#finally i'm not sick anymore yay

[xknivesandpensx]

Like Pieces of a Puzzle

Chapter 10

Summary: What if Harry wasn't the only extra student called upon to participate in the Triwizard Tournament? Far from the most popular candidate, Draco not only has to take on the trials but also deal with his unexpected feelings for Hermione. Will he be able to face the challenges as well as follow his heart? Chapter length will vary. I'll be referencing both the books and movie versions. Some things from what I've previously written will be mentioned, all of which you can find here.  And for those who asked to be tagged: @dayane245love

Hermione’s eyes left Harry and flew towards Draco. Confusion washed over the faces of most professors while students held a mix of emotions. Many complained, others whispered about how the two managed to get selected.

She sat frozen in place, watching them disappear from view, heart hammering rapidly against her chest. The gravity of the situation rendered her silent amongst the protests ringing in her ears. Surely, the Ministry would do something.

Dumbledore, after having a few hushed words between McGonagall and Snape, turned to face the room. “It seems,” he began, voice raised high enough to bring all bouts of discussion to a close. “The Goblet has chosen two more students than anticipated. An interesting turnout no less. I’d like you all to head back to your common rooms, prefects if you will escort them. We will get things sorted immediately. Until then, might I suggest enjoying the rest of your evening.”

Despite her worries, Hermione grabbed hold of her book and kept her head down. Her thoughts began racing, trying to form a scenario of which she just witnessed. Nothing she read about the past tournaments ever faced such a strange phenomenon.

A bad feeling continued to climb up her spine. Harry and Draco. Why them? Obviously, the possibility of someone being out to get Harry existed. Every year danger attached itself to him. Yet who’d here plan for him to participate?

As for Draco, the mystery puzzled her. Sure, he made a few enemies due to his consistent bullying and presumably those who resented his family were out there, but to hold a level of animosity so high as to put him in a position where he’d probably get hurt or worse?

None of it made any sense.

The memory of talking to Draco after his detention entered her mind. Moody, no matter his evident aversion towards him, he’d doubtfully be responsible. And while Dumbledore trusted him, she felt an insistent tug, urging her to look more closely at the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

“So, how do you think he did it?” George asked, breaking her train of thought. “A brilliant defeat. I’m both proud and a bit betrayed. We talked about trying to get in for ages.”

Fred shook his head disapprovingly. “Really leaves a mark. I wished he shared with us. He must have told you, Ron? Care to tell us his secret method?”

“No, not a word. I’m as surprised as you,” he mumbled in return, looking rather disgruntled.

Hermione glanced between the three. “You can’t honestly believe they put their names in. Did you not see their faces? They were caught off guard. Both of them.”

Harry barely got himself to move. And she saw, regardless of the distance, the way Draco’s expression dropped from complaint to disbelief. Besides, she knew neither thought themselves above the stipulations placed. Even Draco wouldn’t go so far for a bit of fun, knowing the results were absolute.

“I agree on one. Malfoy’s all talk. Too cowardly to enter. Maybe Harry through him in for a good laugh,” George stated, shrugging his shoulders. “Anything’s possible.”

“Remember when he came running into our compartment when the Dementors showed up on the train? Scared witless, he was.” Fred added, his steps slowing as they started to slowly file out the doors.

Ron ducked past another Gryffindor, thoughts fixated on his friend. “How else could Harry be chosen? Probably lied about wanting to be a part of it.” Hermione’s reproachful look only got him agitated. “If you’re so smart, why not tell us how it happened then.”

“Well, if you think about it,” she began, attempting a logical explanation. “For the Goblet itself, I’d guess the use of a Confundus Charm. Of course, you’d need to be greatly skilled, otherwise the spell won’t do you any good. Admittedly, neither Draco or Harry should be able to pull it off. Hence my belief of the fault falling on someone else. If done correctly, it acted as though five schools entered the competition. It makes sense to write another down, therefore you’d have to be chosen because you’re the only contestant available.”

It seemed rather apparent. Other reasons persisted, yet none added up quite as nicely. How hardly mattered in the grand scheme of things.

Fred took on a thoughtful air, brushing his chin in a wistful manner. “Looks like you’ve got it all worked out. Maybe we misjudged you, Hermione. With thinking along those lines, he must’ve asked for your help. Clever. Here we wasted hours on an Aging Potion.”

“A shame, really.” George started heading to the left once they entered the corridor. “Come on, Fred, let’s go see what we can get from the kitchens. There’s reason to celebrate. A Gryffindor in the tournament is no small feat.”

They rushed off so quickly Hermione had no time to reproach them. Her gaze fell on Ron. He appeared rather tense and overly bothered. His jealousy regarding Harry stood as no secret. It never needed to be said. Her frustrations over the whole ordeal, however, caused her to disregard them and fall into complaint.

She let out a heavy breath. “The whole thing it completely ridiculous. Harry would never do something so reckless. A lot of people are going to think he entered on his own accord. I mean, anything can happen to them. The challenges are brutal.”

“Don’t tell me you care about what happens to Malfoy?” He furrowed his brows, not waiting for an answer. “And anyway, I’m not stupid. Of course, he entered. Harry can’t help himself.”

Skepticism colored her features. “So, I suppose he snuck off without telling either of us and tossed his name in? That’s complete rubbish and you know it.”

“Whose side are you on anyway?” Ron defensibly asked, coming to a halt in the middle of the staircase. His fingers found the railing after it shifted.

“Why does there need to be any sides?” Hermione hurried after him, stopping a step below. “You really are being stupid if you think, after everything, he’d willingly go out of his way to get attention. He doesn’t want it.” His scar caused too much already.

“It’s either him or me, Hermione.” He narrowed his gaze only to be met by a quiet regard, blind to the conflict she faced in having to choose, despite her firm belief. “Fine, figured as much anyway.”

Hermione lost Ron in the cluster of classmates due to him rushing ahead. When she made it through the portrait, she saw him head up to his room. Hermione thought about going up to the dorm, nevertheless felt too irritated to get into a heated argument and decided to situate herself elsewhere until Harry returned.

Harry would, lacking any thoughts to think otherwise, expect them to believe him. In Ron’s mind, he betrayed their friendship. She imagined their next conversation not going very well. If the strain pulled too hard, she knew he’d push away.

Draco hardly recalled walking past the crowd of whispering students, passing the professors or when he caught up to Harry on route towards the other champions. His movement was almost mechanical, his mind reeling. Both palms felt sweaty, his fingers held a minor shake to them.

He took a calming breath and found his thoughts directed at Harry. He must’ve put their names in so he got the spotlight all the while planning to humiliate him in front of the whole school.

“I don’t know how you pulled it off, Potter, but you’re finished once everyone knows the truth,” Draco seethed, finding a new emotion (albeit a common one) to latch onto.

Harry slowed his pace, confusion taking over as he turned to face the blond. “What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything.” His voice sounded raw, hollow even. His brain practically stopped working, the numbness along his limbs still present.

“Don’t play dumb, though it’s barely a stretch for you, is it? Thought you’d take a go at glory? Fine but why drag me into it?” Draco asked, a typical sneer in place.

“Brilliant plan except I didn’t put my name in, much less yours.” Harry paused in speech while opening the door, uncaring about the audience they gained. “For all I know, you’re trying to pin the blame on me while in reality you’re responsible.”

Cedric and Fleur’s conversation died down, the pair attempting to dispel nervous energy. Viktor shifted from his lax position against the wall, now focused on the newcomers, his question of what happened may as well not been spoken at all.

“Wait until my father hears about this.” Draco looked down at Harry, maintaining an even glower. “Maybe you’ll actually get expelled this time. If we could be so lucky. Only that moronic Weasley and Mudblood friend of yours would miss you. Can’t say the same for anyone else.”

A flare of anger ignited, the sensation hardly faded from the events prior when he threw insults at Molly. Without thinking, Harry thrusted his arms out, pushing Draco against his chest. “I’ve had about enough! I didn’t ask for any of this. I’m tired of you insulting my friends too just to get at me. Ron’s braver than you’ll ever be and Hermione is the smartest person I know. Muggle-born or not –– ”

Draco cut him off, hesitating to ram him back in retaliation, the motion faltering last second. “How dare you touch me. I shouldn’t be surprised, you standing up for them. You’re pathetic, always have been. Your parents must be so proud, mingling with those sort of people. Oh, wait they’re not exactly alive, are they?”

Perhaps Draco should’ve expected a physical blow after his last remark. Pain exploded on the side of his face, sending him back a step. Next thing he knew they were struggling against each other, shoving and throwing punches. It lasted seconds before he felt Viktor’s grip latch onto his arms, forcing a distance between them. He saw Cedric pulling Harry in reverse, who had red dripping from his nose. Draco felt some satisfaction in the sight, hoping it hurt worse than it looked.

