#they’re kids who need to get off this app.

[lillylvjy]

Would it be mean to @ these people….

[ttpdstri]

lacy

oscar piastri x reader, ex!lando norris x reader

part 1 part 2

having to watch his ex with his teammate, he starts to get jealous. however, he knows he can’t do anything about it because he knows he’s the one who ruined everything.

it’s loosely based on lacy by olivia rodrigo but from lando’s perspective if that makes sense. also first bit of non social media writing pls be nice😪😪 (this is about 2 weeks after invisible string)

liked by landonorris, lilymhe and 1,845,977 others

yourusername, enchanted, out now🤍

view all comments

user1, “forcing laughter faking smiles” this is so 2022 lando & y/n coded i love when she gets shady

carmenmmundt, prettiest girl with the prettiest voice🫶🫶

⤷ yourusername, miss you sm💗💗

user2, this night is sparkling😭😭don’t you let it go😭😭i’m wonderstruck😭😭blushing all the way home😭😭

⤷ user3, best chorus ever i fear

lilymhe, GORGEOUS SONG GORGEOUS GIRL I LOVE IT

⤷ yourusername, I LOVE U🫶🫶

user4, IM NEVER RECOVERING FROM THIS LEAVE ME ALONE

user5, please!! don’t!! be!! in!! love!! with!! someone!! else!! please!! don’t!! have!! somebody!! waiting!! on!! you!!

⤷ user6, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

oscarpiastri, stop it i’m blushing

⤷ yourusername, good🫶🫶

user7, cutest couple in the world i think

user8, lando liked this why am i scared

lando had heard the song. of course he had, how could he not? it was on the radio, on every social media app, it was everywhere.

it didn’t help that it was about his teammate either because people wouldn’t stop going on about it in interviews.

he knew he was the one who messed everything up, so he knew you would move on soon enough. there was no reason for him to be jealous. after all, he told you he never loved you; was that a lie?

going into mclaren’s hospitality, he wasn’t really expecting you and oscar to be there. he tried to push down the jealousy but he couldn’t help glaring from afar.

neither of you even noticed that he entered, meaning he was free to stare. max, however, noticed him doing anything but looking away from you two.

“mate, you really need to move on,” he spoke, catching lando’s attention. “it’s been 6 months and you’re the one that broke up with her.”

sighing, lando covered his face with his hands. “i know. i messed it up, but why does it have to be him?”

liked by yngirlfriend, yn4oscar and 16,829 others

ynupdates, lando and y/n via mclaren’s instagram story😭😭admin just gets messier and messier

view all comments

user1, NO WAY YOURE KIDDING

user2, they look like kids who got caught doing something bad😭😭

⤷ user3, they were def caught off guard

user4, where was oscar omg

user5, they’re literally 🧍🧍‍♀️

user6, first ynlando picture in 6 months nobody move

⤷ user7, this is insane right after enchanted

user8, begging people to not ship them again no one forget how cutsie oscar and her are pls

this is lowkey short and kinda sucks but it’s fiiiine. also i made girly a singer cause i don’t want her job to just be wag yk so here we are

[dumbseee]

she’s everything and he’s just ken.

f1 au: in which, well basically the title. carlos and y/n have been dating for a few months, and carlos can’t stop showing off his beautiful girlfriend to the world.

carlos sainz jr x singer!reader.

fc: becky g.

liked by y/n, landonorris, danielricciardo and 2 008 008 others.

carlossainz55: i love seeing you on stage princesa 💙

_

y/n: seeing you in the audience is what gives me strength mi amor

liked by carlossainz55.

danielricciardo: i literally thought that was a y/n fan page

fan1: the fact that he goes to all her concerts even if he’s busy

fan2: i saw him there he was so sweet! and he was wearing blue to match with her :(

fan3: y/n and carlos are so barbie and ken coded

fan4: he took a whole camera with him to take pictures of her omgg

fan5: carlos is literally a book boyfriend, he can’t be real

landonorris: omg are you joining the jpg gang?

alex_albon: @.landonorris please he’s going to call it y/n.jpg

fan6: but why was he in the audience and not backstage?

carlossainz55: @.fan6 to have a better view ;)

liked by y/n, charles_leclerc, lewishamilton and 1 800 087 others.

carlossainz55: congratulations princesa on your first ever american latin music award! (in my opinion you deserved to win all the categories) your voice is my favorite medicine.

_

y/n: omg i love you so much stop

landonorris: you guys are insufferable

carlossainz55: @.landonorris i’m blocking you.

fan1: i want a carlos in my life

fan2: « your voice is my favorite medicine » what if i was sewcidal?

fan3: brb im going to throw myself out of the window

fan4: pls he also went with her at the ceremony 😭

fan5: just get married already

liked by y/n, alex_albon, charles_leclerc and 1 789 097 others.

carlossainz55: i fall in love with you a little bit more everyday.

_

y/n: girls i’m officially head over heels for this man

landonorris: guys i’ve done the maths and out of 3 posts carlos make every week, 2 out of 3 are about y/n

y/n: @.landonorris i can’t believe you can count omg

danielricciardo: this is officially a y/n fanpage

fan1: y/n deserve that level of love tho her last relationship was a disaster so i’m so happy to see her being treated like the princess she is

carlossainz55: @.fan1 queen* but period

fan2: y/n please where did you find him i need a bf like him

liked by carlossainz55, francisca.cgomes, lilymhe and 3 789 821 others.

y/n: i know that we joke a lot about how obsessed this lil guy is, but i thought that it was time for a little carlos appreciation post. first of all, thank you for loving me, we met when i was in a very dark place but you still picked me up from the ground and helped me heal. i’ll always be grateful for that. i love all your little intentions like the flowers you send me every 5th of the month because we met on that date. or when you cook my favorite meal when i’m not in the mood. you’re my bestfriend, my guardian angel, my anchor, my inspiration, my everything. thank you for being you carlos and thank you for loving me the way you do ❤️

_

carlossainz55: you deserve the world and more y/n, the way i’m treating you is the way someone as amazing as you should be treated. i love you more princesa <3

danielricciardo: get a ROOM

landonorris: there is kids on this app!

y/n: @.landonorris you’re past your bedtime lando go to bed.

fan1: i want what they have :(

fan2: these two never fail to make me feel depressed about being single

fan3: i don’t even want a boyfriend but it must be nice to be loved like that

fan4: romeo and juliet who? i only know carlos and y/n

fan5: their relationship is so pure seriously they’re so precious

fan6: they better get married and have kids because if a couple like that ever breakup it’s over for us

[talktonytome]

For @meibhin who requested bucktommy first christmas together, hope you like this take!

“So, what Christmas traditions did you have growing up?” Evan asks him. He’s already typing in the notes app of his phone and Tommy shakes his head fondly. It’s their first Christmas together and Evan’s determined to make it perfect. 

Tommy doesn’t tell him that as long as they get to be together, it will be perfect for him. He thinks back to the Christmases of his childhood, bouncing back and forth between his parents, getting stuck at the airport the one time and it being oddly happy, because at least there was no yelling and a nice family who got stuck in the storm adopted him for the night and gifted him an airplane book from the airport bookstore. 

He blows out a breath through his nose. “Holidays weren’t exactly… happy occasions growing up.” He shrugs trying to play it off, but Evan gives him a look that says he understands. There’s no pity or “I’m sorry”, just love and understanding. 

“Do you have any happy Christmas memories? What about your extended family, there must be something right?” 

Tommy thinks for a minute and is transported to holidays at his nonna’s. He hardly spent actual Christmas Day there, but his mom would take him for epifania. They’d get there the day before, along with all the cousins and everyone would find presents the next morning. He can still feel the warmth from those days and smell the aroma from his nonna’s kitchen, from her special sauce that she spent all day making. 

“Well, not Christmas, exactly,” he finally says. “But, we would go over to nonna’s for The Feast of Epiphany on January 6th- you know when the three wise men visited Jesus?”

Evan nods, waiting for him to continue, mouthing the words feast of epiphany as he taps on his phone.

“We’d get there the day before and the adults would prepare for La Befana. It’s this sort of folklore tradition of a benevolent witch, basically, who flies around January 5th and leaves presents and sweets for us to find the next day.” Tommy laughs, “I don’t wanna brag, but I usually got the best candy.” 

“Of course you did,” Evan grins. Who could look at that cute face and not give you the best? That sounds fun, by the way.” 

Tommy shrugs. “It was. After my parents divorced, we went over less and less and my extended family doesn’t live around here so I’m not sure if my cousins still do it for their children.”

Evan perks up with a wide smile on his face. He knows he’s not a golden retriever but god, sometimes he does these little things and it makes Tommy feel unbearably fond.

“Why don’t we do that for the kids here? Denny, Chris, Mara, Jee? We could get May and Harry to help, if they feel like they’re too old for it.” He claps his hands excitedly. “Oh! We can throw a sleepover, make s’mores and hot chocolate, watch movies..” He trails off, looking hesitantly at Tommy. “Sorry, I kinda got carried away, I mean we don’t have to— 

Tommy shushes him with the soft press of a finger to his lips. “I love it, baby. Let’s do it.”

Evan’s smile is bright and lovely as he leans into kiss him between his finger. “Yeah?”

“Heck yeah. We need to maintain our status as favorite uncles, after all,” Tommy grins. 

Evan’s Christmas playlist plays softly in the background, as Tommy thinks about this and many holidays to come with their family, the food and joy and maybe even the smells of his own tomato sauce permeating their home. He can’t wait. 

[teenidlegirl]

⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ౨౿  ׅ ۟   ֪ 𝓓isneyland 𝓦ith 𝓜iguel ۪ ׂ   𓈒 ୭

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ miguel would wear a mickey cap with either a star wars or marvel shirt and pants. you’d wear classic minnie ears with a cute outfit.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ sometimes you two would wear matching mickey and minnie hats on other visits.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ miguel double checks if you two have everything you need. water bottles, sunscreen, wipes (that mf is a clean freak), hand sanitizer. he would ask a million times if you have the tickets, which is on the disneyland app on your phone. he just wants to make sure they don’t get lost and the day isn’t ruined because you two look forward to it.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ he hates the mickey and friends tram station because he feels so cramped due to his bulky figure. he has to slouch a little, trying not to bump his head on the roof (he has several times before).

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ you secretly take pics of him when miguel isn’t looking. you can’t help it because he’s so cute, especially in that mickey hat.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ you also take occasional selfies. of course you take a picture in front of the castle.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ he always has a hand on you. hand holding, on your waist, hip, or the small of your back. mainly hand holding or his hand on your waist.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ miguel is very protective of you, he already is, but especially when you’re walking through a sea of people. he shoots a glare at anyone who bumps into you, especially if they don’t apologize and keep on walking. he tries to be calm and civil, not wanting to cause an outburst and ruin your day.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ this dude HATES long lines. miguel would complain how stupidly long the lines are. moping and groaning but has to suck it up because he knows how much you want to go on those rides. to make it fun, you do the most cliche thing and play heads up on your phone. miguel would get pissed off when he doesn’t get the answer right, making you laugh.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ his favorite area is tomorrowland since it resembles a bit of neuva york. the futuristic scenery and aesthetic. such a big nerd he is.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ he always gets caught off guard on space mountain because how fast it is. right after that right turn before taking off, he always get startled. he also forgets the camera towards the end of the ride. his eyes widen and mouth wide open in shock. he gets flustered and embarrassed when you take a picture of it. “can’t you not.” “too late, tonto.”

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ pizza planet is your guys’ go-to for either lunch or dinner because the pizza is bomb.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ miguel loves star tours and buzz lightyear ride. during buzz lightyear, you two get very competitive on who gets the most points. he freaks out and nearly falls out when you move the seat with the lever. you laugh and make fun of him.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ after star tours, miguel goes on full geek mode and ventures around the entire store that you enter right after the ride. a smile forms on your face as you watch your cute geeky boyfriend gazing at all the merchandise. if you’re a star wars fan (i am lol), you’ll geek out with him and babble about the merch. you never leave the store without miguel buying something. a simple shirt or hat.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ miguel HATES the teacups. he begs you to not go on it but obviously loses. you go on it just to purposefully mess with him. if you’re a crazy person (like me), you’ll spin that shit like crazy. poor miguel holds on for dear life, on the verge of trying not to puke while you’re laughing at his reaction. after getting of the ride, he has to take a minute to breathe before moving on. he hates spiny rides.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ he isn’t a fan of fantasyland since it’s mainly for kids and slow rides. but if you wanna go on some rides there, he’ll do it for you. will never admit but he does like alice in wonderland, probably the only ride he likes there. he feels squished in those rides since they’re so small and he’s too bulky.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ after much convincing and begging, miguel takes a shot at the sword in the stone. with rolled eyes and a light scowl in his face, he tries pulling the sword with some strength, not all. shockingly, the swords lifts up from the stone. the public and crew applaud him for successfully pulling the sword. you reward him with kisses over his face, making miguel a bashful mess but loves it so much.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ thunder mountain is definitely a favorite of his (mine too hehe). the line might be a pain but it’s definitely worth it because the ride is amazing.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ matterhorn not so much because the seats are so small, he can barely fit in it. feels so cramped and uncomfortable. another reason he doesn’t like it as much is because it’s a single seat so he can’t sit next to you. before and after the ride, you two hold hands over each other’s seats, depends if you’re in front or behind him, because you know how clingy he is. it makes your heart flutter, he’s so cute.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ bro gets so excited when you head to galaxy’s edge. while holding your hand, he leads you around the area. stares in awe at the scenery and aesthetic. definitely buys merch from there.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ remember how much he hates long lines? oh he almost lost it while waiting for rise of the resistance. playing heads up or just talking with you makes it better. but it’s all worth it in the end. definitely one of his favorite rides.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ definitely hates water rides. don’t even bother convincing him to go on splash mountain because he ain’t getting on it. he hates being wet.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ miguel really likes haunted mansion not only for the spooky atmosphere but because it’s so dark that you two cuddle in the fake coffin without anyone noticing. during the elevator, he holds you close so he doesn’t lose you in the sea of people. his strong beefy arms securely wrapped around you.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ he hates water rides but pirates is an exception because it’s that not bad. he forgets the three drops, especially the first one. a big pout settles on his face when he gets splashed with water.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ he makes fun of you for saying how much you love the smell of water in pirates.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ indiana jones is another favorite. besides the long tedious line, miguel loves it. he always makes sure you sit in the middle and him on the outside. shows how protective he is of you.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ definitely gets hungry after a long period of time. you two stop at the nearest restaurant.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ miguel tries out the shooting exposition just to impress you. unfortunately, he misses almost every target and is now embarrassed as hell. turns out you’re the one to impress him because you manage to get every target. bro was astonished.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ during the fireworks, miguel has his arms wrapped around you and chin resting on the top of your head as you two watch the fireworks. when it’s over, you two share a kiss as the final touch.

