#I annoyed my friends all the time by taking every opportunity to try to understand what emotions were. especially love

[legendoftherisingtide]

did other aroaces ask their friends constantly what crushes and love were? or was that the autism.

[cloudysfluffs]

If you’re accepting requests, I’d love to see any tk hcs you have for the pines family! No rush of course!

OF COURSE!!!!! havent written hcs in a while but i bet i can come up with some :3

PINES FAMILY TICKLE HCS UNDER THE CUT!!!! KINK/FETISH BLOGS DON'T TOUCH!!!!! HALF OF THEM ARE MINORS AND ALL OF THEM ARE RELATED!!!!! DONT MAKE IT WEIRD!!!!!

Dipper

definitely the biggest lee in the family i fear. he's canonically ticklish and i just KNOW no one lets him live it down. least of all his sister

his ribs are his main spot!!! BUT also since idk where else to mention this, all of the pines family also have a spot that they share!!! theyre all ticklish on their backs :3

my boyfriend picked his rib spot because he always wears that vest. he thinks itll protect him. it wont

squeaks a LOT, his laugh is very high-pitched. his family/friends like to poke him a lot because of the noises he makes

he is SO embarrassed about it but he actually does like being tickled!!!! but he will NEVER ask for it. ever. luckily mabel has very good insight and can always tell when hes in a mood

out of everyone, surprisingly, he might like sessions from stan the most!! stan isnt QUITE as good at reading him, but dipper has learned that intentionally getting on his nerves is a good way to get wrecked for it (ex: the 'stans tattoo' short? stan nearly tickled him to DEATH for that stunt)

so incredibly paranoid that someone might find out that he likes this. hes definitely the type to search 'tickle scene' on the family computer and FREAK OUT if anyone walks in

generally prefers sessions with people hes really close to/that he knows he can trust and they wont take advantage

Mabel

exact opposite of dipper. the families biggest ler!!!! and she is making it EVERYONES problem!!!!

completely shameless about finding tickling fun ("it's a game for kids!!! we're kids!!! relax!!!!")

if dipper ever starts acting paranoid or 'too-grown-up' she swoops in to the rescue to remind him that its OK to like silly, childish things!!!!

her and stan are a VERY DANGEROUS TEAM. they regularly form alliances to take down the other two twins. and they have yet to lose!!!!

kind of feared the day that dipper would 'grow out of' playing with her. but when ford came home she was a lot less worried, because him and stan never really grew out of it!!!

queen of cheer up tickles. her smile is very contagious

she will make jokes WHILE tickling you, just to be like 'wow, i must be really funny, if you're laughing so much!!' <3

she DOES have a lee side, and she's also completely shameless about that!! she just likes tickling other people more :3

Stan

have you noticed that hes like. almost never in gravity falls tk headcanon posts? unless hes specifically suggested? i have seen so many include dipper, mabel, ford, and just skip over him shjdkhsdfk. i dont understand why, hes got so much potential!!!!

anyway, second biggest ler of the family. and hes really only ranked below mabel because mabel is so SLIPPERY. she cannot be caught unless she WANTS to be. stans a little easier to take off guard

also much more shameless about it. takes literally every opportunity to tease his nephew in particular

i mentioned above that dipper tends to try to get on his nerves to get tickled for it, because stan doesnt seem to pick up on it otherwise. i should add that stan absolutely knows that hes doing that JUST to play with him. he knows dipper isnt just being annoying on purpose. and he respects it!!! because it means dipper is toughening up, and standing up to him!!! even if its for kind of a silly reason. he wont let dipper know he knows, though

hes also been interested in ticklng since he was young. him and ford BOTH were, seperately, and then they found out at the same time and were BOTH like 'YOU TOO??????? I THOUGHT I WAS THE WEIRD ONE'

hes got that boxer training, so if you try and start a fight with him and youre NOT mabel, youre gonna lose. hes REALLY good at pinning lees down

hes got like. one, single exception that he will willingly be lee for. but he will never tell you who it is. ("what are you, a cop?")

ford could, theoretically, beat him in a tk fight.....but he never does. :)

Ford

unpopular opinion i fear, but this man is a LEE!!!!!! my mind will not be changed!!!!!! biggest lee in the family, second only to dipper

"oh but he has six fingers! wouldnt that make him a great ler by default?" of course it would!!!! thats why its SO FUNNY thats he's a lee.

hes got 12 fingers in total. hes been fighting his way through the multiverse for thirty years, so hes TOUGH. muscular, with a lot of training. AND HES A LEE. he has so much potential and hes using NONE of it when it comes to this!!!!! do you guys see the vision

him and dipper bond over being the lees of the family. he has apologized for passing it down to his nephew in the past. meanwhile mabel and stan are chanting 'ALPHA TWIN! ALPHA TWIN!' in the other room

this man could fill journals JUST about the sessions he had in the multiverse

him and stan have been play-fighting since they were children, and he loses almost every single time. mostly because stan is a dirty cheater who will bring tickling into it without fail and thats all it takes for ford to crumble

the only person he was consistently winning tickle fights with, ever, was fiddleford, back when they were partners. AND EVEN THEN he still LOST, all the time!!!! and now he doesnt even stand a chance against mcgucket. much like mabel, he is simply too slippery

my favorite tickly dynamic with ford though is his one with bill. bill thinks tickling is SO entertaining!!! so back in the days of their partnership, sometimes theyd take a break from work just to have a session in the mindscape. LITERALLY fords 'dream sessions'. bill holds this over his head to this day. the chain scene, from weirdmageddon???? he has used that exact method in past sessions

HIS PALMS ARE TICKLISH. adding to the irony that his greatest asset as a ler is what makes him the best lee

[gem-femmes]

How to Move On Faster and Build Resilience

Dwelling on past failures and worries gets me exactly nowhere. Lately I've been trying to improve myself with the goal of becoming someone who moves on extremely fast, with resilience.

I'm hoping this change will help me navigate life's challenges more effectively and make me feel better in the everyday. I've written before about my annoying limiting belief that I can't ...

Here are the notes and guidelines I've collected that help me cultivate the ability of moving on fast:

🌱 1. Change Your Perspective on Setbacks

View Setbacks as Temporary: Tough times don’t last forever. But challenges are a normal and frequent part of life. See challenges as hurdles, not roadblocks.

Focus on the Lessons: Every experience, good or bad, teaches me something valuable. Take those lessons and grow.

💖 2. Cultivate Self-Compassion

Be Kind to Yourself: Don’t beat yourself up when things go wrong. Again, something always goes wrong, this is life. Treat yourself with the same kindness you’d offer a friend.

Allow Yourself to Feel: It’s okay to feel. All feelings are valid. Process your emotions, and then gently move forward.

🌍 3. Practice Detachment

Recognize Impermanence: Change is the only constant. Embrace it, and let go of what no longer serves you.

Limit Emotional Investment: Care, but don’t over-invest in things beyond your control.

🧘‍♀️ 4. Strengthen Your Focus on the Present

Engage in Mindfulness: I'm the kind of person who can tend towards combative and destructive, so I have to remember to stay grounded in the now. It’s easy to get stuck in the past, but the present is where your power lies.

Break Tasks into Steps: Focus on what you can do next. Small steps lead to big changes. This sucks but it really works.

💪 5. Develop a Resilient Mindset

Embrace Flexibility: Life’s unpredictable. Be open to change, and adapt when necessary.

Build a Growth Mindset: See challenges as opportunities to grow, not reasons to give up.

🎯 6. Focus on What You Can Control

Act on the Controllable: Identify what you can change and take action. Let go of the rest.

Shift Your Energy: Move from dwelling on the past to creating a better present.

🌸 7. Surround Yourself with Positive Influences

Seek Support: Surround yourself with people who uplift and encourage you. Realistic vibes only. I don't want positive vibes when unwarranted, and don't want negative vibes full-stop.

Limit Negative Inputs: Protect your energy by avoiding negativity, whether it’s people, media, or environments. Emphasis on the media. Don't listen to music with lyrics containing negative messages; they become part of your reality and conditioning.

🚀 8. Set Future-Oriented Goals

Visualize Success: Focus on where you want to go, not where you’ve been. Set your sights on new goals. My past is full of achievements, but I have to move forward and not rest on my laurels.

Take Small Steps: Break your goals into achievable actions. Small wins build momentum.

🏃‍♂️ 9. Engage in Physical Activity

Exercise Regularly: Movement is medicine. It boosts mood and resilience.

Practice Relaxation Techniques: Yoga, meditation, and deep breathing help reduce stress and enhance emotional strength.

🌟 10. Practice Gratitude

Focus on the Positive: Shift your mindset from loss to abundance by regularly acknowledging what you’re thankful for.

Keep a Gratitude Journal: Write down what you’re grateful for each day. It’s a powerful habit.

✨ 11. Accept and Let Go

Acknowledge Closure: Recognize when something is over, and consciously decide to move on.

Perform a Letting-Go Ritual: Do something symbolic to release what’s holding you back. Burn that letter, delete those old texts—whatever it takes.

🌈 12. Embrace the Process

Understand It Takes Time: Moving on fast doesn’t mean rushing your emotions. Heal in your own time, but keep moving forward.

Celebrate Progress: Every step, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction. Celebrate it.

Resilience isn’t about avoiding pain. It’s about bouncing back stronger each time. 💪🌻

[dipendenteconad]

Some LiuHan/BiKang headcanons for MY soul (SFW) pt. 1/?

From some chats I had with a friend

So, for instance, I'm well aware of Bi-Han's nasty attitude towards everyone, and I'll try my best not to write something ooc. Tho I can't help but see him more like the bratty type more than the dominant one (or better, a brat who pretends to be a dom iykyk); he wants to appear mighty, but he's not as cold as he presents himself to be. In fact, I think he might warm up under the right attentions, but they have to be from the RIGHT PERSON and them ONLY. He actually looks for someone who can keep up with him, either because they're on the same page as him or because they can predict his moves;

I think Liu Kang is perfect for him because they're so different, yet they can understand each other to some extent (opposites attract each other type of trope). I'm pretty much disappointed by Bi-Han's writing in MK1 because it gives too little explanation to his actions in story mode, this way I don't have much to work with and I have to let my delusions take the lead. But I can say that imo both Liu and Bi-Han are lonely souls who are looking for someone to fill that gap in their hearts. Liu would find amusement in trying to tame a beast like Bi-Han, and the latter would come to appreciate being taken care of;

Liu Kang can be very sweet and caring, but he's not afraid to impose himself, and I imagine Bihan to find enjoyment in messing with him, just to see for how long Liu Kang is willing to put up with him (spoiler: for eternity). Not used to affection, Bi-Han tends to destroy his relationships before they can hurt him: this way, he shields himself from eventual disappointment (see the outcome it had with his family, for example). Liu Kang knows what he's trying to do, and he promised himself not to let Bi-Han win this easily;

At first, Bi-Han would find Liu Kang's love annoying (even if he's hungry for it, he just doesn't know it yet). Whatever he does or says, Liu Kang has the right answer and the right solution for it, and no matter the situation he'd always try to understand Bi-Han so that he can be on his same side and support him. This would initially send Bi-Han on fire (eh) because he somehow came to think that he doesn't deserve/need any of that trust. He'd swear to hate Liu Kang due to his forgiving nature and his gentle approach towards everyone, but later he'd realize that what Liu Kang is offering him personally is way more than that: it is not courtesy, rather unconditional love;

So, the more Bi-Han tries to build a wall between them, the more force Liu Kang uses to demolish it;

People like Bi-Han, with such complex feelings, tend to contradict themselves: Liu Kang's presence morphed, with time, into a source of comfort. At last, he tried to focus more on enjoying what him and Liu Kang were having rather than destroying it before it had the chance to grow. Easily his best ever decision, because Liu Kang spoils and worships him in unimaginable ways;

Ever since he became a Titan and he lost his Kitana, Liu had been by himself. And I imagine him as someone who has so much love to give. Do you think he would really lose the opportunity to drow Bi-Han in it? Absolutely not;

Bi-Han would rather die than act all romantic, but fortunately for him, Liu Kang is enough for the both of them: each night Liu has the chance to have Bi-Han in his bed, he cuddles him and caresses his cold skin with warm hands, also enjoying the feeling of Bi-Han's body trembling under his touch at the sudden change of temperature. He would cover him in praise between each kiss, which can sound a bit cheesy for someone external but for Liu this is their moment and he wants to to make the most out of it; he also isn't shy when it comes to praise because he means every word of it (he would never say empty words to Bi-Han, he wants to gain the man's trust after all);

He compliments his body, his skill, his character, and Bi-Han doesn't really know how to react because he had never heard someone say such things to him before. One part of him wants to cringe, but the other wants to hug Liu tighter. Also, knowing that Liu Kang believes every word excites him even more;

So imagine Liu Kang's surprise when, after months of them being together, Bi-Han finally gives a compliment back. Maybe even a simple phrase said awkwardly, but still sincere and genuinely loving. He would cry, if those bioluminescent eyes of his were capable of such a thing (can they, actually?).

So what I like for this ship is a touch-starved Bi-Han with way too little relationship experience and an overly romantic Liu Kang who would do anything for him to make him feel loved again, even close an eye to more than one red flag.

