#i'm going shopping with this girl and i can only imagine the makeup she's going to put me through help

[livinginshambles]

Not ridiculous at all | James Potter

Pairing: James Potter x fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.5k

Summary: You are part of the marauders, always having felt special when they called you part of the gang, but also consequently too embarrassed to admit to wanting to be more feminine, afraid that they would no longer deem you cool enough to hang out with you. You are hurt by James' comments and James might realise something when you're avoiding him.

Notes: Best friend!James, he's a bit stupid, Lily is a sweet friend, arguments, so maybe a little angsty, but not really, classic cliche tropes like friends to lovers, misunderstandings, pining (I literally just dreamt this so it's a bit patchy) and I know it's very stereotypical but that's why it's just fanfiction :)

(PS) I haven't written before, just wanted to get this out of my system. English is my third language, and this fic is not proofread because I'm way too lazy for that! Enjoy!

Part two Masterlist

__________________

You've grown up with James Potter and have been part of the marauders since the very beginning. You always took 'being one of the guys' or 'part of the gang' as a compliment, it left you feeling giddy as if you were included in some secret group that only you had the privilege of belonging to.

But sometimes you would sit in the girls dormitory and despite your friends laughing and chatting about, you would feel a wave of loneliness wash over you. They often did activities together and by now, 6th year at Hogwarts, they've managed to stop asking you to join them as you've always dutifully replied that it 'wasn't your thing'.

I mean, what would the guys think of you? It would be too embarrassing to admit to them, or anyone for that matter, that you would love to be dolled up for once. To go shopping with your friends, be included in movie nights, asked by Alice if she could test some makeup on you, or read and gossip about the new romance novels that were the new hype.

Especially now when you sat on your bed, part of the circle in which they were discussing plans to go dress shopping.

"You should absolutely join us!" Alice squealed in delight. You were shaken out of your train of thoughts with a huh and realized the conversation had taken a turn somewhere and now included you too. Marlene and Lily nodded fervently in agreement but you bashfully shook your head.

"Nah, can you imagine me in a dress?" You joked, but Dorcas caught the curious and somewhat longing look in your eyes at the mention of getting ready for the Yule ball.

"I think you would look great actually. And besides, you can treat yourself too sometime you know. You're not obligated to stick with the marauders all the time." The girls in the dorm once again all agreed and you smiled at their kindness.

"Since when are you interested in things like the Yule ball?"

You snapped your head up at James to see his questioning eyes and then quickly averted your own in a flustered manner as if one of your greatest secrets had just been uncovered. "I just think it seems nice, that's all, I'm not even going or anything", you defended. You felt slightly embarrassed by James' face which wore a weirded out expression.

"Well you're not really the type to go to such an event anyway right?", James remarked. You did your best to hide your frown at his immediate agreement. Was it that bad that you'd hoped he would say something along the lines of 'what are you talking about, go enjoy yourself at the party' or something like that?

"Besides I can't imagine you in a dress, all made up, it'd just look so ridiculous." James continued. Remus, ever the sweet and attentive boy glanced at you and noticed your slightly sacked shoulders in disappointment at his words.

"I mean you're just not that type of person, you know? Like completely opposite of Lily."

And with that your face felt like it burned from embarrassment. As if you didn't already know. That didn't mean you didn't want to be more like her sometimes.

Peter's eyes flicked with concern from James to you and back.

You felt hurt and forced yourself to stop tears welling up at his words, mustering up a grin, ready to agree with him but were interrupted by Sirius who had now also caught your change in mood.

"Prongs, you really have no tact at all, how are you expecting to even win Evans over with that?" He said in a playful manner as to not offend their whipped friend, but not fully succeeding.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" James looked slightly offended and Remus jumped in the conversation.

"That's just not a nice thing to say. It's different if you call me an ugly toad, but not Y/N! If she wants to go to the Yule Ball all dolled up, she definitely should." He shot you a supportive smile which you returned.

Peter nodded in agreement. "I don't think you'd look ridiculous at all," he told you sincerely. You subtly scooted a little closer to him and Remus.

"But it's Y/N, it'd just look weird, cause she's just not a proper girl like that, no offense." James shot back and gave you a smile at the last two words.

You saw Remus opening his mouth to retort but quickly intervened. "He's right." You told them. You just wanted this conversation to be over with already. It was awkward and painful for you as it was.

James didn't seem to get the memo, however, and kept on going, drilling your confidence further into the ground.

"See, she agrees." He turned to you. "It's not like you're ugly or anything but it'd be ridiculous. Like I said, you're not the type to be all beautiful and dressed up, hair done and all. I mean you're cool, but not pretty like that." He was clearly not done yet and started talking about Lily and her beauty at which point you abruptly got up and left.

"What's gotten into her?" James remarked with a frown.

Sirius and Remus didn't even bother to answer and just stared at him in disbelief.

The girls comforted you as you cried. Marlene barged in with ice cream, stolen from the kitchen in one hand and 5 spoons in the other. "What a jerk." She commented and thrust a spoon in your hand before plopping down in front of you with the rest of your friends.

Lily sighed frustratedly. "See this is why I don't like him at all. He's so rude and arrogant, and he-"

"- is right." You answered dejectedly. "I'm your friend, but not the type to join you guys and belong to your circle."

"Well that's only because you hang around the boys all the time," Alice argued. She nudged you. "But you know what, now that James is being a git, you can hang out with us!"

Dorcas gasped dramatically. "We could do a girls night! Treat ourselves a little", she jumped up. "I'll get the face masks and nail polish!"

Lily let go of you too and told you to sit up. "Come on, let me do your hair," she smiled.

With Marlene feeding you ice cream, your nails being polished by Alice, hair done by Lily and Dorcas reading the latest romance novel out loud while you were all wearing a facemask, you couldn't help but feel all warm inside.

"I love you guys."

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

You laughed and pushed Marlene teasingly off the bed.

"Hey, watch it! I just finished your right hand." Alice complained.

James was a moron. He was kind hearted (to most), popular, captain of the Quidditch team, good looking but a moron nonetheless. So he was absolutely clueless to find you missing from the common room yesterday evening and even more clueless when you were missing from your usual spot next to him at the Gryffindor table in the great hall, because he could not for the life of him think of a reason why you would sit with Alice and Frank instead.

He frowned and felt uneasy at the fact that you hadn't even looked at him, let alone come for a hug with your smile and said 'good morning' like usual. He shook the thoughts away. You were obviously allowed to have your own friends as well and not obligated to spend all your time with him.

The door of the great hall behind him opened and Lily Evans walked in, which was why instead of walking up to you to say something, he habitually turned to Lily instead.

"You look beautiful this morning as usual. I could put in the effort to match you when we go out together?" He shot her a wink and a coy smile but faltered slightly when his attempts at flirting got even less of a reaction out of her than usual.

James turned to Sirius with a questioning look, as if to ask 'you noticed that too right?' but Sirius simply shrugged. When James looked back at Frank and Alice, you were gone, having left the moment you felt his stare.

James started to ponder. 'Were you avoiding him? Surely you wouldn't, right? You two were friends after all, childhood friends. Childhood best friends even, for Merlin's sake! If you were upset with him, you'd definitely let him know.'

A week passed with you, sitting on the opposite sides of the classroom, seemingly having picked partners long before class because how else would you team up with random students before James could even blink?

He had now fully accepted that you were avoiding him. And with that, he meant 'accepting the possibility of that occurrence'. He was by no means going to accept your strange new behavior without doing anything.

The last drop though, was when he heard the news from Peter that you'd already left for Hogsmeade with the girls.

He frowned. 'You were kind', he reasoned. If you were upset with him, then he'd have to apologize. Quickly. Because it's been far too long without his best friend and he realized he missed you. Especially seeing you hang out with others.

"What did I do?" He finally asked his remaining friends.

"Really Prongs?" Remus couldn't help but ask. His friend just gave him a look that said 'well go on then, what is it'.

"How about you think about what you said last week, you know, those rude comments about the Yule ball."

"Yeah, but I already apologized yesterday and told her that I didn't mean to offend her!" James flailed his arms around when he exclaimed it.

"But she's still only hanging out with anyone but me," he whined. "Peter studied with her, Pads got a 'good morning' this morning and you're still talking to eachother.

Remus gave him an unimpressed look at his whining but James was not done complaining yet.

"She keeps spending all her time with the girls while she doesn't even seem to be fully enjoying herself"

This was true. You dearly missed James, so despite your newfound hobbies, a look of sadness sometimes fell over your face, which hadn't escaped James' attention.

"And I just don't understand why she would-" He started but never finished, something dawning on him. "Oh of course! Merlin, I'm so stupid!" He shouted out in epiphany.

"Your words not mine," Sirius quickly took the opportunity.

"Oh bugger off Pads", James laughed and pushed Sirius' arm. And with that, he took off to find you.

Sirius and Remus watched him leave and sighed at the same time. "Do you really think he got it?"

"I bloody hope so, Moony."

"But it's James."

"Yeah, but I mean it's not my fight but even I realize that she's sad that James made fun of the idea of her being more girly when she secretly wants to be. Now she's trying out what she likes, without having to stay within the role of 'one of the guys'. I mean, it's pretty straightforward. I guess a genuine apology and show of support is the solution."

"But it's James."

"Yep, you're right."

Though he hadn't been able to find you, he'd waited patiently for your return in the common room. Staring at the ceiling from his laid back position on the couch.

"Oh there you are, Y/N," He rushed to sit up to face you when you entered the room. If you were surprised by his presence, you didn't show it.

"We need to talk, I wanted to apologize." He breathed out, relieved at himself for having figured it out. "Also, I've missed you so much."

You felt a weight fall off your shoulders. You didn't want to be upset with him and felt incredibly relieved to hear him say that.

"I'm sorry for the things I said. I didn't mean for you to get offended or anything," James began.

"Yeah, you already said that." You frowned. "And I remember I told you that that was not a proper apology."

"I know, I know. It was shitty of me so I wanted to apologize. Properly you know? I'm really really sorry. I was a terrible friend and shouldn't have said the things I said. Please forgive me?" He proceeded to give you Bambi eyes in an attempt to convince you. It unsurprisingly worked.

You softly smiled up at him. "Okay". You barely got the word out before he pulled you into a bone-crushing hug.

"Great," he said, cutting through the comfortable silence that you two had been hugging in.

"Now you don't have to avoid me anymore, and you can stop sitting with the girls to prove your point, and join us again instead." He triumphantly continued.

What now?

You blanked. "I'm sorry?" You managed to ask.

"I get that I hurt you by saying your weren't a proper girl, but you don't have to pretend to prove your point by trying to be one." James stated, proud of himself that he figured it out.

"Because I can see that you don't like it, like your face gets all gloomy which is understandable because it isn't really your circle of people."

You stared at him, an incredulous look on your face.

"Fuck you James." You said, your voice coming out softer than you'd hoped. Tears were welling up again, but you couldn't help yourself.

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I do want that to be my circle of people? That I don't just want to be one of the guys all the time? Is it that crazy to think that I'm still a girl with feelings? That I want to feel pretty too? That I don't like being told by my supposed best friend that I'm basically ugly? That I hate to be compared to other girls like that?"

You were ranting and James had taken a step back, surprised by your outburst.

"No, that's not what I-", James tried to salvage the situation but you weren't having it.

"You've told me that stuff for as long as I can remember and I never told you otherwise because I was scared that you'd no longer want to hang out with me for not being a 'chill friend'. But you know what, I no longer want you to."

At this point, you angrily wiped your eyes to get rid of tears that were threatening to spill. "So fuck you". With that, you brushed past him, escaping upstairs to your room.

James Fleamont Potter felt absolutely miserable.

If anyone told James that you'd ever be more on his mind than Lily, he would call them ridiculous. But here he was, another week had passed and he was staring at your back as you were leaving with your friends for Hogsmeade again.

You weren't wearing your school uniform and robes anymore and James was surprised to see you wearing one of what he knew to be Lily's dresses.

'It suited you more than it suited Lily.' The unwarranted thought flashed through his mind and he shook his head with a scoff to himself. What was going on?

