#so i could have simply written about any guys kissing instead

[wulfhalls]

this had me going what is solomons crown so I go to goodreads right? and that's the cover

and im like. oh boy. okay. this is NOT a promising start now is it but lets see. so the summary

and I'm like. well this went from bad to worse but whatever I'm downloading. I can read a bad book for fun once in a while right. but then. horror. the authors introduction

and I'm like. well. I could also just read a good book instead actually

[kyoghurts]

LOVER ACTS. mashle headcanon 𞥙୧

˖ 𐙚 ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ being your lover and being in love comes with a habit, sprung from the ground and grows like a flower. MASHLE VARIOUS CHARS have a habit of . . .

ᥫ᭡ MASH BURNEDEAD

. . . resting his chin on your palm at any chance he sees. this guy is so tenderly and quietly affectionate especially in the physical aspect. you might say he’s a bit of a touch starved. he won’t say it, though if you ask him he won’t lie to you either. so whenever you’re both alone and doing insignificant things, you offer your hand for him to plant a small kiss and he’ll just keep his lips on your palm, or rest his chin, looking into your eyes with intensity that tells you so much. you need not ask the gods if he’s meant for you or you’re meant for him. he only has eyes for you, only you.

ᥫ᭡ LANCE CROWN.

. . . playing with your hair. or simply making it a routine to tend to your hair: comb, trim (if it gets too long), braid, and if he’s in the mood to dive more intimate: he’ll wash your hair. he’s like your personal hairdresser, he might as well be, with how good he is at taking care of them. when outside or at class, he’ll absentmindedly brush a few strands off your face or slightly ruffle them. but sometimes it gets annoying for you, and when you try to pry off his hands you’ll have yourself blessed by the airy chuckle you hear from lance. mind you, getting this kind of reaction from your boyfriend occurs once in a blue moon, so, you’ll say nothing. instead, you’ll savor every breath of it and how his hands can be so good to you (and your hair.)

ᥫ᭡ FINN AMES

. . . sending small trinkets. handmade letters, doodles from only half spending his attention to his lecturers, paper cranes, stickers, you know it. you’re pretty sure your room is going to be full with his little stuffs, and he’s not going to hide the sheer happiness he feels whenever he visits you. he’ll ask you where you put them or if he sees it displayed out in the open, he’s going to get all misty about it. and he would want to create more for you for this purpose: to show the contents of his love for you.

ᥫ᭡ DOT BARRETT.

. . . singing you crappy & cheesy love songs. oh i know this man is going to be super annoying and loud but but but— you can tolerate it. why? this guy can sing like he’s destined to step on the stage. it can also be the sole reason why you fell for him, he’s not afraid to express himself. not to you or anyone, whether you’re out in public or private, he will sing to you all the love songs he knows. and from the way you playfully shut him up with light jabs (or if you’re feeling confident in yourself, a quick kiss to his lips), it will be the key that gives way to your feelings. and well, its okay, you’re not afraid to express yourself, either.

ᥫ᭡ LEMON IRVINE

. . . recommending songs & films. even better, you both could listen/watch to it! she’ll be over the moon, painted by glistening stars of happiness, bonus points if you tell her in a novel detailed way on your thoughts after, does it remind you of something? a memory? a feeling? how and why so? you could ramble until the sun comes shining, she’ll never get tired of it, never of you.

ᥫ᭡ RAYNE AMES.

. . . spoiling/treating you with gifts. he’ll come home and there’s not an ounce of surprise written off your face as you see literal shopping bags and what’s funny is that he won’t look at you in the eye, he’s just going to shove it to you and walk away. you could go shopping together and, granted that he is perceptive, he will buy anything that catches your eye for a minute longer. never say no. you will regret it. he’s going to sulk, he’s going to ignore you until you apologize. (in the form of taking and accepting his gifts so yeah, he still wins in the end.) also uh, he also has a habit of nuzzling his head on the crook of your neck hehe :3

ᥫ᭡ ABYSS RAZOR.

. . . gazing at your eyes and complimenting them. i’m pretty sure he’ll also slip a few flowery words on every part of your face, but i will emphasize on the eyes. they’re so captivating to him, they tell a story about a kind soul such as yours, and it reminds him how he’s so loved and seen. and when you tell him he’s the reason the sparkle in your eyes exist? how it softens whenever it connects with his? the world will never know the feeling that abyss has in his heart, and it’s immense—but never heavy, its full, its floating, its beautiful. you’re beautiful, inside and out.

ᥫ᭡ ABEL WALKER.

. . . taking you to a romantic and fancy dinner on a very well-known restaurant with candle lits and everything because he is the absolute elegant of a man and he will treat you the way you deserve to be treated. like the goddamn queen/king that you are. like the goddamn your highness that you are. and when he takes you home, let the moonlight grace your face but let him kiss your lips like the world is about to end. i cannot imagine him acting otherwise. take this hc or leave it.

notes. pops in randomly hi :3 pops out and become inactive for the next few days

© kyoghurts. ★ reblogs & likes are well appreciated!

[bruh-myguy-what]

Can I request Crosshair with "sorry, that was my first kiss." "i could tell." "...." "i'm kidding!" I don't imagine any of the Batch have ever kissed someone before. 🤭

Jealous Much?

Pairing: Crosshair x Fem!Reader Warnings: Massive fluff, Crosshair being a cutie pie and not understanding his own emotions because he's silly, light cursing, nothing other than that really Word Count: 2.2K Summary: After running into a "Reg" in the halls of Kamino, Crosshair hears something he doesn't like and it bothers him. A/N: I really liked this prompt for Cross and I've actually not written anything for him yet, so this was fun! Thanks for request precious anon! I hope it was what you were looking for when you sent in the request!

Requests are currently closed until I finish the ones I have in my inbox!

Don't forget you can also support me on ko-fi! If you like my writing, you can always just give me a little tip to help me continue my work!

_______________________________________________________

"Mesh'la~" A clone trooper called after you with a smile, "Why don't you stop hanging out with those defective boys and come hang out with real men, huh? I know you miss me~" He teased, mirthfully, as he blew you a kiss.

While you found the trooper's antics amusing, evidently none of the other Batchers had. Crosshair hissed a snide "filthy reg" under his breath as he took your arm and positioned himself between you and the other man. Hunter rolled his eyes with an exhausted sigh, Echo shrugging when Tech looked between you and the other clone. "What precisely does he mean when he says 'I know you miss me'?"

You only chuckled and shook your head in reply but flinched a little when you met Crosshair's sharp eyes. "W-What?" Your voice was hushed as it passed through your lips, almost as if you were intimidated by him.

The sniper simply lifted a brow at you, the tattoo over his eye elongating. "You didn't answer Tech." He answered with his coiled voice, toothpick moving over his thin lips. Was he serious? Why did it even bother him? You knew very well he had more contempt for the regs than even the others did, but for him to care so much about why the other trooper mentioned you neglecting him was odd- even for Crosshair.

You shrugged unhurriedly, eyes wide, as if you'd been caught in a speeder's headlights. Glancing toward the others to see if they were as confused as you were, but instead noticed they were also staring at you- waiting for a response. Tech adjusted his goggles on his face while Hunter rested his weight onto one of his hips, arms crossing over his broad chest. Echo blinked at you, and Wrecker tilted his head curiously. "What, seriously?" Was all you could summon as you looked at them all in amazement. "Is it really that big of a deal to you guys?"

"Well," Tech began simply, glancing at Hunter, "yes."

"Seriously?!" You shot back, your voice filled with offense then huffing out loudly at their insanely meddlesome behavior.

"Seriously." Crosshair's whispery tone upset you and the glare you sent him scarcely made him shift. "So, are you going to keep us waiting...or?"

"For kriff sake..." You muttered as a hand ran across your face, bitterness lacing your breath. "Fine! I made out with him once while we were at 79s on shore leave, are you happy now?" Your answer stunned them and they once again shared of look amongst themselves. "Stars. Karking fools, not everything is your business." Breathing out an annoyed sigh, you forced past them and fled into your bunk room.

"It would seem we have upset her," Tech noted after a beat of silence, to which both Hunter and Echo gave him a disapproving glance. "What? I am not incorrect. I am merely stating a factual examination as I have observed the situation."

"Stow it, Tech." Echo growled with a fatigued voice, pushing past him as they all began striding back to their own shared bunk room. Crosshair, however, lingered; eyes still eyeing where you had disappeared further down the hall. Why was it bugging him so badly to know that you had kissed that reg? It felt like gnawing in his chest like a wild nexu was bitting him.

He loathed it.

Why wouldn't it go away?

"Cross?" Hunter's deep voice broke the taller clone out of his thoughts and he looked over at his brother who was standing in the doorway. "You coming?" He questioned, a raise to his brow as he scrutinized him.

Nodding, Crosshair joined the others in the room with a faint 'yeah' and flicked his toothpick aside.

The night went on without much more discourse about your "adventure" with the reg but Crosshair couldn't get the idea out of his head and he was increasingly becoming cranky. Far more cranky than usual. The trooper was practically seething at one point while taking apart his rifle for the fourth time, griping to himself and shoving the pieces together sharply. "Any harder and I think you'll bust it, Cross." Echo comments, stepping over to his bunk to lie down.

"Shut up." The sniper hissed grouchily, driving a piece together especially hard and pinching his finger. He cursed under his breath spitting out his toothpick and placing his finger in his mouth to numb the ache.

Hunter chuckled at the exchange, "Listen, if you're so bothered by her kissing that reg, why don't you go make up for lost time and stop making the air so sticky with your angst." The man lounged in his own bunk, twirling his vibroblade around nimbly.

Crosshair prickled at the remark and turned to look at Hunter with a dangerous glare. "What do you mean by that?" His voice was low and lethal as he spoke, daring his brother to repeat himself.

"I believe you heard him well enough, did you not?" Tech piped up from his workbench, accommodating his goggles to look over at Crosshair. "However, if you were not clear on his meaning, he was proposing that you go and kiss her to make your intentions apparent."

Crosshair's nasty glower slowly landed on his intelligent brother and narrowed even further, his brow now raising in challenge. "What in the galaxy are you idiots going on about?"

"Well, you want to kiss her, don't ya?" Wrecker chimed in with a careful voice, making sure he was following the conversation correctly. Echo suppressed a laugh at Crosshair's dumbfounded expression at his larger brother.

"Of course, he does, Wrecker," Tech replied in Crosshair's stead with a matter-of-fact tone, restarting his work on whatever gadget sat in front of him.

Crosshair growled, stood up from the crate he was sulking on and lurked out of the bunk room into the hallway. Gritting the toothpick between his teeth, he groused to himself again, brown eyes traveling in the direction of your door. Hunter's comments persisted in his mind about going to you and...

But Crosshair barely considered the thought and waved his hand in the air as if he could swat away the notion. There wasn't any way in all the galaxy he was going to show up at your door like some loser with a crush.

The tall sniper rolls his eyes and then blinks in shock as he finds himself in front of a door. Your door. "What the hell?" He murmured to himself in bewilderment, eyes narrowed as if the door could give him an explanation.

He stood there for a surprisingly long time, debating with himself mentally; attempting to figure out what to do. Knocking on the door would require him to follow through with something he could easily make a fool of himself with, or...he could turn away and continue to seeth in jealousy over you being with other men.

Jealousy?

Wait...

That had just struck Crosshair.

It was the first time the idea of him being jealous truly passed his thoughts, though it made sense...the sentiment lingering in his chest corresponding to the word flawlessly.

He was jealous.

Aggravatingly so.

He hated to admit it. The thought made him feel...vulnerable; as if you have power over him in some way. But if he considered it in more depth, you did. Secretly he had been admiring you for months, amazed at how you took his brazen nature in stride and followed thoroughly alongside his banter. It startled him, pleasantly, when you first quipped back at him so effortlessly- his brothers typically being the only ones able to handle their comebacks well enough to leave him in silence. However, within weeks with the group you had smoothly grinned at him and shot back as if his offensive mood hadn't phased you in the least. He'd found himself gravitating toward you after that, interested in why you were able to tolerate him so well, wondering if he could push you further or cross a line that would make you furious; to which he uncovered nothing. The only thing he'd encountered was your gentle nature, sparked by sass and a smirk that made his heart race.

A whooshing sound startled him back to the present and he was met with your face. "What the hell are you doing out here, Crosshair?" You asked with a bothered expression.

Apparently the decision had been made for him. He was fully aware that if he turned around now he'd never live it down and would seem like a coward. He'd also have to deal with hearing about you kissing other regs which irked him even more than the idea of his brothers teasing him for being a wuss. So he rested his weight on one of his hips and smirked at you, flicking his toothpick past you. "You seemed annoyed back there, sunshine." He chose to go the route of antagonizing you, his more preferred form of communication; especially when breaching a matter he felt out of his depths to manage.

You rolled your eyes, infuriated. "That's because you and your idiot brothers were being assholes. It's none of your business what I do in my free time."

"What if I want it to be?" Crosshair heard himself speak before he could stop it but he chose to remain steadfast in the face of your changing expression.

Your raised brow and slow hand gestures implored him to continue as if what he said was unfinished. "And so what if you did want that? I'm not your-" Then it hit you and a blush rushed over your cheeks.

The clone stood there and he could feel his hands trembling, uncharacteristically. He wasn't predisposed to anxiety, none of his brothers were, but now he felt as if his heart were going to leap out his chest and through his armor directly into your hands. Silence continued to linger between the two of you with only the narrowing of Crosshair's eyes as a reaction.

"You..."

"Don't flatter yourself too much." Crosshair interrupts with a roll of his eyes, trying to fight off the embarrassment that started to creep up his own cheeks.

A smile began to form on your face, much to his dismay. "Crosshair...are you saying you're...jealous of that reg?" You were testing your luck and you knew it, he was never this clumsy in conversation with you but you couldn't help yourself when you caught the reddening of his cheeks.

"Stow it or I'll walk away right now." He hissed hatefully and crossed his arms over his chest, making no effort to move. While Crosshair despised the feeling of floundering he felt in the moment, he also found it...exciting. He was caught desperate and nervous in the sight of someone he cared for and your smile was stunning.

You chuckled at his expression, his face turning away from you to look down the hall where he'd come from. "You are jealous!" The triumph on your face was simultaneously aggravating and charming to the sniper, his trained eye taking in every detail even from his side glance. "I can't believe you're jealous because I kissed some reg, what are you a school girl? Little Crosshair feeling jealous because I kissed someone el-"

Your taunting was cut off quickly by the taller man as he covered your mouth with his; your eyes blowing wide. It was inelegant, awkward, and hurried but filled with an unexpected sweetness. You could feel his hands shaking as they held your face gently, his eyes squeezed shut. Scarcely given the chance to kiss him back before he pulled away, you grumbled in disappointment.

Crosshair stepped back out of your personal space with a dark blush across his cheeks, avoiding your eyes as he cleared his throat. He'd never felt so overwhelmed by emotion in all of his life and for him to act upon them in such a physical way left him tense.

"Crosshair..." You whispered his name with a grin, blinking a few times to make sure you were still in reality, not one of your many dreams. He peeked up at you momentarily and you could tell he would rather be shot by a blaster bolt than acknowledge that he'd just kissed you but you disregarded the look and stepped back up to him. "I'm gonna have to teach you how to kiss properly if you're going to want to keep doing that, ya know?" You teased softly.

Crosshair still denied any eye contact with you, missing the sweet expression on your face. "Th-That was my first kiss, so I don't know what you expected." His voice came out hastily by the end and had a bite to it, but you only chuckled at his shy behavior and kissed his cheek.

"I could tell." You joked lightly, a wise grin on your face.

Crosshair whipped his head to look at you, his glare fierce at your comment; which is what you had anticipated. You smiled up at him warmly and his heart leapt at the sight. Turning away from your captivating expression quickly, you hug him, resting your head against his chest plate.

