#YOU FOOL. no appreciation for the Beauty of physical media

[cryptidspaz]

behold my full late 90s / early 2000s media set up Bitches. Fuck the shitty quality streaming of shows & movies you can never own & fuck compressed audio through shitty bluetooth speakers.

[ssalballoon]

What are your favourite art books? 💕💕love your work

thank you! 🌟 oh artbooks?! that's actually a really interesting question hmm... I don't physically own any (expensive ⚰️) but I've seen them online for some games and artists I like! idk how interesting they'll be if you're not into those specific games but nonetheless i think the art is a treat to see even without context! i'll answer under the cut, this ended up being rly long

Dai Gyakuten Saiban 1 & 2 / The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Kazuya Nuri)

- Nuri's soft lilac shading is so beautiful + unique to his art! I also appreciate that this artbook is mainly full of sketches and renders you don't see in game. They're so expressive, I wish other artbooks had more doodles of the characters goofing off, you can tell Nuri loves these characters a lot hehe (how often can you say the lead artist drew april fool's furry designs + canon animal plushie designs for the mcs)

the doodles that really stuck out to me are spoilers so i won't share those, but they really feel like snippets from a slice of life anime which humanizes the characters so well

Fire Emblem Echoes (Hidari)

- Hidari's designs are so classy and elegant, the way his fabrics all have a palpable weight and texture to them, and his coloring is so warm... there's a good reason why his designs keep getting circulated with praise every once in a while hehe. I really hope they bring him back for another game!

a personal favourite... she's very pretty!!

(on a side note i rly love Nuri and Hidari's female character designs, it's refreshing to see! not to say that modest designs are inherently better than more fanservicey ones, but i find that the female character designs are even more memorable because of it! it's mainly a personal preference)

Fire Emblem Awakening + Fates (Kozaki Yusuke)

- god of drawing armor and anatomy in perspective... his poses are so dynamic because of his mastery of foreshortening. I love seeing his work in Heroes, it only continues to get better over the years! plus he designed Lucina and Inigo so :D

as much as i love his artbooks my favorite art from him comes from fe heroes! his units have the most unique posing in the game, it always makes me excited to see more of his art (i especially love how conscious/deliberate he is with body types in his designs)

Persona 5/ 4/ P4 Arena Ultimax (Shigenori Soejima)

- Soejima's art influenced my artstyle a lot back in 2017(?) and 2021! (I mainly enjoy his b&w rougher style since it's so bold and also a fun style to draw in, although his painted stuff is fantastic as well) I enjoy seeing the Persona designs since they're so different to what I usually draw and it's really hard to capture the grace he draws them with (especially P4's)

this video of Shigenori Soejima drawing live changed me in 2017

persona 4/arena ultimax have my favorite persona designs out of the modern games!

Death Stranding (Yoji Shinkawa)

- It's a shame you don't see Yoji Shinkawa's artwork in the game much (to my knowledge) because it's stunning how vivid, gritty, and yet effortlessly elegant it is. The monster designs are so haunting gahhh it's so cool! The mastery he has with ink and brush is insane he can be so loose with the lines and yet it conveys everything you need to know

the full body ink sketch of die hardman... it's so loose and yet it's very controlled aghh it's so impressive (i saw hunter schafer got her portrait drawn by him and like. imagine yoji shinkawa drawing you. ohmygod)

Okami (Takeyasu Sawaki, Kenichiro Yoshimura, Mari Shimazaki)

- when I was in middle school I didn't even know games could look like this?! The obvious traditional Japanese art influence makes the designs really unique even compared to modern games. The calligraphic brush strokes are so striking and I especially love the subtle ink bleed outside of the outlines, it honors traditional media so well. honestly this game's style in general is one of a kind

love how playful these are! i forgot how much i loved this game

Journey (Matthew Nava)

- (although it is an artbook I've only been able to see a few of the pages! Nava does have an archived GDC talk where he presents the book that I still have to take a look at) I found the color script for the complete story interesting since it shows both the color corresponding with the literal height of the mountain for the hero's journey that the game was so inspired by. Plus the alternate designs for the iconic main character are so cute!

masterfully crafted experience... i think this is the first time i've seen a color script for a game? (although i guess i'm not that familiar with games)

These aren't actual art books but I really like the concept art for them:

Transistor (Jen Zee)

- my favorite Supergiant game! It's a shame there's so little of the concept art out there (I'm pretty sure I saw more years ago but I couldn't find them more recently... link rot grr...) Jen Zee's painterly style is gorgeous and the colors are so warm, so uncharacteristic of the cyberpunk genre we're typically familiar with! her art was also a big inspiration for me when I was younger

Apex Legends

- apex does have an artbook but l mainly enjoy looking at the character designs and the transition screens for compositions (especially the season 4 Revenant's trailer ones, one day I hope my background/environment art can reach a level anywhere close to that). The character designs and overall setting are different from my usual style so it's cool to see the attention to detail in fabric texture, prop design, worldbuilding, etc. and try to apply it to my designs

this transition has such a strong sense of narrative in the illustration, it impressed me so much i drew something inspired by it (i'm not sure who the original artist is, i thiiink it's liam mcdonald...?? i really hope i'm not misattributing it;; out of the concept artists his illustrations look the most similar...?)

I'm interested in Outer Wilds' artbook and Disco Elysium's but I don't think I can look at those without spoilers! both phenomenal games that i really need to finish (i know outer wilds' main story but not echoes of the eye)

hit the limit on pictures 😔 and i've been sitting on this ask for a while... I feel like there are more artbooks that aren't coming to mind ahh I should really keep track of them better! thank you for the ask, it was nice to revisit these again 💞

[nsfwdxddy]

Debunking the insecurities and myth around sex

This post will be explicit as I want to express my opinions!!

Sex isn't always glamourous!!!! When you have sex, its a physical, emotional, psychological and a pleasurable experience WITH CONSENT AND AFFECTION FOR EACH OTHER!!

Yes, I agree that sex is not the same for everyone as different people have different tastes. But if there is one thing that's common with sex, its about having that intimate connection you have with your partner. You just cannot say you get pleasure by sticking your dick thoughtlessly into someone or sucking someone off without knowing how they feel about it.

Being in the NSFW community, I want to communicate some really important points that everyone should know about.

NO MEANS NO! CONSENT IS VERY IMPORTANT!!

Communication is very important. Always discuss a safe word and don't be afraid to use it. The safe words can be as stupid but it doesn't take away from how important that word is.

Body positivity: if your partner has issues with their genital regions, please do not de-sensitize it. Reassure them and make them comfortable with themselves. If anything is not working out, stop and try new things. Its ok to do that. It goes the same if your partner is not how you imagined them to be.

Having kinks has made it so hard to appreciate vanilla sex. Having vanilla sex doesn't make anyone less inferior. Its completely fine. Kink shaming is not cool!!!

Don't mock anyone for their sexual orientation, sexual preferences, gender identities and mostly race or based on their body.

AFTERCARE!! AFTERCARE!! AFTERCARE!! This is very important. Even if you are exhausted or not in a position to give aftercare to the other person, communicate to them and atleast make small talk with them and cuddle them. You may want to be left alone sometimes after sex, but atleast make sure that your partner is feeling okay too. Mutual well being check is important even if you don't provide aftercare. But AFTERCARE is a must!!!

Abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, being fake is not acceptable for anyone.

And be vary of sexually transmitted diseases. Always always practice safe sex. Use condoms.

Don't be fooled by what's shown on mainstream media. Sex is an experience when done right, is beautiful and blissful for both parties.

[hyakqatar]

Free Fitness Classes in Qatar: A Budget-Friendly Path to Wellness

In the bustling and dynamic city of Doha, where luxury and opulence often take center stage, finding budget-friendly ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle can be a challenge. However, amidst the glitz and glamour, there is a hidden treasure for those seeking to prioritize their well-being without emptying their wallets – free fitness classes. Qatar's commitment to health and wellness is evident in the availability of these cost-effective fitness options that cater to residents and visitors alike.

Diverse Fitness Options for All

One of the most remarkable aspects of Qatar's free fitness classes is their diversity. Regardless of your fitness level or preferences, you're likely to find a class that suits your needs. From yoga to Zumba, HIIT to outdoor boot camps, and everything in between, there's no shortage of options to keep you motivated and engaged on your wellness journey.

Community Engagement and Social Bonds

Participating in free fitness classes in Qatar isn't just about physical health; it's also a fantastic way to meet new people and build a sense of community. Many of these classes are held in public spaces like parks, which provides a unique opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals who share your fitness goals. The sense of camaraderie that comes from sweating it out together in the open air can be a powerful motivator.

Professional Guidance at No Cost

Don't let the term "free" fool you into thinking these classes lack quality or professional guidance. In fact, many free fitness classes in Qatar are led by certified trainers and instructors who are passionate about promoting a healthier lifestyle. Whether you're a beginner looking to learn the ropes or an experienced fitness enthusiast seeking to challenge yourself, you can expect expert guidance and support in these classes.

Embracing Qatar's Beautiful Scenery

One of the perks of free fitness classes in Qatar is the chance to exercise outdoors while taking in the stunning scenery. From the picturesque Corniche to lush parks and beaches, you'll have the opportunity to enjoy the natural beauty of Qatar as your backdrop while working up a sweat. This not only enhances the workout experience but also allows you to reconnect with nature.

