#an illicit rivalry

[slytherhys]

An Illicit Rivalry - Part II

A/N: I have received so many requests to continue this story and in honour of Elriel Month and the AU prompt I thought...why not? So please enjoy this little prequel to the beloved "An Illicit Rivalry" story. And yes, I might write a little something else soon about Elriel at the Yule ball.

TW: mild swearing

Word Count: 3.2K | You can also read this on AO3!

When Elain finally entered the Potion’s classroom, she was already seven minutes late. Needless to say, the conditions she encountered weren’t the most favourable ones: her favourite workstation had already been taken by a Ravenclaw she barely recognised, Professor Snape was shooting her the dirtiest glare he could muster, and Azriel Rosehall was staring at her, a smirk on his annoyingly handsome face.

While standing next to the only available stool, of course.

Elain sighed, making her way towards the open seat before Snape had a chance to utter a single word about her tardiness (Elain couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t just start crying in the middle of the classroom if that were to happen and to be honest, her pride couldn’t afford to take the hit). She hardly needed Rosehall to find more ways to mock her, so to say she was pleased when he continued his lecture was an understatement.

Even if her reprieve lasted all but three seconds.

“Got held back by Trelawney, did you?” His teasing question was everything but polite, his hazel eyes trailing down her body as if trying to find something amiss. Elain laid down her books on the table, dropping her red apple next to them –vaguely wishing she had managed to eat it before coming to class. She didn’t know if she had enough energy to handle Potions class, let alone sitting through it next to Rosehall. “Heard you weren’t doing that well in divination.”

Elain scowled, barely looking in his direction as she pretended to pay attention to whatever Snape was droning about. “As per usual, Rosehall, it seems you are mistaken.” She didn’t even try to hide the boasting in her voice, even as she wondered how he even knew she was coming from Divination, since they didn’t share that class. “Trelawney was delighted by my work and wanted to see me after class.” She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, swallowing dry as she finally took him in.

His hazel eyes were full of mirth as they flickered between her and Snape, messy hair framing his handsome face in a way that made it seem like he didn’t try too much (even if Elain suspected he did try quite a lot). His quidditch thighs and full lips had been the object of many Hogwarts students’ wet dreams, something she was unfortunately aware of due to the inappropriate conversations constantly being held in her dorm room, and his smile had actually made one girl trip on her own feet one time outside of Charms.

Azriel frowned ever so slightly at her explanation, opening his mouth to say something inappropriate and offensive, if Elain had to guess.

“Miss Archeron,” Snape’s flat voice sounded instead, snapping her from her Rosehall-induced daze. It was all Elain could do not to yelp as she turned around to find herself face to face with his ugly sneer. “Would you mind identifying the potion you’ll be brewing today?”

Elain gaped, unable to utter a single word. She eyed the classroom, trying to find help from her useless colleagues. Azriel was hiding his smirk behind his hand, eyes sparkling as if he enjoyed watching her squirm under the attentive stare of a teacher. Nuala was sending her panicked looks from across the room, and Cerridwen kept flickering her eyes to the table, as if ordering her to just look.

And look Elain did. Following her line of sight, she seemed to finally take in exactly what ingredients were laying in front of her, her heart starting to race inside her chest. She frowned, unable to understand what she was seeing because there was simply no way…

Standard potioning eater, Ashwinder eggs, rose thorns, peppermint, powdered moonstone.

She would’ve laughed – hysterically – if she could, but Snape’s dull gaze was still pinned to her, waiting for an answer that, for whatever reason, Elain was dreading to name, let alone brew. In this room. Next to him.

Elain took a deep breath, swallowing dry as her eyes flickered to Azriel, who was watching her a raised eyebrow, and then to Snape, who was still waiting for her to say the words. The words that seemed to be glued to the roof of her mouth.

Still, she did her best to gather her wits. “Amortentia.” Elain said confidently, even as her heart kept beating frantically inside her chest, as if wanting to run as far away from this room as possible.

She heard the giggles and the excited yelps of her colleagues, the murmurs of her curious friends, but none of it seemed to matter – not as she became painfully aware of a familiar heated gaze on the side of her face. “The most powerful love potion in existence.” And because she knew Azriel wanted to add something to her lacklustre answer, she quickly said, “It is easily recognised by its mother-of-pearl sheen and the steam that rises from it in spirals.”

“Not to mention the adaptive scent.” Azriel’s voice excited sounded from her side, and it was all Elain could do not to turn to him and ask him why in Merlin’s beard he was so excited. “Its scent will alter to appeal to the preferences of whomever smells the potion.”

Snape eyed them critically, turning around when he seemed to find nothing amiss. Elain took a deep breath, painfully aware of Azriel’s uncharacteristic silence. She turned to watch him, frowning as she found him staring at the table, a contemplative look on his face.

“Amortentia is not a force to be reckoned with,” Snape said as he walked to the front of the room, his dark robes billowing dramatically after him. “It is not something to use for your silly infatuations, but a dangerous weapon that needs to be treated as such.” He glared at a particularly giggly Hufflepuff before speaking again.  “You will have forty-five minutes to brew it. Dotry not to burn my classroom to the ground.”

Elain gulped, swiping her clammy hands on her robe before rising to gather her ingredients, Azriel Rosehall a shadow trailing after her. She tried not to care, tried not to show just how aware of his presence she was – mainly as she thought of the potion they’d be brewing in just a couple of minutes. A nervous shiver ran down her body as she walked by him, going back to her workstation without a glance back.

Rosehall silently made his way towards his seat, avoiding looking at her as he organised his ingredients with a critical eye. Elain shook herself awake, willing herself to focus on her work instead of the man who had been making her life hell for the past couple of years.

So what if Elain had already brewed Amortentia once before, just to try it out? So what if she recalled exactly what it had smelled like – how that scent had haunted her day and night as she tried to find a reasonable excuse as to why she was smelling Azriel Rosehall of all people?

But maybe today would be different, Elain thought with an optimist smile. Maybe today she would finally fix whatever mistake she had made last time, and she would finally smell exactly what her preferences were – that Gryffindor who sometimes smiled in her direction or even that muggle she had dated back home, over the summer.

She just had to stay focused, that was all.

Azriel cleared his throat, and it was as if all her attention shattered like glass. “Were you, erm, were you being serious?” He asked, glancing at her once before resuming his work. He was chopping the rose thorns with a level of attention that Elain couldn’t help but admire. “About the Trelawney thing?”

Elain sent him her best unimpressed look before gathering her peppermint leaves and beginning to mince them. “Why would I lie about that?” She snapped a bit harshly, feeling her hackles rise at his questioning stare. Azriel simply shrugged, going back to his work as if nothing was amiss.

Elain felt a bit out of sorts, her clammy hands returning with a vengeance as she shakily dropped the peppermint inside her cauldron. “She told me I show early signs of being a seer.”  Why she had felt like sharing that tidbit of information with him – someone who didn’t take her seriously on an ordinary day, let alone when she was bragging about her fortune-telling tendencies – was beyond her.

But Azriel went still, going quiet at her words as he stared at his bubbling cauldron.

Elain turned fully to him, scoffing at his silence. “What?” She asked, a bit bewildered to be sure. “You have nothing to say about that? That was an easy mark, Rosehall. Even for you.”

Azriel furrowed his brows, an amused smile growing on his annoyingly lush lips as he seemed to come out of whatever trance he had been just a few moments prior. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Easy to mock.” She shrugged. “And I know how much you love to hear yourself talk.”

“I’m starting to wonder if you’re the one likes when I tease you, Archeron.”

Elain scoffed. “Tease me? Is that what you call it?” She shook her head, blaming the heat of the cauldron for her reddening cheeks.

“Among other things.”

“Do enlighten me, then.”

Azriel eyed her once, quickly returning his attention to his hands as he measured the powdered moonstone before dropping it inside the blue concoction bubbling inside his cauldron. Elain was strangely delighted that the colour of their potions seemed to match, though she would never tell a soul. “I don’t think you’re quiet ready for that answer.”

She sighed, a bit exasperated. “How convenient for you, then.” Merlin, she really should’ve had eaten her blasted apple. She felt dizzy already.

“Rather inconvenient, actually, Archeron.” Azriel shook his head, amusement still clear on his expression. “I’m a patient man, but even I have my limits.” He said, stirring the potion counterclockwise before switching directions. Elain did the same, a satisfied smile on her face as she momentarily forgot about Azriel and noticed the beautiful mother-of-pearl sheen her potion was turning.

“You’re usually much more direct.” Elain mused, narrowing her eyes at him as she stirred her potion clockwise, six times.

Azriel smirked, gently resting his wooden spoon on the counter as he turned to her. “You’re usually much cleverer.”

Elain sputtered, gaping as she, herself, dropped her wooden spoon on the counter. “I’ll have you know-” Azriel took a step in her direction, and Elain went perfectly still, wide-eyed as she stared at him in bewilderment. “What are you doing?”

“Are you done?” He asked suddenly and Elain could do nothing but blink, confused. “Are you finished?” He pointed at her potion and Elain furrowed her brows nodding. “Then what does your Amortentia smell like?” He asked, low enough that only she was the only one to hear his rather invasive question, really.

Elain scoffed, suddenly feeling too hot inside her robes. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

“What,” He said again, quietly, his eyes intent on her. “Does it smell like, Archeron?”

Elain had a total amount of three seconds to wonder if there was any way in hell Azriel knew what she was smelling before squashing those doubts. No matter who brewed it, there was only one thing that Azriel could smell – whatever his preferences were. And Elain did not want to consider them for too long on the off chance of becoming violently ill.

Instead, she made a show of rolling her eyes, turning around, and smelling it like she didn’t know exactly what it smelled like. As if its scent hadn’t been ingrained in her mind for six months, when one night over Winter Break she decided to test it out and prove herself that whatever she felt whenever Azriel Rosehall stared at her was purely hatred and nothing more.

How utterly wrong she had been.

“Roses, bread and…Parchment.” She cleared her throat, smiling up at an unimpressed Azriel. He simply raised a brow. “Roses, bread and parchment.” She said again, as if it made it any truer.

“Really.” He asked, taking a step closer. He was now standing so close to her the scent wafting from the Amortentia seemed to disappear, replaced by the very real smell of him. One that not even the most perfect potion in the world could replicate.

She smiled a bit shakily. “Really.”

He hummed, tilting his head as he took her in. “Like I said,” He shrugged, eyes flickering between her own. “You’re not ready for the truth.”

Elain scoffed. “Teasing me with whatever misconceptions you created inside your mind isn’t going to work.” She said, fuming as she watched him pouring his mother-of-pearl potion into a standard glass flask. Elain tried not to scowl too much as she noticed how incredible it looked.

Azriel simply shrugged, as if unbothered by her blasé response. That his relaxed indifference drove her insane was an understatement.  

“It isn’t!” She whispered-shouted as she watched him clean his workstation, turning around and dropping his potion on Snape’s desk before leaving the room without a glance back.

Elain stared at the door, gaping like an idiot as she tried to make sense of whatever nonsense Azriel was planning now. She knew he was just trying to get under her skin – knew that there was absolutely no way for him to know what her potion smelled like. That it smelled like him.

Unless…

Elain made haste, pushing her books inside her satchel, grabbing her apple, and dropping her own potion – perfectly brewed, thank you very much – on Snape’s table before running after Rosehall, aware that the entire class was left looking at her in perplexity. She couldn’t even blame them – she knew she looked absolutely crazy, running after the man they all knew she loved to hate.

But that unless kept running around her mind in circles, leaving behind a trail of foggy giddiness that she didn’t want to examine too closely.

She quickly spotted him, turning left to the corridor that led to Flying class (Elain refrained from lying to herself about how she knew he had flying class after potions).

“Rosehall,” She nearly shouted, running after him in a bout of courage she would definitely curse later. Elain quickly turned the corner, softly panting as she came face to face with Azriel, who was no longer walking at all. He was leaning against the stone wall instead, waiting for her with a wary yet amused look on his face.

She pretended not to enjoy his attention, frowning instead as she thought of something clever and witty to say.

Nothing came to mind.

“What were you talking about?” She asked instead, feeling as if she was on the edge of a precipice, about to stumble into a life she hadn’t seen coming.

Azriel was impassive, staring at her in that quiet way of his that never failed to unsettle her. “What part of you’re not ready haven’t you gotten yet?”

Elain groaned, throwing her head back in frustration. “Cut the bullshit, Rosehall.”

He chuckled bitterly, his expression turning serious so quickly Elain felt her heart drop to her stomach. “What did you actually smell, Elain?” He seemed crazed, wide eyes as he stared at her, tensionpulsing in the space between them.  

Elain chuckled nervously, looking around as if seeking someone to save her. “What is it to you?” Her skin felt too tight, her voice hysterical.

“Tell me, Archeron.” He muttered darkly, and Elain felt a shiver run down her spine at the command in his voice. That she was delighted by it was proof enough that she was losing her mind. Had been for the past six months.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business-”

“Jasmine, honey and red apples.” He interrupted and Elain frowned, tilting her head in confusion. “That’s what I smelled.”

