#then again i like to think about his relationship to Veronica. i mean in the way that like. Veronica def could be as smart as him if

[icy-book]

Consider, if you will, AU (either with canon post-s1 pre-s2 events but D.A.D.D.I.E.S. solves things before season 2 would start, or no Doodler/betrayal but Nicky still has to leave because FBI or other reasons) in which Terry Jr is the full time drama teacher for Teen High. Nicky returns from wherever he's been and is like "Well I want to be an active part of my kid's life and try and make up for lost time. I should go to his parents' evening, find out how he's doing in school, and meet his teachers. Especially this Mr Marlowe guy, Taylor seems to think he's awesome." And walking right into that classroom/hall to find his ex-boyfriend best friend sitting there in a dorky sweater and tie combo

Cue Terry, without missing a beat, greeting them as if nothing is wrong

Internal: when the FUCK did he come back and oh my god this is so awkward fuck I have to be professional how do I tell this guy that his kid is a loveable little shit after everything that's happened oh god oh fuck

Externally: "Hello Taylor and Mr Close-Foster-Freeman. I'm Taylor's drama teacher" *shakes hand* "Would you like to take a seat?"

[idiosinkratico]

back to hell (i been replaying fnv and have started Dead Money again)

[johanna-swann]

You know, sometimes I think we as a fandom completely misjudge Buck when it comes to romantic things. In fanon he's often depicted as this clueless guy who needs to be hit in the face with a pick-up line before he notices someone's advances, but then again he's a really thoughtful and attentive partner who talks about his own feelings freely once he gets into a relationship. And then I look at canon Buck and like. Yeah, no, this is not that.

Buck is really good at picking up on sexual / romantic tension. He flirts constantly and recognises when his flirting is reciprocated. That's how he landed the snake-lady in 1x01, it's how he knew Abby was down for phone sex (or at least wouldn't dump him over bringing it up), it's how he got with Taylor, etc. Buck is good at the flirting part. The only reason he was so awkward around Tommy was that for the first time ever the target of his advances was a man.

He's terrible at gauging where his (more serious) relationships are at though. I doubt that Abby ever thought she'd be with Buck forever. She cared about him, sure, but let's be realistic. I don't think she saw a future where she'd eventually marry him and settle down with him. Buck on the other hand was full on in love with her, waited months and months for her to come back even after she broke off contact. And the hot air balloon ride was a huge gesture, but did he think it through? What if there had been an emergency with Abby's mother while they were up in the air instead of immediately before?

With Taylor I don't think he had any idea where that was going. They were attracted to each other, they had a lot in common and they both really wanted to make it work, but in the end they just weren't compatible. He was really bad at communicating with her, first invited her to that weird double date with Veronica and Albert without being up-front, then the thing with Lucy. And in the end they broke up over something he knew about her all along. He knew Taylor wanted to use the material from when Bobby was high on the gifted brownies back in the day, how was he surprised that this same basic conflict became an issue again?

And Natalia. He had coffee with her once and suddenly "she really [saw him]". Then he turned around and broke up with her because she talked too much the one topic over which they bonded in the first place. Death is her job. You having died is what got the two of you talking. You valued her insight on the topic at some point even. But then you act like it's an annoying hobby she won't stop talking about?

The same with Tommy. How did Buck spend 6 months dating that man - knowing from very early on that the man had issues, that he grew up in a regressive environment, served in the military as well as under Gerrard, came out rather late in life (only a few years ago), doesn't have much family - and then just jump the whole "move in with me, we can get married one day, we can spend the rest of our lives together" on Tommy instead of sitting down and having an open conversation about the future without any heavy expectations? How does he not know a single detail about Tommy's coming out story, about his exes, about what he wants out of this relationship?

Honestly. Buck means well, but he never thinks things through and is kind of a disaster when it comes to actually dating the partner he finds. It's like he's not dating the person, he's dating for the sake of dating.

[taintedcigs]

i know places — e.m.

pairing: eddie munson x popular cheerleader!f!reader

warnings: 18+ ONLY, minors dni!!, ANGST, smut, p in v, kind of degradation, jealousy, praises, nicknames, br*eding kink, cre*mpie, FIGHT!!, eddie beats someone up, gareth is an asshole im sorry, and some flufff

summary: in which you are secretly dating eddie because his friends don't like you (wc: 6k+)

a/n: HELLO hello I AM BACK! i kind of hate this, and the ending sucks pls ignore it but i wanted to post it so bad bc i love ts x eddie!! also a part of this was heavily HEAVILY inspired by an ep of veronica mars bc its one of my fav shows!! also no dividers and i didn't proof-read SO PLEASE ignore the mistakes plss

Four months.

It had been four months since you and Eddie had started to “secretly date.”

And in all honesty, it had been fun. The sneaking around, the private dates, the quick fuck seshs in school, in the supply closet, after his D&D campaigns, in his van, in the woods.

And the teasing, oh god, the teasing.

It's why you were currently scrunched up in the back of his van, ragged breathing and curses, heavy tension filling the space.

“You done teasin’?” he asked, hovering over you.

It started with the glances in the hallway, at first, Eddie thought they were innocent. But the way you threw your head back as you touched Andy’s arm had Eddie’s jaw clenched.

He was sure his blood was boiling by the time he dragged you back to his van.

He dismissed your concerns about how he shouldn’t skip English again, he could care less, he needed you, and he needed you now.

It was driving him crazy too, while he had fun, he hated the idea of not being able to tell those stupid jocks to back off of his girl.

He hated the stupid school hierarchy and his friends for having to keep this relationship a secret, he hated not being able to show you off.

“Teasing?” You asked, an innocent smile playing on your lips.

“C’mon don’t play coy now.” He warned, “I know what you were tryin’ to do with that stupid jock.” He scoffed.

“And did it work?” You batted your lashes, and he rolled his tongue inside of his cheek. “Yeah.” He barely gave you any time to adjust before his lips hungrily attacked yours.

So needy and filled with lust that you couldn’t help the whimpers that escaped your lips. He didn’t waste any time as he reached for the edge of your tiny top almost ripping it off and letting it drop to the van’s floor.

You could feel your breath hitch with how rough he was being, his calloused fingers flipping your cheerleader skirt and moving your panties aside, sliding a finger as he groaned at the wetness, partying your pussy to get a better view of your gushing heat.

“Fuckfuckfuck.” He cursed under his breath, “Such a pretty fucking pussy, baby,” He peppered your heat. “All mine, yea?” He asked needily.

His fingers worked your clit with little circles, causing you to whimper out. “Mhmm.” You barely let out, eyes shutting immediately in pleasure.

His fingers worked to stretch you open, and his visible bulge was pressing hard against his uncomfortable pants, you knew you would get what you had been begging for all morning soon.

“You think it’s fuckin’ funny to try to make me jealous?” He raised a brow, and you stopped your lips from twitching into a smirk, you didn’t need him to edge you, not right now, not when you needed him this much.

“Nuh-uh.” You pouted, “Only did it cause you kept flirting with that girl yesterday at the gig.” You huffed, you knew you were being petty, but could care less, the downside to this whole deal was the fact that you couldn’t tell those girls to back off of him, you just had to smile and watch as they swooned all over him.

And if he could play at that game, so could you.

He gave you a slight chuckle before his fingers plunged in and out of you, his thumb rubbing circles on your clit as you moaned for more. “Needy fuckin’ slut.” He’s being mean, and you love it.

“I’ll give you all the attention you need, yea? Such a bratty baby.” He teased.

You cried out when he retracted his fingers, feeling empty as you pouted at him. He was quick to get his aching cock out of the uncomfortable boxers, bouncing against his stomach as he hissed.

His breathing was ragged as his cock flexed in his palm, causing your thighs to tremble with need, “Do something.” You breathed.

He raised a brow at your eagerness, “Please,” You pleaded, tears welling in your eyes at the pent-up frustration inside of you.

He was quick to dip his head down your chest, mouth nibbling at your nipples, and you arched against his fingers, he was driving you crazy and you could feel his aching cock brush against your thighs.

“So fuckin’ perfect,” He cried out pinching your clit, “And all mine,” You liked how rough and possessive he got when he was jealous, you didn’t care that it was wrong, your heat was pulsing relentlessly with need.

“Jesus,” He cried out when he had one hand on your hip, and used the other to rub the tip of his pulsing cock against your entrance.

You trembled with desire when he teased you further, his pink tip sliding easily over your soaking cunt, “C’mon, thought you wanted to fuckin’ tease me?” He mocked.

“You’re already cryin’ out like a whore and I haven’t even touched you properly yet, peach,” He cooes, causing you to whine.

“N—need you,” Barely able to speak, you spread your thighs further, and Eddie gives you a chuckle, his mocking was making you throb even more.

“Jesus fucking Christ, you spread your legs like that for that dumb jock too, honey?” His words are laced with bitterness and you’re quick to shake your head.

“Uh—uh, only you,” You whine, he’s rough as he grabs your cheeks making you look at him, your eyes widen as you desperately plead for him to do something  — anything.

“Since I own this tight little cunt, I’m gonna use it like I fuckin’ want to,” He growls, and you whimper at that, Eddie’s lips tilt into a smirk, he knows you enjoy his words. “You want that, peach? You want me to wreck this pretty little pussy? Fill you to the brim with my warm load?” He asks, and it makes you tilt your head backward in pleasure when he teases his tip against your entrance again.

“Mpmhm… Fuckfuckfuck, yes please!” You’re practically shaking with the need to be fucked.

He grasped your wrists in one hand, pinning them against the cold walls of his van, making you hiss, barely giving you any warning before he slowly prodded his aching cock inside your velvety walls.

“Fuckohfuckohfuck,” His breathing was ragged and you could almost feel his cock splitting you open, your mouth rounding into a silent ‘Oh.’

As he plunged himself deeper into you, your back arched back toward him, making your cunt clamp down on his cock, and he growled, “S’fuckin’ tight, poor baby must’ve felt so empty without my cock, yea?” He cooes and you nod quickly.

You could feel your insides burn, both from need and from how big Eddie was. “Mmmph, greedy fuckin’ cunt. Takin’ me so well, honey.” He murmured peppering your face with kisses, you could barely take in his words, your mind clouded with desire.

Your eyes welled up in tears again, it felt so fucking good, feeling him this deep inside of you, “Shhh… you can do it baby,” Eddie encouraged as he forced himself deeper into your soaking walls.

“Be a good girl and take it all, can you do that honey?” You nodded immediately, Eddie’s hands were quick to caress your cheeks, “Good fuckin’ girl,” He murmured before he went on and on, his cock invading your walls until he was sure he was balls deep inside of you.

You couldn’t help the filthy squeaks that escaped your lips, the space of the van filled with your mewls and Eddie’s balls slapping against you.

He licks your neck before he bites hard onto your shoulder, his grunts filling the room as he plunges harder into you.

“Jesus fucking— mmpfh… just like that honey,” He murmurs into your neck, “My perfect fuckin’ girl.”

