#we're not a couple and i don't want to be

[xxgoldie]

lighter x reader, alcohol (lighter is drunk, nitro-fuel is alcoholic here), otherwise just pure fluff

thinking about lighter, stumbling up to you, the smell of nitro-fuel on his breath (and his shirt - he'd definitely spilled some on himself earlier, though with how unstable he was standing, you were hardly surprised). a bit of a party atmosphere had developed around steeltusk's bar tonight, and lighter had definitely had more than he should have. you had barely joined the gathering for a few minutes, relaxing a bit further from the bar, but as soon as he'd noticed you, he had made a (very wobbly) beeline for you.

"(Y/N)."

his hands went to your shoulder, using you to stabilise himself, even though his weight made you stumble a bit too.

"hi," you laughed, a rare sight to see the champion so discomposed, though he was looking into your eyes with a slightly nervewracking seriousness through those shades.

"we should get married."

it took you a couple beats to process his slurred words. heat rushed to your face, one you hoped, if someone noticed, you could blame on the one drink you'd had so far. you searched his face for the punchline, or any sort of elaboration. all you found was a similar searching - he was waiting for you to answer. he was almost pleading with his eyes, swaying a little from the alcohol - this was absurd.

"you are so drunk," was all you could muster, chuckling in disbelief. lighter collapsed against you, arms wrapping around your neck and head on your shoulder, and you swore you heard a very uncharacteristic whine leave his mouth.

"you don't want to marry me," he pouted - just how many drinks had burnice given him, that lighter lorenz, infamous red scarf of the sons of calydon, was pouting?

"hey, i didn't say that," you comforted him, instinctively petting his hair in a way he seemed to enjoy. and it wasn't a lie - it was something you had dreamed about several times, but... "i just feel like you've skipped a few steps here, you know? we're just friends, lighter. and you really are very drunk."

he picked himself up from your shoulder to look at you again, but he was so close this time, the tip of his nose barely an inch from yours, his full bodyweight still leaning on you. for the first time, you really realised the position the two of you were in, and so publicly, the crowded bar not far away. but you couldn't quite get yourself to focus on them, not when there was so little space between you, and his stupid handsome face took up your entire field of view. the musky scent of his cologne cut through the smell of nitro-fuel and it made your thoughts brain spin even more, so you waited for him to say something. you doubted you could come up with any more coherent thoughts.

"what's step one?" he said eventually. you frowned, not sure what he meant. "what?" "you said I skipped steps. what's step one?" "to marrying me??" "yeah."

once again, you had to pause to process. was this his weird, misguided, honestly really cute, way of confessing to you? there was no way - but there was a sincerity in his gaze that went past alcohol. the best answer would probably be 'ask me on a date when you're sober', but he was too pretty to be considering best answers, and your mouth moved faster than your brain did.

"probably this," you muttered, then pulled him forward by the scarf, closing the distance between you. even drunk, his reaction time was instantaneous - you were the one to initiate the kiss, but his hands were around your waist so quickly it surprised you, pulling you somehow even closer into him. it was clumsy but full of heat, and you could feel his mouth form a victorious grin against yours.

when you eventually pulled away, though, your gaze was immediately drawn away from his to the rest of the sons of calydon, who were whooping and cheering from the bar.

"yes! i told you it'd go well, lighter!" caesar called, shooting you a wink. Lighter only responded to her with a thumbs up, his head returning to rest on your shoulder again.

"did you tell him to do that?" you yelled back, head still reeling from the kiss.

"so what? neither of you were gonna take the leap sober," she replied, and you realised she wasn't behind his words - not intentionally, anyway.

"he proposed to me!"

a round of shocked laughter from the gang, except for lucy;

"he WHAT?"

i truly had no idea how to end this. but like. i love lighter so so much but i especially love him being dorky and down bad. wc: 757

[drdemonprince]

I keep seeing the posts about male socialization and idk it makes me feel weird because I identify as transfem and I *do* believe I had male socialization. I find it easier to identify with and understand male groups and to feel involved in the while I feel less at ease understanding how women feel and think even though my personal view of myself leans more towards a feminine identity. All these posts make me doubt that I am truly "transfem" and that even if I am, that I am fundamentally transfem in a different way than most other transfems I run into. Is there any sources or writing out there that either provides a counter-perspective or at the very least points to nuance on this subject from a transfem lens? I wish I didn't feel so alone with these feelings.

Your feelings and experience do not make you any less legitimate as a transfeminine person. A lot of trans women rightfully and understandably need to counteract the notion that they're oppressive privileged males or whatever by asserting, as clearly as they can, the many ways in which their socialization was a female socialization, with all the double-standards, demanded emotional labor, sexual predation, etc that entails -- but the very need to assert these things is due to the culture's twisted misconceptions about what gender even is and how it operates.

It's not as though a young person only gets the socialization of the binary gender to which they were assigned -- they get mandatory cishet socialization, and they see what is expected of the "other" gender, and that impacts them, and the standards for that other gender also influence how they are interpreted and seen.

And so I do think, to a certain extent, that when trans people assert that we actually didn't get socialized as our assigned gender at birth, we got socialized as the correct gender, actually, we are unfortunately ceding ground to the transphobes on a couple of key points. One, we're conceeding that there is a singular binary socialization that the two genders each get, which are separate from one another and always exhibit specific features, and two, that a person's socialization as a young person is a key determinant of their gendered experience, privilege, and identity forever, no matter what happens after they are young.

And you know, both those things are totally wrong. There is no one female socialization. I've written about this before, but I wasn't raised to be feminine. I was raised the way working-class girls are raised, which is to be no-nonsense, unfrivolous, serious, sporty, and capable -- a wife and mother, but the kind that never wears a skirt or cries in front of people. And there is no singular "male" socialization either -- I cite a few trans femme people in this piece who experienced themselves as having some male privilege before they transitioned, and some more typically "male" experiences, while also quoting a number of trans women whose lives went the exact opposite way. I assert in the piece that their experiences are theirs to name, and that there's a number of different ways we might each understand and categorize them personally -- especially when we take into account how much gendered socialization is dependent upon class, race, immigration status, diasporic status, and much more.

My view is that however you think your live played out, and whoever you find community alongside, you're right. I'm about to answer a similar ask about this from a trans masc perspective, but I'm a guy who has a ton of women friends and always have. I grew up mostly with girls as my closest buddies and we did things like playing pretend and having slumber parties and doing makeovers. I could chalk this up as a "female socialization" experience I guess if I wanted to. But I also grew up with a lot of gay boys, and I am a gay man, and guess what -- a lot of us grow up with predominately female friends. I don't think I have some essential feminine quality because my friends kept insisting on putting eyeshadow on me when I was ten. The fact I was bad at sports and couldn't be the tough, no-nonsense person that my culture expected me to be was gonna affect me whether I was a boy or a girl. And my upbringing was significantly different from that of one of my very best, oldest friends, whose family owned a successful business and were able to buy her a car and a horse and shit.

You're not betraying anything or lessening your own transfemininity by resonating with some typically "male" experiences or for having close male connections. Lots of queer women do! Just like I have plenty in common with lots of women! We don't say that cis women aren't women because they grew up tomboys, or had a ton of brothers, and the same is true of you. Even if you don't think of your younger self as "a tomboy" or even as a girl. You don't have to ascribe to the narrative that you were always one gender and always moved through the world with that identity. To demand that all trans people do so is respectability politics -- we cannot and should not require that all people be trans in the same ways. I have written before that transition to me feels at once both pre-ordained AND a choice that I made. You can say that you lived as a boy for some years or were a boy if that feels right to you, or that you had certain privileges while also suffering from dysphoria and disconnection; it's your life and you know it best and what serves you.

I wish I had narratives from trans women writers to direct you to, but for the most part the trans women who I've heard express feelings like yours have been in the support and discussion groups I've been in, and in private conversation -- I think because the socialization experiences of trans femmes are so unfairly politicized. I hope if any trans femme people see this have anything to share or any words to say that they will!

[lunaandco]

guys my age

pairing: alexia putellas x ofc

summary: the new rookie looks up to alexia, yes, but it's not as innocent as she would hope to

warnings: age difference: claudia is 20 yo; power imbalance; I forgot pina's name was actually claudia, so there is two claudia's on the team, deal with it; smut, thigh riding, nipple play

masterlist

Claudia is quite pretty. Alexia never tried to actively deny that, but it bothered her that she noticed far too much. Pale skin, rather small built, brown hair cut to her chin and icy blue eyes that made her look more innocent than a girl her age should be. Claudia was too young for Alexia's taste. And yet—

She was one of the Barça B girls joining them for training for a while now, reeling from the adrenaline of the debut, cheeks lit aflame and skin shimmering with sweat. When she arrived, the first days she spent them figuring out if she should be called Claudia or Díaz, since Pina was already stabilised on the team. But Pina chose her surname, so Claudia kept her name.

