#or a photo of the outside of my house (this is an exaggeration but. still)

[rafecameronssl4t]

73 Questions with Vogue || Drew Starkey x actress!reader

Summary: just you participating in 73 Questions with Vogue and it goes viral!!!

Warnings: fluff!!!

Word count: 1,935

A/n: It's been so long since I've written a Drew fic!!!!!!! Also I got inspired by my previous acc's fic so if it seems familiar to some of you who followed me from there, don't come at me, I loved the idea too much lol. CAN SOMEONE PLS SEND ME REQUESTS FOR DREW FICS???

MASTERLIST

divider by @h-aewo

"Hello!" You greet the interviewer with a bright smile, swinging open the door to reveal him and his camera. "Hi, Y/n! Mind if we come in and ask you 73 questions?" he asks, his tone friendly and warm. "Yeah, of course! Come on in," you say, stepping aside and holding the door wide open, gesturing for them to enter as the camera pans through the foyer of your house. The space is beautifully designed, with soft lighting that gives it a cozy, inviting atmosphere.

"Wow, what a gorgeous house you have," the interviewer remarks, his voice filled with genuine awe as his eyes take in the sophisticated yet comfortable décor. "Thank you!" you respond, the compliment warming you as you flash a radiant smile. "Is this your favourite house?" The interviewer asks, already settling into the rhythm of the questions as you lead them down the hallway and into the open-plan living area.

"Yes, it definitely is. It's in my home city, and Charleston means so much to me, just like this house does," you say, your eyes lighting up as you gesture around. The view of the beach through the large windows makes the space feel even more special. "I love the view," the interviewer comments, looking out at the sunset that bathes the room in warm golden light. "The sunset looks amazing from here."

"It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?" you say with a soft chuckle. "I love spending time in this room specifically. It feels like a little sanctuary." You both share a laugh, enjoying the peaceful moment. "What's your morning routine like?" The interviewer asks as the camera follows you through the coastal-themed living room toward the kitchen. You pause for a moment, thinking about your answer.

"I haven't had much of a routine the past few months because of work, but currently, I wake up to a strong cup of coffee and a walk through downtown," you share with a soft smile. "It’s become a little ritual to clear my mind before everything gets too busy." As you stroll through the warm, inviting spaces of your home, the camera captures the personal touches that reflect your personality—a mix of elegance and laid-back comfort.

A question about your career comes next, and you happily share some behind-the-scenes anecdotes from your latest film. "This," you begin, the affection in your tone unmistakable, "is a magnet Sydney gave me when we wrapped filming Immaculate earlier this year." You glance at the picture, a grin spreading across your face. "It’s a photo of the two of us in our nun costumes... let’s just say, not doing very nun-like things." You laugh, the absurdity of the memory still fresh, and hold the magnet up for the camera to focus.

The image shows the two of you mid-laughter, each holding a cigarette with exaggerated defiance, your habits slightly askew, as though caught mid-rebellion. "What's the best compliment you've received?" the interviewer asks, a hint of curiosity in their voice. You pause, your expression thoughtful. "Oh, that's a tough one," you say, your lips curling into a playful smile.

"I think the best compliment I’ve ever gotten was when someone said, 'You're like Meryl Streep… but, you know, with fewer Oscars.’" You chuckle, shaking your head in amusement. "It was the kind of backhanded compliment that made me laugh for days." The interviewer laughs along with you. "That’s a good one," he says, clearly entertained. As you make your way towards the outside deck, the interviewer continues with another question. "Texting, calling, or FaceTiming?"

You grin as you lean casually against the railing, looking out at the beach below. "Oh, definitely FaceTiming," you say with a mischievous glint in your eyes. "I’m terrible at replying to text messages. I’d much rather see people's live reactions, y’know?" A more personal question comes next, and you smile thoughtfully as the interviewer asks, “How do you handle the pressures of fame?”

You nod, taking a moment before responding. "I lean on my family and friends—they keep me grounded. And I remind myself that pressure is a privilege. It means people care about what I do, and that means a lot." Your voice softens as you speak, the sincerity of your words clear as you step into your home office, showcasing the awards and accolades lining the shelves. The conversation turns to your personal life, and a warm, affectionate smile spreads across your face.

"Congratulations on reaching your two-year anniversary with Drew!" The interviewer says with a grin, and you beam in response. "Thank you!" you reply, your eyes sparkling as you think of him. "Drew is incredible. He’s my biggest supporter, my partner in everything, and honestly, just my favourite person. It’s been such a special journey since starting my career, and I’m so grateful to have him by my side."

"What's the key to a successful relationship?" He asks. You pause as you walk through the hallway, your gaze softening as you think. "I think it’s communication and a lot of patience. No relationship is perfect, but being able to talk things through and genuinely listen to each other makes all the difference." You smile, adding, "Oh, and laughter—if you can laugh together, you can get through just about anything."

The sound of the front door creaking open interrupts the moment, and a familiar voice rings out, instantly making your face light up. "Oh, there’s Drew right now!" you say, smiling brightly as you move toward the foyer. The camera follows you, capturing the scene as Drew enters, with Nellie, your cocker spaniel, bounding beside him. "Hey, baby," He greets you as he slips off his sunglasses, pulling you close for a tender kiss

When he pulls back, his eyes widen slightly as he spots the camera. "Oh, 73 Questions with Vogue?" he asks, a playful grin tugging at his lips. You giggle, nodding your head. "I forgot you were doing that today," he chuckles. “Go ahead, continue your interview," he adds with a fond look before walking off with Nellie. As the camera returns to you, you make your way toward the stairs, glancing over your shoulder to find Drew already on the floor, happily playing with Nellie.

A soft giggle escapes your lips, captured by the camera momentarily fixated on the fleeting connection. "What's something people don’t know about you?" the interviewer asks, pulling you back into the conversation. You pause, thinking for a second. "I’m actually allergic to most flowers," you reveal with a sheepish laugh. "Really? I wouldn’t have known," the interviewer responds, clearly surprised. "Oh, absolutely! When we film Outer Banks, they have to shoot around the flowers, or I'd be a sneezing mess," you confess, casually walking backward while maintaining a steady gaze with the camera.

The tour continues through luxurious walk-in closet, filled with designer attire. “What’s your pet peeve?” You laugh, shaking your head in mock exasperation. "Oh, definitely when people chew loudly. It’s like nails on a chalkboard for me. Chase is notorious for doing it on purpose, so I avoid him during my lunch breaks," you add, giggling at the memory. "Where was the best vacation you’ve been taken to?" the interviewer inquires as you step into your shared bedroom with Drew, the ocean stretching out just outside the windows.

"I think I’d have to say Vienna with Drew for my birthday," you say, smiling over your shoulder as you look out at the view. “A song you replay often?” "Hm, I think Charlie, Last Name Wilson," you say with a grin, rifling through the records. "It never gets old, and it’s super catchy." You smile as you pick it out. "Most of you guys would know that this song is also Drew and Austin’s favourite, so we always play it on set," you chuckle. "Does the rest of the Outer Banks cast like it too?" the interviewer asks, laughing along. "They don’t have much choice," you joke with a grin.

"Is there anything from any set that you've taken home with you?" The interviewer asks eagerly. “Oh, I love this question!" you exclaim, opening a drawer to reveal a variety of souvenirs. "This is the bag my character 'Whiskey' from Glass Onion owned," you say, showing off the brown frill bag. "And here’s a pack of Italian cigarettes from Immaculate, they’re just props, by the way," you add with a wink.

You pull out a cowboy hat. "This one’s from Tom on the set of Billy the Kid," you explain. "And this," you say with a smile, holding up a ring on a necklace. "This is Rafe's ring, the one he gave my character." "What a beautiful photo of the two of you," the interviewer notes, pointing to the large black-and-white photo of you and Drew at a Vogue photoshoot above your bed.

"It is! That day was actually so special for us. We both got the call saying we’d been cast in our respective roles that we’d been auditioning for," you explain, your face lighting up with nostalgia. The interviewer then asks about Drew’s upcoming movie. "Speaking of which, Drew’s film Queer is coming out very soon. Are you excited to watch it on the big screen?" "Yes, of course!" you say, your voice full of pride.

"I was so incredibly proud of him when he got the role. He was definitely excited too, especially since it’s, you know, the Luca Guadagnino." You chuckle. "I got the privilege to actually be on set for a bit, and it was amazing. Plus, I got to catch up with Daniel," you mention. "It was really nice to see him again." You smile, the pride evident in your expression as you talk about Drew's accomplishments.

The conversation is interrupted by a gentle knock at the door, and both you and the interviewer turn your attention toward it. Drew’s head peeks around the corner, his grin lighting up the frame as the camera zooms in on him. "I made some iced teas—yours is half and half," he says casually, stepping into the room with a tray holding two glasses. You can’t help but beam as he hands you your drink. "Aww, thanks, babe," you say gratefully, your fingers brushing his for a brief moment as you take the glass.

Drew hands the other glass to the interviewer, who looks pleasantly surprised. "Wow, thank you, Drew!" he says with a wide smile. "Of course," Drew replies warmly before glancing at you. "Let me know if you need anything else," he says, shooting you a quick wink before stepping out of the room. The camera lingers on him for a beat as he walks away, capturing his effortless charm.

You take a sip of the iced tea, the cool, refreshing taste spreading through you as you let out a content sigh. "Is this something you drink often?" the interviewer asks, clearly curious. You nod enthusiastically. "Oh, absolutely. I like mine half and half, and I drink it like 24/7," you say with a chuckle, the glass still in your hand. The interviewer grins before asking a more personal question. "I can tell Drew is very thoughtful. What’s your favourite trait of his?"

You laugh softly, caught off guard by the difficult question. "You can’t make me choose—I love everything about him!" you say with a playful grin, your tone light but sincere. The interviewer chuckles along with you, clearly charmed by your response. "Okay, okay, fair enough. But if you had to pick just one thing that comes to mind?"

You pause for a moment, your expression softening as you think. "Hmmm," you hum, swirling your iced tea absentmindedly. "I love the little things he does," you begin, your voice warm with affection. "Like how he always remembers my coffee order or when he leaves me little notes when I’m on set. It’s those small, thoughtful moments that really mean the most to me."

The camera captures your tender smile, and the interviewer smiles himself, visibly touched by your response. "That’s so sweet," he says, his tone genuine. "It really is," you smile, a soft, almost bashful grin spreading across your face. "He’s the best boyfriend I could have ever asked for," you say, your tone filled with warmth and sincerity.

The interviewer watches you with an amused smile, clearly endeared by the dreamy, almost schoolgirl-like look on your face as you think about Drew.

~

The Vogue 73 Questions interview quickly becomes an internet sensation, captivating fans. It was everywhere. Clips of your candid answers and sweet, unscripted moments—especially the one where Drew casually walked in with iced tea—became the ultimate proof of why you were Hollywood’s darling. Within hours of its release, the hashtag #73QuestionsWithY/n trends worldwide.

The comments section was flooded with fans losing their minds over the glimpse into your life. "Can we talk about how Drew KNOWS her iced tea order by heart? If this isn’t relationship goals, I don’t know what is." "Y/n casually being gorgeous, funny, and real in her Charleston dream home? I’m in love." "The way Drew looked at her when he walked in… I CAN’T. He’s so whipped, and I’m here for it."

Memes circulate, celebrating your witty remarks and playful demeanor, while your thoughtful insights and open vulnerability spark heartfelt discussions. The part where Drew sneaks into the interview with iced tea becomes a fan-favourite, with many dubbing it "the cutest boyfriend moment of the year."

“I love how real she is,” one fan tweeted, accompanied by screenshots of your answer about Drew’s little notes and coffee orders. Another post with a screenshot of you laughing at Drew’s confused “Oh, Vogue’s here” reaction read, “You can just tell they’re best friends. I want a love like this.”

The media couldn’t get enough, either. Everyone from gossip sites to prestigious magazines weighed in on how you’d managed to blend the glamour of your career with the warmth of your personality. The buzz reignites interest in your past projects and elevates anticipation for your upcoming ones. Your social media following soars as fans, old and new, praise your ability to remain grounded despite your success.

Meanwhile, Drew’s small but sweet cameo sparks renewed admiration for your relationship, with countless threads and videos dedicated to celebrating your bond. “Y/n and Drew are proof that true love exists,” one viral tweet declares, garnering thousands of likes and retweets. Another fan edits together a montage of your cutest moments from the interview, set to a romantic song, which quickly racks up millions of views.

Drew couldn’t stop teasing you about how viral the iced tea moment had become. “You’re lucky I didn’t walk in shirtless,” he joked one night as you scrolled through TikTok, finding yet another edit of you two. “Please,” you said, giggling, your hand affectionately stroking Nellie, “half the internet would’ve fainted.” “Half?” He raised an eyebrow, smirking. “I think you’re underestimating me, babe.”

[b1eedthefreak]

Wildflower

Daryl x girly!Reader (set during the first episode of season 4!)

Warnings: None!

⸻

“You’re Daryl Dixon, right?” the newbie with glasses asked, practically breathless as he approached the group outside the prison gates. “It’d be an honor to shake your hand, man! You’re a legend.”

Daryl blinked, stunned and uncomfortable, slowly reaching out to shake the guy’s hand while glancing sideways like someone would save him. Carol stifled a laugh beside him.

That’s when you popped up, bright as the damn sun, hair tied back with a pink ribbon you’d managed to salvage from an abandoned house. You bounced over, boots clacking against the gravel, and dramatically clasped your hands together in mock awe.

“Oh. my. GOD!” you gasped, eyes wide as you stared at Daryl. “I’d be honored to shake your hand Mr. Dixon,” you said, extending your hand with an exaggerated grin, batting your lashes.

Carol outright burst into laughter, and Daryl stared at you with his usual narrowed eyes and tight lipped grimace. “Ya done?” he muttered.

You gasped again, letting your jaw drop and clutching your invisible pearls. “No??… Okay…” you giggled, slipping your hand into his anyway and giving it a firm shake before skipping off. “What a gentleman,” you added over your shoulder, just to annoy him.

An hour later, the two of you were heading into the woods on a run—just you and Daryl. You walked a little behind him, talking his ear off like usual. “So I was thinking,” you began, “if we find canned peaches again, I’m totally hoarding them. Like, no shame. That’s my treat. You can have the beans… Bleh.”

