#google will i ever not be obsessed with storm?

[compacflt]

The poor SECDEF being referenced in Ice's postcard as an unfunny man and then in the Slider POV where Ice and Mav talk to SECDEF and have some sort of inside joke where they laugh about them. I love all these small inside references that feel like Easter eggs. How do you keep track of them when you're writing? Not sure if it will be in the 120k words of extra scenes (which I'm so grateful for, like I'd be fine with even just scraps) but being a fly on the wall while Ice interacts with the SECDEF be like sounds hilarious. Ironic that Ice thinks that he'd sit out in his retirement until he becomes SECNAV and then possibly SECDEF in "Debriefing" and that Ice has become the sort of unfunny man that lost his acerbic wit but regained it by the end in Slider's POV. Anywho I'm kind of in love with your writing and these characters and will sorely miss them when you're done posting these extras. Thank you for writing this fic and the extras and the WIP Wednesdays and everything. I know you've got other writing projects and wishing you the best, and can't wait until the 120k words drop this weekend. :)

to be clear the secdef ice says is unfunny/the secdef ice & mav laugh about at his retirement party are these two fucking guys

im very hesitant to label anyone war criminals even for Funny Reasons because words do mean things., but when it comes to Bob gates i do get all twitchy and hair-triggery

i think ice being secdef after being secnav is unlikely at best & impossible at worst but the thought of him stepping up to do it during bidens second term & then having to deal with. like. china invading taiwan is unbearably funny to me so it’s not out of the question in my fic universe because it would be good for the bit. first openly gay secretary of defense and he sends the US to open all-out conventional war with China,

[inklore]

if it's one thing your girl is great at it's making a million different google docs full of lists full of resources, ideas, etc that will help future me when it comes to posting fics.

fic titles are literally one of the biggest lists i have and not even in a perfect world where i write ten fics a day would i ever be able to use all of these, and i don't like to see things go to waste, and i know there's people out there that struggle with titles as much as i do. so i hope this list comes in handy for someone!

i don't think i need to say this but just in case: no one owns fic titles, anyone can use these, a dozen people or one or none. these are literally just words and letters. no one owns them. sharing is caring, enjoy lovies!

★ — ONE WORD.

overboard 

runaway 

repercussions 

sledgehammer 

stargazing 

symmetry 

deathless 

honey 

retrograde 

stitches 

gravity 

helpline 

hollow 

suffer 

pushing 

warrant 

want 

wonder 

emotions 

nonchalant 

lavender 

daydream 

nosebleed 

jigsaw 

static 

float 

limbs 

hologram 

careless 

lush 

rotting 

phonograph 

hypnotic 

splinters 

magnetic 

wasted 

lithium 

dealer 

she

candles 

sabotage 

secrets

better

crescendo

deny

phenomenon

nights

guilty

move

criminal

blue

rise

thirsty

strangers

clockwork

closer

hectic

change

somebody

more

misery

like

sour

lowkey

peaches

she

nervous

sympathy

scars

disappear

melody

gemini

cruel

persona

supernatural

nectar

obsessed

casual

tryant

xo

dare

honestly

yummy

out

paradise

nuts

groin

heaven

lost

stardust

tangerine

monolith

lunch

pov

perfume

dealer

tough

arson

★ — TWO WORDS.

hush hush

night away

heart stop

stone heart

waiting for

black rose

sad kids

spine breaker

look here

autumn leaves

for you

spring day

love maze

bad decisions

take two

wild flower

blue side

rainy days

face off

slow dancing

polar night

like crazy

club heaven

deeper water

romantic devil

hold me

angel eyes

picture you

after midnight

twilight zone

drain me

sorry sorry

pretty please

how sweet

bubble gum

empty box

love therapy

play me

red velvet 

cherry bullet 

midnight guest 

cherry wish 

code words

ghost walk

bad intentions 

atlas hands 

broken crown 

crystallized words 

filthy pride 

fresh eyes 

heavy feet 

hungry ghosts 

imaginary paintings 

neon jungle 

perfect storm 

slow hands 

stop signs 

sad farewells 

untranslated stars 

after hours 

bad liar 

bonfire heart 

bruised lips 

cherry bomb 

damaged goods 

dead end 

fire away 

gunpowder hourglass 

lonely together 

lost language 

old moons 

one dance 

paper knees 

sleepy eyes 

stolen dance 

vice city 

artificial heart 

cry baby 

daylight fading 

dream awake 

empty bottle 

exit wounds 

ghost orchards 

moving stones 

paper walls 

oceans away 

playing fiction 

something wild 

wild thoughts 

everybody’s fool 

eyes closed 

storms incarnate 

writing tragedies 

stereo driver 

soul searching 

party’s over 

backseat driving 

fearful heart 

backwards directions 

nosebleed seats 

high hopes 

lovers rock

wet dream 

selfish soul 

washed away 

rose rogue 

midnight sun 

teenage fantasy 

wandering romance 

sure thing 

wildest dreams 

rock candy

losing momentum 

ruin you 

heart holiday 

sink her 

cut splinters 

hot mess 

frozen devotion 

little star 

blind faith 

favorite crime 

romantic homicide 

those eyes 

play pretend 

plot line 

pretty poison 

intimidate you 

pretty face 

strawberry kisses 

lovers rock 

worlds apart 

desperate/separate ways 

those eyes 

the blonde 

loving machine 

spill blood

someone’s someone

★ — THREE WORDS.

got my number

happy without me

not over you

crazy for you

back to you

flame of love

just one day

let me know

hold me tight

make it right

closer than this

love me again

still with you

out of love

never let go

love in space

ready to bleed 

bleed for love

between the bars 

can’t be still

cold morning mist 

in cold blood

matter of time 

piece by piece 

ship to wreck 

taut with love 

waste a moment 

can’t see straight 

down and out 

in a blackout 

just like fire 

notes on tenderness 

across the room

fire with fire 

going half-mad

loving to ruins 

rust to gold

send my love 

talking in code 

cradling a dream 

cut to black 

dear to me 

run me dry 

dancing with demons 

kiss and tell 

if you care 

the cry out 

steal this night 

just for now 

heart on fire 

hold my head 

nobody but you 

simple and plain

a familiar sound 

fool for you 

drown your memory 

falling into you 

just like heaven 

warm like beaches 

love that stings 

rotting in places 

moves on you 

save your tears 

a single tear 

light my cigarette 

long nights, daydreams 

boys like you 

love me forever 

hands on me 

like a phonograph 

taking over me 

dug so deep 

touch the ground 

heart shaped box 

where’s my love

tears of gold

lover of mine 

love me wrong

kiss or kill 

exes and why’s 

love is easy 

stupid in love 

easy to love

lost with you 

glimpse of us 

keep you safe 

death with dignity 

just like heaven 

heart of glass 

baby i’m yours 

pull my strings 

★ — FOUR+ WORDS.

love me a little

happy without me

you can't hold my heart

wishing on a star

give it to me

around the world in a day

waste it on me

this mess is yours

feeling like i do 

on a war path 

blood on the surface 

corner of the sky 

do the divine love 

drinking the corinthian sun 

everything is laced in (add word) 

lost in the moment 

in the nick of time 

mouth like a pomegranate 

the bones you’re made of 

when the mania speaks 

all desire & no thought 

blue in the face 

collapsing and relapsing 

middle of the night 

sail to the sun 

lay down your arms 

falling into the sky 

take me where your heart is 

she’s like the bad weather 

kill for your love 

the cigarette and the smoker 

the match and the fuse 

saint, i’m a sinner 

when the sky comes falling 

pretty little hand in mine 

even when the sun don’t shine

staring at the sun / sunset 

tangled up with you all night 

paper airplanes flying 

maybe i’m a fool 

tastes like rock candy 

blood in a lemon

(a) heart ready to die 

fate is losing its patience 

at least we feel alive 

death for your secrets 

someone’s gonna ruin you 

dancing in a crowded room 

smell you on my clothes 

always taste like you 

leave me wanting more 

hunger for (insert here) 

swim before you drown 

put your hands on me 

drink my (these) tears and cry 

i’d sleep all day just to dream of you 

so high we never stood a chance 

i’d break down anytime for you 

maybe i’m wrong, or maybe it’s true 

i only breathe so that i breathe with you

a worn out cassette 

lips on my cold neck 

talking in my sleep 

make me feel like someone else 

locked inside your heart 

hooked on her flesh 

it’s bloody and raw 

the angel of small death 

just a couple sinners 

smiles cover your heart 

charmer and the snake 

stuck on your thumb 

if i killed someone for you 

dancing with your ghost 

i miss you, i’m sorry 

woman of the hour 

shut up and look pretty 

queen of the night 

devil in a dress 

the thought of you 

to be your lover 

falling over you 

just like a movie 

love on the line 

[dorianwolfforest]

Ok apparently some people missed this, and it is my favoritest of star stable lores, so welcome to the most prolific source of star stable dunk jokes, the Ride with us campaign and it's charity.

Ever wonder why we say horsegirl is a slur? Or why we say horsegirls bite? Look no further than the absolute wreck that was star stable trying to do something good with their money.

The day is august 25th. The time? Time for revolution. Star stable online launches its shakiest campaign yet, and they do it on every possible platform. Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, even their website which still has a permanent addition. It's truly taking the world by storm.

Standing on hopes, dreams, and a mildly skewered survey sent out weeks prior, Star stable proudly proclaims that horse girls are crazy, obsessed, and weird, and that they are bullied for this. Well, no longer, they cry. They come bearing a hashtag that only massive social backlash could topple. "Reclaim horse girl".

People were (rightfully) pissed that they were likening horse girl to a slur that could be reclaimed, star stable pushed back, people got even more pissed, and finally they course corrected and changed the hashtag to "yes i'm a horse girl" because, despite our jokes, horse girl is in fact not something that can be likened to slurs people need to reclaim.

Their claims were so hilariously insane that people thought screenshots from the promotional video were photoshopped

On august 25th, they release the code RIDEWITHUS which would give every player an ingame hoodie, and with every redeem, star stable would donate 1 SEK to an unspecified charity. They did not further specify anything about this charity, only that it was meant to be for anti-bullying. As we all know, not all charities are good, so I personally didn't redeem the code until I knew where the money was going, and oh boy did I have to wait.

Over the course of the next 35 days, star stable made several instagram posts describing the results of the survey they sent out that launched this entire ordeal. I could screenshot all the individual posts but that's a lot of work so here you go, here's the source behind the information found in the posts instead.

When I asked on twitter why we weren't allowed to know what charity the money would go toward, I received the response that starstable were very busy trying to figure out a platform to let people vote for one of multiple charities that they had deemed fit (I was not told what the options would be).

A few days after the instagram posts ended, on october 4th, we were told what charities we were going to be voting for. The vote took place in a Google form, a decision a month in the making. The two charities we were allowed to pick between was Friends and Children's helpline. Finally knowing where the money would be going, I felt comfortable redeeming the code with only THREE days left until the code would no longer work and the charity collection would end.

The code stopped working october 7th, on october 10th we were finally told, officially, that 150 286 kr was going to children's helpline and then star stable raised their prices by 10 % immediately afterward and the Ride with us campaign died and wasn't mentioned ever again, kept alive only by people censoring the words horse girl and biting each other.

Truly a fuckfest. A beautiful moment in time.

