#even when the audience knows they’re totally fucking up their own life

[dinosaur-mayonnaise]

one thing that gets me in period dramas is when a character finally makes a hard decision which is symbolised by them throwing a something into a fireplace.

[aviscarrentals]

Yelp • Chapter 1 ls2

masterlist previous chapter next chapter

words: 1.5k

warnings: cursing, implied off"screen" deaths, injury/blood, implied character death

notes: this first chapter is mostly just exposition (and a little sad i know), but at the very end you get a sneak peak of the action before everything turns totally cray. (there will be more defined logan x parker in the future chapters as well.) parker is supposed to be the "reader" character. i decided to use a gender-neutral name instead of y/n because that's not my thing. she/her pronouns and feminine descriptions are used, but her gender is not a major plot point at all, so you can totally still read this imagining parker however you want. i hope you enjoy!

“God, it’s so weird just going right back to school like nothing’s even happened,” Parker started.

“Yeah,” Logan agreed. “Five fucking kids are dead, but science! Calculus! English!” he finished mockingly.

“Well, four,” Oscar corrected him, Lily nodding along.

Logan let out a large exhale and nodded. “Crazy he survived that shit considering how fucked up the rest of them were.”

“Well, you know what they say about quiet kids,” Arthur chimed in. The other five immediately turned to look at him in confusion.

“What?” Fred questioned incredulously.

“What?” Arthur demanded. “They’re like actually really cool and badass and stuff.”

“Huh?” Logan inquired with a furrowed brow. “I thought the thing was that they’re like… kinky and shit.”

“Mate, what the fuck?” Arthur responded defensively. “Why would I say that?”

“Well, that’s like the thing people say,” Logan bickered. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, but I’ve never heard anyone say that in my entire life.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Arthur retorted, making them all burst out into laughter for a brief moment before they all returned to a somber silence when they remembered the conversation that led them here in the first place.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you to class?” Logan pressed, his pleading tone making it obvious that he was asking for his own sake instead of his girlfriend’s.

“No,” Parker laughed him off, pushing his chin off of her shoulder and his arms from around her waist. “The health room is all the way on the other side of the building. You’ll be late. Again.”

“Yeah, well-” Logan began to protest before his newest complaint was interrupted by a loud crack behind him that made the both of them jump. They turned around to see Zhou Guanyu staring back at them guiltily.

“Sorry,” he started to apologize “I just dropped-”

“Oh, no, that’s okay,” Logan interrupted, as Parker reached down to pick up the textbook that fell from his locker.

“Thank you,” he said with a shy smile when she handed it back to him.

“No problem,” she reassured him, returning the expression. “It’s the least I can do, especially considering…” She trailed off, instead gesturing to his left arm which was fully encased in a sling.

After a moment of awkward silence, the girl spoke up again. “Um, what class do you have next? I can help you carry your things,” she offered.

“Bio,” he answered, “but it’s alright,” the boy quickly added. “It’s not far, I wouldn't want you to go out of your way-”

“No, that’s perfect,” she interrupted. “I’ve got psych first period, so I’m headed to the science wing too,” she explained, lifting the heavy load from his hands, right as the morning bell rang.

“Alright,” Logan said, leaning over his girlfriend’s shoulder to give her an instinctual kiss on the cheek. “I better get going. If I’m late to Mrs. K’s class one more time I think she might beat me to death with one of the CPR dummies.”

Parker immediately bore her eyes into her boyfriend’s soul at his word choice, the poor boy not remembering his audience until the words had already left his mouth. Looking like a deer in headlights, he simply turned around and scurried off.

“Sorry,” Parker apologized once she turned back to Zhou, embarrassed.

“It’s okay,” he said, chuckling.

“Shit, we better get going or we’ll be late too.”

“You guys know Zhou, right?” Parker asked the group in front of her as she led the incapacitated boy to her customary lunch spot under the oak trees in the school courtyard. The two were met with a chorus of “yeah”s and welcomes.

“I hope it’s okay that I sit with you guys today,” he asked timidly.

“Yeah, great to have you, man,” Liam assured him as Lily reached across the table to relieve Parker of the extra lunch tray.

“Didn’t we have trig together last year, mate?” Dennis piped up to ask him.

“Um… I’m not sure. I don’t think I would recognize you in class,” the bashful boy responded, leading to a roaring bout of laughter from the crowd.

“Goddamn! He got your ass, Hauger,” Jack said through a fit of childish giggles.

As the conversation continued, Parker couldn’t help but notice that one of the usual members of their crew was missing. “Hey, babe,” she said as she nudged her boyfriend’s rib to get his attention.

“What?”

“Where’s Paul?” she asked, concerned. “He said he was coming to school when I checked in on him yesterday,” the girl recalled.

“Yo, Bearman,” Logan called quietly to the younger boy sitting across from them.

“What’s up?” Ollie questioned, eyebrows raised.

“Have you seen Paul at all today? Did he change his mind about coming in?”

“No, he’s here,” Ollie informed the couple. “I think he probably just wants some time to himself right now. Usually…” he trailed off.

Parker and Logan nodded in understanding. Usually Paul wasn’t the only Aron present at the lunch table.

“How are you holding up?” Parker inquired, giving the boy’s hand a gentle squeeze. Paul had lost a brother, but Ollie had lost the next best thing. His best friend. “I’m alright, thanks for asking,” he replied a little too quickly, flitting his eyes away from the couple before abruptly turning to rejoin the ongoing conversation to his right.

Logan and Parker shared a sad glance, but decided it was better to leave the boy be. Paul probably wasn’t the only one who needed space.

“So,” Arthur’s voice rang out, gathering everyone’s attention. “We’ve got Wednesday off, what say you all we hang at my place tomorrow night.”

“OMG! Sleepover!” Jack shrieked in a high pitched voice, eliciting a few snorts from the kids surrounding him.

“Shut up, Doofus,” Arthur shouted at him playfully.

“That’s not my name, Lecdumbass,” the other boy snapped back, overdramatically rolling his eyes in jest.

“Anyways…” Arthur hollered over his friends’ audible amusement, attempting to gather their attention again. “Is everybody in? You too, Guanyu,” he clarified, to which the meek boy simply nodded, much to the others’ delight. “Awesome!”

As everyone else agreed to the plan, Jack interrupted once again. “Can’t. My parents have been totally freaking out over all this shit. You know how they are. So, unfortunately, the only party I will be attending is Doohan family game night hosted at 15 Fairview Road. Sorry, gang.”

“Well, hope you have fun playing Scrabble with Mummy tonight,” Liam teased.

“Yeah,” Dennis joined in sarcastically, “maybe if you’re lucky she’ll let you have a scoop of chocolate ice cream too. With sprinkles!”

“Alright, fuck you all, I’m out of here,” Jack countered, beginning to gather his things in perfect unison with the end-of-lunch bell.

“Bye-bye, Doofenshmirtz!” Parker called to the boy’s back.

“See ya when Mama Doohan lets you out of your cage again,” her boyfriend added with a big grin, made even wider when Jack simply flipped them off as he continued walking away.

Dennis had worked his ass off all summer. He wanted that spot on the team and he wanted it bad. So, in the month leading up to tryouts, he had to keep up his training. And if Coach saw how dedicated he was maybe that would benefit him too.

After another grueling workout under the hot September sun, Dennis made his way back to the empty locker room. He could smell, see, feel, and taste the sweat on his body, making him strip off his soaked through shirt before the door had even fully closed behind him. He needed a shower ASAP.

All of a sudden, he felt the air knocked out of his lungs as his back hit the ground, letting out a strident wheeze. He laid there for a moment, groaning in pain and sweating even harder than before. Wait, no. That wasn’t sweat…

The boy wearily lifted his head off the ground, still recovering from the harsh impact of his fall, only to see the entire floor of the room flooded.

“What the fuck?” he sighed out with the little breath he was able to collect.

He slowly lifted himself back to his feet, ignoring his spinning head, until he looked down at where he had been only to be greeted by a river of pink floating in the shallow water. He reached his fingers to softly touch the back of his throbbing head and was immediately met with an intense pain and sticky, red blood covering his hand.

The boy sluggishly stumbled forward toward the sinks in order to better assess the situation and clean his open wound. The only sounds he could make out were his laboured breaths and the splashes of his feet meeting the puddles beneath him. Splish. Splash. Splish. Splash. Splish. He paused for a moment as the world spun around him.

Splash.

But the sound of that extra step behind him didn’t register in time for him to save himself.

taglist (if you would like to be added or removed just lmk!): @gaypoetsblog @koris-009 @feralnando @disneyprincemuke @osbuzz @avaayalaa @faithshouseofchaos @thearchieves @scuderia-piastri @lovelytsunoda @localwhoore @foreveralbon @vroomvroomcircuit @mclarengf @lipringlrh

[unhinged-diaries]

Business Guide:

How to get started

When you have a business name in mind look up the domain name to see if it’s taken. You don’t want to spend money on an LLC just to find out that your name is taken. Thats a waste of money because you also have to pay to dissolve it.

If the name is not taken, great, don’t file an LLC yet. Go online and get a virtual business address. Why? If you’re running your business out of your home like I am, just know that it’s public information if you use your address to file your LLC. A virtual address should cost like $10-$20 a month. Use that to file your LLC.

Once you’ve filed that LLC get your Ein. That’s your Employee Identification Number. It’s your businesses tax id. It’s free to file on the IRS website. Don’t fall for the scam websites you guys.

Once you’ve gotten your EIN go to Google domains and get your website name aswell as 3-4 emails. An email for your social media accounts, an executive email for yourself, an ecomm@businessname.com for things like your business bank account, Shopify account, etc; and maybe a customer support email. I use the social email as a customer support email. All of this should be like $50/month.

Once you’ve don’t that get on Canva and make that logo bookie. Personally I paid someone on Fiverr to make mine because I’m a “soft business life” kind of girl and I’d rather pay the professionals. Thats just me though.

Once you’ve got your logo go ahead and get them social media accounts going. Instagram, tiktok, Facebook.

Alright now this is where it gets specific to clothing brands because that’s what I own.

Time to find a manufacturer. Head over to alibaba and search what kind of product you want to sell. Be sure to add “oem” if you want a manufacturer that customizes. Look for the amount of orders they’ve gotten on that product. If it says zero orders that’s ok. Some styles are new and thus haven’t been ordered yet. Check any reviews they have for other products. Also check the total revenue they’ve done. It’s on the store profile. I can’t tell you what the sweet spot is yet bc I’ve only used one manufacturer so far but I’d look for mid six figures and up if you wanna be real safe.

Chat with them and order a sample. Even if you buy from a vendor list you’ll need your own sample to make content with. I suggest buying one and first. It’s worth the wait because if you buy multiple and end up not liking them you’d have wasted money that could’ve gone into testing a different manufacturer.

Do not launch with more than 2 products. Even 2 is a stretch, wallai start with one.

This is because if you’re doing the preorder, which I suggest, you’ll be depending on customer orders to pay for the bulk order. Manufacturers do their moq by color or style. If you have too many options in your website and customers order a mix of things, you better pray you have enough money to cover the bulk for all those different styles. Stay safe and give them 1-2 options to choose from.

Pre order method is great if you don’t have a lot of cash to start with because the orders pay for themselves. Bulk orders start to wrack up. Especially if it’s a custom style or material. You don’t want to break the bank for something that might not sell.

Once you’ve gotten and approved your samples choose a launch date. 2-3 weeks before that launch dates post consistently. At least once a day but remember quality over quantity. Now don’t be tricked. Quality doesn’t mean a full cinematography. It means connecting with your audience and relating with them to a point where they’re like “this business gets it”. Either that or attaching yourself to an identity they want to have. “It girl ig influencer”, “feminine soft life babe” “clean girl Pilates princess” whatever the fuck it is embody ur as best as you can. When customers attach your product with an identity that is aspirational to them they will buy it without rationalizing. It’s why the luxury market makes so much off of ppl who can’t afford to buy it twice.

Focus on the backend

If you have a goal of getting an influx of orders and making a lot of sales, be sure that your business is structured in a way that can handle it happening at any given time. You know those tiktok businesses that get one viral video and sell out over night? That could be you but if you’re not prepared ppl are going to be upset. I suggest working backwards:

A customer service platform/inbox so that you can answer them right away with frequently asked questions.

Have stock so that you have something for customers to buy once they finally land on your website.