Fits Any Budget

Budget-conscious individuals will appreciate the fact that free fitness classes won't dent their wallets. In a city known for its high cost of living, these classes provide an accessible and affordable way to stay active and healthy. Whether you're a resident or just passing through, taking advantage of these classes can help you make the most of your time in Qatar without overspending.

How to Find Free Fitness Classes in Qatar

Locating these free fitness classes is easier than you might think. Many fitness clubs, community centers, and local organizations offer free classes as part of their commitment to promoting wellness. Additionally, social media platforms and fitness apps often list events and schedules for these classes. Joining fitness-oriented groups and communities in Qatar can also be a great way to stay updated on upcoming free fitness opportunities.

In conclusion, free fitness classes in Qatar are a budget-friendly path to wellness that should not be overlooked. They offer a diverse range of workouts, the chance to build social bonds, professional guidance, and the opportunity to enjoy Qatar's breathtaking scenery, all without breaking the bank. So, if you're looking to prioritize your health and fitness in this vibrant city, consider giving these classes a try. Your body and your wallet will thank you.

[dawniebb]

Face reveal bc yes

So, guys...especially from the Renegades fandom bc i’m the most active there: you saw the title lmao. This will...barely get notes (i wonder if it’ll get notes at all) buuUUUT YEAH LET’S GOOOO (If you’re gonna reblog pls be respectful bc i have issues and btw reblog ONLY if we are mutuals)

THIS IS ME! <3 HELLOOOO!!!

Now, if you want to stop here, do it. If you don’t...well

I’m going to tell you a story about myself and why I decided to post this.

First of all, I’m not celebrating anything. I’m just celebrating me, I guess (?) and in fact I’ve been wanting to do this since my parents got me a She-Ra cake for my 20th birthday back in May, because I loved that thing and felt the physical need to shove that thing into everyone’s faces But I didn’t because I didn’t feel ready enough...then that thought left my mind, and it came back like two weeks ago.

I’ve had mental issues since I was in like...elementary school. I’m sure I had felt depressed before I turned 12; however, the first memory I hold of feeling so, it’s when I was already 12. Because it was then when I realized that I wasn’t just a dumb kid who didn’t know how to make friends xd To this day, I genuinely feel like I was suffering from isolation bullying; you know xd my classmates purposely excluded me from activities, they would find any excuse for not letting me join their work teams and stuff like that; during my last year at elementary school, I only had like one friend, and that one friend and I shared a sort of abusive/toxic relationship, as in: manipulation, “we’re best friends. you should only talk to ME”, and then this friend turned her back at me too, because she decided to join the rest of the group and ignore me.

lol.

And I remember wondering what was I doing wrong. Like, why didn’t people like me; why didn’t they want to hang out with me; why did everyone seem to have friends except me. And then I got trapped into a very...dark place, and I remember being overthinking one day, because I tend to overthink a lot...and I remembered this specific kid who was in the same class as me.

I was in the line for the teacher to check my homework, and this kid, a boy, was behind me.

You see. I’ve always been chubby xd I don’t think I’ve ever been skinny since I was 2 years old or so, because by the time I was in kindergarten my classmates’ moms were already calling me a ‘little meatball’ thinking it was a fucking adorable nickname because Mexican moms can be pretty shitty sometimes don’t let the media stereotypes fool you not all of them are all cheerful and upbeat and when I was in elementary school, for some reason, besides being chubby, I had a really bad posture. And this boy who was behind me started imitating my way of walking and his friends were laughing, so I turned around and asked him wtf his problem was xd and he turned around to his friends and asked “Do you see how hunchback she is?” like I wasn’t even there xd and I genuinely tried to slap him but I couldn’t, and he said “Yo, stop moving because you’re going to cause an earthquake”

And my mom has always felt personally attacked for the fact I’m...u know, fat. She has always been very insistent on the fact I need to lose weight and stuff like that. And her, mixed with my experiences at school, made me feel like I wasn’t enough.

But my mind started saying things like “And u know why you aren’t enough? Because you’re fat”

Because, like, the day of the hunchback insult, when I told the teacher, who was a very shitty teacher btw but i’m not talking about her again today (i’ve already talked about her in MANY of my university papers, because I’m studying to be an English teacher), she turned around at him and said “Don’t listen to HER” and to this day I still don’t know why xd

But it made me feel like I wasn’t enough. Because I was fat.

Lol x2.

To this day, I still don’t know if I have an ED. Like, I genuinely don’t know. But I can safely say that, if I have one, it’s more likely BED... because, through the years, I managed to lose weight when I turned like 15 and I had my quinceañera party, but then first year of high school came and I had a relapse into depression...like, this might come off as a very unpopular opinion, but junior high school was dope for me x’d I remember it as one of the best years in my life, right after my second and third year in high school (high school in Mexico lasts only three years) and so...when I started my first year in high school and got fucking depressed again, I gained ALL that weight back, and even doubled it. During my second year of high school, I met my friends. The friends I still keep with me to this day. And they accepted me like the fucking train wreck I was, failing math like three times in a row and crying about it every single one of those times  because I’m pretty sure I have dyscalculia but my parents won’t listen to me they think i’m just lazy when it comes to math even though they know i cant even read a fucking clock . And them, along with my another very close friend who I met via fanfction when I was 12, helped me go through it. Like, I did have some issues with my body during high school, but not as much as you would expect. They were getting pretty bad in my first and second semester, but during the other four my friends managed to stop me from losing my mind, even when it all went to shit in my third year again for different reasons.

Then I graduated from high school, and I made friends there too. Although my best friends are still my friend from fanfiction, my friends from high school and just one of my university friends. And you know...I was left...pretty scarred from the shit that happened during third year of high school, and even if I didn’t feel like I was *that* depressed, I did gain a lot of weight.

Like, the highest I’ve ever been. Then my dad got sick during October from last year, then my two doggies were murdered god i fucking hate my neighbors the same day my dad was released from the hospital and my mom went kinda nuts during December and I wanted to just...yeah.

So I did a lot of emotional eating. Like, y’all don’t understand.

It was like...I would go to uni and eat a brownie. Then chocolates on my way home. THEN a “a snack” like...fucking rice krispies. Then a huge ass meal, with soda bc why not. Then I would have either cookies or hot cheetos as a treat after my huge ass meal,

I’m a short person xd carrying that much weight was making my ribs and back hurt, as well as my legs and feet; my breathing was freaking awful, and there were some days were I got SO paranoid I just said things like “i’m gonna die today” or “out here trying to get diabetes like the rest of your family, aren’t you??” :’) but i didn’t tell anybody. My parents are not really an option in this case, BUT I didn’t tell my friends, because then I would have to explain that I ate a lot and that was something I was EXTREMELY ashamed of.

When February came, I was scared of going out, because I knew I would have to choose what clothes to wear and nothing fit me anymore and, the things that did, looked super stretched on me and, u know, I was sore. My health was getting bad. But I didn’t like to feel that way.

AND I MUST CLARIFY HERE. I’M WORKING ON THAT. I’M ACTUALLY A BODY POSITIVY DEFENDER, I JUST DIDN’T LIKE HOW *I* LOOKED AND, BESIDES, I WAS GETTING SICK. I GENUINELY THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE AT SOME POINT. I’M NOT SAYING BEING FAT OR CHUBBY IS DISGUSTING. NO. I BELIEVE ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL. AND IF I’M WRITING THIS IS BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO KNOW RECOVERY IS DISGUSTING AND DIFFICULT SOMETIMES AND THAT IF YOU’RE GOING THROUGH SOMETHING LIKE THAT: I’M SORRY. NOBODY SHOULD EVER FEEL LIKE THAT. I SUPPORT YOU. AND I HOPE THINGS GET BETTER. AND NO MATTER WHAT OTHERS SAY, YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL. YOU ARE TO CHANGE ONLY IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE. BECAUSE IT’S YOUR BODY. KEEP HOLDING ON.

But going back to the story...

My friends used to tell me I looked pretty all the time, which I appreciate a lot to this day. But my parents were like

Me: I’m fat and I look deformed.

Them: I agree.

Because yeah.

Just before the pandemic madness happened, I went on a school trip with my uni friends and one of them triggered my isolation trauma in the worst way possible...and that, somehow, ruined ALL the photos I took throughout the trip. Because I wasn’t enough. Because I was deformed and fat and I looked like an apple. Because nobody wanted to be seen near me. And my personality was shitty.

Like, I should’ve known I was worth it. I’m still worth it and I know that. But I wasn’t less worth it when I was chubbier. And maybe I didn’t look as bad as my head made me believe. But at the time my mental health was extremely awful.

Now, covid happened.

Not gonna lie. Quarantine fucked me up as much as it fucked everyone else, but for me...by not going out, I stopped being near trigger foods, and I was even able to consult a dietitian.

I’ve lost 15 kg since March. And I’ve managed to love my past self, but I love this one because changing it was my decision. Sure, my parents didn’t help a lot, but in the end it was MY decision. I’ve come to accept I was worth it even when I felt disgusted by myself, and all of those awful things people said or did to me, like my friend during that trip...

