#because I'm angry and refuse to acknowledge them

[thezombieprostitute]

The Arrangement - Chapter 3

Summary: Jake's done a lot of things to keep his sister, and then his niece, safe from his parent's influence and manipulation. If he wants to keep them safe, he has to marry you.

Warnings: Bad parents, Implied physical abuse. Let me know if I missed any!

Chapter 2 -- Chapter 4

Series Masterlist

You spend the car ride in silence. If your brother taught you anything about angry men it's that you don't speak to them without permission. You wince at the memories of his wrath which you saw matched in the eyes of Jake, your husband, throughout the wedding. So you keep yourself quiet and small, dreading your wedding night together.

Jake kept himself silent. He could feel your disappointment with him as your husband. You were likely plotting how to control him, make him miserable. He'd let you have the control if that's what you wanted. He can play the role as you need, or as your families need. But it was the private stuff that had him wanting to break. Would you let him play his video games? Would you constantly make fun of him, like so many others, for being himself? How much of himself will he have to sacrifice for the safety and security of his real family?

He pulls into the underground parking garage for the penthouse and parks. Not wanting to get lectured so soon, Jake is immediately out and going to open your door. He doesn't know that you only didn't open it because you weren't given permission. You step out and keep your eyes down so as not to anger him. As much as he's not looking forward to a life with a woman who drains his soul, it still hurts that you're so disappointed in him you can't even look at him.

The elevator ride is worse than the car ride. At least in the car you had buildings and people you could look at. Now it's just you and your eyes on the floor. You should be grateful he hasn't tried to touch you, but the fact that he puts as much distance between the two of you as he can speaks volumes. Jake tries making himself small in the hopes that you won't yell at him for taking up your space. The fact that you refuse to acknowledge him tells him a lot. When the doors open, Jake rushes into the entryway of the penthouse, the silence and tension was suffocating him. You hide your wince and try to make yourself smaller so you don't make him angrier at you than he clearly is.

Clay is waiting for the two of you in the entryway. He smiles, "good to know my pinto's got better speed and mobility than that fancy model they got you driving." Jake scoffs as he unlocks the door, using a keypad with the code he wants to change but knows he'll never be allowed to. Clay turns to you, "I know we were introduced earlier, but the whole thing was rather rushed. I'm Clay, Jake's boss, for lack of a better term." He holds out his hand and you shake it, you try to smile so as not to appear to be rude, but the day is weighing heavily on you.

Jake holds the door open for the two of you.

It's your first time seeing the place and you're immediately saddened by how much of it looks like your mother's tastes and preferences. It's overly crowded with useless, gaudy, overpriced things. You want to throw it all out. It's supposed to be a space for you and your husband, but it's just another reminder of how much your family still controls you. Jake groans as he looks around. Pulling out his phone, he quickly finds several "Internet of Things" devices that are easy to hack. Of course his parents would put in the fanciest refrigerators and thermostats without caring about the security risks. Jake doesn't need his refrigerator to connect to his phone, dammit!

Jake's groan makes you freeze. Clay asks, "what's wrong now?"

"I gotta do some serious cleanup for the sake of security," he grumbles. "Gotta make sure no one else actually gets to set the temperature of the thermostat, that I don't get text messages from my fridge, that my damn toaster doesn't get hacked!" He looks at you, "if that's okay with you, of course." His tone is bitter because he hates that he has to ask your permission for something so basic.

You nod, "of course." You keep your voice small, afraid of angering him any further. He really must hate you.

Clay looks at you, "how about you make yourself comfortable, little lady? I know it's your honeymoon and all, but Jake and I need to talk and who knows how long he's gonna be fixin' this internet problem y'all got."

You look to Jake but he's still on his phone so you ask, "is...is that okay with you?"

He gives you a confused look, "of course."

You make an internal note that, whatever Clay says goes. He's Jake's boss so you're best bet is to keep him happy to make Jake happy.

When you're out of sight Clay turns to Jake. "You best be gentle with that one, Jake. I think she's been through her own kind of hell."

"She's the spitting image of her mother, hasn't said a single word, can't even look me in the eye," Jake grouses. "She hates me and I'm likely going to spend the rest of my life never being good enough for her."

"I ain't so sure about that," he muses. "I get the impression she's afraid of you."

Chapter 2 -- Chapter 4

Series Masterlist

Tagging: @alicedopey; @ashdoctor; @delicatebarness;

@ellethespaceunicorn; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @ronearoundblindly

[pa-pa-plasma]

so this post is definitely about me lol & i just wanna say that

me only having mental illness is a really big assumption

the experiences i talked about were my own & some friends i'd had while going to an alternate school, they weren't secondhand or made up

idk what is wrong with this person but they are super fucking ableist, & going through their blog, it's clear they love to accuse everyone of faking being disabled or needing accommodation for some reason & are obsessed with interacting in bad faith.

just gonna assume they're constantly having a really bad day every day but man if you're gonna make multiple blogs dedicated to speaking about disabled issues, maybe don't alienate a majority of the community & accuse them of not being "disabled enough" for you to fucking listen to them

[httpswritings]

Good Luck, Babe!

alexia putellas x reader; 1,2k words; internalized lesbophobia, happy ending.

You didn't know how you ended up in a lesbian bar, but you felt quite comfortable.

The music was nice, the women were nice, and you felt a familiar sensation when you saw two women leaving together to probably enjoy the rest of the night by themselves.

A taller woman joined you and asked if she could buy you a drink.

You politely declined the offer.

Ten minutes passed by, and a blonde woman approached you.

Alexia.

Her eyes were breathtaking and her smile very charming. 

You enjoyed the conversation you were having, but you felt a burning desire for her lips.

Your eyes were fixated on them and Alexia, as if Alexia could read your mind, she whispered in your ear, “You're being very obvious.”

You blinked rapidly and immediately apologized, making Alexia laugh.

“There's no need to apologize. I didn't say I didn't enjoy it.”

“Yeah, but I'm not like you.”

It took Alexia some time to realize what you meant, and now it was her turn to apologize.

“Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I thought we were on the same boat.”

“Do I look like it?”

Alexia frowned.

Why would you be so offended by someone thinking that you were into women it if you were in a lesbian bar?

“No. Because no one looks like it. You either are or not.”

“I'm not.”

“I know. Now I know.”

You saw Alexia visibly hurt by your rudeness and decided to apologize.

“No, please. Accept my apology. I was very rude.”

Alexia answer something back, but you were so captivated by her beauty that you didn't even pay attention.

A woman approached you both, looking directly at Alexia, and tried to start a conversation with her.

It surprised you how angry she was making you just with her presence.

Alexia was talking to you, why did she have to be here?

You almost lost it when the woman asked Alexia for her number. What you didn't notice was that Alexia was amused by your reaction.

Your face had a reddish colour, and you couldn't stop bouncing your left leg as a way to cope your jealousy.

Alexia also noticed how you relaxed when she declined the woman's offer.

When you two were alone again, Alexia made the first move to say goodbye as she was feeling quite tired.

You walked in the opposite direction but then looked back, and noticed Alexia looking back too, looking at you.

Not even thinking straight, you walked to her and asked her for her number.

“You seem very nice. I'd love to have you as a friend.”

Those words hurt Alexia, but honestly, what could she expect.

You had told her that you weren't like her. You were straight.

-

There was nothing wrong with the idea of bisexuality as a sexuality, but just thinking about being involved with men made you want to throw up.

You didn't want to be a lesbian.

You felt your world lighting up thinking about that word: lesbian.

It's as if your heart was telling you what you needed to hear.

But you refused to acknowledge it.

That's why you didn't message Alexia.

You didn't let yourself even think about her.

You had to like boys and only boys.

-

Some weeks after, you decided to go out with some friends.

In less than thirty minutes, you all were surrounded by men who were interested in you and your friends.

This was very different from what you felt on that lesbian bar.