“Look so fuckin’ pretty when you’re all fucked out like this,” He nibbles on your neck, hands pinching your nipples. “Gonna be the fuckin’ death of me, baby,” He groans as he slams further inside of you.

“Edsedsedseds!” You repeat like a mantra, “What’d’ya need, peach?” He asks smugly.

“Jesus— n-need to cum!” You cry out and Eddie’s brain short-circuits for a moment, as you lay beneath him, plump lips making ‘Oh!’ sounds as your head is tilted back, and Eddie revels in it.

“Do it, honey. Cum for me,” He encourages.

“Need that tight little cunt to clamp down on me, peach,” He groans, and your whimpers get louder, you know you’re getting close and Eddie can feel how much you tighten around him.

“Shitshitshiiit— baby, this cunt is so fuckin’ greedy, and so fuckin’ tight,” He grunts. “All mine, angel.”

“’M close, Eds…” You barely blurt out in your fucked out state, and Eddie coos, “Cum for me, honey, c’mon cream my cock.”

He tilts his hips up further and hits your velvety walls so perfectly that almost has your eyes crossing.

Once his calloused fingers make their way onto your clit, rubbing slow circles and also giving your sensitive spot a pinch you cry out, trembling beneath him as you feel yourself release around his cock.

He lets out a loud grunt, “S’fuckin’ tight when you cum, shit— Gonna fuck my load into you, baby.”

“You want that? You want me to fill that pretty pussy, have you leakin’ my cum for days?” You nod weakly, still too fucked out to answer.

“Fuckfuckfuck— yeah, baby, gonna fill your tight little hole up, gonna give you all this cum,” He grunted.

“Would you like that honey? Shit—so fuckin’ tight, beg for it, beg for me, princess—” He almost growls into the curve of your neck, his hips slamming forward roughly, “Please—Eds, please, need your cum…” You make a mewling sound and Eddie can’t help himself, he’s pounding into you like a dog in heat and he knows he’s getting close now.

“Jesus—I’m gonna cum, honey. God—I’m gonna spend all of my load in this tight little cunt peach, it’s takin’ me so well, baby, I couldn’t pull out even if I wanted to, fuckfuckfuck—”

“Goin’ to fuck my load into you, baby, need to fill you up nice and sweet,” He cooes, mind boggling with the sight of your tits jiggling each time he slams harder into you, he knows he is rearing his orgasm with the way his hips stutter.

“Cum inside’a me, please,” You purr, eyes sultry as they meet Eddie’s, his grip on your hips tightens enough to leave a mark, your words sending a wave of pleasure to him as his movement is picked up.

“Mhmm, I love it when you fill me up s’warm and nice, and make me yours,” You murmured and that was it for Eddie.

His groans became uncontrollable now, and his eyes squeezed shut, he slammed into your body one last time, roughly, a string of curses spilled from his lips before his cock pulsated and his warm sticky load painted your insides, already spilling out of your tight cunt with how stuffed you were, falling down your thighs. 

With a few “Fuckfuckfuck’s” Eddie collapsed on top of you, lips peppering your face softly as he wrapped an arm around you, murmuring, “You okay, baby?”

You nodded quickly, “Mhmm…” You relaxed into his warm body, “That fuckin’ punk really thought he could flirt with you, huh?” He chuckled; he was still possessive, bringing a dark smile to your lips.

“You know what you have to do to keep them away, don’t you?” You raised a brow, and he immediately knew what you were implying, but he wasn’t ready for any of it.

“Not this again,” He huffed, and you were quick to get out of his hold, you weren’t the type to push a guy around to make things exclusive, but with Eddie, you wanted nothing more than that, you didn’t even care about the teasing you would endure when the two of you made things official, but he certainly did, and it was starting to hurt you.

“Nevermind,” You murmured, searching for your clothes as Eddie got up, “Why are we in such a hurry?” He asked, tone worried. “We already skipped one class, I don’t wanna skip another one, doofus.” You narrowed your eyes at him before slipping on your skirt, sighing in relief when you found your panties discarded on the floor.

“You mad at me or somethin’?” You could tell how fragile he was acting around you, and it made your heart ache, but all of the secrets and running around were getting to you, the girls that were throwing themselves at Eddie as he flashed them a chuckle made your blood boil, you couldn’t take it anymore.

“No, it’s just super fucking tiring to act like you don’t exist, when you’re the only person I want in my life,” Your words come out faster than you mean to, and you look at him with such a hopeful gaze that Eddie’s heart tightens, the last thing he wants to do is hurt you.

“Honey…” He whispers, before pulling your body to his again, “You have no fuckin’ idea how much I want that to happen, but—”

“But, what?” Your voice is irritated.

“But you know how the guys are, you know how annoying Gareth—” You immediately scoff at the name.

You had no idea when or why it happened.  You had no idea what caused him to act this way toward you. But Eddie’s friends absolutely hated you.  Especially Gareth. Jeff also did not like the fact that you were the head cheerleader, but Gareth almost had a vendetta against you, you had barely interacted with him, but the boy was out to get you.

You were fine with the kids, Dustin and Mike had adored you the second you protected them against Carver’s idea of a joke. Lucas, with his new place on the basketball team, understood you, granted he had no idea of what was happening between you and Eddie, but he knew you were Eddie’s friend, and he knew how hard Eddie’s friends have been on you.

And that is exactly why you and Eddie had decided to keep your relationship a secret that started a few months ago.

Eddie had doubts about what people would say about your relationship, and he couldn’t handle the fact that his friends would have a say in it, he wanted to keep you away from them, as long as possible.

And he assumed your popular friends wouldn’t be so keen on him, either.

So you agreed to keep the relationship a secret, but it was eating away at you now.

“It’s about him again, isn’t it?” You asked, shaking your head with a chuckle. “Four months and you can’t even dare to say I’m your girlfriend, because of fucking Gareth,” You spat out.

“It’s not just about that—Jesus, you think your cheerleader and jock friends would fuckin’ enjoy havin’ the freak around?” His tone was louder now and you hated it.

“I don’t care! I don’t give the slightest fuck what they would think about my boyfriend, it’s my business and they don’t fucking get a say in it, Eddie!” Your insecurities were on the surface now, even if Eddie couldn’t tell, you were hurt by him wanting to hide you away this much, caring more about Gareth who had this twisted game of trying to hurt you, and it made you feel like absolute shit like Eddie could care less about you.

“Don’t you think I fuckin’ know that? I do! But Gareth—” You scoffed interrupting him as you turned around to face him. “Fuck him!” Your voice raised in fury.

“Look, Eddie, if you don’t want this—” Your hand was quick to point between the two of you, “Just say the fucking word.”  

“You’re twistin’ my fuckin’ words around,” His voice didn’t hold the confidence it did before, his eyes were washed over with guilt and worry, he couldn’t afford to lose you, and if he kept being a jackass, it looked like he was going to.

“You’re unbelievable,” He scoffed, “I’m unbelievable?” You quoted him, eyes narrowing again.

Eddie was on his last straws and he knew it, but he couldn’t get himself to back down, he couldn’t let you see the vulnerable side of him this soon, there was no way you would be able to stay with him, not when you saw how fragile he actually was.

“Yeah! You fuckin’ are,  acting all insane and shit just because you felt jealous over some stupid girls—” And he stops there because the exasperation of breath that slipped past your lips is so loud that he realizes what he just said.

“Fuck you,” You say it so ironically and humorously, that Eddie likes to think this is one of those ironic ‘Fuck you’s you had uttered to him before, slightly nudging his side as you gave him a warm smile, but you’re nothing but cold now.

“If you think that’s what this is about then I have nothing to say to you,” Your voice was timid before you made your way to the door, Eddie’s faint mumbles of your name were just dizzying your mind when you felt the hot tears threatening to spill down your cheeks.

And with that, Eddie spent the rest of the day either sulking or using other people as his anger outlet, he knew it wasn’t fair, but he couldn’t help it when you spent the rest of the day ignoring him, acting like he didn’t even exist, and it was killing him.

It got so much worse for him around lunchtime, his table was facing you, and his throat tightened, a lump forming at the fact that you didn’t even glance at him, not even turning your head toward his direction.

Eddie was fidgeting in his seat, he was itching to run over to your side, scream at the top of his lungs that you were his girlfriend, and kiss you, right in front of the entire school.

It was killing him, not being able to show you how much he fucking loved you. And his mind was now swirling with the idea that you finally realized how much of a loser he was, or that you finally realized how he didn’t deserve you, not in the slightest bit.

After one fucking conversation he had managed to push you away, and possibly manage to ruin one good fucking thing in his life, and he wanted to bang his head against the table while yelling out idiotidiotidiot!

Eddie knew he had to do something, as soon as possible, you were slipping away from his fingers, and he couldn’t handle losing you.

You were doing everything you can to avoid his gaze, no matter how much your head itched to cock in his direction.

Trying your best to stay unbothered as you attempted to laugh genuinely at the cheesy jokes Andy was providing the table with.

And Eddie’s blood was boiling, you seriously didn’t mean to make him jealous, but it didn’t matter to him, you were acknowledging everyone and specifically Andy right now but him, and it made Eddie’s jaw clench uncontrollably.

The banter going on at the table was unknown to him, but it made your skin crawl as if Gareth was saying some stupid shit about you again as if the entire table was mocking you, it was cruel, or at least it felt cruel to you.

That’s when your throat tightened up, your mind foggy as you could barely focus on anything but the chatter going on at Eddie’s table.

The cafeteria noises were pounding in your head now, jock’s table filled with the obnoxious laugh of Jason Carver, and you could even hear Robin blabbing something to Steve somewhere behind you. It was all a blur to you by now.

It surely had nothing to do with you but your mind and anxiety were enough to convince you that Gareth was making fun of you at the table. That little voice in your head there to tell you all the worst possibilities.

You barely noticed Eddie’s body burning off with rage when you were so focused on trying to hear what Gareth was saying, it shouldn’t have bothered you this much, but knowing how close he was to Eddie and how much he hated you… maybe it meant something.

Maybe Gareth knew that you were not good enough for Eddie, maybe you deserved it.

Maybe Gareth was right, maybe you were not right for Eddie, maybe he deserved to be with someone who liked his stupid D&D game, someone who didn’t conform, someone who wasn’t a coward, maybe someone who wasn’t a—

“Hey…”

“You okay?” Chrissy’s concerning voice caused your train of thought to disappear, at least pushing it back into your subconscious until you were ready to face your problems again.

“Mhmm,” You were quick to flash her with a smile, it wasn’t genuine and she probably knew it wasn’t genuine but, she stood silent as she didn’t want to put you on blast in front of everyone, giving you a tight-lipped smile and a reassuring squeeze in your arm, and you invited it in, cold demeanor changing within seconds.

And Eddie could sense it now, sitting across you, leaning in his chair like a storm isn’t brewing in his head, eyeing you carefully.

You slowly readjusted yourself, eyes quickly stealing a glance from Eddie’s table–but never at him.

And if he wasn’t watching he would’ve missed it, but he didn’t—hope inside of him blossoming like never before.

