#and i finally got topaz to work on a gif

[idontmissu]

231231

[ronearoundblindly]

The First Eighty-Three Hours (4)

CEO!Steve Rogers x CEO!reader

Dinner (see previous or series)

Summary: The most nerve-racking part of your official first day isn't what you expect.

Warnings for frustrating gossip and misogynist behavior, as well as light and suggestive language. This one is a bit of a rollercoaster, FYI. WC 3.5k

You never believed it more than today: Mondays are the fucking worst.

It started normally. You woke, dressed, and came to work early. You exchanged a few texts with Steve, all sweet but about real business, and you looked forward to ticking off lots of things on the to-do list, especially since as co-CEOs, you both can split up the top-level tasks.

It goes to shit almost immediately.

Security hasn’t updated your badge clearance for the building but has managed to delete your old security details in preparation for the change in title. You know a few of the front desk guards, but not all of them, not the ones working this morning, and since the building houses multiple company corporate offices, they see a lot of people come and go. Topaz has to come down and escort you up as if you are her visitor.

You can’t get mad—though you are fuming—because it’s a simple tech error that one call can correct. It’s about the most pleasant call of your whole day.

Each of the other companies you call has been in contract with American Capsules for at least a year. Some CEOs, some COOs, one CFO, you know every man (and they are all men) you speak to, and at a point in every single call, a variation of “are you sure? Put Rogers on” gets thrown in.

You have a headache from rolling your eyes so hard. You come up with highly creative ways to say that you have been on the line for most, if not all, of their previous discussions with Mr. Rogers, and that he, in fact, asked you for final assurance that his information was correct during most, if not all, of those calls. To some extent, you know this company better than Steve Rogers.

No one seems to fucking care. It’s a Monday. You’re a woman. You were just an assistant.

“I’d feel better if I hear that from him.”

That’s the kicker.

God forbid you get emotional, but baby-boy over here really needs to feel reassured. At least that man did not refer to you as some sort of dessert.

My name is not ‘sugar,’ it is not ‘cupcake,’ and it is not ‘gumdrop,’ you old farts. However, the nicknames come from men aged 31 to 63, so…woohoo, consistency.

The fun doesn’t end there. Your only in-person meeting decides to regale you with a story of how he’s more qualified than you.

“It’s a shame I never got to apply,” he scoffs in what he probably thinks is a casual way but it’s just derogatory. “Guess you had the inside track, huh? You and Rogers spend so much time together…”

Do not scream ‘fuck off.’ Don’t do it.

“Steve saw my dedication to this company, yes.” You fake-laugh to the door to get him to leave. “You’d hate the hours anyway, Paul. I know how much you love those Napa Valley vacations, and I’m afraid that just wouldn’t work here.”

You managed to not make the door hit him on the way out. Now you kinda want a cupcake.

At lunch—which you eat at nearly three in the afternoon—Topaz tosses out a comment about how you must be excited to spend some of that raise money, freshen up your wardrobe, maybe buy a new car or upgrade your apartment. You do not have fucking time for her shit.

Steve comes in to check a few things with you, dedicated to his professional persona, which is great because you need to feel like work is work and home is home right now.  The lines cannot be blurred when everyone around you thinks they already are.

Plus, you’d likely bite his head clean off if he dared say the word ‘precious’ after the morning you’ve had.

Keeping to work only is not that difficult because you’ve been ignoring how delicious Mr. Rogers looks in a suit for years, except there may be a few random phrases he accidentally says that make your thighs clench. Most of them are mild threats to the men who’d behaved badly towards you, but Steve doesn’t seem to know what they did. He’s simply annoyed that they insisted on speaking to him instead of confirming details with you.

The most peaceful part of the whole day is about seven minutes between two calls. You drink a whole glass of water with the door shut and get to stare out the window. The cityscape should remind you of sex. Good sex. Great sex. But no, all you really think about is chatting with Steve whilst having that morning coffee. You hated to replace the scent of his soap with your body wash after going home, and you washed your hair thinking of how to describe the ritual to him.

Other than that seven minutes in heaven, you never calm down. You end up still at the office until 6:20. There’s no chance to run home and change. You’ll have to go to dinner with Pepper and Tony in what you’re wearing.

Steve holds your coat up in the hall. He jokes that the perk of having a driver is that you can both leave your workbags in the car. He doesn’t sense anything is really wrong, and he says it again.

“You were amazing today.”

You don’t fucking feel like it.

During the ride to the restaurant, you are on the verge of rage tears. If tomorrow goes just as badly, you may break your desk phone. Employees knowing about (or acknowledging) your heightened status is hit-and-miss. Some offered congratulations while a fair few—shockingly all men—still rampantly demeaned you in hopes of getting a second with ‘your boss.’ It felt like high school all over again to hear girls whispering about ‘sleeping her way to the top’ in the bathroom. Bitter is not a heavy enough sentiment for how you feel in this stupid fucking car going to a stupid fucking meal while you still have a stupid fucking amount of—

“We’re here,” Steve says softly, a hand grasping your thigh briefly, telling you to wait while he gets your door.

You’re distracted on the walk inside, automatically letting him take your coat and check them in the lobby. Your mind is elsewhere when you step up to the hostess desk.

“It’s…I’m sorry, I don’t know who the reservation is under, but party of four—“

Damn. You think of something you need to tell Topaz and an amendment for a contract stipulation tomorrow.

As you scurry to pull out your phone, the maitre d’ clears his throat.

“Ma’am, this establishment has a dress code.”

It hardly registers. You have on a blouse and trousers with broken-in heels that don’t blister your feet. Your tits and ass aren’t hanging out. Mission accomplished. Let’s get on with it.

“I’m covered,” you mutter, texting Topaz.

“I’m afraid I can’t allow you to dine with us in that.”

You finally look up and see the clear disdain on the man’s angular face. Even the host is in a full tuxedo.

“Rogers!”

Tony yells from the doorway of a private room far beyond the main dining room and bar. He’s oblivious to disturbing anyone else’s meal, but it’s possible half of these people eat here explicitly to see Tony Stark and say they eat where he does.

Steve returns to your side, and while The Tony Stark and The Steve Rogers exchange a brief hug, you stare right into the maître d’s eyes and purse your lips.

“M’Lady,” Tony coos, leaning forward to kiss your cheek, “or should I say ‘my hero?’” He smiles and turns excitedly. “Hope you brought your appetites. I ordered one of everything. This way—“

“One moment,” you halt, lifting a finger, looking the angular man square in the face with your head held high. “Do we have a problem?”

Sheet-white, the host has a new pallor. Good.

“What’s this,” Steve asks quietly.

“No, ma’am,” the maitre d’ gulps, pure terror flashing in his brown eyes.

Your own eyes drop to his name tag. “Thank you, Lyle.” Smiling as you slowly rotate to your date, you let out a tense breath.

“After you,” Steve offers, smiling too.

You don’t want to start the night off on the wrong foot by explaining that exchange, but your hands smooth any piece of fabric they can get to nervously.

Tech guys in Silicon Valley go everywhere in ratty tees and cargo pants, and they’re probably openly welcomed into the nicest places. Steve’s in a perfectly nice suit, but nothing fancy. Hell, Tony wears a Black Sabbath shirt under a blazer. Why just you?

Your clothes are fine, not haute couture, but you have no desire to maintain a wardrobe that requires more time and effort than your day job. You know what Steve spends on dry cleaning and tailoring. When would you find the time? Plus, there’s a thin line between fashionable, functional, and cumbersome—

Whatever. Pepper will understand if it’s brought up…except she’s in a gorgeous sheath dress and Louboutins. Pep’s always been like that though, impeccable taste, and she’s the reason you found that gala gown from a store you wouldn’t have set foot in otherwise.

Dinner does start out well. Tony is beyond appreciative (about the weekend), and Pep is gracious and sympathetic (about your long day, no details). There’s a bit of discussion about the differences between Tony/Pepper’s setup and yours/Steve’s.

Pepper is the CEO and the only CEO of Stark Industries because Tony’s the innovator. Steve, who has always been the actual and active leader of his company, now shares those responsibilities with you. He makes an off-hand remark about still being crazy busy today, and your hands tremble faintly. You move them to your lap, trying to calm down. You’re finding it hard to jump into conversation—since you’ve spent years as a silent observer to Steve’s meetings—and transitioning to full participant isn’t natural yet.

Tony wasn’t joking about the food. Five appetizers show up and litter the table. Everyone tries everything they fancy and nothing they don’t. The not-empty plates are replaced by eight entrees laid in their wake.

This is weird. Delicious, yes, but wasteful and formal, and you’ve hit your limit. You open your mouth to excuse yourself for the ladies’ room, but the double door opens again. The chef has arrived with an off-menu addition. Tony is thrilled.

The plate, however, is placed directly in front of you.

“Something special,” the chef beams, “for you, Señorita Cappy.”

You recognize the dish and the man suddenly.

“Oh gosh, Maximus!” You take his outstretched hand, and he kisses the back of it. “I had no idea you—it’s been so long. You’re here now?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he says in a thick accent, “thanks to yourself.”

“Consider me put in my place,” Tony grumbles playfully while Pepper and Steve look at you with curiosity.

“Ah,” you flounder to take the lead in speaking, “well, for one of the first catered events after I started at AmCap, Chef Maximus was part of the staff—but not a cook! I remember—a tragedy really, because he wanted so badly to debut this—“ you showcase the plate before you with a flick of your hand “—traditional meal from his hometown. I put him in touch with a client—Bonterouss, if you remember him,” you toss to Steve. “He’s an entrepreneur that had mentioned cuisine as a passion, and…”

You shrug the rest off.

Maximus is effusive beyond reason, and after quite a few “you’re welcome”s and “you earned it”s in hopes that he knows you’re very happy for him (but need this to be done), he wishes the group a fantastic meal, excusing himself.

It’s nice to see him, of course, and it’s so wonderful he’s doing well.

Tony grabs a fork and reaches to try the new addition on the table.

Steve and Pepper say some nice things about how nice you are and how wonderful you’ve done since they all met you. Nice and wonderful. You feel anything but nice and wonderful.

Your façade crumbles. The rollercoaster of the day has wrung you dry and now it wrings actual tears from you.

Tony doesn’t skip a beat and says to let it out or drink up. Steve rubs across your shoulders and tries to tell you again how amazing you are, but that brings on a few sobs. Pepper, bless her, helps you both to the restroom like you wanted to do before the dam broke.

In addition to pauper’s clothing—apparently—you have no makeup left after as quick of a recap and cry as you can manage in the loo.

“Sweetheart, you’ve done exceptional work, and you’ll continue to do so.” Pepper trashes the last of the cloth-like paper towels in the bathroom lit by two chandeliers.

One last sniffle. You’re allotted only one more sniffle, you tell yourself.

“And what about the rest?”

Her smile is sweet. “If you want, you know I’m always willing to go shopping with you, but if you don’t care, then fuck them.”

You quickly consider what Pep might spend on hair and makeup and clothing and cleaning that clothing…since you know what half that costs for Steve. You can’t decide if your stomach wants to wretch or to binge the feelings away.

“As for…men?” Pepper braces herself on the marble vanity and meets your eye in the mirror. “It takes a lot of time. Too much time. It’s a complete waste of time, and some of the jerks never learn. You will put in far more effort than Rogers needs to, and frankly, he may never understand.” She turns to you and questioningly reaches for the exit’s handle. “He’s a good guy though. He may be one of the few who listens at very least.”

That’s an exhausting thought in and of itself, but you nod.

Back at the table, Steve immediately asks if you’d prefer to leave. It’s too dismissive to answer that it was only ‘women’s issues’ because the cause was men. You struggled to do your job today because men seemingly could not accomplish their own jobs with a woman anywhere in the mix, even one they’ve all dealt with before.

But she’s got authority now? Inconceivable. They need to speak to Rogers.

That is horrifyingly inefficient. Also, of course, it’s not all men. Some will be perfectly professional around you while wondering if you’ll blow them for some more authority. Others will use any excuse to claim your accomplishments just aren’t the same as theirs. The exact same men who will say you fucked for your job will bemoan that you don’t try a little harder with your appearance, which is just—just—

You have to arrest that train of thought.

“No, I’m fine. Just tired,” you assure Steve.

Tired of everyone’s shit.

Breathe. Calm. Sip your wine. Don’t kill Stark when he asks what the hot gossip is from the toilet. First-day jitters stories are exchanged around the table. It’s supportive but unhelpful.

You weren’t nervous. You were sabotaged.

That isn’t what you want to talk about though, and you frown at Steve hoping he takes the hint.

He slyly puts his hand on your knee and squeezes gently. In his deep, commanding voice, Steve deliberately cuts into a moment of side bickering between the other couple.

“Anyway…”

Everyone straightens in their chair a little. There’s that press of your thighs again. How very Captain-ly of him, you think.

“Right,” Tony blurts, “now it’s my turn to be sad-sack.” He fishes around for another bite of something. “Who wants to hear about Galmira?”

The irony is that you did a lot better at dinner once the discussion became work related but not related to your experience of work. You catch Steve eyeing you once or twice, he half-heartedly mentions that they could talk about something else, but you lean to whisper “whatever gets me through this, ok” in his ear as a plea for the night to end without you looking like the awkward duckling.

There were four desserts and another special thing sent out from Maximus. Tony, of course, paid.

Steve is quiet during the car ride to drop you off at your apartment. He fidgets with his phone and seems to be checking and rechecking for emails that aren’t arriving.

“May I come up so we can talk,” he mumbles, setting the phone screen down in his lap.

You take a big breath and scratch at your eyebrow. “Steve, my place is not like yours.” The day is getting to you, and all you want is to wash it away or drown out how you felt like you weren’t good enough even though nothing really changed. You don’t think you can handle commentary about your actual home. “I don’t have a doorman that will bring me a swag bag or whatever. I don’t have two bathrooms…or bedrooms, for that matter, or a massive kitchen or giant windows.”

Steve picks at a bit of lint on his pant leg.

“Do you want those things?”

At first, you think it’s some sort of bizarre proposal, not completely out of the question for a man who told you he’s in love with you before your first date. Still, you peer at him with harsh condemnation.

“Because if you don’t want those things, then why would I care if you have them? Aside from being a biohazard or full of rats, I don’t see any reason that I’d be bothered.” Steve pockets his phone. “There are no rats, right?”

Those rage tears are starting a slow surge forward. “I mean it. I don’t live like you.”

“Precious, for most of my life, I didn’t live like I do now.” He turns to face you as best he can on the back seat. “Ma and I had just this side of nothing after my dad passed. She still lives more like you than me—or, I’m assuming closer—but I know she likes it that way. She’s comfortable. I’m comfortable. Are you?”

