#and i have mostly dropped out of tags on the daily because i don't have a super active fandom these days

[senadimell]

ooooohhh dracula daily has made me ship something.

[iruiji]

SAGAU but Creator Reader has been tagging along with the Gourmet Supremos.

If you didn't know or have forgotten, Gourmet Supremos are one of those quest series that is randomized because some part of the questline can only be accessed with dailies (like Whispers in the Wind or Snezhnaya Does Not Believe in Tears or Garcia's Paean).

This questline spans from Inazuma up to Sumeru. I think there was 6-7 quests in total? I forgot. (it's 8).

(These are Julie, Parvaneh and Xudong in order.) There are more characters that made a cameo in here but we'll just limit it with these three.

Context dropped, onto the short HCs.

• Okay so, I didn't really read the whole story of this one so I'm just going to make some random HCs on the fly. I'm aiming for a goody-feel with this one so no heavy angst will be involved.

• Alright, so. Xudong is the leader of the Gourmet Supremos, and he only found you because when you land in Inazuma, you literally dropped into their camp and was about to steal a sausage from Julie's backpack (but there were so many ingredients there!!!)

• Xudong was fuming, lmao.

"THIEF!! SOMEONE, HELP!"

• Aight, geez, made you run a marathon there.

• The next time you've met, all three were together and they saw you roasting some lavender melon in some dilapidated tent you found while walking aimlessly. Hey, better than no shelter at all. For some unfathomable reason, your inventory only consists of food materials - with everything, and I mean everything, missing.

• God damn. It's like the heaven is telling you something. 🙄

• Anyways, yeah. So for some reason, the only access to the goddamn ingredients are locked, and you can't use it and you don't know when you would be able to use it, so you have to scrounge up whatever pitiful sources you can get.

• Sadly, it's mostly lavender melons.

• Like, you already made several dishes from this and it's really starting to grind on your gears, so you took a dive in one of the caverns and found some meat and was happily grilling it with the melons when the trio came out of nowhere.

"Thief!"

The hell. "I didn't get the sausage, though."

"But you still tried to!"

"I mean, I was dying of hunger, so.. you know."

Julie, bless her heart, gets in between you two. "It's fine, Xudong. They needed help, did they not?"

"But-"

This time, Parvaneh chimes in. "As they've told you, they didn't get anything, so let it go. And you." She points at you with calloused finger. "Who are you?"

That caught you off guard a little. Told them your name and, to Xudong's bewilderment, started chatting amicably with you. Some time later though, he softened a bit but still a little cautious. They traded cooking tips with you, and, to their utmost surprise, you exchanged many tips on cooking as well.

"How do you know all this?" Xudong asked as you finished explaining the difference between sauteing onion and garlic first.

"Oh. I'm uh, a professional chef back in our place. Been years though, so yeah." You replied as you took a bite of their chicken. "Holy shit, why is this so good?"

Julie and Parvaneh just smiled proudly.

• So like, you became a new addition to their team - but you actually specialize in desserts. Xudong has many a great views in cooking, as well as the two ladies, and together you journeyed the whole of Inazuma for rare ingredients and made some two or three journals that have been since published and loved by people. (The fangirling/fanboying is real when you saw Xiangling's message drooling about your own version of Tiramisu).

• One day, however, you lot came across a shrine - it doesn't look abandoned, oddly, but it looks really, really old. You asked them what's the deal with this one, and they explained about the Creator.

Oh.

You're in SAGAU?

Shit.

"People said they've come back, but we don't really know.."

Double shit.

• With that knowledge, you try and avoid the main cities as much as possible and only let the three buy on populated areas. Thank God they didn't really notice you suddenly covering half your face with a mask - which you only shrugged when asked.

"I like masks."

Fair enough, they suppose.

• ..oh fuck, is that Yae Miko?

"Ara, and who is this?"

Xudong, Julie and Parvaneh bows and you hastily followed.

"She is our new companion, Lady Miko."

"..yo."

She looks at you with an impish grin. "Oh?"

Dont act suspicious. Don't act suspicious.

Nice.

• Coming across the main characters from the game are very, VERY rare. You can actually count on one hand the characters you've met:

Yae Miko;

Thoma (he was going around asking for favors as usual and you bump into each other and only had quick apologies as interaction);

Kujou Sara (she was patrolling the area and asked about your mask - which you replied that it's part of your outfit. damn, her glare was fucking menacing!);

Kuki Shinobu (you were side to side buying groceries once), and lastly;

Kamisato Ayato (you actually didn't meet - you just saw him giving speech in a podium for some event you just came across).

• You figured, hey, maybe you're NOT the creator or whatever. And just tried to live normally after some time. The mask stayed though, because you just survived the pandemic back here and was cautious.

• About a year and six months with the team, Xudong suggested you come all to Sumeru to expand your knowledge. Holy shit, yes please!

• ..and then you met the Traveler on your way.

"Your Grace..?"

Triple shit.

😭 sorry for disappearing for about a year - i was too lazy finishing anything. And now, I added another idea not to finish on the list 💀 wrote this whole thing in like 30 minutes motivation really is a wonderful thing, huh?

[punkshort]

Recovery

Summary: You care for Joel while he is on the mend from his injury. (Part two of Three Days)

Pairing: Joel Miller x F!reader, established relationship, set in the TWWW universe, no use of Y/N.

Warnings: language, discussion of injury, soft!Joel, smut (18+ MDNI), fingering, handjob, dirty talk, oral (m receiving)

Word Count: 4.5K

A/N: I didn't expect part one to be so well received, thank you everyone who liked/commented and wanted to be tagged in this story! I'm a little nervous about this one and I don't know if I like it now, I hope I did it justice.

Part Two

"C'mon, it ain't that far, I just wanna stretch my legs a bit," Joel said to you from the couch. You shook your head and gave him a stern look.

"Bill said you need to stay off that leg at least another week, you're just going to have to wait," you said as you finished making lunch. You placed his sandwich with a small salad on a tray and brought it over to the living room, where Joel had taken up residence for almost the past month while he healed. Under strict orders not to put unnecessary weight on his leg, he had been stuck on the couch during the warmest stretch of summer yet, and it was causing him to be a difficult patient.

"I'm losin' my mind here," he grumbled as he took a bite of sandwich. You rolled your eyes and bit your tongue as you went to go clean up the kitchen. You were doing your best to take care of him, and he was very agreeable in the beginning, but as his strength built up, so did his boredom.

"You're not invincible, you know. All you need to do is sit there and let us take care of you," you said over your shoulder. "Then you can do whatever you want."

"I feel fine, I don't need you hoverin' over me all the damn time," he said sharply. Shocked, you looked over at him from the kitchen. His eyes were cast down and focused on his food, completely unphased by how hurtful he was being. You turned away without saying anything in return as tears sprung to your eyes.

His recovery wasn't easy on you, either. You had to learn how to be a nurse in just a few short hours so he could have the comforts of home as soon as the doctor cleared him. At the time, you had been so exhausted from sleeping on a lumpy cot on the floor, but you put all your energy into paying close attention to what Bill, Jackson's resident doctor, and Carrie, his nurse, were telling you. They taught you how to take his blood pressure, change and clean his dressings, and a few physical therapy exercises you had to help him with daily. Not to mention the handful of medications you had to keep straight and the long list of "red flag" signs you had to remember. But you didn't mind, because it meant he was going to come home, and he was going to be okay. So, to hear him sound so ungrateful more than hurt your feelings.

You sniffled quietly before turning back around. He had finished eating and picked up a crossword, oblivious to your reaction. Taking a shaky breath in, you strode over to the living room to pick up his tray.

"Tommy's going to be here soon, I have to work this afternoon," you mumbled. Joel huffed and kept working on his crossword.

"Don't need him hoverin' over me, either. I'll be fine by myself. Could use the peace and quiet, anyway," he said, the last part mostly under his breath, but you still heard it.

You angrily dropped the dishes into the sink, making him jump and look up from across the living room.

"What the hell?" he yelled, his brows furrowed.

"Yeah, 'what the hell' is right, Joel," you replied with your hand on your hip and your lower lip trembling. "Maybe try showing a little gratitude for the people who are taking time out of their day to help you."

"I didn't ask for any help, I can take care of myself!" he shouted.

"No, you can't! You could have died, you asshole!" you yelled right back. One tear slid down your cheek, but he was too far away to notice it.

"Whoa! What's with all the yellin'?" Tommy said as he entered the kitchen. He looked back and forth between you and Joel, the two of you glaring at the other. He did a double take when he noticed you turn and subtly wipe the tears from your cheek.

"It's nothin'," Joel finally said, his voice quieter but still strained, and turned back to his crossword. Tommy took a step toward you and was about to speak, but you cut him off.

"I gotta go. Thanks for coming by, Tommy," you said quietly, and hurriedly made your way out the front door.

Tommy ticked his jaw to the side as he stared at the closed door for a moment before turning around, eyeing up Joel warily as he joined him in the living room.

"What the hell's the matter with you?" Tommy asked with a sigh as he crossed his legs, his ankle coming to rest on the top of his knee.

"I didn't do anythin'," Joel muttered, tossing the crossword down angrily before he continued. "I'm sick of bein' cooped up, I just wanted to take a short walk."

"Didn't Bill say you can't do that til next week?"

"Yeah, but c'mon, Tommy. I know my body, I know what I can do. I just wanted her help with this one thing-"

"One thing?" Tommy repeated, cutting Joel off. "One thing?! That girl's been killin' herself for you for a goddamn month, takin' care of everythin' around here and you think you're only askin' her for 'one thing'?"

Joel scoffed and crossed his arms, averting his gaze to look outside.

"This ain't none of your business, anyway," Joel replied, still avoiding his brother's glare.

"The hell it ain't," Tommy said bitterly, dropping his foot to the ground so he could lean closer to Joel, hoping to make his next words stick.

"I watched that girl fall apart that night. She wouldn't eat. She wouldn't sleep. She was fuckin' scared, Joel. I never saw her like that, ever," Tommy said firmly, watching as Joel's mouth twitched but kept his gaze directed out the window. "You ever think about that? 'Bout what she went through? She nearly tore the place down tryin' to get to you. Never left your side. She woulda cut her arms wide open so you could take her blood had Holly taken any longer to get there."

Joel's eyes dropped to the floor and he pursed his lips as he absorbed what Tommy said.

"That right?" Joel asked softly.

"Yeah, that's right. What the hell you think, Joel? For some reason, she loves you and would do anythin' for you. So maybe quit thinkin' about yourself for once," Tommy snapped, leaning back in his chair.

"I just feel so goddamn useless, Tommy," Joel said quietly, still looking at the ground. "I hate sittin' around like this."

Tommy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Think of it like a vacation, because I'm gonna have your ass back on patrol as soon as possible, and you'll miss havin' your own personal nurse around, waitin' on you hand and foot."

Tommy picked up an old magazine and began leafing through it.

"You wanna watch a movie or somethin'?" Tommy asked, his eyes still glued to the magazine.

"Sure, yeah, pick whatever you want," Joel mumbled, lost in thought.

You came home from work, feeling guilty that you enjoyed the break away from the house, but you couldn't deny that a few hours helped quell your anger. Sighing, you walked into the kitchen to find Tommy doing the dishes.

"Oh, Tommy, you don't have to do that," you said as you walked up next to him and leaned against the counter, your back to the living room and Joel.

"It's no trouble, darlin'," Tommy said with a grin as he finished the last plate. "I fed the beast, so you try to take it easy tonight, yeah?"

You smirked at his nickname for Joel and nodded.

"Sure. Thanks again for sitting with him while I worked, we both appreciate it," you told him while he dried his hands and gave Joel a quick wave as you walked him to the front door.

"Anytime. I also set him straight for you," he said quietly with a wink. You scoffed and rolled your eyes. As if that man could ever be reasoned with.

"Good night, Tommy," you said as you shut the door. You took a deep breath, digging deep to find the patience to deal with Joel for the rest of the night. You really hoped he wasn't going to continue your argument from earlier. Between his round the clock care and your job, you were barely getting any sleep, and you just didn't have the energy to fight any more.

"Hey," you said tiredly as you made your way into the living room. Joel looked up from the TV when you spoke and reached for the remote to turn it down. You were about to collapse into the loveseat across from him when he stopped you.

"Why don't you come sit by me?" he asked softly. You gave him a look before you nodded and sat down on his left, leaning on the arm of the couch as you tucked your legs under you.

"What are you watching?" you asked with a yawn, trying to place the movie playing on the screen.

