#maybe they were always horrible before the fame

[sammysbrokenheart]

Infinity.

Summary: You and Billie met before the fame and the fortune, but some things aren't always meant to be. (written in your pov)

Billie and I have been attached at the hip since we were 14. We did everything together and that's how we like it.

When we turned 15 it turned into something flirty. It was so innocent though. Two best friends seeing each other differently. That was also around the time Ocean Eyes happened.

Billie's life changed rapidly, but your bond stayed exactly the same. Somewhere during all the chaos you two fell in love and your best friendship turned into your first ever relationship.

"Baby I miss you," she says over the phone. That was the only way that we could communicate lately because Billie became so busy.

"I miss you too my love," I say sitting up from my bed. It was the middle of the night, between all of the touring and craziness she always tried to call. She sometimes forgets that timezones exist.

"When I get home I'm gonna spoil you rotten baby," She said and I could feel my heart skip a beat.

She's supposed to come home in three days and I can't wait to finally see her again. In three days is also my 18th birthday and in all the years of dating (all two years) she always made sure to make your day special.

I remember last years birthday was so romantic. She filled my bedroom with balloons and other cute decorations. After the shock died down we had dinner and watched Spirited Away. That's our favourite movie to watch together.

~~~next day~~~

"Why the face?" my brother asked when we were busy washing and drying the dishes the next day. I almost cut my hand from shock because my mind was so occupied.

"Yesterday Billie and I were talking and I don't know... I feel uneasy," I say handing him the knife in my hand.

"Why?" my brother said with a confused look on his face.

"I don't know I haven't heard from her since then and I know it could be nothing, but it doesn't feel like that..." I say scrubbing the plate in my hand.

"Come on it's Billie we're talking about... She loves you," he said slowly taking the plate out of my hand.

I could feel tears forming in my eyes and my heart felt heavy. She did love me. I kept repeating that to myself

"Heyyy stop doing that! It's gonna be okay," he pulled me into his arms and I couldn't help but cry.

~~~next day~~~

I woke up bright and early. I couldn't sleep from excitement anyway. I spent the better half of my morning picking something to wear and when I finally did it was 10 am, I spent 3 hours picking something to wear.

My parents and brother surprised me with a very sweet birthday breakfast. After the birthday breakfast my best friend Allan and Britney came to drag me away to some surprise.

I tried not to be too excited about it. I kept thinking that maybe Billie was waiting at the destination, hidden away somewhere to surprise me, but that wasn't the case. The surprise was a lovely picnic with all of our other friends. They sang for me and baked me the most delicious cake yet somewhere deep inside I was disappointed.

I looked down at my phone, no message.

"Come in birthday girl let's go take some pictures by the lake," Britney pulled me up from where I was sitting and dragged me to where the others were standing. Allan brought her camera and she was super excited to take some pictures.

After another hour they took me back home. At home my mother and father were in the backyard chatting and my brother was nowhere no be found.

Time passed slowly and before I knew it, it was dark. I stared up at the ceiling. Every second felt agonizing because they were seconds without Billie. Maybe I jinxed myself? Why did I say what I did yesterday?

I picked up my phone and tried to call her. What if something was wrong and she wasn't okay? Her call went straight to voicemail which was very unlike her and that made me panic even more.

The next morning came slowly. Anxiety kept me awake all night, this horrible feeling landed in the pit of my stomuch. I slowly dragged myself out of bed and went straight to the bathroom.

I decided to freshen up and take a shower immediately. There was no use in trying to sleep again. I went to pick up my phone and saw that it's off, it must have died in the middle of the night.

After placing my phone on charge I went down stairs to make myself some breakfast. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"I know I fucked up and I know you're probably mad at me, but I swear I can explain," Billie said as soon as the door opened.

I could feel my heart melt. All the anger and disappointment disappeared the moment I saw her.

"Y/N..." she said again and I realized that I must have zoned out.

Without any warning I wrapped my arms around her holding her tightly. It felt so comforting to be in her arms again like finally coming home after a long trip. Billie was my home.

"Let me make it up to you?" she asked and I nodded immediately. I didn't care what we were doing or what she had planned as long as we were together.

She was recognized all day and because she has such a big heart she made sure to give every fan equal attention. It made my heart swell to see her interact with her fans. It made me proud. At the same time spending time with Billie made me realize that I had no idea who she was anymore.

In the middle of our outing to the movies she got a call. She apologized profusely whispering frantically as she quickly got up and rushed out of the movie theater.

I sat there frozen staring at the screen. For some reason I couldn't move and for a moment it felt like I couldn't move at all.

This was her way to make up for missing my birthday and she left. She left.

