#if y'all saw the post i had up for like an hour you can immediately tell i read That Tumblr Post before actually like.

[citrinebumblebee-fr]

Whatever y'all do, do not let this go from "hey here's a critique on this short story, y'all may have accidentally fallen into some harmful tropes" to dogpiling staff, calling them racist, turning this from a critique into a mob clamoring for them to make it perfect immediately and reading into the existing version in bad faith.

I can see why the resolution of the short story would trip alarm bells and could use another draft, but the Tumblr Post Going Around digs way too deep in some places and I think we all gotta tone it down a little bit before this becomes a game of drama telephone that ends in a massive overreaction

(In games of internet telephone like this there's the compulsion to join in the discussion just so you can pre-emptively let people know what side you're on in case it ever does become an argument with distinct sides. Which it shouldn't. But it feels like it could give way to internet fisticuffs and staff accusations if we're not careful)

[revolutionsingingintherainnn]

Hard Launching ∘°∘♡∘°∘

Summary: lando and y/n wanted to hard launch their relationship after dating secretly for a while. lando finds the perfect way to do so.

☘ ln x reader ✧˖*°࿐

☘ fluff + humour ✧˖*°࿐

masterlist ☾☼

lando and y/n had been discussing for a while about hard launching their relationship. they had managed to keep it out of the media for an entire season, but the media liked to paint lando as a villain, in more ways than one. not only were they attacking his skills on track, they began collecting pictures of lando with women, no matter how many years ago, and publishing them with articles about him being a womanizer.

the funniest ones were the pictures of lando and her sister out on some bonding time. reading those articles always made y/n laughed, and she would be lying if she said that she didn’t have them bookmarked in her browser for a pick me up when she was having a bad day.

at first, they had thought of doing a simple post with a cheesy caption. enough to let the fans knows that he was off the market again. but, it also felt kind of boring, and that was not lando or y/n’s style.

they discussed it for weeks, looking at different social media websites for inspiration, until it struck lando. scrolling through instagram, he’d found the perfect way to hard launch his relationship with his girlfriend.

when y/n asked him, he said, “you’ll just have to wait like the rest of the world, my love. but, i know you’re going to love it.”

y/n waited, just like he had told her to. she waited for two months, until one day, in the middle of her work, she received the instagram notification of lando posting and tagging her. this was the moment, y/n thought.

opening instagram, she found a reel, instead of a post or a story like she assumed. quickly, wearing her airpods, y/n clicked on the reel, increasing the volume in the background.

the reel opened with someone recording lando as he walked, head down and concentrated. the person recording said, “excuse me, what are you listening to right now?”

lando took out one of his airpods, and said, “my girlfriend yapping,” and then walked away.

the reel immediately cut to different instances of y/n talking and lando patiently listening. they were all sped up videos, and y/n watched her animated hands as she ranted, and lando listening, changing his position every so often. the music in the background was a lively, jaunty sound, and it fit so well with the reel.

there were a series of videos, from their home, from the paddock, from conference rooms where they were waiting for zak, or even from the gym where lando worked out, and y/n basically followed him, still talking his ear off. there were multiple videos of them on facetime as well, or screenshots of their hour - hour and half long conversations.

y/n laughed. it truly was the perfect way for lando to hard launch their relationship. it described them perfectly, if she did say so herself.

scrolling through the comments, she saw a lot of fans crying that he was a taken man now. she saw some saying things like, “this is the realest representation of a relationship.” there were some hate comments too, but they were stupid, so she ignored them.

she commented on the post as well, typing, “wait till i send you a 20 minute voice note on my lunch break” to which lando immediately responded with, “can’t wait, i got my airpods and my phone fully charged”

y/n laughed again, opening her text messaging app, and sending a quick “i love you this was perfect” to her boyfriend.

·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚˚•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚＊·̩̩̥͙

hi! i hope you guys enjoyed this! it came to me while i was driving to college! this is my prompt list, so y'all can select a number, give me a driver and i will write it as soon as possible! i also have a google form for a taglist if anyone's interested! you can sent in your requests here :)

taglist: @maketheshadowsfearyou ; @anamiad00msday

[cvnntagious]

˗ˏˋ pornstar!chris films with someone new ‧₊˚

꒰part two ✩꒱ (coming soon)

creeping into chris' condo as quiet as possible with a wrapped gift in hand, a large smile took up most of your face at the thought of him opening it. though, the more you explored the area, the more discouraged you got before eventually giving up with a loud sigh at the realization that he wasn't home. but then, where was he? he always told you when he was going to be out, but today? he didn't even so much as leave you a text.

if not for chris updating you on his whereabouts becoming routine, you truthfully would've thought nothing of his sudden absence, but with a confused look on your face, you found yourself setting his christmas present on the coffee table in front of you to plop down onto his couch. you slipped your phone out of your back pocket, instantly typing away at it.

it was simple and straight to the point, leaving no room for confusion; you'd never been the type to beat around the bush. you weren't upset, really—more like confused, is all. and you waited. sitting idly on his couch as you waited for that little 'delivered' alert to turn into 'read'.

it didn't.

not for a while, at least. you ended up leaving his house only about half an hour after you sent the message, seeing no reason in just sitting there overthinking it. but you still did. going on about your day, trying to distract yourself from that nagging voice in the back of your brain that whispered 'where's chris at? what's he doing?' and 'you're not special. he got bored of you, silly,' at any moment you weren't occupying your mind with something else.

you knew you were probably overreacting; being dramatic in a way chris wouldn't like if he could hear your thoughts. i mean, it's not even like you'd be that upset if he had gotten tired of you. he was only some good dick and a person to keep you company... every single day for the past month. shit, you needed to know. picking up your phone in a swift motion as you now sat on your own couch, having tried to watch a show as means to keep your mind off chris, you checked your notifications in hopes that you'd missed his text.

but something new caught your eye.

a notification from chris' twitter, far different than anything you'd imagined throughout the day. of course you clicked it, a small breath of relief coming from you as you'd immediately told yourself he must've been busy with his executives. oh, he was busy alright.

your eyebrows raised at the sight before you: a short clip of chris plowing into some blonde with big tits, her moaning and whining in such a forced way. he was grabbing and squeezing at them. i mean, shit, he wasn’t even a boobs guy. it was so unlike him, completely disregarding his original intent for his content—keep it authentic. the caption only contained the hub link, telling his fans to watch the full video there.

dread sounds about right. a look of dread spread across your face, as if you'd just witnessed your worst fear. except it wasn't your worst fear. at least you didn't think it was, until now.

without thinking, you found yourself in chris' messages again, seeing the 'delivered' alert still there like a taunt. it was a slap in the face, really. not even the fact that he'd went and filmed with someone else, but the way he'd so clearly purposely failed to give you any type of warning.

once you'd sent the message, seeing the little text below your blue message change to 'read' instantly, it all suddenly felt pointless — all the worrying throughout the day, the dread you felt when you watched the short clip chris posted, the hurt when you saw he ignored your message, and now, even the message you literally just sent to him.

w/c : 645

a/n : i'm gonna try to bust these out the best i can, but y'all might have to bare w me cs i'm proly the worlds slowest writer... this may overlap with the au calendar as well, so to be clear, this isn't my priority. if i have to postpone parts of this to keep up with the prompts, i will. that being said, hope you guys enjoy my first multi-part tumblr fic <3.

-love, your grandma cvnty ☆!

[ramp-it-up]

... As Hard as I Did

Photo credit

Summary: James Bucky Barnes is an avowed bachelor and one night stand artist. You came along and knocked him on his face. Now he knows he wants more than just one night with you, so much more. Do you feel the same?

Word count: 1.9K

Pairing: Art Dealer (mob boss) Bucky Barnes x Reader

A/N: This fic is connected to the Knock You Down AU, and comes immediately after KYD IV, but I feel it can be read as a stand alone. It is in answer to this ask. Seb Stan's latest pics and this press run is making me feral. I can write these two ALL DAY!!!! Y'all are gonna have to deal with this for a while, sorry not sorry.

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI. Read at your own risk. Bucky is in love. The angst! The fluff! The morning after! Bucky wakes you up the best way he knows how, thorough female receiving oral sex, edging, manual sex, teabagging, squirting, nipple play, begging, use of Daddy, bukakke, cum play, Bucky cooks for you, google translate Romanian, the "L" word, allusions to cock riding.

I no longer have a taglist. Please follow @rampitupandread and turn on notifications to learn when I post! 😘

I Do NOT Consent to my work being reposted, translated or presented on any other blog or site other than by myself.

-----

James Bucky Barnes had slipped and fallen in love.

Steve was so right.

It came out of the blue last Monday when he met with you about a painting, and here he was the very next Sunday morning, holding you in his arms. The ruse of him being a fully legitimate art dealer and not a crime boss had been quickly done away with by the media and your friends, and the fantasy of wooing you met the reality that you did not come to play.

You called Bucky on his bullshit and that made him fall even harder for you. He was honest about his plan to go legit and careful with your feelings, not immediately turning to physicality as he did with every other woman. There was something special about you that was worth the wait.

The five days had been an eternity for both of you, and Bucky had been like a teenager, unable to last very long. He was determined to set that right today, and also to tell you how he felt.

Bucky Barnes knew very little fear, but wondering if you returned his feelings was shaking him to the core.

He held to his original dream of making you smile at him forever, but those dreams had grown to thoughts of a life together, a home you could build together, and the thought of what kids together might look like.

Bucky smiled and held you closer as you snuggled deeper into his embrace and threw your leg over his hip. He caressed the soft skin of your thigh as he argued with himself. He was too old for this; he would be an old man when your kids were just going to college, but that didn’t stop him from making Steve go with him to Cartier yesterday after your event.

Steve grumbled, but he was still smitten with you from his conversation with you yesterday, so he didn’t protest the 5 carat purchase that Bucky made. His best friend just asked Bucky some pertinent questions like:

Had Bucky told you that he loved you?

Did you love him?

Did you even want to get married? To a criminal?

Did you want to have kids with Bucky?

Bucky just stared at Steve, creating the opportunity to goad him.

“But all that aside. If you don’t lock her down, I just might. I’ll close the deal swiftly.”

That left Bucky’s blood to boil while he prepared for dinner last night, but when he opened the door and saw you standing there, every negative vibe left his vicinity.

And now, you were here, warm and beautiful, and naked, in his grip. He was going to take full advantage of the few hours you might gift him today. He didn’t want to risk you running away after he told you his feelings.

He lifted your thigh and positioned himself most where he needed to be.

—--

You moaned in your sleep. You dreamed that Bucky was eating you out again, but you couldn’t quite feel his kisses and slurps to your folds, only whispers of sensation, like air. It was so frustrating, so you grabbed Buckys’ hair and scratched his scalp, trying to encourage him to be rougher.

He moaned and you smiled, calling his name.

“James, please….”

Your eyes fluttered open to the unfamiliarity of Bucky’s bedroom in the morning light. Your legs were spread wide and Bucky’s head was pillowed on your thigh, his hot breath teasing your pussy. 

“What are you doing?”

You looked down to see him staring at your most intimate parts and smiling.

“Mmmm. Good morning Frumoasă. I’m about to check an item off my long list of what I want to do to you…”

He pursed his lips and softly kiss your lower ones. You shivered and continued playing in his hair. You laughed, music to Bucky’s ears. He smiled up at you.

“Oh, so you have a list, do you?”

“Yes, an extensive one at that. I will show you later, but right now…”

Bucky moved to kneel and shoved his hands under your ass, serving you up to him as on a platter. His eyes moved from your fluttering cunt up your soft belly and your beautiful breasts to your face. He leaned forward to give you a sound smack on the lips.

“I was wondering if I was going to get a good morning kiss.”

That eyebrow arched and he moved down your body again.

“That’s all in my plan, Frumoasă. Just be patient. ”

You pulled Bucky’s hair as his long, thick tongue licked through you to your soul. You shuddered and Bucky smiled, then those lips took hold of your clit and sucked ruthlessly as he brought one hand up to push two fingers inside you, the squelch of your wetness so gloriously obscene. He stopped and just pumped those fingers inside you, listening.

“Hear how wet you are for me? It’s a dream come true.”

You reached with grabby hands for him to stimulate your clit as all he did was fuck you with his fingers and hold you open for him. You were on the edge of madness. And it seemed that was where Bucky wanted you.

“Jamie….”

“Atât de nerăbdătoare Frumoasă. savurați momentul.”

Somehow, you knew he was telling you to wait. 

“Please, please, please James. Eat your pussy please!”

Bucky’s eyes rolled back into his head. You begging was his weakness, what he wanted to hear from since day one. Then he realized what you’d said.

“... Did you say… that this pussy was mine?”

You smirked at him, feeling the brat.

“Maybe…”

Bucky frowned and slapped your clit, causing sparks of pain and pleasure to roll up your spine and wetness to gush out over his fingers.

“Ow! Yes! Yes! This pussy is yours, Daddy, please eat it.”

Bucky clenched his jaw and his cock, which was hard against his abdomen, jumped.

“Seems you know the magic words, Frumoasă.” 

Bucky rewarded you with his mouth clamped over your clit and his eyes locked on yours as you watched his tongue working in his jaw. He was eating you out like a professional. You arched into his face, clit hart and throbbing, ready to give him…

He pulled away as you gasp/screamed in outrage, then whimpered and pouted.

“Please Daddy!”

“Oh, you’re ruining me, I can tell. But tell me, Frumoasă, tell me…”

He regarded you now with a new possessiveness. Impossibly, it made you wetter.

“What else of yours is mine?”

You squirmed under his attention and he rewarded you with another finger in your cunt and all three curled against that electric spot within you.

“What about this ass?”

His pinky bullied into your tighter hole, and you arched as he leaned down to suck your clit like saltwater taffy.

“Oh shittttttt! Yes! Fuck yessss.”

Bucky was grinding his cock against the sheets now, possessed by the sight, taste, and feel of you in his hands. He could actually taste that you were close now, and he wanted it almost as much as you did, but he abandoned you again. He looked up at your body.

“What about those glorious tits?”

He reached up to pluck both of them of them ruthlessly over and over as he continued to finger fuck you. His breath was ragged and his face a mask of desire, but he still had a modicum of control.

“They are next on my list.”

“W-what do you mean?” 

You were thrilled and scared at the same time.

“Nu-ți face griji pentru ea frumos, doar ai răbdare.”

And his face was busy again between your legs, which were shaking around his ears. He held one down with one hand as he fucked you with the other.

“Shit, Daddy! I’m gonna….fuck! I’m gonna…”

Bucky nodded and looked up at you, then he told you to cum with his fingers and you shattered, gushing into his mouth and all over his bed.

Bucky leaned up and groaned as he played in your wetness, using that hand to begin to jack himself over your shuddering body.

“Can I come all over you, Frumoasă?”

“Yes, Daddy…”

Bucky groaned and then manhandled your nipples.

“Cum all over me, Jamie.”

Then he roared as you moved so that you could suck his balls.”

“Holy, shhhhhhitttttttt!”

You were circling your own clit as the first hot drops of his cum sprayed over your already heated body. You came one more time as he focused on your breasts and left a hot, sticky mess all over you.

Your eyes were closed as your shivered because Bucky’s hot mouth was sucking his spend off your nipples. He alternated between kisses, bites, and laps against your skin.

“James! Gotdamn! I–”

“I know, I know, Frumoasa. But I can’t get enough...suportă-mă, iubito…”

—---

Later that Sunday, around noon, you sat, twice showered, marked, edged, and fucked to within an edge of your life as you ate the brunch that Bucky made you. You were ensconced in one of his plain white tee shirts and some of his boxer briefs and socks, and he was looking at you hungrily.

You laughed.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Bucky smirked, happier than he’d been in a good while.

“Do you want more…?”

