#be for nothing ACTUALLY motivate you or are you lying for some reason?

[timeisacephalopod]

Sometimes I'll be watching an American TV show and there's this idea that if you're treated like dog shit you'll want to win or succeed to "prove them wrong." Like on Glee Finn describes putting up with Sue's abuse as hurtful but mostly it makes him want to win, and idk if this is a uniquely American thing or not but it baffles me.

When I work hard on stuff and people act like it's shit, or don't acknowledge my effort, or some other thing I don't get motivated. I have the opposite reaction especially if I've worked hard on something and that effort ultimately ends up being for nothing- like why would I try HARDER at something that didn't work? That's a waste of time lol I stop putting effort in at all and put the effort I was spending on something that didn't work out into something that might. Do people seriously believe that being treated like shit or otherwise having your hard work dismissed is motivational?? Because that sounds extremely counterintuitive to how I feel like people work unless I'm built different and I don't think I am in this case.

[kingconia]

TWISTED WONDERLAND'S HOUSEWARDENS WITH A READER, WHO IS INSPIRED BY THE PROTAGONIST FROM THEIR STORIES

A/N: I didn't add Kalim or Jamil, because I feel their storyline is too much Aladdin & Jafar inspired already to do anything else with them.

Riddle Rosehearts. ❤️

— That was definitely a dislike from the first sight. He predicted you to be his future reason of headache as soon as the mirror sent you to the Heartslabyul;

— Riddle sees you as an air-headed fool, who only asks too many unnecessary things, daring to question the wishes of the Red Queen, instead of serving to your dorm as a proper student would do;

— You, from the other side, struggle with understanding what makes Riddle hate you so much. You were nothing but kind towards him, always suggesting to eat some sweets together, and trying to ask him to take a break from his studies to hang out with you or others;

— When he overhears that your signature spell makes you others to tell you the truth, Riddle is... Intimidated. He is afraid that you will use is against him, and so, he starts ignoring you more often.

•

”Housewarden acts like an asshole towards you, though.”

Riddle doesn't even need to think twice to recognise a loud voice of Ace Trappola, another troublemaker in his form. He knows that he should just give him a punishment and leave for a lesson, but instead, he hides in the nearest bush, waiting to hear the rest of the conversation.

”Oh, Ace. You are being rude,” you mutter softly, sighing at your classmate. ”Perhaps, a housewarden doesn't like me, but this feeling is not necessarily mutual.”

Riddle raises his brows in surprise. Why, though? He is aware that his attitude is nothing but awful when it comes to you. He doesn't have a proper reason for that, either.

”You should, really,” Ace rolls his eyes. ”Dude has a problem with you liking white. And what else? Being nice?”

That isn't true. He is fine with you liking white—though, he admittedly got frustrated when you asked him on your first day why painting roses red, if they are prettier when they are white—and being nice. He just considers you too naive for this world.

”I think, you are... Misjudging him.”

That is right, Riddle mutters mentally. Tell him, Y/n.

”I think, the reason why housewarden is so... Let's say, annoyed by me, it is because I am everything he grew up hating and being restricted with. And it is harder, when something you should never be interested in, is nice and interesting. I think, housewarden is just confused.”

He feels his cheeks blushing furiously.

What did you say—

”And I think you are just being delusional,” Ace chuckles, patting your shoulder softly. ”Now, please, let's get out of here. I want to find Deuce.”

Riddle listens to the sound of your rushing steps, but he can't care less about it now. All he can do, is to recite your words, again and again.

Does he really think you as a nice and interesting?

Yes.

Does it make him hate you even more?

No, but he wishes it could work this way.

Until now, though, he merely returns to his studies. Maybe, you can be honest with yourself and everyone, but this kind of thing is not for him at all.

Leona Kingscholar. 💛

— Leona didn't notice you at first. Honestly, never planned too, until you started to cling to him in some idiotic attempts to be... What? Friends?;

— You remind him so much of Cheka, but he actually likes his nephew deep inside. And your presence is absolutely insufferable;

— You are too childish and annoying, and all you do is sway your tail as you try to befriend him, while pretending that you actually like him. Leona knows you have ulterior motives. Stop lying to him!

— He finds it stupid how someone so moronic as you managed to pull out such an interesting signature spell. Manipulating dreams of others? How cruel.

•

”Stop doing that,” Leona hisses, digging in your wrist as you try to touch his hair. ”I am seriously going to kill you, if you keep doing this. Do you hear that?!

A few weeks ago—approximately since you figured out your magic—Leona started saw dreams. Very colourful ones, cheerful even. And each, with the same meaning: he becomes the king, and his family and people adores him.

He hates it.

And he hates you for doing that.

Because, of course, he doesn't need your fucking pity. Your condescension. Your gifts. He doesn't need to be mocked!

”Ah? Leona-sama, what is it?” You blink, confused.

”What is your problem, huh?” He hastily jumps on his legs, towering on you. ”Don't you have anything to do? Go and mind your business, brat!”

Your lostness shifts in sadness. You are not scared of him, you are never are—another proof that you don't take him seriously—but you dare to look at him like that. As a kicked puppy.

”What did I do?”

”Stop sending me these stupid dreams! I don't need your pity, do you hear me?!” He yells, still gripping your wrist tightly. ”Go and dream of your family or something, instead, would you?”

”I... I am sorry,” you mumble, and your eyes dart on the floor.

Leona closes his mouth, when realisation dawns on him. You don't have a family to dream about; you are an orphan. Yours, the previous crown family, were killed by his great predecessors.

He doesn't know why he feels bad, when you picked the fight first.

”I will never bother you again, Leona-sama. I apologise.“ You repeat, and your voice suddenly sounds numb.

That is not the sight of you he, or anyone else, was used to. Not a single emotion on your face. You just snatch your wrist from his hold, before leaving him alone as he asked to.

”You are such a jerk,” Ruggie whistles from behind, appearing almost from nowhere.

”Shut up.”

”You know that they can't send any control dreams, right?” He continues, hands on his hips.

”What?” Leona unwillingly turns head on his vice.

”Dunno, but they only can adjust if it is going to be nightmare or a good dream,” Ruggie yawns. ”They are just a first-year, so... It is your brain that decides where is where for now.”

Fuck.

Leona hisses furiously.

He is so fucked up.

Azul Ashengrotto. 🩵

— Oh, so this is love? He notices you in the crowd of other students, as you flinch from loud voices from dynamics, clearly knowing very little of this world, and he is amused. Someone is clearly more social awkward than he is;

— Azul thinks you don't like him that much, though, because you only wave at him, and when he once tried to speak, you merely nodded and smile all the time without answering him properly;

— It is until twins tell him that you don't have a voice. You were brought to this world completely mute, because of the family curse, and though you hear everything, your only way to communicate with others is writing. Or a sign language;

— But if anything gods blessed you is your magic. Everything you touch turns to gold, and that is actually the main reason why you were kept isolated over years. Azul is over heels for you now...

•

”I am glad that you took time to accept my invitation, Y/n.”

Azul locks his hands together, looking at you with unhidden excitement. He is always too nervous in your company—luckily, you can't read a room—but today is a special day.

You smile at him, instead of answering.

”The reason why I asked you to came here, it is because I have a deal for you,” he continues carefully, weighing his every word. ”Do you see that?”

He points with his finger at the middle of the table. There is very beautiful necklace with pearls and a little seashell, looking quite normal and mundane. You nod again.

”That is something that could break your curse,” he explains, enjoying the way your eyes widen in the poor shock. ”Yes, yes, you heard me right. With that, you could speak easily.”

Azul can't help but soften as you tear up instantly. There is a whole minute, when he fights an urge to give it to you for free, but... He built his reputation too long to break it so easily.

”But, of course, I will need something from you in return.”

You tilt your head in question.

”I...”

I need you to love me.

”...I need you to use your power for my business when it will be required.”

And with that, Azul quickly shoves another contract to you. You blink a few times, but there is no back thoughts in your head. Quickly, as if afraid that he will change his mind, you took the pen, and leave your signature on all places, where it was needed.

Ah... Angelwish, why are you so naive! It kills him! What if he tried to use you? You didn't even read a contract! You really should be glad that Azul loves you so much.

Before he realises that, you are already putting a necklace on yourself.

One second, two. Three.

You are staring at him.

”Well?” He asks, anxiously.

”A... Azul?”

His heart drops.

Your voice is amazing. And hearing you saying his name is even better than he expected. He blushes.

”Azul... Thank you?”

”S-sure.”

Seems, like it is his turn to be speechless...

Vil Schoenheit. 💜

— He originally had nothing against you... Until other students didn't start to call you the most beautiful person in the world, following you everywhere obsessively, and suggesting you to become the next housewarden;

— Vil now officially hates you. Each time you come to him ends up with short anger impulses that he hardly hides from you, and he wishes you could just disappear;

— He is quite... Cruel with you. He wants you to change your dorm, actually, so he desperately pushes you to the edge by giving you impossible tasks to fullfil, and turning others against you;

— And he thinks your signature spell, speaking and controlling animals is another proof that you should leave Pomefiore for Savanaclaw.

•

“I don't think you are stupid, un petit entraîneur.”

Vil narrows his eyes, leaning slightly forward from his balcony. The sight of his vice speaking with you—hunter's interest in you was his another concern—annoys him instantly.

”What do you mean, Rook?” There is a big cat in your lap, clearly another of your minions.

”You know that our dear housewarden wants you out of here,” he murmurs, moving closer to you. ”A fair exchange with Savanaclaw, I would say. He doesn't like you here.”

You sigh.

”I figured it out, trust me. He made it very clear by always putting me in dangerous situations and giving me outdated products for skin, making me look like a fool in front of others.”

You don't mention how he makes you clean dark and messy rooms of other students.

”Yet, you are not willing to give up?” Rook touches the strand of your hair curiously.

”You know, I actually liked him a lot,” you admit suddenly, patting the cat behind its ear. ”Vil was the world for me. I was so amazed by him. By how collected he was, how hard he worked. I was excited to become his student... I wished to show him what he is worthy of. That others see his hard work.”

Vil's breath hitches. He remembers you mentioning that you were his fan, but he punished you for this remark; he didn't need to be so violently degraded. But... Was it a truth, then?

”...It is in the past now. I witnessed his true colours, and I will not tolerate it,” your smile twists in something more vicious, a ghostly fondness leaving your pretty face. ”He doesn't need to be scared of me being better anymore. Because I am going to be so much worse.”

He shudders as he hears that, your voice cold, and eyes gleaming dangerously. And as if Rook addresses him, he sighs suddenly, with the strange excitement in his voice:

”Oh, mon doux karma. What had you done?”

Idia Shroud. 💙

— From the minute you open your mouth in his presence , Idia knows he will hate you desperately... It is not serious, though;

— You are unbelievably loud, and too cheerful, and too proud, and you are so self-centred? Also, a fucking bimbo. Idia has no idea why everyone so into you, and what you are even doing in Ignihyde! Go away!

— You annoy him so much, and he actually hates the way you try to befriend him and make him more normie! Stop be like that! You are not welcome!

— Idia is absolutely not impressed that your signature spell is an instant tactics creation. Fuck you, by the way.

•

“You do know, that doors exist, right?” Idia hisses, not even stopping his game to spare you some attention.

”I do!” You say, climbing through the window with a loud thud.

”Then, why don't you use them, idiot?!”