He was fidgeting to get out of his seat, run over to you, hands itching to hold you again, never to let go this time.

Your quick glance, instead of resulting in Eddie’s attention, brought Gareth’s unwarranted attention to you.

You felt uncomfortable in your seat now, you knew now your anxiety about him talking awfully about you to Eddie would be true now.

“She’s such a spoiled brat,” Gareth blurted out.

“Who are you talking about?” Jeff asked mindlessly, hands dipped into the fries he had been munching on.

“That stupid cheerleader,” Eddie’s head snapped at the mention of that, surely Gareth didn’t mean—Oh.

It was as if the rage building in within Eddie had snapped within seconds, thoughts in his head swirling, blaming Gareth for the fight.

“Watch it,” Eddie’s voice spoke before he turned his attention to Gareth, the table immediately quitening down.

“Excuse me?” Gareth questioned, taken aback, before Eddie cocked his head in his direction.

“Don’t fuckin’ talk about her,” His teeth were gritted, and your ears perked up at the rise in Eddie’s voice.

“The fuck are you on about?” Gareth replied back, the tension in the table was rising and Dustin was fidgeting im his seat by now.

“I’m telling you to keep your mouth shut when it comes to her, is that clear?” Eddie bounced from his seat, so quickly that he didn’t realize the entire cafeteria staring at him, including you.

Gareth gave him a confused chuckle, “I’m sorry?”

“Are you defending a cheerleader now or what? Have you forgotten how awful they have been to us?” He raised a brow.

“She didn’t do anything,” Eddie defended you like his life depended on it, he couldn’t believe how stupid he was being, for caring about Gareth’s half-witted input on you, like he ever actually had a conversation with you other than throwing insults to your way under his breath.

“So leave her alone,” It was more like a threat than anything else, and your heart skipped a beat when you saw the scene, Eddie not noticing your gaze, blinded by the rage.

Eddie was barely hanging by a thread, the way he leaned over the table eyes bulging out as he stood over Gareth, everyone could sense it.

A loud whoo’s from the jock’s table caused you to huff, before you knew it, Jason Carver was involved.

“Trouble in paradise?” He shouted, followed by the obnoxious laughter of his followers, they called Eddie the leader of a satanic cult but by the looks of it, Jason and his stupid little jocks fit the description more.

“Oh, shut it, Carver,” Your mouth opened before your mind could process it, heads turned toward you and you were afraid to look back up now.

The laughter from Jason’s table had died down, and you could feel plenty of eyes on you, but what mattered the most, you could feel Eddie’s burning gaze on you, the storm in his mind calming down with your tone.

Before you knew it everyone went into something else, Chrissy was quick to start a conversation and you could see from the corner of your eye that Dustin had probably took on the same job, spewing nonsense until the tension deviated.

Eddie had slumped into his seat now, thighs spread wide open while his leg fidgeted, his anger had dissipated—eyes trained on you again, it was so obvious now, even Chrissy was nudging you.

The conversation at the table was no longer interesting, he didn’t even attempt to care if Gareth was okay, you stood up to him in front of the entire school, so mindlessly that Eddie felt like a coward.

Guilt ran through his veins quicker than it intended to, Eddie knew he has been acting like an idiot, but you had opened his eyes further.

He knew he had to talk to you.

And once he saw you leaving the cafeteria alone, he knew it was now or never.

He barely waited right after you left, ignoring the voices from the table calling out for him as he waved them off, mumbling incoherently about how he had to take care of something.

You stopped when you heard his weighted footsteps, jogging after you as he called your name.

You were afraid to turn around, afraid to ask him what had happened that made him lash out at Gareth like that.

“I’m sorry,” were the first words that slipped past his almost trembling lips, his honey-brown eyes mellow.

“I said some really stupid things I shouldn’t have said,” were the words that followed, you could tell he meant it, ragged breath escaping with each word, he was nervous.

Your heart tightened in your chest, unable to open your mouth, you stared at him like a deer caught in headlights.

“I—I don’t need you to say anything,” He breathed again, and it’s not like you could get any words out now, they all died down in your throat.

“I just need you to trust me,” He murmured, calloused hands coming in contact with your shoulders as he held you steady, your legs feeling like jelly when he looked at you like that.

“W—with what?” You didn’t mean to stutter, but you couldn’t help it when he was standing this close to you, it didn’t matter if you had been dating for the last four months, you could tell something in him had changed, with the way he held you in public, your mind getting excited about the possibilities.

“I’m gonna fix this,” He pointed between the two of you, almost mimicking you from before.

“I’ll pick you up at 7, does that sound okay?” He gave you a warm smile, teeth flashing and dimples forming on the right side of his cheek, making you giggle immediately.

“O–okay,” You didn’t mean to sound so excited–almost desperate, but you could feel your insides twist with hope with each of his words, breaking down the guards you spent building up all these years.

He gave you a sloppy kiss on your cheek, his smile never wearing off, “See you after school, yea?” You nodded quickly, heat rising up on your cheeks.

By the time Eddie picked you up by your house, your chest tightened, the whole ride was more silent than usual, the stereo Eddie usually blasted now stayed as a background noise as you fidgeted in your seat.

“Are you ever gonna tell me where we are going? Or at least what we’re gonna do?” You asked curiously, head cocking to his side.

“So impatient,” He mocked, hands drumming on the steering wheel before he flashed you a smile.

“We’re almost there,” He announced, and the roads were becoming all too familiar to you now.

“Are we going to the trailer?” You asked excitedly, and Eddie threw you a look.

“You do know what surprises mean, don’t you?” He raised his brows and flashed a teasing smile, his eyes dancing with amusement.

You huffed playfully, crossing your arms against your chest.

“You do realize how cute you look when you get all mad like that?”

"Oh, stop it," you stammered, covering your face slightly with your hands, attempting to hide your embarrassment and the smile that threatened to betray you.

Eddie flashed a toothy-grin, dimples ever so present, you couldn't tear your eyes away from him, even if you wanted to.

Gaze lingered on his features longingly, as if trying to capture every detail in your memory. “Thank you for today,” He murmured, almost embarrassed, looking out on the road as his hands got clammy on the steering wheel.

You know exactly what he was thanking you for, but you still threw him a puzzled look.

“For standing up to Carver like that,” He adds, clearing his throat,

“I doubt you realize it Eddie but—”

“I think I’d pretty much do anything for you,” The words blurted out before you could process them, brain jumbled from everything that happened today.

A soft smile curved his lips as he watched you, eyes tracing every contour of your face with awe.

The rest of the ride was silent, as you kept your promise to not spoil the surprise, mind filled with various ideas as Eddie finally pulled up to his trailer.

"So... will you tell me the surprise now?" You asked, smile etching on your face as Eddie gave you a breathy laugh.

"Such an impatient baby, huh?" He mocked, nudging your shoulder playfully, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

As you caught up to him, he couldn't help but reach out to brush your hand with his fingertips, a subtle gesture of affection.

When he finally intertwined them, your heart raced, possibilities of whatever the surprise was overwhelming you as your palms grew sweaty with anxiety when you faced the daunting door to Eddie's trailer.

Eddie's fingers gripped the doorknob tightly, with a twist of the key in his hands, the lock mechanism turned, and he pushed the door open, revealing loud chattering coming from the room.

You got startled when Eddie fully opened the door, almost squealing when you saw all of the Hellfire Club squeezed into the living room, your eyes widening at Eddie's surprise.

It was silent before Gareth spoke up, “What kind of a sick joke is this supposed to be?” He chuckled bitterly, Eddie felt hot-blooded again.

“Is this why you defended her during lunch?” He chuckled, and your eyes widened at the revelation—so, that's why Eddie lashed out at lunch.

"Unfuckinbelievable," Gareth scoffed.

Eddie's jaw tightened, the muscles flexing with the strain of suppressing the overwhelming urge to lash out. “What the hell are you doing? Please tell me this is a new joke of yours called ‘I’m fucking the spoiled brat cheerleader to spite the jocks’.” Gareth spoke up, and turned around to Jeff and others for approval, but the rest of the guys just stood silent, he had crossed the line and everyone could sense it.

Your face soured at his comment, and you could feel Eddie’s grip on your hand tightened, he was getting fired up. “Goodbye, Gareth.” Eddie spoke calmly, much to your and everyone else’s surprise. Every movement he made was rigid, calculated, as if trying to contain the tempest of rage threatening to consume him.

Gareth turned to Eddie baffled, “What?” He scoffed, and Eddie gave a breathy chuckle before straightening up to collect himself. “Get out of my house.” Eddie spat with rage inside of him.

“You have a problem with, her, you leave.” You looked up at him softly as you gently squeezed his hand to let him know that it was okay, he didn’t need to make a scene, and he softened with your touch.

“Actually, if you have a problem with Y/N, you’re pretty much dead to me so just like…” He mocked a thinking face, “Evaporate or something, I don’t know.” A sarcastic smirk was plastered onto his lips now.

Everyone stood silent, causing Eddie to huff.

“That’s kind of a general invitation, if you don’t like my girlfriend then… just start heading toward the rectangle with the knob.” A wide smile spread across your face at him calling you 'his girlfriend', you leaned towards him almost, eager to soak in every word.

“Fuck you, Eddie,” Gareth spat out, Eddie rolled his tongue inside of his cheek at the comment, it looked like Gareth wasn't just going to go away silently, and Eddie wasn't sure if he could hold off the storm brewing inside of him if Gareth dared to talk about you again.

“Selling off your friends for a cheer slut—”

THUMP!

The sound that resonated in your ears before Gareth laid on the ground beneath you, it happened all so fast, Eddie's veins pulsating with the surging rage before his fists collided with Gareth's cheek.

Your mouth hung open, words trapped in your throat as your voice failed you in the face of disbelief.

Eddie cowered over him, the rest of the guys standing in shock as they tried to hold him back, they didn't need to, Eddie was done with Gareth.

“I told you to not fuckin' speak about her, was that not clear?” He spat out his words with seething anger. Gareth looked back at him with a groan.

“Then let this be a lesson for you.” He sneered.

It was all blurry, Gareth still groaning and mumbling under his breath as he left without a goodbye, the rest of the guys apologizing as they took care of Gareth, congratulating the two of you before he left to probably get that poor boy some ice.

“Well... I'd say that went pretty well?” A mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes, and you giggled at Eddie's inability to defuse the tension in the room.

“'M so sorry...” You straightened your posture, lifting your head to meet Eddie's soft gaze.

“Are you kidding?” He asked, eyes glinting with admiration.

“I don't care about him,” He scoffed.

“He doesn't fucking get to talk about you like that, and he doesn't deserve to be in my life,” His firm stance and unwavering eye contact were signaling you that he meant every word he was saying, he got sick of Gareth's shit, that's why this had happened, not because of you.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, honey,” He muttered, pressing soft kisses into your hair, he was trying to relieve you of your guilt, telling you that this was all on Gareth.

He leaned slightly forward, subtly closing the distance between you and him. “Now see,” He muttered, “Why can't it just be like this?” He couldn't help but reach out to gently brush a strand of hair away from your face, his touch tender as his fingers ached to touch you.

