#we did it we did it we did it we made it popular

[gothwineaunts]

I don’t mean to assume or make anyone alarmed but I’ve heard you and flynn are skipping the focus on Annabel and Lenore bc of a group of Montresor fans (as Lenore and Annabel aren’t popular with them).

Is that true??

I’m not asking because of what’s happening in fastpass, I heard about this information around when season 2 came out.

Wow, that's honestly absurd. Sorry hon, I dunno where you heard that but it's made-up nonsense. A rumor, and not even a particularly good one. I think most anyone would be able to see through it, but I'll go through it with you anyway because I've seen some angst on the tag about this. 1. Lenore and Annabel are the main characters of the story, and that has not changed and will not change. If we intended to toss them aside in season 2, why on earth would we have set so much up in season 1? Also all of the promo art is still of them, and we spent a lot of time on it. So I think it's a safe bet to assume they're still the main characters. 2. Nevermore is, and has always been, a sapphic gothic romance. Montresor is a man. Where is the sense in changing the intent of a story, and likely losing readers in the process, just to appeal to a niche group? 3. As for this niche group of Montresor fans, where? Who are they? And what power do they supposedly have over us to force us to completely change the story to their shadowy whims? Idk if you noticed this but people kind of hate Montresor. He's easily the least liked character in the series. And making him the main character would be maybe the most unpopular decision we could possibly make, so how would that be selling out or making fanservice, if everyone... would hate it? Wouldn't that make it the opposite of fanservice? What is the logic there? 4. As far as I am concerned, Annabel and Lenore are popular with most everybody in the fandom (including people who happen to also like Montresor) on account of them being, once again, the main characters of the story. 5. Annabel got the first flashback, and then Ada, then Prospero, then Eulalie, and Will. I feel like there are enough data points there for most people to be able to see the trajectory of the arc. If you can't, I'm not going to explain it. 6. Related to the above point, do you suppose we've passed over Lenore by accident? Or we just forgot about her? Or is it more likely that we're doing a thing? 7. Y'know, it's always Montresor people make up these moralistic rumors about. I'm sick to death of people being weird about Montresor. Some of you out there really need to learn what a villain is, it's frankly wild how much confusion there seems to be around this concept. 8. This rumor smacks of "you don't actually care about the sapphics" but I regret to inform you that Flynn and I are both sapphics. And worse, we're sapphic together. Kinda shoots that idea out of the water. 9. Is this because everyone is mad they haven't kissed yet? Because this is still the same slowburn you read last season. I don't know why anyone thought there'd be a kiss like ten panels into the new season. 10. If I seem edgy, it's because it's pretty insulting to imply that we just do whatever readers tell us to do when it comes to creating the story. We really put our hearts into this series, and our plans for the plot will not change, no matter what y'all say or do. We do not crowdsource our art. And if we did, it would make an absolute mess of things. Thanks for your question, I hope I cleared things up. <3

[eggfriedricedwasian]

Duke comes home one day from school looking down in the dumps and a bunch of paper work.

"Hey Duke, what's all that paper work for?" Dick asks from the couch as Duke sets the foot tall pile of papers on the coffee table.

"Oh you know, just, bullies making me do their work." The whole room freezes.

Bullies?

"Duke, you're being bullied?" Duke seems to realize his mistake of words. Instead of the excuse he made up to tell them about how he missed a lot of work because of Signal work, he said the truth which was the fact that he had bullies.

"Erm-"

"Duke, why didn't you tell us?" Dick nearly whines out, hurt his foster-brother didn't tell him about having bullies.

"No- guys, it's okay. Seriously. You don't have to do anything about it. Seriously." He eyes Bruce from where the man was about to type in *probably* the school's number to complain.

"Why not? We can deal with those punks for you. Are they being racist or some'n?" Jason crosses his arms, standing in front of Duke with a raised brow.

"A little. But seriously, it's nothing I can't handle."

Bruce rubs his temple.

"Are you sure? Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Yes."

"Thomas, just know, we can step in whenever." Duke turns a smile towards Damian, and places his hand on Cass's when she hugs him from behind.

"Hey- it's the weekend. Let me handle those papers since I've got nothing to do and I'm ban from case work." Tim says, holding his hand out.

"Uh- okay?" Duke hands him the stack, thinking nothing of it, because it's Tim.

Tim takes a look through the papers, scrunching his face a bit before shrugging, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Uh- should I be worried?" Tim looks at him and waves him off. "Nah, don't worry 'bout it. I got this handled."

Uh. Okay?

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

The following Monday, Duke shows up and puts his stuff in his locker.

Or at least he was until it was slammed shut.

"Hey Thomas. Got our work?" Turning around, Duke faced his three bullies; seniors Clint Rodriguez (the "big dog" as he called himself) and his lackies, Arion Centry and Pete Swinez.

"N-No.."

"No? Where is it, bitch? I told you to have it done by Monday." Rodriguez held him up to the locker. "Oh you mean these papers?"

Turning around, there stood Timothy Drake-Wayne; two three time nepo-baby and the biggest reputation in the school. The real life Regina George and Heather Chandler. He was with his two best friends, also big popular kids and his two Gretchen Wieners, Karen Smith, and Heathers.

"Drake." The mere face of him made the trio seethe. "Hah! You should see your face right now. Anyways, I did your college essays for you, hope you enjoy them. Would be a shame if you had to repurchase the papers for them."

Tim tosses them in the air, and everyone watches as they all fall to the ground.

"What the hell did you do."

"Oh, ya know, the basics of what you should put. Also, this your girl?" A girl, a cheerleader, goes and slides herself under Tim's arm.

"Babe!?"

"Sorry, Clint, but I have a reputation, people can't know we dated. Also, Tim's better looking and a better kisser." Morgan Letto, another popular nepo-baby in Gotham High, turns and kisses Tim right in the hallway, before stalking off.

Tim's trio laughs at their faces.

"Hey! You should probably pick these up, ya know, since they have your names on them. Wouldn't want to get sent to the principles for littering the school. Bad reputation means you can't go to Princeton." Bernard says.

"Or Oxford, or Harvard. See ya losers!" Ives laughs along with Bernard and Tim as they walk through the halls.

As if a bomb dropped, the three seniors scramble to pick up hundreds of papers worth of applications.

" "I'm racist towards black people because they're below white people like me" " Someone reads off of one paper down the hall.

" "I use grades that aren't mine that I bully people into doing for me." " Another person reads nearby.

"Give me those!"

Duke is left standing there, struck by the scene that just unfolded before his eyes.

He didn't know what to say, do, or act.

Should he laugh? Play it off? Call Bruce? Or Tim? Or anyone? Get picked up?

It's fine. It's just one day. Right?

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

Lunch time rolls around.

Duke is sitting at his table with his friends eating. They were prime targets for Clint and his group.

As if on cue, the three stride up.

"Hey Thomas, got Tim Drake to do your work for you, huh? Well guess what?"

He was spun around and picked up by the collar, his two friends being held back by Arion and Pete.

"You ain't getting away with it here." Clint grits out. Of course he chose the cafeteria, the pretty much only place teachers don't monitor 24/7 and is void of any supervision, even with every grade in there for lunch.

Clint set Duke down and lined his fist up ready to punch him. Duke flinched as the fist came swinging.

"Hey loser!"

Cheers and shocked 'Oooh!'s were heard from around. He squinted one eye open and saw food fall from Clint's red face and a tray in Tim's right hand.

"Woops! Sorry! Guess my hand slipped!" That got a laugh from the crowd. Tim set the tray down and pat Duke's should before stalking towards Clint.

Duke saw behind them at the far wall where everyone could see Ives and Bernard setting three trays of food down (The senior trio's trays).

"You'll pay for that, Drake!" Clint took a swing, which Tim dodged easily and side sweeped him onto his knees.

Ives and Bernard did the same to Arion and Pete.

The three took the seniors by the hair and dragged them to the trays the two laid out previously.

Cameras went up and Duke watched in muted awe and terror at what Tim was doing. Was Tim really like this when he still went to high school? He was a junior now and he dropped out sophomore year? Was he like this as a freshman?

The three pushed the seniors faces into the trays.

"Since you're the big dog maybe you should eat like a real dog then, bitch. Here's some kibble. Dogs enjoy this one!" Tim poured dog kibble onto Clint's tray, seeing as his face turns redder and shows more humiliation than he's ever seen on anyone.

"Eat it, bitch! Like the dog you are! Or start barking and begging for forgiveness!" Tim says it through his teeth in such a grueling tone it sends shivers down Duke's spine.

"Hey Arion! If you actually did your work, you'd know that your name is a horse in Greek Myth. So maybe you should neigh like one too! Neigh, neigh. Get to eating horsey! You should start prancing for the rodeo. Giddey'yup!" Ives mocks him pushing his head into the tray over and over.

"Swinez? More like Swine-ez! Oink-oink! You stink like a pig. And you're eating like one too! Ewwww! Disgusting. Hahahahhaha!" Bernard's name change made the whole cafeteria roar in laughter.

What made the laughter stronger was when the three brought out collars with leashes and attached them to it.

"Come boys! Start walking like the animals you are!" Tim called, pulling on Clint's leash, dragging him mostly until Clint got up and started crawling in front of him.

Everytime they tried to get up, the three juniors were behind them to push them down to the ground again.

Almost everyone was recording.

"Look everyone! Look at our new pets!" Ives called out.

"If you know any better, you three better keep your collars on. You should better than to make your owners mad!" Bernard barked out a laugh.

"I think, you guys should start speaking in woofs, neighs, and oinks from now on. Especially, when we make you ask forgiveness to those you bullied." Tim said, grabbing the collar and forcing Clint to look at Duke.

The bell rang, lucky for those three.

"Woops! Looks like the fun's over! You better clean up for mess! Wouldn't want to make the janitors work more." Tim walked off. "Or look like complete idiots with all that gunk on your face." Bernard said as he and Ives followed Tim.

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

Later, when Duke got home, he was silent. Bruce was silent too, despite him being the one Duke expected to ask about the bullies since he slipped up and told them.

"Hey Duke, how was school? Did they mess with you again?" Dick asked.

He looked at him, then at the rest of his siblings, noting Tim wasn't there, swallowed and shook his head.

"N-Not really."

"Not really?" Jason looked confused, as did the rest of them.

Before Duke could explain more, Tim came in laughing, tossing his bag on a couch before hopping on Bruce's arm rest.

"Bruce! You won't believe what I did today." Bruce looked at him and smirked. Smirked.

Tim relayed the entire story of what he, Bernard, and Ives did to Clint, Arion, and Pete. Bruce looked proud and the rest looked shocked.

"My reputation still stands even after I've been gone a year!" Tim seemed very proud of that.

"Atta boy!" Bruce ruffled his hair. "Yes, here's the tray of cookies you were promised all to yourself, master Tim." Alfred handed him a whole plate of cookies. "Thank you!"

"What!?"

"Hold on! He gets a whole plate of cookies for that? Why isn't he in trouble!? When did you enroll back?" Jason was beyond furious.

"Tim had a reputation in school for being like that towards bullies. Which is why no one bullied anyone with him around. Guess they all came back when he was gone. Duke didn't want us doing anything, and he didn't expect Tim to do anything because you all think he's a goody two shoes, so I sent my calvary in." Bruce explained.

Tim laughed at their faces.

"Oh please! I'm just getting started with them! Just wait till the end of the week. Then! I'll be done with them and they won't ever come back to the school."

[rosekeu]

soft like a bunny : r. sukuna

this is part 5!

a/n: highschool au, fem!reader, reader has braces, shy+nerdy+sensitive reader! [if you don't like that then leave ig lol] soft spot for reader ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡ gosh i finally updated thisss hip hip HURRAY!!!

sypnosis: you get an unexpected warning from someone about your recent relations to sukuna.

[ part 1 ] [part 2] [ part 3 ] [ part 4 ] [ part 6 coming soon! ]

the next day at school was surprisingly quiet. all your classes ran as normal, maybe all of your bullies were intimidating now that you were associated with a delinquent like sukuna. you didn't think about it much, it didn't matter, did it?

as you entered your chemistry class you sat in your usual spot but you missed sukuna’s pestering. you can't deny it was annoying but it was the good kind of annoying that made you want more of it when he wasnt near.

so there you were, exhaling dramatically, your chin placed on the palm of your hand. as you think about what sukuna must be doing at his house. 

and then you remembered. 

he had invited you over. to his house.

you mentally facepalmed at the memory. how could you forget that? he’d casually mentioned it yesterday through text. a small smile tugged at the corners of your lips as you thought about it. you'd need to remind him to send you his address later. you weren’t sure what to expect, but you felt a flutter of excitement in your chest.

you were snapped out of your thoughts when a voice cut through your musings.

