#talk about tragic irony

[biopanik]

The only universe in which Vi's family lives on is the one where she's not with them,

and the only universe in which Vi is alive, not only does she mourns Powder and Vander twice, but she loses them forever.

[luxurystark-jackson]

sam is like his father. was innocent to the reality of what was going on until something bad happened and he was forced to become a monster he shouldn’t have been, all for the greater good.

dean is like his mother. cursed with the knowledge of their reality, forced to grow up in it and ready to do anything to save their counterpart from anything that tries to kill them, even at the expense of the greater good.

[awerzo]

Do you know the ancient way to identify a witch? If she drowns, she's innocent. If she survives, she must be a witch – off to the stake with her. And our town's residents have taken to testing people with the plague. They call it "sandboxing." What charming folk.

[serasarascreams]

Quick Mouthwashing drawings right after I finished the game. I have so many emotions and feelings about this game that I feel like I am going to explode. Individual character close-ups beneath the cut.

[devilemon]

me when queequeg gave ishmael one last pained look and asked her to tell her her name once more

so when she finally died, she could look at HER sunset because she could never do it outside the whale in a future with her lover

i'm gonna be sick canto v was so good and ishmael is now attempting to grapple with a second loss of queequeg but now with an emotional support system

(gif by me, just ask to use it if you want 🫶)

[unionizedwizard]

poisoned book investigation update: i reached the part of queen margot that deals with the poisoned book and this only made me more convinced that this is indeed. what happened. back in 2010. because 1) i know my mother well and therefore know she would kin catherine de' medici (yes yes i know. i know. what can i say. she's insane. it's a family tradition) 2) in the novel, the book was poisoned by catherine herself (she conceived and carried out both the scheme and the execution herself), and meant to kill her political enemy and son-in-law (but ended up poisoning (and killing) her own son). the exact method of course would be unsuitable for my own mother to imitate as it is the exact same method used in the name of the rose (possibly where umberto eco got the inspiration from, actually?), therefore as i mentioned earlier impossible to recreate with the kind of paper my copy of the three musketeers was printed on. but. yeah. not that i had many doubts at this point anymore but this is really. convincing evidence. psychologically speaking.

like for the. catherine de' medici kin part:

my mother always loved her as a historical figure. we did visit a lot of historical castles and museums and all when i was a kid and she always had a marked preference for 1) the renaissance era and history 2) the medici family 3) catherine de' medici specifically. she admired her cunning and force of spirit and ambition and influence. #1 girlboss supporter (she did not support the. you know. religious massacres tho. she didn't think catherine was a great figure to emulate or whatever. but she admired her nonetheless)

as i've mentioned before, my mother has always been a wannabe italian. she's especially fond of the italian renaissance and in particular florence and its history. in the novel the fact catherine de' medici is florentine is a key part of her characterization

physically there seems to be a similarity? dumas doesn't actually describe his characters' appearance much, but from the few elements we get, it seems to fit (= pale, grey(?) eyes with a cold and cunning look, short and stout but pretty, white hands (that she takes great care of), short and stout (fat?) stature in general, blonde hair, small lips, imposing presence that makes other people immediately fall in line & scares them (she was very proud of that)). it's not much but knowing her she would jump to conclusions and want to really. Be Like Her

sorry i know how this sounds i KNOW you don't have to believe me but i swear this is all true. inherited insanity and all that. the true Drow Ass Family

[symphony-calamity]

Thinking about Ivy Alexandria ❤️

[brookbee]

sometimes I remember the fact that in an interview david bowie talked about how he liked nyc because no one bothered him, and in the same interview john lennon comes up in conversation twice. who was then shot literally the next day. then I go insane

[rouge-fauna]

so people hate on your aspd c!tommy post mean while they have been calling c!dream a psychopath constantly? that doesn't make any sense, not to mention in canon and the ccs have called each other psychopaths cctommy said it, ccdreams said it. It was used in a negative connotation by them, and it was used in a neg connotation by so many c!dream haters.