Have a well presenting website so that ppl don’t think you’re a scam. I’m going to do a post on this bc some of these business websites drive me fuckin nuts. Color theory ppl, color theory.

A social media page with some kind of social proof ie reviews from customers in some way shape or form. Ppl are going to be looking for what others have to say about your brand. Hire UGC creators to make videos that you can post on your page. They’re cheaper than influencers but still know how to convey the message well. You’ll have to have extra samples and items on hand to send them. Also check out their usage rights. Some will allow you to use their videos in ads but you have to pay extra and it’s only for a certain amount of time. But if they do it right, you’ll get a great return. Scared money don’t make no money.

A social media page that shows the products in movement and different lighting. I need to be able to imagine myself in the item before I buy it. Where would I wear it, how will it fit on me. Even when I’ve already ordered something I stay going back to the businesses social media page just to see the clothes again. I might even search it up to see other ppl wearing it.

Packaging

No need to go crazy with the packaging in the beginning. Don’t get me wrong, branding is important but as a beginner you may not have the money for that yet. You need to focus on spending money on what will give you the best return. Just get regular poly mailers from Amazon in your brand colors. You’ll also need:

A stack of 6x4 shipping labels

A thermal printer

A scale

When your manufacturer sends you the clothes they will most likely be in their own little bags. If not you can get those from Amazon too.

Later on you can go to alibaba and find a manufacturer to print you custom poly mailers for that extra edge. Put your logo, a cute message, and your social media handles on the bag and that’s it. Good to go.

You can also design your own thank you cards as well. I won’t be doing that.

Little things to remember

Don’t feel like you have to keep up with big brands. You don’t need to launch something every two weeks. As a matter of fact I advise against emulating super fast fashion brands. I only launch a new item once the pre ordered items have been shipped out to customers.

Be nice to your customers. You’d think this was obvious but it’s not. Some ppl are rude, ghetto, and uncouth. If you hate authority and have a smart mouth I think you should either take a customer service course or hire a virtual assistant from the Philippines to do your customer service for you because no customers = no money.

I’ll update this as I learn and grow:

12/18/2023

Influencers

Not every influencer with a mass follower base is going to be your influencer. It’s possible that you pay $5000 for an influencer with 75k followers to post your product on her page but that post makes you less than $3k. That means you’ve net negative $2k. What a fuckin waste of money.

This is why it’s important to develop a persona for your brand. What is your brand identity? Who is your target audience? What are their psychographics?

Where do currently shop? What are there favorite social media apps?What is their race? Their age? Their ethnicity? Are they in college or highschool? Do they have parents that support their lifestyle or are they hustlers? Are they concerned about price or quality more? Are they married? Do they have children? Are they environmentally conscious?

You need to embody Joe Goldberg and peer at them through their window. Acquaint yourself with every part of their life.

Also, you might not be your target demographic yet and that’s ok. The girls that shop with my brand have social lives. They go out with their friends and need outfits to wear. I don’t have a social life. The only clothes I wear are my work clothes to go to work and my robe when I’m at home.Or a sweat set and a bonnet to run errands.

Don’t think to yourself “ I would never wear that.” “I would never buy something at that price point”. That’s fine cuz someone else will. A lot of people will.

Another thing is your demographic could change once you start your business. It might be that you create content that attracts a different type of person than what you originally planned and that’s cool too. We don’t live in a perfect world. As long as they’re close enough to what you had predetermined it’s ok. Sometimes our business comes out different than we hoped but it’s just as good if not better. It’s like child. Don’t destroy its greatness trying to turn it into something it doesn’t want to be.

User generated content

Love, love, love her down. She’s that sweet spot between making content yourself and having an influencer with a large following make the content for you. UGC is a form of social proof which is something you need for an e-commerce brand especially. Ppl can’t just pop into your store and try on your stuff so they need the opinions of “regular” people to sell them on it. They want to see that person try it on, do a close up of the fabric, wear it to a social setting, etc;

What I like about UGC is that I can pick someone who fits into my brand persona to represent my brand even if I don’t. Someone that appears aspirational but still relatable. Like I said previously, you yourself might not embody your brands persona but you can pay someone who does.

A little translate for yall: I do not live in a nice apartment. My room is small, and dark, and filled with boxes. My living room has mix matched decor and I myself am not the body type I’d like to be (pls don’t hit me with body positivity babe). What I can do is pay a girl with the opposite of all those things and knows how to sell a product.

I have a girl right now that I’ve inquired to make posts for me and she’s got it all. Her rate for one video is $100 with an extra $30 for 90 days of usage in ads. $100 is the new 50 and for the return I’ll get on her, THATS A STEAL.

If you need to find a UGC creator search it up on tiktok and Twitter. Most of them have a portfolio of past work they’ve done. If you feel like they match your brands vibes, keep their info for when you’re ready.

I suggest to have a roster of them because if ppl keep seeing the same person over and over, the thought that that person is just a regular degular customer leaves their mind and you lose the magic of UGC.

Update 12/21/2023

I’ve been sick but yall ain’t paying me so it’s ok. Here’s the update.

Website

Your website is your home babe and when you’re preparing for guest you can’t have your home looking any type of way. Not only does it need to be clean but it needs to be cohesive and inviting.

You know how many times I’ve opened someone’s booking page on Instagram and I click off. Not only am I not reading through all of that small ass text but my head hurts cuz you’ve got a black font on a hot pink background.

Some of yalls websites to not comply with accessibility guidelines so pay attention to that bc you can be sued. Ppl should be able to read what you have on there without getting a headache.

Good rule of thumb is to have one primary color, and then black and white. Don’t over complicate it. Your primary color will be your logo, think twitters blue, then your secondary colors should be black and white, for your text. You might have an accent color like gold or silver, this should be used sparingly for a little dazzle.

If you’re a clothing brand like me, keep the text short and sweet. Think about it, when you go shopping on your favorite website are you bombarded with a soliloquy on how the collection came to be? And even if you are do you stop and read the whole thing? I don’t bc I don’t care. That’s what your Instagram story is for.

All I want to see is the attention grabber and a short,but convincing, tagline.

Example: Ski Resort 2023-“Stun the slopes and stand out on the ski lift with best sellers spotted at St. Moritz”

Let you images tell the rest of the story.

Don’t overwhelm them with options

Guys this is so important. The more options ppl see the less they buy or the less likely they are to buy. Why? This is the thought process.

“Omg the stuff on this website is so cute! Let me go through their catalog and add to my cart as I go”

5 minutes of scrolling

“Ok I have too many things in my cart let me just save to a wishlist instead”

Another 5 minutes of scrolling

“Ok I’ll just stop here and go back to my cart and decide what I’m going to get rn”

Goes to cart

Spends 10 minutes deciding what she’s gonna get bc there’s so many good options

Takes 10 items out of her cart and only buys two basics bc she knows those are less likely to disappoint.

And scene

That is if she didn’t leave after the second five minutes of scrolling. Nowadays five minutes on a non stimulating website is a lot, don’t let it take that long.

Obviously this also depends on the customers budget. Some people have the money to just buy everything in their cart (I wish- one day), but most are just window shopper you hope to convert with your nice styles, images, and prices. Don’t make it harder for people to give you their money.

I have more but I’m tired of writing so I’ll update yall tmrw.

[novalunosiss]

It’s almost been 24 hours since vol 2 came out and I’m still super pissed off, so here’s a list of everything wrong in volume 2.

Byler. Queerbait of the fucking century??? I would’ve been significantly less upset if they hadn’t advertised/marketed it so hard during pride month. And making the queer kid the sad gay vessel through which the straight couple thrives is nothing short of homophobic.

The deaths. They advertised this season as being particularly dangerous/full of death, which was a straight up lie. The only people who died were either antagonists or minor background characters, with the exception of Eddie (though it was extremely obvious from the start that he was canon fodder, much like Bob- despite how much I liked Eddie’s character, there was never a doubt in my mind that he wasn’t going to die.)

Max’s “death”. So I know I just did a section on the deaths but this one pissed me off so much I had to give it it’s own seperate section. Max’s “death” was a total copout. Don’t get me wrong, I love her character. But I wish she did die. Having someone die and be brought back to life is such a terrible, cliche, overused trope. It’s too safe of a choice. Where is the danger? I want to actually be scared that the characters I love might not make it out alive. And since when could El bring people back to life? That’s never been explored in the show before, making it completely out of place and confusing when watching the scene. Having Max die would’ve been impactful, and shown to the audience that any of the characters can die, not just new ones, or unimportant background ones. It would’ve raised the stakes! The scene where she “died” was heartbreaking and powerful, but then they negated that by bringing her back to life, rendering the scene pointless. They either should’ve actually genuinely killed her, or not have her “die” at all. Having that “in-between” sort of situation where she technically died, but came back to life (albeit in a coma) was super flaky, and imo, bad writing.

Speaking of bad writing, the time skip! This is genuinely one of the worst things I’ve seen implemented in the show. I generally don’t like time skips anyway, but at least the one at the end of s3 made sense. The main drama of that season was resolved, and they needed to show the Byers moving away. The time skip this season, however, made 0 fucking sense. The drama hadn’t been resolved, it just skipped like half of the climax and the entirety of the falling action, and went straight to the resolution (which wasn’t even a resolution at all). 2 days is a pretty big time skip to implement after skipping half the climax. What happened during those two days??? It was confusing as fuck, and none of the characters actions/behaviour during the “resolution” phase of the story made sense, maybe with the exception of Dustin and Lucas, who were shown to be grieving unlike almost everyone else. You’re telling me that Nancy, Robin and Steve just fought fucking Vecna, almost died, and some of their friends did die (if you count Max) and two days later they’re happily packing up a bunch of old belongings to donate, without a care in the world? And during that scene, there seemed to be little to no concern about Mike’s whereabouts from the entire Wheeler family until he actually showed up. They mentioned they’d been trying to contact them for days, but nothing about their demeanour beforehand implied concern.

The monologue. Need I even say more? It was cheesy, cringey, and made no narrative sense. The reasoning Mike gave for being unable to tell El he loved her was one of the stupidest reasons I’ve seen in media, ever. Where was the “amazing monologue” we were promised by the Duffers? That sure as hell isn’t what I’d call amazing. Finn is a great actor, and he’s done amazing monologues before (*cough cough*, the shed scene) so that isn’t on him, it’s on the shitty script. “I feel like my life first started when I met you in the woods”? Bullshit, and such a cruel thing to say in front of Will, who’s life was literally turned upside down on the exact same day. “I loved you since the moment I saw you”? Love at first sight is a cringey trope. Mike was 12 when he first met Eleven. He probably didn’t even know the meaning of love, especially when you take a look at how dysfunctional his parents marriage is/Nancy, his older sisters relationship at the time was. Also, how can he say he loved her the moment he saw her when he spent most of s1 trying to get rid of her (saying he was going to send her back to pennhurst) and calling her a “weapon”? El could’ve found strength to beat Vecna in something far more significant than a teenage boy telling her he loves her, but noooo.

Will’s painting. I really feel like I don’t have to elaborate on this one. It just fucking sucked. They built it up like it was going to be some really important declaration of love from Will to Mike, only to have it be used to help further Mileven. Also the actual painting was ass, and all the fan theories about it were way better and more meaningful. (Like the idea we all had of the swingset where Mike and Will first met, or even just a painting of the two of them as their D&D characters, but SEPERATE from the rest of the group so it was actually obvious what the painting meant.)

The upside down thing with Henry?? I don’t even know what’s going on there. It was super confusing. Is the mind flayer actually Henry? Did El create the upside down or was it there before? Why did it look like that when Henry first got sent there, but looks like Hawkins now? I know they’ll likely answer these questions next season, but there’s just too many questions and knowing now how shit the duffers are at writing, I doubt they’ll all be answered satisfactorily.

The terrible character development. By that, I mean that there was none. Literally no characters had any development. They were all exactly the same as they were at the start of the season. El is still dependent on Mike/isn’t her own person. Mike is still a fucking asshole who treats his friends like shit. Will is still in the closet and hiding his true feelings from everyone around him. Nancy and Jonathan are still lying to each other. Steve is still pining after Nancy. Robin is still pining after Vickie. I could go on and on.