The group of men were very charming and nice, but they weren't Alexia.

And it wasn't even about Alexia.

They weren't women. 

They weren't familiar to you.

You looked at their faces, their hands, their smiles, and you thought about how would it be to wake next to one of them.

Then you thought about how you would start your morning with Alexia.

You imagined opening your eyes and seeing her peacefully sleeping, or even better, Alexia half-awake looking at you, and that simple thought made you smile.

One of the boys that had his eyes fixated on you thought that you were smiling at him as you “listened” him talking, and tried to be friendlier by touching your arm as a way of deepening your conversation.

His touch made you feel miserable.

You didn't want him to touch you and your arm immediately sought Alexia's touch.

You excused yourself from your group and went to the bathroom.

The boy mentioned before took that as your way of telling him that he should go after you, so he excused himself too.

Your friends and the other men cheered, thinking you'd end up hooking up in a bathroom stall.

You entered the women bathroom and saw his face in the mirror.

You immediately stopped him as he tried to approach you.

“But I thought—”

“Well, you thought wrong.” 

Thankfully, he was polite enough to leave without any hesitation.

You washed the part of your arm where he had touched you.

Without knowing why, you felt a rush of anger at yourself throughout your body.

You didn't want to go back to your friends, but you felt so small in that bathroom, and so close to breaking down.

Maybe your friends didn't understand you.

It was natural for them to be interested in men, but you needed someone who would get how you really feel.

Without any hesitation, you called Alexia.

It was wrong. It was nearly midnight, you were a complete stranger to her, but you needed her.

She was surprised by your call.

It made her very happy, but it took one second to realize how anxious you sounded.

She jumped out of bed and rushed to put some clothes on that would allow her to enter the club, knowing that she wouldn't be allowed if she tried to enter with her pyjamas on.

Alexia had told you to wait for her in the bathroom, and when you saw her, everything made sense.

You rushed to hug her.

A tight but comforting hug.

Her scent made sense.

Her touch made sense.

Her reassuring voice made sense.

“I'm here. You're safe.”

She touched the area of your arm that was touched by that man before, and you knew that you couldn't change who you were, because to you, women didn't feel like men when it came to intimacy.

“Can you take me home? I know this doesn't make sense for you but—”

“Don't worry. No need to explain yourself if you don't feel comfortable. Just tell me if someone has done anything to you.”

“No.”

-

Your friends approached you when they spotted you leaving.

You told them you were leaving with a woman you met the other day, and just that little step made you feel like your truest self. 

You were not leaving with any man, but with a woman, as a woman yourself.

-

Alexia was very attentive and caring.

She gave you everything you needed and even slept in her sofa so you could have her bed all to yourself.

You woke up at five.

The room was still dark, and you craved Alexia filling the empty space of her bed.

You got up and went to the living room.

You saw her peacefully sleeping, and you knew with certainty that that's something you'd love to witness every day. 

You calmly woke her up, and asked her if you could sleep there with her.

Alexia made space for you to join her sofa, and when you noticed your back accommodating perfectly to her chest, as she caressed your body and shushed you, you got very emotional.

Thankfully, Alexia didn't notice.

You were not in the mood to have that conversation, but still Alexia took care of you.

You closed your eyes and let yourself fall asleep, protected by the arms of a woman that was still a stranger but who didn't hesitate to come to your rescue.

And that was enough for you to start your path towards accepting yourself as a lesbian.

[casuallyanidiot]

Omg your yandere coworker *chef's kiss*

I imagine he's just frustrated and angry because he can't believe he's fallen for a loser like reader. Like they are such a mess all the time. So soft and easy to tire. They look so out of place in this workplace environment.

But over time it starts to click that all he was to do is take them away and keep them at home. Reader shouldn't even be at work! Reader should be sitting pretty at home like the good little spouse he knows they are all that they are good for!

Man he'll have to come up with a plan to make that happen wouldn't he?

Thanks! He's awful! :)

I think the worst part about Yan coworker is that he believes he's actually a good person. Maybe if he just acknowledged how scummy he was, he wouldn't be half as bad.

He he's had enough of you stumbling all over yourself like an idiot. Yandere Coworker pulls you aside one day into a storage closet. He's trying so hard not to snap and fuck you stupid against some half empty shelves, so instead he settles for gripping your arms. Isn't he a gentleman? Anyways, he lays it out for you.

"You need to quit," He says simply. His voice is gruff and firm, and you blink in surprise. "What?" You stammer out. He's tall, intimidatingly so, and you tremble as he holds you. "No, no I'm not- I can't quit! This is my job! I know you don't really like me, but that's out of line," You hiss out and squirm away from him.

Yandere coworker realizes you really are very, very dumb. There's nothing in that stupid little head of yours, is there? You can't even tell how much he's looking out for you. You're crumbling under the weight of this job, and he can't stand seeing you so unhappy.

But he makes enough money for the two of you. He can handle this while you can't. In fact, the more he thinks about it, he can't figure out just what in the world you would be good at. He tries to picture you as successful at anything and comes up blank. Huh... You really are good for nothing. Except,,, you would probably do well if you didn't have to do anything at all.

Yandere coworker starts to think about how much prettier you would be if you got proper sleep. He likes the way you look in corporate attire (That is on the rare occasions where you don't look like a hot mess), but he bets you'd like to be in expensive and revealing loungewear even more. The only thing you would have to do is keep your house tidy, and keep yourself nice and presentable for whoever provided for you. Yeah, you'd be perfect for that. And guess what? He could give you that.

Yandere coworker knows that you're far too stubborn for your own good. He begins to actively sabotage your work. He inserts spelling errors into your reports, changes the numbers of any potential client before you have the chance to make a sale. He allows himself to be more officially promoted, and with the new power he has, he assigns you increasingly difficult tasks.

You try and report him for essentially bullying you, but the complaint is thrown out with little care. He's one of the best employees the company had ever seen, and you were just some bumbling broad who couldn't even spell their own name right on official documents.

Before long, you're fired. Yandere Coworker uses his position in the company and many connections he has to essentially black list you.

You can't get a decent job in your field anymore. Plus you begin to get behind on rent and bills. Your life is going to shit, yet you still refuse to take him up on his many offers. It's infuriating, and he just wants to put you in a place that he knows you'll be safe and happy in.

Yandere Coworker just thinks your too dumb to realize how kind he's being. He hopes that you're smart enough to recognize how nice the trunk of a luxury car is. After all, you're going to be there for a while until he can get you to his home where you'll never have to use that useless brain of yours again.

[hiddenzev]

Second Confession: Part 1

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader

Chapter Summary: Already having a crush on Joel for a year now, she was asked to be his patrol partner.

Chapter Warnings - Angst, One-sided love, Unrequited Love, Idiots in Love, a hint of fluff

WC: 1.6k

series masterlist . AO3

A/N: This is my first time committing to write a complete series of a fic. Also my first time posting it on tumblr so i'm still navigating and figuring things out. I love reading unrequited love with a happy ending stories so this has been living in my head rent free for awhile. I speak broken English most of the time (singlish iykyk) so there might be errors in my writing here and there, sorry bout that. Idk if anyone is gonna read this but if you do, i hope you enjoy it. This is prolly gonna be a 5 part series so the next few chapters will be longer than this.

Knock, Knock, Knock

You finish up washing your hands in the sink before shouting over your shoulders, “Coming!”

You dried your hands before making your way to the front door. You quickly put on your coat before opening the door and finding Tommy leaning against your porch with his hands in his front pockets.

“Good morning!” he say with a smile, “Ready to go?” he asks, turning his body to gesture them to walk out front. You nod your head and turn to lock your door. Both of you walk out and make your way to the cafeteria for breakfast as usual.

The cafeteria is filled with people in the morning. After getting your food, both of you made your way to the table in the corner with Maria, Ellie and Joel already seated eating their food. As you get closer, Tommy went to Maria’s side and bent down to kiss her on the cheek before sitting beside her. You sit down beside Ellie and gave your greetings to the group.