Shirt off, the red and blue fabric thrown over her shoulder—her debut shirt, she would probably frame it. Alexia remembered that euphoric feeling, of the first game, of the first goal.

Claudia's volley had been the seventh goal of the day, almost irrelevant to the punctuation. But it had huge emotional impact, and Alexia was sure it would make the rounds on the Internet, it was beautiful and powerful.

Salma threw an arm over her shoulders, as they sang some Barça chants. Alexia joined quietly, as she dressed on her street clothes. Slama and Claudia had become tight at some point or another, between training sessions and media obligations from the club.

Alexia wouldn't be surprised to see them become a couple, sooner or later, women's football was full of partners that were teammates or rivals, but there was something that bothered her about it.

She waited by the car, patiently. Alexia may be one of the older, more settled players, but she understood the juvenile need to celebrate a little.

Finally, Claudia rushed to her side, after saying her good-byes to Salma. It was when they were alone like this, that Alexia felt the strangest.

Backpack slung over her shoulder, a pair of dark blue jeans and a green bomber jacket, Claudia looked her age. But her blue eyes, always shimmering with delight, turned a little bit glassier and bigger, looking at Alexia.

"Thank you for driving me," she said quietly, settling on the passenger seat. Alexia wanted to ask where her parents were, how could they have missed their daughter's debut at the highest level, but she decided against it. The last thing she needed was to delve into her mommy issues.

"Don't sweat it," Alexia replied. "It's nice to have company in the car. Drives get lonely."

After that, they were silent, as Claudia hummed the songs on the radio and Alexia focused on getting her to her apartment without checking the map. She had drove this path more than once, Claudia always being passed around by the players with cars.

"We're here," said Alexia, parking on a miraculous free spot.

"Merci, capi" said Claudia, picking her things up. Alexia ignored how the nickname made her feel. Claudia bent over to give her a goodbye kiss on the cheek, like she always did, but Alexia was shocked when she felt Claudia's lips on the corner of hers, close enough to be noticed, far away enough to claim it was a mistake.

The kiss lasted a second longer than it was proper, but it was enough for a crawling feeling to take over Alexia's stomach.

"Adéu," said Alexia, but she was talking alone, as Claudia slipped away quickly.

💙❤️

The next game was away at Germany, and the team was buzzing with excitement. Alexia kept to herself a little, claiming that she was a bit tired because a bad night sleep, and letting Irene and Marta take over the captain duties.

Claudia had been assured that she would be subbed in around the 60s mark, Pere was very excited to see what his new youngster could do. Her and Salma spent all the plane ride giggling, showing each other silly things in their phones.

Alexia watched them for a while, a bitter taste invading her.

She could feel the ghost of Claudia's lips on her, and could not stop thinking about the way she looked at her, blue eyes big and shiny, like she adored her.

It wasn't uncommon for the rookies to have admired Alexia for long, but Claudia made it feel different.

Alexia couldn't lie and say she was never endeared, but that endearment was turning into something inappropriate, that she could not allow to happen.

💙❤️

The room assignments at hotels were made at random, making sure everyone shared room with everyone, in an attempt to increase the team's chemistry. Nevertheless, it still caught Alexia by surprise when Claudia rolled her suitcase inside of her room.

Alexia hoped the stay would be uneventful, for the sake of her consciousness, but at night, when the lights were off, and sleep was hard to come by, she heard the sheets rustling in the bed nearby, as Claudia got up and crossed the distance between beds in a blink of an eye.

Alexia was laying on her side, facing Claudia, but she kept her eyes closed, thinking that if she pretended to be asleep, Claudia would leave her alone.

More rustling, this time from her bed, and soon she felt Claudia's body, accommodating against hers. Claudia's head was pressed to her shoulder, little whines leaving her throat as she tried to find a nice position.

Alexia gulped, the feeling of Claudia's bare thighs against her own was too much. But instead of pushing the girl away, Alexia threw an arm over her torso, pushing her closer to her body, and dropped a kiss to her hair, already feeling the grasps of guilt.

Claudia's whining died and was replaced by a short purring sound, before her breathing stabilised and Alexia was left alone with a sleeping teammate on her arms.

She was, oh, so fucked.

💙❤️

Alexia woke up to to her alarm clock. In her arms, Claudia groaned, pressing her forehead to Alexia's clavicle. Turning off the alarm was challenging, having Claudia in the way, but she managed.

Alexia sighed, wondering if Claudia would be able to hear her heartbeat.

"You're very comfortable," said Claudia.

It confused Alexia, how Claudia could be so normal about this, how she didn't seem to notice what she was doing could get her, them, in trouble. Like flirting with your decade older captain was not a dangerous game to play.

"Claudia..." she started, but her voice died down on her throat as Claudia looked up to her, eyes sleepy but burning with desire. She pushed up a little and drop a small, quiet kiss, this time fully on Alexia's lips. "This is not a good idea..."

Claudia hummed, eyes closing and and squirming a little. Alexia's thigh was lodged between hers, ans she let out a little sound that had Alexia tightening her grasp on Claudia.

"Capi..." She should have stopped it. She should have been the responsible, wise captain she had been trusted to be. But that silly nickname took away all her self control.

The kiss was messy. Tongue and teeth clashing, Claudia was moaning softly, as her hips started moving, using Alexia's thigh to get some friction. She was suddenly grateful they had both chosen to go to bed with only a t-shirt and panties, because now it was easier to slide her hands all over Claudia's back, up and down to hold her hips and help her move.

The noises Claudia was making, both of their shaky breaths, Alexia was glad the volume wasn't enough to make it through any walls, because she could not stop. She felt the wet patch on her thigh, and it drove her even more insane.

Her hands pulled Claudia's shirt up, so she could play and suck on her nipples. The moans got higher pitched and soon Alexia had to help Claudia with her shaky hip movements, until the rookie was coming all over her thigh.

"Alexia..." she exhaled, cheeks rosy and eyes glazed, Alexia bit her lower lip. "Ah... Let me..."

Claudia's hand travelled to her panties, she wanted to help Alexia have an orgasm too, but Alexia wasn't ready. She could not let her know how wet she actually was, how turned on she was because of their illicit kissing and humping.

"We're going to be late," she said. Claudia pouted. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to take it up with Pere."

Alexia couldn't see that Claudia agreed. If there was something she wanted more than Alexia, it was to carve her spot on the team.

"Alright." She nodded. "But later..."

"We'll see," said Alexia, trying to be as vague as possible, but it was obvious to the both of them that she would cave in sooner or later. "Vamos," she gave Claudia a light smack on her thigh, and the girl giggled as she leaped off the bed, picking up her clothes and pausing to get one more kiss before going to the shower.

Alexia sighed, as she heard the door close. She was so fucked it wasn't even funny.

[allbecauseoftheboys2]

Samuel sipped his beer and watched Angel and his mother yell at eachother in Cantonese. Samuel could never be entirely sure if they were actually fighting or just having an animated conversation, and he could only pick out some basic words. Whatever was happening, this was more interesting than the football game in the other room. Angel set a bowl of brussel sprouts on the counter with a thud. He gaped at something his mother said, and turned red. More shouting and gesturing. Angel's mother pointed at Samuel. Angel pulled a pie out of the oven. An oven mitt was thrown onto the counter. Angel's father's car pulled into the driveway; he had been out golfing with Samuel's brother. Angel's mother tsked, threw up her hands, and went outside to greet them. Angel harrumphed and drank a deep sip of wine. "My goodness, what was that all about?" Samuel asked after he had a sip. "My mother wanted to know why I'm not married yet," Angel grumbled. "To a woman?" "No, to you. She's fine with the gay thing, oddly. I think it's cause my sister's married with kids." Samuel raised an eyebrow. "What did she say earlier to offend you so much?" Angel folded his arms. "I told her that we were thinking of getting married, but like, we weren't sure yet. I can't quite explain to her, we're a different kind of couple." He gestured upward to the delicate gold chain around his neck. "And you know what she said to me?" "Mm?" Angel put a hand on his chest. "She had the AUDACITY to say that there used to be a parade of boys in my life, but since meeting you I have stopped sleeping with so many guys and moved in with you, so clearly I want to marry you. Sam, my mom called me a slut." Samuel laughed. "Oh sweetheart." "And sure, I did whore myself out at Folsom, but I thought I was being subtle with how many guys I mentioned having overnight..." Samuel gestured with an open palm. "Well, I mean, your mom has a point. If I domesticated a slut, it's my responsibility to house and feed them." "Domesticated?" Angel screeched. Samuel doubled over with laughter. Angel drank more of his wine. "I'm not a feral creature. Domesticated, my ass. Well. I am here making Thanksgiving dinner aren't I?" "You are. And you are doing a great job." Samuel set his glass down and embraced Angel from behind. "I'm teasing you, but I liked that you were slutty. You always knew what you wanted from other men, and got it. It impressed me." Angel leaned back against him. "Impressed huh. Are you're impressed a slut knows how to throw a Thanksgiving meal together?" "You always did like to be stuffed." Angel groaned. "Oh my god Samuel." But he couldn't suppress a giggle. "I'm sorry, I had to." "It was funny," Angel admitted. Samuel kissed his cheek. "I am pleased you are my slut now though, and that you want to live in my house and have Thanksgiving with me. I am grateful for you in my life." "Really?" "Yes. And I rather like the idea of marrying you." "You do?" "Yes." "Man, don't do that. You'd have my mom for a mother in a law," Angel said. Samuel shrugged. "I'll just have to learn how to yell in Cantonese then." "Did you understand any of that conversation we were having?" "No. I've realized that most of my knowledge of Cantonese comes from what you use in the bedroom." Angel blushed. Samuel whispered the words for "more", "harder", and "faster" in his ear, and he felt Angel's entire body go hot against his. "Oh Samuel, you stop that!" Angel hissed. "Don't tease me, especially since you know aren't letting me jerk off-" His family members came back in from putting the golf clubs away in the garage. Samuel gave him a pat on the ass. "Come on love, let's get dinner on the table. You can give me a language lesson later." "You are infuriating." Angel pointed a serving spoon at him. "You're lucky I like you." "Yeah so why aren't you married?" Angel's father asked. There was a beat of silence, and then another explosion of Cantonese. Samuel refilled Angel's glass of wine. _________________ Captions are fictional.