[auroragreenvale]

Cruel Summer - JJ Maybank

SOOOO.... I started writing this when Outerbanks season 2 came out (and I bought Lover on vinyl) and I have since fallen off the show and writing/fandom stuff in general. (also im a lesbian now and this is a straight love story lol but i still like it) BUT I wrote/made notes for this story and liked it and wanted to share it but didnt have it in me to finish. So this is the entire 20 pg google doc copy pasted for whoever might be intrigued! :)

*it WILL be full of typos... its ab the story not the writing lol

---

Based on these songs from Lover by Taylor Swift:

i think he knows

Cruel summer

Miss americana

Paper rings

Daylight

Outline

Lyric: The moon is high like your friends were the night that we first met

JJ and yn meet briefly at a bonfire 

Chapter 1

Lyric: he got that boyish look that I like in a man 

She notices jj doing jobs around figure 8

Chapter 2

Lyric: the wine is cold like the shoulder that i gave you in the street cat and mouse for a month or two or three

Chapter 2?

Lyric: he’s so obsessed with me and boy i understand (alternatively: im so obsessed with him nobody understands)

She notices jjs intrigued and plays hard to get

Chapter 2

Chapter 2.5 or 3?

Lyrics: snuck in through the garden gates every night that summer just to seal my fate

Here we see them getting close, falling for each other

Lyric: I’m drunk in the back of the car and I cried like a baby coming home from the bar said I’m fine but it wasn't true

He comes over when shes trashed and she cries cause he never kisses her (semi confession of feelings)

Lyric: i want to drive away with you i want your complications too i want your dreary mondays wrap your arms around me baby boy

She learns about his dad

Lyric: American glory Faded before me Now I'm feeling hopeless Ripped up my prom dress Running through rose thorns I saw the scoreboard And ran for my life

midsummers idk what happens

Lyric: I wounded the good and I trusted the wicked 

They fight and stop talking/seeing each other

Lyric: were so sad we paint the town blue voted most likely to run away with you

Lyric: i don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you

Lyric: i love you ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard he looks up grinning like a devil 

epilogue: daylight (lines i’ve crossed unforgiven stormed out of every single room (ruined relationships with other kooks) ran with the wolves(jj learning to be in a real relationship) chorus

Chapter titles:

The Moon is High

That Boyish Look That I Like in a Man

The Wine is Cold (the shoulder that i gave you in the st)

Nobody Understands

Seal My Fate

Said I’m Fine But It Wasn’t True

Wrap Your Arms Around Me Baby Boy

Ripped Up My Prom Dress

I Wounded the Good and I Trusted the Wicked

We Paint the Town Blue

Just to Keep You

The Worst Thing You Ever Heard

Now That I Saw You (maybe you ran with the wolves and refused to settle down, maybe i've stormed out of every single room in this town)

---

that boyish look that i like in a man

*after they first met JJ is parked outside her house getting ready to do yard work, she is rushing out of the house putting on earrings and such as she exits.*

“Woah what’s up Cinderella late for the ball,” JJ asked, noticing your hurried pace.

“A date actually,” you retorted.

“Damn! A date? With who,” he sounded shocked. 

“Who wants to know?” You stopped to tighten the strap on your shoe. He chuckled.

“I mean what dude was able to win a date with you? What he’d do, like slay a dragon or something?” JJ laughed at his incredible ability to make jokes about your “royal status”. 

“Real fucking funny,” you started back walking swiftly down the street. Damn. The kook princess had a mouth on her. 

“You should let me take you on a date sometime,” he yelled down the street to you. He smirked. You kept walking, not even bothering to yell a response back but he knew you had heard him when he noticed the slight falter in your step. He could tell you had heard him by the change in the way you walked away. His smirk grew, tongue coming between his teeth as his eyes drank you in as you walked off. 

You walked back up the path to your house much more slowly, your shoulders slumped in defeat and your feet bare. You groaned as you approached your home, noticing JJ’s car still parked outside. You were hoping to come back to an empty house

Back so soon! Was he not the prince charming you were hoping for?

Shut the fuck up JJ

Woah dude im just messing with you chill

Yeah well maybe I’m not in the mood okay (she goes up and changes and come down to the kitchen to get some food and JJ is in there getting water or something, they awkwardly move around the space and around each other still feeling the tension from a few minutes ago)

Im sorry i snapped at you earlier its just… it hasnt been a great day

Thats alright i get it… this have anything to do with your date he asks suddenly feeling a little protective

Yeah actually you scoff i dont even know why im telling you this but uh… i got stood up so thats uh… feelin pretty shitty You two stood in silence for a minute JJ not knowing what to say and you beginning to regret sharing something somewhat embarrassing with him a small smile appeared on his lips. He looked up at you, your eyes staying on the counter you leaned on

You know who would never stand you up You looked up to see him smirking knowing he was referring to his very unceremonious proposal for a date earlier. You smiled back, feeling a little bit better at his lighthearted nature. The two of you stood there, for just a moment in your kitchen, eyes locked. You felt an intensity in his soft gaze and quickly broke it, feeling overwhelmed by whatever you saw in his eyes. 

“You wouldn't take me out. Can’t be seen with somebody like me,” you mocked slightly.

“I think you wouldn’t want to be seen with somebody like me.” it wasn’t accusatory but a challenge that he sent your way as he leaned across the kitchen island, face inching closer to yours. 

“Well that complicates our plans a little doesn’t it? We don’t wanna be seen together,” you were suddenly feeling very nervous as JJ got closer to you. How was the guy mowing your parents lawn making you feel like this? You barely knew him and you sure you wouldn’t have much chance to get to know him any better. He leaned in slowly, so close that his mouth almost brushed your ear.

“We could always hang out here.” you closed your eyes and attempted a deep breath. It came out shaky. You prayed he didn’t notice. He was obviously just playing games with you. He liked having this kind of power over someone like you. Well you weren’t going to give it to him. The game was over. You backed away and looked up at him, a sudden shift in your mood. Any chance that JJ had started to break down your walls was gone and they were back up like this moment had never happened. 

“I’m good, thanks.” With that you turned around and headed back upstairs to your room. “Turn off the light when you're done.” Stunned, JJ grabbed the bottle of water he had come in for and shut off the light leaving the kitchen with newfound emotions and a lot of confusion. 

***

JJ noticed you through the glass doors that led out to your backdoor. He watched you walk around your living room for a moment, looking for something. He knew you hadn’t noticed him cleaning your family’s boat. He stood for a second, mind going blank. Without any thought or reasoning, JJ grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. Once he stood, on your boat, shirtless, looking back at your house, his mind seemed to come back to him. What was he doing? Did he hope his toned body would get your attention? Did he want to make you regret rejecting him? Was he playing the game you had convinced yourself he was playing? JJ had no clue. He just knew you made him act strangely. Shaking his head, he threw his shirt to the side and got back to work at just the moment that you looked up, stepping out onto your back porch. You watched on, mesmerized, as JJ moved equipment and supplies around the boat. You noticed how the muscles in his arms moved, and along his sides, as he picked up something particularly heavy. You noted how his hair, slightly damp, fell in front of his face as he leaned over. You studied the rings on his fingers, the way his necklace sat so nicely against his collar bone, and his shirt and hat now sitting in a pile on the boat. He was like magic, the way he had you in this trance against your will. The way he made you so nervous and confident and confused all at once. The way he had you so distracted that when he turned around and saw you, your gaze merely shifted to the smirk now on his lips long before your thoughts moved to the reason for his expression. 

“Like what you see,” he called out to you, pulling you out of your daze. He was clearly amused or proud or both. You rolled your eyes, attempting to recover from any flusteredness you felt. 

“No…I just came out here to ask if you, you know, needed any water or anything. Wouldn’t want you passing out on my family’s dime,” you offered a fake smile. JJ hopped down from the boat and took a few steps down the pier, closer to you. 

“Well aren’t you generous.” He was grinning. He started walking slowly toward you, eyes burning into yours and you couldn't move. He stopped directly in front of you. Leaning down slightly, he brushed against your ear again and whispered, “Is that all you came out here for?” He pulled away quickly, so that he could look at you. Not only did he just like studying your features, but he liked seeing the effect he had on you. He was in awe at the thought of you melting under his touch, your heart speeding up around him like his did when he was anywhere near you. He didn’t know what any of this meant, just that it was exciting and that you were beautiful. He savored the brief moment after he pulled away that you held your eyes closed for a second longer, not realizing that his eyes were on you again. When your eyes fluttered open, you were surprised to see him staring at you and unable to understand the look on his face. You thought you hated the way JJ made you feel, but really you hated how foreign this vulnerability felt. JJ felt so openly and freely and when he looked at you, you were certain he could see everything inside you. It was terrifying and you would swear you had stopped breathing if not for the quick beat of your heart telling you that you were very much alive. In fact, you had never felt more alive as when JJ looked at you. But in this moment you just wished to be somewhere you felt a familiar sense of comfort. A yoga class at the Beach Club. Sunbathing on your balcony. Anywhere but on your dock with JJ Maybank. Suddenly, you felt his hand press against your hip, and you were there: yoga, sunbathing, anywhere. Calm. But this calm was different. You still felt a lightning storm coursing through your body but breathing became easier. You felt exposed to JJ, but still closed off to the world, safe here in your backyard. He leaned into you, wanting to eliminate the air between you. For a moment, your faces were impossibly close and your lips could almost feel his. You burned to feel his lips on your own, hoping it might be the key to understanding these new feelings, or maybe putting an end to them. But you stopped yourself, or him, placing a firm hand on his bare chest. Without a word, because you truly didn’t know what you could say, you turned and went back into your house. You couldn’t kiss JJ Maybank. Especially not out in the open like you were. You shouldn’t have even been standing so close to him. You hoped that if any onlookers had witnessed what had just happened, that your expression was one of disdain. But you knew it hadn’t been. Because you had wanted to kiss him despite everything. As if the time he was nice to you at one party when he was high meant he actually cared about you. He was playing stupid Pogue games with you, probably a bet with his friends. “Who can get a Kook to fall in love with them!” You wonder how much money he was hoping to win. You wouldn’t allow him the satisfaction. JJ burst into your house through your back doors moments after you did. What the hell he thought to himself. 

“Did I do something wrong,” he sounded mad. He didn’t know how to express his worry and confusion, his frustration at himself for possibly fucking up. 

“Do you think I’m stupid?” JJ stared back at you with wide eyes. “I’m not gonna be a part of whatever game you’re playing?”

“Dude what are you talking about?” Both of you were terrible at expressing your emotions so these explosive comments affected the other very little, as you could barely process your own thoughts. 

“You know what the fuck I’m talking about! Trying to kiss me! For whatever stupid bet!” JJ paused. His face stayed the same but he felt less like an explosion and more like the lava moving slowly, engulfing everything in its path. His brows furrowed deeper.

“You really think I would do that?” Shit. You read that all wrong and you think you might have hurt JJ’s feelings a little.

“Well why did you try to kiss me,” you asked, trying to recover.

“Because you’re hot.” He said it like it was the most obvious answer and you were an idiot for not already knowing it. For a moment you were shocked and still didn’t quite understand. Then you smirked, taking a page out of JJ’s book and attempting to shift the mood. The shame you felt from your accusation still burned but you ignored the feeling.