“Good morning,” you greet them.

“Morning.” Ellie greeted back with mouthful of food still in her mouth.

You get a nod from Maria as she looks up at you while eating her food. Maria has been nice to you from the moment you got to Jackson. Even though she can be strict and tough at times, that is what makes you admire her. You, on the other hand, are reserved and laid back. You are not a leader but more of a follower. That’s why you respect her a lot because of what she’s doing for the community.

It’s been 3 years since you arrived in Jackson, tattered with the remnants of the past and  the pain within you. It was difficult to adjust to the community at first but the couple currently sitting in front of you embraced you into the community with open arms without any judgement. They taught you everything that you need to know about Jackson and since then, you have been living here without much difficulties.

Unlike Maria, Joel does not even acknowledge your presence and keep on eating his breakfast with a frown on his face. You wonder if you will get to be the receiver of his smile one day. You had seen him smile a couple of times while talking to Tommy and you want to see his smile more often.

However, Joel is someone who distances himself from everybody else and has a tough exterior. People in Jackson find him intimidating and stay as far away as possible from him, scared to agitate and make him angry. He’s always tensed around everyone except the ones that he consider his people like Tommy and Ellie.

Joel and Ellie came to Jackson a year ago to find Tommy and that was when you saw him letting his guard down for the first time when embracing his brother in the middle of the town. After that, he had returned back in his shell refusing to open up to anybody. In the beginning, you tried to come up to him and strike a conversation but he always reply with one word answer or silence or a glare that can burn through your skull. You understand that after everything that happened to this world, it’s tough to live with optimism and hope like before.

Ever since he arrived, he had caught your eye. With his rugged appearance, tic in his jaw every now and then, a face that doesn’t show you a hint of happiness and you still can’t take your eyes of him when he’s around. You don’t know why you seek to look or ask about him when he’s not around. You have been harbouring this feeling towards him for a year now. It’s starting to bubble up on the surface and you’re afraid that you can’t contain it anymore.

You shake those thoughts away and start to dig in your food. Breakfast is filled with Ellie telling everybody on the table about things that she learned in school and asking us about life before the outbreak. Tommy and Maria answer her questions and Joel scoffs at what she said sometimes. You watch her talk about life before the outbreak with wonder in her eyes and you can’t help but smile at her. She brings up the feeling of serenity in you when you see the curiosity in her eyes.

Seeing the world through a kid’s eye is something that we adults cannot afford to do anymore. You are caught up in what Ellie is saying that you don’t realise that Joel, who is sitting on the other side of Ellie, is looking at you. You stare in each other’s eyes for a few seconds before he look away and go back to finishing his food.

“How are you feeling today?” Maria ask you.

“I’m good,” you answer, tearing your eyes away from Joel.

“Do you mind covering Tim on patrols next week?” Joel looks up hearing this. Tim is Joel’s patrol partner. They’ve been partners for almost a month now. Apparently, Tim and Joel don’t get along well. I mean, no one gets along well with Joel. Anyone that got assigned to be his partner always backed out after a few weeks. They cannot find anyone that can handle him except for Tommy. For awhile, Tommy was his partner but they cannot let him stick with him all the time as they needed Tommy’s help somewhere else sometimes.

You look at Joel to gauge his reaction. His stern look towards Maria is not breaking.

“Yeah I don’t mind.” You turn your head to look at the couple. Tommy is giving you an apologetic look knowing Joel is difficult to work with. He look at Joel who has turn his eyes away from Maria and now towards him.

“Joel, please. We don’t have anyone else.” Tommy says with a begging look on his face. Joel stares at him without saying anything.

“Oh come on man, is it so difficult to not be mean?” Ellie breaks the silence. Joel frown at her as she continues to speak.

“She’s my friend and she’s nice,” her eyes widen to emphasise her words.

“I don’t want you to infect her with your ‘old man attitude’,” she air quote annoyingly, making Joel to soften his eyes a little bit.

“Besides, she’s the only one that can stand you and your grumpiness.” Joel look at her confused. You are confused too by what she said. What does she mean by that? Tommy and Maria exchange glances before Maria speaks again.

“If everyone is ok with it, I’ll see you at the gates for patrol next week.” She looks at everyone for confirmation before stopping to look at you. You give her a nod before she stands up to start her day. Everybody quietly leaves before you are left with Ellie alone who still has a little bit of food to finish.

You timidly ask her about what she meant earlier, “Ellie, what do you mean when you said I’m the only one that can stand him and his grumpiness?”

Ellie looks at you with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She smirks and continue to eat her food not answering your question.

“Ellie!” you urge her to answer you.

She just laugh at you and stands up to return her tray. You are left alone being confused.

Feeling a little bit sluggish from the day, you make yourself a nice hot tea and make your way to your front porch. You sit down on your chair, immersing yourself in the calm stillness of the night. You have always enjoy the nights in Jackson more than the daytime. 

As you are relaxing, what happened earlier today, creeps up in your mind. The way Joel was looking at you makes your heart beat faster. What was he thinking while looking at you like that? Also, what did Ellie meant when she said that I’m the only one that can stand him and his grumpiness? You did not spend a lot of time with him alone for her to think that way.

You are perplexed on joining him on patrols, knowing the fact that a lot of people had a tough time with him. You cannot back out from it now and you are taking this opportunity to get to know him better.

While you are in thinking about Joel, you hear the strumming of a guitar nearby. It must be him. Joel lives adjacent to your house and you know that he plays the guitar some nights thinking no one is around to hear him play. You are not able to see him play because he plays the guitar at his back porch all the time. You did get to see him play once when he was back facing you, sitting at the edge of his porch, taking in the sunset. You had thought it was a beautiful view even though he wasn’t facing you.

You did not tell anyone about your feelings for him but you think that maybe Tommy has caught on to it. Sometimes he caught you looking at his brother and he would give you a mischievous smirk.

You have been wanting to tell Joel about your feelings that you’ve kept for about a year now. You also know that it is a risk as he will probably react badly to it. You do not expect him to accept it. You are doing it mostly for yourself. Call it selfish or whatever but you think it’s better to let those feelings out and move on with your life without keeping a secret that will only eat you from the inside.

Having a crush for a year is a long time and you think that it won’t progress any further so you’d rather do it fearlessly with no regrets. With a determination to confess , you let yourself listen to him playing the guitar for awhile more before calling it a night.

next part

[gremlingottoosilly]

Omg I'm new to ur page and i've been reading ur posts for a while now and it would be so sadddd if Monster!Konig found his little pet cute when she's angry so he decides to take another one just to show how pathetic and replaceable she is (which she isn't he's just doing it to see her jealous) but it backfires so hard. Instead of little reader being feisty and aggressive towards her competition she instead just feels so empty and sad that Kinig doesn't love her anymore or she isn't enough for him, crying herself every night quietly in her nest as Konig decided to sleep in her replacement's nest :(

xoxo,

✿︎ (I'm not sure if this icon is taken yet so sorry in advance if it is!)

Konig fucked up. More later in the episode. He refuses to even acknowledge you as being sad or depressed...good pets are never showing their negative emotions to their owners, so you need to suck everything up and just start to be normal again!! It couldn't be so hard right!! Well, it is - especially for you. The new pet is nothing like you, they are naturally able to submit and be a perfect pet. They are folding their nest perfectly, they wait patiently for Konig to give them eggs so they can be good little incubators...you don't even want to interact with them, everything just tells you how replaceable you are( Konig doesn't give them eggs, he doesn't really care for the newer pet - but he wants you knocked down a peg for being so territorial about him...he wanted you to be passionate, to maybe even kill the poor thing and fight for the right to be his pet, but you're just...sad. You don't eat, you don't take care of yourself, you're at the point of losing the eggs altogether - and Konig feels how sad you are, the smell of depression is fucking him up because he hates feeling negative!! He shouldn't feel that way, literally what the fuck!! He will apologize a while after, bringing you head of the poor pet as a gift - like a cat brings you trophies.