Idia has no the slightest idea why anyone, let alone you of all people—he means, since you genuinely think that it is healthy to spend all your time outside of the room—would want to become his friend. But here you are. Trying to befriend him for a month already.

”Because you never open the door, Idia-sama,” you shrug easily.

”Take a hint, maybe.”

You close the window behind yourself, taking place behind his chair. Putting elbows on it, you hum thoughtfully, glancing from Idia to the screen of the computer, where the game flashes on. Another few minutes, and familiar yelps fill the room:

”Shit!”

Game over.

”Idia-sama,” you frown, ”maybe, I can help you?”

Idia snickers, rubbing his tired eyes. As if.

”Have you ever played this game, even?”

”No,” you murmur shyly, scratching the back of your neck. ”But I am good at tactics. And it is combat game, correct?”

Idia ponders for a while. That is surprising, because... You are actually absolutely correct. For once.

”Sit down, first year,” Idia exclaims, suddenly excited. ”I am going to teach you how to play this game.”

You smile widely, doing as it was told.

Finally, you cracked the code! And they said you weren't for this dorm...

Malleus Draconia. 💚

— Of course, he missed you as the new student at first, since he forgot to arrive at the orientation day. But it is not that long as he starts hearing others praising you, Lilia especially;

— You are quickly becoming the part of the school life as everyone loves you, and calling you ’the heart of the school’. And while Malleus wants to befriend you, too... He also can't help but feel envious of how easy it is for you. The socialization;

— You are quick to fall asleep everywhere, much like Silver. And since Malleus can't find courage to speak to you, he wanders around, when you are asleep at the strangest places, instead;

— When the first overblot incident happens, your signature spell kicks in. To everyone's horror, it is absolutely terrifying. Your magic is about thorns. Thorns, that wrap around Riddle's weakened body, when he touches you. He almost dies. And the same thing happens with Ace, who accidentally brushes your skin. Now... Everyone shun you away.

•

”Hello, Malleus-sama,” you mutter, eyes sleepy as you look around. ”I apologise.”

Malleus doesn't quite mind you falling asleep in the class, where his gargoyle's researches are going currently. He is the only member, anyway. But he nods.

”I had never seen you here before,” he notices in a poor attempt of the small talk.

You shrug.

”There is no other students here. And it is better for me not to show up around them.”

What a familiar thinking process... Somehow, he finds it easier: to approach you know, when you are not everyone's favourite anymore.

”I see. You can stay, then. I am not welcomed by them either, so no one is going to enter this classroom.”

You offer him a smile. It is short, strained at the edges, but still sweet. Malleus thinks he understands how you so easily charmed others in the last months; you are much like sunshine, when you are happy. It is a shame you are not, anymore.

”You know, Malleus-sama, I always wanted to become your friend,” you admit suddenly, making him open his eyes in surprise. ”And, I think, you wanted to be mine friend, too.”

You? Why would someone like you want to have him as your friend?

”And why would you think that?”

You fold arms on your chest slowly.

”You are always here, when I am sleeping,” Malleus feels blush touching the tips of his pointy ears. You elaborate. ”I am not sure people realise, but I sleep too much not only because I am lazy, but also because I feel surroundings better like this. I remember everything I hear in my sleep, and I do feel if someone is around.”

Ah. So, that is the secret of yours. And he wondered how you master in all your classes, when you sleep all the time...

”...I see,” Malleus mutters, ashamed. ”I apologise, then.”

He reminiscences of how often he whispered you some nonsense when you slept—childish complaints about how he hates you for being so easily loved by others, random poems that came to his mind as he sat down by your side, stories from his childhood—and feels like disappearing in the shame wouldn't be that bad.

”You know, Malleus-sama, you and I... We are not so different. We both do what we have to do to keep our loved ones to ourselves,” you sit down on the couch beside him slowly. ”But it leads only to one thing.”

Malleus gazes at you curiously as you suddenly curl on his lap, much like a cat. Your eyes met as he helps you to settle more comfortably.

”To destiny?” He asks aloud, tilting his head.

”To pain.”

There is a beat of silence in which your smile suddenly appears to be more bitter, less serene. Malleus doesn't know what happened with you in details, and how awfully these changes in your reputation affected on you, but he can say that it was hard.

”Now, if you don't mind, and I believe, you don't, Malleus-sama, I would like to dream a little bit.” You warn him, already closing your eyes, not really waiting for the answer.

Still, Malleus nods. Though that is not something you can see.

”Sleep, then... Beastie,” he sighs, patting your hair gently.

You snicker, before your breath slows down, alarming that you completely drifted off.

Malleus stares at you openly now.

Ah, who would've thought? He had finally made a friend.

Part two with Leona & Vil is here.

[ollieolliewrld]

How The DMC Men Enter Relationships (SFW)

How your relationship with the Sparda Trio start~ gn!reader

1.4k words

Dante 

❥ How you meet

♡ You meet Dante late at night 

♡ You were both lonely and looking for a body to ease that pain

♡ He has no intentions of having feelings for you, and you were not looking for a relationship

♡ At first, all that is exchanged are first names and phone numbers 

♡ Conversation is limited to simple greetings and partings 

♡ The interactions are mainly physical 

❥ How the relationship begins

♡ As time goes on Dante begins to miss you when you leave and starts asking you to stay the night

♡ He starts to ask you about yourself, questioning about your hobbies and favorite foods

♡ As much as he does not want to admit it, he is starting to develop feelings for you

♡ He doesn't outright ask you to date him instead he asks if you would like to leave some things at his place 

♡ Late-night phone calls turn into him inviting you to dinner 

♡ After some time Trish refers to you as his s/o in conversation and Dante is taken back

♡ He hadn’t thought of it that way but you two are doing all of the relationship things, but more importantly, he really enjoyed hearing you referred to as his s/o

♡ A few days later Dante is lying in bed with you when he asks if you would like to put a label on things 

♡ He explains that he would like mutual commitment and to pursue a future with you but he understands if you want to keep things more casual

♡ Although he has no interest in anyone else and would not be ok if you were seeing other people no matter if there was a label or not 

♡ When you do agree to put a label on things Dante becomes a little cocky about now bringing you up specifically as his s/o in most conversations

❥ Early relationship dynamics

♡ Dante would want you to stay at home more, not locked in there or anything but more just not overworked

♡ He likes to come home to you, it brings him peace of mind and motivates him

♡ Small disagreements take place when you move in with him, Dante has never had a long-term serious relationship so he is unsure of how to split up housework and tasks like cooking

♡ Nothing ever gets too heated as he comes to an agreement with you pretty quickly

♡ He wants to be in charge of breakfast and dinner when he is home, but would really appreciate it if you could make dinner when he comes home late and you are already home

♡ It’s decided that you will both use Saturday as the day to get all of the house cleaning done together

♡ It takes about a month for you two to settle in together but once the adjustment period is over you two work fluidly together with very few arguments

Vergil

❥ How you meet

♡ He comes into your work by accident, he had no reason to be there but the rain outside was terrible and he wanted to find reprieve for just a moment to get himself together

♡ You very kindly offered him your umbrella seeing the state he was in

♡ Not being used to this kind of kindness he simply stares at you unsure of how to respond

♡ Silently he takes the umbrella and walks out 

♡ After this, he happens to wander into your workplace more often hoping to see you again

❥ How the relationship begins

♡ Vergil does not start the conversation but rather you do as you come up behind him

♡ You jokingly ask if he’s stalking you and his demeanor changes to be very flustered with a slight blush appearing across his cheeks 

♡ He stops coming to your workplace after this but you catch him reading a book in a park not too far away about a week later

♡ This time he begins with a simple hello

♡ To his surprise, the conversation flows very naturally and learns that you actually missed his random appearances at work

♡ Never did he expect to be able to talk to anyone like this, casually and freely

♡ Not knowing who he was and what he had been through allows him to start fresh not feeling any levels of judgment

♡ You two stay as friends for a while, he never makes a move as he does not want you to leave when he opens up to you

♡ After a few months, Vergil cannot keep secrets from you anymore and he finally tells you about who he is and what he has done expecting you to be scared and leave

♡ But you are not scared and when he turns to see your reaction you lean in to kiss him

♡ The feeling of your lips on his sets him free, he can finally be his entire self around you without fear

❥ Early relationship dynamics

♡ That day was the start of your romantic relationship, but Vergil does not like to refer to you as his s/o preferring terms like “My light” and “My love”

♡ You two would move in together shortly after that first kiss 

♡ A lot of time is spent teaching Vergil the ways of average human life 

♡ He enjoys taking care of the home and finds a passion for cooking 

♡ Doing things like furniture shopping brings him a lot of joy and finds it to be a very important time with you

♡ He likes to take you on dinner dates at nice restaurants and to museums 

♡ Overall the beginning of your relationship is pretty smooth the only potential issue being that Vergil is a bit reclusive not liking to be in very high-energy areas like a concert or club 

Nero

❥ How you meet

♡ Nero is still young and has not gotten the hang of relationships fully yet

♡ The dating world is still pretty new to him

♡ He meets you in the most cliche way, you were carrying boxes in your hands and Nero was sprinting around the corner knocking into you and sending the boxes to the ground

♡ Dropping what he was doing he cleans up your mess while apologizing and then turns to help you up but when his eyes met yours, the ability to speak the English language left him

♡ Stumbling over words he attempts to introduce himself not making a lot of progress

♡ With a smile you tell him your name and that he can make up for the incident by buying you a coffee

❥ How the relationship begins

♡ He is very nervous around you at first, before getting coffee with you the first time he changed his outfit three times and brushed his teeth twice

♡ Despite the nerves, he was able to talk to you and your sweet demeanor helped to calm him down

♡ You were kind and confident and that combo worked on him as he asked when he could see you again right after you both finished your drinks

♡ Nero is a very sweet guy making sure to hold doors open for you and following the sidewalk rule

♡ His age shows though when he tries to show off in front of you by doing things like attempting to do tricks on a random skateboard despite him having zero experience 

♡ Or telling you very over-the-top embellished stories about his Devil May Cry work

♡ After going out a few more times he asks if he can start calling you his s/o

♡ You agree and the smile that forms on his face tells you how long he has been waiting to ask you that

❥ Early relationship dynamics

♡ Neither of you are in a rush to move in together 

♡ Instead, it’s a lot of sleepovers and him tagging along to run errands with you

♡ Nero discovers that he enjoys going to stores like Target not looking to buy anything and instead just looking around

♡ He also loves to binge shows with you

♡ If you watch any level of reality TV, Nero will become the biggest fan but will deny it if you ever ask him

♡ Finds it romantic to know all of your orders at your favorite food places, Nero likes to surprise you with them whenever you are feeling sad

♡ Some fights happen when he has to leave for work, you don't want him to go and he doesn't want to leave you and because he is young the emotions are a little hard to navigate 

♡ But with proper and open communication these problems fade away

Author's note: This was so cute to write! I had a lot of fun taking my time with this and really feeling the characters out and I hope you all have fun reading it!

[vickyvicarious]

There was a certain method in the Count's inquiries, so I shall try to put them down in sequence; the knowledge may somehow or some time be useful to me.

Let's talk about this method.