James also noticed that your hair was brushed and shining with a butterfly clip holding your hair in a bun. He wondered when you decided to change your hairstyle because he found that it framed your face perfectly.

'Not ridiculous at all,' he understood.

You looked absolutely perfect.

You turned your face a little and James could feel his head reeling. Have you always been this glowing? Was he just simply missing you? He didn't even realize that he hadn't spared Lily a glance- until Sirius mentioned her while they were having a drink - and a strange feeling washed over him at the thought.

You were running from Filch.

'Fuck I shouldn't have studied after hours, curfew was probably hours ago," you cursed to yourself and took a sharp right turn. You were trying to reach the secret passage right behind the big statue on the fourth floor when you saw the hallway light up because of Filches torch.

Forcing your legs to move faster, you were suddenly grabbed by the wrist. A hand was clasped over your mouth and you felt a heavy cloth fall over you.

You recognised the person pressed to your back immediately and tried not to melt in his embrace as Filch walked straight past the two of you, covered in the invisibility cloak.

You could feel his breath against your temple. His hand had dropped from your mouth, instead draping across your stomach now to rest on your side. The other held out in front of you to create space under the cloak. You shifted a little and finally turned your head and lifted it to look at him and thank him but you were unable to say anything for a moment.

You simply admired him.

The proximity of the two of you in that intimate embrace had something fluttering in your stomach and you harshly jerked away in denial when your feelings hit you.

Oh no.

Now, all suddenly? What changed? Does it really take one random moment to flip your world upside down?

You rushed to push the invisibility cloak out of your way and then left without sparing James another glance.

James couldn't force his legs to move to run after you, still reeling from about the exact same epiphany that you'd just run away from. Your gaze, his fast beating heart and the urge he had felt to lean down for a kiss had confirmed his conflicted feelings of the past few days since he'd seen you leave for Hogsmeade.

The following morning, you'd had the chance to properly process the happenings of last night.

Your conclusion was that you felt guilty that you hadn't even expressed your gratitude. It was rude, you figured. Even if you were overwhelmed by the sudden wave of realization that came crashing down on you, it was rude.

So you pushed your confused feelings aside and marched up to him when you found him in the great hall.

"Thanks, I owe you." You awkwardly said, stopping at his spot at the Gryffindor table. All while absolutely not having forgotten about the fact that the last time you had said something to him, you'd flipped him off and told him to go fuck himself.

James was absolutely beaming. "Yeah you do, but no worries, I'll cash it in right away." This was his chance. He would make up for his behavior and act on his feelings right now.

"How about a date?"

There was a long silence. Your heart plummeted to the ground. Right. James. Lily. Lily and James.

"What am I a magician?" You finally managed to sarcastically retort. "I'm a convincing person but not a miracle worker." You pulled your hand through your hair as you looked around the great hall to see if you could spot Lily.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do." You forced a smile.

James, who had been mostly confused at your words, disregarded it completely in delight at your acceptance to go out with him, even if it seemed somewhat reluctant. Not that it would matter because he was going to prove what an amazing boyfriend he could be. If you'd accept him, of course.

He was grinning from ear to ear, which you mistook as excitement at the prospect of a potential date with Lily. So when you abruptly turned on your heels and marched over to Lily, James watched you confusedly.

And when he heard you try to talk Lily into going out with him, he wanted to crawl in a ditch and die. He stood there, frozen and recounting how you could've interpreted that wrongly.

You returned to him after a while with an apologetic smile. "Yeah sorry Prongs, she-"

"You", he blurted out.

You raised your eyebrows. "Me?" You repeated back.

"The date, I meant you. A-and me of course. Us, like you and me on a date. Together. I thought maybe Hogsmeade?" He managed to force the words out nervously.

There was a long silence and James' shoulders slumped a little. Even more when you finally answered.

"Uh, no?" You said in a questioning manner. James officially wanted to die now.

"You're sweet James, and I don't think you do it on purpose but you're not interested in me like that." You began, trying to convince not only James, but yourself as well.

James opened his mouth to argue but you quickly interrupted him before he could properly do so.

"James, you really don't. And you asking me out on a date when you've quite literally been drooling over Lily just last week as you have been doing for the past 5 years, that's not very nice to me." You frowned.

"Oh." He whispered. He was once again at a lack of words for a moment. Terrible new habit, he thought. This was not how he thought it would go.

"I'd still gladly go with you to Hogsmeade though?" You offered. "Just you know, not as an easy second choice date while you are obviously head over heels with her."

'I'm not', he wanted to tell you, but it was obvious that you wouldn't believe him. "Yeah okay," he weakly smiled. "Just the two of us though."

You nodded and stepped forward, wrapped your arms around him and he leaned into you, returning the hug.

With his face pressed in your hair, eyes closed, he decided that this situation wasn't too bad. He's fought for Lily's affection for years. He'd fight harder for yours.

Part two

[lady-djarin]

home

joel miller x f!reader (one shot)

warnings/tags: sickening fluff, established relationship, no outbreak, sarah’s alive and well, some touching and kissing between reader and joel, still adult content but no p in v. mdni

word count: 2.6k

a/n: not edited much (that’s my motto) but i just kinda dumped this out in one go so it could be bad. who knows.

* ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

“Dad!”

Ever since Sarah entered middle school she has become quite loud.

“Dad, there you are,” she barreled into the living room where you and Joel sat on the couch. “I need you to sign this.”

She pushes a piece of paper into his face along with a pen. He quints at it to read the small print. You grab it out of his hands when he tries to locate his glasses that are nowhere in sight.

“Oh the dance! How fun,” you handed it back to him and made sure he signed it as you shot Sarah a wink as she bounced happily on her toes.

You have been dating the single dad for around six months and you have grown quite close with Sarah. Joel has expressed how nervous he is about his baby girl getting older and all the things that come along with it. More than anything else he hates the idea of her dating. He signs the paper with his usual grumpy frown but does it nonetheless and in turn Sarah squeals and jumps up and down in excitement.

“Can you take me shopping tomorrow, I only have a week to shop for a dress,” Sarah put on her best puppy dog face that usually works on her father.

“I’m sorry angel I’ve got a job tomorrow,” he did look genuinely upset that he couldn’t spend the time with his daughter.

“I’ll take you, we can have a girls day,” you had been wanting to spend some one on one time with Sarah and this was the perfect opportunity.

“Oh my god, thank you!” She squealed again and jumped on you and wrapped you in a tight hug. She ran up the stairs talking mostly to herself about what kind of dress and makeup she was planning for her first dance.

“Thank you darlin’, you didn’t have to do that.” He rubbed your leg with his large warm hand and the other came up to hold your face as he kissed you tenderly.

“Oh please, I love that kid. Plus, I don’t think shopping is your forte,” you both laughed at how true that was.

Even though you’ve only been seeing Joel for a few months, you have never felt so at home. He and Sarah have welcomed you in like you were always meant to fit in their little family. You knew you were never one to have kids of your own but the young girl makes you feel more maternal than you ever have in your life.

~

You and Sarah spend the day in the mall finding stores to invade and try on every dress possible. She finally settled on a beautiful deep purple shimmery one that made her look way older than she needed to, but it was appropriate. Afterwards you found the food court and dug into some pizza and garlic knots.

“So… since your dad will never bring this up… are you going with anyone to the dance? Like maybe a boy? or girl, I don't judge.”

You knew she probably didn’t want to talk about it as pre-teens never do but you wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to do anything stupid. Her cheeks blushed a deep shade of crimson but she giggled slightly, telling you there was someone.

“I mean… I’m not going with anyone but my friends but…”

She was avoiding telling you the truth, maybe because she thought you’d rat her out to her dad.

“Look Sarah… I'm not asking to be a snitch, I just want to make sure you’re being safe and smart, that's all.”

She looked up at you with shyness but trust in her deep brown eyes.

“There is this boy… Ben,” she had the most radiant smile on her face telling you about her crush. He’s a little older than her but in the same grade and apparently very sweet and has blue eyes and dark blonde hair. You can imagine her sitting in class staring at him instead of listening to the teacher.

“So, are you going to meet him at the dance?”

“I mean we haven’t made plans but… I told him I’d see him there, and he followed me on instagram!”

It all reminded you of the days before adult pressure and complicated feelings. You smiled as she continued to tell you about him and the things she found endearing.

“Ok now, I have to ask and be the annoying adult but have you, you know… done anything with boys before?”

While she was only just under thirteen you still had to make sure, kids do anything these days.

“Like what?” She gave you a scrunched confused face then slowly realized what you were asking. “Like kissing?! Oh no that’s gross, boys smell anyway…,” she seemed to maintain her innocence for a while longer.

Thank god.

“Well that’s fair, but just remember, if a boy ever tries to do anything you don’t like, you can always say no. Don’t ever feel like you have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

She looked a little confused at your instruction but nodded anyway. She’s a very smart kid and strong willed, you have full faith in her.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around the mall and you both finally decided to end up getting your nails done.

~

Joel came home to find you both cooking dinner, a hoard of shopping bags littered the house.

“There’s my girls,” he ruffled his daughter's hair and covered her eyes jokingly as he kissed you deeply. “How was shopping? Successful it seems like.”

“Very…,” Joel’s eyes kept flicking down to your lips, as they often did when he got home from work.

“Dad, look! We got our nails done!” She splayed her fingers out so he could inspect her manicure. You let her get some slightly ‘grownup’ nails, small extensions with french tips. She said she’ll be the talk of the dance.

“Oh look at that… my little girl is all grown up…,” he looked a little queasy and you both laughed at his reluctance to let her grow up.

“Sarah, why don’t you put these bags away and I'll finish dinner, ok?”

She hugged you tight around your middle and mumbled about a million ‘thank you’s into the fabric of your shirt before grabbing her bags and darting up the stairs.

As soon as she disappeared Joel grabbed your hips as he stood behind you and pulled you into his hard chest. He attached his lips to your neck and ran his hands over your curves.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” His voice was low and gravely in your ear.

“Mmm, not today…”

He pulled you impossibly closer and nuzzled his mouth against your neck. “Well I do, I love you so damn much,” he continued kissing down your neck and any skin he could reach. “Sarah loves you too you know, she’s always talking about you…”

It felt like he wanted to talk about something else, something more. Your relationship has been going so well and it kind of feels like it’s time to take the next step. While you both know that this is it, there’s no one else for either of you, it might not be exactly time yet to tie the knot. However you have talked about sharing a space, the idea of living together is exciting to both of you.

“Well I love her, she’s a great kid, because you’re a great dad.” You turned in his arms and returned the kisses along his jaw. Just as you slid your hands into his back pockets, loud very teen sounding footsteps came racing down the stairs. You pulled away from each other but Sarah was too busy looking at her nails to notice. The timer on the oven beeped and as Joel and his daughter set the table you gathered the rest of dinner.

You sat around the table like you always did on Saturday nights and talked about the plans for the next week and the dance. You really did love your little found family.

~

The following Saturday you sat in Sarah’s room with her and a couple friends of hers, helping do their hair and makeup. Joel happened to have a poker game tonight with Tommy so he said bye just before the teen girl screaming got too loud. So here you were, a fully grown woman essentially playing dress up with a few 13 year olds. But you couldn’t be happier.

After the girls were ready and a lengthy photoshoot ensued, you were off. Four screaming voices all trying to harmonize to some pop song over the radio made your ears ring but seeing Sarah so happy made it worth it.

The plan was to pick her up around 10pm when it ended.

So you were super confused when you got a call from Sarah around 8:30pm.

“Hey girl, what’s going on? You ok?”

All you heard at first was a sniffle, then a deep breath before her wobbly voice came over the speaker. “N-no, not really…”

Your heart stopped for a second but you tried to stay calm.

“What’s wrong?” You tried to hide the urgency in your voice.

“Ben… he—“ hiccup “He was a… a total jerk!” Her voice was strained and scratchy like she had been crying for some time.

“Oh honey, I’m so sorry… You know what, you stay in the office, ok? I'm going to come get you.”

She only mumbled a quiet ‘ok, bye’ before you slammed the phone down on the receiver and grabbed your keys. You shaved off probably five to ten whole minutes speeding through the streets to the school.

