#it’s significant. it’s soooo significant I promise

[mouthpoisons]

another addition to All This and a small elaboration on the idea that ''viktor came close to winning the game/escaping the narrative when he tried to transmutate after the running scene'' to clear up what i actually mean by that, since according to my theory, isnt him using the hexcore at any point just playing into its hands regardless of when he does it? no, i dont think so!

hold my hand and walk with me a bit. i barely have the words in my vocabulary to explain the concept im trying to get across here but you have to view these scenes in the context of their sudden, almost out of nowhere emotional impacts and how it all makes the characters, and us, feel. the massive change in trajectory/personality/goals that these moments present for the characters, not just whats physically happening. keep in mind my overall theory that magic is sentient and wants both of these characters to fail, to experience tragedy and guilt, to push everyone to the end goal of viktor apocalpse wizard. arcane is a butterfly effect in reverse and there is a Fixed Ending we are hurtling towards that everyone needs to excape in s2 act3.

yes my tinfoil hat gained like 50 layers the past few days idgaf!!!!! its fun and it makes sense!!!!!

simply put i view these two scenes as being like, the same. powder and viktor have these big beautiful moments of Finally Figuring It Out, which are suddenly violently cut short by the worst possible outcome happening. if nothing inexplicably horrific happened to either of them after their big moments of Figuring It Out, the narrative literally wouldve... lost their grip on them. they wouldve tricked the arcane and used it against itself, to Win The Game. powder, vander, vi, mylo, and claggor wouldve gone home happily. viktor wouldve transmutated and completely healed himself, with no strings attached, and wouldve been like lalalalala with jayce in the lab making toys forever.

my idea is that these and other complete heel turn, sudden, catastrophic The Tower moments that barge in like ''fuck you, im changing your entire life trajectory now'' arent accidental, arent viktor or powders fault, but are calculated moves by the arcane to further the story *it* wants to happen. to turn these characters into who *it* wants them to be.

powder ''accidentally'' kills her family and is firmly set back on the road to becoming jinx - someone who will continue to use arcane weaponry to devastating effect and cause more necessary death and tragedy

viktor ''accidentally'' kills sky and is firmly set back on the path of becoming the apocalypse wizard (someone who will also use the arcane to devastating effect)

they both even acquire voices/presences in their heads that remind them to Stay Feelin Guilty after these moments

basically

[moe-broey]

GOD. HELP. PLEASE FORNTHE LOVE OF GOD. HELP ME <- is slightly self-conscious and extremely worried about doing something Incorrectly

[yan-est]

hi there koni! i rly rly enjoyed the yan! househusband hcs and i'm also rly excited to see more of your writing!! with that being said, how did reader even meet yan! househusband? what was their love story like?

AAAAA my first ask⁉️ omg thank you anon, glad you enjoyed the hcs! now here are some crumbs teehee

sfw, implied manipulation

meeting with yan!househusband for the first time would be pretty cute imo. i can't really see him falling in love with someone during his adulthood, especially since that's when all of his issues came up, soooo i mostly see him falling for reader during their high school years together. so now you'd think that they'd be high school sweethearts, right? mmm, not quite.

you, my dear sweet reader, would barely notice him during your freshman year. he wasn't exactly the most popular or the liveliest student around. he was actually the quiet kid who sat in the corner of the class. nobody really paid much attention to younger!yan!househusband, except a lot of people knew that he rides a limousine on his way home. yeah, he's filthy rich.

but then, on the first day of sophomore year, you were late to class and the only seat left was next to younger!yan!househusband. well, not that you were complaining or anything. he mostly kept to himself and only talked when necessary. you thought he was reserved, until one sunny afternoon during lunch break, you caught him doodling on his textbook. when you peeked at it, the person he drew looked a whole lot like you.

that'd be the first time you two would actually interact with each other, but younger!yan!househusband would be an absolute flustered mess when you realized that it was you who he drew on his textbook lmao.

days after that event, you realized that he wasn't actually so bad. he comforted you when all of your friends suddenly left you without any explanation, he made sure to walk you home after school, and most of all, he'd leave snacks on your desk. how did he know your favorite snack…?

eh, well, it doesn't matter. what matters is that every time you think of high school, you'd think of him. he was always there in the picture. always.

so it wasn't really a surprise when the moment you two graduated, he nervously brought out a promise ring and asked you to be his significant other. you found his actions endearing, and so— of course— you said yes. oh, darling, you really had no idea what you were getting yourself into, huh?

[westcoastcollectives]

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢs - billie eilish x fem!reader

ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs - angst w happy ending, allusion to homophobia

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ - in which y/n is afraid to come out to the public about their relationship or in which billie & y/n love each other despite other’s opinions

ᴀ/ɴ - soooo, i used to post on this account (username bilsluvr) but i deleted everything and revamped the account 😭. this is an old fanfic that i wrote in 2022 , but in honor of the new album i’ve decided to repost it :) i hope you guys like it <3 (also this is based on billie’s song “come out and play” so i recommend to listen to it while you read.)

“wake up and smell the coffee”

“good morning bil” y/n spoke softly as she held her half full cup of coffee and smiled at the black haired girl in front of her. “hey baby” billie leaned over to peck the girls lips.

“but i love it when you’re awfully quiet”

“sleepy?” billie said as she placed her hand on y/n’s cheek. “yeah..” y/n leaned on billie’s hand. “i love you, you know that right?” billie said tenderly. “yeah, i do.” y/n whispered, turning her head slightly to peck billie’s palm, looking at the deep blue eyes lovingly.

“you see a piece of paper, could be a little greater”

“whatcha doin’?” billie asked as she took a sip of her hot tea. the warm ambience of the busy café making them feel like they were the only ones there.

“drawing” y/n giggled. billie looked at the napkin, feeling content with the day. “drawin’ what?” billie asked, smiling at the girl.

“mmm, i don’t really know,” y/n looked at the napkin. “what i feel i guess,” she finished. the napkin held a sketch of a snowy night city with a ferris wheel. “are you cold..?” billie questioned. “no billie!” y/n laughed.

their moment was interrupted when a teenage girl walked up to the smiling couple. “oh my gosh! hi! can i get a photo?” she asked excitedly.

“yes, of course” billie held a tight smile, feeling more tense. as soon as y/n noticed, she placed her hand on top of billie’s resting one. almost instantly, billie felt more relaxed just by the touch of her significant other.

“and you don’t have to keep it quiet”

the fan noticed and quickly asked, “are you guys like together or something?”.

billie’s eyes widened and y/n snatched her hand back. billie opened her mouth to answer, but y/n was too fast. “what? of course not,” she said hostilely. “we’re just friends.”

billie looked at her rather confused, but quickly switched to a sad, tight lipped smile. “yeah” she murmured.

billie was so confused. even though they weren’t out, why would she answer that way? so, abruptly.

“let’s take that photo, yeah?” billie said.

“yes!” the fan said, oblivious to the fact that she had just created a dent within the couple.

“and i know it makes you nervous”

they have been driving for a while now. LA traffic not being so light.

“why’d you answer that way” billie finally broke the silence that had been clouding the car.

“what?” y/n said surprised. “you heard me.” billie said, feeling just a tinge of anger, but not much due to the amount of love that she is filled with for the girl.

“you can’t blame me billie. we’re not going to come out to a random fan on a sunday afternoon.” she said a matter of factly.

“i understand, but i didn’t expect you to answer so fast, almost instinctively.” billie stated. feeling insecure about their relationship.

y/n sighed, looking down at her feet, fidgeting with her rings. “no billie, i’m just…” she hesitated. “nervous.”

“but i promise you, it’s worth it.” billie said as they were pulling into the drive way of their shared home.

y/n turned to billie to find her already looking at her. “can you wait for me bil?” she asked nervously.

billie held her two hands and placed them on her lap. “always.” billie said while looking at her eyes.

“look up, out of your window. see snow, won’t let it in though”

“oh my gosh..” y/n said, feeling surprised.

“what?” billie questioned as y/n urgently ran out of the room.

“it’s snowing!!” y/n came back with a big jacket that engulfed her and a beanie that was almost falling off her head.

“oh,” billie chuckled, walking up to her, fixing the beanie on her head. “you scared me, baby.” she said with a small smile. “sorry” y/n said with a wide, genuine smile.

“get out there,” billie suggested, nodding her head towards the door. “you don’t wanna come with?” y/n asked, slightly furrowing her eyebrows.

“nah, i’m already cold. go have fun.” billie smiled. “i’ll watch from in here.” she finished. “okay,” y/n said. “i love you.” she spoke before leaning in to peck billie’s lips softly.

“cause it's colder here inside in silence”

y/n opened the door excitedly, letting the cold wind blow throughout the home, making billie shiver. “sorry,” y/n chuckled. “s’okay, be safe!” billie shouted.

billie watched as the girl rushed to get to the front of the house to play with the snow. as billie watched through the front window, she noticed how truly quiet and cold it is with out the girls warm loud presence.

while watching y/n laugh at how small the snow flakes were, billie realized how grateful she is for y/n. just merely young, dumb, in love teenagers who didn’t care what people thought about them.

what changed? society’s pressure did. and billie hated that it had affect their relationship.

“and you don’t have to keep it quiet”

“what’s got you so quiet y/n/n?” billie asked, leaning over the counter, careful not to spill the iced tea. “just thinkin’” y/n replied, staring at the picture of the two perched on the mantle.

“about..?” billie said hesitantly. “us.” y/n said. “oh, good things i hope” billie nervously chuckled.

“if we come out about our relationship, do you think we’ll get hate?” y/n said sharply. billie’s head snapped towards her, “woah, where did you get that from.” she asked. “i told you, i’m just thinkin’” y/n spoke, feeling helpless.

“i think we’ll get hate no matter what we do,” billie said. “no, i mean,” y/n hesitated and sighed. “i don’t know, never mind.”

“but-“ billie started, “never mind billie.” y/n ended the conversation.

“too shy to say, but i hope you stay.”

“y/n” billie spoke into the silence. “yeah bil?” y/n said softly, looking back at billie from her seated place on the couch.

“i don’t want to hide anymore.” billie spoke confidently. “what?” y/n questioned, feeling rather confused as to where this came from.

“i want to be able to hold your hand in public, post you, love you without being afraid of someone ‘catching’ us.” billie said, finally expressing her feelings. “i love you, and i think that’s all that matters.”

“okay.” y/n whispered. “okay?” billie questioned, feeling invalidated. “what do you mean ‘okay’?” billie said, walking up to the girl and taking the spot next to her on their couch.

“i agree with you billie.” y/n said, not making eye contact with her. “then? what’s wrong?” billie asked, holding y/n’s hand, caressing it.

“i don’t want to hurt you.” y/n said, looking up at the love of her life. “why would you-“ y/n cut billie off, “i don’t want to hurt your career.” y/n spoke.

“oh.” billie murmured. “i don’t care about that.” billie spoke strongly. “i care about you and our future together.” billie was slowly getting more confused.

y/n leaned in for a hug. not saying a word, but feeling the love around them.

they held each other for the rest of the night.

“come out and play”

after hearing the last chords of the song, y/n looked up at billie with tear filled eyes. y/n found herself reminiscing each memory that correlated with the song.

“i’m sorry.” y/n sobbed, hugging billie. “why baby? don’t be sorry.” billie said. “i only want the best for us.” she smiled reassuringly.

“i’m ready.” y/n said, pulling herself away from billie and wiping underneath her eyes. “you’re right. our opinion is the only opinion that matters. it’s our relationship, not anybody else’s.”

billie could explode of happiness if she were able to. she hugged y/n hard, “i’m so happy you finally feel this way.” billie held y/n’s face and leaned in for a kiss full of love and joy.

-

the couple couldn’t be happier.

sure, they got some hate here and there, but not enough to tear them apart.

[allinestarr]

Relentless 2/?

Charles Leclerc x Fem Driver Reader Platonic! / Max Verstappen x Fem Driver Reader!

Masterlist | Next Chapter

Summary: Y/n L/n was a force to be reckoned with. She had the championship on palm of her hands if it weren’t for Max Verstappen. You hated him and he hated you. Right?…

Warnings: Angst, fluff

“ Uhhh I’m telling you going out tonight is a mistake.” You groaned as you spoke to your best friend over FaceTime.