Daryl grunted.

“Grunt twice if you agree.”

He grunted again, and you giggled like a child.

Not long after, Daryl halted in his tracks and crouched low, spotting fresh deer tracks. He raised a hand for you to stop. “Stay here,” he muttered. “I’ll get it.”

“Wait—what? Hey! I can help!” you said, puffing your cheeks as you stepped closer.

“Yeah? Gonna charm the deer to death?” he mumbled, already stalking forward. “Go collect water or somethin’.”

You huffed. “Fine. Rude,” you grumbled, trudging off toward a nearby stream with your empty bottle. “Didn’t wanna slice up Bambi anyway…”

You were crouched by the water’s edge, mumbling about how frogs were better company, when you heard his boots behind you. You didn’t turn around, still filling your bottle. “Let me guess… you brought me the antlers or something.”

“Close,” Daryl drawled, sounding suspiciously amused.

You turned, and your jaw dropped.

In his dirt-smeared fingers was a small, delicate bunch of wildflowers. Purples, soft yellows, one stubborn little pink bloom right in the center. It was the apocalypse, sure—but they were the prettiest thing you’d seen in weeks.

“Daryl…” you breathed, rising slowly.

He shrugged one shoulder, avoiding your eyes. “They were just there. Figured you’d like ‘em.”

You launched forward, throwing your arms around his neck like he’d just given you a diamond necklace. “DARYLLLL!” you squealed, showering his face in kisses. “You do love me!”

He rolled his eyes, muttering, “Woman get off me…” but his arms slid around your waist all the same.

You kissed the side of his face three more times before pulling back with the biggest smile.

“Yeah, yeah…”

Later, everyone sat around the campfire, the deer roasting over the flames while laughter hummed through the night. You sat snug against Daryl’s side, one of the flowers tucked into your hair. You’d made a show of putting it there earlier, just to be annoying. “Matches my vibe,” you had said, blowing him a kiss.

Now, with your head resting on his shoulder and your body curled up beside his, your voice was quiet, breath slowing. His arm was around you, rough hand dragging soft patterns over your thigh as your eyes began to flutter shut.

Glenn leaned over, whispering, “Shhh. Don’t move.”

The others fell silent.

Click.

He snapped a photo with the old camera he’d brought back from a run. Then, gently, he placed the printed photo in your lap as you snored softly against Daryl’s arm.

“She’s gonna love that.” Maggie whispered.

Daryl looked down at you—his pink girl, fast asleep with a flower in her hair and a smile still lingering on her lips. He didn’t say a word. Just tugged the blanket higher over your shoulder and leaned back, letting you stay tucked into him for the rest of the night.

⸻

a/n: this one is for all my girly daryl lovers out there :3 my requests are also open!

[thoughtfulfiction]

Hike of a Lifetime

Author’s Note: Set in the 2022 offseason after Justin’s labrum surgery in January 2023. Rewriting my first Justin fic is a full circle moment for me so I hope you like this one!

The last two hours of your life had been spent going over orders of Gatorade protein shakes, protein pack quick bites that usually contained some sort of cheese and sausage, various brands of Greek yogurt, apples, bananas, blueberries, granola bars and anything else you could think of to stock the weight room with while you were on vacation. You had been the head nutritionist for the UCLA men's basketball team for the last year, making customized, ever changing meal plans and consulting with the health care staff to enhance your athlete's performance to the best of your ability.

After the team's loss to Gonzaga in the NCAA tournament known as March Madness, you ran to Eugene, Oregon at the first opportunity you had to go see your sister Chloe. March up until this point was one busy day after another, truly living up to the name. Most days you didn't even feel like you got to sit down for more than 10 minutes at a time due to the constant travel and meetings you had to attend. So you took a week off and as soon as you closed your laptop today, you were going to enjoy being one with nature.

Chloe had moved to Eugene two years before you got your LA job, working as a team photographer for the University of Oregon's football team, allowing the two of you to see each other during conference play more often, which had done wonders for your relationship. It's one thing to be siblings but you could genuinely call her a friend now, which was both weird to say aloud, and nice.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" Chloe steps into the living room, breaking you out of your vigorous typing. You look up and groan at the guilty look on her face. That was definitely an I have a work emergency and I’m going to be leaving you, look.

"No. You're not canceling on me. I got here two days ago and I have yet to really be outside. How am I supposed to enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery of my life if I'm stuck at the house the whole time? Does spring ball even matter anyway?"

Chloe laughs, heading into the kitchen to grab a snack. You'd recently lectured her about how although cereal is a grain, she can't consider it a food group and she needs to introduce more of a balanced variety in her diet. Unless she enjoys her daily 4pm sugar crash. She surprises you by pulling out a bowl of overnight oats from the fridge, with strawberries on top. After giving her your nod of approval, she gets back to the issue at hand. "Yes, spring ball matters. But I promise you it will not take me that long, I'll be back before you know it."

You huff out a breath, trying to come up with a solution. "What if you have one of your interns do it? Mine are really holding down the fort this week, I'm obviously working from home to help them out a little and I think you should do the same."

"Well our jobs are a little different. I can give them things to edit and post but I don't want to have to approve every single one of their photos and make sure they're featuring the right position groups and players based on a schedule that I created in my head. It'll just be easier if I'm there to walk them through it and then I can come home and we'll have a relaxing week until you have to be back in messy Hollywood."

"It's just Los Angeles, not Hollywood, genius. I still work at a university just like you do," you laugh at her exaggerated version of the place you now call home.

She rolls her eyes, stepping away from her food to grab her keys. "Same difference. It's all polluted air and earthquakes anyway."

Finally finished with your task, you stand up to snatch the keys out of her hand and lead the way to the garage. "Whatever, I'm in clean air now and would really like to be able to experience it. So I'll be dropping you off and getting to my hike."

You get out of the car and the sun immediately hits your skin, not in a way that’s intense but rejuvenating, bringing you back to life. The scent of early spring, mixed in with the sweet smell of freshly bloomed rhododendron sparks a further revival. The air really is different here. Life is more…undisturbed.

Families are getting out of their vehicles without a crushing sense of urgency that you’re used to, people are laughing and enjoying each other’s company and you’ve been to this park before so you feel somewhat comfortable navigating the terrain on your own, opting to quiet the sounds of the world by listening to a podcast during your leisurely stroll. Without even making it a mile on the trail, you spot a friendly black dog making his way over to you, nudging your leg with his wet nose, essentially demanding that you pet him. You usually probably wouldn’t have but the serene energy of the space you’re in brings it out of you.

“Well hello there, buddy. Who do you belong to?” You bent down to search for a name on his collar. “Dylan, that’s a cute name. Should we go find who you came here with before someone has a heart attack?” You laughed softly as the dog happily panted away and let you grab onto the leash. Before you could even take a step, you heard a booming voice calling out the dog’s name.

The distressed figure comes into view and lets out a sigh of relief. “Oh my gosh, thank you so much for grabbing him. I’m so sorry if he’s bothering you, I bent down to tie my shoe and this guy decided to make a break for it.”

“He’s taking advantage of the fact that you only have one good arm.” You point out, remembering the shoulder surgery announcement you saw in the LA Times. The man was probably getting used to having both arms again. “No worries, he’s sweet. And super friendly.” You handed him the leash and he thanked you again.

“I seriously owe you, my mom would’ve killed me if I lost our dog when I just got home.” He chuckles nervously. God his laugh was cute. “I’m sorry, I never got your name. I’m Justin.”

“I know.” You smile. “It’s nice to meet you though, I’m y/n. Hope you enjoy the rest of your hike.” You grabbed your AirPods and went to place them back in your ears to finish getting lost in your own little world once again before he stops you.

“Wait—maybe we could finish out the hike…together? You know, just so Dylan doesn’t take advantage of me again.” Maybe he was just being cautious because there was no way he was flirting with you…right?

Those green eyes were going to get you in trouble and you knew it. But you were on a beautiful scenic getaway and hiking with Justin Herbert wasn’t going to come around every single day.

“Let’s do it. Wouldn’t want you to hurt your shoulder even more chasing after Dylan. Bolt nation might collectively collapse if anything happens to you so I’m calling this a public service.”

He unsuccessfully tries to stifle a laugh. “What a Good Samaritan you are.”

Justin was funny. And sweet. And the most fun company you’ve had in a while. You talked about your job, the entire NCAA tournament and what you both thought about being in LA. Even though you both lived very different lives, it was filled with sports and schedules and meetings and practices and there were a lot of things to bond over. Before you knew it you’d been out there for three hours and Rachel texted you to let you know she was done and ready to resume your sisterly activities. He took a look at your deflated expression.

“Do you need to head out?”

“Yeah, unfortunately.” You whispered. “This was fun though.”

He readjusts the hat on his head. “Yeah this was great. Um, I meant what I said earlier though. I owe you.” He gestures towards the phone in your hands and you hand it to him watching him type in his number, texting himself immediately so he has yours.

“Maybe we could grab dinner or something before you head back to LA?” He states pensively, holding his breath a bit until you answer.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

The two of you head back to the parking lot and you give Dylan one more pat on the head. You look up to meet Justin’s gaze, shy smiles painting both of your faces. He walked you all the way to your car and waved goodbye as you drove away to meet Rachel.

While you waited all you could do was stare at your phone, Justin had given you his number and you had his. He’d put his actual contact information in your phone AND had asked you to go to dinner. None of this felt like real life, what kind of person stumbles upon an NFL quarterback on a normal hike?

“Why are you smiling like that? It scares me.” Chloe interrupts your thoughts. You hadn’t even realized she opened the door and got in the car. “Did that hike change your life or something?” She finished with a dry laugh.

“I’m not sure, but I think it may have…”

Rachel nods her head slowly, desperately hoping to understand what’s going on. “Yeah okay whatever. Let’s get some lunch because I am absolutely starving.”

You put the car in drive, your phone notifying you of a text from its spot on the dashboard car mount. Rachel grabs it and asks, “who the hell is Justin and why is he asking if you’re free tomorrow night?”

“Just some guy I met while hiking, no big deal,” you tried and failed to be nonchalant. She knew you way better than that.

“If it’s really no big deal then tell that to the gigantic smile on your face. You’re going on that date. I’m texting him back to let him know you’ll be free.”

All that Chloe knows is his name. The rest of it you decide to keep to yourself not only to respect his privacy but you want to keep this special thing for you and only you. In case this doesn’t go anywhere, you’ll always have the memory of today and whatever happens on Friday to look back on fondly. And by telling your sister you’re putting a little bit more pressure on it, like this has to become something. You don’t really know this guy yet, only the small tidbits that he shared on the walk and that his family dog’s name is Dylan, who would run away with any stranger if enough treats were offered.

There are so many things going through your mind as you change your outfit for the fourth time tonight. What if he thinks you’re boring? Or he’s boring? What happens if the two of you run out of things to say and you’re just sitting in the restaurant in awkward silence until someone decides to call it a night? Even worse, what if this is the best date you ever go on, you fall for him and then never hear from him again because he’s an NFL quarterback and you sometimes spend three hours a day planning out breakfast options for 18-22 year old basketball players.

You glanced in the mirror, slinging a tiny black purse over your shoulder with a subtle smirk on the way out the door at your final clothing choice. Chloe mentioned that the car outside being a super nice Porsche and you made something up about thinking that he worked in finance or a job closely related to that so she wouldn't keep digging for more information. All she followed up with was "have fun and be safe."

Ambrosia's staff walked you and Justin into the restaurant by the back entrance into a private room, which was the most abnormal part of the night. The rest of the evening was spent consuming seafood stuffed mushrooms, pasta and sharing a classic tiramisu, the best one you'd ever had in your life.

The nerves that once seeped through every pore were quickly replaced with what a vacation was supposed to feel like. Conversation flowed easily, there was no pressure to be perfect or funny or overly sexy. Justin was so…normal. He was pretty, not in a way that was intimidating because you really weren’t sure he realized how attractive he actually is. But pretty in a sense that everything about him made him more attractive. His ability to actively listen to the words you say and bring them back up when it’s relevant. The way his dimples are more pronounced when he laughs. The way he stops mid conversation to say thank you to the service staff every time they refill his water. There wasn’t a bone in his body that wasn’t filled with humility and kindness. Everything he did was gentle. And on top of all of that he paid without hesitation.This date truly had been a breath of fresh air.

“Thank you for tonight, I had a lot of fun.”

His lips curl into a smile, “this was probably the best first date I’ve had.” He doesn’t know why he’s just admitted that to you, but he’s glad it’s out there now.

“Me too,” you stand up out of your chair after he does, a collection of butterflies appearing in your stomach when he places a hand on the small of your back, before encasing his hand with yours to lead you out of the restaurant.

“When are you heading back to LA?” He asks. You only know that because you’re reading his lips and not listening to a word he’s saying. You really want to kiss him.

You hesitate to lean in, bringing your focus back to his eyes, meeting his soft gaze. “I’ll be here for a couple more days, then it’s back to work. What about you?”

“Tomorrow…” he begins, slowly losing his train of thought when a little bit of the light goes out in your eyes. Should he kiss you before he leaves in the morning or wait until you’re both back in California with busy schedules and no clue if and when you’ll see each other again? “…I don’t want to leave now due to some unforeseen circumstances,” he laughs, “unfortunately I’ve got some stuff to take care of. But I’ll call you and we can maybe do this again?”

“Yeah. Definitely. I’ll see you around.” He gave you a warm hug on the way out and you watched him walk away to his car, smiling to yourself at the thought of a second date. You couldn’t wait for that phone call.

Two weeks later...he still hasn’t called. You would’ve been surprised had you not prepared yourself for this very scenario. Even with all of this so-called “preparation,” the radio silence from him still stung. Who would’ve thought this would happen? The NFL quarterback is busy with his offseason recovery while the girl he went on one singular date with continues to replay minute by minute interactions they had. No one could’ve seen this coming. The thought of that date feels like so long ago and the fact that you can remember it in vivid detail is a feels a little humiliating. You can’t even look at an Apple Watch without your stomach ending up in knots.

