#but I'm likely to write for them than cake simply because I do not know how to write cake at all

[just-some-random-blogger]

Snow Angel

Jacaerys' Version

I'll angel in the snow until I'm worthy but if it kills me, I tried.

Gwyane's Version ❄ Daemon's Version ❄ Aegon's Version ❄ Aemond's Version ❄ Jacaerys' Version ❄ Cregan's Version ❄ Criston's Version

Jacaerys Velaryon x Targaryen!Reader | 800< | cw: fem!reader, targcest, reader is aemond's twin, angst, violence, blood, war, death, typos, etc.

A/N: renee rapp my beloved. jacaerys and aemond's version go hand in hand

You remember talking about running away with Jace when you were kids. You told him about your plans to pack your dresses, flee on your dragon, and live off lemon cakes. You cried when he laughed at you and swore never to speak to him again.

But then he did what he did best and cast your worries away. He panicked, unintending to cause you sadness, then made a fool of himself until he got you to smile. And when you did, he promised to himself never to make you cry again.

"Why do you want to run away anyway?" Jacaerys asks after you were calmer, finding a place beside you on the grass on which you sat.

You wipe your nose on your sleeve and give him a look, "is it really not obvious?"

He grows a bit nervous. He internally denies it's because he's made you cry.

"You are like teasing Aemond," you turn to your shoes, "Aemond likes teasing me-"

"He does?"

You turn back to him.

"Then I will fight him for it."

"But that's the problem Jace!" you feel your lips quiver, "it's all so horrid. I don't like how you fight," you pull on the grass, "I don't like how he fights me. I don't like fighting."

For a moment, Jacaerys feels guilty. He regrets arguing with Aemond... but then again, he deserved it.

"I don't understand," you speak quietly, "we're twins. I am his half and he is mine. We shared the same womb and yet he acts like we share nothing in common..." your voice becomes shaky, "why does he dislike me so?"

Gods, he so deserved it.

You muse to him about other things your wretched twin brother has done to you, and this becomes your ritual. Every time you are together, you vent to him, and he listens. But one day, his family leaves King's Landing and, again, he does the thing he's promised he'd never do: he made you cry.

He writes to you every week after leaving. He tells you how much he misses you. He tells you how much he misses your laugh, your bad jests, even your dolls, and how Vermax was lonely without your dragon to fly with.

And so one day, in your reply, you ask to fly with him in secret. You ask to meetup somewhere no one would think to look for either of you, then you spend the day enjoying each other's company. None would know about your whereabouts but each other.

But then your family fractured, there was them and there was you, and both found each other opposite sides. One day, you simply could not take it, so you wrote to him: meet me in our secret place.

In truth, you did not expect him to show, but when he did, you were relieved to see him... until he opened his mouth.

"What do you want from me, Aunt?" Jacaerys spoke.

You knit your brows, "what?"

"Have you come to surrender? To pledge yourself to the one true Queen?"

You shake your head in disbelief of what you were hearing. You walk towards him, "Jace, I-"

"She will accept you," he says, "she will accept all of you. You need just bend the-"

"Run away with me," you press your hand to his chest.

He stares at you, nostrils flaring, line forming between his brows.

You rapidly shake your head, "you know that's all I've ever wanted. To be done and rid of this bother."

Jacaerys takes your hand and whispers your name, "you know tis not that simple."

"We can make it simple. Let us ride off and-"

"You have a duty to your family, as do I."

"And what of the duty to our hearts?" you clutch his hand. His jaw clenches. You mutter, "there is no greater duty than fulfilling that of what's borne from love."

He does not respond to you. Your eyes search his. Your grip tightens. He releases you. Soon he's breaking his promise all over again. Tears spill over as you pull away from him, "am I not worthy enough of even this?"

He calls your name as you step back. Before he can speak, his attention is taken by the sky and the loud sound of flapping dragon wings. It was unmistakably Vhagar.

You are unable to keep him from riding off and facing the gargantuan. You look up and watch your brother unleash his fury upon him. You knew better than to get in the way, but you would not have Jacaerys killed when you were the one who called him here in the first place.

You get on your mount and do your best to catch Aemond's attention. You scream and shout but to no avail, not until your dragon knocks into the tail of your twin's.

You did not expect him to be so angry. You did not expect him to attack you. You could do nothing as you watched your dragon choke in the maw of your brother's ride. The sound of your own screams deafen you, and so you hear not the sound of him screaming out your name.

And as you descend from the height, Jacaerys is mortified. He commands Vermax to catch you, and he tries his best, but even his best was not enough to save you from your end.

[oliviablancmom]

"Pedriiii - Part III"

Pairing: Pedri Gonzalez x singlemom!OC

Themes: Fluff, Angst.

N/A: So, it's finally here!!! I'm sorry for the delay, but it was hard to write this chapter, either because I piled up my work, or because the characters took a while to talk to me, now they can't stay quiet. I know I said this would be the last chapter, but I can't do math, so this is probably the penultimate one and the next one will be the last (or not, idk). Anyway, enough talking because you guys waited a long time for this. Enjoy!!!!

Pedri was a patient person, his profession demanded it. During the 90 minutes or more that he touched the ball on the field and created plays in anticipation of goals, he knew he needed patience to reach the right moment to achieve his objective. He knew patience because of his injuries and the recovery time he had to deal with, as well as the hurtful comments that cast doubt on his talent, effort, and dedication. Patience sometimes eluded him during a game when a referee made a wrong call or overlooked something on the field. Patience sometimes eluded him when the boys teased him during training.

But lately patience eluded him when it came to her... Isabella Harver was driving him crazy, and that, at the moment, was beyond his clear attraction to the woman since the first time he saw her. It had more to do with the fact that she had been ignoring him since the last night they spent together, where everything ended chaotically, with no explanation from her. And that was bothering him, not the lack of explanation itself. Pedri could deduce how complicated the situation was from what he witnessed, but not knowing how Axel was, how they both were, hurt him more than he expected. Pedri wanted to understand what was happening, wanted to help in some way, and wanted to understand how someone could leave a child like Axel in that way. The player himself didn't understand his obsession with the incident; he didn't have the right to explanations. But something inside him tightened every time he remembered the child's anguished cry and Isa's frightened look.

"You know, if it were me receiving the news that I could play again, I'd be more excited than this," Gavi pointed at Pedri. "Is Isa still keeping you in the dark?" Pedri looked annoyed at Gavi. " What? You're pretty obvious about your feelings towards her. Your luck is that you don't run into her much around here," Gavi shrugged, and Pedri threw a towel at his face. "Your reaction just proves my point..."

"There's no feelings, it's just..." Pedri couldn't finish his sentence as he was interrupted by Gavi bursting into laughter, causing Pedri to roll his eyes.

"Dude, you've been drooling over her since the first time you saw her. I'm your best friend, you can admit it to me," Gavi said after calming down.

"It's complicated," Pedri says after a few seconds of silence.

"I think you guys are making it more complicated than it is," Gavi concluded patting Pedri's shoulder and letting him alone with his thoughts. Pedri thought Gavi was right, but he also had a point. It was true, that the woman had a strange magnetism that attracted him, but there was everything else that made their relationship complicated that he couldn't simply ignore.

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

Isa was sitting at her father's kitchen table, watching Axel bake a cake with Gianna, or rather, his "Gigi" as the little boy called the older woman, his grandfather's girlfriend, who despite loving the child, joked that she was too young to be called a grandmother, yet. Isa loved the affection she had for Axel, and was grateful for her presence in her father's life, and theirs too, after all, who else would teach Axel to cook considering Isa was a disaster in the kitchen?

"Can we add M&Ms? My friend Pedri loves them, so I can bring him some cake tomorrow," Axel suggested eagerly.

"Of course we can, it's your cake," the older woman said, kissing the child's head as he celebrated excitedly.

He didn't even seem like the scared child from two nights ago when she picked him up from his paternal grandparents' house. Just remembering the state he was in made Isa feel sick to her stomach. The situation had gone too far, and she wouldn't allow it to happen again.

"Axel talks a lot about Pedri," Isa looked at her father, who had approached quietly, and as she faced him, she just knew he wanted to ask something, but he would never do it directly.

"He befriended with some players." She shrugged backing her attention to her son.

"He also told me he was the one who brought you guys home that night," the man continued in his not-so-subtle attempt to extract something from his daughter.

"Yes, we were at a barça event, and I needed a ride, and he was the only sober one..." The man smiled gently at his daughter; he knew her better than anyone and knew her ways of avoiding a subject.

"When are you and Axel going back to your house?" He asked.

"Are you kicking us out? Don't you love us anymore?" Isa pouted dramatically, earning an eye roll from the older man.

"I adore having you around... Especially when it's by choice and not because you're running away from someone, even though, I don't know from who you are hiding," Isa turned to the man, confused.

"You can't let that man and his family continue to torment you and Axel, Isabella. You shouldn't even be trying to get close to those people."

"Those people, are Axel's family too."

"They don't care about him, and you know it. They only care about making your life a hell"

Isa didn't answer, not knowing exactly how she should respond even though she knew her father was right, she tried to have a good relationship with them because of Axel, but since that night some days ago, she was willing to give up on that, her child didn't deserve all that stress.

"He's going to invite him to his birthday," Isa looked confused at her father. "Pedri!" He exclaims. "I'm just informing you that I won't tolerate any trouble in my house, if this is going to cause trouble, it's better to tell Henry and his family not to come." Isa looked surprised at the man, as if she had been caught doing something, the older man's eyes indicated that he knew something, and that made the woman feel a strange feeling.

"There won't be an trouble, why would be?" She asked nervously as she got up.

"My beloved and favorite daughter..." The ironic smile on her father's face made Isa roll her eyes.

"It would be strange if I weren't, been your only one" she responded mimicking his tone.

"I know you think you're subtle, but you have the most emotive and transparent eyes there are," he said, kissing Isa's head, who didn't respond.

Her father's remark left a bitter taste and a strange sensation in her core. Isa was aware of her not-so-small attraction to the player, but it was just that, attraction. She couldn't develop feelings, let alone be expressive about them. She sighed in frustration as she drove to the training center, just hoping not to encounter the player.

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

"Hey, guys," Ferran says as he enters the physiotherapy room. "Look, Pedri. Who I bumped into on my way here," Pedri lifted his eyes from his phone towards his friend. "Mini you."

"Pedriiii" Axel said, running into the physiotherapy room, but stopped and walked slowly to the bed where Pedri was lying.

"Hey buddy, I didn't see you these days," Pedri said to the little boy, who leaned against the bed, resting his head and attentively watching every move of the physiotherapist. "Are you okay?"

"Mom is looking for schools for me," he said rolling his little eyes, eliciting laughter from the players.

"I feel you, buddy," Ferran said, running his hand through Axel's hair. "Can I do it too?" Axel asked after a few minutes of silence while watching the physiotherapist tape the small electrical wrist electrodes onto Pedri's leg to start the treatment. The physiotherapist looked at Pedri as if asking for permission, and the player felt his chest warm at the thought of being responsible for the little boy.

"Won't it be too strong for him?" Pedri asked, concerned. The man smiled at him, shaking his head.

"I'll set it to a low frequency. It'll feel like tickles." Pedri then looked at Axel, who was looking at him expectantly, waiting for the player's response.

"Alright, let's do it, buddy," Pedri laughed as the little boy jumped excitedly. The doctor picked him up and placed him on the bed next to Pedri.

"If only all my players were this excited about physiotherapy sessions," the older man said with a sigh, making Pedri laugh.

"I'm quite cooperative."

"I won't comment, so as not to embarrass you in front of the child."

"I'm not worse than Gavi," Pedri said offended.

"You're impatient, and Gavi is... Well, Gavi," Pedri chuckled. "Come on, little buddy, I'm going to turn it on, let me know if it hurts."

Axel nodded, reaching out his hand for Pedri to hold, and the player promptly held. Axel closed one of his eyes in expectation, but as soon as it started he let out a laugh.

"Aw, it tickles," Axel laughed with wide eyes looking at the player.

"Oh, I wish mine was just a tickle..." Ferran sighed as he lay down on the examination table. Pedri nodded in agreement and then turned his attention to Axel, who seemed frustrated.

"Is everything okay, buddy?" The little boy looked at Pedri and made a face.

"This is boring, can I take it off?" Pedri chuckled at the child's impatience. In the short time he had known Axel, he knew Axel was too energetic and talkative for a physiotherapy session.

"Of course, let me help you." Pedri leaned over to remove the equipment from Axel's leg. Once he finished, the little boy jumped off the table excitedly and began walking around the room, examining every detail.

Pedri and Ferran laughed as they watched him carefully follow the physiotherapist, curious about the man's work. Then Axel grabbed a band and went over to Pedri, mimicking the therapist's movements.

"You've lost your job, Mattia," the older man chuckled as he watched the scene unfold.

After exploring everything in the room and asking about each piece of equipment, Axel grew tired and went to sit on the same examination table as Pedri, his little legs on the player's lap. He casually recounted to Pedri about the schools he had visited with his mother. The little boy didn't seem as scared as when Isa had found him that night, but he also wasn't the same boy the player had gotten used to, which intrigued and worried Pedri.

Before he could continue the conversation with the boy, the scent of the perfume that had been etched in his mind hit him, and immediately his eyes darted to the door. And there she was, three days since he last saw the woman, and she looked even more beautiful. Realizing where his thoughts were, he shook his head. He was angry at her; she had put him in various kinds of situations and simply disappeared, leaving him in the dark, confused, and distressed with a whirlwind of emotions.

"Axel... What did I say about you wandering around?" Axel jumped in surprise at the woman's voice. The reaction made Pedri laugh.

"Hi, Mommy... But it was just a little bit, just to get here, then I sat down, right Pedri?" Axel said in a sweet voice, clearly attempting to deceive his mother, and Pedri had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the boy's excuse. "Right, Pedri?" He repeated, poking Pedri.

"Oh sure, he sat the whole time," Pedri said, looking at Isa, and noticed she was also holding back laughter.

"Oh, great. You found someone else to cover for you besides your grandpa. You can't be friends if you're going to be against me," she said, crossing her arms. Axel shrugged with a mischievous smile. "We need to go home, baby," she said, and Axel's smile faded. He stood up and moved behind the player, hugging his neck.

"No, I want to stay here," he said in a whiny voice. Pedri looked at Isa as if seeking answers. The woman sighed and sat on the examination table next to the player, her mere proximity already causing sensations in Pedri.

"Axel, sweetheart. You need to let Pedri get back to his physiotherapy; you don't want him to get back to playing?" She said softly.

"He can stay, I don't mind," Pedri said quietly to the woman, who simply nodded and leaned against the wall. Pedri and Isa's gazes didn't waver, both maintaining eye contact as if engaged in a silent conversation, seeking answers.

Isa looked away when the physiotherapist returned to the room, giving a brief smile to the woman.

"Five more minutes, and I'll let them go," he said to Isa, who just nodded, confused. "Your boys were very cooperative, one doing the exercises correctly, and the other helping me treat the other players." Upon hearing this, Pedri saw the woman's face turn red, her eyes widened, and then she began to cough. "Oh, dear. Are you alright? Would you like some water?" Mattia asked, approaching and patting the woman's back.

"It's the excitement of seeing her two boys," Ferran's voice, which Pedri thought had been sleeping until now, startled him, and the woman's coughing increased as she looked at him with a deadly glare.

"I'll wait outside," she said, leaving the room. Pedri looked at Ferran, who had a mocking smile on his face, and grabbed a bottle and threw it at him.

"What, I'm lightening the mood; the tension between you two is palpable. I was sleeping and could still feel it." Pedri decided to ignore his friend since Axel was looking at both with curiosity.

