#I’d put them at work but they don’t all know what a weirdo I am yet

[thresholdbb]

Extremely normal about them

[kotoku]

can i request an aventurine x stoneheart!reader whose cornerstone is citrine? lets say the both of them are close friends and one day in a meeting with the ipc one of the workers try to persuade you (citrine), to go to a date… aventurine sees this and gets jealous … then i’ll leave this to your imagination, i wanna see how creative you are!!! love your writings btw ❤️❤️

ᴘᴇʀꜱɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴄᴇ ɪꜱ ꜰᴜᴛɪʟᴇ

synopsis - You and Aventurine are close friends and have been working together for a long while from the ground up. Though Aventurine had refused to believe that he had developed feelings for you, he eventually accepted them within time but never took the first step. Your friendship was something that he could not gamble with after all. But when a persistent subordinate makes his attempt at courting you, he can't help but feel that ugly twist of jealousy in his stomach. He had to get to you first.

pairings - aventurine x stoneheart! reader

content - pining, drunk! aventurine, drunken confessions, jealous! aventurine, citrine! reader, reader is done with the subordinates shit

warnings - alcohol, a couple cuss words, mentions of vomiting

⋘ ʟᴏᴀᴅɪɴɢ... ⋙

“You know… A girl like you and a guy like me would make a great pair, don’t you think?” 

Your eye twitched in irritation, the polite smile you tried so hard to keep on your face faltering with each sentence this guy was spouting. The guy in question? Just a random subordinate who was flying a little too close to the sun. 

Diamond had requested a meeting amongst the Ten Stonehearts, so you were only making your wave over to the meeting room before being stopped by someone calling out your name. Thus putting you in the position you were currently in. 

“Er… I- sorry, I have urgent matters to attend to. If you could excuse me…” You tried stepping around the man but he reached out towards your wrist, stopping you in your tracks. 

“Hey hey, what could be so important that you’d have to skip out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” The man smugly smirked, a shiver of disgust running down your spine.

“You must not be aware of who I am.” You yanked your wrist back from his hold. “If you’d like to maintain your position here, I’d suggest you scram and get back to work.” You dropped the polite attitude, not tolerating his persistent behavior in trying to score a date with you. You didn’t have time for this nonsense.

“Huh?? B–” Before he could utter another word, you had already resumed walking in the direction of the meeting room. Thankfully, the man made no attempt at following you so you allowed yourself to relax a bit, shoulders falling. 

“You handled that pretty well, Citrine.” A smooth voice spoke, your head turning to face the source.

“Ah Aventurine, you saw all that?” You sighed, combing a hand through your hair. 

“Mmm, hard to miss when it’s happening out in the open. In the middle of the hallway, no less.” He chuckled, matching your pace as the two of you walked towards the meeting. “You should’ve seen the guy's face, he was absolutely dumbfounded.” You laughed at that, imagining the weirdo’s expression. 

“Good, he needed a reality check.”

You both laughed.

It wasn’t long before the both of you reached the designated meeting area, confirming your identities before stepping inside. Most of the Stonehearts were already in their seats, waiting on those who were making their way over. Immediately, you saw Topaz talking with Jade, seemingly discussing business matters as they both held serious expressions. You and Aventurine had started walking towards them, both of them noticing your presence and giving you a small greeting.

“Citrine! How have you been? I haven’t seen you around lately.” Topaz smiled, concluding the conversation she was having with Jade. 

“Mm, could be better. The last assignment I received was a lot harder than expected,” You answered, taking a seat next to her. “What about you? I heard about what happened on Jarilo-VI.”

At the mention of her previous assignment, she grimaced with a frown replacing her smile. “Ah… We don’t talk about that… Other than my demotion, I’ve been doing fine. There was a new game that came out recently so I’ve been playing it since.” You hummed, crossing your arms over the table. 

“Aetherium Wars? I keep hearing all my subordinates talking about it.” Aventurine spoke, mimicking your actions. “Speaking of subordinates, I’m sure Citrine has an interesting story to tell you both.” He poked your shoulder with his finger, a sly smile on his face. 

Rolling your eyes, you recounted the earlier event to Jade and Topaz, the four of you gossiping about that specific worker. 

“Oh, him? I’ve been hearing a lot about him from some of my female subordinates.” Jade rested her head on the palm of her hand. “Apparently he’s been trying to coax women into sleeping with him. Management isn’t able to do anything about him as these are only rumors.” She sighed disappointedly, “It’s best you avoid him, Citrine and Topaz.”

You made a mental note of Jade’s words, Diamond’s authoritative tone garnering everyone’s attention. You sincerely hoped that you wouldn’t run into him again. 

-----

Walking out of the meeting room, you stretched your arms above your head with a groan. It took forever for it to conclude, but when it did, you were excited to go back home and rest. The meeting had gone over the previous assignments each Stoneheart worked on, recounting specific details from reports and such. However, what stood out to you was the dinner that Diamond invited everyone to take part in, acting as some sort of team bonding experience. 

“Excited for the dinner party tomorrow, Citrine?” Aventurine hummed, the two of you walking down the hallway to head back home. 

“Kinda, I’m excited for the food.” You weren’t really much of a drinker, always the token sober friend at parties who made sure everyone was safe and having a good time. “You think you’re gonna get drunk?”

Aventurine laughed. “We’ll see how I’m feeling about drinks tomorrow night. If anything, you’ll take care of me, right?” He batted his eyelashes at you with an innocent look in his eyes.

Rolling your eyes, you playfully punched his shoulder. “We’ll see. I might just leave you out on the streets if you’re not careful with your words.” Aventurine pouted at you, sighing dramatically.

“And here I thought we were best friends. You wound me, Citrine.” 

“Oh shut it, Aven.”

-----

The next day, you went about your normal routine. Reluctantly leaving the comfort of your sheets to work on copious amounts of paperwork in your office, spending your lunch break with your fellow Stonehearts Aventurine and Topaz, continuing where you left off, and then clocking out for the day. If it weren’t for Aventurine reminding you of the dinner party that would be happening later, you would’ve forgotten and gone straight to bed. So instead of changing into your pajamas, you dressed appropriately for the occasion, making sure you had everything on you before driving off to the meeting point. 

After parking your vehicle and making sure that it was locked, you walked up to the front of the restaurant, seeing your coworkers already gathered near the doors. Aventurine paused his conversation with Topaz, waving you over with a smile. 

“Citrine! You actually showed up.” Topaz grinned. “I thought you would’ve been too tired to come.” 

“Well, someone needs to keep everyone in check, especially this one.” You teased, rustling Aventurine’s blond hair. He swatted your hands away, huffing in annoyance as he tried fixing up his hair.

“Excuse me, I think I’d be just fine without your supervision.” Fixing his bangs, he shot you a playful glare. “You on the other hand… You probably couldn’t hold your liquor even if you tried.”

“Even if I couldn’t, at least I don’t continue to participate in drinking competitions only to end up throwing up all over myself.” You recalled the last time Aventurine drank too much he could hold. The poor guy had ended up puking all over his clothes and the smell could never be washed out. 

“Wha– Shut up about that will you!” Aventurine elbowed you, eyes darting around the area to make sure no one heard that part of the conversation. Topaz laughed at the memory.

“Goodness, the smell was horrendous! You should’ve seen everyone’s faces as we passed them while escorting you back home.” Topaz snickered, covering her mouth with one hand. “I don’t think we’ll ever be able to forget that memory.”

“Shut up! Both of you!” 

-----

When everyone was accounted for, Diamond led you all inside, a worker of the restaurant holding the door open.

The interior of the restaurant gave off a sense of warmth, remaining both homey and lavish. The mahogany wooden counters went well with the beige walls, plants dotting every nook and cranny which gave the place a kind of liveliness. Placing your bag around the chair, you pulled out a seat and sat down, the cushion providing you with comfort. Aventurine and Topaz sat by your sides, eyes taking in the decorations and layout. 

Grabbing a copy of the menu, Aventurine scanned through the various meals and desserts they had to offer, flipping to the alcohol section with a grin. “Citrine, you’ll take care of me in case anything happens..right?” He turned his head towards you, his grin growing wider at your deadpan expression. 

“Duh–” “I knew I could rely on you!” 

Aventurine wrapped an arm around your shoulder, his free hand clutching at his heart. What a drama queen, you thought, letting him side-hug you. You could smell the faint scent of his cologne, a rich but light aroma that held a hint of vanilla. Realizing how close he was to you, you felt your cheeks heat up, nudging him away as you gave him a lopsided smile. 

“Don’t drink more than you can handle, Aven.” “I won’t, I won’t.” 

The dinner, so far, has been going smoothly. The atmosphere was lively and everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time together, sharing drinks and laughs, chatting about the latest trends and events, etc… You were talking with some of your fellow peers before you felt the urge to use the restroom. Excusing yourself from the conversation with a polite smile, you quickly hurried in the direction towards the restroom. 

Aventurine, who had been glancing in your direction every couple of minutes, noticed your retreating form. At first, he was a little concerned due to the slight jog you were doing, but paid you no mind as he resumed listening to a coworker talk about his last assignment. 

Yet..something had caught his eye, a familiar man who was sitting at the bar had gotten up from his seat and went in the same direction as you.

Despite him feeling a little tipsy, he knew his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him just yet. It was that subordinate from earlier. The weirdo who had stopped you and started hitting on you, ignoring your attempts at turning him down. What was he doing here? 

Aventurine’s eyes narrowed, barely listening to his coworker at this point. He would never admit it to your face, but when he first witnessed the man trying to shoot his shot with you, he was ready to drag and throw him out to the curb, wanting to give the man hell for his unwavering persistence. His actions disgusted him, his stomach twisting and turning with deep rage when he placed his dirty hands on you. 

Yet you handled the situation well, remaining both calm and professional, something that was undeserving for a man such as him. And though Aventurine would be sure to teach him some manners, he could not, for the meeting would start soon and he needed to hurry. So giving the man a silent glare, he promised himself to never let you come across that man again. Yet here he was, walking towards the restrooms. 

Aventurine already accepted his feelings for you, yet he was too hesitant to make the first move. How ironic since he’s the one who usually flirts with you and teases you every day. The best he could do was give you a myriad of things, from expensive clothes and jewelry to simple trinkets. He knew what you liked, you were his close friend after all. Despite his yearning for something more, he didn’t want to risk the chance of losing you. It’s something he could never gamble with.

“--turine? Aventurine?” A finger snapped in front of his face, bringing his attention back to his coworker in front of him. “Are you feeling alright?” 

“Oh- uh, yeah! I’m fine, just had a little too much to drink…” Aventurine muttered, eyes darting back towards the restrooms every couple of seconds. “I..need to go to the restroom. I’ll be right back.” Downing the rest of his cocktail, he stood up from his seat, the chair sliding back with a creak. 

Nearing where the restrooms were located, Aventurine could hear the familiar sound of your voice and a man’s. 

“Must I remind you that I am not interested?--” 

“Come on! Just give me a chance! I know a lovely spot where we could..get down to business.” Hearing those words made you gag, shoving the man away from you to gain some distance. 

“A chance? How about I give you a chance to get the hell out of here before I do it myself.”

“There’s no need for the feisty attitude! Let me buy you one drink, I’ll make it worth your time–”

“I think you’ve heard loud and clear that they don’t want anything to deal with you.” 

Both you and the man’s head snapped towards the direction in which the voice came from. It was Aventurine, with his eyebrows furrowed and mouth twisted into a disgusted frown. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, magenta-cyan eyes burning holes through the man’s head. If looks could kill, that man would’ve been deader than dead. 

“Tch- who are you?” The man snobbily asked, attempting to stand his ground. Aventurine laughed, walking over towards the both of you. You could feel the anger seeping from his being, permeating the air with a thick tension that anyone could suffocate in. 

He was more than angry, enraged.

“I think the better question is: who do you think you are? Approaching members of the Stonehearts so casually and treating them like an item.” Aventurine towered over the man, the pressure weighing him to his spot. “Learn to respect your superiors, subordinate.” 

You could visibly see the color draining from the man’s face when Aventurine showed his ID as proof, tucking it away into his pocket. 

“You know, you’re quite lucky you’ve made it this far without getting fired.” Aventurine adjusted his coat. “But I’m afraid your luck has come to an end, I’ll be changing that.” Lowering his gaze to be eye-to-eye with the man, he gave him a condescending smile, “You’ll be fired, and that starts tomorrow.” Leaning back into his full height, Aventurine walked past him towards you, grabbing your hand and leading you away from the man who had not yet registered the blond’s words.

