#this scene was one of the very first scenes we planned out

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Nov 4th

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1. A) Hello! I am looking for a couple of pics that I have been unable to find. They may have already been found, but if so, I am missing them. First one is Wei Wing dies at the siege and is transported back a thousand years or so, before the sects started up I believe. He becomes immortal or a god, can't remember which and travels to learn other magic and cultivations while he waits for the years to catch up to when he was born. I think its a wangxian pairing, but not sure.

B) Hello! Looking for a fic where Wei Ying is not oblivious to his feelings for Lan Zhan. He asks Lan Zhan on basically a date to the town, and the part I remember is he deliberately didn't take an umbrella/coat because according to Nie Huaisang, it would be a perfect romantic opportunity to have Lan Zhan offer the umbrella/coat or vice versa. Lan Zhan thinks Wei Wing is just playing with him and I remember a scene where Wei Ying proves his intention with a kiss and Lan Zhan believes him. @marietsy40-blog

1A)

FOUND? An Unusual Betrothal series by ahealthydoseof (G, 74k, wangxian, time travel, age difference, immortality, BAMF WWX, younger LWJ, older WWX, misunderstandings, fluff & crack, worried parents, rabbits, food, non-sexual intimacy, murder, fix-it of sorts, developing relationship, humor, arranged marriage, jealousy, friendship, family feels, dysfunctional family, fatherhood, angst, hurt/comfort, mentor WWX, natural disasters, sworn brotherhood, serious injuries, kissing)

1B)

FOUND? 🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 887k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement)

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2. hi! i’m looking for a fic where wangxian friends and family try to arrange them to get married (i think maybe post sunshot campaign). lxc brought in jgy to help him with negotiations, while jyl and jwy bring nhs to help them. they try to find wx to tell them only to find out they basically ran of and eloped (without knowing that this was happening). the fic should be completed and around 3-8 chapters. thanks! @monyeorel

FOUND? i believe that we can make it (i believe in all of you) by Stratisphyre (T, 17k, WangXian, 3Zun, Canon Divergence, Wedding Planning for Love and Justice, Golden Core Reveal, Getting Together, Everybody Lives)

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3. Hello I want ask something... I can't seem to find this fanfiction I have once read long time ago but this is mainly wangxian ofc and what I remember that this fanfic is modern, wei ying I think he was going to debut or not? Lan zhan is his teacher? Since he called him xiansheng (something like that) Jiang yanli is married to Jin Zixuan in this. Wei ying keeps on updating on social media something like that.

FOUND? 🧡 I Don’t Want to Debut! by countingcr0ws (G, 56k, WangXian, Modern AU, Reality show, Idols, Actor LWJ, Forced Contestant WWX, Tencent’s 2021 Idol Producer)

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4. For fic finder: the allied sects are losing the sunshot campaign so they ask for the aid of the immortal yilling patriarch. He agrees, in return for lwj's hand in marriage. Lwj is very concerned but he gets to burial mounds and finds things are fine actually but there are a lot of unruly children. He starts teaching them and living life, confused by his mostly cold and distant but sometimes friendly husband. Turns out wwx is falling in love with him but thinks lwj is a spy for the jin and after the tiger seal, and married him because he wanted to catch him in the act and make him be a double agent. Lwj is unaware that the jin sect even has designs against his husband because he hates politics. He discovers this after he nearly dies defending A-Qing from an attack by Xue Yang and wwx comes clean. I could say more because i remember a lot about this fic but not the important information like name or author. Thanks!

FOUND? 💖🔒 love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, YLLZ WWX, Arranged Marriage, political scheming, Gratuitous Domesticity, Mutual Pining, EXTREME SLOWBURN, the inherent eroticism of the forehead ribbon, The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known, neither wwx nor lwj want to be Perceived, but sorry kids! it’s gonna happen!, rated E but the the NSFW stuff doesn’t begin until chapter 19!, bottom LWJ in chapter 20 and 27, Mojo’s post)

FOUND? 🔒 and having a marvelous time by varnes (E, 108k, WangXian, Yúnmèng Siblings, Sound of Music AU, (i know!!! i know. stay with me on this.), Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Family Feels, spies to lovers???, Protective Siblings, Sometimes You Just Want Your Dads To Admit They’re Your Dads, Angst with a Happy Ending) Pretty sure the bunch of kids in the burial mounds fic sounds like Varnes' delightful sound of music au "and having a wonderful time" but there are at least three fics I've read that come close to that.

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5. good dayy!! do you guys know this story. i forgot the title and been using modern with magic tag but i cant find it. i dont know anymore but the story is like this:

its a modern with magic, madam lan is one of the teacher and one of her student is wwx. there's a scene where wwx visited his brother in the alpha dormitory then lwj saved him(?) from some rude alpha. there's two version of it, alpha lwj x omega wwx and omega lwj and alpha wwx. there's a mission(?) and he met wwx outside the university, they also shared a room. omega wwx also has a solo room for being the only male omega.

the omega lwj version of it is lwj owns a 2 stuffed toy bunnies, he told wwx their names and wwx said it to madam lan.

im not sure if im mixing different stories or if i remember it right but i hope u'all can help me. thank uu in advance!

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6. Hello, I am searching for a modern wangxian fic on ao3 where wei ying is invited in Jiang yanli's wedding. Nie huaisang is the wedding planner and Meng yao is his assistant. The wedding is at the time of Christmas and they played a game that each one will send another a gift till Christmas and the receiver's name is decided through lottery. Lan wangji was the one who was giving gifts for this and wei ying was giving gifts to yu ziyuan. All the names will be revealed at the day of Christmas.

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7. I don’t know if it got deleted or I just didn’t bookmark it but I’m looking for a fic with Fox!WWX. LWJ is maybe a dragon or just a regular cultivator who helps him get all of his 9 tails through dual cultivation so it’s rated M or E. i feel bad i don’t remember much more but any leads will be greatly appreciated 🥺 thank you for all your work

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8. im looking for a fic where Wie ying became a god after death saved Mo Xuanyu and adopted him when he trayed to bring him back . wie ying changed his hair to white and his eyes red @leo1fan

FOUND? Wuqian, the Local God of Yiling by Grace_ShadowWolf (TaubeLePigeon) (M, 80k, wangxian, WWX & LSZ & LWJ, major character death, canon divergence, angst w/ happy ending, god WWX, Chinese mythology & folklore, pining, temporary character death, WIP)

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9. hi im looking for this fic where xue yang and xiao xingchen are dating, and then one day song lan (xiao xingchen's ex) comes back so xue yang lets those two get together even though he feels very jealous, and then one day him and song lan hook up and later they become a throuple @ashxi-wx

FOUND? Fine Line by fouxes (arundels) (E, 13k, SL/XXC/XY, Modern, Polyamory Negotiations, Polyamory, Minor Violence, Hate Sex, Love/Hate, Love Rivals to Lovers, XXC is kinda useless in this sorry, Not Super Healthy Relationship Dynamics, but nothing crazy terrible, also XY is a cage fighter cos why not) it used to be posted under a different pseudonym of theirs

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10. I’m trying to find a reaction fic that takes place after the siege on Burial Mounds. I remember that the sect leaders are having a meeting at Lotus Pier and get trapped in a room by Chenqing to watch WWX’s life. Suibian also later gets involved and they also get LWJ and a-yuan to join.

FOUND? Seeking Solace by Devourer Of Worlds (Taer01), DragonHeart (Taer01), Taer01 (M, 124k, WangXian, Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Hurt, Heavy Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mental Anguish, Mental Instability, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Canon Divergence)

FOUND? Misunderstood by Silver_Flame_2724 (M, 250k, WIP, WangXian, JYL/JZX, Fluff, Eventual Smut, Heavy Angst With Eventual Happy Ending, Family Feels, Family Angst, Misunderstandings, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Family Fluff, Canon Divergence, Not Everyone Dies, by that I mean the bad guys will die, Hurt, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Suicidal Thoughts, Gore, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Mental Breakdown, Night Terrors, Canon-Typical Violence, Self-Worth Issues, Self-Destruction, Dubious Morality, (not WWX of course), Cannibalism, Reincarnation, PTSD, Internally Screaming LWJ, Demonic Possession, MXY Lives, Scum Villain References, WWX Has an Angry LWJ Kink)

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11. Hello ! I've been looking for a fic for a long time and I can't find it.

It's in the post-canon, wangxian are married and investigate a ghost woman who attacks white-dressed cultivators. In fact, this woman has feelings for Lan zhan and seeks to have him all for herself.

At one point, under a disguise she tries to trap them by wanting to make Wei Ying believe that Lan Zhan is cheating on him with her and Wei Ying pretends to be jealous and angry against Lan Zhan who immediately understands the plan.

In short, I really liked this fic because it really showed this precious trust between the two and I really want to read it again and this time save it in my bookmarks 🥺 @wesenyr

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12. Hi ! I am looking for a popular fic, where WWX participates at the Great British Baking Show (or something equivalent) and LWJ is a cameraman. NHS and LXC are the hosts and LQR is one of the judges.

Thank you ! @massivecollateralproblem

FOUND! on your marks, get set, bake! by BlackWiresOnHerHead (G, 41k, Modern, College/University, The Great British Bake Off AU, Humor, no GBBO knowledge required for entry)

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13. Hi, I’m trying to find two older fics, A) the first I remember it being on AO3, and I want to say it had more than one part to it. Basically when Wei Ying came back and then of course ended up in Gusu Lan, Lan Zhan had a son (not A-Yuan) but like another child that was his and Wei Yings, A-Yuan is also present though. He’s very much like how he is presented in the novel, but the child that was Lan Zhans and Wei Yings is more like Wei Ying. A bit of a trouble maker, kind of aggressive maybe. Energetic? Lan Zhan of course clocks that Wei Ying is Wei Ying, but they wait a while before actually telling the kid that this now seemingly random figure in his life is his father. And if I remember correctly the kid doesn’t take it well right away.

I also could be combining to fics in my memory, but I also want to say Lan Zhan may have had chronic pain, or he had been whipped while pregnant and he was just gonna roll with it until he collapsed early and they found out about the pregnancy.

B) The second definitely was on AO3 as well, with multiple parts. But I remember Lan Zhan definitely had chronic pain and weakness from being whipped. I specifically remember he has scars that snake down to his hand, and that arm/hand is visibly smaller or weaker looking compared to his other. At first he won’t eat or drink in front of Wei Ying because of it. His hand shakes I think. He also keeps his hair braided to the side so it doesn’t touch his scars, that way he doesn’t have to use his core as much to dampen the pain. He travels in the winter because the cold makes his pain worse. A-Yuan is also present in this fic. I think there’s a coming of age type ceremony at the end…. Although that could be a part of the first fic I’m looking for. @captainimpossiblyangrycolle-blog

13A)

FOUND? in a river you wade by bleuett (M, 20k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Mpreg, Postpartum Depression, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Good Uncle LQR, Family Feels, Happy Ending, Kid Fic)

13B)

FOUND? 🔒 the map of days by everythingispoetry (M, 20k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Permanent Injury, Recovery, Disability, Parenthood, Character Study, Thirteen Years of WWX’s Death) the little details sound like "the map of days by everythingispoetry" i do not know for certain though

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14. Hey!! Thank you so much for all your hard work.

I read a fic ages ago, that the themes have really stuck with me, but for the life of me I cannot find!!

It was in the veins of heavy angst? hurt no comfort maybe? but i dont remember how it ended!

It was from (mostly?) wwx’s perspective, the plot was basically how broken & damaged wwx was as demonic cultivation/starvation were slowly killing him? None of his injures had ever healed since he lost his core (he had a broken back !?). A key point (I think) was that none of the people around him really realised how badly injured/how much pain he was in. They knew he wasn’t well but not that he was being pretty much held together by resentful energy. Even Wen Qing didn’t fully understand his condition I believe?

Maybe knowning he was dyinging wwx set out to destroy the st seal (or did???) as a final release??

