#I like to imagine they’re the couple that judge everyone

[bisexualmultifandommess]

The relationship my Dragon Age character and Alistair has is basically

*One of them does anything*

The other:

[wordsinhaled]

the thing about crowley’s confession is… he must have thought about it in the bit of time he had before doing it. i mean... he went and sat outside marguerite’s with his wine, and thought. he thought very hard about how there was a threat—a sleeper—a ticking time bomb in aziraphale’s bookshop that could explode at any moment, take away all their hard-won peace, their safety, their comfort.

but most importantly, a threat to aziraphale. gabriel had tried once to destroy aziraphale already, and only hadn’t because they'd swapped bodies. and crowley's clearly terrified that this time, what they're doing feels reckless, feels like playing with something far too important at stake. it's like... already knowing someone is so important to you—and then having the possibility that it could really be something dangled in front of you—and then knowing there's an existential threat to that potential? awful. horrifying. no wonder he can't find the words.

we know crowley is a romantic. we know how much joy it brings him to see other people fall in love. and... honestly... i'm not sure it’s that nina needed to spell the nature of his feelings out for him, exactly. crowley's known where he stands towards aziraphale for a long time if we're to judge him by his acts (which are always acts of service, care, and attention, which always speak louder than his words). so i don't think it was that, as much as just—the experience of being perceived by someone else, sort of jostling something for him.

because crowley's watched the romance films, hasn't he, he knows the exact tropes he's working with, but the idea that they could apply to him—to him and aziraphale? i don't think he considered that until it was offered to him as an option. and once it was, there was crowley's mind far exceeding the speed limit trying to wrap itself around all of this.

and so he must have looked at it, and all signs, all signs, were pointing to aziraphale being receptive.

crowley probably thought about all the times aziraphale had touched him in the last day alone. all the little glances and looks aziraphale had been giving him, which crowley surely hadn’t missed because he’s always staring right back. he probably thought about how aziraphale thinks the bentley is their car and the bookshop is their shop, about how aziraphale told him that he thought they’d carved a peaceful existence out for themselves. and after the ball, he probably thought about how aziraphale asked him to dance, at this event that was meant to get other people to fall in love, but aziraphale had wanted to dance with him.

so crowley most likely looked at all of this and thought he’s finally ready. he’s finally caught up. when i ask this time, he’s going to say yes. and he watched aziraphale so warily, too, after the realization, because there's a way that it feels, to be holding on to a truth so direly important and so terribly exciting and so very requited, as far as crowley can tell. it's like, am i holding myself differently now? can he tell? has he always been able to tell? am i about to muck it up? i'm about to muck it up. i muck everything up, but not this. not this. he's the center of my universe so it's worth it. and it's alright, even if i muck it up, because he's going to say yes. dear god: i'd only ask if it was important.

and so he queued up their song in the bentley and he talked to muriel like they’re a them, like they’re going to be a couple, a couple who needs us time. he gave himself the luxury of imagining it, of planning it all out in his mind—how everyone was going to finally leave off pulling them toward some greater purpose and just let the two of them be together, and aziraphale was going to at last let crowley be to him what he’s always wanted to be—what he’s been being already, evidently, to the point where strangers on the street ask how long they’ve been together.

and then in the end, to be rejected like that. to be rejected even while the love is pouring off aziraphale in anguished waves—and if he loves me too, then why won't he say yes? to be rejected and to know this isn't how it's supposed to go, even though it's the way it's always gone. crowley always asks and aziraphale always says no. somehow, this time was supposed to be different. he'd dared to hope properly. and how had he misjudged it so terribly this time? how much of it had been wishful thinking? and he had to have felt aziraphale's hands grasping at his shoulders, had to have felt the start of a kiss returned, and thought that maybe there was a spark of hope yet.

but there wasn't.

because nothing lasts forever. apparently.

[bestworstcase]

On that recent note about Ruby being at a boiling point when the next confrontation with Salem rolls around, would you mind going into that a bit more? Namely, I have a couple thoughts about a) it’s narratively boring to have the same thing happen twice, and “Ruby’s personal issues get overrun by a bunch of other issues she feels she has to address first” is how we got to V10 in the first place, and b) it really feels like WBY (and maybe Jaune, but he has his own stuff going on, we’ll see) would be much more conscious of the fact that it happened very visibly and the possibility of that happening again, and thus act to help Ruby away from that edge should she stray there again. Just a couple thoughts, really.

what i anticipate—again mostly on the basis of reading rwby x jl pt in context with the events of v9 and the 9.11 animatic—is less round two of ruby pretending to be fine until she explodes and more of an over-correction. a pendulum swing. ruby knows she can’t bury things behind a smile without destroying herself now, but she also… doesn’t… really know how to regulate her emotions in a healthy way, because she’s been viciously repressing those feelings her whole life.

she’s also (as ruby herself notes in B4) not at all comfortable asking for help and in vacuo she is going to be under a lot of pressure as the girl who sent the message—and in B4, we’ve already seen that she is, for example, getting waylaid in the streets for photos with strangers and that yang, despite having every reason to be overprotective at present, doesn’t interfere and actively tries to put a positive spin on it (“personally i think it’s about time everybody knew how cool my sister is”) even as she’s obviously concerned about the harm it might be doing to ruby. they’re both being pragmatic.

so while ruby’s closest friends will be (and do, in the jl film) watching like hawks for the signals they missed in the ever after, they can’t do anything about her celebrity among the vacuan refugees or the material reality of the situation in vacuo: if a major grimm attack coincides with ruby feeling bad, everyone has to prioritize repelling the attack over talking about how ruby feels, them’s the breaks.

ruby knows this. her team knows this. none of them want her to go back to bottling stuff up until it kills her, but it’s going to be really, really hard to carve out the space she needs to rest and recover and learn how to handle her feelings.

what happens?

well, judging by the jl film, ruby gets kind of… manic. she’s reckless. she brushes off their attempts to get her to stop being reckless. at one point she more or less tells clark that she expects to die in the war and she’s decided to try as hard as she can to do as much good as she can in the time she has left, and later when she gets the wind knocked out of her and yang freaks out ruby’s like "don’t worry, i’m not a quitter like mom" about it.

in a way, she’s backslid all the way to where she was at the top of v1—remember how reckless ruby was during the initiation, out of desperation to prove herself? except she’s also, pretty blatantly, pushing her bad feelings outward in the form of this danger-seeking go-go-go attitude. it’ll be okay if she dies as long as she goes down fighting to the end right!!! as long as she’s honest and open about not being able to imagine a future where she is alive after the war, that’s fine!!! because she’s not bottling it up anymore!!!

and (this is evident even just in the jl film) she’s a bit taken aback by how alarming her team finds this new attitude, because to her all that’s changed is she’s not keeping it a secret that she feels this way but to them it’s abruptly seeing, in vivid technicolor, that ruby genuinely does not care whether she lives or dies and in fact is terrifyingly comfortable with the idea that she’ll die fighting salem. so i think ruby is going to experience this as mixed signals; they say they want her to be more open and share what she feels, but when she’s (in her mind) feeling good they get mad at her for not… feeling the way they want her to feel… so what is she supposed to do?

over the longer term, the shape of ruby’s character arc from here on is a journey toward rebuilding her presently non-existent sense of self-worth. but in the immediate term it’s more about clearing the hurdle of believing that one epiphany in the tree did not, in fact, fix her or solve the deeper problem of her suicide ideation. (which is very much what’s going on with ruby in the jl film.)

and i think it’s really interesting and pretty smart for the narrative to juxtapose that with salem battling her own emotional strife, because the heroic cast all believe that salem ultimately just wants to die but i don’t think that’s true, and salem herself certainly seems to be envisioning a future that she is beginning to realize she cannot achieve without making sacrifices; no cost is too great, she says, and she’s lying to herself.

i think ruby’s second boiling point is not “i don’t want to be me anymore” but rather “i don’t want to die anymore” and this dovetails nicely with salem hitting this critical mass, reaching the line she can’t cross because the cost is too great. the hero realizing that she desperately wants to live after all + the villain choosing the life of one person she cares for above everything else. it creates an opening for empathy and understanding in both directions.

if ruby spends nearly all of v10 skating over the deep well of her fear by pushing it outward as glibly nihilistic thrill-seeking, and then gets thrust into a situation where she really might die and feels that abrupt, visceral desperation to survive—that is not too far afield of salem’s desperation to remake the world into one where she’s allowed to live. likewise, if the unstoppable force of salem’s ruthlessness collided with the immovable object of cinder, she knocks herself sideways into a corner she can’t escape—which isn’t dissimilar to how hopeless ruby feels. and then they each have the other’s answer, potentially.

[pearl-blue-musings]

Aaaaaaa I love wine night 😭💖 (i fear i may have missed a couple in the past) but i’m here now! and with angsty alhaitham thots 🫣😈 how do you think a really bad argument would go with alhaitham and reader? like i’m just imagining so many scenario’s rn and i just wanna dissect this man. i’m just interested in a hc you have of angry alhaitham/how he would handle a fight with his s/o. ya know?

anyway i hope you’re having a wonderful night, mootie. i’ve missed you lots 💖

Z!!!!!! I have missed you so so so much!!! 💜💜💜 I’m always down for an angsty alhaitham you know how much I love him 🙈

Kaveh hates having to be in the middle of arguments, so he’s finally not going to be. At first he wasn’t sure why you would date someone like Alhaitham but he’s not one to judge. Until tonight that is. He’s so tempted to leave his room but honestly his roommate had it coming.

“That scholar was absolutely flirting with you,” you almost scream. “How could you not tell?!”

Alhaitham rolls his eyes as he sits on the couch. “And like I’ve told you, there is nothing going on between us. Your insecurities are astounding.”

How dare he? Kaveh slaps his forehead at his roommates stupidity. “My insecurities?! You have got to be kidding me! Do you hear yourself? Says the person who got mad that Cyno asked for my expertise.”

“The general has had feelings for you for a long time,” Alhaitham responds, “everyone knows that. Why do you indulge him? Is it because he says those awful jokes? You have had such a terrible weakness for those.”

Kaveh can sense that you’ve rolled your eyes and start to pace. “And so what?! Everyone with eyes can see how attractive you are. You’ve had plenty of people confess to you but you were too stupid to realize it. You don’t hear what they say about me! That you should dump me, that I’m no good for the grand sage or grand scribe or whatever!”

“And why do you listen to them?” God, Kaveh wants to strangle his roommate. If he didn’t have a commission to finish up he’d be at your defense right now. “If they flirt with me then there’s nothing I can do. I can’t control them.”

“But you can at least reject their advances! Why can’t you see that? She kissed! Your! Cheek!”

“It was merely friendly.”

“A friendly kiss on the cheek?! Alhaitham do you hear yourself?! No one who is a friend should be kissing you like that!”

Kaveh is certain Alhaitham is about to say something incredibly stupid and hurtful. And unfortunately, he’s correct.

“Then should I not be giving you the same affection? You are my partner after all. I give or receive affection as it’s due.”

Kaveh actually slapped his face that time. With his ear pressed to the door, he can already hear you crying and haphazardly grabbing your things. “Your partner? Am I,” your voice breaks, “nothing more than a means to an end for you? Is this just another partnership to you? To achieve your goals?” By this point you’re openly sobbing and Kaveh wants nothing more than to hug you and slap his friend.

Alhaitham pauses to think. “I don’t think-“

“Fucking forget it,” you breathe out with exhaustion. “I’m out of here.”

“Sure, just walk away angry instead of talking about it like you always do.”

You push him then and make your way out of the house. The door slams quickly and that’s when Kaveh makes his move. “You’re a fucking idiot,” Kaveh sighs. “You basically said they’re not special to you and that you do this with everyone.”

Kaveh had never seen his roommate run so fast in his life, presumably to catch up to you and profusely apologize.

Elle’s Wine Night!!

[assaily]

Feeding the fandom some more. :)

Working Title: Hide the Morning from the Stars Colloquial title: Mute Five Themes: I don't even know anymore

This is a Very rough draft. Like so rough I don't even think my tensing is consistent throughout. This is Five's loneliest first year of retirement ever. And also him hanging out with Grace.

Major warning for the beginning for suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

~Post Mute~

Five takes the gun out of his mouth, his tongue flexing against the heavy iron tang of metal. The weight of it is familiar and cold in his hand as he sets it down on the edge of the sink, his shaking fingers pressing the safety back into place.

He’s just being dramatic. It’s all those teenage hormones mixing badly with all the trauma Five honestly didn’t think he’d live long enough to have to deal with. Oh,  and one hell of a hangover. That’s all it is, dramatics. If he thinks for a minute, plans this out, he realizes how horrible of an idea it is.