“Y/N you deserve to celebrate. You worked hard all season and made second in drivers and constructers. Don’t devalue yourself. I know you’re bummed I can’t make it out but I promise we are going to have so much fun during break.”

“ I know Rachel but it’s just going to be so awkward. Lewis had to leave to Paris because he had some work obligations and everyone’s bringing their significant others and I’ll be the only one alone.”

“ That’s not true. Lando’s single and he’s going.”

“ Yea but you know how he is. He’s always got a crowd around him and goes off to Dj and can’t sit still. I’m going to look like a lost puppy following him around..”

“Well what about Fernando or Charles?”

“ Fernando left to be with his girlfriend in Spain and Charles.. well I don’t know. I think Alex had to leave because she had an emergency.”

“ Well there you go. Just hang out with Charles.”

“ Yea but I don’t want people to get the wrong idea. You know what happened last year. We hung out after he broke up with Charlotte and everyone blamed me for their breakup. It took a lot of pr to clear my name.”

“ Y/n it will be fine. Stop making up excuses and enjoy yourself!. Now, what are you wearing?.”

Sighing you went over a few outfits before you settled on a mid length open back black dress with some heels. Minimal make up cause you didn’t need it and some loose curls.

“ Y/n you look amazing!!” Rachel screamed.

“ You sure?. The dress feels tight and keeps riding up.”

“Y/n it’s perfect. Now go and get to the club. Have fun but not to much. Call me in the morning so we can debrief!. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee.”

Soon after the Uber came and you made your way to the club.

“Y/n you made it!.” Lando said as he hugged you.

“ Yea. I said I’d come and here I am.”

Max was sitting off to the corner with Kelly and didn’t bother looking up to greet you. As time and drinks passed by everyone separated to dance or head off. Lando as predicted was at the Dj booth with his friends and Charles was pretty much drunk. You only had a few drinks so you only had a light buzz. To be honest, clubs and galas weren’t your scene so you couldn’t wait to leave.

“Y/n I love her soooooo much.” Charles slurred against your shoulder he leaned on.

“ I know Charles. Do you want to leave?.”

“No you don’t understand.. I love her soooo much. I regret being here. I wish I was with her right now. Everytime I’m not with her I’m so sad.”.

When you looked down at him you saw he was in fact crying, so you smiled and wiped away his tears.

“ Charles why don’t we leave so we can talk away from prying eyes.”

He smiled and nodded. When your Uber was outside you helped Charles up and he put his arm around your waist for support as you made your way outside the club. With no time to tell everyone you just decided to text them when you got back to the hotel. You didn't miss Max’s cold gaze following you with his fists clenched as you got closer to the exit. Kelly looked at him and followed his gaze to you. She raised her eyebrow curiously before looking back at Max with a scowl. Weird you though, but not your business.

Arriving at your shared hotel you took Charles to his room. He was pretty much dead weight by the time you laid him down on his bed.

“Ok Charles I’m going to leave you a glass of water and some ibuprofen for the morning. Get some rest and we will talk over breakfast.”

As you were walking away he grabbed your hand.

“No wait I want to ask you something…”

“What?.”

“Will you help me find a ring?..”

“Uh sure.. for what?..”

“For Alex. I want to ask her to marry me.”

“Yes!!. Of course I will!.” You smiled and hugged him.

“Please don’t tell anyone. I want it to be a surprise.”

“My lips are sealed. Now get some rest. We will have much to talk about in the morning!.”

Walking back to your room you bump into Lance. He smiled and nods a hello as you walk to the elevator to get your floor.

You woke up to your phone ringing and when checking, it was your best friend. As much as you wanted to decline the call to sleep in for another hour, you knew she would just call till you picked up.

“Hello..” you groaned.

“ Are you ok??.”

“Yea why would I?.”

“Well the things people were saying was pretty cruel.”

“What are you talking about??”

“Have you not checked any of your socials??”

“ No I just woke up. What’s going on??”

“Well, you were photographed with Charles and he was holding onto you and it looked like you had something going on. He was leaning close to your face and you were touching his face. They're saying Charles broke up with Alex since she’s not there and that you and him are having a fling. And the worst part is that someone who they say is a credible source said it was true.”

“That’s insane!. There’s nothing going on with Charles and I. He was drunk and was saying he missed Alex and started crying so i comforted him. I brought him back to his room and left. I can’t believe this is happening again!.”

“I know y/n. I didn’t believe it when I saw it. Listen I can come earlier if you want so you don’t have to be alone.”

As much as you wanted to at yes, you couldn’t. She’s already done so much for you and she’s taking 2 weeks off work just to spend time with you when she could be with her family.

“It’s ok Rae. I’ll be fine. I’m sure my pr is already working on fixing this. I promise I’ll keep you updated. I’ll see you next week.”

“Ok, just call me if anything. Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye."

Staying in bed all day to grovel sounded pretty good right now, but you promised breakfast with Charles so after a quick shower you sent him a text and met in the lobby. You were met with paparazzi outside the hotel bombarding you with pictures and questions.

“Charles why did you cheat on your girlfriend?.”

“Y/n how long have you and Charles been together?. Before Charlotte or before Alex?.”

“Charles is true you let Y/n win in Brazil?.”

You couldn’t get to Charles car quicker as you sped off to the cafe. Opting to sit in the farthest table away from anyone you ordered some food and sat down in silence before Charles took off his sunglasses. His eyes were red and puffy. He'd been crying.

“Charles, what’s wrong?.”

“Well apart from what’s come out everywhere, Alex called me this morning. She… she broke up with me. She saw the pictures and said she couldn’t do it anymore.”

“But it’s not true.”

“I know, I told her that but she didn’t believe me. Not when they said there was a credible source. I called around and tried to find out who it was but all they said was it was someone close to the grid. I just don’t know who would do this!.”

“ No but I have my suspicions. Don’t worry about it, I will get this all cleared up. It's going to be ok. Now, I believe we were suppose to talk about a ring..”

“ I don’t know anymore..”

“Charles, listen to me. You love her and she loves you. You and i both know that that’s rare to find with our jobs. She’s been with you through thick and thin. You said you couldn’t stand being away from her for a second. If you say she’s the one, then she’s the one.”

“You’re right. I’m putting my faith in you. So should we talk about rings?.”

You smiled and nodded as you spoke about what kind of ring she’d like and where to go to look at some and what kind of proposals he had in mind. After wrapping up the conversation you parted ways promising to meet up in Monaco to go ring shopping.

The week passed by and you were in your apartment in Monaco with Rachel.

“What should we do today?”

“I have to meet up with Charles so I won’t be back till 3 or 4. Landos in town if you want to hang out with him.”

“What are you doing with Charles?.”

Remembering your promise to keep his secret you had to come up with a lie.

“We have to go over some stuff our pr asked us to do.”

She looked at you suspiciuosly but accepted your answer.

“Oh ok then. I’ll go hang out Lando. Call me when you get back.”

“Alright see you later.”

It felt bad lying to your best friend but under the circumstances, it was necessary. After visiting pretty much every jeweler in Monaco, nothing caught Charles eye.

“It’s ok, we will find something somewhere else. What if we go to Paris next week. I heard they have the cutest vintage rings.”

“I guess. It’s just so frustrating. Nothing is going right. I have been calling her nonstop and she blocked me. I showed up at her house and she won’t answer. I sent her flowers and letters and she sends them back. I’m losing hope here.”

“ Hey don’t say that. She will forgive you. I’m narrowing the list of suspects and when I find out, I'm going to set this right. Till then, call me if anything.”

The only 2 people you could think of was Lance and Max. When you called Lance and asked him straight up, he denied it. He said he saw you walk him into his room and walk right out but didn’t suspect or think anything of it. You believed him and apologized for bothering him. That left none other then Max. The last person you would ever talk to yet you found yourself dialing his number.

"Hello?"

“Meet me at my place in 1 hour.”

Before he could say anything you hung up. Luckily Rachel was still gone when you got back. An hour later the door bell rang and upon opening it, revealed a pissed off Max. Walking away from the door you waited for him in your living room. He closed the door behind him and sat next to you on the couch.

“Well on with it. You called me, so what do you want.”

“Did you tell the media I was having an affair with Charles?.”

“No!. Why the hell would you think I would waste my time talking about you?.”

“Gee I don’t know, maybe because you hate my guts and you were scowling at me all night at the club. I know it was someone close to grid who confirmed those false rumors. It all leads to you!.”

“Do you hear yourself sometimes?. I’m pretty sure it requires someone to care about the person to talk about them and you y/n, I don’t care about. So if that’s all, I’m out of here.”

Looking into his eyes you knew he was being honest so how was it possible you got it wrong. Is there someone else out there that hates you?. Who could it be?. Wait… now that you think about it.. it couldn’t be..

“Kelly?…”

“What?.” He furrowed his brows.

“It has to be her. The way she looked at me that night.”

“She would never do something like that!. Unlike you she has class.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?!.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve ruined Charles relationship.”

You couldn’t help the pit in your stomach and the tears welling up in your eyes. He went to far.

“You motherfu..”

Before you could finish your sentence Rachel walked in calling your name.

“Y/n everything good here?.”

“Yea, he was just leaving.”

Max regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. He didn’t know why he said it. Was it because you accused his girlfriend or because he was jealous?. He got up and walked to the door but before walking to the elevator he turned around thinking of something to say but before the words came out you closed the door.

“Sorry…” he whispered to himself.

Max POV

Walking back to his place he thought about what you said. Kelly was mad that night and has been mad at him for quite a while. She said all he talked about was you. Whenever he lost he would talk about how you cheated someway or whenever he won he would say how much you sucked or how you didn’t drive as good as him. He said the only reason he wanted to win the championship was to rub it in your face. That night though was the worst fight he had with her.

Flashback to fight after club

Kelly saw how Max tensed when y/n showed up. She couldn’t tell if his face was red from the alcohol or from looking at y/n but she would keep a close eye. As the night went on and everyone went their own ways y/n danced with Charles and sat back down in the vip booth with him. Kelly didn’t miss how he clenched his fists and jaw when he saw y/n leave with Charles. It was so obvious to Kelly why. He didn’t want to talk when they got home but she wasn’t going to let it go.

“You like her don’t you?.”

“What are you talking about?. You’ve heard me all season complain about her, why would you assume I’d like her?.”

“Max im not blind. I saw the way you tensed when you saw her with Charles and how you watched her all night.”

“You’re imaging things. I could care less about y/n. Now please Kelly, drop it.”

Max didn’t leave any room for her to talk as he walked away to change and go to sleep. Deep down she knew it was more then that. Y/n would not take what she worked hard to get. So she made a call to one of her friends.

Back to Max POV

When he got home Kelly was sitting on the couch on the phone. He didn’t want to eaves drop but when he heard your name he stayed silent against the wall.

“Yea I can’t thank you again. It’s good everyone sees how much of a home wrecker Y/n is. I just couldn’t believe it when she told me she was with him again. I just hope she doesn’t do it to anyone else.”

When she finished her call he walked up to her.

“Hey baby you’re back early. I didn’t hear you come in. How was coffee with Charles?.”

“Why?.”

“What do you mean why?”

“Why would you ruin Y/n’s reputation?."

“I don’t know what your tal..”

“Stop lying!. I heard you!. You were the one who told the media Y/n was with Charles!.”

“And so what if I did!. Why do you care?!. You hate her, right?.”

“That’s not the point!. You lied!. I thought you were better then that.”

“And you don’t lie?. You think I’m stupid?!. I know you’re in love with her!. It’s so obvious. You said me and P were your whole world. We’ve been together for so many years and now you want to throw it away for some whore!.”

“Don’t try to manipulate me into the bad guy. I told you I don’t care about her. You lied and I can’t trust you. I think it’s best we take a break. We need space to think things through.”

“This is a mistake Max. We are a family. We can work this out.”

“No. I’ll pack some bags and you can stay here with P. I’m going to stay with my sister for a little bit. I’ll call you when I’m ready to speak to you.”

“Max don’t do this. Please!.”

As much as Kelly tried to convince Max to stay he had already packed his bags and prepared to leave before stopping in P’s room to say goodbye and that he’d be away in a business trip for a few weeks.