I think it did kill him but I’m not quite sure, i think i remember Jyl & Lwj having a scene where they are mourning him together or commiserating over how ravaged wwx’s body is. I think they also realised wwx never intended to survive destroying the seal??

I’m desperate to read it again but for all my searching I cannot find it at all, hopefully someone knows it!

Have a great day! @3f2pmb

FOUND? 梅花开放 | the plum blossoms bloom by doubletan (E, 6k, WangXian, Sickfic, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Established Relationship, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, Post-Canon, Anal Sex, Kissing, Crying, a lot of crying)

FOUND? The Fire Lapping Up the Creek by notevenyou (E, 66k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Injury, Injury Recovery, Blood, Respiratory Illness, Major Illness, Fever, Grief/Mourning, Burial Mounds, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hunger and food scarcity, Surgery, Fix-It of Sorts)

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15. Hi! This is for ficfinder. I dont remember much. The scene that i remember is someone send an assassin for baby jin ling but he survives because if wwx gift and the assassin is killed by ewx who visit him. Another scene is JGS wants to assault JYL but failed because if wwx gift too. And everyone found out about it and embrassed JGS. That all i can remember. Thanks! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

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16. Hi I’m not sure if this is where I ask but I’m looking for a fic. The plot was that after wei Ying died Lan Zhan went to the burial mounds and found A Yuàn. For some reason this made Lan Zhan go into heat ( cause of grief or finding a malnourished child. idk ) and then he didn’t have a heat since. I think it then skipped to the future and Lan Zhan was like a ‘broken omega’ cause he didn’t get heats then I think wei Ying came back and things got fixed ?? Thx for any help u can give

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17. Hello, I am looking for a fic. It's set during a canonish era war and follows WWX. I think he's on his own leading troops and not with other main characters. After things are done the Madame Yu and JC are found to have committed war crimes. She is executed and JC is made to go help the people they harmed w/ his core sealed for a number of years. Any help is appreciated.

FOUND? 🔒 Crossing Paths by Ilona22 (M, 21k, wangxian, shapeshifter au, graphic depictions of violence, war between sects, war crimes, not JC friendly, happy ending)

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18. I need help finding a fic. I remember it was during CR era (I think) and LWJ gets cursed into having a lady part and the only way for him to return to his previous form is to orgasm. He doesnt know how to do that with female parts and WWX offers to help him with it. Starts off slow but they end up having sex multiple times over multiple nights. LWJ eventually gets close to an orgasm but stops WWX cause he thinks breaking the curse would mean he and WWX have to stop having sex. @727432rehhjkdjhe

FOUND? Coming Back to Yourself by acernor (E, 21k, wangxian, Vaginal Fingering, Cunnilingus, Oral Sex, Pining, Gender or Sex Swap, Vaginal Sex)

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19. looking for a fic in which wwx and jc are at a cultivation conference and lwj is terrifying actually. kinda yunmeng bros reconciliation but idk??? @skyerie

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20. Hi!! I'm trying to find a fic I'veread a while ago, but I can't find it anywhere. Wy, once reborn, didn't see Lz's scars while Lz was bathing in the cold springs and he tried to steal the jade pass. Once they get together is where the plot kinda flees from my mind. I don't remember if Lz only ever had sex with Wy if he (Lz) was almost fully clothed or if he just straight up refused to be intimate. I guess Wy fearing that Lz didn't find his new body attractive and voicing that fear to Lz is what makes Lz tell him the truth??? I'm not sure tho. Anyways, in the end, Lz reveals the scars that the discipline whip left on him, and tells Wy that he's never been ashamed of his scars, but that once Wy came back and they got together, he became terrified that Wy would find repulsive how deformed the scars made his back look.

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21. hello! do you know of the dad!lwj fic where wwx falls in love with a-yuan and lwj via video calls

FOUND?🔒Wishing on Runway Lights by inflight_gremlin (E, 45k, WangXian, LSZ & LWJ, LSZ & WWX, LSZ & OYZZ, Modern, Pilot LWJ, Flight Attendant WWX, Single Parent LWJ, Meet-Cute, Relationship Speed-Run, Matchmaker LSZ, Adopted LSZ, Domestic Fluff, Brief Mention of Child Neglect (not from wangxian), Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, POV Alternating, LSZ Knows What He Wants, Slight Misunderstanding, Sexual Tension, no one is skipping meals, romcom vibes, Attempt at hallmark movie feels, Temporary Accidental Child Aquisition)

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[g-xix]

☁️Goalie | AngryGinge13

Summary: Ginge has had an online crush on a streamer which had been made very public on his streams - and landed him a chance to play alongside her in the Sidemen 2023 Charity Match... But when he sees her, does he get flustered and crumble under the embarrassment of everything he's said - or only take it in his stride and make it his goal of making something of this opportunity to flirt with her in real life?

Notes: Based on 2023 SDMN Charity match, v cutesy fic + LONG 8.3k wordcount so ENJOY!!

"Wouldn't it be funny if we got Y/n on the pitch as well?" Simon asked over one Sidecast. Josh, JJ, Vik and surprise guest: Danny Aarons all cracked up.

"You know Ginge has a proper big crush on her?" Danny brought up.

"Are you leaking information?" JJ asked, looking between Danny and Simon. "Can't be leaking Ginge's super secret crush to the entirety of the internet, can you..."

"No, there's clips of him online- look-"

One of the producers cast a TikTok to the screen behind the boys- watching the video of Ginge looking through his for you page during a stream: "IT'S HER AGAIN!" Ginge jumped out of his seat as a TikTok clip of you raging to COD popped up. Although clearly the gameplay wasn't what caught Ginge's attention, as he paused the video and ogled at your facecam before exclaiming: "IS SHE WEARING A UNITED SHIRT?!?!!?" Simon chuckled at Ginge's reaction as he watched the United-fanboy celebrate over his online-crush's attire. Ginge fell off of his chair and onto the floor dramatically, clutching a hand to his heart as he exclaimed "CHAT, HELP ME PLEASE, I NEED TO WIFE UP Y/N IMMEDIATELY- WHY DOES NOBODY ELSE SEE HOW PERFECT SHE IS?!"

JJ giggled as the clip ended with Ginge squirting water on his face to face to cool himself down, clearly flustered seeing you on the screen wearing the beloved United shirt.

"Can you imagine the scenes if we got her to play?" Josh's brain began ticking as he swivelled around to look at the other boys' faces. Vik and Simon could tell by the expression on his face that Josh was clearly trying to figure out how they could make it work, how they could get you playing on the pitch for that day as well.

"Can you imagine how Ginge would react seeing her on the pitch," Vik chuckled, having watched a compilation of Ginge on the SidemenReacts channel just the other day. "He might have a heart attack seeing her in real life after everything he's said about her online."

The boys within the room all shared a look, grins plastered wide on their faces at the idea of getting Y/n on the same pitch as Ginge for the charity match- and Josh knew exactly what he had to do to get that plan sorted.

----

"Y/n, you coming to the match on Saturday?" You saw JJ's face on the phone as you answered the call, angling the screen away from the webcam so that the stream couldn't see the JJ's number. It was currently a gloomy Thursday and you were counting on that match to bring a bit of light to your week.

"Yeah of course! Wouldn't miss a game like that for my nan's funeral."

"How would you like to play?" JJ's face grew into a grin as the chat's speed tenfolded, your hand dropping the phone as you let out a gasp, followed by a shriek, followed by a scream and jumping onto your chair before toppling it and yourself over.

You could hear JJ's joyous laughter from the phone that'd dropped under the desk, before you dove under for it- drawing it closer to your face as you screamed WHAT THE FUCk?!!

One sleep and one train ride later, you found yourself hugging all your Internet-mates once again. You found Niko and Chunkz first, giving the two of them a hug and catching up with them- before you saw Kai and Duke come downstairs together.

You blushed a bit hugging the old-crush Duke, but eased up whilst talking to Kai, who was ecstatically vlogging all three of you, unbelievably excited for the game ahead of you.

A more familiar face popped up a few moments later before Danny Aarons himself descended down the stairs groggily, receiving a warm embrace before he'd even gotten to the bottom of the stairs. He hugged you back, swaying a bit before pulling away to look at you with a grin.

"Get off the kit, Y/n, this the winning team's kit."

"Yeah, you said that about Tottenham before the Fulham game and look how that turned out."

That had Danny silenced as you laughed at his expression, patting him on the back and bringing him down to sit at the hotel's restaurant table with you. You'd managed to arrive just in time for dinner, and whilst you felt slightly underdressed in your comfy joggers and top, you felt comfortable sitting down at one of the tables to the side- Danny occupying the chair opposite you and pulling his phone out just as Simon approached.

"Not stealing the love of Ginge's life are you?" Simon knocked on Danny's shoulder as he passed, snickering and watching as Danny shouted at Simon's turned back in his defence. You furrowed your brows at the mention, Simon's words flying right over your head as you had no clue who Simon was talking about, whoever the named person was. You hadn't even caught the name Simon was referring to.

Maybe Simon was commenting on what he saw on Danny's phone, as Danny had been flicking through Instagram just a moment earlier.

Dinner went just fine, luckily.

Will, Chris, JJ and a few others joined you at different points, having a chat about the match and all the different things... Obviously, you were slightly nervous, but Will reassured you that if worst came to worst, he'd score an own goal to cover any of your fuck-ups.

You saw a tall ginger come down the stairs at some point as well- flicking his head so that his fringe flipped away from his face.

You observed him as he stepped down, his own eyes scanning the room as he looked for where to go or sit during the dinner. You got the chance to look him up and down whilst he did so, noticing how built he appeared. You hoped he'd be on your team, as you could imagine he'd be a strong player regardless of what position he actually played on the pitch.

His eyes found yours momentarily and you realised you had zoned out staring at him.

You pulled back with a blush dusted over your cheeks, looking back towards your fillet and plate, not feeling quite as hungry as you did before. You wanted to go and talk to that guy, but as you looked up again he was nowhere to be seen- not by the food point, any of the tables or the court...

Supposing he left, you turned back to Danny and listened to his story, trying to ignore the thoughts of that ginger guy and wanting to get to know more about him.

And unsurprisingly, you did get to know more about him just a day later.

You'd never been one for morning runs, but the fear of the match day dawned on you and crept up as you watched the sun rise over the Thames. And aching, crawling, horrid bile beginning in your lower stomach and not ending, but continuing up to your throat.

It was futile trying to get any more sleep after that, and so at a ripe 6am, you had your trainers and leggings on, earbuds plugged in and Ice Spice playing to the beating to the same tempo as you breathed. The crisp air was cleansing, refreshing as you crossed the road and continued your jog past the corner shop and onto a busier road, before you found a neat place to loop around and get back to the hotel at.

Through the park, you slowed to a less taxing jog, admiring the greenery in stark contrast to the dull grey of the outer London. You turned the corner, ready to exit the park and make your way back to the hotel when-

"FUCK!" You collided with someone in front of you hard. Your headphones skittered to the floor and your body followed, though luckily you went onto the grass. Still, it hurt your bum a bit, and you squeezed your eyes tight upon the impact.

"Bloody hell, y'alright love?" You heard two knees click as someone bent down besides you- your eyes opening to reveal that ginger you'd seen just the night before.

"You?" You groaned, your hand finding your back and massaging the stinging sensation. You'd hoped you would have at least been able to get ready before seeing that ginger bloke again- having wanted to talk to him looking nice. Afterall, he wasn't half bad looking himself, you'd found yourself thinking.

"What d'you mean you?" He asked, slightly affronted, pulling back slightly to look you up and down a bit meanly. "Thought you would've been a bit nicer."

"You know me?" You raised a brow, not expecting someone like him to be the type to watch your content. His ears cheeks went a pink hue almost instantly and he gulped, making you laugh slightly, not quite knowing why he reacted so nervously yet amused nonetheless.

"Right, enough of that- you on the way back to the hotel?" He asked, offering out a hand which you took, allowing him to help you up and onto your feet.