“hey.”

you blinked and turned to find naoya zenin sitting next to you. your stomach immediately dropped. 

of all people... naoya zenin?

he was the twins’ rude, misogynistic cousin. he’d barely acknowledged your existence ever.

even when you went over to maki and mai’s house for family gatherings, so why was he sitting next to you now?

naoya flashed a grin, clearly seeing your surprise, and before you could react, he leaned in closer. “don’t look so startled. i’m just here to talk. you’re... kinda cute, actually.”

you instinctively shrank back, cheeks flushing slightly as you awkwardly tugged at your sleeve, trying to avoid eye contact. “u-um... i-i don’t think we have anything to talk about…”

“yeah we do.” he teased, pushing a strand of your hair behind your ear. looking into your eyes with a fake warmth. “you and sukuna, huh? what’s that about?”

you furrowed your brows, confused. naoya wasn't a person who talked to just anyone, that was clear. he always acted as if he was above everyone else, and you figured that was one of the reasons why he avoided you at all cost. 

social suicide. 

you weren't popular— but you weren't hated, per say. you were just bullied…that's not that bad right?

“we’re lab partners—”

before you can say another word he puts his hand over your own mouth. “ah– don't lie. what was that shitshow yesterday? when he beat up those bullies?”

he paused, raising a brow as his eyes skimmed your figure. what did sukuna see in you? 

“for you? a little pipsqueak who can’t even stand up for herself? interesting," naoya's voice had a teasing, almost mocking edge to it now. his eyes narrowed as he leaned in even closer, his hand still hovering near your mouth.

you felt your breath catch, your nerves tightening. naoya’s presence was suffocating, and his words stung. your face flushed, both with embarrassment and the uncomfortable weight of his gaze on you. why was he doing this? it wasn’t like he ever cared about you before—why now?

"uh, excuse me, but i really don't think this is your business," you muttered, your voice softer than you intended but still firm. you pushed his hand away from your face, feeling your heart race. you didn’t know where this sudden surge of confidence was coming from, but you remembered the promise you made to yourself to stand up for yourself more. 

naoya chuckled, an evident smirk plastered onto his face. "oh? getting feisty now, huh?" he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he studied you like you were some kind of puzzle he was determined to solve. "well, if you ask me, you don’t seem like the type to hang around someone like him."

“but you don't know me, naoya.” you speak truthfully. he talked as if he was your friend, but you both knew that was a lie. 

naoya chuckled, as if he were entertained by your words. "you’re cute i’ll give you that," he said, leaning back again, clearly enjoying the effect he had on you. "but you better be careful. people like sukuna don’t just take an interest in anyone. and the fact that you’re hanging around with him now? well, that’s just begging for trouble."

you couldn’t help but feel a knot form in your stomach at his words. sukuna had a reputation, sure, but did it really matter what others thought? wasn’t that the point of why he was different? he didn’t care about what others thought, and that was part of what made him… well, him.

before you could respond, the bell rang, signaling the start of class. naoya stood up, shooting you one last smirk before gathering his things.

 and his words keep a small space in your brain.

taglist!

@thepup356

@mahi-tamashi

(can't find the otehr taglist members lol)

[idk1382]

Insatiable - Caleb

TW for this chapter: mentions of child experimentation, child death (for MC and OC), suicide mention (OC)

WC: 4.8K

Masterlist

Caleb was the second one to meet you.

Caleb was also the first one to hate you.

No, you’re not leaving him so just stay by his side and he’ll spend the rest of his life making it up to you.

When your parents first introduced you and your brother, he didn’t know what to think. His dislike actually occurred during your first meeting, when your eyes met. Later, he’d rationalise this due to how close you were with her but in reality he loathed every time you’d look at him like you knew him. 

Who did you think you were? What gave you the right? 

You were pretty, yes but there was something else. Almost like you were something new in this world, something that had never existed before. He supposes that’s why you caught attention everywhere you went, from your classmates, to his friends and to his frustration, hers.

Before you came into their life, she had only needed him. He knew it was selfish of him but after everything they had gone through, seeing her die over and over again, he truly believed that only he could understand her, take care of her and that she only needed him. But no matter how coldly he looked at you or how harsh his words were, you never got mad. Instead you would give him an understanding smile while you looked at him with pity which only made him more mad. 

Pity? He didn’t need pity, especially from you.

So, then what was it? What was the catalyst that made him change his mind?

Well if we wanted to be more technical than it was the first time you met each other but his stubborn self would never admit this. No, this idiot finally acknowledged his feelings when you took care of him.

Caleb hated a lot of things. It’s only natural to go through life and develop distaste for certain things. Having to watch the one he loved die over and over again and not being able to do a thing was when he realised he detested being helpless. Which is why when he felt the dryness in his throat, the tears beginning to form in his eyes and the stuffiness in his nose…well he pretended to be perfectly fine.

See, Caleb was an actor. A very good one. He’s been fooling the people in his life his entire life. After all, they think he’s okay since he’s popular in school, girls like him, he plays basketball and gets good grades. Nevermind that he still wakes up in the middle of the night from nightmares or the sheer exhaustion he feels at certain times.

Caleb was an actor. So good in fact that no one around him knows how to tell when he’s not okay. He’s fooled everyone. Well, except one that is.

You.

2 days into his cold and all he really wants to do is get in his bed and never wake up again. But she had wanted to go out for ice cream and who was he to deny her anything. They’d picked you up from the steps of your house because of course they did. She never went anywhere without you. The three of you fell into the same formation as always with her in the middle and you both by her side. The walk to the small area of numerous shops was only 20 minutes but those 20 minutes went by quickly with her around. She was like the sun, bright with a smile on her face as she talked with a smile on her face choosing to skip rather than walk with them. Her current obsession was owls. To summarise what she’d said, she learnt about them in class, the focus on the Blakiston Fish Owl, native to Linkon and very endangered. That’s why they’d caught her attention, he could only watch and smile, content to just listen to her.

“...that’s why owls have such good hearing…” He didn’t know why his attention drifted to you. If she was the sun then you were the moon. While she was loud and loved to talk, you were quiet with a few words escaping your mouth. While she represented the sun’s rays - warm and safe, you had the moon’s embrace - gentle and calm. You were by her side, smiling softly and occasionally quipping in with your own questions about the animal. Her hand was in yours, swinging it around as she talked. Even he could admit that the two of you meshed well. He felt like an intruder.

The dress you were wearing complemented you well, fitting against your body well, your hair had grown to the point you could tie it up letting him see the earrings he’d helped her pick out for you. Studs painted to look like a soccer ball. He’d gone to one of your matches (he was dragged there against his will) and he had even clapped a little when your team won (he’d rather drink bleach than admit he was hooked on the way you’d moved across the field). On your wrist was of course the matching bracelet you had. Forcing himself to look away, he put his attention back to her. 

The local grocery was named Aura’s Mart. The story behind the name was one of tragedy. The owner, a nice man named Felix named it after his deceased daughter, Aura. For all the advances society had accomplished in technology and medicine, she couldn’t be saved from the sudden aneurysm that struck. Felix’s wife followed a couple months later by her own hands. That’s why it had become an unspoken rule around the neighbourhood to only go to Aura’s Mart. 

Caleb never understood if the people genuinely didn’t realise or just pretended not to see the dead look in Felix’s eyes - now a husk of what he once was. All this only served as a reminder of him to never lose her, to never become like Felix.

Shame he’d never realised that he could lose you too, huh?

As they entered the shop, he tried not to grimace at the dead smile Felix gave them instead putting his focus on all the merchandise while the two of you went down to where the ice cream was. His eyes came across a brand of chips he knew you liked because they were spicy, he also saw the chocolate you preferred because they had a creaminess to them you had yet to find elsewhere. He knew a lot of things about you, he knew that despite you not being a fan of strawberries, you’d pick strawberry ice cream because it was the only thing you liked them in. He knew you loved rainy days, that you loved staring at the night sky and so much more. He didn’t have a choice as he had a habit of committing everything she would say to memory and you were her favourite topic.

The two of you walked right back to him, eyes trained on the bag in his hands. “What did you buy?” she asked in an excited tone, snatching the bag from him before he could even answer. “Hey, is this how you treat me after I buy you all your favourite snacks?” He grabbed onto her cheek but not pulling it too hard. She swatted his hands away, “Ugh get off!” 

She opened the bag and memorised the insides. “Oh, he even got your faves,” she told you. You looked at him in surprise. Why were you shocked? Did you think so low of him that you couldn’t even imagine him doing such a thing? But then the guilt settled into his stomach, he only had himself to blame for you thinking such things however before he could drown in his thoughts, you leaned your arm forward to hand him something. It was an extra ice cream cone he didn’t notice. “I remember you saying how much you liked this,” was all you said before you handed it over, strawberry ice cream in your other hand.

And even though his throat was killing him, Caleb ate the ice cream. 

Day 4 of his sickness and he finally got his wish. Short puffs of breath escaped him as he laid bundled up in his bed. The thick covers provided him respite despite the heat he felt throughout his entire body. She was out the whole day on a class trip and the old lady was away as well meaning he could let the act go and just relax. He thought he heard knocking on the front door before his eyes closed and sleep overtook.

When he woke up again he was disorientated not noticing immediately the cold cloth on his forehead until he reached up to rake his fingers through his hair. Taking the cloth off as confusion filled him. Shit she must have come home then, she saw him in this state. A quick glance at the clock on his nightstand read 11:00AM. Three hours. That’s all the sleep he got. The medicine, cough syrup and glass of water on his nightstand were a new addition. There’s no way it was her who was home, it’s way too early, he thought. Must be gran. 

He answered the knock on his door and you walked in. An option he never considered. “Good you’re up. I was beginning to get worried,” was all you said before walking over to his curtains opening them with the windows. The sudden light hurt his eyes, “What are you-Nevermind why are you here?” he questioned while covering his eyes with hand. “And close those, too bright.” 

“No.”

“No?” He resembled a blowfish with the way his mouth hung open at your audacity.

“I said no.” Arms crossed in front of you as you took a stance. 

“Who do you think you are?” The sneer on his face should’ve broken your resolve. Should’ve. 

“Someone who noticed that you were being an idiot! I mean who pretends to be okay when they’re sick! You’re surrounded by people who care for you and here you are actively spitting in their faces. What if it wasn’t me who discovered you like this but her? How do you think she would’ve felt realising you were sick all this time and not only did she not notice but that you went out of your way to make it so?” 

Caleb could only stare at the anger on your face in awe. He’d never seen you angry before, he’d never heard you yell before. In fact he thought you were incapable of these things. He never understood your admirers before but as he looked at the scowl on your face, the venom in your eyes, your jaw tight with your fists clenched, he found you so beautiful. 

“Well?” you asked, eyes narrowing on him. 

“I think that’s the most I’ve heard you speak.” Your right eye twitched. He smiled.

With a huff, you stormed out of his room while he sat there processing everything that had occurred. 

After a couple of minutes trying to will his body to get up, he went downstairs and for the second time in one day, shocked by the domestic sight before him. There you were in the kitchen, standing before the stove which had a large pot on it, stirring the soup you were cooking. He could smell it in the air, delicious. 

“I didn’t know you could cook,” his voice was soft as he stared at your back. He’d learnt to cook so he could feed her everything she desired.

“My dad taught me.” You didn’t even turn around to answer. This was the first thing he learnt about you on his own.

He found himself taking slow steps towards you until he stopped close enough to touch. His eyes trained on how your shoulders tensed a little before relaxing. He was right behind you, fighting the urge to trace his fingers down your neck and feel your skin. Did you feel the tension too? 

He lowered his head right next to yours reaching out to hold onto the counter on either side of you, caging you in. “You never answered my question, you know? Why are you here?” words spoken right into your ear. “Why do you care if I’m sick?”

