#the girls are stressed (i forgot to give context) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

starstruckodysseys · 3 months ago

Text

baby, don’t you like this beat? (i made it so you’d sleep with me) —

>> reese’s oc insert jamboree

complete; wc is officially like 8.5k but most of those are not Actual Words if ykwim

in which lanie girlbosses too close to the sun, fucks up her flirting game entirely, and accidentally makes the video store go viral. everything kind of spirals from there.

(or: the kind-of-still-nsbu social media au no one asked for. like, literally no one)

notes for context bc truly this entire thing exists within the vacuum of my mind:

-post nsbu (movie and canon)!

-lanie woodward: 19 year old college dropout, social media manager for russell’s video world after the store’s revamp, blatantly pan and incredibly obvious about her crushes on her best friends

-jenna woodward: 23 year old model in LA, lives just outside of lake elsinore. had a falling out with lanie months ago but they’re over it now. she regrets it now that she has to deal with this

-trans liv trans liv trans liv (truly the least important thing here but it does exist)

-wendell + lanie have the weirdest combatant friendship ever. no one can figure it out (they’re both fucking terrified of each other for Very Specific reasons but that’s a whole other piece)

—

russellsvideoworld just posted to their story!

image description: an instagram story from user russellsvideoworld. a female figure in a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans holds up a peace sign. split dyed green and black hair can be seen in the top left corner, as well as the girl’s chin. the caption, in bright green serif font with a paler green background, reads “put hot to go on our insta note bc our vhs tapes and dvds are always hot to go and certainly not bc the social media manager was trying to flirt with her crushes and forgot which account she was on. certainly not.” HOT TO GO! by chappell roan is playing in the background.

image description: a screenshot of the previous instagram story from user wendellmorris. the caption, in blue arial font, reads “i think we should let lanie rationalize putting more chappell roan songs on our store’s ig. for marketing purposes”

—

[ lanie’s mental breakdown liveblog (not clickbait!) ]

bowling alley carpet:

imagine not being the most oblivious fucking idiot alive

couldn’t be wendell !!!!!!!

…do you guys think maybe neither of them like me and they’re just trying to be nice about it

everything is you:

wendell is the least subtle person on this planet and it still took an entire movie dimension for steven to realize he liked him

i think ur doing fine

unless you wanna figure out how to make out with one of them in the amazon again

bowling alley carpet:

don’t say AGAIN like i was involved the first time??

everything is you:

close enough if you ask me

hollywood(ward):

I think you could choose literally any other way to flirt with them!

But no, I don’t think that’s the issue

bowling alley carpet:

jen i cannot stress enough how much a) that does not help and b) your capitals are fucking terrifying

hollywood(ward):

I’m an adult!

bowling alley carpet:

girl we’re having a discussion about my dumbass flirting via chappell roan songs on the video store insta

there are no adults here. only idiots

—

video description: a tiktok from user del.lanie. lanie, a nineteen year old girl with split dyed green/black hair and slightly tan skin, in a red leather jacket and black ripped jeans, does the hot to go dance with possibly the least amount of energy anyone has ever done it. she gives up by the end, laughing with her mouth covered and talking to someone off screen as she moves to turn the camera off. the caption, in the classic tiktok font, reads “when you fuck up your flirting game severely but at least your video store is going viral”

—

image description: an instagram post from some news site i don’t have the energy to come up with a name for rn. or the post itself actually. the caption reads “In a world where physical media seems to be moving away from public consumption, Russell’s Video World stands out like a sore thumb — for more reasons than one. The video store, located in Lake Elsinore, California, has taken over the spotlight after an Instagram story from its social media manager, Lanie Woodward. link to the rest of the story in our bio!”

comments:

del.lanie: WHY AM I ON INSTAGRAM NEWS HELLO???

↳ del.lanie: girl why are they full naming me… help…

del.lanie: also leave wendell + steven out of this?? this is my dumbassery what the hell did they do

↳ skysthelimit: shared sorrow is half sorrow or whatever !!

↳ del.lanie: yeah but this isn’t even sorrow this is just like. stupid

j.enna: if you told me twenty minutes ago i was going to see lanie frantically clarifying she *is* queer i would’ve laughed in your face

↳ del.lanie: *the most obviously pansexual girl you’ve seen in your life* “but is she gay though?????”

wendellmorris: bold of them to assume i was joking about lanie’s marketing techniques

↳ skysthelimit: “““““marketing”””””

—

Order Up: These Video Tapes are Hot to Go!

July 26, 2024

written by Marie Vienna

With streaming services constantly on the rise and the internet at our fingertips, stores like Blockbuster have more or less fallen to the wayside. One of these video stores, however, has recently come into the spotlight — and not for the reason you might expect.

Russell’s Video World, located in Lake Elsinore, California, is one of the few video stores remaining in the United States. It briefly blew up on the news after its management switch last month, its previous owner now in jail after being arrested for embezzling funds from the company and blaming it on his own employee. This landed the company a small cult following on the internet, with people deeply invested in the follow up, and their newfound social media presence was surely an added bonus. However, the store has found itself going viral once more for an entirely different reason.

On July 21st, 2024, a few eagle eyed fans noticed the store’s Instagram account posting a song on their notes. While this might not traditionally be much of an upset — brands always like to keep up with the trends, after all — they noted that Chappell Roan’s hit HOT TO GO! is not… usually the kind of thing a company might post. Hours later, social media manager Lanie Woodward posted on the store’s Instagram story, clarifying that posting the song was a mistake — and, incidentally, it was meant for her main account as a flirting technique.

[ screenshot of the story post ]

Woodward’s revival of the video store’s social media pages has been revolutionary for the company, her snark and humor mixed with her obvious, though reluctant, care for her job drawing fans in even from outside the city. She’s mostly known for her humorous interactions with commenters, especially her own coworkers. And, as a matter of fact, commenters have speculated about the nature of Woodward’s relationships with her coworkers — namely Wendell Morris and Steven Skyler, both of whom Woodward has posted with multiple times. Morris even added onto the initial post, joking that Woodward should “rationalize” posting more of Roan’s music on the store’s Instagram.

Most of this speculation has centered around which of Woodward’s friends she was referring to in her initial post, but, as some commenters have pointed out, she’d used the word crushes, as in plural. Perhaps there’s something going on behind the scenes we’re not privy to.

While the true nature of the post is, really, none of our business, it has created quite a stir on social media — a TikTok posted by Woodward on July 23rd about the matter gained five million views in no time at all. We just hope that, if nothing else, all ends well for the couple — or, possibly, the trio.

Have something to say? Our comment section is always open!

—

[ muscle man gender envy ]

sky’s the limit:

wendell thee morris:

sky’s the limit:

what’s it like being famous?

everything you’d dreamed of?

wendell thee morris:

shouldn’t you be asking lanie??

sky’s the limit:

…okay so i might be afraid of doing that

and i don’t know how to bring it up without being like “oh btw i know i already have a bf but i’m also desperately in love with you!!!”

yknow

like i don’t think she’d hate me? but i don’t want things to be weird

wendell thee morris:

okay. good news i think she’s incapable of hating you

unless something changed in the past month

which. a lot of things did actually

but you know what i mean

sky’s the limit:

yeah

but also wdym she’s incapable??

wendell thee morris:

well. uh

okay so you didn’t hear it from me

but um. pre-nsbu we used to… commiserate about our crushes

crush. i guess

on you

um. so idk if that’s changed for her but i don’t think so

sky’s the limit:

well. that’s

cute!

but also deeply confusing now

wendell thee morris:

yeah. sorry

❤️ ?

sky’s the limit:

💕 !!

—

russellsvideoworld just posted!

video description: lanie sits at the checkout counter of the store. she grins, saying “I hope she plays HOT TO GO!” as the words show up on the screen as well. the camera cuts to steven, an eighteen year old boy with medium length black hair and pale skin, wearing a white zip up jacket. he tries to fight off a laugh as he says “This is the grand reopening of Russell’s Video Word.” the camera then cuts to the front doors of the video store, where a line of people can be seen. hot to go does, in fact, play faintly in the background. the caption of the post itself reads “reposting for. uh. reasons!”

comments:

stxrfrxit: hot to go always at the scene of the crime… i know what you are

↳ del.lanie: i don’t even know you but you are the only person i trust around here

skysthelimit: untranses my gender so people stop calling lanie straight

↳ del.lanie: LMAO NO

↳ j.enna: when will the rumors end…

—

[ very serious work chat ]

bowling alley carpet:

gang how do i get the world to stop assuming i’m straight

like i *would* be incredibly passive aggressive and post a photo of me like. idk making out with a girl or something

but i don’t have one of those

sky’s the limit:

a girl?

wendell thee morris:

the photo?

everything is you:

the ability to make out with a girl?

bowling alley carpet:

all of the above

WAIT NO HANG ON

i have so much game you don’t even know

you’re just jealous you don’t understand my ways

everything is you:

the ways of posting chappell roan songs on the video store’s instagram by accident?

wendell thee morris:

okay genuine question

was it actually an accident

or was it some publicity stunt

bowling alley carpet:

no unfortunately i am actually that much of a dumbass

i’ve been trying to sort out the algorithm on the store’s explore page and apparently i did not switch off after i last did that

and then i was like “oh boy 1pm time for my daily really bad flirting!!”

but it went worse than even i could’ve anticipated

rust:

At least we’re getting business out of it!

bowling alley carpet:

yeah and they’re getting in MY business

do you guys think they’d count it as self defense if i stabbed someone after being asked for the five thousandth time if im straight

i think it’d be warranted atp

sky’s the limit:

i’ll help you hide the body!

bowling alley carpet:

love the enthusiasm!

mildly concerned but i still appreciate it!

[ muscle man gender envy ]

sky’s the limit:

that was too eager wasn’t it

wendell thee morris:

possibly

i think she’s also seen you murder several people before

so. not a dealbreaker necessarily

yknow. speaking from experience and all that

sky’s the limit:

yeah?

i’ll uh. keep that in mind

wendell thee morris:

yeah

good idea

[ how to lose a guy in ten days ]

wendell thee morris:

okay so i realize you are the worst person to ask

but also. what the fuck

[ IMG.098 ]

bowling alley carpet:

i feel like i should be offended but truly i don’t have the energy

?? am i allowed to ask what isn’t a dealbreaker or

wendell thee morris:

um. no…?

i didn’t realize that was there honestly

bowling alley carpet:

bro you cropped the image…

anyway idk what you want my advice on

or why you want my advice actually

like i know i was the only person to watch you guys kiss. or not kiss. several times actually

but y’all are dating??

i do not have special insider information here

wendell thee morris:

anyone ever tell you you’re the most obnoxious texter ever

bowling alley carpet:

why is THAT what you’re taking away from this conversation

anyway idk man just make out or whatever?? ur allowed to do that

wendell thee morris:

…honestly i don’t know what i expected

bowling alley carpet:

look man i've never actually been in a relationship

wendell thee morris:

what

bowling alley carpet:

so like. ur already multiple steps ahead of me

yeah?? this is like. common knowledge i fear

tbf i've also never done anything to change that fact so. that’s on me tbh!

wendell thee morris:

yet

bowling alley carpet:

what

wendell thee morris:

what

anyway uh thanks lanie!

bowling alley carpet:

…anytime?

[ california girls ]

bowling alley carpet:

jen

jenna

jennifer woodward

hollywood(ward):

did you just make a nickname of my name that’s longer than my actual name

bowling alley carpet:

yeah

i think i'm having an aneurysm???

[ IMG.284 ]

please tell me i’m not making up this conversation

hollywood(ward):

…dang was right you do just need to make out with one of them

bowling alley carpet:

i’m never speaking to any of you ever again

[ muscle man gender envy ]

wendell thee morris:

i am the dumbest person alive

[ IMG.078 ]

sky’s the limit:

…i’ll be over in ten

—

del.lanie just posted to their story!

image description: a close up shot of lanie’s face as she stares deadpan at the camera. the caption, in bright green serif font, reads “why are we so focused on me being straight or not bc i posted chappell roan one (1) time. i posted joyride by kesha once and no one called me a car so like??”

—

skysthelimit just posted!

image description: steven holds the camera, presumably, wearing a dark red t-shirt over a striped long sleeve shirt. his other arm is looped through lanie’s, and he smiles softly. lanie, in a blue zip up hoodie and a black t-shirt, grins at the camera, her free arm slung over wendell’s shoulders as she makes a peace sign. wendell, an eighteen year old boy with dark skin and glasses, wears a black sweatshirt with an indiscernible logo on it, making a matching peace sign and smiling. other assorted photos follow, including one of three cups of frozen yogurt, and one of wendell and lanie fake sword fighting with those inflatable things at the trampoline park, over a foam block pit. the caption reads “my favs 💕”

comments:

del.lanie: do you need a third

↳ del.lanie: wheel! third wheel

del.lanie: i literally love u guys <3

↳ skysthelimit: we will have a beautiful spring wedding

↳ wendellmorris: am i just roadkill in this situation??

↳ skysthelimit: no we’re going to have the first poly wedding in history

↳ del.lanie: i’m like 80% sure that’s not legal but honestly let’s do it baby i know the law

j.enna: god i love seeing lanie wearing shit i have never once seen in her closet

↳ del.lanie: jenna stop being a hater challenge!!!

↳ j.enna: dress for the weather then dork

↳ del.lanie: IT’S FUCKING JULY

wendellmorris: love you <3

↳ skysthelimit: <3

—

[ lanie’s mental breakdown liveblog (not clickbait!) ]

bowling alley carpet:

i think i’m going to lose my mind

like not willingly but it has already started happening

hollywood(ward):

don’t make me tap the sign (the chat name)

everything is you:

i think i need to study your brain

understand what the hell is going on up there

bowling alley carpet:

that’s my secret it’s just fucking hollow

lights on no one’s home

hollywood(ward):

okay but whose jacket is that. genuinely

i have never seen it in my life

bowling alley carpet:

sometimes i do things without you knowing

everything is you:

it’s wendell’s

bowling alley carpet:

i am going to throw myself into the sea

hollywood(ward):

LMFAO

that’s what i figured though. just wanted to check <3

bowling alley carpet:

okay but fr what do we think “we’re going to have the first poly wedding in history” means

hollywood(ward):

that you’re a moron

bowling alley carpet:

WHAT THE HELL

everything is you:

i think it’s a valid follow up to “do you need a third”

which was fucking wild btw. what are you smoking

bowling alley carpet:

unfortunately nothing

i would say that sometimes i just say shit but i did actually debate commenting that for like three minutes

and for some reason i landed on doing so

[ it’s all love now ]

everything is you:

look i’m not one to get involved

sky’s the limit:

you’re literally the one who set wendell n i up at lord’s but go on

everything is you:

…k so i forgot about that

but srsly. one of you needs to talk to lanie for the love of god

and also my sanity. and maybe jenna’s sanity

and lanie’s sanity also tbh i think she’s losing it a little

sky’s the limit:

am i allowed to ask what that means

or…?

everything is you:

yknow?

for some reason i think you already know

sky’s the limit:

ominous!

unfortunately true also

—

@ del.lanie

7 posts • 5298 followers • 34 following

lanie! she/her

social media rep @ russellsvideoworld

now playing: are you bored yet? (feat. clairo) • wallows

—

[ full of BPA ]

wendell thee morris:

lanie

what’s your deal

bowling alley carpet:

hello???

what the hell does that mean

sky’s the limit:

that ur posting sad songs on ur instagram again and it’s concerning

bowling alley carpet:

okay i’m honored you guys are concerned

but truly can a girl not yearn in peace

also wdym again it’s been vaguely horny for the past like. week

sky’s the limit:

yeah and that’s more concerning!!

what did they do!!

wendell thee morris:

i mean it's not really our business

like if you don’t want to talk about it that’s fine

but. if you do…

bowling alley carpet:

…

you guys know i’m demi right?

sky’s the limit:

…yeah?

bowling alley carpet:

cool

just making sure

wendell thee morris:

lanie you gotta start using your words

that means nothing

bowling alley carpet:

you’re both smart

you can figure it out

i believe in you <3

[ muscle man gender envy ]

wendell thee morris:

i’m going to commit a hate crime

i know that’s a bold move but sometimes lanie instills the rage of god in me

sky’s the limit:

…yeah okay

have fun!

—

wendellmorris just posted to their story!

image description: a black iphone covers up part of the shot, but two people are at least partially visible — the side of a pale neck and shoulder, with a few bruises visible, and a dark chin hooked over the shoulder. their faces are cropped out, but we can all use context clues.

—

sorry, this post has been deleted!

—

[ lanie’s mental breakdown liveblog (not clickbait!) ]

hollywood(ward):

just heard lanie scream violently from upstairs which cannot mean anything good for us

y'know del you could make a killing in horror movies

bowling alley carpet:

IM GOIGN TO LOSE MY SHIT JEN

USE YOUR WORDS THIS MOTHERFUCKER SAYS

AND THEN TURNS AROUND AND

FUCKING HELL DUDE

everything is you:

did we miss something

bowling alley carpet:

hey so you can’t see if people screenshot your insta story right

it’s not like snapchat

hollywood(ward):

…jesus christ lanie

i mean no. they can’t see it. but like

lanie

what the hell

bowling alley carpet:

WHY AM I THE WEIRD ONE HERE

should i be petty and post casual

hollywood(ward):

no you should have an actual goddamn conversation with them for once in your life

everything is you:

i still have no fuckin clue what’s going on but like

agreed

bowling alley carpet:

i won’t post it for the sake of u guys and the fact that i am the down bad one here

and also that weirdly feels like an HR violation even though we aren’t at work rn

but just know. wendell is a fucking menace. never let anyone tell you otherwise

and i’m going to kill him

i like him too much he has to die

hollywood(ward):

i think that might be the first time you’ve ever actually admitted your crush on him!

usually you just send minor threats

…oh my god he deleted the story

bowling alley carpet:

i’m

it’s been five minutes????

hollywood(ward):

del

be honest with me

do you have their post notifications on

bowling alley carpet:

no actually i’m just chronically online

i’m not that bad yet

also like… girl what were YOU doing at the devil’s sacrament 👀

hollywood(ward):

right place right time i guess

i did not want to see the post. i have a whole husband lanie

bowling alley carpet:

you cannot start preaching to ME of all people abt monogamy

hollywood(ward):

okay fair

anyway. how did we get from “lanie posts hot to go on the wrong instagram account” to… whatever that story post was

in the span of like… a week and a half

i don’t think i can look either of them in the eye for the next week

bowling alley carpet:

LMFAO that’s my line i think

anyway idk earlier they were questioning my song choices again

which. idk why NOW is when we’re choosing to worry about that. but anyway

like this is not my wildest song choice

hollywood(ward):

…what was the rest of the conversation?

bowling alley carpet:

[ IMG.244 ]

hollywood(ward):

okay yeah

this has nothing to do with your song choices del

everything is you:

dang dude

i didn’t realize they were THAT bad

bowling alley carpet:

YEAH DUDE

i mean. okay yes i could actually say what i mean more often. i am aware of my own flaws

but they’re not stupid!! and i know this!!

they could put the pieces together if they tried!!