He can’t make Mom clean his brain matter off the walls. That would be cruel, even for him. Dramatics. Besides, his siblings would hear the gunshot. He doesn’t really want them to find him. Klaus would summon him before he had a chance to cross over and they’d give him a ream of shit for making such a mess. The idea of being yelled at again is exhausting.

“Can’t you have done this at a hotel or something?” He can imagine them saying to his corpse, scoffing and shaking their heads in disappointment. They’re right, of course, he shouldn’t do this at home. 

He sighs, closing his eyes against the judgment staring back at him through the mirror. He tries to settle the shaking in his body but can only seem to draw it in, not vanquish it. He’s never really calm anymore. He wasn’t much before, but at least he could pretend.

These days it feels like every defense he’s ever built for himself has been stripped away, leaving him raw and naked and fragile in ways he can’t compute. It makes him nasty and hateful, covering himself in glass so that the moment someone reaches out, they bleed. He wants to be normal, he wants to be able to have a conversation with his siblings without thinking they’re judging him, and without picking a fight. He wants to scream and cry and beg them.

But he’s not sure what he would beg for, only that he wants something desperately, but something else inside of him, something old and stalwart and terrified refuses to let him ask. So he picks fights, he’s nasty without knowing why, and his siblings hate him for it.

He opens a drawer below the sink and tucks the little ruger beneath a pile of clean washcloths. This used to be his and Ben’s bathroom, but he’s the only one that uses it now. The others don’t really come up here, even less now that the honeymoon period has passed and they have no desire to keep him company anymore. 

Allison mostly lives in California now, Viktor lives out there too, but they both come to visit every couple of months, staying for a week at a time. Diego lives outside the house with Klaus, and recently Luther found a job that would pay him enough to afford his own apartment. He hasn’t moved out yet, but he’s actively looking.

This is what Five wanted, them living their lives and moving on, but he has to remind himself like he forgot. He wanted to give them the opportunities he never had, and he succeeded. He’s not sure why it feels so terrible now, but he suspects it’s only a symptom of the sickness sitting like a rot in his bones.

He makes a point of not looking at himself, wetting his hairbrush under the faucet in an attempt to tame his bedhead. The scratch of the bristles against his skin hurts, so he pressed harder.

Allison and Viktor are at the end of their visit, and everyone is in the house. They’d be gone by tonight, and the house would go back to the coffin it was without the others, but in the meantime, Five wanted to look at least a little put together for them. He doesn’t want them to worry, but with the constant arguing he figures he can get away with less and less grooming.

His hair is getting long and he hasn’t really had the energy to cut it yet. It’s getting a little annoying, the way it falls into his eyes and curls at the nape of his neck. He’d go to a barber if he thought he could get through the encounter without snatching the scissors away and ending the life of the poor girl unlucky enough to draw the short straw.

When he finishes, he finally looks back at himself. He still looks like garbage, his skin an unhealthy pallor, accentuating the dark circles weighing down his eyes. The water managed to tame some of the mess of his hair, but it’s obviously greasy, flakes of dandruff like ash on his scalp. His reflection glares back at him, anger and disappointment like a stone in his stomach.

He really is a dramatic bastard. Today of all days, he figured he’d leave it in the drawer. Playing the wishing game with all his siblings home. He can’t even deny that of the cry for attention it is. Disgusting, really. His siblings could probably smell him rotting from here.

He considers a shower. It would make him feel better, a little more human at least, before he goes downstairs and has to pretend at it. The idea of getting wet, and having to put his clothes back on with wet skin makes him grimace. He doesn’t want to be cold either, because he can never seem to get warm. No use making it worse.

He flicks the light off and  cracks the door behind him as he leaves. He shuffles back to his room to find something cleaner to wear. He should have washed his face, but now that he’s away from the mirror, he doesn’t have the energy to go back to it.

Mom keeps an ever revolving source of clean clothes for him, so that part of his routine is easy at least. He doesn’t have to think too hard about it, it’s the middle of winter so that means layers, and Five likes layers. They don’t really keep him warm, but that’s normal. No, he likes them because it’s a little like putting on a suit of armor. It’s just fabric, but it still manages to trick some animal part of his brain into thinking he might be a little safer. No more warm, but far less likely to freeze.

Which is an odd quirk, considering his insistence to play the wishing game every fucking morning.

In his defense, he doesn’t usually pull the gun out. He usually he just stares at the whelp in the mirror, wondering why the fuck he’s still here when he feels this horrible all the time. Then he bucks up, cleans up, and moves on with his day.

The ruger is just… He put it there in case of emergencies. Doesn’t hurt to have a few weapons hidden around the house in case the commission decides to come knocking again. He’s not sure when he started pointing it at himself. It’s a bad habit. There are better ways, less violent ways. Ways that don’t make a mess for his family to clean up after him.

He’s just being dramatic. That’s all it is. Nothing more. Being a teenager sucks. He remembers how much better things got when his hormones weren’t through the roof, making his emotions sharp and fragile all the time, making the loneliness so much harder to ignore.

This too shall pass, he would always say to himself. Over and over, like a prayer to an unloving universe. Please, just let it pass. Five is pretty sure he doesn’t really want to be alive anymore, but he also hates wanting to die. It puts a grayish filter on everything, on every thought and interaction. He’s alive, and hates living. Worse than surviving and already feeling dead. There’s a certain numbness to the in-between space of not wanting to be alive, but not wanting to kill himself either, and he yearns for it now in the throes of a worse agony.  

But again, he’s just being dramatic. Pesky hormones. This too shall pass and all that. 

He dresses quickly, changing from yesterday’s sleep rumpled long sleeves and sweaters into cleaner ones. He reuses a layer, the fabric of a knitted shirt warm in his nearly numb hands and it’s not something he wants to waste. The bottom hem on the back is dirty, and there’s a food stain on the front of it. It still smells vaguely like the alcohol he drank last night, but he puts it on as a middle layer. His hands are easily swallowed in the outer layers, and he has the idea some of it might belong to Diego. He stole a number of garments from them all last fall, and plans to give them back at the end of spring, if he makes it that long.

Spring still feels so far away, it’s hard to think that far ahead.

Five looks like shit, and he feels like shit, but he still dares Diego to say anything about it when he arrives downstairs. He walked the first part, then warped the last floor into the kitchen once he got close enough. The air was warmer down here, the heaters worked better on the ground floors, and no one had lived in the upper floors until recently. It was his first winter home, and he almost wonders if it’s worth trying to fix. Might be easier to just move, but he likes his bedroom high above the street. He spent a lot of last summer drinking on his fire escape; it’s familiar in a wildly unfamiliar world.

“Hey,” Diego greets, giving him an appraising look but not saying anything about the fact that Five’s wearing one of his sweaters.

Five nods a greeting before he busies himself pulling a mug from the cupboard and getting a cup of coffee. The pot’s still on and half-full, likely courtesy of Mom, so it’s a short lived distraction. He almost wishes he put something in his coffee so he has an excuse to linger without making it awkward.

“I heard you and Allison got into a fight last night,” Diego says, a hint of sardonics in his voice. “Well, pretty sure the whole block heard.”

Five grimaces behind the rim of his mug, throat too tight to take a sip. It seems he’s always fighting with someone.

“Nothing to say, huh?”

Five’s pretty sure he said enough last night, regardless of how little he even remembers. Might be time to lay off drinking, even as he already wishes for something to put in his coffee. He shrugs his shoulders, throat still tight and getting tighter. It’s almost hard to breathe and his head is pounding.

Diego sighs, sounding exhausted. “Look, I’ve been talking the othe–”

Five doesn’t hear the rest, pulling himself through a tear in space. He stumbles out the other side, managing to set the coffee on his desk before his knees buckle and he topples to the floor. He lays there for a while, wheezing softly and trying to catch his breath. There isn’t much going through his head, besides how grateful he is that he saved his coffee. There was no way in hell he was going down for another.

-

He helps Mom with chores in the evenings, usually after Luther’s gone to bed and the house is painfully silent. She hums while she works, washing the dishes and cleaning up after dinner. Five sits in with her, finishing up any leftover in the pots or pans. He follows her like a ghost back upstairs, and helps her fold laundry. The laundry room is usually pleasantly warm, and Five sometimes dozes off listening to Mom hum, sprawled out on a table.

When she’s finishes with all that, she heads into the library and settles down on a couch someone had moved there in the months following their return. This is a newer part of her routine, one that Five created with his presence and can’t make himself feel bad about. The blanket draped over the back is a deep verdant green and pleasantly soft texture.

Mom settles on one end, picking up a book from the table besides the couch. He’s not sure when she started reading, or if she always did that and he just didn’t remember. For some reason it makes her seem more human. Sometimes she reads heavy tomes of obscure information, sometimes it's children’s fantasy.

Five collapses onto the couch beside her, leaning his weight against her side and sighing in the deepest relief as she wraps her arm around his shoulders. He beyond caring at this point, and Mom’s not one to judge. He rests his body against her’s for a while, breathing with her simulated breath, forcing himself to relax and finding it hard.

He still can’t get himself to stop shaking, and now with an arm around him, his vulnerabilities and hurts come bubbling up like blood from a wound. He can’t pull it in, his hands shake horribly in his lap, and clasping them together just seems to make it look worse.

She never opened her book, and she senses his distress instantly, something he hates and can’t help but be grateful for. She doesn’t ask him what’s wrong, merely pushes the book away and turns toward him to give him her full attention.

It’s too much and he nearly begins to sob. 

She shushes him gently when he swallows it down, one of her hands tracing his cheek before pulling him to rest his face against her. He wraps his arms around her back, clinging to her like a child, like he never had before and feels so stupid to do now. He can’t stop himself, it all hurts so much and he just wants it all to end. This doesn’t make him feel better, but it makes him feel something else beside the horrifying nothing eating at his bones.

She runs a hand through his hair and down the nape of his neck. He feels her hand pause and come back to his kneck, searching for his pulse. He pulls away, both out of confusion, and to allow her more access. Her face is neutral, but she frowns minutely at him before tucking his head against her.

“You’re experiencing heart palpitations,” she says, not at all asking.

He was ignoring up until now, the way his chest was tight and his heart was doing uneven little leaps and lurches. It was hard to get a full breath in, constricting in his throat, too. He nodded against her, swallowing hard when the words refused to come.

“You’re temperature is a little elevated. How are you feeling darling?”

Horrible, he tried to say, but while his mouth worked around the word, his throat spasmed silently.

[daemour]

Pairing: bae jinyoung x tutor! f! yn

Word Count: 1976

Warnings: cursing, mentions of alcohol consumption and drugs, mentions of sex, kissing

Genre: Angst, fluff, f2l au, college au, m for mature

Summary: You're popular, pretty, top of your class. It's no surprise you've ended up tutoring Bae Jinyoung, your opposite in many ways. But your feelings for him grew out of your control and you try to find him at the biggest end of year party

-

this is for the jackson wang party fic collab finished with @mingsolo (hella good), @flurrys-creativity (Pygalgia, Effervescent, and Abience), and @sanjoongie (trouble) ^^ this was supposed to have smut but i couldn't get it out im sorry :') you can just imagine it in ur head pls

and ignore the difference in wc from this and my san one :') i did not have the energy to write another 10k so this ones short and sweet lol

Also the banner was made like 2 username changes ago lol

You can read the San one here (No Hesitation)

-

It’s late…at least for you. Judging from the people milling about with ease, they’re a lot more accustomed to being awake at unholy hours of the night. A couple of them even cast curious glances at you, unused to seeing you at a party. And you can’t blame them either. You’re the college’s well-known “good girl”, volleyball captain and top of your college batch. You’ve been to exactly one party your entire four years here and it was because your roommate, Yeseul, threw it without telling you.

She’s not at this party, too embarrassed to show her face after being dumped by the school playboy, San. You’d feel bad but she kinda deserved it after bragging to everyone how she bagged him. And if she went with you, she’d make it such a huge deal when you want to lay low. You came to this party for one reason after all…to find Bae Jinyoung.

Once again, something you never thought you’d be doing. Jinyoung is the complete opposite of you in every way. Always partying, and getting high, his list of cons goes on and on. But when you were paired up with him to tutor in a last-ditch effort to not get expelled, you didn’t expect to grow so close to him. And maybe you’ve grown to have a soft spot for him.

He had to retake his final exam due to a stomach bug (he was hungover, but you decided not to let his professor know that fact) and you were told his test results early. He had passed after months of hard work, and you were too excited to keep it from him. 