"Wait! I'm sorry! I was just kidding!" You laughed at his pouting, knowing that you'd never let him live down the shade of red his face had gotten; even if just between the two of you.

[whateverloomis]

🩸Red🩸 >> Poly!Ghost face x Killer!Reader || Scream 1996

Part 1 >> Part 3

About: While the Casey Becker and Steve Orth killings were taking place, a third kill happened as well... Billy Loomis and Stu Macher can't risk having someone else around that could ruin their goal of killing Sidney Prescott. What happens when all 3 killers get a little bit too close?

Warnings: SMUT in next chapter, cheating, making out, reader is AFAB, reader is a killer, reader is short, reader is alt and has tattoos and piercings, Randy is a bitch (lol,) tension, big reveal. Revised June'24

Reader: They/them pronouns that are highlighted in bold so it's easy to identify | AFAB

Word count: 2.2k

-

"You're a freaky one, huh?" He whispered and you laughed softly, standing up and straddling him. Billy immediately placed his hands on your hips and squeezed the flesh. You continued kissing and biting each other. Moaning and groaning quietly as you ground your hips against his crotch. Billy could've come right then and there with the sight of your tits bouncing while you moved against him.

You could've fucked him at that moment without a care, but before things could escalate, you heard footsteps.

Climbing off his lap and fixing yourselves, you moved far enough so it didn't seem like anything was happening.

•

A week. It had been a week since you and Billy had your little make-out session. Since he cheated on Sidney, with you out of everyone.

It's not like you cared about Sidney or liked her much, but there was still a hint of guilt. You did just what Katherine did with Steve. Of course, the relationships involved and circumstances were different but you couldn't really help feeling somewhat guilty.

Every day since then, whenever you were around Billy there was tension and it was slowly building up. Stu obviously knew what happened. Why would you be with Billy alone under the bleachers? It obviously wasn't just a casual smoke session, Stu knew best.

That same night, he asked Billy about it and of course the boy didn't hesitate to tell him everything. About how you guys conversed for hours and ended up talking about conspiracy theories. About you being too high to make any sense, which wasn't really convenient because the point of everything was for Billy to get information out of you, but of course that didn't go as planned.

"So you're telling me that instead of getting a confession out of them you ended up practically dry fucking under the bleachers, man?" - "Stu, that's not the fucking point here I-" - "Oh c'mon! Was it good?! Tell me the deets!" Stu insisted and Billy sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Of course it was good, I mean c'mon." - "I knew it! God, what I'd give to get a piece of that." Billy chuckled at his friends comment and bit his bottom lip in thought. "Maybe you can... And then we'll both have opportunities to get information out of them." - "That's fucking genius, man."

It was a plan.

•

"I fucking swear I saw it." Randy said, agitated as usual.

"I mean, look. I doubt it, but I don't think it would be weird for them either like, it's baddie persona standard I'm sure." Tatum said and Sidney looked at her, doubt written on her face. "I don't know Tate, it would be kinda alarming if they do carry a knife around like that."

"It could easily be self-defense. Like pepper spray!" Tatum countered and Randy scoffed. "Please, you're defending them because you guys are friends." - "Who'r we talking about?" Stu said behind Tatum and hugged her from behind.

"YN." Sidney answered simply, before continuing, "Randy said he saw them putting away a knife in their bag."

"So? I mean, that doesn-" - "Listen! It fits the description of the knife that has been talked about multiple times in the news." Randy interrupted and Billy appeared next to him out of nowhere. "Nobody knows what the knife looks like, it's all rumors." - "Wh- I'm done with you guys! They're the new one in the group and you guys trust them?!" - "Nobody said that Randy, we just have to look at all the possibilities." Sidney said and everyone agreed, however Billy and Stu gave each other a knowing look. They needed to confirm. Get YN alone and try to see that knife somehow.

•

You figured it wouldn't be so bad if it was just a movie night, it didn't have to involve much talking since the point was to pay attention to the film.

"A movie night, at my house! My parents are out for the weekend so it'll be extra fun, we'll have drinks and pot. C'mooon." Stu tried to convince you for the second time that day. You had denied because of the attachment promise you had with yourself. The less accessible you were the better. However, it did sound very fun, and you couldn't remember the last time you had a casual hang out with friends, even if you wanted to keep them at a distance.

"Okay, fine. I'll be there." - "Fuck yes! My place at 7pm, bring snacks!" Stu said excitedly and you stood still while he skipped away. His energy could be quite overwhelming at times, yet you couldn't help but find him amusing and funny.

•

It was finally night time and you arrived to Stu's house at around 7:30pm. Fashionably late at it's finest. The door to his house was already open so you walked in and entered the kitchen, putting your selection of snacks on the counter.

You looked around and didn't see anyone. It instantly alarmed you, so you pulled out the knife from your hidden boot holster and kept it in your hand, hidden between the fabric of your short black dress. As you walked around slowly, the silence grew louder.

Even if you could gut someone without hesitation you still got paranoid at the thought of you getting killed. How selfish.

The living room was closest to you, so you walked in as quietly as you could. Suddenly, you felt strong arms wrap around your waist and lifting you off the ground. You yelped and dropped the knife, eliciting a loud thud.

"Get off!" You protested and tried to reach for a vase that was near the TV, but before you could you heard Stu's familiar voice.

"It's me, it's me!" He screamed and put you down.

"What the fuck Stu?!" You questioned angrily before smacking his arm.

"Ow! Hey, I was kidding! Just trying to scare you a lil." The boy replied and laughed.

You sighed and let out a long exhale, attempting to relax a bit.

"Who does this belong to?" You heard Billy ask, walking in the living room with your blade in his hand. Stu looked at you, a shocked expression painting his face.

"Mine. I thought I was getting killed so y'know, self defense." You explained, casual as ever before glaring at Stu.

Billy nodded in understanding before giving Stu a look you couldn't quite read. You walked past Stu and grabbed the knife from Billy's hand a little rougher than intended, and adjusted it in your boot again.

As you bent down your dress rode up a bit, exposing your ass momentarily before you rose up.

"Cute dress." Stu commented after you unintentionally flashed him. You turned around to look at him and gave him the cutest smile you could achieve. You weren't sure how innocent you could look after the boys saw the weapon you carry around, but you weren't about to break character because of it.

"So, is it just us?" You asked and Billy smirked behind you. "Yeah, the rest were too busy, or whatever." Stu said, not even trying to hide the fact that he was lying.

You honestly didn't mind being alone with them. If being alone with Billy got you a good make out session you couldn't help but wonder how far you could get with both boys.

•

Two Halloween movies and some alcohol consumption later you guys were on the couch talking about the rules of horror movies once again.

"All I'm saying is that Randy should be the number one suspect because c'mon, how does he even know all this stuff?" Stu said and you laughed. "Well, it's clearly a hyper fixation of his so it makes sense why he knows so much about it." You replied and Billy sat back as he stretched his arm behind you. "He keeps insisting that it's you though. Maybe he's right, considering his knowledge..." Billy said, his voice sounding closer than you expected.

"Are you accusing me now, Loomis?" You asked, looking at him before taking a swing of your beer. "I never accused you, I was just saying-" - "It sounds to me like you're pretty convinced." You countered, a smirk adorning your face. Stu shifted next to you, paying careful attention to the tension that laced your comment.

"Maybe I am... Maybe not. I mean, everyone is a suspect after all." Billy answered smoothly and you chuckled, looking down and biting your lip in thought. "Well, it could be any of us then, or all three of us." You suggested and looked at both boys. They visibly tensed and looked at each other, the slightest hint of fear adorned their handsome faces.

"I mean... If that were true then... Who killed who and with what motive?" Stu said and you shifted to face him. Did he really think you were that stupid as to answer with a confession right then and there?

"Okay, enough of that." Billy said, attempting to change the topic. He leaned forward to grab the beer bottle on the coffee table in front of you and rested his hand on your lower waist while doing so. He was slowly getting touchy and you couldn't deny that you wanted more contact.

"Why? You scared the truth will come out?" You asked him with a flirty tone, shifting on the couch, facing him, and scooting closer so your thigh touched his. Stu was amused at the whole exchange, sitting quietly next to you guys which was rare of him, considering his usual loudness.

"Are you challenging me, YN?" Billy asked, sitting up straight and placing one of his large hands on your thigh. "Maybe I am." You answered and he chuckled, looking down momentarily before looking at Stu over your shoulder. "Well, I think we have a pretty good idea of who's who, considering..." He paused and slid his hand down your leg all the way to your boot where you kept your knife hidden. Billy grabbed the weapon and waved it in front of you; "The fact that you carry this around, and it fits the descriptions of the killers knife perfectly..." He continued and ran his finger over the blade, feeling the sharpness. "And this is nice and sharp, too. Well taken care of." Billy finished and rested his hand on your thigh again, knife between your thigh and his palm.

You looked down at your leg and then back up at him. His eyes were piercing and you were left speechless. How were you supposed to dodge that one?

"He's right, isn't he, YN?" Stu said behind you, peeking at your face over your shoulder.

You were cornered. No answer went through your head that could save you from their interrogation. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes, ready to confess before you felt a hand on your waist. Startled at the feel, you opened your eyes and Billy had the biggest smile on his face. He looked crazed. "We can all be honest here, right Stu?" He questioned the boy that was resting his chin on your shoulder at that moment. "Of course, nobody has to know, right YN?" Stu spoke softly and you were at your breaking point.

You rested your head on Stu's and smirked at Billy. "We? I thought it was me we were talking about here."

Gotcha.

Billy's smile disappeared and his hand twitched against your skin. "Steve and Casey." You said and looked at him straight into his brown eyes. "Two murders like those done by one person is nearly impossible, especially since she was on the phone with the killer while Steve got killed. It's a two man job and the cops are too stupid to realize it." Billy looked at Stu and his smile grew again. "You're good, babe." Stu said and laughed softly, close to your ear.

"Katherine. Same night. Similar ghost mask but in red and, I heard small red horns?" - "Cuutee" Stu said and you shifted away from him. "Oh, shut up! That doesn't mean it's me!" - "YN, you and that girl were close, and after you magically stopped being friends she got killed that same day? That's no coincidence, plus we all know she was going behind Casey's back, rumors go around quick and get confirmed even quicker. You had a shit show with those two sluts and had enough of it." Billy interrupted and you sighed. He was right and you hated him for it. You hated how he could read you and put the puzzle pieces together. How observant he was.

You stood up from the couch, the boys following your every move with their eyes. "Well, now that we're all out and about, what now? Hm? We gonna report each other? Kill each other? What's the plan, Loomis?" You spoke louder than usual and the boy stood up, towering over you. Stu followed behind and looked at you over Billy's shoulders, a wicked smile on his face.

"Now, we team up or someone gets killed, and it sure as hell isn't going to be us." - "And you bet your ass it's not going to be me either." You spoke quickly and he chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Relax baby, here's the deal... You join us in our next kill. We team up. We'll get away with whatever we want. Do whatever we want..." He whispered the last few words and placed his left hand on your hip, pulling you closer to him. You couldn't deny that it sounded perfect. If it went wrong you could easily frame the two idiots. If it went well you could get the satisfaction of getting anyone out of your way, relish in the sweet screams and the thrill of getting revenge on whoever the fuck messed with you. Hurt you.

You bit your lip and scanned his face with your eyes. Curiosity getting the best of you; "Who's your next victim?"

"Sidney Prescott."

[musamora]

𝖎'𝖒 𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖓𝖊𝖊𝖉, 𝖘𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖙 𝖉𝖆𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖓' 「𝔪𝔲𝔩𝔱𝔦」 ༉‧₊˚

content. gn!reader. wholesome fluff, mentions of possessiveness (nikolai), different valentine's day gifts. not proofread.

author's note. i managed to churn the last of this out, so here is my little contribution to valentine's day! i wasn't able to write too much, but i hope it brightens your day, even if by a little bit.

would you like to see more? fill out the taglist or comment under this post.

synopsis. what the BSD guys get you for valentine's day!

𝗢𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗨 𝗗𝗔𝗭𝗔𝗜 ⋆⁺₊ ⸺⸺⸺

A box of assorted chocolates. He isn't the type to present a spectacular gift, at least never in the way most would—he has to stand out from the crowd. So instead, these chocolates have a little surprise inside. Some may be filled with caramel, and others may be filled with hot sauce. He lives for your reactions, whether it's delight or sputtering, to try and put out the fire on your tongue. He'd make a game out of it, but he'd already have memorized every single flavor, ensuring that the last could be a sweet one bitten between the both of you before he dove in to get a taste of your lips.

𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗨𝗬𝗔 𝗡𝗔𝗞𝗔𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔 ⋆⁺₊ ⸺⸺⸺

A bundle of flowers. Rows of softened roses, curled lilies, and blossoming anemones. Or perhaps even a collection of flowers he sees on his way home from work every day. Their delicate petals only represent a speck of your beauty, paling in comparison as you grace him with your beaming smile. Each has been intricately planned, not because of their meaning but because something about them reminded him of you. He sees them, and he thinks of you. Not simply a reminder that he wants to gift you the world but also a reminder of how you are his world and encompass his every living thought.

𝗙𝗬𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗥 𝗗𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗘𝗩𝗦𝗞𝗬 ⋆⁺₊ ⸺⸺⸺

A handwritten card. Completely written in Russian, to be specific. The motto with Fyodor and relationships is "be prepared to work for it," and that is applicable to his gifts. It would take time to translate, let alone decipher the metaphorical language that is used. However, it's all worth it when you feel the sheer love radiating from the page, even if his own pride can prevent him from expressing the words he really wants to say directly. Say them for him, and you'll have earned yourself a softened smile to melt your heart.

𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗜 𝗚𝗢𝗚𝗢𝗟 ⋆⁺₊ ⸺⸺⸺

A box of candy hearts. Many find them disgusting, but he seems to adore them, swallowing them by the handful. He would tie together different assortments of jewelry, gifting you candy necklaces and bracelets made from them. And don't pay attention to the messages written on the hearts. Or the gleam in his eye as he fastens these accessories around your wrist and neck, knowing in his heart that he is never planning on letting go. You've tied him down, and now it's your turn to get a taste.

𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗠𝗔 ⋆⁺₊ ⸺⸺⸺

A plate of cookies. This would be a shared present between the both of you, with the true gift of it all being the time you spent baking together, rather than the delicious dessert. It wouldn't matter if they were the most disgusting cookies ever; he only wanted to enjoy his free time with you, laughing and dancing in the kitchen as sweet music played. You'd splash frosting at each other before initiating a chase around the kitchen island. You would be a mess by the end of it, but the kisses and cookies at the end were so worth it.

TAGLIST: @imhandicapableofmath @lovedazai @osameowdazai @ruru-kiss @ishqani @zyilas @lovesick-fairy @fedyascoffin @squigglewigglewoo @kelperspelt @miloofc @thesilvernight0wl @s1eepybunny @dazaisms @deepseafragments @ajaxism @himikoslove @little-miss-chaoss @sillyspookycat @betweensinners @aureatchi

© MUSAMORA 2024 — do not repost or modify my works for any reason. do not steal graphics w/o explicit permission. reblogs are appreciated.

[laurenairay]

Summer days pass me by - T. Jost

“I feel like I’m stuck, doing the same thing over and over with the same nothing at the end. I need to do something new. Wanna help me make this the best summer ever?”

“You do know that sounds like the start of a coming of age film, right?”

Summary: Mollie Thomas has been friends with Tyson Jost since they were children – but this summer by the lake could change everything.

Warnings: childhood friends to lovers, some bad language, a little angst

Word Count: 9.5k

A/N: I love Tyson Jost so much – this is a super indulgent fic that I started back in August 2020, and it’s been one hell of a journey writing it, including a complete rewrite about 2/3 through. This OC was actually the first one I ever attempted on hockeyblr, although I’ve since written a fair few in stories I've since posted over the years, and she holds a special place in my heart.