"Hey buddy, why don't you go see your mom? I'll be there in a bit." The little boy nodded and hopped off the examination table, running out of the room just as Mattia returned to release Pedri. The player then left the room, a bit apprehensive that they might have already left, but to his surprise, both were waiting in the hallway. Isa was crouched down at Axel's height, helping him search for something in his backpack.

"You can give him his later or ask Pedri to give it to him," Pedri heard Isa say to the boy.

"Hey," Pedri said, stopping beside them. "Is everything okay?" Isa just nodded.

"Here, is an invitation to my birthday party. You're coming, right?" Axel said, handing the envelope to Pedri, eagerly awaiting his response.

"Of course, buddy," Pedri said, tousling Axel's hair, who smiled excitedly and hugged Pedri's leg.

"I'll go deliver Ferran's," the boy said, turning to his mother, waiting for her approval, and as soon as she agreed, he ran back to the physiotherapy room. Pedri turned his attention to the woman who was staring intensely at him, feeling his heart race at the intensity of her gaze.

"Do you want to come with us to have some birthday cake?" She said, breaking the silence between them, and God, the softness of her voice... If she used that tone to ask the player anything, he would gladly accept.

"Is his birthday today?" Pedri asked, concerned. The boy had mentioned his birthday, but hadn't mentioned dates.

"Tomorrow. The party will be next week because of the game this weekend, but he has a cake to sing 'Happy Birthday' at midnight, it's tradition. He'll be happy if you're there;" she said, leaning against the wall. Pedri took a step towards her, coming face to face with the woman, their faces just inches apart, and he could feel her heavy breath.

"Just him?" Pedri asked, and he saw the woman furrow her eyebrows in confusion. "Will only he like it if I'm there?" he asked eagerly, Isa swallowed, her eyes scanning the player's face. "Oh... You're so beautiful" Pedri says taking a good look at her face, he lowers his face towards hers his lips brushing against hers. Pedri thought his attraction to the woman was just a result of a night out at a club. Even though he hadn't had a single drop of alcohol in his body, the atmosphere of such places always had something extra. But whether it was now, or when he caught a brief glimpse of Isa as he saw her through the training center, he knew it was something more.

"Mom, we'll need an invitation for Mattia too..." Axel's voice emerging again in the hallway causes Pedro and Isa to abruptly pull away, and Pedro is thankful because he is inches away from forgetting where they were and doing something with the woman right there.

"We'll bring it tomorrow," Isa says, her breath heavy. "Shall we go home now? We still need to stop by Pops to get your cake."

"YESSS," Axel says excitedly, then turns his attention back to Pedro. "Do you want to come to eat my cake?" Pedri smiles at the question, not at the question itself, but at the way he asked it, with the same intonation that his mother had used earlier. Isa smiled proudly at Pedri as if she understood what he was thinking.

"Of course, buddy. I'd love to."

"YAY," Axel exclaimed excitedly, jumping onto the player so that he could lift him. Pedri smiled at the little boy, planting a kiss on the top of his head, and as he walked down the hallway, with Axel in his arms and Isa by his side, his only thought was that he could and wanted to get used to this... definitively.

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

The way to her father's house, it was silent, well, at least on Isa's part, considering that Axel and Pedri were engaged in an intense conversation about Axel starting at Barça's football school. Isa had even tried to join the conversation but soon stopped trying, feeling like she was intruding on something of theirs. And if she didn't know how much her son loved her, she would start feeling jealous of what he had with the player. Speaking of him, Isa was feeling nervous about his presence, and she began to wonder where her head was when she invited him to eat Axel's birthday cake, but before she knew it, the words were already coming out of her mouth, so now she has to deal with his presence, and that makes her nervous.

When she stopped in front of her father's house, she was immensely grateful that his reaction was just that of a Barcelona fan, not that of a curious father, or it would add even more to her nervousness.

The player and her father spent about 10 minutes talking about soccer, Pedri's injury, and his return to the field. Of course, the conversation between the two eventually led to Axel casually asking his grandfather, "But pops, I thought Gavi was your favorite." The question made the man choke in embarrassment, and Pedri laughed at the situation. But Isa knew her son, and for him to be "against" his grandfather, considering how close they were, the only reason was that her child was jealous of the player.

As soon as they arrived at the apartment, Axel insisted on showing the player his room, who wasn't at all surprised to see that it was all decorated in Barcelona colors. Isa listened to their interaction from the kitchen until the player's surprised tone caught her attention, and she sneakily walked to the boy's room.

"Axel, what's this?" Pedri was facing the wall, looking at Axel's photo mural, and Isa knew exactly what had caught his attention. "Is Gavi your favorite too?" he asked indignantly.

"Nooo," the boy said laughing, and Pedri turned to him with narrowed eyes.

"You're not being convincing laughing like that," the player concluded, taking a photo with his phone, probably to send to his friend.

"Show him your shirts, honey," Isa said, appearing in the doorway, catching the attention of both. Axel ran to the closet, pulling the player with him, and Isa saw the player's surprised face; Axel had several Barcelona shirts, all with the number 8 and the player's name.

"Okay, I can forgive you now, buddy," Pedri laughs, tousling Axel's hair, as he bends down to pick something from the drawer. "Of course, there's one to ruin the fun." He shows Isa the shirt with Gavi's number, making her burst into laughter.

"It's a gift from pops, I told you Gavi is his favorite," Axel says, finding the situation amusing as well.

"Axel, sweetheart, go take a shower so we can cut your cake," Isa says to her son, who eagerly runs to the bathroom. Isa was thankful every day that he hadn't yet reached the phase where children dislike bathing.

Her attention returned to the player, who was looking at her expectantly once again. Isa wasn't sure what to do; she had never brought anyone to her apartment before, and the player made her nervous.

"Let's go to the kitchen," she said in a lower tone, and Pedri nodded, following her out of the room. Along the way, he examined the various photos scattered around the place, stopping in front of another photo wall in the living room, and analyzing each one.

And Isa took the opportunity to observe him. God, he was so handsome, she thought. Everything about him, the hair, the beard. Isa had seen many comments from the player's fans asking him to get rid of the beard, but she would protest against that.

"Earth to Isabella," Isa snapped out of her thoughts when she saw the player standing right in front of her. "What were you thinking that made you blush like that?" Pedri had a playful grin on his face, that made Isa distance herself abruptly from him.

"What were you talking about?" She asked breathlessly.

"You have a photo with Gavi too," he showed the Polaroid to Isa. "Does he spend a lot of time with you guys? I'm starting to think your whole family has a not-so-subtle crush on Gavira," Pedri tried to say nonchalantly, but his clenched jaw gave away a flash of jealousy, making Isa laugh, and then she approached the player.

"Are you jealous of Gavi?" Isa felt the player's hand on her waist pulling her closer, once again her face just inches away from his, Isa could feel her heart beating so fast she was sure the player could hear it, and that was very new for her. "I took the photo to make my dad jealous. Axel and I don't joke when we say he's his favorite. Also, he spends a few days in the office after his physiotherapy and recovery sessions. He's too impatient to just watch you guys training," Isa also suspected that this wasn't the only reason he visited her in the administrative part of the training center, but she wouldn't talk about it now.

Pedri nodded and leaned in towards the woman, Isa held her breath, and before she could feel the player's lips, her phone rang. She stepped back, and Pedri muttered a curse word. As soon as she saw who it was, all the ecstasy and calmness of the moment vanished. She hung up the call, and it didn't take long for the device to beep, indicating the arrival of messages.

"Answer the damn phone!!!"

"What are you thinking!!!! Are you out of your mind? First, you invade my parents' house and take my son, and now you're hanging out with teenagers?"

Isa felt her body go cold when Henry sent numerous photos taken by fans showing her leaving the training center with Pedri and Axel in the player's arms.

"I'm coming right now, that damn player better not be with you, or I'll do something stupid. We're still married, and the judge will know that"

Isa felt her whole life being sucked out of her; she knew Henry didn't care about Axel, it wasn't about him but about her, and the mere possibility of her being with someone else.

"Pedri, you better go," Isa said, turning to the player who was looking at her attentively.

"What happened?" He asked, concerned. He tried to approach, but Isa stepped back, feeling tears rolling down her face.

"Isa... You're just like that night, you need to tell me what's going on." He tried to get closer again, and once again Isa backed away, she saw the hurt expression on the player's face, and it hurt her own heart a little.

"This can't keep happening, you leaving me in the dark like this... Seeing you like this, seeing how Axel was that night, it's tormenting me," Pedri said impatiently.

"This is none of your business," Isa said firmly, wiping the tears from her face. Pedri opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out, he ran his hand through his beard in an irritated gesture. Isa saw her phone vibrating again, and another message from Henry appeared

"Is this why you're asking for a divorce? Oh baby, if you think I'm going to let that boy near you..."

"Go away, Pedri," Isa repeated. Pedri didn't respond, he just turned and left the apartment.

"Pedriiii" Axel's voice calling the player from the room was all it took for Isa to collapse into uncontrollable tears.

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

Pedri was relieved to be back on the team's list for a match after his injury recovery time. The medical department was still cautious about clearing him, and with the Champions League quarterfinal games coming up, he would have to endure one more match before being on the field. But just being able to be on the bench with his teammates already felt like a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. However, he couldn't ignore a certain heaviness weighing on his chest, and it was ruining his mood, with the person responsible just a few meters away from him in the tunnel leading to the field, too focused on her phone to notice anything around her.

"Dude, she's gonna melt if you keep staring at her like that," Ferran said, approaching his friend. "I thought HR was clear with you guys, and you're not being subtle at all."

Pedri rolled his eyes at the memory of what happened. After leaving the woman's apartment, his phone received a flood of notifications with tags on his photo with Isa and Axel, leading them both to explain to HR. Well, Isabella explained, claiming they were just colleagues, and that her son was a big fan and happened to run into the player in the parking lot, and that was their only interaction. Pedri was shocked at how easily the woman lied, or rather, omitted information, as she left out that a large part of their interaction occurred when they both were naked.

Pedri could feel the same irritation he felt on the day of the meeting returning at that moment, especially when he saw a man in Atlético's coaching staff approaching the woman. Pedri saw the woman's entire body language change suddenly, assuming a more defensive posture, and this intrigued him.

Pedri could hear Ferran talking beside him, but he wasn't paying attention to what he was saying exactly, his focus completely on the woman. And when the man grabbed Isa's arm forcefully, pulling her towards him with his finger in her face, Pedri saw red, his legs moving before he could think to do so. He heard Ferran calling him, but his voice was already distant, Pedri pushed the man hard, getting him off Isa.

"Look, one of your kids is here," the man said in an ironic tone, and that was enough for Pedri to punch him in the face, and soon they were grappling with each other. And that was enough for a general commotion to start in the tunnel, players pushing players, coaching staff from both teams trying to break up the fight. Pedri felt a hand on his arm, squeezing it tightly, pulling him away from the crowd.

"You can't do this!" The woman's voice brought him back from his trance suddenly, he was alert to everything around him again, notice that he was in another room, he looked at Isa, who had a furious look on her face.

"Are you okay?" Pedri asked, approaching the woman, holding her face between his hands, Isa looked at him confused.

"If I'm okay?" She asked incredulously, Pedri lowered his eyes to the woman's arm, which bore the marks of the man's grip, and again he felt anger consuming him. "Do you have any idea what you've done? The trouble you've caused me, that you've caused both of us?" She asked, getting agitated.

"I was defending you!" Pedri shouted back.

"I didn't ask for that, I didn't ask for your help!" Pedri raised his arms mockingly.

"Can you stop with this nonsense? You can't sleep with me, tell me 'it's not like that,' use your sweet tone of voice with me, claim my skin and thoughts, and then say it's none of my business." Isa opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything, the door swung open abruptly, instinctively Pedri pulled Isa behind him.

"What the hell was that? Have you gone crazy?" Pedri relaxed when he saw it was just Xavi, a very angry Xavi, and he knew he had messed up. The coach looked at Pedri's hand holding Isa's wrist. "Don't tell me you got into a fight over a woman, Pedri. Over a woman you and her swore was nothing when HR asked." He said in a calmer tone of voice.

"I was just defending min..."

"I told you not to tell me!" Xavi exclaimed annoyed. "Do you know the mess you've caused? This could cost us a lot. You're not gonna be on the bench, you're suspended, go home, Pedri." Pedri tried to say something but was soon stopped by Xavi, who was furious again. The door swung open again, and a member of the communication team entered the room.

"Isabella, we need you here, the match referee wants explanations, but the Atlético communication team wants to talk to you first," the girl called for Isa, who untangled herself from Pedri, before leaving the room she gave one last look at the player, and then left for good. Pedri turned around angrily, kicking the chair that was there.

"I guess your brother won't be able to deny this rumor on social media, right?" Xavi said breaking the silence, Pedri looked up to see his coach and could tell the older man had a slight smirk on his face. "Did you at least hit him properly?" Pedri just nodded, and Xavi gave a proud smile, patting the player's shoulder. "Go home, kid," said the older man leaving the room.

Pedro was soon escorted out of the stadium by a member of the coaching staff. Pedri didn't see Isa anymore, and that annoyed him, his phone soon beeped indicating a message from HR, for a new meeting, he rolled his eyes and before he could block the phone, a message from an unknown number arrived.

"I appreciate what you did, but this can't happen, things like this can ruin my, and especially your career. This was a mistake from the beginning, and whatever is happening or has happened between you and me, it's over here. Everything between us will be strictly professional. Please respect my decision, and I hope this doesn't ruin your friendship with Axel!!"

Pedri felt his heart tighten, and his breath caught in his throat, he always reassured his friends and himself, that everything between him and the woman was just a physical attraction, but at that moment, with that message, he was sure there was something more, and as much as she denied it, Pedri knew there was something more from her side too, but if she wanted to run away from it, and wanted everything to be professional, then, so be it.

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

N/A: Again, I apologize for the delay. I hope you liked it. I've revised this chapter many times, BUT as I promised to post it today, something must have slipped, I promise to review it during the week. Thank you for all the comments, likes, reblogs, and asks, I LOVE seeing your reaction and opinion, it warms my heart!!

[gotham-daydreams]

Is it possible that one of the villains of Gotham to develop an obsession with the reader like batfam? Like for example one of them once attended or attempted to attack at one of their performance but got mesmerized by them and decided to stalk them instead

I am now very much thinking about and considering this anon. Thanks for the new idea, I'll be thinking about all day 🙄 (okay, first, /pos, but really- this can easily change up a few more things and add some more conflict. I love it!!! Though maybe I'll make it a sub-series if I actually write it, since the "Not [ ]" is mostly focused on the Batfam, so kind of like an alternate universe type deal? I'm willing to know anyone's thoughts and suggestions on this.)

That can definitely happen, and it makes a lot of sense too when you really think about it (at least the part leading up to where the villian runs into the reader and encounters their music), especially when the reader is not only a well known musician- but known to be the kid of Bruce Wayne.

Even if no one really knows the identity of Batman, everyone and their dog knows Bruce Wayne. You'd have to do more than just live under a rock to not know that guy — especially in Gotham.

Just that fact alone — the reader being another kid adopted by Bruce Wayne — is definitely going to paint a target on their back, especially when they're in a big industry like music. The "well-known" part is just the sprinkles on top of the "you're fucked" cake. Even if I have said before that the reader isn't well-known to the point where they'd be considered super famous or popular, but enough to where people can still recognize them on the street and just kind of say "hey, isn't that the musician who played ( ) the other night? i heard they're pretty good, y'know."

Basically, someone trying to attack them for whatever reason, or even trying to kidnap them, is very possible and highly likely.