Roasted brussel sprouts with bacon

[gejo333]

Can you make a fic based off of wife!reader & husband!miguel?

Miguel was with his friends downstairs and they were pretty drunk after all those beers & Miguel had said something hurtful to reader? Just pure angst 🙂‍↕️🫶🏻

Your Spiderbite Hurts Me the Most

Miguel O’Hara x Wife Reader Oneshot

Sorry I haven’t answered this in so long!

Hope you enjoy it! 💕

Wc: 1.7k

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Your tired gaze stared half-heartedly at the paper in your hands. Another negative pregnancy test. As soon as you saw the result your crumbled up the paper and threw it into the bin underneath the sink. Taking a deep breath as you lean your hands against the marble counter top.

"Y/n! Where did you go?! We're out of beers down here!" Your husband's voice roared from downstairs followed by his boastful laugh.

You claw your nails against the palm of your hands daring for blood to spill. Not like your husband would care if you hurt yourself. Probably wouldn't blink an eye if you slit your wrists here and dropped dead on the bathroom floor. Your gaze went to the large sparkling rock on your left hand as you felt another piece of your heart break. With every fiber of your being did you miss the man who gave you this ring five years ago. How you would do anything in the universe to get that version of your husband back.

"Y/n!"

"Coming!"

You make sure you look presentable before rushing downstairs to the main living space. You put up a loving and happy smile as you head towards your husband who was sitting down on the sofa chair talking with his friends from work.

"Finally you come down. Can you get us more beer?"

"Is that seriously why you called me downstairs?" You chuckled trying to hide your annoyance.

"We're out of beer. I thought you could be a doll and go get us some more." Miguel slapped your ass making your face redden in embarrassment as you slap his hand away, glaring down at him. He and his friends only laughed in return as he grabbed you by the waist and placed you on his lap. You pulled back as you could smell the beer on his breath.

"Don't you think you've had enough?"

"I've heard enough of your complaining. Am I right?" He laughed followed by his other friends.

"Hey Miguel maybe you should go teach her a lesson in the bedroom." One of his guy friends chimed in. You felt your gut raise to your throat as you saw the creepy look on his face as he said that. God when did Miguel start hanging around such sleeze bags? You missed his old colleagues like Jess and Peter. But after your last miscarriage about a year ago you haven't seen them since. You honestly haven't seen your real husband either.

"How about you guys enjoy the football match and I'll pick up more beer and snacks for you." You get out of Miguel's lap before he can decide if he wants to take up his friend's suggestion.

Without evening a glance from your husband who went back to talking to his friends as you grab your coat, gloves, scarf, and purse and head out to the store.

The ice chill of a December night wrap around your body as you walk outside. Maybe you take the long way. Let him and his asshole friends wait longer.

As you walk on the street you notice all the Christmas decorations throughout the city. If anyone was in their apartment they wouldn't even know it was the festive holiday.

A couple not much older than you and Miguel walk past you, arm in arm enjoying each other company and whispering sweet comments. You felt extra cold on your right side, the side Miguel was always on when walking outside together arm in arm as you rest you head against his bicep. Now you rarely go anywhere together and when you do your always a foot a part from each other.

You quickly wipe a tear falling down your cheek as the couple walking past you briefly smiles at you in pity.

As you walk into the store you notice a woman look up at something in the sky in awe as you hear her say to someone, "Look! It's Spiderman."

You lazily walk down each isle trying your best to waste more time and annoy your husband. After getting the beer and chips your husband likes as well as a couple of bottles of Chardonnay for yourself you lazily push the cart passed the electronic section where quite a few people were stopped in front of the TVs watching the news.

"Wow that spiderman sure is amazing." Said one man.

"I saw him in person once. He is so big!" Said a woman.

"He has the perfect physique. I wonder if his face is just as attractive." Said another woman talking to her friend.

"I heard he has a deep voice." She replied.

"Whatever girl is with him is so lucky. I'm jealous."

You rolled your eyes from the conversation you eavesdropped as you decided you spent enough time in the store. Ever since this superhuman appeared from nowhere three years ago everyone in Nueva York has been adoring him. Sure, your grateful that the crime rate has gone down significantly, but you didn't understand the hype around him.

After checking out you head back to the penthouse apartment you supposedly called home. Despite such a horrible year between you and Miguel with the constant fights you still loved him with your whole being. You hope maybe one day the man you fell in love with would one day come back to you with a loving smile and open arms to hold you close.

You take a deep breath before sighing as you turn the key in the lock before entering. As you enter the living space all eyes were on you.

"Finally she's back. What took you so long? The store is only two blocks away."Miguel impatiently asked as he walked up to you and snatched the case of beer in your hands.

"Your welcome?" You lightly glare at him which he returns before heading back to the living space.

You stomp after him as he sits back in the same spot. He looks up to you in question for standing in front of him.

"Seriously Miguel?"

"Ooo someone is in trouble with the missus." Said one of his friends who became quiet when Miguel shot him a glare.

Miguel grabbed your waist and forced you to sit on his lap. With the death grip he has on your waist you dared not move.

"Your mind is in circles today. It must have been when you banged it earlier today when cleaning under the table. She such a clutz, no wonder she keeps having miscarriages. Even if we could have a full time pregnancy she probably wouldn't be a good mother either." Miguel chuckles.

A smack echoed in the room as his head was turned to the side with a large red mark and small scratch on his cheek from the large diamond on your wedding band. You immediately got out of his arms and stormed upstairs to your bedroom.

You laid on the bed facing the alarm clock on your side of the bed watching as the hours went by. It wasn't until the clock struck 3am that you heard Miguel stagger into the bedroom. You felt arms pull you against a warm body as lips met your neck.

You wiggled your body out of his grip.

"Por favor mi amor." (Please my love)

You turn your head to face him as you shoot him a light glare. "I'm not in the mood Miguel. Your words really hurt me. I can't barely stand to look at you right now."

You heard him sigh as a chill was felt against your back from the lack of his warmth. You felt the dagger in your heart press deeper, making it hard for air to come into your lungs.

The deafening silence was too much to bear as you immediately get up from the bed and head to the closet to get dressed. When your dressed you leave the bedroom to head downstairs, immediately your followed by your curious husband.

"Where are you going at this hour?"

"Out." You head to the front door to grab your purse. Before you could leave you were stopped by his hand around your wrist. You glared up at him.

"It's not safe for you to be out by yourself. If you need to go for a walk so badly let me come with you." You see concern in his brown eyes, making yourself almost consider his offer. His soft eyes briefly remind you of time before all this heartache. But his words from earlier appeared back in your mind and your bleeding heart once a again turned cold.

"I'm going on this walk to get space away from you." You opened the door a few inches before it was slammed closed again by an hand above you. Your back was against the door with Miguel right in front of you inches away. His fingers lift your chin as his eyes move from your lips to your eyes.

"Please don't go. At least wait till morning. Then we can go out and talk." His lips brushed against yours but before they fully met you pushed him back.

"No. I don't have anything to say to you. I'll only talk to the Miguel who loves me and treats me they way he use to and wouldn't dare speak the words you did today or have you been treating me this past year. If you keep this up...I don't...I don't think I can stay in this marriage any longer." You look to him, eyes wide in shock from your words before you opened the door and left.

As you made it outside you were relieved that he didn't follow you. You continue to walk until you find your self in Central Park where you find a bench.

As soon as you sit the tears fall down your face as you contemplate everything that's happen this year wondering what went wrong. Your weary body and mind succumb to the cold of the night as you pass out from exhaustion on the bench.

