#sophia stories but believable

[fazcinatingblog]

With the 53 accountants at my work possibly taking annual leave for their respective CPA exam next month, when will my boss ask me when my exam is

[mayasdeluca]

People calling Sophia a queer icon and completely falling for her narrative of not being a homewrecker and just getting to be “free” while she continues to talk about things changing and shifting in the summer time with Ashlyn when Ali was literally waiting for Ashlyn to come home to her and the kids is going to be my last straw today.

[theonottsbxtch]

Secret Sister | OP81

in which lando has a secret sister and oscar falls hard and fast

oscar piastri x norris!reader

fc: sophia birlem

a/n: lol hello this is my first ever smau, everyone say thank you rianna. hope you enjoy this and if you have any requests lmk!

landonorris:

liked by ynnorris, oscarpiastri, maxfewtrell and 1376 more

happy 21st birthday to this gremlin, ig being your big brother is fun or whatever @/ynnorris

*tap to load comments*

userone: i’m sorry i beg your pardon what

usertwo: someone say sike rn

maxfewtrell: lando you’re going to break the internet with this post

userthree: a bit too late

userfour: YOU KNEW?!

ynnorris: guys i’ve been held captive for 21 years. dobby is free!

yourbestfriend: how long have you been waiting to say that?

ynnorris: 3 years

userfive: how did lando manage to pull this off for so long?!

oscarpiastri: you have a sister??

maxverstappen1: lando what?

usersix: it’s the way lando just hardlaunched that he had a sister for me 😭

alex_albon: I KNEW IT

georgerussell63 : i’m so sorry i never believed you

alex_albon: i was onto him back in 2019, you guys just thought i was delusional😞

userseven: moral of the story, always trust alex

ynnorris

liked by landonorris, oscarpiastri, maxfewtrell and 47 others

hello world. twenty first and graduation? now you guys know who the smartest norris is xx

*tap to load comments*

landonorris: you’re public for one day and you already start publicly bullying me wtf

userone: oh i like her already

usertwo: sorry did i just see she graduated in computer science? from edinburgh? we love an educated queen

yourbestfriend: world’s hottest programmer

ynnorris: get it on a top

yourbestfriend: yes ma’am

userthree: why did she have to wait until her 21st to post? i’m so confused 😭

userfour: maybe lando didnt want her to be in the limelight and now that she’s an adult she’s in control of it?

userthree: oh that makes sense

ynnorris: he just didn’t want people to know that his sister is 100x cooler than him

userfive: yn pls 😭😭😭

oscarpiastri: hello

ynnorris: hello

landonorris: not happening

usersix: oh no poor lando 😭

maxverstappen1: @/landonorris i refuse to believe she’s real, tell her to come to monaco with a birth certificate

imessage

twitter

instagram - ynnorris

liked by landonorris, yourbestfriend, oscarpiastri and 973 others

just arrived to monaco and lan’s ditched me for max, give me recs x

*tap to load comments*

userone: i love that she thinks we’re rich enough to ever be in monaco

usertwo: the waterfront!

yourbestfriend: what happened to “we’ll go together”?

ynnorris: you chose your girlfriend over me 😁

yourbestfriend: she is quite literally graduating today

ynnorris: then don’t complain x

userthree: that’s a few too many suitcases no?

oscarpiastri: the vaundé bakery or the hiking trail

ynnorris: noted 🫡

userfour: something is going to happen between them two i’m calling it now

instagram dms

ynnorris

liked by oscarpiastri, landonorris, yourbestfriend and 2734 others

i guess i understand why lando left gloomy london for this

*tap for more comments*

userone: where are the insta detectives, is that the bakery oscar recommended

usertwo: it is!

userthree: is that oscar?

oscarpiastri: no

userthree: oh no he’s experiencing his first heartbreak

landonorris: lol

userfour: foul

userfive: she’s living the dream

yourbestfriend: i miss u

ynnorris: come here, lando said i could invite anyone

landonorris: i did not.

ynnorris: do you want mum and dad to find out what happened to the clutch of their old fiesta?

landonorris: @/yourbestfriend what i meant to say is you’re more than welcome

usersix: she’s so effortlessly funny

imessage

ynnorris

liked by oscarpiastri, landonorris, maxfewtrell and 7610 others

monaco over and out, see you soon 😉

*tap to load comments*

userone: is that oscar??

usertwo: god she is so pretty

userthree: i know oscar’s back when i see it

oscarpiastri: photo credits? 🙄

userfour: i knew it!

ynnorris: the photos are mediocre at best

oscarpiastri: take them down then, copyright 😤

ynnorris: big baby 😤

userfive: wait they’re so cute

maxfewtrell: oh yn

yourbestfriend: he’s going to kill you

landonorris: is that my balcony?

landonorris: answer the phone yn

ynnorris: no x

[iwanderthroughthesenights]

Something that stood out to me a lot from this album is the intentional de-personalization of extremely personal feelings and stories. She seems to have decided for this project that in order to be free to be completely honest in her art (which tbf she always has been but never as much as this album), she needs to visualize herself, and thus her stories, as a third party, an external entity on which she's conducting a post-mortem examination. Her 2016 self and the hate train she suffered after Snakegate is reimagined as Cassandra, a character from Greek mythology who had visions in her dreams but no one believed her and instead she was punished. Her anxiety of holding her lover's career back is instead described as The Albatross, this girl who everyone has been warned to stay away from bc she causes problems and is a liability. Her sweet, innocent childhood self is depicted as a robin, a feisty little bird full of life, dreams, and potential who has yet no clue of the cruelty of the world.

Consequently, the characters in her life are, too, bestowed upon fictional characters from stories that have been told before and/or are familiar in some way to the listener (aIMee the girl from this allegorical high school which is actually Kim Kardashian, Peter the boy who never grew up and stayed forever in Neverland who actually is her long-term ex partner, both her and her lover's separate romantic involvements imagined as Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus, her real life therapist referred to as The Professor etc). By using the representation of well-known characters from widely popular stories and myths with names and all, she creates an even deeper line of emotional connection with the listener. Then, the 4th wall is delightfully broken in Clara Bow, where she refers to Clara Bow and Stevie Nicks as the inherent precedents to Taylor Swift. But what's even more brilliant about this is that in this way, she is making Taylor Swift into a character in and of itself. She is actually attempting to externalize Taylor Swift from Taylor the real-life woman. By narrating her stories through tangible entities presented as completely external to herself, she is inhibited by the safety of this fictional/allegorical lense through which she's allowing her stories to be consumed, and as a result, she has unlimited freedom to be more personal than she has ever been in her art before.

[taylorswiftstyle]

Out and about | New York City, NY | November 9, 2024

Vivienne Westwood 'Sunday Striped Cotton Dress' - $2,390.00 Jacquie Aiche ‘3 Graduated Teardrop Sophia Diamond Chain Double Stud’ - $3,200.00 For Future Reference ‘Vintage 1970s Ancient Bronze Coin Necklace’ - $12,750.00 Ben Amun 'Luigi Bracelet' - $245.00 Vivienne Westwood 'Granny Frame Purse' - $210.00 Aquazzura ‘Twist 95 Pleated Sandals’ - $795.00

This outfit has a lot of recognizable, repeat elements going on for it which is something Taylor does a lot with her fashion. Weaving new but familiar pieces in with repeat pieces keeps her wardrobe consistent, but fresh.

Take the dress for starters. For every era there is often a silhouette or item that Taylor has elevated to be its most iconic or associated. For TTPD, it’s definitely been the bustier/corset. And in terms of designers, Vivienne Westwood was an early pioneer in bringing the style to the masses making the house a natural choice to wear.

If the silhouette of the dress looks particularly familiar, it’s because we have actually “seen this film before.” Taylor has worn the checked version of this ‘Sunday’ top to the Chiefs vs Saints game and the blue version of the ‘Sunday’ dress in personal photos shared by Brittany Mahomes from Amsterdam, Netherlands in the summer.

The layering of colours on the bodice feel like a painting of a sunset to me. By Taylor's admission, there was a period of time when she near exclusively "dressed like a 1950s housewife." In some ways, this silhouette feels like a callback to the prim retro dresses of that time, splattered with a war paint of defiance.

Ancient coin jewelry has been a bit of a micro trend in Taylor’s wardrobe of late. In this outfit alone, she pairs a new coin bracelet by a new-to-her brand with a vintage coin necklace. A part of me wonders if their frequency / repetition in her jewelry collection plays a similar role to the number of evil eye pieces she’s worn over the last year given that they’re also often believed to be pieces that bring protection and luck. 

The teardrop earrings are repeats Taylor has worn on a number of occasions since around October 2023. 

If you’ve been following along with Taylor’s fashion, you’ll likely recognize this bag immediately because of the adornment on its front. As a fashion refresher, the symbol is the Vivienne Westwood ‘orb’ logo - an iconic design within VW house codes. It was designed to be a take on the Sovereign orb of the British Royal Family and a cheeky reference to Vivienne’s self-described title of “queen” of fashion.

VW describes the bag as a “a vintage-inspired silhouette and a kiss-lock closure, recalling antique coin purses from the early 20th-century.” Fitting given the vintage coin necklace she’s wearing around her neck, don’t you think?

Despite the “vintage” vibes of the bag, I can’t help but feel that it’s a bit stark and disjointed against the rest of the outfit.

Taylor has also previously worn both the necklace and shoes here. The oversized coin necklace has been seen on two occasions. Its debut was at the Chiefs season opener against the Ravens back in September and its first repeat just a few days following paired with a Gucci monogram dress (For Fashion History lovers, shall share in Stories!).