The Duffers hate minorities + poor people. Will and Robin, the two queer characters, don’t get well rounded love interests like all of the straight characters, and Will in particular is made to suffer constantly. Lucas and Erica, the two black characters, are both physically assaulted. Max and Eddie, the two poorest characters, who are living in a trailer park, fucking die. (from @hellfireds) Oh, also? The Duffers filmed parts of s4 in a fucking Nazi prison, where Jewish people were held against their wills and killed. (from @artmuseumsandoldbooks)

I’m going to keep updating this list as I think of more things that are wrong with vol 2. There’s already so many things I could add if I decided to include the shit wrong with vol 1 as well, but vol 2 was significantly worse so I’m just gonna stick to that. Feel free to suggest anything else I should add to the list

In conclusion, FUCK THE DUFFERS

[harmonictechnicality]

Eddie discovers his ability to control dreams by mistake. All he wanted was to sleep off the shadows and storm clouds. Close his eyes and take a breath because he doesn’t breathe anymore. He doesn’t need to.

Something else keeps him alive now and he can hear it moving throughout him. Sloshing in his bloodstream and stealing his humanity. If he looks close enough, he can see black pulses underneath his wrists, right where his veins use to be.

Sleep never finds him, but nightmares do. They’re never his nightmares either - they belong to his friends. Some of them, like Dustin, have memory fueled nightmares: haunting events that are similar to ones that occurred in the Upside Down.

But others, like Lucas, have premonition-based nightmares: Max flatlining in a hospital bed or his sister getting mindflayed.

Neither form of nightmare is less torturous than the other.

Eddie hates consuming their trauma in a dreamlike state. They can’t even rest properly because of all this monster bullshit. It’s not fair. And it’s not fair that he can only spend time with them in such an intruding way. Like he’s infiltrating their darkest secrets and watching their struggles as a fucking audience member.

It’s daytime and he only has one friend who sleeps while the sun is up: Steve Harrington. Eddie shuts his eyes and searches for the familiar face.

Steve’s nightmares are driven by his greatest fears. Rejection. Dying alone. Total isolation. The settings are always so eerily normal. A Hawkins classroom. The bathroom of a house party. Driving his car. Sitting in his own bedroom.

In this current dream, Steve is waiting at a bus stop. He sticks a cigarette between his lips and fumbles through his pockets, searching for a lighter.

“Here you go.” A nearby voice says. “You can borrow mine.”

Eddie is next to him on the bench now, offering Steve a black lighter case. But it’s not the real Eddie.

It’s the nightmare version of Eddie.

Steve casually thanks Nightmare Eddie and takes the lighter. The flame is black as well, but Steve seems unfazed by this detail. He just inhales the cigarette and stares at the empty road in front of him.

“I don’t usually see you at this bus stop,” Nightmare Eddie is monotone. Stoic.

Steve let’s out the smoke, watches it fade. “My car broke down.”

“No it didn’t.” Nightmare Eddie is sneering and his voice is almost an octave deeper than it normally is.

“Yes it did.”

“Why are you lying, Steve?”

“I’m not!” Steve starts to raise his voice.

“You shouldn’t be here!” Nightmare Eddie matches Steve’s volume.

“What?”

“You don’t belong here!”

“How do you know?”

Nightmare Eddie points at the Bus Stop sign. “Because this stop is the last one.”

The sign’s letters change to read: It’s Over.

“This route takes you to the last stop of your life.” Nightmare Eddie pauses. Waits for Steve to respond. “Is that what you want, Steve?”

Steve is quiet when he says it:

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“No.” Steve stands up from the bench. “I don’t know what I want!”

Nightmare Eddie peers down the road and looks back at Steve. “Well you better figure out what you want. Because here comes our ride.”

The bus screeches down the road, clunky awful noises. Steve continues to stare straight ahead. Barely reacting to anything.

As the brakes halt in front of the bench, Nightmare Eddie skips onto the bus with no hesitation. Steve glances at the wheels before he brings his gaze up to the open door. He takes a step forward and stops again. A few more moments go by before the bus driver honks impatiently, which shocks Steve into a rash decision. He takes another few steps towards the bus and that’s when it happens.

“Steve, stop!” Eddie runs into the road. Real Eddie.

It works. Steve stops walking, so Eddie hurries over to him. He takes Steve’s hand, determined to ground him and his thoughts into staying. Never letting him leave on that damn bus.

“Eddie?” Steve blinks hard.

“It’s me.” Eddie doesn’t blink. Can’t look away from Steve’s conflicted expression. “I’m right here.”

The bus drivers lays down the horn again.

“Oh, fuck off!” Eddie yells, broadly waving his hand in front of the headlights. As he does this, the bus disappears.

Interesting.

He tries waving again, this time, at the sign. Gradually, the sign turns into floating particles that eventually disappear as well.

Eddie is making all the bad go away. Eddie can stop the nightmares.

“Please let me help, Steve.” Eddie loosens his grip around Steve’s fingers, but doesn’t let go completely.

“How?” There’s so much fear and agony in Steve’s eyes.

“I have an idea.”

There's a shared memory from their past that Eddie can use as dream setting, visualizing it in his own mind before offering into Steve's subconscious mind.

It's from their sixth grade class field trip. Eddie and Steve were in the same tour group - it was the first time they spent the whole day together.

"The aquarium?" Steve is awestruck. Closely watching the tanks of mellow waves of water. Eyes shifting to each colorful fish that flutters by his gaze. It's the first time Eddie has seen Steve calm in weeks.

"Do you remember this day?" Eddie rubs Steve’s back. The physical comfort he gives to Steve is equally for himself as well. He's so miserably lonely in this place.

Steve nods, never looking away from the exhibits. "I remember."

Underneath the shades of moving blues, Steve's complexion looks ethereal. An aquatic angel. His halo is cracked and Eddie wants to minimize the damage. Make him glow again.

"We sat in this exact spot for over an hour." Eddie motions for Steve to join him on the floor. They're facing a wall-sized tank. The fish look prehistoric, larger than life and swimming slowly. "I'll always remember what you told me that day."

"What did I say?" Steve finally looks at him.

The memory is visceral for Eddie. He could play it in his mind like a video tape, fast-forwarding to the good parts.

"You told me how much you loved swimming. How it made you feel like Superman. You said, ‘Humans don’t get to fly like superheroes. They get to swim instead.’ Which is pretty profound for an eleven year old.” Eddie nudges him and Steve almost smiles. Almost.

“I wish…” Steve trails off. “I wish you were still alive.”

Eddie places his hand over his heart. Thinks about it pumping toxins now instead of blood. “Yeah. Me too.”

"I can't believe you remembered what I told you years ago." Steve scoots his hand closer to Eddie's, ghosting his pinky finger over his open palm. The warmth of the touch almost feels like this is reality and not a dream. Like Eddie is back in Hawkins and not this stormy hellscape.

"You're hard to forget, Steve Harrington." Eddie lets his fingers close over top of Steve's pinky. Lets this moment feel tangible.

“Seeing you again is nice.”

“It is?”

“Really nice.”

Steve finally smiles. No more traces of the nightmare are left in his sleep realm. Eddie was able to give him a serene moment, however brief that may be. Steve is finally dreaming peacefully.

“Then I’ll stay until you wake up.” Eddie says quietly. He already knows that Steve is in the waking up process; the scenery around them is fading away into rays of light. He won't remember this place - this stage stuck between awake and asleep.

“Wake up?”

“Yes.” Now Eddie and Steve are fading away too. “And I’ll see you in your next dream too.”

“Promise?” Steve’s voice is distant.

"Promise."

The bright light takes over Eddie’s vision, forcing him to open his eyes quickly. Steve is officially awake.

This changes everything. Eddie can manipulate nightmares and turn them into lovely dreams. He can speak to his friends. He can tell his uncle he loves him. He can hug everyone that he cares about.

It’s not as satisfying as actual communication and affection. But until Eddie can find a way to return back to Hawkins, he can protect his friends from their bad dreams.

He can shield them from their own worst nightmares.

[taicangmountain]

i know it has to be so hard to fully respect both endings to the original lis in a game CENTERED around max, so i almost wish they did just ‘canonize’ one ending or say that they’re ‘only exploring possibilities within one ending’ but that the other was still a valid and equally canon choice.

because if chloe is dead, she can haunt the fuck out of the narrative. max can still be hung up on that choice even 10 years later, she can keep chloe’s picture in her wallet so that she never forgets the responsibility she holds for that decision and max can forever wonder if she should’ve saved her. but she can also move onto a new location and form a new friend group and the game doesn’t have to explain why chloe’s not there — max is allowed to heal and have her own life.

whereas if chloe’s alive (a choice people will pretty much only make if they like pricefield), there has to be many new and complicated explanations for why chloe’s not with max, and these explanations probably won’t make fans happy. people who chose the bae ending allowed for the destruction of the homes and lives of countless people just so max and chloe could be together.

the easiest way for the devs to ‘respect’ the bae ending is probably to just have pricefield break up. then, there don’t have to be that many dialogue/narrative changes, right? because chloe’s still out of the picture either way? all mentions of her can be roughly similar in tone and content because max can be grieving chloe’s departure in both timeline? but of course this seems totally unfair to the fans. people who let arcadia bay did that so chloe and max could be together forever (and yeah, max made that decision when she was 18, but this is fiction and in lis2 they’re shown still going strong even 6 years after arcadia bay. what happened in the ~4 year time period between then and double exposure?). it’s dramatic to say this about a video game ship, but having pricefield break up would be like spitting in the faces of everyone who chose that ending (aka HALF OF EVERYONE WHO EVER PLAYED LIS1 and probably more than half of people who remained dedicated fans).

the more popular but harder to implement decision would just be to have chloe and max still together but living in separate cities for some reason, or have chloe going away for some reason. like maybe chloe’s gone back to school so she’s slightly behind max and they’ve temporarily ended up in different places, or she’s started a career and has to go on a trip, etc. lots of different reasons why she could be gone. the problem is that if chloe is still alive and with max in the bae timeline, then double exposure would have to be split into 2 totally different experiences for each ending. if chloe’s alive and with max, players will want max to be able to text her about what’s going on, to be able to see her, to call her, and so on. flavor text and journal entries (if they’re still in game) have to be totally different between different versions of the game to account for max’s relationship. plus, max can have new love interests in either timeline, but players would be very unlikely to explore them if chloe is still alive (and ESPECIALLY if max and chloe are still together/friends). and there is at least some portion of the audience who would’ve chosen to save chloe but still only wants pricefield as friends, so that adds another complex layer…

i just think it’s going to be impossible for the devs to truly respect both endings. but who knows, maybe i’ll be proven wrong

[this-is-lightning]

Supercorp FicRec P. 29

The next part in my ongoing ficrec series. I go through my bookmarks on AO3 and select the ones I like the best and add a little commentary on why. 5 fics per part. 

Masterpost

we're playing to a full house, darling (but this show can't go on) by the_ominous_owl

Kara’s struggling to find work. Lena’s struggling to find herself. When fate (with some help from Cat Grant) casts them into the same orbit they find themselves completely off-script, because while everyone knows about the sins of the father, they're somewhat less clear about the sins of one’s siblings. Throw into that an audience hungry for stories at the expense of fact, a showrunner with a plan nobody saw coming, and a co-star who steadfastly refuses to keep it in his pants, and you’ve got a tale so dramatic even the protagonists have noticed. or the one where they’re both actresses with a surprising amount of baggage for two people who haven’t met yet.

w: 37,360

r: teen and up

The actress trope done very, very well. Slowburn. Lena's got it so very bad but shes got baggage. Kara is captain oblivious. They figure it out tho. Lots of intimacy and feelings. There's a part two bt that ones still a wip.

It's Funny Right up Until It's Not by ThornedRose44

It's funny because it's harmless… It's funny because it's never a big deal… It's funny because it's forgotten by the next day… It's funny because she's fine. She's always fine… Until… she’s not...

w: 12,131

r: mature

Yea so this one cut deep. Happy ending but were digging into the "haha quarterly assassination lol" witch is really not funny at all. Angst but so so heartfelt and wonderful. Some-when after S5.

musings from 504 by sapphic_luthor

“We got Supergirl’s mail again,” a voice calls from behind a massive, unidentifiable sculpture as it steps through the door. He sets the piece down just as the words leave his mouth, and then the dark-haired boy spins to face you, hand outstretched to drop a letter onto the countertop, and he breathes, “Oh, fuck.” You look toward your new roommates, and register the panic on their faces. “Wait,” you say, but your mind is jumping to conclusions that your mouth is far too embarrassed to vocalize, so you find that you don’t have any follow-up. “Are you--” you start, but you know it’s true even before you ask. “Seriously?”

w: 7,670

r: teen and up

So how much do we all think Kara's neighbors know about her life? An outsiders perspective on the Superfriends. Funny and fun and heartfelt.