“You think I’m hot?”

“Yeah… I mean for a Kook you’re not too bad.” You scoffed and rolled your eyes. Could he take anything seriously? Ever be genuine. 

“You’re so fucking ridiculous,” you bit back, walking past him. He mirrored your actions, rolling his eyes too. He grabbed your hips and pulled you into him, lips immediately meeting yours forcefully. It was a collision, what you would imagine a meteor would feel like when crashing down to earth. You felt grounded with your hands on the back of JJ’s neck but electrified with hands against your waist. You couldn’t tell if it was you or him that was crashing into all the life on planet earth. All you knew was it would cause destruction and change and you couldn’t stop it. You pulled yourself away from him and took a deep breath. You turned and walked to the stairs toward your bedroom. You turned to JJ who stood rooted in the same spot, in a daze. 

“You coming?”

***

JJ’s arm reached across your body, hand moving up and down your hip as you laid on your back. He closed his eyes, face tucked into your neck. You just stared up at the ceiling, thinking. JJ placed a light kiss on your neck and felt you immediately tense. He propped himself up slightly to look at you. Whatever he was feeling earlier was gone, or at least pushed to the side, and he was back to his lighthearted self. 

“What you regret it already,” he joked. 

“No.” You sighed dragging your hands down your face. “It's just… This doesn’t-- this can’t leave this room.”

“Well yeah we’re not gonna fuck inside the Boat Club or something.”

“No like, no one can know about this.” You almost felt guilty saying it but you had already strayed so far from what you were taught was right, so this was the next logical step to fix things. Nothing personal. 

“Oh yeah you’re right imagine if my friends found out I was fucking a Kook!”

“Fucking,” you asked attempting to gain clarity on his intentions, “Who says this is happening again?” You hoped the look of disdain on your face was intense but you could feel it melt away as JJ rolled himself to hover over you, smirk as intense as ever. He placed a quick kiss on your cheek, then one on your neck, on your shoulder, on your chest. 

“I don’t know about you,” he placed two more kisses further down your body, sinking further under the sheets, “but I wouldn’t mind this happening again right now.” And you couldn’t say no. Not when you felt his touch on your skin, rendering your mind useless. All you could think about was how he felt against you and how you wanted to feel it forever. 

snuck through all the garden gates every night that summer just to seal my fate

Sat at your desk hunched over your laptop, working on portfolios and applications for internships, you hear a knock at your window. You turned your attention to it, deciding to check out the noise. You pulled back the curtain, curiosity turning to annoyance when you saw JJ Maybank standing on your balcony. The thought of leaving him locked out there crossed your mind but you figured it would only cause you more trouble. You slid open the door.

“JJ what are you--” he didn’t waste a second before grabbing your waist and attaching his lips to your neck, “doing here?” You tried to keep your composure as the tingling sensation erupted in your tummy. Without JJ’s hands tethering you to the ground you’d probably float away. 

“I was horny.” He missed you. And he didn’t know what to do about it. He didn’t know you but he craved your touch. He relished in the way you looked at him whether you were annoyed or entranced and he wanted to know what his feelings meant. You pushed him off of you. 

“JJ, my parents are back. You should’ve texted.”

“Okay well I’m here now.” He tried to pull you back to him. 

“You can leave,” you offered, stepping away and sitting back at your desk. You had barely a few seconds to look down at your work before you heard him settle onto your bed. You blew out a breath, exasperated. “I meant it. You can leave. Please go.” JJ pulled out his phone, ignoring you. You rolled your eyes and went back to your work. A few minutes later he spoke.

“You know, I don’t even have your number.”

“What,” you asked, not hearing him while reading something on your computer screen. 

“I couldn't’ve texted you I don’t have your number.”

“Oh,” you said, realizing.

“We’ve had sex twice and don’t even have each other’s numbers. Kinda slutty of us,” he joked. You rolled your eyes but couldn’t keep your smile from forming. 

“If I gave you my number would you leave?”

“I don't know, maybe.” He tossed you his phone with a grin on his face. You looked at the screen, his phone already open to contacts. You typed your number in and then stopped. What did you put in for your name? You couldn’t actually put your name in right? JJ couldn’t be seen texting you. But then again he probably wasn’t going to text you very much in the future… You just left it blank and looked up to where JJ had crossed over to your door, leading out to the balcony. He was looking at you. 

“Snooping through my phone,” he asked jokingly. 

“No I--,” you walked over to him, “... I didn’t know if you wanted me to put my actual name or what.” He let out an amused breath and shook his head. You held his phone out to him. Instead he grabbed your outstretched wrist and pulled you into him. He placed a kiss on your neck, letting his lips linger there for almost longer than you could handle. He brought his lips up to your ear making you lose all focus. 

“I’ll text you.” You could hear the smirk in his voice. With that he slipped away, having taken his phone back without you noticing, and walked out onto the balcony. 

***

JJ: your parents home?

YN:🙄

JJ: ???

YN: read 8:52

JJ: be there in 15

You sighed. Begrudgingly, you got up to unlock your balcony door and went back to working. Eventually you heard the door open and JJ walk in. You paid him no mind as he tossed his phone onto your bed or when he walked up behind you. He got your attention when his hands went to your shoulders and his lips to the side of your neck, but you pretended to still be focused on your work. He noticed. 

“Damn they keep you busy at Kook University. Or is this for princess school,” he joked leaning over your shoulder to more closely inspect your work. You closed your laptop slightly, not wanting him to see your work. 

“I don’t have to keep letting you come here, you know.”

“But you do anyway.” He smiled at you, eyebrows raised. You sighed, rolled your eyes, and went back to your work. 

“I have work to do JJ,” you said. You felt his presence leave you as he backed away and started to wander around your room. 

“Then why’d you unlock the door for me?”

“I always leave it unlocked,” you lied.

“Not very safe,” he said nonchalantly. “What’s this,” he added, sounding much more interested in something on your shelf than your unlocked door. You looked up to see him looking through your bookshelf.

“It’s a scrapbook…” You continued watching him, waiting to see if he would continue looking through your belongings. And he did. He grabbed the scrapbook and took it over to your bed where he plopped down, laying on his stomach. “What are you doing,” you asked when he opened the cover and began studying each page.

“Need something to do,” he shrugged.

“You could leave,” you said, getting up to take the book from him. You stopped beside your bed being slightly caught off guard at seeing the pictures. You hadn’t looked through them in a long time.

“Who is this? She’s in a lot of these.” He stayed looking through the various photos, missing your soft smile.

“My best friend.”

“I’ve never seen her.”

“Oh now you know everyone on the island?”

“No, I just think I’d probably recognize her,” he said in reference to her distinctive bright red hair which fell in messy curls in most of the pictures.

“She moved away. During highschool.”

“You still talk?” He was still thumbing through the pages of your book.

“Sometimes. Not much. Sometimes I get to see her for holidays and it's like she never left.” You smiled fondly and this time JJ looked up in time to see it. He smiled too, watching you study the pictures. He wanted to tell you how pretty he thought your smile was. He noticed he didn’t see you smile much. A really, genuine smile. Especially around him. But he was mesmerized by the slight curve of your lips and the way it made your eyes sparkle. He couldn’t tell you that though knowing it would likely freak you out and make you kick him out for real. You sat on your bed, across from JJ, eyes still glued to the photos in front of you. He looked back down at them as well, and began flipping  through the pages again. “She was actually a lot like you.” This time you looked at him as he studied your memories. 

“She poor as shit too? You got a thing for pogues?” He smirked to himself at his joke. You rolled your eyes.

“No. She was...I don’t know… wild? Spontaneous. Fun?”

“Ohh so you like us cool adventurous types,” he said looking up at you, “Is it ‘cause you’re so lame?” You feigned offence joking back with him. 

“I’m lame?” He nodded, then your open mouth switched to a smirk. “How am I am lame, I’m sleeping with a pogue?” You laughed loudly as the look on JJ’s face mirrored what yours had just been, mouth open in fake shock. “Speaking of,” you said, laughter subsiding, “isn’t that what you came here for?” He continued to laugh a little himself.

“Well now I don’t wanna since you’re being mean to me.”

“Oh my god! You called me lame!”

“Yeah well you are!”

“I am not!” You waited for his next retort with an amused smile, matching his, on your lips. His expression changed suddenly from one of amusement to one that you couldn’t place. You had never seen it before, on anyone. At least not directed to you. But anyone who had would immediately recognize his look of adoration. “What,” you asked, very aware of the shift in the room. 

“Nothing I just…nothing,” he chuckled lightly to himself, looking back down at the pictures. 

“No what is it?”

“You actually are pretty cool.” It was the most sincere you’d ever heard him say despite the casual nature of his statement. You’re certain you blushed. 

“You don’t even know me,” you said softly. 

“But I like getting to know you… I like… talking to you.” 

“Oh. Well, yeah I… I like talking to you too.” You took a deep breath. That was as emotion as you think you could handle for the night.  “Except when all you feel like doing is making jokes.”

“Hey i can’t help it I’m so funny and witty!”

“Ohh yeah okay!” You were both giggling. 

“I’m serious though. I wanna know who the kook princess really is. If she’s as cool as she says. What do they have you studying at princess school?” 

“Architecture”

“Woah architecture? So you’re like building skyscrapers and shit?” You laughed. 

“Well I’m more focused on the design but I guess yeah. We haven’t gotten to the real good hands on stuff quite yet but we study all kinds of buildings and design styles. Skyscrapers included.”

“Damn. So what you gonna come back to the Outerbanks and turn it all city?”

“No I uh— I want to work with city planning teams, design buildings that work with natural elements instead of fight against them.”

“…So you’re like… Pope smart. I thought he was the smartest dude on the island but he might have some competition.” You smiled at his flattery. 

“What about you JJ. What do you wanna do?”

“I just wanna surf. All around the world. Just moving from place to place finding the best waves.” You loved how he got lost in the fantasy. 

“You know i’ve… never surfed before.”

“What?! Like never!?”

“Well I had a couple lessons as a kid but I’ve never really surfed.”

“I’m taking you surfing tomorrow,” he jumped off your bed and walked toward your balcony door, “”Bright and early too, so I’m gonna let you get some sleep. Be ready!”

“What— I— how do you know i’m not busy?” The smile on your face matched his. 

“I’m sure you’re not doing shit at 5am.” You’re eyes went wide but somehow your smile never faltered. 

“JJ what?!?” 

“See ya then!” And with that he slipped out the door. 

“said im fine but it wasn't true” 

“Thanks Topper you’re the best,” you slurred wrapping your arms around your friend. Blah blah topper drops her off at home and doesnt even go inside cause he sucks whatever okay skip

YN: come over?

JJ looked back down at his phone. Never since this thing started between the two of you had you asked him to come over. He was surprised but responded that he’d be over in 15 minutes. When he hopped in his car, he threw his phone into the passenger seat causing him to miss your next text.

YN: :)

YN: :) :)

JJ arrived at your house, pulling around to the garage, his usual routine. He grabbed his phone, brow scrunching upon seeing your texts. He can’t even remember the last time you smiled at him in real life. He smiled, amused at the thought of how you thought you were so tough and badass. It was cute. He pocketed his phone and began his short climb to your balcony. He entered your room through the door you had begun to  leave unlocked for him. His eyes went to your desk first, almost expecting you to working, even this late on a Friday night. His eyes shifted from your empty chair to your bed, landing on you. You laid in what JJ couldn’t imagine was a comfortable position, still dressed in your party clothes and makeup, not even bothering to have pulled back the covers. He perched on the other end of your bed, the movement causing you to stir. You groaned, eyes opening more when you registered JJ in your room.