Of its three outings, this is my least favourite styling of this necklace (the Chiefs game ‘fit was my fave of the three). I would guess based on the cut of the dress Taylor may have been going for a throwback / vintage look my first impression was renaissance fair meets oil painting) but something about the pairing of the scale of the necklace here isn’t working for me.

The necklace itself was a special one-of-a-kind vintage piece from the 70s that For Future Reference founder Randi Molofsky told me was “heavily influenced by the disco movement and Italian resort style.”

To pick up on the colours in the bodice of her dress, Taylor wore a coordinating pair of repeat velvet sandals. You might recall that Taylor previously wore these in September 2023 while out and about in NYC (That particular outfit was a noted copy + paste for me. Will share to stories!).

The velvet here adds a lush, seasonal texture to a going out ‘fit.

Photo by Aeon via Getty Images

[larluce]

Arthur and Merlin travel back in time without knowing the other is from the future too AU

Tagging @stalesaltinecracker cause he asked for more, and @an-entity-i-think since she made a valid question

ENLACES A LAS OTRAS PARTES DE ESTE AU AQUÍ: PARTE 1 , PARTE 2 , PARTE 3 , PARTE 4 (estás aquí), PARTE 5

In "Valiant"

Arthur: (Impacient and worried cause Merlin hasn't told him about Valiant's echanted shield yet) Is there something you want to tell me?

Merlin: (who decided to not tell Arthur about the shield this time around so he won't embarrased him again) No.

Arthur: I know something is bothering you.

Merlin: Nothing is bothering me.

Arthur: (hurt) Don't you trust me? (thinking) Have I not been worth of your trust again?

Merlin: Of course I trust you! Arthur, I trust you with my life!

Arthur: Then tell me what's wrong! Why were you sneaking out of Valiant's chambers yesterday?

Merlin:(cursing internally that this Arthur somehow is more observant, but still says nothing)...

Arthur: Merlin, please.

Merlin: (puzzled and touched Arthur is saying "please" to him and he finally sighs, giving up cause he always hated lying to Arthur anyway) Valiant's been cheating, he has a magic shield.

Arthur: (hiding his relief Merlin finally told him) Why do you think that?

Merlin: I saw it. The snakes coming out of his shield. Gaius thinks Valiant used them to posioned Sir Ewan. But I don't have any proof, I get if you don't believ-

Arthur: I believe you.

Merlin: ... really? But I'm just a servant, I'm not-

Arthur: (fondly, holding Merlin's hands) Don't ever say that again. You're more than a servant to me. Always.

Merlin: (getting lost into his eyes, blushing)

Merlin: (snapping out of it) Ahmm... Then what will you do?

Arthur: There's not point in bothering my father with this without proof. Now that I know what I'm getting into, I'll know what to look out for.

Merlin: (smiling confident, cause he has the spell to expose Valiant prepared) I'm sure you'll beat him up easily.

In "The Mark of Nimueh"

Merlin: (going to the cavern alone to fight the Afanc himself, a torch in hand) Arthur?

Arthur: (doing the very same thing, a torch in hand as well) Merlin?

Merlin: What are you doing here?

Arthur: I was... strolling.

Merlin: In the vaults underneath the castle?

Arthur: It's my castle. What are YOU doing here?

Merlin: I was... taking samples.

Arthur: Taking samples.

Merlin: Yeah, apparently the sickness is spreading through water. So I was taking samples to find out with Gaius what's causing it.

Arthur: The well is several meters behind, Merlin.

Merlin: Ah... I got lost.

Arthur: (rolling his eyes) Only you, Merlin. (taking Merlin by the wrist) It's not safe for you here. I'm getting you out. (starts walking)

Merlin: (trying to free from his grip) What? No! I need to-

The Afanc roars, making its appareance.

Arthur and Merlin: Shit...

In "The Gates of Avalon"

Both Morgana and Merlin looking Sophia from afar.

Morgana: Who is that?

Merlin: (kind of mad he couldn't prevent the sidhes from entering the castle again, but hiding his discontent) Sophia Tirmawr. Arthur rescued her in the woods.

Morgana: She can't stay here.

Merlin: Well, she and her father are guests in the castle now.(seeing his chance) You had a nightmare about her?

Morgana: (surprised) How do you know about my nightmares?!

Merlin: Gaius.

Morgana: Right... (sighs) You must think I'm crazy.

Merlin: I don't. I also have a bad feeling about her.

Morgana: Really?

Merlin: It just seems pretty convenient. Escaping from raiders in Tír-Mòr? A kingdom too far away to corroborate any of that story? I don't believe she is who she claims to be.

Morgana: (opening up, feeling safe and understood by Merlin) In my dream she drowned Arthur in a lake. I'm scared, Merlin. My nightmares always come true. Always!

Merlin: I already warned Arthur about her. He gave her the chambers far away from his. But I think you should talk to him about this.

Morgana: (laughs dryly) No, he won't believe me. He'll laugh at my face for sure. (thinking) And he's been too cold to me lately for some reason.

Merlin: There's no harm in trying. He might surprised you. (thinking) If this Arthur is nicer to me, he'll defenitely be nicer to her.

Morgana: Alright, I'll try.

...

Morgana: Arthur, I need to speak with you. It's about Sophia.

Arthur: (Who spied on her when she threatened Sophia in the hallway and still doesn't know how to feel about it) You're starting to sound like Merlin. Do you have a bad feeling about her too?

Morgana: She isn't what she seems.

Arthur: Why? What makes you say that?

Morgana: I just... have a feeling. It's difficult to describe.

Arthur: Try me.

Morgana: I had a dream. A nightmare. She drowned you in a lake. She killed you, Arthur.

Arthur: And why would that be a bad thing?

Morgana: (confused)... what?

Arthur: Don't you want me dead, Morgana?

Morgana: (horrified) No! Of course not! Why would you say that?

Arthur: (shakes his head) Nothing. Forget I said anything.

Morgana: (firmly) No. Arthur, listen to me. (holds his face and Arthur forces himself not to flinch) I don't know what's happening in that head of yours, but let me get this straight. I love you and I care for you. You're like a brother to me. I would cut all my limbs before letting anything happen to you!

Arthur: (with teary eyes, but forcing himself not to cry) You're just saying that.

Morgana: It's the truth.

Arthur: (his voice almost breaking) So you don't hate me?

Morgana: What made you think-(opens her eyes wide in fury) It was her, wasn't she? She put that idea in your head! (starts stomping out of the chambers)

Arthur: (stops her) Hey! Where are you going?

Morgana: I'm going to kill her! No, first I'm going to drag her by the hair through all the castle to let her know what happens when you mess with people's minds!

Arthur: (Shocked for a second at Morgana's thirst for blood and revenge not being drawn at him, but for him. And then he laughs, laughs and laughs)

Morgana: Why are you laughing? (starts to question his sanity, worried) Are you Okay?

Arthur: (stops laughing and smiles) Yes, I am now. Thank you.

[localboobsenjoyer]

While many would call yours a dream job, it can be pretty tiring, so you were overjoyed to finally be on vacation. Being on the beach for two weeks away from any potential future top model to scout for the best agency in the world while doing nothing is exactly what you need. That, unfortunately, lasted for 20 whole minutes. That's when an extremely attractive lady, even by your standards, was timidly advancing toward you. While her face was pretty unremarkable, her body tells a whole other story. She was very tall, easily over 6 feet. Despite this, she was also extremely curvy. Her boobs were quite big and hardly contained in her tiny turquoise bikini. Her stomach was flat, and her waist was impressively tiny, especially considering that her thighs and hips were incredibly plump and wide. You couldn't see her ass, but it was definitely very big considering her build. You were also sure that she was 100% natural since everything was bouncing left and right, despite her moving rather slowly. After she finally reached you, she introduced herself: "Hello, sir. You don't know me, but I know you. My name is Sophia. You were quite puzzled since attractive people tend to be more confident, but she was extremely shy and visibly unconfortable. "Enchanté, Sophia. My name is John. How can I help you?" You said, trying to help her feel calmer. "Despite me being 27, my body recently underwent some drastic changes. I grew 1 full foot taller, and my breasts quickly grew many cupsizes as you can see, as if they were sucking all the fat from my now nonexistent belly. My ass also grew accordingly. I didn't pay much attention to these changes, but my mother says that I look better than many of the models in your agency, and I should try to ask you for a job opportunity." Speaking to you must have been really hard for her; she was visibly sweating, her gesture grew increasingly awkward with each word, and she kept pausing and stuttering as she spoke. Despite her shy personality, her body is really full of potential, so you started to explain how things work in your industry. After some time, however, you could clearly see that she was in pain, so you asked if everything was okay. "Sorry, I'm about to explode," she said, removing her top.

You couldn't believe your eyes. Her boobs were growing right in front of your eyes. Despite being almost two full sizes bigger, they don't sag at all. Her nipples, now that you can see them, are also exquisite, perfectly round, big, and a beautiful shade of pink. You had never seen anything like this. This girl is going to make you the best model agent in history.

