#had my first class and understood maybe 25% of it

[camelliasinensis81]

first week of school and I already feel stupid and insecure

[bad268]

Heyy I love your Kimi fics so I decided to send you in a request. I wanted something simples of their life’s as teenagers with very different livings yk. Maybe compilation of different moments of them together such as: she is on school brake so goes to a race with him, he keeps her secret of course but as just an excuse to pass more time together. Or maybe a glimpse of their nightly routine when they get to be together, like ordering food because any of them trusts the other with the stove and then getting ready to bed and just cuddle. Or also like they want to pass time together but she has a test (they probably study in the same school but Kimi just doesn’t care anymore) and he is simply laid in her bed reviewing his data from racing while she is in her desk studying. I think you understood the idea, just some cute fluff of two teens in love. Use your amazing creativity as much as you want, I’ve read a lot of your fanfics and I trust you I’ll make justice to a cute fluff. I hope you enjoy my idea.

Just A Glimpse (Andrea Kimi Antonelli X Reader)

Fandom: RPF/F2/F3

Requested: Clearly (hehe this was fun to do)

Warnings: ADHD mentioned, talks about smacking pasta if that makes you uncomfortable (i guess)

POV: Second Person (You/your)

W.C. 1109

Summary: Just a glimpse into the life of Kimi and you.

As always, my requests are OPEN

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

~~(^Pinterest)

Your relationship started back when neither of you knew what love was. Back when you were naive 16-year-olds, you and Kimi connected because you were from the same area. Back then, Bologna, Italy was not the biggest area, and you two clung together like magnets. It became a running joke when he came back to racing after a midseason break, glued to his phone, that he found someone. 

That someone was you.

As your relationship progressed, you tried to be at as many races as possible, but when he first made the jump from FRECA to Formula 2, then Formula 1 at age 18, it wasn’t that easy. You were just starting in university, and it was already difficult to attend the 14 race weekends. Never mind the 25 they were making F1 drivers do. Still, you tried your best, and Kimi was always supportive of your ambitions.

He also tried his best to keep you hidden, Sure, he talked about you here and there, but he never named you and never posted you. He wanted you to have the privacy to do your school work in peace without being bombarded by fans. You two decided you would probably announce your relationship when you finished your degree. If you decided to continue higher after that, you’d either do it online or suffer with the newfound attention. Granted, your accounts were private, but you still knew the fans would spam you somehow.

One of your favorite things to do is hide away in Kimi’s driver’s room. It was a common occurrence that you would be studying while Kimi was preparing for a race. More often than not, you would be sat on the couch studying or working on assignments while Kimi is either reviewing data or stretching and getting ready for a session. On the rare chance Kimi had nothing to do, he would ask you a million and one questions about your work.

“What’s this essay about?” “That looks difficult.” “Didn’t you just finish a project for that class?” “That seems a bit much for a basic class.” Those were some of the things he would say whenever he looked over your shoulder as you skimmed anything on your computer. His interest always gave you new motivation to keep going.

Another favorite for you was the nights between races. The nights when neither of you had anything to do other than be with each other. Sometimes you would force Kimi to do face masks with you (skin care is essential!), sometimes you two would try to cook, sometimes you would just cuddle, and in the event you do all three, all hell breaks loose. 

“Stop moving so much,” You hissed annoyed that this boy could not sit still for the life of him and let you put the mask on. You had already struggled enough trying to get all of his curly hair back, but now he was flinching away every time you tried to put the product on his skin. “I swear, you have ADHD.”

“It’s cold, and I don’t like it. This one feels weird,” He groaned but stopped moving and let you do your thing. “Why do we need to do the slimy one? Can we just use the clay one again?”

“Your skin needs hydration, not help with the texture,” You explained as you laid the mask across his features. “Your face is inflamed and the clay mask will just make it worse. This one would actually benefit you.”

“I better get cuddles after this,” He mumbled as you finished up by washing your hands. Your mask had already been applied.

“After we make dinner, you can get all the cuddles you want,” You compromised, thinking dinner would not take too long to make. It was a new pasta recipe you got from Kimi’s nutritionist, and Kimi is Italian. What could go wrong? Those were your famous last words.

“Stop smacking the dough! The flour isn’t mixed right!” You shouted, but it was no use. Kimi walked straight up behind you and smacked the dough pile again just after you added more flour. This caused a cloud of flour to hit the two of you directly in the face. “ANDREA!”

“Oh no,” He muttered after he blew out the flour and went to wipe his face, but his hands got covered in the face mask he still had on. “Oh no.”

“‘Oh no’,” You mocked as you gaped at him. “What did I just say?”

“Stop smacking it,” He tried to sound serious and apologetic, but the smile on his face told that he was amused by the situation. 

“And what did you do?”

“Smacked it.”

“What did you learn?”

“Stop smacking pasta when you’re mixing it.”

That was it. You both couldn't help it as you both started laughing.

You made Kimi clean up the kitchen after you both washed off the floury face masks. You told him that since he got you into that mess, he could clean it up. While he did that, you called and ordered your favorite takeaway. You did not trust Kimi in the kitchen anymore. You went to pick it up, and when you came back, Kimi had cleaned the kitchen and set up a blanket fort in the common room. You chuckled to yourself as you walked up to the opening of the fort, but Kimi blocked you from entering. 

“What’s the password?” Kimi smirked as he only exposed his head and would not let you see inside.

“Is it Italian or English?” You countered.

“To make it easy, I’ll accept English,” Kimi teased as he watched you think.

“Hmm, the password has to be, ‘I bought dinner, and if you want to eat tonight, you better let me in.’ Is that right?”

“Actually, it was ‘I love you’ but I’ll take it.”

The inside of the fort was more than you expected. Kimi had moved the TV down, so it fit inside. There were pillows and blankets everywhere, and your favorite drinks were in an ice bucket to the side. You were impressed he was able to get this all done while you were picking up the food.

“How did you get this done? I wasn’t gone that long,” You asked skeptically as you sat down and looked around.

“You walk slow,” Kimi joked, but immediately after, the door slammed closed and someone texted Kimi.

“I better get credit for helping,” It read from Ollie. You looked over at Kimi who was smiling sheepishly at you.

“Want to comment on that?”

“No, not really.”