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Was he trying to make her jealous? Why would he want that, in the first place?

“Elain,” her first name on his tongue was jarring. Elain was enthralled, compelled by his presence as he took one step closer to her. “Jasmine,” He said, taking another step. “Honey,” He murmured, eyes flickering between her own. “And red apples.” He said, his own hand reaching for hers – for the one holding a red apple she hadn’t had the chance to eat yet. The very same fruit she had every day in-between classes.

She felt her entire body go hot and cold, her limbs going numb before she could come up with a single word. She could hardly breathe, completely lost in the words that seemed to now haunt every corner of her mind.

Jasmine, honey and red apples. Jasmine, honey and red apples.

Azriel had smelled her. Azriel had brewed a – nearly – perfect love potion and he had smelled her. Not only that, but he was admitting it to her, in a deserted hallway where no one stood witness but a portrait of a noisy Witch who was trying too hard to pretend she wasn’t listening at all.

Elain swallowed, opening her mouth to say something – anything – and closing it again when nothing came to mind. Azriel’s shoulders dropped, his cocky demeanour gone in a flash as he chuckled humourlessly.

Before Elain could begin to explain; before she could convince him to just wait, give her some time so she could process the fact her entire life had turned upside down in a matter of seconds, Azriel was turning around, leaving without a glance back. Elain started to panic, her breathing ragged as she looked around once more, looking for help for an entirely different reason.

When none seemed to come, she did what seemed right. What felt right.

“Cedar, night mist and peppermint.”

Azriel stopped where he stood, his back still turned to her. His entire body seemed to go still as he waited. For what, Elain didn’t know, but she repeated her words all the same – she knew he needed them as much as she had needed his.

“Cedar, night mist, and peppermint.” Because he always chewed an entire pack of gum before a game of Quidditch. Because Elain watched every single match whenever he was playing.

Azriel turned around, that familiar smirk painted on his lips as he eyed her up and down. But this time it didn’t feel assessing – and like she was looking at a kaleidoscope of their shared moments, Elain wondered if the heat she had seen in his gaze every time he had looked at her like that was not out of hatred, but something else entirely.

A trail of fire followed his gaze and Elain couldn’t have stopped the smile taking over her lips even if she wanted to. Because they both knew – all pretence was gone. There was no more hiding, no more pretending. They were in a landslide, and the only way now was down – whatever the hell it lead, they had no choice but let themselves go. Still, Elain couldn’t bring herself to feel scared. Not as Azriel smiled brilliantly, hazel eyes bright as he sealed their fate. “Meet me in the library tonight, Archeron. Eleven o’clock” He put his hands in his pockets, pure confidence and male arrogance as he smirked. “And don’t be late.” He said, turning around and walking away again. “I’m done waiting.”

[clementine-kesh]

my vision for the voyager crew’s response to b7 is that b’elanna and seven start having wild illicit hookups in the jeffries tubes like full on sweaty, disheveled, hands clamped over mouths kind of sex and b’elanna has no idea what to do about it and doesn’t want to talk to anyone about it outright so she sort of hints about it to tom and harry like “what would you do if you were hooking up with your rival” and tom’s like “well it’s not gay if it’s your rival” to which b’elanna’s like “who said anything about it being gay or not” and harry just stares off into the distance thinking about the time he had gay sex with his rival (wesley crusher) at the academy. and like harry could probably help b’elanna out but he’s too caught up thinking about wesley at the moment because like three months ago wesley materialized in his quarters to be like “remember that time you said the theory i proposed for breaking the warp 10 barrier was flawed? well guess what asshole i’m omnipotent now and know all the secrets of the universe and i was right” and harry was like “yeah well we tried that and it turned our pilot into a fucking lizard” and wesley was like “a what” and harry was like “a lizard, dude, i thought you were omnipotent” and wesley just 😐🫥 and disappeared without even offering to use his traveler powers to help voyager out. ok sorry this post got away from me i got distracted imagining stupid gayboy beef. anyways none of this is actually helpful to b’elanna so she goes to chakotay instead and he’s like “don’t worry about it too much that’s completely normal for rivalries, tuvok and i have sex all the time”

[magicfootballstuff]

Dirty Little Secret - part 3 (leila ouahabi x reader)

Summary: A love story about secrets, flirty messages, football rivalries, and useless lesbians who don’t know how to communicate. And it all starts with one badly timed challenge in the Champions League.

Leila Ouahabi x Arsenal!reader

Part 3/?

Read other parts here.

———

Your life can be split into two parts - before the Arnold Clark Cup and after the Arnold Clark Cup.

Or before Leila and after Leila.

You return to Arsenal and it’s surprisingly easy to settle back into the club routine and prepare for the next league game. You’d been slightly worried that it would be difficult to adjust, an abrupt return to reality after ten days of secret meetings and illicit hookups, but life at Arsenal is exactly as it was before.

It helps that the Arnold Clark Cup almost feels like it took place in a different reality. What you had with Leila was just a holiday fling between two consenting adults. You’ve both returned to your real lives now.

But then one evening three weeks after the international break, you’re tidying your apartment and sorting through things to have a clearout, when you find Leila’s red Spain jersey amongst a pile of clothes. You trace your finger over the yellow number fifteen on the front, then flip it over to look at Leila’s name on the back. You haven’t yet washed it and when you lift it to your nose and inhale, you’re sure you can still smell Leila’s scent on it, and you know that you didn’t imagine those two weeks at all.

You haven’t talked to Leila since you parted ways at the end of the international break, but seeing her shirt brings a whirlwind of memories that leaves you yearning for something.

Before you even have time to second guess yourself, you’re swapping your sweatshirt for Leila’s football shirt, then sprawling artfully across your bed as you take a selfie from above and send it to Leila.

You Thanks for the new pyjamas

It’s just a bit of fun - just like every other moment you shared with Leila. Part of you doesn’t expect her to reply. And she doesn’t straight away, you’ve given up on sorting and have settled down on the sofa to watch a Manchester City men’s game on the television when your phone finally vibrates with a response.

Leila Looking gooood 🤤

She doesn’t say anything else and you leave it there, not sure what else to say without coming across as too eager, so you set your phone aside and give your full attention to the football.

An hour has passed before another message comes through.

Leila Sorry I was out for dinner but home now

She’s attached an image to her message, a picture of her wearing the England shirt you exchanged with her. Except that she’s wearing just the England shirt, the hem coming down to cover her hips but very little else, her long legs bare.

You Leilaaaaa

Suddenly you don’t care about the football on the TV anymore.

———

Arsenal gets knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter finals by Wolfsburg, which means you miss out on the opportunity to play against Leila again in the semi final. Your last glimmer of hope that you might get to see Leila before a possible meeting during the Euros in the summer is snuffed out.

But when Barcelona beats Wolfsburg to advance to the final, you receive a surprising message a few days later.

Leila You coming to the Champions League final?

You hadn’t really given it much thought to be honest, since your own Champions League journey came to an end and it became irrelevant. The final is after your own season ends and there’s been talk amongst some of your Arsenal teammates of going on holiday together before you all split off into your various national teams for the Euros, but nothing set in stone.

The chance to watch Leila play in such an important match, to possibly even see her lift the trophy that every footballer in Europe dreams of lifting, would be special. But you haven’t seen Leila since the Arnold Clark Cup and there’s not enough of a thing going on between you for it to seem appropriate for you to just show up without Leila’s permission.

You Do you want me to come?

Before even waiting for Leila’s response, you already start checking your diary, working out the logistics of a spontaneous weekend in Turin and whether it fits in with your pre-Euro schedule.

Leila Yeahhhh. I can get a free ticket if you want? Barca friends and family area

You smile to yourself as you type out your reply.

You Aww, am I your friend? 😉 Why do you think I’d be cheering for Barca anyway? Maybe I’m a big Lyon fan

Leila replies straight away.

Leila 🖕

———

It turns out that Leila is serious about her offer of a ticket to the Champions League final, which is why just two weeks after the end of your season with Arsenal and the heartbreak of missing out on the title by just a single point, you get on a plane to Turin by yourself.

You don’t own a Barcelona shirt and though you take the Spain shirt from Leila with you, it stays in your suitcase as you head to the stadium. Having not yet had the chance to talk to Leila in person, you’re still not sure exactly what’s going on between you and it feels like a step too far to show up to one of her games wearing her name on your back. 

Instead, you’re trying to keep a low profile, donning a pair of dark sunglasses in the hope that it’ll make you less likely to get spotted by eager-eyed fans curious to discover why you’re sitting in the Barcelona family section.

It’s easy to get swept up in the atmosphere of the stadium. There are way more Barcelona fans than Lyon fans and the noise they make is immense. You’re a Manchester City fan, an Arsenal player, but tonight you’re a culer. You don’t know the chants but you don’t need to because you get caught up in the pure thrill of it all. Even when Barcelona go one, two, three goals down, the singing continues and there’s still belief that they can pull this back. Alexia gets one back just before half time that feels like a reward to the fans for their belief in the team.

But despite Barcelona’s best efforts in the second half, Lyon’s three goals prove too much to overcome and when the final whistle blows, they collapse to the pitch, exhausted and defeated.

You watch as Leila, who spent the game on the bench, wanders onto the pitch at full time, and your heart breaks for her when you see the hurt on her face and the tears shining in her eyes. You know that Barcelona were favourites and if you’re completely honest, you expected them to win. You thought that you would be celebrating with Leila tonight, but Lyon have the best record in this competition for a reason and now you need to prepare yourself to console her.

It’s quite a lot for something that’s just a casual friends with benefits situation, but then again, so is flying to Italy to watch the final in the first place. 

The trophy ceremony seems to drag on forever, as if you’re down there on the pitch on the losing team yourself. You’ve been on the wrong side of a cup final enough times yourself to know that there are very few worse feelings in football than having to stay on the pitch after losing such an important game and watching another team celebrate with the trophy you wanted to lift, so you know exactly how Leila must be feeling right now.

After the ceremony, the Barcelona players wander over to this section of the crowd and greet their families over the advertising boards. You hang back as Leila exchanges hugs with what you assume to be her family. This moment is for them, not for you, and you know that you need to wait for Leila to beckon you across if she wants to see you. What would you say to them anyway? You can hardly introduce yourself to Leila’s parents as the girl who hooked up with their daughter for two weeks in February. If the roles were reversed, you don’t know if you’d want to explain the situation to your own family.

So you wait, and you keep waiting. 

But Leila doesn’t beckon you over. In fact, she doesn’t even acknowledge you’re there at all.

The longer you’re standing there, the more the doubt starts to cloud your mind. At first it was explainable - there are obviously other people here to see Leila who she would prioritise talking to after the game more than you. But when she moves away from her own family to talk to the family of her teammates, then eventually moves back onto the pitch and hovers around a group of dejected Barcelona players, you start to wonder if Leila has forgotten that she invited you entirely.

Maybe you should’ve been more assertive. Maybe you should’ve stood closer to the barrier so that Leila couldn’t miss you.

You sit down again on the plastic stadium seat and pull out your phone, deciding to message Leila instead

You Sorry about the result but I’m so proud of you anyway! Let me know when you’re free? I can’t wait to see you!

When you look up, you can no longer see Leila. You scan the few blaugrana shirts still on the pitch just in case, but most of the team seems to have returned inside to the dressing room and you can only assume that Leila is one of them. The crowd has thinned out too, even the friends and family sections that were full long after the rest of the fans started to leave the stadium is starting to empty, and you know it’s probably time for you to leave too.

As you make your way out of the stands, you find a quiet corner on the almost deserted stadium concourse and decide to call Leila. You’re not sure if she’s checked her phone yet since the final whistle, so it’s not exactly a surprise when it rings straight through to her voicemail, but you decide to leave a message anyway.

“Leila, it’s me,” you say. “Listen, I…” You let out a sigh, then say, “I know you must be hurting right now. I can’t imagine what you’re feeling and I … and I just wish I could do something or say something to make it better but I can’t. But I’m proud of you. Just getting to the final is an achievement. Shit, I know that’s not what you need to hear right now but…”

You lean your head against the nearest wall and close your eyes in frustration, fully aware that you’re rambling almost nonsensically at this point.

“I’m here if you need me,” you continue. “Or if you don’t, that’s fine too. I’m leaving the stadium to get some food, then I’ll probably go back to my hotel, but just let me know you’re okay?”

You hesitate for just a few seconds, unsure how to sign off, before you panic and just end the message there. 

“Fuck!” you growl.

You turn around to lean your back against the wall, only to realise that the concourse isn’t as empty as you thought, but that two fans in Barcelona shirts have just witnessed your outburst.

“Sorry,” you apologise to them, but they don’t seem bothered by your swearing. In fact, they actually approach you, a little giddy, and you suddenly remember that you’re not as anonymous as you’d often like to be.