These people talking behind your back just cherry pick what is ableist and what isn't

“that doesn’t make sense” being the operative phase lol… it’s not even a cherry pick, it’s just factually incorrect. I can’t be ableist against psychopaths, sociopaths or ASPD when it’s not even a widely recognized disability by the law or psychologists anyways, even if what I said was considered discrimination… not that I want to offend or cause harm or trigger anyone’s past trauma regardless. So, ableism or not, genuinely if what I said was hurting people I would have been happy to handle it in a reasonable way. I’m not here to make people upset, just enjoy my obsession and share things that I find interesting that maybe others will too. The last thing I want to do is add to the negative and hurtful space of the internet, that’s why I’ve tried my best to create a safe space of mutual respect. But see now, over a month later, after shit talking about me behind my back, it’s too late.

So to you anons in my inbox still trying to correct me - It’s Too Late. You had your chance to be reasonable. You had over 50 days since that post to treat me with the basic respect of a person. But see now, you ruined the chance for any meaningful or productive discussion on the topic. I’m done talking about it, especially when you clearly didn’t want my input on the matter to begin with and clearly don’t want to bother reading what I say anyways. You ruined it. Ruined the enjoyment, ruined the opportunity to discuss and meaningfully explore the stigmatization of sociopathy.

[glitteryinknotes]

There is a level of deep, bitterly poetic and cruel irony in Astarion's death and his eventual fate as a vampire spawn. Laughable, even. Lamentable.

Where do I even begin. I once posted here my thoughts on who Astarion was before Cazador took him; and all my thoughts were based on what we can assume to be canon from scraps on information in - game and interviews with Neil. That Astarion Ancunin who was laid into the ground at Baldur's Gate cementary was a corrupt magistrate, a shining example of power abuse, indulgence, hedony, existence in privilege without any service to the world around.

We also know for a fact that Astarion is not a good person in a moral sense. Again, Neil Newbon himself talked about it. He has capability to grow, mature, open himself up, soak in the positive influence and feel for others, but he never will be the default upstanding type. That is simply not at his core.

This is why (I am aware we're talking a fictional character, headcanon is free to all in whichever way they think it suits and pleases them) I cannot for the world believe in all the fanfiction based on the notion of the tragic, tortured soul unjustly attacked and turned into a vampire, because to me - it misses the entire depth and essence of Astarion's personality and arc. He was not a "worthy" persona before Cazador; in fact, the beating he got from the Gur was well - deserved and the near - death experience... Probably so as well. Maybe if anything, this would open his eyes and force him to reflect at least a bit on his choices in the position he was occupying. (But given that he mentions begging Cazador to turn him to be able to take revenge, I highly doubt that.) So yeah... The man got what was coming to him. He deserved it.

But what he got in the end once Cazador allowed him to drink his blood and had him in his hold? Two hundred years of misery and abuse beyond description, being completely stripped of any identity and personhood? No one deserves that. Such fate should not be thrust upon anyone. Ever.

It is the cruellest, most wicked twist of fate that it took that kind of ordeal to change a corrupt little elf's view of the world and force him to even acknowledge the existence of evil deeds and abuse of power - something I am quite sure he never gave any thought to before. It took being transformed into an utterly helpless victim to make him truly see that there is good and bad and perpetuating the bad leads to pain and misery for the innocents (and you can never be sure if not for you as well), and only then, at his most pathetic, most vulnerable, after centuries of torment, it took meeting, trusting, admiring, being grateful to, befriending / loving and being influenced by a genuinely good and kind person (probably the exact opposite of who he was before) to shake and cause some shift in his inner moral compass, or rather the way he was choosing to use it. The full circle, a poignant, unwilling journey from the one abusing power, to the enslaved puppet of someone with considerably more power abusing it in the most inhuman ways possible, and this time to his own woe, to the one person able to break the abusive cycle given the right influence.

Isn't that simply poetic in the most sickly sense? A tragicomedy, if you will.

Forget about Astarion Ancunin. The grave was good for lovemaking and sharing an important moment, but whoever was laid there was not anyone worthy of your time (just like "Ascended Astarion" )The one who stands by your side now is. Your Astarion. The new Astarion, the same "lovable rogue" with a taste for theatrics, drama, debauchery, beauty, murder mayhem and loose morality, but - a better person all the same.