Additions to this are very welcome

[writersundersiege]

The New Girl in Town: Part 2

Rafe Cameron x F! Reader

if you would like to to keep reading:

The New Girl in Town - Masterlist

Warnings: Drug use implied, talks of stalking,

Summary: It’s been a week since Rafe has seen you and he’s craving just a moment with literally anyone in your family. What will happen when all in the same moment he’s granted the opportunity of your phone number and some time spent with your mom and a mysterious friend from home? Can he change the towns talk to those who are close to you before they decide who he is? Or will Rafe need to fight harder to really become a better citizen in the community for you to take notice?

It’s been a week since Rafe watched you disappear in the car with Jason, your loud music and your lively spirit trailing behind you. Every day, Rafe has been bugging Topper to come back over, and every day, it’s another excuse of “My mom wants me to mow the yard” or “Sarah asked me to help with the fundraiser happening at the county club” an endless amount of excuses.

Honestly, it’s gotten to the point where Rafe asks Sarah himself if she’s asking for Top's help, which is his last resort since conversations with her are always aggravating when she says that she indeed was pestering Topper with plans for the beginning of summer family fundraisers for families in need of new summer clothes and essentials. During this whole conversation, Rafe is getting more annoyed, trying to think about when he’ll be able to make the sly move of asking your dad and brother to golf or really anything to get to know you more before he makes the actual moves on you.

Here is the thing about Rafe: he has a reputation on this island for being a problem child, a loose cannon-rich boy who doesn’t care about anyone but Rafe and his best interest, but somehow, the second he sees you, it’s like a switch clicked. He knew you were the only other thing he may ever care about like this.

You seem so bright despite the horrible thing he’s heard you recently endured; he doesn’t want to see anyone else break that light from you. Another thing about Rafe is that he doesn’t like things he admires ruined, and he admires a lot about you.

At the end of the grueling conversation with Sarah, she asks, “Will you come to help us then?” he gets frustrated, shaking his head and walking to the front door to go to Barry’s for a bit and see if maybe getting something will clear his mind “No Sarah I don’t want to help with some stupid Pouge’s getting summer clothes if they want them they should work harder to get it themselves just like we have and I’m not playing along with your dumb im a philanthropist act” slamming the door behind himself hopping on his bike and peeling off.

Unfortunately, Rafe's undoing was that you were the one who suggested the clothes drive for this year's country club summer service act. At this very moment, Sarah was finalizing plans for that night to be able to distribute clothes to people along the cut with younger kids and some of the teens who are struggling to get new stuff with how prices are.

Sarah shakes her head, reflecting on the infuriating conversation with Rafe, trying to understand why her brother must always be so aggressive with everything. She notices her phone buzzing on her vanity, runs over, and picks it up, not even looking, saying, “Helloooo!” She hears your slight laugh through the phone

“Hey Cameron, I was just calling to tell you everything is ready to go here at the Country Club. Mom and I just finished organizing boxes based on size, and it was a great turnout. Thank you so much for those men, small and medium. Mom was panicking. We wouldn’t have enough of Jason and Dad’s nice shirts to spare.” Sarah agrees, saying, “It was no problem at all. Rafe never cleans his clothes bins from the garage, so he had many things to give things he probably won’t even remember he owns them.” You laugh over the other end of the line. Which unintentionally makes Sarah smile. “Jaz and Rafe sound like two peas in a pod. Maybe we should get them together sometime, although the combination may be a recipe for disaster.” this makes Sarah laugh, and she shakes her head, saying, “Surely it would. The loose cannon and goofball sound like a mess and kinda like that one film you showed me and topper of the two guys making a mess of things.”

Sarah hears you laugh so physically loud through the phone she’s laughing with you; it seems so contagious. “Abbott and Costello,” you say through giggles. “They were my Pop Pops favorite comedians. I have to show you, Laurel and Hardy. That is more so Rafe and Jason, two bafoons who are completely oblivious.” Sarah laughs, humming in agreement with you, not knowing what you are talking about but knowing there is always something new and exciting you're teaching her that she’s never heard of.

All of a sudden, she hears you clearing your throat “You still there, Cameron?” she sits up, realizing she is completely zoned out thinking about the times she’s spent with you and your family, and everything about you guys seems new and exciting, she says, “Yeah, sorry just getting ready to head your way” You hum something small and then turn to something behind the other end of the phone “Alright see you here soon Sarah and Oh—don’t worry about bringing any more volunteers my friend from home made a surprise stop to help me settle before he’s off to Costa Rica for a month so he picked up the spot” Sarah smiled and told you she sees you soon and hung up.

As Sarah prepares to spend her entire evening with you, enjoying your welcoming presence. Rafe sits across from Barry at a small pit fire beside his camper, doing a few lines complaining about everything going on, like Ward paying no mind to him, Sarah playing goodie two shoes to the whole island, Topper following her around like a dog, and most of all he can’t seem to find you or your family anywhere.

For the past week, Rafe has been going places like the market, even the one closer to the cut, to bump into either of your parents; he went to the library twice, hoping he’d maybe see your brother since he remembers he’s in college. Lastly, every day at sun up and sun down, since the day after you left for the ocean, he’s gone to the beach to check for you in the waves. On multiple occasions, he could swear he saw you riding a wave, laughing like you always are (H/T) sticking to your neck and face as some fly behind and around you in the wind and (E/C) squinting as you look forward and balance. In the next second, he blinks, and you're gone like a ghost haunting him, but he never knows if it’s truly there.

Barry sits and listens to Rafe talk about you and the previous time you met and how he’s trying to see you again when he finally cuts him off. “You’re telling me you’ve been on a lowkey stalk fest for days but haven’t even talked to the girl.” Rafe stands looking at him over the fire. As he starts talking, he paces back and forth. “I’ve spoken to her, you fucking idiot, just not enough. I want to make a good impression with her family in hopes-“ Barry chuckles at this part. That’s when Rafe's eyes snap to him, looking enraged enough to jump over the fire at him.

“Chill, Country Club. I find it amusing that you don’t want to smash and pass along with this one; that’s you’re usual motto there, pretty boy. so what makes this girl so different?” Barry is leaning forward, studying the boy across from him. Rafe shakes his head, sitting down and looking at his feet, saying, “You haven’t seen her.”

Suddenly, Rafe's phone rings; an unknown number calling. And he was just about to decline but thinks better of it just in case, by the grace of some god looking over him, it’s you. When he raises the phone to his ear, he hears the slightest sniffle. With his lower tambur, he says, “Hello, who’s this?” he hears what he assumes is a girl's voice clear her throat and then a shuffling of a phone and a man’s voice he knows but can’t place behind the other line “here honey let me do it sweetheart—“ and then the tone as clear as day comes to him as the man speaks.

“Yes, Hello Rafe. Is this Rafe Cameron?” Your dad Charlie was calling him, but why, how, and whose number were you calling him from? He immediately stands at the recognition. “ Yes, sir, this is he. What’s going on? Is (F/N) okay?” he asks in quick succession. Charlie chuckles and says, “Woah, slow down there, son; everybody’s fine (F/N) is not feeling well and needs to lay down, but she was leading the fundraiser, and she knew the only person she could call who’d be kind enough to show up is you” Rafe looks up at the sky cursing every constellation for him not fully listening to Sarah just this once to know it was you who was doing this the whole time, while saying “ I would miss it for the world, sir tell her she can count on me always” Charlie smiles behind the call knowing the implications Rafes makes “ I knew you would my boy I knew you would talk soon” and with that, your Dad hung up.

Rafe was scrambling to grab his bag and helmet, pulling some cash from his pocket and throwing it at Barry. “Thanks, I’ve got to go. Don’t ask.” catching the cash and pulling it from its money clip, Barry laughed and said, “Don’t worry, Country Club, I never did.”

Rafe paid no attention to this comment, though he was too busy strapping his helmet starting, and peeling off to the Country Club in the Upper side of Figure 8 to play a giving hero in hopes you’ll recognize his oh-so-generous and noble acts of community

Or maybe you won’t forget the chatter you hear around town about Rafe and his unfair and unrequited actions towards many before you, but he’s looking forward with hope for the first outcome to blossom into something bigger.

All rights belong to the owners of Netflix and the Outer Banks. I do not own any characters except the family. The fiction is simply for fun. All copyrights belong to the original owners.

[certainmaybe]

Like we planned

To Villains absolute horror, everything had gone just as planned, and when they woke up in the cheap motel room Hero was still fast asleep next to them.

In their defense, Villain had never expected their plan to actually work. Seducing Hero. The most stubborn, hard working, principled person in the industry. They didn’t go out, they didn’t have friends, they didn’t even eat a bite of cake on their own birthday because all their food intake was pre-planned to compliment their strict training schedule. To summarize, Hero was exactly the kind of person Villain hated. They were also Superheroes most loyal follower, and while people like Hero were annoying, Superhero was a monster, and Villain would do anything to bring them down.

So they came up with a plan. Honestly, it hadn’t even been much of a plan. They had been drunk, out with their team to celebrate another lost battle.

“You know, I bet I could seduce Hero”, Villain had said, taking a drink of something high in sugar and alcohol.

“No way”, said their friend. “Hero is like, like a robot or something.” They were all swaying a bit. Laughing.

“Yea but they aren’t, are they? And if they’re so stuck up all the time, I bet they are just itching to let loose. I would have them eating out of my hand in weeks.”

“You wish.”

And then…

“Wait, but that’s actually not a good idea.” Assistant, who had been listening in on the conversation and staying much more sober than the rest chimed in. “If you could seduce Hero, we could finally bring down Superhero.”

“I mean, obviously”, Villain answered, trying to figure out if it was them or the room that was spinning. “But it’s Hero. Nobody’s gonna seduce them.”

“You could at least try. We are out of ideas, Villain, and even if it’s just a one in a million chance, we should at least try.”

And so the plan was made. Villain would offer their services to bring down another villain they pretended to have a rivalry with. In truth they couldn’t care less about that guy, the important thing was that the mission would require Villain and Hero to work closely together.

At the beginning, it was horrible. Villain, with the mission in mind, tried to push against every single one of Heroes ridiculous rules. In response Hero stiffened up impossibly more, and Villain was satisfied to tell their friends that they were right, Hero was unseducable. Villain would just try to get the mission over with as fast as possible and then regroup with the others.

As it turned out, actually working with Hero instead of against them was much more pleasant for both of them. In fact, they were an amazing team. Hero would make an exact plan of what needed to happen to bring them from point A to point B, Villain would try their best to follow them. Soon Hero started adapting the plans to Villains personal style, even leaving purposeful gaps because ‘I know you like to be creative’. With the burden of planning off their shoulders, Villain could focus much more of their energy on what they were good in - improvising on the go when things went wrong and taking opportunities.

“Sorry I couldn’t follow the plan”, Villain once said after a mission gone sideways. There had been another attempted breakin that night, putting the villains security on high alert and forcing Villain to completely abandon a whole sub-section of Heroes plan to get to the next steps.

“Don’t be, you did good”, Hero replied plainly. “I know I can’t plan for everything, and in situations like this I rely on you to use your instincts to adapt.”

“So why plan at all?” Villain has asked this question all the time in the beginning, trying get something useful out of Hero, but this time they weren’t even thinking about that. They just wanted to understand.

“Because I am not like you, Villain. I wasn’t made to be a hero. And if I don’t have a plan when faced with danger… I freeze up.” With a soft smile Hero turned to Villain. “The truth is, I am a coward. I try my best to hide it, but with out all of this….” Hero waved towards the color-coded binder that had contained their plan, “I am nothing.”

“You are not nothing”, Villain answered without thinking about what they were doing. “I have been working with you for a while now, and let me tell you, you are amazing.”

“Thank you Villain, but with enough dedication, anybody could do this. And I could never do what you do.” An electronic pling interrupted. “I need to start my evening training now. See you tomorrow, 8:30, meeting room 12C.” And just like that Hero walked away.

From that point on Villain found themself watching Hero more closely. Not because they wanted to seduce them, but because they could see the fear now. It wasn’t just that Hero was afraid of fighting, they weren’t, as far as Villain could tell. What they were afraid of was messing up, and that fear was ingrained in everything that they did. All the training, all the planning, the way they always kept a distance, even the way they spoke. All of it was filled with the fear of some horrible mistake they were going to make one day. And more than anything ever before, Villain wanted to see Hero without that fear.

And then their mission came to an end. They brought down the villain, and all that they needed to do now was hide for a few days, until all of their henchmen were neutralized. They booked a room in a motel. They watched a movie. Hero rested their head on Villains shoulder. Villain played with their hair. At some point they kissed. Then came more. And once they were done, Hero had smiled.

It would have been more than reasonable for Hero to disappear during the night. They had been so vulnerable with Villain, more vulnerable than Villain had ever seen them be. All of their rigid principles, all of their plans, all of it had been thrown out the window for a kiss. And now, the morning after, they were still here, slightly stirring now, blinking into the soft morning light.

“Morning”, Hero mumbled, lifting their head just enough to snuggle closer to Villain. Their hair was still messy from the night. They looked adorable. They looked soft. They looked relaxed.

“Morning”, Villain answered, raking their fingers through Heroes hair, slightly brushing it. “Did you sleep well?”

