#what i want to say is that there's a whole level of shit you have to work through when you used to love someone that ends up being the worst

[fangbanger3000]

a last note on the ai-fic bullshit

a couple days ago, a person i had never spoken to before shared my call-out post on x with the earnest intention of spreading awareness of the issue. she was attacked and harrassed so harshly by the same group of people who have been dragging my friends and i through the mud that she ended up having to deactivate.

this group of perpetrators then did their very best to turn this whole conversation on its head by accusing the poster of being anti-solavellan, of sharing the post with malicious intentions of dividing the fandom and tearing down amateur writers, and grouping her and i/my friends as antis and what not.

my thoughts on that development aren't any that i can express with any diplomacy or maturity whatsoever, but @drakonmo herself did a wonderful job at gracefully carving out the very important conversation we, as fans, need to have within our communities. whether you observed or participated in the conversation surrounding the silence and the song and the following shitstorm, i strongly urge you to read her post (here) (on x).

tldr/to those who might be in a rush, let me pull out some highlights:

by deleting the evidence and refusing to acknowledge the public claims were ever made, these people who despise me and wanted to foment discourse could succeed, armed with the trust and respect of loyal followers.

suddenly, the entire wall of text of explanations, of signs, of concerns were reduced to nothing but one portion of the whole. people began to attack OP and me and write threads, posts, etc, saying we were insulting all creators everywhere and we were - singlehandedly - the reason people didn't share their artwork.

clearly, these people argued, this insult and injury to all writers everywhere was a sign of these posts being a hate campaign. suddenly people could completely ignore the fact that the OP is a HUGE shipper, and i have been the world's most vocal proponent of shipping the particular character with anyone and/ or everyone.

i saw some people ask questions - what's happening, what's the drama, what's the situation? and they believed blindly the first things said to them without even trying to seek the truth or sources for themselves - and i truly mean this was an issue on both sides, for both people who ultimately agreed with me and people who did not.

the people that deliberately misrepresented what was being said, who nitpicked so that they could justify choosing "us versus them" - i ask that you consider, if you can and you would like to, to internalize and reflect how you may be susceptible to situations like this happening OFFLINE.

if ONLINE FANDOM misinformation can rouse such a level of discourse, hatred, fear, and anger over a fanfiction or ship ...what are the implications for REAL LIFE?

are you possibly reading a headline and believing it without reading the full article?

are your political and personal opinions swayed heavily by your peers, rather than being shaped by information and political education?

are you well informed and checking for bias from your chosen news sources?

do you exist in an echo chamber that has actively harmed your ability to understand other perspectives and worsened your capacity for allyship?

we best fight FASCISM when we recognize how we approach the people and issues around us, no matter how small. supporting artistic integrity in your fandom is a low rung on the ladder, but your approach to a sense of community and how news, conflict, and opinions form and spread IS vital.

thank you for reading, and thank you to those who have stuck by me (and by mo) despite the backlash it might have caused you. this has been insane and i look forward to never discussing that fucking fic again, but that doesn't mean we get to turn our heads on how this all turned to shit in the first place.

as a self-proclaimed safe space often characterised by escapism, we owe it to one another to make sure this community is as safe as can be and remains one where we care for one another despite which fictional characters we think should kiss.

[aerodaltonimperial]

Been sitting on this, but I think maybe some of the younger generation of fans in fandom need to hear this.

Your fandom has X, and you don't like X. Now, this can be anything: a trope, a pairing, a kink. Doesn't matter. Some people in your fandom like X, and you don't. Now, the X-enjoyers get attacked by the antis over it, and let's say that you, because you also don't like X, gloat a little about this. Very "ha ha they got what they deserved." Let's say you make a few posts like this. You didn't do the attacking, right? So who cares?

Maybe I don't like X, either, but I do like Y. And I look at what you have been posting about X, and I think oh, maybe they feel the same way about Y. Maybe if they find out that I like Y, they will do the same thing to me. And now, you are no longer a safe space for me in fandom. I don't want to share it with you. I stop starting conversations, because maybe I wrote X in a past fandom and I'm afraid you'll find out. Maybe X and Y are close enough that I worry you will decide they are on the level of "bad." Maybe I just don't like the way you treated other people in the fandom when they needed support.

Fandom is a community. Fanfic is fiction. And this purity culture shit needs to die. I've been in fandoms for over two decades, and I've watched waves of this come, and I don't think that younger fans understand what it used to be like to have to warn for any queer relationships. To have friends add "anti-yaoi" banners on their GeoCities sites. To see scores of fics wiped off platforms because someone decided they were bad and mass deleted, with no warning. This is a slippery slope, assigning morality to the fiction people write, and once it starts, it doesn't stop. You may think you are "morally pure" for not liking X, but friend, everyone in the fandom has been writing Z the whole time, including you, and just wait until that becomes the trigger for the antis to attack.