You sighed before turning your head not at all affected by how close your face was to his. Your eyes were focused right on his and the scowl had returned. “Don’t look too deep into it, Caleb.” His breath hitched as his eyes blew wide open, he can’t remember you ever saying his name and like a starving dog who’d been thrown a bone he wanted more. Say it again and again. Never stop saying it. Unaware of the turmoil inside him you continued, “I’d do this for anyone. You’re sick I can’t just leave you alone no matter how much you hate me.” 

As Caleb remained frozen, you turned off the stove and pushed his hand away to clear space. He obediently moved away. You walked to the cupboard where they stored the bowls, moving around as you got spoons and whatever else was necessary, feeling his heavy stare following you. You decided to ignore him, pouring soup into the bowl before setting it on the table. Even when you reached out to grab the sleeve of the jumper he was wearing, he said nothing as you guided him towards the table and sat him down on the chair. “Eat,” you said and so he did.

“I have to go work so I’m leaving but make sure to rest, okay?” you told him and all he could do was nod. He remembered something about you taking a casual job at the library, it suited you, he thought. He watched as you turned to leave and yet he wanted to beg for you to stay but insecurity stopped him. Why would you stay for him? 

“Ah, I completely forgot to say this,” you turned back around to face him again, determination all over your face. “If you continue to pretend like you’re fine around her then that’s all she’ll ever see you as. Let her see you at your worst, show her the different sides to you, let her into your flaws so she can experience your complexity. Then she’ll see you for what you are, a person like the rest of us. I know being seen as the strong and reliable Caleb is what’s easier for you but you’ll always be stuck here watching as she gets further and further away from you.” You walked away without giving him a chance to respond.

Caleb’s beginning to think you like leaving him speechless.

He’d learnt two things that day. One, he didn’t hate being helpless as much as he thought, not if it meant you would take care of him. And, two that he liked seeing emotions on your face. How would you look sad? Disgusted? Exhilarated? How would you look underneath him as he had his way with you, what sort of noises would you make, would you plead or beg?

Everyone noticed the change between the two of you. Suddenly, he was coming up to talk to you at school when you were by yourself (He still remembers the bewildered look on your face as you looked around trying to find her, thinking it was her he was talking to. He left you speechless that day), he was present at any of your matches he could go to, cheering your name along with her, picking you up and spinning you around when your team would win, how he had to have a hand on you at all times, the way his face would flush whenever your attention was on him and his constant teasing of you. The man would never let you have a moment of peace when he was around. Most importantly, they all noticed the way he looked at you. Purple eyes hazy with want as he looked at you like a man would at water he’d gone an entire day without. 

She was pipsqueak and you had become Shortcake. He found it hilarious to tease you about your height when you easily towered over most women and as a bonus it never failed to get you to give that look of annoyance as your lips curled and your fists would attack him. 

He made you regret ever taking care of him as it had become a common occurrence for him to seek you out for the smallest things.  

"Shortcake help me!" He'd scream barging into your room.

"What? What is it this time?' Would be your dry response.

Wounded by your lack of care, he'd pout. "Look I got stabbed." He'd tell you dead serious while showing the miniscule paper cut on his finger.

And despite the frustration that would build up in you, he always left your room with whatever wound cleaned and bandaged. 

Maybe he might have felt a little bad had you put up a fight against any of it. When he would lay his head on your lap, you’d look at him in annoyance before faltering at the vulnerable look in his eyes, threading your fingers through his hair giving him a gentle message which lulled him to sleep.

When he would wake up from a nightmare, he’d sneak into your room where oftentimes she would be present watching your sleeping form as her eyes moved to his. The first time it happened he was halfway through your window until his eyes came across the two of you, her smug smile against his sheepish expression at getting caught, she made a show of her fingers tracing the features on your face. An act of dominance, don’t forget who wanted her first. But she still relented and let him in. The next day when you woke up to the both of them on either side of you, crushing you completely in their hold…well you kicked them both off the bed in shock. Both of them sat on their knees looking up at you. Before you could even begin to question anything, the two rascals flashed their puppy eyes but not just any puppy eyes, no they used the ones that resembled a wounded puppy, their ultimate weapon and your ultimate weakness. 

Sighing as you rubbed the area between your eyebrows, already feeling the migraine coming your way. “I’m not mad, okay? Next time just ask,” you had said, shrieking when two pairs of arms tackled you back on the bed and the two crushing you once again. You could only gaze at the ceiling above you as one face nuzzled into the back of your neck and one into your chest, what has my life come too?

You just let them take whatever they wanted. 

Things got worse for Caleb as puberty smashed into him. Well some things were good, he grew even more (unfortunately for you), his voice got deeper. The problem was how aware he became of your body. Or more accurately how a certain body part became hyper aware of you. You smiled at him. Hard. You put your hair up. Hard. You kept it down. Hard. You - Hard. 

He tried to distance himself from you. You didn’t deserve to be reduced to this but that plan quickly went out the window:

“Do you hate me again?” It was the first time he’d seen you cry. It took everything to not rip out his own heart and give it to you as proof of his devotion. However a sick part of him was relieved to see the tears, for all the affection he showed towards you none had been reciprocated. He had tried not to let it get to him but he never knew if he mattered to you. As an apology he let you do his nails not before she had kicked his ass for making you cry.

As time went on, his body learnt to calm down around you, to clarify the desire never went away he just developed control. But of course you’d test him from time to time and the worst(best) part was that it was all unintentional from you.

It had been a hot day, made worse by the fact that he decided to play basketball. All he wanted to do was go home and take a shower. When he gets home, he hears music coming from her room, letting him know the bathroom was free. Poor, tired and sweaty Caleb had no idea what was awaiting him. Dumping his bag in his room and picking clothes to change into, he headed to the shower, still kind of pure. Upon opening the door, he’s greeted by an angelic view of ass. Specifically your ass. Ass that was (unfortunately) covered by a white towel, as you were bent over the tub, unplugging the blocker. His eyes trailed down to your naked legs, water dripping down on them. All poor, tired and sweaty and not so pure Caleb could do was swallow the lump in his throat. 

The sound of the door opening had alerted you and as you perked up and turned to face him, he let out a small groan. You were going to kill little Caleb and maybe big Caleb too. The towel hadn’t been as big as you’d like, covering only the lower half of your boobs and it didn’t fit around you perfectly, letting him take a peek at your stomach as well as your upper thigh. Your wet hair was still down as you couldn’t find a second towel. “Caleb?” he didn’t even hear you call out to him, his heavy gaze followed the bead of water that was currently running down your neck into the valley between your breasts. Silently, he stepped into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him. “Caleb…?” you tried again, head tilted in confusion. Had this been a normal interaction he would’ve cooed at your cuteness. 

“Why are you here?” his voice was thick and calm in a scary way as he stepped even close towards you, half-lidded eyes with a stare right at your chest. “Oh,” you looked away, face flustered from embarrassment. “I slipped in mud so I had to clean up.” Slipping in mud had ruined your nonchalant reputation thankfully no one other than her had been around to see it but the embarrassment still stung. “Why are you here and not in your own house?” he tried again, this time gaze on you. He was close to losing control or perhaps he already did. “She told me to and I figured why not? I already keep clothes here. Sorry for not locking the door, I completely forgot.” You waved him off.

Your non-caring attitude was really starting to piss him off. You stood practically naked in front of him and he was struggling to not let it get to him and yet you were fine? Moving too fast for you to comprehend, he’s suddenly in front of you, your jaw in his hand and despite the tick in his jaw or his furrowed brows, he holds you like you’re made of glass. “Caleb? What a-” you’re cut off by his lips slamming into yours. The kiss is clumsy, hurried but it's harsh and passionate. He’s never kissed anyone before but he doesn’t care as his tongue explores you, he wants to consume you. You’re frozen until you’re not. When he feels your lips move against his, returning his love, he nearly melts. He hates when the need to breathe comes up, reluctantly removing his lips from yours, both his hands still cradling your face. The both of you are breathing heavy but your lips are wet from his assault and when your eyes filled with haziness meet his, it takes everything to not dive in again. 

But then reality crashes into you, your eyes snap in horror and you push him away. He can do nothing as you storm out the room and he’s left standing there. Realisation dawns on him that he might have ruined it all. You ignored him after that, no matter how hard he tried to seek you out, you never gave in. Life without you is torture. When she asks him what’s going on he doesn't respond. You find him one day after a long shift at word, sitting on the steps to your house. His graduation is a couple of months away and there’s no way he’s leaving without fixing this. He knows you’re about to tell him to leave with the look in your eyes but something stops you, probably the desperation on his face. The words in your mouth don’t come out causing you to look away in contemplation, with a sigh you sit down next to him. “What is it?” you ask. 

“I’m sorry,” is all he can say. Which is so fucking stupid of him since he’s been practising this big speech in front of his mirror for days but now before you he’s reduced into this. “I miss you,” is the second thing out of his mouth. “I shouldn’t have done that,” is the third. But I don’t regret it, should’ve been the fourth if he hadn’t been such a coward.

“You can’t do that again, Caleb. I refuse to be a stand in for her.” Your eyes are rock hard as you stare into his. His heart shatters into pieces - but it’s okay if it’s you doing it. He can’t believe you think so low of yourself, do you not see yourself? Why would you think it wasn’t you he was in love with? It’s you that never leaves his mind, you that makes his heart race, you that make everything better, it’s you that he imagines coming home, you that he wants a family with. It’s you he wants, it's been you since the moment you met. He never thought his love for her would come back to bite him because after you’d seen his devotion to her, how was he supposed to prove this to you. You would never believe him. And with these past couple of months of seeing you around but not being able to touch you have taught him anything is that he needs you in his life, no matter what role you play. 

So, instead he promises you to never cross that line again and he treats you like you’re only a friend to him.

Graduation comes around. You give him the beautiful bouquet and you accept him into your life by gifting him that bracelet. Then you went ahead and died. You had a habit of leaving him. 

When it all happened, he felt nothing. Even as she cried, not a single tear escaped him. He felt disgusted in himself, you had disappeared, you were taken so why was he not feeling anything?

He found that he could no longer look at the moon, he hated rainy days, he hated the colour of your hair and your eyes and he hated seeing them anywhere. Relief was all he felt as he packed his life away when his break had come to an end, going away to uni was his reprieve. Everything here reminded him of you. 

University had been the escape he needed, his life filled with tests and notes, too busy to think of you. It’s not until one night when he wakes up from a nightmare and gets up to find you, only to be confused by his dorm layout. This wasn’t his room…the tears don’t stop. No matter how hard he tries they won’t stop. It all falls onto him at once until he’s collapsed onto the floor, knees tucked into his chest as he grieves. He’s different after you, a bit more hardened. He thinks it would’ve been worse had it not been for her and your brother. His feelings toward her had changed, he’d taken your advice and he let her in. Their friendship had strengthened as a result and their shared feelings of you had never been an issue.

“I would’ve shared her with you,” she had said one day, visiting him at uni. They were laying outside on the grass just staring up at the sky in silence.

“I would’ve liked that,” he replied. It was true. 

They never discussed you again.

His relationship with your brother was tricky, they’d been closer when they were younger but grew apart as he found other people. Your brother was different than what he’s used to but it didn’t mean he didn’t care for him. He tried his best to be present at your brother’s appointments, he tried his best to care for him the way you had. Your brother was the most precious thing to you. It’s okay he’s not jealous (liar). She takes care of him better, he likes to pretend it’s because he’s never around but deep down he knows the truth. He looks too much like you and it hurts. 

Five years later, you’ve been declared legally dead. He wants nothing but to follow you.

A/N: I completely forget I gave reader a brother while writing this chapter, in my defence its 2am and I've been so busy that I just wanted to get the chapter out. Anyways next chapter will be the start of the story and everything will be in your Pov. As I am writing for reader and not an OC I just want clarify that I'm trying my best to keep reader as general as possible. I might mess up but it's impossible to write a reader that everyone can relate to or see themselves in so feel free to see her as an OC. Also fun fact the owl that I mentioned is native to China (Japan and other countries as well) and since Linkon is practically China, I just included that. Also the owl will play an important part later.

[nariko-senpai]

It's time; after reading sunrise on the reaping to give my thoughts and opinions on this magnificent book. Obvious spoilers ahead, BE WARNED!!

