#i'm always in crisis mode

[thedreadvampy]

lmao it is undeniably true that I am Depressi Spaghetti but you know. fuck it we continue.

[luciaintheskyainthi]

Hiii I loveeeee ECM and you write so good

I have severel questions does Pete ever get a haircut.Will steph and Pete be friends (they could make chaos together)

Deck and pete would be friends becaus they both acrobats but what about cass she ballerina and I know it ain't the same but they could train together

Thank-you hun!!! I'm happy my work can bring joy!!!

Peter will definitely get a haircut at some point! It's just yet to be factored in lol.

Peter and Steph will absolutely become friends and hijinks shall ensue, I can promise that! And while I think Peter is perpetually awed/scared by Cass I think he likes to train with her the most.

[thebibliosphere]

The vitamin D thing is huge for me because low vitamin D has been linked to mast cell instability and the onset of other allergic diseases, so for me to finally have levels that are not rock bottom is incredible.

After years and years of taking incredibly high doses of prescribed supplements that my body couldn't process without further intervention, I'm finally on the right medications and absorbing nutrients.

My immune system is settling down. I'm creeping out of crisis mode.

I'll always have bad days and bad allergic triggers. I'll always have some damage to my nervous system that will affect my everyday life -- I've long since made my peace with that. But the sheer joy I'm feeling right now cannot be expressed.

I might not like my body very much sometimes, especially when it hurts so often, but I'm so, so proud of it for getting me this far.

Good job, buddy. We're making it.

[curlyhairedintrovertsworld]

the vibe is good luck, solider. indeed. i lose my insurance at the end of the month. happy birthday, to another all american bitch. i'm fine

happy march 🫡

[7-deadly-cats]

killing me softly | 2

K M S M A S T E R L I S T | <- P R E V I O U S | N E X T ->

✿ G E N R E ✿ she fell first, he fell harder | slice of life | drama

✿ P A I R I N G ✿ s1!rafe cameron x overthinking!reader (f)

✿ C O N T E N T W A R N I N G ✿ swearing, reader being an awkward mess, subtle and indirect mention of sexual themes

✿ S U M M A R Y O F L A S T P A R T ✿ you and rafe were paired up for a 2 week-long art project. you agreed to meet during lunch break to start working on it. after a little breakdown in the girls' restroom, you picked him up after PE. finally free of kelce and topper, you two headed for the school’s dining hall.

✿ W O R D C O U N T ✿ 3.3k+

✿ A / N ✿ i don't have much to say for this one as it's just an immediate continuation of the last one but i'm very thankful for the likes and comments on the first part. i didn't expect any at all so a big thank you to everyone who decided to support <3 i hope you also enjoy this one as well :) (also super excited when i’ll get to future parts where y/n gets to be more silly :3)

Important: I started using dividers after chat convos that include more than one screenshot, so you guys know when to switch back to the written story. Yk you usually click on the image to get a full-screen mode to read the messages easier, so whenever the blue rectangle image pops up, you know when to back out. Makes it easier to avoid potential spoilers, hope that makes sense :P

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W E E K O N E // M O N D A Y

The dining hall at Kildare Academy was moderately full. Most students’ classes were already over, and a lot of Kooks went to the restaurants down the street, even though the serving station offered fresh high-quality food.

Okay, fries weren’t exactly healthy but they probably made them from potatoes grown specifically for Kooks (yes, as a Kook yourself, you were their biggest hater).

Whatever. The dining hall wasn’t the reason your heart was about to explode in your chest.

No. You were having lunch.

With. Rafe. Cameron.

If someone had told you this morning, you would’ve laughed.

Because, HELLO??? Rafe had been your crush since you’d first set foot in high school in fifth grade.

Okay, not exactly special—what Figure 8 girl hadn’t had a crush on Rafe at some point?

But that wasn’t the point. This whole ... thing just felt so surreal.

A crush had always been just that—a crush. You weren’t the type to walk up to a guy and say, Hey, you’re cute, let’s go on a date. That would mean putting yourself out there and making yourself vulnerable.

And the last thing you ever wanted was to be seen.

Not in a physical way. That was unavoidable. No, what scared you was someone actually seeing you, the parts of yourself you kept locked away. (Especially the weird parts.)

Good thing I’m not dramatic.

So while your 11-year-old self was doing backflips of joy, your 18-year-old self was having a full-blown existential crisis.

Okay, maybe not that bad.

“You were right,” Rafe said, pulling you from your thoughts. He was sitting across from you, pushing his fork through his quinoa-veggie bowl.

You eyed him confused. “About what?”

Rafe nodded toward your fries, the corner of his lips tugging into a subtle smile. “I am a fries guy. Quinoa tastes like shit and rocks.”

You glanced at his bowl before meeting his gaze again, a knowing smile on your face. “I guess it’s the color. Red and black ones are usually more bitter and firmer than their white counterparts.”

Rafe raised a brow, amused. “As a quinoa expert, you could’ve warned me.”

Your cheeks heated. You kind of had, with that dumb joke outside the gym earlier. “I thought you already knew what it tasted like.”

“I do,” he shrugged, taking a bite of his shit and rocks bowl anyway, a crooked smile tugging at his lips. “Maybe I just wanted to impress you by picking the healthier option.”

WHATWHATWHATWHATWHAT.

Impress you? BOY NO NEED, YOU ALREADY GOT MY VOTE.

What were you even supposed to respond to that? HELP, I suck at whatever this is.

So you just forced a chuckle and took a sip of your water, trying to act like a normal person.

…

…

...

Shit.

Now there was that awkward silence you always dreaded in conversations.

Okay, okay, stay calm.

Should I say something? Should I offer him my fries?

You almost laughed. Hell no, that’d be so weird. Plus the quinoa part of his bowl didn’t even take up a third of the whole meal.

You wished Cara were here. She’d know exactly what to say and how to act. She went on dates all the time, made out with guys at parties just for fun, and could hold a normal fucking conversation with a guy she was interested in.

“So, you like… a real artist or something?” Rafe asked, breaking the unbearable silence. “Since you picked Art as an elective?”

You looked up, quickly swallowing the bite of fries in your mouth before giving him a nervous smile. “Yeah, I mean—no, I wouldn’t call myself a real artist, not like Da Vinci or such.” You let out an awkward laugh. “I just draw sometimes when I’m bored.”

Jesus Christ, did he have to look at you like that? His blue eyes were drilling into your entire existence.

Rafe nodded. “Digital or traditional?”

You blinked at him, stunned.

How the fuck did Frat Boy Rafe Cameron know the difference between digital and traditional art?

Your expression made him smirk. And as if he had read your thoughts, he said, “My little sister Wheezie draws random shit on her iPad all the time.” His brows furrowed. “Dunno, figured this was a thing—”

“No, I mean—yes, totally,” you blurted out, immediately feeling your face heat up because you just cut him off. “Most people start with pencil and paper but drawing on a tablet or iPad is just as legit.” You awkwardly cleared your throat, nodding. “Um… so, yeah … I do both, to answer your question.”

Help, he would’ve had a more entertaining conversation with a rock.

Rafe barely raised a brow, a lazy smile on his lips. “It’s cool that you draw. Guess I got lucky having you as my partner for this project.”

WHAT.

Okay, everything’s chill.

NO, NOTHING WAS CHILL.

Is he flirting with me??? Is he just being nice ??? WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN.

What were you even supposed to reply to that?

Hahaha, thanks, did you know I made our Sims get married in eighth grade? Topper was your best man by the way.

WHAT THE FUCK, NO, STOP.

Whatever, just say something. Anything.

“Thanks,” you mumbled with an embarrassed smile, eyes fixed on your fries and salad.

From the corner of your eye, you saw Rafe lean back, pushing his half-eaten bowl aside. “Only sucks for you. Shit’s not really my thing.”

No shit.

Also, what was that supposed to mean? Was he fishing for a compliment? Like Aww, no, come on, I’m sure you’re great at it.

WAIT.

Holy shit. Was Rafe Cameron secretly a pick-me guy? Were all these years crushing on him wasted?

“Yeah, I figured. Most people just take art class thinking it’ll be an easy A”, you said before he could say more and give you the ick.

OH my god, take it back, take it back—

When you saw his expression, you wanted to crawl into a hole and never come back. He looked… surprised? Confused? Maybe a little offended…?

Then the tension in his face eased. His lips twitched slightly before curving into a lopsided grin, making him look unexpectedly boyish.

“Shit, yeah. Guess that makes me most people”, he said with such ease, it was like you hadn’t just called him out.

How the hell did he manage to turn all your miserable attempts at a normal conversation into something so smooth? If you were in his place, you would've already walked out and dropped art class.

Yo, Mr Smith, this chick you paired me up with, she’s got the social skills of a dead fish.

This was so frustrating. It wasn’t like you were socially incompetent—not really—but around him, your brain just seemed to completely shut down.

“That’s not what I meant,” you said, furrowing your brows, annoyed at your own nervousness.

“Nah, it’s true.” Rafe shrugged. A teasing edge shifted into his voice as he said, “So, if your art grade tanks, you know who to blame.”

