#now maybe i can work on LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE

[oddballwriter]

Hey there, i love how you write Ena! If you’re still doing BBQ Ena requests, could you one of a reader thats kinda of doting on Ena when they’re together? Not in like a super clingy sense but it’d be super cute to see a fic where reader kinda reminds Ena that although work is important, burning herself out isnt good for her and that it’s okay to ask for help. Like maybe Ena’s been on edge bc of a particularly difficult job that has an extremely naggy and judgmental client and it’s kinda getting to Ena but shes trying to suppress it and the reader notices and comforts her. Some hugs and cuddles maybe while Ena tries to be more comfortable with being vulnerable as she’s most likely not used to it bc of how other entities tend to be hostile towards Ena(s). Fem or Nuetral reader is good!

Doting

BBQ ENA x doting!reader

Summary: ENA can work herself to the point of collapsing, literally, and sometimes you need to help her calm down and take a minute for herself so that she doesn’t make herself worse.

Warnings: ENA being a people pleaser and not being able to say no to people and exhausting herself. Gender and pronouns of reader is never specified or mentioned. Reader doting on ENA. But of angst that turns into some super sweet fluff.

Author’s Snip: This was actually so nice to write. I hope I did your request justice anon! 🤍♥️

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

Word Count: 1.5k

You swear, people give ENA stupid and hard jobs on purpose. There was this southern-sounding lady made completely of knit yarn complaining about how her sheep got loose and she can’t catch them. That wasn’t too bad. If anything you felt for her a bit. But it was when ENA came up to her to ask questions about the new task she was given that the lady seems to completely turn around and be extremely rude.

“Oh, ENA? Ha! What are you doing ‘round here, huh? Causing no good, I bet. Why don’t you go botherin’ someone else? Can’t you sees I’m doin’ somethin’ important?” she spat.

“My apologies, Miss.” her salesperson side said, “But I fear me and my partner here are at a bit of a short end conundrum. We require assistance to get back in the right track-” she said before her meanie side butted in, “SO TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW SO I CAN GET OUT OF THIS DUMP!”.

“Ha! Yelling like a little child again, are we? Tuff tarts, spitfire. I have rampant sheep to attend to and I can’t waste it on a two-colored-hussy like you.” she said before a thought seemed to cross her mind. “On second thought… you look like you can run just fine. What do you say about being the one to catch all my sheep for me and I tell you what you wanna hear?” she suggests. You immediately try and demand that she just tell you and that her sheep will most likely come back on their own, but the worst happens.

“This seems like a great exchange if you truly mean your offer of currency.” you hear ENA say.

You cringe, knowing that she already has a million other tasks that she’s taken from millions of other people who wanted to take advantage of her salesperson’s need to please ‘customers’. You know for a fact that all the other things on her plate are stressing her out.

The paper crane who wants a good fortune.

The merchant who complains about how someone stole the fabric that covers his stand.

The geisha doll who stole the fabric from the stand to cover herself from the sun and refuses to give it back unless ENA finds her parasol that got blown away in the wind.

The lady hiding in the cave who’s just her upper torso, saying that someone put salt on her lower half while she was flying around last night, and wants ENA to find it walking around somewhere.

The sentient wad of chewed gum that’s covered in a bunch of trash and wants it all off.

The monochromatic mermaid swimming in the fountain with the shrill voice who demands something shiny or else she’ll keep splashing the people who pass by. You’re still a bit wet by the way.

Oh! And there’s even a little boy who just gave ENA the grocery list that his mom sent him out to do, which just says salt, because he didn’t want to do it.

And a ton more.

With that, the lady of yarn hands ENA an old lasso and tells her to get to work and that she’s got six sheep and a lamb to collect, “And they’re the running type.” she says. And the running type they were.

That’s why ENA is running around all over the place as she chases the first sheep, with you trying to help by attempting to flaunt them. But they knew how to avoid the both of you and your tricks.

You can tell that ENA is getting flustered and frustrated at this job. You could hear it in her meanie side yelling and shouting as she lost the sheep again, and again, and again.

You’ve tried asking the lady for some more advice or suggestions on how to catch them, but she’s still being snarky and rude. Saying that ENA was a sore and lousy cowgirl and couldn’t catch a snail even if it was heading towards her.

Apparently, she’s got a horse that she usually uses to catch the sheep when they get loose, but it’s “got a sniffle and needs rest”.

You seriously think she just finds ENA running around chasing the sheep funny.

As you head back from trying to beg for a crumb of advice, you see ENA in a pile on the ground. Her limbs are all disconnected from her body and you see her pale side is active while her red side is just gone and covered in black. She groans and mumbles things to herself, some of which you can only decipher as cuss words. She’s exhausted. But when she sees you standing over her she tries to hide her face by turning it.

“Don’t look at me like that.” she demands weakly, her detached arms slinking toward her head to shield her face from your gaze. “I just… need to...”, her pieces shake like she’s trying to pull herself back together, but she can’t do it even with all her might. She gives up and groans in defeat. “I’m so pathetic. I can’t even wrangle stupid sheep.” she grumbles.

You sigh and sit down on the ground just above where her head and upper torso lay. Gently leaning the torso against your chest and then picking up ENA’s head to place it on her torso.

“Put me down!” she barks. “I can do it myself!” she says. “I - just - need - to -”, she tries pulling herself back together again but she just ends up exhausting herself even more.

“Damnit!” she shouts. Her hands clenched into fists, grabbing and ripping out some of the grass as she slams her fists onto the ground in frustration.

You gently shush her, petting her hair and telling her it’s alright.

“We’ve been running around a lot today. I’m pretty tired. Aren’t you?” you ask her. She wants to say no, but she can’t argue this time since her current condition proves otherwise. “Why don’t we take a minute, hm?I’m sure the sheep are fine. I don’t see anything here that would eat them. They can run free a little longer.” you suggest as you continue to pet her hair. You look around and eventually find your gaze looking up towards the sky, which is just a generic sky blue color with drawn clouds images that drift by above you. “The weather is nice here. I wonder if it ever rains.” you comment.

You feel ENA’s head tilt up, following yours. She doesn’t speak, but you feel her let go a bit.

“Maybe, if we decide this job with the boss isn’t suiting us anymore, we can build a farm here somewhere and enjoy the easy life.” you say, semi-jokingly. “We could herd hourglass dogs and let them roam freely on a big plot.” you suggest. “Or walking trees and we can see what birds come and perch on them.” you add.

“Or am I thinking about a ranch? I always get the two mixed up.” you question before shrugging and saying “We can have both. Live off the land and be away from all these weirdos and no one can bother us. Just you, me, our little human board, and whatever we decide to have on our ranch.”.

You let a few beats pass by and feel like your jabbering about a nice calm life is helping ENA relax and take her mind off all these tasks she needs to complete. So you continue.

“Or maybe, if we save up enough chocolates on both our retirement funds, we can buy a big fancy house by the blood ocean and watch the legs swim around and migrate when it’s hatching season. Or a cottage. I don’t like big houses. Too much space and it’ll really only be us walking around it.” you ration out.

“Maybe we can travel.” you suggest. “Why stay in one place when there’s a whole lot of digital space out there? Am I right?” you pitch.

“I hear the pop-up-ad meadows bloom so pretty this time of year.” you mention.

“You’d really like to do that?” you hear ENA ask. You look down and see her staring up at the sky longingly, seemingly envisioning everything you were saying. “Yeah!” you answer. “Though, we might have to plan to go next year instead. I hear pop-up-ads come all at once and wilt within a week or three.” you add.

“I’d like that.” she says, no more, not less. But you can tell that she’s fond of the idea of maybe getting one break to see something nice with you.

You both sit in a nice silence, with ENA’s lower torso, legs, and arm slowly making their way back together and joining her upper half, and her salesperson half regains its signature red color.

You both get up, but ENA stumbles a bit since she only seems to have her red arm when she tried using both to help her get back up. Confused, you look around only to find that the sheep had, at some point, come near and picked it in an attempt to eat the clump of grass that was still clutched in its hand.

“That’s all we had to do?!” you hear ENA shout, “Lure it with some stupid grass?!”.

It feels so nice to hear her back to her usual self.