"Tired?" he asked, ignoring your question. You nodded, your eyes still on the TV. He reached out to place a hand on your thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze, finally drawing your attention onto him.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said as he absentmindedly rubbed your leg. "I shouldn't've said all that to you, I didn't mean it. I appreciate everythin' you're doin' for me, I'm just... restless, or somethin'. And I took it out on you."

Your eyebrows shot up, surprised, as you stared into his deep, brown eyes. Eyes that were filled with shame and regret. You rested one of your hands on top of his, your thumb rubbing small circles over his knuckles.

"It's alright," you told him with a small smile. "I'm sorry, too."

"What are you sorry for?" Joel asked. You paused for a moment, opening your mouth to answer, but he cut you off.

"Are you sorry for spendin' all your time takin' care of some old, ungrateful jackass?"

The corner of your mouth twitched before you replied.

"You're not that old," you teased, and he smirked. "I just let all the stress get to me. It's fine, really. Maybe I'll go to bed early tonight, or something."

"Hm," he said, turning back to the TV.

"What?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothin'. Just was thinkin' maybe I can help you relax, considerin' how much you do for me," he said lowly, looking down as his fingers inched up your leg and brushed underneath the hem of your shorts.

"You have a broken pelvis, remember?" you said with a laugh.

"Yeah, but my fingers work just fine," he said, looking up at you and leaning over. His gaze darkened as he let his hand slide down between your legs, running his finger up the seam of your denim shorts and pressing gently against your clothed heat. You gasped and gripped his wrist.

"Joel," you whispered in a poor attempt to stop him as heat immediately bloomed between your legs. "You don't have to."

"I know. I wanna take care of you for once, please let me," he begged, leaning closer and wrapping his arm around your shoulders, tugging you towards him so he could slot his lips against yours while his other hand made its way to your hip, squeezing you there before he reached for the button of your jeans.

"Take these off," he whispered against your mouth after he pulled your zipper all the way down. You eagerly lifted your hips to pull down your underwear and shorts in one go, then brought your arms up to wrap around his neck as his tongue slid past your lips.

You were still sitting next to each other, the cast on his leg prohibiting him from doing much except sitting and laying on his back. You frowned when you realized this and pulled back, his mouth falling to your neck instead.

"How?" you asked him breathily. You slid your eyes shut and tilted your head back so he could gain better access to the underside of your jaw, letting out a low moan when he located your pulse point, his scratchy beard rubbing on your delicate skin.

"Sit on my lap," he mumbled against you before tipping his head in the other direction so he could pay the same mind to the other side of your throat.

"But, your -" you began, about to point out his many injuries were still healing before he cut you off.

"Sit on my fuckin' lap," he growled impatiently, his hands falling to your hips and giving you a forceful tug towards him. You decided to compromise, swinging your leg over to straddle him while you hovered above his hips, being mindful of applying too much weight. You brought your hands up to cup his face and crushed his lips with a bruising kiss, feverishly licking inside his mouth as you realized just how much you missed him, and that it had been so long since he last touched you. Even before the accident, his patrol route was exhausting him to the point where he was falling asleep before the sun set.

"Look at you," he whispered as he tipped his head back, breaking the kiss and looking you up and down, his eyes lingering at the way you were spread open for him. "I'm the luckiest son of a bitch in the world."

You felt your cheeks flush at the compliment, still taken aback at the change in him from just a few hours ago.

"Wow, what happened here when I was gone?" you asked him teasingly as you raked your fingers through his dark curls. Your breath hitched as he ran both his palms slowly up your bare thighs, squeezing gently as he made his way closer to the ache between your legs.

"Me and Tommy had a talk," he said, watching your face closely as his finger slid along your folds, causing you to jump.

"Easy," Joel murmured softly while pressing a warm kiss against your collarbone. You sighed and rolled your shoulders, trying to relax.

"It's been so long, Joel," you whimpered, trying to explain your reaction.

"I know, sweetheart," he cooed, bringing his middle finger back up to trace your seam again while his other hand held your hip steady this time. "Should be a fuckin' crime. You deserve to be worshipped every single day."

Joel sunk his middle finger inside you right as he finished his sentence, making you toss your head back with a moan. He smirked, always pleased he could pull those sounds out of you while he looked up to admire your face. Your eyes were squeezed shut, brows pinched, and your mouth hung open as you focused on the sensation of his thick finger stretching you out for the first time in weeks.

"So tight," he grunted, his eyes glazed over as he watched you struggle to find your breath while his finger slowly pumped in and out of your pulsing cunt. "Gotta relax."

You swallowed roughly and nodded, opening your eyes and softening your brow as you sucked air in through your parted lips. Once you felt yourself adjust, you began to bounce lightly on his hand, trying to match his rhythm, your fingertips digging into his shoulders for leverage.

"More," you whispered, licking your lips. Joel couldn't help the smug grin that spread across his face as he pulled his middle finger out of your pussy and popped it into his mouth, along with his pointer finger. You groaned when he gave you a satisfied wink at the taste. He brought his fingers back between your legs and pushed them both inside, your cunt immediately gripping his digits at the intrusion.

"Shit, that's it," Joel groaned, curling his fingers against your warm walls while he watched you bounce up and down on his hand again, this time with more force. You dropped your head to rest on his shoulder, your fingers digging harder into his arms.

"Remind me to thank Tommy tomorrow," you panted in his ear as a familiar pressure began building in your lower abdomen and warmth crawled up your chest and neck.

"He told me. 'Bout that night," he said through clenched teeth, trying to ignore his painfully hard cock. His other hand was held firmly on your hip, guiding you up and down to match the rhythm of his flicking wrist. He felt your hips stutter as you processed what he said, then you slowed down and leaned back to look at him.

"What about it?" you asked him quietly. He could sense your demeanor changing, so he lifted his thumb up to press against your clit, earning a sharp gasp from your throat before you reached down to stop him.

"What about it?" you asked again, firmly this time, staring down at him. He removed his hand from your hip so he could wrap it around the back of your neck, his thumb rubbing gently against your jaw.

"Told me how tore up you were, tryin' to see me," he whispered, his fingers pumping in and out of you painfully slow as he spoke. "How you couldn't eat or sleep, wouldn't leave my side." He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he felt his eyes begin to water. He blinked quickly before asking, "all that true?"

You sniffed and nodded before you began to roll your hips against his hand again. His thumb stroked along your jaw as you gazed at each other, the atmosphere in the room shifting to one more serious.

"I was so scared, Joel," you admitted quietly, your voice small. "I thought you were going to die."

Your lower lip trembled for a moment as you reached up to run your finger gently down his stubbled cheek and then again down the length of his nose as if to remind yourself he was real, that he lived and he was going to be okay. You let out a soft whimper when he pressed his thumb back against your clit, circling the bundle of nerves.

"It's okay, I'm right here," he whispered, pulling you down so he could press his lips against your mouth quickly before resting his forehead on yours. He dropped his hand back to your hip and urged you to go faster, curling his fingers inside you again until he found that spot that made your back arch.

"I can't lose you," you gasped as two tears slid down your cheeks. You pressed your forehead into his harder now, the muscles in your stomach tightening as his fingers expertly began to pull an orgasm out of you. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, sweetheart," he said, leaning forward to suck a bruise into the delicate skin on your throat. His chest ached for causing you so much pain, wishing desperately he could take it all away.

You felt yourself clamp down on his fingers as his thumb slid back and forth across your clit, quickly bringing you to the edge.

"Shit, I'm -" you gasped and tilted your head back, unable to finish your sentence as you felt your orgasm begin to wash over you, a filthy moan erupting from your throat. Your legs shook and your vision went spotty as you felt your neck and face flush from the intensity.

"Ohmygod, Joel - fuck - " you cried out, swinging your head forward to rest on his shoulder as you tried to catch your breath.

"You're so fuckin' beautiful, I love makin' you feel good," he mumbled against you, gently biting at your earlobe. His fingers slowed inside you, waiting until he felt your body relax before he pulled them out to palm his erection through his sweatpants. You hissed at the loss, your cunt clenching around nothing, already missing his touch.

Forehead still resting on his shoulder, you panted lightly for breath, and glancing down, watched as he ran his hand aggressively up and down his clothed cock, trying to find some relief. A lazy smirk spread across your face.

You reached down to swat his hand away and dipped your fingers below his waistband. Your other hand gripped the sweatpants you cut a pantleg off so he could fit his casted leg through, and, giving them a little tug down, watched as his hard length bobbed up and slapped against his stomach.

Wrapping your hand gently around his cock, you slowly began to drag your fist up and down, your thumb brushing over his slit and collecting the wetness there.

"Fuck, sweetheart, you - ouch," he gasped with a wince. You froze and lifted your hips up even higher, glancing down to make sure you didn't accidentally sit on him.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" you asked, letting him go as you were about to swing your leg back over, but his hand shot up to stop you, gripping your thigh firmly to hold you in place.

"You're fine, wasn't you," he rasped, opening his eyes to look at you. "I moved my hips. When you touched me, I - nevermind, keep goin'," he said with a shake of his head and reached for your hand, placing it back around his erection.

"Are you sure?" you asked, but began to slowly move your fist up and down anyway. He nodded, his eyes sliding shut while he leaned his head back on the couch cushion.

"Yeah. Fuck, that's it - faster," he mumbled, one eye peering open so he could find your wrist to show you the pace he preferred.

"So impatient," you teased with a smirk, and he huffed. "But that's okay," you whispered, leaning forward as you twisted your wrist up and down his cock, feeling it pulse under your fingertips. "I'll give you whatever you want, baby."

"Don't say shit like that to me, gonna make me come way too fast" he said with a groan, his fingers releasing their death grip on your leg to press firmly against your overly sensitive clit again, making you cry out.

"Oh god, Joel," you whined, your head falling forward on his shoulder again. You could feel the tears pricking the corners of your eyes as your thighs shook, your body still too sensitive from your first orgasm.

"Can't wait til I can fuck you again," he gasped, another dribble of precum trickling over his tip as your fist continued to work him up and down. "I'm gonna spend the whole day inside this perfect little pussy, you hear me?"

You nodded, your head still resting on his shoulder, your eyes closed and your mouth agape as his fingers pressed quick circles over your clit. The pain from the overstimulation quickly subsided as your stomach began to tighten again, your breaths coming in short drags.

"Whole town's gonna hear you screamin' my name," he continued to ramble, squeezing his eyes shut as he felt the white-hot flames begin to burn in his lower abdomen. "All fuckin' day. Gonna be filled with my cock, or my fingers, or my tongue. You ain't gonna be able to walk the next day, I can promise you that."

You gasped his name, cunt pulsing around nothing as you felt a trickle of your release drip down your leg, his filthy words taking you right over the edge of your second orgasm. Your hand only paused for a second on his cock before you continued to jerk him up and down, faster now, wanting him to join you.

"Shit, I'm gonna come," Joel groaned, his hand falling from your center and his head leaning back so he could watch your fist work him.

"Wait," you said, shakily lifting your hips so you could bring your feet to the ground between his legs. Gently, you nudged his good leg to the side so he would give you more room to sink to your knees before him. You looked up at him through your eyelashes and opened your mouth, sticking out your tongue before wrapping your fingers around his cock again. You tapped the underside of his tip on the warm surface of your tongue, letting him know where you wanted it. With a low moan and his fingers clutching your hair, he watched, entranced, as his hot, white ropes of cum covered your tongue, his gaze darkening as you stared him right in the eye and swallowed with a smirk.

"I mean it, sweetheart," he panted, unblinking with a shake of his head. "All day. All fuckin' day."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Mr. Miller," you told him, standing up and bracing yourself with your arms planted on either side of his head. You leaned down to give him a soft kiss before you twisted your body, collapsing on the couch next to him and tiredly pulling your clothes back on.

You laid there for a while, the side of your head resting on his good leg as you both caught your breath and stared mindlessly at the TV, not absorbing any of the dialogue while his fingers drew lazy circles on your back.

"I'm sorry I put you through all this," he said, breaking the silence. You turned your head so you could look up at him while he spoke. "Shoulda been more careful. That place was fallin' apart, I don't know what the hell I was thinkin'."

He looked down to meet your gaze, his eyes flitting across your face before he tucked a loose piece of hair behind your ear.

"You were thinking you had a town to help protect," you told him, sitting up. "That's what you do. You keep us safe, and you find things to bring back to help us survive." You reached a hand out to cup his face. "All that matters is you're going to be okay."

"No," he said, his hand coming up to cover the one you had pressed against his cheek. "You are all that matters." He pulled your hand away, giving it a quick kiss before holding it in his lap. "You are all I care about keepin' safe."

His eyes fluttered shut a moment before he sighed and opened them again.