[myfairstarlight]

Alright, let's talk about Colin's entrapment line and why Penelope offering an annulment was significant, shall we? Arguably the most controversial part of this season, isn't it?

I'm not going to delve too long on the entrapment line again actually, but to summarise, Colin has been traumatised by a similar situation before, and right now, he's hurt. And the thing about being angry with your best friend is that you know what to say to hurt them the most. We see it in Eloise's and Penelope's fight, as they threw each other's insecurities in the other's faces. Colin, two episodes ago, was defending Penelope against Portia, who was accusing her of entrapping him, so yes, his mind will jump to that first. But also note that the whole time he refuses to look at her, because he knows his words are cutting and will hurt and he knows his resolve would break if he looked at her, which is contrasted by Penelope directly looking at him to tell him she loves him and did not mean for this to happen like this. He does not look because he knows she loves him, this is not Marina's situation exactly who only wanted a way out and did not see him as much else than a means to an end, and that's why it's so much more difficult to deal with for him. Penelope loves him.

And he's already almost lost her once, as angry and hurt as he is, he cannot fathom the idea of letting her go, when he remembers how empty he felt without her letters, or at the idea of her with Debling. So he's still here, determined to marry her.

So now we get to e8. The marriage was not technically consummated, and the Lady Whistledown business is finally settled. So Penelope offers the annulment, to set him, and his family, free from her mess.

They never directly address Colin's entrapment comment again, but with Penelope offering the annulment, it is now implied she's been thinking about this the whole time. It is a very real possibility that by that point, Penelope already knew she was pregnant, and it's been speculated if she told Colin in that scene after Francesca's wedding or not (I personally don't think she did, to not add to his guilt at that moment, and perhaps to not influence his decision, knowing she would be offering the annulment soon) and it parallels Marina's situation again, except in this case, Penelope does not wish to trap Colin with a baby, even if it is his. She knows how much Marina impacted Colin, and does not wish to do the same thing she had prevented Marina to do. The best part about this though? Colin is stunned (Edit: I changed the adjective here as someone rightfully pointed out I was exaggerating by saying "flabbergasted" when his reaction is more on the subtle side the English language is the bane of my existence). Frankly, he probably forgot he even said that, the same way he forgot about his "I would never dream of courting Penelope Featherington" comment - those were words said in the heat of the moment he never actually believed. Not once has Colin thought of either breaking the engagement, or get an annulment even after the betrayal.

He could have still eloped with Marina even after learning the truth, but he didn't because she was not honest with him from the start. He learns Penelope has been living a double life this whole time, and yet he stays.

It is significant that Penelope listened and acknowledged Colin's point of view, the same way she asked him to simply stand by her side and support her. Also note that she never says "our family", she says "you or your family".

Despite already being married, this whole time, it did not feel like they were, and she knew that as long as there was still this barrier between them, she could never truly be part of that family, but it's alright, she could live with that, she has mended things with her own after all, and she can support herself. Whatever the outcome, she'll be alright, she believes.

Fortunately for her, she does not get to find out what that future would entail because Colin absolutely hates the idea of letting her go.

Because after all, she's a mess, but she's his mess.

[leebrontide]

I ever tell you all about my role model?

So when I was a teen we had these two black labs. Good dogs. I miss them.

And I was in highschool when we took them both to the vet for vaccinations or something. And the vet had this small tuxedo cat that lived at the office, just hanging around in the waiting area.

And both my dogs see this cat and all the fur on their backs puffs up and they start growling and showing their teeth and closing in on this little cat as my mom and I try to drag them back, panicking that our pets are gonna try to murder the vet's pet.

And the cat barely pauses their grooming to look at them calmly and bap both of them on the nose in quick succession. No claws out. Not even a swipe. Distinctly a bop or maybe even a bap. Then they went back to grooming themself.

The dogs stopped growling. They look at each other, and then at us. I have never seen a more confused dog in my life.

They quietly went back and sat down where we'd been sitting, and didn't so much as look at that cat ever again.

And like...these are 80lb dogs.

And I decided I wanted to be like that cat. Not violent, but utterly poised in the face of danger. This cat refused to acknowledge that the dogs were bigger or any particular danger. And the dogs were so baffled by this that they assumed they were not any particular danger to the cat. And so, they weren't.

And when I've told this story online, there's usually some women who get really mad at me. They say I'm endangering women, or I'm victim blaming.

I don't know what to say. I'm 40 years old and 5ft 4. I have been in multiple jobs that frequently involved standing firm in the face of large angry men with histories of assault being very very mad at me while I am isolated from backup. And only one has ever dared to take a swing at me and he was so drunk I didn't even need to lean back he missed so badly.

Is it a perfect protection from danger? No, that's dumb. Nothing is. It would be nice if there was something we could do to always stay safe but even fairy tales know better than that.

And it sure as hell seems to protect me better than trying to placate, or than panicking, or escalating or isolating.

And multiple men over a foot bigger than me have voiced that there is something innately scary and intimidating about me. Actually especially taller men seem intimidated by me. I think because I refuse to have any emotional response to their size, and it stands out as weird to them, subconsciously (many of them are perfectly lovely people who I'm not trying to intimidate at all, but who are naturally used to the way most people react to them.)

It doesn't mean I'm never scared. But being rooted in the image of that cat has really has got me through a lot of situations.

It also has for sure made some bosses hate me, when they want groveling and I don't, but I'm doing just fine anyways.

[fruity-fruition]

I NEED more angry Saki content at this point. GENUINELY.

Guys, I love Tsukasa, Shiho, and Honami with all my heart but I desperately need Saki to finally let out all her anguish.

Shiho and Honami were middle schoolers, you can't blame them, but so was Saki. I love how bright she is, how bubbly, but for the love of god you just know she had some sense of betrayal when Ichika was the only one who appeared constantly.

I want Saki to stand before Honami and Shiho, trying her best to act as her usual self, but finally breaking down and telling them how hurt she was when they never replied to her text. When Ichika kept saying "they'll visit soon" because she knows they never will. How she felt so alone in that hospital room, missing two of her best friends and being so far away from home.

I don't want their friendship to wither, but I have her to be angry because she has every right to be. I want her to hold a grudge, and I want her to feel hurt because she cannot move forward without acknowledging how shitty the cards she was dealt were.

Again, I'm not saying it was Honami and Shiho's fault. They were middle schoolers, they were scared. they were children who didn't know how to cope with their friend being so far and so out of reach. But that didn't mean they weren't wrong. Saki has every right to feel abandoned, because in her eyes, she was.

And Tsukasa. This is a different betrayal, because he treats her like glass. Again, it's not his fault, because for a good while, she basically was. She couldn't go out, she couldn't move around, she couldn't do most things. And he saw her through all of it. Of course he'd be scared for her, of course he'd be wary about it.

But Saki's so tired of being treated like this. She wants to move on, to keep going, to feel normal but she can't do that when everywhere she goes, it's a constant reminder. I want her to lash out, not being she's in the right, but because she's a teen who's childhood was torn away from her.

I want to see Saki snap, I don't even want it to be for a right reason. She could be totally in the wrong, yelling at her brother for caring and trying to make sure she's okay, but she's tired of being reminded she isn't a normal teen. So she lashes out, because she's hurt.

Saki's feeling of betrayal towards Tsukasa reaches another part too, with Tsukasa refusing to trust her the way she trusts him. Tsukasa never opened up to her, being so determined to be the reliable older brother. She's not stupid. She sees what he's doing. She knows something is up, that something is wrong. He's hiding something from her, and it pisses her off that she most likely will never know what.

She feels like he doesn't trust her. She feels like her just being younger is burdening him. That he thinks she can't handle it because she'll always be the "younger fragile sister". She is wrong, and he's never seen her as such, but she feels. That's the whole thing here.

