#it's just that it goes with a bunch of other prompts and i don't have the willpower to finish them all atm

[yonemurishiroku]

something something Nico builds Bianca a grave and he puts flowers on her grave and he's mourning the part of him that died with her.

[steddiehyperfixation]

silly little thing for my @steddiebingo prompt: nerds | 758 words | G/T |

"Hey, maybe he can help," Robin says, sweeping a hand towards Dustin who's just walked into Family Video for his regularly scheduled afterschool bug Steve and Robin time, interrupting their conversation.

"Oh come on." Steve shakes his head. "The kid doesn't want to hear about my trash heap of a love life."

"Oh, no, I absolutely want to hear about that." Dustin perks up at the opportunity to learn about Steve's trivial suffering.

"We're trying to figure out why Steve goes on a million dates but can't seem to find someone he actually likes," Robin fills Dustin in. "Tell him, Steve."

Steve groans, dragging his hands over his face before splaying them out sarcastically, as that's the only thing he can really do in protest right now. Dustin's looking at him expectantly, and Steve has no choice but to tell the kid all about Linda and Heidi and Brenda and Lucy and whoever else he's been out with recently, doing his best to answer any subsequent questions as PG as possible.

"Well of course you haven't found the one yet, you keep trying to date a bunch of normal, basic, girly girls. That's not your type," Dustin informs him once Steve's done talking.

Steve raises his eyebrows. "Oh, it isn't?"

"You can't really be that stupid, can you?"

"No, please, Henderson, enlighten me on what you think my type is."

"You're into nerds," he says like it's completely obvious.

Steve scoffs. "I am not into nerds. You know, just because I hang around you little weirdos all the time does not actually mean I want to hang around even more weirdos in all the other aspects of my life too."

"Seriously, Steve, think about it," Dustin argues. "Think of all the girls you've actually been really genuinely into in your life. They've all been nerds! Nancy-"

"- is not a nerd."

"She's a straight-A student and a journalism super geek. She's a nerd."

Steve rolls his eyes and sighs grudgingly. "Alright, fine, but-"

"And you were into Robin-"

Robin wrinkles her nose. "Ugh, don't remind me."

"-who you can't deny is definitely a nerd," Dustin continues.

"You know what, actually, he does have a point," Robin says.

Steve looks at her in betrayal. "Don't encourage him!"

"That girl you told me about that you liked in middle school who was super into Star Trek, and the other one who wanted to write a fantasy novel one day- oh and the elementary school crush who was always reading a new book every day..." Robin lists, ticking each one off on her fingers.

"I told you all that in confidence!"

"They were all nerds!"

"Exactly." Dustin grins, vindicated and insufferably smug. "Ergo, you, Steve Harrington, need to find yourself a nerd."

"I am not into nerds!" Steve protests hopelessly.

"What more proof do you need?" Dustin says. "You're into nerds."

"Totally into nerds," Robin concurs.

Steve huffs and throws up his hands. "Fine! I'll admit I'm into nerds if it will make you two shut up about it!"

Eddie happens to wander into the previously empty store at that exact moment, catching the tail end of the conversation as he approaches the counter. "What's all this about nerds?"

Steve freezes, glances Eddie over and stares at him strangely for a few long seconds. "Holy shit," he mutters.

His gaze cuts to Robin, whose eyes go wide when she meets his look. "Holy shit," she agrees.

"Oh my god."

"Oh my god."

"Dude."

"Dude!"

Eddie blinks at them. "Are you two having some sort of joint stroke or something?" He looks at Dustin as if the kid might have a better clue of what's going on. "Can you understand them?"

Dustin shrugs, equally mystified. "Don't look at me, man. They're weird."

The incomprehensible parroting conversation is still going on.

"Okay," Steve's saying, taking a deep breath in through his nose and exhaling determinedly.

"Okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay." Robin grins and shoves at his shoulder.

Steve finally turns back around and leans on the counter in front of Eddie with a classically charming smile. "So, Eddie, are you free on Saturday?"

Eddie smiles back despite his confusion. "Yeah-"

"Oh my god!" Dustin bursts out suddenly.

"Oh my god," Robin agrees with a knowing smirk.

Eddie glances at Dustin. "Oh no, not you too."

Steve exhales a long-suffering sigh and pushes himself off the counter, marching around to grab Eddie by the hand and drag him away from Dustin and Robin. "So. Saturday?"

"He's into nerds," Dustin whispers, wide-eyed.

Robin nods sagely. "He's into nerds."

[demonic0angel]

A continuation of the prompt with Tucker getting all his past life magic and memories and the JLD looking for him. Justice League Dark goes looking for Tucker's old organs to keep him from gaining his full power, only to find that they're already missing. Turns out Catwoman stole them all. Why? Because Tucker hired Catwoman to steal his past life's mummified organs from various museums. Because, you know. That's fucking weird. He doesn't want a bunch of randos staring at his guts! Only HE should be able to look at his guts!

Part 1, Inspiration maybe?

They all stared at Tucker's lungs.

Sam and Danny eyed the organs with a strange gaze.

"How does that even work...? If it's like metaphorical, then why is it here physically? Especially if you still have your organs..." Danny mumbled, reaching over to pat Tucker's chest.

Tucker gave a fake, girlish squeal. "Ohmygosh! You perv! In front of Sam?!"

Danny laughed and then he tackled Tucker before they started wrestling on the floor.

Sam sighed loudly. She turned to the woman next to her. "How much?"

Catwoman peered at her with half lidded eyes and a smile before she said, gesturing to the toddlers on the ground, "It's alright, he already paid for it."

Sam nodded and said, "I'll tip a little extra. We have another job for you with twice the compensation if you choose to accept it."

"Of course, I'm happy to help," Catwoman said with a purr.

"Can you find his stomach and intestines? We might also hire you again to look for the rest of his organs."

Catwoman nodded. "How much? And any leads? I would also like some extra help, would it be alright if I brought my friends with me?"

After the two boys were tired from messing around, they sat on the ground and looked up at the other two. Tucker blinked. "Sure, I'll pay them too, but why? Did you encounter trouble?"

"I did, actually. The Justice League Dark is also looking for your organs," She raised an eyebrow, cocking a hip, "to prevent the apocalypse. Anything you want to tell me?"

"We promise that we don't want the apocalypse," Danny said solemnly. Then he pointed at Tucker and said, "We're just collecting his organs because we think it's weird that he doesn't get to keep them."

Tucker grinned. "And it's kinda cool, right?"

Catwoman stared at them before she gave a soft laugh. "Alright then. Let me call up my friends and I'll see what I can do."

[tremendously-crazy]

House and the team treat a closeted teenage trans male patient with chest pain and a bunch of other symptoms. Chase makes fun of the kid for his awful haircut. Cameron says "That's rude, maybe the family can't afford a hairstylist" to which Foreman says "No way. You're telling me the family can afford private school, but not a haircut that makes their daughter actually look like a girl?"

As time goes on, they have no idea what's wrong with him. None of the symptoms match anything that they've seen before. The ducklings search the home but all they find is that his room is boyish and happens to also have hot glue, scissors and a random assortment of sewing/ craft items. They attribute this to the kid being into arts and crafts and don't even bother to tell House about it. They also find a series of letters addressed to an unknown boy, a red herring that leads them to think it's a misdiagnosed STD.

When that theory proves false, they still have no idea what's wrong. Just as everyone is starting to lose hope, Chase randomly brings up the glues and fabrics in the home, which prompts House to put the various pieces together and realize that the patient is trans and has binding unsafely, thus ruling out chest pain as a symptom and allowing House to solve the case. It is later revealed when he talks to the patient that the letters were actually to himself and that the "other boy's" name used was his chosen name.

At the end of the episode, Cameron asks House how he could have figured out that the patient was actually a trans guy and binding unsafely due to gender dysphoria. House cryptically replies, "It takes one to know one." Cameron presses further but House just ignores her. She later asks Wilson if House is trans, to which Wilson says, "What? You think I know what's going on in his pants?" The episode ends with House riding home on his motorcycle. They never address it again.

[mainblogonly]

hinata x streamer!reader | fluff | gn!reader | lowercase intentional

it's a pr day for msby - which means a day full of photoshoots and interviews and smiling at every camera in sight.

despite his teammate's brewing annoyance at having to deal with all of this, hinata honestly enjoys it! he gets to talk about the sport he loves, show off the physique he's worked so hard on, and make connections with all the different production team members (which he thinks is very important, especially since he's still a rookie).

he's now on his second to the last interview of the day, seated across his companion for the next half hour or so—the interviewer.

"all right, we'll do some fun quick-fire questions for the fans to get to know you a bit more. sound good?"

"absolutely," hinata flashes a smile.

he easily flies through the questions, throwing in a joke or two to the interviewer's delight. they go through a wide range of questions from his pre-game ritual to his favorite snack.

"celebrity crush?" the interviewer asks, expecting the name of a popular supermodel or actor but still hoping for something a little more interesting.

"Y/N." hinata replies, with absolutely zero hesitation.

"Y/N?"

"they're a streamer. you might see them in some of my friend kenma's streams, too! they're sweet, funny, gorgeous—"

"do i smell something more than just a celebrity crush on this streamer?" the interviewer teases.

"something like that," hinata winks. "i'm just saying, my dms are open."

"alright, alright," the interviewer laughs, before moving on to the other questions and wrapping up the interview.

what the interviewer—and the rest of the world—don't know is that he's been in your dm's for the past year. in fact, he's heading over to your apartment once this pr day is over (and he's actually been staying over for the past few weekends). neither of you have announced anything, and he just has so much fun being a tease about all of this.

as hinata intended, your chat goes absolutely wild after the interview goes live a week later. he would know—he's in the room with you as you deal with all the excitement from your fans. little do you know, he has a little plan for this stream.

