#their ‘beef’ back and forth is so funny

[star-kovs]

mackie’s gonna make sure tom knows he’s getting his movie

[clowndensation]

davrin telling taash that assan shit all over emmrich's room while she laughs and cheers about it... they are bullying that #oldman

[aromanticasterisms]

women 👍

[icewindandboringhorror]

sleepy mr baby + other random misc images

[ratgrinders]

its so funny to me the dynamics between the supposed narrative foils of the rat grinders/bad kids, cuz you got:

kipperlily has been beefing with riz since FRESHMAN YEAR apparently??? (girl what could he even have DONE to you lmao) meanwhile riz didn't even knew she existed until this year and besides some suspicion has just been aiding kristin's presidential campaign, not even running himself.

fig is leading ruben down a winding rabbit hole of psychological torture as she manipulates him as a little goth girl he is in love with. theyve interacted as themselves maybe like once.

mary ann absolutely clocks gorgug on their first meeting, proceeding to inspire an anger in gorgug rivaled only by telemaine and his parents' sex robots, meanwhile mary ann continues to just not give a shit

ivy and fabian having the most toxic flirtatious relationship known to man (fabian has a type)

kristen recognizing in buddy "oh hey, this is what she could've been", having the most passive aggressive back and forth on the nature of religion, then getting expelled by his grandfather

meanwhile oisin and adaine seem to be the only ones who actually seem to like eachother lol

[loveinhawkins]

Bit by bit, Eddie finds out that Steve Harrington has many in-jokes going on. He falls in love a little more every time he discovers a new one.

Some are self-explanatory: Robin and Steve quipping obscure ice-cream orders back and forth to refer to annoying customers of yore at Scoops Ahoy. There’s other times where Steve will whisper, “Muppet,” and Robin will crack up, and Eddie will just look on with bemused affection. But he doesn’t need to know the context to get it: to see the way their eyes sparkle with mirth, how they shake with almost silent laughter, falling against each other in a diner booth—like siblings wholly unable to keep a straight face during a family dinner.

In school, Eddie came to know in-jokes as a source of exclusion, all too aware of eye rolls in the cafeteria, snide whispers. Oh, you weren’t there, you wouldn’t get it.

This is something far different. Something precious.

He understands without needing to be told; there are stories he does not know yet, but he can read them in Steve’s voice when he laughs and calls Dustin, “Roast Beef,” when he puts on funny voices, singing along to the radio to make Max laugh, when he echoes random phrases in a conversation and Lucas snorts, and it’s so clear that everything’s come from years of knowledge, years of friendship, this rich tapestry of knowing smiles.

Eddie loves it all. Feels so goddamn lucky that he’s here to witness it, to even be the slightest part of it—wants to reach back in the past, find the Steve who’s just starting the story of a lifetime and say you will love these kids, and I will love you for it, your past, your present, your future. Steve Harrington, it’s a fucking privilege to know you.

The first time Eddie is given an in-joke of his very own, is such a tiny thing: bored out of his mind, making pleasantries with the Wheelers, and Ted makes a passing comment from his armchair about how so-and-so from down the street has bought an RV, but they don’t know a damn thing about how to drive it, let alone park it on their driveway.

Steve smirks behind his hand, catches Eddie’s eye with a fleeting wink.

Oh, Eddie thinks.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t know where to start with that, Mr Wheeler,” Steve says, voice level, but Eddie can hear the secret giggle, just for him.

“Well,” Eddie says, “maybe if someone got it started for you.”

“Yeah,” Steve says, grinning. “Maybe.”

He briefly nudges Eddie in the side, a soft brush. Warm skin. Leaning into each other, sharing a secret.

Here’s something no-one else knows. It’s our little joke. Our story. Ours.

And oh, Eddie wants. He wants.

[bunnys-kisses]

could i get a lewis hamilton fic - lemon slice and coffee please! i love your writing

bakery menu

if you want to request your own order! feel free, the bakery is still open! as for this request, i didn't get a lot of lewis suggestions so i'd love more in the future! thank you for submitting!

lemon slice ("i'm sorry, what was that? i can’t hear you over all that noise you’re making.") + coffee (rivals)

cw: smut/pwp, rivals au, driver!reader, snark & sass, hate sex, protected sex,

you bounced on the balls of your feet as you waited to get the go ahead to get into the car to start the free practice. it eventually turned into you swinging your arms back and forth. it was a concerted effort to keep yourself calm before the official start of race weekend.

"you definitely don't seem nervous." you heard behind you. you looked over and saw lewis, passing by. you huffed through your nose and we back to what he was doing.

in the two years since you joined the formula one roster, the one driver you seemed to have the most beef with was lewis hamilton. the equivalent to a driving god, but you wanted to step on the toes of god.

"nothing to say back to me?" he asked.

you looked over and clenched onto your helmet tighter, "oh, i didn't even hear what you said, hamilton. i'm more nervous for you than me." you shrugged and turned back to facing forward.

you heard his footsteps and he leaned in to your ear, "i didn't know you had such strong feelings for me. i'm honoured."

you turned around and ended up face to face with him. you wanted to grip onto the front of his driving suit, but there were too many cameras and even more pairs of eyes. you replied, "don't conflate my worry about you making it to qualifiers to me actually liking you hamilton." and gave him a smile.

he raised his eyebrows at you, "right, right. you're too busy chasing the coat tails of your teammate. you know, he's not going to sleep with you. no matter how many times you're the crash course dummy for red bull."

your jaw tensed, "you're going to have to start winning, lewis because those trophies from what, five years ago, are getting a dusty."

he nodded, "well at least my trophy case is full. you know you shouldn't really show off participation trophies." he made a face. he patted you on the shoulder, "but i guess you take pride in always being second best compared to verstappen. and that's an honorable thing."

you scowled at him. his pats on your shoulder felt patronizing, you felt an anger run through you. you muttered two words to him, "room eight-o-five." and looked at him, "knock three times, password is stallion." then you turned away as you heard you mechanic team call for you.

lewis smiled at your backside as you walked away.

-

the evening after free practice, lewis had you pinned against the back of the door to your hotel room. your hands were on the overpriced shirt he wore.

"i'm sorry, what was that? i can’t hear you over all that noise you’re making." he said about your moans while you kissed.

you made a face at him. you gripped onto his shirt tighter in retaliation.

"i could get you a deal if you like it so much." he said, noticing how tightly you were holding the fabric, "i'm sure you'd actually look pretty in something that cost more than 5 pounds."

you leaned up into him, your forehead against his, "funny guy, hamilton, eh?" you could feel the boil from earlier return.

he chuckled and almost went in to kiss you once more, "i like when you're mad. gets me riled up. the only fun part of this rivalry. did you know that they think we're dating."

you pressed a kiss on his lips once more before you pulled away, your arms draped around his shoulders, you replied, "i'd think they were stupid. but your idiot friends don't know what a private instagram is." you had seen the photos, the evidence that made it all appear that you and him were more than just bickering drivers.

the main "evidence" was when in a now vanished instagram story, you were getting settled in your hotel room after a night of drinking. you had the covers pulled up to your chin with a phone camera in your face and lewis beside you, trying to get the covers off of you. he was very drunk as well. "ah c'mon, i deserve one kiss! one kiss!" he laughed and your face was all scrunched up as you threatened to bury yourself further under the covers.

the fans went crazy for that. now there was a conspiracy! but little did the folks online know.

his hands went under your shirt, he got it off of you soon enough. you tossed it to the side. you knew he was going to make a comment about how you'd look better in mercedes colours, but you shut those comments down with a searing kiss.

you both ended up in the bedroom, lewis noticed that you had an unopened box of condoms on the night stand. he said, "having guests over later."

you sighed, "yeah, i finally got with max." lewis stilled, stopping dead in his tracks towards the bed. his forehead wrinkled for a moment before you started laughing. you added, "oh my god, hamilton. you jealous fuck."

he got out of your grasp on your hand and said, "hey, we're already compared too much. i don't need him butting in on my rival."