Be better. And don't become part of the problem.

[duckduckgoosebutitsinatrench]

So when I wrote this I meant like, Ace Just Some Guyed his way into some ambiguous "will they won't they" Totally Platonic cuddles, but in light of recent events, I think they should kiss actually. They should get married.

AceYuu headcanons:

Ace both fell first and fell harder. My boy spent the night at Ramshackle one weekend to go on a horror movie binge, and then Yuu fell asleep- not even ON him, Yuu just fell asleep next to him on the floor in a blanket cocoon- and then his brain decided to finally process all the feelings he had and engage his pattern recognition like "aw yes, I've seen this before, time to date" and just dropped the FONDEST, most Hozier level yearning "I love you" bombshell on this poor, poor mans internal dialogue

You should've seen it, it was the most accurate windows crash buffer screen to ever grace the world of twisted Wonderland

Bro shut down. Bro zoned out so hard he had a whole ass out of body experience and he was still too busy staring at Yuu drooling in a raggedy ass quilt to even notice. Bro did NOT finish that horror movie! (It was a pretty shitty one anyway so he didn't really care) Bro barely slept, he just stared at the ceiling until Yuu woke up the next morning (if 12:37 pm still even counts as morning to you) and came out of their little one man blanket fort wearing HIS OLD T-SHIRT HE LENT TO THEM- FUCK

... Welp. Time to roll with it. In love or not, Ace Trappola is Ace Trappola and Ace Trappola is an asshole! But now he's an asshole that's buying Yuu coffee twice a week and then complaining about it even though he's the one who insisted on buying it in the first place

Finds every fucking opportunity to make a flirty ass "joke" that everyone and their mama can tell isn't really a joke trying to gauge how Yuu feels about him. Sebek is gripping the steel chair getting ready to swing

You know how Yuu gets into a Situation every other day? Yeah. You know how Ace is now getting very very close to having an actual fucking heart attack?

Ace prides himself in taking care of Yuu, it's one of the things he'd do even if he can't take care of them in exactly the way he wants. But seriously Perfect! You can't just text him in the middle of basketball practice saying you fell off your fucking ROOF- WHAT WERE YOU DOING UP THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!

Ortho dead ass has to put them both on house arrest for a few days to monitor them because Ace actually almost came close to a medical emergency from the stress.

He wants so badly to be mad at Yuu- and he is! But their guilty face and whispered apologies and the weird little cat-like bonk they gave him are taking up an unusual amount of space in his mind and for some reason he can't remember what he was supposed to be angry about right now

He thinks he's being so damn slick with this crush and keeping his very very intense feelings a secret and laying low and shit and then you go and talk to a Scarabia student B and he's like "I thought they were already dating?... What do you MEAN they're not even together?!"

Worst kept secret in all of NRC. Cater goes live and starts talking about his "cute, oblivious little freshmen" and Yuu watches it and is like "damn, wonder who he's talking about :D" and Ace wants to die

The pinning stage is so real bro! Ace is over here taking them out to arcades and cafes and local pop-up fairs and is trying his best to pretend this is a date that Duece and Grim are just third wheeling on

I honestly don't think there's even a real confession? It's gonna be one of those "Didn't realize we were dating" things. Ace somehow just sweet talks his way into Yuus bed for the night after lying and saying he was kicked out of heartslabyul and they're just cuddling and then Yuu just gives a little sigh and is like

"I kind of want to kiss you right now", it's barely a whisper and he more so feels the breath on his neck than hears the actual words but OH BOY

Give him a minute. Give him a minute he needs it. He'll kiss you in a minute just let him freak out first

You almost regretted saying it, regretted breaking the ice that you both had seemed to silently agree Wasn't There.

Maybe f you were more awake, then you would. Maybe you would fluster and try to take it back, or maybe you would have a sudden surge of bravery and double down on your desires.

Maybe.

But you were tired, and Ace was warm- he was always so warm, you know? His skin always seemed to run hotter than anyone else you knew, with the exception of his cold hands, which were currently wrapping around you tighter than they were just a few seconds ago, something you were too sleepy to truly process. All you noticed was how his fingers dug into your skin, into your waist, into your shoulder and the back of your neck and how his breath hitched.

