#i will not jump to any assumptions but i saw people talking about this on twitter & they all think the perpetrators werent rly women

[mithliya]

Boy left unclothed after Burgess Hill sexual assault by two women https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-66107716

We’ll not know until later ofc but one of the women is described as 6ft 3….I know women can be that tall but it is very uncommon.. i would not be at all surprised if it turned out to be a TIM

bright dyed hair?! if u read the description, whether those people are women or not, its beyond stupid that they are SO easily identifiable (BRIGHT DYED RED HAIR AND 6'3?!? the other one has long blonde hair and a unique accent too so like what!!) and decided not to hide any of that. i hope they quickly get caught fr

[katakaluptastrophy]

Can we talk about Magnus in Harrow the Ninth? Because there's a tendency to paint him as this constantly cheerful figure and he's not - he's just very Fifth.

He's the only person who seems even slightly upset about the whole gun-toting horror thing:

“Did the Sleeper get them?”

“Only by assumption,” said Harrowhark, while Abigail’s dolt of a husband said, “I bloody hope so.”

“Magnus,” Abigail said, a touch disapprovingly.

“Well, if the Sleeper didn’t, that’s two maniacs with an ancient weapon and a love of blowing off faces, dear,” said Magnus.

And he's got a very low opinion of Silas:

"She won’t tell me what he said to her, just that he ‘was horrid.’”

“Cheeky little so-and-so,” said Magnus. “If he were my son, I’d give him something to think about. I’m not surprised he’s gone to ground.”

“I would hope your son might be of different character,” said his wife, half-smiling.

“Protesilaus should have biffed him.”

“It’s strange,” said Abigail, ignoring her husband’s exhortations to biffing.

Behind the jolly Jeeves and Wooster-esque talk of biffing people, let's remember that this is Magnus - who from Gideon's POV never saw a teenager he didn't want to adopt - earnestly wishing that a grown man had hit a 16 year old kid.

And when Harrow explains that she thinks she saw him jump to his death, Magnus isn't particularly sympathetic:

“We should have made him a greater priority,” said Lady Pent.

Magnus said, “I’m not certain.”

and

“We didn’t need him,” he said bracingly.

Abigail said, “We need everyone.”

“I never thought he was quite the thing.”

This "never quite the thing" line is the same one Abigail uses when she says Ianthe shouldn't have become a Lyctor and you get the sense it has a quite specific meaning on the Fifth. You get the distinct feeling Magnus is saying "good riddance" in response to a teenager's apparent suicide.

And then of course there's Magnus' conversation with Harrow as the River bubble collapses, as Harrow debates whether she should leave her body to Gideon:

She said: “If I go back, it will finally destroy her soul.”

It was Magnus who stepped forward and looked at Harrow face-to-face. And perhaps she felt that more keenly: that he was the man who had, in Gideon’s own words a lifetime ago, been nice to her cavalier. His mouth was hard now, but his eyes were as kind as they had ever been. And kindness was a knife.

He doesn't pull any punches in laying out his understanding of the situation to Harrow:

“This whole thing happened because you wouldn’t face up to Gideon dying,” he said, which was a stab as precise as any Nonius had managed. “I don’t blame you. But where would you be, right now, if you’d said: She is dead? You’re keeping her things like a lover keeping old notes, but with her death, the stuff that made her Gideon was destroyed. That’s how Lyctorhood works, isn’t it? She died. She can’t come back, even if you keep her stuffed away in a drawer you can’t look at. You’re not waiting for her resurrection; you’ve made yourself her mausoleum.”

His wife looked at Harrow’s face and murmured, “Magnus, you’ve made your point,” but he uncharacteristically ignored her.

He's trying to get through to her in a very fraught situation, but he's certainly not pulling his punches:

“You’re a smart girl, Harrowhark. You might turn some of that brain to the toughest lesson: that of grief.”

Abigail is also trying to talk her out of things, but she's much more discursive and apologetic. Magnus is kind, but it's kindness as a knife, not a cushion.

Magnus is so often written off as just a silly, goofy character, when he's more complicated than that. He's allowed to have a very real frustration with the River bubble and with Harrow, however much he does also care for her and want to help her.

And you know what, he's a CFO stuck in a horrorscape with his delighted ghost nerd wife and a bunch of soldiers. He runs with it - he cracks one of his House ordinal jokes while physically tackling a gun-toting ghost and makes a decent go at it before getting shot. But he's very much out of his comfort zone, angry, and no longer entirely held back by propriety.

[f1byjessie]

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS ━━ LN4.

sometimes the right words are hard to come across, and sometimes everything you need to say can be captured in an image.

( lando norris x photographer!reader )

━━ part four.

“Saw McLaren posted pics of the new car,” Jack says in lieu of a greeting when he sees you after the weekend. He picks up his pace and crosses the distance to meet you where you’re fumbling with the keys to your “office”, and then he takes a few of the many equipment bags you’re attempting to juggle, saying as he does so, “You take any of those or no?”

You laugh, “Ah, no. They actually hire on a whole studio crew that does that. They’ve got lights, green screens, special camera lenses, the whole lot. The post-production on those photos is mad though.” You get the door unlocked and usher him inside, “I got to sit in on it once, and it’s crazy how much work goes into getting just a couple week’s worth of promotional content.”

He sets your bags down where you direct him to and then offers you a snarky grin, “Still probably would’ve looked cooler if you took ‘em, to be fair.”

It makes you laugh again. Jack seems to be good at that, and it feels nice to get along so well with someone you work with. You’ve found a surprising friend in him. At the end of your conversation on Friday, you’d exchanged numbers and he’d made you promise to reach out if you needed him for anything. You hadn’t, but he’d still sent you an unflatteringly angled picture of Kyle Walker from after their match against Newcastle, followed quickly with━ “use this in the next media drop thx,” and the chatter had gone from there.

You set down your own bags. “Well, thank you. Pretty sure it’s not as fun as this job, though.”

And you mean it. You’ve had opportunities to switch over to studio photography, and though you respect the people who do it and the unique challenges it poses in its own right, there’s nothing like being upfront and personal with all the action, getting to see the athletes in their element and know them on a level that goes beyond an hour or two shoot. You wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“Wait,” you pause, hands stopping just above where you’re ready to start sorting through your equipment, “since when did you keep up with Formula One?”

Jack shrugs. “I don’t. But you work for that team, yeah? So I figured I might as well see what they’re all about.”

“Well, if you need something to do during the summer, let me know and I’ll see what I can do,” you tell him, resuming your sorting. “They give me extra tickets for each race but they usually end up going to waste.”

You don’t bring up the falling out you had with your parents at eighteen when you told them you were going to pursue photography or the fact that you haven’t really talked to them in years because of it. You also don’t mention that due to the strenuous, near-constant traveling and the strict schedule of your job, your friendships are limited to the athletes you work with and the other McLaren staff that travel with you━ all of whom have passes of their own, for obvious reasons.

Jack, thankfully, doesn’t ask about it either. Whether he’s made his own assumptions or respects that it’s probably a sore subject, he leaves it alone and the two of you carry on in companionable silence.

You get your equipment unzipped from the bags and organized across the room per your system, guiding your temporary helper with pointed fingers to where it all should go.

The silence is only broken again when he asks you a question. “You got a favorite driver?”

It’s so out of the blue that you nearly jump, startled by the suddenness of it against the quietness of the room. But then you laugh and shake your head. “Officially no, but just between the two of us, me and Lando started at the same time so he’s got a special place in my heart. He’s also my best friend.”

Jack raises an eyebrow, “Oh yeah?” Despite the persona he puts on, you think he secretly loves gossip. “How’d he take the news about you being with Ward, then? ‘Cause I’d have some choice things to say to any friend of mine if they got with a prick like that.”

You purse your lips, divert your gaze to avoid Jack’s eyes, and shrug, fiddling with the neck strap of your camera as you do so. “I don’t know.”

“You ‘don’t know?’”

You shrug again and feign checking over the settings as if your camera’s aperture is suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. “He hasn’t been picking up my calls,” you start, “or answering my texts since the paps released the pics, so.”

When you glance back up, Jack’s making a face. “So, your best friend finds out you’re dating a total bellend, and instead of asking you about it or at the very least taking the piss, he ignores you?”

When he puts it like that, you feel a bit stupid for being more sad than you are angry.

All you can do is shrug.

INSTAGRAM.

liked by mancity, jackgrealish, and 241,976 others

tagged: jackgrealish

yourusername ladies and gentlemen, jack grealish (i was threatened into posting these, send help pls)

comments have been disabled

You decide that if Lando gets to be petty, then so do you.

The thing is, you’d told Lando you wouldn’t replace him with any of the guys from Manchester City, and you’d meant it━ you still mean it, despite your frustrations and annoyances with him telling you otherwise.

But if he’s going to play games, then so are you.

Technically you hadn’t started the relationship with Garrett willingly, but Lando doesn’t know that, and even if you had that doesn’t give him the right to go about ignoring you. You’ve been supportive when he’s gotten girlfriends━ you even ate greasy pizza, drank cheap wine, and cried watching The Notebook together when he ended his long-term relationship back in 2022. He could at least pretend to be supportive, or better yet he could pick up the fucking phone. 

As pathetic as it sounds, you’d let him yell at and berate you if it just meant he’d answer your calls. Because having Jack around to gossip with and shoot the shit is nice, and he really does help you not feel so alone at Etihad Campus, but Lando’s your best friend and he has been for years now. There’s nobody that understands you as well as he does, even if he is a twat half the time, and what you need now most of all is that particular Lando brand of annoying to cheer you up.

The door opens, drawing your attention from where you’re scrolling through McLaren’s newest posts. Garrett stands in the opening.

The memory of that night still lingers like a bad taste in your mouth, bitter and unpleasant. You’ve managed to avoid him for the most part in the time since then, ignoring the looks he shoots your way out on the field or in the weight room, and lucky enough that his meetings with the physio team keep him preoccupied so that he can’t seek you out in between training sessions. You’d known it was inevitable that you’d have to face him, but that doesn’t stop the dread from pooling in your stomach when you see him standing in the doorway with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised as he surveys the makeshift office you’ve done up for yourself.

“They couldn’t find you an actual office?” He comments, looking disdainfully towards your desk and the large Manchester City logo emblazoned across the front.

You shrug, wishing he’d just get to the point. “I’m only here for a few months. Doesn’t matter much to me. What do you want?”

He takes a step farther into the room and closes the door behind him, taking his sweet time to cross the distance toward the seats. When he’s finally lowered down into one, he looks up to you with a nonchalance that fills you immediately with anger.

“I’m making some amendments to our agreement,” he announces.

“Like hell you are.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Did you seriously expect people to believe we’re a couple if we never actually do anything to give off the impression of being a couple?”

You scowl. Obviously, you hadn’t expected to just skate by on the coattails of pictures from a single night. You’d known from the very beginning that you would eventually need to make another public appearance together at the very least if you wanted to keep the paparazzi fed and encourage the idea to the media that you’re in a committed relationship with one another. You’d just been hoping you would’ve had more time until then.

“I’m not an idiot, Garrett,” you grumble, crossing your arms in your seat. You had been looking through pictures from the day’s morning practice, but now you think having to look at any more of Kevin De Bruyne’s grinning face will make you lose your mind when you feel the furthest thing from happy.

“Obviously,” Garrett scoffs. “But you’re the one who said I get one kiss and nothing more. Newsflash, love━” your scowl deepens, “━couples do more than just kiss one time.”

“So what are you suggesting?”

He pulls his phone from the pocket of his joggers and swipes across the screen for a few moments of anticipatory silence. “Well,” he finally says, “it’s the sixteenth now. We haven’t got a match until the twenty-sixth. Go on a date with me this weekend.”

You can’t say no. There’s no plausible excuse for you to get out of it, and deep down you know the only way you can get rid of Garrett is to just do what he says and hope the media make their conclusions about his change quick enough that you can ditch him before the summer break.

At least during the Formula One season, you can use traveling as a reason to get out of dates. When the Champion’s League starts back up he’ll be traveling around Europe a bit more than he is now, and there’s always a chance you could be in the same country at the same time, but the likelihood of your schedules aligning is slim and that means you’ll be safe from any ventures out into public.

But for the time being, you’re stuck.

“Okay,” you reluctantly agree.

He claps his hands, a deceptively cheerful grin on his face. If you didn’t already think of him as the worst prick you’ve ever met, you might’ve found it charming. It’s the same smile he used to flash at you in your first week when he was trying to cozy up and ease his way into your good graces. The sight of it makes you sick to your stomach, now.

“Great,” he rises from his seat. “We’ll do some shopping, get some lunch━ make a full day out of it.”

At this point, you don’t care what he has planned. You just want him to leave you alone so you can try to at least pretend like you’re gonna finish the rest of the work you need to get around to.

Garrett’s made his way to the door and has his hand reaching for the handle when he turns back around and gives you a smirk. “Might wanna work on your happy face, though, love,” he comments, gesturing towards you with a nod of his head. “‘Cause if you look like that in front of the paps they definitely aren’t gonna be very convinced that you love me.”

Just to spite him, you let your scowl deepen. “I don’t need your advice. I know how to handle myself, Garrett.” You say his name like a curse━ like the very feeling of it on your tongue causes you pain.

If he notices, he doesn’t comment. His face turns thoughtful, but there’s still the smugness painted across his features that makes you so unfathomably annoyed. “You must be pretty familiar with the paps if you’re always around those drivers, yeah?” He knows the answer to his question already, so you’re not sure why he’s even asking.

He stays silent, though, like he’s genuinely expecting an answer, so you shrug your shoulders. “Obviously.”

“Obviously,” he repeats back to you.

His laughter is all you hear echoing in your ears even once he’s long gone.

Until your phone starts to ring and Lando's name flashes across the screen.

━━ tags: @maih23 @urfavnoirette @leclercsluv @f1luvur @formulaal @a-disturbing-self-reflection @starlightpierre @chezmardybum @marshmummy @405rry @sideboobrry11 @d3kstar @mcmuppet @happylittlereader @casperlikej @5starl1ght

━━ a/n: cliffhanger hehe~ also, i promise we're getting to ACTUAL formula one stuff soon

[creedslove]

BETRAYED - PART THREE

Pedro Pascal x f!reader

Summary: Pedro invites you to be his plus one for the night but his attention is caught by another woman and leaves you with a broken heart

Warnings: angst, age gap, established friendship, unrequited love/one sided feelings, Pedro being a dick but also a tiny little bit of fluff

A/N: I'm so sorry but I can't manually tag anyone on the post, the app won't just let me do it!

1.7k words

PART ONE | PART TWO

If someone had asked Pedro where he got his obsession with you from, he would be too embarrassed to tell. But first things first, he would clarify that he was not obsessed with you, he could never have such a weird, creepy feeling towards you. He loved you. He loved you like a friend, like a brother, he cared for you, he enjoyed having you in his life, you always supported him, believed in him and he was so grateful for that. He had never had enough of you in his life, except when you demanded something more than he could give you. He couldn't be your boyfriend, he just couldn't imagine mixing things up like that, of course you were pretty, he wasn't crazy to think otherwise, but how could he give you something he didn't have? You were young, he was older, you probably would want to get married and have kids, and well, he had chances of that throughout his life with a few women and he always backed down from this kind of commitment. Plus, after his much deserved breakthrough he was finally able to experience the Hollywood lifestyle for bit, women, parties, money. He would've been crazy if he'd said no to that, right?

Still, he didn't get why for the past few days he just couldn't get you out of his mind, of course, you two were friends, he worried about you, as you hadn't been talking much and though he knew damn well what he did to you in order to make you pissed off at him, he still pretended he didn't. He told himself it wasn't a big deal, he even convinced himself if you'd found a hot guy at the party, you would've the same to him. In his defense, there were probably hundreds of attractive men there, and you could have hooked up with any of them, so there was no need to throw a fit. Well, that was just what he told himself when he felt his heart clench at the sight of you online and not talking to him, or when you saw you posting stories with your friends or daily things you once shared with him, and saw he wasn't included.

Then, he began dreaming about you. And that was something he did not expect. Every night he would have the same dream over and over, he'd would see you in his home, looking comfortably and cozy on his couch, curling up in a blanket, sometimes with a book in hands or sometimes watching TV. When this little toddler would come running towards you and jumping onto your lap, giggling and calling you mommy. Even in the unconscious of sleep, his heart still clenched at the sight, especially when the kid would look towards him. Sometimes, the toddler was a little boy, and sometimes it was a little girl. When he dreamed about you and the boy, he always had the same eyes as Pedro and the messy hair. When he dreamed about the little princess and you, she looked exactly like a tiny version of you, but with the same beautiful brown eyes as well.

Pedro then, would wake up with a gasp and panting, rubbing his hands over his face and looking around. The dream always felt so real and each time he went to sleep, the desire to see you again grew stronger and stronger inside of him. So it was a fair assumption that he waited excitedly to see you at the dinner party he was throwing. There were other people attending, of course but he couldn't even hide the fact that the only one that truly mattered was you.

Pedro waited for you the whole night, he was warm and sweet to everybody, as always, greeting people, making them comfortable and being the star of the party, but he felt something was missing. You were missing. He still checked his phone anxiously every ten minutes to see if you'd texted him, maybe to let him know you'd be late or something but couldn't hide his disappointment when he got nothing. Eventually people got hungry and he had no other choice but to serve dinner. He had picked your favorite dish and couldn't wait to see your face once you realized it, but as you never showed up, he didn't get the chance to see your beautiful eyes lighting up and your sweet smile.