Miguel stood before your sleeping state. Reddish-brown eyes gaze down at the clear exhaustion shown in your face in worry as he picks you up bridal style, whispering, "I promise you'll shed no more tears after tonight."

————————————————————————

This definitely will have a sequel. I should have the next chapter of “An Unexpected Match,” out soon! Hope you enjoyed this one shot!

[norrisleclercf1]

Day 1 of 25 Days of Christmas: Decorating the House

Pairing: Mick Schumacher x Reader

Rating: PG

Words: 800

Warnings: None, just fluff

Mick didn't know how many boxes he could lug up the stairs. This was his sixth trip already, and there were still about 10 more boxes full of Christmas gifts. "Angel, are you sure we need all this?" Mick asked, his breath coming in short gasps. He was sweating, and it was the end of November in Switzerland. The sight of Mick struggling with the boxes was comical, and you couldn't help but chuckle. "Mick, it's Christmas, of course. We need all the boxes; what kind of question was that?" You ask, wrapped in garland.

"Angel," He sighs and returns to the basement to grab the rest of the boxes. You hum as the first snowfall starts to fall. You climb up the ladder to lay the garland on the fireplace mantel. It was a rather tall fireplace, one of those old-school brick ones, something you can rarely find, but this house in Switzerland was gorgeous, and the fireplace was the main selling point. Mick comes back up with a couple more boxes, and you can't help but giggle.

"I thought you WEC slash, F1 drivers were in perfect shape to drive?" You joke, and Mikc rolls his eyes and pulls you back, making you shriek as he catches you, kissing all over your face. "Please, you learned how in shape I was last night," He teases and slaps your ass gently before going back, making you blush.

"Touche," You yell and hear him giggle down the steps. Rolling your eyes, you climb the ladder and hum as Christmas music fills the house. Mick finishes bringing up more boxes, and you sigh, putting gold, red, and green ornaments throughout the garland. "Looks pretty, Y/n. Are we going traditional this year?" He asks, and you nod as you got a red and pink vibe last year.

"Yeah, figured we could give the old 90s Christmas vibe. What do you think?" You ask, and Mick smiles. "I think it'd be fun, come here," He says, holding his hand up and helping you down the ladder safely. "Want to do separate Christmas trees or one big one?" You ask, staring at your tree boxes. How about we do the outside porch ones and then the main one in the living room" He asks, and you think it over.

"Perfect," you smile, lean up, and kiss him gently, which has him pulling you close by the waist. Mick smiles into the kiss before pulling away. "Alright, we better start before we're doing this all day," Mick says as you nod and move in different directions. The Christmas music turns up as you two start decorating. You both move through the house, boxes and Christmas decorations thrown around.

"It looks like Santa threw up in here," Mick mumbles as he moves around stuff and fixes you two lunch. You sit on the counter watching your pretty husband. "I know, but think about how pretty our house is going to look, Micky," Mick chuckles and turns to steal a kiss as you smile; Mick turns back to making you two chicken salad ceaser wraps, and you swear you could marry him all over again. "I was thinking we hang lights in the house, just not in the Christmas tree," Mick says, licking his fingers before washing them and handing off your wrap.

You bite into it and moan slightly, "Micky, if I could marry you again, I would," you mumble, making him smile. Leaning forward, he steals a kiss, smiling. I'd marry you again as well," he hums and kisses you again as you two eat, watching the fresh snowfall. "What do you want for Christmas?" You ask gently, leaning your head on his shoulder. "I don't really know, kinda have everything already," He hums as Angie comes running in, lying at his feet.

"Come on, you must want something," you whine. What could you get someone who could get anything he wanted? "Actually, there is something I want," He mumbles, unsure how to bring up this conversation, but now was the perfect time. "Yeah, what's that?" You ask gently, taking the last bite of your wrap. "How about we start having kids?" He asks softly, and you smile gently. "Yeah, I'd like that," You smile softly as you turn and stare at all the boxes behind you.

"But before we try for kids, maybe we should finish decorating," you hum, causing Mick to groan softly and want to bang his head on the counter. "We have too many Christmas decorations," He whines, and you can't help but laugh a little. "Please, there is never enough," Mick shoots up, "Y/n, please, don't go shopping and buy more, please, baby," He begs, and you laugh, moving quickly through the house. You were never going to promise that.

[naomiknight-17]

Not naming names but one of my visiting relatives yesterday made a comment about referring to black people as 'Silverbacks'

And I was like, "If you call someone a gorilla, I think they should tear your arms off like one"

His laughter died. He did not make further racist comments

[misc-magic]

Ohh thank you for the tag, Eden!!

Mwahaha I gave myself cat ears because why not, right?? Also there were no freckles, so I went with those little diamonds instead lol.

how do you spend your free time?

I spend what little free time I have writing, doing a couple other hobbies, and trying to keep on top of my house, chores, and errands. And you know, trying to do it effectively despite the adhd lol!

what are your hobbies and how did you get into them?

I don't usually list writing as a hobby because it's more like my life's blood. I get irritable if I don't write. But my other main hobby is music. I play the piano almost every day. My guitar and ukulele are collecting some dust recently, but I will get back to those, too. Playing music is the most relaxing thing for me and I always end up wanting to pick instruments back up even if it's been a minute. As for how I got into it, I started playing the piano at the tender age of 9 and just never stopped lol. Reading is another big hobby of mine. I turned the formal dining room of my house into a library so I could have a place for all my piles of books. I'm in a reading slump currently, but I've learned to just let it be and eventually I will be consuming books like crazy again. This is another one I don't know the origin of, it's like I've been reading books as long as I can remember. (Other hobbies include crocheting, video games, DnD, journaling, and then there's a section of what I call "dead hobbies" as in I did them obsessively for a while but haven't done them in ages but might pick them up again in the future let us not discuss it adklfjkfj.)

what book or movie left a lasting impression on you?

This might be a really dorky answer, but... I read A Midsummer Night's Dream by good ole Billy Shakes when I was like twelve and it changed my brain chemistry forever. I don't know what it was about that play... I read a bunch of others around the same time and like I loved Macbeth and Othello and The Tempest. But there was something about all the fairies and fantasy that I think was the start of my obsession with all things magical lol.

what kind of music do you enjoy?

Ohhh it's constantly changing. When I'm listening to stuff with lyrics or that I want to sing along to, I'm really into folk, indie, jazz, neo soul, and k-pop, but like I also used to listen to a lot of alt rock and punk rock so I know a lot of those songs, too. I'll kinda switch between stuff, especially 90s rock is something I'll play when I'm feeling ~nostalgic~ lol. But when I'm listening to music for writing or concentration, it's all instrumental or in a language I can't speak. So I'm listening to a TON of piano music, classical, and lately my other obsession has been mandopop. I actually really love k-pop for this, too. It's like I can listen to these up beat poppy songs without getting distracted by the lyrics. And yo Mandarin is just a beautiful language to listen to. Anyway, I tend to like most music and I'm always looking for new stuff.

who is your favorite character (atm or all time) and why?

Because I couldn't hope to choose one for all time, I'll go with at the moment and that is none other than the time traveling demon butler Barbatos.

(Assuming here that we're talking about characters that aren't mine because they top the list every time lol. Though actually even if I listed the ones that are at the top, nobody would know them because they aren't my OM OCs and I've never posted about them here lkdfjkfj.)

Barbatos is just such a great character that was horrendously underutilized in his source material. They kinda made him the end all be all solution for when things got out of hand. He could fix any plot hole with a bit of time travel or ancient demon power. But he has so much more depth than that. And maybe in some ways, he reminds me of myself. He's quiet, but observant. He notices everything, keeps track of all the details about someone, remembers everything. The main difference between us is that my adhd makes me scattered, so Barbatos feels like the type of person I have the potential to be if I could keep it together. It's less about the fantasy of someone taking care of me and more about the fantasy of being competent lol. What does this say about me? Let us not look any deeper.

He's also just really cool and mysterious and who doesn't love a guy who can cook, right? His demon form design is top notch in my opinion, with those cool wing like horns and the tail. He's just great in every way and I've written several essays about him on my side blog al;kdfjkdlfj.

Weee that was fun and as usual I wrote too much lol.

OPEN TAGS~ if you are my mutual consider yourself tagged because I want to see all your answers!

tag + q&a game ₊˚ෆ

hello! i thought it would be cute and exciting to do a tag game with all my mutuals to not only talk about themselves, but have fun! so here is my short little game:

alongside this picrew, share 5 things about yourself!