Okayyy, he was either trying to get on your good side or looking for a smooth way out of this project—and you weren’t sure which was worse.

You swallowed your last fry and gave a chuckle. I sound like a fake ass bitch. “I’m sure you'll manage. Art is not about drawing perfectly — it’s more about the ideas and how you approach them.”

Jesus, you sounded just like Mr. Smith.

Rafe’s lips twitched into a cocky smirk. “Alright, then I guess you’ll have to help me be more creative.”

...

HUH?

OKAY. I MEAN SURE.

Be for fucking real, did he even realize what his words did to you?

Of course, he did—he probably flirted with girls daily. Or was he just lucky to be born with full charisma stats?

Probably both.

God, this was so embarrassing. Your face probably screamed HI CAN YOU MARRY ME, and to him, you were just some random Kook girl he was stuck with for a boring art project.

Okay, wait no.

Now YOU sounded like a pick-me.

“Yeah, we’ll see,” you said, cheeks flushed, before clearing your throat to change the subject. “Okay, so… maybe we should start brainstorming some ideas? Like a mind map or mood board or something?”

Rafe leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table, and you had to fight the BIGGEST urge to glance at his flexing biceps. “Mood board? You talking about Pinterest type shit?”

Okay, wow, Rafe was absolutely not the type of guy you thought he was. Did he know about this stuff from Wheezie? Or some friends-with-benefits girlie?

Um, no, dude, none of your business.

You nodded. “Yeah, something like that. We can also just start by writing stuff down.”

Rafe shrugged in agreement. “Okay.”

Okay.

He looked at you expectantly.

Ugh, did he really expect YOU to be the one taking notes?

Well, crush or not, he was still just a guy, after all.

You reached for the iPad in your bag, grabbed the Apple Pencil, and opened the Notes app.

As you scribbled down today’s date and gave the note a title, Rafe leaned in even closer, glancing at your screen. “Is this the iPad you use for drawing?”

He was so close now, his woody-aquatic aftershave filling your nose, giving you a strange feeling in your chest … and a very special part in your lower body.

“Yeah,” you replied shortly, ABSOLUTELY FREAKING OUT INSIDE.

“Show me something then.”

“No.”

WHAT.

“No?” Rafe’s gaze flicked from the screen to your flushed face, a cocky glimmer in his gaze as his lips curled into a crooked grin.

Good heavens, up close his eyes looked even more beautiful. They were the kind of blue people wrote bad poetry about. To you, they were a pretty contradiction—cold in color, warm in the way they lingered on your own eyes.

Heart racing, you looked away and laughed nervously. “I mean… maybe we should focus on the project first, you know, time pressure and all.”

With an amused scoff, Rafe leaned back again, glancing at his shiny Rolex for a second (wow, rude) before saying, “To the boring part then."

Somehow it felt like you'd scratched his ego.

Girl, how could you mess up this badly? He probably thought you were some pretentious nerd now.

“So… do you have any ideas?”, you asked, twirling the Apple Pencil in your fingers, just praying for this painfully long lunch break to end.

Rafe pressed his lips together, scratching his jaw. The glass of his watch reflected a spectrum of lights under the ceiling’s lights. “Shit, I dunno. What’s the prompt again? A modern take on the Greek gods?”

“A reinterpretation,” you corrected him, then realizing you sounded like a know-it-all, you quickly added, “but yeah, a modern version could definitely count.”

He nodded absentmindedly, fingers drumming on the table. “Okay, so…", he let out a dry breath and ran a hand over his face. "Shit, what a stupid project."

You chewed the inner part of your cheeks. Okay, he clearly had zero interest in spending his free period working on some elective class’ project with a stranger.

But it had been his idea to meet during lunch, you reminded yourself.

Forcing a smile, you offered, “We can always do this later. We still have two weeks.”

Rafe raised a brow. “You got plans or some shit?”

Oh. Guess that didn’t go over well.

You shook your head. “No, but if you’re not feeling it—”

“I’m not,” he cut in, his fingers stopping their steady rhythm against the table. “But we’re already here, so.”

That didn’t sound very motivated.

“Yeah, I guess”, you said, cringing at the sudden bitterness in your tone.

By the shift in Rafe’s expression, he must have noticed but before he had a chance to comment on it, you quickly picked up on what he’d said earlier. “So, a modern version of Olympus sounds fun. Maybe we can make it about the gods’ roles in today’s society or something like that.”

Rafe eyed you quietly, his expression impossible to read. He then tilted his head, scratching his nose. “Yeah, I guess. Maybe Zeus as the CEO of Olympus Industries or some shit. He’s the big boss, right? And everyone else just kinda works for him.”

Your lips curled into a soft smile. A corporate structure? Why were you not surprised.

“What?” He looked genuinely confused.

You shook your head, cheeks heating up again. “Nothing, that’s… that’s good.”

He raised his brows, a challenging tone in his voice. “You think it’s crap.”

“No,” you replied quickly, then adopted a more serious expression. “Really, it’s a nice take. Maybe his wife — Hera I mean — could be his girl boss PR manager, always cleaning up his scandals?”

A grin tugged at his lips, and with that, the weird tension in the air seemed to fade. “Shit, isn’t she also his sister? Well, yeah, guess she’s gotta cover up his dozen affairs. That guy’s a huge player.”

Okay, real talk, where did he get all this knowledge from? He really didn’t seem the type of guy to be interested in greek mythology.

It was cute though.

You couldn’t help but chuckle. “You seem to be an expert in this field.”

He scoffed amused, leaning back into his chair. His eyes mustered you with a strange mix of entertainment and irritation. “You think I'm a fuckboy or some shit?”

You furrowed your brows in confusion. HUH? What did he mean—

…

Did he-- ... OH SHIT.

A revolting feeling spread in your stomach, your cheeks probably inventing a new shade of red.

WHY ON EARTH HAD YOU PHRASED IT LIKE THAT?!

Some evil gods or spirits must be messing with you right now because there was no way this situation could get any more awkward.

Frantically, you shook your head. “What? I… oh my god, no. NO! I was referring to the Greek gods. Not… you don’t give off such vibes. I mean, it’s none of my business anyway.”

Hey, if there’s a sniper out there, please take me out.

In your mind, you already estimated the cost of moving to another country. Canada had pretty landscapes and New Zealand--

A laugh escaped his lips — cocky, yet carrying the same boyish undertone as earlier, making your heart stop and race at the same time.

“Chill the fuck out,” he said entertained, leaning forward with his arms crossed, biceps flexing again. “I was just kidding.”

No, this didn’t sit right with you.

You shook your head again, daring to meet his eyes. “No, I’m serious, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just … surprised about your knowledge of Greek mythology.” You froze, realizing this also sounded stupid. “Not that I took you for clueless…” Shit. You sighed. “It was stupid of me to phrase it like that and I don’t want you to think I take you for a fuckboy. It’s a shitty term anyway.”

Your nerves were going crazy and you fidgeted with the case of your iPad, waiting for his response.

Rafe silently STARING at you didn’t help at all. He seemed … surprised, maybe a little perplexed even.

SAY SOMETHING PLEASE.

“Aight”, he finally said, his usual cocky expression returning to his face. He slightly shifted in his seat, avoiding your gaze as he scratched his jaw. “Guess I picked up a bit from Wheezie when she had to do a presentation for school or whatever. She couldn't shut up about it. Shit was annoying as hell.”

For a moment, you didn't know what to respond. Why wasn't he offended? Why didn't he mock you for being so weird? WHY WAS HE PUTTING UP SITH YOUR AWKWARD ASS?

You smiled, trying to relax your nerves by that. “Sounds like we could use her little expert knowledge on this project.”

Rafe chuckled lowly. “Well, I believe we’ve already got a little expert right here”, he said with a crooked smile, his eyes burning a hole into your soul.

OH. MY. GOD.

I’M FUCKING DONE FOR.

The teasing edge in his voice made your brain shut down and let’s not even start on the breakdance the butterflies in your stomach were performing at the moment.

This had to count as flirting, right? RIGHT?!

You chuckled nervously, cheeks so hot, you could probably roast a sausage on them, and placed the Apple Pencil back on the screen. “Then I hope whatever I picked up from reading Percy Jackson will be enough.“

That's it, bro, you are officially banned from making any more jokes.

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In English class, you could finally breathe again.

Your suffering was over.

During the rest of the lunch break, Rafe and you had talked about some more ideas. Gladly, you hadn’t embarrassed yourself any further (if that was even possible because you’d definitely reached your peak today).

At the end of lunch, Topper had picked him up and they’d left for their own English class. Your goodbyes had been a little awkward but you’d managed.

Right now, you were grateful they didn’t attend the same class as you because you certainly didn’t want to listen to them laughing about what a weirdo you were.

Okay, just breathe. I did it, it’s over.

You tried to concentrate on whatever Mrs. Andrade was talking about but only half the students truly paid attention.

Afternoons in the Outer Banks truly were a cruel thing. So you decided to check your phone:

Sighing quietly, you put your phone away and rubbed your temples. A thousand thoughts raced through your mind, yet at the same time, it felt so empty.

Maybe I'm lucky and tomorrow I’ll wake up to a big newsflash: This just came in, Kildare Academy was reduced to ashes by a sudden fire.

