#and whatever stupid shit I can think of to say in the meantime

[rubyrockman]

Shuffles initial queue rapidly like a lunatic hoping that whatever posts first is relatively normal

[yokohamapound]

How about some angsty HCs?? 😏

How would Kunikida, Dazai, Fukuzawa, Chuuya and Fyodor (or anyone else you’d like too) react to their s/o taking a hit for them that would have otherwise been fatal if they didn’t?? S/o ends up being okay but the gentlemen are all angsty in the meantime >:)

Thanks so much lovely! 🥰💕

Hello, my lovely! It's been a while since I wrote some good old angst, so this scratched an itch. I hope these are what you are looking for!

Characters: Nakahara Chuuya, Dazai Osamu, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Fukuzawa Yukichi, Kunikida Doppo

Contents: death mentions, suicide mentions, controlling behaviour, anger issues

Nakahara Chuuya

Ooh, it’s kinda difficult for him to deal with? He’s in two minds about it, really. 

On one hand, he’s strong enough that whatever blow was being dealt to him really wouldn’t have hurt him that much, or so he tells himself. All he can think about is that moment where the bullet/bomb/fireball, whatever it is, was coming toward you. Yes, you survived it, but he had to live through the nanoseconds of absolute hell when he thought he was just about to see another person he cares about die right before his eyes. 

His temper erupts afterward. He’s furious, yelling at you that you “didn’t fuckin’ need to do that!” You’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s his pride you’ve hurt, but it’s anger born of worry. Those few moments he thought you were going to die were harrowing for him. 

Imagine if he carelessly lost the person he loves the most, just because he was too slow or too stupid to see it coming? Shit, he could never live with himself if that happened. 

However, there’s the other side of the coin. Which is that you cared about him enough to intercept a blow aimed at him. Chuuya can’t remember the last time someone did that for him. He’s used to being the tank, to soaking up all the violence so the geniuses can get on with their schemes. He doesn’t really know how to handle someone trying to protect him, like he’s something vulnerable.

He likes it and he doesn’t. He’s grateful and he’s pissed. Chuuya’s a complicated creature. 

Once he’s done yelling and has calmed down a little, he’ll mutter something that sounds like a ‘thank you’, though he says it with his eyes mulishly averted and one arm wrapped tightly around your waist. He won’t be letting you out of his sight for a while, even while he’s being a grouch.

Dazai Osamu

While he might not show it on the surface, this has a rather profound effect on Dazai. Remember the last time someone he loved died in front of him?

While he pretends to be calm on the surface, inside he’s in turmoil. He should have seen it coming; you’re the self-sacrificing sort, always trying to save him in one or another. But before now, it hasn’t been literal. 

I feel like time moves very slowly for someone as fast as Dazai. He was able to process far too much information in those few seconds you were in danger. All of his mistakes, laid out for him as plain as day. 

He tends to convince himself that he can plan around every kind of incident but this is a start reminded that this isn’t always the case.

“Hey, bella?” His tone is unusually serious. His hand on your shoulder. “I’m going to need you not to do that again. Believe it or not, I don’t want to see you die in front of me.”

If you pay close attention, you’ll notice Dazai doesn’t make any more double suicide jokes after that. They don’t have the same appeal. Dazai doesn’t think he could stand to watch you die, even if you did want to join him. 

He keeps a close watch on you after that, turning up unexpectedly throughout your day without any explanation, his lanky form popping up like a weed.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

While he will never, ever reveal it, this will shake Fyodor’s iron-clad ego a little bit. He likes to think he is in control of everything, and he can predict every single action of yours down to the blink. For whatever reason, he didn’t foresee you getting in his way and taking a hit meant for him. 

You gain an element of unpredictability, which is both intriguing and alarming for him. 

There is also the fact that you stepped in to take a hit for him. While he’s used to having underlings who look up to him like a god (Ivan), he doesn’t count you amongst the peons. He’s got you wrapped around his little finger, but in a way that promotes adoration and obedience, not self-sacrificing recklessness. He’ll have to step back and examine your relationship somewhat.

“My darling, what was the meaning of that?” he asks of you, his tone soft and a little dangerous. “I do not need you flinging yourself in the path of danger for me. I have everything in hand.”

He likes your devotion, but he doesn’t want you getting in the way of his plans. And he does care about you, love you in his own way—he doesn’t want to lose something he sees as his. 

If you were injured at all, he will have the best private doctors on hand to treat you. Be prepared for his love and attention to be a little stifling for a while. He won’t want to let you out of his sight. 

As for the person whose attack you foiled? Fyodor will turn the full weight of his enormous intellect to destroying them. They were dead the moment their attack came near something he cares about.

Fukuzawa Yukichi

Fukuzawa is very much the self-sacrificing sort. He’s said more than once that he doesn’t mind giving up his life in order to ensure peace in Yokohama, or to protect the lives of the younger members of the agency. He’s heavily bound by duty.

While he holds these values to himself, he doesn’t expect you to abide by the same code. In fact, he doesn’t want you to. You’re not a grizzled old samurai like him. (His words, not yours.)

He also heavily dislikes the idea that you were in danger because of him. Your relationship with him shouldn’t be a source of danger for you. As soon as he’s sure you’re safe and well, he will sit back and mull things over in his silent, intense way. He considers all options, from simply killing the person who tried to attack him, to ending your relationship with him to ensure your safety.

Thankfully, he comes to the conclusion that you are an adult who knows what is good for you. He’s never hidden the truth from you, and if you’re willing to face that to stand at his side, then Fukuzawa needs to respect that. He can’t make your decisions for you. 

“However,” he says. “I must ask that you do not do that again. I can accept my own death, but not yours.”

“Don’t you trust me to watch your back?”

“Obviously, you can be trusted,” he says. “Today is evidence enough, but know that I could not live with myself if you were injured or killed looking out for me. If death is coming for me, I have earned it.”

He can’t really be talked out of this mindset, but that’s part of why you fell for him in the first place. Just make him a promise that you won’t put yourself at risk on his behalf. 

Kunikida Doppo

Poor Kunikida.

One of his ideals is that he will never watch anyone die right in front of him if he can help it. The last time he had to watch an innocent person die, it almost shattered his psyche. 

If you were to die in front of him, it would break him utterly. Even though you’re fine, the close shave rattles him down to his core. Instead of blowing his top and then settling down, the way you’re used to him doing, Kunikida becomes grim and quiet. 

He refuses to step away from your bedside while you’re in the hospital for a check-up after the incident. His notebook of ideals is folded in his pocket, ignored. The fact he isn’t scribbling anything down is a little alarming. He’s not Kunikida if he’s not adding little notes to it every five minutes. He has his hands steepled together, his face grim behind his glasses.

“Are you going to yell at me?” you ask him. 

Kunikida lifts his gaze to you, almost as if he’s surprised to hear you speak. He breaks out of his reverie a little bit, sitting up and pushing his glasses further up his nose. The light hits the lenses, hiding his expression from you a little. His voice is sombre.

“I must thank you for saving my life,” he tells you, almost formal. 

“That’s not the only thing bothering you, is it?” You know him well enough by now. You reach out and take one of his hands.

Kunikida fingers tighten around yours, trembling slightly. It’s the only way that you can see how completely off centre he is. 

“Kunikida?”

“Don’t…don’t make me worry like that again. Please.”

[deathbecomesthem]

Roomies 5.5

Eddie Munson x Best Friend Reader

Eddie's POV from the end of Chapter 5 - a little sick day drabble | 1k

---

“What was that about?” Eddie can barely register Ronnie’s question through the blood whooshing in his ears. He’s watching you stumble out of the bar, and trying to understand what just happened. Ronnie snaps her fingers in front of his face and says, “Hey! What the fuck was that about?”

“I have no idea.” Eddie says, a sort of half truth that feels whole. Because he hasn’t been able to put to words what’s been going on, and now, with a belly full of liquor and a head full of fuzz, is not going to be the time. “I should go after her.”

“Oh, that seems like a poor plan,” Laney sets down 2 shots in front of Eddie and Ronnie, and keeps one behind the bar for herself. “It’s better to let it go and face whatever’s going on when you’re all clear headed. In the meantime, she’ll be fine.”

Eddie tilts his head, he considers ignoring Laney’s advice for a second. And then Ronnie says, “She’s right, Eddie. Whatever’s going on can wait until you’re both sober minded and I’m not in the crossfire. I swear to god, I don’t want any part of it.”

Eddie runs his fingers across his temple, hard enough to leave a red streak, and then turns back to face the two remaining people in the quiet bar. He lifts the shot glass in the air, and knocks back what he's surprised to find is tequila. Smooth. Patron, probably. He points his finger to the shot glass now sitting atop the counter again, and Laney grabs the bottle to pour out one more shot.

“And that’s the last shot of the night,” Laney puts the bottle back up on the shelf above her head. “About closing time,” she leans over the bar far enough that her feet leave the sticky tile of the floor behind the counter to give Eddie a kiss on the cheek, “it’ll all look better in the morning.”