Back to Y/n

After Max left, Rachel tried to get you to talk but you told her you didn’t want to, so she dropped it. Instead you had a girls night in with some romcoms and your favorite foods. Everything was a mess so you decided to do something about it by starting off with Charles.

"Hey Rae, how do you feel about going to Italy next week?."

"Are you kidding me?? Is that even a question?. YES! YES! YES!!!!."

"Great, ill book our flights now."

Mission get Charles and Alex back together is in play.

The week went by fast without issue and soon enough you and Rachel were on the flight to Italy. You told Rachel about the plan minus the engagement part. After settling into the hotel you put on a summer dress with a hat and shades to not be recognized and headed to Alex’s house. Knocking on the door you waited till someone answered. When someone did, it was a middle aged lady.

“Hi, is Alex home?.”

The lady looked at you confused like she didn’t understand and you realized she probably didn’t speak English and you definitely didn’t speak Italian. So you tried loading up your translator app but it was taking forever to load. Another voice came from behind her that you recognized to be Alex.

“Y/n?”

Taking of your sunglasses and hat you nodded. She said something to the lady who walked away and then she leaned against the door.

“What are you doing here?.”

“Well, first to say me and Charles have never had any kind of relations. He’s been my friend since I’ve joined formula 1. I have never seen him in that way and never will. Secondly, I couldn’t stand seeing Charles mope around Monaco any longer. All he does is stay inside all day on his sim or play piano. And finally, I wanted to have some good gelato.” You smiled.

Alex’s face didn’t change as she processed all you've said. Eventually though, she smiled sadly.

“I miss him. I’ve never gone this long without him. I was so hurt and embarrassed when I saw those articles. Then he showed up here and it made me sick seeing him but even more turning him away. I tried moving on but all I can think about is him.”

A single tear dropped down her cheek as you hugged her.

“Is he here?.”

“No, he doesn’t know I came here. Listen why don’t we get some gelato and take a walk?”

She smiled and excused herself to get her purse. You texted Rachel.

y/n: Mission Charles and Alex back together Successful 💞✅

y/n: getting some gelato with Alex, be back soon. Don’t tell anyone including Charles, want it to be a surprise. 🤔

Rae: yayyy 😃

Rae: I love love 💕 🥰

Rae: my lips are sealed promise. 🤐🤫

Rae: also please bring me back a gelato 🍨 😀

Y/n: will do, see you soon!! 🫡

After talking to Alex for a while she agreed to come back with you to Monaco to see Charles. She didn’t call or text him to let him know, wanting it to be a surprise as well. Till then you spent your days eating the best food you could get and every gelato flavor you could find. Your pt was going to be pissed when you got back, but it was worth it.

The day came and you’d finally made it back to Monaco. Rachel had to leave the last day in Italy since she had to go back to work, so it was just you and Alex. The plan was to drop off your things first and head to Charles place. You didn’t know who was more nervous, you or Alex.

When you arrived at Charles front door you nodded to Alex as she let out a breath and knocked. Charles opened up and held his breath when he saw Alex. He was to stunned to speak so Alex did instead.

“Hi…”

“Oh hey sorry.. I just can’t believe it’s really you..”

“I’m sorry..” they both said in unison.

They laughed and Charles spoke,

“I’m sorry that I hurt you. Those rumors were just rumors. I love you and only you.”

“I know. I love you too. I was hurt but I know now that it was all lies. Y/n explained everything to me.”

That’s when he noticed you were next to Alex and he was confused.

“But how?.”

“She came to my house and told me. We spoke for a while and I understand. I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“My love, you don’t have to apologize. It was my fault. I hope you can forgive me.”

“There’s nothing to be forgiven. It was a misunderstanding. Let’s just forget about this.”

“Well that’s my queue to go. Guys im happy for you. Im gonna leave you two love birds to it. If you need anything call or text. See you later.”

You said your goodbyes and headed back to your apartment. It was late so you just stopped by your favorite restaurant and got some food to go. Getting out of the elevator you could see a man sitting against your door. Cautiously you approached him and as he heard your footsteps he looked up.

“Max?…”

Previously / Next

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos @sadg3 @d3kstar @runs-with-scissOrs

[snaillock]

this fandom dry as shitttttt cause why am i barely seeing anyone talk about the new trailer? i know there are people talking about it if you scroll enough through the blue lock tag but for an animanga fan base that just had a season 2 of it’s anime drop? it’s a whole damn desert up in here.

anyways here are my thoughts on the trailer and the upcoming season:

good god blue lock deserved a better studio if i’m being completely honest here.

i really really don’t like the harsh look of the dominant and completely black shadows. i feel like it just does not at all fit with the art style and just clashes weirdly. it just gives off the vibe of them trying something and just going too far with it.

ofc a lot of stuff about the art direction is pretty subjective and everyone can have their own thoughts about it. personally, i don’t enjoy it that much and a lot of the screencaps are pretty unappealing to look at.

also not sure if this is just me but i have always hated is how absurdly lean the characters’ bodies looked in the anime. not completely sure if this is a thing unique to this anime or not. in the manga, they obviously looked fit and athletic but it was still believable that they were teenage athletes that have only really played on a high school/local level. meanwhile the adaptation made it appear like they have 0% body fat and are completely dehydrated. they looked like they were on steroids or some shit. is ego over there sneaking tren into their bloodstreams when they’re sleeping? and it certainly does not look this pet peeve of mine will get any better in season 2.

anyways onto the more positive stuff i’m looking forward to:

one thing i am excited for is isagis final goal in the u-20 match. i love that specific chapter in the series and i do feel like they’ll put a lot of effort into that part since it’s a pretty significant moment. so yeah i do have hopes for that. same with rin’s backstory. based on the little clip of it in the trailer, it does seem promising and i bet they’ll do a good job on that as well since it is a defining moment for his character.

another thing im quite happy about is my pookie sae’s new design. i’m so happy they changed his look to reflect the manga art style improve post-second selection arc. he looks soooo goodddd!

i’m also hella excited for the additional times. i really enjoyed those the first time i watched the anime and definitely was a little sad when i found out they weren’t canon in the actual manga. so i can’t wait to see what they’ll add to the characters this round.

even if the new season does inevitably its noticeable flaws, i bet i still will be extremely hyped when watching just like with season one. this series doesn’t fail to make me feel like a typical sports bro in a bar whenever someone makes a goal. and you bet my ass will be tuning in (🏴‍☠️) each and every week.

[foolstower]

Soooo, me again :) (I asked about your rules and things) long story short: I'm being a simp for stardew valley Sam at the moment and I have a feeling that there aren't a lot of os about him :( just can't decide on which idea to ask, if it's ok with you could you please choose one you feel most likely to write for?

° Tattoo date to zuzu city

° some comfort after y/n stands in front of his door to stay for the night because their parents had fought again like everyday and needs some time away (romantic or platonic)

° y/n sees him backstage after the concert kissing penny, thinking they won't have a chance but turns out he doesn't like penny and that's all a misunderstanding (you can choose if it should involve smut or not)

° saving his crush (y/n, what a surprise) from her toxic relationship and showing her how much better he could treat her (also, fluff or smut

Sorry if it's a lot to choose from qwq I just have so many things I think would be nice to read about him qwq

I was so tempted to do the penny one but chose to do the toxic relationship prompt instead. I'm definitely gonna keep that penny idea in mind though. Thank you so much for your request I loved all of these ideas! hope you enjoy!!

Radiant

(Sam stardew valley x reader)

Leaving zuzu city was the best thing you could've done for yourself right? Or so you thought, a raging voice was leaking through your cellphones speaker. They were on another drunken stupor, crying and yelling for you to come back. To sell the farm house and just come back. Aren't they more important? Than your stupid fantasy of being able to live off the the land.

"You'll starve!" They said. "What's even out there that has you wanting to stay so bad? It's been a few months.....you probably met someone didn't you?" Before they could continue you interrupted them.

"I'm done. Call me tomorrow morning when you're not drunk." You flatly stated and hung up. You were sure you'd wake up to many angry texts tomorrow morning, followed by a string of apologies. Promising they'll never say those things again, they didn't know what they were thinking. They just miss you so much that it's hard to cope.

You laid down in bed and hugged your pillow tight. Curling into a ball around it, you reminisced on your situation. For the past few months, you'd be lying if you didn't admit your empty bed brought you comfort. After a few years of living with your partner you'd grown used to their arms holding you down as you slept, unable to toss or turn. There was no room to breathe, no space to stretch. But ever since living on the farm you'd grown accustomed to the freedom. More than just physically but mentally too. Regardless of this you still longed for their companionship.

Sometimes the emptiness of the farm house was too much, you supposed.

Silencing the swirling thoughts in your head you thought of someone sweeter. A radiant light that showed itself on a dark night.

You were sat at the pier near Willy's cabin staring into the depths of the ocean. You'd only lived in stardew valley for a week and you were already begging your significant other not to come pick you up. You'd already turned off your phone at that point and were gazing at waters moonlit surface. You were drowning in your thoughts when you met him.

Light steps etched closer before he sat next to you on the pier. He talked to you as if he'd known you for years.

"What's got you out here so late?" He asked as crossed one leg under the other. "Stargazing?"

"No.. the stars are beautiful tonight though." Your raspy voice answered. Pointing your attention to the sky, Sparkling little glimmers shined happily. Blissfully unaware of any and all earthly issues. He was silent for a moment before he spoke again.

"Are you ok? Wanna talk about it?" He questioned. You thought on it for a second. Who was this guy? Worrying over someone he's never met. Regardless you found yourself gravitating towards his kindness. Maybe he was someone you'd like to know.

"What's your name?" You countered with a different question, finally looking over at him.

"Sam. and you?" He said. A small smile shown as he took in your features. He couldn't help but wonder what got someone so cute upset like that. It was dark but he could still see the reflection of the tears on your cheeks in the moonlight. Though you were a stranger, it upset him. He wouldn't pry though.

"Y/n." You said as you rubbed your face dry. "What brings you here?" You asked genuinely curious why anyone else would be out so late.

"Well honestly I came out here and thought you were my friend sebastian at first." He said with a small laugh, hand bashfully behind his head. "I was gonna ask him for a cig but instead I saw a cute girl and thought I'd introduce myself." He winked pointing a finer gun at you before putting it away. You blushed at that but smiled none the less. Something you hadn't done that whole day.

"Well unfortunately I'm taken but I appreciate it." You softly stated. At the time you couldn't quite place why you felt dissatisfied with that statement.

He let out a 'aww' but still stayed in his spot next to you. "Unfortunately? That doesn't sound too good." He prodded.

"Yeah......things aren't too good at the moment. But every relationship has a few rough patches right?" You sighed. It was mostly a question for yourself honestly.

You picked up your phone and saw through the blinding light that it was 1am. Knowing you had to wake up early in the morning, you sadly had to say goodbye. "Sorry sam. It was nice meeting you but I have to go to bed soon. It was nice taking to you." You said as you got up and dusted off your pants. You gave a small wave and turned to leave only taking a few steps before getting stopped.

"Wait!" He yelled still seated. "You wanna hang out sometime?" He asked. The pleading look in his eyes was something you couldn't say no to.

"Sure, you free tomorrow morning?" You asked almost too eagerly. Sam silently cursed in his head. He had work tomorrow morning and his boss was already annoyed with him. But to hell with all that.

"Yeah I'm free."

You awoke from your slumber still glued to the pillow you had fallen asleep with. Getting up and untangling yourself from all your blankets, you were able to finally escape your mess of a mattress. You stretched and some of your bones popped from being still for so long. You groaned, you felt like you'd been asleep for days.

You made your way to the kitchen with a yawn and poured a glass of water. The drink successfully woke you up and you rubbed some of the drowsiness out of your eyes. Drink in hand, you went back to your bedroom to do the inevitable. Check your phone.

With a heavy sigh you unplugged it and dived deep into the various messages that had been sent throughout the night. As you had predicted most of them were from last night. Messages about how they just want the best for you. How they were hurt that you actively choose a dead dream over your relationship. But they love you and they're sorry for what they said. But what they said next made your heart race. And you didn't know if it was in a good way.

'Please y/n can you forget about everything? Just for tonight? I'm coming to visit you. I don't care about our problems anymore I want to see you, I miss you. I'll be there tonight.'