[lunarriviera]

okay look i'm sorry okay I'M SORRY, i KNOW i've posted these stills like three times today already but can we just. can we just look at them one more time. i promise then i'll shut up. i promise. i swear it on a stack of rosmei priest vol 1s i promise I PROMISE—

first of all, luo yiguo. or pingüino or whatever tf we're calling him now. (yes i know it's 平锅 i'm being funny) listen everything about this cat is wrong. first of all he tiny, when we all know perfectly well that luo yiguo is about the size of a capybara, a well-fed healthy dude who drinks red wine and gives no fucks that lwz calls him "spherical" and is always threatening him with a nonexistent diet. also, while priest doesn't ever say what color yiguo is, in all the audio drama art he's an orange tabby, sometimes with white markings; whereas on the manhua page for luo wenzhou, and in a lot of fan art as well, he's a rare male calico. definitely not black.

(i love the last one the most. look how cute he is down in the corner, asleep but still smiling. he has a sweet life. all is well in his soul.)

do i care, though, that this luo yiguo is the wrong color and size, and worst of all, has been renamed for a frying pan? no, no i do not care. i am a simple girl at heart. i see a person feeding a cat, and i am content. i honestly need nothing else from a drama. just: person. cat.

2. okay that first one was fun but now it's getting serious. just look at what the homosexuals are doing to me. what an OUTRAGE.

because here's THIS motherfucker. suddenly unbearably domestic in his fuzzy grey SWEATER or LONG UNDERWEAR or whatever this incredibly soft-looking garment is, that i definitely do not want to mash my face into or anything. you would never GUESS he spends his entire work life as a irritable hotheaded ill-tempered police captain constantly barking commands at his subordinates with a CIGARETTE hanging out of his belligerent mouth. instead this guy looks like he runs a gay B&B in vermont and bakes his own fresh blueberry muffins every morning for the guests. i literally hate him.

(what if the whole appeal for lwz of a live-in boyfriend is that he gets to pretend he has perpetual house guests? and he must anticipate and fulfil their every need? i'm not saying he's codependent but actually that's exactly what i'm saying, please see my forthcoming fic on this curiously misunderstood topic)

3. anyway so yes, i do suffer. but not as much as i suffer from what's coming next. because what on god's abandoned earth is THIS:

i'm sorry, WHAT NOW. what in the WHAT NOW? i've been looking at this still for over 16 hours and i'm still beside myself about it.

just. look how soft he is. it's the softest we've seen him yet, in this entire drama. no longer president fei. look how unguarded, how undefended. glasses off, barefaced, hair slightly mussed. (like maybe someone just blew it dry for example. or tangled their fingers in it while [redacted].) standing here hesitantly at the BEDROOM door in in his BATHROBE. watching lwz feed his (his) (their) cat.

he's literally two seconds away from saying "...come back to bed?"—and he's in lwz's HOUSE. do you understand what i'm saying. fei du is finally HOME. in a strange way, considering how bad everything is going to be? everything also gets better from this point onwards.

[dilly-dahlia]

v. Dollhouse of Unexpected Feelings

pairing: Gene x Reader

content: pdh, drill team!reader, opposites attract, sunshine/grumpy, angst, suggestive but not explicit, images used are NOT an indication of the reader's appearance

summary: You gladly accepted Gene's offer to work on your Physics project at his house, but . . . where were the butterflies from?

word count: 7.4k

masterlist

The Problem With Popularity masterlist

previous part

Dante’s house always intimidated you. It was huge. It was also further out of the city and surrounded by a big plot of land his family owned. His closest neighbor was across the street, and even then the winding driveways leading to both houses made them seem like lifetimes away. Any time you came over it was a reminder that you go to the same school he does because of a scholarship, not because your parents could afford the price tag.

Your dad let out a low whistle as he drove up the driveway, raising his brows. “These people are in a different tax bracket, Y/n. I feel poor,” he said, glancing over at you. “Is that why you’re dressed so nice?”

“I’m dressed normally.” Although you had put just a tad more effort into your hair and makeup. And, okay, maybe you were wearing one of your nicer outfits.

He raised his brow at you in suspicion. You kept your gaze locked with his until he said something else. “You’re sure there’s no boys here?”

“I never said there weren’t gonna be guys here, Dad. I literally told you my physics partner is a guy.”

He hummed like he didn’t believe you, but you knew you told him because his response had been, “Don’t go doing any double slit experiments.”

And he said the same thing now. “Alright, then. But don’t go doing any double slit experiments. Not worth it.”

Your cheeks heated and you reached up to cover your face as he pulled to a stop. You mumbled something incoherent before opening your door and carefully climbing out, cardboard box and grocery bag of craft supplies in hand.

“How you gettin’ home, tot?” your dad asked, leaning over the center console. You rested the box on the passenger seat for a moment, tapping your fingers against the sides.

“I’ll get a ride home with Katelyn if she’s here,” you replied. “Or Gene can take me, even.”

Your dad scrunched his nose. “Gene a bad kid?” You shook your head. He huffed and lifted himself back into the driver seat, shifting the car into drive. “Go home with Katelyn.”

You hummed in agreement, lifting the box back up and closing the car door. Your dad waited until you were at Dante’s front door, hand on the knob and opening it, before driving off. 

Dante and his family always left the front door unlocked when they were expecting people, and not only were you there to work on your Physics project with Gene, but Dante had also invited most of the friend group to just come over and hang out.

You didn’t think that was just a coincidence. You were sure Dante (and probably another person) had some underlying motive, but you couldn’t prove anything.

The door immediately opened to the living room and kitchen. The layout of the first floor was fairly open, the only separation indicating a difference in rooms being a kitchen island with tall bar stools sitting beside it. There was hardly anything on the floor save for basic and sleek looking furniture, but the walls were covered in family photos and various hangings.

Dante—who was sitting on the couch with Garroth, Laurance, Cadenza, and Aphmau—looked toward the door when it opened. The five of them were playing Mario Kart, though Dante was sitting out. You offered a tight lipped smile.

He narrowed his eyes at you. “I thought you were busy.”

“I am.” You motioned to the box and plastic bag in your hands. “Is Gene here?”

“Who threw that blue shell?” Aphmau shouted.

“I think it was an NPC,” Garroth said, though he was biting back a laugh as he passed Aphmau’s Yoshi.

“He’s up in his room,” Dante replied, letting his head hang back so he could keep looking at you. You stepped closer to him, resting the box on the back of the couch.

“Can you go get him?”

“Why do I have to get him?”

“It’s your house, Dante.”

“Well he’s your partner.” Dante rolled his eyes, reluctantly pushing himself off the couch and trudging over to the set of stairs on the opposite side of the room. “Fine. He’ll be down in a minute.”

“Thank you,” you sang, giving him a bright smile. You immediately took his spot on the couch, watching the remainder of the Mario Kart round. Once it finished, Laurance set his controller down and leaned forward.

“Y/n.”

You blinked at him, your gaze flitting around for a moment. Aphmau and Garroth were preoccupied with choosing the next cup they were going to play, but Cadenza seemed to be listening in. You met her gaze and she shrugged.

“Laurance,” you replied, matching his monotone voice.

“You and Gene,” he started, but he didn’t elaborate. You fought the urge to roll your eyes, but you couldn’t hold back the exasperated breath you let out.

“I’m here to do a physics project with him, Laurance,” you explained. Your tone seemed strained, like you were tired of always having to explain yourself to him.

“Isn’t that what the class is for?”

“So Mr. Vega actually assigns six weeks projects to do as homework,” you said, using your hands to animate the situation. “Gene and I have barely even planned out our dollhouse and it’s due literally tomorrow.”

Laurance, always having less restraint than you, did roll his eyes. “I feel like you’re spending a lot of time with him and using physics to cover it up.”

Your brows furrowed. What was that supposed to mean?

“I’m sorry he’s my lab partner? I don’t know what you want me to tell you.” You crossed your arms defensively. The other three had picked a new cup by now, and they were silently watching your conversation with Laurance. “Even then, it’s none of your business who I talk to. I’ve already told you that you can’t police who I’m friends with.”

“That’s not-“ Laurance exhaled, running a hand through his hair. He didn’t like arguing, especially with you. And especially in front of other people. You could see it in the way his cheeks flushed, and the fact that the three onlookers were so clearly listening to the small argument only made it worse. “I’m not trying to do that.”

“It sure seems like it.”

“Just-“ Laurance took a breath, his celestine eyes meeting yours. “What is the deal with you two?”

“What do you mean? We’re friends.”

Laurance raised his brows in disbelief. “That’s why you’re so dressed up? To work on a functioning dollhouse with just a friend?”

Why did people keep saying that? “This is not dressed up.” You motioned to yourself. The denim skirt and black fitted top you had on really wasn’t. Not to you, at least. You had thought the outfit sat in the comfortable gray area between casual and dressy, but apparently not.