You quickly make your way to the office and find her with mascara running down her cheeks. She hiccuped and sniffled when she saw you before sluggishly standing and wrapping her arms around you. She sobbed slightly into your sweatshirt and you wrapped the one you brought her around her shoulders. After the teacher who waited with her waved you out, you gathered her into your car and made your way home.

But before reaching the familiar street you had an idea. Sarah had been slumped in her seat with the sweatshirt wrapped tight to her form until she saw the neon lights. You swore you saw her eyes light up when she saw the ‘Dairy Queen’ sign and it warmed your heart.

She got her usual birthday cake flavor of course, and you got your favorite. Before now you tried to let her have a few breathing moments but as you settled in the parking lot you tried to get some information from her.

“Are you ok?”

“Boys are so stupid…,” another tear slipped out of her eye.

“I know… I hate to say it but they don’t get much better.” You managed to get a laugh out of her which was an improvement. “What did Ben do?”

She spooned the thick ice cream into her mouth and tried to talk around it. “H-he was with that girl Rebecca all night and I tried to say ‘hi’ but he ignored me and pretended I wasn’t there. They were laughing at me…,” She resolved into sobs again and you rubbed her shoulder to try and comfort as best as you could.

“Oh god I’m sorry that’s so… shitty.” You never really cursed around her as she’s still young but this felt appropriate. It also helped draw out a laugh again, which made you both smile. “Look, boys like that are not worth your time. He’s playing games and you don’t want a boy who plays games. If anyone ever talks to you like that, it means they don’t respect you. You should only be friends, or more, with someone who respects you. Does that make sense?”

She looked at you with her red-rimmed and puffy eyes and you knew she got it. Of course she got it, she’s a smart kid.

“Yeah, I think so. Thank you… I'm sorry I freaked you out.” The light returned to her eyes as she giggled at her own words.

“You didn’t freak me out… too bad.” You were both laughing now, recalling the way you sped over to the school. “Look we can talk more if you want but I think you need some ‘you’ time tonight. Let’s get you some of my nice bath stuff and we can do a little spa night?”

“That sounds nice… thank you.” She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around your neck. On the way home you told her stories of things boys had done to you in the past. You did make sure to let her know that her dad was not one of them, he was the best kind of guy. Once you arrived home you gave her some bath stuff and gave her a clean towel and told her you’d wait downstairs for her.

You made some tea in the meantime and shortly after, Joel got home. Before he said anything he looked towards the stairs and heard the shower running. He gave you a quizzical look and you sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to like it.

“So Sarah had me pick her up early…”

He already looked concerned.

“She’s fine… it was boy drama. We talked and she’s still upset but she’ll live.”

He breathed out a dramatic sigh and you welcomed him into your arms.

“This is what I was worried about,” he sounded so defeated.

“Joel, it’s bound to happen. Every girl gets her heart broken, it’s inevitable unfortunately.” You rubbed your palm over his stubble and looked over his tired features. “She’s smart and strong willed. Boys will be intimidated by her when she realizes it.”

He softened at that. “Thank you for helping her so much, she really has opened up since knowing you.”

“She’s really something, just like her dad. He’s not too shabby,” you giggled as he pinched your waist.

“I’m not too shabby? That’s sweet.”

You mirrored his smile as he boxed you between himself and the kitchen counter. He kissed you deeply, pushing his tongue between your lips, tasting every inch of you. Your hum reverberated through your chest into his and your skin lit on fire from the inside out. Desire instantly pooled in your lower stomach and you ground your hips into his. This only resulted in his hard, jean clad thigh slipping between yours and pushing against your clothed sex. You moaned into his mouth and just as you felt like you were going to lose it, Joel pulls away and then you hear descending footsteps.

Sarah reaches the bottom but doesn’t come down, “I’m going to go to bed, I’m really tired. Sorry dad.”

“That’s ok angel, you sleep good. Love you.”

“Love you guys,” then she’s gone.

“‘Love you guys’?” you look at Joel with surprise. “Did she just say she loves me?”

He just stares down at you with this tender look, unresponsive for a few moments.

“Move in with me.”

It wasn’t a question but a plea. Like he couldn’t imagine you’d say no. Because why would you?

“Really?” Your heart raced.

“Yes really, we both want you here. More than anything.”

“Of course, I’d love to!” You squealed like Sarah did earlier tonight and launched yourself at him. He caught you around the middle and pulled you up, sounding giddy as you did while he spun you around.

You spent the first night in your now full time shared bed after Joel showed you all the ways he truly, passionately loved you.

You knew you were finally home.

[forbebeandjam]

helllo! can I pls request smutty, angsty, fluffy college au of jealous bada x reader where bada is older than reader and reader has been chasing her for a long time but bada rejected her confession cos(of a silly reason)reader is younger than her so reader just starts hanging out w someone which makes bada jealous and finally confesses her feelings to reader. many thanks to you in advance!!

Sweet & Bitter | Bada Lee x Reader | fluff, smut, angst part 1

Summary: Bada is in love with you but hides it because of your age.

Word count: 1.1k

A/N: It’s my birthday so I’ll celebrate it by giving you guys this birthday special fic 🥳🫶 love you all

Young love...

Bada always saw this as a beautiful thing but she felt like she never experienced it. She had remained single for a long time. She was what you would call a bookworm. 

Always achieved her academic goals and reached for the stars. You admired her from afar all of your high school years and saw how bright she was shining. 

You were always head over heels for her and you always imagined being with her since you were younger. The way she treated you was so sweet and soft, you couldn't help it. You fell for her when you were fifteen and stuck with her.

Your parents were long-time friends as well so you and Bada would oftentimes be together for gatherings, parties, and much more. She also helped you study for a few months during your senior year. 

There was only one thing stopping you from being with her and it was your age. She wouldn't date you because you were too young. Bada made it clear to you when she caught you staring at her during a study session. 

"It's not like we are ten years apart. Bada, I am eighteen. You are twenty-two. Please..." but the answer was always no. Eventually, you stopped insisting and just kept her as a friend.  

Over the years, she began to study to become a lawyer and you were going to the same college as her to become a photographer and editor. With your work already going viral, you managed to get into the same school which made you even more jolly. 

Bada seemed to be happy at the idea as well. You would always bring lunch to her and eat in her small office. She would go to your dorm and you two would simply study and talk.

On the weekends, she would go to your studio and bring your favorite dessert. She would pick you up from your classes and take you for ice cream. Random gifts would appear at your doorstep and... well... you fell harder. 

You rejected countless people and dates. You would exclusively hang out with Bada and everything felt like you two were in a relationship. You were over the moon.

This continued for a year until...

Bada began to be a bit distant. When you brought lunch to her she would take a few bites only to push the food away and hop on a phone call. She stopped showing up to your dorm, studio, and classes. She wouldn't take your phone calls. She would never leave her office and you...

You fell into depression thinking you did something to upset her. Your grades started dropping. You wouldn't leave your dorm room. You spend your weekend crying in your room eating ice cream and calling her number. 

No response. Texts? She would read them and answer with 'I'm busy'

You were slipping slowly into darkness. So you decided to get up one day. Try to cheer yourself up and go get your only love, who you had disguised as your best friend, back. 

You fixed your hair and applied makeup. You picked out your best outfit with the intention of inviting her to dinner. You made a quick stop at a coffee shop and bought her daily iced americano and a heart-shaped sugar cookie. Her favorite combination.

Sweet and bitter. 

You made your way into the building and up the elevator to Bada's floor. The elevator opened and you walked down the hall. You spotted a red-haired girl looking at you with a small smirk. 

"That's a nice outfit, pretty lady. Is that coffee for me?" Aiki said, looking at you up and down. 

"Seriously, Aiki. Stop being a perv. I brought Bada her coffee. Is she in her office?" You asked.

"Ugh... Bada. Always Bada. When will you go out with me?" she said pulling on the hem of your skirt. 

"Do you want to go out with me or get me in your sheets?" You said popping your hip to the side. She stood up and stepped closer to you. 

"Why don't you find out? You might like it," She said making you roll your eyes. 

"Whatever. I'm going," you said but she pulled your arm. 

"My intentions with you are serious, Y/N. Please..." she said with a small pout. 

"I don't know... I'm sorry," you said and started to walk again. 

"Wait... don't go in there. Just one date," she said still holding onto your arms. 

"Okay. One date, but can you let me go?" you asked with a chuckle. 

"Don't go in there, please," she said with pleading eyes. 

"Aiki, you're starting to make me worry," she didn't say anything but shake her head. You pulled away and walked rapidly to Bada's office. You didn't knock and opened the door. Bada's assistant, Redlic, was sitting on her desk with Bada's lips on hers.

The coffee in your hand fell making a loud noise. Bada stopped her actions and turned to you. You already had teary eyes. She wiped her lips and Redlic looked at you with a wry smile. 

You threw the cookie at her chest and sucked up your tears. You walked back to Aiki and she stood up when she saw your teary eyes. 

"I'm sorry," she said. You hugged her tightly and she hugged you back softly patting your head. You began crying in her embrace. Bada looked at you from the door of her office and felt... jealous. 

Not a new feeling for her. She would always get jealous when your friends would go over your house or when someone would ask for your number but you never gave into any of it. So why did you run into Aiki's arms so quickly? 

Then, she realized how badly she had hurt you. The sweet dessert in her hands was now split in half and that's how your heart looked. Just like the cookie in her hands, your heart had always been in her hands and she managed to break it in half. 

She also realized how much she loved you as much as she tried to deny it. As much as she tried to push you away. 

"Y/N!" she said. Aiki glared at her and pulled you out of the room into the elevators. 

"Where are you going?" Redlic said pulling Bada. 

"Why the fuck would you pull me into a kiss like that?" Bada asked. 

"You said you wanted a reason to let her go. For her to get over you. Plus, she is not a woman. She's a little girl, Bada," Redilc replied. 

"This was a mistake. Shit" Bada said walking out of the room. 

⊹˙⋆ PART 2. ⋆˙⊹

[gurofushi]

go get 'em, zuko!

𝜗𝜚 prince zuko x fem! reader

summary; loser boy zuko catches himself having the hots for a rich young girl in ba sing se (with it, of course, being the result of uncle iroh's unwavering desire for his nephew to get some action)

warning(s); not proofread!

a/n; had fun w this one! both zuko and iroh have a special place in my heart ><

🦷 (apologies for any grammar mistakes, english is not my first language^^)

“isn't she cute?”

“could you not call girls my age cute, uncle?” iroh laughs at zuko's disturbed expression after he had inquired about his tea shop's regular customer, his sentence coming out a bit wrong as he was attempting to pique his nephew's interest.

after their recent settlement in ba sing se, this had become the norm for iroh to try and set up his nephew with the girls that come into his tea shop. some he was successful in getting zuko out for a date, but so far, none had resulted with anything more than those first nights.

“we just moved into the upper ring, uncle. the girls in the lower ring and here act differently, they probably won't like a guy who looks like me.” he said, motioning to his messy hair and average clothes before he turns to point at the girl's neatly done hair and makeup as well as her beautiful dress. she definitely looked like a daughter of some rich or royal family here.

iroh smiles. he wasn't stupid. he could clearly see the way his nephew's eyes linger on the girl for a moment longer than he usually would other ladies. “i could always give you a haircut!” he says, wiggling his eyebrows as he picks up a nearby pair of scissors and waves it around.

“yeah, no thanks, uncle.”

zuko sighs, he quickly steals another glance at the girl's way before he rubs his tired eyes, momentarily giving himself some shut eye– if you could even call it that. he lets his own brain wander, drowning in his own thoughts as he starts to imagine what it would be like having a partner. what it would feel like to have a special somebody supporting and loving him always. well, he did have uncle iroh. but that's certainly not what he meant.

he shudders, his twisted mind painting a picture of him and iroh, both sitting on the fire kingdom throne. that would be perfectly normal, since it's what he has always wanted, but he grimaces cause all he could muster up was an image of his uncle in the fire kingdom's bridal clothi–

“excuse me?”