You've closed your office door today, taking a few hours to yourself in between meetings. Earlier in the day you and the rest of the staff had to sit through a Tyr presentation, listening to the representatives of the brand try to sell you their endurance sports drink and leaving you with some samples. Then you had CLIF come in with some new energy chew flavor samples for the guys to try. All of the boxes of products now sat in your office and you really hoped to spend the rest of the day going through the food budget, managing receipts and preparing for your first year presentations for when the new freshman arrived sometime in June. You were glancing back and forth between Whole Foods receipts and Amazon orders when your phone rang. Too busy and in the middle of crunching numbers, you ignored the call. Then it started ringing again. You stop what you're doing, assuming that if someone is calling you twice in a row, it must be urgent. The contact name flashing on the screen has you frozen in time.

It was Justin.

Even though you've been alone in your office for a while, you look around to make sure you're not making this up and this is actually happening. He's calling you. Finally.

"Hello? Who is this?" You can hear him shuffling around, probably walking around in a circle aimlessly just like you are. Despite your best efforts to seem unfazed.

"I deserve that," he cringes. "I'm so sorry for not calling you sooner."

"What—what made you call me now?"

He can tell your voice is softer than when you first answered, and he missed hearing it. "Um...life got a little ahead of me and that's not an excuse. I just—didn't want you to think that I wasn't ever going to call," he pauses, "can I make you dinner? Tonight? If you're free. And we can talk in person."

You look at the door with a sigh, contemplating your entire existence. And then you think...fuck it. "Yeah sure, I'm free tonight. Text me your address and I'll be there around 7?"

"Seven works, I'll see you tonight."

His house is perfectly spotless. There is just no way that a single adult man in his 20s is naturally this organized and clean. Even the cat, who he introduces to you as Nova, a gorgeous Bengal walks around like she owns the place, greeting you briefly (sizing you up) before trotting away without a second glance. Justin walks you into the kitchen where he's in the middle of plating the meal. He just looked good doing normal things, filling glasses of water, opening and closing the fridge, taking off his apron. You really needed to get a grip. "It smells great in here chef, what's on the menu?"

He laughs a little, presenting his dish like he's the star of a Food Network show. "Tonight I've made for you a Traeger filet mignon seasoned with the Traeger seasoning and chimichurri sauce with a side of roasted garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus."

You happily clap for his A+ presentation and he gives you a bow. "Justin, this looks amazing! I can't wait to dig in."

The man leads you to the table, setting the plate down in front of you before grabbing a seat right next to you. "So...let me explain."

Taking a bite of your food, you shake your head. "You really don't have to explain yourself, we went on one date. There's nothing to explain I mean—”

"Yeah there is. I want you to know that I wanted to call sooner, I really did. But I came back and had to meet with doctors to make sure my recovery was on track and then the draft happened and then I had to talk about the future of my contract and I didn't want the craziness of my life to overshadow what we have going on. The last thing I wanted was for you to feel like you're being put on the backburner."

Unbeknownst to you, he had also been replaying that date...more often that he'd like to admit. Anytime he had a minute to himself he thought about calling, seeing what you're doing. And then there was a meeting, or a draft party or someone needing him to be somewhere. But you were always on his mind and he was glad to now have life slow down a little bit to show you he really did care.

"I get it. Definitely thought you forgot about me there for a second. A few seconds," you correct yourself. "But I knew you were busy and we're here now so you're forgiven. Especially because this steak is incredible."

"Well thank you," he smiles sheepishly.

He begged you not to help him clean up but you insisted. After everything was put away he gave you a tour of the place and then you sat on the couch looking for a movie to watch until the stack of puzzles on the shelf caught your eye.

"You haven't unwrapped this one. Is it new?" You note the plastic wrap lining the box on the shelf meeting you at eye level. The flowers look familiar but you can't exactly remember where you've seen them before.

“There's a lot of flowers at the park we met. Any rhododendron I see now," he nods at the box in your hand, "makes me think of you. So I bought this. Figured we could do it together.” The way he's looking at you when you turn around makes you feel warm and tingly inside.

Something about being with him is addicting. You feel physically drawn to him, this pull, an invisible hold that he has on your heart that soon makes you want to run for the hills. But you know that the second you’re away from him it’ll feel like an important new part of your life has been ripped away. It almost felt like the universe had sent Justin to you as an apology for all men. Even doing something as simple as a puzzle feels like the most romantic thing in the world. All of the pieces are laid out on the table and you tackle the corners first, working from the outside in. You're sitting so close to each other that your arms are touching, reaching and grabbing at the puzzle pieces in sync like a well oiled machine. He pulls you into his lap toward the end when there's a few pieces left, giving you a high five when all 300 pieces are in their rightful place. Your hand is in his once again, like it belongs there, holding you close and steady.

He lets you go momentarily to cup your face, a look of adoration adorning his that makes your chest clench. “I’ve been thinking about kissing you for the last 22 days," Justin whispers, his face so close to yours you can feel his breath on your lips.

"Then why are you still waiting?" You whisper back, barely able to finish your sentence because he's nipping at your bottom lip, teasing you slightly as he runs his thumb across your jaw. You're a puddle in his hands, his lips on yours kissing you with his heart pounding against his chest like he's never kissed anyone before. The kiss is so simple yet the most intense experience either of you have been a part of and you want more. Both of you are fighting for dominance, a somewhat rough dance of tongues and a little bit of teeth increasing in intensity the longer the kiss lasts. You moan into his mouth, feeling him begin to stand at attention underneath you, deepening the kiss by pulling him in even closer by his hair. The other hand is wrapped around his thigh, squeezing his leg and producing goosebumps across his entire body. He had to take a few moments to recover, slightly out of breath at the kiss that he was convinced had just changed his life. "Was that worth the 22 day wait?" You ask with a laugh, holding his head in your hands.

He nods, still incapable of speech, blowing out a breath of relief when the tightness in his pants continues to go down. You lazily make out throughout the entirety of whatever movie he puts on, more than making up for lost time.

You have to be at the facility early for morning workouts so Justin walks you out to your car, pulling you in for one more kiss. "Text me when you get home so I know you made it safe?"

"I will."

Justin lays in bed that night looking at your goodnight text, already planning the third date in his head because he needs to somehow make it better than tonight was. He doesn't have any ideas yet, he just knows he can't get enough of you.

One year later...

You were back in Eugene at your favorite park, ready to get back to your favorite scenery.

"Are you excited?" You ask Dylan, who barks excitedly as you hold onto his leash. That must mean yes.

Justin laughs beside you, grabbing onto your hand. "You ready?" He gives you a kiss on the forehead before the three of you begin your hike.

[kcdodger]

Starfield: A review by KCDodger.

No game has ever touched me the way Starfield has. I firmly believe that it is Bethesda's greatest product and achievement, but I've been here before. I've explained it many times to many people why Starfield is good, actually… but, will you listen?

Maybe this time it'll be different. Maybe this time I can change things. Maybe not.

Starfield is every bit as good as No Man's Sky, Elite Dangerous, or whatever other space game you've spent hours on. In the following overview, I am going to use a series of shapes to represent what each game does, and doesn't have.

Starfield: ⬤ Star Citizen: ■ Elite: Dangerous: ▲ No Man's Sky: ⬧

I need you to trust me when I say that I am being objective about this. Starfield does have its problems, but they have been exaggerated. I really do mean that. So, let's begin.

Interesting Worlds - ⬤ ▲⬧ Well thought out Characters - ⬤ ▲ A good story - ⬤ A thoughtfully constructed universe - ⬤ ■ ▲ ⬧ Good Gunplay - ⬤ Good Piloting - ⬤ ■ ▲⬧ In depth Ship Customization - ⬤ ▲⬧ Replayability - ⬤ ■ ▲⬧ Roleplaying Mechanics - ⬤ Base Building - ⬤ ▲(colonization counts honestly) ⬧ Meaningful Progression - ⬤ ▲⬧ Character Customization - ⬤ ▲ ■ Loading Screens - ⬤ ■ ▲⬧

Starfield's not lacking in any of these.

Worlds

Starfield is rife with beautiful worlds that are absolutely photo-worthy, and all of them are procedurally generated outside of specific instances. If you think Star Citizen's are not procedurally generated, you really may want to think that one over. Core instances are not, but the rest absolutely is. (Probably serverside. But you know not every mountain and field is hand crafted.) Starfield's biggest problem there is that it has such a limited array of POIs and interactions. Yeah, it's really weird to find a cave with bones on Luna, and there really should be measures to prevent that. But, that's what happens when you build a single player game designed to compete with overhuge MMOs. I'd have narrowed Starfield's focus quite a bit were I in charge. Be that as it may, my gallery of amazing sights only grows.

I can not overstate the level of achievement Bethesda managed to pull off here, with Starfield's "Settled Systems". The amount of thought and effort put into each planet's properties, orbits, the ways they interact with each other, it's some really mind boggling stuff. Elite's is easily the best of that, but their engine is designed for it.

Somehow, Starfield did that on Creation. I still do not know how.

Characters

Constellation's cast is fantastic. As is The Vanguard's. The Freestar Rangers are great too. UC Sysdef and Crimson Fleet are if nothing else, memorable, and Ryujin's characters, while honestly odd in the context of a space exploration game, was really good too.

I don't know many characters from Elite. Everything they do happens in the background with no meaningful impact on the world. I've never heard of a character from Star Citizen, and No Man's Sky is anathema to the concept of characters. All three of those games are big open worlds where you and the other players are characters. I know that NPCs you can run into in NMS are apparently memorable, but nobody's ever given me a name.

But I can tell you the story of Sam Coe, a single father who's really struggling with it. I can tell you about Andreja, the displaced member of House Va'ruun. I could go on about Sarah Morgan, a woman who's had a lifetime of adventures in the last decade. Goodness knows I can talk to you about Barrett. That's just four examples. They're very well acted, well thought out, meaningfully interactive characters. They'll call back to actions of yours, things you've said, even their romances feel really good. I'm a very married woman who loves my wife very much, and it's actually quite impressive to me how genuine the acting and presentation of interpersonal relationships feels. Given the game is about how we all effect one another, how we deal with loss, moving on with the world and life, this shouldn't come as a surprise, but the characters of Starfield deserve recognition. I really like them all, even the utter bastards.

Story

Elite doesn't really have a story. It has a developing narrative that the devs guide gently. Yeah, the Thargoid invasion happened and those of us who participated in it had an effect - but to say it's a story is… lacking, I think. Star Citizen wholly lacks one, and frankly I'm not sure what No Man's Sky's is.

Starfield, though? Starfield is about discovering a mystery beyond your comprehension, but you get wrapped up in it. Starfield is about becoming part of something more and meeting new people, about learning who they are and what they've been through. You're likely the youngest gun in Constellation outside of Cora Coe, but your accompanying cast is all in their 30s and 40s, some even beyond that in their 50s and 60s. Walter Stroud is a rare character that way. I know this is the story section, but I have to go off about how aged a majority of the case is. Nobody's truly new to the job, but everyone's going into this mystery unprepared and ill equipped. The characters are all mature, and have beliefs and convictions informed by their lives.

You end up discovering what the story about the artifacts is, what they lead to, why they're being collected. It's a cosmic mystery without much of a definitive answer, but the answer really lies in how it makes you feel. On my main, I won't go into NG+. but going through just one NG+ has left a profound impact on me… and that's not even getting into what happened to me when The Death, occurred.

Few games have made me stop everything to put it all down and cry. Starfield has, and continues to. Fallout can make me sad, The Elder Scrolls can make me think and maybe even be mad, but Starfield can make me cry.

Universe

Elite, NMS, and Star Citizen do all have well thought out universes with factions and characters and gameplay that is informed by it. I won't deny that. It'd be intellectually dishonest to assert otherwise. Elite's is far future and a bit blase to me, Star Citizen's world is… I mean as unfinished as the product, and truth be told I know little about NMS' world. But I do know about Starfield's.

Starfield's world, its universe (and beyond) is a NASA Kid's playground (Hi, that's me! NASA kid! Through and through.) Starfield is for the stargazer. For the kid who wanted to be an astronaut, who wanted to be aboard a space shuttle. Starfield is for that person. It isn't for the person looking for a sci-fi military epic or a huge war, it's about the wonder of space, and the universe informs that. I could go on about the "Set design" of the ships, particularly Nova Galactic's interiors (AUUGGHH SO GOOD), about how the food is all thoughtfully packaged, about how the CHUNKS brand is inspired by existing space foods (technically, it ought to be some kind of hexagonal shape. But a cube of Sauvingon is just… chef's kiss), about how the spacesuits are big, baggy, clunky. About how almost every door is an airlock (even if that IS annoying!). The whole world is built around not just exploring space, but living in it. Which I just… don't get from the other games, who feel Transient by comparison. It's such a shame then, that Starfield's outpost building is quite lackluster.

Gunplay

I can not speak to NMS' gunplay, so I will not. Last I played it, it had about ten weapons or something. Elite: Dangerous' gunplay? Don't even bother, it's hot ass. I'm sorry, but Odyssey's release is seen as the game's lowest point for a reason. Star Citizen's? I've dawdled with it, it's very whatever, fairly standard. Oh, but Starfield…

I love Starfield's gunplay. Oh my goodness. As a shooter, it plays wonderfully. The control you have over your character can be iffy, but actually pointing and shooting feels really good. The best any gunplay in a Bethesda game has ever felt, and given how good Fallout 4's felt, that's actually quite impressive. It's helped quite a bit by how fun and interesting many of the gun designs are (and how bizarre some are. No, there are no square bullets in Starfield, you have been lied to, big surprise.) I will complain that there's definitely a set of guns Bethesda *wants* you to use... but that doesn't mean they aren't all a joy to shoot. Except the Disruptor that thing's feel is just garbage.