Bizarre Love Triangle by powergrapes

One day, two women meet on the subway. The recently dumped Lena is recovering from a broken heart, and Kara is grappling with the open-ish relationship she has with her long-distance boyfriend. They decide that they’re going to become friends. The kind of friends who also have totally casual, no-strings-attached, nobody’s-catching-feelings sex. What could go wrong? As Alex puts it: “Kara. This is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done. And I’m including the time that you set fire to your own hair and nearly burned the house down trying to do some spell you found on MySpace to make Troy Bolton materialize in real life and marry you.” Or: Lena and Kara go around New York City eating food and banging each other until their feelings eat away at them, and Alex tries not to have an aneurysm about it.

w: 113,061

r: explicit

So so so well written. Gets pretty angsty but the payoff is so worth it. Lots of feelings and fun and fluff too. And very VERY good smut. A MUST read!

The Luthor Family by MyCatIsMyEditor

Following Lex’s death Lena finds herself guardian to the four year old nephew she never knew existed. She also finds herself in need of help. Who better to help her than her best friend and National City’s favourite Kryptonian. It’s just a little awkward that her nephew is scared of Supergirl. OR Kara and Lena raising Lex’s son while slowly getting together with a bunch of cute fluff and some angst thrown in as they work together to be the best parents possible to a scared little boy.

w: 95,676

r: mature

Digs a lot into the issues with fostering a child who was neglected and abused. But its very well done and there's a lot of fluff too. Kara and Lena slip into the parent role very well. But of course this whoe situation digs up issues of theirs too. They build a wonderful family and support net and finally get to be so so happy with everyone at their side.

Don't forget to leave some love for the writers on AO3! Much love and happy reading!

[zhouxiangs]

(2/2)

And the clearest example is how he’s aware of Way’s feelings for him, has been for a while, but not only is he very dismissive of them (picture their hallway conversation when Way is clearly emotional and upset and for the first time actually addresses the elephant in the room (which takes a lot of courage), only for Babe to be all ‘yeah I know – ugh did you have to actually say it out loud?? - but, like…Charlie! Now let me caress your shoulder while I reassure you we’re still best buds!’ or the way he reacts like it’s all a bit tiresome whenever someone else brings it up) - Babe makes a conscious choice to NOT discuss it with Way, and more importantly to NOT draw any boundaries tween them. At best he’s just being extremely careless with Way’s feelings, especially when he jokes about them being bfs, but at worst, one could argue that his flirtatiousness is in fact an intentional manipulation of said feelings in order to keep Way where he wants him, which is at his beck and call. Babe doesn’t care to look any deeper because there’s nothing in it for him – as long as he has Way by his side, adoring him, he’s satisfied. Any awkward niggling thoughts about how actually this probably isn’t a healthy dynamic and this guy needs to get a life outside of me and in retrospect it’s a little strange that I know literally nothing about him get pushed aside in order to maintain that status quo.

Now, unlike half the characters in this show, I’m capable of self-reflection: I know that I could extend some of the sympathy I have for Way due to his shitty past (and present) to Babe, and speculate that Babe’s selfishness, his need to keep Way with him even if it’s detrimental to Way’s wellbeing, is merely a consequence of his own shitty past, his fear of being alone; that his inability to deal with this situation is a result of his own emotional maladjustment at Tony’s hands. That’s all very likely to be true. BUT! Babe has the whole internet ready to kill for him, so sorry but he doesn’t need me to do the same! What can I say - I feel obligated to stick up for the underdog, no matter how much of a fucked up wrong’un said underdog might be! (Of course there’s also the entirely plausible possibility that all this is just the fault of shoddy writing - as long as characters keep repeating that this really is a deep and wholesome and 100% reciprocated friendship then we the audience are duty-bound to believe it!)

In conclusion (if you got this far - apologies!): Way is a pathetic but tragic character who didn’t deserve the hand he was dealt (but does deserve lifelong therapy), whose motivations are much more complex and heart-wrenching than many seem able/willing to recognise/acknowledge. Babe is selfish and a shitty friend, but that is perhaps understandable given his experiences. SA (and mind-fucking your friend) is NEVER excusable, no matter how awful your life or how bad your daddy issues; neither is it EVER the fault of the victim. All of these things can be true at the same time, and it wouldn’t hurt to remember that.

Your Honour, I rest my case!

P. S. Internet, please don't be mad at me! Everyone's of course entitled to their own opinion (variety is the spice of life and all that!) and the remaining eps might totally destroy this interpretation, but at the end of the day, it's just a show, and I'm just a socially anxious contrarian overthinker with a penchant for well-acted morally dubious pretty boys!

i think i tend to be more positive/look for the more favourable explanation and so my opinion on the hallway conversation (which: hurty) is that babe is extreeeemely unprepared to talk about feelings. which is funny because his friendship with way reads as very intense to me, and they’re pretty dramatic with their words too? but it’s clear babe has no experience in this area, both talking about it and feeling it, and it shows precisely in how careless he is with way’s feelings. and again, the jokes about being bfs babe i will hunt you down you cannot be this dense! please! but also i don’t think he would see anything unhealthy in how powerful way’s attachment to him is because i think, up until charlie showed up, they both acted like that with each other. (my poor way…)

don’t apologise! this has taken me five million hours to reply to but it has been worth every. second. and honestly while as i’ve just said i don’t totally agree with your interpretation of babe and his actions and feelings towards way i do think you make great points and can see why you’re interpreting something in a different way than i do. also i love to read what people are thinking. meta is my favourite thing in the world, so unless it’s something horrifying to me i am going to enjoy it lol

[hyenahunt]

Obbligato: The Devotion to Tatsumi Kazehaya - 1

Writer: Akira

Season: Spring, three years ago

Characters: Jun, Tatsumi

Proofreading: 310mc + Remi (JP) & honeyspades (ENG)

Translation: hyenahunt & Peace

Tatsumi: Haha. If I'm able to bring even a hint of a smile to your face, then I'll consider being an idol a true blessing.

Content Warning!

Contains casual mention of suicide.

Time: Three years ago. One month after the entrance ceremony.

Location: Reimei Academy's "Labour Camp”

Jun: Yaaawn~...♪

(Welp, it's the start of yet another god-awful day...)

(Nothing's improved at all since the entrance ceremony. It's just day after day of serving these damn Special Students. Fuck this shit.)

(Isn't Reimei Academy supposed to be a school for training idols? I still haven't done a single thing you'd expect an idol to do here yet.)

(Well, I guess that kinda thing's one of those almighty Specials' privileges, huh?)

(At this rate, I’m starting to think I was practicing better before I even enrolled here. I’ve been practicing in secret, yeah, but I’ve still got my limits.)

(I'm always so worn out from washing those Specials' clothes and making their meals that by the time I get back to the Labour Camp, I'm asleep on my feet.)

Jun: (All the same, I've been pushing myself to practice on my own, but it really just feels like I'm taking a pointless detour… Actually, it’s more of a total waste of time than a detour.)

(But well, I did hear that in hardcore powerhouse baseball schools, newbies aren't allowed to even touch the ball for their whole first year.)

(Who knows, maybe this is the idol version of that, but — )

(It still pisses me off...! Ugh, can't the Specials all get into some kinda accident and just drop dead already?)

Tatsumi: Good morning. ♪

Jun: Woah... Oh, mornin', Kazehaya-senpai.

You've totally settled yourself into the Labour Camp, haven't ya? I honestly figured you would've thrown in the towel and gotten the hell out way sooner.

Tatsumi: As they say, once you clear your mind of worldly thoughts, even fire will feel cool. If you look around the world, there are plenty of people much worse off than those who live here.

Comparatively, a blessed person such as myself has no right to complain at all, don't you think?

Jun: Is that how it is? For that matter, why're you bumming around here at the very bottom of the barrel when you could be kicking back enjoying the privileged life of a Special Student?

I'm uh, wait, how d'you say it... My, um, deepest apologies for asking this again and again.

Tatsumi: You needn't worry over formalities, Jun-san. It doesn't matter how you speak to me, so long as you're able to convey yourself the way you wish.

Jun: Yeah, right. This place is practically full of assholes waiting to jump you the second you say a single word wrong.

Tatsumi: Is that so? Haha, I learn so much by speaking with you.

Jun: (What a weird guy... For real, what's up with him?)

(Rumour has it that he appealed to the school to have his Special Student title revoked, but they rejected it so they're having a lil' dispute right now.)

(Wonder if he’s tryin’ that 'cause he doesn't get along that well with the other Specials or something?)

(But then again, whenever I see Kazehaya-senpai around school, it always seems like he's on good terms with both Specials and Non-Specials alike.)

(Reimei Academy may have a thoroughly-enforced hierarchy but this guy's the only "exception" to it.)

(I seriously wonder what his whole deal is~... I'm not really interested in other idols, let alone idol students fresh off the boat, so I didn't know about it, but...)

(After looking into it, I discovered that Kazehaya-senpai's already debuted as a Special Student idol, and he seems to be crazy popular.)

(Even though Yumenosaki currently has the most influence over the industry, it’s barely producing results — and he took the opportunity to grab his own fan base. Last year, he especially thrived by attracting the attention of audiences that love young male idols.)

('Course, CosPro's other idols are all doing great, thanks to the selfless devotion of us Non-Specials.)

(But even among them, this person stands right out.)

(But instead of letting it all get to his head, here he is hanging out with us at the very back of the pack, sitting in the Labour Camp as he drinks homemade tea.)

Tatsumi: ...? Would you like some tea as well, Jun-san?

Jun: I'll have some. I still feel worn to the bone no matter how much I sleep lately, so I'd like something to wake me up a lil'~...

Tatsumi: You sound like an exhausted middle-aged man, Jun-san. Don't forget, you still have plenty of years ahead of you.

Jun: Right back atcha. Ahh, this tea tastes great. It's stuff like this that makes up the rare moments of joy I get to experience at Reimei, for real.

Tatsumi: Haha. If I'm able to bring even a hint of a smile to your face, then I'll consider being an idol a true blessing.

Still, you really do seem far too tired...

If you're unable to take your mind off of things, then it's possible you have some symptoms of depression. Before your thoughts become too much and overwhelm you, you should vent them out to someone.

I don't mind lending an ear, if you don't mind me listening.

Jun: I’m all good, I swear. You say this to everyone no matter who it is, don'tcha?

'Cause of that, we get crowds of poorly-lookin' folks comin' to the Labour Camp everyday, telling you woes of their ailments...

It's got me starting to think this place's looking more like a hospital or a church.

Tatsumi: My apologies, I hadn't meant to cause such a disturbance. I've asked them not to come here as much as possible, but they still do...

The rules are strict on those who aren't Special Students, and so we'll certainly be reprimanded if this area becomes something of a hangout spot. Our teachers and other staff won't like it.

Jun: Well, it's fine, isn't it? Everyone needs some kinda place to escape to.

You sit down all these tormented Non-Specials right before they think to end their suffering and send themselves off to actual Heaven, and hold 'em back from acting on it.

Even though all I do is live next to this, just the thought of it makes me feel like I'm a part of something noble — and you know what? Somehow, I'm grateful for it.

✦✦✦✦✦

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[collectivecloseness]

Let's say Kurt's driving a really annoying and flirty person and when they get off they kiss kurt, what do you think his reaction would be? Especially towards his s/o, would he go crazy because he thinks he cheated or what would he do

(Long post so under cut)

Oh this is some good angst! I love angst like this. But also poor Kurt. Because it could happen, let’s face it, Kurt has some appeal to a particular audience, he’s cute. And when he’s with you, his self confidence and care skyrockets, still not that high, but high for Kurt, which can make him even more attractive to people who’re into guys like him. Also, some people in the back of rideshares just seem to forget the people driving them are people too, etiquette goes out the window.

