE? Ya think that parent taking the kid is gonna STICK AROUND? They very well could be in Halifax by the time the alert actually goes out depending on how far the parent is willing to go. I myself jumped provinces to escape an abusive situation, that’s not exactly a long drive in comparison.

[6:36] (I’m gonna paraphrase this but essentially she’s talking about how 911 got swarmed with calls just bitching about the alarm going off in the first place and when they said not to abuse the line Lily calls this hypocrisy)

Lily the alerts are reporting imminent emergencies. If a kid (or really anyone) goes missing and they aren’t found in 48 hours it’s safe to assume they’re GONE. Calling 911 to complain about the alarm waking you up (despite them not being responsible for it) clogs up the lines when an ACTUAL report could be trying to get through. This is not comparable to a province using an emergency line for something that needs immediate attention just because it doesn’t affect you directly.

Feel like it’s also worth noting I’ve never seen anyone who wasn’t a conservative complain about the alerts at night. If it’s really that much of an issue you can turn your phone off at night (which you really should do anyway, it’s better for the battery) and get an alarm clock. If you know this to be an issue for you and the solution is completely within your control it is your responsibility to avoid this specific issue.

[7:46] (paraphrasing again: Lily is accusing people who are okay with the alerts going off at night of being hypocrites because they’ll just click their phones off and go back to sleep)

Again, this reeks of self-centrism and I’m once again unsure if Lily is aware that people who aren’t her exist. Yes, the person who acknowledges night alerts as a good thing may dismiss the notification. However, they acknowledge that people working night shift, such as hospital workers or those working at 24hr drive thrus/gas stations ARE awake and able to keep an eye out for certain descriptors, licence plates etc. This is not a hypocritical stance.

[9:10] “I can’t do anything while [the alarm] is playing. I just have to clap my hands over my ears and wait for it to end.”

…no??? You can literally swipe it away like any other notification and the noise stops. What are you talking about.

[9:30] (Not typing allat: Lily uses Japan as an example of how they use different alarms for different emergencies)

Oh hey look! Lily saying Japan did something good for once!

Gotta love how she picked the one country that doesn’t have an alarm that’s ominous as hell because literally almost every other country has an alarm that is just as if not more shit-in-pants worthy than Canada’s if it was played abruptly and at max volume

Maybe this is just personal opinion but I think it’s a good thing that all emergencies are regarded at the same level here. If we had a different, lessened alarm for when a child goes missing then people could immediately go “cool don’t care” instead of reading it at least once quickly to see what it says.

Alright that’s it for me I didn’t have a closing statement I’m gonna go take a nap… with my phone off

[notsoattractivearenti]

Golf Practice (Mason Mount x Reader)

WC: 1.7K

Warnings: sexually suggestive language, cursing (minors be warned)

A/N: even tho i didn't know anything about golf, i wrote this just cuz i can't resist golfer!mase (i did some research and still don't get golf lmao). also this has been sitting on my draft for a while and i forgot to post it 💀 hope you guys enjoy and i’d love to hear your thoughts thru ask/reply/reblog 💗 this was not proofread so apologies for any errors! feedbacks are highly appreciated 🤍

—

“Y/N, are you ready?”

“Wait, wait,” you fixed your shirt, grabbed your golf cap – which Mason just bought for you recently just for this occasion – and put on your shoes.

You closed and locked the bedroom door. “Okay, let’s go.”

Mason took a good look at you and couldn’t stop himself from complimenting you.

“My God, Y/N,” he gulped, “you are so fucking sexy.” 

“Oh pfft,” you tried to cover the fact that he instantly made you blush, “just keep your pants on, mister.”

“Seriously though, I really mean what I say!” He laughed.

“You look so good it’s almost hard to resist.” He continued.

“Yeah yeah yeah, whatever, can we please just go???” You insisted.

“Okay, okay, off we go then.”

He grabbed the car keys then playfully slapped your butt before he sprinted his way to the car.

“Wha- Mason!” You gasped.

—

You and Mason finally arrived at the golf course. You have never been to one before, and you were a little bit stunned when you saw how big the course was.

“Mase… I thought we were going to like, smaller golf course or something.”

“Hmm, I don’t know what made you think that but this is the place I usually play with the lads.”

“And now you’re just playing… With me?”

He laughed at your question.

“Duh, this is a date, no?”

“Yeah…” You scratched your head. “I mean, I feel like this is way too big for just us. Also you know I’ve never played golf before and this kind of makes me nervous.”

Mason then leaned in and kissed you on the top of your head.

“Don’t be nervous, my love. We’re here to just simply have fun... I will teach you if you want.” He softly assured you.

You knew it was just for fun, but you couldn’t help but feel a bit – no, not a bit, very – competitive. You’re aware you can be a sore loser sometimes, and though Mason has seen that side of you a few times, you still didn’t want to be a pain in the ass when losing especially on a sport you have not even one clue about.

“Okay, but you know I still want to win, right?” You bluntly told him.

“Of course.” He nodded and smiled.

“But just so you know, I’m so good at this you probably have little to no chance of winning this time, Y/L/N.” He said smugly.

“Oh, it’s on like a prawn who yawns at dawn, Mount.”

—

The entire time, Mason was the one driving the golf cart. You both were chatting away while your eyes were wandering around the course.