“F-fired…?” His voice was drowned out by the chattering of people and workers as the two of you got farther and farther away from him.

“Phew, now that that’s settled with… How about we have some fun?” Aventurine gave you a genuine grin this time, his personality taking a huge turn. Blinking at him, you were still registering everything that had happened. 

“Aventurine…”

“C’mon Citrine, the night won’t last forever!”

You stared at him before sighing, a drink could help after all that had just happened. 

“Fine… But I need to talk to you about something later.” His grin faltered but came back just as fast.

“Sure. Now here, I think this drink is something you’ll definitely enjoy.”

-----

As you promised yourself, you only drank what you could handle so you wouldn’t get flat-out drunk. And as Aventurine didn’t promise, he was flat-out drunk. 

The dinner had ended a couple of minutes ago and you were saying goodbye to the rest of your peers, parting ways while lugging a drunk Aventurine behind you. 

“Ugh Aventurine, how much did you drink?” Your nose wrinkled as you could smell the strong scent of alcohol radiating from him. He definitely needed to take a shower as soon as he got home. But there was a problem, a tiny issue.

He didn’t have anyone but himself at home so there was no way you could leave him alone lest he hurt himself. 

“Heh, one too many…” Aventurine giggled, dragging his foot behind him. You shook your head with a small grin on your face. “Clearly.”

Aventurine had originally hitched a ride with Topaz, so there was no issue about leaving a car behind. She had offered to take him home but you felt that it was your responsibility since you’ve been close friends for a while. So with one final goodbye and hug, she left, leaving you with a drunk gambler in an almost barren parking lot. Nothing could go wrong, right?

Opening the passenger door, you helped Aventurine buckle himself up, moving his legs so they wouldn’t get hit by the door closing. After getting in yourself, you made sure everything was cleared before leaving the parking space and heading to Aventurine’s place. 

Occasionally, you would glance in his direction whenever you were at a stop light, making sure that he was ok before looking back at the road. He seemed to be dozing off here and there, body jolting back awake every time he found himself leaning forward. You found it a little silly but decided not to say anything about it.

At last, you could see his house in the distance. 

Putting your vehicle in park, you carefully helped him out of the passenger’s seat and closed the door with your leg. Walking up the steps to his front door, you could hear the faint sounds of his pets from the other side. There was a ‘mrow’ at the door, soft scratching noises coming from behind it. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” You smiled, turning towards Aventurine. “Do you have the keys?”

“Mm coat pocket…” He grunted, leaning on you for support as he fished out his keys. It took a couple of tries but eventually, you were able to unlock the door, pushing it open with your foot. 

Three gray cats greeted you at the front, looking up at the both of you with wide eyes. They happily followed you as you made your way to the living room couch, setting him down so you could take off your shoes. 

“You think you can shower by yourself?” You asked, placing your shoes in a small cubby. Aventurine gave you a small nod, swaying side to side as he walked towards his bedroom. You watched him for just a moment to make sure he didn’t trip, but with the help of his pets, he was able to safely make it to the bedroom and to his personal bathroom. 

With a sigh, you walked towards one of the guest rooms to go find some clothes. You normally left a couple of your clothes in one of his guest rooms since you’d have occasions such as these where he was too drunk to properly care for himself. And the occasional sleepover or game night with Topaz and Ratio. 

Fishing through the dresser, you pulled out some comfortable pajamas and a towel before walking towards the main bathroom. Honestly, you were a little jealous that he had such a big place with a lot of rooms. It made your place feel much smaller.

-----

The steam from the hot bath you just took evaporated in the air when you opened the door, stepping outside with a towel around your neck. You could still hear the water running from Aventurine’s room, assuming that he was savoring the much-needed shower. You knocked on his door loud enough so that he could hear, ear pressed against the door to hear for a response. 

“Aventurine? You okay in there?” 

The shower stopped, curtains shuffling which signaled that he was getting out. “Yes, I’m.. fine.” He softly called out.

“Mm..” Backing away from the door, you left to go make him a glass of water.

Plopping down onto the sofa, you grabbed the remote to the TV and flipped through different movies before settling on one that caught your interest. Soon after, you heard the door to his bedroom open and the sounds of multiple footsteps making their way to the living room. 

“Citrine..?” 

“Here, come take a seat. I got you some water, I figured you were thirsty.” You patted the space next to you, watching as he plopped himself by your side with his pets hopping around the two of you. They had settled at the foot of the couch, seemingly interested in the movie as much as you were.

There was a brief silence between the two of you besides the sounds from the TV and occasional yawn coming from the critters. Glancing at a nearby clock, the time had read 10:37 PM, yet you didn’t feel tired. You turned your gaze back to the TV, continuing to watch whatever movie was playing. You hadn’t bothered to check the title or description. 

Aventurine moved forward to grab the glass of water, drinking quite a bit of it before turning to face you.

“..You wanted to talk about something..?” He drowsily asked. Your eyes flickered to his own before settling back on the movie. 

“I wanted to say thanks for.. what happened today. I really appreciate it.” 

Aventurine smiled softly, “What are friends for.”

You smiled back.

He looked like he wanted to say more, but bit his tongue. Would now be the time to tell you? What would he even say? Whatever he drank at the party certainly made him feel bolder than usual if he was certain of confessing to you. 

“_____…” You perked up at the sound of your name, directing your full attention towards Aventurine. Usually, when he called you by your actual name, he had something troubling him. And by observing his facial expression and body language, you knew something was bothering him.

“Is everything alright?” You turned down the volume of the TV.

“I need to tell you something,” Aventurine murmured, hands reaching to grab yours. He seemed awfully clingy, then again, he always is when he’s drunk. 

“What is it?” You interlock your hands with him, squeezing them comfortingly. “I’ll always be here to listen.”

“I—“ He took a deep breath, “—don’t want to be friends anymore.”

‘Fuckthatcameoutwrong—‘

You stared at him in stunned silence, feeling a piece of you die right then and there. What did he mean by, ‘I don’t want to be friends anymore.’? Is he finally fed up with all your shit after all these years? Did he— 

“I want to be more than just close friends, _____.”

Oh.

Oh.

That makes a lot of sense.

“Huh.” You idiot, is that all you can say? He gave you a flat expression, does he need to repeat himself? Please don’t make him say it again. 

“I—“ “No I just— sorry. I feel the same way about you, I was just in shock.” You interrupted, palms becoming slightly sweaty.  He let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank goodness. I don’t think you realize how long I’ve been holding onto that.”

“Really, when did you start feeling this way?” You were curious as to when this all started because you had liked him a while back too. Maybe if you had mustered up the courage earlier on, you would’ve been together by now.

Aventurine shrugged, “Dunno. One day you just walked in through the doors and after that, I.. felt differently towards you.” 

“But—“ he continued, “The more time I spent around you the more I started picking up on your little habits, what you loved, how you liked things done a certain way… No matter how big or small they were, I just seemed to notice it and I held onto it longer than I thought I would.” He coughed. “That was a mouthful.”

Laughing, you gave him a tight hug, soaking in his warmth. He hugged you back, clinging onto you as if you’d be gone within a blink of an eye. Oh how terrible that would be if this was a dream his hazy mind came up with… 

But you were here, breathing the same air as him and sharing your warmth with him. This was no dream like the ones he had in previous nights. He couldn’t be happier.

-----

Groaning, Aventurine slowly blinked his eyes open. His head pounded and his mouth felt full of cotton, the fuzzy memories from last night slowly seeping into his conscious mind. 

Right..last night. 

Aventurine slowly sat up, being mindful of the warmth next to him as he peered down at your slumbering form. Small puffs of air left you, chest steadily rising and falling before you shuffled in your sleep. He chuckled, moving a strand of your hair away from your face. 

Swinging his legs over to the side of the bed, he decided he would make breakfast for the both of you.

“Ugh…”

…After he took some painkillers.

⋘ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ! ⋙

[unfinishedslurs]

party king (steddie)

“You want me to what?”

“Go to a party with me,” Eddie says, looking at Steve like he’s the weirdo here. “What’s the big deal, King Steve? You’ve been to plenty of parties.”

“You know, no one actually called me that,” Steve tells him, abandoning his tapes to put his hands on his hips. “Billy started it. I think he just wanted people to call him a king.”

Eddie visibly considers this before nodding, like it makes sense. Which it does. Billy was, in Steve’s private thoughts, an egotistical maniac who needed to calm down.

May he rest in peace.

“But you’ll come to the party with me, right?”

“Give it up, Eddie,” Robin calls from where she’s rewinding tapes. “Steve hasn’t been to a party in forever. He’s basically a grandpa now.”

“Hey!” Steve objects. That’s rich, coming from her. Going to bed at nine some nights so he gets a few more hours of sleep before waking up in a cold sweat does not make him a grandpa. It just makes him traumatized  

“Steeeeeeeve,” Eddie whines, widening his eyes until it looks like they’re going to pop out of his sockets. His exaggerated pout isn't going to do him any favors either. No matter what the kids say behind his back (looking at you, Henderson) he isn't a pushover.

“Why would I want to go to a high school party?” He crosses his arms, leaning against the counter. “I graduated. I have better things to do with my time.”

“Like lose arcade games to freshmen?” Robin asks. He flips her the bird.

“Please, Steve?” Eddie asks. “Pretty please? Pretty pretty please, with cherries and whipped cream and six little nuggets on top?”

“What the hell are you even saying anymore?”

“You want him to eat his babies?” Robin shrieks. “Like Kronos? Is one of them going to cut off his head and free the rest?”

Eddie’s eyes light up, and Steve slaps a hand over his mouth. He doesn’t know who that guy is, and he doesn’t want to deal with the two of them chattering over whatever movie villain he’s assuming is in their weird cult classic films when he still doesn’t know why Eddie is asking him to this party.

He doesn’t even flinch when Eddie licks his hand.

“I’ve been slobbered on by actual monsters,” he says flatly. “Your spit has zero effect on me.”

Eddie bats his eyes and gives his palm a kiss, right where he’d laved his tongue. Steve rolls his eyes and wipes his hand on the side of Eddie’s face.

“Hey!”

“Don’t dish what you can’t take,” Steve says. “Now, why exactly am I getting asked to go to a high school party?”

“Jessica Roberts needs some kush, and she asked me to sell there.”

“Okay? Still not answering my question.”

“There’s gonna be jocks at the party,” Eddie finally confesses, “and I don’t know if they’ll try shit. But given my track record lately…”

“So you need a bodyguard?”

“Hey!” Steve shouts, and is summarily ignored by everyone. So he does what any normal person would do, and slams an abandoned beer bottle against the edge of the counter so it shatters. 

The jocks turn and look at him after that.

Steve glances down at the jagged edges of the bottle in his hands, flipping it like it’s his old ice cream scoop. Yeah, this should work. 

“Leave him alone,” he says, steely inflection to his voice. 

“Or what, Harrington?” One of them asks. “Heard you just been sittin’ in this room all night. What, you hanging around the queers now? Didn’t take you for a f-”

He stops talking when Steve grabs him by the hair and presses the broken bottle against his throat.

“Here’s what's gonna happen,” he says quietly, taking a look at his buddy. He’s let go of Eddie, a lot more spooked now that his friend is shaking in his Nike’s. “You’re going to leave this room. You’re going to leave Munson here alone. You’re not going to bother him, or anyone else in his dragon club ever again. If I hear that you or your little friends are fucking with him, I have a very nice nail-studded baseball bat in my trunk I’d be more than happy to introduce you to. Capisce?”

“Woah, woah, woah,” the guy that was holding Eddie says. “What the hell, Harrington?”

Steve doesn’t break eye contact with the guy he’s threatening. “Capisce?” He asks again, putting a little more force into the word.

“C-capisce.”

“Good,” he says, shoving him away. “Now get outta here.”

They scramble away. Steve walks over to the trash can and throws away the remains of the bottle, running a hand through his hair. He finally turns around to see Eddie staring at him with wide eyes, frozen.

“Sorry-”

“Fuck me.”

“What?”

Eddie’s entire face flushes, like he didn’t mean to say that. “Uh.”

Steve looks at him, and then around the kitchen they’re in. Glass and beer on the floor, music blasting loud enough to set him on edge, a crowd of people that look at him like a zoo exhibit. Fuck, his head hurts. 

“Yeah, okay,” he decides. “We’re going to mine, though.”

“Wh-what?” Eddie looks like a deer in headlights, even though Steve’s offering exactly what he asked. 

“I…have no idea what I’m doing,” Eddie confesses. 

“Oh, are you not…” He trails off, gesturing towards Eddie’s back pocket. “I assumed…”

Eddie laughs abruptly, slapping a hand over his mouth like he startled himself with it. “You know hanky code, Harrington?”