“It is a little nicer than usual, Y/n,” Cadenza added.

“This is my normal clothing choice!” you said, scoffing. “And if I look dressed up then it’s because I’m here of all places. Have you seen this house? If I wore literally anything else I would look so out of place.”

“Did you not just see that Dante’s wearing a muscle shirt and highlighter yellow basketball shorts.”

You held your tongue. You had seen that, and you honestly wondered if he had just rolled out of bed with it. “That’s different.”

“There is nothing different about it.”

“He lives here.”

“That doesn’t mean- Listen, if you keep up whatever thing you have with Gene you might live here, too.”

Your jaw dropped. “What? What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, it just-“

“Oh, my god. You think I like Gene? That’s what this is about?”

“Of course not, Y/n. I just don’t think you should be getting so schmoozy with him.”

“I have not been getting schmoozy with him. We’re just friends, Laurance. And like I said, even if there was something, it's none of your business nor is it your place to tell me I can’t date him.”

“Do you know how pissed Dante would be if that happened?”

“Why are you bringing Dante into this?”

“Because he’s Gene’s brother, and also one of your best friends.”

“Dante is irrelevant.” It was like saying his name summoned him because you could suddenly hear Dante’s loud laugh coming from the stairwell. It bounced off the walls and in response you hit Laurance in the shoulder. “Now shut up.”

“Why did you hit me?”

You shushed him and stood up, readjusting the box in your arms so you could lift it easier. You and Laurance continued your hushed bickering for a moment, until you’d finally had enough.

“Okay, just- Just forget about it, Laurance.” You stepped around the couch, making your way over so you’d be able to meet Gene and Dante at the bottom of the stairwell. Just before you did, though, you turned your head and said, “Not a word to Dante. That goes for all of you.”

“What?” Dante asked, practically hopping off the last step of the stairs. You finally got a good look at him and realized just how ridiculous he looked. His entire person was a stark contrast to the warm color of the walls. He really did look like he had just rolled out of bed.

“Don’t worry about it,” you said, waving him off. He eyed you suspiciously, but ended up shrugging and walking back to the couch. You placed a finger over your lips, silently shushing the other four that sat around. After a moment, you turned to Gene with a smile.

He raised a brow at you, his gaze flicking between you and your friends. “What’s that about?” he asked, lifting his hand and motioning to Dante. He held a folder, and the contents of it flopped around.

You shook your head. “Nothing. Anyway, I brought a cardboard box and the wire Garroth gave me the other day. I also brought a bunch of craft stuff my mom had so we could decorate it once we finish the wiring and . . . Yeah.”

You softly hummed to fill whatever silence followed your words. You and Gene awkwardly stood across from each other, the only sound in the room being your fingers softly tapping against the box and the occasional click of a button. You wondered why no one was talking, especially since there was a group of very talkative people just a few feet away from you.

You heard Cadenza clear her throat, and when you looked over she was leaned in close to Aphmau to whisper, although not quietly, “The tension is straight out of a romance novel.”

Aphmau said something else, but you didn’t hear it because you grabbed Gene by the arm and led him to the kitchen island, wanting to get far from any other comment they might have. You lifted the box onto the counter and settled into one of the bar stools. Gene followed suit, dropping his folder next to the box.

“Okay!” you said loudly, hoping it would prompt Dante and whoever else was on the couch to talk among themselves. “You have the plan we made, right?”

“Yup.” Gene opened the folder, pulling out the folded piece of paper you had haphazardly shoved into the folder and given to Gene. He unfolded it, flattening it out against the counter and sliding it between the two of you. “We will have to redo this, by the way, because this looks like shit.”

You blinked at the paper. Not only was it extremely crinkled, but the planning itself was a dumpster fire. You could barely make out the numbers written and the lines had started rubbing away.

“Okay,” is all you said, but the simple response was such a contrast to the panic that now coursed through your veins. This project was due tomorrow, and you were starting to see that there was a reason Mr. Vega had given the class an entire six week grading period to finish it.

“I’ll do the wiring and you work on making another copy of this,” Gene said, tapping the crumpled piece of paper in front of you. He grabbed another blank sheet and slid it in front of you, along with a pencil from across the counter.

You groaned. “Why do I have to do it? I hate making the graphs.”

“Because you have better handwriting than me. Also, you know nothing about how to wire because you were asleep when Mr. Vega taught us.”

You scoffed, but you knew exactly what day Gene was talking about. You had fallen asleep in nearly all your classes because you’d pulled an all-nighter the night before. Physics, though, was probably the most embarrassing of the classes because not only did Gene actually let you sleep, but it had been a day where Mr. Vega pulled everyone in a close circle around him for the presentation. Naturally, you had sat by Gene and ended up dozing away on him. “Not true, I was paying attention.”

Gene deadpanned, holding your gaze because he knew you were bullshitting. The two of you spent a couple moments like that, just staring at each other, before you sighed dramatically and picked up the pencil.

“Fine,” you groaned, picking up the pencil and starting to write both yours and Gene’s name on the paper. From your peripheral you could see a smirk on his face. “And I was not actually sleeping that day.”

“Oh yeah, what were you doing then?”

“Resting my eyes.”

Gene laughed, but it was dry and sarcastic, before rolling his eyes. “Yeah, because the drool on my shoulder was definitely resting your eyes.”

You shushed him, reaching over to place your hand over his mouth and cover it. Your cheeks felt warm, and you could only hope you hadn’t visibly flushed. He tried speaking beneath your hand again, but you harshly shushed him once more. Gene playfully rolled his eyes before pulling your hand away from his lips.

“Get to work, Y/n.” A smile played at his lips as he spoke, and the sight made you laugh.

“Says the guy who’s been unwinding copper wire since he sat down.”

“Shut up.”

You laughed again, and a comfortable silence fell over the two of you. Of course, it wasn’t really silent since Dante and Laurance and Aphmau and anyone else were still playing MarioKart. You listened to the racing music, along with the occasional and offhanded comment one of them made every now and then. You even let a laugh slip from your lips every now and then.

A couple hours had passed. Katelyn, Travis, Nicole and Lucinda had come by and found spots to sit around the living room area. They had been taking turns playing MarioKart or Overcooked, but the group of them had now settled down and were watching Hamilton. Safe to say that you had not been expecting a live show when you showed up to the Accardi residence.

Gene, you learned, took a lot of breaks. Oftentimes it seemed as though the breaks he took lasted longer than the time he actually worked, and it had reached the point where you had finished the final copy of the planning document and decided to try (and fail) to wire a small fan. Gene found your failure to be much more amusing than anything on his phone, and had set it face down on the counter in favor of watching you.

“You’re an ass,” you eventually said. Your comment elicited a hearty chuckle from Gene.

“And why am I an ass today, bunny?”

“You’re just sitting there and staring and laughing at me. Help me, or something.”

Gene laughed again. You noticed he did that a lot more the longer you knew him. Maybe the two of you were just getting more comfortable with each other, but you couldn’t recall any time you had seen him really laugh before this year. Before, you would see him in passing in the halls. Sometimes the two of you would lock eyes and you’d offer a soft smile and small wave, but Gene just stared at you until you looked away. Even when you saw him with Sasha and Zenix, he always looked brooding.

He reached over, pulling the copper wire and poorly made paper fan from your hands. Your fingers brushed together, and for the brief moment that they did you let yourself savor the feel of his calluses against your hands. For a brief moment you felt the warmth of his hand against yours, and you enjoyed it.

What?

Your gaze flicked up to meet the deepest blue you’d ever seen. You quickly pulled your hand away from his to brush hair out of your face, softly clearing your throat and glancing to where most of Dante’s group was belting the lyrics to Satisfied. You kept your gaze on the TV as Gene wired the fan, watching before you noticed Katelyn in your peripheral.

She was staring you down. Compared to the rest—who were all practically acting out Angelica’s grievances like they were the ones suffering from the tragedy of ‘right person wrong time’—she actually stuck out like a sort thumb, which was surprising considering she loved theater. Then again, it really wasn’t because of how adamant she always was about disliking it for some reason. Regardless to say, she was staring you down and you didn’t have a clue as to why.

You furrowed your brows, slightly cocking your head as if to say, What?

In response, Katelyn lifted her eyebrows and subtly nodded her head to Gene, even flicked her gaze to him.

Your eyebrows unfurrowed, but you slightly widened your eyes. Again, as if to ask, What?

Katelyn rolled her eyes, and nodded her head more distinctly to your physics partner. Her eyes were wider than saucers, and she moved her lips to mouth something.