Your eyes were getting heavier by the second. Being trapped in your best friend's arms and knowing you were safe, knowing, that on some deep, unconscious level, that you were loved, would do that to you.

Sleep always came easy when he was here to protect you and look after you, even with him complaining the whole way.

Ace's breaths we're coming out shallow and slow, like he was trying his best not to break something fragile, and your tired mind briefly wonders why before you feel his thumb drawing circles into your nape and your brain goes peacefully blank again.

Taking in a slight shaking breath, his voice comes out in the same barely-there whisper yours had, with a tone filled with something you knew you weren't quite ready to face, "...Do you mean it?... Hey", he shook you slightly, just enough to jostle you out of the sandman's gentle grasp, "Yuu! Do you... Do you mean it?"

His voice wasn't even really there by the end, but his hand had moved to your face, his palms gently cradling your face and his chilled fingers caressing the space just under your eyes, seemingly trying to wake you up through the small touches as his body shifts to be just barely hovering over yours.

You blink slowly up at him, and answer with a yes that was based more on instincts and intuition than actually logically understanding what he was asking.

You were so tired, but he was just so damn beautiful that you felt you would give him the world in this moment, if only he asked for it. You would find a way for him.

And as he slowly moved his hand down to trace your bottom lip, his eyes flicking between your lips and your half asleep eyes as he slowly leaned in, you felt your heart swell with a more intense feeling than you ever thought you could have.

The feeling of his lips, soft from the cherry chapstick he'd bought a few months ago, the same one you found every excuse to borrow, somehow felt more right than anything else ever since you got to this strange new world.

It helped that he wasn't a bad kisser either.

Seconds felt like years, and your heartbeat was speeding up ringing through your entire body when he pulled away, a loving, disbelieving smile that was quickly pulling into that boyish smirk you loved so much was right there on his face, seared into your memory

"I knew you couldn't resist me"

You knew how it should have sounded, you knew how he meant it to sound, how it was supposed to be smug and slightly condescending, but it just came out so, so fond. Like he had waited a thousand lifetimes for this, and he would've waited a thousand more.

You hummed, a faint knowing in the back of your brain that you would be nearly as calm about this once morning came, as you tangled your hands in his messy hair, and kissed him again.

The next morning was an EVENT, all the blood in your body relocated to your face and Ace had never teased you so hard! just ignore the fact that he hasn't let go of your hand all morning! Please.

The first people to find out about this is, of course, Grim and Deuce, who share a look with various levels of played up disgust

The next person is surprisingly Sebek, who finally stops white knuckling that chair to congratulate you... and somehow drag your friendship with Malleus into said congratulations

He becomes so damn insufferable. Once he realized he can be a boyfriend and live out all the fantasies he's had in his head for months? All bets are off baby! He is so annoying about it! You love it

He's such a good boyfriend? Surprisingly? I firmly believe that the only reason he treated his ex like that is because he didn't really know her before they started dating, he just thought that being in a relationship would be fun and cool and he just jumped into it without actually thinking about it first

WITH YOU THOUGH?! WITH HIS BEST FRIEND THAT HE CARES ABOUT VERY VERY MUCH?! OH HE IS STEPPING IT UP! HE IS GONNA GET A GOOD GRADE IN BOYFRIEND IF IT FUCKING KILLS HIM

Not much changes, really. You were both already kind of dating before this anyways, the only thing different is that he can kiss you and use those cheesy ass pet names that he pretends to cringe at but secretly loves. That's right! He's going to unironically call you some shit like "sweetie pie honey bunches" and then pretend he was calling you that ironically! Epel is in hell

He still isn't gonna stop complaining about buying your coffee though- no! Put your wallet away he's still gonna do it, dammit!

As much as i love all the other Yuu ships like Malleyuu, Silyuu, Jadeyuu, floydyuu, Jamiyuu, etc. NOTHING and i mean NOTHING is funnier than Ace mother fucking Trapollo Just Some Guying his way into Yuus bed