Proving that even though we thought we knew what was going to happen, we were still completely floored. Oh, they pulled Haymitch's name out of the ball- Wrong! Someone else was reaped and killed for running and Haymitch went in his place because he stood up to them. All 48 players in the game woah- Nope! Louella had her skull smashed during the chariot ride so they replaced her with a drugged child who's mind was tortured to the point she didn't know her own name. Haymitch was a heartless player who only teamed up with Maysilee- Incorrect! He managed to form an alliance with almost all the tributes to try and take down the arena, and he did infact, care about them quite a lot. Collins managed to write a story with so many twists even though we already knew the ending. Incredible.

2. Gave insights on previous characters that weren't built on in the trilogy/bosas without making them the main characters. We got Beetee who was punished for his act of rebellion and his child was sent to the games with little hope of his survival. Who didn't kill himself cause he had another child on the way and didn't want Ampert's life to be wasted. Maggs and Wiress as the D12s mentors was amazing but made my heart hurt knowing Wiress spiraled into madness and they both died. Effie and Plutarch's beginnings, Katniss' parents, Peeta's dad, even Madge's mum. The Covey are a whole other thing. She managed to build their character's gave us even slightly more info while keeping Haymitch and his story in the limelight. Very grateful for that.

3. Still managing to show how the Games progressed over the years. I was also grateful for this in bosas how we see the tributes being treated different as it advances. Haymitch is treated considerately better than Lucy Gray, but not compared to Katniss and Peeta. Lucy Gray was treated as an animal, Haymitch more a lesser being and Katniss and Peeta as a contestant in a show. The technology is more advanced, the costumes become more extravagant as the Games become more and more entertaining. It demonstrates how much things can change between the 40 years of Lucy Gray to Haymitch and the 24 years to Katniss and Peeta.

4. The parallels to Haymitch and Katniss's situation. Plutarch himself states that they need someone exactly like Haymitch, but luckier and better timing, which practically fits the bill of Katniss. She is the spark that sets of the bomb of the revolution, a bomb that people like Haymitch have been trying to build and develop. Better luck and better timing. She has the circumstances, the popularity, the connection with the people that Haymitch was lacking. She was everything that Haymitch might have been if things were different.

5. The Covey. While we were all pretty certain that there was going to mention them, I loved Lenore Dove so damn much. She made Haymitch happy and I sobbed at her death. Clerk Carmine and Tam Amber watching their family die and the music leeching from D12 was devastating. AND MAUDE IVORY? OMG MY BABY GIRL. Anyways, they were amazing to see again and confirming the connection between them and Katniss was really cool. Poor birds.

There's probably more stuff, but ill do more dives in other posts later.

[strangebiology]

So I understand that it is extremely difficult to know which type of fur is more ethical/sustainable/less damaging to the environment due to bias coming from basically all sides of the discussion, however, what would you recommend for consumption of fur products? Do you have any "best practices" for trying to reduce one's impact in general? I rarely buy fur, I mostly get it second or third hand if I get it at all and use scraps and such as much as possible. Overall I'm not a big consumer, but if I need fur for crafts or something similar, do you have recommendations on how to cause the least harm? Thank you for your contribution to the overall discussion. I think this is important.

Thank you for asking openly! Unfortunately I don't have a clear answer, except #1 below:

The one you have I feel confident that "the most sustainable coat/car/whatever is the one you already own." But, obviously, sometimes you need a new one.

Thrifting Second to that, I figure thrifting is probably best. Or making sure you take what you want when Grandma dies and you clean out her house. Logically, thrifting either one--whichever you find that fits you and your needs--should have a fairly minimal impact. And there are tons of clothes out there that are just about to hit the landfill. (Nice coats, though? Might be a little harder. Probably not too hard.) There could be issues with second-hand stuff, of course. I read in The Scavenger's Manifesto that there was a time when vintage clothes were so popular that demand outstripped supply, and companies just started manufacturing vintage-like clothes. I could imagine a world in which items become so commonly thrifted that it's close to the same price to just buy something new, and that props up the new-product industry. I wonder if Poshmark is popular enough that people are just shipping clothes around and polluting via transportation without really wearing them enough, but all in all, I think second-hand is probably second-best (to the one you already own.)

More sustainable real fur options? I did profile someone who had a roadkill-fur business. But: a simple fox-fur ruff for your coat was thousands of dollars because the economies of scale weren't there, and the company went out of business anyway. If you know and trust someone or can do something like that yourself, great! But that's not a really accessible option for the average American.

More sustainable faux fur options? Not all faux fur is made of microplastics, companies like GACHA and Savian. But...I don't really know how accessible those are, nor have I seen environmental assessments on them.

Sooo...honestly I won't judge what you buy or wear. I'll say that second-hand anything is probably very low-impact, sustainably.

I have to admit there are reasons to buy new. If you buy something on clearance, is it possible you're saving that from a landfill, too?

Once, I spent a whole bunch of Saturdays in a row biking around to garage sales, trying to get a second-hand lamp. So many hours wasted. I found a dirty one for $10 and couldn't get it home on my bike. One weekend my roommate took me in her big car to Walmart and we got a new lamp in a box for $7. No shopping around, no hoping to get lucky, just "there it is, and I can return it if it doesn't work." So...while secondhand is almost certainly more sustainable, I also won't blame anyone who wants to just buy new.

Another sustainability thing: I also recommend trying to ensure your coat fits your parameters really well, like your size, do you want hoods and pockets, do you think it looks good, so you don't get in the habit of stuffing it in your back closet because you don't like it and buying another.

Sorry I don't have a simple answer!

EDIT: I now realize I have written this as though Anon was asking about a coat, but their ask is more about crafts. Uuuuuuummmm gosh, I don't know. Faux fur can be so much cheaper and easier to find than real. And not everyone has a thrift store nearby. I know I don't, except that little store that sells used things for 150% of the new price. If I was doing a craft...I'd probably start with the fur someone gave me for free and then if I needed more I'd probably just order faux so I don't have to drive 150 miles to risk it at a thrift.

[bugsandboos]

tsurugi’s influence in revelator: let’s talk about it

something i noticed while watching revelator was the underlying implication that ms tsurugi is still very much active in the inner workings of the agreste family.

let’s set the record straight: we know very little about ms tsurugi’s partnership with gabriel from the earlier seasons. however, we do know that ms tsurugi is a very wealthy, smart, and cunning individual who owns a business in the technology industry, allowing for her to team up with gabriel to create the alliance rings in s5. she knew gabriel was monarch and willingly working with him (very important to note that she did not work for him), her intentions a mystery.

obviously, what made me realize tsurugi likely had some involvement in the events of revelator was vincent mentioning she sponsored him in one of his videos:

seems kinda meaningless at face value, like something the writers inserted to fill an awkward space in the script. however, if you watch miraculous, you know that everything is intentional.

okay, so ms tsurugi sponsors this recently famous influencer who makes a living off of spreading false information about people. this is odd, as it doesn’t seem like the type of content tsurugi (a very no-nonsense type of person) would endorse.

on the contrary, vincent’s videos are coincidentally targeted at “reporting” on people who tsurugi had some sort of personal connection to. weird, right?

the most obvious example of this is how vincent is very clearly anti-adrienette. tsurugi and gabriel pushed hard for adrien and kagami to get together in earlier seasons to create “perfect” images for their brands.

as soon as these words came out of his mouth, sirens immediately went off in my mind. WHY is vincent, a seemingly irrelevant character, using the same type of language gabriel and tsurugi used to describe their own children???

rich, famous, good-looking. vincent is glorifying adrien and kagami, describing them as pretty and powerful faces that shouldn’t be involved with common people such as marinette, a baker’s daughter (who he implied is using adrien for his status and success).

language like this has been used to describe adrien since his adrien, the fragrance days—perfect being the most prominent word. why? the lore is insane (iykyk), but to put it simply, adrien is a sentimonster, a creation in the eyes of gabriel. he believed his son could be nothing short of flawless.

a theory common in the miraculous fandom is that kagami is also a sentimonster. i won’t dive into this theory too much, but there’s plenty of concrete evidence to back it up—a noteworthy one being tsurugi using similar language to describe her daughter as gabriel did for adrien. she has high expectations for kagami, and wants her to be nothing short of the best—exactly how gabriel “parented” adrien.

from vincent’s video, it’s implied that tsurugi paid him to spread hurtful misinformation that marinette was a golddigger. her motivation? to get kagami and adrien back together. we already know she hates felix, her daughter’s current boyfriend, so it makes sense.

a possible counterargument:

“vincent is just creating meaningless drama revolving around the popular topic of gabriel agreste’s death, as it offers the opportunities for him to gain popularity”

respectfully, nothing is meaningless in miraculous. maybe i would agree with this argument if TSURUGI of all people didn’t sponsor his content. maybe i would agree with this argument if he didn’t spread false information that clearly villainized marinette and glorified kagami. he also obviously has it OUT for mari. don’t tell me he’s not obsessed with making people hate her because HELLOOOOOO:

people are gonna love hating the baker girl.

it’s giving very much lila/cerise vibes, honestly. i wouldn’t be surprised if this was some scheme involving tsurugi and lila to turn everyone against marinette, something cerise has been trying to do SINCE SEASON ONE.

so, what do i believe? i believe FOR SURE that tsurugi has something to do with the events of revelator, likely paying vincent to spread misinformation about marinette with the hopes of kagami and adrien getting back together. i also believe it’s very possible cerise is somehow involved in this, maybe working with tsurugi in some way.

LET ME ALSO SAY: tsurugi only cares about marinette because she is preventing kagami from a relationship with adrien. she would not care about ruining marinette’s life otherwise. cerise, however? she obviously hates mari. if tsurugi and cerise did work together to orchestrate vincent’s secrets, it benefitted BOTH of them: pushed for an adrigami redemption (for tsurugi) and demonized marinette publicly (for cerise).

i’m feeling a lil bit like cerise with her thousands of notebooks with this all over the place rant, but lmk what yall think 😭😭😭

[onlyangel4]

picking up the broken pieces. seth rollins. roman reigns. part five.

cheater!seth rollins x reader. roman reigns x reader.

synopsis: after your world turns upside down overnight, roman is there to help you put the pieces back together.

faceclaim: eiza gonzález

part one // part two // part three // part four // part five

series taglist: @tinyxrose @daemyratwst @mamis-girly @cutttteeee @pleasantlycrazyworld

authors note: no hate at all to seth and becky i love them so much this is just for the plot. the next part is the final instalment in this series. not timeline accurate but use your imaginations plz.

wwe posted a story tagging y/ninsta

written: y/n has arrived at the final raw before wrestle mania

∘•···············•∘ʚ ♡ ɞ∘•················•∘

one more promo. one more chance to stand in that ring and get everything off your chest before the biggest match of your life. you were bouncing on your feet backstage trying to hype yourself up for what was about to happen.

roman had been looking for you and when he found you he couldn't help but laugh, "getting in the zone?"

"contrary to popular belief not everyone is as confident as you mister tribal chief", you teased him playfully. he just slung his arm over your shoulder.

"you don't need to be confident, your talent speaks for itself", he spoke.

you smiled up at him before he led you towards the entrance. he pressed a soft fleeting kiss to your lips before moving his arm from your shoulders, no one other than charlotte knew about your romantic relationship and you thought it best that the fans were kept in the dark for just a while longer.

"you've got this", he whispered before your music started and the arena eruptted into cheers.

you smiled high fiving people as you walked down, roman walked down as stoic as usual, back straight, head up, eyes trained on you.

once reaching the ropes you climbed into the ring, followed by roman.

the crowd was chanting your name, making the smile on your face just that bit bigger.

they only hushed when you brought your microphone to your lips.

"six months ago, i had everything i thought i wanted. a best friend i trusted with my life. a partner who swore he had my back. and in one night, it all came crashing down. the people i trusted the most made me look like a damn fool."

the crowd booed at the mention of seth and becky.

"but here’s the thing about betrayal. it made me ten times stonger. and now, i’ve got nothing left to lose. but you? you two have everything to lose. your reputation, your pride, your legacy. and at wrestle mania, roman and i are going to show you that the scariest of opponents are the ones with nothing left to lose"

you lowered your mic eyes watching as roman stepped forward, his voice deep and controlled.

"seth, we’ve been through this before. we both know how this ends. you stab people in the back, you laugh about it, and you think there won’t be consequences. but there always are."

he was staring into the camera as if addressing rollins directly.

"you made this personal. you dragged her into it. you let your little sidekick run wild, and now? now you’ve got a problem. because you’re not just facing any opponent at wrestle mania… you’re facing me."