“Can we get a selfie?” one of the girls asks, taking out her phone. “My friend is a huge Arsenal fan. You’re one of her favourite players.”

You force a smile onto your face. Normally you don’t mind fan interactions, in fact it usually warms your heart to know that there are people out there who you don’t even know who support you and look up to you, but there’s a time and place for that and you’re really not in the mood right now. Despite that, Leila is to blame for your sour mood, not them, and you’re not going to take out your frustrations on a couple of innocent fans.

“Of course,” you tell them, positioning yourself so that one girl stands on either side of you and smiling at the outstretched phone of the girl on the left.

“Thank you,” they say, once the selfies have been taken.

“No problem,” you reply, and you only let the smile slide off your face when they’re out of sight.

You really need to get out of here. And fast.

———

You thought that by distancing yourself from the stadium and the match, it might ease your mind a little. But by the time you get back to your hotel with a paper bag of takeout food, you feel more uneasy than ever. 

Leila is still silent. No texts, no calls, nothing on social media. 

You replay your voicemail message over and over again in your mind, each word sitting like a brick on your chest, making it difficult to breathe. Was it too much? Surely Leila would have messaged you when she was ready. What if your message comes across as needy, as smothering? What if you’re only pushing her away further?

Fuck. Leila probably doesn’t even want you here at all. You’re only a hookup to her, a bit of fun to pass your downtime during the Arnold Clark Cup. You were wrong to read anything more into the invitation to watch the final. She can only have wanted you here on standby, a plaything to use as a celebration if Barcelona won the trophy. But they didn’t and she doesn’t need you, she doesn’t want you.

The more you spiral, the more you want to speak to her. Just a single message, a word of reassurance or even just an acknowledgement that she’s not in the right headspace to see you tonight, would be enough to settle your anxiety.

As it is, you’re alone in a hotel room in an unfamiliar city with nothing but a bag of food and your own intrusive thoughts.

You want to call someone, to talk to a friend before you completely fall apart. Leah, perhaps. You’ve known her forever and out of all your friends, she’s probably the least likely to judge you if you call her up out of nowhere in floods of tears and tell her you’re having a breakdown in a hotel room in Turin over some girl you hardly know. In fact, Leah is such a good friend that if she knew you were distressed, she’d probably hop on the first flight to Italy to comfort you in person.

But Leah is on holiday in America and she deserves the time off before the Euros without having to worry about her idiotic best friend having girl problems on the other side of the world.

You’re just going to have to deal with this alone.

Hot tears spill down your face and you cocoon yourself beneath the bedcovers, wishing that the bed would swallow you whole.

You don’t know how you could’ve been so stupid to think that this meant something, how you could’ve been so stupid to catch feelings for Leila when there are clearly far too many obstacles between you for it to ever work out. In your defence, it’s only now that you’re starting to realise that you are catching feelings for her, but still… you could’ve done more to stop it from happening in the first place.

The doubt and the self-loathing clouds your mind and you cry it out until you can’t cry anymore, until you finally succumb to exhaustion, passing out into a dreamless sleep with tear-stained cheeks.

———

You wake up alone, having had a bad night’s sleep, to several messages from Leila, which can be summed up by the most recent one.

Leila Can I see you today?

The rest of her messages, all sent within the last couple of hours this morning, are a mixture of pleas and apologies.

You’re still pissed at her for not responding to any of your messages last night. But you flew all the way to Turin at Leila’s request, used the ticket that she gave you for free to watch the match, and you don’t fly back until later today. And, despite your anger, you do still want to see her.

You’re not going to make an effort though, which is why you message her back with the address of your hotel. If Leila wants to see you, then she can be the one to make the effort to come and see you herself.

When she arrives at your hotel, you decide to meet her downstairs in the hotel restaurant, instead of inviting her up to your room. There’s less temptation to let her seduce her way back onto your good side if you meet in public.

Leila looks like shit - that’s your first impression. She looks like she’s had even less sleep than you have, her eyes puffy, her expression weary, her usual smile absent. 

If she hadn’t pissed you off yesterday, you’d probably hug her. 

Instead, you just let her sit down across from you and ask her, “Do you want to eat?”

She shakes her head. 

“I’m not hungry today.”

“Coffee, then?” you suggest, because she definitely looks like she needs it.

Leila nods. 

You’ve already ordered yourself a coffee (you’re normally a tea person but you don’t want to risk the Italian tea not being to your taste) and a sandwich, but you call over the waiter once more for Leila.

“So what happened?” you eventually ask, once Leila has ordered her coffee.

“I’m sorry,” Leila apologises with a shrug, and from the way that her eyebrows are furrowed together, it seems like she’s having a difficult time trying to hold herself together.

“Sorry for what?” you ask, waiting for her to admit that she messed up, but when she doesn’t, you continue talking. “I flew here by myself, I sat in the family section surrounded by people I don’t know, all speaking a language I don’t understand. The only person I knew in this city yesterday was you. You invited me here. I thought you wanted me here.”

“I want you here,” Leila pleads with you. “But a lot happened yesterday and it was too much.”

“I get that. You think I’ve never lost a cup final? I came here to support you, win or lose. And then you hurt me. You made me feel like an idiot.”

The effort that Leila has been putting into not falling apart crumbles and the sobs heave through her body, shoulders trembling and tears spilling down her cheeks. Annoyed with her or otherwise, it’s not nice to see, and you feel a pang of regret that your harsh words have upset her.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” you say, reaching for one of the unused napkins on the table and passing it across to Leila, letting your fingers brush against her hand as you do. “I’m pissed off, but I don’t want to see you cry. I don’t care that you didn’t win the Champions League. I would’ve loved to watch you lift that trophy but I’m proud of you anyway for making it to the final.”

Leila uses the napkin to wipe her tears, and the silence, as well as the sad look in her eyes, compels you to keep talking.

“And it’s not like I was expecting anything from you yesterday either,” you tell her. “If you didn’t want to see me or you were too busy, that’s fine. But just one message to let me know what was going on and I wouldn’t have been left waiting around feeling stupid.”

“I know, I know,” Leila says, her voice cracking ever so slightly. “So much stuff is happening right now. It’s all too much. But you’re right, I should have messaged.”

You don’t know what to say. It almost feels like you’re back to square one, like you don’t even know Leila at all. But then you realise - do you even know Leila? It’s not like you’ve actually spent any time getting to know each other. There’s an obvious attraction between you, and physical chemistry too, but do you actually have anything in common beside your profession?

“Can I make it up to you?” Leila blurts out.

“How?” you ask.

You’re expecting a smirk to slide across Leila’s lips and for her to suggest you go somewhere private for her to apologise to you in a more physical way, but instead, she looks you straight in the eye and says, “Come to Barcelona?”

“When?”

“This week. We have another final - la Copa de la Reina. You could come to the game.”

You let out a sigh. You can’t put yourself through what you’ve been through this weekend again, as tempting as it is to just forgive Leila and succumb to her request. Yet despite the fact that you cried yourself to sleep last night because of Leila, you can’t deny the fact you’ve still got a soft spot for her and it’s incredibly difficult to say no to her.

“I’ve got an England camp coming up soon,” you try to reason with her. “We’re starting our Euro prep.”

“Just for a few days,” Leila pleads with you. “I really want you to come. Please.”

“I can’t just drop everything at short notice,” you tell Leila, though your plans for the next couple of weeks don’t involve much more than relaxing as much as possible before getting straight back to work with the Lionesses.

“Okay,” Leila says, and though that’s all she says, you can tell she’s disappointed.

Would it really be so bad if you said yes? Would it hurt to give her another chance? You don’t want what happened yesterday to ruin what’s been going between you forever, which means forgiving her at some point. Maybe a little holiday in Barcelona, especially before you enter the biggest summer of your life so far, is exactly what you need.

It’ll be like the Arnold Clark Cup all over again, an escape from reality until you have to return to life as a footballer and Leila’s on-pitch rival.

“Fine, I’ll look at flights to Barcelona,” you concede. “I can give you two days, maybe three, before I need to be back in England.”

“Thank you,” Leila says, smiling at you gratefully.

She reaches into the little bag that she brought with her and pulls out a piece of blue and pink fabric, and as she unfurls it you realise it’s a Barcelona shirt.

“My jersey from yesterday,” she explains as she passes it across the table. “To thank you for coming to see me. If you can come to Barcelona next week, you could wear it to the final?”

Wearing Leila’s name to one of her matches sounds serious. It sounds like a commitment. As is flying to Turin, or even to Barcelona to watch one of her games, but that hasn’t quite gone to plan.

Things were so easy when you were flirting from different countries, or sneaking around St George’s Park for a bit of fun. The rational part of your brain tries to warn you that it’s probably not a good thing that at the first sign of this perhaps actually being a little more serious, it’s resulted in this misunderstanding and both of you getting upset.

But the pleading look in Leila’s bloodshot eyes is impossible to say no to.

“Thanks,” you say, refolding the jersey and setting it aside.

“When do you go home?” Leila asks.

“This afternoon,” you answer. “My flight’s just after four. You?”

“In a couple of hours,” Leila tells you. “I can’t stay much longer. Only Patri knows I’m not at the team hotel.”

You can’t help but smile, reminded a little of the way you both snuck around St George’s Park back in February, only now your secrecy has led you to fly to a whole different country while Leila has snuck across town to see you.

This thing between you, this connection that has been growing since that tackle back in Barcelona, is far from easy. But aren’t the best things in life worth the fight?

“Come here,” you say, pushing back your chair and getting to your feet.

You hold your arms out wide until Leila understands and gets up too, stepping around the table and into your embrace. Her arms wind around your back as you pull her close, burying your face into her shoulder 

“Thank you for giving me another chance,” Leila mumbles into your hair.

You don’t say anything in response, instead simply squeezing her closer and savouring the feeling of her body against yours. If you can make the logistics of a trip to Barcelona next week work, it won’t be long until you can hold her again like this, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to make the most of every second you can get with her before you have to go in separate directions again.

If this tumultuous weekend in Turin has taught you anything, it’s that you can’t take anything for granted.

[himeryu]

— Love Rivalry (kaveh x reader)

PAIRING kaveh x gn!reader (ft. alhaitham)

GENRE social media au, college au

SYNOPSIS You’ve been rejected by your academic rival, alhaitham, without even confessing or having feelings for him. You decided to go to a party to fix your damaged ego, so why are you suddenly making out with his roommate?

TAGS attempt in comedy, fluff, angst, drama, jealousy, misunderstandings, fast burn ish, implied sexual content (no smut)

WARNINGS might be ooc, written before kaveh’s official release, unrealistic depiction of college, cw images of cats, alcohol, kys/kms jokes

STATUS ongoing! (11/16/22)

main m.list

profiles: (reader’s) peak mental illness | (kaveh’s) most wanted

00. prologue (🌻)

ACT I — delusional

01. confession

02. brutal

03: rumors

04. beer

05. rejection

06. one word

07. stream

08. cheating lover

09. real talk

10. plan

ACT II — scandal

11. lost (🌻)

12. scandal (🌻)

13. operation kidnap and runaway

14. stage 1 (🌻)

15. uh oh

16. gamble (🌻)

17. you won

18. balcony (🌻)

19. number

20. RIB

— bonus. redacted

ACT III — presentation

21. D-day

22. malewife

23. nike

24. run away with me? (🌻)

25. kdrama

26. speed run

27. stood me up (🌻)

28. mistake (🌻)

29. "damsel in distress"

30. thank you

— bonus. roommate (🌻)

ACT IV — disaster

31. he's back

32. new member

33.  bromance (lets make out platonically)

34. make it up to him

35. snitch ass childe

36. i gotchu

37. green looks better on you (🌻)

38. is it alright if i continue this?

39. scara vs ayato

40. yellow suits you (🌻)

— bonus. my own way

ACT V — can i call you mine?

41. menaces

42. question (🌻) — 2 years ago

43. haunted (🌻) — 2 years ago

44. this is me trying (🌻) — 2 years ago

45. you're losing me (🌻) — 2 years ago

45-2. illicit affairs (🌻) — 2 years ago

46. stay gold (🌻)

47. your eyes tell

48. what are we?

49. favor

50. closure

51. can i call you mine? (🌻)

— bonus. right where you left me

end of story

note: im back with smau cause writing sucks

taglist closed!