⠀♡ ˖ ࣪ ༘⠀ when your feet start to hurt, miguel doesn’t hesitate to carry you despite your protests. he whispers, “just a man carrying his princess.”

◟ ࣪⠀ׅ ♱⠀𝓝ote. thinking about what it’d be like going to disneyland with miguelito. a little self indulgent since i’ve been to disneyland numerous times. enjoy some disney fluffiness. ♡

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓. ♡ @yougavemeyourheartyouknow ( i kept my promise to tag you for this ! <3 )

© teenidlegirl. don’t steal, plagiarize, or translate my work. ♡

[nico-di-genova]

“I don’t like Alexander Rossi at all,” I say, as I trip and thousands of ‘Rossi Off Track Lore’ screenshots from my notes app spill out of my jacket pocket. Anyway, here’s more about the freak :)

Got into cycling because he went on a cycling trip with a group of “guys and their wives” (Kelly was not with him) in 2023. He said he was motivated to get into it because everytime you think you’re good, someone would come by ten times better than you. Competitive Rossi and his competitive tendencies, no surprise there. Tim joked he was going to sell his plane now, since biking was going to become the new thing, and Alex was like “no, I need the plane to get me to places where I’ll be biking.” James teased that this was going to become his new hyperfixation and Alex was like “yeah.” We love a self aware king :).

Immediately bought $300 bike shorts and an anti chafing cream called “deez nuts” because he thought it was funny. James wanted details on where and how it’s applied - feels self explanatory Jimbo, but you can be a freak on the pod if you want I guess. Freak 4 freak behavior.

Frequently does not check his texts and emails. Well, actually, he does. But if it’s an email he doesn’t want to respond to, he will not open it so that way in his mind it is unread - same with texts.

Just this whole bit of convo between Alex and James, it’s not lore, I just think it speaks to their dynamic:

They barbenheimer’d or as James called it “oppenbarbied” because they opened with Oppenheimer and closed with Barbie. Who is they you might ask? Why, James, Alex, and Kelly of course - because they are obviously glued at the hip. Alex didn’t want to see Barbie at all, described it as horrifying (he describes a lot of things he doesn’t like as horrifying, like things that ick him out or piss him off are little jumpscares in his life), because he is a loser and lame. James said they had time to do it, Alex said they didn’t, James corrected “we made time” - making time to go to the movies with your best friend and his fiance he’s secretly already married to, ain’t that what life’s all about.

“Kelly and Becky talk more than you and I do about the stuff you and I do” - James about how his and Alex’s wives are intimately involved in their friendship.

Alex loved Oppenheimer. And lowkey outed himself as a “historian”. You know how kids get hyperfixated on specific historical events growing up? This one might have been his, very conceivable and real possibility. He was very passionate about Oppenheimer. Also called the cast “characters” before he corrected and was like “well they’re real people”. He’s also called his fellow drivers on 100 Days to Indy “characters”. Anyway, all this to say, this was basically him:

They did not like Barbie. Alex didn’t think it was cleverly done, thought it was too obvious (he’s not wrong, but maybe he was not the one to speak on it). He said he, “asked James three times if (they) could leave.” Someone tell Alexander he still has free will, I think he’s tied himself too closely to his people and forgotten. You’re not on a leash bud, just go outside 😭.

[lulublack90]

Prompt 16 - Fake Marriage

@wolfstarmicrofic May 16, word count 812

This is part two of Prompt 4 - Marriage of Convinience. There will be a part three, probably for prompt 26 but I'll see. I'll link everything together when it happens.

Remus settled into his new life relatively quickly. It had taken him a few weeks to get used to sleeping in a bed again. It hadn’t helped that the mattress was super soft, and he felt like he was sleeping on a marshmallow. But as with most things, you adjust. 

The other thing he was still getting used to was having an allowance. Sirius hadn’t been kidding when he’d said it would be generous. Remus didn’t even know what to spend that amount of money on. The majority of his purchases came from the little bookshop a few streets over. The owner had always been kind to him. When he’d been homeless, sometimes he’d sneak in there just to smell the books. But now, he felt he could finally enjoy them again. 

Sirius chuckled at him when he came flying through the door with his new purchases. 

“Remus, I think we maybe need to get you a bookcase.” He’d tutted as he eyed the bulging bags. “Come over here, and we’ll find one you like.” Sirius patted the sofa seat next to him and opened his laptop. Remus quickly put the bags into his room and hung up his coat before going to sit next to Sirius. 

He’d been in the flat for a few months now and their friendship had started back up as though there hadn’t been an eight-year gap when they’d lost contact. 

Sirius shuffled closer and Remus felt those old butterflies spreading their wings. It was something he’d never told Sirius about and probably something he should have mentioned before agreeing to marry him. But he hadn’t felt anything while they’d been sorting out all the paperwork, it was only when they’d been in the registry office repeating their vows that Remus had realised his old feelings for Sirius were still there. He tried his best to keep everything platonic, but when Sirius was basically sitting in his lap, it was hard to ignore. 

“I like the look of these ones. What do you think?” Sirius asked, bringing Remus back down to earth. He hadn’t been paying the least bit of attention. He glanced over at the screen and looked at the bookcases Sirius was talking about. They looked really nice. Dark wood and sturdy. 

“It’s your flat, Sirius. Get whatever you like.” He mumbled, hoping that would be the end of it. 

“It’s your room.” Sirius patted his knee and Remus tensed. “If you don’t like them, then we won’t get them.” Remus shook his head. 

“No, they’re fine. I really like them.” He said as evenly as he could. Sirius grinned at him and started typing in the order details. Remus couldn’t help but follow his fingers and stare at the simple gold band adorning his ring finger on his left hand. He wondered if maybe one day it would be real for them. 

He watched Sirius pick up his phone and open one of the many dating apps he had and begin scrolling through it. He sighed, probably not. 

Sirius doom scrolled through the people who wanted to match with him and found no one he wanted to waste his energy on. If he was being honest with himself, the only person he wanted to take out was Remus. 

He’d been flabbergasted when Remus had told him about Jeremy from marketing. He’d had to grip the table to stop himself from launching himself at the thin man and proclaiming his everlasting love for him. But he’d stopped himself and tried to find a way to help his friend. 

He’d never in a million years thought that Remus would agree to marry him and had planned to just buy all the things for himself and rent them to Remus for pennies. But then he’d agreed with very little persuasion, his heart had soared. 

He’d nearly called the whole thing off in the middle of the ceremony, when he’d stared into Remus’s eyes as he placed the ring on his finger and his knees had nearly buckled. But he hadn’t, and now they were married and Remus carefully kept his distance. 

He sighed thinking about it. Remus had left for his room as soon as Sirius had turned his phone on. He wished he could find a way to tell him how he felt, but now that they were in this fake marriage, he didn’t know if Remus would see it as Sirius trapping him and not just an idiot in love that wanted to help. 

He raked his hands though his hair as he tried to figure it out. Maybe Remus would buy so many books he’d have to move into Sirius’s room because he wouldn’t be able to sleep in his own. Sirius shook his head at the absurdity and deleted all the dating apps on his phone. They were useless to him now anyway. 

[prolix-yuy]

The Reason for the Season

Pairing: Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary: What does Christmas mean after the world falls apart? Ellie sure doesn't know, but Joel knows who might.

Word Count: 6.6k

Warnings: T, some suggestive thoughts, one steamy kiss, teen angst and a whole lot of yearning! Our reader is given the following attributes: a history of Christmas celebrations, a father, and while not stated in the fic, she was old enough to be a teacher when the outbreak happened. While this story is not explicit, my blog and the content shared on it is 18+ MINORS DNI.

Notes: Hello to my sweet Sil @psychedelic-ink! I'm your not-so-secret Santa and I'm here to deliver your holiday fic! And doubly, your birthday present! I’m so glad we got to meet on this wild app, and may your holidays and your birthday be as amazing as you!

You asked for something very Christmas-y with some friends to lovers romance, and boy did this get out of hand! I hope you enjoy Joel finding a little Christmas spirit.

Cross-posted on AO3

There’s little sacred in the world anymore, but making the morning cup of coffee might be as close as Joel gets. The early rising, his bedtime vestments crumpled and stretched across tired muscles. The soothing routine: the mug, the pour over coffee dripper, and the Holy Beans. Every movement is seamless, practiced and almost sightless for those mornings when he can’t peel his eyes open. All in service to the first sip, and the glorious awakening it will bring.

Though with the clattering of Doc Martens and teen angst coming down the stairs, it’s not necessarily needed.

“Mornin’,” Joel rumbles over the mug, eyebrows raised at Ellie’s earlier-than-usual scowl. She opens the fridge, every movement thrown to the extremes of her small frame. Bowl clattering, spoon chiming against stoneware, a worrisome glug of milk, and she returns to flop into her seat across from Joel. He takes another sip, maybe a little louder than usual.

“Sounds the same going in as coming out,” she grumbles, but the half smile she allows is a triumph. 

“Told you not to listen in on a man’s morning movements.” Ellie scrunches her nose up at that, jabbing her spoon into some granola. She’s only moving it around, not partaking, and Joel sets his cup down on the table. Crossing his arms over his chest, he looks down his nose at her.

“Something on your mind?” 

Joel was never much for beating around the bush with Sarah’s moods, and he certainly hasn’t changed much with Ellie. She sighs and lets the spoon clatter back into the bowl.

“What the hell is up with Christmas?” 

The question works better than the coffee, brain scrambling into overdrive in much the same way as when he caught Ellie holding a beat-up Bearskin magazine.

“Well…” he starts pensively, but Ellie bowls right through his low hum.

“Like some of the kids celebrate it and others don’t, but neither of them know why. Everyone’s arguing about something called Santa. And they’re bringing trees inside!” She tosses her hands, giving him a weird am I right look that butts against his confused expression.

“FEDRA didn’t teach you kids about Christmas?” 

Ellie shrugs, folding her legs up into the kitchen chair.

“I’ve heard of it, but y’know…not exactly high on their list of priorities.” She starts worrying at a small rip in her jeans until Joel snaps a warning look. He just bartered for those, he won’t have her hurrying them back to scrap.

“I’ve kinda been…pretending I get it.” She trails off, face closing back up and Joel recognizes the outburst for what it is. Embarrassment.

“Well, Christmas is something that, uh…that lots of families celebrated before. It’s, uh…it’s a time at the end of the year to be…you know, to be together and thankful. That sort of thing.”

He can practically hear her eyes roll.

“But what the hell’s a Santa, and trees, and all the baking?” Her finger shoots up, angled directly at Joel. “I know there are presents!”

Joel scoffs, taking another sip and ruminating on how to tackle a tradition he’s barely paid attention to since the outbreak. It all felt so insignificant in the winters following, only a counter for how long he’s suffered so far. Then, when things calmed a fraction, the idea of opening his heart to anything remotely like thankfulness made him want to bloody every knuckle. 

So he tucked his chin and paid no attention to parents trying their best to give their children something bright in the darkest days of winter. Tess never mentioned it, the shine in her eyes at candles lit in windows hard to distinguish from tears. And now, twenty-odd years later, he can barely fathom where to start. 

“There’s a lot of traditions, variations. I don’t remember half of ‘em, but…” A sudden spark of an idea, a way to cheat out of this conversation and not get sulked to death over it, catches the corner of his mouth. “But I think that teacher you like might have some books about it.” 

Ellie’s face lights up, abandoning her bowl to go galloping back up the stairs to her room. “Eat something first, then we’ll go,” trails up behind her. Joel savors the last bit of coffee before rising to rinse the cup, his own smile tugging at his lips. Shouldering his heavy winter jacket, Ellie wolfs down four bites of her granola while still in motion. Wiping her chin with the cuff of her jacket, she shoots a shit-eating grin at Joel as she heads to the door.

“Don’t think I didn’t catch that, old man,” she sing-songs as they move into the bracing Wyoming air. “Always looking for an excuse.”

“Whaddya mean?” he asks with as much nonchalance as he can muster, but Ellie’s raised brown and carefree shrug clearly don’t buy it.

“You’re a lousy liar, Joel.”

Not as bad as you think.

The schoolhouse is not much more than a converted home, the ground floor filled with bookshelves and improvised desks and controlled chaos. By the time Joel and Ellie came to Jackson it was well established, but Maria explained how it changed hands and struggled for years before the current teacher. 

“It’s hard to prioritize learning over survival, but it’s the only way we move on as a community,” she said as she led the pair through their Jackson orientation. Ellie had been sighing heavily and dragging her feet - “school is boring, Joel, why can’t I go on patrol?” - before Maria led them into the kitchen. 

“And here’s who we have to thank for dealing with our wild ones,” Maria said, and you looked up from your work. 