Piloting

Every single game on this list has good Space Combat. Elite's is thorough and well thought out, Star Citizen's is fast and arcadey (it is), and No Man's Sky is casually simple, accessible and fun. (It reminds me of Starlink.) and Starfield's is also very simple. It's quite ambitious, though, and it does something that none of the other do. It's not that you can disable ships system by system. It's not that you can enter a VATS-like targeting mode to do so. It's not that you can allocate power ala the old X-Wing games and contemporary sims. It's not that you have full control of your movement in all directions and can even maintain heading while turning. It's that you can do all of that, while near-seamlessly boarding with an enemy craft at any time, once you've taken their engines and shields out. I can't put into words how bonkers that is, dear reader. Because not only can you do all the regular space combat stuff, even if it is SLIGHTLY simplified, but you can use all - all the ground stuff you use, in space, when boarding an enemy ship. You don't enter another map, either. No. Yeah, your ship interior probably deloads, but the battle in space rages on outside. The world outside does not stop existing while you clean out an enemy ship (and if you took out their grav drive, you get to even fight in Zero-G aboard a ship, it's VERY cool!). The world continues. Yes, this is true for Star Citizen. But I'm pretty sure you can't do any of that in No Man's Sky, and Elite is honestly just pathetic this way. No shot has ever been fired aboard a ship in the ten years Elite's been alive, but Starfield's ships are riddled with bulletholes. And you can take them. You can own them. You can do hijacking, piracy, you can scrap the ship for parts, sell it, you can loot the contraband the pirates had - reader, that is not something you can do in any of the other games. Not even Star Citizen, because the mechanics in Starfield work consistently, and it's a finished product. Starfield is not scamming you. I can not emphasize enough how excellent the interplay between ships and the space combat itself is. What's even crazier is you're not glued to your seat. You can just... get up. At any point. No, you can't EVA - that does suck! But you don't really need to at any point, as funny as being a bug on a windshield would be. All of this interacts seamlessly with all those RPG mechanics. It's actually insane to me, and they did this on the engine that powered Morrowind. The one everyone keeps saying that they need to replace. I have no true idea what smoke and mirrors make everything work, but I do know that when my camera's clipped around, there are people walking around in my ship while I am flying in any of those eight degrees I can move in. I'm sure the trick has to do with only one ship having a "Real" interior at a time, but it is actually wild to me that they still got all of that rotating in space realistically within the player's reasonable perception. Starfield also lacks Elite's Engineering and unlike SC, is a finished product so... that puts it into the best here, for me, in this category especially.

Ship Customization

Nobody does it as good as Starfield and I'm going to be blunt. Yeah, you can equip whatever modules you want on the ship frames you buy in Elite, yeah you can tweak the ships in Star Citizen, yeah there are even custom ships you can play with in No Man's Sky now. But every... single part in Starfield, is customizable. Color, rotation, position, no matter what you want you can make it work. It does all get blocky and funnily shaped, but it all works. The habs exist inside and out, the geometry can be walked on, you can fit in the gaps of your ship... You can color your ship, name it, rearrange it any which way you want, you can decorate the interior and it'll stay that way (Gods Forbid you move a window, though, whups.), it's actually insane. The thing is, these ships exist inside and out, fully traversible. Elite cannot do that. NMS only does that with bigger ships. Star Citizen can do that, but it's just not a finished product and what, you buy the ships for actual money? Are you really going to spend ninety dollars for a low-mid grade ship with the paintjob you want? For an unfinished game..? Starfield has none of those problems. Yeah, you have to load into the ship but it's a short load, and the outside world continues to exist. It's a non issue. The customization is out of this world. Now, I will be real. There are issues. You don't have strict control of the doors and ladder placement. That is bad. That must be added. But the customization in this game is genuinely astounding. I can't get enough of it.

Replayability

Starfield has a genuine, narrative driven New Game Plus. It's really cool and it's really good. Anyone who gripes about the fact you lose money and weapons and ships - are sort of missing the point of a NG+ anyway. So long as you like Starfield - any game really - it's very replayable. Are E:D and SC replayable? Well, you can always load them again or start a fresh character, but the persistent universes makes that kind of a doozy. I do know that NMS has a kind of reset once you get to the center of the universe, so if you like NMS, it's very replayable too. But yes. Starfield's replayability is very good. Lots to shoot, lots to loot, lots to do.

Roleplaying Mechanics

Starfield is Bethesda's best Roleplaying game. Elite, NMS and SC, are not Roleplaying Games strictly. You may play a role, but it is not necessarily roleplaying. It's hard to be nonlethal, it's hard to be a talk-first-shoot-later character, but you can flavor your game any number of ways. You can smuggle and trade goods, you can play delivery person, you can play mercenary, bounty hunter, you name it. You can even be a lawman, soldier for hire, any number of things, and there are dialogue options, skills, modifiers, even literal powers, one of which lets you see what the other NPC is GOING to say, to facilitate your style of play. Starfield is a true, honest Roleplaying game. It's one of the most easily accessible space RPGs out there, too. If you want a Space Roleplaying game, it's this one.

Base Building

I will level with you. Starfield has an intricate Base Building system that is honestly needlessly complex but if you really like that kind of thing it's pretty intense. And tedious. Much moreso than Fallout 4's base building and truth be told not nearly as rewarding. It is a step backwards... If only for the reason that you can't build an actual colony. The biggest reason to build an outpost is for infrastructure and manufacturing. To what end? This is one of the moments where I believe the vestigial bones of Starfield comes into play. They wanted fuel to be a mechanic, they wanted outposts to be important, they wanted you to network your way through the settled systems. I am simultaneously glad and sad that these features were left on the cutting room floor, because it would have been really cool, but it also would have been very tedious. There's an entire faction - LIST, they even have a quest that introduces you to them, where their whole thing is about buiding colonies on the fringes of Settled Space... and the game just does nothing with them. It kinda' sucks. I hope they add that stuff someday. I'd like to play a version of Starfield where I do actually need those enormous fuel tanks.

Progression

Every quest has a good end reward. You can level into the actual thousands (though, ~314 is where you're going to have every skill maxed out!), and Starfield is pretty cumulative by nature. So much so, that you can very easily run into long term storage problems. Very few containers have limitless mass (and it's why armor and weapon stands are great, because they can store limitless ammo and a few guns. Great way to reduce mass taken in your cargo hold!). Starfield has an issue with inventory. Everything has weight. Some things are stupidly heavy. It's not the most enjoyable system and will pressure you into building an outpost/depot to store your stuff eventually, but that takes resources and Bethesda saw fit to add the *entire* perodic table into the game as harvestable materials. There are 108 crafting materials in the game, and you can't make guns, armor or clothing and that is honestly bizarre to me. Amazing game with some odd choices. But the character progression really is fantastic. Instead of linear "You do more damage!" perks (it does have those, but it's not all it has), Starfield ends up offering effects, every skill has 4 tiers, and you level those up by completing specific challenges. For instance, to max out stealth to get the most (or anything!) out of your sneak attacks (fun fact, you don't even GET a stealth bar without the stealth skill! Love that.) - you have to get 75 melee sneak attacks. Not kills, fortunately. So you genuinely can't just sit there on your stealth archer stint, you have to learn that melee can do x10 damage if you want that x4 gun sneak attack damage. Roleplaying!!

Character Customization

You've all heard it before. "Fucking Pronouns". Let's cover it. Elite is binary, single body type for each, has a solid face customizer. You basically never see it. Star Citizen has an alright customizer, but you rarely use it. NMS, you are just a helmet. Starfield gives you a huge array of body choices. Wanna' be shredded to shit? Go nuts. Want to be wiry, or really fat? Go crazy. You can get huge. You can customize your gait, you can put on a beard at any time, there's an entire vendor in the game dedicated to letting everybody in the world pay 500 credits (cheap as shit!) to change their ENTIRE body. Good golly holly what a bright future we live in to have such autonomy! Body type, face type, skin color, hair type, voice, pronouns (Those two might be tied together?). He/Him, She/Her, They/Them, you get choices. More than most other games. It doesn't ask you if you're cis or trans, it just asks you what you want to be. Isn't that just... Really nice? That all that matters is who and what you want to be and that can change at any time if you so desire? I love that.

Loading Screens

You. Have. Been. Lied. To. Elite: Dangerous is full of them. Star Citizen is full of them. NMS is full of them. They are all just really good at obscuring it. It just doesn't seem like a loading screen. I know Elite best, so I will talk about it. Leaving your ship? Loading screen. In an elevator? Loading screen. Getting in or out of your SRV? Loading screen. Getting into your ship? Loading screen (with big blue circles, at that!!), jumping to low wake? That is a load. High Wake? That is the biggest loading screen of all. Entering a POI, like a conflict zone? Loading screen. Leaving low orbit? Loading screen. Elite, oft compared to Starfield, literally has more loading screens. In Starfield, you can actually get into your buggy without a loading screen! You can leave it midair, try it, it's really fun! Push comes to shove, you are having loading screen after loading screen thrown at you. In No Man's Sky, when you dock, when you enter orbit, you are loading. It has the least loads of all, but Elite has more. I'm dead serious. Can't speak for Star Citizen, but what's there to load? A broken mission? I flew free for a weekend, and everything I did was broken. Who cares if there's no or low loading screens, if the game won't even load in the first place? No, you can't truly seamlessly fly between worlds, and maybe that does suck. No, you can't seamlessly land, but what difference does it make? You will always land at the POI. Maybe the middle man is important, but Starfield saw fit to cut it out, and perhaps that was the wrong move. But goodness it's honest.

Conclusion

Starfield is it. It is the Space game you wanted. But you have to give it a chance. It's exceptional. Just stop letting yourself be lied to. I have had to tell people the truth of the starfield sandwich so many times, and that lie has damaged the game irrevocably. That's just one example. It's all pendantry, that hurt the game. "Fucking Pronouns" this. "Square bullets" that (lies), "Endless loading screens" ad infinitum (just as many as any other space game. It's just honest.) Play Starfield. There will be parts that frustrate you. There are parts that frustrate me. But Starfield is a comfort game for me. It's a game I love. It's also a game that truly challenges me. It's good. It means so much to me. I have a constellation pin opposite to my pride pins on my leather jacket. I have a Nova Galactic mug that I drink out of regularly. I have a Constellation hat. I'm gonna' get that Constellation wall art piece, and I'm gonna' get my hands on that Chronomark edition someday. (If only I knew, reader.) It's not a 10/10 game for me. It's a strong 8/10. But that missing 2 isn't so bad. To Bethesda Game Studios, thank you for the gift that is Starfield. It'll stay with me forever.

[bloodismymedium]

I love The Painter so fucking much because it was the first analog horror series that genuinely frightened me, not spooked or even scared, but actually chilled me to my bones and filled me with this profound feeling of dread that I’ve never felt before in regards to analog horror or creepypasta. Every episode escalates the kinds of feelings that Spook intended with this series in me such as terror, revulsion and shock but it also gave me this unique, almost existential dread that I don’t think many other people who’ve watched it felt and the reason why is that this was the first analog horror that felt just so real to me.

I adore The Painter for how grounded and fresh it feels. It was the first analog horror series (that I know of at least) that didn’t revolve around anything particularly supernatural or out there like demons or possessed animatronics, it’s about an incredibly violent and depraved serial killer who does terrible things to innocent people, which you know, is a thing that actually exists and happens all the time in real life and the series is definitely not afraid to make you confront these real horrors.

I love supernatural elements and monsters in horror but I love them because I think their freaking cool rather than scary but people, human beings, that’s what your really supposed to be afraid of, because they can actually hurt you and UrbanSpook’s The Painter reminded me of that. I distinctly remember becoming super paranoid after watching the first couple episodes for the first time, thinking there was someone walking around outside my house tapping at my window when it was just the wind, and I was NEVER that jumpy before.

Mona is a very real kind of evil and most people who use the series’ shocking content as a point of criticism come off as ignorant to me because they are clearly missing the entire point of the series, it’s basically a documentary about a pair of violent serial killers who do terrible things, things that again, while exaggerated since that’s par for the course in the horror genre, are very possible and aren’t too far off from what real life serial killers have done which is why it works SO WELL for me.

I understand why people would find stuff like Fucktoy Cory and Jigsaw Baby to be incredibly tasteless, because yes it is but that’s the entire point, this series clearly wears it extreme horror and exploitation horror inspirations on it’s sleeves and I don’t think it’s fair to measure it’s value as a horror series because it has content that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Spook’s art is obviously another huge component as to why this series is so, so, SO good and I contest that it’s not just pointless gore and shock. We are never even directly shown what the end result of any of Mona and Bill’s murders even look like, instead, we are given abstract depictions of the murders through their paintings that gives us an unnerving look into the minds of these two twisted fucks and how they view their actions and although we are given vivid descriptions of how these murders play out, we still don’t actually see them and our imaginations run wild as a result and the paintings amplify the dark implications of what happened to Mona and Bill’s victims, it also helps that these paintings are fucking HAUNTING.

I still can’t bare to look at Breeding Mount May and the picture of Mia Collins from Lighthouse for more than a few moments before getting goosebumps. The “photographs” in MEAT are equally horrific as so the implications as to why the victims were photographed rather than painted like usual, the suffering these people experienced at the hands of our two killers is so goddamn palatable despite them being clearly charcoal paintings rather than actual photos.

Despite what critics say about The Painter being “the same thing over and over again”, each addition to the series does in fact bring something new to the table in how it presents the cataloguing of Mona’s murders, there’s voice acting, music, hand drawn animation and even different mediums aside from painting are used to depict the killer’s actions such as photography and we’re even getting live action footage in the upcoming episode as well! This series has a lot of variety in its presentation which helps shake things up and prevents each addition from feeling too same and repetitive.

Also, maybe it’s just me but I love the “these are the most recently discovered murders” format in general since I’m always morbidly curious as to what wacky shenanigans our two favorite psychopaths are up to next and I’m rarely disappointed.

I also find the criticism of this series supposedly having no plot to be funny because again, this series is clearly presented as the documentation of the actions of serial killers terrorizing their community, what more do you fucking need? Are you going to critique Jeffery Dahmer for not having believable enough motivations for all of his murders while you’re at it? XD

I’m honestly not even close to done talking about why I love this series and why I feel most of the hate and discourse it gets is completely undeserved/invalid but I think I’ve said what mostly needed to be said. I really needed to get this shit off my chest, it can be hard seeing so much negativity towards something that you love to the point where I feel I’m the only one who actually sees the value it has but hey, that’s the price one pays for falling in love with true art.

Make no mistake, The Painter is super cheesy and cornball like the exploitative shock and gore horror films that inspired it but it had a genuine impact on me that I didn’t think analog horror could have and I fucking adore it for it and I genuinely believe it has more substance to it than most people think.

Don’t let others stop you from enjoying what brings you joy in this life kids, that’s the lesson here!