“Can you call me Steve when you’re in my bed?” He’s already got his shirt off, for God’s sake. “Listen, man, if you don’t want this, it’s no biggie.” He starts to get off, and Eddie’s hand clamps over his thigh. 

“No, no, no, don’t you dare. Just gimme a minute, I’m processing.”

“Processing,” he repeats flatly. 

“Yes, processing. I’ve got the guy of my extremely virginal wet dreams shirtless on top of me. I did not think this would ever happen. I didn’t even know you were queer until tonight.”

Steve’s mouth shapes into an “o” of understanding. “You’re a virgin?”

“Jesus, could you focus on anything else I said?”

“You dream about me?”

“Let’s go back to the virgin part.” His fingers start nervously tapping against Steve’s leg. 

“You’re not subtle,” Steve says flatly. “I know when you stare at my ass.”

Eddie colors in a flood of bright red. “What if I wasn’t? What if I was…uh, jealous or something?”

“I guess that’d make sense, since you’re flat as a board.”

“Wh—hey!”

[strniohoeee]

chris painting readers nails

Messy

Pairing: Chris Sturniolo X Female Reader

Synopsis: Chris decides to paint Y/N’s nails, but he does a terrible job at it causing them to laugh about it, and enjoy each others company💙

Warnings⚠️: None, like one crude joke but not really loll. It’s just a short imagine because I wasn’t sure how to make it long and interesting🥺

Song for the imagine: Butterflies- Queen Naija

And I just wanna hold you all night long

Whenever I'm around you, nothing's wrong

I'm hoping that you'll always be around

You got me on a high, I don't wanna come down

“CHRISTOPHER Owen…what are you doing” I yelled at Chris

“I am painting your nails” he said in a matter of fact way

“You’re making it messy dude” I said shaking my head

“You act like I do this shit everyday. Obviously it’s going to be messy” he said giving me a dirty look

“Paint the fucking nail idiot” I said smacking him with my other hand

“I am painting the fucking nail” he said pointing at my hand

“You’re painting 90% skin and 10% nail” I said laughing

“This shit is hard, and your nail beds are short” he said rolling his eyes

“Hey don’t come for my nail beds because you’re a shitty nail tech” I said sucking my teeth

“I clean the edges once I’m done” he said going back to painting my ring finger

“I like this color too” he said looking at the bottle

“It’s my favorite, it’s called ocean oasis” I said

“Good name for a blue color” he said

“I agree” I said

Chris painted my other hand and did a little bit of a better job.

“You’re so lucky I’m madly in love with you because these look awful” I replied laughing

“Hey be nice….” He said closing the nail polish bottle

“I painted yours so nicely” I said looking at his nails that are the same shade as mine

“Well you always paint your nails, so you have an advantage there” he said ruffling my hair

“Okay that’s true” I said nodding my head

“Now we have matching nails” he said clapping his hands together like a happy child

“More like matching skin…dude you have to clean this before it dries fully” I said looking at him

“Ughh fine” he said sitting back down

Chris gently cleaned my stained skin to perfect his work, and actually his paint job wasn’t terrible.

“See after you clean it, it’s not so bad” he said throwing the cotton balls out

“Yeah not terrible” I said looking at my nails

“I couldn’t be a nail tech though” he said looking at them and laughing

“Yeah no you’d be awful, but hey it’s the thought that counts” I said giving him a smile

“Thanks for the support babe” he said planting a kiss on my lips

“Of course my love” I said blowing on my nails to let them dry

“Want to do my toes” I said wiggling my brows

“Fuck no do not put your feet next to me” he said smacking my legs away

“You don’t act that way when you suck on my toes in bed” I said giggling

“I have never sucked your toes in bed you weirdo” he replied laughing

“I know” I said looking down with a sad face

“Change the face” he said squeezing my leg

“Maybe if you give me a pedicure you’d want to suck my toes” I said sighing

“What is wrong with you kid. I’m not sucking no toes” he said laughing

“If you got a pedicure I’d suck your toes” I said rolling my eyes

“Yeah right” he said laughing

“I’d consider it” I said rubbing my chin like I was thinking

“The day you suck my toes will be the day I give you a pedicure and return the favor” he said to me laughing

“Mm I’ll be looking forward to it” I said wiggling my brows

“You’re so interesting” he said squinting his eyes at me

“I love you too” I said leaning over and kissing him

“I love your weird ass” he said kissing me again

Chris was such a cutie, and these innocent interactions made me fall in love with him more.

The End

I know this was super short, but I wasn’t sure what else to write for this. I hope you guys enjoyed it though! This was my last request. I can’t believe I wrote five stories today LMAOOO. Time to work on my Matt story tomorrow🤭🤭LOVE YALLLL🥹🖤🖤

-J💅🏽

[zabala0z]

I’m very scared to watch the next episodes. Anyways hi, it’s me, your friendly neighborhood host. I got a lot of thoughts and I’m dying here 😭

MAG 72: Takeaway

Another meat thing oh god. Like I physically grimaced when Goodall had his Achilles heel cut like genuinely that’s one of my fears. Also another direct connection to like Christianity and meat. Or like kinda because in Rations I think, that guy made a prayer that was originally a Christian prayer I believe but altered it to put meat in. ALSO, Haan killed his wife but apparently she had self-inflicted wounds as well. I’m thinking this is maybe cult or some kind of like sacrificial thing going on. Maybe the wife wanted to die.

We also have Haans nephew who appeared in “Killing Floor”. He had his own meat sort of story. Guess it runs in the family 💀

MAG 73: Police Lights

I feel like Maxwell Rayner is not dead simply because it’s not the most implausible thing considering Michael Crew pops up in a couple episodes after jumping out a window. But who knows maybe Rayner is truly gone (I am betting not) also Natalie was there which definitely made me feel a little sad. I always feel a lot in terms of cults. I’m trying to figure out what Rayner and like the cult was planning on doing to the kid. Maybe kill him? But I feel like that’s too basic, they were probably doing something else. The fog seemed to hurt when it hit that one police guy like it burned him. Came out of that dusty old man’s mouth after all.

Also Basira quitting? Queen shit. I cannot blame her.

MAG 74: Fatigue

Oh yeah this is good. Something about the disjointed events really adds to the sleep deprived perspective I love it. Also MICHAEL. What is Michael I swear to god. Every appearance of this weirdo makes me more and more confused. What does he get out of this? Is it just for fun? He didn’t seem to benefit at all, like he even told Lydia she looked terrible 💀

It was said he was making spirals out of grass blades. What is with this creature and spirals, like that corridor was trippy too. I’m wondering if spirals are fractals. Lydia was drawing them for some reason. Similar to Evo’s dad in Burned Out.

And I KNEW Sasha was going through the tunnels. Like duh. I think she was the one who screwed up the quality because multiple times have electronics have been screwed around like tape recorder and the computer. I have no idea who that man is though.

MAG 75: A Long Way Down

This statement takes place after Michael jumps out the window. I guess he changed a lot. And he got some drip because why is he wearing a full suit?? I can’t tell if he actually contributed to Grants disappearance because maybe he was doing something else y’all 😭 (I’m in denial.) I am wondering what his little spell did back in Literary Heights. Did he like- bind himself with the lightning thing? I don’t know how that would work. He did say “I am yours” so did he like..sell his soul. That’s what I’m thinking.

Feeling really bad for grant. I don’t have a major fear of heights but the way the situation is described, I’d develop one.

MAG 76: The Smell of Blood

Wooo Melanie King! First time a character gave two statements which is cool. I’m wondering what kind of meme she ended up. Someone draw that.

Not much to say about this episode but oh my god I’m so happy someone noticed Sasha. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. I miss Sasha dude 😭

One thing I’m curious about is like…what is going to be the ending. Because right now, the institute, or technically Jon, has so many probable enemies right now. Like you got the Church of yada yada, the circus, Fake Sasha, all those diseased people, Michael, the Lukas family, etc. Who is going to drop the other shoe? Because right now, they all have the other shoe istg.

[hannahssimblr]

Epilogue (Final Part)

It’s hours later and we’re still talking. The DJ arrives around ten and cracks the speakers up to ear-ringing heights so we exit to the lobby and stand by the window as the snow falls and the lights from the ten foot Christmas tree twinkle on the glass. 

“No, no, stop, I can’t take it anymore,” He shrieks in agony as he grabs my arm, “He said that when he was inside you?”

“Yes! I didn’t know what to say back, like, um, thanks pal?”

“‘You’re so Alpha’” He repeats, deadpan, but his shoulders betray him when they start wobbling again, “‘and I’m just a little-”

“Beta boy, yes. Oh Evie, you intimidate me so much, I’ve always wanted to fuck a girl who scared me.”

“I’m going to die because of this story,” He cries, “I refuse to believe that men like this exist, it’s just too much.”

“There was this other lad too,” I begin, “Not as bad, but he got a nosebleed halfway through and it was dripping all over my face for like fifteen minutes before either of us noticed.”

“No!”

“Yeah, God, I feel bad, I think he was on some blood thinning medication or something but like…” We fall about laughing again, laughing and laughing until I think I’ll start gagging. I remember thinking during that experience that there was only one other person in the world who would find it as hilarious as I did, and as we splutter and cackle now at my retelling I remember how it used to be like this all of the time with us. I think about the time we lost through staying out of touch as he wipes his eyes and stumbles to the side a little bit, from laughing or from drinking a little too much, I’m not sure.

“Women are not like that,” he says, “I’m sorry for you, but they’re not, even the crazy LA ones don’t put me in situations like that.” He steadies himself a little by bracing his arm on the wall, so close that I could count his eyelashes if I wanted to. “I just don’t get it, do you think they get nervous?”

“Nervous around me? I doubt it. Sure what’s there to be nervous of?”

“It’s a lot of pressure, you know, making love to a beautiful woman for the first time. There’s a lot on the line, the chances of humiliation are high, maybe, I don’t know, maybe that guy just blurted the first weird thing that came into his head-” He breaks off because a high pitched laugh has exploded out of him again, “But it’s a flex to say that you’re so hot that you give men nosebleeds.”

“Oh come on, you’re exaggerating.”

“No, for real. Don’t you remember how nervous you made me when we were young? I turned into a total idiot around you.”

“Hardly.”

“It’s true. You were like this stunning princess and I was just some guy.”

I scoff, “Some guy?”

“Yeah, and it’s nice to see that some things never change because you’re still so beautiful and I’m still just a random man off the street.”

“Hmm, c’mon, you’re just schmoozing me,” I say, “Is this the way you all sweet-talk each other in Los Angeles? That’s not going to work. Irish girls are too humble to accept that.”

“Have I made you self-conscious?”

“No, I’m just wondering if you’re actually trying to flirt with me now or if you’re just trying to make me feel better about the fact that I’m thirty and my body is slowly ageing and rotting away.”

“Don’t say that, you look better than ever.”

I narrow my eyes, “I’m so curious about your game.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yeah, how you approach women, how you flirt with them now. What’s your technique? Is it intense flattery?”

He scoffs, “Oh, no, come on, I don’t have a technique, I don’t think about it like that.”

“No?”

“What do you think I am? Some kind of weirdo pick-up artist? No. I… I improvise, it depends on so much, like, where I am, who she is, what I feel like I’m hoping to get from the situation…”

“Okay okay, right. Well what if you were at an event with friends. Say, a wedding…”

He smirks at me.

“…and you see a woman standing on her own by the bar, and you know, she’s pretty mysterious in quite a sexy way, and you’re looking at her and thinking, hmm, yeah, maybe I’d like a piece of that-”

“You think that’s my inner monologue?” He interrupts, “That I think like that?”

“No, shh- shut up for a second, in this scenario you do. And you’re going to go over and talk to her, and you see the perfect opportunity to do it, and the lights from the dancefloor are shining in her hair, and oh, she looks so lonely over there, someone should go and keep her company…’

“I’d say hi, you’re very pretty, can I kiss you please?”

“Really?”

“Yeah t-”

He doesn’t finish because I have grabbed him by the lapels and pressed my lips against his. Maybe it’s for the joke, or because I’m slightly drunk, or maybe it’s to see if it still feels the way that it used to, I don’t know. I don’t really think about it, it’s just happening. 

“Oh look, it worked!” I say as we pull away, and I don’t really have a chance to try and read his face to see what he thinks about it because he takes a step towards me and kisses me again, though differently to how I kissed him, gentler, slower, with my head cradled in his hands, which is inconvenient because he makes my insides start flip flopping around. I draw back laughing, “What are you at?”