[follow up post here

https://www.tumblr.com/glitteryinknotes/733162725841289216/a-little-follow-up-to-my-previous-post?source=share]

[annabelle--cane]

I really like mag 110 for the obvious reasons of web and transgender, but also it does something that later tma gets really good at, which is lean on the discrepancy between what the statement giver knows and what the audience knows in a kind of dramatic irony but for straight up horror. when alexia talks about the plot to the spider movie and says it's a series of vignettes about characters walking calmly into a spider's jaws, or a weary pseudo-protagonist who smokes and wanders helplessly between tragic episodes, or dexter banks's insistence on not using digital equipment, those all ping specific notes on the audience's radar and make us go 😬 in a way to which alexia is completely oblivious.

[evavertun]

could write an essay on the tragic irony of that scene (where mel is talking to jayce over Viktor who is dismantling jinx’s bomb) but like… in brief??

people are saying she’s being classist or ableist in leaving viktor out of the conversation and while that dimension to the power differential between them is definitely there (and I could write a whole lot on that too!) i just don’t think it’s the main reason why that conversation goes the way it does.

mel doesn’t speak to viktor because she is suggesting the goddamn militarisation of hextech. viktor is a principled scientist.

rewatch the scene closely. mel watches both jayce and viktor at first. while explaining the situation. while Viktor is dismantling the bomb, while giving the council’s opinion. but she stops engaging with viktor as soon as he asks her:

- V : “wait what are you suggesting?”

this is where she stops talking to him. because what she wants is the goddamn militarisation of hextech. to use on the undercity where viktor is from, no less. mel says straight up:

- M: “we should prepare our own countermeasures.”

it is right there. i don’t understand where the ‘manipulation’ conversation is coming in with this scene when she isn’t even attempting to speak around the violent measures she is willing to support. mel is being quite upfront about it. to me this was mel’s most ‘ambessa’ moment. it makes perfect narrative sense that in the episode following this one we meet ambessa and get to see mel’s relationship to martial law and Noxus’ kinds of state sanctioned violence that far exceed the brutality we have seen even piltover direct at zaun.

mel knows she cannot speak to viktor about this because… and i don’t know how many times I can say this… it’s a blunt proposal for the godamn militarisation of hextech.

of course she anticipates viktor’s reaction because she’s intelligent enough to know that his reaction is that of any principled scientist. before anyone can get a word in edgewise we see viktor immediately, vehemently trying to shut the idea down:

- V: “absolutely not. That is not what we created hextech for.”

jayce brings up heimerdinger here too and says he would never do it which is so telling. heimerdinger was a council member, yes, but he is first and foremost a scientist who adheres to science’s ethics and academic rigour (albeit to a pedantic degree because he has no real concept of human life spans).

in this scene viktor is rightfully much more pissed off at jayce. that he even considers the proposal is a testament to just how much more absorbed in mel’s world of state politics he has become as opposed to viktor’s one of science. after mel has left viktor scoffs and says:

- “Ridiculous. You cannot be considering this.[…] We’re scientists. Not soldiers. We agreed hextech is to improve lives not take them.”

a large part of what is so tragic about the machine herald storyline is that these tables have entirely turned. of the many, many mel and viktor parallels i think it’s often overlooked that it’s mel who becomes increasingly opposed to endorsing war and militarisation, ultimately killing her own mother, the symbolic figurehead of both, while it’s viktor who ends up creating the very thing he was insulted to even think of with hextech. an army that can’t die… used by ambessa no less.

[wifeyoozi]

Mr. Lee Pick-me Jihoon

No because Lee Jihoon in love is utterly the most pick-me, cringey, sore loser kinda guy. Jihoon’s got this whole complex about being the perfect boyfriend, but he ends up looking like the most obvious, over-the-top lovesick mess, convinced he’s the coolest guy in the world for it. He tries to play it smooth, like he’s effortlessly romantic and all-knowing about relationships, but it’s so clear to anyone with half an eye that he’s absolutely whipped—and trying way too hard. He somehow misses the irony every single time, basking in this self-made illusion that he’s doing the most “under-the-radar” job at being completely devoted.