That all sounds sweet, but you don’t trust it. Everything feels precariously balanced on keeping any semblance of Steve’s respect since you felt an overall backslide at the office today. Work is work and home is home. What you need is home to still be the place you believe Steve Rogers wants you, a place where you are precious not indigent.

The car pulls up before you can truly respond.

“At least let me walk you to your door?” He makes no move to touch you, respectfully.

While you gather your briefcase and purse, you make a decision.

“No, you can come up.”

It sounds less than sure, but that’s just it. Of all the things in life that you are not sure about right now, Steve Rogers is the one thing you are sure of.

Steve isn’t asking to come up with any expectations (other than to ascend a staircase and have a door unlocked). He simply asks to let you know you have options to choose from to feel better: alone or company.

He’s also—in his own hyper-efficient, maddeningly puppy-dog way—telling you that you deserve to feel better, to feel confident, to feel comfortable.

He confirms morning pick-up for the two of you with his driver. He politely follows you to your door, three steps behind. He says exactly zero words in response to laying eyes on your living space. He takes your coat again to hang his and yours by your door.

For some reason, it strikes you that they look good together, your coats, right there in your apartment, and you release an enormous sigh as you plop your bags down at the dinette.

“Don’t fret,” he soothes, finally closing the distance between you to cup your face and kiss your forehead, “I’ll be honored to smell like you tomorrow.”

Your thighs clench and you swallow loudly.

Steve backs up, beet red at the collar of his shirt. “Soap,” he yells. “I meant your—“ He pinches the bridge of his nose and squeezes his eyes shut, muttering, “real question is whether I need another drink or if that means I’ve had too many…”

He rubs the nape of his neck, jutting a thick, veiny forearm close to your face, and it wafts that damn air of comfort right at you. A lock of hair dislodges and tickles his forehead. He bites at his pink bottom lip. He’s magically confident and shy, thorough but clueless, too grand and too adorable all in one ripped, muscular package dropped off neatly in your living room where it visibly does not belong.

Today was hard, but this guy makes the night look easy.

So you just fling yourself on him, cheap-but-not-cheap clothing and all.

Fuck it. Earn that cupcake.

Oooooo, big shock, I couldn't keep it to the estimated number of chapters...again. There will be at least one more. Fairly certain it will just be the one if my outline holds (she says with absolutely zero confidence while thinking of three other side-plots) and will probably have a bit of smut. Who knows. I sure as shit don't. These two just lead me around blindly...

I see what I did there, whoops. Makes sense now.

[Last Part]

[Main Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

@bucky-fricking-barnes-reads @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @fallinallinmendes @deandreamernp @rach2602 @patzammit

[crystalflygeo]

The little moth had been a silent companion, sometimes there, sometimes not.

Ritou village was loud, noisy, busy. they stick close, their time in inazuma was coming to an end...their return to fontaine and subsequent travel into natlan approaching.

there is an itch in their palm, ah.

It seems their own quick correspondence with their doctor friend had been received, and a response promptly sent.

A letter materializes in it's palm, the wax seal a dead giveaway to the sender.

However, this letter was not for the moth, oh no. this letter was for the deer adeptus they had been sent to hopefully find, they would not open it.

Kazuha looks around over and over, walking along trees and some of the outer village side-paths. Where could she have gone? Was she restless? Someone spotted her and she had to flee? Was she in danger? So many thoughts crossed his mind and he realized he was immensely worried for her.

He only knew her two days ago but she was so fragile right now, so gentle and…

There's something on the wind, and he spots the little moth from before, Crys' friend aptly named 'Moth'

"Hello, you've been keeping an eye and taking care of her right?" He smiles gently at the small creature, they squeak and give a solemn nod. Then, a little paw extends a piece of paper… an envelope?

"This is… for me?"

Moth shakes their head adamantly.

"Ah." Of course, he chuckles. "I suppose you'll have some idea of where she went."

This time they nod, and simply point towards the noisy village with a flutter of their wings.

She went to Ritou??

Kazuha thanks his mysterious helper and dashes off to the village. Well, it can't be that hard to spot a large illuminated deer.

Right?

Though he hears no particular commotion, Ritou is busy as ever with merchants, fishers, foreigners, families coming and going freely. Loud conversations drown the sounds of nature.

He wanders for a while until his eye catches something, or rather someone, new.

Standing near the large maple tree at the center, framed by the lanterns and wishing plaques, a young woman with orange hair, striking foreign attire and a pair of fuzzy brown deer ears.

Her face lights up at she sees him and she quickly rushes to him, beaming.

"Kazuha! Look I did it! I finally managed to shift into my human form!" She twirls amongst the falling red leaves, her long sleeves swaying after her and her cute ears flickering.

Kazuha stares for a moment, smiling warmly. "I'm glad, you look very beautiful Crys."

She blushes and mumbles a "Thank you... I didn't want to just leave all the work to you, I wanted to investigate a bit myself so I managed to finally shift and came to the village to explore but... I thiiiink I got a little lost, admittedly." She chuckles nervously. "I figured if I stayed here at the center near this large tree you'd eventually find me!"

He nods. "Well, I gathered some information. Seems like the Crux is not around at the time being but they may be back soon, or we can catch another ship to Liyue. Trade has been on a rise lately, ever since the Sakoku decree lifted. And it seems Liyue is holding on their merchant ships to Fontaine due to the bad weather there on the last few days."

Crys places a finger at her lips, thoughtful "Hmm, yeah I remember the initial spike of work at the Ministry after that happened, there was a lot of paperwork rebuilding our commercial and cultural ties and I went home almost everyday dead tired to my dear... my.... huh...." Her ears droop.

Kazuha watches her liveliness dwindle once more and it aches him. "Another memory?"

"More fractured memories...." She replies. The Prithiva topaz at her necklace dimming down.

"I think it's still a good thing, you're remembering more and more..." He comforts her. "How about we go eat something nice or just go for a walk while deciding what to do next?"

She gives him a small thankful smile. "Alright..."

A deer who walks in a human's skin how curious, how enchanting! to see her excited and lovely grin

@i23kazu ebg Jan 19-26

[madeofcc]

OCTOBER UPDATE 🎃

Hellow everyone 👻

Finally, October is here and the spooky season that belongs to it ! Simblreen is turning slowly but surely in spooky mode and I already love to see some great content on my dash. As usual, this is a little post about what's going to happen during this month on this page. You'll find more info about Another Side in the blog update part.

Feel free to read or ignore this but always take very good care of you ♥

Also, thanks a lot to all of you for being here and remember, you're not alone ... This season in particular 👀

Life update : A hell lot happened in a month. I usually love September but this one was probably one of the hardest month of my life. To be short, after 6 months of full implication and hard work, I got fired after a burn out at work. I'm also living with my ex for almost a year now and it has become harder and harder to feel good living together. To be honest, I spend my nights crying these days so I'm fully commited to my sims story this month in order to have some kind of escape. Anyway, I guess that's all, sorry for being that negative this month, I'll get better don't worry. Here comes the blog update anyway :) More fun inside this one.

Blog update : Another Side is starting tomorrow 🎃

I'm soooo happy to see the little hype around this story and I can tell you that it's the one I've been putting so more efforts into it for now. The chapters are a bit longer than usually, I'm really trying to create the best cinematic experience for you dear readers. I made a little poll this week to check your desire about this story and the posting around it. So far, those who voted mainly voted for half a chapter a day so I guess that's what I'll do, but I reserve myself the right to post the entire chapter if it's a short one (like 2 parts).

The intro is already here in 2 parts, Chapter 1 will be called "Yuki" and will be 4 parts long. Tomorrow, October 1st, I'll post 2 parts of this chapter, the first one dropping at midnight (Paris time) and the other one a little bit later during the day. I'll make a timezone reblog and you'll get part 3 and 4 Sunday. Not all chapters will include 4 parts so I can't already tell you how many chapters there will be nor how many parts they will include. For now, the only thing I can tell you is that I'm trying to write it like a serie and so far, ep 1 to 3 include 7 chapters each so ... This should give you an idea. It should also go through October and November I think. Maybe a bit more if the story is longer than planned.

About Simblreen, I'm super excited for the event but I'm still thinking whether or not participating fully this year. For now I still have to fix my topaz clean on Photoshop (everything is installed correctly but nothing appears on Photoshop anymore, it worked fine 2 days ago U_U) but if I have the time I'd love to share some presents ! So far, I'm thinking of some CAS spooky backgrounds and also a new set of horror posters. Expect at least some new posters (who said A24 HORROR ?!) and if I have the time (and energy), some CAS backgrounds then.

About DH, don't worry my loves, Destiny and all should be back for some edits around the end of the year but the story will be officially back in 2023 for a full DH year 😍 I've planned a lot, including a casting call so be prepared !

And I think that's all ! As usual, thank you so much for reading this and for being here. You all are a daily strenght you don't even know 😊

Take very good care of you, enjoy a looooot this spooky season as much as I do (only for the medias part, otherwise, please October be nicer than September who was hell !) and always remember that you're not alone ♥

[drabbles-mc]

Calling Out

Opie Winston x F!Reader

Request by Anon: Is it ok to request a soft!Opie fic/drabble/whatever? I’m very sensitive and a little bit down-hearted right now, and could use some distracting.

Warnings: Opie being a big ol’ softie

Word Count: 1k

A/N: Soft Opie is my favorite Opie. He deserves all the love and softness in the world. Hope this helps you feel a little bit better! xo

Join my group-chat here: (X)

SOA Taglist: @garbinge​​ @adela-topaz-caelon​​ @masterlistforimagines​​ @chibsytelford​​ @mijop​​ @xladymacbethx​​ @i-just-read-stuff​​ @kkim120​​ @everyhowlmarksthedead​​ @toni9​​ @unicornucopia-fuckers​​ @mayans-sauce​​ @shadow-of-wonder​​ @punkgoddess-98​​ @paintballkid711​​ @black-repunzel99​​ @lexondeck​​ @jitterbugs927​​ @mrsstevenbuchananstark​​ (If you want to be added to the taglist let me know!)

You half-stirred when you felt Opie get out of bed in the morning. He tried so hard not to disturb you when he got in and out of bed, mostly because he was usually doing so at odd hours. And normally he was successful. But something about his movements woke you up this time. You didn’t move, waiting it out to see if he was just getting up quickly to go to the bathroom or to get a drink. But a couple minutes went by and you heard him quietly shuffling around the room to get ready for the day. He’d gotten home long after you fell asleep the night before.

Your eyes were still shut but you heard him putzing around in the kitchen, most likely grabbing something quick to eat before taking off for the day. You heard the jingling of keys and it made you finally open your eyes and sit up. Getting out of bed, you went over to his dresser and pulled out an old t-shirt before making your way into the kitchen.

He heard the creaking of the old floorboards underneath your feet and turned around. A tired smile spread across his face when he took in the sight of you. He chuckled, spinning the keys around his finger as he did, “You’re supposed to be asleep.”

You leaned against the doorway to the kitchen, “And you’re supposed to be asleep with me.”

“I won’t be out that long,” he walked over to you, looking down at you with a smile when you leaned against his chest, “Just got some club shit I gotta deal with them I’ll be home.”

“Can’t you make someone else deal with it?” you gave him your best puppy-dog eyes.

He chuckled, shaking his head as he wrapped his arms around you, “Not how it works.”

You huffed, snaking your arms around his waist, “You sure about that?”

He nodded, a smile resting on his face, “Pretty sure.”

Before he could stop you, you dipped your hand into his pocket and took out his burner cell. You took off towards the other end of the house with a laugh, “We’ll see about that!”

You could hear him laughing as he went to catch up to you, telling you to give him the phone back. You were a couple steps ahead, though, and managed to make it into the bathroom and lock the door before he could catch up to you. He knocked on the door but you could still hear the amusement in his voice as he asked you to let him in.

Dialing the most recent number, it only took a couple rings before someone picked up. Jax’s voice came on the line, “What’s up, Ope?”

“Not Ope,” you couldn’t contain your laughter.

“Shit,” Jax laughed, “What’s up, darlin’? Everything alright?”

“Yea. I just, I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor?”

“That favor have anything to do with the fact that I can hear Opie pounding on the door right now?”

“Maybe,” you chuckled, “Any chance you could get someone else to do whatever it is that he’s supposed to go and do?”

“You guys alright?”

“What, I can’t just want a day without having to loan him out to you guys?”

It got a laugh out of him, “Alright, alright. I’ll call one of the other guys. He’s your problem today.”

“You’re a peach, Jax. I don’t care what the guys say.”

He chuckled, ignoring your comment, “Talk to ya later, darlin’.”

“Later, Jackson,” you laughed as you hung up the phone and finally unlocked the door. Swinging it open, you saw Opie leaning back against the wall opposite of the doorway, arms folded across his chest as he waited for you to emerge and give him his phone back. You were beaming as you tossed him the flip phone, “Guess what?”

He raised his eyebrows, trying to fight the urge to smile, “What?”

“It’s you and me today.”

He laughed, shaking his head as he tucked the phone back into his pocket, “Is it?”

“It is,” you stood as tall as you could and pulled the beanie off of his head, “So get comfy,” you started to push the kutte back off his shoulders.

He chuckled as he shrugged the heavy leather off the rest of the way, “Yes, ma’am.”

You giggled as you took the kutte from him as well, tangling up your free hand in his and pulling him back towards the bedroom. He trailed behind you, soaking up the excitement that you felt over something as simple as him getting the day off to spend with you. Tossing his kutte and beanie onto his dresser, you let go of his hand and dramatically flung yourself backwards onto the bed with a laugh. You excitedly patted the empty space on the mattress next to you, waiting for him to come and join you. With a smile still tugging at the edges of his lips, he peeled his shirt off over his head and stripped down to his boxers before crawling into bed next to you. He slid his hands up underneath the fabric of the shirt you stole, the cold metal of his rings causing goosebumps to break out across your skin. A laugh slipped past your lips as he pulled you in closer.

Your cheek rested against his chest, feeling his steady heartbeat as his arms wrapped tighter around you. he pressed a soft kiss to the edge of your forehead before finally letting out a long sigh and letting his body relax.

“Thank you,” he mumbled quietly, “I’ve missed you.”

You smiled against his skin, “Let me field all your phone calls and you won’t have to miss me so much.”

He chuckled, pulling away from you just enough so that he could look down into your eyes, “I’ll keep that in mind,” he brought one hand up and caressed the side of your face, “I love you.”

You turned, kissing his palm lightly, “I love you too.”

[pinkymoone]

💫Land of Lustrous 💎✨ What does it mean to be human?