"okay, before anyone else asks," you prompt as more viewers tune into your stream, "yes i saw the interview. yes i am very flattered. yes i think he's cute. no i did not slide into his dms—"

"actually, i slid into theirs." hinata pops his head in frame for your stream, for the first time ever, talking directly to your viewers.

the chat pretty much explodes while you panic and try to recover from this huge reveal.

OMG he's there with you?

pls be on a date

is this fr or are yall messing with us

OK SEEING YALL TOGETHER I GET ITTTTTTT

we defs need the whole story NOWWWWWW

"guys- hold on- wait- i wouldn't stream during a date- listen- the whole story- well-" you stutter out.

"aren't they cute when they're nervous?" hinata drapes his arm around your shoulders, leaning in to read all the messages coming through the chat.

"sho, not now," you gently whine, leaning into his touch anyway.

"yeah, yeah, i'll let you get to your game," he whispers as he kisses the top of your head. "just wanted 'em to know i'm yours."

he stands up straighter and, before moving back to his spot off-screen, he turns to the camera.

"you guys can't really be that shocked, right? she's had this orange sticker on her headset for months. and my jacket is right there." he laughs, pointing to the background.

"stop, now they're going to overanalyze every single thing in my room," you laugh, gently pushing him off camera.

he sends you a wink before moving back to his usual spot to watch you stream.

(you end up having to hold a special stream later to answer a bunch of questions about your relationship and how you two got together)

[kenzdawinz]

Forbidden Desires…. Professor Lilia! x Student!Reader

First and foremost, thank you to the lovely @jubshead for being my beta for this chapter!! Secondly, this is a little idea i've had brewing for a while... I am inspired constantly by my fellow Lilia writers, but for this piece i was especially inspired by Soy Celosa, Lo Siento by the talented @ariascoven

Warnings: smutty daydreams, fingering (reader receiving), alludes to masturbation

Word Count: 1.6k

Professor Calderu's Women's History class was quite possibly the most interesting course you'd ever taken. It wasn't just because of the content, although you found it intriguing, it was certainly due to the teacher. 

Lilia Calderu was the most divine individual you'd ever seen. Each afternoon she arrived in her lecture hall with a determined stride, hair pinned into a messy updo and elaborate crystal necklaces swinging across her slightly exposed chest. She'd announce in a voice so loud and so clear that even those half asleep in the back could hear her say: "Today we will be discussing…" 

Most days you had no trouble concentrating on class, Lilia spoke of women's history so vividly it seemed as if she had lived it herself. You would hang on her every word, eagerly absorbing as much knowledge as you could, all in a hopeless attempt to impress her. You were always so attentive, desperately shooting your hand up in the air to answer any questions she made to prompt discussion. 

But today your mind wandered. No matter how much you tried, you could not pull yourself away from the fantasies your mind usually reserved for late at night, when you had the freedom to sneak a hand between your drenched thighs. The image of you bent over your professor's desk, skirt bunched over your ass as Lilia leaned over you from behind, pressing three fingers firmly into your dripping cunt. Her purrs tickling your nape as she whispers in your ear "You like that baby? Come on y/n…. tell me how much you like my fingers in you baby… y/n.. y/n?"

"Y/N!" 

Your head snaps from its resting place in your palm at the sound of your professor's voice. It had come not from your daydream, but from the very real and very annoyed woman at the front of the class. 

"If you're going to sit in the front row, darling, at least stay awake." Lilia chides. 

From her crossed arms and pursed lips, you can see she is clearly annoyed with you. 

"That goes for the rest of you too! I know you students were probably busy partying this weekend and getting up to who knows what-" 

At the sound of protests she tsks and silences the class with a wave of her arms. 

"Ah ah ah! I don't want to hear it. If you can party hard, you can study hard. Stay awake and attentive in my class or get out. I won't be offended by your absence. I have no use lecturing students who would rather be somewhere else." 

She gives you one final displeased glare and turns back to the projector, jumping back into her lecture as if she had never diverged from it. 

Shame bloomed across your neck and tears threatened to fall from your eyes. You blinked them back hurriedly and attempted to focus on her lecture, internally scolding yourself. You lamented the foolish daydream that caused you to upset your professor, if it was any other class you wouldn't care, but knowing that you had annoyed Signora Calderu left you feeling utterly dejected. You wanted her to like you. At the very least you had hoped she found you a pleasant study. There was no way she would feel that now…. 

The lecture went by slower than it normally would, your embarrassment at having been called on and used as an example for the class had left you quiet. As Signora Calderu announced the end of class, you wrote down the textbook pages she recommended reading for her next lecture and began to pack your bag. 

The only thing on your mind was getting back to your dorm room as fast as possible, to drown your shame in little Debbie cakes and a half assed frozen margarita you kept in your mini-fridge. 

You stopped dead in your tracks when your professor’s voice called out to you, "Y/n, come here for a minute please." 

You took a deep breath and turned around slowly, plastering what you hoped was an easy smile on your face, taking a few nervous steps towards her.

She was sitting at her desk, reading glasses perched delicately on the tip of her nose as she glanced at a few papers. The sight made your core thrum and you grasped your necklace pendant, stroking it in a desperate attempt to calm your arousal. 

"Yes, Signora?" You ask gently. 

Lilia glances at you briefly and pulls her reading glasses off her face, setting them on her desk. She releases an annoyed sigh and fixes her sharp gaze on you. 

"Is there a particular reason I caught you daydreaming in my class, doll? You're normally so eager to participate in discussion and today you seemed like another hungover delinquent." 

The comparison makes you bristle in slight anger and you quickly jump to defend yourself. 

"I'm sorry Signora." You announce huffily. "But I can assure you I am not hung over! And frankly I'm a little offended you would even suggest-" 

She quirks an eyebrow at you and cuts you off. "Oh? What's so outlandish about the notion that a pretty, young college girl, who's normally so attentive, is slumped over in class because she's riding off the weekends extracurriculars?" 

Your mouth drops open in shock and instead of answering her question like any normal, sane individual, you stutter out before thinking. "Y-You think i'm pretty?" 

As soon as you hear your own words escape you, you go red and lightly clasp a hand over your mouth. Quick to utter an apology, "Oh! Oh, Signora I am so sorry. I didn't mean to-" 

Lilia cuts you off again with a laugh. Her teeth gleam under the fluorescent lights as she grins at your embarrassed state. 

"No need to be so ashamed, baby." She smirks. "It's an honest question. But yes, I do think you're rather lovely. Do you not find yourself attractive?" She asks with a gleam in her eyes. 

You balk at her momentarily before swallowing your own surprise. 

"I think… I think I'm pretty enough." You offer blushing. "I just didn’t expect- well Ii didn’t expect you to say it." 

Lilia tilts her head at you and softly hums under her breath, as if she is analyzing your behavior and filing it away to use later. She smiles at you before teasing lightly. "I may be old, honey, but I'm not blind. I know a pretty girl when I see one. You should take more pride in your appearance." 

You blush even more at the pet name and the compliment. "Well, thank you Signora… and- and I'm so sorry about earlier in class! I really didn't mean to get so distracted I just-" You swallow thickly at the memory of your daydream. "I suppose I’m just overly tired today." 

Lilia purses her lips and hums. Her eyes scan you as if she knows you are lying, but decides not to call you out on it. "It's fine dear. Just…don't let it happen again. You're one of my best students. I'd hate for you to begin to blend in with your peers." 

You nod sharply, eager to prove your worth in upcoming classes. As you move to leave the class you suddenly turn back around with a gasp. 

"Oh! Signora this may be an ill timed question considering I was not my best today in class… but I was wondering if we could meet sometime during your office hours to discuss a special interest of mine? I'm doing some personal research on the Salem Witch Trials, and I heard from Professor Harkness that you might be able to stir me in a new direction. I think I've exhausted most of my own resources." 

Lilia's face lights up with a delighted smile. "Is that so? Well, I'd love to help you, hun. Is the research an assignment for another class?" 

You nibble your lip nervously, "No actually. It's just a topic I've always been interested in. I try to um.. to research things that interest me in my own time. I like to think it keeps my education from getting too dull." 

Lilia looks at you appreciatively, "I'm glad to hear that, baby. Too often students take classes just to the degree and not to really learn. Tell you what-" She says as she grabs a slip of paper and a pen, beginning to scribble down on it. "Here's my personal cell number. Send me the research you've compiled so far and I'll take a look at it. Then we can pick a time to meet up and go over some new stuff, ok?" 

She hands you the slip of paper with her number on it. As you reach for it, the tips of your fingers brush hers and you slightly shiver at the contact. 

"Thank you, Signora!" You gush. "I really, really appreciate the help. I'll send my research to you as soon as possible." 

She laughs lightly and puts back on her reading glasses, dismissing you with a wave. "No rush, baby. Just go home and get some sleep. I don’t want you drifting away in my next class." 

You give a small laugh yourself and, with another thank you and a polite goodbye, you leave her classroom, beginning the walk back to your dorm.

Well that's that! Comments and constructive criticism valued and enjoyed. Lemme know any ideas you have for future chapters, i plan to make this a multi-chapter fic with some decent slowburn and plenty of smut to come later on.

dividers by @strangergraphics

[writingwisterias]

Hey hey!!

You can ignore this if you aren't comfortable but I was wondering if you have any ideas for how different eras Leon would react or handle drunk gf? Smth like been out with the girlies or asking him for a ride home? Go crazy!

Low key started thinking about it after a minor drunken injury weeks ago (all good!)

Hi Anon!

I'm sorry this late, I hope you are okay lmao! We have all been there at some point 👀...I've never fallen down some stairs or whatever

Hope you enjoy!!