“Why do other people in the world have to exist, huh?” Every time he spoke to you, his voice took on a softer, almost more mellow tone, as if he was savoring the words to speak to you on his lips.

Your head tilted slightly with a giggle, eager to absorb every word he uttered. Each touch, each gaze you shared, sent an unwavering contentment through his entire being, more than you realized.

[tiredsurvivoronmain]

I've been thinking lately about Resident Evil 6 a lot, and the relationship between Chris and Jake throughout the game, and the parallels with Chris and Albert from their past, and this morning it suddenly hit me.

I may be fuzzy on the recall but I'm pretty sure it's during the scene where Jake and Sherry crash the motorcycle and get surrounded by J'avo and the helicopter attacking them. After Chris and Piers help back them up, and the enemies are taken care of, Chris is standing on the scaffolding looking down at Jake. Jake, who is currently surrounded by fire staring up at Chris with this intense look. Jake asks Sherry in that moment if Chris knows Wesker was his father.

Which feels like the perfect timing for a nod back, considering this scene mirrors the one from Code Veronica where Chris is flying away with Claire, and Albert is standing below, surrounded by fire, looking up at Chris as he takes off.

(again, I might be a little hazy on the recall cause I woke up with this in my head)

In RE6, by this point, Chris still doesn't have his memories back yet and so he doesn't make the connection but clearly the look of Jake down below means something cause he's caught staring and can't take his eyes away. It seems to really bother him, like he can't put his finger on it. If it is Chris' brain trying to drag him back to the memory of Wesker from before.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share the idea with you. I love all your posts about the parallels between characters across the different RE media, and this thought made me want to share it with you to get your take and perspective on it.

Sorry for the late reply I had to go and look at the cutscene again x-x YOU'RE TOTALLY RIGHT......GOD............THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS, THIS IS A TOTALLY NEW PARALLEL FOR THEM.....*IS SHOOK* The familiarity (in Chris' POV) would have been felt, like deja vu (added RE5 because Chris is looking down on Wesker in the volcano, which is the last time he sees him) What gets me most is that although Chris knew there was something about Jake, even if a 'bad vibe' or having a negative feeling looking at Jake's face (which resembles Wesker's), he never showed any aggression, distrust, nervousness or hostility to Jake, despite how Piers was reacting to him. He was uncertain as if trying to remember but how he reacted/behaved towards Jake wasn't a negative one. When he did find out the truth, he wasn't angry or afraid or betrayed. If anything he felt more responsible for Jake than before. His apparent guilt/remorse for killing Wesker became known after he learned the truth and met Jake again, saying (to Jake) he has every right to shoot him and was prepared to die. He didn't even try to justify his actions, saying Wesker was a monster/needed to be stopped. He confessed and told Jake to shoot him as if he deserved it.

There's also this parallel with them:

[catmomjudy]

I’ve often wondered if Buck is the actual introvert and Eddie is the extravert in their friendship.

I was trying to find something else over the weekend, and came across some articles on PTSD/trauma and damaged extraverts (who then appear to be introverts because they become afraid of trusting people). Eddie certainly presents as an extravert:

He seems to have a wide acquaintance/friends group (other firefighters, like Julie and now Tommy; the poker group; the basketball group; the dispatch ladies).

His first day at the 118 was classic extravert behavior—he fits in quickly and chats easily with everyone.

When Buck is standoffish on Day 1, Eddie pursues HIM. He wants to get along with everyone and wants to be friendly with all of his coworkers.

He chats easily with others about THEIR deep subjects (his conversation with May in season 5 comes to mind).

Extraverts tend to have a lot of people they know and are friendly with. They’ll still have deeper relationships, of course, but they’ll consider any number of people to be “friends,” and they are approachable and easy to talk to.

That doesn’t mean that they share their own inner thoughts, though—it’s often surface-level. It actually makes selecting and nurturing people/relationships where they can develop enough trust to share that innermost-feeling-stuff more difficult. And it’s that trust issue that made me wonder if Eddie was an extravert who had trouble diving past the surface relationships because of past trauma. He does trust people, but it’s a select few (Buck; Bobby). Otherwise, people only see the surface. An example would be his coworkers not knowing that he had a son and, later, a wife, until it became necessary (worried during the earthquake and asked a direct question) or beyond his control (Shannon showing up at the firehouse).

Buck appears to be an extravert, but I was actually thinking about Myers-Briggs types for the 118 at one point (while driving in my car, of course!!) and realized that Buck isn’t an extravert at all.

Think about HIS first day at the 118–he was shy and hesitant.

Buck being a “player” in season 1 was more about making connections—reveling in being Seen. Plus he’s incredibly awkward when HE tries to approach new people—I’ve always assumed that the women he slept with approached him because Buck-in-pursuit is just embarrassingly awkward. See his first conversation with Taylor for the cringe of it all.

The women he’s dated have, in most cases pursued him—or at least put the first step forward. Abby called him repeatedly. While he and Ali obviously exchanged numbers, she is the one who calls him and asks him out in 2x08. He met Taylor and Natalia on calls, and they were both inviting and forward. The one time HE tried to pursue dating, we got Veronica.

He doesn’t appear to have any close friends (or even people he hangs out with or activities he goes to) outside of the 118 circle.

Buck is outgoing within his friend/family group, but that’s common introverted behavior—they build that group and keep it close (they’ll fight for this—lawsuit, anyone?), and are comfortable being chatty to people in that select group. Outside of that group, and the awkward conversation and stuttering starts. They don’t necessarily have poor social awareness (particularly when observing OTHER people—I.e. people-watching), but they overthink and internalize it, making them self-conscious.

P.S. A true extravert would have gone to hang out at basketball with Eddie even if he sat and cheered (and razzed) on the sidelines and then got to go out for beers afterward with the group.

(My Myers-Briggs/Keirsey geekiness is showing again.)

(Expanded from comments on a reblog, so yes, you may have seen this before. Originally written after 7x04 and later updated, but nothing in his current relationship with Tommy refutes this.)

(Edited 8/10/24 to correct error.)

[chloe-skywalker]

Showing Off - Riverdale

Archie pinning x Fem!reader

Serpents x reader

Northside x reader

Warnings: none

Word count: 706

Summary: Archie always showing off for you his neighbor. Not knowing you're a Serpent, dating one, and basically like Fp’s little girl.

Authors Note: I put it as Riverdale because I didn’t feel it played with any character enough to put at the top.

Masterlist

Riverdale Masterlist

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“Does he always do that?” Betty asked as her and Veronica watched out y/n’s bedroom window. They were currently having a sleepover but Archie and some of the Bulldogs were playing football out in the street.

“Yup.” Y/n let out a frustrated sigh as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

“Wow, Archie Andrews being a show off.” Veronica said amused as she to watched the redheaded boy.

“He never stops.” Y/n stated shaking her head as she glanced out the window for a second.

“Do you know why?” Betty questioned moving to sit across from y/n on the bed.

“I think he likes me, but if he knew anything about me. He wouldn’t.” She told them shaking her head. It had been going on for months at this point.

“Why do you say that?” Veronica tilted her head at Y/n’s statement. Confused about what she meant by it.

“I’m a Serpent Veronica. Archie hates the Serpents. And besides, I’m dating Sweet Pea.” Y/n shrugged and gave them a tight lipped smile, but it became real at the mention of Sweet Pea.

“I will say I love Archie and he’s a good guy but, Sweet Pea treats you like a princess.” Betty smiled at Y/n. Betty had known Archie forever but she had firsthand witnessed how Sweet Pea treats her friend in their relationship. And even Betty didn’t think Archie could treat her that good.

“Correction. He treats you like a Queen.” Veronica smiled coming around to sit on the bed with the both of them.

Y/n smiled widely at their comments. “Plus with all the beef going on between the bulldogs and the Serpents. It’d be worse once he knew FP treats me like a daughter.”

“FP treats you better than my father treats me.” Veronica admitted letting out a sigh that had frustration and sadness in it.

“Sorry V.” Betty rubbed her friend's upper arm.

“No worries. Hey, do you think FP could honorarly adopt me too?” Veronica asked y/n jokingly.

“I mean if you ask.” Y/n shrugged her shoulders but they all started laughing, not being able to hold it anymore.

It was only a week later at a game for the school that the girls along with y/n and Toni noticed Archie doing it again. Watching.

“He’s doing it again.” Veronica noted nudging the y/h/c-ed girl scooted next to her on the bleachers.

“This is just sad to watch.” Betty said watching the boy she grew up with, with squinted eyes. 

“Sweet Pea’s going to be here soon. And for the record this is fun to watch.” Toni interjected as she sat down next to them. She found Archies actions to be quite entertaining much like Veronica but for different reasons.

“Once he sees the back of my jacket he’ll stop.” Y/n nodded, taking a hand full of popcorn from Toni. Y/n made sure to wear her Serpents jacket tonight. This needed to stop.

“Hey, babe.” Sweet Pea greeted kissing her on the cheek. Toni scooted over fromY/n so Sweet Pea could sit down next to her.

“Hey.” Y/n greeted Sweet Pea before he could sit down she stood to hug him, making sure her jacket faced the field as she did so.

“And he noticed.” Betty pointed out as the couple sat down.

“Wow.” Veronica shook her head with wide eyes. “Men.” she scoffed, as they all watched the attraction Archie had to Y/n leave him as he saw her jacket.

“What are they talking about?” Sweet Pea asked leaning in to whisper in Y/n’s ear.

“Nothing.” Y/n answered but she could tell he didn’t believe it. So Y/n turned a tiny bit to face him with her body, grabbing his hand bringing it to her lips. “Trust me Pea. If it was something worth telling, I’d tell you.”

“She would.” Betty stated in agreement.

Toni knew problems would only get worse if Sweet Pea knew exactly what they were talking about. “You or FP would be the first to know.”

And it was true but let's just hope Archie had the sense to not ever bring it up.

~

Tag List:

@gruffle1 @padawancat97

[everydayyoulovemeless]

I just saw the arcade post and pleaaasee can we get more? Something like arcade reacting to couriers that can speak Latin/or all of the companions reacting to someone that can speak Latin. Ty!

FNV Companions Reacting to a Courier That Speaks Latin

➼ Word Count » 0.7k ➼ Warnings » None ➼ Genre » Platonic/Romantic

Boone will actually pull a gun on you when you say something within his earshot. Even if it was some off-comment thing that some scholar said years ago. He associates the language with the Legion, so you'll have to very quickly explain yourself before he pulls the trigger on you. He'll hesitantly put the gun back down when you do, muttering an apology as he does so. He does feel bad about jumping the gun on you so fast, but you have to understand that it's a knee-jerk reaction from all his years working with the NCR and fighting Legionaries. He doesn't think he'll ever see the language the same way again. It only brings back bad memories, and he'll probably ask if you didn't speak it as much around him. If nothing else, then for his own sanity.