Just because he realized his feelings for Hermione didn’t mean, evidently, he was beyond insulting her. His frustration launched him right back into spiteful reproaches, yet they remained ingrained so deeply each jab naturally flew past his lips.

Breathing heavily, Draco shrugged Viktor off as a group of professors and head of schools came in, witnessing no part of the confrontation. Merely Harry pressing the back of his hand under his nose to slow down the bleeding, which continued to trickle down, leaving splotches on his shirt.

Harry ducked from McGonagall’s reproachful observation. She read the hostility between them immediately, the results evident to what transpired.

“What a fine example you two are doing representing our school. Fighting one another, now of all times. Five points from each of you,” Minerva expressed. She shook her head, allowing the headmaster forward.

“I expect there’ll be no more of that.” Dumbledore stated, his strict tone soon falling into a calmer one, quick to get to the point. “I’ll only ask this once. Did either of you put your name in the Goblet of Fire or perhaps ask one of the older students to do it for you?”

“No,” Draco and Harry answered. The other contestants gathered around. Now aware of the situation in full, none of the three appearing too happy about the prospect of additional participants.

“Obviously, Potter is lying,” interrupted Snape, narrowing his gaze at him. “The boy has a flare for the dramatics, always has. And he’s certainly not new to rule breaking, especially ones of such high degree. Be that as it may, you cannot think it wise to send children into the fray.”

Madame Maxime immediately went to Fleur’s side. “Well of course they’re lying. I do not see how it is possible otherwise for them to enter.”

Draco stood there mutely as the discussion continued, side of his face throbbing. Every voice seemed to layer over one another, each attempting to make their point known. For twenty long minutes he and Harry went unnoticed during the duration, until Igor maneuvered his way over.

He roughly placed his hands on Draco’s shoulders, causing his crossed arms to drop. “You cannot expect either to fair well. Lucius would be most displeased to hear news of his son hoodwinked into competing. And if you insist on keeping them, then surely, we deserve the same number of competitors. The whole issue is utterly insulting, Dumbledore. I have half a mind to leave altogether.”

Harry gathered Igor knew the Malfoy’s rather well from the comment alone. It hardly surprised him given who the man was.

“Put a lid on it, Karkaroff,” Moody said, his magic eye rotating between the group, lingering on his father’s face for an extra few seconds. “It matters more on the fact of them having little choice but to follow through. Only an exceptionally powerful conjurer could’ve tricked the Goblet. Something beyond the talents of mere fourth years. Besides, it won’t be selecting any more candidates, so might as well forget that idea.”

“The rules are absolute,” Barty added, taking the pause in speech to interject himself. “The Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract the moment a name is selected. I’m afraid both Harry and Draco must play this out until the end.”   

Draco felt his stomach drop as murmurs of agreement, mostly held in reluctance, filled the room. The prospect of facing life-threatening challenges rattled him. “I’m not risking my neck for pocket change. You all said it yourselves, there’s an age limit. It shouldn’t even be up for debate. I won’t be forced into playing stupid games just so all of you can save face. In fact, I’m refusing to participate.”

Harry rolled his eyes at the first comment, not many people considered 1000 Galleons pocket change. A part of him wanted to express the same notion, yet he found it difficult to articulate much of anything. Draco’s complaints reminded him of their detention back in their first year. He must really be scared. This time he didn’t blame him though, Harry was terrified himself.

“I’m afraid there’s no refusing, Mr. Malfoy. You’ve lost any choice in the matter,” Moody stated, hiding his satisfaction of the turnout. While he needed to make sure Harry won, he’d enjoy watching Draco struggle.  

“Settle down,” Dumbledore said, bringing his hand up. “I think, for now, the argument is drawn to an end. Barty and Alastor are correct, it cannot be changed. The rules state as much. Hogwarts will consist of three champions. It may come across as an unfair advantage, of which we can all agree on, however, they’re obligated to preform each task no matter our individual opinions. I will personally seek out who is responsible. In the meantime, it’s getting late and our five contestants need to rest up.”

Igor finally detached himself from Draco, who was rather grateful due to his tightening grasp. “Unfair isn’t quite the word I’d use.” A deep frown formed across his face as he gestured for his student to follow, rambling in hushed complaint.

Madame Maxime declined the invitation to stay for the drink Dumbledore politely offered (hoping to ease tensions), too outraged to consider the proposal. She left, adding no parting words.

Harry got out the door first, surprised Cedric struck a conversation on their way out. He noticed how Fleur came across almost insulted at the idea of competing against two students who were much younger than the rest. And Viktor, he looked rather indifferent, his emotions in check.

Draco trailed behind, unaware he displayed several attributes and opinions many considered either rude or offensive, which showed him in quite a negative light, all things considered.

He didn’t quite understand how one decision went to the next. They all expected him to simply go along because of some contract formed he had nothing to do with? Loathed as he was to admit it, there were no way of escaping the tournament. They’d probably drag him into each trial no matter what, meaning if he didn’t prepare in some way, he’d most certainly fail.

Numerous things pounded against his head, making it difficult to think straight.

His parents probably already agreed to come in response to Igor’s invitation. Now they’d get to watch him from the stands. Unless, maybe his father could get him out of the whole ordeal.

What if Lucius didn’t believe him? Draco easily imagined how livid he’d be. Hopefully, his mother, who’d likely take the truth readily from him, would soothe his temper. And he knew, given the high press nature of the event (if he cared at all for the Daily Prophet at the moment), they’d be at Hogwarts by tomorrow, requesting to speak to Dumbledore.

With all that in mind, he let his feet carry him to the Slytherin common room, ready to bury the fear thrashing against his ribcage and boast about how evidently someone thought him a worthy candidate to submit. At the very least, he’d hold the false confidence for a good duration of the night before the pressure started inwardly crushing him.

[spider-lotus]

Longwei, who had been offline for a bit due to being sick and then having shit go down in their home world, had finally showed up in Spidey headquarters for the first time in, well, a while. They weren't there for long, though, as they simply dropped in for a moment to deliver a small vial of something, before they made their way back to their home dimension. Their spidey suit seemed noticeably looser on them than before, but they weren't around long enough for anyone to really pay attention.

[astrxealis]

hi (<- falling into a deep deep deep hole of dnd)

[unmotivated-artist164]

Ok so here are my thoughts on The Boys season 4 finale that nobody asked for! Yay! 👏

Spoilers under cut

-FUCKING FINALLY WITH KIMIKO AND FRENCHIE, ON MY DEAD GRANDMOTHERS FUCKING CROSS, OH MY GOD.

-THEY'RE SO CUTE, PLEASE.

-Kimiko screaming for Frenchie when Cate took him, broke me though :((

-BABY BUTCHER ISN'T MF PALE ANYMORE. HE'S BACK TO HIS CUNTY SELF AGAIN WITH A FUCKASS COOL POWER.

Him ripping Victories Neuman in half though when she was gonna flip was crazy 🫢

-Sage strutting back in to tell Homelander 'i told you so' was such a boss move, I love it.

-Firecracker getting sick from the drugs did make me feel a little bad, but fuck her anyways so 🤷

-Ashley taking compound v, OMG!?!?

-HUGHIE AND ANNIE WEDDING SEASON 5, I'M SLAMMING MY CARD ON THE TABLE, PLEASE.

I *NEED* ANNIE IN A CHAMPAGNE OR GOLD ACCENTED DRESS, DIVERING FROM THE STEREOTYPICAL WHITE.

-GRACEEEEEEEEEEEE

Ryan when I catch you, when I catch you, Ryan

🫵🫵🫵

-Idk why but Black Noirs getting a murder boner did something to me 👁️👁️

IT WAS THE CRUNCH OF THE LEATHER AND THE STRETCHING I FOUND HOT, HELP ME PLEASE

That's it for now! Have a wonderful night/day, my loves, make sure you eat and drink something, and know that someone out there enjoys your presence. Mwah mwah 🫶🫶🫶

[livs-a-million]

Hey guys what if Four isn't in Splatoon 3 not because Nintendo forgot about them, but because they got lost on an island pretty far from Splatsville, and they meet the local idols, which, are like: You're one of the agents from Squidbeak Splatoon we've heard about? You're lost? Cool can you fix this- And then they show you to a bunch of areas on the island covered in net and polluted stuff so you go around fighting like, dried and polluted fish or something idk and basically new idol companions yay. If you help them clear the island they'll let you use their boat or get back to Splatsville. As you progress you keep hearing these echo-ey calls (that are from whales) and eventually the game is like: Woah, what? You can't continue off the base island anymore? What that? And you turn around and guess what, it's a marine research center when humans were alive and there's like, recorded chips you can collect because why not reference Side Order, but you can't get the chips without getting some form of currency, which you get from beating the fish on levels. So you buy a couple chips And it's like oh, you can move to the next island now! So basically kill bad fish->Buy sound chips->Use boat. And then eventually there's bosses and stuff but it's just a bunch of ocean animals stuck in pollution that are fighting you. Like you have to remove fishing net from a shark or something and then you get to the final boss and it's a beached whale so you like fight off polluted fish and nets and things and then you save the whale and the idols are like, cool, let's go to Splatsville and woah, look at that, the Splatoon Universe now has a boat! So you can travel back and forth and buy extra gear with th leftover sound chips or something. Marine Awareness DLC

Or maybe Nintendo just forgot about four and I'm sick and slightly delirious.