You called him first, and he picked up, but he was clearly drunk, living it up at what you heard was the last party of the year. And against your better judgement, you decided to go tell him the good news in person, perhaps after getting him a little more sober. And you’re maybe a little stupid, hoping he would come sweep you off your feet and kiss you senseless, but a girl can dream. Maybe when you tell him the good news, he’ll lift you and swing you around just like in all your romance books and fall in love.

You’re once again reminded of just how out of place you are as you weave through the crowd. As you look around, you can’t help but be amused at how you must look so lost. You’re not looking where you’re going properly and you bump into a broad chest.

When you look up, you’re met with the furrowed brows of the other Jinyoung of the college, Park Jinyoung, recognisable from his stone-cold features and his signature turtleneck. The only thing he shares with your Jinyoung is the name. Whereas your Jinyoung was mixed up in all sorts of trouble, ranging from drugs to drinking to sex, Park Jinyoung kept to himself, except for this one girl he seemed to have conflicted feelings for. You’ve seen him look at her like she made the stars, only to push her away when she turns her attention towards him. And case in point, when you mutter out a sorry he barely pays attention to you, muttering her name under his breath. Looks like you’re not the only one looking for someone tonight.

You try and ask around a bit, and while some classmates do their best to narrow down Bae Jinyoung’s location for you despite their inebriated state, most of them are just too shell-shocked to see you here and they can’t mask their confusion.

“YN? I didn’t expect to see you here.” A familiar voice catches your attention and you turn to see Choi San standing before you, his hair ruffled and his signature smile on his face. There’s a hint of sadness in his eyes, but you don’t know him well enough to enquire about it.

“Ah, hello, San. I hope you’re doing well after…all that’s happened.” It’s no secret that San broke up with Yeseul because of his roommate. To your credit, you manage to hold back your curiosity and instead just ask him a question pertaining a bit more to your own dilemma. “Have you seen Jinyoung? Bae, not Park.”

San shrugs. “I’m doing well, yes. I can’t stay long, but I think I saw Jinyoung near the living room. It’s through there, you can’t miss it. Lots of couches…and lots of people kissing.”

You absolutely miss the warning tone in his voice, but your heart is already beating a little too fast for your own good at the idea of seeing Jinyoung again. “All right, thanks San!” You start walking the other way, but something nags at you and you spin around, calling out his name before he steps away. “And San…I want to apologise for Yeseul. You should go for your friend. She looks at you the same way.”

There’s a moment’s pause, then San quirks his lips at you. “Thanks, YN. I think I will. Good luck with Jinyoung.”

You laugh and salute him before turning back to continue on your way. With each step, you can feel excitement rush past your ears. You know it’s a horrible idea, but you’ve grown fond of Jinyoung. Maybe it was how all the rumours surrounding him were less than satisfactory, but he never showed you anything but kindness and quietness when you tutored him. Maybe it was the way he leapt at any chance to talk about football to you, and how his smile would light up any room.

And maybe it was when he finally convinced you to let loose and take a study break with him, you found out he kisses gently, large hands cupping your face as his breath puffs over your lips. His touches are soft, ghosting over your waist as you sit beside him, and you feel special.

“Jinyoung–” you call out, entering the room San had pointed out to you, but you stop dead in your tracks. You’ve found him. Bae Jinyoung, sitting on the couch, a girl in his lap and his tongue deep in her mouth. It’s not nearly as sweetly as he kissed you, and yet your stomach drops. It’s stupid to be hurt, you remind yourself. You stare for a moment longer, eyes glued to how the girl is grinding on him so well and you feel a tightness in your throat you can’t seem to dislodge.

And it’s almost like slow motion when Jinyoung turns his head and makes direct eye contact with you. His mouth drops open, more than it was before and like the coward, you turn tail and run right back out of the room.

You push through the people crowding you and out one of the back doors. In the distance, you can see a figure floundering in the lake, soaking wet, but you can’t be bothered to be curious about the sight. You should’ve known this was going to happen. You catch feelings, and Jinyoung doesn’t, and you make a fool of yourself. How could you be so dumb? It’s clear what happened. You were just another conquest, another prize for him to win.

“YN!” You can hear Jinyoung’s familiar cadence float from the house and you glance back, seeing him try and get to you through the people milling about. “YN wait!”

There’s desperation in his voice, but your brain does not register it and you just turn away, heading towards the line of cars parked far into the grass. You didn’t park there, but it should give you enough cover as you make your way to the next street over where your car actually is.

Your eyes are trained forward, and you refuse to look back even as Jinyoung’s panicked footsteps get closer and closer to you. “YN, please!” You hesitate just for a moment, but it’s long enough for him to catch up to you and grab your arm gently. “Please look at me, YN.”

You turn around, but keep your eyes trained on the ground lest you cry, especially after seeing his face. “What’s up?” It’s almost sick how sweetly your voice sounds as it breaks.

“YN, I’m sorry.” The desperation has not left Jinyoung’s voice, and his hands move to your shoulders, gripping them tightly as if that would convince you he meant no harm. And maybe he didn’t. But it’s not his fault you’ve fallen in love with an unobtainable thought.

“Why are you sorry?” you respond, trying your hardest to keep your voice level, although it tremours just a bit when Jinyoung sucks in a breath. “I can’t stop you from…parties, and kissing. I’m just a nobody.”

Jinyoung shakes his head, his long hair falling in his eyes but he makes no move to brush it away. “You’re anything but a nobody, YN. You’re pretty and perfect, and you have so much going for you. You have a job already lined up, you have plans for your future. I’m the one who’s a nobody.”

You laugh. “We could go around in circles, Jinyoung. You’re not a nobody, not to me. And not to that girl. It’s okay that I’m not who you want me to be. I can only kiss you sweetly, I can’t desire you in the same carnal way she does, no matter how much I want to. And there’s no way you want to waste time teaching me how to not be dumb and innocent.”

Jinyoung frowns, just as pretty as his smile is. “I do, YN. I do, more than you can know. I want to take you on dates and kiss you on the beach. I want to have coffee in the morning with you. I just want to hold you. And I love it when you’re innocent and sweet.”

“But that girl–”

“Screw that girl!” You flinch a little at his volume and Jinyoung pauses, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “We were drunk, and I was just missing you a little too much. It was a mistake. I should’ve have tried to run from my problems. I– when you called me, I should’ve dropped everything and gone to find you, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to let myself want you. But I do.”

You breathe in sharply through your nose. “I don’t want to make you change…” you start to protest carefully, although your resolve is breaking by the second.

Jinyoung shakes his head, leaning in so his face is mere breaths away from yours. “I want to change, YN. So please, let me.”

“I–” Against your better judgement, you look him in the eyes, noticing the shaking wateriness of them. “Okay.”

The tension in Jinyoung’s face pinches before finally dissipating, easing the lines in the skin. “Okay,” he copies you. “Okay. YN, can I kiss you?”

His question comes so suddenly, you swear your heart stopped beating for a moment. You barely get a yes out before Jinyoung’s lips capture yours again. And if you thought your first kiss was sweet, this is a million times sweeter. His hands find their way to the small of your back this time and push you closer to him, your arms naturally finding their way around his lithe shoulders. The movement makes the kiss deepen as his mouth presses eagerly against yours.

“I missed you,” he hums against your lips and you sigh happily.

“Must’ve been hard, benign away from me for a whole five days,” you can’t help but tease and Jinyoung groans good-naturedly.

“Man, you’re so mean to me. What happened to being all nice and innocent?” With a smile, you shove your face into Jinyoung’s neck. Jinyoung bends down to press a kiss to your temple. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I think we’re long overdue a talk.”

You sigh. “We are.”

[trashogram]

Hiii

I’m not saying this to judge you or anything I’m just confused. I’ve seen that you post charliedust things from time to time and I’m just wondering why? Angel is a full on gay man and it’s kinda weird for him to be with a girl because of that. Like I’m not trying to send any kind of hate towards you, I’m just genuinely curious as to why you ship it?

Hey! No worries, thank you for being nice about it :)

I like Charliedust because I think the pairing idea is sweet and has a lot of potential. Angel and Charlie have a fun, interesting relationship and I can imagine a lot of different scenarios for the two of them. I like seeing a sunshine character and a self-loathing character balance each other out and like to think of Angel bettering himself with Charlie’s help while she wises up to how the world really is (within reason) with his help. I think Angel flustering Charlie is funny, Charlie defending Angel is awesome, and I like to think that they’d get along very well as an unusual couple in Hell. They’re also more interesting to me together than they are with their canon love interests.

I love the idea of their GB versions as well, like fem!Angel Dust/Charlie or male!Charlie/Angel Dust. All of it is fun to think about!

Something I try to get across to everyone that follows me is that I view fictional characters as entertainment. They aren’t real, and so I can’t really harm them or use them to harm others. However, I know that there are many people that feel differently or disagree with me. I absolutely respect that, and I expect the same level of basic respect and tolerance for a difference in opinion from others.

[atom-writings]

Could I ask for main 8 x telekinetic nation reader? Maybe Y/N waited until they're well into the relationship because they've been shut out and forced to be used as a weapon before.

hetalia main 8 with a telekinetic reader

1k words ~ a/n DIDNT READ THE NATION PART. WHOOPSIESS i kinda wanna do a larger nation reader thing tho.... so ill do that part later :3

tw - none!

America

Alfred is just so EXCITED, I mean, you’re like a superhero! Like something out of a comic book! You’re incredible, he just CAN’T stop gushing about you.

Which, you really have to get him to stop. He can be completely honest about his supernatural identity, so he doesn’t really understand why you can’t. If anyone tried to hurt you, you could just, like, explode them with your mind, right?

He’s very horrified to find out that… that’s not how it works. Although he’s not the greatest at comforting his partners, he immediately sympathizes. The thought of someone treating you like that hadn’t even occurred to him, like, you’re so cute and nice… who could do that?

Whoever did that, well… they’ll never do it again. The two of you will defeat them, no problem!

(Yes, he still thinks his life is like a comic book)

England

Woah, that’s incredible! You’re doing real magic, just like he can! Oh, it’s like a… scientific thing and not magic? Well… maybe the scientists are just trying to rationalize what they can’t understand. Trust him, you’re magic.

Exactly how much can you do exactly? Because if you don’t know, he’s excited to help you learn. He’s trained plenty of magic users over the centuries, you couldn’t be in better hands.

Don’t worry, he would never let anyone take advantage of you again either. You’re lucky that you happen to have someone in such a high position because he is absolutely going to make sure no one uses your ability against you. No, never his darling.

(He’s also definitely gonna lean into the Wizard couple thing now. Expect to move into a super stereotypical witch house with him in the near future)

France

How horrible! You’ve been blessed, and yet people only torture you for it?! Well, now, you won’t have to worry about that at all, Love. He doesn’t see you any differently.

Although he does appreciate you having telekinesis… for the simple reason of when you two are cuddling on the couch, he doesn’t have to get up to grab the remote.

Plus, now he can brag to Arthur about having a super cool magic S/O. He’s gonna be so jealous~

China

Ok, so you have superpowers. So does he, technically, so like, whatever.

Probably the least interested out of all of them. He’d appreciate you using your ability around the house, but if you didn’t, he wouldn’t care (he wouldn’t remember…)

Although, the thought of people mistreating you for it does make his blood boil. He’s had plenty of experience with that himself… and he is absolutely not tolerating it anymore. If any of your former abusers showed their faces around the two of you, they’re getting kicked in the face.

Russia

Wait, you’re serious? That’s… so cool! So, you’re magic, right? Can you make other people like him with your mind? Or make them think HE’S magic so they’re scared of him? No? Oh… well, still, very cool!

He obviously wouldn’t judge you at all. He’s got superpowers too, in a different way.

He’s been mistreated throughout his whole life for his supernatural abilities, so the fact that you were treated the same? It makes him want to rip everyone who did that apart. Which… you will have to stop him from doing (or let him, up to you, I guess.)

I’d imagine some people from his government might try to experiment with you again, but Ivan would absolutely not allow that to happen. He will hide you in a submarine in another country before he lets anyone treat you like a weapon or a science experiment.

Italy

His immediate reaction is gonna be to ask a bunch of invasive questions. Sorry. He’s just curious and has absolutely no social filter.

But as soon as he exhausts himself with his tasteless line of questioning, he’ll basically forget about the whole thing. The first time you use your ability after that, he’ll be scared out of his skin.