I can't say who in particular I think the villian would be? Only because I'm not sure myself, with how flexible the situation is.

The villian could be going to one of the reader's performances simply because there are a lot of other people attending, and if they want to make a grand performance of their own, or have a grand opening to a game, one of the reader's performances seem like the easiest way to do just that. So they settle in a little, waiting for everything to be just right... then they see the reader and whatever instrument they'll be playing, as they and the other performers wait for everyone to get in and settle down.

Maybe the villian hardly notices it at first, or it immediately catches their attention. Maybe they just roll their eyes and scoff or just become curious in some way. Maybe what makes them hate it/curious about it at first is the reader themself. The villian thinks the reader is just another rich kid trying to show off their 'talent'... or notices that the reader is from the Wayne family and that catches their attention, maybe.

Or, alternatively they try to assassinate or kidnap the reader. Maybe just rob them too while they're at it.

It doesn't matter how they get in- what does matter is that they don't know much about the reader besides that they're a musician of some kind and the kid of Bruce Wayne, and maybe for whatever mission they're doing- that's all they need to know. Or all they feel they need to know, as maybe they catch the reader in the middle of a performance no matter how they try to go about their mission — either planning to take the reader out from the backstage, drop them from beneath the floor boards, or snipe them from up top — and the villian hesitates as they really listen to the reader play once their focused is centered on them.

Regardless of how it starts, once it does- they're captived, near mesmerized by what they hear.

Before the villian even knows it, they're watching the entire performance. Any compliments they have towards the reader's music turn to the reader themself, and by the end of the night... the villian is caught in a trap of their own making.

If they were looking into the reader before, that research only delves deeper as they try to figure out each and every little thing about the reader. If they weren't really looking at information about the reader before, they definitely are now.

A simple 'interest' turns into a whole obsession, and now, as you've mentioned, are stalking the reader.

Maybe the villian even dedicates certain atrocities they do in the reader's name, maybe they attend and try to ruin the reader's performances because they believe they should be the only one to hear the reader's music, or just want to be all that much closer to them.

Maybe the villian tries to kidnap the reader, but just so that they can hold them close, or have them play all the tunes they wish to hear from the reader for the rest of eternity... however long that lasts. Who knows?

Tldr: It is very possible, and if anything, more likely than you think!

I hope this answered your question! If you or anyone else has another question, feel free to send in an ask! I'll try to answer them when I can!

[wonuwrites]

Seventeen Vs. Silent Treatment

angsty thought I had at 4:13am before I had to work the other day. being a creative is rough~

warnings: cracky angst, not my best work but I tried my best xo

❥ S. Coups:

Seungcheol will either force you to talk to him or will give you space there is no in between. He would be like "are you tired of being mad at me yet?" If it was serious he would be so confused why you both were not being adults about it. If it was a prank he would just be pouty and be like "don't do it again."

❥ Jeonghan:

Honestly I can see Jeonghan sighing then just sit next to you and say, "I guess I will wait until you wanna be an adult and talk." He would just be near you until you were ready to talk or come clean about the prank you were attempting to pull. I don't see him be as affected as other members tbh.

❥ Joshua:

You know the Taylor Swift song "The Story Of Us?" Well basically the line "This is lookin' like a contest of who can act like they care less" represented Jisoo and you when you were doing a silent treatment. If anything, he'd be like "two can play that game baby cakes." Whole time you didn't talk to him would drive him crazy (crazier) though. Even though he hates to admit it, he would break first and try to break the treatment.

❥ Jun:

Oh if you did this to Jun, I'm sorry but you are simply an asshole. I don't make the rules just write them. Jun would be so confused and would just be trying everything to get you to talk to him. He'd feel like shit and so confused by the thought of you being upset with him. If it was a joke he'd just be like "I thought jokes were supposed to be funny, (Y/N)." LMFAOOOO

❥ Hoshi:

Soonyoung would just stare at you and keep asking why. He would get a little annoyed by it and would just keep trying to get your attention and get you to talk to him. I can see him being super super dramatic about it and just sighing hella heavy lmfaoooo. He'd just spout random bullshit and just be like "you are ignoring the last tiger in Korea. That's so rude." Just a mess.

❥ Wonwoo:

Wonwoo would just have to give you a look which would make you fold quicker than a house of cards. Between both of you, you would be more of the yapper so if you were quiet or giving him a silent treatment he would find it weird and would be even more confused if it was a joke. If it was for serious though, he'd give you a look and maybe arch an eyebrow lmaooooo

❥ Woozi:

When Jihoon noticed you were quieter than normal he would ask what was up. If you said nothing was wrong and then continued to give him the cold shoulder he would just roll his eyes. You were being petty and would come around when you were ready. It was annoying but he would respect your need for space if you needed it. If you got upset by him giving him space, he'd just tell you "well you could've used your words..."

❥ DK:

Seokmin would just talk at you and try to get your attention if you suddenly did it. He would simply be like "hey, you can't ignore me forever. Come on. Please? Baby... Babe... Y/N... lover." He would be just so confused why you would ignore him so quickly. He'd try to hide it but he would be panicking a lot on the inside.

❥ Mingyu:

Depending on the context of silent treatment is how Mingyu would react. If it was over something he found a bit silly or could tell it was in jest he would be SUCH a diva and just say shit like "I knew you didn't love me." If you were being serious I can see him being mad or annoyed. He'd be like Seungcheol and wonder why you both couldn't just be adults about it. He would do everything in his power to get you to talk.

❥ Minghao:

Minghao would just give you a look if you decided to give him a silent treatment. It would honestly piss him off a little if you were genuinely giving him the silent treatment because he would want you to be an adult and use your words that you needed space instead of just ignoring the issues. However, if it wasn't serious and he knew it, he would just ignore you back and see who would crack first.

❥ Seungkwan:

Oh Seungkwan could go two ways. He'd either call your childish or he would be on hands and knees trying to get you to talk to him. He loved talking with you, he loved being with you, so when you took away what he found comforting, he would be so annoyed and hurt by it. If you were giving him the silent treatment as a joke, he would be so annoyed if he was pranked lolol.

❥ Vernon:

ngl, Hansol might not catch on for a bit but if he does he'd find it pretty childish. He'd want to have open communication on your arguments or whatever because, how can he fix something if he doesn't know how or what is broken? If it was a silly reason he might squeeze your cheeks and just be overly flirty to get your attention which would cause you to crack lol.

❥ Dino:

Oh Channie would be so confused if you just stopped talking to him. He might go to Soonyoung or another one of his hyungs for advice. He would find you so confusing. He would apologize and bring you flowers and chocolate even though he wasn't quite sure what the fuck he was sorry about. When you would talk to him again, he would just be like "baby, can we talk it out instead of being silent next time?"

[spaceorphan18]

The Lady Whistledown Papers : 1x2 - Shock and Delight (Part 2)

Hi! Welcome back to The Lady Whistledown Papers, where I’m taking an in-depth look at Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton’s character arcs and romance within the show Bridgerton!

For previous issues, follow tag : The Lady Whistledown Papers

In Part Two I will be doing a deep dive analysis on the structural arc of Daphne and Simon's Courtship No, I'm kidding, but unfortunately, I won't be talking about a whole lot of Pen or Colin either.... At least lack of screen time gets us to better things quicker ;)

Cake

Okay, so we pick up with Penelope bringing Marina a few treats - because Marina is staying home due to her 'condition'. And here's my thing... Penelope is so happy to be coming to see Marina. Even after Colin has been courting her a little, Penelope is fine with Marina. And this is the one unfortunate side effect of this whole plot line, because I think Penelope and Marina could have been friends.

Marina is generally nice to Penelope -- I'm assuming that she hasn't made fun of Penelope, hasn't made snide little comments, and has noticed Pen as an actual person, and it seems as no one other than Eloise and Colin has done this for Penelope. Plus, she's someone new and someone who isn't seemingly a terrible person, so of course Pen is excited to sneak up to see her.

Plus -- all of the pregnancy stuff is terrible exciting for her. Not because of the Lady Whistledown, gossip of it all -- no, because stuff like this doesn't happen in her world. And she's incredibly curious about all of it. She wants to know to understand her world better. And Marina offers her a view of the outside world that she never gets to see.

So, we learn that Marina will be sticking around and Penelope takes a moment to inquire how the pregnancy happened - since clearly she and Eloise still haven't found anyone to give them answers. (I wonder why they didn't go find a servant and ask them, anyway, I digress...)

Marina, amused, answers that cake is the reason for her condition.

And I love how Penelope is so confused... and hesitant about eating the piece of cake in her hand. But I mean, girl... my dear, sweet, summer child Penelope, listen up because cake is gonna be how you end up pregnant, too ;)

*ah-hem* I'm sorry, what was I saying? Oh, right back to Season 1...

So we get a really long boring explanation that Marina fell in love with a dude named George Crane and they fucked around and found out and then George Crane went to fight in the army and Marina was shipped off to be with her unimaginably mean spirited cousins.

And, look, I may not be into this story but Penelope totally is. Because it's a love story. It's about two people just finding their way, and doing sweet, little things for each other, and just falling in love with each other. And Penelope is eating this right up. This girl has the biggest, most romantic soul, and it's endearing to her on every level.

Marina reveals that she and George have been writing, and Penelope is both scandalized and titillated. And I mean, unmarried men and women who were not related to each other weren't really supposed to be writing letters -- let alone love letters -- to each other. This is a BIG FUCKING DEAL, and Penelope just loves it. But I mean, it also speaks to her -- it speaks to her as a writer, and a romantic, and this idea that two people fall in more in love through writing is just... something that's going to be a part of her own story, so this is a very meaningful thing, here.

The last beat of this is a little funny to me, because even though Pen is so invested in this love story, Marina is still being vague, so Pen asks straight up -- how did you get pregnant? And Marina just simply replies... love. And I mean, it's an incredibly sweet moment -- and I love that it's punctuated by Penelope holding a letter -- because, again, the written word will be so powerful in her story but also...

She's just dumbfounded because -- love? Love got you pregnant? Thanks, Marina, I was hoping for a mechanical break down of how that works, because no one will actually give me details on that, but I suppose a metaphor will work...

Meanwhile...

Wondering what Colin is up to? Not a whole lot, hanging out with his mother and brother, being very good at not really being in this scene. BUT I'M TRYING TO BE THOROUGH!

Picnic

No, okay, but here's my thing. We have this whole picnic thing going on the Bridgertons and the Featheringtons are around. And the Bridgerton siblings are all kind of playing around, and honestly, I love this little moment of them all playing this hoop game. I mean, Anthony is there, sure. But I think it's important showing Colin fooling around with Gregory and Hyacinth in this game -- it kind of a nice visual reminder of how young Colin is. And a nice complement to the next scene where Pen asks if she can go 'play' with Eloise.

And, I mean, I love this moment. Penelope and Eloise have been 'playing' for a long time, and it's another reminder that Penelope is also incredibly young here. She may have been pushed out into the world sooner than she wanted to, but she is still childish at heart, too.

And, as an aside I should note -- Nicola Coughlan was 32 when she filmed this. 32!! And she makes Penelope seem so, so, so young. Coughlan also has talked about how she used a much higher voice when doing Season 1 Penelope to help give the illusion that Penelope is still a young girl. It's such a cool acting choice. I'm glad Coughlan is really beginning to get the recognition she deserves.

Penelope fills Eloise in on the gossip that 'love' was what got Marina pregnant, and they are both still confused. I kind of love that Penelope is more so confused because her own mother had three children and clearly that didn't happen because her parents' loved each other. I mean, it's wise of Penelope to acknowledge that, but also kind of sad, too. It's one reason she gravitates towards the Bridgertons so hard - their family love is something she doesn't have.

Eloise wants to know if the 'maid' is frightened, but Penelope lights up because she is caught up in the love story of it all. Marina has told her she's going to run away to the country side and get married. To Penelope, this is the best possible outcome -- a woman finding love and starting her family based out of that love. I'm sure it's happened in the books she loves to read, and getting a front seat to it all is even more exciting.

Eloise, of course, does not share her view, and we get another instance of the two of them not being on the same page. Eloise exclaims that it's terrible and frightening that this is all happening -- because marriage is the worst option. It means succumbing to the will of man and society yet again, and Eloise just cannot have it.

There's a little moment towards the end where Eloise is slightly forceful with Penelope -- in a way where Eloise is trying to shake the silly love story out of Penelope's head and remind her what's actually at stake -- the poor 'maid's freedom. And I can only imagine that Eloise has spent a good amount of time reminding Penelope that she shouldn't want to be married and that the two of them are going to go off being great, single dames with many adventures.

(But also - as an aside - one reason Eloise is so afraid is that she still remembers her mother going into labor after her father died, and that has made a profound impact on her. She doesn't want to go through that nightmare herself. It's just something I wanted to note, because Eloise is a pretty complex and interesting character, even if I'm only tangentially hitting on her character in these posts.)

Back at the Bridgerton camp, Lord Berbrooke is causing a stir as he's trying to stake a claim on Daphne.

And I mean, the thing about Colin in the background is that he's taking this all very seriously. Berbrooke is scandalizing his sister and making a mockery of the Bridgerton name and Colin really isn't about to let anyone do either of those things. But, this isn't his story, and Anthony is handling it so he's just on guard and waiting...

I also think it's kind of funny that Lady Whistledown was named checked during this scene. Whatever would happen if she knew what was going on?? Meanwhile, Lady Whistledown is busy asking her mother if she could go play with her bff and trying to figure out how babies are made. The fact that LW carries so much weight already and yet, Penelope really doesn't know what power she has yet.

Gossip

The next sequence I actually really like. It's been hammered into us these first couple of episodes how little power that women have. So, since they can't go duel people, they can do what they do best -- talk. And talk they do. And the gossip is spread about how Berbrooke got a maid pregnant and sent her off to the country side and the rumors start to swirl.

It's very intentional that they showed a clip of Varley, Portia's hand maid (and right hand man) getting the news. Because this is undoubtedly how Penelope finds out about it.

But here's the thing. Here's the thing I really, really, really want to stress. You know what saves Daphne from having to marry this asshat? You know what stops Anthony from having to punch the dude or Simon from taking measures into his hands or something much worse happening? Lady Whistledown. Lady. Fucking. Whistledown.

Penelope, when it comes down to it, always protects the Bridgertons. Always. She may make some questionable choices at times, and may not always be kind to them in her writing, but she will always protect them when she can. She may not know or fully understand her full power, but it's no doubt that the Queen will eventually think it's a Bridgerton writing it -- because they are always, ultimately, shielded in column.

And I mean, look at the look in her eyes as she watches her mother gossip with other women. Look at her pretending to read what she, herself, has written. She knows the gossip is working. And she delights that her own handiwork is at play.

It's a great little moment in an otherwise brilliant sequence.

However... that's all we get in this episode. Stay tuned for Episode 3 where... even less happens! :D Thanks for reading! :)

[thatdeadaquarius]

Sobbing and crying just saw your post of us sounding like a Sim, and I am DYING.

What if it went the other way? They can understand us, but we can't understand them!

Us : hey so what the fuck is happening why tf am I in genshin impact

Them : OMG ASKSKSKSKS FEDERRRALL MEERKK TREEESO! (Omg it's the divine God I'm shittinh myself oml) or whatever idk)

Us: excuse me what the fuck did you just say about my mother? (US mishearing or maybe the words are randomized? Who knows)

Everyone just being confused and frustrated on why you can't understand them. Is it because they aren't worshipping you enough? Maybe some friendship level BS where obly those who are lvl 10 can understand u or smth? Who knows, certainly not the Creator.