“We’re kissing now,” he confirms, then frowns, “I think. Aren’t we kissing? Or is this a hallucination?”

“Jude…”

“Don’t you want us to be kissing?”

“Well it’s not that, it’s-”

“Ah, you think it’s dangerous to be kissing.”

“If you keep saying ‘kissing’ it’s going to lose all meaning.”

“What did we call it when we were teenagers? Shiftin’ right? Will you shift me, Evie?”

“Oh my God,” I hold my hand up to his face, “it is illegal for you to put on an accent and say that. I hate that you can still do that.”

“My Irish voice?” he says in his Irish voice. 

“Please get that away from me!”

“Sorry about that,” he settles back into his American drawl, and I jerk with surprise as I feel the tips of his fingers graze my waist, “Also, I’m sorry that I kissed you, I thought we were, you know, doing that now.”

“It was a joke… And maybe just a little bit so that I could see if it still felt the same as it used to.”

His eyes tour my face, “Did it?”

“Did it for you?”

The corners of his mouth tick up, “I don’t know, it’s been a long time since I’ve kissed you, and honestly I didn’t get a decent sample, mind if I try it again?”

“Aha! I’ve figured out your game,” I declare, “You put on that silly act you’ve always put on, don’t you?”

He hooks his finger into the strap of my dress before it drops off my shoulder, “Hm? What act is that?”

“Your favourite one. ‘Oh, little old me? I’m so innocent, why I’ve never even held hands before, and I certainly haven’t fucked half of Dublin city. I don’t even know what sex is.’”

He gasps with delight and stares right into my face, “You’re still obsessed!” He cries, “and you haven’t stopped wondering about me!”

“About what, exactly?”

“My body count! After all these years it still tortures you. You’re so shallow…”

“Oh please, I couldn’t care less.”

“Evie,” He says mock-scoldingly, really drawing out the syllables, “I can’t believe it. I told you back then that it didn’t matter, that I didn’t have to tell you if I didn’t want to, but you’ve never let it go to this day. Wow. Wow.”

“I don’t even want to know,” I sniff, “It’s meaningless information to me now.”

“Well since you don’t care and it has no power over you anymore, maybe you finally ought to know…” He glances quickly around the empty lobby before his eyes slide back to mine and he whispers, “that you were the seventh.”

“The seventh?”

“Is that a good-surprise or bad-surprise?”

“Well I thought it’d be so many more.”

He shrugs, “No, I mean there was the first girl in the playground, then a girl who worked in the tennis club at the beach, a girl from my maths class at school, Michelle, someone from my university, Astrid, and then you-” He pauses, “Wait, there was another one. You were eighth. Seventh and a half.”

“And a half? Who did you forget? A centaur?”

He shakes his head, “There was an awkward foursome situation in Berlin once. It’s a long story, really stupid. I’ll tell you about it later.”

“Well I’ve never been more curious.”

“I’m a source of a lot of interesting info.”

“Like your current body count?” I tease.

“Oh, now I’m ran-through.”

“Tell me more about your life.”

“We just don’t have the time tonight.”

“What, not now?” I protest, “Not in this perfectly perfect situation when we’re both a little drunk and potentially snowed in for days, when there’s nothing to do but talk to each other?”

“No, see you’ve changed the subject, you’ve got me messed up. I…” He laughs tipsily and sways a little bit closer to me, through accident or otherwise I’m not sure, “…I was thinking about how much I might like to kiss you for a little longer this time, just to see if you still give me that same crazy feeling that I used to get with you, and you distracted me.”

I act like it’s a burden to me and slump back against the wall, “Fine, go ahead.”

“Oh jeez, no need to beg me, you know it’s off putting to be so eager?”

“Please?”

He comes in close and pecks my lips gently and even that makes my knees start to wobble. “No, come on, give me a proper kiss, that’s the only way we’ll know.”

“Still so demanding,” He tilts my chin towards him and angles his mouth over mine while his hands skim up my back and hold my body flush to his.  As he strokes his lips over mine I can’t help but curse inwardly because of course this is happening to me, of course it feels like everything I’ve been searching for in the years between then and now, everything I couldn’t find in other people. These are the kinds of kisses that ruined me for other men for years to follow, and he’s ruining me now. 

He glides his tongue along my lower lip and builds this kiss to the kind of intensity that shouldn’t be displayed in a public lobby, but he doesn’t care so neither do I. He kisses me until I’m soft and formless in his arms, until I forget the years in between then and now, and then he finally slows it, brushing his lips against mine and then gently drawing away and I find myself following his mouth in search of more, “The same?” He murmurs with his forehead against mine, “Or terrible?”

His hand cradles the back of my head as I sigh and bury my face in his shoulder, “What are we going to do, Jude?”

“You’re going to have to try not to be awkward about it because we might be snowed in for several days.” He says, “If you’ve decided I’m crusty and repulsive, you’re going to have to hide it from me to spare my ego. Either that or I’ll camp out in my room out of humiliation and get my sister to bring my meals to me until I can get the earliest flight to LAX.”

I pause, “so you’re sharing with your sister?”

“Yeah we booked late, so a twin room was all they had left. And she snores like hell.”

“Well that’s a pity because I booked months ago, and got a huge room all to myself. A four poster bed and a big gorgeous bath.”

“Are you bringing that up to make me jealous or is that an invitation?”

I scoff, “an invitation to what, exactly?”

“Come up and fuck you in the bath or something, I don’t know. Why would you bring the bath into it?”

“That’d be fairly shameless of me, wouldn’t it, if that’s what I was alluding to.”

“Is that the kind of woman you’ve become? The kind that invites strange men into her bath?”

“God no, I’d never directly ask that, that’d be very slutty.”

He brushes his fingers gently along the side of my neck, which is unfair because he knows how much I like that, and as I feel that touch all the way down to my toes he gives me a sly little smile and draws back to look at me, “I don’t know, you’ve really talked up this bath and you’ve got me curious. Will you show it to me?”

“You’ve always been so cheeky, did you know that? You ask audacious things of people.”

“Me? Never. That’s just not me, you must be thinking of somebody else. Of one of your other ex-boyfriends.” He grins and saunters casually toward the stairs, glancing over his shoulder at me as he goes, “I actually just remembered that I spilled something on my suit.”

“Did you.”

“Mm, I’m a total mess, I might be drunker than I look. I think I better go and take it off.”

“Doesn’t suit you anyway. You were always better in shorts.”

He pauses for a moment and regards me with one raised eyebrow, a question, and I don’t care that I’m predictable to him, that he already knows I will push myself away from the wall and catch up to him, “Actually you have the right idea, my dress is uncomfortable. I want to change out of it, only I’m not sure I can manage the zip on my own.”

“Oh, I can help you with that,” he says, “Or at least I can try, you know, but fair warning I haven’t ever undressed a woman before.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” I smile, as I wind my fingers through his. 

THE END

Beginning // Prev

[machinesonix]

Gang, I love the Harkonnens. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t endorse the Harknonnens, but there is something really refreshing about unsanitized villains. They aren’t inhuman slaves to Morgoth, they aren’t seeking restitution for some sort of childhood trauma with dalmatians, they are just shitty, weird people and we get to talk about how those people think without trying to excuse it. What really made me fall in love is the sheer alien weirdness of Geidi Prime in the 1984 movie, and if you haven’t seen that I really recommend you check that out. I feel like there should be some sort of trigger warning, but I don’t really know how I’d tag it so use your best discretion. Today I want to zoom in on a Harkonnen scene towards the end of the first book that I personally would like to see in some sort of extended cut. Let’s dig in.

I’m gonna start off by reminding everyone about the most famous scene in the franchise right at the beginning. You know it. The pain box. ‘I hold at your neck the gom jabbar, it’s poison kills only animals.’ Mohaim is testing Paul’s ability to delay gratification by threatening to stab him with a poison needle if he pulls out of the pain box. We've all seen the memes. Now let's talk about Feyd.

In the book, the whole un-drugged gladiator thing was Feyd's own doing. See, Feyd's family doesn't take him very seriously. He's been chosen as the na-Baron because he's got charisma and he'll look like the savior of Arakkis after Rabban and Vladimir, but he’s a big showboater that has all his fights rigged. By conspiring with Thufir to get a real Atredies soldier into the arena with him, he is forcing his family to realize how important he is to them. If something happens to him, everything goes up in smoke. But he's also given a chance to demonstrate that he is competent (even if he's cheating with a poisoned blade and some selective brainwashing of the undrugged slave.) The seduction with Lady Fenrig happens off screen, but I think in both Herbert and Villinueve's telling of the story, both of these show us this conflict Feyd has with the pressures of his family whether they're tests from the Baron or something he does to himself in response to those pressures. Finally, and most importantly to Feyd, when the Baron executes his slavemaster for slipping up with the gladiators, the next slavemaster is on Feyd's payroll.

Years down the line the Baron finds a poison needle hidden on one of his slave boys and immediately knows what's up. Feyd is trying to claim the Baron's seat and he's been planning on it ever since He calls Feyd in to make him watch as his entire staff and harem is executed on a whim. Here's where we get the absolute juicy thematic inversion. This shit makes me salivate in a way I might want to talk with a therapist about. The Baron says ‘Feyd, you know what this whole poison needle business tells me? You don't know where your priorities are. I am working on setting up the Harkonnens for generations to come and you're so laser focused on the inheritance you haven’t put any thought into what comes next. So stop trying to kill me and let's talk about your future.’

Feyd-Rautha is, by Bene Gesserit standards, an animal. In the Villinueve film we kinda skirt around the idea by hearing he's such a weirdo that the nerve induction gets him off, but I think this scene here really helps to illustrate why Paul might be the Kwizatz Haderach and Feyd has no shot. They've both got the genetics and the ability to win over a crowd. Nobody saw it coming, but the Kwizatz Haderach's ultimate purpose is to wage the war that will literally end all wars, you'd think Feyd-Murder-For-Fun-Rautha would be a shoe-in to traumatize humanity to violence once and for all. But the fact he'd be good at it is what makes him ineligible. The Kwizatz Haderach can't be someone who thinks in the short term. If Paul didn't have the big picture in mind, he would have fled from the violent future he saw himself being responsible for. If Feyd were in his shoes, there is no way he could stop from getting lost in the sauce. Feyd orchestrated his own gom jabbar in the attempt on his uncle's life, and he failed. Even if he saw the same path to save humanity, he'd have too many opportunities to indulge his glory seeking.

[omaano]

Hello!

This is just to tell you that I am completely in love with your cross-over work between Star Wars and Hades. It’s magnificent in every way!

I hope you make more.

Bye 🙂

Hello!

Thank you so much, I’m so glad you like it! It really makes me very very happy that something that started out as a bingo prompt fill, and ever since had grown legs and run away from me also became something that so many of you love 🥰 (hello everyone in the tags of these drawings, I love you all very much!)

I’m hard at work on Anakin right now - he’s got such a pretty face, I don’t even know what to do with him 😭 so I’m taking a while (I’d naively thought that I might have him finished by Christmas, but shopping and baking took up so much time, so new years is the new self imposed deadline for him) but I will also take some time to make a list of characters I want to add to this AU (not everyone who got a little portrait icon, I cannot do that to myself), and where I could put them. But for now this mental list consists of: Cody and Obi-wan, Wolffe and Plo, Fennec, the Nite Owl trio, and Maul (because that Chaos spot was made for him, the creepy weirdo drama queen). Oh, and Luke. I have pocket Luke already, I will need to draw out his character art too, I guess XD

So. It’s only a matter of attention and time, as you can see, I am quite set with this comfort project of mine for quite a bit. I hope you all will enjoy the ride :3

[humanransome-note]

Thinking about TLOU infected biology because it’s fuck all AM and I can’t sleep.

They should all have broken/poorly healed limbs.

Like I know why they don’t, in the game and the show. (Game: because it came out in 2013 before we figured out cordyceps didn’t actually take over the brain. Show: because you can’t find and hire every appropriately hyper mobile individual on the planet)

So, the cordyceps fungus controls the necessary portions of the infected’s body for movement, and subsequent propagation. In the case of humans, this means limbs primarily, and mouth/throat secondarily.

I’d argue that in the front end of infection, you probably wouldn’t have people biting, but then again, insects infected by the cordyceps are often made to bite whatever plant they have been compelled to climb, as a more secure tether for when the fungus starts sprouting. But this is also the end of the infection, so a toss up.

Fungi mutate pretty quickly though (especially compared to vertebrates) so Tess being forced to open her mouth by the fungus at the end of the episode could easily be explained away by mutations over time, as well as where her infection began.