Eddie’s mind floats through the bar while his legs carry his body. It’s not the booze, it’s the realization that maybe he’s ruined a good thing before it’s even happened. And he doesn’t know how. It’s the squeeze of Ronnie’s hand on his forearm that brings him back.

“Let’s go for a walk down by the river. Look, Ed - the moon’s out tonight.” Eddie looks up at her urging to see the bright spotlight shining down on his face. He thinks that’s a good plan. Head down to the dirt path where he can hear the cold water move away from the city and see that spotlight shine out along the ripples. With Ronnie, his Ronnie, with her arm wrapped around his waist. Like the old times.

“I’m lost without you.” Eddie says to her as his foot stumbles on an uneven seam in the sidewalk.

“I know you are.”

—

On that walk, Eddie decides he’s been doing everything all wrong. He decides to turn his attention where it matters right now, and that’s on this special friend he only sees once a year when he’s lucky. 2 days, that’s what he’s getting this time, and he’s going to make the most of it. 

When they finally make it back to the apartment, their cheeks are cold from the stinging early winter air. It’s a relief to be in the warmth of the small space, but they both feel a looming dread. Eddie’s head is more clear now, and while they talked about the stupid shit they did as teenagers on that nightwalk, he also came up with a plan.

“You’re sleeping in my room tonight. I’ll take the couch. Don’t worry, the sheets are clean.” Eddie’s pulling Ronnie’s jacket off her back and hanging it on the hook next to his and yours. “I wanna talk to her tonight, just for a few minutes.”

“Eddie, I don’t -” Ronnie’s protest is cut off immediately by Eddie raising a ringed hand.

“I know what I’m doing. I promise, it’ll be fine.” His words seem to be enough. They hug each other for a long beat before Ronnie walks towards the hallway. When she reaches the first door, she points to it in question, and Eddie nods. 

“Good night!” Ronnie whispers in Eddie’s direction with a smile on her face before she tiptoes through his room to climb into his bed.

Eddie is sure footed on his short journey to your room, not a single butterfly flaps its wings in his stomach until he reaches the edge of your bed. He looks down at your sleeping frame, mascara smudged under your eyes and hair a jumble on your pillow, and he can’t bring himself to wake you. He thought maybe you’d still be awake and upset, but is glad to see you resting. Maybe you’ll forget all this, and wake up with a little hangover and no worse for the wear. He knows that’s a pipe dream. He sets a tall glass of water on your side table along with the bottle of aspirin, and climbs into the bed next to you. He’ll talk to you in the morning. 

It’s with the briefest of hesitations that he wraps an arm around your waist. Is it a violation if he’s doing it while you sleep? Maybe, maybe not. He couldn’t stop himself if he tried. He needs to feel your weight next to him, and touch you in some way. He needs to know that you’re here, and he needs to know it in a tangible way. Know that his eyes aren’t deceiving him. 

@kissmyacdc

[dragon-kazansky]

Spirit of the sea

Izzy Hands x reader (GN)

You were a member of Blackbeard's crew long ago. Then you became a ghost story. Izzy Hands only sees you in his dreams these days, until he sees you for real when investigating Stede Bonnet. This sets him on a rollercoaster of emotions between you and what his captain is doing.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Warnings: Slight angst. Izzy's feelings are hurt, but he won't admit it unless you back him into a corner. He's mellowing out with you though.

Chapter Four - Just like before

♡♡♡

A lighthouse. With the use of items on the ship, and the participation of the crew, Stede Bonnet and Edward Teach turned the ship into a lighthouse. The Spanish turned around, believing they got lost in the fog.

The Revenge managed to escape.

You had to admit that was insanely clever of your captain.

Later that night, while the crew slept, you sat on the steps and looked up at the dark sky. Everyone was pretty much asleep, except for the captains you could hear chatting up in the nest.

The only person you couldn't see was Izzy.

You didn't want to disturb the sleeping crew by getting up to search for your old friend. You just hoped he was okay. Izzy wasn't one for showing how he felt about things, unless that feeling was anger or annoyance.

Come morning you are woken up strange sounds. You open your eyes and look around to find Izzy loading up a dingy with stuff. You sit up in confusion. He hasn't noticed you, too busy doing what he's doing.

"Izzy?" You call his name softly.

He doesn't stop.

You stand up and walk over to him, frowning. "Izzy..."

"I said some things I regret last night."

"Oh?" You come to stand beside him.

"Some shit to Blackbeard... I didn't mean any of it."

You glance up at the captains. Ed is looking down at you with a nod. You take a deep breath and turn back to Izzy.

"He knows you didn't mean them."

Izzy grabs at the rail of the ship.

"I bet he has a plan, you know. He always has a plan."

"Yeah..."

You sigh softly. "Izzy, can we talk?"

He inhales softly. "Guess so."

"I'm sorry you thought I was dead. I'll keep apologising if I have to. Whatever it takes to make it up to you. I never meant for that to happen. I got trapped onboard the ship that day. No one would have known because my dumbass decided to wander below deck on my own to see what I could find. It was stupid of me. Anyway, I jumped off deck the moment I could and I had every intention of coming back to you. I was too late."

Izzy clenched his fists.

"Izzy... It was never meant to be that way. I'm sorry, okay?"

"Whatever. Doesn't matter," he says. "You're here now."

You don't know if that's his way of saying he forgives you or what, but you'll take it. Izzy is complicated.

"Don't leave. Please."

You can hear his slight breathing as he thinks about it. His head then turns in your direction and you can see his eyes more clearly.

"He's still got it."

You smile. "Don't think it ever left. Our Blackbeard, eh?"

Izzy exhales a chuckle.

"Don't go, Izzy. I can't make it up to you if you leave..."

Izzy says nothing and you take that as your sign to leave him with his thoughts. Man needs time to think.

An hour later you realise the dingy is back on the boat and Izzy is still onboard.

You smile at the sight of him.

♡♡♡

Turns out there is a plan. Ed apparently had a talk with Izzy shortly after your talk with him. A ploy to kill off Blackbeard. Except, not really.

Stede is already wearing Blackbeard's clothes. Kill the man, say the great Blackbeard is dead, Ed gets to be Edward. Izzy would then proceed to be captain of his own crew.

It was definitely a plan.

In the meantime, Edward has told Stede he would show him what it meant to be a pirate. The first step was a raid. You laughed at the idea of taking Stede Bonnet onto a ship to loot.

Izzy had relaxed a little around you. Not enough for the crew of the Revenge to notice, bit enough for you to see. You look at him as Edward explains to Stede's crew the plan for the raid.

Izzy is looking at you. You fight back a smile. At least he's looking at you.

"Crew of Revenge, you are not to engage. You are simply here to observe how real pirates function in the real world." Izzy addresses the crew.

You hide your smile.

"Quick question, how violent do we expect this to get?" Stede asks.

Pretty violent was his answer.

It felt good to use your sword again. This was the life you were used to. This is how it always should be. You were to busy fighting to take an notice on if Izzy was watching you. After all, it was Izzy who taught you how to use a sword.

While the crew looted, you made your way over to Izzy's side.

"That was fun."

He sniffs, looking at the bodies on the deck. "Yeah, was a bit. Where's that pathetic excuse of a pirate gone?"

"Believe he's below deck looting. Ed went to find him."

Izzy nods his head and then looks at you. "You still got it."

You smile, not even pretending hearing that didn't make you happy. "Yeah. Can't ever forget everything you've taught me, Izzy."

He almost smiles.

"Hurry up and grab what you can."

"Aye, Mr Hands," you tease, leaving his side to go loot for yourself. Izzy follows you with his eyes, biting back another smile.

♡♡♡

"A party?" You ask, looking at Ed and Stede.

"Some posh gathering for rich folk. Frenchie found the invitation," Stede explains.

"And you want to go to it?" You look at your captain. Blackbeard shrugs. "He's gonna need a new outfit."

"Ah, leave that to me." Stede goes into his secret closet. You turn back to Ed.

"Is this part of the plan?" You ask.

"Yeah. Kinda. Just let me handle this, okay?"

"Yeah, course."

"So, you spoke to Izzy?" Ed asks, looking at you gently.

"Yeah. We spoke. He at least doesn't hate me any more."

"Ah, he never hated you."

"He did a little bit. Be honest, Ed." You say to him.

"He never hated you. Not really. It's just hard for him to be open."

You nod your head quietly. Stede returns with a purple suit in hand. You notice the ribbons on top of the pile. You took this as your sign to leave them to it.

♡♡♡

Up on deck you find Izzy lowering Lucius down the side of the ship. You raise an eyebrow in his direction.

"The fuck?"

Izzy glances up at you. "Got a little job for Spriggs. Caught him slacking."

"Barnacle duty? Oof." You peer down at where Lucius sits. "Shit job."