I didn’t deserve any of those things. Because NO ONE deserves to be treated that way.  No one deserves somebody else making fun of them. No one deserves somebody else doing awful things to them that they know damn well that they trigger their childhood trauma. No one deserves to be judged for the way they look.

I was in a very dark place, and sometimes I’m still inside there. And like...during all those times, I kept posting in here.

I remember being next to my dad in the hospital, telling him “Guess what? Supernova drops this week” or “We’re going to watch TDP together, right?” or “Let me talk to you about She-Ra...” ....those were things that like...saved my life for a while, though mostly Supernova. Because, actually, Marissa Meyer has helped me in my fucking darkest years x’d from my third year of high school until now.

Her books didn’t take my depression away, but they did make things a little lighter for me, even when I felt like dying.

And I know this fandom is like..full of minors, so...I don’t know if any of you need to hear this: But you’re worth it.

If you want to change anything in your body, do it because YOU want to.

Because YOU’LL like you better.

Because it’s YOUR body, and it’s the only part of yourself that you and other people can touch.

Nobody should ever tell you you’re worthless because of your weight and your physical appearance. And if they ever do, then they’re the ones who should apologize, not you.

Nobody has the right to mistreat you, abuse you, or use your own body against you.

As for me...my ribs don’t hurt anymore. Nor does my back or my feet, and my breathing is getting better; I took the conscious decision to lose weight but, like I said, now that I’m not in such a dark place, I’m staring to realize that the past me wasn’t as hideous as my mind was making me believe. She was okay; she was broken inside, but she didn’t deserve anything that happened to her, nor did she deserved to treat herself that badly.

I posted my photo just to celebrate that I can finally said I’m not disgusted anymore. I can finally see myself in pictures again. And see my own reflection. Or go through my closet. Or do my makeup, because I LOVE doing my makeup and I was even ashamed of that. I’m not fully okay yet, but I’m healing.

So, if there’s any little Dawnie around here: I hope you give yourself a chance and realize you’re beautiful.

I hope that, if you change, it’s because you wanted to do it.

I hope you know that it’ll get better even if the healing process it’s not that easy.

I hope you know there’s people who love you.

I hope you know that you are beautiful. You were always beautiful and, no matter what path you choose, you’ll always be beautiful.

And worth it.

And human.

And important.

Take care of yourself, because you’re wonderful, no matter your size <3

[lightninghitsground]

💕HAPPY FANFIC WRITER APPRECIATION DAY TO ALL YOU AMAZING PEOPLE💕

Sometimes I daydream about writing a fic. Even get as far as opening up a Word document and trying to start. I don’t ever get much further though. Reality soon hits that I don’t have the talent to turn my jumbled thoughts into something that people would want to read. To take the skeleton of an idea and flesh it into something beautiful requires something special. Being able to write- to tell stories that hook people in and make them feel- is an art form....

It takes a lot of courage to put your work out there for others to read- to show a little bit of your soul, to allow people the room to criticise as well as praise. Courage that I will never have. But I have so much respect and love for people who do share what they write for all of us to enjoy.

I’ve read fanfic for a few fandoms in my time, and the Ballum fandom has some truly gifted writers. Something for everyone. I haven’t had a lot of time to read fic over the past few months. Lockdown life has been more hectic than ever- time off has been rare. A big THANK YOU to everyone who has kept writing during this very weird time for the world. You are all a big part of the reason this fandom is still going strong. It can’t have been easy between whatever you may have been going through personally these past few months, and the lack of engagement from fandom. If I could buy you all a drink (socially distanced of course) I would.

THANK YOU ALL FOR PAINTING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PICTURES. Full of light and shade, colour and depth. One thing you all seem to have in common is the fact that you question the talent that you have- some of you are so unsure of what you can do, so doubtful of how you make people feel. I wish I could wipe that away. It makes me admire you even more that although you are uncertain- you still share your artistry with us all.

The list below is by no means exhaustive- I’m sure I will miss people, and for that I am sorry. Just know that if you have ever written a fic, one that you’ve posted out there for the world to see, or one that sits on your hard drive that’s only for you - I am in awe.

These are just some of the people (and a fave fic of theirs) who have posted fic over the last year that have managed to make me laugh, cry, angry (well, frustrated) given me goosebumps, made me warm and fuzzy, made me grin from ear to ear, lingered with me for days after reading and everything in between. I know something that is so important to you all is characterisation- and ALL of you manage to get Ben and Callum spot on. You just get them- you care about them as characters and it shows.... imma shut up now and do the list-

(this is in no particular order by the way- just as I think of them) I love you all 💕💕

@calthighway the way Gemma can put Ben and Callum into any situation and still make them so them? Amazing. Strictly dancer and celeb partner? Goalkeeper and star striker of a football team? Assassin and their target? All written by Gemma, and all believable, and all beautiful. Hard to choose a favourite- but the Guardian Angel fic just hits me every time- squeezes at my heart so....

my wish, for you, is that this life becomes all you want it to. your dreams stay big, your worries stay small

@dingletragedy Soph writes words that are so beautiful they can make you ache. A way of describing the most simple thing in such a lovely way, that you never look at it the same again. Just pure poetry. Again- hard to choose a favourite (lbr- it will be for all of you) but who doesn’t love a bit of ex-sex?

since that night the moon has never seemed the same

@callumsmitchells Lucy writes fic so soft- it’s like being wrapped in a big fluffy cardigan, sipping a hot chocolate by the fire when you read one of Lucy’s fic. Goosebumpy and gorgeous- every one. Favourite? Kisses- lots of kisses.

hold me close and i’ll take you higher than you’ve ever been

@halfwayinit Katie has this ability to make you feel like you are bouncing along on clouds of fluff, and then suddenly the angst comes and the rain starts falling- but it’s so beautiful you don’t care. And she also always brings you a metaphorical brolly and makes it all better. Do you like pining? Pining with a happy ending? 

one look at you and i can’t deny (i’ve got hungry eyes)

@thefancyspin God- Lisa. Lisa writes things so seated in reality that it never fails to amaze me. Her fics just feel so real? I’m not explaining it very well, but yeah... always written beautifully, always engaging. Who wants some jealous Ben, jealous in a way that you know would happen in real life?

make fools of us all

@juguitos Star. Star is just so good at writing the feeling behind the (very hot) sex these boys are having. She captures the hidden meaning and feelings behind the physical relationship so, so well. I don’t like affair fic OK (I’m a big baby-I know) but Star has written this so well, it’s one of the exceptions to my rule...

love bite

@yasisworld Yasi just writes beautifully. Everything just makes you feel and that is a wonderful gift to have. Who knew that Ben as a soldier would work? Yasi did. I remember reading this fic and just... when you read it you question why you’d never considered Ben as a soldier before....

old wounds

@oceandawning What can you say about Ni that so many people haven’t said already. She’s practically had the whole fandom hanging off her every word with 3AM Rush. Writes in a way that makes you feel everything so viscerally. And I haven’t even read Rush yet (I know, I know....). Ben wearing Callum’s hoodie however...

a piece of you

@stillamess22 Amelie just writes the sweetest fic. They never fail to make me smile. They pull at your heartstrings, but they always manage to wrap you in fluff by the end. Cheating a little maybe as it’s based off a prompt from me but Callum discovering Ben’s texts post kidnap- beautiful...

Your Words,They Keep Me Fighting

@softlofty Lisa wrote a fic that I still don’t understand where the idea came from,let alone how she made it work so beautifully? Ben as a newsreader, Callum as a weather reporter. It just works, and it is honestly gorgeous.

chasing rainbows

@sunsetsover Lauren- the epitome of quality not quantity. Her fics are always worth the wait. There is something so, so real about them, and I vividly remember being awake until 2am reading this one. The relationship they have with each other? The relationship they have with others? The teasing in the pub with Mick/Linda/Tina- I remember laughing out loud....

Small Love

@icantdowithoutyou Kit out here writing episode codas that capture Ben and Callum’s relationship so well. Not only capturing their sexual relationship in all it’s hotness (god- I’m sorry I’m so cringe), but also showing their feelings for each other developing so beautifully. 

i was just trying to survive the night

Sorry- this is a cop out now but if I don’t shut up fanfic writer day will have been and gone- but other writers I have on my reading list that I have heard nothing but wonderful things about, or writers whose fic I am part way through-

@maxsbowden @panesars @minimitchell @leblonde @racheliswritingfic @ballumschmallum @totallyradioactive15 @always-just-jade (I still need to read the rest of Love In Isolation and companion fic) @moodyblueangel (Canning Town is going to stay with me for a while and I have only read 2 chapters so far) @laurenkmyers @yougaythen @artsy-highway

Shoutout to @ballym also for her amazing social media AU, and for @minyardjay for your headcanons.

Witch of Agnesi, WatMcGregor and writingwords who I don’t think are here.

ALSO- I WILL GET TO ALL YOUR BIG BANG FICS- I PROMISE. THEY ARE ALL ON MY TO READ LIST. It grows longer by the day- but each and every one of you have fic on my ‘to read’ list. So many fic- I have been so, so rubbish lately- I apologise. I also apologise for being so crap at commenting- I will get better. I will because it is the least you all deserve.

[teeentyonepilots]

wait... i am confusion.... whats going on? somehow ive avoided clique drama for 6 years (no idea how tbh) and so this is the first ive heard of this "pyramid scheme"??? may i ask what thats about?