But! Back to broken limbs. What we know now about cordyceps, is that they do not invade and take control of the brain, they in fact do not commingle with the nervous system at all. (So I gotta go back and amend that TikTok I made cause it’s very wrong now but I doubt anyone besides me cares.)

Cordyceps invade muscle tissue, and there are actually studies trying to figure out if they can help with things like muscular atrophy and weakness because they are thought to increase the body’s production of ATP (cellular energy) in those areas. (Extremely simplified, not a biologist, just a weirdo who can’t sleep rn) Anecdotally Cordyceps can help with muscle growth and repair, immunity to some forms of cancer, and *cough* performance, in those suffering with ED.

I’m off track again! Anyway! With all this information and it being 2:15 am I have come to the sleepless conclusion that a better analogy for TLOU infected internals would be more akin to a secondary nervous system, controlled solely by the fungus.

Now, you may be asking “if it’s like two nervous systems, why can’t the person fight it?” Well I’m glad you asked that voice that feels like it belongs to a Janet.

Because the human brain is a wonderful, complex, convoluted thing. Like a pile of tapioca in a bowl of soy sauce with some sautéed batteries, piloting a mech suit made of meat.

You can break your own bones.

Theoretically.

Or actually if you’ve got the gumption or just general lack of hand eye coordination and a shitty inner ear.

But most of the time, it’s theoretically, because your brain stops you from breaking them. Your muscles, even if you don’t work out, are capable of producing enough force to tear themselves from the bone, if not just break the bone while they’re at it. Your brain, the genius that it is, goes ‘ya know what? How about I put a cap on that’ and prevents you from producing that much force.

There have been recorded instances though of “hysterical strength” where people have just lifted entire cars, torn a car door off the hinges, there was even one where a kid lifted the car off his younger brother, cracked at least three teeth from how hard he was gritting them. Think Deku’s quirk from the first few seasons of MHA. All of these people lived, all of them fractured something.

We can’t replicate it in controlled setting because the current theory for why in part that it happens has something to do with shock, and putting someone in shock is unethical. It would be cool to know how it works, sure, but I don’t see any real point for trying to figure it out.

But back to the mold, cordyceps don’t have that limiter, it wouldn’t even have a concept for something like that, it’d just go!

This also goes with another thought I had about how the infected should be either missing a lot of teeth or have chipped teeth. The human reflex is to protect our heads and faces when we fall, fungus don’t care, fungus doesn’t have teeth, fungus doesn’t even know what teeth ARE.

“The person is still conscious during all this?”

… YEP!

Unfortunately, as long as higher brain functions are still capable of functioning, then there is a non zero chance that the person is helpless and aware.

The common consensus for a person living without water is three days, without food roughly three weeks. These are generalizations but they also need to be considered when talking about the progression of the infection.

The food I sort of rigged an idea for, that being the initial fungal blooms occur in the stomach and GI tract, the fungus eats the body, the body eats the fungus. This can’t last forever, because that would be a perpetual machine and that would completely obliterate the laws of thermodynamics, but it could keep a person going, that and the body naturally breaking down fat and muscle tissue for energy.

The water is a bit trickier though, the fungus is definitely the primary receiver and source of water for the body. Humid climates would be hell for a multitude of reasons.

But these issues are also somewhat mitigated by the fact that most infected aren’t ‘actively’ hunting. More often than not they’re in a dormant state until an external stimuli brings them to attention. (Usually sound) and while humans don’t hibernate, sleeping/keeping still can have lesser but similar effects on the metabolism.

Which means patrols were probably more for bandits/raids/smugglers than for roaming infected.

Ellie’s immunity.

It does, in part, have to do with the fact her mother was infected while pregnant. No doubts about that. But genuine immunity? Like actual full on she can’t catch it? No. Because she already has it.

Asymptomatic carrier was my first (and still is) my preferred explanation for this. The electronic scanner caught it, but the dogs didn’t. Why?

Because dogs aren’t trained to sniff out the fungus itself, what they’re smelling are the body’s attempts at an immune response, which is usually fine because antibodies in this sense mean definitely infected. But since Ellie is asymptomatic, it means her body isn’t producing an immune response at all.

Could she give it to someone else? In both the game and show, no. Because she is an asymptomatic carrier, she has actually grown a mutualistic relationship with the fungus, and I’m assuming, like tomatoes, if the fungus doesn’t see a need to propagate (IE all biological needs are met) it won’t try to reproduce.

If she were starved though? Like full on, the hunger pangs have come and gone, massive brain fog, her fingers are looking a lot like carrot sticks rn. Then the fungus might start being aggressive and turn her.

Whatever that may be, the Fireflies digging around her noggin without even a FUCKING MRI was stupid no matter what and on god I know it’s the apocalypse but they don’t even check if her lymph nodes were swollen, or if her reflexes are unusual!

An actual living specimen that as far as anyone knows has had the fungus rocking around in their brain stem for 14 odd years and no one wants to check if she had say… faster healing? Strengthened immune system? Increased/decreased metabolism!

THERE IS SO MUCH SHIT THAT COULDVE BEEN EFFECTED BECAUSE SHES GOT FUNGUS ALL UP IN HER MUSCLE TISSUE!!!! AND NO ONE WAS WILLING TO PUT THE “CURE” ON HOLD AND TRY TO DOCUMENT ACTUAL IDENTIFIABLE DATA!!!!

JESUS CHRIST!!!! EVERY SINGLE MF IN SCRUBS SHREAD YOUR DIPLOMA!! I DONT CARE IF YOUR NAN MADE IT FOR YOU WHEN YOU SHOULDVE GRADUATED YOU DONT DESERVE EVEN THAT!!!

[tryslora]

On rereading my old fic...

I’m having a lot of thoughts right now about rereading things I have written.

I struggle to reread original work. I don’t get lost in it when I start reading it, and I suspect that’s because I have already read it a few hundred times (I’m exaggerating, but it’s a lot) before it was put out for public consumption.

But fic. Ohhhh… I am one of those weirdos who loves to reread fic I wrote.

This came to mind because in the past few days, I’ve reread two old fics because both of them came up on my radar for different reasons.

(They were the “Love You So Hard” series of Scott/Stiles fics, and the “Dancing On Blades” Sterek Olympic figure skating AU, both from the Teen Wolf fandom, if you’re curious).

I didn’t mean to read them. But then I sat down trying to remember exactly what I’d written, and a half hour or so later, there I was like oh. Hey. I wrote that and I do not hate it. In fact, I now have a bit of a words hangover where I’m not ready to leave that world.

I love and hate that hangover. I get it both from reading and writing. In this moment, it reminded me a lot of what I loved about both writing and reading fic.

I haven’t had time to write fic recently. I have several unfinished WIPs in a Scrivener file, but if I’m not getting the overdue original done, I don’t feel like I can take time to write fic.

I haven’t been reading fic, either. I’m so far out of the fandoms I used to be part of, I don’t know how to find the fic that will give me the feels I love. I haven’t found a new fandom to be obsessed by where I feel comfortably falling into it. I admit, I like big fandoms, mostly because I love the variety of work and the ability to find so many wonderful gems. Small fandoms are great for flailing in meta, but terrible for finding more than a few fics.

Reading these two pieces years after I wrote them (and yes, I have reread both of them before) brought me right back to the world I lived in at the time. The world of fic. The feels. The memories of what it was like to belong to a  big fandom, and all that energy.

I miss it.

But this isn’t about fandom—this is about rereading my own words.

I’ve heard a lot of writers say that they never reread their own pieces, whether that is fic or original. They don’t want to revisit them. They are uncomfortable.

I find great delight in rediscovering myself. Every story is a snapshot of where my mind was in that moment. Every story is a reminder that yes, I can write, and I don’t hate my words. They are GOOD words. They made someone smile enough to leave a comment, and when I reread them, they make me smile, too.

I, too, want to comment to ask, “hey, where’s the rest? can I have more of this?” and that’s a tad bit frustrating since um, the only way that’ll happen is if I write it.

It makes me want to write more, though. Not necessarily that story. Maybe an original piece. Maybe something inspired by it. Might be difficult, given that one of those stories was absolutely buried in the world of Teen Wolf, and the other was a fanfic nod to Yuri on Ice without being a full-on YOI fic.

But at the same time, I have shapeshifter pack politics in my PHU serial; Alaric has to deal with it all the time. And much of the inspiration for that was drawn from things I developed that were my own head-canons while writing TW fic.

Writing is about learning. Writing fic is about joy, and it’s also about testing theories, and playing with words and ideas in familiar spaces.

It’s about creating a soft blanket that someone might want to wrap up in again and again, shutting out the cold, dark night.

I’m happy that rereading my own work gave me that feel, like I could build a blanket fort out of a story and retreat into a simpler time.

I want to create those same feels with my original work. I want to create a comfort blankie made of words.

In the meantime, I need to stop rereading my own work and move on. Write new words. Remember that if I did it before, I can do it again, and better this time. I’m not done. There are still stories in me; my mind is a library waiting to give books to those who need them.

[marmorafarms]

The Hazards of Love Ch 3

I have a bonus chapter for you all! I ended up getting super inspired, and decided to split the chapter into two instead of doing one huge chapter. I hope you enjoy!

The song mentioned in this chapter is a real song! It's one of my favorites, and is called Kun Anta, by Humood AlKhudher! I translated the bits I put in as best I could, but I might not have done the best job ever, so sorry to y'all who are more fluent in Arabic than I am!

Pairing: Labru

Word Count: 2098

Chapter Rating: Teen+

You can read it down below or on ao3!

THEN:

Ever since the concert with Laios, the two had become almost inseparable. It was hard to find one without the other, both men seeming to genuinely love being around each other. Even though Laios was a little odd, Kabru found that he really didn’t mind that much. He might be different, but he was passionate about his interests, and it softened Kabru’s heart to hear him talk about his two passions—exotic animals, and cooking.

“You know, I’d love to cook something with you sometime!” Laios said one day, seemingly out of the blue. The two were studying in the library, Laios looking over his notes for creative writing, and Kabru working on some math.

“What?” Kabru asked, confused. They hadn’t even been talking about food, so he wasn’t really sure what had brought this on.

“We should cook,” Laios said. “I think you should meet my friend Senshi, he’s a cooking instructor, and can make an amazing meal out of anything! I was just thinking, I want you to meet my friends. I’ve met yours, so you should meet mine!”

Kabru winced, thinking about Laios’ introduction to Rin. She had been ice cold, but either Laios hadn’t noticed or simply didn’t care.

“Is it because he’s pretty?” Rin had asked after hanging out with Laios. Kabru glared at her.

“Probably,” their friend Mickbell said with a snort. “I can’t believe you want to hang out with that blond dumbass,” he continued. “He’s friends with Chilchuck! Don’t you remember that weirdo from high school? Ugh, I can’t believe we have to be friends with those chuckleheads now.”

“It’s not that,” Kabru said, trying to keep a cool head. “He’s nice. Genuine. Maybe he’s a little strange, but that just makes him even better. He’s himself, no matter what. It’s beautiful.”

Mickbell made a loud fake gagging noise, and Rin rolled her eyes.

“Whatever you say,” she said grumpily.

Kabru hoped that meeting Laios’ friends would go over a little bit better, and that hopefully none of them would have rude things to say about him behind his back. He had agreed to meet Senshi, which had overjoyed Laios. He gave Kabru a one thousand watt smile, and clapped him on the back.

“We’ll have so much fun!” Laios said. “You should bring some ingredients!”

“Like what?” Kabru said. “We should probably come up with a meal first instead of just bringing random ingredients and hoping it makes something.”

“Hmm…” Laios said thoughtfully. “I’ll ask Senshi what would be good.”

Kabru nodded. “Okay that sounds--”

“Oops!” a feminine voice said as someone bumped into Kabru. “Sorry!”

Kabru turned in his chair, and saw two people behind him. They were both blonde and very feminine looking. The shorter of the two was who was looking a Kabru in a way he very much didn’t like. She leaned against the table, a sly smile on her face, eyes hooded. He recognized this look. It was the look of someone who was going to try to shoot their shot, and Kabru really wasn’t in the mood.

“It’s fine,” Kabru said, trying to sound as disinterested in her as possible.

“Oh I’m glad I didn’t bother you,” she said. “Hey, I think I recognize you! I think you’re in my stats class! With Professor Jakob?”

“Maybe,” Kabru said, “It’s a huge class. Sorry, I don’t think I recognize you.”

Her face fell, but brightened as she continued. “Well, my name is Fleki, and this is Lycion,” she said, nodding to the man next to her, who raised a hand in greeting.