“Mornin’ sleeping beauty.” He let out a quiet laugh. Your face scrunched up in annoyance.

“You took so long to get here I got sleepyyy,” you whined, reaching your hands out to him, requesting he come closer. He scooted closer, sitting beside you. You wrapped your arms around him, pulling him into you with a sleepy grin on your face. He stopped abruptly, face hovering above yours. He could smell the alcohol.

“Are you drunk,” he asked.

“Nooooo,” you said, trying to pull him back down as he had begun to back away.

“We’re not doin’ this when you’re wasted,” he said a little more forcefully than he would have liked. You took no notice.

“I only had like a couple of drinks okay,” you slurred out. You stopped before JJ could respond, feeling suddenly sick. You rushed up and ran as quickly as you could on your unstable legs to your bathroom, leaning over the toilet and depositing the contents of your stomach into the bowl. JJ followed you in standing awkwardly at your side for a moment before kneeling down and moving your hair out of the way of your face. When you felt the sickness subside you sat back, eyes droopy and face pouting. JJ almost laughed, making your pout grow stronger.

“Shut up.”

“A couple drinks huh,” he asked amused. You sighed, giving up.

“OKay a lotta drinks. And I think I’m a little high.”

“Oh my god!” He laughed at your surprising state. You only groaned, leaning your head on your arm which rested on the toilet. “Uh do you… like need anything,” he asked.

“Some water would be good,” you said into the toilet. He got up and went down to the kitchen to grab you a glass of water. He returned to find you continuing to empty your stomach. He set the water on the counter and quickly sat down next to you. He rubbed your back until your stomach was finally empty, the way he remembered Kiara doing for him many times. You lifted your head up to look at him and his heart could’ve broken at the look in your face. 

“JJ I don’t feel good.” 

“I know, I’m sorry. Here,” he grabbed the glass of water, “this’ll help.” You took a couple of sips before setting the cup on the floor and quickly following it yourself, sliding down to lay against the cool tile. JJ had never been on this end of a drunken night out and he had no idea how he ended up having to take care of you. But he didn’t think he minded it all that much. “Come on, let’s get you to your bed.” He helps you up and leads you back to your room where you lay down, again on top of the covers. He perched on the edge again and looks down at you. He notices your eyes filled with tears. You sniffed a couple times. “Hey! Woah what’s wrong?” He placed a hand on your shoulder. 

“You won’t kiss me,” you said softly as if you were just speaking your thoughts out loud instead of answering his question. He sighs, a little frustrated but trying really hard to be gentle.

“i already told you we can’t do anything when you’re out of it like this”

“Nooo,” you whine, also frustrated, “You don’t kiss me ever!” And you suddenly start crying. You probably won’t remember most of this. Your emotions feel disconnected from you right now but they are very much yours and very much real. Your lowered inhibitions simply brought them to the surface albeit against your will. You take a deep breath. “I just want you to kiss me again. You only kissed me once and— it was so so wonderful but you won’t do it again and it makes me so sad and I just like you so much and—“

“Hey, hey shhh shh it’s okay. I’m sorry it’s okay.” He is desperately trying to calm you, not yet even able to process all that you just said. You look up at him and in that moment, with tear streaks in your makeup long ruined by hours of partying and the aftermath, he knows he would do anything for you. 

“Will you hold me?”

“Of course.” He honestly doesn’t know if he should. After everything you just drunkenly confessed to him. Everything is becoming so complicated. But how could he say no? So he scoots onto the bed and pulls you into him. You grip his shirt with something close to desperatetion and lay your head on his chest, instantly feeling calmer. JJ reaches over to turn off the lamp beside your bed and you fall asleep soon after. In the silence, JJ is finally able to think about everything you said. Think about how having you in his arms, watching the rise and fall of your chest, feeling your breath on his neck feels so right. It’s feels perfect. He wants this with you all the time. He wants to here you tell him how you feel and he wants to take care of you. JJ is hit with the shock of his realization but at the same time settles into how good it feels. How comforting it feels to care about you so much despite how fucking scary it is. He doesn’t care about anything else in this moment. Befofe closing his eyes, he reaches down to press a kiss to your head hoping that for now it is enough to let you know he feels the same. 

she wake up the next morning and tries to assess the situation and hm idk actually what i want to happen okay maybe she kinda wake him up and is like jj what are you doing here and hes like uhh you invited me over last night and shes like i did like kinda mortified cause she cant remember and shes trying to and hes like no no we didn’t do anything you just… and shes like I what and hes like you just asked if i could come help you cause you felt really bad i guess you went out last night and i guess it was fun and shes like yeah well i still feel like shit right now and lays back down on him and goes back to sleep and hes trapped under her to just think about all that has happened and her and stuff and everything omg

“Ripped up my prom dress” okay new concept for the midsummers chapter:

“Why hello your highness,” JJ said, dropping into a deep bow. You rolled your eyes but your lips still curled into a smile at his antics.

“You didn’t tell me you’d be here,” you said, surprised.

“Yeah well I am working, wasn’t too excited about that part,” he paused, “You look beautiful.” You smiled at his genuine words but then noticed the bruises forming on one side of his face and you instantly wore a look of worry.

“You’re not looking too hot thought, what happened to your face?” You wanted to reach out and touch the purple spot near his eye but your arms stayed by your sides. 

“Damn really? I thought I looked pretty good,” he joked, adjusting his vest. Your worried look did not waiver, pressing him to explain himself. “Ah don’t worry about it. You should see the other guy.” You still weren’t convinced but decided not to press anymore. Just then you saw Topper, heading your way. He wore a slight look of confusion, likely from seeing you standing with JJ Maybank. You quickly turned back to JJ right as Topper reached you.

“Could you please just get some champagne,” you said to JJ, your still furrowed brows aiding the believability of your falsely exasperated tone. JJ seemed caught off guard by your quick shift in tone and hesitated. 

“You heard her pogue! Champagne,” Topper said. You raised your eyebrows, urging him to go. JJ walked off slowly, eyes glued to you as Topper pulled you aside. 

“What’s up Top,”you asked, “Everything okay?” He looked upset.

“It’s Sarah. She’s been acting weird all night and now I can’t find her.”

“Um, okay I’m sure she’s fine. Let’s go find her.” The two of you searched throughout the country club eventually ending up on a porch overlooking a more secluded dock. You could make out Sarah and John B standing on the end, laughing and talking and standing really close. You knew Topper was fuming.

“God, I knew she was probably cheating on me. But with a damn pogue too!!”

“Come on Top she’s just talking to the guy that doesn’t mean she’s cheating,” you said. 

“So you’re saying she snuck off with him just to talk?”

“I mean, I don’t know why don’t you ask her?”

“No. I don’t want her to know that I know about this… Flirt with me! Make her jealous!”

“Topper I’m not—“

“Please.” You rolled your eyes knowing your friend would keep persisting. You figured it was better you help him with whatever stupid plan he had quickly concocted then to let him crash and burn on his own. Quickly, your demeanor shifted as you wrapped your arms around the back of Topper’s neck. He grabbed your hips and brought you slightly closer to him. It was weird being like this with such a good friend. What was weirder is you noticed how different it was to being with JJ. He always pulled you in as close as possible. Topper only stood close enough to be believable. JJ’s hands on your skin, even through the fabric of your clothes, felt electric. But with Topper, you didn’t feel butterflies in your stomach or the searing of his fingertips on your hips. You realized now that you had only ever felt those feelings with JJ. But you put on your best smile and pretended. You let out a loud, exaggerated laugh which prompted Topper to get into character as well. He leaned his face in slightly, with a smirk on his lips.

“Topper!” You laughed again but stopped as you heard the sound of glass breaking. You looked around, seeing a discarded serving tray, a broken glass, and spilled champagne. Looking back to the building, you saw JJ storming back to the party.You barely suppress a sigh. “Uh…Top...I’ll be right back...uhh goin’ to the restroom,” you said, not looking away from where JJ walked further away.

and not only does sarah see but jj is bringing the champagne (also hoping to talk to you some more) and he see and you look over and see his face and your face immediately changes and then you remember and turn back to topper and hes like whats up with the pogue u know him and youre like no no what and jj like storms off and u really wanna go after him so youre like i need to go to the restroom and topper is like a lil suspicious but mostly just annoyed at pgues so he goes to rafe and kelce and them and they go after jj just like they do in the actual episode and you stumble upon it before the security guard and u break it up under the guise of “guys don’t be stupid ur gonna get urselves in trouble its not worth it.” and they are still kinda riled up and the security guy comes in and he gets jj and he leaves and looks at u kinda pissed and he goes outside and you see him start acting literally insane and you kinda follow him out and go up to him a lil bit and hes like oh heyyy princess! Wheres topper? And then idk what happens lol/ um maybe shes like trying to calm him down a lil but she wont like touch him or anything cause they are around like all of figure 8 but shes like JJ please not now we can talk about this later and shes worried people are maybe catching onto things. Well then the part happens when the pogues all start to leave(rewatch this clip)  but before JJ runs out to the water Topper grabs him and is like asking him whats going on threatening him etc and ur like Top chill lets just get back to the party and so he pushed JJ to the ground and jj hits the busted up side of his face and looks hella in pain so she goes down to him and is like ohmygod are you okay and hes like  yeah your boyfriends not so tough i can handle him and he gets up and stumbles a lil but runs over to john b and you get up (stepping on and ripping your dress) and run a few steps toward them and then you see pope and kie go with them and you just watch and are like :(  (um later topper and the other guys are like asking her about jj and they are like omg are u fucking maybank? And she doesnt answer and they are like oh my god she fuckin a pogue woahahahhh!! Haha! And its like a thing they keep teasing her and like talking shit about jj which eventually leads to the big fight)

***

Um they haven't seen each other or talked in weeks “always waiting for you to be waiting below” and JJ is over doing some work on the boat or whatever and she gets home and goes out to try to talk to him and hes got headphones on and is ignoring her and eventually they talk and im gonna try really hard to remember the dialogue i came up with. Idk basically they get in a fight and hes pissed and he says something about not being her waiter anymore(like if you were hoping if i could get you some something to drink, im off the clock)  and shes like cmon jj you cant really be mad about that how did you think we were gonna act around each other in public and hes like well thats easy to say when youre the kook and shes like okay but i still dont see what the big deal is we’re just having sex theres nothing actually going on nothings changed and hes all like are you forreal and shes like yeah? but kinda confused and hes like you really believe theres nothing else going on and shes just speechless and he puts his headphones back on and grabs his stuff and storms off the boat and hes like you know what im done talking about this cause u dont even give a shit ur just trying to make urself feel better and he just leaves and you are just standing there shocked and then for a few weeks u are waiting for him to like climb up to ur window “always waiting for you to be waiting below” and idk where we go from here but theres probs a love confession (he confesses whatever feelings  and she like doesnt really say anything but probably kisses him and they probs fuck), then drama with kooks probs all the shit they keep giving her about JJ comes to a head (they dont actually know about them just like messing with them and maybe they try to beat him up) which makes her conflicted and she sides with them and is like hes just the guy that does a few jobs for my family we’ve barely even talked okay give it a rest. Well so that is why is JJ is so hurt cause he confessed his feelings and he thought she at least felt SOMEHTING cause no she didnt say anything but like you dont have sex with someone you hate after they tell you that they really care about you and he figured maybe it was just hard for her to say those things but apparently she doesn’t gie a shit about him and this literlaly makes me said thinking about it ugh poor jj **(also i need to add more of them getting to know each other and showing their relationship progress before this point like midsummer and show them starting to fall for each other) 

You looked outside your window, hearing some noise

“I wounded the good and I trusted the wicked”(second fight the main one not post midsummer)

“JJ you can’t just expect me to defend you to them. That's… that's not how we do things, you know that.”