[destinygoldenstar]

☀️🎵Can We Just Talk?🎵☀️ - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 1 Episode 7 “Spit It Out”

Yeah, I'm back already...

Again, I'm aware of Season 3's finale airing. Didn't watch it obviously.

But I will say, it's kinda difficult to not be sick to your stomach when ALL you hear about something is HATE.

Like, I have not heard a single positive thing about Season 3 and I'm kinda nervous now. (Is it really THAT bad?)

That's why I'm just doing my own thing with the first season and reacting to it in my "Just enjoy it" way. (It's not same as "Turn your brain off" because "Turn your brain off" implies not paying attention)

I will remind everyone, I was NOT recommended this show. The people who replied to me asking if I should watch it said "NO. Don't watch it. It's awful."

So I CHOSE to do this at my own will. I have no one to blame but myself.

I'm enjoying this season so far and I don't want that to be spoiled by people telling me not to.

Cause while criticism is okay, it always is, spreading nothing but hate and spite and nasty threats to anyone involved does a lot more damage than you think. You get a RWBY fandom situation where the only thing going on is harassment and bullying and it drives everyone away and leaves no room for air on takes that aren't majority. I DON'T WANT TO BE A PART OF THAT. ESPECIALLY NOT DEATH THREATS. THAT IS NOT OKAY TOWARDS ANYBODY.

So yeah, hearing any hate towards Disventure Camp about anything, I'm NOT part of it. I am not to blame for anything. I just want to stay in my corner and say what I want to say. (As long as it's not threats, like I said, I can't do that either)

*deep breath*

I just wanted to get this off my chest. NOW THAT THIS IS OUT OF THE WAY,

We're back with Season 1. I beg that there is no double elimination for a THIRD TIME IN A ROW. I'll lose my mind.

Okay, let's get into this, shall we?

Oh we're starting right where we left off last time.

IT'S A TEAM SWAP.

...again...

"My whole team is going to reGRETT voting for me."

"They're going to wish they had never crossed me."

Go off queen!

OH GOD-

What a kind greeting XD

Not the Purple Team becoming the VILLAINS Team!

"I hope that Ellie doesn't have any hard feelings."

Be thankful she isn't Jake, who DEFINATELY would.

OH YAY THEY'RE TOGETHER!!!

We get to see more of them!!

It sucked we couldn't because they were on opposite teams before. BUT NOW WE CAN!

And she immediately goes to Jake to introduce herself.

I have no idea why she'd pick that. But you know what? All for friendships.

"If we lose, we can vote for her instead of one of us."

HOW. IS. DAN. STILL. HERE?!?!

Like, I'm genuinely really tired of him now.

I made a post (that got a lot of hate) about screen time not being problematic for characters so long as they're DOING SOMETHING with that screen time.

Dan is not that. This is my least favorite character in this group. I'm sorry Dan stans.

Everyone else has something to do. All Dan does is push a non-existent alliance and make sexist comments and otherwise has no personality.

GET HIM OUT. I'M SICK OF HIM.

"Gabby is a psychotic backstabber, Jake and Tom are a toxic couple, Miriam is a useless old lady, and Dan is a dumb kid who pretends to know things."

OH GOD, NOT THE SLANDER

She do be right about Jake & Tom though...

"How'd they win so many challenges?"

Because they have numbers.

VILLAIN TEAM

"If you promise to never vote for us, we'll help you."

What if your team loses?

Do you vote for the VOID?!

"Okay, I'll read the votes... WHY ARE THEY ALL SCRIBBLES OF FLOWERS?!?"

"Something about the other two makes me feel at home, that's something I haven't really felt before..."

AW, VILLAIN BONDING. SHE FOUND HER PLACE IN THE WORLD!!

They're still beefing.

I've been eating toxic yaoi two days in a row now. It's junk food, I'll tell you that.

Is Ellie gonna reason with Jake? Awww

"Gabby told me you and Tom are close, but it doesn't look that way anymore."

They had a fight. It happens.

"Are you mad?"

"Yes I am! Tom has been lying to all of us since we got here! He lied to me like everyone else does!"

OH GEEZ THAT LAST PART

I was gonna say "I'm interested in this impulsive and petty anger issues version of Jake"

But that "LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DOES" part. OOF.

Like, my god, how can you blame him though?!

Yeah he wasn't right. But his POV.

"I don't want to bother you with my problems."

Ngl, when I was younger I would vent to strangers all my petty problems and yeah, that's a version of me you should be happy isn't on Tumblr. I grew up, I got in a better environment, and I'm in a better place now.

"It's okay, after last night I know what it's like being betrayed. Everything you say is safe with me."

I like this. I like Ellie being nice to him.

"I like Jake, he's a good guy, even if he's a bit dramatic."

That is MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY

"Honestly, a five minute conversation could probably solve this issue."

Yes. Yes it would. But is it that simple with these two?

"I wanted to thank you..."

Oh?

"For not voting for me yesterday."

Oh...

Yeah no I want you eliminated this episode. You're selfish.

"You'll wish I'd just gone home."

"We already do."

😂

I love Miriam.... oh my god.... 😂

That had no right being as funny as a burn as that was!!

This sounds like a VERY complicated challenge. I'm gonna have to see it in action.

"Is everything okay between us Ellie?"

"What do you think?!"

"What do you think Alec?"

She said exactly that XD

This does NOT look safe!

"Can you help me Jake?"

"I don't think so."

You're STILL salty?

OMG, TALK. IN PERSON WORD ON WORD.

"I took water polo, lacrosse, cheerleading, and even debate."

Debate's not a sport, is it?

Maybe it is and I'm a dumbass.

"What? Debate not a sport? I could debate that."

OKAY THAT WAS HER TALKING DIRECTLY TO ME

"Golden, I can debate on your words!"

This looks like a nightmare to ride

"Things are a bit complicated with Jake, aren't they?"

"That's one way to put it. I know it's my fault but he's exaggerating with his attitude."

Yeah, Tom is right here. But I LOVE that he acknowledges he's at fault for it.

"He's just an immature kid, don't take it personally."

"It's hard not to."

"He'll get over it."

Will he though? Will he?

Grett and Alec are trying to DROWN the child at this point.

"Fiore can't collect water if she's dead!"

Even Alec says it!

Is Grett actually gonna develop from this experience?

"Have you calmed down a bit yet?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, it's just... I can't forget how he lied to me and how that made me feel."

"And have you thought about how that made him feel?"

Ooh, yes. I love that. Call him out.

"I'm just saying it must have been hard for him too."

Yes. Yes it was.

I get both sides. I do. Tom was trying to do a job and got revealed lying about it and didn't consider how that would hurt his friend (for understandable reasons). And Jake got some flashbacks of bad events and overreacted as a result.

"He only used me to go undercover."

"How do you know?"

"Well, I... Grett said so..."

"Did you hear Tom's side? You should ask him. People are... complex. You can't jump to conclusions."

👏

GLORIOUS. THAT WHOLE THING.

Talk to Tom. Hear his side. Apologize. Make up. Be friends again.

It'll all be fine. I still have my hope.

...and maybe this is why I called their dynamic junk food...

GABBY'S TAKING CHARGE LIKE THE QUEEN SHE IS

Also not Tom wearing TWO masks now! That looks so awkward.

Knew that would happen.

NOT GABBY LAUGHING AT JAKE'S EXPENSE. COME ON.

Welcome to SLAPSTICK THE EPISODE.

NUT SHOT.

Though this time it was a block.

NO WAIT I SWEAR I'VE SEEN THAT ON A SURVIVOR CLIP BEFORE-

Oh that's just straight up sabotage.

HELL YEAH!!!

Fiore told Grett to SLAY yet again.

Really? NO ONE on the team is good with puzzles?!

I say that like I'm good at them, but I'm not either.

Purple Team wins!

It's been HOW LONG since Purple Team won?