@dee-zbignuts @lxry-chxn @ducq @nikkicola @artssleepy @arraxthatsonjah @kunihaver @i-x4o @soohasoya @yae-raidenmyloves @aixaingela @09yyeol @nebulaera @bokutetsumu @kairxse @victoria1676 @thenightsflower @ti-lsy @alizaneth @abvolat @carnnieval @ultimate-imagines @ventisoba @skimm0nzz @slvdsjjk @succutie @empathum @saoiirsee @disa-ster @httpmitsuya @kunikuzushiit @semi-orangeapple @goodthingimsam @strawberry1894 @meep13r @leeyanyanyaaan @heart-cream @crueldinasty @justonemoreroz @boordbokee @moraxsimp69 @kkiryu @r4yyyyy @tartagli-yuh @raideneiari @kaekazuha04 @dazaiscum @mayasshitposts @kunikuzi @ruisann (taglist full)

-- this is my first time doing a taglist so pls send an ask or comment if it isn't working thank you

[scrollf0x]

(Spoiler Free)

Resident Lover Routes Ranked

As tradition when good things end, we overfixate on it! After 48 hours of completing all routes in Resident Lover, here's my spoiler free ranking of the good and bad endings in the game brought to us by Team AVIA 🙇🖤

Top Romantic Endings (Good ending)

#1 Miranda

As recommended by Team AVIA this route should be played last after completing all the other routes, and istg this was the best approach to the game, there's so much stuff going on (in a great way), it ties up all stories together, it explains the biggest mystery in the game and the end was SO SATISFYING. Mother Miranda was MOTHERING so good and I'm definitely obsessed with MM now. There's so much I want to talk about but won't for now to keep this spoiler free.Best route ever hope you enjoy it! 🐦‍⬛🧎

(UPDATED REVIEW: As MCs we can't escape her fr fr. You should see all cult endings in all routes before going to her cult ending. She's unbelievable but it's so hard to hate her once you get into her route and I can't explain why I still love her but holy fuck, Miranda. You make Joe Goldberg and Love Quinn look like novices for the things they do for love. Miranda literally took Yandere to a whole new level...and I love it 👀)

#2 Donna's Route (UPDATED)

We get our Flourist AU with our resident spicy sweetheart (you'd understand the spicy part later) Donna! Everything from her route was so mysterious and selecting her route before getting to Miranda's route was such a good build up before getting the answers to the numerous mysteries you'll uncover in the other routes. Donna and Miranda's route has SOOOO MUCH to bring into the table about the main mystery in the game. Plus the rivalry between Donna and Miranda for MC??? IM DEAD 😭💖

(UPDATED REVIEW: Holy shit y'all I just recently uncovered the actual cult ending for Donna's route, and as sweet and passionate her love is for us - the neutral ending was really sad, but holy fuck the double tragic endings in the cult version was just..I can't even react properly after finishing it I'm forever traumatized - see cult ending ranking)

#3 Alcina's Route

If you're into student-teacher relationship with much more murder mystery from the game and of course our Mother Alcina herself, this is for you! For all Alcina fans, buckle up for a ride because this route does not pussy-foot around romance between Alcina and player and my god THE SEXUAL TENSION. ILLICIT ROMANCE. SHEESH. Y'all are going to love it so much istg. Even the counterpart ending ate up (see tragic ending below)

TOP Tragic Ending (Cult endings)

#1 Angie and Donna's Route

Angie

Y'all would not expect the darkest ending for the sweetest character with the most lighthearted romance development of all routes. It starts off really innocent and sweet before it all goes downhill so fast, and Donna was so terrifying in this route 😭 Both bad endings were absolutely devastating and I really want to find out how Angie will react once she finds out - or if she will.

Donna (Updated review)

How was it even possible that Donna was so loveable and so terrifying at the same time? Everything from her good to bad route was just *chefs kiss*. Follow Team AVIAs guide to routes, and reach the cult ending (with additional 2 tragedy scenarios) I guarantee you both tragic scenarios will leave you terrified and heartbroken.

#2 Alcina

As amazing as the romance is with Alcina the bad ending route was downright nightmare-ish! We all love our hot psychopath mother but y'all would be baffled at just how CRAZYYYYY she is when you find out in her tragic ending route ☠️

#3 Dimitrescu Sisters

The Dimitrescu siblings SERVED in all routes Bela most of all but gaddamn as amazing and complex our relationship with them are, the tragic endings are INSANEEE. Bella's outfits were AMAZING and her storyline even more so. Cassandra is such a cassanova and a diva (so much teenage drama here btw you'll love it). And our precious Dani bby girl with our fake dating thing, she deserves so much love I wanna give her a hug. Their tragic endings are so so so sad, all I can say is Miranda did them so dirty 😭😭😭

Overall the game was AMAZING in every way, Team AVIA really put there heart and soul to this and it really shows, so please take the time to drop by at their page @resident-lover , give them your love and appreciation, and enjoy the game!

Let me know what you guys think ☺️

[peeterparkr]

thus, with a kiss, i die| tom holland

PROLOGUE: the rivalry.

romeo & juliet modern au.

summary: the well known story of star-crossed lovers. Your local bar has two spots for bands, but only one spot for an opportunity to get a record deal. Your band, the Capulets and his band, the Montagues have been rivals long enough. But what happens after a night when you get to know their lead singer?

chapter summary: who are the great rivals at the Verona bar?

pairing: singer!tom holland x guitarrist!reder

warnings: swearing, alcohol mention

word count: 3k

this is literally romeo and juliet, it's one of my favorite stories, if you've read my other works you KNOW I love to quote it, and reference and eveyrhting. Anyway, this is my take on it. Modern world, hope you like it. I haven't written anything in ages so here goes.

character glossary next chapter masterlist

wanna be tagged?

This is an unequivocally known story, a tale as old as time, of those of two star crossed lovers, who most likely lost their mind. Star-crossed lovers, they call them as if the stars were undeniably conspiring against them. Are the stars really against secret, illicit-feeling escapades of a young, naive love, so powerful and strong that it ends up in death?  

Or were they too busy to help them out when everything went insane? 

Shakespeare said it himself, didn’t he? ‘Violent delights have violent ends’. Perhaps the name and the reference itself doomed upon a foretold tragedy. Yet, here we are. 

And it all comes back to a simple rivalry, and thus shall start like it always does. In a small  bar named ‘Verona’, always playing live music, near a college. Nothing too unusual, nothing so fancy. With a small stage. Smoking blue and purple. With a wall full of old bottles, just to adorn. A small stage with a few vintage lights hanging from the ceiling, a worn out rug, and a neon light sign which read: ‘Don’t waste your love’. 

Where people gathered to have a beer, or two in those small wooden tables, or perhaps in the green couch, nibbling on a few snacks while they listen to one of the two bands Verona offered. 

Some liked the Capulets, an all female band. Some liked the Montagues, perhaps for the handsome lead singer. Some liked both. Some liked neither. 

But Verona was the rivalry. The rivalry between the two bands was what made Verona an interesting place, or that’s what some people liked to pry upon, the well known story about two former friends, Monty and Billie ‘Cap’ who once fought almost to death and decided to each go their separate ways and declare themselves sworn enemies. 

Things hadn’t been quite the same since. Each formed their own band in an act of revelry and had tried to crush the other. The Capulets were known for their soul-crushing lyrics, meanwhile the Montagues were known for their remarkably outstanding sounds. As said before, their lead singer was quite someone that moved crowds. Pleasing to the eye. 

The Capulets had recently lost their main guitarist and a rumor of who  would join had circulated.  Monty was anxious to learn all about the new member. A war shall begin. 

In all honesty, nobody really cared about them, but both were on the edge waiting for each other's next movement. 

And in the end, they were young and naive with big wishes and hopes, with the same stupid dream that one day someone would walk in the night their gig was on and offer them the entire world. 

It was funny, how they believed so much in Verona, just a small bar, that happened to have a few legends come from. A few people said great names like Billy Joel had once played there. Drunk folks are very unreliable narrators. But not quite the most unreliable. 

Which brings us to two members of the Capulets, Georgia and Sam. The drummer and pianist, respectively. The first, a short haired, with a diverse set of earrings, a top tank and loose pants. A cigarette hung from the corner of her lips. The two of them were having a drink, knowing they would have to listen to the Montagues later, they needed some alcohol in their body to make sure they could stand the occasion. 

Some of Montague’s  crew had already arrived and were tuning in. They watched, amused. It was a fair Friday afternoon, and people were gathering already to have a beer and some chips. 

“You know, we got the Saturday gig? ”  Samantha said as she plaid with a half-full cold beer glass. Her style was more 70’s, big hair, big pants and striped shirt. “If we keep going like this we’re going to crush them.” 

“I think we should actually crush them,” said Georgia, puffing her cigarette.  “Get a whole ass piano and just dump it on them, cartoon style, y’know? Especially Tom. Gosh, I’d like to just get rid of his stupid British face. I might dislike him more than Monty.” 

Sam shrugged. “That was a great move, you’ve got to admit that.” 

“Aye, great move? Getting a pretty face just to get more audience, please,” Georgia rolled her eyes. “This should be about talent!” 

Although she knew that half the girls there were just there to see Tom. Georgia only judged them slightly. Tom was most definitely the newest sweetheart. Curls, chocolate kind eyes, and Georgia supposed he was fit. Besides, a hopeless romantic, or so the girls would say only because he had an accent. Perhaps they all believed he was the next Hugh Grant. 

“Perhaps Cap should bring in someone as beautiful, y’know? As bait.” 

Georgia rolled her eyes once again. Although it didn’t sound as stupid. And perhaps that’s why Cap had decided to bring in someone as beautiful. Although the new member, Georgia knew, was naive and had a lot to learn, she could perhaps appeal more. And besides their looks, their talent to write, Georgia knew it was most likely to appeal to Paris, the young handsome bartender, the bar’s owner's protege, who could pitch in to have them more often. 

But they were losing right now and they both knew it. How they’d manage to convince Princess Skylar to get them the next day  was beyond them. Skylar was the bar owner, or at least she presented herself as so. Even though she was just a manager she basically owned the place. She gave out the slots as long as people were buying drinks. And lately the Montagues were bringing in more money. 

Montgomery, ‘Monty’ had brought in Tom to be his new lead singer, and they’d been booking the Saturday gigs more often since. Perhaps bringing in a wider female demographic to Verona, buying pretty cocktails. Although, Georgia thought it could be now constructive for them since the male demographic had decreased and they tend to be the ones to drink more beer. Besides, one thing they could rely on was Tom having a girlfriend, so at least the girls would eventually have to give up and go back to the heart wrenching lyrics. 

“Is it me or do they sound worse each day?” Wondered Sam as she heard a hard tune. Bea, her enemy, the Montague’s pianist was a fan of only key smashing. “Whenever I listen to them I just need to run to the bathroom and puke.” 

“No, I think you should just puke on them,” Georgia said. “I’d be your number one fan.” 

Abby, the Montague’s drummer, and Georgia’s number one enemy had overheard. Georgia said her technique lacked enthusiasm. While Abby said Georgia lacked any technique. 

Both were wrong. 

“Whatcha say?” Abby questioned. “Did y’all come here to learn?” 

“Learn?” Sam stood up with her beer. “Learn how not to play, am I right Georgia?” 

Sam wasn’t good with comebacks. Georgia pulled her back down. 

Abby chuckled. “If you play like that then I won’t worry anymore.” 

“Ah,” grinned Georgia raising her own drink, vodka soda. “So you are worried. Gotcha.” 

Abby rolled her eyes. “I don’t believe you’re invited here.” 

Ben, another member of the Montagues and the reason they had a new lead singer was nearby plugging in his instrument. Not as handsome as the others, people would say, but he was peaceful. “Let them be, Abby. They can be here.” 

He often tried to ignore them, he was there for the music and the music only. He thanked Monty for giving him the chance to be there and disregarded the stupid rivalry. He was the bassist, and had become quite popular now that he was acquainted with Tom. 

He didn’t like any trouble… unlike Theodora, another member of the Capulets who was with them at the bar but had been quiet enough. It was hilarious how they often were angered by the other’s presence and yet neither tried any other place to hang out. 

Theodora searched for the trouble. Perhaps Theodora was the one to hate the most of the Montagues. All of them and especially their newest member. She was the scariest of the Capulets, impulsive and with probably some anger issues. She despised them, and wasn’t afraid to show it. 

“Eh, for sure we can be here. It’s a bloody bar. But you could try and kick us out. Don’t be such a pussy, Ben Dover,”  Theodora’s first statement was one to make heads turn.

Ben turned to look at her from his bass. “I’d rather not get tired, unlike you I care more about my music.” 

“Why does it sound like a bunch of people farting then?” Asked Sam. Again, she wasn’t good at this. 

But before he could even respond, Bea, the pianist had already begun the… fight, if you could call it one. Apparently the fart statement had been the one to bother her, funnily enough. 

She’d stormed over, yelling and screaming nonsense. Raising her hands and giving them fingers. 

Very classy.

Georgia and Sam had stood up to walk over to the stage. Bea had continued a rampage of all the cuss words she could think of and calling them out on their lack of talent and accusing them of coming here only to plagiarize their songs, to which Theodora kindly answered they couldn’t plagiarize a ‘pile of pure shit’ unless they went to the bathroom. Sam had continued with the fart insults. 

Ben only stood there watching them and trying and failing to calm them down.

Soon, the other poor customers at the bar were involved in the fight, trying to incentivize the company. Some others were drunk enough to fight with them and others just enjoyed the show. 