[meazalykov]

getting what she wants

lena oberdorf x oc x reader

part two of five

summary: you know you will have to do what is right

warnings: angst

oc description here

you sit at a small table in the back corner of a quiet coffee shop in new york, your hands nervously wrapped around your cup filled with an iced latte as you wait for sloan. 

the national break had brought you back to the states, prepping for the friendly match against mexico before the olympics, but the last thing you expected was for sloan to reach out and ask to meet up. 

you saw her instagram story where she posted a picture of the sky. it was clear she was in a flight, a flight heading to new york.

fans saw the post and believed that she was coming to support you at your matches in new york and washington dc before your send off. 

oh were they wrong.

your stomach churns as you glance at the door, knowing this conversation is long overdue.

when she finally walks in, you feel your chest tighten. she looks the same as always—confident, effortless—but there’s a tension in the air, and it’s obvious to both of you that this is the breaking point. 

sloan approaches the table with a half-hearted smile, sitting down across from you. 

“hey,” she says, her voice unusually soft, like she’s trying to tread lightly.

“hey,” you mumble back, avoiding her eyes as you take a sip of your coffee, your fingers trembling slightly. 

yeah, you knew this had to end soon. this wasn’t a way that significant others greet each other after not seeing the other for months.

the silence stretches between you, heavy and awkward, until sloan finally breaks it.

“i’ve missed you,” she says, her voice laced with a strange mix of sincerity and defensiveness. 

“i hate how things have been between us.”

you take a deep breath, setting your cup down as you meet her gaze for the first time. 

“things haven’t been good for a long time, sloan,” you say, your voice barely above a whisper, but steady.

“and we both know why.” you mumble under your breath.

sloan frowns, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“what do you mean? i’ve been trying, y/n. it’s hard with the distance, but i’m still here.”

you shake your head, feeling a surge of frustration rise up inside you. 

“you’re not here, sloan. you’re barely around. and when you are, it feels like you’re not even present.” 

you pause, gathering your thoughts before continuing. “and then there’s savannah…”

sloan’s eyes widen slightly, and she leans back in her chair, clearly taken off guard. 

“savannah? what does she have to do with anything?”

“don’t play dumb, sloan,” you snap, your voice sharper than you intended. 

“i’ve seen the pictures, the videos. you’ve been spending time with her again. and let’s not pretend it’s innocent.”

“savannah’s just a friend. we’ve known each other for years, y/n. it’s not like that.” sloan’s face hardens, and she looks away, her jaw clenching. 

“are you serious?” you ask, your voice rising slightly. 

“do you think i’m stupid? you’ve been ditching any opportunity to see me to go see her, and everyone knows it. even your club teammates asked me what’s going on.”

you’re referring to sophia.

“i didn’t ‘ditch’ you,” sloan retorts, her tone defensive. 

“i’ve been busy with my own career, trying to make things work. and yeah, i saw savannah a few times, but it’s not what you think.”

you scoff, shaking your head. 

“it’s exactly what i think, sloan. you’ve been emotionally checked out of this relationship for months, and now you’re trying to downplay it.”

the tension between you escalates, and sloan’s frustration boils over. 

“the same way you’ve been emotionally checked out with oberdorf?” she spits, her words hitting you like a punch to the gut.

you freeze, your heart skipping a beat. how does she know about lena? sloan doesn’t even know her—she’s never met her. 

panic rises in your chest, but you try to keep your voice steady. “what are you talking about?”

“oh, don’t act innocent,” sloan snaps, mocking your voice and her eyes narrowing as she leans forward. 

“i’ve seen the pictures. you and her, looking all happy and close in your pre-training photos at bayern. do you really think i wouldn’t notice?”

your mind races, trying to make sense of it. has sloan been following your every move in bayern? and worse, does she know about the night you and lena hooked up? 

your stomach churns as you realize just how deep you’re in.

“that’s not…” you stammer, but sloan cuts you off.

“don’t lie to me, y/n. i know there’s something going on between you and her,” sloan says, her voice trembling with anger. 

“you’ve been pulling away for months too, and now i see why.”

your heart pounds in your chest as you try to regain control of the situation, but the guilt is overwhelming. 

“nothing happened between me and lena until… until after everything with you and savannah started,” you admit, your voice barely a whisper.

“so you’re admitting it? you’ve been seeing her?” sloan’s eyes narrow, her anger intensifying. 

the words spill out before you can stop them. 

“well, i wouldn’t have hooked up with obi if you hadn’t been abandoning me to go see savannah!” the moment the words leave your mouth, you freeze, the weight of what you just confessed crashing down on you.

you were so angry. why is sloan acting like a complete victim? you’ve never seen this side of her before, you thought.

which was a lie, you have seen it.

“you… what?” her voice cracks, disbelief and hurt flooding her expression. “you actually cheated on me?” sloan’s eyes widen in shock, her face paling as she stares at you. 

you can’t speak. the reality of it hits you all at once, and suddenly, everything is spiraling out of control. you wanted to throw up the latte you’ve been drinking.

“i can’t believe this,” sloan says, her voice breaking as she pushes her chair back and stands up. 

“you—you actually cheated on me. after everything.”

“after everything?” you snap back, your own anger flaring up again. 

“you’ve been running back to savannah for months! don’t act like you’re innocent in this.”

“it wasn’t like that,” sloan fires back, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. 

“savannah and i are just friends who happen to be exs. we didn’t cheat. we didn’t hook up behind each other’s backs.”

“you emotionally cheated,” you argue, your voice shaking.

“you’ve been distant, and you’ve been choosing her over me. that’s why this whole thing fell apart.”

“don’t turn this around on me, y/n,” sloan says, her voice trembling. 

“you’re the one who went to have sex with lena. i had no idea it went that far.”

you shake your head, tears burning in your eyes as the reality of everything crashes over you. 

“i’m done, sloan,” you finally say, your voice barely above a whisper.

 

“i can’t do this anymore. we’ve been holding on to something that’s been dead for months, and you know it.”

you finally admit it— well after the entire national team, ex-psg teammates, and bayern teammates had to convince you that. 

sloan’s face crumples, and for a moment, she looks like she’s going to say something—maybe try to argue, maybe beg for another chance. but instead, she just nods, her lips pressing into a tight line as she swipes at the tears on her face.

“fine,” she whispers, her voice broken. “if that’s what you want.”

you nod, the finality of it settling heavy in your chest. 

“it’s what we both need,” you say softly, your throat tight as you stand up from the table, leaving your iced latte behind. 

the weight of the breakup hangs between you as you walk out of the coffee shop, not looking back. 

you step out of the coffee shop, the warm new york air hitting your face as you take a shaky breath. 

your heart is pounding, your thoughts a tangled mess as the reality of what just happened settles in. you just ended it with sloan. 

after years of clinging to a relationship that was falling apart, you finally cut the cord.

but as you walk down the busy city street, the weight of everything presses down on you. the guilt, the hurt, the confusion—all of it swirls in your chest, and for a moment, you wonder if you made the right choice.

you pause on the corner, leaning against a lamppost as you try to steady your breathing. 

your phone buzzes in your pocket, but you ignore it for a moment, letting the emotions wash over you.

"the same way you have feelings for oberdorf." sloan’s words echo in your mind, cutting deep. she didn’t even know lena. 

how could she see what was going on? is everyone seeing what is going on? 

you pull out your phone, staring at the screen as the messages pop up.

sloan: i didn’t mean for it to end like that. i’m sorry.

sloan: but you’re right. we weren’t working anymore.

you don’t reply. instead, you pocket the phone and keep walking, trying to clear your mind. but the more you think about it, the more sloan’s accusations sting. 

you didn’t plan for this to happen with lena. you weren’t looking for something outside of your relationship with sloan. but after months of distance, of feeling abandoned, lena became the person you leaned on, the one who made you feel seen.

lena wasn’t being used as a rebound either. you had genuine feelings for the german woman. sloan hasn’t been in the picture for months, being thousands of miles away in portland, of course you were put in a position for this to happen— especially since lena already had feelings for you. 

your mind drifts back to those moments with lena—the way she’d smile at you during training, her teasing comments that always made you laugh. and that night outside your door, when the air was thick with tension, and she’d looked at you like she saw something more than just a teammate.

it was that night, in the stillness of the hallway, where everything between you and lena changed.

as you walk back to the hotel where you stay at with your national team, you let the tears flow knowing that your three year relationship finally came to a close. 

part three here

[lilislegacy]

What are your Percabeth children name takes?

Because some people think that he’ll name them after his friends who have died and other people are like “No he wouldn’t do the Harry Potter thing” (sorry Harry Potter fans) but the implication that Harry Potter has here is that they would be weird names.

I personally believe that the names Percy would use would be:

Charles: who was Percy’s friend, not just someone he knew who died, they were good friends

Zoe (not really sure how to explain this one)

And Luke

Luke is where I have to actually explain because they’re not naming their kid after someone who almost destroyed the world but ended up a hero in the end. No

Luke would be names after the kid who took Percy in

The kid who called Annabeth his sister

The kid who got Annabeth to Camp Half-Blood alive

Luke is named after the kid who died the second he decided to steal that lightning bolt

So here’s the thing. I see what you’re saying. And honestly, I never really had a problem with Harry Potter’s kids names, besides Severus🤢. James Sirius is a handsome name, Lily Luna is adorable, and Albus could be cute if he was called a nickname like Alby. But I really don’t think Percy and Annabeth would name their kids after their deceased friends. And it’s not because it’s “cringey,” but because, as we’ve learned, names hold too much power in the demigod world. And it’s sad because I really do love both the name and the character Charles, and I love thinking about them having a son named Charlie, but I just don’t know if they would do that to their kid. So I think they would end up giving the kids names that have either no sad ending attached to the name or no greek history at all.

I just believe that Percy and Annabeth would want their babies to have their own names and make their own stories. With as powerful as the two of them are, their kids are going to be regular demigods. They are going to go to camp and go on quests and be in danger. Monsters will attack them. And Percy and Annabeth are going to be terrified that they won’t be able to protect them. And it’s true, they can’t keep them safe forever. But at least they can give them a safe name.