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

“The most human emotion is vengeance” 

Land of the Lustrous by Haruko Ichikawa is an absolute masterpiece! If you’re reading this before you’ve read the manga... I am utterly disappointed in you (jk U・x・U)

Phosphophyllite’s (Phos) character development really shocked me as an audience, because it took a turn to the ultimate question, “What does it mean to be human?” Gems live on the Earth after human extinction and fight off the enemies from the moon that are out for their value as beautiful gems. They live every single day of their immortal lives, centuries, millenniums, doing the same thing over and over again. They don’t need food, they don’t necessarily need shelter if it wasn’t for the moon people, and they don’t “die” just broken into pieces. However, all of them have a key feature in what is human, emotions. They do not know what to do with these “emotions”. But our main protagonist, Phos, is trying to change. She accomplished “change” after Antarcticite shattered in front of her eyes. While shattering, Antarcticite pressed a finger to her lips telling Phos to be quiet, showing that even when she is breaking she is only thinking about Phos’ well-being. It’s a touching moment, almost an eye-opening experience for Phos, thus Phos decides to make such sacrifice not in vain. The other gems are absolutely astonished with how unrecognizable she is after that traumatizing experience. But we have to look at this from their perspective to truly understand how abnormal “change” is. She isn’t the only gem that had experienced her fighting partner to have been shattered and taken to the moon. Yellow diamond lost Ruby, Pink Topaz, Green Diamond, as well as Sapphire while working together. Yet she didn’t change like Phos did. She did think of “committing suicide” on the moon, suggesting that she didn’t see a point in their losses, jobs, and existence. But change for the gems is a change not only in the perspective of life, but the perspective on themselves. Phos changed to be stronger and she knows she’s stronger now.

So a need to change is a human trait alongside emotions. But now... things get a bit confusing after that. 

Phos turned stronger than she was before, having gold in her limbs to finally allow herself to do the fighting that she always wanted to. But after fighting against the moon people, it wasn’t really as hyped as she expected. Other gems have problems as well, but more complicated problems than the “I need to get stronger” kind. Diamond (above GIF), is jealous of Bort because he is the strongest gem in their group, but then again, she couldn’t change to become stronger, leading to an ongoing sense of belittlement in which she is constantly unhappy with herself. Cinnabar is even weaker than Phos, so he does the useless job of patrolling in the night for moon people that don’t even come. Yet, Cinnabar reached change only after Phos returned to Earth to absolutely destroy everything because she got her own sense of importance. Again, a change of perception on the “self”. She ultimately replaced the ‘old’ Phos. So Phos is an incredibly important character because she demonstrates that if gems do want to change it will only go one way-> the gruesome journey to humanity. Now we know that change isn’t always good (in this context ‘cause… well you have to read the manga).

Could curiosity also be a trait of humanity? Phos didn’t understand why she was going so far to make Kongo pray... but in truth, she was blinded by vengeance. Was her original goal always to just find happiness? It seems she found it through the hard way, because something such as absolute happiness does not exist. There is a culmination in Phos’ lack of self-esteem where he dream about the other gems belittling him and so all this change that Phos built up just led to the hatred for all things. I see a parallel in Phos’ character with Eren from AOT. Even Kongo or the moon-gems aren't safe from Phos’ wrath. Phos discarded Diamond's refusal to go to Earth to attack the Earth-gems and manipulating them to go against Bortz. Aechmea even states that Phos has become very close to an original human by displaying the most human of emotions : desire of revenge. Phos’s mental stability deteriorates over the rest of the series, and his self-destruction begins to extend to others rather than keeping it to himself. But all of Phos’ old personality didn’t completely erase, which is the very sad part. Kongo and everyone that Phos’ broke mercilessly replied with thankfulness and love. It may seem that Phos herself asked unconsciously during such ‘killing’ spree, “Was everything all for this?” 

Land of the Lustrous portrays the inevitable truth, that humanity isn’t a good thing, or rather, heavily flawed. The journey into becoming a human (starting as a pristine, innocent gem) isn’t a good thing. And ultimately, all the work that came from becoming human, just led to a sorry gift in return, which was the realization of sucky reality. It is almost like Ichikawa is ridiculing, mocking the state of humanity since history began. Maybe, if you graphed the moral state of our species it would be a down-sloped arrow? (Sadly?)

So what does it mean to be human? 

- possessing emotions: including boredom, love, gratitude, and ultimately the many forms of revenge

-a need for change: curiosity

-the infinite seeking of happiness

That is what I got from this manga. (Note. This is all just my own opinion and thoughts). 

[riverdale-retread]

Riverdale S3 E22 Finale (Spoilers!) 

- Life would lose its meaning, if I lost you, my love is the song lyric that sends us out of Season 3 and I kept thinking about S5a. This lyric is the expression of the central tragedy of this show, namely, Jughead and Veronica, the person with the biggest heart and the biggest brain, respectively, yearning to have their love  & devotion properly reciprocated by Barchie, and not getting it. (I hate this place. I hope S5b takes me somewhere better).

Toni is the True Serpent Queen

- Toni assembles everyone and their weapons so quick, both the Serpents and the Poisons, and they know what’s what and follow her command. 

- But first, she gets drugged. Toni Topaz I feel like wouldn’t have been into Harry Potter, maybe because she would’ve figured out Rowling’s issues faster than everyone else.  Nevertheless, if she had, Toni would have known better than to accept food or drink from Penelope Blossom, especially when Penelope calls it ‘calming tea.’  When I first saw this I was convinced that Penelope had straight up killed Toni, but I am so glad she didn’t. 

- Toni is awoken by the ever wonderful Grandma Blossom who always knows whatever the hell is going on.  Grandma Blossom wants Toni to participate as a side player in the Main 4′s plot but Toni is very firm:  I NEED TO SAVE CHERYL.  Because you know, the main four always do that to Choni. Go Toni with your proper priorities.  Because when Choni do come to the rescue of the main four, NOBODY SAYS THANK YOU. 

Sidebar: Girlfriends well met, because after her valiant self sacrifice for her lady, Cheryl saves her own self, more or less. She also runs, several miles, in the dark, in heels, holding a baby, and her hair is still perfect at the end of it.  Cheryl Blossom is a witch, nobody can tell me otherwise.  And I very much enjoyed the multiple archers.  Yeah, a solo archer is really of limited utility, but I agree that a gang of archers can be all that.

I also liked the very brief, very tiny, Alice and Cheryl scenes.  They both  have snappy bitch energy. Alice answering the question from Cheryl about Why should I trust you! with What choice do you have? is the most persuasive anyone has ever been with Cheryl.  Betty could learn a thing or two. 

So then Alice stays for Polly and wants Betty to be safe from the Farm.  So it’s sometime AFTER she married Edgar that she met Charles and became the secret mole? Alice hates herself, so she can’t love her daughters and that’s why Charles’ intervention works.  I would feel bad for her, but she’s so shit.

Penelope Blossom is a Terrific Villain

-  Penelope, like a good madame (I assume?) lets people be who they are.  That has to be the key to her success as a sex worker. She understands people.  Penelope Blossom understands that Edgar’s greed for money outweighs his need to indulge in his various perversions, and so she buys all of Betty’s organs, in bulk.  (I am a sicko for finding this funny, but I mean seriously, Penelope has a way with words). She got Dagwood (Jason Jr. The Second)  because she understood that Edgar really only wants to keep girl children and gay boys. 

The total filth and lack of any sort of hygiene at the Farm’s organ harvesting surgery room gives me absolute heebie jeebies.  Edgar is such a pervert, but it’s useful that perverts in tv and film are such ornate, fussy people because otherwise he’d just straight up murder Betty and there’d be no more show.

- By the way Penelope doesn’t want to rescue Cheryl, just Betty, even after she knows Evernever is harvesting organs. Damn that is cold.

- Penelope has been observing Jughead very closely during their repeated interactions this season, so she knows that Jughead loves to give Poirot monologues, and she lets him!  And Jughead just has a whole selection of these speech openings in his head, all the time, to pull out whenever.  Use quote from Conan Doyle re: Impossible, Improbable, Truth, In Real Life, now crossed off the Jughead Master To Do List!  Oh and Jughead talks to Hal Cooper for the first time in his life, and so calls him Mr. Cooper because Jughead politeness compulsion is so ingrained.

- Penelope only wears her long opera gloves on her left hand because that’s the site of the worst injuries sustained in the Blossom Fire. I want to know where she keeps all the right handed gloves.  

- Penelope also understands that Betty is basically Alice in a Gothic Wonderland, and knows that she will, without question or attempt at escape, just obediently follow written instructions that say “Put This On, Come Downstairs.” Especially if you make the gown pink.  (Pause here to say, OMG Betty is so! very! beautiful!  Penelope voice to purr:  Elizabethhhhh Pretty~~~~)

-  Penelope is the OG Game Master.  Penelope is a homophobe but I mean she is all about that drag queen showmanship. She juices up the game like a grown up: ALL OF THE CHALICES WERE POISONED. It’s just  slow acting. And maybe there is an antidote which might work and maybe there isn’t. Or maybe it was never poisoned to begin with. LULZ  you just have to finish the game!   The singsong delivery of the line:  Tick To~~ck is so fan.tast.ic. 

Hal Cooper Is A Gormless Woman Killer

- Hal Cooper is not scary. Once more - Hal Cooper Is Not Scary.  He just isn’t.  No disrespect to the performer, but he just isn’t threatening, at all.  Chic is unsettling and weird, at least, but Hal Cooper is not scary.    What he is though, is hateful.   

I find it hilarious that Hal Cooper’s final benediction, delivered by Penelope, is:  YOU WERE A TERRIBLE SERIAL KILLER.  This neatly echoes Alice Cooper bursting out in hysterical laughter when Betty first accuses her father of having killed Jason Blossom - The man is just not capable teehee.  And it’s true that if Hal had been tasked with killing Jason Blossom he wouldn’t have succeeded, but not for the reasons Alice thinks.  Hal is a woman killer, not a plain serial killer.

Hal’s a misogynist with control issues about women,so  his heart was only in it when he was out to kill women, and that’s why he fails so badly at killing men.

Compare to Sister Agatha, who killed all of her sister nuns to tie up loose ends, and to Penelope Blossom, who mostly kills men who have directly harmed her or get in her way.

Mary Andrews Gave Her Obtuseness To Her Son, Who is Just Not Bright 

- Does Mary know who Veronica’s father is?? Fred Andrews was often a little bit uncomfortable around Veronica. He didn’t openly approve of the Varchie relationship the way he did Valerie, for example.  FP, Failure Father Jones, expressed grave concerns when his child went into business (for a bit) with Veronica Lodge, but Mary is like, So Archie, are you and V endgame? Where do you stand?  I mean, she herself is queer, so that must be why relating to her straight son (if he is) (all his most important emotional connections are with boys and he keeps needing to find Jughead replacements soooo....) are so awkward.

- Archie, going off to fight the Bear Man, asks in the most super casual way that his friends tell his parents that he loves them, if he dies, and then adds as a total afterthought, “You guys too.”  This little bit reveals everything there is to say about Archie being both so, so dumb and yet so loveable.

Sidebar: Giant Unexplained Man who is willing to wear a bear head hat and beat a teenager to death in the woods (what was the wanted ad for this job like?)  is so Riverdale.

- Archie has played two whole rounds of live action  G&G with real death stakes and still doesn’t know that it’s Gargoyles and not Gremlins because that boy is just not smart.

Veronica is the Smartest of the Main Four, says the Show

- Veronica keeps saying sensible things that are directly contradicted by Jughead and I don’t like this.  I saw this in a really well put together film commentary once - that women often ask questions in movies that are answered by the nearest man, that women posit things that are sensible but then the nearest man shows  them to be wrong by saying the opposite thing that comes true. And this exact thing keeps happening to Veronica by Jughead here and it does them both a disservice. Jughead listens to women (all people really, but especially women) very closely and carefully, you know? And Veronica is the smartest one of the main four, the all-rounder.  I know Betty gets the best grades but come on, she’s not the smartest.   

Example 1:  Archie says “The invites say not to tell anyone or bring our phones,” to which Veronica explains, to Archie, “So it’s a trap.” Archie’s face is like OMFG WHAT I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT but Jughead glares at Veronica like she’s stupid and snaps, “What that ever in doubt?”   Um. Hey now.

Example 2:   Veronica, who has never played any version of G&G, is the one to say,  “We don’t even know where to go!”  and immediately, Jughead answers, “Actually, Enchantress, we might.”   Let me reiterate, Archie has played the real life version because Warden Norton and Hiram Lodge forced him to from when he was in prison and he knows the rules enough to hallucinate the game when he has Bear Claw Fever, but he still doesn’t know what the game is called!  Betty must’ve gotten a quick tutoring session between when she didn’t know anything about the game and when she moved into the Farm and was comfortable addressing Jughead as Hellcaster. So there is no justification for Jughead to be so irritable with Veronica for her questions.

Example 3:  When given the Poison Roulette game, Veronica at first refuses to participate, which is also a sane response, and yet again, Jughead, who was waiting for her to object,  then reads her the rest of the instructions.  Jughead, why are  you being so mean to Veronica? 

Example 4: In the throes of the game, Archie wonders aloud WTF  is going on because he’s slow, and Veronica says, as she’s dying of poisoning, that maybe they can figure out the whys and wherefores later, which is a sensible thing to say, and then Jughead goes, Nope, figuring out how all this is connected is the answer!

Example 5:  Jughead then goes on this Bible infused ramble (Did FP put Jughead in Sunday school at some point?) - Jason Blossom death begat the Black Hood  which begat Gargoyle King, but our Cafeteria Catholic Veronica isn’t having it because it is wrong, and so she points out that Black Hood existed before the Blossom murder, and Jughead goes, in essence,  Oh oopsie but I am still right.

BUT!  After all that, the Show realizes that in order to shoehorn Charles into the story, and make the character turnaround for  Alice have at least half a chance and  establish that law enforcement does sort of exist in this universe, they have  to have Veronica say, “Actually, it kind of tracks.”   This is a signal to the audience that since the smartest person in the show has accepted that this tracks so we all need to just fall in line. 

Performance sidebar: Betty’s chuckle of surreal disbelief is a golden piece of acting genius in this show and I love it, and Jughead’s mind getting wiped completely clean as he figures out that he shares a half sibling with his girlfriend is just as classic. 

Jughead Loves Archie & Betty, in this order

-First up, Jughead loves Archie more than Veronica does.  I love how the one reaction you see of the remaining three when Archie gets slammed by the Bear Man is Jughead, and Jughead’s legs just give out from under him when he sees Archie take the blow.  Both of the girls are dry eyed, but Jug definitely starts to cry.   It’s dark and it’s hard to see, but I swear.  The Archie POV shots are fascinating too.  He does look at Veronica first, and that helps him decide to fight harder, so he grabs a big branch.  Then he gets flung in a way Archie does not get flung, and this is when he seeks out Jughead, and his eye contact with Jughead is what gives him the critical second  wind to win.  