“Imagine having a course this big in your backyard,” you said to yourself, “pretty hard to maintain, I assume.”

“I mean, you sure can pay people to take care of it.” Mason chimed in.

“Yeah, if I have the money to pay them.” You shook your head.

“If you have a golf course in your backyard, then you must definitely have tons of money beforehand, Y/N!” He laughed.

“Do you see our future house with a golf course, hun?” You asked him.

“I don’t know, maybe?” He answered. “But I want a small football pitch more, though.”

“Yes, that sounds more like us. I like that idea as well.” You agreed to him.

“I would love to practice with our kids there one day. That would be great, right Y/N?”

You smiled. You do love the idea of playing football with your future little family in the backyard one day.

“Sounds wonderful.”

—

“Okay, I’ll go first.” Mason said as he took two golf clubs from the bag, then handed one for you.

“Watch how I play closely, yeah?”

“Mmm, gladly.” You responded jokily, as you stood slightly behind him.

This time, you made him blush. He shook his head and cleared his throat, then fixed his posture before making a move.

“Nice butt, by the way.” You teased him.

“Y/N!” He briefly tilted his head back and squeezed his eyes. “Focus, please.”

“Okay, okay, sorry,” you giggled, “go on baby.”

He got into position and swung the club. You both then carefully watched where the ball landed.

“Alright, that’s my mark,” Mason pointed out at where the ball was, “try to hit your ball further if you can.”

“But I doubt you can.” He sarcastically murmured.

“Uh, I heard that!”

You then walked back to the initial spot and tried to imitate Mason’s posture before swinging the ball.

“Mase, is this correct?” You asked.

“Hmm, not quite.” He replied.

“Is it alright if I stand behind you to help?” He politely asked – a real gentleman he is.

“Yeah, go ahead.” You agreed. “Just try not to get hard, yeah?”

He immediately snorted and laughed.

“I’ll take my chances.” He funnily responded back.

He stood right behind you and started helping fix your posture until it felt right.

“Don’t hold back while swinging. Put your full strength on it.” He suggested.

“Like this?”

You gave yourself a try at swinging the golf club. You didn’t see it but you almost hit him on the head with the club.

“Whoop, careful!” He put down the club. “Here, I’ll guide you.”

He put his arms around yours and carefully guided you the right way to swing. With him gently helping you this close, you couldn’t exactly pay good attention to what he was trying to teach you. 

“This feels so intimate.” You blurted it out.

He chuckled.

“Focus, Y/N. You want to win, no?”

You nodded. My God, I love it when he is in this serious mode, you thought to yourself. The truth was you started to feel slightly turned on, but you were trying to resist your urge since you also genuinely wanted to learn how to play golf – you were basically fighting for your life. You were supposed to learn and practice with your “personal coach” but your mind was filled with filthy thoughts about the things you wanted your boyfriend – who was guiding you through your first-ever golf game at the moment – to do to you.

“Y/N, are you still with me?”

Whoops, you just realized you were so caught up with your thoughts you were spaced out for a bit – and of course Mason noticed.

“Yeah, yeah, I am. Sorry.”

After a few tries, you told Mason you finally felt ready to take your first swing. He stepped back and cheered you on.

“Let’s go my love!”

You got into position then tried to swing your golf club, but you failed to hit the ball. Both you and Mason suddenly burst into laughter.

“Y/N, you’re the prettiest but what a terrible golfer you are!” Mason made fun of you.

“Shut up Mase! That was only the first try!” You defended yourself.

You gave it another try, this time you did hit the ball but it was definitely not a good shot. The ball only landed around 30 centimeters across from you – you didn’t hit the ball hard enough and obviously, Mason’s was way further.

“Fuck!” You yelled in frustration.

“That’s fine, baby, you’re fine!” Mason rubbed your shoulders and kissed your head. “Well done nevertheless.”

—

At the end of the game, it was clear that Mason won. You don’t like to lose, no, but you were totally fine losing to him since golfing was very new to you. But for someone who could be very impatient most times, golf actually helped you exercise your patience even for a tiny bit. At the beginning, you repeatedly expressed a lot of frustration especially when the ball didn’t get into the hole, but slowly you learned how to be more calm and eventually after a few rounds less swear words came out of your mouth. Also, having a cute, hot date did make it a lot more fun.

Mason was happy to beat you but he lowkey wanted you to win – just because he loves to see you win. He never thought you would agree on a golf date, knowing you have never played before or have never shown any interest in the sport. He initially thought of doing miniature golf with you, but somehow he changed his mind and brought you to an actual golf course instead. He even bought you a brand new golf cap merely because he got so excited to go golfing with you. He also really enjoyed helping you practice, he thought it was the best thing that happened today.

“This was so fun, my love. Thanks for doing this with me.” He said at the end of the date.

He then gave you a quick kiss on your lips.

“Fun for you, meh for me.” You playfully rolled your eyes.

“What can I say? I’m just that good.” He bragged.

“Mmhm, I’ll give it to you this time. Next time, I’m going to beat your ass.” You said to him.

He grinned widely and patted your head.

“Sure, kid. Looking forward to the next one. And the other next ones.”