"and i don’t forget. i don’t forgive. i end people who cross the line."

you brought your mic back up to your lips to continue but then that song, that god forsaken song rang out through the arena. and the crowd began to boo as seth and becky began walking down the ramp and straight towards you, becky holding the raw woman's championship over her shoulder.

seth was slow clapping dramatically as he and becky got into the ring.

"wow. that was emotional. i almost shed a tear. almost. but let’s be real y/n, you’re out of your depth. you’re standing next to the ‘tribal chief’ like that makes you untouchable, but come on. you really think you can beat us?"

becky steps forward, eyes locked onto yours.

"you’re pathetic, you know that? you’ve spent months crying about what we did to you, but you never once took responsibility. maybe you’re the reason seth wanted out. maybe you’re the reason i never told you the truth. maybe you were just"

before she can finish, you lunge forward, forcing roman to step in front of you, keeping you from attacking her right then and there. becky smirked, enjoying how easily she’s getting under your skin.

"that’s the difference between us. i'm better than you. Aaways have been, always will be."

the energy in the ring was reaching boiling point as you glared daggers into becky.

"enough" a voice shouted and as you turned your head you saw adam pearce standing at the bottom of the ramp.

"i’ve been watching everything unfold for months, and after what happened after Becky put y/n on the shelf. i can’t, in good conscience, let that slide."

the crowd started to murmur in anticipation.

"so i spoke to hunter and here’s the deal. becky, you may be the raw women’s champion, but you cost y/n weeks of her career. so at wrestlemania, the stakes are even higher."

"if roman and y/n win, becky you will lose your title and y/n will become the next raw women's champion."

the crowd exploded. and becky began screaming at pearce, demanding he reverse the decision. and seth stopped laughing, that cocky smirk wiped clean off his face. roman, on the other hand, just smirked, tilting his head slightly as if to say, checkmate. you step forward, eyes locked on becky’s, your smirk mirroring roman’s.

"see you at wrestlemania champ", you spoke before both you and roman left the ring.

∘•···············•∘ʚ ♡ ɞ∘•················•∘

once you and roman got back stage you were buzzing, you had no idea that the oppurtunity to become champion was going to be on the line.

you headed down a dimly lit corridor stopping mid way through and turning to roman, "did you see her face, i thought she was going to burst into flames."

"she is threatened by you. she should be", roman spoke his arm going around your shoulders, pulling you into his side.

"you should've been champion a long time ago, you deserve this so much", he spoke his free hand moving to your chin tilting your head upwards as he brought his lips to meet yours. capturing you in one of his all encompassing kisses, the type that made you never want to pull away.

but you were soon brought back down to earth.

"what the hell?"

you pulled away abruptly, your breath still shaky, and turned to see him.

seth was stood just a few feet away, his eyes were dark, his expression unreadable, conflicted. for the first time in months, there was no arrogance, no bravado. just something else. a look you couldn't recognise.

he blinked, looking between you and roman, his jaw tightening. "guess i shouldn’t be surprised." his voice low, almost bitter.

you swallowed, steadying yourself. "you lost the right to be surprised a long time ago, seth."

roman didn’t say a word, but the way he shifted slightly, positioning himself in front of you just enough to be protective, sent a clear message.

seth huffed out a breath, running a hand through his hair before forcing a smirk, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. "good luck at wrestlemania. you’re going to need it."

and just like that, he turned and walked away, but not before you caught one last flicker of emotion in his eyes, regret.

∘•···············•∘ʚ ♡ ɞ∘•················•∘

y/ninsta posted a story

written: say what you want, but we don’t miss when it matters. 🎤

romanreigns posted a story

written: good luck

[torchwood-99]

Eowyn in Gondor Headcanons

There's a popular trend in fanfiction to present Eowyn as a fish out of water in Gondor, a wild and free-natured Shieldmaiden of Rohan, stuck with stuffy, stuck up Gondorians. Sometimes this is softened by having Emyn Arnen, Eowyn and Faramir's home in Ithilien, be more easy and relaxed, somewhere where Eowyn can indulge her "wildness", unlike stone Minas Tirith.

Whereas Gondorian pride is a thing, and Eowyn herself jokingly describes herself as being "a wild shieldmaiden of the North" who Gondorians might say Faramir "tamed", it is worth pointing out that after the war, Gondor had both dwarves and elves turn up and play active parts in the society, the hobbits come and visit, and Aragorn, the new king, is someone who has mixed with and forged bonds with people of different races and communities.

Therefore, while it's not improbable that there were the odd culture clashes with "stuffy Gondorians", Eowyn, on marrying Faramir, would be far from a lone fish out of water. Following the war, Minas Tirith was a melting pot of different cultures and races, all leaving their mark, and mixing with the highest members of Gondorian nobility, the king himself being friends with elves, dwarves and hobbits.

Another thing to consider is that at the time of marrying Faramir, Eowyn wasn't unknown to Gondor.

Eowyn slew the Witch King and played a massive part in saving the city. When Eowyn and Theoden were carried from the battle field, the people of Gondor stopped in the streets to pay their respects, and when the Rohirrim left after the war, they were cheered and hailed. Whereas memory and gratitude can be short, and therefore it would not be unrealistic that certain parties in Gondor forget what they owe Eowyn and Rohan, at least enough to show some snobbery, it is also to be expected that Eowyn receives a lot of goodwill from the people of Gondor.

It is that goodwill which Tolkien focusses on, and Eowyn's deeds (and probably her romance with Faramir, who was deeply beloved by the people) would have won her a lot of credit with the people of Gondor.

The mixing of cultures and people in Minas Tirith also suggests that far from everything in Minas Tirith being excruciatingly rigid and strict, Minas Tirith would have had a lot of variety, lots of different people with different customs and behaviour all coming together. Everything Tolkien writes indicates Minas Tirith to have been a happy place after the war, vibrant and welcoming to many different people.

Therefore, if Eowyn did at times clash with people who looked down on her Rohirric roots, perhaps Gondorian nobles and courtiers, this would not have been her experiences with everyone in Minas Tirith, but personal conflicts between individuals. And she would not have been the only prominent inhabitant of the city at the time to be doing so.

The concept of Eowyn struggling in a stone city, after the "freedom of Rohan", also misses the fact that Eowyn was not free in Rohan. Not for many years. Theoden's dotage, her duties in Meduseld, Grima's influence, the war she was forbidden to partake in, all made Eowyn feel caged in Rohan, these restrictions inflicted on Eowyn we see in how at the beginning of her arc, Eowyn's every act is dictated to her, whereas after falling in love with Faramir, Eowyn's choices and personal will is at the centre of her actions. Faramir, we see, never tries to control Eowyn's actions, and as her husband, he would be the only person who would have the authority to do so.

Eowyn's childhood, we can speculate, was more free in Rohan than it would have been in Gondor, allowing Eowyn to train as a shieldmaiden, but during the war, Rohan offered little freedom to her, and post war, there's no indication that Gondor would have denied her any.

Perhaps then, we can imagine Eowyn coming to Minas Tirith after her wedding, perhaps for an official welcome and celebrations to Gondor (as an important political match between Rohan and Gondor, there would most likely have been celebrations to mark Eowyn's arrival), Eowyn doesn't struggle so much from a lack of freedom, but a sudden excess of it.

In Edoras, apart from the coming and going of soldiers and perhaps the odd traveller, Eowyn would have been seeing the same people every day, and almost all of them would have been from Rohan, people perhaps she knew from childhood, and Eowyn's role in Rohan has been defined for a long time. She was the chatelaine, the one who held the fort while everyone else was gone, and she took charge of the domestic duties.

Everyone knew her and Eowyn knew everyone, and everything expected of her. This, we know, made Eowyn feel trapped and caged, but humans by nature are comfortable with the known, so the sudden shift for Eowyn between being Lady of Meduseld, which would have been familiar as an old shoe, to being Princess of Ithilien, with a new role and a new life to build, might well have been overwhelming or disorientating, even if she relished the opportunity to do something else.

Eowyn married Faramir a year after the war, so by this time, Minas Tirith might be in the midst of rebuilding, and already filled with elves and dwarves, bringing their cultures and mixing things up a bit. The people would by now perhaps be ready to celebrate and have fun, and Faramir and Eowyn's wedding would have been a good opportunity for that. So we can definitely imagine Eowyn being greeted to Minas Tirith with a lot of fun and festivities, filled with lots of new people from lots of new places. This would have been exhilarating and thrilling, but also overwhelming, and a stark contrast to the familiarity and certainty of Rohan.

Here my love for the 1920s seeps in, and I almost envision Eowyn as a girl from a rural community coming up to London or Paris during the Roaring Twenties, cities undergoing big social shifts and filled with new thoughts, fashions, music and ways of having fun. And Eowyn, caged, confined, a natural rebel forced to repress her exuberance for many years, now with a new lease on life, throwing herself into everything.

(and here my head canon for Eowyn's wedding celebrations ends with Eowyn, having enjoyed a week of intense celebrations and festivities in Minas Tirith, following the wedding in Rohan, retreating to Emyn Arnen with the Middle Earth equivalent of fresher's flu, spending her first few days in the marital nest in a dark room, blowing her nose and cursing the sun for being too bright).

Therefore, I don't see Minas Tirith as a cold, strict, stuffy city (perhaps before the war, but not after), but a thriving and exciting place to be, cosmopolitan and filled with life, where Eowyn enjoys going to visit. Emyn Arnen remains her main residence, her youth in Rohan leaving her with a definite preference for more rural environments for day to day life, but Eowyn does enjoy coming to stay or visit Minas Tirith, mixing with Aragorn and Arwen and any of the Fellowship who happens to be visiting, and enjoying all the opportunities that big cities have to offer. And she loves visiting Rohan too, staying with Eomer, going back to their old childhood haunts and galloping across the plains. Rohan is only three days away, very doable for a capable horsewoman. If at any point Eowyn did start pining for the Mark, for its traditions, wild landscape and familiar people, then it wouldn't have required excessive planning for Eowyn to choose a date to hop on a horse and go.

[castlebyersthoughts]

This is such a weird way to explain my reasoning behind byler but stay with me. There was an interview I remember watching with the duffers after s2 came out and they were talking about how people were a little bit upset at the death of Mews the cat. The duffers said that they saw all the posts on social media and they understood the upset and said that they made sure to add something in s2 (I believe it was Dustin’s mom getting a kitten in the last episode) as a little nod to Mews (a Mews 2.0, they said) hoping that it would quote “soften the blow a little bit” and for some reason that got me thinking that if the duffers saw that than they definitely see all of the milkvan and byler stuff that is being said. If that’s the case than they’ve seen us going on and on about all the reasons down to the smallest detail as to why byler is endgame and also heavily stating that if it doesn’t happen at this point it’ll be queerbait. Plain and simple. If the duffers had the wherewithal and the mindset to add a little nod to the death of a cat knowing that it might upset some people then they could’ve easily given us something by now to quote on quote “soften the blow” if byler wasn’t going to happen and yet we keep getting more and more moments every season that keep our hopes super high for s5. Whereas milkvan have been begging for some cute and couple-y moments and to stop breaking their ship up and they just get ignored season after season.

Oh I didn't know about the Mews story. But I know they basically said the same thing about Barb after season 1, and that's why Nancy's plot focused on Barb so much, #JusticeForBarb and all. You know what, there's definitely some truth to what you're saying, anon. Even if they sometimes say otherwise, the Duffers do see the fan response and make some adjustments based on it (we saw that with Billy, Steve & Dustin, Kali who disappeared from the show, etc.). We know they knew for sure that there was a big Byler fanbase when writing season 4, because that was the time when the stranger writers account was being super active, and basically every tweet was flooded with Byler comments (this was end of 2019). I actually remember saying to myself that if they don't intend to go there with Byler they will probably try to shut it down in season 4, make it clear that it's not happening. And look at what we got instead. Will confirmed to be in love with Mike, and Byler exploding in popularity as a result. So, if they wanted to soften the blow, they definitely failed. I wouldn't be surprised if they were actually happy to see fans be so passionate about the story they created and reading so much into the details of their show. They probably even wrote the Byler season 4 plot with this in mind, knowing the fans would pick the scenes apart, which is why Byler was so easy to see for us but still seemed invisible to the GA. I think that was kind of a mistake on their part to be honest, they overestimated the GA and the non Byler fandom, and they probably should've hinted at Mike's feelings for Will a little more, but that's another story. And at the same time, it worked for us! They wrote this storyline for us, so, who cares about the rest of the fandom. It's not like we didn't warn them anyway!