[hunkadorusrex]

Sunday mornings at the Curtis house were usually slow, but this one had started with Soda groaning dramatically about Darry having to work.

“It ain't fair,” Soda griped from the doorway, arms folded tight. “Nobody should have to work on a Sunday.”

“That’s just the way things are,” Darry answered, matter-of-fact, as he flipped the last of the eggs onto a plate.

Ponyboy stood by the stove, spatula still in hand, watching his oldest brother with a look that wasn’t quite a pout but wasn’t far from it either. He agreed with Soda—of course he did—but he knew better than to say anything.

Johnny, on the other hand, was too focused on breakfast to get involved. He hovered just shy of the counter, resisting the urge to bounce on his toes. Two-Bit would have already been reaching over Pony’s shoulder to steal something off a plate, but Johnny had better manners than that. Barely.

Darry finally escaped, shaking his head as he grabbed his coat and went outside. Soda deflated into the kitchen and threw himself against Ponyboy’s shoulder with an exaggerated sigh.

“Pony, I need support. Emotional support.”

Pony grunted under his weight. “You need diet support,” he shot back, shifting under him.

Johnny smirked. “Too much chocolate cake, Soda? Goodness.”

Soda gasped like they’d just betrayed him. “Well, I never—”

Before he could finish, a deafening BANG shattered the lazy morning. Instinct took over, and they all ducked, Ponyboy nearly knocking the pan off the stove.

For a second, everything was silent—then, from outside, Darry’s voice rang out, sharp and frustrated.

“Damn piece of junk!”

Johnny let out a breath first, then glanced toward the window. “Truck’s outta commission.”

They scrambled outside, finding Darry with the hood already up, muttering under his breath.

Soda wiped his hands on his jeans and stepped forward. “Lemme take a look.”

Darry nodded, and as Soda poked around, he called back to Ponyboy, “Go inside and call Steve, will ya?”

Pony nodded and gestured for Johnny to follow.

Steve showed up quick, rolling his eyes but already rolling up his sleeves. The truck, he decided, wasn’t dead, just being a real pain in the ass. Fixable—but the parts would be pricey.

Soda barely hesitated before digging into the old coffee can above the fridge, pulling out the emergency fund. “I’ll take on more hours if I have to,” he said as he and Steve headed out to find what they needed.

Ponyboy slumped at the table, barely picking at what was left of his breakfast. “I wonder if Darry would let me get a job.”

Johnny frowned, chewing his toast thoughtfully. “Dunno. Probably not.”

That didn’t sit well with Pony, and after some sulking and staring at the ceiling, an idea sparked in his head. The excitement in his eyes was enough to get Johnny to follow him without question as he bounded up to the attic.

It took a while—Pony muttering under his breath as he dug through boxes while Johnny flipped through old photos—but finally, with a triumphant “Aha!” Ponyboy pulled out what he’d been looking for.

A hunting rifle.

Johnny tilted his head. “You gonna start shootin’ bill collectors?”

Pony huffed a laugh. “Nah. I’m gonna sell it.” He ran a hand over the polished wood. “It’s nice. My uncle gave it to me years ago. But I don’t even like hunting.”

Johnny went quiet. He knew what it meant to give things up. Knew how sometimes you didn’t have a choice. But still—this was something from Ponyboy’s family. That had to count for something, didn’t it?

“…You sure?” he asked, hesitant.

Ponyboy smiled at him, small and reassuring. “Yeah. It won’t break my heart or nothin’.”

Johnny nodded slowly, but there was still a shadow of sadness in his expression. That was just life, though.

As Pony turned back to the box, Johnny noticed something peeking out from between the wall and another stack of old things. He reached for it, pulling out a knife—sturdy, with a well-worn leather sheath.

Ponyboy stilled. His gaze landed on the knife, then on Johnny. His voice, when he spoke, was softer than before. “That was my dad’s.”

Johnny turned the handle in his palm, then glanced up at Ponyboy, quiet for a moment. He crouched down, looping the strap around Ponyboy’s ankle and fastening it.

“There,” he murmured. “Now it’s yours.”

Ponyboy blinked, eyes glassy for just a second before he pulled Johnny into a hug. It wasn’t anything fancy. Just a warm, steady thing—one that said more than either of them needed to.

Life was like that sometimes. But at least they weren’t in it alone.

[pankowcrumbs]

That Zombie just Blinked! X Rudy Pankow (requested)

MasterList

Outerbanks and Cast Masterlist

The crisp October evening air carried a chill that matched the buzzing excitement among the Outer Banks cast as we stood outside the towering, gothic structure of Ravenswood Haunted Manor. The mansion’s dark silhouette loomed ominously under the silver glow of the moon, its turrets and gnarled gargoyles casting eerie shadows across the grounds. Fog machines hissed, and distant howls played from hidden speakers, creating an ambiance fit for a horror movie.

“I’m telling you, nothing in there is going to scare me,” Rudy declared, his chest puffed out in mock bravado. He spun in a circle, addressing the group with exaggerated confidence. “I’ve seen every horror movie ever made. Haunted houses are, like, my thing.”

“Oh, really?” I asked, crossing my arms and raising a brow, a playful smirk tugging at my lips. I stood next to him, bundled in a cozy jacket, my eyes sparkling with amusement. “Because last week you wouldn’t even watch The Conjuring without turning on the lights.”

The group erupted into laughter as Rudy dramatically clutched his chest, feigning hurt. "Y/N?” he gasped. “And here I thought we were friends.”

“I’m just saying,” I teased. “Talk a big game all you want, but we’ll see who’s running for the exit first.”

Chase, leaning casually against a stone pillar, grinned. “I’ve got twenty bucks on Rudy screaming before we’re even halfway through.”

“Make it fifty,” Madison chimed in, shaking hands with Chase.

“You guys have no faith in me,” Rudy groaned, throwing his hands up. “Fine. Watch and learn, cowards.”

Jonathan nudged Drew. “This is gonna be good.”

Carlacia snapped a quick photo of the group standing in front of the mansion, tagging everyone on Instagram with the caption, “Ready to face our fears… or just laugh at Rudy.” The cast’s camaraderie was evident in their playful jabs and shared excitement, making the haunted experience even more thrilling.

The guide, dressed in a tattered cloak and ghostly makeup, motioned for the group to enter the mansion. “Welcome to Ravenswood,” he said, his voice a haunting growl. “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.”

Rudy took a step forward, leading the way with exaggerated confidence. “Let’s do this,” he said, though I caught the faintest hint of nerves in his eyes. I stifled a laugh, filing in behind him as the heavy wooden doors creaked shut with an ominous finality.

The first room was dimly lit, with flickering candles casting shadows on the cracked walls. A chilling piano melody played in the background, and cobwebs draped over the antique furniture. The air smelled of damp wood and fake blood.

“Okay, this isn’t so bad,” Rudy said, his voice slightly higher-pitched than usual. He pointed at a mannequin dressed as a ghost. “See? Totally fake.”

The mannequin suddenly lunged forward with a shriek, causing Rudy to yelp and jump back, bumping into me.

“Oh my god, it moved!” he shouted, clutching my arm.

I burst out laughing. “Rudy, it’s literally on wheels.”

“Still counts,” he muttered, cheeks flushing as the group dissolved into laughter.

As we moved through the mansion, the scares grew more elaborate. Mechanical bats swooped down from the ceiling, and actors in grotesque costumes leaped out from hidden corners. The group’s reactions ranged from startled jumps to outright screams, but Rudy’s exaggerated responses quickly became the highlight of the night.

In one hallway, lit only by a single swinging light bulb, a zombie animatronic suddenly turned its head and blinked. Rudy froze, his grip on my hand tightening like a vice.

“THAT ZOMBIE JUST BLINKED!” he yelled, his voice cracking.

“It’s supposed to blink,” I said, biting back laughter. “It’s an animatronic, Rudy.”

“I don’t care what it is! It’s alive!” he insisted, practically hiding behind me as the group cackled.

“Rudy, you’re killing me,” Chase said between fits of laughter, clutching his stomach. “Big, brave haunted house guy, huh?”

“Shut up, Stokes,” Rudy shot back, though he didn’t let go of my hand.

As the group progressed, I found myself shielding Rudy more and more. Whether it was a skeletal hand reaching out from the wall or a creepy clown popping out of a closet, Rudy’s reaction was always the same: a startled yell followed by him using me as a human shield.

“You’re really milking this, aren’t you?” I teased as we entered a room filled with fog and eerie green lighting.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Rudy said, though the grin tugging at his lips betrayed him.

When we reached the grand finale—a winding maze filled with strobe lights and actors dressed as ghouls—Rudy clung to my arm like his life depended on it.

“If I don’t make it out of here, tell my mum I love her,” he whispered dramatically.

“You’re ridiculous,” I replied, though I couldn’t help but smile. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, guiding him through the maze. “Come on, scaredy-cat. I’ll protect you from the big, bad skeletons.”

Rudy looked down at me, his eyes softening despite the chaos around us. “Thanks, Y/N. You’re my hero.”

By the time we exited the mansion, Rudy’s bravado had been completely replaced by sheepish laughter. The group was in stitches, recounting his most dramatic moments.

“That zombie just blinked!” Chase mimicked, doubling over with laughter.

“Okay, okay, we get it,” Rudy said, holding up his hands. “I’m never living this down, am I?”

“Not a chance,” Madelyn said, patting him on the back.

I stayed close to Rudy as the group headed to the parking lot. “You know, for someone who was terrified the whole time, you did pretty well,” I said with a grin.

“Yeah?” Rudy asked, his cheeks tinged pink. “You think so?”

“Absolutely,” I replied. “And hey, if you ever need a bodyguard for your next haunted adventure, you know where to find me.”

Rudy chuckled, slipping his arm around my shoulders. “Deal. But next time, I’m picking the activity. Maybe something less terrifying. Like skydiving.”

I laughed, leaning into him as we walked. “Sounds perfect.”

[bugboy-behaviour]

!!URGENT!!

Please Help Evacuate Ezzideen Shehab and his Family from Gaza!!

Ezzideen Shehab and his family (Ezzideen, his 12-year-old brother Mazan, his sister Abdeer, his brother Hassan, and his mother and father) are currently trapped in Rafah & are suffering from dire starvation. They have already lost 72 family members. Please, anyone who sees this, read this post all the way through, reblog it, and please donate if you can.

Let @blackpearlblast know on this post when you donate to Ezzideen's GoFundMe so that they and Boshra (the organizer of the campaign) can match the donations!!

There's other information on how to help at the bottom of this post.

Who are Ezzideen Shehab and his family?

Ezzideen Shehab is a brilliant new doctor, who had graduated only a week before the genocide in Gaza began. Throughout all of years of schooling, he never once visited his family back in Gaza, for fear of being trapped inside. Still, he had dreamed of seeing them again. When he finally graduated, the need for his family was immense. But when he finally took a trip back home to celebrate this incredible achievement with his loved ones, something he had dreamed of for so long, Israel trapped them inside Gaza, along with hundreds of thousands of others, murdered many of their family members, and destroyed their home.

His sister, Abeer, was doing incredible work as a translator before the genocide in Gaza. Tragically, she was unable to continue this pursuit, and lost her job because of the violent, constant, bombardments happening around her and her family.

Their brother, Hassan, is a responsible and kind man. He was working as an accountant, and had just secured an international work contract that would have provided Hassan and his family with an array of new horizons and opportunities. He and his family were this close to obtaining something new and promising, but because of influences outside of their control, this has been stripped from them.

Ezzideen's parents are amazing people who raised 4 wonderful children. Ezzideen's father had recently retired from his job as a dedicated employee at the Ministry of Information. But, instead of being rewarded for his hard work with a peaceful retirement, he has been met with the murders of his loved ones and a life of constant fear and danger.

Finally, there's Mazen, Ezzideen's 12-year-old younger brother. Mazen is an incredibly bright 7th grade boy, who, instead of going to school and experiencing typical 7th grade antics and embarrassments (which we all know this website loves to joke and reminisce about), is living under constant bombardment and starvation. He is faced with death and despair on a daily basis, as all other children in Gaza are. I have personally seen photos of children his age blown to bits. I can only imagine what he's seen. What he's felt. His right to be a child has been stripped from him under the Israeli command. Under no circumstances should a child be not allowed to grow up; growing up should not be a privilege. Mazen deserves to live a long and normal life, one where a daily fear of death upon him and his family members feels like an alien concept.

Mazen deserves to grow old, and he deserves to grow happy.

No one, let me repeat; No one, deserves to go through what Ezzideen and his family are going through right now. Certainly no child ever should. The genocide happening in Gaza right now is the most horrific thing I've ever seen in my life. I'm not exaggerating. This is the most horrific thing I have ever seen. And I'm just an American bystander. I can get up from my screen and leave the house and be safe. I cannot Fucking imagine what it must be like for the people trapped in Gaza. They can't do that. They can't get up and walk away from what's happening. This is their reality, every second of every day.

But it's not too late. You, the person reading this, have power in this situation. You have a voice. If we can get them the help they need, and soon, they can evacuate. Ezzideen can pursue a further education in medicine. Abeer and Hassan can continue their incredible work to support their family and themselves. Mazen can grow up.

Support for this family has already made a difference. By sharing and donating to their cause, Ezzideen's mother has already been able to register for evacuation. Your actions make a difference. Your shares make a difference. Your donations, no matter how small, make a difference. I promise.

How To Help

donate to Ezzideen's GoFundMe, which I linked at the top of this post

Donate in exchange for commissions from @void-botanist (info here)

Donate 50$ or more in exchange for a t-shirt, bag, or notebook from @boshradaoud (info here)

Reply on this post when you donate to Ezzideen's GoFundMe so that they and Boshra (the organizer of the campaign) can match the donations

Reblog this post (& tag it with a recognizable tag so people can search for it on your blog)

Repost & share the information contained in this post to other social media websites (INCLUDE A LINK TO THE GOFUNDME)

Make your own posts about the subject!! The more people talking about this, the better!!

^^relating to that, DON'T STOP TALKING ABOUT PALESTINE!!! no matter who you are, how small your blog is, or what theme you post with, YOU SHOULD BE SPEAKING OUT ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN GAZA, even if that just means reblogging every pro-palestine post you see!! THERE IS A GENOCIDE GOING ON!! and as a human being, it is YOUR responsibility to talk about it. That's just what you do.