"Our team was on a winning streak but suddenly Ellie joins our team and we lose?"

I'm sorry, HOW was this her fault exactly?

OH MY GOD HE'S TALKING TO HIM. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

"I want to ask you something..."

"Did you really just approach me because of your job?"

Good question.

"You're asking me this now? Where was this question yeaturday?"

"So you're just here for your job!"

"And our friendship, was that just to blend in too?! Did you ever care about me at all?! Was any of it real, HUH?!"

...I mean, TECHNICALLY he DID ask this already?

It was a bad wording of asking it cause he was mad, but he DID ask it.

"Yeah, I'm sorry..."

Aww. At least he's apologizing.

See? He recognizes he made a mistake!

"Jake... I'm going to tell you the truth."

YES PLEASE. OMG THANK YOU.

"...I really like you."

😲

💗

*I'm gripping my heart from that*

UM... OKAY. I DID NOT EXPECT THAT ANSWER. *Giddy again*

"And the days we spent together fishing, gathering supplies, or just talking at camp... it made me rethink some things."

💗

"Yes, I'm here for work, to investigate someone. My agency doesn't allow me to have contact with anyone here after this investigation is over. But... meeting you felt like we quickly had this connection and I thought... am I really willing to risk everything? My whole career? So we could... be something more?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH 💗

THIS IS GOING SO MUCH BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD. OMG.

That's such good insight on Tom's character too! How long was he a spy? I'm curious. Cause if his missions are all like this, then does that mean Tom has no one? No relationships of any kind? Platonic or romantic?

Cause DAMN that makes too much sense for him to act like this then.

"But the way you've behaved in the last few days made one thing clear to me. I don't really know you. And I can't risk everything for someone who acts so unpredictably."

💔

AAAAAANNNNDDDD it's gone.

I do understand that though. At the end of the day, they knew each other for how many days? And if Tom's career is that serious, then of course he can't.

"Tom, I'm... I'm sorry..."

AW COME ON. HE SAID HE WAS SOWWY.

"But I said I was sowwy! And I meant it!!"

"I was so selfish thinking only for myself! I had no idea!"

This is why I love Jake! He actually ACKNOWLEDGES he's in the wrong and owns up to it!

"That's correct. You had no idea. You never bothered to ask."

And Tom doesn't even coddle him and say "No no, it's okay." That wouldn't be in character, I feel.

"Yes. You screwed up. I hope you know you screwed up. Know what you did was wrong and there's not an excuse for it."

AND HE JUST WALKS AWAY AFTER THAT?!

💔Goddammit...

I LOVED that scene though. Maybe they will be alright after all.

"See? We CAN talk it out! We're not Gwen and Trent!"

"I think the decision is simple. We vote for Ellie."

No. What did she do?!

"She is the only option."

Do you still have blindfolds on?

"As for Ellie, who even is she?"

She's a wannabe college student with a life of bad labor and debt and has passions to be a designer.

"Gabby, trust me, it's for the best."

"FOR YOU IT IS!"

YES! CALL HIM OUT!!

"You always do what's best for you and you don't care what anyone else thinks!"

YUUUUUUSSSSS!!!! DAN SLANDER!!!

Oh god it's Blabby! She's back!

"That boy wants to control you just like Grett did!"

Yes. Yes he does.

"I think I need a hug."

Awwwwwwww 💗

These two are such besties, I love them!

"Uh... I have to go... clean my socks... or something..."

XD

Best excuse ever.

Tom, how did you even become a spy? You suck at your job.

"I'll be back later!"

*Jumps in a bush*

XD

And Miriam just walks away from him XD

"Nah, I'm too old for this shit. I'm out."

"Agent Smith, I wasn't expecting your call at this time."

Smith? His name is Tom Smith?

What happened?

Is the guy he's after planning something worse?

Oh come on Jake. Why Gabby?

Yeah, we know this one.

I thought Gabby and Ellie would convince Jake to vote with them and tie it or something. But no.

WAIT SO THAT MEANS ELLIE IS SCREWED.

"WAIT!!"

"I have an immunity totem and I want to use it."

OH MY GOD THE IDOL. OH MY GOD SHE'S SAVED.

"I want to use this totem to nullify the votes against Ellie!"

YEP. ELLIE'S NOT GOING.

Gabby, SLAY. Successfully reading the room, saving her only ally!

GREAT PLAY.

The subtitles XD

"Any votes on Ellie will not count!"

'ELLIE' *DOESN'T COUNT*

There's three, right?

So this was a successful idol play?

'ELLIE' *DOESN'T COUNT*

'ELLIE' *DOESN'T COUNT*

YEP. SUCCESSFUL IDOL PLAY.

'GABBY'

That's Jake throwing his vote.

'DAN'

OH MY GOD, PLEASE. IS HE GONE?!

PLEASE NOT GABBY.

It's gotta be Dan. He's gotta be gone!

YES! HE'S GONE!!!!

"Why would you waste your totem on Ellie?"

Dude, Ellie was Gabby's ONLY ally in the game. She didn't protect Ellie, then they'd both be screwed.

"I didn't waste it. I saved her cause she treats me like a person."

That too. 💗

WHAT A TRIBAL COUNCIL!!

I like good idol plays, what can I say?

And Dan's finally gone!

I'm sorry, but he was the worst character of the cast.

Lasted too long, no personality, and the only thing he did with all his screen time was talk about an alliance that didn't exist, and be sexist.

And before you say his actions and dialogue weren't sexist: GUYS alliance. Is only seen targeting female characters. Downplays Gabby's problems over his own wants.

He rubbed me off the wrong way and I don't regret bullying him.

At least everyone else on that team was interesting in one way or another, but Dan had nothing.

I GUESS the only thing he did was be the foil to Grett for Gabby's development? As he was someone who also tried to use her but was nicer to her so it left her conflicted? But really, you could've given that role to ANY character. You could've had, idk, Tom do that and not much would change.

Actually, that would add onto the 'Tom is only here for work' plot.

BUT HEY, AT LEAST I DIDN'T JINX ANYBODY WITH THE HEADING THIS TIME! THAT'S A PLUS!

Still, THANK YOU GABBY for slaying this show as usual! You are a GIFT, sweetheart and we're so happy to have you!

GABBY FOR THE WIN!

Anyway, idk if this will get any attention because of the Season 3 finale, but hey, I can continue these if you guys seem interested and entertained by them.

[inkykeiji]

I swear if it turns out dabi is restrained in that life support machine thing I will be SICK that is such a cruel thing to do to his character. I'm already so angry about shigaraki's ending and the fact that endeavour is still alive, but if that's where they're going with dabis story I probably wont read the manga anymore tbh. I know the phrase "we beat the villains with friendship!" type trope is being talked about alot with mha rn but it feels so true right now like you re telling me these young kids went through a war and unimaginable trauma and they're just back at school like nothing happened? Theyre like yay we get a new classmate 🤗 idk sorry for the rant but I'm really not feeling mha anymore, I will always love dabi but i just dont think the story is good anymore.

Like if he is being kept alive on this machine where do you think they re even gonna go with his character?? What are they gonna do with him??

anon i totally feel you. keeping touya alive on life support is genuinely the cruelest thing they could do for him at this point in the narrative, especially considering the fact that he wanted to die and planned on dying......and they won’t even grant him that. it’s so selfish it’s disgusting. i did have a bit of a meltdown over that last page and my boyfriend was like ‘hey hey hey let’s not jump to conclusions, remember nighteye? maybe they’re just going to have a final goodbye before pulling the plug!’ and i genuinely hope he’s right ._. but i completely agree with you. i have no idea where hori’s going to go with his character. if touya lives, he deserves to be in prison AND therapy for the rest of his life. MAYBE after several years of extensive therapy he might be ready to talk to some of his family members; best case scenario. ugh idk idk idk i could rant forever about this so i’m just gonna stop here before i repeat myself for the billionth time on this blog LMAOOO

[karolinesvrsion]

just this once, okay? | bruce yamada x fem!reader

part one part two part three part four part five part six part seven part eight part nine PART TEN

y'all im so sorry i disappeared with no warning but i've been like a disgusting amount of sick this past week, but i'm back and finally publishing the last chapter of this series YAY okay bye

there's also a clara reid playlist now because i love her sm, you should go check it out OKAY BYE.

taglist: @bettyssneaker @ellemfaoh @finneysbaseball @urfavkorean @retirement-home @sweetrabbit @inumakihearts @zekegorilla @godscnt

when a crushing and helpless bruce yamada seeks aid from an unaware and breezy y/n, he suggests they fake date in order to make his crush jealous. what could go wrong? they were friendly, and y/n was beautiful. bruce’s plan is fool proof. at least that’s what he thinks.

a/n: for the sake of the story, everyone is the same age (16-17) and in junior year of high school, except gwen, who is a freshman. and the grabber doesn't exist because i said so.