Dracula opens this conversation by first checking if he could have multiple solicitors, then questioning further whether he could have them for different tasks/locations. Jonathan accedes the legality of all this, but first says it's not usually necessary, then wants more detail when Dracula keeps asking. Dracula explains, but his explanation seems a little contradictory:

"Now here let me say frankly, lest you should think it strange that I have sought the services of one so far off from London instead of some one resident there, that my motive was that no local interest might be served save my wish only; and as one of London residence might, perhaps, have some purpose of himself or friend to serve, I went thus afield to seek my agent, whose labours should be only to my interest. Now, suppose I, who have much of affairs, wish to ship goods, say, to Newcastle, or Durham, or Harwich, or Dover, might it not be that it could with more ease be done by consigning to one in these ports?"

He claims he didn't want any local interests to be served over his own in London, but then turns right around and says that local lawyers in various ports would be able to help him there more easily. If he really wants his own interests served first and foremost, Jonathan's suggestion that he could work with one solicitor, who would then work on his behalf with colleagues in other places, seems perfectly reasonable. Of course, if he wants to limit how much of his affairs any one person knows, then dividing his various tasks amongst various people makes sense. It's more unusual or even suspicious, but it's perfectly legal.

(Aside here - part of the reason I think he actually wanted a lawyer who wasn't from London is because he wants as little connection drawn between himself and that lawyer's (or lawyers' plural, going off my theory he might plan to kill Mr. Hawkins later) strange disappearance/death. He wants anyone he meets in London to know nothing about him before his arrival there.)

Dracula's happy to hear this. Then he starts delving into all sorts of specifics, with an attention to detail that impresses Jonathan. He obviously wants to be very careful to be as fully prepared as possible. Only after this is all confirmed (in books, not just by Jonathan's word - perhaps guarding against Jonathan, who knows he is imprisoned, lying to him?), does he ask whether Jonathan has written home. He uses clever wording and an implicit threat to coerce Jonathan to agree to remaining another month and helping him further.

This, just after they have completed all their business. It's extra cruel with that timing. And then as soon as he sees Jonathan is trapped, he presses his advantage with insidious charm, essentially dictating the content of the letters he wants him to write home. He gives Jonathan extremely thin paper, once again a threat without words that his words will be seen, his cooperation assessed further. He proceeds to sit right there the entire time Jonathan is writing, and only after he is done does Dracula begin to write his own letters. This little choice increases the pressure immensely, meaning Jonathan has to write while feeling watched the entire time, then wait in suspense even longer after he has finished. Sure, he says he's just reading a book, but I doubt he's putting all his attention on that. Dracula is essentially taunting him here - all the more so when he leaves the room and the letters unguarded briefly.

Throughout the entire conversation, and the letter-writing that follows, he slowly tightens a net around Jonathan. The first part might raise suspicions about what Dracula plans to get up to, but it also is completely focused on business and very productive. It's also a lot of Jonathan saying yes, you can do that. Yes, it's odd to have multiple solicitors, but you can do that. Yes, if you want, that's allowed, and here's how to avoid any negative consequences. Then he uses the claim of business and duty to impose further on Jonathan. Jonathan is forced again to say yes, you can do that. You can have me stay longer. Yes, I accept, Mr. Hawkins did say I would help you however you needed. I will do that. Then as soon as Jonathan has agreed to that, Dracula ramps up the charm and threat both, and pushes harder with the letter request. He forces Jonathan to once again agree, this time without any words. Yes, I'll do that. I'll do what you want me to.

And then, at the very end, after establishing this pattern of agreement and complicity, after making Jonathan feel completely trapped in so many ways. Then, he starts to test Jonathan. To push him more. He leaves the room, leaves his letters behind. Two of them unopened. What is that if not an invitation to snoop? Jonathan takes the invitation - but he's frustrated in any effort to read inside by Dracula's swift return. Dracula removes any opportunity to learn more about the letters, and moves to leave Jonathan alone to stew in his thoughts... but turns back at the door to deliver a warning.

Don't sleep outside your room. If you do, who knows what would happen to you. He gestures as though he's washing his hands, as if saying I'm not responsible for the result or maybe even I won't save you. Coming right now, after the way the rest of this conversation has gone... it feels a lot like a deliberate taunt. A test. A push, to see if Jonathan will rebel once out of his sight. A trap, perhaps - especially if leaving him with the letters was already a trick, especially if he could tell that Jonathan tried to spy on them.

[satoruin]

i understand why traveler is still friends with childe even though he’s fatui and why traveler doesn’t trust lyney and lynette so here’s my rant about it + some speculation about what is to come:

in liyue’s archon quest both the traveler and childe are used to set the stage for morax’s death and felt fooled by the contract signora and zhongli had in place. (reason i personally don’t like or trust zhongli) that mutual feeling of being used neutralized a lot animosity that came out of childe’s actions imo. because yeah he was trying to destroy liyue but he also had done it while being heavily influenced.

and childe never considers the traveler as an enemy. he saves them at the beginning of the quest, helps them reach the adepti (though with ulterior motives), and considers them a friend after his boss fight.

his story quest shows him as just a guy which really helps to soothe the rest of the one-sided tension and dislike the traveler has for him. teucer was the brownie points of his quest that showed his familial love and really turned the relationship into a friendship. traveler knows by the end that childe likes his family and fighting, and while he serves the tsaritsa he values those two things a lot.

he sort of just wedges his way into the traveler’s heart by being a himbo honestly and doesn’t really give them a choice but to be friends with him.

with lyney and lynette, it felt almost intentional that they were at the port (just speculating bc they knew who the traveler was before hand so it’s possible they received information and instruction). and while i do think they were genuine with their interactions i think traveler knows that the bonds can and will be manipulated by arlecchino, because the other harbingers are nothing like childe.

the other harbingers have been cutthroat and are trying to destroy nations of their own machinations and not by being manipulated (save for scaramouche).

so traveler kind of cutting ties with lyney and lynette seems to be preventative as well as not trusting their intentions which is smart and learned behavior.

and there is the matter that they didn’t disclose that they were from the fatui in the first place. though i do understand them in this situation because when are you supposed to say “hey i’m actually from an orphanage run by the fatui” BUT they should have disclosed investigating the justice machine from the beginning. which then lying about that just seems to make the whole omitting fatui part worse i think.

of course after the gnosis is gone or falls into the fatui’s hands (which has been inevitable thus far) the traveler may choose to try being friends with the siblings but as of right now the traveler understands that they are a potential and likely threat.

i am curious to see how the gnosis will be handled in the upcoming archon quest though, since we know arlecchino’s plan is to use the power herself to fix fontaine and then hand it over to the tsaritsa.

players have speculated that celestia might be bad, but i don’t think in-game traveler has connected those dots yet as to why archons seem to hand over their gnoses so casually. because arlecchino’s goal is to save fontaine (well according to lyney anyways) and it doesn’t sound bad but who knows.

and of course dansleif should come to fontaine as well and maybe we’ll getmore lore, a divine nail, and maybe answers for why celestia is moving closer to teyvat.

idk just felt very passionate about this and have seen a lot of stuff float around on the subject so i’m putting in my two cents. feel free to chat about it with me !

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

Isle landmarks

Port - divided in between three crews, heavily regarded as a very unpleasant area by, well. Almost everyone else. (Important to note: this goes for every single area of the Isle.) Lives at night a lot.

Jolly Roger of Captain James Hook

Scattered Hope of Captain Harriet Hook. Comparatively safer to be around, you might find some goods "accidentally left out" if the Captain's feeling it.

Lost Revenge of Captain Uma Triskelion. Safest of the pirate ships unless you are allied to Mal or insult Uma. (...You know what, I take that back.) Also, it's a cult.

Chipp Shoppe. Firmly under the rule of Lost Revenge.

Hook's inlet. That's a fancy name for a building that port adults go to pass out in by the morning at that brings substantial money to Captain Hook. (His kids are not allowed to work there. They kept stealing from the counter more than they sold.)

Serpents prep, aka the school Captain Hook was forced to fund after dr F refused to deal with two if his children at once. They've got sea ponies and surprisingly good curriculum.

The centre. Counts as, well, semi-neutral territory?

Tremaine salon. The only actual neutral territory on the Isle. You see, if you fight by the Tremaines, you won't get your hair done. (this works because the Villains and their kids are vain as fuck and value their style over their lives. Literally.) Also, Tremaines treat most of their customers as particularly annoying cats.

Mad Maddy's Apothecary. This could count as neutral territory but Mim's are playing favourites. One rule: Do NOT make out in the Apothecary.

Rose Garden of the Queen of Hearts. Yeah no. Do not go near if you like your life.

Dragon Hall, AKA the school Dr Facilier funded for very innocent and inconspicuous reasons that have nothing to do with the other Villains owing him for babysitting their brats and molding the young minds to his picture, how dare you even suggest that.

The Arcade. Funded by Dr F too and operated mostly by his daughters. Also no ulterior motives on this one. (If little kids don't come to school, they're at Arcade. It's always good to know where the kids you're paid to keep alive are.)

Storm Hall. A mostly abandoned building slightly off-the-centre that Isle kids use for official gang meetings.

Frollo's church. Later, it's ruins. The building has suffered from entirely natural structural instability ever since the first Isle kids learned what matches are. While Frollo's alive, it's unsafe to be around if you're a girl, person of colour, or of magical heritage.

Yes, there is a problem of Frollo's being entirely too close to Dragon Hall. Dr F had it under control! Really!

The Market. Yeah. Market. With very reasonable prices that are not theft at all.

Maleficent's Bargain Castle overlooks the market and her goblins provide security for shopkeepers who are willing to pay a steep price. No one's sure why Maleficent tolerates the market so close, she hates people.

Jafar's Junk Shop. If you lost something, there's like seventy percent chance it'll end up there. I've got nothing else to add.

Gaston's Duels Without Rules, slightly off the main market. And yes. It is without rules. Do not ask about the blood under the dumpsters please.

Hell Hall. Few streets down but still close enough, you'll know by the screaming. Close enough for Cruella and her minions to get the finest fabrics whenever she wishes.

Witches Academy. Yes, it is entirely too close to the market for how flammable the stands are. However, the Mims are doing what they do best and being bitches on main.

Landmarks

The End Of The World. Steep cliff on the off-side of Auradon, favourite hang-out spot for Isle kids. Who says they hadn't spent hours there looking into the waves and contemplating life, they're lying.

The Skull Rock. On the Isle for Reasons. Y'know, a generation of kids robbed off their childhood? Magic banned off? (The Isle of the Lost is Neverland and it's your problem now.)

The Jungle. No. Do NOT. You do realise that's where all the tigers and snakes and lions and wolves dwell. Also called the Zoo by kids who like dark humour and/or have a deathwish.

The Caves. There's an entrance to Hades' cave somewhere. Do not try to find it (unless you are Celia Facilier), he's on vacation and doesn't wish to be disturbed.

Other

Castle Across the Way. Is not close to the centre or the market to be counted as such. That's because the Evil Queen refused to interact with the commoners and looked substantially scarrier than Lady Tremaine while communicating that.

The Hun camp. Do NOT attempt to find it.

[sepublic]

            Tbh not a fan of how some people are so obsessed with framing Belos as some sympathetic, tragic character on account of his parallels with Luz, that they basically rob him of any and all agency to reduce Philip to some mindless follower of his puritan community, even in their explicit absence while having the support of Caleb, whose opinion he should prioritize if it was truly about what others have told him. This woobified take of some superstitious dingus/helpless child who can’t make any decisions for himself feels infantilizing and at odds with how Belos is actually portrayed in the show.