Despite the debauched things you’d spent the morning doing, you blushed and looked down at your plate. You felt like a slut. But in a good way. You loved sex with Bucky. It seemed like even his pleasure was focused on you. It was unlike any other relationship you’d ever had.

“I’m sorry. Do you regret it?”

Bucky stopped eating and tipped your head up by your chin with his fingers. He looked worried and you melted. You bit your lip and decided to go for it.

“No. Because I love you.”

Bucky’s fork clattered to his plate and his eyes grew wide while your bright smile faded. Then he frowned.

“Fuck.”

He looked mad.

“I- I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s too soon. I’m sorry, just forget that I said that.”

“No! Shit…”

Bucky grabbed your head and kissed you, the strawberries and cream from the waffles flooding your senses as his tongue found yours. When he was done, he grinned at you.

“I was pissed for a second, but not at you. What you just said is all I’ve ever wanted. I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you that I love you, too and here you are, saying it first.”

You rolled your eyes, although your soul soared. You pulled away and took another bite of food.

“It’s not a competition, James.”

You said it through a full mouth.

“Hmmmm. Maybe not. But I do love you more.”

He took another, bigger bite of food and you shook your head at him.

“You are insufferable.”

Bucky grinned.

“Get used to it if you’re gonna be my girl.”

“Your girl? Oh?”

Bucky wiped his mouth, then picked you up and placed you on his lap.

“Y/N L/N. I love you. And I want to figure this thing out between us. I want you to be my girlfriend while I figure out how to be the best man for you. Then maybe… “

You stopped him with your finger on his lips.

“Listen. One step at a time, Jamie. I love you too, James Buchanan Barnes. You are the best man for me. My man. I’m along for the ride.”

Bucky kissed you, then stood up and threw you over his shoulder as he moved to his couch.

“Speaking of riding. There’s my list to attend to.”

You screamed and laughed as Bucky slapped your ass. 

——

Next part Here!

All feedback is golden, babies! Let me know how you feel. ✨

[fookingmuffins]

it's time to go

James potter x reader

Summary: Angst. You love James, but it's time to go.

Warning: cheating, screaming and James being a dick.

A/n: lmao I really ran after posting like 4 fics, but I'm doing a little better and even though I'm stressed with uni I've been dying to write something, so I hope y'all enjoy. (This actually took me so long to finish and i dont lobe the ending but i needs to move on, oops)

You sighed as you prepared to open the door to the house you shared with James. Once upon a time, you would've rushed in without a second thought. But lately the war had taken a toll on the two of you. Once happy moments were now filled with fear and dread, making you feel like you were drowning. And no matter how hard you tried to hold on to the love of your life, you could feel him shutting you out. James had always been an open book anyone who ever met him knew that, but lately he had built this wall meant to keep you away, only you. At first, you tried to understand and be patient considering everything you two were going through, but after countless fights of you begging for him to talk to you, you were tired. You squeezed your eyes shut once before pushing the door open and plastering a fake smile in your face, maybe today would be different.

"Jamie, I'm home, I brought your favorite from the bakery by my work!" you shouted into the house buy were greeted with only silence. After checking the house you realized you were alone which immediately sent you into a spiral of worry since James was supposed to be here an hour ago but deciding that maybe he had gotten caught up with something you tried to ignore your panic and start getting ready for your friend's Alice’s engagement party.

You heard the door open and close while you were finishing up with your hair, causing you to get up and genuinely smile when you saw James make his way to the bedroom that the two of you shared.

"I was wondering where you were, I got you some pastries they are in the counter." you tried, but he just gave you a tight-lipped smile with a wave before passing by you to your shared bedroom. You went after him and saw he was getting ready to jump in the shower. Figuring it was going to be another quiet afternoon, you sat at your vanity staring at yourself in the mirror holding back the tears threatening to spill and ruin your makeup and just prayed that at the wedding maybe you two could have fun like you used to. You didn't even realize how long you sat there until you heard James get out of the bathroom and start getting ready, and you decided to just get dressed too and sit by the window with a book while you waited for James to be ready.

"Are you okay?" You were broken out of your train of thought by James’s question.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be. " You answered, giving him a similar smile to the one he gave you when he arrived.

"I don't know, you just keep staring into space, and it's kinda creepy." he tried to joke, but what once would've made you smile and roll your eyes instead caused a knot to form at your throat again, and you felt tears prickling your eyes once again.

"Well what am I supposed to do is not like I can talk to you anymore James you always shut me out, and I don’t know what to do anymore to get you to bring down the walls that keep shutting me out! I don't even know what I did for you to shut me out!" You couldn't help but let out everything for the millionth time, hoping that maybe today would be the last time you two were having this conversation and that he would finally open up and let you two go back to normal.

However, you soon realized that it was only wishful thinking because James immediately lowered his head and mumbled "For fuck's sake y/n not this again"

"Yes, this again, James! Please talk to me! Stop shutting me out, please!" you were a sobbing mess by this point, begging him to let you in, not caring if you ruined your makeup.

But James just shook his head and walked out, "I'll wait for you in the car while you get cleaned up, we can't do this right now, or we’ll be late." just like that, he left you alone frozen with mascara running down your cheeks. You felt numb and just quickly tried to clean up but when you were done and staring at your reflection stare back at you with puffy red eyes you just felt pathetic.

On the way neither one of you talked James kept his eyes on the road while you looked out the window too lost in your thoughts to realize your usual music that would usually be playing while the two of you drove was not playing, James realized, and he felt like he was suffocating in the empty car ride.

The wedding was beautiful and despite your problems you couldn't help but imagine that one day it would maybe be you and James standing in an altar professing your love in front of all your friends and family. You turned to look at him as Alice and Ben were sharing their vows, only to catch him staring at Lily, and she was staring right back at him. You felt something break in you as confusion overtook you. Why is he looking at her?

Was she the reason that you were slowly getting kicked to the curb? Back in Hogwarts everyone knew that James was obsessed with Lily but when she finally gave him a chance things just didn't work out. Then you caught James's attention, and the rest is history.

You tried to focus on the happy couple in the altar as the ceremony came to an end, but you felt someone was stabbing you and twisting the knife.

By some miracle during the reception James asked you to dance which shocked you, but his eyes seemed so sincere and like they were almost begging that you couldn't help but to foolishly be filled with hope once again. As you took his hand, he genuinely smiled at you again the way he used to with that same boyish grin that made you fall for him 5 years ago.

The two of you danced in the center of the dance floor spinning and laughing around, you had not been this happy in so long. After a particularly long fit of giggles, James pulled you closer and looked into your eyes with a spark that the two of you hadn't shared in months. When you two were about to lock lips, someone cleared their throat besides you two and the two of you pulled slightly away.

"James could I have a word with you please?" Lily asked looking at James who immediately pulled away from you and went with her after telling you he'd be right back. Just like that you were brought back to reality the cloud 9 that you had been in for a little bit long gone, and again the sinking feeling invaded you, feeling like you were drowning. You needed a drink.

You went to the bar and after getting your drink you decided it wasn't enough, and you needed air. You walked out of the salon where everybody was and made your way to the garden, and that's when you heard it.

"James! You said you two were over, but it sure as hell doesn't look like it! I can't beli-"

"I know, I know, but I can explain Lily please! I-I-I came here with her because she was embarrassed to come alone, so I promised this would be our last outing together." You felt your heart stop, air getting caught in your throat.

"What? That doesn't-" Lily started as you felt the glass in your hands slip and shatter on the ground.

Both of them froze and looked at where you were standing, you could feel a knot forming in your throat but glared at the pair in front of you with tears forming in your eyes.

"Y/n I can explain!"

" I think both of us want an explanation, James, but she deserves it more. Y/n/n I'm so sorry I had no idea you two were still together." Lily went to walk away and James was about to chase after her when she heard you scoff and as you turned around.

"Say goodbye to Alice and Ben for me, would you? I have to go." you rushed out before basically sprinting to the nearest exit, hearing James chase after you, which wasn't hard considering he was taller than you and an athlete. He grabbed your arm when you two had made it to the parking lot and turned you around.

"So that's why I'm getting the cold shoulder." you blurted out before whatever he was able to utter whatever shit excuse he was going to tell you. You almost wanted to laugh, which made you feel like you were insane, but you thought about all the hours you had spent over the past couple of months looking in the mirror trying to see what was wrong with you, overanalyzing every tiny detail in your face. Laying in bed staring at the ceiling, replaying everything you had done that day that might have set James off.

"No no baby, I swear it's not what it looks like, Lily is just bitter we didn't work out, and she's trying to sabotage us! I've just been so stressed because of it, and I am so sorry I let it out on you."

"Bullshit James! You were literally just talking shit about me before i showed up and ruined your little act." You were seething by this point, and James flinched after your outburst. You had never been one to scream, and he knew that, but right now you honestly felt like nothing was the same and you weren't the same. "A-and you wanted to chase after her and you know what? maybe you should. Maybe you have a better shot at getting her back because we are over James Potter! I-I am so tired... I-" You were crying from all the different emotions you were feeling at that moment. Finally getting some enlightenment about why your relationship was dying gave you some relief of the crushing pain you were feeling being hunted by the "what if's" and "why's" you weren't the problem.

James tried to get close and wrap his arms around you. god he felt like an idiot for hurting you. He honestly doesn't know what he was thinking. He had hoped you never found out and had planned to break up with Lily soon enough, but he just needed to explore a little what it could've been like if he had stayed with her. Plus the thrill of it was something that James had loved for the time being, but he never wanted to hurt you. His heart broke at the sight of you, he couldn't imagine what you were feeling.

"Don't even think about it! Don't ever touch me again don't ever look at me, I hate you so much Potter, I don't want to know anything about you from this day on James! We now mean nothing to me, we are strangers!" You glared at him in a way he had never seen you look at anyone, and felt his heart drop.

He tried to protest, feeling the tears leave his own eyes at the idea of losing you completely forever. But you just turned around and walked away.

[delta-drawsarts]

About my "To Save a Sister" comic

Howdy y'all, Delta here! And I'm here to talk about my "To Save a Sister" comic and the process it underwent during the 5 months since I started Part 1 back in September. (Before posting here ofc)

Originally, the comic was a sort of a spur of the moment thing. Mainly cuz I wanted to try drawing Clover running, and just have a "Clover sacrifices themselves to save a life" moment. When I returned to it in December to give it a bit of a fix-up (Yes, I know AU designs were not in Part 1 I was still work shopping them and was too lazy) before moving onto Part 2.

The story that goes through Part 2 didn't change much, but a few things did change the direction. Such as I was going to originally have Clover fall as if they just been dropped into the ocean or something, like those bubbles effects and what not. But it got scrapped cuz I couldn't figure out a way for it to work.

Next was the scene where Kanako was crying in Ceroba's arms while Chujin just stood silently over Clover's crushed body beneath the boulder. At first, I was going to have it play after the dust settled and Kanako see Clover trapped under the boulder, their head and upper torso would have been peaking out with no signs of life as blood pooled around where their body is beneath the boulder. And Kanako would be shaking them and telling them to wake up, but I felt it was too gruesome honestly. Same applies with Kanako's death, because as she's trying to wake up Clover another boulder would have fallen and killed her. But as you saw, I changed that to her visiting their grave before Flowey killed her for shits and giggles.

And I was gonna have Vengeance Clover shoot Reg. Clover and it was gonna fade from the void to their last save point. Like they were being pushed out It looked SO cool in my head, but I couldn't figure out how I wanted to do it :(

Part 3 was already set in stone. Clover uses the Dash to save Kanako, they get trapped, and have to wait for rescue. However, the part that came AFTER I workshopped two ideas. The one y'all saw was obviously one of them, but here's the scrapped version.

Kanako would start having a panic attack, and start melting.

Yep, that's right. Kanako would be a sort of semi-amalgamate, only revealing that when she's deeply distressed or sad. I had the idea implemented when I was originally writing United Bond that Chujin confessed about his secret experiments, before eventually scraping it when I did some rewriting. And the idea of Kanako being a semi-amalgamate stemmed that she and Ceroba were helping Chujin clear out the basement, since he no longer wishes to work on soul experiments. While Kanako was helping, and being curious rummaging through a box, she would accidentally stabbed her hand on a spare syringe that had the serum. (Chujin must have forgotten about it)

Now, nothing happened at first. But then she started spazzing out and melting, Ceroba sensing her distress zoomed to the basement with Chujin in tow. Chujin immediately took the syringe that Kanako dropped and just slammed it into a trash can, sealed it in a box, and shoved it away to destroy later. It took nearly 3 hours before Kanako finally calmed down and reformed back together. Ceroba suggested taking Kanako to Alphys, but Chujin managed to convince her not to, as at that point in the Underground, Alphys had done the DT experiments and went radio silent after messaging families their loved ones were awake. (Chujin is friends with one of these families and heard all about it.) So, he does not trust her to even give him and Ceroba even a fraction of their daughter's condition.

So, Kanako would continue living as a semi-amalgamate. The only other person to know this would be Starlo, who Ceroba had sworn him to secrecy to not tell anybody, even his parents.

It WOULD have been a unique idea though.

Continuing on, Clover would have to try and calm her down, and then they would by telling her about their sibling; Frisk. It ends the same way, but the in-between changed drastically.

[justabigassnerd]

Night Scare

Pairing - Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x daughter!reader

Word count - 1,275

Warnings - inaccurate medical scenes (I tried), worried Jake, fluff

Summary - a night time asthma attack turns a normal evening into a worry fest for Jake

A/N - wow... about two weeks later I'm finally posting a fic. I am so sorry for delays I've been struggling with writers block, it's still not fully gone but my guilt is catching up to me so I'm literally forcing myself to write. this was an anon request and I hope I did it justice. as per y'all please send in requests, feedback and enjoy!!!

Living with asthma is something you had just learned to deal with growing up. Always had to make sure your inhaler was on hand and learned to know when you could be on the verge of an asthma attack.

One evening, while your dad and Bradley were downstairs watching a sports match, you remained in your room, relaxing and scrolling through your phone. As you sit on your bed, scrolling through your phone, you began to cough occasionally but you shook it off, assuming it was just the ending of the cold you had just recovered from. Then your chest began to feel tight, like it was slowly being squeezed. You instinctively grabbed the inhaler that sat on your bedside table and took a puff of the medicine, settling back against the pillows and waiting for the medicine to do its job. After half an hour, you realise the inhaler isn’t working so you take another puff of the medicine and fight back a coughing fit that suddenly attacks you, taking your breath away from you as you struggle to recover it. Not wanting to risk losing your footing in your panic to get downstairs and risk hurting yourself, you open your phone and find your dad’s number, opening your messages and typing out a text.

Jake raised an eyebrow when he felt his phone buzz and saw your name above the text. He debated calling up to you but something in his gut was screaming at him to open the text, so he did.

‘I think I’m having an asthma attack’

“Call 9-1-1.” Jake says, leaping to his feet and heading for the stairs, leaving Bradley confused in the living room.

“What?!” Bradley calls up to Jake just as he disappears up the stairs.

“Call 9-1-1, y/n is having an asthma attack and I’m not taking any risks.” Jake calls down to Bradley who immediately pulls his phone out of his pocket and dials 9-1-1 while Jake bursts into your room to find you sat bolt upright and struggling to breathe. He could tell you were trying to keep calm so you could control your breaths a little better, but he could see the panic in your eyes.

“I’m here, sweetheart. Take another puff of your inhaler for me, okay? Rooster’s calling the ambulance now they’ll get here as quick as they can.” Jake says, sitting next to you on the bed and taking the small inhaler from your hands and holding it to your mouth so you could take a puff, he kept a close eye on you, seeing how you were doing.

Before too long, you heard the front door opening and Bradley talking downstairs before you heard footsteps heading up the stairs and you see two paramedics enter the room, equipment in hand as they approached.