It’s hilarious how he’ll throw himself into these “sacrifices” for you, like he’s some kind of knight in shining armor, going out of his way for the smallest things. Once, you casually mentioned craving a certain drink from a café clear across town. The next thing you know, Jihoon’s blowing up your phone with updates as he embarks on this “heroic” journey to get it for you, acting like he’s in some epic quest. He makes a whole show out of sighing dramatically when he gets back, sweat on his brow, handing over the drink like he just saved the kingdom, while casting you these little glances to see if you’re as impressed as he thinks you should be. It’s cringey and way over the top, and yet somehow endearing—because only Jihoon would turn a coffee run into an Oscar-worthy production.

Then there’s his obsession with being “different.” He’s convinced that he’s unlike any other boyfriend out there, a “hopeless romantic” who just gets it. The first time he tried to explain this to you, he looked off into the distance, like he was pondering some great truth, and murmured, “People these days don’t appreciate true romance, y’know? Not like I do.” You had to bite back a laugh as he continued, talking about how he thinks relationships should be full of little gestures and poetic love notes. He even tried to write you a letter once, but halfway through, he got embarrassed and tore it up because, according to him, “You deserve a better writer than me.” It was cheesy and melodramatic, yet something about his seriousness made you fall a little more in love.

And the fishing for compliments? It’s practically a full-time job for him. He’ll lean in close, adjusting his shirt or messing with his hair, pretending he doesn’t notice you watching him. “Do I look okay?” he’ll ask, like he’s casually inquiring, even though he’s practically holding his breath for your answer. If you compliment him, he’ll brush it off with a fake modest shrug, saying, “Oh, thanks, I guess…” But you know he’s about five seconds from grinning like a complete idiot and checking himself out in the mirror just because you called him cute.

But nothing beats his little sigh-filled monologues about how deeply he loves you, how his feelings are almost too much to handle. It could be the simplest moment—like the two of you watching TV on the couch, or walking through the grocery store—and suddenly, he’ll stop and say, “You know, loving you… it’s like… it’s almost too much. I don’t think you understand how intense it is.” He’ll shake his head, all serious, as if he’s grappling with this grand, tragic love, and you have to stifle your laughter because he’s acting like a main character in a soap opera. But he’s deadly serious, as if his heart can barely hold the enormity of his feelings.

Whenever he’s feeling insecure, Jihoon has this self-deprecating move he pulls, fishing for reassurance in the most obvious way. He’ll sigh and mutter, “I mean, I know I’m not like… the coolest boyfriend ever or anything…” trailing off and casting side glances at you, waiting for you to tell him he’s wonderful. When you finally give in and reassure him, he tries to keep a straight face, but you can tell by the way his shoulders relax that he’s basking in it, practically glowing under your validation.

What’s really priceless, though, is how he’s convinced that being with you makes him the luckiest person alive, and he’ll say it to you at the most random moments. “Do you realize how lucky I am?” he’ll whisper, even if you’re just brushing your teeth next to him. “Seriously. I don’t think I deserve you.” He’ll shake his head like he’s some tragic, noble hero, sighing in contentment as he gazes at you. It’s such a ridiculous, earnest display, and yet you can’t help but adore him for it.

In the end, Jihoon’s trying way too hard to be this ideal boyfriend, failing miserably at being subtle, and somehow landing squarely in “adorable loser” territory. He’s clueless to how transparent his little “cool guy” persona is, blissfully unaware that you can see right through him. But in a way, it’s what you love about him—he’s just so unapologetically and awkwardly in love, and while he thinks he’s fooling everyone, you wouldn’t have him any other way.

[lost-romantique]

Stolas - Five Stages of Grief (Sinsmas)

One thing I don't hear many people talk about is the fact that Sinsmas illustrates Stolas learning and accepting his new reality that he's thrusted into, and through it he goes through the Five Stages of Grief. I think it's also important to note that Stolas' grief is due largely in part to not having Octavia around, and the fact that he's been off his antidepressants the entire month.