AND YET!!!!

everything is you:

okay

so you aren’t gonna like this

i really do think you need to talk to them

and i get it. that shit’s hard

but you’re kinda just making it worse for everyone involved

unless you enjoy whatever psychological warfare bullshit you’ve got goin on rn

bowling alley carpet:

i don’t *enjoy* it it’s just. easier

i’m just

i don’t want to lose them

and i don’t want to be like “hey btw i know you’ve had a thing going on for like months now but i’m deeply in love with both of you if you even care!! which you shouldn’t!!”

hollywood(ward):

you made a whole joke about being their third

steven LITERALLY said you guys would have the first poly wedding in history

del. i love you. you’re my favorite sister in the world

but you’re also a fucking idiot sometimes

bowling alley carpet:

…i’ll think about it

and i’m your only sister dumbass

—

stella! @ stcrfruit

deeply obsessed with the love triangle happening at this video store rn

stella! @ stcrfruit

like i can’t stress enough i have nothing to do w this store. i’m not even in the us. i’m also deeply invested in the outcome of this

monabus @ monaslisas

LITERALLY i’m obsessed w their social media manager

kat :3 @ kittiekatarina

no fr like i didn’t have “random video store going viral bc their employees are in love or whatever” on my 2024 bingo card but honestly?? loving it

holding out for a hero @ kizunamusicz

i cannot tell if it’s a publicity stunt or not but god i hope not bc this is the most fun i've had on the internet in a while

monabus @ monaslisas

nah have you seen her personal acc? i think homegirl is genuinely going through it

kat :3 @ kittiekatarina

im p sure the two guys are dating so like. yeah i’d also be going through it tbh!

monabus @ monaslisas

NOOOOO WHAT

monabus @ monaslisas

I MEAN GOOD FOR THEM LMFAO i just feel bad for her ://

gorgeous girls drink gasoline @ delanie

yeah me too girl. me too

—

del.lanie just posted!

image description: a selfie taken from a higher angle, but not unflattering. lanie, in a cropped black tank top and denim shorts, looks up at the camera with the slightest of smirks. the caption reads “call me hot not pretty”

comments:

wendellmorris: okay bet

↳ del.lanie: do it you won’t!!

skysthelimit: pick me!! choose me!!

↳ del.lanie: always 💛

j.enna: i love that you know one song ever

↳ del.lanie: look i accidentally cultivated the brand the least i can do is stick to it

—

[ muscle man gender envy ]

sky’s the limit:

i think ,, i’m dead?

i think i died?

i think maybe this is heaven?

wendell thee morris:

i’m glad one of us can make words rn

bc i think im dissociating

sky’s the limit:

i mean. barely

i think,, maybe we should talk

oh wait nvm you have that family thing today right?

wendell thee morris:

yeah ://

i can try to get out of it though

you and lanie should definitely talk. at least

i don’t necessarily have to be there

sky’s the limit:

you sure?

i feel like that kind of defeats the purpose lol

wendell thee morris:

i mean. one of us has to do something eventually

well. i guess we don’t?? historically speaking

but we should

probably

sky’s the limit:

lol you don’t think the passive aggressive photos you guys have been posting back and forth are the best way to go about this?

…you are sure about this right

like i know this has kind of always been A Thing but also you’re my boyfriend

which i think is a little more important in this scenario

wendell thee morris:

hey

steven

sky’s the limit:

hi :)

wendell thee morris:

i love you

go kiss a pretty girl

sky’s the limit:

LMAO okay

love u too <3

[ royal flush ]

sky’s the limit:

lanie

bowling alley carpet:

sky’s the limit:

do you want to come over?

it’s been a while since we hung out :(

bowling alley carpet:

it’s been like four days lol

miss me that much?

sky’s the limit:

always :)

bowling alley carpet:

yeah i can be there in

so i don’t have a car

or a license actually

sky’s the limit:

lol i’ll be over in ten

bowling alley carpet:

mkay!!

[ lanie’s mental breakdown liveblog (not clickbait!) ]

bowling alley carpet:

i am so stupid

i should win dumbest bitch alive award

hollywood(ward):

okay slow down hon

what happened

bowling alley carpet:

[ IMG.296 ]

how the fuck am i supposed to function normally

like he’s like “let’s hang out!! :)” and i'm like “okay!! i’ll just ignore the overwhelming urge to kiss you the entire time i guess!!!!”

everything is you:

or don’t

just go for it

bowling alley carpet:

so are we just ignoring the part where he has a bf already or…

everything is you:

yeah dude

a bf who is also painfully into u

hollywood(ward):

look i spend about ten minutes a week with either of them

and that’s when i feel like it

so maybe i’m not immensely qualified to talk on this

but they’re pretty damn obvious

everything is you:

steven doesn’t even work @ the store anymore and he still splits his time there between you n wendell

yknow. his actual boyfriend

bowling alley carpet:

okay okay i get it

i will. maybe not ignore the urge to kiss him?

hollywood(ward):

good enough!

bowling alley carpet:

if this goes horribly wrong i’m blaming you

hollywood(ward):

yeah yeah i'll take you for the good ice cream downtown

bowling alley carpet:

oh FUCK yeah dude

wait. but i don’t want it to go bad

hollywood(ward):

well

we’ll see

bowling alley carpet:

okay anyway he’s in the driveway so i will update you all later!!

no news is good news though

probably

—

[ california girls ]

bowling alley carpet:

hey

jen

what it mean when cute boy lay on you and play with ur hair

hollywood(ward):

jesus fucking christ lanie just kiss him already

bowling alley carpet:

OKAY GODDAMN

—

Lanie sets her phone on the armrest with a groan, even though she isn’t really that upset with Jenna, just upholding her brand of being unnecessarily dramatic in the least important situations. She’ll save her energy for the serious conversations.

Steven picks his head up off her shoulder, gives her an amused yet concerned look. “You okay?”

“Jenna wants me dead,” she says, throwing her head back against the couch and grinning when she hears him laugh.

It’s a good laugh. She wasn’t lying in Lord’s when she said he was pretty.

God, she needs to get a grip before she starts ruining her closest friendships.

When she looks back, there’s still a ghost of a smile on Steven’s face, but he looks anxious, and she realizes he’s tense where their shoulders are pressed together. She means to ask him if he’s okay, but he bites his lip and she suddenly forgets how to form coherent thoughts.

“Hey, Lanie?” he says eventually, not meeting her eye. She hums in acknowledgment. “You remember the Amazon, right?”

She does, in fact, remember the Amazon. Very clearly, actually, despite the absolute insanity that followed, which she’s tried and failed to pick apart and make any sense of. But the Amazon itself — yeah, it’s in there clear as day. She remembers Steven running, and wanting to follow but knowing she might be one of the worst people to do so, and trying to talk Wendell out of his self depreciation and immediately failing, and watching the two of them kiss for real this time, and singing jaguars and old men maybe sort of coming back to life and eating dirt and suiting up.

She remembers overhearing I meant it with you and trying to swallow her jealousy before it burst.

“Unfortunately,” she says, because that’s easier, and the smile on her face does not match how she feels. “Which part?”

Steven swallows, and Lanie is suddenly hyper aware of the fact that this is not going to be a normal conversation. He looks up at her, dark eyes wide, and she forces herself not to reach out for him. It’s one of the more difficult things she’s done.

“I— I know I kissed Wendell,” he says, which is not what she’s expecting. “And, like, obviously I don’t regret that. That would be weird. But…”

He turns so he’s sitting sideways on the couch, and Lanie follows because she doesn’t know what else to do, because she’s a planet in his orbit and she’s never been able to pull away. Her heart is in her throat and it’s threatening to burst out. He grabs her hand and she thinks she might combust.

“I regret not kissing you,” he says, and it comes out in a rush she’s only barely able to understand. “And I know you’d said not right now, and that’s—“

“It was stupid,” Lanie interrupts, because it was, and she wants to hit her head against the wall every time she thinks about it. “The— I wanted to. But it was a whole… thing.”

It sounds like an excuse, and in many ways it is one. She didn’t want to undo the entire conversation she’d just had with Wendell. She didn’t want to test how much control their action movie personas had over them. She wanted to kill her fucking boss.

She looks away, which is impressive because she’s never been able to before, picks at a loose thread on her jacket sleeve. “I didn’t want to kiss you for the first time in the body of a lesbian in the middle of the jungle,” she says, which is also the truth.

No response. She looks up to find Steven staring at her, wide eyed and flushed, lips forming an o shape she can’t possibly be normal about. She’s used to getting a reaction out of people — some might say that’s her entire brand. She’s decidedly less used to wanting that reaction to mean something.

“Oh,” he says, barely above a whisper. “Um. Okay. So you—”

Lanie takes a breath, cannonballs into the deep end. “I’ve been a little bit in love with you since you started at the video store.”

Lanie Woodward is many things. A flirt. A walking HR nightmare, according to her coworkers (which is fucking bold, by the way, she’s seen them). The lowkey viral social media manager for her job. Deeply, incredibly obvious about her crushes on her best friends.

Genuine is not one of them. Not usually, at least. Honesty fucking terrifies her, because she’s been lonely her entire life and she doesn’t think she can stand rejection from the people who looked right through her and chose to stay with her anyway.

She takes in the look on Steven’s face and realizes she’s never said any of that out loud before. Right. Okay. That’s cool, she’s just got to pick up the pieces now, put them back together with hot glue and sheer willpower.

“You don’t have to, like, do anything about that,” she clarifies. “I just… you should know. At this point. I can back off, if you want—”

She doesn’t get to finish, because Steven apparently has one move for getting people to stop talking, and she wasn’t really expecting that to ever be an issue for her, but there’s a hand on her face and lips on hers and she’s suddenly incredibly aware of the fact she’s never kissed anyone before.

He pulls away all too soon, and she presses her tongue to the roof of her mouth to prevent any sort of sound she might make at that. “Sorry,” he apologizes, for some fucking reason, like Lanie hasn’t dreamed of this since sometime in high school. “That was— I really like you, too. But I never knew how much of what you said was real, and I didn’t want to assume, so…”

Lanie reaches up, brushes his hair out of his face like she’s always wanted to. “With you?” she asks, and her voice comes out hoarser than she expects. “All of it.”

Steven blinks, grins. “Okay,” he says, somewhere between hopeful and eager and something she can’t quite place. “Okay. Well.”

This is stupid, Lanie decides, and grabs the collar of his shirt to pull him down to her again.

The first kiss was pretty much nothing, in all honesty. Just the pressing of lips against lips — which is, if you’re to get technical, the legal definition of a kiss. Lanie does not have time for definitions, though, and this is immediately not just that, anyway. She falls back against the couch, hands tangled in Steven’s hair as he follows her down, his arms resting on either side of her head as he props himself up. She feels like she should be overwhelmed. Her brain kind of isn’t in her body enough to worry about that.

His teeth graze her bottom lip, tongue poking out hesitantly, and she immediately, hungrily lets him in, because she doesn’t know what she’s doing, because she wants. And it’s selfish, and stupid, and a million other things she’s tried and failed not to be over the span of the past few months fading into years, but here and now she can’t find a single reason to stop herself.

It takes most of her willpower to keep from making a sound, even though she doesn’t know why she’s so worried about that, not when she’s never had to worry about him making fun of her, not for real. It’s a pride thing, mostly, she thinks — she’s used to being the suave one, the cool and collected one even when she doesn’t really feel it. She’s a little tired of it.

Lanie’s always run warm, which is convenient when everyone around her always seems to be freezing. This isn’t necessarily an issue, but it does mean she jolts when Steven’s alarmingly cold hands slip under her shirt, and he pulls back for a second to whisper out an apology before moving down to kiss her neck. She gives up on any pretense of being cool, even if the whine she lets out is still deeply embarrassing. He doesn’t comment on it, just grins against what’s surely going to be a bruise later, and she can’t even be upset.

Or, well, she could, but most of her brain cells aren’t really working right now, so. Maybe later. Probably not, though.

He tugs at her shirt, and she pushes the both of them upright, miraculously, to give him better access. It takes some fumbling — which might be her own fault, but they’ll deal with that later — but eventually her shirt ends up… somewhere. They can deal with that later, too.

“Is this okay?” Steven asks, scanning her face.

Lanie bites back the urge to mention that it might be a little late for that, because she knows if she even hinted that she was uncomfortable they’d stop. “Yeah,” she says instead, and it comes out breathless but she doesn’t care because she’s wanted this for months. “Your parents are, like, out out, right?”

He stares at her. “That’s your issue?”

“I mean, I don’t really want their first impression of me to be that girl their son’s making out with on their couch even though he currently has a boyfriend,” she says, face flushing impossibly redder. “So. A little?”

He still just… looks at her, and she might be uncomfortable if it were anyone else, but all she can think is that she hopes he finds something in there he likes. It’s very dramatic, all things considered. Things such as her being shirtless on his couch and him being half in her lap.

“You really are pretty,” he says eventually, like this is a normal thing to say out of nowhere.

She’s so unprepared for it that she can’t quite stop the strangled cough that makes its way out of her mouth. He laughs, soft and gorgeous, and she melts.

This is also a deeply unbalanced situation, so she leans forward to kiss him again, twists her fingers in the hem of his shirt. Her tongue presses against his mouth, and he makes a surprised sound that turns into something satisfied, and she drinks it in with a grin. It’s intoxicating.

She’s in the middle of pulling his shirt off when someone’s phone buzzes. It’s too far away to be hers, but it can’t be anything important, so they ignore it. Except it buzzes again, and Steven reluctantly pulls away — though not out of Lanie’s grip, she notices with a giddy spark in her chest — to pat around the couch for it. She assumes, perhaps wrongly, that he’s going to turn it off, and while it looks like it for a second, he just laughs and shakes his head.

“It’s just Wendell,” he says, and he doesn’t sound concerned, but something electric and terrifying shoots up her spine.

“Right,” she says carefully. “And he’s, like… cool with this? I’m not the mistress here?”

It might be the wrong thing to say, if only for the immediately concerned look Steven gives her. “What? Holy shit, Lanie, no, this is— he has a family thing later, otherwise he’d have been here.”

Relief spreads through her, cool and soothing, and she relaxes even though she didn’t know she was tense. “Okay. Cool. Just… checking.” They sit there for a moment. “You planning on texting him back?”

“Oh! I, uh.” Steven flushes. “I didn’t know— you’re right here— I mean—”

Lanie leans forward, kisses the corner of his mouth. “Text your boyfriend back, dork. I’m here as long as you want me.”

She hooks her chin over his shoulder and pretends not to hear the way he mumbles forever.

—

[ muscle man gender envy ]

wendell thee morris:

so uh

how’s it going

sky’s the limit:

well

i’m with lanie rn so. pretty good!

wendell thee morris:

yeah i know?

…wait

OH FUCK WAIT IM SORRY

GO DO YOUR THING

sky’s the limit:

well lanie says you’ve already ruined the moment

[ IMG.092 ]

> image description: a selfie, cropped just enough. steven grins at the camera, white t-shirt rumpled. lanie leans against his shoulder, a lazy grin on her face. there are faint, scattered bruises on her neck.

wendell thee morris:

holy shit

brb changing my lock screen

sky’s the limit:

lanie just shouted no

i think my eardrum exploded

DUDE OH MY GOD sorry just. don’t be that guy

wendell thee morris:

hi lanie

what could that possibly mean

sky’s the limit is calling…

—

At least Steven waits for the call to connect before he gets up, Lanie thinks. It isn’t enough to stop her glare, but her glare isn’t worth much right now anyway, bright and giddy as she feels. He just kisses her cheek, grins, and walks off across the room. She feels like she should be offended. She doesn’t think she physically can right now.

The call connects with a click, but she’s pretty sure the real sound that signifies it is Wendell choking to death on absolutely nothing.

“Holy shit,” he says, and then looks embarrassed enough she thinks it’s a reflex. “I mean— oh God, hang on—”

While she would usually love to watch him flounder, she can’t help but laugh, loud enough that it ends up stopping him anyway as he stares at her in wonder. “You’re fine, Wen. I’m flattered, really.”

“Yeah, but you’re, like…” he flaps his hand vaguely, which tells her nothing, “a person. And I don’t— I don’t want to be… weird.”

Secretly, she thinks most of their situation could be labelled weird. She doesn’t say that, though, instead tilting her head with a smirk. “Romance is alive.”

—

[ very serious work chat ]

bowling alley carpet:

scale of one to ten how offended would you be if someone told you “i know you’re like… a person”

wendell thee morris:

scale of one to ten how much would you care if i killed lanie

bowling alley carpet:

wowwwww double standard

wendell thee morris:

we are actively on facetime rn

everything is you:

like a solid 3 and 8

what the hell are you two talking about

wendell thee morris:

lanie’s a goddamn menace

bowling alley carpet:

oh yeah I’M the menace in this situation

(“What happened to ‘use your words’?” she mutters.

The camera’s pointed at the ceiling now as she clicks out her messages on her own phone. Wendell just laughs.)

everything is you:

…hang on

holy shit

rust:

Am I missing something??

everything is you:

i mean nothing that isn’t already obvious

bowling alley carpet:

yeah

it’s called steven’s looking for my shirt while wendell acts like he’s never seen a girl in his life

everything is you:

…dang

jenna’s gonna be pissed you didn’t tell her first

rust:

Lanie this is why you’re our HR’s nightmare

bowling alley carpet:

there are five of us in this chat and one of them doesn’t even work here anymore

i think we crossed the coworkers line about the time we all got sucked into an action movie via alien tech

wendell thee morris:

there are definitely more than five of us in this chat

bowling alley carpet:

ugh fine

there are five of us in this chat who actually know how to USE said chat

is that better?

wendell thee morris:

yeah :)

—

“You are so fucking lucky I love you,” Lanie threatens, picking Steven’s phone back up to glare uselessly at Wendell.