“Great, nice to meet you,” Kabru said. He turned back to his math, but Fleki continued to talk.

“There’s a really awesome party coming up next weekend,” she said, sliding Kabru a piece of paper. “There’s my number. Call me sometime, okay?” she said with a grin. Kabru gave a forced smile, and felt relieved as she left.

“Are you going to call her?” Laios asked. “She was pretty.”

“She was, but that’s not enough to make me want to call her,” Kabru said. “She was so rude, just butting into our conversation. And I did recognize her.”

“Really?” Laios said, surprised. “But you told her you didn’t!”

“I know Fleki by reputation, but not by looks. At first I was being honest, but as soon as she said her name, I realized who she was. She’s a druggie, always high on mushrooms or LSD or shit like that. An awesome party…probably just wants to get high and mess around.”

“Would you want to do that?” Laios asked.

“Want to get high and fuck her? Hell no!” Kabru said, shocked.

“No, I…I more meant the idea. Getting high and messing around with someone,” Laios said, sounding slightly flustered.

Kabru blinked. What?

“Um, I don’t know?” Kabru said. “Maybe if it was like, weed or something. I don’t go any harder than that. I’ve never had sex while high though.”

“I have,” Laios said.

“Really?” Kabru said, and Laios nodded.

“I don’t have a lot of experience though, not many people want to go that far with me, but when I have--”

“Oh that’s bullshit, you’re hot as fuck!” Kabru burst out. It didn’t take long for him to register what he had just said, and felt his face heating up, wishing a hole would open up in the floor and swallow him whole. Why had he said that?!

“Excuse me?” Laios said, his cheeks tinged with pink.

“I…” Kabru floundered, trying to figure out how to save the situation, “I just meant that you’re a good looking guy so it’s hard to believe that people wouldn’t want to do it with you!”

“Oh,” Laios said, eyes wide. “Well…I don’t have trouble getting dates if it’s on an app. Girls seem to like how I look. But it’s after that’s the problem. Once they meet me, most of them don’t want to date me. I weird people out,” Laios said sadly. “So meeting people in person is pretty much out of the question. They meet me and are instantly turned off.”

“That’s stupid,” Kabru said with a frown. “You’re great! Anyone would be lucky to be with you.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re a guy!” Laios said.

Ah.

That line.

Kabru sighed. Having said that stupid phrase, Laios was probably straight. If he wasn’t able to consider that a man could have feelings for another man…or maybe he was operating under the assumption that Kabru was straight? Well, the band aid would have to be ripped off at some point, might as well say something now.

“First of all, it doesn’t matter that I’m a guy, it’s obvious that anyone would be lucky to be with you. You’re a great guy with a good heart. But secondly, I happen to enjoy guys just as much as those girls you’re talking about.”

“Enjoy guys?” Laios said slowly, looking confused. Kabru wanted to slam his head against the table. Why was Laios so slow on the uptake?

“I fuck guys,” Kabru said bluntly, and Laios choked on air.

“You’re gay?” Laios said, after his coughs subsided.

“Bi,” Kabru said, “but yeah, I’m into guys. You?”

“I…I’m not really sure,” Laios said after a moment. “I think I’m straight but…”

“But?” Kabru pressed, and Laios looked away.

“I dunno. I’ve never thought about much until…” Laios paused, the apples of his cheeks flushing once more. “Well, I was talking with my friends and then my sister’s girlfriend, Marcille, called me ‘heteroflexible.’ So…maybe I like guys? Sometimes?”

Holy shit! He likes guys!

Kabru felt his heart flutter. Was being with Laios an actual possibility?

“But that just means the amount of people who don’t want to date me has just doubled,” Laios said with a bitter laugh. “I’ve tried to be someone else, a whole new person, but it never works. I’m just…me.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. There’s this song I like…it reminds me of you. It’s in Arabic, but it says basically that if you’re yourself, you’re beautiful.”

“So, in your opinion,” Laios said slowly, “If I just let myself be myself, I’ll be beautiful?”

“Yes,” Kabru said firmly. “Don’t forget that, okay?”

“I won’t,” Laios said with a soft smile. “I promise.”

NOW

Laios sat in his car, wondering if this was a good idea. He hadn’t asked beforehand, but it was visiting hours. He desperately wanted to see Kabru, even though he had no idea what he would even say.

Laios turned his music on shuffle and hit play. And then it came on. The song, their song.

Pulling up his GPS, he put in the name of the hospital and began to drive. This was probably a stupid idea, but Laios didn’t care. He needed to see Kabru, even if it was just for a few minutes, or even seconds. Even if he was just looking through the window…he needed to see his face.

(in order to keep up with them I imitated their appearance. So I looked like someone else, just to brag. I thought I had become rich, but I found I had lost, for these are appearances)

لأجاريهم، قلّدت ظاهر ما فيهم

فبدوتُ شخصاً آخر، كي أتفاخر

و ظننتُ أنا، أنّي بذلك حُزْت غنى

فوجدتُ أنّي خاسر، فتلك مظاهر

Laios’ breath caught in his throat, and he both wanted to listen and didn’t want to listen all at the same time. He didn’t speak Arabic, but he could still remember Kabru telling him the meaning of the song, telling him how much it reminded him of Laios.

كن أنت تزدد جمالاً

(Be yourself and you will be more beautiful)

Kabru had told him this line on that day in the library. Told him that as long as he was himself, he would be beautiful. But look where being himself had gotten him! He hadn’t been able to love Kabru, and now his friend was in the hospital, dying. Sure, Laios had a plan. But did Falin have a point? Could he make himself fall in love with Kabru, or was it a lost cause?

Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he drove, listening to the song. At the next light, he put the song on repeat, letting it play on loop as he remembered the first time they had ever listened to it. That moment had been everything. It had been the moment he fell for Kabru.

But clearly, not fallen in love.

God, how could he say he fell for Kabru when Kabru was coughing up petals and pollen? He felt like he was in love, but clearly something was off, something was wrong. Could something be wrong with his love? Was it not deep enough, or maybe…maybe they weren’t meant for each other? Was that how it worked? Maybe you had to be soul mates.

Laios had spent hours researching Hanhaki, but unfortunately there wasn’t a whole lot of scholarly articles about it. Most of what he found were random people speculating or telling stories that truly frightened Laios. One article in a newspaper he didn’t recognize spoke of someone who lost all memories of the person they had been in love with. They had had the surgery and completely forgotten the person, didn’t even know their name.

Could he handle it if Kabru completely forgot him? Completely forgot this song? Completely forgot when they had…

Laios shook his head. He couldn’t remember that now. He needed to focus on what he was going to say to Kabru. He had to figure out what the hell to say! And what to say if Rin was there.

Rin was furious with him. She blamed Laios for Kabru’s predicament and clearly hated him for it. She had burst out in fury at him, and now refused to even look at him when they were in class, much less talk to him. She would probably try and stop him from seeing Kabru.

And maybe she would be right to. Would Kabru even want to see him? Laios hadn’t even considered that until this very moment. Maybe seeing him would make things worse. Maybe he’d die on the spot. Laios gripped the steering wheel tight. He sighed, and pulled over. This was a bad idea. He punched a new address into the GPS and headed there. He needed someone to be brutally honest with him, someone who wouldn’t sugar coat things even a little bit. Someone who wouldn’t give a shit about his feelings.

He needed Izutsumi.

[yowyowyaoi]

Zetsu’s Daily Texts from the Akatsuki

From Nagato

You can’t keep eating them without checking to see if we’re using them first.

300 miles? Is that really the closest?!

I can put you with Tobi or Hidan. Take your pick.

Put the letters where they can find them, then stay somewhere hidden to see their reactions.

Keep an eye on them please. No explosions, no sacrifices. Nothing to draw attention.

I’ve been practicing every day. Legs feel stronger.

I’d only risk it if you also want to risk being placed in a gengetsu.

I’m sure I’ll be gone before her. All I ask is she be well taken care of. It’s all that matters.

No. Under no circumstances. I need them all ALIVE and able to work, please.

You can ask but she’ll probably hit you hard enough to REALLY split you in half.

From Kakuzu

Yes well your appetite is proving quite costly.

Find where he’s hiding and I’ll give you a third of his bounty.

I’m not so sure that “intelligence” is a quality I’d associate with any of them.

Actually if you could naturally produce that we could sell bottles and make some money 🤔

Much, much too expensive.

I don’t care if you eat him but wait until I get his heart out first.

I’d rather you ate me; my body won’t be on display for him to entertain Deidara with.

It’s complicated. And by complicated I mean I let a one time physical urge turn into a years-long relationship. 

It’s the 1st. Rent and utilities are due. 

If I didn’t we wouldn’t have *anything*. Be grateful.

I’m not sure if my threads would hold for plant-skin.

Stop losing them for God’s sake each one costs $50 in materials to make!!

I’ll take your word for it. That voice creeps me out.

From Konan

Please don’t ever do that again. Nagato almost had a heart attack. 😡

It’s funny in a shouldn’t be funny way.

Wait you’ve seen him without the mask 👀

No I don’t care if they’re annoying we don’t have the time to replace them now!!

Ask Sasori to take a look. He enjoys a challenge.

I don’t care how easy it was to get, I’m NOT cooking with that kind of “meat” 🤢

No offense but do you even have nails 🤔

I’d rather we didn’t need to pick up and move again unless absolutely necessary.

Since we were children 🥰

I’d kill anyone who tried. With my bare hands.

Kisame may be able to but the rest will need it cooked.

You’re THAT old?! 😵‍💫

Stick to guys. I will remain the only woman in this group.

Can’t you eat them? Aren’t you part Venus fly trap??

From Hidan

Freak.

Then stop watching, weirdo!

Because if you take the body before my praying is finished then the entire ritual is void!!

Not to be gay but yeah I see what he sees. 

Then steal him some damn glasses next time!

But do plants even have dicks? Like is it green? Does it smell like grass? 🤔

He’s such a liar he wanted me since the day we met 😂

I saw you eyeing that cat and so did Itachi.

How do you say “Fuck you” in plant-speak?

They’re not “pink” they’re “rose”, heathen.

Ribs without sauce is like fucking without lube. Like what’s even the point?

If I could convert even one of those fucks I’d become a High Priest for Jashin.

Can’t. Kakuzu’s “withholding my paycheck” until I pay off that bounty of his that I killed. 🙄

So come with us. Everyone’s weird you’ll fit right in.

From Sasori

Elderberry, nightshade, and primrose. For now.

A mouse learns to fear other mice before it even thinks about predators.

Please stop that you gave him nightmares last time and I couldn’t work on my puppets for a whole week 😒

I don’t care as long as it has a big enough space for a lab.

Damn blue eyes trapped me for eternity.

An interesting experiment, certainly.

I have vague memories but that’s all.

You appear to be “friends” so talk to him and tell him to back off. 

Who do you think I am? That freak Orochimaru?!

I don’t buy that stupid act for a second.

If I suggested aloe vera would you find that insulting?

You and I are the least bothersome in terms of eating. I don’t, and you hunt.

I’ll contribute when the expense is relative to me.

From Kisame

So far only Itachi knows about it but the water there is clear and beautiful.

Your way of thinking is truly fascinating.

Of course you’re welcome to join us but you’ve voiced objections before to both tea and sweets.

No, I’ll BURY him myself before I let you eat him.

Crab and shrimp. Especially crab.

I’m aware. His smell is getting weaker and his chakra is shaky.

I admire your patience for it but I don’t do so well in the sun for so long.

Again? Why?? Who attracted attention this time? 😒

I don’t but Samehada seems to.

The battlefield is empty. Care to join me at the buffet? 😋

Between the prayer rituals and the constant bombing I just can’t handle either of them.

Salt is for the weak. Pure fear flavors the meat better than any seasoning. 

From Deidara

You can’t prove that was me, that could have been anyone!

If I’m successful there won’t BE anything left of me to eat so 🤷🏼

Idk you just look gray. Maybe stand in the sun for a while?

Ok we may eat more BUT his food costs more!

Wait is it real hair or like plant stuff 🤔

I didn’t this time he was dancing and he tripped on his cloak like an idiot.

Honestly not until I met Sasori lol 

Omg where?! Riverbanks are always a goldmine of natural clay! 🤩

I get that but I’m just not interested, eternity is so boring.

Low key he goes into this voice sometimes that scares the piss out of me.

Bc it’s weird man it’d be like watching my mother shower or something 😖

Like usual he couldn’t shut up and almost got us killed on the spot 😡

Not unless you want to pick the lice out of my hair afterwards.

From Itachi

Not sure of the exact dynamics but I think it’s second or third cousins.