I’ve always imagined them having 2 boys and then 2 girls. I don’t know why, and I’m not saying that that’s going to happen, but that’s just what happens in my brain. And I really only have names for the 1st boy and the 1st girl. I like the thought of their first son having a “P” name, because Percy and both his dads, Paul and Poseidon, have P names. So maybe like Preston or Parker. Or perhaps even Peter, a greek name that I think is only connected to Peter Pan. For the first girl, I love the name Sophia, and people call her Sophie. It’s a beautiful name, it’s greek but has no story, it means “wisdom,” it’s an “S” name like Sally, and it flows well with Jackson. (I’ve been gatekeeping that name for a long time lol.) I’ve always imagined the 2nd boy being named Charlie, but again, I don’t logically think they would do that. You know what I mean?

[fazcinatingblog]

I introduced the new guy (who's been with us since August) to the fresh new guys and said "this is the bookkeeper" and later on, the new guy was like "I was hired as an accountant and you introduced me as a bookkeeper" like???? Is he annoyed???? Joking????? Toughen up, sweetheart (that's what Colleen would say)

[runerapier]

If you don't mind me asking, what makes you interpret Angeal as anything other than a straight man? He's the least gay character I've ever seen and he doesn't act gay either.

I'm going to assume this isn't sent in bad faith but this is pretty on point with the definition of stereotyping. I mean if you’re defining being gay by how someone looks or acts that is your first problem. Angeal has very outwardly masculine actions and appearance, I’m not really a fan of the insinuation that masculine men don’t “look” gay enough. Angeal isn’t even a hyper masculine or toxic masculine character, he is almost always described in a way that is seen as nurturing or caring. His own fan club compared his hobby of cooking to that of a wife. Things like gardening are often seen as more a “feminine hobby.” This isn’t to say Angeal breaks insane boundaries but Angeal isn’t this rigid masculine character in the first place. Besides my personal headcanons, Angeal and Genesis' stories take quite a bit from The Fall of Mankind (and religious and mythological symbolism in general but I'm going to try to stay on track). They purposely made two male characters represent Adam and Eve, and this isn't the first time they have done something like this in a final fantasy game. For example: while they are more developed than Genesis and Angeal, characters like Fang and Vanille are based on the Nordic myth of Ragnarok. There is a lot of information that couldn't be included in the final game of Crisis Core but is still intended canon, I'm going to be using a lot of that as a reference point. The full explanation is pretty extensive and I'm also not an expert on The Book of Genesis. I tried my best to do research for this, but it is possible I am still missing things and that this can still be expanded upon.

I'm going to start off by giving a deeper explanation on how Angeal represents Adam and how Genesis represents Eve. Genesis already has a very strong connection to The Book of Genesis because of his name. Rhapsodos comes from rhapsody, his full name is literally "genesis reciter". Genesis and Angeal were the first two attempts at an artificial “cetra” created by Shina representative of Adam and Eve being the first humans created by god. (While there is some debate if the first woman is Lilith, she is often been seen as a demoness.) The kanji for Shinra already is a direct reference to god, and is symbolism for how they like to play god themselves. The image below has a great explanation that is much better than what I can do, but to keep it short 神 (shin) literally means god or divine and 羅 (ra) is derived from 網羅 (mōra) which means "encompassing".

The fruit of knowledge is typically portrayed as an apple, which connects with banora whites. It represents temptation, Genesis offers the apple to others when talking about truth and revelation. Instances like in Nibelheim, Genesis offers the fruit to Sephiroth after telling him the truth of his origins. Sephiroth rejecting the fruit is a sign of him rejecting the truth, and we see he continues to go along with a story he is happier with. Sephiroth decides to believe misinformation that is less painful, the rejection of knowledge is indication he is not Adam or Eve.

Banora is heavily connected to the flow of the lifestream, which is what makes Banora whites grow any time of year. The lifestream is said to contain knowledge of the planet and its people, that being what powers the fruit further reinforces the idea that they represent the fruit of knowledge. Banora being the source for what is essentially miracle fruits powered by the planet, it is clear Banora is meant to be Eden.

Minerva is said to be sleeping in the caves of Banora, she represents the will of the lifestream. Though Minerva is connected more to Roman Myth and Sophia from Gnostic belief, I would still say she emphasizes the holiness of Banora's land.

Angeal has a story about not stealing to reflect Adam trusting god and not taking from the garden. God's words to Adam were "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die." (Genesis 2:17) Angeal stole from other trees besides the big one that had the most delicious fruit. While it can be argued Angeal didn't steal from Genesis in general, Angeal's story focuses solely on the biggest tree with the most tempting fruit, that tree represents the tree of good and evil. At the end of the game, Zack eats an apple under this same tree with Genesis, protagonist and antagonist sharing from the same tree. Shortly after eating the apple Zack learns the truth about how long it's been and leaves to meet his fate.

Hollander approached Genesis with the truth of his origins, convincing Genesis to help him with his plans in exchange for a cure that Hollander never had. Eve was afraid of eating the fruit and dying because of what God told her, but the serpent convinced her she would live. “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5). Both being deceived, they were convinced that they would live if they defied God, and become the catalysts for knowing the truth. Eve did not want to be alone in her defiance so she looked to Adam, much like how Genesis approaches Angeal to persuade him to take revenge against Shinra.

Besides Eve being referred to as Adam's wife, Adam also placed his trust in Eve above god. He decides to listen to her and trust her despite his creator telling him he will die. Angeal places his trust in Genesis above Shinra when he decides to defect, believing he can rationalize with him despite this being high treason.

This has happened before already, Angeal placed his trust in Genesis above Gillian and defies his mother to join Shinra. Gillian didn't want her family to be connected to Shinra and despite how highly Angeal respects his mother he still defied her wishes for the sake of following a dream with Genesis.

This leads into the next part, less about how they parallel The Book of Genesis and more about how they parallel other characters in the narrative. This makes me a little nervous to talk about so I’m going to put a small disclaimer that I am not arguing for any canonicity of ships because I think it is a waste of time. However, I think discussing characters' feelings that push their motivations is important.

In the narrative, Angeal also greatly parallels Cloud, I feel like this isn’t something that is talked about enough in general. They share a great deal of small parallels like both enjoying landscape photography, being associated with wolves, and elementally representing lightning. Besides surface level things, both Angeal and Cloud have a guilt complex and feel responsible for the people around them. The main parallel that’s important to this conversation is their childhood friend from the same countryside town.

Cloud was inspired by Sephiroth and his desire to protect people he loved like his childhood friend, Tifa, to join soldier. This is similar to Angeal joining to be with Genesis; their childhood friends are motivators for both of them.

This is something that’s pointed out in DFFOO as well, Angeal hears about Tifa and immediately draws the connection.

Both Cloud and Angeal feel responsible for protecting and looking after their loved ones, Angeal is seen as a caretaker type for this reason. Both Cloud and Angeal want to help fulfill the dream of their childhood friend, Tifa's was being saved by a hero and Genesis' being to share an apple with his hero Sephiroth. We see this when Cloud berates himself for not being the hero Tifa wanted and Genesis telling "Angeal" the dream has been fulfilled implying it has been something he knew about and wanted to help him achieve. Angeal's will in Lazard only fades away after Genesis said the dream came true, like there was a sense of fulfillment and that he could finally pass on after holding on for so long.

I find it interesting they intentionally draw parallels between Genesis & Angeal and Cloud & Tifa, people who have more explicit romantic feelings. I think Angeal and Genesis are supposed to represent a more “genuine” version of Cloud and Tifa’s relationship. Angeal represents the story cloud wanted to have throughout ffvii, having a childhood friend who never grew apart, who stayed together, and who followed a dream together. Angeal genuinely made soldier, and for a time he felt like he was in control of protecting others unlike Cloud. This contrast stays until the end, Cloud and Tifa learn to repair their relationship while Angeal and Genesis fall apart. Despite having everything Cloud wanted, it was not enough to sustain. This contrast is important in emphasizing that it is not about your background or your past, it is about what you do now and having people to fall back on. None of this is meant to be used as proof Genesis and Angeal are canon, but rather talk about Angeal's strong devotion and feelings for him since he was at least a teenager. They do not perfectly replicate the fall of mankind but it is interesting nonetheless. Here's to hoping we get to see more of how they interact in ever crisis.

[insipid-drivel]

Toxins, Venom, and Poisons in Historical Western Medicine: How Are We Not Extinct From Doing Some Of This To Ourselves?

This piece is an involuntary piece inspired by @writing-with-sophia's awesome post "Poison list", which is an accurate and succinct list of commonly known (and ancient!) poisons, venoms, and toxins that have been and were used for causing poisoning in ancient and recent history. I wanted to write this because what struck me by their post crossing my dash was, the sheer number of poisons listed that were - and even still are - used as mainstays for healthcare around the world throughout the ages!

OBLIGATORY DON'T BE A DUMBASS PSA: If you're planning on incorporating these poisons into your HISTORICAL-era writing, it's also important to remember that many of them were used for medicinal purposes at one time, too, and it's great you're interested in learning about the subject! And also, you shouldn't try ANY of these! I will not tell you how to do it at home if you DM me, so don't! You are not appropriately trained to do it! You will harm or kill yourself and possibly your loved ones if you fuck around with any of these and it will be 100% your fault and you absolutely should feel bad bout it! I've seen some of you idiots believe 4chan posts about making home-grown crystals using recipes for actual mustard gas and seen you being wheeled into the ER on the news! I will not feel bad if you get yourself hurt if you screw around with any of these plants, elements, or animals!