Kurt’s pretty happy to have a chatty customer at first. When they ask if they can sit in the front he starts stammering a bit, taken off guard by the question. “O-Oh. Uhmm... so- well-“ but they’re already opening the door. Usually he saves the passenger seat for you. Or if he has four passengers to fit. But he doesn’t mind too much. Especially when they start acting interested in what he has to say! When Kurt flashes them his signature smile, letting her know his account is “Kurtsworld96.” His eyes practically pop out of his skull as they go on their phone, saying she’s going to follow. “Woah! That’s like... that’s insane! I mean yeah, I totally have a tonne of fans, but th- ya know, it’s cool to meet a real life Kurtie in person! It’s awesome when- to know that I can, like, create those bonds irl. That I can get someone to follow me for me, and not just the me on screen. Oh! I’ll also follow for follow, once I’m parked. Thanks!” It definitely doesn’t come across as flirty. Kurt’s clearly very excited and almost shocked that someone followed him, which definitely goes against his spiel about ‘all his followers’, especially when she sees the number of people actually following Kurt.

But then they start getting touchy. Kurt’s really bad at picking up social cues. Before he was dating you, any attention would be zoned in on like a hawk, wondering if the person was flirting with him, but never being able to actually tell. Now Kurt wasn’t looking for it, he definitely didn’t pick up her flirting. Until the touching began. They swept a long tuft of hair from the apple of Kurt’s cheek, behind his ear, even though it fell into place right again. “God Kurtis, you’re so funny.”

Kurt’s smile fell at that. He sucked in his lips, a blank expression washing over his face as he focuses on the drive. The fact he’d already corrected her on that not being his name, wasn’t even in the front of his mind. That face touching... that wasn’t good.

And then their hand fell on his knee. Just above it, but not directly on his thigh. Kurt panicked a little now, feeling his heart race and his skin starting to itch where she touched it. After completing the turn he was already half way through, with a bit of quiet and shocked spluttering, Kurt nudged her hand away with the back of his own, fighting between placing his own hand on his knee to keep hers off, and not even wanting to touch where she had. What if that was flirting back???!!! “Uhmmmmm... I have to focus on the road. So...”

Kurt’s sweating at this point. He didn’t want to be misinterpreting anything and have her be mad at him, he didn’t want to be the asshole. But he was also so sure that she was flirting. He couldn’t have someone flirting with him!!! He was in a relationship!!! He was a committed man!!! He didn’t even want to be flirting with this girl! Did he fuck up and give the wrong vibe? Oh my God, what would you say if you saw him right now?!

Kurt’s suddenly looking at all the cars beside him whenver he stops at a light now. Even though he knows if you needed driving somewhere, you’d be in his car. He didn’t want you to see this, but he also worried it was bad to not tell you about this. Would you be mad at him?! He didn’t mean to! He didn’t want you to break up with him, because of this. He had no idea what was happening! Does he need to stop flirting somehow? How?! He didn’t even know he was! Kurt felt like he had eyes all on him. And he definitely had hers. She just kept... looking back to him. ...Was he supposed to say something?

But as the girl in the seat next to him kept chatting, Kurt decided he didn’t want to speak. She was doing that plenty enough already. And a third of it was compliments she was just throwing in the air at him. “Y-Yeah. My girlfriend says the same thing.” Kurt responds solidly at one particular comment. He thought it was a pretty good move, but she didn’t seem to care at all. Only a minute later, was Kurt pulling her hand away from his head, as she went to stroke his hair again.

By the time her trip was finished, Kurt was relieved. It’d only been a short one too, just over ten minutes. Kurt didn’t even care about his Spree rating at that point, or if she tipped, he just sighed as he readjusted his phone on his stand, saying the same thing he said to every customer. “Have a nice day.”

“Have a nice day too. Kurt.” The woman leaned over, snatched up Kurt’s chin in her hand, and planted a firm kiss on his lips.

She held it for a couple of seconds, maybe only two or three, before pulling back. Smiling at the stunned expression on his face. “Bye Kurt. Hope to ride with you later.” Her teeth shone, as she gently shut the door, and strode away.

Kurt just sits there in shock. His lips firmly tucked to his mouth, pressed away like they had been the millisecond he’d looked up to see her descending.

No thoughts ran through Kurt’s head. No feelings. Until a sound rang in his ears, and he realised he was breathing very quickly. Kurt swore to himself, wiping his lips with the bcak of his hand, before scrambling into the pocket on the passenger seat to find a water bottle. Panic was the only thing on Kurt’s mind, which didn’t help when he was trying to swirl water in his mouth. He choked on it a little as he rolled down his window and spat it onto the street. Thankfully there were no cops around, as he repeated the same thing, dropping some water into his hand to splash at his chin. His full mouth trying not to choke, as Kurt just wanted to get rid of that feeling, of the evidence of the kiss, the memory of it. He spat again, before swallowing the rest of the bottle, a massive gasp leaving his lips as he crushed the plastic intensely in his hands.

His breathing was still heavy, trying to understand what had just happened. Why had she kissed him?!??! But Kurt’s mind also swirled with thoughts of you, and he began to feel his chest heaving, like he was going to cry.

Kurt just wanted to get out of there. He didn’t want to be outside this woman’s work anymore. He didn’t want her to see him still outside, and think the wrong thing. He slammed on the gas and drove around, not even caring about the stop sign he flew past, as his mind filled with thoughts of you.

You who’d been nothing but good to him. Who loved him. Loved him when nobody else did. You were the only person in Kurt’s life, truly. And you’d never hurt him. Up until this point, he’d never actually hurt you either.

Kurt started crying before he’d even realised it. Quiet sobs leaving his lips that turned into loud ones, tears streaming down his face that he swore at himself over, because they were blocking his vision as he drove. Swearing at himself for what’d just happened, and for not keeping his eyes on the shitty road, as he rubbed and scratched at his face, uncaring as to how hard he scrubbed.

Oh my God. He... he didn’t mean to. He didn’t even know what had happened! He didn’t want to kiss her he loved you! No... How was he going to tell you he cheated on you?

You’re not expecting the keys jingling in your door. Kurt normally texts you before he finishes his shift, to ask if you want anything on the way home, but you can’t imagine it’s anyone else. Looking through the peephole, you see Kurt’s form and smile, immediately opening your door, since you were quicker than him. But your heart drops into your stomach when you see Kurt there, sobbing his heart out.

“Kurt!! Baby, what happened?!” You ask him worriedly, bringing him in as you shut the door, your mouth dry as Kurt cries and cries out loud. His face is red, sleeves wet with tears, his body hung low, the sight of him is breaking your heart. He can’t even meet your eyes, his own red and blurred with tears. You’re worried he’s hurt.

“Honey what’s wrong?!” You ask seriously, pulling him in for a hug as you bring him close. But then Kurt pulls himself off you. You look back at him anxiously, Kurt never denies a hug from you. And now you’re really worried he’s hurt.

“No.” Kurt sniffs loudly, still sobbing into his sleeves. “I-I don’t deserve your help.” He moans forlornly, crying loudly again. A choking sound spluttering from his throat as he whines depressedly. Helplessly.

That worries you, you can’t lie. You take a step back, giving him space. But you look Kurt up and down carefully, your eyebrows scrunched. “Kurt, what’s going on?”

Kurt wails again, and you really want to help him, but now dread fills your stomach. And after Kurt rips his cry out, he sobs out his confession. “I’m sorry. I- I cheated on you!” He wails.

You dodge back, blinking rapidly. You’re not even frozen, you’re just... in shock. You can’t believe what he just said, it was just so far out there. “...Kurt!?!?!” You ask, in a ‘what the hell dude’ type tone. Which isn’t how you thought you’d react to your boyfriend telling you he cheated on you for the first time. But you’re so thrown aback, you’re not even thinking. You’re just dumbfounded.

“I didn’t mean to!!!!” Kurt yelled out, tears falling straight onto his shirt as his face grimaces like he’s in pain.

But the way he says it makes you pause. It gives you very different vibes than something like the whole ‘it was an accident’ excuse type vibes. It doesn’t remind you of someone pretending they made a mistake, to earn forgiveness. Something’s not right. Because you can tell Kurt’s really upset.

“Okay Kurt stop stop stop stop stop.” You pull a hand out flat, taking a second to work the cogs in your head, as Kurt looks to you. “What do you mean you didn’t mean to?” You asked not in accusatory way, but in a genuinely questioning one. And when Kurt tells you what happened, your heart sinks. You look him up and down as he explains, and you can tell how badly this affected him. You understand now. “Oh Kurt honey!”

You pull Kurt right into your arms, throwing them around him and holding him close, wanting him to know you don’t want to let go. It seems to work, because Kurt cries into you. He wraps his arms around you too, holding you tightly to him, as he gasps cries into your ear. His cheeks wet as they press against yours, whining unintelligible whimpers as you nuzzle your cheek against his, still sniffing behind you as he embraces your warmth. He just needs your comfort, and your love, so badly right now. He doesn’t know why you’re giving it to him, but he is not letting go.

When you pull back, you only do so enough to face Kurt. His hands are still under your arms, holding the back of your ribs, while you bring your hands up to cup his flushed, and scrubbed raw cheeks, still dripping with tears. “Oh Kurt honey, that was a non consensual kiss. You’re okay Kurtie, you’re alright.” Your last words hit him differently. You’re not just saying them as in, he’s okay and forgiven, you’re saying it like you’re repeating that he’s safe. Kurt sniffles as he takes in your words, turning them around in his head, that’s still banging because he thought he was going to come home to you throwing him away. And now his brain’s whirring as it translates your words. “Wh- what?” He sniffs.

You stroke your hand soothingly down his heated cheek, your other rubbing his shoulder calmingly. “Honey she just kissed you, when you’d been rejecting her advances the entire time, right? And by the sounds of it, very clearly, to her face.” Kurt nods, eyes searching yours, and you rub his cheek with your thumb. “Honey she kissed you when you didn’t want to kiss her back. You didn’t consent. I would never be mad at you for that happening!” You explain so clearly to him. Upset on his behalf, trying to calm him, wanting him to understand. You were way more worried about him, than he should be about you being upset.

“W-w-wait...” Kurt blinks his tears away, smacking his wet lips agaisnt his dry mouth, as he pulls you in closer, so your legs are touching again. As much touch as he can get. He’s getting a headache, sighing as he falls and leans his forehead against yours. Feeling the banging eventually slow, as your skin cools his to the touch. He wraps his arms more around you. “Wait really?”

You nod against his head, before moving it back. You wrap your arms around Kurt’s neck to show you’re not leaving, but you want him to look at you. “Try and reverse it. What if a guy in that situation, didn’t care that I said I had a boyfriend, didn’t care that I kept pushing him away, or ignoring him. What if I was in your shoes back there Kurt, and a guy had kissed me?”

You saw things change in Kurt’s mind then. His face went steely, his eyes dark and far off, it looked like Kurt had murder written all over him. It was enough, you knew. Your hand softly stroked through his hair, in the calming pattern you knew he liked. “See? It was non consensual. You didn’t cheat, baby.” You reassure him for what you knew would be the last time, sniffing yourself now as you took in how bad Kurt’s day had been, how stressed out he was about telling you, as he finally stops crying. “You didn’t mean for it to happen sweetheart.” Kurt’s features had finally softened completely again, and you kept looking him right in the eyes. “It wasn’t your fault Kurt.”

You suggest Kurt taking the rest of the day off, just hanging out with you, and he agrees. He gives you one more big hug, one of his hugs that just surrounds you, before sniffling that he’s gotta pee, and then he’s going to take a shower. He’s newly pissed off now, at this girl, so the first thing he does is find her account and block her. Serves her right that he never followed for follow. He’s never had to block anyone before, even big haters, because numbers were numbers, but you stuck up for him like you always did, and made him realise when people were assholes, and he didn’t deserve that.

When he turns the shower on, he’s calmed again. So he peeks his head out the door, calling your name. When you turn to him, the first thing you say is “You want me to come in there with you?” And Kurt’s so happy you can read his mind. Relief washes over him once you’re in the same room with him again, as well as the scalding water. He rubs it over his face, tiredly, and he leans his head back when you starts scritching at his back, in that spot he loves. He calms down as you wash his hair for him. And he ends up just cuddling you in the shower. Resting his head on you as he lightly sways you two chest to chest. Playing with the hair at the nape of your neck, as you lather up more body wash in your hands.

And once you two are out, and you’ve brought Kurt a clean set of pyjamas that he hasn’t been working in all day, he relishes in you two just collapsing together, and getting to cuddle you early in the sun he hardly sees at home, after an emotionally intense day. He mumbles questions occasionally. The first asking what you were doing, when you tell him you’re ordering his favourite meal. And as you’re on your phone, the rest of his words are pretty incomprehensible against your skin, where his face is smushed so much, his nose breathing is pretty heavy. But you think he might just be mumbling for the sake of it, and he wants to hear your voice. So you always give some sort of response back, affirming him.