-  By the way, is Bear Man dead?? Is he the second man Archie has killed?  

- Before Betty’s solo challenge, Jughead tells her he loves her.  (Betty just doesn’t do that for Jughead. I know, it’s petty, but girl, learn to take a moment.)  Anyway, they share a long kiss, in the dark, and I am annoyed because I can’t see. Show me!  And when she’s drinking the poisons he doesn’t take his eye off her for even a second.  Oh Jughead.

Veronica Loves Betty & Archie, in this order

- ‘K so ... grabbing and downing a goblet that you both think is full of cyanide that will make you die a gruesome death immediately, and declaring that you did it BECAUSE I LOVE YOU is the most piercingly romantic thing anyone has ever done for anybody on Riverdale.  I feel like this is neck and neck with Jughead making that final phone call to Betty before letting himself get Aslan-sacrificed by the Ghoulies in the S2 Finale.  You’re my best friend... and... and  says Veronica and my heart is breaking and so is hers because she can’t finish the sentence. To which Betty says, I love you too.  

OK primal howl break here to ask Betty how could you! How! Could! You! How!!!! And WHY???  And what did it get you?

- Oh golly I am so upset. 

- Veronica is supposed to choose her closest companion, and Betty volunteers.  So Betty knows that Veronica loves her most.  Note the very careful wording of this - Veronica has to choose the companion she feels closest to. Betty knows. 

- And fucking Archie, after witnessing how much Veronica loves Betty, and how golden and perfect and whole Veronica’s love can be for a person, picks the worst possible fucking time to say he loves Veronica. Sure you do Archie. Yup. Uh huh.

- Oh, and then we find out that nothing happened with Reggie after Archie cockblocked him that night after Reggie gave up everything for Veronica once again. Veronica is committed to Archie and wants Archie, and I love Veronica so I want her to get what she wants (even though I know she’ll never get it - sob!), but also, justice for Reggie when?

Chic v Jughead. 

- I absolutely love Jughead’s WTF disbelief throughout the final quest.  When Penelope announces, Let the final quest... Begin! in the same theatrical way he himself had when he was gamemaster, he quirks his eyebrows at her like, Is that the best you can do?  

Sidebar:   Penelope’s very gender traditional ways of thinking are revealed - the girls have to poison themselves and boys have to fight off an attacker.  

- Jughead learns that learning the motives of a serial killer are unilluminating.

gif by @rudys-pankow​

I mean, this is the Wow, OK, heard ‘round the world.  The single best delivered line of meta commentary in a television show ever. No, just, ever, ok? No contest. Just accept it.

The Farmies

- When Cheryl first finds them in their room at the Farm, Kevin and Fangs are doing some sort of hand holding, loving-eye contact type of semi-dance ritual, and ... but for the cult context this looks so adorable.  The fact that they both overcome this experience enough to be in a long term stable relationship, both finish college, both work out a stable (enough) adult life, and want to start a family together is so heartwarming to me. (And yet sad, because it just breaks apart in S5a.)

- The Worthy ascended and we’ll never see them again. Dun dun. Except they just.. moved. What does Kevin thinks has happened?   The Ascension of the Farmies is a weird misdirect, because Ascension just means We Move Houses. Farmies are such drama queens.   Riverdale is down in some sort of valley, right?  So they just literally ascended to a house geographically higher up!

Set Up for Season 4

- I mean obviously, the S4 set up is the Is Jughead Dead but that was never a true cliffhanger, to begin with, and now I know Jughead lives into his mid twenties at least, so Betty insisting the other two stand naked in the forest burning the beanie was just her being very dramatic.  And her pronouncement about ‘We never speak of this ever’ is contradicted immediately because they involve the entire village almost immediately.

- Cheryl has Jason all to herself, finally. Cheryl discovering Jason’s corpse and her horror at it contrasts nicely with how casual she is about this corpse in the next season. 

- Hermione arrested for attempted murder of Hiram.  Oh, and Mad-Dog Monroe and Archie want to create a community center. 

- Meanwhile, Preppy Jughead was my jam so I am very hyped for S4 retread.

[mylittlegemlins]

STEVINEL IS NOT PEDOPHILE (AND IS BAD SAY IT)

Hello everyone 💖

Index:

introduction

inspiration

-pedophilia

- biological age

- mental age

- age of gems

-case spinel

-conclusion.

Today I finally got the inspiration from multiple publications stating that stevinel is in fact a pedophile ship and therefore we should not support it. Since I am a multishiper and I am very much in love with spinel I could not miss the opportunity to defend this ship to cloak and dagger.

Many of these comments I saw in the English fandom and the truth is that the debate did not seem to go anywhere like:

-is a pedophile ship one has 6000 and 17

-the gems are ageless.

[And I didn't really see that they would get anywhere, especially with a lot of immature people insulting most of the time and let's admit that comments from networks like Instagram or Twitter are not the best place to debate

Let's start by getting some concepts straight: Pedophilia :

Sexual attraction of an adult to a child of either sex. (google dictionary) This means that there must be a crush on a person who is (usually) considered an adult at 18 years of age or older and a minor who can be a baby from 5 years old to a puberty of about 14 years old, and between an adult + 20 years old and a teenager - 18 years old. Pedophilia does not occur among people who are at the same stage of life. Like two teenagers or two adults even if their ages seem far apart, see the case of two adults whose age difference is between 30 and 50 years.

Biological age

Biological age is marked by the number of years since your birth that your body and mind develop and change. We human beings have clear concepts of life stages, we know when childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age begin. There are even approximate ages where one has to consider oneself an adult. Like 18 or 21 years old.

And a number of behaviors are expected depending on your age, for example if you've had a brother or a cousin and you've seen it since you were a baby you may have seen one of these little brochures of what a healthy child should do depending on his age. Mental age Mental age is measured by a person's intellect and knowledge, which may or may not coincide with biological age.

Since biological age is expected to coincide with mental age and healthy development is usually measured only by the time a person has lived. Now, how does this work for gems? According to the concepts of the series a gem is literally a stone with a physical form of light, like a hologram with mass, these share many characteristics of humans such as being able to think, feel emotions and imitate some actions that naturally do not need to do like eating and sleeping. In humans it is very easy to measure age only by the amount of time since birth, because they change, and as the pink diamond itself showed. Gems can change but they don't need to.

The gems society is characterized by having a defined and static role and if you don't comply with it you are dead. Let's start with the mental age: In the diamond society everything worked in a very simple way, if you were born and you had to be a mechanic, you will be one for the rest of your life, since you are born with the necessary knowledge to fulfill this role. You don't need to learn new things unless it is about mechanics since you will not dedicate yourself to anything else, you don't need to alter your physical form since you are not allowed to, you don't need to change since you must fulfill your work and nothing else.

Your mental age remains completely stagnant because it does not have the need to mature just to fulfill your work, the gems are born with the ability to speak, communicate and interpret ideas, as is the case of Ruby Leggy, who was born one day when he left for his first mission.

Biological age :

The same Pearl confirmed that the gems cannot be babies, nor to age, reason why the babys and the old age do not exist for the gems. To the being its body only a projection of light the form that can acquire is very varied and changes of radical way in some occasions, although the form that represents an adult woman, this form changes radically depending on the class of gems, lapis lazuli and pearl have a body formed of a young woman, the quartz gems have a much more muscular and robust body that is made much to a physical-culturalist man.

The clearest example of a male gem is Topaz, since anyone would think he was a man until the moment they heard his voice, and even though the rutile twins use the female pronouns have a masculine appearance.

Gems like Fluorite are represented as a much older woman, even though their components may all be young.

She speaks very slowly due to the amount of gems that have to process the information within her mind.

And gems like Padparadcha have a much younger and smaller appearance, like some girls, compared to Sapphire because of her behavior Not to mention gems that are literally rocks and walls that are impossible to classify. All of these exaggeratedly different shapes make people interpret gems with different ages based on their behavior and appearance.

amethyst is the example of a growing gem, perhaps the fact that it is defective has a lot to do with it, she crawls in her first seconds of life during the film and imitates everyone like an infant trying to form her personality from others, she had a much sweeter and smaller appearance in Greg and Rose's flashbacks, being carried by Perla and hiding behind Rose's lack, Rebecca confirms on a podcast that Rose was like a mother to amethyst, if the gems were adults without exception, why would an adult need a mother figure of another adult?

Her outfit accompanies her as she has comfortable clothes and a skirt, she behaves like a teenage big sister figure for Steven during the series by accompanying him, at the same time that he allows himself to mock and fight with him, having that love / hate relationship that many people with brothers can understand and as an adult when reaching the future.

Peridot is represented in a very childish way too, the people who ship stevidot did it because they saw a kid, suddenly she was the same size as Steven, she behaved childishly and Mr. Smile called her kid, so far it was only confirmed that It was from era 2, so it could be both 5000 and 5 years old.

Probably the gems need to get along as a team, if they have to coexist with many other gems, but in theory this does not go beyond a coexistence or friendship of work colleagues since dependence or romance leads to sentimentality, which for the mother planet is useless and even harmful. In short, from birth all their social and intellectual development is truncated and they cannot mature So for most gems on homeworld their mental age is almost the same from birth to destruction.

This was demonstrated with Peridot and lapis in the episode "The New Crystal Gems" Both are gems from the mother planet, one knew how to terraform planets and the other had extensive knowledge of engineering, however they fought over who was to blame for their failure using insults like "foolish" and comparing themselves with other people, a very childish behaviour. So much so that a human thousands of years younger had to correct them. Within the series we were unable to confirm if peridot and lapis had a team to socialize with. So it is likely that throughout their lives they have not had the need to socialize and live together, or even accept their mistakes. Peridot seemed like a child prodigy with so many scenes of childish behavior and her high knowledge of what she was assigned, while other gems like pink diamond were born as immature children and it took her millennia to reach maturity.

With the case of spinel it is completely different. In her introduction stanza she says "her cut is perfect and she is pink too, she will give you endless entertainment, your new spinel best friend" that and together with what later says pearl "she was the little pink diamond playmate". It gives us an idea of what spinel used to look like.

It even strikes me that pearl refers to her as "little playmate" giving the impression that some gems are considered bigger than others based on their rank/trade or size.

First, let's remember that Spinel is literally based on a cuddly toy that Rebecca loved but forgot in a garden and when she returned after a year her belly was black from the fading sun, the doll was in the same place but had already been permanently damaged. Rebecca wanted her character to feel old as "stuck in time" that's why she uses Ruben Hose style animation from the 30's and later in future she uses references to 90's video games to give the feeling that she grew up since she left the earth but she still keeps an old and animated essence.

Spinel is a gem that was born perfectly fine and flawless, besides being literally a living cartoon like a lonnytoon, was created only with knowledge of gameplay and fun to eternally entertain its owner, and that was all she cared about, making her best friend happy .

She was practically a child, all she cared about was playing and being happy with her best friend, something that a neuro-typical adult would not do. She spends most of the movie without leaving Steven's side, even when she sees that he is depressed she can't think of a way to comfort him and just tries to make him laugh, instead of asking him about the problem and trying to provide him with a solution. I can't help but think that she was playing the whole time, from her fight in her evil form and the time she was in her friendly form with the rest of the gems, since almost every battle consists of dodging the attacks as if she were playing tag, and using the gems as dolls or balls. He even says he doesn't want to play anymore when he's done with Steven 💔

And after being stuck in the garden doing nothing but waiting without moving, the phrase "stuck in time" becomes more literal since by doing absolutely nothing but thinking there is no change or maturity. It is not until after the trauma that she goes into a fit of thinking she has changed for the worse, but she was not thinking reasonably at that time. Her best friend left her and she wanted to kill a whole planet. What was she going to do after she succeeded? How would she get back to the mother planet where we had killed a new diamond?

After the film she goes on with her life with the diamonds, the series did not deepen much in her development so she seems to be better, even after her scars manifested in tears and dark circles she still maintains an energetic personality, excited and wanting to help even if it is with a stupid song. Spinel is certainly not close to looking like a mature adult for her 6000 years of age, like many other gems.

As for her physical form I am not 100% sure what age she is approaching as the designs of the gems are very varied and extravagant. She has an adorable and childish design, like a cuddly toy, her height is in fact almost the same as Steven's (17 years old) and she also has good hips in some scenes. I would say that her shape resembles that of a young girl.

Even people who are not very familiar with the series might classify her as a child or a teenager, but not as an adult. Because the logic of the human body and biological age cannot be applied to gemstones, this is the reason why many ships Stevenx gem are so popular, but adult human x Steven don't exist at all. Because they know that age only applies to humans.

I know I've focused a lot on Spinel but because of Steven being half human there's not much mystery.

His physical form literally fits his mental age. Let's also remember that Steven is not 14 anymore, he was 16 at the time of the movie and 17 in the middle of the Future series, there were many time jumps within this series and I think the longest one was right at the end, where it had been months since the collapse and since he started therapy, when he finally decided to move he could perfectly have been 18, which is the age to become independent, at least in the USA, he is not a child, he is starting his young adult stage, just 4 years old from the age Greg was when he fell in love with Rose.

Conclusion.

Even if he were 17, he can drive, he can move, he can be independent and choose his own path, he had just left the nest and that is called being a conscious adult. Besides the fact that the separation of 18 years is used only for consent to sexual relationships before the law, but in practice it is the approximate age at which a person should already mark his maturity, that you like ships with minors is not a justification for drawing nsfw with minor characters, and it is not intended to defend that in any way in this blog, ships like the conniverse can work without +18 content in the same way that stevinel can have content without +18.

The gems can have an age but it is not at all similar to that of humans, since by the circumstances you are can remain stagnant during millennia or change in few years, the same for their physical form since you are not able to acquire a form of baby or old people, and its body remains of the same size throughout all its life, except for cases like the one of Rose/Pink.

I know that there are many people who don't like stevinel because it is toxic or because there is conniverse and I won't say that it isn't because the blog is not about that.

I know some will say that "but they are adults, no matter how they look, act and be like children." Well, it does matter, since we are talking about immortal aliens who are not born, grow, reproduce, or die.

The cartoons do not always represent human beings realistically, much less immortal characters. In fantasy a child can have a highly developed body or a PhD, and an adult can transform into a child with time machines and grow twice.