• how do you spend your free time? • what are your hobbies and how did you get into them? • what book or movie left a lasting impression on you? • what kind of music do you enjoy? • who is your favorite character (atm or all time) and why?

i will start first!

my name is rurumi and i enjoy spending my free time writing!

some of my hobbies (outside of writing) includes: drawing, building gundams and keyboards, and fashion! i got into most of them on a whim and became instantly hooked. aside from self-expression, being into fashion also helps with making friends in college because you always have something to talk about!

a book that left a lasting impression on me would have to be either kafka on the shore by haruki murakami or before the coffee gets cold by toshikazu kawaguchi. both stories have kept me up at night thinking a lot about the 'what ifs' in life.

i enjoy soul/r&b alongside anything of jrock influence, but i will basically listen to anything that sounds good. i am currently listening to 'so what' by lucy!

my favorite character at the moment is rin itoshi from blue lock because hes so ridiculously edgy, but at the same time i sympathize with him a lot. on the other hand, my favorite character of all time is suletta mecury from the witch from mercury series, she's an absolute ball of sunshine that i aspire to be.

tagging (+ no pressure) ₊˚ෆ

@kaiser1ns @naenaex0xx @shomatoriashi @choccorin @ryescapades

@rindreamery @soleillunne @kissxcore @rainswept @mitsvriii

[famouscyclenerd]

Mor's reactions to Az and Elain is explained in his BC

this is my opinion btw, nothing's been confirmed.

I've seen both sides use her reactions to "prove" that their ship is endgame in whatever way. We don't have her pov in any of the scenes however.

So as of right now, we don't know why Sarah chooses to highlight Mor's reactions whenever there is an interaction between Elain and Az in her presence, but I have my theories, and ya'll already know it's not going in e/riels favor, SO BUCKLE UP MY DUDES WE'RE GOING FOR A RIDE!👹

I think it's important to note that Azriel and Mor's relationship has been slightly... turbulent throughout all of the decades they've known each other. Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been absolutely unstable, but there is a huge lack of communication on both sides that's been in dire need of resolvement in order for them to have a good and healthy friendship.

Although Sarah hasn't confirmed it, moriel was supposed to be endgame. PERIOD! I still can't believe there are moriel deniers. Reading ACOMAF, moriel was the plan and that's a !fact! (TRUST, I was there when MAF realeased and the couples were feysand, elucien, nessian and moriel) and it became evident in ACOWAR that she changed her mind on them for unknown reasons.

So what do we know about them and their feelings for each other? In MAF Feyre noticed Azriel reactions towards Mor. I honestly find that so fucking funny when "Beautiful, but near-unreadable." and "His skin was as cold as his face." is how Feyre first describes his face, yet she clocks his feelings for Mor almost immediately.

"It was almost enough to distract me from noticing Azriel as those shadows lightened, and his gaze slid over Mor's body (...) A wisp of shadow curled around Azriel's ear, and his eyes snapped to mine. I schooled my face into bland innocence."

"Mor patted Azriel on the shoulder (...) The lurking shadow vanished entirely as Azriel's head dipped a bit (...)"

This was the very first scene where Feyre observed Mor and Az together.

"Yes - Azriel, who kept a step away, whose shadows trailed him and seemed to fade in her presence."

I find this interesting since some of you can say: "GOTCHA! His shadows vanishes around Mor like they do with Elain and moriel was supposed to be endgame in MAF" but I don't think this is good for the e/riels at all, as Sarah kept this going even after she decided that they weren't going to be together. This basically established e/riel to be moriel 2.0 and it didn't work out the first time, so why would it work a second time?

I find it interesting when Feyre, Rhys, Cassian and Azriel leaves to go see Elain and Nesta for the first time - Azriel decided to leave behind his shadows.

"(...) No shadows trailed us, as if he'd left them in Velaris."

Why? Because he didn't want to unsettle the sisters as they were there to convince them to work with them.

"Then I shifted to the right, grateful those shadows were nowhere to be found (...)"

"But Azriel's attention was on my sister, a polite, bland smile on his face. Her shoulders loosened a bit. I wondered if Rhys's spymaster often got his information through stone-cold manners as much as stealth and shadows."

How sweet! First meetings :D

To speed things up a bit, we have Mor finally telling Feyre more about their relationship. How she's aware he wants her, but doesn't see himself good enough to be with her.

“He might have defied and proved those Illyrian pricks wrong at every turn, but it won’t matter if Rhys makes him Prince of Velaris—he’ll see himself as a bastard-born nobody, and not good enough for anyone. Especially me.”

This is very crucial and something I'll circle back to later!

Then we have the cauldron scene that seemed to be what would finally make a change in their so far static relationship.

"Faster than any of us could see, Jurian fired a hidden ash bolt through Azriel's chest. Mor screamed."

"Mor was shaking - trying hard not to, but shaking as she stared at the protruding end of that arrow, visible between the gap in Azriel's wings."

"Jurian's sword was already out - and he was looking at Mor as if he was going to kill her first. Azriel's blood-drained face twisted with rage as he noticed that stare."

"Azriel cried out in pain. She froze."

"Mor looked at Azriel and there was real fear there. Fear - and something else. She didn't stop moving until she kneeled beside him and pressed a hand to his wound. Azriel hissed - but covered her bloody fingers with his own."

I've said this before and I'll say it again. If you know SJM terminology, you know what the "something else" means. This was the mating bond snapping into place for Mor. We were all waiting for it to be adressed in ACOWAR, but clearly that never happened.

As of WAR and FAS, Azriel's feelings for Mor doesn't waver. He continues to stare after her with longing, hunger, sadness whatever - even with Elain in the room fyi. But Mor's feelings for him has been changed irrevocably - as Sarah decides to sink the moriel ship once and for all by telling us Mor is not romantically interested in men, something Az is not aware of, as far as we know. And she continues to sleep with men, which makes him confused and hurt. Their relationship remains the same as it always has been.

So with this out of the way, let's take a look at Mor's reactions to e/riel!

"Azriel's hazel eyes churned as he studied my sister, her too-thin body. And without a word, he winnowed away. Mor watched the space where he'd been standing long after he was gone."

This is... an interesting reaction and something that Sarah obviously wants us to notice. So why is that?

"Az said nothing. No, he just moved toward her. Mor tensed beside me."

Ah, the lovely potato scene! As I was re-reading it, there really was nothing romantic about it whatsoever. Rhys explaining why, as this was more to highlight Azriel's ptsd than show any romantic indication between him and Elain.

However, Mor's reaction is certainly something to note on. She tenses as she watches them. And in here comes my reasoning as to why Az's POV is so important to her reactions. Because previously, we see Elain and Az together through other people's eyes, and it can come across as very sweet and innocent, ♫the start of something new♪ perhaps. But the BC really just threw any sliver of a chance for e/riel out the window, imho.

There was simply nothing sweet about Azriel's inner thoughts as he was interacting with her. His self worth is at an all time low around her, meaning it has most likely always been like that whenever they've been together.

He is so aware of his own flaws, his status, his looks etc and basically comparing himself to her. She is so flawless and good and he is this ugly monster.

"Az tried not to look at his scarred fingers as they took the gift."

"His shadows skittered back at the sound. They'd always been prone to vanish when she was around." ← as they do with Mor

"Letting his scarred fingers touch her immaculate skin."

"Wrong - it was so wrong."

"She looked up at him, her face so trusting and hopeful and open that he knew she had no idea that he had done unspeakable things that sullied his hands far beyond his scars."

"Such terrible things that it was a sacrilege for his fingers to touch her skin, tainting her with his presence."

"He hadn't gotten that far with his planning, certainly not beyond the fantasies he pleasured himself to." ← this is straight up diabolical💀

Although we have never gotten Az's POV when he's around Mor, I imagine it to be very similar in terms of how he views himself and them. And I think Mor understands this. When she looks at Elain and Az, she sees herself and him. And I think her heart breaks for him as she watched history repeat itself, likely knowing that there isn't much she can do but watch as he self destructs again and again.

As I mentioned, this makes me look at e/riels interactions differently when knowing how Az views himself around her. I believe this made every interaction between them, that could carry hints of potential romance, into something much darker than what it seemed like on the surface. And I think Mor sees this, as well as Rhys.

This kinda leads into a post I was planning on writing, but couldn't be bothered. But it was about Az and Rhys and how as of SF, the character that knows Az the best is Rhys. And we see Rhys shut down any e/riel interaction known to man. Feyre: "how handsome they could be together" and Rhys: "Azriel has been preoccupied with the same female for five hundred years" etc.

With the bonus chapter in mind, I have a headcanon that, like Feyre did to Lucien, Rhys used his daemati powers on Azriel and essentially read what we read, leading to him interrupting them as he (like many of us) did not view what was happening as something romantic. If you read on a surface-level, what Rhys did could appear mean, but to me, he did this because he cares for his brother and that particular kiss would not make Azriel feel better about himself. At all!

"What of Mor, Az?" Azriel ignored the question." ← He is not completely over her, even in SF.

If my headcanon is true (which we might never even find out) I just have to point out that Feyre found no ill will when it came to Lucien's regard for Elain, only concern, sorrow, longing etc. Compared with Rhys and Az, where good intentions was not on the table, but simply lust and self-hatred on Azriel's end at least.