"Aye. Will teach him a bloody lesson." Izzy walks off. You send Lucius a sorry smile before following the brooding first mate.

"Anything you want me to do?"

"Whatever the fuck you like. I'm trying to get this crew onto shape," Izzy sighs.

"Will you at least look at me again?"

Izzy stops what he's doing and turns, looking at you. You smile at him. "That's better. Is our friendship healing?"

"Shut up."

You chuckle as he walks away.

♡♡♡

A little time passes when Izzy storms past you looking a little miffed. You watch him for a moment before following after him.

"Some thing happen?"

"That useless twat is gone," he huffs.

"Lucius?"

"Yes." Izzy hisses the word.

You follow him into the captain's cabin where you find Wee John watching Lucius sketch a naked Fang.

"What the fuck?"

"Not bad," you hum.

Izzy turns his head to look at you with narrowed eyes. You smile at him with a shrug.

"What?"

"Don't fucking look."

"I'm looking respectfully. Fang has nice form," you grin.

Fang smiles. "Aw, you're just saying that."

You turn back to him. "I mean every word, Fang."

Izzy sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Back to work, the lot of ya!"

♡♡♡

You follow Izzy once again up to the deck. He leans against the railing, his shoulders tense. He looks out to sea.

"Useless fucking bastards."

You come to stand beside him. "Cut them some slack. None of them have been a real pirate. They're used to their cosy little ship."

"Fuck the lot of them. How on the hell does this ship function when this lot can't even do their duties?"

You shrug lightly. "I don't know. Up until recently I was locked up in their brig."

Izzy lifts his head to look at you. "You were their prisoner."

"Yeah, it was dumb. All those years sailing with Blackbeard and I get caught by some pirate wannabe," you sigh.

"What happened to you? What have you been doing these past 6 years?" Izzy asks, facing you fully.

"Been on the move, moving from place to place. Stowed away a few times. Was hoping to come across you lot again, but I never found you. Looks like you found me though..."

Izzy is watching your face.

"I won't leave again. Not like that. I'm home again."

"Yeah..."

You exhale softly and look around the ship. "You been well?"

"Surviving."

"Good." You look back at him. "I missed that face of yours."

"This ugly mug?"

"Shut up. Not ugly."

He scoffs and turns back to the sea. "Let's hope Blackbeard kills Bonnet soon so we can go back to business."

"Just give him time."

A few moment of silence pass before Izzy looks back up at you. You look back at him softly, expecting him to say something, but he doesn't. He walks away.

♡♡♡

Night draws in. Izzy stands in front of Lucius giving him a list of chores to do to make up for slacking, twice. You sit on the steps listening, whittling away.

"You're gonna swab the deck. Twice. Then patch the main sail, oil and renwick cannons, then stack the munitions. And by the time you've done all that I'll have several more chores for you."

"And what if I don't?" Lucius asks. You eyes him carefully. "You're not my captain."

"I could spill your beans." Izzy threatens. "You've been a proper little seductress, haven't you? Black Pete, Fang. Who else is there?"

Lucius grins. "Hey, Pete?"

"Yeah, love?"

"I drew Fang naked."

"Haha! Nice. He's drawn most of us," Pete tells Izzy.

"See? We don't own each other. Dizzy Izzy." Lucius looks him in the eye. "Or is it... Izzy the Spewer?"

You look at Izzy, knowing about that nickname. You were the day Ed left Izzy in charge and the storm happened. Izzy had a rough time.

"Go now," Izzy whispers.

"Have you ever been sketched?" Lucius asks.

"Fuck off." Izzy storms off. You watch him go.

Lucius looks up at you with a smile. "You fond of Dizzy Izzy?" He asks you.

"It's just Izzy."

Black Pete and Lucius share a look. "That a yes then?"

"Don't you two have things to do?"

"Only each other," Lucius winks at Pete.

You get up from the stairs, but Lucius speaks before you her very far. "I think if he got laid he'd loosen up a little."

You glare at Lucius. "Excuse me?"

"Just saying, Izzy hasn't yelled at you or given you jobs to do. I think he may have even been a little jealous earlier when you walked in on me sketching Fang."

"What are you implying?"

"I think you know."

You glare at him again. "Shut up." You walk away. Lucius and Pete laugh together.

♡♡♡

You sit below deck on the hard floor whittling away in silence. The rest of the crew were above deck, most of them slept under the stars. Izzy, you were pretty sure, was in his cabin.

You move the knife swiftly along the wood.

"It's late."

You look up at the sound of the familiar voice. Izzy's voice is very distinct. You like hearing him talk.

"I know."

"The crew is sleeping. Ed is back too."

"Oh yeah, the party."

Izzy stands there with a hand on top of his sword, resting at his hip. He keeps his eyes on you as you whittle.

"What are you making?"

"Just... a thing."

"Right... a thing."

Silence settles between you both again. You can feel his eyes on you. His breathing is soft, but you can hear the wood creak under his feet as he shifts.

"I... uh... I'm glad you're back."

You stop whittling.

"I mis- I missed you."

You look up at Izzy slowly. Your heart thumping quickly in your chest. You know better than anyone what that took for him to say that.

"Missed you too, Izzy."

He inhales sharply and nods.

"Right. Yeah. Night then."

"Goodnight." You watch him as he turns sharply and walks away. He always walks away.

You focus back on your project. The sound of the knife scraping along the wood filling your ears once more.

♡♡♡

Izzy wakes up with the sun. He groans as he stares up at the ceiling. Another day on this stupid ship with Stede Bonnet. Izzy can only hope Blackbeard kills the fucker soon.

He runs his fingers through his hair, keeping his hand there as his mind fills with thoughts. You spent a good portion of yesterday following him around the ship.

Izzy breathes through his nose and lowers his hand. He turns his head to the side only to find a strange object sitting on the table. He furrows his brow knowing that it wasn't there when he went to sleep last night.

The first mate sits up and reaches over to pick up the wooden bird. He holds it in his hand, turning it this way and that way.

"The fuck?"

It looked like it resembled a sparrow. He runs his thumb across the carved out wing. It was a decent job.

"Hm." The corner of his lip twitches. You. Silly little you with your silly little whittling last night.

He goes to put the bird down only to find a note resting where the bird had been. He gently places the sparrow down and picks up the note, turning it over to read it.

'A gift as part of my ongoing apology for leaving you 6 years ago. Nice to be back, just like old times.'

Izzy smiles slightly at the note and then puts it down, glancing at the bird again.

"Yeah. Glad to have you back."

♡♡♡

@grippleback-galaxy - @askmarinaandothers - @godlikegallagher - @for-fuck-sake-im-alive - @whiskeyswriting - @lxsm2 - @bloody-bunni666 -

[http-finnick]

𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 - 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐫

summary: |soulmate au| as you weave leaves on an empty stomach, you join finnick in hopes of getting this new group to like you. just to find your hearing ringing and vision blurring

request: can I request a Finnick soulmate au kind of a combination of the eyesight one and the reading telepathically talking one? It would be about reader and Finnick finding out they're soulmates but telepathically. So for example Finnick thinks to himself a response to something reader says out loud but he doesn't say the words out loud. Reader can hear the response because he's talking to her in his head.

your fingertips burned and ached for a break as you weave the leaves together, palm thick and bendy as you knot what was supposed to be a pillow in the beginning, but now just a mess of ties

you usually wouldn't be so zoned in with the circumstances of how you can be killed any minute, but you need this. especially after getting separated from Johanna, and by luck stumbling on the beach to escape death and finding a lonely group that happened to merge with your old one

you were stressed out and annoyed with yourself. as you tied another knot of the braid of leaves you think back to how you separated, getting distracted by hearing your family's voice and running towards their screams. it was stupid. you could've died.

you sighed, you aren't any better now. stomach empty and body weak. you just need some food and you will be on your A game.

the dark ocean crashed against itself and you finally put the mess of leaves down. staring at the gray sky and matching waters.

Your suit stretched as you rubbed the sand off and stood, noticing most of the scattered group talking to one and other. your foot sunk into the hot sand as you made your way toward katniss

"thanks for taking watch last night, I'm fine with taking it tonight." you say, she looks up at you with squinted eyes. you can't tell if it's from the sun or from her suspicion.

"you can take it with Finnick." she says plainly. the name sounded familiar but you were too caught up with how she added one of her own to make sure you wouldn't kill them, it didn't bother you -you would do the same- it was just amusing from how worn out you are right now, you could barely lift your knife up from how starvation decayed you

"cool" you say, leaving very open-ended as she takes the hint and nods in his direction.