“Mhm.” Hero drew a little closer, resting their head on Villains chest and closing their eyes again. Villain felt themself laugh softly at the sensation.

“That’s good to hear love. Any plans for today?”

“Mmmm.” The noncommittal sound Hero hummed into Villains chest made them smile again. “Can we just stay in bed all day?”

“Sounds like an amazing plan.” What Villain truly meant by that was, I am so proud of you for finally letting somebody in, for finally trusting somebody. I’m so grateful to you for letting me see you like this. I wish we could just stay in this moment forever. “We do need to eat at some point though.”

“Can we order room service?”

“I don’t think we can. This is a motel. But maybe we can order takeout later.”

“Sounds perfect.” Hero fell asleep again after that, their breath tickling over Villains skin. Later they watched tv, with Hero constantly asking what was going on, just to get distracted again five minutes later, tracing patterns on their blankets or dozing off. They ordered takeout. They stayed in bed. And then Villain had to ruin it all.

It was in the evening. They had gotten up to take a shower, maybe stretch a bit, and when they came back, Hero was still curled up in bed, looking incredibly soft.

“I’m going to betray you”, Villain said, standing in the room like the monster they were. Hero blinked up at them in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that…” Villain stopped, trying to figure out the least cruel way to say this. “I was supposed to seduce you. To get information about Superhero, to take them down.”

Gone was the softness. Hero sat up, and when they looked at Villain it was with the bright, intelligent eyes Villain had first fallen in love with.

And oh, who would have thought? So far they had been so preoccupied thinking about Heros feelings, that they had hardly noticed their own. But here it was, clear as day. Villain had fallen in love. But it was too late now, wasn’t it?

“You shouldn’t tell me that”, Hero stated.

“I just couldn’t keep it a secret any more.”

“You should have.”

“I know.”

“So let’s just pretend you didn’t say anything.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to think about Superhero right now. Or the real world. We were going to be on different sides anyway, once this is over. So let’s just not think about that for now. I want to watch another movie, and I want to cuddle with you.”

And how could Villain have done anything except follow that request?

[choicesficwriterscreations]

December MC of the Month: Luca O'Rinn

Please welcome December 2023's MC of the month! Each month, we will highlight one MC or OC that is currently on our Meet My MC / OC List. The MC / OC is selected randomly on the Wheel of Names, and eligibility requirements can be found here. We accept MC / OC profiles on an ongoing basis. Please feel free to send yours in!

This month’s MC of the month is…

@aria-ashryver 's Luca O'Rinn

More below...

In your own words, tell us what you like most about your MC / OC.

This little idiot just doesn’t stop. They are so damn resilient! I love their bravery, compassion and that Luca takes the time to make sure the people around him feel seen, heard and understood. Communication is important to him — he’s a little tactless or graceless with it sometimes, but he tries so hard to make sure the people he loves know it. I love how talented and inquisitive he is, and that he has such a strong sense of self — Luca just feels so bright to me, so vibrant and joyous. “Lightbringer” was an accidental name meaning, I just picked “Luca” at random when creating my MC because it felt right, but it really was the perfect choice for them!

2. Do you feel your MC / OC is like you at all? How are you alike or different?

Luca is much more impulsive than I am, and has a bigger social battery, but I think we are both the kind of people friends come to for advice and comfort. We are both musically inclined, both love hugs (probably more in my case), animals, and the beauty and magic of the natural world. I’m 6ft tall, Luca is tiny. Luca’s heritage is a nod to my own Scottish roots — my grandparents / great-grandparents emigrated from Scotland, and I’m lamenting the slow death of any Scottish cultural influence in my family’s day-to-day life as the generations pass. There are parts of me in Luca, sure, but ultimately they are very much their own person.

3. What is most important to your MC / OC? What is their motivation in life?

Authenticity, truth, and (this one might sound weird, but) movement. Luca will never be someone he’s not. For him, to live is to grow, to always seek out opportunities to find out more about himself and the world he lives in. 

They can’t stand being stagnant and idle, both mentally and physically; Luca is a dancer with a truly avid curiosity, so they just need to keep moving, no matter what they are doing. Right now for Luca, that means having intense, emotional conversations; breathing love into the world;  learning new skills; knuckling down on language studies; uncovering vampire lore; fighting to protect the ones he loves; doing a lot of introspective thought and trying to be a better version of himself with every day that passes.

4. What are their biggest pet peeves/dislikes?

Luca has a strong sense of social justice, so there are plenty of things that annoy them —particularly in regard to the treatment of other people; they’ll be the first to jump to someone’s defense— but in terms of more minor pet peeves, pertaining to him personally? Being called “bro” / “man” / “dude” by someone who obviously means it in a cisheteronormative way (and people who blatantly ignore the “they” aspect of their pronouns). Luca definitely picks their battles, and they are totally fine with being called any of those names by friends and family, but it often elicits an eyeroll coming from closed-minded and/or queerphobic people.

Also, early mornings. Luca is firmly of the opinion that mornings should be banned. No more mornings. The day doesn’t exist before 10am. He will never understand how Gabriel keeps getting up at dawn to go for a run. On purpose. That’s just wild.

5. If your MC / OC could change one thing - anything - what would it be?

Luca hasn’t had the easiest life, but it was one that led them to find Cas and Gabe. They would go through it all again and then some if it meant a life of loving those two and being loved by them in turn… but Luca sees how much Cas and Gabriel are hurting, too. How much they ache for a place of belonging. How deeply lonely they have been.

If Luca could change one thing, it would be for them, not himself. He’d bring back their parents. Choi Harin. Sofia Adalhard. Remiel Adalhard. He’d bring back Gabriel’s sisters, Raquel and Michaela. His grandmother, Sarah. His cousin, Joaquin. Cas’s halmeoni, Choi Miyoung. His harabeoji, Choi Yongho. Cas’s best friend, Ricky Harlow.

If Luca could steal them even a moment with the people they have lost, then he’d do it in a heartbeat. He knows it's an impossible dream, but that won’t stop him from making sure that, at the very least, Cas and Gabriel know they will always, always be a part of his family. That the O’Rinns will always be there to welcome them with open arms.

6. What is your MC / OC’s favorite quote or song?

Luca’s favourite song changes with the wind, but at the moment they are making good use of Hozier’s “De Selby (Pt1)” to practice their (rusty) skills on acoustic guitar, as well as their pronunciation of Irish Gaelic (which they’d like to be fluent in — Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic share a root language, so they are very similar in many ways. Think Spanish to Portuguese!) Luca has a firm grasp of Gàidhlig, but the only fluent Irish-speaker in the family is their great aunt Morag. Given the O’Rinn’s ancestral ties to Ireland, Luca aims to fix that!

He’s also currently messing around with some original contemporary choreo to Lee Taemin’s “Just Me and You” and “Guilty”.

7. Is there anything else you’d like to share about your MC / OC? 

Luca has come to mean so much to me. I never intended to write about them when I first started reading ID —I had never written fanfic at all!— but the more I learned about them and fleshed out their backstory, the more I knew I had a story to tell. Rather than write a simple, short piece, fool that I am, I decided to dive right into a (currently) 250K+ word longfic centring on not one, but four romantic relationships (Luca x Cas; Luca x Gabriel; Cas x Gabriel; and the dynamic of the poly ship between all three of them). 

Despite being a retelling, I think “Starlight” gets a lot thematically heavier than Immortal Desires ever did, with a broader focus on worldbuilding and characterisation, and the experience of writing it has been so rewarding — I think in large part because of Luca.

I just adore them. So much. And I’m grateful to have them along for the ride while we find our way through this story together. There is no one else I’d rather have along for the ride. (Also, I’m sorry I make you suffer so much, sweet Luca. I promise your happily ever after will be worth every hardship 💖)

Thank you so so so much to CFWC for letting me gush about Luca!! If you would like to know more about them, you can read about them in my longfic, “Snow In Crimson, Starlight in Gold” on AO3, or find more on my masterlist.

[konaanaria13]

Alcohol is Toxic as well

Charles Leclerc x Fem!reader

Warnings: a lot of swearing cuz that's my fav thing to do.... ahm idk just like oh google translated French, Its a big one and I've been working on it for a while so I don't remember!

word count: around 8K

so its enemies to Lovers but also their toxic friends who are friends but just always fight and kind of are very nasty to each other yep yep yep!

nice.... (also rly bad grammar I think, nobody proof reads this)

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

It was as if we we're just meant to like each other.

Both of our Families we're high in status so it was just natural that we had to spend a lot of time in the presence of rich people.

Wearing the right clothes and The right smiles, It was rather a surprise for my Mother when she heard the absolute disliking I took in The Leclerc boys.

Arthur and Charles the most since Arthur was just always repeating what Charles was doing and oh gods Charles was so irritating.

Enzo wasn't. But since I already Disliked two I went for the three while talking.

Sooner or Later My mother made me wear the Ferrari colours and stand in the paddock and having to watch the races so everybody knew that we we're connected of sorts.

She wanted me to marry rich and in High status so she could be happy.

Me and Charles we're different, he liked car's and I like Quiet study sessions so we simply didn't get along very well, but we had to spend a lot of time together as my mother and his mother we're basically best friends even though they we're two completely different people.

But it wasn't as if we didn't talk, we talked a lot, me and Charles the most since we we're about the same age and it was easy to talk with him, to sneak out at a gathering and get drunk on a rooftop talking about our lives as if we weren't screaming the dumbest insult at each other five seconds earlier.

It was an understandment that even though we didn't like each other we we're in the same boat both holding our heads high and smiling when the camera was in our face.

But Charles family was supportive, I loved his mother almost more than mine, but i couldn't since she wasn't my real mother.

My parents always needed me to be the perfect Daughter, I was the middle child before me came the Golden Boy who went on as a doctor and below me came the baby Boy who sailed the world and did whatever he wanted with our parents money but never got scolded for it.

I stayed. not that I wanted my parents we're cruel... or rather strict, They words stung almost harder than they're open palm even though my mother hasn't dared to lay her hands on me. at every gathering I liked having the Leclerc family there, for Charles mother to pull me into a hug, for all three of the boys to kiss both of my cheeks with a smile and for Charles to notice my exhaustion.

"You look wonderful" Charles handed me another glass of champagne.

We we're on a yacht in Monaco, a weekend before the race. The Stroll Family had organised some of the upper class people to attend it and My mother couldn't miss the opportunity to show of her new earing's, she looked beautiful as always.

"Thank you" I took a sip and we watched as Arthur and Lance talked.

The boy was talented and attractive. Just maybe I could try...

"Do you like him?" I ask Charles and he raises an eyebrow.

"As a driver I mean? Lance? He seems nice-"

"Very nice. He's naïve" Charles agrees and I roll my eyes as Charles takes out a whisk of Alcohol and pours some into my empty glass of champagne.

"How's University?" Charles asked.

"Fucking boring. I've been stuck on like five paragraphs and I have to attend this stupid Party rather than go to an actual one on my Saturday evening" I complain and he laughs.

"It does surprise me that you chose law" he says and I frown

"Why's that?" I ask annoyed.

"You just never seemed the type-" Charles started and I rolled my eyes again

"Cause I'm a woman?" This time he rolls his eyes

"No! Oh my god you always have to do this!"

"Maybe if you weren't a sexist dick-"

"I was ten! And I was simply surprised that you wanted to go karting! It wasn't about you being female!" He whispered so he didn't have to scream.

"Well I beat you anyways-" The race of luck I liked to call it.

"You could never beat me now so"

"Yes but the last time we raced I did so be quiet" The pure luck i had in that race was unbelievable.

"I am a literal formula one driver and you have karted twice how could you beat me now?"

"I don't have to beat you again. I already did so it doesn't matter" Charles looked like he was gonna explode.

"Your such a cunt" Charles whispered under his breath and I chuckle.

"Says the raging asshole" I mutter and suddenly I feel a harsh slap on the back of my head.

"Ow!" Charles had already turned to slap the person back just as I did but we both turned away as it was Enzo.

"Y/n your mother told me to tell you that if she see's you roll your eyes again she will kick you out of the house and Charles Mamon said that if she see's you insulting her again she will also throw you out of the house-" Enzo had that strict look on his face but me and Charles glanced at each other

"I don't live with her anymore-"

"Me neither"

"Both of you. Be nice and fucking smile."

"Yes." I whisper and Enzo leaves.

"You wanna ditch?" It was maybe thirty seconds after Enzo told us to be nice.

"Yeah. You got you car?" We slowly made our way to the stairway only to be greeted by Arthur and Lance.

"Hey- oh Lance its nice to meet you I'm y/n I'm sure Leclerc has mentioned me?" Charles pressed his lips into a thin line.

"Yes... nothing nice I believe" I glare at Charles.

"Snitch" Charles mumbles

"We'll he's simply always embarrassed because i am a better driver." I laugh it off and Charles roll's his eyes.

"So not true do not believe that-"

"I have a video? Dm me on Instagram and I'll send it to you? Maybe we can talk more on there as well?" I flirt my way in a circle so that now the two boys were in our spots and we we're at the staircase.

"Oh- yeah sure?" Lance smiled like a puppy.

"No. Your not getting her socials. Arthur take him away." Charles put his hand on my waist and pulled me away and off the boat.