The first thing Joel noticed was your smile. It spread so easily across your face, unselfconscious and radiant. You extended a hand to Ellie first, who suppressed enough of her ennui to act pleasant. Joel was next, enveloping her cool fingers with his large palm. He blanked on your name that time, needing to ask Maria privately for it, but the warmth and lightness of your presence could be blamed for that. 

Joel didn’t believe in love at first sight, but that meeting sure as hell paved the way for the private and closely guarded crush he had on you now. 

Ellie took a liking to you almost as quickly, and Joel could see why you were successful when others might have failed. You assessed her mood with ease, redirecting her dread to a section of the schoolhouse that held instruments. She moved immediately to an old guitar, cross-legged on the floor with the too-large instrument in her lap. 

“Can you teach me how to play this?” she asked, and you admitted to only knowing a few chords. 

“I can,” Joel piped up, his own voice surprising him. “I know how to play.” 

Twin bright eyes danced on his face, and he struggled to keep the flush from creeping past his collar.

“If you have some time, I have other students who would love to learn.”

And that’s how on some afternoons Joel found himself showing a handful of teens on the cusp of adulthood how to strum chord progressions. He viewed it as a duty to the community…or at least that’s what he said when Maria and Tommy asked. It was also the perfect excuse to stop by early and chat with you, or scrutinize a leaky window or dripping faucet. Anything to keep him in the same room as you taught simple math or reading comprehension. 

“Any time you want to bring that handiness by my place you’re welcome,” Tommy teased when he caught Joel waving you goodbye on the well-trodden path home. 

“You take better care of your place, you won’t need help,” he spat back with no fire. Tommy shrugged, hands stuffed into his jeans pockets. 

“Just sayin’, that schoolhouse might withstand another apocalypse with all the work you’ve done on it. I hope its proprietor is…appreciative.” The cheeky wink eggs on a shoulder punch that almost becomes a wrestling match between two men who should know better. Instead Joel calls Tommy a name and Tommy laughs and Joel stares at the ceiling that night wondering if you would be…appreciative of what he’d like to give you. 

Only some of those thoughts are pure in nature.

But the years, even the kind ones, have choked up his tongue and made him a coward. You’re clearly eligible, no other men sniffing around much to Joel’s surprise. He doesn’t think it’s completely one-sided either. You smile at him and put your hand on his shoulder and stand close enough that he can smell your soap and gentle musk. And what’s worse is you’re something rare to him, something miraculously unsullied by twenty years of hell. He didn’t think it was possible for someone to survive without hardening, without breaking and mending over and over until the repair is the whole self. But you are still kind, and understanding, and gentle, and open. There’s only one reason Joel can attribute to this rarity. 

Someone loved you.

Someone loved you so very much that they protected you, let you be open-hearted and trusting even with the world crashing down. And if that someone is no longer here, that’s a hole he can never fill. But every day he spends in Jackson shedding years of plate armor and barbed wire, he contemplates if he might be getting closer to someone who could at least try. 

In the meantime he makes his excuses, much like now, and suppresses the little smiles and giddy feeling in his stomach. 

“Been meaning to check on that plumbing issue she had last week,” he says breezily, snow crunching underfoot and the chill air nipping at his nose. 

“Suuuure, I bet you’d love to see her plumbing,” Ellie snarks, sprinting away as Joel’s face heats up.

“Watch your fucking language, kid,” he growls, the irony not lost on him, as the schoolhouse comes into view.

You can always tell when Ellie arrives. The kids born after the outbreak have a peculiar set of social norms and rules. You’re not sure if she even knows that she should knock before entering, or take her boots off. Then again, it’s an exercise in contemplation when you consider why those societal norms would return when their framework’s been shattered.

Keep your boots on in case you have to run.

Don’t announce your entrance in case something’s lurking.

A whole other etiquette you watch like a zookeeper behind glass.

“Good morning Ellie,” you call from the kitchen. Your heart flutters briefly wondering if…

“Morning, ma’am.”

Joel ambles into the kitchen, massaging heat back into his palms. His cheeks are ruddy with windburn, and you bite the inside of your lip considering how your own hot palms could warm them. 

“Good morning Joel, didn’t expect you in so early.” Dusting your hands off, you round the counter to step into his space. A little game you like to play: how much more obvious must you be before he’ll notice you’re flirting with him? Another brushed shoulder, squeeze of the forearm, eyes connecting a second too long. Thrilling yes - it’s been a long time since you’ve had a crush - but at this rate you’ll both be ninety before either of you admit it. 

“Ellie has something to ask you,” he says, turning to look for his ward. The strange wording patters your heartbeat into an uneasy rhythm. 

“Should I be worried?” you laugh, Joel’s deep brown eyes coming back to your face with a sheepish smile. Oh god, when he smiles your knees can barely handle it.

“I might have passed the buck on a conversation.” 

Before you can ask Ellie slips into the kitchen, weaving around Joel’s wider frame and hopping up on one of the barstools surrounding the kitchen island. The ones Joel made with those strong hands and thick fingers.

“What’s the deal with Christmas?”

The question catches you off guard no matter the preamble. 

“Um. Huh. Well, I guess…what do you want to know?” you ask, sidling around to lean across the counter from her. Joel is still in your peripheral, practically filling the door frame.

“Everybody’s talking about it,” she bemoans, taking a dried apple slice you’d laid out and turning it on the countertop. “And I keep pretending it’s like, so awesome, but I just don’t…get it.” Her thumbnails pick at the leathery edge of the fruit, and the child you’ve watched pressure girls twice her age into shenanigans softens around the edges. 

“It’s all, ‘my family does this, my family does that,’ and it’s like…I never had anyone to celebrate with before. FEDRA did some stuff with us, but it was…” A shrug, accepted without comment. “And they all seem to love it, and I maybe want to…feel that.” The hedging makes you lean further over, grabbing your own apple slice and turning it between your fingers.

“Well, Joel must have told you there are a lot of ways people celebrate the holidays.” Looking up to Joel he grimaces slightly, raising one shoulder in apology. “And there are lots of different traditions. I’m not surprised you’re confused.”

“Yes! Is Jesus like, Santa’s kid or something?”

The stifled laugh comes straight out of your nose and you have to clear your throat to keep from snorting further. 

“Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here but tell you what, I’ve got a plan.” Ellie looks up at you with a guarded sparkle in her eyes, and it only widens your smile. “Let me do some research first. There are things I don’t know either. So how about you come back next week and I’ll tell you what I’ve learned during the tree decorating.”

Ellie raises an eyebrow. “Tree decorating?”

You must be glowing by now. “Oh, you are in for a treat.”

Leaning against the doorway, Joel takes in the scene. Ellie’s moment of vulnerability, buried back under her feigned indifference. The excitement bubbling under the surface of your smile. 

The way you lean over the counter, the curve of your back only accentuating your shapely ass as you sway slightly. 

Fuck, maybe he should just come out and confess his crush so he can at least feel awkward when he sees you instead of embarrassingly horny.

He’s relieved Ellie suggested coming to you. Your solution to his problem is simple and brilliant, a weight lifting off his chest. Sometimes Ellie is no different than his child, and other times Sarah’s memory makes the smallest endearing unbearable.

Sarah’s mom had taken care of the holiday explanation, navigating the unique customs of their little household. She explained why they had a tree and a menorah, and who’s Santa and the Festival of Lights. When Sarah got older and started asking more pointed questions, they both sat down and explained all their traditions and why they were important. Joel had, admittedly, been more of a supporting role, but for their family it worked. 

Then Ellie had to pitch that question at him, looking up like Sarah had, though so much smaller, and his throat closed up. He knew she needed it. Hell, maybe even he could use some holiday cheer, but Ellie was too no-nonsense and Joel was too out of practice, ripe for bungling it up.

He’ll have to thank you in some way. Though there’s not much to fix nowadays, and if he spends much more time here volunteering he might get roped into actually being a teacher. 

“...and since it’s your first time, you get to add your own ornament to the tree. It can be anything you want, and at the end of the holidays we pack it up with the others for next year.”

That’s it, he thinks. A small way to repay your kindness. He has some scrap wood in the communal woodshop, and most evenings are quiet there. There must be a coping saw in some toolbox, a few rasps and awls. 

“That does sound pretty cool,” Ellie says, and where you might have thought it to be begrudging, Joel can clearly hear her excitement. 

“I think you’ll love it.”

That week was one of the busiest - and sneakiest - that Joel could recall in recent years. It seemed to be the same for you, watching you flit around town with a battered notebook and chewed-up pencil. You were talking to people, smiling, laughing. Whatever the conversation was made everyone else smile too, throwing fond looks at each other. Sometimes playful bickering, or conspiratorial whispers followed, and you gathered up all those words into that well-worn notepad. 

Joel, on the other hand, was making himself more scarce than usual. He kept up appearances, not slacking on patrols and showing up when he’s expected, but every free moment is spent in the woodshop. 

He could have gone the simple route, cutting slices out of some nice quality wood, something with a live edge, but it was too simple. He wanted something that would make you light up, your mouth drop open and your eyes sparkle. 

Further back than he’s willing to count, he remembered a fellow contractor showing him gifts he made for his daughters each year. Beautiful wooden snowflakes, carved in geometric shapes that would reveal tessellations and patterns when glued together. 

The idea seemed simple enough, but it had been a long time since his hands had done anything delicate. The pattern was easy to make, but as he dragged the coping saw along the curves and points his hand would cramp, or the blade would zig when he wanted it to zag. He’d get up and walk around the shop to shake out the frustration, telling himself it’s only four more pieces…for this ornament. 

When he feels like giving up and tossing the whole project in the trash, he thinks of the feeling he’ll get when you hang them on the branches, the way you might touch his arm or look into his eyes when you thank him. 

And then he thinks that forget the mistletoe, he’ll kiss you whenever and wherever you’ll let him.

On the fourth day of hiding in the woodshop Ellie bursts in, halfway through a sentence before she even gets in the door.

“...and I haven’t gotten her anything and I know she’ll get me something so like, what should I…” Her entrance startles him, yanking a rag over a freshly glued ornament. 

Too slow, old man, he thinks as her eyes snap to his attempt at deception.

“What’cha got there, Joel?” she asks, sly smile matching her embellished cadence. 

“Just workin’ on things, what were you talking about?” he deflects, leaning on one elbow to hide the mess behind his shoulder. Ellie nods, understanding stark on her face as she ambles up.

“Oh sure, since when have you ever cared what I’m talking about?”

Joel can’t stop the hurt look dashing across his face, leaning forward. “I care…”

Tricked! Ellie’s hands dart under his arm and yank the cloth away, exposing the half-assembled ornaments and lengths of twine.

“You’re so fucking easy…” she starts to say, but the words stop when she sees the mess underneath. 

“What are those?” she asks, and for a moment Joel wants to snark something back at her - none of your goddamn business or don’t make fun of me - but then he realizes she probably doesn’t have any idea what they are. What would she have seen adorning a tree? Maybe dried fruit, popcorn, little trinkets that people saved hoping one day they could have Christmas again? 

So he clears his throat and makes himself vulnerable. To a teenager. Easily one of the scariest things on this earth, cordyceps included.

“They’re for the tree lighting. Had a buddy who used to make ‘em, and I thought it’d be a nice gift for…to the schoolhouse. For being so helpful and all that.” He can feel his ears reddening but Ellie hasn’t taken her eyes off the snowflakes. She traces one of the finished ones, pointer finger running along the edge he dulled with an ancient rust-filled rasp. “You hang them on the tree.”

Ellie’s quiet for a moment, inspecting and nudging the pieces around, before she finally speaks.

“They’re cool. I didn’t know contractors could make pretty things too.”

Joel snorts, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ll let you know I’m a man of multitudes.”

She snorts, the tension breaking, as Joel moves pieces around to show how they fit together to form the abstract snowflake shape. As he’s explaining the process she’s shockingly quiet, but everything is open - eyes, ears, half-parted mouth. If he’d known this was something they shared he would have built things with her ages ago.

“Is one of these mine? The one I can bring?”

Joel mulls for a moment, tapping fingers on the workbench, before he hauls himself up to stand.

“Nah, I’ve got something better for you.”

It takes a few minutes of searching for a suitable wood piece not being used for something important. Then a few more to saw off a round, sweat beading on the edge of his hairline and biceps tensing. Ellie’s eyes widen when he hands her the wood circle, ushering her back to the workbench. 

“I think somethin’ more personal would be good to bring. How about you write your name on it?”

Ellie’s eyes narrow, playfully mistrusting.

“Just my name?”

“You’ll see.”

As she writes and erases about six times, Joel hunts through the workshop for the little woodburning kit he spied weeks ago. It’s janky, but it doesn’t electrocute him when he plugs it in. He waves Ellie over and takes the wood, admiring her no-nonsense script. 

“They ever teach you woodburning at school?” Ellie shakes her head, and Joel’s smile turns lopsided. “Then you’re gonna love this.”

Using the hot metal tip of the fat pencil-like tool, he meticulously traces her lettering, burning it permanently into the wood.

“Holy shit, that’s so cool!” she exclaims, getting close enough that he has to shoo her back so she doesn’t get wisps of woodsmoke right up her nose. He lets her finish the last E, warning her to go slow so the line doesn’t chatter. It’s not perfect, but she’s so excited he can’t find fault.

“Now for a little holiday decoration,” he mumbles, and with stiff joints and too-big hands he burns in a border of holly leaves and berries, even dotting the I in her name with one. 

“All finished,” he says, and before he can even blow on the final product it’s in her hands, tracing the lines and practically thrumming with excitement.

“Can I keep it?” she asks, spinning it in her palm. 

“Just until this weekend, but I can show you how to make…” His sentence trails off as she’s already heading for the door.

“Awesome, thanks Joel!” she calls over her shoulder. He chuckles to himself, ambling back to his own little project. Ellie turns in the doorway, silhouetted by the sun dipping low.