I highkey am thinking about writing smth for this now but having it be for like each archons reaction or smthin but who knows. I just wanna see a bunch of divine beings confused outta their mind in like whatever cities square and it turning into a "holy game of charades"

Also happy early birthday ajdjdjkdkdkdk

I”M SO LATE SO THANK YOU FOR THE BDAY WISHES LMAO SORRY KARMA MY BELOVED

AHHHHH U INSPIRED ME BY THE ARCHONS HOLY GAME OF CHARADES-

AND OH NO LVL 10 ONLY FRIENDSHIP UNDERSTANDING-

(づ ￣ ³￣)づ here have a hug for your patience- sorry karma!! :')

LMAO this inuyasha gif- obviously everyone else guessing what ur doing and the 2 others r like ppl like Venti or Kaeya who r just fucking with ppl by joining you lol

OK BUT WHO DO U HAVE LVL 10 FRIENDSHIP?!

BC I GOT NOBODY 😭

ITS RLLY HARD TO DO OKAY-

I HAVE TO PUT ACTUAL EFFORT INTO THE FEW THAT ARE LEVEL 4-5 

ID BE SO FUCKED-

Oh no.

Oh god (you??) no.

What if you had the highest friendship with little d**ks like Scaramouche.

noooOOOOOO

He’d be like, “Eh, I don’t feel like translating today.” 💀

Also I’m rolling with the idea that 

perfect understanding = lvl 10,

Most words 7-9

Some words 5-6

Kinda ?? they get 2 words per sentence or smth 3-4

Basically nothing 1-2

◇

Anyway ornery bitches like Scara/Xiao/Alhaitham/Rosaria/Diluc (all for diff reasons like diluc/xiao would just be overwhelmed and dont like ppl that much lol, whereas haitham doesnt give a fuck lmao) would kinda suck to have as translators

OH NOT THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD JUST LIE ABOUT WHAT U SAID ON PURPOSE TO DECEIVE THE MASSES LIKE Heizou/Yae Miko/Kaeya/Venti 

They pull something like “oh well the god of gods said I could have the last slice of cake/an extra glass of wine hehe”

For different reasons these people would also be ROUGH translators: FISCHL OH NO- , Zhongli, Albedo (he simply would omit “unnecessary details”, cyno, ITTO PLEASE, Raiden (puppet) bc shed take stuff too far/too literally u would never be able to communicate jokes, Razor (im sorry bbyboy), Shenhe

THE CHARADDEEESSS

THE CHARADES OF THE GODS 

You may or may not get another title of a jokester god bc of these SILLY charades 💀

The people u have higher levels of friendship with giving hints LMAO

♤

“Uhhh….. Oh! Oh! Greatest Lord wishes to see a dance performance!” 

Nahida’s sweet voice rings out in Yujing Terrace, her tiny hand waving in the air like an elementary student who’s really excited to answer. …Which isn’t that far off honestly.

“Hmm, I disagree Buer, I believe the Hundun Emperor is saying they wish to take a bath perhaps. I am also attempting to use context, as it has been a long day for them.” Zhongli is in his classic “majestic thinking gentleman” pose, and you’d admire it more if it weren’t for the fact that they don’t seem to be getting what you’re saying.

You hadn’t yet found someone with a higher friendship level than 2 or 3 (hey, don’t blame yourself, you really have to put effort into friendship levels to get them anywhere and you were still busy screwing around in Sumeru when you got spirited away).

So needless to say, most people were getting “the, me, I, you, etc.” rather than the actual important keywords you needed them to, hence the godly charade game now.

As you “hold” something, you throw your hands up in the air, still keeping your hands wrapped around nothing. You think if somebody told you last week that you’d be playing charades with the archons in Genshin Impact so you could actually communicate with them… well you don’t know what you would have done. Maybe just gave them a really awkward laugh.

“Oh! Are you asking for a weapon? Akitsu Mikami, my emperor, we or our nations will surely provide protection from any harm that might befall you. Hm, I suppose we should offer something anyway… I wouldn’t want to displease them…” Ei mutters to herself, having taken over her puppet once more for the occasion.

She and Buer, still retaining their authority status, had asked for the area to be cleared in order to try and get closer to communicating with the Divine First, or you.

“Ha! What idiot would try to hurt the All-Parent in their home, unless they wish to get thrown?” Venti cheekily says, as you don’t understand him, but judging by Zhongli’s clenched jaw, Ei’s sigh, and Nahida’s giggle, you can guess.

You give your own sad sigh… it’s already been 3 hours. 😭

How hard is charades for 4 archons??

Well… apparently very hard.

You put your face in your hands, and you hear the (retired) archons start to debate something, you can tell it’s getting a little passive-aggressive between Venti and Zhongli by their tone alone. 

…Okay, now it’s just aggressive.

The archons eventually give their attention back to you so you can go back to your charades lol

You tried opening your mouth and closing it, very obvious, they can’t go wrong. 

…Turns out they can. 

Somehow you find yourself with a hot tea brewed by the geo archon. 

(Venti attempted to offer you Dandelion Wine, or Osmanthus Wine even, and only god, well you now, knows where he pulled them from. Ei swatted his head, he looked so offended, and his cheeks were all puffed up, heh.)

Giving up, you just try to motion for them to stay still, your hands gesturing like trying to calm a wild animal.

They give you questioning looks, and you begin to walk off, they all seem to immediately start discussing something with each other. All of the gods look very conflicted, and after a minute of you getting further away (yes, you’re almost home free, Xiangling here you come! ) Nahida skips to catch up with you.

She gives you a beaming smile, and you can’t bring yourself to not return it. She's so much cuter in real life, even the official art didn't do her justice.

You make your way towards the restaurant, finally.

And apparently you’re happier than you thought to smell the savory scents flowing out of the kitchen because your stomach growls loudly.

You’re too hungry to even attempt to stop it, no one will care, except Nahida’s eyes go wide. She begins to sputter, and flail her hands desperately trying to charade an apology at you.

…you were just trying to tell them you were hungry. 💀

☆

Ask box open again! :] 🎊

Pspspspspssubliminalmessagingyouwillsendthatdeadaquariusanaskpssppspspspspssss

✨️Hope you guys got smth out of this rough draft✨️ ♡

:D hope u guys have had a good weekend!

My senior art exhibit is april 6th so wish me luck and prayers (from any religion im not picky pls)

Safe Travels,

💀♒️

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

[homestuckreplay]

EOA1 - Character Opinions

I think it'd be fun to do a quick roundup of how I'm feeling about each major character at big milestones in the comic (such as ends of acts), to see if these opinions change over time. So far I think we have six characters and one vague, looming force of indeterminate sentience to discuss.

Love

John Egbert - I loved this kid since I saw his silly little grin on p.3 when we got his name right, and he's still my favorite character. He's a mystery, an enigma, but he's not trying to hide anything, he simply hasn't figured out who he is or what he wants. He has simultaneously the best and worst taste in media and sense of humor. He loves computers but knows fuck all about them. He finally got an apple snack after eating nothing but cake all day. He may or may not have arms at any given moment. I could talk about him forever.

Rose Lalonde - Absolute loser dork who doesn't know it and wouldn't admit it anyway. She's so much fun to read about, and honestly, so much fun to totally dunk on. Because of her I checked a 750 page book debunking Freud out of the library. Great taste in animals, cats and eldritch horrors are some of my favorites too. I don't endorse her actions but I'm deeply excited to see what she does next. Saving John from this meteor is going to do insane things for her ego. I love her and I hope her computer gets hacked by the lab.

Like

gardenGnostic - We've only seen them twice (p.110 and p.169) and know near nothing about them but I like their energy, I always like it when someone has a really expressive typing style with lots of punctuation and emojis, and they're clearly excited about John's birthday and him getting their present. Definitely the character I'm most excited to see more of.

Neutral/Mixed

turntechGodhead - I really didn't like him based on his first couple of pesterlogs, he seems like somebody who would call his friends cringe and refer to himself as 'brutally honest' as an excuse to be cruel, and the way he types makes him sound bored all the time. But when he gave John that super thoughtful gift I did see him in a different light. He will probably shift one way or the other when we know him better, but right now I see a spark of goodness that keeps him out of the dislike category.

Dislike

Sburb - Not a character exactly, but somebody made this game, and right now I think they are deeply malevolent and suspicious. I do not trust this game farther than I could throw a cruxite dowel and I do not think whoever created it had good motivations, although I'm uncertain if they are actively, intentionally evil or if they are simply an irresponsible game scientist. The consequences are the same either way. They put my boy John in danger (and probably a whole bunch of other people too).

Hate

None... yet????

Uncertain

John's dad - Literally what the fuck is going on with this clown. Who IS he. Will he please lend me the Serious Jester magazine because it seems like a good read. He writes supportive notes of love and care for his son AND THEN PIES HIM IN THE FACE. What an enigma. He is operating on a plane of existence I cannot access

Rose's mom - I do not consider Rose a reliable source of information <3 so I'm holding judgment until I meet her mom for myself.

[icarustypicalfall]

WOE

ALEJANDRO VARGAS ANGST

[something happened, and he isn't coming home]

inspired by a bot on charachter ai

their account is @/dxnezi

this is my first post on Tumblr, bear with me.

i do write sometimes, and this is a not-so-silly thing i wrote days ago. hope you like it :)

disclaimer: i am not doing an apology video with ukulele. <3 and sorry if it wasn't good enough i tried my best lol

summary: something bad happened, and Alejandro isn't coming home

warnings: major charachter death, heavy angst?

"i'd give you the sun if you asked me to"

Two words—a simple sentence—had the power to shatter me, to upend my world.

"I'm sorry." that's what Rudy whispered, looking down.

But should he be sorry? War, death, love, life, criminals, soldiers—they should bear the weight of remorse.

That feeling, an internal fire that engulfs your being, a sinking heart, a shrinking body, and goosebumps crawling on your skin.

My tongue burned, suppressing the torrent of words I yearned to scream. Instead, I mechanically nodded, accepting the dog tag of my beloved from Rudy's outstretched hand. Closing the door, I leaned against it, gradually sliding down to the floor.

Is this a dream? Or rather, a nightmare? For once, I wished it were so. Clutching the precious item in my palm, I tightened my grip until my knuckles turned white. It was as if holding it could offer solace. But it didn't. Instead, it intensified the burning sensation in my flesh and elicited cascading tears.

I knew this day would come, deep down I knew. I shouldn't be taken aback, yet foreknowledge did nothing to alleviate the searing pain. Slowly, I made my way to our room, donning somber attire. Surveying the disheveled sheets, the scattered cups on the nightstand, and Alejandro's clothes carelessly strewn about, a faint smile graced my lips. Memories of our final moments together, our last night entwined, flooded my mind. How could we have known?

Is this who I have become? Is this the path I am destined to traverse for the remainder of my existence? "You can't do this to me." Everything serves as a reminder of you, every insignificant object now holds profound significance simply because your hands once touched it. Every joke you uttered, to which I responded with a faint hum, now carries more weight than anything else.

"mi amor, you know what the ocean told to each other?"

"don't.. you told me this one four times already"

"nothing, they just waved!"

I remember how bad you enjoyed repeating this joke, while i scowled, you snorted laughing, that precious laugh, I'd do anything to hear it again.

How did this happen to us, my love? How did this happen to you, my dear? What about the promises we made? What about the garden we planned? What about our two children, whom we vowed to name after our dearest friends? What about our journey to Greece? What about witnessing the ethereal Northern Lights? What about standing before each other and saying "yes"?

"you know, mi amor, the weather in August is the worst, I'd rather marry you in the Fall, no much people would come and annoy us, and we'll enjoy the cake to ourselves."

"really Alejandro?"

I always begged you to let me wear your dog tag, just once. Oh, how I wish I hadn't. The cold metal against my warm skin causes my heart to sink time and time again. Will this be my reality, my love?

Were all those promises mere whims or did we truly mean them? Did agony eavesdrop on our conversations, pledging to deny us everlasting peace? What became of you, my love? What became of us?

-fin-

[electrons2006]

A Life of Illness

Chapter One :

Death by Milk??! Part 1

(writers note: this story is based on true facts and and real life experiences of a real person. And yes before u kill me I do have their complete consent to write this)

Whumpee's allergies have been getting worse recently. Every other thing they eat, hives and rashes all over their skin. Caretaker is so worried for their beloved whumpee. "I don't want to eat anymore. If I don't eat there won't be any allergies right?",whumpee says sort of comically sort of in sorrow. "Don't be silly whumpee. I understand it's not easy and you're constantly in discomfort but you'll get better I promise".Whumpee just nods. They are otherwise a very lively kid but this deathly combo of allergies and asthma has affected whumpee more than physically. Just imagine being a 10 year old kid who is allergic to chocklate and wheat! No cakes no pizzas no burgers nothing. All while your friends munch on them and those nasty bullies mocking you when u can't eat the things you love. If that's not enough whumpee can't even play any sports with their friends. They just have to sit outside and watch. Their asthma prevents them from any physical exertion. Days pass weeks pass. Whumpee keeps becoming sadder. They are no longer the lively jumpy kid they once were. But they're a fighter. Caretaker knows that and they're proud of how enduring whumpee is.

Caretaker is extremely careful not to let whumpee get in contact with anything that they are known to be allergic to, but some things just happen. Whumpee isn't the biggest fan of drinking a large glass of milk every morning but if caretaker says it's good for them then it's good for them. Whumpee gulps down the glass full quickly and just as they're going to wash it they collapse. The glass shatters on the floor. Hearing this caretaker runs out to see what happened. Whumpee is on the floor. Their hands and feet flopping like a dying fish. They're unable to breathe. THEY ARE IN ANAPHYLACTIC SHOCK. Whumpee's wind pipe has narrowed to the point its hardly letting any air through. The organ that's supposed to put air into their lungs is itself choking them to death. Without wasting a second caretaker calls for an ambulance.

Unfortunately epi - pens aren't a thing where they live so caretaker can't do anything for whumpee. They walk over to them and even though they're panicking they calm their voice down and tell whumpee that they need to calm down too and stay as still as possible. Whumpee needs to preserve their oxygen. Hardly any air is entering their lungs and whumpee has to take huge efforts for that too. Two minutes go by. Caretaker's hand is on whumpee's forehead trying to calm them down. Whumpee's hands and feet are no longer moving not because they're calm but because they simply don't have the energy. Any energy is spent in trying to breathe. They're tounge has swollen which is making breathing even harder. Whumpee's eyes are wide open in terror. They have experienced difficulty in breathing before but nothing like it.

10 minutes pass. The sound coming out of whumpee's throat is straight out of a horror film. Whumpee's breath has slowed they're getting tired. Caretaker notices. "No whumpee you must try harder. Keep breathing." Since breathing is no longer involuntary if whumpee passes out they are sure to die. Caretaker knows this and it terrifies them. They feel whumpee's pulse. Weak and fast.

"I'm so tired. Am I going to die? Die like this? In the most horrible terrifying way possible? No I must fight I must live", whumpee thinks as they turn their vision from the celeing to caretaker. They can't die on caretaker. Not after everything they've done for whumpee. With a new rush of energy whumpee tries to breath harder. The sounds get louder.