You texted them back that you needed time. You weren't going to just ignore everything now that they wanted you to. It'd been a while since their last visit but you were too upset to even fathom seeing them. They didn't reply.

After exiting the text, you opened up one from an hour ago from somene who knows how to cheer you up.

Sam wanted to know if you were free in a few hours so you could go with him to the beach. Jas and Vincent wanted to go play by the ocean and he wanted to know if you wanted to tag along so he wouldn't be bored. You smiled to yourself and texted him back.

'Of course! I'll see you in a bit, gotta take care of some things on the farm then I'll head that way.'

You threw your phone on the bed and changed into your outfit. After throwing on your shoes and successfully tying them up, you made your way outside. Forgetting your phone on the bed.

After feeding the chickens and watering the crops you felt much better. Something about doing little things on your farm were fulfilling to you. Putting your watering can back in its place you made your way to the beach, hoping he didn't wait too long for you to get there.

As you got closer to where he stood on the beach, you made sure to stay silent. Finally standing next to him, he jumped a bit when he noticed you before laughing nervously.

"Jeez! Do you like doing that? How are you so quiet all the time?" He asked placing a hand over his racing heart. You did like doing this. Who wouldn't like to see that face he makes?

"Sorry, it's just so easy sometimes." You laughed. He gave you playful glare before looking back out toward the kids. After confirming they were ok and still on beach he turned his attention back to you. The sun made his blond hair shine more than usual and you could see that some of it was actually bleached from so much exposure to it.

"So? Got anything planned today? You could come hang out at the saloon tonight if you want. Me, seb, and Abby are gonna play pool tonight. It'd be nice to have some good luck on my side." He said elbowing your arm lightly. You smiled and seriously thought about taking him up on the offer. Sadly the life of the farmer isn't as free as you'd originally thought.

"Sorry, I bought a bunch of seeds from Pierre's yesterday and didn't get around to planting them. I'll probably be tilling the land all day." You sighed, already anticipating how bad your arms would hurt tomorrow.

"Aww I can help! It can't be too complicated right?" He offered. He wasn't unually one to volunteer to do work but in his mind, any time with you is a good time.

"It's ok I wouldn't want to put you through that pain." You half joked. "Also you have work tomorrow, it's gonna suck stocking shelves with sore arms." He went to argue but you stopped him. "Really, it's ok. Go have fun tonight you have to hang out with your other friends too you know." You both laughed knowing the two of you have been stuck to the hip since you met.

"Alright alright, if you say so." He said playfully. He looked out into the distance once again noting jas and Vincent's locations before looking back at you. He also noted how beautiful you always looked without ever trying. You eyes were squinting at him in the sunlight before you brought up your hand to shield your eyes. The wind gently blew through your hair and the sound of your voice carried over the sound if the waves. You were just perfect to him, nothing less.

A few hours had passed and you two talked about different things. You inquired about his band and he happily told you in detail all his plans and how he's always dreamed of doing it. You felt like you could stay and speak with him for the rest of the day, but heard tiny footsteps quickly approaching.

"Sam!! Im hungry!" Vincent ran up and looked at him patiently waiting for an answer. Jas quietly laughed to herself.

"Yeah i guess im a little hungry too." He said looking at the time. His expression changed to slight panic before he put his phone away. "So uh... I gotta go, dinner was done an hour ago and mom is pissed, heh" He nervously laughed. "Come on kids! Let's go home!" He said as they both ran towards the exit of the beach.

"I'll see you later Sam. Tell the others I said hi!" You said referring to Sebastian and Abigail.

"I will! And good luck on the farm you're gonna need it." He gave a salute before running after the kids. You watched as they all disappeared past the trees separating the town and the beach. Your heart ached a bit. If only time didn't go by so fast.

As you made your way home you tried to calculate just how much you could get done before midnight. Visions of seeds and gold unraveled in your mind as you approached your property. As you stepped up the porch something didn't feel quite right. Your chickens didnt approach you like they unually did and you heard your tv on the other side of the door. You swore you turned it off. Scared but armed with various farming equipment you made the decision to enter your home.

A show played on the TV making the figure on your couch clear as day. It looks like your partner decided to come anyway.

"What are you doing here?" You asked as calmly as you could.

"Sorry I was already on the way over and you still hadn't texted me back, thought I'd wait here a bit longer before going to look for you." They said.

"That's not my point. I said I needed time." You stated firmly.

"Listen... y/n I'm sorry, I really am. I know I hurt you deeply and I just wanted to say sorry in person." They said, tear pricked their eyes but never leaked out. You felt kind of bad for them. "I won't talk about any of that..... I just wanted to see you again." They claimed. You were hesitant to accept their compromise but did none the less. With your guard still up you sat on your couch beside them.

"Are you hungry? I thought you'd be hungry by now so I made Alfredo." They said.

After not eating all day you gut made itself known with a loud growl. You frowned before getting up to make yourself a plate. Eating some of it on your way back to the couch you stomach finally stopped it's noises. "Thank you, it's really good."

"No problem, I already ate so eat as much as you want." They said before turning to watch the rest of the movie. And just like that, back to normal.

It was getting late and you could hear the rain on the roof. Thunder lightly rumbled out side and you were cuddled into your partners side. The TV had already played a few things and you were getting tired. You had planned to fall asleep in your spot on the couch before your partner spoke.

"Y/n. What do you like about this place?" They quietly asked. That instantly woke you up.

"I like plenty of things about it. This cabin, the land, the wildlife. The townspeople are nice. I love everything about it." You passionately expressed. Their brows furrowed at that.

"I don't understand. You can live in the city and still visit these places." They said. You were already tired and really didn't want to talk about this right now.

"What happened to not caring about our problems anymore?" You questioned. They were silent for a second before continuing.

"What happened to being together for the rest of our lives? You left me in the city!" Their words cut deep and sparked rage instantly.

"Why can't you just drop it! Why can't you see that I'm doing this for you too! Shouldn't you be happy for me? We're living in an economy where you end up paying thousands of dollars every year just to stay alive and now I have this opportunity and you just want me to throw it away!?! Why do you have to have everything your way all the damn time!" You yelled as you got up from the couch and crossed your arms.

"No! You're the one being selfish! We already had a life in the city that you uprooted for this stupid fucking dream of yours!" They screamed at you from the couch. "This is unrealistic! It's not sustainable! And just.... UGH it's fucked!!" They yelled standing just to punching the wall. Fortunately your house was sturdy and wouldn't get damaged so easy. You were already crying by the time they were done yelling, and after seeing your face it just made them angrier. You wanted to just curl up in your room in a ball like usual but you knew you couldn't this time. They'd just follow you.

You needed to leave.

You walked towards the door as they kept ranting.

"Where are you going!? It's raining and its midnight!" They yelled walking towards you.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" You cried. They seemed to snap out of their angry haze and looked at you shocked. "I'm leaving until you get out of here. Go home!! Just leave me alone!" You screamed as you opened the door and slammed it. Cold wet wind immediately blew into your already tired body but the adrenaline allowed you to push through. Thunder clapped in the skies and sobs wracked through your body. There was only one place you could go this late. You'd hoped he'd still be up practicing on his guitar or something.

Mud squelched under your feet as your made your trek into town. Cold rain poured down on you and you could see the dull light of Sam's porch light coming into view. You knew his family was asleep so you went over to his window. Faint strums from a guitar lightly played behind the glass. You sighed in relief at the sound. You lightly knocked on the window and waited patiently. A few seconds passed before the blinds on the other side lifted. As soon as he saw it was you he opened up his window and helped you climb inside.

"You're drenched! Are you ok?" He bombarded you with questions. Your shivering form and puffy eyes were enough to give him some signs as to what had happened.

"No." You sighed as you sat on the floor in front of the window. Your exhaustion quickly caught up with you and the rain made your clothes feel ten pounds heavier. You brought your knees to your chest and wrapped your arms around them. Sam got a blanket off his bed and threw it over your shoulders before sitting next to you

"My partner was waiting for me at home today. I didnt have my phone so I had no idea." You said. "We had a fight the night before but they seemed to want to move past that so I let them stay. I should've just kicked them out. They're never going to understand what i do. What i want l, or who i want to be" You said, tears pricked your eyes. "I'm doing this for them too.... and all they do is call me stupid for it." You cried. "Why do they love to hate me?" You felt bad that you were dumping all this on your friend but you just wanted support. "My farm isn't some stupid dream i came up with on the fly."

A comforting hand rubbed your back as Sam held his tongue. There were only a few other times where you'd kinda let him in on what was really happening. But he'd heard enough to piece together that this person was an asshole. How could someone like that end up with someone as sweet as you.

"You're right. It's not some stupid dream, so why do you keep letting them tell you that?" He asked. Maybe that was a little too blunt. But he was tired of seeing you seeing you caught in their web, not even attempting to escape. You were silent. If anything that made you cry a bit harder. He immediately regretted what he said and rubbed your back a little harder out of stress.

But he's right, all the things they do happen becaue you let it. You never felt powerful enough to stop them, all you could ever do is run away.

"Because.... I'm scared." You confessed. "Whenever I want to say anything to them, something in the back of my head tells me not to. Like my premonition is telling me something bad will happen."

"Y/n.....that's terrible." He said. "You don't deserve that."

"I feel like I do." You replied. The comforting hand on your back stopped and instead moved to caress your cheek. You turned to look at him. He looked back with sad eyes. Almost as if he could cry with you.

"You don't." He said firmly. "You deserve someone who's going to support you no matter what. Someone who'll be there when you cry, even if it's something simple like stepping on your favorite flower." You smiled. You remembered that day. Rip Petunia. His thumb wiped the tears from underneath your swollen eyes. His touch was warm, and made your heart beat just a little faster.

"If only someone like that existed." You weakly laughed. He just looked at you. Debating if he was gonna say what he actually wanted to say. He felt like if he passed this opportunity up there'd be no second chances.

"He does, I'm right here." He confessed.

You were always ashamed when you gave in to his incessant flirting. Comments here and there, 'accidental' touches, wanting to be around each other all the time. Though you were in a relationship, the longer you were in stardew valley the more you realized how much your partner drained you. How much you longed for a real connection, someone who loved you.

"Really?" Was all you could utter, not conveying how happy you really were.

"Yeah, really." He confirmed. A scarlet hue started to take over his face but he was still serious. Something about the way he looked at you told you to trust him. There was a special bond between the two of you and you'd know it from the start. You just denied it. You wanted to cry again, knowing someone like him had been in your life for a while now. A supporter, a friend, and maybe, if you let him. Something more.

You didn't really know what to say. Your words wouldn't be able to convey how you felt so you just curled into his side. Taking in his warmth. His body was stiff but eased up after a second. His arm fell naturally on your shoulders and pulled you closer. You'd never felt so anxious around Sam as you did right now. Heart racing, cheeks hot. Alot of feelings you'd pushed down over the months had resurfaced in an instant.

"You're still drenched. Do you want some of my clothes? You're gonna freeze in here." He fretted. The question made you aware of just how cold and uncomfortable you were in your still wet clothes.

"That'd be nice." You smiled standing up from your spot. You left the cover on the floor and walked with Sam to his dresser. He handed you a t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts and showed you where the restroom was.

You closed the door behind you and changed out of your muddy clothes. You washed off any mud you got on your body before putting on the nice clean clothes, you took a second to take in your state in the mirror. You've looked better. Your eyes were still red from crying so long and your hair got tangled in the harsh rain. You took a moment to run your fingers through your hair only being able to tame half of it. You left the restroom and headed back to Sam's room. Your hand rested above the door handle and you debated how you were going to ask him if you could stay the night. You couldn't go back home, not until tomorrow at least and there's no one else you were close enough with to ask. And besides. You wanted to stay, he made you feel safe. You were able to be vulnerable around him and you knew he'd never chastise you over it.

Entering the room you saw he'd already made a spot on the floor for himself. A few blankets and pillows positioned how he liked. You evaluated what was happening before you said something.

"Sam?" You looked at him laying on his makeshift bed. He smiled.