He sighed heavily once the last guests left his house and grabbed his phone one more time. He had texted you multiple times during the evening and it wasn't worth it, so he went to bed instead, knowing he'd see you at least in his dreams.

•••

You decided to go to the gym after days of not showing up, you would always say you were too busy with work, or your finals but the truth was you were straight up avoiding Pedro. You just didn't want to risk running into him there and have to face him, not when his gym clothes hung tight against his fit body, or when he smiled at you, his skin with the sweaty glow of someone who just finished an intense activity, one that you fantasized very often. No, you couldn't let yourself be fooled again, if he wasn't going to be a decent friend, then you weren't even sure if you still wanted to be friends. But that was not the time to depress yourself overthinking about that. You grabbed your gear and headed to the gym.

Pedro had already worked out that day, but his phone beeped when he got a new notification. He'd turned on the notifications of your profile, so he'd know whenever you made a new post. Opening your story he saw you were in your usual gym clothes

"Ay ay princesa, tienes un cuerpo maravilloso" he whispered as he watched his picture and frowned as he noticed he hadn't seen you in forever at the gym and groaned, finally realizing you were avoiding him on purpose. He felt so angry he decided he would talk to you personally, even if he had to follow you to the gym.

He didn't get much traffic on the way and grinned as he saw your car at the parking lot. Getting his sunglasses on, he walked through the sidewalk and entered the building, greeting everyone he knew and looking for you. It didn't take long for him to recognize your frame, he'd been watching your body for a couple of years and enjoying the view to the point he could recognize you in a crowd of people. He only didn't recognize the man that was next to you. You were getting ready for yoga practice and doing stretching exercises with the help of the guy Pedro had never seen. He was taller than Pedro, and more muscular as well. Judging by the way other yoga girls looked at him, he could assume your new friend could be considered handsome.

And he didn't like that.

In fact, he hated it.

If Pedro thought he was angry when he found out he was being avoided by you, he was in for a ride when he saw the moment the man placed his hands on your hips. You had to bend over and stretch and he was giving you support, but to Pedro that was a real absurd. How could that asshole touch you like that in front of everyone? How could you not say anything? For so long he was the only one who touched you like that, even if it wasn't in a erotic way, still, he was the only man who had his hands on you.

His blood boiled and he never felt that way, actually he did, several times when he was dating other women throughout his life, but he never felt that towards you. At that point he didn't even know if he should go and talk to you, he actually felt ashamed of being there, watching you from afar like a goddamn stalker. He was about to turn back and leave when he heard the yoga structure dismissing the class and your giggles as the other man got behind to talk to you alone. He could hear only your muffled voices but was able to catch some of the conversation and quickly learned the guy's name was Liev. He rolled his eyes, finding the whole scene pathetic and infuriating but stopped once more when he heard you agreeing to go out for a coffee with him.

Pedro felt rage shake his body, he didn't believe you ditched him and the dinner he'd especially made for you but yet thought it was acceptable to go out with a guy you had just met. He wanted to storm into the room, get you away from that weird guy and put some sense into your mind, but apparently it was no use.

He quickly returned to the parking lot and got into his car, trying to calm down and think straight. There was nothing he could do, he wasn't your boyfriend, at that point he wasn't even sure if you were still friends and yet he was possessive, you were his and no one else's.

He saw you walking out with Liev and decided to follow you, feeling his heart clench once he realized you went to the bakery you both used to go at least once in a week. Pedro felt such disappointment he couldn't put into words, how dare you do this to him?

He wanted answers, so he drove to your house.

An hour later you returned home, you felt tired from your workout session, but also a little excited at the man you'd met. He was very handsome and nice, and you figured there was no harm in spending some time with you, so you went for a cup of coffee with him, and that turned out to be two cups of coffee and one slice of strawberry cake, and you were not disappointed, he was sweet and fun. It reminded you a little of when you first became friends with Pedro, which brought a pang to your chest and you quickly dismissed, reminding yourself Liev's intentions were different, especially at how much he flirted with you. You placed your gym bag down and walked through the living room.

"We gotta talk, Y/N" Pedro's voice was cold and made you jump, startled as you turned back and saw him sitting on the couch. You swallowed hard, never expecting to find him there, watching you like a predator.

_____

A/N: Two things: I confess I was kinda anxious to post this because the first two pieces people really enjoyed it and I was worried this one wasn't good enough, so I hope with all my heart you guys didn't find it bad.

Also, I chose the name Liev, because of Liev Schreiber, but it was a just because choice. In real life he's taller than Pedro and his body type is more of a bulk, which makes him bigger and he's also older too (55yrs) but it won't be relevant for the story (yet) so you can picture whoever you want!

[tyrantisterror]

Saw Godzilla Minus One again and yeah, just as good if not better than I felt it was the first time.

But it does have me thinking - well, honestly, I've been thinking about this for a while - about how often critics of this series have bandied the argument that only certain Godzilla movies are "true to the spirit of the original," and others are not and thus are trash. It's always used as a way to not just praise the movie in question the critic is talking about, but to still paint most of the Godzilla movies as disposable garbage - which is really to protect the critic's status as an authority by emphasizing they do not challenge the popular assumption that Godzilla movies are by and large garbage, and instead only think certain Godzilla movies - a rare and specific few - managed to rise above their station as garbage to be worth something.

Godzilla (1985) is the only Godzilla movie to hold true to the spirit of the original.

Shin Godzilla is the only Godzilla movie to hold true to the spirit of the original.

Godzilla Minus One is the only Godzilla movie to hold true to the spirit of the original.

And I have... too many thoughts on this to put in a normal tumblr post, I should probably organize them into, like, an essay (god it's been ages since I actually wrote one of those, nowadays I just let myself ramble with only a thin grasp of a point). But this is bullshit, right? This is a bullshit thing that critics and especially fans, so many Godzilla fans do this. It's so fucking cowardly and pretentious, the act of a person without the bravery to truly stand up for art they love, a person who'd rather cover their own ass than be bold enough to fight for what others have ignorantly deemed trash.

Like, my feelings on Shin Godzilla are not negative - they're lukewarm, a "well it's not really for me but I get what they're going for" feeling. But so many people for so many years have held it up high and said, "Finally, a Godzilla movie that's not trash like all the other sequels, one that FINALLY lives up to the SPIRIT of the first, FLAWLESS, PERFECT FILM!" that I can't help feeling resentment for it, a sort of petty envy at how it is constantly held up so the people praising it can shit down on all the others that preceded it. I think I've been more harshly critical of it than I have most Godzilla movies specifically because so many people feel the need to praise it as flawless while shitting on the Godzilla movies that I like more - as if I need to find flaw in Shin Godzilla to prove my love for the others.

Which is cowardly too, in all honesty. We shouldn't need to burn one movie to praise another.

I love Godzilla Minus One. Objectively (or as objective as any critique I make can be) I think it's the best movie since the original, maybe even surpassing it (unlike the 1954 Godzilla, Godzilla Minus One has not jump cuts or other glaring editing mistakes caused by a rushed production time that didn't allow for proper film coverage). And while it may well be impossible to overcome nostalgia and topple the Holy Trinity of Godzilla sequels in my personal rankings, it might manage to fight its way into my top five Godzilla movies. It's an excellent movie, one of the best for sure.

...but people are ALREADY doing the "It's the first Godzilla movie that's true to the spirit of the original!" bullshit already, and specifically using it to tear Shin Godzilla down. I'm at least a little guilty of it - I mean, it was just an honest expression of my preferences, but still, there wasn't a need for me to express my lukewarm feelings on Shin while praising Minus One - and fuck, man, I already regret that.

It's a coward move. Fight for what you love even if people say you're cringe or uncultured for it. Fuck 'em, be the atomic freak you were born to be. You can't find your monster island if you don't.

[leggerefiore]

Pokevillians Dealing With Jealousy

hahaha im unwell💕

cw: jealousy, accusations of cheating, happy endings for all, though

characters: Lysandre, Archie, Volo, Colress, Cyrus, Maxie

🔥Lysandre🍷

☕️ A man like himself saw nothing to be jealous or envious over. He had vast wealth, connections, and a social circle that fulfilled him wholly. With you, there was even less reason. He trusted you entirely, too, and truly felt that your relationship was something you both treasured. Yet, the painful feeling seemed to ignite within him when he saw you with an unknown man in the streets of Lumiose. You stood too close to a man dressed in a trench coat tucked away in an alley near his café. Your expression was unreadable due to your position of facing away from Lysandre, but he could see as the man leaned forward. He had enough at the perceived intimacy.

☕️ His strong voice called your name, making you jump. Your wide-eyed expression became apparent as you turned around from the man. Lysandre came to stand at your side with an arm firmly around your shoulders as he stared at the admittedly well-dressed man. He was not an idiot, however. It was obvious the career of the stranger at a glance. Jealousy mixed with a possible betrayal in his heart as you stood in silence. What was going on here? The man politely excused himself from the situation. He made only one last glance at you before he vanished into the busy streets of Lumiose. Lysandre felt mild annoyance and relief at the change.

☕️ “… You know I despise people who take things that aren't theirs,” his hand came to hold your chin, “My love, could you please explain what that was?” While a kiss upon one's cheek could be a platonic greeting, he simply could not shake the feeling of seeing such an exchange in a place away from prying eyes. Had he been too busy as of late? Were you so lonely you took a lover in some detective? His head hurt. The perceived reality crashed against the trust that he held in you.

☕️ “He was whispering something in my ear, Lysandre,” you explained, “It was some madness about your plans needing to be stopped. I had tried to explain that I had no idea what he was talking about when you showed up.” Your hand came to gently try to remove his own from your chin. He relented to your will. Was that detective aware, then? That could be a mess if left alone. The Team Flare Boss would handle it later. “Were you jealous, darling?” you smiled playfully, “Come on, I'd be a fool to even think of another man with a lover like you.”

☕️ He nodded along with your words. Yes, you would be, but Lysandre should have known you were no fool by this point. However, your beauty was something beguiling and unfortunately would draw those with disgusting intentions towards you. They were the dangers, not you. Just as that detective had proven himself. His hands cupped your face instrad as he gazed into your eyes tenderly. “Forgive me, my dear,” he spoke in a softness reserved solely for you, “I allowed myself to be overcome with doubt. I should have known better than that.”

☕️ You leaned into his touch, even resting a hand over his own. The amorous look which you returned to him made him feel even more cruel for the assumption. “It's alright,” you reassured him, “You did end up helping me, after all. I wasn't sure where that interaction was going to go if it kept up.” He leaned down to peck your lips. Perhaps, you needed a guard. People attempting to use you against him was simply a horrifying scenario. Another thing to consider later.

☕️ “And I will always help you if that should be required,” he moved away from the intimate moment to be aware once more that you were still both standing in an alleyway, “My love, let us head into my café. We should talk at once about what baseless claims that detective espoused to you.” Lysandre needed to see what all he knew and settle any possible seeds of doubt it might have sown within you. You nodded and followed at his side as he walked. Jealousy was long forgotten and replaced with worry and concern. The last thing he wanted was another delay in his plans.

🌧Archie🌊

💧 Jealousy felt foreign to Archie. It was extremely rare that he even felt that way. Well, so long as it did not involve a certain redhead. Really, the only thing that ever made him feel jealous always seemed to be related to Maxie. Otherwise, he could not think of a time jealousy had really bothered him. That was probably why he instantly felt upset upon seeing you at the market in Slateport with the Magma Leader. His feelings were like a raging sea when he saw Maxie hand you something and you gasp excitedly.

💧 Archie ran over in a obvious fit, scaring both of you. He immediately felt a bit bad at seeing how he upset you but confused by the harsh look the redhead sent his way. Seriously? Maxie went on a date with his partner and has the balls to act upset with him? Before Archie could pick a fight with the other man, the Magma Leader readjusted his glasses and politely bid a farewell to you both. He only gave a second look at you, to which you hid whatever he had given you away from Archie's sight. This only upset him more.

💧 “Luvdisc!” he pouted at you, “Of all people, you'd go with Maxie over me?” You looked horrified at his words. It made him reconsider his accusation again. Would you even do that? It was not like you at all, but it was also weird to see you out with him, too! His brain felt fried. And, really, what gift you given by Maxie? You were clearly hiding it. He crossed his arms. “Ah – sorry,” he corrected himself, “Why are you out with that guy?”

💧 You looked away nervously, clearly unsure how to respond. The item was still hidden from him. You cleared your throat. “I don't think I've ever seen you get jealous before, Archie,” you tried to change the subject. He was not going to let you and attempted to look at what you had, which made you hide it more. What was it? This was really going to bother him. He now felt the jealousy coming back. What if it was some romantic gift?! Chocolates, flowers… maybe even a ring?!

💧 “Don't tell me… Yer actually in love with him?” Archie gasped, “Is that some gift of his undying affection?!” You looked mortified at those accusations. In trying to hide whatever it was, you only drove him deeper into the worries that you were really in some weird affair with Maxie. You felt distressed by his sudden fit of jealousy and the fact he was not going to stop until he knew what the item was. Sighing, you revealed it to him. This uncomfortable back and forth needed to end before it became a scene that attracted onlookers.

💧 Archie gazed at the Sharpedo plush doll in your hands as you frowned at him. “I asked Maxie to help me find you a birthday gift,” you explained, “I know you two are hot and cold. But, he was your best friend at some point, so I figured he'd know best. This was the choice we picked out together.” He gasped and felt his stomach twist. Between accusing you of cheating and ruining a surprise from you, he almost deflated. Scratching the back of his head, he looked away from you in shame.

💧 “I - I see,” he nodded, “Er, I'm sorry for accusing you of cheating.” Archie was not sure how to make it up from here. “When it comes t' stuff involving him, I just don't think straight most of the time,” he admitted. You sighed and let out a weak laugh. What happened, happened, you supposed, and you held out the plush to him as an early gift. He took it meekly. “I'll treasure it,” he promised, “He can hang out on my work desk. No, wait, Matt might want to take 'em then…” You laughed brighter this time at the thought. In the end, you both managed to move past the moment of jealousy.

💫Volo📜

⭐️ He wanted to claim he was not a jealous man. Volo desperately wished to say feelings of envy did not swirl inside his chest at a variety of things in his day to day. The feeling of jealousy was an unfortunate friend to the blond's lonely existence. He did feel justified in this case, however. The annoying leader of the Diamond Clan had his arm disgustingly wrapped around your shoulders while he let out a laugh. You smiled back at him and leaned slightly into the hug. It was maddening to Volo. He was your lover – him, not Adaman.

⭐️ Putting on his amicable smile, he approached you both. You pulled away from the affection to approach Volo, expression too innocent for the indulgence he had just seen you engaged in. He caught your wrist in his hand as he pulled you into an embrace. Arms locking around your back. Envy still ate at his heart, even with you returning the affection and no matter your surprise at the suddenness of it. His eyes bore into Adaman, who seemed indifferent to the scene before him. He bit his tongue until it drew blood.

⭐️ Soon after the situation, you both bid your farewells to the clan leader and headed back towards a base camp. His hand was tight around your hand as the scene would not leave his mind. It kept eating at his brain enough to cause him to stop in the middle of the marshlands to turn his attention fully to you. His eyes were not the usual ones, filled with a strange curiosity as his hand came to cup your cheek. “Just what were you and Adaman doing earlier?” he asked with a cold tone.

⭐️ You almost wanted to flinch at his behavioural shift. Volo did not quite seem like the friendly man you had come to know. His demeanour seemed almost entirely different; something desperate and feral. His touch was not one with a usual affectionate kind, but something possessive and demanding. You sighed. Was Volo jealous? He did not really strike you as the type. “He was thanking me for battling him,” you explained, “The hug was just him wanting to show his appreciation for saving Hisui.” Volo's suspicious look did not subside.

⭐️ “... Do you really think he wouldn't want more from you?” he tilted his head, “You're a hero to everyone here. Many people would want to court you for the prestige alone.” You grabbed his hand that was on your cheek. Did he think you would just leave him the second another opportunity made itself known? Volo usually seemed so confident in himself. You leaned closer to him and gazed at him lovingly.

⭐️ “And why does that matter when I love you, Volo?” you told him, “I don't want anybody else.” His gaze finally softened at that, appearing to go back to normal from whatever had possessed him. He pressed his forehead against your own and pulled you into a tight embrace. It was nearly suffocating and consuming, but you preferred to him spiralling in jealousy. Seriously, why would you want anyone but him? He arguably was the best bachelor in Hisui, just from his descendant alone.

⭐️ “Good,” he mumbled out, stormy eyes piercing into your own, “I apologise for my odd behaviour. I simply hate the idea of anyone else having what I believe is mine.” You wanted to roll your eyes at his wording. Well, if you were his, then he was yours. Pressing a kiss to his lips, all the tension seemed to fade in the now setting sun. Whatever had come over Volo was gone when you arrived at the base camp, instead replaced with eager chatter about our of the old verses you had found and graciously allowed him to read.