That’s just a little glimpse into the life of you and Kimi.

~~~~~

© BAD268 2024. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

[s-4pphics]

let the rain sing. 2 (a.a)

wc;cw: 4.1k, dadsbestfriend!abby, lawstudent!oc, large age gap (oc is 25, abby is mid 40s), abby is bi <3, SMUT MDNI, nipple play, eating out no bbq, strap ons, fingering, mating press😳, dirty talk, squirting, dumbification, slight dubcon, choking, mult. orgasms, abby’s so pussy drunk soo real, angst :(, mentions of grief and loss, dassit me finks

You were going to kill somebody. It’s been declared. 

Your latest lecture was, by far, the worst you’ve ever had, and you were feeling vengeful. On your instructor, your classmates, everyone.

You seethed in your seat, smoke nearly wafting off you and suffocating you in the tight space of your car. You prayed that you wouldn’t get a speeding ticket from how hard your foot pressed on the gas pedal. The familiar sluggishness that overtook your form was making you hunch over the steering wheel, your worn eyes burning from tears as you recollected the pure devastation you felt when you saw terms on the screen that you weren’t familiar with yet just an hour before.  

You’d brought the wrong notebook to your last class, making the lecture completely fucking useless because you had nothing to reference. There were so many systems listed that you hadn’t memorized, terminology you didn’t remember from your books. And you were going to fucking… kill somebody. 

You’d been so fucking embarrassed. Nobody around you even knew or cared about your slip up, but you still searched around the room, waiting for someone to ridicule you for fucking up this late in the game. You were about to graduate, and you still were behaving like a fucking rookie. A first year. Maybe you weren’t ready for your fucking degree. 

You’d scrambled to get as many notes down as you could without snapping your hand clean off your wrist, but it wasn’t enough to jog your memory. 

Your vehicle came to a halt when you reached the now all too familiar neighborhood, and you put your car in park in front of the residential mailbox. 

You hadn’t realized that you took the backwoods route that led to Abby’s neighborhood. You were parked right in front of her home, and you thanked god when you saw her car parked in the driveway. You never came to see her without warning, but you were so desperate for a distraction that you hadn’t bothered to text her. You need anything to ease the tension in your body from today, even just for a little bit. 

You exited and locked your car before booking it across the street and up the stairs to her porch, knocking on her front door with urgency; The pounding on the wood made your headache worse. 

It took only a minute for her door to pull open, and you were instantly swallowed up by the smell of flowers, her scent surrounding you and easing the tension in your shoulders. She looked so comfortable, only clad in sweats, a tank top, and slides, her soft hair framing her face. The tension in your shoulders eased a bit.

She smiled at the sight of you, the lines of her eyes creasing, but it dropped when she studied your expression, “Hi, you okay?” 

You shrugged. You don’t think you were. You weren’t sure anymore. 

Your breathing shuddered, your anger from earlier shifting into want when you saw her, “Um… sorry for coming without notice— “

She shook her head gently, “No, no, it’s alright. I was just reading, come in.”

She moved to the side and allowed you entry, shutting and locking the door behind you. 

Her angelic voice came from behind you as you threw your purse on her couch, “Would you like some tea? I just bought this new flavor! It’s mint and chamomile and it’s so good. I usually don’t drink mint things because my teeth are sensi— “

“Abby,” you cringed at the tone you used to cut her off. 

“Yes?”

You spun to look at her, “I don’t want tea.” 

“… Oh. Okay.” She looked around awkwardly, her eyes downcast. 

A moment of silence passed before she spoke, “Wanna go upstairs?” 

You're glad she understood. You nodded with persistence. 

“Please.” 

You trapped Abby against her bedroom door, slamming it shut as you shoved your tongue in her mouth. 

The kiss was eager and desperate, your hands grabbing everywhere they could on her body. You attacked her hair, tits, thighs, anywhere you could reach as you pressed up against her. Hers were on you just as much, but much more calculated, tightly grabbing at the plush on your hips, her nails digging through your sweater. She grabbed your ass through your jeans, spreading the cheeks as much as she could through the fabric. 

Your mouths were smacking together, spit coating the outside of your mouths as your teeth clanged together. It was wet and sloppy, and it made you drip in your underwear. Her strong arms came up to wrap around your hips, and she led you both over to her perfectly made bed. 

You detached your mouth from hers to yank her t-shirt off, her arms coming up so you could toss it somewhere. You eyed her bare chest before reconnecting your lips. You brought your hand up to her chest to squeeze her tits, tweaking her nipples with precision. She hummed in your mouth and kissed you deeper, her hands traveling to pull at the hem of your sweater. 

You raised your arms up so she could remove the fabric, but before you could pounce on her again, she pushed you onto her cloud-like mattress, looking down at your laid-out body from where she stood above you. 

But she didn’t move on you like she usually did; she just stared, her eyes wandering over your body. You watched her take in your bra-clad chest, wandering down to your stomach and belly button, only to come back up to eye your chest again. She was digesting you with such patience that it made you insecure, but you didn’t move from your position. Your heart matched the pounding pulse of your cunt. 

She brought her hands up to your torso, right under the hem of your bra, laying her palm flat against the bare skin. Your breath caught in your throat when her nails dug into you, and you arched into her touch; you needed her closer. Her hand slowly dragged down your body until she reached the button of your jeans. 

She didn’t undo them, dragging her hand back up your body until she reached your tits, grabbing at both with one hand before her other hand coming to join her massages. You watched her face shift as she touched you; her eyes were hungry but… fragile as her cheeks glowed in the dimly lit space. 

Her hands slipped under your bra, her fingers immediately playing with your nipples. Your core clenched with every pull she gave them, your body shuddering under her precise attacks. Your back arched into her touch as your eyes fluttered. 

And then you heard the ripping of fabric. 

You looked down in shock as she tore at your bra, completely ripping it to shreds and tossing the flimsy strands behind her and onto the floor. You couldn’t help the smirk that spread across your face at her desperation. She giggled when you shook your head at her. 

She leaned over you, her head ducking down to suck your nipples into her mouth; She moaned into the skin as her tongue swirled around you. You propped yourself up on your elbows to watch her lath at your chest, coating them in her spit as her tongue flicked on your buds.

Your hips twitched under her body, “Fuck me, Abby, please— “ 

“Needa get you wet first, baby,” she hummed around your nipple, her words shaking the sensitive skin. You jerked, your legs twitching next to her hips. 

“I’m so fuckin’ wet already, c’mon, gimme what I want— “

Your words were cut off by her soft lips as they molded against yours. You made a small noise, your eyes slowly fluttering shut at the feel of her pillowy mouth. She kissed you with so much care and affection, and it made you squirm, your thighs squeezing around her waist. 

You were pulled out of your trance when you felt her hand on your cheek, her thumb softly caressing your face. You instantly stiffened; She was so sweet, too fucking gentle, and it your heart pound at an alarming pace, anxiety suddenly swirling in your stomach as you cringed. 

You gently pushed at her shoulders and looked at her, her brows furrowed in confusion. 

“You alright?” She checked in softly. 

You nodded quickly, your pussy squeezing at her tone. “Um… yeah. Just— can we, like— “

She shuffled off you and stood at the side of bed, awkwardly grabbing at the back of her neck as she apologized, “Yeah! Um, I’m sorry. I kinda just— “

“Don’t apologize! I’m just in a,” Lie. Just fucking lie! You looked off to the side, “… kinda in a hurry.” 

You sounded like such an asshole. You had nowhere to fucking be, but you always felt terrible whenever you were forced to shut down her intimate gestures. You had no choice but to be stiff with her; She knew what this was between you two, and it could never go beyond that. 

You watched her back muscles flex as she rummaged through her drawer, pulling out her strap and some lube. She undressed quietly, only clad in her boy shorts as she stepped into and adjusted the thick dick on her waist, securing it before turning around to look at you, returning to her previous space between your legs. 

You shivered with want, moving to unbutton your jeans, but she slapped your hands away to do it herself. She moved hastily, ripping your pants and underwear down your legs, and tossing them to the floor.

Your bare pussy throbbed as you held your legs open so she could ease into your cunt, but she yanked you to the edge of the bed, your ass hanging off it and dropped to her knees. 

She shoved her tongue inside your pussy without warning, her wet muscle wiggling around, massaging your walls as your clit pulsed. Your head dropped onto her sheets as you sighed, her tongue swiping up from your entrance to your twitchy bud. She spat the wetness she collected from inside you onto your clit and you groaned. 

She sucked it into her mouth, and you cried out, your hands flying down to her soft hair to pull at it. 

She was licking into all of your spots with enthusiasm, and your hips bucked into her mouth as your orgasm quickly built in your stomach. She took time to learn your body in a way that no one else did and it always shocked you how fast she made you cum. You could already fucking feel it with every quick flick of her tongue on you. 

You bucked in shock when you felt two of her thick fingers slip past your entrance, curling up to hit that spot inside that made you see white. She was hitting it with obscene accuracy, your pussy practically melting around her fingers with every plunge into you. You were about to see god, she was going to make you squirt—

“Fuckin’—ah fuck!”

Your orgasm was going to be big; you felt it and it was so fucking close—

You need to cum, you need it you need it! “Abby, fuck, s’coming— “

Your hands shamelessly flew behind your knees to hold your legs up, your shouts of your orgasm increasing in pitch. You craned your neck and you forced your eyes open to look down at her, finding that she was already staring up at you, watching you lose it on her tongue. 

“Feels s’good, fuck— “

She grinned on your pussy, “Then cum in m’fucking mouth, baby, needa swallow it— “

Your eyes rolled into the back of your head as your walls crushed her fingers, your orgasm building and building and building—

You couldn’t even understand your loud babbles as her fingers dug into you, milking your spot and forcing your cum out of you and onto her tongue. Your eyes fell shut as your body wracked in pleasure. You shouted obscenities and her name and demands of fuck me harder! The splashes of your wetness coated your thighs and her blankets and her. 

You could hear her slurping at your cum as it poured out of you, her tongue shoving in alongside the grind of her fingers. She was moaning against your pussy like she was cumming, and it made you cum harder. 

You felt her pull away and out of you, the cap of a bottle opening and sloppy wet sounds filling your ears. You nearly screamed when her dick squeezed in between your still clenching walls. Pure pleasure and shock rushed through you, prolonging the last bits of your orgasm. 

You felt a soft hand grab your chin as she allowed you to recover, your eyes fluttering open to meet her serene ones. 

“Okay, honey?” She cooed at you. 

You blinked dazedly as your walls clenched harder on her, and she chuckled, slowly pushing deeper into you, “Yeah? Missed me, baby?”

Your pussy clenched in approval, and you nodded thoughtlessly. Her nails dug into your jaw as she grinded into you, “Missed this tight fucking pussy. Always thinkin’ about it.”

You brokenly moaned her name. She pulled out and fucked back into you harder, making you squeal. 

She released the soft grip she had on your face, tightly grasping the back of your knees, and pinning them to your chest. You gasped sharply as she slid deeper, hitting where you couldn’t reach, right where you needed her. You could already feel another orgasm building in your toes, your eyes watering from the quick snap of her hips. 

You couldn’t think or talk coherently as she used you, rendering you completely brainless every time her fat tip hit your g-spot. All you could do was grab at her hips, her thighs, her sheets, and wail at the top of your lungs how good it felt. The wet sounds of your pussy drenching her dick made your toes curl. 

You were going to sleep so fucking good. 

“You’re so fucking sexy, holy fuck— “

Your stomach was in tight knots as her skin slapped against yours. 

“Can’t think with this dick inside you? Huh?” She sounded so cocky with every sneer she sent you, your eyes shut tightly. It’s right there, right there right there—

“This is all you want from me? Need me t’take care of this nasty fucking cunt?” She spat at you. 

You hated it when she said things like that aloud, when she made your indifference towards her known; It crushed your heart, but how could you express your grievances when she was this deep in your guts? You were awful and selfish, and she didn’t deserve to be used like this, but you needed it. Needed her to do this for you. It made you feel sane, every thought in your head silenced and replaced with her her her—

You babbled nonsense warnings of how hard you were about to cum, and you felt her large hand clutch your throat. You wheezed out begs, pleading her to keep fucking you there, make you cry. Please, please, please, I need to sleep, Abby, please!

“Shhh, I gotchu, baby. Such a good girl.” 

Your orgasm shocked you and her. You couldn’t hold back the scream you let out when your eyes shut, —even with her choking you out—your brain rattling in your head as your body attempted to jerk away from the intense pleasure she gave you. 

But she held your legs down, keeping you still as she fucked you through it. You heard her moaning over your sobs and keens, only making out so fuckin’ hot and gonna make me cum so fucking good, and it threw you right into another orgasm. 

Your walls squeezed around her with such constriction that she could barely move, but she managed to pull out and you almost cried at the emptiness, your orgasm slowly dying. She grabbed your hips and eased you higher up the bed before climbing up, pressing against and looming over you. 

She hooked your knees into the crevice of her elbow, popping her tip into you with no hands, slowly pushing in so you could feel her. The details of her dick were catching on your walls and the feeling was making you tear up. She eventually sat fully inside you, grinding her entire length in so her tip nudged your spot, and you were about to fucking cum—

You were completely limp under her, relishing the kisses and sucks she gave your neck. She slid out slowly until just her tip was in you before dropping her hips, fucking her cock back into you. You thought you screamed but no noise left you as she pounded your cunt. She was hitting you so good, rotating between moving with her dick fully lodged in your guts and thrusting as pretty moans filled your ear. 

You came so fucking hard, only having strength to pull at her sheets and sob, squealing her name and trembling as she sent you to space. She was somehow louder than you were, and you knew she was cumming. You had no energy to move, to stop her, to do anything. You just laid there and took what she gave as your body melted into the memory foam, relaxing completely as she rode out her pleasure inside you. 

Your walls were still contracting around her dick, hugging like they never wanted her to leave, wanted to cling onto her forever. Her movements eventually came to a stop as she whined in satisfaction into your neck. She plopped against you, your sweaty, heaving chests pressed together. 

The last thing you remember before knocking out was her soft kisses on your skin. 

You woke up to blinding sunshine. You forgot to shut the fucking blinds again. 

You squeezed your eyes shut, shoving your face into the plush pillow under you. You inhaled deeply and immediately stiffened. 

Flowers. Fucking flowers, what the fuck—

You never left Abby’s last night. 

You quickly sat up as your head rushed, looking over to see the vacant, mussed spot on her bed. You could hear the shower running and quiet hums coming from the master bathroom, and it made your heart race. 

You threw the covers off you and stood quickly, walking over to where your clothes were neatly folded on her dresser. You saw the remaining strands of your bra balled up near her mirror. You hated how your pussy clenched.

You grabbed your clothes and dressed in urgency, nearly tripping over your stubborn pant leg. 

The clattering of your phone falling from your pocket shook you. You bent down to grab it, the bright screen reading 12:34 and showing six missed calls from your parents. Fuck, fuck, fuck—

The running water shut off and you tensed. 

You shoved your phone in your back pocket as your flight senses tingled. You would feel awful if you left her place without warning, and she would probably never talk to you again if you did. You were guarded around her enough as it is, and the last thing you were going to do was embarrass her further. 

You stood by the dresser, awkwardly playing with your fingers until the bathroom door opened.

A dripping Abby walked out, clad in a towel, her wet hair wrapped in another as steam left the bathroom. 

She shut the door gently before turning to face you. She looked bright, but it dimmed when she took in your frazzled appearance. You needed to leave. Now, now, now—

“H-Hey, um… are you leaving?” 

You nodded stiffly, voice monotone, “Yeah. I didn’t wanna leave without telling you, though.” 

Her hand on the doorknob dropped to her side as she sighed in exasperation. She scoffed, “That’s surprising. I thought you would’ve taken any opportunity to leave.”

Your eyes squinted at her suddenly snarky tone. You two never argued: there may be tension or words left unsaid after you leave her, but you never fought about your relationship, “What the hell are you talking about?” 

She looked at you in shock, “Really? You’ve been acting like being around me is a chore this entire time! We… We don’t even speak— “

“What is there to talk about?” Your voice rose to match hers, your arms flailing around. “We both know what we agreed to when we started this!”

“I know we did! But you…” she looked so hurt and her voice was cracking, and it was making you uncomfortable. “You just treat me like I’m— “

You didn’t want to hear this anymore. You interrupted her harshly, “I'm not treating you like anything! We’re behaving exactly how we’re supposed to be! If anyone were to find out about what we’re doing, we’re fucked! That’s… that’s just how it is now!” 

She took her bottom lip between her teeth and sniffled. She nodded and looked down at her bare feet before meeting your eyes again. Hers were teary, and it sent a painful jolt from your chest to your head, your heart filling with remorse. You needed to lay the fuck down. 

Her voice shook as she spoke, but it was stern. 

“Fine. You… you can let yourself out.” 

Your shoulders dropped and your tone softened, “Abby— “

She shook her head, hers spiteful. “You know where the key is. Enjoy the rest of your day.” 

You couldn’t get your apologies out before she pried the bathroom door open, walking inside and slamming it shut behind her. You flinched as it echoed in your skull. 

The ringing of your phone blared through her four walls. You resigned, leaving her bedroom and gently shutting the door. You walked over to her staircase, pulling your device out to answer your mother’s call. 

“Hey,” You leaned against the stair railing, trying to ignore Abby’s quiet sobs coming from her room. Your eyes shut, guiltily picking at the skin on your lip. 

Your mom’s angered tone blasted through the speakers, “What the hell do you mean hey! Where have you been!” 

You descended the stairs, sighing when you reached the bottom, “I… was at my friend's house! We got caught up, my bad.” 

“Yeah, well, when you get caught up, you better tell m— “ 

Your mom’s voice was suddenly cut off by your father’s distant laughter. You heard her shout gimme my phone before your dad’s cheery tone rang through the line. 

“Heyyy, sweetheart. Ignore your mom, when are you comin’ home?” 

You couldn’t help the tears that jerked in your eyes at his voice. 

What the fuck were you doing. 

You cleared your throat before speaking, “I’m, uh… I’m leaving my friend's place now. I’ll be there soon.” 

“Okay, baby! Take your time,” You heard your mom yell out don’t tell her that!

“I love y’all,” You did, you loved them so much. 

“We love you so much more. Drive safe,” You heard your mom’s shout and your father’s laughter, and more tears jerked in your eyes. 

When the line went dead, you propped yourself over the back of Abby’s couch and cried in silence. You tried to keep your small breakdown short; You still had so much editing to do for your thesis. But you couldn’t stop your flowing tears. 

The drops slid down your face and onto her soft lounge pillows. You never cared enough to inspect her living space since she invited you in the first time, but you couldn’t help your wandering eyes as you digested her living room. The area was quaint and serene: there was a small fountain propped on a small table in the corner of the room, crème and black walls littered with framed artwork, decorative tables holding vases filled with fresh roses, her coffee table that still held the half filled, rose-littered mug with a tea bag string hanging out of it, her reading glasses. A framed photo of a smiling Abby carrying her just as happy baby girl on her back in front of a lake. 