That night she was on a plane back to wherever, I didn't care to ask, when she told me she was gone I immediately ended the call.

~~~two months later~~~

I broke up with Billie a week after that incident, I didn't want to, but it was for the best. I refused to watch us slowly drift the way I've been doing. My girlfriend became a stranger to me.

"Okay sis this tree is ugly as hell," my brother said with a judgemental look on his face as he examined my tree decorations.

I stood back looking at my Christmas tree.

"What do you mean!? This is the prettiest fucking Christmas tree ever," I said defensively.

My father peeked through the door, "He's right sweety..."

"Dad why would you take his side!" I said just as the doorbell rang.

I hurried to the door, it was probably Allan coming with her gift for me. I opened the door and immediately closed it and ran back to the living room.

"Who was it?" my brother asked then suddenly the doorbell rang again.

"Don't you dare!" I told him, but he didn't listen.

"Oh my gosh Billie!? Come on in baby!" my mother beat my brother to the door.

My brother bolted along with my dad. Suddenly it was just Billie and I alone in the living room. I quickly walked to the tree and started to remove the decorations. It was fucking ugly.

"This is a God awful tree," she said standing next to me and started helping me remove the decorations.

"Shut up..." I said.

I could feel her look at me every once in a while, but I didn't dare to look at her.

"So... Fuck Y/N look at me!" she said cupped my face in her hands forcing me to look at her.

"Billie I don't know what you're doing here-"

"I am here to get my fucking girlfriend back. At first I was a smart ass and I wanted to prove to myself that I'm alright but I'm fucking not. I'm not fucking alright Y/N," she said. I pushed her hands off of my face and took a step back.

"Y/N I know I get busy and I'm sorry for not always bringing you along on my journey, but I want you here. I want you with me, please let me prove to you how much I want you around," she said and I sighed. I had no idea what I was going to do.

Cliffhanger ♡♡

[actual-corpse]

Is it normal to see someone and hate them so much that you could envision yourself slitting their throat?

[simplysamiblog]

We are all pebbles on the side of the road

A "One Piece Fan Letter" personal review.

Have you ever thought, while watching or reading One Piece, "Wow, there are so many Marines. So many!" Like during the battle of Marineford in the war for supremacy. Or, in the more recent saga of Wa no Kuni, as I read the chapters, I always thought, "But how many subordinates does Kaido have exactly? Hundreds... thousands?" Moreover, what struck me most was how these crowds were nothing more than that: crowds. A bunch of characters or people thrown in quite carelessly, as if to make up the numbers, or as props. They could be like a forest or a city skyline. Often reduced to mere extras for some tacky gag or a punching bag for the enemy of the moment who occasionally made a hundred of them fly into the air with the flick of a finger. To be clear, I am not referring to marginal characters who actually have a role in the story, or subjects of kingdoms under the rule of an evil monarch. I refer to those extras drawn in the space of a single panel, on a single page, without name or role. You may have noticed them. No? I'm not surprised. The truth is that habituation has taken its course and over time these extras have practically become invisible. Sometimes in my mind they were just phrases, no longer even people. Like:

"The Straw Hats!! They are the Straw Hats!!" "There they are, get them!" "GYAAAAAAA!" "RUN!" And so on. My feeling was that these bunch of people were essentially dehumanized in our eyes. You have certainly seen hundreds of Marines, pirates and maybe civilians, perhaps injured or terrified in the world of One Piece, but unless the scene focused on one of them, essentially (as far as I am concerned, of course) I didn't even see them. Not anymore. They were there to show how strong this or that character was, or to make up the numbers.

It is not a bad thing, indeed. They can be a means of communication to the reader, so useful, but... well, quite boring. I realized that the special episode of One Piece "Fan Letter" would please me very much already after the first minute of playback. After the usual introduction we all know: "Wealth, fame, power..." etc. etc. the narrator's voice suddenly added this phrase to the usual spiel:

"Even in such times, the majority of people do not aspire to be pirates and do not pursue the One Piece. Just like them..."

I won't spoil it, but the episode showed something we didn't know we needed in One Piece: the human side of ordinary people. Of those extras, of those phrases that we sometimes don't even read or hear. Of how wars, clashes, involve people in a devastating and horrible way. In this episode (told from the perspective of ordinary people, not under the dominion of usurpers or pirates with delusions of grandeur) men and women like the Straw Hats, like the members of the Seven Warlords or like the Marine top brass, appear for what we sometimes forget they are: beings with strength and power akin to creatures not belonging to this world.

We enter the everyday lives of those who are not writing history, but see it unfold and come to pass before their eyes, involved in it willingly or unwillingly, for better or worse. Where the Straw Hats, if you are lucky, you can only catch a glimpse of them as they sail away forever. Of whom you only know the name, of these pirates so far away that sometimes you wonder if they actually exist.

And I really realized how much we needed this perspective, after so much time seeing it through the eyes of the hero. To discover once again how these characters appeared to our eyes, with superhuman powers, questionable combat techniques (do you really need three swords?) and the admiration and inspiration they brought us. Of how, even though of the Marines or mere civilians, the story of these pebbles is there, present, breathing and fighting, even at the margins. Not just words on a page. But heart and blood and fear and love. And joy... and pain. For some, the Straw Hats are just strangers glimpsed on a newspaper page, among the streets of a city or petty thieves making trouble on the other side of the world. And I don't know about you, but I find this absolutely fascinating. It's like watching someone experience One Piece for the first time. We were all there once, we just forgot.

It might seem disheartening to feel 'small,' to sense that your life doesn't make a difference, being that pebble on the side of the road. But the truth is, it is on this road that the 'great ones' pass, and we pebbles make them legends as they leave it forever. It's their story, our story. The story of everyone.

And that gives life and meaning to adventures.

[nynyhaha]

Spider Themes: Partial empathy and the effects of utilitarianism

A huge Spider centric philosophy rant where I’ll digress many times(sorry)

The Phantom troupe is an embodiment of the Robinhood troupe as much as it is a deconstruction and subversion of it. https://www.tumblr.com/nynyhaha/761225991501873152/phantom-troupe-failed-robinhoods

They don’t do what they do for fame or money,but when it comes to using horrible means for noble ends,they also fail. After years of pondering the Spider’s purpose,I’ve found that seeing them as a warped version of heroes makes the most sense. Ex-child soldiers,running rampant after they’ve outlived the anticipated period of self appointed service.

After Sarasa’s death Chrollo clearly states that he sees no possibility for achieving his goals peacefully, in his eyes they never had a chance to accomplish anything while staying the good guys.

Of course he couldn’t succeed if he didn’t even try! But why didn’t he,and why is there so little stopping a person as caring,responsible and community-minded as him from turning around and betraying humanity at large,detaching himself from all the good he could’ve caused?

I love that Togashi let the not yet Spiders as well as us,the audience,see this typical hero cartoon for children where the good always wins because of the magical purity of their hearts. Where if they just believe hard enough,it will be fine.

In reality..all Chrollo can do is bring flowers to honour the graves.

It means there was always a separation between fiction and reality for him,despite being eager to watch and dub the power-cleaners story,Chrollo never believed it. Or maybe he did before he found Sarasa,after which all the illusions he might’ve had shattered.

The knows it takes a sacrifice to make great change,not just of his life but of his morals.

Chrollo shows an unusual level of self awareness for a child. In the following panel he announces he’s going to become a villain. Not a rebel with a cause,or a noble avenger,a VILLAIN. His view is so pessimistic,that it must take a villain to defeat villains. There’s no way to keep his “pure heart” and all this talk about ✨faith✨ was bullshit. To me this is a very interesting summery of Chrollo’s view of his role. It’s how he assesses it before he actually does anything,which makes it all the more fascinating since we don’t know how much his outlook changed once he actually started his plans. Or do we?

Why utilitarianism? Isn’t the regret he shows here in advance indicative of deontology?

If I was tasked with defending the Spiders and presenting them in a more favourable light,I’d pull up with the combo of

-“us vs them” -> they were defending their very marginalised community that the world turned its back on,against such horrible organisations as the mafia. Their initial mission is self defense. One might also look at it the way aot fans do,where being mistreated by outsiders justifies crimes against them.

-utilitarian principles-> even if innocent people were hurt in the process,it’s worth it in the end because a greater number of innocents are saved.

Chrollo however,simply says he’s going to kill a lot of people,not specifying if

-he will kill more people than he’ll save

-he will kill more innocent people than he’ll save

-he will only kill bad people

-he will kill outsiders for the sake of meteorians

But I assume he’s going to kill those whose lives he still values,why else would he feel bad about it? In that moment we see a person who is torn between two extremes,and chooses one whole acknowledging the other.

Chrollo in that instance does NOT believe that killing evil outsiders is a righteous quest he’ll embark on,neither does he believe that killing many,even for the sake of saving many,is justified. He still decides to do it,just not as a hero,but as a villain.

Sarasa wouldn’t want it because she didn’t live long enough to experience loss and hate,altho she did experience extreme pain so who’s really to say she wouldn’t have wanted revenge? Either way,it seems Chrollo isn’t just talking about going against Sarasa’s principles,he’s talking about abandoning his own,that the two of them shared until she died together with his naivety and innocence.

The last three speech bubbles are the most puzzling for me. Unless by “repenting” he means being held accountable and paying for their crimes,this opens up crazy ideas about those kinds of people actually feeling bad about their crimes.And the notion that legal systems are powerful enough to cause such changes in a person.

This raises the question whether Chrollo will ever repent for his crimes.The answer is yes,he did already…Before he even committed anything.💀💀

Since this post is a HxH analysis mixed with philosophy,let’s look at honouring vs promoting values.

Honouring the value of human life would mean never ever taking it(Sarasa’s alleged view)

Promoting its value in this case would mean fighting for the recognition of meteorian lives by the world and stopping the mafia from killing more kids,even if for that you’d need to kill (Chrollo’s path)

In short,kid Chrollo holds values he’s willing to break and about to abandon.

The Spider ends up operating on the two principles mentioned above,valuing the whole over individuals and acting in favour of Meteor City at the cost of outsiders.

When I say “utilitarianism” I don’t mean maximising good or happiness,but acting in favour of the goal/organisation above all else

Inheriting values:One for all and all for one

The Elder here promotes the value of life of his people,he’s willing to sacrifice 31 of them to do so. Mathematically this seems stupid at first:killing 30 more people than the one originally harmed? Couldn’t more lives be saved by inaction? Couldn’t Chrollo keep his friends rather than losing four more over the death of one?

But,consider how this incident paints Meteor City,how actually standing up for themselves in such a brutal way does a great deal of inflicting fear on the world,likely preventing it from wronging Meteor City again. 31 people may die for the message,but spreading the message will help the sum of people living in Ryuseigai. Well,it’s supposed to help,and for the sake of argument let’s say it does.

Similarly 13 people giving up their lives can help the community as a whole. Will I ever shut up about the Spiders breaking the mafia deal? No.Because by doing so,they accept the responsibility of protecting their home from any threats AND getting the necessary money(haha,it can never be enough)

If just 13 people will commit enough crime to gather whatever the mafia was previously paying the city,there won’t be any need for human trafficking AND they’ll commit the crimes on their own terms! ✨Independence✨ through 🕸Spider Scapegoats🐐

Basically,the Phantom Troupe can be the sole solution to many problems,even if they’ll never solve the core of them. That,and the immense pressure that lies on them,might lead to nihilism and loss of any motivation which drove them to start what they do in the first place.

The loss of empathy

Chrollo’s definiting character trait is his relationship with humanity and his connection/disconnection from it. He’s speaking as if he’s not human himself,and in the fight vs Hisoka he displays just how deep he’s sunk on his journey.

He uses bodies as instruments(for utility),specifically the bodies of the audience(people who might not be “innocent”but have very little to do with him). He couldn’t care less about them. The Elder used the bodies of his own comarades,but how much did he care about them if he was capable of such a thing?

The Elders remain enigmatic but my impression of them is that of a powerful but inefficient council of people whose task is so enormous it numbed them to minor things such as necessary deaths. Much like the Spiders,the Elders have to use horrible means for an end too big to achieve. They don’t even have an end,they just run the worlds biggest orphanage and homeless shelter,a “safe” oasis for anyone abandoned and wronged by the world. They’re supposed to be fixing whatever injustice there is,they’re peak philanthropists and altruists,so much so that they’re willing to kill and arguably sell out (traffic) a number of residents for the sake of the whole of them.

It’s a matter of scale for them. Or maybe not even,it might not be about efficiency anymore.

They’re not unlike normal politicians,arguing about semantics instead of taking action. At least in that way the Spiders are better,and since “nothing has changed” the chapter illustrates exactly why the Spider is needed,the Elders have apparently always held this outlook.

Yes,because they actually go deal with the problem and figure out if the transformed residents can turn back. When they can’t,we see them expressing sadness about it

We even got Fei looking sad. Sad.FEITAN.Am I hallucinating?

Once Phinks figures out a way around feeling too bad about killing their fellow citizens,the other Spiders also regain their confidence,now knowing what to do. I’m grateful for the manga because the anime wasn’t as expressive with their expressions,lol.

We clearly see them concerned for people outside the troupe,and while Phinks hates feeling pity because he sees it as dishonourable for the ones turned,it’s obvious that that’s what he experiences.

Speaking of Chrollo..Wasn’t Phinks the one arguing against going to save him?

Self dehumanising/Cog in the machine

While the strong bons between members humanise them to no end and create the cognitive dissonance (how can this silly friend group commit such atrocities?) they actually show quite well just how much they have to put on line to live as they do.

If the Spiders didn’t care as much for each other we wouldn’t care as much for them either,and we wouldn’t see what the Spider-set up takes from them.

Firstly we have Shal causally determining someone’s worth by their ability ✨😀

Next we have Shizuku calmly speaking of her death as if she’s talking about the weather

This moment especially shows how much Chrollo’s cold,tactical approach can hurt,cause I was pretty annoyed at him at that moment. He’s only being reasonable tho,wanting to avoid more deaths while Nobunaga is being emotional. Still,his friend just died and while not letting that death influence them to the point of losing more people makes sense,the way Chrollo phrases it “you were willing to die,so Uvo was ok dying but those other members are crucial so they need to live” is very cynical. We know Chrollo is far from accepting Uvo’s death and his way of coping through the requiem can only do so much,however when he needs to,he shuts his emotions off completely.

Judging each other’s worth based on ability and how strategically useful they are to the Spider runs contrary to the notion of friendship,it forces them to see themselves and each other as instruments,as mere cogs in the machine. While some Spiders hold those principles more strongly,the whole organisation operates this way.