Tyler’s sister Maddy has been involved in multiple MLM (multilevel marketing) scams to make money. Her most recent one is called BeachBody which sells workout routines and supplements and shakes and shit. She promotes her scams to her Instagram followers, many of whom she has because of her famous brother and many of them impressionable people and children who may get involved just because someone connected to Tyler is promoting it.

MLMs are predatory schemes which drain the wallets of people who sign up for them because you’re always having to recruit more people to buy from you and then sell under your line to move you up the pyramid. 90% of people who get involved with MLMs fail and lose money rather than receive any of the success that is falsely promised. They manipulate and prey upon people’s insecurities— body image, finances, supporting one’s family, especially women/mothers. They steal empowerment slogans like “boss babe” and use CULT LIKE MIND CONTROL TACTICS to convince people it’s not just sales... it’s a whole lifestyle movement that will BETTER YOU. They make it appear like you own your own company when really you’re just a fool making high levels rich.

So you sign up to work for them, investing your own money to start selling the product and you go through training of “winning sales strategies” and if you follow everything they tell you, you’ll be ROLLING IN CASH. Then they tell you exactly what to say to your friends, family, and every single person on your social media to guilt them and deceive them into buying whatever you’re selling. There’s an MLM for everything and most of the products are GARBAGE. Some actually cause damage like Monat hair products (chemical burns). They act like these are the best products ever but are unregulated, not clinically tested, and dangerous... some claiming to cure illnesses and coronavirus and cancer (that’s more of the nutritional supplement and essential oils worlds but yeah they make massive claims).

But the products don’t even matter sometimes... the real scheme is recruiting more people to join. Someone got you to join and they make money off what you sell and who you recruit (your up line). You want to recruit more people so you can become an upline too. These schemes have levels you can “achieve” and they promise you more money, more rewards, cars, vacations, etc. it’s always about selling selling selling and recruiting. They have ridiculous scripting, formulaic social media posts, and people will cold message others to try and recruit them (I’ve seen posts where people message people going through a major loss and being like X product will HELP YOU SO MUCH). Predatory and disgusting. They bombard everyone with their company and often ruins relationships because all they want is YOUR MONEY and are completely disingenuine. I could go on forever about patterns of strategies they us and they’re always changing what they’re doing because people catch on— nowadays they tell the salespeople to not even name the company.

Anyway, I could go on and on forever. There’s lots of anti-MLM videos on YouTube, there’s a website that tells you if a company is an MLM (some may surprise you because they’re established brands and even have physical shops— Pampered Chef, Body Shop, Avon, etc. I learned a lot from the fb group “sounds like mlm but ok” which shares real posts sent in by members, and some members even were formerly involved in MLMs and answer questions about them. They keep a massive list of known MLMs and update frequently. There’s literally an MLM for everything.

So Maddy’s in this MLM which is all about fitness and weight loss (which is scary to be promoting this to young, impressionable fans/children especially while she’s pregnant). She’s been posting NOT SOCIALLY DISTANCED PHOTOS AND VIDEOS with Jenna while working out. She’s trying to recruit people to her team and she frequently posts on her IG story/page about it. Most recently she is trying to get 10 new sign ups and she posted a list of who’s signed up so far and “Jenna J” is on the list. Most people assume it’s Jenna and some are trying to defend her that it may be a strategy of Maddy to trick people into signing up.

Several things could be going on:

Jenna could think she’s just helping out her sister in law with her business. She’s ignorant and ill-informed and misusing her platform of even more followers, many of whom may sign up because she appears to be the ideal standard of beauty and body type— people want to look like her even though that’s extremely toxic. She may or may not even participate in this, but regardless her name is there and makes it seem like she is endorsing a dangerous pyramid scheme to over a million people.

Someone online is claiming Maddy made up her name because Jenna isn’t part of the private Facebook group that Maddy has for people that signed up... 1. Do y’all really think Jenna would have a Facebook or be in a setting where people could find her secret account? No... and IF maddy is using her name and making it up and implying she’s involved... they all need to be more aware of Maddy’s rogue posts manipulating the audience she primarily only has because of her famous brother. Because tying Jenna’s name to this is dangerous.

In conclusion, there’s a reddit post getting a lot of attention and making people aware of what’s happening and what’s the risk. I’ve seen a lot of people on twitter warning people. Some Instagram comments are calling Maddy directly out (though there’s many who are in support.... and the negative comments can be deleted. Be careful what you see people promoting online and do your research. MLMs are insidious and I’ve personally seen people get involved in them.

The irony that Tyler literally posted a few days ago about companies asking him to promote their “garbage products”. He’s extremely anti ads and endorsing specific brands or doing celebrity ads (Josh on the other hand... he sure does love Nike and there was a lot of Nike product placement recently...). I really appreciate that about Tyler and I think it’s awesome he knows the power his support wields because of the very invested fan base. I just wished he’d notice that two of his siblings often use and manipulate the attention they get because of him to try and get rich quick. I get that he’s very supportive of his family, but there’s got to be some line where he protects his fans.

I hope he finds out about this from either reddit or twitter lurking (which he does a lot) and puts a stop to it because it’s dangerous and manipulative and not at all what he is about as a person.

[hopesilverheart]

Hot chocolate with a dash of love

(read on ao3)

Pairing: Aline/Maia Rated: Gen Summary: “You’re absolutely ridiculous,” Alec sighed. “That girl even lets you make those disgusting holiday drinks you love so much, and I assure you it’s not because she likes them.”

“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with my drinks!” Aline threw a dishtowel at her friend. “And I guarantee you that she likes them, since she always asks for more. You can even ask her when she stops by today, if it’ll make you happy.”

“Oh, it would make me very happy,” Alec grinned. “I can’t wait to see where that conversation leads us.”

Or: Aline loves making coffee during the winter season; Maia loves buying coffee from her.

For the @malecdiscordserver Advent Calendar

“Oh god, what atrocity have you made this time?”

At the sound of Alec’s voice, Aline’s gaze snapped away from the drink she’d been preparing only to land on her best friend’s tired form. She almost winced in sympathy but figured she didn’t look much better, so any attempt at asking after him would only end with Alec turning the situation against her.

“Good morning to you too,” she said as cheerfully as she could manage – which was to say not much, given how drained she was from finals season. “This is the delicious peppermint mocha with eggnog foam, covered in candy cane sprinkles and mini marshmallows.”

At her description, Alec mock-gagged and skirted around her like the drink in her hands was the plague. Aline rolled her eyes at his antics but didn’t comment on his inability to appreciate holiday drinks; he wasn’t the only one who made fun of her tastes and she would much rather roast a rude customer than her best friend.

“Your coffee is already on the counter,” she piped up instead, grinning internally when Alec’s eyes lit up. She had known the man ever since the two of them were too little to walk, and it hadn’t taken her long to realise that the best way to his heart was through his favourite foods – or in this case, coffee. “And yes, I know I’m the most amazing best friend in the world. I hope you appreciate the efforts I put into it, because that stuff is ridiculously difficult to make.”

“That’s just because you’re terrible with the foam,” Alec snorted, sighing contentedly as he took a sip of his drink. “You should really let me deal with that, but I suppose I owe you a thank you for having this ready for me. How early did you even get here?”

“Simon made me take his graveyard shift,” Aline admitted defeatedly. “I should know better than to let his wide eyes fool me, but he mentioned something about his sister and there was no way I was going to refuse his offer. Remember that Christmas shift we were going to do together? Well, I hope you’re going to have a nice time with Simon.”

“No,” Alec gaped. “How the hell did you get him to accept Christmas of all days? His sister better have been in need of serious help because I refuse to be stuck with him for anything less than a matter of the utmost importance.”

“Oh please, don’t lie to yourself,” Aline nudged her friend playfully. “I know you secretly love having shifts with Si. He makes your drink perfectly and he mans the register every time you look like you’re about to murder someone. And of course, there’s the fact that he lets you sneak a break in whenever Magnus stops by. That boy is gold and you know it.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Alec mumbled, but Aline could see the fond smile tugging at his lips as he tied his apron with a flourish he’d undoubtedly gotten from his boyfriend. “Do you know when Lyds is taking over for you?”

“I told her not to get here before ten,” Aline shrugged as nonchalantly as possible, hoping Alec wouldn’t comment on-

“Ten, huh?” Her best friend raised his eyebrows, and Aline cursed internally. The man was too observant for his own good, sometimes. “Is that random, or does it perhaps have something to do with the pretty girl from my marketing class you seem to like so much?”

“Completely random,” Aline huffed. “I would never put in extra work just to see someone who I don’t even know. Besides, I’m pretty sure she only comes here to see you, since her lectures are on the other side of campus.”

“How on earth do you know that?” Alec laughed loudly, sounding genuinely surprised at the amount of information Aline had somehow managed to gather about the beautiful girl with warm eyes and curls she wanted to run her fingers through. “Even I don’t know where all of her lectures are, and I’m in three of her courses.”

“I talked to her,” Aline lied through her teeth.

In reality, she’d gotten answers through a fair amount of snooping, dubiously ethical social media research, and questions she’d carefully asked various Econ students who visited the coffee shop regularly. All in all, she’d put in more effort to find out about the other woman than she’d put in any of her papers that semester. It had been worth it, of course, but Alec didn’t need to know any of that.