So, yes, I agree that if Byler was never in the plans they wouldn't have written season 4 they way they did, because they knew how passionate this specific fanbase was and I don't think they would just do something this cruel.

[melina-mellow]

I wanna come out and say something:

Ekko fans are completely justified in expressing their annoyance and frustration with his tag being clutered with the majority of TB stuff and not enough of just about just him as a character.

However!

People need to understand that—shipping stuff aside— Jinx, his relationship with her and the fallout of that relationship, is a very core part of what makes Ekko who he is and how it influenced his arc as a character and should not be taken lightly or completely dismissed.

They are not mutually exclusive.

The AU episode—which I will be completely blunt on and say it— gets completely misinterpreted by both TB shippers and non shippers alike, for just being about Jinx/Ekko and their relationship.

For starters. Ekko Arcane is not Ekko League of Legends... at least not yet.

Season one Ekko is less focused on making Zaun as a whole better and more about getting revenge on Silco and making sure that his community he built with the Firelights is protected and thriving. His motives, while still good and similar to his original dream are more... limited...for a lack of a better word.

After Silco's takeover, Ekko didn't just give up on Jinx, he gave up Zaun as well, instead choosing to focus only on his people and his community.

This is something Ekko himself admits in the AU episode btw. (Which, again, gets completely glossed over by both shippers and non shippers alike)

He let the hurt of Jinx's rejection when he tried to save her and his hatred for Silco blind him and taint his dream of a better Zaun.

The AU episode—the one people will call filler— is first and foremost to give Ekko hope that Zaun could be better. That he should not have given up on that dream.

As for Jinx/Powder. Well... Is she not the living, breathing and walking personification for the amount of damage Silco has done to Zaun?

Ekko wanted to undo the damage Silco has done... but did he not give up on the person who was perhaps the most damaged by him?

Don't you guys think that Jinx's initial rejection to be saved by him was something that sparked the flames of Ekko giving up on, not only her, but Zaun as well?

The AU is something Ekko needed to see. That it's not just Jinx but Zaun as a whole that can be better. And taking that first step to making Zaun better, is to first reconcile with the person who made him lose hope in that dream in the first place.

I want to close out this post again by stating that Ekko fans are completely justified in expressing their frustration at people "reducing" Ekko to his relationship with Jinx all the time.

But honestly I need people to understand one of the sad truths is; unless you look for supplementary content about Ekko from his amazing lore from LoL. Ekko in Arcane... Just does not get that much focus and him being linked to Jinx so many times is a consequence of Jinx being so popular (even before Arcane) and her being the main character of Arcane.

People are also completely fair when they criticize TB and the fact that the show never gave them enough time to properly flesh out their relationship.

This is a sentiment something most TB fans will agree on with you on. Which is why most of us (cause I do love TB a lot) were so angry about the cut scenes, which we know from the art book would have focused on Ekko and Jinx reconciling as well as Jinx making amends with the Firelights.

That's really all I have to say.

The only other thing I can hold onto now multiple people who have worked on Arcane are interested in continuing Ekko and Jinx's stories, and exploring their dynamic together.

Which, I've already made my thoughts known that if we do get this fabled "timebomb spinoff" that it should focus on Ekko and Jinx individually before they get to reunite and that their reconciliation should not be immediate.

That's all for now....until my next rant/analysis!

I wish I could say I hope Silco burns in hell for all he did. But I have a feeling he already is :)

[kanalynn]

Senku Ishigami x Sayaka Maizono! reader headcanons

characters: Senku Ishigami

based on: reader is based on Sayaka Maizono (danganronpa franchise)

summary: [Name] Maizono is a famous Japanese idol who has captured the hearts of music lovers all over the world. She is known for her charming voice, cheerful and caring personality, and highly developed intuition, which sometimes makes it seem like she can read other people's minds.

So, what will her relationships be like with the famous scientist?

author's note:

• English is NOT my first language;

• May contain OOC;

• I made this in less than a day, so it's not as good as it could have been

• I might delete this soon

• I just love Sayaka so much ♡

❛❛ Um... Ishigami Senku-kun, right? My name is [Name]... Sorry to interrupt you while you're reading... I just wanted to say that... you're an amazing person, and I believe that you can make your dream come true. Maybe... we could be friends? ❞

• Senku met [Name] in elementary school - she was his classmate who was genuinely impressed by his determination when he talked about his intention to go to space, and wanted to be friends with him. Senku accepted her offer very reluctantly - he didn't have any friends before, and he didn't see the benefit in having them - but after a while, his opinion changed noticeably.

• What Senku liked about [Name] was her curiosity - she was genuinely interested in what he told her - as well as her openness, kindness, and hard work. The boy quickly became attached to her, and they quickly became one of the most important people for each other.

• When [Name] became an idol, Senku had very mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, he was happy for her (even though he seemed indifferent from the outside) - she had fulfilled her cherished dream, but at the same time, he was irritated and worried about her sudden popularity and new schedule - now they could not spend as much time together as before. Over time, of course, he got used to the new reality, and even seeing posters of [Name] everywhere was not so strange.

• Senku denied his feelings for [Name] for a long time, but even after fully realizing them and coming to terms with them, he did not consider it necessary to confess to her - because of her popularity, excessive busyness, and, perhaps, because of his own irrational insecurity. All this irritated Senku to death, and for the first time in his life, he did not know what he should do. In any case, his mental torment was not that long: after some time, Senku, unable to bear it, confessed to [Name] (and he did it in his own convoluted scientific style).

• Before Senku could realize it, [Name] had already confessed back, and they had already started dating.

• Taiju and Yuzuriha were, of course, very happy for their friends, but at the same time so shocked. They did not expect anything like this from Senku, known for his logic and rationality, nor from [Name], who, it would seem, was too sweet and kind for him. In any case, the relationship that had begun most likely influenced Taiju's decision to soon confess his feelings to Yuzuriha.

• Byakuya simply adores [Name]. Of course, he had been nice to her before - after all, she was Senku's first friend - but when he found out that they were dating (he found out about it, by the way, from [Name] herself), he simply couldn't help but start teasing his son and bragging to his colleagues that his son's girlfriend and his future daughter-in-law was a famous idol. Most likely, in addition to Lillian's CDs, he would also bring CDs with [Name]'s songs to the ISS.

• [Name] had never been close to her own father, so instead of introducing Senku to him, she introduced him to her best friends - the other members of her group, and her manager. They all found her boyfriend trustworthy enough, if a little rough, and approved of their relationship.

• While working, whether at home or in the science club, Senku usually had various programs playing in the background that featured [Name]. Of course, this behavior was extremely irrational, but Senku couldn't help himself - when he heard [Name], he worked better.

• [Name]'s incredibly developed intuition, thanks to which she understood other people very well, was extremely useful to Senku. He liked the fact that his girlfriend understood everything he meant so well and quickly. From the outside, it seemed as if these two could understand each other without words.

• Sometimes Senku wonders what he did to deserve such a wonderful and supportive girlfriend like [Name], unaware that she thinks the same thing about him.

• By the way, no matter how much Senku denied it, he really loved listening to [Name] singing.

• Senku's last thought before turning to stone was for [Name]'s safety.

After Petrification:

• [Name] is de-petrified after Senku forms the Kingdom of Science from Ishigami Village.

• The way this beautiful girl acts towards Senku, their emotionless leader, and the way he acts towards her greatly shocks the villagers and Gen (who also knew who [Name] was). No one expected Senku to have a relationship.

• However, everyone quickly warms up to [Name] and her personality, and gets used to seeing her as something like the Chief's fiancée.

• There's probably some story left in the Hundred Tales about [Name] and her idol career, as well as her relationship with Senku.

• Senku will most likely eventually propose to [Name], who is upset that all the recordings of her songs have already disappeared from the world, to record her song on a glass plate, just like his father recorded Lillian's song almost four thousand years ago.

• Together with Gen, [Name] held concerts to raise the spirits of the Science Kingdom members.

• Xeno, when he learns of his protégé's relationship, will consider [Name] to be an «incredibly elegant» girl.

❛❛ See, Senku! Yuzuriha and I got married before you and [Name] did! ❞

❛❛ What are you talking about, Taiju? Senku and I got married a year ago. ❞

A moment of silence.

❛❛ WHAT- ❞

• And he lived happily ever after :)

[siddyyyyyyyy]

Irresistible

Rockstar!Jason Todd x Rockstar!Reader

summary: Your band is headlining for the next summer festival tour, but sadly, your rival band gets to perform in the same festivals as you. The fans are ecstatic, they get to see two popular bands in several festivals, and potentially get to witness more drama between these two rival bands. But will it actually be as entertaining as your fans expect it to be? wc: 1.5K warnings: (slow burn), rivals to lovers, no y/n used, bullying mentioned (?) a/n: Thank you so much for over 500 followers!! This series is a special thanks for all the people that support me and enjoy my works, I hope you all enjoy this one as well!

⟨PART ONE⟩-⟨NEXT⟩

You never liked crowds or being the center of attention. Still, you feel determined to perform and show people that you are not useless.

There‘s this strong urge to prove everyone wrong, the overwhelming will to stand up for yourself and ignore your trembling hands as you hold the microphone. You glance beside to your best friend, noticing her rather carefree demeanor, holding her guitar ready while her fingers are already placed on the first chord. She gives you a reassuring nod, slowing your racing heart by a little.

After taking a steadying breath, the band starts playing, counting down the beats until your cue, in your head. The students in front of you stay seated on the many benches of the gym, some on their phone or chatting with their friends. It doesn‘t seem like anyone actually pays attention or actively listens to the music, but it still makes you nervous and giddy, singing and performing live in front of the whole school, after some event you didn‘t care enough about.

Even if not many people are paying attention, you can still feel burning stares on you, making your voice shaky before you eventually steady it. As the song progresses, you manage to find some confidence and perform more freely, ignoring the concerned gazes from some teachers, as you perform the fry screams of the song.

It‘s a shame you can‘t perform one of your own songs, instead having to perform another random song. Luckily, you could choose it, which is why you aren‘t as concerned of others possibly hating it.

The big hall fills with cheers and applause after the end of the performance, looking back to the students, to see some of them already exiting the gym. One of the teachers approaches your band, a big smile on his face. You can smell the conversation from a while away, knowing he will try his best to get his 80‘s rock influence on to your band as well.

»Amazing show, you guys! Have ya ever heard of the band ‘Kiss‘? Y‘know, I once saw them live in 1981… they were different, « he starts rambling your ears off, ignoring your tired demeanor after giving a nerve wracking perfomance.

You nod along, glancing back to the drummer, Nick, giving him an expression that‘s clearly a cry for help. He catches the look and walks over to you, smoothly interrupting the conversation, so you can get away and catch a proper break.

»Hey, mister Jones! What‘d you think of my drum set? Bought it from home just for this.« The literature teacher gives him an approving hum, stepping closer to Nick‘s drum kit and inspecting it. They fall into another conversation, which consists of Mr. Jones talking about his youth, and his love for rock back when he was the same age.

While the students file out of the gym, you step back with your guitarist, watching her set her guitar away, shutting off the amplifier. Nyomi notices your presence, glancing briefly up at you.

»Wasn‘t as bad, was it?« You shrug at her question, crossing your arms over your chest.

»Could be better if they actually did listen, and didn't pretend we weren‘t there.«

She hears your light scoff, shrugging to herself a little. »I guess… at least we could traumatize some teachers.«

You can‘t help but chuckle softly, picking up the cables and start to arrange them neatly again. It‘s not often the school made any kind of event, let alone give some students the opportunity to show their talents and hobbies. Most of the organising was done by yourself anyway, having quickly realised how lazy they actually were with it. Pushing the negative thoughts away, you focus on getting your stuff together and help the rest with cleaning up.

The walk back home was loud with your own thoughts, overplaying the screamy music playing from your headphones. You ponder about your earlier performance, unsure if it was actually worth the stress.