"Hey! I was getting myself a date?" I push his hand off.

"Your not dating another driver on the grid!" He objects and I push him away.

"And why not?" I walk on the pond until I reached the side walk going into the harbour.

"Because your mother won't allow it- come on I'll drive you home? Or anywhere come on?" I pushed him away.

"Leclerc fuck off, I'm calling a Taxi it's fine" I hated when he did that. Interfered in a perfectly fine build up.

"Stop being a bitch and come with me" he grabbed my wrist

"Oh I'm being the bitch?! You always fucking do this and I'm so not putting up with it"

"Y/n I will literally drag you come on"

"Don't you dare" We've been in this situation before, if he pissed me off he would always make me go with him anyway and either walk me home or drive me home or drive me to his place it was all the same.

"Are you coming?"

"No go away." I try to take my wrist away but he pulls me closer and there it is again. When he is close and for a second I forget all the insults and stupid remarks he makes, all the pranks and games he's played on me. All of the rumours he made up and all of the harsh slaps i got because of him. In a second where he is so near its almost frightening me.

"Please y/n? I'll drive you home and you can sulk and cry about how much your parents hate you there." But it only lasted a second.

"You fucking asshole" I slapped him

"Let me go or I'll scream" I've slapped Charles plenty of times and every time he looked like he wanted to straight up punch me back but he never did.

"I will literally choke you to death" I couldn't help but laugh.

"I really didn't think of you as the kinky type Leclerc" I chuckle and Charles rolls his eyes.

"Come on" He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to his car.

It was funny how i never got interested in formula one over the years or racing of any sorts, even though I had to attend a good amount of the races.

"My mother is calling" Charles informed me about ten minutes into the drive.

"Yes Mamon" I looked in the backseat to see the duffle bag of Clothes

"Charles where are you two? Y/n moth is about to explode in anger, reporters came and you two are nowhere to be found" I chuckled while i got some boxers and one of Charles shirts out of the bag.

"Yeah Y/n got sick so we had to leave? I told Arthur to tell you" Charles raised his eyes brow at me as I put the shirt on and took the dress off beneath it.

"What its uncomfortable?" Charles looked way embarrassed as his eyes glued to the road.

"Noh Chére, Arthur ne nous a pas dit" and there was the French again.

"mère j'emmène Y/n dans mon appartement elle va bien" I heard his Mother frown

"S'il te plaît?"

"Fine, I'll tell her mother something"

"Mercy"

"Mercy Pascale!" I shout into the phone and Charles chuckles as he puts the phone away.

"What did you tell her?" I ask and Charles shrugs.

"Your coming to my apartment because your sick we can get drunk and watch a movie?"

"Do you maybe have....?" Weed brownies, It was Pierre's recipe and the first time I had them I wanted to merry Pierre.

"I can't I have a race next weekend" The stupid FIA and their stupid drug test...

"Yes but do you have?" Maybe it was mean but it wasn't my fault that Charles became a driver

"I do and yes you can have some" I smiled at him tossing the rest of my clothes in the back.

"Thanks gods its night or people will think we fucked" Charles says after it got dark.

"Hah?" I look up from my phone putting my legs up.

"Your dressed in my old shirt and my boxers what would you think?"

"That their comfortable" I remark and he smiles.

"Can you put your seatbelt on?" He asks after another beat of comfortable silence

"Are you worried about me?" I can't help but smile.

"No we're about to pass The police." I roll my eyes putting the seatbelt on.

As we get to his apartment my mother calls me.

"Are you absolute mental?!" Charles leaves me alone in the car.

"You cannot just leave! I will talk to you Father!"

"Mom Just- I was sick and I'm at Charles I'm sorry I should've told you? " I tried to avoid arguing with her.

"I'm still here so I won't talk about this now but your going to the race next weekend and I won't tell you father about your stupidity"

"Yes yes. Mom Leclerc is waiting I've got to go ill talk tomorrow" Charles was waiting he opened the door for me and helped me out giving me his coat so I wasn't completely naked in the street.

"Thanks." I mutter And he lets me hold onto his arm noticing my unstable state.

"How much did you drink?" He asks and I shrug.

"I had like three shots before I got on the yacht" I mutter.

"Why didn't you tell me I would've drove slower I don't want you throwing up on me."

"I'm not gonna throw up on two shots of vodka Leclerc" He opens the door for me and I enter his apartment.

"Never say never" Charles mutters with a laugh.

"I'm just annoyed at my mother" I explain and jump up on the counter while Charles gets me a glass of water as well as a shot.

"You're being nice today?" I take the shot

"Had a rough week" He says and I smile.

"What movie do you wanna watch?"

"Something scary so we can laugh" I ask and Charles takes another shot to survive the night.

"Alright you chose I'll get you your brownies" I jump down and find myself into the couch where I put Anabella on.

The next morning was torture. Not only did this bitch let me sleep on the couch and not bother to put me into the guest bedroom he also left with no breakfast in the fridge.

I cleaned the kitchen from last night's drinking session and took a shower until a friend picked me up with a fresh change of clothes.

The Monaco Grand Prix was the most grandiose GP and Everybody wanted to be the one holding the trophy at the end of the dat.

I arrived at the Paddock at Saturday walking in all black and wearing my sunglasses so people got the hint that I wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Yo! Y/n" Pierre kissed my cheek and I wrap my hands around his neck.

"Hey" I take my Sunglasses off.

"You don't look good.

"I was up late studying. I had an essay to write till today and I forgot about it."

"Come I'll walk you" The alpine boy hocked his arm with mine and walked with me to the Ferrari paddock.

"Leclerc hasn't returned any of my calls since last weekend do you know if he's alright?" I ask and Pierre shrugs.

"Has been running around a lot doesn't really have time to breath" Pierre says and I nod.

"Do you think he will win?" I ask and Pierre sighs

"I mean Ferrari started pretty bad but I think if he gets a good pole position then yes. I believe, also your here" He gives me a gentle smile and i raise an eyebrow

"I'm here?"

"Yeah don't you read headlines? Your like his lucky charm" I stop walking and stare at him puzzled.

"Like he performs better if he knows your watching, He would never admit it but it show's, every time you attend the race he relaxes of sorts because he knows your gonna support him no matter what." Unconditional Love. Pascale told me that one's...

"Its easy for you two to love each other, you don't expect anything"

"So he never has to worry about performing bad which leads to him performing good" Pierre talked as if he didn't just made me realize things.

"Oh." Oh

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you that he will kill me" Pierre laughs it off and I look up to see us standing in front of the Ferrari paddock.

"Don't worry, our little secret as always." He smile's and I bite my lip as I wat for Pierre to leave so I can walk into the Paddock but he stay's which must only mean one thing.

I turn around Charles smiling down at me.

"Hey" he kissed my cheeks and I greet him.

"Hey, how are you? Why haven't you picked up your phone?" I scold him and he rolls his eyes.

"I was busy calm down-"

"I am calm Charles but you can't just ignore me-"

"Hey Pierre" He ignores me greeting Pierre.

"Oh fuck you" I walk away from Charles into the Paddock And putting my sunglasses back on.

Charles got P1. It was rather surprising. The car wasn't that fast but Charles knew how to push its limits.

"Rather surprising" I set in the Paddock as Charles assistant comments on the subject with a down right look.

"Why? Charles is an excellent driver no one should expect less of him" I snap rather angrily and she nods embarrassed.

"I just meant-" Charles enters the Paddock getting out of the car.

"You did good" he walked over to me taking the bottle of water beside me.

"Best I could" He didn't look at me.

"Are you alright?" I reach out but he almost flinches.

"Yes I'm just stressed that's all love, don't worry" He makes sure to look me in the eyes now so that I know he isn't lying.

"Alright, yeah I'll see you tonight? After media?" I ask and he nods.

"Come by? we can have a drink?" He proposes and I nod.

"I'll meet you there" He let's me touch him, A brief second where his fingers brush mine.

In the evening I waited in the lounge for Charles, then i waited in my room, until I went to his knocking on his door.

"Yes I'm coming!" He sounded stressed and when he opened the door he stared at me.

"Shit- fuck I'm so sorry I completely forgot" He was in his boxer's and his shirt was unbuttoned, it wasn't like I haven't seen him naked, we ended up skinny dipping with Pierre and his friends a few year's back but it was always a pleasure.

But gods, he looked like a mess, his face was slightly red and his eyes we're as if he had cried and his lip's trembled when he talked.

"Jesus Leclerc- you look horrible what's gotten into you?" His hair was wet from a shower and i stepped inside reaching to touch his face.

"I just don't think-" he swallowed running his hand through his hair.

"I don't think I can lose this race, I don't think I can" He was having a panic attack. I pushed the door close and took my shoes off.

"Come on" the first time I saw Charles have a Panic attack was after he lost a karting event, I didn't know why it was so important to him since I rarely listened to them talk about the importance of races but I noticed his jittering fingers so I followed him into the cabin an. I tried to get him to breath, Enzo came thankfully and got him to calm down so I left them. Maybe it sounded cruel but I wasn't going to do him good back then since we we're so immature and I might even say I would have used it against him.

"Hey come on you wanna take a bath?"

He likes cold bath's

I tried to remember what I did the last time when I was alone with him like this but it was all gone.

"No I just need to breath" He looked up to the ceiling his eyes we're read, his skin felt hot and his breathing was uneven always taking one faster than he ended the last one.

" come on you need to breath" I lead him to the balcony where we we're met with the chill air and he set down, his hand's came up to his chest and his fingers trembled as he swallowed a sob after the other.

"Oh fuck- I'm so fucking done Jesus y/n I can't do this anymore" He cried out and I rubber my hands over his knees.

"Come on try to breath you fine" I waited until he leaned into my touch to take his hands where i made sure to give him a rhythm, I took his hands up when i wanted him to breath in and pushed them back down when He should exhale.

"Your doing great" I nodded at him and he nodded back.

After fifteen minutes he was calm and quiet.

I got up and got him water with some gin.

"You need a hug?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"Ew y/n" he was fine. I breathed through.

"I should've called Enzo" I mutter as he drinks the water.

"No. Your good." I don't think he was able to complete his sentences that night.

"I'm sorry. I'm really stressed." Short words. He was looking into the night sky trying to find the stars but the lights around us we're to bright.

"Do you want me to stay?" I ask and he find my eyes.

"Yes. Please." He adds and I smile standing up.

"Come on" he took my hand and I lead him to bed where he fell in comfortably.

I looked for his clothes from where i took one of his shirts and changed into them before laying down beside him.

"I am still angry at you" I whisper and he raises an eyebrow

"You couldn't have bothered to put me in the guest bedroom could you?" I ask and I see his faint smile.

"Room's are for people. Not for dogs." I gasp and slap his arm and I can't help but smile when he laughs.

"Gosh I wish I could help you" I whisper and I notice how harsh my words we're.

He didn't seem to mind.

"You are helping me" He says and I smile.

"I hate you with a burning passion" I tell him and he nods.

"Good. At least one thing that doesn't change" He says and I laugh.

"Yeah" He fell asleep first, It was late when I set up and brought my knees to my chest sucking in a shaky breath with a following sob.

It was Hurting me, of course he was an asshole, he did terrible things and made me cry uncountable times.

But I would never wish to have to sit there again, his shaky hands in mine, it was so fucking scary. I felt as if his heart was going to stop any second, His skin felt so cold, His eyes we're losing their pretty colour into a red teary Breath taking pain.

"Fuck" I let my nails dig into my skin.

"Be quiet" He turned around and I scoff returning to reality.

"Fuck off"

"Shut it" He frowned taking the blanket

"Wanker" I fell asleep.

The first time I was interested in a formula one race was in 2020 Baku race where Daniel and Max where on edge, I found myself in a bit of a crush for the Dutch Driver so I paid attention.

The second time was the morning after I had to hold his shaky hands in mine trying to be as steady as possible for him.

The entire race my skin was so itchy, so I scratched it off staining my fingernails.

My mother hated it when i did that but I didn't even notice till the end of the race.

Charles stayed in P1 for 80% of the race, at the start he lost it to Max but quickly got it back when max ran into a wall because his rear end hit the wall.

The second time he lost it was because of a pit stop fail and I swear I was ready to punch the crew member myself.

"Just push a bit" I muttered and he did, he caught up pretty fast as he thankfully changed to soft tires.

When he won My heart skipped a beat, I heard his scream over the radio, It was so full of beauty I needed to breath.

I took the headphones off and waited.

"Y/n Charles asked if you could put the headphones on?" One thing I hated more than Charles was Phone calls (which i got used to) or even worse radio calls (which really wasn't necessary for survival)

"Tell him he can come find me, I'm not talking to him over a radio." I wasn't that desperate was I?

"Yes ma'am" His engineer told the message to Charles and then Looked at me blankly.

"I'm not telling her that" The engineer said into the radio and I smile.

"Did he call me a raging cunt?" I ask and The engineer looks at me in shock

"Yes." He laughs.

"Tell him he can drive into a wall for all I care" I leave the paddock soon after not wanting to be on Charles last person list.

He called me when I got back to my apartment.

"Where are you?" He was clearly in a rush.

"At my apartment?" I asked as if I didn't ditch him.

"Come to the party?" He asked and I laughed.