This Tyson blurb I wrote in July 2022 is what inspired me to rewrite this story (and thank you @bqstqnbruin for all the encouragement to finish it!).

~

If there was one thing about summer that Mollie Thomas loved the most, it was being by the lake. As soon as the weather was good enough, she would head up there with friends to relax, have barbecues and mess around on the water. Being by the lake simply was the epitome of summer, sunshine and friendship – she’d grown up doing it, her parents trusting her to go alone since the age of 15, and now 10 years later (despite some friends moving away), she still loved nothing more than watching the days roll on by from the lakeshore.

Utter bliss.

Mollie had been teaching history at the local Kelowna high school ever since graduating from the local college three years ago, and when the weather started getting consistently sunny, she even went up to the lake some evenings after work, depending on who was around. But now that the end of the school year was approaching, she would no longer be restricted to the occasional evening after work, and she honestly couldn’t wait.

Why? Because soon one of her best friends would be coming back to Kelowna for the summer. Tyson Jost.

Mollie had known Tyson ever since he’d moved to Kelowna to live with his grandparents when he was 13, his family's house being down the road from Mollie’s family. Her older brother John had been on the same hockey team as Tyson, so he’d always been around – but with John being a couple of years older than them, Tyson and Mollie had become fast friends.

Sure, things had become harder when Tyson had gotten more serious with ice hockey. When Mollie’s brother John had quit playing, choosing to focus on school instead, Mollie had been worried that they wouldn’t want to hang out any more – but that wasn’t the case. Hockey or no hockey, Tyson had always been there for her, and she knew she could count on him for anything.

He was the guy that encouraged her to get out of her comfort zone. He was the guy that turned to her for help asking out his first girlfriend Sarah Cooper. He was the guy that punched her first boyfriend for kissing Jenny Prince behind her back. He was the guy that made her laugh down the phone when college had been stressful. He was the only guy that she would wear another team’s colours for whenever he played against the Canucks. He was the guy that called her with a broken heart when the Avs had traded him. He was the guy that she looked forward to seeing most every summer, and she couldn’t wait to see him this year.

She missed him – who could blame her?

It was a Sunday afternoon, just about to head into the last week of the school year, and Mollie was soaking up the sun by the lake with some of her best friends; Bryony, Louis, Michael, Chase and Allison. There had been other people hanging out with them in the morning, including Mollie’s brother John and his wife Michelle, but the remaining six were the tightest group. So tight, that they’d all chipped in to rent a cottage together this summer, Allison’s uncle owning a couple in the area and offering them first dibs. Naturally, they’d all sprung at the chance of having a summer home base, even if not all of them were there all the time, so Mollie had that to look forward to starting next weekend, the moment that the school year ended. Bryony, Louis and Michael were also teachers, although across various different schools to Mollie, so at least she wouldn’t be the only one up at the cottage during the weekdays.

“Anyone for a refill?”

Mollie turned her head to the camping chair next to her, watching Bryony stand up and wiggle her empty can in the air. Mollie nodded, smiling at her friend, and a few others nodded too. As soon as Bryony walked away, Allison plunked down in the vacated seat, turning to Mollie with a grin.

Allison was probably Mollie’s closest girlfriend in Kelowna – also living on the same street as Mollie’s family – and while the two of them couldn’t have looked more different (Allison a curvaceous insta-airbushed blonde compared to Mollie’s chestnut hair and tomboy runner’s body), Allison had encouraged Mollie to be as confident and friendly as her, and Mollie was forever grateful. Sure, Allison was an incorrigible flirt and flitted between jobs, and sure Mollie had her moments where her anxiety got the better of her – but Allison was as close a friend to her as Tyson was, and Mollie loved that.

Even when Allison’s grin spelled troublemaker, like it did right now as Allison got comfy in Bryony’s vacated chair.

“So you know how my Uncle’s got me helping out with administration for his holiday home rentals this summer, in exchange for us getting our cottage for a lower price?” Allison prompted.

Mollie raised an eyebrow at the glee in her friend’s voice. Whatever it was, clearly she was excited about it – and considering that the cottage had been a good deal, clearly this was good gossip.

“Yeah, I remember…why?” Mollie mused.

“Well, a couple of cottages on this side of the lake have been rented…one of them by someone you know very well…”

Mollie knew her friend meant well, but this cryptic stuff was not helping.

“Out with it, Ally,” Mollie said bluntly.

“Tyson rented the cottage closest to ours for two months,” Allison grinned.

What?

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

“He’s going to be here all summer?” Mollie asked, excited.

“Yep! As far as I’ve heard, Tyson’s got some buddies coming up to stay with him at various points, and probably his sister too. I don’t know when or for how long, but there’s definitely enough rooms for all of them in that cabin to be there together so it’s going to be so much fun!” Allison told her, “Now that I think about it, I probably wasn’t meant to tell you. Tyson was probably keeping it as a surprise. Oops.”

Mollie just giggled, too happy to care that Tyson hadn’t said anything to her about his plans. It had been too long since she’d seen her childhood friend – summers just weren’t enough time with him – and knowing that he was going to be around for two solid months just made her heart soar. This was everything.

“Oh man, this is going to be the best summer,” Mollie sighed happily.

“Maybe this summer you and Tyson will finally admit how much you love each other.”

Mollie rolled her eyes, shaking her head. For some reason, Allison (and the rest of their other friends) had it in their heads that her friendship with Tyson was more than platonic. Sometimes it got really annoying because honestly nothing had ever happened between them (not even a hint of an almost) but she tried not to let it bug her. She knew where she stood with Tyson – yeah, he was incredibly handsome, with a good heart and a wonderful smile, but she wouldn’t trade their friendship for anything. Ever.

“We’re just friends, Ally-cat,” Mollie sing-songed, rolling her eyes.

“We’ll see,” Allison sing-songed back.

Honestly. Troublemaker.

Mollie ignored her friend’s laughter as she pulled out her phone, opening up her text thread with Tyson.

From: Mollie

A little birdy tells me you’ve rented a cabin by the lake for the summer…

Mollie barely had to wait a couple of minutes before her phone buzzed with a reply.

From: Tyson

I swear Ally can’t keep her mouth shut.

I was trying to surprise you!

Mollie giggled to herself, ignoring Allison’s wriggling eyebrows.

From: Mollie

Trust me, I’m surprised.

School finishes next week – I can’t wait to see you!

It really had been too long.

“Tell your future husband we miss him!” Allison crowed.

“Oh you’re texting Tyson? Say hi from me!” Chase grinned from across the chair circle.

Mollie stuck her tongue out at him as Allison cackled next to her. Her friends were such dicks sometimes.

From: Mollie

The gang say hi and that they all miss you

“Done, happy?” Mollie said dryly.

“Extremely,” Allison grinned, looking like the cat that ate the canary.

“I don’t know why I like you at all,” Mollie said bluntly, although her smile gave away her lie.

Allison just wriggled her eyebrows again, earning laughter from the whole group and another eye roll from Mollie.

From: Tyson

Hi back from me!

I miss them too

I miss you the most

Mollie’s eyes widened slightly, a light flush warming her cheeks. What? Why was she reacting like this? Tyson said that all the time. Kind of. No, stop it. Mollie swallowed heavily, keeping her eyes down to avoid a reaction from their friends.

From: Mollie

I miss you too

With that, Mollie shoved her phone back into her pocket, just in time for Bryony to arrive with a fresh round of beers, which Mollie was more than grateful for. What was that all about?

~

“I am so ready for a drink.”

“Make it two,” Mollie mused, grinning at Allison’s words.

“Make it three,” Chase laughed, “I can’t wait to cool off in the lake, it’s too damn hot today.”

That was an understatement. The temperature was sweltering and even just thinking about jumping into the cold water was almost too much to bear. Mollie been waiting all week for this Friday evening – while the four of them who were teachers had been up at the lake during the week every day since their schools finished for the summer a week ago, Allison and Chase had weekday 9-5s, so Mollie had volunteered to drive back into town to bring them out for the weekend, finally bringing their big friendship group together in their rented cabin for the summer. Of course Mollie had visited her family (with her brother John and his wife Michelle reminding her they wouldn’t be up at the lake until next week) to fill the time while she waited for Allison and Chase to be ready, as well as stocking up on supplies, but now Mollie was more than ready to kick back and relax.

After she’d been in the water, of course.

Thankfully Mollie had put a bikini on underneath her clothes, just a simple little red thing, before picking up her friends today, so as soon as she’d parked outside their cabin, brought the cooler of drinks and snacks into the kitchen, and dumped her duffel bag by the stairs, she stripped off her clothes as she walked towards the tempting water. Bryony wolf-whistled as Mollie walked past the three who were already there, and Mollie just flipped them all off with a grin, kicking off her shoes quickly before taking off in a run down the dock and diving into the water.

Bliss.

Allison and Chase, both having stripped down to their swimsuits too, wasted no time in joining Mollie in the water, and all Mollie could do was smile as she resurfaced. This was summer. All of them together in glorious weather at the most beautiful place in Kelowna. What more could she ever want?

“LOOK WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN!”

Mollie turned her head at Michael’s hollering, grinning at the sight of the familiar figure walked over from the neighbouring cabin. Tyson. Mollie eagerly hauled herself back up onto the dock, slipping back into her shoes and picking up a towel from the stack at the beginning of the dock to dry herself off with as she walked back to the cabins, waving hello as she got closer.

“There you are.”

Mollie just grinned and threw her arms around Tyson’s neck, him just laughing as he picked her up, swinging her round in a circle, not seeming to care that she was getting him wet.

“You’d think you were happy to see me or something,” Tyson teased, setting her back on her feet.

“Oh hush, you know I am,” Mollie sighed happily, running the towel over her wet hair, “Are you happy to be back here?”

“You know it,” he nodded, smiling sweetly at her, “even more so knowing that I’m nowhere near Buffalo and that you’re here.”

Well Mollie would never say no to a bit of Tyson charm.

“Flattery gets you everywhere, Mr Jost,” she mused, trying to calm her racing heart.

It wasn’t fair that nothing about him had changed at all and yet somehow his pretty curls and pretty face were even more handsome since she’d last seen him. So unfair.

“HEY LOVEBIRDS!”

A shout from Bryony broke Mollie out of her thoughts, and she saw Tyson blush fiercely as they both looked at the group by the chairs to see them all smirking at the two of them. And to think it was usually Allison who was the troublemaker. Mollie just flipped them all double birds, earning laughter.

“We’d better go before people start talking eh?” she laughed, trying to hide her blush.

“Let them talk,” Tyson grinned, but starting walking over to the ring of chairs anyway.

It wasn’t fair that her stomach filled with butterflies at the simple sight of his smile.

As Louis handed Mollie a cold white claw, Tyson already having one in hand, she took the empty seat at Tyson’s side. By the time that Allison and Chase hauled themselves out the water to join the group, they were all well on their way to catching up.

They talked about Bryony and Louis still being together, their relationship going on 5 years strong. They talked about Allison losing another job, her uncle having taken pity on her and letting her do his administration for the summer cabins he owned. They talked about the school year, how parents and kids were a stressful nightmare most days now. They talked about Tyson’s season, sort of, Tyson just saying that he was happy to be back up from the AHL. They talked about Tyson’s sister Kacey, how she was kicking ass and taking names. They talked about Chase’s hard-earned promotion at work, finally getting the recognition he deserved. They talked about all the plans they had for the next two months here at the lake and the more they talked and drank and laughed, Mollie just sank back in her chair, taking everything in, soaking everything up.

This really was heaven.

Tyson noticed her relax back in her chair and just smiled at her, earning a genuine smile back. Yeah this was going to be a summer to remember, she could feel it.

~

Another couple of days passed at the lake cabin, Chase and Allison heading back into town while Tyson stayed at his place, and Mollie couldn’t be happier. Happy enough to make breakfast pancakes and bacon for Bryony, Louis and Michael after she showered following her early run around the lake, leaving it all in the oven for them with a note while she cleared up. Breakfast she could handle – it was the little things. She knew her friends would appreciate it anyway.

As she was taking out the trash though, she spotted Tyson doing exactly the same from his cabin, and waved enthusiastically at him, grinning as he laughed. He was clearly still adjusting to waking up early, same as she was – he still looked a little bleary eyed as they walked towards the end of their driveways.

“Good morning Tys!” she said cheerfully.

“Morning!” he mused.

She jogged over to him, Tyson catching her in a hug as she reached his side, making her laugh and squeeze him back tightly. Mornings like this were exactly what she had missed while he was away. As she pulled away though, her phone buzzed with a series of texts, and she pulled out her phone only to frown at the sender. Her ex. Ew. He really wasn’t getting the hint.

“Who’s making your face do that?”

Mollie cursed under her breath and tucked her phone away with.

“It’s no-one,” she said simply, willing him to let it go.

“No-one doesn’t make you grimace like that,” Tyson pointed out, “And it doesn’t make you hide it from me. So who is it?”

She really couldn’t pretend around him, could she? And it wasn’t like he hadn’t heard about her terrible ex boyfriends before.

“It’s my ex. Justin. It’s been six months since I caught him texting other girls with all the things he wanted to do to them, and while I don’t know if he physically cheated, I still kicked him to the curb the moment I found out. Every now and again he blows up my phone, even though I never answer him,” Mollie explained, “His mom even knows and yells at him for bugging me. He’ll get bored soon enough.”

Yeah, this latest ex wasn’t exactly one of her finest choices.

The deep frown that shifted onto Tyson’ face was an interesting reaction though.

“If he doesn’t leave you alone, tell me. I still know enough people in this town, and I can hunt him down and punch him if he doesn’t back off.”

A rush of heat went through her veins at his words, a flush spreading across her cheeks.

There was a flashback in her mind to when they were 15, when Tyson found out that her first boyfriend Todd kissed Jenny Prince behind her back, and sucker-punched him at school in her honour. It was a beautiful memory. And to know that he’d still defend her like that?

“You always were my knight in shining armour,” Mollie teased.

But Tyson just shrugged. “You know I’ve got your back no matter what. That’s what best friends are for.”

Such a sweetheart.

Something about his tone though, how seriously he’d taken her words, made Mollie keep her eye on Tyson throughout the day, and by the time that late afternoon rolled around when their barbecue was in full swing, she finally cornered him again. There was just something in his eyes that looked…tense. It wasn’t the Tyson she knew and it worried her that even in the most relaxing place in Kelowna, he still looked so stressed.

“Hey, Tys, fresh beer?”

Tyson smiled his thanks, taking it with a nod. There was no one else standing too closely so she didn’t feel bad for confronting him like this, not at all.

“So are you going to tell me what’s going on with you?” she said softly.

Tyson’s eyes widened a little, before he huffed out a laugh.

“There’s no point hiding anything with you, is there?”

Just like her with him. But Mollie winced. “If there’s something you don’t actually want to talk about, then I’m not going to push. That’s the last thing I want.”

Tyson just nodded, taking a sip of his beer, as if to steel himself. Clearly this was more than passing worry. What was going on?

“Every summer I’ve ever had has been the same. Arrive back to Kelowna, get sympathy and pitying smiles for how shitty the season was, hanging about by the lake, train, start hockey again. I’m tired of it,” Tyson groaned.

“Tired of it?” she asked, confused, trying to understand what he meant.

Surely he didn’t mean he was tired of hockey? She knew how much the sport meant to him.

“I’m tired, Mollie. I feel like I’m stuck, doing the same thing over and over with the same nothing at the end. I need to do something new or I feel like I’m going to go crazy,��� Tyson sighed.

Okay, okay that she could manage.

“It must be so frustrating, pouring your whole heart into the sport you love, and not getting the reward you deserve. And the fact that you still feel like this in the off season? That’s not good, Tys,” Mollie murmured, “What can I do to help?”

He sent her a sad smile.

“I’m not sure, really. If I don’t know what I can do, I don’t know what anyone else can do,” he said softly, “But being here with you right now, talking with you like this, I appreciate it. I don’t exactly trust many people with my full thoughts like this.”