"aw, worried about me, lewis? how sweet. i just thought you'd be worried that he would make me cum faster." you gave him a sweet smile before you took the rest of your clothes off.

when your ass was bare and you were turned to him, he winded back his hand and laid a harsh smack across your ass. he then wrapped an arm around you middle and kissed the nape of your neck, "oh, i'm not worried. because if you can't make yourself cum as fast as i can make you cum. max doesn't stand a chance." his voice was laced with lust. he then pulled away and started to undress.

maybe it was whorish of you to sleep with your rival. the one who you often butted heads with on the track. maybe if the press found out, then it would make any future female drivers look back. but as you got on the bed with lewis, you tossing a condom at him, it didn't matter.

you wanted him and he wanted you, with the hotel room door closed and locked the rest of the world was locked out of the sexual fiasco of your evening.

lewis watched you get on your hands and knees. you wiggled your ass to him to entice him. he laughed and got the condom on before he threw the packet off the bed to be dealt with later.

he wanted to tell you that you looked good. and you wanted to say the same in return. but the words couldn't come out. not while you two were still in this tango.

it was a game of chicken and the two of you were painfully stubborn.

he held onto your hip and his cock, and inched his length into you. it was a euphoria, a firework that went off in the back of his head. he wouldn't admit, but you sort of ruined other women for him. since this started, neither of you had been seeing other people.

"i'm starting to think you like me." he said.

you clutched onto the covers, "i think you're seeing things, hamilton. this is just a mutual agreement, nothing more."

lewis knew you were lying. it was obvious. the almost routine of the snapping of teeth that eventually turned into a tussle in the sheets had far beyond moved from a simple fuck.

you were invested, as was he.

once again, the game of chicken between two rivals.

he thrusted against you. his hips against your ass as he fucked you. there was little romance in his movements. it was something deep inside of him, you were both chasing a sexual high. your noises mixed with his as the two of you panted.

"fuck, lewis." you moaned. you could feel his cock in the back of your throat with how hard he was thrusting. it rarely ever went slow between you two. it was like sparks, burned hot but didn't last long. you held onto the pillow under your head as your back arched.

"i know, i know." he panted, "you feel so good like this. on your knees, you look better like this than a in a car honestly. i hate to admit it, but you're quite pretty."

you felt a compliment dance on your tongue, but you didn't say munch. while it was tempting, the pleasure strangled the words out of your mouth. you whimpered when you felt his cock nudge against your most sensitive parts.

he chuckled, he knew he left you speechless. but that was alright, all he needed to hear was your sweet little moans. both of his wide hands on your hips using a grip that only was made by being a formula one driver. he hunched over you, admiring your backside.

you were painfully pretty, you could have anyone on the grid. but lewis knew that you'd always come back to him. not even the likes of verstappen could compete with him.

"lewis." you panted as you felt the pleasure course through your body. you felt hot all over and your head felt hazy.

"shit." he panted, "fuck. c'mon."

you moaned and clawed at the bed under you. your back arched and you came around his cock. this only further him thrusting you, making sure you were taking his cock to the root. the bed squeaked some more and heavy panting filled the air.

"that's a good little driver. keeping the real pros nice and happy."

you lifted your head, your mouth open as you panted. eventually you said, "fuck you, hamilton."

"no, no. but i'll fuck you." he said as he slammed his cock as deep as it would go and finished inside of you. the condom was your saving grace. he soon pulled out of your pussy and rested on his heels for a moment. he dragged his hand across his neck and forehead to wipe the sweat off of it. he honestly should consider having sex with you as part of his work-out schedule.

but he was certain if he 'booked time' to have sex with you, you'd probably chew him out. you weren't a schedule to meet, a requirement. you were his rival... with benefits. but those benefits weren't clocking in and clocking out.

"c'mere." your voice cut through. you then pulled him up to the pillows and laid there next to him. he draped an arm around you waist and closed his eyes for a moment. you trailed a finger across his brown and down his nose, then down his cheek and across his jaw.

"ugh." you said.

he opened his eyes, those beautiful brown eyes looked to you, "what now?" he seemed like he was pretty relaxed after your round together.

"i was about to give you a compliment."

he smiled and pulled himself closer to you. the both of you still naked. he hadn't even taken the condom off. he said, "do tell."

you made a face and shook your head, "nope. i feel like if your ego gets any bigger you'll fly away." some habits died hard.

he tightened his grip on your waist and pressed his forehead to his for a moment before his coaxed you, "tell me. i'll keep it a secret. promise."

you sighed, it was painful to admit. to give you bigger rival a compliment after he made you cum. you held his face and looked into his eyes, "i get why they love taking photos of you in those overpriced outfits."

he raised his eyebrows, "that was your compliment?"

you replied before you leaned in to him, "maybe if you make me cum twice next time, i'll even admit how you're a decent driver or that i understand why others would hold you in such high regard."

he laughed, "next time, huh? i'm guessing after qualifier."

you smiled back at him, "you know it." <3

[qprpbj]

pony having beef will paul lmao. what kind of embarassing stories was pony cooking up to be able to fw paul and darry simultaneously. like make the east side look bad and crazy and darry just arguing the validity of the stories (also not trying to seem greaser) but like

this is so funny lol. pony in the backseat of the car being like “darry. two of the big socs tried to jump me and my friends on lunch today when we went to the food court at the mall” mind you he’s twelve. and darry stares him down baddd in the rear view mirror and paul’s eyes widen tremendously. darry just all “really? who?” and pony just shrugs a little. “i dunno. they were both big and blond and had jackets on…like the one you have.” and darry paul share the most insane looks back and forth while darry tries to keep his eyes on the road

is he lying to get paul AND darry all worked up?? or is he being fr bc those socs def would have fun jumping a bunch of 12 year olds?? who’s to say! that’s the fun!!!

[willowsnook]

Right Place, Right Time (LN pt. 2)

pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3, pt. 4

@seasonswinter @drdbnkl2008

It'd been a couple of months since the Dutch Grand Prix and your life went back to normal. Work, hanging out with friends, watching sports, walking your dog, the usual. The weather was starting to get nicer in Austin so you were in a good mental spot.

You and Lily had checked in every couple of weeks to chat and you had grown to really like her. About a month ago you had gotten a text from an unknown number.

L: Hey, this is Lando. Lily gave me your number I hope that's okay

Y/N: Lando who?

L: 🙄 very funny

Y/n: How do I even know this isn't spam???

L: [video attachement]

"Hey y/n, it's Lando Norris. You know the driver for McLaren that you met in August. Just wanted to say hi, okay bye."

Since then you had been casually texting, nothing crazy just pretty much sending memes back and forth. The Austin GP was coming up and your whole team was going much to Lando's delight.

The Monday of race week, you were in your office working when you looked down to see Lando calling.

Y/n: What's up?

LN: Nothing much just packing. I'm flying in on Wednesday.

Y/n: Coolio, I hate to do this but I have a meeting in 5 minutes. Can I call you later?

LN: No no it's okay. I was calling to see if maybe you could give me a little tour of Austin when I get in?

Y/N: Hmmm I am pretty packed this week hanging with Lily.

LN: Yeah but you can hang out with her when Osc and I are doing stuff.

Y/n: Fine, text me when you land and i'll figure something out.

LN: Cool, I'll see you then.

You said goodbye and hung up, leaning back in your chair. This whole situation was very strange to you considering you and Lando had spoken one time in person. But maybe he just needed a friend.