‘spirits!’

zuko jumps, blinking rapidly after he opens his eyes to see the same pretty girl, now standing in front of him. his heart thumps against his chest, unsure of how long he'd been zoning out, eyes flickering from the table you were previously on and the actual you who stood upon the cashier.

“sorry for startling you,” you smiled, laughing softly at his bewildered expression. zuko clears his throat, quickly going back to his usually nonchalant and cold demeanor as he starts to ring you up without another word. his actions only make you smile wider, though he couldn't see due to the fan that you held up to cover the lower half of your face.

“actually, i've already paid to your uncle over there.” your words make him stop in his tracks. his wide, confused eyes look back up to you, then to his uncle, who was whistling joyfully as he pretended to sweep the floor close by. he groans, running his fingers through his hair as he averts his attention back to you.

“o– oh, right. my bad,” he swallows a lump in his throat, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants. “so.. is there anything i can help you with, then?”

“actually, i wanted to ask if your free tonight?” and just like a deer in headlights, zuko freezes up again. “me? y– yeah i'm free.” his heart rate picks up again as he sees how your face lights up, a toothy grin plastering itself onto your face. he thought you looked exactly like a little kid who got their first polar bear dog. it was cute.

“great! i was wondering if you'd like to accompany me to see the city lights. of course, only if you want to.” zuko's eyes drift off to his uncle again, getting a bit irked at the way his uncle winks and does a little dance with two thumbs up.

‘this is definitely his doing.’

“ehem– i'd love to.” he responds, looking back to you with a smile, albeit a nervous one. “i'll see you there then,” you smile back, locking eyes with him for a few more seconds before you turn to leave.

as you disappear from his sight, iroh quickly rushes to the tea shop's doors to close them shut, indicating that they weren't accepting any more customers for the day. iroh turns to zuko, an annoying looking smile on his face as he approaches him in slow steps.

“now.. how's about that haircut?”

“no, uncle!”

[cult-of-the-eye]

tma makeup headcanons:

Jonathan "serving cunt" Sims:

S1 Jon doesn't know what makeup is (he absolutely wore eyeliner every single day at uni but he's not letting everyone else know that)

He like spot conceals but that's about all he feels comfortable getting away with while maintaining his air of professionalism

He also despises the feeling of foundation on his face

S2 Jon is barefaced as the day he was born. My man's last priority is how he looks, he's too busy buying axes in central London and stalking his coworkers

S3 Jon has none of his makeup with him but he's got loads of spare time and Georgie has a whole drawer so he experiments a little bit, he goes for Kajal (black pencil eyeliner lining the inside of your eyes) instead of his previous winged eyeliner but he hesitates at the any colour because she managed to pull it off but he's never been one for drawing attention to himself like that but one day he goes for a burgundy or like dark purplish red colour and he's quite pleased with himself

I feel like Jon would go for a natural kind of look, with concealer and a skin tint at best, some dark brown eye shadow to deepen his hooded eyes and kajal

Martin Kslaying Blackwood:

Ugh I love this man so much

I'm literally such a fan of trans Martin it's pretty much canon to me so I'm headcanoning that he's very hesitant about makeup cause he was a late transitioner and had only just gotten used to passing recently so he doesn't want to do anything to risk that

But he's such a slut for a nice little blush or like a subtle lip tint

He goes for powder blushes cause liquid ones feel sticky on his face and also powder blushes just Look Nice

He also likes lip tints cause he's constantly rubbing off lip products, with the multiple mugs of tea a day and it's getting awkward handing Jon mugs of tea with faint lipstick stains on them

He keeps an emergency kit in his bag with like some eyeshadow if he needs to darken his facial hair and on a whim he puts a baby pink powder blush in there and a matching lip tint

So it's not like he decided to bring it to the safehouse, it was just sort of there

Jon finds it and he's like let's go, we're going down to the shops and buying some, we're gonna do some experimenting and Martin's like oh!!

When he was working for Peter Lukas, he was also barefaced, he didn't want to give him the satisfaction of thinking he put effort in

Timothy "Take notes" Stoker:

This man is such a fun makeup guy

He's a random dots around his eyes, shimmery colourful inner corner, new colour every day, just drawing shit around his eyes kinda man

He's a no foundation no concealer kinda guy as well I think

ugh just can you imagine??? They have a little tally of what colours/patterns Tim's using today and somehow he never managed to repeat a look - it might be a repeated colour but the pattern or the way it's used it's always different

And then one day he just stops. He still wears makeup but the colours are more muted and they make his eyes look bruised in a very decisive way

It's almost as if he's spent ages on a look and then tried to scrub it all away

Sashay Away James

She's such a glamorous girly I feel like she really enjoys the process of makeup more than actually changing the way she looks

I'd love her to be doing the whole shebang, spending hours picking the right primer and stuff like that

She goes for the yeah I'm wearing makeup and I'm slaying look

I feel like she's so good at a little nose highlight

Can you imagine every day Tim greeting Sasha every morning with like a love the highlight girl and it makes her happy every single time

Oh she's such a fake freckles girly absolutely

Hated false eyelashes cause they feel weird

Not Sasha believes makeup is pushing feminism backwards

[gggreengoblin]

2142 words. Inspired by this post and I put my own twist (and insecurities) into the mix. Girl!Daniel who was so in love with Max having a late quarter life crisis because of Kelly's instagram posts and stories during their summer break. Thanks to toastandvegemite and their brilliant mind. CW :: WAG (Kelly), girl!Daniel is a little bit depressed in this story

This is just a fiction, yes, not real. English is my 3rd language so please be gentel.

Daniel had never imagined that she would be standing at the food aisle, 7 pm on Tuesday, tears welling up in her eyes while looking for a specific brand of cooking chocolate. She had been listening to Lana del ray all day, now all she wanted was making the most chocolaty chocolate brownie that ever made for her pity party.

'Did you know a singer can still be looking like a sidepiece at thirty-three?' Every time she heard that part of the lyrics from 'A&W'  her brittle heart crumble. Since when can song lyrics be so painful? Since when did she relate so much to a song.

Being a "sidepiece" might still be better than whatever kind of hell Daniel was in. Because Daniel was even more pathetic than "the other woman" or "the sidepiece". "The other woman" could at least have the person she loves, even if only for a moment. But Daniel could only admire the person she loved from a distance. Even that person didn't know if she had feelings for him.

The man she loved was spending his summer break on the Mediterranean Sea with his girlfriend. He was dancing with his beautiful and perfect girlfriend at a beautiful resort with amazing view. Remembering this put a heavy feeling in Daniel's chest. She wanted to lie down on the floor and cry her heart out. A little bit dramatic, she knew.

Daniel should unfollow Max and Kelly's instagram accounts. Seeing their insta story updates only makes things worse for Daniel. But that would bring up questions in people's minds. Maybe muting them would be enough.

Daniel took out her cell phone and opened Instagram when someone stood beside her and tapped Daniel on the shoulder. If Daniel didn't have good driver reflexes she would have dropped her phone.

"Jeepers! Max, what are you doing here? I thought you were still on vacation." Daniel removed the earphone she was wearing from her left ear.

Max just laughed.

Daniel looked into Max's shopping cart. He brought two big packs of cat litter.

"I came back to Monaco this afternoon. I'm out of litter so I have to buy some. What are you looking for?" Max looked at Daniel's shopping basket. Daniel has put in the eggs, flour and butter she needs for her brownies.

"Cooking chocolate and cocoa powder." Daniel took the closest chocolate and cocoa powder from her.

"What are you going to make?"

"Brownies."

Daniel looked at Max. Max was wearing a hat but Daniel knew that under the hat Max's normally brown hair had now turned blonde due to the Mediterranean summer sun. Max's facial skin also had a golden glow with a little hint of red on his cheeks. Seeing Max felt like looking directly at the sun, but it wasn't daniel's eyes that ached, it was her heart.

"I should go home now. Bye!"

Max held Daniel by the shoulders.

"Daniel, are you okay? You look tired?"

"Gee, thanks, Max." Daniel replied sarcastically.

Of course Max looked at daniel like she was not okay. Daniel was only wearing a hoodie and pajama bottoms, her hair in messy bun. Daniel usually still wears nice clothes and light makeup when she leaves her house, but she didn't have the energy or will to do any of that.

"I'm having a lot on my mind." Daniel wanted to hide from Max's eyes.

That blue eyes looked curious.

"I thought you were going to Perth for summer break."

Max took Daniel's shopping basket and put it in his cart.

"Let me come with you. I don't want you to be alone now. You don't look well."

Daniel did not protest. Who was she to say no to Max after not seeing him for almost a month. She followed Max to the self checkout. She stood behind max and studied the man's broad back.

"Do you need anything else?" Ask Max before they get to self checkout.

Daniel just shook her head. For a while she let herself listen to Lana while looking at Max. Max turned his back on Daniel, he wouldn't be able to see Daniel's pathetic face.

........

Arriving home, Daniel connected her cell phone to the sound system in her kitchen. She put the coffee mug and plate she used earlier into the sink. She also wiped down her kitchen island. Daniel was a little relieved she had cleaned out her apartment last night, at least Max wouldn't have seen her house in such a mess.

Max put her groceries on the kitchen island which had been wiped clean. Max had taken off the jacket and hat he was wearing. Now he sat on the barstool and watched Daniel without saying anything. Only lana's voice was heard between them.

Daniel took off the hoodie she was wearing and also her sweatpants and just left them bunch up on her bed. Now she was only wearing her merch t-shirt and cotton shorts. She didn't care. Max knew her for very long time, of course Max has seen Daniel in a worse condition than now.

Daniel opened her fridge and took out a can of redbull, she also took out the brownie recipe which she attached to the fridge using a piece of decorative magnet. She passed the redbull can to max who opened it immediately.

"I didn't know you could bake." Max said as he took a sip of his redbull.

Daniel took out the cake ingredients they had bought on the kitchen counter. He also took sliced almonds, chocochips and chocolate paste from the refrigerator.

"After becoming a test driver I had a lot of free time, Max. So I tried new things."

Max unknowingly touched on a sensitive topic for Daniel. One of the things that made it difficult for Daniel to fall asleep at night.

Becoming a Redbull development driver was not an easy thing for Daniel. Of course Redbull is a big team to be reckoned with, being part of Redbull is also an achievement but she had a dream to be able to compete in the grand prix. Became the first female driver since 1978. That dream was completely fading.

Daniel even had to fight with her teeth and nails to cling to that empty dream. Maybe she should had let go of her ridiculous dreams after turning 30. Moved on with dignity, return to Australia and settle down for good.

Before she could cry in front of Max, Daniel turned around and took the scales from one of the drawers. Daniel weighed all the ingredients she needed. Flour. Cocoa powder. Sugar. Butter. She chopped the cooking chocolate before weighing it.

"Aren't you happy, Daniel?"

"Do I look unhappy?" ask Daniel.

"Yes." Max answered quickly and honestly. "It was like you were about to cry."

"Like I said before, I've got a lot on my mind."

"What's wrong? Are you sick? How is your family?"

"Is it because of the money? Do you have financial problems so you can't go back to Australia during the break?" Max asked so quickly. Letting out of question after question is like releasing arrows.

Daniel took a large glass bowl and put the ingredients in for the batter. She wanted to whipped the batter manually. She wanted to feel her arm muscles got tired. She wanted to feel a little bit of muscle pain so that the pain in her heart would lessen.

Daniel beat the eggs and sugar using a medium sized whisk. After that he put the sifted flour and cocoa powder into the mix.

"Say something, Daniel. You can tell me anything. If you want to, of course."

Max looked at Daniel with his blue eyes. Blue maldives eyes.

Max was everything daniel wasn't. Male, young, successful.

"I'm fine, my family too. I have money, Redbull pays me well."

"So, what's going on?"

"I'm going through some kind of a crisis maybe. Like a quarter life crisis but in my 30s."

"I will cry if I talk about this."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with crying. Daniel, it's just me. You can cry if you want."

"Max, I don't know where to start. I have too much on my mind."

"Are you happy in Monaco?"