That both saddened her and made her heart soar. The fact that he didn’t really have anyone else he could really talk to was devastating…but the fact that he trusted her enough? That was everything.

“Then we can talk and vent and rant and scream as much as you need. And we’ll build your happiness back up, just like you deserve. I’m here for you, Tyson,” she said firmly.

“Yeah?”

That smile would be the end of her, she just knew it.

“Yeah, I mean it,” she nodded, helpless to do anything but smile back.

“Wanna help me make this the best summer ever?” he grinned.

“You do know that sounds like the start of a coming of age film, right?” Mollie teased.

Tyson nudged her with his shoulder, earning a nudge back.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, hope filling his voice.

“Obviously,” she grinned.

How could she say no to him?

But as she looked into his eyes, there was something in his gaze that made her breath hitch in her chest, her grin sliding from her face. Tyson seemed to be caught in the moment too as his own face drifted into neutral, his eyes locked on hers in return. She didn’t realise how close they had shifted until her fingers brushed against his arm, Tyson’s eyes darting down to where they were touching before he looked back up at her. Her heart was pounding, ears full of a rushing sound, her thoughts filled with nothing but the dazed look on Tyson’s face.

It was when his gaze flicked down to her lips that she jolted out of her reverie, just in time for a couple of shrieks and splashes came from the end of the dock.

Fuck. Fuck.

What was that? What the hell was that?

“Mollie…” Tyson murmured, fingers brushing against hers finally.

“I’m going to get some more food,” she said quickly, stepping backwards.

It took all her strength to turn away from the confused hurt expression on Tyson’s face, and walk over to join Bryony and Louis at the barbecue, plastering a smile on her face as her head whirled, desperately trying not to panic. Tyson had almost kissed her. She had almost kissed Tyson. Tyson wanted to kiss her. She wanted to kiss Tyson. Did she want to kiss Tyson?

Of course she wanted to.

But since when did she give into fleeting desires around him? And since when did he ever look at her like that? No, she couldn’t deal with this. She wouldn’t, not tonight. Maybe not ever. What the hell, Tyson?

~

Tyson and Mollie didn’t talk about the moment they shared at all. The first two weeks of their two month summer, almost a full week since that fateful night, passed quickly and the longer they went not mentioning it, Mollie found herself burying the topic completely. From Wednesday morning to Friday midday, Mollie, Tyson, Bryony, Louis and Chase all quickly fell into a routine that she knew would carry on for the rest of the summer. Mollie did her usual run along the lake front each morning, with Bryony and Tyson joining her for a yoga session today, the Friday morning. She spent each day cycling through swimming, sunbathing, and reading, all of the group taking it in turns to cook dinner while sorting out their own lunches. She kayaked with Chase and Tyson for a couple of hours before lunch on Thursday, the three of them paddling in a comfortable silence most the way, taking pictures to make their friends jealous of the beautiful views.

And now Bryony and Louis were back from their grocery run for the barbecue tonight, to celebrate Mollie’s brother John and his wife Michelle coming up for the weekend, as well as Tyson’s friends Mat and Dante arriving ahead of their own week’s stay. They’d all met Mat and Dante before, the two of them joining Tyson for a few summer’s now (and Dante joining on his own the year before that started) so Mollie was well prepared for the chaos those two always seemed to bring. At least in comparison to the peace and calm that Tyson’s friend JT brought when he visited (which he would be doing for two weeks after Dante and Mat left).

It was going to be an interesting stretch of time, that was for sure.

After Tyson had gotten his friends settled in, they immediately joined Mollie’s group to chill on the clearing by the dock, relaxing for a few hours before they needed to start prepping for the barbecue tonight. Chase and Allison wouldn’t be joining them until later, and neither would John and Michelle, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t have fun before then.

“We’ve got snacks and fresh fruit and cold beers, help yourselves,” Michael grinned, waving towards the coolers on the back decking of their cabin.

Mat, Dante, and Tyson saluted, making them all laugh, Tyson carrying over their own crate of beers to add to the coolers too. Mollie just stayed silent, offering Tyson a small smile, to which he sent a hesitant one back. Great. He was still going to be awkward around his friends too. With a quiet sigh, quiet enough that no-one else heard it, she laid back down on her deckchair, eager to let the sun wash away the underlying tension she was desperate to ignore.

Maybe with his friends here, Tyson would get over the awkwardness and they could return to normal. At least, she hoped they could. She didn’t know what she would do if they didn’t.

~

“So, Mollie looks good, huh?”

“Don’t even think about it Barzy,” Tyson scowled.

Dante and Mat looked at each other only briefly before bursting into laughter.

“We know she’s yours, Josty. Chill,” Dante snickered.

“She’s not mine,” Tyson shot back, narrowing his eyes.

His friends just laughed harder.

“Yeah okay, and you totally weren’t distracted when she was sunbathing in that tiny pink bikini this afternoon, right,” Mat teased.

“I swear, I will throw you in the lake.”

~

The weekend was…odd, to say the least. Mollie didn’t spend nearly as much time with Tyson as she normally did, mostly because he looked like he didn’t know what to say to her and she didn’t have a clue what to say to him. She got away with it though, having her brother and sister-in-law up at the cabin, and Tyson having his friends to distract him. She had to get over this weirdness. She needed to.

On the Sunday evening, when her brother John and Michelle drove back into town, she followed them back, staying at her apartment for a night ahead of a family dinner their mom had insisted on for the Monday night. It wasn’t a hardship to take a little break from the cabin, using the time to pamper herself with a long bath and a face mask, giving herself the time to refresh. And Monday she spent giving her apartment a giant deep clean, driving all thoughts from her mind until she only had enough time to shower and change before heading over to her parents house.

“Mollie! Baby! Are you eating enough?”

Mollie just rolled her eyes fondly at her mom’s greeting.

“Nice to see you too mom. I brought wine,” she mused, stepping into her childhood home.

“Ooh, I do love a good cabernet, thank you darling. John and Michelle are already here – they’re with your dad in the den,” her mom said cheerfully, “I’m just finishing up in here!”

“I’ll help you, mom. It’s been a while.”

Mollie’s mom just beamed at her, kissing her cheek before wandering back into the kitchen. She followed with a smile on her face, heart bursting with the love that only a mom could cause, her mom especially. Mollie put on the apron that her mom passed her, the two of them chopping vegetables for the salad in a comfortable silence, Mollie just enjoying her mom dancing along to the radio while they worked. True to her word, they didn’t take long to finish preparing everything, and in no time at all, her mom was calling everyone to the table for dinner.

Incredible chicken pot pie, with creamy mash, a variety of greens, and homemade gravy, with a fruit cobbler for dessert. This was exactly what she needed.

What she didn’t need was her brother opening his mouth the moment that they finished eating.

“So mom, has Mollie told you about Tyson yet?”

What the hell?

“No? Is everything okay?” her mom asked, voice full of concern as she turned to look at Mollie.

She kicked her brother under the table but he just smiled sweetly at her. Her older brother was such a child.

“He’s fine mom. A little stressed after the season, but fine,” Mollie said, as calmly as she could.

“I was talking about all the flirting actually,” John said innocently.

“Shut up, John! There hasn’t been any flirting!” she hissed.

He was a dead man. Michelle could move on happily.

“Flirting?” her dad frowned.

“Flirting?!” her mom cried happily.

For fuck’s sake. She needed to nip this in the bud before her mom pulled out her scrapbooks.

“There is no flirting. John is delusional, maybe a touch of heat stroke. You really check that out for him, Michelle,” Mollie said firmly, her sister-in-law just sending her a pitying smile, “Tyson and I don’t flirt with each other.”

“It’s been different this year and you know it,” John shot back.

Michelle elbowed him, but other than a grunt he didn’t react at all, his smirk staying put.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. He’s one of my best friends and you know it,” Mollie scowled.

“Me thinks the lady doth protest too much,” John sing-songed.

“Oh you assho-”

“That’s enough,” their mom interrupted, gaze firm. Mollie snapped her mouth shut, John doing the same. “Johnathan Neil Thomas, cut it out. If Mollie says they’re still just friends, then that’s that.”

Mollie smiled triumphantly, earning an eye roll from her brother.

“And Mollie Eliza Thomas, if there ever is a change between you and Tyson then you know you can be open with us.”

Ugh.

“Mom!” Mollie hissed.

John just threw his head back and cackled, not even flinching at the elbow from his wife this time. How was he 27 years old?

“Alright, alright, I’m stopping,” their mom grinned, “and so is John.”

Seriously. It was bad enough that her head was messed up from whatever the hell had happened at the lake the other day, whatever the hell had been happening since Tyson came back this summer, but she didn’t need her family adding to it too.

“Cheer up buttercup. Whatever happens, happens,” her dad shrugged, smiling.

Mollie didn’t know if that made things better or worse. Sure, John could be doing the opposite, getting defensive and shutting down a ‘potential’ relationship between her and Tyson (not that there was anything) but this wasn’t helping.

“I’m disowning you all,” Mollie grumbled, “not you Michelle. As always, you’re an angel.”

Her brother’s wife just beamed. “If John doesn’t want to sleep on the sofa tonight, he’ll stop.”

What an angel she was indeed.

Her dad tactfully changed the topic to his upcoming fly fishing trip, finally giving Mollie some peace, but she was lost in her head from there on out, Michelle just filling up her wine glass in solidarity. By the time John and Michelle went home, Mollie had drunk a couple of glasses too many to safely drive home, so she crashed in her childhood bedroom, her mom thrilled that she got to fuss over her for another day.

Her dad promised to make her a hearty breakfast.

While she got ready for bed, doing her usual skincare routine after she changed, Mollie finally let herself embrace her thoughts. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, John’s teasing had gotten under her skin.

It’s been different this year and you know it.

Because it had been different this year. This summer had been full of all of this tension that hadn’t been there before that she didn’t know what to do with. This was her and Tyson. If she couldn’t figure out what it all meant to her, then where did that leave them?

Oh.

Oh.

Oh no.

John was right. He’d been right all along. It was different this year. Everything with Tyson had felt different this year, the flirty teasing, the innocent touches, the way her heart had skipped at his smile. But why? What had changed?

And what could she do about it?

Tyson had never said anything to her about being more than friends in all of their years of knowing each other, not even as a joke in passing. There’d never been a moment like that almost moment before the barbecue the other day. There’d never been anything that had flared Mollie’s feelings into a tailspin like this, but now? Now she didn’t know what to think.

Breathe. Take a moment.

Mollie inhaled shakily, running her trembling hands through her chestnut hair. It was like a dam had burst, her emotions rushing over like a tidal wave, her heart racing and her breathing getting ragged. This had changed everything. How could she not think about Tyson differently now that the floodgates had opened? How could she ignore that he was her everything now that she’d admitted it to herself? What the hell was she supposed to do now?

“Mollie? Is everything alright?”

Mollie snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her mom’s voice through the door, clearly having seen her light was still on. Damn it. Damn it damn it damn it.

“Yeah mom, just doing some yoga!” Mollie called back, hoping that the lie wasn’t too obvious, that her voice wasn’t too shaky.

“Alright sweetheart, get some rest! I’ll see you in the morning,”

Mollie just squeezed her eyes shut tightly, balling her fists at her sides as she curled up under her duvet. This wasn’t fair. All these years she’d maintained an amazing friendship with Tyson, a constant steadiness that she cherished, but now…could it really stay the same? Could she stay the same, knowing her feelings were actually real, when he didn’t feel the same? Could she pretend to be normal?

Could they even stay friends?

~

At the lake, unbeknown to Mollie, Tyson was going through his own emotional turmoil, sitting with Dante and Mat in the living area of his cabin.

“What’s going on with you and Mollie?”

“It feels different this year,” was all Tyson could offer to Dante’s question.

“Different…how?” Dante frowned.

Tyson sighed, running a hand over his face, missing the look that his friends exchanged.

“Tys, seriously. You and Mollie have always been so close, and yeah we tease you about it…but has something happened?” Mat said softly.

“I don’t know. There have been some moments. Like, emotionally-charged moments. That first weekend when we first saw each other again, she was wearing this tiny red bikini and she just looked so carefree and beautiful and so goddamn hot that it completely blew past all my defences. I couldn’t help but flirting and she flirted back. Talking to her felt like my heart was clenching and there was something in her eyes that said it wasn’t just me. And the other day at the barbecue, I just…I don’t know. We almost kissed and then she basically ran away,” Tyson said miserably.

Mat laughed softly, making Tyson whine in protest.

“This isn’t funny!”

“Oh it’s kinda funny. Why is it that everyone can see the connection between you two other than you?” Mat mused.

“We’re just friends. That’s all she wants, clearly,” Tyson sighed.

“That’s all she wants? Are you saying that you want more?” Dante asked, grinning.

Tyson just whined again at his friend’s excitement, dropping his head to rest in his hands. He couldn’t deny it, not any more. Not now that things felt so different, so…new. How could he?

“So you’re admitting that you like her. Finally. Are you sure that friendship is all Mollie wants? Have you even said anything?” Mat asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Why would I say anything?!” Tyson yelped, lifting his head up again.

Was Mat crazy?

Both Mat and Dante rolled their eyes. “You literally said that it wasn’t just you that had that emotionally charged moment,” Mat pointed out.

“I know but…”

“If there’s another moment like that, why don’t you just take a chance?” Dante interrupted, before Tyson could spiral into a panic, “if things are stressing you out this much, then maybe she’s feeling the same.”

Tyson bit his bottom lip, contemplating his friend’s words. Could he really do that?

Mat sighed, seeing Tyson’s hesitation. “Look, bud, you never know until you try. The friendship that you and Mollie have is so solid – even if things don’t happen between you two, nothing will change that.”

“I guess you’re right. She wouldn’t be weird about it, even if it is just me with feelings,” Tyson murmured.

Mat frowned, opening his mouth to argue, but Dante just elbowed him in the ribs, making him grunt.

“I don’t think it is just you, but yeah, you really should act on this, before you get too in your head about things. I know it’s scary and I know that you’ve got to take a risk, but I honestly think it’s going to pay off. It’s Mollie, Tys. How can things not?” Dante said warmly.

Mat nodded enthusiastically, making Tyson laugh softly.

“You really think I could take a chance?”

“Absolutely. You’re Tyson fucking Jost – you’ve got this!” Dante grinned.

Tyson smiled weakly, trying to put on a brave face. He wasn’t convinced, not with how much was on the line. Mollie was too important for him to lose. But maybe, just maybe, he could gain even more?

~

The week went on with Mollie no closer to an answer to what her next steps should be. At least Tyson was a little more relaxed around her, offering her genuine smiles rather than the awkward ones he’d been giving her since their almost moment. On Mat and Dante’s penultimate day, Allison arranged for a four jet skis to be sent up to the lake as a surprise, and they all took turns in racing each other on them, no-one getting too drunk to make sure they stayed safe.

After a few races on the jet ski, Mollie took a break, letting Louis take over to race Bryony, Mat and Dante, while Michael cheered them on and took photos. She could see her phone lighting up with jealous messages from Allison and Chase – FOMO was a bitch – so she could already predict that Allison would be extending their rental until after the full weekend had passed so she could have a go herself.

Mollie headed back out of the cabin with a book, a bottle of water, and some sunscreen, ready to relax for a little while now that she’d pulled some shorts back on, only to see Tyson already sitting where she had been planning to sit. Maybe it was fate. Maybe this was the time they needed, apart from the others. Maybe this was a sign.

Then again, Tyson had been fairly quiet today so far, letting Mat and Dante take the reins in conversation.

“Hey Tys. Mind if I join you?”

He jolted, looking up at her like she’d surprised him, making her frown slightly.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Sure.”

Okay, not quite the reaction she’d been expecting. Even for him, this was weird. Still, she sat down in the chair next to him, reapplying her sunscreen before opening up her book. But the way that Tyson was sitting silently next to her, just staring out at the lake, was unsettling.