—

Now back at home, after you changed your clothes you saw Mason sitting at the backyard, cleaning the used golf clubs before storing them. You decided to join him there – you quietly approached him then hugged him from behind. He was a little surprised – even jumped out of his seat a little – when you did that but he tried to hide it from you.

“I knew you were coming, I can smell your perfume from afar.” This was his attempt to save his face.

“Oh I believe you.” You giggled as you kissed his cheek.

“You know, Mase,” you gently caressed his arm and seductively whispered into his ear, “I would very much love it if you smash me like you smashed the golf balls today.”

His eyebrow was raised quickly and he immediately turned his head towards you.

“Oh, really?”

You smirked.

“Mmhmm… Consider that as your prize for today.”

“Yeah? Do you really want me to uh, “smash” you as hard as I did to those balls?” He bit his lip as he teased you.

“Harder.” You emphasized.

“Well, since you asked for it…” Mason stood up, picked you up then started kissing your neck and lips, “it is my duty to deliver.”

—

taglist: @pulisicsgirl @neverinadream @swimmingismywholelife @chilwellspulisic @bracedes @lovelynikol16 @thoseboysinblue @lizzypotter14 @masonsrem @landoslover

[base0h]

Hiii :D

Wanna req some modern au Kid, Mihawk and Shanks with a s/o who always manages to zone out at the worst time possible, (like they're driving and stopped at a red light, not realizing that what seemed a moment later the light turned green and everyone is beeping at them or they're being late, smth distracts them and they literally just freeze in place lost in the most off topic thoughts ever) hcs or scenario, all's good with me gosh I zone out way too much

Gosh sorry for the long ask and since I'm here I just might remind you to go drink some water and take care of yourself, cuz we need ya and your hilarious writings here, to brighten up our days yk? ( ˙꒳​˙ )

love ya <3

a/n - ERROR HOW HAVE I BEEN LAUGHING FOR A SOLID TEN MINUTES AT THIS ASK SUEBDHBDHDBD 😭😭😭😭 awww I’m so glad that I can brighten up your guys’ days that really brightens mine 🥺💜💜

Warnings ⚠️ - cracky, g/n reader, modern au, shanks doesn’t have an arm (let’s just say it got bitten off by a shark because he thought drinking beer while surfing was a brilliant idea)

- watch him ban you from driving 💀

- last time you decided to drive to a coffee shop was the last straw for the poor man

- “Y/n please keep your eyes on the road.”

- *minute passes, now it’s a green light*

- he’s looking at a newspaper while people behind you guys are honking

- you had taken sight of a beautiful monarch butterfly, cruising around just outside your window

- you didn’t even realize the light had turned green

- Mihawk was about to get out of the car and go punch some people for honking but then he realized the light had been green for minutes, and you two were holding up the biggest line of cars he’d ever seen

- “Y/n! It’s green-!”

- He undid his seatbelt and climbed into the seat with you, hitting his head on the ceiling while simultaneously giving himself a bad back

- he pressed the gas while you stared at the butterfly, and you snapped out of it when you realized the car was moving, and Mihawk’s huge ass was right in front of your face

- “Mihawk what are you doing-“

- he sighed and kept driving forward until the light from before turned red right as he started going

- Cars from the right were about to crash into you too when you started screaming at him to go faster

- “MIHAWK GO GO GO GO GO-!”

- “THIS DAMN CAR WONT GO ANY FASTER! GET ON MY LEFT SIDE!”

- he was saying that to protect you, so that he would take most of the damage if you both were hit

- Luckily, you two made it to the next intersection just before getting hit, and there was a long silence in the car on the way home

- “… you’re banned from driving.”

- “BUT-“ “I don’t want to hear it.”

- “thank you for protecting me, don’t pretend like you didn’t do that 😏”

- “😐😑😐”

- he ignored you for about an hour after that (he wasn’t mad, just terrified)

- shanks is a horrible driver himself, so he gets it! He’s usually drunk while driving anyways!

- zoning out is totally fine because usually he’ll just stare at you and think about how beautiful/handsome you are 🥰

- today you both were driving to a movie, you had gotten a nice cup of coffee just before as well :)

- shanks was staring at his phone, struggling to figure out where the fuck he put the tickets

- you saw the most awesome skateboarder who was doing tricks along the sidewalk, and you managed to turn sharp left, almost straight into the sidewalk

- shanks immediately grabbed the wheel with his arm and swerved back, but the absolute boiling hot coffee cup was slipping through your grip

- poor shanks saw that and was starting to panic

- “Baby i only got ONE ARM-“

- the hot coffee spilled all over his lap and this idiot started screaming at the top of his lungs

- “BABE MY BALLS ARE GOING TO MELT WHAT THE FUCK WHY IS IT SO HOT?”

- bigass man baby woke you up and you started driving normally again, apologizing to your almost crying boyfriend for zoning out

- “My dick hurts.”

- “Please don’t ever say that again.”

- “BUT IT’S TRUE?? IT HURTS LIKE- HELL!”

- “also what were you looking at out there?”

- “some cool skateboarding guy.”

- excuse me-??

- “A guy?..”.

- “THATS WHY YOU BURNED MY COCK OFF BABE?! AM I NOT PRETTY ENOUGH?!”

- he started shaking your arm and you were literally about to crash, “SHANKS STOP IM GOING TO CRASH!”