[ww2yaoi]

could you please elaborate on exactly what you see sledge’s murmuring heart representing on a symbolic level? 🙏🙏🙏

i have my own personal interpretation but it feels like one of those symbols that everyone sees differently

hmmm ok hopefully this is articulate lmao but I think in the beginning most people in eugene’s life see him as too sensitive and kind for war. eugene was sickly as a boy (he got the murmur from rheumatic fever and missed two years of school because of it) so I think his family is especially protective of him. not necessarily because they think he’s weak but because they don’t know if he’ll be able to withstand the horrors of war and come out the other side with his gentleness and generosity intact. because he’s a sweet boy! and they don’t want that sweetness to be snuffed out

his father obviously doesn’t want him to go. his mother doesn’t want him to go. his brother seems a bit worried about the whole thing just judging by that one look he gives eugene. sid says he wishes they were going together but irl after sid experienced the horrors of guadalcanal he also told eugene not to get involved. eugene’s father has that monologue about not wanting the love and life and light he sees in eugene to be ripped away from him by war. to me eugene’s murmuring heart represents his kind and genuine soul. I mean, this is the guy who gives his best friend a poetry book as a goodbye gift, who loves his dog and loves horses and biology and rides his bike to the creek and drums in his school band and is a good christian boy and who weeps after he finds out he can’t join the marines. there’s this conflict within eugene where he’s fighting with his own softness and trying to prove himself to others. but again I don’t think his friends and family see his gentleness as a character flaw. they love him and want to protect him because they love that he’s kind

I think eventually with sid there’s some resentment of eugene’s innocence. because sid has lost his. like the way sid greets eugene on pavuvu by tackling him is very cute obviously and y’know boys will be boys but it is rough and violent and sid even says teasingly "something is very wrong if you made it through boot camp" which highlights his opinion of eugene’s fitness for war. and then later sid seems very annoyed by eugene’s "tenderhearted"-ness when eugene gets mad at him for almost killing that crab. I think the wording is very deliberate and of course harkens back to eugene’s murmur. so I guess the murmur is eugene’s humanity which he loses briefly during the war (the murmur does apparently disappear before he enlists) but I think he is deep down just so kind that he’s able to pull himself back from that edge. and I think that is ultimately his strength because after the war you see how sensitive and thoughtful he still is and also how broken he is in some ways. but it’s not a flaw. in my opinion he is much better equipped and much smarter than sid for not stuffing this shit down. it is brave to confront it is brave not to forget it it is brave to cry and say things aren’t the same and I’m different but I am going to be kind and I’m going to exist in the world. so the murmur is in theory a "flaw" and a "problem" with the strength of eugene’s heart but really I don’t think it is I think it’s representitive of his integrity

sorry if this makes no sense but that’s what it represents to me LOL :P

[lastoneout]

how do you make a whole post about people suffering from the tariffs and the need for compassion and never once consider the canadians who will suffer from the us initiating a trade war

That post was intentionally, very specifically directed at leftist Americans in blue states who are making jokes about people in red states suffering, with a side of me complaining about a small part of the Canadian government's plan about how to address this extremely complicated situation that I, in the post, admit to not fully understanding. I will apologize for that at least, that wasn't really what I meant to be talking about but I kinda had to critique the targeting red states part to explain my point about how the GOP thinks and why OTHER AMERICANS SPECIFICALLY should reconsider the way they talk about this. I didn't mean to say Canada was wrong to act, I was trying to address how certain Americans are responding to those actions, and that kind requires talking about Canada.

(I will also admit that I am am slightly salty at every single other country at the moment given most of them, including, as far as my research could turn up, Canada, won't let disabled people immigrate there unless we can work which like. We can't. Or we have a spouse or family member who has a job that will cover all of our expenses which....yeah most of us don't have access to jobs like that. My fiancé can provide for myself and him atm but he loses his job if he leaves America. We're queer and disabled and stuck here because the majority of the world doesn't think disabled people are worth saving. So yeah, kinda feels a bit like being complete abandoned by everyone and it does color my perspective a bit even if I do happen to agree that Canada should protect it's people from the harm Trump's bullshit is about to rain down on them.)

But yeah, obviously the entire world is going to suffer because of the shit Trump is pulling and I'm pissed about that too. The Canadian and Mexican governments cannot just sit by and do nothing while their people suffer, and I don't fault them having to take drastic measures even if I do disagree with the way one government is going about it. At the end of the day all of this suffering is Trump and Musk's fault and they should be the ones shouldering the majority of the blame. But I'm also allowed to make posts about one thing that is specifically directed at a singular group of people, especially a group of people I'm part of. I'm allowed to critique my own political allies when they fuck up. And as far as I've seen most of us have been not only very sympathetic, but borderline too eager to shoulder the blame themselves for the rest of the world suffering. I haven't seen any leftist ignore that the people of Canada and Mexico are going to suffer due to the actions of our government. I've even seen some of them legit reaching suicidal levels of self-hatered, saying they don't want to suffer but it's what we all(Americans) deserve for letting this happen, as if it was the people's fault and not a small group of money and power-hungry bastards who don't give a shit about anyone but themselves. I did not detect a lack of sympathy for the populations of other countries amongst Americans discussing this topic so I did not think that needed to be addressed in my post critiquing said Americans for their lack of sympathy for their countrymen.