“She’ll love those too,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows and disappearing before he can retort. Sighing, he turns back to the last few pieces he needs to assemble.

He hopes she does.

Joel finishes the ornaments just in time for the tree decorating, timed perfectly with Jackson’s town square lighting. Joel saw Tommy drag the tree into your schoolhouse, conversing with you and Maria as he brushed stray needles from your front porch. The way you smiled when someone did kind things for you warmed Joel even from afar.

“Planning on helping out with the festivities tonight?” Tommy asked as the day wound down, putting boxes on the bar as Joel enjoyed a whiskey. 

“Ellie wants to go to the tree decoratin’, figured I’d make myself useful.”

Tommy’s half smile hovers in his periphery. He tries to ignore it.

“You got something to hang on that nice teacher’s tree?” Joel rolls his eyes and throws back the drink. He’s not going to sit by and tolerate romance advice from his baby brother. “C’mon, you know she’s into you, right? Looks at you like you hung the moon.” Tommy leans on the bar, turning something small between his fingers. “See you looking at her like that too. Practically Hallmark shit by now.” 

“See ya, Tommy,” Joel sighs, getting up from his chair while rolling his eyes.

“Well, at least you can bring this too,” he says, and holds out what he’s been fiddling with. 

Joel looks down, and his heart stops.

“...Where did you…”

Tommy’s face softens, placing the item between them on the bar. 

“Went home before I ended up in Jackson. Not a lot left there, but I found the Christmas box in the basement. It was one of the few things I could carry with me.” Tommy’s face fights an emotion welling up, forcing a smile even as his eyes shine. “Thought she could be part of a new tradition too.”

A small wooden ornament fashioned to look like a Christmas ball, the name “Sarah” painted in the center and surrounded by red and green patterns. She brought it home from school and it had a prominent place on their tree, even as she got older and complained about how ugly it was. 

Joel’s throat is so tight his breath whistles out, chest pounding and eyes stinging, but he picks up the ornament and cradles it in his work-worn hands. Then, a lightness eases his breathing, and a soft smile plays across his face. He clears his throat preemptively, pocketing the treasure.

“Yeah, I will. I’ll put it next to Ellie’s. Thank…thank you,” he stumbles, and the brothers share a moment of memory. 

“And you know, everyone’s gonna be out looking at the lights tonight in case you need some privacy,” Tommy suggests, breaking the tension with all the finesse of a sledgehammer. 

“Bye, Tommy,” Joel calls over his shoulder, Tommy’s chuckle ushering him out.

You must have done this many times before, because when Joel and Ellie walk into the schoolhouse it’s like something off a holiday card. The school supplies are tucked away in favor of  soft seating areas. The tree Tommy brought in is tucked in a corner, lights already wound around the thick boughs. Something apple and spiced wafts through the air, and the chatter of children and adults alike is at the comfortable level that it blankets everything in a festive glow. 

Ellie’s face is glowing too, taking in the drastic shift in decor. She hangs back a little, eyes roaming and waving to friends but shyly tucked behind Joel’s elbow. Her hand is in her pocket, and Joel would put money on her ornament being in the palm of her hand. Joel’s not much better, Sarah’s in his own and a paper packet tucked under his arm. 

Before either of them can feel too out of place, you weave through the growing crowd with a wave. 

“I’m so glad you could come!” you call out, squeezing Joel’s arm and beaming down at Ellie. She shifts on her feet, a small smile appearing at a familiar face.

“This is wild, is like the whole town here?” she asks, and you shrug with your hands on your hips. Some of your hair is out of place, and perspiration clings to your throat. Joel swallows, eyes darting away. 

“Well I did say I had a special surprise for tonight, and you inspired it!” you say, motioning to a series of little dioramas tucked into an empty bookshelf. Ellie weaves around Joel to get a closer look as you point out one of the shelves.

“You asked me about Christmas and I didn’t know what to tell you because I don’t know all that much about how it came to be, or the traditions around it. But then I realized we’re all building a new world together, and the holidays are what we bring with us.” You slide a piece of paper out and hand it to Ellie, and she reads it with a growing smile. Joel leans over to catch a glimpse at your prim handwriting.

Christmas was very traditional in my house. Santa was supposed to come by and bring us presents for being good girls and boys. We would write letters to him about things we wanted, and our parents were supposed to deliver them to him. On Christmas Eve we baked cookies and left them out for Santa because he had a lot of houses to deliver to and needed snacks. I left out carrots for the reindeer too, because they were doing all the work. And then on Christmas morning dad made pancakes and we weren’t allowed to open anything until mom was up. I believed in Santa until I was about 12, when I asked how he could get into houses without chimneys. My parents told me that Santa was an idea, not a real person, and the spirit of the season was to show people you appreciate them and give back to the community around you. I was more worried that I would get less presents if Santa wasn’t giving them to me anymore.

“I gathered up all these stories from everyone in Jackson, of all faiths and beliefs, and you can read through them and see how everyone celebrates.” You lean down now, speaking quieter. “There’s no right way, and no one person celebrates the same as everyone else. The one thing that does stay the same is that it’s a time to show love to the people around you.” 

Joel’s eyes roam the shelves, spotting a Hanukkah-themed scene and something with bright colors he doesn’t recognize. Pages of script torn from your notepad tuck behind Santa figurines and menorahs and little wooden shoes. Ellie picks up another slip of paper. 

“Wait, there are elves?”

You shrug, straightening up and catching Joel’s eye. He gives a lopsided smile as you’re pulled away by someone else entering, a twinkling light in the night surrounding Jackson. 

A time to show love to the people around you? Maybe he can finally pluck up the courage to do that.

“Okay, everyone with an ornament please come up to the tree! Not too many at one time!” you call out, and Joel’s heart jumps into his throat. He pulls the packet from under his arm, hoping that maybe a bunch of kids would rush to the front, but everyone is reluctant to be the first. You stand by the tree, a shimmer of trepidation on your face, and Joel takes the first step.

“Brought these for…for the tree,” he says, handing the rough package to her. He should have put a bow on it, but he already wrestled with the packaging too long, he didn’t think he had the nerve to make it look any more like a gift. All eyes are on you as you unfold the wrapping, eyes darting up to Joel like he’s playing a trick, but when six delicate snowflakes are revealed a murmur of chatter fills the room. Your eyebrows lift, eyes lighting up and he wishes he’d given it to you alone. He wants your appreciation and surprise and happiness all for himself, even as the whispers, “oh wows,” and “good job, Joels,” waft to his ears. 

“Joel, these are amazing,” you breathe, lifting one of the snowflakes out to dangle on your fingers. A smattering of applause he doesn’t deserve deepens his blush, but he takes the praises as graciously as possible. “I’m…thank you so much. I’m going to put them on, please everyone! Bring your ornaments up!” The snap into something much cheerier and brighter flutters Joel’s heart, catching a brief shine in your eye as you busy yourself adding his ornaments to the tree. 

Could he go to you in the hubbub of people now approaching, lay a hand on your shoulder and envelope you in his arms? The ache to do so is close to a real animal in his chest begging to be touched. Instead he hangs back as kids hang dried apples and garland, painted baubles and all varieties of crafts. Wooden birds with real plumage, tiny knitted mittens, worn pictures encased in resin. His eyes draw to Ellie, sidling up next to you to hang her name ornament. You help her pick a spot, and Joel can see how you praise the design, and add some reassuring words. Standing back from the tree Ellie leans against you, and you wrap an arm around her shoulders. 

The world slows around them, frozen in time under Joel’s watchful eye. He blinks, capturing a mental photo of this moment. He’ll look back on it often, the way Ellie both looks so much like a child but also so grown. How you give her kindness and support in as quiet of a way as she’ll accept, rewarded with her ease. And the feeling in his own chest, expanding and swelling like his heart could never fit his body again.

“Look outside!” calls one of the younger children, and the crush of people move from the tree to the windows at the front of the schoolhouse. Craning his neck, Joel catches the lights strung around town starting to click on, brilliant bubbles of amber light dissipating the darkness. A murmur kicks up, and the tree sparkles to life with colorful pops illuminating every memory adorning its branches. There’s cheering and clapping again, this time well deserved, and Ellie’s face brightens as her name sways gently with all of the others. 

“There’s more!” someone cheers, and the front door opens to guide the group out and onto the frigid streets. Ellie’s head whips around, eyes pleading, and Joel can only nod with feigned annoyance as she rushes out.

“Put on your hat…” he calls after her, but if she hears she gives no indication. In a moment the schoolhouse is empty of all but you and him. Joel glimpses more lights leading the people of Jackson through the town center, noise dulling to a comforting hum. 

You’re still in front of the tree, admiring the final product. Joel takes a deep breath and slowly approaches, standing beside you in comfortable silence. You take in a big breath of your own and blow it out, satisfaction painting your features.

“Every year it seems like it’ll never get done, and yet it always comes together,” you say, bumping shoulders with Joel. He snorts and smiles, taking in all of the chaotic beauty of the decorations.

“Meant a lot to Ellie that you did all this,” he says, tossing his head back at the written history you compiled. You cock your head at him thoughtfully. 

“It got me thinking, you know. What’s important to everyone, now that we’re here after everything?” Your eyes search the tree, Joel’s following. “For me, it was my dad. We called him Father Christmas. Loved the holidays, was excited for them every year.” Your fingers find a red plastic boot nestled in the boughs. “When we got to Jackson he was so excited to be around people again, to feel that community. He brought Christmas back for lots of people.” A watery sigh signals Joel to lean closer, fitting his arm snugly around your waist. It’s never felt more right to hold someone. “The years since he’s passed have been hard to keep this all up, but it’s also the closest I feel to him.” 

Joel reaches into his pocket, Sarah’s ornament in the palm of his hand. Ellie’s has a perfect spot next to it, and he tucks them together amongst the lights. Fresh spruce tickles his nostrils as he arranges them just so.

“My daughter,” Joel says, and it may be the first time he’s offered this part of himself up willingly. “Lost her on the day it all went to hell. She loved the holidays too, always wanted to see real snow. You know, like something out of a Norman Rockwell.” The rest of the words he wants to say stick in his throat, but it’s enough. You turn to him, sliding a hand up his arm to squeeze it gently. A knowing smile curves your lips, tempting as hot cocoa after a cold day.

“Thank you, Joel. For the ornaments, for being here. For everything.”

His body steps into yours, pulling you close. Your eyes widen briefly, then your expression becomes hopeful.

“Thought maybe I was being obvious, around all the time looking for a reason to be where you are,” Joel muses, finally bold enough to cup your cheek. Leaning into it, you fit your body into his.

“Maybe I thought it was too good to be true,” you say, a tiny brush of his thumb over your lips startling a breath out. 

“Pretty sure it’s me who’s been feelin’ that way, darlin’,” Joel teases, but the yearning in your eyes tells him he’s got to say it now. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for…so goddamn long.”

Then your hand winds into his nape, and your lips meet.

You’re as soft as he hoped, yielding to his firmer press but bold when he parts his lips and your tongue begs entrance. A choked moan dies in his throat as cinnamon and apple dances on his palate, cradling your head so he can deepen the kiss. The grip on his hair tightens, your other hand fisted in his flannel. He wraps around you, protector, devotee, your body and soul safe with him.

Your lips part regretfully, foreheads pressed together as you catch your breath. Beating him to composure, you tilt your chin to press a kiss to a spot on his jaw where his beard is a little thin.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you here for so long,” you repeat, breathy giggles rippling through you both. Joel dips in to claim your lips again, softer, slower. Your arms wind around his neck, and if he wasn’t keenly aware that at any moment someone could wander back in he would have laid you out to explore with his lips and teeth and tongue. His calmer head prevailed.

“Darlin’, I wouldn’t ask you for a single other thing, Christmas or not, if you’d say you’ll be mine,” he asks, heart on the line as he hopes you feel the magic of this moment just as much. Your eyes crinkle, fingers stroking through his hair.

“Joel Miller, nothing would make me happier,” you answer, earning another sweetly spicy kiss. When you part again, you say, “Well, except…”

Joel’s heart hammers, eyebrows knitting up in concern.

“...I could use help putting the star on my tree tonight. The one in my bedroom?” 

A mischievous smile darts onto Joel’s face, playfully squeezing your ass.

“And how tall is this tree? Should I bring my ladder?”

You tap your chin thoughtfully.

“Maybe two, three feet?”

Joel nods with understanding.

“Of course, we should take care of that immediately.”

“Immediately.”

Hand in hand, you exit the schoolhouse, leaving it unlocked in case anyone wants to come bask in the holiday cheer later in the evening. Looking down the main street, Jackson is lit like a beacon of hope. Children toss snowballs at each other while parents watch on and laugh. Ellie is talking to a girl her age, shyly extending a paper-wrapped gift. A beautiful, kind woman is holding his hand and if his back were better he’d throw her over his shoulder in his haste to get her alone. 

And in the darkest of times, when the days are short and cold and hope runs thin, there is still so much love to share.

END

A/N: the ornaments Joel makes were inspired by a gift I got a few years back. These handmade ornaments are some of my favorites every year!

[yoongiseesawmp3]

paradigm - seonghwa (m)

summary: bored, at work, you start to realize your fellow bartender seonghwa is hot. like really hot. after talking, you find out you’re both having dating trouble. how bad would it be if you helped each other out, just a little bit?

word count: 4.4k

warnings: smut!!!!! switch!seonghwa (leaning bottom), switch!reader (leading top), afab reader, oral (m receiving), cumplay, penetrative sex (unprotected), mentions of alcohol

masterlist

dating sucks, and lately your roster has been disappointing you exponentially. you need new blood, but you’re not sure where to go to find it. you’re tired of apps, bored with shitty conversations and no follow through, and if you have to waste another night out at an expensive restaurant just for the most mediocre sex of your life then you might start to consider celibacy. 

you’re griping about all of this to your friend from work, seonghwa, when a customer comes in and ruins the mood. you’re technically off the clock, just here to bug hwa while the dinner rush trickles in, but you decide to do some prep for your shift tomorrow while you wait. you’re not a sommelier by any means, but in an attempt to class up the joint, the owner wanted to hire someone who could pose as a wine snob to make the place seem nicer. enter you, a self proclaimed connoiseur (you drank a lot in college). seonghwa is the night bartending lead, and also the most attractive man in the world, no competition. you’re staying late today to make a house sangria out of some poorly selling wines, but you also wanted to linger and make eyes at seonghwa with his newly bleached hair. 

speaking of the object of your desires, seonghwa turns back to you after pouring a round of shots for a guy who barely looks 18 let alone 21, and he jumps back into your previous conversation.