Denial- A temporary response to loss, where you might not fully comprehend the reality that your in.

Day by Day illustrates the very first month Stolas is spent living with Blitz, he goes about the day(s), living life with Blitz and while he's happy to be with Blitz, you can tell that he's also struggling.

Listen to the lyrics:

Keep it calm, life goes on, and on, and on Nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong So why do I still feel this way?

Stolas is living life with Blitz domestically, going out on dates here and there, seeing how he lives, seeing how imps live, and he's just at a loss, confused, not really knowing what to do. But he pretends that everything is okay, everything has to be okay.

Anger- Stolas letting all his anger and grief from the current situation he's in out and about.

Stolas has what is essentially a mental breakdown in the span of a minute: breaking Blitz's phone (Stolas sweetie don't break your bfs phone, that's his job), ripping and tearing stuff apart, blaming himself for his stupidity for having ruined his life in order to fulfill his fantasies.

Note: When Stolas calls himself stupid for fulfilling a fantasy, I honestly think he's talking about the context of him and Blitz and their transactional arrangement. Remember, during the very beginning of their transactional relationship, Stolas was very much chasing a fantasy.

Bargaining- Making promises to do better or be better whether it be to a higher power or to yourself.

Stolas begging Octavia to listen to him, to what he has to say. Stolas is extremely desperate to get Octavia to listen to him, to get Octavia back in his life.

"No! No! Never Via, sweetie please, you have always been the only good thing in my life." "I love you Via so, so much. Please sweetie let me explain..."

Depression- A feeling of dread that feels like it will last forever, but is a necessary part of the healing process.

Stolas, immediately after getting home from the palace, sits down on the couch just to process everything. Stolas spends, what looks to be hours, sitting on contemplation- occasionally resting his head on Blitz's horns.

Note: I love how Blitz stays close to Stolas the entire time, never leaving his side, except to help decorate for the Sinsmas Party and to change into his Sinsmas sweater. Even when the Sinsmas party starts, and he starts looking content, he's always with Stolas the entire time.

Acceptance- You learn to live with the loss and acknowledge that both sorrow and joy can coexist.

Blitz helps Stolas learn to accept this new way of life, and for a moment he helps him forget all the pain as he leads them into a very romantic dance.

Stolas, for the first time since losing his daughter, is able to laugh freely and find joy in that moment, and it's all thanks to Blitz.

Stolas looks out into the sky as he realizes that this is his life now. From now on, he will have to live life of a commoner with his only solace being Blitz. The moment Stolas closes his eyes is the moment he accepts this new reality of his.

I love the tragic irony of Stolas spending the entirety of Season 2 pining and chasing after an emotionally constipated lizard to the point that he is unknowingly hurting his daughter in the process. But by the end of that season, he gets the unconditional love of the man he's in love with, only to lose the one thing he thought he would never lose- his daughter's love.

I do want to point out that I do feel bad for Stolas, but I also understand very well that this was his choice in the end. And from now on he has to live with that choice, to live with the consequences.

[watcherintheweyr]

I saw a post earlier talking about how Alicent is not being rewarded by the patriarchy she has served so faithfully, and how the son she and Otto raised to the throne 'to protect his life in the way they knew they must' and I just... I have Thoughts so I'm gonna say em.

Alicent thought that by weaponizing the patriarchy against Rhaenyra and by serving it and it's goals, she'd be the exception to their sexism and disdain of women. She thought she'd be rewarded by signing with the oppressors and the oppressive system and it's values, and she's now facing the reality and the consequences of what's happened. And she's also getting a taste of the undermining and humiliation that she turned against Rhaenyra for years.

Honestly the fact that she even has a seat in the Small Council makes no sense at this point - it barely made sense with Viserys, given Alicent's views on women having power. That they should not have the power but should 'gently guide' those that do. In truth it's tragic irony and yet somehow comedic, seeing her realize that she will not be rewarded or exalted in Any way for all she's sacrificed and betrayed.