I'm not sure why Sarah decided to toy around with e/riel except because Azriel was suddenly available after she decided to ditch moriel, but I do believe that they've turned into nothing but a red herring for gwynriel and elucien. And it worked, a little too well maybe.

See I could pull in my girl Gwyn and her scene with Azriel to compare and show the contrast of it, but I'm not going to..

"The young priestess smiled - and he thought it might have been directed at his curious shadows."

This is already... so different to what we've seen with the other two.

"He blocked out the bloody memory that flashed, so at odds with the Gwyn he saw before him now."

He thinks about her and how far she's come compared to when they first met.

"Her breath curled in front of her mouth, and one of his shadows darted out to dance with it before twirling back to him. Like it heard some silent music."

"He blinked. It wasn't every day that people took him by surprise, but..."

This is just cute c:

"Azriel couldn't help his soft chuckle."

"(...) rubbing his hands against the cold, grateful for its bracing bite and the distraction of this impromptu lesson."

He is aware of his hands and not thinking about how "ugly" they are when she is around him. He is also happy about this surprising lesson, not at all interested in being alone to mope anymore.

"Azriel laughed."

"(...) something restless settling in him. Even his shadows had calmed. As if content to lounge on his shoulders and watch."

You already know. But Az was in a shitty mood right before this, and it did not take much of Gwyn to calm him down, leading him to feel slightly better about himself and even feeling like he could get some sleep after all.

Compared to both Mor and Elain, his shadows are present and interacting with her and she's paying attention to them as well. Which is a first. And let's not forget the ✨spark✨

Which of these three ladies is better for Azriel? Mor and Elain are basically the same for him, himself and his shadows reacts more or less the same around them. Or Gwyn, which read in a lot more positive note than the previous two?

I think Sarah knows at least🤷‍♀️

[seobinghard]

𐙚⭑𓂃 LOVE ON THE STREET ✰

➤ you and wooyoung embark on a top-secret mission to stalk hongjoong on his date but find yourselves unceremoniously caught up in a scandalous street interview for a reality dating show. yikes.

best friend!wooyoung x fem!reader ⭑ tags: crack, fluff, wooyoung's the biggest flirt, hongjoong mentioned. ⭑ wc: 1k (i think) ⭑ tw: profanity, mention of d word in a sarcastic context.

"i'm telling you, they're like ninjas."

you and wooyoung are on a classified mission to stalk hongjoong on his first date and let's just say, it's not looking too good for you two nosy mfckers.

you keep losing track of the couple, there's too many people at the plaza, and you're sweating your assess off under the midsummer sun trying to navigate your way through a sea of shoppers.

"woo, i think i'm gonna faint," you breath out. "like, actually."

"grab onto me," wooyoung tells you, tightening his grip on your interlaced hands as he leads you through the crowded square, unaware of the blush that's crept up your cheeks. "oh! wait, i see them! let's go!"

hand-in-hand, you sprint across the streets like two stray chickens charging at their prey—hongjoong and his date, chatting about outside a buzzling pizza stand with not a single clue they're being followed.

wooyoung spots a bush near a lemonade stall opposite the pizza stand. "there! let's hide. i need to know what the fuck they're talking about."

talk about the nosiness, you got nothing on wooyoung.

you both scurry over to the bush, keeping your heads low. but just as you're meters away from your hideout, you're stopped in your tracks by a group of people and a gigantic microphone being shoved in your faces.

"what the fuck!" wooyoung hisses, eyes darting to the pizza stand only to realise hongjoong is gone. his targets nowhere to be seen.

"spotted! a cute young couple!" the street interviewer—a woman no older than thirty—chirps merrily, signalling her sound crew to come closer. "do you mind introducing yourselves and share with us how long you've been dating?"

you spot a pink logo on the mic—'LOVE ON THE STREET'.

oh my god. this isn't some lowkey tiktok street interviewer with 20k followers looking to grow her channel. no, this lady's an actual tv host with a whole production crew and you're on national fucking television for a reality dating show. oh my god.

your jaw is on the ground and wooyoung is pissed.

"we're not dating and we're not interested," wooyoung politely rejects with a frown.

he grabs your hand and attempts to make a dash but is blocked by the camera man who unabashedly zooms in on your interlocked fingers.

"ooooh, what do we have here—you're holding hands!" the host chimes cattily. she sounds like one of those scandalous reality tv commentators; very 'gossip girl'-esque. "you guys sure you're not dating?"

wooyoung's patience is running thin. "alright, what do you want?"

"bro, we're on tv! don't be rude!" you whisper quietly.

wooyoung hasn't let go of your hand. instead, he looks straight into the camera with a deadpan look like a scene from the office and says, "what do you want me to say, huh? that we're dating? oh! guess what? we're actually married. yes, yes, that's right. shocker. baby, show 'em your ring."

"what ring!" you hiss quietly in his ear.

wooyoung continues with the most serious face, lying straight through he teeth, "we've also got a golden retriever and three kids. a nine year old, a seven year old and a toddler—"

"woah, you guys have been busy! a nine year old? correct me if i'm wrong but you both look so young!" the host laughs dramatically.

"yeah, we're high school sweethearts. got a problem?"

you want to die. he did not just insinuate you're teen parents.

"n-no, no!" the host corrects herself, "and are you two lovebirds on a date?"

wooyoung casts her a devilish grin, "yes, and if you don't mind, my wife is tired and we need to leave."

with that, wooyoung whisks you away as quick as he can into the ac-ventilated coolness of the shopping mall. he still hasn't let go of your hand.

a calm silence settles between the both of you. the air feels different. none of you brought up the whole interview and none of you seem like you want to continue mission 'stalk hongjoong' after running around town like headless chickens in the heat. so you decide to settle down in a baby blue booth at a japanese dessert cafe somewhere on level five by the wall-to-ceiling windows.

"you don't like the cake?" wooyoung asks before taking a long slurp from his strawberry milkshake.

you glance down at the strawberry cream cake, mindlessly poking the icing-dusted strawberry with your fork. "it's good."

"why aren't you eating?"

maybe because you just announced to the whole world we're married with three kids and a dog ??? — is what you want to yell at him but instead, you calmly lie, "i have ibs."

wooyoung lets out a verbal 'LOL' then proceeds to rake his bag for a familiar green bottle of ibs medication. you don't even realise he's been carrying one of those with him. he hands you a pill. "take this."

"thanks," you mutter, pretending to swallow the pill only to swiftly spit it back into your palm when he's not looking.

ugh, why does it feel so awkward all of a sudden. awkwardness and wooyoung has never coexisted, even during your most embarrassing moments like that one time in eleventh grade when he walked in on you with nothing but your spongebob underwear on. or that one time he farted in the car and you almost died from the fumes. it's always been fun and games with wooyoung. nothing is ever serious for the both of you—that's why you click.

until now.

"y/n, what's wrong? i can see it in your face so don't even lie to me," wooyoung threatens playfully as he steals a bite from your cake.

"i don't know."

what you do know is wooyoung looks so good today with his long black hair, slicked back in a half-up ponytail with the hair tie he stole from your vanity. a few loose strands of hair covers his eyes; eyes that are gazing into yours like it's harbouring something you don't know. his ears are studded with chrome hearts earrings and a matching necklace that dangles off his neck—his favourite. he's wearing the black tee you got for him last christmas. the thought makes you flustered and you can't help but look away.

and of course, wooyoung being quick-witted and sly, instantly catches the dust of pink on your cheeks and smirks, "holy shit, y/n, are you ... shy?"

"no, i'm not!"

"you are!" wooyoung laughs, "no way, is it because of that interview?"

"oh my god, stoppp," you let out a muffled shriek in your palms.

wooyoung is enticed. he's never seen you this shy around him and honestly, he could really get used to it.

"oh, y/n," he coos, drawling your name in a tone so sweet, so flirty it makes your stomach flutter with a million butterflies. "if you wanna get married, you could've just asked, silly girl."

he leans in from across the table and whispers, "you want my babies?"

you gawk at him in horror and flick a strawberry at his face.

"ah–" wooyoung yelps, wiping off the smeared cream on his eyelid, "you almost made me blind! the fuck– wait, where are you going?"

you pick up your bag and hurriedly scoot out of the booth. "away from your stupid ass. i can't be in the same space as you right now."

"what, is it 'cause i'm too hot?" wooyoung grins, "just sayin', we'd make a hot married couple, you and me– baby, come back!"

[artbyblastweave]

omg hiiii, wanted to drop in and ask your opinios on Jay Maniac's trio of parahuman video essays that rewired my brain chemistry and approach to writing forever, good day!! :3

uno, dos, tres!

Solid overall, bonus points for being one of the only commentators besides myself who remembers that The Reckoners trilogy was a thing.

These are, among other things, a good rundown of an idea that I think is basically thoroughly in the Worm fandom groundwater at this point- the idea that the entities are, on some level, representative of us- both the authors and audience of the story, driving it from both directions at once. Why do all these wildly improbable and contrived things happen? Because we want to see it happen. I also think trying to frame the various parahumans as the embodiment of various literary devices is a fun exercise, although that one is far less generally applicable outside of a couple characters who're doing it very aggressively in response to extremely specific comic book tropes.