(If you don’t tell him it was you, he’d probably order an exorcism on his house…)

He might be meek, but he’d never let anyone treat you badly because of your ability. He wants you to think of it as a gift, not as a curse! It’s what makes you special.

Germany

Wow, that’s fascinating. For how long? How does it work? Does your family have it too? W-

Sorry. His scientific brain will immediately go crazy. He wants to run a bunch of tests and find out EVERYTHING about you. Which is obviously, very, very uncomfortable. He does care about you! He’s just a nerd

But as soon as you tell him about what people have done before, he’ll instantly regret his behaviour. No, you’re not just a weapon to him. Just an incredibly special person.

He’ll be a lot more casual about it after that, but he can’t help staring in awe whenever you display your power.

Japan

Much like Alfred, Kiku is very enthusiastic about the superhero angle of your ability. He’s so lucky to be with someone so unique, that’s all he can think whenever he sees you using telekinesis. Although he does sometimes secretly hope that you’ll get into some anime girl conspiracy plot… just because it’d be cool.

He’s a little insulted that you waited this long to tell him, but he’d never tell you that. Especially after you reveal why, then he feels extra guilty. Now he’ll put in a lot more effort to make sure you know that he’d love you no matter what.

Luckily, he’s still a fierce enough fighter to keep you safe from anyone trying to turn you back into a weapon. Not on his watch.

[biancadjarin]

Random Eddie x soft!shy!crybaby! fem reader thoughts:

no warnings, mostly fluff, a little cursing and some sadder moments.🦋☁️🎲💕🎀🤍🫧

Sitting in on a hellfire meeting, Eddie being his usual intimidating self at the beginning, the room tense as the kids roll and lose hit points to whatever monster Eddie has picked this week. Eddie pulled a chair up for you next to his throne, your knees touching comfortably as he sits with his thighs spread, his left hand resting on your thigh, thumb rubbing little circles on your skin. He gets distracted a couple times, his thumb pausing. You give him a little whine as you shake your leg, making him smile softly, eyes still on the game, his thumb resuming. You weave your arm through his as it rests on the table, your cheek nuzzling on his upper arm, the ends of your lashes tickling the skin where his sleeves have been rolled up as you read the binder in front of him (even though it might as well be in another language).

You sit and listen, all this d&d stuff new to you. You giggle when Dustin throws a can of Pepsi across the room when he loses his last hit point. Mike groaning and Gareth doubling over as Erica kicks him while he’s down with a “I thought you were supposed to be good at this.” You give him a sympathetic look, “I think you did great Dusty! You’re so brave to use your enchanted cross bow against the evil wizard.” He blushes, not used to talking to an older, pretty girl. “Maybe I can roll the next round Eddie?” You ask him, eyes pleading. “Think I could help! Would that be ok everyone?” You look to the group. They’re unsure what to say, knowing you technically can’t play without a character/class/level. But Eddie pets your hair, his hand resting at the back of your neck. “Course angel. These guys could really use your help.” He says, his eyes speaking to the rest of the kids, just go along with it. When it’s your turn, you shake the dice in your small hands, tossing them gently onto the table. “Oooh an eleven.” Mike says. You look at Eddie, bottom lip jutting out as your eyebrows start to pull in. “S’that mean I didn’t help?” Eddie turns in his chair, his hands coming up to rub up and down your naked arms. “No no baby, you got him! Took away a shit load of his health, wow you’re a natural!” He beams.

Eddie gets more animated as the game goes on, his hair flying around his face, eyes darting towards you and cheeks blushing a cherry blossom pink when he starts doing character’s voices. You giggle and look around, everyone enthralled and hanging on Eddie’s every syllable. The way he holds their attention and has them at the edge of their seat makes your stomach flutter. It’s so opposite of yourself. You hate being the center of attention, having all eyes on you. You’re sweet and shy and naïve, all frills and lace, short white pleated skirt and maryjanes a stark contrast to Eddie’s leather jacket (which you have draped over your shoulders) and combat boots.

You haven’t been seeing Eddie for very long, him inviting you to sit in on HF is a pretty big step for him. He’s used to getting called a freak and nerdy but you don’t judge him or make fun of his interests. You’re supportive of it because it makes him so happy. And he’s made such strong friendships, even mentorships with the younger members. You’d never imagined this intimidating guy would be so kind and gentle when you first met him but he shows you his real sides. Tells you secrets no one else knows, whispering as you both lay on your bed after hellfire, his leg draped over yours as he lays on his side, the callused tips of his soft fingers tracing shapes into your tummy. His eyes search yours, worried that you’ll stop liking him after he lays it all out for you. He’s used to people leaving. People not thinking he’s smart enough, nice enough, cool enough. Lovable enough. “You can tell me anything Eddie. Could never make me change my mind about you.” You whisper as you feel your nose start to tingle with the beginning of tears. It’s too soon to call this love. But what else would you call this feeling? Thinking of him ever being in pain breaks your heart. He shows you a scar he has on his knee. “My dad and I were on a camping trip.” He smiles at the memory, eyes scanning around your pink bedroom. “That was the first time he took me fishing. Showed me how to catch it, filet it, all that. We used to go fishing a lot when I was little and then I got older and he started…” he drifts off, taking a deep breath. “Anyway, I caught one, this big sucker, took me forever to reel him in. Then when I got him, I ran to show my dad and tripped and sliced my leg on an old branch.” He says, as he traces his fingers over the raised pink scar. Your bottom lip juts out, eyes welling up. “Wha? What’s wrong baby? Did I say something?” He asks leaning up to rest on his elbow, his hand cupping your warm cheek and swiping a tear away. “I just hate that you got hurt Eddie.” You say, voice wobbling as the tears start to flow. “Oh, angel. It was a long time ago. Doesn’t hurt anymore.” “Well it did then! And I wasn’t there to comfort you! Poor little Eddie!” You cry. He smiles and laughs softly, pulling you into his chest for a hug, your tears leaving little wet dots on his white shirt. “Everything I’ve gone through, every scar, every bad memory. I’d relive it all if it means I get to have you. Cause you’re here now. And I’m never letting you go.”

Also! Laying your head on Eddie’s lap as you watch tv in the living room of his trailer. You’re watching Family Ties, Alex Keaton is confiding in his parents about the girl he has a crush on at school. You feel a wet droplet hit your cheek, your hand coming up to touch it before realizing it’s source. Eddie’s wiping his eyes, trying to hide that he’s tearing up at the silly sitcom. You sit up, hands coming up to cradle his cheeks, your eyes pleading with him to open up. “S’just…” he starts, “it’s hard sometimes. To watch these normal families. I have Wayne, I know and he’s given me everything he can, he’s a good man.” His voice wobbles. “But I spent so many days just wishing I had that ya know? What Alex P. fuckin’ Keaton has.” He laughs as he looks at the button up wearing boy. You crawl into his lap and pull him into a hug, nuzzling your face into his neck. You begin to daydream about what Eddie will be like as a dad. Maybe he’ll be just like a sitcom dad, always home for dinner, loving to his family, the whole thing. He’ll give your kids what he never had.

🥹

[rhondafromhr]

Nerds corruption au chapter 4!!

Took me awhile before I was happy with this one but it’s finally done!

Previous chapters:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

“We’re Gonna Become the Bullies” - Chapter 4: I’m The One To Wrong What’s Right

Grace starts her day the same way she always does: waking up to the shrill buzzing sound of her alarm far too early in the morning. She hates to admit it (sloth is a sin, after all), but every once in a while it would be nice to hit snooze a couple times. There’s no time for that, though. She has to do her sweep of the school bathrooms to check for graffiti. She has to make sure the side exit to the gym is safely locked so nobody can sneak out to “smoke up” during class. As hall monitor, it’s her sworn duty to keep Hatchetfield High safe from all the troublemakers trying to normalize sin and drag everyone down to hell with them. She figures it’s the least she can do to atone for the perverse thoughts she was having about Max Jägerman up until the Waylon place incident. Among other, more recent developments.

Then there’s the whole thing where she’s kind of friends with Maxwell now, along with everyone else who was involved in that prank. She brought that hatchet and the other supplies that night expecting a very different outcome (the specifics of which are between her and God now, since it never came to be. Only He can judge her), but this is intriguing, too. Being the “school snitch” only gives her so much power. Sure, she can issue a detention slip or run and tell a teacher, but she knows in the end all it does is get people to be sneakier about whatever they were doing wrong next time. Being in Max’s inner circle opens up a world of possibilities. People are scared of him and there’s not a lot they won’t do to avoid his wrath. It’s been a week and by now, everyone knows Max will absolutely fly off the handle at anyone who dares mess with the rest of the group. They’re also starting to realize that said group can be pretty intimidating in their own right and becoming more scared of them. Grace would be lying if she said the thought didn’t excite her.

She thinks back to that first Monday after the Waylon place, when Max first heard about Brad calling Peter that crass nickname. The righteous anger he exuded briefly brought that tickle back again. The next day at lunch, Max proudly recounted to the rest of the group the awesome punch Pete landed and how Brad ran away like a little bitch after and how Steph gave Brad the hardest slap with one hand while holding Pete’s in the other and wasn’t that the sweetest, most romantic thing ever. By the time he got to their stint in the principal’s office, she stopped listening, just imagining Peter and the crushing impact of his fist on Brad’s face. She thought about the slap over and over again, too: Steph raising her hand, staring down at Brad with rage burning in her eyes and bringing it down hard, leaving a red mark on his cheek. Her face, she realized with horror, was red, too, but for an entirely different reason. Oh, heck. Oh, no. Not again. But this was even more shameful than even the worst thoughts she ever had about Max. This was about two people at once, one of whom was another girl.

She tries to push away those thoughts for now and joins her parents at the breakfast table, where her usual cup of hot water is waiting for her. If they had any idea what’s really been going on with her, they’d probably send her away to live at Camp Idontwannabang with the Jerries permanently and the first time in her life, that doesn’t sound too appealing. So she’ll just have to continue acting like nothing’s wrong - essentially lying to them. Another sin to pile on top of all her others. As they say in that video game Richie likes: “gotta catch ‘em all.” Her whole life, all she’s ever wanted is to be a good, chaste, godly girl. It’s what her parents and her church friends have all come to expect from her. Not to mention God Himself. There must be something deeply wrong with her if she tries so, so hard to live up to this standard and still falls short. The feeling of being a failure is so crushing she can almost physically feel it bearing down on her.

“Gracie?” Her mother says gently, “Gracie, are you alright?” Grace realizes tears are stinging at her eyes. She strains to hold them back.

“Oh, yes, Mommy, I’m okay! It’s just allergies. I, um, stopped taking Benadryl. Even if it’s over-the-counter antihistamines, drugs are drugs! Might as well be smoking the devil’s lettuce. Oh, I should get going or I won’t be early for school!” She leaves hastily, not stopping for her usual kiss not the cheek.

“Wait!” her Mother calls after her “it’s raining cats and dogs today, you’ll catch a cold, let us drive you!” All she gets in response is the sound of the door closing.

As Grace rides her beloved pink Schwinn bike to school, she can’t hold back the tears any longer. It’s early enough that not too many people are out and about, so hopefully nobody sees. She supposes she could always use that Benadryl excuse again, it’s believable enough for her. When she pulls up in front of the school, she notices two familiar figures standing in front of the main entryway. Shoot, it’s Max and Richie! She hastily wipes her eyes and stops to park and lock up her bike before approaching them. She composes herself and goes into hall monitor mode, even if her heart isn’t in it. They’d better not be hanging out here waiting to buy reefer off of the smoke club.

“Hi, Max! Hi, Richie! What are you two doing here so early?” She says, trying to keep her tone as chipper as possible.

“Oh, we have an appointment we couldn’t possibly miss,” Max tells her. Great, so they are here to buy drugs! She can’t even save her own friends from the dark, dangerous path that starts with weed and eventually leads to them smoking much worse substances under a bridge somewhere. Maybe even in Clivesdale!

“Uh, yeah,” Richie says nervously. He rubs his fingertips together. “Chad Thompson called me a cringe-ass weeb back in seventh grade, so I guess we’re going to catch him on his way in and issue an ‘outdoor swirly’, whatever that is.”

“Oh, you’re gonna love it, Richie, it’s the best! Really subverts expectations. No one would ever think they’re about to get a swirly outside.”

“Yeah, I see your vision, but I feel like I’m really not grasping the logistics. Like, there are no toilets out here, how is it even possible?”