He makes another strangled sort of sound, which is kind of strange because she was fairly certain he’d become more confident after the whole movie thing, but it’s cute even if she’s a little afraid to admit that aloud, so she doesn’t say anything about it. She smiles, a little more genuine than her usual smirk, because she’s kind of tired and doesn’t really have the energy to pretend like she doesn’t care. Which sounds counterintuitive, but she’s put work into this facade. It just… doesn’t mean much anymore.

“You…” Wendell starts and doesn’t finish, like he’s afraid of the answer.

Lanie laughs, and it would sound mocking to anyone else, but there’s a fondness only she could muster. “I’ve told you that before, dork.” He deflates, and she sighs. “I’m not confessing to you over fucking FaceTime, Wendell.”

His gaze snaps up, shocked and maybe a little flustered. ”Right,” he says like he’s trying to convince himself. “Okay. Yeah. That’s… smart.”

It truly might be the only intelligent thing any of them have done regarding each other — between Lord’s and the Amazon and whatever the hell happened at their not-actually-closing work party, they’ve all gone about this very stupidly. It’s so deeply on brand, though, that she can’t really be upset.

She starts to tell her story, once she finally remembers there was a point to this conversation, and doesn’t consider how long Steven’s been out of the room compared to how long it should take to find a shirt. It can’t have gone that far. The house really isn’t that big. She only gets a sliver of the way through, though, before she looks back at the camera and realizes Wendell has not been paying attention to a single word she’s said.

“Wen,” she says, not quite accusatory, because that would imply she’s upset about part of this, but definitely sharper than usual. He looks up at her like a startled cat, and she softens. “You there, bud?”

“I— fuck.” He buries his face in his hands with a groan. “I’m sorry, really, I don’t mean to… be a creep or whatever, I just— you’re… there, and that’s not an excuse but—”

“I saved your story yesterday,” she blurts out, and she doesn’t mean to say it, and she regrets it immediately, but it shuts him up all the same. “The, uh. The one of you and Steven. I assume. That you deleted after, like, five minutes.”

Great. Someone get her a shovel so she can just keep digging her own goddamn grave. This was so much easier when she was drunk and didn’t know what the hell she was saying.

She watches the cogs turn in his brain as he processes that, hoping he doesn’t think she’s a freak.

“Oh,” he eventually says, which is maybe the least helpful response. “Okay. Like— okay. Just… because?”

“Because I’m stupid and I panicked and also am deeply attracted to both of you, yeah,” she says, dry as possible in hopes it’ll hide the weight of her feelings.

Something hits the side of her face, and she’s never been more grateful for someone throwing a shirt at her before now. Steven sits down beside her, plucks his phone out of her hand as she slips on the shirt. It gives her time to sort out her feelings, at least somewhat, because she thinks she might start hyperventilating soon.

It’s not until she has the shirt fully on that she realizes it is not, in fact, hers. She stares at the fabric for a moment, then up at Steven.

“This isn’t my shirt,” she says, perhaps redundantly. “I don’t even think this is your shirt.”

He grins, and it’s almost enough to take her attention away from the fact she does recognize the shirt he’s wearing — because she’d taken it from her own closet hours ago. There’s something slightly possessive about the whole thing. It lights a spark in her chest, bright and burning.

“Is that where that went?” Wendell asks. “God. You’re all terrible.”

“You love us,” Steven chirps, and Lanie leans back against his shoulder.

Wendell looks literally everywhere except the two of them. “That’s… not important.”

There’s something layered in there, something too heavy for three in the afternoon, so Lanie watches Steven laugh and shifts against him. “Okay,” she says, “can I actually tell my story now?”

They settle in, and they listen, and she tells her story, because junior year she’d found a phone in her APUSH class, went to check the lock screen for any indication of whose it was, and came face to face with a shirtless Cassie Langstrom, who she wasn’t aware even had a boyfriend. And then Ms. Garcia had made her figure out whose phone it actually was, which meant she had to puzzle out who in the entirety of their high school could have been the girl’s boyfriend.

It was some senior, by the way. He was a fucking creep.

At the moment, though, Lanie doesn’t think about the implications of the story. She focuses on her boys, and their laughter, and the softness in Wendell’s eyes and the way Steven’s arm wraps around her waist without any sort of expectation. She lets herself be, allows herself to love, and basks in the knowledge that she’s loved in return.

—

wendellmorris just posted to their story!

image description: wendell, on the right side of the image, holds the camera, grinning. lanie is asleep on his shoulder, and steven is asleep on her chest, her arm wrapped around him. the caption, in blue arial font, reads “worst movie night ever”

skysthelimit just posted to their story!

image description: a screenshot of the previous story, shrunken down. an added caption, in pink arial font, reads “love u 💕”

del.lanie just posted to their story!

image description: a screenshot of the original story, shrunken down. an added caption, in green serif font, reads “love does win guys!”

—

russellsvideoworld just posted!

image description: a photo of the employees of russell’s video world… and steven, in front of the store. russell, on the leftmost side of the image, stands like he’s trying and failing to strike a trendy pose. it shouldn’t be working for him like it is. wendell stands next to him, a little awkward, holding hands with steven, who looks as casual as if he never left. lanie has an arm around his shoulders and her other around dang’s, who holds up a peace sign. paula and usha, on the far right side, stand like they’re in a family photo. everyone is, to an extent, smiling.

video description: someone shakily holds the camera, bringing it up to see lanie’s face. she grins as usual, flashes a peace sign as if on instinct. it drops as she realizes what’s playing — HOT TO GO!, because of course it is. “can i have one day to myself?!” she shouts, stomping off to presumably find the source of the music. steven’s laughter can be heard behind the camera.

the caption of the post reads “thank you everyone for all the support recently! remember, we’re always hot to go here at russell’s video world ;)”

comments:

del.lanie: the caption wasn’t endorsed by russell but tbh what is here

j.enna: WE BROUGHT IT BACK FOLKS

↳ del.lanie: and the world had no faith in me smh

stxrfrxit: i feel like a proud parent??

↳ kittykatarina: so real those are my parents (i am the same age as them)

↳ monaabus: yall see the stories the other day??

↳ stxrfrxit: dms !!

russellfeeld2: Thanks for all your work, Lanie!

↳ del.lanie: yeah ofc! i’ll try to get the entirety of instagram deeply invested in my love life more often

skysthelimit: <3

↳ wendellmorris: <3

↳ del.lanie: <3

—

@ del.lanie

8 posts • 5437 followers • 34 following

lanie! she/her

social media rep @ russellsvideoworld

now playing: love song • beach bunny

#the formatting on this is both the most fun and most annoying thing i’ve ever done in my goddamn life #if nothing else please appreciate that #this is possibly more embarrassing than the last one #nonetheless we ball #reese’s fics #reese’s ocs #lanie woodward #sky full of stars #who said that

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queerwritersingerdramaqueen · 5 months ago

Text

And now it is time for ~random annotations from that one fic I wrote self-indulgently with no context in order of appearance~

"the snake and medusa symbolism is there too"

"you're in a mirror situation of my own design"

"first to get on the train, last to get off"

"dichotomy bitches, i'm giving you so much whiplash"

"I want to make it so obvious this is fictional and should in no way inform any real-life scenarios."

"Still trying to figure out who actually asked who to be their lighthouse." (and directly after this one) "Hehe, nice extended metaphor"

"Jesus Christ Liam, he just said living without you would kill him"

"way to set up the dramatic irony sir"

"Please excuse me I designed her when I was 13 and the teenage angst was kicking."

(this one might require context of the fic but it sounds slightly unhinged on it's own so) "This is why I write like this, to settle the ever-present fact that shit could have and still can go sideways so quick because I was born when I was."

(Also might need context but) "Please imagine this little doctor running down to the apartment, banging on the door until they realise Sherlock is incapacitated, running halfway across town to get Billy cause their afraid something's wrong and he's the only one with a key, coming back just to realise Sherlock forgot to unlock the door and basically did their job for them XD."

"Billy: You fucking Twat! Also Billy: is that a baby?"

"Nice Double entendre, is he going to let go of the fear or let go of Liam, OoOoOh"

"How the fuck do children talk???"

"not subtle at all, you may as well just tell him he's his mama by that point"

"so you have chosen death"

"I'm very proud of this little thing I do where a character will ask a question about why they do something and then it immediately cuts to the reasonTM"

"still kind of proud of this one"

"and so it begins, the older brother-fication of the only child" (directly after) "and there's the middle child"

"Don't mind me just throwing random coffee orders out there."

"I really like going all in on the symbolism huh?"

"Aka. "When did you two fuck?"

"It's called dramatic irony"

"stimmmmmmming"

"I'm demi, ok? I don't know what waking up sex would feel like and I'm not sure I want to know but that sounds romantic to me ok? Shut up"

"1. can babies inherit ocular albinism but not full albinsim? 2. this feels like it would happen but what do I know"

"me too dude, me too"

"URGH, right in the heart"

"And that's what it's all about"

(the = is my equivalent of the shaking hands meme) "Mycroft = Louis: Why are you going for the guy who could fuck you up?"

"bEtRaYaL"

"Let it be known that Albert may be the first one to get on the train of redemption but he is far from the first on to get off."

"Fred just grinning in the corner"

"yes on the purity but my book says nothing about rebirth"

"CAtch me if you can"

"Can you tell I was super into The Moon Will Sing at this point?"

"Don't know how he's not dead, the plot armour is strong on this one"

"I cannot stress enough that this should not be taken as reality. I as the god of this universe have strung together enough circumstantial and well thought out plot for them so they can be together again without the toxicity and I'll explore this later. This should be catharsis for all the peeps who are going through breakups where they want to go back but can't. Live vicariously through these two, don't go back to your ex unless the circumstances are almost suspiciously in your favour and even then, don't."

"and not rationality as in "oh I can't live without Liam," NO, rationality as in "this baby has RIGHTS""

"I'm not afraid to admit this came at the height of my Girl, Goddess, Queen hype"

"Because any decent man who can understand where he might have gone wrong in gaining your trust will not continue to be unworthy of your trust. If he does not continuously try to earn your trust earnestly, toss him."

"we love a self-aware man who can own up to his mistakes"

"AGAIN, FICTION"

"Mycroft and Albert Holmes, William and Sherlock Moriarty. I rest my case."

"at the end of the day, it's a name and he's happy to know it."

"who thought sending the two year old was smart? *looks in the mirror*"

"still crying over this"

"Babies' have no right smelling so cute when all they do is poop and vomit"

"I won't lie. he was probably thinking of ways to murder him for making fun of their kid"

"The Bloodline Continues"

"Liam, you're catharting. After a year and a half of basically being on your own, you're finally having simple human contact and it's nice."

"le gasp"

"Moran slander is fun I don't know what you're talking about"

"FICTION, I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH"

"Relationships are all good and well until your isolated with only one person you can truly let go with"

"I don't know what kind of relationship Americans had with British people at this time but this seemed most plausible"

"Cana two year old have a thought process like this???"

"priorities"

"wouldn't that be crazy *laughs in polyamory*"

"i like this metaphor"

I had to cut out a few that were actual notes about the story and if it hadn't become abundantly obvious, it's yuumori kidfic. I make myself laugh and I'd never write anything I didn't find enjoyment in myself so HERE YOU GO. I hope my ridiculous ramblings make someone laugh today.

#yuumori #yuukoku no moriarty #moriarty the patriot #sherliam #alcroft #I'm not listing characters my brain wont let me

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el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle · 7 months ago

Note

Hi, this is the girl who sent you the message about your favorite canon and non-canon 🥰

(Ignore if there is a wrong word or phrase out of context, I'm Brazilian and I'm writing this using Google Translate)

I'm sorry if I didn't explain it correctly, I wanted to say that I love that you bring this information (plot headcanon), and I mentioned that you forgot a headcanon that if I remember correctly, was mentioned. That's what Marcela says that she would ask Mario to be the best man at her wedding with Armando, I hope I explained it better now. ☺️

But I loved knowing that these are your favorite headcanons!!! Patricia's - oh, I love this crazy woman even though I can't stand her sometimes (most of the time) 😭🩷, I also like the one with Mario and Armando's (I really imagine the headaches they must have given their parents during their adolescence together). I didn't remember that Daniel bite his nails when stressed, but I remember him bringing candy to Marcela, a cute side of him that we hardly see lol.

And about noncanons: I believe that Nicolas doesn't know how to cook anything is super canon 🤣

Marcela always waiting for her dad to come home— it breaks my heart to imagine that, but I believe it happened.

Yesss, I also firmly believe that Armando was a very troubled teenager, one of those “problem teenagers”, it’s practically canon for me.

I also agree with what you wrote about the Valencias: what you said about Daniel having to mature quickly when he was practically still a child, and now being almost a teenager trapped in an adult's body, really enters my mind and how I I believe it's real, it explains a lot about the character even though it doesn't justify many of his attitudes (as well as those of others too). I feel as if he had a greater affection and desire to protect more Marcela than Beata, of course he loves them, but he tried to take more care of Marcela. That little girl who was daddy's favorite, who was very attached to them and who was more “sentimental” (I believe that Marcela was a very sentimental girl, even though she might not show it much) than Maria Beatriz, who I believe wasn't as close to them and always lived in her own world, and didn't even have time enough to think about his parents to the point of suffering from their absence. That's what I think.

In fact, I believe and have this noncanon in my head that Marcela was the typical intelligent girl (not a nerd), antisocial (with few, but some friendships) and insecure (despite being pretty) during her adolescence. The opposite of Beata, who has always been very extroverted, friendly and doesn't care what others thought/think of her (but I don't believe she was the typical mean girl, I believe she was that “nice girl” but with confidence, without being mean to anyone because that's not the vibe she gives to me). And I like to think that it was during Marcela's teenage years that she met Patricia 😂🥰, (although they have already commented that it wasn't during her adolescence? but anyway, I don't care) and I also have this image that Patricia had what Marcela didn't have: confidence during her adolescence, and she helped her with that. I can see Patricia putting Marcela's makeup on and the two of them laughing together, Marce saying things like: “I feel so ridiculous” or things like that and Patri saying "there's no reason for that", saying she's beautiful and other things. (Situations that I wish we had seen in screen 🥹, because you know, they have changed but they already had their cute moments and sides). I also see Beata doing this, but I believe she didn't have as much free time to spend with Marce.

Anyway, I loved reading your comments, you are awesome!!! And I would love to talk to you about everything related to YSBLF 🩷🩷🩷

Hi againnnn!🥰

Don't worry, it's okay! I see what you mean now, and you're right, I forgot about that canon detail!! I'm still writing my next "canon details" list so I'll definitely add that!! Marcela does mention that the day after she finds the letter!

Yessss, those are all little details that caught my attention! I love that they bring so much personality to these very alive characters!! And I'm glad you like my headcanons too🥰🥰🥰

Yes! I totally see what you mean. You can tell Daniel really does have a favorite sister, probably due to seeing how much it all hurt her. You can tell he has a very tender spot for her with all those candies and the way he straight up said multiple times that Marcela is the mot important thing in his life

We do see Marce was very antisocial! She doesn't like collection launches or going out, she says so herself, and we never see her with anyone else besides Patty as her friend so maybe she doesn't have many friends at all. We also know she's very good at her job so I totally agree that she was the kind to always study hard and focus on her goals. Regarding Beata, idk!! She is pretty mean. She trashtalks Betty behind her back... I think she's the kind who never ever would pass the opportunity to gossip! Like Bertha😆 but she isn't confrontational nor passive aggressive at all. She can definitely say rude things but it's mainly because of her lack of awareness lmao imo! I imagine her as being the type to inadvertedly create insecurities by mistake by saying tone deaf things like "omg girl!! I can give you the number of my surgeon so you can get the bypass and get your waist libe back!!" To someone who wasn't bothered by her weight till that moment lmaoooo she gives me those vibes, it's not ill intentioned but we know she isn't very socially aware

Patricia is definitely the type to hype her friend up! She actually does a few times in the show, although always making sure to remark that she is prettier than Marcela jajaja I love to think they also met during their teen years! Idk if it's ever mentioned un the show when they met, I can’t remember-- good thing I'm rewatching it again rn!😂😂

Awww I'm so glad you liked it!! I'd love to chat too, whenever you want you can send me a private message or an anon ask if you're more comfortable like that!🥰🫶

#ysblf #yo soy betty la fea #betty la fea

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s0lar-ch3ri · 1 year ago

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out of context things for a fic im reading (its from my mutual, and i might update my unfinished oneshot for gill after...and do a big oneshot seperation lol)

fic link for people who havent read it yet GO DO THAT NOW EVEN IF YOUVE ALREADY READ IT REREAD IT AND COMPLIMENT IT THIS IS ALL ABOUT CHAPTER 5

im adding "This letter is filled with glitter. If you open it you will be too." in some way shape or form into my vocab its beautiful

i honestly thought that jay was gonna say gill and OH MY GOD THATD BE SO FUNNY AND KINDA ANGSTY IF DONE IN A CERTIAN WAY LOL

(honestly kinda a fic idea there: ava gets help from lizzie as they learn lizzies brother [chip] believes that gillion likes ava or smth. i wanna see the siblings helping their siblings come together)

...oh the heart refs are starting

"He did. She screamed." pure comedy imo

"He kind of liked that idea, he needed more mean girl friends (one can never have too many)." SCREAMING MUTUAL YOU KNOW THE LESBIANS SO WELL AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

...mutual. im not your mother father or parent i wanna put you in timeout AHHHH WHY THESE REFS

mutual. hey. you dont need to remind us. you can let us be happy.

i wonder what the title of the fic means btw

as someone who calls their friend pookie, MISS FERIN DIDNT FUCKING STUTTER

"Stress shouldn’t be real, it was stupid." PREACH!