If you can, attend protests and events in your community to help support Palestine. Remember to prepare with the proper equipment if you're going to be protesting (especially if you live in America) so that police will have a harder time recognizing you

Big thank you to Boshra Daoud for organizing Ezzideen's GoFundMe, for reaching out to me about this, and for providing all of the images used in this post.

[jabbasyogainstructor]

Here’s my wild take on Edna Turnblad (using John Travolta because he’s fresher in my mind, but any version works)

So if you look around during all the scenes of the Turnblad home, you’ll see that they did stage various photos of the Turnblad family at various points in time. There’s actually a really prominent picture of Wilbur and Edna’s wedding. Edna is thinner, but still not conventionally attractive, and she’s noticeably taller than her husband, both in the photo and just generally in most shots, in a time period where women would have absolutely commented on that frequently. Travolta is about 6’2” without heels while Walken topped out at around 6’ and probably has shrunk slightly due to his age. To top it all off, you can tell in many of these photos, she’s more than just tall, but big boned, broad shoulders… to even attempt fit into the styles of the age, she probably would have had to starve herself. My mother was tall and big boned as well, and huge feet for a woman, which is something that I think everyone she ever met pointed out when she was growing up in the 60s. (Mom is still very insecure about her appearance. ) Commenting negatively on appearance was the national pastime of women like Velma “former miss Baltimore crabs” Von Tussle in the 60s. Just bullying each other like we had a caste system. Watch another 1960s era film, there are plenty of examples. The Help is particularly noticeable: just sitting around talking shit about each other.

So poor Edna, who we’ve established is really insecure to begin with, has a baby! And she loves Tracy and Wilbur loves Tracy and Tracy clearly adores both her parents. Their relationship appears to be pretty healthy as we see in present day 60s Baltimore. But after giving birth, I bet Edna struggled to get that weight off. The lyrics for “without love” reference that a life without love are like “my mother on a diet.” Edna probably tried dozens of diets in the last 16 years. When she takes Tracy clothes shopping, she says she hasn’t left the house and the neighbors have not seen her in over a decade. On the surface, it sounds like she’s exaggerating, but to a degree, I don’t think she is. She has clearly avoided going out in public as much as possible. She only starts to regain some confidence when Mr Pinkley offers to dress Edna as well as Tracy. For some of you that have never had trouble finding clothes that fit, plus size stores for women are actually a relatively new idea. They definitely would not have been widespread in the 1960s. I would bet dollars to donuts that she had to make her own clothing. She’s a laundress, back then, tailoring as well as cleaning would have been an incredibly useful skill, it’s not a huge leap to think if she couldn’t buy herself clothes, she made them. Again with the insecurity, so what she made was full coverage and frumpy. Look at what she’s wearing when we first meet her: a plain, white housecoat that covers her from neck to calf.

So Edna has been hanging around her house, gaining weight, refusing to go outside, and her husband and young daughter have absolutely no idea how to help her. Mental illness treatment at the time consisted of mostly treatment for the truly impaired, a therapist just to talk to weekly, for postpartum depression, anxiety, weight issues… that was not widespread. Even if she had gone looking for treatment of any kind, she likely could not have been helped. So more than likely, grocery shopping or any other expenditures were done by Tracy or Wilbur, even going to Pinkley’s shop was almost shunted onto Wilbur as a task because she didn’t want to be seen.

I’m sure you all knew that already. But I think people sleep on how badly Edna was really treated. She had a child and husband who adored her no matter what, she was a successful business owner and she was still terrified to leave her own home. She overcame all of these issues to ensure that not only Tracy had a better shot at life and a great deal more confidence than she herself could ever seem to gather, but she went out and marched for other people’s kids. She kicked her own fears to the curb with a new wardrobe and a literal breaking bread with someone else who was heavyset and was absolutely thriving.

She is the secondary protagonist to beat all secondary protagonists.

I had to get it all out there. I adore Edna Turnblad.

[olliethemouse]

Hello again..!

Phew, this is nerve-racking.. Uh.. Hello! This is Ollie.. Some might know me as a little raccoon regressor from a few months back.. Well, I’m here again, still a mess, but less of a mess.. So.. Let’s talk!

Link to the little blog: @little-ollie-mouse

Link to the main blog: @ollietheraccoon(not active, but this is where likes and follows come from)

Content warning for mentions of abuse, mental struggles. This is a LONG post

On September 24th, 2024, I made the decision to leave the platform for a while and focus on myself! I’m doing much better now, mentally, socially, and physically. There are still things I struggle with, and it’s gonna take me a while to talk comfortably in this space again.. In my goodbye note, I noticed I might have exaggerated some facts, to which I am SORRY.. Good lord I am so sorry for that- I was not being threatened in any way to leave, I was just so overwhelmed with the things happening in my life at the time. My mental health was absolute garbage, and I realized it was affecting people around me. I’m still broken, but being held together with tape, and I might sometimes still struggle. All I’m asking is for patience..

Now, about me.. I am a MINOR, with autism, ADHD, anxiety disorder, and depression, which was only getting worse and worse as people in my life struggled to understand, and tended to take it out on me. I’ve had a long talk with such people, and though cautious, we’re closer and civil.(If anyone, and I mean ANYONE, hurts you in any way, please be weary around them). I previously was considered a “Flip”, meaning I cared for regressors, and regressed myself. This is going to change, as I will no longer be a caregiver for any regressors. This is for MY safety, as I am a minor, and in no way will be caring for people older than me. I will have a separate blog for my regression, and the boundaries for that blog will be slightly different than on this one.

BOUNDARIES

Do NOT interact if you are: Racist, Ableist, Have any form of Kink, a Predator, Over 25, under 13, Sexualize minors/regressors, follow or interact with NSFW blogs, are NSFW yourself, are here to be mean, a Trump supporter, Homophobic, TransPhobic, support animal abuse, support Autism Speaks, if you glorify abuse/abusive people, are here to cause drama, Anti-Agere, Petre, Vivziepop supporters.Those under these categories who attempt to interact will be blocked.

Do NOT ask me to be your caregiver. I am a CHILD with Anxiety around Parenting

Do NOT ask me to be your little.

Do NOT ask me for any personal information. This includes: Photos of me/my family, Photos of my house, Address, Phone number, my school. Those who ask will be blocked and reported IMMEDIATELY.

Do NOT disrespect me. I am a sensitive soul.

Now, a little more about me. My name is Ollie! I am a Demi-boy, they/them, he/him. I am a Mouse pet regressor, and a toddler/kid age regressor, and a raccoon.. Not sure really, I just have raccoon characteristics and behaviors. Fandoms I am in are:

The Outsiders(Book by S.E Hinton).

Helluva boss/Hazbin hotel(I do NOT support Vivziepop).

Call of Duty(I have not played the games as of yet)(My strongest hyper fixation as of now)

The Loving Reaper(WEBTOON series)

Care Bears-Unlock the Magic

Pokemon

The Owl House

My Hero Academia

Demon slayer(VERY new to the fandom)

Warrior Cats(Haven’t finished the series)

The Amazing Digital Circus

Poppy Playtime

CountryHumans(VERY VERY new to this)

WHAT I WILL DO ON THIS BLOG

Talk! This place will be filled with my rambles, silly thoughts, random facts, and a few projects I’ve been working on!

Head cannons! I will do head cannons for all the media mentioned above!

Mood boards are a MAYBE, I’m working on figuring them out! When I do, I’ll update this part

WHAT I WONT DO

Judge people, Im here to listen and here to talk!

Art. I am extremely self conscious when it comes to drawing, do not request any art from me.

To those of you who read all the way.. Oh my god, thank you.. I know I left suddenly, but, I’m back, and I’m okay now.. Okay as I can be.. And I’m so excited to be back.. To those I’ve met before, and to the new friends I hope to meet..

Im back…

[aajjks]

seol☀️: https://pin.it/73QSPDHK1

moon🌙: https://pin.it/6F1ZyUSfY

🎄mommy issues!JK

“say aah~ om nom nom~ see? isn’t it good?”

“mooom..you’re too loud. i can’t hear the movie”

“then go to your room, seol. did you forget you have a TV in there?”

“no, but i want to stay and watch it with you”

“then, mommy’s gonna be a little loud”

seol pouts as he keeps his eyes trained on the television in front of him. your attention is back on your now 1-year-old daughter, moon who is whining for another spoonful of dakjuk. “sorry sorry” you apologize as you feed her more of the delicious porridge. you hear your phone go off causing you to look at it:

from hubby💍💕

i found that iron man toy seol wanted!

look at how cute this is for moonie

[photo attached]

to hubby💍💕:

you better not buy that for moon & are you still buying seol a phone?

he wrote it on his christmas list three times 😅

~🫧

It’s the best time of the year.

Jungkook enters the house with a sense of relief. The bags of gifts in his hands feel heavy,

but the excitement of getting back to his family makes every step lighter. He slips off his shoes, his eyes already searching for the warmth of his home.

He can hear the faint sounds of the TV from the living room, Seol’s quiet voice barely audible over the noise of the Christmas movie playing.

The soft clink of the utensils in the kitchen tells him you’re taking care of Moon, feeding her her porridge as always.

He pauses for a moment in the doorway, watching the scene in front of him. Seol is sitting on the couch, his eyes locked on the screen, the familiar pout on his lips as he tries to focus on the movie.

“MY MOONIE!!!!” Jungkook coos.

But as soon as Seol hears the door creak, his little head snaps in Jungkook’s direction.

“Dad!” Seol exclaims, his face lighting up as he jumps off the couch and runs over to him.

Jungkook laughs softly and kneels down to catch him in his arms. “Hey, buddy, you’ve been good today?”

Seol nods, bouncing in his dad’s arms with excitement. “Can we do the presents now? Please?”

Jungkook grins, ruffling his son’s hair. “Yeah, we can. But remember, no peeking, alright?”

Seol’s eyes widen in exaggerated shock. “I won’t peek, I promise!” he says dramatically, his tiny hands gripping the presents he’s already been eyeing, ready to help.

Jungkook’s heart melts at the sight. He watches Seol carefully arrange the gifts under the tree, making sure they’re placed just right.

“You’re doing a great job, kid,” Jungkook praises, standing behind him and watching with pride.

With the presents under the tree, Jungkook stands up straight and looks around the room. His eyes land on you, and his heart skips a beat.

You’re sitting on the couch, Moon resting in your arms, her little eyes bright and curious as she looks up at him. His gaze softens, and a smile tugs at the corners of his mouth.

“This is perfect,” he murmurs to himself, before walking over to join you on the couch. He places a hand on your shoulder, leaning down to kiss the top of your head.

The world outside may be cold, but in this moment, his world is perfect. He wraps his arms around both you and Moon, feeling the warmth of your little family.

Seol hops over to him with a piece of paper in his hands, excited to share his creation. “Dad! I wrote my note for Santa!” he says, holding it up proudly.

So fucking cute.

Jungkook lifts him up and sits him on his lap, looking at the crayon-written note with amusement. “Let’s make sure it’s extra special,” he says, smiling down at Seol as he starts to write out his wish.

Jungkook can’t help but laugh. His family is everything to him….

each moment with you, with Seol, with Moon, is a gift in itself. He watches Seol write,

Moon quietly snuggled against him, and he pulls you in close, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “I love you so much,” he whispers, feeling his heart swell with gratitude.

He knows that this is the life he’s always wanted. A family, a home full of love, and you—his everything.

His gaze lingers on you longer than it should, an unsettling intensity in his eyes. He’s careful to mask it with a soft smile, but in his mind, a darker thought swirls.

You’re mine… The words echo in his head, but he can’t help it—he wants you all to himself, every piece of you. No one else could ever compare, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way.

“Merry Christmas, babe,” he says softly, his voice thick with emotion, but there’s a possessiveness in it too, an edge that only he understands.

As the laughter of his children fills the room, he feels that familiar protective instinct flare up.

He tightens his grip around you, ensuring you’re close, making sure no one could ever take you from him. Not Seol, not Moon, not anyone.

But his thoughts take a darker turn as he watches you laugh, your eyes twinkling. The way you look at them, the way you care for them.

He looks down at Seol, who’s now tugging at his sleeve, ready to move on to the next part of the Christmas tradition.

But his thoughts are still on you, on your laugh, the warmth of your touch. He won’t let anything—anyone—ever threaten the peace he’s worked so hard to build.

“I’ll make sure of it,” he mutters under his breath, his fingers gripping the paper Seol is holding as the weight of his thoughts presses down on him.

The house is filled with the laughter and warmth of the season, but a darkness simmers just beneath the surface, threatening to rise.

He just loves Christmas.. It’s so beautiful, so merry.

He’ll protect his family. Always.

And no one will ever take you away from him. Not now, not ever.

[theretirementstory]

22/09/2024. Bonjour à tous 👋, it’s a cloudy day and not particularly warm at 17c.

The photo above was taken on the 16 October 2017 from the window of the apartment I lived in when I first arrived. The church, Saint Maclou, had been closed since about the 1950’s and was becoming an eyesore. A European Fund provided money to restore the building, to become what, I am still unsure. Obviously with Covid, work was halted and it seemed as if the restored building would never appear. However, a walk to town on Friday, took me past the church and I am pleased to report that the portacabins and shuttering are no longer there and the church looks amazing. It is one of the 12th century churches in town and it’s wonderful to see it come to life again in the 21st century. (See photo below). Apparently, the outside work is complete it is now the interior work that needs to be finished.

As I only had one hospital visit this week, I was going to have more time for ME and the things that I like doing.

I was awaiting the arrival of the man to finish cleaning the exterior walls of my house, on Monday. He had said around 9am but as it was a dull morning he didn’t put in an appearance until 2pm. Anyway, he worked like a good ‘un, as we say where I come from. He didn’t finish until 8pm 😳 any later and I would have left him to it and gone to bed!

Having watched the neighbour two doors up preparing the ground and building breeze block pillars to put a motorised gate on his property I was feeling that I needed to tidy my front garden before the winter arrives. Monique had said she would clear the weeds from the raised bed in the back but to be honest the nettles are almost two foot high and it is really bugging me looking so untidy. Can I wait for her to put in an appearance?

