#did you know. youre allowed to adjust your opinions and views

[readythefanons]

Happy dead dove day!

This year I have prepared: nothing. Okay bye have fun! Fiction is fiction dont forget to read the tags and use that back button as appropriate byeeeeeee

[wileys-russo]

taught a lesson II a.putellas x sister!reader

taught a lesson II a.putellas x sister!reader

"alexia!" you yelled loudly with a scowl, stomping out of your room to find your sister sprawled out on the lounge, her girlfriend laid in between her legs as both older girls gave you a curious look.

"why is there a lock on my window?" you moved to block their view of the tv and crossed your arms, glaring daggers at your older sister whose face remained blank.

"why don't you tell me why you would need a lock on your window hermana?" the blonde hit back raising an eyebrow as you scoffed. "because you think you're a prison warden!" you snapped, the warning glare sent your way doing nothing to deter your anger or where it was directed.

you'd moved in with alexia when after years of academy training and playing on the junior team you were finally offered a contract on barcelona's senior team.

you'd all been over the moon and you weren't sure if you could ever do anything to make alexia prouder than she had been once you'd picked up the phone and called her first.

quickly accepting the contract, the club had offered to set you up with your own apartment, car and a nutritionist to visit weekly to help you settle in and form a healthy routine around balancing this new adjustment to your life.

however both your older sisters and your mami declined this on your behalf, all sharing the opinion that at eighteen you weren't responsible enough to live by yourself even with assistance, and your protests fell on deaf ears as you were instead moved into your eldest sisters spare room.

to her credit she'd done everything she could to make it feel like it was as much your place as hers and olga's, allowing you full creative control over everything about your room and even offering to move about or change some things in common areas in an attempt to help you not feel like just a guest.

though not dissimilarly to both your older sisters you had a temper, especially at eighteen it hardly took much to have steam pouring from your ears and as much as it amused alexia to wind you up she knew where the line lay between teasing and taking things too far.

that did not however stop the two of you from being at one anothers throats more often than not. alexia had always and would forever be fiercely overprotective when it came to her younger sisters, and about as close to a helicopter sibling as one could be.

it was rare things got physical now alexia was thirty and knew better, never afraid to smack or shove you when she was younger and you'd be on her case about something refusing to leave her be until you got your way. now for the most part she left the wrestling and the rolling around to you and alba, rarely involving herself.

as much as she was also protective over alba, with nearly twelve years between the two of you it meant she'd adopted more of a maternal role. this only seemed to worsen once you moved in with her and she had much easier access to every little aspect of your life, trying to control as much of it as she possibly could in order to keep you safe, happy and healthy, at least in her eyes she was doing what she thought was best for you.

but this lack of autonomy, privacy and independence didn't fare well with you, and caused the two of you to clash heads frequently. olga more often than not acted as the mediator between your disputes, much more reasonable and in touch with her emotional intelligence than your sister was.

but when you'd stupidly left your laptop open on the kitchen bench having stepped out of the room to shower, alexia had snooped and found your iMessage threads with friends, head boiling as she read through weeks worth of successful executed plans to sneak out and get up to god knows what with them at all hours of the night.

so to prevent this from happening again she'd had the lock installed when you were out with your mami for lunch the next day, olga warning her against it and trying to remind her of when alexia herself was eighteen, prompting that you needed the room and space to make your own mistakes and learn from them.

warnings which of course, fell on deaf and very stubborn ears.

"stop sneaking out then and i would not have to put things in place to keep you in." alexia spoke coldly, olga squeezing her hand trying to catch her eye and encourage her to take a different approach which went ignored.

"how did you even know about-" you scoffed in disbelief, shaking your head firmly and storming back to your room. "i know everything pequeña, including what is best for you!" alexia yelled after you, having never been able to let you do anything without poking her nose in or getting involved.

"stay out of my life!" you yelled back, bedroom door slamming with such force that a picture in the hallway could be heard falling off its hook and to the floor with a thump.

a string of angry catalan leaving her mouth alexia gently moved her girlfriend off and stood, ignoring her warnings to leave you be to cool off as her footsteps raced toward your room.

olga sighed as your door could be heard being flung open and the two of you started to argue, voices raising higher each minute as both you and alexia refused to relent or budge an inch, not able to see at all where the other one was coming from.

"you looked through my personal fucking messages?" you yelled as alexia finally got angry enough to let it slip what had prompted the lock in the first place. "no! you were stupid enough to leave your laptop open." alexia defended herself as you scoffed.

"so you thought you'd read them instead of just...being a normal human being and going about your day. you're crazy alexia!" you hauled a pillow at her which she caught with ease only further fueling your rage.

"you are my responsibility pequeña. you live with me! i know what is best for you and i did what i needed to do to keep you safe. you are eighteen what if someone had taken advantage of you walking around in the middle of the night huh? mierda!" alexia spat throwing her hands up in the air.

"i wasn't walking around in the middle of the night puta i was picked up and driven to my best friends house. my best friend who i never get to see anymore because if barça's training schedule isn't enough you are always on my back about doing more." you paused to take a breath, feeling a little light headed for a moment.

"extra laps, extra weights, extra media study, extra shooting practice, extra drills, if you had your way i would never leave the pitch alexia. i need a life outside of football too, please!" your anger quickly melted away as honesty leaked through, your voice straining and eyes pleading for her to see it from your point of view.

"just because you don't have a life, doesn't mean you get to ruin mine." you spoke quietly, sitting down on the edge of your bed and rubbing your face tiredly with your hands, your sister missing all the signs that now would be a great time to wrap this up.

"football is your life, and if you don't see that then you don't belong at barça." your sisters words hurt more than you let on, face falling just for a moment before it hardened, olga now appearing realizing she should have stepped in sooner.

"get dressed, now. we have training!" alexia warned sternly, again ignoring the way her girlfriends eyes burned into the side of her head and she tugged on her shirt in warning.

"i'm not going." you spoke, eyes trained to the floor as alexia scoffed and stepped further into the room. "perdón?" she spoke, eyes drilling into you and cold tone warding you off of arguing, intimidation often her best tool of communication these days when she didn't know what else to do with you.

"mami is picking me up soon and taking me to the doctors, i have an appointment. jona already knows!" you rolled your eyes, still refusing to meet hers which bore down on you as you stood to your feet.

"why did you not tell me? what is the appointment for? i could have taken you." your sister rushed out, eyebrows furrowing as you snickered. "because my body is none of your business alexia, and you're my sister, not mami!" you grunted, pushing at her chest so she stumbled out of the room, the door quickly closing in her face.

scoffing at the gesture alexia's hand reached for the handle to push it open again, never allowing you the luxury of a lock bar the one now on your window, but fingers caught her wrist and tugged it away, olga staring up at her with a firm look and a raised eyebrow.

"sí, vale." alexia sighed, moving away from the door as her girlfriend followed after her to their own bedroom to continue the conversation.

~

"go, go go!" mapi chanted, raising from the lounge and clutching onto alexia who was sporting the same wide eyed stare as they watched the barcelona mens team play.

"bah! where was he offside huh? joder!" mapi threw her hands up with a roll of her eyes as the whistle blew and both girls dropped down into their seats with annoyed frowns.

alexia's head turned when she heard your key in the door, sure enough a few seconds later you were walking through, only alba was following you which caused her eyebrows to furrow.

"pequeña! we missed you at training." mapi greeted you with a cheer, opening her arms expectantly for a hug as you breezed right past and made a beeline for your bedroom. "what was that about?" the defender asked confused as alba joined the pair on the lounge.

"ask ale." the younger putellas chuckled with a shake of her head. "i thought mami was taking her to the doctor?" alexia ignored the previous remark and directed the question at her sister who shrugged.

"no? mami's been at work all day, i just picked her up and took her to get food." alba shrugged as alexia frowned. "from where? the doctor?" alexia sat up more as alba shook her head and her phone rang.

"no from the bus stop not too far from here. conned me into paying for her food of course, diablillo." alba rolled her eyes as mapi chuckled, the phone ringing again. "so mami didn't take her to the doctor then?" alexia clarified as alba gave her a look.

"no, why are you being so pushy?" the younger putellas questioned as alexia ignored her, the phone ringing again. "mierda! alba would you get that?" alexia snapped as it rang for the fourth time, her patience breaking.

"vale relax its not mine! its hers, took it cause she wouldn't stop taking ugly photos of me eating." alba scoffed, pushing her hips up and grabbing it out of her back pocket.

"that is hilarious." mapi chuckled as alba shoved her and clicked accept. "she's busy call back later!" your sister spoke the phone without looking, but her face clearly changed when whoever was on the other line spoke up.

"no lo siento i understand. i will have her call back soon as she can, gracias." alba spoke much more politely as the older girls beside her gave her a funny look. "amor." before alexia could question her on anything olga appeared, nodding for her to follow.

"two seconds cariño." alexia waved her off and turned back to alba as olga cleared her throat. "alexia, now." at the more serious tone the blonde was quick to her feet, ignoring her sister and best friends teasing jests after her.

"before we speak, you need to promise me you will stay calm amor." olga closed the bedroom door as alexia took a seat on the bed with a confused nod of agreement, stomach churning at the anxiety of what could be going on.

"you need to talk to your sister." olga sighed without giving much more context. "about this morning? cari i know she was upset but-" olga shook her head and cut her off.

"no, you need to talk to your sister." olga repeated as alexia's frown deepened. "i do not understand." the midfielder shook her head as olga stepped into their ensuite for a moment.

"what?" alexia questioned seeing her girlfriend had something hidden behind her back. the younger woman hesitated for a moment before slowly moving her hand, holding up something which made alexia's eyes widen.

"calm alexia, you promised me calm." olga warned as the blonde snatched it out of her hand, staring at the positive pregnancy test in disbelief. "why would i be upset? amor i did not even know you were speaking to doctors or-" as her girlfriends large hand settled on her stomach olga's eyes rolled.

"its not mine! idiota." olga smacked her on the head with a huff as alexia frowned. "then who would it-" suddenly everything clicked into place and the spanish captains blood ran cold.

"i found it in the bathroom."

"ale." olga warned seeing the instant switch in her facial features. "amor think about this and how to-" but her words fell on deaf ears as the bedroom door opened and alexia stalked back to the living room.

"maría, vaya." alexia ordered nodding to the door as the defender looked confused. "ale the game still has-" she gestured to the tv but was promptly shut down with a stern glare.

"vale, vale! i know where i am not wanted." mapi held her hands up in surrender and stood, grabbing her keys and quickly leaving the apartment to head to her own.

"we need to talk." both alba and alexia spoke in sync, frowning at one another. "you first." again they spoke at the same time rolling their eyes now, though as alexia held up the pregnancy test alba's jaw dropped.

"felicidades hermana!" the girl leapt up and tried to hug her sister who pushed her off. "it is not mine, and not olga's." at those words alba's eyes widened even further in shock.

"the call on her phone. it was a nurse with her test results, wouldn't say anything else but that she has to call back as soon as possible." alba explained, the two having a conversation entirely with their eyes before nodding and turning to head to your room.

"mi amor, go easy. if you push and yell she will just close off!" olga warned, hovering by the bedroom door respecting this was more a family matter as alba sent her a small smile, though she winced as alexia basically kicked your door open.

"hey! what i have to knock when i enter your room but you can't do that for mine?" you glared up at your sisters from your bed, spotting your phone in alba's hand. "oh i was looking for that." you sat up and held your hand out expectantly.

"alba!" you huffed when your sister didn't hand it to you, shifting a little uncomfortably as they both glared you down wordlessly. "what?" you questioned with a frown.

"what test did you have today?" alexia spoke first, voice seemingly calm as you rolled your eyes. "i told you, my body is none of your business." you repeated from earlier.

"well i know mami didn't take you, so you tell us or you can tell her." alexia threatened as you paused, looking them both over and finding no weakness you could pick at or exploit.