Maybe it’s best we all just live with our own partners. Too many in one area and eventually someone figures it out.

No he’s as gentle as possible. I just have sensitive skin.

Yes but cabbage is so versatile.

You saw him? Did he look well? 👀

The glasses help some but most everything is still a massive blur.

I tried. Nagato tried. He refuses to give up on the idea.

There is no “before” and there’s no “after0. There’s just NOW.

No I know he ate it because he had the jam smeared all over his collar.

22 doesn’t really interest me.

From Obito

The right arm still twitches if I try to lift too much.

Come on weren’t YOU happy when he died?!

He can’t turn me down forever. Just picture him with the Uchiha fan on his back 😍

Yeah well he’s still my little cousin and I still worry.

I think it scares him a little, he almost walked into a tree that first time I did it on accident.

It’s not excessive; the sugar is literally the only thing pushing me forward right now.

I would bet money that he’s the worst Sensei ever to those kids. No wonder Sasuke was so weak.

The constant money woes are so tedious.

Blind or not his reflexes are unmatched and he could still take me out in one move.

We should have put more emphasis on intelligent and less on “skills”.

You’ve gotta admit the explosions DO liven things up 🤷🏻

What if you ate him and he could still talk from inside of your stomach though? Is that a chance you want to take?

Bonus: From Madara

He stopped responding two years ago he acts like I’m dead.

What? That little shit. 😡

If the blonde is giving him too much of a distraction, dispose of him.

You don’t need to pre-chew my food I’m not a baby bird.

Have you seen my good blanket?

What happened to my slippers?

🍆 I want this. I’m craving this so bad. Please bring it to me.

Tell that boy to come back I need a good bath and a haircut.

Perhaps if you hadn’t recruited so many *brats* you wouldn’t be having such an issue.

Whatever you do, do NOT let them breed.

Did you remember where I stashed my last painting of Hashirama?

If I was younger I could have eliminated the entire group within seconds. They’d never even know what hit them.

Please procure a backscratcher and industrial grade toenail clippers.

Wait until he sleeps and move several large rocks into his room. I guarantee he’ll cry.

First that young lass, then the Hatake boy, now the blonde. He never learns his lesson does he?

What do you mean he cut it?? An Uchiha’s hair is his crown! Tell him to get back here NOW.

I should have chosen Fugaku’s son instead. Likely a lot less crying.

[stitchdfox]

Eddie on tour pt 5

“Why is your tour so short?” Steve asks, curious.

Eddie walks down the street on the main drag in St. Louis. They have a rare day off before their show and he’s enjoying the strangely cool day.

“They only asked us on for the first leg of tour. Some other yahoos get to take our place opening on the second leg.” Eddie pulls his earbuds from his leather jacket pocket, tucking Steve’s voice into his ears.

“Hmm.” Steve takes a second to reply. “Is that good or bad?”

“Can it be both?” Eddie asks. “It’ll be nice to sleep in my own bed again. But the rush of playing in front of a crowd, in these beautiful venues, that I’ll miss.”

“You’ll book another tour soon. I’d put money on it.”

Eddie grins from ear to ear. “What makes you so sure?”

“Eds. I don’t listen to metal. Like. At all. But I enjoy the music you and the guys make. It feels very you and I love listening to… I’m an 80s pop guy! And I can’t get enough of Corroded Coffin.” He clears his throat, “for what it’s worth.”

“It’s worth a lot, sweetheart.” Eddie’s dimples grow deep as his smile widens.

“Enough about me. What trouble have you been getting into lately, big boy?” Eddie eggs him on.

“It’s so boring over here. Just trying to make it through summer classes.” Steve sighs.

“But what do you do for fun?” Eddie asks as he walks into a coffee shop. The music is low and he orders an Americano with room for milk.

“I don’t really. I mean, I used to swim but I haven’t since high school.” Steve’s voice goes low. “I’m nothing special.”

Eddie’s eyebrows furrow. “You take that back.”

“Huh?”

“You do not get to talk about my favorite person like that.” Eddie snarls to emphasize his point. “You’re incredibly caring, you’ve put a lot of work into figuring out who you want to be, and you’re going to be a councilor. Not because it’s easy but because you want to help people.”

“Okay, okay. Calm down, baby.” Steve sounds flushed.

“I will not.” He smiles at the kind barista as he picks up his drink. He adds milk and sugar, giving it a stir.

“Eddie.”

“Now that we have that out of the way, what do you do for fun?” Eddie’s voice is more even and soothing.

“Mmm. I do like to draw. I have a few sketch books here and I don’t really show anyone what I work on.” Steve pauses. “I think I’d like to try painting.”

“That’s a brilliant idea.” Eddie walks out of the coffee shop and perches on a bench near by.

“Question,” Steve prompts.

“Hmm?” Eddie sips his coffee.

“Am I really your favorite person?” His voice cracks.

“Uh… yeah. Yes. Please don’t tell Jeff.”

“That’s the first thing I’m telling him when I meet him.” Steve laughs.

There’s a comfortable silence between them now. Eddie breathes in deep as he looks at the sky. He hasn’t shared a quiet moment like this with anyone before. He always feels the need to fill the silence. Worried for some reason or another that the person is bored or bothered or annoyed. But with Steve, with this man on the other end of the line, he feels content. His anxiety wasn’t buzzing around like bees in his head. It was just the two of the here in this moment, miles apart, but together.

“Hey Eddie?”

Steve’s soft tone feels like flowers blooming in Eddie’s chest.

“Yeah?”

Steve clicks his tongue. “Never mind.”

“Okay.” Eddie fiddles with his rings. He hums a tune that’s been stuck in his head.

“Don’t you want to know?” Steve pries.

“Of course! You changed your mind though so I’m not gonna push it. I’ll be here if you change your mind again.” Eddie’s lips purse as he reassure the other man. He whistles.

“Okay,” Steve’s next words rush together. “I was wondering if you were staying in a hotel room tonight and if you’d be alone and if you’d be interested in maybe talking like um, more intimately and I don’t want to assume anything. I just can’t stop thinking about you and I don’t know if I can wait until I meet you or even if you’d want to go any further and I feel like a weirdo asking—“

“We are treating ourselves to a hotel tonight,” Eddie cuts him off.

“Does that mean… is that a yes?” Steve’s pitch raises with his question.

“Can I admit something?” Eddie asks.

Steve swallows, “of course.”

“I haven’t had phone sex before.” His face turns red and even though Steve can’t see him he pulls a bit of hair to cover his mouth. Embarrassed.

“Me either!” Steve shouts and then goes shy. “Think, uh, think you’d like to give it a try?”

Eddie hums playfully.

“I do like telling stories,” he muses. “And I’ll have to tell Jeff to get lost for a while tonight. He will definitely give me shit for that.”

Steve is quiet.

“You know what?” Eddie throws his free hand in the air. “For you, sweetheart, I’m in.”

“You’re sure?” Steve whispers.

“Mhmm. As long as you don’t get jealous of my sweet, sweet story telling skills.” Eddie says breathy.

“It’s not like bed time stories, you know that, right?” Steve questions.

“You haven’t been to one of my D&D sessions yet. You don’t know what you’re in for.” He gloats.

“Clearly.” Steve chuckles again. “Well, I gotta head out. I’m having lunch with Robin in a bit.”

“Tell her I said hi and I can’t wait to meet her backstage.” Eddie grins.

“What do you… seriously? She’s gonna flip. You’re so wonderful.”

“VIP badges will be at will call just for you two.” Eddie bites his lip. “Talk to you later, Steve.”

“Can’t wait.”

Eddie ends the call and texts Jeff.

/Eddie/: I’m gonna need the room for a while tonight. No questions asked.

He sips the last of his coffee. His phone chimes.

/Jeff/: youre gross. I’ll just cuddle up with GareBear tonight.

/Jeff/: I don’t gotta know what you’re getting into but I feel like I should congratulate you or something.

/Eddie/: I’ll accept my medal at breakfast tomorrow.

/Jeff/: Seriously. You’re gross. 😜

Totally worth the endless teasing ahead. Now what was he going to do with the rest of his day? He spots a small artsy store front across the way. He crosses the street and bobs in.

——

I love them, your honor. Prepare for smut in pt 6. 🫣

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 6 coming soon with the promise of smut!

Follow me on Twitter if you’d like!

[shark-myths]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you so much for the tag ((and drag)) @carbonbased000! this was very fun and thoughtful to do.

who is writing things right now? i never remember. i will tag a wide and perhaps not terribly relevant range of: @toorational @just-about-nothing @27-royal-teas @leyley09 @alienfuckeronmain @stereostatic @setting-in-a-honeymoon and anyone else so inclined!

++

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

65

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

968,103, but as i’ve said before, i have orphaned a lotta fic as well

3. What fandoms do you write for?

pretty much just Fall Out Boy, but i will occasionally dabble in something random! this includes tony stark femslash (not sorry, will not apologize), cobra kai, and anything about girls or characters who could compellingly be made into girls.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Difference Between Real Love and the Love on TV

Stranger Danger

Boys Next Door / Assholes

From Russia With Love (this is one of those random sidesteps, a MCU femslash epistolary)

Jet Black Crow

(As an aside, it is so wild to me that older fics have so many more kudos than newer ones—you can really tell that fob went 5 years between albums! imo this is NOT a list of my best fic.)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

for years, I responded to every single one! then at some point i fell behind because of my high standards for trying to put the same thought and effort into my responses as all you lovely people put into the comments, then i became overwhelmed, then i stopped. I AM SO SORRY IF I OWE YOU RETURN COMMENTS, i read them and i treasured them and you are a huge part of the reason i keep writing. love u all!!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I only write happy endings, man! I stopped writing tragedies a long time ago. My angstiest fics are red and unafraid of living and In Every Universe. the end of Made One Way (Cobra Kai) is ambiguous and potentially brutal, depending on how you take it.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

um, every single other one! I’m a big fan of the gory fairy tale ending of The Boys Time Can’t Capture, and transmuting the hiatus into an act of mutual care and love in Sell Out Girl meant so much to me.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not since my first fandom and god, don’t

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

yes, a bit, could probably write a little less about feelings and a little more about feelings if u know what i mean. I’m super into sex as a person so i almost never write about intense romantic connections without bringing smut into it somehow; they feel really tightly linked for me, and i think i also crave media with HOT and INTIMATE connections between queer people. In terms of kind, i guess i’d have to say it’s largely rushed vanilla emotion-and-orgasm driven scenes. not a very flattering oeuvre i've created here.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

mash-ups are my favorite thing to do! I especially like ripping off movie and fairy tale plots and making them stranger, or else taking a really specific constrained timeline from someone’s life or a piece of media and transforming it somehow. best sandbox ever. my craziest one is probably the coyote ugly / beauty in the beast peterick fic, Wolves Dressed As Wolves. and i love this type of transformation in everything, whether it's the weirdo gender shit i just learned duchamp was doing or katherine addison's destructively beautiful 'sherlock holmes except there're ANGELS' novel or the buenos aires re-imagining version of vivaldi's four seasons by piazzolla, my life and taste keeps taking me into the various ways we fold and refract and remake the same experiences over and over again through different lenses or angles or selves. to quote some author whose identity i forgot years ago, though the quote remains: "there are no new stories." all art is iterative, and the most interesting thing we can do as creators is deviate in new, unexpected ways.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

yeah, a million years ago on deviantart

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes! I have had a few translations and a podfic. I love it when people want to interact with my stories in their own way, all interpretations are welcome.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

one day i hope to be domesticated enough that @carbonbased000 can write with me. I used to co-write by passing the laptop back and forth with my bestie in high school; we wrote self-insert x-men fanfiction based on the comic books in like 2004 and it was an absolute blast; but generally i am considered impossible to work with, by both myself and others.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

i feel completely unqualified to answer this question. i have been driven insane by any number of pairings in my life. when i was younger, i was more interested in internalized homophobia themes in ships, because that's where WE were culturally in the early 2000s and where i was in relationship to myself, and i think each change and growth and greater empowerment and self-possession in my own life is mirrored in what i am interested in. i feel the most drawn in by dynamics between people that are creative and give me a new way to access and explore interesting ideas and themes; i’m a real sucker for shared art products and touring bands as unique and agonizing ways to connect people. there are so many different ways to express that someone is your soulmate and you'll never convince me throwing away all trappings of a traditional life in order to rove the earth and make art with your friends isn't one of them.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

do you not just block out your WIPs from your mind so that you can live in moment-to-moment freedom?? I am a finisher in general, i have a few peterick drafts lurking around in my gdocs but if they remain untouched, it’s generally because there are only a couple thousand words to them and i’m not very excited about the possibilities of the fic. there is a sequel to a meticulously historically accurate pirate fic i wrote long ago called Providence, i got to about 30k and then lost all of my extremely painstaking notes and research in a software update. I’m still very interested in and excited by the idea, but i lost the notes and felt too traumatized to continue with the project genuinely a decade ago, so the idea that i will return and finish the fic seems fairly unlikely. Providence is one of my greatest pieces of writing ever, though, so hope springs eternal, i guess!