"the capitols baby" she mumbled, referring to him as such instead of his name, you chuckled and walked over to him

"Finnick?" his back was turned to you as he stopped whatever he was doing

"yup, grab some and start" you were taken aback as you look at what he was doing, sitting in the white sand as he weaved the dark gray leaves like you were doing not so long ago

"actually, I was just letting you know we're on night watch" you snorted, he hummed as he didn't stop his braiding for a second

"sure. wanna help me with this in the meantime?" he said, not so excited about the thought of staying up all night. you looked at the strings of palm leaves and sat next to him

grabbing a couple of them you started braiding, adding more slowly as you try and remember how you did it before

,, that's awful,, he said, referring to your weaving

"well, not all of us grew up with the practice already engraved" you chuckled, not taking his moody attitude to heart as you continued the weaving

"what?" he said genuinely

"I'm not gonna deal with you being an ass finnick. either teach me how to do this shit or shut up" you mumble playfully as you bit your lip slightly, focusing on tying the leaf

you felt his eyes on you, you huffed, and for the first time you looked at him

"what?"

he stared wide-eyed as you started to get tunnel vision, little pricks in your eyes as everything got blurry

once you focused again, everything was there, bright, alive.

your eyes hurt from the exaggerated color brutally hitting your senses as you dug your face into your hands

everything is so bright

why?

soulmates. you're someone's soulmate

you shot back up and looked toward the gorgeous seawater as it lapped on itself, forgetting your other dialog as the colors take up all your other worries

you felt your ears ringing as your thoughts got muffled, you spoke to yourself

,,what just happened?,, but your voice wasnt like your internal babbling like before, it was loud and blocked all other hearing out

,,can you see it?,, a man's voice, finnicks voice chimed in your ear at full volume, you turn to him, how seeing his tanned skin and blonde hair and you understood the nicknames he gets

"yes" you breathed out, and the ringing stopped. you could hear your surroundings again and it wasn't so loud to think

"y/n..." he said,

"I wasnt talking to you" he continues, a mixture of confusion and embarrassment fills you as you assume you just made that all up, but the vibrant colors mean your soulmate is around you, and you feel your stomach sink at the thought

"sorry I thought-"

"I was talking to myself, like, thinking" he whispered, you feel your body close in on itself

"I heard your voice" he whispered again, looking off into the color-filled arena with his mouth slightly a-gape

"I never heard of this happening-" you started

"It means we're soulmates," he told you and you started to feel as though your world was crumbling. you came into the arena with the hopes of getting out and finding your soulmate, not finding him in here

"what are we gonna do now" you mumbled, looking into the light sand as it spilled and stuck onto your suit as you laid your legs down

"I guess we're going to just..." his voice got drowned out by your ears ringing and your thoughts being put to rest

,,try and survive,,

an: ahhh hey guys! sorry about that break, I'm trying to get back into the groove of writing, so, sorry if this is kinda all over the place!!! love you guys so much <333

[accio-victuuri]

so it’s not enough that yibo’s car door gets opened by a crazed fan days ago, trackers placed in his work van before, nasty rumors left and right, random people bullying him, melon accounts claiming they know things about his personal life and now this. “getting a fan pregnant?” at this point, even passerby who don’t know yibo at all are seeing a pattern. they just throw around random things to see if something sticks. none of them do because it’s all lies. i say that this is expected because he has btf promotions coming soon but i have come to realize that this should not be considered normal. these people can get away with basically a slap on the wrist and how about yibo? how about his reputation? the thing is these proceedings take very long to get a result. we don’t even have a resolution on the escort allegations, which yuehua already reported to the police and sued. level headed people can see through the lies but it’s out there. damage done.

just to show how pathetic this is, it’s a random girl commenting on another “beauty blogger’s” post. ( this online personality is somehow connected to du meizhou but like i don’t even care. so whatever.)

AND IF YOU LOOK AT HER PROFILE, It’s obviously a troll account. The number of followers and likes says it all. Also her intro bio. I mean. It’s so obvious why this dummy account was created. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

And now it’s deleted. See? They can stir shit up like this then up & leave. Their UID will be tracked and all that but see how fast they can disappear? In the meantime, Yibo and his team have to waste resources for this.

AND WELL THE CIRCUS CONTINUES. HAHAHAHAHAHA! This person is so dumb. You so dumb. So very very dumb.

After Yuehua released their statement, This girl posted an “alleged” photo of them and conveniently adds a blur effect. ⬇️⬇️⬇️ captioning it share picture.

What’s funny is netizens, not even yibo fans noticed that the photo have a watermark ID on it that’s not hers. If you’re not familiar with Weibo, if you upload something personally, it will automatically have your username as a watermark.

it ends in “ra” and looking at this troll’s username, it does not have “ra” on it.

moments later, it was discovered that it’s this photo she used. i mean. who. what. 🤦‍♀️ same initial watermark.

dude. let me just blur out a random photo of two people and say it’s me and yibo. that he got me pregnant. humanity really continues to disappoint me. 💀💀💀💀

Chinese netizens are known to gather evidence, I mean with the amount of scandals getting out, they already know how to verify things. Look at how they discovered what time and where that photo of CFY’s was taken. It’s no surprise they noticed this little detail and knew right there and then that this girl is a fraud.

AND THAT “BEAUTY BLOGGER” (李恩 LIEN_) gets criticized, now i see she posted like 4 short statements regarding it. Commenting on people. Basically distancing herself from it. Must be nice getting all the traffic while slandering Yibo right? Ugh. Disgusting.

It’s still on HS tho. but most ( if not all ) of the posts are ridiculing the troll account who lied. I mean, at least we have that……

I’m sad for Yibo. Angry at these jobless bottom feeders. Amused at their stupidity. Insulted that they think people are so easy to believe and manipulate. Please leave Yibo alone. Yibo-Official just opened their YT & IG yesterday for international fans, who is getting nervous again? Lol.

this is why he rarely interacts with people in public unless it’s a controlled crowd ( road shows for example and even then he is unresponsive once outside ), rarely posts personal things, has bodyguards with him at all times, keeps his distance etc. trying to avoid crazies and companies who want to see him get cancelled combined. and people wonder why he shouted at fans who were crowding at his hotel that one time? i mean, if you live the life that he does— i think shouting at people who are invading your privacy is actually being kind.

PEOPLE FORGET THAT HE IS HUMAN TOO. Ever since he started in this industry, it seems like he can never catch a break. C-ent is so dirty. 💀💀💀 I love everything that Yibo puts out : songs, live performances, dramas, movies etc but times like this I am reminded at what cost.

[junko-en0shima]

Under Her Spell - Pirate! Eddie Munson x Mermaid! Reader (Pt.2)

Summary: Eddie tells his crew about you, but they don't believe it at all... until a letter from you is found.

Warning: angsts (there will be a few more chapters, so it will have a happy ending, I promise).

A/N: Hi, babes! I wanted to tag some people that requested to be tagged in pt.2 so @rockautumnfanfic @cherrycolas-things @moonyinthewonderland @cyberghost1009 enjoy! ^^

*Comments and reblogs are appreciated!*

Eddie couldn't think of anything else, but you and only you; he even lost sight of his first goal.

"She was beautiful, the most precious creature I ever saw in my life." He was telling the crew about what he saw that night while they were hiding from you and your fishy friends, craving love from a jolly sailor bold.

Dustin looked at him and then at his mates before to burst into the strongest laugh Eddie ever heard from him; Steve and other kids bursted as well.

"What's so funny?!" He asked, pulling out his sword.

"Do you think we believe you saw a giant female fish talking to you?" Dustin kept laughing by himself as the others realized Eddie could have fallen under your spell.

"You told me first!" Eddie protested because it was him and Jeff to be afraid of mermaids first and now they didn't believe that anymore.

"Did you fall under that fishy girl spell?" Steve asked, his hands on his belt and a serious look painted on his face with worry.

"Don't talk shit to me, Harrington! I, Captain Eddie Munson, would never fall for a stupid love spell! My heart is devoted to the treasure we've been looking for over four years and only to it."

"Whatever you say." Steve gave up.

"Hey, what's that?" Dustin motioned his mates to come to see as he spotted a floating bottle in the water.

Everybody went to see and they were shocked.

Who could've thrown that, some castaway stuck on an island asking for help or some clue meant to guide them to the treasure... or was that from you?

Steve picked it up with a fishing net and noticed a piece of paper through the glass; he removed the cork to pull it out and give it a quick read before to hand it to Eddie.

"For you, man."

Eddie looked at Steve concerned, then his eyes directly fell on the letter; he was surprised none of the words faded away with water, was that written with some sort of magic ink?

But his eyes widened when he noticed your sign at the end of the paper, realizing that letter was from you.

"My dear jolly sailor bold,

though we've been looking into each other's eyes for just a second, my heart is devoted to you and only you now. I'm grateful to The Bloody Moon and your boldness for guiding you to me. I can't wait to see you next time; in the meantime, I'll sit down and count all the shells under the sea, waiting for you. Oh, I also drew a map behind this paper that will guide you and your crew to the island you're looking for. Tonight me and my comrades are going to emigrate to north; whatever you need a guide, you can find me there. They don't trust humans at all, especially pirates, but I do; I know all you guys are looking for is gold, jewerly and anything precious existing in this cruel world. I hope we can greet each other tonight,nI swear to Neptune I'll try my best unbestknowning of them. I love you, to The Bloody Moon and back.