You were at happy hour later than day with two of your friends when the subject came up.

"So yeah, I'm picking him up from his hotel and going sight seeing and eating I guess," you said nonchalantly as you finished the story to your two best friends, Maggie and Jaelen.

"Oh yeah so casual," Jaelen said. "Just hanging out with a famous F1 driver. Nothing odd about that." You rolled her eyes and Maggie snickered.

"Did you like put a spell on him when you were there and now he's in love with you?" She asked and you flipped her off.

"I literally didn't do anything!" You exclaimed. "We just talked for a bit and I was being nice."

"You're just not like other girls," Jaelen mocked and you groaned. This whole thing was getting out of hand.

"I am excited for you guys to meet Lily though," you said. "She's cool."

"Sounds like it," Maggie said. "Girls night on Thursday right?" You nodded. You had planned a little girls night slumber party with them and Lily to just hang and watch movies and gossip. The usual activities.

------wednesday---------

The day had flown by at work and before you knew it you were heading out the door to pick up Lando. Your hair sat in waves down your back and you decided on a casual cute vibe wearing a cropped knit brown tank top paired with light baggy jeans. It wasn't that far of a drive to his hotel and you texted him when you got there.

Glued to your phone, you didn't see him walk up and jumped a little when the passenger door opened. He gave you a big smile as your eyes raked over him in a big gray t-shirt and black jeans.

"You are totally checking me out," he said and you huffed.

"I am not," you replied and he laughed.

"It's good to see you," he said sweetly and you smiled.

"You too, are you hungry?"

"Starving."

You pulled out and headed towards the restaurant, the two of you casually chatting about his travel and your work day. You found parking at the place and you both jumped out and headed in.

"Tex mex," Lando said looking at the menu with his face scrunched. "Isn't it just like Mexican food?"

"Yes and no," you said. "It's like American Mexican food so it uses more beef and yellow cheese vs. what you would get in an authentic mexican restaurant."

"What do they mean by a bowl of queso?" He asked and your eyes snapped up to him.

"It's just like a bowl of cheese that you eat with chips," you said slowly.

"And that's good?" he asked innocently.

"You are going to make me cry in public right now," you warned. When your waiter came over it was the first thing you ordered for the two of you.

"How long have you lived here?" Lando asked after you put in your orders.

"A couple of years actually," you said. "I grew up a couple of states north of here, went to college up there, and then moved down when I got the job at Monster."

"Do you have family here?"

"A couple of second cousins but my parents still live where I grew up," you replied. "You live in Monaco now right?" He smirked.

"Looking me up online now are you?" He teased and you blushed.

"I had to make sure you weren't crazy if I was going to show you around my city," you defended and he laughed.

"Yeah I'm in Monaco, I grew up in Glastonbury though," he said and you nodded.

"Is it hard being away from your family?" You asked and he shrugged.

"Yes and no. I miss them a lot but a lot of people involved in F1 live in Monaco so I'm not totally alone. It can be lonely though." You smiled sympathetically.

When your food arrived you waited patiently for Lando to try the infamous queso.

"Well?" You asked nervously. This was very important to you.

"It's pretty good," he said taking another bite.

"Just pretty good?" You questioned.

"It's like exotic," he said and you choked on the sip of water you had just taken a drink of.

"Exotic?? It's melted cheese buddy." Lando blushed and you laughed.

"Are you like a picky eater?" You asked and he nodded.

"Yeah I get a lot of shit for it," he admitted.

"I can't imagine why."

Conversation flowed over the next half hour while you ate, trading childhood stories and hobbies. Lando picked up the bill much to your protest and you headed out to your next stop.

"Mini golf? You really did stalk me online," Lando said as you pulled up to your favorite mini golf course that was peter pan themed.

"Yeah yeah, I wanted to make sure you had fun," you said.

"I would have fun with you even if we did nothing but stare at each other for two hours," he said cheekily.

"Yeah because I'm hot," you replied with a wink and he laughed.

Lando quickly realized that you were a pretty competitive mini golfer so there wasn't much conversation even though he tried. You complained about him distracting you multiple times which made him giggle.

In the end it did not pay off as he beat you by 5 strokes causing you to pout in the car.

"You realize I play golf like all the time," he said looking at you with amusement.

"Yeah whatever," you muttered and he laughed. As you pulled up to his hotel he turned to you.

"Come have a drink to end the night," he said pleading.

"I don't want to pay for parking," you countered and he waved his hand.

"I'll pay for valet come on," he said and got out of the car. You waited while he talked to the valet guy and then followed him in and towards the bar. You got a vodka soda and you found some comfy chairs to sit in. Right when Lando started to say something, someone sunk into the third chair by you guys.

"Mind if I join you guys?" You looked to see Max Verstappen with a drink in his hand casually sitting back.

"Not at all," you said.

"Max, this is Y/n, y/n this is Max," Lando introduced and Max nodded.

"Ahh the mysterious y/n," he said smirking and you turned to Lando who was looking anywhere else but you. The three of you chatted as you got to know Max a little more and the conversation naturally turned to the upcoming race.

"Are you ready for the race this week?" You asked and Max nodded.

"Yeah, don't have really any expectations so we will just see what happens," he said nonchalantly.

"Why not?" You asked.

"The car sucks so who cares," he said and you snorted.

"What?" He asked with an eyebrow raise.

"You've won the championship how many times now? And you expect me to believe that you really just don't care?" You asked incredulously. Lando leaned up about to say something but Max beat him to it.

"Tell me what you really think then," he challenged.

"I think it's so easy for you to fall into this nonchalant attitude because you're Max Verstappen," you said and he raised his eyebrows. "You've painted yourself as this self-assured confident guy so of course you wouldn't be worked up. But how did you get to where you are? By not caring? By not having passion? I don't believe it for one second."

He sat thoughtfully for a moment before speaking again.

"You know my dad used to always tell me that if I'm not winning, then what's the point," he said.

"I think the point is that you are doing what you love and trying to get better everytime because you love the sport," you said sadly. "Winning is just a bonus. And it's you in the car not him."

Max looked at you for a second before turning his attention to Lando.

"I can see why you like her," he said before turning again to you. He reached out and grabbed your hand, caressing his thumb over the back. "It was nice meeting you and thank you."

You bid him farewell before turning back to Lando who was lost in thought.

"I think I'm going to head home," you told him and he nodded. His hand rested on the bottom of your back as you walked back towards the entrance. Lando paid the valet guy and the two of you waited for your car.

"When can I see you again?" He asked.

"I'll probably be there Saturday for qualifying," you said and he frowned.

"That's a long time from now," he said and you smirked looking away.

"I'm hanging out with Lily buddy, she's my main priority not you," you teased and he huffed.

"I want to see you sooner," he complained.

"We'll see," you replied. Your car came back into your vision and you wrapped your arms around Lando's neck pulling him in for a hug. HIs arms wrapped around your waist and he kissed your cheek before letting go.

"I had fun tonight," he said.

"Me too," you replied. "See you Saturday."

"See you Friday," he said waving and you rolled your eyes but smiled as you got in your car.

[moralesmilesanhour]

mad props!

summary: your one-sided beef with Miles morphs into a full-on rivalry until unforseen circumstances force you to call a truce. wc: 789 a/n: drabbles when left to cook in the brain for too long turn into mini-series. watch out ! also yes i am doing another enemies-to-lovers thingy don't look at me 01 02

Snap!

You sucked your teeth in the middle row of Mr. Sanchez’s classroom when the tip of your pencil broke in the middle of your rapid note-taking. 

It broke just as you were forming the tilde that was meant to float above the letter ‘n’, creating an odd downward stroke instead that looked like lightning striking a tree. 