"i am eighteen i am an adult, i don't have to tell you or mami anything." you held firm as alba scoffed, tossing your phone onto the bed beside you. "and is that what you think you are, sí? an adult?" alexia taunted as you glared up at her.

"good, good. because you will need to be to look after a baby!" alexia yelled suddenly causing you to flinch, pulling the positive pregnancy test out of her pocket and holding it up.

"thats not mine." you spoke quickly, trying to keep your face as still and as calm as possible. "oh no? well pequeña it is not mine, not olga's, is it alba's?" alexia's voice dripped with sarcasm making your eyes roll.

"you have friends over all the time." you scoffed, crossing your arms and shrugging. "sí, friends who do not sleep with men! idiota." alexia threw the pregnancy test as you as you ducked and it went sailing behind your bed.

"the doctor called, said they have your test results hermanita. time to stop lying!" alba warned sternly, moving to stand beside your eldest sister as both of them stared you down.

"okay, it is mine." you spoke with a shrug. "we said stop lying! we-" alexia started to lecture but stopped as alba tapped her shoulder and she registered your words.

"it is yours?" "sí."

"dios mío, we're going to be tia's! we can't be tia's first, you're supposed to have a baby first." alba moaned in shock, smacking alexia and siting down at your desk in shock.

"you are too young to be having sex joder! who is the father? you're a baby you can't have a baby!" alexia roared, vein in her forehead near to exploding as alba grabbed the back of her shirt stopping her from lunging at you like she wanted.

"alba, call mami. olga!" at her call the brunette appeared in the doorway, alexia asking her to go to the chemist and get a few more tests. but all three of them stopped their fussing and planning at the sound of your laughter.

"you think this is funny?" alexia's eye twitched as she took a step closer and you nodded, ignoring both alba and olga frantically gesturing for you to stop behind her, both girls recognising the eldest putellas was about one second from exploding.

"sí, very funny." you grinned tauntingly, alexia's mouth opening and closing like a fish as the tips of her ears turned red and you laughed again.

"i'm not pregnant, idiotas" you smiled, leaning back on your hands as all three girls frowned. "but you said-" alba gestured to the test on the floor and your stomach. "it is my test, but i'm not pregnant." you replied with a shrug.

"pequeña. you have five seconds to explain before i rip your arms from your body." alexia growled, fists clenched by her side as you chuckled. "i bought it online, its a fake test that always show positive." you explained as alba's jaw dropped.

"i bought it to scare you. so now i hope you learned your lesson about snooping around in my life, alexia." you spat with a roll of your eyes, alba quick to grab her sisters wrist as she stepped toward you again.

"what about the test? the doctor called." alba pushed with a frown. "mami found a weird spot on my back last week, made me an appointment to go get it tested to make it sure wasn't cancer or anything bad. call her! she will tell you." you replied honestly, pulling down the collar of your shirt and twisting to show the marks.

"you are not pregnant?" you fixed your shirt and shook your head with an infuriatingly smug smile that had your sisters seething. "prove it."

with a shrug you bent down and grabbed a pregnancy test from your side table, assuming this would have been the outcome. "muévete por favor." you shooed your sisters out of the way as olga stepped aside and you went to the bathroom.

olga again recognizing this for now was a family matter stepped out of the room as your sisters took a seat on the edge of the bed, both were silent still trying to process everything.

"see? negative." you returned around five minutes later, handing the test to alba as both her and alexia studied it with a frown. "i peed on that you know." you reminded as your sisters face scrunched in disgust and she promptly dropped it on alexia's lap.

"alba!" the older of the two smacked it away, both starting to bicker as they wiped their hands on one another making you chuckle, the noise alerting them back to the issue at hand.

"i hope this taught you both a valuable lesson about snooping." you rolled your eyes, hands on hips and staring them down in a stance scarily similar to eli's.

"you are not pregnant?" "no." "promise? on papi?" "yes, not pregnant."

"good, dios mio." alba exhaled shakily, catching alexia's eye as they seemed to again wordlessly have a conversation, your suspicions peaking as they stood and fixed their eyes back on you.

"you go left, i'll go right, she can't outrun us both. vamos!" your eyes widened and you nearly fell to the floor in your haste to get away, both your sisters launching at you.

"olga!"

[two-white-butterflies]

drug | toto wolff

Description: He meets his girlfriend's parents, and they don't like him. (age gap.)

Pairing: toto wolff/horner!reader

He was your forbidden fruit, a thing that you weren't allowed to have but was delighted to get. He was everything that you needed - all of your dreams pressurized to form a single man - too bad, he took the form of your father's hated enemy.

"Are you nervous?" you ask while adjusting his tie. "Yes," he responded truthfully while pressing a soft kiss on your forehead. "Did you warn them about me?" he inquired with his thick Austrian accent. Your eyebrows merged into each other.

"I gave them a brief description about you." you brushed against the topic, afraid that he'd be mad at you too. "Old Austrian Businessman, who has a knack for dating his enemy's daughter." he gave a brief description of himself - pressing another kiss on your forehead. "You're not old." you pout. He was perfectly aged.

"Are you ready to meet them? We can reschedule," you give him one last change in changing his mind. "No, I'm ready perle." he hummed, taking your hand and pulling you away from the porch.

You raise your eyebrows at the sight of his car. "Not using the Mercedes?" you teased, seeing him open the door for you. "Might be too much on the noose, yeah?" he smiled, helping you inside.

To your surprise, your father was already standing in the driveway.

"Shit," Toto chuckles, his hand was on your thigh - other hand on the steering-wheel. "Ready to meet the wolves?" you take a deep breath, seeing that Christian was already walking towards the car. "It's a good thing that we had a shot of vodka for luck," he mumbled - seeing his sworn enemy open the door for you.

"(Your Name)," your father greeted with hidden warmth, he barely acknowledged your presence - his eyes were already pierced on the man in the driver's seat. "Dad," you exchange a glance with Toto.

"What is he doing here?" your father placed a hand on your shoulder. "I was going to tell you sooner," you began to explain - seeing your mother in your periphery. "Nice to meet you, Christian." Toto smiled - deciding to put the f1 business behind them.

"Aren't you going to invite us inside?" your eyes narrowed, forcing the door wide open and taking a step out of the car.

For middle aged men - they both acted like kids.

"So uh, Toto. How's Mercedes?" your mother attempted to create small talk, but Christian was evidently upset. "Amazing, we've done a few changes in the car." he smiled, glancing at your face and searching for signs of sadness. "How about Redbull?" he stared at your father - waiting for a reply.

"That's classified," he says in a polite tone, returning back to his penne pasta. Your mind began to flash back to the times where your father would complain about Toto, in your opinion - it was childish rivalry - and they would do better as friends.

Your mother gives him a 'look' while taking a sip of her juice.

"How did you meet each other?" your mother interrogated, searching for cracks in the relationship - fortunately there weren't any. "Do you remember the dinner that dad forced me to attend? The one with Lewis and Max," you reminded - smiling at your father as he attempts to mask his disappointment. You expected him to send Toto home - you were thankful for your father's self-control.

"Oh, the one I had to drag you to attend." Christian chuckled, remembering all of the excuses that you came up with. "I met him there," you placed your hand on top of Toto's.

"Ah," he replied - keeping his eyes on the food.

The dinner was short - it only lasted for an hour. Toto and Christian were trying their best to eat as fast as they can. Your father didn't even let anyone have ice cream. He was adamant in sending Toto home. "Bye," you wave at the window - seeing his car fade from view.

"We need to talk," your parents welcome you on the couch. A sigh escapes your mouth - already anticipating the outcome of this conversation. "I know that you like dating older boys," your father began - attempting to sound like a cool dad.

"- but I don't think that Toto's a good choice." he raised his arms in mock surrender. "I'm an adult, I don't need your unsolicited advise." you start in a calm tone - your voice was always gentle. "Do you remember the last time you brought an older guy home? What did he do? Ride off you career, and treat you like...shit." your mother hesitated with the cursing but your father agreed.

"That was different, I was a teenager." you groan - annoyed that they were using their faults against you. I mean, everyone could see that he was bad news - parents shouldn't be letting their seventeen year old daughter date a twenty two year old. "I'm grown now, and I know that Toto's a good guy." you defended your boyfriend.

"And if you're going to throw hate against him, I can't sit here and take that." you grab your coat that was conveniently placed beside you. "I-I want you to think about this." your father referred to you by your family nickname. "I will," you respond while walking out.

vanillay/n_horner: i will always choose you.

0 comments 12,391 likes

part two

[kritischetheologie]

Advice for a 26 year old? Apart from the normal.

oh jeez. oh gosh. I just turned 30 and my god if I could undo 90% of the decisions I made between 24 and 29... anyway here's some advice that I do think is generally applicable and isn't just me talking to my younger self. and also a little bit of me talking to my younger self.

At some point between 22 and 30, you will find that hangovers are instantly 3x worse than before. The only silver lining on this fact is that having to cut yourself off earlier in the night is cheaper. But mostly this is one of those aging things you just need to accept.

2. You need to find a form of physical activity that works with the body and the lifestyle you currently have. I don't care if you played [insert sport here] in college. If you're only able to play it once a week, you will injure yourself trying to perform at the same level you did previously. The people I know who have the worst relationships with their bodies are the ones who get stuck in the cycle of pushing themselves too hard, getting injured, having to take time off, lather rinse repeat. Find ways to move your body that make you feel like you inhabit it fully, that make you proud of what you can do now, that get your mind engaged, that expose you to the goofy experience of being bad at something new... let go of whatever came before and live in the now.

3. If your reproductive system came with ovaries, a uterus, etc: for the next decade of your life, everyone is going to have opinions on what you do with it, and these opinions are going to be self-contradictory. knowledge is power. learn about your hormonal cycle, so you can know what's going on in the body you inhabit. I highly recommend tracking your cycles-- there's a million apps that will do it, pick the one whose UI makes you want to throw up the least. This is important no matter what you want to do with your reproductive system. Learning to recognize the signs of where you are in your cycle, the effect of different hormones on your mood, etc. can help you predict and adjust for the way you fluctuate throughout the month. Tracking your cycles can also help you catch hormonal irregularities, issues like PCOS, etc. Find an ob-gyn you can be honest with about what you want to do with your body. get pap smears--I'm constantly amazed how many of my friends get regular STI testing but always forget about pap smears (cervical cancer is no joke).

4. second of all (this is a subset of #3, but tumblr doesn't let me do sub points): when it comes to the question of whether and how to reproduce, you have to decide what is important to you and be willing to defend it. maybe you know you want like six kids, you know you never want kids. maybe you're queer, and you aren't going to be doing it the old-fashioned way, and you know you really want to gestate a child, or really don't. maybe you feel strongly about passing on your genes, or about not. I would encourage you to think seriously and capaciously about reproductive options. by this I mean: don't just sit around waiting to someday wake up knowing. treat the question as an invitation to explore. think about all the ways that people build families. meet people who have fostered, who have adopted, who have had children alone by choice (or not by choice). look at the people around you, and the trade-offs they have made, and decide which lives look the best to you. pay attention to the people whose lives make you go "shit, I didn't realize you were allowed to do that," or "how do they get away with that?" or even, "who do they think they are, doing that?" I think we have an overly negative view of envy as an emotion. it can point you towards what you really want. and if there's things you want to accomplish before you reproduce, career-wise, or in terms of personal growth, or just a whole bucket list of shit you want to do, get started checking things off that list, and also don't be afraid to add more.

5. this one was also originally part of 3 but it also gets its own block because tumblr keeps trying to cut me off and it's super important anyway: you have so much more time to do everything than our culture wants you to think. you have time to change your mind about what you want, even. but you don't have time to drift on the cloud of vague ideas you internalized from your parents and the walt disney corporation. that's not me saying not to get straight married and do it the old-fashioned way, or not to become a doctor because your family wanted you to, or whatever. that's me saying that even if you're going to do that, you get to--you have to--decide what that relationship, or that career, looks like. you get as much say in building that life as anyone else. in both your personal and your professional life, you have time to pivot, to start over, but if the prospect of being 29 when you finish a three year pivot horrifies you, you need to realize that starting it at 32 will be even worse. that post about how "it takes three years" "the time's gonna pass anyway" is so fucking true. I'm still learning this one.