Warnings: Fluff, Drunk!Reader,

Fem!Reader

RE2:

You went to a house party, Leon didn't feel like going though so he stayed behind

He trusted you not to do anything stupid and find your own way back.

That was until he got a call from you that you had been left by your friends and needed him to come and pick you up

He left immediately, pulling up to the location in his jeep with a smile at your state

Had to catch you as he helped you into the car as you tripped on the pavement

The entire ride you are chatting to him about all the gossip. He doesn't care who kissed who that night. Your smile and adorable giggles made his night

Caved when you asked for fast food - with the idea it will sober you up a little bit at least.

RE4R:

I feel like he would like a quieter life but when he meets you and you drag him around everywhere.

He doesn't complain he just goes with the flow, he'll have a few drinks etc to make the time more bearable but never as much as you.

It's cute though, how you'll go out onto the dance floor with a bunch of your friends all stumbling about together

Then you will stumble back over to him, placing a kiss that tasted like whatever you were drinking. A hug that was more you leaning on him than an actual hug

He never prompted you to come back, he was content observing you from the bar, his ass going numb from the bar stool.

When it is time to go home, he's dragging you to a cab. Your leaning on him chattering about whatever was on your mind

Thoughts going by so fast he can barely keep up with you. Changing topics like every 5 seconds

Infinite Darkness:

Encourages you to drink more, he's the type that's willing to be the sober one if he needs to be or at least only limiting himself to a few drinks to make sure you get back safely

He has to drag you out the bar towards the end of the night, your goodbye with the girls is dragging on far too long

The walk back is painful, your stumbling everywhere and so slow to the point he just beds his back and braces his knees

You're hard to carry on his back only because you find it so funny but eventually you pass out

When you do you are like dead weight but don't worry he can take it, he's fought things that are heavier than you

Damnation:

He's drunk with you lets be honest, you are both as bad as each other

Prefers to stay at home and drink so you will too

If you host a girls night he'll happily leave the room and sit in your bedroom so you have the space

The girls don't mind him being there they understand you barely see each other so they are fine with him joining in

When he does, he'll suggest things like board games or card games

For Christmas he'll get you loads of drinking games to play either together or with your friends

Finds it funny when you get the couple drinking games

RE6:

You woke him up from sleeping on the sofa when you called him to pick you up

He's fighting you for an answer as to where you are.

Eventually he just drives to the usual bars not hanging up of course

Finds you just aimlessly wandering down the streets. Pulls over and has to gently guide you into the car

Your moaning about how you have your boyfriend on the phone and he's coming to get you until you realize it's him

He'll give you his jacket in the car so you stay warm, after all the outfit your wearing wouldn't have kept you warm

Loves the gossip you collect and will let you ramble about. There's just something distracting about who kissed who compared to his usual thoughts or conversations with his friends

Vendetta:

The guy would be drunk with you, out and about with your friends whatever. He's with you

And considering he's drank a lot in the film before he starts doing anything I would say he's the type of drunk that you can't actually tell he is until you see the drink

So he's more helpful than you in going home

He's dragging you down the street, pulling you into his side so you stay close

If you fall over he's just sighing and laughing at you

It's almost like two toddlers walking down a street together, they don't know where they are going or how to get there but they do eventually

If you ask for his jacket he'll give it to you but he won't just do it on his own will. He's not really thinking straight

Death Island:

He's smart enough to turn on your phone location before you go out so when you do call him, he's there like instantly

He will sit you down on the bathroom counter and force you to tell him what your skin care routine is as he knows you'll be upset you didn't do it

Will eventually get you to write a step by step process and pin it to his bathroom mirror so he knows in advance

Probably just throws on one of his t shirts instead of finding your own clothes

Listens to your drunken talks until eventually you fall asleep cuddles into him

[uraniumbones]

For those of you keeping up with the book of Bill and it's accompanying website and the bill cypher backstory. THE PARALLELS GOT ME FUCKED UP.

Spoilers incoming.

people love to talk about the dynamic between Stanford and Bill. Sure, interesting. But you know what people aren't talking about? Stanley and Bill. Specifically referencing the website (thisisnotawebsotedotcom.com)

If you input Stanley a bunch it will eventually open a new document instead of eBay pages. The page mocks Stanley and reveals his secrets or whatever. One of the clickable options on this page is "HOW HE BEAT ME". Each time you click into this is an increasingly deranged meltdown about how it shouldn't have been possible. Calling him a "cheap trick loving, past-denying overgrown child protected from failure only by a force field of denial and shamelessness" among other things. And when further pressed accuses you of acting like "those PREACHY INFANTILIZING AUTOMOTONS AT THE THERAPRISM who are SO OBSESSED with getting me to TALK about my "FEELINGS"." After that he spirals further eventually talking about "how much pain I'm in" and only in code admitting "I can still see through the eyes of everyone I've ever..." presumably killed.

If you don't know shit about Euclydia read the wiki page on it, it's not long. tldr Euclydia is bills home dimension, which he destroyed and killed every single inhabitant of in blood and fire. He did so (accidentally?) in an attempt to show them the third dimension which (because of a genetic mutation) only he had the ability to see (with his eye). Please also note when Stanford asks about his home dimension Bill says it was"destroyed by a monster".

In the website's many documents it repeatedly makes reference to Bill's parents and how much they loved him, his home, his childhood (he wore velcro sneakers it's actually incredibly cute), the ways in which he was different and not easily accepted.

Now knowing all these things. A pattern may emerge to you. Are you seeing it? Are you seeing the patterns yet?

Obviously Bill hates Stanley because he's stupid and still he somehow beat Bill. That's annoying, maddening even. But I believe it goes beyond that. He hates him all the more passionately because Stanley reminds him of himself. The poem at the end of the Stanley password on the website summarizes it best "always dragged his family down / One mistake, disowned, denied, / only thing to do was hide." Destruction of his own family, running and hiding from his own mistakes. "Reinvent, retry, reload" trying again in a new life. "When your actions make it worse, / When they see you as a curse," Making things worse where you have tried to make them better. "Give the wheel one last spin, / Take your chips and go all in" this is what weirdmagedon was for both of them. and this is where their lives differ "And lucky stan- the rolls on black, / he got his life and family back. / His big break it finally came, / Redemption from a life of shame." AND THERE IT IS. Stanley got his family back. Bill didn't. (Which is what it seems he was attempting). Stanley got his redemption. Bill didn't.

Stanley was a lonely kid fuck up just like Bill was. And he absolutely hates Stanley's guts for it because he hates his own guts for it. And all this time they're the same, just trying to fix those mistakes, to have their family back again, to be loved again. They both have this facade of untouchable aloof levity, the same insults Bill hurls at Stanley may as well be hurled at himself. "Protected from his failure only by a force field of denial and shamelessness"? "Cheap trick loving, past denying overgrown child"? You can see Bill goes from being outraged and insulting Stanley, to denying a deeper meaning to those feelings (and calling you a therapist), to talking about how much pain he is in (seemingly over all the people he killed in Euclydia), all without any specific prompting. Just pushing. Bill is the one that connected those things. Bill hates Stanley (at least partially) as an act of self hatred. Because he has made the same mistakes and can never forgive himself for them. AND (at least partially) because Stanley is not only just like him, but now just like him if he had succeeded. Stanley got his "Redemption from a life of shame". and in so doing actively prevented Bills.

Now do you see what I'm saying about THE PARALLELS?!

[crescenthistory]

hey! it's the anon who asked about the poly!dorlene thing, so here's the resquest! yay!

from the fluffy prompt "i didn't know it was possible for you to be more beautiful" + trope "firsts" with poly!dorlene, where they are going on their first date? just, very fluffy and three girls being in love?? (sorry if it isn't really specific)

hi my lovely dorlene lover, thank you so much for your request<33 three girls being in love COMING RIGHT UP

Words: 2k

Warnings/tags: fem!reader, you wear a skirt, established relationship (dorlene) opening up to a third (you, lucky bastard), light anxiety/nerves, idiots in love, bsfs!marylily in the background, slightly suggestive teasing, platonic and romantic physical affection

Note: this one goes out to the four (4) sapphics i know frequent my page, with the hope of reaching even more of us<33 dorlene and marylily are the best things to have ever happened to me tbh

"Lily, do I look stupid? I look stupid. You would tell me if I looked stupid, right?"

Words are spilling out of your mouth before you have had the time to truly process or consider them, or even enunciate them properly. If you didn't have the self-awareness to already be embarrassed about how nerve wrecked you were acting, Lily's expression would have done the trick.

"Breathe, my lovely, you're fine," she reassured through poorly bitten back laughter. "You don't look stupid."

Stood in front of Mary's pocket mirror that you had charmed to grow into full-body length, in the fourth outfit you had tried on, you felt decidedly, wholeheartedly stupid. Even worse, surrounded by your two best friends and waiting on your two other best friends to take you out on a date, you felt stupid for feeling stupid.

Truly the whole thing was a chaotic, hormonal mess that you wanted to run away from. Yet, you ached to stay, ached to know how it goes.

Mary had done your make-up earlier and was now lounging on her bed, giving you a rather salacious up-and-down in an effort of support. "If that is stupid, then I don't think I can see anything better while keeping my skirt on," she quipped, arguably aiming for appeasing. You're not sure if she hit the mark, but you appreciated her with heated cheeks nonetheless.

"Not to mention, this outfit is by far the best one," Lily said through a hum, walking around you to continue to appraise the skirt, top and accessories the three of you had pulled together from your separate closets. "It matches the atmosphere of a Hogsmeade date while also distinguishing it from what they see you in every day. It's perfect."