Grace is vaguely familiar with the term (“weeb”, that is. She’s just as confused as Richie about the outdoor swirly thing). She’s pretty sure it refers to people who are into those Japanese cartoons that Richie likes so much. She’s actually heard him refer to himself that way a few times and sometimes Ruth calls him that, too. It never feels mean when she does it - it’s obvious she loves that Richie’s a “cringe-ass weeb” and she wouldn’t have him any other way. They might be two of the most lewd, crass people she’s ever met, but she has to admit their friendship is something special.

“I don’t get it,” she says “you call yourself a ‘cringe weeb’ all the time.”

“Well, he said it like it’s a bad thing! It’s not just the words we say, but the way we say them that can have a long-lasting impact. I learned that at the anti-bullying assembly!” Oh, Max and his anti-bullying quotes. Grace would never tell him this, but she thinks flipping them to be pro-bullying is quite creative of him. Entertaining, too. Sometimes, she just has to giggle at the absurdity of it. Her mood finally starts to lift. She’s glad she ran into her friends. Her friends. She can call them that now.

“Well,” she says “I’d better go do my morning perimeter sweep. See you later, boys!”

“Later, Grace!”

“Bye, Grace, see you at lunch!” Poor Richie still looks a little terrified.

The downpour lets up and becomes a light drizzle as she starts towards the gym, fully intending to go take care of that pesky side entrance so the smoke club can’t ruin class today. Then, on an impulse, she makes a u-turn. What can she say? She’s a little curious about the logistics of Max’s new trick, too. She watches as they accost Chad. Oh, an outdoor swirly just means shoving his face into the huge rain puddle that’s formed on the ground. Max does it first. He moves slowly and intentionally, giving Richie instructions to accompany the demonstration. Appropriating the very forces of nature to enforce his rule over Hatchetfield High. It’s actually kind of poetic. She wonders what his backup plan was if it didn’t rain.

Max hands Chad off to Richie. Chad struggles, but can’t seem to get free. Richie must be stronger than he looks. His hesitation disappears and he moves with more confidence, seeming to delight in the torment just a little. He pushes Chad’s face down into the puddle, holds it there for a second, then yanks him out so they’re face to face, leaning over him menacingly.

“Who’s the cringe-ass weeb now, bitch? Trick question, it’s still me! But I bet you’ll think twice before talking shit about it next time,” he says as he shoves Chad to the ground.

“You guys are un-fuckin’-hinged! I don’t care what anyone says, I’m reporting this. You basically just tried to drown me!”

Maybe Grace can be of some assistance. “I’m the hall monitor and that’s not what I saw,” she says.

“Oh, hi Grace! I thought you left to go do your rounds,” says Max, as upbeat as ever.

“What did you see, Grace?” There’s a mischievous glint in Richie’s eyes.

“Well, Richie, I saw him shove you into that puddle. Completely unprovoked, no less. You were just standing here minding your own business. He held you down for a solid thirty seconds. I was scared he was going to drown you! I was about to go get a teacher, but then you finally broke free.”

“Fuck off, chastity belt! Who would believe that? He’s not even wet.” If Ruth were here, she’d have something to say about that phrasing.

“Well, for one, the principal would, because I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but I’m the hall monitor and I’ve never given him a reason not to trust me. Who’s he going to believe between the two of us?” As childish as she knows it is, she can’t help but stick her tongue out at him. “How could you attack poor Richie like that? What’s he ever done to you?”

“Yeah! Oh my god, Richie, are you okay? That must have been traumatic for you,” Max says dramatically. It seems like he’s having fun with this.

“I’ll- I’ll live,” replies Richie, trying to sound meek and pathetic. It’s not too much of a reach for him.

“Your life is so hard and yet you’re so brave,” Max says with feigned solemnity. Richie pauses for a second, as if he’s debating what he should do next, then theatrically throws his arms around Max and buries his face in his chest. He adds a couple fake sobs for good measure.

“It’s okay, bro. It’s okay. We’ve got you.” Max smirks as he pats his back. Richie stays in position, but raises one of his arms in order to flip Chad off.

“God, fine, whatever!” Chad storms off.

“Grace,” Max says excitedly “that was awesome! You know, I always forget you’re the hall monitor.”

“Yeah,” Richie adds “We’ve really been sleeping on the potential for abuse of power!”

There’s a thought. She’s had real power this whole time, she wasn’t leveraging it to its full potential. It’s a shame - if she’d realized this sooner, she would’ve been much more effective at keeping the hallways free of debauchery. She’ll just have to make up for lost time.

“Just doing my job,” she says, now sporting her own mischievous grin.

And if she actually had fun hamming it up with Max and Richie and she’s a little proud that she was able to help them pull off their stunt, then that’s her business.

Before Grace knows it, it’s the end of the school day and she doesn’t feel like going home and being interrogated about this morning just yet. She sends her parents a quick text claiming that there’s an “emergency abstinence club meeting” and begins to wander the hallways aimlessly until she reaches the auditorium. She knows they’re currently doing rehearsals for The Barbecue Monologues. Ruth is always complaining about the actors flubbing their lines and messing up her lighting cues. Up until now, she hasn’t had much of an interest in the show. Apparently, it contains some foul language and references to sex (in a high school production! What is this world coming to?), but she has to pick her battles and her effort to get homecoming canceled has been time-consuming enough. Curiosity gets the better of her and she slips into the auditorium. She’s not sure what she expects to see, but it certainly isn’t Ruth standing center stage absolutely belting her heart out. Her voice is angelic and she puts so much passion and raw emotion into her performance. Beholding it is an almost religious experience. Grace would know.

The number draws to a close and Grace can’t help but applaud.

“Oh, no, my anxiety! Who’s there?” Ruth cries.

“Ruth, that was beautiful! If you’re that good, why aren’t you in the show? You should be the lead!”

“What, no! I’m way too nervous to do that! Plus it’s too late, rehearsals have already started and Trevor’s the lead.”

“Well, what if he wasn’t?” Grace says with a conspiratorial grin.

“But he is,” Ruth replies, not quite sure what she’s getting at.

“Have a little faith, Ruth! Things can change.”

Oh, no, she’s snapping again.

[hyperfixated-homo]

The Disney Trivia

Ao3 Link (leave a comment if you wanna! it would make my day <3)

Summary:

It's been months now since the side's have made up, and started actually treating each other like family. Now, with everything back together, they have the brilliant idea to play a game of trivia!

In which, Virgil and Roman are the hosts (who knows more about Disney than those two?) and also may be dating, we'll get back to you on that one.

Patton and Janus are flirting the whole time.

And Remus just thinks Logan is neat.

A/N: Holy god that is the most I have ever written in a single session ever. I don't regret it at all, this was amazing asodijowajd. I missed a lot! But it was kinda necessary because the fic would have been hella long otherwise and some of it was contradictory. I hope you guys like it :)

Word Count: 5117

Ships: Mociet, Prinxiety, Intrulogical

Warnings: Mentions of Remus' heart squishing? I don't think there's anything to be really concerned about lmao

“Why are we doing this again?”

“Because DISNEY Logan!”

“That’s not exactly a sufficient answer, Roman.”

Patton smiled at the two of them as they started bickering. Even now, months after their little family sorted through their drama and everyone started getting along, it seemed like some things would never change.

The sides sat together in a large debate hall, apparently a dreamspace Logan had created a while back for a video with Virgil. Back then it had been the two of them arguing over Thomas’ negative thinking, but now it was being used for something much more fun. The side’s first ever proper group trivia!

It was an idea Roman had a couple weeks ago, during their family game nights (which mainly consisted of uncontrollable chaos). He had thrown it out there randomly during a game of Kahoot, but forgot about it shortly after.

It wasn’t until earlier that week that it was brought up again.

Virgil had come up to him shyly asking if he still felt down to do a proper game of trivia, and had suggested the first theme: Disney!

Roman had agreed instantly, and the two of them spent a couple days planning and researching for the game.

The two of them would be running the game as hosts, while the other sides were split into groups of two. Janus and Patton had been dubbed team Mociet, while Logan and Remus were in team Intrulogical.

Patton was more than a little confused when Remus started giggling at the names, but shrugged it off.

The room had been decorated more interestingly for the fun occasion. Roman and Virgil had stated that they wanted to go all out for this trivia, even if it’s more of a joke than anything else.

The curtains behind were closed, colored black as they were before, but now had added detailing that made it a less monotone background. They had strung up simple banners on the wall, and there were more than a couple new lights in the room that they wanted to use for aesthetic purposes. The floor had been changed to carpeting that had a full rainbow gradient from one corner of the room to the other.

But most importantly was the art.

Hundreds of paintings of Disney characters lined the walls. Different, stylised versions of every princess, prince and villain imaginable had been drawn on them in bright, vibrant colors.

Logan was very confused when he saw them, noting that they wouldn’t be seen much anyways since the attention would be on the judges and the stage, so he didn’t understand why they would put so much effort into it.

Roman said that it didn’t matter.

(The amount of fun that he and Remus had painting them together more than made up for it.)

It was a very neat set up! And according to the boys, there were a couple other things too that they hadn't even shown yet, because they wanted it to be a surprise for when the game actually started.

“Wow, they’re still going?”

Janus’ voice cut through Patton’s thoughts, snapping his attention to the snakey side on his left.

“Huh? Oh- they stopped arguing about the scoreboard ten minutes ago. This is a new argument.”

Janus looked at him with a deadpan expression that Patton couldn’t help but smile at.

“It’s not that bad. We just need to wait for Virgil to get the cards! He’s not going to take that long.”

Janus’ eyes softened quickly, and he turned to look back at Logan and Roman. “Yes… I suppose so. We’ll just have to wait.”

Then he turned back around, suddenly seeming a lot more competitive. “What’s our game plan?”

Patton blinked. He had absolutely no clue what Janus was talking about.

“The what now?”

Janus sighed, fondly exasperated.

“How are we going to win this Patton? You probably know at least a little bit about disney. I’m going to be fully honest, I know virtually nothing. I would say that the teams are fair in that sense except Logan’s a massive Marvel nerd and Remus knows almost as much about Disney in general as Roman, so it really isn’t. We’re at a massive disadvantage here.”

Patton blinked, again.

And Janus sighed, again.

“Do we not- is there no game plan?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhh,” Patton looked between him and Roman. “…be nice and hope for the best?”

Janus looked at him for a moment, then once again turned away, mumbling something about how hard it would be to gaslight Virgil into giving them points. Patton was about to make a concerned remark when the door slammed open and the anxious side himself walked into the room.

“Alright losers, stop the fighting. It’s game time.”

Roman audibly squealed, immediately stumbling over to his stand.

“Okay everybody stand in your area. Go stand- you too remus, you stand normally by your podium. We’re starting! Play the music! Why isn’t- LOGAN, THIS IS YOUR DREAMSCAPE, PLAY THE MUSIC!”

Logan rolled his eyes, but complied with the prince’s request, snapping his fingers. The Disney theme started playing, and suddenly the lights shut off.

As the music swelled, new, brighter spotlights slammed on, and the four contestants were surprised to see that they’d been changed into stunning suits and corsets, similar to their outfits at the courtroom but clearly glamorized by Roman. Their podiums had changed as well, the old wooden stands being covered fabric of their own colors with their symbols at the bottom.

Before they had time to even mention the change, another bright spotlight illuminated their hosts. Virgil and Roman were also wearing new clothes, much more layered outfits with more designs sewn into them. Virgil was sat down behind a tilted table that no doubt hid the question cards, while Roman stood in front of them.

The short intro theme faded into a bright show theme, something Patton vaguely recognised.

Roman jumped forwards, welcoming them to the show and going over a prepared speech that played in time with the music.

“Welcome everyone to the first ever Sanders Sides Trivia! Not about us, but being played by us! Today we have a very special theme, suggested by my darling emo nightmare behind me,” Virgil blushed and gave a little wave “DISNEY!”

Patton cheered. Remus joined in, and then all four of them were clapping for Roman.

His eyes were alight as he walked in front of them, posture bubbly in a way that it only ever was when he got the chance to be on stage.

“Thank you! Thank you all!” He took a mock bow.

“Today on the stage we have our two wonderful teams! First up, Team Mociet! Featuring everyone’s favorite father figure, Patton, and the slithery snake himself, Janus!”

Remus whooped from beside them, and Logan and Virgil clapped for them loudly.

Janus loudly said “Totally hate being here today, how dare you invite me.”

Patton waved at everyone, unable to stop himself from giggling.

“And as their competitors today, we’ve got our brilliant book nerd, Logan, and his partner in crime (who may or may not have actually committed some crimes), Remus!”

He and Janus cheered for them, and Remus laughed maniacally while the two of them waved as well.