“sorry, what was i saying?” he asks you, wiping his hands on a bar towel.

“did you card that kid?” you ask back, watching the customer struggle to balance the heavy tray of shots back to his table.

“yeah,” seonghwa shrugs. “it didn’t look like a fake but he’s definitely twelve.”

“you’re very ethical,” you point out, struggling to cut the orange in front of you, tongue poking out between your lips in concentration. seonghwa watches on, intrigued by the shock of pink poking your lips, but you interrupt his staring by saying “you were about to solve all my relationship problems before squarepants showed up.”

“right,” he laughs, gently taking the knife from your hands. “let me do this, you’re gonna chop a finger off. you shouldn’t be doing this with a paring knife anyway.”

“that’s all we have back here!” you complain. then, you watch in shock as seonghwa produces a utility knife from thin air. “you a magician?”

“no,” he laughs with that strained smile of his. “i’ve got a couple hidden back here-”

“safe,” you interrupt.

“-face down, in this jar, as safe as can be, thank you,” he continues, pointing to the jar he’s talking about. 

“how’d you get those?”

“i asked wooyoung,” he shrugs. “they’ve got plenty in the kitchen so he said i could have some spares.”

“so helpful, that kid,” you say as you swipe an orange slice seonghwa just cut.

“hey!”

“cut em into rounds,” you instruct, taking little nibbles out of the slice in your hands. “they’re going into sangria, so make it pretty.”

“now i’m starting to understand why you can’t land a man,” hwa grumbles as he follows your request.

“what’s that supposed to mean?” you ask in mock hurt.

“you’re high maintenance!”

“i didn’t ask you to do this for me,” you chuckle, taking the knife back from him. “go back to your job, the less we bother each other the earlier i’ll leave.”

“but then who’s gonna get on my nerves?” seonghwa asks with a pout.

“wooyoung?”

“probably.”

“oh, right, i was saying,” he starts again, messing with some of the quick pours, “if you can’t meet anyone on an app then you might have to, gasp, meet someone in person y/n.”

“i know that,” you groan. “but how? where? just start going up to strangers?”

“basically,” hwa nods. “you could start with boy wonder over there.”

“ok, if you’re not gonna be serious about this then we can talk about something else,” you say as you slide the completed slices from your cutting board and into the large sangria pitcher. “how’s your life? any problems we can solve there?”

“hm,” he thinks, “well, hongjoong pointed out yesterday that i haven’t brought anyone back to the apartment in six months, so that’s a new record i think.”

“six months?” you scoff. “i don’t believe you.”

“why not?”

“looking the way you do?” you ask. “no way you don’t get boned on the regular.”

“what do you mean looking the way i do?” seonghwa asks with a smile. 

“never mind.”

“no, tell me in detail.”

“i need to grab an apple from the kitchen,” you say, trying to scoot past seonghwa to find your escape. unfortunately, he cages you in, arms enclosing around you and resting on the bar behind you. 

“you like the way i look?” he asks with a smirk, and you decide to take the bait.

“um, yeah? especially with your hair like this, it’s kinda sexy,” you admit, not letting seonghwa get the best of you.

“oh?” he asks, quirking an eyebrow at your response. he holds your gaze for a moment, and briefly, very briefly, you think he might kiss you. the sound of the bell above the door distracts seonghwa ever so slightly, and you’re able to slip from his trap before he can stop you again. you scurry to the back of house, hiding in the walk in for just a minute before you head back to the bar. 

seonghwa is busy with some of the regulars at the bar, doing his best to relate to these old men and make their disgusting drinks without batting an eye. you’re able to take up your spot at the end of the bar, happily chopping fruit until you’ve got enough for two big pitchers of sangria tomorrow. you start pulling the low bottles from the wine rack behind you, and in your focused state you don’t notice seonghwa finishing up with the men and turning back to watch you. he’s leaning against the bar drying some glasses, his eyes sweeping up and down your body, noticing (not for the first time) how good you look in the uniform. he’s so focused on staring at your ass that he almost doesn’t notice you struggling to reach a wine bottle at the top of the rack, but he steps in and places his hand at the small of your back while he easily grabs the wine you were reaching for, handing it to you with a wink.

“thanks,” you blush, not expecting this small act of kindness from him. his hand lingers for a moment, and when he finally removes it, you can feel the warmth it left in its wake. “how long with you be here tonight?”

“till close, why?” seonghwa asks, hopeful.

“i’m putting this in the walk in, do you mind tasting it before you leave? that should be enough time for it to set, and just let me know if needs anything else?” you ask, not noticing how seonghwa’s face falls once he hears what you need. 

“yeah, sure,” he replies. “so you’re heading out?”

“yeah,” you nod. “been here too long, i’m not getting paid overtime for this.”

“i can share some of my tips,” seonghwa offers, but you shake your head.

“i haven’t contributed, those are your tips m’dear.”

“but you did?” seonghwa says, confused.

“how?”

“looking beautiful,” he sighs, making you laugh at the way his face changes from serious to dreamy so quick. 

“seonghwa if i didn’t know any better i’d say you’re coming onto me,” you joke, looking for any fruit scraps you might have missed in your clean up.

“and what if i am?” he comes back, and you stop. you look up at him and he just quirks that damn eyebrow again as if to challenge you to respond. 

“i’ll see you tomorrow, hwa.”

“i’m just saying, we could help each other out!” he half shouts as you walk away, and you swat in his direction and tell him to quiet down. “think about it!” he calls after you one last time, and then you’re too close to the kitchen to hear what he might try to convince you with next.

-

you make it home just fine, warming up your dinner before you take a short shower. the whole time you go about your routine though, you keep thinking back to what seonghwa said. he was flirting with you, he made that clear. and when he said you could help each other out? your subconscious needs to hear more about that before it runs wild in your imagination. but you can’t just text him and say hey wanna come fuck?...right? 

you decide to distract yourself with a show, doing your best to focus on their drama and not your own. you start dozing off a couple episodes in, the exhaustion from your day finally catching up with you. when your phone buzzing wakes you up, you notice how late it is. your first thought is about the restaurant, this is usually closing time, and then your next thought it seonghwa. did he try your sangria like you asked? that’s when you realize the reason for you phone buzzing was the man himself. you check the message and it’s a simple “hey” which makes you scoff. you sit up, pausing your show before you respond. 

“hey,” you send. then, “did you try my sangria?”

“yeah,” he replies immediately. you watch as the three dots pop up for a moment, and disappear again. 

“and?” you prompt, wanting an answer about your concoction before you go in tomorrow.

“i have thoughts,” he texts back. is he always this dry over text?

“what are your thoughts.”

a few seconds go by, but it feels like hours as you watch him type, and type.

“let me tell you in person ? :)”

-

seonghwa gets to your house in less than 20 minutes, so either he sped all the way here, or he was already on the way when he was texting you. sneaky bastard either way. he knocked quietly, and you opened the door quickly to find him standing there looking delectable as ever despite just working a closing shift. you open your mouth to say something when seonghwa speaks first.

“it needs sugar,” he says quickly, grabbing your face and kissing you after. it’s hungry, but meditated, like he’d been waiting for this. you weren’t the only one with occupied thoughts the past few hours, because seonghwa couldn’t stop thinking about all the things he wanted to do with you. the things he wanted you to do to him. while he’s got you by the mouth, you wrap your arms around his waist and fully pull him into your apartment, his foot catching the door to close it for you. you push him against it, hands itching to touch his skin as his hands settle at your neck. you grab wildly at his shirt, pulling him even closer to you so your breaths are becoming one and your lips stay locked together. seonghwa nips at your bottom lip, and you yelp, the pause letting his tongue explore your mouth. you moan at the taste of him, and he feels his cock stirring in his pants at the sound. with your hands still grabbing his shirt firmly, you tug him toward your couch, hoping you don’t back into anything as you walk. hwa’s hands fall from your neck to your waist, his eyes peeking open to make sure you don’t hurt yourself. 

you make it to the couch and pull seonghwa down on top of you, your hands sliding down his chest, memorizing every line and every dip, until your hands stop at his waist, trying to untuck his shirt so you can slip your hands underneath it and run your fingers over his skin. when he feels you make contact, he shudders, and you smile into the kiss, finally pulling back for a minute to catch your breath. 

“sensitive?” you ask with a teasing glint in your eye, and seonghwa grinds down into you, earning a shocked moan from you.

“no, you?” he asks mockingly, brushing the hair from your face as he hovers over you. the way he’s looking at you is too sincere for your liking, but you can’t help admiring him in return. you’ve never been this close to him, and you’ve never noticed how deep his dark brown eyes are, or the way his sharp features get more delicate the closer you look. your gaze trails back down to his plump lips, reddened from your prior make out, and you nip at his lips to entice him to kiss you again. he’s easy to convince, because he’s diving in again, kissing you deeper this time. your hands continue exploring his soft skin, but you trail them lower to his belt and work at getting it undone. you don’t bother taking it out, you just undo it and his pants, letting your hand dip down to cup him over his boxers. the touch has seonghwa bucking his hips, his breath fanning over your cheeks as he pants at the contact. you can tell he’s trying to get more friction by moving his hips, but you’re not having that. 

“ah ah,” you say, pulling back from the kiss and smirking when seonghwa chases your lips. “if we’re gonna do this you gotta be good for me. keep your hips still.”

“who said i have to listen to you?” he boldly quips, and a firm squeeze to the bulge in his pants has him caving quickly.

“my house, my rules,” you tease, tracing the outline of his cock lightly. “so? can you be good for me, sweet boy?” he eagerly nods, trying not to buck into your hand again as you cup him tighter. 

“tell me how you want me,” he says in a voice that’s just barely above a whisper, and if his lips weren’t ghosting over yours as he spoke you might’ve missed it. you smile at him and peck his lips sweetly, removing your hands from him completely to cup his cheeks. 

“on my bed? take your shirt off, and i’ll meet you in there.” he kisses you one more time, tongue dipping in to hold you there longer, but a quick pinch to his cheek has him pulling back sadly, sticking his tongue out at you as he untangles himself from your hold. you watch as he wanders toward the hallway, his hand reaching back to pull his shirt over his head. you could write sonnets about the way his back muscles contract as he moves, almost drooling as your eyes follow his every move. “second door on the right,” you call out to him, and then he disappears down the hall. 

you want to make him wait a minute, so you take your time getting up and taking your own shirt off, discarding it on the couch before tugging your sleep shorts up high enough to accentuate your ass (since you know seonghwa loves staring at it so much). you walk toward your room, heart racing at what you’re about to do, but a quiet cry pulls you out of your thoughts. you slide to your door, catching yourself on the door frame as you look on in shock at seonghwa palming himself and tweaking one of his nipples. you’d keep enjoying the show, but your dramatic entrance and the gasp you let out at what you found distracts him, and he blushes but smirks anyway, motioning for you to join him.

“you took too long,” he sighs, grabbing your hand to pull you on top of him as soon as you’re close enough. you slot yourself over his crotch, careful not to make direct contact with his cock just yet. you drape your arms over his shoulders, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck while you speak. 

“before we keep going,” you start, “can i ask something?”

“am i harder than i’ve ever been right now? yes,” he replies, and you laugh.

“no, but thank you for the insight,” you giggle, the motion grazing you over his lap. he contracts at the contact, and you sit further up into his lap before continuing. “i just wanna be sure, you’re clean right?”

“y/n, i told you, it’s been months,” he deadpans. “and i was plenty clean before that. so yes.”

“ok, well, i was asking, because, um, i don’t think i have any condoms?” you say sheepishly, and the color drains from seonghwa’s face. “so either we just do oral or you can come on my stomach.”

“stomach please,” he says quickly, and you smile at how eager he is.

“yeah?” and he nods again. “lay back for me then.”

“what, already?” he asks, and you shake your head. 

“no baby, i’m gonna take it slow,” you say as you lift yourself from his lap so he can lay back on your bed. you crawl down his body, leaving kisses across his chest and down between the soft lines of his abdomen. “you’re really soft.”

“thanks,” he whispers, watching you intently. “new lotion.”

“hm, really?” you ask, kissing along the waistband of his pants. “what kind?”

“i’m not really sure babe, i’ll have to get back to you on that,” he says as he rolls his eyes, and you work on pulling his pants down. he helps you by kicking them off the rest of the way, and he keeps his hips raised, thinking you’ll take his boxers off next. you simply just press his hips back into the mattress and go back to sprinkling kisses across his waist, down his thigh, along the seam of his briefs, ignoring his cock completely as you move to the other side to repeat your motions. seonghwa groans above you, and it stokes your ego to know he’s affected by such meager attention. 

“you sure you’re not sensitive?” you ask tauntingly, looking up at seonghwa but leaving your lips hovering over his cock. his eyes fall to yours and he whines at the sight of you so close to him but still separated, and you decide he’s had enough teasing for now. 

“if i say yes will you just take these off?” he asks, but you’re already moving to free his cock from his final layer. his cock bobs as hwa lifts himself up to remove his boxers fully, and you feel proud at how red and swollen it is just from a few touches. you softly grasp it, earning a gasp from the beautiful man above you. you spit on it before twisting your hand to work him up a little more, and the whines leaving his pouted lips reminds you of what he said earlier. 