Unfortunately, you were garbage at lip reading, and instead furrowed your brows again in confusion. You got one of her messages when Katelyn held her hands out in front of her, shaking them back in forth like she was going to strangle you.

Which, knowing her, wasn’t an entirely impossible thought.

“What are you doing?” Gene asked from beside you. He had been watching the silent conversation with your friend, and he seemed almost as lost as you.

“Nothing,” fell from your lips faster than lightning. Immediately you peeled your gaze from Katelyn to meet his instead. “Nothing.”

“Right.” Gene spared one last glance to Katelyn before pushing the bare bones of the completed dollhouse to you. “Well, we’re done with the wiring. Now, since you want that extra credit so bad, all we have to do is decorate it.”

“You’re talking like you don’t also need the extra credit, Mister Forty-Seven.”

“I am perfectly fine with making a bare minimum grade in that class—”

“A forty-seven isn’t—”

“—you, however, are the one crying about a seventy-seven.”

You deadpanned, glaring at him. “You do know I’m at Phoenix Drop High on scholarship, right?”

“So?”

You let out a sound akin to a scoff of disbelief. You kept your mouth slightly agape, just staring at Gene until he raised his eyebrows and motioned for you to continue. Then you sighed, lifting your hand to your mouth.

“You really are in a different tax bracket,” you mumbled, to which Gene laughed. You lowered your hand from your lips, crossing your arms on the counter and looking at him instead. “Gene, you realize tuition for Phoenix Drop High is twenty-thousand dollars a year, right?”

“Y/n, I know how much it costs and I know you’re there on scholarship.”

“I know, but you don’t know the requirements to keep the scholarship,” you said, cutting him off from speaking any further. “I need to stay in my extracurricular for the entire time I attend the school, I need good student behavior, and I also need to maintain an eighty plus average in all of my classes. I only get one pass for my grade to drop below that and I already used it last year.”

Gene whistled, tapping his fingers against the counter. “What class did you fail? And why? I can’t see you failing any of your classes, let alone get below an eighty.”

“Unimportant.” You didn’t want to get into the depression rut you had put yourself into that stemmed from dating Laurance. It was such a deep hole you had to take a week off school for your mental health and to catch yourself up. It was close to what you imagined hell to be like. “But anyways. I’m literally three points from making an eighty, Gene, please. I need that extra credit.”

He laughed, another genuine sound you were getting used to hearing, and shook his head. “Alright. What all did you bring?”

You smiled at him, which he returned. Except this one wasn’t like the mischievous or cunning smiles he often gave you or anyone else. He didn’t bare his perfect teeth and kept his lips closed. In fact, his smile was downturned. Now that you had seen it, you couldn’t imagine him with a smile where the corners of his lips curled up.

You reached for the plastic Hobby Lobby bag across the counter. Once you slid it toward yourself, you untied the knot and began pulling some of the supplies out, briefly explaining what they could be used for to Gene. You both decided to start making furniture with the air dry clay that had been sitting in your closet for who knows how long. Somehow, it retained its softness and remained easily molded.

“You are putting way too much effort into this,” Gene commented after he had watched you add the tiniest details to the table you were making with a toothpick. His voice was light, almost like he was holding back a laugh.

“You made a solid cube and called it a toaster so I don’t want to hear it,” you retorted, glancing up to meet his gaze. His eyes were trained on your hands, watching intently as you added wood grain texture to the clay.

Okay, maybe you were adding way too much detail, but you tended to hyper focus on the small things. It wasn’t your fault, really. It was just so calming sometimes. It gave you an opportunity to zero in on one thing and forget about some of your other responsibilities for a bit.

Gene gently grabbed your hand. Once again you felt his callouses against the softness of your skin and found yourself longing for a more lingering touch. Something that wasn’t so fleeting. His warm hand pried the table from your hands and set it into the designated kitchen space in the cardboard dollhouse to paint and hot glue once all the pieces had been finished.

“I think our table has enough detail,” he said, giving you another one of his downturned smiles. Your gaze flicked to his lips to admire it and the sight nearly made your heart jump up to your throat. “All we need now is, what? A bed?”

You blinked at him, hardly even noticing he had posed a question—suggestion?—until he repeated it.

“Oh! Yes. Yeah, a bed, probably.” You laughed nervously. “Where else would someone sleep?”

Your stupid question made Gene playfully roll his eyes. For some reason, the action had you questioning everything. His eye rolls, whether they were genuine or joking, never made you feel any particular way, so what was this?

Hamilton had ended by now. It was getting closer to one in the afternoon as well, and you were starting to get hungry. You hadn’t had anything to eat that day except a glass of milk to down an allergy pill and ibuprofen and a slice of bread with Nutella spread across it. And you only ate half of that before accidentally dropping it on the ground, sticky side down, just as you stepped into your dad’s car that morning. You were thankful when you overheard Dante and Aphmau and all of them discussing plans for the rest of the day.

They were debating whether or not they wanted to DoorDash something or actually go out. And then they were talking about whether or not they would even come back to Dante’s since it was getting late, at least to their standards. You heard the words Chinese, deli, Chick-fil-a and buffet tossed around before they decided to go to a local pizza buffet no one knew the name of but everyone loved.

You hadn’t even noticed that Gene had started molding the doll sized bed. You watched him work, studying the way his fingers pressed against the clay to shape it and the way he rubbed it smooth and thought about how you'd feel if he—

Woah. Let’s stop that train of thought before it gets anywhere.

You shook your head to rid your mind of the dirty image you had unintentionally given yourself, your cheeks hot. Gene noticed and looked up at you with his eyebrows furrowed, giving you a once over like you were crazy. You only smiled at him, acting like nothing had happened and that you definitely didn’t catch yourself thinking about that with him.

Nope. That didn’t happen, and it would never happen. Not in a million years. Because you didn’t even like him.

“Gene, we’re heading out!” Dante called. He swiped a set of keys from the bowl near the front door and slipped his shoes on.

“Do not crash my car, you idiot,” Gene said, catching sight of the guitar pick that dangled from the chain. “If you even nick it, you're paying for damage repair.”

“You got it!” Dante was out the door before anyone else.

You hummed in amusement at the display, and when Katelyn walked closer to you and came up to your side, you instinctively held your hand out to hold hers.

“We’re going to that pizza place on Wayfare,” she said. She took hold of your hand and held it against her cheek. “Do you want to come along?”

“Me too?” Gene piped up from beside you. He gave Katelyn one of his cunning, toothy smiles, and her response was a scowl and nasty side eye.

You shook your head. “No. Me and Gene still have to finish this stupid project.” You sighed heavily. You wanted with your full being to throw this cardboard project out the window and into a pit of blazing fire. You hoped it exploded.

“Want me to bring you anything?”

“Dr. Pepper and a brownie, please,” you requested, fluttering your lashes at your friend.

“Katelyn, we’re waiting on you!” someone—it sounded like Lucinda—called from the door. Katelyn rolled her eyes, letting go of your hand and squeezing your cheek.

“I will return with Dr. Pepper and the biggest center piece of brownie you’ve ever seen,” she said, saluting to you before wishing you luck on the project and jogging to the front door.

She closed it behind her. The sound echoed through the house, and you suddenly became very aware that it was only you and Gene. Awkwardly, you lifted your hand to scratch at the side of your neck.

It was quiet without everyone else. Too quiet. You could feel the tension in the air, though you couldn’t tell what it was from. You glanced over at Gene. He seemed perfectly fine with the silence and continued working on molding the miniature bed, so maybe the awkwardness was something you were making up.

“Do you mind if I play music?” you suddenly blurted. You really couldn’t handle the silence, especially with him, Which was weird because you never minded it before. You actually preferred the silence when you were with him, because it gave you a chance to look over his shoulder and snoop on whatever he was doing on his phone or just watch his mannerisms. He usually picked up a pen the same way he did a cigarette, and sometimes he would hold it between his pointer and middle fingers the same way. And lately he had been plucking cigarettes out of their box and just holding them between his lips, not even lighting them.

“Go for it,” Gene said, setting the bed down and wiping his hands against his pants. “Do you want something to eat, by the way? I know I’m definitely hungry so you probably are, too. I can order something.”

“Sure,” you said, absentmindedly scrolling through your playlists before deciding to just hit shuffle on your liked songs and hope for the best. You prayed something from your middle school years wouldn't come up in the queue. “Don’t dog on my music, Gene.”