“I am, of course, Roman Sanders, and this is Virgil! We will be your hosts today everybody!” he continued. The four of them together gave them a round of applause, Patton and Remus yelling out compliments over the loud noise.

“Thank you, thank you. And thank you all for coming! We’re going to go over some ground rules first, before the game can officially start, so we can just jump straight into it!”

He made his way behind the table, as he said that, sitting down. The next part was apparently Virgil’s job to present.

“We’re playing by a point system. You are given points for getting questions right, giving us a good argument or just being cool in general. We’d set better requirements but honestly, I’m sure that all of you guys would find a loophole no matter what rules we set. So we’re not doing that. Points are given based entirely on how me and Roman feel about your answers.” He leaned forwards in his chair, and rested his head in his hands, elbows on the table.

“We can also add points at any time in the game!” Roman chimed in quickly “Not just during question times! For example, padre, I’m loving the attitude right now. Plus ten points!”

There was a loud ring, and then the curtains opened behind them to show a big board, with the two teams' scores on it. Team Mociet had ten points.

Virgil continued. “We can and will take away points, too. Not for getting questions wrong, but for other things. Arguments we don’t like, trying to cheat, sabotage, all that good stuff. Like, say, that stupid hat Janus is still wearing. Minus ten points. Bad hat.”

There was a sort of power down sound, and they watched the points be erased and go down to zero.

Janus didn’t say anything. He just looked at Virgil with the most “are you serious right now” face he could muster. Patton tried his absolute hardest to not laugh next to him. He mostly succeeded.

Virgil was not phased.

“Also, fun fact, even though we can’t actually participate or win, me and Roman can also get points. Because we’re just superior to you guys in every way. We have pretty general rules here, no changing the answer, no physical fighting, no attempted murder, the usual things. Basically just don’t break our monopoly rules and we’ll probably be fine.”

“We’re also not going to win anything.” Patton wondered how long Virgil and Roman had rehearsed this for them to be this in sync. “This is obviously just for fun. No need to get too competitive. I’m looking at you Logan.”

“That’s bold coming from the guy who played checkers with Janus for five hours because he refused to stop until he won a game.” Remus called out.

“That’s not what we’re talking about right now.” Roman replied “And honestly, you would have too if you saw how close I was. There were so many times I almost won. We tied at least-”

“ANYWAYS!” Virgil interrupted him. If Roman started rambling now they would never actually play. “That’s all we have to say. We might add or change some rules later on if things are too chaotic.”

“Right, right. Okay! With that all out of the way, let the games begin!”

A happy little tune that sounded somewhat similar to the ending of a looney toons episode played, and the lights flickered on again.

There was silence for a moment in the debate room, and then Virgil spoke quietly.

“So… how was that?”

“Guys that was amazing!! Oh my goodness I loved it!!” Patton was practically vibrating on the spot from pure excitement over the performance that the two of them just gave.

“Oh I absolutely despised the personal nicknames. Horribly kind of you.” Janus couldn’t seem to keep a smile off his face, clearly also very hyped up.

“I was not expecting the lightshow, I will admit. It was a brilliant choice to use that blackout period to change the scenery, we were all invested quite quickly.” Logan commented.

“Very good idea. We all look hotter than a hooker on a Friday evening in these clothes!” Was Remus’ response. An interesting complement, but a complement nonetheless.

Their judges were clearly happy with the positive reception, Roman hardly able to keep still in his chair and Virgil’s eyeshadow glowing a bright, glittery purple.

“Then let us not waste any more time! Onwards, to the competition!”

Patton let himself relax into a more comfortable standing position, as the category of the first questions were announced.

They would have an absolute blast playing this, he was sure. He just wondered if it would get as chaotic as their previous family times.

———

Everything instantly fell apart.

Well, instantly was a bit of a stretch. Everyone behaved for at least five minutes, usually the game nights spiral downhill as soon as it starts!

Patton just needs to keep looking at the positives. If not, he might literally explode.

“THUMBS both ARE and ARE NOT FINGERS, ROMAN. Some people, especially those in the medical field, do refer to them as such for simplicity's sake, but the truth is that the answer to that question is SUBJECTIVE. They have a DIFFERENT ANATOMY, ROMAN. I DID NOT ANSWER INCORRECTLY.”

“LOGAN THE QUESTION WAS HOW MANY FINGERS MICKEY MOUSE HAS. IT ISN’T THAT COMPLICATED.”

“DEFINE A FINGER FOR ME ROMAN. DEFINE IT. TELL ME WHAT A FINGER IS. IS A THUMB A FINGER TO YOU? IS IT? DOES EVERYONE HERE CONSIDER A THUMB A FINGER?”

Remus raised his hand lazily, pretending to not find this entire situation hilarious. “I don’t think a thumb is a finger. It’s a digit.”

“REMUS STOP SUCKING UP TO LOGAN LIKE THAT FOR MORE POINTS-”

It was honestly sort of amazing that they’d managed to start screaming at each other so quickly. They hadn't even gotten to the actual “debate for points” questions. These were just regular trivia. And yet they somehow managed to start a debate. About fingers.

When Virgil said that they could gain points by “giving a good argument”, Patton didn’t think he considered how far Logan and Janus were willing to go to convince the others that they were correct. Maybe he forgot that one debated for fun and the other liked to pretend to be a lawyer. This was bound to happen eventually.

Although, Patton wasn’t really focusing on that right now, but rather the fact that Janus was trying to change the points on the scoreboard behind them again.

“Jan! Stop that!” He whisper shouted.

“Stop what? I’m not doing anything.” He lied. Like a liar.

“Stop trying to give us points, we’re tied already, it doesn’t matter!”

Indeed, the two teams were tied at 30 points each, after seven questions. So far, they had been pretty simple, and the reason that their team didn’t have more points was because Virgil had randomly decided to subtract five from them, because he “felt like Janus was up to something. Nothing in particular but… something.”

He was right, obviously. Janus was trying to steal the question cards from the host table with one of his spare hands. But Virgil didn’t know that.

“No, you're right. I’m sorry sweetheart. There’s no point in cheating this early in the game, it’ll just make the others suspicious and make it harder to do so later on. I’ll save that one for later” Janus winked.

“That is not what I meant and you know it mister.” Patton crossed his arms, as if that would make Janus take him more seriously.

“Do I?” His mischievous smirk only seemed to grow.

“Yes! You do!”

“Sorry about that darling. I’ll get it eventually, promise.” Even if Patton wasn’t literally face to face with him right now, he would be able to hear the smirk in Janus’ voice.

“That’s-”

“FINE. YOU GUYS CAN GET TWO POINTS. IS THAT OKAY?”

“FINE.”

“FINE.”

Roman threw his hand up and the scoreboard behind them changed to show the numbers 30 - 32.

All four of the other sides just stared at the two of them.

“Okay, Virgil, what’s the next question?”

He looked Roman up and down, squinted, and then looked away.

“Uh… when did snow white come out.”

“Alright. JANUS.” The deceitful side jumped slightly, then turned to Roman, smoothing out his outfit as if it never happened.

“Right. What’s the question?”

“Minus five points for not paying attention.”

“Wha- excuse me?” Janus stared at Virgil in shock. “That’s not fair-”

“Shoulda been listening dude. You keep forgetting that we can do that. Pay attention.” Virgil smirked at Janus’ barely concealed rage. “The question is what year Snow White came out.”

Janus rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Pfft, easy. 1957”

Roman stood up quickly, and in a dramatic gesture moved to point at Janus “HAH, WRONG! It was-”

“No, it’s not! It’s totally 1947! Are you just making stuff up to make me lose?”

Roman stared at him, immediately stumped. He spluttered out a “What? No! I promise it’s-”

But Janus was quick, and also an expert gaslighter. “Then did someone change the date on the flash card? Because it was definitely 1937! How could you get such an easy question wrong!?”

Roman’s mouth opened and closed a couple times, as if he was trying to refute the statement but couldn’t find the words.

“When did it come out then?”

Virgil rolled his eyes in response. “1937. Dude you were off by like twenty years.”

“No he wasn’t.” Remus’ voice. Yet again speaking purely to add on to this meaningless argument, adding flame to the fire. “He said 1937.”

Virgil looked at him like he’d grown four heads. “N- dude did you miss that entire conversation? He said 1957.”

“He did also say 1937, though.” Said Logan, as if he was helping them in literally any way. “Are we still counting it if he changes his answer before the actual answer is revealed? His final date was 1937.”

Roman just stood there, trying and failing to process their questions. Virgil answered for him.

“We. We’re not accepting that. Final decision. We’re the hosts here, and he’s not getting any points.” Then he turned to glare at Janus again. “Matter of fact, minus five points for trying to trick us.”

Now it was Janus’ turn to splutter, exclaiming various forms of “what the hell, Virgil?” and “why??? Just why???”

Patton sighed, leaning down to lay his head on his stand.

“Patton! This next question is for you!”

He snapped his head up to look at them, smiling on instinct. “Yeah! I got this!”

“I thought it was one question per team-” Logan tried to interject but Roman steamrolled over him.

“How many years was Genie from Aladdin trapped in the magic lamp?”

“Oh! Uhh… like a hundred thousand years right? It was a really long time!”

Roman looked at his card, then at Virgil. He just shrugged. “Close enough.”

The princely side turned back to Patton, a beaming smile on his face. “Great job popstar, 10 points for you! You’re doing fantastic!”

“Ten poi- he didn’t even get it right?!”

“Shush up Logan, he deserves it. Anyways, Remus!”

Patton found himself smiling as well. The fact that his kiddos would give him points even when he got it wrong, ah he loved them so much!

He looked over to see what Janus thought, only to see him quickly turn away to look at their friends. He caught a glimpse of a smile on his face though, a moment of fondness in his expression.

And then Patton found himself smiling a whole lot more.

It was nice. This was nice. Maybe a little bit chaotic, but when were they not?

Besides, it wasn’t that bad.

———

At some point during the trivia, Virgil and Roman had started to give themselves points. Which was fine, they had mentioned that they would do so at the start after all!

But then they started doing so increasingly often.

Like, every couple minutes often.

For things like how cute the other looked, or how smart they were, or how well they worked together.

And they gave each other a lot of points. Like, hundreds of points. Way too many points, considering the fact that it was over double the amount of points the two teams had combined.

So Remus and Logan, the competitive bastards that they were, of course immediately decided to comment on it and start a debate on whether it was appropriate to give each other points for things like “the color of their eyes” (Roman you can’t give your team points every time you look at Virgil because you think he’s pretty. If we could all do that then what is even the point of the point system in the first place?)

And the hosts immediately took offense, justifying it by saying that they were the ones in charge here, so obviously they got to decide what was and wasn’t a good reason to give someone points.

Which prompted Janus to start another debate about how unjust it was that the two of them were in complete control in this situation even though it was not through democratic election, thus making them the unofficial rulers of a self proclaimed biarchy.

To which they responded that since it’s not a government system, it doesn’t work like that.

And now they were talking about kingdom hierarchy, in the middle of a disney debate.

And yet again, Patton could not find reason to care, because Janus was once again attempting to change the scores in their favor.

“Jay! We said that you couldn’t do this!”

“We said? I think you mean you said, my dear. I never agreed to anything.”

Patton threw his head back tiredly. “Janus, that’s cheating. It’s not fair to the others! We aren’t even winning anything, there’s no need to keep trying to find ways to win!”

“Oh but Patton, I need to do something to assist you! After all, you’ve almost been carrying me this whole game!”

That was true. Virgil and Roman had tried their absolute hardest to find ways to discredit Janus’ every answer, and take away points from him at any chance they got. In direct juxtaposition, they gave Patton as many points as they possibly could, even for completely incorrect answers.

(Patton didn’t really know how to explain that the points didn’t really mean anything to him, and by now was answering wrong just to see how Janus would react when they gave him the points. The fact that they were somehow still above negative points was honestly just a bonus.)

“C’mon sugar, let me do this? Please?”

Well. If Janus was going to play it like that, then Patton was going to have to bring out the big guns as well.

He turned to him, opened his eyes, and gave him is best pouty face.

He saw the exact moment Janus’ face went from “smug flirting” to “oh no he’s cute”.

He had to fight to not blush at the way the snake looked at him.

(Janus couldn’t stop looking at his eyes, his lips, the soft curves of his face as he tried to win him over. Patton looked every bit like the sweetheart Janus kept calling him.)

He sighed, closing his eyes, and pretending that he wasn’t completely melting on the inside. “…I suppose it doesn’t matter that much. If it really upsets you, I’ll stop.”