“We’re going to need you to step back, sir.” One of the paramedics says, making Jake press a kiss to the top of your head and whisper reassuringly before he gets up from the bed, allowing the paramedics to assess you. The paramedics ask Jake for your name and what medication you are on which he gives, grabbing the medical information card he had and handing it to the paramedic, so they knew everything they needed to in order to help you. The paramedics help you downstairs to where a stretcher was waiting after assessing and concluding that you need to go to the ER for some medicine and observation. Jake is given permission to ride in the ambulance with you and just as he goes to follow you, Bradley stops him.

“I’m going to head home and get out of your hair. Keep me updated and I’ll come by when I can.” Bradley says and Jake nods, clapping Bradley on the shoulder.

“Thanks for calling the ambulance. I’ll see you around.” Jake says as the two walk out of the house, closing the door behind them. Bradley nods in acknowledgement before crossing to his Bronco while Jake gets in the back of the ambulance with you as the paramedic did what he needed to do. You were given an oxygen tube and some medicine, and your attack was seeming to wane thanks to it.

When the ambulance pulled up outside the hospital, the paramedics eased the stretcher out and wheeled you into the ER and one of the paramedics and Jake eased you onto a bed while the other paramedic filled in the nurse on what had happened. When you’re settled on the bed, the paramedics head back out to their ambulance while the nurse comes to your bedside.

“Hi, y/n. I’ve been informed that you’ve received some treatment and oxygen on the way over here and you seem to be doing better but we just want to keep you in for a few hours just in case you have another attack, okay?” The nurse says cheerfully as she inputs some final things on the tablet in her hand. You nod at her words as does your dad and the nurse then excuses herself to continue her rounds.

“You feeling okay?” Jake asks softly as he watches you.

“Feeling a lot better than I was earlier.” You say with a smile, making Jake smile gently and finally let himself relax.

“It was a little scary though.” You admit, looking away from your dad who softens at your words, reaching out and taking your hand gently in his own.

“I bet it was sweetheart. I thought it was scary just from my perspective I can’t imagine what it was like for you.” Jake says, watching you carefully as you shift your gaze to look back at him briefly.

“The important thing is you’re okay now. We’ll stay here for as long as the nurses want us to and then we’ll head home, and you can get some sleep and you can rest as much as you want tomorrow as well. We’ll take it easy.” Jake says reassuringly, giving your hand a small squeeze as well.

After almost three hours of lying on the hospital bed with constant check-ups, the nurses allow you to go home for the rest of the night, confident that you won’t have any more attacks for the night. They urge Jake to book you a doctor’s appointment as soon as possible to check how everything is going with your lungs and then you are cleared to go. As you exit the hospital, Jake is checking on the status of the Uber he booked and before too long it pulls up and the two of you get in the back seats and begin the journey home. By the time you get home, you’re just about ready to collapse into your bed. You immediately head up to your room and get into your pyjamas, quickly burying yourself under your duvet and curling up. It didn’t take your dad long to knock on the door and enter with your permission. He crossed to your bed and bent over to kiss the top of your head.

“Sleep well, sweetheart. If you need me, I’m just next door.” He whispers as you nod, eyes slipping shut instantly and Jake lets out a soft chuckle, pulling the duvet over you a bit more and leaving the room, turning the light off as he goes.

Jake returns to his own room, getting in his bed and lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He had just been through a scare that may taunt him for a while, but he knew you were just next door sleeping peacefully and he’d look after you as best he can.

[marvelsdc22]

Depression Spikes

Intro: Well, lookie here, I actually got halfway through, I'm gonna try and post these once a week, this season is gonna have around 12 chapters, anyways, hope y'all enjoy~

Summary: When life and stress gets to you, you make a decision, whether it was a good decision or not is a different story.

You sat in your shared bedroom, staring at the wall in front of you, hoping… no, praying that the past few weeks were all just some nightmare and that you’d wake up tomorrow and everything would be fine, your best friend wouldn’t be locked away in a high security hospital, your dad wouldn’t of died in front of you, and you wouldn’t be holed up in your room, a new prosthetic on your arm and in pain, blocking everyone out including Lena who had been nothing but a doting girlfriend in your time of need, you just wanted this all to be some horrible dream, you wanted to wake up from it.

You felt bad that you weren’t speaking to Lena, doing your best to avoid her and everyone else that you possibly could, your depression had become even worse as time went on and you knew it would get worse the longer you pushed the people that loved you away but you couldn’t help but feel that maybe everyone would be better if you weren’t around, life would be easier if that was the case wouldn’t it?

After a few hours of staring, you heard the door open as Lena crept in, she had been trying everyday to get you to speak to her or at the very least acknowledge her presence “I brought you some lunch from the diner… It’s your favorite” she said, going and setting it down on the nightstand you were close to before setting her things down and kneeling down in front of you “I was thinking that we could go for a walk today, some fresh air would do you some good” she said, looking at you and wanting to reach out to you but she also didn’t want to scare you.

Seeing you like this broke a piece of her heart, she hated seeing you this way and she was running out of ways that she could try to break you from this trance that you had gotten yourself into “Come on, we can hit that ice cream shop that you love” she suggested, cautiously reaching out and resting it on your leg, feeling some relief when you finally met her gaze, the two of you locking gazes before you felt tears building in your eyes.

When Lena saw the tears, she immediately engulfed you in a hug, letting out a breath of relief when she felt you slowly wrap your arm around her and holding you tighter, whispering ‘I love you’ and ‘I got you’ in your ear as you finally let yourself sob, all of the feelings that you’d been holding in for the past few weeks finally coming out as you shook in Lena’s hold “I’m sorry” you croaked out in between sobs, wishing you could’ve been better.

Lena slowly pulled back and cupped your face gently “Honey, you have nothing to be sorry for… These past few weeks have been insane, no one would know how to process what all you’ve been through, just know that I’m here for you and I’m not going anywhere” she assured, squeezing your arms before gently wiping the remaining tears off your face “Lets get some food in you and we’ll go on that walk I promised” she suggested, handing you the bag of food before stepping away to grab you a change of clothes.

xxxx

Later on that night as Lena was making dinner, you were on the phone with your mom, her ecstatic to hear your voice again, Lena called her every other day and would update her on how you were doing but nothing compared to actually hearing it from you “I’m sorry we haven’t been able to talk much… It’s been hard for me to adjust” you apologized, looking at the prosthetic that was hanging at your side, you still not fully used to it “I understand, dear… It’s rough not having your father around anymore, I keep thinking that he’ll come walking through the front door, acting like a goofball” your mother said, giving a sad smile as she looked at her now empty living room.

After talking with your mother for a bit, Lena called saying that dinner was ready, telling your mother you loved her and would talk to her tomorrow before you headed into the kitchen, not feeling overly hungry but you knew you had to eat something to regain the energy and weight you had lost during your trance period “Thanks Lena” you said, offering her a small smile as she handed you a plate “Of course, I hope you enjoy it” Lena smiled, turning to fill up her plate when she heard you set yours down before grabbing her wrist.

Once she looked at you, you shook your head and gave her wrist a small squeeze “No, I mean thank you for being here for me… I know I didn’t do anything to deserve it, I was pushing you away but you stayed with me anyways and I will never be able to tell you how much I appreciate what you have done for me” you said, biting your lip as you looked down at your feet, unable to hold her gaze anymore since you felt immense guilt for treating her the way you did.

You looked up when you felt her finger gently lift your gaze, gently running her thumb along your bottom lip, pulling it free from the confines of your teeth “You were hurting, yes I was hurting too but you were hurting more, I will always stick with you, we’ve been through so much for me to just give up on this when you’re in the worst pain imaginable, I love you and I will tell you that everyday until my last breath if I have to” she said softly, looking into your eyes that were now burning with tears once more, the two of you leaning in and sharing a soft kiss, this was a work in progress and both of you were determined to walk through this thing called life together.

Taglist:

@unexpected-character

[tactician]

as you probably know, the most recent pokemon games feature pretty significant pokedex cuts due to the sheer magnitude of pokemon that are now available to us. this means that some pokemon are simply not featured in certain mainline games, which adds a unique element to a lot of pokemon's ribbon master journeys. re: my experience with reides, working around unobtainable ribbons wasn't exactly a new experience - after all, there were no available shadow horseas/seadras/kingdras in pokemon colosseum or pokemon xd, so i knew that my kingdra wouldn't be able to get the national ribbon (granted to purified shadow pokemon) - but it still was something i had to consider and plot out carefully as i brought him up towards the more recent generations. for example, reides was unable to get the hisui ribbon (granted for taking a photo with your pokemon in the region's photo studio), as the horsea line was not featured in legends arceus... and, for a long time, i figured that he wouldn't be able to get any of the ribbons (and marks!) featured in scarlet and violet.

but then... the dlc happened. the glorious, glorious dlc.

the horsea line was re-introduced into the pokedex when indigo disk - the second batch of dlc for scarlet and violet - dropped. needless to say, i was EXTREMELY hype about this. in my previous post, i mentioned not being sure if reides would be able to join me in this current generation of pokemon. i wondered if i'd have to brave the long, long queues of pokemon shield in order to get the master rank ribbon on him and make him a true ribbon master... but fortune smiled down on me, and reides was miraculously granted access to generation 9 of the pokemon games.

before i get into reides' journey through paldea, kitakami and unova, here's a quick reminder you can find each part of reides' ribbon master journey here on my personal website, or here in my ribbon master tag on this tumblr! it spans from my childhood copy of emerald version to my... uh... adulthood (lmao) copy of scarlet version... so it's quite the sizeable read! to everyone who's stuck by me for this whole challenge and expressed support for my lovely kingdra: thank you so much! and for anyone new to the reides saga: welcome, and i hope you enjoy my posts about him!

with that handled... it's time to cover a brand new generation of ribbons and marks!

as a big pokemon fan, i tend to play new games and dlc the very moment that i can. in the current era of #gaming, that means obsessively checking for game updates on the night of dlc releases. as i mashed that + button on my pro controller to check for updates to my copy of scarlet, i felt especially nervous. thanks to people being mischievous and sneaking alleged leaks around on twitter, i knew that the horsea line was supposedly being introduced into the game... but i'm extremely skeptical by nature. (can you believe that some people go on the internet and lie?!?!) i didn't want to believe that reides' ribbon master journey would continue until i saw a little horsea (or seadra... or kingdra...) swimming around in a digital body of water myself. once my game finally updated, i sprinted over to blueberry academy as SOON as i could and began running around the terarium in search of a horsea. i found one swimming around in a lake almost immediately.

when i tell y'all... the scream i scrumpt... LMFAO. joking aside, it felt like i could finally breathe again. i was SO READY to plop reides into my file and get right to grabbing the ribbons and marks that were added for gen9. unfortunately, gamefreak had other plans for me, and pokemon home was under maintenance. after falling dramatically to my knees, i busied myself with getting the rest of my team for the dlc ready. this included grinding out the necessary bp to unlock wild starters in the terarium, then embarking on a shiny hunt for my fav starter pokemon of all time - totodile! after hours and hours of looking around, i managed to catch one successfully in a love ball and named him barge. along with the rest of my indigo disk team, barge would go on to be close friends with reides. anyway, after a lengthy maintenance, pokemon home was eventually ready to go. i leapt right in, retrieving reides and plopping him into my party. i'm a huge fan of the updated pokemon models in scarlet, so i was hype to see the one that they gave shiny kingdra. i was NOT disappointed in the slightest!

LOOK AT HOW GORGEOUS HE IS. the tiny scale details... the glossy shine... my god. as much as i liked the sleekness of the models in gen8, i like the more realistic ones that gen9 introduced a whole lot more. the devs did a phenomenal job; kingdra looks absolutely majestic. with my full indigo disk team now present in my copy of scarlet, i had to take a group shot and treat everyone to a sandwich!

reides met five new pals: bane the weezing, grunge the krookodile, bento the snorlax, axe the haxorus, and, of course, barge the feraligatr! i shiny hunted for all of them myself, as i really enjoyed doing the same for my kitakami team during my teal mask playthrough.

i wasn't quite ready to take on the indigo disk plotline, though. my first order of business was grabbing a ribbon for reides - namely, the paldea champion ribbon! i hopped on a plane and flew back to paldea, signing up for a spot in the academy ace tournament.

i really love the vibes of the academy ace tournament; everyone is so passionate about the battles, and the music is an absolute JAM. i was especially happy about reides' first experience as a competitor in it, too, because my fav character in the game just-so-happened to show up for it!

that's right: arven - the man, the myth, the legend - challenged me and reides to a battle.

shoutout to him holding his pokeball upside down. just one more reason as to why he's truly one of the best pokemon characters. (btw, as happy was i was to see arven, i always feel so bad to fight his mabosstiff. that's my FRIEND!!!!!!)

anyway, after sweeping his way through everyone in the academy ace tournament, reides was granted the paldea champion ribbon for his efforts.

after nabbing that ribbon, i decided that i should really get a move on with the indigo disk's actual plot, as i wanted to avoid spoilers and also REALLY wanted to know what happened next in the plot. i was pretty invested in the hooks that teal mask introduced and was especially worried about kieran. (just why did teal mask's plot force us to lie to that poor kid, btw?! just thinking about it gets me so annoyed. i'd go through an 'evil' arc too if i was in his shoes, i'll tell you that.) even though it's not really relevant to reides' ribbon master quest, i figured i'd share some photos of his storyline adventure, too.