The rest of your day, Kurt spends getting covered in all cuddles and the kisses he could want. While getting to keep you close in return. Never leaving the bubble of your smell, and your warmth, and your kind voice. Kurt’s just happy to be at home with you. Happy to be reassured once again, that this is his home now

[justanisabelakinnie]

I was pretty bored yesterday and in a bitter mood and so I ended up spam-reblogging a shitload of anti-Madoka Magica posts(and no I’m not sorry, because no matter fucking what I will never stop hating on that trashfest of an anime), and obviously there’s nothing much really that I can say about it that hasn’t already been said by both me and other people in the past but lemme just say how FUCKED up it is…that grown men can look at a genre full of light and hope and female solidarity and empowerment for girls that teaches them that they can be whatever they want to be and that they should never stop believing in themselves and striving for greatness and go “nope, fuck that, instead of all of that happy fun girl power shit let’s write an edgy grimdark dystopia where being a girl with dreams and a desire to strive for greatness is a bad thing that can only end in suffering and punishment, where the survival of the universe and progress of humanity literally hinges on girls being tortured and killed en masse for wishing for something that would make them happy, where girls are universally portrayed as overemotional and impressionable and susceptible and weak and must slay each other in order to survive because they’ll go berserk and monstrous once their power inevitably gets the better of them, and where the only way to escape this ending is by dying and being erased from existence, because that’s the best girls can hope for, and as the icing on the sour cake, let’s aim it at an adult male audience so that they can watch girls suffer and perish and be psychologically broken for their own entertainment, all because they wanted something for themselves and had the gall and the selfishness to go after it.”

And instead of people seeing it for the sexist torture porn that it is it gets glowing reviews on every platform, people eat this shit up and say that this sleazy adult male-aimed show about barely adolescent girls suffering because they wanted something more for themselves is feminist actually, that actually all of the turmoil that the girls go through is a totally girl power metaphor for how girls suffer at the hands of patriarchy in the real world, and how the torture porn got subverted at the end when really all the end did was show the girls continuing to suffer because of their wishes but hey at least they’ll get the sweet release of death in the end, and how the all-male writing staff definitely meant for this to be the next feminist coming of Jesus despite the fact that they say they weren’t inspired by any Magical Girl works that came before them and were instead inspired by porn games…Madoka is the most progressive and revolutionary anime ever really, even more so than those insightful shows about Magical Girls that are actually aimed at girls and actually feature female empowerment and angst done well and not just for the sole purpose of letting men watch female characters suffer, those other shows are just stupid and shallow and bland and don’t know what they’re talking about, Madoka is where it’s at. Take it from me, a 35-year-old man who has never seen a single Magical Girl anime in my life except for Madoka Magica. If you don’t agree with me or if you dare to critique my soulless male gaze moebait, then you’re obviously just dumb and ignorant and don’t understand the deep philosophical nuances of this shoddy anime, I mean just look at Madoka’s mom! She’s the breadwinner of her family! Sure she’s not important to the plot on a whole and it’s not like Heartcatch Precure has done this character archetype better or anything but she’s proof that the writers are feminist icons who set out to empower women! Now watch as me and the rest of my Madoka-loving friends proceed to bully and harass the shit out of you for not sharing our vapid opinions until you either delete your account, change your tune and say you like Madoka now and were so wrong and stupid before, or stop talking about how much you hate Madoka entirely. And anyway teenage girls really ARE irrational, hysterical, and constantly on their cycles. Of course they’ll get taken advantage of for it! That’s not misogynistic to point out, that’s just the biotruth!

[valleyrunearchives]

Weightless (The Leap of a Jade Rabbit)

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Fandom: Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia Pairings: Aizawa Shouta/Yamada Hizashi Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Chapter 38/?

Midoriya Izuku stopped believing in heroes when a tragedy occurred in his life. When at the tender age of 11, he lost everything that was everything dear to him, everything that was worth living for. Yet he doesn’t give up. He can’t give up. He decides to make a choice instead. No longer will he stand around and wait for the heroes to arrive while a crime goes down. He’ll be his own hero and a hero to those who are just like him. Those waiting for help that will never arrive. In order to do that, though, he’ll have to fight to survive and lie through his teeth. It won’t be so bad!

After all, it’s not like they can bring him in for vigilantism and Illegal Quirk Usage when he doesn’t even have a quirk, right?

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Click here to Read on AO3!

“Your luck fucking sucks, Nerd,” Katsuki tells Izuku after the greenette gets through telling his adventure of the week to him, Eijirou, and Tenya (who started joining them at Izuku’s invitation).

“I totally wasn’t aware of that, Kacchan, thanks,” Izuku replies sarcastically.

“Seriously, bro, how is it that you got kidnapped by a pro hero to avoid being kidnapped by a villain?” Eijirou asks, still confused a bit by how that makes any sense. 

“I concur!” Tenya adds, throwing up a sharp hand movement, “How any pro hero could possibly come to the conclusion that that is the best course of action should have their license re-reviewed! A minor was in danger and that was his best thought on how to fix the situation?!”

“Look, I kind of get it but that doesn’t mean I like it either,” Izuku shakes his head, taking a sip of his coffee, “He did apologize to me. I didn’t accept it. I don’t forgive him for it either, I really don't. But I do get why he tried to save me the way he did. So I guess I’m a little grateful. If it wasn’t for him, I probably would be strapped to some lab table somewhere right now being experimented on by a crazy person.”

“True,” Eijirou scowls with the begrudging acceptance.

Tenya nods, “And at least, Shouta-san and Hizashi-san were swift enough to put together a search and rescue team.” 

“Yeah. They really fucking care about you, Nerd,” Katsuki says before adding near silently under his breath, “I’m glad.” 

Tenya, not hearing the end part, immediately went to bat for Hizashi and Shouta. Understandable. They were two of his brother’s best friends. Katsuki just rolled his eyes at the tirade now leaving Tenya’s mouth. Izuku just smiles fondly and whispers quietly back to the blonde, “Thanks.”

Katsuki’s response was a sniff and a small, almost imperceptible nod. Katsuki language for, “yeah of course. You’re welcome.” Eijirou grins at him, already having picked up on how Katsuki speaks without talking. He wasn’t fluent in it yet but he was for sure learning that body language and actions spoke louder for Katsuki than actual words did. Tenya didn’t know that yet but he would probably also eventually pick up on the fact that Katsuki often means more than he says. Izuku has good friends.

“Where’s that chick you met the other week, by the way?” Katsuki asks, still ignoring Tenya’s lecture on treating Izuku’s foster parents with respect, “Did you forget to send her a damn invite, Nerd?”

“No. I did invite her. She said she couldn’t afford the train ticket this week either. I think she was disappointed about it too…” Izuku said sadly. 

Katsuki rolls his eyes, “Why not just fucking ask your foster dads to cover a ticket for her? I’m sure they would.” 

“Oh, no! I couldn’t possibly ask that of them! They already do so much taking care of me,” Izuku declines immediately, hands flailing in front of him.

“Yeah because they’re damn well supposed to. You know? As your fucking foster dads?” The look Katsuki gives him is nothing short of deadpan.

“Regardless,” he presses firmly, trying to get his point across, “It just wouldn’t feel right to ask them to pay for a train ticket every week just for Uraraka-san to come down to meet you guys and then visit us!”

“Izuku-kun, you know money is no issue with Hizashi-san and Shouta-san, correct? Bakugou-san is correct - though I loathe to admit - that both would be willing to pay for a ticket for her if it would make you happy,” Tenya gently informs him.

Katsuki flips the youngest Iida off for the comment about loathing to admit he was right, which Tenya immediately scoffed in affrontement at. Izuku looks down at his shoes as he thinks about that statement. Sure, they really probably wouldn’t mind if he did ask. But it just didn’t feel right to him. Especially with all that they’ve done for him already. 

“Bro, why not just ask and offer to pay them back?” Eijirou suggests, “If they say that you should, you do some odd jobs to pay them back. If they say not to worry about it, then you know you can treat it like a gift. That was you’ll at least have asked and offered an out for yourself to not feel guilty over.”

“That’s… actually pretty smart, Eiji,” Izuku smiles at the red head, “Alright. I’ll do that. Maybe by this time next week we’ll actually have a meeting session between you guys and Uraraka-chan!”

Eijirou cheers in excitement while Katsuki and Tenya just silently agree with him. Tenya speaks up again after a moment where they all pause to take more sips of their coffee, “I’ve been meaning to ask by the way; what of your aptitude test? Has Nedzu-san gotten back to you with the results?”

“Not yet,” Izuku shakes his head, “Shouta thinks he’ll get back to us by the end of this week. Hizashi says that he’s fairly certain Nedzu-san had it graded by the end of the day I took it but is keeping it quiet to build suspense. Knowing Nedzu-san and his vindictive streak, I think he’s right. But I don’t know who he’s trying to build suspense for; myself or Hizashi and Shouta.”

“Both, probably,” Katsuki chimes in, “I know he kept the whole damn reason about why he was investigating Aldera from me until the very end to build suspense. He probably also purposely made sure to tell me at the end of the school day because he knew I would get fucking pissed and come find you.”

“Especially since he did it on a Tuesday,” Izuku says conspiratorially, mind putting puzzle pieces together, “He probably found out from the street cameras that I was meeting up with you and Eijirou. My guess is it happened right after he figured out my identity from them.”

“You know he found out about it through the street cameras?” Eijirou asks, glancing at one he can see out the window of the coffee shop.

 Izuku rolls his eyes at that, “It’s Nedzu-san. He’s the smartest being in the world. It would be more surprising to me if he didn’t have every camera in all of Japan hackable at the touch of a button.” Katsuki grunts in agreement with that statement.

“Note to self: be sure to be on my best behavior when in front of street cameras,” Eijirou mumbles to himself. Izuku giggles at that. He’s probably not wrong about that though. Especially if he was thinking of going to UA for high school; Wouldn’t do for the principal to know all of your secrets before you even arrive there. Probably doesn’t help that both of your friend’s foster dads work for said principal by teaching at the school either. 

It brings another thought to his mind. UA.

It was his dream school when he was a child. The best of the best heroes graduated from UA. But what about now? Does he still dream of getting in? He could always do the support course. Or even just the general education course. Is that what he wants though? 

Is UA still his dream even if it’s not the hero course?

He supposes he’ll have to think about it a bit more deeply. Maybe talk with Shouta and Hizashi about it. No wait. He should actually talk to Nemuri-san about it. He thinks she would be more partial to helping him fully think it over than his foster dads trying to get him to go to their alma mater. Well… one of his foster dads. Hizashi’s the only one who would really push him to go to UA. He’d probably cite things like how amazing he’d be and how smart he is and how great he’d do. But he doesn’t need that right now. He needs to figure out if this is something he would want or if he needs to leave that dream in the past. 

Regardless, he’ll worry about it later. For right now, he’ll just enjoy the time he’s spending with his friends.

[kitzsah]

Exchange Letter

General Likes:

Worldbuilding and subject matter expertise! All the worldbuilding. I literally have 100K and counting of Chicago-cited, JSTOR articles and all, worldbuilding on the historical/political background of the wizarding world. For anyone who doesn’t want to write a paper (which, totally fair), I also adore small, lived-in details – so if there’s any particular expertise/personal experience that you’ve always wanted to expound on, consider me a captive audience haha. I’ve literally done method writing for a fic where I spent a morning walking around with four feet of yard-stick ruler strapped to my side to get an idea for what carrying a rapier would feel like.

Nuanced moral ambiguity and loyalty and duty and responsibility and obligation and necessary evils. I will absolutely adore portrayal of duties conflicting with personal desire, people having to make hard choices and then live with the consequences, bone-deep dedication to service, and anything else along those lines.

Character studies. Show me how a character became who they are, show me what facets of their personality emerges in different situations, tell me about how their background impacts how they view the world. Flawed/unreliable narration and close personal biases are absolutely welcome here. Outside perspectives on characters would also be fun!

Close relationships, romantic and otherwise. I absolutely adore close platonic relationships that are no less close or meaningful or devoted for being platonic. I’m talking raze the fields, “Where you go, I go” level of loyalties being my catnip here. And even for romance, show me characters as friends first and how they relate to each other as people, more than the part where they think the other person’s hot.