And a marked book titled Working Through Grief right next to it. 

It forced a loud sob out of you, your hand flying over your mouth to hush any noise you might’ve made.

You fucked up. You fucked up so bad, and you still had the audacity to be in her safe space. You needed to go; you couldn’t fucking breathe. 

You snatched your purse off the couch and booked it for the front door, almost forgetting to retrieve the key to lock it behind you. You secured it and hid the key in its designated spot before rushing across the street to your car. 

You grabbed your keys from your purse and unlocked it, pulling the driver's door open before flinging yourself inside. You slammed the door and your heavy head dropped onto the steering wheel. You took some deep breaths, trying to calm the nausea that hit you out of nowhere. Sobs wracked through you as you shook in your seat. 

You were so fucking selfish. 

daaaamn wassup y’all 

writers block tried to get me omg y’all seen that shit😳😳 I FOUGHT BACK THO 

taglist y’all know wassup omg love y’all @saturnsellie @ohlawdthebirds @fibrogirlie @unangelic-thoughts @chrry1ovr @uraesthete @gravygranules @digit4lslut @machetegirl109 @letsreadsomesins-shallwe @macaroni676 @sillygooselit

kissies mwwwwAHHHHH

prologue. part one. part three. interlude. part four.

[ceruleanslob]

Questions about the angel and devil au!!! :33

(you dont have to answer them all!!)

Does Phoenix stay an art student or study law still?

2. Did the class trial still happen?

3. Would Klavier also be a demon on someones shoulder? /and vice versa with Gregory, ignoring his death. What if Manfred was the demon with him?

4. Can the angels and demons change size? /only up to their canon height/ (I'd assume they could, since it would be hard to take a small defense/prosecutor seriously, but it would be funny if they just had a microphone)

5. Does every person have an angel and a demon on their shoulder?

6. Are Trucy and Klavier Apollo's angel and demon?

7. how funny would it be if damon and angel were someone angel and demon. how much funnier would it be if they were reversed or were just humans.

Oh um wow... my first ask! Unexpected but welcome :D

Does Phoenix stay an art student or study law still?

I plan on answering this very soon :)) Whether, with a comic or written, we'll have to see... But I do have to say that the current timeline of my AU at the moment is when Phoenix is in college.

2. Did the class trial still happen?

EDITED on April 25, 2024: I changed my mind and yes, the class trial still happens but not in the way that anybody expects.

No, it doesn't happen since Miles was never Phoenix's classmate in this AU. The only way for Phoenix to become a lawyer in this AU is through Miles' and Kristoph's influence and urging OR an outside event.

3. Would Klavier also be a demon on someones shoulder? /and vice versa with Gregory, ignoring his death. What if Manfred was the demon with him?

I honestly think Klavier is too nice to be a demon lol. Also not gonna spoil those two for now ;)) However please keep in mind that I'm a very new Ace Attorney fan so my knowledge of the characters is lacking at best, and mischaracterized at worst. All I know about the other characters is through reading fanfics and as of typing this, I'm only at the second game.

4. Can the angels and demons change size? /only up to their canon height/ (I'd assume they could, since it would be hard to take a small defense/prosecutor seriously, but it would be funny if they just had a microphone)

Yes! They can! However, it's a difficult skill that they need to learn which depends on their own energy as well as Phoenix's mindset. I'd like to imagine if they run out of energy, they poof back into their chibi form, completely knocked out. At the current moment, both Miles and Kristoph have been unable to learn this skill, much to their frustration.

5. Does every person have an angel and a demon on their shoulder?

No, it's not something that happens to every person. Only a person who is deemed influential enough in the grand scheme of things by Heaven and Hell gets one. While it's not common, people are aware of them.

6. Are Trucy and Klavier Apollo's angel and demon?

Probably not? I think Klavier is too nice to be a demon but I may change my mind in the future once I get to know more about the characters. As much as I want Trucy to be his shoulder angel, I'm still unsure about that prospect... Maybe Athena? But that's still unsure...

7. how funny would it be if damon and angel were someone angel and demon. how much funnier would it be if they were reversed or were just humans.

Umm, I want to answer this Anon, but I'm not sure if I understood it correctly. You can send me an ask again and I'll do my best to answer :))

Thank you for sending this Anon! This was a lot of fun to answer! ^_^

[paulagnewart]

RIP Pauline Newstone

10th December marked 25 years since the Beast Wars episode Other Visits: Part 2 aired on Australian TV. Taking a moment to reflect, I vividly remember watching it (along with much of that season) on a small wall-mounted TV in a dimly-lit hospital waiting room. Hardly my idea of a grand way to spend multiple afternoons, but the prospect of more checkups and needles paled compared to the swelling dread of how, as the credits rolled, I might never see my favourite character again.

When Candice Santora announced three days later that Airazor's voice actor Pauline Newstone had passed away, that all-too familiar dread seeped its way back.

Beast Wars was far from my first foray into the world of those warrior Robots in Disguise, but certainly played an integral part of my life during the latter half of the 90's. Its writing and expansion of the Transformers history was captivating, its animation at the time second-to-none, and its voice acting nothing short of immaculate. Vancouver's finest breathed life into what could've easily been written off as another 20 minute toy commercial, but it excelled. They made the characters memorable, raw with wild, well-rounded emotions and truly raised the bar for future actors.

From the moment she burst onto the scene, I adored Airazor. Smart, sassy, more than strong enough to fight tooth and claw in battle, refused to put up with Rattrap's antics, and mistress in the art of dry wit. A welcome addition to the Maximal cast with a plethora of potential to grow. Granted the good times weren't to last; she was swiftly demoted to cannon fodder and later the role of "Mrs. Tigatron", but I was happy just to have her around. Whenever roleplaying our favourite scenes or making new adventures at school, Airazor was always my first choice. The original (and Transmetal figure a cherished Easter gift the following year) continued to have imaginative adventures after the show ran its course. For a time, something as trivial as a cartoon alien robot bird meant the world to me.

And it all came down to how awesome Ms. Newstone performed her.

It's a feeling the Aussie public clearly shared, as her video pack became one of the top 10 selling boys' toys of Christmas '98 (or maybe it's because the VHS repaint was, and remains to this day, the only version of her basic-class toy to see release here. But I digress). Yet Beast Wars proved a tip of the iceberg for Ms. Newstone's career. She lent her voice to shows including G.I. Joe, Mummies Alive!, Inuyasha, Monster Rancher, X-Men Evolution, Ninjago, and I certainly can't go without mentioning her portrayal of big baddie Frieza during Ocean Group's tenure on Dragon Ball Z (The infamous "Caressing the Balls" meme? That was her. Iconic).

Ms. Newstone was one of those voice actors I always hoped to meet someday. No means an easy feat, as she preferred to keep away from the spotlight in a fashion not dissimilar to the late Christine Cavanaugh. It would've been nice, but I understood and respected her desire for privacy, and commend the extra effort Pete and the other organizers went to adhering her "no photos" request at BotCon 2006.

Learning of her passing, let alone nobody reporting it until fellow actor Garry Chalk saw her name over six months later at the annual UBCP/ACTRA Awards, is a sad reminder how none of us are getting any younger, and each day those little things which used to give us joy slip further into the abyss of time. Cherish those memories and the ones you love, while always leaving room to create more tomorrow. Fiction generally doesn't last forever, but I like to think her memory and legacy both as a voice actor and person will for many out there.

The above image was taken back in 2011 while in Lithgow, but never made public until now. Far from my best work (assuming anything I do can be considered good to begin with :P ), but a decent day. History repeats itself, as that particular Airazor figure went on to appear in many more photos, accompanied me to multiple BotCons, a college graduation party (!), and most recently appeared on the official Oliver Brown social media page for their Rise of the Beasts promotion.

RIP Pauline Newstone. May many glasses be raised in your honour. You came, you stooped, and you sure as hell conquered.

[mvximized]

[ chase sui wonders changed to havana rose liu, cisfemale, she/they ] — whoa! MADDOX YOON just stole my cab! not cool, but maybe they needed it more. they have lived in the city for TWO YEARS, working as a/an TATTOO ARTIST. that can’t be easy, especially at only 25 YEARS OLD. some people say they can be a little bit SHY and DISMISSIVE , but i know them to be FUNNY and THOUGHTFUL. whatever. i guess i’ll catch the next cab. hope they like the ride back to MANHATTAN!

full name: maddox yoon nickname: mads prns: she/theyage: 25 sexuality: bi zodiac: pisces traits: reserved, dismissive, funny, thoughtful, loving, emotional, confident, excitable, adventurous, out spoken vibes: long lashes, giggles hidden behind a palm, stacked jewelry hobbies: art, photography, daydreaming education: high school diplomajob: tattoo artist

bio:

maddox yoon was born to two loving parents. she was a surprise, but the only person that seemed to be bothered by that was her older brother. he wished he could've stayed an only child. whether maddox understood this or not, she was determined to sway his opinion. from the moment she laid eyes on him, she was obsessed. her brother's name was her first word and when she learned how to walk, all she would do was follow him around. she loved him. she was never going to give up on him. when she was old enough to talk, she would pester him. she asked him questions about everything. she wanted to do whatever he was doing and wanted to learn whatever video games he was playing. as much as he tried and tried to shake her off, he couldn't. she wouldn't let him. no matter how many times he told her to 'shut up' or 'go away', she would only giggle and brush it off. if he called her a 'doodoo head'--because he was five and that was the most sophisticated insult he could offer--she would laugh hysterically, falling to the ground in tears over the silly nickname. he was the reason she developed an interest in art. when he started the first grade, his class had an art lesson every thursday. maddox, being in preschool with no real educational structure, was so jealous. all she wanted was to use the pastels her brother brought home or manipulate the charcoal the same way her brother's muddy fingers did. she was entranced. so eventually, her parents put her in art class. she was completely enthralled. the only other thing she'd taken to this intensely had been her brother. and those were the only two things she'd ever hold so dear. as her and her brother grew up, his ice towards her began to thaw. when he realized she was only there to encourage him and compliment him, he forgot why he ever disliked her at all. they became the best of friends. when maddox was getting ready for high school, her parents encouraged her to apply to a fancy art school. she didn't think she'd get in, she never considered herself special or anything. but she did. she got in. she was so excited and art became her life. before she knew it, she was in her senior year, already nostalgic for the years that had passed. she immediately got accepted for an apprenticeship with a tattoo artist she admired, the school she graduated from offering high acclaim and stellar opportunity. she was getting everything she dreamed of and she couldn't fathom how things could be so wonderful. she still does physical art every single day, but she loves decorating people in her art most of all.

wanted connections: older brother: same one in her bio exes: good terms, bad terms, not quite finished terms. all of it.

[weergang]

Because no one asked you any, I ask ALL! all 100.

Anon.... thanks I guess.

----

1. whats your favorite thing in your room?

In the room i'm currently in? the bed.

2. how tall do you wish you were?

I'm perfectly tall enough already.

3. what color is your hair?

Blond with some grey

4. whats a rare fear that you have?

Fish creep me out.

5. are you single?

Unfourtunatly yes

6. has your heart ever been broken?

.. Oh look next question

7. what was your favorite thing as a kid?

Lego

8. favorite coping mechanism?

Shutting everyone out and suffering alone.

9. whats your favorite love language?

Making other people happy

10. how often do you get nervous?

Rarely

11. if you had three wishes, would you use them?

I'd think very hard about it.

12. if you could be fluent in any language which one would it be?

Always been currious about Russian.

13. where do you wish to live?

I'm good where I live. New Zealand would be cool too I guess.

14. what’s something surprising about you?

I'm nicer in person, people seem to be surprised about that.

15. when did you last shower?

Today

16. when did you first join tumblr?

17. do you want any tattoos? if so, where, what, and why?

Maybe, if I do I want the traditional sailing ones. that tell the story of my accomplishments at sea

18. whats the most prominent dream youve had?

I don't dream.

19. whats your dream job?

I honestly like my job you know, people are always surprised when I say that. Maybe work on one of those tall ships?

20. whats your ideal date?

Forrest walk, tea, book shop.

21. what do you wish you could do better?

Talk to people

22. what country would you live in if you could?

Why does this question imply that I couldn't live somewhere else?

23. whos the best person you know?

.. I thought I knew the answer to this one.

24. have you ever walked into something you shouldnt have? A door.

25. whats your favorite holiday?

Depends on who I'm with. I've always enjoyed the Christmas season tho.

26. when have you been most embarrassed?

Idk nothing comes to mind so quickly.

27. whats your favorite halloween costume?

Never did halloweens, not a thing in my country.

28. what are you best at?

Well I'm worst at telling what i'm best at that's for sure.

29. do you know how to tie your shoes?

Yes

30. do you have siblings? Yes

31. if you could know one thing about the future what do you wanna know?

NOOO I DON"T WANT TO KNOW!

32. whats a dealbreaker for you?

Don't ever lie to me. keep a secret, refuse to talk about something, all fine. but don't lie.

33. whats your favorite current class?

not in school anymore son.

34. how many people have you dated?

35. how often do you wash your hair?

Every working day.

36. do you daydream? what about?

Everything

37. where do you go to be alone?

Home

38. which parent do you like more?

No preference

39. whats the one standard you hold yourself to?

Do

40. whos voice do you enjoy?

?

41. if you could announce one thing to the world what would it be?

Me talking to the whole world? are you out of your mind.

42. whats one thing you wanna do but havent yet?

Start a family.

43. what do you wish you never did?

Waste my early twenties to a depression.

44. do you believe in life after death?

Maybe

45. do you prefer book over movie?

Both have their own charmes. but books.

46. whats your favorite season?

Autumn

47. whats your favorite time of day

Sunrise

48. do you have a beloved stuffed animal?

Yes

49. whens a time you wish you acted differently?

To many to name.

50. what’s something you wish that you never bought?

.. no idea man.

51. do you have your own room?

On the ship? Yes everybody has their own cabin. At home I have a whole apartment for myself :P

52. whats your favorite book?

Pick one, nuh uh. What if the others get jealous

53. who’s someone you hate?

-redacted-

54. whats your best hottake?

I never understood what a hottake is supposed to be

55. whats your favorite game?

The one you enjoy with friends

56. whens a time you felt real genuine fear?

Last week, clibing 60 meters up the cranes.

57. are you a morning person?

yes

58. do you drink enough water?

Does the water inside all other beverages count towards this question? yes.

59. how different are you from the little kid you used to be?

Alot

60. do you enjoy tumblr?

yes.

61. have you ever had a tumblr experience that made you wanna delete the app?

no, to many friends here

62. whats your least favorite game?

the ones where people play with other peoples feelings.

63. were you a markiplier fan?

A what?

64. how do you respond to compliments?

Uncomfortably. I've learned to say thank you.

65. whats something that would make you fall in love?

genuinity

66. do you believe in marriage?

marriage is a fact, can't not believe it it mate. people get married everyday. you want to deny that??

67. do you have a crush on someone?

68. do you like tumblr?

see 60

69. were you a voltron stan?

a who?

70. whats your favorite ship?

Sunset Dawn

71. whats your favorite song?

Birds morning call out over the fields

72. do you like loud crowds?

nooooo

73. have you ever created conflict on purpose?

Yes, it was hilarious

74. how do you sleep?

In bed

75. do you bite your lips?

Occasionally

76. do you use chapstick?

no

77. do you have any pets?

no :( Can't have pets when you're never home, that's unfair to them.

78. what color are your eyes?

Green

79. what’s something you wish you could change about yourself?

80. have you ever had surgery?

Several times.

81. whats your least favorite animal?

82. whats something that youre really bad at?

Thinking of more witty answers to this list that never ends.

83. do you have an sqishmellows?

no, i don't like marshmellows.

84. do you enjoy fast food?

not in particular.

85. do you like soda?

occasionally

86. what grade are you in?

I finished school half a decade ago.

87. do you wear any jewelry?

one necklace.

88. what socials do you use?

Tumblr

89. whats your lowest grade in school right now?

not in school

90. whats the latest youve stayed up till?

can't get any later then midnight. after that it's early again.

91. did you ever have bangs?

this is about hair right? don't think so.

92. what trends did you hate?

ooh quite a lot of them

93. whats your favorite item of clothing?

clothes are basically all functional to me.

94. do you like dinosaurs?

sorry to break the news but they dead.

95. whats your opinion on body hair?

it's hair, grow up.

96. whats your least favorite time?

time for saying goodby

97. do you make a wish at 11:11?

nah, I just give candy to the kids that come at the door to sing a song.

98. do you have your phone on military or regular?

The what???? My phone is a stock off the shelf from a general brand. nothing military about it. I'm not in the military so I shouldn't have a military phone.

99. have you ever been to church?

yes

[inked-out-trees]

69, 44, and 25 for the writers ask

I need to get back to writing too, but in good news I'm getting a feel of character for one of them. Now if I only had a plot

we're doing it! getting back into writing together! thank you for the reverse directional asks i will do them exactly how you have asked

69. how do you write emotional scenes? do you ever feel what the characters feel?

if i'm coming into it Knowing that i want to write an emotional scene, usually there's music involved! i have a collection of sad and otherwise melancholy playlists (plus one that's just songs i think would fit well in those angsty last 3 minutes of a tv show episode before the cliffhanger) and they tend to serve me well; if all else fails i'll find the most recent mood-fitting song i've been repeating lately and loop it forever. (most recently has been doctor eleven by dan romer. was the only thing i listened to for my crw class submission and personally i think it turned out swell.)

as for feeling the characters, i don't think so? a lot of the time what i feel when i'm writing is just joy from writing, vague evil sentiment, or if it's Really A Lot To Handle, there'll be like, an ache. occasionally i do make myself cry but that's mostly for personal or original things, and less for fanfic. unless it's the annie chapter of bean's beans. but typically i am somewhat detached, which is actually kind of impressive considering my propensity for imprinting on literally everything. huh! i learn something new about myself every day.

44. any writing advice you want to share?

man i never know if there's any sort of sagely things i do that could be passed off as wisdom but. the best piece of advice i've read (on tumblr too i think) was that if you're stuck, it's possible that the problem is actually a couple lines back. usually i look between three paragraphs and half a page up to see what different choices i could make, and that tends to solve my problem more often than not. kind of magic, that.

in other sort of throwaway bits, i always start a fic creation process by opening a doc and just rambling onto it. no proper prose, just as though i'm having a conversation with the empty page. it's helpful both to get my ideas in order and to have a place to come back to if need be - it's easier to toss the ball around if the net's already there, yknow? also, if for some reason microsoft word isn't doing it for me, i find fighter's block to be good for dumping out words, and zenpen has carried me through several terms of creative writing assignments and also poetry so take that as you will.

25. what's your revision or rewriting process like?

would you laugh at me if i said i don't edit my fics. this is not necessarily true in that i don't consider what i post to be rough in any way, but when it comes to fic especially i'm a big first-one-done kind of guy. that being said: i reread my work a lot. a lot a lot. and often times i will pick up little things that need fixing, line edits or weird repetitive things, so i do find it helpful. also the read-aloud function on word has been great to me. and i make frequent use of the comment function in word, which has been exceedingly useful when it comes to the fact that i haven't yet figured out the whole timeline of fixed point so some of the dates are just "FIGURE THIS OUT LATER" and "IS THIS TRUE?".