But when had you ever been lucky?

Your phone buzzed again but you really didn’t feel like talking and thinking about Rafe anymore.

This guy had thrown you off track in just an hour but in the best and worst way possible.

And even though every part of you wanted to run from the thought of seeing him again — the way that uncomfortable feeling in your chest wouldn’t let up — there was still a small part of you that found yourself oddly eager to talk to him again, work with him on that stupid little project and listen to his stupid little laugh.

Because somehow in just sixty minutes you’d learned more about Rafe Cameron than you had in nearly seven years at school.

For instance, he was a lot more considerate than you’d expected. Not that you’d ever thought he was like a high school movie bully or some shit but his occasional soft smiles and the way he didn't mock you whenever you'd said some stupid shit definitely surprised you.

Plus, he seemed to care about his little sister which was such an attractive attribute (and the bare minimum let's be honest).

All of this was so strange.

It sounded stupid but Rafe Cameron had always been just a concept to you. A crush you enjoyed looking at and maybe making up your own little idea of (and some scenarios to fall asleep to, be for real).

But now he was... real and—

Bzzrt.

Seriously, Cara had class too, and with Ms. Langford, no less. And unlike Mrs. Andrade, she wasn’t exactly chill.

You picked up your phone again, expecting some delusional text messages—but the moment you saw the notification on your lock screen, your heart stopped.

No fucking way.

NO. FUCKING. WAY.

Holding your breath, you unlocked your phone, and the second your eyes landed on the profile picture, your heart took off in a full sprint. You didn’t even register Mrs. Andrade calling your name.

Because by some strange twist of fate, Rafe Cameron had gotten your number and decided to text you, after what you were sure had been your ultimate humiliation today.

You didn’t know whether to grin, cheer, or jump out of your seat—shit, maybe all three—but instead, you just sat there, wondering if there really was a god of luck and if he’d just decided to bless you.

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K M S M A S T E R L I S T | <- P R E V I O U S | N E X T ->

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T A G L I S T F O R M If you're just interested in this series, it's enough to drop a comment, no need to fill out the form.

@ursogorgeous13 @my-name-is-baby @moneybaby07 @jjasmiineee

[thefallenangelsgang]

I'm sorry to everyone who follows me for other shit but I'm going to keep posting about the Watcher situation because marketing fascinates me. I find advertising to be sickening and exploitive, but marketing as a concept is fascinating.

I'm just majorly wondering what the FUCK is going on at Watcher HQ right now. It's still relatively early on the West Coast (almost 8 am at the time I am writing this) but their lack of response is throwing up a lot of interesting markers to me (not necessarily red flags but flags all the same.)

The immediate pull back on response speaks that they knew what they were doing in terms of PR at least initially. They had their employees delete any interactions with dissenting fans, there was radio silence except for clarification on what will remain on the Youtube. Their only mistake was making that Patreon announcement with sneak peaks for the site (I can only guess they were banking that the Patrons were most likely to follow them in the move and sorely miscalculated it). Steven's post was... problematic. But he posted it before all of the backlash started so while it didn't help it wasn't a doubling down when faced with a lot of backlash.

While saving face is almost always a smart thing to do, this silence has gone on a little bit too long. They have lost tens of thousands of Subscribers in 24 hours. Their announcement video has over a 1:4 Like/Dislike ratio. Fans are talking and starting to spin the situation in ways that are actively detrimental to the company. It should be top priority to get a response out. This is crisis mode y'all. They had all day to secure a PR representative if they didn't already have one to try and salvage this and yet? Still more radio silence from the official channel.

That creates the question: are we going to see a response today or have they chosen to wait until the traditional work-week starts again? I can't help but think that waiting is a terrible idea. The fanbase is getting out of hand. They need to salvage what they can and letting the situation fester isn't going to help. Or, the even worse option is that they are going to continue like this isn't happening, which is an EVEN WORSE idea.

Whatever happens I'm watching with a perverse fascination. Its been a long time since I've seen a media blunder like this.

[screamlet]

18 or 23, if either ruffles your truffles!

my god I FINALLY I GOT TO YOURS!!!! huge surprise: have some bodyguard au. this is cuddling while somebody's crying (18). this is another installment of bodyguard buck and senator kinard, picking up immediately where we left off. about 1.6k. if you think you hear the theme from jaws at the end: you do. i'm hoping to wrap this up in 2-3 more parts? let's see! find all parts of the bodyguard au here (tagged "bodyguard au (screamlet)").

---

Upstairs, Tommy runs the shower and calls Sal. He doesn't know how to start and Sal doesn't give him any time because he picks up immediately.

"It's technically a weekend, Thomas," Sal drawls. "What happened?"

"I had sex with Evan."

Sal's quiet, but Tommy can imagine the way he's pinching the bridge of his nose. "Where are you? Where's Buckley?"

"My house. I—"

"Yeah, goofball, I know, you offered to let him stay with you even though I told you not to, and he said yes even though I told him not to—"

"You did?"

Sal huffs. "I implied that it would be better that he focus on his family and recovery, and forget about us until he was cleared, and other shit that didn't stick."

Tommy's quiet. "Sal, I always said I'd never be that man. Give me a few months with a pretty face and, what do you know, I'm exactly that man."

Sal doesn't answer.

He can hear Sal moving through the house, though. He wonders if he's going to get in his car and drive over so they can shift into crisis mode.

"Yeah, and I always hoped you wouldn't put me in this position, but here we are." Sal sighs. "Is there any chance we could spin this as a real thing? I mean: is this the real thing?"

The shower has been running long enough that Tommy has to wipe the steam from the mirror to see himself. Age 45, greying, gay, lonely. 30 minutes ago, he was lying in a beautiful man's arms and he could have sworn he was happy. Now it's only made the lines around his eyes and mouth deeper, the blue of his eyes paler like the life's draining from him. This? What's left? This is the real thing.

"No," Tommy says. "He said it was a mistake. It was. I agree."

Sal laughs humorlessly. "You fucking agree. Alright."

"What do I do?" He pauses. "What do we do?"

It's quiet for longer than Tommy would like. Sal finally answers: "Talk to him. Fix this. Get him back on your side. Do not drive him away, right into the newspapers and internet hacks. I know self-sabotage is your favorite cheat day meal, but do not fuck this up with him."

"I… what?"

"If you upset him," Sal begins, "if you drive him away, take away something he wants, he'll go out and get your attention any way he can. You sweet talk that kid within an inch of his life. You play the sad, lonely bastard, make him feel sorry for you, and wait for him to go away."

Tommy's eyes widen. "You think he will?"

Sal sighs. "Tommy: did you really think he'd stay?"

---

Tommy showers and changes, then heads downstairs. Evan's moved from the guest room to the living room, where he's lying on the couch with his bad leg up. He startles when he sees Tommy and tries to sit up, despite Tommy telling him to stay still. Eventually Evan gets himself upright and Tommy takes a seat in the armchair across from him.

"I'm sorry," Evan begins.

"No, don't apologize, you're not the one who was out of line here." They're making what Tommy thinks is a horrifying amount of eye contact; it's pretty clear that both of them want to crawl under their respective rocks for about a century, but they can't do that, can't they?

"No, listen," Evan starts. "It's just—" Evan takes a long, slow breath. "You're—this—I know I'm saying this with three bullet wounds in my body, but this is the best job I've ever had."

Tommy can't help laugh a little. "You need to raise your bar, kid."

Evan only looks more pained. "Yeah. Exactly. I've—"

Evan looks so lost it hurts. A day ago, Tommy would have been the one Evan could talk to about whatever was troubling him, from random trivial things to the late night staring down the barrel of the rest of your life questions. But Evan's a grown man; he can, he has to, find his way through himself.

"You've met my parents," Evan finally says. It comes with a short, sad laugh. "What you saw? That's the most they've ever cared about me. That's the most they've ever cared about what I'm doing with my life. If I'm not disappointing them by dropping out of school or doing stupid stunts as a kid, I just don't exist to them."

Tommy doesn't know if it would help or hurt to tell Evan: Yeah. He gets it. He barely existed to his parents until they found a reason to hate him and cut him off. It was like they were waiting for an excuse to drop him from their lives and, lucky for them, the reason was inside him all along.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tommy finally says. "You deserve better. Everyone deserves to be seen, to be loved."

Evan nods. He's staring at Tommy with wide eyes, like he wants to devour him. It's disarming, but Tommy can (has to) sit here and take it.

"Bobby, um. Bobby's taken a lot of chances on me," Evan says. "Like my parents said: Maddie gave me her Jeep and some cash to leave home, and I'd been living out of it for about four years when I got to DC. It was Athena who found me, actually? This guy pulled out a gun at a bank and I took him down before he could hurt anyone. She made a joke about how I should look into security as a career, and I think I was way too eager about it because I needed the job. So she introduced me to Bobby."

Evan rubs the back of his neck as Tommy watches him blink away tears. "And he introduced me to you. And after Maddie, you two are the best things that have ever happened to me."

Tommy's manfully swallowing his emotions, but it's getting harder and harder. "I won't tell Sal."