You zipped open your pencil case and took out a tiny metal sharpener, the shavings bound to make a mess of your desk.

“Yikes. That’s why I use the mechanical ones,” remarked the boy sitting beside you. 

A friendly grin spread across his freckled, golden-brown face with round eyes that seemed to ask if you thought his comment was funny. 

You shot him a hard glance to let him know that no, it was not funny that your pencil broke whilst you were in the middle of getting down key grammatical rules. 

The boy’s face fell at the implied rejection. Somehow, the wounded look in his eyes irritated you more than the grin. It made him look like a lost deer.

“Morales, silencio, por favor,” Sanchez said, peering over his glasses at your shoulder partner. “Unless you’d like to explain how direct object pronouns work instead.”

“No, estoy bien.”

There was no sign of panic or apology on Morales’ face as he replied, despite Mr. Sanchez being known to seek out inattentive students to cold-call later. He smiled awkwardly at the bearded man, and again when he was caught a bit later doodling in his notebook.

“Miles Morales, can you translate this sentence for us please?”

“Fui a Madrid el verano pasado,” Miles answered, without missing a beat.

The man shook his head, then moved on.

“Correct. Now, who would like to take the next sentence…”

You would soon learn over the coming weeks since your transfer to Visions that this was a daily routine for Miles: he’d come in late, or get caught scribbling away in the margins of his worksheet. Then he’d get that panicked “help me” smile on his face before making a pun or quip that made you cringe so hard that your back hurt. 

Still, Miles’ answers were never wrong after the fact.

He blended into the crowd otherwise, but the second-hand embarrassment made him hard to forget. 

“Quiz grades were surprisingly low,” Mr. Sanchez announced one Wednesday morning as he walked around, handing out one-page sheets face down. “I would highly suggest going over this unit at home over the long weekend.”

Almost immediately, kids began passing each other’s quizzes back and forth, giggling at how their results all seemed to be floating just under fifty percent. Part of the ease in their laughter came from the assumption that Sanchez would “just curve it anyway.” 

Not that it would make a difference to you. 

You frowned at the eighty-five circled in red at the top of your quiz. Just a couple of points away from a nice, even ninety that would’ve finally bumped your grade up to an ‘A’ instead of an ‘A-’.

Even worse, some of the circled questions were points lost just because you were missing an accent on a letter or two, and a couple of vocab words had slipped your mind. You should’ve answered the bonus questions…

“Wow, you’re the only one without a forty so far,” a familiar voice complimented you. “Good job.”

Miles was offering you another friendly grin, with those same expectant eyes. Please like me, they seemed to plead. 

No thanks.

You replied flatly, “I actually studied.”

It felt like an insult for anyone to be impressed with you in a class full of failing grades.

His grin faded. You expected it to be replaced with disappointment, but he just shrugged and pressed his lips into a thin line before turning away. 

Sanchez returned to where you were sitting to hand Miles’ test back.

He spoke solemnly, “You and L/N were the only passing grades in this class.”

You caught a glance at the number marked atop the page once Miles flipped it over:

‘100%’. With five points as extra credit. 

He looked down at it and hummed quietly in approval before flipping it back over, and suddenly that ‘A-’ felt like a ‘C’. 

It was only logical that the guy who never got an answer wrong would perform similarly on a quiz. But he didn’t deserve it; he didn’t even care. 

“How many hours did you study for that?” you scoffed quietly, like an accusation. 

Miles gave you a sidelong glance, and you could’ve sworn there was mockery in his eyes. 

“I don’t study.”

If you could go back and pinpoint the exact moment where irritation boiled over into disdain, it would be this one.

[ssruis]

Also catch the thief was just really funny.

> Luka shows up like hiiiiii guys what’s up… oh there’s a thief ok emu can I borrow you for a second :) takes emu up on a watch tower & emu uses her special Emu Eagle Eyes pink creature ability to locate a bunch of Ninjas.

> emu asks the thief to slow down while chasing him and then calls him cool when he does the wall jump.

> Rui gets distracted by an actor’s smoke bomb technique and is like “I gotta circle back to this later.”

> Nene gets attacked by children.

> The writers shoe horned in so many “MATTE MATTE MATTE”s with tsukasa that I’m not convinced this entire event wasn’t an excuse to make hirose say that a million times. Challenge: don’t matte matte matte for 2 minutes (critical failure).

> The only reason they found out what the thief was disguised as was because nene forgot a prop and, like a 10 year old boy, tsukasa went “no I’ll go get it I am super fast I’ll go get the prop sooo quick” & the thief happened to try to steal a (prop) vase while tsukasa was in the warehouse.

> The thief sees tsukasa again and is immediately shitting bricks and then takes off when tsukasa is like “show me your hand 🤨.”

> The thief’s biggest mistake was getting scratched by his cat or something. I’m not kidding they know they’ll find their guy because tsukasa spotted 3 little scratches on his hand when he first chased him down.

> “IM TAKING YOU TO HELL WITH ME” “hell?!? 😰” (tsukasa tackles a guy off a roof)

> kijima coming in clutch at the final second with a hay bale

> rui watching tsukasa fall off a building and having wonder halloween flash backs

> kijima was a former big talented wrestler & after his shoulder injury he “didn’t want to go on” (impactful in context. Kind of funny out of it.)

> tsukasa seems to think that screaming at the top of his lungs is necessary for sprinting even while training & scares poor innocent park goers (and their dog)

> emu+nene+rui show up early to the new moon place and see tsukasa running back and forth in a room yelling (training). Rui is like “well. Normal tsukasa kun behaviors?” Emu thinks he’s cool and nene suggests shipping him off to a zoo.

> tsk has entered his gym rat fitness era and tells wxs he’s planned out allotted protein shake breaks and everything.

> comedic sequence where tsukasa loses the thief in a crowd because a ninja class starts gathering

> apparently wxs heard tsukasa scream STOP!!! THIEF!! & just went ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ until they saw him chasing a guy

> it gave us the horrible no good very bad rui line about tsukasa’s muscles in the after live

> tsukasa’s biggest beef with the thief is that it’s getting in the way of his ability to put on a show

> tsukasa spends like half of the event incredibly depressed that he can’t wall jump & then being even more depressed that he can’t chase down a thief on foot.

> “tsukasa. please don’t do anything reckless.” “(I am going to catch that bastard MYSELF!!!)”

> yet another pro actor who is now like tsukasa tenma my friend tsukasa tenma :) my boy is networking!!!

> whatever the fuck kijima and shousuke had going on in college is made funnier knowing that kijima was in his sad era

[onesidedradiostatic]

Alastor and Vox have both been shown to doodle, pre divorce what if they had a Burn Book but it was all wonky doodles and scrapbooking. Picturing both of them laying on the floor kicking their legs back and forth while they write insults around a crude doodle or glued photo of an overlord.

Over-analysis ahead: Also i found Alastor’s ad “graphic” kind of interesting because it was made using analog methods, ie making a collage then photographing it to “merge/flatten” the layers or resize before going to final print. (phototypesetting/paste-up method if we wanna get fancy.) It’s in character for alastor, and he shows no respect for the medium hahaha. But also funny that Vox resorted to the same thing for his “artists rendition” of alastor- same amount of effort as Alastor’s drawing, no motivation to go digital or hire an artist, just went straight to a dirty napkin then photographed it on his phone X,) Quick and dirty, boom, done!