(btw, i'm writing this post in feb 2024, which means that indigo disk has been Around for around 2 months and thus the spoiler embargo is pretty much lifted - but, still: be warned that there are some spoilers for indigo disk beyond this point!)

the battles in indigo disk ended up being pretty tough; i was glad that i put time aside to train up my team properly. we managed to take on the blueberry elite four and kieran and ultimately Prevailed - even if the battles were quite close, at times! i was kinda sad that there was no ribbon associated with beating all of them - it would've been nice to finally get some form of an unovan ribbon on my ribbon master - and i was also pretty shocked that the dlc didn't introduce a battle tower. regardless, even if reides didn't get a ribbon for his performance in the battles, it was still awesome to include him in them, and i had a whole lot of fun.

i also brought reides along for the Shenanigans following the blueberry academy plotline.

luckily for me, briar, carmine and kieran were chill with waiting in the underdepths of area zero while i took reides on a bit of a photoshoot. it was just so pretty down there!! how could i resist!!

anyway, silly little wanderings aside, it was really cool to have reides involved in the big showdown against terapagos. i was especially happy when kieran snapped out of his funk and i got to battle alongside him. his hydrapple even used dragon cheer, powering reides up during the battle. it made the whole experience feel all the more significant.

with everything all sorted out, i ended up being really happy with the indigo disk's overall plot. i definitely liked it a lot more than teal mask's narrative and was really pleased that we could become proper friends with kieran once more. (i still wish that we could've apologized for lying to him, though.)

now that i was safe from indigo disk spoilers and emboldened with love for pokemon as a whole, i decided to pick up my ribbon-collecting in earnest once more... though the next ribbon on my list was not actually a ribbon. it was a mark! introduced in gen8, marks are basically the same as ribbons. i think of them as little stickers on pokemon, haha. the first one that i set my sights on was the gourmand mark, which has a chance of being randomly given to your pokemon after eating a meal with them! these meals can be the store-bought ones or the ones that you make yourself via the picnic system.

frankly, i have no idea WHEN reides got this mark, as i went sort of crazy with buying lots of different meals. (i really like the food art in this game, okay!!) it definitely didn't take long for one of these meals to really strike his fancy, though. he got the gourmand mark very quickly and also got the title 'reides the gourmet' along with it!

i then decided that i'd try to get the other two marks on reides in one fell swoop. the first of these marks was the itemfinder mark, which your pokemon has a chance of getting when they pick up an item in the overworld. to get this mark, you have to make use of the let's go feature, which allows your pokemon to walk alongside you. the second of these marks was the partner mark, which... can be quite the ordeal. your pokemon basically has a 1/100 chance to get this mark with every 10k steps that you take. additionally, your pokemon also has to be friendly towards you in order for them to have a chance at getting this mark. since both of these marks rely on random chance, i knew that i could get really unlucky and end up going off on one hell of a grind for them... but i decided to just take it one step at a time. instead of focusing on getting the marks to trigger, i wanted to wander around and enjoy the sights around the various regions of the game. after all, i was lucky to even HAVE reides in this generation - and these marks gave me the perfect excuse to take lots of photos with him, too!

i was especially happy to take some photos of him with aske, my shiny gallade who joined me for my teal mask journey. as you guys know, reides the kingdra is named after a character that i play in a dnd campaign. similarly, aske is named after another character in that campaign; he's reides' boyfriend!

i also enjoyed roaming around *as* reides while using the new synchro machine, too! i'm not sure if items that you pick up count towards the itemfinder mark in this mode, but i'd like to think that they do.

thanks to my casual approach to getting these marks, i actually have no idea how long they took for me to get on reides. one day, i just happened to check and they were BOTH there, so i guess the 'grind' truly ended up being completely painless. in the following screenshot, i'm hovering over the partner mark, but you can see the itemfinder one at the end of the row above it, too.

with the marks now handled, i had one more ribbon to get on reides before he could become a true ribbon master. this ribbon was the one that i was the most nervous about by FAR. the master rank ribbon is granted to your pokemon once you emerge victorious in one (1) online battle against another player... but the catch here is that the battle has to be in the master rank. for me, it meant climbing from the beginner rank all the way up there.

naturally, i procrastinated with this ribbon a whole lot. i took reides along for the (amazing) epilogue when it dropped in january, taking more pictures with him and making more memories... all the while wondering just when i'd get around to tackling the Final Ribbon.

as it turns out, i didn't actually end up procrastinating on it all that long. my friend cody visited me a few days after the epilogue dropped, and my other friend blee stayed over at my house for his visit, too. both of them knew about reides the kingdra and we decided that we'd tackle operation: final ribbon acquisition together, with blee spearheading it as someone very well-versed in vgc. over the course of a few days, we managed to get up to master rank - running into a bunch of really interesting teams and occurences during the climb of legend. (special shoutout to a dedenne who kept trying to spam nuzzle on pokemon who were completely immune to it, but who successfully spread the glory of Cheek Pouch via entrainment onto us all.) i learnt a truly crazy amount of stuff about the competitive world of pokemon and really enjoyed all of the different rental teams that we tried out.

upon arriving in the master ball tier, we had to switch gears, though, as we couldn't use rental teams anymore and, instead, had to build one from scratch so that reides could be included in it. i ended up building this portland regional finals team as per blee's recommendation, though we swapped out raging bolt for reides, himself. since it was my own team and not a rental one, we gave nicknames to each team member.

my entei is one that i got in an event years and years ago (they're shiny and in a cherish ball), so i couldn't nickname them... but just know that they are 'flamberge' in spirit. o7 reides also got an electric tera type (and tera blast as part of his moveset) for fun, as his namesake is associated with storms.

it was a lot of fun making this team!!! the very specific ev-spreads that some of the pokemon required gave me a newfound appreciation for all of the feathers that i happened to pick up while wandering the terarium... not to mention all of the mochi that i collected while oustin' ogres in kitakami.

once the team was all built, it was time to get the final W in order to secure the ribbon at long last. we could all breathe a whole lot easier, as when you rank up to another ball tier, you can't "demote" to a lower one - so falling back into the ultra ball tier wasn't a concern. victory didn't evade us for long, either!

after a REALLY fun battle against someone named alex, operation: final ribbon was finally complete.

reides - along with the rest of the team who helped clutch out the victory - got the much-coveted master rank ribbon.

upon getting this ribbon, it finally happened.

reides the kingdra officially became a ribbon master.

a journey that began back in october 2023 finally came to a close. with his 91 total ribbons (since his two golden memory ribbons have 48 ribbons in total within them), reides now has each and every single ribbon that he can possibly attain from his origin game of emerald version to the current pokemon generation.

i'm sure that all of my posts speak for themselves in terms of the sheer amount of effort that i put into this challenge. there were many times that i thought i hit a "roadblock," be it in the form of a gruelling grind or worries over not being able to access something due to hardware restrictions. in the end, however, reides was able to rise above all of the challenges. i got sooo much help and support from friends over the course of this whole challenge, so i have to give a BIG shoutout to every single one of y'all! and, of course, i have to extend thanks to all of the people who posted about their ribbon mastery experiences online, as i definitely couldn't have guided reides to this point without them. i'm hoping that the posts that i made about reides' journey can serve as a guide of sorts to anyone who wants to pick up the challenge for their pokemon, too!

at any rate, reides is my very first ribbon master and i definitely plan on keeping his ribbon collection up-to-date in future generations of pokemon. i say it time and time again, but the ribbon master challenge is amazing because it gets you interacting with aspects of the pokemon games that you may have never even thought of trying out. you form a true emotional bond with your pokemon, and it's just... so very fantastic. you make so many memories!!! so while there might not be an update to the reides saga until those generations are out and about, i'm already excited to keep on hunting for ribbons and am hoping that the horsea line is included in every single game going forward! because, quite frankly... it's what reides deserves. >:)

before i Sign Off on this post, however, i wanted to share something i bought to celebrate reides; namely, a custom shiny kingdra diorama from nerdidecor on etsy.

ISN'T IT SO CUTE!!!!! i put it right on my desk next to my pc so that i can always have a little reminder of my amazing ribbon master with me. i'm hoping to get more shiny kingdra stuff in the future, too!

either way, thank you all so much again for keeping up with me and my beloved kingdra! i'm already looking forward to being able to write up another one of these posts in the future! until then, reides is definitely going to enjoy a nice vacation from ribbon hunting. rest assured that i will be taking the very best care of him!!! :D

[urconfusingboi]

welcome to my shifting journey~

Hello!!°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

This is my first (official) post on here. I was unsure of how to go about it, particularly in the shifting community, but after looking through a lot of the posts I've come to realize it's totally & completely unique to everyone. Personally, I really enjoy writing, so these may be detailed & long.

Anyways,

I really want to connect and communicate with the shifting community on here!! So to begin with that process...

My name is Katie,

I've been part of the shifting community for a long time now (since 2020). Specifically, I've been in the community for five whole years! But, I began posting (online) in late 2020 &/or early 2021 (on my late account, @urmilkmansmom (on TikTok)). I have shifted, though, it was on accident... I know some people hate this word, but I mini-shifted to a reality similar to mine (I'll post the story (in long-detail) another time), & I definitely can tell you without a doubt, it's really real. I know some people are hard to trust/believe without knowing them, and some of you may or may not know me, but once you do get to know me (if you do decide to do that), you'll notice my honesty (hopefully) and realize I gain nothing from lying.

Well... possibly except for "shifting clout" because people, sadly, have done that. But, just know, the one time I shifted was a couple years back and sadly it hasn't happened since. But, when it does happen again, and more frequently (because I'm sure it will), I'll be forthright & detailed in my story-times!!

Continuing on...

I first came across shifting in 2020 (obviously), and from my initial reaction, it didn't seem likely that I would become a shifter. But, curiosity got the better of me, that is, after cynically laughing at my phone, and I searched up, "shifting" (in my TikTok browser). After, "researching" for what seemed like hours, I had finally decided to actually shift. I didn't believe that anything would happen (so there wasn't any harm in trying), and the first method I attempted was (again, obviously) The Raven Method. At first, nothing was really happening, then I began feeling the tingles (or tinglies, as I say), and I felt as if I was floating. I opened my eyes, immediately, and the image that I was faced with was the one I saw right before I closed my eyes. So I knew I was still in my bed, sadly. But, from that first tingle, I knew it was real. Even if I couldn't prove it, nor explain it, shifting was real to me. (I know now that the tingles are part of the REM Cycle/meditative state thing, but it's never happened before that moment to me, and it only ever happens when I'm shifting (by the way, I'm not trying to spread any misinformation, just explaining my own experiences)).

Anyways,

feel free to ask any questions, or whatever!! I'm happy to answer anything and build a connection on this app!!

It was nice chatting with y'all!!📝♥︎

p.s. Let me know if I should make my posts longer, shorter, or whatever? I love feedback and would be happy to get some on this post!!₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Every Little Thing *He* Does is Magic, Chapter 5

Pairing: Platonic Steven Grant x Reader (for now)

Rating: T

Word count: ~1200

Story Summary: The events of Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, retold from Reader's perspective after the fact to her best friend.

Tags/Warnings: Companion fic, canon Divergent since Steven still works for the British Museum post-canon, No Jake Lockley, developing friendship, spoilers for ELTSDiM

A/N: 2024 was a shitshow for me, but here's to a better 2025! Enjoy, y'all. (Also, we're slowly catching up to ELTSDiM! Woooo)

Y/N looked at the time on her computer. It was just after noon in London, which meant it was 7 AM in Tennessee, where Amy and Blake lived. Luckily Amy was an early riser, so Y/N took a couple of photos of the tea variety set Steven had given her, then sent them to Amy with the caption, Gift from Steven. :)

A few minutes later, Amy sent back a reply. OMG that is so sweet! Can you FaceTime? I want the full story.

Yeah, I'm free for the next half-hour or so.

Y/N’s phone rang with a FaceTime request.

She swiped to answer, smiling when Amy’s face appeared on screen. “Hey, Ames.”

“Hey!” Amy replied with a smile of her own. “So, tell me everything.”

“Okay, hold on just a sec.” Y/N got up and walked over to her open door. “Helen, I'm taking my lunch break in my office. Just knock if you need anything.”

Helen nodded. “Yes, ma'am.”

Y/N closed her door then walked back over to her desk and sat. “Steven texted me super early this morning -- like, before I even left for work -- asking if he could meet with me, so of course I immediately went into panic mode and kept imagining all of the worst possible scenarios and concluded that he had gotten another job and was resigning.”

Amy winced. “Yeah, I can see how you'd think that.”

“As soon as I got to my office I texted him back and told him that I was here and to come on up, then I went to look out the window and mentally prepare myself to accept his resignation. He got up to my office pretty quickly so I asked him to close the door behind him for some privacy then I sat at my desk and asked him how I could help him.” Y/N smiled. “Instead of resigning like I was expecting, Steven said that I was a wonderful director and that he enjoyed working with me, then he set a gift bag on my desk.” 

She huffed out a laugh. “I was so distracted by the thought of losing him to another museum that I didn't even notice he even had a gift bag with him until he gave it to me.”

Amy smiled. “So he was just in a hurry to give you your gift?”

Y/N nodded. “He said that he ran across that particular set and thought I would like it.”

Amy grinned. “The packaging is literally shaped like pyramids, of course you would like it.”

“I know, right?” Y/N sighed. “I was so touched by his gesture that I asked him if I could give him a hug, which he accepted.”

Amy's eyebrows raised. “Ooh, and what was that like? Was it just as nice being in his arms as I would imagine?”

“Oh my God, Ames, it was even better. There’s something just so, I don't know, comforting about Steven as it is, so getting to hug him was… honestly it was indescribable. I didn't want to let him go.” 

“Mmm hmm, get it, girl.”

Y/N shook her head with a light laugh. “I did let go eventually, then since I had skipped my morning coffee in order to get to work early I asked him if he wanted to have a cup of tea with me in the break room. I saw that there was Earl Grey and I wanted to try it right away.”

“So how was it?”

“It was really good! Steven suggested adding a tiny bit of sugar to it, so it was sweet without overpowering the citrusy taste of the bergamot in it. Oh, and while we were waiting for our tea to steep I mentioned that I was thinking about swapping out some of the items in the gift shop that weren't selling and Steven had some great ideas for new merchandise.”

Amy nodded. “Oh yeah, didn't you say he originally worked in the gift shop before you promoted him?”

“Yeah, he was a clerk.” Y/N paused. “I also admitted to him that I thought he wanted to meet with me this morning because he was quitting.”

“What did he say?”

“He said absolutely not, that he planned on staying right where he was.”

Amy grinned. “Smart man.”

“I said that was good to know then I made a joke about being relieved that I wouldn't have to find someone else to rescue me from chatty board members.” Y/N shifted in her seat. “He said that there were probably plenty of others who'd be willing to come to my rescue, and again, because for some reason my mouth works faster than my brain when I'm around him, I said maybe, but that it'd be no one quite like him.”

Amy nodded with a smile. “He definitely seems like one-of-a-kind.”

Y/N nodded. “That's exactly what I said, then I followed it up with the fact that not everyone would be willing to sneak away from a fancy party to go translate hieroglyphics with me.”

Amy's eyebrows raised. “Aaaaand? What did he say in response?”

Y/N bit her lip. “That he'd happily sneak away with me anytime.”

Amy gasped. “I knew it!” 

Y/N shook her head. “He didn't mean it like that, he's just introverted and as uncomfortable around large crowds as I am, so of course he'd be willing to get away.”

Amy scoffed good-naturedly. “Oh come on, you can't honestly believe that’s the only reason.”

Y/N shrugged. While a part of her did hope that Steven wanted to sneak away from the galas with her for reasons other than just escaping the crowd, she knew she couldn't allow herself to seriously consider the possibility. “Anyway, we made a joke about hiding out and drinking tea together in the Ancient Greece exhibit at the next one.”

“Hot.”

Y/N chuckled. “That was pretty much it. I have to get ready for the weekly department heads meeting so I gotta run, but I'll talk to you later?”

Amy nodded. “Yeah, I'll talk to you later. And for the record, I'm glad that Steven affirmed that he doesn't have any plans to leave.”

“Me too.” Y/N sighed. Just when she thought she might be able to get over the stupid little crush she had on Steven, he’d offer to help her with some sort of special project or do something incredibly sweet and thoughtful like walk her home in the rain or buy her a box of tea because it reminded him of her and he thought she'd like it. “He's honestly one of the best people I've ever worked with, which is why I need to get over this stupid crush on him.”

Amy shook her head. “Call me after work, ‘kay?”

“I will.”

“Alright, bye.”

“Bye.”

Y/N hung up then turned to get her notes for her meeting, smiling when the box of tea Steven had given her caught her eye once again. Maybe I'll see if he's free for another cup of tea before our department heads' meeting.

She shook her head. No. No, focus on the meeting.

“Helen,” she said as she opened her door and stepped out of her office, “if anyone needs me I'll be in the conference room for the department heads’ meeting.”

Helen nodded. “Yes, ma'am.”

Y/N headed downstairs, determined to keep her mind off of Steven.

…She just wasn't sure how easy it would be.

[thebeckster]

Ben again with a second prompt for that reverse trope game: Forte/Frey and the soulmates fated to kill each other? (;w;)

HI BEN GUESS WHAT WAS SO PERFECTLY UP MY ALLEY FOR A COMPLETELY TRAGIC STORY INSTEAD OF MAKING THIS A SHORT PROMPT FILL LIKE I INTENDED IT BECAME A 7.3K WORD MONSTER!

As soon as I saw the prompt and the ship I just immediately went "Well, that's perfect for a Dark!Empress Frey AU!" And then I went into an ADHD fueled fugue state for 4 hours and came out with this!

I am not going to post the whole story here, even under a cut, I won't do that to y'all. So you can read the whole thing on AO3!

I'll put the juciest parts here. it will still be quite long under the cut, be warned.

CW: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death, generally Mature content in the back half.