Billie, ‘Cap’, who had acquired the nickname from quite a young age, by making everyone call her ‘O’ cap’n my cap’n’ after making The Dead Poets Society her entire personality, had walked in along with her girlfriend, Clara. Cap was usually chill. A great leader, a great singer and a great friend. Unless, of course, you betray her. She’d been betrayed by Monty, whom she’d now nicknamed Slap-Dick. 

“Christ.” Cap muttered as soon as she saw the scene. Part of her band only raised glasses, fingers and lame insults and she was sure she’d just seen a beer can fly by. “Angel,” she turned sweetly to Clara. “Will you please hold this?” As she handed over her purse. 

“What for?” Clara questioned. 

“Yes, I might need to throw some hands— oh, how interesting, see who just walked in, the scum himself, Slap-Dick,” she greeted. 

Monty, one hand on his girlfriend’s, Maddie, waist, and one hand holding his guitar walked in. Cap scrunched her nose with disgust. 

“The fuck are you doin’ here Cap’n Crunch,” Monty snapped. “It’s our gig tonight, please get your vulgar and uncivilized twats out.” 

“I’m pretty sure your darling band if we can dare to call it that, was the one to start this,” Cap crossed her arms. Cap knew her own crew was not good at insulting. Although as she eyed Theodora she thought she may have been wrong in her initial statement. Still, she continued. “Your zoo is making all of this noise.” 

“Oh! Fuckin—.” Monty laughed but thankfully was interrupted before he could say anything that would make the show even better. 

“Stop!” Skylar had yelled, breaking a bottle against the wall as all the lights were turned off and the faint ambiance music stopped playing. She liked drama. “For fuck’s sake, stop!” 

Everyone felt the air cold, paused in the middle of the argument. The lights were turned back on, completely, leaving nothing to the imagination. It was chaos, as if a hurricane had hit the entire bar. Theodora was holding Ben by his shirt, Bea was standing on a chair, Sam and Abby just stood in front of each other. The other drunken clients just stood there awkwardly. Standing ever so slightly less elegant. 

“I’m so fucking done with this,” Skylar said. “Stop you assholes, this is the third time this month.” She made her way through the tables and snapped her fingers down twice at Bea, motioning for her to get down. “I don’t care about your stupid feud,” she continued as she snatched Theo’s hand off Ben. “ It's so stupid, you’re both terrible bands,”  she said as she walked in between Sam and Abby, separating them as both fueled with rage. “If this doesn’t stop,” she said, taking Georgia’s drink now and taking a sip for her. “And I’m talking to you both now,” she turned to watch Cap and Monty. “I’m going to cut you off, deadass. Not one more gig for either. Do you understand?”

Both tried to complain. 

“I said, do you understand?” Skylar was firm. 

“Yes, princess,” Monty hissed the nickname. Montgomery Williams was exactly the guy you’d think of when you thought of a guy who formed a band and played the lead guitar. His dark hair fell to his eyebrows and his cheeks were sucked in enough for him to be considered handsome. He was often seen with a pair of dark jeans and a new band t-shirt. A cigarette was his trademark accessory. Bulked enough but, not really. And he was often accompanied by his newest pursuit, this time, Maddie, a girl whose clothes were probably bought too tight on purpose. 

“Now, Capulets, please give me the pleasure of your kicking you out,” Skylar said

Montgomery smirked. 

“No, no, Monty, don’t get  your hopes up. They don’t play until tomorrow, so from now on whenever the other band is playing the rivals cannot step in here, otherwise I’ll fuck you up,” Skylar threatened. 

“I wanted a beer,” Cap complained earning a deathly glare from Skylar. “Fine, princess!” She took a deep breath. “Caps, let’s go get wasted at my place!” She ordered and her mates followed after. 

Skylar had her arms crossed at the entrance as they walked out and the members of the Montagues clapped. She rolled her eyes. 

“‘Lright everyone, if anyone causes another disturbance I’ll—“

“Fuck us up,” Monty finished. He clapped his hands and pushed Skylar from her shoulders back to the bar. “Absolutely, no worries, Sky, we’re very civilized and we will give you the best show tonight. We’re classy!” 

“Don’t touch me again,” was the last threat she gave before heading back to her office.

Monty gave her a fake smile and then turned to Ben. “The fuck happened?” 

Ben made his way back to the stage as he was followed by the rest of the band. “Honestly, Georgia and Sam were just here chilling. Abby overheard them and wanted to snap at them, I tried to calm them down but Theodora, you know Theodora.”

“Insane bitch, yeah.”

“Theodora just snapped and then it’s a blur,” Ben explained. 

“Fuckin’—“ Monty pinched the bridge of his nose. “Mkay, well. We can’t let them, you know, get on our nerves, that what they want, they want to get rid of us, no matter what, they don’t even care if they go down with us,” Monty said. “So, uh—yeah, especially now that Tom joined us they’re desperate.” 

His band mates only nodded with agreement. 

“And— where the hell is he?” Monty frowned, noticing just now that his lead singer was nowhere to be seen. “We play soon, that idiot,” he rubbed his face with stress. Although he loved to pride himself on being better than Cap, he was often found with insecurities because deep down he believed he wasn’t. 

Monty was especially scared now that he knew Cap was going to present her secret weapon the very next day. Why they were given a Friday instead of a Saturday was scary for him. Who had they brought in? 

Perhaps, the Tom furor was finally gone after a few weeks, considering that although more women were parading in Verona, they would soon be gone as soon as they found out Tom was not available and not willing to flirt with them. Even when Monty had encouraged it, the guy would just politely decline it. 

And now, they had the Saturday gig. The most important gig, and although Friday was next in line, he knew that important people showed up on Saturdays. Not Fridays.  

Though he didn’t blame it entirely on Tom’s reluctance to flirt. He knew Cap had pulled her cards right. And he knew it had something to do with Skylar. Had anyone slept with her? Or had they given her money? Had their songs penetrated Skylar’s walls?

Either way. They had to have their lead singer show up. He couldn’t hide his anxiety as he approached the microphones, tapping slightly on them to try them. 

Ben coughed, watching him. 

“Ben?” Monty’s eyes widened. “Where is he?”

“Look, I haven’t heard of him since the morning,” Ben explained. 

Monty furrowed his eyebrows. 

“He did text me he would be here, but.” 

“But what?” 

“Him and Rosie broke up so he might not be feeling well, he told me he was devastated. He told me he was getting a drink before.” 

Monty heard the news. His lead singer had broken up and was devastated on a Friday night gig. Where they had to sing silly love songs and hard beats. Songs that would be ruined if not sung with the right emotion. Songs that could potentially be ruined if sung drunkenly. 

But…

“Are you telling me that…” Monty approached the mic, tapping it to make sure everyone heard him. “Did I hear that right Ben?”

“Monty.” Ben shut his eyes closed. 

“Did you just tell me our  handsome, British, sweetheart, muscly  lead singer is single now?” He questioned with a smirk knowing he’d gotten the attention. 

“Monty.” 

“Did you just tell me that?” Monty pushed. “Is Tom single?”

Ben shook his head annoyed. “Yes, Monty.” 

Monty smirked as he turned to the crowd. “Ladies… and no, actually, just the ladies, you just heard it! Our lead singer is recently single so I will need all of you to give him a warm welcome when he’s here, he’s going to need a lot of love. Will you guys help me with it?” 

And for now, he knew, he was back again at the race. 

character glossary next chapter masterlist

wanna be tagged?

i'm tagging some friends and some who asked, if you want to be added to the taglist tell me if you want to be removed, no worries tell me as well! :)

tags: @lnmp89 @blondygwendy @dangerousluv1 @love-granger @kikiwritesfanfics @astoldbydanid @erodasghosts @peterdarlingg @hollandweather @annathesillyfriend @mannien

[monotonous-minutia]

final thoughts i guess

you just walk into this production thinking it's weird and kind of silly. but then it just works? and it's funny how well it works. and you keep thinking well, eventually it's going to stop working. this opera is so Out There and this concept is so involved.

but it just. stays. good.

it doesn't run out of steam after act 3, like so many productions of this opera do. it fully embraces the weirdness of Giulietta's act. I mean Kayes' version of this act is like a fever dream anyway. why not run with it?

one of the things about it that really gets me is how it shows us Hoffmann's struggle with addiction and how it affects the people around him, particularly those he's closest to, in this case Nicklausse and Stella.

from the start it's clear these two have a rivalry. they both love Hoffmann and neither wants the other to be the center of his attention. but they're professionals and co-workers. they put pettiness aside. at one point Stella even helps the Muse write one of their songs. and when it comes down to it, when Hoffmann has hit rock bottom, the only thing to them that matters is his health and safety. they join forces to try and get him back to reality.

Nicklausse has been with Hoffmann in this from the beginning. he's there when Hoffmann takes his first illicit drug and watches as that one mistake slowly starts to pick Hoffmann's life apart. Hoffmann was young and naive and didn't know what he was doing. Nicklausse watched and rolled his eyes. he didn't stop it. now he has to watch as Hoffmann starts to crumble.

Nicklausse follows Hoffmann throughout his career. they work side by side as Hoffmann's success grows. as his relationship with Stella grows. Nicklausse watches. he doesn't interfere. he's jealous and heartsick but he doesn't know how to reach out, how to show Hoffmann this love and devotion he's had before either of them even knew. he tries, but Hoffmann doesn't see.

he waits. and he watches as Hoffmann's addiction grows. he's there the moment it tears his life apart. he sees the end of Hoffmann's relationship with Stella and the end of his career. Hoffmann falls and Nicklausse catches. he didn't stop it before so all he can do now is be there and love and protect.

but it's hard. Hoffmann is hard.

Hoffmann is ruined. he loses his job and the love of his life. he's homeless, bereft, and isolated. but Nicklausse follows. he follows as Hoffmann sinks deeper and deeper down. Hoffmann drowns himself in drinks and drugs until he doesn't know what's real anymore. Nicklausse tries to pull him out, over and over again. no matter how many times he's hurt. no matter how many times Hoffmann hurts him. because he loves him. he needs to be there. nothing is more important to him.

Stella tries too. She may not forgive Hoffmann for his earlier actions, but she still cares about him and she's a good human being. She taps in when Nicklausse is near his own breaking point. She tries to bring him back, tries to help Hoffmann step back into reality, realize that it isn't all over, this isn't the way to cope. people care about him and want him to be okay.

but he's too far gone, and she can't keep trying anymore. her health and safety is at risk now too, and she can't help someone who's refusing to help himself.

Nicklausse stays.

He stays and watches over him. he catches him when he falls and holds him when he breaks. he helps pick the pieces back up.

Hoffmann sees him.

He sees him but he doesn't know what to do. this has been his life for so long. he doesn't know who he is anymore and how to cope without the crutch he's carried so long.

but every time he reaches out Nicklausse is there. and he will not let go.

Hoffmann has hit rock bottom and there's nowhere left to go. but there's someone here beside him who's always been there. the person who's stuck with him through it all, who's loved him and protected him and never asked for anything in return. who stayed no matter how many times Hoffmann turned away.

Hoffmann has been fighting for his life. when he lets go of his ghosts, he can breath. and Nicklausse is there. he will always be there.

Hoffmann is ready to start again. he goes back to what he used to love. writing and creating. making stories. sharing his creativity with the world.

it's not going to be easy and he knows that. but he has someone who will always be at his side.

Stella is there too. She may forgive him, but she won't truly open up to him again. She wants to see him succeed, but she's chosen her own path. it's her own story. the part she plays in his isn't over, but it's not as big.

But Nicklausse is there and will always be there. he will stay through the fights, through the doubt, the pain, the anger, the withdrawals, the relapses, the effort, the successes, the joy, the triumph.

maybe Hoffmann isn't ready to love him yet. but the day will come. they know it will.

but the important thing is that Hoffmann is ready to live again.

and Nicklausse will always be there.

[wimbledon2008]

okay i know youre probably really busy so please dont feel obligated in any way to respond but ive seen a couple of your book recs and i was wondering if you could compile them in one post/add any other recs you have? also please give petrie a hug on my behalf ❤️

the only thing i'm busy with is consuming the entire western canon of m/m romance so it'd be my honor to provide you with some recs! of my 23/24 reads, here are my favorites, in no particular order:

whistling in the dark, invitation to the dance, and downtime by tamara allen

seven summer nights by harper fox

magician by k.l. noone

the will darling adventures by k.j. charles (read k.j. charles's entire oeuvre tbh)

we could be so good and two rogues make a right by cat sebastian

something wild and wonderful by anita kelly

the place between and cattle stop by kit oliver

box 1663 by alex sorel

the murder between us and the grave between us by tal bauer

salt magic, skin magic by lee welch

the uses of illicit art by wendy palmer

heated rivalry and the long game by rachel reid (would also recommend role model as the events of the book overlap with tlg)

the spear cuts through water by simon jimenez

death and the devil series by l.j. hayward

farview by kim fielding

happy reading! ❤️

[multiwreckedmess]

February Filth Fest - Day 1

Pairing: Hongjoong x fem!reader Kink: Hate fucking/Spitplay WC : 900(ish) TW/CW: Physical force used, fingering (f receiving), choking, a slap (m receiving), reader called “good girl” once.