❦

"um, can we talk?"

you stood there, mouth opening and closing multiple times. about a million thoughts ran through your head, each making you more nervous. your mouth felt dry, your hands felt clammy, and your cheeks were burning.

"y/n?" bruce's soft voice called, snapping you out of your trance. "you okay?"

"yeah, yeah, i'm okay, i just, um," you stumbled, raising your embarrassment level from one to ten, "yeah, let's talk."

bruce let out a sigh of relief, swaying side to side as he waited for you to step out. "wanna go to the library? or we can go to the old playground, if you want."

you two decided on the playground, seeing as the weather was perfect for it. your hair billowed with the wind, and bruce tried not to stare at your rosy cheeks.

you sat down on one of the rusty swings, kicking a few rocks as you did so. bruce took a seat on the one next to yours, watching as the birds flew around, their wings spread out beautifully.

it was a bit odd, sitting there with bruce, neither of you saying a single word, but also rather comforting. it had been a while since the two of you were in one another's company like this, and you had to admit that you missed it.

"so, i talked to clara." bruce spoke up, looking over at you.

your heart sped up, and you found yourself praying for the worst. "oh, you did? what did she say?"

bruce fixed his posture, straightening up. "well, she didn't have a crush on me."

"she didn't?" your face scrunched in confusion. "but then, who did she have a crush on— oh." bruce snickered at this, covering his mouth with his hand. "me? clara liked me?"

"yes, she did." bruce smiled comfortingly.

"me? really?" you grinned lightly, making bruce a little nervous.

"oh, do you like girls too?" he asked. "because if you do, that's totally okay, and i won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

"no, bruce, it's okay, i don't— well, it's not that." you interrupted, placing your hand on his forearm. "i actually have to talk to you about something."

"wait, let me go first." bruce cut in urgently. "i've wanted to tell you this for a while now, actually, but i always stopped myself because i was too scared, but y'know, i'm not scared anymore, so, yeah!"

you blinked multiple times, hoping he could see that you were beyond confused.

"right, sorry." he said, running his hand across his face in exasperation. "okay. here goes, y/n." you placed your chin in your hand, letting bruce know that you were intrigued. "i like you. like, really, like you, like, it's almost embarrassing how much i like you, and it really killed me when you ended the plan and left, because i was gonna tell you right then and there, but, yeah."

your jaw dropped, and you were frozen in your seat. your mouth couldn't form any sort of sounds, even though all you wanted to do in that moment was throw your arms around him and tell him the feeling is mutual.

in reaction to your silence— and expression— bruce's shoulders fell, and he began to stand up. "but i totally understand that you don't feel the same way, and that's okay, we can stay friends—"

"what? i don't want to be friends!" you exclaimed, kicking another rock.

bruce stood up, beginning to walk away. "well, that's real nice. you could've just said 'no thanks' or something."

"no!" you said, grabbing his hand quickly. "what i mean is, i like you too. the feeling is mutual, or whatever— look, the point is, i really like you, bruce. in the most embarrassing way possible, i like you. so, no, i don't want to be 'just friends' anymore."

bruce grinned, taking a step towards you. "you mean it? you're not just saying this out of pity, are you?"

"bruce!" you chuckled, slapping his arm gently.

his smile widened, and he picked you up in his arms tightly, spinning you around happily. "after we started the whole fake-dating plan it was like i never even liked clara. i like you. like, really like you."

"well, why didn't you just tell me that?" you said.

"i didn't want to ruin this. i really love hanging out with you, and i didn't want to lose you." bruce smiled sheepishly.

"aw, that's so corny." you teased.

"yeah, i guess you're right." bruce shrugged. "well, do you wanna be my girlfriend? for real this time?"

"well, duh!" you grinned, wrapping your arms around him. "vance is gonna be thrilled to hear this, y'know?"

"was that sarcastic or serious?" bruce asked— genuinely curious.

"serious, for the most part." you said. "he's been listening to me talk about this for a while now, so, i might owe him a couple of pinball games and slushies."

"sucks to be you, then." bruce teased, earning an elbow to the rib from you. "fine, i'll help out." he placed his hands on your shoulders, turning you slightly to face him. "can i kiss you for real this time?"

you nodded, eyes fluttering closed as bruce leaned in slowly. somehow, it felt both the same and different than the kiss you shared at donna's birthday party. your lips moved in sync with his, sending a wave of electricity down your spine.

the two of you pulled apart shortly after, resting your foreheads together. bruce was as giddy as a little kid on christmas, and you were beyond happy. everything was perfect, and now all you had left to do was explain everything to your families.

your parents were beyond confused as you and bruce explained everything. wyatt and allie couldn't have cared less about the explanation, but allie was thrilled to have her puzzle buddy back.

mr. and mrs. yamada's expressions were blank when you and bruce sat down and talked to them. amy was chewing gum with the most judgmental look on her face. nonetheless, they all understood.

you took the liberty of explaining to vance, finney, and robin, who all cheered for you supportively. finney and robin did a happy dance while vance brought you in for a hug— something almost as rare as a shooting star.

going back to school on monday was somewhat exciting for you and bruce. over the weekend, word had spread that the two of you had gotten back together. (you all figured it would be best not to explain the fake-dating situation to anyone else.)

you walked in with griffin— who made it a habit in his year of sixth grade to walk along with you to stay close. once he walked off with his friends, you made your way to your locker, where bruce was waiting.

"hey, you!" he called, grinning widely. one of his hands held the chunky english textbook, and the other was held out for you to hold, which you did, of course.

"you're awfully giddy today." you pointed out, making his smile grow even more.

"it's not fake anymore, y/n/n." he whispered, leaning closer to you. "this isn't fake anymore, of course i'm giddy."

the rest of the day went by exactly like this, with you and bruce by one another's side whenever possible, and vance rolling his eyes at every cute thing you did.

during lunch, you spotted donna and clara eating together at the old picnic tables. you noticed the hand-holding, but chose not to say anything as it would be rude.

when you caught donna's eye, she grinned widely, all but confirming your suspicion. you were happy that donna and clara were together, they both deserved to be happy.

later that day, you went over to donna's house, where she spilled the beans about her and clara. "yes, we're dating, but we don't want to tell anyone yet! you know how rude people can be, and besides, we've only been dating for a couple of days, it's still new." she gushed, her cheeks a tinge of pink.

lucas wouldn't stop teasing bruce all day, saying 'i told you so' every five seconds. at one point, vance told him to 'shut up about it, already,' which ended the playful banter.

"hey, y/n," bruce turned to you in physics class, "will you give me the answer to number nine? please?"

you raised an eyebrow at him, only receiving pleading eyes in return. "fine, but, just this once, okay?"

[zephfair]

Hello? Anyone still here?

Hey, who disappeared for months and has desperately missed all her little friends who live on this hell-site but has been too exhausted and overwhelmed to actually login ... and who lost track of where this sentence was going ... Yeah, this girl.🤗

But, wow, have I missed you all and all the beauty that is Tumblr, and I hope you'll forgive me for secreting myself away since--holy cow--January.

Quick life update behind the cut.

So, I knew going back to work full-time at my age after quite a long unintended break AND now having health disabilities, well, I knew it would be hard. I knew I would have to adjust my whole, entire life. I expected it to be incredibly difficult, and I fully planned to give myself some grace and time in having to change my every routine.

But somehow, I still underestimated it.

I am so thankful to have a job now, with a steady (if small) income and benefits that frankly make me want to weep with thanks. I mean, I don't have time to go to the doctor, but at least now I could afford to go, if I could get there.

But wow, work is tough. Not just the literal work but, as I said, changing my entire life around it. I'm not complaining, but I am doing my best to learn all new skills (job is not in my old field), relearn how to work and reschedule my own needs and just upend everything.

The absolute worst thing has been trying to take care of my aunt. I was to leave town on Jan. 7 to start my training on Jan. 8.

My 90-year-old aunt fell and broke her pelvis (and a finger and needed some stitches) Jan. 2. I spent every waking hour with her over the rest of that week. While I'd planned to spend that week cleaning my house, getting my business in order and just resting, I was freaking out and traveling through the snow and literally worried sick about her.

It was bad.

And I couldn't stay with her like I did when she broke her hip because I had to attend training full-time. At least they let us come home super-early from that first on-site week of training, but that led to a literal nightmare of a drive home one night through snow, ice, rain, flooding and fog that I'm not joking I've had nightmares about before and now since. Long story.