OH MY GOD HE SAID THAT BEFORE THE KISS HES SO GAY YOUR HONOR GAY AS HELL

FUCK ME I CAN IMAGINE GILLS VOICE SAYING THAT HANG ON IF I DO AN OUT LOUD IMPRESSION...

fuck it is as riduclous as it appears

bro jay and ensa have had a "they/them pussy" moment together and i see it thats the fucking look on their faces good for them

OH. I SEE. GAY "SEX" THEN DEATH. FUCK

he found his kid got a bitch and was so shocked and happy he fucking died

"But then again, maybe he deserved it." chip babygirl you make no sense

wait chips 17 here. 2 years away from being 19. the canon age. oh nononononononono

hey. anybody else notice a pretty big character of chips past hasnt been brought up yet? like, fucking price. the guy thats believed to have mistreated chip. the guy who made chip kill a man. MUTUAL WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING.

okay so i have a theory. my mutual doesnt plan on giving chip a break, hes just lost his dad unknowingly how, hes currently 17, and price hasnt been mentioned ONCE. characters act pretty similar to canon, including how theyve been mistreated in a sense (seen by the elders). the title (You'll Forget (It's Not Your Fault)) doesnt seem any good.

my theory? following the canon idea that chip has been through so much he easily forgot about kenta and his nightmare shit, chips gonna be dealing with price, and i dont think its gonna be just for a couple months. price is behind arlins shit, and price gonna make chip think this shit is all his fault.

oh nvm checked tags REDO THEORY

minor character death probs means you know who if you read it i dont wanna say it cause big spioier uhhhh READ IT OKAY IM SAYING IT NOW arlin, but from the beginning its had memory loss (how i didnt notice this before is beyond me) so im thinking its caused by like bad shit that happens (price is going to fuck with him more and ill sob) and hes blaming himself for it cause he thinks all thats happening including the memory loss is because hes doing shit wrong

(from what i know, depression and shit can cause memory loss BUT im not sure ill be back with results tmr on this so until then REBLOGS OFF)

check my mutual out or ill llegally have to eat you (on tumblr @red-might-be-dead)

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the-cat-chat · 1 year ago

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September 30, 2023

Coraline (2009)

An adventurous 11-year-old girl finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets.

JayBell: I saw this in theaters when it first came out and haven't seen it since. So I was definitely ready for a rewatch, and besides the basic plot, I didn't really remember the details.

The highlight of this movie is definitely how beautiful and cool the stop motion looks. I specifically remember the part when the world starts to unravel near the end of the movie, and I just love how visually interesting it is. Also the stop motion lends itself to the creepy vibe so much.

I think this plot is definitely interesting in a sinister Alice in Wonderland kind of way. The buttons for eyes is a nice touch that makes you feel real disturbed in a visceral way. Honestly, it is kind of crazy that this is technically a story for kids. Either way, it shows you how a perfect world can be very misleading and appearances aren't always what they seem.

Coraline as a character is interesting. She can be kind of mean and bratty at times, but honestly that made her feel more like a true kid character. She's also brave and capable of kindness. So it's pretty easy to want to see her succeed. Plus, you feel sympathy for her character when you see how her parents treat her. This leads into one aspect of the movie I think could use a bit more context--the parents.

I get that we are seeing the situation through Coraline's eyes, and her parents are clearly stressed about their work, very tired and on a tight deadline, and even worried about money and finances. So I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but with that said, they did seem overly short and dismissive of Coraline. I want to feel forgiveness for them, but what does that say? That it's okay to be dismissive of your kids if you're really stressed? I don't know. And then once their work is done, it's like a flip is switched. So then they seem like normal, caring parents again. It is difficult for me to see this switch and not feel like it's abrupt. So maybe the movie could have made them slightly less purposefully dismissive of Coraline in the beginning of the movie and more just accidentally dismissive because of how stressed they are. Or is that part of the message? That some kids just have imperfect parents and that's part of reality?

Rating: 6.75/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: I had seen this when I was younger and it had first came out. And have a relatively good memory, I forgot the entirety of this story. That being said I am really glad we watched it for spooky season- not that it’s terrrrifying but it’s definitely unsettling. I did remember the button eyes and ‘other mother’ so I was prepared for that, plus the weird crawl space thingy but I think that’s bc I’m generally afraid of crawl spaces. But I digress. Like I said it was a really good rewatch- I think I could now appreciate the characters and the dialogue a lot better, whereas before I was taking it at face value. Jaybell mentioned- Coraline is absolutely feral. And I love Wuss Puss (no he’s not The Cat, to me he will forever be Wuss Puss). And guess who entirely forgot there was a cat. Yeah me. That’s who. Don’t worry I’ll punish myself. Annnnyways I loved all the neighbors and how weird they were and it’s very clear even tho ‘other mother’ tries making things ‘better’ and more enticing to Coraline, she belongs in her world. (Too it’s really sweet that her mom gets her the gloves she wanted to kinda show mom isn’t a total jerk maybe she’s just normal and stressed with moving and work and stuff bc I was over mom and dad for a bit).

Alsoooo I have a list of things that really freaked me out:

1. The mini doll with button eyes- no way I’m sleeping in a room with that thing.

2. The neighbor’s dogs. Those teeth. No thank you.

3. Thheeeeeeeeee ghost kids. Just weird I don’t wanna say more. Is there a reason they’re calling her mistress? And miss? ( I know they’re old ghost kids but it’s even creepier)

4. And obvi other mother

The style of the movie is amazing and to even thing how it was accomplished is extremely impressive and exhausting to fathom. But it really feels that the style they used for the movie is the only way this story should be brought to life.

Rating: 6/10 🎃 Pumpkins

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itsagrimm · 2 years ago

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Hinterland

König X she/her OC

After a battle, König struggles with getting to safety, wondering how he got here and if he will ever make it home.

This taps into where König comes from and why König is part of the military.

CN: angst, mentions of injury and blood, mentions of death, mentions of nausea & vomit, warzone descriptions, sexual assault, queerphobia and transphobia, this whole thing is steeped in patriarchal themes and violence, violence against women* in warzones, themes of sexual assault and extreme stress situations, hunger and starvation, mentions of rape, bullying, failing in school due to untreated neurodiversity, bad parenting, teen romance and teen romance emotions, untreated mental health issues, i guess i am giving König both Autism and ADHD, getting dead named, mentions of needles and medical procedures, medical inaccuracies (I have researched too much for this already don't expect me to correctly describe a medical facility too)

has kind of a happy end, kind of not.

5,8 k words

beta read by @musigrusi thank you so much 💕

Notes for cultural context:

The name Hannes is a German boys name.

Amalia is named after the Prussian princess Anna Amalie who was known to be an independent woman, a musician and generally well educated. She stayed unmarried her whole life and was a close confidant to her brother king Friedrich II. Her baroque organ is still in use in the church “Zur Frohen Botschaft” in Karlshorst, Berlin. Should you have the chance, check it out, it's beautiful and they play free concerts regularly. Also, Since Prussia under Friedrich II waged war against Austria, the name Amalia low-key mark her as foreign in Austria.

The Perseiden are a yearly meteoric shower visible in the summer months.

The sweat never stopped being a nuisance, dripping into his eyes and down his back. König grimaced under his hood, trying to ignore the thirst in his throat and heat under his armor, and dragged on.

Every time he left a battle, he forgot how punishing physical discomfort was and how harshly it gnawed at his body no matter how much he trained.

Every time he told himself it was the last time that he would go out to kill and get killed in a thousand little ways.

Every time he forgot and returned anyway.

Might have overdone it this time.

He looked down.

The bandage on his leg started to bleed through. And he still had a long way back to base.

It had been his usual employment with his usual rates, enough to buy a house or run a little shop back home. Maybe a bookstore or café where they could sell overpriced coffee to the tourists and have a well curated book selection for the locals.

She would like that.

König banished his thoughts and concentrated on the here and now as he limped on. He was out in the open. Any sniper, hell, anyone with a decent aim and a rock could turn into a problem for him now. He was an easy target and in need of cover, rest, and a pick-up.

Quickly, he scanned his environment. It was a stony valley he had seen a thousand times. No water or settlements in sight. Patches of dried-out greenery littered the barren landscape here and there. Further up, he spotted a couple of boulders ideal for cover from anyone passing through the valley.

It would do.

He moved carefully not to hurt his leg even more and climbed up the stones with practiced ease before sitting down and turning on the radio to call for help.

Static.

No answer.

He tried again.

Static.

Hannah was always the tallest girl in class, sitting at the back of the room while the teacher babbled on about history and war and peace and war and peace again. She looked outside. Spring had started and the nearby trees turned greener by the day, calling to her to-

“Hannah! Die Tafel ist vorne, nicht draußen im Wald!”

She turned back. Her teacher shook her head disapprovingly at Hannah for the interruption, before continuing with the wars. To show her eagerness and to appease her teacher, Hannah grabbed one of her pens and tried taking notes.

1809.

Napoleon had made it here and laid siege to Vienna like the Osman’s before him. At least they had bought the coffee to Austria. Napoleon on the other hand got Hannah only into a particularly boring history class. Little cups of coffee started to litter the side of her history notes. A small graphite-coloured Napoleon trying to grab a cup with his tiny hands half-finished as the teacher slammed down the ruler onto Hannah’s papers and interrupted her art.

“Hannah! Aufpassen!”

König woke up from the cold. The sweat had soaked his shirt and even his heavy armor and layers of tech wear couldn’t keep him warm in the early hours of the day. He looked up into the sky to get some clue where he was only to see clouds hiding any chance of him navigating this way. He needed help.

If he couldn’t get someone to pick him up, he was massively fucked.

Click.

Static.

He spoke into the Radio. No answer.

Click.

Static.

Click.

Static.

Click.

Would someone even tell her where he had died?

He shivered and started to rub his body to get himself warm again.

“Na, Lange, wie ist das Wetter da oben?”

Hannah rolled her eyes.

“Halt’s Maul.”, she dismissed and kept walking as the boys and girls snickered and giggled behind her in the hallway of the school. Her long stride took her quickly out of earshot from them.

“Sorry, are you alright?”

She stopped in her tracks.

A girl Hannah hadn’t seen before, eyed her with shy concern.

“I saw how the others treat you. I didn’t understand. I speak only ein bisschen Deutsch.”, she smiled shyly, “But they looked mean. So, I thought I’ll ask.”

“It’s okay. I am fine.”, Hannah quickly dismissed, hating her own clumsy accent and her shaky voice. She sounded exactly like her father when he tried to explain some lost hikers the way back to the town, overwhelmed and nervous.

They stared at each other, Hannah feeling the awkward silence creeping up her neck as the pretty girl fluttered her lashes at her expectantly.

“Thanks for asking.”, Hannah added in an attempt to break the uncomfortable quiet between them.

“It was nothing. What’s your name?”

“Hannah. I’m in class 10-b. What is yours?”

“Amalia. I’m in 10-a.”

“Nice to meet you, Amalia.”

Another weird pause in which Amalia waited for Hannah to say something.

Oh Gott.

“Would you like to have lunch together, Hannah? It’s lunchbreak and I don’t know where the cafeteria is yet.”

Hannah smiled.

Showing the new girl around. And she was nice.

“Sure.”

The pebbles under his feet made his walk harder and König kept stumbling while he pushed himself further down the valley and into what must be north towards the US base. Back home he had a map with a pin for every base he had visited. There were a lot of pins over their sofa in that map, and sometimes she teased him about pins possibly falling down into the cushions of their sofa and pricking them into the ass.

He smiled at the thought of her little delightful ass.

Sometimes she lamented different things - like him going to add more pins.

Might not make it back and add a pin this time.

Amalia was from the US. Her father had worked for the military in Ramstein where her mother was from. They had lived in a couple of places around the world, always on the move following her father’s station until her mother had enough and they ended up in Austria because of some distant relative and a job. It was like that sometimes.

Hannah did not care about the whys and ifs.

She only cared about Amalia being here now.

“I am so envious!” Amalia called out as they walked through the town from school, “you always lived in a beautiful place like this.”

Hannah snorted.

“You think it’s pretty? It’s mostly just boring. Nothing ever changes.”

Amalia took Hannah’s hand and pressed it with unbroken excitement.

“You are just feeling like nothing changes but I bet, there have been plenty of changes.”

Hannah looked down at Amalia’s hand in hers. It felt good.

“This town is a few centuries old”, she said, “The house my family lives in has been in the family for over 200 years now. And even back then we were known as the tallest from around here, so it’s built higher.”

“That’s so cool.”

“That’s so repetitive. It’s like living my ancestors’ lives without ever breaking away from their paths. The furthest I ever got was Munich for a school trip. Even my name is from a great-grandmother and a family tradition. You on the other hand-“

“I have been to military bases”, Amalia protested and interlaced her fingers with Hannah’s while dragging her onwards, “Honestly, they are all the same wherever you go. I’d rather be here instead of looking at ugly barracks, guns, and buff dudes with tattoos and too much testosterone.”

Hannah grinned.

“Are buff dudes not your liking?”, she teased.

Amalia giggled.

“Some are okay to look at.”

After a day of walking, he made it to a settlement. Waiting for the twilight to give him cover he rested behind some boulders and observed the handful of buildings. It was a simple farmhouse surrounded by with a few sheds, huts and a well. He heard voices speaking a language he did not understand, an older man was sitting in front of the house resting and looking after a little kid playing on the ground. The elder spoke tenderly to the child and the child answered sweetly, sometimes with laughter and sometimes with the unmistakable higher pitch of a curious question. A woman worked the farm, running around and finishing the days business. She looked tired, thin, and worn out.

No Fighters. No younger men.

Briefly, very briefly, König considered leaving. Disrupting this family’s warzone lifes with more warzone stench, made him uneasy.

Killing during a battle was simple. This was not.

But he needed bandages, food, and water.

His battered body and mind made the decision for him. Hunger brings out the worst out of men. Hunger and the hope of getting back home. He reached for his rifle.

The halls in Amalia’s house were littered with pictures of her family. Smiling children, dutiful wives, stern looking men in uniform. Was this how family is supposed to be? Hannah didn’t know, barely daring to call her own home a family.

Amalia was easy to recognize in several of the pictures, she had that shy pretty smile with the excited glint in her eyes since she was a child.

“Who is that?”, Hannah asked, pointing at one of the men in uniform.

“Oh, that’s my cousin. He is a marine.”

Hannah nodded. Marine sounded important. Militaristic. Far away from little town Austria.

After the family retreated into the farmhouse König crept closer. With his rifle ready he sneaked to the well for water, quickly refilling his canteen and quenching his thirst as silently as possible before moving past the little shed with some hens and through a simple garden, with plants fighting to stay alive in the midday heat, before reaching the door. A little bell was next to the door. He reached for it and stilled.

He was a soldier. He knew he was a terrifying sight with his hood and his height and most importantly - his rifle. Should he really do this?

Before he could decide, the door opened, and the woman cried out in fear and surprise.

Trained instinct took over and he aimed his rifle, moving himself into the house and pushing the woman back while checking the room for targets.

It was a kitchen. The old man was sitting at the table leaning before the child to shield it while staring up at this giant intruder with the hood and the rifle, staring up at König in fear. The child whimpered and the woman talked and cried as she got up from where König had pushed her.

“Quiet!”, he roared, and they all stilled.

Another check for enemies, he did not expect to find but the practice was too ingrain in him not to.

“Quiet”, he repeated breathlessly.

Schnipp. Schnapp. Ab.

Mother had disapproved of Hannah cutting her hair, sending her to her room without dinner while her father just shook his head disapprovingly.

“Du siehst aus wie ein Junge. Furchtbar.“

Hannah just stood up from the family table and left, thinking to herself that looking like a boy was not the worst thing she could be.

Climbing up the stairs in the old farmhouse, skipping the one that creaked loud like an old pine tree during a heavy storm, she thought about mothers’ words.

Cutting off her hair had been an unexplainable need. It was so quick. She barely registered how it cut free from the weight of those blond plaits of hair. Carefully, she reached up and touched her head, her fingers gliding easily through her soft short strands now. Like a boys.

“Quiet.”, he repeated in his normal speaking voice, his eyes darting around the room and trying to see the woman, the elder and the toddler at the same time while gripped his rifle to keep his hands from shaking.

“Do you understand me? Verstehen Sie mich? Me comprenez-vous?”, he tried thinking of any other way to communicate, he wasn’t even sure in which country he was right now. Every warzone looked the same after a while.

“Yes.”

It was the woman.

“Yes, I speak American. I speak English”, she continued, “Leave son alone. Leave father alone. Please.”

Nausea swept through him, and he felt the sour taste of vomit rise in his throat. The sound of the woman begging him hit him harder than a kick in the stomach.

“Please, please!”, she continued leaning towards him, “You want me! Take me! Leave son alone! Leave father alone!”

“No!”, he tried to calm her and himself, “I don’t want to harm you. Or your family. No danger. No harm. See!”

He lowered the rifle while lifting one of his hands to show his intends.

“See!”

She started tearing at her dress. “Take me! Leave son alone! Leave father alone!”

König stilled, mortified at the sight of the woman in undress and begging for him to not harm her family.

He swayed back.

“No! Don’t!”, König tried to stop her from undressing further, fighting his own battle training to keep focus on everyone in the room while avoiding seeing the woman’s bare body.

I shouldn’t be here. I should be home.

It was too much. The disgust in his stomach flared up sharply, and he hated himself for coming to this house, this country, this continent – for disrupting a family’s dinner and terrifying a woman so much that she was willing to offer herself to a random soldier just to save her family.

He tore off his glove and lifted his hand.

“NO! Don’t worry! See-“, he wiggled with his fingers in a macabre comedic way to show the ring he wore, “I am not going to rape you. I am not going to kill your family. I just need help to get home. To my wife.”

Hannah had climbed out of the window again. It became a habit of leaving late at night to stroll through the forest before navigating her way to Amalia’s house. And it was better than feeling locked up in her childhood bedroom again.

With practised ease Hannah climbed over the fence and checked for light in Amalia’s window before throwing a pebble against it.

“It’s late!”, Hannah whispered as silently as possible while also trying to be as audible as possible for Amalia.

“Yeah, and you are marauding around. Shouldn’t you at least try to sleep before school?”, Amalia shot back from upstairs.

Hannah shrugged.

“I will be a farmer no matter if I pay attention in school or not. Why are you up this time?”

Amalia giggled.

“Studying. I want to go to university. I need good marks. And my German is still shit.”

“Oh.”

Amalia would leave one day, for a different life. Away from the pretty town in the countryside that was so stuck in time.

“Hey.”

Amalia sounded different, nervous.

“Hannah, uh…”, She leaned down closer, “Can I kiss you?”

The words struck Hannah like lightning. In Hannah’s mind it felt like an impossibility for her to kiss a girl, to kiss Amalia with her nice smile and her kind teases and her soft hand holding Hannah’s and the way words rolled off her lips and-

“Yes.”