         Plus, the whole argument of “That’s how it was back then” in order to justify or at least explain Philip’s bigotry feels rather hollow, because like. Not only does Caleb (who was also a child not much older) exist, but this rationale was used to justify a lot of historical people’s pro-slavery attitudes, because “it was just normal” back then, so surely we can’t judge these people by modern standards, right? Especially not to replace a Confederate statue, right?

         (For the record, I highly doubt people who use this logic in regards to Belos are intentional about this comparison, I don’t think they made this connection and still went with it anyway.)

         Except people back in the day DID call this behavior out, there were always people opposing it, hence the existence of a character like Caleb. And this is a point that’s being raised a lot in regards to this subject about judging people of the past with contemporary values. Abolitionists existed just plenty in the past, and it’s their work that led to this social change over time.

         Plus, the framing of Philip as some superstitious Puritan who genuinely believed in his church’s teachings about sin, and is legitimately concerned for people’s souls, indirectly presents him as only needing a good argument and evidence to change his mind. Except we see how Philip is a highly intelligent, calculating individual who can figure people out like it’s nothing, extremely observant and approaching his analysis of the Demon Realm with a professionalism bordering on the scientific method.

         That scene in For the Future, where he’s confronted by alleged ghosts? I think it’s meant to support what the Titan clarifies in the next episode; That Belos KNOWS he’s wrong, that he’s just lying about it. The problem isn’t that he needs to realize this, it’s that he already has, but won’t admit this to himself to change his behavior in response. I doubt Philip truly believes there’s a God expecting something of everyone. And remember Grom, when Luz says “You’re not coming from a place of intellectual honesty, so debating you would be pointless!”

         Jacob Hopkins strays close to the Dudebro image that Luz directs this line at; And we see how he’s not actually driven by reasoning, but by a delusional need to be the hero. And Jacob’s comparisons to Belos need not be stated; A lot of fascists AREN’T approaching from a place of actual logic that can thus be reasoned with, hence why punching them is a necessity.

         It’s not as if they’re just working with faulty evidence that they’ve drawn a misguided conclusion from; They come in with a predisposed ‘conclusion’ they’ve already decided on, and then look only for the evidence to support it. Which is ironic, given what I said about Philip appearing to be someone who would use the scientific method in his studies, but bias is bias. It’s like how other races being inferior was made up to justify slavery as an economic boon; Rather than people naturally assuming other races to be inferior, and THEN making slavery as a result of that conclusion.

         The bigotry is all an intentional excuse made to justify an ulterior, power-hungry motive; Why else does Thanks to Them frame other witch hunters as just making things up about their neighbors to seize their property? And remember when I compared King James I of historical infamy to Philip, speculating that his real-life book on witchcraft may have influenced Philip’s diary from a writing perspective, if not an in-universe one as well? A lot of people speculate James didn’t necessarily believe in witches as a threat to humanity; He just latched onto them as a scapegoat to legitimize his power. Because if the agents of Hell see you as a threat, doesn’t that suggest you as divinely ordained?

         And I think that ties into Philip’s shallow understanding of the Demon Realm; These people are inherently evil, so if they do anything to hate or oppose him, it’s because Philip is actually an agent of Good, a divine hero, and all of these demons are some magical hivemind that uniformly collaborate to prioritize opposing Good. He’s every bully who needles and harasses a minority, and acts vindicated when they DO lash out, as the creator of a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

        And while there’s a lot to be said about not feeding the beast, sometimes you just HAVE to defend yourself, and not care about proving your worth to someone who isn’t approaching from a place of good faith, whose approval is meaningless, especially if it comes at the risk or even cost of your own safety. Hence all this real life discussion of queers and other minorities not having to be palatable to deserve rights.

         In the end, I see Philip Wittebane as akin to Walter White, of Breaking Bad fame; I’m sure he DID legitimately care about his family, to an extent. But if it really was just about them, and not the cheap thrill of some power fantasy, he’d have accepted the help given to him, instead of going on this ridiculous quest to accumulate strength so he can become the Biggest, Baddest person who can crush his enemies.

        And in his constant pursuit of that high, what concern for his family and others he might’ve had withers away into nothing; Until the Titan’s summation of Philip as someone who only believes in his delusional need to be the hero doesn’t just make sense from her in-universe perspective, but as a description with implied authorial backing. Family? That was just an excuse, but at least Walter White had the guts to admit this aloud to someone else.

[emeritusemeritus]

86 Baby! [Eddie Munson x Reader]

Part 1

Title: 86 baby!

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Reader (friends to lovers), Implied Steve Harrington x Reader

Timeline: S4, set two weeks before graduation. Some Canon has been altered to fit the story; no Vecna, Byers never moved and Hop is alive.

Summary: In two weeks, you and your best friend Eddie would be graduating, taking your planned road trip and riding off into the sunset to leave Hawkins behind, until one little secret throws everything down the drain.

Warnings: it’s a little angsty, swearing, implied fake relationship, standard tropes, Eddie gets a little mean in part 2, drinking, deception.

Monday.

"Sooo..." Eddie draws out as he takes his usual seat next to you in the cafeteria, none of the other regulars appearing yet.

Eddie had met you outside of your classroom to walk with you to the lunch room, appearing outside the wooden door suspiciously early before the first bell sounded, a tradition that had begun on your first day of high school. He'd paused briefly as you approached the usual table and gestured flamboyantly for you to sit down first, sliding your chair in for you slightly before taking his own seat at the head of the table.

He sits awkwardly with one leg up on the plastic chair and one dangling next to you outstretched, but somehow for Eddie, that's what is comfortable.

“Tonight. I'm feeling a really crappy budget slasher and too much pizza," He says with a grin, placing down his metal lunchbox and absently pulling out a baggie of trail mix, which is mostly pretzels, navigating the array of suspicious paraphernalia inside.

"Oh," you reply, brain working overtime as you fight to think of a feasible excuse to avoid your weekly ritual, having forgotten all about it under your current stresses. "I'm sorry I totally forgot to tell you!" You giggle awkwardly, the little chuckle sounding absurdly fake to even your own ears. "I've got to help my mom pack tonight, she's going to see her friend from college over the weekend, I said I'd try and spend some time with her before she left, she's actually picking me up early tonight so you won't have to drop me home." You shrug gently, not quite meeting his eyes as you feel his curious gaze lingering upon you as he takes in your words. Okay, not a complete lie but also not the complete truth either.

"Oh, okay," he mumbles, sounding so dejected that you immediately feel the tugging weight of shame at your avoidance of him.

"Maybe we could do it another night instead, maybe Thursday?" You ask quickly, lifting your eyes to his, seeing that his face portrays every ounce of disappointment that his words did.

"On Hellfire night?" He asks sharply, his tone clipped and rudely sarcastic. "What's going on with you?" He asks brashly, eyes squinting as he examines your face, knowing that something isn't right.

"What do you mean?" You ask, trying to feign innocence.

"What do I mean? Lets see princess, firstly you forget our Monday movie night, a tradition unbroken since the dawn of time within the realms of our friendship, you disappeared on me last week, not warning me that your mom was picking you up early so I waited in the car park for 40 minutes. You didn't show up to our gig last Tuesday, and now you're forgetting Hellfire meets?" You can almost feel the twist of the knife with each of his words, his accusatory tone only increasing the guilt within you. Hearing all the examples together made you feel awful; all the evidence laid bare before you as to why you were a shitty friend recently.

"So come on, what's the jig princess?" He leans forward in his chair, eyes still squinting as you fight not to squirm under his intense gaze.

"Nothing! I told you I wasn't feeling well last week at first break, and I left a message with Miss Thomas to let you know I was going home!" You reasoned, still lying through your teeth at the motive, though you had thought to ask the office administrator to pass along a message to let him know you wouldn't be riding home with him, though they clearly had never reached out to him. "And Tuesday I had to take an extra shift at Benny's," you shrugged, trying to deflect the blame. “You know my car’s fucked, I’m trying to get it fixed.”

Mercifully, Gareth and Jeff were quickly making their way over to the table with their lunch trays and you visibly deflated with relief. Eddie shot a look towards the approaching party and turned once more to glare at you, fixing you with a look that told you that this conversation was far from over.

More of the Hellfire group began to spill in and you were thankful for the distraction, seeing that Dustin was hyped up over something that dominated the conversation you were barely listening to. Eddie was tense throughout the lunch, offering little to the conversation as he sat back and ate his pretzels, glaring about the room and huffing under his breath. The guys knew better than to provoke him when he was in this mood, knowing he was volatile at the best of times and so they carried on their conversation around him, trying to include him every now and then but not pushing.

When the bell rang, you quickly gathered up your bag and the lunch you'd only picked at, having found your appetite severely diminished by the tension and lingering guilt from the conversation with Eddie. Luckily, your Monday afternoon schedule did not coincide with Eddie's and you wouldn't have to see him for the rest of the day. You felt guilt and uneasy at lying to him, having never done so before, but you reasoned that it was for a good cause, even if you did feel conflicted.

The afternoon dragged on as you sat in History class, not paying a single ounce of attention to Mrs Click as you jotted down plans and lists and notes in your little notebook as ideas popped into your head. When the bell rang, signalling the time to head to the last class of the day, you all but sprinted out the front doors of the school and out into the car park where a car was waiting for you. Specifically, a burgundy 1983 BMW 733i.

You turned your head quickly to try and see if anyone was looking and quickly slipped into the passenger side, throwing down your bag into the footwell as you turned to greet your chauffeur.

"Hey," you smiled, looking up at the driver, who offered you a warm smile back, before you nervously look around once again to check that no one was watching.

"Hey you," Steve said with a wide smile, running his hand through his hair as he rested his elbow on the open window.

"Drive! I don't wanna get caught!" You prompted, quickly securing your seatbelt as you ushered him to drive away quickly. He chuckled, shaking his head but did as you requested and immediately began to drive out the parking lot and onto the main road.

"You know if you're ashamed of being seen with me, we might need to have a little chat," he grins, not looking at you but instead focusing on the road in front, a grin tugging at his lips at his own sarcastic comment.

"Oh hush, Hair-ington," you joke, rolling your eyes. "Simply thinking of you. You sure you wanna be seen collecting a kid from high school after you graduated last year, old man?" I joked, trying to push his buttons just a little. His face instantly scrunched up on displeasure until he shot me a disbelieving look.

"Pretty sure your boyfriend is older than me," he grumbles. I immediately know whom he's referring to.

"Eddie is not my boyfriend for the hundredth time," I say quickly, perhaps a little too defensively. "Plus he's still at school, so it's not creepy." You chuckle.

"Yeah because that makes it better," he adds sarcastically. You playfully blob your tongue out at him before nudging him gently by the shoulder.

"Not for much longer though," Steve says after a few moments, referring to our upcoming graduation. A pit of nervous excitement settles in your stomach as you think of your plans for graduation, glad to be rid of Hawkins High.

"I know, less than two weeks!" You babble excitedly, earning a laugh from Steve at your apparent elation.

"You know it's really not all it's cracked up to be, the adult world," he reasons, suddenly looking downcast as he thinks to how his life has turned around.

"Hey, just because you didn't go to college doesn't mean you're a failure you know," I protest, knowing that his lack of college education was always a sore spot with him, having spoken about it at great lengths only last week.