Evan laughs, then cracks. "So I got my wires crossed, that's all. That's—that's all it was. I'm sorry I led you on. I didn't mean it."

And god help him, he'd believe Evan from this moment until the sun exploded if Evan wasn't looking at him like he was tearing his own heart out of his chest, piece by miserable piece. Maybe it was fear over losing the career he'd found and the life he'd built; Tommy knew what it felt like to be lost and finally find something to hold onto. But Tommy didn't think so.

It didn't matter. This was what Evan needed: to be near him, but not with him; to look, but not touch; to believe that wanting was the same as having, and longing was the same as love. Maybe they couldn't agree on what constituted "good" music, but this was the song-and-dance Tommy had been doing his whole life.

"You did nothing wrong," Tommy says. Evan looks at him and nods, then bursts into tears. "Buck. Evan. Evan. Can I—"

"Could you—"

Then they're standing and holding each other for dear life. Evan clings to him like someone's going to rip him from Tommy; Tommy holds him like he's going to stop them.

"Ball's in your court, kid," Tommy says quietly, because Evan still hasn't let him go. "Because I—I care about you. So much. I want what you want."

"Don't want that," Evan mumbles against his shoulder. For his mental health, Tommy's going to pretend Evan's face isn't buried against his shoulder and breathing him in like that's the only oxygen he needs.

"I want you to be happy," Tommy says. "And have a good job, a good place to live, and whatever you need to be—be you. The best—the Evan Buckley you want to be."

Evan shudders like Tommy's just punched him. That's his cue to squeeze him tight, one last time, and slip out of his arms. He takes a step back to let Evan get his bearings; he already feels so empty without him. Sal's advice sounded so backward at first, but Tommy sees it for what it is: the hardest way through. That's why no one ever does it.

"So sit down," Tommy says. He surreptitiously wipes at his cheeks and grabs Evan's tote bag of home care instructions and medication, and the phone from his coat pocket. "I'll get you some water for this, and I'll get the guest room ready for you again."

Evan looks up. "You're letting me stay?"

Tommy nods. "Of course. If you want to stay, stay. If you want me to get you a—"

"I want to stay," Evan says. "My apartment has stairs and—" Evan looks into his tote bag like it has the cure to his miseries. "And I don't like being alone when I'm sick. Is it okay if I call Maddie?"

"Whatever you need, Buck." Evan shoots him a look. Tommy laughs. "Evan."

"Don't call me that," Evan says, playful and deadly serious. "You're not allowed."

"Alright, Evan," Tommy says. Evan smiles at him, hurting but hopeful, and Tommy leaves him to it.

As Tommy strips the guest room bed and replaces the bathroom towels, his phone vibrates with a text from Sal.

Just talked to your new bodyguard on the phone

You're gonna hate him

He starts in a week

[onyxmistkes]

God, it feels like it has been forever since I actually sat down to draw something for ECM, but I have done it!!

Though, it seems I have lost all sense of consistency in my art style and the way I color Peter's hair (I don't know why I did that and I'm not fixing it ierjngfergnj)

As an apology, take some WIPs I May or may not finish! The first one is inspired by Time Drake's Afternoon of Wild Revelations and takes place after Tim and Peter return to the apartment to cook their frozen pizza, and the second one is from Chapter 24 of Existential Crisis Mode. the only reason I didn't finish the second one was because trying to draw Hood fighting all those goons was going to give me an aneuRYSM I SWEAR--

One last silly doodle hehe

Jason: Do I even weigh anything to you?

Peter: No, it's like holding a couple of grapes.

And as always inspired by Existential Crisis Mode written by @luciaintheskyainthi :DD

[aventurineswife]

HII AUTHOR! ARE YOU HAVING A GOOD DAY? I HAVE A QUESTION. How would the SAHSRAU react if you suddenly got bored with HSR and switched to genshin?

Oh boy... The jealousy and the angst are sure burning up...

At first, they don’t notice.

Everything is normal. The Museum of Divinity still stands. Your artworks are still there. Your music still echoes through the stars.

But then… something changes.

The paintings stop appearing. The music stops playing. The museum doors remain shut.

The characters wait for your next command. It never comes.

The Galaxy is silent.

And that’s when they realize.

“There must be an explanation.”

Welt starts running calculations, probability theories, even dimensional travel theories—anything to explain your sudden disappearance.

Himeko sips her coffee, trying to stay calm, but her hands are shaking. “They’ll be back. They always come back.”

(You in fact did not come back.)

March 7th: "Uh, guys? You might wanna look at this..."

She holds up a blurry, pixelated screenshot she managed to capture—a screenshot of Teyvat.

Himeko’s mug shatters. (Like her heart ahem)

Blade stops moving entirely. His entire reason for existing has just left him behind.

Stares blankly at the sky, gripping his sword. If you are no longer here, then what purpose does he have?

Dan Heng acts calm, but he's already in crisis mode. He's scrolling through files, trying to find any clue as to why you left.

When he sees the Teyvat screenshot, his grip tightens on his spear.

Dan Heng: “…We’ve been abandoned.” (yeah no shit, Sherlock-)

Aventurine immediately plays it cool. "Well, well, well. Looks like our dear Creator has found another plaything."

Sunday is not calm.

"BETRAYAL! TREACHERY! ABANDONMENT! I HAVE BEEN CAST ASIDE!"

He dramatically collapses on the museum floor. Aventurine just watches with amusement.

But the second he sees the Teyvat screenshot—

Aventurine: “…Oh, you’ve got to be joking.”

They both hate the idea of you playing another game more than they hate each other.

Kafka smirks, but there’s a sharp edge to it. "So, you’ve moved on, huh?"

Black Swan looks at the fading murals of your art, her expression unreadable. “All things fade… but I never expected our Creator’s gaze to turn elsewhere.”

Deep down, they wonder—were they not enough?

Luocha: "I suppose even gods grow tired of their creations."

Jing Yuan: "Hah… It seems we have been cast aside for another world."

They act philosophical about it, but they’re both lowkey miserable.

Jing Yuan tries to joke about it, but even Yanqing notices something’s off.

Luocha stares at a fading portrait of you, quietly wondering if he will ever see your light again. (Probably not but ahem)

March 7th is the first to start coping.

"It’s fine, it’s fine! Maybe they’re just… on a vacation! Yeah! They’ll be back! Right?"

Sparkle is already scheming. "If our dear Painter has found another world… then perhaps it’s time we follow them there."

(They are actively looking for ways to break into Teyvat.)

Sighs, so the list goes on...

Blade stops fighting entirely. (What's the point if you're not watching?)

Dan Heng avoids everyone. (He refuses to believe it.)

Kafka and Black Swan start theorizing. (Will you return, or is this the end?)

Sunday begins plotting. (If they cannot bring you back, they will find a way to make you remember them.)

March 7th, Sparkle, and Aventurine?

They're looking for a way to invade Genshin. (Yeah, with Silver Wolf's help)

Days turn into weeks. Weeks turn into months.

They wait.

And wait.

And then—

One day—

A new painting appears.

It's… different.

A familiar signature, but a different style.

A mural of Teyvat.

And on that day, the last hope shatters.

You are gone.

Their Creator has truly moved on.

But that doesn’t mean they’ll stop searching for you. Not ever.

My back hurts... I'm taking away your guys' SAHSRAU privilege. I need someone to write this as a fic or expand it and I'm not gonna write it, that's for you. 🫶

[squidsquidsquidsquidsquidgame]

3 AM crisis

character: Nam-Gyu X fem!reader

Summary: After watching a conspiracy theory video, Nam-Gyu wakes you up in the middle of the night to ask if you think pigeons are real.

Warning: namgyus crazy ass theories

You’re fast asleep, comfortably curled up in your blankets, dreaming about something pleasant—probably food, if you had to guess. But then, a sudden weight shifts on the bed, followed by a sharp poke to your arm.

"Hey," a hushed voice whispers. "Hey, babe. Wake up."

You groan, barely cracking an eye open. The room is dark except for the faint glow of Nam-Gyu’s phone screen, casting eerie shadows across his face. His brows are furrowed, his lips pressed into a serious line.

"What?" you mumble, voice thick with sleep.

"Are pigeons real?"

You stare at him. Blink once. Blink twice. "What?"

Nam-Gyu leans in, his expression deadly serious. "Pigeons. Are they real? Think about it. Have you ever seen a baby pigeon? Ever? Anywhere?"

Your brain, still struggling to boot up, short-circuits. "Nam-Gyu. It’s three in the morning."

"I know! But I fell down this rabbit hole, and I think—no, I know—they might be government drones. Or spies. Or something! It makes too much sense!" He shoves his phone into your hands, showing you a video paused on an ominous-looking thumbnail: a pigeon with glowing red eyes. The title reads: "THE PIGEON PARADOX: BIRDS ARE NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"

You sigh, rubbing your temples. "You woke me up for this?"

"Yes! And you need to hear me out!" He sits cross-legged on the bed, full of nervous energy. "Okay, so pigeons are everywhere, right? But we never see them at night. Where do they go? Government charging stations, that’s where."

"Nam-Gyu—"

"And the way they stare at you? Like they're always watching? Because they are!" He gestures wildly. "Have you ever noticed how they don’t seem scared of people? They just strut around like they own the place. You know why? Because they do!"