and of course sharing with other people :) coming from creative writing seminars i've realised (? finally understood? i don't actually know how much of an enlightenment it was but it was something) how useful it is to get someone and just say, hey, tell me how you interpret this, are there any questions you still have, god forbid did i leave any gaping plot holes. this comes in especially handy because in MY brain i know all the answers, and sometimes they forget to worm out onto the page. this again has just happened in my current seminar, so rest in peace to the quest plot i tentatively thought i could maybe go without describing (for wordcount's sake) but apparently not. it is cool and fine.

anyway happy tuesday and also thank you!

[acidproofnotebook]

I posted 44 times in 2022

19 posts created (43%)

25 posts reblogged (57%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@gofancyninjaworld

@katyatalks

@koumbaya

@opmanime

I tagged 41 of my posts in 2022

Only 7% of my posts had no tags

#opm - 31 posts

#translation - 19 posts

#manga - 14 posts

#mob psycho 100 - 9 posts

#revisions - 9 posts

#omake - 7 posts

#genos - 6 posts

#drive knight - 3 posts

#update 160 - 3 posts

#update 163 - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 114 characters

#and it's good to see sekingar carefully weigh up his options before deciding to trust the hero with the dodgy past

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Volume 26 Bonus chapter “The Great Selection” -- partial and rough translation

The first four pages (of eight).  It’s not joking about being rough and there may be some passages that will be understood differently once a fuller translation is done.  But it’s still interesting!

Translator/ Typesetter: u\Bald_Caped

Date: 3 June 2022

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n-UghKI90sQY1vT6WNBgk_vjiCyzfTaL/view

14 notes - Posted June 4, 2022

#4

Update 160 (previously 159). Changes between online and print versions, part 2

Yup, this goes on!

Unlike the previous version, this time Nyan ignores Food Battler and was dragging just Waganma off to his most painful doom when lo, an intervention!

Fear not! Drive Knight is here!

See the full post

18 notes - Posted February 26, 2022

#3

Update 163 (previously 162). Changes between online and print versions. Part 2

So, where we left off, it looked like a tense standoff between Genos, who wants to go back to the battle, and Sekingar and Waganma, who most desperately don't want to be ditched by an S-Class hero. Food Battler Futoshi steps up to offer a solution (revised version on top, old at the bottom).

Sekingar does some thinking before deciding to trust Genos (no equivalent in older version)

See the full post

25 notes - Posted February 26, 2022

#2

ONE/Murata 2015 Joint Interview

Because I'm always concerned about old blogs going down and taking material with them, please find below a transcript of one of their first interviews on the subject of One-Punch Man.

Link: http://opmcityz.blogspot.com/2016/04/onemurata-2015-joint-interview.html

Translator: Herms

Translation Date: 2 April 2016

For no Earthly reason, it’s taken me this blasted long to finally translate the ONE/Murata joint interview from the 2015 guidebook OPM: Hero Encyclopedia. The notes throughout are the same ones as in the actual book, although towards the end I got lazy and didn’t write out the full details on such topics as the plot of Eyeshield 21 or the explanation for what fencing is. The curious may look that stuff up on Wikipedia. --Today I’d like to ask you two to provide the “definitive edition” of the story of One-Punch Man’s birth ONE: I’m much obliged. Yusuke Murata: Yes, thank you very much. --ONE-sensei, tell us how you began drawing One-Punch Man. ONE: Well, I wanted to try drawing manga digitally; that’s how it all started. There was this place (*1) online for posting up manga, and lots of people submitted their stuff there, so I wanted to submit something too. I bought a PC and some tools for drawing pictures digitally (*2). I tried out drawing 15 pages, and uploaded it with my PC for the first time…that was One-Punch Man Chapter 1. I didn’t have any real plans for continuing the story, and just posted it up without thinking of what to do next. But perhaps because I submitted it as “Chapter 1” it got a great response…OK, maybe not “great”, but a decent response. So I figured I might as well try drawing a continuation of the story. That’s when I really sat down and worked out how the story would continue, which made me realize this could turn into quite an interesting manga. And that pretty much brings us from Chapter 2 right up to the present. --Where did you get your ideas? ONE: To start with I simply tried to draw the sort of manga I’d want to read myself. I’ve read loads of Shonen manga throughout my life, and am particularly fond of battle manga. Generally speaking those types of stories are all about growth, meaning that by the last chapter the main character has grown stronger than anyone else and lives happily ever after. So I wondered what would happen if I started the story off with the main character already in peak condition. That became my jumping-off point. --So it’s a complete 180 from existing Shonen action manga? ONE: Which makes it fun for people who have already read lots of those typical Shonen manga. It’s like they’ve run the first lap, and this is their second time around. Murata: Yeah, it’s really exciting for Shonen manga aficionados. ONE: I also love it when a series creates friction between drama and humor. With One-Punch Man I wanted to try doing that through the worldview itself, rather than through specific plot points. The series is set in a dangerous, monster-infested world, but since Saitama’s there you don’t really notice just how bleak the world is. I think it’s that friction between Saitama and the rest of the world that makes things interesting. --Murata-sensei, what do you think makes One-Punch Man so appealing? Murata: It all boils down to Saitama’s appeal. In some ways, Saitama is incredibly similar to Son Goku from Dragon Ball (*3). It was Dragon Ball that first got me started reading Weekly Shonen Jump, so I find those similarities particularly appealing. Dragon Ball’s Goku (*4) is a very memorable protagonist: he does whatever he wants, fights strong guys…he’s only after excitement! He goes through life full of spirit. Even when the world’s in peril and he’s surrounded by chaos, it doesn’t bother him one bit. Like when Piccolo’s reincarnation entered the Tenkaichi Budokai (*5) and if Goku lost the world was doomed, even then Goku himself simply fought to win the tournament. After he beat Piccolo, he didn’t care that he had just saved the world, he was just happy to finally be crowned tournament champion. It’s that sort of detached easy-goingness, the sense of operating under a completely different logic than those around him. This type of aloofness, of doing things at one’s own pace, really screams “hero” to me. That’s what Goku and Saitama have in common. Another similarity is that they’re simply the strongest guys around. When things are looking hopeless, the moment

they show up you know things are going to be OK (laughs). --How did you find out about One-Punch Man, Murata-sensei? Murata: I follow this illustrator called “Akiman” (*6) on Twitter, and when I heard about One-Punch Man on his blog, I read the entire series overnight. I got a bit frustrated, because I realized I had become a manga artist precisely to draw something like this (laughs). At the time I was in sort of a dead-end career-wise, and (my apologies to Ootagaki-sensei[*7]) thanks to my incompetence things weren’t going very well with Donten Prism Solar Car (*8)…It’s safe to say I ended up causing Ootagaki-senseiand the readers a lot of trouble. Back then, I viewed my job simply as illustrating the stories given to me. But really, isn’t an illustrator’s job to visually convey the charm of the characters? You’ve got to understand what makes the characters appealing, or otherwise you’ll have nothing to show the readers. Once I read One-Punch Man, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. I sent ONE-sensei a message right away, asking if we could meet. I told him point-blank I wanted to work with him… ONE: I was surprised to get a message from Murata-sensei. Frankly, at first I thought it might be a prank… Murata: Sorry… ONE: It was a real shock! (laughs) --Did you two hit it off? Murata: Yeah. I was so nervous about meeting him that I ended up being 30 minutes late (laughs). By that time I was already starving, so first I suggested we go get some yakiniku. (laughs) --What did you talk about at the yakiniku restaurant? Murata: I asked “hey, why don’t we do a one-shot together first?” --Your first collaboration was Earth Monster. ONE: With Earth Monster, I made storyboards so that Murata-sensei would have something to work off of, and to give us something to show the editorial office. I took it as an opportunity to make something really flashy, the sort of thing I could never draw on my own. I stayed within manga contest regulations (*9), so it was probably around 31 to 45 pages. Murata: But I wanted to use bigger panels, and expanded it to roughly 60 pages. --So you submitted Earth Monster (*10) to the editorial office as a one-shot? Murata: Actually, wasn’t Cockroach Busters (*11) the one we ended up showing to Young Jump first? ONE: That’s right. Before that we showed it to your then-current editor at Weekly Shonen Jump; I think we made about four copies. Murata: At the time I had an exclusive contract, so I felt obligated to draw it for Jump, but it wasn’t really panning out…And while I was wrapped up with that, I came down with gastroenteritis. ONE: Your wife found you and called an ambulance. Murata: I couldn’t move at all…That’s when I started thinking that if this exclusive contract was going to keep me from doing the work I wanted, then I had better do something about it. I called ONE-sensei from the hospital and told him “I’m terminating my contract, so how about we get a bunch of different one-shot manuscripts together and shop them around at different companies?” And that’s how things went. --How did you end up at Neighborhood Young Jump? ONE: Several different people had approached me with proposals for commercializing One-Punch Man. The question was, would I handle the illustrations myself, or get someone else to do them? Although personally I thought Murata-sensei was the best man for the job…Later there was discussion about me trying to draw a revised version, but after drawing about two chapters worth it became painfully obvious it would never sell. At that point Murata-sensei asked if he could take a stab at it. He redrew the first chapter with a felt-tip pen, and it blew me away. From there we started thinking about the best place to distribute this out to the world. With Murata-sensei’s connections we hooked up with an editor at Young Jump, and this led to the plan to run it in Neighborhood Young Jump, on condition that it be drawn by Murata-sensei. I thought it was incredible of Murata-sensei to publish this manga on the web rather than in print form, and I was sure

everyone else would be impressed with it too. So with that, we made our proposal to Young Jump, and it began. --Murata-sensei, were you in any way reluctant to publish the series online? Murata: Back when I was doing Eyeshield 21 (*12), I had never read any webcomics, and my thoughts towards them didn’t extend much beyond “eh, doing one might be interesting”. But when this proposal came up, I had by then read ONE-sensei's One-Punch Man, so I felt like publishing on the web had real merit. For instance, with a weekly magazine each issue disappears from stores when the next one comes out a week later, but on the web people can read the previous chapters too. And since it’s available to the entire world, it seemed like a good way to gain a larger audience. Viewing something published online on my monitor, I was amazed at how pretty the lines were (laughs) (*13). But since up until that point I had only ever worked with lines on paper, I had absolutely no skills at making them look pretty on monitors...So me and my staff went through a lot of trial and error. That's what made it so interesting! Mastering a new field was a lot of fun. Another advantage of drawing on the web is that you can make corrections. With Eyeshield 21, I was always pressed for time, which didn’t leave room for much trial and error…I’d question if what I was drawing was really up to snuff…then realize it wasn’t. But even after a chapter ran in Jump, there still wouldn’t be any time to fix it, so it would just remain as-is forever. This happened all the time, and really stressed me out. Online though, I can fine-tune things until I’m satisfied. Particularly the characters’ faces. I mean, when anyone other than ONE-sensei draws Saitama, he ends up a different character. Though at first I was real keen on putting a Shonen manga spin on him. --I hear there were a lot of rejected Saitama faces. Murata: That’s right. It wasn’t until I had drawn a good number of pages that I finally got the hang of his expressions. It was when he and Genos are listening to Sneck’s lecture at the Hero Association, and he’s noisily chewing gum. The moment I saw this bored-looking Saitama, a lightbulb went off in my head (laughs). I realized that because Saitama is so strong, for him everything is always boring. This made me want to redraw the whole thing from square one. Me and the staff had by then learned the ropes of drawing online and were really into it. I told them that this was the first step in what would be a historic manga; I was drawing in a daze of ecstasy. --How do you two work together during the writing process? Does ONE-sensei create new storyboards? Murata: With the main storyline or anything else where I’m going off of ONE-sensei’s original, I’m generally given free reign with page distribution and whatnot. But I’ll ask ONE-sensei if I have any questions. ONE: That’s right. Murata: For the main storyline, the dialogue stays pretty much the same. But with side-stories, sometimes I’ll try adding in scenes to ONE-sensei’s storyboards, or change the dialogue up a bit. In such cases, I’ll always ask ONE-sensei’s opinion. We’ll go back and forth fine-tuning it…and sometimes it’ll just end up reverting back to how it was in the beginning (laughs). ONE: Murata-senseialways shows me whenever he thinks up new scenes or dialogue to add. For instance, with the A-Class hero Spring Mustachio, my storyboards just had his name and general appearance. He talked a bit and got beat up by the monster, nothing more. I didn’t plan to highlight what weapons he used or anything like that; that part was really cut short. But the storyboards Murata-sensei came up with featured him using his weapon against the monster, showing off his fighting chops so that the monster looked even more impressive by comparison. It was fantastic! Murata: When I heard his weapon was a fencing (*14) rapier (*15), it reminded me of that cool swordsman from Wheels on Meals (*16). Sometimes it’s fun to add in more action like that. --On the flipside, has ONE-sensei ever given you pointers on how

to draw something? Murata: On occasion. For instance, during the big showdown with Boros. Since I felt this was the heavyweight championship of the universe, I tried to make it as flashy as possible. However, midway through when Boros starts losing ground to Saitama, there were places where he appeared clownish…ONE-sensei pointed out to me that the reason Boros is popular is because he always retains his dignity, even against Saitama. That made it all click for me, and I redrew things from square one. When it comes to the storyline, characters, and dialogue, all of that flows from ONE-sensei’s head, so I constantly check in with him. --Thank you very much. Finally, what do each of you consider a “true hero”? Murata: "Even if you’re the strongest around, not letting it go to your head”, I guess. Abiding by your own rules. A true hero never waivers. ONE: I agree; someone who never waivers. A true hero is someone who follows their dreams to the very end. ==[Notes]== *1: ONE-senseibegan serializing One-Punch Man in Weekly Shonen VIP on the community site Toshanai in 2009. *2: A graphics tablet and related software. *3: One of Weekly Shonen Jump’s most well-known series, a battle/adventure series by Akira Toriyama that ran in Jump from 1984 to 1995. *4: The protagonist of Dragon Ball. A member of the Saiyans (a warrior race) who grew up on Earth. Though pure-hearted, he is also a super-warrior who loves fighting against strong opponents. *5: The 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai (“Strongest Under the Heavens” Tournament). The reincarnation of the supposedly defeated Demon King Piccolo entered the tournament and battled Goku. *6: A Japanese illustrator who has worked on numerous games and anime, including Street Fighter II. *7: Yasuo Ootagaki-sensei. Wrote the story for the series Donten Prism Solar Car, which ran in Jump Square from 2010 to 2011. *8: The aforementioned series which ran in Jump Square from 2010 to 2011, depicting the struggles and friendships of young people involved in the development of solar cars. *9: There is a set number of pages for Rookie of the Year awards. For instance, the Tezuka Prize requires 31 pages. *10: Original story by ONE-sensei. A doujinshi by ONE-sensei, Yusuke Murata-sensei, and Kinu Nishimura-sensei. An action story depicting the struggles of a father who becomes a giant to fight monsters, and his frustrated son. *11: Comedy depicting the adventures of soldiers who undergo special training to exterminate cockroaches. Ran as a guest one-shot in the July 2015 issue of Young Gan-Gan. *12: American Football manga series which ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 2002 to 2009. *13: The current Neighborhood Young Jump browser is improved constantly to allow everyone to read the latest One-Punch Man as soon as possible. *14: A European style of swordplay, and now an Olympic sport. *15: One-handed sword with a sharp point. *16: 1984 Jackie Chan movie.

27 notes - Posted January 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Update 171 (previously 170). Changes between online and print versions

Murata has taken advantage of the revisions he's doing for volume 25 to make a few small but important changes to update 171.

Amai Mask calling for help

No excuses, just a straight out plea for help. Which isn't forthcoming

See the full post

28 notes - Posted February 26, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[mimi-cee-hq]

Laundry Days - Aran x f!reader

Summary: Three times you picked up his underwear and one time you missed doing it.

Genres, other tags: fluff, slice of life, humour, meet cute, domestic fluff, not suggestive lol, married under 25, neighbours to married lovers ;)

Words: 1.6k

Warnings: manga spoiler

This is for @neoheros & @coophi's 2021 Summer Haikyuu!! Writing contest. (Okay I'm pretty shy at first so it feels a little scary to tag you two but here's my piece.) I was going for the married under 25 prompt but ended up doing neighbours to lovers too. :D

Don't mind me spreading the underrated characters agenda as well. lol.

*****

A few articles of clothing spilled out of the dryer and onto your feet. Oops. Your neighbour must have forgotten them. You should've checked first.

Your own damp clothes sat inside the washing machine next to it, waiting for their turn to enter the dryer. It wasn't possible now.

You sighed, retrieving the phone from your pocket and scrolling until you saw the name of the neighbour who lived a floor below you.

Ojiro Aran.

You were sure this was the right person after a second look at your texting history. Who'd bring the garbage to the curb, where the lawnmower was kept, and keeping the duplex's stairway clear were some of the conversations you had with him.

You had yet to meet the guy, but he seemed amicable enough.

After shooting him a text, you thought to give him a call instead. Perhaps he'd think a phone call was strange. However, your clothes were damp and you shouldn't leave them for long. Was he even home?

You sighed. Crouched down, you returned the clothes on the floor back into the machine. A scarf, several socks, and a knit hat made their way back inside. But what was this?

Underwear. Men's underwear.

You scrunched your nose as you lifted it from the cold, tile floor. Was that a hole in it?

Click.

"Sorry I just saw your text!" a tall, dark-skinned man blurted out as soon as the door was unlocked.

"Oh! It's alright! I only texted you a few minutes ago!" you quickly explained, waving your hands in front of you.

You shouldn't have done that. The underwear was hanging from your hand.

"Ummm…" Aran scratched his cheek, eyes retreating from you.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" you spat out, tossing the incriminating object to him. "It just fell out of the dryer when I opened it so I went to pick it up!"

Once in his hands, he recognized it as the one with the seam coming undone. "I… umm… should probably have thrown this one out."

"Umm… yeah… you probably should." Those words slipped off your tongue before you could catch them.

"I- I guess I'll go now," Aran said hastily.

He shut the door.

You let out a breath. That was awkward. Heat continued to linger in your body and you weren't sure who was more embarrassed by the encounter.

Wait. His clothes were still in the dryer. Did you dare ask him back?

The door slowly creaked open and Aran peeked his head into the room.

"I forgot something, didn't I?" Aran sheepishly asked.

"Yeah." The corners of your mouth lifted into a smile. "Yeah, you did."

"I'm Aran by the way."

"Y/n."

You never thought this would be how you'd meet your future husband.

*****

The office chair in your apartment was a comfortable spot for folding clothes. The webcam caught your face as you chatted with Aran whose image filled the monitor.

You smiled. Your husband was winding down after a long day with the team and decided to check up on you.

"I'm alright," you told Aran. "I miss you though."

"I literally just saw you yesterday!" he said. "I miss you too."