On Friday I seemed to have found someone else’s energy and after two walks I still felt ok, so went outside to clear weeds and cat poop from the potager, then cover it with cardboard. Well that’s the idea, the cardboard is too big and I can’t cut it (am hoping a friendly neighbour will do it for me). The friendly neighbour brought home a bag of bark from the supermarket and having found just short of half a bag in the garage, I set to and spread that out. Well it looks as if I will need a few more bags, plus I found a bag lurking in the bottom of the storage box outside. Anyway, to say it looks a little better is no exaggeration.

Yesterday, I had it in my head to cut back the clematis, it’s never been done which is maybe why I haven’t seen it flower. I cut the roses back by a third and had cut the hydrangea back too (not too harshly). As the garden is a jungle of weeds I thought to try and sort those out. Imagine my surprise when I found the majority of the weeds were actually in my neighbours garden and had just grown high and come through the fence. So now not content with the neighbour on the other side with six foot high nettles which come through into my garden I have the neighbour on the other side with his weeds coming through! He has the front of his hedge (forsythia) all looking spic and span and just behind the forsythia loads of big weeds growing into my garden 🤔.

I messaged the gardener to see if we are coming into the time for grass cutting to end and if it’s time for weed killing (like the ivy under the shrubs). No response as yet.

My friend, Sarah, a fellow Brit who lives in Haute Marne, came to see me on Tuesday. We had a wonderful natter and she had insisted on bringing lunch. We had steamed salmon, green beans with roasted tomatoes and new potatoes, followed by (a bought) succès cake. These cakes are delicious my absolute favourites. It made such a change to see someone different and being English it was easier to converse.

Then it was the day of the hospital visit, of course, being Wednesday the cleaner was here at 9am, it was a quick lunch and then the taxi arrived at 12:45 not 13:00 as had been arranged! Anyway, my blood results were good for haemoglobin and on the rise for platelets. I had my platelet transfusion, two injections and my PICC line cleaned and dressed. It was still 6ish when I got home but at least that was only one day.

I do like to think I can have a lie in, but my tablets start at 7am so I think if I have slept from around 10pm to 6:30ish I have had a good rest.

Friday saw the return of the knitting group but unfortunately I wasn’t there. I got a photo of them all waving to me and I sent one back. I really must write a resignation letter so that I don’t have that pressure on me. I will be sad to give it all up but my heart isn’t in it anymore.

Anie came to see me last evening. She brought me golden raspberries from her garden along with a posy of beautiful flowers. We sat and talked, looked into my garden at the four areas of cyclamen and looking for birds. Monique has been unwell with ongoing pain in her back, sciatic nerve and leg. She said she had been finding it difficult to drive. She is hoping to come and see me this coming week. Lise, the lady who was in charge of the office at HUDA ( the refugee office) had her baby at the beginning of September. A little girl (or not so little) she weighed 4 kilos (8lbs 13oz) at birth 🤔 same weight as one of mine. Her name is Leonore, what a pretty name.

I am pleased that my life seems to be more mine rather than the hospitals. Sometimes I have felt that I have done nothing else but get into taxis and visit hospitals. I feel quite “normal” now I am sure you understand what I mean. I have time to cook and prepare some wonderful meals which is great as I am eating lots!

Last night I made a pizza and I ate half with salad, it was delicious and I was pleased I made it.

“The Recovery Coordinator” and “The Solicitor” have been eating healthily this last week. She messaged to say that she has lost 5lbs in weight and is very pleased. Work has been tough but she did work from home one day.

“The Solicitor” has been taking his lunch to work and thoroughly enjoyed what he has been eating. It’s good to see that they are on a health kick, getting out for walks as well as enjoying fruit and salads.

To be honest I have been eating lots of salad and really enjoying it. When I went to the hospital I had had soup and a sandwich which was quite filling. However at 4pm my stomach started rumbling and I could have done with having something tasty to eat. I am cutting out crisps, I had enjoyed them with a sandwich and they seemed to fill me up but I was conscious of the fat and salt content.

“The Photographer” went to London midweek and his company were very pleased with the photographs he had taken. This weekend he has his children, he took them to get some clothes for autumn and they were telling me what they had bought. My grandson went off to find his hoodie which had Marvel characters on it, then the three year old, quite patiently, explained to his aged grand-mere who each character was. I really wanted to laugh it was total role reversal 😂, he is just so adorable.

Now the music section. The first song is by Prince, it’s “Thieves in the Temple Part II” it was released in 1990. A bit of a change from me really.

The second song, is one I am surprised I haven’t had already, it’s by Labelle, it’s Lady Marmalade from way back in 1974.

Well we are heading into the last week of September, today is the autumnal equinox and here is a fact which has brought back memories of my visit there. “The staircases at the main Maya pyramid, El Castillo, at Chichen Itza, Mexico, are built at a carefully calculated angle which makes it look like a snake of sunlight slithers down the stairs the moment the equinox occurs.”

Well let’s see what the coming week has in store for me. Someone close to me will celebrate a birthday……. to say he has been looking forward to that day is an understatement. We will find out more for the blog next week!

Have a good week until next week!

[yoon-kooks]

the airdrop incident | myg

🗿pairing: yoongi x reader

🗿genre: fluff, neighbor!au, f2l, childhood friends, best friend's brother

🗿summary: You accidentally AirDrop a racy photo of yourself in strappy lingerie to your hot and arrogant neighbor Min Yoongi.

🗿word count: 1k

a/n: yes this is for yoongi's bday and yes im 471298 years late🥹

An onlooker might be wondering why you’re standing outside your neighbor’s door at ass o’clock in nothing but an oversized tee, but the answer is simple. Mistakes were made. You’re an idiot.

But then he has the audacity to answer the door. “He” as in Min Yoongi, your childhood friend slash nemesis, the older brother of your best friend, or, in the simplest terms, your hot neighbor.

“Yes?” he raises a brow, staring at the way you’re shivering outside his door, the way your perky nipples are most definitely poking through your shirt. You’re sure he sees it all. But given the fact that he’s also seen you practically naked, you don’t even bother covering up. What’s the point?

“Did you, by chance, get an AirDrop like five minutes ago?” you get straight to the point. It’s fucking freezing, after all.

“Depends,” he hums, eyes still very much on your chest. You’re pretty sure he’s dating that pretty brunette you’ve seen sneaking in and out of his house lately, so why’s he looking at you like that? “What was the AirDrop?”

“A picture of me,” you mumble. It was freezing a minute ago, but now your face feels hot. That’s weird.

“Hmm, not sure if the one I’m thinking of is you or not.” The bastard puts on his most exaggerated thinking face—basically the thinking emoji with the hand on his chin. “What were you wearing?”

“Nothing!” you squeak at him. Both of you know no one fucking uses AirDrop except old people. He’s obviously playing dumb and knows what’s going on. He just wants to hear it from your mouth to make his ego bigger than it already is. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“Pretty sure you were wearing something…” he furrows his brow, unlocking his phone to “confirm” what he saw. Like your favorite villain Swiper the Fox, you snatch the phone out of his hand. (He actually just hands it to you, but you like the Dora reference.) “Ah, yes. Black strappy lingerie, right? I didn’t know you were like that, Y/N.”

“Fuck you,” you hiss as you search for the pic in question. AirDrop must have its own stupid section on the phone because you can’t find it anywhere.

“Relax, I already deleted it,” he chuckles. You’re not falling for it. Surely he’s already leaked the photo on OnlyFans. You don’t have a whole lot of faith in Min Yoongi. He’s never been The Nice Guy. “Who were you trying to send it to?”

“None of your business.” He has a girlfriend, after all. Why should he care about who you’re sending those kinds of pics to?

“My sister?”

“Fine. Yes, her.”

“You’re sneaking around sending nudes to my sister? On AirDrop?” he narrows his eyes. Why does he seem more disgusted at the AirDrop part? You’d laugh if you weren’t so stressed. “She’s in a very committed relationship, you know.”

“I’m aware.” You don’t know what���s worse—him thinking you’re hitting on his sister aka your best friend, or admitting the pic was from a photoshoot for your new job. There are no winners here. Might as well come clean. “She requested the pic so she could show support for her lingerie model best friend.”

“My little Y/N grew up and became a lingerie model?” He tilts his head, intrigued. He might’ve deleted the pic from his phone, but you bet the image is still ingrained in that fuckboy head of his. You wonder how his girlfriend feels about him thinking about other girls in that context. You’d feel shitty. “In that case, I’d also like to show support. Mind if you send the pic ag—” 

You cut him off with a growl.

“I kid, I kid.” He waves his hands so you don’t pounce on him. But then something occurs to him. “Wait, so AirDropping it to me wasn’t ‘an accident’?” he asks with air quotes.

“No, it was a real accident, Yoongi,” you scoff. You can’t believe he thought you’d intentionally sent that pic to him. He’s so full of himself.

“Well that’s no fun.”

“Elaborate.”

“It would’ve been kinda cute if you did it to get my attention,” he shrugs. “Just like when we were younger. Remember how you’d always tug on my arm and pout until I acknowledged you?”

“No, but it’s kinda weird that you remember it.” You finally cross your arms in front of your chest. “It’s also kinda weird that you want my attention when that’s what your girlfriend is there for.”

“It’s kinda weird that you keep up with my love life and know I have a girlfriend,” he fires back at you. “I’m breaking up with her, by the way. Just in case you wanted to know.”

You pause the petty war for a second. Min Yoongi is breaking up with his girlfriend because you accidentally sent him one (1) risqué pic of yourself? To be fair, you do look pretty hot in that photo. But still! You’ve known the guy your entire life, and all it’s ever amounted to was banter with a hint of feelings on your end. You’d always assumed Yoongi thought of you as nothing more than his little sister’s friend. Surely he’s just toying with you right now. Because that’s what fuckboys do. 

That’s what Min Yoongis do.

“Good to know,” you nod, the cold breeze coming back. You better leave now before you do something stupid again. Stupid AirDrop. “Well, I’m gonna go now. It’s fucking cold.”

You drop his phone into his palm, your fingers grazing his in the process. They’re so warm. But your fluffy blanket is warmer. And it’d never betray you.

“Thanks for only being a slight dick about the pic,” you say, scurrying off to your doorstep.

“Anytime,” he smirks. Asshole. “I’ll AirDrop you later.”

“I don’t want your dick pics, sir.”

You hear his laugh before closing the door.

A minute later, you get an AirDrop of what you hope is not in fact a dick pic. You accept it immediately.

It’s a blurry selfie of him on his bed, flipping you off with an emphasis on how much extra mattress space he has. That has to be the quickest breakup of all time. They don’t call him a fuckboy for nothing. You shouldn't feel this tempted.

He accompanies the pic with one simple text:

Yoongi🗿 [2:03AM] “Your loss”

[oxydiane]

'Smile!'

For the Day 1 prompt! @jilytoberfest

You can read on AO3 too!

‘I still don’t get why you bother with that chunky muggle thing, we can’t even move in those photographs!’

‘You know,’ Lily’s sweet tone was betrayed by the roll of her eyes. ‘It’s nostalgic, and I can’t really expect Mum and Dad to frame wizard photos.’

‘Why not? We keep that horrible vase your sister’s given us, they can keep something of ours.’

‘You know,’ she starts again, ‘Muggles don’t usually keep moving pictures around, now I wouldn’t be opposed to that, but that would mean she’d have to hide it… and I don’t think Mum would want to hide any of us.’

James straightens his back. ‘Yeah, you’re right, we make too good of a family to keep it to ourselves. The Muggles deserve to see the handsomest of them all.’

That makes Lily giggle and peck her husband on the cheek. She reaches for the polaroid camera that lay discarded on the coffee table, James never figured out how to work it.

‘Smile!’ She exclaims, and right before the camera clicks, James starts tickling the small baby sitting on his lap. Lily rejoices, sure she must have caught the moment.

‘Mum and Dad are going to love this.’

James stands up, Harry’s head resting on his chest as he recovers from the attack. ‘I bet, they’re going to make a right fuss as soon as they see how much this little guy’s teeth have grown. Is that right, Haz? Is grandma going to send another letter complaining about how we never bring you over so she can smother you in peace?’ He speaks in an exaggerated silly voice that makes Harry laugh and reach for James’ face.

‘Oh, please, at least they don’t yell! If I get another howler over breakfast from Euphemia telling me we need to visit soon and bring Harry because they have more gifts for him…’

‘Hey, leave her be! You know she gets lonely, alone with Dad in that big house, her two kids away –‘

‘Talking about her kids,’ interrupts Lily, waving the polaroid near her face. ‘Is Padfoot dropping by soon?’

Harry seems to perk at the mention of his Godfather. ‘Pa’foo?’ He asks, big green eyes travelling from his mother back to his father.

‘Yeah, yeah, your beloved will be here soon,’ says James, talking to Harry rather than Lily. ‘I still can’t believe that was his first word.’ He mutters that to himself.

Mere moments later, the telltale roar of Sirius’ motorbike can be heard from outside their home, and the familiar sound makes Harry clap and laugh in anticipation.

‘Talk of the devil…’ utters James, but he was smiling from ear to ear.

Lily’s eyes roll back as she watches her husband excitedly go for the door. She follows them and crosses her arms, leaning against the wall with what she’s sure is a sickeningly sweet look; watching her son smile big and squish Sirius’ cheeks in his tiny hands whenever his Godfather picks him up does that to her.

‘Heard from a little birdie that little Bambi was missing his Pa’foo?’ Sirius coos while kissing one of Harry’s hands, and Lily was sure that if she tried telling any of their old classmates the Tall, Dark and Handsome Sirius Black actually spends at least three days of the week making a baby voice for her son, they’d say she was mental. Oh, yeah, they’d require proof to believe that.

Struck by an idea, she makes her way back to the coffee table and picks up the discarded muggle camera before quickly walking back and snapping a picture of the scene. Sirius, noticing the click, finally stops fussing over Harry and turns to Lily.

‘I hope that’s not your muggle rubbish, Evans,’ he jokes and Lily laughs freely because she knows he doesn’t mean any of it. ‘I want proper pictures of this baby here, need this charming smile in my wallet to balance the dad’s ugly face.’