Patton’s face split and without really thinking about it, he launched himself forwards to crush Janus in a hug.

Arms wrapped around him by instinct (too many arms for a normal person, probably, but Patton had always thought that more arms meant more comfort). He laughed out a small thank you, burying his face into Janus’ suit.

“Yes, yes, I’m amazing, I know. Go back to your stand, you’re making me look soft.”

Patton laughed at the comment, but did indeed stand up and go back to his podium (he didn’t mention the fact that despite the complaints, Janus didn’t try to separate himself from him until Patton did).

The others had been arguing for far too long now anyways.

“I’m just saying, we should definitely have guillotined more rulers! It would have fixed so many problems!”

Wait, what?

“Remus, that would be RIDICULOUS. They didn’t have the concept of free will, or rights back then. They just would have elected another bad ruler!”

“Guys what the hell are we talking about.”

The conversation died instantly. The four of them looked at each other, and then at Janus, and then back at each other.

“I uh… I have no clue.” Was Virgil’s reply.

Which was typical. And also understandable. But maybe not what they should be doing right now.

“…okay. Can we get back to trivia now. That’s… that’s like the only reason we’re here in this stupidly fancy room, still standing up, still killing my legs. Can we wrap this up please.”

Roman snapped into action, getting the cards and moving swiftly on to the next question.

“Right! Yeah! Y'know what, we’re going to do a couple flash rounds. Me and Virge will just call out some questions and whoever answers first and most accurately gets points. Good?”

They nodded.

The game continued.

———

“Order!” Roman called out in the loud room. “Order in the court! This is the FINAL question! Up for debate here my guys, gals and nonbinary pals. Completely subjective, alright?”

Everyone hushed up, ready to answer the final question.

“Who is the best Disney prince?”

“Flynn Rider.” Four voices called out simultaneously.

The hosts paused for a moment, before looking at each other, and then back at their contestants.

“Correct. Five hundred points for everyone. Good game!”

“Well, this was a miserable experience. I despised every part of it.” he smiled at Virgil and Roman, not out of mischief or irritation but of pure, unfiltered care. “Thank you for organizing this. It was wonderful.”

Patton nodded aggressively next to him. “Yeah!! We got super side tracked but by golly was it fun!”

Roman laughed, and Virgil’s eyeshadow seemed to brighten a few shades to match the pink growing on his cheeks.

“Yeah it was… it was fun or whatever.”

“It was enjoyable.” Said Logan from beside them. His voice was low, a little raw from how much yelling he did in the two hours they spent doing the trivia. “Even though it devolved quickly into something that was most definitely not trivia.”

“Maybe next time we should have another group host it.” Remus said. “Y’know, like the winners of this game get to choose a theme for the next time.”

All of them seemed to perk up a little at that idea.

“Who won?” asked Janus.

“Not you guys.” was Virgil’s immediate response.

Janus hissed at him. Virgil hissed back.

“Did we even count the points?” Roman squinted at the board behind them, as if closing his eyes would make the massive numbers on them make more sense.

“I believe you stopped trying to actually calculate it when you started adding thousands onto the board. Much less the millions.

Roman shrugged. “Eh. That’s fair. We don’t really know who won then. Maybe we can hold a vote or something.”

Logan hummed. “That would be appropriate.”

Patton felt a hand rest on his, atop his podium.

He smiled, and closed his eyes.

For a moment there was peace. The group was tired out, energy completely depleted after that rollercoaster of emotions.

“…Maybe Janus should be disqualified though. I would consider changing the question cards and the scoreboards quite an easy disqualifier.”

“He did WHAT.”

———

Maybe it was a little bit mean for Remus to tell Logan that Janus had cheated right at the end there. Everyone was tired after all, so there was no point in wasting any of their remaining energy on questioning how he did it.

But Remus was petty.

And Janus did try to mess with his score.

All is fair in love and war.

Besides, who would he even be if he didn’t try to cause a little chaos right at the end?

He looked over at the other sides from his spot in between his and Logan’s podiums, bent in a position that would probably be impossible, if he weren’t an imaginary person who could make his spine disappear if he wanted to.

Janus was trying to justify himself to a group of three angry light sides, although it was clear that most of that effort went into trying to explain his methods to Patton. Said moral side was making an attempt to scold him that would probably be more effective if he looked in any way mad, and not just like his kitty had clawed up his favorite couch cushion. Roman and Virgil were leaning together in their seats, heads leaning on each other and holding hands.

He turned to look at his teammate. Logan stood resting his elbows on the podium in a rare moment of relaxation. He was observing the “fight” just as Remus was before, but usual cold expression was replaced with a soft, happy smile.

Something about it made Remus’ heart squish strangely. Maybe he was having heart palpitations.

He untangled himself enough to poke Logan's leg with his foot.

“Psst.”

Logan turned to look down. The fondness remained on his face, albeit with a little bit of added confusion.

He looked really hot from down here, damn.

“What is it you need, Remus?”

“If you could see any marvel scene in real life right now, to study, what scene would it be.”

Logan furrowed his brow and tilted his head. “…Comic book or movie scene?”

Remus shimmied, moving around so that he could stand up.

“Either.”

Logan took a moment to think, looking away from him in concentration. “Hm… there’s a fascinating scene in the marvel comics where the Scarlet Witch removes the abilities of all mutants from planet earth, almost by accident, because she doesn’t want them and the humans to keep fighting. Although, I suppose that’s not exactly a visitable scene, since her powers are never really thought to be observable in that sense.” He looked at Remus again, who was now standing up. “I would want to see what Tony Stark’s lab looks like. I know most of the science there isn’t real by any means, but it would still be fascinating to see how he would theoretically create his suits and weaponry.”

That sounded really smart. And complicated. And like it would take a lot of effort.

Remus reached out and grabbed him by the hand.

And suddenly, they weren’t in Logan’s dreamscape anymore, but Remus’.

Although it didn’t look like what his dreamscape usually looked like.

There were tables and tables of tech all around them. Holograms and metal scraps and projects were laid out that looked incredibly similar to the ones in the original Marvel movies. There were some odd choices of weapons, for sure, some of them seemingly old fashioned and not at all what would actually be in Ironman’s lab.

It didn’t matter.

And it didn’t matter how much energy it took Remus to make the room. Or how much his head hurt trying to remember basic mechanics so that he could make anything here believable.

None of it mattered.

It was all worth it, for the way Logan screamed in happiness.

[autisticempathydaemon]

For the matchups /np <3

What song are you fixated on at the moment? What lyric or verse, and why?

At the moment it’s Vienna by Billy Joel, ‘she’s always a woman’ is one of my favourites ever and Vienna just hits right as I feel like I’m behind a lot of the friends that I grew up with atm. (My fave parts are ‘you’re so ahead of yourself that you’ve forgot what you need’ and ‘ you can’t be everything you wanna be before your time’.

What is your Enneagram type?

I don’t know my enneagram sorry but I know my personality type is ENFP if that’s any help :)

Tell me about your childhood imaginary friend.

Funnily enough he was a dog, like I used to just imagine I had a dog and he’d follow me around, sometimes he’d talk and sometimes he wouldn’t and he was named after ‘Balto’ from the animated movie.

What is your go to way to fall asleep?

I don’t really have one, I usually end up waking up not remembering falling asleep in the first place. I basically just wait until I’m tired enough for it just happen.

If you had to change your name, what would it be, and why? (In tandem, if you have changed your name, why did you pick that one?)

Although I wouldn’t like to change my first name, as I think it suits me, I did change my last name to my Grandma’s maiden name after she’d told me she was sad that she couldn’t keep it when she married my grandad.

What Redacted boy holds no appeal to you, and why? Like, not the one you hate but the one who you don’t get the hype for. (I won’t judge, I promise.)

I feel awful about this one, but Guy. I don’t dislike him or anything but I’m also not necessarily excited when he gets an upload. I’m also not sure why, he just doesn’t hit the same for me as he seems to do for a lot of other people.

Tell me about that one book/movie/tv show you know all the words to.

Fantastic Mr Fox. I love it, I love the framing and the colours and the characters. They’re all very ‘human’ in different ways and the moment between Foxy and Felicity near the waterfall is so relatable I want to eat it.

Which Redacted boy are you platonically attracted to? Like- forget dating, which dude do you want to be your best friend?

SO MANY. Like the entire D.A.M.N squad. I love all the characters and I don’t mind anger but if Damien directed it at me I’d get defensive and that wouldn’t make for a good couple. Gavin, I wouldn’t really like my partner flirting with other people, Huxley I enjoy hiking but simply can’t picture myself dating him because he’s with Damien etc etc

Do you have a go-to thing you ramble about when you’re tired, and if so, what is it? (For example, my boyfriend knows I’m ready to sleep when I start talking about space.)

The signal for me being tired is actually that I go very quiet/ not talkative. But if I was to ramble about something it would probably just be about things that had happened irl, old funny story’s and stuff (or whatever fandoms I’m in at the time depending on who I’m with).

Tell me your go-to gas station and drink combo.

Red Bull. Always Red Bull. 🧎🏻

Extra’s: My favourite colour is green. I love movies, reading/writing and animals. I’m a Libra. My love languages are acts of service and physical touch but again, depending on the person.

Thank you!

As always, I love it when I am given so much information to work with! You seem so lovely and agreeable, it’s hard to think with whom you wouldn’t work well. Somehow, the “loving animals” bit convinced me, because what’s better for an animal lover than our beloved beta boy who can turn into a wolf on a whim?

Asher strikes me as the type of guy who works best with someone like himself. He works well with everyone, by his nature, but you and he would have so many similarities that being together would be wonderfully easy. It’s the big things like your extroverted natures and your compatible love languages. Yet it’s also the little things like your shared love of hiking and caffeinated battery acid (I say affectionately as a Strawberry Apricot Red Bull fiend).

You’d be the sort of couple who operate like well-oiled cogs of a machine, like one of you was a telepath, that’s how naturally you communicate and maneuver around each other. It’s a wonderfully comfortable, joyful life that the two of you have. There’s lots of alternating days of him showing you Halo and you showing him new, interesting movies, countless lectures from David about y’all having to drink something not poisoned with taurine, and so, so much love.

Song:

I confess, I messed up/ Dropping "I'm sorry" like you're still around/ And I know you're dressed up/ Hey kid you'll never live this down/ You're just the girl all the boys want to dance with/ And I'm just the boy who's had too many chances

I’ve just got to give the boy a FOB song, you must understand; I also think it’s a really fun choice for y’all. I love the movie references, the fun, boppy tempo, the dramatic, theatrical way Asher would fall to his knees on the kitchen floor as he belts it out at you in true, emo kid fashion. It’s infectious, and you would be helpless to either sing or headbang along.

Runner-ups:

This was hard. Again, I feel like you could pair well with just so many people; narrowing it down to two was an ordeal. In the end, I like Anton for you because you two contrast in a lot of the ways you and Asher compare. Also, I chose Sam as a runner-up for you because you two hiking together would be really cute. Also, You/Sam is giving kind of David/Asher but in another font, and I love Dasher /lh

note: thank you so much for waiting 💕

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

[yukidragon]

How far do you think Ian wanted to go in the relationship? Do you think Ian wanted to start a family or just be with M/C until the end? Do you think Ian would have been able to deal with childrens in all of them and stages (infants/infants/children and adolescents)?

Given Ian has an engagement ring in the Didn’t Cheat AU, as shown here by a picture Sauce drew, I think that marriage with MC was something he wanted.

As always whenever I share some of Sauce’s art, I need to remind everyone that this is only okay because I am giving them full credit for the art they publicly posted. Remember, don’t repost any of the privately posted pictures on the SnaccPop Studios patreon. Let’s support the team as best we can.

Unrelated, I just now noticed that Cheshire cat AU Shaun seems to have a tongue stud. I wonder if that means he might get one in the regular SDJ universe too...

Anyway, back to the Didn’t Cheat AU.

Judging by the afterlife moment with Ian in the demo, it seems that both MC and Ian were pretty serious about their relationship. The moment ends with the two of them happily thinking that they’ll be together forever, so it seems like marriage was a goal of theirs. They may have even discussed it.

Kind of makes it hurt all the worse because Ian cheated, doesn’t it?

It’s also, ironically, another reason why Ian might have cheated. For some people, it might be intimidating to have only ever been in one relationship. What if they’re missing out? What if they’re more desirable than they realize? What should they do now that they’re suddenly feeling attracted to someone new?

You hear a lot about people getting cold feet before marriage. Marriage is a huge commitment after all, and such a commitment can be intimidating.