6. Making friends as an adult is as hard as everybody says it is. You have to be the one who does the ask. You will feel like the one doing the ask more often. Do it anyway. A corollary: if you were ever very, very close with someone, and you've drifted apart due to time and space, there is no amount of time and space that will make them not glad to hear from you if you reach out. don't think that if you haven't spoken to someone in a year you're not allowed to again. you don't even need an excuse. you can literally just hit them up like "hey, i'm sorry it's been so long since we've talked. i'd love to catch up-- i miss you! let me know when you're free for a phone call." and it will work. everyone is as lonely as you. people are so grateful to be asked. but also, everyone isn't going to be your best friend. if you can go to an event, or join a thing, or work in a place, and come out with one true friend, and keep adding one true friend everywhere you go, you'll have a whole bunch by the time you hit 30.

7. there is no correct amount of maturity for your late 20s. some of your friends are going to hit what feels like their 30s early-- doing all the conventional bourgeois success markers, the marriages and the houses and the babies. some of your friends are going to keep partying like they're still in college. I wish this was the part where I told you there was a secret third thing (the secret third thing is doing both, at the same time, and it's maybe the worst of all). for the next five years of your life, I need you to just stop thinking about your "developmental milestones." facebook and instagram and your parents' friends are going to make this hard for you. remind yourself that you're not a toddler. there's nothing you're supposed to be able to do at this age. there's nowhere you're supposed to be at this age. this realization can be really hard to handle, especially for people who got validated earlier in life for doing things early. it's impossible to read above grade level once you're out of high school. that freedom is hard. i'm not being condescending, it's genuinely fucking hard.

8. the conclusion of #7 is a subset of this: the great tradeoff of adulthood is that you get agency, but you have to take responsibility. if you find yourself in a situation where it feels like you have responsibility but no agency-- where you're constantly being blamed, but never get to call the shots, for example-- get the fuck out. whether that's a relationship, a job, whatever it is. if you find yourself exercising agency but not taking responsibility, sit with yourself and learn how to own your choices. you can't only have one.

9. if you aren't sure what you're doing with your career, you could do a hell of a lot worse than just trying to be whoever it is you wanted to be when you were 10. or at least, asking yourself what it was you liked about that thing, and figuring out a way to do it. if you aren't sure what to do with your career, get a job that pays your bills, and find fulfillment in the things you do in your free time, instead, for a while.

10. the thing I regret most about my late 20s is how much of it I spent in the waiting room of my own life. assuming that I would be leaving a place I lived, so not investing myself in making friends there. assuming that eventually, things would either get better, or worse, in a relationship, so I would be able to tell whether it was working or not. you have to sit down every fucking day (ok, not literally every day, but like... many of them)... and think about the life you want to have someday, and then you have to do one concrete thing to make that real in the moment. every day. and if you have some vision of where you want to end up eventually, but you're miserable every single day of the path toward that thing, I need you to consider seriously that achieving that goal will not make it worthwhile. I'm not saying to blow everything off and sit on the beach every day, but fuck, man. I spent, like, 26 to 29 hanging on white knuckled to a life that I thought was setting me up to be where I wanted to be when I was literally, like, 60, and eventually I just said you know what? I've got 30 fucking years to get somewhere good at 60, and I'm miserable right now. don't hold your present self hostage to the future.

11. get a cool fucking jacket and make it your entire personality. or a big pair of boots. or a haircut, or a tattoo. you might feel like a poser, at first, but you have to do it anyway. actually, that's a general rule: trying to be the person you want to be will always feel like being a poser at first. do it anyway. that's how it becomes real.

12. it's genuinely offensive how often the solution to what feels like the world ending is drinking a half-liter of water and having a snack.

[mangywayway]

“You should wear glasses more often, you know?”

Steve raised an eyebrow, without lifting his head from the book he was reading. He knew if he did that he would be too distracted to continue reading.

"Why on earth would I do that? I don't need them that much and it makes me uncomfortable to wear them" Steve muttered to the boy blissfully lying on his lap. "Because," said Billy, reaching out to better adjust the glasses on the other's nose, attracting his attention, "they look good on you and they suit your face very well. And then" and here Billy smiled broadly "they make you look like one of those sexy professors" concluded the harpy, accompanying it all with a suggestive movement of his eyebrows.

Steve, caught off guard, couldn't resist and burst out laughing when he looked at his boyfriend's face. Steve closed his book once and for all, as he had already given up for a while and given up on reading; he was convinced that he had gotten used to Billy's outings and yet he always managed to surprise him with something new. He wiped the tears from his eyes while Billy continued to look at him all pleased. It looked like the emblem of a big, chubby cat, which was saying something considering which of the two had feline origins.

There was a silence between them, broken only by the soft purring that rose from the young gattu's chest.

Steve's hands were tangled in Billy's hair and he let himself sprawl even more on his boyfriend's legs, so relaxed that he allowed himself to leave one of his wings free so he could stretch it a little.

Billy had let himself go so much that he didn't notice how Steve, after observing his face for a while, decided to remove his glasses and then place them delicately on the harpy's face. Feeling the added weight, Billy opened his eyes, blinking quickly to adjust to the change in view before him. He turned to Steve questioningly, his face slightly distorted by the lenses, but clearly curious as to why Steve's glasses were on his face. The latter shrugged his shoulders, replying "I don't know, I think they suit your face better. Although I don't think the role of teacher is for you"

"Oh, really?" Billy sneered. "In my opinion I could be a great teacher, what do you know," he said, moving his wing animatedly, as if he were illustrating something to an imaginary audience.

Steve rolled his eyes "Yes of course, as if I didn't know you enough. And then we both know that if you were a teacher you would have classrooms full of people who would spend more time looking at you than at the blackboard" the latter grumbled.

Billy was surprised for a moment, a little twinkle in his eye.

"Don't tell me you'd be jealous Stevie"

A light blush appeared on the young cat's face, and he didn't bother to respond, except for a muttered under his breath, you're an idiot, Billy Hargrove.

To his mortification, the harpy had heard it (because of course he had), so much so that he exclaimed "Ah! I may be an idiot, but remember that I am your idiot Steve Harrington, and you can't say anything against it".

Steve looked up at the ceiling, a big smile present on his face.

He would never admit it out loud, but what Billy had said was true and he would never change it for the world.

Okay, gouache defeated me (this time). I started this illustration with gouache, ruined it, and then draw it again and colored it digitally. I will keep practicing with gouache but with smaller subjects, because in this case I really went overboard lol. Also yeah, there it was a book in the original sketch (I'll leave it below) but I didn't like it at the end so I removed it. The illustration was based on this small thing I wrote; as always I tried to pay attention and translated it the best I could (even if there is something I'm still not sure about but eh) but yeah, if you see errors or change of verbs and stuff, just ignore them 🗿 (adding that I'm a big reader, but absolutely not a writer. Still, having them in these comfy settings is like free therapy to me so I'll probably try and do more stuff like this)

Pencil versione below ✨

[cripplecharacters]

Hi, i’ve seen some disabled people say that you shouldnt be writing disabled POV characters if you are able bodied, as that would be speaking over the disabled experience. What are your thoughts on this? Im hearing some mixed opinions, I did have a POV character who is disabled (they are the protagonist) and Im not sure if i should scrap it

Hello lovely asker!

You can 100% write a disabled character and write the story from their POV. I believe a lot of the general descrepancies come from the the How in writing more so than the do or do not. Mentioning their disability, pain, symptoms, complications/adjusting from medical aids is good and shows the character and their disability. To steer away from the idea of disabled characters being written as a complete one view stance throughout the whole story is definitely what the goal is though. To bring more nuance and allow people to be seen as us with care rather than the perceived notion of "This person is disabled that must mean they're miserable" etc.

This isn't to say that a lot of disabled people don't in fact go through varying periods of time where we are unwell/generally feeling terrible from either various symptoms from our disabilities or treatment of others because of our disabilities. But I know a lot of us deal with this in real life and we constantly see this in media depictions that it's really nice when there are other depictions of disabled characters simply being and living. We are happy, we do go outside, and exist, and we have friends, and fall in love and are loved. We're not just the villains in media, angry—sad all the time, or that person who is treated as less than the rest of the cast.

Of course as you said, we all see things in a different way. If you're writing a disabled character I personally don't believe you should feel you have to scrap it and instead just make sure you're giving the character the same attention as you would your other characters.

I don't believe that we are only confined to write what we know from a first hand experience, but rather to venture out and to write more of what we don't know. It's the reason why it's good to back up and look at harmful cliches/tropes/things that are often gotten wrong and to look at what we write and think how we can improve and get better as writers. If we only wrote what we knew there would be so much less representation and complex and interesting characters in media as a whole.

~ Mod Virus 🌸

[rilakeila]

easy enough, or where you and him sign the contract for your fake relationship,

words 601 fandom harry potter pairing slytherin boy(mattheo, enzo, theo, draco, blaise, etc.) x gn(?)reader warnings none,

summary sorting out your contract to make sure boundaries are covered in your fake relationship 

QUESTIONING whether this plan that you were getting yourself into was going to be a good idea. the fact that you were even contemplating makes it obvious that this was not the brightest thing you were going to be doing. you eyed the piece of parchment that was floating in the air, different rules and corresponding clauses to ensure that nothing will be broken, even in certain conditions. you adjusted the paper to his view, allowing him to review the information.

“we could have just done a magical oath, makes all of this much more exciting,” he said.

“i’m not using my life as a collateral,” you huffed, crossing your arms, “anyways, just start reading each clause to make sure we agree about each thing.”

“again? no one is going to believe this, we have to take some of these things out. you know, this one, we shall not-“

“JUST READ!”

“fine, fine. the first clause, under no circumstances, we cannot tell anyone the reasons we may be fake-dating including the fact we are not actually dating. subsection one says we are allowed to tell one, if we cannot handle keeping it a secret. the only reasonable clause, in my opinion,” he said, mirroring your crossed arms. 

it was entirely already embarrassing that you were both caught into the cliché of being alone in a storage closet, especially in snape’s potions closet. though, the idea of fake dating was not sprouted from being caught, but you both were caught in sticky situations. the fellow slytherin was in hot waters for his continuous misdemeanors around the school and educationally slacking off, but being part of the slytherin quidditch team was indeed important to him. you were unsure of the severity his punishment may be, but after the closet mishap, it was almost the tip of the iceberg for his record. on the other hand, you were trying to escape the never-ending complaints of your parents that you needed to find someone better than the last person you have dated. it was status thing, and it was rather unfortunate to end it. they hoped that you would bring back someone for winter break, someone of a better status.

“the second clause, minimal to little no affection. if we do, it has to be because someone is watching. subsection one is no kissing, only because (y/n) does not want to give up her virgin lips. wait, did you put that in there?” you waved your wand, quickly getting the pen to scribble out that clause.

“no, butdon’t scribble it out. the third clause, all dates must have some sort of benefit to the relationship, at least two study sessions required each week and one meeting about a summary of the week. do we really have to do that?” he questioned, a minimal whine hinted in his tone.

“yes, helps with communication and even without this fake-dating thing, i am actually obligated for making sure that you’re not slacking off. plus, subsection one requires you to walk me everywhere while carrying my stuff,” you answered to be responded with a huff. for someone so stoic all the time in everyone else, he certainly complained a lot. 

“not like this school isn’t massive enough. and the last clause, no falling for each other, but we must be as true to ourselves and respectful to the other. that is an easy one,” he said, waving his wand to ready his quill. giving one last look to one another, no other disagreements, you both signed the bottom of the contracts, sealing the deal.