You groan and flop back down. "I cannot believe this is happening right now."

Nam-Gyu dramatically flops next to you, staring at the ceiling. "I'm just saying, what if we’ve been lied to this whole time?"

You roll onto your side, looking at him through tired eyes. He’s fully in detective mode now, eyes wide, brain running at full speed.

"Do you actually believe this, or did you just watch too many videos again?" you ask.

He hesitates. "…Maybe both.

A deep sigh escapes you. You should be annoyed. You should roll over and ignore him. But he looks so genuinely invested in this nonsense that you can't help but crack a small smile.

"You’re ridiculous,"

you murmur, reaching out to ruffle his already-messy hair.

"Ridiculously woke," he corrects.

"Go to sleep, Nam-Gyu."

"But—"

"Sleep."

He huffs but finally lies down, mumbling under his breath. "You’ll see. One day, the truth will come out."

You shake your head, pressing a kiss to his forehead before snuggling back into the blankets.

Just as you start to drift off again, he mutters, "But seriously… where are all the baby pigeons?"

You pretend not to hear him.

🦑🦑🦑

[zeropro]

How long have they been away from Cybertron, and is the planet alright or a hustle world?

I think at some point I'm gonna make a post with all my AU content in chronological order, but for now you can just have my notes on the timeline.

(check tags for the tldr on the ask)

Here’s the current timeline so far…

Long ass time ago BCE

The first Cybertronian Golden Age

Luna 1 disappears

Paradise era, Knights of Cybertron leave

Cybertronian Dark Age (The Age of Barbarism)

Rise of the thirteen

Cyberutopia is created somewhere

Onyx Prime (who is NOT Shockwave in this AU) attempts a colonialism

The Dead Universe and Unicron are created

Caminus, Velocitron, and other planets are colonized by Titans

Megatrous kills Solus Prime with the Star Saber

First civil war

During experimentation into gestalt technology, five beastformers are made into the first successful Combiner team: the Predacons

After the war, Nova Prime ushers in the Second Golden Age and resets the calendar

5.7 million BCE

“Functionist sentiment becomes an institution of society overseen by the Functionist Council, with robots expected to stick to a single job determined by their alt modes.” -tfwiki

Nova Prime enacts “The Expansion,” for which the first wave of cold constructed Cybertronians are brought online

Megatron (1st cycle 012) and Orion Pax are born under Functionalism. Megatron is one of the first cold constructed mechs.

The Constructicons are created

Nova Prime disappears into the dead universe and Nominus Prime takes leadership under a new corrupt senate. Expansion is put on hold

Megatron works as a miner in Tarn (demolition=menial labor class) Megs wanted to be a medic but quickly gives up on that dream

Orion Pax works as a dock worker in Iacon (truck=transport class) OP wanted to be an archivist and is able to work his way up to it due to having access to greater social mobility

Cybertron experiences no shortage of violence: civil wars, riots, off-world campaigns, and alien invasions continue to happen sporadically throughout its history. Wanting to bolster Cybertron’s airforce, a new style of war-frame is designed and mass produced. These cold constructed jets received the classification: Seekers (after their intended function: seek and destroy)

Skywarp is born (6th cycle 023) as a first generation Seeker and was immediately sent to the military. He is then at some point reassigned to spec ops due to his powerful outlier ability.

Seekers offline too easily so the next few waves of Seekers are sent to the Cybertronian War Academy for training before joining the military

Skywarp is sent to Praxus and subjected to intensive study. Space bridge and quantum based hyper-drive technology will later see great advancements thanks to his contributions to science

Thundercracker is brought online as one of the last batch of Seekers (24th cycle 124). By then the Cybertronian War Academy roster was too full so he was given the (limited) option to pick his vocation. He chose to work as a courier in Vos.

“Those who were constructed cold face institutionalized apartheid; although this eventually ends due to mounting public pressure, including mass protests and marches. However, intrinsic prejudice against constructed cold Transformers persists in among a sizable percentage of the population.” -tfwiki

Megatron and pax become friends while advocating against cold construct apartheid and functionalism. Pax considered Megatron like a brother to him but Megatron always felt distanced by their class divide

Scientists have been pulling sparks out of the Matrix faster than frames can be constructed for them. Sparks without ready frames will be “frozen” for future use

The Matrix "runs dry" (is replaced by a fake) and cold construction as a common method of creation stops entirely

The Senate’s evil science division, the Institute, establishes Shadowplay and Empurata as common practices

The energy crisis forces a planet-wide rationing of resources

Cryak commissions a Seeker frame to be constructed and has a thawed spark placed in it. Starscream is born (22nd cycle 415).

5 million BCE

Starscream escapes

Thundercracker finds Starscream

4.5 million BCE

Due to the energy crisis, tension is high between city-states. The Senate establish the sport of Gladiatorial games to try and mitigate the animosity. These games are held in Kaon and become very popular

Starscream defies Functionalism by pursuing many different jobs. Whenever he would get in trouble or fall on hard times he’d turn to Thundercracker for help

Orion Pax encourages Megatron to publish his political writings

Orion Pax joins the police force

The first appearance of the pacifist grassroots movement calling themselves Decepticons. Their ideology is based on Megatron’s first published treatise

Megatron is caught in a bar fight and is wrongfully arrested. Whirl beats him up in jail, changing Megatron’s perspective on violence

Megatron loses his job due to automation and signs up to be a gladiator

Starscream goes to college (not really, I just like to call the period of time where he went to work as a Scientist in Iacon "college" cuz it's funny XD) and meets Skyfire. The two become close

Senator Protius promises to make the Decepticons a real political party by way of census. In truth he just wanted a list of names so they can shadowplay all the Decepticons. Skyfire almost signs on but Starscream convinces him not to

Megatron continues to publish his writings while gaining fame as a gladiator. The Decepticon movement takes a shift from pacifism towards terrorism

Skywarp likes watching the gladiator fights whenever they are assigned to patrol the events  

The gladiator Ravage finds a discarded Soundwave struggling to deal with his telepathic powers and takes him under his wing

Skywarp plays a prank on the government

Starscream and Skyfire go off-world on an expedition, intending to travel to the Sol system and back (they're gone for about 40 turns on the Cybertronian calendar, or approximately 50,000 Earth years)

The Senate discover Nominus’ matrix is a fake and have him secretly killed

The Senate enacts the Clampdown

Thundercracker loses his job and is forced to join the military

4.3 million BCE

Senator Shockwave gets shadowplayed

Sentinel Prime takes leadership

The Decepticons begin secretly forming an army under Megatron

Orion Pax and Megatron break up

Starscream returns to Cybertron without Skyfire and is subsequently tried for Skyfire’s murder, for which he was found innocent. He is still expelled from the Academy

Starscream goes back to Vos, and crashes on Thundercracker's couch for a while

Thundercracker takes Starscream to watch a gladiator fight, which is where Starscream takes note of Megatron

Despite his reservations, Starscream joins the military in order to learn how to fight as well as gain rapport with the military Seekers

While stealing a military airship, Megatron finds Skywarp locked up in the ship's engine room and rescues him. Skywarp joins the Decepticons

Tension between Vos and Tarn is at an all time high, leading to outright civil war between the two city-states

4 million BCE

The Bombing of Vos ends the civil war

Megatron shows up to recruit Decepticons in the aftermath of the Vos-Tarn civil war. Starscream stands up and gives a speech that convinces the majority of Vos' Seeker population to join the Decepticons

Starscream joins the Decepticons

Starscream uses Skywarp to get close to Megatron

The Decepticons threaten war by launching an attack on Iacon. Starscream leads the group that levels the Academy to the ground. He doesn't feel better.

Thundercracker is deployed to help quell the Decepticon activity in Iacon. Thundercracker confronts Starscream and Starscream begs him for help. Thundercracker joins the Decepticons

Megatron is captured and almost gets shadowplayed, but escapes thanks to Starscream, Skywarp, and Soundwave

Megatron no longer thinks the current system can be changed, even with violence. Now his aim is to burn it all down and rebuild from scratch.

Starscream and Soundwave massacre the entire Senate 

Shockwave joins the Decepticons

Megatron officially declares war

Megatron defeats Sentinel Prime and Zeta Prime takes leadership

The Fall of the First Five Cities

Zeta Prime attempts a war crime, Orion Pax and Megatron team up to stop him, and then Megatron betrays Orion and leaves him to die

Orion Pax becomes Optimus Prime

The Battle of Sherma Bridge, where Optimus Prime and Megatron first clash (allegedly)

Praxus falls

Starscream becomes Air Commander. He appoints Thundercracker and Skywarp as his Wing Second and Third. The Trine is complete

Decepticons pull ahead and as a last ditch effort the Autobots thaw previously frozen sparks to construct a new army of MTOs

War happens

The Trine grow close

Megatron gets worse

3 million BCE

War continues to happen

Megatron at this point has tunnel visioned into wanting only one thing: defeating Optimus Prime

Megatron and Prime get into giant hamster balls and play WOW for several vorn. Starscream is mad about it

Starscream starts trying to take over the Decepticons and Megatron physically punishes him for it.