The fact that Steven falls in love with a gem whose shape resembles that of his age is as healthy as Greg, who fell in love with a gem in a physical form similar to women of his age, Who should have the appearance and maturity of an elderly woman for her millions of years, but the fact that she acts and looks like an adult is what makes her an adult character. His cousin Andy confirmed that he has always liked big women, so he could have fallen in love with Rose 4 years earlier too.

Spinel does not have to exercise a power relationship over Steven, her dependence arises from the fear of being abandoned and not because she is jealous of her other friends, when she leaves with the diamonds, it is seen that she is not attached to them all the time. He gives himself the freedom to meet new people through the halls of the palace and leave the diamonds alone when requested, proving that he is capable of changing for the better just as Steven told him.

So the relationship could work if the right circumstances are given, such as in the AU where fans give themselves the freedom to invent scenarios where the spinel does not try to kill him, where Steven is of legal age, where both are human, etc. And so with many other ships that can go from toxic to healthy in a few fanfic chapters.

We must not forget that it is a caricature and that everyone can have fun shiping characters. Unfortunately this age argument has become a bad excuse to hate a shipp or the people behind it.

And it's wrong to say this because reducing such a strong theme to something childish, fictional and fantasy can be considered an offense to the victims that exist in real life, this myth has given rise to what real people who cannot enjoy their tastes and what others find a perfect excuse to be haters without measuring their words.

Both children and adults do not perceive an adult and a child in relationships involving immortal characters even after knowing the series, this was never the first thought of someone who saw the characters together, in fact it was 5 months from the release of the film before I found out that someone was calling the relationship "pedophilia".

Because they don't grow linearly like humans do. Unlike relationships between human characters of a more realistic appearance as happened with Danny PantomxVlad where they can see first sight who is the adult and who is the child.

What they can see with the naked eye is how well accepted it is to insult the likes of others, that it's okay to be made to feel bad for making the terrible mistake of liking a ship, and that you have the right to insult the likes of others. if they do the same with yours. Which is too present in the Steven Universe fandom.

So no, they are not protecting children from pedophilia in the SU fandom, they are harming real children at the cost of trying to protect a fictional young man, making them insecure of their tastes, giving them the tools necessary to hate someone to death, and making them accept that their tastes are terrible and they must swallow them even if they are not doing anything wrong.

Accusing innocent people of pedophiles, liking or promoting pedophilia is not something you can take so lightly, also it should be illegal if everyone can be a pedophile for simple and innocent things, the word loses its meaning and the subject is taken too lightly, reducing the severity of actual pedophilia and causing serios problems for people who ate wrongfully accused.

They both look good together to me and I can still enjoy comics and pictures of them together, and those who don't, live with it, and enjoy your favorite ship.

Well I really hope you liked this, I can't believe it's 14 thousand characters, remember that insulting comments will be deleted or blocked. Thank you so much for watching :3

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Blue Eyes Part 26

Summary: After the Garrison is shot up, the youngest Shelby daughter finds a new home in London. She strips herself of her last name and tries to live a peaceful life far away from her brothers’ chaos in Birmingham. But fate leads her right back into it after she runs into Alfie Solomons.

Part 26: Mosley’s interference with Ella’s family and her marriage is becoming more and more clear. 

        Ella did her best to forget the leering look that Mosley had given her. But even a week later, she couldn’t get his smug look out of her nightmares. Everything about the man gave her a bad feeling. She thought Tommy was thick for even making an acquaintance with him. But according to Ada, their brother was doing far more than that.

           It took an unnatural amount of patience to not disown Tommy again. No matter how tempting it was, Ella knew it wouldn’t do anyone any good.

           She was sure that if she didn’t have Alfie, she would’ve gone mad a long time ago. But her husband kept her sane, kept her grounded, and always reminded her what true love was.

           One night, she decided to drop in at the bakery about half an hour before Alfie usually closed up. She needed to relieve some stress but didn’t necessarily need it to be in a comfortable way. Instead, she just wanted a good thrill.

           Most of the men had already gone home by the time Ella came through the bakery, heading towards Alfie’s office. Everything was normal until she reached his office. There, she saw a woman standing in front of Alfie’s desk. Her husband sitting and listening to her. Something wasn’t right. Sure, Alfie could speak to other women, that wasn’t an issue. There were plenty of women in the community who knew him well. But Ella couldn’t think of any who would visit Alfie so late in the evening, unaccompanied.

           Ella knocked on the doorjamb and pointedly cleared her throat. Her husband glanced up with a smile. The unfamiliar woman turned, her eyes going a bit wide.

           She was beautiful. Drop-dead gorgeous, in fact. No one could deny that. It was almost as if she’d arrived right from Hollywood. A beautiful actress with pristine red lipstick, an alluring smoky eye, a figure-defining black dress, and shiny blonde hair.

           “Miss Davis, this is me wife, Ella. Ella, this is Miss Davis. Your brother sent her along for a potential deal.” Alfie introduced and stood up to greet Ella.

           “My brother?” That didn’t ring true one bit. Tommy wouldn't do that. On a rare occasion, he may have asked before doing such a thing.

           “Mr. Shelby said your husband was someone to talk to about London business.” The young woman explained but there was a waver in her voice. A tell of a loss of confidence.

           Ella knew she was lying. “What business are you in, Miss Davis?” She gravitated possessively toward Alfie.

           “My late husband ran a successful law firm. I’m doing my best to keep it running.”

           “And my brother sent you here to get help for that?” Ella questioned again.

           “El, everything alright?” Alfie frowned.

           The woman seemed shaken by Ella’s presence. “Well, it’s getting late. Perhaps I ought to send you a telegram instead, Mr. Solomons.” She smiled and backed towards the door. “I hope to hear from you soon.”

           “Nice to meet you.” He nodded.

           Ella’s eyes narrowed, watching the stranger leave. “What a load of…”

           “Here.” He held up a small business card between his index and middle finger.

           “What’s this?”

           “It were stuck to the back of the fake business card she gave me.” He explained as she took it from him. "Like you, I found the exchange very strange. But that seems to offer some solution."

           She read the information on the card and her blood began to boil. “That snake. What on Earth is he up to?”

           “You should ask your brother.” Alfie shrugged. “They’re apparently close now, ain’t that right?”

           Oswald Mosley. Why would Mosley’s card be in this woman’s purse? Why would she give Alfie a fake card? “He’s going to get this family in another situation where our lives are on the line.” Ella was so angry she began to pace, waving the embossed card in the air.

           “I’ll try to talk to him, love, but you know what happens when I try.” Alfie folded his arms over his chest.

           “He’s using dope.” She informed her husband. “I found it in his desk and he lashed out at me. That fucking hypocrite.” She made a frustrated noise and threw her hands up. “I went against my better judgment and started to trust him again. And this is what I get? His new ally is making plans with you and me?”

           “Easy, El, maybe he’s got a handle on things.”

           She turned around quickly to give him a look of disbelief. “Are you honestly defending him?”

           “Not defending him, but he must have a reason.” He shrugged.

           “That’s the problem, he can justify anything.” With a deep sigh, she walked around the desk and plopped down in Alfie’s lap. Pouting, she curled into herself.

           He wrapped his arms around her and placed a comforting kiss on her hair. “It’ll be alright, love, I’ll talk to him. But don’t give up on him. If he’s using then I’m sure he needs you. You two are close, yeah?”

           “If you said something like that a few years ago I would’ve thought you’d been replaced by a doppelganger. My Alfie, concerned about Tommy Shelby.”

           He chuckled and shook his head. “You get more docile as you age, I s’pose.”

           “Not him. He’s just running himself into the ground and taking us all with him.”

           Alfie didn’t answer, he just hummed in acknowledgment and held her. “Why’d you drop in so late?” He wondered. "I were on my way home, you could've rang."

           The question only made Ella’s frown deepen in disappointment. “It was meant to be a surprise.” She grumbled.

           “Yeah?” He gently squeezed her hips. “Just popping in to make me day?”

           Ella bit her lip and turned around to straddle his hips. Perhaps the moment wasn't lost after all. “I went shopping too.” She toyed with the buttons on her long wool coat.

           Alfie perked up. “Oh yeah? What’d you get, love?”

           “Something for you.” She leaned forward to kiss him.

           He gladly accepted the kiss, inhaling her rose perfume. It always gave him a high that was unmatched. Sometimes it felt like he knew Ella’s body better than his own. How many minutes, hours, days, had he spent indulging in her soft skin, shivering when her dark hair tickled him, hypnotized by her blue eyes, and all of his nerves electrified? It never felt like enough. He could never get enough of her.

           Pulling away from the kiss, Ella got up to close and lock the office door. She drew the blinds of the windows as well just in case. Alfie ran his hands over his thighs, licking his top lip in anticipation. “You’ve kept me in enough suspense love.” He protested.

           She turned and began to undo the buttons of her coat, revealing the thin black nightgown with lace trimmings and stockings to match.

           Alfie looked like he’d taken a significant blow to the stomach. “Fucking hell.” He dragged out, lust in his voice. He stood up with a groan and walked over to her. “Look at you.”

           “I don’t want to think.” Ella wrapped her arms around his neck and touched her lips to his ear. “Just for an hour or two, I don’t want to have to think about anything.”

           Her husband sensed the urgency in her voice. They all needed somewhere to escape. He was just glad she could escape to his arms. It made him feel he was doing something right. “What do you need from me, love?” He murmured.

           “Just take me as yours. Make the decisions. Make me forget my own fucking name.” She begged quietly.

           So, he did. And for a moment, Ella really felt like there was nothing outside the office door. In fact, the entire world was contained within that room. They were the only two people left alive. There was nothing to worry about except each other. Alfie held her so close, she gripped onto him so tightly. They both bruised.

           The sun dipped below the horizon by the time they were spent. A little weak in the knees, Ella perched on the edge of Alfie’s desk to fix her stockings. His office had thoroughly taken a beating. Everything had been swept off his desk onto the floor, papers spilled everywhere. They’d knocked the desk chair into a cabinet, causing a bit of a dent in the metal. Alfie pushed Ella against the wall so hard that a picture frame fell to the ground, the glass and frame cracking.

           But they were both too satisfied to care.

           After dressing, Alfie came to stand between Ella’s knees. “I love you.” He murmured and kissed her softly.

           “I love you too.” She smiled up at him. “I’m glad you weren’t swayed by that ‘Miss Davis’.” She grumbled and stood up to find her coat among the fray.

           He scoffed. “I ain’t never had a thing for blondes. I much prefer darker hair.” He caught her around the waist from behind, pulling her close to his chest. “With blue eyes. Blue eyes like the fucking clearest topaz I’ve ever seen. Beautiful with a wit to match. Girl with the biggest heart.” He kissed down her neck.

           Ella smiled and closed her eyes in bliss. She didn’t want to leave their little world, not quite yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~

           It felt like an endless string of birthdays. First, it was Ruby’s, then Polly’s, and finally Lizzie’s. Ella didn’t mind, but she wasn’t in much of a mood for festivities. Especially when she got the invitation to Lizzie’s party, something extravagant and over the top. No doubt Britain’s elite would all be invited and if Tommy was keeping up his charade that meant Mosley would be attending. And that made Ella sick to her stomach.

           But she was getting ahead of herself.

           On the day of Ruby’s birthday, Ella packed the presents into the car and drove out to Arrow House. Alfie was working but sent along his well wishes.

           The birthday girl was thrilled to see her aunt arrive. She ran outside as the car pulled up the gravel drive. “Auntie El, auntie El!” She squealed.

           “Look at you all dolled up!” Ella scooped up her niece and kissed her cheek. “Did mummy get you that dress?”

           Ruby nodded. “For my birthday.”

           “You look like a proper lady.” She carried her inside to greet Lizzie. “Where’s Charlie?”

           Lizzie’s face fell a little. “He’s still upset about Dangerous. Spends nearly all his free time in the stables.” She explained.

           “Brother’s sad.” Ruby pouted.

           “Want me to go talk to him?” Ella set her niece down.

           “You can try.” Lizzie bit her lip. “But I’m afraid it won’t do much good. Will hardly speak to anyone, especially Tommy.”