"You really think so?" You found yourself asking for more reassurance as you smoothed out the already wrinkle free skirt, turning back to take in your form in the mirror.

Lily came up close behind you and gave you a half-hug from the side, squeezing your shoulder. The apples of her cheeks were bunched up beautifully, highlighting her freckles, as she smiled warmly at you in that way only she knew how. "I know so. These are your friends, remember?"

"Your best friends that you have been pining after quite literally forever," Mary reminded you while flipping through her magazine, though you could tell it did not capture her attention as wholly as she pretended.

"Excuse me, but you are in no position to judge someone for waiting forever to ask her friend out, missy," you argued, finding some of your usual spark once more. You gave her a teasing finger wag to underline your point, to which Lily snorted and let go of you to move over to her lovely girlfriend and pry the magazine from her hands.

"She has a point there, dear." Lily stage-whispered conspiratorially as she grabbed Mary’s now-free hands to pull her up and off the bed. Mary pretended to groan, but slumped happily against Lily when they stood beside each other, pressing a sweet kiss to the corner of her lips.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she faux grumbled. Then, she looked you over properly, blooming smile back on her face. She reached out to fix a part of your make-up that you were sure did not really need fixing. "Truly, babe, this is perfect. You look smashing."

You took a deep breath and regarded your friends with a weary smile. "Alright. I trust you guys. I'm right to do so, yeah?" The last part was teasing, but they both groaned and rolled their eyes at you through their smiles. You had been over this a few times this evening.

"I'll show you trust," Lily warned before tackling you into some sort of a crash-hug. Mary screeched with glee, joining into the slight tussle between the three of you that was essentially more of an embrace than a fight, just with the quips and attitudes of the latter. Lily had her arms wrapped around you, wrestling you around to “shake some sense into you”, while Mary did not pass up the opportunity to tickle you, drawing genuine laughter from you at last.

"Oi! Are you manhandling our date?"

Marlene's voice startled the three of you out of your play-fight, but only drew more giggling laughter out of you as you straightened up.

The blonde had a wide grin on her face as she took the scene in, standing with her hand still on the handle from where she had – surely dramatically – opened the door. She was wearing the most delectable pair of patterned multi-coloured jeans paired with a tight white baby-tee with a red graphic in the middle. There was a red carabiner in her belt loop and her neck and fingers were covered in her standard silvery jewellery. Her hair was pulled up by small fluttering clips that seemed to be Pandora's doing, that showed off her light pink streaks. She was absolutely beautiful. You were a goner.

Slightly behind her, Dorcas leaned against the doorframe, hand on her hip, already looking at you with an entertained, knowing smile. The green short skirt that hugged her hips perfectly complemented the black, lacy top she was in, both of which stood in stark contrast to her astronomy-themed jewellery that was bright and eye-catching. The silver seemed to radiate off her skin, and Dorcas looked just that – radiant.

You were stunned for a second, your laugh morphing into an almost awestruck smile as your lips slightly parted. You already knew you were going out with arguably the most ethereal creatures to walk this campus, but to see it for yourself this up-close; gods, you were lucky.

This was likely the part where your anxiety would have reclaimed its hold in your chest. Mary and Lily had stepped off to the side slightly, giving you space as you and your dates had this odd first look of sorts – taking in that this is what your friend looks like when she is getting ready to go out with you. You and not some sleazy guy that would not deserve her even if he fought a hundred lifetimes to do so, not some awkward, stumbling person who did not know to appreciate what they had in their hands. You.

Yes, this was the part where your mind would be rewiring itself within the span of a mere few seconds and getting ready to scream in panic – but then your eyes met Marlene's. Drifted to Dorcas' and then Marlene's again. You found nothing short of pure admiration there. Your heartbeat slowed into secure affection.

"Holy Merlin," Marlene breathed out when she gave you her own once-over, letting go of the door in favour of taking a few steps further into the room. Closer to you. "You look..." She trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words.

Dorcas let out one of her more quiet laughs, directing your wide eyes from Marlene back over to her. You found she had been side-eyeing Marlene's response smugly before looking at you once more in marvel. "Gorgeous. You look absolutley gorgeous, babe."

"I didn't know it was possible for you to be more beautiful," Marlene said, lined eyes steadfast on you in a way that felt entirely too much. Tingles shot up and down your back and a nervous laugh spilled over your lips. “I’ve been falling over my feet at your beauty for ages, and now here you are, upstaging yourself again?”

"Me?" you said, resisting the urge to point to yourself. "You two are breathtaking. Stunning."

While you and Marlene stood in some sort of gaping, stupefied stare-off, Dorcas pushed off the doorframe and carried herself elegantly over to you, taking both of your hands in hers. Slowly, giving you time to back out should you want, she brought them up to her lips and gave the backs of your hands one gentle kiss each, eyes never leaving yours. "How about we chalk us up to being the three most beautiful witches in Hogsmeade," she said, looking between you and Marlene knowingly. "And get going before all the seats are taken?"

Marlene was looking at the place on your hands where Dorcas' lips had just grazed with a dumb smile before meeting her two loves' eyes happily. "I reckon that sounds like a good plan. Yeah, gorgeous?" The last part was directed at you, and you giddily nodded.

"Sounds perfect, actually." Your cheeks hurt from smiling. "I just need to get my bag."

As you turned around, you saw Mary and Lily sitting on your bed – the closest one to the view of their three friends finally taking the leap – grinning knowingly. You had to fight off a yelp, but couldn't stop your body from jerking slightly in surprise from seeing them. Admittedly, you had forgotten they were there from the second Marlene's voice caught your attention.

"Hey, babes," you said cheekily, aware from Lily's arched brow that they understood how wholeheartedly distracted you had gotten. The second-hand happiness flowing across their faces, though, told you they did not mind one bit. You quickly grabbed your bag from beside your bed, and while you were there, you pressed a quick kiss to each of their cheeks in appreciation. Lily merely smiled warmly at you, as always, while you swore you saw Mary blush at the blatant gratitude. "Thank you for helping me get ready. I guess I'll see you back here tonight?"

"Bringing her home already after the first date?" Mary recovered quickly to quip with her eyes on Marlene, mirth swimming in them at her poor attempt at a joke.

Marlene stuck her tongue out at her before she volleyed, "We share this dorm, Maryam."

Mary's full name wasn't Maryam. It was just what Marlene insisted on calling her when she was goofing off, usually at Marlene's expense.

You let out a proper laugh at that, finally at ease and feeling all the love, both platonic and romantic, simmering beneath your skin. When you turned around to meet your two girls head on, Marlene instantly grabbed your purse from you and slung it over her shoulder before throwing her arm around yours. "Though, I would never pass up the opportunity to take you home, dolly," she whispered in your ear then as she steered you towards Dorcas.

Your breath caught in your throat for a moment, but you swallowed it happily, giving Marlene's side a slight shove before grinning up at her. You swore the blue that you met in her irises shone straight into your heart, and you found that you didn't mind it.

Dorcas was shaking her head affectionately by the time you turned to her in the doorway, no doubt having heard Marlene's comment. "Try not and scare her off before we can even start the date, yeah Marls?"

Feeling emboldened by their clear devotion to you, you held your hand out in offering to Dorcas. "It’s going to take a lot more than tempting promises to scare me away from something so perfect." You weren't sure how the words rolled so smoothly off your tongue, but you were spurred on by the flicker in Dorcas' eyes, followed by her biting lightly down on her bottom lip. She happily accepted your hand, intertwining your fingers and wasting no time in dragging her thumb over your knuckles.

"Perfect indeed, baby," Marlene said. She caught the edge of the door with her foot, turning over to half-shout to Mary and Lily, who were still sitting on your bed. "Don't wait up, you swots!"

She let the door shut behind her with a cackle before she could hear any protests about "hey we actually have a test tomorrow to study for". 

With the ease that at last settled in your bones and a beautiful girl on each arm, you knew in your heart that this date would be the one for you.

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's episode...

[spoilers below cut]

Man I tell you, another heavy day in my production job. And on top of that, pollen season. There goes my allergies smh. Well, at least I get bit of a break, have some food with me, and I can finally watch today's episode. Let's see what we got! *sees thumbnail* 😶 .....I haven't even pressed on the video and my theorist senses are tingling already

"wait what?"

Alright, so I'm going to need you to follow along with me here, cool? Now, doesn't 4's pose seem familiar to you? Well, it should because that's exactly the same pose as the ringmaster 4 render from the early version of the WOTFI website. We all know it was really Mr Puzzles behind it all.

And now look at the ads! It certainly feels very similar to what happened in the "Mario PC Virus" episode, and y'know how I already pointed out how it could connect to the goop!4 theory. BUT y'know what other video had ads?

That's suspicious. That's sus. 💅 /ref

"Don't you think it's Ben trolling again? Or just taking creative liberties?"

No bc the thing is, it's the thumbnail and it's the Team who gave him the prompt in the first place. Ofc Ben can take creative liberties, but essentially it has to follow the prompt. How have I not started the episode yet?! *turns to the Team* I'm watching you.... /silly

(the following is my live reaction:)

and there's our beloved intro *claps like an excited lil kid*

A convention? oooooh

LOOK AT THEM AAAAA

ofc 3 talking about his villain self 😌↕️

Clench being a VTuber was not on my bingo card but honestly, good for him (and I do love Tari sticking out from the table hehe)

and MELONY! you got what Axol's been working on, Two Piece. Gotta love the continuity, dude. The cover looks great!