"I'm not really in the mood-"

"Y/n i just won the most important race in my career put your favourite dress on and get the fuck to the Party or I'm gonna drag you here" His voice was filled with laughter, even though he wanted to sound convincing or demanding he was so over joyed that it was simply impossible for him to be angry.

"Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No, no, you go have fun I'll join you in an hour" He hummed and I Heard the voices around him pulling him away.

"Promise you'll come?"

"Yes. I'll be there don't worry"

"I'll come to your apartment if you don't"

"I'm already on the way" I lie before hanging up and phone down.

I chose a red dress for Charles victory and made sure to wear the Necklace his Mother gave to me on his account on my birthday since he was 'occupied'.

I called an Taxi and took a shot so I wasn't completely sober when I got there.

It was rather cold, the party was on a massive yacht and It was almost overflowing.

I made my way up the steps carefully looking for Anybody I knew.

People seemed to know me and some came over to say hi but my brain was completely shut down.

"Y/n!" It was Pierre, Lovely Pierre who had a girl in his lap and called me over handing me his drink.

"Why did you leave early? Charles was worried! Where is he? Charles!"

"Pierre the night just started how much did you drink? " I laugh and Pierre took his drink back rolling his eyes at me.

"Are you really the right person to mother me? Miss let's see who can chug the most beer? When she was 17?" I laugh.

"Exactly I was 17 how old are you right now? 12?" Pierre scoffed and I looked around spotting Charles.

He wore a black suit and a white shirt underneath the first three buttons undone and he was talking to Max.

He looked pretty, his cheeks we're flushed red and he had a glass of cranberry vodka in his hands which was even more attractive now that i think about it.

"Pierre calm down on the drinking I'm going over to Charles yeah?" He gave me a thumbs up and I smile at the girl apologetic before making my way over to the bar.

"Hey Max" I ignore Charles leaning in front of him.

"Hey Y/n" He noticed my intention thankfully and decided on Ignoring Charles as well.

Charles put his hands on my waist and pulled me closer to him and Max laughed at me as I rolled my eyes at him leaning back comfortably.

"Clingy much?" I ask and he gives me the glass of vodka.

"Its an open bar for you" He tell me and I smile.

"Why be as clingy as you want then" I take the glass.

"Somebody know the real value" Max mutters and I raise an eyebrow in question.

"Free alcohol" He explains and I laugh.

"Congratulations on p2 btw" Max scoff's.

"Thank you but no thank you"

"What? P2 is amazing! It just proves that next time you will so better" I slap his arm as he roll's his eyes.

"You know for all the things you two say behind each other's backs you do make a good couple" Max leaves us and I scoff's pushing Charles away and turning to him.

"Red for me?" He asks ignoring Max's comment.

"No for Carlos I wouldn't wear shit for you." I drink my drink.

"Really? I'm pretty sure I chose that necklace for your 20th?" Charles picked the small red heart shaped gemstone.

"It was from your mother."

"No! I chose it and I wanted to give it to you myself but I had a race you cunt" he dropped it, my skin missing his touch.

"Liar! Your mother didn't tell me you had a race and we all knew you didn't chose it you we're off somewhere while I had to spend five hours in a thight dress smiling for pictures. " I scoffed at him and he stared at me.

"It was a Sunday. I had a race in Spa Belgium. My mother didn't tell you because she didn't want to worry your Mother who always made a big fuss about it and would've want you to join me. But it was your birthday and you hate to attend the races" He explained and I swallowed.

"I got you that necklace a month even before your birthday. I got it In France, me and Pierre we're driving around all afternoon because I knew you wanted That exact one. It was the one you asked your Father to buy you that summer" Charles just talked and explained while i stared at him, how could such an insufferable annoying little shit be such a sweetheart all of the sudden rather has always been and how was I only noticing it now? Charles kept defending himself for another 5 minutes calling me a raging cunt five times as well.

"Thank you" I interrupt him at some point.

"It's one of my favourite necklaces. Thank you" It became my favourite in that moment.

"and I don't hate attending your races"

After another two drinks Lando and Carlos came over and started to talk to Charles about the race.

"Lando you wanna dance?" I asked the brit and he Looked at Charles for an answer.

Charles wasn't listening so he just shrugged and offered me his hand.

"Why not" He let me walk behind him until we got on the dance floor where he put his hands on my waist and guided me to the music.

"Did you and Charles fight?" He asked over the music leaning down so i would hear him.

"I mean we always fight" I shrug letting my hands fall around his neck.

"Yes but like why did you want to dance with me and not with him?" He asked and i raise an eyebrow.

"Maybe Because i don't like Charles?" I laugh and Lando scoffs.

"To be honest The first time i saw you two i thought you we're dating" I laugh at his stetment.

"But then you trippee him and walked over him so I was like nah... But it did take Carlos to tell me that you weren't dating so i would belive it.

"Oh?" I laugh at him and He smiled.

"Well We're really not- so yeah I'm single like a Pringel" I joke and he laugh's again.

The first time I met Lando Charles had told him that I was a huge McLaren hater which obviously wasn't true but Lando believed him and would straight up ignore me for a month.

Carlos confronted him for me and then he laughed at the both of us for a week before clearing it all up.

"Come on let's get another drink before i start sobering up again" Lando took my hand and got us back to the bar where I ordered two beer's on Charles account.

"I can pay its fine" Lando tried but i Scoffed.

"Charles is paying don't worry" I hand him the bottle and he smiles.

The night went away quick and soon the people started to leave, Lando had pulled me into his lap as we set in a couch cirlce where the other drivers had started to gather around aswell.

"To be honest I though I was gonna spin out in the fifth lap but i somehow stayed in control" Lance had started talking to Lando and I watched as the two drivers exchanged infos about they're car's.

"Y/n whats your favorite car?"

"Oh I'm not really intrested in car's" I sip on my drink and they laugh.

"Its a Ferrari" Charles set down beside me and I waved a Pierre who took the seat beside Charles.

"Hm?" I Raise my eyebrow.

"Your favorite car is a Ferrari." He says and I smile.

"Is it now?" I ask and he nods taking my hand.

"Yes so you can get down from the McLaren now." He yanked at my wrist and I almost fell off Lando but Lando made sure to Hold me not paying attention to Charles.

"Ow fuck you" i take my hand away from him as he smiles.

"Y/n i swear if you fuck one of the Drivers im calling your mother" Charles says and I scoff.

"You wouldn't dare! And im not fucking anybody anyways... just having fun" I turn away from him but he doesn't let me.

"I'm being sirius. Nobody on the grid."

"How about I fuck you engineer and check if he will be able to focus on you again while I'm in that fucking garage?" I push his buttons.

"Y/n I'm not joking-"

"Stay out of my love life Leclerc. It doesn't concern you." I spat and Charles stared at me for a while, My head kept spinning and gods his lips looked angelic.

"Don't be like that" he asked and I swallowed harshly.

"You were the one who just tried to push me off a man's lap"

"I didn't push you off your over reacting"

"Maybe because i've been drinking for five hours straight to a party you made me come to?" Charles noted my comment and nodded then turning away.

"Well good point, still you try to much Xavi and I'm actually gonna punch you" Charles Grabbed his beer bottle and I scoff.

"Xavi and I have already fucked-"

"No!" Charles and his nöh's we're rather interesting.

"Yës!" I mocked him and he yanks my hand again.

"Say your joking!" He pull's me off Lando's lap and I stand up so that Lando let's go off my hip.

"Make me" I laugh and jump over some peoples feet as Charles launges up to catch me.

"Y/n i swear to god! Say your joking" I run through some people and out on the open where Charles catches me pushing me against the rails. His hand's lock me in place and I push mine on his arms trying to push him off

"What if I'm not?" I ask and he groan's his hand falling on my waist.

"I'm gonna push you off this boat" Charles said and I smile.

"Push me" I dare him and suddenly his hand's come up beneath my thighs picking me up and I shriek putting my arms around his neck and wrapping my legs around his waist as he set's me down on the railing.

"Okay, okay fine I'm kidding! Don't let go" I eased when he didn't push me further and simply let me sit on the rail and look down on him.

Charles breathed through and let his head fall in my lap for a bit.

"Your a torture"

"The best you can get" I lift his head he smiles.

"I don't get us" he says and I nod.

"Yeah you we're about to kill me and now your simping for me again, chose a side will you?" I laugh and he groans again.

"You wanna go home?"

"Can I sleep in an actual bed rather than Your old couch?" I ask and he scoffs

"That's a brand new couch" he protests and I frown.

"Alright get me down" His hand's came up on my thighs again and he put's me down and guides me back to the bar so he can pay his hand resting on my lower back.

"Alright we're off" Charles Kissed Pierre on the cheeks and I hugged Lando kissing his cheeks.

"Bye" I hit Pierre on the back off his head and ducked behind Charles when he hit me back.

"Fuck you" He muttered and Charles guided me down the yacht.

"The cab should be here any minute"

"Ugh" I took my phone out and leaned against his chest with my back.

"What are you doing?" He put his head on my shoulder.

"Following Lando On Instagram" I mumble as I go to DM him

"Why?"

"Maybe we can go out sometimes" I muse and he snatches my phone putting it in his pocket.

"No" I roll my eyes.

"Jesus I'm just being friendly Leclerc, give me my phone"

"No your fine, come on get in the cab" I stumble along the pavement until I Reach the car where He opens the door for me and lets me inside.

I take my Highheels off and he takes them holding them for me. I watch him.

His eyes as he thinks, his lip's as he tries to form words, his hand's (gods his hands) the way his fingers lingered on my shoulder and the way He breathed slower.

He helped me out of the car as i tip toed up the stairs to his apartment so I wouldn't get my feet dirty which he picked up on so he grabbed my by the waist and i shrieked again as he carried me up the stairs in a second.

"Jesus Leclerc you got to stop doing that! How do you have this much strength anyways?" He set's me down on the cold apartment floor after he opened the door for me and I walk into his Bathroom washing my face off and breathing through.

I take off the necklace and my rings leaving them on the small plate where all of his Rings we're placed.

Charles was sitting on his bed scrolling on his phone as I got into the room looking through his closet to get my favourite shirt.

"Can you help me with the dress please?" I ask and he got up unzipping it for me.

"Thank you" I mutter covering my chest as I pulled his T-shirt over my head and turning around to face him.

"Are you tired?" He asked and I nod with a smile.

"Yes very" I look at the clock at his desk which said 05:00 AM.

"Are you still drunk?" He asks and I shake my head.

"Are you alright?" I ask and he smiles.

"I don't think I've ever been happier." He tells me and I smile.

"I don't understand us" He tells me again.

"I know. I don't either. Not since we started to... I don't know become friends." I nod and throw my head back in despair.

"But let's not tonight, let's just be happy tonight and fight about it tomorrow?" He asks and I nod.

"I'm gonna go wash up you can go to sleep already?" He breaks us back into life and I push myself over to the bed falling down.

I don't know if I fell asleep or not but I felt him beside me after some time. I didn't want to open my eyes when I felt his finger's push my hair behind my ear, I didn't want to open them when he pulled me closer by the waist and I didn't want to open them when his lip's touched my forehead whispering a good night.

We didn't talk for a month after that. I went back to studying and he went back to racing, I got out of my mothers way when ever she tried to get me to something he was attending, we had both come to a realization that we did like each other, that we didn't hate each other and I noticed how people had started to ease around me when they knew Charles as if he had stopped Saying all those things about me so Initially I stopped as well, Just skipping over him when he came up in a conversation trying to get myself away from thinking about him.

"Come on we're going out" it was about 11 P.M. and I was sitting in the Library going over some material trying to memorize several text's.

"Hm?" It was a friend of mine Ashley who already took my coat and helped me up.

"You've been stuck here for five hours we're gonna go change and then go drink.

"I really have to finish this" I tell her but she already pulled me away.

We went to a shady club somewhere at the end of Monaco and she made me take about ten shot's one after the other before taking me to play bear pong.

"Y/n I'm off with- what's your name? Julio you have fun!" it was about two when Ashley left, I kept on drinking feeling myself in the moment and dancing with random guys I found at the bar.

It was four when i ended up outside walking along the street trying to think of somebody to call.

"Pick up" I pled Having Charles number pulled up while The phone started to ring.

"Oui? c'est quoi ce bordel? qui est-ce?" Charles picked up his deep voice made me blush immediately.

"Hey where are you?" I ask and I hear him shuffling.

"What? Y/n its 4 A.M? I'm at my apartment? where are you?" I heard him shuffle some more and yawn.

"So your in Monaco?" I ask and I hear him frown.

"Yes? Its summer break? Are you drunk? Where are you?"

"Not drunk! Just a bit tipsy" I balance myself on the pavement falling down.

"are you alright? where are you?"

"Fuck, I'm I don't know where" I look around.

"Are you alright? what happened?" I heard him stand up and go through his closet.

"Just fell down. Uhm I'm sorry I just wanted to.. I don't know we just haven't talked and My mother has been pushing but I just didn't want to see you" I explain and I hear his house door close.

"Send me your location I'll be there in a second" He orders and I sigh Trying to do as he says.

"Y/n can you hear me? your location?" Charles asked again after a while and I swallow a sob. I send him my location looking at his message which was sent a fucking month ago.