Daniel thought for a moment. Is she happy here? Does she feel happy coming home to an empty house? Everyone she knew slowly began to leave this place to make a new start, something serious, more precious, something they build brick by brick,  something they would die for.

"I don't think so. I've been feeling isolated lately. I'm far from my family. My friends aren't here anymore. Every day I see only strangers."

Daniel put down her batter, washed her hands and sat beside Max.

"I feel left out. It's not that I want to- I don't know how to explain it."

"Just slowly, take your time."

She took a deep breath, a shaky one. 

"I feel stupid for clinging to my dream of becoming a driver while we all know my chances are so small. Now I'm 34 years old, my dream has failed and I have nothing."

Daniel felt how her tears spilled out. So warm on her skin. Salty as they flowed past her speaking lips.

Max stood up and put his arm around her. Warping her in a warm comforting hug.

"So you want to leave the f1? Build a family?"

She nodded. "Leaving f1, yes. Starting a family doesn't seem like it. Too late."

"Of course it's not too late, you're still 34 years old."

"He already has a family." Daniel whispered into Max's chest. Her voice was small.

"Huh?"

"He's already build his own family." Daniel said louder. "He has a beautiful family. He has a beautiful woman, always perfect beside him. How can I compete with his girl, I look like- I'm so boring compared to her. And also a beautiful child." Daniel was crying so hard, letting everything out. Opened the flood gate. Drenching Max's shirt with her tears.

That was a relief. Saying it out loud gave her bruised heart a sense of freedom. Just like how her therapist said 'talking is fixing half of the problem, you can decompress negative emotion by talking'.

"It is not true, Daniel. You are beautiful. You are talented. You are smart."

God, She didn't want it to end. She wanted to buried in Max's arms forever. Enveloped by his perfume and warmth.

"Whoever he is, he'd be so stupid if he missed you."

Daniel let go of her hug. She wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt. She felt her eyes begin to swell.

"Who's he?"

She was silent.

"Do I know him?"

"I guess."

"Nico?"

"Kevin?"

"Daniil?"

"No, Max. Don't make me say it. Don't make me admit anything, now."

"Daniil?" Max whispered. He was quiet enough as if talking to himself.

"I didn't want him to know. It is so pathetic. I don't want anyone to find it out."

Max just stood there. Eyes focused on his own hand. Deep in his tough, like he was trying to solve this little puzzle.

Daniel needed an escape. "Sorry your shirt got wet. Let me get you a new one. I have an oversized shirt that will fit you." She said in a too happy tone.

Daniel ran to her guest room, where she kept her stash of unsold merch. She should withdraw all of her stock merch when she no longer competing and joined redbull. She took a larger version of the shirt she was wearing. XL, she was hoping it would fit.

It's a little gross not to wash new clothes before wearing them, but bacteria won't survive in that t-shirt. The t-shirt had been stored for more than 1 year, of course no microorganism could survive that long without nutrients.

"Do you have time to wait for me to finish the brownies? Or is Kelly waiting for you and the cat litter?" Daniel gave the shirt to Max.

Max didn't hesitate to change his clothes in front of Daniel. He took off his t-shirt and exposing his slightly golden skin.

Daniel knew that Max always looks handsome when he wears black clothes. But Max wearing daniel's merch which is black? Damn, something churned in Daniel's heart.

"I can stay a little longer. I wonder what your brownies will taste like."

"Daniel, can you change the song. If you keep listening to sad songs like this, your mood will still be sad."

Daniel changed her playlist. She selects a random playlist from her spotify. She returned to mixing the batter and hoped that everything would be better tomorrow.

That day, she booked more appointments with her therapist while eating freshly baked brownies.

[savemeaimeemann]

Babe wake up! I have insomnia and wrote another fic about Arthur Fleck.

I'm Curious Yellow

AO3

Arthur Fleck is perplexed with a street girl rounding his neighborhood. He didn't know she felt the same.

Srry I'm to lazy to describe it but trust me.

Chapter 01 // I Think of You

- "What?"

- "I don’t know, that man over there...he keeps staring at you."

- "Yeah? Well, if he’s paying, I don’t mind."

- "Have you seen him? He’s kind of creepy. Dressed like a old man misplaced. Kind of a nerd I would say. He was inside that phone booth, and then was staring at you for... way too long. I don’t know, Maxine. Doesn’t feel right."

"Also is not the first time I've seen him around." added Grace.

- "Since when can we afford to be picky? I know I can’t. And, honestly, I think he’s kind of sexy with that weird set of clothing and hair. He has a "virgin" energy, don't you think" Maxine said as she was now really paying attention at the guy from the other side of the street. He was not staring anymore. He picked his colorful bag from the booth and was heading to another way".

"Look at those limbs, Grace. Don’t you think they could... do the job? I bet he can."

- "He looks broken as hell."

The man wasn’t exactly conventional. His appeal was a tightrope walk: either intriguing or repellent. To admit he was sexy felt like a confession. But Maxine didn’t care—she liked to push her own boundaries, make her own statements.

She took a long drag of her colored cigarette, watching the clown cross the street, deciding what her next move should be.

Maxine wasn’t your typical street worker. She had a certain French allure—literally, she was born in France, though how she ended up in Gotham was a story she kept to herself. Family issues, a love affair, a few revengeful twists. Gotham didn’t ask questions. It was a shadowy haven for those who didn’t quite fit anywhere else.

Today she wore a long leather coat with knee-high brown boots, just the right height to stay clear of Gotham’s filthy sidewalks. Underneath, a suede skirt and a black velvet top that hinted at more than it revealed. Her makeup was understated: a hint of blue eyeshadow, soft brown lipstick, bleached brows. Maxine was her own kind of eye candy for Gotham’s bleak streets.

No one asked much about her past. Everyone had their own dark stories. “Leave your problems at home,” they’d say. “These streets are for fresh starts.”

Not that they knew she had money stashed in a local bank. More than enough to live comfortably. But she chose to be out here. It wasn’t about the money, as she’d tell Grace—it was something more, something she couldn’t quite name. A “Belle de Jour” life, minus the self-awareness.

"We’ll see, then" She teased Grace.

-----

Arthur was glancing at the girl before, drawn to her in a way he didn’t quite understand. Her elegance had an aloofness he usually only saw in old Hollywood movies on his decrepit TV. Her colored cigarette, her presence—she felt foreign. She couldn’t possibly be a Gotham native, yet somehow she fit here perfectly.

He stopped staring and went on to his way, still in need to stop by the pharmacy and go back to his mediocre life, caring for his mom and all. Today he had a plus, as he was limping the whole way. He kept the pretty street girl aside on his mind and went on with his life.

Hours before all this, Arthur nearly got fired for losing a sign at his job as an entertainer for a run-down vinyl shop. His boss tore into him over the phone, at the booth.

"Arthur, I told you. You’re mediocre. A freak. Get it together, or you’re done. Trust me, half the guys here would love to see you gone."

Arthur banged his head against the phone booth glass, desperation seeping through him.

"I love my job. Please don’t fire me, Hoyot. Those kids at the hospital—they’re why I do this. I got jumped; it was just bad luck. I’m sorry."

- "Whatever, Arthur."

-----

1hr had passed after the intriguing man from the phone booth head his way. Maxine was intrigued by him, imagining what it would be like if he went to hire her right at that moment. Grace was right, he seemed broken. Maybe she would accept him for free only for the story. It would be fun, she thought.

Her trance for that man was so on her mind that she didn't bother working the rest of the day. She kept smoking with Grace.

- "I’m leaving for today"

"Leaving early hmmm?"

"I have a important visit to make close by. Gonna save some time."

- "So you’re off to see your new dealer?"

- "Hm...perdon?"

- "I saw you yelling at our last dealer yesterday. The whole block knows he’s been short on coke."

- "..."

- "Just tell me if he’s any good, alright?"

Maxine rolled her eyes. Grace wasn’t wrong, but she hadn’t touched cocaine in ages. She was looking for marijuana, a rare find in Gotham these days. “Let Grace think I’m as messed up as she is,” she thought.

Maxine cut through a back alley and arrived at a grim apartment building. Sad, filthy and dark.

She didn’t like elevators, but she wasn’t about to take the stairs in this place. Knife tucked into her skirt’s waistband, she stepped inside.

"Hey! wait!"

The elevator doors were about to close when she saw someone holding them open with their foot. Breathless, she stumbled in and mumbled, - "Thanks. I hate elevators. Its better to have company"

As she said the last phrase, she looked up. It was him—the sad man from earlier. Now that he was close she could white stains clung to his neck; he also was clutching a package from the pharmacy, she could tell.

Arthur looked as startled as she did, like he’d been caught mid-crime. Maxine’s confident facade faltered.

- "Oh, hey... stranger."

- "Uh... hi."

- "You know, you feel like a ‘known stranger’ to me."

- "Do I?"

- "Sure do. Maxine, by the way."

- "Arthur. Arthur Fleck. Nice to... meet you."

She leaned over to press her floor number and stood close to him, forcing herself to stay calm. She hadn’t planned on this confrontation happening here, in his territory.

The elevator shuddered upward, and she exhaled a shaky breath. - "Jesus," she muttered, as Arthur stood rigidly beside her, barely breathing.

Suddenly, the elevator jolted to a stop. Maxine grabbed her arm, squeezing so hard it hurt. She didn’t realize she was shaking.

- "It’s... it’s okay. It does this sometimes," Arthur murmured, almost kindly.

- "Oh. Great. Yeah, that makes me feel better."

- "Don’t you live here?"

- "No. Business meeting."

Arthur understood what she meant. Two floors in the building were reserved for dealers and addicts. He wasn’t naive; he knew what went on.

- "Oh."

"Can I ask you a question, Arthur?"

He nodded his head, in shock.

"I don't want to make this weird but... wasn't you staring at me earlier today?"

Arthur tensed, his body trembling. He tried to hold it in, but laughter bubbled up, uncontrollable. His shoulders shook, and he buried his face in his hand, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

Maxine stared, horrified. - "Are you okay? Are you going to pass out?"

He doubled over, laughing and crying at once. She edged back, her hand instinctively finding her knife. - "Grace was right. Damn it."

Arthur fumbled in his pocket and held out a card. Warily, she took it with her free hand, glancing down. His laughing fit was finally subsiding.

She handed it back. - "Sorry..."

"It-its quite al- alright I-"

"No, I meant to say I don’t know how to read." She said with a smirk.

Arthur’s eyes widened, and then the laughter overtook him again.

She rolled her eyes and sighed, - "I’m joking, alright? Stupid joke. I didn’t mean to..."

She reached out, steadying him as his fit faded, feeling oddly protective. He looked down at her, still catching his breath.

The elevator jerked back to life, halting at his floor. Without a word, he stumbled out, covering his mouth.

- "Arthur!... Shit."

She glanced quickly at the corridor where Arthur had gone, trying to figure out which apartment was his. The last one seemed to be the only option. It must be that.

In the elevator, she pressed the button for her stop again, but all she could think about was Arthur. And how stupid she’d been with him.

She headed toward what seemed to be the dealer’s place, her package in hand, counting the cash, paying the steep price without hesitation.

“High-class babe, huh? Look at you.”

She couldn’t let herself be too familiar here. Dealers were touchy, especially the ones at the top. Guns, drugs—anything could be involved, but she had to keep her cool.

“Well, with all due respect, it’s been a good weekend.”

“Yeah? Hope you can keep up.”

“I hope so... " She said, as she gave him her paper note and he went inside to take it.

The man had it already settled. The transaction was fast.

"Efficient and worthed" Maxine thought.

"Well, Goodbye then. See you next time.” she said, turning on her heels.

“Wait.”

Maxine froze, looking up at him.

“I saw you with that weirdo who lives downstairs. Not my business, but... that’s some fucked-up shit. Guy’s not that young, lives with his mom, laughs like a maniac... I’ve had issues with him. Laughing at my customers in the elevator. Even laughed at me once. Almost shot his brains out, swear to God. He seems okay now, but trust me, you should be careful. Guy’s got problems, but maybe you can help. Fix him up a bit, stop him from scaring my customers with that laugh.”