So yeah. I am sorry to the Canadians and Mexicans who are going to suffer. I'm really, really fucking sorry. This is embarrassing and scary and painful for all of us, I wish I could stop it. I'm one disabled person who is bedridden recovering from surgery cycling through the stages of grief so fast it's making me nauseous. Your government IS right to try to protect you, I would give anything for mine to do the same, not just for Americans but for everyone trapped on this earth with us.

But again, I am allowed to make posts that are about one thing or talking to one specific group of people. I wasn't trying to address the people in other countries at all, this was talking to American progressives and liberals and leftists, and very specifically ones living in blue states, addressing how they talk about other Americans and how poorly it reflects upon them.

I apologize for not being able to cover every single aspect of a massive, extremely complicated situation in my one post, and sorry for being so bitchy about the Canadian government, I didn't mean to imply that other people aren't gonna suffer too. I figured that went without saying since I've seen so many Americans talking about it already. We should do both. Sympathy for everyone who's going to suffer.

I'm going to go lay down and continue to worry about my American friends and Canadian friends, and everyone now. Bye.

[kt1018]

Not Looking for a Hero.

This is an unravel as I go story. A SLOW BURN. My first dip into the Rafe/OBX world and my first direct to Tumblr story. I’ve only ever written for Dramione and I only put out 2 of those stories so… *shrugs*. I’m not sure how long this will be or 100% how I’ll get to where I want to go.

But if people enjoy it I’ll keep going. :)

Warnings : Language and references to cheating. The warnings might change by chapter but I can say there will be language, violence and sexual content in the future. Just not sure when yet, but I’ll do my best to update as I put it out. So don’t get invested if that isn’t something you will want in the future.

This is Rafe Cameron x Y/N (female) Reader 18+

It’s late now.

Or early you suppose?

Close to 2am at this point.

It’s quiet and so are you, walking down the night covered street.

You’re holding yourself tight while an index finger grasps the heels you foolishly chose to wear.

But you don’t mind the feeling of the gravel pushing into the soles of your feet. Growing up in OBX you spent most of your younger days barefoot running around.

That’s not where the pain is sitting anyway.

It’s in your head.

Your head is practically exploding. You can’t believe you’re going through the exact thing everyone warned you about.

Your piece of shit boyfriend, Elliot Coin, cheated on you at his cousin Topper’s “Summer Kick Off” party and you walked right in on it. You arrived not even knowing he was back in town. School ended so you knew he was coming back soon, but he didn’t tell you he’d be here tonight. You were blissfully unaware of how foolish you would feel in just a few short moments.

You showed up late. Walking through the open front door, you received some off glances here and there, but nothing that fully registered enough to pause. At least not until you arrived at the back door to the patio.

Ruthie, Topper’s ex girlfriend, swung in front of you with the most infuriating grin plastered on her face like always.

“I wouldn’t go out there right now if I were you.” Ruthie spat out so matter of fact.

You roll your eyes and step to the side of her, moving back onto your intended path. The beers up for grabs were usually kept by the pool and you needed one ASAP. You weren’t going to engage with Ruthie of all people before having a drink in hand.

That’s when you saw him.

Across the pool.

Elliot positioned in between the legs of some random girl, perched up on the garden wall.

She was running her hands through his now repulsive to you blonde hair. He was rubbing his now vile fingers up her thigh and below her skirt. Faces so close they were practically welded together.

You were so unfortunately sober, everything hit you fully and all at once.

You have been with Elliot for a year. He lived up in Boston during the school year and you met at the start of last summer. At Topper’s kick off party actually. Fitting. Full circle moment.

It was the definition of a perfect summer fling. Beach days followed by pool evenings. Weekends on the yacht, partying with the whole group. Exactly what anyone would dream for the break before senior year. Living like a Kook 101.

You weren’t technically a Kook, but you definitely weren’t what the Pouges would consider on their level. You had friends on both sides of OBX and never really fell too far into one crowd or another. Your family sat somewhere in the middle. Never went without, you just weren’t inherently wealthy.

Not like the Thorton family.

Elliot loved to flaunt his privileges for everyone around to see. Topper was full blown Kook, he was just less in your face about it day to day. They would invite their girls, you and Ruthie, along with a handful of friends out on the water. Spending hours on end drinking and partying, until the sun started to set. Then you’d take the party back to someone’s home until it was time to rest before it all began again the next day.