"Yeah, yeah, You don't have to come I'm alright I'm just sorry... I kind of messed us up" I tell him and hear him scoff.

"We're fine, your fine, I'm fine, I'll be there in a second just wait" I nod and hear how he gets in his car. I get up and start walking again.

"Y/n?" He asks and I wipe away my tears.

"Just breath alright?" He asks and I Breath through nodding.

"I'm sorry" I whisper and hang up looking around while i wait for him.

Gosh how I love his car. The black Pista pulled up on me and He got out putting his coat around me in a second.

"Jesus you look fucked-"

"Fuck you" I scoff as I wipe away my tears again trying not to cry as I lean into him.

"Hey, hey come on your fine" He pulled me into a hug and I nod against his chest and he Helps me into the car opening the door for me.

"Come on you wanna go to your apartment?" I shake my head.

"I wanna go to yours?" I ask and he smiles.

"As you wish Chérie"

We drove in silence and I took my High heels off.

"Thank you for getting me" I whisper after a while.

"Always" He smiled and I lean my head against the window watching him drive.

"I think you we're right" I tell him and he raises his eyebrow.

"I do like Ferrari the most.... at least if your driving" I add and Charles smiles.

"Thank you I believe myself to be a quiet good Driver" I stare at his hand's.

"can I hold your hand?" I ask and he frowns but holding me his hand anyways.

"Why? Don't bite me please" I laugh leaning into his direction as he let's me hold his hand, i don't hold it but rather examine it letting my fingers run over them, they we're solid and his skin was hard in some places.

"What are you doing?" He asks after a beat of silence.

"I don't know, trying to figure out why I'm attracted to somebody's hand's" I state and when i look at him I see how flushed his face has gotten.

"Alright stay for a second" he stopped the car and I look outside seeing that we have arrived. He opened the door for me and helped me out taking my high heels and I go up the stairs faster than he so he doesn't attempt to carry me up again.

"Let me" He opened the house door for me and I walk into his apartment falling onto the couch.

"Don't do that, go to the bathroom and wash up yeah?" He tapped my leg and i rolled off the couch doing as he told me.

I washed my legs in the shower for a second and cleaned my face off before finding myself to his bedroom where he got me a hangover drink and some water.

"Do you just have those laying around?" I point to the hangover drink which he hand's me.

"I do actually yes" I drink the shot of whatever the fuck is in those things and Cringe handing the empty bottle back to Charles who was smiling at me.

"Thank you" i mutter and see that he already laid out the shirt I liked.

"Can you help me with the dress?" I ask and he does unzipping it for me.

"Thank you" I mutter again and cover my chest as I slip into his shirt.

"Are you alright?" He asks as I sit down on the bed.

"No... I'm so fucking Tired" I laugh and he hands me the water bottle.

"Me too" he informs me and I press my lips together.

"I shouldn't have called you" I tell him and he scoff's taking my hand and pulling me into him so I flop down on his chest in exhaustion.

"I'd rather have you call me than anybody else" he tells me as I curl up into his side, he holds my waist and I feel how his breath steadies.

"Thank you Charles"

"I love it when you say my name" He tells me and I Smile turning around so I'm facing him, I lift my finger and push his hair out of his face so I can touch him.

"I think we're kind of unhealthy" I tell him and he laughs hugging me a bit more giving me enough room so I can bury my face into his neck and breath in his scent.

-K<3

[the-knucklesverse]

Deep Thoughts

something something Boom is feeling bad about himself because he's not smart in his world. Dark sees an opportunity - if this idiot is starting to recognize his failing, this may be something he can use to his advantage.

He slithers up to Boom and starts whispering in his ear, reinforcing the idea that his friends there aren't REALLY his friends, and that the other Knux's don't REALLY understand what he's going through