           “I’ll be back,” Ella promised and headed out back toward the stables. As she walked across the lawn, she remembered the time she spent at Arrow House in all the different periods of her life. It felt like ages ago when she arrived to celebrate her brother’s wedding to Grace. Her standoff with him in the stables about Alfie. It felt almost unfathomable to think about all the things she’d been through since then. A marriage, multiple losses, a miscarriage, an addiction, sobriety. For a moment, it didn’t even feel like she lived those events. Instead, they were someone else’s story. A drama that she had been watching play out from the audience. But no matter what, she woke up with the scars.

~~~~~~~~~

           The stable was warmer than the chill outside as Ella stepped inside. She found Charlie sat on a step stool near the tack.

           “I was sad you didn’t come out to greet me.”

           The boy looked up. He appeared happy to see his aunt for a moment before the sadness in his eyes returned. “Hi, Auntie El.” He greeted gloomily.

           She smiled weakly and found a bale of hay to sit on. “Mum says you’re still down about Dangerous.”

           Charlie nodded absentmindedly, looking down at his hands.

           “I know how hard it is to lose a horse.” Ella tried to sympathize with him. “I remember losing my first horse and I was very sad. But I promise things will start to look up.”

           He shrugged half-heartedly. “Why did dad have to kill him?”

           Ella winced. “It’s hard to understand sometimes. But Dangerous was in a lot of pain. Sometimes…sometimes it’s better to let the horse rest instead of living in pain. There are things that you can’t cure.”

           “Dad said death is a kindness.”

           Ella thought about her time at Margate when she was still addicted to the morphine. The pain that she suffered through when she was between doses. The strong urge to sleep. Go to bed knowing that she’d never have to wake up again. The thoughts came from such a dark place and it was alarming to recall them. Alarming because she realized that must be where her brother was. The dope was a good enough indicator but hearing Charlie recount what Tommy said was enough to give her concern. They were Shelbys after all. They were cursed.  

           “Let’s go inside, aye? I’ve got presents for Ruby that you can help her open.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

           Ella planned on staying the night at Arrow House instead of driving back to London. When Tommy returned home, she requested to speak with him. They had a lot to talk about but she had a feeling he was going to be a pill about it.

           After he settled behind his desk, she began. “I need you to be honest with me.”

           “I’m always honest with you, El.” Tommy pulled out a cigarette to light.

           “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that to me so we don’t have to argue. Tom, I know how deep you’ve gotten. You’re drowning and you’re looking for a way out.”

           “I don’t follow.” He was looking at her but avoiding her eyes.

           “Let me just say that if anything were to happen to you. No matter what it was, you’d be leaving your entire family behind. The family that needs you for better or worse. This family can’t take another loss, we just can’t.”

           It was clear in his face that he knew exactly what his sister was talking about. Sometimes he hated how intuitive she could be. “Okay.” He nodded.  

           Well, at least he’d heard her piece. Sometimes that was all she could. Make sure he heard her. “Secondly, we need to speak about your involvement with Mosley.”

           “Your husband already called me about the matter.”

           “That’s fine, now we can discuss it.” She didn’t care whether Alfie had talked Tommy’s ear off already.

           Tommy cleared his throat and gestured for her to continue.

           “He sent a woman to my husband’s office only minutes before closing. Whatever his intentions are, they’re evil. He’s looking to control you, Tom. He's looking to ruin this family. I think you of all people would be able to see right through his act.”

           “Ella, listen very carefully to me.”

           “Don’t take that tone with me.” She retorted with a warning.

           He raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you going to listen or are you going to interrupt me.”

           Disgruntled, Ella kept her mouth shut.

           “You’re right, he’s an evil man with evil intentions. That’s why I’m doing this. Fascism won’t have a place here in Britain if I can help it. He’s the messenger. We kill the messenger; we kill the message.”

           “What if he creates more chaos before you have the chance? You can’t just kill a member of Parliament and expect to get away with it.”

           Tommy set his cigarette to the side. “All I can do is assure you I have a solid plan.”

           “And I’m supposed to trust you.”

           He simply shrugged. That was something he knew well. He couldn’t force anyone to trust him.

           Ella took a step away from his desk with a sigh. “Frances is going to bring Ruby’s cake out soon.”

           “Have you and Alfie ever thought about adopting?” Tommy asked out of the blue.

           She looked surprised. “Erm, no. We haven’t talked much about children after…well.” She sighed. Despite her time with the Lees and with Isabel’s council, she found it difficult to talk about her miscarriage. “Why?”

           “Just wondering.” Tommy stood up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “C’mon.” He walked with his sister to the parlor.

           Ella didn’t think too much of what Tommy mentioned after that night. Mostly because her curious thoughts were quelled by the arrival of Johnny Dogs and Aberama. Both badly wounded and shouting in the drive.

           As Lizzie brought the children upstairs, Ella hurried out after Tommy.

           “The man’s gone fucking mad, Tom!” Johnny shouted, clutching his ribs and trying to crawl away from Aberama.

           “They killed him. My son!” Aberama shouted, holding a gun with one arm. “They shot him and put him up on a fucking cross and he’s fucking dead!”

           Ella was startled in her path. The words were too chilling to be real. Bonnie wasn’t dead. He was perfectly fine. Aberama had just lost his mind. That was all. Just lost his mind. They’d all lose their minds at one point or another.

           “I swear to God, I never told a soul.” Johnny moaned in pain.

           “My fucking son! They fucking took him from me!” Aberama continued to rant loudly.

           Tommy held his hands out, trying to calm him down. “Your shoulder is shattered. If you don’t get it fixed; you’ll lose your arm.” He spoke steadily as if talking to a spooked stallion.

           “They crucified my son, for you!” His voice broke with grief.

           That’s when it started to dawn on Ella. These were no ramblings of a mad man. These were the anguish cries of a father who lost a son. She was about to ask who did it when gunshots had her dropping to the ground. Instinct had her protecting her abdomen.

           “Get away from my house!” Lizzie shouted.

           Tommy walked over his sister and snatched the gun away from his wife. “Everyone, enough!” He roared. The night went silent again. A peaceful night in the countryside. He turned and helped Ella up. “Everyone quit it.” His voice lowered and he turned to Aberama. “If you want to take on the Billy Boys, you need me. Everyone fucking needs me.” He glared back at Lizzie. “Call an ambulance or a man loses his arm.”

           Ella stood frozen in the driveway. Bonnie. Crucified. “Tom, who are the Billy Boys?” She whispered as he passed by her.

           “Mosley’s foot soldiers.” He muttered as he helped Johnny up and to the house. Lizzie and Aberama entered the house as well, leaving Ella outside by herself. She looked up at the stars in the sky. She closed her eyes when she felt tears welling up. The sound of the gunshot echoed in her ears and made her stomach ache.

Permanent Tag: @papa-geralt-of-cirilla @giftofdreams @biba3434 @kimmietea @karmezii @enrapturedbythemoon @vampgirl1997

Tag list: @deaflikehawkeye @octaviareina @mylovelykelsifer @doubletriplepowerbomb @ramblingbaby​ @fuseburner​ @kaetastic​

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[yiqiie]

GIF Challenge: Before and After

tagged by @wangxiians thank you 🥺 we stan a queen; this was so fun, finally got to really reflect on my giffing journey uwu

before: no colouring, no sharpening / topaz actions, resizing app, timing change

after: own colouring, sharpening + topaz (sometimes), resizing, timing change

i’ve technically only been giffing properly for a year or so. pls don’t look at my early gifs they’re so ugly i cry. i used to have a method of making gifs that worked relatively well (except on mobile grrr) and i stuck with that for a lot of my later gifs. ever since i got back from my hiatus and started practising again, i’ve found a new method that i think makes my gifs look a little better. still looking for a better way though :(((((

colouring wise, i tend to stick to making the gif look as natural as possible, only enhancing the colour a little bit more. i tend to accent reds more and try to darken blacks to give it that oomf y’know?? sometimes i try to take the blue / cyan out because often for lwj, there’s like a blue hue over the whole scene and it makes his skin turn blue too

tagging: @caixukun @dazzlingkai @exoistheuniverse + whoever wants to give this a try!

[just-another-ficwriter]

Serendipity - Part One

Pairing: Sweet Pea x Reader

Words: 1900ish

Warnings: Mentions of violence, death, suicide, implied smut

Summary: Sweet Pea and Y/N are on different paths in life, yet something keeps bringing them back together.

Notes: I read a Bughead fic that gave me this idea and I fell in love with it! Unfortunately I can’t find the fic to tag it, so if anyone knows the one I’m talking about and can send me a link, please do!

Ser-en-dip-it-y; finding something good without looking for it.

Sweet Pea was five when he first saw her.

The world was still all so new to him and he was itching to discover every bit of it. His Father was away again, fighting in some foreign country, making his little family proud, while his Mother, kind and compassionate, devoted every second of her time to looking after and loving her son.

She always wanted the best for him, and that included sending him to kindergarden in a Northside school while everyone he knew was back on the Southside. But that was okay, because that’s where he met her.

She was all messy (y/h/c) pigtails, and big (y/e/c), with a wicked smile. A smile he came to adore.

She had been the first to speak to him. The other kids had resorted to ignoring him, too afraid of his basic clothes, his already towering height and the place he called home. Even back then kids had been cruel, but not her. Never her.

She bounced over to him, the same smile that was now engraved on his mind, wide on her face. Her friendliness startled him, he’d never been friends with a girl before. Well other than Toni Topaz, and she didn’t count, not really. But he had Fangs Fogarty, his best friend, and that’s all he needed.

Only now he didn’t have Fangs, and he’d spent the last hour playing alone, while others had avoided his gaze. But she had come along, one last shining light of hope with a hand stretched out waiting for him.

So he took it.

And the pair quickly became inseparable.

-

At only ten years old, a darkness already loomed over a young Sweet Pea.

4 years ago, his Dad had left to fight overseas and never came home. His dog tags, the one thing linked to him that Sweet Pea could bare to keep, hung heavy around his neck as a constant reminder.

3 years ago, consumed by grief, his Mother suffered a mental break down, and she too had left this world, unable to go on. A picture of her smiling, a distant memory for Sweet Pea, lay under his pillow.

3 years ago, Sweet Pea had found himself suddenly, completely alone in this world. 3 years ago he moved in with Fangs and his Grandmother and made the decision to swap his Northside education and everything that came with it, including her, for a Southside one. 3 years ago he gained a whole new family within a gang called the Southside Serpents and learnt they weren’t at all like everyone said.

They had taken him in at his lowest point, protected him, cared for him, and eventually he became one of them.

A trainee Southside Serpent.

Fang’s Father was a Serpent, his grandfather had been a Serpent, it was his best friends legacy, and it was now, his too.

The two boys spent their evenings and weekends helping the older members with odd jobs and little errands. As a special reward for their hard work, the leader of the gang, FP Jones, had decided to treat them both, alongside his son Jughead, to a day trip at the park on the opposite side of the tracks, to let them be normal kids for a little while and that’s when he saw her again.

Y/N.

She hadn’t changed much, same bubbly energy and beaming smile that he spotted first before anything. She was prettier than he had remembered, or maybe he’d never seen her in that way before, but the thought of it made his cheeks burn.

He wondered if he stayed at the edge of the play park would she see him from the swings? Would she notice him, remember him even? Would she come and say hello?

But Sweet Pea never got the chance to find out. Instead he watched as her eyes widened in horror, her shrieks evident over the loud noise of the other kids as a boy behind her pushed her higher and higher despite her begging him to stop. A panic washed over Sweet Pea as she clung onto the swing, hands shaking and he did the one thing he could think of.

He marched straight up to the boy, and punched him square in the nose, knocking him off his feet.

Fangs watched from his spot in shock.

FP tried his best to fight the smirk playing on his lips.

The boy jumped to his feet and ran off, hand covering his now bloody nose.

And Sweet Pea just stood there, fist still clenched at his side, as his small chest visibly raised up and down with every harsh breath. Anger still radiated from him, only subsiding when she wrapped her arms around his neck, her voice whispering his name in his ear.

She did remember him.

Sweet Pea doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to forget the way she smelt that day, or the way she placed an innocent kiss to his cheek as she gushed about how he was her hero and that she’d missed him all this time.

Her words had him burning scarlet red and Fangs and Jughead would tease him later about it but he didn’t care.

Because that day he found something he’d lost a long time ago.

Hope.

And she had helped him find it.

Hope that maybe one day, things could get better.

Hope that one day, maybe he’ll be happy again.

-

Sweet Pea didn’t see her again until they were both seventeen, two teenagers desperate to find themselves.

Southside High had recently been shut down and Sweet Pea had found himself shoved back into a Northside school, his peers once again judging him for his background and now the snake he wore on his back.

Veronica Lodge had decided to throw a ‘Welcoming Party’ with Jughead in hopes of easing the tension between Riverdale High’s Bulldogs and the Serpents, and for some reason Sweet Pea found himself there, even though he was certain it would just end up in another fight with Reggie Mantle.

But then Y/N had walked in and Sweet Pea didn’t care about anything else.

He watched as she made her way through the small crowd that had started gathering with Betty Cooper, laughing as she pulled a face when Betty reached Jug and started to kiss him in front of everyone.

He watched as her eyes roamed around the room, bored, until they met his.

And then she smiled.

That smile that had Sweet Pea’s breath hitching in his throat and he couldn’t help but return the grin as she instantly made her way to him. He wondered if she could feel the way his heart hammered in his chest as she hugged him, her fingertips brushing against the tattoo on his neck.

Sweet Pea talked to her for hours, listening to her tell him about her life. He adored the way her eyes would light up as she talked about her friends, her family, her ambitions. She told him about her goals, and her plans to study in Europe when she finished school and he wished he had the same outlook on life that she did.

The alcohol flowed as easily as the conversation between them and Sweet Pea couldn’t find it in him to object when she laced her fingers with his, demanding that the two danced to a song she claimed was one of her favourites. He swayed on his feet, his fingertips clinging onto her waist as he had an ache in chest that he’d never felt before.

And as if she had read his mind, she reached up on her tiptoes, oblivious to the looks of those around them, as she pulled his head to meet hers, their lips colliding and Sweet Pea couldn’t believe it.

He couldn’t believe it when they spent the night together. Or when he woke up the next morning to find her in his arms, head against his chest and legs tangled with his. Or when she offered to treat him to breakfast at Pops when she opened her eyes, hair a mess and last nights make up smudged on her face, looking just as adorable as ever. Or when it happened again. And again. And again.

But that’s when he felt it.

That hope that she always gave him, a hope of a better future.

The hope that maybe he wasn’t so damned after all.

-

Five years later, at the age of twenty two, Sweet Pea would be lying if he said he didn’t find himself still thinking of her at times.

At eighteen she’d left to chase her dreams in another country, leaving Riverdale and Sweet Pea behind. He taking comfort in the fact that she had given him the opportunity to join her but he chosen to stay. He belonged in Riverdale, with Fangs, with Toni, with the Serpents. But that didn’t stop his heart shattering at their final goodbyes, the taste of both their salty tears lingering on his lips after their last kiss, remembering the forced smile she’d given him as he waved her off.

He’d tried to move on, of course he had, but no one had ever compared to his Y/N and he found himself doubting anyone ever would. So he gave up, moved on with his life in other ways and found himself living in the same routine for the last three years.

He’d wake up in an empty bed, leave his apartment that he shared with Fangs every morning, spend the next few hours at the garage fixing what ever car had rolled in that day, and then end the evening with one too many drinks and a few rounds of pool at the Wyrm.