🥼Colress🛸

🧪 Jealousy… It was a strange thing for Colress. Not common at all. Mostly because he was too busy with his work to really focus on things like that. Yet, somehow, seeing you on the beach of Alola with that bug-obssessed man made him feel strangely upset. The way you bickered with him in a strange familiarity made his brain surge with odd thoughts. He knew they were untrue, yet for some reason he felt certain that you were interested in the other man. His typing on his keyboard came to a halt when you leaned into his shoulder to laugh.

🧪 His feet carried him over to you both with little thought. You nearly jumped up at the sudden appearance of Colress, his face eerily serious. Your conversation partner, Guzma as he introduced himself, was unsettled by him. The scientist found himself asking endless questions about this white-haired man, and even challenged him to a battle to observe more data for his research. This all culminated in the blond effectively chasing off Guzma and leaving you alone with him.

🧪 You looked at him curiously after he sat beside you on the beach, taking the place of where his apparent rival had been. With Guzma gone, Colress seemed to have finally processed his feelings and felt even more confused by them. You tugged on his blue stand cruelly. “Col, what got into you?” you tilted your head, “I don't think I've ever seen you act like that. You just kept going on and on about your research and were clearly trying to chase him off.”

🧪 Colress took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Why had he become so jealous? Was it because he had not expected to see you with another man? Or was it the way you leaned into his shoulder and laughed that reminded him too much of your time spent cuddled up with him? He wanted to say he felt embarrassed, but he really did not. Mostly, he was confused and curious about what brought out those emotions. “I was jealous,” he said plainly, “I'm not even sure why I was.” You let out a laugh at his words.

🧪 “Wait, really?” you were honestly a bit amazed, “I thought you only had like… three modes. Research, happy, and, uh, 'playful'.” You were mindful of the children on the beach and monitored your language. Well, there was also hate, but that was only reserved for a certain someone. Otherwise, he mostly was predictable, excluding a few specific circumstances. He chuckled at your words and put his glasses back on.

🧪 “How did you meet him?” he asked curiously, “I know you've been running around Alola while I've been busy with my work, but I hadn't thought you had become close with anybody.” You just shrugged. Guzma was someone you just kept running into when his grunts annoyed you. It eventually became something amicable between you both. Certainly, nothing romantic. Colress just sighed at the end of your explanation. Perfectly normal and expected, honestly. It made his strange fit of jealous feel even more confusing. Your hand came to grasp his gloved one. “How interesting… You've brought forth a new side of me,” he laughed lightly.

🧪 You laughed, too, and leaned against him to watch the Alolan sea in all its grandeur. You both had gone to such a romantic place, and neither of you had done anything all too romantic. “Well, let's make sure you don't have to bring it out again soon,” you looked into his bright yellow eyes, “Why don't we have a date? It's been a while. Maybe that's why you got jealous.” His expression brightened at your words. It seemed that he believed that could be exactly it.

🌌Cyrus🛰

☄️ Jealousy was a rare thing for him to experience, like most feelings. Cyrus believed he had mastered fully suppressing his spirit, yet, somehow, you continually proved him wrong. Why did his heart ache at the sight of you eagerly chatting with that Gym Leader? The blond had your full attention while you sat on the bench that Cyrus was supposed to meet you at. He was unfortunately familiar, too. A reminder of that painful place. It stung even more when you laughed at something Volkner said and his lips twitched into a playful smile at your reaction.

☄️ You, however, noticed Cyrus before he had to disengage and calm himself down. Waving at him, you called out his name with that tone he failed to resist. Volkner even turned his head to gaze at the blue-haired man, a bit stunned to see him again. With his hands locked behind his back, he approached you both. Minor, polite conversation was exchanged with the Gym Leader as he questioned what Cyrus had been up to, but he seemed to catch on as to why you two were meeting up and excused himself away. Cyrus felt his brain surging with unfortunate thoughts.

☄️ After he had gone away, it remained just you and Cyrus in the secluded area of the park. The blue-haired man took a seat beside you and attempted to realign himself. He was not a jealous person. Envy was a useless thing that caused pointless strife. Yet, the thought of you becoming charmed by Volkner and choosing him over Cyrus was disgustingly consuming. The Gym Leader had charms and was someone that caught many people's eyes, he knew well. His grip on his knee became painful as he tried to force the nightmarish scenario from his head.

☄️ Your sudden touch on his shoulder grounded him back in reality. A soft smile was on your lips. The sun captured your beauty perfectly, making his heart ache even more at the thought of losing you. Your kindness and affection were the only things that held him back from fully dedicating himself to his plans. “… Are you jealous?” you asked curiously, “Cy! That's adorable.” He glared at you for your word choice, which only made you laugh. Everything felt a bit lighter after that sound entered his ears. He would never admit that it was jealousy, however.

☄️ “I… I simply was confused as to why he was here…” Cyrus lied, “Amity Square does not seem to be a place that would attract him.” You tilted your head and nodded along with his words. Volkner really did not seem like the type to want to go to a place full of cute pokemon. You moved to lean your head against his shoulder and hold his hand. Cyrus gripped your hand in return. Why did you even choose him? He was someone who was difficult to get along with and clearly unwanted by most.

☄️ “Who cares? I was just chatting with him to pass the time,” you reassured him, “He said he was the Gym Leader of Sunnyshore, so I got curious if he knew you.” His stomach dropped at that. What had he said about him? Had it been about his isolation in his youth, or how his parents had been utterly disappointed with him? Jealousy had been replaced with dread. “He said you always seemed like someone with a lot of potential,” you turn to look at him sweetly, “When I said you were interested in how power was generated, he said he needed you to return to Sunnyshore.” He wanted to grumble at his lie getting even bigger than it already was.

☄️ “Now, Cy,” you pulled him up from the bench as you stood up, “There's no need to be jealous! You're the only one I love. I doubt I'd ever meet anyone like you again, so don't worry about anyone else stealing me away.” Your arms came around him to squeeze him into a tight hug. His cheeks burned with heat at everything you did to him. He brought a single arm around you and patted your back awkwardly. You just laughed again at his hesitance. And with that, his worries were put to rest. Somehow, you did truly only want to be with him.

☀️Maxie🌋

🪨 The Magma Leader would admit he had moments of jealousy. He was no saint above human emotion, but he prided himself on his control of his feelings. Maxie rarely let them cloud his thinking. Rarely, being the key word. However, a certain anchor wearing man seemed to have this effect on him that caused his train of thought to crash hard and explode. Which is why he nearly screamed at the sight of you at the Lilycove department store with Archie. His hand was resting on your back as you both leaned over to look at something. Envy instantly stabbed directly in his heart. Why were you with Archie?!

🪨 A loud 'ahem' from him brought both of your attentions away from whatever you had been looking at and up to him. You gasped while Archie shot him one of those grins that just made his blood boil. His face barely reflected it, but both of you could read him with unfortunate ease. Sensing his upset, Archie quickly gave 'bye' and left you alone to handle the upset redhead. You rose up to your height and smiled as kindly as you could at Maxie.

🪨 “May I ask just what you were doing with Archie, of all people?” he questioned with a cocked brow, “I hope you know that he and I are rivals. I thought it was fairly obvious.” His scrunched his face up as you scratched your head. If you were going to have an affair with anyone, did it have to be him? He would have preferred it being Tabitha or that rock-loving champion to Archie. You looked completely guilty, too! Frustration was boiling inside him.

🪨 “… Maxie,” you finally replied, using a soft tone, “I was just… looking for something, and I asked Archie for help.” He felt ready to erupt. His hand came to rub his eyes while pushing his glasses up. Your phrasing was not easing any of his concerns that you had decided to run off with the Aqua Leader. You nervously looked away from him. Maxie felt strangely vulnerable and hurt by that idea. Archie was not an unattractive man, nor was he without his charisma. It would not be the first time someone chose Archie over him, and he was certain it would not be the last.

🪨 “… Fine,” he felt too hurt, “I understand if you want to be with Archie, but at least end your relationship with me first.” Your shocked expression got him off guard as he gazed at you. Instantly, you were close to him and holding his hand tightly in your own. You shook your head at his words. Was that not it? Then, why on earth were you here with him in such a position. He did feel the urge to hear you out with how hurt you looked by his accusation.

🪨 “That's not it,” you shook your head again, “I asked him to help find a gift for you… I asked Tabitha but he was not sure, and I didn't think Courtney would want to help me. The only person I could think of was him…” Maxie looked at you suspiciously. A gift… for him? His birthday was coming up. He suddenly felt a bit mortified himself. Gazing at the shelf finally, he saw Numel themed merchandise on it. Oh, no. You were not lying. Archie's hand on you made sense with how touchy he was. His face dropped. The situation had been completely misunderstood by him.

🪨 “M-my dear,” he awkwardly shifted to grip your hand back, “I apologise. I shouldn't have made such a callous accusation… especially while you were doing something so nice for me.” Archie had unfortunately led you right, too. It appeared you were both looking at a large Numel plush before he had interrupted. His cheeks were nearly the same colour as his uniform. “… Doubly so for ruining your surprise,” he wanted to give himself extra paperwork as a punishment for this. You seemed at ease, happy that he had stopped thinking you were cheating on him. The both of you agreed to put the moment behind you, thankfully.

[light-yaers]

Take Care: Chapter Eleven

Fic Masterpost | AO3 | Chapter List

Warnings: swearing, eventual smut, emotional themes

A/N: it's been over a month i have no excuse other than MY BRAIN HURTS and I AM SO TIRED but i am so glad to be out of this rut. get ready for more, and get excited for this incredibly roy centric chapter

Word Count: 7.2k

Chapter Eleven

A month or so later you sat, rigid and tense, in the green room at Sky Studios. Up until then, the fanciest or most intense place you’d ever visited was that of AFC Richmond, the Dogtrack, but these studios kicked Nelson Road out of the fucking stadium. The only way you could describe it was sterile. Like a hospital, or some morbid place where people came to sit and be quiet, except you weren’t here for either of those things. 

You were here to see Roy, and that was the most intense part of it all. 

In the green room was a screen with a live relay from the stage, where you saw Roy, Jeff and Chris sitting at their familiar, unusually large, commentary table. They were taping some bits for an upcoming episode of Soccer Saturday, the parts where they weren’t required to be there live and in person. 

The breath hitched in your throat whenever Roy appeared on screen. It was still entirely new and off-putting, yet the internet had blown up when they’d seen the ex-Captain on the show. Finally, Roy Kent was back in the football world. Not playing, or coaching, but commentating. It was a good alternative, and he rocked it during the show, even despite his way with words and his… not entirely enthused demeanour. To anyone that didn’t know Roy, they’d probably think him crude and rude and blunt, all the ways he’d been described in the past in the press. To those that knew Roy inside and out, watching him on TV was like a breath of fresh air. Those closest to him had been saying the same thing for years– I could listen to you talk for hours and not get bored. 

You were no different, and in fact, had known Roy for over a year now. It was crazy how time flies, wasn’t it?

When he’d texted you an invite to the studios, you’d said yes immediately. Your time with Roy was short enough already, but now that he’d landed the gig his time was being soaked up more and more. You found yourself now, sitting at your desk at Pluto Press, just thinking about when you’d next see him. Any opportunity that arose you took by the fucking balls, and that’s exactly what went down when he’d asked you to the studios. 

Right guys, that’s a wrap for today. See you at the weekend. 

The show director said over the live screen, and you watched intently as Roy and his co-hosts had their microphone packs removed. The sound switched off immediately, but Chris approached Roy and stuck out his hand. The two legends shook hands quickly, and you noticed the smallest of smiles appear on Roy’s face as they pulled away. 

It made you smile back at them, bashfully, to yourself. There was something warming about seeing Roy interact with others like this. It was rare to catch him in a good mood at any of his prior jobs– which you knew very well from working alongside him at the Dogtrack– but seeing him enjoy his time, become buddy-buddy with Chris fucking Kamara, and all the rest made you exceptionally happy. 

You were proud of his successes, and understood his plunders. You wanted to feel that he felt the same about you in return, but you’d started this thing where you tried not to think about him like that. Assumptively, or overly-affectionately, or anything that reminded your heart of how you really felt about the man on the screen before you. It was just like you’d said to Keeley and Rebecca– you would never mention it, never tell him, and you were okay with that. 

You were okay with that. 

You jumped suddenly when the door to the green room burst open. A production assistant entered, headset donned and clipboard in his hands, shoved into his chest like he’d die without it. “Roy Kent’s plus one?” he asked. 

You looked around the empty room. You were the only one in there, but the assistant hadn’t even met your eye yet. You cleared your throat and raised your hand in the air, like a schoolgirl in class. The production assistant finally met your eye, and then clicked at you abruptly. 

“You– right. Come on, you’re wanted on set,” he said. 

You wasted no time standing up and pushing past him at the door, heart in your throat. The two of you navigated the backstage corridors of the studio, until you finally emerged on the set of Soccer Saturday. The lights were bright, too bright, and exceptionally warm to stand beneath. Camera operators, gaffers and runners still milled about the set, but you blocked them out as you went to step onto the stage. 

“Can I?” you asked the production assistant from earlier. He glanced up and went to object, opening his mouth wide, but stopped as soon as a hand descended on his shoulder. 

“‘Course you can,” Roy said, peering down at the production assistant. “Isn’t that right, Jacob?”

Jacob nodded, no doubt sweating profusely as Roy hoarded himself over the skinny kid. He was definitely younger than you by a number of years, probably fresh out of university. “Y-yes, of course, Roy.” 

You looked away, not wanting to laugh so meanly at the ordeal. It was just so Roy of him to intimidate crew at the studios, probably just from standing and doing nothing. It made your chest compress painfully, as you forced yourself away from the all-encompassing nostalgia of being around him all the time before, at the Dogtrack, and seeing it in person a whole lot more. 

God, you thought you needed a fucking lobotomy with how much you still clung onto the past. It only made you feel more childish, more pathetic, with every flashback that hit your brain and made you swallow away the want to cry. 

You stepped onto the stage a bit more, and looked out towards the several cameras. They all pointed in your direction, camera one and two and three, and however many more. “Jesus fucking Christ,” you muttered, scoffing at it all as Roy joined you on stage. “This is intense.”

“I never know how to react when I realise people can see my beard in 4K,” Roy said, as a small smile curled onto his face. He peered down at you softly, his gaze flicking across your features as you looked around the set curiously. “It’s good to see you.” You turned to him and looked up, smiling at him bashfully. 

This was just it– those little moments where you’d happily melt into a puddle on the ground beneath him, but you couldn’t. 

You coughed, laughing awkwardly, before you gently poked him in the chest. “You too,” you said, trying to keep things as playful as possible. Roy perked his brow at you questioningly, amused, but didn’t comment. Instead, he watched you panic subtly as you continued around the set, until you’d rounded the desk to his chair. 

“May I?” you asked. 

Roy bowed at you smally. “Be my fucking guest.” 

You sat down in his chair slowly, and leaned your elbows on the desk before you. You shuffled your shoulders, and puffed out your chest. “Oh, I could get used to this,” you said, feeling powerful. Roy growled at you gently. “Come on, sit in Jeff’s chair.”

If Roy wanted to object in any way, he didn’t. He obediently made his way around the desk and sat in Jeff Stelling’s chair, all the while looking at you like you were gold. You sucked in a deep breath and cleared your throat. “So, Jeff– what did you make of AFC Richmond’s last game? When will these fucking tied games end, hm?” you said, putting on your most gravelly voice possible in an attempt to imitate Roy. 

He sighed, but he still didn’t object. A small smile was still curled on his lips, and it made your gut coil. He leaned forward, and adopted Jeff’s stance. “Well, Roy,” he started, taking on a much cheerier voice than his own. It was off-putting. “Richmond has been hit hard, but not as hard as their mascot Earl was a few months ago. Poor fuck–” He coughed, and recomposed himself. “Poor dog.”

“Well fucking said, Jeff,” you replied, but burst into giggles as soon as you did. “What do you reckon is the reason for their tie records on top of it, though? And what about that prick, Jamie fucking Tartt, sculking around the club after his stint in the reality TV game?”

Roy furrowed his brows at you quizzically. “Jamie fucking Tartt is trying to get signed to Richmond again?” he said, his normal voice cutting through. 

You waved him off. “I’ll tell you later. Keep going,” you said quickly, bringing it back to the game. 

Roy growled, and went back to his Jeff impression. “Well, it could be a number of things, Roy.” You smiled to yourself, elated just to be around him again. “Your retirement, for starters, has left the team utterly abandoned and in the dust.”

You perked your brow at him.“I’m not sure that’s entirely true, really–”

“They’re devastated by the loss,” Roy cut you off again, and you burst out a giggle. Roy swallowed away his amusement then, as he met your eye. “That, and the loss of their social placement was definitely a hard pill to swallow.” You froze as the words fell from his mouth. “I– inside sources– have told the press about how hard it’s been after she left. Her fanclub made up of Isaac McAdoo, Colin Hughes and Sam Obisanya haven’t been the same since her placement ended.”

You swallowed painfully, as Roy’s gaze stayed stuck on your own for a second too long. Neither of you looked away, but your heart swelled to twice the size beneath your ribcage. This fucking sucked– cutting yourself off from feeling all this– fucking sucked. But, you felt it was necessary. You didn’t want to lose Roy again– couldn’t– and this would ensure he stuck around. 

Still, as he looked at you with a softness reserved only for people he truly gave a shit about, you couldn’t help but give in just this once. 