Who cares about possibilities.

König stumbled outside and puked right next to the entrance, retching what felt like his guts onto the stony ground.

He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be here at all. No soldier should.

After his stomach was empty, he heaved heavily for air before standing up again and wiping his mouth with the gloved hand.

Scheiße.

“Man?”

He turned around. It was the woman, peaking fearfully through the door at him, holding her dress together with her hands.

“Sorry”, König gesticulated at the puddle of puke.

“Ok.”, she just replied flatly as if anything was ok.

He cleared his throat.

“I am sorry.”, König repeated,” I just need a new bandage, some direction and maybe some food. I will leave right after.”

“Ok.”

She repeated and closed the door, leaving him to wait outside.

He couldn’t blame her. To calm himself he started checking his rifle out of habit, while monitoring the dark garden and surrounding valley.

Could he trust her? Was she just getting her weapon to shoot him out of fear? Or rat him out to whoever was in charge in this area?

It’s not like he had a choice. The wound on his leg throbbed, he was lost and out of rations.

Nervously he drummed against the rifle, eyeing every shadow with suspicion.

After a few minutes the door opened again, and the woman stepped outside. She had a jacket on now, a couple of acidic smelling rags in her arms as well as some kind of bread. With as much distance as possible she passed the things he had asked for to König and he took them with a nod.

“Thank you.”, he mumbled.

“Directions. Yes?”, she asked coldly, ignoring his words.

“Yes.”

“You go there.”, she waved into the direction König had assumed the next US military base.

He nodded again.

She looked at him, before turning around and stepping to the door.

“Leave.”

He heard the door getting looked and a chair dragged in front of it after she closed it behind her.#

“Zieh dich an, Hannah! So kannst du nicht zur Feier.”, the mother ordered.

Hannah just looked at her and the dress she was holding.

“Nein.”

“Hannah!”

It was Sunday. A cousin was getting married. With the church and the whole family and flower girls and a white dress.

But not with Hannah in a dress.

“Wenn du dich nicht fertig machst, kannst du auch nicht mitkommen.”

“Okay.”

It was a clear calculation: no dress, no piece of the wedding cake, no Hannah in the family pictures.

She could live with that. If she had to wear a dress, she wouldn’t go.

Silently she got up and left her parents to go to her bedroom - her mother still staring at her disapprovingly and her father mildly uninterested in his wife’s attempts to raise his daughter.

It was sunny outside, beautiful. She didn’t even wait for her parents to leave before climbing out of the window and sneaking away.

The forest was humming with life as Hannah walked through it before making her way to Amalia’s house.

Amalia was sitting in the summer sun in the garden and studying. As always.

“You know, we have a gate in the fence if you feel like not showing off how tall you are, Hannah.”, Amalia greeted with a smile.

“I’m not showing off. It’s my natural grace to jump fences like a gazelle”, Hannah shot back, before kissing Amalia and taking a seat at the table on the garden veranda.

“More like a giraffe with your long legs”, Amalia scoffed.

“Either way, do you want to go for a hike today? It’s nice in the forest.”

“You should become a ranger like my uncle or a soldier like my marine-cousin with your never ending need to be in the forest and on the move. You would be the queen of the mountains! The most feral one out there”, Amalia stated and shook her head, “I can’t! I need to study.”

Hannah chuckled while getting up again, “Alright, have fun studying.”

“Wait!”, Amalia called.

Hannah turned back while Amalia reached over the table to kiss her.

“Be safe out there.”

The bread felt like the best thing König had eaten in weeks. With his stomach emptied and the sour taste of acid on his tongue it felt like a piece of heaven in his mouth. He knew it would only keep him satisfied for a short time. But it would give him strength to get himself to the base.

Next, he looked at his injury. Hidden between two boulders a click away from the house he sat down and took out his emergency light. Turning it on the lowest setting he quickly checked his wound. It was deep and due to the lack of fresh bandages and only his minimal first aid so far, slightly infected. Grimacing from the pain he started putting the rags onto the open flesh. It wasn’t ideal but the acid would keep the bacteria at bay while the rags protected the wound from dirt getting into it.

At least he hoped so.

Tired, so, so tired he reached for the radio and turned it on.

Click.

Static.

“Hello?”

No answer but static silence.

Click.

They were laying on the grass staring into the summer night, holding hands, and watching as the Perseids flared up and gifted them one shooting star after another.

“Hannah.”

“Hm?”

“I’m cold.”

Wordlessly Hannah moved closer and embraced Amalia with her taller, bigger frame, steeled from working her father’s farm, rubbing her sides to warm her up.

She giggled and kissed Hannah, “Thanks.”

The grass they lay on was green and starting to get wet from the morning dew as the milky way glanced beautiful and disinterested down at them.

Soon they would have to leave, part. With Amalia returning home and walking to the front door of her family’s neat little house. And Hannah climbing back up through the window of the old farmhouse.

Hannah sighed, nervously making a fist, and relaxing again to calm her nerves.

“Can I be your girlfriend?”, Amalia asked into the silence before Hannah had even started to search for the right words.

“Yes! I-“

Hannah paused, not sure why.

“Hannah, love, what is it? Did I say something wrong?”

Amalia sat up and looked down in concern to Hannah.

“No, I-“, Hannah closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing, “Can you stop calling me Hannah?”

Amalia paused. “Okay. How else am I supposed to call you?”

The other girl let her shoulders sink and dropped her head. “I don’t know. I keep getting told I am a boy-ish. That a Hannah would be different than who I am. And I know it’s mean. But I don’t think they are wrong.”

Amalia’s fingers were cold as she reached out and touched the other one’s shoulder, rubbing little soothing circles before scooting closer and turning it into a full embrace.

“If Hannah does not work for you, let’s try out other names, okay?”

Nodd.

“I am not very creative and maybe I don’t understand you correctly. How do you feel about ‘Hannes’?”

Nodd. A choked sob came out of Hannes as he leaned into the embrace, feeling many things as tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Let’s try it out then, Hannes.”, Amalia whispered and hummed, slowly rocking him in her arms until his sobs stopped.

He stayed anyway, her arms around him feeling like the strongest thing in the world holding him under the stars covered summer sky until he felt Amalia shiver.

“You are getting cold. I am sorry for keeping you here.”

“Don’t be. I have a boyfriend who will give me his jacket and rubs my arms to warm me up now, you know.”

A surprised laughter escaped him as he took off his jacket for her.

“Yes, you have.”

The sun rose mercilessly into the sky over König, turning his world from shivering darkness into blazing clarity about his situation. Weakly, he lifted his head, took a few sips from his canteen, and summoned his strength to grab the radio.

Click.

Static, the eternal static that never bothered to answer him.

He asked anyway: “Hello, anybody out there?”

Static.

He was about to turn it off again as finally, after days of dragging himself through the dust and stone, an answer.

“This is Claris Airfield speaking. Claris Airfield speaking. Please identify yourself.”

Another night, another sneaking out of the window, another walk through the forest.

For the first time in a long while Hannes walked the familiar paths with light feet.

It felt right, the road felt right, he felt right as he hiked the short road down the mountain to Amalia’s house.

The window to her room was open and Hannes climbed up to her room with practised ease, knocking at the glass to alert her to his presence.

“Hannes!”, she greeted him from her bed while putting down one the current of many books she read.

Peeking into her room he smiled and asked, “Can I come in? I couldn’t sleep and I missed you.”

She nodded and waved him inside, making space for him on the bed.

He sat down next to her and pointed at the book.

“What are you reading tonight?”

“A guid handbook for kids from military families about studying. My father insisted on me reading it.”

“Why? I am sure the Universities in Vienna, Graz or Salzburg will be more than happy to have you. Munich or Brünn are not too far away either. There is no need to go back to the US for University.”, Hannes shifted closer to Amalia, putting an arm around her.

She leaned against him, fumbling nervously with the book.

“My Dad…”, she started carefully, “He wants me to study back home in the US. He became strange since the divorce with mum.”

“How so?”

“He…”, she paused, “He became strict, mean. He has many rules and expectations, more than ever. When I mentioned that I had a boyfriend he started questioning me.”

“Isn’t that what dads do?”

“I don’t know. Oh, I don’t know, Hannes. It was strange. I wanted him to stop so I agreed to take a look at universities away from here.”

She pressed into his side, taking his other free hand and interlacing her fingers with his.

”Hannes, I don’t want to leave. But I might have too. Dad … he is the one who can finance my schooling, mum can’t.”

He closed his eyes, thinking about how he felt when Amalia was gone, how he had felt before he had even met her. The solution was as clear and simple as the night sky. If she had to go, he would follow.

“I will always find a way to you, should you want me to, Amalia. Don’t worry.”

The Heli circled over the valley. König tried to get up but felt too weak from the loss of blood after hours of working the radio and slowly bleeding out. A medic had made his way up to him, telling König he got lucky while he worked on his leg. Another medic argued with the pilot of the helicopter how to best move König up.

“Yo, big guy!”, he shouted over the noise from the heli above them, “You need to get up and secure yourself. We lost our stretcher during that last shitshow of a battle.”

Oida.

König groaned and worked himself into a standing position, half leaning against the stone and half getting dragged up by the medic at his side.

“Oh wow, you really are big. What did they feed you as a kid?”

Luft und Liebe.

He kept his mouth shut and concentrated on the ropes before him while the silent medic at his side helped him secure himself as his colleague babbled on.

“For real, the ladies must love you back home.”

“Oh, shut up”, his helper snapped. Must be new, “You think our guy wants to hear you point out something he has heard a thousand times before while bleeding like a pig?”

“I’m just making small talk.”

“Good luck small-talking with a German.”

“I am Austrian.”, König grunted, surprised by his own lucidity and insistence.

The medics stared at him.

“Isn’t that the same as German?”, the blabbermouth asked.

König groaned, unsure if from pain or annoyance.

Amalia had left for the US, just days ago but it like years to him. It was getting cold outside, winter creeping up over the mountains and with it snow, and wind, and darkness.

The familiar forest paths were bare and lonely to wander on. Hannes kept walking there to keep the habit, to not forget the feeling of just strolling down the forest and then seeing Amalia.

His Amalia.

She had given him her phone, saying she would just tell her parents she lost hers so that they could stay in contact. They had talked yesterday. Her voice was a bare whisper as she quietly told him of her journey, describing him all the things he hadn’t seen while trying to not alert her father.

He hadn’t approved. Of course, Amalia’s father hadn’t approved of Hannes. He was just some guy from the middle of nowhere Austria. Amalia had cried after that, telling Hannes only bits of what her father had said about Hannes, apologizing repeatedly and leaving out the most horrendous parts.

Still, he knew.

Hannes had grown up in a little town with his classmates’ pointing fingers at him for his unusual height for a girl, with neighbours raising their eyebrows at the sight of him roaming the forest and fields with town skirts and unkept hair, with his parents becoming bitter and uninterested in him for not behaving like they wanted a daughter to behave.

Of course, Hannes knew that her father called him Hannah and a girl, disapproving of their relationship no matter what Amalia said.

He used to be angry and hurt about it, but the feeling ebbed since what felt like about the same eons since Amalia left.

Now he had better things to do than fighting for the approval of people he only cared little about and who would never change their ways no matter what he did or who he would become.

Fickt euch alle, he thought to himself as he walked down the creaking stairs into the kitchen.

He needed to get out of this town, fast.

And he had to find a way back to Amalia. Hannes knew of a way, thinking of all those men in uniform back in Amalia’s house, her cousins, her uncles, her father - thinking of the power and dignity - and most importantly money - they got for traveling to far away places, wearing uniforms and carring guns. It was nearly funny that the man who disapproved so clearly of Hannes, showed him the easiest way back to his daughter.

“Mama”, he asked while stepping into the room, “Ich brauche deine Hilfe. Kannst du das unterschreiben?”

The mother turned around from the stove, moving what she had worked on to the side, before sitting down at the kitchen table.

“Was ist das?”, she asked, “Wieder schlechte Noten in der Schule?”

He shook his head. No, this wasn’t about school.

“Ich will gehen, Mama. Weg von hier. Ich muss.”

She starred at him, blinking a few times before smiling softly like all parents do when gently but firmly hurting their children with words.

“Hannah.”

He shivered, hating every syllable, and passing his mother a pen instead. He needed her signature to leave. Nothing else.

“Hannah, du kannst nicht weg. Wer soll sonst den Hof machen?”

“Wenn ich bleibe, bin ich lebendig begraben. Gib mir eine Chance zu leben. Lass mich gehen.”

She starred at him, tears coming to her eyes as she reached over the table for the son, she did not know she had.

“Mama! Bitte.”, Hannes said to break the painful silence and pushing aside all those emotions raising their heads like snakes inside him, passing her the enlist document for the Bundesheer instead. He needed this to be done or he might break under his mothers sad gaze.

She starred at him, shaken, and breaking before him, finally putting down the pen to sign his freedom.

König woke up laying on one of the field beds most lazarettos used. His head felt painfully heavy and like it was about to drop through the bed onto the floor. He groaned.

“Konik”, a medic greeted him, walking closer.

He groaned again, not sure if from the oh too familiar mix of pain and annoyance about having his callname so massively butchered or just the pain.

“Konik, glad to have you back. How are you feeling?”

“Scheiße.”, he mumbled, deciding to not argue with someone yielding needles which could aleviate his pains.

The Medic chuckled and started fumbling with an IV bag currently slowly dripping into his body via a catheter in his arm, “I’m adjusting your pain medication. You are a big fella and need a bit more than usual. But don’t worry, we will have you back up in no time.”

He grunted an acknowledgment, too tired to talk much more.

“Ah Mr. Konig-“, the medic called as the medication started to take him out again, “I was told you are getting a nice ride home after this. A littl’ vacation waiting for you so better get well soon and don’t let those at home wait longer than necessary.”

Home, he was getting home.

Finally.

Vienna main station was as unpleasant as every station, a busy place where people ran around to get to their train or forcefully stood still until it was their time to catch the right connection.

Better than Frankfurt am Main or Berlin. Fürchterlich. Ugh.

Vienna generally had a different pace, better suited for Königs still recovering leg.

Venerable and pleasant.

He had learned to love that once he left Austria for the first time. Leisurely, he strolled out of the building, careful to not knock somebody over with his duffel back, and got on the right tram home.

Outside of the rolling tram the houses stared down at him through the window with familiar fronts. König wondered when exactly he had become so accustomed to the sights: A castle here, a Gemeindebau there, cafés and parks he had visited - after all, he had not grown up in Vienna, barely stayed here for longer than a few months at a time, and only moved to the city after getting married - continuing to leave when the need to move became too unbearable to be quenched with runs in the Prater or when running into someone back from the old town and getting called 'Hannah' again.

Vienna had become a sanctuary so fast.

So normal, he could only stand it for short times.

Stepping out of the tram at his stop he decided to make a quick detour for some flowers before finally making the way to the apartment.

Not looking at the names on the bell signs of the house he pressed ‘Kaiser’, their shared family name for years now.

With a quick buzz the entrance to the hallway opened and he stepped into the pretty tilted hall and up the flight of stairs.

He made it half the way up before she bolted down and into his arms, nearly knocking him over and down the stairs again, hadn't he sacrificed the now crushed flowers and grabbed the railing.

“Hannes!”, Amalia cried out as she pressed herself into him, “You're back.”

He embraced her tightly, enjoying the feeling of her in his arms.

“Yes, Amalia, I’m back.”

For now.

something something protect transkids, warzones are full of people CoD conveniently hardly engages with, women* are the first targets in war, neurodiversity has little to no space in our ableist societies unless it can be exploited, the military is shit and preys on those in need, patriarchy needs to go, going to war means not returning as the same person you left as, did i miss something or do you feel like i could have improved some points feel free to send me a message something something criticism is essential to improve

#könig #könig x reader #könig cod #könig mw2 #könig modern warfare #könig x oc #könig call of duty #könig x you #call of duty #transmasc könig #könig is austrian and that is something i am willing to argue about forever

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ialwaysknewyouwerepunk · 3 years ago

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perfect now - a close reading

only pure and true love for this one. it’s soft and sweet because the one he wrote it for is and needs cheesy uncool romcom soundtrack-worthy affirmations and it’s the most wonderful thing oh my the flurries

some album booklet art for your viewing pleasure

((just a warning for below: while the lyric analysis was kept fairly neutral and close to the words and their meaning, more and more parallels did ensure me larrying out by the time the analysis kicked off so if you’re not into that, you can skip this one!))

⟼ check out @bluewinnerangel ‘s magnificent post with all the parallels to 1d/h&l bc it’s exhaustive and was a source for mine <3 thank you again for your service <3 bc this song really is a fanpiece of every song that has been important to them throughout their career so far, whether they wrote it or not, and it’s honestly kinda impressive

SUMMARY

you’re sad and i love you so much i will do anything to make that undone but while you’re sad know that i sill very much love you and you’re also strong enough to conquer all of this on your own but i’ll be by your side anyway

lyric breakdown ft. the many parallels, incl. little things, through the dark and wmyb

what this says about louis, his partner and the relationship he is in

never gonna dance again frenzy

identity

louis is a marvellous majestic sonofabitch basically <3

walls, track 10

～ little things “you still have to squeeze into your jeans, but you’re perfect to me”

You don’t feel pretty and it’s hard to miss

later lyric: “like a neon sign” - i see through you trying to hide away your insecurities

I wish that you could see my point of view As someone staring back at you

“you” is also staring at him, but perhaps is too insecure to realise how mutual the adoration is

i wish i could get you out of your own negative spiral and give you a look at yourself from my perspective

～ wmyb “everyone else in the room can see it, everyone else but you”

～ wmyb “right now i’m looking at you and i can’t believe you don’t know you’re beautiful”

～ little things “you never love yourself half as much as I love you, and you’ll never treat yourself right darling but I want you to. If I let you know, I’m here for you, maybe you’ll love yourself like I love you”

On Friday night when we’re all out I turn to you and you’re looking down And you don’t wanna dance I know you love to dance You never stop given half the chance

heavy echoes of kmm again, but the opposite: the “nightmare on the dance floor” doesn’t want to dance

when “you” is confident rlly not being subtle with who i think that is, they love to dance <-> tpwk “feeling good in my skin, i just keep on dancing”

“i know you love to dance” = i know what you love bc i love you

“given half the chance”

～ tpwk “giving/given second chances”

given a chance tattoo, making another appearance (see below for more tattoo meltdowns)

Just keep your head up, love, keep your head up

term of endearment <3

～ dlibyh

this album is full of encouragement to keep going and as much as it gives me life it ruins me

Don’t hide away, don’t ever change

“be happy, proud”

～ “just hold on”

“pick someone who’s supportive”

Keep your head up, love, keep your head up Don’t look away, don’t look away

don’t look away from me

～ through the dark “and I can see your head is held in shame”

Cause everybody’s looking at you now, my, oh my

they have the stage to themselves / new career paths they’re doing on their own

could also mean ppl they’re going out with are looking at them, which “you” interprets as sth negative, which makes them self-conscious, while they’re actually admiring them bc they steal the scene

～ wmyb “you’re turning heads when you walk through the door”

I guess some queens don’t need a crown And I know why Even when your tears are falling down Still, somehow, you’re perfect now

“you” is royalty to louis, to put it simply

they don’t need something on their head to make it known to everyone else - they’re a queen and everyone knows it

gendered: female - also used in drag contexts - the only time L has used any gendered word to identify his partner on the entire album (more on this below)

～ steal my girl "she's been my queen since we were sixteen" can't believe i forgot this one thank you @mortalenemiestolovers for reminding me!!!