After that fateful yet awkward encounter with him in that laundry room two years ago, you had run into each other more frequently at the front doors of your duplex. Your classes ended at similar times four out of your five school days. You were surprised he even started a conversation with you. You wouldn't have been able to bear the embarrassment. Fast forward to a confession, a kiss and a rock-embedded ring, and you got a small, snowy wedding during winter break.

It was back to the books for you now, and you dreaded it. Chores seemed much better, easier. Plus doing them for your newly-wedded husband? You got giddy about that.

You quirked your brow, lifting a familiar piece of clothing from the basket.

"Hey, I thought you threw this one out," you mentioned to Aran, dangling his underwear in front of the camera.

"I did! That's, uh, probably a different one."

"Just how old are these?"

"Hey! Wait a moment! Are you folding clothes?"

You avoided the eyes on the screen. "Maybe."

"You have your paper due in a few days! I told you I was going to do it after flying back home."

"I know…"

Aran's eyes narrowed at you, a trademark expression of his. "You're procrastinating again, aren't you?" His tone implied disapproval.

"But I'm still being productive!"

"Y/n…"

"Okay, okay. I'll stop." Your foot pushed the basket away, sliding it across the floor. Maybe you could fold them after you hung up.

Aran must have read your mind. "Show me what the laundry bin looks like."

You groaned. He saw right through you. Complying, you removed the clipped webcam off the monitor and directed it at the pile of unfolded clothes.

"It better be like that when I get home."

"Alright," you said with a pout.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Must he stop you from doing chores? They were a simple reminder you were married to him, as if the gold on your finger wasn't enough to show you.

You were his wife.

A smile snuck into your lips whenever that thought crossed your mind. The honeymoon phase was a peculiar, strange, lovely stage.

Yet it was fleeting.

*****

You groaned as you stood in the middle of the bathroom. Aran's white track pants hung off the counter, the red t-shirt he got for free from first year college laid on top, and of course his underwear, which likely went through hundreds of washes, remained on the floor.

Great.

You rubbed your temples, your headache getting worse by the minute. It was Saturday morning, and Aran, who was nowhere to be seen, had left his mess behind.

I'll clean it up later, he would tell you. You knew his mother had spoiled him, always picking up after him. You understood why he was like this, but why couldn't he just start doing it now?

"Do you have this problem?" you asked your friend through your wireless headset.

"What problem?" she asked.

"Does your husband always leave laundry around on the floor?" You pinched the bridge of your nose. "Aran never picks up after himself."

She laughed. You weren't sure if it was because you were a young, amateur wife or if she understood all too well.

Knowing her, probably a bit of both.

"Okay two things."

You listened.

"One, don't say always or never. That's lying."

"I'm not lying," you snapped back at her. You began to regret asking her.

"Are you sure he never picks it up and always leaves it on the floor?"

You left no comment.

"Exactly."

"Okay fine, but that still doesn't solve the problem. If only he just did it, it would solve everything–"

"Number two," she interrupted.

You groaned at her and she gave an amused snort in return.

"If you weren't picking up his underwear, it means he's dead."

You were aghast.

"You know I'm right."

Still aghast.

"What? No husband, no mess."

"I can't believe I asked you for advice."

"But it's true."

"Ugh," was all you could utter. She had several years more of marriage experience than you, yet you didn't want to acknowledge it.

You hung up the phone after you finished deciding today's outing with her, but you hadn't addressed the issue in front of you. Your head throbbed again.

Sighing, you picked up the underwear.

A few minutes later, the front door opened and you dipped your head into the hallway. Aran shuffled grocery bags through the door and into the kitchen. He yawned, placing the milk, eggs, and other items into the fridge.

A familiar coffee brand peeked out of a bag on the floor. Right. You didn't have your coffee yet because there wasn't any left.

You wrapped your arms around Aran and relaxed against his broad back.

"I can't put the food away like this," he said with a chuckle.

"You left your clothes in the bathroom again."

"Oh shoot!" He dropped a bag and started towards the bathroom but you tightened your grip on him.

"I put them away already," you told him. His body relaxed and he caressed your arm around his waist.

The honeymoon phase was a fleeting phase, novel tasks turned mundane, but your love for him grew deeper still.

*****

Aran was away again, this time at Tokyo in preparation for the Olympics. He eagerly called you during breaks, wishing to see his favourite person – although your hands were full as well.

"I miss you," he told you, his smile displayed on the screen.

"And I miss picking up your underwear," you told him with a smirk.

Like clockwork, he narrowed his eyes at you with a comeback. "Why don't you say you miss me like a normal person?"

"Because I'm your wife. I'm special," you told him as he rolled his eyes. "I wish I could be there though."

"You wouldn't be able to spend that much time with me anyway," he said. "Besides, one of us needs to stay home."

"I know." You smiled.

"I gotta go," he said as Atsumu yelled in the background. Aran blew a kiss at you.

You snorted. How cheesy. You returned the kiss anyway.

Hearing a mischievous squeal behind you, you told him, "I gotta go too."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

After you hung up, you turned around and sighed. A soggy wet diaper sagged on the floor and the little guy jumping in the crib giggled at you as if he did the funniest thing in the world.

You rolled your eyes and smiled before picking up the diaper.

"Alright kid. Let's put a diaper back on you and wash your sheets."

*****

I hope you liked it. This is a little different from what I usually write but I hope you still enjoyed it!

I blame Aran's current concern for giving me this idea along with the person who suggested I write Aran fluff. (As well as the seasoned wife I know who told her husband, "If I wasn't picking up your underwear, it means you're dead." lolll.)

I hope you stick around my blog to check out my other works! My current work in progress is a fake dating Suna series. I can't believe we're on chapter 10!

If anyone is interested, I have a Google form for my taglist.

[confused-bi-queer]

Simon’s problem with his sexuality

I don’t know how to analyze shit. My fucking oblivious ace ass. But. I just understood what the whole problem Simon has with his sexuality is! If you are as hopeless as me at understanding stuff, come along, I explain why Simon Snow struggles with his sexuality.

So, I was looking at this amazing art, from @krisrix , about that scene from AWTWB when they go for rats, where Simon is having his queer panic and when we know Agatha and him has sex and I didn’t actually understand why he was so worried. I understood the problem as it was wether he liked women and/or men or other genders and stuff like that, but it didn’t make sense. I’ve always thought about “attraction” as something aesthetically and/or physical pleasant, not sexual. My whole life. I’ve used so many wrong terms too. I didn’t understand why Simon was having such a hard time knowing whether he was attracted to Agatha or not, I didn’t see the problem.

A little unrelated, I was searching for the meaning of sexual attraction, what did it mean, how people feel it or how does it work (ace trait) and I somewhat understand it?? but not really, so, I asked to myself: “fuck this, I mean, what does that even mean?” and I realized Simon already asked that. And everything he had ever mentioned about his sexuality made sense to me.

I know everyone already knows this, but it was like a fucking realization!!

So, when Baz keeps asking him (why did it matter???? Simon already told him, he loved him, anyway) is he was gay or what he was and Simon was frustrated, and mentioned he had sex with Agatha and didn’t know if he was attracted to her, it was about whether he was attracted to her sexually!! My-, that’s why he had so much trouble.

Because, yeah, they had sex, but ace spec people can have sex and enjoy it and that doesn’t take the aceness away from them, they’re still in the ace spec. 

So, in WS we get the “Baz-only-sexual” thing from Simon, that’s where we get the first glimpse of Simon’s sexuality. Because we knew Simon was like attracted to Baz (it could’ve been just aesthetically, psycological or physical; they do have 7 years worth of enemy sexual tension, but it could have been just that) but it was never really specified as something sexual related. (i just assume something is aesthetical attraction unless they mention it’s sexual). 

I didn’t get that either. It didn’t sink in my head that Simon was sexually attracted to Baz and didn’t want to think about it at the end of CO (I’m guessing it was sexual on the prologue too, right?) because he had a lot on his plate and because he would have had the questioning moment he had in AWTWB on the ally hunting rats with Baz on CO and my boy was not ready to have that kind of pressure over himself.

Then, back to the AWTWB scene. Simon still doesn’t know about this “Baz-only-sexual” thing. He is attracted to Baz sexually (even I get that), we have a huge glimpse of that at the constant mentions of sex from Simon’s part (”He’s the most fuckable person alive”, the cock things, the foreplay he always cries in, the wanting to do more, “we sorta kinda had sex”, i mean, you know what stuff). But that’s one thing.

What about Agatha? What about women? Is it only Baz?

So. Sexuality. I didn’t have a class about this, I’m just writing this because I’ve been so fucking oblivious about the whole sexuality thing on these books because I never understood the concept (my ace trait). [i just want to mention i’m not trying to label Simon, just point out why he struggled with his sexuality]

So, Simon is sure about Baz. He has a point. So, there are plenty sexualities and it does not force anyone to pick a label, that’s why I love my Simon canonicaly (or canonly?) unlabeled.

So... women.

What the fuck does Simon feel sexually about them?

In WS we get that scene along with the “Baz-only-sexual” thing that there’s cleavage at the Renaissance Fair and that he doesn’t mind. But it could be physical (you see, this is why being me is hard, because i don’t see anything sexual if it’s not mentioned that way), so it doesn’t really mean anything.

Back to the rat scene on AWTWB.

Again, having sex means nothing. Ace people can  have sex, IT DOESN’T CHANGE THE SEXUALITY, that’s Simon problem. He enjoyed sex (”it was sex”), he did stuff with Agatha (so, what?), but was he attracted to her???? That’s the whole point of the problem, isn’t it??? Dating someone for so long and having sex with them is meaningless. it’s the same way people know they are bi (for example), and they haven’t dated the same gender, but still are attracted to it. It doesn’t matter the dating time.

It also doesn’t matter the person in discussion. Agatha is pretty. We know. Simon knows. Fucking Baz knows. But again... IT’S SOMETHING AESTHETICALLY PLEASANT. Agatha is like this conventionally beautiful person, and “trees bend towards her” and stuff, but was it to Simon’s sexual appealing? They had sex. He enjoyed it. He liked her. He thought he was going to MARRY her. But that’s meaningless. (this is just repeating Simon’s monologue, I’m making a point). He liked the confidence and feeling of knowing what happened next when Agatha was with him. Simon’s been manipulated into thinking in some way and doing stuff no one younger than 18, or like 25, should do. He didn’t have to think if he didn’t want to. He liked it. Being told what to do, be useful, fulfill his role, be someone. yeah, the mage was shit, and his magic was shit and didn’t help, the whole chosen one stuff was shit. But he wanted it. He liked helping (we know this at the beginning of AWTWB, with Dr. Wellbelove) and he’s always been into being the hero, the Golden Boy. That’s why he liked Agatha. It was one more thing that came with being the Chosen One. Going through the motions, right?

Simon has this “what does it even mean?” problem. EXACTLY. What the fuck does it even mean??? I do not mind Simon unlabeled, but I get that now. because I’m having the same problem figuring out the concept. what is sexual attraction? what does it mean being attracted to someone? does “attraction” is only about sex? what does it mean that someone is attractive? what does it mEaN????????

Simon doesn’t think. He doesn’t process stuff, doesn’t like it. Who the fuck looks at their own trauma and says “uh, i want to look at that stuff all over again and process it to feel better and be able to have sex with my vampire-mage-hot boyfriend?” no one. everyone wants to get better, but the thought of doing it, seems impossible. but you can get better. still. not the point.

the thing is...

it doesn’t matter or it doesn’t have to matter if Simon was or not sexually attracted to Agatha or if he is sexually attracted to women, or men in that matter. .

Simon loves, respects and desires Baz. that’s what matters. the “Baz-only-sexual” matters. 

“maybe that makes me gay. Or maybe that just makes me yours”

so, there you go. the very explanation of my boy’s sexuality for hopeless aces like me that didn’t get it.

[anonymous-swiftie]

If you are on twitter, please retweet this:

https://twitter.com/ASwiftie00/status/1334245577933148164?s=19

Dear #Swifties,

I'm new on tumblr, and I really don't know how to use it.

I know you are the best supporters of the music industry and I'm here to ask your help.

I'm fighting with a crippling depression, that due this covid situation just got worse.

I'm at my lowest, I truly don't know if I will make it through this time.

I always dreamed to talk to Taylor, since I was a teenager. She is the only one that make me feel like I do fit in this world.

I've created this account because I know she is very active here, and I'm trying to reach her with this part of my story.

You can read everything below.

I didn't write any personal information because I don't want this to be seen by my family or somebody that can recognise me.

I don't want upset anyone.

I know that everyone hope to meet or chat with her, and so you are probably wondering why you have to share this here.

You're totally right, maybe it's a stupid idea to ask you this, but I haven't anything left in my pocket to fight this situation, and you're my only hope right now.

Thank you.

#taylor #swift

*******************************************

Dear Taylor,

I keep writing and deleting this, over and over again.

I feel so dumb to write my personal story here, but this truly is my last chance to feel better and try to overcome this giant monster called depression.

I genuinly don't know if I can make it through this year. It's the worst period of my entire life and i don't even know if it's worth living this hell anymore.

I know you have millions of supporters (that probably write you every single day, and they are all better fans than I am, that's for sure) but I know that you proved, time after time, to be so down to earth and to use your time to read your fans messages.. so, in this moment, I'm just trying to share a part of my story with you.

You are the one that make feel understood, since I was like 13teen.

I'm so sorry if my English isn't very good but I'll do my best.

I'm not very active on social media , because I'm very shy when I have to talk about myself.. but If this could work, I must do it.

I will try to send a letter, If I can find the strength to mark this feeling on paper.

**IF I'M WRITING TO SOMEBODY FROM HER STAFF, PLEASE JUST LET THIS MESSAGE REACH TAYLOR**

I'll try now to resume, because I don't want to bother you too much.

This has been a crazy year so far, and the all the time I spent by myself during the lockdown didn't help at all.

This situation brought me back to childhood.

I spent a lot of my days back and forth in hospitals, due to my allergies.

I had to wear a mask all the time I wanted to go outside to avoid severe allergic reaction (that's why this Covid thing awakened some hurting memories)

I didn't have real friends back then, 'cause I've spent most of the summers at home, watching other kids playing around, from my window, or from the windows of my classroom.

It was so hard to make new friends, because the only thing that other kids saw was my mask.

I was the masked kid.

I was the strange kid.

I couldn't play with them.

Everytime I tried to play with them, the only thing I heard was "oh you are ill , I don't wanna be like you so stay away".

This situation made me start to write things in my personal diary.

I wrote small sentences, as a kid, and that was the only thing I could do alone inside an empty classroom during all summer.

This situation continued  for many years.

I wasn't the cool kid before, I wasn't the cool guy after.

The only things that let me enjoy those days were writing and listening to your songs.

I started to listen to your music thanks to my English teacher. She was a fan of folk and country music and she gave me a pic in which you were singing near a lake (I still have that photo somewhere, I strongly remember the white banner with your name written in red on it) and told me to listen to the cd she gave me that day.

I immediately fell in love (I think I still have a crush on you, I'm sorry).

I loved your album. I loved your voice. I loved the lyrics.

I remember having a "test" in school: each one of the class had to write their favourite lyrics and let the others guess the song.

If the someone guessed It, We could play the cd.

I chose Love Story and I translated it in Italian.

The class guessed the song, and I played it.

After the lunch break I went back to my desk and I saw some bullies that were breaking my cd-album and they started to laugh at me because I loved your music an I loved writing poems.

I was a boy so I was a loser because I enjoyed those things.

That felt terrible, but I continued to love your songs even more .

Those were my inspiration to write and to study english.

I felt so good when I listened to your album and this still happens.

Then I went to a private high-school.

Nothing changed, I still was the nerd guy that always got good grades and I have to say that the first year was quite good, but the second year was the start of the apocalypse.

I choose that school because two girls that I knew from childhood went there.

One of the cool new guys started to spread a fake "news" about me.

He said to everyone that I was the boyfriend of one of the two girls that I mentioned before.

So he was the cool guy and one of the girls believed him and told me to f*** myself.

The other girl was her best friend, so you could imagine by what happened next.

After 14 year spent together, I was nobody.

I didn't have "friends" in that class anymore.

I didn't say hello to anybody for 4 years, and nobody would say anything to me.

Nobody to talked with me.

That's great when you're a teenager.

I hated to wake up every morning.

I had an eating disorder, I lost like 22pounds in less than a month. Got hospitalized twice. I kept vomiting for 3 years, every single morning before school.

During that time I only talked with one of my cousins, who lived like 2 hours by car from me.

He was older than me but he always tried to help.

He knew that I loved to write poems so he started to give me guitar lessons.

I made it through a lot of things thanks to him.

I'm sorry, It's hard for me to write this part of the story.

I still get emotional when I think about this.

On the 10TH of December 2013 (some days after his birthday) we received a phone call from his mother: She warned us that he didn't return home after the last working shift.

I wrote a message to him like 3 hours prior to that phone call.

Never had the opportunity to get a reply again.

This year is the seventh year that he is missing.

That destroyed me.

I felt empty.

I felt like nothing couldn't help me.

I still feel that everytime I care about someone in my life, it will disappear someday.

This have happened several other times.

You know when ignorants say that men don't cry, is real bullshit. Men cry. I cried a lot.

I wrote so many poems , lyrics, thoughts in that period of time, that I destroyed my hands.

That was the only way to close my eyes and let me reach another reality because the real one was way too much for me.

Be a sensible man in this world is somehow a curse.

All these things made me afraid  even to hug someone 'cause I feel I'm too ugly or just to scared to be refused.

I will stop here my story, but there's so much more to tell.

I make it through all of these things and memories because I keep dreaming that one day I could meet you and we could talk together.

Dreaming about the fact I could spend a day with you made me find the power to battle my depression.

I'm 25 now and this year I'm not dreaming anymore.

I was going to start again university, I wanted to get a degree in marketing and have the chance to live in the us.

For years I believed that I would make it and hopefully be part of your marketing team.

I'm so stupid. All these years I kept dreaming to avoid pain.

I wanted to pursue my passion and continue to write lyrics but all I was doing was putting myself in unrealistic realities.

This covid situation made everything clear.

When everyone had someone to facetime (or video call) I was alone.

When everyone had someone asking them "how are you?" I only had myself looking in the mirror saying: "Will I ever feel better?"

I've never been the one for anybody, and I think I'll never be.

I won't be the one among all your fans to realize his dream.

Nobody likes me, and I'm exposing myself once again just because I want the opportunity to smile at something that could happen to me.

I'm tired to smile only for others best moments.

I've always seen the sun through a window.

I want to feel happy.

I want to burn my face with the sun.

I'm so sick of hiding my pain,

sick to cry when I'm alone in my car before going to work,

sick to let my eyes rain on my pillow every night.

I'm sick to say to my mother that I'm fine, just because I don't want to make her feel bad.

It's not her fault.