I just want my girl to be able to finally feel and not squash everything down. She'll have to accept the consequences of her actions, but she'll grow from it after, that's for certain. Because she's not going anywhere if she keeps ignoring it and just smiles through (Tenma Sibling trait apparently...)

GOD Saki Tenma I LOVE YOU.

[gffa]

The thing is, I think Jason's issues with Bruce center around how he feels like he doesn't matter to Bruce, how he's not being acknowledged and recognized in the eyes of the man that became his father. And I'm not married to any one interpretation that comes from that, but I can see some a lot of really fun ways to run with it, like. When Jason is resurrected, he's so angry that Bruce refused to cross the line to kill the Joker, because Jason didn't matter enough to him to break that part of Bruce. It doesn't matter that Bruce has reasons for it, that he knows himself well enough that he can't cross that line or he'll keep crossing it, if he justifies one kill, he'll justify them all, there's part of Jason that cries out, "Am I not worth that to you?" In Task Force Z, Jason agrees to work with Bruce to find the Lazarus resin, and the breaking point of their conflict is over Jason feeling like he only matters as a good little soldier, that he's not seen as someone worth respecting and trusted, that he doesn't matter as himself. That Bruce tries to tell him how and where he can fight, that Gotham is his city. When Gotham War happens, Bruce does cross a line, he's so torn apart by Jason's actions versus his own love for Jason that he does something monstrous. It's awful, it's horrible, but maybe there's some fucked up part of Jason that, underneath all the hurt and the anger, thinks, He did this because of me. He crossed his own morals for me. Yeah, it's fucked up and I'm pissed, but look what I made him do. ME. Every single Bat is kind of fucked up in a myriad of ways, their emotional boundaries are just absolutely bonkers, their emotional connections work differently because they've all been through the trauma wringer, so when something fucked up happens, they don't always react to it in normal ways, and especially so when it comes to Bruce. They know it's fucked up, but their whole lives are fucked up, and when you can make Bruce do something so against his morals? Because he's so torn up about you? That's the kind of acknowledgement that really scratches an itch that only really fucked up trauma for everyone in this bar can give you. He can come around on what Bruce did because it means he matters to Bruce, when Bruce trusts him to be the one to take on the fake death plan, when Bruce listens to Jason arguing back, it's the acknowledgement and importance that he's been seeking. It's fucked up, but what isn't fucked up in the Bats' lives? They're all walking trauma bombs ready to go off at any minute, eventually you find ways to get over that and cope however you can. Especially when it means your dad loves you so much that he broke his own rules for you, the rules that seemed to matter so much more than you ever did to him, maybe they're not such an insurmountable distance anymore. Bruce will never kill for any of them, but he can break other rules that drive a dagger into Bruce's very soul. Because of Jason.

[my-beloved-ghosts-and-me]

My thoughts about which deadly sin each Usher represents.

I would like to say that they all could easily represent more than one sin, but only one sin was deadly to them and that's what I'm using as a parameter.

Roderick and Madeline - Greed

The twins are Greed. For me it's pretty obvious they're Greed because even Roderick said so. No amount of money would ever be enough. Their greed for more was the beginning of their downfall when, decades ago, they decided to accept that deal.

Prospero - Lust

Another one that I find pretty obvious. His life was all about a luxurious and hedonistic lifestyle, but ultimately what caused his death was his decision to keep the orgy going.

Camille - Envy

I think Camille was envy because that's exactly what led her to her death.

Camille's resentment towards Victorine comes from having to deal with all the dirt from the family, but her sister who is just like her, as Verna said, gets to be their "Madre Theresa" just because she hid better. This is what led Camille to be so hateful of Victorine, her envy for her.

If Camille wasn't so envious of Victorine she wouldn't be so determined to bring her down, if she wasn't so envious she wouldn't be so personally focused on finding the dirty Victorine was hiding despise Verna giving her the chance to step back and not get inside.

Ultimately envy led Camille to her death.

Leo - Gluttony

Leo can easily be Gluttony because his over-consumption and over-indulgence of drugs and drinks it's exactly what led him to his death. Pluto was never dead, he was hallucinating because of all the drugs he took the night before. (I do believe the hallucination was especially so vivid because of Verna though. She disseminated the idea that led each Usher to their death but also gave them the chance to step back. She offers temptation and the chance to regret their choice)

Jules even let it clear, to us, the audience, the alarming amount of drugs he consumed. His drug-induced hallucination ultimately led him to his death. Had Leo not consumed too many drugs, he wouldn't hallucinated that morning and wouldn't have gone after a new cat that caused him to spiral into a deepening psychosis aggravated by the excessive amount of drugs he consumed on a daily basis.

Victorine - Wrath

Victorine for me represents wrath because that was her downfall.

She was rude to Verna when they bumped into each other for the first time, she was rude to her security guard after the conversation with her older siblings... That shows us how easily angry she was all the time.

She was angry that she needed to put more effort into her job because it was harder for her, a Usher bastard. She was angry that her older siblings got to grow up with her father figure around and with the "legendary Annabel Lee", the only woman Roderick loved enough to marry while her mother was just a nurse. She was angry that their father had thrown the food at them just to see them fighting for it. She was so angry at everything and eventually, that was going to blow up.

But anger it's not wrath. Wrath, by the Bible, it's when you get consumed by rage to the point of acting irrationally and immorally. 

And in a fit of rage, blinded by the wrath that bubbled inside her all her life as an Usher, she killed her partner, went mad with regret, and when she realized what she had done she killed herself consumed with remorse.

Wrath was the sin that led Victorine to her death.

Tamerlane - Pride

First of all the sheer amount of mirrors in her house, it's a huge clue that she's Pride, but there are others.

She considers herself above Juno and even calls her "it", refusing to acknowledge that she's a human too. And why? Because she's a "junkie"?

Tamerlane considers herself better than her siblings too. She only stopped texting at their funerals because her husband stopped her. Their funeral meant nothing to her because it wasn't about her or her launch.

She thinks of herself above her husband too. Could be anyone there, any face, the brand would be a success. And why? Because she, alone, is behind it.

Just before her death, she could have given up her pride and called her husband. But she didn't. And she died completely alone because of it while destroying the last mirror and the last way she could see herself, her ugly self.

Pride was Tamerlane's death through and through.

Fred - Sloth

Fred is Sloth because he didn't demolish the building as his father ordered, he procrastinated. What led his wife to the orgy was his lack of attitude in their relationship, his lack of proactively in their life.

Fred tried to be like his father but he couldn't keep up with his rhythm, he was a cover band off-key, always a little slower.

If you look closely, all things are always delicated interconnected.

Fred's sin caused Prospero's death and his own. A full circle.

Had Fred stopped procrastinating and started doing his job, the building would not be there. Had Fred stopped being accommodated in his relationship, Morrie wouldn't be tempted to go to Perry's orgy.

Poetically the consequences of the sin that ultimately led Fred to his death were the slowest. Sloth is lazy after all. He was the first to sin, but the last to die. And he died laying down, without moving, representing perfectly his deadly sin and exactly how he lived his life.

Obs: Fred and Prospero are so interconnected, they are like a double ouroboros. The end and the beginning of the Usher's heirs massacre.

[bonefall]

Is there any one particular bit in Ivypool's heart that really stands out concerning wanting to tackle it in BB (be it lovingly or with violence)?

I'll do you two; a loving tackle and a violent tackle!

VIOLENT TACKLE:

Dovewing and Ivypool do NOT have a good relationship in BB, and furthermore, I absolutely refuse to let Ivypool be a healthy and well adjusted individual at this point in her life. ABSOLUTELY not. The Erins have dropped a raw steak at my feet and given me an opportunity to display BB!Ivypool's Dovewing Derangement Syndrome on full blast and I am shaking it like Whistlepaw shakes a newborn baby.