Melony: "At least, I hope so..." 🥺 Oh honey, Axol would've been so proud of you and what you've done. I can already imagine him singing praises to it and say "look at what my girlfriend and I have done! :D"

YES, let's spread the word!! ofc Mario and 4 would help, they care so much about their friends

ngl Mario's got a good tactic.

and there goes 3's eye lol (don't think about goop!4 don't think about goop!4 don't think about goop!4)

*wii sports theme plays*

YES YES YES oh I'm so here for it

look at them go :D

nahnahnah, Team. You think you can do a speed-up moment and for me not to pause it frame by frame? smh /silly

luckily for the rest of yall, I got you:

and yes, it did have some repeats that I think they're very interesting: "turns you muscular SUPER chad", "makes you rich", "become SWAG", "get your a bunch of friends", "become a member of society", "become a SIGMA", get a romantic partner ("girlfriend" (the one with Mario) or "boyfriend", "you WON'T NEED SLEEP", "become AWESOME"/"RESPECTED"

Ofc it could just be how much 4 wants to emphasize the benefits of getting the manga. But it certainly feels strange, doesn't it? *writing notes down like a madman*

also a win for the skittle squad

and ay, it's got 4's stamp of approval!! (curious that the Team used the old model instead of current one 🤔)

hehe look at 4 pouting while he sits 💙

SMG4: "This is how it works!" 4, bud, are you ok?

ok first off, WE GOT THE OG 4 MODEL BACK?! WHAT? and two, Mario has a point. 4 is taking things too far and really needs a wake-up call. I have a feeling as to why 4 may be acting this way....

oh. oh okay.

So they decided to bring parallels to show how much 4 and Mario's fighting is affecting her/reminding her of her family separating. Hmm. Alright, Team, which one of you decided to strike that dagger into my heart? 😭 /lh

And Mario walked away just like Melony's mom did *head in hands*

and that's 4 alright. He would say that "everything's fine" when it's clearly not smh

4, buddy no :(

SMG3: "The real villain is society..." Well you ain't wrong, 3

Wait a second. Enhance..... enhance.....

I see what you did there, Shadow 😌↕️

love that Toad's like right here too

OMG was that 4's "date" from the "Find Luigi" episode? IT IS.

I'm tell yall, 4 has a secret art account and is selling his work as merch/prints. I mean, c'mon

NO 4, people were waiting for Silksong for decades naurrrr

oh Melony, my girl :(

*pauses episode* ........they did not just do that. I'm rewinding that moment 2/3 times now, what do you mean I was right about my suspicions? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY JUST BROUGHT BACK IGBP?!

I need to walk away. I need to leave the room, do a cartwheel and dive into a lake, bc HUH?!

okok, let's breathe. goop!4 is gonna happen, and this is not just a "haha Ink is a crazy lil theorist wishing for this to happen". The fact that he said "nowadays" means that the situation is affecting him too. Ofc it would, that's his livelihood, his WHOLE PURPOSE as a meme guardian. But, other than that, it makes sense why he's doing this (I'll talk about it soon)

Mario: "SMG4, you're better than this! You've done enough damage." 😨 holy shit. it's like I got shot through the heart WTF. I might just cry in this episode

who keeps punching me in the FEELSSSSS 😭 poor Melony, those guys were absolute jerks smh (desperate times do call for desperate measures *ready to make swiss cheese*)

*head in hands* :(

at least they can apologise

*points at screen* hehe that's me :) I'm just a reporter

did I hear the peanut gallery audio from ace attorney? 👀 (<- ace attorney fan, don't mind Ink)

The Crew came? 🥹

EVEN SHROOMY?

OUGH that got to me, dude. They all came to support her and enjoyed the manga. I'm tearing up, dude.....

what did I say? Melony may have not had both parents as they were separating, lost Axol to the events of the Genesis/Revelations arc, was betrayed by who she thought was a friend who understood her, and despite it all, she's been so strong. Having friends, her found family...

man, this hit me hard and it's not even from the allergies, I tell you that

the truest supporters are the ones who care

this episode wants me dead /very pos

what's the lesson, Mario?

SMG4: "Is that we shouldn't care so much about fame and profit and instead be proud of our friend's work? No matter how successful it is?" yeah pretty much... "No"? wdym "no"?

....nahnahnah, you can't end the episode there, what the hell do you mean by that?

You can't close it off like that! What about my suspicions!? You can't just move on like that in front of my theorist self, c'mon!!

sitcom laugh track and everything, smh /silly

Congrats to SteveAlexAri12 for your art being featured in the end credits for this episode 🎉 cool art of WPNZ

um. Team, any particular why? just asking /j

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

Wow, this. This was absolutely fantastic omg. The writing in this was so good and I loved the tidbits of animation we got, like when Mario and 4 were picking up the pages to clean! This was somehow brilliant, and this is coming from a long-time viewer.

It' crazy's awesome that they brought Wolfychu back to do some lines this episode, and I was right about the Waggy cameo from Shadow (YES!). Also, EVAN! You make the cover of the manga? It looks SO GOOD, dude!! As always, great work with the writing on your end 👏

I've already mentioned Melony but we have to talk about the boys. Both Mario and 4 had good intentions to help their friend out. "I would do anything to not lose my friends" and that's exactly what 4 did. The algorithm has been affecting him so much that he didn't want Melony to go through it either. So, he went overboard with the crazy advertising and such, but he still cared for his friend. And a touch of self-doubt and insecurity from IGBP is back because he thought he wasn't doing enough. What good of a friend is he if he can't help out? The savior complex in him would say that he isn't good enough to help Melony, to "save" her from the low viewer retention. That he isn't enough, so he went desperate to have anyone take a copy of the manga. This isn't just about selling a book, it's that he's worth the friendships he has and they can always come to him if they need anything.

He doesn't want to lose them.

Ofc Mario cares so much about 4, they've known each other for years. Best of friends. If anything, Mario would know everything's not fine with 4's actions and thoughts in general. It's why the line, "SMG4, you're better than this! You've done enough damage" from Mario to 4 hits so hard. 4 was back to the "None of you understand the work I do" moment from Mar10, relapsing, and Mario needed to remind 4 of his true self, the one that cared for his friends without perfections. That instead of helping as 4 sees it, 4 was hurting Melony unintentionally, and he has to open his eyes to see that. Two sides, indeed.

Curious that the episode ended with the not "go cuckoo crazy" lesson instead of what 4 said. Goop!4 would eventually happen, bc at this point, yes. But what Mario said is exactly what 4's mindset is rn. 4 is bottling up his emotions and trauma and as long as he doesn't think about it for too long, everything's fine. As long as he doesn't reach that breakpoint, he's fine. In some way, he learned his lesson after IGBP but not quite. For one, he still doubts himself with the guilt of IGBP on top of it. And two, nothing is letting him move on from his trauma. His in-universe audience isn't letting him, Puzzles during WOTFI wasn't letting him, the memories he's been suppressing wasn't enough.

Why does he go through the extreme? Bc he thinks that it would solve everything for him. Like how he locked Puzzles in prison, thinking that Puzzles would remain there when we all know a prison escape is bound to happen. Like the Meme Factory itself was an elaborate trap. Whatever it takes to protect himself emotionally, as he's under the line from having a meltdown, he's fine. But what is that line? What is his breaking point? The thing is he wouldn't known, as shown in this episode, thinking he would still fix it. Everything's fine, he's fine.

And y'know what the cherry on top is? That, other than 4 and Mario enjoying the manga, Boopkins and Luigi were the first to be interested in Melony's creation, regardless of popularity. Very representative of Kevin irl and the deeper significance of IGBP.

....whoops sorry, I went on rambling for too long. I mean, c'mon, you should know the drill by now *points at bio*. If anything, this episode is the biggest piece of evidence for the goop!4 theory, I'm sure our local co-CEO of the theory Funkii (hey moot!) and other goop!4 enthusiasts would agree, YESSIR. Overall, this was such a sweet episode and I can't wait for more. That's all from me, and remember: numbers always go first!

*taps mic* ...well chat, how do we feel knowing that the star trio all canonically wore maid outfits? (well technically Madoka outfits from 4 & Mario but still)

[alotofpockets]

Eyes don't lie | Reneé Rapp

Pairing: Reneé Rapp x Reader

Prompt: "We're just friends." & "Are you joking? She looks at you like you are her whole world."

Masterlist | Reneé Rapp Masterlist | Words: 1k

Reneé carried her songwriting notebook everywhere, so that any time she had a lyrical idea, she could write it down immediately. She was very private with this notebook, she only ever showed the pages she allowed others to see. Alyah was one of the many people that was curious about what the girl was hiding in her notes, and couldn’t help herself when she saw the notebook laying on the piano at Reneé’s house. Reneé herself was on a call in the other room, so there was no one to stop her. 

“So…” Alyah starts. “You and y/n then, huh?” Reneé rolls her eyes, “We’re just friends, Alyah.” At that point Alyah can’t hold her laughter any longer. “My sweet friend, you have a whole page in your notebook praising the things that you love about them, and you’ve written love songs about them. Why are you keeping all of this in your notebook? You should tell them how you feel.” 

She opens the notebook and finds the lyrics to a few released songs, looking over those quickly, because she was looking for things that she hadn’t seen or heard before. The next few pages consist of half written songs with many crossed out sentences. A few pages further she found the reason why Reneé hid the notebook from everyone.

A page with your picture in the middle, surrounded by a bunch of words. Alyah read through some of them, kind, beautiful, smart, funny. She felt on top of the world just finding the proof that her friend indeed had a crush on you, even though she had denied it time and time again. The following pages were filled with sappy love songs, Alyah was reading through some of them when the notebook was snatched out of her hand. Her eyes widened, she was caught. “Alyah Chanelle Scott, you know this is private!” Alyah knows she was supposed to feel guilty but instead she was just trying her hardest not to break out in laughter. 