～ falling

～ through the dark “you tell me that your tears are here to stay”

You never do, but if you asked me to I’ll tell the truth lying next to you

“you” never asks for affirmations directly, but by saying shit like their pants are too tight make it clear enough to L that they do need to hear once in a while that it’s not true

Cause you’re the only one when it’s said and done You make me feel like being someone

Good to you even at your worst

～ always you

i love you so much you are a force of life to me, and even when you hate me i want more

～ drag me down “If I didn’t have you there would be nothing left, the shell of a man who could never be his best. If I didn’t have you, I’d never see the sun. You taught me how to be someone” (sung by louis first, harry second)

～ through the dark “even if you scream and shout, it’ll come back to you and I’ll be here for you

You steal the scene and it’s unrehearsed

reference to working on a stage - their natural presence wins everyone over - that charisma is never manufactured

Don’t you wanna dance? Just a little dance I’ll never stop given half the chance

L keeps encouraging them, will also not pass by any chance to dance with them

Every insecurity, like a neon sign, as bright as day If you knew what you were to me You would never try to hide away

“it’s hard to miss”

L sees through them trying to hide their insecurities, pretend to be strong

～ through the dark “but I know you were only hiding”

SYNTHESIS

Perfect Now is not a fan favorite and I am so not here for that discourse, so please do not pester me with negativity about this chocolate drop of a song.

As others have pointed out, the parallels with other songs written by Louis, Harry or for One Direction are extremely present. Especially Little Things is echoed loudly, but there’s so much more to be read, as you’ve seen. These are songs that are clearly near and dear to Louis, bc he wrote them or bc performing them was special, like with Little Things and What Makes You Beautiful. A lot of the same emotions come back in Louis’s writing, so much so that you can’t help but see the larger story behind it all. Throughout Walls you can hear him singing about not giving up and holding your head high despite hardships, and if you look back at his earlier writing, it’s always been there. Through the Dark is an early and striking example of this style of Louis song: you’re sad and i love you so much i will do anything to make that undone but while you’re sad know that i sill very much love you and you’re also strong enough to conquer all of this on your own but i’ll be by your side anyway

basically through the dark’s chorus:

Oh, I will carry you over Fire and water for your love And I will hold you closer Hope your heart is strong enough When the night is coming down on you We will find a way Through the dark

It is very clear that Louis is faced with a partner - I can freely say it’s Harry now right? are the antis gone by now? i think so - that struggles with his body, with his identity, with how he wants to present himself vs how opinions on that might push him down and dampen his spirit. Louis, always the supportive boyfriend, then tries his best to make him see the light, while keeping that space for his sadness, his struggles, or their joint struggles. Accept the sadness but don’t lose your heart to it.

I’ve linked @bluewinnerangel ‘s post at the start of this post, but I need to stress how good it is once more as I also shamelessly insert a screenshot from it here bc it makes me feel a lot and summarizes perfectly just how deeply Perfect Now is woven into the history of their lives, relationship and especially “you”s/Harry’s personal struggle with their identity/body/confidence...

Because yes, i absolutely think these tattoos are being echoed in the song. “Never gonna dance again” as a lyric and then as a tattoo on Harry’s legs like shackles around his ankles represents the sensation of shame, of being stuck, bc of your desires, bc of your sexuality. Obviously we can never know why Harry got the tattoo, as in what experience pushed him to choose those lyrics or what exactly he recognizes in himself, but it’s safe to say it’s about the struggles of being queer and navigating relationships with that identity and with others.

Most importantly, the sense of shamelessly dancing, dancing like no one’s watching, dancing together with your lover, as a celebration of self, life, love, is the key here. Harry got that tattoo ages ago, at a time when he undoubtedly felt way more stuck. When he couldn’t dance freely the way he wanted to and with whom he wanted to. Perfect Now is a reminder to him, an encouragement to still dance if he wants to, no matter what people say or think. Significantly, then, Harry’s own Treat People With Kindness heavily features that same sentiment, but in an extremely positive light: i have found a place (in life and in myself) where i feel like i have given and was given second chances and now i dance bc i finally feel good in my skin.

Louis has obviously been there from the start, or at least from when or before Harry properly started experimenting with/questioning how he likes to present and how he identifies as. Before he ever dared to consider pulling on a pair of women’s skinny jeans, never mind a ball gown. Louis has seen him limit himself as well as being limited by others ofc and has always seemed to have been there, with a secure hand on Harry’s back, to encourage him. Even at a time when boys wearing nail polish or skirts was unthinkable. Just remember how much encouragement Harry needed when growing out his hair; Louis literally joined him. yes this might make me cry okay i need to stop bc i’m going off track and this is just becoming a larry breakdown while i was trying to hype up this beautiful song.

What I’m trying to say is: Louis has always seen all of Harry. He’s always had his back, no matter what. He’s loved every part of him. And now, on a completely gender neutral album, in the sweetest, softest song off of the entire thing, Louis puts in the word “queen”, and that is so very deliberate it makes me want to scream. It’s Louis confirming his love again and again while affirming the multitudes contained by Harry, including everything involving his gender journey. brb crying

It’s a raw Louis, an honest, sweet, kind, loving partner, and both of them are fucking lucky to have each other, and I also wish that all of us end up in a caring and wholesome relationship like that. I truly do.

#wow i thought this one was gonna be easier #i always do why do i think that???#every time i look closer into l's lyrics i see more depth #this is all just a perfect mushy mess so it's on brand for me #perfect now analysis #lyric analysis #my posts #parallels

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mrsbrookegillespie · 4 years ago

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+Homework+ Luke x Fem!Reader

(Not My Gif)

Description:When Y/N’s progress report comes out it seems as though their mom isn’t happy with the letters that follow each subject. So when they have to cancel on her friends band rehearsal to do their assignments it leads to an interesting encounter with the brunette guitarist of Julie and the Phantoms.

Warning: Stress, school, bad grades, mild angst, mostly fluff.

+Homework+

Luke is not someone to judge another for having bad grades, considering what his report cards looked like, and the fact he dropped out of high school at seventeen. But, Y/N has two more years left in school, despite her age, and frankly… She’s struggling. “What’s this?” her mother asks, showing her an email.

“Those are… My grades?” Y/N shrugs, avoiding the small letters that labeled her as dumb, and lazy.

“Y/N! You need to start getting serious about this. You’re going to flunk out!” Y/N internally winces at her mother shouting at her. “I’m very disappointed about this…”

“Well,” Y/N starts. “I’ll do it!” She bites her lip, sliding away from her desk. “Tomorrow,” she adds, looking at the time. “I promised Julie I’d watch band practice today.” Her mom gives her a blank stare.

“Y/N! We’ve been very laid back with you, you’ve never been grounded or anything, but right now I want you to stay at home, and get your missing work done.”

“But--”

“No!”

Her mom closes the door on the way out, leaving Y/N feeling the stress of school. She grabs her phone, clicking Julie’s contact. “Hey! Are you almost here?” Julie asks.

“I can’t make it…” Y/N breathes out.

“What?!” Julie exclaims. “But, you promised to be here today, we’re performing tomorrow, you know?” The disappointment radiates through the phone.

“I know! And I will be there for that, because that’s really important, but I just can’t make it today.” Y/N is too embarrassed to say the reason why. Julie has amazing grades, and is insanely talented, and she might be a little jealous of that, mostly because she gets to spend extra time with Luke who Y/N has heart eyes for. But, his eyes are for someone else. Julie.

“No, she’s not coming,” she answers the muffled voice in the background. “I don’t know!” she groans. “The boys wanted me to ask you if you’re okay, which are you?”

“Yes! I’m fine, just go rehearse, even though you guys don’t really need it, I know you’ll rock tomorrow--” Y/N gets cut off by her door swinging open.

“Y/N! Homework! Now!” her mom orders.

“I’m just telling Julie I can’t make it,” Y/N argues. “I gotta go.”

“Oh, okay, well, we all miss you over here,” she affirms.

“Yeah, I miss you all too, but we did see each other today, so… I miss the boys.”

Julie laughs. “I’ll tell them that, especially you know who.” Y/N can sense Julie’s smirk when she speaks.

Y/N chokes on a bit of her saliva. “Julie! I-I have to go.” She hangs up. “Why me?” she asks whatever higher power could possibly be listening to the teenage girl.

She plops down on her desk chair.

“What to start with?” Her eyes scan her To-Do List she’s already made, it’s not as much as she thought, but it’s definitely time consuming and very boring. Some of her teachers have already reached out to her, but she chooses to ignore their offers of help. She’s scared she’ll say something they’ll find stupid, or won’t understand.

And so she has to skip her favorite part of the day, to do Algebra, and History and Biology, and…

“So, why couldn’t she come today?” Luke asks, tuning his guitar on the couch.

“Eh, I didn’t ask her,” Julie admits.

“Why not?” Luke gives her a pointed look, his movements faltering.

“She would’ve told me if it was that important,” she claims. She looks off, before seeing him go back to his previous state. “Luke, you've been tuning that guitar for half an hour, I think it’s good.”

He rolls his eyes.

“So, Y/N really can’t come today?” Reggie asks, saddened over the news. “But, she never misses a rehearsal unless it’s family, or school related.”

Luke finally stops, setting down his guitar. “Wait,” he starts. “Didn’t progress reports come out today?”

Everyone looks at him weirdly. “How do you know that?” Alex questions, spinning his drumstick.

“Oh--uh.” He scratches the back of his head. “When I visited Julie at school the other day, I heard something about it.”

Julie turns his head towards him. “Are you talking about when Y/N said something about it to Flynn? A couple feet away from us? Yeah I heard her too, because I was facing her.” She crosses her arms. “I think someone has a crush,” she teases, smiling widely.

“What?!” A subtle blush paints over his cheeks. “I don’t like Y/N like that, she’s--she’s just a good friend.”

“Oh come on!” Alex joins. “It’s so obvious, don’t think I don’t notice when you stare at her.” He sends a wink to Luke.

“Or when you talk about her,” Reggie adds. “Which is all the time.”

“Just tell her,” Julie advises.

“Tell her?” Luke repeats, giving her a look of disbelief. “I don’t think you’ve guys noticed, but I’m dead, and she’s very much alive.”

“So?! Everyone knows you two are completely in love with each other, so give it a shot,” Julie urges, also knowing her friend's infatuation with the guitarist.

Luke chuckles. “She doesn’t like me, she rarely talks to me, to be honest I think she hates me.”

“You rarely talk to her,” Julie points out. “And ‘to be honest’ I think she thinks you hate her.” Luke’s posture caves hearing Julie’s words. “Are we going to get started now?”

Everyone nods.

Throughout practice Luke found his mind wandering back to the previous conversations the band had. A warm feeling would build in his stomach for a movement when he would think about the fact that Y/N likes him, or at least his friends think so. “Luke!” Alex shouts, snapping Luke out of his thoughts. “Practice is over,” he informs.

"It is?!” His eyes widened when an idea popped into his mind. “Well, won’t you look at that, it is over, and I completely forgot I made plans, bye!” Luke poofs out, landing in a girly room, but has a certain vibe to it.

“Luke!” Y/N shrieks, putting a hand over her heart. “What are you doing here?” she whisper-yells.

“T-the--” he snaps his fingers. “The guys wanted someone to check in on you, and Alex is hanging out with Willie, and Reggie is Reggie so… I volunteered.” He sways back and forth against his ankles. “Sooo… How are you doing?” He strolls up to her smoothly, placing an arm on the back of her chair.

“Luke… You are a terrible liar,” she asserts. “But, if you really want to know. I’m not doing too well.”

He frowns. “Why?”

“School,” she sighs. “We got our progress reports, and I’m not doing too well.” She tries to hide the paper from Luke.

“Y/N, don’t be embarrassed, I’m sure it’s not that bad.” He plucks the paper from under her arm. His reassuring smile slowly faded. “There’s… Room for improvement?” He shrugs.

“Get out,” Y/N mutters.

Luke’s heart plummeted. “What?”

“I said get out,” she repeats, harshly. “I get it, I’m dumb, and I’m lazy, and I don’t do my work. I get it. So, just leave.” Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. “I’m serious Luke.” Her voice cracks a little.

Guilt washed over him when he saw the effect his words take on her. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. He reaches out to hug her, but he instead goes straight through her.

Y/N doesn’t notice his attempt of this action, instead boring her eyes at the paper in front of her. “Luke, I said just go.” She rubs her forehead.

He didn’t move though, he instead started looking over the paper she hadn't touched. “Twenty-three,” he answers.

“What?” she chokes out.

“The answer, it’s twenty-three.” He looks at her, a little self-conscious. “Look, just because I didn’t have the best grades, or didn’t do work, didn’t mean I was dumb, so stop telling yourself that. We’re not so different you know.”

She scrunches her face. “How’d you get that?” she asks. “The answer to the question.”

His eyes light up when she accepts his explanation, not asking him to leave again. “So… I just did…”

He talks through the problem, asking Y/N if she understands when her eyes widen. He noticed she does that when she’s getting confused, or is not fully processing the words. As they go through each subject, him helping her, or giving his opinion on things. She started to find herself smiling, and having fun? “Wow,” he whispers, reading a poem. “You just wrote this?”

She nods. “Yeah, I know, it’s not that great.”

“No! It’s really good for something you wrote in five minutes,” he compliments, rereading the poem in his head. “Who knew you were such a romantic?” he teases.

Y/N feels her cheeks warm up. “That’s actually the first time I’ve heard that.”

“So, who’d you write it about?” he asks. He partially dreaded asking the questions. He didn’t want to picture her ever describing someone that wasn’t him in such a beautiful context. “C’mon, you can tell me, what am I going to do? Tell my ghost friends.”

Y/N giggles. “I--uh… Someone?” It comes out more as a question.

“Name?”

“Why you want to know so bad, huh?” she blurts, with a smirk. “Why? You jealous?” She knew he wasn’t, but the thought made her whole body catch on fire.

Luke, surprised by her sudden cockiness, sends her a smirk right back. “Well, what if I am?”

She scoffs. “Yeah, right,” she murmurs.

He tilts his head. “What is that supposed to mean?”

She gives him a ‘really’ look. “Luke, c’mon…” She waits for him to say something like ‘you’re right, I’m joking’, or anything along those lines, but he just stares back with the same intensity she has.

“What do you want me to say?”

The question lingers in Y/N’s mind. I want you to say you like me. That’s what she wanted to tell him, that’s what she wanted to hear. “Nothing,” she mumbles. “Absolutely nothing.”

He cracks a smile. “Just tell me!” After that he keeps repeating it over and over again.

“I want you to say you like me!” she shouts.

His eyes widened, but he didn’t seem uncomfortable, he seemed in awe of the situation. “Why are you shouting?” Y/N’s mom asks, rushing in.

“Because I’ve gotten ten assignments turned in!” Y/N cheers trying to ignore Luke giving her a big smile, seriously, it’s scary how wide it is.

“I like you too,” he whispers, her heart dropping. It’s like he couldn’t contain his little secret for any longer, but now it leaves Y/N impatient as her mom stares down at her on the bed.

“That’s good! she assures. “Though it would’ve been better if you turned them in on time, but at least they’re in.” Y/N nods at her mom's backhanded compliment. “Anyways, dinners ready.”

“Ah, yes.” Y/N shuts her laptop. “I forgot humans have to eat.”

“Can I stay?” Luke asks.

“In my room,” she answers.

“You’re going to eat in your room?” her mom asks.

“Can you?” Luke perks up, hearing it. “Just say you want to finish your work, because you’re already in the groove, or something!” His eyes are pleading Y/N to stay with him, leaving her almost speechless.

“Y-yeah,” she stutters. “There’s a few more things I want to do before I call it a night, and I’m kind of in… ‘The Groove’,” she discreetly ridicules the boy next to her that’s invisible to her mom's eyes.

“Okay, just come down when you’re ready.”

Y/N sighs of relief when she hears the door shut quietly. “So, you like me?” She was slightly breathless from the beautiful boy so close to her.

“Yeah,” he responds. His eyes didn’t meet hers though.

“You don’t seem sure,” she judges.

His gaze locks with her. “I’m just nervous,” he reveals. “You make me really nervous. I thought you hated me just an hour ago, and now…”

She gapes at him. “I thought you hated me!”

“That’s what Julie said,” he adds, pointing towards her.

Y/N jolts her body away from him. “You spoke about me with Julie?” As if she summoned her, Julie’s contact lights up her phone. “Hello,” she answers.

“Is Luke over there?” she asks. “Sorry! Hi, it’s just the boys were worried.” Y/N sneaks a glimpse towards Luke who can’t seem to take his eyes off of her, it’s like he’s trying to memorize every single part of her body.

“He’s not, but I had a question for you.” Luke looks at Y/N confused as to why she lied. “Did you guys talk about anything earlier? He was acting weird, and you know with you being good friends with him, and us being the best of friends, I wanted to know.”

“Oh my God!” she exclaims. “He was out of it the entire rehearsal after we told him you weren’t going to be there, and he was all worried, and concerned, it was adorable. Dude is so in love with you it’s insane. I mean even Reggie and Alex were talking about how he talks about you, and how he stares at you, and how he’s so invested in you. I’d say he’s obsessed.”