"I've been lookin' for you my whole damn life. I ain't gonna fuck it up now," he said, his voice pained. "I promise you, I'll be more careful."

You scooted closer to him, leaning in to press your mouth against his, your lips pulling at his lower lip tenderly before leaning back. His hand came up to grip your chin, his thumb running gently over your lip.

"Will you sleep down here with me tonight?" he asked you earnestly. You nodded right away.

"Of course," you said with a small smile. "I was already planning on it."

The couch wasn't very big, so since his injury, you've been sleeping alone in bed. But after the emotional day, you each felt the urge to remain close. So, you gathered your pillows and an extra blanket and made yourself a bed on the loveseat, but somehow ended up squeezed onto the couch with Joel, curled up at his side, right where you both belonged.

Tag List: @chiogarza, @sparklejumpropequeen-777, @shotgun-shelby @partyofone3413 @nana90azevedo @ninaminaromina @amyispxnk @untamedheart81 @taz-97 @ilovemybrown-eyedbabygirl @orcasoul

[suedeuxnim]

I got tagged in the 10 song by both @vinelark and @burins and I'll be so honest with you: I've been listening to Utada Hikaru on repeat lately, so you're going to get MOSTLY that. But they're the fucking best musician of all time so you're welcome. This is also a plea for everyone to go watch/listen to Nijikan Dake no Vacance. One Last Kiss by Utada Hikaru - super dreamy song, I love the weird reverby piano in this and also they are SO cute in this music video. Literally always forget this was an Eva Rebuild theme but this and Sakura Nagashi are top tier bops by them so why am I surprised. Sakura Drops by Utada Hikaru - An oldie! Their new album is a best hits album and it quickly reminded me that Sakura Drops was the first non-kingdom hearts related music I heard from them and that I became obsessed with it immediately. Very fond of this one. Michi by Utada Hikaru - another one off the Science Fiction compilation album but I just love the weird beats and vocalizations that Utada does - don't know if that's the correct term but their oh oh oh's will get me like no one else and get stuck in my head lmao. Traveling by Utada Hikaru - another old one, this is face paced and I always bop around to it. Also the music video is SO like 00's Britney Spears coded, like just insane cgi weird outfits and choppy editing in the most fun way. Nijikan Dake no Vacance by Utada Hikaru ft Sheena Ringo - my god. This music video literally made me go "wait..... is Utada Hikaru GAY?" They are in fact bisexual and nb, though they hadn't come out as nb at the very least yet. But its a song about neglecting their daily wifely duties to take a secret 2 hour vacation with their secret girlfriend. Sheena Ringo has such a good counterpoint voice to Utada in this, just this scratchy low lounge-y voice and it makes me insane. The music video is also wildly sensual and beautiful. Ore no Kanojo by Utada Hikaru - low slinky voice in this one that only got better once I read the lyrics, its one of the rare sort of downbeat slow songs that I like listening to but Utada always manages to do this for me. About a girlfriend talking about her role in a relationship and inviting her partner to know her more deeply and intimately than the surface.

Idol by Yoasobi - This song made me watch the first episode of Oshi no Ko and some crimes can never be forgiven. But Yoasobi knows how to put together a banger, even a super eclectic one like this. And the animation for the video is just gorgeous too. Hana ni Natte from The Apothecary Diaries - I gotta be so honest I barely remember how the beginning of the song goes but the second it goes HANA NI NAAAAATTEEEEE and goes off I start singing along so, good anime op.

Sleep Walking Orchestra by Bump of Chicken - Bump of Chicken I love you my beloved, And unexpected but fun opening to Dungeon Meshi, I love how folksy it is and the lyrics go along with the show perfectly too.

I'm a Girl Like You from Barbie in Princess and the Pauper - Look I dont know what to tell you, I'm on a girly 00's media kick and this song is a banger AND opens with a girl being like "well at least you're not an indentured servant" to royalty before bursting into song to tell her that they're totally alike because she wants to stop being served hand and foot so she can go read in her personal library. The vibes in this movie are hysterical but the songs are iconic. I don't have 10 people to tag so if you see this and wanna do it you're it!

[sarah-kings]

For some reason, i'm thinking of a g/t hallmark movie

This is a quite interesting idea!

From what I have gathered Hallmark movies are movies from an American TV channel (please do correct me if I'm wrong, I didn't grow up with American TV) and they seem to publish romance, family and comedy movies and by the looks of it an abundance of Christmas movies.

I'm usually not one to seek out romance movies since I almost always predict the ending and ruin the fun for everyone around me but I could definitely see a romance movie working out greatly for G/t, seeing as the entire G/t community tends to write fluff and as there is a huge gap in G/t media such as movies.

I don't personally tend to write G/t mainly focused on romance - it's mostly focused on fantasy, sci-fi and horror, but if I had to create a movie it would most likely be something like this:

One time, as a bit of a joke, I've created this comic following a woman who is struggling to date someone in a world where G/t is something you can encounter on a daily basis, seeing as there are people of varying height and sizes. An aspect I constantly heard about dating was "I won't date someone who's below 6ft", so I thought "why not crank that up and apply it to rediculous G/t heights?"

Another comic followed not too long after, this one, in which Jane tries to go on another date, hoping to find a significant other who isn't lying about their height like Kyle from the first comic, only to end up with David- a giant himbo who gets everything mixed up terribly and accidentally did a writing error while writing his height down.

My idea for a G/t Hallmark movie would be to follow somebody like Jane with her struggles of dating in a G/t world, eventually dropping her ideals that her significant other must be around her height and learning to embrace David's big, goofy heart despite her serious demeanor.

G/t shenanigans could ensue, such as David trying to introduce Jane to his parents, the introduction going along the lines of:

David: mum, I want you to meet somebody. Her name's Jane, she's this amazing woman I've met and she's -

His mum: I hope she is a giant like us, David

David: *awkward pause* *gently pushes Jane back down into his chest pocket* hahaha, JUP, definitely! Hey, just one second, mum

*disappears into the bathroom*

Jane: you didn't TELL HER that I'm human sized?!

David: I'm sorry, I forgot!

Jane: How do you FORGET something like that?!

Complications could follow afterwards, David and Jane are on the edge of breaking up because of their family either not agreeing to them to be together or because the size difference is simply too much, both of them being convinced they are too small or too big to fit into the other's world, yet neither of them want to be apart.

Of course, as romantic movies always go it would most likely end with a happy ending for the two of them, showing the struggles they went through to achieve happiness and showing how they both are part of each other's world, despite the size difference.

Thank you very much for leaving this thought here, @seasonschange32, I very much enjoyed writing my thoughts on this down and hope you enjoyed my reply just as much.

I am by far not the most skilled writer when it comes to romance, I'm sure of that, so if anyone would like to take inspiration from this I'd love to see what you do with this, so please tag me if you do!

[local-queer-disappointment]

unpinning my nice fun positivity post because I want to talk a little about this space that I've created. I think a dni is stupid because people never listen anyways, which is why I haven't had one, but I still see the value in at least telling people who this little corner is for.

also YELL AT ME ON DISCORD I'M woahits_alex.mp3 IF U ASK ME ABOUT FIC RECS FOR MY FANDOMS I'LL CRY WITH HAPPINESS

you are welcome here:

- ALL queers. trans men, trans women, nonbinary, intersex, xenogender, "contradictory" labels like mspec gays/lesbians lesboys/sapphileans (omg it's me!!), slur reclaims, detransitioners who are not transphobic, mspec lesbians, aro/ace and all variations thereupon, unlabeled, questioning, etc. I love all of you. I love the community that we have. we are family, whether or not some of us want to be, and exclusionism is Not Funky Fresh!!

- pro Palestine!! I don't rb posts as much (I am scared of spreading misinformation) but I think I'll start doing that again! (don't forget your daily click guys)

- jewish people. I am specifically adding this one to say that because of the shitty Everything, I sincerely hope I have never spread any antisemitic rhetoric in support of Palestine, reblogs or otherwise. it is not your guys' job to educate me, but I hope it's clear that I'm operating in good faith.

- disabilities/cluster b disorders/systems/AAC users. I am not any of these things so if I say/do something out of line please tell me! but I love you guys and you're absolutely welcome here.

- proshippers (if this bothers you block and move on)

- furries. not personally one of y'all but I think you're neat :]

- literally, like, anyone, as long as you're not a dick

you are not welcome here:

- terfs, transphobes, exclusionists, anti-mspec, anti-lesboy, and people who think transandrophobia is "fake" or whatever. go away I don't like you (or at least be prepared to be blocked or yelled at)

- similarly to last, anyone who starts queer infighting or hates on less visible queers/strangers who don't "look" queer (I don't care if you think someone is cishet. you have no way of knowing that. let's stop hating people for immutable characteristics and start having thoughtful criticisms of people's actions thanks)

- ZIONISTS. BYE BYE

- (but also antisemites because come on now let's not do this. judiasm ≠ zionism)

- ableists, fatphobia, general dickheads. also if you're the kind of person who would tell me irl that I'm a failure for dropping out, I don't want you here!!! surprise!!!

- antis (again, either leave now or expect to be argued with)

other stuff under the cut bc this is already too long:

- I accept anonymous asks! and also non anonymous ones. ask me shit idk

- I am autistic and VERY gullible. if I reblog a "bait" post, or something that's clearly fake or a joke with a genuine reaction, I'm probably not playing some 5d irony chess I'm probably just stupid. y'all I'm sorry I'm trying :\

- I don't rb nsfw. not as, like, a rule, I just don't see the value in doing so lol. if I ever did I'd tag it and probably update this

- I argue with people!! I enjoy arguing with people!! usually it's in replies and not reblogs but still. if you are allergic to discourse maybe don't follow me? I also rb "discourse" posts, mostly transmasc support stuff, general solidarity stuff with the trans community or lgbt community as a whole, politics, current events, that kinda thing.

- this is, shockingly, supposed to be a fandom blog (I got carried away). current fandoms include: Ace Attorney (the one this blog was supposed to be about), Doctor Who (childhood hyperfixation come back to bite my ass), and Splatoon (no excuse). also MHA is basically my abusive boyfriend at this point but I'm trying to get better (not). you can find the records of my failing recovery at @alex-is-losing-sleep-over-krbk /hj (I also shamelessly rb my own posts over there lol)

and I guess since I'm mentioning fandoms, here my fav ships: wrightworth, klapollo, franmaya, thoschei, pearlina, agent 24. also somehow, completely inexplicably, cuttletavio. listen I read like one really good fic and I just think—

anyways, that's about it. love you all :]

[mysticstarlightduck]

Incorrect Quotes Tag!

Tagged by the very cool, @rickie-the-storyteller! Find her post here!

This is the link to the generator.

Since the last time I did this, I used my characters from The Last Wrath, this time, I did this tag for my main cast of Tales of Wilted Flowers!

It is mostly platonic, the only ships here are: Rylisan/Eiralis, and Xarian/Lorelai.

Micah, Caladin, Arista, and Neoma'ka are their friends and adventuring companions. Kaellel is Eiralis' estranged older brother and Niven is one of Rylisan's many siblings.

Xarian: Is something burning? 

Lorelai (leaning seductively on the counter): Just my desire for you. 

Xarian: Lorelai, the toaster is literally on fire.

-----

Kaellel (flying down to camp like nothing’s wrong in the world): Sorry I'm late, I was doing stuff.

Rylisan: YOU PUSHED ME DOWN THE FUCKING STAIRS!

-----

Eiralis to Rylisan: Turn that frown upside-down!

*a little while later*

Eiralis: What are you doing?

Rylisan, trying to do a handstand: You told me to “turn that frown upside-down” but it is not working.

-----

Xarian: I'm going to ask you to be respectful.

Caladin: I will politely decline.

-----

Rylisan: Did you just refer to a knife as a “people-opener”?

Arista (a dhampir with issues): …

Arista: …Should I not have?

-----

Neoma’ka: While you were caught up in your heterosexuality, I studied the way of the blade!

------

Lorelai: Do you have a self-care routine?

Kaellel: "Keep going bitch,” said to myself in different accents.

Eiralis, coming into the room: Kaellel, no.

-------

Rylisan, stoically amused: Do you need help getting up?

Caladin, after a drunken brawl: Nah, I'm cool down here on the floor.

------

Eiralis: Sometimes I'll start a sentence and I don't even know where it's going. I just hope I find it along the way.

------

Xarian, incredulous:... You’re giving me a sticker?

Lorelai: Not just a sticker. That is a sticker of a kitty saying “me-wow!”

Xarian: … 

Xarian: I’m not a preschooler.

Lorelai: Fine, I’ll take it back-

Xarian: I earned this, back off!