“Whatever you say,” he smirked at her. “My point is that Maia – in case you somehow missed her name while the two of you were… talking – never stops by later than ten, which means there’s a good chance you’re trying to see her before you have to leave. As for why she comes here, I think we both know it has nothing to do with me. That girl is as gay as I am and you know it.”

“She could be bi, you know,” Aline pointed out, although she couldn’t deny the way her heart skipped a beat at the confirmation of what she’d been thinking for the past two months. It wasn’t that the girl – Maia – looked gay, but the way she stared at Aline… Well, some things were hard to ignore. “I just don’t want to get my hopes up.”

“You’re absolutely ridiculous,” Alec sighed. “That girl even lets you make those disgusting holiday drinks you love so much, and I assure you it’s not because she likes them.”

“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with my drinks!” Aline threw a dishtowel at her friend. “And I guarantee you that she likes them, since she always asks for more. You can even ask her when she stops by today, if it’ll make you happy.”

“Oh, it would make me very happy,” Alec grinned. “I can’t wait to see where that conversation leads us.”

Aline opened her mouth to answer but before her smart retort could slip past her lips, a customer entered the shop and marked the beginning of the morning rush. Nevertheless, Aline sent her best friend a sharp glance as she smiled pleasantly at the customer to take his order.

There was no way her favourite customer – and hypothetical crush, according to Alec – didn’t like her drinks. No way on earth.

***

It took two hours of working tirelessly alongside Alec but finally, the woman they’d both been waiting for stepped through the shop’s front doors, looking as pretty and bright as she always did.

Aline couldn’t quite remember when she’d first seen Maia, but she remembered exactly how she’d felt. She remembered her mouth going dry, her heart clenching at the sight of such a beautiful woman, and all her thoughts disappearing from her mind. She remembered Lydia nudging her in the ribs and staring at her expectantly as the angel stepped up to the counter, and she remembered fumbling over her words as she tried to take the girl’s order.

She’d been a disaster and seeing the woman back again the next day had been the most pleasant surprise of her first month back at uni. Ever since then, Maia had stopped by the shop almost every day of the week, even weekends, and all of Aline’s co-workers seemed to think she was the reason behind the increasingly frequent visits.

She got their point, she really did, but she still struggled to understand why a woman as stunning and confident as Maia would be interested in her. And if she was, why not just ask Aline out? It wasn’t like she was subtle with her – hypothetical – crush on the other woman.

After all, after over two months of seeing Maia up to six times a week, nothing had occurred between them beyond the occasional greeting when they crossed paths on campus.

“Good morning Alec! Good morning Aline!” Maia’s voice cut through Aline’s thoughts, bringing her attention back to the very woman she’d been thinking about. God, she was gorgeous. “How are you doing today?”

“Tired,” Aline admitted, biting back a yawn as the thought of her bed flashed in her mind. She felt like she hadn’t slept in years. “Simon had me covering his shift last night and early this morning, so I honestly feel like a zombie.”

“Why are you even here?” Maia’s eyebrows flew up. “I would have left this goddamn place as soon as possible if my friend had gotten me to cover his shift. Isn’t Lydia usually here around this time?”

“She is,” Aline answered, wondering why the woman even knew about their shifts. It wasn’t exactly common knowledge. “I just thought I’d pick up a few extra hours; a little more cash can never hurt, you know?”

“She’s lying.”

Until then, Aline had never really understood why people wanted to strangle their friends sometimes. Sure, Alec teased her more than anyone else and Lydia occasionally got on her nerves with her endless sources of knowledge, but she’d never wanted to physically hurt them before.

Right then, however, she could easily picture her hands around Alec’s neck. Anything to make him shut up, really.

“Am I?” Aline asked through gritted teeth, shooting Alec the deadliest glare she could manage and preening slightly when he backed off with raised hands. “That’s what I thought.”

When she looked back at Maia, the brunette looked like she was holding back a laugh, although her eyes were sparkling with an emotion Aline couldn’t quite put her finger on. Honestly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to. She’d made a fool of herself in front of Maia countless times already, and she wasn’t exactly eager to add another situation to her tally.

“Anything I need to know?” Maia finally asked.

“Alec’s just being his usual foolish self,” Aline replied unconvincingly – she could hear her voice trembling, for goodness sake. “Now, what did you want? Because as much as I despise that man, I also have a bet to win and I would love for you to prove my point.”

“And your point will be proven depending on the coffee I choose?” She sounded doubtful, but Aline didn’t let that bother her. She might not have been the best at flirting or navigating social interactions, but she could brew the best coffee out of all the workers at the shop and she was determined to show Alec that her drinks were fantastic. “I guess I’ll have whatever you feel like making, then.”

“That’s-” Aline cut herself off as she felt her cheeks turn red. It was very sweet of Maia, if she was being completely honest, but it also wouldn’t do much to convince Alec that the woman actually enjoyed her drinks. She couldn’t just force the beverage on Maia and call it a win; she needed the other woman to admit that she wanted one of her ‘sugary nightmares’. “That’s very kind of you, but it’s also not what this is about. If you could have any drink right now, within our limits, what would it be? What would you get if it were anyone other than me here.”

“Oh, well that’s a completely different question,” Maia sighed as though she was truly considering Aline’s question. “See, if it were you, I would get that hot chocolate topped with peppermint foam that you made the other day. If it were someone else, I’d probably ask for a basic vanilla drink because – and don’t tell the others I said this – they’re terrible at making holiday drinks.”

The tell-tale sound of plastic cups toppling over rang out behind Aline and it took all of her willpower for her not to grin victoriously as she turned back to check on Alec. Her best friend stuck his tongue out at her childishly, gesturing for her to get back to her own business. Aline was more than willing to oblige.

“My drinks are the best, then?” She asked sweetly. “And you’re not forcing yourself to drink them because of some strange obligation you feel towards me?”

“Obligation is the last thing I feel for you, Aline.”

Maia’s words had Aline freezing in her tracks, her ears burning as she lifted her gaze to meet Maia’s. Instead of looking mortified or amused, as Aline had assumed she would, she stared at the barista unashamedly, the glint in her eyes back with a vengeance.

This time, Aline thought she might have an idea what that was all about.

She took a deep breath, willing the last of her anxiety away the same way she had when she was younger and her mother had taken her along on business trips. She knew how to handle stressful situations; she’d been raised to handle them, even. If she could somehow make it through conversations with foreign politics who couldn’t have cared less about a little girl, she could make it through a casual talk with her crush.

Her not-so-hypothetical crush.

“Are you saying you didn’t start buying these ridiculously sweet drinks because you wanted to make me happy?” She raised her eyebrows disbelievingly. Whether or not Maia liked her drinks now, there was no doubt in Aline’s mind that no sane person would order her special beverages without some sort of hidden motive.

“Making you happy and feeling like I have to buy the drinks are far from the same things, you know?” Maia pointed out, a lopsided smile tugging at her lips. “But you’re right, that is why I started buying them. Before you start crooning in victory, Alec, I’ll have you know that I do enjoy her drinks! I’m pretty sure I get a sugar high every time I take a sip, but it’s completely worth it.”

“You’re insane!” Alec called over, muttering an apology to the customer behind Maia as he fumbled with yet another cup.

“You really don’t mind them?” Aline asked again. She knew her questions were starting to get redundant, but a girl was allowed to check before getting her hopes up, right?

“Aline, they’re delicious,” Maia rolled her eyes exasperatedly. “Is that enough for you? Or do you also need me to tell you that even if they were terrible, I would still buy them and pretend to enjoy them just to see the way you light up every time I order one.”

“Oh my god,” Aline blushed brightly. “That’s- Um- Yeah, thank you? Did you want your drink now?”

“That and maybe a date?” Maia suggested calmly, and Aline couldn’t help but wonder how she had managed to get those words out without stuttering, because her heart was pounding wildly and she could feel her hands sweating profusely.

Maia had been coming to the shop for months; what on earth had made her decide to ask Aline now, of all times? And why was she so- Sure? Confident? Alec had told Aline that the other woman never hesitated and always spoke her mind, but this still seemed very sudden.

She wasn’t exactly complaining, but she also hadn’t been prepared in the slightest. She’d thought that maybe – maybe – after a few more weeks of fumbling her way through conversations and flirting through poor puns as well as overly sweet drinks, Maia might show interest. She hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

Who knew wooing could be so fast? So easy?

(It didn’t feel easy, but it also didn’t feel half as difficult as Aline’s past relationships, so she would take what she could get.)

“She would love to go on a date with you,” Alec’s voice broke through her rambling thoughts.

At any other time, Aline would have reprimanded her friend for speaking in her place, but she honestly couldn’t be angry about it when she noticed the way Maia’s features had started losing their brightness and eagerness.

“Yes! Absolutely! I would love nothing more than that,” she blurted out before Maia could start freaking out – one of them was more than enough, she thought. “I’m sorry, I just- That was- I didn’t consider this option when I wondered how you might react to my question. I thought it was rather innocuous.”

“It was,” Maia shrugged. “But you’ve been making me special holiday drinks all month long, Alec was clearly implying that you didn’t pick this shift up just to make money, and my gaydar has never been wrong before, so I thought I might as well take the leap.”