“Why would I . . .” Gene trailed off as the tune to Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” started playing. He held your gaze and you held his. This was definitely not the song you wanted to be the first to play, but at least it was more in tune with your current taste. “What is this?”

“Music.”

“Y/n.”

“You said you wouldn’t dog on my music, Gene.”

“False. I never said that. You said that and then didn’t even give me the chance to agree, so I can dog on your music all I want.”

“But that’s mean. You shouldn’t do that.”

“I want you to give me a good look, Y/n, and tell me if I've ever cared about being mean.”

“You’re being very judgemental for someone that recognized the song in two notes,” you said, raising a brow at him in question. “You got experience with this song?”

“Of course I know this song. It’s Taylor Swift.”

You hummed in disbelief, side eyeing him and looking him up and down, before turning the volume on your phone up and setting it on the counter. “Sure. I’ll believe you, I guess. Anyway, what were you thinking to eat?”

“I was just gonna DoorDash Chick-fil-a,” he said, tapping on his phone. “Sandwich and fries good?”

You nodded. “With Dr. Pepper. And I can pay you back for mine.”

Gene waved you off, standing from the stool he sat in and sauntering over to the fridge. He didn’t look up from his phone, but somehow he knew where exactly a cold can of Dr. Pepper sat and placed it in front of you. “It’s fine. I got it, bunny.”

“You already let me come over for the project, I can-“

“A project we both needed to work on,” he cut in, setting his phone to the side. “I don’t mind paying. As you said, I’m in a different tax bracket so it’s basically pennies to me.”

He gave you another one of his stupidly adorable downturned smiles before laughing at the sight of your unimpressed expression.

“Let me pay you back, Gene.”

“I will not accept your money.”

“I’ll sneak it in your bag.”

“And I’ll put it right back into yours.” Gene raised his brows, holding your gaze once again. His was clear, and it seemed to click in your head just how pretty his eyes were. “I’m paying.”

You huffed, making it much more exaggerated than it needed to be. “Fine. But don’t think I owe you anything big or something! I’ll pay next time, okay?”

Despite the butterflies that seemed to have found themselves flapping in your stomach (when did those get there?), you still knew Gene. You knew he often took small favors and then held them over people’s heads. I did this for you so you do this for me. That’s one of the ways he would get people, and you refused to fall for it.

“What could you even do for me?”

“I’m not joining the Shadow Knights,” you said. Gene rolled his eyes.

“You’re basically already in it.”

“Am not. There’s a difference between being in it and being friends with the people in it.”

“Right.” Gene scoffed. “Sure, bunny. If that makes you feel better.”

You weren’t sure how it happened, but it wasn’t long until the food came and you decided to take a break. You and Gene settled yourselves on the couch and scrolled through his Hulu account, trying to find something to fill the time until you decided to get back to work.

“I can’t believe you’re making me watch 90 Day Fiancé,” Gene said, letting the remote drop onto the coffee table before leaning back. He propped his legs up, crossing them at the ankles.

“You literally clicked on it without my comment,” you replied. You were sitting on the opposite end of the couch, as far away from him as you could get. Your legs were pulled up to your chest and you had precariously balanced your food on the armrest.

“Can’t believe you’re making me watch 90 Day Fiancé,” he repeated, letting out a prolonged sigh. It made you chuckle, and you glanced over at him just to find that he was already looking at you.

“You’re so dumb.” You rolled your eyes and looked away. If you had to look at him any more you might explode. What from, you weren’t entirely sure.

You imagined he rolled his eyes as well, but he definitely reached over to playfully hit your arm before pretending he did nothing. When you turned to chastise him, his eyes were trained on the TV, and he was clearly holding back a laugh. You decided not to say anything, and just continued eating.

Somehow, some way, you shifted closer to Gene. It wasn’t so close that you were touching or anything, and there was still nearly an entire cushion between the two of you, but you did shift closer. And somewhere among the easy conversation and unexpectedly passionate debates and criticisms of the show’s choices, you found yourself wanting to get used to this.

—

You were on your way out of the house with Katelyn when the sound of Gene’s voice stopped you. When you looked back, he was leaning against the doorway. Behind him you could see the completed dollhouse that had been moved to the coffee table so he didn’t forget it in the morning.

You had to look up slightly to be able to look at Gene properly, and it made your face hot. He leaned against the doorway in the same way you imagined the love interests in the books you read to, and that thought did nothing to quell the butterflies that had been present since . . . Well, you weren’t sure.

“Zenix and I are heading over to Sasha’s for a movie night on Friday, if you want to come,” he said. He reached up to run a hand through his dark curls. You could tell he had gotten hot because now he only wore a tank top undershirt instead of the flannel he had layered on top of it.

It took you a moment to gather yourself, but you nodded. “Yeah, I-I’d love you.”

Hearing yourself stutter only made you more flustered. Gene caught it and smiled, and you could tell he was about to tease you about it because his lips turned up.

“You’d love to?” he said, pitching his voice higher in a sad attempt to mimic yours. He laughed when you playfully hit him across the chest. “We were planning on staying the night and going to the fair Saturday morning.”

You could only nod again. “Yeah, that works. I might not stay the night, but I can definitely come to the movie and fair with you guys.”

Gene gave you a swift nod and pressed his lips together. “Cool. Uh, see you tomorrow, Y/n.”

You lifted your hand to offer a wave to Gene as you stepped down his porch. “Bye.”

He raised his hand as well, and watched you until you opened the passenger door to Katelyn’s car and stepped inside. When you looked back at the doorway, Gene was just closing the door.

It was late, and you and Katelyn were the last to leave the Accardi house because of that stupid physics project. It was a devil sent from the innermost circle of hell, you swore. There was no part of it that you enjoyed, and once Mr. Vega gave it back you planned on burning it until it was nothing but a pile of ash.

“So,” Katelyn started, dragging out the word as she pulled out of Gene’s winding driveway. “Wanna talk about anything? Something I should know?” You shook your head. “No? Not like, I dunno, your entire day with Gene. You were kind of acting weird.”

“I know!” You folded easily. So, so easily. It wasn’t hard to make you do that, but you especially couldn’t keep up any kind of front with Katelyn. All she needed to do was ask one open ended question and suddenly you were making her a word salad. “Katelyn, I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Woah. Okay. Maybe take a breath.” She clearly hadn’t been expecting that reaction. Normally she would’ve been more firm—she might’ve breathed along with you, but she was driving.

“It’s so . . .” You sputter like a fish out of water, trying to articulate sentences. All your words had left you, though, and there was not a single thought in your head except for panic. “It’s so weird! I don’t even know what’s happening. Suddenly out of nowhere I’m . . . Eh.”

You didn’t know how to articulate it into words, so Katelyn could only guess how you were feeling based on the exaggerated hand motions and awkward stuttering. Which she had never been good at explaining to herself, but based on the other information she had, she could take a guess.

But she wouldn’t voice her guess to you. She would keep it to herself because saying it would only make your spiral worse. She also knew you preferred to talk yourself into and out of situations, so she hoped you would be less sporadic by the time she dropped you off.

“I don’t even like him!” you exclaimed. You wanted to pull you hair out, and you almost did. You tugged at the ends of it and groaned. “I don’t even like him. Why is this happening?”

Katelyn huffed in amusement. ‘I don’t even like him,’ my ass, she thought.

“I don’t even know if we’re friends. I mean, I consider us to be friends, but what if he doesn’t? What if he thinks I’m just some girl that’s best friends with his best friend and he just wants me gone? What if-”

“Why are you so worried about whether or not Gene thinks you’re friends?” Katelyn asked, raising her brow and sparing you a quick glance.

“I don’t know!” You groaned again, sliding down in Katelyn’s passenger seat and pulling your knees to your chest. It definitely wasn’t the safest position in a moving vehicle, but it was the closest you could get to curling into a ball and falling through the earth. “I think I’m psyching myself out. Am I psyching myself out?”

“Most definitely.”

“I just- Ugh. I know you know I already thought Gene was cute, but today it was, like, way worse. Katelyn, he actually smiled.”

“He smiles a lot, I feel like?” Katelyn wasn’t actually sure. Every time she saw him, though, his lips were always curled up. Like he had something up his sleeve. It freaked her out sometimes.

“No, like he smiled, Katelyn. A genuine, actual smile.” You covered your face with your hands. You wanted the world to open up and swallow you just to get away from this weird feeling in your stomach. You wanted to get rid of the weird pull on your heart and get rid of whatever fog was messing with your head. “And his eyes are so pretty, oh my god. I’m going to die.”