Y/N lets out a victorious hum. “Good to know, well, I’ll let you know if I see him--oh wait, he’s right next to me, thanks for the info.” Y/N hangs up.

“She told you about rehearsal didn’t she?” He plays with the rings on his fingers, a nervous habit he picked up.

“Yep.” Y/N pops the ‘p’. “She said you’re obsessed with me.”

“Not true!” he argues. “Sort of…” He pouts. “Not in a creepy way though!” He tries to grab her hand, but it goes straight through. “This will be interesting.”

“Yeah,” Y/N agrees. “But, we’ll get through it…”

Luke then learned one thing about himself that night. He was touched-starved.

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mooniefics · 4 years ago

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bye bc i have not been able to get the thought of like,, you working as the candidate manager for the warrior program (aka glorified babysitter / school counselor) and reiner slowly falling for u over the years

— you’d first met him around a month after he returned from paradis, after he was finally debriefed and given countless ideological assessments, and he was just exhausted by the time he was finally allowed to see his family again but he still woke up early the next day to go with gabi to training. he saw how happily gabi greeted you, how warmly you smiled back, and he thought that if anyone was taking care of his little cousin over the years he was gone, he was grateful that it was someone who came off as nicely as you did.

— your first conversation initiated after gabi dragged him over by the arm and introduced the two of you herself, but you didn’t get to speak long before you all had to go your separate ways. the way you tucked a piece of gabi’s hair behind her ear and gingerly wrapped your arm around her as you led her off to her classes for the day makes his heart flutter.

— you two made small talk when you ran into each other, sometimes talking about the kids, sometimes talking about yourselves, nothing terribly personal, but he always found himself feeling much lighter after he got to see you.

— reiner accompanied you once when you chaperoned the kids’ recreational time in town and sat on the bench beside you while you both watched them all play around at the park you usually took them too. your voice was soft and affectionate as you told him that you sometimes forgot that they were just children, letting it slip that you couldn’t help but feel disheartened that they had been made to grow up so fast. you were worried that he, the one revered as the most loyal warrior, would report you for disrespecting the methods of marley, but he only sighed, smiling sadly as he replied, “me too.”

— one day when the kids were training, you and the warriors were standing to the side watching them, discussing casually amongst yourselves as you watched them run laps with all their gear. on the last go around, udo fell flat on his face, and before reiner can even turn to see your reaction, you were already running over to make sure he was okay. the exercise instructor forced you to wait for udo to make it to the end on his own, but as soon as he reached finish line, you rushed him away into the main school building. when you didn’t return for a few minutes, reiner ventured in to see where you’d gone, he found you both in an empty classroom—you kneeling in front of udo, handkerchief in hand, gently wiping the tears and dirt from his cheeks and telling him that he had done a good job, that everybody makes a mistake once in a while, that he was just as capable as the other candidates. he stood beside the door, listening to you comfort udo, feeling his own eyes watering as he did. he wished he had someone like you when he was young.

— the first time the two of you had a proper, in-depth conversation was the evening that the mid-east allied forces had declared war against marley, the only two left at the privacy of his quarters, sharing the last bottle of wine leftover between yourselves. the facade of perfect patriotism that you had both been careful to maintain had dissipated, whether because of the alcohol or because of the gravity of such impending doom weighing at your hearts. he’d learned that you’d been apart of the warrior program yourself, an unselected trainee in the class just a year below his own. you told him that was how you’d managed to secure yourself this position, but he said that it was much more than that, that you were a natural at a position that require such patience and compassion. the way your lips had turned up into the smallest of smiles made his cheeks flushed.

“i heard the war is going to be mostly naval. i doubt we’ll have to worry about any of us being shipped out to fight any time soon.”

you took a long sip from your glass, finishing off what remained, taking in a deep, pensive breath. “god forbid they send any of those kids away to the battlefield. god forbid they send you away.”

“me?” he said after a moment of silence, an odd sort of tightness cinching around his heart and lungs, squeezing tighter with every fine detail he noticed in your sorrowful expression—warm eyes filled with sympathy, mouth drawn down into a delicate frown, brow slightly knitted.

“you’ve seen enough. you’ve gone through enough, more than anyone should have to go through by themselves.”

reiner felt a lump beginning to form in his throat, an almost tangible ache echoing through his chest. that was the first time someone had ever told him that before.

— despite the worsening tension of war, reiner saw that you were just as cheerful as ever with the kids, bringing them sweets and desserts you made yourself when you got the chance, taking them out on their weekly outings and making sure they were doing alright just as normal. but he could see the way your face would shift when one of them piped up with something regarding the current battle being waged, spouting out the same propaganda he’d been force-fed for his entire life. you would only smile, patting them on the shoulder or rubbing their back, responding with a simple assertion that you were sure marley’s troops were doing great out there before changing the subject

“they’re so young. sometimes i forget they’re only children.”

your words from the park bench flitted across his mind, the words that you silently spoke when your eyes widened at gabi’s proclamation that marley’s glory would forever prevail, or when your lips pursed briefly at the four of them squabbling over who would inherit which titan.

“they’re too small to be holding such big weapons. those rifles they give them are taller than they are. it’s.. it’s...”

perverse? distressing? horrible? it was all of those things, and so much more. but you saw it. you didn’t egg them on like porco or zeke, you congratulated them without drenching it in more and more lies. you didn’t see them as soldiers-in-training, you didn’t see them as warriors, you saw them as they were. as children. you cared for them like he did.

— when the time came, you were shipped off to fort slava alongside the warrior unit, your training and your extensive experience working with the candidates for the past five years serving as the justification for your necessity. though reiner had wished to be around you more often, he didn't at all enjoy it in this context. seeing you in a full soldier’s uniform, skin dusted with dirt and gunpowder, a helmet that only seemed to have more and more dents and scratches in the metal with each day that passed—it felt so incredibly wrong. you didn’t belong in the trenches of war, and yet he still saw you running about every morning, previously soft hands becoming roughened and scarred, growing thinner and thinner from the stress and minuscule rations that were barely enough to get everyone through the day. and yet you were lively, still tending to the kids and attempting to give them a space away from the warfare outside when you could all retire to the unit’s dugout at night.

— one night, reiner had woken from his sleep and was too restless to return to it, unable to ignore the distant sounds of gunfire and shouts from outside, staring up at the ceiling from his bunk and allowing himself to drift away into his thoughts. he remembered all the nights he’d spent like this in his own home as a child, barely able to force himself to sleep for a few hours despite knowing that he had another long day of training ahead of him. but he turned over on his mattress at the sound of soft murmuring, the sound of sheets shifting and the quiet protest of the flimsy bed frames squeaking. in the dimness of the lantern that sat at the foot of gabi’s bunk, he saw you seated at her bedside, looking down at her as you spoke.

“are you okay? do you want me to wake up reiner?”

he couldn’t make out gabi’s mumbled response, but he saw the small silhouette of her head shaking from side to side on her pillow.

“i know he’s been looking tired lately, but i promise that he won’t be upset if we wake him up for a moment.”

another unintelligible reply from the young girl just barely occupied the air. a part of him wanted to step out of his bunk and see what she needed, but another, more persuasive thought kept him still, laying silently, watching on to see how you would tend to her. he knew that gabi admired you deeply, the fact that you’d managed to win her over was something that impressed him, but at the same time didn’t surprise him at all. he couldn’t imagine how anyone could dislike someone as gentle and thoughtful as you.

“you’re a big girl, gabi, so am i. but that doesn’t mean we don’t all need a little bit of help sometimes. it’s scary out here, and i’m so proud of you for holding your own out there. it’s okay to be scared.”

you were quiet for a moment, allowing for gabi to speak, a hand reaching out to gently stroke the side of her head and run through her hair. a quiet, genuine laugh slipping from you when she concluded.

“i promise i won’t tell anyone. i’ll get back to my bunk as soon as you get back to sleep. deal?”

he caught the end of an affirmative nod from his cousin, and the two of you fell silent. you stood for a moment to tuck the covers around her, sitting back down and returning to your soothing motions, looking almost like a dream in the glow of the soft illumination at your side.

he realized in that moment what that feeling in his chest was, the one that made his throat tighten just the slightest bit, that made him feel light as air for those few fleeting moments before the spell of you in his gaze was broken by some menial interruption. but the interruption didn’t come this time, nothing to remind him to bury his feelings and not ruminate on them long enough to figure out exactly what they were. he had been running from this revelation for far too long, and he knew exactly why—because it would be unfair to burden you with these feelings that he knew he shouldn’t have.

he loved how you made him feel. he loved seeing how cheerful you were even when it was too early in the morning for him to even be properly awake himself. he loved seeing how you smiled when the children hung onto you on your days out. he loved that you could see the appalling indoctrination of marley’s military might on it’s citizens for what it was. he loved how you saw him for more than his failure four years ago. he loved how tender you looked stroking his younger cousin’s hair, assuring her that you wouldn’t leave her until she was fast asleep. he loved you, honestly and wholeheartedly.

it was a selfish desire, a longing that he would have to keep to himself for your sake. but, in moments like these, where the vision of having something more seemed so close to his outstretched grasp, the thought of sharing his final years together rather than in a respectful coexistence, he found it so difficult to resist temptation.

if only he had more time.

24 / 7 reiner brainrot. i have an unfathomable amount of love for this man ( ; ω ; )

#reiner braun #reiner braun x you #reiner braun x reader #reiner fluff #reiner #reiner x reader #reiner x you #reiner brainrot #snk reiner #reiner braun snk #reiner braun drabble

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mings · 4 years ago

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Some context...

...in relation to that last post. This is a lo-o-o-o-ong read, so feel free to skip right by if catharsis bores you.

This starts way before I joined tumblr; in fact, long before tumblr was even a thing.

Twenty years ago, we lived in a huge house backing onto the English Channel. We moved there from Scotland, which turned out to be (probably) the biggest mistake of my life.

Within nine months of buying the place, the company I’d moved to work for nearly folded. I and most of the workforce were made redundant. That set in motion an existential battle with our mortgage insurer, which refused to pay out because I “must have known” when taking out the insurance. (I didn’t, and they eventually caved in after destroying my credit record, but that’s another story.)

Work wasn’t immediately available; none that would at least cover the bills. We got inventive, wrote a business plan, obtained finance & bought a franchise. It went pretty well for the first three years, but we had to bust a gut to make the required income. It wasn’t easy. Eventually, the franchise operator messed up relations with several key players in our insurance market. Within three months, we lost 75% of our revenue. I had to close the workshop & find part time work to make ends meet. Ultimately, we decided to close the business, sell the house and downsize to something more manageable.

What’s the relevance of this? We tried hard to keep our precarious financial state form the kids. Maybe we didn’t do as well as we thought. Our son had already become withdrawn. He’d fallen in with a group of local lads about whom we had grave misgivings. Of course, there was no discussing it. We were “over-reacting” and unreasonable. It was around that time that he decided to jack in his education. I couldn’t criticise; I’d done the same. I pulled some strings and got him a job at our local Royal Mail delivery office.

We moved to our new place. It was a stressful move. Trying to fit into a house that was literally half the size was never going to be an easy task. One afternoon, our son came home from work and soon after announced he was going out. “See you later.” Only we didn’t. He didn’t come home that night. Nor did he turn up for work the next day. Nor the day after. And nor the day after that. Within a week he was written up for unauthorised absence. We had no way of contacting him. His case was heard in the following weeks. I could offer no mitigation. He was sacked for abandonment of duty. That tag that means he’ll never work for them again.

We still had no idea where he was. We only knew he was alive because we met a couple of his friends who couldn’t believe he’d not been in touch. Still no word. My wife was in shreds; I suspect any of you who are parents can identify with that. I was alternating between trying to prop her up and stay on top of my job, all the while under a constant barrage of barracking (Oh, we don’t mean anything by it, it’s just banter....)

About three months in I’d had enough. Sleep was a scarce resource so I rose at the crack of dawn and started on a trip, rousting one after another of the friends and acquaintances that I knew, following leads until finally I tracked him down to a sordid bedsit several towns and 40 miles away. At least he answered the door and looked sheepish. He offered no explanation or apology, and has never done so to date. He refused to come back home, but promised to keep in touch.

We know he bounced from one sofa to another in the next few months. He spent time in some of the worst areas in the county for drug abuse. He fell into a relationship with a girl that looked promising initially and subsequently fell apart. Later, he surfaced in another town with another girl whom he subsequently married. She often spoke of his irascible temperament and moods. Ultimately the marriage was doomed; she was younger than him, found a new interest and moved out. One wonders now how much of that was her and how much she’d put up with before voting with her feet.

He’s stumbled from one financial crisis to another. Money just evaporates. It’s as though adulting is a mystery beyond his reach. I’ve lost count of the times that we’ve thrown money at him and I don’t want to even think about how much. It’s literally thousands, always a loan, yet he never, ever pays back.

He left his job. That was inevitable too; he worked for his ex-father-in-law’s company. Heaven only knows how long the writing was on the wall; it was pretty swift once she left. He drifted again. He chose to live in a squalid flat with no heating rather than move back with us. Absolutely his choice, not ours.

We moved to Scotland. That meant all his stuff had to go into storage. Quick rewind - he moved all his stuff to ours when he gave up the house he & his ex lived in, but refused to move back home. I had to rent a storage unit to make space for all his gear & when we moved I shifted all his gear into the store, gave him the key & told him I’d paid three months up front; after that it was his to deal with. Apparently, he surrendered the store and moved all his gear into the flat...

Fast forward to a couple of months back. He’d run out of options at the flat. His flatmate was “really difficult” to live with. His ex had moved away, taking their son with her. He had nothing left to stay for and, surprise, he’d lost his job again so he couldn’t afford the rent.

My wife convinced me we should give him one last shot, citing his fragile mental health. I agreed on the strict understanding that we are simply no longer in a position to support him. He assured us he’d be applying for work as soon as he got here. We rarely see him before midday...

We agreed the end of the first week in March. We knew he’d arrive with a ton of stuff so we had (again) to create space. That’s infinitely more difficult now we’re running a B&B, but we set to the task. Suddenly, two weeks sooner than we’d agreed, he rented a van and was on his way. No discussion, no warning. We only found out because he put something on FB.

Finally, after trying to reach him most of the day, he phoned. Whilst we should have been relieved, instead we were treated to a barrage of abuse because all the petrol stations were shut. Of course they were. It was in a national lockdown and why would they stay open when there was no one on the roads? JFC, who embarks on a journey in sub-zero temperatures across some of the most inhospitable country in the UK without enough fuel? With a six year old child. Yes, not only did he forget to tell us about his change of plans, he forgot to tell us he was bringing his son too.

We drove south through the night for two hours to find him somewhere in the Cairngorms where he’d run out of fuel. No fuel meant no heaters at 1500 feet in deep snow. The ambient temperature was -5ºC/23ºF & with wind chill that was probably around -10ºC/14ºF. We found him & refuelled his van. No thanks, just another barrage of abuse, because he was tired. We took his son into our car & drove the two hours back in near silence. I think we knew then that it was an awful predictor of what was to come.

We’ve had row after row. He accused me of being passive-aggressive in the last. He actually ticks all the boxes for passive-aggressive behaviour. I’ve never been tagged with that before; if anything I’m too forthright, blunt even. That’s a failing to which I will admit. If by that he meant that I don’t talk about the elephant in the room, it’s only because we fear it’ll lead to another explosion.

He never saw the damage that we sustained during our fostering years. He was never there. Yet here we are, experiencing flashbacks to those traumatic incidents; the parallels are exact. We have the benefit of years of training. We recognise manipulative behaviour when we see it - we were trained by some of the nations best exponents - and we know divisive tactics implicitly. What he doesn’t know is that he will succeed only in pushing us closer together and alienating himself even further.

There are clear and well-documented links between cannabis and mental health issues. He is allowing the drug to determine his life choices. Although I may be wrong, I think he’s cultivating skunk, which is nothing like the weed that circulated in my youth. The smell that pervades our hallway is instantly evocative of high strength Afghan resin. It’s also going to be acutely difficult to eradicate before we’re due to open.

We’ve endured 20 years of this treatment. I know that even if we have a ritual burning, it will only be a matter of time before we’re back here again. We’re old. We’re tired. And we’ve worked our socks off (and still do) to achieve what we have. Maybe somewhere along the way we missed something. But I’m at a stage where I’m so far beyond this I just want it to stop.

#drugs #the damage is done #context #explanatory notes

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flamingfalcon3 · 3 years ago

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Hello! I have finally finished the first chapter of my first Jori fanfic. I’m still trying to get a feel for the character interactions but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it! I’m gonna start posting to ao3 once i get that account set up (and figure out a title lol) but I might as well post the first chapter here! Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!

Jade knew her girlfriend was hiding something.

Tori was not a hard person to read. Hell, the girl practically wore her heart on her sleeve. It was so easy to guess what she was feeling at all times that Tori had all but given up trying to conceal her emotions.

So, when Jade noticed that Tori was a bit more high-strung and stressed than usual, it wasn’t hard for her to conclude that there was something on her mind.

It also helped that Tori was an awful liar.

“What’s up with you?” Jade asked casually during lunch one afternoon.

“Nothing!” the singer squeaked suspiciously. She cleared her throat and attempted to regain composure. “Nothing is up. Everything is great!”

Jade frowned slightly, not at all convinced, but decided just to drop it for the time being as the rest of their friend group arrived at the table.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Sikowitz made them all tapdance while performing a scene to “demonstrate how important it is to stay in character no matter what the character may be doing” or whatever and then spent the rest of the class monologuing about how a squirrel got trapped in his bathroom.

Jade sighed a breath of relief as the final bell rang and cut Sikowitz off just as he was about to go into detail about the standoff he had with the rodent. The only one seemingly more anxious to get out of the classroom than Jade was her girlfriend, who was out the door before the bell even finished ringing. Their friends glanced at each other in confusion.

“Maybe she really hates squirrels?” Robbie suggested. The others considered it for a moment before shrugging and forgetting about it a second later, exiting the classroom.

Jade strode over to Tori, who was frantically throwing books into her backpack from her locker. Jade leaned back against the locker next to Tori’s while folding her arms across her chest.

“You’re in a hurry,” the goth commented while watching the girl struggle to cram a science textbook into her bag.

“Jade!” Tori jumped slightly, seemingly startled by Jade’s presence.

“That’s me,” she responded dryly. “Did you forget about our date after school today?”