Arcade is... caught off guard? You're either from some sort of Legion territory or, you're a Follower he's never heard about, and he's terrified of it being the latter. He'll be very interested in talking to you further despite his lingering concerns. If you've learned Latin, you probably know many other things, and he'd love to find out how far your knowledge truly goes. He wants to pick your brain apart and see what's hiding underneath and would be glad, ecstatic even, to follow along with you, just to see where it'd take him. It's not every day he meets someone else who has similar interests to his own.

Raul doesn't really care, he just thinks it's neat. Not many wastelanders he meets are educated enough to be able to speak another language, and he's impressed that you managed to accomplish such a feat. Although, he does wish it could've been Spanish instead of a dead language only the slavers speak. He'll give you shit for it, but he's impressed nonetheless.

Lily doesn't understand a word you're saying and just assumes her schizophrenia is acting up again. That being said, she mostly just shrugs her shoulders and nods. She might not know what's happening, but she's sure that she'd probably agree with whatever you're saying.

Cass just rolls her eyes when she first hears you talking. Of course, she's traveling with a nerd. Don't take it the wrong way, she's not trying to be mean, but what is knowing Latin going to do you in the Mojave? Anyone who still speaks it also speaks English, so it's pretty much useless. All that time you spent studying the language could've been spent doing... well, anything else, and she thinks you're a little stupid for not considering that beforehand. It's not a deal breaker for her, she'll still travel with you, but she's definitely not as impressed as some of the others would be.

Veronica's more confused than anything. They don't speak that back at Hidden Valley, and she hasn't exactly heard the best things about the people familiar with the language. That's not to say she isn't interested in learning more about you or where you even learned to speak it. She's out here specifically to learn more about others, and you seem to be a good start. She'd even be willing to learn a few phrases from you. She's caught off guard but not entirely turned off by the idea.

ED-E will just beep back. You can't fully understand him, and he can't fully understand you. He sees this as a perfectly balanced relationship. Although a few others in the Divide also speak that language, and lucky for you, he remembers where they are. So, he has no issues guiding you straight toward them. Maybe you could be friends!

Rex is more attentive to your orders. His memories from before being The King's dog are a bit foggy but, when he hears you speak Latin, there's a part of him that remembers those words. Or, at least, the tone. Ceasar spoke a lot of Latin to him when he was under his care, and he may inadvertently associate you with the image he formerly had of him: powerful and demanding. He'll be sure to follow your orders thoroughly.

[verysmolnerd]

Fuck it. Yandere Maxim

When he permanently lost Veronica to Balthazar, something inside him just snapped. A thousand years worth of magical battles and losing to the same person can make you lose it.

It’s not like Balthazar attempted to fix his broken relationship with any of the ancient apprentices. It’s almost like rubbing in a victory, expect multiply it by every single year Maxim lost. Long story short, he’s in a permanently foul mood.

He’s heavily affected by his past failures and refuses to grow from it, as mentioned before. So when someone catches his eye, they’re better off either dropping off the face of the earth or..there’s no alternative, whoever is the sudden target of his infatuation, they’re fucked.

So, if you are the target of his sudden descent into true madness, you’ll notice eyes on you. Like normal, you’ll be unable to see the source. Maybe if you’re perceptive, you can see the faintest baby blue glow from across the street. It’s always some form of jewelry, but you could never figure why it glows so much; noticeably bright for that matter.

If you work at some sort of food service job or coffee shop, you’ll notice that one of your regulars lack their personality that you’ve known for a long time. Then they leave, and re-enter with their normal personality, and different clothes for that matter.

I would say this could go on for a week at least, a month at most. Maxim’s patience has long since run very thin. He’s already played the waiting game with Veronica and lost, he’s not about to do that again.

However, he is dramatic. So, he’s going to come after you in the cliche New York evenings when you’re walking home by yourself. The only indication that he’s nearing was the strength of the wind increasing.

Then it suddenly stops, and you feel cool metal tap again the back of your head.. and then you fall forward, losing consciousness.

As for being in his captivity, scream, beg, cry; nothing works for home. He’s been in the magical side of every single war that took place within the past thousand years. Screaming bloody murder won’t do anything. It’ll just piss him off and then you find that you’re unable to open your mouth.

The location he brings you can only be accessed with magic. It’s a nice abode, but you’ll never see the light of day. That meaning, you also lose track of time very easily. Each room you enter is always lit the same, by some electric chandelier. The dim lighting starts to get to you after a while.

Behaving and playing the part that he wanted Veronica to play can surely help you out. Granted, he’ll never be as doting as he would in the past, but the shadows of his selfless kindness start to show.

If you happened to know another sorcerer, then that would really piss him off. The only sorcerers that are able to stop him are the people who beat him in the first place. So any sorcerer that isn’t them will meet a brutal fate. He’ll have some part of them on display as if it’s some sort of art piece.

If you are friends with the stronger sorcerers, then you better stay with them as long as you live (or unless his interest for you fades) because he will be biding his time to capture you.

If you yourself know magic, he’ll be some sort of strict master to you. You don’t know what his intentions are for you, but it certainly helps pass the time.

You never really deal with his mood changing that much, he’s still the closed off sorcerer who’s lost so many times that he’s bitter for eternity.

When worse comes to worse, he will use you without consent, but I think he’s too upset with his past to be sexually interested or frustrated for that matter.

If his infatuation gets the best of him, he will be affectionate. I imagine this will be a lot later down the line should you choose to submit to him. He’ll gradually become more comfortable with showing such affections. He doesn’t want another Veronica case, so for a long ass time you’re just kidnapped with an emotionally distant man who just admires you like a work of art.

If you somehow escape (his magical house doesn’t have any exists and is far bigger than a labyrinth) he’ll be at wits end to find you. No matter how many people stand in front of you, their bodies will soon lay lidless on the floor.

He does love you to some extent, it’s just scary. He’s almost like a cursed porcelain pot. Pretty and nice to look at until broken, then the shard will cut you.

First yandere headcannon, shit got wild.

[bigbrotherlouis]

top books of 2024!

i’ve been doing a lot more reading and i love talking about it so here are my faves. i tried to narrow it down to 5 and then went “well, i can’t leave THAT one off the list!” so ten fiction and five nonfiction recs for you:

fiction:

1. nettle and bone by t. kingfisher - i’m a sucker for a fairytale and this was a good one. felt very familiar and still very new all at the same time. t. kingfisher was a new to me author this year and her horror didn’t hit but all her fairytales did. this one was very good, and a princess nun on a witchy endeavor was a fun time.

2. burial rites by hannah kent - i read this in one sitting because i couldn’t put it down, and i’m still thinking about it almost a year later. the way kent changes your opinion on the characters is so skillfully done and i liked it a lot.

3. the library at mount char by scott hawkins - this is not a book for everyone but i do love a plot that makes me go “HOW did you even THINK of that?!” what WOULD you do if god went missing?? massive trigger warnings but oh so good.

4. the alice network by kate quinn - kate is my holiday read author of choice and i read this in poland in the summer and it was perfect. the rose code is still my favourite book of hers but this one ranked up there. love a good spy network.

5. beartown by fredrick backman - i loved this one but i think i would’ve loved it more if i had not read the other two. good, but after three books of that length it does drag. masterful control of perspective and of plot weaving, plus some great ruminations on hockey.

6. the six deaths of the saint by alix e. harrow - i am overjoyed that harrow is (allegedly) making this into a longer novel because i LOVED IT. the visceralness of it. the cyclical nature. the horror when you realise what’s happening. perfect.

7. when among crows by veronica roth - i’m a slut for slavic folklore and this has such a sense of both history and place that really draws you in. i cannot stop thinking about the spine sword. i wish it had been longer just to stay in the world more.

8. the english understand wool by helen dewitt- i know it’s three novellas in a row but they were GOOD!! this one was an amazing length and just a fascinating almost oceans eleven-esque unraveling of a story. i gasped.

9. normal people by sally rooney - i know I KNOW. but i went to school on the emerald isle and it just resonated in lots of ways. i fell in love with the characters and honestly? might reread this winter bc i loved the atmosphere.

10. penance by eliza clark - god. this book. brutal in the worst ways and such an insightful commentary on, well, a lot of things. true crime culture, online communities, parasocial relationships, the weirdness of girl friendships as teens. also a potential reread!

nonfiction:

1. red valkyries by kristen ghodsee - probably my favourite book i’ve read this year, just because i learned SO much!! i read it in one sitting because i was just so fascinated by these amazing women, and i walked away with a more nuanced, more positive view of lenin than before.

2. the quiet damage by jesselyn cook - possibly the best nonfiction book i have ever read? i couldn’t put it down. heartbreaking and tough to read but i think very necessary in these days.

3. war is a force that gives us meaning by chris hedges - this is very good with a disclaimer. i agreed with a lot of his overarching philosophies but i didn’t agree with his examples. it has some pitfalls, but! parts of it are essential reading for peacebuilders. if anyone wants to chat abt this one please text

4. in the dream house by carmen maria machado - this was a very good memoir and very innovative in form. i liked that part a lot but i couldn’t quite shake the feeling that this was not written for me. that’s okay! i could still see how it might be impactful and, again, i liked the playing with tropes, but didn’t hit me the way i expected after seeing other people’s reactions.

5. the sunflower by simon wiesenthal - i tell everyone to read this book if they are interested in peacebuilding at all. it’s a good commentary on forgiveness. not much else to say except it’s fascinating.

and that’s all for now! i read 62 books and am trying to read 100 in the upcoming year (about 8 a month). my personal goal is at least one nonfiction a month, but my secret goal is two with one being more memoir and one being more informative. it was fun rediscovering how to read again and i’m hoping to continue that in 2025 :)

also for the record the worst book i read this year is the idea of you which is the one that anne hathaway starred in an adaptation of. absolutely terrible.

[lakesparkles]

Omg I almost forgot to post this here! (description from Instagram):

Finally, finally, part one of autumn/Halloween related requests!! :D I mean, not every single one of them was suggested, half was only stuff I wanted to do. This is the time of the year I look foward the most because drawing this type of art comforts me. Also, sorry for making some about my silly bjhm ships when they shouldn't be, I couldn't resist.

A quick explanation (and headcanons) about these:

I love Marshall and Gary! I like to think they usually watch horror movies together and Gary will start to really like it.

Diane will end up agreeing with the costume and she will hate it. Every year she stress a lot about her costume being perfect and smart to the point PB wonders if she's even having fun.

A reference to my own fanfiction, sorry, PB and Guy started getting along bc of horror movies.

My OCs, Veronica and Patrick, being silly. This was the moment Patrick realized he would love being a werewolf (it became his costume every year).

More OCs. The first year Taylor spends the fall with his dads!

Tumblr request of Bojack eating an apple pie. Hollyhock is proud of it!!

Last slide are my OCs again (I love them)…. Hm, this was the first thing I drew after finishing watching Fionna and Cake. Betty and Simon's relationship reminds me of Taylor and Daisy's - it's the co-dependence!

Harry and Patrick love Halloween and are very shocked learning that fact about their wife. Now they'll have to make this the best Halloween she'll ever had! Alright, that was it! Can you tell I had fun coming up with this ideas? I can't wait to do more!!