“it’s just until the start of the new term,” you said, rolling the second piece of parchment. one for him, and one for you.

“this should be easy.”

[tgrailwar-zero]

... erm.

... Lord Sigurd? Not to ask the obvious question but...

... you keep talking about having sealed us, and stuff we did before... there's a good bit of folks with opinions about us based on who we used to be... but we have, at best, patchwork memories of... well, anything. The sharpest memories I have were jostled loose when Setanta jumped us, and that was just about Cu Chulainn.

Could I ask you to catch us up on... who we were? What we were, exactly? What we did, and all that?

SIGURD: "Right... I wish I could provide you answers, but your exact nature is difficult to parse. I know that you are related to the Void Cell, and are made up of many souls, but your past is your own... or perhaps not even that. I'm sorry."

SIGURD: "However, I can at least provide context from the point of view of the Solar Cell. It's a long story, but I will happily regale you if you'd like to listen."

He adjusted his glasses, before speaking.

"The Moon Cell was a natural phenomenon. Rich with data, collected over thousands and thousands of years."

"And as such, it was a treasure trove for magi. However, it also fell under the gaze of less caring eyes."

"The Void Cell. An entity made to steal, consume, and destroy data. It landed in the midst of one of the Moon Cell's 'Holy Grail Wars', and began to harvest relentlessly."

"And as such came the first 'Invader'-class Servant. The Anti-Cell. A 'Foreigner' made for naught but the destruction of human history. Catastrophe made flesh, it did nothing but destroy and rend apart the Masters of the Moon as they tried to defend the Moon Cell- to save the data that had been collected over millennia. It corrupted heroes, made an army of its own. Masters fell, Servants fell, and the surface of the Moon turned into a battleground. When things reached their limit, one of the Servants stepped forward."

"Using a power that she had forbid herself from accessing before, she became a Heavenly Divinity- a being of Creation- and therefore possessed the capabilities to build a safe-haven for humanity's data. She knew she could not fight the Anti-Cell as she was, and so sought to 'defend' rather than 'fight."

"And thus, the Solar Cell was created. A last bastion for human history. A final stand for mankind. However, with fear in her heart, the Heavenly Divinity did not immediately wage war with the Invader. Rather, she wished to gather power, and to rid herself of her own doubts and hesitations. And as such, she locked herself within the core, gathering her strength- and summoned Servants to serve as the vanguard. And, due to possessing the data of humanity, a digital humanity began to flourish on the Solar Cell itself- cultivated by the resting soul of the Heavenly Divinity."

"Nine of us were summoned to defend the Solar Cell. To care for the Solar Cell, and the new world that was being developed. We were assigned titles, rather than Class-names, to help conceal our True Names while simultaneously giving us a role as 'Warriors of the Sun', rather than just 'Servants'."

"The Beastmaster. A complicated spirit that taught the people of the Solar Cell to govern and fight for themselves. Who mocked our circumstances, yet happily provided aid."

"The Healer. A spirit who spent their time protecting those who couldn't protect themselves, and tending to the wounded- no matter who, or what they were."

"The Priestess. A wise woman who did all she could to ward off danger and incoming threats, while blessing the people with the light of the sun."

"The Slayer. A powerful soul that stood on the precipice of the Sun and the Moon, ready to wage war against the incoming darkness."

"The Keeper. A proud warrior who made sure that the history of both the Moon and the Sun remained in the grasp of the people, and who used his immense knowledge to ensure our future."

"The General. A soft-spoken hero, who's taciturn nature allowed him to provide comfort to those under his protection, and put fear into the hearts of his enemies."

"The Pharaoh. An unshakable spirit that enraptured the hearts of those residing in the Solar Cell, and who laughed in the face of the Void Cell's threat."

"The Protector. A stalwart, shining heart that served as a beacon of constant hope throughout the Solar Cell, whenever they took the battlefield."

"And myself. The 'Freyr'. Using both wisdom and might, I did my best to guide my allies… though I didn't do well enough. Many of them are gone. Replaced, thankfully, by similarly legendary souls. But I often wonder if I could have done more..."

"Regardless, back then, we did what we could to defend and nurture the Solar Cell. We shored our defenses, built settlements, prepared for battle, watched over the budding digital life, and waited for the Invaders to attack."

"And, rather than enemies, we encountered the Interlopers- your 'past selves'- and their Servants."

"We originally thought that they were travelers- survivors from the Moon Cell that had made it to the Solar Cell. Perhaps Servants that had been summoned by the Moon, and had been in search for allies. They asked questions, shared stories regarding the state of the Moon... for a short while, they were welcome."

"Unfortunately for us, it was a 'Trojan Horse'. Presumably an entity crafted by those loyal to the Anti-Cell to slip past our defenses, and tear us apart from the inside. It was our fault. We were all incredibly powerful Servants- each of us almost certain to win a Grail War if summoned… and that made us arrogant. We had expected an all-our war from the start, and instead we were stabbed in the back, and our home lit ablaze as we tried to recover."

"We were betrayed, and war spread across the Solar Cell. We were powerful, but the Servants of the Interlopers fought with an undying rage, an unending hunger, that we couldn't keep up with. When they couldn't defeat us in direct battle, then they'd force us into positions where our people would be at risk, or use the power of the Void Cell to overwhelm us. In our darkest hour, the Priestess proposed an idea. If we could not stop the Interlopers, then we could hold them back for long enough for the Heavenly Divinity to manifest."

"And so, we pooled all of our wit, skill, magic, and strength into developing a seal. Every bit of magic we had, we put into it, placing a conditional curse. For the conflict that they had waged against the Solar Cell, and for as long as the flames of rage burned within them, they would be made to fight among themselves."

"…Afterwards, we focused on rebuilding. And to speed up the Heavenly Divinity's growth, we began siphoning energy from the Moon Cell to wage our own Grail Wars, using the mana of the defeated Servants to fuel the Solar Cell."

SIGURD: "Then, eventually, after a few cycles of gathering energy- you broke free."

[aphrodisiac-siren]

Ettore X Fem!Reader

Summary: A deadly virus has begun spreading, a disease attacks the brain and causes victims to lose their humanity, rendering them violent and insane creatures. You were chosen, along with a bunch of others, to help find a cure for the same. Along your journey at the organisation, you meet a certain someone who is as daunting as he is captivating.

Warnings: swearing, masturbation [minors DNI]

Masterlist

Part 2

In the dead of night, Ettore found his thoughts wandering to you and your sweet nature. It was an unusual thing for him to experience in this hostile place, tenderness. It was as small as you just gently cupping his cheek but boy did that one simple gesture have such a major hold over him. He stared at the ceiling of his empty room, picturing you smiling at him.

Perhaps you didn’t know of his past, or maybe you did and didn’t care. Either way, the memory of him being treated as a person instead of an experiment after months of mentally draining encounters with the scientists and elites, had him unable to find sleep but this time it was for a good reason.

The next morning during breakfast your eyes immediately began to search for Ettore on the other side of the glass in the cafeteria. He was already seated at a table, by himself, looking as gloomy as one could possibly look. He appeared drained, void of any emotion as he picked at his food with a fork.

You continued to stare at him shamelessly as you walked toward the tables, in search of a seat. Right before you could reach the chair you had set your sights on, his icy blue eyes looked up from his tray to meet yours and he immediately offered you a timid smile. You smiled back warmly, daring to raise your hand upward to wave at him before you quickly lowered your arm, remembering that you, like the others, were not allowed to talk to them.

Ettore had raised his hand to wave back the minute you lowered yours so he proceeded to play it off by pretending that he just wanted to rub the back of his neck. You chuckled to yourself as you sat down, Aris joining you as usual.

"What do you think you’re doing waving out to one of them?" Aris whisper yelled, sitting across you and blocking your view "you’re going to get in trouble"

"I wasn’t thinking, sorry" you sighed. He was right, you weren’t allowed to talk to the subjects let alone get friendly; no matter how intriguing the person might be.

You dared to peek over Aris' shoulder, just to steal a glance only to find Ettore already staring at you, his gaze burning into your soul and you immediately looked away, unable to hold eye contant.

"Don’t turn around" you mumbled as you took a bite out of your toast "but subject eight, Ettore, is he always this glum?"

"Yea, he is always found looking like he's at a fucking funeral" your friend snickered "don’t let that fool you though, he is rather short-tempered. It's obvious from the number of fights he's gotten into"

You simply hummed in response, eating your food in silence.

Once you were done, you discreetly looked toward the subjects again, eyes searching for Ettore but he wasn’t there. Reminding yourself that you weren’t allowed any friendly interaction with them anyway, you tossed away the trash before leaving the cafeteria to get to work.

You had to be at the gym this morning, recording everyone's fitness scores and whatnot; boring work in your opinion. You smoothed out the fabric of your cream-coloured blouse that you'd worn under your uniform white jacket. You adjusted the blouse around the waistband of your white trousers, into which it had been tucked. You brushed your hair out of your face and tucked it behind your ear as you scanned the access card that hung around your neck along with your ID card and walked in once the doors opened only to be welcomed by chaos.

Two of the subjects were standing in a corner, avoiding getting caught up in said chaos while two of them were in a heated fist fight, one pinned to the floor as the other bashed his face.

"Hey, stop this!" you jogged up to them and shoved the boy off the one who was on the floor. The minute the bigger dude was pushed off him, he was up and onto him in an instant, bringing his fist in a harsh collision with his nose that elicited a painful scream of agony.

You wondered who thought it was a good idea to check the subjects in and then just leave them alone, especially when it was a common occurrence for fights to break out.

"Enough!" you snapped again, louder this time. They both turned to look at you, as if they'd only just taken notice of you. One of the two idiots happened to be Ettore "on your feet, both of you. No more fighting"

"Or what, hmm?" the other dude stood up at his full height, taking a few steps toward you. He was not at all pleased to get a scolding from you, someone much smaller than him in size "what are you gonna do about it if I don’t, bitch?"

You wanted to roll your eyes at his attempt at intimidating you. Men and their egos. You looked down toward his scrubs, where his number was embroidered on his pocket before you silently walked toward your left as the bigger guy watched your every move. You casually picked up the little intercom and pushed the buttons to ring up the security cabin on your floor.

"This is elite Y/N reporting from my shift at the gym. After analysing a few tests, I urgently need subject eleven eliminated from the program. He has shown signs of fast activity of the flare that is spreading through the cerebellum" you said with utmost seriousness, throwing a glance at the boy whose eyes widened in shock.

It was a rare occurrence for someone to get infected within the premises but it was not something that hadn’t happened before. A year ago, few people who had been taken in as subjects had already been infected but it took longer for the virus to spread. Those subjects, when discovered, were thrown back into the city to either succumb to the flare or to be hunted by the cranks- people who had already turned to cannibalistic animals due to the illness.

Security was inside the gym in only a few moments, harshly grabbing the boy who struggled against their grasp.

"Oh wait" you darkly chuckled, walking toward them "I misread the reports. He's fine, my mistake"

The guards exchanged puzzled looks but left nonetheless.

You took another menacing step toward the boy, not tearing your gaze away even for a moment.

"Is it clear then, what the bitch will do about it?" you asked before you walked toward the others "all of you on the treadmills, now please"

Everyone silently obliged, Ettore grinning at you though you hadn’t looked at him. Once they were all done with their health check-up, you dismissed them, allowing them to go back to their rooms and rest for the afternoon.

"Ettore" you called out, not looking up from the folder in your hand "come here"

He looked at you quizzically as he approached, the others all walking out in a single file. You hadn’t addressed him by his number while still being in the company of others, you called him by his name and that caught him off guard. Full of surprises, he thought to himself.

"Go to that fridge and take the ice pack" you pointed toward the right corner of the room, eyes still focused on the report you had made and filed into the folder "you've got a bruise forming on your left cheek under your eye"

Ettore wondered when you might’ve noticed since you hadn’t bothered to look his way at all, and why you even cared. The only time he was ever tended to was if he was bleeding after a serious fight, no one really gave a flying fuck when it came to a few bruises or scratches.