The singer’s eyes widened in realization and her hand flew to her forehead as she let out a groan

“Jade, oh my god, I am so sorry! I completely forgot!” she confessed, clearly feeling guilty she had forgotten they’d planned to have sushi after school ended.

“It’s alright,” Jade replied coolly, quirking the corner of her mouth up slightly to convey to Tori she wasn’t upset with her. “What’s got you in such a rush anyway?”

Tori paused for a moment, staring down at her converse.

“Oh, umm… I promised my mom I would help her with… something,” she mumbled.

“Something…?” Jade probed, hoping to get a little more context on what had her girlfriend so worked up. Tori, however, would not offer her any.

“It’s not important. I swear I’ll make it up to you,” Tori slung her bag over her shoulder before stepping towards Jade and planting a short but sweet kiss to her lips. She then turned and began walking towards the exit.

“You better! I can’t have people think I got stood up!” Jade called out after her, earning a hearty laugh from her girlfriend as she left the building.

The goth rolled her eyes, amused by Tori’s refusal to admit what it was she was helping her mother with. It must be super embarrassing or something.

Jade was halfway through entering her locker combination when she remembered something that gave her pause.

Tori’s parents were out of town for the week. Trina had a showcase and they needed an excuse not to show up. Why would she need to help her mom with something if-?

Jade’s phone lit up with a message from Tori directed towards the group chat, asking if anyone could lend her $100 bucks. The goth furrowed her brows. Tori rarely asked for money, and never more than $10 dollars at a time.

Tori Vega, what the hell are you up to?

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

All Jade could think about for the rest of the day was how strange her girlfriend was acting. She wasn’t responding to her text messages and apparently none of their friends had heard from her either. It wasn’t like Tori at all, and Jade’s curiosity was slowly turning into concern.

She knew it was silly to be worried. Tori was a big girl, after all. Still, why would she need $100 bucks on such short notice? And what was with her skittish and secretive attitude?

Maybe she was in trouble with someone. Maybe she needed to pay them money in order to keep them at bay.

The thought was so absurd that Jade almost burst out laughing as soon as it entered her mind. This is Tori she was talking about. Miss “I have never stayed out past curfew” Vega. Not exactly the type to get tangled up in criminal activity.

Still, Jade couldn’t help but feel uneasy about Tori’s radio silence. It wouldn’t hurt to pay her a visit, right?

15 minutes later she was climbing through her girlfriend’s bedroom window, which Tori for some reason always kept unlocked. Tori wasn’t there, but her backpack was on her bed and her phone was on her desk. Jade let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding as she sank down onto the bed. Not 10 seconds later she heard the sound of footsteps and the bedroom door creaked open. In walked Tori who jumped five feet in the air and shrieked upon seeing someone in her room.

“Jade?” Tori yelped. “What are you doing here?”

“You weren’t answering my texts,” the goth deadpanned.

“So you broke into my house?”

“I didn’t break in. Your window was unlocked,”

“That’s still breaking in!”

“Is it really, though?”

“Yes!”

Jade was about to argue further when she noticed Tori was holding a grocery bag, and its contents looked quite heavy based on how far the bottom was sagging.

“Whatcha got there?” She asked, gesturing towards the bag. Tori glanced at it quickly before fixing her gaze back on Jade.

“Just some stuff for a science project,” she stated, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Tori,” Jade huffed. “We are in the same science class. We’re lab partners. We don’t have a science project.”

Tori stammered helplessly, trying and failing to come up with some explanation for what was in the bag. Jade groaned in annoyance, fed up with whatever game her girlfriend was playing.

“I don’t understand why you won’t just tell me what’s going on! You know it doesn’t matter what it is since my opinion of you can’t get any low-” Jade was interrupted by a strange noise coming from somewhere in the room. She immediately turned to locate the source of the sound.

Tori could only watch helplessly as the goth scoured every inch of her room before finally tearing open the doors to her closet. A tiny fuzzy creature emerged from the darkness. And then another. And then another. They kept emerging from the closet until there were seven tiny kittens of various colors and patterns wandering around the room.

Jade slowly looked back up at her girlfriend, confusion written all over her face.

“How-how did those get in there?” Tori stammered, trying her very best to feign ignorance as all the kittens ran towards her meowing hungrily.

Unfortunately her “very best” still wasn’t very good.

“Tori, why were there cats in your closet?” Jade asked, still absolutely bewildered by the scene that was unfolding.

The singer realized there was no way she could talk her way out of this one, and just gave her girlfriend a guilty look before opening her mouth.

“Remember last week when there was that sudden downpour in downtown Los Angeles?” Jade nodded. “Well, I was walking home from Nozu’s when I heard strange noises coming from an alleyway. I went to check to see what it was and-”

“Wait, you heard strange noises coming from an alleyway in downtown Los Angeles at night and you went to go check it out?” Jade asked incredulously. Jesus, Jade doesn’t know how her girlfriend has managed to survive for this long considering her self-preservation instincts were non-existent. Tori just rolled her eyes in response.”

“As I was saying, I went to go check out what the strange noises were and… well,” she turned to look at the kittens scampering around her bedroom.

Jade brought her hand up to her face to pinch the bridge of her nose.

“So let me get this straight, you wandered into a back alley while it was raining and found kittens and decided the best thing to do would be to take them home?” Jade was still bewildered by her girlfriend.

“Well when you put it that way it sounds like a stupid idea,” Tori blushed while avoiding eye contact. Jade sighed but took a step closer to her.

“I mean, I always assumed you would be one of those lesbians who would have like ten cats but I thought that would start after you moved out of your parents’ house,” she smirked.

“Hey!” Tori let out a mock-offended gasp while swatting Jade’s arm playfully. “I mean, I probably will have to move out once they come home and discover I’ve been hiding kittens in my room despite my father being deathly allergic to them.”

Why was Jade attracted to such a moron?

“Can’t you just give them to a shelter or something?” she asked gently. Tori shook her head softly.

“I thought about it but the pounds are apparently really full this time of year so there’s a significant possibility that they'll get…” Tori paused, unable to even finish the thought. “It’s just… they’ve been through so much in the short few weeks they’ve been alive and I can’t just abandon them now!”

Stupid Tori and her stupid heart of gold. The goth groaned and tilted her head back.

“Ugh, fine. I’ll help you with you’re dumb kitten problem,” Jade’s heart fluttered a little as she watched Tori’s face lit up like a christmas tree.

“Really?” She gleamed. “How?”

“Well, I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would be interested in adopting tiny kittens. Especially if you go into detail about their tragic backstory and stuff. People are suckers for that kind of stuff,” Jade stated. “You could like, advertise them on The Slap and try to get them adopted before your parents come back.”

Tori chewed at her bottom lip, contemplating Jade’s suggestion.

“That’s… not a bad idea. People advertise things on The Slap all the time,” she hesitated for a moment and her face fell. “Ugh, wait. Trina follows me. If she finds out I’m hiding kittens in my closet she’ll rat me out for sure.”

Jade closed her eyes and sighed deeply. God, she can’t believe she was about to say this.

“I guess… I could… post about the kittens on my page, or whatever,” she grimaced. Tori’s grin got so wide Jade was concerned her face was about to split in half.

“You would do that for me?” she exclaimed. “But, your reputatio-”

“My reputation died as soon as I changed my status to ‘in a relationship with Tori Vega’,” Jade snorted. “Kittens would be nowhere near as embarrassing as you.”

Tori was beaming at her girlfriend despite the insult, chuckling lightly as she wrapped her arms around Jade’s neck and peppering her face with soft kisses before finally connecting their lips. The goth let out a content sigh in the back of her throat and attempted to deepen the kiss while pushing Tori backwards to the bed. However, Tori hummed and broke the kiss leaving Jade more than a little confused.

“Sorry, I-” the singer stammered. “I would feel weird making out in front of…”

Jade quirked her eyebrows up in amusement.

“In front of… the cats?” she asked, barely suppressing a laugh. Tori nodded, cheeks red with embarrassment. Jade just chuckled and rested her forehead against her girlfriend’s.

“Jesus Christ, Tori.”

#jori #victorious #victorious fanfiction #jori fanfiction #jade x tori #jade west #tori vega

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themadauthorshatter · 3 years ago

Text

It's been a while since we last checked on Flippy, so let's see how he's doing!

We start with Cuddles this time, who's sitting upside down on a bench when Petunia and Flaky approach him, asking if he's seen Flippy anywhere.

He has not, because he thought Flippy was with Petunia.

Petunia folds her arms and asks why Flippy would be with her for about a half to a week and a half, and Cuddles shrugs; maybe they got REALLY intimate and just needed all of that time together.

Flaky squeals, because it's dirty, and Petunia tells him to get his mind out of the gutter because this is crazy serious.

Cuddles gets up and relentls and asks if they stopped by his house.

They did, and he wasn't there.

Did they check the woods?

Not there either.

The GYM?

He doesn't even BELIEVE in going to the Gym, most days; why GO to a place to workout when you have the equipment at your house or just outside in general?

Cuddles finally realizes that Flippy's MISSING missing, and gets up, joining the girls with finding their friend.

Flaky hopes that Flippy's okay, but Cuddles assures her that he's smart, he wouldn't do anything stupid like run away.

Funny he say that because Flippy IS doing something stupid, staring at a projector that's showing a bunch of war footage, like pictures that NO AVERAGE PERSON should see.

Splendid cringes as turns a small dial on an IV line and watches Flippy struggle to both handle the medicine that's being pumped into him and not flip out.

Thankfully, all that happens is that he vomits in a bucket.

Splenedid stops the medicine and hands Flippy some water, asking if he's really okay with continuing; they've been at this for a while and they're making very debatable progress.

Flippy washes his mouth out and nods. He can keep going.

Splendid hestitately changes the image to a collage of very familiar faces:

Tiger General, Sneaky, and Mouse Ka-Boom.

Flippy gasps at seeing them and asks how the hell Splendid got these pictures.

Splendid admits it was a simple internet search, because people spread information around like it's a puff puff pass, especially if said information is a tragedy and a victory. He can give Flippy a few minutes, if he needs it.

Flippy only takes a few seconds seeing the faces of his dead partners and nods.

Splendid gets the IV and medicine going again and Flippy takes a few deep breaths as what I call the "Make Me Sick" medicine(MMS for short)(if MMS is a real thing, I deeply and sincerely apologize. I know there's a name for the drug/"medicine" used for aversion therapy, but I forgot it🙏🙏🙏) runs through his system. TV perspective, his eyes dart between Mouse Ka-Boom and Sneaky and he sees old memories of the three in training, i.e. standing still while a drill sergeant yells in their faces and/or tries to make them laugh, having a meal together, goofing around before bed, and even comforting each other after getting tased and pepper sprayed as a part of training.

Flippy's eyes go 'killer instinct-y' and he fights a gag as he remembers how they all promised to meet again once they were out of the army, and how both looked at him with shock, sorrow, and betrayal because of how he accidentally killed them.

The memories change to taking on Tiger General 1v1, how he had to fend for himself, got his hands removed, and was almost strangled to death until he ultimately came out on top amd took down the rest of the enemy base.

When I say he vomits, I mean he VOMITS until there's nothing left to get out of his system and he's dry heaving.

Splendid quickly turns off the projector and gets Flippy off the IV, though the veteran tells him he can take more, he just needs a few minutes.

Splendid, however, tells him to call it a day; they've been at this for hours and he's already making phenomenal progress; of course Splendid is not going to TEST it right now because his friend just threw up all of his digestive system.

Flippy sighs and agrees, relinquishing for the day.

Splendid helps him up and asks if he's okay to walk home and Flippy states he's fine; he just wants to go shower and clean himself up after throwing up so much.

The two bid their farewells and Flippy begins a very uneasy walk home.

A bit of context: it's been a week or so since the last part and they've been doing this all day everyday since then, from dawn to dusk, and today they started around MAYBE 4 am in the morning and it is now 12 or 1 pm in the afternoon, so yeah it's time for the Flipster to go home and rest.

Back on track, Flippy's not exactly the best because he needs to get the vomit taste out of his mouth and just feels like crap, so he takes a shortcut home.

He gets there relatively fast and flops onto the couch and falls asleep, exhausted.

He dreams he's with Sneaky and Mouse Ka-Boom, all three playing a mix of Spades and Poker, Sneaky and Flippy speaking in english before translating for Mouse Ka-Boom to understand them; yes, Mouse Ka-Boom speaks french. He understands English well enough, but isn't the best at speaking it, aside from, 'Sir, yes, sir,' 'Sir, no, sir,' and a few insults he picked up from Flippy on accident; he may or may not have gotten the three in trouble because he repeated one of these insults in front of a commanding officer.

Regardless, the three are having a good time before Sneaky asks Flippy a question: How did it feel to throw that knife at him rather than the General? Did he enjoy it? Did he hate Sneaky that much he had to throw a KNIFE through his chest?

Flippy deflates and clarifies that he did not mean to miss the General; it was a heat of the moment thing and he's, admittedly, not good under stress.

Mouse Ka-Boom lowers his cards and asks if cutting him in half was another 'heat of the moment thing,' along with getting them both blown to smithereens.

They change before Flippy's eyes, both mangles and burnt, and Flippy leaves the table, backing away from them.

That is until a hand claps on his shoulder and his own voice tells him to admit that he actually did enjoy killing his friends; it's what he's been trained to do, so what better way to see the reward of all that effort?

Flippy turns and sees himself, who demands he admit it, admit that he's never going to change, that he won't let himself because not only does he like it, he also wants to go back to fighting and wants out of Splendid's Aversion therapy.

Flippy barely gets a word out because his other self tackles him to the ground and starts to choke him, calling him weak, a liar, and a coward, saying he should've died on that mission, not Sneaky or Mouse Ka-Boom.

Speaking of which, the two appear and grab both of Flippy's arms, holding him while he's practically being strangled again.

It gets worse when his other self turns into Tiger General, who laughs that he wouldn't be surprised by such an admission because it took Flippy how many tries to kill him. Might as well return the favor.

Flippy, breathless and trying to break free screams out and wakes up on the floor, though he gets up and runs to the kitchen sink, where he dry heaves and coughs up spit.

He stops after a while and sits against the cabinets, having regrets about the choice to go along with Splendid's idea.

These regrets linger as he walks outside the next day, catching a toy Cub dropeed while and Pop are on a stroll, though Cub is in a wagon.

They walk off, Pop thanking Flippy, and Flippy gets a surprise attack hug from Flaky, who's close to tears because he's been missing.

Cuddles, Giggles, and Petunia also approach, asking where the hell he disappeared to, because they've been looking all over for him.

Flippy apologizes for worrying them and straight up lies, saying he just left town for a little bit to enjoy some quiet time; and to restock on his medicine as soon as he could because he ran out.

Cuddles still lightly punches Flippy on the arm and tells him not to scare them like that again, or they'll put him on a harness or walk around with him in a wagon.

With Flaky now piggybacking him, Flippy muses that it sounds tempting, because he could see everyone getting some excerise because of it.

The group laugh it off and start toward a diner, because they all skipped breakfast and lunch on accident.

Flippy decides to join them, having NOT skipped breakfast, and they head to the diner.

On his back, Flaky asks Flippy if he's okay, because he looks pale and feels tense.

He nods, claiming he's fine, just a little sore from a workout he did while he was away.

Flaky is suspicious, but drops it. FOR NOW.

Cut to them at the diner, all talking and looking over the menu to see what they want, and a visual gag of Cuddles and Giggles having a contest of who can spin longer in their chairs(they're all sitting at the bar).

Flippy is a little uneasy because ANYTHING can trigger his instincts and he doesn't know how well this aversion procedure is going to qork because neither he nor Splendid went out and actually saw if it was working.

Petunia sees his unease and asks if he needs to step outside for a second.

He shakes his head and admits he's just trying to figure out what to eat.

Good thing he's having a hard time, too, because Petunia is not in the mood for grease.

Flaky fakes a gag or an "Eugh," and jokes, "Ew, flirting."

While Flippy laughs, Petunia DARES Flaky to repeat that, because it was her that helped the two get closer.

His laughter dies when a kitchen fire starts on accident right in front if them.

TV/anime perspective, we see the reflection of the fire in Flippy's eyes as they widen and he gasps/whimpers. We don't see his flashback, but we hear about a bomb going off and people screaming in pain. Flippy clenches a fist on the countertop, silent as the fire is put out and everyone relaxes.

While everyone talks about how crazy that just was, Flippy spontaneouly gets sick to his stomach and gags, excusing himself really quick to go to the bathroom.

The group watch and are now very confused, because usually flame triggers him, but he did not go off on them.

Cuddles, being the only boy, follows Flippy, saying that he'll try not to die in the process.

He does not die, but he does see Flippy vomiting into one of the sinks, very violently, I must say.

Cuddles asks if everything's okay, which scares the crap out of Flippy, but the ex-soldier claims he's fine; the fire just got him scared.

Cuddles doesn't really buy it, and asks another question: Has he been eating, AT ALL? Because he looks like he lost a little bit of weight and sick as hell.

While he waters away his mess, washes out, and wipes off his mouth, Flippy admits he has been, as much as he can, at least.

Cuddles still doesn't buy it, asking WHAT he's eating and when.

Flippy leans over the now clean sink and measures his options.

If he tells the truth, there's a chance his friends are not going to take it well.

If he keeps them in the dark, they will be fine, even though he'll feel even more like garbage.

Flippy turns and holds up his hands in surrender. He's been eating venison to build immunity, and because it, honestly, tastes really good.

Cuddles reels on him, asking why he'd do that when he's almost deathly allergic to the stuff.

Flippy apologizes and admits that, yes, he knows it's stupid, but he's just trying to make himself better, in case they have a cookout and someone accidentally brings venison instead of steak.

Cuddles points out that's BS because NO ONE eats venison(whatever it is)(Flippy corrects him that it's deer), but still drops it because Flippy clearly doesn't want to talk about it; guy code.

Flippy thanks him anyway and they rejoin the group, everyone keeping an eye on Flippy as he eats, Flaky especially, because, having known him the longest, she canntell he's both hiding something and isn't as good as he's pretending to be.

HMMMMMMMM????

#happy tree friends #htf flippy #htf splendid #htf giggles #htf cuddles #htf flaky #htf petunia #ptsd tw #nightmare tw #strangle/choking tw #medicine/drug use tw #aversion therapy tw #vomiting tw #thank you for being patient

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