Summary: Two rival proteges, one practice room.

The force with which Hongjoong catapults you into the small practice room sends you hurtling into the back wall, head cushioned by the large piece of foam. Not nearly as grand as the practice rooms in the dance studio, the vocal rooms each held a small electric piano, mirror, and stool with enough room for maybe three people maximum. Not that three people were needed for your current activities. The door slams shut with a heavy click, sealing sound inside the room, a trickle of light guiding Hongjoong to where you lean, panting. He laughs and wobbles his way to you, wiping your saliva from his lower lip. “Will you just admit that you do this shit on purpose?” “Will you admit that you like it?”

To the other Gala attendees it simply looked as though you and Hongjoong had a healthy, friendly rivalry. It had been set up that way on purpose. Even your mentor had laughed knowingly as you’d chased after Hongjoong to continue your ‘debate’, “they do best after a good fight.” Nothing better for innovation than competition, or at least if you believe capitalists. Both of you talented young musicians, producers, performers, set under the care of the same mentor to battle for attention and affection and ultimately credits on records and funds. Hongjoong the edgy passionate introspective artist. Always ready to dive down deep into his work, getting completely lost to a fault. You, the proper student. Equally as passionate but restrained, trained, polite. The street dog versus the purebred. Little did they know even purebred dogs bite.

“Fuck you,” his hands slam into either side of the wall around you. His brows lowered, eyes gazing up at you, about to devour you whole. “You wish.” You snear. Hongjoong inches closer. Reflexively you close your eyes, waiting. All you feel is the light brush of his lips brushing against yours as he speaks. “I know we aren’t here to rehearse.” He hisses, you can taste the alcohol off his breath intoxicating you. “Not that I've ever seen you in one of these very late unless…” he backs off a little and cackles. “Fuck you.” Your spit hits his mouth. Slowly he presses his lips together, smashing the droplets into his tender skin, curling up into a smirk. ”At least we can agree on one thing.” Your lips attack each other, messy and needy. Tongues and teeth clashing carelessly together in the dark room. Hongjoong’s hips pin yours to the upholstered wall, grinding against you. Not the first time this month, or even this week that the two of you occupied a tiny practice room late at night together. An illicit affair wrapped up in a fucked up mind game. The game is almost funny. Both of you pretending that the two of you that either one of you isn’t just as desperate as the other. Not acknowledging it was almost a courtesy as though the shedding of one mask would simultaneously reveal the other person. When you are swapping spit and cum it’s impossible not to taste the neediness of the other no matter how many emotions you bury it under.

“You think I’d have fucked some sense into by now.” Hongjoong is breathless but still rattling on. “That’d take talent.” You shoot barbs back, watching them bury and sting him. Hongjoong feels his blood boiling, letting you get under his skin. He wants you to do it, to hurl his fears at him in hopes that it would be something worse than what he’d told himself too many times before. It was a maddening exercise in futility. There was nothing you could say that he had not already said to himself.

Hand disappearing under the velvet skirt of your dress he yanks the hem upward in one smooth motion, clingy velvet fabric bunching at your waist, exposing your naked mound to the cool air. “No panties?” Hongjoong licks his lips, eyes raking over your body, pleased with his reformation of your formerly neat look. “Underwear lines.” You snarl, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him back towards you. “Liar. You wanted this when you were getting all dolled up.” “Horny little freak, imagining me getting ready.”

His lips lock around yours again, slipping his hand between your thighs. “Takes one to know one.” He takes his sweet time circling your clit, middle finger just barely playing with your entrance. You whimper and whine trying to angle your hips to capture him. He’s aggravating. You hate how he can read you like he does. You hate that he never second guesses. You hate that he’s always right. You groan, teeth bared. Hongjoong snickers. “Look who’s wishing now.” “Fucking ass.” “Not tonight but now that I know it’s on the table…”

Your open palm connects soundly with his cheek. The sound is just as sharp and sudden as the movement. His hand flies just as swiftly under your chin, catching your jawline and cutting into your blood flow. Your gasp, spine arching away from the wall, pressing your torso even tighter to him.

“Do that again and I’ll cum all over your dress and make you walk around like that the rest of the night so everyone knows what kind of good girl you really are.” His other hand still works your clit, two fingers sliding suddenly and easily inside your hole. It feels good and dangerous and new and scary and exciting. You laugh, an airy choked chuckle. “You wouldn’t.” His eyes flash, “try me.”

Tonight, you just might.

i wanted to keep writing this one but also then i’d get stuck on it. i love angry hongjoong too much...

[yuripoll]

season 4's line-up isn't finalised yet (i've got 32 jotted down but only ~2/3 of them are forsure) so the list under the cut is incomplete, but here's a preview if anyone wants to do some prereading ✌️

the princess of sylph (fantasy abt a princess and a nun)

i love you so much, i hate you (illicit office affair 🔥🔥🔥)

marriage as friends (oneshot abt roommates)

the girl through the viewfinder (highschool yuri abt girls making a film)

will we live happily ever after (comedy oneshot abt a princess and her maid)

"the villainess" and the woman who would do anything for the sake of love (isekai time loop)

love vibes (older josei drama)

chemical romance (light-hearted oneshot)

love/death (yandere4yandere action-comedy)

vengeance (a very bleak thriller abt a gay detective and her dead gf)

only need to love once (oneshot abt homophobia)

after hours (dj lesbians)

a kiss for the girls' scars (girls' school vampire romance)

sukeban to tenkousei (comedy and sosososo sweet. omg.)

sora & haena (main manhwa <- v sweet romcom. side stories <- uhmmm. um. 😳)

love-bullet (action about modern cupids)

joshi-man (romcom about highschool girls drawing hentai)

iberis no hanayome (bride-to-be x wedding planner)

my dearest nemesis (office rivalry gone wrong gone sexual)

sea of june (1930s mermaid romance)

our yuri started with me getting rejected in a dream (cute romcom about the self explanatory title)

subtraction tautology (teen drama about a loner seeing the popular girl kissing a woman)

[coffeeheartaddict2]

When live has other plans (10/16)

Dawn of a new day

Book: Open Heart (AU)

Characters: F!MC Casey Valentine, Ethan Ramsey, Naveen Banerji, June Hirata, Tobias Carrick

Warnings: language, sexual references, mentions of addiction

Word count: 2513

Category: Angst

Rating: Mature

Summary: Ethan discusses with Naveen about his revelations. A long term coma patient wakes up restarting an old rivalry and June decides to go directly to the source to find out the information she desires.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Pixelberry.

Authors note: who knew that I was capable of starting to set up a happy ending this far out? The next few chapters will have some of the key points of book 2 from canon and the impacts that it has on Ethan and Casey in this world. There are some changes too but all will lead to happy ending. This chapter is actually not too angsty but it does deal with some heady issues.

🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞

Ethan awoke. He had slept better after been shook by his nightmare but he was still out of sorts. He knew he needed to make changes, address the issues that he had but where to begin. He made his coffee and a light breakfast and went to work. He went to the office and started prepping for his day. There was a knock on the door. He was pleasantly surprised to see Naveen.

“Did you not sleep well last night?” Said Naveen as he entered.

“Is it that obvious?”

“This is a purely social visit my boy.” Said Naveen, “I could not help but notice you seemed a little preoccupied yesterday? Is it to do with Casey?” He asked concerned.

“No Naveen, myself and Casey are as ok to be expected, I am hating the pre Miami setting we have found ourselves in, I think she hates it too but that is not the reason.” Said Ethan. He took a steadying breath.

“My dad came to see me the other day. My mother had reached out wanting to see me. I decided to open that box.”

Naveen sat there shocked. Ethan had told him at an earlier time about his mother walking out on him and Alan. He had the distinct impression that he would never speak to her again.

“Why did you reach out?” Asked Naveen, “I always thought that if you saw her again that it would be too soon.”

Ethan runs a hand down his face. “You would be right Naveen but it occurred to me, especially after our last patient that ignoring the past can be detrimental.”

“So how did it go?”

“Disconcerting.”

Naveen looked puzzled. “How so?”

“She is an addict Naveen. She stated she that was addicted to alcohol and prescription medication and I presume more illicit substances.”

“You presume?”

“I asked if she was reaching out for financial assistance and she said no, she did not want me to subsidize her habits.”

Naveen nodded before asking.

“Did she state why she did what she did?”

“Yes, she resented her whole life. She loved us but resented us so she left.” Said Ethan trying to hold back the tears.

“Am I any better than her? I do not resent my life but the hours I work, how much I drink, the pushing of people away and avoidance.”

Naveen squeezed his mentee’s shoulder in support.

“The fact that you know that there is an issue and be able to identify them is a start.”

Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in frustration.

“These issues have fucked so much up, Naveen…”

“It is not too late to rectify the mess you feel you are in,” said Naveen, in a comforting tone. “I will give you the names of some counselors who specialize with these issues. Some are affiliated with Edenbrook, some elsewhere.”

“Thank you Naveen.”

Meanwhile, Casey was down in the ICU checking on the patients when she heard a noise that sounded like someone falling. She turned around to see a patient on the ground. She pressed the call button and went to tend to the patient. Danny came in.

“Oh my god, Stephanie!” Exclaimed Danny.

“W-w-where a-am I?” Stephanie stuttered.

“Stephanie, you are at Edenbrook Hospital.” Says Casey. Danny gives her the chart and Casey had to do a double take. Stephanie had been in a coma for seventeen years. Casey knew this was big. She took the file and took it to the team. Despite the length of time in a coma, Stephanie’s mental faculties seemed very intact. June proposed a research grant, stating that waking up from a benzo overdose was so rare that a study would help others in the situation. Ethan agreed with June. June and Casey were put in charge of selling the idea to Stephanie and her parents.

Casey and June made their way to Stephanie’s room where they met Mr and Mrs Hill. They were still in shock that Stephanie was awake, Mr Hill even admitting that when the call came he had thought it was to advise them to come and say their goodbyes. They were apprehensive about telling her that she had overdosed. June stated that she feels that it may have not been deliberate, stating that one of the side effects can be forgetting and accidentally double dosing. Casey stated that they wanted to do a study, but it was upto to Stephanie. They entered the room, a physiotherapist was there with her. They waited until she was finished. And spoke to Stephanie. Casey spoke about the research they were hoping to do. Stephanie seemed overwhelmed and Casey suggested that she speak to her parents about it. Casey hoped she would do the study.

Later that evening June met with Dr Tobias Carrick. He enjoyed the sex normally with June but today he could tell that there was more to her pent up sexual frustration.

“What’s up June?”

“Nothing”

Tobias looks at June incredulously. June rolls her eyes.

“We have had a coma patient wake up after 17years…”

“Yeah I heard about that from the younger Dr Emery. I must say I am intrigued.”

“Yes, someone waking from a benzo overdose is so rare…”

“What if a coma can be prevented? At the moment there are very limited treatment options for an overdose.”

“I can see the gears in your head, it will piss off Ethan you know.” Said June.

“And?” Says Tobias. “Either your study or my study will be ground breaking, hell I could probably kill two birds with one stone with mine but the way I am helping you.”

“How so?” questioned June.

“Well, he has entrusted his protege, why is he entrusting her with something so important? Yeah she saved Naveen and being attached to a study like this would do wonders for her career but it will give you hopefully more intel on that situation.”

June nods her head thoughtfully. She kisses him and they proceed with their night. June had hoped to leave his townhouse before Tobias awoke but she was surprised to see him awake, with a smug grin on his face.

“I have just made an offer to the Hill family. It appears that Edenbrook and Kenmore are not the only hospital’s interested in Stephanie, but you or me have the edge as they are keen to stay in Boston.” Said Tobias.

June smiled a mischievous smile,”well may the best hospital win.”

Tobias chuckled and then he went and got ready for his day.

The day was uneventful, Casey was still cautiously optimistic of Stephanie wanting to help with the study. She had noted that Ethan seemed troubled and she was unsure what to do. They had what they said they would go to after his sabbatical but she remembered that pre Miami he was trusting her with Naveen. Surely what they had now was not the end game. As much as she wanted to approach Ethan, she also was reluctant to do so. The memory of that morning where he stated that he felt betrayed by her was still too raw and if he still felt that way then it would be pointless to go there. So she did as she had been doing and kept on keeping on. Ethan could see that Casey seemed troubled. As much as he wanted to tell her everything he still held back. What had happened was a wound that had barely been covered and he was not ready for it to be reopened. He understood the why but how it all went down in the end still hurt. He did not like the pre Miami setting they had found themselves in. He knew this is not what he wanted but with everything else going on he did not want to add to his pain.

The next morning came. Casey made her way into Edenbrook and she was surprised to see Stephanie being wheeled out by her parents. They spot Casey.

“I am glad to see you before we leave.” Said Mr Hill.