Forte only ever had her fortune told once. She had been a young girl, just about a year into her training – old enough to be concerned about the future, but young enough to believe in soothsayers. She went with a group of girlfriends, all giggling and nervous and excited to know what exactly fate had in store for them Would they find love? Glory? Power? One by one the girls stepped into the witch’s parlor, paid her the required coin, and asked their questions. Forte waited to go last. She didn’t know what she wanted to ask the seer. Before she made up her mind, the witch was calling her in. The parlor was dark, the air heavy with smokey incense. Candles flickered all around, they were the only source of light, aside from the faintly glowing milky crystal ball in the center of a small round table. The witch smiled kindly at her and held out her hand for Forte’s coin. “Take a seat, dear, and ask me what you would like to know.” Forte sat across from her at the table, trying to think of any question that was worth the seer’s time. Her mind was blank. “I… I suppose… I’m going to be a knight. I guess… what should my steed be? Horses are nice but…” What kind of question was that? It was so stupid! “A knight’s steed must match their nature. A bold knight can harness a mighty steed. A cunning knight knows to blend in as simple horse and rider. When were you born, my dear?” “No wait! Sorry, can I ask another. That was a stupid question.” Forte’s eyes had caught something when the witch set her cards aside. She’d set the deck upside down and the bottom card showed two figures holding hands, looking at each other. “Of course, dear.” The witch offered kindly, setting the star chart aside. Forte drew a breath. “I want to know if I’ll ever meet my soulmate.”

The witch’s smile widened. “Give me your hands.”

Forte held out her hands and the seer began carefully examining them, gently tracing her finger tip over the lines on Forte’s palm. “Your right hand is strong, the love line is long. When you fight for love, you will rarely lose. But your left hand,” she clicked her tongue softly in disappointment, “The hand with which you would hold your loves close… I’m afraid that love line has been cut short. This scar here, how long have you had it?”

“About a year.” It had been an accident in her early training, her hand had slipped while she was sharpening a blade.

The witch released Forte’s hands and placed the deck of cards in them. “Shuffle them however you please. When you are done, draw five cards.”

Forte shuffled a few times and drew her cards. She laid out a card with a woman on a throne, a card with a chariot, a card with a crumbling tower, a card with balanced scales, and a card with a man hanging upside down.

The witch spent a long moment studying the cards. The longer she studied, the more sorrowful she looked. Eventually she drew in a long breath and one by one pointed to the cards Forte had drawn. “The Empress, the Chariot, the Tower, Justice, and the Hanged Man. I am sorry, my dear, your future does not look to be a happy one.”

“What do you mean?” Forte asked. The cards didn’t look all that bad.

The witch closed her eyes, and when she spoke it was in a rougher voice, as if she was channeling some other spirit. “Your soulmate will come into your life most unexpectedly. She will be a force of nature, and a lover of it. Your time together will be short, but meaningful. Duty and ambition will drive you apart, set you upon different paths. Destruction will bring you together again, opposing forces upon a battlefield. She will be great and terrible, and you will be the mighty hand of justice. You reunion will bring death. Each falling to the hand of the other. So it is written. So it shall be.”

“Is this some kind of a joke?!” Forte jumped to her feet angrily. She expected some fluffy drivel about the right person coming into her life at a certain time, and a happily ever after to follow. Fortune tellers were just supposed to be good at telling people what they wanted to hear. Not go telling young girls of their death. “You’re just an old fraud, what do you know!”

The witch offered no counter. She merely watched Forte with a deeply piteous look.

Forte turned and stormed out of her parlor. The witch did not chase her.

Her friends were waiting by the door, ready to go, discussing their fortunes. They asked Forte about hers, but she wasn’t ready to answer, not until they were back in the street and free from the cloying stink of the fortune house, and those stupid cards were far behind her.

“Come on, Forte,” her friend asked, hooking her arm through hers to make her slow down a bit. “What did you ask her? What did she say?”

“Nothing,” Forte grumbled. “Nothing important. I asked her if I would ever meet my soulmate and she went on some crazy rant about how I’d end up killing her instead.” She kicked at a loose stone and sent it skittering off down the street.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. If you ask me, I think she was a fraud and just wanted to turn up the dramatics. You know what she told me? She said I’d marry some fat, bald, old baker and have eight of his kids.” She scoffed derisively. “As if!”

Her other friends joined in, weighing the validity of the seer’s prophecies. Half of them seemed to find hope, but the other half seemed to find their fortunes more than a little far-fetched. It didn’t take long at all for Forte to put the whole affair out of her mind entirely.

So when an amazing young woman, with the strongest powers Forte had ever seen, and an uncanny affinity for nature fell into her life, Forte didn’t think about a spread of cards from a decade past. All she thought about was the powerful connection the two of them shared, the way the air seemed charged with electricity whenever they spoke, the way her heart fluttered and her palms grew sweaty when Frey was around.

It didn’t take long for Forte to fall in love with Frey. She would stay up all night thinking about the future they could have together. The Earthmate Princess and the Dragon Knight – it could only ever be a fairytale romance. From the moment Frey entered her life, Forte couldn’t imagine a future without her in it. What they had together went beyond attraction and infatuation. She wouldn’t dare confess it yet, it was still too soon, but when she thought about Frey, Forte thought she understood what it meant to have a soulmate.

She didn’t work up the nerve to say anything before Ventuswill got sick. And Dragon Knight had to do her job and protect her charge. And Earthmate Princess had to play her role and go off and fix the problem.

In her waking and lucid moments, Ventuswill would tease Forte about how she loved Frey. Sometimes she would offer encouragement to the knight, telling her to tell Frey how she felt before it was too late. Once, she even fondly looked forward to seeing the two of them spend a happy lifetime together. They were meant for each other. Divine dragons know these things.

And Forte suddenly remembered a witch and a spread of cards and an ill-omened prophecy. And she wanted to ask Ventuswill if it could possibly be true. But the dragon had slipped back to sleep, and she was never lucid enough again to answer Forte’s questions about fate.

It couldn’t possibly come true. There could be no future where Forte ever saw Frey as an enemy. She loved her. The witch had been a fraud.

When this was over, the two of them would be together forever.

Except Frey ended up leaving Forte. She returned from battle victorious. She returned Empress. And Frey left Selphia, left Forte.

As suddenly and unexpectedly as she had come into her life, she left it.

The years passed. Forte dedicated herself to her knighthood. She never loved again, not in the same way she had loved Frey. She tried once or twice to fill the void, let other lovers heal her, but they were never quite right.

Eventually she stopped trying. She turned away potential interest and dismissed any who were bold enough to confess a desire to love her. She preferred it that way. She was a better knight without distractions pulling her from her duty.

Forte proved her place as a knight, time and time again. When she was challenged, she rose up to face it, and when she inevitably was victorious, she rose through the ranks. No longer a Dragon Knight, for there was no dragon these days in need of protection, she became a captain, a commander, a general. By the time she was the same age her father had been when he died, she had far surpassed his station.

In her time, Forte learned how to lead soldiers and command armies. Her troops quickly gained a reputation for their discipline, their efficiency, their prowess, their loyalty. General Forte’s command was built of people like her, people doubted every step of their journey, people who had to work twice as hard to get half as far as their peers. She knew promise and potential when she saw it. She loved a challenge, accepted the risks, bargained on the sure losers. And she was rarely disappointed. Forte was the best general among the best soldiers. When war broke, they would be the force to end it.

The war was brutal, and short.

Armies broke against each other. War machines slaughtered mindlessly.

But where the Empress thought that this war would be a show of her prowess, she was met with more resistance than she expected. Norad was no longer at the technological disadvantage as it had been in the last war. Their tacticians knew the enemy’s playbook well. Their generals were relentless.

Quickly the tide turned against the Empress. Steadily Norad pushed into the Empire, until the final battle was upon them.

The scattered remnants of the Empress’ armies had rallied around their beloved leader, and they were making a valiant final stand.

And the best of the King’s army was on the front line to meet her.

The Empire was beautiful. For everything the Empress had done, that had to be granted to her. She had inherited a land that had been nearly bled dry of all resources. Rivers ran poisoned, the skies choked with pollution, anything and everything was taken without thought. Her predecessor had so thoroughly ruined his own lands, even the famed most fertile valleys struggled to raise a crop. She had cured the lands; replanted forests, cleaned the rivers, cleared the skies.

Forte plucked a small yellow flower by her feet and twisted it thoughtfully between her fingers. Moondrops had been Frey’s favorite. She wondered if the Empress even had a favorite flower anymore. She tossed it aside.

It didn’t matter.

The Empress had long ago deviated far from anything or anyone Forte recognized. The young woman she’d fallen in love with decades ago was no more. Forte was hardly the same woman. Change came with the passage of time.

The girls of decades past no longer existed. The Frey that Forte had held onto since their parting, was not there. She had slipped away, piece by piece with every despicable act and crime against humanity she committed.

Forte watched carefully for signs of the Empress. It wouldn’t be long now. Soon she would have to come out and fight for herself. The signs would be subtle, a flash of gold, or destruction caused by something other than a war machine.

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end just moments before massive spiked of rock erupted in the middle of the battlefield, sending Norad soldiers flying. Hurricane force gusts sliced against lines of attackers. Solid walls of water slammed against machines. Tornadoes of fire burnt through the ranks.

Forte traced the attacks back to their source. The only Earthmate to be found in the Empire. The only Earthmate powerful enough to cause such death and destruction with little more than a wave of her hand. There! Riding her golden hunter wolf was the Empress.

Forte called for her own steed – a silver wolf she’d tamed after a long-lost love had encouraged and inspired her to do so – and leapt into the saddle. With a curt command, they were streaking across the battlefield. Her wolf was small and fast, perfect for moving unnoticed across the chaotic battlefield. Speed was of the essence. The longer it took her to get to the Empress, the more death she would deal upon the battlefield. If she was focused on a single target, her magic would not be turned against Forte’s soldiers, who had little defense against it.

The second before impact, before fangs pierced and claws tore, she leapt from the saddle, diving at the Empress, tackling her off the golden wolf’s back. They hit the ground together, separating on the roll. Both were quick to regain their feet.

The wolves clashed. Tearing, biting, snarling, grappling, rolling away down the hill. They had to be ignored.

Close enough for a proper look, Forte could size up her opponent. She wore minimal armor, a breastplate, sturdy leathers, some bracers on her arms. But she was dressed for ease of movement, as her magic required. She wasn’t even wearing a helmet, just a dark iron circlet on her brow.

Forte stared, her breath catching, her heart leaping into her throat. She hadn’t been this close to the Empress in decades. So much had changed. She was aged, as Forte was, there were lines and wrinkles and scars that had not been there before, her hair was faded with silver, styled in a practical manner for battle, her eyes were hard and cold and hateful, but they had not lost their sparkle. In that way, nothing had changed. She was still so beautiful.

Forte hated herself for thinking that.

Monsters, like the Empress had come to be, were not supposed to be beautiful.

The Empress tilted her head and smiled. “Finally, it’s you, Forte. I was beginning to think you’d never come to me. Pity it’s like this.” She readied her blade and shifted into a fighting stance. Quick as a flash, she threw a spell at her.

Forte was ready, dodging the fireball easily. “I’ll give you one chance to surrender.”

“Surrender? Not really my style.” She parried Forte’s sword. “What kind of empress would I be if I was not willing to make the same sacrifices as my own loyal subjects?”

Their swords met again. “You confuse fear and submission with loyalty.”

“Po-tay-to, po-tah-to,” the Empress shrugged, moving gracefully away and lifting a hand to whip at her opponent with a blade of air. Forte didn’t get a chance to dodge, but the air broke harmlessly over her armor. “Peace is peace; however it’s maintained.”

“I don’t think the thousands you slaughtered to make that peace would agree.”

A wicked grin and a cruel laugh. “Tell me the famous General Forte is not trying to take the moral high ground when it comes to slain enemies. How many have you killed over the years, my dear?”

“I do not revel in war. I find no glory in the loss of life.” They traded several blows, their swords ringing off each other. Every other attack or so, the Empress would throw another magic strike at Forte. “But your killing started long before the war.” She tripped up the Empress, sending her sprawling to the ground. “I didn’t want to believe it when I first heard the rumors. But when rumor proved true –” the Empress rolled away from her strike and regained her feet “—I knew you had changed into something I no longer recognized.”

“What have I done? I have brought peace and security to my Empire. You don’t understand. You couldn’t. You’ve never held the power I have.” Another flurry of magical attacks while Forte kept her distance.

It was risky, leaving herself open to attacks like this, but Forte knew that unless the Empress was drained of her magical reserves, she would be unbeatable. She remembered well her days of fighting alongside Frey, those moments when she drew beyond her magical limits and weakened herself terribly. She doubted the Empress was so inexperienced as to ignore her limits, and she knew time had only made her stronger magically. So Forte had to drain the reserves, make her spend and spend until there was nothing left, and the playing field was evened.

Forte saw an opening. She darted in, driving her sword into the Empress’ side. It cut deep; her blade came away red with blood. The Empress fell to her knee with a pained cry, clutching her wound. But when she met Forte’s eyes, she almost looked disappointed.

“Surely you haven’t forgotten everything about me, dear Forte.” Her fingers made the necessary signs, light flashed around them, she got to her feet as if nothing had happened. Only the blood on her shirt and the hole in the cloth showed there might have been an injury.

Forte was not daunted. A healing spell like that took a lot of energy. If she had to bleed the Empress dry with a thousand cuts, she would. This was what she had spent all her life training for. This fight was her destiny.

Forte got close enough to strike again, aiming for her neck. The Empress did a clever little twirl and transportation spell, appearing some yards away. “I will not be made a villain for using the tools I was given! The Empire gave me my position, gave me the authority to change laws, to be justice, to eliminate threats. Fate gave me the powers to bloom and wither, to create and destroy, to build and to burn.” She summoned another fireball and held it in her palm for a moment, examining it, almost enjoying the burn as it increased in size. “What do you think your king will do, if he wins this war and takes control of my empire? Surely you don’t’ expect my people to roll over like dogs? How many more deaths will your king order for peace?”

She threw the large fireball. Forte charged through it, ignoring how the flames licked at her exposed skin. She landed another hit against the Empress. With a frustrated snarl, the Empress leapt away, healing her injury as she ran.

“Well, you’re certainly still persistent and just as determined as you used to be,” the Empress laughed coolly, “Your courage seems to have grown. Pity you weren’t so bold back then as you are now.” She threw up a wall of rock just as Forte charged at her again. The knight collided with it with an unpleasant crunch.

The Empress made a series of lightning-quick slashes. Forte blocked and parried all of them, except the last one, which found a gap in her leg armor. The cut was shallow, but painful, and a new point of weakness for the Empress to exploit.

But Forte had noticed something. Her magic attacks were slowing down. Perhaps for dramatic effect while she taunted Forte, but instead of several attacks one after the other, she was only throwing one at her at a time. One fireball. One rock wall. She was using her sword for more than defense. Given how much magic she’d spent on the larger battlefield, and then again against Forte, she had to be reaching the end of her reserves. She was rationing now.

As if to prove her wrong, the Empress summoned two small blocks of stone right on either side of Forte’s injured leg. In the split second the knight was caught off balance from the injury, she slammed the blocks together around the leg.

Forte couldn’t help but scream as her armor buckled under the pressure. Joints and seams broke, jagged metal dug into her leg, and deep inside she felt something inside her break.

“Why are you really here, Forte? Why did you work so hard to orchestrate everything perfectly so that when it came down to it, it would be me and you alone? Guilt? Regret?”

Forte bowed her head, breathing slowly and deeply. She knew why she was here. She muttered it lowly.

“Come now, speak up. Don’t be shy.” She stepped close, close enough to get within inches of Forte’s face, so she could hear. Their eyes locked. There was… something like hope hiding in them. “Tell me.”