I was really craving someone on this journey not being patient with Ivypool, and seeing her act unreasonably on her pain and loss.

I wanted to see her get nasty with someone, and have them fight back. I wanted to see someone get angry that she was insensitive towards them when they've ALL gone through similar things. It kinda felt like everyone on this journey was there to give Ivypool therapy, not work out their issues as a group.

For BB, I also want to give Dovewing and Ivypool some soft moments of mutual understanding, but... in the end, they do not reconcile because Dovewing does not want to.

And that's okay.

Ivypool will think she NEEDS her sister and her acknowledgement to move on, to have her accept an apology (which, truthfully, Ivypool doesn't entirely believe in) because it's SOME kind of closure when she won't get that with Bristlefrost... but she doesn't.

Moving on and healing is about the life you make in the wake of that loss. It's not Dovewing's responsibility to give her sister what she craves, it's up to Ivypool to make meaning in her own life. It's about the friends she will find, the wide world there is to discover, and the ways she can make things better for the Clans in Bristlefrost's name.

Even when the bridge is burned... the river still runs.

(As a side note, I've also TOTALLY gotta work in a moment where Ivy and Dove come across their mom, Cinderheart, while she's out traveling with their aunt/stepmom Fallenleaf. This is the perfect opportunity for Ivypool to let out a bunch of anger she has towards them, but also have them get a little involved in the new supernatural stuff!)

Special mention to the Sisters stuff; in BB they are not Evil Neglectful Bad Moms Who Hate Men. Beach and Slate will be tweaked. I am already imagining a scene where Rootspring gets to have a Cool Older Brother moment and show off some cool tricks he figured out with his talisman.

(in BB, the male sisters don't genetically inherit the ability to see ghosts, they have a special necklace crafted for them that lets them call spirits without the need of a large group.)

(Slate also will not be needing a rename, because Slate DOTC has a full name now-- Slate Keeper. I'm still working on her, but she's essentially The Wind Runner's secretary.)

POSITIVE TACKLE:

DEFINITELY the "River of Souls," along with StormClan and the Wildcats. I'm still wary of the Wildcats and the way the Erins could possibly dip into some weird "genetic superiority" stuff in the future, but they actually did a pretty good job introducing them!

I love the way that Wildcat religion is essentially that everything is connected by three elements, and that their unique belief system allows them to travel between afterlives. I adore this so much that I'm going to start thinking of the various "afterlives" in BB as having a primary element which influences how they behave.

Silverpelt and Skypelt are primarily Wind-Element systems. This makes them mobile and powerful, but highly subjected to the whims of the living.

The Tribe of Endless Hunting is primarily a Water-Element system. It's a very present element, flexible and easy for individuals to access while also allowing spirits to interact with the mortal plane.

The Guardian's Firmament is primarily an Earth-Element system. They require setup and investment on behalf of their followers, in return for giving worshippers a very powerful and intimate connection to the land.

All afterlives contain a mix of elements, but have "affinities." I also immediately saw a juicy opportunity to introduce the idea that Wildcats dance around addressing "fire" as an element, considering it forbidden, or at the very least, wild and unpredictable.

One Eye, who created the Dark Forest as a curse, is a God of Summer. So the Place of No Stars is absolutely a Fire-Element-- and I'm going to keep it loose until I understand what that looks like better. I want to save a little bit of wiggle room for future Wildcat appearances.

I'm also warming up to the idea that the Sisters have some Wildcat influence. I'm probably going to adjust their lore a bit to make them a mixture of Tribe culture and Wildcat culture. I've got a budding idea that, because Wildcats are rare and their population is scattered, they have a sort of concept of like... "Making A Home Where You Are," no matter where that is, or what culture they become part of.

So I like the idea a lot that this "river" is part of that. They maintain a connection to each other, across distances. The Guide of a Wildcat kitten is their mentor, both in terms of spiritual and physical training.

I'll also be needing a new name for this rework. Part of me really wants to call it "Ivypool's Loss," both for the angle of grief and also for the meme lmao. But, "Ivypool's Catharsis" also works very nicely... and if I go with "Ivypool's Awakening" the abbreviation is IPA and I can make beer jokes.

[frogspond200]

𝙹𝚊𝚡 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝 𝙾𝚗𝚎-𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝

Requested by: Anon

Ask: I wanted to request a Jax X Reader but it is ANGST HEAVY. If you want a happy ending for this one that's your choice <3

Warning: Angst

Summary: Jax x Reader who essentially took a vow of silence after he pissed them off one too many times. They REFUSE to speak or even acknowledge him. The other characters (including Zooble...surprisingly) pressure him into apologizing. Eventually Jax attempts to apologize fa half-assed one at that) speaking to them through the door. He doesn't get a response, gets a bit frustrated, but just hopes that they heard him. He walks away, unaware of the black mass sitting there at the other side of the door. If only he had apologized sooner, maybe then he wouldn't have pushed them over the edge.

──────────────────

Jax knocks on your door, not caring less that you were on a vow of silence… “look I'm sorry for teasing you but I just like doing it. You're just sensitive and I should have known” he had a sarcastic tone in his teeth “but I forgive you for ignoring me. Now will you come out, cry baby?” …there was nothing but silence behind the door. He growls and rolls his eyes “Fine. Be that way.”

As Jax walks away, he can't help but feel a sense of regret and unease. He knows he messed up and wishes he had apologized sooner. Little does he know, the black mass sitting on the other side of the door is the manifestation of the reader's pent-up anger and frustration.

Jax stops and sighs walking back to your door and knocking on it louder “Hey. Listen up…because I'm not gonna say thing again” Jax utters.

He takes a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sorry. I messed up and I know I should have apologized sooner. I'm a…" he groans “Jax@$$” he chuckles, trying to brighten the mood, he does expect you to talk back so he keeps going.

He takes a deep breath before continuing. "But I'm trying. I am. I want to be better and I want to be here for you. I'm sorry if I let you down." His ears fall a bit as he leans his head on the door, banging it softly.

“I’m sorry…dollface” he whispers. He closes his eyes, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. He stays like that for a few moments, before hearing the sound of a door opening…

You were glitching, not too bad but bad enough for Jax to freak out. “Oh shit.” he whispers “Is this my fault…” he knew the answer to that…his hand reached out to touch you, pulling you into a hug.

His embrace was tight and strong, as if he was trying to protect you from the harsh reality of the stand you hug him back “You're a fucking jax@$$”

“Alright. Alright. Enough with the pun.” he sighed. They were angry, pouty tears in your eyes as you, very fucking softly, punched him. “Alright…I deserve this” he chuckled. He hugged you tightly, trying to make up for his stupid joke. You wiped away your tears and hugged him back. You both stayed in that position, till someone walked in and you shoved him to the ground.

[mikaela-the-slut-expert]

HII!!! CAN U GET A FLUFFY ONESHOT WITH DOTTORE(WEBTOON VER) PLSSSS.... like he has a huge soft spot for you but REFUSES to acknowledge it when ppl ask... and he can never stop staring at reader IDK im down horrendous for him

Stay

Dottore (webtorre) x Reader

Of course you can. Thanks so much for requesting something from me it rlly means so much you're my fav person rn😭🖤

I'm just calling him webtorre so hopefully that's fine.

Tell if you like it or not 😋

_____________________________________________

You've been Dottore's lover for a while now so of course you're allowed to wander around the lab since he gave you special permission to. Obviously in the lab it would be impossible not to meet his clones. They're everywhere, lots of them. You've met segments that look identical to him, segments in his Akedemyia days and even segments that are children

In your opinion though your favorite segment is when Dottore was in his early fatui days. This version of Dottore has gained your affections quite easily and if you're not with Prime everyone's second guess is him. His name is supposed to be Theta but you gave him a nickname, Webtorre. He pretends to hate it though.