“does it feel good, or am i hurting you?” you ask, wanting to make sure this is good for both of you.

“feels so good,” he breathes out, teeth clenched. “but i need to come soon.”

“really? couldn’t tell,” you tease, stroking him a few more times before leaning down to lick his tip. his precum coats your tongue, and you’re addicted to him and the sounds he’s making above you. you suck on the head, pulling back and spitting on your hand before you stroke him again, steadying him in front of you so you can swallow him in one go. when hwa feels his head hit the back of your throat, he cries out, shaking above you beautifully. you’re mesmerized by him, and you can’t help but watch as you bob up and down on his cock, stroking what you can’t fit. you flatten your tongue beneath him as you lick all the way back up, sucking on his tip again to get his attention. in his hazy state he stares down at you, eyes glazed over and mouth open slightly. he watches entranced as you go down on him again, and this time when you feel him at the back of your throat you suck, bobbing up and down messily, and you get to watch as seonghwa comes undone above you. his body jerks as he comes, shooting his load down your throat in spurts, but it’s such a strong orgasm you’re almost afraid he’ll never stop coming. you keep watching him even after he’s done, breathing heavily and sweat dripping from his forehead. you slowly remove yourself from his cock, holding the rest of his release that was sitting on your tongue in your mouth.

“so good to me,” he says breathlessly, watching you crawl back up to sit on his lap again. you give him a kiss, dipping your tongue past his lips so you can push the rest of his come into his mouth, and he moans when he realizes what you’re doing. his hands grip your hips, grinding you down into him, and you’re shocked to feel him hard again. you let hwa keep grinding you into his cock like that, making out with him slowly, until you can’t take it anymore. 

“can i ride you?” you ask after detaching yourself from his mouth. 

“do you even have to ask?” 

“help me get undressed then,” you reply, and seonghwa quickly grabs the elastic of your sports bra and helps you pull it over your head. his hands carefully trail over your chest, taking time to pinch at your nipples which makes you buck into him for once. his hands keep going, tracing down your back to dip into your shorts and squeeze your ass. he pushes your shorts off then, leaving you in your panties, a wet patch almost dripping over his cock. you grind down into him to let him feel how wet you are, and his head falls back as he groans.

“you’re gonna be the death of me,” he says, tracing his fingers over your waistband before he dips a finger past the elastic to slowly pull those down too.

“death by pussy?” you joke as you help him take your panties off. “not a bad way to go.”

“yeah now that i think about it that might be a sweet deal,” he smiles. hands going wild trying to find purchase on your thighs, your ass, your waist. seonghwa watches with stars in his eyes as you grab his cock, lining him up at your entrance, and as you try to get him at the right angle he sees your arousal literally drip from you core, and you feel his cock twitch in your hand. “you are so sexy, y/n.”

“not as sexy as-ugh-you,” you grunt, feeling him at your entrance. you brace yourself on his strong shoulders, making eye contact with him before you sink down on his cock. “oh, fuck.”

“shit,” he hisses, feeling you clench around him. “maybe i did die. maybe this is what heaven feels like.”

“what’s it feel like?”

“soft,” he starts off, and then his face contorts as you grind down. “and warm. like you.”

“god, hwa, you feel so good stretching me out,” you tell him. “i’m gonna move now.” he nods, and you take that as enough encouragement to bounce on his lap, setting a fast rhythm to chase your own high. he shifts beneath you, trying to help you find the right angle, and when he moves just right and hits your g-spot you literally collapse on top of him, moaning straight into his ear as he bucks up to keep fucking you right where you need it. 

“you good baby?” he whispers in your ear, and you just moan in response, thighs struggling to hold you up because hwa has managed to turn your legs to jelly. you regain some control by bracing yourself on his chest, rubbing your thumbs over his nipples as you try to pick your pace back up. you’re already close, and you clench down on hwa to test the waters, seeing how much more it’ll take before he comes too. “aw fuck, do that again, feels so good y/n.”

“you gotta tell me,” you huff out, squeezing him between your walls, “you gotta tell me when you’re close, remember?”

“i know,” he nods. “not yet though. loving your pussy too much, don’t wanna leave it.” his hands at your waist start to move, one circling around to cup your ass, the other sliding down to find your clit. hwa starts just by tapping it slowly, sending jolt after jolt through your core. your moans turn into high pitched cries, tears pricking at your eyes, and hwa slows to rub your clit with a determination to get you to finish before him. “look at me,” he says, and your eyes meet his. he takes in your fucked out state, bucking up to meet your hips again. you watch him as you crash into your release, almost yelling at how good it feels to have him fuck you through your orgasm. you’re quickly oversensitive though, so you bounce on him a couple more times before pulling off his cock, and the release from your warm walls has him coming as soon as the cold air hits his dick. you watch in awe as he jerks again, eyes rolling to the back of his head as he finishes on himself, come spurting up his stomach and even landing on your thighs still pressed up against his. you keep watching as he comes down, swiping a finger through the come that managed to land on you, and he sucks it clean off his fingers. he’s pulling you in for a kiss before you can do anything else, and then you feel his tongue pressing past your lips to deposit his release into your mouth. you pull back from him, spit and come connecting your lips, but you swallow and show him, a cocky smile growing over his face. 

“that was hot,” you say, still trying to breath normally.

“yeah, we need to do that again,” hwa replies.

“again? now?”

“no, not now, unless you want to,” he says with a smirk. “but i was thinking more like another day. when we need it again.”

“that’d be nice,” you agree, and seonghwa slowly pulls you down to lay against his chest. he presses a kiss to the top of your head before he speaks again.

“and i was thinking...if we did this again..we could do it at my place, and do it by my rules. what do you say?”

[scooburst]

Ok so this isn’t a normal post at all

But

I don’t think screentime limits should exist

Now I know I sound like a teenager who wants to spend all day on their phone, but I actually have reasons

1. Work

As kids get older, they get apps such as Remind or just log into their email for easier access. Then their job or school club can reach them easier and they’ll see it. But imagine if that gets sent when they’re limit is on. They may never see it.

2. Responsibilities

Most of the time screen time is considered a helper in managing screen time and teaching a kid to be responsible, but I disagree. If a kid instead now tries to learn the code and hope their parents approve a request, when they’re older they’ll see “no limit” and be up all night with it. Instead, what should be done is just plain teaching a kid how to limit themselves instead of forcing it and making them only want it more.

3. Disconnected

This one is from experience. Without access to be able to see what their friends are up to all the time or share their own experiences when they want too, it can cause a feeling of disassociation and confusion, which can lead to drastic measures from self harm to full on suicide. It may sound fake, but it’s true.

4. Mental health issues

Having this kind of disconnected feeing or being cut off so quickly can lead to many mental health issues, namely depression. This then impacts their social life, mental state, schoolwork, etc

5. Strained relationships

Without the ability to contact friends when they need to and that disconnection, the child may quickly lose friends and cut themselves off as a response. Along with this, their relationship with their family can get worse. They’ll blame their parents for this problem and growing up may go no contact or run away just to escape.

So whole many claim screen time limits are good for kids and will teach them time management, it won’t. It will lead to mental health issues and strained relationships.

If you need more, I looked at my friends without screen time limits phone usage and it was significantly less then those with limits. The ones with wanted to get it out of the way quickly so they didn’t worry about forgetting to do something after their limit is on. As for the ones without, they weren’t worried about not getting to say something since they would always have a chance.

[starbeltconstellation]

Since you are a passionate jedi fan, I would be interested in your opinion on a thing I noticed on AO3. There is a fanon that is inspired by Ancient Greek scholars having had sex with their pupils. In the fics there is a special night in which the masters have to fuck their padawans because it is tradition. Sex and AO3, you ask? What's new, you ask? What is new is that the writers explicitely write in their notes that the institutionalized fucking of the padawans is their way to show how corrupt and morally bad the jedi are. But how is something that fanfic writers completely made up to get more readers (because sex sells) a critique of the jedi in canon? No matter what answer I come up with, it is weird. Are these fanfic writers fetishizing a law allowing teachers to fuck their students, feel bad for their own arousal and try to shrug it off by making themselves believe that they are just writing these sex scenes for a "good cause"? I mean, if they hated the jedi so much, why would they write about them? The MCU or DC would get them more readers, right? I simply can't come up with a satisfying answer to why this mental gymnastics exist. I know this is a very long ask, but please address it if it is of any interest to you as well!

Hi, anon! 👋💕✨

Sooooo deeply sorry for the long wait time. 😭😖💔 Things just got away from me, and I kept putting off my response because I wanted to make sure I had the time to give the nitty gritty of my thoughts on your ask.

And as a pro jedi fan and a SW fan in general… I just have to say… ew. 😭☹️🤢💔

And it’s not necessarily that I’m trying to SHAME people that write darker or more sexual stuff (even though there are some things that just genuinely baffle me why ANYONE would enjoy writing something so horrible, but then again, I’ve never been a fan of horror movies, sooo… 😂🤷‍♀️).

And look, I’m aware that fiction is separate from reality and not necessarily a show of a person’s morals (it’s FAKE, at the end of the day), but at the same TIME, I believe people on this app and just in fandom spaces in general sometimes purposely plug their ears and sing “lalalala” by pretending that how we interact with the world doesn’t shape our perception and psyche to SOME degree.

And this isn’t me saying that if someone writes something like “noncon” or “whump” that they’re going to go out and hurt anybody! That’s the EXTREME reaction that conservative panic tries to drum up by pretending that people have no self control and need to be shielded from “corruption 🙄” or something like that. But what I DO believe is that seeing stories (whether love stories or family stories in general) WILL affect how someone can come to view relationships. This is on a tier scale, obviously. Kids and teenagers will have a harder time grasping why “365 Days” is not a modern Beauty and the Beast movie. 😭🤦‍♀️ BUT… with ADULTS… it’s easier to separate fiction from reality… in a CONSCIOUS way. But for me, from a psychological standpoint, if a person grows up with a specific attraction to certain toxic love stories that are PRESENTED as healthy when they just aren’t—it’s POSSIBLE that they can unconsciously seek out someone who fits that mold. I don’t think this is the NORM—but it IS a possibility, and that’s why I think it’s so important to recognize yourself and your own wants and needs in the real world and ask yourself “Does this make me feel safe and happy? Or just obsessively DESIRED?” and other things such as that.

Anyway, I got a little off topic (which I often do 😭😅), but my POINT is my disgust isn’t necessarily about these writers’s choices on exploring such darker themes in their work if they truly want to—it’s THEIR fic, at the end of the day. But what DOES disgust me is (yes, dear anon, you guessed it! 🙃🙃) that apparently writers are USING this trope to create even MORE anti Jedi rhetoric when there is already SO much of it in the community in general (and that god awful ‘The Acolyte’ show only made the hatred and genocide apologia worse, even though I do acknowledge the show wasn’t given as much of a chance as Ahsoka and The Mandolrian shows were).

Just as The Acolyte had to INVENT an entire scenario where the “EMPATHETIC SPACE MONKS 😭🤦‍♀️” of the galaxy apparently cover up a massacre which DIRECTLY parallels Anakin Skywalker’s descent to the Dark Side—which makes NO goddamn sense that it’s truly LAUGHABLE—you have brought to me a fic trope scenario where the writer has apparently INVENTED something that was NEVER canon to show how “corrupt 🙄” the Jedi Order is—before they stand back and go “haha! 😌 See? SUCHHH horrible people.”, as if they didn’t just invent that scenario in THEIR own head to justify their bias against the Jedi and their way of life.

It’s very similar to the uncharitable views that certain parts of the SW fandom (specifically the Anidala and the radical Anakin fans) have towards the Jedi in regards to NONCANON info that we do NOT truly know (such as why Anakin never visited Shimi all that time), before just CHOOSING the most uncharitable and mean spirited view of the Jedi that they can, which is saying—“Well, the Jedi Order must have a strict policy on NEVER seeing your birth family again, or they’ll be kicked out! 🤪🤪”, when there is NOTHING in canon to ever give any indication of that. It’s literally fanon that has somehow all but become canon in the eyes of the fandom, and I haven’t the foggiest clue how it happened (yes I do. 🙄🫠 It’s because SW fans LIKE Anakin, so of COURSE they don’t want to admit he was in the wrong or that he could’ve taken things too personally or the wrong way—so they settle on, “Those mean Jedi must’ve bullied him and kept him from his mom! 😡🤪”🙄🤦‍♀️).

Fans will make something up out of thin air—literally twisting themselves into KNOTS to try and excuse Anakin’s choices while blaming everyone else to pretend it’s not his fault and he didn’t truly have a choice (COMPLETELY untrue)—while at the very same TIME, giving absolutely NONE of that courtesy to the Jedi Order themselves. The Jedi’s actions are nitpicked to DEATH. Everything they do—choosing to fight in the war to save lives instead of sitting on the sidelines to watch the galaxy burn, not worshiping the ground Anakin walked on to try and teach him humility and grace and respect, literally putting their LIVES on the line RIGHT BESIDE THE CLONES each day on the battlefield, Mace going to arrest Palpatine before realizing the man would never be convicted at a corrupt trial—NONE of it is ever enough.

They are 10,000 strong (NOT taking into consideration how some are younglings or retired Jedi), and yet they are judged with the sharpness of a knife that they cannot solve every damn trillions of problems in the galaxy.