“Is everything okay?” she murmured, putting her bookmark in her book.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

His answer was so short, almost distant, unlike any way he’d ever spoken to her, and it hurt a little to hear that tone in his voice. Maybe she was just missing something, but him brushing her off like that on top of all of her emotional turmoil lately was just enough to make tears spring to her eyes.

It was all she could do to swallow heavily to keep her composure, and she stood up, dropping her book on her chair.

“Where are you going?” Tyson frowned.

“I don’t know. Just need to clear my head, I guess,” Mollie shrugged, attempting to keep her voice light.

“Can I come with you?” Tyson blurted.

That would be the opposite of helpful right now. But when he looked at her so hopefully, how could she say no? Maybe he’d actually open up, and his attitude was all a big misunderstanding? She could only hope. She couldn’t take him pulling away from her, if that’s what this was.

No, she had to have hope.

With a quick glance over her shoulder to check that their friends were all occupied, Mollie started to walk in the opposite direction down the lake front, knowing that Tyson would be following her. She wandered, a little aimlessly, trying to clear her head as she’d said to him, but nothing helped knowing that it was his footsteps following her.

Eventually she slowed to a stop at a little cove, ducking into it to get out of the harsh light of the sun, and Tyson stopped next to her, offering her a small smile. She had to return it – this was the place they’d dubbed ‘their spot’ after all. Back in Tyson’s first summer, she’d found him here after a difficult training session, full of frustration and homesickness, and it had been one of the things that bonded them so quickly. She’d never told anyone about this place, that it was hers and Tyson’s. Mollie hadn’t intended to come here, but clearly her subconscious had other plans.

Tyson took a step towards her, slipping slightly on a rock, and Mollie’s hands darted out to stead him, Tyson clinging to her forearms as he regained his balance. It was only when she laughed and looked back up at him that she realised they were standing so close that she could count his eyelashes, and she froze.

No, no she couldn’t do this. She needed less drama, less intensity, less…

“Mollie,” Tyson murmured, voice breathy.

“Tys, I…I can’t,” she choked.

Her head was swirling as she jerked out of his grip, trying not to slip herself as she stepped past him, but Tyson grabbed her hand to stop her leaving.

“Mollie, please don’t go! Just listen to me!” Tyson begged.

The desperation in his voice made her stop in her tracks. She closed her eyes, keeping her back to him as she tried to control her racing heartbeat, jumping slightly as his hand move to touch her shoulder. Against her better judgement, with a gentle squeeze of his hand, she turned back around to face him, biting her lip at the devastation in his face.

“Tys,” she whispered, a little helplessly.

He’d never looked at her like that before, like she had the power to destroy him completely. She wasn’t sure if she liked it.

“Mollie, sweetheart…”

Sweetheart. He trailed off at her whimper, running a shaky hand through his unruly curls before he looked into her eyes with such determination that butterflies erupted in her stomach.

“You’ve got to know how much I like you, Mollie. Seriously. You’re one of the only people I keep in touch with from home, one of the only true friends I can count on, and you know how much our friendship means to me. But you’ve got to know how our friendship has evolved. It’s…more now, right? You feel it too?”

Mollie’s breath caught in her throat. He…what?

How much I like you.

How much our friendship means to me.

Our friendship has evolved.

You feel it too?

“Please. Say something,” Tyson begged.

How could she deny him that? After everything she started admitting to herself? She closed her eyes, swallowing heavily, only opening them when her heart cracked open a little. If he could be honest, as much of a dream as it felt, then so could she.

“I do feel it, Tys. I just…I didn’t let myself hope that you felt the same,” she whispered.

There it was. She’d finally said the words out loud. Tyson let out a wounded noise, low and sad, but Mollie didn’t say anything. What else could she say without losing all composure?

“I’ve liked you for so long, Molls. I just never let myself act on it because I didn’t think you felt the same. But now…”

Tyson trailed off again into nothing, letting out a whoosh of breath. The hope and wonder in his voice sent a thrill through Mollie’s body, her heart beating a little bit faster. Tyson liked her. He really liked her! And she’d told him how she felt about him too? She’d never thought this moment would actually happen. Definitely not since her emotional realisation a few evenings ago. But now that it was? It felt mindblowing. Was this really happening?

But there was still that niggle of doubt she couldn’t deny. So Mollie gathered her thoughts while Tyson stayed silent, hoping they wouldn’t bite her in the ass.

“I can’t do this if it’s just for the summer,” Mollie blurted, “I can’t be only a fling for you, Tyson. I wouldn’t be able to cope with that. Not with you.”

Tyson quickly shook his head, reaching out to clasp both of her hands in his, making her gasp softly at the warmth in his grip.

“You could never be a fling. This is the real deal between us, Mollie. I know it is. You know it is,” Tyson said firmly.

Mollie just nodded, choking out a laugh, unable to stop the tears welling up in her eyes as she smiled at him, earning a hopeful smile back. He was right. Deep down, no matter how her insecurities whispered, she knew that their friendship meant a solid foundation. It wasn’t a temporary wavering summer-fun. It was…everything.

“So what are you saying?” Mollie murmured, trying to blink away the tears.

Was this really happening?

“Will you be my girl?” Tyson asked, his voice full of hope.

Mollie choked a laugh, her voice thick with the tears that wouldn’t leave. “Yeah, Tys. I’ll be your girl,”

Tyson let out a whoop, throwing his head back, making Mollie laugh again. What a ridiculous guy. She liked him so much. He rested his forehead against hers, one hand rising to cup her cheek, making her inhale sharply as his eyes went more serious.

“Can I kiss you now? Finally?”

Mollie tilted her head up to press her lips to his in answer.

~

Being with Tyson was easy, easier than Mollie could’ve ever imagined. Somehow that transition from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend was seamless, with not even a little awkwardness like she’d feared there would’ve been. She attributed that to Tyson mainly though – he was such a driving force of happiness, and now that she’d allowed herself to feel all those thoughts she’d subconsciously pushed down before, it was like everything had clicked into place. It was almost like it was fate.

Fate that she was seizing with both hands and never letting go.

The moment that they’d returned to the cabins from the cove, Dante had taken one look at them and demanded Mat to ‘pay up’. Bryony had immediately pulled out her phone, typing away furiously, until she groaned and admitted that Allison had won their pool. Tyson had just laughed when he realised that everyone had been betting on the two of them, Mollie hiding her face in his chest with a groan. Somehow she wasn’t surprised – it was their friends after all – but that didn’t make her feel any better in the moment.

Nor did John’s smug texts – Michelle’s happy ones soothed that a little. She wasn’t surprised either when Tyson came to her after the weekend and admitted that John had given him a shovel talk in private, one that he refused to share the details of (so she knew it had to be violent), but when she’d texted John to berate him, all her brother said was that he approved and that Tyson was a good guy.

That much she knew already, thank you very much.

The rest of their summer raced by. After Mat and Dante left, JT stayed for two weeks, just as thrilled for them as Tyson’s other friends had been (especially since he won the bet he had with Alex Kerfoot about them). After JT left, Kacey and Tyson’s mom came up to stay for a week, and their genuine heartfelt welcome to the family talks left Mollie more emotional than ever, Tyson just smiling with watery eyes (that he later denied).

And obviously her parents were thrilled, Tyson being dragged down to a couple of family dinner over the remaining six weeks of summer, in between his intense workouts, getting him ready for the upcoming season.

But those six weeks flew by faster than Mollie anticipated, the end of summer drawing closer, and Tyson only had few weeks before he needed to get back to Buffalo for training camp. His time at his cabin had come to an end, as had Mollie’s, so he’d come to stay at her apartment with her while he figured out what he wanted to for his remaining time.

The more time Mollie could spend with him, the better, so she wasn’t going to complain. Especially if it meant waking up in Tyson's arms in the mornings. Even if it meant Tyson watching her with adoring expressions as she shuffled through old lesson plans to see which she could spruce up ahead of the upcoming school year.

A few days into them living in her apartment together though, Tyson made breakfast for them both and sat down opposite her with a serious expression on his face, making her a little nervous. They ate mostly in silence, the radio playing in the background, and it wasn’t until he’d put their plates in the sink that Tyson was ready to talk.

“Everything’s been so good between us, right?” he blurted.

The nervous expression on his face made her heart twinge, and not in a fun way.

“It has for me?” she offered, wincing.

“It has for me too, I promise,” he said quickly, taking the edge off her anxiety, “I just…I’ve been thinking a lot. About our future. Where we could end up. Where I want our relationship to end up.”

She tried valiantly to ignore how her heart started beating a little faster.

“What have you been thinking?” she prompted, hoping her voice didn’t sound too shaky.

“I don’t know where I’m going to end up with hockey in the future. The Avs didn’t want me, it didn’t work out with the Wild, and who knows where I’ll be after this coming year with the Sabres after all the up and down this past season. I don’t know where I’ll be playing or what city I’ll be in, but…will you come with me?”

Mollie’s jaw dropped slightly, her breath catching in her throat. He wanted her to go with him? To leave Kelowna? Tyson saw her shock and immediately reached across the island counter to take both of her hands in his, desperate to ground her as he knew she needed.

“I know this is fast, or at least it would be by normal relationship standards, but with how long we’ve known each other and with how right this feels…I just can’t bear the thought of another 9 months without you. Especially not in Buffalo,” Tyson said, his eyes wide and honest.

Go with Tyson? Uproot everything she’d ever known, move away from all her friends, her job, her life?

“Tyson, I…”

She trailed off, biting her lip, unsure of how to continue as her thoughts swirled. But as soon as she did, she noticed how Tyson’s shoulders slumped slightly, his grip on her hands going limp.

“No, you’re right. It’s too soon, isn’t it? I couldn’t ask you to give up your whole life, just like that, that's not fair on you,” Tyson sighed, finally dropping her hands.

Her breath caught in her throat at the defeat in his eyes. That, more than anything else, she hated. How he second guessed himself? His lack of self confidence? That devastation, it just wasn’t right. So Mollie shook her head, taking his hands back in hers.

“Tys, I need a moment to process, yeah?”

He nodded, a glimmer of hope entering his eyes again, making her smile slightly. Mollie huffed out a breath, running her thumbs over his knuckles, as she tried to process his words. Moving with Tyson – moving in with Tyson fully – would change everything. It would be the biggest step she’d ever taken with a relationship, but with Tyson it would be…

“Tell me what’s going through your mind,” Tyson begged, interrupting her flow.

“You just can’t stand the silence huh,” she teased, unable to resist.

“You know I can’t,” he laughed.

But the laugh was strained, making her sigh. Time to be honest.

“I guess…the main thing going through my mind is that this is such a big step,” she admitted.

“Yeah it is. But it’s also exciting? And I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t sure it would work,” Tyson said honestly.

She couldn’t help but blush slightly. The fact that he was so certain about their relationship was refreshing. And she knew that Tyson always put his whole heart into everything, which was exciting - no-one else had ever had this conviction.

“What about my job? My friends? My family? And a visa? I’ve never even left BC, you know I haven’t,” Mollie prompted, going through all her doubts.

Tyson tilted his head back slightly, averting his eyes as he chewed his lip, clearly deep in thought. She couldn’t help but smile – he really was putting so much effort into this.

“I know you love teaching, even though the school you’re at right now has terrible parents…but I know you’d also smash any teaching job in any place, so I think that part is solvable? Family and friends though…that’s the big sacrifice. And I know, because it sucks leaving mine at the end of every summer. It’s sucked leaving you at the end of every summer, even though we were only ever just friends before. I don’t want to leave you again, but I understand if only seeing everyone else a few times a year outside of summer is a deal breaker,” Tyson sighed, “The visa thing I can work out with my agent, so that shouldn’t be an issue. And I know that you haven’t ever left BC – but there’s so much of the world I want to show you, even if that starts with Buffalo.”

Mollie huffed out a breath at his words, knowing he was speaking from the heart. But what should she do? Tyson watched the frustration play out across her face and smiled sadly, squeezing her hands in comfort.

“Hey, whatever you decide, just know that it won’t change how much I love you, yeah?” he said softly.

He loves her? Of all the times to drop that declaration, so simple and sweet. How could her heart not sing at that?

“My god, Tys, I love you too. So much. And you’re right, it would suck to watch you leave again because everything is so different this year. I finally have you and to lose you?”

Mollie frowned, shaking her head as she cut herself off. How could she let him go?

Tyson saw the change in her expression, a wide smile spreading across his lips. “So…?” he asked hopefully.

She laughed at his prompting, and squeezed his hands back.

“Yeah, Tyson, I’m willing to try this, to try us,” Mollie nodded, smiling, “I’ll move with you, to Buffalo, and then wherever you go after that.”

Tyson whooped and stood up from his chair, making her laugh again as he ran around to her side of the island, which quickly turned into a squeal as he threw his arms around her and picked her up to spin her in a circle. The joy in his face was just pure happiness, and Mollie knew right then that she’d made the right decision.

“I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us,” Tyson grinned, resting his forehead against hers.

There was so much to think about, with moving, with getting a visa, with her job, with her apartment in Kelowna. But a future with Tyson? That was all Mollie wanted - and she couldn’t wait to see what the future held for them either.

[acourtofthought]

Maybe it’s just me, but I just can’t consider Az as a love interest of Elain(I mean I don’t think an almost kiss makes someone a love interest but that’s a different story). Simply because of how entitled he felt to her. Even Rhys seemed so put off by his whole 3 brothers, 3 sisters thing. And because of how he doesn’t know or understand Elain at all. Which I find a little crazy when they were suppose to be friends way before that almost kissed happened

I think I could have considered Az as a real love interest for Elain if Sarah had written many things differently. Yet every time she wrote what could be possible hint for them (at least in terms of endgame potential), she made sure to follow it up with someone that canceled it out, something that had strong echos of the Feyre / Tamlin setup.

Az was willing to save Elain during the war with Elain saying "you came from me" and Feyre believing she drank up the sight of him? Az went on to put Elain's life at risk by refusing to listen to Feyre to get her to safety, with Az instead staying behind to save both Feyre and Briar.

Then Elain did not show any concern for Az's injuries once they landed. Az did not seek her out after the war and after the death of her father.

Az gave Elain TT? Sarah added in "the ONLY bridge of connection -that knife". That literally / metaphorically tells us there is nothing else connecting them. And she also tells us the only reason Az had TT to offer Elain was because he had decided not to enter the war because Mor begged him not to.

He also never gave her credit for what she did with that knife and he didn't believe her capable of handling the darkness of the trove though she saved his ass with the hounds and rescued his friend from the king.

Az helped Elain with the dinner dishes? He was relieved not to get her a gift at Solstice. Her first holiday with them and he didn't even want to worry about getting her something.

Az sat and talked with her about her gardens? He never talked to her about her father, about her bond, about being made fae, her fights with Nesta. The important things. Endgame relationships are not built on chats about hobbies. Tamlin supported Feyre's desire to paint, he even set her up with paints and canvases yet that didn't mean anything for them having a lasting relationship.

Az's shadows are a part of him? We're specifically told in his POV that they disappear around Elain and were earlier told they're afraid of the sun.

Az likes to torture in a symphony of pain? We're reminded that Elain is bothered by cruelty and she "has no idea the things he's done." Even if she does realize, that he believes the worst of her is telling.

Az and Elain wanted to hook up? Neither bothered to talk about the things that were issues for them. He knew she was upset over her fights with Nesta yet he chose to stay away from her, he chose not to talk to her, she chose not to talk to him about her bond when she knew it bothered him. That is the problem we have with E/riel wanting to hook up. It's not that we're clutching our pearls as the other side likes to accuse, it's that we see that E/riel on Solstice is really no different than any of the guys Nesta banged in the novella. It's an escape from their true feelings, not true love. Are hookups hot? Sure! They can be. But are they love? No and we have a problem when the other side insists that a hookup equals love. Our "pearl clutching" is not because we have a problem with smut, it's that we know that love doesn't look or feel the way Sarah wrote E/riel on Solstice. Call it what it was and we can respect it and acknowledge that it could have been a hot hookup just as Feyre and Tamlin had hot sexy moments too but they need to stop trying to argue with us that it was proof of something more.