"I know it's just, not really how I thought I'd end up. Always figured I'd be able to leave Hawkins and branch out, broaden my horizons and all that, or I'd get stuck working for my dads company. Never thought I'd be working in a rental video store 40 hours a week and still living at home with my parents at 19," he mutters, grabbing his nose with his hand as you'd observed him so anytime he was upset or stressed.

"Yeah but at least you're free," you counter, adding more before he could protest, "the way I see it, you're making money, that money can go on a deposit or the start of a college fund, whatever you want to do more. Then when you finally get where you want to be, you have the satisfaction that you made it all by yourself, no help from mummy and daddy, just your own accomplishments."

He's quiet for a few seconds as he ponders over your words, nodding gently as he processes them.

"When did you get so wise?" He chuckles, looking over at you, earning a laugh in return.

"I've always been wise, you just never chose to listen." Both of you laugh as you watch the tree line get denser and denser as you pull away from the main roads, out towards the Byers' house.

The Byers house was the perfect place for your secret little meetings. It was hidden away at the ass end of Hawkins, tucked away behind the lab, a fair drive from the centre of town and away from all your friends houses, including the furthest place from the trailer park, (not counting the Wheeler house but that was too risky incase saw you and Mike opened his big mouth). The Byers' house was close enough to Harrington's that he could park up at home on Cornwallis and walk across to the Byers' on Mirkwood through the woods and no one would be aware of anything out of the ordinary, should they come round poking their noses in.

Joyce was a gracious and willing host and had offered you her house for your little meetings, keeping you away from prying eyes, something both of you were thankful for.

Approaching the Byers' house, you climbed out of the BMW and gave a little wave as Steve drove back to his house to park the car; he would join you in 5 minutes after walking the little path that lead him out directly facing Castle Byers, ready for your meeting.

Your little meets had been happening more and more frequently in the past couple of weeks and you were almost sad that they would be coming to an end, both because you were enjoying your time spent with Steve and because it was fun to sneak around. Joyce had naturally been sworn to secrecy and true to her word had not told a single soul, except maybe Hopper. Jonathan had run into you accidentally one day as he arrived home early from dropping Will off somewhere but it really hadn't been too hard to cover up as Steve jolted out the back door and you had stuck around for dinner with Joyce and Jonathan, something not entirely unheard of.

The only issue was Eddie, as proven by your little set-to in the cafeteria today. He was becoming increasingly paranoid and suspicious of your whereabouts and your sudden flakiness, which was alarming. You'd called off your meeting with Steve Thursday in order to sit in on Hellfire instead, trying to prove to Eddie that you were still there for him, though you felt torn once you realised what you'd rather be doing.

The rest of the week came and went and you'd been entirely successful in hiding your rendezvous with Harrington, even seeming to put Eddie's mind to rest once you arrived at Hellfire, much to his surprise. He'd put on quite a show for you that night, his eyes flickering over to you frequently as you listened intently to his stories, the DM telling the cult of Vecna campaign so eloquently that you had been mesmerised by his performance the entire night.

You were never an official member of Hellfire, instead choosing to observe and assist rather than play. Sure you had a few Hellfire shirts gifted by Eddie, some you even used to sleep in that been printed with faults and some practice prototypes on different shirt silhouettes and you'd devised campaigns and character sheet with him occasionally but you never actually joined in the campaigns unless you were acting as an emergency sub. Eddie liked to call you his glamorous assistant, likening you to a magician's right hand lady but you always opposed this, stating you were more like the dungeon master's puppet, pulled by strings for his own means.

With your mom gone, you two had hung out at your place after Eddie had driven you home from Hellfire. You'd ordered a pizza and watched an old horror movie that Eddie loved, hoping that it would make it up to him.

Everything was going well until the following Tuesday came around.

Tuesday: the weekly ritual of Corroded Coffin's scheduled gig at the Hideout, 8pm til 10:30pm, never to be missed. You'd missed the previous week and you knew that you couldn't miss this one, after seeing how hurt Eddie had been, not to mention the offhanded comments from the rest of Corroded coffin at the lunch table. You thought your plan of ditching Phys-Ed Tuesday afternoon and having Steve pick you up around the corner from the school would be flawless; you'd even gone as far as timing your departure with his shift finishing at family video so it would look like a coincidental meet on Cherry, near the church plaza as no one would think twice about him seeing you across the parking lot from the video store and offering you a ride home. Eddie usually skipped that class anyway and had a few deals scheduled in during his self made free period, so he would be conducting business at the bench in the woods, far out of sight of the entire school, and more importantly, your exit route.

All had gone to plan right up until you checked the clock hours later and saw that it was 7:45pm and you were going to be late to the show.

"Shit!" You cried out, throwing down your stuff and quickly reaching for your backpack stuffed on the side of the sofa. You frantically dug through your bag to fish out the handmade corroded coffin shirt that you'd stuffed in there earlier today and quickly threw it on over your bra, which you had stripped down to earlier that evening so avoid getting your shirt dirty.

Steve, who lay on the floor beside you only moments ago looked on with a shocked expression, confusion littering his features as he watched you dress.

"Can you give me a ride to the hideout?" You asked quickly, running to the bathroom to quickly fix your hair and makeup, checking that nothing had smudged.

"Uh yeah, sure," he says, throwing on his shirt from earlier, grimacing as he slips the button up over his sweaty body. He runs a hand through his hair, attempting to smooth it out as he watches you flutter around in a rush.

You appear a moment later, quickly shoving things into your backpack, careful to avoid any liquids from spilling as you try to straighten up Joyce's living room. You all but run out of the door only to exclaim profanities again as you realise you forgot your borrowed keys, knowing that they'd probably been thrown to the bottom of your bag in your haste.

"Relax, I've got it," Steve says, twisting the key in the door that Joyce had graciously had made for both of you for times exactly like this.

"Thanks," you said gratefully, trying to calm yourself but it was a pointless endeavour. Your heart was pounding as you entered the car, eyes never leaving the little digital clock that seemed to taunt you the entire journey. You were thankful that Steve never commented on your frantic demeanour, nor the reason behind it and even more thankful that he'd chosen to drive quickly, just barely on the right side of the law.

You're luck has officially ran out.

With minutes to spare, Steve pulled up to the Hideout and into the parking lot, only to be right in the line of sight of Eddie's van, and more importantly, Gareth. He peered over in curiosity, leaning against the van as he smoked a cigarette, his usual ritual just before they took the stage. He seemed to say something to himself briefly only to be joined by Jeff a moment later, who had jumped out of the van clutching his guitar. You could see their lips moving, both of them looking directly at you, no doubt running their mouths about the curious sight of you in the car with Steve Harrington. You sighed, defeated, knowing that they would never let you live this down and your stomach dropped an inch further with the realisation that there was no was in hell they wouldn't tell Eddie.

"Thanks Steve, I'm really sorry about this," you mumbled, not really knowing what exactly you were apologising for but feeling a level of embarrassment at your actions. You begin to open the car door and grab hold of your bag until he replies, keeping you sat inside the car for a moment longer.

"Hey don't worry about it," he says, running a hand through his hair. "Want me to walk you out?" He asks, his eyes peering into yours as he tries to offer support. 

"No that's okay, I-" you begin to say, only to be cut off by an obnoxious shout.

"Harrington!" Jeff calls out, acknowledging the man in the car as both his and Gareth walk towards you, each with curiously smug smiles on their faces.

"H-hey guys," Steve stammers slightly as he greets them, stepping out of the car as he gives them a small restrained wave with his right hand, whilst holding on to the door.

"Y/n, didn't think we'd be seeing you tonight," Gareth says curiously, his words holding an air of suspicion which made you nervous.

"Well I'm here," you shrug, trying to downplay your panic, "just like always."

"Except last week," Jeff adds quickly, immediately grimacing as he shoots you a remorseful look at his quipped tone.

"So Harrington, what?" Gareth begins to ask, only to be cut off by a figure moving out from the back door.

"Guys what the hell, we're on in- oh." Eddie says as he thrusts his way out of the back door, immediately coming to realise what he was seeing. His face drops instantly, a harsh glare forming in his eyes as he looks between you and Steve, each of you clearly having just exited the car together.

"Harrington," Eddie nods once, clipped and unpleasant as he stares at you, trying to understand why you would be in the car with Steve.

"Munson," Steve replies, though his tone is lighter and more polite as he nods back to the man who still appears shell shocked.  There's a tense silence that washes over us all for a few moments, with both Gareth and Jeff shooting glances at Eddie who's face seems thunderous.

"I should get going," Steve suddenly says, turning to face you with a look in his eyes that shows his discomfort.

"Yeah totally, thanks for the ride," you reply, trying to keep it short and sweet, not wanting to disclose any information to the 3 boys stood watching your every move. Steve smiles in return and ducks his head back into the car as you walk away from the passenger side, over to where the boys are stood.

"What, no kiss?" Eddie says venomously as he watches Steve drive away. You immediately frown at his words and sudden bad mood, trying not to let his words affect you.

"Yeah because I kiss every guy who offers me a lift when I'm too broke to get my car fixed," you sarcastically reply, hoping to deflect away the insinuation.

"I could have given you a ride," he says, eyes still fixed on the car as it drives away onto the north Highway, back into town. "If you'd been around lately."

He then walks off, not once turning to look back at you. The guys wordlessly follow him, knowing it's time to go on stage, but not before shooting you sorrowful looks of apology, neither of them realising that Eddie would be so wound up.

You follow them through the back door and instantly turn left instead of following them right towards the stage area. You stalk over to the bar, Eddie's bad mood clearly rubbing off on you as you throw yourself onto a high bar stool and order a double vodka and coke, hoping to ease some of the tension in your body with alcohol. The hideout was notorious for forgetting to check ID, and you used that little fact to your satisfaction tonight. The night didn't really improve at all, except that you'd had enough vodka in your system to numb the ache ever so slightly, freeing you from the overwhelming discomfort of conflicting emotions brought on by Eddie's venom. Their set was good but not great like usual, no doubt on account of Eddie's tenseness and vile mood which prevented him from playing as well as usual, his entire body seeming tense as he avoided all eye contact with you throughout the show.

You were in two minds to stick around after the show, not knowing if Eddie would offer you a ride like normal or whether you'd have to hitch a ride home some other way. Walking would be too dangerous and frankly too far to walk, given your alcohol consumption and overbearing weariness, plus calling Steve seemed like a really bad idea, like adding fuel to any already burning fire. You could call your mom but you knew she'd smell the alcohol on you straight away and you'd be lectured until the end of eternity. Maybe Jonathan would come for you ?

When you walked up to the guys after their set, offering to help load the van just like normal, Eddie virtually ignored you and instead hoisted the heavy equipment by himself. Gareth and Jeff had tried to make small talk, trying to diffuse the tension and Richard, the bass player, had looked on in complete confusion at the tense exchange.

"Gareth can you take her home? Got some shit to do," Eddie states blankly, nodding his head towards you, never once allowing his eyes to drift in your direction. He couldn't even use my name. Had seeing me with Harrington really hurt him that badly?

"Uh yeah sure man," Gareth replies, looking at me with what can only be described as pure pity. Eddie doesn't wait around for anything other than a confirmation before he climbs into the van and drives away like a maniac, leaving all of us standing out in the cold.

It's quiet for a few moments, no one really knowing what to say. Do they comment on it or do they avoid the elephant in the room entirely? Either way, you weren't waiting around to find out.

"Y/n, you can-," Gareth begins to say, gesturing towards his car parked a few spaces away.