"Well, I didn't think you'd be going home tonight. It's storming outside and I wouldn't want you to go home anyway considering the situation." He said. Gesturing to his bed. "It's all yours, come lay down, I know you're tired." He concluded. You were slightly taken aback. He already anticipated you staying the night and was really sweet about it. You walked over and laid down in his bed. It was a different type of comfort. Different from your own bed, your always felt cold and empty. Comforting only because you weren't constricted by a possessive embrace. But in his it was almost like the bed could swallow you up. Various pillows and a giant cover made you feel like you were in a little nest. Safe and secure. You rolled on your side so you could look at Sam who met your gaze from the floor.

"Thank you.. you're doing alot for me tonight." You expressed your gratitude. He grinned.

"Your worth doing so much for." He said in a soft voice. It made your heart flutter.

With a content sigh you laid on your back and closed your eyes. You were absolutely exhausted. But no matter how long you kept your eyes closed sleep wouldn't come. Tiny recaps of your night kept playing over and over again, keeping you in your restless state. You shyly looked over at Sam's now sleeping figure and couldn't help but wonder if he'd be able to purge all your thoughts for you. As if he heard you in his dreams he woke up and caught your lingering gaze.

"You ok?" He yawned, rubbing one of his eyes. You were silently debating in your head if it was ok to ask if he could hold you. You knew he probably wouldn't mind, but you couldn't help but wonder if it broke any of his boundaries.

"Can you come here?" You asked. The dark room did well to hide the blush taking over your face. He was quiet but you could hear the sound of him getting up before he sat on the edge of the bed.

"You ok?" He asked you again, in slightly more worried tone this time.

"I will be, ....can you just hold me?...Sorry if thats weird to ask." You mumbled fingers fidgeting with hem of one of the pillows. He laughed.

"Sure weirdo, scoot over." He instructed as you moved closer to the wall. You didn't expect for him to actually climb into bed with you for some reason, and you didn't exactly know how to go about what you just asked for.

Luckily for you he wasn't so shy. After he made himself comfortable under the covers he pulled you into his chest. His chin rested on top of your head and his arm draped over you. When he held you it wasn't uncomfortable. His arms were loose and inviting, not the constriction you were used to. Yesterday, you would've never thought you'd end up here. Where you were meant to be.

"Thank you." You mumbled into his chest.

"No, thank you. For trusting me. From now on you don't have to worry about anything" He said planting a kiss on your head. "I'll make it all better." He whispered. The intimacy of his voice in your ear really did make those words stick in your mind. You wrapped your arm around his torso, ready to fully embrace his warmth. As you drifted off into a peaceful slumber you thanked the world for giving you Sam.

A radiant light that you were lucky enough to see.

[bathroomtrapped]

ohmygod i literally just made an account on letterboxd bc i watched saw (2004) and loved it so much and ur interview was so inspiring to me and ive been on an absolute craze trying to reblog like every single saw post on tumblr and i somehow found your account what the heck?!!?!?! ur art is AMAZING and i absolutely love ur takes on saw as a franchise and its significance to the queer community. i hope to be as knowledgeable of this franchise as you are one day despite me only being a baby saw fan!!

i had a quick question; i found on the saw heritage post blog that they thought leigh/james/someone else confirmed that saw (2004) did not actually occur the day before 9/11 despite the phone given to them being set to that date. however, when i asked them if they knew where this source was from (bc im so curious!!! i want to know everything!!!!!!) but neither they nor i could find the actual source for that so i was wondering if maybe u knew??? just curious :3

regardless ty for taking the time to read this and dedicating so much time to this fandom!! i love that horror fans like you exist in a fandom that i previously thought would be weird and slightly disturbed film bros (i had a lot of incorrect preconceived notions about saw that have been quickly resolved i promise)

thank you!! im glad that people feel the same way about it as i do but even if people thought i was some crazy transexual making everyone else woke and pronouns, i wouldnt care. the story, especially lawrences but adams as well, really resonates with me as a trans person for so so many reasons, more than i listed in the interview. to me, i cant read his character without filling in the gaps with trans subtext. it not only explains but also enriches the personal experiences of these characters as well as their dynamics with each other. theyre both characters that are defined primarily by how theyre seen by other people, themselves, and eventually each other. the narrative is soooo focused on perception and masks and who u truly are, i find it hard to separate any kind of queer theory from that.

as for the 9/11 question thats such a dumbass pet peeve of mine. its one of the things that makes me shout UMMMM ACTUALLY at the top of my lungs. my blood pressure sours to inhuman levels when someone confidently says the movie takes place not just in 2001 but the day before 9/11. not because of some interview or confirmation from any of the crew because my knowledge of old fandom history is incredibly spotty. old sites and interviews r a mystery to me for the most part BUT! the reason it is for sure not before 9/11 is because during the flashback of pauls trap (during lawrences monologue about jigsaw) kerry tapp and sing are all at the scene with other officers and i believe its kerry who holds up an evidence bag thats labeled 2004. the scene takes place 5 months before the events of saw 1 so its not possible that it takes place 3 years before that. it just seemed like a funny (but insanely bold considering how 9/11 was only 3 years before) joke and easter egg for people to catch on to, not actual lore meant to be taken seriously.

if u want to look for the interview, i would honestly just listen to the commentary tracks bc it mightve been said there. i know in the one with leigh, james, and cary they discuss plot holes fans complained about, questions fans had online, the fanfic they read (briefly LOL). ive only seen that one (and once) but theres at least 2 other commentary tracks with different people that i havent gotten around to for fear of like. completing saw? idk i cant bring myself to watch all of the commentary tracks but theres a chance they discuss it there! i can only speculate on the reason, all i know is that saw 2004 takes place in 2004 based on actual evidence from the media itself

if u have any other questions let me know. i still have the original draft of the interview which had more questions and longer responses bc i couldve gone on for days abt the lore and saw queer theory and ill never shut up about it

[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

WIP Sunday

This snippet is part of a 5-times-1-time fic with Agi and Astarion. It's very NSFW lol.

“Agi darling, I had Karlach test this chair with Lae’zel on one thigh and Shadowheart on the other. We’ll be fine!” Astarion explained for what he thought was the hundredth time. He remembered another spawn (Leon, I believe) saying that chair sex was good for women like my beautiful, voluptuous girl. Soooo that’s why I had the ladies test this chair for its sturdiness. “Agnetha dear?”

His lover stared at him like he grew a second head. “Alright, let’s just say that the chair won’t break,” It won’t but go ahead. “What if I hurt you? There’s a pretty significant weight difference between us, if I’m being honest.”

He raised a white eyebrow. “My love, I’m already dead---your fat ass isn’t going to kill me.” He drawled; eyes locked onto hers.

She opened and closed her mouth several times.

“Darling, you’re not a fish.” He teased. “Now granted, you’d be a delightful fish, but…” He walked to her and reached for her face. “If you don’t wish to try this, then it’s fine. But please know you won’t hurt me or break the chair. I promise.” Believe me. Please believe me. If I thought for a moment this wouldn’t be alright, then I wouldn’t have even considered it. You deserve all the pleasure I can give you. You deserve it all.

“If you’re sure, then…I can give it a try.” She gave him a quick kiss before they undressed, and Astarion sat down. Lowering herself slowly, Agnetha squeezed her eyes shut as he entered her. “O-oh fuck me…gods…Star!” My face is in her tits! There’s no better place to be. Once he was fully hilted inside her, she began to rock her hips and moaned wantonly. She never does this. I am full of the very best ideas! She cupped the back of his head, her fingers running through his curls. “This feels…so good, love…” Her eyes then burst open, as if she was remembering something important. “Are you—”

He pressed several kisses to her jaw and neck as his hands roamed her back. “Sh, sh, sh, none of that now. Take your pleasure, sweetness. There’s a good girl.” I said the magic words, which means she’ll be coming apart shortly. My darling girl…

[gremlin-writes-angst]

u were looking for prompts soooo… cove step 3 with a sick reader 🤲

In this cove is mc boyfriend.

First sick fic I've written.

Like most my stuff not proofread or beta read so let me know if yall see any errors

Hope yall like it

Staying in bed was your mom's prescription for your flu. It wasn't a hard task to follow, as your body did not feel up to do more. Your small trash can was full of used kleenex. Your bedside table had a little empty medicine cup along with a Gatorade bottle and a water bottle.

You were miserable. Laying there , your brain felt slow. You hated being sick, and who gets sick in the summer.

Your self loathing is cut off but a quick series of knocks.

You brain rushes as you realize the window is unlocked and in second Cove would be coming out or well in through your window

You try to be quick, but the flu slows you down. Before you know it he's in your room.

You stumble out of bed and try to push him away

" what- "

Confused by your slightly aggressive approach, Cove questions you. Yet he doesn't retreat as you basically fall on him.

" you can't be here Cove"

Your voice sounding strange and naselly because of the congestion in your nose

"Why?"

A blunt response. It sort of warmed your heart to hear Cove be Cove.

"I'm sick, I don't want you to get sick."

Cove helps you back to your bed.

" I don't mind, if I get to spend time with you"

You become visible upset

" I care though."

Coves face distorts , his classic scowl. He was clearly some form of sad, probably disappointed. But either way he just nodded and began to leave

" ok"

And he was gone.

Though you were the one so adamant about him not being here, but him listening to you wasn't something you weren't prepared for. It was a little hurtful. Which made you feel bad, it wasn't his fault. And yet it still hurts.

And yet with the flu it was still easy to fall asleep. It was like the only thing you could do.

You wake up groggy, a knock coming from your door. It was the same pattern as the one that comes to your window almost every day. Cove. It felt deja vu.

You gave an answer, a small quiet grunt , but Cove heard it. He entered , you sat up in your bed , and with blurry vision you looked at Cove. And all you saw was a greenish blue color…. But It wasn't his hair. After blinking a little you're able to see a blue mask Covering his face.

"Can I- I'm protected so it should be fine?"

He was cations but as soon as you gave him the go ahead. His excitement fills his expression, even if all you could see was his eyes and those squiggles he had for eyebrows.

Yet excited he was careful

" I brought soup- from the store. I mean it's still warm. I promise I could ev-"

" it's okay Cove"

His body calms down a significant amount. He started to get himself comfortable. Not wanting to cross a boundary, he sits on your rolling office chair. He sets down the store bags he had on the floor, except for the bag that is only holding a container of soup. He set the container on your desk before he looks around, then at you

" I - I don't have a bowl… or a spoon."

His face says sorry to him. No words needed. Before you could offer a solution he jumps up and begins rushing out of your room, shakingly explaining himself

"No. I've got this ill- don't worry. Stay there."

And then he's gone,but this time you just smile at his antics.

You listen closely as you hear your mom's laugh at Cove , rushing around the kitchen, you hear drawers being harshly opened and closed.

Eventually you hear footsteps running up the stairs but before he enters your room again there's a pause. When he enters he's 'calm'

" got it"

You hide your little chuckle, understand this is how he wants you to see him while you're sick. He wants to be the calm, helpful boyfriend.

He sets up the soup, even making sure it is not too hot or cold for you. When it is ready he slowly cares it over to you, he literally looks like he's walking on a tightrope with how stead he moves.

" thanks Cove"

" yeah it's no problem"

Then he sat back on the office chair. He doesn't seem to know what to do next as you take a couple sips of your soup, which you now realize is your favorite. Cove takes a couple looks around your room, as if trying to find something unfamiliar. When he doesn't find anything on the walls or shelves , he looks to the ground. He makes a ' ohhh yeah' face when he sees the bags he brought. Once again he's excited to share.

" I got some other thing"

He starts pulling out a colorful box of fruit snacks

" I got these- not for now, it's not really good to have sweets when you're sick but- well if you really want it- it can't hurt that much. But I actually bought it because I saw it and remembered how much you loved them."

He put them to the side before moving on to the next thing

" I got Gatorade and uhm some water but- well I see you have some already. But this is a different flavor. I mean I have that one too- I got a couple flavors, and don't worry if you don't want or finish them i'll take them. They're good for exercise too."

"I'll take one right now"

Cove's eyes brighten up knowing he did something right. You set down your soup and he hands you the bottle.

He grabs the last thing, he himself seems a little confused by the item before he flips it around to see the front

" oh, this is like a little puzzle game, it was in that check out area and I grabbed it."