It's making Boom feel so much worse, because when Dark says it, it's giving his thoughts validity. Dark's just about to go in for what he hopes is the final push to get Boom to draw on the ME's energy, when he's hit with an ice cold stream of water.

~~~~~

"I'm gonna muzzle you and chain you to that corner if I see you slithering around the others like a demented slug again, Dark," Callie said as she came over to them. She gave Dark another squirt with her Super Soaker. "Get your ass back to your corner, you wrinkly crank."

Dark actually hissed at her, but returned to his corner of the Sanctuary. Callie hissed back, giving him another squirt as he retreated for good measure.

She turned to Boom, a little smile on her lips. "How's my Boomie? What was that overripe banana whispering in your ear, hmm?" She sat next to him, pressing her shoulder against his. "C'mon. Talk to me."

Boom shook his head, heaving a deep sigh. "Just telling me what I already know."

"Oh really? And what might that be?"

"That I'm an idiot. Back on my world, without the Master Emerald, I can't think straight. My brain . . ." He tapped his forehead with his fingers. "It's like it's all fuzzy. Like I'm dizzy all the time. I'm just . . . I'm stupid."

Callie considered this, leaning against him more. Physical touch was a good way to provide comfort to a Knuckles (at least to those comfortable with physical touch), so she made sure to keep contact with him as much as she could. "And this bothers you."

He turned to her, brow furrowed. "Of course it bothers me! Why wouldn't it? I'm a complete moron on my world! Wouldn't that bother you?"

"I guess it depends. Does it bother you while you're on your world?"

Boom blinked. He thought for a moment, before shaking his head. "No. But, idiot, remember? I'm too stupid to know how stupid I am."

"So it only bothers you when you're here. When you think back on how you act there. Right?"

"It's only when I'm here that I realize just how dumb I am there. It's embarrassing. My friends think I'm an idiot, and I prove them right every time I open my mouth."

"They must not like you, then." She shook her head. "If you're that dumb, they must hate hanging around you."

He jerked in her direction. "No! They . . . they like me. They invite me places and like hanging around me. I think."

"Then they must not trust you to help them when they need it. Like when they're fighting your Eggman. Probably run off and leave you behind because they know you'll just mess up and be more trouble than you're worth."

"No! We fight Eggman together all the time! I bash his bots something good, and we all work really well together."

"Hmmm," she said, furrowing her brow as she thought. "So then they're mean to you and like to see you mess up so they can laugh at you."

He gaped at her, brows pinched in upset. "Callie, my friends aren't mean! They don't laugh at me like that!"

She looked over at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Then why does it bother you if you're different there than you are here?"

"Because I can't think straight there! I can't focus or concentrate or put my thoughts in order like I can here!"

A little smile curled her lips. "Take it from someone who overthinks like it's her job. Sometimes it's nice to not have a bunch of thoughts rattling around in your head, being distracting and anxiety inducing and overall annoying when you're trying to do other things."

"That's not the point," he said, planting an elbow on his knee and perching his chin in his hand. "You don't understand."

"No, I understand. But I don't think you're looking at it the right way." She leaned against him a little more, placing a hand on his arm. "Boom, you have friends who care about you on your world. They don't seem to care that you're not the sharpest knife in the drawer. They love you for who you are. They accept you for who you are. That should matter for something."

He was quiet for a moment, before looking over at her. "Even if I'm dumb as a rock?"

She shrugged. "That's the Boom they know. That's the Boom they love. I know it bothers you, and I'm not saying it shouldn't. I'm just saying that as long as you're loved and cared for and accepted by your friends . . . maybe it’s okay that you’re different. They're there to take care of you, even if you're not at your best." She looked out over the Sanctuary, at the other Knuckleses. "And maybe you can take solace in the fact that when you're here, you are so smart and pulled together that you can take care of all of them."

The furrow in his brow smoothed, and he looked out at the other Knuckleses for a moment, before turning back to her. "You really think that?"

She smiled, pulling him toward her to press their foreheads together.

"I really think that. We all play different roles to different people in our lives. Back on your world, you need a little caring. But here, you take care of others. It's just the way things go."

He smiled, a little chuckle rumbling from his chest. "Yeah, I guess so." He reached up and cupped the back of her neck to pull her against him a little firmer. "Thanks, Mom."

"Anytime, sweetie."

~~ Qwerty

[alitgblog]

volume ix thoughts wooooo we're out of casa

first off, return of a legend: the beach hut

i was fully expecting the compatibility test to be more like the season 1 compatibility test with the zodiacs because that's fun but i guess that's less of a pot stirrer than a fun game to have. though the narrator poking fun at it i guess is making fun of the fandom for thinking it was gonna be horoscopes 🤣

so very obvious ass test though especially with the two answers only about the two guys you're pursuing, which I think is a missed opportunity to throw more lore about the guys in there. or at least make it not as obvious? really goes to show how surface level the characters are compared to, say, the Mr. and Mrs. Challenge towards the end of S2

I'm going for Jin and Max rn so I thought it was funny their personalities were boiled down to "funny" vs "extroverted" and my MC had to pick between the two as if they were mutually exclusive

anyway just nearly got Jin lmao

I'd like them to stop with the Claudia/Theo storyline because it feels like they've already decided they're done with each other and are ready to move on? However, Claudia being compatible with Theo on paper but like not really feeling it is an interesting idea. Like she feels she's got no other option to stay safe except for him and they like each other enough. Meanwhile Bea's settling for Liam because he's shown any interest in her at all. (Let them date each other if MC can't! They deserve better!!)

also I know that I joked about Theo being just some mildly attractive white guy to fawn over and settle for but the way that Claudia is just settling for him? actually upsetting like I'm so sorry, Theo 😟 I didn't mean it I thought he was fine after the first dates 😖

Hari mention! I was pretty sure the game forgot about him lmao

anyway the compatibility thing still doesn't make the most sense because like,,, why did all the guys get the Villa girls and none of the casa girls? I just think we should stir up some shit. I know it's annoying but it is the perfect opportunity to try to make Emel angry at Oakley again by saying he's most compatible with some casa girl. And she can show growth by not getting upset this time.

idk why but Kyle's poem to Emel is giving wannabe rap crew vibes (i.e. I'm missing S1 I'll take what I can get). Also, Claudia said he's giving game player vibes?? I'm actually so upset with how the LI's are all interchangeable because simply this cannot be the same Kyle y'all are fawning over (it's not 😭)

I'm kind of curious what it's like replaying on a straight route bc personally my heart hurts every time they show Claudia's little sad face but like I have to talk to Max it just makes more sense because MC can't couple with Claudia in stick or twist

Close your eyes and pick at random is actually hilarious as an option for stick or twist and I almost did it

i've already said my piece about Sienna, I love her design. I will admit though, her open mouth smile is a little stilted but people get botox so... not out of the ordinary lol. The bigger problem is how her hand on her hip is a little fucked up (color in between the lines, fusebox!)

as someone not on a Theo route, I really don't understand why he's sticking with Claudia unless he's got some personal turmoil he's working through and trying to actually reform his player ways. And I wish MC could talk to him as a friend and we'd see that. like in the way S2, you get to know Rocco's insecurity about never finishing university and Gary's anxiety even if you aren't on their routes

Anyway I'm still upset at the forcing MC to couple because she's single thing. They could've still had her coupled with Jin (or even with Hari it would work) and then she can either walk in single or with a casa boy. And then she's the main character: just say that the single islanders don't get dumped post casa (like it's SUPPOSED to be) because in that situation, she's the only one! Or if you need the numbers to be right, literally Emel is right there. She can come back to Oakley later if anything

still not the best stick or twist could've gone in terms of drama (or maybe that's just bc I've been looking at spoilers), but compared to S5-6, not too bad (I assume also s7 but tbh I did stop right at stick or twist for that season)

So fyi when I played Casa, I had my MC go for Shawn most of it, and then last minute switched to Max because I remembered she's a musician and I thought that would be cute. That being said, I wish it was like in the too hot to handle game where you unlock certain dialogue if you happen to have something in common with a character. Because why is Max explaining music stuff to my musician MC?

is Hari not an LI? Because they made him seem like one and then just all of a sudden we're not talking about him, it's only about Jin and Casa Boy. And I'm fine with not all the boys being LIs, but it is odd the way he's just shoved to the side in the story

Okay so I'm writing this as I'm playing and it seems like maybe he is. They just forget to mention him most of the time.

Hari and Hazel are a hot couple though. like I don't love Hari's design but like if he was drawn better?? I see it.

the swimming game is a fun idea but imagining everyone splashing around to get to MC is so funny. like I can hear it in my head and it's not the best game, but for the fictional game in the app it's fine.

although why tf is Theo suddenly interested in MC? I haven't been romancing him at all but for the chat at the pool I couldn't decide between any of the characters I'm actually kind of interested in so I had MC go talk to Theo and then he was also flirting? then the pool game he also thinks MC has the best chat?? sir I barely know you

omg not emel deflecting the drama to Claudia (and it's about her hookup with MC???) oof this is the drama I crave I think we're gonna need a movie night soon

so not too bad yet I just hope these storylines can come through!!

[agattthaa]

Smartwatch

Pairing: Beckett Harrington/F!MC

Word count: 1.277

Warnings: A little bit of jealousy, but is nothing out of this world, they are cute and in love

-I still don't understand why you bought this tuneless device for me. 

-And I already told you, Beck. It works for a bunch of stuff. Sets alarms, play audiobooks, track your daily activities. That helps me a lot when I'm practicing Thieth. It can help on your secret workout section. 

-You practice yoga with me everyday. 

-Yes, Beckett, I do. And I don't have a six pack. -She pointed out, to which he only rolled his eyes and continued.

-And between all my activities, I don't have the time for a 'secret workout section'. You know that, we spent the vast majority of the day together. 

-My mother always says that a man can always find some way to hide something, if he really wants. 

-And you think that what I would choose to hide from you would be a workout section? -He lifted one of his eyebrows. 

-Why Harrington? Do you have anything else that you want to hide from me? -It was her turn to lift an eyebrow, but the smirk on her lips didn't let her expression be too serious. 

-You know very well I do not. Besides, considering how many people in this school wish to take my place, if I was hiding something, you would already know. -His voice grew to be clearly annoyed, meanwhile, her smirk turned into a smile instantly, because she knew perfectly well what he was implying. 

-Oh my, is THE Beckett Harrington jealous right now? -she poked his side. Her smile growing bigger as he turned red. 

It was risky, Eli knew it. They were in this thing for almost a year now, before he really considered himself to be a true pendpal, before he accepted that he now had friends, before Rafe. 

And while they were definitely a thing, they weren't that thing she wanted them to be. They did everything a couple did. Sometimes even more. 

They spend almost every moment together, they went on little dates, he gave her flowers almost daily, made notes specifically for her so she could understand her classes better, they slept together with most of the nights just holding each other and actually sleeping, he gave her the sweetest forehead kisses and held her hand all the time, and she knew fully well he did not appreciated PDA but knew she did. 

Most married couples aren't so serious. Sheira had told her, and she knew it. And yet, he didn't ask that goddamn question. So she didn’t imply anything. 

But now, he gave her the perfect opportunity, so what could she possibly do if not take that opportunity. 

-I don't believe I have a reason to be. -He answered when the red had subdued. 

He tried to play it cool, but she knew him too well. She could hear the words he didn't say. She knew he was asking her if he had a reason to be jealous. He was laid on her bed, as usual, but his eyes were not on her, and that was unusual. He was scared of her answer. 

She sat down closer to him. He was laid on his side, so she placed herself in front of her torso, placing her hand on his face and caressing her thumb against his cheek. 

-I don't believe you have a reason to be. Although you say otherwise, only one person showed interest in me since I came here. 

-And why do you think that is, Eli? -He sat down, lacing her hand on his, while the other touched her face in adoration. -Why do you think I must be by your side every minute? Why I never let go of your hand? Why I kiss you out of nowhere?

-Because you have an enormous crush on me that you can't get over no matter how hard you try? -Her smirk made him smile hopelessly.  

-I never tried to get over it, first of all. Besides my enormous crush on you, it's the eyes. The eyes that follow you everywhere, Eli. I don't know how you don't see it. Everywhere you go, everyone watches you, with eyes filled with hope that one day you'll look towards them as well. Goddammit, last week I went to the bathroom and that guy from your team was asking you if you wanted to do something after practice. 

-He told me it was a team outing, Beck.

-Yeah, one that neither Griffin nor Zeph knew about. 

-Besides, I said no. 

-I know you did. Still, you don't know what it's like. 

-That's what you think. Do you have any idea how many of this year's juniors are watching you? A girl came to ask me if you were single  Beck. How many times has that happened to you? 

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it. His eyes instantly got bigger. He was not expecting her to say that. 

-What did you answer her, Eli?

-That's irrelevant.  

-Eli, what did you tell her? 

-I think you know what I told her, Beckett Harrington. 

-Full name won't work this time and I don't. What did you tell her, Eli? 

-Had any blonde girl come to you asking for a date, Harrington? If not, I think you know what I told her. 

His face turned to a lovestruck smile. 

-You told her I wasn't single, didn't you, Eli? -She looked away from him when his smile became too blinding. He took that opportunity to kiss her temple, her cheeks, her eyes. -Did you tell her you were my girlfriend?

-You are the one saying that, Harrington, not me. 

-I can almost see it. The skeptical look on your face, you looked her up and down I'm sure of it, and you tried to be crude, but she didn't realize it because you never can do it. Then you said it, the most beautiful words "No, I am his girlfriend". Was it like it, Eli? 

She didn't say anything. Because Eli knew Beckett, but he also knew her. It was exactly what had happened, but she would not admit it. 

-I won't say it before you do, Harrington. No matter how much you annoy me.

-Why must you be so headstrong, my love? -He held her face, forcing her to look at him. -Eli, can I also tell people that you are my girlfriend? 

Her face broke on a sweet smile and she melted on his hands. 

-Ask properly, Harrington.  

He smiled, letting a little bit of air come out of his nose. 

-Eli, my sun and all my stars, will you be my girlfriend? 

-I'll think about it. -She pulled him closer, smiling almost as much as him. -Okay, I will. 

-You are impossible. 

-And yet, you love me. -She joked against his lips. 

-I really do. 

Before she could say anything, he kissed her, making her melt on his arms. She, with her hand on his face, pulled him closer, and he held her by her waist, hugging her close and closer, as if he could not bear to be apart from her not even by a centimeters, not even by a second. 

But their peace was disrupted almost immediately. A loud beep was almost deafening when compared to the silence they had before. 

When they look down on the watch on Beckett's arm. The words "Abnormal heart rate decteted" were in bright red. Almost as red as Beckett's face. 

-I'll never wear this again. 

Eli's cheeks hurted from how much she laughed. She held his face on her hands, running her thumbs on his cheeks before giving him a small kiss. 

-Yeah, you don't have to worry about anything. 

[femmesandhoney]

Hey I hope this isn't too annoying of an ask, but literally how are you so happy at college? You're like the student I want to be, you're always posting on here about your classes and you're so engaged and seem so into it. Every semester for me is just another couple months of the time passing and panicking. I'm either completely paralyzed in bed or I'm crying in bed. Like, how do you seem so good at this?

it's not all sunshine and rainbows believe me. even my best friend has told me i come off as someone who "has it all figured out", but i often do not feel the same lol, i miss assignments, i stress out and procrastinate until the last minute, i get drained from all the work mentally and physically. all the regular college shit. outside of that tho, i legitimately love learning and interacting with others who are interested in what i like and who i can learn from. that's usually what keeps me happy! i love the people i meet in my classes, i like group discussions, i like being introduced to new things, i love my profs and take all the classes i can with them. generally, im just friendly w people in my classes and that makes me enjoy going to them, and i take classes i enjoy, and if they're reqs i don't care for, i always try to take something out of the experience.

some people do not find learning for the sake of learning fun, but i do, which makes even the roughest days okay, but that doesn't mean the tedious and demanding aspects of college curricula do not wear me down too. i decided to wait to go to grad school bc im exhausted! i am tired and need a break from always having another damn assignment to do and another article to read 😭 those things are taxing, and i already have bad self discipline habits, so you can imagine i often make stuff harder for myself than they need to be. the only reason i get good grades is bc im smart and have a relatively easy time understanding the subjects i study. if i take anything outside my favorite academic areas, like say the natural resources class i took a few years ago, that shit had me crying every damn day lmao.

so yeah, i just enjoy learning for learning sake, but also i like academia and going thru the motions of a classroom experience is fun to me for all the reasons i listed, including the fact i want to be a college professor and just enjoy that atmosphere a lot. i would wager if you're constantly frustrated by your college experience, maybe analyze a bit deeper on what you most dislike? is it specific profs, the people in ur classes, the subject material itself? if theres anything you can try and control to make it more agreeable for you, always take the opportunity, tho ik its not always possible. im lucky that all my areas of study have naturally wonderful people drawn to them (especially the international studies students!), but ik some majors can draw less nice people sometimes :( which can make ur experience harder than it should be. or some people legitimately do not enjoy the institutions that are schools and what they traditionally demand from a person, which is completely understandable. my best friend didn't go to college bc she barely graduated high school bc she hated attending and never turned in her hw. some people just do not thrive in such strict school environments for many reasons. but whatever your case is, i hope you have easier semesters in the future if you continue, no one should ever be so stressed from a class that they cry over it. i think thats a failure of a class and a professor when that occurs, and a sign of a bad class/prof rather than a bad student.

[vvo1d1ing]

... Okay, listen, I had this idea, I wrote it, I didn't beta it, and fuck it, I'm now posting it.

I usually post my fanfics on ao3 but since this is a very short One Shot that is mostly just a dumb thought I had, I'm posting it here.

English isn't my first language and I'm sure if I spent more time on this, it'd flow better. But I, I just need to post it and hope better writers see my idea and make fics of Durge and Gortash having much more of these "Deniable acts of kidness and love because if I try to actually show romantic or sexual interest in you, I'm going to kill you." moments that make me feral.

If you read this, hopefully you'll enjoy it. In mind while writing it I had my Durge but I tried to keep it any descriptor to a minimum so you can kind of maybe imagine your own Durge easier (if you like this, idk, my writing is all over the place)