Chrollo designed it that way,since they all went into it ready to give up their lives,he made the organisation a priority but not the individual. Still,when the time finally comes to out his ideas to the test,only several members stay true to his principles.

This is the same Phinks who acted like a girly girl with a crush,worrying about Chrollo,unable to wait. Ok,maybe losing Pakunoda and seeing Chrollo through her eyes changed him,but I don’t think that’s likely. Phinks cares about Chrollo but he cares about the Spider more.

Feitan will also break rules of negotiation and risk Chrollo’s life to find out more information. He seems to see no obligation whatsoever to play fair and obey the enemy’s rules,I also don’t believe he has a concept of 🕸honour among thieves🕸but he did max out on loyalty.

While Phinks’ and Feitan’s actions seem to just stir up trouble,once we understand their pov it all makes sense.

If you put the Spider first,why would you NOT go above and beyond to ensure you have all knowledge you could possibly get and secure the most advantageous position? He’s not doing that because he’s a sneaky little shit but because he’s operating on the principle of maximising the Spider’s strategic advantage!(im such a good advocate for my boys)

We also can’t forget that the well-being of the Spider as a whole overlaps with the well-being of the majority of its legs,which means choosing the spider in practice is synonymous with playing it safe and protecting the remaining members

As harsh and damaging their approach may be,in some way it’s inevitable. There was no right choice in this dilema,and there was also very little certainty so it was a matter of trust.

-Kurapika might play dirty and actually control Pakunoda as far as they know

-Its Chrollo’s death vs a guaranteed but unspecified number of Spider deaths

-preventing further deaths is good both for the whole and the individual members

Also Chrollo being “worthless as a hostage” might just mean he’s on a democratic standing with the rest and isn’t more important than them. He likely made this rule to prevent others dying for him just because he’s Danchou (and failed)

Conclusion: An organisation such as the troupe HAS to operate on utilitarianism if it

-serves an important purpose (guard dog of Meteor City)

-is valuable by itself and most concerned with persisting

No matter how you look at it, whether the Troupe selflessly performs acts of necessary evil for their people,or if it’s a cult/collective entity that exists without any clear reason,it’s survival is more important than the survival of its individual members. Which is a shame,because it poisons the very bonds that were formed while they fought for their cause side by side.

[soggyriceee]

is it possible for more like needy/desperate ghost it’s just so cute

~🐰

| Focus On Me | Ghost

summary: you are busy with work and Ghost misses you and your touch so, he begs to fuck you in your office

warning: female!reader, subby Ghost, begging, unprotected p in v, semi public sex, oral (female and simon receiving so like.. 69 basically)

Being the CEO of your own company was beyond stressful. You had never expected your small business to take off as quickly as it did, but TikTok and Instagram are truly powerful media socials. It was exciting to you, made you happy. especially because you were finally able to buy you and your boyfriend, Simon, a nice little loft with a beautiful city view. of course, him being in the military he felt bad about you having to be the one always buying things for the house and he began to send money every week to help out. that was before he was back home for the next 4 months.

you felt horrible, truly. and Simon knew that. you weren't even able to be home when he flew back in because of some issues with the product and you needed to be down at the factory. and then meetings after meetings, you had no time to even take care of yourself. and as much as Simon missed you, he never blamed you or got mad at you. he was gone almost all the time, he was simply experiencing what it was like on your end. well before all the fame of your business kicked in.

Simon was beyond proud of you for turning something you loved into a business. he showed all of the rookies photos of your products, carried your business card around everywhere, except on the battle field. he never shut up about you. "its weird seeing you so in love." soap had told him on the plane, catching him staring at your instagram photos with a smile plastered across his face.

but despite his proudness and understanding, he had been home for a week now. he had seen you maybe 3 times and even then it was only for about 10 minuets before you rushed out the apartment to work. he missed you. he had planned so many cute things for you both to do, and seeing you cramped up in your office all day hurt him. not only because he wasn't seeing you, but also because you looked so tired. and drained.

the bags under your eyes were criminal, the lack of food and water you had told him you were getting hurt his chest. even when he'd send you food, you were honest in telling him you never had the time to eat. you were back and forth between your office and warehouse. but he had finally had enough of your lack in self care. but also lack of attention.

he had pulled into the office garage and quickly made his way up to your office, a picnic basket in hand. 'hello Mr. Riley.' your receptionist smiled to him. 'hello. she's upstairs isn't she?" he said, looking to the elevator. she sighed and nodded, collecting a plethora of mail and handing it to him. ' hasn't even come down to get her mail. hopefully you can make her feel a bit better. she needs a good cheering up.' she smiled, looking back down to her computer. before he had left, he turned to her and said, "cancel all her meetings for the day. she's gonna go home and rest."

Simon made his way, basket and mail in hand, to the elevator. he smiled to himself, happy that he was finally going to see you. he had never felt this.. cheerful before you. it was weird to him at first and he was definitely standoffish towards you. but after 2 years of being together, he had finally learned to let go and let out a softer, less mean/aggressive side of himself.

that being said, he began to think about all the ways he wanted you to feel relaxed. or take tour stress out. even if it was on him.. he felt his dick pulse in his pants, blushing at his random thought. he hadn't even seen you and already you were making him hard. he set the things in his hands down, fixing himself right before the elevator reached your floor. he cleared his throat, exiting the elevator and making his way to your office. kicking off his shoes, he made his way over to you.

"baby.." he called out, opening the door slowly. his eyes landed on your slouched over figure, head in hand. you were softly snoring, completely oblivious to him in your office. the lights were dim, the fireplace being the main source of light. he pouted slightly at the sight of your exhausted figure, placing the things down on the mini couch. he made his way over to you, softly shaking you. "baby wake up." he whispered.

your body jerked up, your head turning left and right in shock. " o-oh.. hi my love." you said softly, your sleepy voice causing a slight blush to spread across his cheeks. you stood from your chair, hugging his waist tightly. you had missed him. you had left at around 5 this morning for the office, not having the chance to wish him a good morning or make him breakfast. " I missed you." you mumbled into his chest, eyes closing.

he let you go, sitting in your own chair and pulling you down onto his lap. he kissed your forehead, nose and finally lips before looking at you. " I missed you more. I brought food for us to eat. like a little picnic." he said, motioning towards the basket. you smiled, a hint of sadness in your eyes. " im sorry Simon I have meetings all day. I dont-" I had your receptionist cancel all your meetings for the day. were gonna have our little picnic in here, and then we can go home and sleep." he said, rubbing her cheek.

she smiled down at him, placing a soft kiss onto his cheek. "thank you Simon." you said softly, resting your head into the crook of his neck. your breathing was soft, warm. the way you sat on his lap, occasionally shifting. it made him unintentionally hard all over. and you were quick to feel it. " I-im sorry." he said, embarrassment rushing over him. you smiled and shook your head, turning your head up and landing a small kiss onto his neck. " its okay baby.. I know ive been gone for a while." you whispered, your hands finding their way to his chest.

you sucked gently on his neck, a gasp escaping his slightly parted lips. his hands gripped your hips, eyes closing as your tongue made tiny circles on his skin. his breathing was slightly labored, this being the first time in months he had felt you on him. your hips moved against his hardened dick perfectly, his hips jutting upwards. " be patient." you warned into his neck, tongue grazing over the freshly made mark.

Simon had no shame in letting you be in control during sex. in the beginning of course he was very dominant, only letting you ride him for a bit before he rammed his hips up into yours or flipped you below him. but one night, when he had woken up cuffed to the bed, you grinding down on him so desperately, he finally let you have your fun with him. and he loved it. he was never really into the 'mommy' or 'daddy' names. but he loved it when you called him sir. and he loved calling you ma'am.

"I-im sorry ma'am." he whispered, his finger tips pressing harder into your skin. you pulled back from his neck, looking at the three new marks aligned across his neck. you wiped the side of your lip, looking into his eyes. his perfect doe eyes. he was so needy. every night he had managed to fuck into his pillow at the base, using videos of your moaning to help him imagine it was you.

"o-oh fuck.. I miss you so m-much baby.. fuck I miss you" he'd moan out, shooting his cum into the pillow, gripping it like it was you. he was embarrassed to say the least. he'd never felt as horny as he did before you. you could say you were like a breath of fresh air or him. made him a whole new person. one that he liked so much more.

" missed me so much didnt you?" you asked, tilting your head, giving a small bounce onto his lap. he nodded quickly, eyes staggering around your face. " I missed you so much ma'am.. please use me." he said breathlessly. "take all your anger and stress out on me."

you smiled and kissed his cheek before lifting yourself off him. he watched your every move, waiting for something. anything. your fingers slipped under the waist band of your pants, pulling them down as you kept complete eye contact on him. he swallowed the lump in his throat, shifting in his seat. " lay down. right here." you said, pointing to the floor. he was quick in obeying you, laying on the floor, looking up at you. you crawled onto him, sitting on his lap. " your gonna show me how much you missed me, yea?" you said, taking his belt off, his pants coming down shortly after.

his dick sprung up, his thick tip red, dripping with pre cum. you giggled at the sight, finding it both sexy and cute. you turned around, facing his dick before slowly moving your hips up to his face. he was too greedy and couldn't take the slowness anymore. he gripped your hips, slamming them down onto his face. his tongue pressed flat against your cunt, a gasp leaving you. " I-i said... be patient." you breathed out, eyes fluttering closed. "im sorry ma'am.. I couldnt wait any more." he said against your pussy, tongue lapping up all your juices.

his tongue slid in and out of your hole, moving your hips back and forth for you. your hands gripped his thighs, head fallen forward. you had completely forgot about his dick that stood tall in front of you. your head leaned down, lips sucking onto his tip. he whimpered into your pussy, eyes squeezing shut. you moved your head slowly down his shaft, relaxing your throat as he mad his way down it. his tongue never stopped moving in and out your cunt, occasionally sucking onto your wet, swollen clit. " a-am I doing good ma'am?" he asked, pulling away from your cunt only to go right back into it. you hummed around his length, signaling a yes.

" so good baby." you said after pulling up from his length, watching the spit connect you and his length. your hand wrapped around his dick, moving up and down, twisting right at the tip. his grip on you tightened when you did so, whimpering into your pussy. your head sunk right back down onto him, moving your hand along with your head simultaneously. the spit bubbled at the corner of your lips, running down your chin and onto your shirt. your eyes shut closed, both the pleasure from his tongue and the feeling of him finally in your mouth bringing you at ease.

"m-maam im gonna cum." he moaned from below you, moving your hips across his face quicker. his hand slid in front of you, thumb finding your clit to add pleasure. " dont..dont cum yet." you said, hand working at his tip with quick movements. his legs bent, toes curling into the carpet of your office floor. " pl-please ma'am I cant.. hold it." he groaned, fingers digging deeper into your hips. but you felt close. so fucking close. hearing his pathetic little moans, occasional begging. it drove you over the edge.

"fuck Simon im cum-cumming- mmgh!" your back arched as your other hand squeezed harder on his thighs, nails digging into the skin. your head fell back, and embarrassingly loud string of moans coming from you. he watched as your body reacted, how you chanted his name all while your and still worked at his tip. he couldnt hep it anymore and let himself go, eyes squeezing shut as his body shook beneath you.

you lost your balance, falling forward a bit. his cum got onto your shirt and you were pleasantly amazed at the amount of cum he had inside him. "I-im sorry baby.. I couldnt hold it back much more." he said, looking at you as you stood. he watched at the mix of saliva and his cum ran down your face, meeting with the rest of the cum plastered on your shirt. " its okay Simon." you said, motioning him to stand. he quickly rose to his feet, legs shaking a tad bit but ultimately keeping his balance. "sit." you said, head motioning towards your chair.

again he listened, hands on his thighs as he watched you in anticipation. you walked over, sitting on his lap, purposefully grazing your cunt over his once again, hard shaft. he hissed at the feeling, looking down with his bottom lip between his teeth. " gonna ride you, do you want that?" you whispered, tracing your fingers over the hickies you had given him mere minuets ago. quickly his head nodded up and down, eyes now meeting with yours. " please. please I need it lovie. been so fucking desperate for you." he mumbled, hands gripping your sides.

you smiled, reaching below you grabbing his dick and moving it up and down your folds. you both sighed at the feeling, your head falling back and to the side slightly. his hips jutted forward, his tip sliding in just before you lifted your hips. he whined, bucking his hips up again. " lovie please dont tease.. we both need this." he begged, looking up at you with pleading eyes.

it was almost saddening, seeing him so desperate. but at the same time it was so fucking hot. given his size and the face he was a whole war criminal, it was so rewarding. being able to break down a powerful man into a powerless one, his deep, strong voice no longer sounding so strong. " love it when you beg for me.. think you deserve it?" you teased, sliding just the tip in before quickly sliding it back out.

" please ma'am.. want you to fuck me. use me. please, im begging." he groaned, hands feeling your covered boobs through your shirt, his cum collecting onto his hands. with that, you slid fully down on him without warning, gasping at his size. you do tend to forget very often just how much he's packing. you take on more than you can chew, leaving you getting tired and overstimulated quick. but Simon loved it. especially in this circumstance. you starting off so strong, confident, just to end up being the one bent over and fucked, begging him for more, or to stop. telling him you cant take it.

"f-fuck lovie! so fucking tight." he groaned, hands going back to your hips, helping you move down his length. your head fell into the crook of his neck, small whimpers leaving your lips as you tried your hardest to keep sliding down. when he was fully in, you wasted no time in gliding your hips back up slowly before slamming back down, your ass smacking against his thighs. his hands did their part in helping you move, his hips meeting you halfway as well.

your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling your body closer to his so your boobs pressed firmly against his chest, still maintaining that speed on his lap. "so big Simon.. fuck I missed your dick~" you whined, eyes squeezing shut as you felt every inch of him stretch you out, hitting your spongy spot so fucking perfectly. his head fell back on the chair, arms loosely moving up and down to help your hips. his lips were parted, deep groans leaving him. for the first time since he was gone, you both felt genuine release and relaxation in each others arms. aside from the sexual acts happening, you both were happy to finally be back together.

" feel so good baby.. so fucking good on my cock.. riding me so fucking well." he growled, hand giving your ass a hard smack, gripping it firmly right after. you whimpered his name into his neck, embarrassed of how quickly you melted in his arms. " come on baby use that dick.. you deserve it baby so use it. use me." he begged, helping you move your hips faster on him. his lips attached onto your neck, sucking a few hickies onto your neck, biting the skin when you slam your hips down on him.