16. What are your writing strengths?

lyrical prose and conveying humor via unusual sentence construction. i was recently told i write arguments well and feel tough as a result, like, watch out! you don’t want to fight me!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i am lazy and easily distractible, i don’t plot in advance, i barely edit because i get really rigid and have trouble seeing any other way to say something than how i’ve already said it, i have an unwillingness to delete and rewrite even when that’s the only way forward (see: my eternally 90% finished age swap peterick au), i use up all my emotional energy elsewhere and then neglect my craft for weeks at a time. 

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

sometimes i’ll use pet names in another language if it makes sense for the character, but i avoid this in general as i’m not fluent in anything other than english. I would, have, and do sound like a duolingo lesson.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

afi bandom, when we used to call it slash, when i thought i had invented it with my friend at summer camp, when i was 13 and sent her kidfic stories i wrote out by hand in pink envelopes.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

genuinely i almost always write things i personally want to read, so i love them all! except the fucking fixed stars of heaven, everyone knows that fic tortured me to within an inch of my sanity. My most personal and personally meaningful fic is Girl Out Boy. i have a tattoo of it on my arm.

[faterpresources]

Wɪᴛᴄʜ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ Hᴏʟʏ Nɪɢʜᴛ - Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 1 : Sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ Oɴᴇ - Sᴇɴᴛᴇɴᴄᴇ Sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀs

A collection of random lines compiled from the game Witch on the Holy Night (Mahōtsukai no Yoru ,also known as Mahoyo) Feel free to change the pronouns in order to better suit the parts involved. Warning: some crude language

❝ You're in a foul mood today. ❞

❝ I'm like this every day. ❞

❝ You're not mad, are you? ❞

❝ You could have woken me up.❞

❝ He/she wasn't very talkative.❞

❝ Oops. I think I broke him/her. ❞

❝ Oh well. At least it's not boring. ❞

❝ What's happening in twenty minutes? ❞

❝ I guess this means you got the call. ❞

❝ Am I really this angry for no reason? ❞

❝ Your jokes and metaphors aren't helping. ❞

❝ You're a real piece of work, you know that? ❞

❝ And none of that answered my question: why me? ❞

❝ … There sits atop that hill a haunted house. ❞

❝ I'm bad at faking smiles. But I'll do my best. ❞

❝ I can't imagine any other reason you'd call me. ❞

❝ The cat gave me one of his leftover deliveries. ❞

❝ …Not that it has anything to do with the, though.❞

❝ Another world in the mountains doesn't sound so bad. ❞

❝ What am I doing? I'm leaving for my job, that's what. ❞

❝ You do know that this window isn't an exit, don't you!? ❞

❝ Do we really have to go there? Why can't dead stay dead? ❞

❝ Oh, dear. Would you stop glaring at me like that already? ❞

❝ Let's not. Even I can think of a few mundane explanations. ❞

❝ … Even mosquitoes have the grace to buzz off eventually. ❞

❝ Wow. Not only did it break, it vanished without a trace… ❞

❝ I'd like a nice uneventful dream for two hours, thank you. ❞

❝ Hey, you're scaring me, __ . I was joking. Go easy, okay? ❞

❝ Life without electricity… I don't even want to imagine it. ❞

❝ By the time time I got back, it had vanished without a trace. ❞

❝ Something came up this morning, and I was called into school. ❞

❝ If this was all a joke to you, perhaps I should just go home. ❞

❝ It's the lack of something between your ears that's dangerous. ❞

❝ Yes, they called me at home about an hour ago, out of the blue… ❞

❝ I don't know if he/she just lacks an imagination or never uses it. ❞

❝ … Whether good or bad, this too shall pass, so the saying goes.❞

❝ Yes, but he/she has… how should I put it? Difficult circumstances. ❞

❝ Looks like I've still got a long way to go… Go ahead, laugh it up. ❞

❝ Look. Let me spell it out for you, because you're just not getting it. ❞

❝ Guess I'm one to talk. I came from a pretty traditional household myself.❞

❝ I'm more worried about the person doing it than their reasons, personally.❞

❝ Hmm. There are a few things off about that. Maybe we should break it down. ❞

❝ They made me show this transfer student around, and it took up my whole day. ❞

❝ Well, he/she was a weirdo all right. You two would probably hit it off great. ❞

❝ … Oh my god, I almost died. Who would put an exit here!? This is dangerous. ❞

❝ Well, it is a haunted house, I suppose. It's too large for just the two of us. ❞

❝ I personally would have just gone up to them and asked them what they were doing. ❞

❝ Nope. He'd heard of them, but this is apparently his/her first time visiting one. ❞

❝ He/She's almost -what would you call it- feral? Like a boy/girl raised by wolves. ❞

❝ If I got mad every time you broke something, there would be no end to the fighting. ❞

❝ I couldn't care less about him/her. I'm just worried he'll/she'll screw up somehow. ❞

❝ About that. Do you wanna tell me what the hell is going on? Because I have no clue. ❞

❝ The universe seems determined to keep me from having the occasional luxury without you.❞

❝ Most people can't handle your scowl. It wouldn't hurt you to be a little more tolerant. ❞

❝ Huh, I had no idea he/she was into that sort of thing. He/she had a great sense of humor. ❞

❝ … Looking back on it now… It's like my whole life has been one disaster after another. ❞

❝ Oh, I know. I just wanted to save some time. But thanks. I'll be more careful from now on. ❞

❝ Sorry, but I'm not in the mood for pleasantries. Time is short, so let's get this over with. ❞

❝ Really? That's a relief… I really mean it. It's good to know you're not good at everything. ❞

❝ I believe in you and all, but I'll say it again. Be nice, okay? Can you at least try to smile? ❞

❝ It's rare to see you so judgmental. It is really worth getting worked up over someone like that? ❞

❝ Wait, wait. I didn't mean to laugh. This is not a practical joke. We could really use your help. ❞

❝ I wanted to ask - why are you so angry? Is it your line of business? Or does it run in your family? ❞

❝ Do you have any idea why a man-sized cat…would be riding around town…delivering meals to people? ❞

❝ Maybe if you didn't ask so many questions, we'd be done by now. It's a miracle it's still light out. ❞

❝ I thought it was clear that if either of us got food we would bring enough home for the other person! ❞

❝ I could be wrong about this, but you seem upset about something. You're not a morning person, are you? ❞

❝ Ugh, what is it about today? Is it just my luck, or what? At this rate I'm due a temple visit, just to be safe.❞

❝ That makes sense. I don't know why you'd want to do it that way, but I get it's a faster way to express yourself. ❞

❝ A delivery cat riding through neighborhoods in the evening. Sounds like something straight out of a fantasy story. ❞

❝ It's not your imagination. I am angry and anyone could see that in my eyes. It's easier than trying to make conversation. ❞

❝ I already know I'm not the friendliest-looking person in the world, but I can't just make myself smile at the drop of a hat. ❞

❝ People here don't normally enter and exit through windows, okay? You should probably remember this information for future reference. ❞

❝ Anyway… he/she at least seemed to grasp most of what I told him/her the first time around, so I suppose he's/she's not a complete idiot. ❞

❝ By "last time" you mean… The time you went into the city and ate sushi but only came back with a plastic full of convenience store food? That time? ❞

❝ I hate him/her already. He's/She's my sworn enemy and I haven't even met him/her. Sorry, but I couldn't care less about his/her extenuating circumstances! ❞

[vesselslut]

One more secret won't hurt / Bunny x reader

Part 1

--------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2: Encounter with the weirdos

Sundays are for walking. Just like Saturdays are for reading and Mondays are for crying. It feels natural, meant to be. The college is surrounded by miles of woods, dissected by dozens of trails in every direction. A dream campus for an avid hiker. If I could, I’d spend my every waking hour exploring every trail, every nook and cranny of this beautiful Vermont wilderness. But trying to be a semi-functional adult that passes all her classes, I decided I’d dedicate only my Sundays to this hobby. Being responsible sucks ass.

But I am nothing in my soul if not responsible. So, on Saturdays, I made my way down to the little library to work on the week’s assignments and papers. Being a literature major means most of my day is spent reading and writing. I enjoy the reading part, but writing can be such a pain in the ass, having to find exactly the right word to describe something, having to come up with a combination of words in an order that’s never been done before or it’s plagiarism, and don’t get me started on writer’s block. Knowing I get to explore a new path the next day is what gets me through these harrowing Saturdays.

So, I make my way to the library, my bag hanging off my shoulder, full of assignments due way too soon, screaming in agony to be completed. It’s 8 a.m. too early for there to be too many people in the library on a Saturday. It buys me a few hours of reading with no distractions. It’s not like I have issues staying focused, like ADHD or something, I’m just extremely nosey. At least that’s what I tell myself to avoid taking meds.

I find an empty table near a window and sit down. I put on my noise cancelling headphones just in case, pull my copy of Frankenstein out of my bag, and start reading. Of course, I’ve read it a hundred times before, but now that I gotta analyze it for an essay, I find my brain completely blank. What original thought could I possibly have about a 200-year-old book that hasn’t been said before? What could I analyze that hasn’t been analyzed from a hundred different perspectives already? Maybe re-reading it will jiggle a decent idea out of my fried-out brain.

After a few dozen pages and exactly zero ideas, I put the book down and remove my headphones to take a small break. I release a heavy, exhausted sigh and rub my eyes. With my ears free of the headphones, I notice the library is not so quiet anymore. I look up and immediately spot the source of the noise. A few tables away I see a small group of people dressed oddly formal, discussing something in a strange language. Latin, maybe? Greek? Specifically, one of the boys is the source of the commotion. He is not screaming; in fact, he’s using a regular speaking tone, but in a library that’s pretty much the same thing. The others reply to his arguments in whispers, but this does not make the blond guy speak any lower.

I have seen this group around campus, talking amongst themselves and disappearing into the vine covered building, but I’ve never seen any of them in any of my classes. I haven’t paid too much attention to them, but it’s not hard to notice they are a bit odd.

The redhead seems annoyed, his head buried in a notebook while he aggressively scribbles something down, not paying any attention to the loud discussion happening around him. The only girl sitting with them is very pretty. She’s listening carefully and offering a few words here and there. The guy sitting next to her looks exactly like her but with shorter hair. I assume they’re either twins or it’s a very freaky coincidence. He also seems a bit disinterested in the outcome of the discourse, rolling his eyes a few times at the other boys. The two other dark-haired guys are the most involved, pointing at something in one of the books, and then at some scribbles in a notebook.

But the loud one, the blond guy with the glasses, is the one that caught my eye. I’d say that’s easy to do when you’re being this loud in a quiet place, but it’s not the loudness. He looks so excited, speaking in that gibberish sounding language, his hands moving around wildly, as if he’s trying to prove the most important point ever. He has my full attention. I stare at his lips, trying to make sense of any of the sounds, when I finally catch a few English words.

- “But that would make no sense though! Why would they be sailing to Carthage to attack?” then a few more words in the strange language. “See? It’s the aorist!”

- “Why are you so stubborn? We can just use the locative case, you can remove the epi if you don’t think they’re going to attack, and those who think they will just keep the epi. Problem solved,” said one of the dark-haired boys.

Holy shit. Even in English I have no idea what they’re talking about. Sounds like they’re trying to translate a very complicated text.

I kept staring at them, occasionally glancing down at my book to be less obvious. His energy is so contagious, how are the rest of them not scream-speaking like him? I have no clue what they’re even disagreeing on, but I’m on his side. He almost looks out of place here, like he should be on a pirate ship somewhere, yelling out orders, or maybe on a T.V. ad, trying to sell something outrageous with a surprising success rate, not here in a quiet library, talking about whatever ‘Carthage’ is.

My book is forgotten on the table after a while. It’s not shaping up to be a very productive Saturday after all. When I look down at my watch, I realize it’s almost noon. I see the group packing up their stuff and making their way out of the library, probably to grab some lunch. I should do the same, so I pack my half-read book and my blank notebook into my bag and start resignedly walking to my dorm to get food. I don’t think this Frankenstein paper is going to get written soon. My mind is still on the mysterious group, and the loud guy that seemingly stole more than just a bit of my attention.