“So you’re just gonna let ‘em beat my ass and talk shit huh? Just so they think you’re still one of ‘em!”

“I don’t see you defending me to your fucking pogue friends.”

“Oh yeah? Well I would!”

“Yeah! Right! You care just as much about your image as me! Except my image actually matters. It matters what people think of me JJ okay? It comes back on my future. On my parents and my family. Your dads already a piece of shit so who gives a fuck what you do?” 

“Don’t talk about my fucking dad okay--!”

“JJ he hits you! He’s a dick--”

“Yeah well I don’t care I don’t want you saying shit about him!”

“God JJ this is what im fuckin’ talkin’ about! This is why no one cares about you cause YOU don’t care about you!” He stopped. He stayed steady, eyes burning into you. Then in a quick motion he grabbed his things and went for the door. He spoke again, quieter now but still seething. 

“You know it's real damn funny you say that since you were spouting all that shit about likin’ me. But I guess it was all the weed and the ‘champagne’ or whatever the fuck you kooks drink huh?”

“What are you…?” Confusion was obvious on your face.

“That night. I came over and you were outta your mind. Said you liked me shoulda known it was bullshit.” You were even more confused now, trying to go back to that moment, rewind through this fight, and understand what you were feeling. You noticed tears had fallen from your eyes and you could’ve sworn JJ’s held some of his own, not yet spilling onto his cheeks.

“Wait no JJ that-- I didn’t--- I do and I didn’t mean what--”

“Yeah I’m actually not in the mood to hear it so,” he wiped the tear that had broken away from his watery eyes with a loud sniff and left before anymore threatened to fall.

“Were so sad we paint the town blue voted most likely to run away with you”

So here's what happens. Sarah and john B have just went straight into the storm they are gone peterkin is dead everything has gone to shit. JJ is basically hysterical and pope and kie are trying to be there for him but they are super fucked up too and JJ just doesnt know what to do hes just hurting. He cant go home cause his dad and he just doenst wanna be alone but he doesnt wanna be with his friends rn hes just feeling all of the emotions. He finds his way to your house without even really realizing where hes going and he gets there and goes up to her balcony of course. He leaning on the door and just kind of in a daze and he goes to pull on the door cause u used to leave it open for him and you hear it and are kinda freaked out so u go to peak behind the curtains and its fukcing jj and ur like what the hell but then u see he looks like hell so you open the door and (mention that he didnt know where else to go)(also it was raining when he got there then started storming after he came inside)

JJ sobbed into your shoulder, releasing what felt like all of the emotions he had ever felt, silently onto your collar. You held him against you gently, contrasting his hands clutching at your shirt, tethering him to the world. You stood there, in the middle of your room until your legs grew sore. You considered moving to your bed or even your floor but you were scared that if you moved, if you let go for even a second, JJ would collapse or somehow disappear. So you stayed right there supporting his shaking body. He ignored your initial questioning, seemingly unable to even speak when he had arrived. You tried again. 

“JJ please, you’re scaring me, what’s going on?” You felt yourself getting close to tears, thinking up the worst possible things that could have happened to make him so hysterical. A tear ran down your face and mixed with the wetness on your neck. He had started to calm down but your question punched him in the gut and blocked his airways. Nothing was ever fucking okay, especially not now and he didn’t think he could take it anymore. His breathing became more shallow and ragged, and he leaned into you more, not able to hold his own weight along with the weight of his shitty situation. 

“JJ--JJ,” you tried to interject as his crying got louder and he struggled to breath. You pushed him off of your shoulder, noticing how he swayed slightly, and grabbed the sides of his face. “JJ, breathe. Breathe. Please. It's okay.” You didn't know if anything would be okay but you tried to plead with him, tried to keep his eyes locked onto yours as you breathed slowly with him. Tears still streamed down his face and his body still shook and he swayed where he stood but he eventually took full normal breaths. You felt okay then, letting go of his face for mere seconds to take hold of his shoulder to lead him to sit on your bed. “Let’s sit. And maybe we can talk about it?” He pulled away and stood up suddenly when you hesitantly suggested he talk about the cause of his current hysterics. He sniffed, gaining slight composure. 

“No, I should go.” Sniff. “Should probably go check on Pope you know--”

“Wait. JJ it's storming you can't go out in this.” He walked toward the door.

“I got here just fine.” 

“JJ please. Please stay. I know you're mad at me right now but I… I’m really worried about you. Just-- stay please. You can have the guest room or my room or... whatever.” He conceded, walking over to your bed and sitting uncomfortably on the edge. You couldn’t help but notice the stark contrast of this moment to all the times you had laid with him in that bed talking about anything and everything, laughing until the early hours of the morning. You took a step toward him. “Do you want anything to eat?” He shook his head, eyes pointed toward the floor. “How bout I get you some dry clothes?” He continued staring at the floor as you floundered, trying your best to help him. You left the room after a long, lingering look at him, afraid to peel your eyes away and leave him unattended. You returned with some new clothes to find him in the same position he had been in three minutes ago. You set the clothes next to where he sat. 

“Thanks,” he said, still not looking at you. He grabbed the clothing and went to your bathroom. He reentered your bedroom to see you in a similar position to how he had sat moments ago. You shot up when you realized he had returned. 

“You don’t have to keep acting like that. There's nothing wrong with me.”

“I know but… you won't tell me what's going on I don’t know what to--” He began to make himself comfortable in your bed. That was fine, you could sleep in the guest room. You walked to the door leading to the hallway. “Um… I’ll let you get some rest.” You paused, hearing JJ let out a loud sigh, his hands coming up to cover his face. 

“Will you stay?” He didn’t want to ask that of you. Didn’t want you to know he craved your presence and the comfort it gave him. He was still mad at you . So angry and hurt and disappointed and he wanted you to know it. But he needed you right now. You were kind of all he had. 

“Sure. Of course.” You sat in your desk chair. His hands fell and he looked over at you. He let out another breath. 

“Will… can you hold me?” You didn’t say another word, you just went straight to him. He made space for you on the bed and you found your way to a comfortable position. The way his head so easily fell to your chest and your hands found their way to his hair made you both forget any awkwardness you had felt earlier. This was right. 

“I hope the clothes fit okay,” you said. “I’m sure they’re better than the wet clothes. But if you want I can try to find you something else. Or I put your stuff in the dryer. Should be done soon.” It was all you could think to talk about until JJ was ready to join the conversation but you figure it would help calm him to hear you talk about mindless things. 

“John B’s gone,” he said.

“What?”

“John B. He’s fucking gone!” You could feel his breathing start to quicken. Your hand that wasn’t in his hair rubbed circles across his back in an attempt to soothe him. JJ didn’t elaborate much on that aspect of the situation but you knew what he was talking about. It was late and you had already heard about all John B and Sarah, Sheriff Peterkin. The whole island was talking about it. “And I don’t fucking have anyone anymore! He was it! He was my family! My other fuckin’ friends have their own families. With ‘em right now in their nice cozy homes, mom and dad tellin’ ‘em it's all okay. But it's not! Cause now all I got is my fucking shitty dad! I just can’t wait to get out of this place. Can’t wait to fucking leave! All on my own.” There was a pause. 

“I’d go with you.” You don't know why you said it. You knew JJ was still mad at you and he wouldn’t care that you apparently wanted to run away with him. He'd probably rather be alone forever than leave the island with you. But you knew the words that left your mouth were incredibly true.

“What? Where?”

“Anywhere. If you left. I would go with you.”

“You wouldn’t leave this shit. You got it good here.”

“Yes I would. You always have me now JJ.” He stayed silent at your words that felt somehow like both a serious declaration of love and a nonchalant greeting to a friend. He didn’t  speak for a while and you wondered if he had fallen asleep when he moved his head slightly to look up at you.

“I’m still mad at you,” he said. You knew your confession wouldn’t forgive the way you had treated him. Wouldn’t fix everything between you after not speaking for weeks. So you told him.

“I know.” He laid his head back down on your chest, seemingly good with your response and your fingers continued to thread through his hair. It was almost dry now, almost back to its usual softness and you realized how much you missed the feeling. How much you missed him. “I’m really sorry JJ. My friends are dicks and I was being a dick and it’s not okay how I treated you. The things I said… I was so horrible. I didn’t even mean it but I still said it and I know I hurt you and… I don’t even know why I’m friends with them,” JJ smiled despite his state as he sensed your rambling about to begin. He always thought it was cute when you did that, “I mean I’m really not and you're the only person I really care about on the island so I should just dump those idiots. And I’m-- I’m just so sorry J and I missed you so much and-- I wanna make it up to you. I don’t want you to feel alone, I want you to know that you have me. Always. So whatever I have to do--” You felt him adjust slightly, getting more comfortable. You looked down in time to see him close his eyes, too tired or indifferent or still mad to respond to your little rant just yet. And that was okay. So you reached over and turned off your lamp engulfing you in a comforting darkness that blocked out the rest of the world and kept you safe in each other's arms if even for just one night. 

***

You woke slowly. There was little light in your room, the storm having not passed completely and covering the morning sun you were used to. You looked down to the weight you felt on your chest to see JJ and remembered last night. You closed your eyes and wrapped yourself closer around him, hoping to shield him and allow him a few more moments before he’d have to face the world, and face you. you couldn’t bear the thought of jj You fell back to sleep quickly and the next time you opened your eyes, you were face to face with JJ who was now awake. He looked sad, but much more calm. You studied his face but did not move, unsure how to go about the situation. To your surprise, JJ grabbed your hand.

“I miss you,” he said quietly looking down at your clasped hands.

“I’m right here.” You couldn't help the small smile of amusement at his words and the confusion they brought you.

“Well I missed you. And…I don’t wanna, like keep missing you. I don’t wanna go.”

“You don’t have to,” you rushed to say, “You can stay here as long as you want.” He didn’t respond. “JJ I know I really fucked up and I know you might not forgive me right now but I’m really really sorry that I didn’t defend you and that I said all that shit. I’m gonna do everything I can to fix this okay? ‘Cuz I wanna be with you. Like really be with you. And I don’t care about anyone and what they think I just care about you JJ. A lot. You… you make me really happy.” He raised your intertwined hands and began to leave kisses inside your palm and along your wrist. His brows were scrunched together and it looked as if he might cry. He continued to kiss up your arm, to your shoulder, and then to your neck where he left his face buried. You heard him sniff. 

“Yeah well you’ve got a lot of fixing to do,” he began, “Like you’re probably gonna have to buy my weed for like a year or something.” You laughed despite yourself but pushed him away slightly.