-------

Kaellel, eyeing Rylisan with a death glare: It’s not that I don’t trust Eiralis, I just... don’t trust my sister's impulse control. Especially when it comes to you.

-------

Eiralis: *eating a cinnamon roll*

Rylisan, feigning shock: Cannibalism.

Eiralis: *confused chewing noises*

--------

Micah: Now, if I may speak for good-looking people everywhere...

Kaellel, walks past: Only as their rodeo clown.

--------

Lorelai: Neoma’ka, no.

Neoma’ka, cracking her knuckles, walking towards a fight: Neoma’ka, yes.

--------

Lorelai: Why do humans have different blood groups?

Caladin, looking at Arista: So mosquitoes can enjoy different flavors.

Arista: *vampiric hiss*

-------

Rylisan: What can therapy do for me that screaming for 30 minutes can’t?

Niven: I have several questions... Namely why are you like this?

-------

Micah: Maybe the true treasure was friendship all along. But I hope not, because I can’t spend my friendship on new clothes.

-------

Rylisan: You're violent.

Arista: Yeah but I'm also short and that's adorable.

--------

Caladin: I was arrested for being too cool.

Xarian: The charges were dropped due to a lack of supporting evidence.

--------

Xarian: Isn’t it a bit dangerous?

Lorelai: Xarian, please. We’ve been in a lot of unexpected predicaments before and we always escape unhurt.

Xarian: …

Lorelai: Okay, we sometimes escape unhurt.

Xarian, narrows his eyes: ...

Lorelai: Alright, we escaped unhurt once... Then we hurt ourselves on the way home.

---------

Rylisan: Do we have any orange juice left?

Kaellel: *pours the remaining juice into their cup without breaking eye contact*

Kaellel: Sorry, we’re all out.

---------

Xarian: What is the most illegal thing you can do with one gold?

Neoma’ka: Exchange it for a hundred copper, put them all in a sock, and then beat someone to death with it.

----------

Rylisan: Niven, I screwed up, big time.

Niven (downing a glass of wine, done with life): Brother dearest, given your daily life experiences, you’re gonna have to be more specific.

---------

Arista: Now it's time for some witty back and forth banter. You go first.

Caladin: *sobbing*

Arista: Look, my dude, I'm not sure where to go with that.

---------

Lorelai: That was so hot, Xarian.

Xarian: I literally called the person who just flirted with you a degenterate dog and told them I hope they get dragged through the streets.

Lorelai: I'm so in love with you.

---------

Kaellel: You know, Micah, you are the sun in my life.

Micah: Why? Cause I'm smoking hot?

Kaellel: Because it hurts my eyes looking at you. LEAVE MY HOUSE-

---------

Neoma’ka: What do you do for a living?

Rylisan: I exist against my will.

---------

Eiralis: Hey, Rylisan, do you have any hobbies?

Rylisan: Swimming..

Eiralis: Really? That’s cool. I never expected you to-

Rylisan: In a pool of self-hatred and regret.

---------

Micah: As a responsible adult-

Caladin: *chuckles*

Micah:… As a responsible adult—

----------

Lorelai: Wow, that was quick thinking on that phony sacrifice stuff.

Xarian: Oh, that was all real.

Rylisan (interrupts): Wait, you were trying to help them kill us?!

Xarian: Well, If I’m gonna be sacrificed, I’m gonna do it right!

Lorelai:... He has a point.

---------

Tagging: @writernopal, @tabswrites, @cabbojage, @clairelsonao3 and @liv-is.

[lezbrarian]

Title: Come On Down To The Lavender Luck Lounge

**Alright, I made a post already with the proper embedded AO3 version, but in case people are not into that ... idk this is my first go around of this ... I'll also make it a text post here as well. I did it -- I wrote some casino AU fanfic inspired by these outfits, in which Dan is a stuffy dry accounting manager and Phil is the owner of the casino. Thank you @dapg-otmebytheballs for the additional inspiration with your tags! And thank you to the anon who provided me with the name of the casino!

***

Title: Come On Down To The Lavender Luck Lounge

Rating:

Mature

Relationships:

Dan Howell/Phil Lester

Dan Howell & Phil Lester

Summary:

Gay Casino AU: Mr. Philip Lester is the suave, flamboyant owner of a queer casino and resort, Lavender Luck Lounge. Mr. Daniel Howell is the uptight and dry accounting manager for the casino. This fic was inspired by the outfits from these videos, respectively: Daniel's: (Dystopia Daily: Dan and Phil Finally Tell the Truth) Philip's: (DAPG: Roasting Our Own Red Carpet Fashion)

Notes:

This is a work in progress. It may become longer; I may leave it at this. It's just something I was inspired to write after I saw a post on tumblr with the outfits mentioned above. I'm not sure what the plot is or will be, I just wanted to play around in this gay casino alternate universe and see where it takes these characters. Speaking of which, I'll make an obligatory disclaimer. This is a piece of fiction merely inspired by the online personas of Dan and Phil to create these characters and universe. This is not speculating on the real personal lives of Dan or Phil, and I very much do not want this to be sent to Dan/Phil in any way. So please don't do that. So far the story is not explicit/graphic, but I chose to mark this as mature as it's going to feature themes of drinking, smoking, sex and "adult" language by nature of being set in a casino.

*** The casino was buzzing. The gaudy abundance of neon-light up signs were emitting a baseline hum, always there comfortingly familiar. This alone could barely be heard over the rest of the noise that almost always populated the place. The ding! and shing sha-shing cartoon cash sound effects of the slot machines. An occasional male voice over of JACKPOT or WINNER! Then there was the sloshed singles clamoring for the bartenders’ attention at the multiple themed bars. There were the slightly out-of-place yet confident bachelorette parties of straight woo girls. They shrieked and giggled and stiletto-stumbled their way around the casino in large packs. There were the dealers whose voices cut through the chaos with practice. Notes of brassy jazz or Kim Petras might float off the performers’ stages out to the main floor during burlesque or drag shows, respectively. Then of course the cacophony of having so many people in one room, endless conversations converging together into one collective murmur.

On days like this, there was all that buzz, and then some. Because today the rumor that the owner would be here was once again stirring. It didn’t matter that Mr. Lester dropped in frequently, as a very hands-on owner of the casino and resort hotel attached. Nearly every employee lost it each time this frequent rumor spread through the halls, acting as if someone had said an A-list celebrity would be visiting the casino. Employees scrambled and preened and eagerly awaited Mr. Lester’s arrival. That was just about every employee would. There was at least one person who absolutely refused to participate in what he referred to as “juvenile gossip and infatuation.” This would be the accounting manager, Mr. Howell. He mostly hid away in his office, the only place in the casino void of the “tacky” neon lights and oh-so-80s casino furniture and carpeting. Daniel’s office was the only place Mr. Lester had relinquished control on décor. Daniel had claimed he couldn’t work “like this” with a sweeping gesture to the main lobby as Philip had toured him around on the day of his interview. Philip couldn’t help feeling slightly impressed perhaps at the nerve to diss his casino before he was even hired. Plus Daniel was good for the job. He didn’t need the accountant to love casino life. He needed him to love numbers. And Phil would never admit it out loud, but any time he ventured into Mr. Howell’s office, it did provided a much-needed relief to his senses.

In here, there was almost silence and there was a break from the strong smell of pina colada and smoke. Mr. Lester would never allow cigarettes inside, but there was a classy cigar lounge and the smoke clung to clothes and then subsequently, crushed velvet seat cushions and thick carpet fibers. Daniel’s office was meticulously tidy and organized. Uncluttered. As opposed to the neon and flashing lights, and led strips that lined the hallways and floorboards out there – in here there were just soft warm lamps, maybe an open blind. The only smells a fresh inoffensive candle or the faintest hint of Daniel’s aftershave. The floor was an almost sterile white tile, if it weren’t for the rest of the décor in nearly all black to balance it out. One accent wall was painted black too, and the others a nice off-white. A few plants draped their leaves dramatically over bookshelves or the side of his desk. It was ridiculous and unnecessary but it was Daniel’s office and his own money out of his pocket – the desk housed a modern desktop computer, but also an old-fashioned calculator and huge yellowing-white computer from the ‘90s complete with a clacky keyboard. His desk was otherwise cleared, any important documents and office supplies organized neatly in drawers. There were some tasteful books on bookshelves, which Philip guessed were chosen more for their spines and color than their content. The important documents and useful books were tucked away in filing cabinets. And of course it was still a casino, so Phil’s only influence in the room (or so Daniel let Philip believe) was the occasional gold accent piece here or there.

No matter how many times Mr. Howell indicated his complete disinterest in these frequent announcements that Mr. Lester was coming with a flat monotone “alright” or “and?” – one of the youngest and most flamboyant employees would flit into his office on their OMG he’s coming! casino tour. It certainly seemed to be more about the message-bearer than any actual response to this delivery of news, as they never skipped Daniel’s office on this rumor tour.

***

Daniel’s office door rattled closed and quickly as it had been flung open. He felt his skull rattle in its frame the same way the door rattled in its own. He sighed. He didn’t bother even giving the messenger a response today. He thinks it was Felix, one of the servers for the drag shows. But it was hard to keep track of them all, especially when he spent most of his time tucked away in this office, only to be interrupted for moments like these.

Each time someone opened his door – the casino seemed to seep into his office, his sanctuary. He swore he could smell cheap perfume and well liquor. And when he blinked the led lights of the hallway were still in his vision. He closed his eyes and rubbed at them and then his temples, attempting to regain the focus and flow he’d been in before.

Plenty of the employees and even people in Daniel’s personal life wondered why on earth he took this job, if he seemed to detest it so much. He seemed so bothered with the casino atmosphere, so why this job? Well Philip had promised him he really could just stay behind this desk, not dealing with anything other than the numbers, the input and output of money. He would have the occasional meeting, and other than that he could live in his own little world crunching numbers, completely hyper-focused and zoned out from the casino world. Calculate this, manage that. Something to keep his hands and mind busy, and the thoughts out. Of course he’d worked other types of money management and accounting jobs. But he was always being dragged into other areas of business, managing employees. And that always really meant managing other people’s emotions, which he was not in the business of. Plus there were not many places he could merge his queer identity and his money management. He absolutely despised the jobs he’d worked on Wall Street, with fratty finance bros in their polos and khakis or drab blue suits and crisp baby blue button-ups. Yeah, that was not for him. The Lavender Luck Lounge casino aesthetic might have swung entirely too far in the other direction for him, but at least he was not expected to fist bump and contribute to heterosexual male small talk here. Sure it was flashy and tacky and way, way too colorful. But the workplace was ostensibly queer. The bartenders, servers, dealers, and bouncers were an impressive and intimidating mix of cool tattooed lesbians, big burly bears, adorable flamboyant twinks, nonbinary hotties with names like Twig, and the list could go on and on. There was an incredibly talented and diverse cast of drag queens and burlesque performers. All the employees were encouraged to be themselves and dress how they felt comfortable. Yes, Daniel found this place to be overstimulating and frankly gaudy for his own taste, but he would take that any day over a boring cookie cutter cubicle where he had to dress the same as every other man in the building.

Daniel was having a hard time getting back into his focus after Felix, or had it been Striker, had flung their long braids over their shoulder and bounced out of the room. He couldn’t get their damn singsongy Mr. Leeeeester is coooomiiiing! out of his head, like an annoying ear worm of a song. He sat up straight at his computer. Though Philip had made sure to have his desk and chair measured for ergonomics, Daniel found himself slouching at it frequently. At 6’3” he was just use to slouching and hunching at most desks. He fussed with his blazer, which was black with a thin white gird pattern today. He liked to dress well for the job, fashionable but nothing too flashy. He had never asked if there was a dress code, but Mr. Lester had also never provided him with a set of rules or dress code either. Judging from the range of casual to full on costume-garb among the other employees – he was pretty sure he could wear just about anything to work and it would be fine. But like his office, he preferred a style that was well-kempt, chic, lowkey but stylish. And it was almost always black and white head to toe. Today he let the blazer be the focus, with a fitted grey shirt underneath and the blazer open. He paired black slacks that tapered and revealed the ankle. To be fair this is how he had to wear most slacks at his height, unless he shopped at Big and Tall, which he most certainly did not. But he didn’t mind – the tapered ankle-showing look was in as far as he could tell. He wore a sensible but expensive sock and a shiny black loafer. The only bit of accessorizing he ever did was one small hoop earring on one side, which he’d had since his days in college, and a fancy silver watch which he’d acquired once he graduated and made some Wall Street money. In fact, it was one bit of his daily outfit from those days that he’d kept in the rotation. He’d tossed most of his ties, finding them stuffy – plus they reminded him of his all-boys-school uniform days. Not great memories there. His outfit today was fairly similar to what he wore most days, and it seemed Mr. Lester had no problem with it. In fact, he’d even give Daniel an occasional “looking snazzy, Howell.” Daniel dressed with the goal that nobody on the street would look at him and think that guy works in a casino. Daniel thought Mr. Lester dressed like he must want every person on planet earth to know he owned a casino. He often barely managed to be out of eye sight of Philip before he rolled his eyes at whatever flashy thing Philip had donned that day.