She is battling with a degenerative autoimmune disease, why I should put other weight on her shoulders?

I didn't give up to my weakness before because I don't want to hurt her.

I always say to her that soon she will feel better, that's why your song It's stuck in my head.

But when she won't be here anymore, how I can go through all of that?

I don't even know if will ever get better for me.

Will this pain ever stop?

Sometimes it's so hard to live and so easy to die.

Hope that my dream to spend some time with you can become true.

Thank you for everything, you gave me the strength to go on for many years.. But this time is so hard to put on my armor and continue this battle.

But is this even worth if thy I try to surround myself with people and I always feel lonely?

D.

@taylorswift @taylornation @jackleopards-thedolphinclub

[blissfulparker]

In between the lines→Professor!Tom

Parings→professor!tom x reader

Summary→Your toms favorite student and wants to make you his TA. But what if the both of you also want a little more?

Warnings→CONTAINS SMUT!! so if you don't feel comfortable do not read. Teacher/student relationship, all characters are over 18!

A/n→ hi! so this is my first professor!tom fic, let me know how you guys like it! this is also one of my first fics where I go into detail with smut but not too much so like I said if you don't feel comfortable don't read! Let me know how you like it! also im extremely close to 8k thank you guys so much!!!!!

(Not my gif!!)

The desk creaked under you. You shifted for what felt like the millionth time in your seat as you listened to your professor speak. You typed the notes on the board as you listened to the british accent that faded in and out with your day dreams. Mr. Holland wasn't like other professors you had, he was young, probably the youngest professor you've ever seen.

You remember on the first day of school how he asked the class to ask him questions to get to know him. A few girls who thought they were cute for asking, asked about his age and if he had a girlfriend. He only laughed along-but was most likely uncomfortable-and told the class how he didn't have a girlfriend but his age was a secret. How he could be 25 or could be 56. Everyone knew though knew he was extremely young, some even thought that he had to have some sort of affair with a teacher to get a job here at such a young age.

“(Y/n) are you still with us?” His fingers snapped and you came out of your daydream. About forty kids between the age of 18-23 were staring at you. Some girls in the back snickered as he referred to you as your first name, something he rarely did.

“Yes.” You choke out feeling too embarrassed.

“Good, started to worry I was boring you too death.” He jokes pacing back and forth. The students chuckle and you hide deeper in your chair. “I’d like at least one of my students to excel.” He comments with a playful smirk. Some still laugh the others stare at you in envy knowing your intelligence.

He continued with the lesson until the end of the class. Looking at the clock as if he too needed somewhere to be.

“Do we have any questions?” he asked the class, his hands clasped together as he looks around the room and even locks eyes with you at one point. His eyes were soft, gentle but slightly sexy. “No? I guess i'll see everyone on thursday then.” he smiled and everyone was quick to pack their bags and either go home, work, or to their next class. “Essays will be in by friday, if you have questions my inbox for emails is open!” although no one cared enough to listen to his words, even though it was important, everyone was far too focused on their weekend plans.

“Mrs.(y/l/n) if I can see you for a second please?” He pushed himself away from his desk and walked around it. Waiting until all the students left to speak to you. He watches as the door slammed shut from the last student.

“I-I’m sorry for zoning out.” If he was going to call you out for your little daydream then why hadn’t he called out anyone else? You could name the people who had zoned out during his lesson. You could name all the times too. 

He chuckles before picking up his pen and flicking through his papers to find yours. Your essay you submitted two weeks ago. A day early because you always feared something would glitch. It was emailed twice which Tom thought was cute. You had carried an extra copy in your bag Incase he’d lost the one you’d given him. You always came prepared.

The one that caught his eye, you were gorgeous of course. To him at least. You were beautiful. But you also had a Artistic way of writing that spoke to him. Yeah he’s had students here and there where he’s looked at their work and thought how incredible they’ll be in the future but he knew you were already going to be something else.

“That’s not why you’re here.” He licks his fingers as he grabs your paper from the stack. “But thank you for calling yourself out.” His eyes flick to yours and then back to the paper.

“Then why am I here?” You adjusted your strap. It was the first day of spring, the weather was blissful and so you wore a pencil skirt and a cardigan, one only half buttoned up and didn’t leave much to the imagination. He couldn’t—he didn’t want to imagine all the boys who’ve touched you. Promised to love you and failed. Kissed you like they were starving but nothing more.

“This essay is the hardest essay for me to assign besides the spring final.” He explains and you fiddle with your fingers out of nerves. “I hardly ever have anyone get a B. I’ll be honest I feel terrible for assigning it but I have to do it. I always tell my students that all of them tried hard and the grade they got isn’t a reflection on how good or bad they write. And I grade honestly, I do, I don’t cheat students out or anything. Three years ago I got a boy who got a 82%.” He taps on your essay and you’re still confused as to why he’s having you stand here. “You got a 94%.” He places your paper in front of you. You’re proud of yourself, yes, but you’re still confused as to what he wants, a celebration? You to thank him? What did he want?

“You had a spelling error that marked you two points, you had a few sentences that repeated themselves, and capitalization got messy at the end.” He watches you as you look over your paper. Looking at the notes he’s left and the marks. There wasn’t a lot, not a lot at all. Just eight pages filled with tiny notes in sloppy red pen and a few marks at the end.

“Thank you?” You told him. Proud of yourself on the inside, you didn’t know how to express it on the out.

“How did you do it?” He asked to get up and come around the front. Taking the paper back from you he looked for answers.

“What do you mean-“ you started and he cut you off.

“How did you get the A? How did you write your paper? You’re smart, extremely smart. So what is such a smart girl doing in my class?” He asked and you felt yourself heat up.

“Just wanted something easy I guess.” You swallow hard as he comes over to the front again and stands in front of you.

“Easy?” He chuckles. “My class is easy for you?” He takes it as a joke but you don’t see much of what’s funny.

“I guess.” You shrug. You signed up for his class fearing it would be the hardest and it was, you just worked really hard to get the grade you desired.

“Do you know what grade you have in this class?” he asked you and you balance yourself on his desk, his scent was strong. Ocean breeze mixed with something else. Maybe you just now understood why girls fell so hard for him. You now had the front row view of him and could see the pool of honey that made up his eyes, the freckles that danced across his face, how his bottom lip pouted out more when he spoke. How when he gripped the desk a vein popped out of his arm.

“A-a 89%.” you swallow hard and he hums. He was all too intimidating. He was all too much.

“You're my best student you know,” he spoke in a lower voice. “I wanna offer you to be my TA next semester. You'll need practice on your writing more and brush up your analyzing skills but nothing I can't teach you, nothing you don't already know.” his hand too close to yours on the desk. He almost caresses it, almost lets your fingers touch yours. but that makes him creepy, if you didn't want it like he did then that makes him disgusting.

“A TA position?” you asked shocked and he presses his lips together and nods. He has your knees weak, you're melting and he knows it. He knows what he's doing and you can't tell if he wants you as much as you want him.

“Yes,” he moves his hand away slowly from yours as he drags himself back to his chair. He looks up at you and you can see deep behind his soft honey eyes there is something more he wants than you to be his TA. “think about it. Let me know your thoughts and if you have any questions feel free to ask. My office and email are opened all the time so let me know.” he looks at the essay in your hand that you stole back from him and you drop it knowing you cannot keep it.

“Thank you.” you swallow hard once again and hopes he doesn't notice your shaking hands and nervous body. You know you're going to take it, spending more time with the hottest professor and making yourself look good for your future was an obvious yes. You just didn't want to say it immediately in front of him, you wanted to tease him like he did you.

-

It was 7pm. Mr. Holland had no class right now and his words of his office being open at any time ran through your head. You wore the same outfit as you did earlier in his class, you didn't know how much it drove him crazy but it did. Finding his office was easy, but having to knock on the door and speak to him was the hardest part. You press your ear against the door to hear typing. He was in there so that was promising, you could see a faint light through the glass and a blurry outline of his face as he wore his glasses and looked up at his computer.

Two knocks was all it took, your fist hitting the door twice was all it took to hear the gentle sound of his voice telling you to come in. your fingers wrapped around the golden door knob and let yourself in. the sound of his quick typing stopped as he looked up to see you. So shy and innocent looking at the frame of his door.

“(Y/N), its lovely to see you again.” he sat up more and you cleared your throat as you shut the door behind you.

“I wanna take your offer. A-About the TA position.”you told him strongly but that confidence faded at the end. he has a little smirk forming on his face as he lowers his laptop to give yoy his full attention.

“That was quick.” he pushes his seat out and stands up. “But im glad.” he adjusted the watch on his wrist as he leaned against the front part of his desk. He crossed his feet and the two of you just stared at each other across the room, not knowing what to say or do next. You set your bag at his door assuming you'd be here a little while longer.

“Guess you can help me grade a few essays, get your practice in now.” he moves back over to the other side of his desk and pulls his chair out for you. You walk carefully over to it and take a seat, feeling the leather sink as you sit and the feeling of being in his chair is empowering, the feeling of him standing behind you makes you feel somethings stronger.

“I want you to pick up that pen and mark mistakes you see. Leave notes in the margin if you must but if you're not comfortable with that leave it to me.” he takes a deep breath in and you do as you are told. He still stands behind you as you read the essay. There were spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes here and there, poorly written but you only could assume that the poor kid who wrote it was doing it last minute at midnight. Probably didn’t even have time to edit. His breath hoever is so close to your neck as he hovers over you, you can almost taste the mint gum he chewed.

“He repeated a sentence twice.” you trip over your own words. You turn to look at him and he's staring hard at you. His eyes burn onto your shoulder as it's exposed.

“Then mark it.” he instructs and you blink a few times and he reaches over you to grab the pen but for some reason you grab his forearm to stop him. He’s a lot stronger than you think, alot. He snaps his eyes to you and stops chewing the gum he's been chewing on since the moment you got here.

His jaw clenches and your brain is screaming to let go of his arm, but you can't. You simply cannot let go of his arm and part of you thinks he doesn't want you to let go. He inches closer to your face, feeling the air of your breath as he moves closer to your lips.

“Let go.” he fixates on your lips, how dewy they are from the gloss you wore and how he wanted to press his against yours. You looked down at his arm and felt yourself burn in his chair.

‘Mr. Holland-'' you start but his lips crash into yours, he moves his hand to your waist and you let go finally. They're soft, he knows what he's doing as he moves against your lips. He goes to move both hands to your waist and gets you on the desk. Pushing the messy papers to the side he places you on the desk now holding your face as he kisses you harder, like he's trying to take in every moment of this, trying to remember all of this.

He pushes your legs apart which gives him easy access up your skirt. His hands rub up and down your thighs as he gets closer and closer to your core. Already feeling the heat that radiates off.

You however, you work on his tie. Trying to pull it undone and he chuckles as he feels you struggling. how smart yet clueless you can be about some things

“Like this darling.” just like that he pulls it off and leaves it on the floor going back to kiss you again. Your hands starts on his hair, tugging the perfect curls loose from its gel hold. Although he finds your sweet spot, kissing your neck just below your ear. Hearing your soft moans make him tighten in his pants even more. He wants to rub himself but you are the focus, he wants to watch you cum for him, you melt in front of him. He wants to ruin you for any other boy that tries to do the same.

He hikes up your skirt, having it bunch around at your waist and seeing what you wore underneath only turns him on more. Baby Blue lace underwear that hugged your body just perfectly. His eyes wide in shock as you didn't wear any shorts under, no spandex, nothing. You walked around all day wearing the lacy blue thong and could have exposed yourself at any moment but you didn't. He thought about all the times you wore a skirt to his class, all the different color underwear you could have worn and all the times you've sat there so innocently.

But right now he didn't want to stare, he wanted to take you all in and make you feel good.

“Mr. H-” you start to address but he shakes his head.

“Just Tom, darling.” he kissed the corner of your mouth and proceeded to undo his pants to feel you around him. He starts to pull himself out when he realizes he doesn't have a condom or anything on him. It truly wasn't like him to be like this at work anyways.

“I’m on the pill,” you breathe out, so desperate, so needy. your heavy breath against Tom's shoulder made him shudder. You were begging to have him inside you, begging for his touch. “Just, just try and pull out.” You moved back to look at him and he nodded.

He slid in slowly, throwing his head back as your nails dug into his back. Resting your head against his shoulder as he gently kissed your head.

When the two of you were comfortable enough he started going faster, making you only need him more, trying not to be too loud because you didn’t know who was around. Trying to not think of how wrong it was to be fucking your professor. Was this why he wanted you as a TA? Why he addressed you by your name in class? Made eye contact with you in lessons? All this for now? Built up tension and being so touched starved for one another. Maybe it had been awhile since someone good came around, someone who knew what they were doing. He was good, better than good, he made you want more, you’d almost be upset if there wasn’t going to be more.

His sweet, soft, yet so dirty words helped push you to your own orgasm. Calling you ‘baby’ and reminding you how right you are as he thrusted into you. Rough but sweet. Maybe he would be more sweet in the future, but you wanted him to tear you apart.

“Tell me you're close.” He grunted into your ear, lifting up your face to kiss you. Your eyes hooded in euphoria and you can barely find the words to respond.

“I-I’m close.” You cry. “I’m so close!”

He felt so good you almost had tears running down your cheeks. You hold onto his waist, knowing you’re going to leave scratch marks and maybe a bit of the blue nail polish you wore that chipped away against his skin.

His hand went to your clit, helping you to your orgasm making you moan loud, as you loudly as you could into him. Making sure you were still somewhat quiet though, he shut you up with his lips. Muffled your moan with his hungry kisses.

He pulled out after you, jerking himself onto your thigh, you wanted to help but your body was too weak to respond, something so simple completely destroyed you. Maybe it was only fifteen minutes but he made it feel like an eternity.

Grabbing a tissue from his desk he cleaned you up. Helped you get down and get back dressed, Moving some of the baby hairs from the thin layer of sweat your forehead had.

He dressed had dressed himself back up too, placing back on his tie and running his fingers through his hair to calm some of the curls you tugged on too hard.

He notices you’re still in a daze and comes over to kiss you softly on the corner of your mouth. He was caring, really caring and you could see it. You could see a lot more of him now.

“You alright?” His breathing is still hard as he asks you. His eyes go to the water bottle on his desk and offers it to you. You take it and drink as if you’ve been in the hot summer sun for too long. He chuckles as he adjusts his tie back up seeing how thirsty you were.

“I’m go-great.” You tell him nodding your head. He raises his eyebrows and nods as well, moving papers back into their order reminding himself to clean the desk tomorrow.

“Good.” He gives a lazy smirk as he stops his fiddling and comes over to fix the sleeve on your shirt. “So you’ll be in class tomorrow, we’ll do a simple review and then start taking a look on the final exam-“ he was cut off by your kiss, so egear and soft he tries so hard not to smile into it.

“Easy there, Princess.” He pets your cheek before dropping his hand.

“Don’t talk to me about class when we just fucked on your desk.” You told him and he smirked and kissed again. But he knew it was getting late and a student being in a teachers office for too long would make people suspicious already. He wanted to keep what he had with you, only if you wanted that too.

“Didn’t want to make things awkward.” He told you and you scoffed.

“If I wanted things awkward I would’ve stopped you after our first kiss, not our first orgasm.” You told him and he grew a smirk.

“Oh so it was real.” He’s cocky and you hit his shoulder. He looks over at the clock and sees it’s nearly 8. “You should get going, it’s a little strange when a student is walking out of a teacher’s office late.” He warns you and you nod knowing it’s best. You could only imagine what would happen if you two got caught.

“Right.” You flatten out your skirt and walk over to the front to pick up your bag. He watches your every move, watches as you bend to pick up the bag, watches as you adjust the necklace on your neck. He watches every movement.

“Hey,” he stops you and you turn around. Part of you wants to stay and another part wants to go home and think about what the fuck just happened. “Don’t say anything about this. Not to anyone. Not to your roommates, best friends, no one. If we want to continue your position as a TA we’ll have to keep this quiet.” He told you with almost worry in his eyes and you bite down on your lip and nod.

“I’ll see you in class tomorrow?” You asked and he tapped his fingers on the desk. Nodding as he once again went to try and fix the hair that was messy.

“Of course.” He winks and you heat up again. “If you would like to meet in my office earlier to discuss the position for real then my doors are open.” He reminds you and you almost laugh in his face. That’s what you were supposed to do now but clearly things had a different path.

“I will keep that in mind, Tom.” You use his real name instead of professor. He’s the one that’s blushing under your words.

You open the door very small. Not giving much room to leave but once you’re out you quickly shut the door. Hearing it click and lock automatically as you left. The black paint of professor Holland stared back at you as once again you could see the faint light inside and him sitting at his desk. You turn on your heels, seeing how no one else is in the hall you make your way out. Making your way out was the easy part. But you didn’t know if seeing him again would be all as easy as you hoped.

☆Tagging some people!!! Lemme know if you wanna be tagged!!:

@thollandss @spectacularlyspidey @angelic-holland @tomsrebeleyebrow @joshuaparkers @quitetommy @quackeroos @amsterdam-parker @stealthspideys @honeymoonparker @screamholland

[high-functioning-lokipath]

SH - Sherlock & Greg Friendship - Prompt: How Greg and Sherlock First Met - Words: 1,637

A/N: Alrighty! So this written from Greg's POV. It's my personal headcannon of what Sherlock and Greg's first meeting might have been like. Please don't hate me if I got something wrong or if it's different than your ideas. Just my little thought. At the end of the story there is a little explanation of some of the references I made. See if you catch them 😜

I WILL ADD THIS: THERE IS DISCUSSION OF SUICIDAL THOUGHTS AND INTENT. HOWEVER, NO HARM COMES UPON ANYONE. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU FEEL YOU WILL BE TRIGGERED.

"Goodnight, Inspector," Donavon said, as we walked out to our respective cars.

"Good night, Sally," I replied. "Have any plans tonight?"

"Oh, nothing much," She replied with a smile. Anderson walked out and headed to his car too though I noticed he winked and waved at Sally as he passed by. "See you tomorrow," She told me. I nodded and got in my car. As I started my engine I saw Philip run back to her and hand her what seemed to be a key. I shook my head and pulled away. I didn't want to pry into the personal lives of anyone on my team but I made a mental note to keep an eye on those two.