Then there’s open relationships, poly relationships. There’s all sorts of possibilities, all sorts of people out there. Ian was stuck in a little bubble with a family member who controlled his life and shamed him. He was, according to teaser art of dubious canonicity, mocked for his looks.

In a way, it gives Ian the sense of a lack of options, and a lack of self-confidence.

I’m probably starting to retread my previous theory post about why Ian cheated, so I’ll get back on the main topic - the life he might have wanted to have with MC.

Given Ian’s issues with his mother, it’s hard to say how that relates to his views on children. Then there’s also the fact that he was bullied by his peers and only seemed to have MC as a friend until recently. That can make the idea of children a pretty intimidating prospect.

Personally, I do headcanon that Ian would be inclined to have a child if MC wanted that. It’d be less intimidating to have a partner supporting him there. Also, he might feel obligated to raise a child of his own, or even just dreamed of a healthier relationship with his child than he had with his mom.

When it comes to Ian and Alice, they did talk about what they wanted for their future, both before they were a couple and after. Alice made it no secret that she wanted to get married someday and have a lot of children. Although she wanted to give birth to her spouse’s children like her mom did with her dad, she would be fine with artificial insemination or adoption.

Ian spent a lot of time at Alice’s house, interacting with her family. Her family is big, warm, and welcoming. It was a huge contrast with his home. It seems unlikely that he has siblings, so my current headcanon has him as an only child and the sole target of his mother’s control and attention. Alice has this big happy family and is the oldest child with the most responsibilities as the oldest. She stands up for her younger siblings and her friends. It’s always something that he’s admired her for, and when she talked about having a big family one day, he couldn’t help but imagine being her husband and what it would be like to have a big family like hers.

It’s kind of scary, but also such a warm and appealing image. To be surrounded by such love like Alice was growing up. Her family loved Ian too. He got treated very well at her house and slept over as often as his mother permitted it. Sure, her younger siblings could be annoying at times, but there was so much love there. There were pets too, with a few dogs and cats

However, once they were adults and they were moving towards that future, Ian started having to really look at what it meant to create that sort of family. A big house, a high paying job, taking care of a bunch of children, maybe some pets... It’s a tall order. It’s like the fantasy he had suddenly became something that he was expected to just... make happen, and he had no idea how to relate to his own family. The King family was more of a family to him, Alice’s mom and dad more like his parents, and her younger siblings more like his siblings already.

It’s another thing Ian laments losing in the breakup. As Alice’s childhood friend, he was practically family, and the two of them getting together romantically made it practically official. They were teased about when he would propose to her, even when they were too young to consider such things.

Ian not only hurt Alice by cheating, he hurt her family too, who he had grown to love like his own family. Their reactions are mixed, but they’re all unhappy with him for what he did, some more than others. Alice’s younger sister Barbie is very vocal about her dislike towards Ian now, having said some pretty nasty things to him that really hurt since he did view her like his younger sister too.

Sorry, I’m getting off track again. Anyway, I don’t think there’s enough evidence to give a strong impression about how Ian would react to his children or treat them. In my own headcanons, he would be a very lenient parent in contrast to his mom, letting them get away with a lot and showing his affection through lots of gifts. I can imagine he would struggle to be firm with them when time comes to discipline them. It would no doubt lead to spoiled children if his spouse doesn’t reign him in and give him a wake up call and/or act as disciplinarian.

Given how Alice struggles to be firm with Ian due to how sad and apologetic he is, I can only imagine how rough it would be for them as parents together unless big changes were made. Really, the two of them would need more time before they were ready to be parents, whether together or with another partner.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore 

[butimatomblr]

Pt. 2 of Modern!hogwarts AU slytherin!Aemond x hufflepuff!Reader strangers-to-friends-to-almost lovers-to-friends again-to-actual lovers okay here we go!

(I see this happening earlier on in their timeline where they’re just acquaintances taking maybe 1 or two classes together, but Aemond has already witnessed a couple instances of dumbassery from the reader just being chaotic)

- I imagine that Aemond is part of the slytherin quidditch team, he’s a very routine and schedule oriented person so I don’t know that he necessarily loves quidditch but the targaryens are known for their affinity with brooms and flying so naturally he wants to be the best at it.

- cut to reader (who I definitely hc as muggleborn) who only did her intro to flying class (idk what it’s called) but never did it again, coming to quidditch tryouts to join the hufflepuff team.

- like with most things, reader isn’t that nervous and Aemond, who is there to judge for the slytherin team is just like “this girl is either gonna eat shit or get up to some dumb shit either way I’m intrigued”. As he’s thinking this to himself reader just trips over the air in the distance and lands face first in the grass then gets up and walks away unfazed. How is this girl alive?

- it’s reader’s turn and she’s like surprisingly quite good, some of her techniques are messy but she’s good at following the coaches instruction and has an affinity for flying that surprises Aemond. In fact, everyone is pretty impressed untilllllll…

- she’s heading back to the ground after she’s been told to land, but it seems like she suddenly loses control and is headed straight towards Aemond. For a second he doesn’t react as he can’t quite grasp what’s happening, but then he hears readers voice and she’s yelling at him and before he can even think about what she’s saying she smacks into at what definitely feels like to him full speed on her broom.

- (I just imagine from everyone’s perspective watching them just dramatically tumbling across the field, limbs flying everyone and Aemond’s blonde hair just lookin like a tumbleweed in the wind)

- once they finally stop Aemond is flabbergasted 👁️ 👄 👁️ when reader stand ups, quickly asks him if he’s okay, to which he just replies “…yes” (he’s not that was crazy) then she gives him a thumbs up, turns around at yells at the hufflepuff captain “so did I make the team??” and Aemond thinks he might have been concussed into an alternate reality cause….. wtf?!

Okay I probably could have made this triple the length but I have to sleep now, but this gif is Aemond in disbelief of readers stupidity and clumsiness but like why did her eyes just look so hypnotizing when she asked if I was ok???!!??

I def could have found a better gif but I’m lazyyyy and until s2 comes we’re in an Aemond screen time drought so….

[englishstrawbie]

“I've loved her in secret / I've loved her out loud / The sky hasn't always been blue / It might last forever / Or it might not work out / If she ever leaves me, it won't be for you” (If She Ever Leaves Me by The Highwomen)

When I read these lyrics, I immediately thought of Kacy and knew what sort of ficlet I wanted to write. And then @littlesolo wrote something not dissimilar, but when I told her about it she was all for reading my version. ❤️

I love this song, I'll be listening more music by this group - and this ficlet was a lot of fun to write!

A link to the song

>>>>>>>>>>

Kate fiddles with her hair, appreciating the reflection she sees in the mirror of the cramped bathroom. She reapplies her lipstick, the cherry red that has always been Lucy’s favourite, and smacks her lips together to even it out. Someone steps inside and she can hear laughter coming from the bar, her ears tuning into Lucy’s loud giggle. A picture forms in her head of her girlfriend’s happy and relaxed demeanour, imagining her head tipped back as she laughs, and Kate smiles.

They have been in Texas for a couple of days for Lucy’s mom’s seventieth birthday. It hasn’t been the easiest trip. Lucy’s estrangement from her family means there have been some tense meals and difficult conversations, especially the spotlight on their relationship, but it was important for Lucy to come and be part of the celebrations. Her mother’s heart attack last year had prompted Lucy to start mending the broken relationships within her family – easier with some than others. There are a few older relatives who still look down on their relationship with disdain and Lucy’s father is a tough nut to crack, but even the smallest breakthrough is a step in the right direction.

Tonight, they have come out for drinks with some of Lucy’s old school friends and it has been an eye-opener for Kate, to see the way these people flock around her girlfriend. The men, who make their intentions known despite Lucy’s obvious disinterest, and the women, whose flirtations are more subtle. Kate sees it all. She has bitten her tongue more than once already, she doesn’t want to be the jealous girlfriend but if Emma puts her hand on Lucy’s thigh one more time…

She takes a deep breath and heads back out to the bar, catching Lucy’s attention immediately and blushing at the way her girlfriend’s eyes light up when she sees her. Lucy tips her head towards the bar and Kate answers with a nod, meeting her at the far end away from the crowds.

“Hey doll,” Lucy purrs as she sidles up to her. “Do you come here often?”

Kate chuckles. “Cute,” she says.

She resists the urge to sweep Lucy’s hair off her shoulder, to run her fingers over the soft skin of Lucy’s neck as she so often does, not wanting to draw attention to them. She has become so comfortable with public displays of affection back home in Hawai’i that it is strange to be in a place where you never know how your relationship will be judged by a complete stranger.

It’s hard though, especially with the way Lucy’s pants hug her hips and her shirt hangs open to the dip between her breasts.

“You having fun?” Lucy asks, pulling her out of her reverie.

“Hmm? Yeah, of course,” Kate says.

A barman comes by and Lucy orders another couple of bottles of wine, adding them to her tab.

“I know my friends can be a bit brash,” Lucy says with a slight roll of her eyes.

“No, they’re fun,” Kate says. “Besides, I feel like I’m getting to know a different side to you.”

Lucy’s eyebrows arch with curiosity. “Oh yeah? What side is that?”

“The popular girl at school. The one everyone wanted to be friends with,” Kate says. The one everyone wants to make out with, she doesn’t say.

“Let me guess, you were a nerd?” Lucy teases.

“Of course,” Kate says with a wry smile. “I wouldn’t have stood a chance with the popular girl.”

Lucy scoffs at that. “You would’ve found a way to charm me, Kate Whistler,” she says. “You always do.” She takes the two bottles of wine from the bar and uses it as an excuse to close the distance between them. “Especially when you wear that red lipstick.”

Kate’s lips twist into a smirk. She can’t stop herself from catching Lucy’s wrist as she is turning, pulling her back in and dipping her head to kiss her. It is light and brief, but sends a message to anyone who is watching that Lucy Tara is not for the taking.

There is only one woman she is going home with tonight.  

[skitskatdacat63]

Aw shucks, thanks for the informative knowledge on jousting during this period (I respect the commitment to historical accuracy 👍). But now that you’ve mentioned masquerades…

— Penalanon (recovering from losing a 50/50. It was my first 10 pull since forever 💀)

misc lore drop day 41/?

Physically restraining myself from giving a way too historically accurate detailing of what masquerades specifically would have been like at that time. I read way too much about them, and I’ve decided I like the more fantastical, stereotypical version we usually tend to think of. Or I guess more accurately, the Venetian version over the early 18th century Viennese style. It was much more formal and complicated at that time, and it hurts my head to even think about all the etiquette. So I’ll just stick to the typical dressing up in costumes while wearing masks, which they did in fact do! Though I guess maybe they’d be very stuffy and formal for most of the part in Austria, and then “go on formal business” down to Venice to have more fun with it hehe. Imagine them wearing opposite colors as their costumes hahaha.

My first thought is that Fernando would absolutely love the plausible deniability that wearing a mask and non typical clothing would give him. Though don’t tell him, but…everyone except him is pretty aware that it’s him. I’ve talked a bit about this before, but he is much more comfortable being affectionate or more down to earth if it won’t affect his carefully crafted image. He really believes in the idea that a monarch should be a lofty, untouchable figure. Even if his identity wouldn’t be completely unknown, it still gives him a level of secrecy and freedom he doesn’t have the chance to feel almost all of the time. Especially if they were guests in another city! I feel like both he and Seb expect each other to cavort with other strangers who they could never be around otherwise. Yet they drift towards each other. Seb likes this Fernando, a Fernando that isn’t hyper aware of his surroundings at literally every moment. A Fernando who acts like the flirty, wild playboy who Seb had heard he was in his youth. He’s usually so stiff and formal with couple dances, but now he’s grabbing Seb’s hand more than is socially appropriate, brushing his waist. Seb thought he had just been an awkward dancer before, someone doing it just because it had to be done. But now he can see Fernando’s passion, his genuine enjoyment. They don’t talk, they just dance the night away, pretending to be two strangers enamored with each other.

I like when they can have these moments where they’re in their own little bubble. Where Fernando doesn’t feel the need to hide his true self away, and Seb isn’t compelled to tease him about every little thing because of it. They’re just them for once, no formality, no expectations, no spectators, no judges of character. Meanwhile everyone is watching them and is like, awww the royal couple is getting along so well!! So they leave them be. Imagine them the next morning though, not outright talking about what happened. “So, that was some ball,” says Seb, “did you find manage to find yourself some company?” Fernando replies, “yes, and he was quite a fine dancer,” and sips his tea while trying to hide his fond smile. Seb has to look away so Fernando doesn’t get spooked by how big his grin is.