While on a mission, Thundercracker meets Bumblebee briefly

Skywarp accidentally sacrifices himself to protect Starscream, almost dying. Starscream is devastated to find he actually cares about this idiot

1 million BCE

The Autobots (aboard the Ark) and the Decepticons (aboard the Nemesis) leave Cybertron in search of resources

They crash on prehistoric Earth and remain in stasis for one million years

The war continues on Cybertron, lead by Shockwave and Elita1

0.9 million BCE

The Decepticons overthrow Shockwave and he flees to Luna 2

Hot Rod gathers a rag tag crew and leaves Cybertron on the Lost Light in search of Optimus Prime

The Lost Light discovers the Dead Universe and Nova Prime

Cyclonus joins the Lost Light crew

0.7 million BCE

Shockwave clones Sunstorm

The Great Shutdown: Cybertron completely runs out of energy and everyone falls into stasis

The Lost Light return to Cybertron. Upon finding everyone in stasis, they venture back into space to find a solution

1984

Reawakened on Earth, the Autobots continue to wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons

The Decepticons rebuild the Nemisis into the Victory and try to head back to Cybertron, but they crash into the ocean after Autobot interference

Megatron orders Shockwave to build him a space bridge while he collects energy on Earth to revive Cybertron

Megatron begins abusing Starscream

Typical G1 Cartoon shenanigans occur

Wheeljack builds the Dinobots

The Decepticons find Skyfire in the ice. Starscream tries to get Skyfire to join the Decepticons, but Skyfire refuses when Starscream proves willing to harm humans

Starscream starts to have nightmares. He stops sleeping well

1991

Shockwave completes his space bridge and visits Earth, only to find Megatron has completely lost the plot. After serving on Earth for a few years he goes back to Luna 2 with the intent on finishing his doomsday device, only to find Sunstorm has escaped. He begins migrating his lab to the Decepticon's ocean base on Earth in order to finish his work there.

Megatron obtains frozen sparks from Cybertron and builds the Stunticons. The Autobots rescue half the sparks he had brought over and create the Aerialbots

Starscream's plots to overthrow Megatron are becoming more and more unhinged. At some point he goes to Cybertron and steals some incarcerated memory components and builds the Combaticons, effectively freeing these criminals (including Swindle) from jail

Hot Rod and the Lost Light crew arrive on Earth

2008

Megatron goes too far

Thundercracker defects

2009

After the Decepticons destroyed several human cities, the Autobots finally defeat Megatron with the help of their human allies at the Battle of New York

Seeing that Megatron has fallen, Starscream declares himself the new leader, but Soundwave rescues Megatron's mostly dead body and convinces Shockwave to try and fix him

Optimus Prime dies of his injuries and Bumblebee becomes leader

Hot Rod, now going by Rodimus, leaves Earth on the Lost Light

2010

The humans are justifiably angry with the Cybertronians for destroying their world. Unable to leave the planet, the remaining Decepticons either get captured or go into hiding. 

Thundercracker watches a lot of TV and is now friends with Bumblebee

The Autobots are helping capture Decepticons on Earth

Starscream struggles to lead the Decepticons

2011

Sunstorm arrives on Earth

Starscream frees the Decepticons from human containment, but they still wont follow him

2012

The humans have rebuilt the cities that were destroyed by the Decepticons three years ago

Everyone basically living as tho the war is over

Megatron is brought back by Shockwave and immediately goes to punish Starscream for doing a poor job leading the Decepticons, even tho Starscream did his best.

Skywarp's loyalty to Megatron finally breaks apart, and he gets them out of there before Megatron turns violent, effectively defecting from the Decepticons

Starscream tries to apologize to Thundercracker in order to get his help with fighting Megatron, but Thundercracker turns him down. Starscream shoots Thundercracker in the back, much to Skywarp’s dismay

Starscream and Skywarp hide out on Earth for a bit

Megatron is trying to gather his scattered forces, specifically the combiners

Starscream and Skywarp have an argument and part ways for a bit

Starscream comes across some Decepticon activity and attacks them

Megatron shows up and begins beating Starscream to a pulp

Skywarp jumps in to save Starscream but is shot mid-warp and his warp drive destabilizes

With no other option, Starscream turns to the Autobots for help, with Skywarp in tow

Thundercracker gets a dog

And that's where we are now! Thanks so much for reading!

The current plan going forward is as follows:

1 year later (2013): Combiner Wars, which leads directly into Dark Cybertron [feat. Sunstorm] followed by the Presidential Arc, which lasts about 3-5 years ending in the Apology Comic

[luvstappen]

omg I'm just thinking about how max must've found out like Lando is in crisis mode and Max asks him what's wrong and he just goes "what's wrong? I'll tell you what's fucking wrong - I just got dumped by your sister" and Max just goes what the actual fuck??

"Surprise we've been dating in secret but i fucked it up like I always do like you said I would, and now I've come in second once again. Always the almost, never first."

And Max just has to process all that + find out that his girlfriend knew but didn't tell him ...

HAHAHAHA “I just got dumped by your sister”

max:

[cynthia39100]

Merlin rewatch -- S4E1: The Darkest Hour1

"You're not scared?" "Oh, I am, Merlin. Maybe more than you."

Amazing scene! Gorgeous from start to end. This post is going to be long.

Context, Merlin's magic was useless to the Dorocha. He dropped a candle and he was too terrified to retrieve it from the dark corner.

"Just, pick it up."

Love how gentle Arthur's voice was. His expression showed clearly that he wasn't impatient or anything. He looked puzzled. I think he didn't expect Merlin to be so visibly shaken. He thought Merlin was the bravest man he knew because Merlin always seemed unfazed in crisis (no more than Arthur, at least).

The lovely thing is that while he didn't expect Merlin to be as scared as he was, he didn't look down on Merlin just because of it. He told Merlin to just pick the candle up, not to mock him, but to make the situation more casual and less scary.

"Do you want me to get one of the maids to do it for you?"

Same here. Arthur saw how tense Merlin was and tried to lighten the mood by some light teasing. You can see Arthur didn't really mean it from his deliberately performative movement and quiet voice, like he was pushing himself to be funny.

"It's not a joke." "Yeah."

When teasing doesn’t work, Arthur was quick to concede and flip back to serious mode! It's so beautiful. He didn't look shock or offended, or even guilty, just quietly resigned, showing his understanding.

Then he goes to pick the candle for Merlin!! Truly a knight in shiny armour~~~

"You see, Merlin, I could never be like you. I could never let myself look so spineless."

They returned to banter, and I love the self-awareness in this sentence, a hint of Arthur's burden. He can never look afraid because he has to give the people confidence. In contrast, Merlin can (and most of the time, need to) show his fear because people don't look to him for courage (well, maybe Arthur does), and looking harmless is how he survives.

Lovely smile🥹Love these moments when their faces melted into a soft, genuine smile at the end of some jibing match.

I love how clear it was in the two actors performance that they were very much still afraid (and tired), and were only pretending to be casual. You can feel the effort they put it to keep their voice light and cheery.

A sudden noise had them both tensed up again. Arthur's face here!! At first glance he seemed relax and uncaring, still, only the tiny furrow of his eyebrow betrayed his calm exterior. So subtle yet so strong.

"You're not scared?" "Oh, I am, Merlin."

Then! Arthur admits that he’s scared!!! Out loud! The vulnerability on his face here was wonderful. I love how easily he said it. He couldn't show his vulnerability to his people, but Merlin was different. There was also a sort of comfort or validation in his admitting fear, like he was telling Merlin it's okay to be scared.

“Maybe more than you.”

Bradley was doing some amazing thing here. There's this tiny shift on his face after he fully turned and before he talked, that made him look incredibly soft and... indulgent? There was sadness too. Just, so many emotions there in his eyes and they were all directed to Merlin. So beautiful.

The smiles ahhhhh 🫠🫠🫠

What I imagine, Merlin was prompted to smile by the realisation that Arthur wasn't as calm/unfearful/oblivious as he appeared to. Arthur was smiling as a reassurance "yes, I'm the same, you're alright", and maybe also because Merlin finally smiled.

Colin’s face at the end is wonderfully complicated. It's returning to reality from a moment of break. But also, I wonder if a part of him was absorbing the realization that this was what Arthur always felt. This hopeless. It was probably the first time Merlin experienced what Arthur always had to deal with. And still, Arthur appeared calm and confident each time, giving his people hope. Merlin had known how strong Arthur was to be able to do that, but here he actually experienced it. It’s very, very lovely.

[S4E1] [other episodes]

[orlaunderrated]

The Edges of Us: Chapter 2

First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Will Lenney x fem reader; George Clarke x fem reader Summary: Y/N has always been close to George—but everything changes when she catches feelings for his sharp-tongued, infuriatingly charming friend, Will. Torn between loyalty and desire, Y/N finds herself caught in a messy tangle of friendship, secrets, and unexpected love.

Word Count: 1.8k+

Note: Thanks for all the love!!

xxx

The pub’s better than expected. No sticky floors, the bathrooms lock, and there’s surf and turf on the menu. It’s loud for a midweek night, but it suits the mood. Chris leans across the table, a pint in hand and a grin already forming.