"Oh, I'm exhausted," I groaned to myself as I drove home. I'd just received my promotion to Detective Inspector and the first case we'd gotten has proven to be more difficult than we expected. Deciding that my already distant wife wouldn't care if I was home another 15 minutes later, I pulled over for a smoke. The Waterloo Bridge was just up ahead so I got out for a little walk. As I walked up into the bridge I took out my cigarette and was just about to light it when someone spoke up.

"Those things will kill you."

"Who said that?" I called out, immediately pocketing my lighter and lowering my cigarette. Instinctively, my hand hovered near my holster.

"Nobody of import to you, Detective Inspector. I was just making an observation." I was speechless for a moment, surprised that whoever was talking knew who I was. Or at least what I was. My blood ran cold, though, when I finally spotted the illusive speaker.

"What are you doing over there?" I asked, attempting to keep my voice steady. I couldn't yet see his features but I could tell he was young, tall, skinny and had a head full of curly hair. The first thing I noticed, though, was that he was standing on the wrong side of the walkway railing.

"My plan was to jump," He stated plainly. I was quiet for a moment, surprised that he'd so easily admit such a thing. "Surprised I said it?" He asked, looking at me finally. I nodded and he smiled sadly. "No reason to lie to you. You're a smart man. You wouldn't have reached DI otherwise."

"How do you know that anyways?" I asked, walking up next to him, however remaining on the correct side of the railing.

"It was quite obvious. Your haircut implies your employment is of the upper blue-collar class which narrows the field considerably. Considering your age you couldn't be higher than Detective Inspector but no lower than Detective Sergeant. If you were still at Constable you would have quit. Also it was obvious from the fact you went for your gun when I spoke up. You're considerably tired, even for this late hour, meaning you probably were one of the last out. Though tired your gait shows a measure of excitement, pride, if you will. It couldn't be caused by anything at home. You stopped for a smoke on your way home and didn't light up in your car meaning your wife dislikes the habit. One of the reasons she's going to be leaving you, by the way. You certainly aren't expecting children any time soon so that would leave your job. You're excited about something that happened recently at your job. You're obviously exhausted from the case you've been trying to crack so that leaves one option. Promotion. I'd say at the beginning of this past week."

"Wow," I gasped. "You're quite good at that!"

"You're not angry?" He asked slowly, staring at me in surprise.

"Not at all."

"I just told you your wife was leaving you."

"I knew that," I chuckled. "She's been hinting at the matter for weeks. I've been trying to fix things but, with my new promotion, she seems more determined than ever."

"I see," He said, looking off down the river again. "Most people get quite upset with me."

"Well, perhaps depending on the situation it might not be welcome but I don't see what's so bad about it. You know," I said with a grin. "With your ability you'd make a fine DI yourself."

"Tried. Couldn't pass the psych eval," He whispered. "What you call an ability, they call a disability." I stayed quiet, waiting to see if he'd go on. "Doctors diagnosed me with Asperger's and ADHD.”

“Well that certainly shouldn't stop you! Have you considered becoming a private investigator?” He wrinkled his nose at the suggestion.

“I’m not a fan of that title.”

“Private detective?” I tried. He shook his head again. “I’ll think of something,” I said determandly.

“Why would you care?”

“You seem like a nice kid, I-”

“I’m not a kid, I'm 25,” He interrupted, causing me to chuckle lightly.

"Alright," I said, holding up my hands. "Young man. You seem like a nice young man. I want to help you out."

"Why?" He asked again, sounding awfully much like a 2 year old. "I grew up in the countryside with my parents and my older brother. I never had any friends in school. I’ve always been like this. It didn’t get any better when I went to uni. Everyone just made fun of me. Once I graduated, I moved in with my brother in the city. I worked with him for a few years but,” He paused. "Let's just say that didn't go well. I tried to live on my own but I couldn't pay rent because I wasn't able to hold down a job. No one could put up with me. My brother would send me money here and there but he stopped after a while when he found out I had gotten involved in other things."

"Drugs?" The young man nodded slowly. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be somewhere else in his mind. "You know I could have you arrested for that," I commented.

"You wouldn't," He replied. He turned his head and looked straight at me, his eyes more intense than anyone else's I'd ever met. "Besides," He continued, looking away again. "I've stopped."

"For now," I said. "You'll stop until you don't have anything to do and then your mind will get too loud, too busy, too noisy and you'll try to quiet it again."

"How-"

"My cousin," I stated simply. "And also myself in a way. These 'help' me with my stress." I held up my package of cigarettes.

"May I see them?" He asked, holding out his hand. I nodded and handed them over. He looked them over carefully and then threw them into the river.

"Oi! Why'd you do that?" With a smirk and quickly hopped back over the railing onto the walkway.

"Try this," He said, rolling up his sleeve and showing me a patch on his arm. "When I have an especially bad day I'll go up to 3 patches. But one would probably be enough for you."

"Alright, I'll give it a try." He smiled abit haughtily. "But," I added, causing his expression to falter. "Only if you promise to give the private, personal, whatever you want to call it, detective work a try."

"After consulting with you, Inspector, I suppose I could attempt to give this idiotic world another try."

"That's it!" I exclaimed. "Consulting Detective! That's what you can call yourself!" He furrowed his brow in thought before smiling slightly.

"I think that just might work. But who would I consult for?"

"Well, you could set up a website so people can send in cases. Perhaps post something about how you do your deductions. It might take awhile for you to get enough customers so perhaps I can arrange for you to take a look at some old cold cases. What do you think of that?"

"I-" He paused, looking away in embarrassment. "Thank you, Inspector."

"You're welcome. And call me Greg, hm? Or Lestrade if Greg is too hard to remember," I joked.

"Alright," He paused. "Graham," He added with a smirk. I laughed loudly and clapped his shoulder.

"Well, I have the feeling this is going to be the start of something very special for you. Who knows where this will take you or who you'll meet!" He nodded, corners of his mouth turning up in a small smile. "Why don't you stop by my office tomorrow afternoon? I can get you some cold cases and who knows, maybe you'll even crack the case I'm working on now!"

"Thank you," He replied, suddenly sounding very nervous.

"Look, I know people are going to judge you for who you are and what you do. I wish I could change that. But keep your chin up. One day you'll look back and be surprised where it got you. Be confident in yourself. That'll help a lot."

"Like this?" He asked, standing straighter and giving off a well practiced authoritative glare.

"Something like that," I replied. "Here. Try this." I reached for his coat collar and turned it up. "Perfect. Now you look like a real professional." He nodded sharply, keeping up his vaguely disinterested air.

"I've done this before," He admitted. I smiled and nodded.

"Me too. I think you'll be just fine." I smiled at him, happy I was able to save a life tonight instead of investigate a death. "Do you need a ride home?" I offered.

"That would be helpful," He admitted.

"Alright, then, Mr.," I paused, chuckling lightly. "You know, I never got your name."

"Sherlock Holmes," He replied. I smiled and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Sherlock." I paused for a moment, thinking. "Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

I UNDERSTOOD THAT REFERENCE: A GUIDE

The key - Anderson is giving Sally a key to his apartment since they are having an affair. Not exactly a direct reference. Just a thought lol

Those things will kill you - I thought making that the first thing Sherlock said to Greg would have explained all the more so why Greg was so happy to see him again when he came back.

Sherlock's diagnosis - In one of the episodes (can't remember which, too lazy to look it up lol) John says Sherlock has Asperger's. One of my best friends has Asperger's and I've had other friends with ADHD. As a non-professional, I would say Sherlock definitely acts in harmony with those two disorders.

The patches - Greg was showing Sherlock his own patches in the first episode. Thought that was cute.

Graham - I personally think Sherlock has always known Greg's name and it's just an inside joke lol

So, if you noticed anything else, let me know! Please leave a comment (or two lol) if you liked it!!!!

Sherlock BBC Taglist

@lucywrites02

@delightfulheartdream

@bartv21

@another-crazy-fangirl

@ladylulu143

[icyllic]

Path of Destruction | JEON JUNGKOOK

PAIRING: Jungkook x Reader

GENRE: Drama, Angst (maybe???), Thriller

WARNINGS: Stalking, obsession, swearing, a little dirty talk & thoughts

WORD COUNT: 2635

*note: ↑ i came across this video and saw this comment by boogieedits (credits to parkchimn & boogieedits for the inspiration! 😍) and felt inspired by this wonderful plot! i’m inspired by the amazing video edit too! <3 i decided to give it a try and welp- truthfully i’m having writer’s block with my Full of Stars series that i might wanna take a break from it for a while until i figured what the next episode’s plot would be. for now, let’s enjoy this oneshot! 🥰 (extra note: several changes were made in this story and yes, the nickname might be a little cringy but i couldn’t think of a better pet name, so....bear with it, i guess 😅😂 also, Y/N’s angered replies are intended to have typos. i purposely did the typos in her texts bcs she was angry af :3)

The night was feeling empty. The streets were quiet and you had no idea where you were heading. You couldn’t believe that you actually managed to get out from your best friend, Suzie’s party that was filled with a lot of her drunken friends and thank God you successfully escaped, even though right now you were feeling a little tipsy due to the amount of alcohol you consumed earlier.

“Fucking Suzie,” you mumbled as you walked home. “telling me it was just a small party and she lied! Who would lie to their own friends?!” You have the habit of talking to yourself if you feel alone and that was what you were feeling right now, so alone in the streets and you were clueless. You felt the need to cry but what’s the whole point? No one was here to save you even if you did.

You were sure you weren’t dreaming or hallucinating at all but you heard footsteps were following you. As you turned around, you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, seeing as there was no one. When you turned around to walk again, the footsteps were heard. “HEY!” you yelled as you aggressively turned around. “don’t you dare follow me or I wouldn’t hesitate to call the cops!” You rolled your eyes in annoyance, mumbling to yourself again to make the uneasy feeling go away.

As you finally arrived home, you were struggling to grab the keys to unlock the door. At this very moment, the keys were tricking you; purposely tangling themselves with your pocket. “Are you kidding me?! I wanna get inside, you stupid keys!” You widened your eyes when you saw your older sister opening the door for you. How was she still awake at 2 a.m.?

“You look like a horrible mess.” Michelle commented, and you scoffed while pushing her away from the door as you went inside. 

“Why are you still even awake anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” You were shaking your head while shutting your eyes to avoid that tipsy feeling.

“How can I sleep when I know my little sister wasn’t home yet? I was worried sick, you moronic bitch.” She shook her head, feeling disappointed with how you acted right now. 

You were feeling sleepy and tired, so you decided to ignore her and went upstairs. Before you went to your room, you heard your sister yelling, “Yeah, go ahead and ignore me just like you always do to avoid conversations with me! I’ve had enough of babysitting you, Y/N! You’re so horrible!” You slammed the door before hearing any more of her complains. 

Despite feeling so tired, you couldn’t sleep at all. You took the time to stare up at the ceiling instead, filling your head with numerous thoughts. But the thoughts stopped as you heard a Ding! on your phone. You read the texts and to your surprise, it was from an unknown number. 

unknown [now]: sweet dreams, twinkle toes

unknown [now]: it took me nearly four years to pluck up the courage to text you

unknown [now]: and i can’t lie, i’m having butterflies 

unknown [now]: you don’t know how many times i’ve dreamed of touching you

unknown [now]: by the way, go take a shower before you sleep 🌹

“What the hell?” You got up quick and scanned the whole area in your room, worrying that person who texted you might be in there. Hiding under your bed, maybe? You didn’t know whether to text this person back or not, or to block him but if you block him now, how would you know where he got your number from? ... or how would you know whether this person was a male or a female? So you decided to just leave it be for a while and reply this unknown person’s texts tomorrow. After this dreamland taking over your world, you were hoping that these texts were just all hallucinations due to tiredness. 

••••••

....except that they were not hallucinations at all. You started to feel panic when you saw the messages were still there in your message box. Now it was your turn to build the courage to reply this person back. 

you [now]: Who are you and how did you get my number?

Anxiety started to form inside you. You were supposed to run some errands today but with the situation you were facing right now, you were having doubts whether it was safe to go out there or not.

Your daydream of thoughts stopped when Michelle walked in to your room. “Y/N?” You raised your head up to look at her. “you feeling better now?”

You nodded, feeling hesitated as you knew that answer wasn’t true at all. You weren’t feeling any better, even after last night for being a little drunk but with this stalker texting you??? A whole new level of creepy started to scare you. You kept wondering how on Earth this person got your number. 

“I baked you some cookies, just in case you were hungry and um,” she paused for a while. “I’m sorry for yelling at you last night. I didn’t mean to.”

These words shocked you. Her apology made you give her a look of astonishment. You and Michelle have been through it all; dramas over boys, arguing over little things and never once in your life you ever heard her saying sorry to you. This was so new, she finally apologized to you for the first time in her 25 years of living. 

“I’m sorry for being an irresponsible bitch, Michelle. I didn’t mean it too.” She shook her head while smiling, walking towards you and gave you a hug to comfort you. Ding! And this person appeared again, stopping you from hugging your sister. 

“Whoa, who’s texting you at an exact 8 a.m.?” Michelle teased while wiggling her eyebrows. You chuckled at her silly attitude, although this wasn’t supposed to be a happy situation at all. You were already feeling terrified as curiosity started filling itself in you, wondering what that person’s text might be.

“Probably just Suzie wanting to apologize too for being a lying turd.” You shrugged it off, chuckling alongside your sister. Michelle then walked out and you quickly locked the door, opening the stalker’s message. 

unknown [3m ago]: you’ll know soon enough, twinkle toes 🥰

Twinkle toes??? Who the fuck does this person think he or she is? Calling me twinkle-fucking-toes? Your thoughts started to annoy you right now. You felt the need to slam something out of frustration, but you weren’t feeling like it anymore. You were still feeling scared because of this whole situation. 

••••••

“Class dismissed!” Mr. Peterson announced when the bell rang. The whole Math class felt like a living nightmare. You were feeling sleepy the whole time but your attention was drifted off somewhere else. 

When you walked outside the classroom to pack your stuff in your locker, you were stopped by Adrian. Adrian, the guy you knew had a crush on you since sophomore year. He was indeed cute; shaggy hair that really matched with his bright, green eyes and had a very nice personality that could make every girl fall in love with him. Unfortunately for Adrian, you weren’t one of those girls. 

You’ve been taking the time to appreciate and love yourself for several years now. Your last relationship ended because that asshole cheated on and lied to you a lot of times, leading you to have trust issues and hence the reason why you didn’t wanna give Adrian a chance too. But Adrian, being a nice guy he was, stated that he’d wait for you no matter how long it might take. 

“I brought your favorite snacks, Y/N. I hope we can eat lunch together today.” Adrian showed you your favorite snacks that were hidden in his brown bag. You softly smiled at how thoughtful Adrian really was. 

“Thanks, Adrian. But um, I don’t think I wanna eat lunch today. I might just head home this afternoon. I’m not up for afternoon classes.” You felt bad for lying to him. Truthfully, you just wanted to investigate more about this stalker of yours.

His face was sad, but he seemed to understand. “Oh, okay.. are you okay, Y/N? You don’t look okay.” His voice was recognized with genuine concern.

“I’m having headache, that’s all. I need rest.” You scratched the back of your neck, feeling this conversation becoming awkward already. You were uncomfortable, your negative thoughts made you feel like this was an uncomfortable conversation to participate in. 

Adrian nodded as he understood why, so he patted your back gently. You didn’t see it wrong, though. He wanted to kiss your forehead, but hesitant to do so since he knew that might be wrong. It was because he knew you didn’t feel the same for him. 

••••••

{8.47 p.m. with Adrian walking in the streets alone}

Adrian was listening to music on his phone as he was on his way home from his friend’s house. But eventually stopped when he felt a sudden presence behind him. He turned around and it wasn’t there anymore. He shrugged it off, thinking it might have only been his imagination. 

When he was singing along with the song he was listening to, the footsteps were closer and closer and suddenly, two strong hands grabbed Adrian’s hair and pulling him to the ground, kicking him hard and punching him numerous times. 

This unknown person who punched Adrian was wearing a black mask, a black hoodie and ripped jeans that matched with a pair of motorcycle boots. Despite wearing a mask, his eyes sent deep, horrendous message. “If you ever touch Y/N again, I’ll make sure to have all of your bones broken so you can’t do anything in life anymore,” he aggressively grabbed Adrian’s collar this time. “Y/N is mine and mine alone. Don’t you fucking dare come near her.” He released it roughly, spitting on the spot of the ground next to Adrian and leaving him alone as he walked away. It was an unfortunate night for Adrian, no one was there to rescue him and call for help.

••••••

{10.11 p.m. in your room}

Ding! You groaned, knowing whose message this was from. You rolled your eyes as you read the person’s texts. 

unknown [now]: i’m feeling so happy right now

unknown [now]: you have no idea how happy i really am 🥰

You shook your head and scoffed whilst reading them. Who even decided to care whether this unknown person was happy or not? Definitely not you.

you [now]: Lmao do I even care if you’re happy or not though? All I know is that you’re crazy

Ding!

unknown [now]: i am crazy indeed

unknown [now]: crazy about you

You groaned in annoyance at this unknown person’s response, not wanting to reply anymore. But then as you were about to place your phone on your side table, there was another notification from that person.

unknown [now]: i’m happy because soon enough, i’ll have you in my arms. no one’s gonna rescue you from me 

“What the absolute fuck?” you got up and this time feeling so angry to the point you were having typos as you typed your words in all capital letters.

you [now]: GO FUCK YOURSELF WHOSVER YOU ARE, QUIT BUGFING

ME!! 

you [now]: I’M GONNA BLOCK YOU NOW, YOU CNT DO THIS TO ME

Heaving a sigh, you grabbed a pillow and stuffed it on your face, screaming as loud as you intended. 

Ding!

unknown [now]: you can try blocking me

unknown [now]: but i have a lot more phones that i’ve stolen and your number is saved in every phone i keep 

unknown [now]: like i said, twinkle toes. no one’s gonna rescue you and take you away from me 😉

This time as your courage was already built, you dialed this person’s number but they quickly rejected your call. You tried again and you got the same result; your call was rejected.

you [now]: What’s the matter, huh? No balls to answer my call???

unknown [now]: i’m not going to make you hear my voice yet, princess. where’s the fun in that? 

unknown [now]: i’m saving it for our date soon

you [now]: Screw you, you fucking creep

unknown [now]: damn, say that again 

you [now]: FUCKING SCREW YOU!

unknown [now]: i’d love to be screwed by the one and only Y/N 😍

You were scared again. Not only this person secretly got your number, but he knew your name too! This was another whole new level of creepy! 

You shut your phone off, not wanting to take this conversation further with that creeper. You closed your eyes tightly to move yourself in your dreamland, and thankfully, it was successful.

••••••

{Meanwhile at someone’s place}

He watched you through the one of the screens in his room. You had no idea about this at all, but this stalker had already placed a few cameras in your house. One specific camera he always watched was outside the window of your room so he could have a clearer and nicer view of your sleeping face.

“My God, she’s so beautiful,” he said as he attentively watched you sleeping. He was playing with his fingers as his eagerness started to bloom. He was starting to feel desperate now, wanting to touch you, wanting to hold you in his arms, wanting to kiss you until you’re unable to breathe.