He tore the wrap off and moved to your bed, kneeling as he started to show you how it worked

" I thought it was a good time consumer. I know you could use your phone or something but i mean, when i'm sick I get headaches looking at a screen so I figured"

He motioned the item

" here , give it a try"

You take the item and begin exploring how the pieces work. Then you start trying to solve it. Cove watches over you, he makes noises almost every move you make, you can tell when he agrees and when he disagrees with a pieces place. After five minutes you can tell he's itching to do more than watch.

" Cove"

He looks at you confused why you stopped

" would you, join me"

You scout over in your bed, he clearly wants to jump at the opportunity but he stops himself

" Are you sure?"

You smile

" I think cuddles are exactly what I need"

Cove has no problem listening as he climbs into your bed. You weren't lying when you said you wanted to cuddle but you had other motives, this angle made it easier for Cove to play with the puzzle himself. You hand it to him , and begin to snuggle into his chest

" I'm starting to get a bit tired. Could I just.."

"Of course!"

You smiled at his excitement. As your eyes droop. You quietly say one last thing.

" If it's uncomfortable, you don't have to wear the mask, we're already cuddling. I'm not sure it'll do much at this point."

You figured the mask would bother Cove's sensory issues a bit and honestly you knew that even if he got a little sick he wouldn't hold you accountable.

Cove didn't say anything, but you could feel the relief in his chest as he shifted and removed the mask. Once settled again, he slowly left a lingering kiss on your temple.

[i-me-mine]

As time goes by | Chapter 7: The difference

Pairings: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Word Count: 3.8k

Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | AO3

Chapter Summary: The new school year begins with you and Eddie in senior year. You are also back to work at the Arcade, where you meet the red-haired girl who has just moved to Hawkins and her annoying older step-brother.

You wake up the following day eager to go to school, knowing that Eddie would now drive you every day. And that was very, very stupid, but just a consequence of that crush that bloomed into a full-blown love that cherishes every moment you spend with him. 

You leave your trailer but see that Eddie is not yet in his van. You gently knock on his door, opening it after hearing, "Come in!". You can smell coffee and eggs - Eddie and Wayne are in the kitchen, having breakfast. Wayne drinks a bit of coffee from his blue mug, opening a smile when seeing you enter the trailer and sit next to him. 

"Look at my little girl going to her senior year," he says while ruffling your head. 

You smile back and notice how warm and bright his eyes are - he looks like a proud dad, which for all matters, he is. He has been on your side at all your significant milestones, celebrating all the achievements, no matter how small they were. 

"Good morning, sweetheart," Eddie has his mouth full. He is rushing, barely taking the time to chew his scrambled eggs, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. 

"Manners, boy!" Wayne scolds him, and you chuckle. 

"I'm sorry! I have to go, can't be late. I promise I'll clean everything later, ok?" He gets up and picks up his things.

"Wish me luck, uncle Wayne!" you say, getting up and following Eddie out of the trailer. You can hear him saying, "Good luck! Take care!".

Eddie opens the van door for you, and you nod to him in thanks before slipping inside. He enters the van, turns on the radio, and "Crazy little thing called love" by Queen is playing. He reaches for the radio to change it, but you slap his hand away. 

"Please, sweetheart, going to the school isn't torture enough? Let me choose the song."

"Not today, let me have some fun and cheer up the mood a bit," But he insists on trying to reach the radio, and you slap him once more and hold his hand to prevent him from trying again.  

“This thing… called love… I just.. can't handle it…" you start singing along, laughing as you see his rolling eyes. 

"You're too small to be so hugely irritating, you know?" he breaks free from your hold and starts clumsy tickling you, making you laugh even harder.

Several dozen students are arriving to start the school day. The van skids a bit, but Eddie pulls into an empty parking space, not without making many students turn their heads to look, probably terrified by Eddie's driving. As soon as you leave the van, you feel Eddie taking your things from your arms and screaming while touching your shoulder, "Tag, you're it!"

"What? Eds, stop!" but he is already running, crossing the parking lot, and you have to chase him. While some people take a step back and let you both pass, others don't, and Eddie doesn't care if he has to push people to open a path for him. He continues to tease you, "You are soooo slow! Come and get me!"

Eddie runs down the corridor, dodging around corners and any obstacles along the way. You hear some people sighing "Freak" when you both pass by, but you try to ignore them. You enter the cafeteria, and when you almost catch him, he makes a sudden change in direction, jumping over a table, making it more challenging for you to catch up. 

He suddenly stops, and you hear the bell ringing. He declares, "Right on time!"

You try to catch your breath and reply, confused. "What?"

"I know you have Mrs. Kreitzberg in the first period." You notice then that he has taken you to your class, where you see the students taking their seats. "Have a nice class, sweetheart… see you later."

You watch him walk down the corridor to go to his class. You try to concentrate in class but have difficulty taking Eddie out of your mind. 

At your break between the fifth and sixth periods, you go to your usual meet spot with Eddie in the back of one of the buildings. He is already there, taking a cigarette out of his pack of Camels. 

"I need one, this is just the first day, and I'm so fucking done. If this year is anything like the last, I'm killing myself," he says while lighting the cig. 

"Don't be so dramatic, Eds. You'll survive."

He takes a drag on the cigarette and passes it to you. He could have given you your own, but you are used to sharing, so he doesn't mind. And now you take special attention to see where his lips touch to try to touch the same spot when it's your turn. You know it's silly, but it's your secret symbolic way of kissing him. You repeat this with everything you share, bottles, cigarettes, even the single spoon you usually share when eating ice cream. You stay there in silence for a moment, dragging the cigarette in the open air, hands slightly touching once in a while. 

"Gareth will bring your Hellfire t-shirt tomorrow." Eddie breaks the silence. "I know you like to spend lunch with Wheeler, but this is your last year… Would you please sit with us on Fridays? Pleeeease?" he pleads.

He is looking at you with those puppy eyes and squeezing your hand, hoping to win you over. You nod, agreeing, and his face brightens with a smile. You hear some giggling and turn to see. It's Tommy H and his girlfriend, Carol. He is kissing her passionately, and her hands are all over him. 

"I wonder what that feels like," you mutter as you place your chin in the palm of your hand. 

Eddie takes another drag as his attention flicks to where you are looking. 

"What they have is purely physical. He doesn't care about her. She is nothing more than an object to him." Eddie mutters. "Luckily, you're too smart for that; you'll get something much better than this."

"Being smart is getting me nowhere. Maybe I want something, even if it's purely physical."

He nudges you off with a grunt. You lean closer to make sure you see right… Eddie is blushing. 

"Oh my…" You gasped in amusement, dramatically pressing a hand to your heart, "Is that a blush I see, Eds?"

And while you can't quite explain why, you feel the excitement building up inside you because you make him blush. 

"Am I the reason why you are blushing?" You step up to him teasingly. 

"You are the reason for my headache," he replies jokingly. The bell rings, and he snuffs his cigarette into the wall, and you make your way back to class. 

Getting back to work was better than you imagined, making the week pass quickly. Keith was not the ideal co-worker and always asked you to help him set up a date with Nancy, even though you told him several times that she already had a boyfriend. Still, he never complained about trading shifts with you, which guaranteed you would have your Fridays free to go to Hellfire meetings.

Eddie was beyond excited when he saw you going to school using the new Hellfire shirt on Friday. At lunchtime, when you enter the cafeteria, he throws his arms up in the air, signaling where he is as if you don't know the table where they sit. You duck in to kiss the top of his head as you pass and sit next to Gareth. Eddie pokes him, and they change seats, and now Eddie is resting his arm on your chair.

"I'm glad you finally are here with us - I thought that you didn't consider us friends enough to give us the privilege of your company during lunch," Jeff frowns. 

"You know, I was never good with this whole friendship thing, but I'm doing my best," you reply. "Something prevented me from having friends when I was a little girl."

"It must have been your personality," Eddie interjects

"Oh, don't be a dickhead, Eddie," you hear Gareth saying, and you join him. "Yeah, don't be a dickhead”

"Next person to say dickhead is getting a punch to the throat," he threatens, but you all start to repeat the word to annoy him until he pouts.  

"Ok, that's enough, boys, let's give Eddie a break… what were you discussing when I got here?"

"We were discussing how we would prevent a demon from possessing us… or bring us back if any of us is possessed," Jeff explained. 

"Oh, don't worry about me then. If a demon possessed me, I would tell him, 'Go ahead, take it from here, good luck,'" your answer causing a burst of laughter.

The rest of the day passes quickly. When school is over, Eddie drives you back to his trailer, where you spend the rest of the afternoon working on your assignments while Eddie is giving the final touches on today's campaign. Wayne will work day shifts for the next couple of weeks, and you hurry to cook dinner so he can eat before his last day on the night shift. Finally, you all enjoy dinner together before Eddie takes you to Hellfire. 

As usual, Eddie's campaign is brutal. You are all tense, and Eddie has just shifted his position on his throne. 

"Gareth the Great had helped you cautiously make your way down the damp stone corridor leading you to an open space that seems like a garden. You feel the chilly wind and hear a hissing. You notice plants near you blacken and die, and the torches are extinguished."

You are all leaning forward. Jeff says, "What is it?". You just mumble, "Please, not a wraith." Gareth starts, "We're screwed, aren't we?"

Eddie waits for you to settle down and then says in a high-pitched voice while putting the small piece set on the map, "A ghostly figure appeared before you, its haunting presence filling the air with a chill. The wraith floats towards you, its ethereal body transparent and its eyes glowing with an otherworldly light."

You all stare at each other. Shit. "We're all gonna die," Gareth sighs. 

"Witch, your action," Eddie asks. 

You swallow. God, you wish it wasn't your turn. "I-I don't know."

"The wraith hisses in response, its voice echoing in your heads, ready to attack with lightning speed with its spectral claws."

"Cast a spell. Bolts of energy and fire may do," Jeff encourages.

"I'd have to roll fifteen or higher. And you could die; I have to protect you."

"Forget about us; kill it. It's a calculated risk." Gareth echoes

"And it seems you are bad at math," Eddie chuckles. 

"I can't. I can't lose you guys. I'll cast protection."

The battle was intense, with you using all your cunning and magic to defeat the wraith. In the end, you emerged victorious, and Eddie called it a night. The boys take their things, getting ready to leave. 

"Kiss your mom' night for me, Gareth," Jeff teases. Gareth flips him the bird. 

"Behave, boys." you smile, watching them leave while you and Eddie organize the room. 

While riding home, Eddie turns the volume of the music down and asks, "Hey, sweetheart, are you ok?"

You think, "Sorry I was distracted; I'm busy creating perfect scenarios of us being together in my mind... knowing they will never come true." But, when you open your mouth, all you say is, "Yes."

"Has something happened? You are different." he looks worried.

"No, and I'm not different." 

"Back at Hellfire… you never hesitated to put yourself in danger in direct attacks or actions, but now you are playing safe. You are worried about losing one of them. You are even taking more hits and hurting yourself more than you need just to ensure that they are ok."

Well, it's not only about your DnD playstyle. You are also taking a more cautious approach and putting others - putting him - as a priority, no matter how it could hurt you. 

"Maybe I'm just being sentimental because this is our last year playing together. I don't want to go ahead first and face everything alone. Staying behind with them is ok, even if it hurts a bit."

"Are you again scared of being alone?" Now you are sure he is talking about something other than DnD. You just nod. 

"Hey, that's ok. I get it. Whenever I imagine myself being happy, you are there too. I don't think about the future much, but whenever I think about it, it includes you, and that's my favorite part."

"Of course it is; you know I won't let you mess up," you point out making him laugh. 

"Oh, Eds, what are you doing to my heart?" you think while admiring him. 

Saturday morning shift at the Palace Arcade was yours, and Eddie gave you a ride. You gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and raced for the door to open it up and ensure everything was ok. The movement was usually slow in the mornings, so you had time to organize things. 

You are suddenly startled when you hear the blast of Scorpions playing outside. You raise your head to see a red-haired girl leaving a blue Camaro, arguing with whoever was driving, before entering the arcade. She seems ashamed, and you pretend that you have not seen anything. You exchange the money she offered you for coins and notice as she goes to one of the back corridors. You haven't seen her around before.

After a couple of hours, you see the Camaro back at the arcade parking lot, with a tall and muscular young man with shaggy hair in a mullet coming out of it and entering the arcade. 