TW: Slight dubious consent and mentions of human taxidermy, murder, stabbing, slitting throats. Nothing really gets described, mostly just thought about or mentioned in conversation.

What was there to say about Lord Enver Gortash? He was charismatic, he was inventive, he was the biggest bastard The Dark Urge knew but besides these few admirable qualities, he was a prick, he was a moron, he managed to be more annoying than having a pebble stuck in one's shoe. The Dark Urge wanted nothing more than to rip that smug grin off his face but they couldn't because that would ruin their plans.

Or so they told themselves every night. 

What they didn't wish to admit to themselves and even less to him, is that behind all their opinions and critiques, they admired him. All of him. Though they cared little for Bane, they admired Gortash's devotion to him. They admired his ingenuity, especially for tinkering with machines that they never would've thought of and even less heard of. They admired the way his hair always looked perfectly messy, the way his eyes would soften when he looked at them, the way he laughed when they said something supposedly funny. If that wasn't enough, they enjoyed how he made them feel their own heartbeat when he'd call them his 'Favourite Assassin' or 'Friend', though the one they loved and hated the most was when they'd be alone, planning for possible circumstances that could ruin their plan and he'd simply whisper-

"Dearest?" He basically purred it out, only loud enough for them to hear it. They only wished to acknowledge his presence with a glance but before they could, they felt his hand touch their spine and travel upwards. Too much. Too much touch!

Without a warning they grabbed him by the neck with one hand, pinning him down on the table in front of them and pressing down just enough to keep him in place as they took out their dagger and stabbed it right next to his head.

"I've warned you before. One more time and I'm cutting that hand of yours off. Do you understand?" 

"Such empty threats, if you meant it I know you would've already begun hacking it off."

When the Dark Urge warned him first for grabbing them by the waist, they left a nasty stab wound in his shoulder. When he tried to touch their thigh during a meeting with Kethric, they made a quick cut against his fingers. When he used the opportunity to help the Dark Urge with taking off their coat and barely managed to kiss the back of their neck, he got hit in the face with their elbow. 

The damage they have done was never permanent, besides maybe the stab wound, and never something that couldn't be healed…something they never would. And Gortash knew that. Oh he knew that and he would use that knowledge to its full advantage. 

Growling under their breath, they let go off his neck but as they pulled the dagger out of the table, they on purposely pulled it in a way where it would gently cut Gortash's cheek. 

"Insufferable scum…" The tiefling said as if spitting out venom before they focused their attention back on the papers they were looking at before. The list of murders they committed in the name of the Absolute, only a few more left to do before they were to go to Moonrise to see how the situation is going there, by what Ketheric wrote it's all going by plan but he couldn't be trusted. Nor could Gortash be.

"Your insufferable scum, my dear." He sounded just as smug as he probably looked, but they didn't react to it. They knew that that's what he was after. 

To change the topic and stop their thoughts from drifting away to the idiot, they started to speak about Ketheric, a topic they knew would make Gortash less annoying to talk with. The mere mention of his name was enough to make his smile turn into a disappointed frown.

Though even as they talked about Ketheric, their mind began to drift. They noticed how his shirt was slightly more open than usual, how there were a few strands of his hair that they knew were out of place, how his fingers just twitched a slight bit whenever they mentioned Ketheric. Though their mind and gaze lingered the longest on his jaw. He hasn't shaved for at least a week by what they could tell. 

Mid-way through him talking, they decided to mention it.

"You haven't shaved."

He looked confused for a moment, before touching his cheek with the back of his fingers and knuckles, checking with his touch just how noticeable it was. "I haven't indeed. Strange of you to point it out, friend."

"It annoys me." The Dark Urge explained plain and simply.

"Simply do not stare at it then, you're usually quite good at ignoring my face."

"But I'll still know it's there. Fix it."

"Making demands that I go to a barber right now just because it annoys you? Please, don't make me laugh, we have much more important things to do now." He mocked the tiefling, looking at them with slight disbelief at what they were asking of him.

"Then let me shave it for you. It's bothering me." 

"Let you- Haha! Absolutely not. As much as I enjoy our usual game, it would be ridiculous of me to trust that your twitching knife hand won't slit my throat the second I present it to you."

"If I wanted to kill you I wouldn't use such petty tactics. I'd just do it. Not to mention, I find slitting throats to not be any fun unless the person is hanging upside down."

"Morbid.." Gortash mumbled under his breath, instinctively touching his throat and somewhat scratching at the imaginary cut he just felt. 

"More importantly, I need you for our plan to work. Killing you now would be a waste of all the time and resources we put into this…It would also be disobeying the wishes of our gods." 

"I suppose you are right about that…" He sighed, slightly disappointed in himself as he now knew he had little excuses to get him out of this. Looking away in thought before looking back at the Dark Urge. "Fine. Shave me then. Though from where will you-"

"Sceleritas!" They snapped, their imp butler appearing from behind them and stepping to their side with a small bow.

"Yes, my vile master?"

"Bring me my razor...and the cream I use for my taxidermy."

"Right away, my lord!" 

Gortash did not ask for what reason The Dark Urge used cream on taxidermied animals, but he was wrong in thinking they were animals. After all, he never saw what their room looked like in the temple of Bhaal and it was for the best. The ten or so stuffed corpses wouldn't have made for a relaxed visit. 

As soon as Sceleritas came back with the items requested, the Dark Urge had Gortash sit in a chair and lift his head up. Forcing him to lean and relax a bit as they went behind him and took the items from Sceleritas before shoo-ing him away. 

They grabbed his face with their left hand, forcing it to lean to the side before leaning the blade against his throat where his beard hairs just started. 

And they just began to shave. Carefully and with patience, they made sure to not make a single mistake, not leave a single hair uncut. They were a bit aggressive with handling his face but one couldn't deny that they didn't do this with love. He could see a bit just how focused they were, just how much they cared to do this without properly hurting him.

And they knew just how much they used this as an excuse to touch him, to be close to him and to allow themselves for just a moment to escape into a world where they could take care of Gortash. When they were done and made sure to brush away all the fallen hairs they could, they opened up the cream and took a bit of it on their fingers before applying it on the shaved areas.

This was when he was able to feel just how soft and caring their touch could be. Even if they tried to deny it, the fact they took the care into not just shaving him but also taking care of skin, was such a clear sign that they could actually be loving, if they wanted to. 

Lost in the act, Gortash didn't seem to hear when the Dark Urge was done and told him as such but was brought back into reality when they snapped their fingers to call upon Sceleritas once more to take away the items.

"I…Thank you. This is probably the smoothest shave I have gotten."

"Don't care. I only did so it doesn't bother me."

A lie so clear it was basically written all over their face as they looked at him with a glare.

"Right."

"...Right." 

After a moment of silence, the tiefling was quick to try and move back to talking about their plans. And was as usual, back to avoiding looking at Gortash as they spoke. 

[stoner-matsu]

gonna post my woes bc i cant take it anymore :)

i seriously dont know what to do i went from working full-time to working one day a week.

it started around when my boss moved houses (his whole business is run out of his house) the move was abrupt and at first i didnt think much of it. i understand the stress involved with moving but he started repeatedly talking down to me. he also wouldn't give me a chance to talk about whatever miscommunication problem that was going on.

im currently making efforts to be more on top of things at work. but theres only so much you can do when all the dogs are relaxing and all the humans are just... sitting around.

since im usually alone with my boss i try to make small talk, but he either ignores me or.... nope thats it actually :) he usually doesn't respond when im trying to talk to him, he gives he a rude one word answer, or he shrugs at me.

one time i came into work and he blamed me for "chores not being done" around the place so i asked which ones specifically have i been "slacking on"... he says im on my phone all the time and that i dont sweep or clean out the waste bins.

phone: id argue that i only use it when theres down time (and theres a LOT of down time) but okay i'll work on that if you want me to, fine. but the other two? a couple hours go by after we feed the dogs i say

"well, this is the perfect opportunity for me to do chores. what needs to be done around here?"

"i just need to you sweep and take out the waste"

"and when do you need those done by?"

"by the time you leave"

by the time i leave... in 4 hours :I so i ask

"... is there anything else that needs to be done? right now?"

and the answer was no of course! i was allowed to sit in awkward silence while my boss got to flee inside. the dogs were able to feel the tension because all of them laid around quietly.

my boss and manager both ignored me when i came into work today. i tried asking about the small changes i noticed coming in like extra water storage and a missing couch cusion, but my boss immediately got annoyed with me. all i could say was "sorry i was just asking..."

im so disappointment, i just dont know what went wrong! we all used to be friendly with each other, i hate getting close to people. i always drift apart from people i enjoy being around because eventually they'll get sick of me. just like every job ive ever had. and????? i understand that you dont need to be friends with everyone you work with. i used to go into work with my head down, and just focus on work. people have a way of out casting me when im not even doing anything.

pity pity pity sad sad sad cringe cringe cringe

[hide-in-imagination]

Okiii, sooo since none of my few friends that I have watch Soy Luna, I see no other option than to speak here 😅 I am extremely annoyed by how in the series they have an incredibly visible double standard, like when in the third series Luna sings with Matteo and behind them a photo appears of Matteo kissing Emilia and everyone is angry at Matteo for cheating on Luna, while they weren't even dating, literally Luna had only pushed him away until this time, and it didn't happen that he started kissing Luna, time stopped, he went to kiss Emilia and went back to Luna again, but everyone made Luna out to be the poor thing that Matteo cheated on, but when Matteo REALLY cheated on Ámbar with Luna in the first series (he still flirted with Luna even though he was dating Ámbar and even though it wasn't a particularly good relationship, he still he was dating her at that time, for two years, and at every opportunity he tried to stick his tongue down Luna's throat, and the same Luna, during her dating with Simón, acted as if nothing happened and was still flirting with Matteo), no one cared, because after all it's just that Matteo was more suited to Luna so he wasn't really doing anything wrong, like what's that supposed to mean? No one there cared that he was dating Ámbar and still flirting with Luna, because it was with Luna, and after all, Luna is an angel, so what's wrong with that? echw. And another example is the Sol thing. When Ámbar found out that she was Sol, almost no one addressed it, and if so, not even one episode, okay Luna once said that it must be difficult for her and Matteo once asked her if she was ok, and Delfi and Jazmin with her they were in the room for a while talking to her about it, which let's be honest, it didn't seem like they really cared. BUT, when they found out that Luna was the real Sol, everyone, literally everyone was like 'ohhh poor thing, it must be so hard for her, we have to take care of her' like wtf. Same with Alfredo, he literally treated Luna better even though he thought Sol was Ámbar and didn't even try to hide it. It's just that the more I think about everything that happened in the series, I have to think about how terribly they treated Ámbar there. Yes, she made a lot of mistakes, but the only one who still saw hope in her was Simón, the others were, well, just horrible. And above all, the fact that everyone dealt with how difficult it was for Luna to learn the truth, but the fact that the only person she had been with all her life left Ámbar, no one cared. I can't even describe how angry I am with all the characters. Amber deserved better. I'm also quite annoyed that it ended with Ámbar "making friends" with everyone and everything was great. People think about how they could suddenly and simply forgive Ámbar, but what about the other way around? Why would Ámbar want to be friends with them after all? I understand that she didn't want to have a bad relationship with them anymore, mainly because of Simon, but why did the creators have to show it as if nothing bad happened between them? I'm sure she might be friends with Luna in the future, or Delfi again since her boyfriend is best friends with their boyfriends, but I don't see why she would want to be friends with Jazmin, Yam, Jim, etc., but maybe I'm biased interested in them because I don't need them, especially Jazmin, sorry, but just ahhhh, nevermind. Thank you for listening to me, you may not agree with me, but I couldn't hold it in and argue against myself in my head any longer. I will be happy if you tell me your point of view. Even if you don't agree with me, because, after all, maybe I'm too strict with the other characters, because I empathize with the Ámbar character a lot. Anyway, I wish you a nice day, week, and overall life❤️ XOXO

(I apologize for any grammar mistakes, English is not my first language and I am not very good at it 😅)

Anon, you are so right. You are so correct that the Earth shakes when you speak. The wise follow you and the ignorant hate you.

To be fair, Ámbar was pretty shitty to a lot of people, so it's not like she never did anything wrong; she did, multiple times. But yeah, the bias the story had towards Luna is so annoying. I know she's the protagonist and it's a Disney show for kids, okay? I get it. But I'm still allowed to be annoyed by it as an adult with a functional fully developed brain. Luna could literally do no wrong while the littlest thing Ámbar did was always the worst. smh. Again, I know Ámbar was mean for a long time, but Matteo deserved much worse than he got and Luna deserved way less. I will die on this hill.

And don't worry, anon, your English is fine ❤️ And you can vent over here whenever you like, especially if it's Luna criticism, I love to see it.

Also, sorry for the late reply, I've been celebrating my birthday for three days straight with different people skdjn. I'm finally free. And then tomorrow is my mom's birthday, and then the day after that, I'm going to Canada for vacations, so... yeah. If I disappear, you all know why 😂

[lizz-revs]

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

Ace Attorney is one of the most famous detective visual novels I know. You play as the defense attorney Phoenix Wright (the guy shouting “OBJECTION!”) and your goal is to unravel the truth in many different cases. 

This review is about the first three games (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations) because I have the Steam version of this game.

Story

Phoenix Wright is a defense attorney, who trusts his clients and usually has the goal to declare them not guilty, even if the evidence points otherwise. Basically, he always wants to find the truth rather than taking the “easy way out” by blindly trusting the first plausible reasoning.

While this game can be considered a visual novel, it is still very interactive. There are two parts in the gameplay: The investigations and the trials. In the investigations you usually talk to people only about the current trial and interact with them by presenting evidence. You can also examine the surroundings. In the trials, you listen to witnesses and try to find contradictions in their statements by using items from your court record. So, although, you are reading dialogues most of the time, it’s not like the story is straightforward – you have to “puzzle” the truth together by yourself by finding contradictions and evidence until you reach the ending.

The Main Characters

Phoenix Wright

Phoenix Wright, our “ace attorney”, works as a defense attorney and usually has tough luck with his clients. Additionally, he has some personal problems and currently tries to understand what being a defense attorney means to him.

Maya Fey

The next master of the Fey clan, which specializes in the Kurain channeling technique. A young and impulsive girl, who declared herself Phoenix’ assistant and is one of his closest friends. Some in-game characters ship her (very much) with Phoenix.

Miles Edgeworth

Phoenix’s close friend and rival. A prosecutor and a prodigy, who basically never loses a case and gets very annoyed, when things don’t go his way. While Phoenix is very emotional and often speaks before he thinks, Miles is more rational and introverted. He rarely smiles and usually wants to deal with his problems on his own.

Dick Gumshoe

The homicide detective, who has usually the bad luck of being assigned to one of the cases, where Phoenix is involved. Detectives usually have to conceal a lot of information from defense attorneys, but Gumshoe is on quite friendly terms with Phoenix and tells him about some of the evidence that is involved in the case. 

And there is also an honorable mention: Mia Fey, Maya’s older sister and Phoenix’ mentor.

My Opinion

Ngl, this was like a rollercoaster ride.

From the beginning Ace Attorney starts off strong, introducing plot twists in every episode. Although there is an overall main story, which is only resolved in the last episode of Trials and Tribulations, every episode in each game is a short story that revolves only around the current trial. So, buckle up because most of the time you probably won’t see those twists coming.

However, every episode has still something in common: You have bad luck with your chosen clients.

Phoenix Wright usually believes them that they didn’t commit the crime even if all evidence points otherwise. And because you play as him, you are busy gathering your own evidence and finding contradictions, or your clients are going to be declared guilty. The prosecutor has usually more evidence and the upper hand and you have to grasp at straws to even prolong the trial. Screaming objection at every opportunity, pressing witnesses for more information, trying to find contradictions and alternative ways, how the crime could’ve happened, all the while looking at Miles’ arrogant smirk or being whipped from Franziska… damn, I am happy I am not a defense attorney.

Every trial felt like a battle of wits, with superior animations (never saw more fitting animations in a game than in this game) and great gameplay, and every investigation felt like a race against time. At the same time, it wasn’t like this game has any time-based features. You can think as long as you want to and talk to people as many times as you want to. There are only penalties in the court, if you waste people’s time, or later on in one of the mini-games in the investigations. So, this game manages to create this ambiance (that you’re running out of time) only by the gameplay, the story-telling and the animations, which is a great success in my opinion.

Basically, now that I finished it, I am even sad that this is over. That all things got resolved the way they got resolved, that I had to say “bye” to the cast and left them to figure out things on their own. Ace Attorney had in no way a happy story, nor a truly depressing one. “Trials and Tribulations” pretty much summarizes it: Things go wrong, horribly wrong, but the world does not stop turning and everyone needs to find their own answer how to go on. In my opinion, Ace Attorney is about finding that path. Like Phoenix does at the end – his reason for being a defense attorney. Everyone in this game has actually reasons why they behave the way they do – they have their own dark secrets and painful memories they’d rather forget, but they try to grow and become someone, who is not bounded by the shadow of their past. And that’s beautiful. Even more so, if you think about that the main genre of this game is an episode-based detective game (even a mostly interactive one!), so it’s even more amazing, how much depth the characters have and that there is an overall story connecting most of the cases together.

I mean, I played this game for 70h and it felt like maybe 20h passed at most. I could start playing in the evening and then look at the clock and realize in awe and shock that it’s already 2 am, although I just wanted to play only until 10 pm.

Anyway, I do love this game. It will probably have a special place in my heart and, since I bought the next two bundles in the Steam sale, I don’t have to wait any longer to play the continuation of Phoenix’s story (hurray). And I’m waiting for the next release…