He'd had his eyes closed for quite some time. Still gently rubbing the bridge of his nose and his temples. Before he knew it, his door was being knocked on and flung open before he could answer “come in” again.

“I know he’s com—”

“Who’s coming, Mr. Howell?” Philip asked and Daniel swore he heard an ounce of amusement, perhaps innuendo in his voice?

“Not me – I mean, never mind doesn’t matter. Hi, I thought you were someone else.” Oh, god. He wasn’t the most social person, but he’d like to be able to at least perform these standard social interactions without completely fumbling.

“Okie dokie” Phil said sincerely. Daniel was sure he was the only person in the world who could pull off that phrase without an ounce of sarcasm. “Well I’m sorry to disappoint you that I’m not someone else, but I just dropped by to remind you about our meeting later today!”

Daniel is positive Philip never mentioned this meeting, but this was par for the casino owener’s course. He worked hard, and ultimately ran a tight ship. He made his employees genuinely happy and actually cared about how they were doing. He was a good hands-on owner. He was charming and whip smart too, with innovative ideas and solutions. But he was a total fucking scatterbrain. His office, not unlike the stark difference between Daniel’s and his stylistic choices in clothing, was the exact opposite of Daniel’s. Where Dan’s desk was tidy, uncluttered, a sleek black desk with a piece of green-tinted glass over it – there was virtually no way of knowing what color or nearly even where Philip’s desk was in his office. His office might as well not have a desk or shelves since you couldn’t see them anyway under the piles and piles of loose papers, notebooks, post-it-notes and knick-knacks. In Phil’s office, the aesthetic of the casino and resort certainly bled over. There were neon light-up signs in here too – one large one read Here, Queer, I Can Always Lend an Ear! – and there was a plasma ball and definitely more than one lava lamp. The office was slightly more pastel, softer compared to the deep reds and purples of the customer-facing areas of the Lavender Luck Lounge. But this man was born to own a casino. Daniel had no doubt this would not be far off from how Philip’s actual house was decorated. He didn’t know how Mr. Lester found anything at all in here, let alone keep track of anything truly important. It was no wonder he was lucky to get even a notice about a meeting earlier in the day. Daniel preferred plenty of notice, meetings written down in his perfect color-coded calendar weeks in advance. But he was used to this part of the job by this point. And everything else ran pretty smoothly, especially since all important financial documents came straight to his own office. So he was willing to let it slide that meetings often came with little to no warning. And, though he would never admit it, a little change of environment and routine was nice every now and then. Sometimes they would meet in Phil’s office. But there were conference rooms in the resort they would use sometimes as well.

“Does that work for you?” Philip asked.

Fuck. He had stopped paying attention again.

“Hmm.. what’s working for me?”

“The … time? For the meeting?” Philip didn’t seem annoyed, but maybe even a bit concerned. “You alright, Daniel? You seem distracted.”

Shit. He couldn’t possibly ask Philip to repeat the time again. Too embarrassing. No, he’d have to bribe a bartender or someone to go subtly ask Mr. Lester if he had a meeting later that day, and the get the time from them.

“Yes! Works for me,” Daniel answered with too much enthusiasm now.

Philip turned then, his heeled boots making a nice loud click-clack against the tile in his office. In this entire interaction Daniel had barely actually looked at Philip. His boots were shiny black snakeskin (Daniel assumed it was faux, but expensive nonetheless), and they had a modest heel that gave Philip an extra two or three inches to his already tall height of 6’2”. He was wearing slacks very similar to Dan’s --- tapered nicely at the ankle above his boots. But on second glance, Philip’s were a deep, deep red beyond red wine or burgundy – appearing almost black at first. And his shirt – it was a silky long-sleeve button down. The shirt was more of a cherry red with an abstract black water color stripey effect. And he had the first few buttons undone, exposing his pale chest and a surprising amount of dark chest hair for an otherwise clean shaven man. He was sporting a delicate gold chain necklace as well. He certainly looked like he owned a casino, more so than usual even. His looks often leaned a bit more flashy, sparkly even. But today – he was looking almost, dare someone say, sleazy? But in a swanky and suave way still, somehow, he was pulling it all off.

Before Philip closed the door and left, he leaned back into the doorframe.

“I like that blazer, Howell. You should wear that one more often.”

Daniel was certainly not oblivious to what was so charming about Mr. Lester, or why he seemed to have an entire casino’s worth of employees wrapped around his finger.

And without a response, Philip closed the door behind him. Daniel could still hear his heels clicking down the hallway, until he reached the carpeted main floor.

***

[neverevan]

inspiration saturday 🌙✨

Thank you for the tag @forthewolves mwuah 💛✨

I've been mostly working on the mudslide fic lately, but I also have this thing coming up after, that I lovingly titled the jealous!Eddie fic in my head. I haven't got all that much written for it yet, but I have already been gushing about it to Amanda in our daily 2k buddie letters lol

Buck is dating and Eddie's grumpier about it than usual. This trope is a good old classic, but why fix it if it ain't broken, right?

The rest of the shift was tense, but worse than that, it messed with their rythm. Buck and Eddie had never had issues working together ever since defusing that damned bomb on Eddie's first week. They always knew what the other was thinking without having to voice it, they were a well-oiled machine, their movements always connected and smooth, but now... They were jagged, stop-starting and disconnecting with faux politeness and thinly veiled frustration on both sides.

Buck could barely wait to get home.

After they spent an hour and a half rescuing a couple of hikers from a mudtrap Buck felt like the incredible amount of mud covering him from head to toe was the only thing heavier than the silence between him and Eddie. He wasn't used to this was the thing. They never fought over anything more than Buck letting Chris have cookies for dinner or Eddie insisting that he was ready to come back to work a day after cracking a few ribs.

This was something else.

The buzzing of his phone pulled him out of his thoughts and brought a smile onto his face, just big enough to crack some of the dried mud on his cheeks.

Hey, hope you're having a good day. We're still on for tomorrow, right?

Buck quickly typed in his response (Sure, I'll pick you up at 7) and dropped his phone on top of his towel before he started stripping off his quickly hardening turnout gear.

His smile turned into a frown when he saw Eddie a few steps away, clenching his jaw.

"What?" Buck snapped before he could even realise that he was talking.

"Nothing." Eddie slammed the door to his locker and stomped off, presumably to the showers.

"Whatever," Buck mumbled darkly.

He had no idea what had gotten into Eddie, but he hoped he'll get over it soon, because they had weekend plans with Christopher and Buck really didn't wanna have a conversation with him about why his dad had a problem with Buck dating a guy.

Especially because he couldn't explain it if he tried.

Uhhh as per usual I don't know who to tag, so you know, if you wanna do it, just consider yourself tagged! 💛

[boxwinebaddie]

hellloo helloooo uncle nina i just wanted to say i am soooo in love with pep and rm and You!!! you are so cool and awesome and i really admire your personality and your style and your dedication!!! it’s so beautiful that you care so much about the story and the characters, the way you portray stan and kyle as polar opposites but in the most gorgeous way possible. i am genuinely jaw dropped every time i read any of your works because every single word just feels so carefully picked out it gives me goosebumps

you seem like the nicest, funniest, most honest person ever and it’s so sweet that you care so much about your readers, you seem like you’re really easy to talk to!! you seem so genuine and human it’s really comforting and im sorry if this is weird hshsj i just think you’re one of the coolest people ever

hello lovely, <3

i'm sorry it took me so long to respond to your message and please know that it was not from apathy or disinterest, but rather, because i spent many days marveling at this message and, quite frankly:

you, darling.

now, i imagine it must be frightfully hard to type what with your laptop threatening to fall through whatever delicious cotton candy cloud you're resting on somewhere in the sky, winged and wonderful, or that it must be terribly difficult to get a word in edge wise, what with all the little forest creatures chirping happily away at you or with all the flowers and vines swirling around your wrists, growing in your direction, thriving under the sunshine your soul emits so effortlessly.

still, despite the innumerable challenges that you must endure daily as an ethereal earth angel and a person more precious than any rare metal, i thank you, petal, for taking the time to send this message to me and please, if you can, spare me some grace as i attempt to write a response that is even half as lovely as the message you wrote me.

( also a lot of this isn't relevant i am just talking a lot: writer girl L. )

first off, it means so much to me that you enjoy my work, my friend.

i really do write from the heart and i am glad that it shows. :')

writing is something that has always felt as easy as breathing to me, its equal parts relaxing and cathartic to me as well as my favorite thing in the world to do -- specifically writing FF, which rocks because i get what i love and share it with people who do too! <3

and i know this is my hobby for fun, but i do...take the things i write a little bit too seriously. mostly in the sense that i want to write beautiful and evocative things, nice things, quality content, because other wise, what am i doing? it's one thing to waste my time, but its another thing entirely to waste yours. you deserve good things.

that's why the things i write take so long, i guess? because i do try to choose my words carefully. i change sentences several times, sometimes multiple times even after i have published a chapter just because i am committed to putting out the best version of what i write that i can. not even just in terms of objectively good writing...academically...but in Feeling.

if i'm writing something and you're just reading it and not feeling it than i am doing something wrong, haha. <3

( it's also why i snapped at that anon the other day...because i already work so hard to put good content out and exert myself a lot to do so, that being badgered like that or being made to seem like i don't care about my fanfics when i format them intricately for DAYS...irks me...

...also because the tag is already so dead, interest is already so low, so to set your expectations so high of me, that stress and anxiety of which being what made me pause peppermint to begin with, when i honestly, because of the lack of engagement/inspiration, considered disappearing into the woods and never updating again...was whack. )

BUT! moving on! it thrills me so much that you like stan and kyle and like their dynamic. like, i know it's cringey to call your favorite fictional characters your sons, or whatever, but seriously, they are kind of like...my sons i'm not even kidding. i will take being cringe; its fine.

my boys, my boys, my boys. i love being a boy mom, lmaoooo <3

like they were whatever 2d character skeleton matt and trey created, but in pep specifically, i put a lot of me in them, a lot of my real experiences, my personality, virtues, flaws, and my humanity. so i'm glad that they feel real to you, because they are living in a sense that i tried to breathe as much life into them as i could. they're...very me.

also that polar opposites comment made me kick my feet because i loooove opposites attract ships. it's literally my favorite favorite ship. i specifically really like opposites attract where one of them is really sweet and the other one is really mean, loud/quiet, intro/extrovert.

more specifically even before i was a style girl, my favorite characters to write are....not even joking... 'mean, gay, introverted, academic, solitaire, nerd character who thinks everyone is a fucking idiot' and like 'beautiful troubled pyrite golden boy atlas who who smiles the widest out of anyone but is the most miserable out of everyone'.

so style really just kind of fell in my lap. south park blessed me, truly.

( i also really got comfortable writing kenny and bebe, because i really like characters with layers that get typecasted by their apperance, but are so drastically different behind the scenes, but no one looks.

its also why i did not immediately gravitate towards creek...not only is the fanon really aggressive, but i just do not have the same understanding/innate feeling of them...so if they sound weird in rm...its really difficult for me to write them: i'm sorry if they're flat. )

but back to stan and kyle...my sons who i raised lmao...

they're co-dependent and like soul bonded, but its important to me that they are seen as individuals because they are so different and their differences bring out the best in each other. love them omg.

i actually kind of got a little nervous writing rm ( for a lot of reasons ), but because they're still opposites attract style but in a different font and they smell different and act different askhdlashd which i thought people might think is ooc because they're different than pep, but they are actually...in character i swear. i like very consciously designed them to make sense even they it don’t right now. *sweats*

i know i don’t have to explain myself or owe any kind of explanation for myself, but it validates me because…

good plot and things connecting is a large part of my foundation and belief system as a writer. i like when things work together. when stuff feels not important or is weird...it pisses me off, lmao. which is why i scrapped the recent kyle chapters...and its why rm is so complicated because i'm carrying you guys through the dark basically, haha.

so skhdlksad tldr: thank you for enjoying my stories! i work hard on the word choices, characterizations and plot!