Leading in from that, one thing I'd add is that I think that the audience and writers being metaphorically real within the fiction is relatively common, but with Worm there's some specificity- it's usually being metatextual specifically about the American superhero comics industry rather than fiction in general, and with a definitive undercurrent of exhaustion. The entities do this dance again and again and again- each time with more refinement and complexity and bombast, but fundamentally it's a formula that can't actually address the underlying problem they're directing it at, and it speaks to their overall creative bankruptcy despite their skill at remixing extant elements. Why is Jack Slash still alive? Because he's a fan favorite so we're stuck with him. Why is this any of this still happening? Well, they keep buying floppies every month. How are we still doing this? How is this sustainable? Aren't you tired yet? Don't you want to just go apeshit? Don't you want to flip the board?

[constantfragmentation]

I liked the idea of Caitvi developing and growing, but we can't forget that they've only known each other for a hot second. It's an infatuation at best. Their relationship had potential, good and bad. It could be interesting.

Treating them like they have been a couple/romance when it hasn't been the case and the way Cait treats Vi is, in a way, not surprising. Her mother was more important. Vi was just someone she met/attracted to. Yes, she risked for Vi, BUT she also had a larger goal -- to find the culprit (Jinx and her benefactor behind it all, Silco).

My problem with S2, is all the good things Cait did in S1, trying to view Zaun in a light she had not known and help them... all of that is essentially thrown out the window when her mother dies. She's willing to punish all of Zaun for what Jinx did and by extension, Vi as well.

Jinx STILL should have been more critical to Vi than Cait. Cait treated Vi like dirt under her nails and shown her true colors (until facts came into play that contradicted the dictator ass she had been), but that doesn't make Caitvi healthy at all. Jinx would always been a spot of contention between them.

Jinx leaving so her sister could be happy with a girl she hardly knows?

Again, S2 was rushed to hell and back. If they had spent time developing Caitvi better, these actions might work even though I would disagree with them for the character's benefit. Sadly, we don't get any time with most of the characters to flesh out how and why they make these choices. We're just meant to accept it instead and I will constantly say this is lazy writing.

One more season would have been able to get these characters to the end the writers wanted (which I still don't care for) while creating good plot and development that makes sense.

I haven't stanned Arcane S1 for the music montages, action sequences... it was for the infectious character driven drama.

S2 dropped the fucking ball and I can't be convinced otherwise. All the characters deserved better.

"Jinx left so Vi wouldn't have to choose between them, she left so Vi could finally be happy"

Is anyone else bothered by the implication that a relatively NEW girlfriend would be capable of making someone just as if not MORE happy than healing their relationship with their sister, who they spent YEARS wanting to make up with?

Me personally, I can get over a bad breakup. But if either of my sisters DIED, or simply chose to actively walk out of my life forever, that would fucking break me. I would not, in fact, move on. And maybe it's different for you guys, but Vi consistently spent an entire season trying to find and make up with Jinx. I don't know what the hell happened in season 2, but her saying "the only thing that kept me going was the thought of getting back to you" about her 7-year prison sentence doesn't sound like "I'll be better off with this girl I've dated for a total of 2 weeks".

Why is there an immediate assumption that any romantic relationship holds just as much if not MORE weight than any platonic/familial one? I'm sorry but why is it even a contest? I'm fully convinced that in season 1, had Jinx not demanded Vi kill Caitlyn- aka take a life, ANY life- and instead asked for LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE, she'd have done it. Remember what she said? She said they could leave the entire city behind, just the two of them, and never come back. She was ready to leave their home, leave Caitlyn, leave all of it, for Jinx. Because at the end of the day, all she wanted was her sister back. But suddenly season 2 rolls around and it's "Caitlyn makes her happier." When? Where? How? I don't see any scenes of Caitlyn making Vi happy. Oh but she did hit her though, after getting upset that Vi didn't want her to shoot at a kid.

I'm sick of romantic relationships being taken as "naturally" being the priority. Maybe if you're married with kids or something, you'll prioritize your partner over your friends, sure (but if you have kids they still take priority over your partner IMO). But a 2-week-long situationship? I've known people who get ghosted after longer than that. Fucking be real with me.

I'm simply not convinced that Caitlyn should matter this much to Vi so quickly. It shouldn't even be a competition. I genuinely cannot imagine Vi, who's SOLE MOTIVATION in season 1 was Jinx, and who's SOLE MOTIVATION in EVERY UNIVERSE and TIMELINE was her FAMILY, would ever "move on" and "be happier" with any romantic partner. Callous as it may sound, she can always get another girlfriend. There's no replacing her sister.

[lkfarrout]

Deal (family fic) teen!Stan

Summary: Stan learns some unsavory truths about his father. (I've been watching The Sopranos too much)

Warnings: angst, injury, antisemitism, swearing

"Hey, Sixer, you think tomorrow you can take a break from your project and go down to the beach with me?"

Ford smiled at his twin and nodded through a mouth full of food.

Their father interrupted, "Not so fast, knucklehead," he was looking at Stanley, "I got a job for you tomorrow."

Stan rolled his eyes.

"Stanley," his mother glared at him, "not at the dinner table."

Filbrick continued, "I'm taking you to the car dealership with me. It's time you learned the art of the deal."

Stanford set his fork down, "We're getting a new car?"

Stanley's eyes got wide, and he jumped up, his chair legs scraping on the kitchen floor, "Does this mean I can have the caddy?!"

His father just shook his head, and Stan sat back down.

"C'mon, Pop, I'll buy it off ya. I've been saving up."

"Stanley, I paid six thousand for that Diablo."

"I'm almost there! Give me a couple months, I'll-- I'll work Sundays!"

"We'll see. But if you get one more speeding ticket, you can forget it."

Stan leaned his head on one hand and silently picked at his dinner.

---

A few days later, Stanley helped his father close the pawn shop. Just as he flipped the sign to "closed" a vehicle pulled up out front and three men in suits got out.

Filbrick jumped a little at the sight of them and quickly closed the cash register, "Stanley, upstairs."

One of the men knocked on the door with the back of his hand and peered through the glass.

"What? Pop, who--"

"Now!" His father pointed toward the back room, where the other staircase to the apartment was.

Stan exited the room, but hesitated at the bottom of the stairs. He heard the bell on the shop door ding as it opened.

"We're closed."

"Any badges come through here lately, Fil?" The man had a thick New York accent.

Stan peered back around the corner, unnoticed, as the three men pushed their way into the shop.

Filbrick spat back, "I haven't said shit, Aldo. What do you want?"

One of the others spoke up, "Nico's sittin' in a cell, and we're here to collect bail."

Nico? Aldo? Stan had never met these men before, but he knew an Italian name when he heard one.

"This wasn't part of the deal," Filbrick stood his ground. "I buy your stolen shit and keep my mouth shut when the cops come around. Ain't my fault if you get--"

Before he could finish his thought, Aldo's fist came crashing into Filbrick's jaw.

"I don't make deals with greedy fuckin' jews."

Filbrick stumbled backwards into the counter, and Stan had to stop himself from running into the room. Deal? Stolen? What the fuck is going on? Stan thought.

"I don't have any money to give you." Filbrick coughed and rubbed his jaw.

"That shiny new car in the alley says otherwise."

Aldo grabbed Filbrick by the shirt, "And if you don't want your wife to watch me break all your fuckin' teeth on the curb, you'll find some money, Pines."

Stan sprinted up the stairs, found what he was looking for, and was back in time to watch his father get hit in the gut several times.

"I told you, I don't--" Filbrick panted.

"Hey!" Stan burst through the doorway and the three men whipped around. Aldo let go of Filbrick's shirt and he fell to the floor.

"Stanley, I told you to stay upstairs." He held his stomach and coughed.

Stan ignored him, addressing the mafiosos instead, "How much?"

"Oh look, the kid's got some chutzpah," one of them laughed.

"Leave him alone." Filbrick stumbled to his feet, but Aldo turned on him again.

"How 'bout I break your fuckin' nose, old man?"

Stan stepped closer, "Hey! The bail. How much?"

Filbrick protested, "Stanley, don't."

Aldo laughed, "I'll humor you kid. Four grand."

Stan pulled an envelope from his back pocket.

"I have five and a half here if you get out and forget this."

One of the other men came forward and snatched the envelope from Stan and quickly rifled through it. He passed it to Aldo, who clapped Filbrick on the shoulder, "See Pines, that wasn't so hard."

"Get the fuck out of my shop."

Stan locked the door once they exited. His father leaned on the counter, breathing heavily.

"Pop?"

No response. Stan picked his father's hat off the floor and handed it to him.

"Pop, who were they? Was that... the mafia?"

Filbrick took his hat, "You should have stayed upstairs like I told you."

"They were gonna hurt you!"