It shocked you a bit by how much taller he was as he stood in front of you. You thought you'd at least be eye level with his head, yet he was far taller- your head level with his chest, meaning that you had to crane your neck upwards to look at him, despite being near 6".

Your eyes drifted as you heard someone give a disapproving cough as they walked by, flashing a matching disapproving look. Realising your body was basically flush with the ginger that'd helped you up, you blushed and took a step back, picking up your headphones from the side and inhaling sharply as you turned them over to inspect them.

"Broken?"

"Look pretty bad-"

The right side's earmuff fell off before you could finish. The two of you stared at the broken headphone, a noise of suppressed laughter coming from behind you. You turned around and tried to face the guy with a deadpan face- yet with one glimpse of your expression- he burst out with a scream of laughter almost, bending over to let it out which did make you drop your expression to laugh with him- his laughter too contagious.

"You owe me a pair of headphones for that..." Your sentence trailed off as you looked for a name to call him.

"Ginge is the name," He puffed out his chest. "Just call me Morgan, though."

"Right, well, I'm-"

"Y/n? Yep, I know."

The two of you made your way back to the hotel with that, a little bit of small talk between the two of you as you finished your run at the ripe time of half seven in the morning.

"You had breakfast yet?" Morgan asked as the two of you entered the hotel lobby.

"No, you?" You turned to him as he shook his head. "Well then-" You took his hand in yours to take him to the breakfast bar so that he could sit and have breakfast with you- not wanting to be left to eat alone. And although you didn't see, Morgan's face went bright red as he began deeping the fact he had just spoken to his literal online crush, and was now getting breakfast with her - not to mention his fingers which were interlaced with your own already. He could never have imagined that he'd ever be able to do this, just a few days ago when he had gotten the call from Simon inviting him to the match.

Picking your yoghurt, fruit and fancy bits and bobs, you looked around the room for any of the other boys- but it appeared that Morgan and yourself were the first down. Thus, the two of you found a nice two-seater by the windows on the side, and sat to eat with one another.

You realised that Morgan had very nice eyes. Very blue, quite piercing, but his smile always seemed to make them more warm, more inviting. And he had so many stories. I mean, you could've sat opposite him all morning and not spoken a word and still have been entertained.

The two of you kept opposite one another even once your breakfast was finished, just chatting with one another.

Simon was first to come down with Tobi at his side, the two still a bit tired- though their eyes widened, waking up right away as they entered the breakfast bar and saw yourself sat opposite Ginge, head tilted and resting against your hand, staring up at Ginge and listening as he spoke, letting out a giggle before replying as he listened with a pure smile.

"That isn't Morgan with Y/n, is it?" Simon whispered and Tobi let out a little squeal.

"Oh my god, do you think we've just made a couple?!" Tobi whispered excitedly back.

"I'm wondering how the hell Ginge has managed to get Y/n for breakfast..." Simon shook his head. "What the Hell, I thought he'd make a tit of himself in front of her and that would go viral on the pitch... I didn't think that Ginge's crush would become anything real..."

"Reckon we get a Twitter pic?" Tobi turned to Simon with a little grin.

As soon as Simon returned with a smirk, Tobi whipped out his phone, peeking it around the corner and zooming in to the far table and snapping a photo, giggling as he showed it to Simon before pasting it into Twitter and hitting the Tweet button.

"Mission accomplished."

The two high fived before going into the bar and grabbing themselves their breakfast, wishing a good morning to yourself and Ginge before descending into giggles as they ran out of the bar and back to their rooms, gossiping the whole way back like a pair of schoolkids.

You were a bit confused by the first interaction of the morning with Simon and Tobi, and that confusion only grew as more of your friends descended the stairs. Everyone seemed to have their eyebrows raised, a look of surprise on their faces as they saw you and Morgan that morning.

Only Duke and Kai were kind enough to enlighten you on why.

"AYYYY, W RIZZ ANGRYGINGE, W RIZZ GINGE!!" Kai jumped as he saw the two of you sat down, holding out a hand which Morgan tentatively reached out for, Kai slapping them together and shoulder bumping himself with Ginge as he brought Duke over also.

"Morning Ma'am," Duke nodded at you, side-hugging a Morgan that was reddening at a frightening pace, quite similarly to yourself as you just felt slightly flustered at the thought everyone had thought Morgan and you were having breakfast together in a cute couple-y way. "I saw y'all was together from what Tobi posted-"

"What TOBI  posted?" Your eyes went wide, head spinning between Kai, Morgan and Duke at the mention of yourself being posted without your knowledge, just as you noticed Danny entering the breakfast bar as well.

Danny snatched an apple from the counter before spotting you, jerking his head backwards and indicating for you to come with him, as he spot your stressed expression. You gave a quick hug to Kai and Duke, telling Morgan you'd see him in a few and thanks for the breakfast (Kai and Duke squealed and congratulated a tentative Ginge) before you followed after Danny, meeting him in the elevator just before the door managed to close.

"You know who Ginge is?" He asked, looking between you and his phone where he was rapidly typing.

"...Not really, no, I first saw him yesterday to be honest." You shook your head. Danny slotted his phone into your hands and you watched the TikTok on the screen.

"Then you should REALLY watch these clips."

The first clip was titles GINGE'S FIRST TIME REACTING TO Y/N! and showed him scrolling through his TikTok when he saw a clip of you come up, doing a forfeit Rasputin dance and screaming about how your thighs were burning. He was initially wide eyed staring at you at the beginning- and you couldn't even begin to count the number of times you saw him look you up and down on his screen. That clip ended with him clicking on your profile to follow you and follow the link in your bio to your other socials.

The next clip was him @-ing you on twitter, asking whether you wanted to play GTA sometime. He was clearly giddy asking it as well, and he let out a scream as he pressed post and threw his headphones off to run out of shot, still squealing. You let out a chuckle, feeling a bit bad having never received any wind about that tweet and thus not having replied to it.

Then there was a clip of Ginge doing the "throw the pen and if it lands in the jar it's true" challenge, saying "If this goes in, Y/n knows about me and loves me but is too nervous to say something". The pen went in, and Morgan let out a scream again.

Danny took his phone off of you as he saw you smiling down at the phone- your trance broken as you looked up to Danny once he took your phone away.

"So..." You began. "He's cute I s'pose."

"WHAT?!" Danny's mouth dropped open. "I thought you would've found him weird after that?!"

"Well I don't know, he was decent during breakfast..."

"Yeah, about that-"

Danny thrusted the phone back into your hands, Tobi's instagram stories opened. The picture was captioned MORNIGN BREAKFAST DATE? 👀 and featured a (luckily) blurry picture of yourself and Ginge sat at the table with one another, your head resting in the palm of your hand as you looked at Morgan. Luckily it looked as though it were taken from far enough away that it could've been any redhead guy sat with a girl.

"I'm gonna boot that ball at Tobi as soon as I get it on the pitch."

Sidemen_Updates: Picture of mysterious ginger and girl having breakfast together in restaurant! What could this mean? 🤔

sdmnfan1: Ginger? Probs Behz n his missus YANITEDx3: Angry ginge???? HapyyGinge: What are the chances he's w y/n lol     YANITEDx3: No way ugly bastards getting anywhere near her            Y/ncentral: Tbh shes' playing at the match it rly could be                    HapyyGinge: Can you imagine if he's bagged her after all the talk 😭😭😭                            Clarkeysbog: Nah why'd they acc be kinda cute asw...                                      Y/ncentral: Alr guys imma stop u there i think we're getting a bit delulu here

"Alright, love?" Ginge caused you to snap your head up from Twitter with a little snort as he plopped himself down into the seat next to yourself in the bus.

"Didn't realise you were such a massive fan of my content, AngryGinge13."

You only let out another snort as you watched his face slowly flush from pale to bright red like a tomato, his face and hair the same colour as he began stuttering over some sort of explanation.

"What's this, 'wife Y/n up immediately?'" You read out the caption as you displayed the TikTok on your phone, cackling as Morgan groaned, covering his face with his hands and sliding down his seat- most likely praying for the world to swallow him up in that moment. It was quite cute, honestly, and you resisted the urge to reach over and give him a hug.

"It's okay, it's okay..." You settled for patting his head with a devious grin as you continued to tease him in a slightly lowered voice, loving the shyness you'd inflicted on the boy besides you. "You're not half bad yourself, either, but I guess we'll see where that goes after the match..."

Two squeals drew your attention away from your flirting with Morgan, however, as Tobi and Simon giggled from in front of you- Tobi's phone raised above his head to reflect the view of you teasing Morgan- the duo in the seats in front of you far too invested in seeing a love story develop - watching yourself and Morgan through the camera app as though you were a Netflix romance show.

Morgan could only be happy that you'd looked away from him however, because the feeling of your legging-ed thigh brushing against his own skin had a blush creeping across his cheeks - the teasing compliment you'd served causing his ears to turn a lovely beet red, too.

You decided to lay off him, however, instead returning to your phone and chatting with JJ and Chunkz who weren't sat too far away - letting yourself rest your legs across Morgan's lap partway through, and making a little TikTok with him during the journey, too... And the fans were keen to point out your legs stretched across Morgan's, as well as the boy's coy little smile n wave at the camera - cheeks dusted red with a shy blush, contrasting his normal, boisterous persona. 

In the end, you did end up just falling asleep...

On Morgan's shoulder.

And Tobi was the one to let you know, as you arrived at the stadium, stretching you limbs out and cracking your neck before checking your instagram stories whilst rows slowly filed out of the bus. And lo and behold, Tobi's story yielded a picture of him holding the camera up with a hand over his mouth, portraying giggly-shock at the image of you curled up on Morgan's shoulder whilst Morgan held up a meek thumbs up, bemused smile and wide eyes displaying a look of bewilderment for how he'd found himself in such a position.

"Prick", You hissed at Tobi as you walked past him to the changing rooms, hearing the explosion of his and Simon's laughter as well as JJ's confused what? 's whilst you just sped up to Danny, flipping off Kon's BTS camera with a grin along the way, too.

Though you were a part of the Sidemen team, playing on Sidemen FC as goalkeeper, the organiser had been kind enough to organise the locker-room arrangement so that whilst you had your own (barren) changing room separate from the boy's one - a short corridor connected the two so that you could still walk back once they were done changing, and join the team talks.

And after switching your comfy leggings and tee for your kit, you joined with the boys as you walked out onto the pitch.

You could feel nerves building in your stomach as you walked through the tunnel, fingers drumming anxiously along the wall as a nervous stim. And it seemed as though someone else had noticed too, as you felt a soft bump against your right shoulder, drawing a slight gasp from your throat as you were pulled out of your thoughts to look up at the man who walked besides you.

"Nervous?" His Mancunian accent sounded almost mocking, but the eye contact with a seemingly caring expression told you otherwise, and let you give an honest answer.

"I've been alright all morning... Well, after the morning run, but I can feel myself getting nervous now -"

You were cut off by gargantuan roar from the crowds outside, the cheers creating an echo within the opening tunnel and almost wanting to make you press your hands over your ears and run away from the overpowering noise. You could borderline feel tears prickling at the corners of your eyes and a heat rushing to your neck which made you regret initially answering the phone and sealing your fate in playing in this match. 

Morgan noticed your nerves, too, heart sinking as he saw your expression dropping at the crowd reaction to JJ running onto the pitch.

"Look, listen-" Morgan put a hand on your shoulder, pulling you to the side of the tunnel so that the likes of JME and XQC were free to pass by whilst Morgan's eyes bore into yours. "-It's too late to back out at this point and you know that, yeah?"

You gulped and nodded in agreement, not feeling any better from Morgan's enforcement. 

"And how long you been playing football for - as a keeper."

"Since I was about six," You divulged, not knowing where exact Morgan was going, and feeling your voice come out almost thinly, strained from the fear which tightened your vocal cords. 