...but more than that, it i feel many, infinite and all-encompassing happinesses knowing that you enjoy me as a person. :)

using the word "person" feels very important to me because i have never been very fond of the idea of being just a "fanfiction author" and you all being my "readers". something about that feels very stale...and dehumanizing.

which is why, when i first wrote peppermint, i signed it with nina. it's also why i write such long, deranged author's notes before my chapters and respond to you with such ( sometimes, i fear, overwhelming ) excitement and verbiage in my comments section!

it's because i want you to see that i am a person who aims to write so vividly and candidly about fake people, that the real people reading it feel seen by it. and that you know, in doing so, in representing you in some way, that i see you, honor you and love you very, very much.

it's also why i made this tumblr! because i just wanted to chat with you guys more and show you that i exist outside of ao3. and while it was fun doing all the social medias ( i do really miss the tiktok and stuff ), i was a little scared it was becoming too like, me acting like a weird celebrity? pandering? not being humble? idk? i was also a little scared with being too careless on the internet. a lot of things...but mostly because i felt like it was creating a weird creator/reader thing.

and i never want you to feel like that, like there's a wall or something.

you and me, all of you and me, i see us all as equal and quite frankly, i value you over me! you are not people reading my fic, but my friends.

and friends, i think, use each others names which is why i gave you mine because being called boxwinebaddie felt...criminally insane.

but aaaaa!! i'm so glad you think i am sweet ( i try very hard to be kind always, it hurts my stomach so bad to be mean, i hate it ) and funny and...most notably, honest?! i really do feel like being authentic with all of you is important. which is why i am vulnerable on here, to show you that i am human and flawed and that if you are, that's okay!

if you are scared to make mistakes, don't worry! i'll make them <3

i specifically liked the recent installment of being called uncle nina because it just feels very warm and zesty to me. <3 i really do try to give off cool older sister energy or crazy but cool zany aunt vibes :)

and...to be honest?

in regards to being comforting and easy to talk to:

….i think i am???!! dhsjkssk

i am the therapy friend. this is a safe place and i do really pride myself on being someone who is easy to talk to. with that said, talk to me any time, lovie! you can always message me about anything! any time of day! i am here to help you. i want you to feel loved, cared about and safe. its imperative to me that you do.

if you need help, seek help. <3

if you are having a hard day, i will read to you in the bad kyle new jersey accent and make u a peppermint cocoa.

my dms are your dms, my ask box is your ask box! i apprecaite all kinds of mesages and actually, i really like, when i am sad, if people will just tell me about stuff they've been dealing with! or something that made them smile! a crush they have! how theyre doing, etc!

but before i go on too, too, toooooo, long, thank you darling for your message, i'm glad my fanfiction and i feel authetic and warm to you.

please treat yourself everyday with the kindness i would treat you.

and from whatever hurts or harms, my miracle,

i hope that you heal. <3333333

-uncle nina :’)

[eartheats]

hello hello!

oh arceus is this even working right, well, here we go anyway

hiya! the name's ren, and welcome to this silly lil blog! guess i'm just gonna kinda use this as a like, lil place to kind of jot down my daily life, but it's nice to meet you guys! hope i can find some fellow steel type enthusiasts here :)

and that big ol' lug in the background is my partner, lulu! named him when i was six and it's stuck ever since lmao. he's been my partner since i was a tyke and i wouldn't trade him for the world, no sir

i'm just a little person here who works in zapapico at the local pokemarts--i'm trying to get this out before my shift starts, but feel free to come and say hey if you see me! as you can see by the old duds i'm a former uva academy student (dropped out, i just don't have time to shop for new clothes lmao, but really who does!!), and i also used to work at the chansey supply in montenevera? that's really about it. my ask box is open for just about anything though, so feel free to hit me up!!

anyway, shift's about to start, gotta head! i'll get back to here later <3

((OOC notes below the cut!))

((hello! name's sable, late 20s+, they/them nouns exclusively. this is just a lil thing i decided to do because it seems fun, and i may as well have fun as a character elsewhere.

ren's age is 23 (officially canonized), i have not tumblr RP'd before and i'm mostly just using this to be creative and do some stupid funny things! please keep stuff sfw and we'll be golden.

follows will come from @shinydracozolt, but interactions will be on this blog exclusively. lemme know if you need trigger tags and i will do what i can to accomidate! ren's mostly a goofball who loves their worm and pokemon in general with some Backstory Stuff but yeah.

update!! there will be some shenanigans with @ribesrubrum on occasion, if anyone wants me to tag that for filtering lmk!))

[alcego]

Words Written: 2,082 words Projects:

Commission - Slow going. Moved it back into GDocs so I can write at work. I think the format is what's throwing me the most - it's not a style I usually work in and I am in a touch over my head. It's fully planned and otherwise moving along well.

REDO-REPEAT - Wrote this AFTG fic on a whim, chasing motivation-inspiration to get the gears oiled up. It's not everything the idea could be, but I'm happy with what it is given why I wrote it. Not everything needs to be perfect lol. You can read it here, but do mind the tags.

Original Work - Haven't spent much time on my original work, although I do have an idea percolating in the back of my head that I should probably rough out soon. I have a couple other shorts that need to be re-drafted, but I think I need more space from them before I get going again.

Notes:

Wasn't feeling great this week for a variety of reasons. I'm trying to catch back up on life after my second ever kidney infection (caught it early enough this time that my suffering was significantly easier to deal with), not to mention worrying and checking in on Winnie daily now that she's due to foal any day now. (Most likely she has a week or two left. However, sometimes they progress very quickly, so it's prudent to be watchful.) There are other things going on beyond that, of course, but suffice it to say I've been overwhelmed and that is not conducive to writing for me.

Have been consistently frustrated that I don't have a good "writing nook", which has been doubly frustrating because I have several places from which to work, but none of them have been facilitating Getting Things Done. This is a problem for writing but it's equally troubling on my WFH days. Lately I've been most productive in bed. I do not like this, as my bed is supposed to be for sleeping only. Have been looking into purchasing a used chair/ottoman for writing purposes, but there are a lot of logistics to consider there.

In a similar note to the above, I'm irritated by the size of my MacBook. It's a 13", which I ordered during the pandemic and decided it was "good enough" upon realizing it was smaller than expected. I no longer think this, as the keyboard is cramped and the screen doesn't have as much space as I'd like. I've considered going back to my old 17" Dell, which I wrote on prior to purchasing this laptop, but that laptop has fallen victim to planned obsolescence and is unable to receive the updates it needs to function at the level I require. I've looked into larger MacBooks (for budgeting purposes, mostly, although I wonder if I could trade-in my old laptops and have enough store credit for a used one?) but so far as I can tell the keyboard does NOT scale, which is irritating, as I'd prefer one with slightly larger keys so I stop stumbling over how close everything is. The other option is go back to Windows, but this is problematic as I very much prefer the iCloud files syncing to access my WIPs from my phone. Basically: no good solutions. I'll have to keep looking, which is fine, because I don't have the budget to get anything yet.

Not sure how to tie this in, as I suspect it's related to most, if not all, of my whining, but I've been noticing yet again that I have more "luck" writing analog than I do when I'm working on my phone or laptop. That makes it harder to track what I've written, but it's functional, and has gotten me through several sticking points.

Not sure what I'm going to work on after this commission is complete. I think, tentatively, that I might finish a JereJean PWP that has been on the backburner for a while, then finish roughing out my ex-mixtape fic (I got sick and ran out of time, so dropped the event) before polishing it for posting. After that, I want to revisit Vestigial, which has been shelved for a while. I'm hoping that if I get back in the groove of finishing stories, I'll be in a better headspace to get back to my original work, but we'll see. Nothing's set in stone just yet, and my writing stamina isn't high enough yet that I can just bust through any of these without long term repercussions. Slow and steady is key for a bit.

[goodnighttwincest]

Mental Illness Moment.png implored me to distract myself and thus this blog happened lmfao. LOOK if I drop this gig in a few weeks don't blame me 😭

Intro Post ٩(˃̶͈̀௰˂̶͈́)و

You can call me Ravi!!!

like the e/pic 7 character only because i steal all my names from that game

Bodily 16, POC + a system, and unapologetically proship

I don't do queer/syscourse !!

Actually dxed with ADHD, self dx autism/bp2/and Maybe bpd depending on how bad things continue playing out (bro i hate my life)

My goal for this blog? Reblog a lot of stuff, cry about antis, cry about mental illness.png, and maybe make friends???? Before I inevitably disappear again ofc

I'll mostly reblog stuff + post about personal hardships and proship stuff so if that bothers you I advise you not to follow!!

(Also hoping to rope proshippers into Idolish7 because this series needs to be infested with proshippers more. We have incest + minor/adult + toxic yaoi + power imbalance struggles you guys 🥺)

Stances + BYF

Proship/Comship/Selfship/Profic/Fujin/Whatever Dude IDK-friendly

Pro-systems of any origins; endos and non-traumagenic systems friendly (speaking as a traumagenic sys)

Pro non-contact para, pro-recovery, pro-self dx, pro-otherkin/furry/therian, pro-be a gentle and kind person to everyone (even antis) (like,, I try my best)

Pro-l0lish0!!!!!! <- from a l0licon (/r) and sh0tacon (/r + /sx)

Mostly neutral regarding radinclus but I do like twisting genders and sexualities into funny shapes. Plus I respect your choices to be whatever as long as you don't make others hurt. So.

Anti radqueer/sysmeds/terfs & transmeds/zionists

Anti rcta/transids.

RPF proship is rlly iffy... either keep it strictly to yourself and out of sight of creators or do it publicly only when people involved consent (I'm mostly using m/c/y/t as a framework here)

Strictly NO RPF shit involving child actors and children. In fiction is fine.

(I'm not very vocal about the stuff I'm against but just know that I personally dislike it lol)

BYF: I experience severe age lag and also adults terrify me due to personal trauma but feel free to follow and interact!! :') I'd prefer people around or below my bodily age to befriend me though sorry. Also I don't rlly have a DNI but take heed of the list above ig?

Umm extras? I like H/onkai S/tar R/ail and G/enshin lore I guess. And hmu if you like TennRiku/RikuTenn & TouTora plsplspls 🥺

Tags

ravi rambles a lot -> random talking

ravi rambles a lot (ill) -> mental illness vents

ravi's little things -> daily life

[bottomhaztoplou]

Tabby's Writing Game!

Hey, friends and friends-to-be! I'm Tabby, but you might know me better as DaddyAlphaLouisBabyOmegaHarry.

I've hardly ever done any writing games, mostly because I'm super forgetful, but I brainstormed a bit and came up with a whole month's worth of daily writing games.

Some of them you might know already, such as Snippet Sunday, Teaser Tuesday or Last Line, but most of them I've come up with myself (at least to my knowledge). If you feel like joining me, please do! I'd love to see your works, too! That said, don't feel pressured to participate every day.

Here's a schedule for you, if you'd like to participate by queueing things up in advance :)

Monday, May 1st: Melancholy Monday (share an angsty snippet!) Tuesday, May 2nd: Teaser Tuesday (share something from an upcoming chapter in your WIP or a snippet of a work you'll post soon!) Wednesday, May 3rd: Whatever-You-Want Wednesday (self-explanatory!) Thursday, May 4th: Three-Line Thursday (share three lines of any one work, consecutive or not!) Friday, May 5th: Freaky Friday (share a smutty snippet!) Saturday, May 6th: Snuggly Saturday (fluffy snippet time! bonus points for actual snuggles!)

Sunday, May 7th: Snippet Sunday (share a bit of your current WIP!) Monday, May 8th: Misfit Monday (share a snippet involving a misfit character!) Tuesday, May 9th: Title-Drop Tuesday (you finally figured out what to title that fic! share it with us!) Wednesday, May 10th: Whump Wednesday (share some character-based angst!) Thursday, May 11th: Talk-Less Thursday (share a snippet with no dialogue!) Friday, May 12th: Finale Friday (share a snippet of the final scene or chapter of a work!) Saturday, May 13th: Sexy Saturday (share some sexy content, but NOT smut!)

Sunday, May 14th: Scary Sunday (from full-on horror to a simple jumpscare, post a character getting startled!) Monday, May 15th: Masturbation/Mutual Masturbation Monday (post a character giving themselves some love, or two or more characters enjoying their bodies together!) Tuesday, May 16th: Tummy Appreciation Tuesday (we love a tummy 'round here!) Wednesday, May 17th: WIP Wednesday (share something from your newest WIP!) Thursday, May 18th: Travel Thursday (share a snippet involving travelling!) Friday, May 19th: Fluff Friday (self-explanatory :D) Saturday, May 20th: Silly Saturday (post some characters being silly or them being caught in a silly situation!)