feeling him hit your cervix, you cried out, pulling him closer into your body. his head fell from your neck, his groans turning into moans and whimpers. his hand slipped up to your throat, gripping it and leaning you backwards slightly, the bulge from where his dick was hitting showing. " fuck baby.. taking me so well. look at you." he cooed, his thumb sliding down and rubbing your clit. your whined out his name, your hands finding his knees and holding onto them.

"gonna cum simon.. fuck~" you moaned, slamming down on his faster. you could barely hear them, but whimpers left his lips, feeling his second orgasm approaching. he was hesitant but he slid out, quickly flipping you onto the desk, standing behind you. quickly, he bent you over the desk, sliding into your leaking cunt. " im sorry ma'am. gotta fuck you myself." he groaned, hand gripping the back of your neck. your head turned to the side, resting on your cold desk. " gonna fill this pretty pussy up, fill it till your fucking leaking my c-cum." he growled, his hips slamming into yours quicker, your ass shaking with each thrust.

your eyes squeezed shut, top teeth biting hard into your bottom lip. your body jerked onto the desk, moving it forward with each thrust he gave you. " s-simon im gonna cum~" you cried, your cunt pulsating around his dick. " come on baby. cum for me one more time. want your cum all over me." he moaned, watching him slide in and out of you.

your hands gripped the end of the table, crying out as your second orgasm washed over you. your knees bucked, but simon was quick to hold you up, leaning over you to allow deeper access into your cunt. he gave you three more strong, deep thrusts, chanting your name over and over as long, warm rope of his cum shot into you, his head shooting back, eyes crossing. "f-fucking hell!" he groaned, hand slamming beside your hips as his lower half shook, feeling the mix of your cum and his pool out of you.

you whimpered, closing your eyes as your chest rose and fell. "so..good simon.. thank you." you said breathlessly, hands still at the edge of the table. he slid out, cum immediately pouring down your legs. he sighed, giving your ass one last slap before he hooked his arm around your waist, pulling you up so your back was in his chest. " come on baby. lets go eat." he smiled, kissing your neck. you slowly opened your eyes, humming a yes. "then we can go back home and I can fuck you to sleep." he whispered, gripping your bare ass one last time. you giggled, smacking his forearm that was still wrapped around your waist. "so annoying."

[mikachacha]

𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚜 (𝙱𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝙻𝚎𝚎 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛) 𝙿𝚝. 1

Synopsis: As Bada's fame grew, the further you grew apart. It was becoming too much that one night, you sat her down as you made the difficult decision to go on your separate ways. But then there's still a hope inside of you that maybe like the leaves that grow back from the bareness of trees after the harsh winter, your love will grow stronger from this challenge that life has thrown. You're still hoping that the wounds from the past will eventually heal and all will be alright in time.

Warnings: Angst and language

(A/N: I was supposed to make this really sad for both parts but people talked me out of it 😌😌)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸

As Bada's popularity grew, the further you grew apart. There were more fights than time spent together. It reached the point where you're now contemplating if you're gonna leave or stay because it seems like everything you and Bada once cherished is gone. So one night, you sat her down. You already had your bags packed just in case this talk with her doesn't end well, you're gonna have to move out so you and her could heal separately from everything that went down between you the past few months.

"Can't we talk about this tomorrow, Y/N? I'm really tired and all I want to do is sleep." Bada asked, clearly irritated. You tried your best to not cry at her tone. You wanted to have this one serious talk with her. Maybe it's gonna be the last time you're gonna talk to her. You took a deep breath before looking at her, a sad smile painting your face.

"I know you're tired, Bada but I'll try to make this quick, I promise. After this, you're free to do whatever you want. I won't be bothering you anymore. Just give me this time to talk, just give us this time to really talk." you told her and Bada could feel her heart start to beat fast. She noticed how sad you looked but you're still trying to smile even though there were tears trying to escape your eyes.

"W-what are we gonna talk about?" Bada asked, clearly nervous now. She has this unpleasant feeling in her stomach that only got worse when she saw you wipe some stray tears from your cheeks. You looked at her and sighed. Even though things may not end up being great between you and her, you're still gonna be there to support her even though it's gonna be from afar.

"So I've been thinking about this for quite some time, Bada.. It's hard, it's not the easiest decision for me to make but seeing how we drifted apart from each other the past few months, I think it's time for us to let go of each other. It doesn't mean that I don't love you anymore, I still do. But what else are we holding on to at this point? We're always at each other's throat, every conversation ends up with us screaming at each other and just hurting each other with words. Hell, we don't even sleep in the same bed. I know everything is going well with you right now, career wise and I'm not gonna make you choose between me and your dreams so I think it's better for us to part ways.." you told her and your words left Bada stunned. She was so focused on her career, on her ambitions that she pushed you away. The first person who really believed that she'll reach this kind of success, the person who was there for her through everything.. The person who loved her despite everything.

"Y/N.. Please don't leave me, please.. I'll change, I promise. Just please— don't leave me.." Bada begged, even knelt down in front of you while begging for you to stay. It made your heart ache seeing her like that but at this point you're just so done. Not that you don't believe her but she always begs you to stay with her, maybe show you some changes for a few weeks at most then it goes back to the same routine. You held back your sobs and walked past her, grabbing your belongings and exiting the apartment you shared with her. You sat in your car for a bit, just crying your eyes out at how horrible you felt leaving her like that but it's for your own good. It's better to let go than keep holding on to the things that hurt you.

Bada was left there, her tears wouldn't stop falling. She went to chase after you after she found the strength to get up and get out of the apartment but you were already long gone. Bada walked back to the apartment crying and just cursing herself for how stupid she was. She lost you while chasing her dreams. She lost someone important because she was way too focused looking ahead without realizing that someone is left behind.

You stayed at a friend's house for a bit until you can find an apartment you can rent. Everyday you spent far from Bada was pure agony. You wanted to go back to the apartment you once shared with her and ask her to take you back even though you were the one who broke up first but you must stay strong. It's important that you put yourself first before you can go love someone once more. It's gonna be hard to go back from the start but you promised yourself that you're gonna do your very best to pull through this.

It has been half a year since you and Bada broke up. You already forgave her and forgave yourself from everything that transpired between you. It's a long process but day by day, you were slowly rising back up. You still supported her, watching this competition she's on with her team. You're still amazed at her dances, her leadership skills and most importantly, you're happy that she's doing so much better even without you. She's thriving and you love that for her.

"Shit I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.. Fuck.." you cursed under your breath, panicking a little since you spilled your iced americano on someone's clothes. Your mind was preoccupied by something and didn't notice someone in front of you then you bumped in to them.

"It's okay, Y/N.. You don't have to say sorry." your eyes widened in shock as you heard Bada speak. You looked up at her, she's holding back tears as she's looking at you. There's pain and longing in her eyes that made your chest hurt once more.

"Bada.. It's been a while.." was all you could say as you were holding back sobs. You thought you were finally okay but seeing her right now made all the pain and memories flood back in your mind. You're honestly lost, all you wanted to do is hide away like you did.

"I looked everywhere for you, Y/N.. Tried to call you, tried to message you, tried everything but it was no use. You changed your number, deactivated your social media, no one knows where you are.. I missed you Y/N, so much. I know apologizing won't make the things that was said and done disappear but I still want to say sorry to you for everything I did.. I didn't deserve you back then, still don't deserve you until now.." Bada's words felt like a stab to the heart by a million blades. She looked for you, did everything she can to hopefully make it up to you but she couldn't since you changed phone numbers and just hid away. Not even your closest friends knew where you lived. You just wanted to hide away to heal.

"I forgave you, Bada. I already did a long time ago.. And I'm sorry for not reaching out to you but believe me, I celebrated every milestone in your life from afar.. I didn't stop supporting you, didn't stop praying and wishing that you reach all of your dreams in life." you gave her a smile though your tears have fallen to your cheeks.

"I know this will sound stupid right now but Y/N, I want to be in your life again.. I tried so hard to forget you, to move on from you but I couldn't. My heart still beats for you, everything reminds me of you and your love.." Bada cupped your cheeks and wiped your tears with her thumbs. You're not gonna start lying to yourself and say you don't love her anymore because you still do. The feelings you had for her never faded. If you were to choose who you will love, who you want to be with even on the next life, your answer will always be Bada. But even with those thoughts, there's still fear lingering in your mind. What if you end up hurting each other again? You don't know how you're going to deal with it once more if it happens.

"I don't know, Bada.. I really don't know. I want to let you back in but I'm scared. What if we end up hurting each other again? I don't know if I'm able to deal with that kind of pain again.." you told her truthfully and you could see from Bada's eyes how her heart broke hearing those words from you. What she did in the past still haunts her to this day.

"I understand, Y/N.. I do. But please let me make it up to you, let me prove myself to you once more.. Let me do things for you that I never got to do when you were with me. Let me make up for all the promises that ended up not being true. I swear even if you don't take me back but I got to do those, I'd be happy and won't be bothering you anymore.." Bada pleaded with you and you took a shaky breath before sighing.

"I can't promise you anything right now, Bada.. I'm really sorry. Just give me some time to think about everything you just said, yeah?" you told her and she nodded her head before reaching for her phone in her pocket and showing you her phone number. You couldn't help but chuckle a bit seeing as she didn't change her number or even changed her phone wallpaper. It's still the picture you took together when you celebrated your second anniversary.

"Please text me if you made up your mind. Please, Y/N.. It would really make my whole year.." Bada pleaded once more and you nodded your head before you went on your separate ways. You just hope that whatever decision you come up with, it will not lead you to break your heart once more.

You spent many nights trying to decide whether you want Bada in your life again or not. It scares you a lot but you also couldn't deny the fact that you are still madly in love with her. You wanted to start fresh with her but also still a bit guarded considering what happened months ago. You sighed as you picked up your phone, scrolling through the contacts and found Bada's number.

"It's now or never, Y/N. You're either healing your heart with this or delivering yourself to another heartache.. But then wounds from the past will eventually heal.. All will be alright in time." you felt like going crazy from all the emotions you're feeling as you sent a text to Bada, asking her when she's available to meet. You asked to meet at the place where she took you on your first date. Now all you have to do is wait patiently for her to respond and hoping that it's not too late for you to message her.

[megamindsupremacy]

Relativity Falls AU

[Part 1] [Part 2] Part 3 [Part 4]

Two months after Pacifica runs away from Dipper and the portal project, Mabel appears at Dipper’s house. She’s gotten really concerned, because her idiot brother has stopped responding to any letters, stopped picking up phone calls, stopped publishing articles, and has more or less completely dropped off the goddamn map.

So she arrives in Gravity Falls, locates her brother after a waitress mentions the “weird smelly researcher living in a hut in the woods,” and nearly takes out his front door with her knocking before he finally answers the door.

He is holding a gun.

Mabel is unimpressed.

She tells him to cut the shit and answer her already, what the hell is going on, why has he not been answering her letters, why is he living in a shack in the woods in Oregon, has he showered in the past two weeks?

Unfortunately for Mabel, Dipper is not in the right state to answer her questions reasonably, because he has well and truly lost his goddamn mind after Pacifica left him. Hosting Bill has been horrible for his mental state - Bill hasn’t been even a little bit gentle with his brain, even less so than he was with Ford in Canon Falls, and Dipper is Feeling It.

After Pacifica left, Dipper has been running on dwindling money, materials, and equipment. He’s at his limit. Bill is pushing him past it.

In response to Mabel’s reasonable questions, i.e “wtf is going on with you”, Dipper goes I’M UNCOVERING THE SECRETS TO THE UNIVERSE while waving his gun around and making a lot of concerning facial expressions. It’s concerning. Mabel is concerned. She does manage to take his gun away, though.

Mabel and Dipper have an argument, the main points of which can be boiled down to:

Mabel, freaked out: Dipper, I think you might be actually genuinely insane right now. Please go take a bath, you smell horrible. Dipper, eyes bloodshot, waving his hands around: I NEED TO BUILD A PORTAL TO ANOTHER DIMENSION FOR THE GLORY OF THE TRIANGLE AND TO PROPEL MYSELF INTO FAME AND FORTUNE [Dipper drags Mabel downstairs into his basement and triumphantly shows her the newly-finished portal] Mabel, was not expecting an actual literal fucking portal: What the hell is GOING ON with you Dipper, suddenly furious: You wouldn’t understand, you always were the more popular twin, you’re the successful famous rich amazing popular etc etc tw

(Mabel internal dialogue: exCUSE ME?)

Mabel's like, pretty sure that her brother is actually going insane, but he's still saying some really hurtful things, enough so that she starts to get pissed at him.

Mabel notices that Dipper has been holding onto a journal (...the journal she made for him?) this entire time, so she yanks it out of his hands and tells him that he's coming upstairs right now, he's eating a goddamn meal and drinking a glass of Mabel Juice and getting ten hours of sleep and then after that, maybe, they can have a reasonable and adult discussion about whatever the hell is going on with him.

Dipper says something Very Sane and Comprehensible, at a Reasonable Tone and Pitch, at the thought of sleeping for so long (THE DEMON). Then he lunges for the journal.

They... fight. There's a huge commotion. Dipper is screaming.

(For the first time, Mabel is scared, not for, but of her brother.)

Levers get pulled. Mabel's arm gets scorched when Dipper pushes her into a hot rune. She shrieks. His eyes momentarily clear, and he says "Oh god, Mabel, what have I-"

She kicks him off of her.

Dipper goes through the portal. The portal screeches to a close.

Mabel sits in the basement, burned, clutching her brother’s journal, and begins to panic.

[dozing-marshmallow]

Do you have any more headcanons of Chris being a dad? This time raising his teenager who wants to get in the show despite reader's detest?

My motivation is back. 🙌 Apologises for putting these off for so long and thank you all so much for being so patient. I hope you’ve all had a wonderful start in the Spring Season and may you enjoy the read!💗

CHRIS MCLEAN AS A DAD HEADCANONS PART 2

Once a month, he and the child have this all nighter of ordering fast food and playing video games.

Chris is the type of dad to play games like Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty and GTA 5 with his teenager.

Obviously you don’t approve of it, but it’s better than her trying to persuade you into letting her on his show.

Like last time.

“Chris’ show?” you consciously blinked,“Why would you want to go on that show, sweetheart?”

“I have what it takes!” she gleefully replies, putting a proud hand on her chest,“And besides, if you’re comfortable with all the other kids my age going on, you should be fine with me, mom!”