Alastor and Vox share no special reverence for Print, which makes sense as print’s competitors have been radio, then television, and now computers/digital/smartphones. Making printed paper ads almost obsolete. (But try telling that to all the junkmail catalogs in my letterbox….jesus) I’m imagining alastor, vox, and velvette beating up an old tabloid magazine overlord now

LMAOOO this is funny but I mean I'm pretty sure their beef comes from more than "you're a different medium than me" because they used to be friends and whatever hatred that they developed of the other's medium is probably a result of their falling out. so I doubt they really have anything against print unless they also have complicated history with a print overlord ASKFGSKLSLD

their similarities in the dirty ass canvases are pretty funny though, but I think a really interesting point of their beef is the fact that they are pretty similar but are against each other

I think this post somewhat related to that is pretty good

[mins-fins]

mishmash — hong eunchae

museum trips are the worst, y/n knows that very well, and to her luck, she just happens to get lost on one of them! fortunately for her, she happens to be lost with along with a pretty girl.

tags :: hong eunchae x f!reader , high school!au , reader is a museum hater , eunchae is such a cutie , they go to rival schools , they click immediately

museum trips suck.

1: they’re boring. 2: they’re repetitive, and 3: they build the museums to be so fucking huge you get lost almost immediately.

that was unfortunately y/n’s case.

she was barely paying attention to any of the nonsense her teacher was spitting out, instead using her phone. she’d gotten so distracted that her group had walked away without her even knowing.

now, she couldn’t even find them.

“god! why do i have to be so distracted?” she mumbles to herself, clenching her fists as she looks down at her phone. 12:22 pm, there was still two more hours left of the trip, and there was no sight of her group anywhere.

at this point, she was going to give up.

walking around, the girl bites her inner cheek. she gazes up at the dinosaur exhibit, eyebrows furrowing at it for some reason. “i really need some luck right now..” she whines, practically hopeless about the whole thing.

somehow, it seems that the unknown being that was spoken to answered her call.

“excuse me? hold on!”

y/n blinks, not knowing if it was her being called or someone else. it was her, and she turned the other way to see a girl around her age running towards her. the girl stops in front of her, panting like she’d just run a marathon.

“your on a trip right?” the unknown girl asks, standing up straight as she patiently waits for an answer from y/n.

y/n blinks. the girl in front of her was absolutely gorgeous. her eyes were large and seemed to light up, whilst a angelic smile was plastered on her features. she rocks back and forth on her heel, still waiting.

“oh! uh— i— yeah! yeah i’m on a trip too”.

the girl tilts her head, examining y/n up and down. “ah, you don’t go to hybe, do you?”

y/n shakes her head. “no.. i go to jyp, you go to hybe?”

the pretty girls nods. “yep!” she holds out her hand for a handshake. “hong eunchae, it’s nice to meet you, uh..”

“y/n” she replies, taking eunchae’s hand to shake. “l/n y/n”.

eunchae sighs, pouting. “i assume your lost too?”

y/n nods, a small chuckle escaping her lips. “yeah, we both have bad luck, i guess”.

eunchae smiles, shaking her hand erratically. “i guess so, well! we only have each other! so we have to look for our groups!”

y/n was almost taken aback. never had she met such an energetic girl before, one who was also adamant to walk around with a stranger. well.. it’s not like she wanted to be alone.

“alright, let’s look”.

so that’s what they did for the next twenty five to thirty minutes. the two walked around the museum together, conversing about certain exhibits and talking about their experiences at their respective schools.

“you do volleyball? that’s cool!”

“yeah, i’m vice captain of the team” y/n says. eunchae was one of the first people who would genuinely listen to her, even if she was a pretty stranger from a rival school.

“i don’t do any sports, i dance” eunchae exclaims, excitement filling her eyes.

y/n laughs. “you like dancing?”

eunchae nods. “yeah! it’s a fun activity for me to do, and the only one my parents would let me audition for.. but i still love it!”

y/n hums in agreement, nodding again. “i don’t really understand the whole school rivalry thing, do the principals have beef or something?”

now, y/n doesn’t think that her words were that funny, but eunchae began giggling. “seriously! what’s up with them? i was told jyp students were scary”.

y/n’s eyes go wide. “really? i was told the same thing about hybe students! interesting..”

“right? i think they’re just lying” eunchae says in reply. she looks down at her watch. “wow! it’s already one o’clock, we’ve been walking around for a while”.

“maybe we should go to the waiting area?”

“would they even be there? we still have an hour left of the trip”.

“we could try”.

eunchae nods, watching as y/n shrugs. the two then began walking toward the entrance of the museum. eunchae was a bright person, she was like a little kid, but in a good way, she didn’t want to grow up quickly, she just wanted to be herself.

she admired that.

as soon as they make it there, eunchae’s face lit up in recognition. “my group! there they are!” she exclaims, pointing towards a certain group of students.

y/n’s eyes search for her own group, eventually finding them. she heaves a sigh of relief, finally finding them after being lost for almost an hour. “god.. thank you, eunchae”.

eunchae looks over at the girl, confused. y/n’s face turns bright red at the look, and her eyes frantically look around the museum. “i mean— for being lost with me! of course!” she giggles in nervousness, but eunchae didn’t seem to notice.

“oh!” she jumps up, smiling brightly. “of course! thank you, y/n, for being lost with me”.

y/n smiles back, nodding. “i guess this is where we go our separate wa—“

“hold on!” eunchae cuts into her sentence, she took out a pen and paper, scribbling something onto it. “we don’t have to become strangers again, here’s my number!”

she hands out the piece of paper in excitement. y/n’s eyes go wide once again, and she blinks as she takes the paper from the girl. “i— uh.. thank you? i.. have a good day, eunchae”.

eunchae nods. “you too!” she jumps up again and runs towards her group. y/n watches her disappear into the group of students, a small sigh leaving her lips.

she looks down at the piece of paper in her hand with eunchae’s number scribbled onto it. she would definitely text her later.

“y/n! come on!”

y/n turns her head towards the voice, spotting a classmate of hers, she knew there would be a dumb lesson about how you should always stick by your group and pay attention, but she was only thinking about one thing.

“coming!”

AUTHORS NOTE — eunchae supremacist for life!!! NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO HATE HER!!

[smolkiwi98]

Hi! If it's okay, i have a request. Reader's good friends with steve and eddie (maybe childhood friends with one and they all got close later on) and now she's dating billy but they've been hiding it and not sure how they'd react giving their history with him. Anyway, she's been neglecting herself lately, not sleeping or eating well and she won't listen to them, but they're shocked to find her with billy and he's being all loving and soft and even kinda strict in order to take care of her

Okay! I'm sorry this took so long, but here ya go! I'm sorry if it seems rushed.

WARNING! mention of depression, anxiety, insomnia, getting bullied (just quickly mentioned), mother not really liking kid (not detailed...just quickly mentioned), fluff, angst(?), not eating, not sleeping, and I think that's it. Oh! not proofread!

requests open > here

masterlist

Secret Love

“Why would you sell to him!? He’s an asshole!” Steve exclaimed “Steve, it’s not that big of a deal. I needed some money and he wanted to come back and buy some stuff.” Eddie said casually. You sighed and sat there quietly on the couch as you watched the two, “Eds…you know what he was like in high school. Why would you want to continue to sell to him?” Eddie just rolled his eyes at Steve “Maybe because it’s my job?” He said like it was obvious…which it kinda was. “Billy needs to just find someone else. He was an ass to me and you.” Steve said, sitting down next to you. You hated when these two would bicker. Sometimes it was funny, but when it was over something like this it was annoying. Eddies a dealer…he’s going to encounter people we don’t really like, but Billy is different. Steve and Eddie had their reasons for hating Billy but you had nothing but love for him! 