But also: Otto knew that Rhaenyra wouldn't turn on her siblings. He never really believed she would kill them. Those were lies he fed to Alicent that she in turn poisoned her children with in order to serve his ambition: which was originally to have his blood ruling on the throne but has become to have his blood on the throne as a puppet-king that he can control.

The MOMENT they moved forward with the usurpation, Otto attempted to have Rhaenyra and her entire family- including two toddlers- assassinated- the very thing he claimed Rhaebyra would do. Because he was never horrified by such a concept, and he never genuinely thought Rhaenyra was the sort to do such a thing. But he absolutely is- and entirely unprovoked. And yet somehow Alicent is shocked by this- somehow she never realized that to 'secure his succession, Aegon and his faction would have to do to the true heir and her family what she thought the true heir would do- which is either incredibly poor writing, or just blind, willful ignorance of what a usurper would have to do to stay secure from rival claimants.

Otto suggested Rhaenyra as heir to further distance Daemon from the throne (which was due to his hatred of Daemon, his knowledge that Daemon saw hom as he was, and his.. greed and possessiveness of Viserys, which was referenced now on s2e2 in how Otto spoke of Viserys, the man he puppeted, controlled, and manipulated for decades with total reverence.)- and because he thought she would be immediately displaced once his daughter gave Viserys the son that Aemma was killed for.

He never thought that Viserys would seriously hold her as his heir- and never thought she would be so difficult to manage or control, either. We see the horrified realization in his eyes in episode 2 when she shows him up at Dragonstone- that she is actually something formidable, that she just succeeded at something he did not- and saved his life from Caraxes in the same breath. That she, a girl, was taking this role as heir seriously, and that she might actually be able to play the part, and do it well.

So he made a new plan- to fill Alicent's mind with poison and lies about her once best friend, to ensure she would turn her children against Viserys' heir, and thus help him to further his goals.

But he miscalculated. Deeply. Because now Aegon's jealousy, insecurity, and hatred are running unchecked as he sits as the most powerful man in the realm. Now his grandson's depravity guides his choices, and Aegon's hatred and jealousy of Rhaenyra, his desperation for love and attention, and the power cirrently goong to his head... All are far stronger than any respect he may have once held for his grandsire- and his mother.

She betrayed and destroyed herself and Rhaenyra for nothing. She will never be rewarded for what Otto made her suffer or for what she did to disparage and demean Rhaenyra in the eyes of the men of the realm. She has served her use, as far as the men she thought to guide are concerned.

[xxepherr]

.ೃ࿐NEW YEARS | MV1

summary — in which two strangers are each other’s new years kiss

pairings: max verstappen x named!fem!oc

pronouns — she/her

word count — 1143

note — i wrote this last year for new years on wattpad it’s probably not that great but. she has a name here for the sake of the plot

THE PARTY WAS LOUD. 

everly had lost her friend, bella, that had brought her here hours ago, and in the time since, she had just been awkwardly hanging around the kitchen. she didn't know a single person at this party, with the guy whose place it was being one of bella's childhood friends. 

from what she had worked out, it was a place max verstappen owned outside monte carlo. it was a two-storey house with a large front yard, a house that she was almost certain was just for parties. 

she'd heard of him before, but then again, who hadn't? he had just won his third world championship a month ago, and bella talked about him quite a bit because they used to kart together forever ago now. 

but bella had gone off with her boyfriend, and so everly was people-watching instead . . . and keeping a mental tally of the amount of couples she had witnessed grossly and clumsily make out, and of those who she had watched absolutely stack it on the tiled floor. 

"are you gatekeeping my kitchen?"

her eyes blew a wide. blinking a few times, she composed herself before spinning to face who the voice belonged to. she had to tilt her head back the tiniest bit to face max verstappen, who was a lot closer than she had anticipated. 

max had on a black button-up shirt on, with a good portion of the buttons undone. he was clearly a couple of drinks in, not drunk, but not exactly sober to the point where she could faintly smell bourbon lingering from him. 