Reneé knows exactly why she hasn’t shared her feelings with you but she goes with the easy answer. “She doesn’t feel the same way about me, so there is no use.” Alyah looks at her friend, "Are you joking? She looks at you like you are her whole world." The blond shakes her head, “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” While shaking her head Alyah reassures Reneé that that is not the case. “Eyes don’t lie.” 

She plops down on the couch next to Alyah. She knew now, so she might as well confide in her best friend. “She's my whole world too.” Alyah mumbles a “Clearly” which received her a shove to the upper arm. “As I was saying, she's my whole world too but relationships always end badly for me, and I do not want to lose her.” Alyah turns more serious in her response, “But what if this one will be different? What if everything will work out but you never tried?”

After hours of talking, Alyah managed to convince Reneé to confess her feelings to you. She wanted this for her best friend, and of course she really thought that you would reciprocate the feelings, seeing as you’re always walking around with metaphorical heart eyes whenever Reneé was around. Together they brainstormed ways to tell you. 

The next day you came over to hang out, like you had planned for weeks now. Reneé seemed rather quiet but you decided to let the woman be for a bit, knowing that she knew you were there for her and she could always talk to you.

“Hey, so I wrote this new song and I was wondering if I could play it for you.” She started, that nervous look making its way back onto her face. Reneé had asked you to listen to songs she wrote before but never before had you seen her this nervous about sharing a song. You figured that maybe it was a very personal song. “Yeah, I would love to hear it, I always love hearing you sing.” You say with a big smile. Alyah would probably say she could see hearts in your eyes in this moment as well.

“Before I start, I want to say something. But can you please hold any response until I finish the song?” You nod, “Of course.” Reneé sits down and takes a deep breath. “I wrote this song for you.” Your heart starts to race, she wrote a song for you? No comments until the end of the song though, so you just patiently waited for her to start playing the song. 

She started playing the keys, and you already thought the intro was beautiful. You start blushing when she starts singing, the lyrics giving away that it wasn’t just a song, but that it was a love song. She sang about falling for someone, falling for you. Now you understood why she was nervous. After she played the outro she placed her hands down into her lap, taking a deep breath before she would face you. You noticed how nervous she still was, so you walked her way, and sat down next to her on the piano bench. 

The usually so confident Reneé now was a nervous mess, and you found it absolutely adorable. You smile and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes finally meet yours, she’s searching for any kind of reaction in them. Your hand lingers on her cheek, your thumb gently rubbing over her cheek. The longer you looked at each other the more both of your smiles grew. Reneé seemed to find the reaction she was looking for in your eyes as she started slowly leaning in to kiss you. The hand that was resting on her cheek made its way to the back of her neck as you pulled her in the rest of the way, your lips meeting in a long and soft kiss.

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[lukolabrainrot]

Calm theory anon here!!! We are going to start off strong with a how do actors shut down dating rumors? What are some of the ways you have seen actors shut down rumors before? Most of the time it's with a he is just my friend or with a oh we are just friends. And those that are blunt will say we don't see each other like that. They are direct and want to kill the rumors before they start flying. Nicola didn't have to mention Luke at all. The fact that she did speaks volumes. She mention her relationship with her costar when she discussing a bunch of serious topics. If they were just friends why is he even in her head as a discussion topic. My friends I don't think about like that meaning they don't occupy space in my thoughts for them to be a regular conversation. The only time I will talk on someone is if they are more than friends. If it's a man I have a crush on I will go on and on about him. He's in my head so naturally he's who I discuss. This article was time to kill the rumors and we are just good friends would have killed the rumors. Yet we got how she always called them and she has called him friends before in other interviews. She played the same card she been playing. Talking about her relationship with him as special while calling him a friend. Why doesn't she just tell us they are just friends? Because that would be a lie they are more. So she skirts around the truth. Also no fan pages I have seen is anyone saying marriage we say we want them together or they are together. I haven't seen anyone mention marriage 👀. Interesting that's how she phrased the fans wants. Guys we are getting closer and closer to a reveal. Truth always has a way of coming out and their love they wont be able to hide forever.

💯

Y'all, she didn't have to mention L... AT ALL. And the marriage comment (DEFINITELY intentional). EVERYTHING she talked about in that article was intentional and approved of before it was released. She was never going to announce their relationship in the article, but she also can't totally shut down the rumors because they aren't "just friends". So she makes sure people know in this very important article (that really is about her accomplishments and really wasn't focusing on any type of Bridgerton promo) that L and her have a lot of love for each other and a "gorgeous friendship"... and mentions that a lot of people want her to marry LUKE. SHE. DID. NOT. HAVE. TO. SAY. THIS. I can't stress that enough. This interview was apparently done before the Emmy's in early September... A LOT has seemed to change publicly since then for L/N. The RINGS being one of the major ones 👀

This article is likely going to live "forever" and in it's original form. And she very intentionally mentioned TWO people in her personal life that she wanted to live in this article (ON TIME MAGAZINE). Her father, who was VERY important to her and a huge influence on her life, and... LUKEEEE. Like, y'all, just marinate on that for a few minutes. This doesn't read as my work bestie. This reads as someone who will likely be in her life for a LONG TIME.

She mentioned she is VERY aware that people ship the two of them. And when prompted to talk about her relationship with L (which she definitely agreed to in advance), she not only doesn't totally shut down rumors, she says a lot of "people" want her to marry L. I think that goes beyond just fans. And then in early October we see her move the claddagh on her left hand, and L just sort of randomly shows up in this pic at her house while she's getting ready for an event with a ring on his ring finger. And then they went to NY together on a vacation (and work for N at least). Like this just isn't subtle. And some people just refuse to look at the evidence/information that is being presented to us on this topic. And there is still some "secret" shoot she teased about where she was wearing a dress she wore multiple times on the tour with her claddagh rings on full display (and no other jewelry). Idk y'all, I have this feeling that when L/N publicly announce their relationship, they are going to have some BIG news to announce.

Side note: I just wanted to add... N is SOOO cool!! I like legit want to be like her when I'm 37 😍

[milksnake-tea]

━━ interlocks

❀ ˎˊ- prompt: braiding their hair ❀ ˎˊ- characters: nanook, yaoshi, lan, xipe ❀ ˎˊ- warnings: maybe ooc charas, but otherwise, none! just a bunch of fluff :) ❀ ˎˊ- a/n: this is my cooldown fic from the dan feng one HDFSIJK after this (and maybe a jing yuan fic if i feel like it) it's event time baby !! xipes is kinda short tho bc idk how to work w them so far so BHFDS not exactly happy w it but ehhh

Nanook closes their eyes at the feeling of your fingers sifting through their hair. It's rare to see the usually violent Aeon so at ease, especially in a domestic situation like this.

Their hair is soft, but incredibly messy. Even still, it isn't so bad so that you couldn't work with it. Nanook watches you languidly as you braid, not minding if you mess up one or two times.

When one of the Ravagers enters, all Nanook needs is to stare at them from the corner of their eye to drive them off. This is their special time, after all.

You comment on how much they seem to enjoy this. They merely nod before closing their eyes, allowing themself to immerse themself in your ministrations.

Yaoshi only allows you on the basis that they get to decorate you as well. It's only fair, after all. And with their multitude of arms, it won't be an issue.

You end up sitting on their lap, braiding the locks that drape over Yaoshi's shoulders as they hold you with two arms, and style you with the rest.

Yaoshi's hair is incredibly easy to braid - it's almost as though you're working with silk rather than hair. The Aeon hums a little tune from a world unknown to you as they decorate you with ribbons, jewelry, flowers, whatever they could get their hands on.

By the time you're finished, Yaoshi was already cooing at how adorable you look, all dolled up. They praise you for your work, petting your head, but they prefer to pay attention to you rather themself.

Let me just say. Lan's hair is the absolute best to play with. It's just so beautiful, with the way it glows in different colors when you move it. It reminds you of one of the many moons in the universe.

Lan rarely stands still, so you're likely either sitting on their back (horse part ???) while they run throughout the galaxies, or they're sharpening one of their arrows while you work. They love the feeling of you messing with their hair, especially since they have so much of it.

However, your hairstyles usually don't last long, unless you braid them extremely tight. They typically become undone in the next few minutes due to Lan's constant movement. Lan apologizes the best they can, but they're always willing to let you try another hairstyle, now that you have a blank canvas again.

Xipe is... Difficult to work with. They have three (possibly four if they have one in the back) heads, each with their own head of hair. So if you're braiding only one's hair, be prepared for the others to begin complaining. What goes to one head goes to all, remember that.

It's hard work, but don't worry, Xipe rewards you later on. They grant you a kiss from each head, singing you gentle praises for your labor.

They're also quick to show off to their followers, with Family all rejoicing and cooing at the "blessing" given to Xipe by their lover. Braiding and styling becomes part of their customs as a show of affection for one another.

Meanwhile, you're just standing there in confusion, because all you wanted to do was to have a little quality time with your lover.

reblogs w comments are appreciated !!

[steventhusiast]

STWG daily prompt 9/12/23

prompt: barbie

pairing/character(s): steddie, stobin

transfemme!stevie has my heart ngl

-

Stevie's been out to Eddie for a few months when her birthday comes around. And she's anticipating a... Depressing day, if she's honest.

The only people that know are Eddie and Robin. To everyone else, she's still a guy. So she anticipates all the masculine gifts; cologne, clothes she won't wear, gag gifts from the kids about her being their dad.

And that part of her birthday is depressing. She sits through a lunch-time barbecue with the party and Eddie holds her hand out of view of everyone else so she can squeeze it every time something is said that makes her want to bawl her eyes out. Like how Mike keeps making jokes about how her hair's starting to be too long to look good, and Dustin keeps asking why she's wearing so many layers in July, and everyone keeps calling her the birthday boy, and son, and Steve-

She's happy to go home, is the point. Expects to spend the rest of the night curled up on the couch with Eddie who will no doubt spend the rest of his night feeding her words of affirmation about how she's his girl and other ooey gooey feminine phrases he knows quell the knot in her stomach some.