You love Webtorre very much. He's much more wild in terms of Prime, but he's quite funny. He has this "hee hee, ho ho" laugh and it makes you giggle every time at his sharp toothed smile.

You find that he's quite affectionate too, in more strange ways that is. Often, you notice that if you're in the same room with him, he can't stop staring at you. If you ask he'll say you're being delusional but you know that those beautiful, red eyes have been locked on you the whole time.

Throughout harbinger meetings, or while you roam the lab. There is always a pair of eyes on you. Webtorre loves to look at you. He won't tell anyone else that not even you, his darling. However he just can't seem to drag his eyes away. You're not stupid you know he's burning holes into you but you don't say anything.

Believe it or not you like his staring. How he can't look away even if he wants to. He gazes at you like you're the most important thing to him and you love it.

You love the way his attitude changes from you compared to other people. To other people Webtorre is a terrifying segment of Dottore. Who experiments on people and tortures them just for the fun. Webtorre shows ill intent or aggression to other people, but never to you. Never you.

He looks at other people with angry eyes and furrowed brows, or a look of intrigue because he plans to dissect them. Not you though. When he looks at you it's the literal definition of "his gaze softened".

Webtorre is quick to deny the claims that he has a soft spot for anybody, much less you. Waving the claims away, but if anyone were to take a chance on you because of his denial? You'll find that the person has gone missing and you might even find parts of them in jars the next day.

So while Webtorre does deny the claims and rumors, everyone knows not to touch you, much less look at you unless they want an angry harbinger in their path.

**********************************************************

You let out a big sigh, slumped on Prime's office desk. He's left for some big mission again. Which leaves you here alone and bored. What do you do when you're bored? Bother Webtorre.

So that's what you do. You wander down halls and rooms looking for him. The lab is actually quite large and branches off to even more places, you often get lost. You open a door to a smaller lab and finally spot fluffy blue hair.

"Webtorre! I've been looking for you my love, are you busy?" You say in a sing-song voice and walk over to him.

He grunts from his seat, "Of course I'm busy" but he pats his lap anyways, demanding that you sit with him. And who are you to deny? You slide on to his lap and lie your head on his shoulder. He's always acting like such a grump but he never denies you of anything.

You shiver from the lab's AC. Even though you're in the freezing winters of Snezhnaya, Webtorre loves keeping the rooms cold. He's quick to move his coat around you though so you can warm up. He doesn't need it, he has his own heat source. His heat source is lumped in his lap right now.

You yawn and shove your face into the crook of his neck, while he scribbles away in a notebook. It's an early morning and you're still sleepy. Webtorre smiles and shows his sharp rows of teeth. "Tired, my love?"

When you nod he starts rubbing his hand through your hair. "Then sleep, I'm not moving anytime soon."

You hum and close your eyes. You could use some sleep but you enjoy just relaxing here. Plus it's hard to sleep when you can feel his gaze locked on you, and when he's playing with your hair. You enjoy it though so you say nothing to halt his actions.

It's not until another presence walks in the room that Webtorre goes back to being a grump. He doesn't push you away or anything he just goes back to his huffy-puffy attitude. You smile to yourself and keep your eyes closed.

"Oh? Look at you Theta. You're getting soft, I see" you hear Pantalone's voice tease. He takes a step closer to you but is quick to take a step back when Webtorre's eyes snap to him.

"I'm not going soft, they fell in my lap" he huffs and looks back at you. It is undeniable how his gaze softens though. "Don't call me that, my name is Webtorre you incompetent oaf" you fight off a giggle.

"Don't be so polite, Webtorre. That one is always clinging to your side... Or maybe it's the other way around?" Pantalone chuckles raising his hand to his mouth.

"I don't cling to anybody, idiot. You're a blind fool if you think that's what's going on. Obviously they're the ones clinging to me" he rolls his eyes. "It's not your business anyways, get out before I put you on a lab table" Webtorre snarls.

Pantalone laughs but he leaves anyway. You are trying to hold yourself together so you don't start having a giggling fit into his neck. Webtorre isn't dumb though he knows you're awake.

It's amazing how fast his claws are put away and he stops his hissing. "Oh, what's so funny my dear?" He smiles and grips your waist.

You hum tapping your lips, "I think we cling to each other don't you think?" You tease him and look up at your lover's face.

"Ugh you're just as dumb as Pantalone, be quiet and go back to sleep." He huffs and tries to shove your face back into his neck.

You laugh, knowing he's just trying to hide his blushing face. "Noooo, you cling to me just as much Doctor" you giggle, and start giving little pecks to his face.

Webtorre groans and stares at you, "... Maybe" he grumbles. He pulls you closer against him and fixes his coat back on you. "Now shut up and sleep before I kick you out" you giggle but willingly lie back down into his chest. You know he would never push you away. You're his darling after all.

__________________________________________________

I hope it isn't too short and I hope you enjoyed it 🥰

[maarigolds]

Lucy, Lockwood and George, after everything.

(show edition. I'm not going by book canon for this one, so don't worry about spoilers)

At 21 or 22, Lockwood is the first of them that starts to lose his talent.

Which makes sense, since he's the oldest. At the beginning he refuses to even acknowledge it, but Lucy and George figure out what's happening soon enough. For a while he's just ashamed and angry and sad all the time. Then it gets better: Lucy and George get him trough it. He also calls Kipps, and they talk for hours, both coming out of it feeling almost at peace (Kipps has gone back to school and is talking about wanting to become a teacher. Which Lockwood feels like should surprise him, but actually doesn't). 

Lucy is next. It breaks her heart a little (because of skull and all other type 3s) and it scares her a lot. But then she realizes how soothingly quiet the world can be at times, and lets herself think that maybe she will be alright. 

George is last. And the thing is, even though it saddens him to lose the one thing that connected him to ghosts, mainly he's relieved. He's been waiting for the other shoe to drop for a while, and now that it has, he's ready for whatever may come next.

The jobs get more and more rare as they hear, see and feel less and less. Lockwood knows he could hire new kids to replace them, but in truth he doesn't really want to. Perhaps Lockwood & Co. can be laid to rest at last: after all, they've already achieved more than he ever dreamt. So the next time a client calls, he informs her they've shut down and gives her the name of an up-and-coming independent agency he's heard great things about. He only feels mildly guilty about it. 

Even if they're technically not his employees anymore, George and Lucy stay. They don’t talk about it, but the idea of moving out of Portland row and living lives that aren't intrinsically intertwined feels wrong to all three of them: they're a family, after all, and nothing has to change about that.

Still, they need to make money somehow. So they muse about going far away from London, opening a bakery, living in a small house by the sea. But in the end they stay, both in the city and line of work they're used to. Because they do belong there, it's undeniable. George, of course, goes into ghost research and becomes a leading voice in the field, discovering new ways to help agents all over the country. No one is surprised, but everyone is proud. Lucy one day shows up at Barnes' office to ask him about becoming an inspector. It's the last thing either would have expected, but when he asks her why, she says it feels like the best place to be to help kids like her. To stop people like Jacobs. So he gives her a job. She's determined to change things from the inside. Barnes thinks that if someone could, it's her. And Lockwood... well, it takes a while for him to figure it out. But one evening Lucy comes home talking about a kid left deeply traumatized by a job gone wrong, and suddenly he knows. The next day he calls the bank to open up a pro bono clinic for agents and ex agents in need of psychological treatment. After less than a week they already have their first client. 

Slowly but steadily, it becomes their new normal. 

Lockwood sets up a study in the room on the stairs and works mainly from there. George, on the other hand, works at a lab in the City: he is the first to leave in the morning, but he always comes home soon enough to cook dinner. Lucy keeps slightly more irregular hours, and sometimes her job keeps her away for longer than she'd like. But then again she occasionally gets to come home to the adorable view of the boys fast asleep in front of the tv, so that's good.

One day Flo brings them a stray cat she found while working: they name him Donut and spoil him way too much.