Katelyn huffed, scrunching her nose. “Is this like the crash out you had when you realized you liked Laurance?”

“No.” You were very firm with it. You were so serious, in fact, that you returned to sitting like a normal person to look at Katelyn dead on to make your point. “It is not the same because I don’t like Gene.”

“Right.”

“I don’t! I don’t and I never will because he’s a bad, bad, terrible person and he doesn’t care about his actions or the consequences and he does illegal things and I don’t even want to be associated with him.” That’s what you had been told, anyway, and that’s the reputation that preceded Gene. It was natural for people to say that about him, so it was completely normal for you to think that.

Katelyn could feel that there was more you needed to let out. “But?”

“But he’s not that bad!” If you were in your room with her, you would’ve dramatically thrown yourself onto your bed like a distressed maiden. Instead, you settled for folding over and groaning at the car floor. “He isn’t that bad, at least to me, and I don’t know if I’m being delusional or if it’s true.”

Katelyn couldn’t help but laugh. She knew you were lying to yourself, because the only times she had seen you so passionate about something was your Silver Starlet routines and when you told her you liked Laurance. That was a very similar conversation to this one, except Laurance wasn’t a completely jackhead like everyone made Gene out to be, so there was a lot less back and forth.

“I think you are being completely insane,” Katelyn started. The two of you had made it back into what was officially considered Phoenix Drop, so there were more lights highlighting your face and running across your field of vision. “However, I say to give it like, a week, or something.”

“I see him in less than twenty-four hours.”

“O-kay.” Katelyn pulled to a stop at a red light, letting her hands drop from the wheel and taking the opportunity to look at you. “Then roll it over in your head until you see him tomorrow, I guess.”

“You are not helpful.”

You friend lifted her hands in surrender. “Hey, you are the one that decided to vent to me. The only romantic experience I’ve ever had is with Jeffory, and as of now we are in a rather happy relationship.”

You glared at her. Of course she had to bring up that her life was completely void of boy problems because of whatever excuse she pulled from a cup.

“Y’know, I thought you’d be a lot more judgemental about this.”

She shrugged. “I mean, I already knew you think he’s cute. For some reason. I’m not exactly happy or elated about it, but whatever, I guess.”

“Wow. So you just don’t care if he ends up axe murdering me and dumping me in the ocean.”

“Listen, that’s on you if you decide to spend more time with Gene. If he kills you, obviously I will kill him in return, but at your funeral I’m leaning down into your casket and whispering, I told you so.” Her face lit up green and she pressed on the gas. The sun had just set, so the sky behind her was a pretty violet color. “But also if you end up heartbroken because of him, that’s also your own fault because you know he isn’t the best.”

You huffed, turning to look out your window and leaning your head against the glass. “I don’t even like him, so I’m not going to end up heartbroken. You can only get heartbroken about something if you care about it.”

Katelyn glanced over at you, not quite believing your words because she knew you. She knew you were someone that did things slowly and then all at once without even realizing it. That’s what had happened with Laurance, and look how that turned out. Not only did the aftermath of that relationship leave you in shambles for multiple reasons, but she could also see that your breakup was still affecting you.

She just hoped that you ended up happy, even if your happiness meant being with what she would consider the vermin of Phoenix Drop High. She also hoped that for your sake, you would realize what was happening before everything came all at once and you drowned.

it's been a while but I hope y'all enjoy until the next time I update because it might be another while lmao (school is killing me im so tired)

but anyways! i'm going to bed (< a complete lie) I love y'all have a good day mwah

TAGGING: @garrothswiferealnotfake @wasting-away-on-the-internet @mellozhi @pushingdaisies1 @orinlin @luckygirldotgov @snowblossomsx @lucciluvr @oliemolliever @endo-bunny @purpledsun @angelhyperfixates @angelarabella @dontcrackyourpinkytoes @siochandess @vanoilette @revengexmason @neptunesfantasies @natpakk @thehumanartist

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[terraswallows]

Diary of an Awkward trans-girl : Day 17 - A Strange, Beautiful Kind of Day.

I don’t really know how else to describe today except… well, it was a day. Nothing wild or out of the ordinary happened—just your average routine: I worked, powered through the lingering grogginess of still being sick, and got ready for my usual evening Dming on a Wednesday crowd. I looked like a bit of a mess, sounded worse, and honestly didn’t feel super cute. But I showed up. I did the thing.

And then… she walked in.

Okay—story time.

Back in high school, before I even had the words for who I really was, there was this friend. We were both flamboyant, very gay, and a little too attached at the hip. We’d have sleepovers, wrestle, play games, and stay up way too late talking about everything and nothing. Over time, I developed a crush on them. Like, a real crush. The kind that makes your heart ache in a way that feels both electric and unbearable. I even wrote them a love letter once—something I might share someday, cringe and all.

After high school, they vanished. Changed their name. Last I heard, they’d transitioned and were going by Luna now. Which, let’s be real… explains a lot about both of us.

I always hoped I’d bump into them again, just to see how they turned out. To see if they were happy. Maybe even just to say hi.

And then today, while I was literally mid-DMing a session, she walked into the store.

She looked incredible. Long ebony hair down to her waist, olive skin, soft feminine voice… and that same awkward, endearing expression she always had when she didn’t know where to look. She was with someone—maybe a boyfriend, arms wrapped loosely around her hip. They looked happy. She looked happy. And that’s what mattered.

We made eye contact. That kind of “Wait… do I know you?” head-tilt with a spark of recognition in the eyes. It wasn’t long—just a flicker. They were just there to pick up a board game and didn’t stay for long. But in that moment, I was caught between wanting to leap over the DM screen to hug her and… just watching her walk away again.

I didn’t get to say hello. Didn’t get to say anything. And, I wish I had.

It’s funny how someone can disappear from your life and then reappear just long enough to stir everything back up again. The memories. The feelings. The queer little ache of “what if?”

I don’t know if she recognized me, not fully. I don’t know if I’ll see her again. But damn, it was nice. Bittersweet, but nice.

[amity-moonrise]

I see so many people tell others online to avoid shein, temu, Ali express and other businesses that often profit off of unpaid labour and child labour with harsh working conditions and every. single. time…

They forget about those who are literally unable to afford anything else that is NOT from those brands or other similar cheap businesses.

I understand why supporting these companies is wrong and we personally try our hardest to avoid these brands, but not everyone is as lucky as we are. For many, Amazon is too expensive, or local small businesses and in store places. And with the tariffs going on, it’s getting worse for anyone to live a decent life.

You could argue that people don’t need cute and aesthetic things to survive, that if they can’t afford it then they don’t need to buy it because it’s not as important as food, water, and shelter. Except this argument treats poor people like they don’t deserve luxury or that they don’t deserve BASIC stuff like a nice tshirt or a cute bracelet once in a while. Do you realize how insulting that is? Especially when that person has worked so hard to live in a system that is DESIGNED TO FAIL THEM ON PURPOSE. You are reducing them to something that should only focus on surviving when there is much more to life. You are shaming them for trying to make their lives just a bit easier to handle.

You could also argue that they can just make it themselves. Well uh, guess what, they still need to buy the materials to even make it, and now the TIME to make it, which is often not possible for many who work multiple jobs just to pay for rent and food. They won’t have as much free time as someone with better income. This argument again, reduces poor people as something that don’t deserve an ounce of luxury, and that they HAVE to work unrealistically to get that luxury, while rich people can get that luxury in a second.

These companies are evil, we’re not saying that they are not. What we ARE saying is that before you decide to shame someone who buys from these companies, maybe consider their situation. They could be poor, they could be living in a rural area where there aren’t many small businesses to buy from so they have to order online. They could be disabled and find that the cheapest option for them to get anything is to order online from these stores. People forget how expensive it can get for someone who is disabled and needs medical equipment.

Boycotting is not as easy as people make it to be. People fail to recognize that there’s people out there who are reliant on certain products because of their circumstances. So maybe instead of shaming people who don’t boycott, maybe help them instead? Give them actual resources on alternative business that are ACTUALLY AFFORDABLE, because so many times we see these alternatives and they are not affordable at all for people with low incomes. Or better yet, if you yourself have old stuff, DONATE. Not just to a thrift store or a charity organization, give them to people personally who are struggling to make ends meet. If you know someone who can’t afford a nice tshirt, give them one if you have that kind of tshirt. Don’t just take an organization’s word that they will give your belongings out to people, actually give it to someone who needs it if you know that they need it. Theres SO MANY clothes and items that are being discarded because people don’t take them or get them from anyone.