What she doesn't expect is for Robin to be sat on the couch she wants to curl up on, a comically huge blanket in her hands and an equally comically large pile of gifts towered in front of the couch.

"Rob, what-" Stevie starts, eyebrows raising involuntarily. She looks to Eddie, who has a small, proud smile on his face.

"Happy birthday, dingus!" Robin cheers. A party popper seems to have materialised in her hand out of nowhere, and Stevie can't help the laugh that's shocked out of her when it pops loudly.

"Go get changed into something more Stevie, okay, my love? It's time for your real birthday." Eddie says into her ear.

A sudden well of emotion builds up inside her at the words, at how lovely her boyfriend and best friend are, at the thought of how much they must have spent to buy her these gifts. She sniffs harshly to keep tears from falling, nods, and goes to her and Eddie's room without a word.

She considers getting straight into sweats in case she falls asleep in the living room, but knows she needs to feel feminine right now. Needs to see who she is reflected on the outside as well as the inside so she doesn't feel so... Wrong for the rest of the night. She slips into a comfortable pink day dress with a wrap front (an incredibly willing donation from Robin's closet) and doesn't give herself any time to scrutinise her figure in the mirror. Just brushes her hair out of its more masculine style of being pushed back, and into something softer that frames her face.

When she reenters the living room, Robin is still sat on the couch with the blanket, and Eddie is crouched down by the pile of gifts, murmuring to himself as he picks through them. Robin's laughing at him, and Stevie's chest feels warm in their presence.

"Hey! There's the birthday girl." Eddie grins when he sees her, and then looks back down at the gift pile to select a box-shaped one that's wrapped in purple polka-dot paper.

Stevie sits next to Robin, and tilts her head to rest on her shoulder as she watches her boyfriend make a sound of celebration when he holds up the gift.

"I was gonna save this gift for last, but after that shitshow I just- here, babygirl." He holds it out to Stevie with a softer smile on his face (Robin calls it his Stevie Smile), and Stevie takes it with gentle hands.

"It's from him and me, by the way. Don't let dingus 2 take all the credit." Robin adds on. Eddie just rolls his eyes and nods, and then starts to talk as Stevie carefully tears the wrapping paper. She's trying to preserve it as much as she can. Wants to keep as much evidence of her first birthday as herself as she can.

"I hope we got the right one. It was kinda hard to find, but I went to a bunch of flea markets and I remember you talking about how when you were younger you wanted it but your mom wouldn't let you and-"

Eddie cuts himself off when Stevie finally tears enough wrapping paper away to see the beginnings of the Barbie logo and gasps. Tears are already brewing in her eyes, and maybe one or two drip onto the precious wrapping paper as she manages to slide it off to reveal-

"Ballerina Barbie." She whispers, staring down at the doll. Her hands are shaking a little, and she feels so incredibly wobbly and warm.

She can't believe Eddie remembers what she said about the moment she knew she wasn't a boy the way she was supposed to be. How her mom had snatched the toy out of her hands in the toystore and replaced it with a car set.

"Is it the right one?" Eddie asks after a moment, and Stevie lifts her head to see him chewing nervously on his lip.

Instead of speaking, she wordlessly gestures for him to join her and Robin on the couch and promptly throws an arm around each of them for a much needed cuddle.

"It's perfect." She says to both of them, and gets twin squeezes to each side. A couple more tears slip out as she looks at the pile of gifts she still has to go through, "I can't believe you guys did all this for me."

"We love you, Stevie-bee." Robin says simply. Like that explains everything. Like it makes perfect sense.

"Yeah, we gotta treat our girl the way she deserves." Eddie adds on.

And Stevie thinks that maybe it does make perfect sense. After all, she'd go the same length for either of them.

[sageandred]

A Long Examination on The Progression of Min Ho's Feelings for Kitty:

This is a bunch of scattered thoughts I've had over time that all apply to the main topic. The progression of Min Ho's feelings are as follows: thinking he thinks he hates her -> dreaming about her -> she becomes his world the most significant person to him in the room and subsequently he falls in love with her leading up to the plane.

I need to talk about his feelings leading up to The Dream. When Min Ho first had his dream back in season one, it came as an utter shock to him, much like Kitty's, but the points that they are at in their relationship are very different; Kitty already saw him as a friend, but he didn't see or wouldn't admit that when he had his dream. The arrival of Kitty's dream goes back to that post analysis on how her feelings progress in emotional bonds and are generally prompted by friendship with a person, through knowing them to some extent and quality time for it to grow...while for Min Ho it's a turning point of realizing his attraction. Min Ho upon meeting her was convinced he hated her. He needed the signs he wouldn't acknowledge to the true direction of Kitty; it's the same with how Kitty was in denial about her feelings for him, but she already viewed him as a friend by the time her dream shocked her. Before Min Ho's dream, he quote, "found her annoying," but that is the very thing that initially drew him to Kitty even in moments he'd think there was any possibility (to his actions showing it) but. His reasoning for his dislike of Stella early into the season solidifies exactly what he appreciates about Kitty; "She's too nice," he says about Stella, but what is the subconsciousness of that statement is she doesn't challenge him. Also, like Kitty finds connection in emotional ties and deep feeling, Min Ho's dream, too, comes after he and Kitty bond for the first time over something vulnerable during Chuseok (both cooking (sharing their thoughts on their moms) and her extending her assistance by the bushes, which placed him in an embarrassing mishap/failure re:his date); they had these moments of seeing each other in a different light. It was a point of leading him in the right direction that, 'hey, this could be something that I never realized!'...even subconsciously.

However Min Ho actually was beginning to fall pretty instantly. Was it him bumping into her at the beginning of year party coupled with her eager spirit and ability to fight back in a verbal battle? Was it her fighting back in class and airing out his nickname without a second of hesitancy? What did it? These are all things that fall in line with her challenging him. We see more in season 2, she causes him to think differently and they have opposite thinking that lends to them helping each other in times of distress, which can grow to similar thinking patterns that ultimately helps them grow in the long run.

Following his dream, the episode 6 journey of him going from denial to acceptance was the beginning point of recognizing the inability to avoid his feelings for her, even if he wasn't ready to accept that yet (I don't think he recognized that he was unable to avoid his feelings for her or that he consciously accepted his feelings atp, but it's an unprompted moment where he's lacking control, and definitely for us as the audience to take note of for where his feelings lie). Yet, when he sees her doing 'nothing special', but talking to Dae (when he's watching her while she's completely unaware anyone is watching her & being her natural self in slow motion), it's special to him and the start of this "love of a lifetime," peaceful type of love where you can find adoration in the mundane, simple observations of just "seeing" the other person (for the real them).

[covetyou]

single rider

ao3 ⋆ main masterlist

pairing: Dieter Bravo x gn!reader  rating: teen (18+ only blog!)  warnings: broken theme park rides, fluff, hand holding, scared!Dieter, Cliff Beasts slander, swearing, seriously so much hand holding though. word count: 2.5k  summary: Not a thing goes wrong when you visit a theme park for festive fun with friends. Not a single thing at all.

A/N: happy dieter bravo brainrot club secret santa-mas @burntheedges! I'm so sorry this is basically at the last possible minute (15 minutes late, actually). The spoon drawer is empty and I'm working with forks rn.

I took liberties with your "accidentally booked the same rental" and "randomly assigned tour buddies" prompts and mashed them up with the real life experience of getting stuck on Toy Story Mania for like 10 minutes in 2023 (let me tell you, that music does NOT stop). it makes sense, I promise.

 @dieterbravobrainrotclub

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The time mocks you, numbers glaring down bright in the darkness. Seventy-Five minutes. Over an hour of your time. In a queue.

Another day, it'd be funny. Another day, you'd have the time to spare, no friends waiting in the parking lot for you to ride the one thing they all refused to. You suppose that's what you get for coming here with a bunch of thrill seekers.

You didn't really understand their objection. The thing had thrills and excitement, just not the kind that would flip you upside down and launch you into the air at a million miles an hour. It wasn't old and decrepit like some other rides.

Okay, so it wasn't exactly new, either. Or good. You knew that.

But you liked it. You liked the jaunty music and the silly little shooting game - pelting eggs at anything and everything that popped up as you slowly trundled through scene after scene. It was charming. Nostalgic, somehow, despite only being something you ever experienced as an adult. It was exactly what you needed after an entire evening of listening to your nearest and dearest scream themselves hoarse on rollercoasters.

But seventy-five fucking minutes? Was it worth seventy-five minutes?

The people still joining the queue seem to think so. The bored looking attendant waving them through seems less thrilled, staring into the middle distance as they absentmindedly wave group after group into the line.

That was just the thing. Even on a regular day, the queue was something to behold. It was cheesy and tacky and glorious, everything you wanted just about every day of the year. But, every year, they did something special for the holidays. A festive overlay like you've never seen. Gaudy and horrendous in all the right ways, and part of you just needed to see it.

"Single-riders can queue over there."

It takes you a moment to realize the monotone drone of the ride attendant is directed at you, standing frowning up at the sign that now reads eighty minutes.

The attendant speaks again, waving one hand to guide yet more people into the rapidly growing queue, while thrusting a thumb over to another sign - arrow pointed away from the main queue - that says single rider.

"But does it -" you start, before that same monotonous drawl cuts you off.

"Still got the decorations."

Naturally, you don't even think before you're moving. Even when the single-rider line looks supiciously like an emergency exit.