You sighed. There would be so many complications that could wreck Total Drama if the host’s damn daughterjoined as a contestant,“But my dear... The whole point of the show is to win money! And mommy and daddy already-“

“I don’t care about the money!” she snapped in interruption, yet her tone remained in her own way benevolent,“Iwant to start drama. I’ve had plenty of experience in doing that!”

To your horror, Chris gave a grand laugh at that,“That’s my girl!” 

“Support me here! I’m not letting you feed into her delusion that she’ll actually be going on your show! This is horrible influence!“ you scolded Chris unimpressed with how okay he was with this idea, turning back to the daughter in question, with a dejected frown,“Darling, it’s a bad idea! Maybe another show daddy’s hosting, but notthis one. I don’t approve.” 

“Daaaaaad.” she whined, her begging eyes rolled onto him.

“I know, I know.” Your husband exhales a disappointing breath. And it’s not exactly like he can bring her on secret since it’s a reality show,“Just goes to show how mother doesn’t always know best.”

“You said something, Chris?” You said, removing the flip flop off your foot and gripping it in your hand.

He nervously smiles seeing you armed,“Naaaah. I-I said nothing.”

You humphed. Why can’t they both see that you were thinking of them long term?

Regardless, he goes all out on spoiling her, no thing is ever too expensive for his little girl.

Why wait for sixteen to throw her an expensive birthday party?

Albeit, it seems she’s taken after your morals as she also puts a lot of her allowance (Keep in mind, she gets the literal prize money amount every month) towards charities and many shelters.

Thank God for that.

If she ever brought a boyfriend home, Chris would plaster hospitality and bump a fist.

Though, he’ll do a lot of interrogating and enjoy the hell out of torturing the guy if he turns out to be even the slightest bit scumbag.

Rather than letting his fame decide, Chris actually asked her which type of school she wanted to go to.

“Public!” she chose quickly.

Chris raised an eyebrow. He had bet a yacht and two helicopters she’d pick private,“Why’s that?”

“Because I read in a book once that this girl went to a boarding school and her dad, who was paying the fees, died so she got abused by the people at the school, and I don’t want you to die.”

Chris’ eyebrows then came to the same level as he chuckled,“I’m a host, not a military captain for World War One, tiger,” but sure, whatever she wanted.

She never had any crying at the dinner table over maths homework nights with him.

For he was way too busy to not hire a tutor for her.

“Hi darling!” you kiss her cheek,“How was school today?”

“School was good-“ she’d catch sight of Chris entering the kitchen and before you knew it, she was sprinting to him.

“Dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, I have new gossip to tell you!” she could hardly contain the excitement seeping on her face and tone.

He’d smirk and take a seat at his island counter, cup of coffee in hand,“I’m all ears!”

[watchmegetobsessed]

JUST HOW FAST THE NIGHT CHANGES (part 1)

A/N: i have no idea where im going with this, im literally just running into the darkness here, so be patient hehe, but here is high school reunion harry!

PAIRING: Harry x High-School-Best-Friend!Reader

WORD COUNT: 3.4k

SERIES MASTERPOST | SUPPORT ME!

You stare up at the banner once again, your eyes stopping at that one letter that’s crooked. You didn’t notice it up close when you were painting it and now it’s driving you crazy, even though Bee assured you she didn’t even notice it.

But she wouldn’t notice if you shaved your head either, so it doesn’t help the situation.

“It’s fine,” you whisper to yourself, reading the ‘Good Luck Harry!’ sign over again, the crooked letter H making fun of you before you turn your gaze away.

The whole gang is here, all of Harry’s closest friends from class. Bee is taking care of the snacks in the corner, Joshua is playing on his phone sitting on the rundown sofa, Beckham is next to him, shouting directions Josh is probably not taking and Chloe is blowing up the last balloons left while Lucas is helping her tying them, but his eyes keep wandering over to Bee just a few feet away.

It all looks and feels like a usual gathering in Chloe’s family’s basement, the place you’ve hung out at almost every day after school the past few years, but today is a special day. Harry is stepping on the road to fame tomorrow so this could easily be the last time the whole group is here together. 

“Nothing will change, maybe I’ll be out after the first round, who knows?” Harry told you several times when he saw you get sad about a possible future where he is not here or at school with you every day.

You just smiled at him every time and ignored the ache in your chest.

While Bee is the closest to you out of your group of friends, Harry has a special place in your heart. You practically grew up together, you went to the same kindergarten though you weren’t quite friends, then you became classmates and by the end of second grade your little gang was formed and your crush on Harry started your interest in boys. With his bright, light green eyes and mop of curls he woke those butterflies right up in your belly with just one smile. 

“He’s here!” Chloe’s mum calls out from upstairs and you get everyone in order, lined up under the banner as you wait for Harry to join the little party. 

You hear his muffled voice, he asks Chloe’s mum how she is as always before the door at the top of the stairs opens and his footsteps rush down until he finally comes into view.

“Surprise!” you all shout, earning a shocked expression that quickly turns into a goofy grin as he walks down the last few steps, joining the group.

“What is this?” he asks, looking around the basement.

“This is our way of wishing you good luck for tomorrow,” Chloe smiles brightly, rolling on her heels.

“Your farewell party,” Joshua adds with a snort and you poke his ribs.

“It’s not a farewell party!” you tell him off.

“Don’t act like I’m gonna be dead from tomorrow,” Harry laughs.

“If you sing horribly, you will be dead to me,” Beckham deadpans as everyone laughs. 

“Come on, you guys. Nothing will change, I promise.”

“You won’t forget about your best mates, will you?” Bee pouts her lips before wrapping her arms around Harry. 

“Never,” he smirks, squeezing the girl tightly. 

Even though it’s supposed to be a party, it feels like just another afternoon, hanging out after school. The boys are playing video games, this time Chloe is trying to learn to use the console as well while Bee is cheering on her. You’re sitting in the bean bag with Harry, just watching them, not feeling like participating this time.

“Hey, you alright?” Harry bumps his shoulder against yours. He probably notices how you’ve been zoned out on the screen for the past ten minutes without even processing anything that happened in the game.

“Yeah,” you nod, sinking your teeth into your bottom lip. “Just… thinking.”

“About what?”

You shrug, but you know he will make you give him an answer either way.

“I’m a little scared.”

“Of what?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one being scared?” he chuckles, but you can only give him a weak smile. “I already told you, nothing will change.”

“You can’t know that.”

“Okay, I have no idea what the outcome of the audition will be, but I know I don’t want to lose my best friends,” he says, looking around with a smile.

“But you won’t have time for us when you’ll be an international rockstar.”

“I’ll always have time for you, Y/N,” he softly says and the way he said it has the butterflies dancing around in your stomach instantly. He didn’t say he’ll have time for the group, he talked about only you.

“Promise?” you ask, peeking at him.

“Promise,” he nods and wrapping an arm around your shoulders he pulls you against him and you happily move into him.

Nervously playing with your fingers you think of the object that’s tucked away in your pocket, this feels like the right moment to bring out. Hopefully Harry won’t think it’s childish. Digging into your pocket you pull the bracelet out and look up at Harry anxiously.

“I have something for you.”

His eyes snap down to meet yours as you adjust in the bean bag so you can hold the bracelet out.

“I made it for you, so you’ll never forget me, not even when you’ll be a superstar.”

The bracelet lies in your palm and he takes it, holding it closer to his face to have a better look at it. It’s a simple bracelet made from colorful beads, one of them has his name’s first letter, another one has yours and a smiley face between them. Originally, you wanted to put a heart there, but you thought that would be too mushy.

“You don’t have to wear it if you think it’s ridiculous or something…” 

“I love it,” he says as he rolls it over his hand and onto his wrist, holding it up in front of the two of you. Your heart skips a beat and heat rushes to your cheeks, you can only hope he hasn’t noticed the effect this gesture had on you. 

Harry turns to you, the corners of his lips curling upwards as his eyes keep moving between yours and you can feel a moment happening.

You can’t stop your gaze from peeking down at his lips for a second and you actually catch him doing the same. Your heart is hammering in your chest so wildly, he might even hear it. He angles his body so he is more turned towards you and the basement stops existing around you for a split second, convinced that he is about to kiss you.

And then Beckham starts shouting at the screen, jumping up from the couch, completely destroying the moment. 

Curling your lips into your mouth you quickly turn away and glue your eyes to the TV, but process nothing of what’s happening in the game. You can only feel how Harry’s thigh is pressed against yours and you swear you can feel him stare at the side of your head, but you’re too scared to look. 

Maybe you read the whole thing wrong. Maybe it was nothing and he had absolutely no intention of kissing you.

It couldn’t have been real, he is Harry and you’re Y/N, he is about to be famous and you’ll be stuck right where you are. There’s no way he would have made a move. Not now, not here and not on you.

The party stretches a little longer than it usually does and eventually what ends it is that Harry needs to wake up early in the morning, so everyone heads home.Beckham gets picked up by his sister. Joshua lives just down the street so he is off on foot and Lucas, Joshua and Bee take the bus. You see a hint of annoyance on Lucas’ face when Joshua says he is going with them, he must have hoped to be alone with Bee.

You and Harry are the last ones to leave, on your bikes as usual. Your house is always the first one and though it’s a little longer for him to stop there, he always tags along, makes sure you’re home safe before heading home. 

This time is no different, but through the ride you can only think about how this might be the last time the two of you share this ride home from Chloe’s. And it feels horrible. 

Harry has told you several times that he won’t stop being your friend, whatever happens tomorrow at the audition. That he’ll always be there for you. But deep down you know nothing will be the same and these are promises he might not be able to keep because of reasons out of his control. When his career takes off he won’t be able to just come home and hang out only because you miss him. He might be on the other side of the globe, in an entirely different time zone so phone calls wouldn’t work with your schedule either.

It breaks your heart to imagine a life where Harry is not in your friend group. Where he is not your best friend. 

When you spot your house down the road you fight the urge to slow down and turn around. He would think you’re silly, but you just want this moment to last forever, because right now, you have him, but after tomorrow, he’ll slip out of your hands and you can’t do anything about it.

Harry waits as you roll your bike into the garage and meet him at your front door.

“Call me when you know the results tomorrow,” you say with a small smile and you try your best to make it look genuine. 

You feel terrible, but part of you is hoping he won’t get in, because that means he’ll come back home and life will continue to be the same as before. You’re such a horrible friend…

“Of course, you’ll be the first one to know if I embarrass myself in front of the whole country,” he chuckles, trying to make a joke out of it as always. He’s been playing it cool, like this audition is no big deal, but you know him enough to notice the signs that give away just how nervous he is.

You’re looking for the right words, to say something, anything to him, but at last you have nothing so you just move forward and wrap him in a tight hug. He lets go of his bike, it falls to the side with a thud as he locks you in his arms with just as much enthusiasm.

“Good luck, Harry,” you mumble against his hoodie, squeezing him tight one last time before letting him go.

“Thanks, Y/N,” he smiles as he steps back to his bike.

You stand there and watch him roll out to the road, he glances back at you once more, lifting a hand up in the air in a wave before disappearing down the road. 

Harry’s phone buzzes with a text just as he exits the gym, his yellow North Face jacket swallowing his muscular form as the cold London air hits his sweaty cheeks. He makes sure his beanie is covering as much of his head as possible, a pair of sunglasses added for more privacy, though he just knows some fans will recognize him on his way home.

He makes his way down the street as he pulls his phone out of his pocket, a smile stretching across his face when he sees a message from Beckham in the group chat.

BECKHAM: Alright, place is reserved from 7, don’t be fucking late because I won’t have the server’s disapproving looks. Can’t wait to see you all.

More messages start to flow in, everyone joking around about arriving hours late just to get on Beckham’s nerves. Harry’s eyes twinkle with extra shine when he sees some special names up on the screen, Chloe, Bee, Joshua and Lucas all chime in, Joshua even writes that Beckham should have just namedropped Harry and everything would be fine. God, he can’t wait to see his old mates again!

He can’t believe it’s been ten years since his class graduated. Technically, he wasn’t part of it since he finished school privately once his career took off, but they were kind enough to include him in the anniversary as well and he wouldn’t miss it for anything. He made sure it could fit in his schedule before he goes back to touring. 

He types in a quick reply.

HARRY: Beck, use me all you want. I’m giving you the right. But I’ll be there on time.

The conversation keeps rolling and Harry watches the text pop up one after the other, but he really is just looking for one name.

A name he hasn’t seen since a text weeks ago.

While the whole class is happy to come together and the group chat is almost always buzzing, you haven’t been active at all, only let them know you’d be coming at the beginning, but it’s been radio silence since then.

Harry has been fighting the urge to text you for weeks now. He would be lying if he said seeing you again after all this time does not affect him in any way. He has mixed feelings about the last decade when it comes to you. 

His life changed so much and so fast after the audition that he couldn’t keep up with his promise. Not all of them, at least. Before he could process what was happening around him, he was out of school and on the road with his new band, one album came after the other and he could never be part of his friends’ life the way he wanted to. 

He tried to come home as often as he could, but they all knew it would never be the same again. He kept in touch with the group for a long time, with you too. But as you all started to grow up and go on your separate paths, fallout was inevitable. 

But it hurt the most when it came to you, because you were always more special to him than the rest of the group.

The two of you stayed in touch for a while, you were still talking when you started college, but it consumed so much of your time and Harry’s career was skyrocketing, you simply couldn’t keep up with the pace anymore. 

He kept an eye on you though, following you on Instagram, seeing the posts you uploaded, glimpses of your life, major events, things Harry would have loved to be there for you, but he couldn’t. After a while, he wasn’t even sure you’d want to talk to him, after all, he didn’t keep his promise and you drifted apart and he still hasn’t gotten himself over that.

He swallows the disappointment down as he locks his phone and slips it back into his pocket, quickening his pace.

Harry somehow stayed the closest to Beckham. It’s been over a year since the last time he saw him, but they kept in touch through texts, so they made plans to meet up before heading to the restaurant where the reunion will be happening. 

Knowing he’ll definitely have a few drinks, Harry gets in a taxi and makes his way to Beckham’s place where he lives with his girlfriend. 

At the beginning Nadine was way out of Beckham’s league. She’s a lawyer, the kind of woman you look at and know that she has her life together, always had. Beckham, on the other hand, was always a lost soul, well, right until he met Nadine. She brought the best out of him and pushed him to start an IT career. It’s been two years, now they live together and Beckham is no longer the lost boy he used to be. 

He pays for the ride and hops up the stairs of the townhouse, ringing the doorbell. Moments later Nadine opens the front door.

“Harry, hi! So nice to see you again! She smiles from behind her stylish glasses. They have only met twice, but she always greets him as if they’ve known each other forever. “Come on in, Beckham is getting dressed. Do you want something to drink?”