So, I spent January and February training and working 9 hours a day then spending all day Saturday at her place cleaning and doing laundry and making sure she had everything she needed for a week, and then I had Sunday to do my own laundry and clean the house and take care of my own things...which just keep getting pushed back because I'm too worn out.

Thank God, Aunt made a miraculous recovery and now is doing her own house and laundry etc. but I still go out one day a weekend and do anything else she needs and make sure she has all her groceries and supplies and stuff.

We're all each other has.

Needless to say, I haven't been taking care of myself. I don't sleep well anyway, but add the stress of the new job and my dear aunt and my own health issues, and I'm exhausted. Weary. Overwhelmed and just so very tired. My body is so heavy, I can barely move anymore. It's bad.

And when I finally got to my doctor two weeks ago for my long-delayed check-up, found out I was right about my blood pressure being sky-high again. It went high for the first time several years ago when my Mom was dying, but it eventually settled and was fine. But yeah, it's bad again now. No shock there. And all my lovely chronic health conditions have flared which was no surprise--again, I had braced myself to expect it and power through it, and that's what I'm doing. But it sucks. And it's hard. And there's so much pain.

I don't want to say much about my job, but the over-arching Praise the Lord wonderful thing about it is working from home. There have been so many days already that I never would've been able to get to an office to work, but I can push through it here because I don't have to use any spoons to get myself "ready" (sweatshirts and leggings, no personal grooming necessary, yay), and I don't have any anxiety about driving because zero commute. It has its challenges too because Teams is a weird office communication alternative to get used to, but on the good side, I don't have to deal with interpersonal drama from co-workers.

The work itself is challenging, but I have some days where I finally feel quietly competent and think, Oh, I can actually do this. And then there are some days that leave me in tears and praying for help because it's just too hard. But there's no way I'm quitting; they're going to have to fire me because did I mention the benefits are incredible? I mean, I live in the US and if you knew how much I had to pay last year for my own health insurance, and then the scope and biopsies and then the skin cancer and surgery and then the other skin pre-cancer biopsy and treatment. Yeah, I'm still in big debt from all of that.

So I keep praying that they keep me and that I'll do a good job. And my immediate supervisor has started piling extra work on me over the past 3 weeks so suddenly I'm doing my own stuff AND cleaning up the work from co-workers who aren't keeping up. And all of them have been working since October while just a handful of us began in January?

I have been complaining about this to my aunt, and I thought it meant that my supervisor thinks I'm incapable or is punishing me for trying to get through own my entire workload every single day. But she believes he's giving me all their shit work because I'll actually do it, and I admit, I have gotten some of it completed successfully after they'd given up on it. So, I don't know.

I know that I'm a perfectionist and I've always pushed myself as hard as possible to do my best at work (not at housework and other things in my life lols) but I really hope that it gets me a good reputation at this job and they keep me.

So yeah, that's what's going on here. I've completely abandoned the fandom things in life that I actually enjoy. I almost feel, like, guilty when I'd think about trying to make some time to browse Tumblr or wasting time on social media or even trying to write fic. I get done with work at 6:30 pm, and until I get something to eat and then clean up, it's 8 or 8:30. I have to spend about an hour on the phone with Aunt (and I call her every morning, break, and lunch time too). By then, I can barely walk or move so I just try to make it upstairs to bed. Even though I can't sleep, it just feels nice to lie down.

But I miss all of you. And I miss fandom fun. And I want to be around more because maybe it would recharge me rather than me feeling so freaking overwhelmed every minute of the day.

And I promise not to complain and bitch all the time, now that I've gotten it out of my system. But thanks for listening.

I do miss you, and I love you all.

PLEASE let me know if I've missed anything important in your lives and goings on here! I've got A LOT of catching up to do!

[heybabybird]

i absolutely can not post this anywhere else because my brother follows me on twt and ig but the ao3 writer curse finally descended on me but i just needed to tell somebody before i start going crazy lmao

if you are reading this there's 5 points you should be aware off:

the men in this family and extended family doesn't do shit

mother is single handedly raising 2.5 household

i can't move out i have been assigned the pseudo-caretaker role

i'm sick, i haven't been getting help, i don't have time

i'm fine

honestly i don't even know where to start except my home life is a MESS but anyway my uncle's(who i never really know but is my mom's few remaining relatives) on his death bed and even though it's lunar new year the whole week have just been funeral planning. it's depressing. also we just pre-bought an urn i didn't know they're /that/ expensive what the heck

i alsooo maybe perhaps have the only daughter in an asian household forced to be the pseudo-caretaker curse! yay! anyway i am guilted to not being able to move out or go very far because i'm always needed on 'stand by' in case anything happens. i work a business(two actually; family's food business, my own business and some times odd jobs here and there. i'm tired) and my salary?

"oh don't spend it, the family's in a Situation, you better have money on hand just in case(we need to pay for anything)! :("

my uncle have no one(mom and her siblings are adopted, majority passed away during covid) so we are the ones paying his hospital and funeral bills. mom is frantic and visiting him daily while waking up at 4-5am to start the business(we have NO employees, just me and mom. she doesn't want to hire anyone)

my mom's tired. i'm tired. for very different reason.

also last year? found out i have a rare blood disease! :) i'm sick too, very! but i can not afford the time to get checked up! i've been missing my appointments since year June :( i also haven't taken my antidepressants since April :(

that aside, i 100% understand why my mom is Like That, but it's very mentally exhausting for me, a grown adult teenager, to be obligated to throw away my entire life just because I have to take care of family that i barely know. i barely have any hobbies or life goals anymore! i wanted to move out so bad! but my mom would overwork herself if i'm away.

my thoughts are all over the place i'm aware i sound like an asshole but please please keep in mind while my heart aches with loosing family i'm also going crazy and i barely know this uncle(he just... pops up suddenly, but i UNDERSTAND, he's important to my mom)

also my dad's verbally abusive and controlling and downright exploding with anger issues @ mom sigh he throws tantrums a lot

i'm doing my best but i'm so tired. i missed hanging out with my mom. i haven't since i was 15. since dad stopped working and she throw away her life to raise us. now i'm earning and i can't even spend it on her and it makes me so depressed. she barely have any personal belongings because she doesn't spend on herself! and it's lunar new year(still is). but we haven't celebrated in so so long. every year i do the cooking and it's the one time of the year everyone's home and i put my entire heart into making a meal but... you know, it doesn't matter i am going to lie down for a bit thank you for reading if you got this far sdfsgdfg

[beah388love]

Aunt Flo comes to town

18+ minors DNI!!!

Full Masterlist Legend Masterlist

Pairing: Reggie Kray x Fem!reader

Summary: You come on your period and Reggie comforts you..

Warnings: cigarettes,smoking,bad period cramps and pain,period,Menstrual cycle,sick,throwing up,swearing,mentions of medicine,cramps,dizziness,nosebleeds!!! (please tell me if i missed any!!!)

It's been a month since my last period, so I'm expecting it again! Yay..oh how fun it is... anyway

I had been having nosebleeds all week so I knew my period was coming because I always had nosebleeds when my period was around and I have no idea why.

Anyway, I had finally gotten my period and it hurt like hell..my cramps felt like hurricanes and my head was pulsing so bad I felt dizzy and my stomach was turning so much I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Y/n? I'm back I got ya those sow'a laces you love" Reggie half shouted from the hallway whilst I was on the sofa in the living room.

"Sweetheart, you alright?" He asked me worried when he saw my red puffy tear-stained face and he instantly held my face gently in his hands.

"no..Reg I'm in so much pain" I stuttered through sobs as I rolled up into a ball.

"Is it cramps again dove?" Reg asked me and I nodded through pain.

"Have you taken anything?" He asked me and I nodded.

"I took two ibuprofen three hours ago and it did fuck all" I groaned and he gave me a sad smile.

"Can you walk?" He asked me and I shook my head no.

I couldn't walk at all my legs were shaking from pain, I could feel every inch of feeling everywhere, I could feel my fucking uterus shed like a snake does.

"I'm so sorry angel" reg comforted me as he held me into his lap on the sofa and he played with my hair as I sobbed into his white buttoned up shirt that was now see-through from my tears.

"Bear it out baby, take it out on my hand, hold my hand, here" reg spoke softly as he took my hand into his and I squeezed it as hard as I could because of my pain, I felt so bad incase I hurt him but he kept reassuring me it didn't hurt him at all but I didn't believe him because I felt his body tense a couple times when I was in a lot of pain.

"Reg.." I felt so sick and I could feel it, I was gonna throw up.

"Mh?" Reg said softly and he gently held my face to his sight to look at me.

"I think I'm gonna be sick" I said slowly and he lightly nodded.

"Hang on, I'll help you get up dove" reg comforted me and gave me a kiss on my forehead before he slowly got up and slowly helped me up by holding me upright by my elbows and my waist.