[thatgordongirl]

BBC Ghosts Season 2 : Life references

After months of putting it off, Season 2 is finally finished!

Episode 1 - The Grey Lady

Captain’s “For King and Country” is in reference to George VI

Thomas references Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare 

Julian plays ping pong and says it takes him back to the David Lloyd in Chelsea 

Julian spoils the World Cup quarterfinals for Pat, implying he watched it when alive 

Mary was mostly illiterate

A 14th century grindstone is found in the cellar 

Captain unsurprisingly mentions the war again

Julian thinks he can do an impression of Nelson Mandela 

Thomas does an impression of an earl, but I couldn’t find anything on them so please excuse my lack of British know how 

Fanny appears in photos 

Julian didn’t believe in ghosts when he was alive 

Pat lists his skills in life: knot-tying, tent-pitching, archery 

Julian references Newsnight 

Fanny has been to a sideshow 

I’m assuming Pat and Julian are referencing Bruce Forsyth, which Julian has before 

Not a life thing, but I find it interesting that both Robin and Captain have said ghosts can’t feel the cold, only for Captain to question it 

Side note: Thomas’ cheese commercial made me hungry

Fanny’s dress is made of silk 

I like to think Captain talking to Dante’s taxidermy means he likes dogs

Pat likes pop quizzes

Captain likes running, a no brainer 

Captain remarks that he’s in his prime and that’s he’s still got it, implying that he at least believed he was in good health when alive 

Episode 2 - About Last Night 

Mick the plague ghost comes back the village they’ll eventually die in

Mick claims to have had an orange, have seen a bear kill a man, and met the king and went fishing 

He brought salt and clothes for the other plague ghosts, which led to their deaths 

Side note: Mick coughing up the blood was so scary to me, dying from a sickness 

Thomas may be able to cook, since he says he wished he could make Alison breakfast - lamb’s kidney and onion- before being cut off. I wonder if Thomas learned or liked to cook 

Thomas acknowledges he wasn’t formally invited to the party, a custom he’s used to

None of the surrounding villages were struck with plague 

Captain asks to watch a war documentary while Pat wants to watch football 

Julian believed that you should drink more alcohol when hung over

Mary offers a remedy: mushrooms soaked in goats milk and vinegar till it’s warm 

Pat says that cola is good for a hang over 

Side note again: Thomas is really sweet when he informs Alison of Dante’s disappearance, or the multiple times he’s wished to help her with things like cooking and cleaning. We love a helpful king 

Fanny loved Dante like her own child according to Thomas, and she once told Julian she loved Dante more anything else in the world. If she did have kids, I wonder if the relationship was strained. Also, it’s such a notable fact that everyone knows it, including ghosts that weren’t around for Fanny’s life

I know he’s easily coerced into not doing it, but the fact that Captain wanted to tell Fanny immediately that Dante was missing is very sweet 

Julian has extensive experience in public inquiries, specifically being the one getting asked the questions

Julian describes how it make an alcoholic drink to Alison 

Kitty’s heard white wine helps with stains

Fanny is not fond of mice

Mary thinks Veronica, Clive and Annie are nice names. I won’t include Daniel because it was her having a close call with Daniel 

Dante used to like sitting by the fire 

Episode 3 - Redding Weddy

Captain’s soldiers at Button House were apparently prone to giggling and horseplay 

Introduction of Captain’s Lieutenant, Havers 

We see Captain being informed that France has surrendered, which occurred in June 1940 

Captain requested a service revolver

Lieutenant Havers had an emergency lockdown initiated shortly after 

Havers informs Captain he wants to be involved in fighting, and has put in a transfer for the North Africa front 

Pat is, unsurprisingly, well versed in activity badges, and everyone else can recite them 

Robin knows how to skin a mammoth 

Julian, my dear, you are way off. It took Mary more than 300 years to talk about the witch trial if she did indeed die in the 1610s 

Pat likes Top Gun 

Julian references Chariots of Fire from 1981, Mississippi Burning from 1988 and The Towering Inferno from 1974

Little reference to the next episode when Thomas says he would show Julian his glove if he had one. Also, the wedding guy says the backyard looks like a bomb site, when it literally is one. Stuff like that make the show so much cooler

Julian used to do boxing for Cambridge 

Pat says s'il vous plaît

Fanny and Kitty read Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence 

Julian references the Suez crisis

Thomas references Jack and the Beanstalk

Pat calls the laptop the computer that folds

Pat was with Carol at her parents’ house when the moon landing happened, eating fish and chips and trying a jumbo battered sausage for the first time

Julian was a student at Cambridge when the moon landing happened and having his first threesome 

Captain claims that his dog Barry is buried where the bomb is, which is obviously untrue, but he also says that where they buried their pets, plural. I like to think Cap’s soldiers had a few dogs about

Captain has a letter with William written on it, which he tucks into his clothes. Captain says he was just thinking about Havers, which would later link to how they both knew about operation William 

Havers gets a new service revolver 

Captain has poster in his office about men wanted in the army, and also a wall full of books

Captain and his soldiers played cricket 

Julian references 9 1/2 weeks, a 1986 erotic movie 

Thomas always chooses pistol

Julian sold 50 crates of AK-47 assault rifles to the Libyans in 1983 to pay for his orangery 

Julian uses a grenade and a flamethrower on Thomas, I don’t know if his “I’m melting” line is meant to reference the Wizard of Oz or not

The statue outside, Florence, was one of Kitty’s best friends 

Kitty’s sister would pretend to not be able to find her when playing hide and seek

Kitty once hid for a whole day and night, and got so hungry she had to eat a bit of her purse 

I mean it’s just meant to look funny and be a reference but Julian can canonically spin a ball on one finger 

Nobody has ever found Kitty during hide and seek 

Nice canon Cap in a coat, love a bit of that

He also smokes, or at least fiddles the occasional pipe

Oh and he threw that envelope into the hole with the bomb

Captain buried a prototype limpet mine, which was so secret only he and Havers knew about it, along with the blueprints 

Captain talks bomb mechanics with Robin, the cutest thing I’ve ever seen

Pat knows about 2001: A Space Odyssey 

Robin thinks the earth is flat 

There’s a bit of speculation here: I can’t actually say with absolute certainty that Captain really saw Havers go. Maybe it’s wishful thinking that Havers would turn back and salute one last time, maybe it did happen, maybe it didn’t 

Episode 4 - The Thomas Thorne Affair

Robin would wear a space suit, Mary a seashell dress, Tom double denim with aviators, Julian misses pants, Pat’s wearing his lovely gist, Kitty wears the same as Alison, and Captain would wear his uniform 

Julian is unsurprisingly well versed in political tactics like the spin 

Captain identifies a musket ball

It’s the one that made Thomas very dead

This is another thing I’m uncertain about: whether Thomas feels pain or just does it for dramatic affect 

Quick side note before sad Thomas lore, I think I forgot to mention last time that Julian mentioned Great Expectations 

Thomas died October 10th, 1824

Thomas came to Button House when it was owned by the Highams’, Thomas and Francis were invited

They can both ride horses

Thomas had stated the house was pleasant to look at, but he wouldn’t want to live there (rippppp)

Thomas was in love with Isabelle Higham 

Thomas wrote a poem called Hermione and Roger and recited in front of everyone ( turns out he always sucked, but his poetry didn’t really sound that bad to me in this episode ) 

Isabelle played the harpsichord 

I always wonder during this episode how Thomas remembers his death so wrongly, whether he’s lying about it or simply so horrified he forgot I don’t know 

Even so, I think Thomas genuinely was in love and didn’t misinterpret as much before Isabelle

Thomas challenged some guy to a duel, we love a gun brandishing king 

Francis is a bitch- anyway back to Thomas

Thomas went twenty paces instead of ten, should’ve listened to ten duel commandments Thomas

The first animation with the spinning paper thing was shown

Monster munch, no words

Julian with his bloody playboy magazine, I’m not surprised 

First mention of Annie, Mary’s bestie

Humphrey is such a lovely soul, learning to admire the little things like shoes 

Okay wait, Alison says “you’ve literally got forever” which parallels Captain’s “we’ve got forever” 

HOLD UP THAT DUEL GUY WAS INSULTING MARY SHELLEY 

HOW DARE HE 

Thomas shot a bird and apologised before he died 

Isabelle never came to see Thomas before he passed, he was left alone to die

Julian cried at Thomas’ death 

Francis rigged the whole thing to trick Thomas and Isabelle in order to get Higham House

Francis and Isabelle’s son was George’s grandfather 

Everyone is related through Robin and his sister 

Poor Tom, you stay how you die and that letter isn’t going anywhere 

Episode 5 - Bump in the Night 

Cap likes to count with Humphrey’s hands 

Captain tells Alison of life from the knees “Trust me, you don’t want a hernia” either he had one or knew someone who did

Humphrey knows that hedgehogs will leave flees in the rug 

Also Captain and Humphrey’s exchange “Pick me up at six. Literally” “Very good” is so cute 

Fanny references oyster forks

She assumes they’re eating oysters at the wedding 

Julian sings “I’ll make love to you” by Boyz II Men

Humphrey on guard is cute 

Captain does his own little vocalisation of what I’m assuming is a long way to Tipperary 

Kitty assumes the intruders are there for a masked ball 

Julian references the Bramptons and assumes it’s insurance fraud 

Captain knows it’s a burglary 

Pat tries to put them under a citizens arrest, so cute 

Pat references Borstal 

Alison taught Kitty acronyms - Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain 

Captain calls the police the constabulary 

“Burglary in process”

Captain - “why is no one ever alive when you need them?” Very telling, Cap

Julian gets worried Margaret Thatcher is dead. Too late Julian 

Fanny admires the brushwork of her portrait

Cap and Pat watched Star Wars 

Julian worries about getting RSI 

Pat, Cap and Julian know Morse code 

Julian lobbied against an animal welfare bill 

Robin always gets excited by fire 

Captain says he could have Robin shot off desertion, scaring Thomas 

Alison meets a ghost who died hitchhiking. I find that to be an interesting concept, as the ghost is more based on the archetype. Makes me think about if Robin’s ability or character was created first

Robin howls for the dogs

Uh, Pat talks about drugs going in unsavoury places 

Fanny would make a good criminal 

Captain says he fought in an actual battle, it’s difficult to hear but it’s there

Julian loves a good sauna 

Episode 6 - Perfect Day

Mary believes that bad weather means bad tidings for the wedding

Fanny believes marriages should be at churches 

Pat’s wedding day was the best day of his life, Carol wore velvet and he wore a brown three piece 

Julian was drunk on his wedding day 

Fanny’s wedding day was at Winchester Cathedral and she was given away by the Marquis of Granby 

Robin had at least thirty children

Kitty can throw up, and had food in her stomach when she died

Robin says that’s never happened before

Captain is very good at decorating, no surprise

Pat recognises the kid who killed him 

Mary and her wedding superstitious 

Both Pat and Julian talk about Dennis Waterman

Robin and Julian talk about Mick Hucknall

Kitty’s dress is burgundy 

Captain has great fashion sense

Thomas references Whitechapel 

You know, Thomas’ explanation of how Clare looked was pretty accurate, he’s quite aware of emotions