Forte’s hand wrapped around the handle of the dagger she had at her waist. She held the Empress’ gaze and she said slowly, and with much conviction. “I am here to end your tyranny.” She plunged the knife into the Empress’ gut and twisted it for good measure.

The Empress stepped back, pulling the knife out, closing up the wound. It healed completely. But Forte saw what she was looking for. That minute wince of pain, that heavy breath of exhaustion as the magic drained her strength.

The rocks around her leg crumbled to dust. Forte moved the instant she was free, bearing the excruciating pain in her injured leg, diving for her sword. She rearmed herself and got back to her unsteady feet just in time. She blocked one blow from the Empress. The second broke past her guard and cut deeply into her arm.

The Empress was no longer using the gracefully lethal techniques she’d used earlier. She was ready for this fight to be over. Now was the time for power. With a surprising show of strength, the Empress grabbed Forte and threw her to the ground.

She realized with a calm certainty that Frey would outmatch her. Her magical reserves may be exhausted, but physically she was faring far better than Forte. If this fight went on, Forte would be killed, and Frey would unleash her reign of terror upon the world.

The Empress knew this as well. She approached languidly like a cat playing with its food. She kicked Forte firmly in the chest to send her sprawling back, gasping for breath. Then she stepped onto Forte, grinding her boot into her injured leg, pinning her to the ground. Forte didn’t have the strength to throw her off, she couldn’t free herself. She stopped her struggling entirely when the Empress put the sharp point of her sword just under Forte’s chin.

Frey paused, looking at her with a mixture of pity and loathing. “I gave you the chance to follow me, do you remember? I asked you to come with me, and you refused.” She lifted her blade; the wet redness of Forte’s fresh blood caught the light. “Imagine what we could have been together. You would have been my right hand, my knight, my queen. Together we could have been unstoppable.”

Forte made a useless effort to throw her off. “Perhaps I should have. I could have stopped you when the darkness took you. I would have made it painless and saved countless lives.”

“Would you have even noticed? At that point, after so long together, would you have doubted me enough to raise a blade against me? I wouldn’t think so… but perhaps you have always hated me.” A look of regret crossed Frey’s face. “Do you know I loved you from the moment I met you? I never found the courage to tell you. But I always felt we were meant for each other. I’ve thought about you so much, my Forte.” She smiled, almost tenderly. “I was always so proud every time I heard you’d been promoted. I would have made you a general much faster than that fool of a king. I’d always hoped we would meet again.” Then that wicked, calculating look returned. “I waited until I was certain it would be you coming after me.”

Then the Empress surprised Forte. She moved her sword, and stepped off her, just for a moment. Just to reposition her feet, and lower down until she was straddling Forte’s hips. The Empress kept the General pinned with a heavy hand on her breastplate. She leaned over her and looked down. Her free hand cupped Forte’s face and tenderly wiped some of the blood and grime from her cheek and lips.

“You’re as beautiful now as you were the day we parted. I don’t want to kill you, Forte. And I know you don’t want to kill me. Join me, like you should have all those years ago. We may be much older now, but it’s not too late for us. With you next to me, all will finally be right. I know you still love me.”

Forte shook her head. Tears brimmed in her eyes, because for a brief moment, with the way the Empress looked at her, strands of hair fallen loose and framing her face, she looked like Frey again. “It isn’t you I was in love with. I was not meant to be with the Empress. It was always Frey who held my heart.”

The Empress’ face hardened. “Pity. You’ve made your choice then.” Her grip on Forte’s face tightened, squeezing her hard by the jaw. She leaned down and pressed a slow kiss to Forte’s lips. “I’m sorry my love,” she said as she got back to her feet. “Your death cannot be painless, but I will make it fast.” She raised her blade over her head and swung down swiftly with all her might.

Forte just got her own blade up in time to catch the blow. Steel screeched against steel until the blade caught against each other. Forte struggled to push the blade away, but she did not have the strength to fight for long, and the Empress had the advantage.

She leaned over Forte, putting her weight into the blade as well as her strength. Inch by hard fought inch, the point of her sword neared Forte’s chest. She took the time to angle the blade just so, to aim for the gap in the general’s armor.

Forte fought with every piece of her, until she realized, again with calm clarity, what she must do. Her mission was to end the Empress. Her survival was not necessary. So she dropped her blade, letting the Empress to fall the last several inches and plunge her sword into Forte. But that move would spell her doom. For Forte angled her own blade up and it slipped under the Empress’ breastplate and into her chest.

The Empress gasped, pulling away in shock, pulling her blade free only to drop it at her side. Her hands flew up to cup her chest, her fingers twitched instinctively to cast the magic to heal the wound, but there was nothing left inside her. Not even strength to sap and turn into magical energy. Her legs gave out. She struggled to breathe. Her hands vainly tried to stem the flow of blood.

Forte’s strike against the Empress had done much more damage than her strike against Forte. She was fading fast. She was dying.

“F-Forte?” Her voice sounded small, frightened. She reached for the knight with bloodied hands. They fell numbly against her armor, leaving red streaks on the steel.

Forte found the strength to sit up, to gather the Empress into her arms, to rest her head in her lap. The wound in her chest was fatal too, but not as immediately so. She might have an extra minute.

The Empress trembled as her body began to fail. A wry smile pulled at her mouth. “We might not have gotten a life together, but at least we’ll die together, my love.” Her eyes drifted to the grass they lay in, where, against all odds, Moondrops grew, untrampled by the battle, unmarred by war.

Her eyes slid closed. Her breaths were becoming more ragged, shallower. With great effort, she opened her eyes one last time. “I’m sorry for… In another life I would’ve…”

And then she was gone.

Forte let her tears run freely. She bent down and planted kisses on Frey’s forehead, her cheeks, her lips. “I’m sorry too, my love.” Her vision was dimming. She lost the strength to sit up. Air had no effect on her lungs. She was dying. With her last shreds of strength, she made her clumsy hands find Frey’s and she held them. With her last breath she whispered an apology.

[dazedstevie]

Unlikely Pair - Chapter I | Eddie Munson x Sinclair!Reader

Who: Sinclair!Reader (AFAB), Eddie Munson, brief Lucas and Erica Sinclair

What: Reader is a college freshman who is struggling to find her place in the world. When she runs into Eddie Munson again she sees the opportunity for friendship.

Word Count: 2,253

Triggers: Cursing (I can't write without it because I can't talk without it, whoops), marijuana use, first time poster nerves and (probably) bad writing

Author's Notes: Hiya, Stevie here! This is my very first time ever posting a fic and I'm nervousss. I'm hoping to turn this into a series so please let me know what y'all think! Do not steal, repost, take credit, or any other lame shit. Please DO enjoy!

Chapter II

For about the millionth time that night you looked down at the wristwatch you had received as a graduation present the previous summer. If you were late to get your siblings home before their curfew again you would never hear the end of it from your mom and you knew your dad would follow through with his threat of taking your keys. You stomped on the gas as you sped into Hawkins High's parking lot and drove right up to the front doors where your brother, sister, and another person sat on the curb waiting.

You lowered the volume on the radio and yelled out the open window, "Get in! We have ten minutes to get home before Mom and Dad accuse me of forgetting you losers."

"But you did forget us." Lucas grumbled as he slid into the passenger seat.

"Were you off somewhere with Daniel?" Erica mocked as she got into the backseat. "I'm surprised you have any lips left, you two were probably sucking each other's faces for hours."

You ignored her and turned to the older guy who had gotten to his feet at the same time as your siblings. You recognized him immediately as Eddie Munson, the guy in town most people avoided like the plague.

"Thanks." You called to him. "Had some errands to run." You heard Erica scoff and shot her a threatening look in the rearview mirror. "Need a ride? I have get them home now, but I can give you a lift once I've dropped them off." You looked down at your watch again.

"I've gotta ride." The long-haired man nodded toward the only other vehicle in the parking lot, an old van parked way out from the building. "Just wanted to make sure they got picked up."

You nodded your thanks again, stepped on the gas, and peeled out of the parking lot. You didn't speak again until you had pulled into your driveway with three minutes to spare; you turned to face your brother and sister with a stern face.

"There was a traffic jam."

"Yeah, yeah. We won by the way, if anyone cares." Lucas grumbled and got out of the car.

"The hell's his problem?"

"No one went to his game. Mom and Dad had that dinner thing, I had Hellfire, and you had... what? What was so important that you couldn't go, again?" Erica asked with a smug smirk.

As the two of you got out of the car another thought hit you and you wrapped an arm firmly around your sister's shoulders and pulled her close. "You guys hang out with Eddie Munson?"

"Yeah, he's dungeon master for Hellfire. He offered us a ride since we all thought you'd stood us up, but Lucas said you'd kick our asses if you ended up coming and we weren't there." She looked up into your face and saw a bit of curiosity as you tried to recall any memories of him from high school. "You'd like him, he only produces about three thoughts every hour - you have a lot in common." She wriggled her way out of your grip before you could register what she had said and darted into the house.

That following Friday you were dragged by your parents to Lucas's basketball game because he had complained for days about not having anyone there to support him the last time. Erica had one of her Hellfire meetings and had disappeared almost as soon as the three of you had entered the high school. When the game was finally over you left the gym to wait outside for the rest of your family because you needed the fresh air. You didn't do well in crowds but didn't like to draw attention to it, either. As you rounded the corner you saw another door fly open and a group of laughing boys flooded the hall, one who you immediately recognized.

"Dustin!"

He looked shocked that you had addressed him by name. Among Lucas's friends you weren't necessarily known as the nicest older sister.

"Hey, Erica's in there, it's her week to help Eddie clean." Dustin explained and nervously played with the straps of his backpack.

"Mm." You examined his Hellfire Club t-shirt with a raised brow. "You guys aren't turning my sister into a devil worshipper, are you?"

Dustin shook his head fiercely. "No! Why does everyone think that?"

You pointed to the picture on his shirt, but when he looked down you flicked his nose; he stumbled back a few steps and you laughed. Just then, three more people emerged from the dark room: Mike Wheeler, Erica, and Eddie.

"You two have a ride?" You pointed between Dustin and Mike.

Mike nodded. "Nancy's waiting for us outside." He nudged Dustin and they took off for the doors.

You turned your attention to Erica. "Please go congratulate Lucas, he's still in the gym celebrating." You made yourself look stern as your sister started to protest; she sighed and angrily stomped away.

Eddie chuckled beside you.

"Any tips on how to get her to listen to you?"

You watched him from the corner of your eye. "I taught her everything she knows about being defiant, she has a few ounces of respect for her teacher... but she also knows that I'm not above physical force if and when needed." You added. "We've had our fair share of tussles."

"I didn't know you were related to Lucas and Erica. They're pretty cool kids."

Erica had turned the corner and walked out of sight, so you faced Eddie head on and held out your hand as you introduced yourself.

"I know." He chuckled and shook your hand. "We had some classes together last year. Eddie Munson."

You examined him a bit closer but it wasn't until your eyes landed on the leather jacket and denim vest in his hands that you remembered why he felt so familiar to you.

"You sold to me once!" You exclaimed, then looked around to make sure you were still the only ones in the hallway. "Behind the school, at that picnic table."

His smile grew even wider. "I knew you'd remember!"

You smiled back and pointed toward the doors. "I was on my way out."

"Yeah, right." Eddie pulled on his jacket and vest. "But uh, just wanted you to know... you don't have to worry about Lucas and Erica, I, uh... I wouldn't do anything..."

The sound of a large crowd echoed through the halls - the stampede was coming in your direction. You looked up to see the basketball fans who had finally wrapped up their celebration in the gym; you stepped closer to Eddie and mumbled in his ear.

"Yeah, I know, I just like to give people a hard time. But if you do wanna be a bad influence, at least for a few minutes, could I buy a joint off of you? My guy got his ass arrested."

"Rick?"

"How'd you know?"

"You're always in the know when you're in the business." He nodded. "Yeah, I think I could do that."

You smiled. "I'm gonna tell my parents that I found a ride with someone, meet you at your van?"

Eddie nodded again and smiled. He looked up as the crowd drew nearer then made a beeline for the doors. Your family reached you before you could even peel your eyes away from his retreating figure.

"Congrats." You smiled and poked your brother in the chest.

"Thanks." He beamed.

"What're you doing out here?" Your dad asked.

"Waiting for you. Hey, Nancy Wheeler is outside picking up her brother, I think I'm gonna catch a ride with her if that's okay? We haven't hung out in a while."

Erica's eyes narrowed and wandered to the doors Eddie had just walked through. "You haven't hung out with Nancy Wheeler in years." She reminded you.

You gave her a tight-lipped smile. "No time like the present." You retorted.

Your mom sighed when she sensed one of your squabbles on the horizon. "Fine, but make it home in one piece, please. We'll leave the back door unlocked." She gave you a one armed hug, grabbed your dad's hand, and led him and Lucas out of the building.

Erica, however, stayed put.

"Where're you going?"

"To hang out with Nancy, why don't you buzz off?"

"Mhm. Looked like you and Eddie were having a good conversation."

You laughed. "Wow, maybe you are smarter than you look."

She rolled her eyes and purposefully bumped into you as she left.

You waited until you saw your dad's car leave the parking lot before you went outside. You started in the direction of Eddie's van with your head down, mostly to keep people from noticing you, but also to keep the cold night air from freezing your nose as you practically jogged. You jumped into the passenger seat and closed the door quickly behind you. It was quiet as Eddie stared at you, an unrolled joint in his hands.

"Was I not supposed to get in?" You asked, confused.

"No, I mean, yeah! Yeah, of course. It's cold." He turned his attention back to rolling.

"There's an empty house a street down from my place that's for sale - we could smoke in the backyard. There's a porch swing." You suggested. "I've been using it ever since the old owners put it up for sale and hightailed it out of Hawkins."

"We?" Eddie looked up again.

Your face fell. "Unless you don't want you?"

His cheeks went red. "I just... I'd figured you would want to, I don't know, enjoy it by yourself?"

"What's the fun in that?" You asked and rested your head against the seat. You watched the slow procession of cars as they emptied the parking lot. "I think I'm gonna lose my mind if I don't talk to someone my own age instead of my siblings or parents for a change. Ever since the semester started and all my friends went back to their fancy schools I've been stuck here slowly being bored to death."

It was silent in the van until Eddie handed you the perfectly rolled joint with a kind smile. "If you were looking for a friend all you had to do was ask, sweetheart. Which way to this empty house?"

Eddie's driving was even wilder than yours, so you were happy to find yourself on the porch swing, your legs tucked underneath you and an old moth bitten blanket that Eddie had found in the back of his van pulled around your shoulders. He had offered to save you from freezing to death by just smoking in the van, but you had declined - you liked being outside, especially at night while everyone else was asleep. It was peaceful and gave you some time to think.

You watched as Eddie lit the joint, his puffy lips wrapped around the end and his face still with concentration. He took a long drag then passed it to you and you did the same.

"Why didn't we talk in school?" You asked after a coughing fit.

"You were cooler than me." He stated matter-of-factly.

You shook your head. You had not been unpopular in high school, but you had always considered yourself more of a floater. You could get along with the band members just as well as you could with people like Steve Harrington. Your lack of a true "clique" was partially why you had never felt like you belonged anywhere.

"That's not true."

"Well, there's also the fact that you have this way of looking through people instead of at them." He took the joint from your fingers and you jumped when his hand bumped into yours. "Sorry." He apologized quickly.

"I've heard that before. My dad says that I have a 'zombie stare', I always thought he was just being dramatic or one of those guys who's always telling women to smile." You chuckled. "Can I tell you something? I think you're pretty cool, like how you don't give a fuck what people think. I care what people think and it's probably the dumbest thing someone could do."

He looked down and if the two of you weren't surrounded by darkness with just moonlight and the faintly burning joint to add hints of light you would have seen that his entire face had turned scarlet.