“don’t worry, my Y/N. You’ll be in the arms of Jeon Jungkook’s soon.” Jungkook started to smirk with the dirty thoughts of you forming in his head. He really, really, really couldn’t wait to smother you with his kisses. ....once he catches you.

••••••

The next day at school felt so weird as you found Adrian absent. Adrian wasn’t the type of a person who’d miss a day at school, but today he decided to do that. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion as you looked around for him. Weird. Where is he? you thought.

Ding! “Gosh, what the fuck does he want now?!” You opened to see who the notification was from, but thankfully it was from Suzie.

suzie patootie [now]: bubs, wanna hangout tonight? mum’s having a date with her 5th boyf. house is free for us girls

you [now]: Girls night, eh? I’m on

This girls’ night was all you needed to avoid feeling scared as you were right now. Sure, you were feeling brave already to confront that person through messages but you were still scared too. What if that person was watching your every move right now and you weren’t aware of it?

••••••

You decided to head to grocery store to buy some foodies and drinks for your girls’ night. You didn’t bother to head home first to take a shower since you knew that this girls’ night would be a sleepless night for you, anyway. 

As you walked out from the grocery store to head your way to Suzie’s home, the footsteps were heard again. You stopped your tracks. Oh no. What if this is that person? You were standing still and the footsteps stopped too. You didn’t care and you walked forward quickly and the footsteps got faster following you from behind. 

You started running and the follower chased after you so quick until he finally caught you, locking you in his strong arms. 

“Don’t run away from me, Y/N,” he whispered, placing a kiss on your earlobe and you started to cry. “didn’t I say I’d have you in my arms soon?” 

Before you could scream, he covered your mouth quickly and dragged you backwards with him to an unknown place while holding you tightly. 

“No one’s gonna save you. You’re all mine now, twinkle toes.”

[queerdiaz]

Born this way with Alex

I’m sorry this took me a few days but thank you so much for the prompt! Also, this did not mean to be so long. Oops. Anyways. Hope you enjoy :)

Warning: Mentions of past homophobia. 

                                                  ______

                                        Born This Way

                                                  ______

Alex was wandering in the hallways of Los Feliz HIgh School after supporting Julie on her first performance in her music class without them. The rest of the band had performed with her at her school a couple of more times after their first time for pep rallies and dances. The principal tried to book them as much as she could to show that the new breakout band, Julie and The Phantoms, who were now starting to perform at big venues, like the Orpheum, were discovered at her school. He always couldn’t help but be amused by that. 

For a big part of her final grade for her semester, Julie had to perform by herself. Reggie had been confused as to why she was nervous of singing solo in her high school class when she had already sung solo in the Orpheum of all places. But Alex understood. Not only did he have anxiety about practically everything, but doing things that had a lot of emotional weight to them even when you seemed to be getting passed them could be very nerve-wracking. And even though all three of them had the urge to perform with her, they knew that they couldn’t and that she’d completely kill it anyways. Which she did, of course.

After the class was over, Julie had her free period. But, instead of spending it with the boys and Flynn, she and Luke wanted some ‘alone’ time together. Meanwhile, Flynn had a marketing team meeting for the band, which now had at least eight members from the school and a lot more clamoring for the chance to be a part of it. And Reggie was so excited and happy for Julie that he couldn't help but want to tell Ray right away. And unlike before, Julie’s dad could now see them and respond back to him.

Whatever Julie did to save their souls from being obliterated into existence, not only made her be able to touch them all, but made them able to show themselves to lifers without just performing with her. Usually they had to be with Julie in order for lifers to see them, but if they had a bond with a lifer, like the guys did with Flynn and Julie’s family, then they could see them without Julie. But they still didn’t show themselves to lifers very much.

Alex especially didn’t.

He wanted to focus more on trying to figure just how this was all possible. He and Willie came up with different theories, but nothing too concrete yet.

Besides, he kinda liked being invisible. He could be his full self and still be in front of lifers without worrying about what they were thinking about him. Like Willie had mentioned that day at the museum, being a drummer had not only helped him with his anxieties and frustrations, but helped him feel confident and be his full self in front of an entire crowd of people. And being a ghost gave him that same freedom, they just couldn’t see him. And he was okay with that, for the most part.

It actually sorta liberated him in a way.

Alex could do whatever he wanted in front of someone and he didn’t have to worry about their responses. Like that time when he danced on stage with Carrie. He had felt so free, like he could do whatever he wanted and just be. Of course his band could see him when he did it. And even though he just knew Julie for a short time, he knew he didn’t have to worry about her and the guys judging him or seeing him differently.

Like his family had.

Even after apparently 25 years of being dead, it still was only less than a year for Alex when he came out to his family. And they never treated him the same since. He used to remind himself that he was lucky. They didn’t say anything demeaning to him and kicked him out or anything like that. Heck, they even still let Sunset Curve have their studio in the back of the house.

But they still acted differently toward him after that fateful night.

In retrospect, he supposed that having the guys there as support for him might’ve not been the best approach, especially the way his parents had looked at him and Luke sitting next to each other. But Alex didn’t care, because he knew that he wouldn’t have done it without the band. Maybe he would have later on, but given the fact that just six months later he would die of an oldsmobile street dog, who knows if he would’ve gotten another chance.

And Alex was glad that he did it when he did.

Of course it stung when his parents would treat him so...differently. It was sometimes hard to even explain it. Sometimes they’d give him these strange looks whenever they didn’t think that he was looking. Like he was this weird alien living in their house, and not the son that they had raised and loved for seventeen years. And they also stopped inviting him to places and family outings, even assuming that he wouldn’t want to go to church anymore. And even when he wanted to, they heavily implied that they didn’t want him to go, always using the excuse, “Don’t you want to practice more with your band?”

However, as he and the guys would always say, it was on them and not him for thinking anything of him any less than the same boy they knew who was anxious about everything and allergic to nuts. It wasn’t his fault that they had seen him differently just because they found out that he liked boys instead of girls.

Besides, he had his real family now.

And even though he was...you know...dead, after everything he and the band went through, Alex was happy.

And as far as ghosts went, he had a pretty sweet deal. Unlike most ghosts, he could still connect with lifers, and in the best way too. That connection he’d feel with the audience while he’d rock out on his drums as he and the band would play the best musical experiences? Priceless. But he also just liked being a ghost in general. He could be in a crowd of lifers and do what he wanted, not having to worry about their judgments or what they’d think of him. He also liked to watch people and make faces or do silly dances in front of them because he could. As he said earlier, there was a sort of freedom in all of it.

However, there was that part deep down inside of him that felt like part of the reason why he liked being invisible was because that way lifers couldn’t disappoint him by not appreciating who he was whenever he wasn’t rocking out.

Alex immediately pushed those thoughts away and continued to People Watch as he wandered the hallways some more. It really was a cool thing to be a ghost and see people during moments where they normally weren’t seen.

Suddenly, he heard music with a great pop beat start to play from one of the rooms ahead. Curiosity taking over, he poofed in front of the door, and saw that it was the dance room that Julie and Flynn had talked about before. It was empty except for one person in the middle of the giant space seeming to be dancing in freestyle.

It didn’t take long for Alex to realize that the person was Carrie, Julie’s ex-best friend turned enemy turned back to sorta friend now? He was a little confused and fuzzy on the details. All he knew was that her and Julie and Flynn seemed to be, or at least on their way of becoming, good with each other again. She also found out about the Phantoms being...well actual phantoms, but to everyone’s surprise, she promised not to say anything.

Especially considering who her dad was.

Carrie couldn’t see them without Julie being in the same room, so she didn’t notice Alex’s arrival. Instead she danced to the infectious beat that he couldn’t help but move his feet a bit to.

She then started to sing along to the voice of the song coming from her phone.

My mama told me when I was young

"We are all born superstars"

She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on

In the glass of her boudoir

From his spot near the door, his legs and arms started to move with the music as well.

"There's nothing wrong with loving who you are"

She said, "'Cause he made you perfect, babe"

He stopped for a moment, struck by the lyrics.

"So hold your head up, girl, and you'll go far

Listen to me when I say"

The beat then started to get a little faster, making him start to move his body again, this time faster and more of actual dancing. Carrie then began to sing louder.

I'm beautiful in my way

'Cause God makes no mistakes

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born this way

Don't hide yourself in regret

Just love yourself, and you're set

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born this way (Born this way)

A strange sensation formed within him as he danced to the rhythm and listened to the lyrics. It was mostly like the feelings he’d get when he found a new favorite song or jammed to an old favorite. But this. This felt slightly...different in a way. But a great different. One that made his feet and entire body move with the music, as he danced further into the room.

Don't be a drag, just be a queen, Carrie sang putting one hand on her hip and the other in the air, similar to how she did in her previous performances.

Don't be a drag, just be a queen

Alex mimed her movement, feeling completely consumed by the song.

Don't be a drag, just be a queen

Don't be (Don't be, don't be)

The tempo then slowed just a bit, probably going to the next verse, he figured.

Give yourself prudence and love your friends

Subway kid, rejoice your truth

In the religion of the insecure

I must be myself, respect my youth

A different lover is not a sin

Believe capital H-I-M, hey, hey, hey

I love my life, I love this record and

Mi amore vole fe yah (Same DNA)

Tears formed in his eyes at the words, feeling like the song was talking directly to him, considering what he was just thinking about with his parents. Alex then lifted his hands up in the air, completely feeling the moment. He continued to dance like no one was watching - and literally no one was.

I'm beautiful in my way

'Cause God makes no mistakes

Alex had started to sing along with Carrie and the beautiful voice on her phone, closing his eyes and completely letting the magic of the music consume him.

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born this way

Don't hide yourself in regret

Just love yourself, and you're set

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born this way (Born this way)

Suddenly a loud shriek made Alex quickly open his eyes. Carrie was looking him straight in the eye through the mirror, one hand on her heart and one on her hip, anger seeming to simmer out of her.

“Hey, Casper, you can’t just sneak up on a girl like that!” She exclaimed with a hiss before rushing to get her phone that was in front of the mirror along with her bag. She then turned the music off, making Alex instantly miss it.

He put his hands up in surrender. “Sorry! I didn’t think you could see me!”

Carrie looked at him again and placed both of her hands on her hips this time, sending a deathly glare at him. “Oh. So you were just being a creeper who didn’t think you would get caught, is that?”

“No, no no!” Alex quickly replied, shaking his head and hands frantically. “It wasn’t anything like that, I swear! Trust me.”

She seemed to study him for a moment before giving him an expectant look. “Then what was it like?”

Alex shoved his hands in his pockets and then shyly told her, “I watched Julie’s performance during music class and was just wandering the halls when I heard the song you were playing.”

Her eyes immediately perked at that as a smile spread her face. “You like Gaga?”

He gave her a confused look, though the name sounded vaguely familiar. “What’s a ‘Gaga’?” He asked, using air quotes for the last word.

Carrie stared at him in disbelief. “You don’t know who Lady Gaga is? She’s an icon!”

“Is she some kind of royal who sings killer pop songs?”

She seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding. “Well basically yes. Just not in the kind of royal you’re thinking of. A much more important one.”

“So she’s like pop royalty?” He asked.

“Absolutely.” She then pursed her lips. “I’m actually kinda surprised that Julie or Flynn hasn’t introduced you to her yet. They both love her almost as much as I do.”

Alex thought about it for a moment. “Actually, come to think of it, I think they mentioned her before but I was too afraid to ask what in the world a gaga was.”

Carrie shrugged. “Well now you know.”

An awkward silence passed between them.

“So…” she began to say, breaking the silence first, “that was your first time hearing Born This Way or Gaga in general, right?”

He nodded.

“Did you like it?”

“It was amazing! I haven’t felt so connected to a song that wasn’t our band’s in quite a while.” He felt himself start to get a little emotional thinking about the lyrics and just the song in general, and how it made him feel. It was always an amazing thing when a song could touch your soul like that. Especially when it played right when you needed it.

Carrie smiled, seeming to have a knowing glint in her eye. “Yeah. Gaga can do that to you.”

“Yeah.” He smiled back. “I guess I was feeling it so much while singing and dancing to it along with you that it made you able to see me.”

“Damn.” She began to say in awe. “I knew Lady Gaga was powerful, but wow.”

Her saying that reminded him of the first song he heard her sing. “Hey, that reminds me. I like that song that you sang at that pep rally before our band sang for the first time. The one where you said ‘Wow’ a lot.”

Her eyes lit up again at that. “You mean “Wow”?”

“Yeah! And I like all of the other ones Dirty Candy sang too.” He then placed his hand around his cheek like he was telling her a secret. “But All Eyes On Me is my personal favorite.”

“You like my music?” She asked, pleasantly surprised.

“Absolutely! They always bring my inner ‘Dancing Queen’ out, as what my friends like to call it.”

She let out a small laugh. “Thank you.” Carrie smiled brightly at him. “You know, Gaga is one of my many influences. I listen to her as a warm up every time to help get me inspiration for my new song or choreo.”

“That’s so cool.”

“Wanna dance to her some more?”

He gave her a bright smile and nodded so vehemently that he thought his head was going to pop up. “Yes please!”

She clasped her hands together. “Great! Then I can give you a list of her songs that you have to check out first. Got it?”

“Got it.”

Carrie then went back to her phone and played where the song left off.

Ooh, there ain't no other way

Baby, I was born this way

Baby, I was born this way (Born this way)

They sang and danced with all the energy they had.

Ooh, there ain't no other way

Baby, I was born this way

Right track, baby

They both then sang at the top of their lungs, “I was born this way!”

***

A couple hours later, Alex met up with Willie, having a giant pep in his step and gave his boyfriend a giant smile that was even wider than usual.

“Hey, Hotdog! Someone seems more chipper than usual.”

Alex waved a casually dismissive hand, “Oh it’s nothing.”

He felt a little insecure about telling Willie about his latest music discovery and how much it helped him. Even though he knew that his boyfriend not only knew how much music meant to him, but would never demean things that made him happy.

“It doesn’t seem like nothing. What is it?’ Willie asked, giving him a soft and encouraging smile.

“Oh, it’s just that I found this new song and artist.” Alex shyly began to say.

His boyfriend’s smile grew. “Yeah?”

Alex shoved his hands in his pockets and began to kick the air in front of him. “Have you heard of Lady Gaga?”

Willie laughed, “Yeah I’ve heard of Gaga.” Instant fear shot up within Alex. “She’s great, right?”

The fear dissipated and turned into a sense of relief. He didn’t know why it mattered to him so much if Willie liked this Lady Gaga person. Hell, there were artists and songs that Willie liked that Alex didn’t and vice versa. And it was the same with his band, although they’d often end up having good-natured arguments about it. So why was this any different?

Alex nodded. “Yeah. I really like her songs I’ve heard so far.”

He gave him another encouraging smile. “Yeah, which ones?”

“Well, I like all of them. But Born This Way was the first one I heard and it’s my favorite.”

Willie’s smile brightened. “Yeah, mine too.” He then placed his hand on top of Alex’s. “Here follow me.”

Confused as to what was happening, Alex followed Willie, hands firmly intact, as they headed further down the boardwalk. They then stopped at more of a private part of the beach that seemed to be having some sort of event.  

“I heard that someone was having a wedding tonight and I wanted to take you.”

“A-a wedding? Why-why would you want to-to take m-me to a wed-wedding?” Alex stammered and mentally scolded himself for acting like such an idiot.

Willie chuckled. “Relax, Hotdog. I love going to weddings as a ghost.”

“To skate?”

“I do skate, yeah. But I go because I love to see all of the different kinds of people that attend and the drama that no one sees. But mostly I like to see what kind of music they have.” He waggled his brow mischievously. “And if it’s a DJ or DJ system I like to mess with the lifers and put on random songs to see everyone’s reactions.”

It was Alex’s turn to chuckle. “That actually sounds really fun.”

Willy’s smile brightened even more. “I thought you would think so. That’s why I brought you here.” He squeezed his hand three times, making Alex’s ghost heart skip a beat. “Let’s go!” He then pulled Alex with him further into the wedding reception.

They stopped in the middle of the dancefloor, where there were a few lifers slow dancing. Alex gulped, waiting for them to slow dance as well. Willie then pointed to the DJ setup and snapped his hand. Suddenly the beat of a song that Alex may or may not have listened to at least three times that day, started to fill the speakers.

Alex felt his lips spread into a giant smile once more and laughed when he noticed the shocked reactions on the wedding’s patrons' faces from the sudden song change.

“Thought you might like that.” Willy announced proudly, giving him a soft look.

They then noticed how the patrons were now starting to dance to the song, making even more people coming up to the dance floor.

Alex was the first to start dancing, WIlly immediately following right after.

There were some moments where they danced next to each other, and other where their hands would collide and they’d do different moves like swinging each other around. Sometimes they would go through the lifers or dance around them. But all the while they were singing at the top of their lungs as well.

Don't be a drag, just be a queen

Whether you're broke or evergreen

You're black, white, beige, cholo descent

You're Lebanese, you're orient

Whether life's disabilities

Left you outcast, bullied, or teased

Rejoice and love yourself today

Dancing next to each other again, they both then turned to one another, grabbed the other’s hands, and softly sang, “'Cause baby, you were born this way”

They then went back to belting it out at the top of their lungs.

No matter gay, straight, or bi

Lesbian, transgender life

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born to survive

No matter black, white, or beige

Chola or orient made

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born to be brave!

Alex shouted the last part as loud as he could, throwing an arm in the air.

I'm beautiful in my way

'Cause God makes no mistakes

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born this way

Don't hide yourself in regret

Just love yourself, and you're set

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born this way, yeah

They continued to dance and sing, having the time of their ghost lives.

Once the song was getting to the end, the two boys latched their hands together and started to sing the rest to each other.

Ooh, there ain't no other way

Baby, I was born this way

Baby, I was born this way (Born this way)

Ooh, there ain't no other way

Baby, I was born this way

Right track, baby

I was born this way

I was born this way, hey

I was born this way, hey

I'm on the right track, baby

I was born this way

They then leaned closer to each other for the last part.

I was born this way, hey

I was born this way, hey

I'm on the right track, baby

They sang softly to each other, their lips only a few inches apart.

“I was born this way, hey!”

And then their lips collided, their giant smiles remaining.