“JJ stop, I'm being serious.” He laughed slightly too.

“Yeah I am too.”

“Weed will make you forgive me,” you asked uncertainly.

“Yeah probably.”

“Then deal.”

next end of summer she has to go back to school and shes like come with me and hes like im not going to ur fucking fancy expensive college and shes like u could get a job. i have an apartment and you have money saved up for the last year so you can help pay rent so you don't like like free loader. but hes like what if we like start hating each other again or get in a bunch of fights and shes liek we’ll just have to take the chance. 

[evaskjew]

tag nine people you want to get to know better!

I was tag by @myokk & @traceyc-uk so let's go:

LAST SONG? - The Will by Alexandre Desplat. Call me strange, but I love listening to film/series/video game soundtracks (and have done since I was 14)! I listen to them when I'm preparing my lessons or correcting my papers, when I'm drawing or writing, etc. Really my "Musics for studying" playlist is the one I listen to most on Spotify 😂

FAVORITE COLOR? - Definitly blue! But I like cold colors in general. And also neutral tone & dark adacemia color palette too 😅

CURRENTLY WATCHING? - I spend my life watching series and films 😆 House of the dragon a short while ago (I love the GOT universe so much 🥰) and at the moment I'm watching Downtown Abbey and Nautilus. And I'm rewatching Sherlock.

LAST MOVIE? - Oppenheimer (by the way, a good biopic, magnificently directed, but in view of the critics I expected better)

SWEET/SPICY/SAVORY? - I'm hesitating between two 😭😭 I love sugar (as a French person, how can I resist pastries, les Religieuses my guilty pleasure ��� ) After that ‘spicy’ can have two meanings for me: either spicy that burns the throat (and I actually like it, but not all the time) or spicy in the sense of using spices. If it's the second meaning, then clearly I choose SPICY (I swear by them when I cook 🤤)

But not salty! I salt my food as little as possible and I've got used to eating very little salt (which means that when I eat something that is slightly saltier than what I'm used to, I get a very salty feeling 🥲)

RELATIONSHIP STATUS? - I have a celibacy subscription since 24 years (No doubt a counterpart to being born on 14 February 🤣 and being introverted +++)

CURRENT OBSESSIONS? - My cat 🥰🥰 (My best confidante and my favourite art critic!) She often comes to my desk when I'm drawing and watches me do it ❤ And at the moment she's a bit under the weather (we came back from holiday and found her ill, she lost 600 grams in 3 days and had to be hospitalised 😓). When I go up to Paris I won't see her anymore 😭 (she is my parent's cat)

And of course HP and HL 😅

LAST THING YOU GOOGLED? - "Impact foudre" We were under orange alert for thunderstorms and that allows me to know where the heart of the storm is (and also because lightning falling in your city at 3am wakes you up 🤣)

I did do and enjoy the tag game but when it comes to tagging people, well, I don't have anyone to tag 😞

As I'm very very introverted, I don't talk to anyone 😖 Leaving comments on posts is already an ordeal for me 🥲(so I hardly ever do it, I prefer to just like.) That just goes to show my introverted side!

[jehhskz]

Thanks for the tag twin @athforskz ❤️

Click here for the questions. Kindly asking for MDNI because there will be nsfw stuff!

I'm tagging @doitforbangchan / @moonchild9350 / @jeonginsleftcheek / @ssickmagnolia8 ❤️

1.Dumbest thing you believed as a new fan?

I was convinced that Han and the actress Shin Se-kyung were sibilings because in my mind they are pretty much twins, i even went to check on Google because i couldn't remember her name and not to confirm they aren't related 😅

2.Favorite duo/ship from this group?

Although hyunlix fics makes my heart warm, i don't ship any of them romantically. But friendship speaking, my favorite is hyunlix and hyunjin and innie, i love how they are with each other 💕

3.Favorite sub group within the whole group (for skz: favorite Racha)?

Danceracha, they altered my brain chemical forever

4.Favorite unreleased song?

Mic and brush and their solos from dominATE tour 🥹 can they hurry up and released it soon, please?

5. Favorite old song of theirs? Favorite song from their most recent project/album?

I love love love Case 143 but i'd say Lonely St too, for their new album i loved everything, but i'd say chk chk boom, because this song instantly puts me in a good mood

6.Has your bias/ bias line changed?

Hmmm, i met skz because of Felix, but even if we had a - weird start - Hyunjin caught my attention right away, and i remember watching the topline mv and thinking if i was dating Felix i'd have those - oh i wish it was you instead - feelings for Hyunjin (look at me being delulu when i didn't even know what delulu was 😵), so yeah i guess it's always been Hyunjin 👉🏻👈🏻

7.What about bias wreckers, have they changed?

I'm torn between Lino and Felix, but it has been like this for awhile, so i'd say it didn't change

8.Which member are you attracted to the most physically? Emotionally?

I think ot8's so hot, i'd feel luck 🤭 but i'd say physically Han, him dancing to lalalala in that cropped top lives rent free in my mind, Hyunjin too and i'm not saying this just because he showed his abs recently, this man fully dressed was already messing with my head, and emotionally i'd say Han or Hyunjin too because i feel like i'd be very safe with them and could just be me without having to worry about what to say or do

9.If you ever actually had the chance, who do you think you’d work out in a long-term relationship with (please remember the first rule of Kpop)?

What's the first rule of Kpop? Without a doubt, Hyunjin. Not to hype me up or anything, but i just know i'd know how to love him right ❤️

10.A favorite kink of yours and choose a member to fit that kink?

Ohhh tmi moment 🫣 i'm obsessed with men neck, it drives me insane and Hyunjin has the most beautiful neck 🤤 and fingers intertwined, it's like my thing, very intimate, very loving, feeling his beautiful hands connected with mine during our intimate moments would make my heart explode, also finish inside, very intimate ❤️

11.Favorite sluttiest choreography/move they’ve done?

Have you seen my bias dancing? That man's moves is really something else 🫣 to highlight some of him and the boys, i'd say danceracha during taste, Hyunjin's hall of fame, that move from thunderous, Changbin's poppin, and Chan and I.N's solo during dominATE, their JJAM dance, oooh and the iconic play with fire!!!

12.Most unhinged fic and oneshot or edit you have enjoyed of them?

Ohh i've got quite a long list 💕 i usually go for the romances, here's some of the favs:

Hyunjin - Deity by @doitforbangchan

Hyunjin - Three days with you @moonchild9350

Hyunjin - Teach me and Too much kitten? By @seungfl0wer

Hyunjin - Sweet Reunion by @jeonginsleftcheek

Hyunjin - TAGAM by @leeknowsallyoursecrets

Hyunlix - Losing my breathe for you by @ssickmagnolia8

SKZ - All bark and no bite by @doitforbangchan

Felix - Of Ex's and Oh's by @athforskz

Han - Weather the storm by @doitforbangchan

There's a lot more, but i think i'm not suppose to make this list too long (?), but it's basically all my babes masterlists: @athforskz, @doitforbangchan, @jeonginsleftcheek, @leeknowsallyoursecrets, @moonchild9350, @ssickmagnolia8 i'm obsessed with their writting ❤️

Edits: This // This // This // This

[sunkitten-shash]

Wheel of time adjacent music!?!?!????

Yes! My collection was formed several years ago, before the show came out, so no OST from that or anything. There's a good deal of fan music (and probably even more now! Haven't checked for at least six years lol), and I also just Googled and went through a bunch of forum threads about music people associate with the series.

(Sorry, this turned out very long! Wheel of Time adjacent music is one of the things I have spent a LOT of time thinking about)

Fan Music (it's mostly metal)

Reflections of Sound did some of the songs from the series - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFD79BF2D4A257CB0 (Color of Trust especially is one of my favorites from this!)

A Soundtrack for the Wheel of Time is an older, semi-official thing - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kruuxgJat1Nmzuu0l5YRMYEA95XFDCEnU

Noble Beast, a power metal band, has one or two songs based on WoT; "The Dragon Reborn" obviously, and there might have been another one in the same album but I don't remember. Honestly recommend the whole album, they're BANGERS https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN50TABYCox89OIAMicMQfnh-UgDoCQRN

Wars Fought With the Heron-Marked Blade - I don't think I ever listened to this album all the way through, but I think all or most of the songs are WoT-inspired, and the name obviously is - https://open.spotify.com/album/1CxCxLIrHYJ92oCtTbjcIN

Blind Guardian's album At The Edge of Time has at least two WoT-inspired songs, Ride into Obsession and Wheel of Time - https://open.spotify.com/album/1KpuPdS4ea7uaBdP0Ywryz

Shayol Ghul is a band with an obviously WoT-inspired name; not sure about what songs are related to the series, but I have "Alone and Cold" and "Cascade of Darkness" downloaded

"Please, Please George" is a song about the next A Song of Ice and Fire book not coming out but it does namedrop Wheel of Time ("I might have to read The Wheel of Time instead/They're gonna finish that even though Robert Jordan's dead") and is also just a fun song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztLYtUGEEfc&pp=ygUUcGxlYXNlIHBsZWFzZSBnZW9yZ2U%3D

There's a bunch of other one-off songs I picked up at some point, so I made a playlist real quick - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbGNVzzzICJoVuxEy894nMDEg92FeUrb2

I think I found some of these artists by searching on the Encyclopaedia Metallicum, and it looks like there might be a few more on there now - https://www.metal-archives.com/

Here's a post with some I missed as well! https://www.thegreatblight.com/post/wheel-of-time-songs-you-missed

Other Music

Honestly just Google it/search on Reddit or the Dragonmount forums for songs people associate with the series. I have SO MANY, and just taking a quick look there's tons more I don't have. Some artists that I saw mentioned a lot include Within Temptation, Metallica, Nightwish, and Mumford & Sons.

A couple of my favorites:

Three Days Grace - Animal I Have Become, Our Lady Peace - Not Enough and Mumford & Sons - After the Storm (especially the "I won't rot" line!) for Rand

Within Temptation - Dangerous and Three Days Grace - The Good Life for Mat

(I also will not hesitate to make a WoT playlist (or several) with additional songs if anyone is interested!)

Thanks for giving me an excuse to talk about this, anon! I had a HUGE special interest in Wheel of Time a few years ago, and (obviously, lol) spent a lot of time finding music I could associate with the books. That phase honestly really shaped my music taste and some of the artists I found then are still favorites now.

[shuupy]

People I'd Like to Know Better

Tagged by: @snikkeler & @majikhara 🌿 Thanks for the tag ˊᵕˋ

Last Song: Le picbois by Beau Dommage

My partner told me I should listen to more French Canadian music and boy was he right. They have the perfect nostalgic, folk sound for the snowless autumn we're having~

Favorite Colour: 🩸r e d 🩸

Last Book [manga] Read: Dead Dead Demon's Dedededestruction #04 by Asano Inio

To celebrate the manga's anime adaptation, I'm currently buying and re-reading Dededede! Not only is it hilarious and spectacularly well-drawn, it's also quite visionary and an accurate representation of what it's like to be young and alive during the Internet era.