15 minutes pass. Caretaker finally hears the ambulance arrive. They stand up and run to the door. No time for door bells. They open it and 3 people come rushing in. One with a gurney one with equipment to intubate and one with a vial of epinephrine and a few syringe's "300 micrograms epinephrine" they say as they fill the syringe and jab whumpee in the thigh. A lot of time has already passed. Epinephrine takes about 5-10 minutes to take effect. They may not have that kind of time. The person with the gurney who seems to be the oldest of the 3 puts it down. "We have to intubate. Can't take any chances." With the help of caretaker they put whumpee on the gurney and carry them to the ambulance. The person with the epinephrine now attaches a leed to whumpee's finger and a monitor lights up. "You were right sir need to intubate stat. Their O2 SATS are tanking" . (They are referring to whumpee's blood oxygen concentration here). They pick up an iv needle. The vein on whumpee's arm is pretty visible. They insert the needle, whumpee flinches." That's it I'm done. Now you can sleep we'll take care of you" the doctor says as they inject a sedative into the IV. "Night night my prince" caretaker says as tears roll down their eyes.

"why is God so cruel to my dear whumpee" he says aloud without realising. The doctor puts down the syringe for a sedative, squeezes caretaker's shoulder and tells caretaker that whumpee will be fine. The doctor means that in a physical sense but caretaker knows after everything whumpee has been through they will take a while to mentally recover from this trauma. Not being able to breath is no for 15 minutes is no joke. Meanwhile the person with the equipment hands the older one the endotrachial pipes(endo-trachea meaning inside the trachia or wind pipe where the tube is supposed to go. ) and uses the laryngoscope to move the tounge and the epiglottis(a small movable lid above the larynx or voice box that prevents food or water from going down the wind pipe) out of the way to give clear vision into the trachea. The other person opens the bag with the larger tube and guides it into the trachea through the mouth. Or atleast the try "aaah too much constriction it won't go in". They take the pipe out of whumpee's mouth and toss it pick up the smaller one and repeats. Meanwhile the 3rd person grabs the equipment for a tracheostomy ( a surgical procedure where an insicion is made in the neck into the trachea from outside and the tube is sent through there) just in case even the smaller tube doesn't fit through whumpee's mouth, but thank god it does. No surgery for dear whumpee. With one hand holding the pipe they remove a seal from the part of the tube which is outside whumpee's mouth. The person with the loryngoscope takes it out and attaches a bag on this side of the pipe and starts pumping air into whumpee's lungs. Within a minute whumpee's O2 SATS start to normalise. The doctors take a breath of relief. Caretaker has been looking away. This is all too much for them. Their heart breaks for one and one person only and that's their beloved whumpee. They're sobbing their fists clenched. They're blaming themselves for what happend. They should've never given whumpee the milk its all their fault. That's what caretaker thinks. The older doctor who's job is done for now looks towards caretaker. They're very experienced and know exactly what caretaker is thinking. "It's not your fault there was no way for you to know this was going to happen. Your whumpee is going to need you to be strong when they wake up." Yes anything for whumpee. Caretaker wipes his tears off and grits their teeth "I'm always here for you whumpe" they whisper. The panic is gone and there's a sense of calm in the back of the ambulance. The driver still rushing at top speed to get to the hospital. "Uhh sir. Why are they going into tachycardia? "(irregular and fast heart beat) The youngest doctor asks looking closely at the monitor . Their voice full of panic.To be continued....

[v-era-18]

Red Licorice

Chapter Three: A Dead Girls Diary

“We don’t need them. It’ll be me and you against the world,” -Casey Beker

June 14th 1996

I know I'm supposed to start out with Dear Diary, but that's for basic bitches as Tatum would say-that dumb redhead.

Today my mother gifted me with another diary to write down my feelings after my break up with basketball player Paul Mathews. We had been dating for over a year, had gone on several dates, I cheered at all his games and wore his jersey blah blah-. She thinks I took it hard but in reality, I was more appalled with the reason why for the breakup. From what Pual’s sister had confessed, it was because he didn't like me at all-and was using me to get to my best friend (Y/n) (L/n).

(Y/n) is my best friend, I love her so much! Not only is she super smart but she's insanely pretty too. The only problem is she never believes it whenever someone tells her how beautiful she is. Hence why I wasn't hurt with the fact that Paul fell for (Y/n)-I understood why. She's like a beacon of light that you want to be covered in each day, from the way she laughs with a wide smile to the way she enters the room warming the space around her.

Long story short, many guys have come up to me and asked me how to ask her out before, and you know what I did as a good friend? I told them to get lost and they could kiss my ass! All of the boys at our school are practically dogs, (Y/n) needs a boyfriend that actually cares and likes the things she's interested in.

Take Randy for instance, he would be a perfect match-

(The rest of the sentence was crossed out)

On second thought, she doesn't need any man but me.

June 17th 1996

Okay Diary, I know it's been a minute since i've updated you on what's going on, but long story short-Tatum has lost her damn mind! Not only did she decide to sleep with my ex boyfriend Paul but there's a rumor amongst the other cheerleaders that they had been sleeping with each other for awhile behind my back! The absolute nerve!

(Y/n) told me I should let it go and possibly find another boyfriend who really cares about me the way I should be treated. She even went out of her way to watch a marathon of Rom-com videos with me to cheer me up. Not only did she cook me my favorite chocolate cake but she also made sure we did our nails. She even let me put color to hers-although she wouldn't let me do pink, but I didn't mind.

I am a bit jealous that Stu and Billy have been trying to get her to watch horror movies with them alone. I find it really weird how the two of them since we've been kids have always insisted that it has to be the three of them to enjoy the movies. But the jokes on them! (Y/n) has been spending all her time with me, Sidney and that bitch of a redhead.

Who needs boys when you have girls instead.

OMG I just got the greatest idea on how to get back at Tatum!

I'll keep you in the loop with my devilish diary!

Xoxox,

Casey

June 27th 1996

You'll never believe what happened today! My plan to get back at Tatum worked! Well not actually but indirectly.

You see Tatum has a huge crush on Stu Matcher, the dumb trouble maker (Y/n) always watches horror movies with. The bright side is that he's hot and is known for making all the girls melt in our school. I honestly didn't get what Tatum sees in him-but it must be something since she keeps ranting and raving about it during our sleep overs.

(Y/n), Sidney and Tatum came with me to the mall to do a little shopping, and Stu and Billy just so happened to be there looking for god knows what. They simply insisted on tagging along and the whore was more than happy to give in. It seemed to make (Y/n) uncomfortable with how much Tatum was flirting with Stu-I put it together that she simply hates public displays of affection. That's how it was when Paul was around.

Eventually Sidney and Tatum decided to head off in the lingerie store and decided to drag (Y/n) with them-knowing that my friend hates men seeing her in there. I was about to take along and make suggestions when Stu stopped me, the boy was straightforward with flirting-and I hated how easy it was for me to fall for his sly smooth words. I would be mush if I honestly found him perfect, but the amount of times he's followed (Y/n) around like a lost puppy freshman year screamed otherwise. So I played the game-remembering I had a score to settle with Tatum, and soon enough we were in the public restroom getting busy.

I won't lie-he was good. No wonder he broke so many hearts and had ex’s demand to get back together with him.

It wasn't long after the mall that he asked me on a date-a bit backwards don't you think? I guess I was a very good lay for him-my efforts paid off though, he only paid attention to me in spite of Tatums efforts.

During the whole time, (Y/n) did not speak to me, I could tell something was wrong due to her forced smiles and lack of conversation. Especially when Billy mentioned the new horror movie coming to theaters that he and Stu wanted to go see with her. I even asked to join, but she acted docile during the whole conversation.

I felt as though I made a deep mistake of some kind. And it really bothers me.

July 2nd 1996

I fucked up. Really bad.

(Y/n) has been avoiding me, and each time I invite her over my house she always says she has to help her Aunt out with something-which is bullshit because her aunt works her ass off at the hospital 24/7.

I have been spending a lot of time with Stu lately, but we either are having sex or he wants to watch horror movies. Sometimes I simply just stare at the scream lost in thought as to why I wanted to continue this relationship. I mean the sex is good, don't get me wrong and it feels like a victory to continue tormenting Tatum with our relationship, but it didn't feel right to keep doing this if my best friend isn't around.

I told Stu about my concerns with (Y/n) only for him to ask if he should talk to her about it, it was the way that he asked that quickly threw me off. I then proceed to ask about their friendship and how they often hang out with each other. He tells me they haven't interacted as of late because of me, and asked me to ‘politely’ stop getting in the way of their movie time together.

We had a huge fight about it. I didn't like the way he said it so casually that he wanted her there with him rather than me. We ended up having sex an hour later-but it didn't feel right. It was odd, Stu seemed to be hate fucking me one minute then caressing and telling me how sorry he was.

Once he was done he looked at me for a long moment, it was like he was trying to see me as someone else-I had seen that look before with other boys who loved someone else. Whatever spell he was under he snapped out of it before kicking me out before his parents got home.

I’m so lost.

July 4th 1996

(the page was torn out with leftover teardrops)

July 7th 1996

Me and (Y/n) had a heart to heart. It was jealousy - something that we both never in terms felt within our friendship. I know her, she’s not the type to get jealous unless she truly liked or felt for the person she was looking at. And even then-there wasn’t many that she looked at-from my knowledge anyway.

We spent the rest of the afternoon together watching movies on her living room couch. It felt good to be in each other's good graces again, afterall my life just seemed out of place without her in it. Watching horror movies, going shopping, or simply walking in the town square didn't do it for me without her by my side. There was one part in the movie where I watched her laugh the hardest she's ever done, her smile warmed me up inside, my heart hammering miles per minute.

When it came time for my mom to arrive, I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay. To hear her laughs and have her stay in my embrace longer. The bed in my home feels colder-missing the warmth on the other side of the mattress.

July 13th 1996

I'm scared to share this, but I've been rewinding last night's dream in my mind for the past three hours straight. It was nice at first, it seemed like every other day, I was over (Y/n)’s house horror movie in the background with the air blaring to life. The one thing that seemed weird was how close we were, she was laying on my chest covered in a blanket as I played with her curls.

It was comfortable, until (Y/n) leaned up and kissed me, not a quick peck but a slow passionate one. It wasn’t like the many empty ones I had given in my past relationships, it meant something. I could feel it-the love the joy my best friend was giving me. What shocked me the most was the fact I was kissing back taking the lead-dominating her entire being as I watched her melt in my grasp.

Soon I was on top of her kissing down her neck, stripping her of her clothes and sucking her breasts. I enjoyed it, the sight and the sounds she was making pleased me. It was different taking control but from how I was acting it was as if I had known how to do this my whole life.

I’ll never forget the way she moaned my name as I gave her orgasm after orgasm on the couch-her cunt practically dripping wet with her own thighs coated in her mess. Her eyebrows pulled together in ecstasy with her brown circles of breast on full display-arching into the air. It wasn’t long before we both finished, the aftercare was something I noticed I prioritized. I made sure she took a shower and was fed before taking her to the room to sleep.

It just felt right. No guilt. No thoughts about boys and their rough nature. Just the two of us. One embracing the other.

July 20th 1996

Distractions are what I found myself needing each night, and lucky enough for me there were plenty in Woodsburror. But with the many times I ended up underneath Stu I couldn't get her out of my head. Her moans and sweet utterance of my name against my lips, the same lips I found myself sucking the dick of the same man who had a secret attraction for my friend.

I know right-when did that happen.

It was the other night when I was with Stu in his truck, I had a slip of the lips and moaned (Y/n)’s name. I really hadn't meant to, but the way Matcher had stopped everything was telling enough-he didn't like the fact it was her name I had said. He had stopped initiating sex with me that night-even though he was still on hard.

I asked him if he was going to tell anyone what had happened. He said no, and instead offered a proposition. At first I was a bit scared to know what it was, but thought I didn’t have much of an option-I didn’t want my secret getting out.

He wanted a threesome between (Y/n) and Me. I immediately looked at him in a mix of shock and utter disgust. To get out of it I immediately mentioned that she was a virgin still-he countered it saying that he would be her first. The way he said it was weirdly full of warmth and affection. It twisted my stomach into knots and made me question how authentic was the relationship we currently had. The way he said her name-from the way he promised not to use her-to be gentle all the way through.

I hated it. I hated him. I never wanted to get out of a truck so fast in my entire life.

To get out of the conversation I lied and said I would think about it. But obviously-I'm thinking of a way to end this.

He wasn't going to touch (Y/n). Not on my watch.

July 27th 1996

Cheating isn't something to be glorified, ever. But damn did it feel like a weight off my shoulders when I heard of Tatums whore ways.

The new rumor amongst the cheerleaders this week was hot! Half the squad was over Autumn’s house when the ball was dropped about what the team captain had seen the other day on her way to Blockbuster. Apparently Tatum had invited Sidney and (Y/n) along on their blockbuster run knowing that Stu and Billy would be there. At first I was a bit upset (Y/n) hadn't told me anything about it-but the gears started turning once Autumn said Stu had ignored Tatum the entire time, his attention solely on my best friend.

It was confirmed with a simple sighting and interaction with the two, Stu didn't want me or Tatum. He wanted (Y/n). And in his own twisted way of trying to get close to her he was using us (her friends) as a gateway.

I don't understand. He had more opportunities to date her from the beginning, they were practically inseparable since they were kids-especially in middle school. Billy soon added to the mix not so long after his mother wasn't as present anymore.

You're probably wondering where the cheating part had taken place right? Long story short, our team captain-Abigail- had saw Stu fucking Tatum against the wall of an alleyway next to the store. It was embarrassing, not only did everyone give me sympathetic looks, but they all knew about what Paul did. It was the same thing happening twice in the row-(Y/n) being tossed in the mix.

I played the part of the sad grieving girlfriend very well, maybe it was because through the irony of it all- I didn't care about the fact the boys didn't want me. I cared about the fact they wanted (Y/n). They wanted my best friend-the girl I wanted all to myself.

I don't blame them for falling in love with her though, after all. I did it myself.

August 1st 1996

Today was cheerleading practice for the new school year along the day football players start preparation for the upcoming football season. Most of the time while we were coming up with cheers on the sidelines, the fresh new round of quarterbacks would hoot and holler for our new uniforms.

I'll admit, they were very sexy. But I really couldn't get my mind off of me and (Y/n)’s sleepover last night. She had simply fallen asleep on my chest, her silk nightie rode up at the bottom leaving her lace painties in view. I was quick to pull the dress back down-but my mind had wondered if I had proceeded things differently.

My parents weren't home and it would've been the perfect opportunity. But instead I was too scared of what she would say or the possibility of ruining our friendship.

My kicks and flips were the worst it had ever been throughout practice and the other girls could tell. And much to my embarrassment they thought it was because of Tatum messing around with Stu. As if I could care less what that whore did with my lay! And the bigger fact of the matter is Stu dosen’t even want Tatum either-hes just fucking her till he gets bored.

I couldn't do it anymore, I was sexually frustrated. From the pent of feelings for my best friend and the fact Tatum continued to pretend she didn't keep stabbing me in the back over and over again.

I had noticed Steve staring at me throughout his drills, and decided to call him over once me and the girls took our two hour break from practice. Seducing him wasn't that hard-it was obvious he thought more with his dick than his own head.

The locker room was thankfully deserted giving us enough time to get an hour of pleasure in. The poor boy took it the wrong way and thought I wanted to go out with him-it wasn't a bad idea though. Steve was cute and had a lot going for himself, and seemed somewhat of a decent guy, plus it gave me an excuse to dump Stu.

I can only hope he doesn't get too angry about it down the line.

August 7th 1996,

Okay so the breakup didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped-but it was better than I had originally had expected.

Stu wasn't as furious about the breakup as I thought he was going to be, he only seemed a tad bit frustrated with something I couldn't understand. Even with the many accusations I had tossed his way about screwing Tatum and wanting (Y/n) all for himself. He seemed only focused on the fact that (Y/n) wouldn't be around that much anymore-he has a serious problem he needs to solve.

And I told him that. (Y/n) isn't his-and she never will be.