"uh," she stupidly stumbled over her words. taking a step back, she found herself flush against the bench behind her. "well— no . . . sorry?"

he chuckled, absentmindedly leaning one hand against the counter beside where her body was. "relax. i'm fucking with you." he then reached past her for whichever the first bottle he could grab was: a stray beer that was the only one left from the case she had seen there half an hour ago. "i'm max."

"it's hard to not know who you are, if i'm honest," she shrugged, trying to ignore that, even though there was space between them, that he was still close. 

because yeah, sue her for getting flustered at how close an attractive and very successful dutchman was to her.

"but i didn't get your name," his smile left her shamefully breathless. damn it. "i bet it's something pretty, maybe like a flower."

she snorted at the irony. "try a wild pig," she gave into the little space between them, leaning back fully against the counter with her forearms. "everly," she said at his confused look, "google says it's associated with a boar in a woodland clearing."

"okay," max laughed, "maybe not a flower . . . but i'm sure woodland clearings are pretty."

"don't worry, i'm sure that line you used will work on someone with a nicer name," she giggled. "but it's nice to meet you, max."

"and you, everly," his accent, although lighter than it once had been, rolled over his words almost soothingly amidst the loud chaos of his house. "you do look really lonely though, especially this close to midnight."

everly's eyes flickered to the clock on the oven over his shoulder. 11:58. had time already passed that quick? her and bella had arrived at the house at 8:30pm, and everly had been in the kitchen for most of it. tragic. 

"two minutes until 2024," she hummed aloud before her eyes found his own again. his eyes were a dark blue in the darker lighting, a shade near lapis lazuli. "it feels like the year went so quick."

"yeah," max ran a hand through his hair, "tell me about it." he took a sip from the beer bottle he was holding by the neck before offering it to her. 

she grimaced, "beer is so gross," she said, "thanks though."

"fair enough," he nodded, setting the bottle down on the counter. he turned slightly to look over his shoulder, only to notice the same oven clock displaying the time. 

one minute to midnight. 

"everyone's running around trying to find their partners," he chuckled lowly. "y'know, the kiss and all."

"not surprised," everly snuck a glance behind her. everyone indeed was running around, just as he had said. "i never understood it."

"yeah?" he asked. 

"yeah," she agreed. "like, what if you start the year off kissing someone and then you break up with them later that year or something. i don't know . . ."

"that's why you should kiss someone you barely know," he suggested casually, shifting a little closer to her. "that way there's less risk."

"you think so?" she hadn't really ever thought about it like that. then again, she had never really been in any kind of relationship around new year's eve. she wasn't the best at long-term relationships. 

"i guess so," max shrugged. through the chaotic party music was suddenly counting, a countdown from ten.

ten. 

"you might be right," everly mirrored his shrug. 

nine. 

she noticed him shift a little closer, and it wasn't like she could really move; her back was to the counter. 

eight. 

"why not try it?"

seven. 

"try what— the kiss?" she questioned, eyebrows furrowed. 

six. 

"we barely know each other," max was so casual it had her head spinning. 

five. 

"so why the fuck not?" he continued. "unless you're uncomfortable."

four. 

she searched his eyes for something that could give her a firm enough reason to say no, hoping it would help her grasp onto whatever remaining restraint she had left. 

three. 

but she found nothing. nothing. 

two. 

without thinking much further, she moved her arms from behind her up to around his neck. his hands were slightly cold against the bare skin that her bustier didn't cover, the condensation of the beer bottle sending shivers across her body. 

"yeah?" he asked, trying to make sure she was comfortable. 

one.

"yeah," everly confirmed, closing the gap between them two connect their lips.

"happy new year!"

everly found herself giggling as she pulled back from the brief kiss with max. he looked amused too, his eyes doing all the speaking for him. 

he made the next move, pressing his lips against hers with a lot more need this time. everly melted a lot quicker than she cared to admit, melting into his hold and returning the kiss back in full in the middle of the kitchen.

she broke away first with a soft gasp when his teeth grazed her lip. forehead pressed against his own, she whispered, "happy new year, max," just loud enough to be heard over the celebrations around them. 

"happy new year, everly." but there was something in his eyes that spoke volumes louder than their surroundings: that this was only the start of something new, not the end.