Last Movie: The Wild Robot (2024)

This movie wholly took me OUT, cried 10 mins in and couldn't stop until the credits roll lmao

Last Show: Hannibal 🦌 & Angel 🧛‍♂️

My partner and I are having nightly watchparties we affectionately call TLC (Tastes Like Chicken) where we watch one episode of Hannibal followed by one episode of Angel (the Buffy spinoff). They give off uncannily complementary vibes and Angel is the perfect mouthwash after a heavy show like Hannibal

Sweet/savoury/spicy: Savory

Every single of my close relatives who hasn't died from diabetes has diabetes so I can't really afford to indulge in sweets that often. Good thing I don't have much of a sweet tooth! And I'm white so that explains everything you need to know about spicy food 🤡

Relationship status: In a relationship

Three years and still counting 💖

Last thing I looked up: Pictures of my neighborhood & La Côte d'Azur

My partner came home today telling me he ran across an ex-coworker. They chatted a bit and the ex-coworker mentioned they have a new hire who's from La Côte d'Azur. We Googled pics from La Côte d'Azur and compared it to our (somewhat poor) neighborhood for comedic purposes. It's quite the downgrade.

Current obsession: NBC Hannibal

Thanks Jenna for that one, still not getting over it and I doubt I ever will ☠️

Looking forward to: Christmas Holidays

Two-week vacation, my lighthouse in the storm ;-;

Tagging: @lifeisquitesomething @warriorofdune @resonancyx @midnightrain-and-cleandays @bleumushyroom Feel free to ignore if you don't wanna play or if you've already done it~

[joelscruff]

a few people tagged me in this so i thought i'd give it a go 💕

Last song: willow - hover like a goddess (sooo good)

Favorite color: pink (preferably light/pastel)

Currently watching: narcos (i'm almost done season 2 but i'll be honest i haven't watched in a few months 😭 i need to get back to it), rewatching curb your enthusiasm sporadically, heartstopper season 2, started a lost rewatch and then fell off. i'm so bad at watching shows yall

Currently reading: 'the housekeeper & the professor' by yoko agawa (only about a chapter in so not sure what i think yet), & i'm also reading 'a year with rilke' which is basically just a different rainer maria rilke poem/quote every single day

Sweet/spicy/savory: i'd say sweet but lately i've actually been craving more savory things to snack on idk whats happening 2 me

Relationship status: single & slowlyyyy getting ready to put myself back out there again (scary)

Current obsession: i have a very unhealthy obsession with tiktok at the moment that i rly need to stamp out cause its getting BAD. like i'll fall asleep watching them at like 3am 😭 someone delete this app from my phone

Last thing I googled: tunefind cause i heard a song in heartstopper and was trying to figure out where i'd heard it before (it was bros by wolf alice and i heard it in life is strange before the storm rip)

Currently working on: feelings on fire joel's pov 🥳 this is the first time i've ever written from his pov so i wasn't sure how i'd feel or if i'd be able to do it right. i'm actually really enjoying it and the chapter is much longer than i anticipated it would be, woops.

as usual i'm always nervous abt tagging people so anyone who wants to do it can go ahead 💖

[darthkvznblogs]

Have you ever played any of the Life is Strange games?

Not played - I like games with choices, but games that are pretty much just choices (especially the ones with time limits, and doubly so if they have lethal consequences for negative outcomes) aren't really my thing - but I've seen a full playthrough of the original game, yeah.

I really loved Max, Chloé, and co.'s story, and I used to read a lot of LiS fics back in the day. I missed out on all the other games and spin-offs, though, just had other interests to consider. I've been meaning to at least read up on the events of the others, but unfortunately I have too many interests and not enough time.

I will tell you, though, just as a fun bit of background, that when I was first planning the Kverse, way back when, I actually intended to include LiS. It's been a while, but lemme see what I can recall about that old idea:

-Blackwell Academy was like, a discount, non-Mutant exclusive Xavier's School. The story would've focused on Max, Chloé, Kate, and Victoria, all of whom had powers, engaging with Rachel's ghost and trying to find her killer, whom she couldn't recall.

-Max still had her timey wimey powers, but she was an Inhuman, and specifically able to manipulate the flow of tachyons - not just reversing, but going back and forth, or sideways. Going too far any which way made her pass out, bleed from the nose, and would eventually kill her if she really pushed it. (in retrospect, I think it would've been a mistake to not touch on her ability to photo travel, that's such a cool idea)

-Chloé had been somehow infused with the power of a massive storm (the one from the end of the game, actually, but not sure how it would've happened early and syphoned into her. I think Roxxon was involved, but I can't remember). I pictured her powers as resembling those of Cole McGrath from the Infamous games. She would've struggled with controlling her power a lot, and could easily harm those around her, friends and foes alike. (I still like the idea of Chloé and electrokinesis, they just seem like they go together)

-Kate was the most out there; she was like a reverse Ghost Rider! Her faith was so powerful that her guardian angel had possessed her to save her life, presumably in a similar situation as her suicide attempt in the game. Obsessed as I am with the Diablo depiction of angels, I pictured her transformation like Auriel, with the bladed ribbon and everything. She would've had a very conflicted relationship with her guardian angel - undeniable proof that her beliefs are warranted, yet an entity that wrests control of her body, even if her intent is pure. (I genuinely love this concept still and would very much like to do something with it in the Kverse proper)

-Victoria would've been a mutant, and actually (somewhat distantly) related to Emma Frost. Her power would've been to adopt a quartz-like form (originally sapphire). She would've struggled with the obvious comparisons - her inorganic form was inferior to Emma's, not just in composition but because she couldn't move while transformed, and she also lacked telepathy in her regular form. (I wasn't fully sold on this one, but admittedly Victoria is my least favorite of what I'd consider the "core" LiS cast.)

-Rachel had been murdered, still, but her ghost persisted, and she could do typical ghostly things like possessing people, going invisible and intangible, etc. She had no recollection of the day she was murdered, but still did her best to help the others figure out her case - even though she was terrified that doing so would force her to pass on, having accomplished little of what she desired in life.

It's kinda cool to talk about this! I doubt I'll do anything with it - not for lack of trying, I actually tried and failed to write a first chapter several times in those early years, it's just kind of an "out there" concept, even for the Kverse - but as you might imagine, there's a crap ton of scrapped ideas like this in my google docs, and I don't usually discuss them.

[rune-tisms]

I NEED TO KNOW THE BACKSTORY OF REESE PLEASE

NO WAY OMG SOMEONE CARES ABT MY STUPID INSERT OC IM SO HAPPYYYY

i literally wrote a whole google doc about him i’ll just paste it here lmao

cw for a suicide attempt (not detailed though)

reese has lived in gotham for his whole life, but when his parents died in a car crash when he was 12 years old, he was promptly moved to the gotham city orphanage. it was there that he met edward nashton. they didn’t immediately become friends, as reese had become quite the trouble maker and frequently got into fights with the other children, but edward warmed up to him eventually. reese was the only one who actually spoke kindly to edward, which caused edward to get somewhat attached to him. once they became friends, reese quickly got very attached to edward and they were practically inseparable. reese even stopped getting into fights and found himself able to better cope with his loss due to having edward around. they would remain friends until reese was 16; their friendship would end with a nasty argument that removed both of them from speaking terms. it would begin with edward wishing for some space from reese, and reese feeling hurt by this and lashing out by accusing edward of being the reason he has no other friends at the orphanage, and from there it would just get worse and worse until it ended with both of them storming away from each other and never speaking or even being within 5 feet of each other ever again.

reese would go on to immediately join the workforce, never keeping jobs for long but making enough money to afford a shitty apartment in the slums of gotham. his mental health declined significantly and he even attempted suicide when he was 23, but was unsuccessful. the trip to the hospital caused him to become even less financially stable, so he had to take up multiple jobs at the same time, and this in turn worsened his mental health even more. he scraped by every day, barely a shell of a person, until one day he stumbled across one of the riddler’s online clues and managed to get into his community. reese found hope in the riddler’s promise of a real change, and found himself obsessing over who the person behind the mask really was. riddler had practically saved his life by pulling him out of his depressive stupor, so naturally his damaged brain latched onto him and pulled him into a parasocial relationship with this strange online figure. however, he was far too anxious to try and form an actual connection with the man or even make himself a prominent figure in his community. he settled for snippets of the riddler from his livestreams and posts, all the while wishing they could meet in person. it’s likely that, subconsciously, reese picked up on similarities between his childhood friend edward and the riddler, though he never was able to make that connection outright until edward was caught and detained and his identity was revealed on the news. as riddler enacted his plan, reese was unable to find it within himself to care that riddler was a murderer; he was in too deep already. he was simply another follower. it’s not as though reese wasn’t inclined to violence himself, anyway.

regarding the batman, reese isn’t very interested in him, and is, in fact, more jealous of him than anything. he wishes that he was doing something that could cause the riddler to be as interested in him as he was in the batman. in fact, reese often fantasized about being the batman himself, simply because he wants to be noticed and loved by the riddler.

during the flooding of gotham, luckily reese’s apartment complex was far enough away from the sea wall to suffer minimal damage. it was, however, at this point that reese began to question his loyalty to the riddler, but by this time it’d already been revealed to him that the riddler was edward nashton. he was able to sympathize with edward and his cause even more due to knowing him personally, and so mentally excused all of his actions. besides, it would be immensely painful for reese to discard his obsession since it was practically the only thing keeping him alive; edward/the riddler was the only thing that mattered anymore.

he begins to daydream about freeing riddler from arkham, but he knows he’s not smart enough to actually achieve such a feat. he hopes edward can free himself, and since edward has always been smarter than him, has hope that he can actually do it. this is where reese is at currently; waiting for edward to escape so he can finally reunite with him after all this time.

i hope you find it interesting anon thank you so much for asking :D

also, this is only one possible backstory for him, i have too many ideas 😭 if you wanna know more you can totally dm me :3 or just send another ask ofc!

[oscarealejandro]

A'ja Wilson has been named M'VP for the third time in her career! She is the second player in history to be unanimously voted [Cynthia Cooper, 1998].

Basketball is up there on my list of things that I love. I grew up watching Melo and he planted the seed that eventually turned into an obsession. Around 2010-2011 the NBA became part of my daily routine. LeBron joining my Miami Heat to form the Big 3 and play the most beautiful basketball I'd ever seen up to that point lit the flame of passion that's fueled by this game. I paid more attention to the W in 2020 because I learned that a viral video of some random lady slinging t-shirts into a San Antonio Spurs crowd was actually a player for the San Antonio Stars, which eventually moved and rebranded as the Las Vegas Aces.

Prior to watching, I wasn't one of those people who claimed to not watch women's sports because it wasn't entertaining. I had no real reason as to why I hadn't tuned in but if I had to explain then it would just be because of how inconvenient it was to actually watch. Fortunately this has improved tenfold but at the time I had no idea when the games were or when the season even started because there seemed to be no promotion. This isn't to say that the fault lies completely on the W; I'm an adult who could easily Google this information.

Regardless, 2020 is when I began tuning in regularly and keeping up to date with players and learning about the different play styles that are unique to the individuals and the league as a whole. When I began watching the finals were underway and the Aces had Ls handed to them for 3 straight games by the Storm to close out the series. Plum didn't play due to a season-ending Achilles injury she suffered earlier in the year, so my attention was solely dedicated to this beast who was dominating like she was playing amongst amateurs. That's my introduction to A'ja Wilson; ever since then she has been my favorite player and my G'OAT. She continues to dominate and add to her legendary career and I'm happy to see her be recognized for her efforts by rewarding her with the accolades that she earns. Just off her college career she has set herself apart from everyone else - who do you know that has been honored with a statue as an active players while being <10 years removed.