"And why do you care?" he curiously asked.

"You’re hurt" you simply stated as if that was the obvious truth.

"Are you familiar with greek mythology?" Ettore asked, voice soft as ever as he followed your instructions. He retrieved the ice pack, bringing the cold compress to his face and heaving a sigh as the coolness came in contact with his hot skin. He sat on a chair a little further away from you.

"Hm?" you hummed with confusion, still writing in that folder "oh greek mythology? Yes, I've read a bunch of-"

"Then I'm sure you're well aware of who medusa is and that I'm not her" he chuckled, staring at you to take into account your every move and reaction to his words. Your brows furrow in confusion and you were about to ask him something but he beat you to it and added "you haven’t looked at me the entire time, I won't turn you to stone"

At this you looked up, a playful smile dancing on your lips. You were surprised that Ettore was familiar with greek mythology, that was not something you were expecting even in the slightest.

"Finally" he smirked when your eyes met his "hello Y/N"

"Subjects and elites are not supposed to be found talking so causally" you reminded, clicking your pen as you reminded him the rules that had been set up "we're not friends"

"Never said that we were" he stood up from the chair, walking toward you slowly, like a lion about to pounce on his prey. You kept your eyes on him, showing no signs whatsoever of nervousness. He grew closer and closer, his knees touching your thighs, face only a few inches away from yours as his large hand wrapped around your own that held the pen "stop that, the clicking sound is annoying"

He took a few steps back, letting go of your hand. He still had that cheeky smile on his face.

"Subjects and elites aren’t supposed to be found talking so casually" he repeated your statement, dropping his hand holding the ice pack to his side as he shrugged "then let's just make sure we're never found"

Your heart did an involuntary flip the moment those words left his lips. Ettore and you could never be friends, not while you both resided within these walls. You pocketed the pen and walked toward him, decreasing the space between you with each step you took. You had to commend Ettore for always holding eye contact, every single time. Your hand brushed his, fingers lingering for a little bit longer than necessary as you took the ice pack from him, leaning in so that your lips were dangerously close to his.

Ettore observed your every move in silence, patiently standing there without a single movement. Though you could swear you saw his pupils dilate, making his beautiful eyes appear darker than what they normally looked like.

You brought the cold compress once again to his face and Ettore hummed a sigh, leaning into it.

"Keep the ice pack pressed" you whispered, your lips close enough for him to capture with his own. You smirked as he turned rigid, letting go of the ice pack. Ettore caught it in an instant before it fell, lips parting as he breathed out.

You stepped back, giving him the similar cheeky grin that he usually had on his face and Ettore chuckled, shaking his head with amusement as he watched you leave the lab.

~

Ettore was thinking of you again as he lay down on his bed, something he was starting to do a lot recently. You were the sort of odd one in the lot. You weren’t some dirtbag of a subject nor were you a snobbish elite. You were in a category of your own, a good one. He wondered what made you treat him with decency accompanied by your kind nature. You were compassionate yes, even though that was not something one could easily tell by your poise disposition. And even though beneath the surface you were a gentle soul, you were not someone who could be pushed around and bullied; you had made that very clear this morning with subject eleven.

And if all of this wasn’t enough for Ettore to be absolutely enamoured by you, you were twice as pretty as you were feisty.

He recalled your lips; how soft and kissable they looked. He didn’t know what might’ve happened if he leaned in and just kissed you. Would you slap him hard across the face and push him away? Or would you wrap your arms around him and pull him closer for more, whimpering into his mouth when his fingers would tangle and tug at your hair?

The mere thought of you in his arms, kissing him- moaning his name, had him breathing heavily. He felt himself getting hard as he let his thoughts run riot. Quick to give into his sinful thoughts, Ettore reached into his boxers to relieve himself.

He wrapped his hand around his length, making a few slow strokes as his aching member grew wet with pre cum.

The boy moaned a soft hum as he envisioned you slowly taking him into your mouth while you got down on your knees for him, your hand resting gently on his thighs while you looked up at him with those pretty eyes of yours.

He tightened his fingers around him as droplets of precum pooled at the tip, indicating that his body was starting to respond to that need.

Droplets of white rolled down his member, spilling on to his fingers and knuckles as he pumped himself a bit faster, desperately trying to envision how it might feel to slide inside you. Would you gasp at his length? Whimper as he pushed all of him inside you?

The thought of you riding him, your naked frame bouncing on his cock as he nipped and sucked on your tits had begun to overwhelm him as he raised his hips from the mattress to gently press his cock more into his hand, muttering profanities to himself.

There was no denying that his newfound desire and lust to get closer to you was a dangerous game since he knew well enough that there would never be a chance for anything to happen between you both. Still, getting off to the thought of you was not mentioned in the rule book as off-limits so he kept at it.

He yearned in that moment to be buried deep inside you, pounding into you while you call out his name, breathless and senses dulled with the pleasure his cock would give.

Ettore quickened his strokes, shutting his eyes and throwing his head back as he basked in the euphoric sensation. Lewd wet sounds echoed through the room, his vigorous strokes bringing him closer and closer to the edge.

"Y/N" he groaned, biting down on his bottom lip to prevent himself from moaning too loudly.

Ettore's hips buckled back into the hard mattress, as he adjusted to the new pace he'd set while his hand did the work of showing his cock absolute bliss.

He continued with a steady pace, further bringing him closer to the edge.

"Y/N" he moaned again.

Ettore felt the familiar session of bliss wash over him as his hips stilled violently while he felt the warm liquid that shot up against his fingers and onto his stomach.

He rolled his head to the side, trying to calm his ragged breathing which watered down to shallow pants and he dropped his hand to the side.

"We're not friends" he muttered to himself with a sigh, as if he was reminding himself of his situation.

But then again, when did he ever play by the rules?

Taglist: @sahvlren @greenowlfactif @tinykryptonitewerewolf @babyblue711 @afro-hispwriter

[lanaevyssmoved]

i hope this doesn't come across as an attack, i'm genuinely just curious. on the one hand you say that a fictional character and headcanons for that character or actions/attractions towards that character is never cause for being mean to anyone, but also that people who headcanon astarion to be mentally young and still fuck him are weirdos. i just don't see how it's less 'problematic' to say that you find astarion sexier as an unhealed abuse victim/abuser so you're going to go the ascendant route than it is to say you find astarion sexier when he's mentally underage. both of those things are bad in that they'd be shitty to do to real people, but in the context of fiction i don't understand how one is fine and the other is weird or evil.

for what it's worth i agree with your astarion age opinions! i absolutely think it is weird to be attracted to someone you view as a child! it just feels incongruous with your other takes on fiction.

i think people romancing and sleeping with a character they are viewing as a child/teenager is strange, that's all. i didn't even say 'don't do this!' i just said it's "weird and sus", because i want to help people realise how they are sounding to others, who may instinctively judge them and possibly attack them. at the end of the day, i can't stop people for going against d&d lore for their own preferred headcanon, but what if they're misunderstanding? what if they don't know lore? what if they're just explaining themselves poorly? what if they're just not aware they're making themselves sound this way?

i don't put this on the same level as telling someone they are a terrible person because they say, ascend astarion or keep astarion as a spawn, since we're talking about him, and saying "bit weird you wanna sleep with someone you think is akin to a child". one of these could have dangerous connotations to real life, it could genuinely paint someone has a dangerous person.

i am victim of a romantic relationship where someone picked me because of my vulnerability. to share a bit about myself, i have abusive parents who purposely sheltered me from the world to control me. they did not even allow me to get a job, or to go out and meet people. i was told, from a very young age, that the world will hurt me and they won't understand me (because of disorders i have) and they will keep me safe. they never want me to leave. and thus i have mentally aged 'slower' than i should have. i shan't say more than that, but this person i met, and became aware of this, immediately sought a romantic relationship with me, which led to them using my lack of experience in life and lack of know to also control me, and continue to infantilise me and keep me as 'young' as they could. control my entire life, my money, what i do, where i go, what i dress, everything about me. i know how terrifying it is to be chosen by someone because of 'mental immature', being 'under developed'.

when i think of this, and think of people who choose astarion while viewing him the same way- do you know what i think? "do you realise how much of an abuser you sound like?" you are those people who choose someone due to how easy it would be to abuse them. so yes, i worry these people just aren't aware of how dangerous they sound. i word it like 'weird' and 'sus' because i would never target them with such harsh and powerful language, but i think that alone is enough to make someone think about it, maybe enough to realise they need to change how they talk about astarion, or adjust their pov.

i've had friends come to me in tears because someone attacked them viciously for a choice they made in the game, a choice available to everyone, a choice there because you are allowed to pick it. that they are legit a bad person to their core because they picked something in a damn game. this is no where near the same to me as wanting a sexual relationship with someone you think is mentally underdeveloped. they cannot be compared.

i hope this all makes sense and i didn't miss one of your points, admittedly i don't want to look at this any longer.

[paintedvanilla]

okay! about fight club bc i would like to have your opinion on this!

do you think the experience of watching it for the first time already knowing the plot twist ruins the experience? since its a fairly new fixation of yours, did you already know about it or did you watch it blindly? last but not least, how was your experience watching it for the first time and rewatching it after actually knowing what is going on?

bye-

Eee!! I love this ask hi!! Sorry it got buried in my notifications and I didn’t see it until now!! OKAY SO:

I don’t think it RUINS the experience. I think knowing the twist during your first watch allows your first watch to just be like a second watch, for someone who didn’t know the twist. You still get that sense of being in on something, and watching everything unfold is so rewarding. I notice something new literally every time I watch the movie. Me and Manar literally watched it tonight, and we noticed something new that clues the viewer in on Tyler and the narrator being the same person. That said:

All I knew about fight club when I watched it was that you don’t talk about fight club and my buddy manar was obsessed with it. I had no idea about the twist. It blindsided me. I was completely mesmerized. And I love showing the movie to people who don’t know the twist. It’s amazing. I wish I could relive that moment over and over again. It’s fucking incredible.

Rewatching after the first time, my biggest take away was that during my first watch, I remember there were multiple scenes where Marla would do something and I would be like, “man what is her DEAL” but the second time I watched it I was like. OH. THATS HER FUCKING DEAL. SHE DOESNT HAVE A DEAL. SHES DATING A NUTJOB. THE GUY YELLING AT HER IN THE KITCHEN IS THE GUY WHO REARRANGED HER GUTS 15 MINUTES AGO. THATS HER DEAL. That was my biggest takeaway during my second watch. Marla is like. Shockingly normal and well adjusted on a second viewing.

[readythefanons]

Happy dead dove day!

This year I have prepared: nothing. Okay bye have fun! Fiction is fiction dont forget to read the tags and use that back button as appropriate byeeeeeee

[yjano]

Who I am now?

Pairings: Jake x Mc.

Warnings: Mature themes, angst, 18+, inappropriate language.

Words: 842.

Author's Note: This story contains mature themes and different view of our hacker boy. No spoilers or anything. Just starting a short story and hope to get y'all little precious opinions.

Prologue.

I adjusted my dress strips, using the help of the mirror infront of me.

"You look good, Mc." Dan commented as he wandered into the room, suited in black as usually. I thanked him with my eyes, still focusing on my reflection in the mirror.

I tried to smile in the mirror but failed. The empty feeling inside me was horrible to handle. Everyone was happy after Hannah got returned back home. Nobody knew what happened to Jake or even Richy. Jessy got over it after a while for her friends sake. But I know she's just as empty as I am.

"You look distracted, what's bothering you?" Dan grinned, laying on my bed unbothered about everything.

"No I'm fine." I swallowed and forced a smile to him. Smoothing my strand of hair behind my ear, I took a deep breath.

It's going to be okay, you're going to be okay, Mc.