Sincerely yours,

- (Y/n)."

"Well, guess we should've believed him from the beginning." Dustin kinda apologized.

"See, I told ya'- hey!"

Erika stole the letter from him and read it as well. "Looks like love at first sight." She commented.

Eddie took his love letter back and held it close to his chest. "I swear on Dustin's mother she's real and I'll show you, tonight!"

"Oh, I can't wait." Steve rolled his eyes and crossed his arms to his chest.

When night fell, Eddie tried his best to keep the whole crew awake to wait for the next Blood Moon to introduce you to them.

Jeff gave up and fell asleep and so did Gareth... before Eddie stepped heavily to wake them up.

Now that they all were awake, they waited for a few seconds before the red light of the moon shined against the water to reveal a pack of mermaids swimming against the tide.

The other members of the crew gasped; they had no words to describe the magnificence of the event, but Eddie smiled as his eyes looked for you through the pack.

Suddenly you left the pack to swim up to the surface to meet his sight.

"Hi, sweetheart. How you've been doing?"

"I was sad... until I found you waiting for me."

Eddie could swear, his heart felt like a beating mess like it was about to pop out of his thick chest.

"This is my crew, darling." He pointed at the kids and his first mate.

"Nice to meet you all." You smiled at them.

"Nice to meet you, (Y/n)." Erika greeted you happily.

"You were right, Eddie." Dustin admited. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"Consider yourself as forgiven, Henderson." Eddie accepted his apologies.

At that point, a lantern lighted up in Erika's head and she tried to ask: "Do you think you can guide us to the treasure?"

You took a few seconds to think about that... until you felt a hand grab your wrist and squeeze so hard; you forgot you were under the orders of the king, the one who guided the pack, he didn't trust the humans at all and what was worst is that he was your father.

"How many times have you been told you don't have to interact with sailors?!" He yelled, squeezing your arm even harder, you felt like it burned.

"And you!" He turned to Eddie, Steve and the kids. "Don't you dare to approach my daughter!"

He pointed to the sky and a bunch of dark clouds covered it all like a thunderstorm was about to come and you disappeared underwater with your father, the king.

"(Y/n)!" Eddie screamed.

"I knew it was a trap!" Steve yelled as he tried his best to save their supplies.

Thunders exploded in the sky like gun powder and the rain suddenly begun to pour.

Eddie ran to the helm, trying to control the ship, but the waves were turning higher and it was impossible to control.

The biggest wave of them all, the biggest wave they had ever seen in a thunderstorm ate the ship and they were suddenly wrapped in the deepest darkness.

© alexandrawritesfics on Tumblr.

[mediocrevideopodcast]

May I request Wes coming to the realization that he's caught feelings for his coworker/work partner?

A/N: Wow, I am SO sorry that this took so long to post! I'm so in love with what we've seen of Wes, and I was really digging to make sure that I portrayed him as I do in my head. I'd love to write more for him in the future, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy!

Working under Asa Sweet has its benefits. Seemingly endless stores of money, eternal room and board, and most importantly, all the midnight lovers he could ever want. All at the price of a bit of bootlegged liquor, and the occasional firefight. 

This kind of life isn't for everyone, but it's certainly made for Wes. And you're inclined to agree with him. The adrenaline of a job well-done tastes even better than the liquor you're rewarded with at the end of the day -- maybe that's why the two of you get along so well. He can appreciate someone who can actually do their job, and do it well. No offense to Fish, of course, but it's nice to have someone… competent. And nice to look at, to boot. 

What? He's not blind -- He knows a pretty face when he sees one.  

If you weren't tangled in this life like he was, he might have tried to shoot his shot at a quick fling. But alas, working together complicates that And it's not exactly wise to play with someone when they've always got a loaded gun. He's not stupid, either. So, coworkers it is. Friends, if he's drunk enough to say it out loud.

The two of you are a deadly duo in the field. In the car it's all easy banter, a playful back-and-forth of teasing and sarcastic quips… but when you're truly working? Fish says it's scary how easily the two of you operate on the same wavelength, and you can't blame him. As a team you're able to coax deals and information from unsuspecting lips with ease; and on the rare occasion things go wrong… well, there's rarely any time to even worry. You've made it a game to see who can draw their weapon the fastest when shit hits the fan, and you're not very keen on losing.  And boy, does he like a challenge. 

Wes isn't a romantic. He thinks he is -- he thinks he's the suavest cat this side of the Mississippi. But he isn't. In truth, he is painfully inexperienced in the realm of romance, outside of one night stands. So when he's suddenly clenching his jaw whenever you pull that syrupy, borderline seductive voice on clients to get your way, of course he misattributes his feelings to lust. Because what else would it be? 

Except it doesn't get better, and no amount of liquor can soothe the tightness in his throat when he looks at you. 

No amount of bloodshed can quell his rapidly growing thoughts of domesticity. 

And there's not a single force on earth strong enough to pry the softness from his gaze. 

He hates that you're such a weak spot for him. He's always enjoyed being in your company, but now he finds himself hanging onto every word, every syllable, every breath. It's embarrassing.  

It's a bit of an awkward game of hot and cold while he tries to figure out what he wants. The most Wes really knows about romance is what he gleaned from when Fish drug him out to see Romeo and Juliet, and Lord knows how that panned out. You know him well enough to let him sort through… whatever it is he's going through. 

(You do pick up on the fact that there's a bit more intent when he smacks Fish for the "weasel" comments, though. Fish's poorly hidden laughter doesn't escape your ears either.)

But as time goes on, he settles back into his normal routine with you. Maybe his words get a bit more honeyed. Maybe he gets a bit more sarcastic, so he can feel you swat at him. Maybe he starts winning your quick draw games more often, and maybe he's formed a habit of stepping in front of you when things go south. You can't know for sure -- he dodges every attempt at questioning. 

If he shows up at your doorstep someday, with roses from your front yard… just know that he's trying. 

[lonesome-witching]

Romance Isn't Dead

We're back to doing new prompts. This one being skeptic Nancy and ghost hunter Robin. To whoever send this anonymous prompt, you have read my mind because I have like two ideas for way longer fics with similar ideas but I tried to write something new and I hope you like it.

For those of you that didn't know yet, prompts are back open! You can send me any and all ronance prompts here, which is just a link to my asks. I have already gotten a few to get to but I will be writing them as soon as possible.

“You have got to be kidding me.” 

Robin’s bright smile almost made up for Nancy’s discomfort. The dimples in her cheeks were distracting enough. 

“It’s gonna be interesting.” Robin defended herself. 

“There is a blood stain on the bed.” There was and Nancy was now pointing at it. The brown stain that stretched over most of the middle of the mattress. It made her stomach turn. 

“Yes, I can see that.” 

“Robin, this was supposed to be a vacation.” Nancy sighed. 

“It still can be. I’ll just be working in the meantime.” 

“Working on what?” 

“I’m gonna write a book.” 

Nancy’s eyes widened. Her interest peaked. “A book? What about?” She almost sat down on the bloodstained bed before stopping herself.

“Ghosts.” Robin beamed as the word escaped her. 

“Ghosts?” The disdain in her voice must have been obvious because Robin started waving her hands to stop whatever she thought Nancy would say next. 

“I know, I know you don’t believe in all that but I’m gonna prove it once and for all. This is the bed Chrissy Cunningham was murdered in. Remember? You wrote an article on that story.” Robin’s hands waved at that same blood stain Nancy had pointed out. 

“That was three years ago. Her boyfriend cut her open or something.” 

“Yes! And this is a shitty motel so they never threw any of the shit out. This is pretty much a crime scene.” 

“You should not sound this happy about that. You just booked us a romantic getaway to the scene of a murder.” Nancy snapped back. 

“Okay, I know this isn’t what you signed up for but come on, Nance, this will be so exciting. We’re gonna find some ghosts and write a book on it and we’ll be rich.” Robin reached out to grab Nancy’s hands and she couldn’t help but crumble. 

“Ghosts aren’t even real.” She whispered as her girlfriend pulled her closer. 

—

“What are you doing?” Nancy threw up a balled piece of paper at the back of Robin’s head. 

“I’m making an ouija board.” Robin’s head was bent over her own piece of paper, her back hunched. 

“We could have bought one of those on the way in. That way we’d be done sooner and we could have actually gone somewhere nice for dinner.”  

“I didn’t want to spend your money on this.” 

Nancy pushed herself off her chair, sitting down next to her girlfriend on the floor. Robin’s tongue was poking in between her lips as she wrote the alphabet on the paper. It was adorable. 

“You really think you are going to prove ghosts exist with a stupid children’s game?” She bumped her shoulder into Robin softly. 

“It’s worked before.” 