You and Billy had met in high school. Junior year and you immediately turned into the other girls and drooled over him. His blue eyes, thick eyelashes, the way his jeans fit him…he had a chokehold on you and the other girls in the school. But unfortunately your two friends had beef with the guy. You’ve known Eddie since you were about 9 when you moved into the trailer park with your mom. The two of you became best friends almost immediately. Then 8th grade hit where the two of you met Steve. Eddie was a little jealous of Steve at first because he felt like he was losing his best friend which wasn’t the case at all. After a month or two Steve and Eddie were bonding over…well everything that 8th grade boys like. Except for the music and movie taste. They were still complete opposites when it came to those subjects. And then high school happened…and then Billy happened. In the beginning Billy had no idea Steve and Eddie were your best friends…brothers really. All Billy thought was some jock was going to get in the way and some freak dealer. Eddie hated meeting with him, but he paid well. The only thing they found they had in common was their love for Metallica. Steve and Billy? There was nothing there. Seemed like nothing but hate was there for those two…which meant Eddie had an issue with Billy. Steve and Eddie knew you had a little crush on him and they picked on you all the time about it, but at the same time wished you wouldn’t have a crush on him. Which is why they can never find out the two of you were dating. It’s been two years in your relationship and you were happiest you’ve ever been! Keeping it a secret was annoying, but Billy was the one who suggested it back in senior year. With your friends and his father, it was just best to keep it on the down low. 

You were zoning out completely now while Steve and Eddie continued on going back and forth about the meeting with Billy. Recently you’ve been feeling very overwhelmed. Work was getting to you and living with your mother as an adult isn’t the best thing right now. When you were younger you had a good relationship with your mom, but when 17 hit all of sudden you were her enemy. You got anxiety, depression, and even insomnia from it. And things at school were never too great, you dealt with your fair share of bullies. You thought once you graduated everything would stop, but boy were you wrong. You haven’t been sleeping or eating properly. Going to bed at 5:30 in the morning just to wake up at 7:00 wasn’t good and skipping breakfast wasn’t helpful either. You knew this, but with everything going on…you just didn’t care. Right now peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are your go to meal. “Sweetheart!” Eddie said, snapping you out of your trance “Hm? What?” You asked, looking at him. Eddie was kneeling on the floor in front of where you sat on the couch, “Steve asked if you were okay.” He said looking at you concerned. You blinked a few times and looked at him and then Steve “Yeah I’m fine. I’m sorry.” You said and then let out a small sigh. Eddie squinted his eyes examining you “Are you sleeping?” He asked, “Of course I am, Eds.” You lied “What about eating?” Steve asked you “Yes I’m eating.” You lied again. You didn’t want to lie to them, but you didn’t feel like getting lectured either. Steve and Eddie looked at each other, but decided to shrug it off “Well…are you going to stay for the movie?” Steve asked. You shrugged “I don’t know. I gotta clean up around the house before the mother gets home.” You said while standing up, “But we can have a movie night at my place Saturday.” You said with a small smile. “We’ll be there.” Eddie said, smiling wide and pulling you into a hug, “Go clean!” He said jokingly as you walked out his trailer. One good thing about the trailer park…you lived right next door. The only flaw…sneaking Billy inside.

~Saturday~

“Billy, they’re going to be here soon. Please just drop it.” You groaned. Billy did nothing but roll his eyes “No, Y/N.” He said, crossing his arms, “You’re lying to me.” He added. You looked at him confused “About what?” Now it was his turn to let out a groan “Don’t act clueless. You’re not sleeping or eating.” “I am! I told you I am. I’m perfectly fine.” You argued. Billy just nodded his head “Okay…then why do you bag under your eyes? They’re darker than before which means you’re not sleeping. You’re also a lot more shaky which means you’re not eating properly either.” Billy was a good observer, this was obvious. Years of living with Max he could tell when something was up. You thought you could hide it from him like you do with Steve and Eddie, but for some reason Billy could see right through you. 

Billy stepped forward and gently grabbed your arms, which got your attention and looked directly at him “Are you eating?” You nodded your head “What have you been eating?” He wasn’t mad. Just worried and he wasn’t being rude, but he was being stern. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.” You mumbled. Billy then nodded, which was him giving you silent praise “And are you sleeping?” You looked at him and then down at your feet “Nu-uh. Look at me.” He said lifting your head up by your chin “I am…but I’m getting about an hour of sleep.” He sighed and leaned his forehead on yours “What have I told you when you start to feel like this?” He questioned you. You stayed silent. “Y/N.” He said in a quiet but stern voice “What did I tell you to do?” He tried again, “You told me to call you.” You said in a soft voice “And why didn’t you call me?” You sighed “I didn’t want to bother you.” You answered. Billy didn’t say anything, instead he just pulled you into a tight hug. His arm warped around your waist while his other hand on your head, “You’re never a bother. I want you to be okay.” He whispered. You closed your eyes and felt the tears swell up in your eyes “I’m sorry.” You said through a shaky voice. Billy shook his head and pulled away making you look at him again “You don’t have to say sorry. I just want you to tell me when you’re feeling this way. So I can help you. Be with you.” He explained while brushing some tears off your cheek with his thumb. 

“I don’t think he’s the asshole like we thought he was.” You heard a whisper, “Well to us he is.” You and Billy pulled apart and looked towards your bedroom door. Steve and Eddie were standing there with snacks, sodas, and movies. You nibbled on your bottom lip and sniffed while wiping your face, “How much did you hear…or see?” Billy asked them, “All of it.” Eddie answered with a smile. “How long have you two been seeing each other?” Steve asked looking at Billy and then you “Since senior year.” You said. The look on both their faces made you smile a little bit “You were dating this guy the whole time!?” Eddie said shocked “We thought you were just sharing some crazy fantasies!” Steve said right after. “Fantasies?” Billy said looking at you with a smirk, “I might have described our dates like they were daydreams.” You admitted shyly. 

After a long talk about the relationship you have with Billy and why you kept it a secret for so long, the three of them made up! You were happy to see your two best friends and your boyfriend to get along and finally become friends. What was even better was you watching them talk and get along…you didn’t even realize you were eating the snacks already. The boys didn’t point it out to you, they just let you continue snacking and watching them talk. Seeing you smile and finally eat multiple things was enough to make them happy. All that’s left is getting you to sleep…which shouldn’t be too hard since the three of them are staying the night to watch these movies with you.

[ababanerb]

soldier on [3]

masterlist

AO3

Safiya manages to hide away in her farmhouse for another three days, dodging Magnus’ attempts to force her into socializing against her will with the most powerful warding spells she knows. Her house and the majority of the property covered in layer upon layer of invisible shields, designed to steer people away without even a thought about where they’d been going in the first place.

Three days of paranoia ridden solitude.

Three days of nearly burning the house down when the foundation settles, every shadowy corner has her jumping with magic crackling in her palms. She can’t make toast, not after she’d accidentally shot a hole through it when her toast had popped up the other day. Three days of falling asleep sitting up, her back pressed to the door drifting asleep and startling awake at every noise. Three days of begrudgingly eating the leftovers in her fridge, belly bloating with fullness for the first time since she was fourteen. Three days of searching through the attic, an actual flashlight in her hand, because she can’t trust herself to not set the dusty space on fire when something shifts in the corner of the dark room. Three days of avoiding her reflection in the bathroom mirror because she sees someone else in the glass.

It’s miserable, and she feels worse than she did when she was a frontline soldier. 

The only upside is having an actual bathroom. With a shower that she doesn’t have to share with twenty other women at a time. Not to mention taking an actual bath. 

The bath that she’d fallen asleep in. And then woken up with her teeth chattering when she’d turned the water to slush in her sleep, when she’d dreamed of a Gotorran mage who’d tried to melt the flesh clean from her bones. There’s still a bright red scar down her left forearm from where he’d managed to get his fire to pierce through her ice, pulsing and glowing erratically. 

Three days of holing herself away, Magnus tapping incessantly on her shields, before the old wizard in his not as old tower gets his way and Safiya has to make the short trek into town so she doesn’t starve to death.