It's not. It's everything you hoped. You track alongside the queues and groups, music blaring and people laughing and chattering over it all. Outdated animatronics from all over the park sit in here, draped in holiday outfits, santa hats flopping around on their stuttering heads.

And then, once you've breezed past all eighty minutes of queue in no time at all, you make it to the front of an empty line, feeling like you've cheated the system and screwed over all the people infinitely more patient than you.

"Six to a car! Split up your groups! Six to a car! Three each side!"

You know the drill, even if the other people do not. Groups of four trying to scramble to fit into sides with only three launchers and not nearly enough ass space. Others getting split awkwardly between multiple cars. All while you stand, and wait, for whatever space you might be slotted into.

It takes all of two minutes. You missed who loaded into the front side of your car - too busy grinning to yourself at a particularly shitty animatronic and the absolutely not PG way it's moving in it's old age - but you're being called over and loaded into the car and whisked away to the training room in no time, the little jerking goblin soon forgotten.

And fuck is it just as delightful as you'd hoped.

Baubles and ornaments replace the eggbasket - each one smashing against targets as they hit home, no bursting yolk in sight. The car spins and turns with each new room, and you're poised and ready to begin firing each time, jingling bells and twinkling lights guiding you through scene after scene.

Even if you waited eighty minutes, it would've been worth it, you think as the car flips again, sliding you to one side as you begin shooting again, the sounds of giggles and shouts from other cars drowned out by your own laughter.

The score on your screen rapidly increases. You miss the hot air balloon, but you knock back the snowman with an ornament straight to the head. The big 1000 pointer just escapes you, but you nail three 750s in quick succession. You don't hear the swearing from your car mate, back to back and shielded from each other as you both are.

You're so lost in it, racking up points and taking in the music and carnage in front of you, that you're still shooting when the lights dim and the swaying car grinds to a halt. The launcher in your hand becomes unresponsive, the music going around and around in a loop as other cars start to look around with the same question in their eyes as you.

What the fuck is going on?

"Sit tight, the ride will begin moving again shortly!"

You don't believe the automated voice coming through the loud speaker the first time, and you certainly don't believe it the fifth. After eight minutes, you're starting to understand just why the queue was so long in the first place.

Then, just as you tap out a frantic message to your waiting friends, your car starts to rock and shuffle, your unseen car-mate moving around behind you.

"Hello?" comes a man's voice, just about audible over the repeated cycle of music.

"Anyone there?" he asks, a knock to the back of his seat making your turn in yours.

"I'm here."

You expect to make small talk with the unseen stranger until the ride starts moving again. You expect to never see his face and just shout over the music, between the calls of the automated message, having a stilted conversation until you're both back to shooting again.

You don't expect the ride car to sway again, or to hear scrambling feet on plastic, and you certainly don't expect to first seen an arm, then a foot, then a scruffy head, clamber around the side of the car, feet not touching the ground as he switches sides to sit right next to you.

"Thank fuck," he says breathlessly when he plops himself next to you in the car, looking around with frantic, terrified eyes.

You gape at him. Usually you'd be scared of a strange man climbing into your ride car, but his own look of terror far eclipses yours and, beyond that, you're certain you know him from somewhere.

"Are you okay?" you ask tentatively when his eyes shoot from side to side at the start of another loop of that music, once jaunty and cheesy in a fun way, now infuriating and borderline creepy.

"No!" he says. "Have you seen this shit?"

He finally looks at you - you definitely know him from somewhere - and you're stunned. He's a mess of scruffy, curly hair and patchy beard. He might be tanned in other lighting, but right now he just looks a splotchy mess of technicolor wearing loungewear and, fuck, is he beautiful.

Another sudden burst of color - a light glitching and resetting, yet again - and he recoils in the seat next to you.

"Oh fuck no. This is some Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory shit," he shouts, gripping the bar in front of him with white knuckles. He's looking around frantically, as if terrorized by the idea of Santa on his sleigh, until a jaunty looking snowman pops up and has Dieter throwing himself back in his seat with a yelp.

"The one with Gene-"

"Yes the one with Gene Wilder, there is no other."

He's holding himself now. It's surprisingly endearing watching him restrain himself from gripping onto you, and instead clutching his hands tightly to his arms, while he shakes his head and mutters something about how he can't believe this.

"Scared?" you probe, and he shakes his head again.

"You cannot tell me this isn't nightmare fuel."

You shrug. "I like the ride."

"So do I, but this," he says, flapping around to the swirling lights, "is not what I signed up for. I queued an hour for this. I've had bad trips better than this. This would be better on a bad trip."

The announcement sounds again - shortly feeling like more and more of an infuriating lie each time you hear it - and the man takes a deep breath, slouching back into the seat, releasing his arms, and gripping the plastic edge of it.

You don't know what compells you. You never would do something like this usually - you are a strictly hands-off person where strangers or vague acquantances are concerned. Still, you reach for his hand where it sits near to you on the plastic bench seat, and grip it softly in your own.

"What - What're you doing?" he asks, letting his hand sit limp in yours.

You clear your throat and stare ahead at the repeating scene on the screen - hot air balloon, target, Santa's sleigh, snowman, fireworks, hot air balloon, target, Santa's sleigh...

"Holding your hand."

He nods, as if that's all he needed to know, and looks ahead too, shuffling a little in his seat. You both watch another full cycle, the lights dancing in the same exact pattern they have over, and over again, and you think this must be how you go insane, sat trapped here on a ride car with a beautiful, if slightly unhinged, strangers hand in yours.

"Why?"

You blink. You're stupid. You're weird. You're unhinged. He climbed around the side of the car and yet you've out-stranged him in one simple movement, and now you're stuck here, committed to the bit until -

"You're scared. It's nice to have someone when you're scared," you say quickly, uncertain as you possibly could be as the words tumble out of your mouth. In truth, you don't really know why you did it, or why you're still doing it, other than he seemed like he needed it. And maybe you did too.

He just grunts, and you sit in as much silence as you can among the repetitive chaos of the ride.

Then, with no warning, he starts moving his thumb, stroking the side of your hand in a gentle wave of movement. Your breath catches, and you watch from the corner of your eye as his nervous energy dissipates until he slouches against the seat of the car.

"Dieter. I'm D - fuck - Dieter," he says softly, a red and green light blasting him right in the face and making him wince.

But then it hits you. Not the light - that, thankfully, stays on the other side of the car, blinding a squinting Dieter beside you.

No. It's this man. Dieter. You know him. You've seen him on your TV about a million times this last month - that shitty movie always plays just before Christmas, and this year is no exception. The movie was terrible, for all you'd seen of it. It was some ensemble cast mostrosity with terrible CGI monsters and even worse acting, not at all festive in the slightest and made even more annoying by the ads littered throughout it.

From what you remember, he was terrible too. An Oscar winning actor, cast in some movie so shitty it didn't even gain a cult following. The only thing you heard was any good was the documentary that came out of it, but if your friends were to be believed, that was only good because of copious amounts of explosions and illicit substances.

He sighs, easily spotting whatever baffled look just slapped you in the face the moment you realised his identity, and looks away from you.

"Yeah, that Dieter."

"Cool," you choke out.

Because it kind of is. It's not every day you get stuck on a ride with a famous actor. It's not every day you get to hold his hand and have him stroke soothing circles across your knuckles. It's not every day you get to see just how much more beautiful he is up close compared to his slick-haired, eyelinered counterpart in that god damned movie.

"Sit tight, the ride will begin moving again shortly!"

"Bullshit," he grumbles from beside you, shifting closer to your side so he can rest your arm against the seat.

"Favorite food?" you ask suddenly.

"What?"

"Favorite food? Time's gonna pass anyway, may as well fill it with something that isn't hot air balloon, target, sleigh, snowman -"

"I hate that fuckin' snowman. Tacos. Yours?"

"Who doesn't love tacos."

The ride never does get started again.

Instead, minutes pass, and you throw question after question back and forth with Dieter. The lights go out. He grips your hand a little tighter, and you pull to scoot him a little closer. The lights come up. The spell is broken. The nightmare is over. You're fairly sure you'll have that song ringing in your ears for weeks.

You still hold his hand.

One by one the ride cars are evacuated. Yours is last. Dieter helps you down from the car, his hand finding yours again, still warm from being in his for so long.

Then, you're walking beside an illuminated track and blank screens, abandoned ride car after abandoned ride car, and you're free, with Dieter by your side.

You escape via the gift shop - the novelty toys and candy ignored, Dieter's hand guiding you toward the exit so he can throw his head back in glee at the sight of the wide open sky above him.

In your pocket, your phone buzzes frantically, messages bombarding you now that you weren't trapped in the depths of a metal building. 6 new messages. 2 missed calls. Your friends, still waiting in the parking lot, trying to reach you while the lights blared and the music played.

>>did the ride eat you?

>>if she doesn't hurry up i'm gonna eat her

>>sorry I get grouchy when I'm hungry

>>have you got locked in the bathroom again?

>>THE QUEUE IS OVER AN HOUR?!>!?!?!

>>this egg game owes us dinner

"You want tacos?" Dieter asks from beside you as you hastily tap out a reply, and before you can answer you look up to see him striding away into the crowd, parting the stream of foot traffic with his broad frame until it engulfs him.

You can't help the feeble whimper that escapes you when you watch him walk away. Or the way your arms fall limply to your side when he's out of your view and gone.

You can't help the smile, either, that pulls at your cheeks when he bobs and weaves back through the crowd, stopping a few steps away and jabbing the thumb on one hand over his shoulder and holding the other out to you.

"You coming?" he shouts, with an expectant look on his face, and with a swipe of your thumb, the message is deleted, quickly replaced by another as you make your way toward him, hand reaching for his.

>you guys go ahead, I'm gonna be a while longer