And then, Elain returned his necklace. Az gave the necklace away. And neither even glanced towards the other for the 5 months after Solstice while Az went on to show amusement and admiration for the same female he wanted the necklace to go to.

So yes, while Sarah could have written E/riel in a way that made me think they had true endgame potential she instead only continued reinforcing all the ways they were wrong for one another and continued writing all the ways Lucien was her perfect match, despite Elain's current stubbornness about her mating bond.

For all their cries on how little we respect what Elain wants, they sure don't seem to respect that in canon there is zero proof that Elain wants Az anymore. They insist she no longer wants Graysen because she doesn't break down at the mention of his name and I respect that (however that should be proof enough for them that what a character wants can change and if she no longer wants her fiance she can easily move on from Az who she shared little with in comparison) They insist she doesn't want Lucien because she ignores him though I think there's more to it than that since they share a bond and we know the bond needs to be addressed in her book. But when Elain never once broke down over Az, when she's not even written as purposely keeping her distance from him or looking away from him in the five months after Solstice, when she's completely indifferent to him (not expressing anger or sadness or ANYTHING) somehow that means she's in love with him and is pining for him?

And like you said, Az never admitting having any feelings for "Elain the person" (he literally said he just wanted her because his brothers are with her sisters) and she never confessed to having real feelings for Az, to liking anything about Az at all.

So yeah, I don't consider Az a real love interest for Elain either.

[starlightandfairies]

Insecure nights ~Austin Butler~

Description: The reader isn't really too great, her self-esteem is very low and Austin reassures her that she is gorgeous and that she needs to look after herself.

Warnings: Swearing, she/her pronouns, fluff, angst, low self-esteem, body issues, social media bullying, rude fans

Key: POV = Point of view

Word Count: 1,184

*Please know that you all are gorgeous no matter what you look like, I've been feeling insecure lately so I've just written this and I hope you know that you're insecurities do not define you. Have a lovely day.*

Being Austin's girlfriend was great, he was the best guy that you could ever hope for and he was everything that you needed in the relationship. Like all people, you were insecure, though, you had your moments where you felt so confident and loved yourself for your body that you were happy to be existing just as you were. It all came crashing down though, one day you're minding your own business and you're scrolling through social media and you come across a photo that some random took of you and Austin out in public where Austin's mid-spin with you in his arms as he hugs you. 

The caption was supportive of you and your relationship, reading: 

Look how cute they both are! You can really tell Austin loves her 

It always made you smile knowing that there were fans that were supportive of your relationship and tried to defend you both when mean comments popped up but this time, it got under your skin. 

She seriously needs to lose weight

I love her, she's so pretty and so sweet 

Look at his arms, you can tell he's struggling to hold her up 

Does Austin hate seeing her acne? Because I do 

She's gorgeous, she shouldn't be dealing with you assholes.

I saw a beach photo the other day and her stretch marks were fucking hideous -#Ihatestretchmarks. 

You fell into a cycle, you were trapped and you couldn't get out of it, couldn't stop reading all these awful things. You felt sick as all your insecurities were being judged and picked on. You snapped out of your thoughts as a door slammed closed, you dropped your phone on the bed and quickly placed a smile on your lips before you walked over to investigate what happened. 

"Sorry, darling, I didn't mean to scare you. The wind picked up and got the door." Austin walked over to you, a charming smile on his lips as he embraced you in his warm arms. Austin rested a kiss on your forehead, then caught your lips in his, you smiled against his lips and stared at him with a gentle look in your eyes. 

"Doesn't bother me any, just glad it's you." He smiled at you, staring at you with an amused glint in his eyes and rested another kiss on your lips before taking a breath. 

"I'm gonna have a shower, we can watch some movies afterwards, okay?" You simply nodded, smiling lightly as he rested one final kiss on your forehead and walked to your shared bedroom. You walked to the living room and started picking out some movies to choose from, giving Austin the chance to what he wanted to watch instead of just giving him a sappy rom-com. 

Austin walked over to you, he wrapped his arms around you, pulled your back against his chest and leaned down to rest a kiss on your cheek. 

"How are you feeling, sweetheart?" 

"I'm feeling fine, how about you?" Austin turned you around, he rested a kiss on your lips and crouched down to stare at you. He led you over to the couch, gave you reassuring smile and held your hands in his. 

"You wanna tell me what's going on?" 

"Nothing is going on." You lied. 

"I love you and I know you. I know when something is on your mind and I've seen that look before. I don't want this to become something that hurts you, you're my girl and I love you. I don't want to see you hurting." 

"It's getting into my head again, I hate feeling like this, I hate not thinking I'm pretty and I hate that those assholes can get to me when they don't know me and I don't know them." Austin rested a hand on top of his, you stared at him and sniffled as he wiped away a tear that fell from your eye. 

"Darling, you're absolutely gorgeous, they don't know what they're fucking talking about." 

"Sometimes... sometimes I feel that I'm not pretty enough for you or good enough." Austin grabbed your hands, staring you deep in the eye. 

"You're fucking stunning, darling, don't think that you're not. You're more than good enough for me and you're always the prettiest girl in the room. My eyes are always on you and you're always got this lovely glow about you. You're gorgeous, you're beautiful. These insecurities of yours, I'm sorry they get you down and I'm sorry that these awful people think that they have the right to hurt you with them." Austin took a breath, bringing you closer to him and cradled you close to his chest. 

"You don't think I'm too big, or my acne is ugly or my stretch marks make you embarrassed to be seen with me when we're at the beach or the pool?" Austin shook his head, bringing your eyes to meet his and smiled at you. 

"I think you're perfect, I think you're gorgeous and you're not 'too' big, you're perfect just the way and I love you. This acne, it's normal, you're human. Humans have these things, I love them because it shows how real you are and I think it's actually really cute. These stretchmarks, I love tracing over these when we're cuddling, you always smile and sometimes it turns into a tickle fight and I love having these with you. Darling, you're gorgeous and I love you with my entire heart. I'm sorry that people aren't treating you right and I hope you know that whenever you feel like this you can talk to me." 

A smile formed on your lips, Austin smiled with you and rested a kiss on your forehead. Austin flopped on the couch, you still in his arms and rested your head on his chest. 

"You're not uncomfortable?" 

"Not at all, I promise you, sweetheart." The shorts you were wearing were pyjama shorts, Austin slowly started tracing patterns on your skin, near your hip and trailing down a little lower to get the ends of the stretchmarks. 

"You're gorgeous, I love you, I love you so much." He whispered watching as you just put something on and snuggled in closer to be held tighter by him. Austin hated seeing you feel so down, hated that these people who knew nothing about you treated you with insults and made you feel like shit and you were the greatest thing that had come into his life and he didn't want you to feel like you weren't pretty enough or good enough. 

"I love you, thank you." You whispered. 

"What are you thanking me for, darling?" 

"You just no what to say to make me feel better." 

"I mean them all." 

"I know you do. I love you so much." 

[thedeafprophet]

Hiiiii!

34 for Alex/Fires?

Please?

34. Kisses that start on their fingers and run up their arm, eventually ending on their lips

In Search Of Distraction

'“Fine, you may stay, for now- but do not touch anything. I have work to be completed, and I will not stand for any further distractions." The edges of Alex's lips quirk up in victory. He'll see about that.' In which Alex sets out on a mission to both distract Fires, and make his nap more comfortable. Written for a kiss prompt on tumblr.

This was an interesting one to try and fill out for these guys - I dont personally headcanon curators having lips the way humans do, and thus tried to think up a fun little thing for Alex deicinding to do this lmao.

Word count: 1,337

Rating: Teen

Tags: Fluff, Napping, Kissing , Kissing when one individual is not human and doesnt have human lips

Also on ao3

Prompt list from here.

"So let me get this straight,” Alex crosses his arms as he looks up at Fires with a raise of a brow, as he gives it a very pointed look. “ I came here, to see you, entirely on my own accord - And you want me to leave?"

Alex had found himself on yet another dreary evening, after another round sleepless nights. Distraction had proved useless, his own fireplace inadequate, and it was all rather starting to piss him off. The idea of spending another evening agitated and another night in failure to sleep seemed extremely unappealing, and eventually Alex couldn't help but succumb to the growing idea within his head. 

In what was yet another of his moves he’d berate himself over later, Alex had found himself heading through the familiar path to Fires’ offices - In case it was up to something, of course, and not at all because Alex found himself in need of attention and a warm place to rest. No, one could never be too sure of what dastardly plans Mr Fires could be up to. Someone had to divert its attention - for the greater good. 

Upon sneaking into its illuminated office, Alex had found Fires once more up to its neck in paperwork, and, laughably, seemingly resistant towards his company. Fires had tried to send him away with a flick of its hand - claiming it was busy, that some of them have work to do Alexander, and to return at a later date. Perhaps even send word ahead of time, for once. 

Alex of course simply snorted, and stood his ground. No way was it getting rid of him that easily.  And after all, if it truly didn’t want him here, it should have made its office harder for a ‘lowly’ thief to get into. 

The glow of Fires' eyes flicker an edge beneath its hood, as at last Alex seems to break through its so-called reluctant demeanor. Fires growls minutely under its breath .

“Fine, you may stay, for now- but do not touch anything. I have work to be completed, and I will not stand for any further distractions."

The edges of Alex's lips quirk up in victory. He'll see about that.

Alex spends a few moments standing beside its desk, glancing around this particular office and the things inside it. The usual uncomfortable furniture and needless globes and tomes line the room, alongside heavy mahogany curtains that have been drawn to block the room’s window.

Alex takes a quick glance at what Fires is working on and quickly decides he could neither understand it, nor did he care to try. Instead he moves closer towards where it sits, standing beside its rather large chair expectantly. 

Fires huffs as he approaches, but automatically lifts its arm when Alex comes near the side of its desk chair, giving him the opportunity to climb up into its lap like he's done… on a few occasions, once or twice, before. Maybe. 

It is ever so delightfully warm, and Alex takes the opportunity to snuggle up against the source of heat. It's soothing, after stressful days that keep Alex busy and one too many sleepless nights, wanting nothing more than to find a way to close his eyes and rest. He'd almost be inclined to truly just sit and cuddle - if it weren't for the rough texture of its cloak. Quite annoying, actually, in such a warm cozy place, to be met with something so scratchy and coarse. 

As it stands, Alex takes a few moments to relax into the heat Fires radiate, listening to the repetitive scratch of pen on paper, a calming sound in the otherwise silent and empty office, save for the crackle of the fireplace. For a moment Alex feels the full weight of his usual tiredness, his body remembering that this is the perfect place to nap - but no, he came here with a mission.

Alex moves to sit up in its lap slightly, tired mind whirring to think up a plan. He glances up at Fires, towards where it writes with one hand, then back towards the other it has resting on the desk. 

Alex reaches his own hands up to hold its lightly, before leaning back and pulling its arm closer towards him - Fires’ pen falters very little in the movement, and Alex can feel the quick flicker of its gaze, but it seems inclined for the moment to let Alex do what he wants. 

Alex idly wonders how far he could push this acceptance, as he pulls a finger back and sees the edge of soot left behind. Eugh.

Fires’ glove is soft and leathery, and quite frankly Alex wouldnt be surprised if its dark colour is simply due to being soaked in the soot it so often tracks everywhere. Whatever the case is, it's certainly a detraction from the current situation.

Fires’ ember gaze returns to Alex fully as he makes his move to rid it of its glove entirely. 

"Is there a particular reason for your ongoings, Alexander, or have you decided my gloves are out of season?" Its voice is tinged with amusement. 

Alex scoffs - it knows he has little care for fashion. "Not everyone wants to get soot on themselves."

Frankly, even removing the glove probably wasn't helping that much - but these are the sacrifices Alex makes.

Whatever Fires was about to say - likely defending its clothing and the state of cleanliness- is suddenly cut off, as Alex lifts its hand and impulsively leans forward to lightly brush his lips against the back of its hand in a light show of.... well, perhaps affection.

It has an otherwise intended effect however, of catching Fires off guard. Its eyes narrow on him, the heat in its gaze increasing, and if Alex didn’t know better, he’d think he’d manage to fluster it. 

That was enough reasoning for him to continue.

Alex wasn’t one who typically leans toward kisses; the times he has done so are exceedingly rare. He never really understood the purpose of it, and rarely did he consider bothering to try. Thus it was mostly entirely on instinct and observation alone that he acted, unsure in much of what he was doing at all. At least it wasn't like Fires would have much experience with the matter either. 

Alex shoves lightly at its sleeve, placing a light kiss on the edge of its arm too, where its fur is thinner than on the upper parts of its body. 

With Fires seemingly distracted by his actions, Alex takes the moment to strike, reaching up to tug its hood down, and giving him further access to soft ruff of fur on its neck. 

Fires looks like it's about to comment, and in a split choice of impulse, Alex chooses to press his lips against the side of its snout, smirking all the while. 

Fires may not be capable of blushing the way humans do, but Alex can most certainly feel the way it heats up in response. Alex moves his head down to nuzzle his face against its neck, and takes advantage of the soft, exposed fur that grows ever warmer.

Feeling successful in his mission to distract Fires from its work, and the lowering of its hood giving access to a much softer place to rest his head, Alex settles back down to curl up against the lovely source of heat with a satisfied hum.

It takes a minute for Fires to recover from its momentary fluster soon after, letting out a huff when it realizes just how distracted it has become. 

"You know," Fires' voice is filled with that irritating smug fondness, which Alex will momentarily forgive, as the way its moves its claws to comb through his hair feels ever so nice. "If you wanted attention, you could just ask."

"Hrm" He's not so sure about that. This works just as well, he thinks. He was, after all, successful in his goal of distracting it- and in finally having a good place to nap. 

[ronancexists]

Hello everyone, and welcome to Day 4 of Ronancetober! I hope y'all have been enjoying everything I've put out so far, because I've got another one coming your way! This one's got a healthy dose of Platonic with a capital P! Stobin, because those two are the best thing that could've happened to Stranger Things aside from Byler and Ronance becoming canon. It's also got a tiny bit of Stonathan as well, but it's only a brief mention. Anyways, here's my submission for day 4, and I hope y'all like it!

Day 4: Kiss

Robin sighed as she glanced up at the clock for what had to be the umpteenth time within the past five minutes.

“Robbie, if you sigh one more time I’m going to chuck this at you,” Steve threatened, looking at his best friend with exasperation written all over his face, the thing he was about to throw being one of the many VHS tapes he was currently putting back on the shelves.

It hadn’t been super busy today, though Keith neglected to do any of the actual work involved with being a manager whenever he worked with one or both of them. She and Steve knew more about the job than he did. The two of them were essentially running the place, but Keith had the official name tag stating he was in charge.

They had managed to convince him that Steve would most definitely muck something up if Robin weren’t there with him to keep an eye on him, which is how they ended up working most, if not all, of their shifts together, without Keith's supervision. It worked out perfectly for the two of them, because that meant neither one of them had to do anything on their own. It didn’t hurt that it gave Robin even more opportunities to poke fun at Steve.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is my suffering bothering you? I’ll be sure to keep it down in the future.”

Steve rolled his eyes as Robin smiled brightly, her nose crinkling in happiness as it always did when she managed to rile him up.

After doing a quick lap around the store, Robin determined it was safe. She hopped up on the counter, legs swinging back and forth as she watched Steve stack the tapes on the shelves.

“You know,” Steve grunted as he finally reached the top shelf in one of the many isles, placing the tape down as gently as possible. “You could help me instead of just sitting there, watching me do all of the work.”