They are a literal DROP in the ocean. It is LAUGHABLE to expect them to somehow be able to end slavery throughout the galaxy in the Outer Rim without the backing of the Republic’s help (which they definitely would NOT choose to help the Jedi, and even if somehow they DID, it would STILL be a long and tedious thing that would take DECADES to fully accomplish), and it is even MORE ludicrous to BLAME the JEDI FUCKING ORDER of all people for the Clones’s situation, like they could just stroll into the Senate building and wave their lightsabers around to suddenly give the clones their (deserved) rights, or to expect them to somehow—what? Kidnap all the clones (because a lot of clones would sadly NOT go willingly because of their brainwashing indoctrination that this is what they were ‘made for’) and run from fighting in the war? Where the hell do people expect them to GO? How do people expect the Jedi to be able to take CARE of all those people (INCLUDING their own) in such a situation without the Republic backing or the Temple walls?—be able to just magically give the clones rights or to just magically be able to say no to fighting in the war as if that would somehow do ANYTHING for the clones instead of just placing them under the rule of men like Tarkin.

The one thing I will concede is that (WHILE being in the war, because YES, despite what some people believe, it was UNAVOIDABLE. Palpatine definitely made sure of that) the Jedi probably needed to learn to get more into politics to control their image in the eyes of the public (ironic, considering how many people blame them for their own genocide by saying they were ‘too involved in politics 🙄’ when the TRUTH is that they did everything to AVOID being in the political sphere because they heavily disliked it). There is a bit of (gentle-hearted) naïveté here, because they all assume that the citizens of the galaxy will just SEE that the Jedi are trying to protect them. But people get selfish and greedy REAL fast when their lives become affected badly by things happening around them. And the more the war dragged on, the more citizens of the galaxy (disgustingly) latched onto Palpatine’s slowly growing propaganda that the Jedi were somehow the big bad villains of the war and not like—oh, I don’t know—the fucking SENATE. 😭🙄🤦‍♀️

My POINT is that—you’re RIGHT, anon. This fic trope you’ve brought up is (while HEAVILY ew in my eyes 😭🤢) just one part of a growing infection of the SW fandom where it’s becoming the “edgy” take to blame the Jedi (the VICTIMS) for their own genocide, instead of placing the blame at the politicians’s feet, where it belongs. Palpatine wasn’t able to gain this power ALONE. The Senate makes it EASY for him. Because they’re all out for themselves at the end of the day (YES, even Padmé, who would’ve taken Anakin’s tusken massacre to the grave if she’d had the chance), and even the ones that DO care about the bills they’re trying to push to help change things STILL are in such a position of privilege (ironic, considering fandom pretends the Jedi Order is ‘privileged’, when they are anything but and are more of a ‘model minority’ group struggling desperately to keep the soft power they have to at the very LEAST have a place at the Senate’s side to TRY and make them see reason sometimes) that they forget about the little people suffering underneath them (Padmé has to be REMINDED of this by one of her handmaidens at one point).

The point is that George Lucas intended the SENATE to be the corruption of the Prequels that brought about their own doom. Not the fucking JEDI. 😭🤦‍♀️ But somehow, SW fandom has rewritten their memories to somehow believe this to be true. But if they’d watch ANY George Lucas interview, they’d see this is not the case. And people are allowed to have different interpretations of stories at the end of the day—but what IS ridiculous is how certain anti Jedi fans SHAMELESSLY try to rewrite history by outright STATING that it WAS GL’s original intent to portray the Jedi as ‘corrupt 🙄’, which is just… SO far from accurate that it’s laughable.

But yeah, at the end of the day, the REAL ‘villain’ (besides the Sith) of the prequels is the SENATE, because THEY are the ones who should be doing their jobs, but who are INSTEAD lining their pockets or kissing up to the clueless citizens of the galaxy come election time, while apathetically expecting the Jedi Order to solve all the problems that the SENATE is too damn lazy and selfish to solve.

The one conclusion I can make is that if the Jedi HAD realized they’d need to play the game of politics to keep in the public’s good graces—then you bet your ASS they would have been on intergalactic interview after intergalactic interview subtly “hinting” at the clones’s lack of rights and plight to try and stir up public outcry—because THAT is how you get true change. By changing things from WITHIN the very public itself. Because THAT is the only thing that will make the Senate LISTEN—is if they’re at risk of losing votes later on down the line.

Anyway, I of course went on the longest of rants once again. Lol. 😂😅 But I hope the long wait time was worth this response! 😊❤️💕

-

To any readers that stumble across this and are curious enough to check out my fic:

-

Tags:

@ensomnia

@heartfairy

@fangirlteallie

@shoniwake

@lemons-2-limes

@lexskiss

@spidersaye

@selenaftmarvel

@silverwoodj

@ajtaals

[daffi-990]

✨ Inspiration Saturday ✨

Tagged by @jesuisici33 and @911-on-abc. Thank you lovelies for the tag 😘

Today’s snippet is from the Rival Firefighters 🚒 fic and I’ve been having so much fun writing the chapter it’s in. I couldn’t resist making a moodboard for it either cos you know I love a good moodboard.

It’s been a long and hectic week and Eddie is extremely grateful it’s Shannon’s weekend with Chris. He loves his son and loves spending time with him, but Eddie is feeling so wound tight and needs to let off some stream in a not suitable for children kind of way. Halfway through the week he’d caved and opened up Grindr (he doesn’t usually use the app, preferring to make connections in person) and had matched with someone called Firehose. The name was a bit odd, but the guy was flirty and seemed fun and Eddie needed some fun. So they’d agreed to meet up Saturday night for drinks at a local club.

Eddie’s been to this particular club before so finding it isn’t a problem. It’s still early according to club going times, a little past 9:30 pm, so getting a car park is stress free which Eddie is grateful for. He hates not knowing a parking situation beforehand. He parks alongside a dark green jeep (or is it grey? He can’t tell in the crappy car park lighting and why is he focusing on the car’s colour anyway?) and does a quick check of his reflection in the rear view mirror before hoping out and making his way inside.

Firehose said he’d be at the bar and that he’d be wearing a dark grey short sleeved button down and that he was tall. Eddie hopes the guy isn’t one of those guys that says they’re 6 foot two but in reality are only 5 foot seven or something. Not that he’s opposed to short men, it’s just he prefers them tall and with enough muscle that he knows they could man handle him if he asked.

Eddie scans the bar and sees a guy that matches the description Firehose gave him. He can only see him from behind as the guy is turned in his seat watching a boisterous game of pool, but he’s very tall and his shirt is grey and stretching over a well muscled back. The guy’s hair is a dirty blond and looks to have been styled with something that has tamed his curls but has left his hair still looking soft. He has a sudden urge to run his hands through it. Maybe later. Eddie begins to move towards him and just as he’s about 3 feet away, the guy turns back to the bar and Eddie gets a side on view of his face.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Firehose, no, Buckley, turns in his seat at Eddie’s remark, a wicked grin lighting up his stupid smug face as realisation of the situation dawns on him. Firehose. The name suddenly makes so much more sense. Of course the guy Eddie was supposed to be meeting up with tonight was Buckley.

No pressure tagging: @callmenewbie @hippolotamus @lover-of-mine @wikiangela @thewolvesof1998 @exhuastedpigeon @fortheloveofbuddie @eddiediaztho @forthewolves @athenagranted @callaplums @captain-hen @wildlife4life @eddiebabygirldiaz @loserdiaz @ladydorian05 @rainbow-nerdss @try-set-me-on-fire @spotsandsocks @devirnis @disasterbuckdiaz @giddyupbuck @hoodie-buck @honestlydarkprincess @monsterrae1 and anyone who wants to play and has something they want to share -> consider this your tag ☺️

[evangelineshifts]

I need to tell someone this at least.

So this new pjo show is a complete joke, especially to some of the oj book fans(like me) who are so disappointed by how it turned out. The acting was stale(actors weren’t given anything to work with so fair), the visuals weren’t anything to speak of, the plot was nonexistent, everything was going too fast or too slow at all the wrong times, there was so much telling and almost no showing it felt like a voiceover or something, not only did they completely change what happened in half of the original book but they also added new and completely unnecessary scenes, to top it off the episodes were 30-40 minutes long with each episode having a budget of FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS. From the start of this they already messed it up, they promised a book accurate series but they’d be better off calling it loosely based (Percy is supposed to have black hair but his actor has blond hair and they expect me to like it??) they changed everything that didn’t need to be changed and the quality was so bad it makes me sick, and everyone is defending it and they’re all saying how good it is and yet there’s almost nothing good about it at all. And everyone’s defending the actors ‘oh they’re just kids’ they’re also getting paid to do this why aren’t they showing any emotion??? So it completely ruined any chances of this show being good and now I’m getting it practically shoved down my throat by every app and site I visit so it’s just sickening me even more and I’m trying to leave it alone but nobody is letting me because they’re saying how ‘good’ and ‘accurate’ it is. And rick(the book author) said he chose the cast because they were the best for the characters but none of the cast was actually good in this series(they were more in character out of it and that’s a whole nother slap in the face), the best thing I have to say about them is that their best performance was when they weren’t in the scene over explaining(which was almost never) the show never gave us any time to figure things out or be interested because it’s just so badly written it drags down everyone else involved. So now not only at i waiting for the ‘real’ pjo fans to realize that this show sucks but I’m also waiting for this show to get cancelled because it know it will. It sucks, and after waiting almost a decade this feels like a slap to the face. Why? Why would they completely change almost everything that made the books good? And I feel like what’s worse is that whenever anyone puts out any valid criticism on how little they stick to the book(making Percy blond, making clarisse skinny and not masculine) they get harassed into silence as if that’s a good argument? Is it so hard to put on a wig or some eye contacts or smth? You’re telling me these bland script writers are all they could find with a 15 million dollar budget? And where are the new faces? Everyone in that show is some kind of nepo baby or well known celebrity so that doesn’t work either. And it hurts so bad how they butchered the books to make this knockoff barely well thought out show. I hope this show never gets a season two because I’m actually sick thinking about how they’re gonna butcher that book.

I agree with some of the stuff said here except for the things to do with the actors. I think with the material given they did an excellent job with what they had. Their emotions were more in micro expressions which is really all they could do cause the setting was so serious and not in an action type way (which is when actors usually get to use big facials) through out the majority of the show. As a viewer I can understand why you think they’re acting was stale or emotionless but as an actress myself I can see it was anything but. They did really well considering the circumstances. And as for looks I really don’t see the point of making a big fuss cause that’s one thing I do agree with Rick about (one of the only things) as long as they embody the characters they can play them. And you can tell that from the way they act at the very least outside of the show that they do embody their characters amazingly. There’s no doubt in my mind about why they were casted. I do think that RR was a bit in over his head when trying to be so involved with the making of the show. I feel like overseeing the writing process just to make sure that they’re getting it right would’ve been enough but I think he got a bit too excited to try and make this something memorable and to his liking that he sort of overshot it. I wish there was a way that they could like redo season 1 or make some sort of redemption in season 2 but I’m a bit skeptical. These kids deserve a shot though, I’ve been following them all since the casting announcement and they’ve been working their ASSES off. They all read and reread the source material, they made an effort to interact with the fans and give as much insight as possible to the filming process, the kids themselves made an effort to become good friends with one another which really they just had to be friends at the least but they have frequent sleepovers and hangouts all the time from what I can see. They really care about this project and I think that in and of itself means that it’s worth fighting for. If not for Rick, for them and for the fans who DO like the show. They deserve their chance.

I do appreciate you feeling comfortable enough to share your thoughts with me!! Your opinion is completely valid and understandable!!

[maxdibert]

Ngl, we need your analyses and posts on TikTok. The amount of brainless people (Marauders fans) spewing such immense shit on this app is crazy. I need more balance on my fyp and they need to be educated about classism and racism

Honestly, I’m not on TikTok at all; I only use it to watch meme videos and stay updated on political news from my country. But I avoid exploring fandoms because I know it’ll just piss me off. I mean, I already get annoyed watching random videos unrelated to that because of the sheer amount of nonsense people spout, so for my mental health, I’ve completely banned myself from watching opinion videos on any topic. The problem nowadays is that people think that just because they have a microphone and a camera, they’re automatically qualified to share opinions about anything, even if they haven’t got the slightest clue what they’re talking about. You hear so much idiocy that your brain feels like it’s going to explode.

One of the things that irritates me the most about the Marauders fandom and Marauders stans is their blatant double standards. They legitimize themselves by claiming to hate JK Rowling and adopt this false progressive mask that capitalizes on the LGBTQ+ community to justify distorting canon. But in reality, it’s just a cheap pinkwashing tactic to trivialize the actions of characters who were, at best, bullies, and, in some cases, outright psychopaths (like some of the Slytherins, who are forgiven simply because they fit neatly into their Pinterest boards). Then they turn around and claim they can’t extend the same leniency to Severus, using completely fallacious and decontextualized arguments that, to top it off, don’t even align with the story’s foundations.

Take the topic of racism, for example. Equating blood purity with racism is an astronomically absurd socio-cultural leap. Racism is a political system established by colonialism and perpetuated by capitalist dynamics. It literally objectifies a portion of the population, dehumanizing them to the point where they aren’t even considered people, but beasts of burden. It’s rooted in the exploitation and expropriation of entire cultures, leading to the enslavement of their people, who were reduced to being property—mere objects of trade and consumption. Starting from that, even mentioning racism in this story feels like a massive insult. There’s no historical precedent of wizards colonizing Muggles, no record of wizards enslaving Muggles, no apartheid against Muggles. Muggle-borns haven’t been excluded from magical institutions due to segregation, haven’t had to attend separate schools, and haven’t been barred from working in magical government. They’ve always had the same rights as pure-blood or half-blood wizards. They’ve had the same opportunities, the same educational foundations, and the same access to jobs and social resources. Claiming that “blood purity = racism” not only reveals a complete lack of basic knowledge about how systems of oppression work (particularly race), but also a crude and pathetic attempt to use a serious and real societal issue as a frivolous token to prop up an argument based on fallacies. I genuinely hope that those who constantly throw around the term “racism” in this context are just kids who haven’t come out of their shells yet because any adult with some life experience and common sense should feel utterly ashamed. And I say this as someone who isn’t racialized—I don’t think you need to be to have some basic common sense or even a minimum level of general knowledge.