"What's college like?" He quickly changed the subject.

"Junior college." You corrected him with a sigh. "And I feel like I'm just as lost as I was in high school. I have no idea what I'm doing."

"What's your major?"

"Business."

"Ah, the default." He joked and you shot him a grin.

"Yeah."

He started to slowly push his feet against the ground so that the swing moved. He couldn't sit still to save his life, meanwhile you could have sat there in that one spot for hours without getting the urge to fidget. You watched as the wind from the swing pushed his hair back and forth over his shoulders and how his big brown eyes examined the large backyard you had trespassed into.

"Hey, Eddie?"

"Mhm?"

"I do need a friend. This is me asking nicely."

"Yeah, okay." He almost blinded you with his smile. "Okay. What're you doing tomorrow?"

You let out a breath you hadn't realized you were holding. "Whatever you're doing."

For the first time in a long time, you were excited for what the next day would bring.

[in-a-nook-with-a-notebook]

Claimed | Anything For You

Masterlist

Franchise: Percy Jackson

Pairing: Luke Castellan x Nick Oliver (original character, pronouns are he/him/his)

Word Count: 1.3k

Warnings: swearing, injured Luke

Series Summary: Nick Oliver was on track to figure out his life after high school. One day in a bookstore, and suddenly, post-high school plans were the farthest thing from his mind. One day in a bookstore, he met Luke Castellan.

Chapter Summary: Nick is late and so is Luke. Unfortunately, Luke has a slightly more valid reason to be late.

A/N: Part two finally going up! I've got a few parts worth written but I feel like I shouldn't spam-upload everything I wanna have y'all out for blood for a new chapter <3

Nick is late.

Noon in three days at the bookstore; they had both agreed. Now, it’s 12:30 and Nick is scrambling to get a cab to Brooklyn Heights.

When Nick arrives at the store, he pays the driver and steps out. Luke is nowhere to be found. He does a quick walk around to see if Luke had just gone inside to wait, but there’s no sign of the blond. Nick returns to the bench outside and takes a seat with a sigh. Maybe Luke’s the one who’s actually late. Nick tries not to entertain the thought that he may have left.

————————

After about 45 minutes, another cab pulls up in front of him. Nick hopes it’s Luke, but it isn’t. The boy who steps out of the vehicle, however, seems to recognize him. He has blond hair and violet eyes, which Nick absentmindedly thinks is pretty cool.

“Are you Nick Oliver?” He asks.

Nick frowns. “Who’s asking?” The boy raises an eyebrow. “Yes, I’m Nick.”

“Thank the gods,” the boy says, clearly relieved. “Luke was so incoherent, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find you.”

“You know Luke?” Nick asks immediately. “Where is he? He said he’d be here over an hour ago. Is something wrong?”

“Slow down, man,” he says in a reassuring tone. “Did Luke mention a camp when you last saw each other?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, he did.” Nick does 75% of the Macarena trying to find the card that Luke had given him. He finds it in his back pocket, holding it out to the purple-eyed boy. “This place, right? In Long Island?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Um, also, I apologize if this comes off as rude, but who exactly are you?”

“Gods, I’m sorry. I’m Pollux, I’m a friend of Luke’s from camp.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“I have an offer for you,” Pollux says. “Luke didn’t want you to worry about him too much. So, either I give you the light-hearted, sugar-coated version of why Luke can’t make it and schedule another time for you two to meet up, or I can tell you the whole truth and you can make a decision from there.”

“I want the truth this time,” Nick says. He takes a step towards Pollux. “Luke offered me the truth the last time we talked and I wasn’t ready. I think I’m ready now.”

“Well, Luke is injured pretty bad. He’s in the camp infirmary.”

“I want to see him,” Nick says without missing a beat.

“Man, it’s not that simple.”

“I. Want. To see. Luke.”

Pollux grimaces. “I guess we’ll make it work. C’mon.”

Nick climbs into the back of the cab with the boy, and they drive towards Long Island.

————————

Pollux has the driver drop them off at the bottom of a seemingly random hill, but doesn’t question it when Pollux hands him a roll of cash. “Over the hill,” Pollux tells Nick.

“What are we waiting for, then?”

“Nick, wait!”

Pollux has to chase after Nick as he makes a beeline for the top of the hill. Nick tunes out Pollux’s shouts when he finds a tree with a living, breathing dragon curled around it. For some reason, the creature doesn’t scare him at all. In fact, it hardly fazes him. He sprints right past and down the other side of the hill.

“Pollux, where’s the infirmary?” Nick yells up the hill as the blond starts to catch up.

“How did you get past Peleus?” Pollux exclaims.

“The infirmary!” Nick repeats loudly.

“The big blue house past the strawberry fields.”

Nick keeps running while Pollux stays back to catch his breath. On the porch of the house, Nick encounters an older nam in a leopard-print Hawaiian shirt.

“Who are you?” The man asks.

“I’m Nick. Where’s Luke?”

The man shrugs. “Inside, I suppose.” There’s a scream of pain from somewhere in the house and Nick rushes in.

“Luke?” He calls out. “Luke!”

Nick almost misses the door for the infirmary. He sees Luke squirming on a bed across the room and he ducks in. “Luke, holy shit.”

“Nick? You came?”

Before Nick can reach Luke’s side, someone shoves him against a wall and holds a knife to his throat.

“Who are you?” The boy demands.

“I’m Nick, I’m a friend of Luke’s.” Nick maneuvers his way out of the boy’s grasp, kneeling down at Luke’s side. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, never better,” Luke says in a strained voice. “Sorry I couldn’t make it.”

“Don’t apologize, dumbass, you’re injured.”

The boy who attacked Nick isn’t done with him quite yet. “How did you get through the barrier?” He inquires.

“Barrier?” Nick says with a confused frown. “What barrier?”

“You’re telling me Peleus just let you pass?”

“Chris, chill,” Luke says.

“Peleus… what, the dragon on the hill? He hardly looked at me.”

“Chris, you can interrogate him later,” Luke says protectively, holding Nick’s arm. Nick’s face grows hot.

“I’ll interrogate him now,” Christ retorts. “Who the hell are you? How do you know Luke and how did you-”

“I’m getting a little tired of your questions, Chris,” Nick says angrily, glaring at him.

“Nicky,” Luke murmurs. Nick’s face heats him again and he look back at the blond. Luke’s eyes widen in surprise when Nick meets his gaze. “Hm. That’s new.”

“What?”

“Your eyes.” Luke reaches his hand to the side table and grabs a hand mirror. He holds it up in front of Nick’s face. “Purple.”

Nick blinks a few times in an attempt to comprehend what he’s seeing. His irises are glowing purple, the same way his cane and umbrella glow. The purple flickers before fading back to his usual ivy green.

“Huh.”

“I’ve never seen anyone’s eyes do that,” Luke mutters, resting the mirror in his lap.

“Well, that’s fucking reassuring.”

Luke manages a laugh, but winces and reaches for a wound at his side.

“Can you guys leave for a minute?” Luke asks Chris and the others in the room.

“But-” Chris starts.

“But nothing. I need to talk to Nick.”

Reluctantly, the small group leaves. Chris casts one last dirty look at Nick before disappearing from view with the others.

“What do you need to talk about?” Nick says gently. Luke shrugs.

“Anything at all. I kind of just wanted them to leave. Maybe today, you and I could hang out like we were going to earlier?”

“I’d love that, but you’re hurt.

“Nah, I’ll heal fast. Some nectar and ambrosia and I’ll be all set. Sound good?”

Nick smiles a little. “Sounds perfect.”

Luke hesitantly reaches for Nick’s hand and holds it, looking up for confirmation that it was okay. Nick’s smile widens and he holds Luke’s hand tighter. Luke’s stiff body relaxes while Nick absentmindedly runs his thumb over Luke’s knuckles periodically.

————————

Once Luke is feeling better, the two boys wander around camp while Luke explains to Nick everything that’s going on. The Demigod Talk.

At dinner, Nick sits with Luke at Luke’s cabin’s table. Hermes cabin, apparently. Luke is a son of Hermes, which makes his vendetta against the deity make simultaneously more and less sense to Nick.

After dinner, Luke and Nick go for a walk through the camp.

“How are you processing everything?” Luke asks.

“Well, in one day, I met a dragon, found out my eyes can glow purple when I’m angry, discovered that I’m literally half-god, and took an archery lesson from a centaur,” Nick replies. “I’m just fine, Luke.”

“Yeah, no, I get that.” Luke pauses. “You’ve got me, though. You always will.”

Nick reaches for Luke’s hand in the dim light of the sunset.

“I really hope you’re not another Hermes kid,” Luke states. “This kind of thing would kinda be super weird if that was the case.” He holds up their intertwined hands.

“Shit, that’s true.” Nick crosses his fingers on his free hand. “Here’s hoping.”

Just then, Luke glances up and his jaw drops. “Holy shit,” he whispers.

“What?”

Nick looks up, but whatever Luke had seen has disappeared.

“You just got claimed, Nicky,” he says slowly.

“By who?”

Luke swallows hard and meets Nick’s eyes. “Hades. God of the Underworld.”

A/N: Went back and found the original document for this and found out I truly did start this over a year ago, around March 25th 2022. Oddly enough, my sister's birthday. Thank you for reading! I hope to be back with part three soon! Feedback is encouraged and appreciated! Have a lovely day!

[msmercury84]

A Night at the NCO Club

*For Bobweek2023, Day 3, Story from song lyrics. The title of my story came from the second song performed in this chapter by my OC, Leigh Spencer, "I Double Dare You."

*Author's note: For those who haven't seen the first chapter of my story, Leigh is 19 years old. She's shapely and trim, 5'4", with shoulder length curly brown hair and green eyes. Bill Guarnere, while filming the documentary, "A Company of Heroes," said that Sobel, "Didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. Bill said in the book he wrote with Babe Heffron, that when he saw Frannie, his future wife, for the first time, he knew that he would marry her someday.

When the former neighbor of Wild Bill was carrying a heavy case of sound equipment into his home while her husband carried a video camera to do an interview on YouTube, Guarnere raised his voice, asking the neighbor's husband,

"What the hell is wrong with you? She shouldn't be carrying that heavy stuff! A woman is like a delicate flower. You respect and protect her." The husband immediately apologized.Guarnere often used the word "scallywag" instead of scalawag.

The song I posted with this story actually came from the 1940s.*

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

After a hectic five days of office work, the weekend began. Leigh and Melissa were looking forward to hearing a small swing ensemble that was performing at the camp's NCO Club. It was also Leigh's birthday and Melissa wanted to buy a drink or two and help her best friend celebrate.

Since this was a special event, the club had relaxed its officers only policy. Adams and Spencer had made a trip into town to find some nice, but relatively inexpensive clothes to wear to the club

Leigh selected a short sleeved red sweater that was form fitting but not too tight. She also selected a charcoal gray skirt that was slightly flared for dancing and a pair of charcoal gray open toe high heeled sling back pumps.

Adams bought a blue dress with a sweetheart neckline, which displayed just a hint of cleavage and blue low heeled pumps. She was hoping to attract the attention of Easy Company paratrooper in training Denver "Bull" Randleman. Melissa didn't feel the need for high heels since she was 5'10" and she disliked towering over a man.

Leigh finished applying her favorite lipstick, Victory Red. She was hoping that Bill Guarnere would be at the club. Spencer enjoyed spending time with Guarnere, but she politely declined a Friday night date with him. She was haunted by something Grayson told her the year before that hurt her deeply.

It was easier to keep the hurtful words at bay when she wasn't interested in dating. Leigh wondered if Bill would be interested in dating her if he knew about her past. She felt that she could trust Guarnere.

He treated her with respect from the moment they met. Spencer was determined to banish the negative thoughts and have a good time at the NCO club. She picked up the purse she was issued with her WAAC uniform. It clashed with her shoes, but it would have to do.

Leigh and Melissa left the women's barracks and made the short walk to the club. Both women entered the club and got a table close to the small dance floor. They were both disappointed. Neither Easy Company man they sought was present. They hoped that Bull and Bill would show up later.

Melissa decided on a glass of beer while Leigh chose the popular Cuba Libre, also known as a rum and Coke. They sipped their drinks while they listened to the swing band playing the latest hits. About an hour into the first set, the band leader took a moment to apologize to the audience. The vocalist who was supposed to perform with them had to cancel due to laryngitis.

"If any lady in the audience could sing a few tunes, it would help us out tremendously," the band leader remarked. Melissa asked the band leader, "Do y'all play any country music? I can sing quite a few of those songs" The disappointed band leader had to refuse Melissa's request to perform. Adams spoke up again, "My friend is a good singer. I am always tellin' her that she is good enough to be on the radio."

"Would you care to try a number or two?" the now hopeful band leader asked Leigh. She decided to give it a try as she asked, "What would you like me to sing? " After conferring with the musicians, the band leader asked Leigh if she knew "Blues In the Night." "I know it, but I can't guarantee that I will sound as good as Dinah Shore." She asked the band leader if he knew her favorite song, "I Double Dare You." The band leader said that the song was one that the band knew.

The drummer got up from his drum kit and placed the tall microphone on a small space by the piano.Leigh began the first song. By the time she was midway through, conversations in the club had ceased and the audience was enthralled, enjoying her singing.

Spencer received loud applause, which surprised her. She thought, "It's nice, but I really didn't do a very good job with that number." The band played the intro to "I Double Dare You." As they continued the long instrumental, Leigh saw Bill Guarnere entering the club.

She smiled when she saw that he was by himself. He found a seat at an empty table not far from where Melissa was sitting. Leigh decided to flirt a little and she looked directly at Guarnere and began singing,

"I double dare you to sit over here. I double dare you to lend me your ear. Take off your high hat and let's get friendly. Don't be a scared cat. Hey, what do you care? Can't you take a dare? I double dare you to kiss me and then, I double dare you to kiss me again. And if that look in your eyes means what I'm thinking of I double dare you to fall in love with me. I double dare you."

The band played another lengthy instrumental. Leigh was grinning. She saw Guarnere wink at her. Somehow, he managed to make this outwardly innocent gesture feel sexy. Bill couldn't take his eyes off of her. Spencer began singing,

"I double dare you to kiss me and then, I double dare you to kiss me again. And if that look in your eyes means what I'm thinking of, I double dare you to fall in love with me. I double dare you." She received loud applause from the audience .

Leigh thanked the audience and the band leader. She was planning on heading to her seat at the table, but she saw that Melissa had disappeared. Before she could look for her friend, Spencer felt a hand on her shoulder. She was pleasantly surprised when she turned around and saw Bill. He spoke first, " Could we go someplace to talk? It's kinda noisy in here." Guarnere noticed that Leigh had been looking at the empty table where Melissa had been sitting. "Your friend is talkin' to my buddy, Bull. Ain't nothin' to worry about, he's a nice fella. As I was sayin', could we go someplace to talk?"

Leigh had to stand close to Bill to make herself heard over the noise. She got on her tip toes, trying to get close to his ear. Guarnere realized that even with her wearing high heels, he would have to bend down due to Spencer being short. "Yes, I know the perfect place. I have the keys to the building where I work and I have my office key, too. Now, how do we get through this crowd?"

Bill took her hand, "Just hold on to me, I can get us through." Spencer enjoyed having her hand held by Bill. Their fingers intertwined as Guarnere slowly navigated through the crowd. He told the people blocking his way, "Comin' through." If the crowd didn't move fast enough he changed tactics saying,

"Let the lady through, c'mon! " A particularly inebriated group of men tried Bill's patience as they moved about an inch and then started talking. Guarnere was trying extremely hard not to lose his temper in front of Leigh. He tapped one of the drunk men on the shoulder with his free hand, telling him, "Hey, buddy, tell your pals that (he pronounced the word as 'dat') they're givin' away free bottles o' beer at the bar. " The young man's eyes lit up with excitement as he quickly told his friends the good news. The group disbanded and made a sprint to the bar.