"So Y/N, was George a crazy womaniser in uni? Or is that a recent thing?" Chris asks me smugly.

Chris strikes me as one of those guys who walks the line between cocky and endearing. He’s got that energy, like he knows he’s good-looking but also knows he’s 5'4, so he doesn’t push his luck too hard. There’s something quick behind his eyes, though. Like he’s always turning something over in his head, even when he’s joking. I get the sense he’s smarter than he lets on. Maybe he’s used to people underestimating him, or maybe he likes it that way.

Arthur’s harder to pin down. He’s definitely more... arty. A little offbeat. I know he makes music, George mentioned it once, and I actually listened to some on the plane,  but he doesn’t lead with that. He’s got a drier humour, says things that make you blink twice before you realise it was a joke. Like he’s testing the room just to see who’s paying attention. I haven’t quite figured him out yet, but I’m intrigued.

"George is a womaniser now? Oh my, how times have changed." I say grinning "Once, when we lived together for a bit, he met this girl on a night out. She's like stunning. Little tiny blonde girl who could definitely be a model." Chris and Arthur are already beaming, ready to hear what their friend was like. "And we all pile into the Uber, me George, this girl, and I think someone else?, I don’t remember, anyway, in the Uber, George starts going on about the Yemen crisis. Like really going on. Not in a passing comment sort of way like full TED Talk mode.” The boys are already cracking up.

“So I try to steer the conversation back to, like, flirting, or literally anything else. I'm like 'oh George, how's football going', 'did you know George does volunteering with me?'. But then, George puts his hand on her knee, but like nothing else. Like, stiff as. Doesn’t move it, doesn’t creep up her thigh, no small circles, just, like, on her knee." They’re howling now.

“So now I’m trying to make eye contact with him to be like 'what are you even doing?’ but she just starts talking to me. So we chat. About pop culture, I think the Kardashians came up? We get out the uber, and George is now holding her hand but she is so focused on talking to me. And she keeps talking, for Like, hours. I keep dropping hints. ‘Oh, George is probably asleep!’ ‘Wow, it’s late!’, but she doesn’t move. At one point I think I actually fell asleep." I pause for dramatic effect.

“It’s 4am. She finally peeks into George’s room, and he’s asleep, fully starfished, snoring, and she just… leaves. Doesn’t say bye. Doesn’t ask for my Insta. Nothing. Like she was never even there.” Chris is wiping tears from his eyes.

Arthur adds through laughter, “That’s literally what happened the other week! Girl comes over, gets the flat tour, goes to George’s room, and then, two minutes later, walks out the front door. Just gone.”

George mutters, “I said ‘that’s a nice road’ when we looked out the window,” like that explains everything.

Now I'm laughing, we’re all gasping for air. Chris has slid halfway off his chair, his face red, wheezing like an asthmatic kettle. Arthur’s head is in his hands, shaking silently before he bursts out laughing again, that kind of delayed laughter that just keeps coming in waves. I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts, eyes watering, barely able to get air in. It’s like being drunk on nothing but shared history and second-hand embarrassment. George just sits there, face in his hands, muttering, “It wasn’t that bad,” which only makes it worse. The whole table’s gone feral.

xxx

Later, after another pint, Arthur turns to me. “So what was your flight like? Isn’t it like 26 hours or something?”

“It actually took me, like, three days,” I say, already regretting how long this is going to take to explain. “I caught the latest flight I could from Brisbane to Sydney, stayed the night there… I was meant to sleep in the airport but got kicked out, so I crashed on an old friend’s sofa. They held my luggage hostage, so I had like, fuck all clothes. Just vibes.”

I keep going. I don’t mean to, but suddenly I’m deep into the whole saga—Sydney, an 8 hour long stop in Singapore, almost crying in the airport bathroom at 3am. The story drags on, messy and too detailed, my brain fogged from jet lag and too much Guinness.

“…and then I arrived in London early this morning!”

I stop. Silence. Oh god. “I’m so sorry. That was… so long. I just trauma-dumped my whole itinerary.”

The boys laugh, kindly. “No, it’s cool,” Chris says, grinning. “That was wild.”

Arthur raises an eyebrow and sips his drink. “Yeah, that was a lot. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to make us feel bad for not picking you up from the airport.”

I snort. “Wow, okay.” I'm too jetlagged to care. But then Arthur just nods, looking vaguely impressed.

“Honestly though, I would’ve cried in Singapore.”

The rest of the night flows easily. I get to know Chris and Arthur better, and I see that George is no different with them than he is with me. I hate it when boys act different around their friends. George was a bit like that in uni. He had this one friend who made ever-so-slightly misogynistic remarks about me, and George would smile at them or even laugh. I got really mad at him for that.

Chris bought me one more pint to 'keep me here longer', and I end up chatting about the rain with Arthur. "So actually, Sydney, I've never lived in Sydney but it’s where the stat is from, gets like four times as much rain as London. But London has way more rainy days than Sydney. I reckon Brisbane is the same. In summer it can rain so heavily for three days straight that you almost can’t drive anywhere. Once, when I was like four, it rained so hard I couldn’t see my dad standing a metre away from me."

Arthur seems genuinely interested, no quick jabs. I think he can tell I'm too tired. He says he kind of assumed it never really rained much in Australia. He tells me about his trip there a few months back, where it didn’t even have a cloud the whole week.

I don’t remember much after we got home, just the bone-deep exhaustion sinking into my limbs, and the familiar fuzz of jet lag fogging everything. I crash hard, and sleep like the dead for the next eighteen hours.

xxx

When I finally surface, blinking blearily at my phone, it’s 3pm. I peel myself off the camping cot, every joint stiff, my mouth dry, hair glued to one side of my face.

In the kitchen, George is already there. He doesn’t say anything, just smiles and hands me a cup of tea—half a sugar, a small dash of milk, teabag still in. Exactly how I like it. No questions, no fuss.

It hits me, that kind of knowing. That quiet familiarity. The kind you don’t even notice until it’s in your hands again.

It reminds me of the morning after that night out. It was our second year of uni, well, technically my first year again. I’d changed my course after the first hell year, and I was determined to not change again. When the end-of-year exams had finished, George had convinced me to come out for drinks with some of his friends and their girlfriends. It was one of those nights that started with plans and ended in chaos. We were all laughing too loudly, drinking too quickly, glowing with that special kind of post-exam delirium.

Somewhere between pub three and club one, a guy started hovering around me. Not in the cute, flirty way. In the “I’m ignoring your polite attempts to leave” kind of way. Every time I stepped back, he stepped forward, brushing off every excuse I gave like I hadn’t spoken at all.

I caught George’s eye across the room. He was mid-laugh, pint in hand, but his smile dropped the second he clocked my expression. I raised an eyebrow and gave him a tight, uncomfortable smile. He was by my side in seconds, like he’d been waiting for an excuse.

“Hey, babe,” he said smoothly, sliding an arm around my waist and planting a kiss just above my temple, firm and certain. “Everything okay here?”

The guy blinked, half-laughed like it was all a joke, but George didn’t laugh back. His tone was still polite, but his stare wasn’t. “She’s with me.”

George didn’t let go straight away. I didn’t pull away either.

The rest of the night that guy was always hovering, so we spent the rest of the night pretending. Every time someone asked, we played it up—holding hands, whispering jokes, stealing sips of each other’s drinks. My hands slipped under his puffer jacket on instinct. I told myself it was just for the bit. But later, when he gently led me home and tucked me into his bed, I wasn’t so sure.

George crashed on the couch like we always did, taking turns, depending on who was more wrecked. But that night, something in me cracked open. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was just that brief moment of closeness I didn’t know how badly I wanted until I had it.'

“George,” I whispered from the bed, voice thick and slurred.

“Mmhmm?”

“I wish it was real.”

Silence.

Then: “Go to sleep, Y/N.”

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of cheap toast and instant tea. My head was pounding. George passed me a mug, the way he always did. Half a sugar, small dash of milk, teabag still in.

“Did I say anything stupid last night?” I asked, avoiding his eyes.

He didn’t miss a beat. “You’re not my type, Y/N. I don’t like you like that.”

It stung. Not because I thought he did. But because for a few hours, I’d let myself believe he might. Also he answered soooo quickly, so I laughed. Too quickly.

“God, what the hell did I say to get that answer?”

He just smiled and shrugged.

That night, I went on a date. Some guy from my ethics tute. I didn’t even really like him, but I got ready at Georges flat. I was doing the whole 9-yards. Loud texts, extra spritz of perfume, a full outfit change, and a "do I look okay" to make sure George really noticed.

It wasn’t about the guy. It was about proving I was fine. That I hadn’t meant what I said. That I didn’t care. That we really were just mates. It would've hurt so much more to lose him as a mate.

Ironically, that date turned out to be the boyfriend who dumped me suddenly and caused George and I to live together.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks, handing me my tea. George. George who doesn’t like me like that but knows exactly how I take my tea—half a sugar, a splash of milk, bag still in. George who wraps an arm around me when I need it, who tells creeps I’m his girlfriend without hesitation. George who offered me his spare room like it was no big deal, like it didn’t mean anything.I take the mug from him, fingers brushing for a second too long.