"And how many people you got following you - all across the board - on your TikTok, Instagram, Twitch - fuck, you can even could your secret Wattpad account from when you were twelve, I don't care-"

"A few million," You cut him off with a slight laugh at his words, sniffing and trying to clear the nerves and make room for Morgan's positivity to fill your body, too. "And that's not including the Wattpad followers."

"Well there's eighty thousand here - you have millions of followers? Technically that means about eight-hundred-percent of the people here love you -" Morgan's waffle earned a bemused look at the flawed maths, yet you continued listening regardless. "-So that means that absolutely everyone you can hear outside there - yeah - they all fucken love you, so you don't have shit to be scared about, yeah? And you've been keeping for over a decade - you've got skill, you've got talent, you know what you're doing, don't let yourself get scared because we're a duo you and me  - I'm gonna be defending as right-back, you're with me and I know both of us are talented so we don't have shit to get scared about, alright?"

It was odd, hearing the crowd fade out as you focussed on the ginger's waffle, noticing how his eyes seemed to glow whilst his face was barely a few inches away from yours during his passionate ramble. And once he was done, though you didn't feel wholly freed from your nerves, you could wholly appreciate the extent Morgan was going to in an attempt to placate your nerves.

Morgan was stunned as he felt arms wrap around him, eyes widening slightly as the breath left his lungs, making eye contact with Josh who gave him a smirk with questioning eyes - bringing rise to a blush on Morgan's cheeks as he embraced you with his own arms, slowly patting on your back in what was attempted comfort.

His hand slid down from your shoulders to your hand, fingers interlacing with yours and pulling you out of your sad feels as you noticed the warmth of his palm against yours, the way his long fingers seemed to envelop your hand and squeeze your appendage bringing an almost giggly twistiness to your stomach as you could feel a heat spreading across your face at the gesture.

Now was most definitely not the time to be getting crush feelings, and yet you couldn't help yourself from letting those butterflies in your stomach spread to every extreme molecule of your body.

"C'mon, let's go get warmed up outside - we're not playing yet so at least you can get a feel for what it's like out there."

Morgan's hand didn't leave yours. No, his fingers stayed intertwined with yours whilst you two walked towards the light, walking out of the enclosed space onto the lush green of the pitch, feeling the first ray of glorious butter gold sunlight hit your face - the hot air of the pitch flooding you as you left the AC-cooled tunnel - jogging out with Ginge as you heard the uproar of the pitch upon your entrance. The positively uproarious response from the crowd made a smile spread to your face, nerves dissipating slightly as you grinned - rotating your head to take in the stands filled with fans - a grand screen to one side of the stadium projecting yourself and Ginge.

Responding to the crowd's noise, Ginge raised your interlinked hands above your head, the screen projecting your interwoven fingers and only making the crowd even louder - a few screams resonating from the stadium and making you double over with laughter as you reached the Sidemen FC team who were grouped together, kicking a ball between themselves.

"PUTTING ON A SHOW WITH GINGE, EH?" Danny yelled from the other side of the circle, making you detach your hand from Morgan's - though the grin on your face was unwipeable. 

"Look at you two LOVEBIRDS -" JJ loudly chipped in with an overdone wink, nudging your arm from the left. 

"Everything's coming together for you now, i'nt it Ginge?" Simon tittered, as Tobi collapsed into his side at the mention - the duo both enjoying the way that Ginge stuttered to come up with a response (a matching grin also plastered on his face). 

And although you would've loved to have watched Ginge scramble to pull his words together, Josh tapped you on the shoulder, removing you from the group by sending you over to Elz to get interviewed.

Midway through the interview, Ginge was kind enough to boot a ball into the back of your legs, catching your attention just long enough for him to blow a kiss which made you roll your eyes at the gesture, smiling nonetheless.

"That's Ginge blowing a kiss for you there - speaking of Ginge - what sort of relationship do you have with him? Because I'm sure you've seen clips circulating online which show how Ginge has sort of got a little online crush on you..."

"Well, I'll be honest - those clips were only shown to me this morning, thanks to Danny," You spoke, realising how much had happened just today. "And... Well, I think it's difficult to name- or say what mine and Ginge's relationship really is - I mean - we just had our first conversation this morning!"

"OH- does that mean that picture Tobi posted on his Instagram story this morning is in fact you and Ginge - because there's been some speculation on Twitter and whatnot..."

You threw your head back to laugh a bit at the question. "Yeah, I've seen all the comments too... I think the fans are really invested in seeing Ginge and I interact to be honest-"

"Yeah, I'm sure that running into the pitch with the hands held will give the fans some fuel to talk about for a while."

"No doubt about it."

"Could you just expand on what you and Ginge were saying in the tunnel before you came out, holding hands? We had a little clip of the tunnel beforehand, where we saw you with your back to the wall talking to Ginge, and I'll be honest - it seemed very intimate between you two - can we know anything that was going on there?"

That unremovable smile returned to your face - the one that made you feel as though you were trying not to giggle and return to being just a girl with a crush... Not that you exactly had a crush... "I was a little bit nervous back there I'll be honest, and bless him, Morgan- sorry- Ginge was so sweet; he noticed and was just sorta giving me some support and affirming it was all gonna be alright - and yeah, that's why we came out holding hands too, that was Ginge's little gesture to try and boost my confidence up."

"Well, I'm sure whatever he said was true, because we're all expecting an absolute storm from you today on the pitch, Y/n - we'll let you get back to warming up and training, and we wish you luck out there on the pitch!"

You returned to the Sidemen FC circle where the boys did their dynamic stretching - joining in with the line of men that stretched their hamstrings by shooing the chickens on the line. 

"How you feeling now?" Ginge moved to stand next to you whilst he stretched.

"A lot better." You breathed a sigh of relief. "Everything feels a lot more... relaxed, now. You know, it's scary everyone's up there watching but it's kinda easy to separate that. It just feels like playing football with a bunch of people I'm a fan of."

"Exactly how I'm feeling." Ginge agreed. "Let's warm you up in goal."

Fifteen minutes later - after having saved some of Ginge's goals - having a team talk - and feeling primed and ready for the match... Simon won the coin toss, the whistle blew, and the game commenced With Simon passing the ball back to Tobi, and your heartrate accelerating through the roof.

Though Ginge was completely true to everything he'd promised, you noticed as the tall ginger dominated the back line, kicking the ball away whenever Chris or Niko or Filly or Theo came close... Making your work as a goalkeeper light as you allowed Kai - your short friend who was criminally offside - to kick the ball into the back of the net.

As the corner was being taken, although Ginge was attentively marking Speed, he didn't miss the opportunity to yell a quick bit of praise at you between his rugged pants, making Simon yell at him to "SHUT UP AND GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!", despite the Sidemen's current 1-0 score, lieu to Ethan.

And even when you did let Chris conceded a goal - after he weaved and dribbled the ball between the line of defenders?

Your body hit the ground - an attempted and failed dive whereby Chris' ball had passed just beneath your gloved before you could get it. And letting yourself lie there and rest your head in your arms on the floor, hearing cheers from the audience at the blond superstar's shocking goal - you felt not so ashamed, as one person came to you and sighed - sitting next to you and patting your back whilst you just groaned.

"You're alright, that was pretty un-saveable." He comforted, and you just moved your head to the right to make eye contact with him from the grassy pitch - plopping your head back into yours arms.

"That was fucking embarrassing, that slow-mo is gonna be a violation..." You looked up at the large screen at the end of the stadium that replayed the goal, and your dive as the ball just managed to sneak past your arms. A groan fell from your lips again, because of how goofy you felt you looked.

"Oh come on that's not half bad," Ginge argued, and slung an arm around your back as you decided to get up - accompanying your movements and getting you back up and onto your feet. "C'mon, you've still got this - they've had double the shots on goal that we've had and you've saved all of them other than that one so far. You're already doing miles better than eighty percent of the pitch."

"STOP DISTRACTING Y/N AND GET IN POSITION, GINGE!" Simon's shout came again, though even the blond who was so passionate about the game couldn't help but yell with a grin, at the way that Ginge looked so domestically sweet towards you - a side of the ginger which no-one had seen before.

And luckily, with Simon slotting a goal in and Chunkz getting one in return - you made it to the half time team talk with an equal 2-2 score to either team.

"-So attack is our strongest of the lot, and then in defence I'm spotting really good chemistry-"

Everyone in the circle turned their heads subconsciously towards you and Ginge as manager Wingrove pointed out the chemistry. And you could feel a blush rising to your cheeks as your eyes zipped and noticed how many people within the team had noticed you and Ginge's close connection... And Ginge's arm around your shoulder, which had been stuck their since Clattenburg had blown the half time whistle didn'y help your case much, either.

"But we've got to lock into the game back there. We're taking too long setting up because there's a bit too much chit-chat going on around there."

Simon coughed to subtly conceal the yell of GINGE! that left his lips, that made everyone laugh. Tobi nodded approvingly though, flashing a wink as you made eye contact with him and felt an even deeper shade of red settling across your cheeks.

At least you and Ginge had matching blushes.

"Morgan I know you say I'm your crush on your streams and all-" You leant over to whisper into the Ginger's ear whilst Wingrove spoke to the attackers, the ginger leaning his head down so that he could hear your quiet voice over the noise of the rest of the changing room - creating intimate proxemics. "-But d'you actually mean any of that? Like, are you just exaggerating and keeping all that up for the viewers...?"

Ginge withdrew with wide eyes at the accusation, your words seemingly the stupidest thing he'd ever heard.

Although before you got the answer that could placate your nerves and send you out with a dopamine high for the next round...

Cheers errupted from all the boys as Ethan gave his team talk, making the both of your heads snap up like deer in headlights, as you saw the interviewer, Cecil Jee, camera trailing behind him - having caught the team speech as well as the entirety of yours and Ginge's intimate interaction.

Again, you wondered whether it was all being played up for the cameras in that moment, where Ginge tried to comfort you by attaching his hand to yours and giving it a squeeze - all noise turning into a blurry, unintelligible mush of words as Ginge's hand pulled you onto your feet and into the tunnel once more for the second round of the game.

And before you knew it, you were back in the white box of the goal area, clapping your gloved hands together and yelling out towards the pitch.

Ofc course not before Ginge managed to give you your own personal pep talk in the goal square, hyping you up and making you fist bump him with all your body power before hugging him whilst you heard another cheer bubble from the crowd, which was undoubtably for you two and the romance that they saw blossoming on the pitch, between their favourite creator and the man that they thought would never have a chance.

But no more than ten minutes after after Ginge's cute little speech, did you watch him brutally floor a little blond man in the penalty area - and referee Clattenburg's whistle sounding, deducing a....

Penalty.

"I'm gonna fucken kill you if I concede because of your stupid, illegal tackles," You hissed at the ginger as he came up to you practically splurging his apologies whilst you watched JJ take on Chunkz and and Kai in a wrestling match besides Chris at the penalty spot. "Holy shit, they've got Speed taking this pen?!"

You were horrified to watch the boy place ball down and eye you up like prey.

"Morgan, I'm gonna die-" The hyperbole fell from your lips too easily as you felt pressure begin to consume you.

"Y/n if you concede I promise I'll shatter his shins-" Ginge caught your horrified look. "Outside of the penalty area so you don't have to deal with another pen, of course-"

"Shut up and go to the edge so that you can run in and boot the ball away when I deflect it, you right twa-"

Tobi pulled Ginge away, overhearing the conversation - and Danny - a part of the opposition only took Ginge's place.

"You and Ginge been getting chatty." He raised a brow and you rolled your eyes.

"You're not allowed to distract me before a pen." You gave a blunt response, and the stubborn boy crossed his arms and only took a step closer so that he was even more in your personal space as he began interrogation.

"Have you two just agreed to play it up for the media, or is Y/n genuinely getting up in her feels?" Danny teasingly persisted, yet only asked the question that'd been on your mind for the entirety of the second half. And it most definitely wasn't what you needed reminding of as you back-stepped into the goal, star jumping and telling the persistent boy to fuck off, as you tried to get in the zone yet couldn't shake off the annoyingly smirking brunet.