Resource blog plugs and PSA over, now for the Hilariously Poisonous Medicines:

If you're writing something that's meant to take place prior to the advent of our more modern understanding of poisons, venoms, and toxins, factoring in "this is toxic to me NOW, but what about 500 years ago?" can add a lot of opportunities for interesting plot elements to your story.

These can include someone accidentally poisoning themselves with a toxic drug or substance that wouldn't have killed them if they'd handled it properly - like tansy? Grows all over the place in Europe and England? That'll kill you if you harvest it too late in the season, but it's good for intestinal parasites when it's harvested early in the year and processed right.

Did the lady's maid really kill her mistress with belladonna? Or was she trying to secretly help her mistress get rid of an unwanted pregnancy?

The protagonist's children can't survive to make it to weaning age! Is the wetnurse a poisoner, or does the milkman hide that he sells sour milk by pouring Borax into it so no one could taste it and has no idea he's killing his clients' babies?

Nuance and cultural mores regarding historical views about poisons and toxins can make writing even more fun, dynamic, and interesting! Explore 'em!

Just... please don't try any of this crap yourself. You will poison yourself, it will hurt, you will die, and you will hurt the entire time you're dying. Using OP's master list alone, here's the flip side of these lethal beasts through the eyes of our distant ancestors who believed illness was caused by "vapors", "bad air", and "imbalanced humors":

Hemlock:

Used across multiple different cultures in history. When properly administered to treat a disease, poison hemlock was used to treat asthma, whooping cough, bronchitis, joint/bone pain, muscle cramps, and insomnia. Hemlock was most often used as a sedative and antispasmodic.

Arsenic:

Arsenic is a heavy metal, and so has been used in everything from making specialty dyes for wallpapers (Scheele's green is the most infamous arsenic-based paint; Queen Victoria once had a guestroom in her palace redone with Scheele's green wallpaper. The first dignitary to stay there had to be carried out and taken to emergency care after breathing astronomical amounts of arsenic dust from the wallpaper's paint), to medicine. Arsenic was especially commonly used in history to treat skin ailments ranging from acne, to psoriasis, to syphilis sores. It was also sometimes prescribed for menstrual cramps, upset stomachs, colic, and arthritis, among many, many other things.

Cyanide:

Uh... I have literally never found any evidence of cyanide in medicine, outside of its use in modern medicine as part of certain chemical lab tests for measuring urine ketone bodies that involve no contact with a patient whatsoever. Cyanide literally works in less than a few seconds to render your entire body incapable of absorbing OR using oxygen in your lungs or already existing in your blood. Cyanide is really only good at making things that breathe not breathe anymore.

Nightshade:

There are a lot of different "nightshades", so being specific is essential here. Potatoes are nightshades. Tomatoes are nightshades. Calling anything a "nightshade" does not inherently mean it's lethally toxic. Belladonna is probably the most notorious of the "deadly" nightshades, but to this day, is still used medicinally, and would actually be seen as a health and cosmetic mainstay in historical fiction, especially if your setting is in Italy!

Belladonna is an Italian portmanteau for "beautiful woman", because tinctures (water-based drops) of belladonna were commonly used by Italian women as eyedrops to dilate their eyes and appear more attractive, aroused, and desirable. Today, belladonna's eye-dilating effects are still used by optometrists to dilate the pupils! Belladonna has been, and still sometimes is used as an NSAID, general painkiller, motion sickness treatment, asthma medication, and even as a treatment for IBS.

Ricin:

As OP said, Ricin is derived from the toxin found in Castor Beans, and is surprisingly new as an official "the only reason this is made is to make someone dead" poison. Not only is ricin a popular "nobody would think to test for this!" choice in mystery/thriller writing, but it has been used for political assassinations in real life before. Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian anti-Communist dissenter and writer, was killed in 1978 with a 1.7mm diameter ricin-coated pellet shot into his thigh muscle by an unidentified assailant using a modified umbrella as a gun. He died 4 days later.

Historically, castor OIL has been used for medicinal purposes, especially for treating constipation, inducing labor in pregnancy, and as a topical skin moisturizer. If you've ever watched the opening scene in Disney's "Peter Pan", when the childrens' mother is trying to give them a spoonful of medicine each, she's actually giving them castor oil! Castor oil tastes really bad (so much so that flavorings like cinnamon were often added to try to muffle the taste), so the childrens' reluctance and disgust at their mom making them take their medicine is very realistic for the era the movie came out in!

Strychnine:

Another lethal poison that started life as a medicine/food additive. Strychnine is no longer used medicinally at all today, but historically, it was used to stimulate the heart, treat bladder and bowel incontinence, and limb palsy. Strychnine is a deadly-powerful muscle stimulant that, as a poison, causes horrifyingly painful full-body strictures (spasms) and destroys the cardiovascular system. (Fun fact: Strychnine and hydrochloric acid were historically mixed into cheap vodka to make knock-off gin, especially during the Georgian Era in England if the brewer didn't have or couldn't afford juniper berries!)

Snake Venom:

Seriously, do your research before you write an actual, real snake species using venom they don't produce! The Big 3 Forms Of Snake Venom are: Hemotoxic, Neurotoxic, and Cytotoxic. Specific snake species exclusively generate the same kind of venom (so a hemotoxic snake will ALWAYS produce baby snakes that also make hemotoxic venom). Aristotle himself wrote in 380 BC that certain snake venoms could be applied for treating fevers, smallpox, and leprosy, and there is even some evidence in the historical record prior to the 1800s that different cultures have experimented throughout the eons with using venom for converting into antivenom, but I've never found a source citing anyone making a successful form of antivenom until around the 1850s.

Digitalis:

OP really nailed the important thing about Digitalis, and that is it's cardiac benefits for certain people - particularly for treating congestive heart failure. Vincent van Gogh was actually prescribed epilepsy medication that likely contained Digitalis, aka Foxglove, and there are some prevailing theories about van Gogh's love of bright yellow paint as being either caused or exacerbated by the symptoms associated with digitalis use, which can cause an attraction to and increased visual sensitivity to the color yellow. In several portraits, including one of his own psychiatrist, van Gogh shows subjects presented alongside foxglove flowers. Digitalis is absolutely lethal if consumed or taken without expert guidance, however, because it's the mother ingredient of Digoxin. Digoxin isn't used as frequently as it used to be a few decades ago, but it's still used and prescribed today for certain forms of heart failure and heart disease. Digoxin was also, at one time, was also sometimes used to induce chemical abortions.

Lead:

Dear god, lead. Not only is it so slow to kill you that you'll think that the only way to manage your symptoms is with more lead, but lead poisoning can be a life-long crisis for a person who is regularly exposed to it. Humans have used lead for everything from plumbing, to paint, to our cutlery, to cosmetics, to medicine. While yes, it is very possible to ingest enough lead in a single sitting to die within hours or days, most sufferers of lead poisoning experience it for years or decades before the symptoms become obvious. Some archaeologists believe that the Romans used lead cutlery because lead has a unique reaction when we lick it: when you have lead coating your tongue, it makes EVERYTHING you eat suddenly taste 10x better. I learned this myself from going target-shooting with my mom at a gun rage as a teenager, inhaled gunsmoke (which contains lead), and went for lunch immediately after. Even though I was just eating a $5 meal from In-N-Out, my burger tasted so good I thought I was gonna have to change my pants. When I asked the rangemaster at the target place about it later, he literally said, "Oh yeah, lead makes the worst cooking taste like heaven."

The ancient Romans ate a lot of rotten, spoiled, and sour food, and so lead would've made it easier to eat it back then. But the neurological effects of lead poisoning are nightmarish. It's suspected that, in America, the #1 reason we had so many active serial killers in the country from the 1940s-2000s was because of leaded gasoline. Ever since leaded gasoline was banned? Serial and random violent crime rates have dramatically gone down, especially in metropolitan cities. Ancient Rome, too, gradually became an increasingly violent city as its population went up and its reliance on lead did. We're only just now starting to figure out how toxic lead actually is, so go nuts with using it as a plot element regarding subjects like "Why Are You Like This?"

Mercury:

Mercury is also known as quicksilver, because in spite of being a heavy metal, the temperature at which it melts into a liquid is very, very low compared to most other metals. The first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, was rumored to be so obsessed with the notion of immortality that he would send his doctors on doomed voyages around the world searching for a legendary substance that would, indeed, make him immortal. Legend has it that some doctors who were tasked with the job found out about the last guys, and produced mercury before Emperor Qin Shi Huang and cried, "Here it is! I got it!" so they wouldn't end up doomed to drown at sea. Qin Shi Huang became so obsessed with ingesting and medicating himself with mercury that, when his legendary tomb was being constructed, he had a small-yet-accurate-to-scale map of China+the known world about the size of a football field with every body of water full of fountains of running mercury in his burial chamber. His tomb was rediscovered in the last couple of decades after archaeologists found suspiciously high levels of mercury in the soil on top of a "hill" that had been sitting in the countryside untouched for thousands of years. It turned out to be Qin Shi Huang's long-lost tomb.

Since those days, mercury has closely been associated in early medicine as a sort of cure-all, since it literally kills anything it touches (including people). Captain Blackbeard himself, the most notorious pirate in Western history (Western specifically; google who Zheng Yi Sao was), was known or widely believed to be a syphilis sufferer, and desperately sought infusions of mercury from ships he'd capture (and the doctors onboard) to treat it, believing like everyone did that mercury could cure syphilis. It can't. They just didn't understand back then that syphilis starts off surface-level, and then eats your brain years after the initial infection.