“You’ve done this before?” Nancy imagined Robin sitting on the floor of her messy bedroom. The lights turned off but a small candle flickering next to her. A similar scribbled ouija board pushed against the floor by a small glass that she held against it with both of her pointer and middle fingers. 

“No.” Robin admitted. “I’ve heard of people who have done it.” 

Nancy couldn’t keep the laugh from bubbling out. She allowed herself to fall flat against the floor. 

“Nance.” Robin whined softly. “You need to be on my side.” 

“I am on your side, honey. I’ll always be on your side.” Nancy grabbed for Robin’s arm. “You know that, right?”  

There was a pout on Robin’s face that conveyed more than it was meant to. The sly quirk of her lips a tell tale sign that Robin was teasing her. Still, Nancy felt that familiar tug at her heartstrings that she got whenever Robin was hurt. 

“Do you need my help with anything?” She offered with a sigh, sitting back up. 

“If you are offering, I really don’t want to do this alone.” The smile from before returned to Robin’s face. 

Nancy groaned. “I was worried you were going to say that.” 

“Come on. You like researching stuff. Just see it as another one of your projects.” 

“My projects are usually based on facts.” Nancy complained.

“Nance, please.” The pout returned in all its glory. 

She hesitated for a second. Unsure what her next move should be. “Will it make you happy?” 

Robin nodded frantically. “So very happy.” 

–

Nancy found herself sitting opposite her girlfriend. She looked upon the girl’s frown as she placed the glass in the middle of the piece of paper, placing her fingers on the top. She followed Robin’s actions, mimicking her. 

“All you have to do is breathe and close your eyes.” 

Nancy nodded and closed her eyes. 

“Okay.” Robin’s deep breath was audible throughout the silent room. “Chrissy, are you here with us?” 

Nothing happened. 

“Chrissy, can you hear us?” 

Nothing. 

“We are here to understand what happened.” 

Nothing. 

Nancy opened her eyes, looking at her girlfriend. The frown of Robin’s face was etched into her skin. The doubts were creeping into her demeanor and Nancy could see it. 

“Chrissy?” 

She couldn’t help herself. Nancy pushed the glass towards the yes that Robin had carefully written. Robin’s eyes flew open the second the glass started moving. 

“Oh my God, Nance. Are you seeing this?” She exclaimed excitedly. 

“Yes, I am.” Nancy feigned shock. 

“I told you it was real.” Robin was beaming. “Okay, we have to focus. Chrissy, who killed you?” 

Nancy stared at her own hands on the glass, analyzing whether or not it was obvious she was pushing it towards the J. And then the A, S, O, N. Spelling out the name that she had been forced to write on repeat in the plethora of articles she had written about the event. 

“Oh my God, Robin. I’m not even kidding, this is scary. Can we please stop?” Nancy tried to trigger her 11 year old self who had scored the lead in the school play. It was the last time she had ever acted. 

“Yeah sure. Thank you for talking to us, Chrissy. Goodbye.” Robin said and Nancy pushed the glass toward the goodbye on the bottom of the page. 

–

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Robin was turned toward Nancy in her seat. She watched the way Nancy’s fingers tapped the steering wheel. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“The other day. The ouija board. You were moving the glass, weren’t you?” 

“Why would I do that?” Nancy frowned. 

“You gave yourself away by saying you were scared. Nancy Wheeler doesn’t get scared and definitely not by a moving glass or even a ghost for that matter.” 

Nancy dared to take a glance at the girl sitting next to her. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t see you that defeated. I shouldn’t have.” 

“I think it’s really sweet. And I’ve been thinking, we should take an actual vacation. Somewhere nice. I’ve never seen the ocean before, if you’re up for it.” 

“Are you sure this isn’t another ruse to get me to go ghost hunting with you?” 

“Nah, from now on I’ll just ask you to go ghost hunting with me. I have a feeling you won’t say no.”

[hot-take-tournament]

regarding the potential sideblog for serious takes: I completely get what you mean. Thinking of things to submit, I came across many many takes of mine, things I feel very passionately about, that I just.... Couldn't really bear to submit to a silly tournament blog. A lot of things that I don't have the guts to say on my main, since the main reason it's "hot" in the first place is my friends' and mutuals' disagreement. The criteria I've been using for submitting is, "if I got 90% disagree votes, would that be heartbreaking? would that be depressing to know, that that many people disagree on this topic that I care so much about?" and if the answer is yes, then... that's too important to me. and i just keep it to myself.

honestly, if you did make a sideblog, I would be more than glad to submit these takes that i held back from. and I suspect that many others would feel encouraged to send things that they otherwise wouldn't, as well.

whatever your decision, I deeply respect this blog, which is rather funny, since i actually have the words "hot take" in my blacklist because I'm honestly so tired of seeing violent discourse about human rights.

basically, it's really refreshing to argue about stupid shit like "what's the best way to write a date" or "am I committing a food crime if I eat my food this way" or "what kind of music sucks". i like feeling mentally engaged and introducing nuance into false dichotomies, and this blog gives me an easy place to do that without having to read questions like "ok but does this minority ACTUALLY deserve rights or are they not [arbitrary measure of Virtue] enough"

that being said I did vote in favor of the serious takes blog. there's a high chance that I wouldn't be able to follow it for long before the Bad Takes drove me mad, and the notes sound like they would be godawful, but I think if you threaten to only keep the blog up for as long as people behave and keep the notes civil, it could work.

and, to anyone with serious opinions that needs a place to put them besides your blog, I often send mine to the blogs transenbyconfessions and aroaceconfessions. they post asks and submissions, anonymously or credited. the goal of those blogs is just to provide a platform for genderqueer, questioning, or relationship-queer folk to have a place to tell their stories without having to worry about horrible notes. just gets sent in and forgotten about. if you want a ping when it posts, you can also sign off as/mention a sideblog of yours. I've done that a few times too.

yeah, i think it's the best option, but it depends how the poll goes

i think in the meantime you can still submit those takes, and if choose the first option then they'll be posted, and if they don't, it doesn't matter either way - maybe it will help just to get it off your chest anyway

i do the read all the submissions, so even if it would make you feel better knowing that at least one person has read your take, then feel free to submit!

[simnostalgia]

I'll admit I haven't done that much research into this so sorry if this is a stupid question but how would an EA controlled modding platform be different than a Sims Store or more Add-Ons? I'm sure the mods will be free to start but in a couple years? :/

It would be pretty different, but it really depends on which way they take it. Let me explain.

So on one hand, the way that it's getting introduced makes it seem optional and for The Sims 4 it's likely going to stay that way. Think of it as a soft launch. They likely know that telling us about the concept wouldn't go over well so they'll make it as painless as possible.

The truth is, it's likely a way to get us used to the concept so that when TS5 comes out and it's required many players will go "Oh we're required to use it but we've already known about this, what's the big deal"

... or at least, that's what they're hoping for. I doubt that's going to happen because not enough people are going to use the platform of their own accord for it to seem like a seamless transition and not an overreach of corporate desire to clamp down on the modding community.

The truth is I'm guessing that it'll be a lot like many online gaming stores. I'd say "think SecondLife" but maybe the more common digital store front would be something like Roblox.

You'll get things for free. Probably a lot of things will be free. However, they'll allow people to charge which will legitimize the practice. While these may seem good to many Patreon creators. I bet this will come with EA skimming some off the top.

More than that, however, the entire modding community will be at the whims of TOU of Overwolf. That means anything they don't like gets taken down. That means only "trusted" creators GET to create. Who knows what trusted means in this context.

It's pretty much a slap in the face to the entire community but it makes sense they would do this. I've been saying for a while that while they tend to use us whenever they're trying to make the game's community look good

"Our AMAZING, TALENTED creators create AMAZING creations."

They've made in clear that they don't want us doing certain things. When one of the TS2 devs went on Twitter and explained that they didn't give us certain tools to mod TS2 because they didn't want us creating "anything to rival Maxis made content" I pretty much got the answer to my suspicion that I've been holding for a while.

The modding community to them is good but only if we're doing what they want, and we rarely are, they need us to sell the game but the minute they're done they'll delete everything we've made without a second thought.

Take the TS2 exchange. I know it was shit but that's not the point. Will Wright made a whole GDC discussion about the heartfelt stories people wrote using TS1.

Specifically he loved to bring up this one real life story about a girl who used the sims to tell the real life story about her sister experiencing domestic abuse.

But the minute they didn't need that shit to sell TS1 copies? Deleted. All the AMAZING CONTENT from our AMAZING CREATORS?? Gone. Of course, since Sims games were tied to one service we kept creating elsewhere, which is a problem.

Our content is bad for them if we aren't being used to sell game copies.

This way, when The Sims 5 is all said and done. They can delete the exchange (or whatever it will be called) and make us move to the next thing. And in the meantime, they can make sure we don't make anything that isn't "good for the brand." It also helps that they'll use the official modding platform to likely try and make pirates pay. No registration? Sorry, no mods for you.