Taller, more built and ginger-er - your partner in defence plucked Danny from besides you like a teddy bear, picking Danny up and removing him from the goal square (much to your relief), and letting you lock in - star jumping and clapping your hands together to lock yourself in and follow the ball as Speed took his steps backwards run up to the ball, bounding towards it and striking it towards the side, sending it rolling towards...

....The centre?!

Your hands collected the ball at your knees with minimal effort as you looked up with confusion - almost expecting Clattenburg to say that Speed had to redo it.

Although instead you were met with the Sidemen boys running over to you, cheering for scoring the absolutely abysmal shot that'd been saved whilst Ginge practically crushed you with a hug, screaming "LET'S FUCKEN GO - I NEVER DOUBTED YOU FOR A MINUTE-"  Whilst you felt overwhelming dopamine filling your system as you let out a victorious yell of your own - telling the boys to scatter before thundercunting the ball further up the court and watching at the ball you kicked lead to an assist as Manny flicked it into the goal XQC marked.

You were running on a complete high as you watched Manny score another - then Tobi - followed by Harry... And even though Max Fosh and Niko managed to get their balls fly past your fingertips and into your goal's net - watching Tareq just tap the ball into the bottom left as the whistle blew...

A scream left your mouth at the victory, as the rest of the pitch and crowd broke into their own celebrations - though the ginger man who had carried the defence alongside you?

He instantly whirled around once the whistle sounded, Ginge making eye contact with you whilst his face broke out into an uncontrollable grin, pointing you out and sprinting over with the fastest speeds you'd seen all day as you joined in with running towards him, shortening the distance bit by bit before you jumped onto the man who was no less than a metre away.

Your legs wrapped around his middle, his arms wrapping around your body as yours tightly enveloped his shoulders, burying your cheek into the ginger head of hair that'd been made spiky from sweat and exertion of the game - though just as much as Ginge didn't care about your sweaty body that pressed into his, you couldn't have cared less as you two tightly embraced, every muscle in your body jittering in excitement of the win which you celebrated with you accomplice on the pitch.

And then you had everyone else swam you - another pair of arms around your back, and then your side, as a huddle of Sidemen FC formed with yourself on Ginge's hips - elevated at the centre, were projected onto the grand screen at one end of the stadium, Harry and Tobi and Simon and Ethan and JJ and Josh and Vik, Wingrove and MrBeast and Deji and Lux and Freezy-

Ethan lift the trophy with a cheers whilst sparks of orange and yellow escalated from the pyrotechnics on either side of the stage, the whole crowd cheering as you all jumped and took it in turns lifting the trophy and getting a cheer of your own.

And after Ginge had lifted it - you felt pats on your back, pushing to to the front of the stage to hold the cup up with the ginger, hearing the loudest cheer yet as you and the previous-fanboy-now-friend lifted the cup up alongside you - electricity crackling between the two of you as you placed it down carefully, before finding himself thrown back around you and hugging you happily as the dopamine flooded through your systems.

"GINGE, Y/N - CAN WE GET A POST MATCH INTERVIEW FROM YOU TWO?"

Elz pulled the pair of you towards the mic as Ginge's arm detached from around your shoulders to pick up a mic and hold it between the two of you.

"Congratulations on the win, you both played spectacularly and I have no doubts you're both feeling absolutely ecstatic  right now, is that right?" 

Ginge nodded and you went to answer the question. "You've hit the nail right on the head, Elz - honestly - we were both sort of asked to join the game on a whim - and to have so many good moments on the pitch together... Yeah, completely over the moon really."

"And we have seen those moments on the pitch - and in the changing room, when you two have been really very close, and you two most definitely have the most chemistry on this pitch!" Elz voiced the fans' thoughts with a wide grin, getting the inside scoop of the chemistry and absolutely loving it. "But will your chemistry remain off of the pitch? We've seen from your clips, Ginge - you've had yourself a little thing for Y/n, but we've never seen it reciprocated until today... Will we be seeing more of you two as a duo?? Maybe even as the next YouTube couple on the scene...?"

You were completely stunned by the question - looking from a curious Elz up towards the ginger with a crush - watching as he smiled bashfully, hand raising to sweep his fringe from his eyes in a way that looked shy now, as he looked and smiled down at you - taking the mic from your hands to ask...

"Well, I think that's up to Y/n, if she'd maybe want to come out for a d-date with us sometime-"

Ginge was cut off as a scream left Elz's mouth at the young romance she watched unfurling in front of the cameras, as you yourself couldn't voice your own interest enough - nodding your head rapidly whilst Ginge's grin spread to your own lips.

And in a moment of greatness, where the two of you had both won the cup and were at peak stages of happiness - your delight was only raised even further by Ginge asking you out - and you felt his arms come beneath your legs, picking you up and ending the interview whilst holding you bridal style before marching back to the changing rooms still carrying you, your arms slung around his neck whilst you couldn't help the giggles n redness on your face that had you feeling like a mere teenager.

And walking through and into your separate, secluded changing room - he dropped you down so that you could sit on one of the benched whilst he sat besides you, also still sporting a wide grin of his own.

"Morgan?" You felt your voice take a more tentative, cautious tone as there was a slight shake in your words. "You didn't answer at half time and I still don't really know and just wanna make sure we're on the same page, really... Are you... Are we... Are you - i dunno - serious about wanting to go out on a date, and all of this? Or is it all just for the viewers and content..."

Again, Ginge looked at you like you were mental.

"Y/n, you flipping div," The insult fell all too easily from his lips, and made you furrow your brows together. "I've thought you were the most hot and out-out-my-league lass since I found you on TikTok - then Twitch and then YouTube too - the fact that today you've shown any signs of liking me back, I should be scared of you just doing this for content, not the other way round."

"What I'm trying to say is it's not for content, I do really like you and I would really l-like to go on a date with you... As long as you're still on with that.."

A sigh of relief followed by a squeal of happiness left your lips before you reattached yourself to Ginge's body to hug him, feeling your heartrate decelerate as it was confirmed; Ginge did indeed like you and it wasn't all for the cameras.

Feeling a surging throughout your entire body, you reached up and planted a kiss on his right cheek - the side that you were cuddled up to, squeezing him one last time before commanding him to get out so that you could change - collapsing against the metal bench and giving yourself a breather to take it all in, the moment that Ginge left.

That was, until, you heard the conversation fall silent in the Sidemen boys' connected changing room, before someone asked "Well Ginge, what happened?"

Again, there was another silence - and you pricked your ears to listen in and see how Ginge would respond to the question. 

"SHE KISSED ME!" Was what you heard him yell, before the rest was covered with the deafening roar of cheers from the other boys, making a laugh bubble from your throat at the fact that not only had you played and successfully won the trophy for your team - but you'd also succesfully secured yourself a date with someone who made you blush, laugh and feel loved.

BONUS SCENE!!!

New post on Insta from @/angryginge13!

AngryGinge13: Best day of my life. Thank you Sidemen and Y/n.username

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Y/n.username: 😋💗      DannyAarons: stop thirsting in the replies      Kaicenat: W RIZZ      Y/Ncentral: AHHHH I CANT BELIEVE SMTH HAS HAPPENED BETWEEN THESE TWO             HapyyGinge: LITR MENTAL INNIT                  Yanitedx3: Still dont know how he's bagged her 😭😭😭

Miniminter: @/tobjizzle LOOK AT WHAT WE'VE DONE YAY        Tobjizzle: If we aren't front row at their wedding there's gonna b issues              Ksi: wait guys i technically am part of this too, i invited her to the match                    Miniminter: Shut up you aren't a part of this.

New post on Insta from Y/n.username!

Y/n.username: Yeah you're never gonna hear me shut up about this.

open replies!

Angryginge13: Better than Onana 💗     Yanitedx3: this man is so locked in if he's saying shit like that

Tobjizzle: LOOK @/miniminter SHE'S POSTED HIM TOO JKDJFSH       Miniminter: THIS IS OUR BEST ASSISST YET             Y/n.username: shut up you guys 😭😭            Angryginge13: I cannot thank you boys enough.

Chunkz: Yeah none of the posts from our elevator photoshoot i see how it is      Y/n.username: saving those for when Vogue finally calls me back 

XQC: the better goalkeeper 👏         Y/n.username: Respect to you, great game 💓🫡               Angryginge13: Not as much game as me though clearly 🔥                     Y/n.username: Shut up we're having a moment

I started this last year after the charity match i shit u not it's taken a whole YEAR to write LMAOO 😭😭 Hope it's been worth it x

Hope you enjoyed reading!! Feel free to interact- whether that be a comment, vote or follow! Requests open, feel free to submit what u wanna see… Much love!!

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p.s. Customise which Oneshots YOU want to be tagged in by submitting your preferences on THIS GOOGLE FORM + join the taglist!!!

GINGEEE TAGLIST:

@clarkeysbog, @springholland, @xxkatxgracexx, @mekselinaurr, @blackbat2020

@scassty1202, @martini4lyfe, @sunshinesunny, @x-d1vine, @w2soneshots

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@lyssaluvs, @daniiixoxo, @thankunextx, @boatshrimp @amberrrx

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

Just how much power did Marcy have over her friends pre-Amphibia? When they throw the kpop puppy party at school, the principal assumes "those two" pushed Anne into it, and Anne kind of admits it. When Anne is about to sacrifice herself, she says "all my life I've followed you two". During her one and only S1 appearance, she's seen maliciously nodding alongside Sasha when Anne steals the box, and with Marcy asking to meet up on Anne's birthday, while Sasha is the one to carry out the order, the implication is that they're almost like... working together. I know she was supposed to be "meaner" when they were working on S1, and I think they changed her personality because Haley Tju made her too adorable(? and maybe also because Matt thought the whole show would fall apart if people didn't like Marcy (considering what a huge impact she has on everything that happens, I'd say he was right). But Anne's line in THT and the flashback in All In implies she wasn't nearly as much as a doormat as it may seem sometimes, at least not as much as Anne.

Or maybe she was? Because you also see her in this place of submission when it comes to Sasha (and also Anne?), especially in BOTB, when she's happy to switch from Anne's song to Sasha's without even hearing the first, only stopping to consider Anne's approval. That scene struck me as her always happy to go along with her friends' wishes and never having much of an opinion of her own. That's why she was so desperate for them to get along during The Dinner, and why she never took a side when Anne told her she and Sasha had a fight. She closest thing to defying Sasha that we ever see her do is when she's working alongside like 10 other people to protect Newtopia from the Toad Army, and she says they had to "defeat Sasha and Grime" specifically, which I think makes sense considering they're attacking the city she's supposed to protect (she's IS a high-ranking member of its military forces AND a close advisor to its king), and not wanting to "defeat Sasha" would rock the boat with everyone else involved, Anne included. Yet we never really see her angry at Sasha for what she's doing, she just wants her and Anne to "work things out". I think it's clear that Marcy struggles with empathy, because if she put herself in Anne's shoes, she wouldn't expect her to "just work things out" with Sasha. In fact, she would have taken Anne's side agessssss ago, but she's way too focused on herself (her goal is for everyone to be happy forever and get along, while Anne and Sasha may want something else). Marcy being self-centered isn't a hot take, and I don't think she's any more self-centered than Anne was during most of S1. In fact, I'd argue Anne was even worse lol. The difference is that Anne made a million relatively small mistakes while Marcy made like two or three very big, very bad mistakes (bringing them to Amphibia, striking a deal with Andrias behind their backs, and not taking a side in Anne and Sasha's fight, which is something I never see people bring up as one of Marcy's most flawed moments).