It was never deep with Elliot in the beginning. During the break you guys would party and hook up. Nothing substantial. You weren’t expecting anything serious from someone who didn’t live there year round anyway. To your surprise though, he asked to keep it going the night before he flew back home.

You agreed.

For awhile you would fall asleep on the phone with him a few nights a week. He would visit when he could, long weekends or breaks. You even went to spend a weekend with his family in Boston. Your textbook long distance arrangement.

It all appeared simple on your end. You didn’t mind him not being around all the time. It allowed you to keep things pretty normal. Focusing on school and your friendships. Not allowing a relationship to engulf your entire world.

Seemed pretty perfect.

Then the week before New Year’s he let you know that he wasn’t able to come down. You were disappointed, but you understood.

You understood in February and April and all the other long weekends that followed.

You understood that the calls became less and less frequent.

Chalking it up to him taking the end of senior year seriously and buckling down. Or just him living in his world, you in yours and how far apart they were. You didn’t want to overthink anything because you had no reason to. Even though it spread over a few months the relationship was still new, so you didn’t want to stress over what was possibly nothing.

Now you’re here. Finding out that it was clearly something and you feel like an idiot. An idiot that was just slapped with her lack of self respect with a force.

You felt like you just let this happen. You ignored all the signs and chose to stay quiet. That led to you getting a front row view of Elliot, clearly forgetting or maybe just not caring that you could show up at any moment.

You stumbled back a few steps bumping Ruthie’s arm with your shoulder. You look towards her, finding that same smirk looking back down on you.

“I tried to tell you” she shrugged with a dry laugh as she walked away, probably to her next victim.

It took everything in you to not snap, taking your new sudden fury out on her. Instead you continue to back up the way you came.

Through the patio door.

Back past all the stares that you now fully recognize.

Right out the front door.

You got to the end of the driveway and leaned against a random car. Taking your first breath, you feel, since you saw Elliot all over that poor girl.

“Fuck!” You choke out partly furious at him and the rest disappointed in yourself.

You pull out your phone to order a car and immediately remember your phone died on the ride there. You had added grab a charger to your to do list, but things clearly spun out before you did.

With another sigh you start to unhook your heels in preparation for the hour ish walk home. You don’t even know what more you need other than that right now. Home. Your bed. Then maybe you can dabble into processing what just happened.

You just needed to get away from this party immediately.

That’s how you find yourself 20 minutes in, barefoot, cold, sober and more tired than you would’ve been had you actually attended this party.

You feel foolish for not paying attention to any of the warnings about Elliot. Foolish for letting his behavior or lack of attention slide. Foolish about ignoring the fact he hadn’t even texted or called. Foolish for not noticing your phone needed to be charged before leaving the house so you weren’t stranded walking home at almost 2am.

You trudge on. What else are you going to do at this point?

Suddenly you hear the sound of a vehicle approaching over the hum of whatever bugs were hiding in the tall grass. You glance behind you and see headlights gaining fast. You move off the road to avoid getting hit and feel the rush of wind whip around you as the truck speeds past.

Just as fast as it went by, the brake lights lit, shift to reverse lights and back up towards you.

Great. Now you’re going to be a roadside victim from one of those made for TV movies your brother falls asleep to on the couch every night.

You shift your grip on your heels so you have one in each hand, ready to take a swing if needed.

The truck meets you before going into the park.

Then the passenger side window rolls down and the cabin light gets flicked on.

“Hi. Y/N… You good?” Comes from the driver's side in the familiar voice of The Rafe Cameron.

Again, your eyes roll. “Yeah Rafe, I’m fine.” You step back out onto the road and continue on towards home.

Rafe Cameron is the biggest player in OBX. The party boy. The Kook Prince, which you always assumed was self titled. You don’t have anything really against him, but you also don’t have anything really for him either. You hangout in the same group and had your basic sarcastic comment here followed by a snappy response there, relationship. He’s not the worst person you know. Especially not today.

There wasn’t much more to like or dislike beyond that.

Besides, you don’t need to be around anyone right now. A long self destructive walk home is better than any company right now. So you walk on.

You hear a click and the sound of tires rolling across the ground as the truck pulls back up onto your left side.

“Not to disagree here but, you don’t look like you’re fine… even if you were, it’s 2 in the morning and you’re strolling barefoot down a dark road in a party dress?” He says with his usual mixture of sarcasm and cockiness.

You stop to face the window and Rafe puts on the brakes to idle by your side. You sigh, shifting your weight to your left leg followed by an annoyed head tilt. You hope this is projecting a casual stance and not even a sliver of the impending stress explosion bubbling so close to the surface.