That's what started it-the rampage the boy went on. I had never seen Stu so livid from just telling him he couldn't have her. The one girl he wanted. He did not place his hands on me or anything but kept screaming for me to get out of the house. I did leave in a rush, afterall I had my current new boyfriend outside waiting to comfort me.

But when the news broke out, things started to flip upside down. I think the only person that was disappointed in me was (Y/n). She couldn't believe what I had done-cheating on Stu with Steve and causing such drama amongst the group. In my opinion I had done nothing wrong-it was Tatums fault for fucking Paul then going after Stu while we were in a relationship.

I didn't understand why she was taking Stu’s side either, it hurt hearing she didn't want to lie to him and say I didn't do what I did. Or how much I hurt him.

I lost my temper. I'll admit it, yelling at her wasn't the way to go. And I might have said something I wasn't proud of. But it was how I felt at the moment- she didn't need to worry so much over Macher if she was MY friend! If she was MY everything!

But that's the thing she's not mine. But she should be.

August 12th 1996,

Today was the first day of school, my senior year. One semester away from saying goodbye to these bloodsucking vermin in the dust once and for all. Mom wished me luck this year, we had a long prayer at the breakfast table for scholarships and hopefully a bright future ahead. The only thing that seemed out of place was the empty chair beside me; (Y/n)’s place at the table.

This was the first time she wasn't over for the first day of school with me. We usually had sleepovers the night before, gossip-made bets on what's going to transpire but no-I had made the ultimate mistake of yelling at her and degrading her for voicing her opinion.

I called her Stu’s whore.

I didn't mean it of course, but it was something I said to hurt her-the last thing I had wanted to do.

The first day of school was okay, it turns out I have a few classes with (Y/n) and Sidney, fortunately I don't have any with Tatum ,Stu or Billy. But Randy is in my science and history class. Randy wouldn't shut up talking about how cute (Y/n) looked today, and I couldn't shake the feeling of jealousy as many men in the school watched her up and down the school halls.

She wore her hair up into a high afro ponytail, swirls of her hair laid upon her head. I couldn't help but stare at the loose flannel-her shoulders were bare, and she wore some jean shorts with some beat up converse. During class I couldn't help but stare, even with Sidney encouraging me to speak to her I couldn't. And I felt as though if I tried talking to her about it something else might have transpired.

I couldn't tell her my feelings for her. What would my parents say? Not to mention the whole student body. Being gay in this town isn't uncommon but many people, especially adults are old fashioned. Last time I checked (Y/n)’s Aunt even had something sly to say about girls viewing each other's bodies if they are not family.

I can't win. Not if I leave this hell hole and start anew.

Would it be a possibility that (Y/n) would come with? Come with me to start a new life away from all of this? I would let her watch movies whenever she wants and help her through school.

I want her dreams to become a reality. I want to be there every step of the way, to see her on that red carpet of the movie she makes. The series of horror movies that would have the world in a chokehold.

I want to be that wife, her holding my arm as she waves shyly to the cameras for me to beam down at her in pride.

I would give her everything Stu couldn't and more!

August 13th 1996,

I can't believe Tatum had the nerve to try to give me advice to please Steve in the bedroom! For her information Stu’s so obviously pretending she’s (Y/n) while fucking her brains out. The worst part is everyone knows about Tatum and Stus relationship now, not that they're a fan of it-it's just new gossip.

Apparently (Y/n) didn't like the relationship, that's what Sidney said. But I don't understand why. Everytime Stu gets into a relationship with someone (Y/n) says it's not a good match- or both parties deserve better.

It's almost like she wants him-

(The page was torn off halfway)

August 15th 1996,

(The page is filled with many crossed out words and x’s making it illegible to read) (It was almost as if she couldn't bare to process what she was writing)

August 17th 1996,

I couldn't take it anymore! I had to talk to (Y/n) and make up with her! These past few days of silent treatment were getting to me. Not only has Tatum noticed, but Sidney as well. It was embarrassing to know that her other friends have been asking me what's going on when I've known her for the longest. They don't even care about her as much as I do!

But it's not just my feelings for (Y/n) that have been consuming my thoughts lately. I've been struggling with my sexuality, and it's been eating me up inside. I've never told anyone, not even my best friend, about the way I feel. It's like this big secret that I'm carrying around, and it's starting to feel suffocating.

I know that (Y/n) would never judge me, but the fear of rejection and the unknown terrifies me. What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if she thinks I'm weird or gross? I can't risk losing my best friend, but at the same time, I can't continue living this lie.

The looks that Stu and Billy have been giving me lately only make things worse. It's like they know something about me that I don't even know myself. I feel like a fraud around them, like they're constantly judging me.

I don't know what to do. I'm so confused and scared. All I know is that I can't keep living like this. I need to talk to someone, anyone, about how I'm feeling. But who can I trust? Who can I confide in?

For now, I'll keep my secret to myself and focus on repairing my friendship with (Y/n). But I know that this is something that I need to address eventually.

Of course she was reluctant to talk but I had bribed her to let me in with three packs of her favorite popcorn and of course five packs of licorice. She took the popcorn and candy and allowed me to have an hour to say what I wanted to say before I was asked to leave.

I understand her anger. We've been best friends for years, and I called her such an unforgivable thing because I was jealous of the attention she was giving Stu. I felt terrible, and I told her everything. I apologized and begged for her forgiveness. I could see the pain in her eyes, and I knew I had hurt her deeply. But thankfully, she eventually forgave me, and we hugged it out. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

But now, I'm left feeling guilty about how I treated (Y/n) and how I let my jealousy get the best of me. I need to work on my insecurities and learn to communicate my feelings better. (Y/n) is my best friend, and I never want to hurt her like that again.

August 31st 1996,

(This entry was ripped out aggressively to what seemed like not too long ago.) (investigators eventually found the entry locked in a secret chest underneath Becker’s bed along with her previous diaries and most treasured items.)

September 8th 1996,

Slowly but steadily I've been getting closer to (Y/n), we've even started making plans on what to do for Halloween! It's her favorite month. All the decorations, costumes, and of course the horror movies. She did seem a bit down today when I mentioned dressing up together as playboy bunny girls, clearly she was expecting something more her speed.

I know-I know what you're thinking. Why would I want to dress up as a playboy bunny costume when (Y/n) clearly wants to dress up as a slasher? Well it's simply because it gives me an excuse to have her wear something revealing all night, and second she's a slasher every single year.

It's time to do something different. No more bloody (Y/n). Instead we'll have a super hot one instead.

In the end she said she would think about it, but with the way she looked over longingly at Stu and Billy; maybe just maybe I should be a slasher with her this year.

September 15th 1996,

Unfortunate change of plans, my parents announced that they were visiting family the week of Halloween. And for once I hated the thought of leaving here without (Y/n) by my side. In the past with her being alone on Halloween always sits wrong with me, and the fact is she wouldn't be alone; Stu and Billy always ended up being there.

Sick? Stu and Billy would come over. Aunt Gia unable to take her to the movies? Mrs. Macher would fill in, Stu dragging (Y/n) to the backseat. If I was out with the other girls dressing girly? Billy would immediately pull out a Micheal Myers mask and a bucket for candy.

I just can never get the timing right on Halloween to be with her. On her favorite holiday.

I might as well push these feelings to the side and let Stu or Billy have her this Halloween. Just like they always do. This time Tatum and Sidney won't be able to deny their boyfriends attraction to (Y/n).

September 19th 1996,

I can't believe I lost my diary for three days! And that's not even the worst part. Tatum was the one who gave it back to me. I was spiraling, hoping that she had some sense and did not read any of it.

Imagining the thought of her reading it sent chills down my spine. Not only would Tatum be out for my blood but (Y/n)s as well; even though the two girls get along fine now- I just know Tatum would immediately flip the script and try to ruin her life.

So what if (Y/n) had feelings for Stu and Billy. She likes Randy now. Even though I’m trying to be the main contender for her love-even I had to face the reality that she wasn't going to go for someone in a relationship. If I was to confess my feelings to her it most definitely would have to be after I dump Steve.

Don't get me wrong, the boy is really nice and sweet. He'd be the perfect boyfriend for me if I wasn't you know ‘a little sparkly’. The sex is good too and he even knows how to communicate well. The only argument we've had thus far was about how much time I've been spending with (Y/n) lately, it resulted in me crying and guilt tripping him.

He was getting a little bit too close to the truth.

But that's not what I'm afraid of. This afternoon I asked Tatum how she found my diary. Turns out she wasn't the one who found it.

It was Stu who had it for the weekend.

September 21st 1996,

Tonight (Y/n) came over to hang out as usual. Soon we were gossiping and talking about others' relationships before it shifted back to mine. (Y/n) apparently don't like how quickly me and Steve got together, and to be honest she was making some good points. Hooking up with boys and then immediately becoming a couple was very misleading and isn't how relationships should be formed.

The conversation got intense however once she suggested we watch a horror movie, we fell back into our normal routine. She did say something that threw me off though. She said if I was in the horror movie I would be the dumb blonde that dies first.

As if! I'm clearly too smart to die in a horror movie! I joked around with her about it and asked if she remembers the promise if I were to die. Of course she remembered but knew she wouldn't have to do it till we were daily older.

To me it doesn't matter how old we get together. She'll always be my everything in my eyes.

I had asked Steve to come over Wednesday to watch a movie, but obviously that's not what we're going to do. That night will be the last time I ever mess around with a boy, and Thursday morning I'll be single and ready to confess to my best friend.

I can only hope she reciprocates my feelings.

☿

August 31st , 1996

Last night was a total nightmare. I don't know who to be more angry at Sidney-or that bitches friend Tatum! We were all invited over (Y/n)’s house to sleepover and have a great time.

Unfortunately things took a twisted turn-

Screams emitted through the TV as the four girls settled across the living room floor. (Y/n) was snuggled up on Casey's side sharing a blanket as Tatum and Sidney were laid across the couch; apparently Tatum valued comfort rather than the floor, but Sidney did remain on the floor laid up against the couch with her sleeping bag.

It was a good thing the movie had subtitles since it was in Japanese; the plot in the movie was about a series of mass murder of teen girls who've all dated the boy. Upon the grand reveal it turns out it was his childhood best friend, her love for him was so obsessive that she resulted in killing all potential suitors for her friend. One might argue it was sick and twisted, but was it so different from many murder cases in the US? Sure some of the scenes were very violent, including the parts on how she disposed of the bodies; however jealousy and obsession can turn deadly quickly if not caught on to.

The alleged ‘final girl’ ran down the school corridor, running into the male protagonist as he tried to calm her down. Her hand was gone, blood practically spraying and pooling along the floor, (Y/n) would have to give it to the directors, the protruding bones look so real.

“All bets in that she's not going to survive,” Casey muttered.

(Y/n) hummed, “Yeah she already lost her virginity, so she already lost in that regard. Not to mention she was seen drinking a few scenes ago.” The two friends had watched so many scary movies at this point that they could predict when someone was going to die, or the ‘twist’ the directors were trying to pull.

The killer rounded the corner, her mouth and face going slack as the male lead and her locked eyes. The boy seemed shocked for a moment before he began to question her on why and how she was doing this. The subtitles were fast but the girls could get the gist of what was being said from the brief words on the screen.

“Wow,” Tatum scoffed, “What a love confession. Someone please kill me if I ever become that desperate over a man.”

“Wait,” Sidney watched as the boy started to step closer, his eyes brimming with tears, “Is he…is he confessing back?! After all the girls he’s slept with and had died due to her, he wants a relationship with her?”

This caught (Y/n)’s attention, she watched how the two childhood friends embraced one another as the other girl cried out to the boy pleading for him to stay-to save her. Only for the male to take the knife from the killer and kill the final girl himself. Something about the scene made it hard to look away.

‘How can someone choose a killer rather than the innocent?’

“He's in love with her,” She muttered, “so much he's willing to kill another innocent person in order for them to be together.” Something fluttered in her heart at the sheer devotion they have towards one another. They way they looked at eachother-no more secrets all the obstacles that were there before have been removed. The two halves of the same whole acn be together at last.

The screen cuts to a house, the childhood friends had gotten married and one would guess moved to another city to leave their choices behind. What caught the afro haired off guard was how happy the couple looked, they had even achieved a loving family; a pair of twins and a four year old boy all sitting at the table sharing grace before credits started to roll.

Casey shifted a bit, “Well, that movie was-,”

“Amazing-,”

“Shit,” Tatum snarled, “How can he want that ugly bitch and kill the good looking one? Isn't this Japanese? Wasn't it the standard to marry for good looking kids and successors?” The girl's attitude threw the other three girls for a loop.

(Y/n) still wanted to argue her point, “I think it's a good film! It's a lot different from the horror movies I usually watch, and I think the fact that the childhood friends got together despite everything was a good twist and satisfying ending.” She got up from Caseys side and went to retrieve the tape and grab another movie, “Here, we can watch a Chick flick next since you didn't like-”

“You think all childhood friends should end up together huh, (Y/n)?”

The girl paused her movements at the question. She didn't understand why the question seemed so-hostile. Casey sat up and shot Tatum a look, clearly disliking where this was going. Sidney on the other hand had a very uncomfortable expression on her face, almost like she was expecting this.

“Well, sometimes yes,” (Y/n) shrugged the stranged feeling off, “Think about it. They’re the ones that know each other most inside and out. Look at most successful marriages for instance-they were either childhood friends or friends and with each other for a long time.” She popped in ‘She’s All That’ before turning to the strawberry blond, “Plus my parents were childhood friends. That's why their marriage was so successful.”

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room.

Something shifted behind Tatum's eyes; malice, spite, fueled by jealousy. “Oh, so you're assuming that Me and Stu’s relationship is going to be temporary since we were not childhood friends?”

(Y/n) made a face at the mention of her friends name, her heart contorted “No! That's not even what I was trying to say-”

“It was implied-”

“Fuck off Tatum,” Casey barked, “The only reason why he’s with you is because your so willing to lay on you back for him.”

They all had to have known it was true. Tatum was so desperate for the boy to acknowledge her since the seventh grade. Going as far to change her style three times before settling on the busty mean girl persona; of course she wasn’t mean all the time-just liked the look.

Other than that Casey wasn't going to let the girl accuse her friend of these things without proof. (Y/n) wasn't the type to go after someone elses’ boyfriend; however with the information the blonde knew about she did feel a bit hypocritical.

Stu wanted (Y/n). Did she know if it was the same the other way around? No. Was she still going to defend her anyway? Absolutely.

Tatum whipped her head over to the other blond practically giving her whiplash. Her face was red now in embarrassment or fury one could barely tell. “Oh! Just like how you were so willing to do that same-,”

“At least I didn’t fuck my friends boyfriend while they were in a committed relationship-”

“It was only two times-”

“Two times too many!” Casey huffed, “Is this what you came here for? To start something with (Y/n) because you know she's the nicest out of the rest of us?”

Tatum rolled her eyes, “You act like she's a newborn, she can defend herself,” She took a swig of her cola before shifting her eyes to her best friend, “Besides I’m not the only one with questions, Sidney does as well.”

(Y/n) zeroed in on Sidney, the girl was fiddling with the sleeve of her sweater. Something about her whole demeanor screams ‘guilty as sin’; as if she just got done something unforgivable. In this case she felt pressured to get to the bottom of why Billy had this slight obsession with the girl in front of her.

Sidney did have a question about Billy and her relationship, and she wanted the girl to be honest about it. She wouldn't be mad if there was something before,but it would mean things between her and her boyfriend would be called into question.

“Y-you have something to ask me Sid?”