"How can I help?" you ask. 

"Hey, Miss, I'm looking for my little sister; she came here today to play." He pauses, and you can feel him scanning you with his eyes. "My name is Billy Hargrove; nice to meet you."

He is trying to be charming, but you feel that something about him is off. You can't quite pinpoint what it is, but his presence sets on all the alerts within your mind, making you feel stressed. 

"She is down the corridor," you reply coldly. 

He looks at you, puzzled. He expected you to be fascinated with him, as almost all girls and women usually are, but you are not falling for his charm, which intrigues him. 

"I'm new in town; maybe you could show me around," he offers, leaning on the counter.

"I'm sure you'll find someone to help you with that." if your boss saw how coldly you were treating a potential customer, you would probably be fired, but something about him made you want to run away. 

"Yes, I'll find… I'm sure there are a lot of cows in this city… but you are not one of them. I got a feeling about you." He let it slip a bit of that mask of politeness he was trying to keep up. He is piercing you with his blue eyes that seem to convey a sense of danger and mistrust in you. 

"Billy?" the red-haired girl appears behind him, and you look at her. 

She is looking at him, and you recognize the wide eyes, that expression of fear and anger that crosses her face. It's the same expression you have when it comes to your father. You glare at him, recognizing that he is probably another emotional abuser. 

"You should go now."

"We'll meet again, honey," he teases, touching a strand of your hair before leaving. 

You sigh in disgust and can't wait for the shift to be over so you can return home; hopefully, spending time with Eddie will make you feel better. But unfortunately, as you arrive, you notice a car parked next to Eddie's van. A blue Camaro Z-28. Billy's car. 

You curse, thinking that Billy befriending Eddie is not a good thing. You step into your trailer and close the door behind you. Your father is sprawled on the sofa, shirtless, wearing just a pair of jeans. The house is cluttered with beer bottles and cigarette butts, and you wonder how he made such a mess in just one morning.  

"You better clean everything, you hear me? Or else…" his voice was angry and wobbly. He was already drunk. 

"Yes, sir. I'll be right back." You knew better than to argue with him when he was in that state. Years of dealing with him have taught you that some tactics work better than others when dealing with this type of man, and knowing the right moment and how to act could be crucial for your safety. 

"I surely have angered the gods above." you think. You already have to deal with your father. You don't need another troubled or aggressive man in your life. You clean the house and wait patiently, but the day is ending, and it doesn't seem Billy is leaving. You give up on the idea of meeting Eddie today. You call the arcade, reaching Keith and asking him if you could switch shifts tomorrow, hoping that this helps avoid meeting Billy if he tries to show up again at the arcade.

"I hope you remember that I'm a great friend and tell your friends about it," Keith says, handing over the shift to you. 

"Sure, Sure… now go and enjoy your Sunday," you reply, pushing him out of the door, laughing. 

You have a busy afternoon, but it starts to get empty as the night approaches. Most parents want their kids at home on a Sunday night. You are reading comics to kill time when you hear the door opening. You raise your head and see the red-haired girl. 

She is timid in her approach. She gives you a shy smile. "Hey… I'm Max." she extends a hand. 

You smile warmly at her, shaking her hand and introducing yourself. She seems to get a little more comfortable and even waves at you before heading to the arcade machines after you hand her the coins. You can't help but wonder if she also suffers physical or emotional abuse at home. Your heart aches. She is too young for that. 

It's almost close time; you approach Max, who is still playing Dig Dug. "Are your parents going to pick you up?" you ask. 

"My step-brother should have picked me a while ago. I guess he is too busy on his stupid date and forgot about me. Are you closing?"

"Soon. But you can continue playing; I'll prepare the other things first."

But Max joins you, and you start talking. She tells you about moving from California, how she has a hard time adjusting, and how she is nervous about starting school soon. You notice that she is looking at your comic book. 

"Do you like Wonder Woman?"

"I love it! I had it; this was my favorite edition."

"Had? What happened?"

"My step-brother tore it apart," she whispers. 

Violent behavior? Anger issues? Another red flag. You want to stay as far away from him as possible. But at the same time, it was not fair to leave Max to deal with him alone. 

"Here, take it. It's yours," you hand over the comic book to her. 

"N-No, I can't accept."

"Please? Can you accept a present from a friend?" Max picks it up, smiling. 

You then see Billy's car approaching and signal Max to leave while you pick up the keys to lock the main door of the arcade. You hope he will take Max and go, but you hear his footsteps getting closer, and he yells at Max, "In the car, now! And don't leave!" You turn and see him approaching you with his leather jacket and denim jeans and an excited smile on his face as he closes the distance between you. At first glance, someone could think that he and Eddie look alike, but the difference between them was clear as water for you.  

"Hey, honey. Come here often?" He asks jokingly as he leans towards you, shooting you one of his grins with a wink. His breath smells of beer and weed. You see Max with her head out of the car, looking at you with a worried face. 

"I'm leaving, Hargrove." you try to walk, but he blocks the way. 

"Come with us." it doesn't sound like an offer but like an order. He tries to hold your hand, but you quickly take a step back, trying to stay out of reach. 

"No, honey… Don't do that. I'm good at chasing."

You are jolted back in time to when you were a kid. Eddie is playing basketball with you. This is survival training, as he called it back then. He used the movements of basketball to teach you how to plant your feet so you wouldn't fall if someone charged upon you and how to confuse the other person dribbling away from them. 

You try to remember this now, thinking about trying to elude Billy to cut to the opposite side and hopefully run. You try but fail miserably, as Billy is right there to block you again. 

"This keeps getting interesting! But sorry honey, I'm too good playing basketball to fall for it." you bite your lip, worried that he noticed what you tried to do, and you stand there, immovable, for a moment, holding your breath. 

"All ok here, sweetheart?" Eddie approaches you, casually draping his arm around your shoulder and gesturing with his other hand. 

Your chest seems to relax as soon as you hear his voice and see him, making breathing easier. You can only think that you are safe. Everything will be ok. You look at him as if he is your guardian angel, sending a million thanks to the universe for putting him there at that moment. 

Billy sees you smiling at each other. He notices how you gaze into each other's eyes, how your body language shifts, and you get closer to Eddie, looking for his body warmth. He sees that you are almost in a trance-like state, the expression on your face, and how the connection between you is palpable. Love. This makes him feel pure rage bubbling up inside him. 

"Sorry, Munson, I didn't know she was taken," He turns back to go to his car. 

He gets in the car, seeing you and Eddie hugging and laughing, and his grip tightens on the steering wheel, envy running through his veins, sour and poisonous, consuming him. 

"Let it go, Billy. Let it go." Max pleads. 

"SHUT UP, MAX!" he storms out. "I need to think. I need to plan very carefully what I am doing next," he says while accelerating the car and going away.

Read next chapter

Notes: Thank you for reading! Feedback, likes, reblogs, and comments... are always appreciated and make my heart happy!

@sidthedollface2 @bimbobaggins69 @roxy9295 @aftermidnightwriting @ghosttownwherenoonegoes

[quarantineddreamer]

7 for the prompt thingy? 👀

Okay, soooo I know you know this, but for others: I've been writing a roadtrip au for rebelcaptain and I'm gonna cheat a little and use a snippet for this prompt 😅🚘 (Eli, I hope maybe this is a new bit for you too!)

things you said while we were driving

[bit of context: “How about a question for a question–sound fair enough?" Cassian tried again, apparently not easily deterred by the shuttered look on her face. "You can give as little or as much information as you want. I promise I won’t pry.”]

“Alright, you owe me a few questions now,” Cassian declared with a cheeky, slanted smile that made Jyn’s stomach flutter in more ways than one.

“Two I think,” she replied, rewinding their talk in her mind. “I answered your questions about visiting the Outer Hebrides and if I’d seen puffins.” 

He raised an eyebrow, “You’re seriously keeping score?”

“You’re not?”

“I am now,” he chuckled. 

“What, you don’t trust me?”

Cassian lifted a hand from the wheel to briefly point at her, “I’m counting that as a question.”

“Are you kidding me?” Jyn exclaimed, indignant, but without any real heat to her tone. The banter rolled easily off her tongue, natural and loose in a way that she had not experienced with anyone outside of her best friend in years.

“That counts too,” Cassian clicked. 

“How did I end up in a car with the most annoying man in the U.K.?” she grumbled, rolling her eyes. 

“That’s another. You really want to keep going like this?”

“Ha!” Jyn shouted, straightening in her seat so quickly that her seatbelt jerked at her chest. “That’s one against you.”

“It’s not meant to be a competition!” 

“Everything’s a competition,” she said, settling contentedly back into her seat.

“Apparently so,” he said, still with a slight smile. “Are you this combative with everyone?”

“Only people I’ve just met who are driving me cross country,” she replied, adding his question to her mental scoreboard. 

The quick buzz of her phone cut in, momentarily pulling Cassian’s focus away from whatever he had opened his mouth to say. He inclined his head in the general direction of the device. “Is that your friend again?”

She’d been enjoying not thinking about any of it, allowing herself to get caught up in the warmth of Cassian’s laugh, the rapid volley of nonsense back and forth between them. Nothing significant, an escape from reality. She sighed, “Probably.”

“And…how long have you guys been dating?”

Jyn let out a cough of surprise, fighting a laugh, unsure what to say. She steadied herself with teasing, “Smooth, very smooth. He’s not my boyfriend.” Her mind began to wander towards questions she wasn’t certain it was safe to ask–not given what she found herself wanting the answers to be–but before she could silence them the words were already leaving her mouth. “Do you need me to send a text to your significant other for you while you’re driving?”

Cassian’s lips quirked upwards, and though it was hard to tell in the dim light of the car, she could’ve sworn there was color to his cheeks–which only served to deepen the pink she felt rising on her own. “I don’t have a girlfriend,” he told her steadily. 

Suddenly, it no longer felt like they were playing. 

Jyn pulled her phone out of her pocket, ignoring how the car now felt too warm–her jacket stifling and restrictive–Cassian too close, too tempting.

[juniperhillpatient]

I finished Yellowjackets and I already miss it! Any recs for what to watch to fill the void?

Omg I feel you every day of my life I miss Yellowjackets I wish I could watch it all for the first time again 😭

I don’t really watch that many shows so I’m terrible with recommending stuff 😅

If you want more depravity & complicated awful female villains & anti heroes with complex toxic sapphic dynamics Hostel 2 is my go to but you do have to watch the first one to understand it & I love the first one myself but it is very man heavy with characters lol

If you are really wanting to lean more into the messed up flesh consuming homoerotic codependent sapphic dynamic aspect specifically I’d recommend Ginger Snaps or Jennifer’s Body the main canon sapphic female relationships in both those movies are brain rotting in similar ways to JackieShauna. (Though Ginger Snaps gets incestuous so I know that’s as quick for a lot of people tread carefully)

Ooh as far as TV shows go you’d probably enjoy Killing Eve if you like Yellowjackets although that one the writing really goes downhill pretty badly so I do hesitate to recommend it unless you’re in it for the parts that are worth it & prepared for disappoint down the line…. Ugh but Eve & Villanelle are SUCH amazing characters!!

Dead to Me is another show that’s really good & far less depraved & more drama centric than the other stuff I’ve mentioned. However in my opinion the writing does go downhill but the first 2 seasons? Iconic. Not canonically gay like the other things I’ve mentioned but still a delicious dynamic between two complicated & somewhat crazy women.

Not in the same genre as my other recs but Bottoms is a great comedic movie if you just want crazy & sort of awful lesbians.

Oh —- ok last 3 recommendations. These ones don’t necessarily have the toxic crazy sapphic girlies element of YJ that I just assume is a big part of the draw (it is for me lol) HOWEVER they are some of my faves -

Hannibal. I love this show. It’s art. I don’t have anything else to say that hasn’t been said meow articulately by more hardcore fans. I watched this entire show in a fever haze when I had Covid so that probably affects my analytical ability but I promise it’s great. It’s also a little man heavy & the female characters could be… done better sometimes so that is a criticism I have that keeps it from being a number one fave for me but Hannibal & Will are VERY compelling & the plot & visuals are soooo good.