- pls he’s a terrible driver just because of the fact that he will literally scream and flip someone off for not using their turn signal

- I imagine him to obey every single driving law except for the one “don’t be a fucking asshole”

- he oftentimes will ask for your help when he’s building stuff, like asking for tools and such

- “babe hand me the wrench.”

- “hammer.”

- “nails.”

- “water.”

- that’s basically what your job is. 💀

- he was welding today, and needed your help to place something at just the right time so he wouldn’t either burn your apartment down or burn his arm off

- “Babe, need it now.”

- you were tuned out completely, and of course at the absolute perfect time 🙂

- “babe.”

- he waved his other hand in front of your face to try and get your attention but that didn’t seem to work

- “Y/N L/N HELLO?!”

- kaboom

- smoke filled the room as you coughed and grabbed the thing you were supposed to hand him

- “Kidd you need this thingy yet??”

- …

- your audacity.

- his sllooooooooow turn of his head

- his face was stained with black smoke, a nail shooting out of his work and hitting him in the forehead as he stared down at you with the most dead expression

- you were dead. so dead.

a/n - not me being a little cheeky shit and giggling at my own writing 💀

[moscnios]

Hi Hi Mange!!! I hope ya arent in a bad mood and ur having a good day cuz I got a request for u!

Ight so..

Can you please do platonic Monster Trio x teen! Reader?

The reader is cute and really bubbly and positive, always smiling and always laughing their problems away, so what happens if they see that innocent reader….fight for the first time and go into serious mode in a battle. The reader is all serious and cold when in battle,once they come back from it all bloodied and bruised but smiling and laughing as they walk away from the bodies behind them-

They were expecting the young one to be weak but they were wrong, so so wrong-

Anyways I hope you have a good life and thanks baiiiiii!!!!

⟡    ֺ   𓂂  headcanons  ,  with a bubbly crewmate who gets serious in battle.

✸     characters! . . .  luffy, zoro & sanji.

✸     cw(s)! . . .  platonic. brief mentions of blood. violence. no pronouns used. not proofread.

✸     notes! . . .  back on my best bro trio type shit. requests like this have my heart i swear. thank you so much for requesting !!

luffy is definitely the least surprised. he kind of always figured you had a strong side. he has a radar for things like this

yes he has a ‘you are probably a little scary when provoked’ radar

when a fight breaks out, luffy is already jumping into action, thinking about the consequences later

he just has a hunch that you are able to take care of yourself, but he doesn’t know just how strong you actually are

so when you emerge from the cloud of smoke with a few bruises, busted knuckles, and a smile alongside the small pile of bodies from the assholes you just beat up, he can’t help but be amazed by your strength

he thinks you’re even cooler than before

he wants you to teach him some of your moves so he can incorporate them into his own move set

that really cool dodge move up into a spinning roundhouse kick ?? you HAVE to teach him that or he’s going to bother you until you do

you’re unsure why the future pirate king would even want to learn some of your moves when he’s already really strong. but it makes you feel good that he does want to learn from you

zoro has a habit of basically adopting cute people, i.e. you and chopper

he doesn’t particularly think that you are ‘weak’ because he hasn’t seen you fight yet. 

but from your personality, he just can’t picture you being much of a fighter

oh boy, was he wrong

watching you literally tackle a guy twice your size and beat his face in was differently not on his bingo card

shocked is not even the word that comes to mind. it’s like you’re an entirely different person

after you wipe the blood from your nose with the back of your hand, you turn back into the sweet kid who is always smiling and laughing

seeing you practically skipped away from your victims over to him

when he’s over his shock, he asks you when you became so strong and where did you learn all of that

you probably don’t notice but a proud smile appears on his face as you recount your training, talking about all the guys you’ve beaten up even before you joined the crew

he’d love to fight alongside you next time

sanji has the biggest soft spot for you and wants to protect you from everything because you’re too pure for this world

despite you being a pirate just like him, in his eyes you do no wrong

but this one time, he couldn’t protect you, getting caught up in a fight of his own. when he finished his own battle, he looked around for you with all kinds of alarms sounding off his head

he finally spots you bruised and bleeding from your nose and a gash on the side of your head. but you stood tall, with your usual healing smile.

but at the sight of your condition, he’s panicked. he rushes to your side, trying to stop the bleeding

he’s so busy repeatedly asking if you’re okay, he hardly even notices the five or so enemies you took out by yourself

finally you point it out, pointing to the bodies that surrounded you. he doesn’t even want to believe it at first

the sweet ( y/n ), who he babied, fought all of these people ?? the sweet ( y/n ) who wouldn’t even hurt a fly ?? there was no way

he’d have to see it to believe it. and was he in for the shock of his life to see you with ease become serious and take down yet another group of enemies. all before turning back to him with a smile and a giggle

seeing you switch so easily between the two...it was...scary to him at first

he is proud of you for being able to protect yourself, but he still wants to be the one to protect you. he has a hard time letting it go

© MANGEKYUOU  —  do not copy, repost, or translate my works.