"Thanks Gareth but it's cool, I'll just call Jonathan, he owes me one," you shrug, trying to downplay the hurt you were feeling, embarrassed that you were left to be a burden on the other members.

Gareth tries to protest but you wave your hand dismissing him, silencing him in the nicest way you could as you begin to feel the tears prickling at the corner of your eyes, willing them to disappear.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, great show," you manage to say before walking back inside the hideout, tears making their way down your face as you can finally hide away from their view. You walk to the pay phone and freeze, thinking of your limited options before dialling an all too familiar number.

"Hello?" The voice answers, sounding sleepy as if you'd probably just woke him up. You check the clock on the way behind you and fight back a sigh, not realising the time.

"I'm sorry, I've just woken you up haven't I," you said sympathetically, feeling guilty of the fact.

"It's fine, honestly, Y/n, you okay?" He asks quickly, sounding concerned. You can hear a faint rustle in the background and you can envision him sitting up in bed, covers falling at his waist as he runs his spare hand through his hair.

You sigh, willing the tears to go away as you fight to take a shaky breath, not really knowing how to answer.

"I- no not really," you fight to get it out, lip wobbling slightly in your pathetic state. "Could you pick me up? I'm alone and I didn't know who else to call, I'm really sorry Steve," you all but whimper, babbling.

"He left you?" Steve sounds outraged, immediately knowing that something must have happened between Eddie and yourself.

"Kind of, he took off," you said, sounding small, not really wanting to go into detail.

"Stay right where you are, I'm on my way. Don't let anyone talk to you or give you a drink or anything okay? I'm coming." He immediately goes into protective dad Steve mode as you hear him bolting around his room for clothes.

"Thank you, so much," you say pathetically.

"I'll be right there Y/n okay, stay safe, I'm coming."

Steve hangs up the phone and you sink down into yourself on the little phone booth, feeling utterly broken and pathetic. The vodka in your system had all but dried up, the actions of tonight sobering you up quickly as you were left alone to deal with the consequences of your actions.

Steve arrived in 7 minutes, which you were sure must have been some sort of record. He immediately burst out of the car after throwing it into park and enveloped you in a tight hug as you cried once again. He pulled back and ran his eyes over you, checking for any signs of you being hurt but then gave you a sad smile when he realised you were only hurting on the inside.

"Come on," he says gently, pulling at your hand as he leads you back to the car, opening the door for you. "Milkshakes make everything better." He gives you a warm smile and closes the door, before walking quickly to his side and climbing in.

"Steve you really don't have to, I already feel bad enough that you had to come get me," you protest but he shushes you quickly, a serious look falling across his face.

"I'm glad you called me, you should have never been left alone."

"He dumped me on Gareth but I knew he didn't want to get involved or really drop me home so I didn't know what else to do," you confessed.

"He should have taken you home, mad or not. You made the effort to be here, he should see that."

The two of you talked in the car for a little while longer, with Steve being the ideal shoulder to cry on, both figuratively and literally and by the end of the night you did feel better.

"I just don't know why he was so angry," you said honestly, finishing the last of the milkshake he'd bought you from Benny's.

"You really don't see it?" Steve replies, giving you a sad smile.

"See what?" You ask naively, unsure of what hr was talking about.

"He's jealous. He probably thinks we are together and that you hid it from him. Not because he thinks he's being replaced as your friend but because he thinks someone else swooped in and took a shot before he could."

"That's... crazy. Eddie doesn't have any intention of 'taking a shot' with me, believe me," you say quickly, feeling as if you'd disclosed too much already.

"So you want him to?" Steve asks curiously, though his question isn't laced with sarcastic undertones or any hint of teasing.

"Yes," you answer quickly and honestly, needing no time to think.

"He drives me crazy, he's so smart but so fucking stupid sometimes. When it started we were just friends then all of a sudden one day I started noticing things about him, stuff I'd never thought of before. I noticed how often he'd look at me or reach out for me, always checking if I was there or if I was paying attention before he'd burst out into dramatics, smiling and laughing with me when it was over. Then the butterflies came each time he'd do something like that and I'd think wow what if he's feeling this too. A few times I was sure he was going to make a move, it all seemed so intimate at times, the looks and the gestures but then, nothing. He'd change the conversation or he'd look away and I'd be reeling thinking of why. I guess he just doesn't see me like I see him."

You couldn't help but babble your way through a monologue Shakespeare himself would be proud of, hardly even pausing for breath as you reeled off your thoughts and emotions into Steve's listening ears.

"I think he does," Steve says calmly after a few moments of quiet. You look at him with sad eyes and he offers a little smile. "You're beautiful, funny, caring, he'd be absolutely blind or crazy if he didn't realise that." You blush at Steve's words, wanting to hide your shy smile but you persist. "I can promise you that the only reason guys aren't lining up at your door is because Eddie has either scared them off or they already think you're a couple. Hell, I'd have shot my shot at you if it weren't so apparent that you were inseparable with him, well, that and your horrible taste in music," Steve jokes.

"Hey! Judas Priest are metal gods and you can't deny that! But thank you Steve," You laugh, along with Steve who's expression had warmed.

"You'll get through this, you and Eddie. You just have to give him some time to come around."

So that's exactly what you did. Problem was, that wasn't what Eddie was doing, he was giving you both space and time.

[oldmanenjoyer]

if you’re still doing requests, can we get one with the reader being protective over peppino? like pizzahead is harassing him, trying to get him to sell the pizzeria, only for reader to come barreling out with rage equal to [or more powerful!] than peppino’s anger. pizzahead’s getting verbally massacred while peppino’s in the background trying not to swoon

Warning: Pizza Violence, Marinara Blood, Tried To Keep It Verbal But Alas

Pizzahead's visits to the pizzeria are thankfully rare, but when they do occur, they're worse than every Noise visit combined. Pizzahead is a being of cartoon logic and unfiltered disdain for Peppino, though he hides it behind a cheery smile and singsong voice.

And you're fucking sick of it.

Pizzahead reaches over the counter towards Peppino, some line about selling the pizzeria and some jab at the debt he has. You cut him off by cutting off his hand.

"Customers are not allowed to reach over the counter at employees." You chirp happily. Pizzahead boggles the stump of his arm dripping marinara onto the counter. "Beat it. Before I beat you, hm?"

Pizzahead’s endless grin wavers, quivering as he clenches the fist lying on the counter. “Now, doll-”

“Now, doll, nothing!” You bark, startling both men with the sudden shift in tone. You’re starting to climb over the counter, knife clenched so tight in your fist it’s trembling, begging for some action. “You come in here and you don’t buy a damn thing and it seems like the reason is you’re so damn poor you can’t even afford to pay attention! So why don’t you take your little happy ass back to that decrepit tower of yours before I knock you down twelve pegs.”

Peppino snaps to his senses when you make another swipe at Pizzahead, who barely dodges. Your tense body relaxes under Peppino’s grip, easing back but your stare as dark and promising as ever.

Luckily, before Pizzahead can even work past his shock to see you, usually so quiet and on the side, threaten him, Pep comes lumbering out of the kitchen, tall and large and threatening too.

“Peppy,” you say, back to being oh so sweet, “take out the trash for me, please?”

Peppino watches as you coo and motivate Pep to not even hesitate snatching Pizzahead up and throwing him out the door. A weird feeling curls in his chest, feeling you huff in satisfaction against him.

He feels. . . protected? In a way?

It’s a new feeling, one he’s very flustered by as he realizes how hot amazing you were, protecting him and his pizzeria.

“Il mio dio,” Peppino sighs, once all is over and you’re back to being sweet and praising Pep for a job well done, “warn me before you-a do that again. Nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Sorry.” You apologize, grin sheepish but in no way actually apologetic. “Just got tired of him talking shit.”

Peppino just hums, ruffling your hair. “Fine. Do-a Noise next.”

“For sure!!”

It’s decided. Peppino likes this feeling very much.

[grievedeeply]

Heyo! Ive been seeing alot of GOW request and I wanted one for Freyr? Like Freyr has a crush on a person Kratros sees as a daughter and how'd Kratos would react if he'd seen Freyr flirting with her or trying to swoon her? If possible? 🙂😊

freyr is such a sweetheart and i looove this idea sooo much so. if this does well then MAYBE... i'll write an actual oneshot for it!! we'll see :") let me know if you'd want that!

fem!reader, but no pronouns are used | no tws

tags: @graciegizmo3184 @anzanishira @chocokaylarobin @uncoveredsun @caelestis-lyrae @prio-motu @bluehorizon987 | join my taglist!

freyr having feelings for someone kratos sees as his child headcanons

freyr isn't really that intimidated by kratos at first. when you show up at his camp with him, he's completely prepared to fight him until freya shows up

after things calm down and his sister is freed from her binds, the two of you become close friends relatively quickly

he sees your talent with your weapon and your ability to think quickly, and he know he wants someone like you on his side for when ragnarök inevitably comes

he thinks you're attractive. he has since the moment he saw you, but he didn't form feelings for you until a bit later. he can't help it— not really. you were so kind to him. so open. it was more than he asked for from you, and he was grateful to have received it

kratos isn't stupid. he sees the way freyr looks at you. he'll have his elbow propped up on the table in front of him, his head rested on the palm of his hand as he looks at you. his eyes are filled with an adoration like no other

it almost reminds him of his own relationship with faye

he hates the thought of you being in a relationship, but you aren't a child. freyr isn't the worst choice for a boyfriend, so he can't be too upset about that for too long

when you reciprocate, he'll have to have a stern talking to with him. it's the stereotypical dad stuff— what would be considered empty threats from other people are completely serious with him

if he hurts you, he would end him. it's simple

he promises to him that he'll protect him, and kratos believes him. he warms up to him and knows that he isn't lying

he realizes that that he's a better option than.. essentially everyone else surrounding you, and he's a good person. his motives were pure, and his intentions were true. he could tell

freyr is a bit scared of him going into your relationship and you'll have to reassure him that he's just protective over you. he understands that, but he's still worried about getting hurt by him for some reason

it's not like he would harm you, not on purpose. he has nothing to feel anxious or scared about at all, and once he realizes that he becomes more talkative with kratos

it warms your heart to see your boyfriend and your father get along. kratos ends up really liking freyr. he likes him more than he likes most people, honestly

he'll protect him subconsciously. he wants to keep him safe for your sake. he can't imagine you ever being happy again without him in your life

if he ever kisses you in public he would just cough really loudly to get him to stop. it makes you really embarrassed, but seeing you curl up into freyr like that..— it makes him realize that you're grown

it makes him realize that you have someone else to protect you. freyr would die for you. he knows that

it warms his heart to know he cares about you so much

he has his approval

if he wants to take your relationship a step forward— he has his approval <3

[danmei-confessions]

I don't like JGY but I think I would like him if his defenders weren't so annoying, weird, and aggressive. Your fav did some really horrible shit, get over it. The weird theories about how he's 'actually innocent' are what made me start to really hate him. I like all the other villains in MDZS but none of the other fans try to deny what their fav did.

Yes, JGY is undeniably a tragic figure who experienced terrible things that were both unfair and terrible, but I have a very XXC reaction to his tragic backstory "oh your pinky got run over? cool motive, still murder".