“I really am fine. Thank you for your concern but you can go now.” You swipe your hand to the side for direction, as if he wasn’t the one just headed that way.

Rafe contorts his face in his typical I call bullshit look. “Right. How about you and I pretend you’re fine” he throws up air quotes to really set in stone that he doesn’t believe you “But you get in the truck anyway and I drive you home so you don’t end up on a milk carton?”

You go to throw a witty retort back and pause. A second attempt that again is followed with just you standing there at a loss.

“Fuck.” You groan.

His offer is the quickest way you can get home. You’ll also avoid any other possible passersby, good or bad.

“Okay. Fine. Thanks” You go to open the door but it’s locked. Your eyes instantly snap up to meet his and to find he has a smirk plastered across his face.

“Sorry.” His tongue lightly swipes his bottom lip and he reaches back to hit the unlock button without losing eye contact with you.

You throw another eyeroll and open the door. As you settle into the passenger seat you adjust your dress so it doesn’t rise up too far.

“Thank you.” You say quietly.

“Hey. I see a damsel. I save a damsel.” He was definitely joking, but you weren’t in the mood.

“Look I appreciate the ride, but there is no saving going on.” You place your shoes next to you and cross your arms to keep yourself warm or protected. You’re not sure which.

Rafe nodded with a light chuckle and took off towards your house.

The windows were all open letting in the summer air. There was a slight chill so you held yourself a little tighter in the breeze.

Rafe must have noticed and absent mindedly grabbed a sweatshirt that was draped over the seat, placing it in your lap.

“Thanks… again.” You say as you throw it over your head. Immediately feeling the warmth cover you.

“No worries.” He says keeping his eyes ahead.

“If you take this right here…” You start.

“I know the way.” Rafe states off hand.

Another quiet nod from you and the rest of the ride is pure silence. You leaned on edge of the window letting the breeze swirl your hair around.

After 20 minutes Rafe pulls into your driveway and puts the car in park. “Well not damsel. Your non-chariot has arrived at your destination.” Then turned to you to see your reaction, resting his elbow on the back of the seat.

You had a slight smirk on your face. “Well thank you anti-hero. I appreciate your service.” You gather your things and step out of the truck. “Oh.” You turn back around and start to remove his sweatshirt.

“Nah. I’ll get it back another time.” He waved you off.

“Okay thanks. If you’re sure.” You pulled the sweatshirt back down.

Rafe nodded with a grin.

You close the door with another barely there smile and walk towards the house.

Rafe backs out and starts to pull away. As he goes by he leans out the window one more time. “Sleep tight Y/N. See ya around.” With a wink he waits for you to get inside, before he takes off.

Finally you’re home and you clean up. Reaching your room you change into a large shirt and crawl into bed.

Then the reality starts to hit after you were able to briefly forget. “FUCK” you whisper louder this time and roll face first into your pillow. You now have to fight for sleep in between the revisiting visions of Elliot and that girl.

It was a hard battle, but eventually sleep started to take over. There was nothing more you could do about it tonight.

Tomorrow you’d put more effort into cleaning up this mess.

Part Two (I will start working on finishing pt. 2 soon)

[vaguely-concerned]

just going about my day idly contemplating how some of the ways hawke can interact with a romanced anders are not at all unlike how they interact with leandra (and a bit of carver too, especially with a purple hawke), and then thought about my hawke in the timeline where he romances anders and was hit straight in the face with 'was he ever actually in love, or was he just desperately trying to renegotiate with his mother's ghost in any way he could' and now i need to lie down. this is the power of dragon age 2

[5a-alf]

Thinking about Kevin Day telling Neil that he knows how Riko is and that he's there if Neil wants to talk and just how, while yes kevin knows the riko that tortured neil and neil knows the riko that broke kevin's hand (and terrorized him, ecc ecc) [and Jean knows that riko too, even better than them]...no one else knew the riko that was a brother to kevin. He has no one to talk about it to, maybe no one would even be willing to listen if he wanted to talk about that. He shares that with no one, but that type of 'connection' has colored each and every of his interactions with Riko, good and bad, and is relevant to his feelings about it all. That's not something that neither neil nor jean can understand, and idk that must be so isolating

[ghostly-squid]

Time travel fix-it? No. Time travel worse-it.