If you’re able to boycott, then do it. If you’re not able to boycott, then don’t feel ashamed about it, especially when you can’t do much about it. And if you see someone who is unable to boycott for whatever reason, help them instead of shaming them for it.

Not everyone wants to or is able to fight back, protest, or boycott. And assuming that they are horrible people for that is wrong.

on a different note, if any of yall know of good businesses to buy aesthetic clothing and accessories from, pls let us know because we don’t want to have to resort to fuckin SHEIN.

[babydoll372]

Babies

Pairings: older!emily prentiss x younger!r (Emily is early 50’s and R is around 26)

Word count: 1977

Warnings: angst, kidnapping mentions, mental exhaustion, age gap, breeding kink, slight belly bulge kink, mentions of masturbation, slight oral (r receiving), intersex!emily, p in v, cumming inside

Emily got on the jet to head back home, quickly wiping her eyes before anyone could see her emotions. This was one of the toughest cases she faced, and she knew it would be the moment Garcia mentioned there were children involved. It brought out this deep maternal side of her she never really got to use considering she spent her prime years working herself to grey hair. Now she was in her early fifties with only dreams and regrets of the life she could’ve had compared to the one she did. She loved her friends that she called family, and she loved her beautiful girlfriend, but there was just something missing.

JJ sat across from her and tapped the table, making Emily zone back into reality as she was faced with the blonde woman who held a concerned gaze.

“Hey, you okay? I know this case was..rough, trust me, it was on all of us.” JJ said, trying to coax her friend into talking but Emily scoffed under her breath.

“I’m not a mom, it shouldn’t affect me this much.” She looked up when she heard the other woman’s laugh, as if the statement was absurd.

“Are you serious? We just saved multiple innocent little kids under the age of ten from being slaughtered to death. They will never be the same again, Emily, and you are allowed to mourn that for them.”

“…I just wish I could’ve protected them more, I don’t know. I know we protected them, I know we saved them from literal death, but I just wish I could’ve done more.” Emily said with regret, looking out the window as she leaned her head back on the chair, not wanting to face the tightness swelling in her throat.

“We all do. But there’s nothing you could’ve done to stop him from taking those kids, you saved them..give yourself some credit, okay? Don’t beat yourself up over what you couldn’t have done and just think about going home and finally getting some rest.” JJ said to lighten the mood, adding a small chuckle at the end as Emily followed, but she wasn’t finding anything funny. She just wanted to be with you, you knew how to make her feel okay. Her friend was trying her best, and she was doing a good job, she’ll admit, but all Emily needed right now was you.

And when the BAU Chief got home that night she knew you’d be asleep, but yet she was still holding out hope that you were somehow waiting for her, fully awake and ready to care for her needs. It was selfish, maybe, but she needed to be right now. She entered your shared bedroom and found you peacefully sleeping in one of her old band t-shirts and shorts, making her smile at the sight. She did everything as normal, showered, got dressed, brushed her teeth, all before lying in bed behind you and wrapping her arms around you. She thought she could wait until morning to talk to you, but she proved herself wrong when she broke out into a gutterful sob, her body shaking as she clung onto you tightly. You slowly arose, turning around to face her as you went from barely awake to concerned in mere seconds.

“Hey, hey, Em, talk to me, what’s going on?” You worriedly spoke, sitting up right as she followed, and one hand fell on her lower back as the other came to her shoulder. “Why don’t we take some deep breaths together, okay? Breathe in…and breathe out. Follow me, baby - breathe in…and breathe out…” You repeated this for a few minutes until her sobs turned into gentle cries, her chest now slowly rising and falling at a normal rate.

“Are you ready to talk or do you need some time?” She shook her head no and didn’t say anything else, and so you presumed she wasn’t yet ready to speak. “That’s alright, I can wait. I’ll just tell you about my day, hopefully that’ll get your mind off of things. Well, first I woke up with a text from my awesome girlfriend and that made my whole day better. Then I got up and went to the store and guess who was working there? Sam! Remember him? From the gym? He was that guy who- never mind, it doesn’t matter. Anyways, I was shopping as usual when I realized, I forgot my wallet! So then-“

“I want a baby.” She cut you off, yet you could almost not make out her tiny, whispered voice that was held with a shakiness.

“C-come again?” You stuttered, almost sure you heard the words correctly but not wanting to get your hopes up.

“I said: I want a baby. I’m getting old, Y/N, I have spent my entire life just working and working and I always thought, ‘oh, I’ll have one eventually’. I can’t keep waiting, I-..I need one and I need to have one as soon as possible.” She glanced up at you and slowly sat up, gulping nervously in fear of how you’d react. When she saw a smile break out on your face, she let out a breath she was holding.

“You have no idea how badly I want a baby with you, Em. But-“ She shook her head and cut you off.

“No, no, my love, there’s no buts! Let’s just have one!”

“But we’re not even married.”

“So? Y/N, I swear to spend the rest of my life devoted to you and only you - well, our baby too. We don’t need a stupid license to be happy, all I need is you and our baby!” You sighed, unable to resist her tempting gaze as you obliged, giving her a small nod to which she quickly pounced on you, laying you down on the bed and making you yelp, only to be cut off by her lips connecting with yours. She was smiling against you, feeling as if her dreams had been achieved. She pulled back when her oxygen was low, cupping your cheeks and staring at you with the utmost gratitude.

“When are you ovulating?”

“Uh, yesterday.”

“Okay, good, we’re still in the perfect timeframe.” Emily muttered as she lowered her boxers and hurriedly pulled off her shirt before doing the same to yours and glancing up at you for permission before your shorts were removed. She trailed kisses down your neck to your chest, licking your nipples ever so softly as she heard a sigh of relief and felt your hand fly to her hair.

“Mm, you’ll look even more perfect - these breasts swollen and heavy, leaking so much..” She chuckled, clearly aroused at the thought. You felt your nipple being playfully tugged by her teeth, and she spent a few more minutes gathering your deepened satisfaction before approaching your cunt. Two fingers were used to gather your slick, creating a lubricant for herself. Her tongue found your clitoris, and her free hand found her cock, stroking her length into further erection. She was powered off of your moans, working to get you off, and she knew she was doing well when she watched your head lull back and heard your whispered repetitions of her name. She watched your fingers tease your nipples, missing the way she was doing so earlier, and she couldn’t help but groan into you.

“Just like that..fuck, I need your cock, Emily, I need you to fill me up.” You pleaded, and she didn’t waste any time in giving your sensitive bud one last kiss before pulling away, and then lining up her penis with your hole. You bit your lip as she slowly entered you, your hand clasping tightly with hers for support. She leaned down to kiss along your neck, sucking along your pulse points to leave generous marks.

“There we go, you’re okay..you’re alright, sweetheart. You let me know when you’re ready for me to move, okay? There’s no rush.” Emily assured you, and you nodded to her words. You were generally a bit tighter than most so she’d have to go easy with you considering her girth, but you would always communicate your needs properly which she loved. And when she got the approval, she slowly began thrusting in and out, causing moans from both of you.

“I’ve thought about you all fucking week, Y/N. I didn’t want to bother you, but I just couldn’t fucking stop…” She whimpered, remembering all the nights she spent in her hotel room with her hand around her throbbing penis, and her lips uttering your name as her orgasm would erupt. She couldn’t entirely blame herself though, she was faced with one of the hardest cases and was desperate for your soothing attention, and her mind only steered her differently when night rolled around.

“You’re never a bother to me- oh, shit! I- I mean it, don’t you ever think you can’t call me.” She nodded, her mouth lifting into a sly grin as she thought of future possibilities. Her hands fell to your thighs as she tried to keep them around her hips, forcing a new angle to be created as she heard a loud, deep moan come from you.

“Right there! D-don’t stop- don’t you dare stop!” You cried out, gripping onto the bed sheets beneath you for dear life, your jaw slacking open as your eyes rolled into the back of your head. She had found it before, yes, but it always made you feel such deep pleasure when your girlfriend's dick repeatedly thrusted against your g-spot.

“Yeah? You close already, huh? You gonna let me fill this tight little cunt up with my cum? You gonna let me make you a Mommy?” She knew the answer to that, of course it was a yes. Of course you wanted nothing more than to be filled with her semen and have her babies, but seeing your desperate nod only turned her on more. The bed shook beneath the two of you, the wall faced brutal abuse from the headboard hitting it repeatedly, and the sounds of your skin clapping together mixed with your sweet juices splashing against her length filled the room. She pressed a hand down on your stomach, watching as the just noticeable imprint returned and disappeared with every thrust she made.