People can call me cynical, but we've already seen this happen on smaller scales since the earliest games. This is just a way to make sure that we make enough AMAZING content to sell their game. But just nothing TOO amazing and they don't want us to have control over the content we make.

If this goes down how I suspect it will, it's going to be pretty much one of the most evil things they've done. Hopefully I'm wrong but I'm not holding my breath.

[lanfan]

I’m gonna be real. 2024 has been not only curb stomping me, but dog walking me as well. A proper molly whopping, if you will.

First, I’m in the hospital for over a month. I know I’ve talked about this, but new developments have occurred in my shit show of a life. In the hospital, I get a call from my landlord that the dumbass owner of my building forgot to put the lighting bill in my name, and she’s been paying it since I moved in 4 months ago. My saint of a landlord tries her best to shield me from the owner, but eventually she can’t anymore and I need to pay up. Thankfully she says we can do a payment plan. It’ll be abt $300 I can pay in the course of 4 months, plus whatever this months bill is. Okay, it’s stressful, but I can handle it.

Then Uncle Tom calls. Disabled folks, you may want to listen up to this, esp if you get paid by SSI monthly like me. Apparently, if you’re hospitalized (or jailed) for a month, SSI doesn’t like to pay you. In fact, if they HAVE paid you for that month, you now OWE them. They paid me twice in a row, so I now owe them a little under $2,000. As if I ASKED to get hospitalized over a month. Now, thankfully there is a law that states that if you pay rent (like live alone and pay bills) and are in under 90 days, then you can appeal the process, so long as you get a letter to the SSI people the day before you’re discharged that you, in fact haven’t been there 90 days, and you’re abt to get discharged at whatever date. So I did that, thinking that was enough.

Nope.

I have to appeal it, and in the meantime I’m only getting $30 from the gov until the appeals process is over. For the first time in a while I’m actually physically PRAYING to god that it won’t be more than a few weeks, bc baby rent is due on the first AND my building owner is getting impatient as fuck. AND you can’t appeal right away, you have to wait for their fucking letter.

I almost took my own life yesterday bc of it. I straight up called my mom and said “stop me from doing something stupid” so then my family whisked me away to be with them until I’m better mentally, which, fair. I don’t want to go to a mental ward bc again. What if I’m in there for a month? Then I’m triple screwed, so this is the best we can do. All on top of me having to recover from all the hospital bullshit.

Anyway, that’s where I’m at. Also my bday is like next week. Months ago I was HYPED bc that’s when the new hq movie comes out in theaters, and I was so excited to treat myself and go see it. Now I can’t even do that bc I can’t drive anymore due to the seizures.

Fun.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Heart’s Choice - Chapter 29 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

John checks in on me in the morning via text.

I spend the day at the library, taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi and looking for a new place to live.

I can't imagine my garage will be usable again any time soon and who knows what will happen to the property, now that Lucille is dead.

In the meantime, I try not to think about John and his confession or the questions that went along with it.

Did I love him, too?

Did I even know what love felt like?

I knew it when I saw it, like I saw it between Ian and Sam but I wasn't sure I'd ever experienced it myself, at least, until now.

But where was the line between like and lust and true love?

How did I know what I felt for John wasn't just shallow attraction?

Or some vampire mate-bond shit?

We were compatible in bed, at least, that was something and he was easy to live with.

I think back on the week I spent at his house.

I liked him and I liked his dogs, I liked his sense of humor 'on the occasions he relaxed enough to let it out' and I liked the way he made me feel, like I was someone worth the effort and worth caring about.

And yeah, I want him to kiss me again, I want him to do a lot more, too.

The attraction between us is undeniable.

But if I could never touch him again, would I still want his company?

I decide that I would and maybe that's the difference.

I don't just love John's body or the things he does to mine...

'I love John.'

Maybe what 'love' means can change over time, too.

A couple who've been together for fifty years probably aren't 'in love' the same way they were when they first met but they may love each other none the less.

Whether we would get the chance to find out if our 'love' could stand the test of time remained to be seen and largely depended on John's ability to restrain himself and not literally love me to death.

In the meantime, his confession deserved a reply.

After steeling my nerves and rehearsing in my head, I call him.

"John Turner's phone. Becky Wu speaking."

I choke on whatever I was going to say.

"Hello?"

"Uh... Hi, Becky. This is... that guy you saw at John's house. Carlos. Is John there?"

"Oh, hi, Carlos," Becky giggles.

"Sorry, he's in the shower. Can I take a message?"

My head swirls with reasons why John would be in the shower and Becky would be at his house, most of which don't make sense.

"No. Just tell him I called and to call me back."

"Sure thing. He's been telling about this case you're on. Sounds like a real head-banger."

"Head-banger?"

"Yeah, you know. Makes you wanna bang your head on your desk."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess it does."

I thought she meant a mind-fuck but it's sort of the same thing, anyway.

"For real. First, one or both of the Peters kill Kyle's parents. Then they adopt Kyle. Next, Mr. Peters dies, my theory is he found out and Lucille killed him, John thinks he was the killer and had a guilty conscience, drank himself stupid and fell down the stairs."

Her excitement translates clearly through her tone and I can almost see her counting off the list on her fingers.

"Fast forward to the present and Kyle is killed. Lucille is a suspect but she pays your hospital bills when you're injured. A deflection tactic? But when Kyle's parents' remains are found, Lucille butchers herself in the most bizarre way possible. Oh and to top if off, she left her house to the gardener. What kind of murderer does that?"

"What gardener? Her yard is a disaster."

"Right? And then your only other suspect has an alibi for Daryl Spark's death, if a thin one."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the first part of the night he was working at a bar, that's solid. But the second half he was with some girl and she's the only one who can vouch for that. Believe me, the DA would tear that to shreds like a cat with a ball of catnip spiked tissue paper."

"A girl? Wait, are we talking about Alejo?"

He looked like the sort who'd call you maricón (Sissy) and beat the shit out of you if you looked at him wrong but he couldn't get it up with a girl if he tried.

Or so he'd told me.

"That's according to John," Becky says.

"You'll have to ask him when he calls. I'd wait and talk to you in the meantime but he's taking one of his 'stress' showers. He'll be awhile."

I frown at the idea that Becky knows more about John's habits than I do, even though it's obvious she would.

They may not have been in love but they were married and lived together for much longer than I've known John existed.

Unable to stop myself, I ask the burning question.

"Um... what are you doing there, anyway?"

"Just picking up the dogs. John asked me to take them back for a few weeks while he moves."

"Moves? Moves where?"

"He hasn't told you? I guess this town just doesn't have the right 'vibe' for him or something. He's thinking of taking another position in San Fran. He's got family there, you know."

I try and fail to think of something appropriate to say.

"Hello?"

"Sorry."

I hold the phone away as I cough to clear my throat and remind myself to breathe.

"Uh, no. He hasn't mentioned that."

"Oh. Well... I'll tell him you called."

Becky's tone contains a wince, as if she's wondering if she's inadvertently said too much.

"Thanks. Um... and give Rick and Morty some belly rubs from me. I'm gonna miss those two."

"Sure thing, Carlos. Bye."

She ends the call.

I stare at my phone.

Then I pull up Alejo's number and call him.

He knows the shit on just about everyone, in certain circles, anyway and he might know something about this 'gardener.'

Moreover, I want to know about this 'girl' because if Alejo was lying about his alibi, then we've still got a solid suspect on the line.

He answers on the first ring, barely giving me a chance to second-guess myself.

"Pendejo? (Fool) Que va! (No way) I thought you were dead or something."

"Oh? Is that why you never bothered to call me after I fell down a flight of stairs and broke my arm?"

"What?" Alejo laughs.

"That Cabrón (Bastard) didn't tell you? I rode to the hospital with you. I was there the whole way. Then he showed up and told me to fuck off. You didn't tell me you were serious with nobody."

"I'm... I'm not," I say, swallowing.

"That guy... doesn't know what he's talking about. We're not together."

"Oh. So, you free tonight?"

Wow. Right to it, then.

"Yeah. That's why I called."

He chuckles, a low, soft sound that sends an unpleasant shiver up my spine.

"Come to the bar. I'm on shift until ten. Then we can have some fun."

"I'll be there."

"Can't wait."

He makes a kissing sound that makes me cringe and hangs up.

I grab my wallet and keys and head for the door.

I've lost my home and my business. My aunt 'and only living family member' is missing and the only man I've ever loved has decided I'm not worth the effort, after all.

What else have I got to lose?

[mountttmase]

SO MY CONCEPTS ARE LONG, ASK SID🫣😂

Here you go

Imagine being a uni student, that lives in Manchester but is from another country.

You live with another girl that happens to be masons cousin.

So obviously Mason is usually around cause he is in a new city alone and his cousin is the only person that feels like home.