Robin couldn't help the snort of amusement that escaped as soon as Steve had finished talking. “You’re one to talk. You left me to rewind all those tapes,” she gestured to the ones stacked up in his arms. “So you could have a make-out session with Jonathan in the back room.”

“Shh!” Steve hushed, eyes darting around frantically to search for prying ears.

“Relax, dingus. I already took a lap. I wouldn’t have said anything if we had customers.”

“Well you could warn a guy next time,” he grumbled.

“Such a baby.”

Steve stuck his tongue out at her in response.

“Who are we calling a baby?”

The nineteen-year-old had to stifle his laughter as Robin practically turned into a puddle where she had been sitting at the sight of Nancy. He knew after everything with Vecna that Robin had developed what she deemed was a minor crush on Nancy, though he would label it as infatuation. Regardless, Robin hadn’t been able to stop babbling about the girl, everything about her crush on Vickie simply flying out the window after the events during the school year, where she had gotten to know Nancy from Nancy herself rather than through all of the stories Steve had about her.

Steve couldn’t blame Robin for falling for Nancy even if he wanted to. Hell, he probably understood the enigma that was Nancy Wheeler better than anyone. After all, he had been lucky enough to date her before everything with the Upside Down transpired. He was brave enough to acknowledge that he had hurt Nancy badly, and she was brave enough to acknowledge that she had hurt him as well. The two of them had a long, rough talk about everything that had transpired between them, and they came to the conclusion that they were much better off as friends than they ever were as a couple.

Needless to say, Steve was quite surprised when Nancy had confided in him that she was crushing on Robin, and crushing quite hard on her at that. He’d had to hold in his laughter when she said she couldn’t discern if Robin was into her the same way. He thought it was quite obvious, but he supposed that could be because he knew Robin better than Robin knew herself. Plus, if Nancy was too worried about not making her own crush apparent, he figured that would occupy most of her attention, enough for her not to notice the heart eyes Robin was constantly shooting her way.

He was between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, if he told one girl how the other felt, it could result in them getting together and earn himself a pat on the back. On the other hand, the girl he told could become furious at him for revealing the other's secret, and when the girl he told told the other girl, he’d probably have two very angry, very determined, and very capable of hurting him women gunning for his head. It was a win-lose situation, so he resolved to keep his mouth shut. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t intervene in other ways.

“Robbie?”

“What’s up, Stevie?”

“Could you grab me the ladder from the back room?”

Robin arched an eyebrow at him, internally pleading for him not to actually be interrupting her lovely conversation with Nancy. Times with the other girl were far and few between, especially since she had begun working almost everyday to save up so she could move the fuck out of this town.

“Please?” He asked, turning the puppy dog eyes and everything. He knew she could never say no to him when he used the puppy dog eyes.

“Ughhhh. Fine,” she grumbled, apologizing to Nancy before turning around and hopping behind the counter, heading for the backroom.

“You should just tell her, ya know,” Steve said as soon as Robin was out of earshot, placing the tapes down on one of the bare shelves and walking towards Nancy.

Nancy scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

“I’m serious, Nance. She’s ready to leave everything behind. We’ve defeated Vecna, we got rid of the Upside Down for good. She doesn’t have a reason to stay.” The words unless you give her one remained unspoken, but they both heard it loud and clear.

“I know,” Nancy muttered, her gaze bouncing around everywhere but at Steve, finally landing behind the counter on the door to the backroom, where Robin was.

“Go,” Steve said quietly, squeezing her arm. “I’ll cover up here.”

Nancy grasped his hand in hers. “Wish me luck.”

He nodded, watching as Nancy walked behind the counter. “You won’t need it,” he muttered, a wide grin settling onto his face as he shot a fist in the air, overwhelmed with joy that he had actually done it. Oh, he couldn’t wait to see the look on Jonathan’s face when he told him he'd won their bet.

“Robin?” Nancy called out, unable to hide the quakiness of her voice.

“Nancy, thank goodness. I can’t find this freaking ladder anywhere. Come help me look,” Robin said, turning to look at Nancy when she didn’t get a response. “Hey, is everything ok? You’re looking a bit pale. And you’re trembling too. Oh God, you aren’t sick, are you? Cause if you are, I can get Steve to drive you home. I’ll come over with soup and ice cream and your favorite movies as soon as I’m done with my shift. We can lay in bed and watch them in your room together. Or I don’t have to stay. I can just drop it off for you and—”

Robin was cut off when Nancy rushed forward, pressing their lips together in an urgent and desperate kiss. Nancy pulled away when Robin didn’t reciprocate, dread slowly filling her chest when the taller girl simply stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape. “Shit, I knew this was a bad idea. I’m so sorry, Robin. I understand if you never want to talk to me again. I-I’ll leave you alone,” Nancy said, turning to walk away, stopping when Robin’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm. “Rob, what—”

Robin tugged on Nancy’s arm until the other girl was facing her, a smile threatening to bloom as her eyes shined with happiness. “Did you mean it?”

“What?” Nancy asked, breathless.

“The kiss. Did you mean it?”

“Of course I meant it, Robin. Why—”

Nancy gasped in surprise as Robin brushed their lips together, eyes fluttering shut as Robin’s hands settled on her waist. She moaned when the taller girl pulled on her hips until they were flush against one another. She reached up, tangling her hands in Robin’s hair, loving the feeling of the soft, curly strands between her fingers.

Robin flicked her tongue against the seam of Nancy’s lips, groaning in pure delight as Nancy’s lips parted, allowing her access to the other girl’s mouth. She started walking Nancy backwards until Nancy’s back was pressed against the door, their mouths never parting.

“Rob-Robin,” Nancy whimpered, a strangled groan leaving her lips when Robin broke their kiss off, only to begin trailing kisses down her neck. She tilted her head, grasping Robin’s hair tightly to hold her in place as she nipped and sucked at her pulse point.

“God, Nancy. You smell delicious,” Robin husked in her ear.

“Kiss me,” Nancy panted.

Robin didn’t need to be told twice. The two of them moaned as their mouths met once again, tongues and teeth clashing together in a messy, passionate kiss. Gradually, the kiss slowed down, ending with Robin sucking Nancy’s lower lip into her mouth, releasing it with a pop. She pressed their foreheads together, unable to hide her massive grin as she looked into Nancy’s eyes. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

“Really?” Nancy inquired, her hands splayed across the back of Robin’s neck, thumbs rubbing up and down in a soothing manner. “Me too.”

The taller girl stared at Nancy in disbelief. “Wait, seriously?”

Nancy laughed, eyes sparkling with delight. “Seriously,” she confirmed.

“Wow,” Robin whispered, completely in awe of the woman in front of her. “I can’t believe Nancy Wheeler is into me. Me, of all the people in Hawkins. Please tell me I’m not dreaming.”

“You aren’t dreaming,” Nancy whispered, standing on her tiptoes to press a light kiss to Robin’s lips.

“Nancy Wheeler is into me,” Robin repeated, a dreamy look on her face.

Nancy shook her head in amusement. “You’re such an idiot, Robin Buckley.”

“But I’m your idiot. I mean, if you want me to be. If not, then just let me know so I can begin working on mending my broken heart. Because I don’t think I could handle it if this was just you experimenting or doing it because of a dare or some shit like that.”

“It’s nothing like that. I like you, Robin. More than all of those people I’ve dated in the past.”

“Even Steve?”

“Even Steve,” Nancy confirmed. “In fact, I’d like to ask if you, Robin James Buckley, would do me the honor of being my girlfriend?”

“The honor would be all mine, Nancy Anne Wheeler.”

They sealed the deal with a kiss, as they would with everything from that point forward.

[maya-matlin]

https://www.tumblr.com/hydesjackiespuddinpop/733253054933188608/estelanel-001-send-me-a-ship-and-i-will-tell

Sellie and Zaya pls 🥹?

Aw, thanks!

Sellie:

when I started shipping it if I did: It's always hard to answer this answer for the TNG ships. I was watching that show pretty young, so my thoughts were kind of all over the place. I want to say either late season 3 or season 4, but I don't think I truly appreciated them until Sean left the show.

my thoughts: Considering what show this is, Sellie had no business being as healthy as they were. I know the circumstances weren't great and that it could get a little codependent, but to me Sean and Ellie really saw each other. No, they didn't have the nostalgic first love thing or the big, dramatic, passionate kisses like Sean and Emma did, but their relationship felt more mature and definitely more stable. There was a lot of mutual respect, lack of judgment, and feeling so much joy simply from being around each other.

During the early seasons, Sean is never this happy and open with anyone. Ellie's kind of the same way. You wouldn't think she'd be the girl who happily danced with her boyfriend in the middle of a house party. Considering their aesthetic was the bad boy with the alternative girl, everything about them should scream angst but instead it's the complete opposite. I've always thought if Degrassi had been a show about adults and not teenagers, Sean and Ellie would have eventually gotten married. No question. Until a reboot says otherwise, they already are in my mind.

What makes me happy about them: Basically everything I said for the last question. Sean and Ellie are a big comfort ship for me. It doesn't help that the seasons after season 4 are mostly disappointing for both characters, so it's very easy to love the Sellie era.

What makes me sad about them: The way their relationship is constantly disrespected by the writers once they break up. The "forget Ellie" line at the beginning of season 6 is a big one for me. Why bring up Ellie at all?? It's been a year and a half. There was still a little something between Sean and Emma when he moved back to Wasaga Beach. It makes sense to explore that relationship again. But the way he says it, like it's so outrageous for anyone to think he could want to be with the former girlfriend he literally lived with and loved very much over someone he hadn't been with in nearly three years. It didn't have to be that way. Even in the minis, Sean's tattoo says Emma instead of Ellie. There's the whole Ellie being a sloppy drunk and making out with Sean when he's only interested in Emma. A big deal is made about how Ellie never slept with Sean at any point during their relationship. Sean 100% slept with Amy even though we as a fandom don't bring that up, so I'm not sure why it made a difference. For some reason, Sellie has always been cut down to make Sean's relationship with Emma look better, and I'll never understand why. Also, that Ellie mostly got stuck pining for Craig after breaking up with Sean.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: I haven't read many Sellie fics. I'm not sure there are any recent ones. But since I'm sure they exist, there's no need to shit on Emma or make her out to be a bitch or a slut or anything like that just to justify Sean being with Ellie instead. They're a quality ship on their own. They don't need all of that.

things I look for in fanfic: All I want is a soft, quality fic where Sean and Ellie live happily ever after. I want their dreams to have come true and for both to be happy.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: For Sean, Emma if their reunion was well written. I have nothing nice to say about their season 6 relationship. I don't know who that guy was kissing Emma. For Ellie, Jimmy or Alex. I understand why Ellie didn't like Jimmy back and I don't approve of Jimmy emotionally cheating on Hazel, but they had good chemistry. With Alex, I just really like Queen of Hearts where they almost lived together. I feel like there was potential there for them to have what Palex had.

My happily ever after for them: This is really simple, but Sean moves back to Toronto after serving his tour (I don't know the military terminology) and meets up with Ellie by chance. It's a little awkward at first and they weren't at all prepared to see each other again, but it's been long enough since their breakup that they'd probably just catch up with little problem. But also, there's an instant physical attraction because just look at modern day Daniel Clark and Stacey Farber. It wouldn't be immediate, but they'd develop a friendship and feel those old feelings coming back. They get back together. It lasts. They probably live together for a few years before finally getting married. I see them having a kid or two. Sean owns his own auto shop while Ellie is a renowned journalist. They live a simple life, but they're very happy.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Sean's the big spoon and Ellie's the little spoon

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: I'm always terrible at these types of questions. They mostly feel like homebodies to me. Dancing? Any activity that allows physical intimacy.

Zaya:

when I started shipping it if I did: Right about here:

my thoughts: LOL oh my god. I had a nice little rant about Sellie but with these two, my brain instantly turns to goo. That's when you know you're invested. Their chemistry is great. Their arc, though frustrating and difficult to watch at times, is mostly solid. I love everything about the way their relationship changes countless times over only four years. Sometimes they lose each other. There are times where they're closer. There are times when they're each other's number one ride or die. The relationship, whether they're dating or not, is rock solid and nothing is coming between them. Others, they're sort of okay being away from each other. Long enough that they almost forget how much better life is when they're together. But once they're reminded, it's so natural for them to be together again. Does that make any sense? Zig and Maya have an undeniable connection that is so rooted in friendship and mutual understanding on top of the fact they're head over heels in love with each other. It's the way they look after each other. The way they feel protective and defensive of each other. Even when one is at their worst, the other has a way of seeing through all the BS and still sees the person they are at the heart of it. It's the way that even when they're not on the same page and the other has broken their heart, they're still friends. They can't help but default back to that. It's the way that even after their awful breakup, their reconnection somehow makes so much sense. I love how they grew into people who could have a permanent, adult relationship.

What makes me happy about them: Everything TBH. But other than the fact they ended up together and the fact I got most of what I wanted for their relationship, it's how happy and comfortable they seem to be together. No one can seriously tell me they aren't the loves of each other's lives. It's friends to lovers done right.

I know I went a little overboard, but hear me out. They're worth it.

What makes me sad about them: The specific way they were broken up, the fact the Next Class episode count was so short which robbed me from seeing much more Zaya cuteness and angst, the fact I didn't get to see the official reunion, that I'll never see a new Zaya scene again

things done in fanfic that annoys me: I don't think I'm that picky. Certain clunky writing jumps out at me, but it's not the worst. But why did Owen pop up in so many Zaya fan fics back in 2013-2015?? He barely acknowledges his own brother. Why is he driving Maya to a doctor's appointment? Surprisingly, that's my only complaint. There's so little Zaya fic that I don't even recall much character bashing.

things I look for in fanfic: Happy, supportive, healthy Zaya with great communication, both separately working towards self improvement. Mostly I just need the "Zig and Maya's Adventures in California" series to continue, because it's so accurate and respectful to these characters, their traumas, and their histories that I'm half convinced I willed it into existence.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Very funny. But seriously, people they meet outside of Degrassi. I don't think any of their other canon relationships came close to being the right ones for them. Like, maybe Jonah with a different personality or Frankie if she wasn't rich, but even that doesn't feel right.

My happily ever after for them: Basically just a continuation of their canon ending. Zig moves with Maya to California. They take some time before getting back together. Maya would want to prioritize her mental health while Zig is still recovering from the end of his relationship with Esme and finally working through a lot of the issues that have been on the backburner, causing recurring problems for him. But eventually, their feelings become too difficult to resist, and it doesn't take them long to get back together. Their relationship in the present is much stronger. It's not perfect, but they communicate with each other and work through any issues as a team. It's very much a best friends in love situation. I imagine by this point, they're in the middle of a long engagement. There's no rush to get married, but it's definitely on their minds and something they're working towards.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Usually, Zig is the big spoon while Maya is the little spoon. But there are times when it's the other way around.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Anything and everything involving music. They love music festivals, concerts, and just playing music together in their apartment.

[burr-ell]

i get that woobifying villains is by no means a new thing in fandom but i think it's the lack of self-awareness in doing so that's what makes it so frustrating nowadays.

"i simply LOVE my morally gray character who does no wrong and is always right and fights nothing but evil in ways that are the most morally sound for them to do! i love how ontologically kind and caring they are and how they never ever make a willful choice that is bad (and how any choice they do make that is bad is FoRcEd on them by ne'er-do-wells) and how everyone that is good loves them and every who is bad hates them!"

like i'm sorry people are absolutely allowed to unabashedly woobify the big bads and villainize all who oppose The Fave but for the love of god they have to have the nuts to ADMIT to doing so. this need to always engage in media with this I Am Very Smart And Here's Why My Faves Are Objectively Superior lens is actually hair-pullingly annoying.

Absolutely agreed; I'll still find the perspective annoying, but I'm more inclined to respect someone who's at least not hiding the ball. I really do think so much of the issue is that people are not just insisting on ontological good and evil but furthermore are basing it entirely around the character they've projected onto. It's protagonist-centered morality at its finest.