Fanny stops in front of George’s portrait, just an interesting detail 

Fanny had high expectations placed on her since she was a child 

Alison and Mike got married young 

Alison had second thoughts on their wedding day

Mary had a husband, who was crushed underneath a plough three years after their marriage 

The man Pat recognises is Keith Darren Dean 

First time hearing about Humphrey’s marriage: it was arranged, they were both from noble families, he was fourteen she was twelve 

They didn’t love each other, and Humphrey believed she didn’t like him, they couldn’t understand each other because she was French 

Course later we find out she thought highly of him

Keith has guilt that has lasted decades, that sounds so painful 

Fanny and Thomas exchange a look when she finally comes around to the wedding, it’s just so sweet I had to mention it

Keith remembers the knot tying Pat taught him

Episode 7 - The Ghost of Christmas

Julian is giving a speech for a bill at the start of the episode, referencing saying goodbye to Margot the day before 

He refers to her as ‘this woman from my wedding’ and implies he’s about to sleep with another woman by the end of the scene

Nickname count: Dearest, darling and dear

The baby, Rachel, is heard crying on the phone

Margot asks when Julian is coming home, so he lies to her and says he won’t be back for days

Pat loves Christmas cooking, such a dear

Captain wishes he had a whiteboard

Julian points out the humbugs, and says he hates Christmas 

Captain misses hearing the King’s speech on Christmas

Pat liked playing games with his nephew and his son, Daley

Games like Buckaroo, Boggle, Yahtzee and KerPlunk 

Thomas misses the mistletoe, implying he’s been kissed before

Kitty used to open presents in the morning and then after lunch Eleanor would pick the ones she wanted

Mary says that some babies can see ghosts until they start walking 

Julian is in the warmest room in the house due to his legs

Julian was in Brussels once at a strip club,  but he tells Margot he’s at a restaurant eating moules-frites and drinking a Sancerre 

Margot seems at least skeptical of him

This is one of the Christmases he misses, the last four of his life that involve Rachel 

Julian references the European Union

Fanny convinced Alison to follow the tradition of chopping a tree down and bringing it on for Christmas

Fanny planted at least fifty saplings in her time

It’s kind of funny that Julian is horrified by Mary getting naked

Thomas’ Christmas recital thing wasn’t that bad 

From inference, it’s implied that Julian believes Margot wanted the baby, and that he had it thrust upon him

And if “I know, darling, I know” represents Margot, and Julian thinks that’s a reaction she would have, damn is that sad

She’s practically taking the blame for his misery

Julian would go for a drive if the baby got too irritating to him 

It appears that out of the four Christmases away from Rachel,  one was to do oil deals, one was to be in Brussels, one at Colonel Gaddafi’s palace, and possibly another in Brussels 

Pat loves Twister

Thomas and Cap have physical discipline 

Pat would go to the shed to drink a Watney’s 

Julian being considerate of Angela sleeping is either a new development, or something he was never pushed to do in life

The PC brigade may have interrogated Julian

Fanny seems to hold her Christmases in a high regard, despite George. Maybe it wasn’t always bad

Julian has kissed the wrong people under the mistletoe 

Alison plays In the Bleak Midwinter on the piano 

Rachel Fawcett is an MP for the Green Party, she’s a Major Leader of it 

[saturnaftertaste]

what if hiram and archie but they're both girls

what if we were hiram and archie . and we were both girls

interesting premise, anon! it could go lots of different ways imo. really depends on the configuration. see one of the things that really creates the unique dynamic of hiram/archie is the fact that it’s built on the very patriarchal patterns of father-son relationships and ALSO the mafia/mob/cartel whatever (crime rings, essentially, are a male business.)

(there is also the question of race, but.)

hiram is brought into the mob the same way that archie is turned into a capo in season 2. i think before anything else, that is what shapes their dynamic that hiram does Wrong and archie Tries to Do Right. that’s the thing that shapes the entirety of season 2, right? archie wants to Do Right (protect fred) -> hiram offers him a way to do that by Doing Wrong (suggesting he start a vigilante group). archie then gets sucked into hiram’s world, with the lure of what i would call very male narrative motivations (this doesn’t mean these apply to men alone, but in fiction, are often seen as inherent traits for a male character to have) such protectiveness - over fred and veronica, power - over those who would seek to hurt fred and veronica. there was a point somewhere in the thousands of meta posts i’ve devoured in the last two days that fred getting shot makes him weak in archie’s eyes, and that hiram’s traditionally “powerful” persona becomes very attractive to him in the time following the fred incident.

have you ever heard of the theory of homosociality, anon?

the thing about the mafia, like i said before, is that it is a predominantly male business. the women, like hermione often cites in s2 to veronica, are supposed to stand behind their man as he makes his moves. the issue with hiram is the same issue that logan roy had in succession, which is that he had no acceptable male heir, so he does, again, what logan roy did: used his idiot son-in-law as a conduit for power. (idiot here used affectionately for archie, derogatory for tom wambsgans) what’s interesting to me is that hiram obviously prides himself on veronica having turned out to be such a cunning, self-sufficient young woman - and while this frustrates him as well, i have to believe that as some point he must’ve considered handing his empire over to her. but the fact remains that ultimately the mafia is a male business, and archie-and-veronica would’ve been a really odd, controlling couple because veronica would be running everything from behind archie’s stature. she does so, even, with nick st. clair and the speakeasy/casino side hustle in s2. she still has to rely on a man to pull the strings.

you know the riverdale genre theory? because of the way that hiram’s entire character is constructed around the mafia, and by extension, so is veronica’s relationship with archie, i think a lot of archie and hiram’s relationship has to specifically with their gender. think about it - none of the women on riverdale have such an intense relationship with the girls on the show who aren’t their daughters. even though alice HATES hermione and veronica, she doesn’t do anything more than forbid betty from being friends with veronica. mary doesn’t really interact with veronica the same way that hiram does with archie. gladys never even comes into meaningful contact with betty - for that matter, neither does hermione. all the girls have very complex minefield-esque relationships with their mothers, but none of the rivermoms ever reach out to the other daughters.

i would say on some level archie and hiram’s relationship cannot be replicated if they were female; say, for example, that hiram were to be woman, and still married to hermione; a lesbian mob boss would always be fighting her way into again, what is predominantly a male space. i don’t think she would’ve had the time to groom female!archie the same way into becoming her capo, because it wouldn’t supplement her position in the mafia to have more female capos. i believe if hiram were female, also, and veronica was still her daughter, there would be no focus on female archie (veronica’s gf in this scenario) and instead, veronica would have a very fraught, tense relationship with hiram instead, because hiram would be actively trying to groom her to take over the empire (?) instead of spoiling her and treating her as someone who would eventually marry into a different position of power. veronica would then fight hiram on all these things, because her girlfriend archie would be protesting against all the evil things that fem!hiram is doing, because fem!archie would be able to see it from the outside of the relationship. riverdale loves a mother-daughter struggle.

if, say, instead, this was a genderswap situation, where hermione is male and hiram is female, and veronica is male and archie is female, i believe nothing would really come of it either. again, fem!archie would be trying to convince veronica that male!hermione is evil, but male veronica would’ve been indoctrinated a long time ago. hiram being female and archie being female completely sap all the tension from their relationship, because all of a sudden fem!hiram would be using her cunning to ensure male!hermione stayed on top of everything, and fem!archie would be busy trying to ensure male!veronica wouldn’t succumb to the dark side. they would simply never interact! riverdale wouldn’t put them in the same room, even. it is possible i just lack imagination; but i just think the layers of repression and violence that form archie and hiram just don’t click in the same way if they were women. i don’t know.

(i do think, though, that fem!hiram would be a very possessive boymom over male!veronica. perhaps there’s something there? fem!hiram beefing with fem!archie over male!veronica’s attention? even so, riverdale, for all its female characters, doesn’t really do non-familial intergenerational interactions all that much. i have a jughead-meta reason for why this is, but that’s a story for a different time.)

[guiltypleasurefandomface]

Silly idea that I won't actually have time to turn itno a full story but imagine they have a ghost in the band house who tries to make them leave. Hes done the usual haunting but these are starving student artists. Yeah they wish they didn't have to replace crockery so often but cold water in the shower? No different to when they run out of money in the metre, same with the electriity and phone line. Cold room? Blankets. Hot room? Windows. The ghost can't keep the door stuck for so long so they wait him out for that too.

So the ghost gets devious. Absolutely abohrrant. This is his house and he won't give it up easily. He has a terrible trick he only uses as a last resort because it's so unpleasant for him. He passes through them to learn their secrets.

And then with all his power he writes a set of notes saying "I know one of you is homosexual" and leaves it in each of their rooms.

And he imagines all chaos will break loose. When he was a boy that was automatic alienation from all of society. Nobody had friends if they were interested in other boys. So he sits. And he waits.

And instead of watching these four young men all turn on each other* and accuse each other of heinous acts and break up the friendship and they all leave so he has his house to himself again, he watches Brian, Roger and John boost up their friendship with each of the other 3, even if Freddie's a bit of a nervous wreck over being outed. Freddie obviously knows he's the gay one and he isn't twigging how more open and gender neutral the other's conversation are going.

The Ghost even has to watch Brian give the "it's okay if you need to share anyhing with us Rog, we've been friends for years" talk with Roger.

Roger isn't so subtle. "Deacy, when you talk about Ronnie..."

John: 🤔Yeah?

Roger: ... I'm just saying, no matter what, you can bring Ronnie round. You know that, don't you?

John: ... When you stop leaving your underpants to dry on the radiator, Rog, i'll bring her around.

Roger: ... okay. They're not dirty, you know. That's why they're drying.

John: Veronica is a lovely girl and doesn't need to see your underpants even if they're clean.

Roger: Oh. Veronica.

John: What?

Roger: Hm? No nothing.

-

Roger: Listen, you know the note?

Freddie, instantly on edge: Yes?

Roger: I think I know who it is

Freddie, resigned: You do, do you?

Roger: Yeah... so when we see Brian later, I was thinking, what if- you have all those gay art student friends, don't you?

Freddie: .... yes, darling, I do, but why-?

Roger: I think we should introduce Brian to them. So he knows more gay people. When we see him later, I could say I fancy a party, what do you think and you could say oh i just have some friends I want to introduce you to and then Brian will-

Freddie: .... why on earth- You think it's Brian!?

Roger: Well yeah, obviously.

Freddie: Why the fuck obviously?

Roger: Well it's not me, and it's not Deacy, and it's obviously not you, so it has to be Brian and really i've known him for 5 years now and the closest relationship i've seen him have is with his guitar so-

Freddie: -What... what... Roger, dear, what do you mean it's obviously not me? You haven't asked me. Why couldn't it be me?

Roger: Well look at you. You're gruff and manly and don't show an ounce of interest in other men.