"You alright? Does it hurt dove?" Reg kept asking me and I reassured him it didn't hurt until we slowly reached the stairs and I couldn't bear it.

I took one step up the stairs and I couldn't even get my leg up that high to reach the other step.

"Reg I can't, it hurts so bad.. ah!" I groaned and clutched my stomach.

"I'm so sorry baby, here let me help you doll" reg helped me stand up again and he carried me up the stairs by holding me with one hand wrapped around my waist and one resting on my ass, as I wrapped my legs around his waist as I clung onto him.

"Sh sh, it's alright baby, it's alright" reg reassured me and he helped me get to the toilet and I sat down next to it as I waited for the sickly feeling to be thrown up out of me.

And a couple seconds later I threw up for about ten minutes straight.

"It's alright y/n, let it out" reg kept comforting me as he held my hair up and rubbed my back.

"Anymore?" He asked me and I shook my head before cleaning myself up.

"Can you help me up reg?" I asked him and he nodded.

"Of course angel c'mere" he said softly before he carried me downstairs before placing me on the sofa.

"Thank you Reggie" I smiled before rolling into a ball again and he gave me a sad smile.

And then there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Reg half-shouted as he walked out to the hallway to the door.

"It's Albert reg, it's important business" Albert spoke through the door and reg huffed with an eye roll.

He opened the door and let Albert in.

"Right mate, what is it?!" Reggie threatened.

"Tom took about 1500 hundred from the firm and he ain't paid it back reg" Albert spoke as he lit a fag in the hallway and I coughed and reg and Albert looked over at me and I gave reg a look even though I was in pain. Reg knew what my look meant, I didn't want Albert smoking inside the house.

Reg took alberts fag and threw it out the door.

"What the fuck?!" Albert spat to reg and Reggie gave him a glare and Albert went quiet.

"Not in the house, now..it ain't important business is it Al, sort him out yourself mate" reg said and Albert nodded sheepishly as he left and went back to the club.

"Sorry y/n" Reggie gave me a sad smile and he walked over to me and he cuddled into me.

"It's okay reggie, do you mind holding my stomach?" I said since I was still in so much pain.

"I don’t mind at all sweetheart after all I can’t leave a damsel in distress.." Reggie joked trying to cheer me up which worked as he held my lower stomach but he was holding the side that didn't hurt so I held his hand and I placed it more to the left and I could feel him grin behind me.

"Reggie baby, do you mind putting on the telly?" I asked him and he nodded and grabbed the controller as he put on whatever was on.

"Thank you reggie" I said softly before relaxing as my pain was slowly leaving me.

"Don't thank me doll, it's what I'm here for" he said as he gave me a kiss on the cheek.

[seenwip]

Below is some writing on addressing the fears of someone reading my journal, schadenfreude, malicious laughter, an exploration of ignorance, and a few words of encouragement.

Sometimes while I am writing in my journal I think about someone reading my journal. Maybe it's a family member or a curious neighbor as they're cleaning my stuff out. Maybe it's the person at goodwill that somehow got a hold of it when my stuff was donated, maybe it's a scientist in the future and they're holding it up and laughing with their colleagues. Best case scenario (or is it?) - my journal is trashed.

I know I'm not the only one that fears having my journal read (and sometimes this is from trauma and I am not talking about that in this instance because an invasion of privacy is a different matter). More specifically, I have this idea - or fear? That they'll know what's wrong with me. Not in a way like I was hiding secrets in my writing or whatever; but like they'll see what I don't see. They'll read between the lines where I am unable to. This fear stems from the idea that I think (feel) there's something wrong with me and I can't quite place what it is and trying to get help for it doesn't work because I can't explain it if I haven't figured it out and especially not enough to put into words.

As I type that, it sounds like paranoia. Let me give you an example. When I was young, I didn't know I was lactose intolerant. I just knew that eating every morning made me sick. At the time, I didn't have the understanding that something could make you sick besides a sickness. So I did not have the words to describe what was happening and was often dismissed to the point that I stopped eating breakfast in the morning. After several years (approx. 5 years?) I was in middle school and one of my friends told me she was lactose intolerant. I'd never heard of it & at the time I couldn't Google what was happening to me because I didn't have access. But there it was - the words and answer to what I was suffering from. Regardless of having neglectful parents in that situation (like seriously why the hell not take me to a doctor?) I could then tolerate breakfast. By tolerance, I mean at 27 I also found out I was gluten intolerant too (ha, yay - but that's another story).

I often think that maybe I don't have the right words to describe what is happening / what is wrong because I can't understand what is normal / not normal. It's like an awareness that there is more to the story but it's inaccessible. Do those details matter or could they make all the difference? So I keep exploring and journaling. Maybe I will stumble on the solution that psychologists, psychiatrists and doctors didn't. Maybe I'll finally come up with the right words to take to my care team and get things sorted!

OR.... Maybe I'll be laughed at by someone who reads my journal when I'm hopefully not here anymore. Specifically I imagine being judged or that they'll perceive my problems as stupid, irrational, lazy, or ignorant. Worse though, the laughter is what i'm afraid of - I don't want to be the source of someone else's pleasure based on my own pain or unintentional ignorance.

The thing is, I've judged others and laughed at others like this too. Now, my father was a sadistic butthole and sometimes I wonder if he's the one that taught me that. I don't laugh AT others nearly as much as I used to being away from him because I've learned others are struggling just as much as I am. The other side of this though, is that maybe it's human nature? Perhaps we laugh because it makes us feel better about our situation. I'm not saying it's right - it's wild to me that laughter may be morally wrong.

I'm still growing and learning - now with internet access - so it's faster.

I researched Socrates a bit and a passage where he was explaining the pleasure of malicious laughter to Protarchus.

"But this pleasure in the face of the bad things belonging to neighbors – did we not say that it was the product of malice? [P: Necessarily.] Our argument leads to the conclusion that if we laugh at what is laughable about our neighbors, by mixing pleasure with malice, we thereby mix pleasure with pain. For we had agreed earlier that malice is a pain in the soul, that laughing is a pleasure, and that both occur together on those occasions (49d-50a)."

It reminded me of a word I learned from Brené Brown's book "Atlas of the Heart." The word is Schadenfreude, pronounced sha-din-froy-da. It's combo of German words that mean "harm" and "joy."

What I'm getting at is if someone laughs at my journals or takes pleasure/joy in my suffering through life at times & doing my best to learn and grow - that's taking pleasure in my pain. I am not doing wrong by trying to live a better life and process my own life.

Ultimately, it should not deter me from writing in my journal thinking or knowing that someone could potentially judge me or laugh at me. It's a reflection of themselves rather than me, I guess I could also say it's a projection. I'd have to research those two words to see which one fits, but since the topic is ignorance. Heck, I'll leave it. Yes, I am ignorant. As we all are. That's okay & that's human nature. We grow and learn as much as we can - or at least some of us do. The rest seem to just laugh at those of us trying.

To myself and you - keep writing. Keep learning. Damn those that laugh at us for trying because that means they're not and that's a them problem, not a me or you problem.

[buttercupbread06]

helloo hiii it's me again helloo sorry <:33

2. have you ever found a writer who thinks just like you? if so, who?

11. describe your ideal day.

12. dog person or cat person?

13. inside or outdoors?

15. five most influential books over your lifetime.

25. could you live as a hermit?

30. pick one of your favorite quotes.

hewwoo:3

2) I'm not sure, tbh. I've found writers I relate to but I can't give you a "Yeah, they're The One." answer.

11) It's kind of hard to choose, but I immediately thought about the day after my birthday. My birthday is a holiday in my country and everyone gets gifts, I'm not special in my "special day", and my parents are divorced, so I have to spend the day in halves with them. It kinda sucks.

However, the day after? I go out with my friends. I grab my birthday money and shower in the morning and dress up and take the bus and I'm giddy and excited because I haven't seen them in a few weeks and- Yay!! We go out and eat pizza in The One Place I Like or kebab in The Other Place I Like and it's sm fun. I spend the day with them, they get me gifts, and I don't care how small they are, they thought of me!! They rnememberd!! Yayy!! And then I go home, and my family sometimes goes to have dinner out that day so I ALSO GET TO MAKE MY OWN DINNER!! Also, this year it means more, because I'll finally be able to get on testosterone.

12) I like both the same, but in terms of owning I prefer to own cats.

13) Despite my tendency to stay cooped up in my room, I love going outside. As in outside-outside. The river, the forest, the field. Whatever. For me, it's not about inside/outside, it's about the amount of people (preferably none).

15) I don't know if I can give you five but sure! (No specific order).

1- Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley: Yeah. Metaphor. What can I say that hasn't been said?

2- Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka: Basically Frankenstein again.

3- God and the state, by Mikhail (? (Spelled as Mijail in Spanish) Bakunin: My friend (18 at the time, I believe) is a philosopher and lent me this one when I was 12 turning 13. I'm not a Bakunin cockrider or anything but it was what really got me to question the world around me. I don't read much philosophy anymore because I feel like many authors use overly complicated language to explain their points and I get sick of them after a while. Sorry. Stop using commas you don't need that many.

4- When I was a kid, my dad gave me this collection of Greek mythology books that his dad gave him in the 70s. I adored them, I read them over and over again for years, I got a huge hyperfixation that eventually developed into a special interest for history. Now I learn basically anything I can.

5- El Quijote: I'm Spanish okay give me a break.

25) I don't think so, actually. I crave connection and I'd suck ass at keeping myself alive. I could do pretty well in a small community, though.

30) I was gonna be deep but haha no. "A la Celestina no la llaman puta vieja porque la estén insultando, la llaman puta vieja porque es vieja y porque es puta."- My language and literature teacher Fernando (Read in a thick Galician accent)

[g1ngerbeer]

Hi! I'm curious about bad ending, can you please tell me about it?

hello anon. i'm VERY glad you asked. buckle up.

the link click bad ending (?) aka qiaoqiao's bizarre adventure is an au i made up in my head where cheng xiaoshi dies in the donghua timeline after season 2 but before qiao ling confronts lu guang about the time loop memories she got from li tianxi. this eventually leads to qiao ling diving (maybe) for reasons i will explain in this post.

themes and motifs that are important: time travel as a metaphor for grief (obviously), Implications, people figuring things out about other people whom they know very well because They Are Acting Differently And I Can Tell, and qiaoqiao + guangguang bestiesisms (OBVIOUSLY)

important contributions were provided by my friend lambda who does not have tumblr anymore. ok here's the ramble (under the cut because this is LONG ^__^)

so cheng xiaoshi is dead, and lu guang is out of photos and out of chances to go back in time (since the donghua timeline was his "last chance"). this means the only thing he can do is transfer both powers to qiao ling so she can try if she wants. yes with all the implications of that sentence. (in my mind he dies by stabbing himself with a knife because i am interested in that sort of sick poetic parallelism and i think lu guang would be too.)

he does this because i feel like after so many loops he is kind of an empty shell of the guy he used to be, and the only purpose he had left is to save cheng xiaoshi no matter what. now that he's completely unable to, he's convinced that there's no point to his continued existence. so he might as well make it so that qiao ling can try, if she wants. he tells her that what happens to him doesn't matter anymore, but, if she's willing, to please do her best to save cheng xiaoshi … by making sure he never meets lu guang.

yeah my current maybe-theory is that (maybe) the only way for cheng xiaoshi to live is if he never meets lu guang. and after many loops of changing things and failing, lu guang eventually comes to this conclusion as well. unfortunately for him, he is incapable of letting cheng xiaoshi go like that so this is the one thing he has never actually tried. but if qiao ling goes back, she can do this and it'll save cheng xiaoshi. probably. according to his research.

also unfortunately for lu guang, qiao ling 1) does not want to cut lu guang out of their lives and 2) DOES NOT WANT LU GUANG TO DIE. so i see a few options here:

qiao ling hell torment time loop until she runs out of photos too

qiao ling hell torment time loop until she manages to fix things YAY (?)

qiao ling decides not to hell torment time loop but now has to live in a world where both her best friends are dead.

qiao ling is able to stop lu guang from dying and now they both have to live in a world where cheng xiaoshi is dead (this is probably the healthiest option to me because i personally cannot see a way for number 2 to work out unless she actually tries the "stop lu guang from meeting cheng xiaoshi" thing)

qiao ling hell torment time loop until she decides enough is enough and ends up in option 3 or 4

for the rest of this post we're going to focus on option 5 because that's the most interesting one. and i'm reasonably certain that qiao ling would try diving in this situation, especially if it's initially just a few hours back to try to head lu guang off and it escalates from there. from this, we can branch out to: the good bad ending (all three of them live, option 2), the stages of grief ending (cheng xiaoshi still dies and qiao ling and lu guang have to learn to move on, options 2 or 4), or the bad bad ending (only qiao ling survives, a special case of option 2). sure

now the funny thing about qiao ling looping is that because of the way link click timeline rewriting works in my head, every time she loops she will be in the version of the universe with last-chance-final-loop lu guang aka donghua canon timeline, donghua canon lu guang. i hope that sentence made sense. the other funny thing is that last-chance-final-loop lu guang already knows he's going to transfer the abilities to qiao ling if cheng xiaoshi dies in this loop as well. and he knows qiao ling well enough to recognize when she's acting strangely! so tldr past lu guang figures out that qiao ling is diving every time. and now they can collaborate and compare notes and it's fun

see now that we have all the set-up out of the way, it's fun :] all sorts of things can happen in the time loop. i really like the dynamic of newbie time-looper lowkey freaking out all the time and -_- guy who's been living the same five years over and over several dozen times. and lu guang getting reset every time qiao ling loops is interesting to think about. also, i've been abstracting away the details of what happens in each qiao ling loop, but presumably they have to go through the whole plot again. which could be fun

ok enough of that back to the angst. so it essentially ends up as a battle between lu guang's infinite sunk cost fallacy and lack of non-cheng-xiaoshi reason to live versus qiao ling's desire for her friend (!!!!) to stop self-destructing. heightening this is the fact that she's seeing last-chance-final-loop lu guang over and over, with full knowledge of what drove him to this point and this level of desperation. this is why i like ending option 4 aka the stages of grief ending (full name "qiaoqiao and guangguang's adventure through the stages of grief") where they have to come to terms with cheng xiaoshi's death in a healthy manner.

yeah. sorry. in qiao ling we trust 🙏

final note! it's called "bad ending (?)" because it's unquestionably bad but it's also not really an ending for anyone except lu guang, and even then only if he succeeds. my point here is about having to live on and process grief probably. anyway it can be alternatively titled (or just subtitled) as "lu guang kills himself in front of qiao ling to change the trajectory of her life" and i think that's kind of beautiful

oh also. i don't actually think this will happen in the show because the point is that it kind of negates the li tianxi's memories plot point, and i really hope director li wouldn't do that to her like that. but it's fun to make stuff up :]

here's the posts i've tagged as bad ending (?) on my blog, if you're interested in that sort of thing. alright that's all i hope this was at least slightly entertaining to read ... !

[hamstermastersamster]

https://fallout.bethesda.net/en/article/4s2bXQEbpcrsdCZhUYLHAi/fallout-4-is-getting-free-updates

FUCKING FINALLY I've been waiting so goddamn long for this! ehehehe now I know what my next console game will be :3 I started a replay of Fallout 4 some time ago, but I didn't get that far in and I stopped when I heard there was gonna be a next gen update. I don't even want new content - just bug fixes and performance enhancements.

I am also slowly playing BG3 but I honestly have such a hard time with PC gaming these days (and digital art and stuff). Like I spend all day 5 days a week at a PC for my job, and I'm just sick of it by the time I finish. The last thing I wanna do is spend MORE time on a PC hunched over a keyboard for fun. Consoles my beloved <3

EDIT: oh goody tumblr can't render link posts anymore yay

[abrushwithdeath]

((Worked a couple hours longer last night than I have been, so I was exhausted u_u In good news, though, school was closed today so I didn't have to go in for my morning shift! I just have to go in for custodial this afternoon from 3 to 7 (unless people call out, in which case it might be 3 to 9 or later like it was last night ^^;).

I have work again tomorrow, both shifts, which means I'll be gone all day. But I'll try to hop on here tomorrow night if I'm not too worn out! And Saturday I'll be about a little bit before game night (hopefully) because I'm *mostly* caught up on chores (aside from the fact that we never finished unpacking despite it now being almost 3 months later ^^;). I'm also finally not sick anymore for the first time since November! Yay!

So, yeah, with that said- now that I'm kind of getting a handle on things work-wise, I'm gonna start trying to sprinkle in a little more time to be online here and there. It'll probably mostly be weekends (especially Sundays since Saturdays are game nights and that can start anywhere from, like, noon to 7pm depending on who's around and when ^^;). But I'll also try to be more actively around on nights when I don't work that second shift and am only working cafeteria!

Now that I'm finally working a job that has a more firm schedule (as opposed to retail that was all over the place) I'm hoping that I can work writing into it better than I have in the past <3 Thanks to everyone who's been patient with me while I've spent months getting my shit together! I love you all lots and here's to (hopefully) more writing in the rest of 2024! <3))