So... going back to the question I made in the beginning... did Marcy just go along with Sasha's plans so enthusiastically when compared to Anne, who had more doubts and had to be pressured into them, that it made it look like she and Sasha were more in cahoots than they actually were? I think this is very likely. I also think it's likely that she and Sasha genuinely shared a liking for rule breaking back in LA, and her own self-centered-ness prevented her from realizing Anne wasn't comfortable with it. Maybe she never even considered if she liked to go along with Sasha's plans, like, Marcy strikes me as someone who doesn't look inwards much. I think we can rule out both Sasha and Marcy being equally controlling and possesive of Anne, because her relationship with Sasha was very much not one of equals, with Anne as a third wheel. Was she more of a third wheel? We know Anne and Sasha don't share most of her interests and will often ignore her and her needs, and we know she feels like losing them is becoming dangerously easy. We also know Sasha has no qualms taking Anne on some kind of birthday date without Marcy which I'm 75% convinced it's because she had a huge crush on Anne but I digress which, from a doylian perspective, is explained by the fact that they seemingly didn't want to show Marcy too early, but from a watsonian perspective, it just comes across as Sasha not priorizing Anne spending her birthday with both her best friends. Like, you can do with or without Marcy. She doesn't seem to remember Marcy until she texted her, actually.

But then you have lines from Anne about how "if you friend wants to you steal something, you do it, because if you don't, they may not want to be your friend anymore", which, oh boy, if she at least perceived Marcy as pressuring her into stealing the box (rather than it being 100% Sasha's idea) that would shed a whole new light on her relationship with Marcy, because it would seem like she, too, feels like their friendship could fall apart if she didn't go along with the other two's plans. And I do think Marcy at least somewhat participated in pushing Anne into it. It wouldn't be the first time she made Anne do something bad - she told her to lie to Valeriana about stealing the box, something Anne later appeared to be ashamed of, and she insisted of going along with the puppy party when Anne was having doubts. I imagine Sasha (who also pressured Anne into doing very much not so "lawful good" things, in more extreme ways than Marcy) might have come up with the idea of stealing it, and Marcy just supported it. Marcy taking Sasha's side. Possibly over and over again. We know Sasha didn't exactly manipulate her because she didn't have to: Marcy just always did everything she said. Anne was the one who needed a bit more convincing.

Marcy's relationship with Anne and Sasha is fascinating. She's definitely the most morally gray of the trio, and possibly the most complex one too, in the sense that she's full of realistic contradictions - an adorkable manipulator, an amoral softie, a self-centered sweetheart who loves her friends more than life itself, a possesive kidnapper with a heart of gold, a very selfish and self-sacrificial person... and it's never just a mask or anything, she's not just pretending to be nice, she really is that way, she really is all of that together. I think that's why people struggle to read her a lot of the times, because so much about her characterization seems conflicting with itself... but I think that's the key to making characters deep and realistic. In real life, we're all walking contradictions and we don't really make sense. Marcy's character doesn't seem clumsily put together to me, like they frankeinsteined all the different character traits she needed to make the plot work without any cohesion between them. I think she's a complex tapestry that sometimes requires a closer inspection to decypher it, and I think the glue holding everything together is her lack of intrapersonal intelligence, her inability to look inwards and notice her own contradictions.

We know she felt unloved by her friends yet desperately clung to them with everything she had, going to extreme measures to ensure they all stayed together, even when it hurt them. We know she's capable of manipulation, scheming and lying to the people that love her most in order to guarantee that goal. We know she's possesive with them, but she also loves them enough to let them go in the rare cases when she realizes she's hurting them (as seen in A Day in the Aquarium). From her journal, we also know she feels very ashamed of these possesive impulses. We know she'll neglect to form her own opinions and ideas to agree always with her friends' wishes, which means she feels completely lost when they want different things. But this also shows that she would never think of an idea of hers as being explicitly opposed to what her friends want. She wouldn't consciously do something that they wouldn't like. Which is insane, because, who would want to be separated from their family and thrown into a different world without any sort of notice? Which leads us to understand that Marcy has zero emotional intelligence and has never looked inwards in her LIFE, AND that her empathy skills are in negative digits because it would have taken her a nanosecond of thought to realize Anne and Sasha probably wouldn't like to be kidnapped. And since we know she never wants to do something they dislike, she must have just... not thought about it at all. No thoughts head empty. It really was just BLANK up there when she made that decision. I think Marcy is a very "true neutral" character who struggles with empathy and humility, who loves her friends but doesn't have the emotional intelligence to really understand them, and who is happy and enthusiastic to be Sasha 2 Electric Boogaloo because... that's what she knows. That's how her friend group works and her goal was never to have a deeper and more genuine connection to them, but to keep it close to her.

So... my conclussion is that, pre-amphibia, Marcy was Sasha's very enthusiastic (but emotionally neglected) right hand man, with Anne as their oblivious victim. It really IS complex because you have to then add Anne always looking out for her, losing sleep over her, yet also ignoring her needs, and Sasha not even bothering to hide how much she doesn't care about Marcy's feelings (which reflects on Marcy not consciously caring about her own feelings). There's also Marcy always assuming the best from them too, despite repeated evidence of their disinterest, and her fear of displeasing them looming over her constantly. Ik I said Anne was Sasha and Marcy's victim, but I meant that like... symbolically, because Anne is not innocent here either. She wasn't a great friend to Marcy before Amphibia. Here's why I always say Anne couldn't develop a deeper, more genuine and open connection with Marcy because of Sasha's oppressive presence and her own lack of emotional maturity. And Marcy couldn't develop a deeper, more genuine and open connection with Anne because of her own lack of empathy and reluctance to face any kind of conflict. So Marcy is Sasha's enthusiastic but emotionall neglected right hand man, who also feels subordinate to Anne despite Anne feeling subordinate to her. That's why they both feel like third wheels at different times. There's an illusion of Marcy with more agency and power than she actually has. In reality, only Sasha is on top, and the other two are two very flawed individuals, one slowly cracking under the weight and the other, less sensitive to the same pressure, trying to uphold the status quo.

[intimidatingpuffinstudios]

Progress Update for Oct 2024

Hey, everyone!

It's time to touch base once more and let you all know where I'm at! And where I am is glorious~

As you know, I've been working to finish Morkai's route. It's just that I keep ADDING things LMAO!

Like, whole scenes. I count at least two that I remember off the top of my head, and I'm not done yet, so who knows at this point.

There are only two PLANNED scenes left for me to write, but they will be hefty ones. Like, going on for multiple pages ones. And uh...the time for Morkai's second smut scene is nearly upon us.

Little spoiler: he's planning to make it special 😏 So yeah! I think I might switch to Straasa's route for a bit, though, to clear my head as it were.

Sometimes I need to swap between routes/projects, because I get writer's block in one but not the other LMAO!

So that might be a small writer's tip you may try if you get a block—trying switching it around~

AND, as concerns BtM.... OH BOI!!!!!!!!!! BtM has been what has REALLY shined for me this month!!!

Like, gosh, not to toot my own horn, but I am LOVING how everything is getting together.

The vision I've always had is shaping up distinctly, and it's just��lovely.

Of course, the planned romance scenes with the ROs are multiplying at an exponential rate…. This segment I'm on right now has TWO unexpected additional Zach scenes. Wait, no. THREE.

And the uncanny vibe is GETTING OUT OF CONTROL! Strange things happening, but also….

The ROs may be starting to show their true colors all the more. While at the same time being insanely loving LOL

But that's a good thing, right? Transparency. And we all know most of this fandom is into problematic bastards 🤣

So yeah, out of the three big segments remaining for BtM, I'm very close to finishing the first. It would have been long ago if I ever stuck to my original plans, but GUESS THAT'S NOT ME.

If inspiration hits, and it fits, I gotta add it in 😭Go big or go home and all that.

Aaaand that's it for this progress update! I can't wait to continue with both BtM and TSSW 3!

Cheers!

P.S: The early access build for BtM will be updated with new content tomorrow, on both Ko-Fi and Patreon! Some pretty unnerving experiences—or hot ones, depending on how you see—it may be coming up~

Just WHAT are you up to, Zach and Cy? 👀

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

whatr would kazutora do if draken mugged/jumped him and took him to the toman?

(Ok this got very long and is basically a whole au on the rest of the valhalla arc so be warned before reading)

Well Kazutora would definitely be fighting against Draken the whole time, he wouldn't want to go wherever Draken is taking him and would likely assume he's bringing him straight to Mikey so Mikey can kill Kazutora or something. (Even though Kazutora does seem to have at least a bit of trust in Draken, enough to agree to meet him alone and listen to him. This would go as soon as Draken grabbed him). However I think Draken would avoid taking him to Mikey, instead realising that could go very wrong and so would probably take him to one of the toman hideouts we see. Kazutora would still be fighting to try and get away but would also be suspicious, if this was a plot to kill him then why bring him here? Why not get it over with?

Draken's plan would probably involve keeping Kazutora there so that he misses the fight, a way of avoiding Kazutora and Mikey clashing and a way to keep Draken's two friends safe from each other. He'd likely use this time to talk to Kazutora more and would treat him well (aside from the whole he can't leave thing). He'd likely also have Mitsuya and Peh there to talk to Kazutora too. With Baji also being part of the plot and talking a lot with Kazutora too during this time. I also think it would be cool if Emma also spoke with Kazutora during this time (we never hear her feelings on Kazutora but I'm sure she forgave him for the mistake). Kazutora getting to hear that Emma forgives him would probably do a lot for him. But of course Draken and the others would have to leave when it's time for the fight, even with Kazutora gone toman would still need all it's strongest guys to go up against valhalla (who would be very confused as to where their no3 is). Kazutora gets locked in during the fight, Baji doesn't die, Kisaki gets very injured but Baji doesn't kill him and valhalla loses.

After all that toman's main goal is to fix things between Kazutora and Mikey. Kazutora's already had a lot of time to think and has been surrounded by positive influences telling him that Mikey isn't his enemy and how much they care for him. Meanwhile Baji shows Mikey the toman charm and reminds him of what this gang is for (this may work a bit better if Baji was injured during the fight). Both Mikey and Kazutora are having doubts and changing the way they think but it's not enough yet. They do let Kazutora leave though since they couldn't keep him that long and he isn't a threat anymore, not enough to attack Mikey anyway.

Meanwhile Hanma and what's left of valhalla are angry and most of this anger is directed at Kazutora since he 'abandoned' them. Hanma himself did say that anyone getting scared and running off wouldn't be tolerated and that seems like what Kazutora did... Hanma even know where Kazutora lives (we see this in Kazutora's birthday art). So it's easy for valhalla to target Kazutora and go after him and unfortunately Kazutora can't fight all those guys at once. But at the same time Mikey decided he needs to talk to Kazutora himself, to figure out I things really have changed with him and to find out why he wasn't at the fight. Mikey finds Kazutora being beaten up by a bunch of valhalla guys and loses it, taking every one of them out then waiting for Kazutora to wake up. When he does they both realise how familiar this scene is, it's like when they first bonded with each other. And it makes them realise that they're still the same kids both of them made friends with. This doesn't magically fix everything but they're both willing to put the work in now. Kazutora still agrees to attend therapy, Mikey is still a bit unsure but does invite Kazutora back to toman (Kisaki's 3rd division role is now open and Pah would be more then happen for Kazutora to take over, Peh enthusiastically tells them this). And everything goes well for toman.....at least until the black dragons mess with Takemichi and a whole new war starts (plus Kisaki gets out of hospital and starts scheming again).

[starlightswordfight]

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR.

It's a beautiful day.

(robot AU !! YAY !!!! more all over the place info below)

this AU will not be NEARLY as ambitious as my other one but I do plan on making art for some scenes, designs, etc.

the events of pikmin 4 carry out mostly the same except Uh Oh! Collin Is A Fucking Robot!! and he ALSO does not realize it!!! and continues not to realize it until after the crash on PNF-404!!! I don't see THAT going poorly at ALL

it's a very very heavy handed metaphor for disability and related ableism and what internalizing that can Do to somebody but you can really take it however you want. I'm not being subtle w this one I don't Want to

so far as of posting this the first chapter is the only one that's out! and this chapter is mostly the exposition/setting things up one, not a lot of plot. we don't get our technical inciting incident until the next one I promise things will kick up from there

also it's going to be second person! so if you like second person pov .. evil laugh

[erika111111]

The Quary and queer-baiting

It's a pretty known issue within The Quarry fanbase that this game basically set us up with two gay couples for them to just... not happen. In fact, it's almost as if the game rubs it in the players' faces that they don't, won't, and can't happen, besides the first half of the game setting them up rather clearly. It feels like the writers completely abandoned the idea halfway through, or for some reason just wanted to draw players in with the concept of queer relationships/characters just to rip it away in the end.