Moreover, the racism angle doesn’t hold water because it wasn’t Rowling’s intention. If anything, her intention was to create an analogy with 20th-century fascism, which is basically the big trauma of any standard white European person. And even then, she did a terrible job of it. While Voldemort might initially seem to parallel Hitler, the social reality of the wizarding world as presented by Rowling diverges significantly from the factors that facilitated the rise of fascism in certain countries during the first half of the last century.

For starters, in this case, pure-blood wizards—or even Voldemort’s non-pure-blood followers—aren’t a majority but a minority. This alone is a fundamental variation in the dynamics of events because in countries where fascist dictatorships were established, or at least attempted, the acceptance rate of radical ideas was majority-based or at least had a substantial popular backing. It’s not Muggles who’ve had to hide for centuries, not Muggles who’ve chosen to create their own communities separate from wizards, not Muggles who’ve opted to remain in the shadows. It’s the wizards. Another key difference.

The anti-Semitic rhetoric that gained traction in Nazi Germany was based on the perception of certain minorities (minorities—and this is crucial) as “the other.” This “other” was dehumanized to the point of creating a narrative that turned them into not just enemies but a threat to the general population. This was achieved through relentless propaganda campaigns, aided by an economic crisis and resentment towards the rest of Europe after the sanctions imposed following World War I.

In the case of blood purity, the minority is pure-blood wizards, and the issue stems from their disdain for the idea of Muggle-borns freely participating in their world. Ironically, they fear this could begin to dismantle the insular world they’ve created for themselves and lead to social advancements and changes in their traditions. Voldemort exploits this and directly appeals to the upper classes and powerful families (unlike traditional fascism, which appeals to the masses, not small elite groups) who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. He doesn’t need a smear campaign against Muggle-borns because he’s already capitalizing on the prejudices of the elites he’s targeting. Nor does he need to mobilize the entire wizarding population because, as far as we know, the vast majority either oppose him or remain neutral. Voldemort wouldn’t have won an election; he imposes everything through sheer force.

Even with the parallels Rowling attempts to draw, albeit clumsily, they don’t hold up.

What really bothers me is that both racism and fascism are incredibly serious and complex issues that people in this fandom casually throw around as buzzwords to give themselves an air of importance while engaging in hateful discourse. Ironically, they treat these topics with the same frivolity, lack of depth, and ignorance as Rowling herself did when she tried to shoehorn them into her plot. The very same people who pride themselves on hating JK Rowling fall into the same oversimplifications, the same lack of perspective, and the same privileged, narrow view of social issues as she does. It’s pathetic.

What’s even more pathetic is that this behavior reveals that everything about them and their fandom isn’t progressive at all—it’s just empty performativity, built on shaky foundations, reeking of classism and body-shaming.

And I don’t even know why I’ve written this whole essay—I’ve been drafting an official document on the side, and I got carried away lol.

Anyway, you get what I mean—these people are idiots. That’s the summary. xD

[callivich]

Gallavich Canon Divergent Prompts

Prompts for fics, headcanons, or discussion, art, etc. Interpret these however you like and feel free to use them as just a jumping off point, you don’t have to stick to the exact prompt! If any fics like any of these have already been written, please feel free to recommend them to me!

Mickey’s injured badly in 3x05 and ends up hospital rather than the Gallagher kitchen. As he’s unconscious, Ian is desperate to be able to stay with him. So, he accidentally refers to Mickey as his boyfriend and is allowed to stay in the hospital room. Ian’s hoping Mickey will allow him to help him as he heals but what will Mickey do when he wakes?

Ian doesn’t go straight to jail after blowing up the van, he ends up in hospital with burn injuries. When Mickey learns of this, he knows he’s going to have to turn himself in and cut a deal to somehow get back to Ian. But first…he’s gotta get back to Chicago and sneak in the hospital at least once, just to see if Ian’s ok.

Mickey gets out of jail quickly in s6 but doesn’t get back into contact with Ian. He comes up with a very lucrative money-making scam - he signs up to an escort company & poses as an escort on their app. Then when he meets up with men, he robs them and threatens to blackmail them if they report him. Somehow, Ian discovers Mickey on this app and he’s worried. He thinks Mickey is actually working as escort and he’s concerned. He creates a fake profile to try and see if Mickey’s ok and safe. But as they talk via the app, Mickey starts to like this new guy - he’s funny, good at sexting, kind - and he doesn’t know if he wants to rob this guy. What happens when they do meet up?

Mickey doesn’t think, he just runs - from his dad, from the wedding to Svetlana, from his whole fucked up life. Ian is devastated that Mickey has left but glad that he hasn’t gone through with the wedding. But he can’t let him go off like this. After months, he finally tracks him down - living in another city, under a different name, building a whole new life for himself. Ian thinks they finally have a chance of happiness together but Mickey is still scared and pushes him away….However, Ian’s never given up completely on Mickey so far, and he’s not going to start now.

S4. Ian is offered a opportunity that seems too good to be true by one of his regulars at the club - an apartment with discounted rent on the West Side. When he reconnects with Mickey, he’s excited about the deal and he wants to take it. Mickey, just glad to have found Ian, goes along with it…but is the apartment as good as it looks?

Ian never blows up the van, never becomes Gay Jesus. He does go through a difficult period. He struggles with his medication but slowly begins to get back to feeling like himself. He realises he needs Mickey. Without telling anyone, he decides to take a trip to Mexico - with no plan apart from seeing what it’s like there. It’s a big place, he’s never gonna find Mickey. He doesn’t expect to, he just wants to feel close to him. But then…he sees a familiar face…..or at least…he thinks he does.

Everything’s the same up to the middle of season two - when both the Gallagher and the Milkovich kids are taken into foster care. Ian and Mickey end up in the same foster home, separated from their siblings but both secretly pleased they’ve ended up together. Suddenly, they’re in a nice home with kind foster parents. Oh yeah, and they get to share a bedroom….

Terry, angry that Mickey is out of prison and living with Ian at the Gallagher house, kills Paula and frames Mickey. The police fall for it and arrest Mickey, who promises Ian he’s innocent. Ian believes Mickey but when the police don’t and it looks like Mickey’s going back to prison for a long time - Ian decides to play detective and find the real killer….

Ian really can’t sneak out from the group home in s3 and he has to turn down the sleepover. When Terry comes home early, Mickey realises he and Ian could have been caught. It puts a lot of things into perspective.

After their hookup in s1, Ian finds himself a little bit obsessed with Mickey. Which is why he’s secretly following him to the abandoned buildings. He expects Mickey to shoot cans or something but instead he spies him prying a brick out of the wall and pulling out a battered notebook. Later, when Mickey leaves, Ian goes and retrieves the notebook. In it, he finds drawings and notes - a journal of sorts. As their relationship progresses, he keeps secretly checking the notebook to find out Mickey’s true thoughts.

Post s6. Ian knows Mickey is out of jail but he hasn’t seen him. He keeps thinking he’ll run into him around the neighbourhood. The last place Ian expects to see Mickey is in the waiting room of his therapist’s office. Apparently a condition of Mickey’s release is therapy. It’s all awkward looks as Ian leaves and Mickey goes in. But slowly, they begin to reconnect….

S10. Ian has a good parole officer who gets him a receptionist/admin job at a private clinic on the West Side. It’s not exactly what he had in mind but he’ll take it. Only thing is, there’s a familiar face who works at the clinic - Ned. Mickey isn’t pleased with this but Ian wants to keep the job. But as time goes on, he starts to realise how bad his earlier relationship with Ned was….

3x05. Ian doesn’t think about the consequences when he sees the drunk lady with the shotgun. He just runs as fast as he can and tackles Mickey out of the way. And gets himself shot in the ass. Ian tries to play it off, to act like he would have done it for anyone. But that’s obviously not true. Mickey is in shock, not only seeing Ian get shot but knowing the reason why. It changes everything.

Ian is set on joining the army but a chance meeting with Clayton stops him. Although Clayton doesn’t know Ian well, he realises something is wrong and offers him a place to stay. Ian accepts and over time opens up to his biological father about his relationship with Mickey. Wanting to make up for all the lost years, Clayton decides to play matchmaker and find Mickey - hoping to bring him and Ian back together. But it’s not that easy.

They get married at city hall. And it’s all good. For a minute. An attempt on Mickey’s life by the cartel leads them into witness protection. They’re told it’ll be temporary but it’s not easy when they’re sent to a random town and given new identities. Can their new marriage survive all this drama?

More Gallavich prompts here

[eoieopda]

[ateez as tinder dudes]

this is a joke, but i’m also convinced that i’m correct, so… there’s that. also, don’t look at me, incorporating a fourth (FOURTH!!!) group on my blog. i don’t want to talk about it 🫣

hongjoong

he’s treating this like a portfolio. he’s got the max number of pics uploaded, and they’re all editorial, like he’s expecting to be scouted. is he repping a brand? is he just flexing that he’s got better style than you ever will? he knows this is tinder, right? no.

absolutely no bio, whatsoever. his age isn’t even listed, somehow. you know nothing about him except that he owns more than one cowboy hat, and honestly? that’s all you need to know.

you’re actually 98.4% sure that he’s a catfish — who just looks like that? — but that’s not going to stop you from swiping right to see if he did, too.

he did not.

seonghwa

he’s intentionally using pics of him with his mother, with kids, with small animals, etc. because he’s calculating. couldn’t be more of a targeted attack if the profile was computer-generated. frankly, you can’t say if it was or wasn’t. suspiciously perfect.

that’s where the tinder prowess stops. he doesn’t know how the swiping feature works so he’s swiped right on everyone. oops.

his bio has subsections — plural — with endearingly dorky interests laid out in full. he’s well-rounded and objectively attractive to literally all people. man is everybody’s type, esp. yours.

tragically, he has never once responded to a message, and he never will.

yunho

he must’ve made this as a joke, right? every picture of him is hilariously unflattering or a recreation of a meme or some childhood photo, except the last one — which is a meme. it’s something obscure that appeals to the sense of humor of exactly .01% of the population. you can tell by looking at him that he is chronically online and had unrestricted internet access as a kid.

his bio is also absurd. this dude has something like “my first words were, ‘this human form is limiting’”, and it’s extremely polarizing. on purpose. puts his whole personality right there, right from the get-go because it will ward the wrong people off and flag down the exact niche he’s targeting.

i feel like he’s either a lukewarm conversationalist that makes you wonder how the rest of his profile was so funny, or the first conversation is an incredible, god-tier bit — and then, when the bit runs its course, you realize that he deleted his profile, never to be seen again.

rip

yeosang

all of his pictures paint an image of someone hard and edgy, and you’ve got it all wrong. you’ve been fully bamboozled, bestie. that is a whole ass fairy princess.

always messages first and/or responds immediately, revealing that he’s the most “uwu” person of all time. seriously, what the fuck? people unironically use “hehehe”? in this day and age? ^_^

unexpected gem. the person he actually is isn’t someone you would normally shoot your shot with, but you’re not mad about it.

one of the rare few on the app who would rather die than find a hookup (the idea makes him itchy, okay?) but he will actually seek and find a future spouse, just watch.

san

most of his photos are of him and his friend (it’s wooyoung. of course it’s wooyoung), and the subtext is so confusing that you can’t tell if they’re looking for a third or are just guys being buds ??? what is happening, and why are you so into it?

the photos that don’t include his friend (boyfriend? seriously, what is going on there?) are all action shots because he needs you to know that he is athletic and built. you do not need to wonder what he looks like naked because he’s not wearing a shirt in any of them.

he’s got the stock photo equivalent of a bio. most uninteresting thing you’ve ever seen, so you do not hit him up.

you should have :( you would’ve loved him.

mingi

i regret to inform you that this man has the most cringeworthy online presence of all time. god, he’s so fuckboi-coded!! and you hate him for it, but you hate yourself even more for being into because you sure are, diva!!!

i feel like the song on his profile is extremely questionable, either because it’s some bizarre, ambient instrumental; by someone that’s been justifiably cancelled and you don’t know whether or not he knows that; or worse, it’s his own.

all of his pictures are group pictures. you cannot tell for the life of you which one of them he is, requiring you to go to the instagram he’s referenced in his bio — which is exactly the point. the instagram links to his soundcloud because it can get worse.

if you actually bite the bullet and respond to his shitty pick-up line, he’s the bbygirl to end all bbygirls. absolute heart of gold. you almost want to smack him for being so bad at marketing himself.

get him a PR person to straighten his shit out; mingi is fired.

wooyoung

this motherfucker has deleted and remade his profile 8,000 times because he needs to “reset his matches” aka has spent every waking moment swiping.

he probably pays for tinder so he can swipe in other locations — not because he’s looking for anyone, but because he wants people to look at him.

you have to wonder who took the photos because they’re sure as shit not selfies but they’re all vaguely chic thirst traps (it was san. of course it was san.)

when it comes to messages, he either communicates exclusively with emojis or gifs, or he only responds to compliments. small talk? NOPE. tell him he’s pretty or get out :’)

if you do wind up linking (because the whole conversation thing is a lost cause), he’s insane. you’ll spend one night with him, never see him again, and you will remember him on your deathbed.

was he a ghost or a fever dream? you’ll never know.

jongho

he’s only here because his friends made him, and he will make that crystal clear. nothing else will be, though. he’s either got an extremely dry sense of humor + is deeply ironic, or he’s genuinely that odd.

all of his photos are identical selfies (expression, location, angle, etc.) and the only difference is the shirt he’s wearing. is…. is that on purpose? is he being funny, or is he seriously that much of a cartoon character? WHO KNOWS.

tbh, he’s the dude that makes a profile, finds an IRL partner immediately, and totally forgets he has a profile because he deleted the app ages ago. this is tragic; he would’ve been just your type.

message him all you want, bestie. it won’t work.