You dropped the act, and reverted your voice to your own. “I seem to remember there being more people in the fanclub,” you said. “Who else hasn’t been the same, hm?” 

Roy leaned back in his chair, and crossed his legs. You thought he’d tense up, or lean forward, but you knew that position was a sign that he was truly comfortable. Meanwhile, you were trying to hide the fact your fingers were shaking. 

“I can think of one more.” He shrugged. “Want a name?” 

“No,” you said instantly, abruptly, taking back everything you’d put out before. You recomposed yourself, and smiled as normally as you could. “I think I already have a good guess.”

Roy opened his mouth and sucked in a breath, before he nodded at you in understanding. It felt like a situation similar to that first night, after the charity ball, when you’d offered another time. Roy could easily count how many times you’d held yourself back from him. He didn’t know what to say to reassure you that this– you and him– was okay. He wasn’t one for being mushy, but he figured there was a reason as to why you hadn’t made it clear yet. 

So, he stayed put. He waited, and he wondered if you ever would, and if you never did– then that would be that. It wasn’t worth blurting out his feelings in a, no doubt, blunt and plain way if it meant risking this all. Seeing you, being around you, taking it on the chin everytime you scolded him when he deserved it. 

You were one of the only people out there that could tell him to fuck off. He liked it that way. 

As the two of you drove home, you stared out the window on the passenger side. Being around Roy always made you feel warm, but since he’d become a pundit, things had felt heavier. Thicker, tenser, like you’d be able to cut the atmosphere between you with a plastic butter knife. Maybe it was due to you setting yourself invisible boundaries, but something still made your stomach flip whenever he indulged. 

Innately, you told yourself to shake it off. If things stayed as they were with you both meant nothing would change, but you admitting your feelings to him would. It was still out of the question, but you had to be stronger around him. You sucked in a breath, and it cemented things in your brain. No longer would you crumble at his warm remarks, his soft stares, his playful behaviour. These were just things that Roy did with you, and hell, you enjoyed it platonically just as much as you would romantically– so what did it matter?

Roy pulled up outside your building, and you clicked off your seatbelt. You didn’t get out of the car, however, and placed your hands in your lap instead. “Thanks for–”

“What are you doing next Wednesday?” Roy cut over you. Your brain short circuited.

“Uh– finish work at five, like normal. Why?” 

“I’ve got Phoebe that night. We were going to grab a chinese and watch Ice Age. You in?” 

You smiled to oblivion. “I’d love to. Why Ice Age though?”

“Because she’s fucking seven, and I’m unashamed to say that film makes me cry every time.”

You scoffed abruptly, surprised. “Really?”

“Really,” Roy said seriously. “That baby is still fucking ugly though.” You laughed, and nodded in agreement. Roy tapped the steering wheel, expelling happy energy. He growled in approval. “Fruit Shoot pre drinks are at six, so you better not be late.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” you said, before you opened your door and got out of the car. Roy rolled the window down when you hopped up on the pavement on his side, and stuck his elbow out like a trucker. 

“See you later,” he said, though not with his usual hostility and unbothered attitude. This was a see you later that had feeling behind it.

You swallowed bashfully. “See you.”

On Monday, Rebecca met you at Pluto Press. She strolled through the building with purpose, shoes clicking intently on the hardwood floors, until she loomed over your desk fiercely. “I’m here to see the best writer in the building,” she said.

You peered up at her and smiled profusely, before you shot up and gave her a colossal hug. “God, I’ve fucking missed you.” 

“Me too, darling,” she said, before pulling away. She kept her hands on your shoulders for good measure. “Come on. Pasta and wine won’t eat and drink itself.”

You liked getting dinner with Rebecca alone. She was an important figure to you, despite the previous way she’d felt about the club and people like you in general. She twisted her arm around your own as the two of you made your way out of Pluto Press, and you had to admit that you felt confident when in stride next to Rebecca. She was well-known, a prominent businesswoman, a strong person, and you were glad to have her in your life.

Especially, when she had gossip to spill.

“He’s called John. He treats me nice. He’s good looking and intelligent and everything good, but…” 

“But?” you questioned, feeling giddy during girl talk. 

“Well, after Rupert and all the other bozos I’ve been with, I want to make sure he is everything I think he is.”

“Ah, you want your friends’ approval, is that it?” 

Rebecca picked up her wine glass. “Absolutely, I do.” She sipped at the contents, before placing the glass back on the table. “I had an idea of a double date with you and Keeley pretending to be girlfriends.”

You scoffed abruptly. “We wouldn’t even need to pretend that much. I love her and she loves me.” 

“Exactly my thoughts! But, Keeley is away in fucking Edinburgh this weekend, so that’s a no go.”

You thought through your options. Who could you bring as a possible fake date to this double date situation if it wasn’t Keeley? You snapped your fingers. “Oh, I know— I could bring Ted!” 

Rebecca looked like you’d run over a child with Roy’s Jeep. “Absolutely fucking not.”

You recoiled. “Oh, come on. Who the fuck else then?”

“Just bring Roy!” Rebecca exclaimed. Your cheeks warmed intensely. 

“Oh, fuck off,” you spat out, bringing your wine glass to your lips and trying to ignore the way your gut had lurched.

Rebecca leaned towards you, a mischievous smile on her face. “Just imagine it. You and Roy already look and act like a fucking couple sometimes–” You swallowed your wine abruptly.

“No, we do not—”

“Yes, you do!” Rebecca said strongly. “But push that aside for just a moment, and this could be a good experiment.” 

You placed your glass down strongly, curiously. “Go on.”

“If he feels for you the way you feel for him, then this is a good way to show it. Might give you both some clarity, because Jesus fucking Christ, I can’t take this back and forth much longer.”

Your defences were on high. “There is no back and forth—”

“Yes, there is! When are you going to grab that fucking hairy man and just kiss him!” 

“Rebecca!” you exclaimed. There was subtle anger in both of your voices, but it was drowned out by the extreme hilarity of the entire situation.

Despite your eyes being wide and your brows being perked wildly, both you and Rebecca had small smiles plastered on your faces that only meant one thing— I love you and I love this. She understood you, and understood your concerns and feelings and all the like, but that didn’t stop her from wanting you to get out and emerge from this funk.

“Just… think about it?” she suggested.

You smiled at her warmly. “This is Roy we’re talking about. He probably wouldn’t even do it.”

“That’s a possibility, for sure. But it’s still worth asking, isn’t it?” 

You tapped your wine glass thoughtfully, before you nodded strongly. “You’re right. I’ll ask him, and if it means we can help you, then it’s worth the emotional embarrassment.”

Rebecca smiled back at you. “And who knows?” she said, with a twinkle in her eye. “It might be fun.”

You raced home from work on Wednesday, and knocked on Roy’s door quickly, a bit after six in the evening. You were late for Fruit Shoot pre drinks, but the tube was to blame. He opened the door strongly and laid a blunt stare in your face.

“You’re late,” he said. 

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“The Fruit Shoots are almost gone,” he said, smiling just a little.

“Then let me in quickly so I can fucking have one!” you exclaimed playfully. Roy let you in, and you slipped off your shoes in record time.

Roy’s house was so familiar to you now. The atmosphere inside made you feel safe and comfortable, and always brought you back to past times when you’d been inside or passing by his road. He strolled in toe next to you as you made your way to the kitchen. There were a number of Fruit Shoots and some snacks on the island as you entered.

“Phoebe!” Roy called as you grabbed a drink, and the pitter patter of feet erupted from the living room and around the corner.

When Phoebe bound towards her uncle you could hardly contain how happy you felt. She was someone special to him, really special, and he’d chosen you to meet her. That must’ve meant you’d done something right, surely?

Phoebe stopped before her uncle, but peered at you in curiosity. “What is it, Uncle Roy?”

“I want you to meet someone,” he said, before the two turned back to you. He placed his hand on her head affectionately, before he met your eye. “Phoebe, this is my friend—”

“Are you the one that wrote that story about my Uncle Roy?” Phoebe cut over him, and you scoffed abruptly from how confident she was at only seven years old. 

You leaned down slightly. “Yes, I am. Has your Uncle Roy talked about me before?”

“All the time!” Phoebe exclaimed, and you peered up at him playfully. Roy growled, embarrassed at his niece spilling all his secrets. “He told me that you wrote a story about him in the newspaper,” she said.

“I did. Lots of people read it.”

“He also told me that he’s annoyed at you because you’re the only person that can tell him when he’s done something bad,” she said it so surely that it caught you off-guard. You scoffed as you straightened out, and shot a playful look at Roy. 

He looked thoroughly embarrassed. His jaw was clenched, and his shoulders were square, and you knew he wanted to yell or hide away in that moment. It only made you laugh even harder, as a few giggles trickled from your mouth. 

“I’m definitely not the only person who tells him off, but I might be the only one he listens to about it,” you said. “Come on, what else has he said about me?” you urged playfully. 

Roy stepped between you and Phoebe. “That’s fucking enough.”

Phoebe gasped suddenly, and your eyes widened. “That’s a bad word, Uncle Roy!”

“Yeah, sorry,” he said, as if he’d apologised for the same thing a thousand times. He probably had. 

“You owe the swear jar a pound!” Phoebe pointed at Roy threateningly, chastising him. 

Roy messed up her bright blonde hair affectionately. “Add it to the rest of the bill.”

After a huge chinese dinner, where you all opened fortune cookies and laughed at the fact Roy got life will get better, just wait in his own, the three of you sat in the living room. Phoebe and you sat on the plush rug in front of the sofa, while Roy took the sofa. He crossed his arms for the duration of Ice Age, staying quiet as you and Phoebe bonded over how funny Sid the sloth was. 

When the baby came on screen, you grimaced immediately. You’d forgotten just how ugly it was. Roy was absolutely right. You twisted yourself around to meet his eye, and furrowed your brows. “You’re right. It’s still so ugly.”

“Told you,” he said, before you turned back around to the TV. Phoebe jumped up onto your lap as you did, and you snuggled her close to your chest as the film continued. 

Behind you, Roy was twitching. Despite only seeing the tops of your heads, and the shake of your shoulders when you laughed, there was something brewing within him when seeing you with his niece. He didn’t often introduce people he knew to her, because of the impact it would have on her when those people could inevitably leave. It had happened with her piece of shit father, and from that moment, Roy had started involving himself even more– just to give his sister a break, just because he loved his family so fucking much. 

Seeing you with her, getting on so well in this way, made him swallow away his deepest wants. In a perfect world, he would have made his way down beside you both on the floor. You would have leaned into him, sharing the weight of the child in your lap, and he would have draped his arm over your shoulder and held you close– but no. 

Roy inhaled a laboured breath, and forced himself to focus on the screen for the rest of the film; knuckles white, body tensed, trying and failing not to feel everything. 

Phoebe was fast asleep by the time the credits rolled. You held her in your arms as Roy got up and switched off the TV, before turning back to you both. You glanced down at Phoebe’s dreaming face as you frowned awkwardly. Roy’s expression was somewhere between stoic and glowing. His jaw clenched when you peered up at him in subtle pleading. 

“What do I do?” you whispered. 

“Fuck all. You’re stuck like that until she wakes up,” he replied, crossing his arms. You gulped away your nerves, looking back at Phoebe in your arms. Roy took his opportunity to smile without you seeing. 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” you whispered harshly, but you inwardly accepted your fate. You peered back at Roy, and his face flattened. “So, are you just going to stand there?” He shrugged. “Roy!” you whispered strongly. 

That was enough for him to finally crumble. His hard expression faltered and was replaced with the smallest of smiles. He dropped his arms to his sides as he started towards you. “I’m fucking kidding,” he whispered deeply, as he knelt before you. “I’ve got her.”

You would have looked away as Roy picked up his niece if you had the chance. He was soft, and gentle, as he slotted his hands beneath her and hoisted her from your lap easily. He draped her over his shoulder with such care, as her cheek squished sleepily against his shoulder. His hand found her back and stayed there warmly. 

“I’ll tuck her in,” he said, before making his way out of the room and up the stairs.

You stayed put after he left, cleaning up the snacks from the coffee table and straightening out the sofa cushions just from habit. You chucked away empty crisp packets and yoghurt pots, and threw some finished Fruit Shoot bottles in the recycling bin. It was comforting as you familiarly navigated all the cupboards and drawers in Roy’s kitchen. You knew your way around his house very well, and often found yourself jealous of the space. It’s not that you didn’t like your apartment– of course, you did– but Roy’s house was proper. 

It was funny. Without trying at all, you were able to slot yourself alongside Roy here. Living alongside each other, cooking dinners, drinking beers on his back patio, watching shitty movies on the sofa. You slammed another Fruit Shoot bottle in the recycling as a way to snap yourself out of it. No good came from imagining more between you and Roy, especially after everything that had already occurred. 

You let out an angry huff at yourself as you leant upon the kitchen island, looking out towards the dining table. You wracked your fingers through your hair, as your eyes settled upon his bookshelf in all its glory. You enjoyed looking at it, no matter how many times you’d already scoured the overflowing shelves. Squinting, you gently approached the dining table as your eye hit upon something new; something that hadn’t been there previously.

On the middle shelf, right between cards from Phoebe and Roy’s sister, your article had been framed and placed for all to see. At the top, next to the title, was that classic picture of Roy from the first game of football you’d ever seen. His foot was on the ball, his stare hard, his hair trimmed in that robotic way that he’d used to do. 

You couldn’t believe he’d kept it, and framed it, and put it up– all of it. It made your heart thump incessantly in your chest. It made the logical side of your brain completely disappear; the side that told you not to jump, that held you back, that told you not to complicate things. 

“You noticed it, hm?” Roy said suddenly, appearing in the kitchen as you stayed glued in front of the dining table. 

You turned to him, wide-eyed and full of love. “You kept it?”

“‘Course I did,” he said, walking towards you slowly. “It was your big break, and the nicest thing ever fucking written about me. Why wouldn’t I keep it?”

“I don’t know, I just–” you started, but chose to stop part way through. You settled, and smiled. “It’s nice that you did.”

Roy nodded, and growled subtly. Silence trickled over you both, as the obvious tension between you was cemented even further. This always happened when you were alone, together, looking at one another like you were memorising the lines on each other’s faces. 

“Fancy a drink?” Roy asked coarsely. He had to cough slightly to stop his voice from breaking. 

You breathed out deeply. “Yes. Please. Yes please.” You found your voice again, and the tension dissipated slightly as he headed towards the fridge.

You sunk into one of the chairs at the dining table, watching closely as Roy opened the fridge and grabbed two green bottles of beer. It was nice that you didn’t have to say what it was you wanted, didn’t have to even direct, he just knew. He knew you, and you knew him just as well. He popped the tops off both bottles, before sitting down opposite you. He slid you a beer, and your fingers touched his own as he made the pass. It went unsaid, and you ignored your heart in your chest. 

The two of you sipped at your drinks in unison, transcending into a different realm of awkward (and) or sexual tension. It was always this way, this feeling. You’d grown so used to it from being so exposed to being watched, analysed, affectionately stared at, by Roy’s gaze, that you didn’t bat an eye when you looked at him– only to find him already staring at you. 

You squinted at him playfully. “What?”

“Nothing,” he said. 

You raised your drink to your lips. “Fine.” You drank, and let his lingering eyes watch as you gulped back more beer. As you placed your bottle down, you smiled. “Thank you for letting me meet Phoebe.”

“It was about time,” he said, leaning forward. “Like she said– I apparently don’t shut the fuck up about you.” He smiled smally, before the two of your drank in unison, just to fill the happy silence. 

You thought of Rebecca then. Of her strong jaw and broad shoulders and confident strides. If it’d been her, she would have taken matters into her own hands a long time ago. Before Roy’s retirement, before the article, she would have launched herself into this all strongly from the moment he’d invited you for a drink after the charity ball. 

As Rebecca’s gorgeous face shone behind your eyelids, you remebered your lunch. “Oh, fuck,” you muttered suddenly, as you recalled her double date situation. 

“What?” Roy questioned. 

“Well,” you started. You leaned forward to bridge the gap between you, and innately psyched yourself up to broach this idea to him. You couldn’t believe what you were about to ask of him. “Rebecca is seeing a man– John.”

“John,” Roy repeated. 

“And, well,” you said, stalling for time. You grimaced, just for lack of how to even get it all out. “She… well, she–”

“Are you having a fucking stroke or something?” Roy asked, before he slammed his hand over your forehead abruptly, searching for a fever. 

You burst out laughing as soon as he did, and swatted away his fingers. “Jesus Christ, I’m fine!” you exclaimed. 

Roy removed his hand from your head. “Then get to the fucking point!”

“Okay!” you exclaimed, getting worked up. “Rebecca is seeing this man, and she wants her friends’ approval to be sure he’s not a fucking weirdo.” You sucked in a deep breath, and reworded your entire question until it wasn’t one anymore. “You’re going to pretend to be my partner, so we can judge if this guy is a psycho or not.” After you blurted it out, you half expected Roy to scoff. Surely he wouldn’t say yes, surely he would protest, and whine, and sulk, and everything else that his thirty-six year old arse would do when forced into this kind of situation. 

Instead, he stayed still. He stayed calm, and his express didn’t falter. “When is it?” Roy asked. 

“This weekend.”

“Okay,” he said. 