“That was a good idea,” Aline nodded rapidly, ignoring Alec and Maia’s matching laughter. “A great idea, even.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Maia chuckled. “I’ll stop by tomorrow so we can figure out the details? I have to talk to my boss about my shifts for the week but I’d love to get this planned out as soon as possible.”

“Definitely,” Aline agreed, hoping she didn’t sound as smitten as she thought she did. “Tomorrow works for me. I work all morning.”

“I know,” Maia winked. “Now, about that drink?”

Alec groaned, but Aline beamed at the reminder of her favourite part of her job at the coffee shop.

Five minutes later, Maia was leaving the shop with a sweet drink made with love – and terrible coffee art that made her smile anyways – as well as Aline’s phone number tucked in her jacket pocket.

Alec could complain as much as he wanted, but he couldn’t deny that Aline’s ridiculous things had earned her the most wonderful thing in the world: a date and, with that, a chance at love.

[florianwirtz]

Tears - Anyone You’d Like

Warning: strong language

"Will we see us again? I really had a good time with you."

You blinked a few times confusedly before you answered the question with a plastered smile on your face.

"Of course, I'm texting you whenever I'm free, see you soon." You even had the decency to look back and wave until you ran to the bus stop, a sour expression on your face.

Another failed tinder date later, you found yourself at your best friend's couch with a glass of wine in your hand. Luckily, he always had an open ear for you whenever your day didn't go the way you wanted.

"He really spent the whole date talking about how fucking awesome he apparently is and managed to make everything about him. I swear I was that close to spilling the wine over the table so he could shut the fuck up for once."

Frustration was taking over you which made you finish your half-full glass in one go and your best friend only chuckled slightly while observing you silently. He never grew tired of listening to your failed date stories because the way you were able to retell stories and spilling all your emotions was just so hilarious.

“I told you these tinder dates will lead to nothing. You should give one of my teammates a chance, they're all lovely, I promise!” He suggested after you were finished with ranting and you only rolled your eyes at him.

“While I appreciate your lousy attempts of playing matchmaker, I already told you I don't want to date a footballer, I don't think I could handle being second choice to a freaking ball!” A short laugh escaped your mouth which made him laugh too, but you saw that he wasn't really listening anymore as he was busy scrolling through his socials.

To avoid awkward silence, you pretended to do the same as a sudden wave of sadness hit you. Because of course, he didn't understand why you were still accepting all these tinder dates when you were fully aware that this is definitely not the platform to find the love of your life. How could he know that you refused to go on dates with one of his teammates because you couldn't help but compare every single footballer to him.

Something deep inside you still somehow hoped that you'd end up with him. So you used these dates as a distraction, an excuse that you haven't found the right one yet.

And just as you thought about how naive and stupid your feelings were, the reason you felt silly went down the stairs.

"Hi you two! [Y/N], I didn't know you were coming!" She gave you her sweetest smile and you couldn't help but smile back. The hug she gave you felt warm and genuine and once again you just knew that she was the right one for him. How could you hate her when she never badmouthed you once for always showing up at your friend's house because you wanted to feel his presence near you.

Not even the miserable feeling in your stomach when she bent down to him and kissed his cheek softly which made both put their happiest faces on could tell you that you shouldn't be happy for them.

"Hi! Yes, but I was about to go, it's late." You answered her politely, ignoring the pang in your chest when you realised that they only had eyes for each other.

"Really? Let me drive you home then, it's late and you had a drink." She didn't even give you time to refuse and went searching for her car keys, leaving you and her boyfriend alone again.

"Thanks for having me and sorry for always barging in, she probably doesn't like it and I try not to do it so often anymore." You chuckled while holding him in your arms. Nothing made you feel more secure than being able to share physical contact with him while smelling his signature perfume.

"Stop saying that, you are always welcome. She knows how important you are to me. Have a safe ride home." He lightly brushed your cheek which made your whole body tremble and never were you happier than now that you could blame the burning shade of your face on the wine you had consumed.

You knew it was only a gesture of a trusted friend, yet it was all you could think about the whole ride home. Which is why you barely paid attention to what she talked about but she didn't seem to mind as she cluelessly continued talking. Only when she mentioned his name, you suddenly came back to reality.

"You ordered that cake for his birthday next week, right?"

"Yes, of course, the carrot cake from the bakery located in the neighbourhood he came from. It's gonna be delivered to your house on his day, it's all planned." You explained to her and saw her smiling while paying attention to the street.

"He's so lucky to have you, the amount of effort you put in his birthday is so heartwarming. I'm going to make sure he does the same for you."

She said it with such reassurance, for a moment, you weren't sure if you were able to hold this fake happy facade any longer. Because you still couldn't believe that she found all these sweet words for you when you were nothing but horrible to her by secretly wanting her boyfriend all to yourself. You were lucky that it was dark outside so she never noticed how a few tears escaped from your eyes. 

And the pain in your heart returned but this time not because of jealousy but because you realised how awful of a human being you are by not being able to let go of a dead crush.

A few days later you were invited to one of his games and it wasn't just any game but the decisive game of which team was going to the cup final.

Of course, you wore his name and number on your back but it didn't feel any special as he always had gifted you his kits whenever a new season started, it was a tradition since he went professional and for you as a football fan a great collector’s item.

She was also here and you were both twinning as she wore the same kit as you, only that hers was a man size, probably stolen from him. You even posted a pic on social media together, capturing it with “game day x” and expressions for the support of his team.

His family always managed to be present which was a rather rare occasion as they lived far away from his current residence. However, you knew from childhood days that they were always the proudest whenever they saw him play. And of course, they loved her, she was the perfect girlfriend anyone could ask for and she already told you that his family already made her feel like she was one of them. Life could be so perfect if you’d only see him as your best friend.

The game couldn't be any closer as both teams were equally strong, chances missed and converted from both sides and in the last 10 minutes, the scoreline showed was 1-1.

Both of you were nervously trembling, the tension whenever the opponent had the ball was unbearable and it seemed like it was going to extra time. But then a player of his team saw an opportunity and sprinted as his life depended on it, making the opponent's defenders look like fools. Finally, in front of the goal, he was crossing to his teammate who smashed the ball into the net with a beautiful header.

The crowd erupted, you and she in the family lounge hold each other tightly, screaming with joy and pride with the others in the room joining as well. And the few minutes of extra time after the deciding goal felt like an eternity, you and she never let go of each other's hands, too afraid that the opponent could turn this game around, but his team fought back until the liberating final whistle was heard.

You saw his team celebrating with each other, grinning like a Cheshire cat and also finding yourself in her arms again.

“I'm so proud of him, you have no idea.” She squeaked excitedly and you agreed with her, hugging her even tighter.

Finally, after all the post celebrations and interviews he came up to the family lounge, the people in this room applauding him with immense pride when they spotted their golden boy and he was greeting one after another.

Then he made his way to you and you just ran up to him and hugged him wordlessly, burying your head in his shoulder.

“You were fucking awesome there. You gonna win this trophy for sure now.”

“God, you are amazing. My supporter even when I accidentally smashed your mom’s vases back then. Thank you.”

You could feel your heartbeat so fast, you even thought you might pass out in a moment. This moment just felt too intense to end but it wasn't long until he slowly let go of you and you snapped back to reality.

And the ugly feeling of rejection came back when you saw him running up to her, kissing her passionately on the mouth and leaving a few other kisses on her face. They whispered sweet nothings to each other inaudible for everyone else and never noticing how they were lost in their own bubble. You stood on the side, no one noticing how you hold back a few tears in the back as they were busy in taking pictures of the two lovebirds.

Then his birthday came up. He still had training on this day but his coach assured him that there was no training the day after so he decided to celebrate in the evening after training.

So you found yourself in his house, helping his girlfriend to organise the party they had planned.

"Can I ask you something?" She suddenly asked you as you were in the process of decorating the table.

"Uh sure." Unsure what to expect, you both stopped arranging the glasses on the table as she sat down on the sofa, pointing to the place next to her.

"Do you think him and I are a good match?"

To say you were flabbergasted by her question would be an underestimation as you looked at her utterly aghast. What was she implying?

"What do you mean? Of course, you are?! You and he are perfect for each other and I bet you could ask anyone and they'd say the same."

She hesitated a bit before she answered, visibly uncertain about your statement.

"People on Instagram beg to differ."

She referred to the pictures he posted after the game he won. It contained a series of pictures including his family, you and her. "Finals! Always grateful for all of them supporting me."

You hadn't had a look at the comments before, but most of them were either about her or you. How you and he would be a much better fit, that you and he seemed to have more chemistry, simply based on two photos he had posted.

"Don't listen to them, sweetie. They don't see what we see every day and we know that you belong together." Comfortingly you put your hand on her shoulder while her expression still remained doubtful.

"But you still know him better than I ever will. After all, it was you who told me what he likes and how we should organise the party. It feels that after all these years, I still don't seem to know him like you do."

Unwilling to accept her self-doubt, you forcefully shook your head.

"It doesn't matter how well I know him. You are still his and his only. And while he loves me a lot, he loves me differently. He will always love you more."

How you managed to say this without bursting out into tears was beyond your understanding. Maybe if you told yourself this often enough, you'll start to accept it and maybe you were finally at the point where you should be able to move on.

However, when she gratefully took you in her arms, thanking you for trying to build her up, the relief in her voice obvious, you could feel your eyes watering. Because you knew she wouldn't even take a look at you if she knew what kind of feelings you were hiding.