Just smile at them...

After smiling so hard that my teeth and cheeks hurt. I decided to retire to my room for a quick break from too cheerful Jessy and others. As I walked across the hall. My eyes noticed a new person entering inside the house. A tall man figure in a fitting black clothes and a slight smirk prominently fixed on to his face as he looked around. No one really noticed him as they were drinking and dancing with Hannah. His eyes landed on me, and his eyebrows quirked up. I was way too tired to even recognize the man and walk inside my room. Closing the door behind me, my fake smile faded and I contemplated whether should I cry again in the bathroom for a few minutes and then go back to the party or lie to them that I feel ill and sleep throughout the rest of the night.

The door opened behind me before I could make up my mind. I looked over my shoulder to see the same man standing in the doorframe.

"You are?" I tried to sound polite enough but my face gave away my irritation.

"Someone." The guy brushed off my question and looked around the room casually, eyeing the window in particular.

"Sorry, this is my room. I don't know you, and I don't know how my friends allowed you to come here but get out." I spat out, looking away from his side.

Sound of something snapping made me look at him and notice the new intem in his hand. He was holding a gun, pointing it directly at me.

"What do you want?" I swallowed looking at him in fear. "Don't startle the intruder, any sudden momevents could get you killed." I remembered Dan's words. It was probably the first and last time I bothered to listen to him.

"Drop to the floor and keep your hands above your head - don't scream and don't move." The guy ordered coldly with blank stare.

I quickly did what I was told. The fear reverberated throughout my entire body. I pursed my lips into a straight line, my breath hitched in my throat as the guy stepped forward. I was staring at the floor as the man kneeled down in front of me.

"Okay, so we have to fucking talk, I'm not going to hurt you. I'll keep my gun on the floor so don't freak out on me-"

I screamed immediately when I saw the gun set on the floor infront of me knees.

"Oh my fucking-" He cursed under breath, pressing his hand agaisnt my mouth.

"My ears are ringing." He grunted to himself, picking up his gun and sending me a glare.

"I'm gonna stand up and find something to tie you up with, my gun's in my hand so don't scream or move - you got that?" He consolidated, getting up off his haunces and walking round my room. He held my room curtairs to see if they are strong enough to hold.

My eyes flickered around the room desperately, trying to find anything to fight him with. I needed Jake here to tell me everything is going to be okay and that he is here. That guy unlooped the rope-like item.

He's gonna kill me...by choking me!

Panic rised inside my system and I began to look around the room, noticing the vase which I found pretty ugly but Jessy didn't let me remove it. Whilst the man had his back turned to me, I stood up with wobbly legs and reached for the vase. I took a deep breath and swing the vase forward with my teeth digging into my lower lip.

The vase indeed hit something...

But as soon I felt it being pressed against something. I opened my eyes slowly, nearly wincing at the sight of him.

He had caught the full force of vase in his hand, gripping the vase so hardly that I feared it'd shatter into thousand pieces. He was glaring at me deadly.

Shit...

"Alright, Mc. I was gonna go easy on you, but we'll have to do this the hard way."

Soon I felt pain in the head and dark occupied me fully.

[danger-xylophones]

Hey, I have request, I love Samakro and he’s very underrated, in my opinion. Could you write a one shot of samakro working with a navigator who was a Jedi that escaped from the Empire into the unknown region/chaos.

No rush, I love your stories.

Agreed, samakro needs more fics

Also thank you, both for the compliment and your patience. I love to write but rarely have the motivation for it. So I appreciate your understanding immensely

Warnings: ptsd, references to order 66, enemies to lovers sort of, human reader, i play jumprope with canon, Samakro is rude

"We appreciate your willingness to help us," the chiss admiral's clear voice seemed to reverberate all around you - an interesting contrast similarity to past ships you'd worked on.

"Of course," you answered back, meeting the hologram's eyes, "I am honored that you requested me specifically." You spoke in stilted sy bisti, still not quite used to the the way the trade language poked at the inside of your mouth.

Just behind you, the captain of the ship grumbled something under his breath and you couldn't help but pick up the annoyed air rolling off of him in waves. Lifting your chin just a bit higher, you forced yourself not to comment on it and instead focused on the woman before you. "Forgive me, your initial message was rather vague. Am I allowed to know what you need my...specific skills for?"

"To put it plainly," the woman's, Ar'alani's, thin lips quirked up into a small smile - as if amused with a joke only she knew, "the mission before us requires your more broad range of talents - this is a job too big for any pathfinder and too involved for any of our trained navigators. " The polite smile that had made its home on your lips twitched. Even through the language barrier you could read between the lines. Too involved meant too dangerous. You were a replacement - an expendable version of the crewmate that usually did your new job.

"I understand," you replied, forcing yourself to maintain a serene expression, "thank you for indulging my questions. One more, I'm afraid. What are my orders?"

Ar'alani's smile grew, settling into approving and her blue eyes (discolored by the hologram) seemed to twinkle. "I leave the answer to that question with your commander." Nodding to the man behind you, she continued, "Senior Captain Ufsa'mak'ro will fill you in on the rest of the operation. Good day, pathfinder, and good journey." And with that, she clicked off, vanishing from view entirely.

A moment of stillness passed only broken by a few short footsteps taken by the captain to bring him in front of you. "Pathfinder," he addressed in a low voice, hands pressed primly into the small of his own back, "move to your station and prepare to take us into hyperspace - the coordinates are already programmed in. We're just waiting on you." And he stepped away - nearly stalking to the command chair to observe the vast stretch of space before him.

You wasted no time and crossed to the only vacant seat on the whole bridge. Hooked on the controls was a sensory deprivation helmet that looked to be about your size and as you settled into your place you noticed that the seat had already been moved to accommodate your mass. It was still a bit of a tight squeeze regardless but the gesture was not lost on you.

After re-adjusting the distance of the chair from the computer and height of the controls, you set the helmet aside to be used when you got farther into the thicket of the Chaos. Looking over your shoulder, you met the helmsman's eyes to signal you were ready. He nodded and in crisp cheunh projected his voice throughout the bridge. The captain responded in cheunh and the helmsman's gaze met yours once more so he could give you a steady nod - go. He started the jump to hyperspace.

As the bridge lit up, awash in the swirling glow of hyperspace, you let yourself slip into a meditative trance that would guide the ship through what this part of the galaxy called the Chaos. A peculiar name but charming (and fitting) all the same.

................................

Pain and regret. Pain and regret. It rippled throughout the space, choking and stifling and so, so destructive.

Pain and regret, devastation and death. So many. So many. Innocent. Innocent. Innocent. Guilty conscious. Sacrifice. And a single hope. A hope for cooperation. Hope, always hope. Hope to ease the bite of the screams. The bite of the pain, the bite of death.

Cling to hope, cling, grasp, hold, hold, hold, shoulder, hold, shoulder hold. Holding shoulder-

With a jolt, you were unceremoniously yanked out of your dwam and brought back into your body. Your hands jerked around the controls they'd locked around and you couldn't stop your head from swiveling wildly, trying to make sense of your location. Where was the danger? Where were the blaster bolts coming from? Where - lightsaber - get - ?

"Easy now." The voice came from your left and your head snapped in that direction to meet not the blank stare of an unfeeling helmet but the brilliant red of two gemstone-like eyes. The captain. The Chiss captain. Not a clone. There were no clones in the Unknown regions.

You could feel your nerves start to settle and the sudden spike of adrenaline start to where off, bringing your awareness to the heavy, large hand holding onto your shoulder. Closing your eyes to take a deep breath, you opened them on the exhale to meet the gaze of the captain once more. "My apologies, Captain Ufsa'mak'ro, is something the matter?"

His lips twisted down into a scowl as he rose to his full height. "Please, just use my core name 'Samakro'- hearing your pronunciation is painful." He crossed his arms over his chest assuredly.

While your own fought not to mimic at the uncalled for rudeness. "My apologies, Captain Samakro. Is something the matter?"

The scowl didn't budge. But he raised an eyebrow. "No. But your shift's up."

"Oh." You looked away to focus on where your hands were still locked around the controls in front of you. A slight tremor threatened to shake your arms, revealing just how shook up you were to the captain.

"Is something the matter with you?" Samakro's voice was cutting despite its low rumble.

"No," you cleared your throat, "no, sir. Just, got a bit startled coming up is all."

Samakro huffed, a scathing 'uh-huh' that clashed with the timbre of his natural voice. But he didn't press, and instead turned to the helmsman once more to bark out an order in cheunh once more.

The reply from the helmsman was also in cheunh, and thus lost on you but it distinctly sounded like he was counting. And after five unknown syllables projected across the bridge had passed, the ship suddenly dropped out of hyperspace revealing a sprawling starscape all around.

You let out a sigh of relief. Good, they were stopping. Which meant you would have a long enough break to slip away and hopefully meditate. And quiet the dark memories for the time being.

Samakro and the helmsman exchanged a few more words that resulted in the latter counting once more before the ship took off once more, only at lightspeed this time. As the less vibrant starstreaks zipped by, you found yourself focusing on the movements and forcing your hands to still. You were safe. No one on the ship was going to betray you, no one was going to hunt you, the empire didn't know you were out here. The chiss had no reason to hand you over.

A weight settled on your shoulder once again and you found your gaze pulled to it. A blue hand gripped onto you, a stark contrast to the dark grey, nondescript material of your shirt. And you knew without looking whose hand it was. "Why don't I escort you to your room?"

Escort. You nearly snorted. You weren't a stuffy dignitary. Or a prisoner. But you also didn't command this ship. "Thank you, sir."

Muttering a quiet, 'sure', he stepped back to give you room to get up from your seat. But you hesitated, all too aware that the tremor in your arms wasn't quite under control yet and would become all the more apparent once your hands were empty. But just sitting in your seat wasn't an option either - it would just become stranger the longer you stayed put. So, reluctantly, you peeled your hands off of the controls only to hide them away in the confines of your outer-rap robe as you rose to your feet. Samakro raised an eyebrow at the movement but was courteous enough not to comment on it. He waited patiently enough for you to reach his side before settling a steady hand on the middle of your back to lead you away from the bridge. It was strange - his presence and the solid weight of his hand was almost comforting after reliving such an unfortunate memory. But the aura around him was tense, as if he himself was waiting for a sudden strike against him. But you didn't comment on it either, wanting to repay the favor he'd extended to you mere moments ago.

The captain led you through a series of long hallways, all identical to each other down to the sealant on the doors. But finally he came to a stop before an unassuming trapezoidal door that slid into the wall upon inputting a code. Automatic lights sprung to life at the movement of the door, revealing a quaint little room with a couch, a table, a small kithenette, and a single bed shoved into the farthest corner. It was nicer than some of your previous accommodations and you found yourself grateful for the offered privacy.

You stepped inside, expecting the captain to bid you goodbye until your next shift. But, instead, he followed you in and let the door slide shut behind him. Dangerous. Your mind warned and you found yourself tensing up again for a whole new reason. "Is there something you needed, Senior Captain?" You asked carefully, taking a cautious step backward.

"There is actually." Samakro's voice dropped to a near growl as his face shifted into an angry grimace. "Care to tell me what this is?" He reached for his hip where a holster was secured to his belt and pulled from it not any form of blaster but a very specific weapon. One that you knew was supposed to be hidden away in the bottom of your travel bag.

My lightsaber.

Slowly, you raised your hands up in surrender and tried to make yourself seem as non-threatening as possible. "Captain, I promise you that I am not a threat."

"A bit hard to believe that when I'm holding your weapon." Samakro didn't back down. So, you took a careful step forward, and slowly moved your hand to ask him to hand it back.

"I can explain why I have it if you'll let-"

"Back up." He bit out, falling into a position not dissimilar to your own opening stance. You did as he demanded, once again bringing your hands up and over your head to show you were complying. "Now," he lowered the still inactive saber, "what is this?"