Bill chuckled to himself as he watched the group disappear into the crowd. He held the door open for Leigh and he exited the club behind her. Once they were outside, Spencer asked,

"What did you tell that guy to get him to move the entire herd out of the way?" "I gave that scallywag a friendly tip about the bar givin' away free bottles o' beer." He held her hand while they strolled down the walkway. Leigh laughed,

"I like the way you think. We have to be very careful getting into the office. I think using the back door would be safer. We would have our asses in big trouble if the MPs saw us." Guarnere smirked at her choice of words and and assured her, " Don't worry about that, Doll. I can be your lookout while you get the door open. " Leigh felt completely at ease with Bill. "My partner in crime." "You know it, Doll. I don't break inta offices wit' just any broad." Spencer laughed at this remark from Bill, "I have keys, so it isn't technically a break in. What kind of broad do you usually chose for breaking and entering?" Guarnere couldn't help but laugh at her remark.He thought,

"She's really somethin' an' spunky, too. I like that." Bill answered, "I'm takin' the fifth amendment on that," "Smart choice." She stopped and pointed to a large white building. "We have arrived. All we need to do is get to the back entrance." Bill let her lead him around to the back of the building. This area wasn't illuminated by a great deal of light. "I need to get into my purse so I can get the key. I didn't want you to think that..." she looked at their hands. "It's OK, Doll. I know what you mean. " He let go of her hand, "I think I'll have a smoke." Guarnere offered her a cigarette and she politely refused. A few minutes later, they were inside the office.

"Bill, " she asked, " would you please use your lighter? It would be easier to find my office if I could see. We need to go down the hall and take a left turn at the next corridor." Bill removed the cigarette from his mouth to answer her. He exhaled the smoke, "Sure thing. Just a second."

He took Spencer's hand,

"I don't want ya runnin' inta anythin' in the dark. Leigh, do ya know where I can find an ashtray?" "Bill, I'm sorry, but all of the small ashtrays are in the other offices. My keys are only for the front and back doors, plus my office." Guarnere noticed a tall metal ashtray filled with sand that was close to Spencer.

He stubbed out the cigarette, turning down the next corridor and stopping at the locked office door. Leigh was ready to open the door, having placed the office key in her hand while they were still outdoors. Guarnere held the lighter close enough for her to see the lock and insert the key. He pushed the door open for Leigh, allowing her to enter the small room first. "Bill, would you please come over this way so I can see to get into my desk? There's a flashlight in the top drawer. We could have a little more light that way." Guarnere walked ahead of Leigh, lighting the way to her desk,

She thanked him, opened the drawer and took out the flashlight. Turning it on, she went past Bill to stand in front of her desk.

"There's only one chair. Would you rather just sit on top of the desk with me?" Guarnere flipped the lighter case closed and sat on the desk. Spencer sat beside him. She looked for a good place to put the flashlight to give them the best light and decided to put it on top of the filing cabinet across from her.Bill looked around the small room,

"Is it always this crowded in here? They don't hardly give ya room to walk." "No. This is thanks to that numb nuts Sobel. Sorry, there goes my irrepressible mouth again." Guarnere burst out laughing, "Oh, Christ! That's a good one, Doll. Do ya work for that bastard?" He was chuckling, repeating in a softer voice,

"Numb nuts Sobel. That's fuckin' perfect." Bill immediately apologized to her, "There goes my big mouth, so that makes us even." Leigh giggled, " No, and I sincerely thank God that I don't work for him. I normally do some work for Colonel Sink. My friend Melissa's grandma died two weeks ago and I got assigned to her duties while she was on leave. Sobel made such a fuss to have the extra filing cabinets brought in, but he's not in a hurry to get them out of here." Bill frowned and replied with derision,

"Don't surprise me one bit. I'm tellin' ya, that son of a bitch don't know his ass from a hole in the ground." "I got that impression about five minutes into my first day of working for him. Speaking of the black swan, if you mention what I called him, please don't tell your buddies that I was the one who came up with his new name. He could make my life a living hell." "Don't worry, I won't get ya into any trouble wit' Sobel." Bill decided to address the issue at hand,

"I might as well get to the point. You've been givin' me mixed signals. Sometimes ya act interested, but ya turned me down for a date Did I do or say somethin' wrong?" Leigh sighed, "You aren't the problem. It's me." Bill frowned and looked puzzled, "Are ya tryin' to not hurt my feelins? This sounds like a way to let me down easy." Spencer quickly answered, "No, it's nothing like that, Bill ." Guarnere felt relieved at the possibility of still having a chance with Leigh. "The reason why I've been hesitant about you comes from something that happened last year. It's why I went into the WAACs, I knew they would provide a safe place for me to live and work."

She began telling Bill about Grayson. As he listened, Guarnere felt anger building inside him as Leigh told him about the other woman and the events that led to her breaking the engagement and leaving O'Brian. "When I tried to leave his apartment, Gray locked the door." She then told about how O'Brian became angry, slamming her against the door and then grabbing her left arm. "I had a bruise on my back and big bruise on my arm that remained on me for a few weeks. Don't get me wrong, I don't condone violence, but I was infuriated and my back hurt. I reacted to the pain and slapped his face hard enough to leave my hand print."

She told Bill about Grayson punching her, giving her a black eye and knocking her to the floor. Guarnere slammed his hand down on the desk, his voice was loud, "That son of a bitch! If I knew where he was, I'd beat the livin' hell outta him, I swear to God! My pop told all us boys that you don't NEVER hit a woman. He told us that if we blew our top, go take a walk or somethin'. Pop always says, 'A woman is a delicate flower. You show her respect an' protect her. A man who hits a woman ain't a man at all.'" He put his hands on Spencer's shoulders, gently turning her toward him so she could look into his eyes. Guarnere took both of her hands in his, telling her, "You done nothin' wrong, Baby, and you didn't deserve what he done to you. You understand me? " Leigh was momentarily silenced by Bill's gentle touch and his words.

"Yes." Guarnere felt that there was more to her story and that it was equally upsetting as what she had told him. "That ain't all, is it ? How did you get out o'there?" Spencer told Bill about how she pretended to give Grayson another chance and the ruse of wanting to fix her makeup in order to get closer to the bedroom and the window. Guarnere commented, "You got a good head on your shoulders, Leigh." Then, she told of locking the door behind her, kicking out the screen and how O'Brian fired a gun, almost hitting her. Spencer told of her mad dash, practically barefoot in the pouring rain and jumping into the police car stopped at a red light

Since he was holding Leigh's hands,Bill kicked the desk with the heel of his boot, enraged when he heard about O'Brian firing the gun. He shouted, "Son of a bitch! I could kill that bastard for what he done to you!" Guarnere imagined Leigh terrified and running for her life. This made him want to ensure that no one would ever hurt her again.

"Sorry 'bout that. I'll keep it down, we don't need no MPs after us." Spencer decided to go for broke and tell Bill everything, "I'm not judging you in the least, but I think there are two types of girls you date. The first types are very experienced girls who aren't shy about wanting to have sex. The second types are good girls, the ones you would take home to meet your folks. I don't fit into either category."

Guarnere was amazed at the accuracy of her assessment. He chuckled softly, "You're right. You must be a mind reader." Bill had a puzzled look on his face as he listened to Leigh saying that she didn't fit in either category. He added,

"Baby, you are a good girl. What makes you think you ain't good?" Spencer looked down as she replied, "I planned to wait until I was married to...but Grayson said it was OK because we were engaged. It only happened once and it was over pretty fast. I don't understand what all the fuss is about." Bill held back the urge to laugh at her remark, not wanting to hurt her feelings, but he smirked,

"It's because he didn't do it right." "Gray never touched me after that. I guess he got what he wanted and moved on to the next woman or women. When I asked him why he wasn't interested in me anymore," Spencer's voice was breaking, "he...he said that I was damaged goods that no one would want.That's why I broke that date with you.

Now that you know the whole story, I understand if you aren't interested. You have a heart of gold and you deserve a good woman." Leigh felt her eyes filling with tears that she couldn't control. Guarnere saw the tears flowing down her face in the dim light. The dejected look on Spencer's face caused Bill to say, in a very soft and tender voice, "Oh, Sweetheart," He wrapped his arms around Leigh, pulling her close to him. Bill stroked her back, soothing her. Guarnere held Spencer with one hand while he got a handkerchief from a pocket in his dress uniform and gently wiped the tears from her face.

Bill asked if she needed to use the handkerchief. Leigh thanked him and turned away from Guarnere to blow her nose. She put the used handkerchief behind her on the desk. Spencer's voice was breaking as she told Bill, "I'll get this washed and returned to you. Damn it! This is embarrassing. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your evening."

"Don't worry about it, I can get it back later. You didn't ruin nothin'. Baby, you are a good woman. You're a sweet angel." He wrapped his arms around Leigh again and resumed stroking her back as Spencer returned his embrace, feeling comfort in snuggling close to Bill.

Holding Leigh felt so right to him. Guarnere thought,

"I wish I could hold this little doll all night." He placed a tender kiss on the top of her head. Guarnere tilted Spencer's head up with one finger under her chin, looking into her eyes as he told her, "You ain't damaged, Leigh. Any man who thinks that is a goddamned fool. You're a smart, beautiful woman. You're funny an' you sure as hell don't take no guff from anybody."

Bill paused to gently brush back a strand of her hair that was hanging over her right eye, He continued, "On top o' that, ya sing like an angel. Baby, you're somethin' else, really special.

Don't never forget that. You're more to me than just a night or two wit' some broad I picked up at the NCO club or the joints in town. That's why I wanted to find out how ya felt about me." Leigh was hoping she didn't misunderstand what Bill just said.

"In other words, you want me to be your girl? " Guarnere couldn't say what he was thinking, "If I tell her, she'll think I'm nuts, but I know that I'm gonna marry her someday. Pop felt that way about Ma from the very beginnin'." Instead, he replied, "Yes, Baby. I want ya to be my girl. How 'bout it?" Spencer smiled, "Yes. By the way, you're the first man I've been interested in since last year." Bill put his hands on either side of Leigh's face and gave her a sweet, gentle kiss.

"Sweetheart, you just made me a happy man. I'm honored to be the first man ya got interested in after that livin' nightmare." He kissed Spencer again, gently at first. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Guarnere deepened the kiss and Leigh ran her fingers through his hair.

When Bill parted her lips with his tongue, she sighed into his mouth, allowing his tongue to enter her mouth. He began tracing his fingers down her back. Leigh froze in place when she heard the front door of the building open. Reluctantly breaking the kiss, she remarked,

"Damn it! I forgot about the MP doing a security check. He has lousy timing!" She got off of the desk, quickly ensuring that the office door was locked, grabbed her purse and turned off the flashlight. Bill grabbed the flashlight and followed her behind her desk.

The footsteps in the hall grew louder until the MP stopped in front of the door to Spencer's office. Once the officer realized the door was locked, he checked the back door and found it was also locked. The MP walked to the front door and exited the building, locking the door behind him.

Bill and Leigh got up from behind the desk. Spencer placed the flashlight in the desk drawer and made sure the drawer was closed. Guarnere wrapped his arms around Leigh, kissing her. "As much as I wanna go back to what were doin' before the MP showed up, we need to get the hell outta here before he comes back." Leigh agreed and they exited the office. She locked the office door.

Guarnere used his lighter to help them navigate to the back door. Once it was unlocked, he opened the door for Leigh to exit first. She paused to lock the back door. They strolled hand in hand to the walkway. "Let me walk ya back to the barracks, Sweetheart. You should't walk back by yourself."

Bill paused for a moment to get the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, taking one cigarette and his lighter. He put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it. Then, he put the lighter back in his pocket. Leigh told him, "I wouldn't want it any other way." Bill put his arm around her shoulders as they walked to the women's quarters. They took the long route to the barracks. When they arrived at the building, Guarnere got rid of the cigarette, dropping the remains of it on the gravel path, stepping on it to ensure it was out.

He pulled Spencer close to him, wrapping his arms around her as he gave her a passionate kiss. Leigh moaned softly as Guarnere's tongue entered her mouth. They exchanged slow, sensual kisses. Leigh caressed Bill's back. He broke the kiss, whispering to Spencer,

"Is this gettin' my baby worked up?" He nibbled on her ear, and kissed her neck. Bill delighted in hearing Leigh moaning softly. "Oh, yes! I love the way you kiss. Something tells me you're very good at other things, too." Bill replied, playfully raising his eyebrows, "That so?" "I don't know that for a fact, but I'd like to find out sometime." Guarnere chuckled, kissing the top of her head. He gave Spencer a tender kiss, "Any time you're ready, you just tell me, OK? If ya need more time, I can wait until you're ready. Ain't no reason for me to chase after other broads when I have an angel like you. I ain't just sayin' that, either. " "I promise to let you know when I'm ready. Bill, you're so considerate. I'm lucky to have a nice guy like you." Guarnere gave Spencer a tender kiss,

"You made me a happy man tonight, Baby. I'd better call it a night. I'll see ya sometime later today, that is if ya don't already have plans."

"Sounds like I will plan to see a handsome sergeant who just happens to be my guy." Guarnere gave her another passionate kiss, " Goodnight, Baby. See ya later today. Leigh told Bill goodnight and she went into the building . Guarnere headed back to the Easy Company barracks.

#hbowardaily #Bobweek2023 #Day 3

@hbowardaily

[milomaxxy]

Seeing all the posts from people calling Palestinians people scammers bctheyre trying to raise money to evacuate their country has my blood fucking boiling.

Last year, in May, my family ended up in a homeless shelter after a year and some change of bouncing around staying with friends and family and trying to get into a home again. It was fucking terrible. We made a gofundme back then to try to raise something to help out, and spread it over Facebook groups mostly. That gfm was up for the entire time we were in that shelter- about six months- and we barely raised $400. It was devastating seeing there be maybe 20 donators, and spending hours begging online, while some whiny able white person complains about not being able to get a $200 Starbucks SpECiAl cup and got funded IMMEDIATELY. I saw post after post of people donating to people who wanted to "treat themselves", who wanted to go out to the bar with their friends and couldn't afford to, people who wanted to order pizza. Meanwhile every other post was someone begging for money to pay their rent, their car insurance/payment, their bills, fucking MEDICINE, and yet maybe 1 out of every 10 got fully funded. The majority of them couldn't even get $100, while the post beneath written by a snotty college kid who's complaining about how she hasn't gotten her nails done "properly in a little while" got OVER FUNDED (yes, this is a REAL EXAMPLE). It was actually fucking insulting for people to act like people like me, or others needing help, we're just scamming for money while they literally threw cash away at people "treating" themselves.

All this is to say that it is absolutely disgusting to see people say "ew they're just trying to sCaM yOuU" or "I can't really help sorry" only to turn around and hand $50 to someone who's bummed out they couldn't get sushi for dinner 🙄 (yes, another real example). It makes me slowly lose hope, especially in white people and doubly so in able-bodied people, bc it gets so much worse if someone mentioned being disabled. "You could just get a job" and various insults about being lazy, weak, bums are constantly thrown towards disabled people trying to raise funds. I got called a "worthless pussy" bc I gave medical documents as to why I couldn't work (one group wanted evidence for any donations posts).

With how fucking trashy, racist, ableist, and downright fucking terrible people are to anyone asking for money, what the actual fuck makes you think people are scamming you?? I can fucking guarantee you that they are NOT getting enough money to make it worth being treated like an actual fucking parasite by people who've never had to worry about where they're going to live or how they're gonna get their next meal. Y'all can't even fucking boycott McDonald's or Starbucks and yet you wanna fucking play pretend like you care where your money goes