Sunday, May 21st: Sickfic Sunday (is your character sick? this is a perfect opportunity to share some hurt/comfort! Monday, May 22nd: Mixtape Monday (share a fic playlist you've made!) Tuesday, May 23rd: Trolley Tuesday (what would your characters in a fic, WIP or not, have in their shopping cart at the grocery store) Wednesday, May 24th: Word Goal Wednesday (what's your word count goal for a fic you're working on right now?) Thursday, May 25th: Time Warp Thursday (share a snippet of a fic set in the past or the future!) Friday, May 26th: Fic Fest Friday (share a bit of an upcoming fic for a fest!) Saturday, May 27th: Super Saturday (superheroes? supernatural creatures? super-adorable characters? you decide!)

Sunday, May 28th: Soft Sunday (post something extra soft and sweet!) Monday, May 29th: Last Line (what's the last line you wrote?) Tuesday: May 30th: 777 (start on the seventh line of the seventh page of one of your WIPs and post the next seven consecutive lines with no context) Wednesday, May 31st: WIP Title Exposure (post all the titles of your current WIPs without context, no matter how vague!)

I hope you'll join me! :D

I'm not going to tag anyone, because I don't want to bother all my friends, but if you see this, consider yourself tagged!

[mamamittens]

I'm contemplating what to do for Hancock's jewelry and bouncing ideas in my head for the two new Oh Sweet Child requests.

Pending thoughts for jewelry

I'm thinking something like a choker but it's a snake that gently bites the end of its tail. I've long had a motif that folks connected to the RA have a pearl somewhere in their jewelry so maybe the eyes?

Perhaps some scales are gemstones depending on what kinda snake I do though keeping it mostly gold would match with her usual tastes ngl.

Considered a hanging chain from the fangs to a teardrop ruby that is meant to hang between or just under her breasts. I forget if there's a specific name for this but it's usually only done to compliment a plunge neckline or draw the eye to the breasts in general for women--I've never seen this in men's jewelry fashion unless you count dog tags or a ring that is meant to hide under a shirt when desired. Maaayybe 'drops' of rubies down the chain as a sexy intrigue piece that also hunts at how damn dangerous this woman is to get close to.

Okay, so thoughts for Whitebeard's platonic end

I'm not entirely sure on what I'll have for his. Maybe reader has a bad dream (cliche I know lol) and ends up talking to him in a little heart to heart.

Oh! Or maybe reader sneaks out when everyone has passed tf out during a party to try and either escape or get fresh air without being hounded. Idk. Depends on when this takes place cause at the end of Sweet Child they've pretty well resigned to sticking around.

Anyway, party walk, the reader thinks everyone is asleep but as it turns out, Whitebeard tends to be a very light sleeper when on deck and it leads to a soft conversation.

I've tried very hard to not have too much detail in reader's past so it's not specific to anyone--no mention of family or friends--but I have mentioned some vague nothings about "shit choices" implying the marine enlisting wasn't entirely by choice. I didn't have any specific plans for that or secret btw, I just needed something to give the reader a reason to not fold immediately into Whitebeard's crew.

Anyway, I thought it'd be sweet if part of this heart to heart is a conversation about wanting to have a choice in a world that very much doesn't really let you have that. Not knowing what they want to do with their life because they haven't had the ability to put much stock into the future--which is ultimately why they're so passive about their fate despite having a desire to leave.

Which naturally leads to Whitebeard talking about the different reasons he "adopts" his children. The one relevant to the reader is protection and a desire to see them flourish. He didn't seem them out but he knew when they arrived that he wanted them to be apart of his family.

Maybe he suggests they start writing about the many dangerous animals they seem to have a natural ability to charm. At the very least, it gives them an excuse to go after them and well... It's hardly the most dangerous hobby any of his children have picked up Whitebeard adopts feral pirates almost daily he feels kinship at how much reader loves things that could and would rip them to shreds.

And finally Izo.

Izo gives me the most trouble because as far as I'm aware of he's a fan of his guns and he likes cross dressing--if only just in cosmetics and performing traditional Japanese activities that are usually reserved for women like dancing.

I'd need to double check that last part honestly but that's where I'm at right now for understanding his character.

And he hasn't really shown up so I don't have any real basis for his stance on the reader--nor do I have any direction for the request. But I feel like he'd admire the reader not caving into the crew quickly given that it shows they do have dedication and standards.

But I'm pretty lost in bonding for either romantic or platonic senses. At least without getting into conversations about gender which would be difficult to dance around without assigning the reader a specific gender outright.

I know from comments most assume the reader is female and in rather hoping that's because the readers are mostly female as opposed to me missing glaring red "THIS IS NOT A MAN" flags... Which would make me sad cause y'all it's really hard to write some of this stuff without committing to a sex or gender 🥲

But! The point is that from the sounds of it so far, at the very least the reader doesn't typically do any of the cosmetics associated with feminine presenting fashion. So I'd need to be very careful in phrasing to avoid breaking this without talking about "well I'm a dude and dudes don't usually wear lipstick where I'm from" or "I was never a girly girl growing up" cause of the obvious reasons (at least I hope it's obvious).

I'm just not sure what kind of common ground they'd bond over so there's a strong chance it'll be a bit before Izo's comes out, unfortunately.

Perhaps a conversation about duty? And growing last what you'd previously assumed would be your entire life??? That'd be interesting and a unique point only the marine!reader could come from given the drastic difference from marine to full on pirate.

Anyway, I need to sleep now before I completely fuck myself up for work Monday lol

Btw, Melody hasn't been forgotten I just set it down for a moment while I consider how/if I'll drag out the next part before I move Koala into the story.

[tinyboxxtink]

"Betrayed" *Chapter 25* ~Finale~

WHOO HOOOOO!!!!

I finally got my computer to turn on, so I could finish this, so I can FINALLY start writing some Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson fluff. [x reader, not together.]

Yeah, I know, a hell of an inspiration, huh?

I didn't go on and on as much as I had originally planned. Mostly because it's just been so long, and because of the last episode of SVU I just cannot get over Olivia. I couldn't write her anymore. I can't. I don't want her happy. Or nice. EVER.

I hope you enjoy the conclusion of this series; it's been one of my favorites to write.

Chapter 24

Tag List

@madamsnape921

@lolliepopsicle

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@milkshqke

@wanniiieeee

@gibbs274

@sassyada

@aprildecker-blog

@bookishfanfic

@stars-in-the-skies-world

@stars-trash-18

@omgsuperstarg

@objection-argumentative

@thatesqcrush

@shittanyy

@mrsrafaelbarba

@fandom-princess-forevermore

Also, yeah, I kinda weirdly ended it like a movie? But the song is so perfect for the story, I had to.

So, on that note, listen to this song before or after reading.

—----------------

–The Day Of The Rally-

You and Rafael had surprisingly been left alone since your impromptu “press conference” in the hospital. You spent the next few days in ‘marital bliss’, even without being married. That didn’t mean you weren’t planning every detail in your head every minute of the day.

This morning though, you both just sat in the kitchen silently sipping your coffees and reading. You were scrolling through your phone, and Rafael was reading the New York Times newspaper.

“I still can’t believe you read an actual newspaper,” You teased him, causing him to bend the paper down slightly to give you an annoyed look.

“You can’t replace getting that dirty smudge on your fingers from thumbing through a good paper,” he replied while rubbing his thumbs along the edges to make his point.

“But why would you want–?” you started to ask.

“Because I—” he started to go off on a diatribe, but decided against it.

“Never mind,” he shook his head and raised the paper to his face once more. 

“Raffi, it obviously means something,” you pressed, wondering why he was being so weird about a simple question. 

Once more Rafael lowered the paper revealing his face, but this time his expression wasn’t annoyed. It was almost an ashamed look.

“...It will make me sound like an old man,” he confessed. 

“I already know you’re an old man, counselor,” you laughed while running your fingers up and down his lap in a tickling, teasing motion. “And I love you anyway,” 

“Oh, how big of you Miss Reynolds,” he rolled his eyes and raising the paper.  Before it could cover his face, you snatched it from his hand.

“Oh, come on, you know I’m kidding baby,” you gave him a sympathetic smile. 

“I haven’t had enough coffee to find this amusing, Y/N,” he looked at you still unamused by your antics. 

“Alright grumpy cat just tell me what you meant and you can have your paper back,” you went on, unphased by his crotchety behavior. 

“I’ve read the New York Times every morning since I was a young adult,” He finally broke down and began to explain.

“Every morning, rain or shine. Even when I had court dates, I’d bring it to read during recess or lunch,” He looked out into the distance, seemingly talking to no one.

“It’s nice to have something stay the same for once. It’s nice to have a safe daily ritual amongst the chaos and uncertainty of my life right now,” His voice dropped at the end of his spiel, his sad eyes fading back onto the table.

“You know, I won’t go if you really don’t want me to,” you offered.

“What?” His eyebrows furrowed. “No, that’s not– this has nothing to do with you, Y/N,”

“Your life is in chaos because of–” you started.

“Because of decisions and actions, I made and did years ago, not because I’m shacking up with my stalker,” he half laughed. 

“Shacking up with your stalker?” you repeated in a defensive tone. 

“You know what I mean,” He gave you a look. “Besides, you deserve that after your ‘old man’ comment,” 

“Whatever,” you replied in a mocking voice while returning his paper. 

“You know you can dish it with the best of them Miss Reynolds, but you need to learn to take it back willingly,” He smirked.

“Oh, should I ‘take it’ willingly, counselor?” You asked in a suggestive tone. “Are you going to ‘give it to me’?” 

“I swear,” he rolled his eyes. “You young people, always so obsessed with sex,”

“Oh, believe me counselor,” you replied seductively while crawling into his lap. “I think any person of any age would be obsessed with the kind of sex you give,” 

“Well, now you’re just using flattery to win the conversation Miss Reynolds,” He smiled in an amused tone.

“Are you serious?!” You put your hands on either hip while still in his lap. 

“Oh was that supposed to turn me on?” He smirked while keeping his cool. “Well, I think we’ve established I ‘give good sex’ quite enough the past few days, don’t you think Miss Reynolds?”

“I cannot believe you are actually giving me shit right now about–” you started to go off into a rampage.

But before you could, Rafael’s mouth was on yours, quickly shutting you up. After a few seconds of making out, Rafael pulled back slightly and looked you very seriously in the eyes.

“I don’t want your focus to be on anything about ‘us’, today, Y/N,” he said very sincerely. “Remember what started all of this?”

“Yeah, me and my big mouth,” you rolled your eyes. 

“Well, yes,” he chuckled. “Very true. But I mean what started all of…this,” he gestured between the two of you. 

“Seven years ago,” he clarified. 

“Oh,” you replied softly, flashes of random memories running through your head of the last seven years. Then one glaring realization made you want to throw up right then and there.

“What?” Rafael asked you, bringing you back to the present.

“What?” you parroted back to him in the same questioning manner. 

“Your face,” he stroked the side of your cheek. “Where did you go just now?” 

“I…” You hesitated, looking down at your hands in Rafael’s lap. 

“You what?” he asked again. “Come on, I just told you my newspaper thing,”

“You didn’t wanna seem like an old man Raffi,” you murmured, still unable to look at him. “I don’t wanna seem like a monster,” 

“Hey,” Rafael put his thumb under your chin and raised your head upward to face him. “You could never be a monster,”

“Oh I think I might be,” you turned away from him, but his hand returned to your face to bring you back to his gaze.

“You know nothing you could say could change my opinion of you,” he assured you. “You’ve given me the benefit of doubt for my morally gray actions for years, it’s the least I can do for you,”

“You didn’t do anything wrong!” You protested, not wanting to get into this again. The fact that he still blamed himself for “killing” a “baby”, infuriated you.

“And I’m sure whatever you’re thinking isn’t wrong either, mi vida,” He stroked your hair lovingly.

“Fine,” you conceded, taking a deep breath. “I was just thinking, if– if today goes well, God willing, it will be so good for everyone. And even if it doesn’t, I’m still–”

“Still what?” Rafael pressed.

“Grateful,” you whispered.

“Grateful?” Rafael repeated, trying to understand your train of thought. “Why would that be a bad emotion?”

“I’m grateful to Terrence,” you could barely utter the words, they felt so shameful. You started to cry before you even began to talk.

 “I’m grateful that so much good came out of him…”  you started to cry harder.

“Hey hey hey,” Rafael stopped you before you could choke out the last horrible word. 

“Wasn’t that your whole goal from the beginning, Y/N?” He reminded you while wiping tears from your face. “To make Terrence’s death mean something?” 