"It's a lightsaber." You answered quickly, keeping your eyes trained on the weapon in his grasp.

"And why do you have it?"

"Because I built it."

"Why did you bring it aboard my ship?"

You looked away from the saber to meet his eyes. "Because I won't survive without it."

Samakro's expression faltered. "What?"

"It's a lot to explain." You spoke in a hushed tone. "But I swear on my life that I mean no harm to you or anyone on your ship. I've carried my lightsaber with me since I was a child. It's saved my life more times than I can count. I can't part with it."

He didn't say anything for a long time. And you didn't dare move in fear of angering him further in case he did something to force your hand. But eventually he spoke. "What are you?"

"I was a Jedi." You answered, lowering your arms and monitoring his face for any recognition of the word. Something flashed behind his eyes and you detected the faintest recognition of the word. Which only made your own wariness grow.

"And this," he hefted the hilt between his hands, now looking a bit more intrigued, "is the weapon you'd use."

"How do you know about the Jedi? I was under the impression that you didn't have any force sensitives out here."

You saw Samakro's mouth form the word 'force' as if to question you but he didn't voice it. Instead, after a small shake of his head, he said, "My former commander had an experience with one of your ilk a while back." He finally lowered the weapon completely, letting the deactivated saber tap against his thigh.

An unwitting spark of interest flared to life in your gut. "He did? How-How long ago?"

"Years." Samakro answered simply. And the small hope that had dared to spark was smothered out. "Weren't you fighting a war?" The captain asked, now crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes." The word was bitter on your tongue. "We lost." you muttered quietly.

"How?" Samakro's voice had shifted again, taking on a more conversational tone and comforting volume.

Bracing yourself, you focused your gaze on the floor before you. "Our troops turned on us. I'm still not sure how it happened. All I know is that we were on the cusp of victory, the leader of the CIA was defeated, Master Kenobi was pursuing General Grievous. And then suddenly the clones just started shooting." Tears pricked at your eyes, your throat was starting to close, but you pressed on. "They gunned us down - hunted us on our own ships, in our own bases."

You had to stop and let yourself breathe. It'd been almost two years since that fateful day. Two years of silence. Two years of hiding. Two years of running.

"But you escaped." Samakro pointed out, stepping closer.

With a scoff, you met his gaze. "I fled like a force-forsaken coward! I was stationed on a covert medical base with two other Jedi, a Master and her Padawan. We tried to buy the padawan time to escape but they were both gunned down. Right in front of me. And what did I do?" Your voice had started to raise, "I ran away, got in a lifepod and jettisoned off into the unknown just to get picked up by some transport." A pause as you wrangled your voice back to a manageable volume. "They brought me to the pathfinders' guild and put me to work."

"Which is how you ended up here." Samakro finished dryly - a look of annoyed relief on his face. Suddenly, "Here," he tossed the saber at you, "it doesn't leave this room." You caught it with ease and crossed to set it on the quaint desk.

"Understood, Captain." Your reply came swiftly as you settled your hands in front of you.

"Good." Samakro nodded and turned sharply to key the door to your room open. "Your next shift is in 10 hours. We'll be traveling jump by jump in the mean time."

"Understood, Captain." You repeated.

Samakro paused, glancing over his shoulder at you. "I'm sorry about what happened to you." He offered quietly. "And...for mistrusting you."

He didn't wait for a reply before making his departure from your room.

[saintsir4n]

6. Parentsite

WARNINGS: MENTAL HEALTH, PEDOPHILIA, VIOLENCE

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

(@gossipgirl tweeted)

GREETINGS, followers. Gossip Girl here. Your one and only, period. There are obvious upsides to being the children of the world's most influential people. But the biggest? The luxury of choice. While the majority of the world has little to no say in what they can and cannot do. the elite get to choose whatever they want whenever they want it. Choice in where they live, what they eat, who they speak to Even choice in who they deign to spend their time with. But there's one thing not even they get a say in. No one gets to choose their parents. And as pour moi? Consider me the au pair you never knew you needed. You can come cry on my shoulder in secret any time. And you'll want to. Because no matter where you come from or who you are, family is anything but easy, and no one survives it alone.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"And sent," Winnie grimaced at what she emailed to a certain police department.

"It's done?" she heard Ginny say from her phone.

"It's done," Winnie reassured as she walked down the sidewalk of the Upper East Side, Caesar was 5 feet away from her. Her parents told her to get out of the house before Roger and Jodie Menzies arrived. Whatever their meeting was about she wasn't allowed to be around and so she left. "One step closer to that perv to be dragged into a 4 by 4."

Ginny squealed loud enough for Winnie to adjust her airpods, "Can't wait. But I have a question. You send that video to GG, would she upload it?"

"I mean she's all about exposing our true selves, why not post about a perv?" but that did get Winnie thinking. She glanced at the video in her files, finger hovering over the share icon before she saw the time. "Gin, I gotta go, a Birkin is waiting for me to pick it up so I'll tell you what happens later."

She hung up after Ginny said goodbye and kept walking.

"Miss Dubois," Caesar called out, halting her in her stride.

She swivelled on her feet, glancing up to see his lips twitch as if he wanted to say more.

"Caesar?"

His shielded eyes darted around, noting there was no threat and so he started, "Not to speak out of turn, I am here to serve and protect you. Therefore, it's in my job description to say, that apprehending the video you speak about is not in your best interest. What it details is immoral of course, which is why you should not have it. It's child p –"

"Relax, I'll delete it," She snapped, slightly taken aback as she had never heard him speak this much.

"You've sent it off already. Just be mindful of what ensues," his deep voice warned, "Hermès is this way."

He practically gestured for her to start walking and when she did, she cursed herself. "Fuck.

___

Winnie lay in her bed, trying to keep her composure still overwhelmed by what she discovered about her parents, but she wasn't scared of them, she was terrified, though she would never admit that. Crying in Monet's arms was the worst in her opinion. Winnie opened up, and let the whirlpool of emotions spill onto Monet. She was vulnerable far more than she ever had been and she didn't know what to do.

Monet had invited her over to her house 5 times since then.

Camile De Haan reminded Winnie of her mother, yet her marriage to Grayson seemed warmer, unlike Margaux and Luc's. They welcomed the Dubois Heiress despite her public socio-political views because old money was old money.

"Do you want take out?" Monet questioned, pausing the old Hollywood movie they were watching. Some Like It Hot and they just loved watching Marilynn.

Winnie lay across her body, head on Monet's chest as nails trailed her scalp. It was relaxing, very relaxing and sort of sweet.

Winnie mumbled against her, "Can you cook?"

A smirk tugged at Monet's lips, no, she rarely cooked, she had chefs for that, "So is that a yes?"

"Japanese or Chinese?"

"The former."

"Say please."

Winnie reluctantly grumbled, "Please."

Monet grinned and practically squealed, earning a small smile.

"Are you sure you don't want to be around your old friends?" Winnie suddenly asked. They were supposed to be at school reading out extracts in AP literature.

Monet scoffed, "I only liked Luna and Julian, you know that." she paused after receiving a stiff nod, "And they're all flocking to Audrey, catering to her every whim because of what happened to her mom."

Kiki Hope was in the hospital and that's where her daughter remained, occasionally dancing between there and school. Winnie was momentarily envious of Audrey, her mother was ill and Margaux wasn't.

Sigh.

"Right," Winnie breathed out.

"Besides, I've been banished. GG posted about you and I," Monet wasn't resentful of it.

Winnie disagreed, "Barely, but your ties to Bianca and Pippa were the source for your banishment." her phone went off with a text from her mom, and Monet noticed her tense. "The parentals are finally catching on to PSATs, I passed and yet it's a problem."

"I got higher than you, jealous?" Monet teased getting more B's than C's this time.

Winnie huffed out a chuckle, "Not as jealous you'll be when you hear that Calvin Klein wants me to their #bereal campaign after Doja Cat got cancelled because her chat room streams."

Monet gasped, "Wait, are you serious? Not about Doja, well know she's trolling."

Winnie mused, "The founder and current CEO says that my realism and unfliterdness suit their brand. #americaisbetterthanfrance, Margaux will be pissed for sure."

"Do it, to hell with mothers," Monet encouraged.

Winnie finally smiled and agreed.

___

"You will not be doing that campaign; it ruins our company's brand," Margaux ranted the next day as Winnie readied herself for school.

The Dubois matriarch discovered the proposition made to her daughter by one of her PR workers and to say she was livid would be an understatement.

"Because it's French? My French fans love Calvin Klein." Winnie trailed after her mother, knowing full well it wouldn't damage Velocity's image, it would only better hers and yet somehow it was an issue.

It was always an issue.

Ever since she found out the truth that her parents covered up the deaths of over 200 people 2 decades prior they've been coming down hard on her, despite not knowing. The cameras were off that night, and Winnie made sure they were.

Margaux dismissed her, "I couldn't care less about what they do or do not like, your grades are abysmal."

"I passed my PSATs," Winnie tried to not let her shoulders slump in the presence of her mom.

Her father wasn't around, and having more meetings with the Van Der Bilts and other politicians was where his attention was nowadays.

"You barely scraped by, don't be delusional, I spoke to your teachers," Margaux hissed, now turning to face her confused daughter.

"When?"

Margaux folded her arms, "After I heard you using your father and me as an excuse to talk to your concubine during classes."

Winnie's jaw clenched, "It was one time."

Monet took a step forward, "Several, so do not lie to me. Now, when you go to school, a friend of mine is dropping by to have lunch."

"Who is this friend exactly?" Winnie let out a breath when her mother's attention was called elsewhere.

The front door was pulled open by two servants and walked in Helena Bergmann. And like the former model she was, she sauntered passed, legs long in stride and balanced like Naomi.

"Lena," Margaux met her in the middle of the foyer and kissed her cheeks.

"Margs," Helena smiled at her old friend, letting her German accent slip, Then saw the studious teenager eying the pair, "Winifred, haven't you grown even more enchanting, like your mother."

Both Dubois' were deeply dissatisfied by that comparison, but the youngest allowed Helena to kiss her cheek.

"Thank you, Miss Bergmann."

"Oh please, call me Helena, you and Otto have been friends since... What do Americans call it? Kindergarten, ah the word they stole from the Germans."

"Oh I'm sure the Germans made sure they had no choice but to use it," Winnie retorted, ignoring the insinuation that she and Obie were ever friendly.

"Yes, I'm sure too," Helena nodded, then took her agitated friend's hand, "Blowouts first, then I've booked a table at Tiffany's."

"I heard you did that and I made sure to book out the entire room so we won't be bothered," Margaux's smile wavered the moment she locked eyes with her daughter,  "Winifred shouldn't you be on your way? You were absent yesterday, I would hate to get another call about your misdeeds whilst I'm enjoying myself."

Winifred was handed her school bag and phone by Caesar who guided her to the door, "Bye Mom, and have fun, Helena."

___

"You were right," Winnie slammed Ginny's locker shut after she came over.

"Excuse me?" the blonde put away her lipstick and blinked slowly,  "say that again, I must've misheard you."

"GG hasn't posted about creepy Caparros," Winnie explained, then was confused at the lack of response, "Gin."

"What I'm talking about is the fact I was right and you admitted it," Ginny said smugly.

"Oh fuck off."

"But that's not all," Ginny paused and leaned closer after seeing Miss Keller walk passed "Apparently Mr Caparros was fucking more seniors," she caught her friend's eyes widening, "GG's not posting this and I've sent multiple tips." Both teens appeared confused by the anonymous accounts' silence on the matter, "And please tell me you've deleted that video from your phone. It may be as protected as the military's but that doesn't mean anything."

"I've deleted it, Caesar had to be on the one to remind me what it truly is," Winnie rushed out, holding up her phone and adjusting her necklace.

"Aww my favorite baldy."

"Don't let Wholian hear you say that."

Ginny just laughed in response, but her amusement phased quickly when Max strolled past, purposefully avoiding eye contact with not just her but Mr Caparros who stood at the end of the corridor.