I have empathy for the real discrimination that JGY faced, I don't have empathy for him murdering sex workers. And with every "5 reasons that JGY is the REAL victim" post that I run into, my empathy dwindles. I do actually believe that to fight against extreme discrimination, extreme actions are required. But while I think murdering his father was absolutely justified, I don't think murdering the innocent sex workers was justified. Or NMJ for that matter. Or betraying LXC. Or murdering QS and JRS. Or the genocide he helped with. (also if I see one more post saying "oh i know he confessed to doing it but he was obviously lying" I might rip my hair out. No. It is not 'obvious' that he was lying. In the full context of the story, his characterization, the position he was in, and the other things he's said about them including the scene where he says that JRS death was inevitable, it's pretty obvious that he did indeed do it. I'm really tired of the copium. If you like JGY that's fine but the weird nonsensical theories that 'prove' he's innocent are ridiculous.)

All that to say I don't think that JGY is the 'worst' or the most 'evil villain'. He's a complex character with a genuinely sympathetic backstory and a tragically difficult position. Every character in MDZS has done some horrible stuff for morally nebulous reasons. His character is fascinating, well-written, and multi-faceted. He does some very good things for bad reasons, some very bad things for good reasons, good things for good reasons, and bad things for bad reasons. He's got depth to him. I don't think he sucks or he should be bashed or anything. I'm just tired of the "JGY did nothing wrong" squad. He did a lot of stuff wrong, guys.

.

[astroyongie]

gojo NSFW alphabet pls <33

A To Z Analysis : NSFW

Gojo

(you deserve better king)

A = Aftercare 

He isn't the best at aftercare but he does truly try. like if his partner also enjoyed it, he will put effort into pleasing them. if they aren't into it he will likewise dispense the whole process 

B = Body part 

without lying on himself, he is proud of his waist and his booty. like he likes how he is shaped down there. On his partner his favorite body part is mostly the lower back area as well and legs!

C = Cum 

He isn't messy with it. Gojo is the type to like using condoms and to make it clean, or like he releases in a strategic place (lower backs) and use his clothing to wipe it off 

D = Dirty secret

He probably wants to try pegging or something, but he is too scared that he hasn't found the right partner to do so. 

E = Experience 

He has some experience, yes! isn't the one who slept the most around but he is the type of person that has learned a lot from his partner and that experience was enough to make him a good receiver and giver 

F = Favorite position 

i would say he likes both doggy style so he can have access to his partner’s backside, but he also likes one leg (or two) over his shoulders to allow more depth 

G = Goofy 

Gojo does have humor and he will bring it inside the bedroom. it often happens during the foreplay, during the teasing. He likes to use some just to get his partner’s attention. laughing and giggling 

H = Hair 

he is shaved down there, he doesn't like the hair and he prefers to keep it clean and soft skinned. he doesn't care how his partners presents themselves as long as they are comfortable 

I = Intimacy 

He doesn't need to be in love to sleep with someone, but there’s the need to have some type of chemistry between the two so he can really get into the mood. else it's just flirting and nothing else 

J = Jack off 

he doesn’t do it often, mostly when he is truly horny or stressed. he prefers the teasing and the fantasy rather than actually doing it 

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

he is a simple man, he likes anal probably, like half clothed sex, grinding on each other, and very nice and seductive lingerie 

L = Location 

he likes weird places, just as closets, public bathrooms, the clubs, the cinema. sure, bedroom is nice but he likes to innovate 

M = Motivation 

He is hard to get going though. Like it’s super easy to get him in the mood for it, its easy to get him hard and all hot and bothered. but to get him to undress and perform? you need to use some skills

N = No 

he probably says no to anything that deals with sharing his partner, degradation and humiliation fantasies and experimentations 

O = Oral 

He is just as good at giving as he is good at receiving. it's always a given-giver thing. Gojo loves to do 69 positions or like to reciprocate everything that is partner does to him 

P = Pace 

Gojo is a fast yet very sensual pacer 

Q = Quickie 

probably not into it but he won’t refuse them because it helps learning and the adrenaline can be pooping too. he will do it if he really likes the person 

R = Risk 

He is willing to take risks if they are talked about before. He wont do anything risky during the deed without talking with you about it. Gojo is all okay when it comes to experimentation, he just needs to know about it first 

S = Stamina 

He isn't the person that lasts the longest (which is the reason why foreplay takes a lot of time) but he can do about two rounds if he is in the mood. 

T = Toys 

he does own toys and he will incorporate them into the session. he likes to use them on is partner but also on himself when he is truly feeling freaky 

U = Unfair 

a big ass tease. foreplay with him can become a teasing competition and he can be so unfair! like working you up and leave you needy 

V = Volume 

he is loud actually, he moans quite a lot. like.. quite a lot 

W = Wild card 

He has a bunch of nudes on his phone from both partners, ex and one night stands. and he uses it whenever he needs to rub one 

X = X-ray 

he is average, thin, not too veiny but curvy 

Y = Yearning 

moderate sex drive 

Z = Zzz

After the need he likes to stay around and talk about random things. politics, gossip, diseases. you name it and he will talk to you for two hours

[surftrips]

butterflies — part five.

pairing: rafe cameron x female reader

summary: after returning home from college for the summer, y/n runs into rafe cameron and the two form an unlikely relationship.

word count: 900+

a/n: sorry this next part took so long! the last chapter didn't get as many notes so i lost some motivation, but i'm going to try my hardest to give y'all a proper ending <3 masterlist

One thing about Rafe Cameron is that once he makes up his mind, there’s no convincing him otherwise. After he had made that decision for you two to stop seeing each other, he proceeded to engross himself in his summer job at the golf course five out of seven days of the week and spent the other two days locked up inside his bedroom.

No matter how hard Sarah and Wheezie tried, the two girls could not convince Rafe to leave his room for any reason at all. He was back to being the shell of himself he was after his breakup with Emma.

As for you, you waited for as long as you could. You spent days lying in bed, staring at the ceiling fan, willing a notification to come from Rafe. A text, call, anything. But nothing ever came. 

Sarah assured you that Rafe still cared about you and that he was going to come around, but after a while, you stopped hearing from her as well. 

You did, however, start seeing Dylan again. He had driven up to the Outer Banks almost immediately after you called him agreeing to get back together. (Only after a month had passed and still no word from Rafe). 

And for a while, things were fine. Dylan actually seemed to be better, more carefree and easygoing. You explored places in town together, careful to avoid the ones that you silently considered your’s and Rafe’s. He spent most nights sleeping over at your house, the rest of them crashing at one of his frat brother’s places.

You were happy, as happy as one can you be after they lose their best friend in exchange for an old lover. You loved being with Dylan again, but you hated having to feign indifference toward Rafe.

He had become a sensitive topic for you, and you had yet to say his name around Dylan for fear that his old self would show. 

The truth was, you still thought about him. All the time. How could you not? He had been the one to lift you off your feet all those weeks ago, the first person to make you feel seen after the breakup.

Though your heart belonged to Dylan these days, each time you thought about Rafe or his name was mentioned, you could feel your heartstrings being pulled at, knowing some part of you yearned to be in his presence once again. 

So perhaps it was under this guise that you convinced yourself to give him a call. Dylan was back home for the week and you had just finished binge-watching The Hunger Games for the third time. Seeing Katniss and Peeta had made you feel especially lonely on this night, and though you should have called Dylan, your finger had found Rafe’s contact name and was halfway to pressing the call button before your stream of consciousness could catch up.

Before you knew it, you heard the faint sound of ringing coming from your phone as you slowly held it up to your ear. You didn't want to be too close to the speakers, for fear that you would hear the brutal sound of his voicemail, or worse, he would pick up. It was too late now to end the call, as he would still receive a notification from you. 

Just as you were about to give up, you heard something on the other side of the phone that was somehow worse than both of the scenarios you had imagined. 

A girl’s voice.

At first you thought it could be Sarah, or Wheezie. Rose, even. But what she said had confirmed your fear. “Who’s this?” 

Shit, you thought. You seriously contemplated hanging up, maybe she would delete any evidence you had called and never bring it up with him. But something inside you was boiling up, anger, and you wanted to know who Rafe had gotten close to since you had been gone. 

“I’m Rafe’s friend, who are you?” you asked, feigning innocence. 

“Huh, I’m Rafe’s girlfriend. He’s never mentioned you,” the girl responded, equally as calm, or equally as good at hiding her rage. 

Girlfriend? What the fuck? you thought. Where did he meet a girl? At the golf course?

“I’m Y/N, not sure if that rings a bell. What’s your name?” 

She seemed hesitant to answer, but ultimately responded, “It’s Emma.” 

Ex-girlfriend? Somehow that was much, much worse than Rafe rebounding with a stranger. This was someone he had history with and even you couldn't compete with that. Like Rafe couldn’t compete against Dylan. 

“What do you want?” Emma interrupted your thoughts. 

“Uhm….” You couldn’t just speak to Rafe now, especially with Emma there with him. “Can you just tell him I called?” 

“Why should I do that? You’re just some random girl on his phone that he’s never mentioned. You could be a creep for all I know.”

“Well, I’m not. Listen, I’m not after him or anything. I’m just calling as an old friend,” you tried to convince her, but you were barely convincing yourself. 

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” she said, hanging up before you could respond.

You put your phone down on your bed before sliding your entire body down the wall as you sunk to the floor. 

Great, he’s back together with his ex. And so are you. How did you two get here?

—

TAGLIST: @holy-macncheese-balls @everythingmarveltopgun @maybankslover @totallynotkaibiased @allsmilesreally7 @kys4-20 @golden-tangled-earphone (let me know if you want to be added!)

[viviennelamb]

Fake Spiritualists

Nobody wants to talk about the present moment, like ever. Spirituality isn't about community, celebration and culture, it's only about your soul and God. I can tell when people just make up shit because of their vagueness and indirectness which is why atheists get annoyed with mystical speak.

Actual spirituality isn't loving and flowery to most people. Karma is objectively brutal and merciless.

How do I know? Look at the world around you. There's no separation between the physical and spiritual. What you're seeing is a direct result of the ordinary person's actions.

People who get on the internet with their imaginary spiritual platitudes are lying about being content.

How do I know? Because they're still dependent on their outer circumstances to reflect what they want. As soon as they lose everything or get a diagnosis and they haven't done the work to reach God, that's when they will become filled with rage and find out nobody cares about them but God, but by then it'll be too late.

Once you realize you're living in spiritual poverty, then I'll believe what you say about your inner state.

Conspiracy theorists (i.e feminists) will call you insane if you talk about Reality, because that's "woo" to them which demonstrates their level of delusion.

The actual people who are being raped, molested, trafficked and tortured as a result of superstitious heterosexual atheists and fake spiritualists who think their sex is holy because it's "natural" would disagree.

But since they're traumatized into silence and are unable to even perceive what is going on because they've been so incredibly manipulated by just about everybody, their intuition has eroded into nothing.

Luckily I have no trauma, and I know my soul so I can say whatever the fuck I want while people who have the whole world backing them are scared to say anything "too controversial" because they worship men and are prideful about being hideously vain.

The point of Religion is to end suffering. If your "religion" doesn't end aim to minimize suffering it's a hobby or a dogma that's intended to increase suffering.

Karmic Law is the only law that actually exists and Religion is living in accordance to Karmic Law to reduce suffering, not only for oneself but everybody and everything.

Cause and Effect is what every science studies in some manner because there's nothing else to study. Karma is the whole of Law and how the universe works. Karma is why time and space continues indefinitely and Karma keeps every atom in motion which materializes the unseen (thought) into the physical realm.