Aconite:

Again, ridiculously toxic outside of specific medicinal applications that still aren't safe today! Aconite, or wolfsbane, has historically been used as a heart sedative (for slowing the heart), diuretic, painkiller, and even used to induce sweating. Evidence of wolfsbane being used for medicinal purposes has been spotted here and there over thousands of years throughout the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Empires, but its original use came about in Ancient Greece for hunting and culling wolves by poisoning bait-food with it. That form of hunting died out long before the European Middle Ages, but the name "wolfsbane" stuck. Mostly because in the Middle Ages, a lot of people believed werewolves were a huge problem, and kept wolfsbane handy to deter said werewolves.

Thallium:

Today, thallium is mostly used in the production of camera and eyeglass lenses. Before its toxicity was known about, it wasn't strange to hear of thallium being used topically to treat fungal infections like ringworm. Thallium was also sporadically used in treating typhus and tuberculosis, along with a wide array of sexually transmitted diseases.

This list doesn't even touch the tip of the toxic iceberg when it comes to the sheer quantity of hilariously dangerous toxins people have, or still continue, to use for medicinal purposes! In a Victorian-era English London middle-class townhouse setting alone, there were dozens and dozens of ways to poison or otherwise harm yourself just by going about your daily life. So, if you've got a period piece you're working on, or are just bored, you can pick an exact date and time in our history and learn just how terrifyingly comfortable our ancestors were with upsettingly dangerous substances and home remedies. You can also watch a massive docuseries, called "Hidden Killers" and hosted by historian Suzannah Lipscomb, among other historians and archaeologists, which deep-dives into the hidden and unknown dangers of living in eras from Tudor-Era England, to the Post-WWII Reconstruction Age.

As a final note: I am NOT bashing Chinese or Eastern medicinal practices here, and in fact deliberately have gone out of my way to not include any references toward culturally-sanctioned medicinal practices in Eastern and Southeastern Asia. This post is specifically related to the history of WESTERN medicines and their associated history. I am not, nor have I ever been, a doctor of any traditional Eastern medicinal practices, and do not pretend to know better. Sinophobes are unwelcome in my blog space.

[genericpuff]

I really enjoyed seeing your last post!!! It reminded me of something else that I noticed when I was younger and not really seeing LO through the eyes I am now- even when I lived LO, I noticed that Minthe’s bust size.. Might’ve changed? (I could be remembering wrong, and I’m sorry if I am!) I didn’t think on it too much back then, but it felt a lot like the “she could never measure up to Persephone”, or the “she’s nothing to worry about when it comes to Persephone”!!

But then, when Minthe was supposed to be more of a “problem,” I noticed she’d get drawn with a larger bust- or at least larger than it had been back in the earliest episodes!

This could all make absolutely no sense, (and I apologize for just rambling in your askbox!), but I watching a character’s “worthiness” be portrayed through something as simple and neutral as their chest size stuck out to me then, and sticks out to me now!! 😓)

Oh don't apologize, you're literally pointing out exactly the things we've even talked about in the ULO community !

Literally here she is in S1:

And we even get a scene of her smooshing her boobs together in Episode 35 in an effort to make them seem bigger because she legit feels like Hades is pursuing the "new hotness" in the office based around their physical appearances:

But then she conveniently goes up like 3 cup sizes when it's time for her to be cemented as the villain and suffer her fate by getting turned into a plant?

I've literally seen fans grasp at straws to explain that maybe she got a boob job but then they don't realize that the story at this point has only been going on for like, 3-4 weeks at most. At best you shouldn't have to make those massive leaps to explain the inconsistent character body types. If Minthe really did get a boob job, don't you think that's something that should have been explained in the comic?

And let's be real, we all know what it's really about because it's just more of Rachel pitting women against women:

What's wild though is that Rachel is vastly misinterpreting a classic image here:

A lot of people look at that image of Jayne Mansfield and Sophia Loren and just immediately assume that Sophia is giving Jayne the stink eye over her outfit. And of course, we see this misinterpretation in Rachel's drawing that swaps Sophia and Jayne with Minthe and Persephone.

When in FACT what was actually going on was that Sophia spotted Jayne getting dangerously close to a wardrobe malfunction / nip slip and the camera just happened to catch her making a face that could be misinterpreted as slut-shaming.

"Yes, Paramount had organized a party for me. All of cinema was there, it was incredible. And then comes in Jayne Mansfield, the last one to come. For me, that was when it got amazing. She came right for my table. She knew everyone was watching. She sat down. And now, she was barely… Listen. Look at the picture. Where are my eyes? I'm staring at her nipples because I am afraid they are about to come onto my plate. In my face you can see the fear. I'm so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow—BOOM!—and spill all over the table."

Ans Sophia has actually stated that she doesn't like those misinterpretations and is trying to actively distance herself from it.

"Actually, many, many times I am given this photo to autograph it. And I never do. I don't want to have anything to do with that. And also out of respect for Jayne Mansfield because she's not with us anymore."

Jayne died in 1967, only living for about 30 years, and Sophia herself is actually still around. I can imagine how disheartening it is to see people still misinterpreting a photo of two friends and colleagues especially when it's through the lens of slut-shaming an accomplished actress who is unfortunately no longer with us.

Sooo yeah all that said, I'm less inclined to believe it was Minthe getting a boob job and more inclined to believe it was more of Rachel's weird internalized misogyny picking and choosing which women are "sluts" and which ones are "victims" for dressing or being built a certain way. It's really gross when you start to notice it.

People have also pointed out how odd it is that every single character who gets into a relationship or is in a relationship by S3 seemingly morphs into copies of Hades and Persephone, which is really just more of a testament to how lazy Rachel is in her character designs. In her head she's just trying Hades and Persephone all the time but different colors, I imagine at this point the H x P relationship is the only thing that she's interested in writing/drawing about (and even that's arguably hanging on by a thread because she couldn't even let their long-awaited wedding scene have real room to breathe) so it's almost like she's defaulting to just zoning out and drawing nothing but H x P and then having her assistants color them differently based on who it's actually supposed to be.

But I digress. The body shaming and slut shaming is definitely hard-baked into LO and how it portrays its characters. Despite Rachel having written an actual comic portraying sexism in the past, she still can't seem to express her ideas around sexism, to the point of, again, saying she "didn't know sexism was that bad" until she worked on LO. Like, girl... you drew a comic about sexism before LO, what are you talking about? Is this more of you not wanting to acknowledge ANY of the work you did prior to LO, or are you telling me you didn't intend for those older works to be interpreted as sexism???

"I feel like female characters in general, people will be a little harsher on them and sometimes way harsher on them, and I used to be like.. before I started writing the story and like making a story I was like yeah, sexism is not that bad, and [now] I was like oh it's bad. It's quite bad [laughs], so like, I don't know, I feel like the female characters in the story don't get so much of a pass. But this isn't consistent across the board, it's not all the time." - Rachel Smythe, Girl Wonder Podcast circa 2022

[youmakethelight]

Dear AMC

Okay, so here's where I'm at following the David Zabel quotes released yesterday. I truly hate to be in this negative mindset and I wanted my tumblr to be a fun space only, but it's what I'm feeling, so I'm going to get it out. This is the most serious post I'll ever write (hopefully) so buckle up.

I'm not doing this because I don't want to continue to spread joy about caryl. I'm doing this because, if there's any chance, however small, that I can help to make a positive difference for the people I've come to care about, then I'm going to do that. This is because I care about female representation and empowerment. And because I care about what these stories mean to and for people, and especially people who relate to characters who have experienced abuse. Holding these characters' stories is a responsibility and those who do so need to be held accountable for how they do it.

I'm going to talk a lot now, but it's going to mainly be about Melissa, Isabelle's character, David Zabel, Greg Nicotero, and the idea of romantic caryl. I'm going to try to break it up into sections just because it's so long.

Melissa

Melissa McBride snuck up on me. I started watching TWD a couple of years after it first aired and like many, I fell for Daryl as a character. I observed his chemistry with Carol and always thought their relationship was something special. But like many, I gave up on the show around season 6/7. When TWD was released on Now TV in the UK this year, I decided to catch up, and season 9 hooked me on #caryl. Specifically, I was mesmerised by Melissa McBride and I've only grown to love her more. It's been beautiful finding the fandom and realising that Melissa McBride is the beating heart of it. She might not have as many Twitter followers as Norman Reedus, but she is valued more than I have seen any actor and she honestly doesn't even have to try. Fans will support her for walking to a car. I like Norman but I love Melissa.

Melissa looks happier than I have ever seen her look and she is honestly the only thing that has been keeping me tethered to any hope that I will enjoy this spinoff. My hype has been 100% driven by Melissa and how she has spoken about being back. I've already paid for Carol merch, which is something I never do. And if it wasn't for the fact I knew she was coming back at the end of season 1, I honestly wouldn't have watched Daryl Dixon. After investing in their relationship over 12 years of TWD, I'm not interested in seeing Daryl solo travel the globe and find a girl in every port. I'd rather watch something else and pretend the spinoff doesn't exist. But since Melissa is here and she's happy, I've still been hooked.

Seeing Carol confront her trauma surrounding Sophia is something I have been wanting for years. Since I started watching TWD again this year, all you'd ever hear me say is "why does no one ever talk about Sophia?". So I am beyond happy that story is receiving a spotlight in season 2. And I sense this is what Melissa is happy about too.