Scream mtv I honestly feel like you’ve seen this one I’m pretty sure but it’s a fave of all time & Emma/Audrey is one of my fave ships of all time. Excellent cast excellent writing it’s so good.

Bates Motel. This show is so slept on in fandom & it’s probably the best horror tv I’ve ever seen from start to finish it tells an amazingly cohesive prequel backstory for one of the most iconic villains of all time in a way that honors the book & film both of which I LOVE & somehow manages to stay fresh & shocking & exciting despite the audience knowing where it’s going. For quality horror tv I can’t recommend this show highly enough it’s honestly the best thing on this list on an objective level like the cinematography the fantastic acting from Vera Farmiga & Freddy Highmore especially but also Max Theriot & Olivia Cookie I just - I LOVE this show. Heavy heavy trigger warning though not just for incest which is inherent to a Psycho prequel but like…. Everything you could ever need a trigger warning for. There is a significant amount of SA shown so yeah be careful.

Anyway there you go you’ve probably seen a lot of the stuff on this list but this is what I could think of to watch next to somewhat keep the mood of Yellowjackets although of course we both know YJ is unique enough you’re never going to recapture that exact vibe 😉

If anyone else has recommendations also I’d also be curious! ❤️

Oh wait last thing my best friend Juliet Lewis plays another iconic traumatized girly with maybe worse daddy issues than Natalie even in Natural Born Killers. This is one of my favorite movies but it is NOT for everyone. You are signing up for unapologetic depravity & sympathetic serial killer villain main characters with a toxic relationship. Now for me those are selling points but it is a very messed up movie so yeah. Trigger warning for SA incest & basically every dynamic in the movie being the definition of toxic.

Okay that’s off the top of my head for watching after YJ I’m done now lol 🫶

****Edit I’m listening to music on my porch as I play on tumblr & I Know the End by my best friend Phoebe Bridgers came on & I remembered to recommend School Spirits it’s not exactly the same horror vibes of YJ but I just think you’d like it because it’s a delightfully creepy compelling & fun ghost story / mystery with absolutely wonderful characters fun cinematography exciting lore a good plot & a banger soundtrack ok I’m done now lmao go watch School Spirits it’s so great

[teecupangel]

As I near the end of Syndicate, I am reminded about our exchange about Starrick. So here goes: Desmond is not... As "lucky" as he usually is in our post-Temple scenarios. Instead of waking up somewhere discreet, he is thrown, unconscious, somewhere where Lucy Thorne takes notice. And so, Desmond is brought to Starrick's attention. When he wakes up, he is in a nice bed, in refined looking manor. And so begins Starrick's play at being the good guy 1/2

2/2 Desmond is taken care of. His Hidden Blade is not taken away - on the contrary, when he asks about the things that were found with him, Desmond is given them all back. He gets some good medical care. The manor servants are complimentary about their boss. And then - when Desmond eventually starts snooping and venturing out... The information he has waved his way about the Rooks is not complimentary. And so... He slowly starts leaning to Starrick's opinions.

Okay, okay, this works sooo well with our previous idea of how easy would it be for Desmond to be a Templar but before we continue: this is not meant to be Frye twin-bashing. This is more on the side of "when looked from the outside without any ideas of who the Frye twins are and what they're going thru, it's really easy to paint them in a very bad light" and we're going to make use of that.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it is soooo easy for Starrick to pit Desmond against the Frye twins, especially if we set this after Jacob assassinates Twopenny which later led to inflation and riots.

Maybe Desmond even sees Starrick talking about how he raised the salary of his employees and how he would have supported all of London if he could (again, let’s remember that in canon, Starrick said this to Brudenell alone without any audience presence so this isn’t Starrick trying to get into Desmond’s good sides even if he knew Desmond was snooping around, this is Starrick being Starrick). Without the proper context that Desmond wouldn’t exactly have at the moment, Starrick and Brudenell’s conversation (including Starrick threatening to castrate Brudenell) could be taken as a powerful man chained by politics and selfish politicians.

I mean…

Just read the transcript and see how easy it is for Starrick to pain the Disraeli and even Brudenell in a bad light:

Cardigan: The currency a laughing stock. Inflation out of control! Twopenny brutally murdered! Starrick: And yet, Parliament does nothing! Cardigan: The bill will be defeated, sir. That buffoon Disraeli shall be taken care of. It has been arranged, upon my honor. Starrick: Your honor carries little weight. Cardigan: How dare you, sir?! Starrick: The poor people of this city have suffered enough. Today, I granted a significant rise to my staff in order to counter inflation. Cardigan: What? Starrick: I would supply all of London if I could. Starrick: Meanwhile, you sit in your club and wax poetic with promises your honor cannot pay. Your family's fortune, however... I wonder what they would offer to keep your record out of the newspapers. About the same as Disraeli would offer for your balls, I'd wager. But let's be generous. Why limit ourselves to one or the other, when we can have it all? What say you, sir, shall I come collect? Starrick: No more dallying. The halls of Parliament must be free to govern, again! Understood? You may see yourself out.

And Starrick would be polite to him, wouldn’t pry him of his past. Even Lucy Thorne would be polite (when she was still alive), most probably ordered to.

And then Starrick would ask the question all of the Templars had been curious about.

“Are you, perhaps, a member of House Kenway, Desmond?”

And that’s how Desmond would find out that Starrick and the others thought he was perhaps a descendant of Haytham Kenway or maybe even Jennifer Scott.

“And what if I am?” Desmond asked back, wondering if they would talk about how Ratonhnhaké:ton and his descendants were Assassins.

“We owe a lot to the Kenway family.” Starrick explained calmly, “Even if you…”

Starrick glanced at Desmond’s left arm… no… he had glanced at Desmond’s hidden blade.

“… you do not hold the same ideology as we do, we will still give you the respect a member of House Kenway deserves.”

Desmond watched as Starrick placed a key on the table between them, “This is the only copy we have of the Kenway manor. It is only right that it is returned to a member of the family, wouldn’t you agree?”

Desmond kept his attention on Starrick as he took the key. Starrick sighed as he added, “It is my duty to inform you that it has been… well… it’s not in its best condition right now.”

“A few intruders did not have any manners.” Starrick said vaguely, “And left quite… a trail.”

And what trail did Desmond find in the Kenway mansion?

The trails left by Evie and Jayadeep.

And you might be thinking “What about Lucy Thorne and her goons?”

Well…

It was a stealth mission which meant that there was a high possibility that Evie and Jayadeep kept the body count to a minimum and we have a cutscene confirmation that some of them were wearing Blighters outfit. (although the ones you see in the manor itself had Templar armbands and those are the ones Evie can take down)

… So… what’s to say that Desmond’s tracking wouldn’t lead to a few ex-Blighters now wearing the coat of a Rook?

Jacob’s Rooks do have ex-Blighters in their ranks so it’s possible that some of the Blighters in that cutscene became Rooks later on.

And then…

He is told by one of Starrick’s men how the Assassin Jacob Frye joined the crime boss Maxwell Roth in burning down warehouses that had children inside.

And Desmond realized…

The Assassins here in London must be stopped.

[seaweedbraens]

i just finished catching up in preparation for the the new chapter. i hadn't read the last 2 chapters until now and... HELLO??? i'm soooo sad. i feel like we just got nico as a significant player in the narrative and now he's gone! and he was just starting to get close to hazel! and now their both gone! and frank's grief ruined me... i'm scared for sunday after this to say the least...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what u said there is WHY i killed him and why i kill ANYONE in my fics, because its so interesting!! like imagine if you didnt know the pjo story at all and you read wcwsthwas and you assumed jason was the child of the prophecy, but then BOOM he dies and everything had to pivot to percy. like thats so interesting to me from a narrative standpoint. a big player dies and suddenly - no more character arc. no more interactions with other characters. theres a big hole in your dynamics and now you have to fix it. i LOVE that.

sunday will be a good day i promise <3 i admire your dedication to catching up, and i hope you enjoy the final chapter!!!

[seyaryminamoto]

From what I remember in your story, even taking Iroh's initial biases into account I thought part of his intense hostility leading up to his report to Ozai was that he was truly convinced that Azula's true nature was either no better or even significantly worse than Ozai's due to the Iroh's suspicions arc. Azula herself told Sokka she was worried that by throwing him of the trail of their relationship that she may have brought the worst out of him. Honestly this was probably my favorite exploration of their conflict, because if they were truly able to trust each other and talk they could have avoided so much pain and trouble, but both of them over the course of the story had developed genuine and/or biased reasons not to trust one another and viewed themselves as doing the right thing despite their actions ultimately resulting in the worst outcome. Azula was trying to prevent a known adversary from having ammunition to ruin their lives and future plans, and Iroh believed that he was essentially hindering the fire nation by turning what he thought were essentially two Evil Ozais with a good relationship with one another into enemies. I can't lie that I'm not slightly disappointed that in the latest chapter that this aspect of their conflict wasn't brought up more explicitly in the conversation with Zuko when Iroh was talking about his biases. Was I personally thinking that the dynamic was more significant than it actually was or is that dynamic being saved for a future conversation Iroh may have with Sokka and Azula?

Uuuuuh, as for the last question... I don't really know if I'll bring it up some more since I do think I've had Iroh acknowledge why and how he fucked up in that respect in the past + exteriorized that if Azula had acted differently he might just have done it too? Am I crazy for thinking so? Did I write that or didn't I? That's a complicated game to play when you're almost at 5 million words of a story... 🤣

Azula and Iroh miiiight have one more conversation in the future and maybe this will come up there, but I haven't written it yet so I won't make any promises on that front. Admittedly, I don't expect their future encounter to be particularly fruitful. Iroh is 100% genuine in what he has understood and learned, though, that can't be denied and I always have hoped to portray him not as a super wicked villain but as a character who thinks he understands far more than he actually does, with motivations that push him into making mistakes he very much comes to regret.

This being said, the Azula-Iroh and Zuko-Ozai parallels in this story are and always have been 100% intentional. Those two tugs-of-war have been going on forever, and the crux of them was very much the fact that Azula and Iroh distrusted and second-guessed and suspected each other soooo much... because they have similar natures, similar thought processes, and they're both intellectual, suspicious, hiding what's REALLY going on underneath the surface, and immediately wary when they recognize all those traits in each other too. Likewise, Zuko and Ozai have some REALLY ugly parallels and one of those parallels, already given away by the chapter you sent this ask over, is going to be the driving force of the conflict between those two, much as a similar thing was the driving force between Iroh and Azula, in its own way: the more they fight to push the other away, the harder they reject the other, the more they end up embodying the flaws they see in that other person, to an extent where they could do absolutely TERRIBLE things just out of wanting to push the other one as far away as possible.

So yeah, the point was never for Iroh to feel like some sadistic mustache-twirling villain who wanted Azula to suffer just for shits and giggles. He had his reasons to do what he did. Doesn't mean he was right. Doesn't mean he should've done it. What it means is it made sense in his head due to his biases, the information he had at hand at the moment, and the particularly awful relationship he had with Azula. Likewise, Azula's rejection of Iroh back in "Iroh's suspicions" caused her uncertainty and anguish because she KNEW she had taken it too far. She was afraid of the consequences. A part of her KNEW that if she acted differently, there was a chance, however slim, that Iroh might not have made the choice he did. And that's why this is such a messed up situation! :')

Ultimately, I want my characters to have motivations that just... add up. That can be traced. That, upon looking at their actions and choices, anyone can go "oh yeah, this is why they did whatever they did". This is good when it comes to establishing ultimate goals, and it's also good when you want to put characters to the test: how far are they willing to go, what are they ready to do to achieve whatever they're trying to achieve? How much are they willing to sacrifice for it? And the answers to those questions can be VERY extreme and painful. Just so, we can find characters who decide to back down and simply surrender over their goals when they realize that there are other things that matter more. But it's a manner of game a writer plays when it comes to gauging and figuring out what a character wants vs. needs, what a character will fight for and what it will take for them to surrender, and so on. Fundamentally, that's how I built up Iroh and Azula's chaotic dynamic. Whatever comes from that in the future, ultimately, their biggest problem may just be that they were just too smart for their own good, tried to outsmart each other a little too much, and never allowed themselves to just... accept each other properly. They came close to it once, yes! But... they failed. And it's depressing as hell, but complicated characters will always be challenging this way...