“No, I’m alright, thank you,” he returns her smile upon walking into the foyer. A phone starts ringing somewhere in the kitchen and Nadine sighs.

“I have to take this, I’m sorry. Make yourself home though!”

Before he could say something she’s gone so he walks into the living room, his eyes instantly landing on the dozens of photo frames hanging on the wall. Bits and moments of the pair’s life as a couple and before they knew each other well. Harry sees a lot of unknown faces, but he spots the familiar ones too.

His gaze lands on one particular picture that has the group in it, taken in the basement at Beckham’s 14th birthday. Piled up on the couch, everyone is laughing and grinning, he recalls Lucas said something funny before the photo was snapped. He is on the left end of the couch, pressed up between the arm and you and you’re partially sitting on his lap since there wasn’t much room. He remembers this moment, how he could smell your shampoo, the urge to curl his arm around your waist to pull you more against him, but he was too scared to make a move. If he remembers right, he felt like you got nervous when Chloe pushed you and your back pressed against his chest fully. His heart was drumming in his chest, his nose brushed against your hair and he knew his cheeks were turning red when one of your hands ended up on his thigh. He thought of asking you out that evening when the two of you biked home, but chickened out at last.

He still wonders what you’d have said, if things would be different now if he ever manned up before his life changed entirely.

“Hey man! Sorry to make you wait.”

Beckham walks in, fixing the cuffs of his shirt before holding out a hand to Harry that he takes with a friendly shake.

“It’s alright.”

Beckham’s eyes wander to the picture he just saw his friend eyeing and a knowing smile stretches across his face.

“Nervous to see her again?”

“No,” Harry chuckles, but he can’t fool him. “I’m not even sure she’ll want to talk to me,” he adds quietly.

“It’s not like you guys had a big fight, don’t worry about it. I’m sure she’s glad to see you again.”

“She told you that?”

“Nope,” Beckham chuckles, patting Harry’s back. “Come on, let’s get going.”

Harry has been extremely excited to meet his ex-classmates. He was eager to see how much they all changed, where their life is going now, he knew it would be fun to see all the different paths they took even if he hasn’t seen these people in over a decade. 

The sense of familiarity that takes over him upon arriving is so comforting. Suddenly, he feels fourteen again, messing around at school with his mates, planning to play football after classes or getting ice-cream.

They are situated in the back of the restaurant, around one long table. There are some people that are a bit late, everyone starts off with a drink, greeting old friends and the conversation starts to flow instantly. 

Harry’s company is in high demand, of course, and he is happy to catch up with anyone and everyone that comes up to him. He makes sure to ask them too so it’s not just him talking. He wants to avoid being the center of attention, tonight shouldn’t be about just him, but everyone else equally.

As time passes by he finds his gaze wandering towards the entrance every time someone walks in, looking for one particular person. Ten minutes, fifteen, twenty, you’re late to dinner and he fears you might not even come at all.

“She’s just running late because of work,” Chloe comments when she catches him eyeing the door again.

“Huh?”

“If you thought you were playing it cool, you’re not,” she chuckles, sipping on her cocktail. “She’ll be here any minute.”

He hums, chewing on his bottom lip as he forces himself not to stare at the entrance. 

As everyone starts to settle around the table Harry slips out to use the restroom quickly. Just as he is walking back, smoothing his hand over his shirt, his eyes move over to the door once again and this time he finally sees you walk in.

And he can feel his world turning upside down.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed and buy me a coffee if you want to support me!

[darcytaylor]

I am surprised Luke's team hasn't taken temp of the lukewarm reacting and lack of engagement on all things Luke + gf and worked to establish a new narrative for him. Even a lighthearted podcast guest spot would've made a big difference IMO. And if doing an appearance wasn't something he had in him, a few better instagram posts would've at least started setting up a new story around him and his career.

It took a bit for other season's leads to line up some projects, so they could've easily done a bit of a pivot in effort to clear up some of the subpar press around him in effort to set up whatever is up next for him.

Even his few posts since S3 came out don't seem to be well thought out, or that good of content.

I'm also desperate to know what the other Bridge cast thought about pap pics of him and his GF going out the day of the part 2 premiere lol. At best, it seemed sloppy and horribly timed, and at worst it seemed attention pulling and like he couldn't wait to get off the Bridgerton train.

It is a really sad situation to see play out if I am being honest. I just hope that his team do have a plan and maybe it isn't in motion yet. It could be that Luke's team knew he would be attending Rory's birthday party, so to wait it out just incase of backlash from that.

I don't think his team is stupid (and I know some people disagree), but they have been in the game for a long time. His team would know photo's would be shared on his friends social media accounts and I think it would be worse to have Luke make steps in a certain direction only to see a regression. I think that would have the potential to harm any plan that they may or may not have (while also making Luke's situation worse).

Luke's social media is interesting. I have said this before but I think that his decision to make it professional came a bit too late. He should have set it up that way long before the promo tour. But he probably wasn't completely sure until it was too late, and now it is clear he is having issues with his decision. He doesn't have jobs lined up other than Bridgerton season 4 (that we know of anyway) and his recent posts are subpar.

I also don't think Luke truly understood the potential for people to switch on his friend group (for the longest time people loved Rory, it's also been interesting to see that switch in the fans). He doesn't have the upper hand of his friends keeping his name out their, without it bringing drama and hate.

I am completely on Luke's side to want to distance himself from social media, but he's been put in a hard spot since his friends seem to be unwilling to not capitalize on him (even when they know it will not benefit Luke at this very moment). But I realize that they are also learning about the newfound fame of their friend, so it may just be a learning curve for them as well. (I do realize that their public persona's aren't doing them any favours and it's their actions that have made people come to this conclusion, but sometimes empathy is cool).

I do think that because of the backlash from Rory's birthday, Luke's team did contact him to make sure he is unseen in any of the photo's or video's. Or it's Luke's way of protecting his friends and asking them not to post any photo's or video's of him in them (does this make a difference at this point since they were caught by somebody else? Probably not).

I would assume that all of the Bridgerton cast mates think that the paparazzi walk on the night of the premier was unfortunate, and probably wish for it to have not happened. I agree with what you said - "At best, it seemed sloppy and horribly timed, and at worst it seemed attention pulling and like he couldn't wait to get off the Bridgerton train."

This was a very long winded response but I guess I had lots to say about this topic!

And as always, this is all speculation. I do not know any of these people personally. Could all of this be untrue, true or somewhere in between? Yes. So please keep that in mind.

[joekeeryswife]

Lover - e.m/s.h

hello angels! i hope all of you are doing well! sorry this has taken me so long but here is the Steve alternative ending for deadbeat dad (please read it before this!!). it’s 3am and i’ve been rushing to get this out to you guys! enjoy reading🩷 (here is Eddie’s ending if you would like to read it!)

taglist: @xxhellfiregirlxx @jonaslover2006 @jadedhillon @monserat @marshmallow-bandit @ohnoimbroken18 @helen227 @leonkennedyslefthand @girlbabyvelez @thatsoara @merciiss @coffee-cigarettes-and-bandtees @itsslizzzzzzz @wicked-on-a-leash @bluegalaxyprime @baise-nous @devilsadvcte @cgsanjose @yourfavouritewitchbitch @orchidmunson (if there’s a line through your name i cannot tag you!!)

"you excited for Uncle Dustin's party?" Steve asked as he carefully pulled a pink dress over Penny's head. it had been two months since the 'fight' you had with Eddie and even though it had started off slowly he was finally stepping up to be a dad again. 

"yes, i think daddy and Grandpa Wayne are gonna be there" her voice was laced with excitement as he untucked her curls from her top. he gasped loudly eyes widening like it was the best thing he'd ever heard, to be honest it probably was the best thing he'd heard "i think they will be there honey, that's really exciting" ever since Penny's party Steve hadn't left your side.

he'd comforted you when you were crying after the party, he'd be there every day (before and after work) making sure you and Penny were okay, he was this guy who was able to comfort you and if you were being honest spending all this time with him made feelings you'd never think you get for him grow.

he was kind, ambitious, caring and just so sweet. you'd known of him for years and were acquaintances until Dustin properly introduced the two of you just after you started dating Eddie. you never thought that you would be interested in anyone after Eddie let alone one of your closest friends but sometimes love is unexpected.

you felt nervous around him and were doing your best to keep your feelings at bay but with the way you two acted, anyone who didn't know the two of you would assume that you were together. you would hold hands, he'd leave small kisses on your cheeks, call you sweet pet names that made you weak to your knees. he had a lot of love to give and you loved the affection he gave you.

Steve and Eddie rarely got along, if they did it was weird. maybe they could have one or two conversations but that was it. however what you didn't know was a few days after your 'fight' with Eddie he went to see him.

he went to try help Eddie become the best version of himself so he could be the incredible dad he used to be. he wanted him to get better for himself but also for Penny. Steve knew that if they two of you got together, which he was hoping would happen, he would never compare to Eddie.

Steve didn't want to take over Eddie's roll because he knew how much Penny loved him but he would always have a soft spot for her, she was the sweetest little girl and you had raised her to be so polite and loving.

Eddie was an incredible dad before Corroded Coffin and if he was being honest Steve was jealous at how good of a dad he was. he would watch him take care of this beautiful child and he was an doing an amazing job before the band got recognition.

Steve and Eddie had briefly spoken about you and he comforted Eddie when he broke down, realising how rude he was to you through those years. he realised that all you were trying to do was let him be a dad to Penny and he screwed it up because he was too caught up with the fame.

but Steve helped him, made him realise that no parent is perfect, yes what he did was horrible but every single person on the earth makes mistakes and you can't change the past. but you can change the future and that should revolve around Penny. that's when Eddie stepped up again.

Eddie had actually thanked Steve and when the topic of conversation changed back to you, Steve's bright red cheeks were a dead giveaway to Eddie. he laughed through tears, Steve loved you. Eddie couldn't complain though, many men would look at you with dreamy eyes because of how beautiful you were.

when Eddie pointed out to Steve that he loved you he felt his already red cheeks get redder. he had been called out by Robin a million times but getting called out by Eddie, your ex, that was a completely different scenario. he has actually apologised for it but Eddie brushed him off. Steve was a great guy and if he liked you and you liked him, who was he to stand in the way?

he encouraged Steve to make a move on you because you deserved someone like him, he was good with Penny, he hated to admit it but he was kind, generous, always put others before himself.

Steve was a bit scared honestly, you and him were practically together already but there was always that voice in the back of his mind telling him that he didn't deserve you. after what happened with Nancy all those years ago he felt like he didn't deserve anyone, that he was unlovable. he felt vulnerable.

but he wasn't, he deserved to be loved and you were happy to be the one to show him what it was like to be loved. "right you're ready missy. you'll have to let mama do your hair, i have no idea how to do it" he stood up and kissed her forehead.

"that's okay, thank you for helping me get dressed" she skipped past him to go find you but he stood there, heart melting at how adorable she was. he could hear her running down the stairs before screaming your name.

"mama look at my dress" she had shouted, her voice filled with excitement and happiness. "wow sweetheart, you look beautiful" he felt like his whole body was melting when he would hear the two of you talk to each other.

he had always wanted a family, always wanted to take on that father roll and he felt like he could because of Penny. he wasn't trying to be Eddie but he wanted to be some sort of father figure in her life. she was just adorable.

Dustins 21st birthday party was today and everyone was invited. it wasn't really a party, more like a gathering of friends who hardly saw each other. most of the kids were coming back from college and Steve was honestly really excited to see them again.

he remembered when they were little kids and now they were adults, in college. Steve left Penny’s bedroom and went downstairs to see you sat on the sofa with Penny on the floor (on a pillow) in front of you. you were carefully using a spray bottle to wet her curls so it would be easier to brush.

you were ready, hair done, makeup done with a floral dress on. usually a party meant late nights where you would have to miss out because you couldn’t find a babysitter but today you could finally attend a ‘party’ which allowed her to come.

you were putting her hair in two little pigtails and Steve always wondered how she could sit so still whilst you were doing her hair. usually a kid would squirm around whilst getting their hair done, but not Penny. she was sat completely still, being patient as you finished up her hair.

“all done pretty girl” you said as you finished her left pigtail. “thank you mama” she stood up from the floor and smoothed over her dress. “you go get your shoes and then we can go, we don’t want to be late” you stood up as she ran off to the front door where her sparkly shoes were.

“you look beautiful” you flinched as his voice filled the silent living room. you turned around and saw Steve there, you hadn’t even heard him come into the living room. “jesus Steve. you scared me” you placed your hand on your chest, your heart beating rapidly as you calmed down from the scare.

“sorry honey, i didn’t mean to scare you” he laughed loudly, running a hand through his hair which was styled perfection per usual “you do look very beautiful though” you blushed, there was something about a compliment from Steve that made you feel special.

he just knew how to make you feel beautiful. “thank you. you ready to go? i don’t want Dustin to shout at us for being late” he nodded and held his hand out for you to take and you walked towards him, carefully intertwining your fingers together. he kissed your cheek lightly and with that the three of you made your way to Dustin’s party.

-

you had been at Dustin’s party for a few hours now, Eddie had showed up and so had Wayne which had made Penny squeal in delight when she saw the two of them. you were stood with Robin and Max laughing about something that had happened at Max’s college whilst Penny was with Joyce and Wayne. Steve was stood with Dustin and Eddie which was weird for you to see but you felt relieved the two of them were getting along.

Steve’s eyes glanced around the room every so often and they always landed on you before he quickly diverted his attention before you or anyone else noticed but he wasn’t doing a good job because both Eddie and Dustin noticed how his eyes always locked onto you.

“so, you told her how you feel yet or are you just going to keep staring at her like a lovesick puppy” Eddie smirked, it felt a little weird trying to help Steve ‘get with you’ because you were his ex but all he ever wanted was for you to be happy and if that meant you were with Steve then obviously he was going to try to make it happen.

“no i haven’t Eddie” he glanced at you again, his eyes were filled with adoration every single time he looked at you. “isn’t it kind of strange you are helping him get with the mother of your child?” Dustin asked looking between the two men.

Eddie shook his head “nah, me and y/n will never get back together and i see the way she looks at Steve and how he looks at her, for example right now” Eddie and Dustin both looked at Steve who quickly turned his attention back to the conversation.