I will say, the pseudo-intellectualism in itself isn't terribly new. Old internet fandom was rife with people, usually cishet white male nerds, who would come up with Very Smart reasons why their favorite character (usually either their self-insert or their waifu) was better than everyone else. Now, your average non-terminally-online person thought they were full of it and said so, but they said it at the risk of being booed off the platform, and plenty of comic book and video game executives would happily hand this demographic everything they wanted on a platter and they'd accrue a following of like-minded people who were all too happy to do their bidding. There are many intricately-crafted essays that could be written on how gender, race, and sexuality played into this (particularly given, again, the demographics catered to by the aforementioned corporate shilling), but it was still something people did, and those who had the social power were given the most airtime.

I think the main reason for the shift is that the language and priorities in fandom spaces have been increasingly oriented around social issues over the last decade. That coupled with the general public shift toward more liberal politics has meant that what is considered the Intellectual Take, within the pocket of fandom prone to respecting them, is now more likely to come from a left-leaning queer woman (still white tho lmao). So instead of hearing about how my fave is better because he's so much more logical than those bleeding-heart liberals, you hear about how my fave is better because she's so much more radical than those oppressive conservatives. In either case, of course, "liberal" and "conservative" just mean "characters who do not sufficiently agree with my fave".

What's different is that people were more straightforward back on their forums and LiveJournals in 2007 rather than pretending this was really about a broader issue and not like, which two pretend people should kiss, but the result was functionally the same. Honestly, as frustrating as fandom is now, I think it's actually gotten less so compared to what it was fifteen years ago; the greater diversity and larger population mean it's easier to find like-minded people rather than the entire group being dominated by That One Headass White Dude. And you can tell, because that guy no longer has the clout he used to, no matter what buzzwords he hides behind, and depending on your fandom, he is not happy about it.

[absentcaryatid]

Is your Gender Neutral reader insert really written gender neutral?

Some observations from my perspective as an agender reader of K-pop fanfic.

No trait, behavior, or body part is limited to one gender only, but without giving a heads up in the fic notes, many things can be jarring when the person reading your work is expecting it to be generalized for any gender. While avoiding gendered pronouns is a good start, that is not all it takes to make a story truly gender neutral.

While suitable for every reader, gender neutral writing is of particular appeal to people who have a harder time finding representation in reader insert fanfic due to their gender. This includes people who are nonbinary, trans, agender, men, and also gender nonconforming people who find common fic characterizations for their gender do not represent them.

A partial list of things to check before posting your Gender Neutral fic:

Do a word search for "girl" used for the reader. Really. That's the number one tip. I have seen things marked "gender neutral reader" who then have the character get called "good girl" or greeted with "hey girl". Be selective too about words like "dude" or "guys" for the reader, even when used without intent to be gendered. Watch out for "she" and "her" or "he" and "his" occurrences that slip in by accident when writing about the reader. Also, if the love interest is caught kissing "another girl" or "another boy" you have just gendered the reader. Kissing "a girl" or "a boy" avoids that.

Mentions of clothes, jewelry, hair length, and makeup are more ways reader inserts might lean into a gender unintentionally. Skirts or long hair truly can be worn by anyone, but for many readers there will be a gendered cultural association in their mind. I have seen dresses and bras show up out of nowhere in some stories marked Gender Neutral leaving a reader bewildered if not given advance notice. Better to let someone skip the fic after reading disclosures in the contents paragraph upfront than be frustrated halfway through.

Who are your reader's friends and roommates? If they are only one gender, that can feel like the reader has been gendered even if unsaid, especially if they are living in a sorority or fraternity house.

Have you brought up specific body parts? Lots of stories include that, but be thoughtful about how the reader is catalogued in the pre-story notes. For instance, Gender Neutral AFAB (assigned female at birth) is one way to describe a reader insert character but ignores the full range of AFAB bodies. To be more inclusive in a world where people are intersex or transition medically, you can instead simply state the relevant anatomy. Reader has developed breasts. Reader has a penis. Reader has a vagina. Reader has top surgery scars. It is that easy.

Thank you to the people who do work crafting stories for those of us who are less often represented. It truly means a lot. If you are a reader, do let authors know how important their choice of making gender neutral stories is to you. The authors you become familiar with who can always be trusted when they label a fic Gender Neutral Reader are precious. Reblog their work to help others find such a treasure.

To anyone who writes stories with a gendered reader and is looking this over out of curiosity, I would like to ask one thing of you. Could you review how you list pairings? Are you specific about who your reader insert is when it comes to gender? So many times Character x "Reader" is used without any other modifier despite excluding plenty of readers. Your followers will already know who you are writing for, but people catching a reblog or discovering through tags want to know the gender of the reader insert without having to skim multiple paragraphs.

If your reader insert is a woman, say that. "Fem Reader" seems used to mean either female or feminine, which can be very different things, so it helps to use the full word for clarity. If the story shows your reader insert is cisgender, say that in advance. There is nothing wrong with catering to any of those audiences, but the lack of disclosure makes sifting through reader insert fanfiction on Tumblr a disheartening process for the rest of us.

[myloveforhergoeson]

are there any differences to roxy's characterization from when you first thought up of her vs now over one year on? excluding plot directed character growth (like her being more comfortable in her standing within the group vs earlier). is there anything particular that you wrote/made notes on in the earlier days where youre like that's not what she would say

what about other ocs like declan somerset and mag and dani? or even canon characters youve fleshed out more like camille, jo, dak zevon

hi!! yes yes yes there are so many things that have changed about her over the course of this story from when i conceptualized the idea, wrote it out, and began publishing it!

like you mentioned, rox becoming comfortable with the guys and her new friends has been the main thing, but aside from that she's now learning about good relationships, realizing that being with dak messed her up a bit and working through that

but enough about plot directed character growth! there were plenty of instances and scenes i had written in her early days (and even now lol) where i just had to completely chop conversations out and reword them because she used to be a lot more combative than she is now. less go with the btr flow and more... hey are we going to get fired?? but that's not fun at all - so she's mostly transformed to be an accomplice.

i'm not sure if this also counts, but outside of her writing she's not very good at processing her own feelings so there were a few instances in which other characters made her upset (camillle; james; dak) where i wrote out some scenes where she essentially exploded at them and reading it back it felt so so so wrong. she can hardly put to words her own feelings in conversation, so i changed those to scenes that i think fit her better

instead of blowing up at dak over his cheating she chose to distance herself from what was happening and end their "business relationship" before their real relationship (originally she threw a stapler at him. it was awesome. but she'd never really do that so i cut it out)

instead of screaming at camille for kissing the boy she likes, roxy stepped back and asked her why she had chosen to hurt logan, not why she'd kissed james (i stopped writing this one fully before it got ugly because it hurt me, but roxy had some choice words about breaking girl code)

instead of actually talking to james and working out their problems on tour, she's trying to figure out why he doesn't like her - if it was something she had done, not if there was anything she could say

so yeah. dubs for the emotionally stunted girls. damn maybe she should work on that idk

i haven't written dec or dani enough to have their original personalities shift from what i had originally imagined - declan is just a goofy teen dad trying to raise his daughter the best he can. while he's just trying to be there for her, sometimes he's gotta put the father foot down too! dani is just kind of catty and they typically follow mag's lead on things.

as for mag, i originally wrote a scene where rox bumped into him at the grocery store when they got kicked off rocque records. he was a lot meaner than i wanted him to be, so i just kicked the scene entirely. but you can read it here if you want! in my head he's a lot more of a nicer on the outside kinda guy, like in the Morning Glory chapter. what he says is sweet, but his words have bad undertones and he's very good at getting what he wants. more of this in the future~

i think i do pretty well at writing the canon characters in line with how they act in the show... except for james.... god. literally every time i write him i think im doing it wrong and it bothers me so much lmao. like yes he's silly he's goofy he always wants to make out with his girlfriend (not that she's complaining) but he simply would not be like. the perfect boyfriend. but this is my story and i want him to be so he is!!!!!!!!!!!! so yeah sometimes i'll write him and rox talking and just have to completely delete what he says because he's not that brilliant and make him say something stupid instead lol

so tl;dr! yes all the freaking time. all. the. time. but that's what makes writing fun! it's like a puzzle, placing everyone's distinct personalities together and putting them in situations to see how they'd react. i think all of them get along really well, even when they butt heads :) but sometimes whats in the drafts has gotta stay in the drafts

[gogogoats]

Dragonblade Deep Dive - Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen – Lavinia’s Dilemma

Lavinia is remembering a conversation she had with Jester a few weeks ago about Cuthbert, and how he was improving as a person. This is illustrated by yet another story of him prioritising an insect over people, so I’m not exactly filled with confidence that he will make a great ruler.

Then their conversation turns to Gunther, and whether or not he is a good person. Jester says that he is, and points out that his father has not been good to him, or a good influence. Starting to feel like this book has been written for the Gunthester fans, tbh.

Somehow, in spite of all this context, Lavinia still concludes that Gunther is merely plotting to bring about his father’s death and will treat her badly in order to achieve it. Despite it being spelled out that Magnus would be executed for treason, because HE IS PLANNING TREASON, and Lavinia would simply no longer be betrothed to Juan/Gunther/whoever as a result, not that part of bringing down Magnus’ plan involves her being specifically targeted for emotional pain by Gunther, wtf?

She also decides that she can’t discuss any of this with Jester, which makes no sense, and decides it will have to be Dragon, because… reasons.

The King would throw Gunther out for… not allowing his father to commit treason. The Queen would have him exiled for the same. Jane would tell her to go to Theodore who would tell her to go to the King and we’re back to the start. Does Lavinia honestly think that not a single person would think to say “We’ll look into it and try to help Gunther save us all from his father’s tyrannical rule!”??? I mean, with the way Gunther is treated by the other characters in the novel it’s not hard to believe, but that doesn’t make it make sense. But Lavinia also can’t do nothing because if Gunther’s plan unrolls then Magnus will be executed FOR THE TREASON HE WILL HAVE COMMITTED. If Gunther’s plan doesn’t work out then MAGNUS WILL RULE THE KINGDOM HOW IS THIS NOT A PROBLEM FOR ANYONE???? Gah!

So Lavinia decides she must confide in Dragon. Because he’s definitely the most level-headed advisor, sure.

Jane is in her room, having tidied herself up as Theodore requested. I wonder if she’ll notice Jester’s arse-print and tear stains on her bed?

She is preparing for a meeting with the King to explain the contents of this novel so far which… good luck with that lol.

She looks at her belongings, struggling to fully commit to the Marie Condo life. There is so much emphasis placed on Jane and her belongings being a tie to her past/preventing her from changing. It doesn’t make any real sense, literally every person who has achieved anything has probably had some treasured, sentimental possession of some sort. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be a clunky metaphor or an attempt at hinting that Jane’s mysterious new future will require her to let go of everything she has ever cared about in her life, but it’s just confusing so far.

She heads to the meeting place and catches up with Pepper, who wants to know how Robert burned his hands. Robert told Pepper that Jane pushed him into the fire when he tried to “embrace” her. I have no words.

Pepper calls Robert their “handsome young guest”. First, if everyone could stop describing this guy as being so insanely handsome for five minutes, that would be nice. Second, WHY is a much younger Pepper calling Robert “young”? It’s been established that he’s an adult in his 20s, no changing it now just to make him seem less creepy.

Pepper is very dismissive of the fact that this grown adult man tried to assault her friend in a cave to the point where said friend felt the need to physically defend herself, and instead teases Jane about kissing. So that’s nice.

Throughout the meeting with the royals Robert is called “Young Robert” repeatedly. Still doesn’t make it okay!

Jane recaps things for the royals and then the Queen re-recaps for the King. It’s still a steaming pile of horseshit.

Every adult in Jane’s life continues to fail to care about her basic physical and emotional wellbeing. The Queen basically tells Jane she can do whatever she wants and won’t be held to her decision to become a knight. Wild.

End chapter.

Overall impressions:

Is all the carry on about Jane’s “toys and trinkets” referring to her KNIGHTHOOD? Like that was a thing she wanted when she was a child but now a creepy gross stranger who entered her life less than 48 hours ago and keeps lying to and about her has her questioning if her life-long ambition is really all that?

Why is Lavinia (and everyone else, really) so wilfully misinterpreting what Gunther is planning? He is literally the hero this kingdom does not deserve. By telling Jester (or anyone at all) what he’s planning he is jeopardising everything, because if word gets back to Magnus it won’t end well for Gunther.

But sure, not wanting his father to stage a coup and rule the kingdom makes Gunther a bad guy.

Time passed since start of novel: day two, the unrelenting afternoon            

[28-11s]

hiii baby. i started writing this letter the other day, because i noticed the sudden surge of new likes on your priv, but then we talked more and more and i felt compelled to delete and rewrite it from scratch, teehee. i am actually the scatterbrained one now, i think i am still a little tired, or out of it, from my trip?! so i am kinda struggling to gather my thoughts. i had originally written one of my worried think-pieces about you and how you’re currently doing, and while i still wanna touch the topic, i don’t wanna dwell on it for too long anymore. especially because i don’t think that’s what you need right now? i know you always tell me not to worry, and i know i always tell you i simply cannot do that, which is true! i saw your newer likes and my hands started twitching like is baby doing ok…. does she need something… but i also don’t want to appear as overbearing, especially right now. so i will simply trust you, because you know yourself and what you need better than i do. i hope these weeks of studying aren’t killing you too much, it is already the 9th which means your release date is creeping closer and closer! yay! this has been said a lot already but it genuinely feels like this year is never-ending? i am stressed on your behalf so i can only imagine how desperate you are to get it over with. i hope you managed to get some actual shut-eye last night, and for longer than a couple of hours. i opened sddd’s server earlier and read that you were (most likely still are) studying and i fell to my knees. riku told you to stay hydrated and snack so i truuuuuuuly hope you did that. i’ve already shared some of the things that made me think of you while i was on my trip but i didn’t cover even 5% of it, so i am going to share some more little anecdotes from it! when i said i hadn’t been on a plane in a while i meant 20 years kind-of-while… the previous time was literally in 2004 LMFAO. i wasn’t actually that nervous, probably just hyped? i was bouncing in my seat, and people told me i was going to end up disappointed because flying is nothing special which is… kinda true… but the clouds were sooooooooo pretty! just endless fields of cotton candy. i did get the urge to jump from the plane to see if i could land on one, heh. i also became friends with the neighbourhood’s cats! there were three of them just vibing around, and oh my god i need to show you the photos because ! two of them were sooooo moonyal. i genuinely thought they were going to fight because of how the stripped gray cat approached the white and orange one, i was literally waiting for her to pounce but instead! they kissed! moonyal yuri but as cats…. (yes they were both female cats teehee i checked cause i was like WOAHHHH GAY CATS…) and then there was this little guy with the coolest paw i have ever seen! it literally looks edited, i was so shocked when i noticed it. :O any museum i visited made me think of you for very obvious reasons, but there was this piece in particular (a little rest by tomoko nagai) that depicts a little bear drinking tea and what i thought was a pink bunny, only for me to realise 10 minutes later that it was a pink deer 😭 i was so embarrassed bro at first i was all like OMGGGG ROYAL… I NEED TO SHARE IT WITH HER… and once reality dawned on me i started laughing hysterically. another piece that made me think of you was rembrandt’s portrait of johannes wtenbogaert… seeing the details of the collar up close made me understand your obsession with wanting to eat art, hehe. there were also more coincidences regarding numbers!! when i was told i had to go to check-in counter number 28 i started giggling like no waybcdjbcdbvcd. crazy red string of fate! i jinxed it when i said i wasn’t going to be around cause it feels like i yapped way too much during that week. and i am doing it tonight too. it’s so late right now, but i feel euphoric…

(continues in the other post, i somehow reached the limit?!??)