Sidney nodded, “Yeah, um I went over Billy’s house the other day, and I saw a lot of things in his room that surprised me is all,” Surprise would be an understatement, her heart felt like it was being ripped into thirds with the items she came in contact with. They haven't been dating for long but she felt like she really liked him, but there's only so much one can take, “You-uh-you guys have a lot of photos with each other. Even with his mom and dad-and uh-Stu was in some of them too..”

She was trying to give a hint to the girl about what she was trying to say. Sidney knew no boys or men who would have that many pictures of a girl visible. Especially in a relationship. It wasn't like it was just on his desk, no-it was all around his house. On the hallway walls, in his dads office-in the kitchen-everywhere. Mr. Loomis almost seemed shocked that Sidney even earned the title ‘Girlfriend’.

‘What happened to (Y/n)?’ Billy’s Father voiced out loud.

Billy stilled for a moment his eyes hazy, ‘(Y/n) has been busy with school lately,”

His father simply cocked an eyebrow and said nothing more. Sidney had never felt more embarrassed and out of place; she knew what the question really meant and what answer Billy’s father was looking for. He wanted to know why (Y/n) wasn't the one at the table with them with the title instead of Sidney.

“So are you asking if I have the same pictures as him?” The girl cut through the silence.

Sidney shook her head, cheeks pink. She didn't know why this was frustrating her-it was just a question. So with a deep breath she ripped off the bandage, “Did you and Billy ever have a secret relationship?”

(Y/n) sputtered as her face grew warm at the question, sure she had secretly entertained the idea of having Billy as a boyfriend but it quickly went out the window once she realized her long term feelings for Stu. It should've been easy to answer back at the question but she was so surprised with the way it was said threw her for a loop.

“No, me and Billy have never had that sort of relationship.” She finally stated.

The brunette didn't seem convinced, “What about the nickname they both gave you. Billy and Stu,” Billy had a habit of calling (Y/n) by her nickname rather than her real name, even in Sidney's presence. It would be different if it was something funny, or a common nickname given among friends, but it was so intimate. And (Y/n) didn't notice it like the other girls did.

Sidney didn't even have an intimate nickname. Billy just called her ‘Sid’ like everyone else.

“What nickname? You mean (N/N)? Billy and Stu haven't called me by that name in years-”

“No! The other one!” Sidney persisted, “The intimate one. You’ve got to remember, Billy calls you it all the time when you're not around-,” The girl paused for a moment, her thoughts sinking in. What if Billy and Stu never said the nickname to the girls face once they got to highschool; it has been a long time since Sidney and Tatum was thrown into the mix in regards to their group. “Did Billy and Stu ever call you anything else in your presence?”

The afro haired paused, thinking it over before answering. There was one nickname Billy and Stu used to call her by sometimes, but it was just while they were watching movies and alone with the three of them. It was around about ninth grade when the nickname was made; Billy insisted that they call her by it.

“Final Girl,”

There was silence again. If there was a way from steam to whistle out of Tatum's ears they all would have heard it.

“Excuse me?” Sidney said, “They call you what?”

(Y/n) bit her lip, “Final girl, Billy insisted I be called that. You know Final girls are the ones that-”

“That’s not the name I was talking about. You mean to tell me you have another one-?”

“Did you fuck Stu instead?” Tatum cut in, “If you couldn't have one friend you might as well go for the other one-”

“Tatum,” Sidney hissed. This wasn't how she wanted to go about doing things. Backing (Y/n) in a corner like this was just bullying her, and if she did have private relationships with either boy it wasn’t for them to know. (Y/n) even had the right to refuse not to answer.

The afro haired girl gripped her band tee in frustration, “I didn’t fuck anyone!” She got up and glared at Tatum in frustration, she didn't understand the girl's deal. She had won already, she had Stu all to herself, “You both have Stu and Billy as your boyfriends and spend so much time with them to the point we three don't hang out as much anymore! When would I have the time to even get the chance to do something like that?”

“Can we just all calm down for a second-,”

“Did you ever have feelings for Stu or Billy?!”

“What does it matter?!” (Y/n) cried, “You have both of them! You won! Tatum you fuck Stu every single day! And Sidney you watch movies with Billy all the time-!” The girl cut off a lump forming in her throat as she could see her favorite boys doing the activities with her friends. Something inside twisted and lurched-her eyes growing warm and sight blurry.

This was all enough for Sidney and Tatum to see the girls true feelings. One felt sympathetic with the reaction, the other on the other hand-.

“I told you!” Tatum pointed, “I knew there was something going on with those three! So how did it feel being Stu and Billy’s whore all throughout ninth grade-” The girl was cut off with a pillow connecting to her head.

Casey loomed over the other girl, her face contorted in rage, “Say that again. I dare you.”

The two other girls stood up immediately with how Casey was standing over Tatum, they knew if a hit landed there was no coming back from this. Also (Y/n) didn't want anyone to be fighting inside her house, her Aunt would have a fit knowing why her living room looked a mess. She would be okay with a bit of fun-not a full out brawl.

(Y/n) sighed sadly, “Tatum, Sid - you guys need to leave.”

A sad solemn look took over Sidney's face at the girl's tone, “Wha - No look I'm sorry can we just pretend this conversation didn't happen?” It was wistful thinking, but she honestly didn't want to leave things this way between everyone. They were supposed to have fun; Sidney wanted to ignore the boy problems for one day and just enjoy the presence of her friends without any problems. (Y/n) didn't deserve to be asked questions that way tonight, especially about the two people she saw as her best friends for the longest time.

“Pretend?” Said Casey, “After the two of you tried jumping down her throat! You want to pretend you didn't do anything?!”

The blonde stormed over to the two sleeping bags grabbing them and rushing back to the front door. Tatum finally got up from the couch in shock, following after the angry girl. Not a single one of them had ever seen Becker this upset, sure she argued and had a sharp tongue but throwing their things outside of the house was way beyond what they could imagine.

“Casey! Are you fuckin crazy-?!”

“For my best friend? Yes!” Casey yelled, “Now are you going to grab your backpack yourself or am I going to have to grab them for you?”

(Y/n) wiped tears from her eyes, “Cas at least let them call their parents-”

“Tatum's house is two blocks away, they can kick rocks.”

It was quick with how the girls left, and the afro haired girl felt a sense of dread with the door closing. It was only when Casey placed a hand on her shoulder did she break down. In some way she blamed herself for them-for their actions and jealousy towards her. She allowed her best friend to guide her towards the couch before she left to get some water and tissues. She stared blankly at the chick flick on the screen, she didn't know why she chose that one.

It was Tatum's favorite. And it was her least favorite.

Casey came back with a glass of water, tissues and a pack of red licorice in her hands, “You okay?” It was a rhetorical question of course, but it was better to ask rather than not asking.

“Would I really be considered a whore if I liked Stu and Billy?” The girl sniffed, “Is it really that bad that I used to have feelings for them? I mean I like Randy now but is it bad that I acknowledge Stu would never look my way because I wasn't enough-”

Casey grabbed the girl's hands, cutting her off , “You are enough. It's their fault they couldn't see that,” She proceeded to wipe the girls cheeks clean of tears, “And in my opinion they've lost the best thing to ever enter their lives. You.”

Silence filled the room for a moment. Nothing could be heard over the girls sniffles and the faint sound of the movie in the background. Casey simply held the girl in her embrace, rubbing up and down her arms in a soothing motion to calm her down.

“Casey,” The girl whispered softly.

“Hmm?”

“If I dont have anyone else, it'll just be me and you right?”

Casey looked down at her friend, a loving smile taking place on her pink lips, “Of Course. We don't need them. It'll just be me and you against the world.” The girl unexpectedly sprung up off the sofa and headed over to the pile of movies, “I think this chick flick isn't our speed! Lets watch another horror movie, any recommendations?”

(Y/n) gave a watery smile, “I got another japanese film we could watch,”

“Cool! Which one is it?” The blonde shuffled through the tapes.

“It's the one with the two bloodied friends on the cover. It's called, ‘Forget Me Not’.”

[astridthevalkyrie]

A Scene Popped Into My Head But Instead Of Writing A Whole AU I’m Just Going To Write That One Scene <3

—> Scene Capture Fics Masterlist

—> Today’s Feature: Ice Hockey Coach Levi!

—> a/n: a scene capture fic????? in 2023????????? yes, i'm actually alive :) tbh by reading this you can tell how rusty i am because this is trash

Levi doesn't think he's ever had this big of a headache. And there's been some real contenders over the course of his life. One would think all the death or that one bit where he was sleeping on the streets would take the cake. But no, it's this idiot—this mousy, annoying fucking idiot who really makes migraines a constant in his life.

For the sixth time in an hour, Levi blows his whistle.

"Jock! Get the fuck out of the rink!"

The player in question slams down the stick he's holding in his left hand, shoving the teammate he just elbowed out of the way before skating towards him. That migraine seems to pulse in anger the same way the player's veins do.

"You can't bench me again," he seethes, fists clenched and eyes flaming behind his helmet. "I'm your best player."

"You're also the biggest pain in the ass." Levi grabs the front of his shirt. "Any points you score won't mean shit if you get double the penalties."

Never has he met a player so skilled, and yet so troublesome. When Levi agreed to coach the team as a favor to Erwin, who owned them and was taking loss after loss, he hadn't expected this hothead. From the first moment the man introduced himself, wide-eyed, spitting out the word, "Cock!" when Levi demanded his name, he'd been nothing but a dick indeed.

"What was that?" he'd hissed, eyes narrowing.

"Jock! I meant Jock!"

"Tch. And you clearly find that fitting, do you?"

"Oh yes, sir, I'm the best player you'll meet."

And to Jock's credit, he hadn't been wrong. He was the best player Levi had seen since, well, probably Erwin and himself. The word miss wasn't even in the man's dictionary, and he skated on the ice like he'd been born to do so. The problem was that Levi was the coach of a team, and Jock was anything but a team player.

From the beginning, he was aggressive. Constantly shoving teammates both smaller and bigger than him around, constantly shouting, constantly throwing tempter tantrums. Levi knew a thing or two about a short fuse, but this guy made him look like a fucking saint.

"Far as I see it, Coach, you're the only one who penalizes me." That gaze hadn't stopped glaring once. "Whatchu gonna do when other teams and kick these weaklings' asses? I'm the only one who—"

"Did I stutter?" Holding one hand out, Levi takes your stick from one of the other players (a common occurrence, for them to pick it up) and shoves it in your hands. "Get the fuck out and sit out for the rest of practice, or I'll kick this weakling's ass right now."

Even people who have played against him haven't given him the look that Jock's giving him now. A hateful gaze complete with bared teeth, like he's about to pounce.

"Fuck you, coach."

The worst thing, Levi thinks as he finally stalks off, mutter obscenities under his breath, is that unlike other players who get angry, this is the only who looks undeniably attractive while doing so.

And speaking of undeniably attractive.

Nighttime is the only time his migraine seems to die out, and sure, part of it is because he's not coaching anymore. Another part is that he can simply skate, without hearing shouts and without having to be aggressive. And the final part, is the company.

The first night he'd visited this rink, he'd found he wasn't alone.

"Sorry!" the stranger had whisper-shouted. "There's never anyone here usually, since the rink is closed."

"It's alright. You can skate, I know the rink is booked up with the trainings all the time."

"Yeah. But..." Her words seem to catch even her by surprise. "Well, it's a large area. We can share."

"You're here earlier than normal," she teases, already on the ice as usual. "Miss me, Levi?"

He snorts, already entering the rink with two sticks and a puck. "Better you than the idiots I deal with all day."

The woman's eyes are some of the nicest things he's seen, especially when she smiles. When she spins, one foot in the air, she doesn't know he's watching, and yet she seems to make a point to be completely entrancing.

He's never seen anyone skate like her. If his skills are a ten, then hers are a hundred.

"Here." He offers her a stick. "You said you played, right?"

"Um..." For some reason, she looks nervous. "I used to, back in high school."

(In high school, Levi was skating too, but the only time he played hockey was when someone, usually Erwin or Petra, managed to convince him to drop the attitude and play a match.)

"Play with me," he requests, "there's gear in my bag if you want it—"

"No," her response comes quickly, "um, no, I don't need gear, that's okay." Giving the stick a practice swing, she grins up at him. "But why are we playing today? You want some practice?"

"I honestly just need to remember why I like the sport." Levi groans, rubbing the back of his neck to soothe out a crick. Then he slides the puck into the center, not bothering to make sure it's a perfect fit. "The big match is in two days, and there's only so much I can fucking take training these assholes."

Levi notes immediately that she favors her left side. "Anyone in particular giving you problems?"

"The usual. Eren, Jean. Connie. And this one dick. Gets angry at everything that moves."

He moves first, but she still hits the puck before him, in a speed that few have demonstrated to him before. He can only blink as she moves past his shoulder. "Sounds like a handful. But maybe he's just got stuff going on?"

"What would he have going on?"

"Everyone has stuff going—hey!" she cries, when he steals the puck from her, swerving around and skating towards the other side. In a flash, she's going around the other side.

"Not an excuse to be an asshole, is it?"

"Well—no. But is he a good player?" Instead of coming up to him, she skates up to the net, right as he takes aim and swings.

Her stick outstretches before she moves, blocking the puck with a resounding smack and sending it sliding to the right.

This isn't a real match, so Levi takes the time to pause, raising a brow at her.

"One of the best I've seen."

"Then," and she takes her time too, offering him a sweet smile as she propels forward, stopping in front of him, "maybe you should cut him some slack."

A part of him wishes he could say the last time he felt his chest squeeze like that was a long time ago, to really make this moment special. But it was only a few hours ago, when the same man he's complaining about now had looked at him with hate, the exact opposite of the softness in your gaze.

"M'starting to think the guy's your boyfriend, the way you're batting for him."

She laughs, skating back as he follows her. "No. I don't have a boyfriend."

This is the first time a topic like this has come up. His heart twists happily. "Would you even date a hockey player?"

"Mm, I don't know. A lot of them are assholes."

She's not wrong. If Jock wasn't enough of an example, Levi definitely is.

"Something tells me you'd put them in their place."

Her hand is on the railing as she peers at him, coy features twisting into a smirk. "Flattery won't let you steal that puck."

Then she's speeding, like a bullet, straight for his net. Levi mimics her move from before, coming to stand in front of the net as she halts. Her eyes move down to his feet, than up to his eyes. Strangely enough, that order of observation is exactly how he teaches people to play.

Her fingers move, and she aims left. Before she can shoot, he's already moving to block her.

Victory shines on her face she she hits the puck to the right.

For a moment, Levi can't even wrap his mind around it. No one, no teammate or opponent or underling, has ever gotten past him like that.

"Jesus Christ," he finds himself muttering under his breath, "maybe you should be on the team."

Again she's grinning, spinning up to him to hook her fingers into the pockets of his suit jacket. "Trust me, you wouldn't want me."

One second, Levi's staring at her, mesmerized.

The next, his lips are on her's, as if to show her just how much he really does want her.

The tension in his stomach snaps, doing the only think he's wanted to do for months, aside from kicking Jock off the team. A flare of annoyance sets off an alarm in his head—he shouldn't be thinking of Jock at a time like this.

The kiss is brief, though, because she immediately pulls away, sliding back with a guilty expression.

Now that's not the look he'd want someone to have after he just kissed them.

"I...the game is in two days," he stupidly reiterates, "I was hoping you'd come watch."

Her tongue darts out to wet her lips nervously. "Levi, I—I can't. I'm sorry." Letting the stick drop, she skates back, putting more distance between them. The rink feels colder than usual. "I really like you, but I...I can't."

There's nothing more he can say as she steps out, hurried and clumsy. All he can do is watch from afar, cussing himself out in his head. The one person he'd felt at ease with all these months, and he had to go and screw things up.