There was this group of girls that always managed to get under your skin without actually saying anything directly to you. They tend to be polite to you, but ignore you whenever you try to say something in a conversation, or tear away whoever is currently talking to you at the moment, just so they can have all the attention again. It‘s as if the group of girls are fighting for attention in their own group. Normally, it wouldn‘t really bother you, but they still manage to make up space in your mind, even after school. Nyomi told you to not care and focus on yourself, but it‘s difficult when they giggle and do unfunny jokes during class, and refuse to take anything seriously.

Kicking a small rock along the pavement, you try not to work yourself up over it. As you unlock the front door, you try to be as quiet as possible, not wanting any more attention from anyone else. Fortunately, your parents are busy doing something else on their own, managing to get into your own room without having to talk to anyone. You don‘t bother telling them about your small achievement of playing in front of the school, knowing they won‘t give you much of a reaction either way.

◖

Four years have passed since your first perfomance, you‘ve gained a new band member who plays the bass, and you study at a musical university. There‘s nothing else you can really do with your life, despite dedicating it to music and doing part time jobs to keep yourself above water.

Creating and writing music has become easier for you, especially when the others of the band are being creative and coorperate as well. You have released some singles and one album already, which hasn't found much of an audience yet. But you feel like the upcoming music video will change your current audience and reach.

After putting hours of work into your new project, you are only waiting for it to be ready to put out. And once your editor shows the final product of the whole video, you can‘t help but feel giddy and excited to bring it out to the world.

Your band decided to get a music video of the most popular and heavy songs from the album, making sure ot create a brief story line for it and just go all out on. Surprisingly, everyone felt comfortable on camera and got decents shots, the actors, for the brief story line, were genuine and dedicated to their short role. As for the setting, you were lucky to have a great editor, to make it look more professional.

Once the video got out, you only had to wait one night before your band name got more recognition, finding articles about the video and your album. You even got invited to go on an interview all together. And who‘s stupid enough to deny that?

After getting more attention and increasingly more listeners, you felt overwhelmed with success and new confidence. There was suddenly a new wave of people who genuinenly enjoyed your music and art, receiving more positive feedback and support.

Of course, more attention, means more various opinions. Even other, more successful bands started to pay attention to you, mostly being suuportive and happy to have new faces in the scene. But for some reason, one particular band — or rather their front man — had an opposite opinion from everyone else.

»“They‘re [Obsessed Freaks] just some pop band that went viral for their edgy music video. They won‘t be able to hold the fame for long.“, says Jason Todd, singer of ‘Bad Sinister‘ from the latest Loudwire magazine— «

Nick shuts his phone off before tossing it on the couch, scoffing under his breath.

»What‘s with this guy? Didn‘t they start out at the same time as us?«

»Oh, he‘s just baiting for more attention, don‘t listen to him.« Carter waves it off, not at all concerned over the mixed opinions of the media.

Nick narrows his eyes, still not entirely calm from the news. He shifts on his seat before speaking up, starting to get slightly frustrated.

»What if he‘s right? What if we fail and just go back to being a local band in— «

»We‘re working on a new album right now, aren‘t we? They won‘t have to wait long for more music, it‘s not like we have to stress over it.«

A silence stretches over the pratice room after Carter���s reassuring words, a mix of understanding and slight uncertainty lingering in the air. It‘s not until you stand off the ground and pick up your mic to start the practice, as everyone else gets their mind back into focus of the actual topic.

»Starting with “Shapeshifter“, right?«

You speak into the microphone, making sure everyone has their instruments set before the band starts playing, getting to groove together and work on the new album.

Now you have a new goal in mind. Prove yourself to the critics, even if it‘s an impossible task, and show of how much more you and your band are capable of. To release more music, to push your own limits and experiment a little with your style, to go harder and heavier.

Your new goal is to prove Jason Todd wrong, trigger, and provoke him, until he stops spreading his arrogance.

←MASTERLIST

taglist₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. @143637-hrrm @dollyure @ibreathesmut @dreamzaremyrealityy @lunana98 @pitofrats @joonunivrs @reallycreativeusername @oneiropoloss

[star-41306]

Reckless Driving

‘What’s his motive? Lucas has said he’s one of the good ones, right?’

Before

I didn't mean to kiss you I mean I did, but I didn't think it'd go this far

The lunchroom is packed today. Mike, Dustin and I are sitting in our usual spot in the corner, El and Max sitting at the opposite table engrossed in their own conversation. I’m helping Mike with his Spanish 3 class, asking him the prompts on the cards with my decent speaking ability, when Mike says in English, “Man, this Spanish test is gonna kick my ass.” 

Mike wallows in his self-pity, burying his head against the leftover flashcards in his hands.

“When is Spanish not kicking your ass?” Dustin comments, right when I say, “Come on Mike. It’s not that bad. Let's try again.”

Mike glares at Dustin, then with a lighter look says to me, “Okay, yeah. You’re right.” He pauses to sigh, then says, "What would I do without my favorite tutor?” Mike gives me a sincere smile. I feel redness grow on my face at his words. ‘Get it together, Will.’

“Fail?” Dustin quips with a self-satisfied look, fork in hand. It turns into a grimace as he feels Mike stomp on his shoe. “Hey! Am I wrong?” 

I tune out the rest of their bickering, sensing something. Feeling watched, I turn my head to the side. I vaguely recognize the eyes looking back at me. I glance at the rest of the people at the table, spotting Lucas next to the person staring. ‘Chance,’ It hits me.

Every Friday, Lucas sat with his basketball friends, Chance being one of them. My eyes bounce between Chance and Lucas, unable to maintain eye contact with his heavy stare. My eyebrows furrow. ‘Why is he looking at me like that?’

He abruptly looks away as one of the other Basketball players says something to him. I decide to do the same. ‘Weird.’ 

I didn't mean to kiss you Now you can't focus on the road when I'm in your car

I listen to the rest of Mike and Dustin's dispute until the bell rings. 

“Saved by the bell!” Is what Dustin ends on. As we all grab our bags and Mike packs up his study gear, I feel eyes on me again. I try to ignore them as we walk to our lockers, but it ends up a difficult feat when I hear the recognizable voice of Lucas behind us. 

“Yeah dude, I’m not sure. Christian Academy has definitely gotten better over the years. I’m kinda freaked for this upcoming game.” Chance nods in reply.

The two of them catch up as we make it to our destination. Chance leans his side against the wall, waiting for something.

“Hey guys.” Lucas acknowledges, turning the pad of the lock on his locker.

“Hey man.” Mike responds, fiddling with his own lock.

I would give a comment back, but I’m struck by the same eyes from earlier still staring. Goosebumps raise on my neck. ‘Creepy.’ I think, opening up my locker to grab a canvas and some other things for my upcoming art class.

Now we're going 100 Your hands aren't on the wheel 'Cause you're just staring at me like you're not convinced that I am real

 I’m spun up in my thoughts when Mike's soothing voice hits my ears. “Hey, Will. I’ll see you later, okay?” I glance at Mike's slightly concerned look and give him a reassuring one. “See you later,” I wave goodbye.

I hear the rest of them make their exits. I’m stuck juggling all my supplies, when a note appears on the shelf in front of my face. I turn my head to the culprit, seeing him walk away after shooting me a discreet wink. ‘Okay, that's Really Weird.’ My curiosity gets the best of me. I set my stuff back down with a sigh, reading the note with wide eyes.

Byers,

Meet me after school 

Picnic table behind the school at 2:30

-Chance

I go through the rest of the day slightly paranoid. ‘Why the hell does he want to meet up with me?’ I ask myself during final period. I thought back to the last few years. After Lucas made it with the popular kids and I came back with a sweet tan and cool stories from California, the bullying dialed down by a lot. Yeah, there are still lingering rumors, but I haven't been pushed or shoved in maybe 2 years. ‘What’s his motive? Lucas has said he’s one of the good ones, right?’

Once the last bell of the day rings, I’ve made my decision. ‘Really, what’s the worst that could happen?’ I walk out of the building, backpack on, picking the paint flakes left on my nails from earlier. ‘That one’s gonna stain,’ I think.

I grab my bike and guide it through the grass, then find the trail that leads to the Picnic table. Nervously staring at the ground, I prepare myself for what's to come. ‘Here goes nothing I guess.’ 

As I trek down the path, I spot the table in the clearing. ‘Empty.’

I prop up my bike on a tree and then check my watch. ‘2:30’ it says. ‘I guess i’ll wait’

It’s 2:35 when I hear the rustling of a bush.

“Byers, you showed,” Chance says casually, hands shoved in his lettermen's' pockets

“Uh. Yeah. What is this about?” I try to respond the same, but I’m unable to hide my nervous energy.

“Nothing much. I just have a favor to ask.” ‘Favor?’ 

“What kind of favor? Do you need, like, a tutor or something?” I think back to mike because ‘When am I not.’ 

He chuckles, shaking his head “uh, no, nothing like that.” He’s playful in his reply. I grow more confused. Picking at the paint again, I finally get out, “Then.. What is it?”

There's a pause, then a breath, and then Chance says something I’d never expected.

“I just wanted to see if the rumors were true” I feel the blood leave my face. We are enveloped in silence; the only sound is the wind swaying the trees.

Wanting to escape the silence, I say, “What?” quite enough I’m afraid he can’t hear me.

“The rumors. Are they true?” He appears careless, but I can tell from his surveying that he’s just as nervous as I am.

“I don’t know what you're talking about,” Is what I say, Even if I definitely do. 

“You’re gay, right? Look man, I won't tell anyone.” Chance still looks around nervously, then, “I’m kind of... In the same boat.”

“You’re, you’re what?” The blood comes back to my face. ‘What did he just say?’

“That's what this is about. I figured if anybody, you at least, might understand.” He looks at the ground, ashamed.

“Oh,”

“Yeah.”

Silence. Very awkward silence. I decide to be the one to break it.

“So, the favor... What. what do you mean?” I grow nervous again. Chance makes me uneasy even with the reveal. A favor could mean a lot of things.

“I was thinking. Maybe you would want to, I don't know, come over or something. My parents shouldn’t be home for a couple hours. Nobody would find out,”

‘I’m going insane. Some sort of wizard must have cast a spell on me, and this is some kind of fucked up vision.’

“Look. I know this is weird. But I figured you might be up for it. Y'know, being one of the only rumored queers in town. It’s not like you try to hide it” Okay, I should say no, especially with that last comment. But then he says,

“Just think about it. When's the next time you'll get some action like this?” And he has a point. Before today, I had felt completely alone. The only gay guy in Hawkins. 

And now we're at 180 And I can finally see But then it's over in a second, crashed the car into the tree

I’m desperately trying to get over Mike. Maybe this is my chance. ‘Ha. Chance.’ 

After much debating, I say, “Okay.” If Chance is surprised, he doesn’t show it. 

“Okay.” He looks at me with that weird stare again. ‘Maybe this is a mistake. I mean, I still don’t know what he wants from me besides coming over.’

“Just kissing, alright? I’m not. I don’t want to do anything else.” Chance looks surprised by that, not expecting me to say his motives out loud.

“Yeah, sure. We can just make out.”

“Cool”

“Uh huh. Yeah. Just,” Chance looks over to the bike “Bike over in about 30. Leave it on the side of the house behind the bushes. I don’t want anyone to see.”

“Sure.”

Yeah, I can see it all happen You'd rather die than take your eyes off me

“Okay,” Chance walks up to me, looks around paranoid, then grabs my face quick. I have no time to think before his lips hit mine. My eyes are left open in shock. ‘My first kiss.’

“I’ll see you, yeah?” He backs up, looking sheepish. He hands me a paper from his pocket with his address and a short description of his house. I’m stunned but manage to get out a short, “Yeah.”  

He leaves quickly through the bushes, and I’m left with my sentiments. ‘What just happened?’

I stand there for I don’t know how long. I realize I need to get going before I lose precious time. I look at the address one more time before grabbing my bike and heading to his house. On the way, my internal monologue is a mess. 

‘What if someone finds out? Bad idea. This is a BAD IDEA. Do I even like Chance like that? I don’t even know the guy all that much. I mean, he is attractive. With his dark hair, tan skin, and lean muscles. Okay, definitely attractive. But Mike… What the hell do you mean, ‘but mike,’? You are trying to GET OVER HIM. There is no way he likes you like that. I mean, he dated El freshman year! He’s straight as an arrow,'

‘Finally.' 