Filbrick just sighed. He started to dig around in his pocket, and pulled out a set of keys.

"If your mother asks, I sold you the car."

"What?"

"Take them," Filbrick held the keys out to him. "The El Diablo, it's yours."

Stan took the keys and turned them over in his hands a few times. "...Thanks, Pop."

"Not a word to anyone about this, even to Stanford."

"Okay... are you alright?"

"I'll be fine.... Well, what are you waiting for, a kiss on the cheek?"

[lizardsfromspace]

Every Modern Sitcom Christmas Episode

"It's Christmas time again, and here I am, narrating about how it's sad and how shopping sucks. I really doubt my friends will come through and make this holiday special in a kind of ironic way."

"Don't be redonkulus, we're the only characters on this show. Of course we'll show up. It's a contractual obligation."

"Gasp!"

_______

"It's Christmas again -"

"And Hanukah."

"Whoa, I didn't realize you, wacky supporting character, was Jewish!"

"It's cool. Don't worry about forgetting. The writers will forget after this episode too. Next year's Christmas special will be all about how I love celebrating Christmas and always have. Only black character on the show, what do you think?"

"I think that makes more sense than Kwanzaa."

"Do you have any other lines besides making fun of Kwanzaa?"

"No"

_______

"Man, I have to go get this toy everyone wants for Christmas. I'll go to the store -"

"Wait, but we don't really have Tickle-Me-Elmo-sized phenoms anymore. Or stores. Don't you mean order off Amazon -"

"That isn't compelling on screen, everyone writing a sitcom in 2024 was frozen in a block of ice like twenty years ago, and Jingle All the Way is nostalgic enough to parody now. Isn't that right, special guest Sinbad?"

"I'm Sinbad from Jingle All the Way!"

"Yes you are!"

_______

"Huh, it's good that our found family is all together for friendsmas, but huh - who left this gift under the -"

BLAM!

"What was -"

"Mark, why are you shaking? Is that a gun -"

"I'm...I'm sorry. I saw someone coming in the door and I...I panicked!"

"That's...you shot a man's head off."

"Why is he disappearing into his red suit - my god!"

"Mark, you just killed Santa! Santa was real! And now he's dead!"

"Why am...why am I fading away? My hands - Mark -"

"No...no...she's gone...will they or won't they couple! Oh, god, their flesh is melting together!"

"We were on a break...we were on a break...we were on a break...weeeeeeeee wereeeeeee on a breaaaaaaaak..."

"No, no, I think...every Christmas we get a mystery present and they cut away to the snow falling....sleigh bells play...but it's only a implication! It's only a implication! The house...the tree...the snow..."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry everyone. Magic...magic is disappearing, our reality is...friends? Found family? Anyone?"

_______

"Time for my closing narration. Well, all of mankind has stopped existing and I'm trapped in a endless white void as punishment for my crime. It's totally redonkulus. It was truly one of the Christmases ever. Hahahahahahahahahahahahhahahhaₕₐₕₐₕₕₐₕₐₕₕₐₕₐₕₐₕₕₐₕₐₕₕₐ

[unluckywisher]

MI CIELO !!!!!! DROPPING A predictable REQUEST IN YOUR INBOX BEFORE I HEAD TO SLEEP <3 anything with comfort vibes for luke (and/or?) kieran pretty pretty pleaseeeeeee 🥰🥰🥰🥰

BNUUY! Hehehe okay 🥰 (that bun is so cute i'm planting my face on its fur 😭)

Twinkle Toys was holding a promotional event as a new plushie had been introduced: The ever elusive Double Trouble, two smol round birbs stacked on top of each other. Of course, you were determined to get it.

But it was no use. The claw would drop it every time, since its shape was slippery. You had spent a lot of money by now, so you decided to take a break and visit the N109 Zone.

Sylus was away at a business meeting with a dealer, so Luke and Kieran were the ones to greet you. They were quick to notice your less-than-happy mood.

You explained the situation with the plushie. "Why don't we get it for you?" Luke suggested. "Yeah, we've had to deal with many situations in our line of work. How difficult could it be?" Added Kieran.

They changed into their 'plain clothes', much more casual - a hoodie and jeans, though they were still wearing a face mask covering the lower half of their faces and a cap to cast a shadow over their eyes.

Entering Twinkle Toys once again, they looked around with awe. It seemed like they had never been at one of these establishments.

You pointed at the accursed claw machine, housing the plushie, almost mocking you. They frowned at it, Luke pointing at his eyes with two fingers, then pointing at the plushie, and Kieran shaking his head disapprovingly at the machine. They only wanted to make you smile with their theatrics, really.

Since you had explained you had already spent a bunch of money, they refused to let you spend more. Plus, they looked really excited to try all of this for themselves.

Tray of spare change in hand, you three stood in front of the claw machine.

You were the first to try, since you had to explain the controls to them. Once again, the plushie flopped down before it could reach the exit chute. You sighed, "See?" They nodded in understanding.

Luke was next. He had a face of pure concentration, and you guessed he was probably sticking his tongue out under the mask. The claw missed the plushie completely. You had to hold back laughter. Luke facepalmed against the control panel and Kieran pat his back to comfort him.

Kieran's turn. He took his time to set the claw right above the plushie, learning from his brother's impulsiveness. It caught on, and for a moment you thought this might be it, but just like it had happened to you, it fell out of the claw's grasp. Kieran threw his hands up in frustration.

An hour went by, your hands still empty. More importantly, your tray with spare change also empty. "This this is rigged!" Luke said, kicking the bottom of the machine and regretting it fast with an 'ow'. Kieran nodded, huffing.

More than anything, you had enjoyed their reactions and their company in your misery, so you weren't that upset anymore. You shrugged, "It's okay. At least you tried. Thank you!" And hugged them both. They hugged you back.

When you pulled back, however, they had a mischievous glint in their eyes. "Why do you talk like we're done here?" "What do you mean?"

You ran. You ran so fast, giggling. There were so many plushies in your arms, in Luke's arms, in Kieran's arms... An angry Twinkle Toys employee chased you for a couple of streets, but you eventually lost him. You stopped in a hidden alley to catch your breath.

Perhaps using the twin's skills to break open the machine and get all the plushies was wrong, but with how much money you had spent already in the establishment, it was practically fair. They were very satisfied with themselves.

"Don't worry, I'll hack their cameras and erase all the footage of our crime later." Reassured Kieran. "These plushies are really cute." Said Luke, hugging all the ones in his arms.

"Well, I don't need this many plushies so, you can keep the ones you got!" You smiled. There were at least ten in your hold. "Thank you."

The tips of their ears turn visibly red. "It's nothing... We're happy we could help you!"

Their beds at Onychinus' base had been decorated with a pile of Double Troubles ever since.

[sorrysisx]

In honor of you graduating high school, your sister took some time away from college over winter break to help you celebrate with her!

The weekend started as well as you could've hoped. She immediately took you around to your shared favorite spots around the city, treating you here and there with a few gifts whenever something clearly caught your eye. She was spoiling you and it felt so, so good.

"I would've made it and brought gifts if I could, but hopefully this makes up for it!"

That night when you both got home she pulled out a bunch of booze from the back of her car, and some blunt from her jacket pocket. That explains part of why she smelled so funny.

You tried telling her that you weren't interested, that it would be wrong for you to have any of that stuff. You weren't 21 yet, and you didn't want to get your big sister in trouble.

"Cmonnnn, everyone knows teenagers get weed and booze! No one cares! Besides it's not like we're going out, we have the house to ourselves! C'mon, we'll just have a couple!"

how many bottles did you drink?? She made you take so many

how much did you smoke? Whenever you were coughing your lungs out she was sparking up something else before you could even see clearly.

You tried saying no, you really did, but, well...

"you don't wanna be lame, right?"

before long, you were in her lap. She was breathing down your neck, against the cusps of your ears, and her hands held you in place with a grip that was turning her knuckles more white with each passing second. .

You felt her shaking she was holding you so tightly.

The smell of alcohol and cheap weed floats past your ear when she whispers.

"look at her," she mumbles, gripping your jaw to force your gaze back to the TV.

the girl on the screen was sobbing, a thong stuffed into her mouth as another woman fucked her senseless. Her hips looked bruised, soaked, and every now and again the girl fucking her reached down and rubbed her as fast as she could. The girl tensed up and pulled at her restraints as something sprayed out from between her legs.

"Doesn't that look fun, sis?"

her voice was getting low. it was getting scary. you couldn't get your wrist free, you couldn't move your head. She moved her hand up, making your eyes split open in fear, just in time for you to see the girl on screen get whipped.

"You'd be so pretty if I got to do this to you."

You hear your heartbeat in your ears, as a hand squeezes your tits together.

"You're so fucking pretty, baby girl" she mumbles, and you try to move away when she puts a hand between your legs.

but you were so, so stoned. so, so drunk.

maybe, if you closed your eyes, you'd wake up.