“Can’t fucking stand you,” She curses in the direction of the tower, middle finger raised spitefully as she zips her mom’s old coat all the way up to beneath her chin. The stiff collar brushing awkwardly against her jaw as she pulls her long dark hair out from the jacket, the loose waves falling limply in the cold.

The farm is still covered in a thick blanket of snow, and whether Magnus actually followed through on maintaining the farm since her grandfather’s passing has yet to be seen. Not that it really matters, she knows she’ll have work to do either way. The coop and barn are still standing off in the distance, also covered in snow, and there’s a pang of sadness as she envisions the animals her grandpa used to keep when she was a girl. 

Can still remember the two black and white Holstein cows he’d gone through the painstaking process of teaching her how to milk, can still remember processing jug upon jug of milk with her mom. Can remember the two meat cows he’d had - and then never again when she’d cried into a bowl of beef stew - beautiful Herefords. Named Bread and Butter, because her grandpa thought it was funny. 

It had been so lively here, when she was a girl. Atwood Farm was never short of life, always chock full of it. Even in Winter, it had never been quiet. She’d had snowball fights with her mom on days like this, the two of them slinging snow back and forth without any magic until he grandpa came barreling towards them, magic brimming in his hands to make the game all that more fun.

It’s silent now, though. Only Safiya’s quiet sigh and the crunching of her boots through the snow and the creaking of the metal gate at the end of her driveway as she leaves, dropping the shields around her property as she does. Swearing that she can hear the ghost of laughter behind her.

Pelican Town remains relatively unchanged in the nearly ten years it’s been since she’d last seen it. There’s a new doctor in the same old clinic, Pierre’s is right where it had always been, and the Saloon still wafts the smell of something mouthwateringly good through the square, even when Gus hasn’t opened for the day.

It’s different all the same, though. Safiya trying not to flinch when Pierre’s door rattles loudly shut behind her as she waves the snow off her boots with a flick of her hand. The clumps of white dissipating into thin air as she grabs a wire shopping basket and swallows hard.

When’s the last time I was in a grocery store?

The thought fills her head, a little too abruptly for her comfort, as she picks an aisle - packed full things in colorful packaging. Nine years of MREs in beige and white packaging, and food so bland she’d forgotten all about this . 

Forgotten all about fresh fruit, laid out in neatly done displays in the produce aisle. And chips, in flavors that didn’t even exist before she’d been drafted.

And-

“Naomi?” A voice chimes politely from behind her, a hand tapping against her shoulder. 

Safiya startles, body suddenly cold and heart somewhere in her throat as she leaps halfway across the aisle, hands blooming with color and basket forgotten on the floor. She suddenly regrets wearing her moms old coat, even though she hates the military issued coat she’d arrived here in. Because at least in her coat, she has full range of motion. Unhindered ability to kill.

Enemy. Enemy. Enemy. Her mind screams at her in the voice of the drill instructor who’d hated her and she’d hated right back. Kill or be killed. Kill them first. 

And in her own voice, I don’t wanna die. 

“Oh!” The voice says again, and Safiya’s eyes clear, mind calming as she focuses on the woman who stands on the other end of the aisle. She’s got the most vibrant green hair Safiya’s ever seen, and a face stretched tight with fear as Safiya remains on guard.

“Caroline?” Another voice calls, male, footsteps rushing towards the commotion. 

It takes Safiya another few seconds to extinguish her glowing hands, the absolute terror on the face of the woman across from her is the same as the Gottoran girl she’d killed one muggy summer. A girl who’d been even younger than her, but trying to kill Safiya with all she’d had. Safiya was seventeen, then, and her hands had tingled with lightning still sparking over her fingertips, the girl seizing on the muddy battlefield below her. 

She’d also had green hair, though not as vibrant. Probably due to the same reason most people dulled in active combat. Safiya could still hear her choking on her own blood, wide, pale eyes staring desperately up at Safiya, mouthing words in a language she didn’t understand. 

“Naomi?” The male voice cuts through, and Safiya blinks, and she’s back in the aisle of a grocery store, shopping basket on the ground with her things scattered around it. And the green haired woman from before peering at her from behind a brown haired man in glasses.

“Naomi?” The man asks again, like he can’t believe his eyes, head tilting as she stares back at them. Shame curling like a hot iron in her gut.

“That was my mom,” Safiya says, quietly, afraid that if she speaks any louder her magic will make even her voice a deadly weapon, “I’m Safiya.”

Safiya creeps forward, hands kept splayed low as she approaches her abandoned basket, like she’s approaching a wild animal. Her hands shake as she puts her few things back into the wire basket, and her hands still feel tingly as she fumbles a jar of dill pickles back into the basket.

“I’m sorry,” Safiya says, addressing the green haired woman from where she remains crouched in the middle of the aisle, “You startled me. I hadn’t meant to scare you.”

Safiya pulls her face into what she hopes is a reassuring smile.

“It’s alright,” The green haired woman says, stepping out from behind her husband - or, Safiya thinks he’s her husband - waving a gentle hand through the air as she approaches Safiya, “You just got here a week or so ago, right? I’d be jumpy in a new place, too.”

Safiya gives the woman a tight-lipped smile, standing up with her basket gripped tightly in her hands, “Yes. I’m taking over Atwood Farm.”

“That’s perfect!” The man interjects, striding forward and jutting his hand towards her, “I’m Pierre. If you're looking for seeds, my shop is the place to go. I'll also buy produce from you for a good price! A little agriculture could really inject new life into the local economy! ”

And resell them for double the price. Safiya thinks, watching as Pierre’s eyes gleam with desire that is uncannily similar to bloodlust. 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Safiya says, nudging his hand back towards him the back of her hand, “It’d be smarter if we don’t shake hands,” She tells him, a little apologetically, but he ignores her, grabbing her hand in both of his and shaking vigorously.

“Don’t be silly,” He chuckles, and Safiya can feel her magic roaring beneath her skin. Can taste in the back of her throat and smell it in the air around her. Her instincts screaming at her.

Safiya’s lip curls as she snatches her hand back from him, the man yelping when she discharges a short burst of fire from her fingertips. “Do not touch me,” She snarls in the same voice she’d used as a colonel, her voice a blade of its own. “Understand?”

Pierre nods, cursing beneath his breath as he cradles his singed hand to his chest. He turns sharply on his heel, pushing past the green haired woman who’s staring with wide eyes at Safiya.

“I’m Caroline,” The woman says after a long moment, Safiya turning towards one of the shelves with her eyes screwed shut as she mentally berates herself. “Our town doctor, Harvey, next door, he served seven or so years ago.”

“Thanks.” Safiya responds, breathless, as she rests her forehead against one of the cool metal shelves, “How did you know my mom?” She asks, grasping for anything to fill the awkward silence and pull her mind away from the barely-there smell of burnt skin.

“You don’t remember?” Caroline asks, and Safiya’s dares to glance at her, “Your mom and I were good friends before the two of you moved away to Zuzu.”

“Well, it’s been a long nine years for me,” Safiya supplies, only a little bitter as she skirts her way around Caroline and towards the singular check-out counter, “There’s a lot I don’t remember anymore.”

Caroline says nothing else, just purses her lips and gets Safiya checked out. And Safiya stares at the counter, refusing to look Caroline in the eye, afraid of what either of them might see in the other’s face. 

Caroline slides her two bags of groceries over the counter, and Safiya swipes her card through the card reader that’s probably been there since she was a girl.

“It’s okay,” Caroline utters softly. Safiya’s fingers curl gingerly around the plastic handles of her bags, unsure if she can trust herself. “Pierre’s ego is probably more hurt than his hand, Nao- Safiya,” Safiya cringes at the stumble, and her regret for wearing her mom’s old jacket only grows, “Pelican Town’s glad to have you. And… I just want to say, thank you for your service.”