Disclaimer: This topic has been in my rough drafts for like, nearly two years at this point. I updated and added some stuff, but forgive me if I missed any crucial details.

So in the beginning, a lot of people wind up shipping both Ryan x Dylan (Rylan) and Emma x Abigail (Blygbank). Let's start with Blygbank since it's the shorter of the two.

So we do establish that Emma had a boyfriend, but the keyword is "had." To be fair, Jacob and Kaitlyn talk about it for the entire first section and that's the whole reason this game even happens, since Jacob wants another shot with Emma. So this straight couple is obviously very prominent. But, throughout the entire game, from multiple characters (Emma herself, Kaitlyn, Dylan, Ryan), it's repeatedly stated that Emma wants to move on from Jacob. Then we're introduced to Abigail, who's first scene is of her drawing a sketch of Emma. It's established that Emma and Abi are good friends. Maybe Emma and Abi will start a relationship? But, then we're introduced to Abi's crush on Nick. So I guess that idea just got blown out of the water...

To be fair, Emma's lack of interest in Jacob and Abi sketching Emma all happens very quickly within the first chapter. Perhaps it's the players' fault for jumping to that conclusion so quickly... but still.

What's more disappointing is that Abi and Nick are basically useless after chapter 6. There is actually yet another opportunity to develop some Blygbank relationship, but once again, it goes nowhere. Nick is bit and infected and starts acting absolutely horrible toward Abi, which very noticeably turns Abi off from him. Then Nick disappears for the rest of the game. But given Abi survives, she'll have another opportunity to have some alone time with Emma. Yet nothing of actual importance is discussed here. Not Emma kissing Nick. Not how Nick treated Abi. Not where Abi and Emma's relationship stands. Not where Emma and Jacob's relationship stands. We do get a moment where Emma reveals some of her true colors and she says that she needs Abi and she's been great to her, but once again, this goes nowhere. I guess we could see this as romantic, but Abi kind of seems just tired of and annoyed with Emma at this point and doesn't comment much about any of it. Basically there's just no conclusion. We have literally no idea where their relationship stands, romantically or otherwise. It's a huge missed opportunity.

While you can't get both of these scenes in the same playthrough, they do also push the Blygbank agenda. If you can get the "Nobody's Fool" route where Emma and Jacob reunite and Jacob tells her the truth, Emma will be completely and entirely done with Jacob. No more joking, no more mixed signals, she's just done. Which is kind of where the entire game was leading to from the beginning anyway, but this route gives it to us loud and clear. This accompanied with Abi and Nick going south again leaves us with a Blygbank option, but obviously, we get none of it. I know there's not much time left in the game by the time any of these scenes happen; maybe this is something else that could've been developed if we got any post-credits scenes, police interviews, I don't know. Again, maybe I'm reaching way too far with this one, but I think there's pretty good reason to ship Blygbank and assume maybe that's the direction they planned on going in. But I digress...

Onto part two, we have Rylan. And... Ryka? I have no idea what the ship name for Ryan x Kaitlyn is and I don't know if shippers for this couple even exist, so I'll just call them Ryka. And they're not a queer couple, but it's necessary to talk about the two at the same time.

I'll be honest, during my first several playthoughs/watchthroughs of The Quarry, I had no idea Kaitlyn was interested in Ryan. They do not do a good job of establishing that at all, and you can very easily miss every single opportunity for it to be brought up until chapter freaking nine. So honestly, Kaitlyn is pretty much a non-factor here. Dylan's crush on Ryan is very vocal and obvious, and the two are paired up very often throughout the game. Even if Kaitlyn's crush on Ryan was more well-known, Dylan is still the more obvious one between the two because, again, Dylan and Ryan are always paired up together.

Ryan is rather... uninterested in everything and everyone. But between everyone, he seems closest to Dylan. Of course, this can depend on how you play as both characters. You can make them argue A LOT, and Ryan won't always say the "I'm a bit closer to Dylan, I guess" line, but regardless, there's some scenes with them being close that will always happen. The most prominent scene between them is when they're walking to the radio hut and Dylan actually opens up to Ryan about who he is and what he likes to do. Ryan will have unwavering, non-negotiable interest in Dylan as a person here. Sure, they CAN kiss at the firepit, but Ryan can also choose to kiss Kaitlyn. They can joke around about the Bizarre Yet Bonafide podcast name, or they can't. They can agree over the gun, or they can argue instead. Ryan can cheer Dylan on or rush him. They can grab the phones and go or Dylan can annoy Ryan so much, he'll yell at him. Point being, there's a lot of options you can take with their relationship. You can make them close or you can make them bicker. Regardless, Dylan will remain interested. And regardless, they will have this intimate moment together on the way to the radio hut. Point being again, it's veryyyy obvious this a queer relationship in the making. Justice Smith is even a queer actor, and Miles Robbins is a very vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.

Then Laura comes and fucks the whole thing up. And I love Laura, mind you, but for some reason the writers decided to take this whole ship and spin it on its head when Laura arrives.

Before we get into the Laura segment, let me point a few more things out. I personally thought that Ryan was maybe oblivious to Dylan and Kaitlyn's feelings, didn't really know which one he liked more, or most prominently, maybe he was asexual. When Emma tells him to kiss either Dylan or Kaitlyn, he asks if he can kiss both. I thought that was kind of an odd thing to say unless he either liked both or just didn't care. Also, he can ask Laura, "You're doing all of this for a boy?" He really seems like he doesn't understand this kind of love or investment in another person romantically. Upon discovering that line, I pretty much accepted Ryan as asexual.

But then he's not asexual. And he's not oblivious to Dylan and Kaitlyn's feelings. And he's not interested in either of them. According to Justice Smith himself, when Laura asks Ryan who he likes more and he answers with "Maybe neither," it means that Ryan has a crush on Laura. And I truly don't get this, for several reasons. For starters, yes, Laura is doing all of this for a boy--her boyfriend, Max. She literally has a boyfriend already. And Ryan already had a thing going with Dylan. So why, seven whole chapters through this entire game, giving us LauraMax and Rylan, do they suddenly pair together Lyan? It's just a creative decision I will never understand. Maybe if Laura and Max had broken up, but still. She's not reintroduced until chapter 7 so we've already had six chapters of Rylan still. Maybe they could have made it more obvious from the beginning that Ryan wasn't interested in Dylan or Kaitlyn, but they just didn't do that. They particularly paired Ryan and Dylan up all the time and made them close. So, I call queer-baiting.

Of course, Lyan never goes anywhere. The only ending you can get that involves any kind of romance is actually Laura and Max reuniting. Laura and Ryan's romance happens in basically two seconds and there's barely any romance to even speak of. Laura does flirt with him a lot, but I believe that's due to the werewolf curse, as she stops that kind of behavior after her curse is lifted. They do seem to be close friends by then, she just doesn't flirt anymore or make weird comments. And really neither does Ryan. Sure, you don't always get the "maybe neither" line and you can choose less flirty options sometimes, but then they have a whole ass The Lovers card. So it's extremely obvious what the developers were going for. I just don't understand why suddenly go for this couple eight chapters through after already establishing a gay couple with Ryan himself and Dylan.

The only other thing we get on this matter is Dylan and Kaitlyn discussing Ryan's relationship with Laura on their way to the scrapyard. The most positive outcome for Rylan here is when Dylan says he and Ryan got close and Kaitlyn tells him "There's always next year." So it does give a bit of hope to this ship, leaving it open-ended despite the sudden occurrence of Lyan. Of course, you might not always get these lines, and Dylan and Kaitlyn can both agree "screw Ryan" and move on. So... I don't fucking know. It's like they purposefully set players up to support this clearly laid out queer ship of Rylan to then make it all insanely confusing and open-ended and piss people off. I think they really fumbled the bag with this one, and it's why I have a hard time shipping Ryan with literally anyone. It's all just a confusing mess.

I'd definitely say that the whole Supermassive Games chain of video games definitely got less queer-baity and more queer accepting over time. Just a few months later, The Devil in Me is released and they give us a Lesbian ship with Jamie and Erin. Also, with the Until Dawn remake, they cranked up the Jemily and Climbing Class. Not by much, mind you, but regardless, they acknowledged the popularity of these queer couples in the fanbase and added some crumbs for the players. It makes me wonder if they'll ever delve on Blygbank or Rylan in the future. I'm doubting The Quarry will ever get a remaster/remake with added content like Until Dawn, but who knows, I guess. As I said, both ships are pretty much left open-ended. But for now, I think The Quarry has a serious problem with queer-baiting, or maybe they just had no idea how to handle writing queer characters. I really don't know.

Lastly, none of this was supposed to be negative or attacking any single one of the ships mentioned in this post. I don't know how anything I said could be interpreted that way, but you never know. This post was just supposed to be informative. I hear a lot of people criticizing the queer-baiting within this game, as they should, and I decided to make an informative post covering all of the points and how I believe they screwed up the opportunities to put in these queer couples and somewhat alienate their queer audience.

[backjustforberena]

The problem is, even if we got her in S2, we wouldn't have much of her or for very long. She had, what? 40-50 minutes of screen-time in Season 1, with varying degrees of centralisation of her character per scene?

In Season 2, we'd have to get her back from the dead/gone but also feel the consequences of her being dead/gone to start with in order for it to mean anything at all. So, provided that the series didn't change too much from the original plan (which, admittedly is a big assumption), for me, Farah coming back is either going to occur just before we get rid of Rosalind or after. There's just too much hinging on these girls having a support system removed from them - all the adults being out of the way or unable to help.

Rosalind doesn't die until the last couple of episodes so Farah would be in, let's say, 2-3 episodes. And how much would actually prioritise what she went through and what she's dealing with? Especially ramping up to a finale. I can't imagine she'd have too much of a look-in.

You've stripped away a lot of what gave Farah screentime in the first place: introducing the status quo/her role as headmistress (the current threat of the Burned Ones, the school and how it works, magic etc), the idea of her being an antagonist to Bloom, and flashbacks and background on Rosalind and the Aster Dell plot. So, instead, we were left with just her being a mentor figure for Bloom and the rest of the girls.

Heck, they've even, arguably, stripped away the Golden Trio aspect of her character. Not that she had a great amount of time with Ben, but he was shelved, and Saul's got a lot of his own angst going on.

But if you want Rosalind to take that spot of the "mentor" (which is what Farah is reduced to), enough for Bloom's character journey and to unleash the Dragon Flame or whatever the heck it was, then you just can't have Farah there. She naturally undermines it.

In my opinion, looking at the end of Season 1 and the "accomplishments" of Season 2, I'd say we'd get 15 minutes, of varying importance.

I was re-watching Farah scenes to do some gifs and what hit me is how worried and concerned and how responsible she feels even when it's just a case of some Burned One sightings and Bloom being a changeling, even before she knows about Rosalind's involvement.

Now imagine Farah in a S2 AU where she didn't die and she's worried about the following:

Her mentor/abuser is running large with a secret agenda and a lot of magical power. Farah has no idea what she wants, where she is or how she'll next appear.

Rosalind left her with ominous words about a war to come and a threat of blood witches, which leaves her with a new perspective on Aster Dell but also not knowing if Rosalind is telling the truth but if she is then Farah has no concept of knowing the true reality of the threat they face just that it's worse than Burned Ones or involves a lot of Burned ones.

Luna continues to have war crimes over her head and the heads of her friends. She's also politicking a heck of a lot and wants her ousted from her position as Headmistress. All she needs is one slip-up.

Fairies and then her students are being attacked and killed by god knows what. Farah certainly doesn't know.