Only that evening was different. Fangs had text him, told him to come straight to the bar, no delays and Sweet Pea found himself rushing his last job, sneaking off early to see what was so important. When he walked through the door, grease stained t-shirt still on because he’d skipped getting changed to save time, the last person he’d expected to see was her.

Even with her sun kissed skin and dyed hair she was still the same Y/N. She still had the same kind of smile that had goosebumps forming on his skin and his heart feeling like it might burst.

He started to laugh when she pounced at him, arms wrapping around his neck, bodies fitting together so perfectly it was like they were almost made for each other. She whispered his name into the crock of his neck, sending shivers down his spine and he knew he never wanted her to leave again.

They stayed by each other’s sides for the rest of the night, as if no one else was in the room. Their knees touched as they drunk shots at the bar, their eyes locked as they played the game of pool she’d challenged him to, their bodies meshed together on the dance floor when Toni played a song that reminded them of a house party five years ago. Then when it was time to leave, their fingertips tangled together, the two of them knowing where it was heading even though they also both knew she had a flight to catch the next day.

When Sweet Pea woke up the next morning with a dry mouth and a pounding headache he was glad not to be alone. But then she woke up too, and reality set in, his heart breaking even more the second time around as their goodbyes mirrored their first and he had no idea how he’d get over it this time.

But that didn’t stop him having hope that maybe, one day, they’d fall back together again.

Sweet Pea Masterlist

[drabbles-mc]

Birthday Boy

Chibs Telford x F!Reader

Request by @megantelford​​: What about Chibs' old lady gets his crow for a surprise birthday present?

Warnings: language, alcohol

Word Count: 1.8k

A/N: A fun little somethin’ for our Chibby boy! Hope you enjoy it! xo

SOA Taglist: @masterlistforimagines​ @adela-topaz-caelon​ @mijop​ @chibsytelford​ @xladymacbethx​ @i-just-read-stuff​ @kkim120​ @everyhowlmarksthedead​ @toni9​ @unicornucopia-fuckers​ @mayans-sauce​ @shadow-of-wonder​ @punkgoddess-98​ @paintballkid711​ @black-repunzel99​ @lexondeck​ @jitterbugs927​ @mrsstevenbuchananstark​ (If you want to be added just let me know!)

You leaned forward in the chair at the tattoo shop, bracing yourself and resting your head in the crook of your crossed arms. You heard your artist getting her things together and forced yourself to take a deep breath, trying your hardest to relax your body. You were no stranger to the tattooing process, but you hated not being able to see what was happening. Your artist was phenomenal, but you swore that it hurt less if you watched yourself get tattooed.

“You good?” she wiped down your upper back as she got ready to lay out the stencil.

You nodded, “Yea, I’m good. Still get the jitters.”

She chuckled as she smoothed the stencil out just below your shoulders, “I get it,” you felt her peel the paper back, “Alright why don’t you stand up and let me know if this is what you were thinking.”

The two of you made your way over to the mirror, and she held up a second mirror to let you see your back easier. A smile broke out across your face as you looked at it. Even though it was just the purple stencil ink, you could tell that the tattoo was going to come out phenomenally.

You hadn’t told Chibs that you were getting his crow tatted on you as his big birthday present. You told him that you were going to have a surprise for him on his birthday, but you refused to divulge any of the details about it. A couple times throughout the course of your relationship, he’d mentioned the whole tattoo concept in passing. You never shot down the idea entirely, but you had never been in any kind of rush to get it done.

But now as you were looking at the outline on your back, you were thrilled that you finally took the time to get it done. You timed it so that you would have a couple days to let it heal up before his birthday when he would actually see it. It also helped that the guys were off on a run so there wouldn’t be any accidentally spoiling it before it was time.

“All good?” she looked at you in the reflection of the mirror.

You beamed, nodding, “It’s perfect.”

“Great! Let’s get started.”

You sat back down on the chair, getting comfortable for what the next few hours of your life were going to entail. You heard her start up the tattoo gun and couldn’t help but to smile despite the small rush of nerves coursing through you.

Every now and then your artist would check in with you, seeing if you needed to stop for a minute to stand up and walk around. Most of the time you were content to power through, but a couple times you got up to stretch, and also check the progress of the crow that was slowly but surely taking over your upper back and shoulders. The top of the crow’s wings lined up perfectly with your shoulders, the head of it at the base of your neck. Each time you looked at the progress, you felt giddy.

You’d lost track of how long you’d been sitting in the chair, but eventually the room became quiet when the tattoo gun was shut off. You lifted your head slightly, glancing back over your shoulder expectantly. Your artist was wiping off your back with a smile on her face, and you knew that it was going to be amazing.

Standing up one last time, you went over to get a look at the finished product. Your face was taken over by a large, pleased grin as you admired your artist’s work. You nodded excitedly, and she couldn’t help but to laugh at how excited you seemed.

“Hopefully this is what you were thinking,” she laughed.

You chuckled, nodding, “It’s better than I pictured it in my head. Thank you so much!”

Once you squared up and left the tattoo shop, you couldn’t help but to call Chibs. You weren’t going to tell him about it, but you still wanted to talk to him. It was perfectly likely that you were going to go to voicemail and you’d just leave a message saying that you loved him and missed him, but it still didn’t hurt to try.

Much to your surprise, he picked up on the second ring, “Yea?”

You laughed, “Hello to you too.”

He chuckled, “Hey, love. How’s things?”

“Things are good! I just wanted to check in. You boys alright?”

“’Course we are. When do we ever get in trouble?”

You rolled your eyes, “I’ll pretend you didn’t just ask me that,” there was a pause as you both laughed, “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I love you and I miss you.”

“I love you too, lass. We’ll be home soon.”

“Good. Better get back to me in one piece.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“You better,” you paused, “I love you.”

“I love you too. See you soon, love.”

You chuckled, able to hear his brothers already giving him grief for being so soft with you before he’d even hung up the phone, “See you soon.”

The next few days flew by, and you were so pleased with how well your tattoo was healing. You had ransacked your entire closet looking for the perfect outfit to showcase your new tattoo when Chibs got home. In the deep depths of your closet you found a backless dress that, truthfully, you didn’t even remember buying. You slipped it on, not knowing if it would still fit, but it slid on perfectly and showcased your tattoo wonderfully. You smiled to yourself knowing that Chibs was going to lose his entire mind.

You got to the clubhouse early to help Gemma set up for the party. Tara and Lyla were already there and pulling things together. Gemma looked up when the door opened and raised her eyebrows in surprise when she saw you walk in. She’d only ever seen you in the casual clothes you wore to the clubhouse for typical parties, and your current outfit certainly didn’t fit that description.

“This part of his present?” she asked with a knowing smile as she walked out of the kitchen.

You laughed, nodding, “Yea, part of it,” you rested your hands on your hips, “What can I do to help?”

“You just stay ready for the birthday boy, sweetheart,” Gemma chuckled.

With a roll of your eyes, you walked closer to her, “C’mon, I can be useful. Put me to work.”

“Wanna start unpacking the beer and tossing it in the coolers and the fridge? The guys will burn through those cases in no time once they get home.”

You laughed, nodding, “That I can do.”

You turned around to walk behind the bar and the gasp that came out of Gemma’s mouth probably could’ve been heard by the mechanics outside, “That the other part of the present?”

You simply nodded as you set about your task, “It is.”

“Chibs is gonna lose his goddamn mind.”

You laughed, “A girl can hope.”

You were behind the bar making yourself a drink when you heard the unmistakable roar of their bikes rolling back into the lot. You smiled to yourself as you heard all the whooping and hollering as they got closer to the clubhouse doors. In a matter of moments the door was kicked open and the entire club came clamoring inside.

You laughed as you watched the clubhouse immediately descend into chaos. Between the celebration of their return, and of Chibs’ birthday, you knew that I was going to be a long and wild night. You looked on, scanning the crowd for your partner in the midst of it all. Sure enough, he was lingering towards the back of the pack, being greeting by Gemma at the door with a hug. You saw her whisper something into his ear and his eyes immediately traveled over to you.

Smiles spread across both of your faces as he made his way to you. No matter how long the two of you were together, and no matter how long the run actually was, it always felt like he was gone for too long. And every time he came home it always felt like a reunion.

“Ye look beautiful, love,” he cupped your face in his hands as he leaned in to kiss you.

You smiled into the kiss, resting your hands on his chest. Pulling back, you lightly raked your fingers through his hair, “Happy birthday, handsome.”

He smiled, “Aye, are you my present?”

“Hopefully it’s enough,” you chuckled as you pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“More than enough,” he stepped back to get a better look at you, “Lemme look at you.”

You chuckled, taking a step back and holding your arms out.

“Aw, c’mon now,” he laughed, “Gimme a spin, lass.”

You tried to hide your nerves the best you could as you gave a quick twirl in the small space behind the bar. When you were back to facing him again, his eyes were wide and his jaw was practically on the floor. He closed the short distance between you, eagerness all over his features as he took one of your hands in his own, giving you a slight tug to turn you around.

“Jesus Christ,” he chuckled as he lightly traced his fingers over the new ink across your back, “you make it look so beautiful.”

You let out a soft giggle, your face heating up at the sincerity of his touch and his words, “You like it?”

He spun you back around so that you were face to face. Tilting your chin up, he pressed his lips to yours, “I love it,” he kissed you again, “I love you.”

You smiled, resting your chin deeper into his hand, “I love you too.”

“Any other new ink I should know about?” he asked with a laugh as he pulled you in close.

You laughed, shaking your head, “No, no. Just the one new piece.”

“When did you decide to do this?” his fingers were idly tracing over your new design.

You shrugged, “A while ago. Got it done while you guys were out of town.”

“This is why I can’t leave ye unsupervised,” he laughed, “Doin’ all the fun stuff without me.”

“I saved the real fun stuff for when you got home,” you smirked as you kissed him hard on the lips.

“Any’a that fun stuff planned for right now?” his lips were pressed against your ear.

You laughed, “You just got home, baby. Enjoy the party.”

“Who needs a party when I got you?” he tugged you back towards the dorm, grabbing a bottle of whiskey on the way.

You smiled, shaking your head as you trailed behind him, “Whatever you want, birthday boy.”

[mona-stay]

It Takes Almost Dying

Request by wattpad Prompt see pic

Warnings anguish, main character injury, fluff ending Pairing jughead x reader Story

You walked alone along the path leading up to pops. On your way to meet the gang as you called them. You, Jughead, Archie, Betty, Cheryl, and Kevin had been friends for as long as you could remember. There wasn't a day that you all didn't spend time together. Then Veronica came to town and completing the group making you the magnificent seven. Thursday's was group night, a night was you'd all meet in pops before going to the feature movie at bijou or during summer you'd hang out by sweet water. Now Jughead had joined the serpent's and was still in a meeting with them at the Whyte Wyrm often making him late for group night. 

"so y/n how long you gonna wait before telling Jughead yours in love with him. Some of those girls in the serpents are hot" Cheryl said. Everyone laughed knowing she was talking about Toni topaz, the pink haired serpent who'd stolen her heart. Cheryl smiled "well tee-tee only proves my point about serpent girls, get your boy before finds biker chick," she says raising her eyebrow. It was no secret among the group that you were head over heels for the raven-haired boy. You'd started crushing on him when you were about 12 and it only got worse the older you got. Now you only had eyes for Jughead but were to shy to actually tell him, afraid of rejection or worse a void in the close friendship you had with him.

Unbeknown to you Jughead had loved you for just as long as you'd loved him. He'd never known what to say about his feeling for you chose not to say anything at all, hoping if you felt the same that you'd make the first move so he didn't have too. His serpent meeting had gone on longer than he'd hoped, he took out his phone to text saying he was going to late. "texting your girlfriend" Toni teased. Jug shot a look at her to say shut up, "oh come on Jones just tell her and if you can't find the words just kiss her. She'll get the message" Toni said as she wiped down the bar. After listening to her continue to talk him into expressing his feelings, Jughead decided he was going to do it make the first move. As soon as the meeting finished he got on his bike racing to pops to find you "go get her tiger" Toni called as he pulled off. 

You went outside for some fresh air and a break from Cheryl you loved her but wished she'd leave this whole Jughead thing alone. You'd been sitting on the wall re-reading the text jug had sent 20 minutes ago, saying he was going to be late. Another text came through on my way now see you in 5 mins it said. You smirked "well hurry up I need to talk to you" you typed back. It was a few minutes later when you heard the sounds of skidding tires and scraping metal gave you the worst feeling. Running to the sound your worse fears were met. Jughead laid on the road, his bike on the ground under a car. You screamed as loud as you ever had before dropping to your knees next to him, not caring if they were cut or not. Filled with panic you start calling out his name screaming at him to look at you move say something. He didn't he laid still with his eyes closed.

The others saw you take off and came to follow, running when they heard your screams. Betty got out her phone to call an ambulance, while Kevin went to the other car to check the driver. He was mumbling something about not seeing Jughead he tried to swerve out the way but the bike came to fast. Everything around you was a blur time went by too quickly for you to notice the ambulance pull up. Archie and Cheryl were now next to you trying to pull you away from jug so the paramedics could see to him. You cried into jugs chest your arms wrapped around him holding on tight, almost like if you let go he'd die. Archie grabbed you by the waist dragging you from Jughead's body. The tears rolled down your cheeks as you struggled to break free and go back to the boy you loved.

Everyone was gathered around you, all talking at once some to you, other to each other or on phone calls. To you it was all just noise and sound, your attention was on the medics with Jug, you couldn't breathe properly through crying. Betty came over "the paramedic said one of us can go with him to the hospital," she said. You snapped out of your blank stir, "I'm going" you said pushing past them all. The whole ride there you sat watching the guy work on Jughead, at one stage he stopped breathing and they needed to resuscitate him. You went numb, your body shaking as you mumble "please don't die" over and over to yourself the sound burly audible.

Once you arrived at the hospital they wheeled Jughead through the hospital as you followed gripping tight to his beanie, you didn't even know when or where you picked it up. Nurses had been talking to you but you didn't really hear, some things you nodded and shook your head too mainly are you okay and is there anyone we can call. You had stayed outside the door they rolled Jughead into but wouldn't let you follow.

It had been almost 3 hours since Jug was rushed into surgery, a nurse came out asking if you were his family. Before your brain had a chance to lie your head shook no. "I'm sorry I can't tell you anything right now until I've spoken with his next of kin," she said about to walk away. You grabbed her arm "no, you can't do that please you have to tell me if he's going to be okay please" you beg, the second you speak the tears start to fall again. "I'm sorry miss I can't tell you anything unless your family," she said a little bolder but still sensitive enough to try and not upset you anymore.

A gruff voice behind her calls out "I'm fp Jones, his father and this is y/n, his girlfriend" he said moving around to you placing his arms over your shoulder pulling you in close to comfort you. "please can you tell us how my son is doing" this time his voice shook as he spoke. The nurse gave a small smile "he's still in surgery and is in a critical condition but we're doing the best we can" she said before another head popped out the door calling her in. Not long after both you and for were shown to a room to wait for a doctor with any news. You'd sat in silence still sobbing as fp hugged you, his hand rubbing your back in an attempt to soothe you. Not long after some of your friends had come in the room to wait as well. Fp looked at everyone, Betty held Archie her face tear-stained, while Archie bit his nail, his eyes red. Finally, he looked down at you thankful you'd finally stopped crying but was still concerned about you. 