“Leave? Did we do anything to upset you?” Asks Casey, still confused.

“No, quiet the contrary. We are appreciative truly for what you have done for Stephanie but we received a really good offer from Mass Kenmore…”

“Dr Carrick sounded really nice and I know you would have come up with a great offer but they are allowing me to be at home from the get go. No offense but even though I was in a coma for most of it, seventeen years in hospital is a long time.” Said Stephanie.

“I get that, truly, I hope it all works out for you.”

“Thank you Dr Valentine.”

Casey sees them off and is then annoyed. Ethan comes up behind her.

“Do you know this Dr Carrick from Kenmore?”

Ethan freezes. He knows exactly one Dr Carrick and he knew what he was up to. Just then Casey looks up and sees him.

“So you know him then?”

“We were friends until we were not. We were one and two in our year at Hopkins.” Said Ethan. “Our competition with each other grew toxic and we have not been friends since before we graduated.”

“So he is basically restarting the competition again?”

“In a way it never fully ended. It is infuriating however.”

Casey nodded and then headed in. Meanwhile Ethan was still fuming. He knew that Stephanie would be the talk of the medical world and despite him seeing the positives of Tobias’s study he could not help but wonder that there was an ulterior motive. June then walked in and saw Ethan. She asked what was wrong.

Ethan sighs in frustration.

“Stephanie got poached by Kenmore.”

June hoped her surprise was convincing.

“Really?”

“Yes, seems you can not take the competition out of med school.”

June was waiting for a bigger explosion of anger.

“What? No reprimand? You put myself and Dr Valentine in charge of keeping her here and we failed!”

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

“The family had offers from as far away as California. I am glad that she will be studied.” Said Ethan. He then left the office. June was bemused. A massive opportunity was now missed and no reprimand. She got out her phone and messaged Tobias.

Well done on getting our patient. Ethan was annoyed but you will be surprised at how pissed he is not.

June receives a message back.

“Oh he would have been pissed, especially if I am involved but not pissed at you and Casey? Was not expecting that!

June then decides that covertly getting her answers was not going to work. So she decides to get the information directly from the lady concerned.

Meanwhile, Ethan stumbles upon Casey at Derry Roasters. He orders his Vienna and another Espresso Romano for Casey. He walks over and sits down.

“It is not your fault for Stephanie leaving” says Ethan.

Casey is shook from her daze.

“Sorry Dr Ramsey but how am I not to blame?”

“You did your best, from what I understand, what sold them on Kenmore was that she was able to go as an outpatient from the get go.”

“That is fair but it still sucks.”

“It is annoying but they also said something about the prevention of a coma so if successful it will revolutionize how an overdose is treated. I can not fault that. It is the ulterior motive I can not stand.”

Ethan decides to bite the bullet.

“Aside from Stephanie, how have you been?”

“Yeah, being busy. Work, reading up on diseases, trying to eat and sleep.”

Ethan nods. “Can we try to be friends Casey?” Asks Ethan. “I know we said pre Miami before we ended things but surely neither of us meant it to be this way?”

“I know what you mean, me accusing you of treating me as an obligation probably did not help.”

Ethan winced.

“You are right there. I think the day after it happened was the wrong time to have an all out discussion about it.”

“I never wanted to hurt you, it was a rock and a hard place situation.”

Ethan takes a breath before continuing.

“I get that you did not intend too but I guess neither of us put pregnancy up on the list of things that would happen.”

“You are right there Ethan. But to answer your question, I would like us to be friends again.” Says Casey, smiling. Ethan smiled too and they finished their coffee in companionable silence. He wanted to tell her about his meeting with his mother but he was not ready to tell her yet, even though he wanted to.

A few days go by and June is still trying to figure out how Ethan is not super pissed at herself and Casey. She bides her time and finally catches Casey alone.

“Shall we have lunch Casey?” Asks June.

Casey looks at June suspiciously.

“I just want to get to know our newest team member better outside of the office.”

Casey was still suspicious but she agreed. They went to an Italian restaurant near the hospital. They ordered their food. June started off light, asking about what drew her to medicine, college etc. their food arrived and June felt it was time to go for the jugular.

“What is the deal with you and Ethan?”

Casey raised her eyebrow and then said, “Is that any of your business?”

June was affronted.

“Can’t a girl find out how your history is going to impact the team?”

“History is history June. Myself and Ethan have worked enough together to keep work at work.”

“Were you sleeping with him to gain favour?”

“Excuse me? Did I what?” Exclaimed Casey.

“Did you sleep with…”

“No I did not sleep with him to gain favour.”

June is surprised.

“What so he decided to conduct an inappropriate relationship because he could?”

“It was not a relationship. It was an arrangement, everything was consensual, we agreed to end the arrangement before he went on sabbatical.”

Said Casey rather firmly.

“And now?” Said a June. “Ethan’s moods, especially in relation to you are giving me whiplash.”

“We are colleagues. He is the lead of the team and I am the junior fellow. There never was and never will be any special treatment from Ethan to myself. Regardless of our relationship status which at the moment is that of boss and subordinate.”

Casey gets up and leaves. She walks a few steps and stops.

“I do not know why you thought I was a threat to the team, it is sad that it appears to be your default setting.”

She walks away and June sits there stunned. While June finishes off her meal she messages Tobias, telling him about lunch and how according to Casey, they are currently only boss and subordinate. Tobias, like June was suspicious if that was indeed the truth. Little did Tobias know that he was going to get an opportunity first hand to see Ethan and Casey together.

———

Authors note: next chapter will be the softball game with some perspective from Tobias. I am looking forward to writing that from his perspective. Thank you for reading this far.

Tagging: @jerzwriter @jamespotterthefirst @genevievemd @cariantha @tessa-liam @liaromancewriter @potionsprefect @alj4890 @zealouscanonindeer @youlookappropriate @bex-la-get @crazy-loca-blog @a-crepusculo @schnitzelbutterfingers @binny1985 @socalwriterbee @lucy-268 @trappedinfanfiction

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[deathbydarkelves]

why has no one asked about Ylrith yet??? please tell us more about Ylrith

:3c

In all fairness, I don’t post about her that much. Mostly because I’m not currently working on any stories that directly involve her so she’s not in my brain as much. I LOVE her, I’m just more focused on the characters I work with more often lol

But basically: poly lesbian mob boss with a snake obsession

She’s the head honcho of a centuries-old crime syndicate called The Gray Order. Ylrith (il-rith) herself usually goes by “The Gray Matron”, but her enemies have given her a plethora of other, similarly sinister names. By now, the Order has connections all across Azeroth, in most any faction worth a damn. The opening up of Kalimdor to the rest of the world was one of the best things to happen to her.

The Order specializes in smuggling drugs, weapons, and other illicit items, but Ylrith will ferry war refugees to safer lands too, and other such things. All she wants is money and more people under her thumb — if you have the money, or are willing to do a favor for her, she’ll help you do what it is you want done. Her trademark phrase isn’t “A favor for a favor, darling” for nothing. Of course, she’s a master of wordcraft, and often gets people to promise more than they think. She’s also got informants everywhere — brothels in the big cities, innkeepers, compromised city guards, and so on — and thus is master of blackmail. You go to her to discuss a deal, you say something she doesn’t like, and she’ll drop a detail about your life you thought no one else knew.

She also has an EXTENSIVE snake collection of species from all over Azeroth and even beyond. If we’re being realistic a lot of the money she makes goes into caring for them lmao she just really loves snakes <3 In fact I was leaning so hard into the snake thing I decided to just say she’s (the elf equivalent of) autistic because no neurotypical person could possibly be that into snakes KSBXBJD Which makes her my second autistic night elf, the first being Cathala 💜 Yet another win for lesbians.

The third key thing about her is the upper crust of the Order are all in a sapphic polycule. They use their powers of polyamory for evil (affectionate). Ylrith is also kind of(?) a “lesbian femme fatale type”. One of her favorite activities is fucking with the royalty of patriarchal cultures like humans by seducing the wives of powerful men and then helping them kill their husbands, the end result being Ylrith now has control over that piece of land at best, and that rich woman’s loyalty at worst. It’s enrichment for her.

Now for more art. This first one is her and her spymaster/favorite assassin/girlfriend Delphine Kaltel, a.k.a. The Serpent’s Fang. Originally Delphine had actually been hired to kill Ylrith but it was an enemies-to-lovers thing <3

This one’s her and her blue dragon girlfriend Tyalagosa, who’s sort of her “court” mage, I suppose:

(She has more gfs/people in the Order’s upper crust, those are just the only two I’ve named, designed, and drawn. One I have yet to draw is Evelyn Torvannas, another Nightborne. She’s the head of a fairly powerful merchant family in Suramar.]

One showing off her other tattoo:

And her voice claim :) (Morrigan from Dragon Age: Inquisition)

Plus this dumb meme that sums her up perfectly imo:

I also like to imagine she has the stupidest most cartoonish rivalry with Shaw lmao. She doesn’t see him as a threat whatsoever and loves toying with the funny little human man, while he fucking HATES her because she’s got her tendrils all up in the Alliance but always worms her way out of repercussions. WLW and MLM hostility.

[saythenametotheworld]

Hi, I'm Cal!

I am big on KPOP, NCT, SVT, Taylor Swift, and writing but small on proofreading, lol who does that? jk forgive me, I will make sure to edit what needs to be edited ASAP. But for now, here's a list of my works and WIP! Thanks! ily mwah

Invisible String [Part 2] - Na Jaemin x Reader | Friends to Lovers | f

Na Jaemin was an old friend who never became anything else other than that—a friend. But after a series of life decisions that led you to move from your small town to the big city, you slowly find out that maybe, after all these years, Jaemin was never just a friend.

You Will Find Me - Jeong Jaehyun x Reader | Mistaken Identity | M

Less than a month before your wedding, you answered a call from someone who introduced himself as Johnny Suh—the exact name of the man you believed to be your soulmate. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, you embark on a trip to Italy to meet him, believing that it is fate's way of telling you to fulfill your destiny.

Maybe If - Mark Lee x Reader | Exes Baggage | M

An unprompted college reunion for a friend's wedding had you looking back on the most beautiful relationship you ever had with the most breathtaking boy you've ever known—Mark Lee.

I Can See You - Jung Jaehyun x Reader | Workplace Romance | M

After a wild, unforgettable hookup with Jung Jaehyun, you were convinced you'd never see him again. Apparently, you were wrong because why is he strutting into your office as your newest coworker?

Risk [Part 2]- Lee Jeno x Reader | Crush-at-First-Sight | F

Firmly convinced that Love-at-First-Sight is a hoax, you never expected to be proven wrong when the universe decided to throw you, quite literally, into Lee Jeno's lap.

Time of Our Life [Part 2] - NCT Dream OOs Line | Coming-of-Age

Five friends navigate love as new adults through relationships and soul-searching in this coming-of-age fic.

illicit affairs - Johnny Suh x Reader | A Secret Affair | M

What is it that makes people succumb to the temptation of infidelity? You had no idea either. All you knew was the enchanting charm and bewitching allure of Johnny Suh, and the inevitable heartache that follows all illicit affairs.

Take a Chance with Me - Kim Doyoung x Reader | Regency AU

Amidst London’s glittering social season, you—a debutante—find yourself entangled in an odd rivalry with a proud, haughty, and infuriatingly handsome bachelor, Kim Doyoung.

Message in a Bottle [Part 2]- Choi Seungcheol (Scoups) x Reader | Strangers to Lovers

Seungcheol likes his coffee dark and iced. You like yours creamy smooth and searing hot. Your differences bring you close together and it was all fun and games until you fell madly in love with Choi Seungcheol whose heart still belonged to someone else.

'tis the damn season - Kim Mingyu x Reader | Ex and Whys | M

Taking your boyfriend—with whom you recently broke up with—to your family home for the holidays and pretending you're still happily in love? Doesn't sound like the best idea but what could go wrong? Everything.

Closer, Faster [Part 2]- Vernon Chwe x Reader | Summer Love | M

For good reason, you have forbidden yourself to get emotionally attached to temporary people until Vernon comes walking in and wrecks you to your very core.

High Infidelity - Yoon Jeonghan x Reader | Infidelity | M

Marriage, clandestine desires, and betrayals on all sides. You never would have imagined that your marriage with Jeonghan would end disastrously. Torn between vows and longing for passion, you must confront the consequences of your infidelity and decide where your true happiness lies.

Timeless - Jeon Wonwoo x Reader | Shorts, 2.5k words

[mrzeecon]

Breaking Ad: A Marketing World Inspired by Breaking Bad

Ever since I first heard Walter White's iconic line, "Say my name," I’ve been captivated by the idea of a series that brings the same intensity and drama to the world of marketing. Breaking Bad is a show about power, deception, and the thin line between good and evil—elements that aren’t too far removed from the competitive, high-stakes world of a marketing agency. This contemplation sparked the concept for Breaking Ad, a spin-off series that reimagines the characters and conflicts of Breaking Bad within the cutthroat landscape of modern advertising.