Hurt/Comfort – emphasis on both the hurt and comfort. Emotional hurt or physical hurt, as long as it’s followed up by comfort and fluff, I’m down for it. I’m also a sucker for someone Insisting They’re Fine When They’re Objectively Not haha.

DNWs:

Porn Without Plot/Plot, What Plot? I’m fine with sex, but not if it’s the only thing happening. Nothing too…out of the norm, either. You’re writing for someone who’s largely disinterested in sex (except as a characterization tool) to begin with, so any attempt at smut for its own sake is going to fall flat.

Character bashing. Even the most objectively fucked up characters are still people, in all their good and evil. One-dimensional character bashing/flanderization will not be appreciated.

Crack. Humor and comedy are fine, crack is not. Life can be absolutely absurd sometimes, so if it’s something that could actually happen and fits the characters, go right ahead. Unhinged crack for its own sake will be less welcome.

Revolutionary Arc - kitsunerei88

Kowalski Family Hijinks!

John getting in all the trouble after getting dragged home from Wizarding Britain in the aftermath of Cataclysm. Everything from Mikael reading him Round 2 of The Riot Act on the plane while all the staffers Politely/Awkwardly Turn Their Attention Anywhere Else to John being pole-axed at Annabelle ripping him a new one because someone has a habit of assuming he knows everything important about everyone and thus missing very relevant family history

John and Gerry and the early days of their relationship! All the political chaos of the 1995 Triwizard, Neal giving Gerry the shovel talk because Gerry totallu assumed John was a 6th or 7th year, Gerry having Some Closet Skeletons he needs to get out into the open, or the Kowalski Family Sighing at 16 year-old John moving in with his boyfriend when there were Multiple Other Housing Options.

Dueling club shenanigans at AIM! Teenagers doing whatever the magical equivalent of putting a tide pod in one's mouth (and spitting it out because it tasted bad), magical underaged drinking games, campus after curfew for Dates And Hijinks,  pretty much anything else you can imagine teenagers doing but with MAGIC.

Queenscove family shenanigans!

Will and Tina and Collegè Hijinks! How exasperated at their classmates at them, the nerdiest possible dates someone could possible come up with, Will's perspective of Falling In Love with his best friend, how much roasting does Will get from his sibling, anything else you could come up with! Bonus Points for IR/history references.

Graeme and Sophie and the sheer *chaos* that happens when he knocks her up right before deploying to Afghanistan in late 2001. Baby fuzzies being all WTF at Graeme running past them with a Big Honking Sword, the JAGs having to do All The Paperwork because Graeme stuck his foot in his mouth and Sophie is refusing to marry him, the Americans being *baffled* that people in Quebec don't marry while they literally have to order their joes to stop marrying girls they met 2 weeks ago, and the Assorted Queenscove Siblings making so much fun of Graeme for this whole debacle. 

Worldbuilding

Mundane Shit that arises when you have two governments (only sometimes) uneasily more or less governing the same country (if not necessarily in population, then in geographical area, though even that gets complicated by magic). Anything like what a TS-SCM brief of someone non-magical getting read in on magic might look like to Absolutely Corny Government Powerpoints to Intense Interdepartmental Meetings to water cooler gossip/reaction/intelligence reports of any of the events of RevArc.

Honestly anything, really. RevArc world is a great sand-box to play in. Poor Lina having to actually be a law-abiding legitimate government official and what post-war clean-up of Wizarding Britain looks like, assorted OCs/Side Characters’ perspective of the main plotline, All The Politics And Shit - I’ll be delighted with pretty much anything!

DNWs for this specific fandom:

Harry and her friends (with the exception of Archie) or Wizarding Britain in general except as specified elsewhere. Seriously, I’m not interested in Harry’s Story.

RBC content beyond what RevArc uses. No Blood Tournament, Dom the sentient jewel (though an incorporation of the Dominion Jewel in the Tortall sense would be fine), That Deal With Riddle, etc.

The Locked Tomb

I will never be over Camilla and Palamedes, these two are hands down my favorite characters in the entire series. Their devotion to each other, their snark and nerdery, and their entire Everything means that they instantly lived rent-free in my head as soon as they were introduced.

I’ll take basically anything with these two! Here are a few options:

Camilla and Palamedes as little adorable hellions running around the Library and plotting to rule the place one day and Camilla’s (objectively, to a lot of characters) insane levels of devotion to her adept from the time she’s a wee thing

The Sixth House’s perspective of the lead-up, during, and aftermath of the Go Loud Duel

Exactly what the hell happened between Harrow enabling Hand!Pal and their not-quite lyctorhood

The Sixth House’s reaction to the Warden’s Hand showing up with...the Warden’s skeleton hand or the Warden sharing her soul. Also, what is the actual deal with Source Gram and the whole process that led to the Oversight Body ending up on New Rho

Note, I’m fairly ambivalent as to whether or not those two are in a romantic/sexual relationship. (Called, my brain doesn’t really process the difference between romantic and platonic other than Sex Is Involved) If you want to write them like that, go ahead, but I’d appreciate focusing on them...themness of CamillaAndPalamedes, if that makes sense?

Pyrrha! Her line of “Here’s to Camilla Hect, yet another one of devotion’s casualties,” made me want to scream. Pyrrha makes zero bones about her willingness to drop it all and get her specific people out of the mess of New Rho. Fuck the Houses, fuck grand causes, she’ll let the world burn if it means everyone she loves is safe and lives a happily ever after on a little moon. Except, of course, the people she loves are Idealists and landmines with overdeveloped senses of responsibility and duty.

So what went down between her and G1deon during the original sacrifice/accession and the myriad since? How did she get from willingly letting her best friend, her other half, kill her to “It’s not love, what you’re about to do. It’s not beautiful and it’s not powerful. It’s a mistake.”

What kind of feelings/opinions does she have towards these codependent nerds who she cares deeply for and possibly sees too much of herself in as Camilla and Palamedes hurl themselves towards....well, Camilla-and-Palamedes? Seriously, her speech of “I've loved you two. Not well. Not even wholesomely. I don't have it in me. But I've loved you — in a better world I'd be able to say, 'Like you were my own,' but I don't know what that would even mean anymore. You've been my agents ... you've been stand-ins for something I haven't had for longer than either of you can understand," almost killed me.

Jeannemary and Isaac! I honestly have...many feelings about these two kids, and War and Duty, and the way Isaac is emphatic about how they’re not front-line canon fodder and actually are primed for light infantry/recon/sabotage.

Give me everything about what war looks like in the Locked Tomb universe. (Far warning here, my standards of realism for this is...pretty high haha.) A Non-Canaan House AU where these kids don’t get a case of the mumps (or just John never sends out the invitations altogether) and go to the front and what war looks like, in all its entirety.s

These two terrible teens as kids growing up together. Jeannemary bonded to Isaac as his cavalier when they were nine or so - what’s it like, growing up knowing you’re going to war one day, raring to go off to war? What’s the relationship of the Fourth House with the Fifth? Everything about a necromancer-cavalier relationship and these kids, really.

Worldbuilding

The setting of New Rho in Nona The Ninth was definitely my favorite out of the three books thus far, because it gave us a peek into an entire dimension that’s been dismissed up until that point.

Gideon dreams of joining the Cohort and earning glories, but war comes with costs. Anyone who wants to hammer out what day-to-day Cohort life is like and/or what the fuck is even going on in terms of strategy and tactics and maneuver theory will absolutely be my favorite person.

Refugee resettlements and just...everything in the day to day. What’s it like just being an ordinary person - not Blood of Eden or anything, just Someone Ordinary, when your world goes to hell? What does it feel like to know your grandchildren will be cursed to wander forever? What’s it like being a teacher in a refugee city-planet trying to give kids some semblence of normalcy as everything goes to absolute pieces around you? (Seriously, Joli The Teacher is the most amazing side-character ever)

The Dark Artifices

I know canon is all about Julian and Emma’s forbidden love story, but I honestly fell in (non-romantic) love with these kids because of their relationship to war and tragedy. Julian’s line of, “I came of age in the Dark War. I was baptized in blood and fire....I killed my own father. You think I won’t kill you son?” made me scream. These kids were twelve when their world fell apart around them and they lost almost everything, when one promise of, “Aren’t we forever?” in a desperate attempt to cling to what little they had left ended up almost ruining their lives. They’re kids, and they ran for their lives and they grew up in war and knowing the cost of sacrifice and necessity. So:

Julian and Emma and any one of a hundred moments in the years between the end of the war and the start of the Dark Artifices.

Julian writing to the Clave every year to try to bring his sister home, stepping into Arthur’s shoes and running the Institute, teaching himself how to cook because his family needs him, trudging up the hill with groceries, becoming a father at the age of twelve (seriously, Tavvy is two when everything goes to hell, he literally doesn’t remember any parental figure other than Julian)

Emma, who spends these five years honing herself into the sharpest weapon possible until she’s known as the second coming of Jace Herondale even though she says she’s “nothing special” (God, that conversation with her and Cristina), who throws herself into avenging her parents’ death, who needs to be the best Shadowhunter that she can be.

These two kids in general, really, who have lived through war and are five shades of messed up and too young and have their own language and wake up from nightmares and crawl into each other’s beds in an attempt to keep the bad dreams away.

Julian’s POV of waking up in Lady Midnight to discover that Emma had taken his place and is currently lying on the floor in front of the institute, whipped half to death.

Canon-divergence where Emma finds out about Julian running the Institute and the Uncle Arthur situation earlier and she helps him shoulder the burden - because he’s her parabatai and her best friend and how could she do anything less?

Or, for something less heavy, a fluffy slice-of-life (or, well, as fluffy as any canon involving Children And A Society At War, because that’s what Shadowhunters are, even without the whole Morgenstern situation) canon-divergence AU where Emma and Julian got to remain children a little while longer - playing side-by-side on the beach, bonking each other with wooden swords and making faces at each other. A world where Julian never has to know how bitter Necessity tastes, and Emma never seeps herself in vengeance.

The Librarians (TV Show)

I have such a soft spot for this series haha. This was my very first fandom, once upon a time, and I find the unrepentant nerdery an absolute delight. I love how the show doesn’t take itself too seriously, all the fun nerd references, and just the entire vibes and characters and everything in general.

Possible prompts!

The different AUs from And the Loom of Fate! I would love to see what Eve Baird dealing with a teenaged, cheeky Ezekiel (who literally says, “You were like a mother to me”) was like.

Honestly, any slice of life between Baird and the LITs. Particularly in the early days when they’re still working on gelling together, are Unsure whether they even like each other, and Baird is wondering what deity she pissed off to have incurred this duty.

Earth Girl Series - Janet Edwards

Seriously, Jarra contacting her parents and learning that they wanted a relationship with her only for them to be killed in action weeks later is such a cruel twist of fate. Like, an entirely realistic twist of fate, mind you, because Life Sucks Like That and Jarra’s Life Especially Consists Of Cruel Twists Of Fate. I get the plot necessity of it, but still, I’ll take all the canon-divergences here.

AU where Jaxon comes to his senses even a few days sooner and Jarra is never handed over to Hospital Earth and grows up with both parents, secure in the knowledge that she’s Loved And Is A Tell Clan Member.

AU where Jarra contacts her clan at fourteen like her classmates did. She has no fucking clue why she does it (possibly Isette badgered her into it), she’s entirely doing it to make her friends happy, she fully expects things to go down in flames and figures she might as well get it over it. Except, to her complete shock, her family actually wants her. Her parents come down, there’s probably Much Yelling at Hospital Earth, and teenaged Jarra gets bombarded with all the love. Seriously, re-reading Earth Girl and Jarra’s (justified) bitterness is so painful after the Drago series because you know that her family wanted her so badly and they loved her so fucking much.

AU where her parents don’t die during that behavior event in Kappa Sector and all the emotion fraughtness as she figures out What It Means To Have Parents And Family as an adult.

Riak Torrek’s POV of the Honor Ceremony! Seriously, that dude had, what, a handful of hours’ notice? One minute he’s doing Solar Array Command Shit, the next is that he’s getting a notification that his long-lost granddaughter, who the entire family has thought they’d never find, has been identified. Not only that, he’s immediately tasked with leading a memorial ceremony for said long-lost granddaughter - a memorial ceremony commemorating the honor and sacrifice and service of his deceased wife. I’m honestly impressed that he kept his composure as much as he did during that scene.