The conversation was long over and forgotten when one of his mates finally brought him home, his house full of guests singing happy birthday to him as he entered the living room.

Obviously, he was left speechless at the number of people who had come to the party. He was even more surprised when he found out that it was you and her who organised all of it and immediately, he embraced you both at the same time, whispering "thank you my favourite girls".

Everyone was having a good time and even you could temporarily forget about your problems for a while. It was also an opportunity to get to know his teammates and you were positively surprised as most of them weren't too bad of a company.

It was all going well for you until he was asking for everyone's attention. No one really knew what was going on but he managed to make everyone surround him and his girlfriend, visibly wanting to announce something.

"First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for coming and making this day special. I feel extremely grateful that I know people like you who care so much about me."

Everyone in this room applauded him but stopping soon as he gave a signal that he wasn't finished talking.

As the applause died down, he took both hands of his girlfriend in his and looked her deeply in the eyes.

"I also wanna say special thanks to my girlfriend who always stuck by my side no matter what we've been through. I don't think I could ask for anyone better than you."

Suddenly he went down on his knee, everyone in this room holding their breath, knowing exactly what was coming while she held both of her hands in front of her mouth as he pulled out a box with a shiny ring out of his pocket.

"So I wanted to ask you if you would give me the honour and let me make you my wife?"

And she was now crying tears of joy, nodding with her head so much as if she had never been more sure of a decision.

Finally, the ring was on her finger and the people around the couple who were holding each other happily began to film and cheer with loud noise, celebrating and congratulating the couple in front of them.

You, on the other hand, stood like a brick wall at your place, not moving one bit as you still needed time to process what had happened a few minutes before.

Luckily for you, everyone's attention was given to the couple as no one noticed how you discreetly made your way out of the room.

You barely managed to reach the toilet and lock it up as you immediately fell down on your knees and finally, you let all the tears you had held back all the time streaming down your face.

You knew you should've expected it, you knew there never had been a chance in the first place, yet you couldn't help but feel heartbroken and alone. Because now he had made his definitive decision, he intended to spend the rest of his life with her.

And maybe this was your final call to ultimately move on from a love that was never meant to be, to finally let go of a person who was never yours in the first place.

Eventually, the tears stopped pouring and you took your time to sit on the floor for a few minutes, trying to regain your composure. Your make up was ruined by crying so you tried your best to make yourself look normal as much as possible. Right now, no one was supposed to notice your pain, later when you were home by yourself, you had enough time to let your true emotions show.

Carefully, you sneaked out of the bathroom and by the looks of it, no one had noticed your disappearance or breakdown. So you approached him with your brightest smile who was still surrounded by other people congratulating him. "My best friend is growing up and I can't believe he didn't tell me! Congrats on popping the question!" You took him in your arms as he hugged you happily back.

This time you broke the hug before you could feel anything more than you should.

Of course, he immediately noticed your face which was still red from the tears you had cried, making him look at you with a concerned face.

"Did you cry? Is everything alright?"

It wasn't easy to lie directly into his face as you still felt like you could burst out in tears at any minute but for his sake, you continued smiling.

"Of course I did, because I was so happy for you, idiot!" Playfully you smacked him on the shoulder and laughed which immediately infected him too.

"God, I'm so glad to have you."

And for some reason, his words didn't seem to affect you as much as they used to, you no longer felt like your heart could explode at any minute. Maybe these tears you had cried before were the first step of letting him go. Maybe these tears were necessary to get you through the process. Maybe when you saw him with her the next time, you will already have your happiness back.

Tell me who you imagined this with!

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Bet You Can’t {1}

Chris Evans x Uriah & Chris Hemsworth x Summer

Crossover-Collab Four-Part Miniseries

 Warning: Cursing, Plot, Fun, and Games, Mild Raunchy Talk

 Words: 2.2K

 Summary: Uriah and Chris are happily married. A night of relaxing with your best friends Chris and Summer Hemsworth brings up “No Nut November.” Once you hear it, you know where it’s leading. IT was all jokes until somehow it turned serious. The Chris’ strike a full-on bet while dragging their better halves into the madness. The rules are simple, for the entire month of November none of you will have sex, none of you will get that nut in any way. Whichever couple makes it get bragging rights, and the 10k pool bet money. Whichever couple doesn’t make it has to change their social media name to “Failed NNN” for a week and post/tweet as normal and go on IG live to announce their failure. The bet is rigged though when Uriah and Summer decide to sabotage their husbands and make a side bet on who could make their husband fail quicker. All’s fair in love and war, and this is war.

 Note: Got this idea from a group conversation with my friends, where a debate broke out about women being stronger and more able to survive NNN than men. It got me thinking, hmmm we know Chris has a dirty mind, dirty mind has to equal freak and always wanting to fool around.

It was too much fun working with @oceanscorazon​ a while back for her part one to out first collab titled Rumors & Waves. Look out for part two coming soon.  I had to do it again. Thank you to the beautiful and phenomenal Amber @oceanscorazon​ for agreeing to this!!!

This will be a four part story to be posted one chapter a week to show what November is like for Chris and Uriah. @oceanscorazon​ will also write four parts to show that November is like for Chris and Summer.

***So for Chris and Uriah’s timeline, this is before the events of Rumor Has It.

🍁 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

“Oh my god, you guys are so dumb. I cannot even deal right now!”

  You couldn’t contain your laughter. Perhaps it was you being at your utmost comfort level, or the fact you were genuinely having a great time or the insane amount of alcohol you’d consumed. Whatever it was, your ugly dork laugh had come out of hiding.

  “Oh my god, the dork laugh has returned,” Chris teased, pointing at you from across the huge firepit. Everyone laughed louder as you narrowed your eyes at your husband.

  “Oh shut up, you know you love my dork laugh.”

  “I do, you’re right. I kinda have to though right, we’re married.”

“What are you saying?”

  “Nothing, sweetheart, just it’s very suspect this laugh of yours didn’t emerge until we’d been married for a week.”

You all laughed harder, fully getting the meaning of his words.

  “Oh, mate, are you really implying that you’d have had second thoughts marrying her if you’d heard the laugh before?”

  Chris shrugged his shoulders with a smirk on his face before he finished his drink. Summer and Hemsworth roared out with “ohs.” You rolled your eyes at him.

  “I’m kidding. I’m kidding. I don’t think anything could have stopped me from marrying her. It was inevitable,” Chris clarified, shooting an enamored smile your way.

  “It was inevitable. From the night you got between these thighs, your fate was sealed,” you gibed. Again, you all laughed heartily.

  “I agree with Riah; everyone saw how captivated you were once you met. We all placed bets on how long it would be until you married her,” Summer announced.

  “Yeah, it was record-breaking time too,” Hemsworth slipped in.

  You smiled at Chris, making your way around the firepit to sit on his lap. Chris wrapped his muscular arms around you and placed a kiss on your jawline. “When you know you know,” he finished.

  “Aww, baby.”

  Your lips met his in a sweet kiss, then turned passionate. Chris pulled you closer, and before anything could turn dirty you pulled back. You heard the low grunt that caught in his throat as he gave you a look that spoke of desire. You knew what was in store for you when you got home.

  “You guys are so stinking cute. Five years and still acting like newlyweds,” Summer broke in as Hemsworth leaned over to kiss her temple as the words left her mouth. She smiled and turned to her husband and kissed him softly.

  “Look who’s talking,” Chris quipped.

  “Oh, can’t believe it’s the last of October already,” Hemsworth lamented with a groan.

  You all knew what the end of October meant. It meant that you all were now just two months away from getting back to work from your vacations from filming. Hemsworth and Summer were set to get back into superhero mode with Marvel. You’d been signed to two new roles that were set to shoot back to back while you worked on your debut album in between all of it. Chris, on the other hand, was exploring and filming a few new roles since his departure from Captain America. The silence stretched as the threat of work hung in the air between the four of you.

  “I saw something funny on Twitter the other day. There are a bunch of people posting about starting and participating in something called “No Nut November,” Chris began.

  You and Summer groaned in unison as your eyes met. You knew what your best friend was thinking without a word.

  Hemsworth cleared his throat in true Chris Hemsworth exaggerated jokester fashion then began. “Ah, I know this one. It’s when in November, people commit to not having sex.”

  “It’s stupid. I never understood why anyone would do that?” Eyes went to you as you finished your bottle of beer. When you realized it you looked at the three of them “What? Sex is a natural, healthy and fun part of being human. Why would anyone want to get rid of it?”

  Summer and Hemsworth laughed again.

  “Guess we know what goes on behind closed doors now, huh Mrs. Evans,” Summer joked as her husband snickered with her.

  “Hey, we’re adults, and we won’t be shamed,” Chris said coming to your defense.

  “No shame at all, boo,” Summer piped up.

  “I don’t’ see the big deal. I’d be able to handle it easy,” Summer’s husband added as she nodded right beside him.

  You felt Chris’ grip tighten around your waist while his other hand dropped to squeeze the flesh where your upper thigh and ass met. His giant hand was blazing hot. Chris only got this hot when he’d gotten some drinks in him, and his body was turning the alcohol into fuel—but fuel for something else entirely. Your eyes locked onto his to see his teeth sink into his bottom lip. You smiled and mouthed, “behave.” He smiled and buried his face into your neck and teased the sensitive flesh there.