Dustin laughed at how quickly Steve acted like he hadn’t been ogling at you. “they are gonna be good together if he decides to stop being a wimp and ask her out. all i wanted was for her to be happy and she is with Steve so he needs to get a grip and ask her out”

“yeah well it’s easier said then done Eddie. you forget what happened with Nancy, i am terrified that she-” Eddie and Dustin shook their heads and Dustin cut him off “she’s nothing like that man, you can’t keep putting off a relationship because of something that happened years ago”

Steve knew Dustin was right but he hated that he was. “yes what happened between you and Nancy was sad and you were devastated but do you really think y/n, the sweetest person ever would do that to you? she is in love with you i’m telling you. ask her out and put us out of our misery watching you stare at her makes me feel sick”

“he’s right Steve. she really likes you and it’s okay because the two of you are great together” hearing it from Eddie yet again made Steve feel sad for him. he knew Eddie still loved you, Eddie would always love you, and he knew you would always have love for Eddie but if he was telling him to go for it then why shouldn’t he?

it wasn’t like he needed his blessing but the bit of reassurance that it was okay for him to do made him felt at ease. he sighed, nodding his head and looking down at the floor, he felt Eddies hand on his shoulder as a comfort of some sort.

asking someone out was nerve wracking but asking you out was even more nerve wracking. you were so beautiful, so sweet, so loving and it was a big thing for him. “you’ve got this man. don’t stress” Eddie said as he looked up from the floor he turned his attention back to you.

you were listening to Max talk about something, focusing on every single thing she said, a small smile on your face. he wasn’t lying when he told you that you looked beautiful because you did, you looked absolutely perfect. not stressing out was easier said then done and he knew he would 100% stress out.

-

“she’s finally asleep, sorry you were down here by yourself for so long” you walked down the stairs and sat down on the sofa, exhausted from trying to get a hyperactive child to sleep. “it’s okay. you weren’t too long” he joked as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you into him.

this was normal for the two of you. sitting on the sofa together, cuddling one another relaxing after a stressful day. “i saw you speaking with Eddie” you said as you looked at the wall in front of you. you cuddled more into Steve, his body heat warming you up. the blanket the two of you used was on the other sofa and with both of you being to lazy to get up and get it, this was the next best thing.

“yeah. he’s actually a pretty decent guy” he kissed your forehead gently. “i appreciate the two of you getting along. it’s less stressful” you smiled. you felt tired, the king day feeling even longer after being out at a party for so long.

“i do wanna ask you something though” this was it, Steve was finally going to ask you out. it was like after the pep talk with Eddie he had grown a different type of confidence. “i know we have been spending a lot of time together and i honestly have really enjoyed being with you”

“but i know my feelings and they’re getting pretty hard to hide now so what i’m trying to say is i’d like to take you out on a proper date and i would also love for you to be my girlfriend, if you’d like to go on one that is” you looked up at him with a shy smile, his cheeks were red and he felt like his heart was beating so fast that you could actually feel it.

“i’d love to go on a date with you and i’d also love to be your girlfriend” he felt as though this weight had been lifted off of his shoulders as you answered. finally after pining after you he had asked you out and you had said yes.

he lent down and kissed you passionately. it was one, if not the most passionate kiss you had ever had in your entire life. it was filled with love and adoration and after a few seconds you pulled away. “i have to make this date perfect” he whispered, his hand stroking your cheek comfortingly. “i know whatever you pick it will be perfect” he smiled and kissed you again.

[girderednerve]

i'm fandomposting. or maybe doing abuse apologia. who knows

despite all of my filtering efforts i still periodically see posts about j*ss wh*don, and they are all deeply misery-inducing for me. all of the ones i see more or less go like "as we all now know, he is a horrible human being, and was always horrible (although we can all be forgiven for not previously knowing that), so if we are going to continue to enjoy his works while continuing to be the good-hearted & right-minded people we are, we must perform the delicate operation of excising him from them," which is why they make me so miserable.

the first half of this frame is distressing to me on its own terms, not because i believe that the harms of which j*ss wh*don has been accused are untrue, but because i don't think it's ever particularly helpful to pick out someone who has committed interpersonal harms and say, "they were always bad"; this approach is incompatible with how i think about other people and the world. i also don't think that attaching moral freight to your favorite tv show is a useful practice.

the second half of this equation really bothers me because i don't think the conversations i see which try to pull j*ss out of whatever (usually, buffy) are actually that interested in how tv/film production works, or who did what, or how we know that, and why these things might be; instead, we've decided that one prominent person who got a lot of credit for a huge, years-long, very expensive group project should now receive as little credit as humanly possible for same, so we are just pulling other names we know out of a hat & saying, 'if you like this scene, well, that's because the actress is so good!' or whatever. this operation is frustrating because it isn't a material corrective to the frenzy of adulation directed at j*ss wh*don in the prime of his comiccon years, it doesn't fairly distribute credit or highlight people who were excluded from receiving it (usually, i see an increased emphasis on actors' choices, & i think that's because they are already visible & charismatic; sometimes, unkindly, i think it is slippage in fan perception between actor & character), and it doesn't give us any tools to think about how, if this guy was so bad, he had such a successful career before it all came undone after justice league. who was exploited & how? what systems had to be in place for that to happen? what might we do to address those systemic issues? because, & i am so sorry, i just really do not believe that he was the worst boss in hollywood; i don't mean that to be exculpatory or diminishing of the real harm he caused, but i insist that we have had good evidence for many years that the film industry, for various reasons, is inclined to foster toxic workplaces. a lot of the work complaints that came out about him were not especially new, but they gathered sudden weight; the reason i point this out is that i think some of those behaviors were not the kind of outliers that one might like to think. j*ss is no longer active in film, so we have removed one toxic boss, but has anything else happened to preclude someone doing exactly the stuff he did? like, aside from the impending streaming apocalypse; i am not counting 'we make less tv' as a workplace safety enhancement for tv workers, because it isn't. if anything, j*ss wh*don's career was an early bellwether of what happens when an online, committed fanbase gets some encouragement. what's changed?

the most frank opinion i have about j*ss wh*don is that he was a solid writer with occasional flashes of real accomplishment who was allowed by huge & pervasive cultural misogyny, the systemic problems of the film industry, & the near-cult of personality around him in certain, intense fan spaces to behave extremely badly. like, the problem here is that he's just some guy who went through the evil-fame-machine, and the machine is still plodding, if anything it's picking up speed. nothing's fixed! unplug the fame machine! stop worrying about whether you're allowed to dress up as glorificus for halloween or whatever. god i hate it here sometimes

[wrongcaitlyn]

for the ask game !!! 4, 6 and 22 for tyt / dear reader in general !!!

4. If the fic required it, what did you research in order to write it?

oh SO much😭 there was definitely a lot of research into dates, at first, just because i wanted to make sure i was lining up all the award shows with the actual dates and choosing which award shows to write (also coming across the fact that grammys 2018 was on jan 28...) also, the categories that were in award shows, i had to research what exactly all of those categories were for - which ones nico would be nominated for, who they were awarded to (just the singer, also the producer?). the amount of time that i spent on the grammys' wikipedia page was much longer than i'll ever admitslkjfd

also billboard charts! i did a ton of research into records, how they're counted, because i wanted to make sure that when i was mentioning nico's milestones, they were at least somewhat realistic. i read through a bunch of billboard album reviews and articles with producers and whatnot to try and figure out the basics of music journalism.

there was research into transitioning, as well, even though i was much more hesitant to trust *google* for that sort of stuff, but i wanted to know just how easy it would be for nico to actually get top surgery and whatnot, and also the effects of binders when singing/having a performance and stuff

SO MUCH OLYMPICS RESEARCH. LIKE. god i think i complained about this at some point but seriously, the archery world championships and olympics qualification is still confusing asf to me. but i wanted to make sure that, despite kayla being a relatively minor character, i was figuring out all the right dates, how she would get qualified, records for youngest world champions, etc etc.

weather accounts. ik that it's very unnecessary but i genuinely looked up dates for concerts and what the weather was, or when i wanted it to rain i actually looked up whether it was raining, how i could twist it to when it *did* rain, and whatnot. i may be insane when it comes to details like that

and in general, i watched a lot of interviews (though that was in my free time, and tbf i've always been interested in it, even before i started writing the series) about artists and singer-songwriters and how they wrote, how they worked, and just the entire creating-an-album process

there's probably a lot more that i'm forgetting, bc i genuinely was always researching something. fun fact! there hasn't been an italian artist to reach #1 on the billboard hot 100 since 1958 (he was also the first european artist to reach #1 on the billboard hot 100).

6. How did you decide what tense and POV(s) to use?

i had just written a fic (my hunger games au) in past tense, and when writing it, i felt like i kept slipping into present. so when i started writing talk your talk, i decided to just test out present tense and see whether i liked that better (back when i thought it would be a relatively short oneshot, maybe a oneshot series)

the funny thing about that is that i thought i didn't like it, and so THEN when i wrote another fic - my marauders jegulus fame au - i decided to write that one in past tense. a warning for any writers: NEVER. write two wip's that are in different tenses. it's a horrible kind of torture. since then, i've had to write all of my other fics in present tense because i didn't want to mess up my brain while writing talk your talk - it's so confusing to switch it up, because then i'd also have to monitor what i was reading, and if i read something present tense, i wasn't able to write starry eyes; if i read something past tense, i wasn't able to write talk your talk. i couldn't write one and then switch over to the other, i had to like program my brain to think in the correct tense - ANYWAY it was very very hard and i highly recommend to never do that and just stick with one tense, at least until you want to fully switch over😭

as for the pov, in talk your talk, it was always going to be nico! the whole fic was very centered around him, and i knew that i wanted to add all these details on how he felt about his rise to fame - i really wanted that internal dialogue during shows, and school, and producing music, and also how songs would come to be and whatnot. also, i had just written my hunger games au in nico's pov, and i just really liked it😭

when it came to greatest of luxuries, i knew that i wanted to expand on the universe. that did horrendous things to my wordcount, but i think it was for the best!! i got to add more character development to will, which was *really* important to me, seeing as he and nico are pretty separate stories while nico is on tour and will is in college, and it also let me introduce a bunch of new characters!! i added a few other interludes too, with a bunch of different pov's, but the most interesting, i think, was apollo

apollo's pov/memoir (and i'm so sorry, i know you haven't gotten to that yet but i just had to include it when talking about pov's!!) is one of my FAVORITE things to write. i knew that i wanted to add more of apollo's lore and his story to the au, but for a while, i didn't know how to do it - it didn't feel right to just add an apollo pov where all he does is reflect on the past and so i got SO excited when i thought of creating a memoir. usually i'm heavily against writing in first person, but it just felt so natural with apollo - how else could you have a pov that just focuses on the past (pretty much an entirely different timeline) but still with the huge ego of apollo? while he still shows maturity and how he's grown as a person?? i'm already such a fan of including mixed media in my fics, but the memoir has to be my favoritekjldsf

22. What is something you learned about yourself as a writer from the experience?

i love causing pain. i think i already knew that, seeing as one of my first fics when starting to write again last year was a hunger games au in which i killed off like a good majority of the main cast. but there was something cool in writing angst as a theme in talk your talk, when fame au's largely focus more on the reputation of a person, conflicts between relationship, etc. not that i have a problem with those, seeing as im a sucker for literally any kind of fame au, but i sort of put them in the background for this series!

overall, i feel like i've grown such a huge amount with this fic. i started it around the same age as nico and will, only slightly younger, and now they're nearly 20 and im still 16. both in the writing sense and just in general, i really got over my fear of starting/committing to longer fics, because i really just fell in love with the universe. i learned that i *love* adding different forms of media to fics, and that one of my favorite things about writing is exploring how different universes would impact the characters differently - it would shape their personalities, give them some different characteristics and different outlooks on life, and that's prob why i love au's so muchdjfs

but the main main thing is that this is the first time that i feel like i really wrote the fic and got a huge community out of it - i've always had a few mutuals in fandoms and whatnot (both when editing and writing), but with talk your talk, i started getting repeat commenters, and eventually started my tumblr, and i realized how incredibly motivating it is to be able to share my obsession with the au with so many other people!! it's been an absolutely incredible experience <33

well i definitely rambled a lot thereDLKFJS thank you for the asks!!

[mozmamellz]

Johnathan Carlton × Nadia Volkova (OC)

__________

a little small warning ; out of character writing,, ocxcanon,

oc used ; mine ;)

__________

“ dying with a smile is better then living a sad life. „

Johnny and Nadia went from a one night stand, to something more, something that the two can't explain, but it's simply there and they are here for it. Everyone wonders, 'how does a fierce ninja, end up with an arrogant actor?' they don't know, they just, clicked. Nadia simply thought 'maybe it was the sex that drawn him to her and like her.' little did the assassin know, she was wrong.

It was something about how she trained, the way she acted, the way she carried herself, her personality, her smartass comebacks to his flirting, the way she wasn't fazed by his charms. She was like no other girls that he hooked up nor dated, she wasn't some fan, she wasn't some idol nor actor, no, the complete opposite, he, at first, was determined to break her walls, find what fazed her, give her the slightest flinch, or anything that caughts her off-guard.

but he fell inlove in the process.

but so did Nadia. So it was fair, and cute.

the two were currently in the situationship, unsure of what they are, fwb? friends..? or more.. Johnny wanted it to be more, he loved Nadia ever since those snarky comebacks of hers came out of her mouth, the way she fought back amazed him.

Johnny recently hosted a party, but, today the day came, but he was only there for a few before he just went to the balcony, busy thinking 'is she here? did she even get the invitation, I swear, whoever messed the invitation will get their ass---

"Cage? Your not out talking to everyone."

That voice was too familiar to not know who. It was Nadia herself, she had her usually black dress, reaching to her ankle as she approached to his side, she has a box for cigarettes by hand, and a lighted. "Actors take breaks sometimes, they deserve it, after the fame and shit." Johnny said as he forced out a chuckle. "But you hosted the party?" Nadia pointed out with slight confusion. "Can't the host sometimes have peace?"