Bloom has unlocked transformation magic and there's something called the Dragon Flame inside of her. She needs to guide Bloom but she's unsure if she's the right person or if Bloom should be guided - perhaps her parents were blood witches, perhaps this magic is too archaic, too dangerous, she needs to figure it out. And she promised Bloom she would help find her parents.

Saul is in an angst-off with his son who knows he is a murderer now and Ben's kids know he assisted in terrible, terrible things. Both of which affect Farah greatly because she was also culpable in all of this but their personal issues leave her without a solid support system and leaves her also unwilling to burden them more than she has.

And she's running a school.

And that's just at the START of Series 2. Like... come on. That's fertile dramatic ground, right there.

[ash-and-starlight]

Sokka splashed a line of water through his path. The fire fizzled. Zuko’s eyebrow raised, then he forged on. The path zigzagged out of the constellation, hopped eastwards through the galaxy’s north. Hiss. Hiss. Sokka met him each time with a streak of water. Zuko pressed on, building rhythm with each star he joined up.

The Mercy of Magpies Chapter 4 out now!!

as always written by thee @ranilla-bean and betaed by @faux-fires

Chapter Post || Cover || Map and Characters || Ch2 || Ch 3.1 || Ch. 3.2

[sankttealeaf]

oooooo rue and gortash saying how theyre going to tadpole his parents together. planning to make it a little date. the wretched children finally standing up to those who were horrid against them

only for rue to disappear. and now gortash has to do it alone

what started as something they could laugh about has now turned into anger and grief and rage because he has to face them alone. and i think the plan would be completely different.

rotating post-durge-disappearance gortash around in my head right now

[pastafossa]

im watching frank castle edits (he is so hot) and im dying to read some badass scenes with him and jane. i think that if they would start to get along, they would be really lethal combination. do you plan something like this?

YESSSSSS, I definitely have some stuff planned with Jane and Frank after he's out of jail fuck having him in prison is inconvenient but it won't be for long, and especially him getting to work alongside Hound!Jane as they hunt Certain People TM down (I have one scene in mind that, if I pull it off, will be fucking awesome and kickass for the both of them; been working on that one for MONTHS). Because yeah, when you think about it, the way they both operate would flow fairly well together and their hunting styles aren't all that different. They also both, technically, want the same thing: Cyrus and all his people dead, and Jane would absolutely resonate with his own drive to get vengeance. They'll be friends by the end, though there'll be some tugging back and forth a bit between Matt and Frank over her for a little while - not in the romantic sense, but in a morality sense, since Frank's going to encourage very different instincts in her than Matt will, and there's still the thorny murder-y issues that her and Matt are avoiding discussing. Then again, Frank nudging her like that isn't going to go the way Frank thinks it will either...

[twinkodium]

OMG! WELCOME BACK!!

And I think Silverstone as well. They could’ve pitted them together when the rain hit, I know they were close behind each other but Oscar would’ve lost less time in the pitstop then he did with going around in slicks and catching by Lando. God, Hungary was so disappointing and embarrassing from the team, mentally blackmailing the driver who has been loyal to them and signed a long-term contract already and making it sour and bittersweet for the other who just achieved his first win in f1.

I agree, the upgrades worked since Miami and they gained so many points on the others by constantly finishing on the podium places, they became title contenders super fast.

Also that and with Oscar not far behind it wouldn’t have been fair to him I assume, plus we all criticizing the team for letting them fight and not backing up Lando but we don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes and Lando being adamant to not apply any rules and the team providing equal opportunities to Oscar. A part of me think he wanted to win this on his own, of course with a help of Oscar and the team but now how they did during the sprint but Lando beating him on pure pace. And Lando himself never said that he’s a title contender it was pushed upon him by the media and their narrative. He either talked about the WCC or both championships but never outright the WDC. I assume he just tried to focus on doing the best job he can for him and for the team.

I think the same, they’re both racers overall and wants to win to prove everyone wrong who spoke ill about them before, and they can be both aggressive at times, but the team should know better that they can be both aggressive and racing fairly. They were involved in very few accidents since they’re teammates. But god, I want to see them fight fair and square.

I mean it’s not a bad plan going forward, yes it’ll train them to do as told, but also collecting more points working together for the WCC where the money is.

It depends on the opportunities they get and offered by other teams but seeing how the other teams work, priorities and all, don’t think a change would be smart at all. No other teams will treat them as number one drivers. At least Stella is smart enough to learn to manage them, they just need time to learn how to do it perfectly. And with it they can be the strongest team out there. Most of the time yes, they’ll prioritize the team over the drivers, but they let them fight and everyone was moaning about it, but when they applied the rules, everyone was moaning about it too…

No because all these comments are so stupid and unnecessary, like they aren’t allowed to have bad days or off races when they’re not on top of their game. It happens, they’re human beings.

I really hope we can see a clear fight between the boys but keeping it safe and clean too. Like I was fuming when they told Oscar to give up his podium place in his home race for Lando who couldn’t catch Charles at all and theoretically they didn’t gain much, the team got the same amount of points.

I don’t think firing anyone would help, they just need to learn from this disastrous year on how to lead the team better. Because they lost so many points on brainless decisions and failed communications. HMMM, interesting. Hopefully, it’ll help the team even forward.

I really hope the team doesn’t fuck it up and it results in one of them leaving…

Thank you for all the pic and insights on the upgrades, I usually don’t follow it closely and I always lose track of them easily 😭

I don’t know if they talked about every scenario and Lando was overthinking it and got impatient seeing all the cars behind him, both Charles and Max very close. Because in the interviews they both said the switch was planned to happen and they talked about it. Preferably wanting to pull the gap to the cars behind to make the switch less painful and easier on both of them, losing less time. I must have missed the comment about doing the switch on the last lap… and it felt like he’s asking to let him through already… Okay, it’s more understandable now that I missed a very important message inbetween. They don’t want to risk anything that’s alright. I have to think that they had it on their minds that Lando might be a better defender with more experience and can keep them behind longer and if they let Lando ahead he’ll pull away and the 1-2 will be compromised. I can’t think of any other reason why they didn’t switch them immediately they pulled a bigger gap.

God, they’re unbearable and disrespectful and only wanting them to snap with all the questions. No matter what the answer will be twisted in some ways.

It was bittersweet to me as well. Lando didn’t feel it was fair to Oscar, Oscar gave up his win for the team but could’ve won it.

LMAO that Max banner HAHHAHAHA

They’re genuine and very adorable together and how they have each other’s back every time when it’s needed. I hope their relationship stays the same no matter what the team put them through.

No worries, I love reading and answering long discussions, especially if it’s unbiased and happen in a friendly way. Oh me too, I just sometimes don’t have the time to reply and it takes a few days to go over everything.

My take on a certain part of the McLaren fandom:

Every tag I open I see parasocial behavior.

Let's just touch grass and stop it. It prevents people from enjoying the sport without cringing (and, moreover, be happy for a team's success).

Why do I have to mute stupid tags (anti...) and block people in order to appreciate F1 in peace? Why do people do not understand that this is an highly mechanical/engineering sport and not only a driving sport? Why do you not understand that drivers are humans too?

But mostly, why does it seem so difficult to root for an entire TEAM?

Like, can't we JUST collectively appreciate everything that happened today? Just for once.

Like:

1. Oscar's sprint pole was a significant milestone for him and his career. (And i would love to see him win the sprint). Although he's still a rookie, he's developing into a really good driver (just needs one or two more years to settle down). Also, he has been maturing a lot since the start of the season and you can see that in the way he speaks about the whole "papaya rules" situation (still hate it, no team orders please... Just tell him to not crash both cars.) now compared to before the summer break. (please Oscar, do not let Mark Webber's delusions get into your brain. Thanks.) Also, nice helmet. Love it.

2. Lando finally looks serene and at ease without succumbing to anxiety for other's expectations. (He also seems to not be willing to give a f*ck about WDC, good for him). I'm also really happy that he's back to eating/drinking before races and can finally enjoy driving again. (Noticed him eating an energy bar before the race in Mexico)

I also noticed that he, just like Oscar, matured A LOT this year, especially after the summer break. (Speaking of the elephant in the room: Despite the team's apparent indifference, I still think that WDC can be achieved if he chooses to. Even if they're not interested in helping him due to different priorities or contract clauses)

And no, he is definitely a First Driver. If you think otherwise you are just living in a delusion, sorry. Telemetry, just like Math, is not an opinion.

Like, look at the last qualy time he did (and aborted) before pitting.

(the green lap records are the last sectors performances set by the driver. Look at them. Just look.)

And yes, if he gets the points he deserves a WDC, if he wants to. He IS a really good driver.

Mentality is a concept as old (and toxic) as Helmut Marko. Please, don't be like him.

3. We are finally seeing what the upgrades were for... Especially after whatever Austin was. (And yes guys, BOTH of the drivers have had the upgrades since Austin. Oscar just got 6 upgrades out of 7 at that time... Not none. Sorry to burst your bubble.)

And no, the upgrades DIDN'T actually upgraded the car's overall performances in Austin, you can clearly see that from the data. They purposely sacrificed it for the next races. See this:

https://f1i.com/news/521800-mclaren-explains-decision-to-delay-updated-floor-in-austin.html

Also they took risks with the floor too in Mexico. And no, they didn't give it to Norris because they hate Piastri. They give it to him mainly because he is more experienced and can provide useful data during practice while Oscar still needs to improve this skill.

4. Also, the team has done a great job in finding a way to change the banned rear wing without compromising performance and exceeding the spending cap. Love it. (also they made a new beam wing configuration specifically for Interlagos and it, apparently, works really well!)

I'm still not convinced that we currently have the best car on the grid (Ferrari looks really solid anywhere) but it's already better than the rocky start we got in US.

Not gonna lie, the moment they sprayed the WHOLE side of the car with the flow-vis in Austin i was like "goddammit, no improvements"... So I'm relieved that it wasn't the case (better sacrifice a race than discard the upgrades package entirely like Ferrari did in Silverstone).

WCC wise, I just hope that today they don't do something silly risking two MCL38 in a multi21. (And that we get some good strategies... Hopefully... Ok, I think I need to start pray some ancient god for that.)

And what If they multi21? Well, it would be really entertaining, but I don't think Lando wants to risk points/DNF for that. It's just not his style. (Mentality again? Go to bed grandpa... And take your medicines)

Let's be healthy fans, guys. Not parasocial delulus. We can rant about McLaren shenanigans TOGETHER.

Like, YES, i'm still convinced that the strategy team/management team is doing a real poor job this year. Both in managing the races and managing the drivers. (Including Bortoleto's contract clauses...)

And last (and least?), I loved the Google chromed livery aesthetically... HATED it aerodynamically. You won't be missed. Sorry Google, I had to say it.

Thank you for reading my rant. Love y'all (even if you don't agree with me)!

[lottieurl]

me realizing some people were emotionally hit by the twist that it's a dream sequence while i was watching it the whole time absolutely sure it wasn't real but still worried it might be and thinking about how the true horror was shauna being all touchy feely towards the baby

[spider-man-2o99]

i don’t think we talk enough abt how when miguel first got his Spider Powers it was at least partly because his coworker genuinely tried to murder him on a whim just for being. like. kind of annoying at the workplace. utterly deranged and iconic behavior from aaron here

[mariocki]

New Scotland Yard: We Do What We Can (2.11, LWT, 1972)

"I have to be careful."

"You're big and ugly enough to look after yourself."

"Not with this little firm I'm not."

"Which firm?"

"Jimmy Sutton's. He don't believe in straighteners. Goes in for surgery."

"Surgery?"

"Amputation with a sawn-off shotgun."

"Ah. Well, you can always apply for a claim at the Criminal Injuries Board."

"I wouldn't have a leg to stand on, would I?"

[arolesbianism]

Thinks oh so hard abt the spiraling upwards clan founders, especially the birchclan founders. Silly lil kitties who's pasts are drenched in blood with the primary regret of not drawing it sooner