[soupzardous]

i would love a detalied lore drop on are they smarter than a first grader :3 i genuinely adore all these characters youve written i would gladly take any brain vomit like just screenshots of you and ur friend brainrotting i would eat it alllll up!! just anything honestly

I’m not even gonna lie I did not deliver at all. But what I will give you is that I know for sure that Quackity had like been super anxious for the sleep over. As usual Wilbur was late. Literally not shocking. But basically I hadnot planned much for that chapter I had lots of ideas tho. I did want to have them maybe build a pillow fort in Slimes room cuz I thought that would be silly and also cuz Quackity would’ve lost his marbles. I also think I intended on writing a moment that chapter where Quackity wants to read Fundy and Slime a bed time story since it was routine but Fundy doesn’t know how to react and Slime shoos Quackity away because Fundy can just read to him. Quackity would’ve gone back to the living room grumbling and prob would’ve poured himself a glass of wine cuz he can’t handle not being in charge of things.

Since him and Wilbur were fighting before hand (from what I remember) I wanted it to be sort of tense and awkward. I know in the previous chapter, Slime had green marker on his face and that was how i planned on getting them to start talking. Wilbur would’ve also been drinking wine and all that jazz. However, the plan was for Wilbur to suggest to Quackity that he get Slime some tattoo markers so Slime can draw on himself without it becoming a problem, and that was gonna lead into them being fucking weird or whatever. I really hardcore believed that atstafg!Quackity had a trampstamp (there is concept art and everything). Anyways, back then i did actually write out all the dialogue as kind of a bare bones draft, so I’ll just insert that screen shot here:

Then they probably were freaks and kissed. And this time no one interrupted them for realzies.

The next morning was gonna go one of two ways.

1. Quackity was gonna wake up and realize it was almost 8:30 am (he usually woke up around 5) an get worried that the kids hadn’t eaten. In this scenario he didn’t even remember the whole thing with Wilbur because he is more worried abt the kids. He would’ve winded up walking into the living area and seeing that Wilbur was in his bath robe due to being the one who’d woken Wilbur up, and Wilbur had to find something to put on because he wanted to let Quackity keep sleeping (he knew Quackity was sleep deprived)

2. They would’ve woken up at the same time and kind of opted to ignore what had happened. Wilbur wouldn’t have been able to find his glasses and he probably would’ve said something along the lines of “Well it isn’t my fault you probably recklessly put them somewhere. If they’re broken you’re paying for it.” And they would’ve bickered before Wilbur rolled his eyes and said he didn’t need them that bad and they would’ve headed into the kitchen.

Either way, they would’ve wound up finding Slime and Fundy at the kitchen table with some books that him and Fundy were reading together. Once again, I had this vaguely written in old dms i sent so I’ll just insert those here

I did initially want Quackity to do that thing he does where he was more focused on being a parent than how he was feeling, so he was gonna be too busy with trying to schedule Slime an optometrist appointment to worry about whatever happened with Wilbur. However, Wilbur is not trying to leave in a rush cause he would rather be uncomfortable around Quackity while Fundy had fun than back at his apartment with Phil there. Eventually, when Quackity gets off the phone Wilbur finally asks why Quackity isn’t bringing up what happened, and Quackity woudlve been all like “because I have a life to live I can’t just pause everytime there is a minor accident. You just have to keep doing what you have to do, so sorry if I don’t wanna get into all that” and Wilbur would’ve been offended but not willing to walk away. He does wind up giving up the fight and saying he was gonna stay a little bit longer but just because Fundy was having a fun time. he probably says something about how he’s only staying because he’s not as bad of a parent as Quackity thinks. because truly, they never get past that.

By the way Quackity does blame himself heavily for not even thinking that Slime might have really bad eye sight and just trying to force slime to read when he couldn’t see very well to be begin with. I know a lot of people did theorize that he had dyslexia or was truly just never taught to read, but it was more so due to a lack of proper caregivers in his infant and toddler years and shockingly bad eyesight for being a six year old.

Quackity tries to get Wilbur to go home by telling Slime his friend was gonna have to go home so that he could take Slime to the eye doctor, but Slime tells Quackity “you can’t take me to an eye doctor. Your eyes are healthy. Can Fundy’s dad go instead his eyes aren’t healthy so he would be better” (thats really ooc forgive me please). Anyways, Quackity is a sucker for anything Slime wants especially since his feels really guilty in the moment. So he does say yes.

I have a much more detailed version of the whole glasses debacle, if you want that, but tbh I do not expect this post to be something anyone is actively waiting for anymore. Once again my bad for waiting so long. There were a lot of little things I hc abt Wilbur and his childhood that related to glasses that would’ve served as a bonding type of moment nd i believe i have all of that written down somewhere in my discord dms.

Anyways. I am kind of struggling to remember it all, but I did plan on Quackity and Wilbur trying to keep things professional for a chapter after that, as they were nearing the class Christmas party i believe. Maybe I don’t remember my own fics current time line but it’s fine it’s so chill. But basically when they do set up and help run the class Christmas party since they are co room moms. One of the activities is making a little handmade ornament. It’s meant to be like a gift the kids make to bring home to their parents. However, during the party Slime winds up giving his to Wilbur instead of Quackity. Quackity is not happy about this to say the least, especially since him and wilbur aren’t on the best of terms. Quackity expected Wilbur to shove it in Quackitys face and brag about winning, but instead he just awkwardly tried to give it to Quackity because he felt really bad about the fact that it happened. Quackity refuses to accept it and just kind of keeps to himself the whole time.