“Okay?” You stared at him, utterly boggled. 

Roy furrowed his brows, as if saying yes was the most obvious answer of all. “Who else would you fucking take? Fucking Ted?” 

You chose not to tell him of your first choice, or of Rebecca’s obvious dislike of the idea. You leaned back in your chair and took a surprised gulp of beer, before clutching the bottle to your chest. “I can’t wrap my head around why you’re fine about this,” you said honestly. “Are you having a fucking stroke?” 

Quickly, you reached your hand out and laid it upon Roy’s forehead, mimicking his earlier behaviour. You thought he’d push you off, or laugh, or copy the way you reacted. When he gently leant into your touch, you froze. 

“I feel just fine,” he said lowly, his stare glued on yours. Gently, he wrapped his fingers around your wrist, and you dropped your palm from his head. Quickly, Roy shuffled his hand so his thumb hit your pulse point. “Are you alright?”

You felt your heart rate accelerate, which meant Roy felt it, too. 

Quickly, you pried your hand out of his grasp, but not before your fingers swiped over each other’s. You moved your hand to your lap, just to avoid staring at it as your mind raced. 

“I’m fine,” you said, despite the fact it was an obvious lie. That’s when Roy’s lips curled into a small smile. “But– great. This is great.” You tried to redirect the conversation to the double date, tried to keep things professional. “Rebecca gets the answers she wants, we get a free meal, and I get to dress in something other than the same five outfits I wear at work every week… but,” you said, tapping your glass anxiously. “We have to pretend to be a couple.”

Roy shrugged. “We’ll live.” He wasn’t ready to admit to you that he knew it would be easy. Maybe you might make it harder, but if all Roy had to do to be convincing was occasionally hold your hand, or sit close to you, or bicker like an old married couple, then he was already there.

You squinted at him, still confused. “You’re seriously okay with this?”

Roy shrugged again, but it was only with the sole intention to have you roll your eyes at him. He succeeded. 

As Saturday approached, it properly dawned on you what was about to happen. You and Roy had to pretend to be together, while simultaneously navigating not just Rebecca, but her newest man, as well. You found yourself wishing that Keeley wasn’t away, but that definitely would have been the easy way out. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to go on a fake double date Roy fucking Kent– that in itself was something that (ashamedly so) made you so fucking excited that it was miracle you’d been able to contain it for the remaining days before the weekend. It wasn’t about the possible awkwardness that you could both feel at having to be noticeably affectionate, or the fumbling fingers that you would both have during those first few tries.

It was about the aftermath. 

It was about the possible shift that could happen as a result of this little charade. It was about the marathon you were already running to keep at bay every single feeling you had for Roy (and the ones he held for you that you had no clue about). It was about being able to leave that table at that restaurant still knowing that everything would be normal and unchanged and not fucking complicated.

That’s what you focused on for the rest of the week, and when Saturday morning turned to afternoon, and when that afternoon turned to early evening, you felt stronger. As you got ready to go into this shitstorm, you were determined not to let all hell break loose. 

Just down the road, Roy pulled a black t-shirt over his head. He paired it with black jeans, the usual, but opted to spray his most expensive cologne over the top— not the usual. It was true that he was excited about this. Just the opportunity to make you blush was enough to make him smile, and after he felt the upbeat pitter patter of your pulse he was beginning to doubt that you harboured no romantic feelings for him. 

Either way, no matter the outcome, he was going to grab hold of this situation by the throat. It was funny; being given the opportunity to be close to you, to imagine being together, and all the rest; but even just being allowed to pretend and put on a show for one evening made him feel satisfied.

Innately, though, he told himself not to go overboard. As much as your pulse had betrayed you, he wasn’t about to put you in an uncomfortable situation for the sake of it. Roy was almost a decade older than you, he harboured experience galore— what with being an ex-star footballer— but he still knew you weren’t the time to fuck around.

He glanced at his watch; he had a little under an hour before he was due to pick you up. This evening was certainly going to be one he’d remember for a while, even if he ended up wanting to fucking forget all about it by the end. 

Roy’s Jeep pulled up outside your flat. You heard it from your living room window, and quickly slung a small bag over your shoulder before leaving through your door. Roy cut off the engine before he jumped from the driver’s seat. As he rounded his car, the squeak of your building door sounded. He peered up, and what met his gaze was only the first step of his night fully starting. 

As you shut the door behind you, your dress blew up to just past your knees. Compared with the charity ball, you’d opted to wear a jacket over it in this cold, which almost made Roy laugh to himself. You descended the steps as he took a relaxed stance by the passenger side door, and when you finally glanced his way, he was already looking at you. This was a running theme, you thought, catching Roy’s eye, only to find him already looking at you gently. 

“Hey,” you said, slightly breathlessly from the cold but also from him. You trickled your gaze over his body. He wore nothing different than normal, his usual combo of black on black, but this time it felt different. It was oddly reminiscent of the night of the charity ball, a year ago now, but with a slight twist.

You felt older, you knew each other better, and that unspoken tension hadn’t cropped up until later that fateful night. Now, everything was different. But in the best way. 

“Hey,” Roy said lowly, his voice gravelly. “Ready to go?”

You nodded sweetly, smiling at him as you stood face to face. You inhaled, and as you did, his cologne hit your nose. You had to ignore how fucking good he smelled, even more so when you both clambered into the car.

A few minutes into the journey, Roy cleared his throat. “So,” he started, and you sensed some trepidation in his tone that made you look at him slyly. “This double date thing… how far are we taking it?”

Abruptly, you choked on your own spit. You coughed loudly and turned towards the window, until the tickle in your throat finally ceased. “What?” you croaked, panicking. Roy smiled to himself quickly, before he clenched his jaw forcefully. 

“This guy, Jim, or whatever. He thinks we’re an item, right?” Roy continued. 

You furrowed your brows at him curiously. “Yes.”

“So, how far are we taking this fake relationship shit?” Roy asked again. 

Your heart plummeted into your stomach. “I don’t fucking know.” You tried to act casual and unbothered. It was fucking difficult. “Far enough for it to be believable, I guess.”

“So,” Roy said. “Can I hold your hand?” 

You swallowed. “Yeah, obviously.” You kept your eyes ahead of you, but could feel Roy’s stare hit your profile every few seconds, only when he wasn’t looking at the road. 

“Okay,” he said. “Can I touch your waist, or– I don’t know– your thigh under the table, or some shit?” Roy attempted to lace stoicism within his words. He didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable, but he also wanted to know what he could and couldn’t do. Just for clarity, just so you were on the same page. 

You glanced out the window, looking away from him. You didn’t want him to see the warmth that had appeared on your cheeks. It was a miracle he couldn’t hear the butterfly wings that ravaged your stomach. “I don’t see why not.”

“Alright, fine,” Roy said, clearing his throat afterwards. His knuckles had turned white on the steering wheel. 

You sucked in a deep breath, but all it did was remind you of his cologne. “Anything else?” you asked assumptively, tensing yourself involuntarily. 

Roy stopped the car at a red light. “Yeah,” he said sharply, turning to you strongly. You turned to look at him, too, catching his eye with as much confidence you could muster. “Can I kiss you?” 

You stopped breathing. The urge to look at Roy’s lips was unavoidable. You wanted to stay calm, to stay cool, to stay composed, so your initially thought answer of yes, God, yes had to be contained on this occasion. You’d spent three days internally preparing yourself for this, but as soon as Roy started asking his questions your walls practically crumbled. His prying had a feeling behind it, intent, and you knew Roy well enough by now to know that he wouldn’t ask these things lightly. That was the first hurdle to jump over. 

The next– the way he was looking at you made you want to abandon your evening with Rebecca and John altogether. If it were up to you, you’d tell him to pull over the car on any desolate street he could find, just so you could finally give in to this silly crush. It was obvious this wasn’t just you anymore, that this small unspoken thing had developed further inside both of you, until it had left you in this fucking situation. 

A fake date, with real feelings. What a fucking nightmare. 

“I–” you started, but couldn’t get another word out as Roy’s gaze darted to your lips and back. 

Oh, the fucking bastard. He was good, really good, and he knew it, too. Was this what he did with the Spice Girls? Because it was fucking working. It was enough to make you want to spill everything, to not hold back any longer. 

“Roy.” You breathed out. 

He looked at you so softly. “Yeah?” he said lowly. 

“I need to tell you something–”

The shrill boom of a car horn from behind made you gasp. Roy twisted himself abruptly to the windshield, and the light that once was red was now green again. The car honked its horn once more, and Roy let out a growl. “I’m going, you fucking twat!” he yelled, before smashing his foot down on the accelerator. 

And just like that, the conversation had to take another back seat. You still had parts to play, and hearts to bear, and lots and lots of wine to fucking drink. 

CHAPTER TWELVE

Tag list: @atjamesbbarnes @20th-centu-fairy-girl @royalestrellas @weakmoony-stuff @ironmanmagnetfridge @lemonpiegurll @hellomagicalsouls @her-fandom-sanctum @gothicwidowsworld @old-enough-to-know-better73 @djarindroid @afraidofshrimp @respondingtoshowerthoughts-blog @queen-of-dumbasses @sogoodtoheritsvicious @lznnph1l @crav1ngc4ke @onceuponaoneshot @jamieolivia27 @dadbodfanatic-x @kelp-dreaming @harrypedro465 @lonely-escape-artist @abeeabeeabee @nicklet94 @libsybum @cha0sdreaming @toomany24s @kashee-h@infinetlyforgotten @secretnook @cluelesslilsharkie @callmecasey81 @deepdarkvelvet @twiceinabluemoon @cardeegans @golden-hoax @kingleahhh @hoalkk1 @sunderland-6 @ellouisa17 @thesestrangerslikeme @elissaaa @scrumptiousroadponymoney @confessionsofatotaldramaslut @ysmmsy @seacactusplant @pedritosgirl2000 @loveslide @ryleyrooroo @hanybunch @tweasley20 @witchyanya-7 @sareim123122 @jaymum @lwritesstuff 

[winterlogysblog]

Overanalyzing King's POV

Part 2

Link to Part 1

Let's talk about Adoption

So Kiane adopted Mertyl and it's pretty obvious that it's a kept secret and that only a few people know the truth. Which is fine, in adoption parents tend to keep it a secret until the child is ready and prepared to know the truth.

And here's the deal, if King and Diane were just a normal Fairy and Giant couple that's all they have to worry about, but that's not the case here. King is the well the King and Diane is the Queen, they're royals and I don't think the fairies would be too pleased to know that their first prince is actually a human oh and not just any human. The human that was switched with their actual fairy prince.

Realistically, if Kiane we're to have told Mertyl that he's adopted. He'll still be in same situation, probably even worse. Fairies are already on his case, questioning his relation to Kiane. "Are you really their kid?" "You don't look like them at all!" Just imagine if Mertyl being their adopted kid is common knowledge. Their quips would be worse and would hurt Mertyl more. Kiane is trying to protect Mertyl from this, that's why they kept it from everybody.

At least now, yes they say these things to Mertyl but they acknowledge him as their prince because that's what they've been told and that's how he acts. They're actually really cool with Mertyl it's just to them, Mertyl is weird looking. So, even if the truth were to come out it wouldn't matter to them cause yes Mertyl is human but he's still Mertyl he's still their prince.

Now, why didn't Kiane tell Mertyl anything even though it's been 18 years. Cause Mertyl isn't ready yet, I mean based on Diane's expressions she knows that this secret is long overdue but in a way they can't do it cause it'll only break Mertyl.

Mertyl has always been insecure about himself and Kiane is trying to make him feel secure, shower him with love and affection in the best ways they could so that even if the truth would come out Mertyl knows that his parents loves him literally no matter what.

And they've done this, as shown in Mertyl's flashback but Mertyl still feels the way he does.

In a world where Mertyl is secure in his place, that he knows the love that his parents, siblings and everyone has for him. There will be no conflict between him and Nasiens. In this world Mertyl would actually feel happy that Nasiens is at their doorstep and would actually help and guide Nasiens into learning about their true identity.

Unfortunately, that's not the case here.

Mertyl saw King gave the Drug of Yore to Nasiens. Now this scene is just filled to the brim with misunderstangs that my only hope is for Sixtus to use his brain and talk it out with his pops.

Mertyl felt betrayed at this moment. This is his worst nightmare came to life.

There's this medicine that in his mind can cure him, can help him and Sixtus reassured him saying that their father is a kinder King than anyone out there and he'll give it to him.

Notice the phrasing here, they know their father's responsibilities as King, they can differentiate between his two roles. Yes, he's their father and he'll do anything for them but he's also the Fairy King, a being that has immense responsibilities and power. They're aware that there are some things that he can't do for them because he's the Fairy King.

But there he saw, his father giving the very thing he came there to ask for to Nasiens just like that. This is the ultimatum for him, so he ran off. Without knowing the full truth behind his father's actions.

Then, we have Nasiens, I love you but baby you kinda messed up on this one. He just jumped to his assumption here.

When King gave the drug, Nasiens refused and claimed that he's rather cruel for letting him run around and make medicine for Percy and fail everytime for the past 2 years only to give this to him now and argued that he should have given it to Mertyl.

Granted, Nasiens doesn't know that Mertyl is human so I guess good on you for having Mertyl's back. But Nasiens you can't just assume these things without knowing the full story, let the man explain. Regardless of King's reasons (I already made a post about it check it out if you wanna know my thoughts) in my eyes he made the thoughest decision a father could ever make here.

At this very moment, King is letting Nasiens go.

King knows what Nasiens is here for and he knows that the moment Percy wakes up they'll leave. King and Diane have suspected and confirmed to themselves that Nasiens is their kid. But Nasiens doesn't really need them, he's fine, he has friends that cares for him, he has hopes and aspirations, he grew up to be such a great person. To King, seeing Nasiens the way they are now and being able to take care of him for 2 years and help him with his goal, that is more than enough. King is letting Nasiens go because he knows that Mertyl needs them the most.

And here's the thing, I have a huge feeling that King decided on this a long time ago, that's why he didn't explicitly tell Nasiens anything for 2 years. And look at King's face here, he seems content, happy even.

King is willing to let Nasiens go without even saying that he's their father, without saying that they're family, without a hug, without a good heart to heart, not even a chance to hear the word Father from them, without any closure. None of that. Because King chose Mertyl

King chose Mertyl cause that's his son

King chose Mertyl despite the fact that he has finally found his firstborn

This is a sacrifice he's willing to make because that's how much King loves Mertyl

[anderscim]

bagel’s drdt death predictions but they’re all based on character relationships and assumptions (lots of assumptions)

//spoilers for drdt ch1 + ch2 pt. 1

//long, long wall of text warning (nearly 4k words…)

i mean, the title explains it all.

there’s really nothing else other than my unhinged predictions which will likely be wildly incorrect compared to the actual outcome in DRDT.

so, as always, take this with a grain of salt

alright, let’s get straight into it.

arturo and j:

obviously these two have a… very interesting dynamic. they’re constantly at odds with each other, and this worsened especially after arturo found out about j’s family through her secret.

arturo is following j around and she hates it. arturo constantly crosses j’s boundaries, idolizes her, places her in his own “perfect image” that she doesn’t want to be a part of, and she (justifiably) hates it.

meanwhile, arturo sees j as one of the “beautiful people” that he idolizes and tries to get close to in order to improve his self value, possibly in an attempt to resolve his own insecurities. (okay i don’t think i’m gonna talk about this later so i’m gonna say it now. but based on the fact that arturo seems very attached to “societally valuable” things and people (major brands, celebrities, etc.) and the fact that he instantly pushes away things he sees as “ugly,” arturo may actually be trying to preserve a certain image of himself and/or his ego by surrounding himself with valuable things—which could be due to holding some sort of insecurity that he can’t be as “valuable” as others without those factors surrounding him constantly. maybe because he sees himself as “ugly.” just a thought. not justifying his actions though. idk)

but though i love j with all my heart… i’m very, very scared that she’s going to be the culprit for this chapter.

except for the possible motive, there’s actually a suspicious amount of logical conclusions and reasonings one can make that point to j being the culprit.

this isn’t my post, but i’m going to put this here because u/Difficult-Parfait627 on reddit explained the logic significantly better than i could have:

i also saw some theories on j’s secret weapon (the remote) possibly opening trapdoors that only she could access, so that’s definitely another possible advantage.

aside from that, i find it intriguing that MonoTV makes specific mention of this detail regarding the playground:

it would be very, very interesting if this proved to be foreshadowing of some sort regarding arei’s murder. whether it would just be the height of the room that plays into a factor of the case, or the fact that the movie screening room and the playground are only separable by a single wall, or both—that, i don’t know. but seeing multiple prevailing theories it could be possible that this is more important than we think.

not only this, but during the trial j constantly pointed fingers at many people and jumped from suspect to suspect—which is exactly what min did as well, and might be an indication that j is desperate to pin the crime on someone else.

though i’m probably wrong

revision: the following is… likely incorrect (_ _;) i’ll keep what i originally said here for the sake of it, but just know that arturo is more likely to double down and shun himself even further from any guilt if this theory proves to be true. here’s a reblog chain ft. @/aquariiium that explains it really well!

but if j is the culprit for this case, it could actually lead to character development for arturo. after all, if j gets caught, he would probably blame himself—if he didn’t get so worked up over eden and the reveal of his secret, if he didn’t let j overhear the conversation—she might’ve not committed a murder. i think he might feel intense guilt that he let j die—especially since he’s so (unhealthily) attached to her.

don’t know man. just trying to give him redeeming qualities here lmao

essentially, i think j might die this chapter as the culprit for arei’s murder, and arturo will survive for at least the next few chapters. whether he’ll be a victim/killer in the last few chapters i’m unsure about at this current moment, but bear with me

side note: it would be absolutely cruel if whoever the killer is, they get a quiet execution in a way that reflects arei’s body discovery ;-; also tbh i’m probably wildly wrong about all of this. for you guys who say the true culprit is someone else (especially people who think it’s levi, eden, or whit), i see you and i do see why that’s definitely a possibility. take all of my theorizing with a grain of salt lmao

whit and charles:

(sorry i couldn’t find a proper CG for them haha)

ah, one of my favorite dynamics. i love these two so much

it’s cool to see how they’re actually quite open with each other now, compared to the beginning where they were established as near-total opposites of each other (mainly looks at the free time event)

but as it goes with many ships in danganronpa…they’ll probably end in tragedy. unfortunately

i believe i made a really brief analysis earlier on how whit deals with grief by completely deflecting his true sentiments through the use of humor, and i think as of now this still holds true. whit’s bottling up his grief, and sooner or later he’ll have to come to terms with it.

whit has developed an understanding for charles, though, and seems to be genuinely considerate towards him. plus, he’s willing to admit to any mistakes he makes and is very open about it to charles, which indicates how close they actually are

charles struggles with not only his hemophobia + necrophobia (fear of blood and fear of corpses/things associated with death), but with the pity from others that result from it.

he really, really hates being pitied. we actually saw this earlier in the FTE between charles and whit as well—he seemed very worked up with how whit was “belittling” charles to make teruko laugh. obviously whit figured this out, admitted what he did, and eventually became more considerate of charles’ feelings. charles notices this and decides to open up to him.