[floorpancakes]

im reaching new and concerning levels of understanding watanuki on a personal level

[monards]

i fear that i don’t acknowledge enough the fact that i KNOW rhinedottir's evil !!! and she's horrible !!! and that she's wholly ireedamable !!! i know and love and respect that fact !!! i'd shoot myself in the frontal lobe if hoyo made her out to NOT be wholly evil !!!! but the reason i always go on and on and on about her humanity and complexity is because. SHE IS ALWAYS DUMBED DOWN !!!! TO JUST THAT !!!! it's literally the greatest and most moving theme (IN MY OPINION!!!) in genshin, that human beings are COMPLEX !!!! and they're MORE than just evil or bad or wtv. we see this through every character to almost ever be introduced to us -> literally just take arlecchino as an example. if anyone was at all paying attention to the discourse around her when the fontaine teaser dropped (and. 4.0 in general) it was the BIGGEST thing to watch people argue between "she's a harbinger, so she's clearly the most evil and the big antagonist of fontaine because of these accounts we have right now !!" versus the argument of "we've only seen ONE perspective of her so far, and it's no duh that all this stuff sucks -- but there's no way she's JUST gonna be all these horrible things,, because literally nobody to exist is just horrible and cruel with zero to no good in them. and also that'd make a shit narrative by hoyo in a story driven game" AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED !!!! we saw !!! in REAL time !!! that while arlecchino was rightfully cruel and horrible and, yes the things she did were fucked up beyond belief and she should absolutely not be excused for any of it - she is NOT just evil ! she's shown to care, albeit in a fucked up way that only shows she's even more deranged ; but what's so incredibly important about her is the way that her being "evil" doesn't mean she's incapable of anything else. She is evil, yes— but so many of those evil actions have *motives* and *reasons* that explain them (but not excuse or condone!) and, although they don’t save her grace or anything of the sort, they DO show her true character. AND YHATS SO IMPORTANT!!!! She’s capable of being an antagonist while still being justified in some form, and given nuance and backstory and redeemable traits

I am !!! NEVER !!! going to say rhinedottir is a good person. she isn't! no shit sherlock ! how the fuck do you think im gonna go on and ignore the fact she sent both her kids to their deaths, and also fed one to another. dare i say, that is NOT anything good !!! suprise of the century !! woah !!! -- but what i AM gonna say is that she's much beyond that? hello !! not only has the point of her having not a zero good trait or will in her body been. proven false over and over and over again. but it's such ! Sad and not compelling is character choice for her *not* to be nuanced and complex and justified in a fucked up !! — like do you REALLY think hoyoverse (who is clearly capable of, and likes to make) complex characters, who are horrible, while not being *only* those horrible things, would pass up a golden (haha) opportunity to make a characters whose entire existence is JUST that??!,!2????

believe what you want! Do what you want! This is a silly video game that will be eroded along with time in a hundred in so years ! But god so help me, please don’t be willfully ignorant to the complexity and nuance of characters, just because you want a villain. No villain , real or not, is entirely evil. People are complex and multi faceted and people really, really need to hop off this cart of going “okay but stop saying she’s multifaceted because it takes away from her being evil” because it DOESNT! If anything, it makes her so much more compelling . Which is something some people can apparently. Not handle.

[levil0vesyou]

Americans stop forgetting there's countries in Europe other than England challenge

[writeitinsharpie]

love house md as a dumpster fire trash medical drama show but istg they needed one (1) single person with chronic pain on the writer's team

[moe-broey]

LIKE........ @ the prev post about armor flexibility.... Is That Why They Look Like That??????? 👁️👁️

Something else fascinating I found actually when I was comparing the Askr trio (knowing Alfonse and Sharena largely match, just a few differences here and there), wanting to get a better look at Anna...

SHE HAS BIG ASS BOOTS?!????? I. COMPLETELY FORGOR ....... it gives her a real sturdy look though. Hm.... (Thinking about what this means for characterization/how I'd draw her, esp w my initial impressions kind of. Being the opposite of this LMFAOOO oops 😥)

[blujayonthewing]

so in juniper's campaign we've just found ourselves in a high-stakes situation that I as a player do frankly find stressful and am anxious about, but hey hi also the DM was like 'okay here are the exact mechanics of how this is going to work because I don't want to surprise you with serious repercussions, also here are all the options you will have to try to do something about the situation-- [affected player] what do you think? honest feedback, I don't want it to feel unfair, I want to be clear that I am not just trying to kill your character, and if it ends up being badly balanced we can revisit it down the road' and oh my god I could COLLAPSE and WEEP with gratitude

[orcelito]

Ykno the suckiest thing about being broken up with for someone else is that like. Well I'm doing generally fine, all things considered, but I Am kinda sad thinking about the things I've lost and all the casual affection that I can't have now.

But she's out there having all the affection she wants from her coworker, and it's just like. Damn this feels so skewed and SO unfair.