‘I’m afraid you’ll have to make do,’ she retorts and shakes the fresh picture as James makes an indignant noise. ‘And it’s ‘Potter’ now, you of all people should know, best man.’

‘Yeah, yeah, sure, let me see that.’ Sirius dismisses the conversation when he notices the picture developing.

Soon, all three of them are looking fondly at the blurry photograph in Lily’s hand and Sirius takes it before turning his attention back to Harry, who had started crying out for him.

‘You know…’ whispers James, ‘We are going to use wizard film for my parents. No this isn’t up for debate! Mum will skin me alive if I send her still, blurry pictures of her grandson – hey, stop laughing!'

[coralinehecc]

Corals Monthly Update #3

HOHOHO!! FIRST BLOG POST OF 2023 AND I’M NEARLY 2 WEEKS LATE!!! Super sorry about the long wait! I’ve had tests recently and only got off of school like a few days ago haha! So! Welcome back to my monthly update on what I get up to in my life! Now, before we get into January, I, for the final time, have to tap back into the previous month. Curse past me for thinking the 21st was a good day to start doing these!!! ANYHOW! The rest of December and early January were a BLAST! But lemmie talk about what happened after I made the last update. CHRISTMAS!! I had a great time with my family and I got a bunch of fluffy things cuz that’s apparently the easiest thing to get me now. We also had dinner on Christmas day with my Grandparents like every year. Over-all that day was very fun! I even got drunk playing Minecraft which was funny for everyone in VC. The next few days weren’t anything exciting, however my brother Finn had a bunch of his friends over for his birthday which was chaotic. But the excitement picks back up on the 28th! BECAUSE SKYE AND VI CAME OVER FOR NEW YEARS!! We’ve been planning this since like, June, so it was awesome seeing them again! We did all kinds of stuff from shopping to playing some awesome games! (I am now chronically addicted to Ultra Kill thanks guys)

We even did some baking! Here is our glorious creation I dubbed, “The Jimothy”. 

Overall the rest of December was awesome! I’m glad I got to celebrate New Years with my besties! Overall, I’ll give it a 10/10! Best way to end 2022 >:D Here’s a few more misc photos hehehhehe

NOW! FOR JANUARY!! January started off still vibing with the guys. However they would then go home on the 4th which sucks. But before that, both Skye and I spent a lot of money on consoles that are almost as old as ourselves. They bought a fucking PS Vita and I got a motherfucking Wii. We both had fun with em and I even helped Skye homebrew their Vita since I wanted to put PebbleCD on it (I failed but shut uuup) But yea, sadly the guys had to go and it sucked! But I still had a great time. There’s a bit of a gap here right up until the 12th, where finally, the big event happened. CAREY IN THE HOUSE WENT LIVE!! I had finished it a few days prior but figured I’d build up hype by posting it on that Friday. AND IT SURE WORKED! The video blew up faster than any of my videos before it! I am so happy the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I also love how the only main complaint that was common amongst people was that Careys exaggerated accent was annoying which, yea can’t argue against. For anyone wishing for more CITH content, I did a behind the scenes mega thread over on my twitter if you wanna have a deeper look into the production! I’ll even link it here:  https://twitter.com/Carey_Black_/status/1619731723352444928 Now, to move onto why it took me forever to make an update. My mock exams.. BUT BEFORE THAT!! THERE’S ALSO THE FACT THAT MR WULF AND I WERE ABLE TO ARCHIVE THE ORIGINAL EDDSWORLD BANG BOOM SPLAT PROJECT FILE!!

This all started because Wulf wanted to edit the credits for his arcade BBS build since I was helping him out and since I said SWF modding is hard he just casually asked Psycosis and after seeing his WIP cabinet, gave Wulf the FLA! So a current “BBS arcade version” is in the works by yours truly thanks to both the generosity of Psycosis and the fact that Mr Wulf is a fucking mad man who could stop global warming in a month if he wanted to LOL! Here’s Wulfs finished Cabinet btw!:  https://twitter.com/MrWulfOfficial/status/1622295302685315073 But yea, for real. My mock exams were a pain! For those outside of Ireland or have a different name for em, Mock exams are, well, exams that act like a practice run for your finals. They’re always harder than the actual finals and are usually graded stricter too! Why? Who knows! The Irish education system is a joke. I feel like I did somewhat ok in them anyway? Some were definitely worse than others but overall it was more of an inconvenience. I did get this really cool art piece out of it however.

Exams would later spill over into February and like I said at the start, I finished and got off school a few days ago. Overall, this month was about a 7/10. It was pretty good, especially in the Eddsworld department, but mocks and other personal tid bits I didn’t mention here dragged it down for me. Since February seems to be mostly me being off school, I hope this month will be better haha! Only time will tell! Thank you for reading! And I hope to see you next month!! (Hopefully on time too haha!) 

[therunawaykind]

I am very happy to hear that! 😄 I wondering if you could please write a Taylor Sloane x reader imagine where the reader gets Taylors attention. She keeps on trying to get the reader attention but nothing works on them and this makes get frustrated because she always gets what she wants but this time she's having problem. So when she sees the reader with another girl, she gets very jealous and ruins the reader and the girls hangout. Which this leads into a fight and taylor confessing her love for the reader which ends up in the two kissing and the reader telling her she also likes her. 😅

The reader can be any gender you like it to be😊 and thank you! 😊

Got something to tell you

Pairing: Taylor Sloane x Reader

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: Curse words, fluff, angsty?

Author's Note: I don't know why but I was really nervous writing this one-shot. I'm hoping this satisfies you're jealous Taylor Sloane needs. It's a lot longer than I anticipated but anywho. Checked over everything, pretty sure there is no use of any specific pronouns if there is please let me know! I hope you enjoy it (Yes I also mentioned Ingrid because let's be real Ingrid deserved better)

| MASTERLIST | DISCORD | GET NOTIFIED OF MY STORIES |

//

You worked as a freelance photographer for as long as you remember, you worked with everyone and anyone at this stage from celebrities, influencers, social media stars and so on. Although you had never worked with her you never heard the end of the new upcoming and unmissable Taylor Sloane, whilst she seemed like someone you would never work with you had a feeling with would be inevitable. You didn’t necessarily hate or dislike her she just seemed like a lot, to be quite honest. It was pure coincidence when you moved across the road from her, she was stood outside in her garden eyeing you, you had no idea if that was a good or bad situation. You just assumed she knew you from all your photography work...which she did know but she was interested in you as a person as well. Much to Taylor’s dismay she never had the chance to go over and talk to you because she was either busy with people or you were constantly on the phone, which caused her to spiral thinking who you were on the phone to was it your partner? work? Family? She honestly couldn’t narrow it down.

Taylors annoyance didn’t subside when she saw a girl frequently coming and going from your house across the street, with that girl being in the way made her ‘mission’ a lot more difficult than it needed to be. Even though she tried her best to remain composed because you two haven’t even talked, it might just be a constant hookup.

You were prepping for a photoshoot in one of the rooms in your house when the girl you’re kinda seeing? But kinda not? Came up behind you saying “hey Y/n, you know that woman across the street keeps looking over and pretty much watching your every move right?” You glance behind you and spin around to face the window and hum “Yea I guess Mia but she’s Taylor Sloane that upcoming influencer person, she’s probably just tryna figure out how to work with me.” You stare out the window in thought as you mindlessly pack all the equipment you need into your bag “anyway Mia I gotta head out to a shoot I’ll see ya later.”

You’ve been at the beach for a few hours with the model when you start hearing over-exaggerated laughing and giggles you automatically roll your eyes and hear a chorus of “oh my god Taylor!” and immediately under your breath you mumbled “fuck.” You miss out and don’t see the pointing and staring at you and you don’t hear the whispers of them saying “omg it’s Y/n L/n, d’you think they’d be able to take a picture for us now?” Surprisingly enough it was Taylor that declined and mumbled “we can’t ask them to take a picture of us now they’re working on a shoot.” Which involved Taylor getting confused looks from her ‘friends’ because she never cared if a person was working she’d get a photo taken by them no matter what. While all this was going on, you were still in your own little world listening to music through your wireless headphones in one of your ears. As you were taking a few steps back someone collided with you and heard a slight “fuck..oh no.” You signalled for the model to take 5 minutes and turned around. “Taylor Sloane to what do I owe the pleasure of you colliding with me.” In the background, you could still see all her friends giggling and staring at you. Taylor’s mouth dropped when she realised you knew who she was, she cleared her throat and stuttered “ehh we...I know you’re busy but um… my friends were wondering would you be able to take just a quick little picture of us since you know you’re such a great photographer and all.” You looked between Taylor and her little posse and exhaled “make it quick.” After taking a quick few snaps of them on Taylor’s phone, her friends ran off and Taylor turned around and exclaimed “honestly thank you so much you didn’t have to do that.” You nodded and waved her off.

What Taylor didn’t know was as she left you took photos of just her on your camera and smirked to yourself.

Hours after you got home your phone started buzzing on the table as you were editing photos. The first notification you saw was Taylor Sloane has tagged you in a post. You grinned walked over to the window and funnily enough there she was looking over. You gave her a smug wave and walked away. After that you pretty much go back to not taking much notice of Taylor and continue on with work, hanging out with Mia and basically being everywhere Taylor wasn’t.

Much to Taylor’s annoyance, it frustrated her that the picture you took of her and her friends was her most liked post on her Instagram. Why? Her other pictures looked the exact same, was it just because your name was on them? More than likely and fans thinking you’re both going to be working together soon which wasn’t the case. Taylor never got the chance to get you alone, always with that fucking girl, or you just straight-up avoiding her. It didn’t take very long for her to start complaining to her friends about why you weren’t hanging out with her more. All her friends could come up with was invite them to a party at your house, I mean they live straight across from you.

Needless to say Taylor Dm’ed you about the party instantly.

You also didn’t reply and didn’t show up.

Shocker.

Another few days passed, another invite to a party, another party Y/n didn’t show up to.

Taylor decided to ask again a few weeks later, she was beyond angry and annoyed at this stage. What she didn’t know what you were going to be going tonight however, you were gonna bring Mia with you for the company because you’d literally know no one there. As you finished getting ready you ran your fingers through your hair and paced “Mia can we not go I regret this decision already.” Mia answered with a quick “nope, now come on.” You grabbed everything you needed and walked over and into Taylor’s, neither of you could spot her so you both walked to the back to grab some drinks.

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Ingrid Thorburn talk to someone, you smiled to yourself knowing that her life hasn’t been the easiest. Whilst it confused you how she was friends with Taylor you were happy she had a secure group of friends to support her now when things got tough. The funny thing is it was Taylor she was talking to and you didn’t even realise.

Taylor saw you out of the corner of her eye and started freaking out internally and started freaking out to Ingrid, then she saw the fucking girl with you again and too close to you for her liking. She decided to do what she knew the best act like a fucking clutz with that she excused herself from Ingrid and started her way over to you. Before she came close, you’d realise it was her she decided to ‘trip’ and spill her drink on you. Which ended up being a lot fuller than she realised so she did sort of feel bad, considering how much of it went all down your clothes.

You whipped your head around to the person and rolled your eyes “Taylor really? Invite me to a party just to spill your drink on me.” Taylor immediately started to freak out, she didn’t really think you’d react this way but at the same time could she blame you? She did spill her drink all over you. “Y/n I am so sorry, I did genuinely trip.” you cut her off mumbling “mhmm.” Taylor sighed and looked up at you “look can I at least bring you upstairs and get a change of clothes for you?” You crossed your arms over your chest “well since it was an accident that was your fault, I guess it’s only fair.” What Taylor didn’t know though was that you really weren’t as mad as you let on to be you really just wanted to see her panic.

“You know when I agreed to come to this party I didn’t expect the host to spill her drink all over my clothes. You continued walking up the stairs with Taylor “Y/n I told you I am genuinely sorry.” Taylor walks into her room and opens her closet “Choose whatever you like, whatever you’re comfortable in.” You take a quick glance around her room and looks back at her “huh Taylor Sloane actually apologising for something and letting me have free reign over all the clothes she has.” As you were flicking through her closet to get a change of clothes out of the corner of your eye you saw her jaw clench. “Y’know what Y/n I didn’t have to offer you a fucking change of clothes, I could’ve left you smelling like alcohol all night with that girl you’re with all the time. Also, what would you want me to do not say sorry, claim it was all a part of my master plan to finally be able to talk to you alone for once? You’re infuriating you barely know me! You have probably assumed all this shit about me because you hear others talk about me and claim that’s what I’m like.”

You were stood staring at her with your mouth open you tried to cut her off “Taylor.” She kept ranting, you stuck your tongue in your cheek and exclaimed “TAYLOR what you’re doing right now is not much better than what you assumed I did. You are quite literally assuming all this shit about me, funnily enough, you don’t know me I’m just some photographer to you that you can work with and get you a bunch of new followers and fans.”

Taylor started fidgeting nervously and spoke quietly “you’re not just some photographer.” You stared at her and ran your hands over your face “what are you on about Taylor?” Taylor starts pacing around her room “oh fuck here we go, I like you okay and since you moved across the street I’ve been trying my best to get your attention to try and hang out, but clearly, that wasn’t working. So no you’re not just a photographer to me, I didn’t even wanna bother you that day on the beach that was all my friends that’s why I bumped into you.”

You stared at her and started smirking. Taylor scoffed “why are you smirking, don’t laugh at my failure I don’t understand why I get so flustered around you, I’ve never been like this around anyone else.” You could see she was about to go on another tangent so you strode over to her wrapped your arms around her waist and started kissing her. One of Taylor’s hands was on the back of your neck while the other was on your chest trying to bring you as close as possible to her. Taylor quickly realised what was happening and walked backwards and said breathlessly “Y/n what did you just do, you have that girl downstairs.” You stared at her “Girl? Oh, Mia? She’s not really anything to worry about we were kinda together then realised better as friends. Also if it wasn’t clear by the kiss I do kinda like you too, I was just acting like an asshole to get you to panic more and freak out.” Taylor rolled her eyes and mumbled, “of course.” A grin took over your face and you went over and held her hand and whispered “come on we got a party to get back to and they’re all probably wondering where the host is gone.”

You and Taylor walked back to the party hand in hand smiling like two complete idiots. You two never looked back after that night it was the start of a great relationship and a beautiful working relationship between the two of you.