Safiya wants to set herself on fire as she nods politely at Caroline, shoves her card into the back pocket of her ill-fitting jeans - also her moms - as she thanks Caroline as quickly as she can and ducks back out into the cold. Grocery bags clutched tight in her fingers.

She vows to not go back into Pierre’s until it's Spring, and she doesn’t have to wade through the snow if she needs to make a terribly executed escape again.

—

It’s Tuesday, Sebastian notes absently as he types through yet another line of code, dying for a cigarette - or a blunt, either’s fine at this point. Or, he thinks it’s Tuesday. He can’t be sure, time and sleep lost on him as he pounds out his larger fourth project in two weeks.

But, it must be Tuesday. Because he can hear Abigail upstairs, blabbering some benign thing to his mom about something her mom told her to pass along before she’d left her house. So, it’s Tuesday, he reasons, because Abigail always comes over on Tuesday at one o’clock, like clockwork, to pester him. 

But- No, it is, He assures himself, tapping his phone awake just to check the date. A little annoyed that his life is so routine that he knows the date and time solely on when one of his friends comes over to cure her own boredom. 

“I fucking hate that I’m right, sometimes,” He curses under his breath, flicking his tongue against his teeth just to hear the piercing there clack. Forcing his attention back to his code for the few precious moments he has before Abi comes clomping down the stairs in her platform boots that are shit for any weather other than pleasantly warm and sunny. He downs another gulp of cold coffee, shuddering as it goes down and fingers flying across his keyboard, desperately trying to get a few more lines done when he hears the telltale noise of Abi’s boots hitting the top of the basement steps. 

He gets two more lines of code before Abi comes crashing through his door, reminding him of why he’d become such a stickler for locking his door when he wanted some alone time. She doesn’t knock, never has, probably never will, and if she cares that he’s working, it doesn’t show. 

He just barely manages to save his work by the time Abigail’s got both hands on the back of his gaming chair, pulling him away from his desk and spinning him towards her. “Seb!” She exclaims, her face inches away from his, “You’ll never believe this,” She laughs, squealing with glee as she lets him go to dance around his room. Her boots thumping loudly on the wooden floor of his basement room.

Sebastian sighs, pushing himself back towards his desk to fish a cigarette from his desk drawer, “What won’t I believe?” He asks begrudgingly, spinning the spark wheel of his lighter with practiced ease, holding his cigarette between his lips as he shuts his computer down.

“The new farmer burned the shit outta my dad this morning!” Abigail squeals, jumping wildly with glee until her foot wobbles on the landing, “Oh my Yoba, Seb! It’s incredible. Dad was bein’ a real dick this morning, too.” Abigail continues, surging forward as his eyebrows raise, “Oh,” She laughs, nearly cackling, “Karma is real, Seb. This is the greatest day of my life!”

There was a time, back when the two of them were in high school, and Sebastian was shamelessly horny, and Abigail wanted nothing more than to piss off her parents, that he would actually give a shit about whatever Abi has to say. Partly because he had enjoyed her company more, then, but mostly for sex.

He also hadn’t had a job, then. 

But Sebastian indulges her anyway, one of his closest friends, because she is Abigail and he is Sebastian, and he will indulge her the same way she indulges him and Sam, “What d’you mean, the farmer burned your dad? Must’ve been spitting fucking fire if it got to good ol’ Pierre.” He drawls, sounding just interested enough to keep her from complaining as he takes another deep drag of his cigarette. Relishing in the way it burns on the way down.

“No, Seb,” She says, on her feet again, hands pressed to the arms of his chair as she leans over him. Grinning so hard it’s a wonder her face hasn’t split in two, “The farmer literally burned my dad! Like-” She squeals, reeling back and gesturing wildly at her right hand, “ Burned , burned. Flames- Came from the farmer’s hands!”

“Get out,” Sebastian says pointedly, actually pointing at his bedroom door as his lips pull into an annoyed frown, “Don’t waste my fucking time on this kinda shit, Abi. You know I have shit I need to get done.”

“No, you fucking do not ,” She snorts, pulling away from him in a huff as he blows a puff of smoke in her face, and falling back onto his bed, “And I’m serious , Sebby!”

He glares sharply at the nickname, something reserved only for his mom to call him.

“ Sebastian ,” She quickly corrects, holding her hands up in faux surrender, “And I’m serious.”

He raises a skeptical brow at her, ashing his cigarette in the broken bottom half of what was his favorite coffee cup turned ashtray, “The other week you said you saw a shadow person.” He reminds.

“And I did ,” She protests.

“Abi,” Sebastian sighs, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers together over his stomach, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose and flicking his tongue piercing over the backs of his teeth. “Not that I don’t believe you. But everyone knows that anyone who can channel magic is off fighting against Gotoro. It’s just not even fucking possible, Abs. And even if there were some random new mage , of all fucking things, in town. You’d think more people would know by now. Because that would mean soldiers are coming home. 

“And you and I both know they’re not, because Sam hasn’t said jack shit about it. And don’t go mentioning this to him, either.” He says harshly, jabbing in her direction with the index and pointer fingers of his right hand, “Don’t go getting his hopes up when nothing’s been made official.”

“Fucking-” Abi sighs, exasperated as she meets his hard gaze, “Fine. Whatever.”

He nods once, turning his chair around and booting his computer back up, a silent demand for her to leave.

“... Wanna have sex?” She offers after a moment, trying to peer over his shoulder as he opens up his coding program.

He points to the door without looking away from his screen, “No. Now get out so I can work.”

[charmwasjess]

For the ask game, 🍍 and 🍒

🍍 What kind of AUs do you like? Are there any AUs you hate or just generally have beef with?

I love Fix-it AUs, but I’m currently reading some great WIP Not Fix It or Breaking It Different AUs - @dapurinthos has a really fucking fascinating fic Galaxies Far, Far Away May Be Closer Than They Appear with an Isekai attack on the Grand Sith Plan + @rochenn's Leave Your Rifle by the Door imagines a world where Palpatine is out of the picture but the Clone Wars continue indefinitely and explores the impact that has on Cody, Obi-Wan, and Coruscant itself, really. Fantastic stuff. 

And here, okay >:D I’ll give you an actually unpopular AU opinion of mine. I have, historically, hated the Galidraan storyline. Stupid ass plot. Why is Dooku’s hair that color?! Put that Komari Vosa back, we have Asajj Ventress at home! (Thanks to @bolithesenate for pretty much singlehandedly getting me interested in Komari again with her fun crack. <3) 

It’s probably not even fair of me, because I’ve likely replaced the actual details of that comic plot with Talking Points from some parts of the fandom I agree with the least. (And regardless of that, I'm admittedly just not very interested in Mando lore, I've spent my hyperfixation points elsewhere.) I’m only hurting myself here, because I'm a Dooku fan, so I know there’s plenty of Galidraan AUs around that I would probably love, written by authors who I already know I like. But nope, this is the petty hill I die on. 

🍒 What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic, specific or general!)

I didn’t invent this, it’s from Dooku: Jedi Lost, but when Dooku and Sifo-Dyas are doing their sarcastic funny shit-talking back-and-forth bit to each other, god, I could write that all day. Dooku takes himself so seriously, and of course, he can be a sarcastic asshole right back, but I think particularly in his Jedi Master era, there’s an underlying earnestness to him. It plays really well with Sifo-Dyas’s loving brand of total irreverence, the way he likes to say or do stuff just to see Dooku’s :O reaction. It’s such a good dynamic. 

Dialogue is super fun for me too, so I have a blast with those parts, and I hope it shows.