“Just… everything,” I say, which is mostly true. Jetlag, the move, the job, the fact that I’m sleeping on a cot between a ring light and a box of wigs. But also him. Always him.He nods, like he gets it. He probably thinks I’m overwhelmed. He’s not wrong.I sip the tea. It’s perfect. Of course it is.

“You slept for eighteen hours,” he says, half a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I was about to check if you still had a pulse.”I laugh, but I don’t say what I’m actually thinking, about that morning.

Instead, I smile back, and say, “Guess I needed it.”He leans against the counter beside me, close enough that our shoulders almost touch, and for a second it’s quiet.

Familiar. Easy. Dangerous.

And I think, maybe just for a moment, if he’d said something different that morning, would everything have changed?

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

Whenever I remember that Tenya almost went full vigilante mode for Tensei I want to scream so bad like it's not even funny.

Bnha somersaults its way into saying "maybe heroes are just good citizens with the power to do good things" and "maybe heroism is not in the big notorious acts but in being kind and fair in the day to day details" AND THAT'S ALL TENSEI.

AND THAT'S WHAT MOTIVATES TENYA TO GO FULL BLOODHOUND ON STAIN.

I'm not denying that the world needs the big ass heroism acts like defeating AFO or saving a city or all those flashy notorious feats. All Might is very needed, because there are threats that are too old and developed and have accumulated too much hatred and damage over the years. You cannot always prevent those things from happening and to believe so would be naive, right?

What I'm saying is that those big events are the lowest percentage. They are the consequences of a systematic failure.

Take two of the biggest evil plots in the manga: AFO planning to still OFA and Overhaul with his quirk-erasure bullets. Both plans depended on an abused child being used as objects, Eri because her quirk was the base of the bullet working and Tomura because he was just meant to be AFO's new body in the future. In both cases, AFO and Overhaul were cornered after losing the child they were using for their plots. In fact it was the kids resisting the abuse that contributed the most to their failure: Eri prevented Overhaul from hurting Deku and Tomura prevented AFO from escaping his decaying body.

In that sense, the little unknown pro-heroes taking care of their neighborhood's children do a lot to prevent cases like Tomura or Eri from happening. Hell, AFO and Overhaul were also kids who went the violent route to survive.

Ingenium's silent heroism is probably the best example of what a hero looks like. They don't seek fame or glory. They regard heroism as their duty, their responsibility. No matter how little the act is, it's still important to do it.

At this point, we must admit the Tenya's crisis over what happened to Tensei is not only about their bond as brothers. Yeah, that was Tenya's big bro, but it is no less than when Deku and Bakugo saw All Might fighting AFO for the last time— the last moments of their role models.

The Iida brothers' crisis was deep rooted in the main issues of the story, so I'm still baffled at how people just tend to ignore it.

Before Stain, the "League of Villains" was just a minor threat. Dabi was a nobody with no real crimes to his name. Toga was just a lost little girl trying to survive the streets. Spinner didn't even think about being a villain. Before Stain, things were bad, but no one really thought they could change the status quo, you know?

The USJ incident was not the big deal because 1) how was attacking kids the answer? and 2) going for All Might was expected, since he was almost invincible and the biggest hero in the world and blah blah blah.

When Stain started attacking minor pro-heroes...

Stain was the opposite of Tomura. He admired All Might and saved those kids, but went after the pro-heroes with less powerful quirks. He gave the population a sense of control. It's like he said "hey, you don't have to go after All Might to change the system and why would you? The real problem are the ones on the lowest part of the pro-hero chain".

Suddenly, they could go against pro-heroes and win. Divide and conquer. Suddenly, there was a ladder to climb. Suddenly, you could target not the institutions responsible for the rotten ideology of your society, but the people who enforced the ideology with their daily work.

Stain defended his posture by saying that those people didn't want to be real heroes. They just wanted the money, the fame, they were not really committed to their duty.

And then attacked Tensei, of all people.

If big crimes are built from little crimes that are accumulated over time, what would happen if you decided to eliminate the people taking care of the little crimes?

The crisis of belief in pro-heroes was triggered by Stain. When Stain pointed out at Ingenium (the one in the suit was Tensei) and accused him of false heroism, it's when shit started to go south. He created the idea that pro-heroes should be punished if they don't perform correctly and that they deserve to die if they don't have pure ideas of their job— or whatever.

Tensei being the victim is supposed to show how hypocritical Stain is. Tensei is probably one of the only pro-heroes that never did anything wrong in the manga and one of the best family men to be presented. A man who was loved by everyone for being good in every sense of the word.

Stain projected his own fantasies on Tensei in order to accomplish his witch hunt, not truly caring to figure out who the person was. He just attacked for the sake of attacking, which explains why he was so popular: anyone could do the same and project their issues on him, fighting different battles disguised as just one cause.

When Tenya went after him, it could only make sense. The little of the Iidas is too righteous and noble, quick to judge and act, prone to making mistakes and getting carried away by the looks of it all. So easily his justice turns into revenge and he falls into the trap Stain set. Who knows what a hero student killing Stain would have caused...

At this point it's obvious I'm just ranting for the sake of ranting but 😭😭😭 give the Iidas the respect they deserve please.

[a-mint-bear]

Jacob (Subby Yandere) Headcanons

🐶Jacob: Puppy Dog in Puppy Love🐶

bit longer than i thought it'd be, so lore under the cut

● Jacob grew up with crap parents who never paid him any attention. They were a couple of horrible, rich monsters who hated being married almost as much as they hated being parents. He was raised by a series of nannies, they never stayed on longer than a few months, his parents didn't want him getting attached. He always wondered what it would be like to have someone he loved and who would love him and only him.

● On the outside he seems nice enough, if a little awkward. He knows how to talk to people and navigate social situations, but it's all on the surface. He doesn't learn people's names unless it would put him at a disadvantage not to know. He has no friends, he never really felt the need to connect with other people. Most rub him the wrong way. But you just feel... right.

● Before he confesses, you seem to be the only person he can't figure out how to talk to. He doesn't know how to act around you, what the right thing to say is. At first it pisses him off, like why are they so much more difficult to figure out than everyone else? Who do they think they are, making him feel this way? Then he sees someone flirting with you and... oh. That should be him. He should be making you laugh and why won't you smile at him like that?

● He wants all the milestones with you. If you aren't the marriage type, he's more than happy to just be together forever. He wants to move in with you right away, he sees no point in "taking things slow". But he'll hold off on some things if it makes you more comfortable. He'll wait as long as it takes.

● Kids are a toss-up for him. He would absolutely see a baby/kid as competition for your affection and want you all to himself, but if a kid (or kids) would be important to you, being a dad would just be another thing he could do to make you happy. At some point, being a parent wouldn't be a job/role for him (a job he'd be happy to do regardless). The first time the child shows him affection, it's like a switch gets flipped. He breaks down, realizing that they're HIS family too, just like you. He becomes an obnoxiously loving and involved dad. Dad Yandere. Daddere.

● If you have (a) beloved pet(s), again, they're competition for your affection. It would be like a "I don't like you and you don't like me, but we both love [y/n]." relationship where he just acts like a big baby when you're loving on your pet and not him. He would never neglect or mistreat them, but you can bet he gloats to them like "Aww, aren't you cute. But [y/n] thinks I'm cuter, yes they do, you little dummy." while giving them scritches. He was never allowed to have a pet growing up so he doesn't "get" why people get so attached.

● He has a tendency to try and isolate you, he wants you all to himself. But this can be negated using his submissive side. If you're the boss, telling him exactly how things are gonna be, rewarding his good behavior or punishing the bad, he's putty in your hands. He can't say no to you.

● If he ever made you upset with him, he would freeze up, panicking at the thought of hurting you. Or worse, losing you. He might try and egg you on to punish him to make up for it, to "make things right". If he ever made you cry? He's in crisis mode. He's crying too, begging you for forgiveness. He's offering anything and everything to make you not hate him.

● He works as a Software Developer from home and does freelance IT work on the side. He's very tech savvy and definitely didn't use his skills to hack into any of your accounts to find out more about you when he was working up the nerve to ask you out. At least not since he confessed. He's better than all that now, of course.

● His yandere traits come out if he's left to his own devices. He gets nervous that you're unhappy with him and acts out by being a brat and trying to keep you home with him. You can lovingly reassure him that you're happy over and over and it helps for a while. But the only thing that quiets his jealous, paranoid brain is putting him in his place, reminding him he belongs to you and only you, punishing his brattiness and telling him he's your good boy.

● Full yandere mode: You try and break up with him. I say "try" because he would be stuck in the denial phase for a good long time. He thinks you're testing him to see how loyal he is, that even you pushing him away can't get rid of him. He hacks your computer and bugs your house, he breaks in to watch you sleep, leaving gifts for you before you wake up. You start dating/flirting with someone else? They get attacked on the street, no witnesses, with a warning to stay away from you or he'll come back to finish the job. If you tell him you're in love with someone else? It won't be long before you can't get ahold of them.

You can try and get rid of him, but he's your good boy, whether you like it or not.