When the class party ends, Nikki thanks the two for how much they did and for collaborating. She mentions that Slime had been talking about how Wilbur and Quackity had a sleepover with him and Fundy all week in their morning circle, and to top it off, there had even been a day or two where Fundy talked during the morning circle too. As Quackity and Wilbur leave the school, Wilbur attempts to check in on Quackity. usually Quackity was more vocal of what was bothering him.

When he asks what’s wrong Quackity just kinda quietly says something about how it isn’t fair that Slime likes Wilbur more than him.

Wilbur goes “thats not true. he hardly knows me”

And Quackity just says that he wouldn’t get it. And it is heavily related to the fact that Quackity has tried super hard to avoid letting anyone into his life because he didn’t wanna bring someone into Slimes life that would stick around for a while but inevitably leave. After a bit of back and forth Wilbur probably mentions something like “I dont get it. You act like I’m going anywhere. You act like you aren’t incredibly aware that I can’t leave if I want to. If either of us are the type to run away, it’s you, Quackity. You always say it’s what’s best for Slime, but I don’t know if theres a single selfless reason why you act the way you do. I know I’m selfish, but I never asked to be in this situation. And I’m not saying you did. But for someone who always looks so miserable, you sure have no problem pushing me away. I may not have been the best friend you could have, but it’s not like you have any others. Our kids are friends, and I wont let this be the reason they can’t hang out anymore. But you have a lot of nerve pretending we don’t know too much about each other. I thought we would’ve worked out just fine together. I liked you, Quackity. And maybe I’m just an idiot, but feel like you might have liked me too”

Quackity tells him he doesn’t get it, and Wilbur decides to count his losses and drive home.

The next chapter I planned on having Wilbur being up late at night. School has gone on break and it is Christmas Eve now. For the first time in years Wilbur had actually put out a small decorative tree. He wasn’t sure why, neither him nor fundy were very enthusiastic about holidays. Fundy was in bed and Phil was sleeping too. He winds up getting out some craft supplies that he had left over from a while back, and makes his own version of a shitty ornament. In all honesty it isn’t that much better than the one Slime had made. He puts it in a bag along with a cheap botttle of wine he bought the day before. A part of him wanted to write “to replace the last of the things I took from you” on the card, but he settled on writing “merry Christmas, hope you like it” despite how much he wanted to say. The next morning after Fundy opens his gifts, he asks if Fundy wants to go have a play date with Slime, and Fundy says yes because he wants to tell Slime about the cool books he got.

The goal was for Wilbur to give Quackity the gift and for Quackity to attempt to act indifferent/frustrated but eventually crumble cuz he was really upset with himself. I did at the time plan on just figuring out this part when i got there, however it was gonna be kinda mushy with like them finally talking about it. I prob would’ve done some fuckass mistletoe cliche or something. I also thought it would’ve been funny to have Slime and Fundy see it and try and turn their Christmas Chinese takeout dinner into a surprise date to set their parents up. I don’t really know.

It is a little funny cuz i actually really dont like Christmas but it was going to become a Christmas fic due to pacing.

The epilogue would’ve been a fast forward to Wilbur and Quackity roughly 8 months later being fluffy and silly while coparenting and getting both Slime and Fundy ready for school. I wasn’t sure whether they’d be living together or not at that point, but either way it wasn’t like they wouldn’t have sleep overs pretty often. I thought it would be kinda silly if like Wilbur was helping get the kids ready so Quackity could get an extra hour of sleep since Wilbur usually was working until after Quackity had already picked up the kids from school. There would be some days where Quackity packed the kids lunches and some where they got to buy it at school. Some days Quackity would worry about what the kids were gonna wear and others Wilbur just let them pick whatever they wanted. Essentially just illustrating the balance that would be achieved after they got together with both families benefiting from the best of both worlds. Wilbur would’ve learned to be a more involved and responsible parent and Quackity would’ve learned to not micro manage every little thing that happened. And from that point on they both became co room moms until Fundy and Slime got sick of their parents wanting to be involved with every school function

I have more things i saved in case y’all want anymore!! So just let me know and i will actually get back to you in a timely manner I promise this time !!! Hope this all made sense it has been so long since I talked abt atstafg

[dementer-blue]

Better

Pairing: Melissa Schemmenti x Reader

Warnings: Hurt/comfort

Notes: I haven’t written anything in some years and english isn’t my first language either, so sorry if it’s corny yall

Melissa wasn’t doing well.

     She missed her girlfriend so much, even when they saw each other just before the classes started, in the break room.

     Y/N was the third-grade teacher and knew there was something off with Melissa. She was extra clingy today and that wasn’t much like her morning self. She even walked Y/N to her class today, which was odd, the other teachers still don’t know about their months old relationship, only Barbara, always Barbara.

     Melissa just wasn’t feeling herself today, she felt sad for no reason, she felt jealous for no reason. She just wanted to cling into her woman and sleep.

—Ms. Schemmenti, are you ok? — Jack, a sweet little girl, one of Melissa’s students, asked, amused about the teacher’s behavior

—Oh, yeah, hon, I’m good, I’m great, how are ya doing? — Melissa cursed on herself for looking vulnerable next to the kids, she hated that. How could they rely on her if she looked as bad as them?