  “Eh-em!” You turned to find Summer and co looking at you.

  “Hm?”

  “Guess we got our answer, you and Evans definitely wouldn’t make it. You’re both too weak,” Summer teased.

  “Woah, woah, are we forgetting who was the one playing Captain America, the first strongest avenger?”

Everyone rolled their eyes. “Bro, you’re like an old quarterback who just won’t let go of his glory days. We get it sport, you were the best or one of them, but let’s not forget about who the actual god of thunder is,” Hemsworth gloated while flexing his muscle. You noticed Summer’s broad smile as she stared at her husband’s arm.

  “I just don’t appreciate being called weak. My wife and I would more than be able to make it because we’re physically and mentally strong,” Chris professed, sitting up in his Adirondack chair. Your eyes dropped to him, trying to give him the signal to abort what he was saying because you saw where this was heading.

  “Oh, so you think you’d be able to win this thing?” Hemsworth added.

  The two of them always loved to goad each other. One time, Chris had goaded Hemsworth into a beer drinking match while you and Summer were left as the innocent bystanders watching your husbands act like children, then you had to be the ones to take care of them after they’d both surpassed their limits. It ended in vomit, and neither of you were happy, which finished with both of them being in the doghouse for several weeks. Another time Hemsworth goaded Chris into a surfing challenge knowing full well Chris was not a surfer. He grew up in Boston. That resulted in Chris getting stung by a jellyfish and Hemsworth having to pee on him. You and summer laughed your asses off but never heard the end of it from either of your husbands.

  Then there was that time they both tricked each other into some whacky challenge to drive for an hour completely naked. That ended up with both of them getting pulled over by the cops who found it amusing and let them go, but they were then spotted by TMZ and ended up being on the show with the headline “Fast and Furious Streaking Chris’.” It was hilarious, but neither of them lived it down for several months. You and Summer knew this was about to get out of hand.

  “Guys,” you began, but neither of them batted an eye to your but in into the conversation. They simply continued debating the issue of who had the mental strength to do it.

  “Hello! We the wives have something to say,” Summer attempted. Her husband briefly looked to her then back to Chris.

  “Hold on, baby, the men--husbands are in the middle of something.”

  Summer’s jaw dropped, and you couldn’t help but laugh. You knew when they got like this, neither you or Summer would get a word in. You stood from Chris’ lap and walked over to the cooler where the drinks were with Summer following behind you. They didn’t even seem to notice.

  The two of you stood there and watched your husbands, and loves of your lives continue on as if you weren’t even there. “This won’t end well,” Summer began.

  “Oh, girl, I know.”

  “Why must they always try to do this one up game?”

  You shrugged because you honestly didn’t know what it was. It wasn’t a male thing because sometimes women got into it as well, but with men, it was on a whole different level.

  “Remember when Chris dared Evans to hold that rattlesnake saying he’d held them hundreds of times?”

  You and Summer snickered at the memory. Hemsworth hadn’t touched it but lied his ass off, and Chris fell for it and held it with no problem only when it was Hemsworth’s turn he chickened out, then Chris chased him around with it.

  “For a man who lives in Australia, you’d think him, and the rattlers would be best buds,” Summer joked.

  “Remember the time they got into a literal race on Sunset?”

  Summer rolled her eyes. The four of you were going to dinner together. After leaving your house, Chris and Hemsworth got into a pissing match over who could run the fastest. It went on and on for the whole eight-mile car drive. When you’d gotten to Sunset both of them got out the car and raced down to the restaurant, leaving you and Summer to drive the vehicles there. When you arrived, it was decided that they’d tied, which led to talks of a rematch.

  It was exhausting having them together, but it sure was great comedy. Suddenly both of them stood.

  “It’s settled then,” Hemsworth said.

  “Damn right it is,” Chris repeated. Both of them looked to you with huge smiles on their faces.

  “We’ve decided that we’re participating in this No Nut November, and we’re going to win,” Hemsworth began.

  You and Summer quickly spat out your mouthfuls of beer and gaped at your husbands. When neither of their smiles faltered, and neither spoke you and Summer looked to each other clearly thinking the same thing.

  “What the fuck!?” It came out at the same time, and the confusion and shock you both felt clearly and precisely came across.

“No Nut November, for the entire month of November,” Chris began before you cut him off.

  “I know what the hell No Nut November is Christopher. I’m not an idiot! What the hell do you mean we’re participating? Who decided that?”

  “We did,” he informed, motioning between him and Chris.

  “Oh, so you two are fucking each other?”

  “Really, Summer?”

  “That is the only way you two could come up and decide something that involves your wives as well,” Summer continued.

  “Babe, we’ve got this. We’ve been married longer and have way more self-control than these two noobs,” Hemsworth slid in as he approached her.

  “Hey! We have self-control!” Your outburst was not to defend this stupid idea; it was to defend you and Chris as a couple.

  “Sure you do,” Hemsworth added with a snort. “Summer, it’ll be easy, like taking candy from a baby.”

  “Whatever, you two are the ones who couldn’t keep your hands off each other during filming. Our godchildren were conceived because you couldn’t practice professionalism and control,” Chris dropped in. Your eyes bugged as did Summers.

  “Wow, you went there, Evans? Really?” Chris shrugged his shoulders so matter of factly that you had no choice but to laugh.

  “Really, Riah!”

  “I’m sorry, I really am. You have to admit though, that was the perfect slide in. He read you both.” You did your best to stop smiling, but it was difficult.

  “I say we take this bet and show them what winners look like,” Hemsworth added.

  “Not a good idea,” Summer finished.

  “We already have a bet Summer. The Evans’ will bring this home!”

  “Whatever mate, the Hemsworths are going to claim this victory.”

  “Rules are simple. For the entire month of November, neither of us will have sex. None of us will get any nut,” Chris explained as his eyes went from Summer to Hemsworth and then to you.

  You and Summer were just stunned as to how this happened, especially with them completely ignoring what the two of you had to say about it.

  “Whichever couple makes it gets bragging rights, and the pool bet money. I’m putting down five grand Summer, and I have this.”

  “Well, I’m putting down five grand Riah, and I more than have this,” Chris countered.

  You rolled your eyes and looked to Summer. She was still frozen, just watching her husband speak.

  “Whichever couple doesn’t make it has to change their social media name to “Failed NNN” for a week and post/tweet as normal.”

  “Easy. I’m gonna raise that bet, on top of changing your name you have to go on IG live and announce that you failed and lost to us,” Chris raised.

  “Oh ho, deal!” Hemsworth and Chris shook hands and looked to the two of you. Again, neither you or Summer spoke. Your husbands walked off together, throwing themselves back into conversation as if they hadn’t just committed to a month of torture without consulting either of you.

  “What just happened?”

  “Girl, we just got fitted for and shackled with our chastity belts for November,” you informed.

  “Ain’t that a--.” Summer started, as the two of you just stood there looking at the men you loved who’d just started yet another war with each other, which had the two of you dealing with the fallout.

  “Bitch,” you finished.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***If you want to be tagged please SEND AN ASK SO IT WILL BE EASIER FOR ME TO KEEP TRACK OF. Thank you for reading!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TagList:

@chrisgalore​ @chaneajoyyy​ @rynabarnesrogers​ @disneysdarlingdiva​ @bellaamor88​ @ab-baybay​ @sonjashuterbugjohnson​ @caramara3​ @patzammit​

[womenlovingworms]

S3E4 Forget Me Not

Detmer :^(

Look at hugh being a good doctor

I understand they don’t know about the events of tng but someone has absolutely- wait how did they find tal so conveniently- put a symbiont in a human before, albeit briefly

Trill time >:-}

Alien in a jumpsuit must be star trek!

Oh the trill Robes

stamets shut UP

The SOUNDTRACK...

“Responsibility hoarder” I should mention that phrase to my therapist

tal i love you

“Nothing inspirational that makes me nuts” tal I Love You

Trill is a Beautiful planet

Oh I’d forgotten how elitist the trill society can be

“Particularly those capable of joining” we know -WAIT THAT'S RONNIE FROM SCHITTS CREEK- that half of the population is!!!!! No continuity errors here :)))

Senior staff meal hell yeah

Linus!! My boy Linus!!

Ohh my heart

Detmer I’m so concerned

this pool theme has stranger things vibes

TILLY

them all haikuing :)

Detmer??? Baby???

oh the trauma

Noo :-(

Adira !!!!!!!! Michael go down under and look you fool this is not how you do a search and rescue

Oh it either goes deep deep or this is some kinda dream scape??

I have met gray!!!

Ohh t4t worms!!!

Why do I not get to conquer the physical manifestation of my trauma!

Ah, fake strings instrument playing my beloved

Oh I love them

That is one poorly CGIed present

Gray??? My boy gray??? I just got attached to him I know he comes back but I love him

I appreciate that they use they instead of it pronouns for the symbiont

Federation trill time >:-}

Poor tilly I love her

Oh the denouement... they will find eachother and things will be okay

I think they vastly overestimate how funny old black and white media/Charlie Chaplin is

Oh. Owie. This is good.

The computer has become sentient but at least it seems to be benevolent??

Cello time fuck yeah :-)

Ghost gray???