“You see that, pretty girl? You see how deep I am inside you?” You looked down, groaning deeply at the sight.

“Fuck, you’re so big…please, baby, I want to feel you filling my womb up with your cum! I need it- I need your babies…” It was like you ticked a switch inside of her and she grabbed your knees, placing them together and hovering them over your chest as she could feel her balls slapping against your skin with every movement.

“Mhm, I’m gonna cum for you! And I- I need you to do the same for me too, okay? I want to feel it, baby, let me feel you cum around my fucking cock like the dirty girl you are- that’s it! Oh, you’re such a good girl…such a good little girl.” She grunted out, and seconds later she twitched as her semen spilled deep inside of you, filling your womb with every last drop she had. She loved feeling your release envelope her dick, it ensured her that you were just as pleased as she was.

“You think I got you pregnant?” She asked breathlessly, breaking the silence as you scoffed lightheartedly.

“After one go? We’ll need at least a few rounds before we can even consider it.” She smirked at your response, grabbing a hair tie from the bedside table and putting it on as she put your legs back around her waist and positioned herself correctly.

“Then I guess I’m not getting any sleep tonight.”

[insane4fandoms]

TOTALLY DID NOT FORGET TO MAKE A REBLOG ABOUT MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS

ANYWAYS-

Awww, he wanted to be a nurse 😭 my heart always clenches when characters are like either evil or in a bad path in life and you learn from their past they had ambitions and dreams like anyone else but they never got to be what they wanted to be.

I find it funny at the thought of K.O, obviously having Ethan’s height of 5’8 and Matt being 5’11, just body slamming Mad to take him down.

I don’t think I ever recall Matt swearing, so imagining him just cussing up a storm makes me giggle ngl. Bro is just hysterical and insane, isn’t he so dreamy?

Poor Azalea being on pet duty. Granted it’s understandable as Cal was literally crashing out over Snare going missing so-

Them youngsters and their needs for media views 👴🏽 Ngl that would probably work in real life, which is unfortunate but it’s true lol. Phoenix being so proud of doing that 😭

Also I don’t think holding down someone who was chewing in an arm having a breakdown is a good idea, since ya know- CANNIBAL and whatnot, bro can prolly bite into your arm dude.

Casey maybe don’t have your moment (as much as you cooked on your part) and mock a cannibal BITING into a severed arm-

Ah, I do love me some irrational arguments blinded to their surroundings. Actually made me sit upright to read further lol. Like always you slay in writing.

I like how Casey, despite it all, still held onto Cal (even though Cal literally got his claws into his arm) and didn’t want him to fall. Granted it was mostly since the Pentas Family would’ve had not so nice words towards Casey, but still lmao.

Jeez, Mad really out here trying to have his little Joker moment and manipulated Casey in letting go of Cal. He really knows how to get into certain parts of Casey’s brain when it comes to his vulnerability.

Nooo my poor baby Azalea 😭 it gave me Escape the Night flashbacks when Matt was killed off and they had to drag Ro away while she cried. UGH I LOVE THEM AND THEIR SIBLING DYNAMICS.

Oh shit, Casey is going feral!! After everything that’s happened, it was only a matter of time for him to snap (just like Cory playing Adventures with Amanda lol)

I KNOW THAT SCENE I UNDERSTOOD THAT REFERENCE (I say as if I didn’t drew it) UGH it’s so good!!

Little Casey and Mad 😭 I love them so get hate how tragic they are. Oh well, can’t do anything about it now, just think for a long time how Casey can never pull the trigger.

Brb imagining Cal biting into Mad like a Chihuahua. I like how despite being a psycho killer, the human body can only endure so much pain until it’s actually time to just cry from it.

I heard there’s so many types of fires that have a variety of effects when inflamed. I’m pretty sure I can recall of a fire that’s INVISIBLE unless it’s in the dark and it’s blue. I forget which type is it but it’s really cool to see.

And OH SNAP WE GOT MORE LORE OF AZALEA AND CAL’S BACKSTORIES. Damn, they out here struggling to survive 😭 poor babies imma pick them up and adopt them personally (they’ll prolly still end up like who they are now but I’ll be supporting them like a good parent lmao)

Anyways- Amazing Snippet as always, and hopefully you will see more of my au soon 😼

Maybe in another universe,

I would’ve truly had you as a brother.

Finally, I gave y’all something on this damn account/j. I’ve been posting elsewhere on another account but I’ll never forget my roots here. Anyways, now we’re picking up on a string stand, giving Casey a chance to give his own perspective. There’s a reason why he held Mads on such a high pedestal, on why deep inside his heart, the inner child of Casey wishes to hold his hand once more.

There’s a sense of fondness within the thick layer of hate inside his heart. Casey has always been so reckless since that’s how he was taught by him. He’s always been so compassionate because of him. The way he is now is not because of his parents, not Father Time, but him.

Memories of someone you once loves, despite having such hatred for them now, the memories still linger despite you wanting to have them dead. What more can your great day to change your mind? What more can they offer when they took someone away from you? It’s the fact that that fateful day, the day you felt like sinking deeper and deeper.

@crazy-obsessed-enby @wouldntyou-liketoknow @the-matpat-ever @iswmperson @lexusinsannus @sammys-magical-au

Was the day you never wanted to let go.

[sidesaddle-queen]

really need to legally change my name at some point but i just really really hate paperwork and struggle to get started on it especially if it has multiple steps

[dzozef]

im in a good mood cause my work enemy is getting her life ruined while all i had to do was keep quiet and do my best 🥱

[liquidchocolatecake]

currently captive audience to a knock down drag out fight in my brain between desire to respect the wishes of the creator and not look for anyone redistributing the comic and god i fucking miss wonderlab i miss wonderlab so much you have no idea i want wonderlab back so bad

[joyridingmp3]

if i moved states then i could finally leave this field i hate so much sell my house and get a cheaper place and get one or two jobs i don't actually hate. and the money would go further since the cost of living would be a bit lower. and it would be a fresh start. i could make friends and be who i am. i could leave my hometown and walk around anywhere knowing that no one there knows me or cares who i am (liberating). but it would mean leaving my little sister :(

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[connormoving]

how it feels to randomly get rly overwhelmed and frustrated and bitchy and feel like youre going insane

[crossbackpoke-check]

about to be sooo nosy so. my apologies. but. morgan frost? girlfriend? do share (or don’t! again this is so nosy i’m sorry)

for legal purposes i can neither confirm nor deny anything about morgan and his girlfriend but afaik i think he’s single right now? at one point (within the past four years 😭) he did for sure have a girlfriend and that is the extent of my wag knowledge

[mymelodyisme]

My sister’s graduation day 😤 let’s go 👏🏽

[spamtoon]

(Out of nowhere, you are approached by a familiar lightbulb-headed Cog.)

Ah, it's you, cat. Thinking you're oh-so-slick. Muttering and whispering under those raggedy whiskers of yours... Thinking I am unable to hear it all...

Well, you've simply underestimated my fantastic hearing. You probably want to know the reason why I'm here, taking a 'break' from my incredibly important scientific breakthroughs? It's quite simple, really!

(She gets close, and squints her eyes.)

I know what you are.

Farewell, now!

(She then leaves the way she came from.)

(Spam giggles immensely, covering her face... it always seems like she's giggling, isn't she? This lasts... at least thirty seconds. Longer than usual.)

And I know what I am too, Sparky! You broke through something, that's for sure. Really, broke through...

(She looks down, continuing to laugh nervously.)

You know, I find it odd you Havent tried to bulb blast me into the stratosphere by now. I mean knowing how you acted with Frostbite. Is there something peculiar about me that you perhaps can't quite track? Something about me that you... don't know what I am?

I know, I know, I'm talking to nobody again. But you were there when I had a moment today with the one the only Frostbite The Bravecog. You may be remaining. Lurking in the shadows. Knowing about these thoughts that I'm thinking.

(The giggling resumes, lasting far shorter this time.)

Your brother's a piece of fucking barp, by the way

(She braces for impact for a few seconds, wincing while smiling, before comically looking around to realize nobody's there. She sighs.)

Wow, okay maybe toony superhero show logic doesn't apply in this situation. Cool.

WAIT I JUST FUCKING REALIZED WHAT SHE MEANT but like. Dude if she meant that then what's the point I mean the whole ahh sellbot department barping knows unless you're Really low on the ladder. Heheh... maybe she did mean what I thought she meant.

Oh i'm so fucking screwed. What kind of bitch gets filament fever