Your hands were still gripped to his beanie shaking more, fp didn't need to be a mind reader to know you were thinking the worse. Clearing his throat he reached into his jeans pocket pulling out some money, "hey red, why don't you and Cooper go get us some drinks, I'm sure y/n could do with a coffee now I know I can" he said. Archie got up taking the money from fp, "don't rush" fp said low to him so you wouldn't hear. Archie nodded opening the door as him and Betty left. Part of you didn't really notice them get up and go but you'd heard the door open and close. "y/n" fp said low looking at you. "he'll be okay" he tries to say, "I know it's hard but we have to think of the positive side" he said this time with a little more meaning. You looked at him nodding, he smiled and kissed the top of your head.

A knock on the door made you look up at a man in a white coat walked in "are you Mr. Jones's family?" he asked. Both you and fp straightened up saying yes together. "well as you know the crash was pretty serious, Forsythe" the door said. "Jughead he prefers Jughead" you correct him knowing it's what Jughead would do. The doctor looked at you, probably feeling sorry for you, the state you looked "sorry Jughead has suffered internal bleeding, and he has also a punctured lung. Our team is still working on stabilizing him. Once we've done that we can assess the rest of the damage, things like broken bones, we know his arm is definitely broken but we want to also x-ray his leg too" as the doctor continues to list things written on his clipboard, your hope started to fade. Your grip on Fp tightens as the doctor started talking about the possibility of brain damage and other worries they have. When he left you looked at Fp your eyes filled with tears "they said he's critical! What if he dies? It's all my fault I texted him telling him to hurry!" you start but your breathing starts to become rapid. Fp knelt down on the floor grabbing your face "y/n look at me" he demanded "Jughead's strong, he'll fight this! This isn't your fault y/n and Jughead knows that. you have to stay strong y/n for him" he says trying you calm you.

Trying to distract yourself, you look up at him again "why did you tell that nurse I was Jugs girlfriend?" you ask. Fp raises an eyebrow at you "come on y/n don't act like it's not true. You two have liked each other since you were kids. I know Jughead better than he thinks and trust me when I say that boy is in love with you and It's obvious the way you feel for him otherwise you wouldn't be in the state you are now! You might be able to hide it from each other but to the rest of us looking in it's clear you're made for each other" he smiles. "and if I could choose anyone as a daughter in law it would be you y/n" he says as you hug him. His words meant more than anything to you since your father died Fp was the closest thing to a father figure you had. He always had a way to make you feel better, whether it's emotionally better by telling you things will be okay or help with things like school work or helping your mother with repairs around your house. He'd always been there for you. 

When Archie and Betty come back they smile seeing you looking a little better and not the catatonic shell you were when they left. Betty handed you a coffee sitting back down next to Archie. Another hour or more passed, Kevin came in he'd been speaking with his father. He'd found out the driver who'd hit Jughead had been drunk, his breathalyser had come back over the limit. Kevin then went on to say that his dad is waiting to arrest him once he'd been given the all clear to leave, after only suffering a few minor cuts and bruises. Fp jumped up fast heading for the door, everyone stood up all knowing he was going to find the driver. Archie and Kevin both tried to block the doors, "get out if the way!" fp roared at them. Both boys looked at each other Archie giving a shake of his head to Kevin. "what so you can find this driver?" Archie said, squaring his shoulders. "that bastard was drunk and put my son in the hospital. He gets to sit there with a few cuts while my son could die" fp shouted in a rage. "you'll get arrested too if you do" Kevin tried to reason. Fp looked at Kevin to say he didn't care about his dad "move now!" he said again. 

This time you stepped towards him "please don't, Jughead needs you, I need you to be here please don't go" you said putting your hand on his arm. Fp looks down at you knowing if the worst did happen had Jughead did die, you'd be a mess. Growling loud he sat back down next to you, you smile a small thank you when the door opens. It had now been 13 hours since you'd arrived here still waiting for someone, Betty and Kevin had been to find a nurse an hour ago but couldn't find anything out. The doctor from earlier came in, a smile on his face. "it's good news Mr. Jones, we've stopped the bleeding and repaired his punctured lung. We've also put a cast on his foot and arm" he said as he double checked the notes. "when can we see him?" fp asked, the doctor looked around the room "I can take you there now but only two at a time can go in" he answered. 

Everyone looked at you and fp no question of who the two would be. Betty stood up dragging Archie out of his seat too. "I'm so happy he's okay, I think Mr. Jones and y/n will want to go in do come Archie Kevin will come back tomorrow. If he wakes up, send him our love" she said hugging you before leaving with the boys. Kevin with his phone in his hand already texting Cheryl, Toni, and Veronica about Jughead's update. Once they left you looked back at the doctor "if you both follow me I'll take you to him but I have to warn you he's not awake yet and some of the equipment may look at little scary but I assure you that he will make a full recovery" he said leading you through the hospital.

The doctor wasn't lying the machines they had Jug hooked up looked terrifying. A tube down his throat and iv lines into his arms. You gasped at the sight, fp putting his hands on your shoulders leading you in "he'll be okay y/n" he whispered. The doctor and fp spoke most of it you didn't hear, instead, you sat next to Jughead's bed holding his hand willing his eyes to open. When the doctor left fp came over to the other side of Jughead's bed ruffling his hair "hey son, we're here" he said sadly. After that, the room fell silent the only sounds were bleeping from the heart monitor next to you.

Fp looked at the clock another 3 hours had passed and still no movement from Jughead. "y/n do you want" Fp stopped mid-sentence seeing you asleep, your head on the bed and your hand still wrapped tightly in Jugs. Standing up stretching out the stiffness of his body he came over placing his jacket over your body. He looked at the clock 16 hours they'd been at the hospital for, he was surprised you'd lasted that long awake. A nurse came in to do Jughead's obs, fp took the chance to get a drink. Fp stood next to the vending machine, his fist hit the wall as tears fell down his face. He'd kept strong the whole time for y/n, now she was asleep Fp let his emotions out a little. Fp sunk to the floor head in his hands sobbing, a group of people walked past him making fp stand up. Wiping his face he took a deep breath getting his drinks and heading back before ether Jughead or y/n woke without him.

As he comes to the door the nurse was walking out. "sorry" she smiled blushing, fp smiled back "hey, is there any way to tell when he'll wake up?" Fp asked her. She gave a bigger smile looking back into the room, fp followed her gaze to see Jughead eyes half open still sleepy looking down at a sleeping y/n. Fp stepped into the room "glad to see you in the land of the living" he smirked at his son. Jughead groaned trying to sit up a bit more "what happened" he said. Fp looked at him uneasy "what do you remember?" he sad back. Jughead rubbed his face thinking back. "I remember being at the Wyrm with everyone then leaving to meet y/n. A car was on the wrong side of the road, I tried to swerve out the way shutting my eyes on impact then waking up here" he finished.

Fp smiled at least Jug didn't have any memory loss. "yeah a drunk driver hit you, you got rushed into surgery" Fp said hugging Jug. Soon the topic changed from Jughead's injuries to y/n. "from what Betty said, she came in the ambulance with you, she was here when I got here begging a nurse to tell her how you were. Since then she's been in a state of worry, she thinks this was her fault, your accident. Oh by the way I kind of had to tell them she's your girlfriend, they wouldn't tell her anything or let her stay otherwise so play alone if anyone asks" Fp smirked. Jughead smiled at the idea of you being his girlfriend something he'd wanted for longer than he could remember. With his good hand, Jug moved some of your hair out of your face.

The tickle of his fingertips woke you up, your head whipped up to jug smiling at you "Hello sleeping beauty your finally with us" he joked "you're one to talk Mr. we've waited all day for you to get your lazy ass up" you joke back hugging him tightly. "how long was I asleep?" you ask fp. "about half an hour" he said a little disappointed, he'd hoped you'd sleep longer than that. A few minutes later a doctor walked in, at first he was surprised to see both you and fp sat there but smiled "I'm sorry but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you both to leave while I examine Mr. Jones. You can come back in the morning" he added to the end when he saw the look on your face. "no please can I stay with him" you begged but the doctor shook his head "I'm afraid it's not allowed" he said as kindly as possible. "come on y/n I'll take you home you can sleep easy knowing Jughead's alright and I promise I'll bring you in first thing in the morning" he said. You looked at him defeated. Giving Jughead a hug maybe a little too tight making him wince you said you'd be back the second they'll let you, before turning and leaving with fp.

The next day you got up at 8 am calling fp to get up too so you could go to see Jughead. When you got there he'd just woken up himself feeling more painful today than he had last night. "you didn't have to come in this early" he laughed looking at the tired groggy look on his dad's face. You both sat down next to him, fp showing him the things he'd packed for him, including his laptop and mobile. You all spent the morning chatting when fp left to get some dinner from pops for you all. "so your message you said you wanted to talk to me! what was it?"  he asked. Before the crash, you had all intention on telling him you loved him but now you were nervous and scared and had lost your bottle. "nothing it's not important I can tell you when you're out if here" you say hoping to deflect the subject. To your luck Archie, Betty Cheryl, and Toni came in, you all spent the day laughing cheering Jughead up. When it was time to go Fp took you home promising to take you back. 

It was a week before they let Jughead come home, longer if the hospital had their way. Over the last 3 weeks, Everyday you went to the trailer to care for him, you'd help cook his and Fp's meals or bring takeout from pops, You'd tidy around the trailer and genuinely keeping Jughead company. The pair of you spent your days watching different movies laughing and joking and enjoying spending time together as you normally would. But being this close had its disadvantages, normally you could push down your feeling for the raven-haired boy but after seeing him almost die those feelings were stronger and harder to ignore. It didn't help the longing looks you both shared or the long touches that felt more than friendly, you wanted to believe what you felt jughead did too but to part of you didn't want a solid answer in case the answer was he didn't share your feelings. 

Today was no different, you had both been sat curled up under a blanket watching so silly TV movie. Like all the other times in the last few days you looked at each other his thumb tracing circles on your arm, the feeling washed over you to kiss him. You stood up quick struggling to control your feelings, saying were about to start cooking now the movie ended when Jughead grabbed your arm, "y/n, the night of the crash" he said. Your heart started to pound, you knew this conversation would come up sooner or later. "Jug I can't remember what I wanted to say when I sent that text" you lied. Jughead rolled his eyes "that's not what I was going to say y/n. I was going to say I was speeding back to pops because there was something I wanted to tell you and if I don't say it now I don't think I'll find the courage again to say it" he rambled. You reached over and held his hand in yours. He looks you in the eyes smiling "y/n, I like you hell I think I love you and I have for a while now. Your my best friend and I..." Jughead started to lose his confidence, his words not finding the right meaning. He remembered what Toni told him about if he can't say it, Jughead land over his lips touching yours. 

You couldn't believe it, you wanted to pinch yourself to make sure it was real. You didn't know what to do, feeling like one of those people on TV who'd won the jackpot and it hadn't sunk in yet. Jughead started to feel nervous you hadn't reacted to his kiss. "please say something!" he said searching your face for any clue to what you were thinking. Biting your lip you looked back at him "I lied to you before" you say. Jughead felt his heart shatter, he'd told you his feelings and you answer by saying you lied, not even acknowledging the words he'd said. Jughead wanted to run if his legs would let him. The touch of your hand broke him out of his panic, "I lied when I said I didn't remember what I wanted to tell you. I actually wanted a conversation similar to this only I wanted to tell you that I love you" you smile at him. He blushed with a smile "you love me?" he asked confirming you'd said what he heard. "yes Jug, I love.." you didn't finish, your words cut off when Jughead kissed you again. This time you kissed him back, your arms wrapped around him as you melted into his kiss. You were both so caught up in each other to notice the door open, a forced cough from Fp made you both jump. "finally glad to see something knocked some sense into the pair of you" Fp smirked more than happy to you together "however I have pops, y/n you staying for dinner I got enough for all of us" he smiled giving you a wink.

The next day Jughead had enough of being stuck in the trailer and wanted to get out. It was Thursday and classed and group day, at pops you helped him up the steps ready to walk through the door. He held your hand as you started walking to a booth at the back. Cheryl saw you both standing up, "my my my what do I spy with my little eye" she said pointing to your hands. Jughead smiled putting his arm around you "wait are two?" Toni asked with a knowing smirk, "yep, where the newest pair to rival choni as cutest couple in Riverdale" you laugh. Cheryl smirked "no one can rival Choni, but I have to admit your are cute and all it took was almost dying for you two to see what the rest of us have seen for years" she smiled. Jughead kissed the top of your head as pop came over taking your orders. You sat in Jugs arms, it was like nothing and everything had changed and all for the better.

[fanfics4all]

After Party Mistake

Request: Yes / No  Ok so can I have a Toni X fem reader, but it's like the first episode of Riverdale, where Reader and Toni are together but Toni goes into the closet for 7 minutes of heaven with Cheryl and accidentally cheats on Reader and it's all angsty and stuff Anon

Requests are closed <3 Have a nice day/night

Toni Topaz x Fem!Reader 

Word count: 532

Warnings: Cheating 

Y/N: Your Name 

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK, I WORK HARD ON MY FICS AND IT’S NOT COOL TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK! 

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Masterlist 

(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

Toni Topaz and I have been together since middle school. At first everyone in the Serpents hated our relationship, because I’m a Northsider. However, once they saw I wasn't like the other Northsiders they accepted me into their little family. Tonight there was a dance at my school, Riverdale High, and I desperately wanted to bring Toni! I begged her for weeks and finally she agreed. She was of course worried, but she decided not to wear anything Serpent related so no one would know. 

The dance was beautiful and after everyone was going to Cheryl’s place to really party. Toni was a little wary, but she loved to party so she agreed. We got there and it was one of the more chilled out parties Cheryl had thrown. A few hours in, Cheryl  and some friends gathered a bunch of people up to play a game. 

“It’s game time at Chez Blossom, kiddies.” She said, holding a bottle. 

“We’re going old-school tonight. Seven Minutes in Heaven.” She said with a smirk. 

“Who wants to tryst in the Closet of Love first?” She asked, looking around.

“My vote is Toni, since she’s new and all.” She said, smirking even more. 

“Anyone care to second it?” She asked. 

“Yeah! Great idea Cheryl!” One of her friends said and I felt a pit in my stomach. Toni placed her hand on mine and gave me a reassuring smile. 

“Yeah sure, sounds like fun.” Toni said. 

“Alright, gather around, kids. Let’s see who'll ride this pink lady tonight.” She said and spun the bottle. In my heart I was hoping it would just land on me and the two of us would just have some alone time, but I was wrong. 

“Oh, no way!” Reggie snickered as the bottle landed on Cheryl. 

“It’s clearly pointing to me, this should be fun.” She said eyeing Toni. She offered Toni her hand and kept her smirk aimed at me. Toni looked at me and I smiled at her as they walked into the closet. As soon as that door closed my heart fell. I can’t believe she actually agreed to go in with her! Would she really do anything with Cheryl? She loved me right? But, if she really loved me then why would she go in the closet with her? My mind wouldn’t stop all those seven minutes. So when Reggie opened the door I felt sick. Cheryl had Toni up against the wall with her lips on hers. My eyes widened as I saw their tongues tangled. 

“Whoa, do we need to give you two a little more time?” Reggie teased and Toni pushed her away. 

“Y/N! I uh…” She stuttered. 

“Forget it.” I said and ran out of the party. I can’t believe her! I thought we actually had something. I thought the years of us being together meant something! All that time meant something to me, so how could she  just throw us away like this! Especially for her of all people! Queen Northside bitch herself! She hates Serpents just as much as the rest of this damn town! Whatever, I’ll show her and Cheryl that I don’t need either of them!

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