But soon the Wolfe teen stopped when Winnie called out his name, grinning when she gestured for him to turn around.

Several police officers briskly walked through the school, alerting many students, some looked guilty others anxious about why they were there, to begin with.

Zoya, Obie and Julian got up from their seats in the courtyard to see. Audrey – who was on the phone to the hospital - ended the call and nudged Aki to look. Monet just came out of a classroom after hearing the commotion and Luna finally looked up from Instagram to stare in anticipation.

The police officers were accompanied by headmistress Burton who tentatively pointed to Mr Caparros whose face fell instantly.

The other members of staff were anxious, mainly Miss Keller but everyone's eyes doubled in size when they saw one of their own get arrested.

"Rafa Caparros you're being charged with several counts of engaging in sexual conduct with minors, distributing sexual images to students and possessing child pornography," gasps and looks of horror were shared across the school after hearing such things. More took out their phones. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time."

Rafa knew not to say anything and compiled. Seeing the mirthful glint in Winnie's eyes made him gulp.

Ginny looked at Max as Rafa was taken away. She saw him turn away, looking a mixture of disheartened and disorientated.

Max knew from the amusement on the Dubois heiress face, she was at fault.

But all her glumness faded when Caesar whispered in her ear and uttered four dreadful words,

"Your parents are here."

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(@gossipgirl tweeted)

Spotted: one teacher learning the hard way to not mix business with pleasure, and one student being reminded not to fly too close to the sun or you'll get worse than you're wings melting off, because, who better to humble you than the two people who brought you into this world.

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She found her mother and father in the headmistress's office, yet no headmistress Burton in sight, no doubt doing damage control for the mess, because when she walked through the halls everyone was hysterical. Ginny chased after Max who kept on insisting that he wanted to be alone, meanwhile, all the other victims didn't know what to do with themselves.

Margaux looked her normal level of disgust, stood around, shawl concealing the top half of her blazer and as she placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. Luc wasn't pleased, more jaded than ever as he sat on the headmistress's desk.

So when the door shut behind them, Winnie awaited their reprimanding because they had only been on Constance St Jude's campus 5 times.

When Margaux opened her mouth, Winnie sighed, "I was enjoying an exquisite white truffle with my friend Helena when I received a call from one of my friends down in the New York police department."

"You can just say NYPD," her daughter murmured.

"And I'm not finished," she snapped, squeezing her husband's shoulder, who shifted, "Your father was in a meeting with the current mayor of New York and yet we have to be the last to know that you have been soliciting pornography."

Winnie clenched her hands, "It was a student and a teacher, one that I made sure would get locked up."

"I never knew you were into social justice Winnie," Luc uttered for the first time, drawing a groan from his daughter.

"Me either Luc, must have slipped your personality," Margaux mocked, folding her arms.

Winnie's eyes narrowed and felt her heart pound so loud she could hear it in her ears, "You don't know me, you're barely around other than to lecture and put me down," her gaze moved from her enraged mother then onto her exhausted father, "or flat out ignore me. This benefits you two. Dad, the campaign that you're clearly doing to get every politician in your favour, going out to dinners with the Menzies so whatever is published is in our favour. You can use this to your advantage and yet you're reprimanding me.''

Margaux and Luc both exchanged a look, the former then turned back to Winnie, "We'll take your devices, preventing you from sending tips from that factous twitter page."

"You're out of your mind," Winnie snarled, so angry she wasn't shocked that her mother knew about GossipGirl.

Luc pinched the bridge of his nose, "It's either that or therapy."

"For what? I'm fine. Just as stable as the pair of you," Winnie sneered.

They both took deep offence at that.

"And therapy is funding capitalism – not that I'm against that –  through mindless thoughts and repressed trauma, buy me a damn diary or I'll cry into my cotton pillow like the rest of the normals. I don't need therapy."

Luc averted his gaze, truly dumbfounded by his daughter's response, but that only drew Margaux to say.

"You need it more than you know, you'll go to the sessions we pay pay for, and Caesar will escort you to The Ostroff centre every week," Margaux stepped forward.

"That nut house is not a place for me," emotions flooded Winnie's eyes and clung to her voice.

"You'll go, because you have a problem that needs to be sorted, corrected, pornography and that of a student at this school, really Winifred?" Margaux drawled, embarrassed by her actions.

"Mr Caparros was a paedophile and I'm the one who needs to be punished," Winnie let out a shuddered breath as her voice broke.

Luc shook his head, "You'll be lucky that the NYPD's chief didn't receive that email."

"So you spent money paying off another corporation?" Winnie spat.

They both stiffened at the terminology, and shortly Winnie regretted her retort.

A glare made its way onto Margaux's face, recovering from her shock.

"I'm disappointed in you."

Disappointed... a word Winnie heard frequently, a word she rarely fought against, but today she had enough.

Winnie shakily neared her mother and snarled, "Disappointed in me? You cannot be disappointed in me. For the worst portion of my life, you've raised me. I'm you. From the fried strands of hair to the soulless voice, all meticulously concealed with a nice accessory." Luc stood up as he heard the shuddered breath his wife let out. "You must despise yourself. It must keep you up at night. Good, I hope it does... so take your disappointment and shove it up your straight-laced ass."

Winnie's chest panted as she spat out a series of insults, her mom blinked rapidly eyes turning cold and mouth opening and shutting but nothing came out.

She looked physically pained by the words and that only spurred Winnie on more.

"This is who I am. You made me, I can't change even if I want to. So coming to me, realizing what you've done, but now it's too late. I'm your heir, the future of this company, and this thing we call a family and if you don't like it then that's on you. Don't blame me for the mistakes you've made."

Winnie didn't spend a second more in that room, she broke from her mother's sickening gaze and threw open the door, ignoring Caesar along with the other Dubois security who were waiting behind and staggered past.

The students were still far too engrossed in the drama to see the Dubois heir in such disarray.

Winnie could hardly breathe, therapy is my fucking punishment? She loathed them.

A body bumping into hers had her jolting back.

Miss Keller stammered out, "Are you okay?"

The tears in Winnie's eyes came as a shock before they were harshly torn from her iris with a quick wipe.

"Why wouldn't I be okay? Shouldn't you be focusing on scrubbing your laptops, checking your camera rolls, staying away from us students just in case we arouse you?" a bitter laugh escaped her as she spoke, "But of course that would be our fault if something were to happen."

"What Mr Caparros has done –"

"You and your little brigand probably knew," Winnie quickly cut her off and towered over her, "God you're all useless."

"You cannot speak about us that way," Mr Keller shrieked.

"And you're pathetically small," Winnie looked her up and down in disdain.

"You cannot speak to me that way!"

"Why can't I?" Winnie snorted, "You offended? I'm not apologizing for offending you, you should've walked away when you had the chance."

And with that she strutted off, rendering the startled teacher to clutch her chest as she desperately looked around hoping someone saw the interaction but no one did other than the security guards, who acted like they saw nothing.

___

Margaux and Luc arrived at their estate several minutes after their daughter, They had to be notified by Caesar about Winnie's outrage and how she had wrecked her room so badly that Abaddon had to be removed and placed with the other dogs that they owned.

So when they reached their foyer, they heard screaming and shouting from above.

Luc exhaled deeply after dropping his wife's arm, knowing now more than ever that Winnie needed therapy, sure using it as a punishment was ruthless but it was necessary.

"Our daughter is a monster," he said, turning to Margaux whose face contorted into forced satisfaction.

"And that's why she's the perfect heir to our company."

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(@gossipgirl tweeted)

There comes a moment in every parent's life when they realize they've created something they can't control. Children will test your patience, love and hatred. Parents are human, but you and my followers are something else. I've noticed there's something cruel in all of you. Something sinister and whether it was nurtured or born it's thriving and it's my job to bring you back, make you grow into better people or Generation Z will have to say arrivederci, because you cheat, manipulate, lie, and evade. But most of all, you do not learn. Why would you when your parents are the ones that taught you to do so? But don't worry, you'll pay for it later. XOXO, Gossip Girl.

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a/n:

not me realising that i haven't written winnie eat anything since the first chapter, not intentionally, i promise.

i was tired of teachers in shows who have "relations" with students not being arrested. there are so many cases of this happening and them being let off completely: the original gossip girl, gossip girl reboot, pll, riverdale, scream and more. winnie helped by an end to rafa's rotten reign, but of course, her parents reprimanded her. it wasn't because of what she did, it's how she did it is where the problem for them lies. so now it's off to therapy with winnie, she needs it but the way margaux framed it was like a punishment which is plain spiteful, especially how she worded it as well.

i had to add another cute moment for monifred because i feel like it's time we had it.

[lululawrence]

After reading your post explaining why 3 concerts in Ohio, I'm curious about your opinion on this. So Louis could have done fewer shows and bigger venues per show (like for example only 1 concert in Ohio but in a big venue) requiring more fans to travel to each concert, and it'll be less effort for him, although I think he enjoys the travelling to new places to see fans. I've been seeing people shade Louis saying he can't sell out MSG like Niall. And I'm here confident Louis can if he put it on his tour schedule and my simple reasoning is that if had fewer concerts around the NY area, it will encourage fans to make a trip to NY for a larger venue show like MSG, but I imagine you know the geography side and ticket buying habits more than me. What are your thoughts?

Oof okay so this is all just my own opinion so people can obviously disagree, but here’s the thing from my point of view. There’s so much more at play than just venue size and geography/demographics to fill it. The larger the venue, the more staff that will be required to put on the show from Louis’ end but also the venue’s end to accommodate the increase in numbers. That often translates to an increase in ticket prices to account for the higher numbers for Louis’ team and their own expenses as well as the cost the venue will pass on to him just to book it etc. something he’s been open about especially in this last round of promo was how he’s making a concerted effort to keep things affordable for the fans, at least as much as he possibly can manage to, and we have a lot of sources telling us that touring costs for the artists only continue to skyrocket (much like everything else right now). So if he chose to do fewer shows but tried to make up for that with larger venues, maybe even booking them for a couple nights to allow people better chances at seeing him there… well you’d basically end up with the residencies Harry did this past year in the US, wouldn’t you? And that was accessible for exactly……….. well. Not very many. Not to totally diss the residencies. As an artist, residencies are big deals and are much easier for them in a lot of ways! I understand the appeal for sure. But if accessibility is your biggest goal, that’s not going to be the way to achieve it.

So could he do that? Yeah absolutely and I’m some cases it would probably be for the best honestly. But he didn’t, at least not here, and I’m personally grateful for that.

So, now we have that lead in, if Louis were to adjust just a few shows and instead do a night at MSG, do I think he could sell it out? Uh, yes. Easily. Like, who the fuck is gonna stop us, right? Lol See, MSG is a special case and a scenario that is different from saying “why not condense the three Ohio shows in smaller amphitheaters to one larger centralized show in nationwide arena?” No one knows what nationwide arena is unless you’re super into Columbus hockey or have attended a previous show there lol it’s not a destination in and of itself or a dream venue anyone has on their list of places to play or attend a concert. For that you need a place like Red Rocks…….or MSG.

So imo announcing a show at MSG alone is going to bring more attention and make people a lot more willing to travel a much further distance than they usually would because… it’s Madison Square Garden. Even my phone knows to capitalize that lol but add to that the fact this is Louis and Louies are not exactly known for being chill or relaxed fans? I have exactly zero doubt that Louis could sell it out. We’d see a higher ticket price most likely due to the larger venue, but I doubt anyone would complain because they’d get the chance to witness Louis on stage in one of the most well known venues out there. That alone seems pretty damn worth it and I think most Louies would agree.

But for now I’m incredibly proud of the guy we all support going out there and doing his best to really get in an easy travel distance for most of the US population in ways almost no other artist has done in recent years all while trying to keep ticket prices at a reasonable level. We truly chose well when we named him our king haha