Bragging about being too dense to know this isn't something you should to brag about, claiming that Reality is "made up" just because you're slow and have never lived in the present moment isn't something to be proud of.

Physics studies Cause and Effect directly, but not in a manner that is relevant to the everyday person - that's what Yogis do.

Everyday, the most relevant aspect of Cause and Effect is lust and sex. Nothing else comes close to the relevance of lust because lust is the root of all evil.

Lust is the reason why the human population is the way it is now and why everybody's motivation to continue living. Sexophiles say this themselves, so this is nothing new: what makes an ego "human" is sex and their reason to live is to fuck.

Since just about everybody thinks sex is a good thing, more of that "good thing" will happen to everybody, including children. Doesn't matter how much you pull up to your pointless rallies and protest against abuse when you go home and sexually abuse yourself and your partner daily.

Nobody gives a fuck though.

What makes it difficult to demonstrate Reality is that we are currently immersed in it. Since everything that is happening Now is considered "normal," saying anything about Reality is considered crazy because pridefully mediocre people hate actual facts and actual science.

So, the ordinary person is in la la land, far out into a future that doesn't exist, dreaming about an all female paradise, which is possible, but won't take the steps to get to that goal right now...

(or she's in a traumatic past, constantly talking about what happened 10 years ago - or even the times before her birth - to notice her current circumstances are a direct result of her actions and becomes a perpetual victim instead).

In the end, what everybody is saying (except for people who live in Reality) are just opinions on how to become happy. But they can't find a way to get there which is why they spend their time arguing online, with every molecule of hubris they can muster up, instead of turning to solitude and silence which is the only place true, enduring happiness can be found.

Your peace of mind makes you a zillionaire regardless of anybody's opinion of you.

To get to that utopian ideal, you have to become a utopian citizen. Want children protected? Become a living aegis for innocence. Want rape to never happen again? Stop fucking. Want to become fearless and untouchable? Realize God.

Change yourself. Nobody else has to change but you because you are the catalyst for change.

The purpose of real Religion is to become blissful.

How does one become blissful?

By living a Spiritual Life.

How does one live a Spiritual Life?

Chastity, scientific meditation and loving God.

That's it. It's that simple.

If you are a real truth seeker who is willing to do whatever it takes to have a peaceful mind, like I was, this wouldn't be a difficult decision for you. The reason why people are avoiding this simple truth is because they like living in agony

When occultists bring up tarot cards and astrology, or in atheists' case the DSM and their millions of hobbies, you know they're desperate to find something to work for them cause whatever they're doing is yet another distraction from the reality that they have nothing.

The only "science" that matters is the Science of Concentration because that is the only way you can live in the Present Moment which is God.

Pause for a moment, look up from your screen and observe the world around you without judgement... that is God. That momentary feeling you had just now of complete stillness and awareness of the totality of Reality is what few people experience 100% of the time after years and decades of daily effort in meditation.

When you live a Spiritual Lifestyle, that is when you're Religious.

When you are 100% God-Realized, as you in live in the Present Moment 100% of the time, that is when you're Spiritual.

In a world like this, reclaiming all of your concentration or attention is paramount. Only those who are actually suffering will choose this path. People who like killing their time become atheists and psychopaths become occultists. Once you start getting even a little bit of your concentration back, the fears of the future and anxieties of the past become non-existent, you progressively kill your wants and eradicate your egotism altogether.

The untrained mind freaks out and seeks the nearest distraction because the Present Moment is horrifying to a rotting brain. Can't distract yourself from your karmic depression and nervousness anymore. Can't distract yourself from the world as it is, you gotta go on social media and look at a carefully edited and color graded world because you depend on "hope."

There's no hope. There's only individual, persistent action without breaks. Religious daily sex has brought this world into its current rape-saturated circumstance so what do you think you have to do to get out of it?

Oh, that's too extreme? Then you don't actually want what you think you want. You want filth and degradation and that's what you got. Have fun!

If not, what are you going to do right now to make the world a better place? More theorizing about how to get sustainably raped and femicided by your husbands in a "natural way" or apply absolute purity to your life to experience absolute liberation?

You know, liberation is what a borderline penis-worshipping feminist and her pedophilic sadistic husband can't give you. You're already in the depths of hell if you want approval from these mean and ugly motherfuckers.

The "old religion" was male-worship which is what is getting women and children abused and trafficked enmasse right now. In fact, as long as women keep fucking men, patriarchal phallocentrism will remain the number one philosophy as everything else stems from male-worship, even your precious matriarchy.

The Matriarchy is for Straight female supremacists who want better heterosexual sex and breeding conditions. Nobody owes you that and it will never happen anyways. Sucking dick whether it's with your mouth or vagina will always end in a female holocaust which is happening right now. Anybody with sense has left fake feminism.

The massacre of women, more specifically female children, is regimented, organized and systemized. It's actually a fucking algorithm at this point and I have yet to see any feminists talk about that, ironically. Y'all don't care and the few who do talk about fucking inbetween their false concern about female children. Enjoy your deaths by the dicks you want to "cooperate" with! 🥰

Deeming sex as healing or pure when it causes mass calamity is your #1 problem regardless of who you think you are. If you man-haters want to oppress men in a matriarchy, which isn't possible when you're having sex with him, this will lead right back to women's current slavery because Cause and Effect is the only reality.

What you have dominion over will dominate you, which is exactly what is happening to women right now by choice while you're prideful about being "the closest thing to god on earth" because you give birth to egos. Men are acting in perfect accordance to what females want and they're here to make you live in fear forever until you learn what discipline is.

If there was, one of your useless feminist theories on "finding the right of sex position to make him love me" would've worked by now.

P.S. the only Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine is having a pure heart from Chastity and loving God. Nothing else.

There is already a Cosmic system in place and we're living it right Now. You have to reform yourself before anything else can change and if you're not willing to become pure, as in destroy every particle of lust within you, then you're the problem.

[notmorbid]

birnam wood.

dialogue prompts from birnam wood by eleanor catton.

i prefer enemies to rivals.

being dislikable is more terrible than being disliked.

everything is the same, and everything is different.

you're really enjoying this, aren't you?

do you want to go somewhere and get a drink?

i doubt you're an axe murderer.

why do we always say 'axe murderer'? we never say 'gun murderer' or 'knife murderer'.

we were all pretty drunk that night.

some of the stuff i say, when i remember it, it makes me sick.

come on. we've all made mistakes.

i always know i'm safe with you.

i thought you might appreciate some time to yourself.

i never stay anywhere longer than a night.

i haven't thought about ____ in years.

who do you work for?

i have no idea who you are.

anything else you want to ask?

how do i know you're not setting me up?

you little criminal.

i bet you sleep so well.

we're very snobby about our coffee here.

can you calm down just a little bit, please?

let the record show i kept my mouth shut.

just remember the first rule of pr: say nothing.

you are so unbelievably full of shit.

i said i didn't want to talk about it.

i don't know why i didn't kiss you.

i really want to kiss you.

seriously, all i want is to have a drink alone.

only something someone doesn't want to see in print is news. everything else is advertising.

at least it's not raining, right?

i want to know who you've been talking to.

i think we've got our wires crossed somewhere.

do you think the kind of person who never says 'sorry' is also the kind of person who never says 'thank you'?

thank you for assuming i was listening.

do you think there are two different types of people, or just one?

you were like a different person.

tell me everything there is to tell.

start at the beginning, and don't leave anything out.

you seem like the sort of person who'd have a secret agenda.

everyone can't be on top, or it wouldn't be the top anymore.

if i didn't know any better, i'd say you had a crush.

you can hardly even breathe without lying.

no one ever actually knows what the right thing is.

you don't like to be out of control. is that it?

i'm worried this is just a bit of fun for you. like, it doesn't really mean anything.

you're seeing me differently now.

it's like a black mirror episode.

can we do drugs now, please?

everybody has their own reasons for doing what they do. you can't police motivation.

none of this is real. it's a simulation.

we did this together. this is our fault.

i got you into this mess, and i'm going to get you out.

every weakness, seen differently, can be a strength.

just say it over and over again until you believe it.

no hard feelings. honestly.

whatever fantasy world you're living in right now, snap out of it.

call me any time. day or night.

i just feel like nothing's real.

it's one of those albums where you can't just listen to one track. you have to hear the whole thing, you know?

we're not still on acid, are we?

you didn't fuck it up. i fucked it up.

we were just young.

people don't run if they've got nothing to hide.

you're going to rot in hell.

i've thought about you all day.

don't give up. you can't give up.

i feel like a stupid child.

i want to be able to say i died fighting.

[run2min]

Hiii!I was wondering if you could do some Kyungmin from 8turn head cannons ,or what you think he'd be like as a bf!Take care!Make sure you drink lots of water and get plenty of rest!Tysm <3

my first ask!!! yes ofc i can do kyungmin headcannons (he's my bias wrecker too)

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 534

i feel like he'd be so protective over you, like the minute one of the members looks at you he'd hold your hand or kiss your cheek

he'd take you on such cool dates, i have a thing for aquariums and i can soooooo see you and him going on a date to an aquarium, you'd probably start comparing all of the fish to your friends and eachother.

because he's debuted so recently, i feel liked he'd be stressed out a lot so he loves when he has alone time with you!

as we know, him, haemin, yungyu and seungheon all share a dorm room so i can see you and him cuddling in bed, talking about your day, enjoying the alone time together, before yungyu runs in telling you both about the dance him and yoonsung leant together (alone time with kyungmin is short but sweet!)

as for the other members, i can see them being really accepting of your relationship, treating you with as much love as they do eachother!

i can imagine him lying on his stomach, with you sitting on his back giving him a massage when he's stressed/ tired with work.

can 100% see him calling you "baby" and "sweetheart"

Whenever i think of Kyungmin's voice, i think of a sleepy morning voice (no reason i just do); and i can just imagine him waking up in the middle of the night to you tossing and turning in your sleep, he'd prop himself onto his elbows and reach out to lightly grab your arm, releasing a grumbled "baby, are you okay?", you'd wake up realising you'd had a nightmare, "it's okay," you'd reply, "go back to sleep,". He'd lay back down and fish his arm around your waist, pulling you into him and start giving you half-a-sleep butterfly kisses across the back of your neck.

On one hand i can see a relationship with kyungmin being really playful and unserious, but i can also see him being serious when he needs to be. For example, when he meets your parents, he'd be super nervous, which is a side you rarely see. He'd spend the whole night praising you to the heavens and ever so often whispering things into your ear like, "does she like me?" and "was that joke actually funny, or did your dad laugh because it was awkward?". He'd be so obviously self-conscious to the point were you'd have to pull him aside and tell him that there was nothing to worry about and to calm down.

At other times though he'd be so unserious, if you went to high school together, i can imagine you and him skipping class to sit and mess around on the roof, but if you got caught he would just laugh the whole time you were being told off, causing you to both be punished even more, if you were really mad at him for doing this (but lets be real, who could stay mad at his face?), i can see him turning to you and saying "god sweetheart i'm sorry.......I really am", he'd be saying this while still doubled over laughing at the situation you were both in.

Hiiiiiiiii! thank you so so so much for requesting, pls pls pls request more! it motivates me! i hope you like these headcannons for our lovely Kyungmin!!!!!! I hope you have a lovely rest of your day!