The Characters

Walt "The Strategist" White A brilliant, once-overlooked strategist at a small-time marketing agency, Walt White realizes his untapped potential when he starts developing groundbreaking marketing campaigns that take the agency to new heights. His descent into the darker side of marketing begins when he decides to use underhanded tactics to outmaneuver competitors, secure high-profile clients, and climb the corporate ladder.

Jesse "The Creative" Pinkman Jesse is a young, talented but troubled creative director. Initially, he's just a freelance designer with no formal training, but his raw talent catches Walt's eye. Walt sees potential in Jesse and takes him under his wing, teaching him the ins and outs of strategic thinking while exploiting his creativity to produce groundbreaking ads. Their partnership is as volatile as it is successful, with Jesse constantly torn between following Walt's morally questionable path and staying true to his creative integrity.

Skyler "The Finance Manager" White Skyler is Walt’s wife and the agency’s finance manager. Initially unaware of Walt’s increasingly dubious tactics, she eventually gets pulled into the financial machinations behind his schemes. As the agency grows, so does her involvement, shifting from a simple bookkeeper to an accomplice, cooking the books to hide the more illicit side of Walt's strategies.

Hank "The Brand Protector" Schrader Hank, Skyler's brother-in-law, is the agency’s head of brand protection and compliance. He’s dedicated to maintaining the firm’s reputation and sniffing out any unethical behavior. Unaware that his biggest adversary is his own brother-in-law, Hank’s pursuit of a mole in the agency leads to tension and high-stakes drama. His relentless dedication to integrity sets him on a collision course with Walt’s ambition.

Saul "The PR Guru" Goodman Saul is the agency’s charismatic PR consultant, known for his colorful personality and his “whatever it takes” attitude. He’s the go-to guy for crisis management and knows how to spin any story to the agency’s advantage. His willingness to bend the truth and his knack for finding loopholes make him an invaluable asset to Walt’s increasingly risky endeavors.

Gus "The Competition" Fring Gus Fring runs a rival marketing agency with a reputation for ruthless efficiency and a keen eye for detail. Behind his polished, calm exterior lies a cutthroat competitor who will stop at nothing to dominate the market. He recognizes Walt’s potential early on and attempts to recruit him, but when Walt refuses, Gus becomes a formidable adversary. Their rivalry escalates into a full-blown war, with each trying to outmaneuver the other through ingenious campaigns and corporate espionage.

Mike "The Fixer" Ehrmantraut Mike is the agency’s fixer and head of security, a former private investigator with a knack for solving problems discreetly. He’s the one who cleans up the messes, whether it’s dealing with disgruntled clients or making evidence disappear. His loyalty to Gus puts him at odds with Walt, and he finds himself caught between two powerful forces, trying to maintain his own code of ethics in a world that’s losing its moral compass.

The Plot

Season 1: The Rise of Walt White The series kicks off with Walt White as a frustrated strategist who feels undervalued at a mediocre agency. After a health scare that makes him rethink his career and financial situation, Walt decides to take bold risks, using unorthodox methods to land a major client. His tactics work, and the agency starts to thrive, but Walt's success comes at a price. As he pulls Jesse into his schemes and begins pushing ethical boundaries, tensions within the agency rise.

Season 2: Power Plays and Deception With the agency's reputation growing, Walt becomes more ambitious and starts targeting Gus Fring’s firm, using every trick in the book to outdo his rival. Skyler becomes more involved in hiding the agency's unethical practices, while Hank grows suspicious of internal leaks and starts investigating. Jesse, caught between loyalty to Walt and his moral dilemmas, begins to crack under the pressure.

Season 3: The Breaking Point The power struggle between Walt and Gus reaches a fever pitch, resulting in sabotage, espionage, and a corporate takeover bid that threatens to destroy both firms. Saul’s PR skills are put to the ultimate test as scandals emerge, and Mike finds himself caught in the middle, trying to protect the agency’s secrets while staying true to his own principles. The season culminates in a dramatic face-off, with alliances shattered and the agency’s future hanging in the balance.

Themes and Appeal

Breaking Ad explores themes of ambition, morality, and the cost of success, much like its predecessor. It’s a thrilling drama that highlights the cutthroat nature of the marketing world, where creativity meets corruption, and ethical lines are blurred. The show is a commentary on the lengths people will go to achieve power and success, and the personal and professional costs of living on the edge.

With its dynamic characters, intense drama, and a unique setting that blends creativity with corporate strategy, Breaking Ad promises to be a gripping series that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats, questioning the ethics of modern marketing and the true cost of ambition.

[himeryu]

– Love Rivalry: 45-2. illicit affairs

kaveh x reader (last of flashback)

It would be an understatement to say Alhaitham thought about it. He wanted to know; he wanted to face the truth. Therefore, he studied it and thought of every possible answer to his questions. He's a thorough man. Alhaitham predicted that you might've overheard his conversation with Albedo. 

Alhaitham hoped you didn't, though. It is because the resulting casualty would endanger his entire relationship with you.

The possibility of you finding out that side of him makes him sick. If it was true, you're pushing him away because of him. You have every right to be angry, but why does he feel ill? Alhaitham doesn't get sick often due to his healthy lifestyle; however, there is a difference between mental and physical health. Even if they have a good diet and exercise, the environment around them could detriment their mental health.

He was always praised for his smarts, but Alhaitham is currently stuck in a predicament. Alhaitham, a genius, was confused. He does not know, but he wishes he does. That was when a thought entered Alhaitham's consciousness, something that he believed he shouldn't feel. To Alhaitham, emotions are a luxury that he can not afford. He is a man of practicality, and emotions would only become an obstacle to his future career. So, he lacks a basic understanding of human emotions. He knows it in theory-- of course-- but he was too busy to practice it.

I mean, before university, all he had was Kaveh. Other than him, he was a loner. But then, you barged into his life. He hates it, hates whatever it is. Calling it a weakness that should be eradicated. Alhaitham needs to end this.

He needs to cut off contact with you.

 

At first, he thought you were annoying. Alhaitham hated how you actively competed with him at every academic task. It was not the first time someone declared rivalry with Alhaitham. Ever since middle school, Alhaitham met numerous "rivals," but he never considered them as one. It is because no matter how hard they'd try, Alhaitham would be victorious. 

He believed the same when he first met you. Alhaitham thought you'd back down after he bested you. However, he was wrong.

For the first time, Alhaitham lost. 

He hated it-- considering it an anomaly, an error in his win rate. 

So, for the first time, Alhaitham gained a rival. 

It started from getting the highest marks or winning an award to playful banters. You didn't like him, and he didn't like you. Everyone in your department knows of your rivalry with Alhaitham. Heck, they think it's entertaining like they're watching a drama. Alhaitham thought his relationship with you wouldn't progress any further. He was content with his academic rivalry with you. 

However, your professor partnered you with Alhaitham, much to your complaints. Alhaitham paid no mind; he wanted to end it all and return as usual.

But suddenly, you changed. You approached Alhaitham differently, putting away your pride in the project. Alhaitham was caught off guard like he was caught up in a tsunami. Then, his mundane cycle of waking up, eating, studying, and sleeping broke because of the powerful waves of new perspectives. It was like you aggressively broke the wall between you two.

You barged into his life at a different pace-- a pace that made him fall in love. 

His feelings are a weakness. However, Alhaitham knows you. You would rather die than be someone's "weakness."

Nonetheless, the possibility of you overhearing his conversation with Albedo eats him. He messed up, and he knows. Alaitham needs to apologize-- no, he has to. Much to others' surprise, Alhaitham is immature. Because of his immaturity, he hurt you. He wants to mature and to do so, he needs to talk to you.

Finally, Alhaitham found the answer to his questions.

The reason why he was weird was because he fell for you. 

Alhaitham likes you. 

----

"I really thought we could be friends, you know?" You bitterly say, tears welling up in your eyes like the making of a storm. Alhaitham's eyes widen. You angrily wipe the tears threatening to fall down your cheeks, refusing to cry in front of him.

You bitterly continue, your breath hitches after every word you utter, "Am I wrong to think this way?" 

Alhaitham presses his lips as he looks at you in anguish, almost as if his heart was torn to shreds-- the heartache in his eyes is unnoticed by you due to your tears. The numbing feeling in his heart and your mental outburst render him helpless. 

Alhaitham likes you but believes you don't feel the same way. 

You showed him colors he knows he won't see with anyone else, but he taught you emotions you never thought you'd feel. Alhaitham knows deep down you're a kind soul. Therefore, if he explained his feelings, you'd forgive him. Though it would take time, you'd still forgive him. 

Alhaitham doesn't deserve you. He already hurt you once, how can he be so sure he wouldn't hurt you again? Alhaitham is terrified.

He needs to change before he can have you. However, people can't change immediately. Change takes time, and-- right now-- Alhaitham doesn't have the luxury of such. 

Alhaitham knows his flaws: he's stubborn, selfish, and immature. You don't deserve someone with such flaws. You deserve someone who could easily express their feelings, someone who could make you laugh.

You are better off without him.

"That's right," Alhaitham says. "Everything you heard that day is true."

Therefore, Alhaitham makes his resolve. He needs to ruin any remaining chances he has to reconcile with you. It would hurt, but you're strong. He'll lose you, but it's okay. 

You never saw him the way he sees you. 

----

Scara ran all his might to Cyno's cafe. He should've known, but he didn't. He knew something was happening, but he kept his distance. Instead, he waited for you to reach out to look for him. Scara, the closest person to you, regrets that he didn't ask. Following the directions Childe gave him through chat, he ran to the cafe, praying to God that he would arrive on time. 

However, Scara was too late. He barged into the cafe, panting. His eyes widen as his gaze falls onto your defeated figure. Your formerly shimmering eyes are devoid of emotions, and your cheeks are stained with tears. 

"Shit."

main m.list | series m.list | previous | next

Read if youre confused about Alhaitham's resolve: At first, he wanted to confess his feelings, however, you said "I thought we could be friends?" Because of this, he believes you never saw him anything other than a potential friend. He was heartbroken. Furthermore, seeing you break down and being the reason why youre breaking down hurts him so bad. How dare he try to confess his feelings when he is the reason why you're suffering? You made him fall in love with you, but he made you hate yourself. That is why Alhaitham decided that he does not deserve you, so he needs to ruin all chances he has to be with you. It's like his personal punishment for himself. You are his first love but because he hurt you, he could never become yours.

SYNOPSIS You’ve been rejected by your academic rival, alhaitham, without even confessing or having feelings for him. You decided to go to a party to fix your damaged ego, so why are you suddenly making out with his roommate?

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[writingsofwesteros]

https://www.tumblr.com/writingsofwesteros/759356400541515776/cersei-and-nora-100-have-a-rivalryby-rivalry-i?source=share

"Something wrong, dear sister?" Tyrion chuckled as he sat next to Cersei nursing her wine.

"Have you finally finished giggling in the corner with that Targaryen girl then?" Cersei glared at him. "Now now," Tyrion enjoyed how no one but Daenora Targaryen could illicit such blatant jealousy in his sister- to affect a lion's pride was a feat indeed.

"I take it you've a problem with our guest? I wonder why," They both looked over at Nora whose exposed legs were draped over Aemond Targaryen's lap, her brother's hand shamelessly resting quite high up her thigh, almost under the skimpy white dress, while Nora's body was slightly turned as she talked to Joffrey, whose face was clearly reddened as she giggled. "She's relegated my son to being her cupbearer." Cersei muttered into her wineglass.

"It seems to me Joffrey's quite enjoying it," Tyrion commented, only provoking Cersei further.

"Oh, shut up." She snapped. "I think I've solved the mystery," Tyrion went on. "Why she gets under your skin so easily." "I don't know what you're talking about-" "It's because she fucked Jamie, isn't it?" Cersei said nothing. Tyrion chuckled. "Daenora Targaryen, years ago, in that school girl uniform rode a lion in that dormitory in St. Baelor's Boarding School and even now you loathe her for it." Tyrion noted how Cersei gripped her glass tighter when Jamie went over to where Nora sat between her brother and Joffrey, leaning down to greet her with a kiss on the cheek.

"You know her sister's had those twins," Cersei told him. "They've never come outright and say it, but we all know either Aegon or Aemond is the father. Even that reclusive one that we hardly see- I hear she's pregnant too. It's only a matter of time before one of her brothers knocks her up." "Ah, but when they do, it'll hardly be cause for scandal will it. After all, a Targaryen brother gets his sister pregnant? It's as inevitable as the sun rising east and setting west." Tyrion stood. "For you, however...not so much."

WE LOVE TYRION!!!

Aemond gently stroking up and down Nora's leg as a way of calming himself as his ever looking stare noticed when the arrival of his mother with Rhaenyra took place.

He had not expected her to come.

His confused stare returned to Nora as he could hear Tyrion muttering in the background.

Aemond's hold only tightened at the sight of Jaime