“Well y-yeah,” you sniffled, trying to calm yourself down. “But…I-I don’t think ‘finding’ you counts as something ‘meaningful’. It just feels…selfish,” 

“This is exactly what I didn’t want you to focus on today, Y/N,” he sighed while running a hand through your hair. 

“I don’t want you to think about me, or ‘us’. That’s not the point of today. We’ve had enough days about ‘us’. Which is why I’m not going to go with you,” 

“What?” you gasped, “No, no Rafael you have to go with me,” 

“Y/N what did I just say? You– we, shouldn’t try and make the rally all about us–” 

“I’m not saying that!” you hit him in protest.

“It won’t make it all about us. Rafael, we haven’t had so much as a random perv sitting in our bushes since our…proclamation,” you made a face at the word, unable to find a better one at the moment. 

“My point is,” you waved your hands in dismissal at your own thoughts. “Nobody is gonna want to focus on us, or our relationship, we’re old news!” 

“Hmm,” he pondered out loud. “I suppose you’re right. But baby if you think you can’t do this without me, that’s just not true,” 

“I don’t think I can’t do it without you,” you shook your head. “I just don’t want to,” 

—--------

At The Rally

You wrung your hands nervously in the back of the Uber as you got closer to Town Hall. You could feel the energy getting even more tense as the streets became more crowded with people around you. You could hear voices getting angrier and more aggressive, it felt like the world was collapsing around you. Suddenly you couldn’t breathe. Rafael quickly noticed and took your hand.

“Inhalae, Exhalae,” He whispered as he rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb. 

You did as he said; taking ten second inhales and letting your breath out slowly. After a few of these exercises you could feel your breathing become steady on it’s own. You turned to face Rafael who had a calm, comforting smile beaming at you. 

“Thank you baby,” you squeezed his hand and laid your head on his shoulder for a moment. 

“Look guys I’m not gonna get much closer than this, whatever the hell is happening right now is completely blocking the grid around City Hall,” the Uber driver informed you both. 

“Well, I guess we’re on our own,” Rafael nodded to you as he opened the door to step out onto the curb. Once he was outside he held his hand out for you to exit the car as well. 

“Make sure you give me five stars!” you could hear the driver yelling as you walked down the street hand in hand. 

“Today we take back what’s ours!” You could hear Louis’s booming voice and a roaring crowd yelling back at him. 

“Shit,” Rafael muttered under his breath as you both rounded the corner. 

You could see Louis standing on the steps in front of City Hall, the same place you had seen Rafael before he took off on you. Well, okay not you specifically, or even knowingly, but it still felt traumatic seeing it again. 

And this time you saw Louis Henderson standing at a podium; your aunt and uncle sitting in chairs behind him. Standing behind them further up the stairs were a line of police officers, and in the middle of them were Olivia Benson and Sonny Carisi. They all looked very uncomfortable. 

“Oh God,” You mirrored his sentiment as you watched in horror. 

“I have to get up there,” You started to let go of Rafael’s hand to serpentine through the crowd, but he tightened his grip on you. 

“Are you kidding me, Y/N?” He gave you a very concerned look. “We are not getting separated right now. Or ever,” 

“Seriously?” You half laughed. “You didn’t even want to come!”

“Well, I did, and now my protective side is coming out full stride,” he proclaimed.

“Good God,” you rolled your eyes.

“Hey, you only have yourself to blame mi vida,” He chuckled gently before placing a kiss on your forehead. “I’m not letting you out of my sight in this chaos,”

“Okay,” you gave him a reassured smile. Then you turned your attention back towards the stage where Louis was speaking.

“Today we bring about justice,” he spoke eloquently into the mic. “Justice for not only Terrence Reynolds, but for all that came before him, and the poor men and women that will come after him. Unless we stop it,” 

You wanted so badly to jump on the stage and rip the microphone from his hands, but the crowd was too tightly packed. You gave Rafael one apologetic look before screaming out:

“NOT LIKE THIS!!”

Louis stopped speaking, everyone stopped hooting and hollering; in fact, they completely stopped moving as their eyes and attention turned to you. 

“Excuse me?” Louis asked in a haughty tone. 

“This isn’t the way–”

“That’s a whole lotta talk for someone who’s bangin’ the system!” a woman called out from the crowd. 

You looked uneasily at Rafael, who tried giving you sympathy but was also trying to stay defensive. A crowd like this, any wrong movement could start a hell of a riot, and he didn’t want you to get hurt. 

“Alright, y’know what–” You rolled your eyes and decided to screw decorum, or your fear of confrontation. 

You grabbed Rafael's hand and literally pulled him through the sea of people, forcing people to let you through until you reached the stage. The crowd began to jeer at you for the rough handling of the crowd, and your former statement. But you didn’t care. You looked at Rafael while both standing at the stairs to the foot of the stage.

“You don’t have to come up there,” you took his hands and gave him your best brave face. 

“Oh yes, I do,” He shook his head at your attempt to give him an “out”. 

You shrugged and gave him one last wary look before walking up the stairs onto the platform where your Aunt and Uncle were sitting. The line of officer’s and city officials in the back tensed up when they saw Rafael walking behind you, but he ignored it. 

“You should go stand with the NYPD,” You gestured your head towards Olivia and the others. “Show them you’re on their side,”

“I told you there’s no sides–” Rafael sighed.

“Not to you, but you know they do,” you insisted.

“Well then I’m on your side,” he replied.

“Just— Rafael— Okay?” You gave him a look.

“I’ll just stand off to the side,” he reiterated. “I’m Switzerland,” 

“Yeah alright” you tolled your eyes while walking towards the podium where Louis was speaking.

“I can’t believe you seriously have the audacity to show up here after what you’ve–” 

“I didn’t do anything wrong, Mr. Henderson,” you sniped. 

“And neither did these people,” you gestured towards the line of judges behind you, causing audible gasps and loud protests from the crowd. Before they got too out of hand, you addressed them:

“Look I am not saying what happened to my cousin– Terrence Reynolds,” You used his name, remembering who all of this was for. 

“Was right. It wasn’t, in any shape or form. What happened that night to Terrence Reynolds back in 2016 was horrific,” you took deep ragged breaths, as you recited the speech you had been writing in your head for months now it seemed. The words burned into your brain. 

“But the disgusting acts of violence taken out on him were done so by people. And unfortunately those bad people had badges, letting them believe that they could inflict their own prejudices and judgements onto others with no consequences,”

You took another deep breath and looked back towards Olivia, who gave you a somber look. 

“But they were dealt with, and rightly punished,” 

“Rightly punished?” Louis laughed from behind you. “They recieved counts of manslaughter and wreckless endangerment. Felonies that could very easily get them back on the streets, so they can keep killing poor men like–”

“The NYPD wouldn’t let them come back!” You cut him off defensively. 

“Oh? And how would you know that? Because your sex buddy tells you so?” Louis spat.

“You son of a–” You started to smack him across the face but knew that would be totally negating your entire speech. So you took a deep breath, and continued to talk in a calm manner. 

“Because that’s insane, and you know it,” you pointed out. 

“Well, they should have gotten the death penalty for what they did!” He argued, causing the crowd to angrily yell in agreement. 

“And what would that prove, Louis?” You talked over the crowd, silencing them. 

“It would prove that–”

“That we’re no better than them?” you asked. “You– you wanna stand up here, and demand blood, and call it justice. An eye for an eye, is that what you think this is?” 

“Yes, it’s–”

“Do you really think that’s gonna help? That for every POC person killed by a cop, a cop gets killed, you think that’s justice? You think that’s gonna prove to the city, the country, the world, that we deserve better? By acting EXACTLY like they believe we will?” 

“Well, no but–”

“Are you planning on killing every single cop in New York City, Mr. Henderson?”  you asked.

“No, of course not–” 

“So just random ones then?” you snapped.

“Not random, they–” 

“They’re human beings, Mr. Henderson,” you cut him off. “They made a mistake. They backed the wrong people, but they made it right,” 

“Made it right?” Louis raspberried “How in God’s name have they made it right–”

“They got rid of those guys, didn’t they? They punished them. Just because they didn’t punish them the way you think they should have, doesn’t mean their intent was any less,” 

“You,” Louis crossed his arms. “You, of all people. The woman who has been calling for Olivia Benson’s blood for almost ten years. The woman who brought this all back up again. Suddenly you start fucking her little lap dog and you completely flip on us–”

“It’s not about him, Louis!” You clenched your fists so hard your nails made your palms bleed, but you weren’t going to lose it on him. 

“You’re right,” you nodded, looking out into the crowd. “I have been the loudest about this for a long time, but–”

You looked back at Olivia who now had a small smile on her face, which you returned before looking back at the crowd. 

“I’ve been angry for a long, long time,” You looked sadly out into the sea of people. “I’m just…tired of being angry, aren’t you?”

“We have to be angry!” Louis yelled.

“Why?” you asked.

“Because it’s wrong! Because it’s–” 

“Unfair, I know,” you nodded. “But Louis, if we attack them, then they attack us. Then we attack them for attacking us, and vice versa. I know you don’t wanna hear it but this will never end,” 

“Oh so we’re just supposed to take the injustice that–”

“We’re supposed to forgive, Louis,” You looked every single police officer in the eye as you spoke. 

“That’s how we ‘get back’ at them. By showing them that we are the bigger people. That nothing they do will ever tear us down because we don’t have that ugly in us,”

“Hate begets hate, Louis,” You put a hand on his shoulder. “And if there’s one thing I know about Terrence, it was that he didn’t hate a single person. Ever. He didn’t have it in him to hate anyone; he was a good person,”

“Yeah well–”

“I know you’re a good person too,” You rubbed his shoulder. “I know you know Mr. Barba is a good person, you both worked for the city,”

“I work for people,” he corrected you. “Whether that be in the city’s interest or not,” 

“So does Mr.---Rafael,” you finally allowed yourself to address him the way you should, as your partner. 

“So can we please, please let this go?” You begged him as Rafael walked up to you both. 

“What, do you want me to just– dismiss everyone? Like a school assembly?” 

“I mean, you started it,” you shrugged.

“Alright well,” Louis cleared his throat as he stepped towards the mic and spoke into it. 

“I think we’ve all proved a point here today, violence doesn’t solve anything,” 

You did your best not to roll your eyes at his diplomatic speech. 

“The NYPD doesn’t need any more reminders of the injustices they’ve caused. They’ve got their own guilt trips and demons to wrestle with,” 

He gestured to the line of officers and other members of the jurisdiction awkwardly squirming under his words. 

“Alright, wrap it up Louis,” 

“Let us adjourn and enjoy this beautiful day, thinking of the brothers and sisters who aren’t able to enjoy it here with us,” 

You hard rolled your eyes at the last jab of guilt he threw in there, as the crowd slowly but surely disappeared. 

“Well done, counselor,” you shot finger guns at Louis who now rolled his eyes at you. 

“Yeah, alright–” He shook his head as he saw Rafael walk up behind you protectively. “I hope I put the trust in the right people,” 

“I assure you Mr. Henderson, I may not be a part of the NYC payroll anymore, but that doesn’t mean I will ever stop fighting for our city, and everyone in it,” Rafael stuck his hand out to shake Louis’s hand. 

“I believe you Mr. Barba,” he nodded with a smile before taking Rafael’s hand and shaking it. “I really do,” he nodded at you before walking away into the crowd. 

You looked at all the people buzzing about on the stage and in the streets. It wasn’t a scary, unnerving bustle you had walked up on earlier. This was a calm but energetic energy, people all talking and laughing with each other as they went about their day. Just like the city should be. 

You looked over at the NYPD group who was quickly dissolving into the building and other cars. You thought better of trying to go and talk to Olivia or Mr. Carisi, you just waved at them with a small smile. They returned the gesture, Olivia adding a small wave and a kiss to Rafael.

He blew a kiss back before wrapping his arms around your waist from the back, pulling you towards him. You turned to face him with a huge smile on your face. 

“Well, we did it, counselor,” You beamed at him. 

“You did it, mi amor,” He pulled you closer and pressed a kiss to your forehead. 

“Yeah, I did, didn't I?” You stuck your tongue out mischievously. “Thank God I have a big mouth, huh?” 

“...Don’t push it,” He gave you a skeptical smile before pulling you into a deep kiss. 

As you walked into the crowd hand in hand with the one man you had pined for so many years, happier than you could ever believe you could be, you could swear you could hear music playing in the background like the end of a rom-com. 

Fallin' in love was another foolish thing I never really needed,

But you were the first to change my mind.

You're knocking me off of my horse

And here I lay, fallen and defeated.

I'd leave it all behind for this foolish thing of mine.