Beyond that, I really feel like Melissa doesn't have much space for her own voice. At SDCC, she said that she's quiet on her EP notes because she's the new person. And David Zabel made a joke that she doesn't want to make him cry (hilarious). Of course, I have no idea what the reality is, but my gut feeling is that Melissa is happy that she finally had some control with her character's own story after 14 years. But I truly don't believe she has even been given the space to think about how she *personally* would like the caryl story to look, let alone what they choose to do with the other major female character's story. I think Melissa respects Norman and trusts him with that part of the story. She knows he's had more power with the other producers - he was there for all of season 1, it's his name on the title of the show, and he chose the showrunner and writers.

And as for everything else, Melissa has spent the majority of her career in a male-dominated genre, all of her most powerful coworkers are part of that demographic, and in response to caryl, she has been the target of misogyny and ageism that is ongoing today. If I were her, I'd feel I can only speak so loud for so long before someone feels I've stepped on their toes.

While I do believe Norman cares about her deeply, I don't have any reason so far to trust that he understands the nuances of sexism well enough to be able to make the calls I'd want him to make. I really feel that if he did, he would never have agreed to the half naked shipbait nun scene in season 1. On to my next section...

Isabelle, David Zabel and Greg Nicotero

I will die on the hill that Isabelle's story should never have been touched by any inkling of shipbait, because she is a dedicated nun. The idea of romance for her present day story (especially with the male lead) grossly over-simplifies the decisions that led her to become a nun.

I do personally feel that the isabelle-laurent-daryl surrogate family idea is *pretty much* just that. I think, personally, DZ is lying when he says that the idea of romance wasn't manufactured. I think he wants us to believe that what we see on screen is organic. Absolutely nothing about the half naked wound helping scene, the happy stares across rooms with a happy score, and the 'isabelle just woke up in hospital and oh look its daryl's crossbow he must have been looking over her' scene is organic. Those are manufactured. Until episode 6, I liked isabelle and I think clemence is great. But daryl and isabelle's chemistry is non existent. I honestly think calling it a friendship is a stretch. Maybe the god awful, problematic "are you going to do to laurent what your dad did to you" could have been forgiven if they'd genuinely had any compelling bond whatsoever, but they didn't, and at best, it came off as needy. At worst (and what it actually was) was emotionally abusive. The thing I have always loved about caryl is that they *never* guilt-tripped each other like that. I really hope Zabel knows that line was truly offensive.

So anyway, I don't know, I think DZ would have liked it to go romantic, but nobody liked it. And based on the way they talked about it at SDCC, I think Norman is set on the idea it's really all about Laurent, and Isabelle is just another adult who cares about the kid so he cares about her too. However, I do think Nicotero and Zabel are invested in the idea that Daryl is falling for her. Nicotero in particular is obsessed with the idea that Daryl's falling for her while he doesn't know Carol is on her way - I actually find him enjoying that idea repulsive. So, I think they've written some ship bait in there, but I think Norman's acting choices will be reluctant. So, as long as there isn't something physical between them, I think Norman and Melissa's chemistry can recover from it. But. Zabel (and Nicotero) are showing their true colours.

While we're on Nicotero. I recently discovered that he has spoken about supporting b*thyl before. So, if that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about him and his idea of how women and romance should be presented on screen in 2024, I don't know what will.

Romantic Caryl

Finally, I want to address the idea of whether Carol and Daryl should or could add a romantic element to their relationship. Lots of people that I agree with have already written well articulated thoughts about this, including this by my-mt-heart. My personal feelings are these.

Carol and Daryl have built a layered, deep, and emotionally rich relationship over 11 seasons of TWD. Fans are aware of the romantic layers throughout the years, and even those who don't follow it closely can see the romantic potential. It would be a disservice to fans to let those years of layering and emotional depth fall flat. And frankly, so many fans simply won't follow. (And if you're worried about fans who don't like the idea not watching - well, honestly, I don't like R*chonne. Love them both individually but I never saw the chemistry and it felt random to me. But I still watched them and cared about them and their story and I even watched The Ones Who Live despite cringing the whole time.)

The creative opportunities are huge. Carol and Daryl are not a stereotypical love story by any means. Their dynamic has been fuelling creative minds for over a decade. I would personally admire any showrunner/writer who steps up to the challenge. Alternatively, not bothering comes across as lazy and cowardly to me.

At this point, there's absolutely no doubt in the audience that Carol and Daryl are soulmates. Their happy ending has been an important theme for a while now. And they are the characters that fans care about. Even fans who don't care about whether they have a romantic relationship agree that their idea of a happy ending would be with each other (and Dog). This wouldn't have to be romantic, but since we know that they are both interested in romantic relationships and have some romantic foundations together - why not? No other romantic relationship either of them could have is ever going to match up against Daryl and Carol's relationship. And why should they both be deprived of romance if they are both interested in romantic relationships? Who does that serve?

The idea that two people can so selflessly love each other for over a decade and end up together romantically is the ultimate bond of love. Suggestions that romance would 'cheapen' or 'ruin' a bond make me question what those people think romance means. It isn't the same as R*chonne's romance. It's quiet and calm and careful. It's two damaged souls uplifting each other. So many viewers are empowered by that sort of story.

It would show that AMC are progressive and not ageist or sexist.

Final thoughts

I can't express enough how much I wanted to ignore all of my doubts about this spinoff because of Melissa's involvement and because I genuinely do trust her creative imagination more than anyone. But the comments by Zabel that were released yesterday have brought back the pit I was feeling in my stomach. I trust Melissa and I will always trust Melissa. But I don't trust Zabel. I don't trust that Zabel is doing right by Melissa or by the characters of Carol and Daryl. That doesn't mean that I think he's evil and doing nothing at all right. I just truly believe that we deserve better and Melissa deserves better.

I will give all of my hard earned cash and time to Melissa projects, but I won't do the same for Zabel, or even Norman without Melissa.

[shitsndgiggs]

hey can you make a story about Arda güler x danish girl.

where the danish girl goes to Turkey and meets Arda, where they spend a lot of time together and fall in love with each other

i love you story's

LOVE IN ISTANBUL - ARDA GÜLER

When you meet a guy on your vacation to Turkey, things turn for the better

Arda Güler x danish! reader

︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿

The sun was shining brightly as I stepped off the plane in Istanbul, the city where East meets West.

This was my first vacation in Turkey, and I was excited to immerse myself in its rich culture and history.

My plan was to start with a visit to the Basilica Cistern, before heading to the famous Hagia Sophia.

After checking into my hotel, I made my way to the Basilica Cistern. The cool, dimly lit underground space was a stark contrast to the bustling city above.

I wandered through the columns, admiring the reflections in the shallow water. As I was taking pictures, I heard a voice behind me.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

I turned around to see a tall, handsome man with a warm smile. "Yes, it's stunning," I replied.

He extended his hand. "I'm Arda."

“Y/N,” I said, shaking his hand.

"Are you here on vacation?" he asked, his english clear but tinged with a turkish accent.

"Yes, it's my first time in Turkey," I replied. "What about you?"

"I'm actually a local, but I love coming here. It's one of the quieter spots in the city," he said. "If you need any recommendations or a guide, I'd be happy to help."

"That would be great," I said, grateful for the offer.

Over the next few days, Arda and I explored Istanbul together. He showed me the city's hidden gems and shared stories about its history.

We visited the bustling Grand Bazaar, took a boat ride on the Bosphorus, and enjoyed delicious turkish food at local eateries.

One evening, we found ourselves at a cozy café near the Galata Tower. As we sipped our turkish tea, Arda looked at me with a playful glint in his eyes.

"How about I teach you some turkish?" he suggested.

"Sure, I'd love that," I replied eagerly.

"Okay, let's start with something simple. 'Merhaba' means 'hello,'" he said.

"Merhaba," I repeated, trying to mimic his pronunciation.

"Perfect! Now, 'Teşekkür ederim' means 'thank you,'" Arda continued.

"Teşekkür ederim," I said, feeling a bit more confident.

"Great job! And if you want to say 'I love you,' you say 'Seni seviyorum,'" he added, his eyes locking onto mine.

"Seni seviyorum," I whispered, feeling a blush creep up my cheeks.

Arda laughed softly. "You learn fast. How do you say ‘I love you’ in danish?”

“You say ‘Jeg elsker dig’, ” I said, looking into his eyes

"Jeg elsker dig," he echoed softly, his gaze filled with warmth.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, I realized how much I cherished these moments with Arda.

Despite knowing that my vacation would soon come to an end, I felt hopeful for our future.

On my last day in Istanbul, Arda insisted on taking me to the airport. As we stood near the departure gate, I felt a lump form in my throat.

"I can't believe my trip is already over," I said, trying to hold back tears.

"I know," Arda replied, his voice filled with emotion. "But this isn't goodbye, Y/N. We can stay in touch and visit each other."

I nodded, grateful for his words. "Thank you for everything, Arda. You've made this trip unforgettable."

He took my hands in his, his eyes serious. "Seni seviyorum, Y/N.”

"Seni seviyorum, Arda," I replied, my heart swelling with love.

As we shared a final hug, I knew this was just the beginning of our story.

[mrsparrasblog]

How I met your father pt.1

An COD au for the series How I met your mother, the boys are civilian in this and live in London.

Reader is described as plus sized

Tw: Author only knows shit about London from vacation

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James and Sophia sat on the couch in the living room, bantering about what they should watch today. It was usual for the kids to start World War III over TV privileges. Sophia won and settled for a romance movie. “Mom, how did you and Dad get married?”