Maxine didn’t know how to react. She wasn’t about to start defending Arthur, not after that elevator incident. She had her reasons for feeling guilty, but this wasn’t it.

"What I meant to says was, no offense, but maybe he could use your services. Blow some steam off"

Maxine wanted to laugh, but kept it serious.

“We were just talking,” she said, shrugging. “I don’t even know him. Not interested.”

“Okay. Just saying... keep an eye on him.”

“Fair enough. I’ll definitely take your advice. See you next time, thanks.”

“Sure, babe. Take care.”

Maxine’s stomach churned as she stepped out of that floor, fingers twitching in frustration. “How the fuck does he know about Arthur?” she thought. “What the hell is going on?”

She flipped him off as she stepped back into the filthy elevator, muttering under her breath. “Fuck you, fucker.”

That man really gave her something to think about. Did Arthur really live with his mom? Poor bastard, stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time, almost killed by those idiots. She didn’t want to think about it too much, but the thought lingered in her mind as she pressed the button for the 8th floor.

She needed to know more. Needed to fix this. And the guilt from earlier was eating at her.

The 8th-floor hallway greeted her with its usual griminess. Her heart was pounding now, but she kept moving, determined to find Arthur’s door.

It wasn’t unusual for Maxine to be in dangerous situations. After all, she used to be a journalist—her degree, her past, still clung to her. Danger was a language she spoke fluently, even if she didn’t like it. As a working girl, she knew how to deal with people. Knew what they were capable of. And the knife she always carried? It wasn’t for show.

But she couldn't. Not today. She turned back and headed home. She would just make things worse and she needed time to process what happened and have something of use to say to him. He was becoming her obsession and she needed to act carefully.

[spiderfunkz]

✧.* coffee

— summary : in which you meet a pretty customer while working as a barista in your local coffee shop.

— pairings : nancy wheeler x gn!reader

— word count : 0,6k

— warnings : tooth rotting fluff, coffee shop au, modern au(?), sorta set around s3 but canons off the table again, the typical love at first sight stuff, foul language, robin is readers coworker, messy plot & writing.

a/n : this is so cute so thank u for the idea jas ^^ hope u like this little blurb <3 also i don't know shit about coffee oops.

summer of 85' was suppose to be like some kind of rom-com you've imagined.

but here you are at 8 am, working at the local coffee shop to get some extra change, and the sounds of the old coffee machine breaking up was already annoying you.

your coworker aka the only other person here, robin who you've been getting really close with now, was ranting about the pretty person she met a few days ago.

"i'm telling you, y/n, they're really pretty, their hair is like molly ringwald, and they have amazing taste in movies." she continues. "i can look like molly ringwald." you joked, "but you've only met them once robin, they could be an axe murderer or something." you shrug.

"yeah but we had like a chat and stuff, they seem nice." your coworker stated, "that. only happens in movies, beware." you joke, getting interrupted by the welcome bell.

you roll your eyes at robin mocking you before approching the girl infront of you. "hi! welcome to bear brews, what can i get for you?"

"hi, can i get uh-" she paused, looking at the menu screen above you. "actually, what do you recommend here?"

the stranger looked incredibly gorgeous, you were love struck to say the least. her makeup was flawless and her hair was neatly clipped into a small ponytail.

you realize you were probably staring, "oh sorry, uh well are you looking for americanos or lattes or?" you asked. "oh uh, anything with caffeine little or big, up to you." she replied.

"okay, uh does a caramel macchiato with oat milk sound good? it's one of my favorites. i can upper the caffeine level to your liking if you want." you smiled. "yeah, that sounds good!" she smiled back. "the names nance by the way- nancy." she continued.

"pretty," you blurt out — "the name, your name is pretty, sorry uh." your face turns pink as you fumble your words. "sorry, i'll ring you up. your totals $3.75" you smile, "it's alright, thank you so much." she smiles, handing you the money.

you give her, her change before walking towards robin again as nancy sits in one of the seats.

the shop was empty, it was early and most people already made their coffee from home. it's quiet, most of the noise coming from the probably broken coffee machine, robin ranting, or the faint background music you probably forgot to turn on.

"that only happens in movies." robin laughs, "i just saw you go head over heels over a person you just met by the way!" she continues.

"i wasn't-" you paused, "i didn't know a literal princess would be entering a hawkins coffee shop!" you say, a bit too loud maybe.

"go talk to her." robin points.

you thought about it as you made her the drink, ringing it up as soon as your done.

you build up the courage to talk to her when she got up to get the drink, and the talk slowly became a conversation.

you've gotten to know the girl, turns out she works at the hawkins post a few walks away from where you work. her job doesn't start for another hour, and she's already got everything prepared for her 'coworkers' she explained as well, while drinking the coffee you suggested.

time passes and she has to go back.

"it's really nice talking to you, nancy." you smile. "yeah, it was nice talking to you too, i will 100% come back here." she smiled waving before sending you a wink.

you smile before turning to robin who has been behind the counter the whole time. "only in the movies?" she asked as you chuckle, "i change my mind."

[kentopedia]

Hi Rylie!!

I just read an angst with beast dad Dazai, in which he just excluded the reader and loved their kid more than them, not even giving them love anymore, only the kids.

IT GAVE ME TRAUMA. Do you think you could answer this ask with a little little tiny reassurance word with Dazai and reader? YOU ABSOLUTELY DON'T HAVE TO YOU COULD IGNORE THIS ASK DWDW I just.. like. I read that and immediately went here cuz idk your profile is so comforting your way of doing dazai with reader is so sweet and kind and and lovely and I JUST FEEL LOVED BY HIM IN EVERY SINGLE THING YOU WROTE LIKE??

You also wrote him as a girl dad so that's also very comforting since he didn't neglect reader at all but that fic LEFT ME TRAUMATISED JSMFNDFNNDJFEF

Thank you for your attention and sorry this is pretty long hope to not bother! Can I be 🥃anon if no one else is already?

hi nonnie, not a bother at all !!! and yes you can absolutely be 🥃 anon. omg :( this sounds so angst-filled, i would also be traumatized afterwards... even though i do love some angst myself!!! sometimes i read some things that really stick with me like this and it feels like my chest was ripped out. you are so sweet though, i looooove to make dazai a lovesick fool tehe. i'm glad my page is a comfort !!

ooh but don't worry, my pm boss dazai would never do this tehe !! mostly because the only reason he would even want kids is bc he's so in love with you <3 like, when you first get together he kind of alludes to the fact that maybe he doesn't want kids. but then over time, he starts to imagine a little family with you & it's makes him sooo sick with yearning.

ooh one thing i've been thinking about is dazai & his daughter always having little shopping trips. and he'll buy her new toys and clothes etcetc. but at the end of it, they go into all of your favorite stores. and dazai picks up different things throughout the stores asking her "how about this one, do you think mommy would like it?" (which sometimes, your daughter says it's not pretty enough bc you need something elegant in her mind!!). and ofc, he's already imagining how beautiful you'd look in the different tops & jewelry. and the both of them are SO excited to go home and show you (dazai even more so).

he'd just raise her to love you so so much. and even though he loves to spoil his daughter, he also knows that now he's got a little helper when it comes to spoiling you !!! like she'd loves to help you paint your nails, and brush your hair, and with your makeup. and she hears dazai compliment you all the time, so she's always telling you how beautiful you are, which only makes dazai smile harder <3 she's also always willing to help you, so if there's every some tasks that you're too tired to get around to, dazai always get his daughter excited to help you out. they're the absolute sweetest duo. and he is so protective of the both of you :(( the thought of anything happening to either of you makes him feel so sick

[cobycobsy2k]

Alternative, Season 2, Episode 16: "Chaotic Y2K"

"The year 2000 has begun, so everyone is very excited to see what this new millennium has in store for them, so let's see what has happened to the boys"

Academie Le Tour

House of Bianca, Kent, Desiree and Ulysses

Desiree and Bianca were returning from a walk, as they had both had a nice vacation and had many stories to tell.

Bianca: My parents don't want to let me get my nose pierced! My "brother" so to speak, Mercutio, knows a very expert piercer who is in Downtown. I'm going to see if we go together and I'll get the piercing done.

Desiree: Really? Wow! It sounds good, my mom says that now I can wear a little makeup, the other day we were buying things and I saw some very nice clothes!

Ulysses (Together with Kent going to greet her friends): Wow, girls, you look fabulous!!

Kent (Giving a little joke to Bianca): How are you going to get a Piercing, Bianca?

Bianca: Hey Kent, you're very joking today haha! Well, I'm going to get a piercing!

Ulysses (Looking at Bianca with a small blush): I think a piercing would look very nice on you!

Bianca (Surprised to hear Ulysses' words): Do you really believe that? Thank you!

The four friends decided to talk about everything they had done on their vacation.

Meanwhile, at Priscilla, Rénee and Crystal's house

Crystal had invited her best friend Riley and her boyfriend Mickey to spend the day with her. The two were telling them everything that had happened at graduation and how college was going.

Mickey (while hugging Riley): And then, we met Cassandra Goth herself, but we only saw her from afar…

Riley (as she grabbed Mickey by her chin): We would have said hello to her if we weren't busy with that college job! Ugh Crys, I swear college isn't like in the movies.

Crystal (while chatting with someone on the PC): Really? I imagine it must be horrible!!

Mickey: Yes… especially everything that has to do with Mathematics, that teacher Randall is very demanding… Right Boo?

Riley: You're right Mickey, by the way, Natasha invited us to her house in Desiderata Valley, because there will be a party for John's birthday… Although I told her that we would go before nightfall… Who do you talk to so much Crys? I see that you are very focused on the computer.

Crystal (with a smile): Well, it turns out that I'm talking to a friend named Buz, I think that's his name!, who is very handsome, and studies at La Fiesta Tech!

Riley: Really? That sounds great! You just have to be careful, who knows if he's actually a good person or not?

Meanwhile with Priscilla and Rénee

The two girls were watching TV accompanied by a friend of Mickey and Riley.

Priscilla: I don't understand why the principal told us to come to the Academy if we have a free week…

Rénee: The truth is I prefer to be here than at home, having my mother pregnant is a bit chaotic, although I do get a little bored here.

Priscilla: Should we tell Crystal to see if we go out together or not?

Rénee: Nah, She's busy with Riley and Mickey.

Tim (University Mascot): And why don't you try shopping here at the academy?

Priscilla: Sounds interesting!

At that moment Crystal runs out with great excitement, since that Buzz guy had arrived at the Academy. Upon leaving, Crystal felt disappointment and anger, because in reality, Buzz was nothing more and nothing less than General Grunt from Strangertown.

Buzz: Hello Crystal! It's nice to see you here!

Crystal (a little angry): I say, what are you doing here?

Buzz: Miss, I remind you that I am that friend she was talking to on the internet, and also, why are you wearing that short shirt?

Crystal (angry): Listen to me very well! You are not my father or my uncle to tell me what I should or should not wear, second, it's a halter top!!

Buzz (a little surprised by Crystal's attitude): Wow, so we have a rebellious lady? I really like your attitude Crystal, you're too cool

Crystal (Calming down a little): Really? Well, thank you very much, I think you are someone very interesting!

Buzz (While grabbing Crystal's hand to kiss her): A lady like you shouldn't distrust others, I won't say anything to your uncle, don't worry, your secret will be safe with me.

Inside the house, Rénee and Priscilla were watching everything, they were both a little worried about Crystal's attitude.

Rénee (Sitting on the floor, because she and Priscilla are hiding of Crystal): That's not a real military man!? Crystal is crazy!!

Priscilla: I think we should talk with her later...

[alicebnnuy]

OK I'M JUST GONNA RANT A LITTLE BIT BARE WITH ME

So TLDR, I miss the old Hot Topic, and I want to open a store like it. As I said, bare with me because this post is about to get LOOOONG! And it's also gonna be a lot of ADHD rambling so like, I'm sorry if this get confusing!

I'm from the province of Quebec, Canada, so we never had Hot Topics in my town. (I think due to some whatever Law 101 about French and stuff, dunno).