I can't speak enough about how much she has meant to me as a new fan of this league and I'm grateful to witness her excellence. If you're interested in becoming a part of the W community I recommend that you avoid engaging with the trolls who have underlying intentions of pushing personal agendas and use players as pawns, and instead allocate some time to watch a game/highlight reel/hoop tape of some player you've heard of and build memories from there. It hurts my heart to watch this league become demonized by people who use rivalries as platforms to promote hateful views and I know there is no true solution to this ignorance, but I hope that my grace and promotion of some of my favorite players does something to drown out any hate.

[unsociableandtaciturnbarbie]

As I believe I’ve mentioned previously, I have read Sense and Sensibility before. What I have not mentioned previously, out of respect for spoilers, is that when I finished Sense and Sensibility, on a January evening in 2021, I promptly slammed the book shut and stormed into my mother’s room to rant. What could have earned this book a 3.5/5 rating (note: my rating scale sometimes extends to ∞/5 so this is a very low score) and the comment, “Excuse me? What was that ending???” in my Google Sheets reading log? Simply put: it was Elinor and Colonel Brandon not ending up together.

I will readily admit that I got into Austen for the romance; it’s hard not to when your first exposure to her works is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and you’re a romance-obsessed 16 year old. Thus, a pairing of characters which I deemed unsuitable entirely ruined most of my enjoyment of the book at the time. This year, I decided to read Sense and Sensibility with a more open mind and a determination to like Edward as a love interest. Unfortunately, Edward still fell (quite) short for me. As someone who sees a lot of myself in Elinor with a brother who has Marianne tendencies, I can’t help but wish Elinor the absolute best. I just wanted to see her hard work constantly caring for her sister (who gets herself into such avoidable trouble) pay off. Yet, Marianne somehow ends up with the best option, and reluctantly at that! At this point, I should state that I cannot possibly do justice to the level of research (read: obsession) I have done into this in one Tumblr post. Here’s a meme I threw together that I think encapsulates it (picture me as the guy in the tie, my annotated book as the board behind him, and my roommate as the woman just barely in frame) (I’m serious, my roommates did not know the plot of Sense and Sensibility before this week):

Despite my best intentions, by the middle of Volume 2 I was highlighting every phrase that I thought could possibly mean that Elinor and Brandon were meant to be together- some may call it willful misunderstanding, I call it careful analysis. Example 1: Of Mrs. Dashwood saying that Marianne would be happier to marry Colonel Branon than Elinor, “Elinor was half inclined to ask her reason for thinking so, because satisfied that none founded on an impartial consideration of their age, characters, or feelings, could be given (254) .” Was this likely meant to serve as a way to show Mrs. Dashwood’s over-sensibility and lack of sense for basic facts like age? Yes. Does the word “feelings” at the end of this quote send me into a tailspin of possibilities of what that could mean? Also yes. In the interest of your time, I will not put them all here, but I have a collection of quotes which I am willing to share. Additionally, as proof that there are other believers out there, here is a reddit thread about them for your perusal, and my favorite comment!

I could say much more on the subject of Elinor and Colonel Brandon themselves, but I’m going to restrain myself here and focus more on the fanfiction which I provided as the center for my post today. This fic is titled Added Sensibility and is a 19 chapter WIP (work-in-progress). For those unaware, fanfiction is a wonderful online world of writing where anything can happen to any character that has ever existed. Do you think Harry Potter’s  Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger should have ended up together? There’s fanfiction about that! Do you wish Rey and Kylo Ren of the Star Wars Sequels got to live happily ever after together? There’s fanfiction about that too! This last example would be what is termed a “Fix-it” fic in the fanfiction world. These are based on the idea that if you think something went wrong somewhere in a piece of fiction, you can go back and “fix it” for yourself… and the entire internet. Elinor and Colonel Brandon ending up together is something I would deem to be a “fix-it”. Thus, I went straight to AO3 (Archive Of Our Own- a popular fanfiction publishing website) and searched for Colonel Brandon/Elinor Dashwood. Side note: This was actually the second fic I tried for this week’s post. The first was only 6 chapters but wrapped up quickly with Marianne running away to join the feminist movement along with Colonel Brandon’s ward. It was not what I wanted, so I gave Added Sensibility a try even though I would normally not touch a WIP.

I can attest 10 chapters (the equivalent of 134 ebook pages on my phone) in that this is a great read. It’s not Jane Austen, no one will ever be able to replicate her masterful use of language to create layer after layer of sharp wit, but it’s pretty good in my opinion. There’s enough plot and character development present so that it’s not a totally 2d story, but the main focus is on their developing love story, starting from when Elinor and Marianne go to stay with Mrs. Jennings in town. What really caught my attention (besides my glee at someone having written Elinor and Colonel Brandon together pretty much exactly the way I wanted it) was the characterization of Mrs. Jennings. The author once writes of Mrs. Jennings, “The woman was the complete opposite of an enigma, and yet, Elinor struggled to comprehend her thoughts.” In class we talked about how Mrs. Jennings seems to be so close to “getting it” sometimes, but then she just turns back into this very flat and gossipy character. In this fanfic, the author seems to go through with it and gives her more dimension and credit for intelligence than I think Jane Austen ever meant to, but it brings me back to when we talked about the idea that you can pull any character out of an Austen novel and write a novel on them. This fanfic really supports that for me. While Elinor and Colonel Brandon were characters who have had their characters decently sketched out in Sense and Sensibility, this fanfic gives dimension to other characters, like Mrs. Jennings, who previously were more of the backdrop for where the Dashwoods existed. I do think Jane Austen is rolling in her grave over the amount of ungloved hand contact and improperly private conversations that occur in this fanfic, but I will 100% own to being the target audience for the American ending of Pride and Prejudice (2005), so all the mushy gushy affection in this fanfic is right up my alley. Overall, I would recommend this fanfic and I will be finishing it in my free time!

[messrsbyler]

nic oh my god you wrote me a book and i swear on my life i will go back and respond to it because you are so big brained i am obsessed with you please let’s never shut up about this because stranger things/avatar is everything i ever needed

but but but i am dropping in before i go to bed to say

mike not knowing how to master lightning. first of all. ouch. why would you hurt me with that. second of all. god PLEASE JUST IMAGINE a scene like zuko has where he’s standing in the pouring rain and screaming at the sky. lightning is crashing. mike is just sobbing and having a breakdown.

idk i am so so sleepy right now brain is slowly shutting down but something. something about all the rain imagery (pouring rain the night mike lost will/found el, pouring rain in byler fight + pouring rain breakdown now and eventually pouring rain byler kiss). something something water is his opposite element (water also being el’s native element? interesting there’s something there). something about all these moments representing a culmination of mike’s insecurities and how he feels like he’s not good enough and his inability to firebend well also being so deeply tied to his guilt over like everything happening with will. the rain. the lightning. the storm. the heaviness of all mike’s emotions!

IM SORRY I REALLY WENT ALL OUT ON YOU (though you are the one to blame for that one) and omg no it's okay! take your time there's no rush that post isn't going anywhere!

big brained, obsessed with me- ASJDAHSDJA damn it andi you can't just drop bombs like that and flee?

you DARE to ask for explanations, ask how i dare to hurt you like that, to then proceed to hurt me LIKE THAT AS WELL BY PUTTING MIKE SCREAMING WITH LIGHTING IN THE BACKGROUND IN MY MIND?

something something all the rain imaginary you mention. something something rain being water (ugh i'm so smart, did you see me putting those two dots together? harvard potential) something something waterbending being used to heal, something something at the final scene with the rain, the rain representing mike healing from his insecurities and self-loathing, something something el's native element being water, something something el being the one who brought will back to mike and healed that wound, something something fire and water being opposites and not being able to coexist that easily something something but lighting and water (rain) coexisting together, something something what if mike is mediocre at firebending because of all the pressure put on him as he tries to follow nancy's path but he can't never reach her because he's not using his bending to grow and strengthen himself, he is doing it to fit someone else's (his parents') expectations and the too big gap left for him to fill in his last name. something something when mike discovers lighting it's something that connects so well with his outbursts of emotions, something that can be dangerous and scary, something others might shy away from (this being a parallel of loud mike, of rebellious mike, of that mike that thrashes and is crying for help and to be seen), but how lighting is also beautiful at the same time and powerful and just so in sync with mike. something something what if mike's bending call is to lighting instead of purely fire, because it coexists with water meaning it coexists with mike healing and finding himself and how he is worth it because he is mike and being mike is enough.

SOMETHING SOMETHING (i had to google this) TO FORM LIGHTING YOU NEED BOTH AIR AND WATER according to the NASA (and you would think those guys must know one thing or two about lighting, right?)

You need cold air and warm air. When they meet, the warm air goes up. It makes thunderstorm clouds! The cold air has ice crystals. The warm air has water droplets. During the storm, the droplets and crystals bump together and move apart in the air. This rubbing makes static electrical charges in the clouds.

something something both will and el being important in mike's journey to discover himself and his worth and his lightningbending. something something water healing him and air giving him the strength he needs

something something i wrote too much again SORRY!

OKAY THAT'S ALL! sweet dreams andi!!!

[safeashousespdf]

tagged (tangentially) by @saintflint (i just want to answer some fun little questions) <3

relationship status: single…. girl mutuals you know what to do

favorite colour: blood orange, chartreuse 🧶🍐

song stuck in my head: cool about it (boygenius)

last song i listened to: various storms and saints (florence + the machine)

three favorite foods: a good chicken/turkey sandwich, california rolls with spicy mayo, a fresh fruit salad

last thing i googled: the ‘this barbie is’ meme (trying to explain it to my mom)

dream trip: yukon, ca (idk what’s up there i just decided i wanted to go one day and it’s been an obsession ever since)

anything i want right now: to finish my fuckin wip. also a venti iced matcha latte with oat milk.

tagging @reyesstrand @astudyinsubtext @evcndiaz @lovesgalores @cringefailmarriage @colonoscopys

[symbiotic-slime]

People I’d like to know better!!

thanks so much to @bridoesotherjunk for tagging me! :D

last song: can’t fight this feeling by REO Speedwagon! @kitausuret said it was something flash would listen to and I’ve been obsessed with them ever since

favourite colour: purple! I’ve had my hair dyed an amethyst-like colour for like 2 years now :)

currently watching: flygonHG’s Pokémon storm silver nuzlocke

last movie: Mad Max: Fury Road which I had to watch for social justice class (still rlly enjoyed it tho). the last movie I watched out of my own will was venom 2 I think lol

spicy/savoury/sweet: I am so addicted to sweets right now. we’ve been doing a lot of Christmas baking so there’s just so many cookies in the house! also I literally can’t handle any spice 😭

relationship status: single and not actively seeking out a partner

current obsession: venom if it wasn’t obvious lmaoo. no matter where I look in my room there’s something venom and I can’t go a day without thinking about them <3

last google search: pokemon scarlet friendship evolution because my riolu wasn’t evolving no matter what i did :,)

uhhhhh I’ll tag @kitausuret and @scarletsp1der :)