“It was the summer of 2021. Your Uncle John and Aunt Holly had finally gotten engaged. They were searching for their own apartment in London, which led me to move in with Johnny in a shoebox apartment in Ealing. He was working as a gym instructor at that time—hard to believe, I know—but he needed that extra money for his law studies. I was still working at the investment banking firm where I met Kyle. We spent most of our time at a pub in London called The Swan near Hammersmith.”

“Are you getting to the point?”

“It’s a long story, sweetheart.”

“I wish I never asked.”---------

----------------

Price and Holly had been all over each other since their engagement, his hands never leaving her hips, her lips never leaving his. You were glad for your best friend, but the urge to settle down yourself grew every day.

That day, Simon came into the pub. You had never seen him before, but you were mesmerized instantly. He was the biggest man you had ever seen—bulky, handsome and dressed in a black turtleneck.

“Bonnie, are you even listening?” Johnny complained, tugging on your arm as he always did when he tried to grab your attention.

“That guy at the bar? I’m going to marry him and have a bunch of blonde-haired mini-versions of him,” you declared. He was the definition of your dream man.

Kyle eyed Simon and smirked. “I can understand that. I’d fuck him—both of you at the same time if you’d let me, babe.” That earned him a swat from Price.

“You fuck everything that has two legs and is above 21.”

“If you look this good, it would be unfair to settle down.”

“Yes, what would the girls do without a Kyle Garrick by their side?” Holly replied sarcastically.

Holly and you had known each other for ages, even before her transition. You were there for her during the hardest time of her life, supporting her when her parents kicked her out. You found a small apartment in Brent and moved in with her.

One day, Mrs. Miller from downstairs forgot to take out her roast, and the apartment complex was engulfed in flames. You thought it was over, but that’s when you met John Price. He was very new to firefighting then—not the imposing captain he is now. He was just John.

“I think everything will be better now,” Holly said, and she was right. She got together with John a few weeks later. As for you, you met Johnny in college. You were hurrying down the stairs when you ran into him. You were ready to hear, “Watch where you’re going, cow,” but instead, he helped you up, and just like that, you became inseparable. Johnny and you spent every day together—shopping, studying for exams, cooking. You even held his hand when he got his nipples pierced, and he was there when you got that terrible UTI from a one-night stand. At one point, you were sure John MacTavish was your soulmate, but you were content with being his platonic soulmate, playing the role of the funny friend.

You motivated him to go to law school even when no one believed he could do it with his ADHD. Johnny had his first internship at the investment banking firm where you got your job in HR. Everything was perfect, and then you met Kyle.

Kyle could be a supermodel. He won the genetic lottery many times over—he had the prettiest face, a perfect muscular body, and, according to half the office, the biggest dick you could wish for. Despite the odds that he would even notice you, he spent every lunch with you and became one of your best friends, much to Johnny's chagrin.

“He’s not that good-looking, Bonnie. You deserve better.”

“Are you blind?” Even John could appreciate a handsome man when he saw one, and the blonde, scarred guy was beautiful.

“He’d probably crush you. He looks like the type who’d fuck you and never call you back,” Johnny protested. He knew what he said was unfair, but he just wanted to protect you.

“Are you implying I’m only good for one night, John Callan MacTavish?”

“Full name, Johnny—you better run.” John laughed as if you weren’t close to telling Kyle that Johnny’s middle name was William. Kyle had offered you £1,000 for John’s middle name.

“You know I didn’t mean it like that, Bonnie. He’s just not good enough.”

“I can decide that for myself, Johnny.”

“Before you start World War III, maybe find out if he’s actually single,” Holly suggested, and she was right. So you looked at Kyle with puppy eyes.

“Don’t worry, babes. I’ll handle it.” Kyle was the perfect wingman, though Johnny always declined his offers.

“Hey, mate, mind if I actually sit down?” Kyle asked, not waiting for Simon’s reply and already sitting down.

Simon only replied with a gruff hello, not in the mood for the overly cheerful man. He was here because he had to be. His brother’s wife had organized a blind date for him. He had half a mind to stand her up but didn’t want to disappoint Beth.

“So, you’re waiting for someone?”

“I missed the part where this is your business.”

“So, no date? Single?”

“I have a blind date.”

“What’s her name?”

Simon just stared at him. If he left now, he could watch the Manchester game against Tottenham.

“I’m just asking because my friend has a blind date and wasn’t sure if it’s you.”

Simon could detect a lie from a mile away, but he was interested in where this was going, so he lied, “Rachel.”

“Oh, that’s great. I’ll show you, Rachel.” Fucking liar, Simon thought, but then he saw you. “Fuckin’ hell,” he muttered as he stood up, walking towards you.

His blind date was forgotten—sorry, Beth—but you were exactly his type, shorter than him with the right amount of curves. You had a beautiful smile and a face that almost made him forget about your soft chest that pushed against your shirt and the belly pouch he wanted to grab as he rutted inside of you. Concentrate, Simon.

He extended his hand, and you shook it, looking at him with big eyes. “Hi,” you said, your breath almost stuck in your throat. His smirk grew wider, noticing the effect he had on you.

“Simon.”

“Simon?”

“Simon.”

You wanted to punch yourself for being so awkward, but all the confidence left your body. You wanted to run back to Johnny and beg him for help, but if you had looked back, you would only see anger in his baby-blue eyes.

“Let’s go to the restaurant. I have a reservation.” You looked confused but only nodded. How did he have a reservation if he didn’t even know you four minutes ago? But that’s a question for another day.

The Italian restaurant was beautiful, far from the tourists. It looked authentic, and the staff was overly nice.

“So, what do you do, Simon?” you asked, pushing your fork into the pasta.

“I was a lieutenant in the army but got discharged. I’m doing tattoos now.” His voice sounded gruff, and you weren’t sure if it was just his voice or if he was annoyed by you. You didn’t even know what major lies Kyle had told him about you—hopefully not something like the time, he told a girl he was Lewis Hamilton. He did look like him, though.

“Do you have many tattoos yourself?” Curiosity piqued, you couldn’t see much behind his long black pants and the turtleneck. The only evident body modification was the piercing on his tongue you noticed.

He pulled his sleeves up, revealing tattooed sleeves covering some scars. You wouldn’t have noticed them if your manicured finger hadn’t instinctively traced the fine lines of the beautiful artwork.

“You like them?”

“Yes, a lot.”

“I have a few more.”

“How many is a few?” You didn’t have the guts to ask where.

“About 23. Do you have any?” You remembered how you wanted to get one the day Johnny got his piercing, but you chickened out as usual.

“I’m afraid of needles.”

“It only hurts like this,” he replied, tracing the outline of his jewelry on your skin, giving you goosebumps and shivers. Embarrassing—you were acting like a schoolgirl because an overly handsome man gave you attention. “Tell me what you do for a living, love.”

You didn’t have a cool job like him or John, a well-paid one like Kyle’s, or as sexy as Johnny’s. “I’m just an HR coordinator.”

“Leave the ‘just’ out of that sentence.”

The server rolled out a TV, starting the Premier League game. You desperately wanted to watch it—oh god, you promised Johnny you’d watch it.

“What’s so interesting there?” He looked around. “Into football?” His caramel-colored eyes lit up, and he seemed smitten.

“Yes, I love Tottenham.”

“Do you want to send me to an early grave? My date is a Tottenham fan?”

“Hey, they’re good! Are you a Manchester fan?”

“Of course, born and bred there.”

“Tottenham will win.”

“In your dreams.”

You watched the game in anticipation, screaming your lungs out when Tottenham scored. Even if he wanted to be disgusted, he could get used to this—a soft little thing watching football with him.

Maybe he’d even get lucky today. He still needed to work on your taste, though.

You walked outside the restaurant, too distracted by cheering and laughing to notice his big hands around your waist as he walked with you towards his apartment. It wasn’t much, but it was above his shop in Camden.

“We’ll win next time,” he said, his thumb kneading the flesh of your hip.

“Sure you will.” He stopped at an ice cream shop next to his apartment. “What’s your favorite?”

“Honeydew melon.”

“You’re fucking with me, right?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Say something normal like strawberry.” He laughed, flicking his thumb over your lips. You automatically parted them and stopped pouting at his ice cream insult.

He ordered your ridiculous ice cream choice and for himself, dark chocolate ice.

“Want to try?”

“No.”

You licked the ice as some of the remaining cream stayed on your lips. “Not even now?”

“Cheeky little minx.” His burly hands cupped your full cheeks as he placed his lips hungrily on yours. He could curse that you were right again—the ice cream was delicious. His hands drifted down to your hips, groaning as they filled his big hands. He wanted more, needed more, so he pushed you against the wall, placing his hand behind your back to protect you from the cold.

The kiss was perfect, but when you felt his way too big bulge against your stomach, overthinking thoughts bombarded you. You didn’t shave, what if he didn’t like your body, you had on a pink thong and a grandma bra, what if he was a serial killer? You panicked, and before Simon could address your panic, you were already running to the next tube station.

“That’s a first,” he muttered.

You walked inside, finding Johnny half-naked as usual on the couch, glaring at you. “You missed the match.”

“I’m sorry, Johnny. I’m an idiot.”

“You ran away again?”

“Mhm.”

He sighed as he walked to the fridge, his six-pack glistening with sweat, probably from a workout. You should be used to that sight after six years, but it still made you breathless. “Got a tub of honeydew ice cream and vinegar crisps.”

You planted yourself on the small couch and dipped the crisps in the ice as Johnny listened to everything you had to say.