I see his house standing tall in the middle of the neighborhood. It towers over me as I approach. I slip off of my bike and quickly tuck it in the bushes next to the house. I make a brisk walk to the front door, ringing once and glancing around at the rest of the houses.

I don't love you like that I'm a careful driver And I tell you all the time to keep your eyes on the road But you love me like that You're a reckless driver And one day it'll kill us if I don't let go

Chance answers, pulling me in fast, and glances around in the same manner. Then he closes the door and locks us in. 

“Hey Byers. Long time no see.” He shoots me a wink.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” I give a small laugh. He chuckles back.

“Alright, this way.”

---

AN: This is officially pt.0!! The rest will be moving forward. Thank you!! If you would like to be tagged for future uploads, please comment!

Tags: @udkmehahaha @ode-to-berlermo

(pt.1) (pt.2)

[scorpiorising-swiftie]

hello all!! i just wrote the first chapter of any caitvi fanfic called “illicit affairs”, in which Caitlyn and Vi begin to have an affair while Caitlyn is engaged to Maddie. hope you enjoy!!

Chapter one

Vi huffed angrily at her reflection, tossing her hair this way and that, trying to get it just right. She couldn’t risk looking bad today, not when she was about to see Caitlyn for the first time in nearly five years.

Okay, it wasn’t just about that. She was revisiting her alma mater in honor of today being five years since her class graduated. She was excited to see all of her school friends who she hadn’t seen in years, what with her being so busy with her career as a world-renowned boxer. She hadn’t expected to become so famous, but there was no denying that there would probably be a fleet of paparazzi following her today. She cringed at the thought of that. She would have to wear a hat and glasses in order to obscure herself from the public eye. She looked at herself in the mirror one final time. She looked good enough. Her hair, which was buzzed on one side, has grown out quite a bit, and the long side now reached down to her collarbones. She was wearing a white tank top, black jeans, combat boots, and her favorite red and black leather jacket. The one she’d had since high school. The one she knew Caitlyn adored. God, she needed to stop thinking about her. For all she knew, Caitlyn could’ve moved on and found someone new. The thought of that made Vi’s heart sink, but it had been five years. She had to be open to that possibility. She walked out the door, got in her car and began driving to her old school. Butterflies began to flutter in her gut as she thought of seeing Caitlyn again. Would she be happy to see her? It had been so many years. All Vi knew now was that Caitlyn had just graduated college, and was now working as a police officer in the next town over. She kept thinking about Caitlyn in a cop outfit, and a blush crept across her face. Damn, she would look good dressed like that. She shook those thoughts from her head as she approached the school, her hands shaking as she gripped the steering wheel. She parked, got out of the car, and began walking towards the gym. As soon as she entered, she anxiously looked around, trying to spot a familiar face. She had never been the most popular, but she had a good amount of friends. Standing towards the center of the gym, she spotted two of her old friends, Jayce and Viktor. Jayce was standing with a hand draped around the smaller man’s waist, and Viktor seemed to be looking around the gym for people he knew. As soon as his eyes landed on Vi, his face lit up, and he pointed Jayce towards her. Jayce waved happily to his old friend, and they began to walk over together.

“Look at you two!” Vi gushed, bringing Jayce in for a hug. “You guys look awfully close.” She teased.

Viktor’s face went beet red, and he tried to hide it behind his hands. Jayce just smiled.

“Well, after ignoring our feelings for four years, we finally got our shit together and I asked him out.” He said sheepishly. A small smile crept across Viktor’s face. “Yes, we are quite happy together.” He said, pecking a chaste kiss to Jayce’s cheek.

Vi just beamed at the sight of her two friends, clearly so in love. Speaking of which..

“Hey, have either of you seen Cait yet?” Vi asked casually.

The smile on Jayce’s face disappeared just for a moment, but it was quickly replaced with one that wasn’t as genuine. “Oh! Uh, yeah I think I saw her outside.” He said awkwardly.

“Thanks!” Vi exclaimed, hurriedly rushing out of the gym. Why did Jayce seem so.. off as soon as she brought up Caitlyn? Did he know something she didn't? Never mind that. She was too damn excited to care.

It took a minute for Vi’s eyes to adjust to the sunlight, but once she did, she immediately spotted Caitlyn. Her jaw dropped.

She looked better than she ever had. Her cobalt hair was tied up in a ponytail, a few strands loose in the front. She was wearing a black turtleneck that hugged her figure in all the right places. She also had on a black miniskirt, tights, and boots, that must’ve made her six and a half feet tall. Goddamn. Those familiar butterflies returned to Vi’s gut once again. But wait, she was so distracted by how good Cait looked that she didn’t even notice she was with someone. Another woman. The girl was small, with short ginger hair, and a face full of freckles. Vi felt like crying as she saw Caitlyn tuck a strand of russet hair behind the girl’s ear. It took everything in Vi not to rush to the bathroom and sob. But no, she wasn’t an immature teenager anymore. Cait had moved on, and she just has to come to terms with that. But just how intimate had those two gotten. Had this stranger kissed every crevice of Caitlyn’s body, as Vi had? Had she made her see stars, and scream her name, like she had? Did she know that her favorite flowers were forget-me-not’s? That she secretly yearned to be an actress, but settled for a more reasonable career in order not to disappoint her parents? Vi pushed these thoughts away. She had to be mature about the situation. Even if she wanted to run up to Caitlyn and kiss her pretty face right in front of her new lover. She was about to go inside again, when Caitlyn’s eyes landed on her. Her mouth formed an “o” shape as she eyed Vi up and down, likely staring at her muscles. Vi was certainly ripped in high school, but now being a full-time boxer, her muscles had nearly doubled in size. A hint of pride welled up in her as Cait stared her down. There was no denying that she was still attracted to her, right? No! She couldn’t risk thinking like that. Cait was here with another girl, for God’s sake!

Before Vi could even register what was happening, Caitlyn was walking over to her, her girlfriend reluctantly following behind.

Caitlyn engulfed Vi in a more than friendly hug, and Vi had to pray for the blush to disappear from her cheeks before the other girl saw.

“Vi! I’ve missed you!” Caitlyn explained, her English accent making Vi go weak in the knees. She still smelled like expensive vanilla perfume.

“Hey, cupcake.” Vi replied, staring into those gorgeous cerulean eyes. The two were lost in the moment together, clearing fighting back old feelings that were threatening to resurface. Caitlyn seemed to break from the spell first, as her new lover approached her side.

“Oh! How could I forget! Vi, this is Maddie, she’s my.. uh..” Caitlyn seemed to be at a loss for words, so Maddie chimed in.

“Fiancé! I’m her fiancé!” She chirped in a heavy Scottish accent.

Vi felt the tears prick at her eyes, threatening to spill over. Fiancé? So this wasn’t just a girlfriend, this was the woman Caitlyn was going to marry. She put on her best fake smile, praying that Caitlyn didn’t spot the sadness behind her eyes.

“That’s great. I’m so happy for you guys. When’s the wedding?”

“Next spring!” Maddie gushed. “It’s going to be in my hometown, in Edinburgh!” Vi couldn’t help but think Maddie was much more excited about the whole ordeal than Caitlyn.

“You’ve got to come, Vi!” Caitlyn finally said. “If you’re not busy, that is.”

“Oh! I would love to.” Vi replied, though the thought of witnessing Caitlyn get married to another woman made her want to throw up.

“How’s the career going? Maddie and I watch you all the time.” Caitlyn changed the subject, and Vi could swear she saw the slightest bit of blush creeping across her cheeks.

“It’s good! Had to wear a disguise here, just to make sure the paparazzi wouldn’t see me, but other than that it’s great.” Vi stated casually.

“You’re so incredible! I knew you were strong, but watching you in the ring is.. well, it’s invigorating.” Okay, Cait was definitely blushing now. Vi just chuckled.

“Thanks, how’s your job going? Heard you’re a cop now.”

“It’s great! It’s how Maddie and I met, actually..” She stated, her voice laced with awkwardness.

“That’s great! Hey, wanna head inside? Jayce and Viktor are already in there, and they’re all over each other.” Vi giggled mischievously.

“Oh, let’s!” Caitlyn exclaimed, grabbing Maddie’s hand and heading towards the gym.

Vi trailed behind them and watched them, hand in hand. She had to fight back tears as she thought of Caitlyn making love to this woman. What did Maddie have that Vi didn’t? A cute accent, red hair, and she was probably rich, too. Maybe that’s what it was. Though Caitlyn never cared that Vi came from a low income home, that was more her parents.

Vi watched from a distance as Caitlyn and Jayce shared a warm embrace, and Cait introduced Jayce and Viktor to Maddie. She suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to leave, and this time she couldn’t stop it. She rushed out to her car, and swung open the door, when she suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to her.

“Vi, wait!” Caitlyn exclaimed. Vi turned around to find her ex- lover just inches away from her face. She grabbed her arm and stared into her eyes.

“I hope you’re not too upset about Maddie, it all happened so suddenly. You see, my parents set us up..”

That made Vi feel a little better. Maybe Caitlyn didn’t really love Maddie like she thought she did.

“No, I’m happy for you, Cait.” Vi responded, her voice devoid of any emotion.

“Can we go out sometime? Let me take you for coffee.” Caitlyn nearly pleaded.

“You think that’s appropriate? You’re engaged, Caitlyn.” Vi replied.

“No! I didn’t mean a date.. we just haven’t really caught up since..”

“Since you dumped me.” Vi interjected.

Caitlyn looked hurt, and Vi instantly regretted the jab. “You know I didn’t want to. It was my parents.” Caitlyn lamented. Vi just sighed.

“I know. Coffee sounds great, I have Sundays off, so how about tomorrow?”

Caitlyn’s face lit up, and for a moment, Vi swore she saw the lovesick teenager she fell in love with.

“Yes! Tomorrow would be excellent!” She rejoiced.

Vi just smiled, and tucked a strand of hair behind Caitlyn’s ears.

“Great. See you tomorrow, cupcake.”

[i-dropped-my-cake]

Comparing the medievalification of Czech and English language in KCD/KCD2 is so interesting.

For those who are unaware, yes, the games were made by a Czech studio, yes, the lead writers are Czech, yes, the source code is Czech. The items, quests, dialog lines etc. carry Czech words as part of their identification. But the primary language we're meant to consume it in is English: Czech is more of an afterthought, a language for the (Czech) devs to properly place their easter eggs in.

In both languages, the font for in-game writing is inspired by Rotunda, corresponding more to what scribes would use in the south of Europe, rather than in our part of the Holy Roman Empire. Because the blackletter which would have actually been used is fucking hard to read (literally the one good thing the N*zis did was to ban Fraktur, may it rot in hell).

We can no longer understand the language of 1403 very well. Medieval Czech would most likely sound to us like we are having a stroke. Jan Hus is the reaszon we don't wrzite like thys btw, as he was the guy to suggest writing acčentš above letteřs, replacing the di- and multigraphs that survived in Polish.

Canterbury Tales are from about the same period in English, and 1403 is smack in the beginning of the Big Vowel Shift. So again. It would sound like you're having a stroke. Or like a couple of Danes are making fun of you.

Which is why both languages are simply using their modern form with some anachronisms to "sell the bit."

Most of the time, it's enough to just have the characters talk about their daily stuff - after all, a modern person rarely talks about swordfights, brailes, or working the field. In Czech (more in KCD1 than in KCD2, weirdly enough) they pepper in slight Germanization. Most of us don't speak German, but there are some basic words that survive into the present vernacular, and while most don't use them daily, it's expected that you understand them. If you let the characters speak "common Czech" and not a super prescriptive version of the language from books, the illusion is complete without being overly intrusive.

The English language doesn't have the same luxury: it's too goddamn cosmopolitan. A stand-in for the old language has to be a collection of accents from the British Isles. Maybe Canada and New Zealand. But not Australia. This time, the common set of old-timey vocabulary definitely cannot be German (too much drift), or just plain ol' English-English (boring) or French (which would be popular among the upper, but not lower classes). What remains is using archaic words for normal stuff. The list of eligible words is surprisingly short. The language suffers from success, having too vast a vocabulary - an archaic word for an American would sound pants in a medieval context for a Londoner, or vice versa (I was told a long time ago that AE conserves the older forms a bit more than BE, but that could have been a ploy to make me more accepting of American grammar). Which is why you, bizarrely enough, get wenches instead of girls and handgonnes instead of pistols.