You and him become good friends and always stay together when he and other friends are around so everyone notices that the relationship between you two is more that a friendship cause you're always soo lovingly and touchy and everything.

Let's say he had a game and tou were supposed to go, but you got your period and super bad cramps and your only desire was to stay in bed and sleep all day. So you turn off your phone, warm your hot bottle water and go to bed.

Mason gets worried cause you're not answering him and when he doesn't see you near his cousin in the stands he panics and plays like shit cause he thinks you're mad at him or you doing want to have nothing to do with him anymore and he obviously is in love with you so he can't stand loosing you.

Once the game is over he literally runs at home without talking to anyone.

In the meantime you wake up and turn in your phone and see all the mixed calls from Mason so you remember of the game and start feeling like shit cause you didn't advise him you were not going.

So you call him back a few times but he doesn't answer, you call your roommate and she Explains you that he played so bad and run away as soon as the game ended.

You're still feeling bad cause of your cramps but decide to drive to his house.

When you arrive, you ring his doorbell, and when he opens, he asks you sternly. "What are you doing here?" And you are like,"I just came to apologise, but it seems like you're not in the mood, so I'll just go back home. " You actually go back and don't hear from him for the rest of the evening. In the meantime you explained what happened to your roommate and she decides to call her cousin and tell him to grow up and apologise for his behaviour to you, and he is like " I don't think im the one who nède to apologise, she didn't come at the game and was nor answering my calls or texts so why are you screaming at me and not at her?" And she is like," Are you really this stupid? She came yo apologise. She was in bed all day cause her period cramps were killing her today, and even if she was not feeling good, she came at yours to apologise as soon as I told her how the game went! So now find a way to make it up to her, and to me, bye mount. " And he immediately feels soooo bad, so he texts his cousin telling her that he is going to give her a present if she leaves you home alone, and she accepts. So manos comes at yours with your favorite food and once you open he starts apologising telling you that he thought you wanted to end your friendship and that he loves you and can't live without you on his life. You're shocked, but tell him that you love home too and that you would never end things with him cause that would kill you😌🥺

Omg it’s like a whole fic 😭

I can see him being quite stubborn sometimes like when he’s not sure what’s going on and he’s sad like he doesn’t wanna talk too much and just be sad for a little bit 🥺

But as soon as he’s out of his funk he’s be so apologetic and doing whatever he can to make it up to the people he loves I’m so soft 😌

[kramlabs]

Hi I’m running for President.

I’m famous and my family is famous.

We never have worked at a fast food restaurant or cleaned our own house. Not even once.

Listen I need to level with you all. This has gone on way too long.

Politely.

My campaign and my fake opponent’s campaign do not give a solitary fuck about you.

At all. At all. At all.

Listen, personally I think some of you are super, but most of the people that we work for view you as just dumb gullible marks and it sucks that we have to come out here and do a song and dance with these jackals with the microphones and cameras and Ivy League thought police and World Economic Forum sociopaths.

We are all actors on a stage and sometimes we get the nod and prance out here and perform. We are all vetted by the Men Behind the Curtain who own us, they own you, wherever you work, wherever you live, wherever you bank…they own us all.

Everybody’s got a boss.

We have to come out here and do this stupid song and dance and emote and we hire PR douchebags from Yale to tell you stories, but the real story is Fuck you.

We don’t care if the military ran a live exercise and tested out toxic drugs on you, we don’t give a rat’s ass if your grandma was suffocated in the hospital or your newborn was born dead.

We don’t care if we murder thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions or billions. In Ukraine or the Middle East or in Ohio or Florida or Texas or New York City, in America or in Kanada or Aussie or Fraahhhnnncee or China or Korea or who gives a shit.

We just don’t.

We need you to worship us and make excuses for us and you will because you are useless eater gullible hapless dolts at our mercy and we are elites.

Some of us think there are too many of you and are aligned with our real bosses and some of us just stick our heads in the sands and go along because whatever. What do you care? Said Rockefeller to Aaron Russo.

We have minders and bankers who have arranged everything in advance, and we don’t give a fuck if our minders set trains on fire or push jabs into your precious little useless eater kids, or make up rules where Grandpa gets to die with a warm glove of water on his hand, again, we just don’t give a fuck. At all. At all. At all.

We are not going to investigate anybody, nobody is going to jail, we are going to parties and our Yalies and our Harvards and Stanfords and our MITs and our Gleaming Talking Heads are going to look at you with fake sympathy and “feel your pain” like that Stanley Tucci character in Hunger Games and then we are just going to keep murdering y’all because again…we just don’t give a fuck.

Maybe some of our True Believer minions do give a fuck, but they will sell your ass out in a heartbeat if we just give them the charismatic song and dance at a private dinner and make them feel pretty and look in their eyes and say, “we did the best we could”.

Dumbasses.

We will be unveiling new injections soon and we’ve already paid off or threatened your fake resistance to spin this as a positive and they do so as instructed. We will be dropping the hammer soon with a new fake pathogen and a banking collapse and probably a cyber attack and some new cancer causing vectors because we have to get rid of most of you.

We have satellite phones and bunkers and stuff. Most of our Middle Managers will get a rude shock that they don’t get the golden ticket into the bunkers. Maybe you all can tear them to shreds for us as we watch on the monitors and fine dine and clink glasses.

We will also probably need to escalate world war with Russia and then China, but we’ve got the elites of those nations on board as well. The fun part is all the saber rattling and watching all those jackals with the cameras salivate for war.

In the meantime, we have prepared some Tucker Carlson and Russell Brand and Kim Iversen and some good old Pfizer Bad rah rah, and for those of you truly stupid dolts hanging on for dear life, the old legacy media favorites.

There may be some race riots and food shortages and we may try to swing a trans-riot for shits and giggles and we are definitely monitoring you everywhere, so don’t think that you can run some kind of resistance.

I feel like it’s important to say honest things because Truth is like a lion.

Now go out there and vote harder!

Just kidding, we’ll give you whoever we feel like and if you don’t like it, that’s too bad.

[astrovian]

I miss RA so much when we don't hear much about him for a while. Not in an invasive way, in a "I really like hearing from/about him and when things are quiet or he is solely promoting work, I miss his personality". I wish interviewers were less annoying so I could watch old interviews but so much of the time, they just ask the same questions over and over and it's usually stupid shit like "wow ur tall how did u act in the Hobbit" or stuff that seems to make him (and me) uncomfortable like commenting on the "Armitage army" or making comments about his appearance. I think he's an interesting guy! Let me hear what he has to say about actually interesting topics! This is prompted by nothing particular but you're the only active RA blog I follow and I felt like I needed to commiserate.

I think we all feel that way anon 😭

I've said before that (in general) the questions asked by interviewers tend to be very relative & a bit boring - which, in all fairness, I can understand *a bit*. as much as we love him (and he should), he doesn't really have the brand recognition to the point where I would expect most people in a random survey of the population to know who he is just by name. so interviewers are naturally going to ask a lot more of the 'basic' questions - tbh I think most of them still go "oh, it's that guy from The Hobbit" in terms of how much they expect the reader to know. so yeah, it's shitty, but I guess I can understand where they're coming from in terms of doing their job. I don't agree with it but I can understand it

in all fairness as well, he has said in the past that the reason he doesn't so many interviews is because it's not his thing & he doesn't really enjoy them - he's said being on talk shows just really isn't in his nature, which I think most of us introverts can 1000% understand & sympathize with

but this is also why I've said in the past I wish someone would interview him using internet-submitted questions (like Audible did once). or just like - even an interview done by a fan. because while I'm sure that kind of thing would make him uncomfortable (re: because I think there's an assumption that all the questions would then be about his personal life) but at the same time I can think of so many fucking actual interesting questions just about his fucking acting process and job and characters that I deperately want to know the answers to that aren't the usual "so you're a method actor because you once voluntarily got waterboarded in the early 2000s, right??" 🙄

I wish he had a social media site *like* tumblr (note: not actually tumblr because then I would have to delete this blog 🫠) where like - there was an ask box. like with the sole purpose of us being able to fucking submit actual decent questions & every once in a while he could answer one or two if he wanted to

I feel like asking him questions on twitter is just like... bothering him & his mentions lmao. whereas a dedicated thing like an askbox is different from a mention or DM. it makes it more like a formal submission lol

so yes, I miss hearing from him when he's not doing interviews, posting on social media etc. too because he is a very interesting person & I have lots of questions I'd like answered but I also like to imagine that when he's not active on social media he's enjoying a chill life, sipping mojitos on a beach or doing a puzzle in a cozy cabin - or whatever you like - and enjoying not being at the beck and call of the public (even though I know that's a filthy rotten lie because the man seemingly never stops working in the background and I wish he would like. chill. just for a bit. for his sake.)

which is all to say in an extremely long-winded manner:

yes, when absent, I miss his public presence but also I don't begrudge it because I like to think he's just chilling & enjoying life in the meantime