Lucy starts gardening. George grows a magnificent beard (Lockwood is not jealous of it). The fridge breaks down and they have to buy a new one. Airf's son replaces him at the shop. They put up a hammock in the backyard, and spend their vacations piled into it. Mrs Burke from across the street knits them all hats for Christmas. Lockwood adds new framed articles on the walls and new knick-knacks on the bookshelves. 

He's not sure when, but one day 35 Portland Row stops being the home his parents left behind and becomes his home. Their home: his, and Lucy's, and George's (and Donut's. And Kipps' when he comes over for lunch on Sundays. And Flo's when she swings by using her own keys. And Barnes' when he stays for tea after long work days).

So they keep going as they have, day after day, year after year, slowly growing older. Wounds heal and scars fade. The sun shines through the kitchen windows on summer mornings. The smell of persian food fills the air every evening. Old rapiers get dusty in the umbrella stand. There aren't any ghosts between their walls, both real and metaphorical.

Everything is alright.

[bigdumbbambieyes]

Harringrove Lovefest Day 9: Conversation Hearts Hurt/Comfort | T | 1.3k @harringrovelovefest

🤍🤍🤍

From what Steve's gathered over the three or so months that he's been 'dating' Billy, he knows that the blond has issues.

Like, issues issues.

Which is fine, because so does Steve, and they both do their best to be patient - even when it does wear thin. Steve knew that it wouldn't be easy to love Billy. He doesn't make it easy, because his temper gets the best of him sometimes, which leads to fights and silence that spans days. He pushes Steve away, says shit like 'I don't need you or anyone' and puts his walls up. He refuses to go on dates or hold Steve's hand, even in private. Only kisses during sex. Never cuddles.

But, if Steve's anything, he's persistent. And desperate to love and be loved.

So, he waits. He lets Billy have his space when he needs it, reassures Billy that he's not going anywhere, even after they fight. And Billy never says 'thank you' or 'I'm sorry', but he'll always listen whenever Steve talks after a fight, when he explains how he feels. He communicates and Billy doesn't, which is the most frustrating part.

He's begun to feel a little hopeless.

As he's feeling torn between giving up and hoping for the best, Valentine's Day arrives.

He's at school, watching couples be couples with gifts and flowers and cards, and watching Billy watch them, too.

Steve doesn't expect anything, in all honesty. They hadn't made plans, and if he can't even call Billy his boyfriend, he doesn't expect a gift. Which is, admittedly, disappointing because Steve wants to shower Billy in gifts - his favourite snacks, the new Metallica tape, his favourite beer, maybe a rose or two or three - but he doesn't want to scare him off. And it's hard, because Steve's always been a romantic and Valentine's Day has always been one of his favourite holidays.

And here he is at his locker after last period, still holding onto hope that maybe Billy's stuffed it full of love.

But when he opens it, it's empty.

His heart drops and he frowns, takes a deep breath as he shoves his notebook inside and slams it shut, swallowing down his disappointment.

Whatever.

When he gets to the parking lot, Billy's Camaro is already gone and Steve clenches his jaw.

"Whatever," he mutters to himself as he rips open his Beemer's door and slumps inside, driving home with a heavy heart.

🤍🤍🤍

He'd never admit it, but Steve hides in his room for the rest of the evening. His parents leave him money for pizza before they head out for their own Valentine's Day dinner, but he hasn't bothered.

He doesn't know what to do. He feels stupid. He should just call Billy and tell him how he feels, tell him how disappointed he is, how he wants to do something for Valentine's Day.

But, what will that get him? At best, a silent phone call or maybe a small hum of acknowledgement. At worst, Billy gets angry and annoyed.

Ugh.

He goes downstairs and eyes the money on the counter, considers taking it to go grab some beer instead - and then the doorbell rings.

Brows furrowed, he heads over to it and peeks through the hole, sees a fisheye view of Billy standing there with his hands in his jacket pockets, looking off to the side with his own pinched expression.

When Steve opens the door, he doesn't bother to hide his confusion, even as those blue eyes meet his.

They're guarded, as usual. Unsure.

"Hey," Steve mutters, frowning, "What're you doing here?"

Billy's mouth twitches as he half rolls his eyes, tilting his head to the side as he gives Steve a look, "To see you?"

"Well, obviously," Steve huffs softly, and they eye each other for another moment before Steve steps aside, silently inviting the other boy in.

Billy steps inside and Steve locks the door behind them, leaning against it as he watches Billy toe off his boots. The last time Billy had worn his shoes inside, his mom had flipped.

"Parents went out?" Billy asks, eyeing the living room and kitchen before turning back to look at him.

He looks fucking gorgeous, as always. His hair is perfectly styled, he changed into that white t-shirt Steve loves on him, his jeans cup his ass perfectly.

And the way Billy looks at him, eyes half lidded, as he checks Steve out in return, makes his face go a little warm.

He's fucking blushing, as if he's never been alone with Billy.

In response to the question, he nods quietly.

"You're being quiet," Billy mutters with a small lift of his brow, "Usually I can't get you to shut up."

Which is true. Should he just say it? Should he tell Billy how he felt earlier? Would it do any good? What if Billy's had enough and if he said anything, he'd just get dumped? On Valentine's Day.

Billy takes a deep breath and looks up to the ceiling, his jaw clenching as he thinks something over, until he finally takes his hands out of his pockets and holds one out to Steve.

Dark brown eyes go to that palm, seeing three small hearts resting there. Yellow, pink, and green.

Steve blinks in surprise and steps closer to get a better look; stamped in red letters are three small, simple messages: BE MINE, KISS ME, FOR EVER.

He flicks his gaze back up to Billy's face, who's looking off to the corner but his face is flushed, like he's embarrassed.

Steve feels hope bloom in his chest.

He cracks a small smile, still a little unsure, as he asks quietly, "What're these for?"

"They're for you," Billy says just as quietly, his eyes going down to his palm and an annoyed look flashes across his face for a second before his other hand is rearranging two of the hearts, swapping their place.

BE MINE. FOR EVER. KISS ME.

Steve's smile grows but he dampens it, his eyes widening as he flicks his gaze back and forth from Billy's face to the hearts, feeling his own begin to race. "You trying to tell me something?" He asks playfully, his voice a whisper.

Billy finally meets his eyes then, the blue of them so much brighter when he blushes, and he clenches his jaw again with a small shrug. "I...I know I'm not good at saying how I feel," he whispers, his eyes going down to the conversation hearts again, "And Susan bought a bag of these, so I figured, y'know - I'll just...show you how I feel. And I know you like all this romantic pussy shit, so..."

Steve can't help the way his eyes and smile soften, endeared beyond belief at how Billy is trying. It's a relief, a clear message he's been waiting for, sent with three simple little candies.

All for Steve.

Carefully, he takes them from Billy's hand and steps even closer, their eyes meeting once more as Steve whispers, "Thank you."

Billy's face twists a little, a frown on his face, "Don't thank me, it's not much."

"But it's something," Steve argues gently, taking Billy's hand in his and giving it a squeeze, "And I'm not asking you for more than you're ready for, Billy. I'm yours, and I'm not going anywhere."

He can see the tension bleed out of Billy's shoulders then, and the way those blue eyes line with tears makes Steve's heart ache. No one's been this patient with Billy before, he can see that now.

"You want this - with me?" Steve asks softly, lifting the yellow heart that says FOR EVER between them, Billy's teary eyes landing on it.

Without hesitation, he nods and Steve doesn't hide his smile this time. He lets Billy see it clear on his face.

"Wipe that goofy smile off your face, Harrington," Billy mumbles with a tiny smile.

"Make me," he hums, challenging him.

And Billy doesn't disappoint. He feels Billy's hand on the nape of his neck, his thumb resting along the side of his throat as he's pulled in, their lips meeting in a soft and sweet kiss.

It's one of the many Valentine's Days he spends with Billy and it's always his favourite.