     Thankfully the girl quickly forgot as she busied herself on telling the teacher about the new word she learned the passed day. Melissa shoved everything away for a bit, for the kids, and got her usual face and behavior back for the rest of the lesson. Fortunately, lunch came soon, and the redhead hurried to the break room in the search of her partner. There were no people in there yet, the teacher sat as she waited for her girlfriend to arrive, it would be useless going after the woman in her class, if the kids weren’t there the woman would already be on her way to the break room.

     Barbara got there, Melissa still wore her “natural” face, but the kindergarten teacher knew her too well.

—What’s wrong, Melissa? — the woman had a soft expression, she could see there was the way on trying to make Melissa talk when she wasn’t feeling well

—I don’t wanna talk about it, Barb. — she barely looked at the other teacher, she couldn’t.

     That’s exactly when Y/N walked in, cutting Barbara who was just about to ask something else. She didn’t even had time to react when Melissa got up, grabbed her by the arm and quickly dragged her to one of the second grade’s classroom, Melissa’s classroom. The redhead closed the door and shoved herself in her lover’s arms, she had a quick breathing and was in the verge of tears. Y/N knew something was off, but usually it wasn’t that bad, Melissa would never break in front of people.

—Mel, try breathing with me, alright? Just like that… — she inhaled and exhaled deeply while holding the teacher close. Not much later, Melissa’s breathing got in a steady pace, and she wasn’t trembling anymore.

—Thank ya, dear…

—Do you wanna talk about it? — the younger woman said as she kissed the other’s head.

—I don’t know…

—It’s ok, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, dear — another peck on her head.

—It’s just-… It’s just that I feel sad and I don’t really know why, I missed you during classes, I feel jealous of people your age cuz I think you would be happier without having to change your spouse’s diapers in some years and all of that makes me feel stupid…

—Oh, dearest, there isn’t a single person in this whole universe that would make me feel better than you do. I love you so much it makes me feel like a teenager. I wouldn’t’ change you for the world because you’re the only thing in it that matters to me, I don’t freaking care if I have to change geriatric diapers for you or glue dentures in your mouth, I don’t care! The only thing that matters to me is if it is with you, I don’t want anyone else because I love you so much it hurts my heart to see you like that, my only job is to make you happy and you aren’t right now cause you’re the best thing that happened in my life and I cannot lose you, Melissa —they were both crying, not sad tears now, happy ones. They felt found.

—I love you too, baby, so much. — they sobbed in each other’s arms, their eyes were filled with love, they felt better, so much better.

     The finally sealed their lips together, in an oh so passionate kiss, they felt so overwhelmed with love, is like the whole world could collapse at that moment and they wouldn’t care, they wouldn’t even see it.

     Melissa felt better.

[yuyuonabeat]

🌼BLUE 🌼 BOY🌼

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

Written in first person

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

He was the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen. Had the prettiest smile and the prettiest brown eyes. He was tall, slender, charming and his laugh was my favorite sound.

That pretty boy, who I later found out from a friend that his name was Yunho. Gosh, even his name was pretty.

Pretty blue boy~ That’s what my coworkers at the coffee shop and I would call him. They had grown tired of hearing me talk and talk about the pretty blue boy every single second of our 10 hour shifts.

The color blue just suit him perfectly. Especially since he was a flower boy, he worked at the floral shop next to our coffee shop.

Beautiful blue boy giving out daisies to the people that passed by his shop. Always with a smile on his face. That smile that drew everyone in.

That smile was like his advertisement. One smile and everyone wanted to buy flowers from him.

Even got me spending lots of money weekly on bouquets that I would later place on my desk at home and stare at while picturing the way he smiled while handling them to me.

He had me love struck. Every morning I went to work happy thinking I’d get to see him opening his shop at the same time I opened mine.

He called me “Dove”. He then told me one day that he got the nickname from the way I always fed the pigeons near the shop and loved the white doves the most.

Always made me blush whenever he’d use that pet name on me. He was really every girls dream.

He looked like a Prince. Maybe he just needed a Princess. I wasn’t sure. All I knew was, I was falling for him deeper and deeper as the days went by.

He was also a regular at my shop. Always got the same order. A light capuchino with two sugars.

Never forgot to thank me with that beautiful smile of his. A lot of the times our fingers would brush against each other when I handed him his drink. Sending bolts of electricity through my body and down my spine.

My coworkers would tease me as I’d always end up looking like a ripe tomato after he left. One of them always pushed me into telling Yunho I liked him.

“Are you insane?! I can’t do that!” I’d say.

They just roll their eyes and get closer.

“You’re wasting time, you could have at least kissed him by now. But you stay with staring and acting like a little kid with a silly crush.” They would tell me.

“He’s not just ‘a silly crush’. He’s more than that. I’m just….. I don’t want to ruin this. What if I confess and he just thinks I’m weird or.. or what if he stops smiling at me?” I’d get anxious thinking about it.

After that they’d leave me alone. It’s been four months since he opened his floral shop. Yunho was very successful with his sales.

I’d visit his shop so many times, the walls and decor were engraved in my brain at this point.

I walked in and as usual would grace my fingers around the counter and eye the pretty flowers.

I could see him coming back from the back room. With his light blue shirt and white apron. There it was. That beautiful bright smile.

“Hello there , Dove.” He walked closer to me. Leaning down onto his elbows on the white counter.