👆 this line is so cute btw

i think though, especially because they’re so close to each other it’ll really impact their characters when tragedy strikes. personally i’m more scared that charles is going to die (as a victim) because plot-wise it would force whit to come to terms with his grief—the grief over not just his mother but the participants of the killing game—that he has pushed into the back of his mind for a long time.

but at the same time charles surviving is also definitely a possibility given his importance in the plot right now—and not only that, if whit dies, i think he would have a clear moment of feeling ashamed of himself for not even being able to look at his partner’s body and being unable to come to terms with whit’s death until later.

either way, one of them is definitely doomed to die, and the other is probably going to be a survivor.

for me, regardless of who bites the dust, they’re going to be a chapter 3 death. i personally believe this because it would give both of them time to cope and face their grief in their respective character arcs over the next few chapters—but also because i think chapter 4 is going to be surrounding a separate character dynamic.

nico, ace, and hu:

yes, it’s the “two people who absolutely hate each other and the one person that stands in between” trio.

as already established within the series, nico and ace hate each other. i don’t even need to put screenshots as proof—plus nico literally attempted to murder ace.

and by the way, for those of you who said other people manipulated nico into doing it, i think that would be very contradictory with what the series is trying to get at. nico is their own independent person—and they’ve tried to solidify that fact. this specific murder attempt was to probably establish that nico has their own limits, despite how much they are infantilized by others. if it’s true that someone manipulated nico, i feel like it would… just take away from nico’s individuality and turn them into someone to be pitied upon.

not only that, even nico established themselves that they have a tendency to be agressive.

there’s not much to analyze here, but it definitely is a strong indication that nico does have their own limits and will not act all innocent-like if those boundraries are crossed. it’s interesting though, because this kinda makes nico a foil to ace. while ace is “all bark and no bite,” and/or accusing and insulting everyone 24/7 but never acting upon it, nico is the opposite: not the type for words but will genuinely act if they are pushed hard enough.

i genuinely think nico attempted to murder ace on their own accord. plus, it would fit perfectly with one of the themes from this chapter

anyways—though i’m not going to condone her for infantilizing nico—there’s one person who’s kinda been keeping both of them in check. (or moreso, keeping ace in check) quite literally, hu defending nico, despite the fact that her way of doing so was really flawed, temporarily stopped their conflicts with ace from escalating in a short amount of time. at least until ace almost got murdered though.

the thing is, hu sees things in black and white. she trusts a little too much into nico and she thinks they desperately need to be protected. meanwhile, she essentially antagonizes ace, and didn’t seem to attempt to sympathize with the fact he almost got murdered. she didn’t make many attempts (especially during the second chapter) to genuinely understand their “grey areas,” instead jumping to what she knows. and… it’s understandable why she does this, but regardless, it’s one of her greatest flaws. however, that flaw is exactly what humanizes hu. she cares immensely about others, even if that means trusting them too much. she puts it on herself to help anyone she can. she wants others to rely on her, even if that means she inadvertently forces the role of “the damsel in distress” onto them as a result. though it doesn’t exactly justify her actions, i felt it was still important to bring up. (by the way i actually like hu, plus i love the concept of a really flawed but sincere mother figure. i don’t hate hu at all lmao i think she’s a really good character)

especially as of ch2 ep11, hu seems to show possible signs of change after getting called out by david. his so-called “betrayal” (by throwing hu’s personal impression and expectations of himself out the window) might begin a development arc allowing hu to see past her… i guess… her biases.

but, i’m scared that hu’s character arc would end (whether abruptly or gradually) in the middle of the series, rather than continuing to the very last episode of DRDT—and that she’ll get killed/executed before she can truly develop and leave the killing game with a new perspective.

additionally, as far as i can tell i don’t expect nico and ace to ever make up during the killing game—because in traditional danganronpa, that never seems to be an actual occurrence. not only that, but the whole tension surrounding their situation has already gone too far—neither of them will probably ever forgive each other after how far this conflict went (especially ace, who almost got killed by nico). i personally think hu, though the way she went about this was not exactly the best, acted as a “mediator” of sorts between ace and nico by throwing herself in and breaking up each conflict. if hu dies, their relationship will completely fall apart and their arguments will likely escalate past the point of no return—which seems to be a perfect setup for a murder case. personally i’d put hu as a chapter three death (regardless of victim or culprit), nico and ace’s dynamic escalating to a breaking point during chapter four, and either nico or ace dying in chapter four (with the other one surviving the killing game). my personal opinion as for who dies is nico, but mainly because i think ace might actually be a survivor.

ace and levi:

oh no i wasn’t done talking about ace yet, did you seriously think i would stop talking about him after all of that? plus i. didn’t give ace a proper character analysis in that previous section

ace and levi’s relationship is very unique as well. at first, ace and levi felt at least relatively comfortable around each other—which was really rare for someone like ace, who’s essentially scared of everything and holds many insecurities that prevent him from easily trusting people/processes/objects.

over time during chapter 1, ace and levi get closer to each other. ace develops a feeling of safety when around levi, since to him, he seems like one of the only few people who don’t just see him as a coward.

and that was true for a while, at least, until this happened.

this blog post by @thefandomenchantress explains the effects of levi’s dialogue here better than i ever could. go read this. please but essentially—the death threat is really important because it essentially shattered ace’s sense of security around levi, but the fact that levi out of all people called ace a coward really seals the deal for him. this is my interpretation, but ace probably felt that levi was more non-judgmental than the others and was also one of the few people that saw past his insecurities. so levi specifically targeting one of his largest weaknesses, probably hurts a lot.

not only that, but ace genuinely seems to believe that this is what levi actually thinks about him. though he focuses on the death threat here, i think it still holds true that he’s really paranoid of levi and thinks he actually hates ace, despite their dynamic in the first chapter.

on the other hand, levi regrets threatening and insulting ace in the first trial, and makes attempts to apologize and make up with him. he even asks teruko for advice here.

since ace is really insecure, it’s really difficult to make him actually forgive levi. ace’s paranoia makes him believe that others are out to “get him” and cause him harm, especially when it comes to people who bluntly pointed out his insecurities in the past. and as a person who genuinely hates those parts of himself and wants to get rid of his paranoia, it makes ace act really aggressive when people begin pointing out those issues again. after all, they’re reminders of what he thinks he is.

👆this quote is actually from an earlier point, and is ace talking about why he still races despite being scared of horses. but it’s representative of how he hates his own reputation and his insecurities that are connected with it—which he desperately doesn’t want people to see. that’s why ace is so aggressive. it’s because he feels he needs to bluff and act all “strong” to prevent people from targeting his insecurities.

the reason why i actually believe ace would be a survivor is because of some personal unhinged interpretations i have for chapter four. like i mentioned earlier, i personally believe that the current conflict between nico and ace will reach its climax during chapter four, which will likely also be a major part of the murder case during that chapter. and uh. if we go by traditional danganronpa patterns we know which character is probably doomed during that chapter (that is, assuming DRDT still follows a similar equation). though i admit the stereotype of “buff character dies during fourth chapter” is a bit overused—the thing is, if the conflict between nico and ace does actually reach its climax during that chapter, it actually makes sense relationship-wise for levi to play a major part of it. getting into major “this is probably wrong” territory here despite the fact that ace is currently distrusting towards levi right now, i think there’s still some part of him that harbors more personal feelings towards levi (whether that’s positive or negative)—i don’t think ace would be attacking levi so much otherwise. he probably feels like he was betrayed by levi, likely due to their changes in character dynamic during the first chapter. i also find it interesting how ace has always harbored a feeling of resentment towards nico—and i personally feel that this is because nico also reminds ace of one of his insecurities. they represent something that ace hates about himself, or they represent the antithesis of this insecurity—as for what specifically, i’m not sure, but it likely has something to do with ace’s paranoia. that’s probably why he attacks nico so much—because they remind him of something he hates about himself.

if both of them die, in the same chapter, i think ace would start doubting himself. all that would be left are people who have already seen how insecure he is. i think he’d lose his “purpose” and “relationships” in some ways, in that case—which would actually be a great setup to his secret quote: “i don’t know what to do with myself anymore.” ace markey existential crisis at 3 anyone /j

okay but. like. idk what i was even trying to say there. just take all of that with a grain of salt

okay, finally:

david:

(okay he’s literally just his own category at this point.) (i like to psychoanalyze him independently because i uh. have so much to say about him)

if you couldn’t already tell from my multiple theory posts about david, i have a considerable amount of interpretations regarding his character:

his current demeanor doesn’t reflect his true personality, but it’s not exactly like he’s a constantly optimistic person either

he’s not actually manipulating everyone into making the worst decisions. even his plan, though it wasn’t foolproof, was probably better than any of the options the cast had. however he did try to preserve his own image a little while presenting the plan since he’s trying to hide his depression

(both of those bullets are linked to other theory posts i made that elaborate more on these points)

either way, david is currently established as the “antagonist” character for this series, which was especially solidified after his breakdown in ch2 ep11. i think we all know what usually happens to the antagonist character in chapter 5.

however—david, unlike other canon danganronpa antagonists (especially nagito and kokichi from goodbye despair and killing harmony), has different motivations. rather than acting fully evil and/or cynical in an effort for the “greater good,” to me, he just… seems like he’s acting cynical and manipulative because that’s who he thinks he actually is. he’s playing a glorified version of his self-doubts and insecurities. so, to be completely honest, i think rather than him acting in a way to throw everyone off and ultimately end the killing game, i think david’s just in the middle of a breakdown and is acting suicidal. he’s actually pretty smart, so unless he was really emotional/desperate, i don’t think his lying would be as obvious as it is now. i think he honestly would’ve thought about it more (/lh) if he was genuinely attempting to end the killing game through lying and making everyone vote wrong. plus, we have already seen in chapter one that david doesn’t really… think straight when he’s emotional. we saw this during xander’s trial with the way he kept accusing teruko and thought she was the culprit despite the gradual accumulation of evidence that proved her innocence. (i think it’s general consensus that david actually did care about xander—and arei actually—and was therefore pretty emotional regarding their deaths, but i will make a post on that later if necessary.)

if david really is breaking down and acting suicidal in the second trial, i think it would fit if the plot decided to pull some irony and… y’know, have the one person who wants to die the most actually be a survivor. i really have no backing to this (and tbh i think i’m saying this because i want david to live LMAO), and i don’t exactly have any concrete evidence that establishes david as an antagonist character that doesn’t follow canon danganronpa antagonist traditions, but even then i still think it would be pretty cool if that happened.

god. this was. unhinged.

okay but watch me be entirely wrong on this lmao

i hope you guys could actually understand that entire wall of text because i don’t even know what i was writing halfway through also i didn’t put chapter 5/6 here because i literally have no idea what’s going to happen. it’s just going to be full of plot twists and i know it

i also didn’t exactly put a clear amount of killers/survivors so they don’t exactly. match up. plus i didn’t actually do a thorough analysis on veronika, rose, eden, teruko, etc so i’m probably going to have to go through those if i genuinely feel like doing a proper death order. (something is telling me rose and veronika are both going to get significant character development though, especially in the later chapters. we don’t have too much information on either of them yet (moreso veronika than rose) so i’m kinda waiting until we get more scenes to make assumptions about those two in particular)

but in summary:

j might die this chapter, arturo’s going to get significant character development as a result

no matter what, charwhit is absolutely doomed and one of them is going to die in the third chapter while the other is a survivor

hu will probably die in the third chapter, leading the conflict between nico and ace to escalate and reach a climax during the fourth chapter

(of course, this is assuming drdt follows traditional danganronpa and has a double murder during the third chapter. i’m not too much of a fan of the trope myself, but for the sake of organization)

nico and levi, who ace has the most personal (mostly negative) emotions towards at the current moment, will probably die during the fourth chapter leading ace to have an existential crisis and get character development (and will have to navigate his way to the end)

david is a non-traditional antag so he might die during chapter 5, but i personally see it more ironic and fitting to see him survive until the end seeing his current emotions and character

anyways.

i know there’s a lot of you who are significantly better at analyzing certain characters than i ever could so please please don’t hesitate to correct me if there’s an assumption i made that’s incorrect, and/or if you have anything i said that you could refute

plus i didn’t like. rewatch the entire series to make this i just had a long train of thought and searched for certain scenes that fit the most to what i was saying even if my assumptions weren’t correct

and as always. take this all with a grain of salt

(no but seriously, feel free to voice your opinions on this as well! i’ll definitely listen to them)

[impulsivesuperrobin]

i saw a post talking about neverafter slander on twitter so i went to check it out

here are some thoughts: (keep in mind, i’m not calling anyone out or saying your opinion isn’t valid if you agree with one of these points. try to read this as a light hearted discussion, like talking about a book with a friend)

a lot of it is people saying the season wasn’t horror enough and while i agree it’s not exactly as straightforward horror as the marketing suggested i think that that’s a take that is fundamentally misunderstanding what this is. it’s the horror season of dimension 20 which is a d&d show first and foremost. it’s not going to be following the beats of a horror movie because that’s not what they’re doing. when you run a horror campaign you fold in horror elements which they have been excellent at doing especially in the eldritch and existential categories

not to make assumptions but it seems to me that a lot of people making a big fuss about this haven’t played d&d for themselves. the things i have seen suggested the most for making the season more in line with the horror people were expecting involves turning the campaign into a more dm vs players situation (which is joked about a lot in fandom but in more of a meta humor way than is being suggested). this is something that anyone who has ever played in a bad campaign knows makes it a hell of a lot less fun to play and, i’m assuming, not so fun to watch either. the point of playing d&d is to work together to tell a story, if you go into to making a campaign with the goal of making your players lose, everyone is going to be miserable and your story is going to suck.

following that, some people are ragging on brennan for forgetting details and not having the lore entirely fleshed out. as someone who does unnecessary worldbuilding for homebrew campaigns every single time, i would just like to say on behalf of dms everywhere: it’s hard! there’s so much stuff to keep track of and so little time to keep the lore straight if you want the session to keep moving smoothly, i’m sure it’s even harder when you have a limited time to film the episodes/season

and maybe it’s just me, but i love horror movies (and other media) and neverafter is about as scary as most horror movies i’ve seen. it’s definitely better written than a lot of horror movies, we get to know the characters and are fully invested in them when bad things happen. it’s sort of on the level as the hellraiser reboot imo. some people make the point that besides the body horror, there’s not enough gore/blood kinda stuff, but i think gore isn’t truly horror, especially in a spoken format. it’s more of a shock factor thing, like a verbal jumpscare

and i’ve seen people saying that the pcs are too much like heroes/they’re too capable to be in any real danger, but in a horror movie, most of the bad things happen around the protagonist(s), they’re still thrown into the shit but most of the time they make it out. horror as a genre is so ill-defined anyway that people still debate if slashers and thrillers even count. plus, how many times in a movie has a side character been forgotten or something about the lore has been off? and that’s with multiple people overseeing the production.

jumping away from the “it’s not like the horror movie i envisioned” complaints, i’ve also seen a lot of people say it’s confusing??? and tbh i’m more confused about that than the campaign. to me it’s pretty straightforward, no more confusing than starstruck at the very least.

for the big picture: it’s different factions of people with conflicting (but occasionally overlapping) goals than all need to get to macguffin in order to reach whichever goal they’re aligned with

the pcs have their own character arcs which are very clearly laid out throughout the season

the minute details are there because that’s how you make your world feel lived in

and yeah, there’s a lot of potential in the stuff they could’ve done but didn’t. but i feel like that’s the whole point, y’know? this is the story they did tell, and the thousands of other ways they could’ve told the story live on like every retelling of a fairytale.