But we did have HMV at my local mall, and for a few, it was similar to hot topics. By that I mean, it was a store my cousin loved going to with her scene kid friends, but I was too scared to even approach as I was my parents' "little good kid" (and preferred EB Games)

Now of course, we've all seen the memes of scene kids and Hot Topic, it's easy to make fun of them because everyone and their mom does it!

But that's exactly what I miss!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a scene kid. I asked my best friend to tell me if I ever become one so I can stop myself. If anything, I'm an emo kid. I prefer saying I'm goth punk, yami kawaii, etc etc. I'm also an adult so...

We may not have had any Hot Topic in Quebec, but I did visit their website recently, and I was shocked to see almost none of the things that everyone makes fun of. It's now filled with trendy pop culture stuff. Which I mean, it makes sense, that's what they wanted to be from the start.

But imagine my disappointment as I go into this expecting to find a lot of goth, emo, scene kid, dark stuff!

And I find only... Stuff that I can find at any other pop music inspired stores?!

Ok side note. I am transgender. I never felt like I ever passed through puberty (of course, I did, everyone does) and the "It's not a phase mom!" phase. As of November 29th 2022, I will have been on HRT for a whole year, and I feel like I'm barely starting true puberty, like my emotions are all over the place, I feel less scared to make mistakes, I have lots of terrible ideas and want to do them even if I know they're bad ideas, etc.

So after I came out as trans, I thought "well I have to be a girl now. I have to wear dresses and makeup and be pretty, etc." And yes, I do want to be pretty and all that still, but I also wanna be cool, dark, edgy, etc. I want to be what my cousin was when she was a teen. I am 22 but feel like I'm 13.

So I saw this tweet the other day...

And this awakened something in me. This tweet is 100% who I was as a kid. I would be terrified to go in there as a child. But imagining being friends with a scene kid and them asking me to come in with them and holding hands because I'm too scared, THIS! This is what's been missing in my life ALL OF MY LIFE!

I spent my entire life being too scared of everything, trying my best to make my parents proud, please as many people as I can, etc. But I now hate my father, and I like my mother less then I did as a kid because she always excuses his actions. I needed what Hot Topic was, but I never had it, nor did I have any emo/scene kid/goth friends to help me break out of this pressuring mold that I had made myself.

So I thought the other day "I wonder if I could open a Hot Topic in my town?", but that was before I realized that Hot Topic isn't what it used to be. And while, yes I would visit it nowadays still, knowing what it once was, I would be sad everytime.

Now, why would me, a 22 years old trans girl artist who doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, be talking about Hot Topic in a long rant post on Tumblr in the year of our lord 2022?

Because I want the old Hot Topic back! Well, I don't want them to change back to what they were, it's a corporation and they'll do what's best for benefits no matter what the peoplr say.

What I truly want is a store that's just like what Hot Topic used to be! A haven for all the scene kids, emo teens, goth kids to shop and feel at home even for just a few minutes. Some place dark that parents will warn their children about but has a very cool atmosphere once you enter that world!

I looked quickly, and I'm not sure I was able to find any store that is exactly what Hot Topic used to be. So my next thought was:

Make your own!

It seems so obvious now! If you can't find the store you want, do it yourself!

I work at a grocery store as just a simple cashier, but when I got there, we were so understaffed that we were missing even a manager. So while we were going through new managers after new managers, many of them wouldn't do all the work they were supposed to do, so I became a "supervisor", although not officially. The boss never asked me to, but I just started doing part of the work of one one day and now other cashiers come to me with questions they would usually ask supervisors, I take care of writing everyone's break whenever the break sheet is empty, etc. I realized that I also enjoy doing that? Paperwork is fun to me somehow.

I also have infographic experience since I an going to school for cinema/televisual preprod, prod and post-prod, and infographics are a huge part of it.

That plus, I also am an artist, and I love listening to people.

So I already have lots of skills that would help woth running a small store, and as I always wanted to leave my mark on a small demographic, I feel like this would be perfect for me!

The main problem is that opening a store is very hard unless you are already rich, or sponsored. Sure you can get a loan, but those are crippling for years.

Another problem is well... Everything else. I have no idea how to run an actual store, how to get items to sell, how to get a location, etc. etc.

So yeah, that's just me ranting. If you wanna join me and have skills and/or money, hmu! /hj

For real tho, my brain is just a mess lol

[wykedstories]

Chapter 4: The Coffee Shop.

As everyday starts this one starts the same. I woke up this morning at a crisp four am, and got my makeup and hair done. I'll admit I was so lazy today even I'm ashamed. I can't even blame it on being tired, it's just pure laziness. Instead of doing the whole eyeshadow and everything I just slapped on some mascara, eyeliner and, my shimmer lip gloss to complete a simple look. It's so early and I'm ready to hit the road so that Darcy and I can have  breakfast. I slap my shoes on and make sure everything is packed neatly in my black backpack then I proceed to throw it over my shoulder and head downstairs. As I head downstairs I hear my mom and dad  talking to my little sister Mia.

 Mia has been at my grandparents since the weekend, she's finally home. I love Mia. She has the cutest little smile, let me tell you she's the cutest 5 year old ever! As for my dad he's normally out of state for work so he must have come home while i was sleeping! I walk into the kitchen where everyone is and I say my hellos and goodbyes quickly then head out the door to my car to pick up darcy! I hopped in the car and plugged my music in so that I could get the mood set for the day today. It's feeling like a Slipknot kind of morning. 

As I get everything set up and my first song picked I see that Darcy messaged me. As I look at my phone I see “ Hey babes, we're still on for breakfast im up and ready to go see you soon!”. 

I responded to her with “ awesome love i'll see you soon im on my way.” 

Back to duality by slipknot oh the wonderful sounds of metal in the morning. I casually roll up to Darcie's house and she's just as casually standing outside waiting for me to get here like she is waiting for the bus.

“Hey girl hey, I'm so beyond ready for that chai latte that's calling my name!” she squeaked as she waltzed over to my car.

“Girl, no coffee for me. I am really trying to lay off the caffeine so I think I'm gonna get a refresher and a nice breakfast sandwich.” I responded. 

“ Oh Leah common now after this week at school you definitely deserve that coffee. Get that caffeine girl you only live once! What happened to your large caramel macchiato with 4 shots of espresso and your bacon bagel?”.

“Yeah you are right fuck it im getting my coffee!” I sharply said back to her. 

“ That's my Girl,” Darcy replied. Then we made the mutual decision to crank that music up and jam all the way to the coffee shop. Darcy was dancing in the passenger seat and boy was she having the time of her life. I love seeing Darcy happy. It literally makes my whole day when she has that goofy smile on her face. I was paying attention to driving when I noticed something really odd. There was this guy in a black hoodie walking down the road who looked hurt. He looked as if he was limping but I am not one to stop for strangers.

 I thought about mentioning it to Darcy just because of the weird feeling I got from it, instead I just kept it to myself and onto the coffee shop I drove. We finally got to the coffee shop, not to mention traffic wasn't so hateful. I always complain about traffic but in reality I'm sure it's nothing like what New York City is. I couldn't even imagine driving in Vinces city. I bet driving is heaven here for him. 

“Hey do you want to drive through or go in?” I asked her as I simultaneously turned the music down. 

“I think we should go in and order if you're not opposed?” Darcy replied.

“Going in to order it is” I say loud and proud. We jumped out of the car like we haven't had coffee in months. As we walked up there was an older couple coming out so I stepped over by the door and opened it for them. You know it's the kind thing to do. I smiled at them when they thanked me and I told them to have a blessed day. Darcy and I walked in and ordered our coffee and breakfast that took about 25 minutes to long.

 As we walked out the doors of the coffee shop I felt this wave of uneasiness go over me, I looked around instantly to see if something was going on and that's when I looked on the other side of the street and saw the guy in the black hoodie limping towards the coffee shop. I glanced over at Darcy and she was sipping on her coffee unphased, so I continued to ignore those uneasy feelings and went back to the car to head to school of the day.

[bisluthq]

Got any advice on talking to men? I'm so shy and want to get better

so this is gonna be kind of weird advice but I’ll explain why I’m giving it at the end. My advice is, if you’re talking to a romantic prospect, try not think of them as a romantic prospect (I know that’s often easier said than done BUT ALSO if you want to DATE this person then they’re gonna have to be your friend too so there’s no point putting on a bunch of airs and graces and vibes that aren’t you - or the other way round and pretending to be mad chill when you’re not - because eventually they’ll find out lol). I say this because I actually have never struggled to talk to men because I’m bi but tend to, overall, be more attracted to women and I get a lot shyer around women (even when I’m like just trying to make a new friend tbh and I’m partnered and the girl is or she’s straight I get a lot shyer like I get worried she won’t like me 😂 whereas with guys I’m usually like “so he thinks I’m weird fuck him he’s prob weird too” 😂). The one time I can think that I really fancied a guy I didn’t know well was that Gatsby looking mf who had a gf and I wasn’t per se shy but I was just very aggressive in pursuing him and it didn’t go well (I mean we had sec but like the sex was bad and idk why I went to all that trouble).

All of my relationships tbh came out of friendship. All of them like… there was sexual tension and some flirty banter and I thought they were hot but also I just dug them as a person. That one time I tried dating the girl who told me she wanted to get married very soon and stuff and I was like sorta in a complicated breakup process with my ex, the whole problem was she wasn’t that cool like as a person (to me) and I didn’t have tons to say to her and I really couldn’t imagine like what we’d spend the rest of our lives discussing lmao not because she’s stupid or anything but because her interests are competitive outdoor sports like trail running and mountain biking (which I can tolerate like maybe once or twice a year if that), beach holidays (which are really not my fave type of holidays) and like non fiction. The only stuff we connected on was talking about historical lesbians because she loves history and reading about lesbians and so do I and we both like to laugh so we sent each other jokes but otherwise we didn’t really have much to talk about so no amount of me trying to feel less shy around her (and I did feel quite shy) would’ve fixed that. And that WAS a girl I was pursuing specifically to date/marry not just to see how it goes lol which again I think is why I got shy and listened to a lot of stuff about mountain biking and nodded and seemed interested.

so basically my advice is be yourself and don’t treat it as a job interview. Maybe they’re a cool person and you could be friends. Maybe you’ll be more than friends. Maybe y’all don’t click and it’s nobody’s fault. Idk. Talk to them, see what y’all have in common or what differences make them interesting to you, and go from there.

Also tbh boys are so stupid overall lol like obviously not every guy wants to fuck you and definitely not every guy wants a relationship with you but I’m gonna be dead honest, presuming a guy is single and he’s flirting with you like… fucking him is not gonna be difficult for you to achieve. Whether that becomes a relationship or not is obviously a whole other kettle of fish but yeah idk talk to men… normally lol. Ask them what they like, what they dislike, send memes, what their hobbies are, trade recommendations. Treat them as any other friend?? Don’t be scared to initiate hangs? (A lot of girls don’t want to “ask boys out” but idk boys actually appreciate that often and also why wouldn’t u lol like if you want to do something and you want to do it with this person, go for it). I mean, obviously some activities that we do early on with girl pals we can’t do with boys (idk like talking about clothes or shopping together or discussing makeup/nails because most boys - but also tbf most butches - just dgaf) but it’s unlikely those will be your only set of interests.

Be yourself idk and if they like you, cool and if they don’t then you guys just weren’t a good fit.

I hope that helped and I’m sorry it wasn’t like “say X to make him fall in love with you” but there isn’t a magic incantation that’ll do that lol. You’ve just got to… be yourself and find someone whose freak matches your freak.

[suugrbunz]

Hey! 💝anon here.. That was me giving tips earlier.. Been back on Tumblr for just a couple days, clearing out my old account, saying hellos to old online friends. Thank you, so much, for how you inspired my story last year. You motivated me - so much!

The story finished. I adidn’t do a huge amount with Maureen & Lyam’s relationship; they had a few more moments together, bonding & learning to trust & appreciate each other. Their final moment in the story was their first kiss! (I can send a snippet if you’d like?)

I turned 19 last year (so, a bit younger than you I suppose :)) It’s been good, getting offline. It’s given me more time to do other things; learn gardening from an elderly relative, do some singing (on my own lol), spend time with my family, learn about things that interest me.