“What brings you here today? Another bouquet?” He asked with a smile and tilted his head. Truly looked like a puppy.

I grab at my apron and clear my throat. Adjusting my glasses.

“Hi, um no. Today I actually came to tell you something….. something that has been eating away at me.” I look up at him.

His expression changes to a concerned one. He nods and waits for me to continue.

Now I’m just standing infront of him with a flushed expression and my head empty.

Should I tell him? That I like him?

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A/N: cliffhanger cuz I love teasing y’all. (Also I just wrote this rn and I have no idea what I even wrote.)

[pastelpousay]

⭐️Rina Headcanons that are actually just canon⭐️

I mostly made this for fun and so that people can understand me and my character a bit better since she is my first actual self insert ever. Also because I was too lazy to make a whole new reference sheet lmao. Also sorry I haven’t really been active 😭 I’m trying to appreciate my own creations and such by posting it less since I usually only made it just to post 💀😭 which is sad asf.

General:

⭐️Rina has two younger sibilings, a younger girl who is currently 16-17 and the youngest boy who’s 8. She does have a few half siblings, however she doesn’t know them.

⭐️Rina’s mom, is actually her aunt, they’re pretty similar looking but she’s always felt a bit different from them. This also explains as to why her mom so distant from her father (she doesn’t like him for many reasons). Her biological mother ran off and left Rina behind, she now regrets it and wants to see her, but her mom won’t allow her to (Rina is aware of this, while she would like to meet her mother she is a bit stubborn to since she did just leave her behind like that with the man who barely even speaks to her)

⭐️speaking of stubborn, Rina is really really really stubborn 💀 if you tell her to do something she doesn’t like she either won’t do it or she’ll do just what you asked and only that and nothing else purely out of spite (me core but I’m also like really tired💀😭)

⭐️Rina is 25-26 as of right now (I like to keep her 10 years around my age from now.)

⭐️her family does pottery for a living, they don’t make much money off it but they do what they can.

⭐️she’s always gone to bed pretty early, she had to as a kid, but she’s actually a night owl so she stays up pretty late often

⭐️she currently only has one friend, Andromeda, they’ve been friends since they were in high school

⭐️while Rina is a very shy and sweet person at heart she can still be very out of pocket. Her main goal is to make people laugh however sometimes it tends to backfire 😭

⭐️she can also be very mean 💀 especially if you piss her off she doesn’t play 💀😭 and she’s not as easy of a target as most people think she is

Warning for the next part ig it’s nothing too bad but still

⭐️She does show some signs of bpd (Borderline personality disorder) such as being obsessive and having abandonment issues. She is also very clingy so she finds it hard to let go of people she likes. She’s also really dependent on certain people (thus being Hades.)

⭐️her obsessive behavior dies down a bit, she is very impulsive during these times, when she’s finally developing feelings so she’ll do all that she can to get their attention (such as the way she goes after hades)

⭐️MOVING ON FROM THAT DARK ASS SHIT, Rina is pretty iffy with touch if it’s not coming from someone she trusts, even with people she does trust she’s pretty iffy with it, hugs are normal and it’s not like she never or rarely got one it just feels foreign to her, so she opts to giving gifts and letters, she struggles with talking aloud so most words of affirmations fr written unless she actually wants you to know this then she’ll push her issues aside and say it straight.

⭐️she’s an artist, she likes to paint, but her family does pottery for a living so she’s also learned how to sculpt

⭐️ now Rina is Ultra femme, but she’s still non-binary, although she doesn’t care too much about what label people give her, which is mostly fem aligning

⭐️I like to think she comes out to hades about this during one of their deeper conversations just cuz yea 😭😭

“Hades?”

“Hm?”

“Do you ever feel like…you’re unsatisfied with what you are?— not like your job or like your personality I mean just like…being,!I dunno…I dunno how to explain it.”

“Uhh, I mean kinda but I’m not really getting what you’re trying to get at hon.”

“I mean like, say you’re like a woman and you’re fine with people seeing you as that but…just being that feels— like…, I don’t think about it too much y’know. Y’know man or woman things like that. I’m just me, I’m not a girl or a boy I’m just Rina, Cat,…Catarina. Just me.”

“…that’s a beautiful way of putting it, my little supernova .”

“Oh, stop you—“

[adragonsfriend]

I think one of the reasons lit crit gets such a bad wrap is that in school kids are usually introduced to it long before they’re introduced to craft-based writing (especially craft-based creative writing). My first real creative writing classes wildly changed the way I thought about analysing other people’s writing.

“The curtains are blue probably cuz the author liked blue”

Cool maybe but have you ever thought about how the author chose to mention the curtains were a color in the first place when they could’ve said a texture or a fabric type instead? Or that there were curtains at all? Or that mentioning curtains implies the room has big windows? And what big windows implies about the general architecture of the larger building? And what the architecture of the building and the curtains vs blinds choice implies about the class and culture of the people in the room? Or the way access to dyes has affected people’s perceptions of colors in different periods of history and how readers in the authors time might’ve had perceptions you don’t?

Understanding authorial agency is the lynch pin in understanding why lit crit is the way it is, and it’s really hard to get that when you’re a kid who’s writing boring essays because adults tell you to, or even an adult whose main writing activity is work emails.