[happypeaceperson]

Long story short

Ethan landry x male reader

MAJOR SCREAM 6 SPOILERS!!

Takes place during the subway/theatre scenes. I only read over this once because i wrote it last night and only did a quick check so if there's any mistakes I apologise!!

You whispered a curse. You, Mindy and Ethan just missed the train that the others got on. Great, you thought. You stood looking around. You catch eye's with Mindy and she begins to walk away from Ethan. You loved Ethan, you truly did,but with everything that has happened you couldn't trust him. You wanted to trust him so badly. He just made it difficult, especially because no one had checked his alibi for where he was during their attack in the apartment. 

You looked at Ethan next,he gave you a sorry look. He looked hurt. It hurt you as much to turn away from him when the next train came in. You stood at the opposite end. Away from Mindy. Away from Ethan. Ethan stood in the middle, you felt his eyes on you. He probably didn't want you to get hurt, but it still made you feel uneasy. You took out your phone, looking down and seeing two messages. One was from the group chat, Mindy had told the others about your situation. The second was from Mindy as well, privately. 

"Your stalker psycho boyfriend won't take his eyes off you. Watch your back." 

You stared at the screen. Not sure what to think. Ethan wouldn't hurt you, never. He loved you as much as you loved him. He practically asked you out first. He would never wish death on you. Atleast, you hoped he wouldn't. You only really knew him for a few months.

"i'm sure I'll be fine, thanks" 

You felt that the message came off a bit passive aggressively but you sent it anyway. You didn't want to bother with assumptions anymore. You wanted this over with. 

You put your phone away, looking around the subway. Everyone was dressed up. Amazing. A perfect place for a killer to hide. You met eyes with someone in a ghostface costume. You felt weirded out by it. Their eye contact didn't come off of you. The lights began to flicker. You just stood there, fear holding you down. You probably should have gone to Ethan or Mindy but you hadn't thought of that. 

The figure got up in between the flickers of the lights. Each time it grew closer. Your heart was pounding. It stood behind a group of people, they were too close for comfort. The lights went out again, as you closed your eyes. You felt something grab you. You jumped in fear. You opened your eyes, meeting with Ethans. You felt yourself calming down. 

"Hey, I think we should talk" Ethan held onto your shoulder. 

You pointed in front of you. "You didn't see that?" you shook your hand, still pointing towards where you last saw Ghostface. 

Ethan turned around. "No?" he looked back, you wanted to say he looked confused,but he had a look of determination or anger. Like he had been betrayed. "See what?" he continued to hold onto your shoulder. 

"The fucking person in a ghostface costume coming towards me." Your hand was still pointing, your heart was still pounding. Ethan grabbed your arm. It was shaking. The train began to slow down. You remembered Mindy had been on the opposite side. You looked at Ethan."Shit." You started to run through the people. Ethan calling out to you to come back. 

You reached where Mindy was. She was on the ground, hand on her stomach. She'd been stabbed. You ran towards her shouting her name. Mindy looked up at you. "They fucking got me Y/N. I guess your boyfriend isn't what we thought he was." Ethan rushed in, his eyes widened at the sight. 

You asked Ethan to help pick Mindy up. You carried her and sat her down by a pillar. Your hand is still on her wound. You kept telling her she's going to be ok. Ethan began shouting for help. His hand on your back. Paramedics came rushing over. Ethan pulled you away from Mindy when they got here. You stood there looking at them helping your friend. You felt Ethan leaning in. 

"I'll be back" He whispered to you before heading up the stairs. You turned back seeing how much of a rush he was in. You decided Mindy had enough support in case ghostface was still here. You ran after Ethan. Your eyes watered thinking he was a part of this. Why else would he rush away? You reached the entrance of the old theatre. Remembering that the others had locked the elevator to prevent any escapes. 

You went around looking for any sort of opening. You're eye's spotted a door. Behind it there were stairs leading down. You went down, entering into the back of some room. You slowly opened the door hearing shouting. You looked in. Ethan was in some robe. You released a breath in shock, noticing the mask and knife in his hands. You looked at who he was arguing with. Your heart dropped. There was no way. You saw her die. She couldn't be alive. You froze in shock at the sight of Quinn. Anger began to rise in you. 

"Why did you go to attack Y/N?" You looked at Ethans face, it was filled with pure rage. 

Quinn's face scrunched in anger. Ethan continued "You know I told you to go for Mindy. So Y/N would see me help her and knock me off his suspect list." 

Quinn continued to look at Ethan. "I'm sorry" Her face changed from anger to sorrow. "Dad ordered me too. He knew what we planned for the subway. He told me to go straight for Y/N, he never trusted Y/N, he wanted him gone." Ethans face portrayed such anger, sadness and betrayal. He gritted his teeth. His breaths come out in waves of frustration. 

"Fuck him." Ethan put in the mask. Quinn reached out to grab his arm. 

Her face looked confused. "Are you really going to do this?" she looked into the mask's eyes. All he did was nod. "Ok. I'll be right behind you." She rubbed his shoulder. They walked out together. You didn't know how to process this. You couldn't believe Ethan was terrorising your friends. Did he really kill Anika? He wouldn't. He loved her. They were so close. Why would he want her dead?

You felt yourself begin to cry. You didn't know why you were. You still stood in the same space. Suddenly there was a gunshot. Then another. You ran out of the room. Running down through some stairs that were hidden. You reached a room. It looked like a room in a theatre where you would get your snacks. You looked at the ground. 

You rushed over to the person that lay there. He was bleeding. You examined his body, looking at the many stab wounds. "Chad?" You shook him slightly, not wanting to move him too much incase you injure him more. "Chad come on" He was still breathing, it was slow and laboured but he still showed signs of staying alive. You heard talking outside the door. It sounded like the Detective. You remembered how Quinn spoke to Ethan, mentioning her dad like he was Ethan's as well. You looked back at Chad. This was too much for you. You didn't know what to do. 

"Chad I'll be back, I promise" You got up, not knowing how to feel. You pushed the door open. Seeing the detective stand on the stage. He mentioned someone called Richie. You had no idea who this was,but from the look on Sam and Tara's face you guessed they did. They were being circled by Quinn and Ethan. 

You listened to what the detective was talking about. "There's a very special bond between a Father and his first son." You looked at Ethan, he looked hurt. This confirmed your suspicions. His dad was the detective. You couldn't believe it. Your thoughts were cut short when the detective noticed you standing at the side. He turned to Quinn, a disappointed look on his face. Ethan turned. His face dropped. You could tell he didn't want you seeing him like this. Sam and Tara shouted for you to run. You didn't know what to do. Bailey ordered Ethan to go after you. Ethan stood there still looking at you. You looked at him, tears streaming down your face. 

The detective raised his gun. You heard him call Ethan worthless before he began to shoot at you. You ran behind cover. You heard Ethan shouting no. You heard more shots, followed by Tara's screams. Suddenly you saw someone beside you. It was Ethan. He was about to say something before you saw someone smash a brick against his head. Sam kicked him down to the ground. She turned to you, reaching for your hand. She took you away, running towards a ladder Tara began to climb. "Did you kill him?" You questioned. 

"I hope so." Sam said. She looked different. Like anger had consumed her. She stopped running. Quinn stood in front of you two. She held her knife out. Her eye's showed signs of guilt. You moved in front of Sam,holding your hands out. "Quinn. Look, it's ok." you began to walk towards her. She backed away, her hand shook. "You can get out of this. Kirby is with the FBI she can help you and Ethan. I promise" She was shaking her head, eye's watering. 

She looked beside you. "Watch out!" She shouted. You looked over. Detective Bailey stood there with his gun aimed at Sam. Sam's eyes widened in fear. Before the detective could shoot you saw someone tackle him. It was Ethan. You heard the gun shoot. You all ducked. Sam looked up, seeing dust fall from where the bullet hit. She looked over at you. Shouting for you to climb the ladder. Your eyes lay on Ethan. He stabbed his father's shoulder shaking with rage. The detective used the end of his gun and slapped it across Ethans head. 

You heard Quinn scream before she ran over. Ethan lay on the floor. He turned in pain. Bailey kicked him. "You were always my least favourite son." He held the gun out,pointing it towards Ethan. He didn't get time to shoot before Quinn stuck her knife into his back. He screeched in pain. She dug it in further. You ran over. Grabbing Ethan and helping him up. You guided him to the ladder. Ushering him to go first. Tara stood at the top. Shouting at you all to hurry. 

Sam was the first to the ladder. She got up and looked down at you helping Ethan. She then looked over at Quinn, she stood over her father. her free hand clenched while the other held her knife. Sam stood at the edge of the balcony for a second. She knew these were your friends and saw how much you cared for them. Sam saw the detective's hand resting on his gun. She shouted out to Quinn to leave him. Quinn turned, looking over at the ladder. She saw Ethan begin to climb. She looked back at her dad before running towards Y/N. 

"You go first." You looked at her pointing towards the ladder. She nodded as she began to climb. You watched as Ethan began to climb over the railing. You sighed in relief. You began to climb up when you saw Quinn teach the top. Quinn got to the other side, Sam helping her over. Ethan called out to you to hurry. You reached the top of the ladder and began to climb over the railing of the balcony. Suddenly you felt a pain in your leg after a loud bang. This caused you to lose your footing and slip. You heard your friends call out for you. You felt a grip on your arm, it was Ethan.

 "I've got you." he looked at you. Everyone else looked in fear as the detective aimed directly at you. They heard another shot. Tara covered her eyes. They saw Ethan pull you over. You grabbed at your leg. 

"Who the fuck shot?" Sam asked, running to the ledge. She looked over to see Kirby standing up. She had been shot by Bailey before the ghostfaces revealed themselves, and lay in the back for most of the interaction. She provided a thumbs up. Sam looked back. Seeing Ethan holding onto you. Quinn rushed over to join in on the hug. Sam looked at Tara. Tara stared at her "Friends". She didn't know what to call them anymore. You looked up at the others when you all heard talking. It was the cops and paramedics. 

They brought you all out. Ethan and Quinn stuck by your side. You sat in the back of an ambulance. Ethan held a Ice pack to his head after having a brick and gun slammed into it. You saw Mindy walk up to the group. You limped over hugging her. "Thank fuck you're ok" you said. 

"Who were the killers this time?" She asked, looking at you all. You pointed behind you at Quinn and Ethan. "I fucking knew it." She looked at them than looked at you with a confused look. 

You laughed. "To keep it short, Bailey was the killer along with them two, but Ethan and Quinn turned on him and helped us escape." you explained. "We can go into more detail later." 

"The detective? Oh my god, how did I not guess that." Mindy slapped her head. You both turned when you heard Tara shout Chad's name. He was alive. Mindy ran over to him. You went back towards Ethan and Quinn. There were FBI agents talking to them. You went to go over to Ethan, one of the agents putting his arm in front of you to stop you from interacting with them. You looked at him and then Ethan. Ethan was staring at the ground, Quinns arm around him resting her head on his shoulder. 

You sighed, not wanting to cause any trouble. You took one last look at Ethan. He looked up at you. His eyes were glossy. This made your heart sting. You could tell how much he regretted this. Paramedics came over to you, bringing you to an ambulance. You sat in it. You hoped Ethan and Quinn would be ok. You promised yourself to get them out of this. You had to. You loved Ethan. You always will. 

[nothorses]

sorry to bring this to your inbox but i got nowhere else to bring it and i need a yell. I was going through the transgender tag for more information on the CEO's transmisogyny debacle and came across a post that started out by stating that transmisogyny has been on the rise on tumblr as a whole; reasonable and true. but they started their list of examples with "1. The entire concept of transandrophobia" and I just.

What the goddamn hell is wrong with you*? (not YOU you THEM you) Why the fuck are you throwing your trans brothers under the bus for the actions of a pissbaby CEO? There's a wave of false reports and deletions - TARGETING TRANS WOMEN - and your response is to try and shift the target to transmascs for... talking about their experiences? Your response to outside harassment is to try and spark more infighting? What's your fucking problem????? We need to be coming TOGETHER not picking a fucking target to spit on!!! Christ alive. And people wonder how it's so easy for terfs to turn us against each other. God.

Ok rant over thanks for listening

I just want to challenge your wording here a little bit; did you check this person's blog and how they identify? Do you know if they're a trans woman, a trans man, nonbinary, etc.? Even what they might have said on their blog about how they identify should be scrutinized- we don't actually know who this person is, and they could for sure be lying. It's really, really useful for people outside of our communities who want to stir shit up to pretend they're not outsiders at all.

The post you're describing is horrible either way, and you're 100% right that it's stirring up harmful infighting. I think it's really easy to see that kind of thing and think, "oh my god, people are falling for it! they're actually fighting each other now!!"

It's a scary thing to see, and it's incredibly hard to ask critical questions when we're afraid, or otherwise emotionally activated like that. And there's nothing wrong with being emotionally activated, either; of course you are! That's some really hateful, really wrong, and really dangerous shit! Sentiments just like that one have caused so much harm to our community, and so much harm directly to individual, vulnerable people- probably people you know. Certainly people I know.

But it's reactions from that state of emotional activation that lead to the success of these kinds of infighting campaigns. We get activated, we make assumptions and act from that activated place, other people get activated and do the same, and the cycle continues.

What's worse, you're the only person who saw the post in question; I can only react to what you're telling me. I can't go look at the post, check OP's blog, and answer any critical questions about the nature of the situation. I have no way of knowing whether this person might be transfem, or just a TERF trying to stir shit up. I don't even know if the OP was an anon ask sent to someone else. I don't know how many notes the post got, or how big OP's audience is; I can't really conceptualize the amount of harm the post has done. I don't know if anyone has debunked it in the notes, or if OP has since posted an update denouncing that original sentiment.

Again, that's not to invalidate your emotional response, or even really question how honest you're being here. For all I know, you did check all of those things, and this is worse than I think it is. It certainly seems pretty realistic to me, just based on my own experiences with these kinds of conversations.

I just want to push back on that wording a little bit because like... as much as it is a real problem that a lot of transfems really firmly believe that Transmascs Talking About Cis People Being Transphobic To Us is the most serious & urgent form of transmisogyny facing the transfem community today, it's also a real problem that transmacs will jump on that same line of thinking in an effort to paint themselves as "one of the good ones".

Cis women will often throw transmascs under the bus in the same way in order to avoid Cis Guilt, oftentimes avoiding talking about their cis positionalities- which leads people to assume that, because they're talking about trans issues so much, they must be trans themselves! Which, again, perpetuates this illusion that "the trans community is full of infighting" and that much more dangerous to various trans people.

(Granted, this is a complicated issue; I don't think it's wrong for cis people to talk about these things, and I don't think trans people should have to out themselves in order to do so, either- but I have absolutely seen this pattern taken advantage of by hateful anons, TERFs, radfems, and cis women who revel in being called "honorary trans women" for bashing transmascs frequently enough.)

Is this post demonstrating the success of cis people's efforts to stir up infighting in the trans community, or is it just an example of cis people trying to stir up infighting? And if you know it's the former, how do I know? How do all of my followers know? Is it better to understand it as one vs. the other?

I'm sorry this got so long and off-topic; I'm sure this isn't what you were looking for when you sent me this ask, and I'm sorry for criticizing your wording over providing the emotional reassurance you probably needed a lot more than this. And also, I do feel a responsibility to think about the people reading asks before I think about the people sending them (particularly if they're on anon), and I felt this was the message that most needed to be received from anything I could say in response. I hope you're able to find the emotional reassurance you need regardless, and I appreciate you bringing this to me in the first place. 💙

[ilikekidsshows]

Rewatched Ephemeral after so long somehow made me realise that Marinette was even worse in it than I already thought.

Gurl really deceived Cat Noir into revealing himself to 2 other people without his consent by lying to him that she cares about knowing if something were to happen to him in his real life (somethings she never ever again cares about, she only did it here to use it against him and planned to immediately take that care away from him again)

and then Marinette had the audacity to act the next in-episode weeks like her feeling COMFORTABLE to reveal herself to him has any fucking business being a priority.

What the fuck am i supposed to call her in that episode besides selfish and inconsidered? She does the worst shit to him and then expects everything to make sure she's comfortable. Marinette is so selfish, I cant believe this is being sold as "unmatched female empowerment" to impressionable children. No wonder her stans are delusional bullies

---

Marinette stans love to ignore what Marinette does in Ephemeral because it’s an erased timeline, while hypocritically being totally okay with justifying Marinette’s lying to Adrien because of Adrien’s bad reactions to the truth in erased timelines. The thing with this defense, though, is that it’s just the writers covering their own asses. “We wrote Adrien reacting this way twice to justify our decision to remove him from the finale and keep him from finding out anything he has a right to know about anything.” It should have no bearing on anything that happens in-universe, because, as far as the characters know, it didn’t happen.

Marinette can’t remember the erased timelines, so her not telling these things to Adrien because “he’s too emotional” or “he would react too badly” would all be her assumptions based on Adrien’s everyday behavior that she’s seen, where he’s proven himself repeatedly to be patient, reasonable and well put together. We can’t be 100% sure of Marinette’s in-universe motivations, because it’s not like she’s said to herself: “I need to keep Adrien in the dark because he’d be so sad otherwise!” But her defenders love to claim she was totally selflessly wanting Adrien to be happy when she denied him the information he needs to keep himself safe and alive as a “fragile existence”.