"That isn't really like you,"

"How so?" Johnny asked as he darted his eyes to the garnet coloured hair woman beside him, their shoulders almost brushing each other.

Nadia replied with a huff of amusement before leaning her elbows against the railing of the balcony, "You would be drunk, your shirt probably off, and looking stupid."

"So you came to see that?" Johnny teased as Nadia rolled her eyes. "Don't twist my words, Cage." They stayed silent after that, just for a few minutes before the actor asked. "How's the party?" Nadia took a glance at him, observing his profile, 'he has such a cute nose..I want to...boop it.'

"It's alright, nothing shitty has happened yet." Nadia replied as she shrugged, before she quickly glanced away. "I expected it to be shit by the time I got here." Nadia admitted as the actor looked up from the grass that suddenly caught his interest. "Are your expectations really that low for me?" Johnny asked, his voice and expression softened by her blunt comment. It's not really blunt, it's true, based on his reputation, who else wouldn't think what Nadia is thinking about?

The party behind them was loud, but it was almost deafen for the pair on the balcony, birds chirping and the tree branches moving to the wind so slightly, Johnny's attention suddenly went to the music playing in the party, Bruno Mars. Nadia was just tapping on the railing with her finger, she sighed before admitting something out of the blue.

"Your not as bad as I thought, Cage." "Even if you annoy me and irritate me." "Your not as horrible as people make you." "Whatever you did to those said people, they clearly read into it too much and made it into a big deal."

Johnny was caught off guard by the sudden flattery by the woman beside her. Johnny was so..glad? giddy? happy? that she thought of him different, he always thought Nadia just hated his guts and just dealt with him because if their connections. It seems like not so, but Johnny played it off with a laugh. "Just say you love me, Nadia."

"You always know how to ruin a moment hm?" Nadia said as she lets out a soft chuckle. Johnny never heard that, he heard scoffs, huffs, sarcastic laughs, but this? oh it's so refreshing..and..adorable. The words came out of his mouth before he could stop himself. "You should laugh like that more often." Nadia looked at him like he was insane, like he murdered her family, "Maybe you should make more funny jokes and I'll think about it." Nadia resorts as she rolls her eyes.

"We should get back, they are probably wondering where the star went." Nadia teased as she smirks and walked back into the party, Johnny smirks before walking with her.

His memories were fuzzy, couldn't remember shit, all he knew is that Nadia is by his side, handing him water. "How do you feel? I don't usually know how to deal with..this.." Nadia admitted as she gestures to his sober state, she wasn't wearing the outfit she wore when she walked in, she was wearing pants..shirts..that..looks likes Johnny's clothes?! Johnny blushed, not because of embarrassment, the fact she had to take care of him, okay maybe it's half of it, but it's because Nadia was wearing HIS clothes. "Your..?"

Nadia sighed when she saw Johnny opening his mouth, knowing what he was going to say. "Sorry, kay? I just need something comfy to pick." Nadia said immediately before adjusting the big hoodie on her, it had bold gold letters, spelling JOHNNY on the right arm sleeve, and CAGE on the left sleeve, and on the chest area it says 'one of the finest'

Was it just a coincidence Nadia wore that? Jury still out. But it's true, she is one of the finest that appeared in his life..beside Kenshi..she always looked fine, especially in HIS clothes, maybe he should give her hand me downs..so he could see her in his merchandise..maybe--

"Cage?" Nadia said as she snapped her fingers infront of his face. "Ah? Huh?" Johnny said before Nadia scoffed. "You zoned out..I think." Nadia said before she sat beside him. "What is in that brain of yours?" Nadia asked out of curiosity, "Hnnghh..life.." Johnny said before he shrugs.

"Life?"

"Yeah." "Your my life."

Nadia stayed silent, caught off guard. She was so confused. What did he mean by that? She's his life? but before she said anything, he continued.

"Ever since..that night..I have..been feeling things..even before that night..I was so conflicted, confused, scared on what's to come. Nadia." "I love you, and I wouldn't know what to do without you, and I'm scared that you'll push me away, with your cold personality, I had to be careful. I didn't want to lose my chance with you. I always wanted to be by your side, teasing and laughing at you, even if the party was over..or the world was ending, I wanna be next to you." "Nadia, I love you, no girl, no women, no men, will ever change that, I'll love you like it's the last night with you."

Nadia stayed silent, before her expression softened, she smiles sheepishly, before she chuckles. Johnny was confused, he poured all his heart out, with the best words he could, why was she laughing?

"Oh Cage. I thought I would keep this to myself forever, but guess not so, I'll have to pour my heart out too..fortunately..I kinda felt something, after that..night, I thought it was the pleasure you simply gave me, no man has ever given me that..much..and I thought it would be temporary, but, the more I thought about it, the more I look at you, I realized, maybe I do love you, that's what I said, before the night today, while I was getting dressed, I was thinking how to impress you, and that's when I realized, I love you too, Johnny."

Johnny's eyes widen, before he couldn't hold it anymore, he lets out the giggle that he held, Nadia just smiled as she watched, Johnny..he couldn't hold it, she sat up properly, cupping her cheek..before slowly pulling her to a kiss, a soft, gentle one..

The atmosphere, the world suddenly stopped around them, the moment their lips touched. After a few seconds, he slowly pulled away, Nadia stayed silent before she chuckles. "I hate that you can get it your way," Nadia teased before Johnny smirks and pulled her in for a hug, he couldn't help it, he liked this girl..so long..and she actually thinks that same..?

He was in paradise.

[nias-nook]

so i don’t usually engage in The Discourse™  but i’ve seen a lot of unsettling takes in the wake of the new metal family episode across all social medias and i wanna talk about it! note that this obviously isn’t about anyone in particular, just a general vibe/consensus i’ve picked up on.

metal family s2e5 spoilers under the cut!

so the most prevalent thing i’ve seen since the episode came out is a lot of discourse debating who was ‘worse’ between glam and ches in the newest episode; the words ‘toxic’, ‘manipulation’ and ‘abuse’ have been thrown around pretty loosely and i think maybe people are taking this scene as emblematic of their entire relationship.

ches is grieving. ches is in withdrawal. this offer for them, their band, is the only silver lining in what’s otherwise been a horrible, traumatic time for him, the darkest of his entire life. through it all, glam’s been by his side and suddenly, that’s being wrenched from him. suddenly, glam’s prioritising something over their music. over them. 

and of course ches is heartbroken! and he has every right to be hurt and angry. he did NOT have the right to start throwing bottles and misogynistic insults instead of speaking to glam on a reasonable level.

glam is...in love. at least, he thinks so. and to ches (and most of the viewing audience), this is an INCREDIBLY superficial thing for him to abandon their friendship for. but to glam? he’s never felt this way before. romance is an entirely alien concept to him. and he’s so overwhelmed by this exciting, fresh new feeling that suddenly he’s locked onto it, much in the same way he entirely fixated onto the guitar when he first discovered it. glam’s early life was so devoid of happiness and pleasure that, in the way ches uses substances, he immediately drops everything to chase the high.

when glam rejects attending the interview, i don’t think he sees it as abandoning their friendship. mere days ago, glam shirked his life’s dream for ches. because the people in his life are more important to him than fame. the business side of their music is simply not a priority.

glam views this interview as an interview. ches views this interview as their future.

glam shouldn’t have slapped ches. ches shouldn’t have gotten physically threatening by smashing things. 

some people have said that glam’s speech to ches is an intentional manipulation on his part; an attempt to remind him of everything he’s done for him. but glam simply isn’t that type of person. he’s acutely aware of how much ches has done for him, and how they’ve always supported each other. that’s why glam asks if ches really wants to go to the interview. it highlights the difference in their priorities. but BECAUSE they’ve always been together, ches sees it as glam choosing a woman over HIM, and not glam choosing a woman over advancing his musical career. 

i have so much more to say but the TL;DR is that both ches and glam are extremely traumatised people at the most turbulent, confusing points of their lives, and in that confusion, they lashed out at each other. 

this is not a pattern. this is an exception, and neither person should be painted as overall abusive for one incident in which their worst selves were on display. their actions in this moment SHOULD be condemned, but not treated as representative of their entire dynamic.

[reluctantjoe]

‘After rehearsal, my face hurts from laughing!’ The Ghosts cast on fun, fame and their festive farewell

One of the UK’s most cherished comedies is bowing out for ever. The stars talk about nicking things from the set – and being called ‘outrageous and shameful’ by Piers Morgan

Thanks, I tell the creators of Ghosts sarcastically, for making my daughter cry. The evening before, my family watched the supernatural sitcom’s final episode, and the only dry eyes in the house were mine.

This reaction, I tell Martha Howe-Douglas, Laurence Rickard, Jim Howick and Mathew Baynton over Zoom call, is going to be replicated across Britain. Did you think about how you were going to ruin everybody’s Christmas when you wrote this tearjerker? “Ah, you can but dream,” says Baynton, who plays the Romantic poet Thomas, wistfully.

The Ghosts team implore me not to reveal plot twists from the last episode, but there are some tantalising details I can share without spoiling the viewing experience. First, this is the episode where the final secret about the ghosts is revealed, namely how the Captain died. Second, there is a flash-forward to Alison and Mike in their dotage. But most of all, this is where we learn the fates of everybody, living and dead. I’d like to reveal more about whether Alison and Mike do sell land from the estate to build a golf course, or if any ghost is going to emulate Katy Wix’s character Mary and be sucked off (their words) into the spirit realm, but if I did it’s quite possible the cast would hunt me down and chop off my head. Or maybe they’d just haunt me for ever which, to be honest, doesn’t sound so bad.

The show’s premise – that the ghosts can never leave the grounds of the house – is a tragicomic trope of Britcoms, ie that the protagonists can’t escape their fate. It was Harold’s psychic wound in Steptoe and Son, and now in Ghosts all the spirits are stuck in each others’ company for good as if Button House is a home counties Hotel California. Or if you prefer, the Horrible Histories team have made a funny Uncle Vanya.

Four talking heads nod on their respective Zoom screens.

“I always think Chekhov is funnier than it’s usually done,” says Rickard – who plays two parts, Humphrey the headless and Robin the caveman. “They’re fixed somewhere and also utterly baffled as to why they’re there. So you have these existential crises going on with people who are already dead.” “I was in a production of Vanya once,” says Howick, who plays Scout leader Pat. “It was nothing like this.”

Baynton says: “On the face of it, it’s about ghosts, but it’s really just a metaphor for what it’s like to be a person. You’re born into the world and everyone’s got different opinions about what everything means. To do that in a family sitcom always felt like an amazing trick to me. It kind of is Beckett, but it’s um ... silly Beckett.”

Cast your mind back to April 2019, when the team behind Horrible Histories unveiled a new comedy. Did your careers ever recover from Horrible Histories being endorsed by Michael Gove as a tool for teaching? “I think that was nicely ballasted by James Cleverly or Piers Morgan a few years later around Brexit saying that it was a waste of licence fee,” says Baynton. It was actually Morgan who, with his unerring grasp of the national mood, in 2020 tweeted that the show was “an outrageous, shameful abuse of public money”.

At the outset, Ghosts seemed like a spin-off from Horrible Histories’ Stupid Deaths segment, in which the team recreated a laughable demise (King Harold shot in the eye at Hastings, self-styled gong farmer Richard the Raker drowning in his own poo, Aeschylus killed by an eagle dropping a tortoise on his head). The eponymous Ghosts often died similarly stupidly: Howick’s Scout leader Pat died in an archery accident and wears an arrow through his neck for all eternity; Lolly Adefope’s Georgian noblewoman Kitty was slain by a spider bite from a transatlantically imported pineapple.

In episode one, thirtysomething herberts Alison and Mike move into an ancestral pile that she’s inherited, only to find that it’s haunted. After she falls through a window and cracks her head open, Alison can see the ghosts but Mike can’t – though if he could he would probably put out the lights of the dead Romantic poet who keeps putting the moves on his wife.

Ghosts has been a lovely antidote to our times. For the cast too, making it has been a joy. “We’re very different people,” says Rickard, “but the thing we’ve got in common is a sense of humour. And if you can have one thing in common, that is the best thing, because it’s a light, fun, nice thing you want to keep returning to.

“At the end of rehearsal day, my face hurts from laughing. It’s a really unusual feeling that you’re giving yourself a headache from having a good time, without being horribly drunk.”

A few days later, I interview Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe, who play Alison and Mike. “I think it has real kindness at the heart of it,” says Ritchie. “The core of the show, I think, is that all these people you might label as different are navigating things together.”

That said, Ghosts also manages to tackle some pretty important social issues. The second world war army veteran Captain, whose love for a junior officer dare not speak its name, is fondly imagined. More significant yet is the representation of people of colour. Smith-Bynoe says he was especially delighted when last year’s Christmas special depicted something he’d never seen on TV before: a Black family having Christmas dinner. “I’ve had couples come up to me and, them being an interracial couple, say that it means a lot to them to see that at the forefront. It’s not talked about, just there.”

Ghosts has made the pair famous. “If I wear Alison’s jumpers when I go out, I get recognised,” says Ritchie. Or misrecognised: “I was out the other day and this woman came up to me and said: ‘Liked you in Fleabag.’ So I went with it.” “Why not?” laughs Smith-Bynoe. “I had a thing where somebody was convinced I did a warm-up for Mo Gilligan.” But you never have done? “Of course not! But it was hard to convince them I knew better.”

Both Ritchie and Smith-Bynoe would like to have a word with the writers. They’re not happy the show has come to an end. “I’ve got nothing in January,” she says. “Me neither.” They have a point. They are unemployed in a cost of living crisis while several of the writer-actors on the show have parlayed their fame into work on other lucrative franchises. Baynton can now be seen as Fickelgruber opposite Timothée Chalamet as the eponymous Wonka, while Simon Farnaby co-wrote Wonka, Paddington 2 and the forthcoming Paddington in Peru.

In theory, Ghosts need never end: spirits are eternal, so shouldn’t a sitcom about them be, too? Perhaps the Ghosts team should consider making a spin-off. What would be the Frasier to Ghosts’ Cheers, I ask. “Mick,” says Baynton. He means the ghost who shares the cellar of Button House with other plague victims, each one played by a member of the main cast. “It’d be called Mick with an exclamation mark. And it’d have a live audience. I’d come on and say: ‘Hello everyone! Hiya! I’m home!’ Like Happy Days. Don’t even bother with the makeup, the lights aren’t on.” It sounds terrible, to be fair.

Perhaps we have to accept that Ghosts is dead. Certainly, the cast have plundered the set for memorabilia. Ritchie has snaffled Alison’s jumpers, Smith-Bynoe took Mike’s monocle, Howe-Douglas has Lady Button’s rings and Ben Willbond has taken the Captain’s stick. Rickard proudly holds up Humphrey’s severed head to camera.

All that remains now are the repeats. “I think, more so than drama, people will go back to comedies they love and want to experience them again and find more in them,” says Baynton. “There are plenty of shows that are comfort. Sometimes you put them on so you can have a nap.” He seems to be suggesting that Ghosts is part of that soporific canon. I look at the four screens, each interviewee giggling happily at the thought of Britain not sobbing over the last episode, but dozing through repeats. It may be ending with a Christmas special, but Ghosts will be haunting us for many years to come.