Anyway. Hope you’re doing okay and taking care of yourself, and you can find ways to make life easier, whatever those ways are. 

I understand about the streaming service thing. My family usually just watch cheap second hand DVDs (charity shop sells 20 DVDs for £1!), and occasionally use the cheaper version of Netflix (with ads). I use Internet Archive (archive.org) for books and films (manly older, lesser known films), it’s free, so that’s a good option. 

And totally, get away from Instagram & TikTok! If you think you’d be happier without it, drop it! People online can be really nasty. I quit looking at Reddit, & basically all comments, last year after I suffered a deep depression (due to peoples’ extremely nasty comments toward a part of lgbt that I identify with) Doing a lot better now. 

IDK, and it’s not my business, but hope something works for you. The best people, the ones worth knowing, are those who appreciate character and kindness over consumerist beauty ideals (I say consumerist cause it’s in my belief that we’re pretty well brainwashed to think “perfect looking” people look good; a way of getting people to keep buying makeup they don’t need and the latest fashions)

Ahh, hope this isn’t too much, I write fast and am only basing this all off a couple posts I saw you made, so I’m real sorry if it’s too much! I’ve got a ton of spare time today so I’m just rambling. 

I can’t be coming back to online socialising like I used to, as it took up so much of my limited spare time last year, so this is a rarity, just to say hello. Hugs 🫂 

💝anon

i literally cried seeing it was you— i was noshing on a gyro, crying alone in the kitchen. I have hereditary depression, so it won't get better. It'll always be there. It's just worse than normal lately. Hoping it'll calm down, I wrote and edited some of my book today.

This is like writing a lovely old pen pal, ah, it's nearly therapeutic. I think of you often. I'm nearing tears as i write this because something about talking to you has felt so homeward bound. I love archive, that's how I watched the clash movie, Rude Boy! I have some unread books I wish to finish, one is kafka and the other is khalil gibran. You should see the khalil gibran book, it has such an ornate cover.

I adopted a cat since we've last spoken, she was beside my neighbours house during a storm. I had been taking out my dog and heard her meowing. When i approached her, she immediately came to me. Oh, her name is Laila, she's a tortoise shell.

I definitely have to agree, we are brainwashed constantly to see aging as a sign of lost beauty. Similarly, we are taught that our bodies are never enough because whatever the trend is— it isn't for a girl with an hourglass body. I told my mother the other night, through lots of tears i have never truly loved myself. I mean, around puberty is when confidence develops, at least in my opinion. I got bullied for my body developing into what it now is. So, you can imagine what eating disorder shit i go through because of it. Only fueled by my mother also having a fucked up perception of body-image as well. I am trying my best to understand that my value is an independent variable from the weight on a scale.

Please send me all the writing you wish to, I remember loving your writing. I started publishing my book, but it's completely different. I had to change everything; it was going nowhere. I couldn't get a plot to stitch together. I was nearly at the point of deleting it. Then, out of the blue, I woke up after some dream and was like— "what if I used tamino as a faceclaim? What if x, y, z?". Soooo, i ended up experimenting with it and i actually followed through on replacing nick (i want to implement him in the new book tbh, i miss him). Ah, i hope you find the time to read the chapters I have published... that is if you want to read them, truly there is no pressure there. Again though; please send me your work.

[castle-dominion]

6x7 like father like daughter

the alexis lawyer episode liveblog

Ok so I only have 20 minutes to liveblog but that should get me to the titlecard at least

Why are they showing us "incorrect" footage tho?

15 years is a long time commonwealth of pennsylvania He can be killed? they still have death penalty? midnight? dramatic.

What is alexis doing here? alexis is so pretty tho

GETTING MARRIED IN SPACE REALLY WOULD BE COOL THO. except for reggie the helicopter spaceship pilot lol & peeing in space is not hot KB: Yes, because when I was a little girl imagining my wedding day, being stuck in a small tin can with a thousand tons of rocket fuel strapped to my ass was exactly what I had in mind.

RC: I don’t want to go look at wedding venues this weekend. KB: Too bad.

Alexis held her breath until she passed out, new trivia

Ooh Alexis is friends with police detectives! Yay abuse of resources! They are friends with alexis, baby alexis is growing up.

Castle stacking pencils on his nose, castle adhd headcanon, the music is great "you should be writing!"

Alexis changed! "I'm still mad at you ok?" Alexis went to court before castle lol *accidentally says frank's name* RC: Yeah … how? (ALEXIS rolls her eyes) I must have seen the file on Esposito’s desk. Evidence? Find the story then.

This isn't a time for you to reconnect with alexis, this is work. Remember in the future, s8, when castle tries to win back beckett in a similar way to what he's doing now with alexis?

Castle talk abt the case not pi... "What if I was, would that be so bad?" He hasn't asked a question yet bc he was keeping up with the case Maggie stayed with him all this time? Freaking sad! Beautiful! every week for three years is a long time... AC: it already hurts.

Wow yay already titlecard.

Good job with the makeup making him look young for the first scene in the ep Lawyer? Cop? No a mystery writer.

His house alarm went off, called someone to shut off the alarm. Shut it off, heard screams across the street. Backdoor open, went inside, she was lying there. But girl what if you like tried to start cpr or smth so when the cops come in they see you beating on herbody but they also then realize that you are hitting her chest for heartbeat. blood on you, police record... She had a crush on him & he flirted back but he also proposed to his gal! Obviously they have looked into lyle gomez, right? Or no. Ok.

Frank: They didn’t have to. They had me. Mr. Castle, I’ve got three days left on God’s earth. I don’t need you to find the real killer. I just need somebody to prove it wasn’t me. btw the music, rly good.

Castle callin ghis police detective wife... here for both of you slkjfsldjfs oof ouch this ep & I have to leave for fucing work now.

Lol cliff's notes.

Can you get partial prints off the bracelet? if it came off during the struggle?

k gtg ily bye

k I'm back. My grandparents visited & I had a FULL day of work so I couldn't return to my liveblog after work & I couldn't start liveblogging in the morning but I have a few hours now before work today.

That's what castle is ther for, seeing things other ppl missed!

lol acab

My bro speaking as alexis: Wait dad, 'm paying the check?

Sherlock holmes, the mest evidence is what is NOT there

Lanie & alexis <3

Police won't do shit

*lyle walks back in & slams the door*

Teenaged girl <3 not asking for permission, but I still want you here

Alexis just enters this man's house?

on/off relationships can just be like that sometimes

Lol I love how he shoplifted booze & the shop owner didn't charge him or anything but made him pick up litter

Except Frank wasn't into her so it wouldn't matter if she was seeing other guys

She turns and gasps. CASTLE is by the door, ready to attack with a tire iron. AC: She turns and gasps. CASTLE is by the door, ready to attack with a tire iron. RC: Overreacting, maybe. You were in there a long time.

Yeah he IS tired all around. "& now I've got to be hers" oh my goodness this is a romance. At least you know you are dying so you can say your goodbyes. He's giving up hope...

Meth? Holy moly! Sammy keyes

"usually I do that with beckett" *ew*

Lanie my beloved

Nooo I love perlmutter he's such a grump

Yes, father-daughter relationships are special!

Not boyfriends, but tutors!!! Alexis was so smart asking about that!

Oh yeah textbooks are pricey!

Castle using his money to get old textbook records lol

Frank's brother! drugs?

He admits to tutoring

Maybe he was wearing headphones Maybe he discussed it so many times that to him it is not unusual. Maybe the smoke alarm went off from the autobody work all the time so he didn't care

Noooooooo John is trying to get his brother out of murder but he doesn't want to get killed either!

Frank believes that John is innocent or he knows & is covering? Oh that's why he said "you don't need to find the real killer just prove I'm innocent" IT WAS THE SAME CAR CRASH

pHINEAS gage... & now they are showing us a different version? They changed it from the start version. They didn't find john's fingerprints anywhere? Again, good job with the actors & makeup & youth

Girl it's been 15 years... You have a girl too...

It is his choice. His life to lose.

Randomly say things & then castle sparks brain thoughts & boom solve case science geeks like kim *castle is able to read it even tho he was a literature geek not a science geek*

Don't they have a time of death thing?

They have a film of this?

I like how lanie tries it anyway even tho it is obviously not going to fit. But there could have been another loop attaching them

Family <3 I love these two sm

Alexis asks questions she already knows the answer to Yeah but there are a ton of bike treads...

Kind of the judge to do that

The brothers <3 <3 <3

Anytime <3

This is enough thank lanie & ryan & esposito -- oh beckett ok lol aaah I love those two sm

[portiaofbelmont]

A basic guide to writing editors

AKA, which ones are worth shit

Alright. There are loads of options when it comes to editors you can use for writing. I myself use Scrivener (mostly because it makes me feel fancy), but there are plenty of other great services.

Here's a list of my favorites.

Google docs/Microsoft word (free) These are the basics, right? Probably everyone's written on one of these bad boys before. They're efficient, simple, and...not really meant for writing prose creatively. At least, not in the way I write. I don't write linearly. I like to jump around, jot down ideas, and move scenes or chapters around. Google docs (I haven't used Word, though I'm pretty sure it's about the same thing) just doesn't let you do that. If you write in a straightforward, beginning to end fashion, these editors' accessibility and easy collaboration capabilities might work for you. But if you're more like me, it can be limiting and disrupt your creative flow.

Ommwriter (pricing varies, free trial) May I just point out that the vibe for this site is incredible? Very well designed. I can only imagine what it's like to write on it full-time. I've tried the "experience test" on the homepage, and it seems really cool. The experience is very minimalistic, and it makes sounds when you press keys on your keyboard. It's less of somewhere to keep your writing, format and assemble a story, than it is a tool to force you to focus and just write, but it's still a really cool platform. It is, however, paid for, though it seems relatively cheap (prices vary -- I'm not really sure how or why).

Reedsy writing editor (editor free, other services' pricing varies) While also having a fabulous blog, Reedsy runs an editor that can be used to write. I used it to write about 40,000 words of a project early in my writing journey. While I think it's supposed to be more about editing than writing, this makes it very streamlined and fun to write on. It's also a great platform to connect to agents and editors, if you so choose, and to format your writing for ebooks. Plus, there's a great weekly short story contest on the same website. It's just an awesome writing resource everyone should know about.

myWriteClub (free) I have never seen anyone else mention this website, but it's amazing. It's a place to do writing sprints with strangers on the internet, where you see people's word count, but not their writing (obviously). There are always people on there, and it's just great fun. Another resource you should not use to store your writing, as I'm not sure how reliable their dropbox uploads are.

Calmly Writer (free) An even more minimalistic Ommwriter, and something I use quite frequently. It's essentially just a cream-colored screen for you to write on, though there are options to print, insert pictures, and you can save documents right on the site. I don't save my work there, but if my typical approaches aren't working, I'll switch to Calmly Writer and just bang out some words.

Hermit (free or paid) I haven't used Hermit extensively, but good things have been said about it. It's minimal, you can save things to it (woah), and it has a communal library where you can "publish" your work. It seems like a great platform.

Scrivener (paid, free trial) You knew it was coming. I, personally, love Scrivener. It can be streamlined when you want it to be, and complicated and professional when you want it to be. It's created by authors, for authors, and it has all sorts of great features. It is pricy, however, $49 for mac users and $45 for windows. If you can afford it, it's a great, non-linear tool, and I'd love to expand more on it, though I don't want to show favoritism. There is a bit of a learning curve, and it can look cluttered if you'd rather have experiences like Ommwriter or Calmly Writer.

BONUS: Neo Alphasmart ($59.39) A tiny LCD screen, no internet connection, only four lines of text shown at a time. This. Thing. Is. Divine. I am still a child, and my parents control my computer use, so I don't get to write on my computer a whole lot. My Alphasmart goes anywhere, has nearly infinite battery life, and can hold about 90,000 words worth of space. It is a godsend. It's completely distraction-free, and I do my best writing on this bad boy. It is pricy, and it's been discontinued, so there's limited supply, but if you're able to get your hands on one, oooh boy. I recommend it.

I hope this was helpful, and happy writing!