Freddie, internally breaking: is that so....

Roger: And of course, there's Mary

Freddie, as if he's just remembered her: MARY. Yes. Yes. Of course. We musn't forget about Mary, darling, she's the love of my life... of a sort...

Roger: Exactly. So

Freddie: Listen as fun as it sounds to have a massive party with all of my gorgeous elligible gay friends, I don't think Brian would appreciate it.

Roger: Hmmm.... he is a bit of a wallflower, isn't he?

Freddie: Terribly. Like myself, sometimes, dear. Erm. I mean.

Roger: Low key.

Freddie: Er

Roger: Alright. I'll keep thinking

Freddie: You do that Rog.

Roger: hmmm

-

Freddie, to the ceiling: Listen here you transluscent old Bastard, you have done something terrible to me just because you want your house back, but guess what, fucker, it didn't work. Those boys are tying themsleves in knots over coaxing the gay one out like a scared cat and all it's shown me is if i said something, it would be okay. You hear that? It's okay. I'm going to be okay. *calms down* Listen, darling, i'm so very sorry you're dead. I'm so sorry you're so unhappy in afterlife as you must have been whilst living but your time came and went and this isn't your house anymore. You don't live in it because you are not living. We are. The landlady is at the end of her whits with the hell you've caused, and we've been her longest tennants. You need to find peace, dear, or just a better hobby. Because you've lost. So now i'm going downstairs and i'm putting an end to this.

Ghost, ashamed of himself, flickers the lights on and off to say he's heard.

Freddie: That better be a fucking apology

Ghost flickers the light again once.

Freddie: Once for yes. Good.

-

Roger: Fred! You joining us for late night scrabble?

Freddie: Yes, why not? First though I thnk you should know something.

Brian: Hm?

Freddie: It's me.

Brian: What's you?

Freddie: Me. I'm the gay one. The homosexual

Roger does a massive double take.

Freddie: Yes Rog, even though i'm manly and gorgeously butch and massively hairy.

Roger: Oh. I did mean those in good ways.

Freddie: Yes, I know you did. Anyway, it's not Brian or John, it's me.

Brian: Well, you know that's okay with us Freddie.

Deacon: I didn't care either way I just want everyone to stop leaving their underpants around everywhere. Wait a minute

Freddie: Hm?

Deacon: Ronnie! That's what you were on about. It's short for Veronia, Rog!! I did tell you.

Roger: .... whoops.

Freddie, eyes twinkling: Say Rog, I was thinking, maybe we should have a party and invite all of my elligible gay art student friends around. What do you think becuase I'd love the idea.

Brian, to Rog: You want a massive party with Freddie gay art student friends? How many? This isn't exactly-

Roger: It's a long story, let's just play scrabble.

Freddie, nodding to the scrabble board: Who's going first?

-

The next day, the water in the shower is warm. When Freddie gets out of the shower he finds a word has been written on the mirror in the condensation.

"Sorry".

[millerscoffee]

Bee, beautiful Bee,

Congrats on the milestone!

Can I please ask for fluffy prompt #3 with Frankie? Oh to have fun with him listening and possibly dancing to his fave songs 🎶

Thank you 🫶🏻 x

thank you thank you thank you! veronica, this could possibly be my favourite thing i've written here?? aaahhh thank you so much for the prompt and inspiration!!

who's gonna drive you home?

1k words | frankie morales x f!reader

rating: G!

warning: your heart may explode from how cute this is, established relationship, songs, DANCING, frankie as a dad, no use of y/n

A/N: i got song inspirations from this playlist by kait 💕 on spotify. this is part of my 500 followers celebration running until 9/9 ♡

Darlin’, you’ve got to let me know / Should I stay or should I go?

Frankie’s hair is in all directions as he cleans his apartment on a Sunday.  You tried to help, but he wouldn’t take it, so you’re left watching him fold his laundry from behind your book – his music blaring.  It’s lazy, this Sunday.  It’s not hurried, or filled with any kind of dread that his life has led him to.  He didn’t wake up in a cold sweat, he’s not in trouble.

Instead, he’s plucking the book from your hands and scooping you up onto the floor.  Taking you in his arms and he twirls and sings to you, eliciting full-belly giggles from you.

“Frankie!”

“It’s always tease, tease, tease,”  he sings in response, and you squeal when he dips you. His words get louder and more dramatic, more British when he sings, “You’re happy when I’m on my knees.”

“That’s because if you got on your knees, you wouldn’t be able to get up.”

You’re still dipped, mind you. 

“And, how are you able to hold me this long without your back seizing?”

A smirk takes over your face the entire time.  Frankie pulls you up, nipping kisses all over your face.

“Awww, I love you, too!  You’re so sweet to me!”

Both of you chuckle, and you wrap your arms around his neck tightly.

“Keep going, I didn’t mean it.”

He hums along to the tune, spinning you in a circle to land you back on the couch again and you blink up at him in shock.  God, he must feel so happy – so safe right now.

“I love you, too, Frankie.  I love you so much.”

You settle back into your spot, and he leans down to peck your forehead – hissing fakely as he clutches his lower back.  You laugh, shoving him lightly.  You think about jokingly telling him you’re gonna let Benny know he’s like this when his friends are gone, but you don’t.

“I hereby bequeath…”

“God, shut up and finish your laundry so we can make out.”

He salutes you, “Yes ma’am.”

---

Slow down, you’re doing fine / You can’t be everything you want to be before your time

It’s been long nights with Frankie’s baby girl.  Teething and fevers, and long nights without sleep.

But he’s good at this.  At calming her down once the fever breaks and she’s sweating through her clothes and his, but he doesn’t care – he only cares that she’s healthy and safe.

So he hums in the rocking chair.  Back and forth with her head on his chest, the sounds of “Vienna” by Billy Joel exhale through his nose combined with his heartbeat.

The sight pangs you when you bring him a cup of decaffeinated tea.

“Me next,” attempting to bring humour to the situation, your hushed words cause him to smile briefly, thanking you for the nourishment.

“In this spot, or with a baby?”

You blush, borderline freeze as he says the words.  The two of you haven’t really talked about it yet, but you see the way he is with her.  The way he holds her and takes care of her like she’s the most precious person in his life.  You think about creating life together, his daughter having a sister or brother to love and grow up with.  Your hand instinctively grazes over your stomach.

“Maybe both,” you respond candidly, and he closes his eyes – humming again just before she stirs, wanting more of his tune.

“Maybe both,” he repeats in between the baritone vibrations, “we can make that happen.”

It will be all you think about until it happens.

---

Can I sail through the changing ocean tides? / Can I handle the seasons of my life?

“Make me a playlist sometime, will you?”  your head tilts to look over at Frankie behind the driver's seat.  He’s got his phone attached to the bluetooth, and his songs are streaming through the other side.  Right now, it’s Fleetwood Mac, earlier it was Duran Duran.  Little things that get him by settle deep inside your blood.

Every song reminds you of him now.

“You want me to make you a playlist?” He sounds amused, a little honoured, but mostly confused.

“You – playlist – when we get home.”

“Is that what my apartment is to you? Home?”

Damn, he got you.

You chew your cheek, turning your head to gaze out the passenger window.  “Yeah,” you admit, and you feel the stiffness of your shoulders relax when his warm hand cups strongly over your thigh.  It catches your attention, and your look over to him again.  Hard not to.  “Is that okay? I could… not say that if–”

“Do you wanna move in with me?”

A smile – wide and toothy – covers your features.

“I have to talk to my roommate, but I think… I think I do,” you nod, deep in your thoughts before you solidify them, “I do.  I want to move in with you.  Do you want me to live with you?”

“Baby,” he starts, and he turns his head to gaze at your features – soft and open, and so loving to him – his heart is in your hands.  “I’d go anywhere with you.  I want you everywhere.” he says to the road, then back to you, then back to the road.

And just like perfect timing, “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac starts playing.  His eyebrows raise, pointing at the dash stereo system and you both laugh.  “Christine McVie, you’ll be in our hearts forever.”  you bob your head in agreement with his true words, eyes wide to show the emphasis.

“Francisco…,” you trail off, pressing your lips to the top of his hand, “I wanna be with you everywhere.”  you line it up perfectly with the song.

“Damn, she's so smooth. Just born like that, too. A natural.”

And it makes you smile with pride, even through his goofiness – makes it even better, more real. He feels safe, you remind yourself. Comfortable. You want to be that for him, forever.

“Yeah, I know, huh? How does she do it?”

“A playlist,” he’s quiet for a small amount of time, “only if you give me one, too.”

“Easiest ‘yes’ I’ve ever given.”

“Well…,” he smirks, and you’re quick to smirk back, squeezing his fingers.

“Shut up.”

“I love you, too.”

And fuck, so do you.

[microsuedemouse]

I keep going back and rewatching some of the Logan/Veronica scenes in the last few eps of season one (because I’m Super Normal) and what’s kinda crazy in M.A.D. is that……. I actually think Aaron Echolls is being genuine when he tells Veronica he likes her, and likes her with his son. Aaron is a supremely fucked up man, but I’m pretty sure that his awkwardness upon catching the two of them making out is sincere, and his desire to reconnect with his son is sincere (if very twisted), and everything he says to Veronica in the car is sincere.

He’s an actor, and yeah, he could be faking. But why would he bother with any of what happens in those scenes if he didn’t mean it? He stays chill when Dick and Beaver show up, and then he easily picks up on Logan’s cover story about Veronica’s bag in his living room, and he not only takes the bag back to V but offers her a lift home personally, even though he absolutely doesn’t have to. I’m certain Aaron Echolls has sent thousands of people home in taxis and town cars over the years. He didn’t have any vested interest in doing this unless it was genuine.

In a couple of episodes everything changes, yeah. He outright tries to kill her, and her dad, too, for good measure. But at this point? He doesn’t know that she’s still investigating Lilly’s murder. He has no reason to believe anyone doubts Abel Koontz’s guilt. It’s technically possible he’s figured out that the Kanes paid Koontz to take the fall, but if he has, he’s almost certainly also figured out it’s because they think Lilly’s death was somehow their own or Duncan’s fault. And he’s definitely cocky enough, with all of that in place, to believe at this stage that he’ll never be caught.

But I think, in his own weird and fucked up way, he really does like Veronica and Logan together. He probably remembers that Lynn always liked Veronica. I’m pretty sure he is actually concerned - again, in his own very fucked up way - about how Logan’s coping with Lynn’s death, and about salvaging his own relationship with Logan. (Because, of course, he’s too sure of himself to see that there’s nothing to salvage, not to mention that his big secret is the most immense betrayal possible and that that should probably make him feel guilty.)

I think he only has a problem with Veronica after she sees him for what he really is. And then, probably, he blames her entirely for how much Logan hates him, never seeing that Logan already hated him beyond the point of no return, never seeing any of it as his own fault. For a little while there, I suspect Aaron was actually happy to see Veronica Mars with his son.

*I am currently only a few episodes into season two and I know we’ll see a bit more of Aaron before it’s all over so if something comes up later to contradict this… don’t tell me haha