I shouldn't be so surprised that the Marinette stans ignore everything she did wrong in an alternate timeline; they ignore everything she does wrong in the canon timeline too. And that’s the really annoying thing about Ephemeral: the writers knew from the get-go that everything that happens in the episode was going to be erased, so they didn’t care about how the events of that timeline made Marinette look. I used to think, way back when I saw Cat Blanc, that Gabriel was out of character, he hadn’t jumped off the morality slope enough yet for what he did to be fully believable to me, especially since the episode was written for season 2. But, in the end, it didn’t really matter that much, even if fans accepted that as his new characterization in the retool specifically because of this episode, because it was just an erased timeline, it didn’t actually happen.

The writers don’t care about consistency too much normally, either, but the timeline nonsense episodes are even worse, because the writers have this mentality of “it will be undone by the end of the episode, so it doesn’t matter what anyone does as long as the things we want to happen do happen.” That’s why Marinette is absolutely heinous in Ephemeral; the writers and the fans who happily accept anything the writers do don’t care about the morality of our main hero in a timeline that’s gonna get erased anyway, because that means she didn’t “really” do any of it, even though she totally did and the only reason she didn’t do it a second time around was because the timeline started collapsing when she was about to do what she planned to do. Marinette had no realization about how she should stand by her partner or talk to him like a human being with Su Han’s demands, she’s just making all decisions for everyone because she’s the daughter of the creator of the universe so that’s her right because she is always right and has never failed at anything ever because she’s just so perfect and Su Han bows down to her god-given right to rule over NPCs like him.

Also, like, even the whole “I know Cat Noir’s identity but I can only tell him mine when I’m comfortable,” thing is something she does again, or at least a very close approximate. After she starts dating Adrien, Adrien showers her with affection, and her being “unable” to reciprocate because she’s so “uncomfortable” is played for laughs or sympathy. I criticized Marinette before she got to that point for the fact that she can’t manage the bare minimum of showing and telling the people she likes and wants around that she does, indeed, like them and want them around. It’s all about her and what she’s comfortable with, not about how her loved ones have to just blindly believe she cares about them when her actions show that she can’t be bothered because she’s too busy with herself.

It’s so stupid and makes Marinette come across as completely unbalanced. Because, what here, exactly, is making Marinette so “uncomfortable”? In both of these situations, she holds all the cards, she knows Cat Noir’s secret identity, she knows without a doubt that Adrien loves her, but she can’t manage to be vulnerable and reciprocate because she’s such a control freak that she can’t even manage to let go of that desire for control with the person she claims to love and wants to spend the rest of her life with, and both times he’s just meant to take it and accept it with no complaint because Marinette is just so stressed out and uncomfortable.

[razorblade180]

Story Quest drama

Does anyone else find it incredibly weird how many Genshin fans are upset with Paimon and Traveler after Furina’s quest? Like the way people are cherry picking certain parts of scenes and misrepresenting the situation is astounding. I’m not going to pretend Paimon and Traveler didn’t throw a couple jabs but for the majority of back of forth is just banter and the common bluntness they bring. In no way were they trying to gaslight or manipulate Furina.

Furina said she didn’t want to join on stage. Paimon asked if there were any exceptions, and Furina say she didn’t want to leave an out for herself. Hearing that, they immediately pivot the conversation to asking her if she knows anyone who could help. That is literally workshopping a problem 101 and constructive problem solving. I don’t get why people are painting that as pressuring. They heard her stance and seeked a solution that respected her decision and allowed them to continue trying to help their employer.

Furina punches down on herself by saying she didn’t know anyone because they were probably happy she was gone; to which one of the dialogue options boils down to “that’s not a good to assume” because it isn’t. Paimon’s next question was if she had any idea, which causes Furina to get agitated before immediately apologizing because once again, Paimon’s question wasn’t in any way trying to get Furina to buckle. The two of them are essentially checking of a mental list to see where they should go to try solve their commission. Paimon even clarifies this with her before they part ways and Paimon says “Oh well. We have to respect her decision”

Even when they get back to the guild, Paimon tells them for personal reasons, Furina can’t help; as well as clarifying the misconceptions the actress had about Furina being rude. In no way were the duo planning on circling back or involving Furina any further and only gets roped back in after getting caught spying. Furina herself admits she just started drawing lines in the sand without hearing the situation before trying to apologize, to which Paimon tells her everything is completely fine and nothing that just happened was taken personally. You could argue Furina didn’t have anything to apologize for and that’s fine, but even in game, nobody was expecting one and told her everything is fine.

Tiny rant but it’s a bit annoying how people are quick to clip certain dialogue to paint them negatively, while completely ignoring the parts Paimon and the Traveler actively tell Furina she shouldn’t be so hard on herself, it’s okay not to force things, and talking about how she’s finally free to live how she wants. But they want clip the part where Paimon said she first thought Furina was diva; a sane assumption to have after she tried immediately getting them arrested on a ridiculous charge for the sake of hyping the crowd. Was it a little rude? Yeah. Has Paimon never called it like she saw it? No. We’ve heard Kaveh’s backstory and both her and the traveler still went “You should really try and get your life together before something happens” because it’s the blunt yet honest truth. If isn’t Diluc, Klee, Xiao, Ayaka, Yoimiya, Dehya, or Collei, Paimon will find an issue. The others can do no wrong. 💀

Anyway, I just think it’s a bit ridiculous how some people acting. Especially when several weeks ago Furina and “girl failure” was always in the same sentence while people applauded Arlecchino for dragging someone when ultimately she also didn’t know dick about the situation and basically did a gymnastics performance the way she jumped to certain conclusions. I love that people love Furina, but let’s not get crazy now when two people choose to approach her in a casual dynamic instead of super gently and emphatically. If anything, Furina is getting the normal human experience of having people that actually hate her in Poisson, the troupe idolizing her, Neuvillette and Navia being sweet, and the Traveler and Paimon being casual friends.

You know what’s actually insane!? Shenhe talking about her dead family and backstory then the scene ends with Paimon saying “cut the chitchat. We’re trying to win a contest.” THAT was actually out of pocket. 💀

[alcoris-shiz]

The Apple Falls Far From The Tree

A/N: So this is a series I'm writing, not sure if I'll release more parts because it was a coping series for me. The rundown on why you may not want to read later parts is because there is Non-Con/R@p3 for the storyline. But I'll make it skippable, you can just skip chapter 2 and won't have to read any of it.

｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ~ Master List~ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

Chapter 1: His Dear Doe

Overall Description: (Mentions of R@p3) As the child of Lucifer, heir to the throne of Hell, and badass with a badass boyfriend, people normally know not to mess with you. But Adam has other plans, he has a friend in Hell (Didn’t think he was capable of that? Me neither, but this guy helped him- if you’re wondering, it was Striker). He decides he’s gonna make his mark. During the fight you get caught and used, left there but he doesn’t want you dead. He brags about what he did to your boyfriend on the roof convincing you he was dead. He goes back to fighting bragging about what he had done to you, causing Lucifer and Charlie to go feral. Getting stabbed by Niffty doesn’t stop the fact that he left his mark when you fell pregnant. Lucifer gives you a million chances to abort the baby, but you have a chance that it is Alastor’s. When you have twins they come out looking like complete opposites. But raising them in the hotel is what you think will ensure that they are safe.

Chapter Description: The night before the big extermination, you and Alastor have a nice evening together.

~ SMUT (❤️ ω ❤️) ~

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

Y/N POV

I sat against the balcony, glancing next to me to my partner. He glanced back at me and his smile softened. “My Deerling, what’s got you all tight?” he asked softly scooting closer to me. I sighed, stupid deer always could read me best. I leaned over as he put up his finger, “Tis Tis, Mon Cheri- Don’t you think I could get an answer before you try to seduce me?” He whispered before scooting back. I giggled and smiled at him softly, “It’s nothing my love, I’m just worried about tomorrow. My sister has worked so hard for this, she has to win, I have to make sure of it.” 

I heard static before my partner hummed, “Well how about we focus on tonight? I’ll court you, then when we can perhaps… make an occasion out of the celebration tomorrow?” I giggled and nodded, looking up at him. I felt as his hand grabbed my waist and yanked me tight against his hip. “Well, what do you say we get out of here while the night is still young, my doe.” I looked up at him and blushed. “Do you mean… actual like… sex?” I whispered the last word. I saw his smile widen and his eyes go dark. “Who said anything about that my Dear! Unless that’s what you want?” I paused and looked down at our friends and my sister talking to each other, distracted.

“We’ve never… I always assumed you weren’t into that.” He grunted and looked at me with an irked smile. “My doe, if I didn’t know any better, that sounds like you thought I wouldn’t bed you.” I felt his claws dig into my waist and I whimpered.

“I just had made the wrong assumptions my love. I would love nothing more than that.” I swear his smile widened. “Well, great! Then first, as talked about over the last year, I would love to give you a gift, but it is downstairs!” he said happily as he picked up my hand and kissed my knuckles gently. He led me downstairs and he brought me over to where our friends and family stood. My father had even joined us tonight at the request of Charlie. 

Charlie spotted us and jumped up excitedly getting strange looks from the other company. I looked at her and laughed as she handed something to Alastor who bowed and thanked her. “What are you two up to? Should I be worried?” I asked as I faced Charlie, she shook her head and pointed behind me. I turned and saw Alastor on one knee, holding a box with a ring inside. I covered my mouth, shocked. “My dear doe, would you do me the honor of marrying me?” he asked softly looking at me with a soft smile. “Yes! Of course, I’ll marry you, I don’t know how I could say no,” I  said as he slipped the ring on my finger and kissed my knuckles slowly and up my arm as he stood. 

“What? My baby is getting married?!” I heard my dad shout. I turned around to see none other than the big boss of hell himself, I smiled and nodded hugging him. He picked me up and spun me as everyone else came and congratulated us. I giggled as I felt a familiar hand grasp my waist. I leaned into it as I was pulled against Alastors chest. “My dear, I think it’s time just the two of us go celebrate our engagement,” he whispered into my ear, breathing slowly down my neck. I shuddered as he spun me towards him and handed me a glass of champagne. “Mmm anything for you my love,” I whispered. 

(AFAB written Smut)

I groaned as I felt my back slam on the bed. I looked up at Alastor as he undressed himself slowly. I smiled at him and raised my arms above my head, his smile went dark as he slipped off his underwear finally. 

“My Darling Doe, be a doll and spread your legs for me.” I did as told and spread myself open for him, I reach down and spread open my pussy for him to see. I watched his face seemingly go out of character as he seemed to short-circuit like Vox. I giggled and spread my legs farther. 

“Come on, please Dear Future Husband, why wait and make me take this torture? I’m ready for you,” I beckoned him with my finger and I watched as he slowly got his senses back and crawled on the bed towards me. I gasped as I felt his claw circle my pussy, slowly pushing a digit inside of me. I moaned wantonly and pushed my hips up into his hand. He leaned down and our lips met, kissing passionately I smiled into the kiss.

Finger after finger made work into my pussy as I groaned softly each time, him slowly working me open. He smiled and pulled out while I whimpered, giving him a kicked puppy look. “Oh Darling Dear, please, I’ll be making work of you soon.” I whimpered again as he made his work between my legs, spreading me open like a flimsy doll. He slipped his cock into my pussy and slowly pushed in.

“Oh Dear, you feel so tight around me… such a good little toy I have.” He groaned as he rutted into me repeatedly. I pushed against his cock and he rutted into me, this caused him to let out a loud moan. I felt him shove into me again, I let out a scream and reached up grabbing onto his antlers. I felt him stop and look at me, his face now dark and scary. But I had a feeling, he wasn’t going to hurt me. “Oh my little doe, don’t you know better than to mess with me in such a manner by now?” he said smirking before grabbing my hips and slamming himself into me again and again with no stop insight. I was flipped onto my stomach as he raised my ass and shoved his cock back into my pussy. “Now my dear doe,” I grunted out still going at an inhumane pace, turning my cervix into mush. “I’m going to breed you, my pretty little thing. I’m going to breed you so everyone knows who you belong to. I will make sure that you are marked so well, you’ll look so pretty with all my markings all over you my little doe,” I whimpered and nodded my head. “Yes sir, I’m all yours Alastor, please knock me up,” I whimpered as he fucked me harder. “Oh my doe, of course, I’ll knock you up. All pretty with MY baby,” he growled into my ear. I nodded as he reached down and rubbed my clit quickly, just enough to vibrate lowly. I moaned out quietly. “Tsk my dearest, I said I wanted to hear you screaming my name tonight and I believe that is what I will be getting.”

He slowly pulled out until only the tip rested inside me and paused, “What’s my name dearest?” Alastor asked, voice low and quiet next to my ear. I felt as he slowly reached his hand up to my hair and yanked. “Al-ASTOR- Ah fuck! Alastor Sir!” I screamed, he gave a low chuckle and pulled my head to look over my shoulder at him. “Good job baby, would you like to face me while I finish in you?” I whimpered thinking about him filling me. “Wanna face you Alastor Sir,” I whimpered while he smiled. “Good little doe, you gonna cum soon?” he asked softly and rubbed my face. “Don’t know sir,” he chuckled and let out another tsk. “Would you, want me to try my hand at… getting you off?” I gave a quizzical look but nodded slowly. I felt him slip out and groaned. “Shush now Y/N,” he whispered and laid me on my back. I felt his lips meet mine, kissing softly he nuzzled me softly. “Alastor, wh- Ahhh,” he had made his way down, leaning down to suck on my clit. I gasped and writhed under him. I felt myself going to buck into his mouth but he quickly placed his hands on my hips and held them down. “Dear little doe, let me make you remember this as the best night of your life,” he chuckled. “Yessss Alastor~” his tongue prodded before fucking me roughly with it. He sucked and licked until I felt myself getting close, “Alastor- if you don’t stop I’m gonna cum!” I screamed. He fucked me roughly and I felt my stomach coil. “Cum my little doe,” I screamed his name and felt myself release all over his face. “My my darling doe, making such a mess,” he said chuckling as he licked his lips. He sat up and rammed his cock into me with no warning. I groaned and whimpered as he fucked me roughly, slamming his dick in me. “Beg for me to release in you little doe, I wanna hear you,” he grunted smiling sharply at me. I whimpered and began to beg, “Fuck me, cum in me. Fill me with your baby, fill me, and mark me as yours. I’m yours Alastor, all yours.” 

“Oh- fuck” I heard loud static before whimpering, my release shocking both myself and him. I came gripping his cock with my pussy while he groaned. “My little doe, you’re... So tight-” He moaned loudly and came in me, filling me load after load. I whimpered as he collapsed down, softly kissing my neck and shoulder. Leaving a few nibbles that I was sure would show up later on as bruises.

“Thank you Alastor, that was the best night of my life so far,” I whispered nuzzling him. I felt his mouth turn and a smile rise more. “There will be much for my little doe in the future, that is of course a promise.” I smiled as sat up, his cock slipping out. I went to complain but was met with his lips against mine. “Now hush, aftercare is the most important part of lovemaking.” Alastor said with a chuckle. I watched him leave and return quickly, “I have a bath running my dearest if you’d allow me to show you the way,” I giggled as he lifted me bridal style. “Afterwards, a massage and the finest cuddles for you my dear doe.” he said brightly.

“Al?” I asked softly as he carried me to the bathroom. “Hm?” he hummed. “Thank you, for everything. Being my everything. I love you.” I whispered.

“No, my dear, thank you for allowing me to call you my doe. For letting me care, thank you Y/N. I love you very much as well.” He whispered and placed me in the bathtub gently. Warm water engulfed me and was topped off by him slipping behind me. I leaned against him as he wrapped his arms around me. Both of us sighing contently together, we chuckled in response. Just enjoying the moment

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

Word Count: 1,849 A/N: Last warning, chapter 2 contains material that will make people uncomfortable, it'll be obvious what happened in the 3rd part so if I do upload it understand you can skip it if you wanna keep reading. Much love darling~ 🩷

[rocksibblingsau]

Hi!! When I saw the posts of @isabel3710 and @crunchycoookies About Country Branch and his accent, the question arose: Do your rock trolls have any accents in particular? Do they have any particular linguistic characteristics?

Sorry if my question is too long or too specific. Have a nice rest and take care of yourself.

Rock Trolls canonically have varied accents, which I'm keeping in the fic! There's a mix of American and British accents, and Petra has an Australian accent. I think it's a really neat extension of just how varied rock music is compared to the other genres.

They talk very informally most of the time, with some exceptions like Demo (whose manner of speaking is similar to Classical Trolls at times). Formal talk like addressing people as sir/ma'am or speaking 'properly' (less slang, fully enunciating words) is more likely to be used sarcastically. For example if you didn't know Demo and you heard him refer to you as m'lady, as a rock troll you'd probably assume he was making fun of you. I imagine Val has to intervene a lot for him and tell people he just talks like that.

Culturally I imagine Rock Trolls would have issues trying to communicate with Classical and Country (who I imagine while they can also be informal, also have manners towards strangers) and they'd both need to not jump to assumptions during conversations.

Don't be sorry, I love questions like these!