Before she leaves, in a moment of hesitation, she turns back to face him. "Good luck with the game, Levi. Wish Eren and Jean and Jock all my best."

And then she's gone.

The rink and stadium are now completely empty, with only the empty seats and his own gear strewn around to mock him with how lonely they look.

But instead of focusing on that, Levi only has one question.

When had he told her Jock's name?

[im-a-marion3tt3]

...at this point i might as well just make a home for myself in your inbox, haha !! (please please please tell me if i'm in here too often !!) i notice that you're still wanting fic requests so i can't stop myself from popping in again :0

i have two suggestions, but goodness, please don't feel pressured to write both. and if neither of them interest you, that's completely fine too !! <3 (as a cw, both requests are related to your sh/ed fics)

the first is a request for (yet another O_O) continuation of the swiss/phantom storyline. you've left me wanting more again, haha !! so perhaps swiss' screaming match conversation with dew and rain about their negative influence on phantom ?

if that doesn't take your fancy, the line in sickeningly sweet "sure he told mountain a lot but never that much" has also got me wanting more of your writing and storytelling ! i'd be really interested to know what you think phantom has and hasn't told mountain in regards to his issues with eating (and maybe even dew as well, because mountain mentioning that dew told him a few extra details that phantom hadn't has got my brain running wild with possibilities !!)

this got very long, i'm so sorry :0 and i have so, so much more to say about all of your writing too !!? but i'll leave this ask as it is for the moment, since it's already quite long <3

Omg sorry I took so long writing this. I like drowning in work rn but I finally have the time to write again! I like your idea of Mountain and Dew so here you go! Thank you for the suggestion so much and I hope you like it! Sorry it's a little short.

Dew was laid on Mountain's chest, the two of them inside of the green house on a reclining patio chair. Gently, Mountain dragged his hair through Dewdrops long hair as he gently hummed. He had been working with both Phantom and Dewdrop on their eating, being the only ghoul to have enough patience and not tell the two to "just eat". So he found himself here, enjoying the warmth of the greenhouse.

"How's Tom?" Dewdrop asked softly after a few minutes of silence. After Mountain had taken him through the list of genuinely concerning side effects, Dewdrop had felt terrible for what he had done and turned to worrying for Phantom far more than himself.

"He's getting there but it's not great. He cried over having to eat breakfast. It took him half an hour to even try it but it's better than last week when he simply fell asleep rather than ate," Mountain said in a sad tone. It had broken his heart to see the poor kit distraught over essentially nothing; but he knew it was basically everything to Phantom.

"I'm so sorry," Dewdrop whispered, his heart shattering some. Mountain just rubbed his back and sighed, feeling sorry for both of them.

"It's all my fault, Mountain, I was the one who started this," he murmured biting back tears before continuing on in a meek voice, "I d-didnt realize he was going to do this so sometimes I'd point out the calories in things I wouldn't eat. I didn't even think he knew what a calorie was. And I said so much hurtful shit after that too. I thought he wanted me to be mean to him, I really did. I thought I was making him better by being worse." Tears streaked down his face by this point as Mountain held him close, just letting him get it all out.

"And, and, I made him hate his favorite food. Do you remember when Copia would get him cakes or cookies or just something sweet after every concert? And how happy he was to get them? He was so proud of himself... And I said he looked so much better not having eaten that shit. That it showed on his hips and that it was the reason he was starting to look like a little piglet. Why did I ever say that? This is all my fault!" At this point Dewdrop was sobbing, his body shaking as he cried. Mountain just held him tightly and let him cry. To think that both of them thought like that though, it made him want to cry too. They were both getting better though, and that was what mattered. What had been said couldn't be undone, so all that was left was to hopefully undue the damages.

[bruciemilf]

Alrighty so after reading a fic that Muhammad Ali'd my feels - I'm now thinking; 40s AU Young newspaper writer Clark Kent got a neat little drafting letter in the mail. Death and gunsmoke sits thick on his tongue.

He thinks about dodging it. He remembers he's tall an broad shouldered with youth and health roaring in his lungs. Others go with silver hairs and illnesses.

He remembers his Ma and Lois and people he writes about everyday.

He reconsiders.

He meets combat medic Thomas Wayne with blood in his eyes and burned soil in his mouth and the sound of shouts and bombs wailing around them. " Good day to die isn't it?!"

"...Better than Lasagna day!" He shouts back, and this might be the last words he ever says, and he simply can't have that, "You gotta run out of here!" He shouts, blood glazing over his lips.

Thomas is precise, thought, working thread and scissors and pumping Clark with enough Morphine to send him flying.

" My boy likes you hero types!"

" You got a son?"

" Oh, yeah! Gonna tell you so much about him you'll wish I left you here," and that's the last thing Clark recalls him shouting before a screen of pitch black punched him out of conciousness.

Death has a taste. It's bitter, and final, and peaceful, and Clark never wants seconds. But Thomas is a man of his word.

Sits by Clark's bedside, hands never clean, always stained red, with scraps of flesh or dirt caking under his fingernails, and talks so much about Bruce that Clark asks for anaesthesia.

He laughs, too, and it feels good. It feels nice to hear someone and not having to worry if it's the last, " You know he never wants to hear from me again? Cause I came here? I think he's just angry those puppy eyes don't work anymore."

" Someone has to."

" Tell him that when we get out of here; He can outstubborn a donkey but he makes really good pie. "

" My Ma could make one better. No way a rich boy makes good pie." Thomas smiles like he's just won something, close-mouthed and curving mischievously, and Clark just knows he and Ma would get along like water and fish.

Clark doesn't stop thinking about him. About Bruce Wayne, with round, pretty eyes that make Clark think of dark chocolate and sweet coffee. A shy little thing of a smile and beautiful In ways Clark's hands shouldn't touch.

And he does meet Bruce, because he makes it out of there. Scarred and hurt and hollow, but alive all the same, and Thomas sees a reason for celebration.

JUST. BRUCE AND CLARK BEING AMAZED AT ONE ANOTHER. Bruce outshining everyone at Thomas' little homecoming Gala in Clark's eyes, even retreated and puffy eyed and pouty, clinging to his father the whole time.

Let there be a sweet lightning strike when these two cross eyes. Let Bruce nervously introduce himself, a rosy, pink flush decorating his cheekbones, and let Clark feel his hand tingle with want when they separate.

" I'm, - I wouldn't have come. I don't like war."

" Neither do I," Clark smiles, rusty and strange on his face, " but I do like milkshakes and popcorn. Especially with good company." He offers up his arm to Bruce, which, he does try to backtrack-- maybe he's reading this wrong, maybe Bruce just feels pity, -- but there's a vine grip hooking around Clark's arm.

" You'll stand out this way."

" Good."

[deusexlachina]

Cheeseaged Exocolonist Age 16: Ascend to autistic godhood

Wherein I succeed at everything and try to befriend the worst child for the sake of perfection.

At this point you might be wondering why I went to so much trouble to purge out all the nonblue filth from my deck and to buy overpriced accessibility equipment. Now is the time for a showcase of the obscene power of stimming. (Why now? Because the last log was getting pretty long).

The skill checks in this game are all done via a kind of Poker game. The better your hand, the more points you get. High enough points, you succeed. Even more and you can get +1 to whatever skill that job trains. A good hand can be gotten in three ways: a flush (all the same colour), a pair (all the same number) or a straight (each card 1 greater than the last). We've eliminated our nonblue cards, so we always get a flush. The fidget spinner makes all blue cards wildcards - they can be worth whatever value would get the most points. So, if you have all blue wildcards, you can get a five-of-a-kind flush every hand.

This allows you to automatically succeed every single check, usually with flying colours (blue). There is no limit to the power of the fidget spinner. It trivializes every conceivable task, whether it's lugging around supplies:

Or helping in the kitchens:

With this power, I bravely explore the wilderness, doing countless feats of daring that are regrettably not interesting to write about. They give me a big blob of skills, though, most notably maxing out Perception, which allows me to just walk right past any event I don't like, which is most of them. This is almost as cracked as the fidget spinner: I can farm all the treasure in an area, go straight to the boss events, whatever I like. I am simply too autistic to be threatened.

Regrettably, a perfect run includes befriending Vace. This is one of the hardest challenges in the game, because Vace is an asshole. He sneers at you when you first meet. He bullies Rex. He cheats on Nem. And I'm sorry to say he only gets worse. But You Can Fix Him if you get his friendship high enough.

Unfortunately, even if you can stomach befriending Vace, it's monstrously difficult. Of the farmable gifts, the only ones he doesn't disapprove of are logs (which are badly needed for construction) and crystals (which are pretty rare). He also likes Strange Devices, ostensibly so that he can Know His Enemy. Oh, and cake. He loves cake. Even though he claims to hate it.

I repeatedly choose dialogue options that give me more Vace points, even though most of them are frankly nauseating. The devs set out to make the biggest asshole they could think of.

They succeeded.

[respectthepetty]

Can you help me or perhaps point me in the direction of someone who can help me?

In bed friends when the lights all cut out and Uea panics to reach for the light we have a focus in on a book on his night stand. By Julia Child ‘my life in France’

And I wanna know……. Could this have a meaning?! It’s a clear focus and I wanna know if I’m a) insane it’s just a book or b) delving into the deeper thoughts of Uea and his night reading 👀

Anon, I was being quiet about this because I don't know how to shut up, but...

Can't a book just be a book? (It's not). Does it have to mean something? (It does). Maybe it means nothing. (It means something). Maybe it was simply placed there for the aesthetic. (Copyright infringement, my people?). Not all books have to mean something. (But some do mean something). Nobody asked about these books on King's nightstand.

Was it because we didn't get a clear view of them? Why are these books less important than Julia Child's My Life in France. Is it because it was very obvious and near the focal point of the shot?

Much like these other books in other series that clearly meant something to the plot:

Nueng in Never Let Me Go and Wang in 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us reading Plato's Symposium about soulmates being separated

Books in Moonlight Chicken being used to show the characters' personalities

Jae Young sleeping on books about artificial intelligence to understand Sang Woo in Semantic Error while Sang Woo rests next to books about Doomsday because his world is exploding

Wan's books in Between Us showing he is a romantic at heart when Tul spends the night in his bed

Vegas reading a book that foreshadows his plot in KinnPorsche

1984 being used as an extended allegory in The Eclipse

Pete sitting in front of color-coded books subtly telling him to give Kao a second chance in Dark Blue Kiss

I'm not sure how copyright infringement works internationally, but here in the land of lawsuits, if a book is shown incidentally, it's fair use, which means if it just happens to make it into the shot, it's okay. If the shot can be proven to show intention (like, say, lingering on the book), permission has to be sought to use the book's cover. This isn't always the case, but production companies tend to do their due diligence in order to make sure no issues occur post-production. American artist Grimes most likely ran into this issue when she showed The Art of War in her video for "Violence" which caused the book to be blurred after the video's release.

So if the book is clearly seen, I lean on the side that it's intentional. My Life in France is Julia Child's autobiography covering as she became a chef and TV personality. The book is on King's side, but in Uea's house, so I'm unsure whose it really is, but the book gives insight into Child's marriage with her husband, Paul, her love for food and life, and her presence in male-dominated fields (she was in the CIA prior to becoming a chef).

Child always stood out, literally and figuratively. She was over six feet tall, and, as mentioned, she was in male-dominated fields. She got attention, sometimes negative, merely for existing. Uea stands out no matter where he goes.

Her marriage with Paul was one of equals. They moved around often for his job, but he always encouraged Child to pursue her own dreams and supported her. He built her kitchen, which is now on display at the Smithsonian, he diced and chopped her ingredients, he set the table and arranged food so it was more pleasing to the eyes (something she was never concerned about), and he always fought along side her. She noted several times in writing and interviews that without Paul, she wouldn't have had her amazing career. Uea knows a King like that.

Finally, Child comments throughout the book about how food and life should be enjoyed. Uea doesn't do this enough, but we see him on dates (not dates?) with King joking about getting half of the menu because King is paying and biting the birthday cake King gives, and we see Uea taking Child's advice - Life itself is the proper binge.

[overlordraax]

Please talk about "Meeting Cyclonus’ parents” — I really want to know how that'd go down!

Better than that! I might as well post what I got written!

This was all for a variation of the Galvadad au (a fantasy au one though that doesn't pop up here). But I had a bit of fun writing it. Do enjoy!

---

"So where are we going this time?" Roddy asked.

"To Vos," Galvatron said.

"Cool!" The city of fliers. Roddy had heard so much about that. He couldn't wait to see. Good thing he had packed his hoverboard.

"Where to first?"

"We shall be stopping on the mountains just outside the city, to visit Cyclonus's parents."

Roddy turned with huge optics towards the shuttle-jet.

"Whoa!" he whispered in awe. "You have parents?"

Cyclonus was so aloof and scary that Roddy had always imagined that Cyclonus had just kind of sprung fully formed from the ground or an egg or something. He couldn't imagine Cyclonus with a family.

Cyclonus simply nodded in response to Roddy's awe.

"My creators are two of the fiercest warriors to have ever graced the skies. They taught me everything I know about loyalty, devotion and fighting. In battle the two are ruthless and cunning."

"Wow." Now Roddy was imagining two even bigger Cyclonus's and even scarier. Then he gulped and wondered how scary they might actually be.

Galvatron gave a sharp laugh, before patting his hand on Roddy's shoulder.

"Do not worry, you shall meet them soon enough."

-

The door was opened and a little purple seeker stepped through. She was wearing a set of optical enhancers on her nasal ridge. Next to Cyclonus she was tiny. She looked up at him and then her optics widened, she turned back into the house and called.

"Dearie! Our Cyclonus is here!" She spun round back to Cyclonus and went to embrace him. Cyclonus got down on his knees and hugged her.

"Hello mummy," he said.

"Oh goodness, we haven't seen you in so long. You just keep getting taller."

"It's because I always eat my greens," Cyclonus smiled. He actually genuinely smiled!

"Well good. I always told you enough as a youngling."

Then another purple femme stepped out. This time a shuttle who was even taller than Cyclonus.

"Oh! It's my little boy!" She managed to engulf all three of them in a hug.

"Hello mama."

Roddy wasn't prepared for any of this. His mind was reeling at what he seeing. These two looked like the nicest femmes he'd ever seen. How could these two possibly be Cyclonus's parents?

Once he was released from the hug the little seeker looked over and noticed the other two waiting there.

"Oh! Galvatron, how lovely to see you again." She came over and gave Galvatron another big friendly hug.

"Always a pleasure to see you."

She next turned her attention to Roddy, and then her optics sparkled.

"And who's this?"

"Hi. I'm Hot Rod," Roddy smiled. Suddenly he found himself instantly wrapped in a big hug.

"Cyclonus! You brought us a grandson!" The seeker exclaimed. Roddy felt sure he could hear Cyclonus spluttering somewhere. "Oh look at you! Aren't you just so cute?"

Roddy was unhooked from the hug and found himself being examined and checked over. The little seeker scrutinising every bit of him.

"Oh, you're so small! And look at your wings!" she said as she looked over Roddy's spoiler.

Suddenly the shuttle was also securitising him and fussing over him.

"How can you fly on those wings? They're so small. I guess he must be a warframe-seeker mix. But I've never a warframe so small. The poor thing's clearly not being fed enough."

"Mama, if I can explain..." Cyclonus tried to say.

"What you need is a good hearty meal," the seeker said, "come on in and we can have some cake."

Roddy was going to protest that he was just the right size for a racer his age but then there was the mention of cake and he immediately shut his mouth.

"Come on inside, just this way," the seeker said as she led Roddy into the home.