[metalandmagi]

Winter 2021 Anime Worth Watching!

Since 2020 basically sacrificed itself to give us the most stacked anime season of all time, I’m currently buried under the weight of almost 20 shows airing per week. So for anyone who’s looking for some anime to watch this winter, here’s some first impressions! I’m speed running my list this time by only talking about the new shows...because otherwise this would be my great American novel. 

If anyone’s interested, I have master lists for both 2020 anime and 2019 anime, because there’s no shortage of fun things to find. 

New Shows!

And before anyone asks, So I’m A Spider, So What? isn’t on here, because CG spiders freak me out.

Cells At Work Code Black: This...less comedic spin off of Cells At Work (made by a different studio) takes the wholesome concept of Osmosis Jones meets cute anime girls and turns it on its head. In this much more depressing version, we follow a rookie red blood cell who works in the body of an overly stressed, alcoholic smoker who puts every strain on the body imaginable. I love Red Blood Cell AA2153 and his co-workers, but man am I glad we get the regular Cells At Work airing this season too, because I need something fun and uplifting after seeing my sweet son go through hell every episode. 

*Heaven’s Design Team: Have you ever wondered how God came up with some of the weird ass animals that live on this planet? Like, what’s the deal with giraffes? And why can’t we have dragons and flying horses? Well this is a comedy about the engineers and designers in heaven creating the new animals that are going to inhabit the Earth. That’s it, that’s the show. It’s kind of in the same vein as Cells At Work, having comedy blend with a surprising amount of educational information. If you want something light and funny, this is the show for you (though I don’t think it needs to have full length episodes). I’m just hoping there’s an episode about how the hell the platypus was created. Also it’s the only new one available on Crunchyroll.

Horimiya: A romantic comedy about a girl named Hori who fits the image of a perfect queen bee and a quiet bespectacled boy named Miyamura who never makes an impression at school. When the two meet by chance outside of the classroom, we see that Hori is practically raising a younger brother by herself, and Miyamura is actually a sweet guy who happens to be covered in tattoos and piercings. This show is an exercise in breaking down the images people have of others in their minds, and it’s a concept that really hits home in a fun and meaningful way. Honestly, this has become one of my immediate favorites. The characters have great chemistry, and I can’t wait to see more of them!

Monster Incidents (Kemono Jihen): When big shot Tokyo detective Inugami is called to a rural town to investigate a series of strange animal deaths, he finds a mysterious boy with the nickname Dorotabo who has been shunned by the other children in town. As the detective gets closer to Dorotabo, he discovers that there may be more...inhuman secrets to the boy than he realizes...and Dorotabo discovers that Inugami has some secrets of his own. This is a hard show to sell without spoiling the first episode, but it had twists and turns that kept me engaged from start to finish. I’m really interested to see where the plot goes, because I thought this was going to be something totally different just from the PV and series summary. If it plays its cards right, this could be a great paranormal detective show!

Wonder Egg Priority: A psychological drama about a girl named Ai who starts having dreams about a mysterious egg that promises to give her what she wants most in the world...a true friend. Before long, she begins to see how the dream world and reality are tied together, and trippy antics ensue. It’s hard to say more without spoiling anything, but I had to go back and add this one in because I made the mistake of thinking it was an OVA when it’s actually a full series. And what a series it’s starting out to be. This anime has all the psychological discomfort of a Satoshi Kon product with the beauty and style of something from Kyoani (even though it’s made by Clover Works). It’s really one of those anime you just have to see to understand.

Sk8-∞ (Skate the infinity): An original skateboarding anime from Bones, featuring a typical sports anime protagonist who takes a new transfer student who has never skateboarded in his life under his wing. Together they compete in dangerous races and take the skating community by storm. The character designs rival Appare Ranman’s in outlandish creativity, and I can smell the main characters’ ship dynamic a mile away (considering they’re exactly the same as the protagonists from Robihachi). If you’re looking for some wild and crazy fun with top notch skateboarding animation, don’t skip this!

2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu (Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Club): Yes, it’s another volleyball anime. And no, it’s not just a clone of Haikyu. This story follows Yuni Kuroba, a physically built but emotionally weak teenager who finds out his childhood friend Hajime is moving back to their hometown for high school. Yuni discovers Hajime has become an exceptional volleyball player and they join their school’s volleyball club hoping to turn the unknown team into a rising star. If anything, this anime is much more like Stars Align or Free, where the sport is a backdrop for letting the characters explore their personal problems. Or at least it seems that way after the first episode. I went into this show ready to throw it in the trash because how could anything compete against my beloved Haikyu, but I found myself really enjoying the dynamics of the main duo and I’m curious to see what the rest of the team is like.

And speaking of sports anime rip-offs…..I can’t believe I’m including this but…

Skate Leading Stars: The show where the animators clearly wanted to design another throw away idol anime but saw how popular Yuri On Ice was so they decided to make whatever the hell this show is instead. It revolves around a fictional team sport called skate leading, and we follow the world’s most insufferable main character, a former figure skater named Kensei who wants to return to the ice and join his school’s skate leading team after he finds out his childhood rival is going to compete in the sport. Look, this show is just trashy enough to get a certain type of audience hooked, and it mainly has to do with the best boy of the winter season, Hayato Sasugai, the aspiring team “coach” who pulled most of us into watching this show with his punk appearance, snide comments and smug personality. He’s basically the lovechild of Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima in a high school sports anime setting. The show treats itself with the perfect amount of sincerity to get away with being absolutely ridiculous most of the time without making you feel like you’re watching it from a dumpster...like Try Knights. You will know after one episode whether this show is for you. All I can say is, Hayato is worth the watch, and I haven’t seen any 3D animation used for the skating scenes (yet) so that’s a win for me. 

Honorable mention:

Jobless Reincarnation ( Mushoku Tensei): Yet another isekai where the main character is hit by a car (big surprise) and gets reincarnated into a fantasy world...but he happens to remember his previous life and narrates himself growing up as a jaded adult. I’m only including this because it looked amazing animation wise, and I love the opening where getting hit by a car and dying is actually traumatic. And I love the protagonist’s parents (who are retired adventurers who just want to bang all the time). But honestly...the main character is the fucking worst, and I don’t know if I want to keep watching it because of how creepy and weird he is. Like...he’s the hit on your fantasy mom as a baby kind of creepy and weird. But for anyone who wants a cool looking isekai that had an amazing PV, it’s worth checking out. 

Continuing Series!

Because the real gold of the season is in all the established anime getting their next seasons, I’m just going to list some of the things that are also amazing and definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already (because I’ve already talked about most of them at some point and don’t know what else to say).

Attack On Titan season 4

The Promised Neverland season 2

Beastars season 2

Log Horizon season 3

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime season 2

Re: Zero season 2 (second cour)

Dr. Stone season 2

Cells at Work season 2

Osomatsu-san season 3 (second cour)

Higurashi New (second cour)

Jujutsu Kaisen (second cour) 

Not to mention all the shows I don’t watch that everyone else loves...like World Trigger (which I have seen quite a bit of, but long shounen shows are too much for me now) Quintessential Quintuplets, and Non Non Biyori. 

So there’s just some of all the anime airing this season. Hopefully, someone can find something they like. Here’s to a great year...well, of anime at least...

[erodasfishtacos]

The Brits Dilemma

” Prompt: Harry & Y/N go to the Brits. It’s the first time they’ve been away from their baby. Y/N is struggling but doesn’t want to ruin the night for her husband.

Word Count: 1.8 k +

Warnings: Depictions of breastfeeding

+++++++

The award show was going well. It was the first time Y/N had been out in nearly three months besides a few brunch dates and grocery shopping.

Usually, she was pretty confident in what she wore to accompany her husband to all of these flashy events - but not tonight.

Her bump had deflated but she was still attempting to get rid of the stubborn pouch that stayed after the baby had been born. It wasn’t anything out of the norm - just still trying to lose it.

She was breastfeeding and her breasts were much larger than before. They felt heavy and too big for her body. Not to mention, they were constantly swollen and achey. Pads were a must so she doesn’t leak through the tight satin black dress.

The dress was a beautiful custom design by Gucci that complimented Harry’s sharp suit but nothing felt right. It was digging into her sides and made it hard for her to sit on her chair.

The Brits were held in the O2 Arena which wasn’t very far from their London home but she felt like she was lightyears away from her baby. Even though she knew Sasha was in good hands with Anne.

Y/N was so proud of Harry for being up for five - yes, five different awards. It was a record for him and she didn’t want to let him down by complaining. It was his night. He’s been such a devote father - he deserved a break too.

So she swallowed down the anxiety she was feeling about being away from their little newborn for the night along with her worries about her changing body.

There was milling about between the tables before the show got started. Harry had people coming up him constantly - congratulating him on the album, the nominations, the baby.

Married life and fatherhood suited him well. A dazzling wedding band on his left ring finger, a necklace with an S for his daughter, along with her name freshly inked on right above his butterfly tattoo.

The open jacket he wore with is his barely buttoned dress shirt displayed it proudly. It was beautiful, done delicately in a timeless cursive. The font match his wife name that was tattooed on his hand.

He couldn’t lie and say he wasn’t excited to have a night out with his wife. He had Jeff booked a hotel for the night to have some alone time with you while his mum got to enjoy a night with her only grandchild.

Y/N was counting down the hours up until tomorrow when she could go home to see her baby. She should really tell Harry that she wants to go home and not out to a club and the hotel.

But the it just slowly starts to deteriorate further when a bald, plump business exec comes to greet the two of you. He gives his warm wishes about the birth of your child before smiling at Y/N and stating, “The baby weight will come off soon enough.”

Her throat closes up a bit and she self-consciously tries to push her chair closer to the table. It was the last thing that she needed to hear. Confirming all of her worst insecurities.

Harry glares at the man before turning to his wife, “Hey, you look s’perfect, my love. I’m so bloody lucky you’re mine.”

He’s truly trying his hardest to bring a smile to her face but he notices it’s never quite meeting her eyes. 

It get even worse when Harry gets his first award, male solo artist of the year. 

As she’s standing and clapping for him - she realizes she’s beginning to leak through her nipple inserts.

Y/N excuses herself in the middle of his acceptance speech to rush through the string of tables - out into the corridor. The last thing she wanted to do was for it to show up on a very expensive dress.

The echo of his voice can still be heard, “Love to thank my beautiful wife who makes writing sappy love songs easy and was the main inspiration for my recent album. She also just gave birth to our beautiful baby.....”

She feels awful when she tunes him out, finding the bathroom and hurriedly rushing in. There’s a gorgeous woman standing at the sink, washing their hands. 

Fucking Taylor Swift.

Any other time it’d be awkward and uncomfortable - running into an ex who wrote multiple songs about her husband.

But she couldn’t careless right now, “Hi, erm, this is really weird but could you unzip my dress? I’m leaking and - shit that was way too much information.”

But Taylor smiles kindly, “No! It’s okay, totally. No worries. Congratulations on your baby - you look so hot tonight.”

Y/N laughs and thanks her for unzipping the dress before going into a stall and locking the door. She slides her bra straps off her shoulders and disposes of the soaked pad in the sanitary bin.

Luckily, she has a clean burp rag that she gently swipes at her breast - wincing as it brushes against her swollen nipples. Even the soft fabric felt too rough on them.

It’s a minute or two before the bathroom door swings open, “Y/N? Lovie? Are you in ‘ere?”

She feels guilt at the panic in his voice. Managing to croak out, “I’m in here,” before leaning forward to unlock the door.

Harry waste no time in sliding into the stall before latching the lock again. Taking in the sight of his wife in front of him.

“I-I started leaking, M’sorry,” Y/N whispers, she has no reason to feel embarrassed but she is. “I missed your speech.”

“None of that, baby. I’ll give more speeches for you to hear - I only care that you’re okay. I’m sorry y’leakin, lemme help you, pet.”

In true Harry fashion, he takes the rag and turns on the sink - running it under warm water before carefully cleaning his wife up.

“Are they botherin’ you? They look irritated and super swollen, darling,” Harry frowns, a very gentle thumb coming to brush against her nipple. Then cupping her swollen breast in his hand, thumb rubbing at the pink skin.

“Just a little bit,” She lies, they’re absolutely on fire with chafing and skin irritation from the bra she’s wearing. She never thought she’d miss her nursing bras and sports bras this much.

He nods and helps place new inserts in her bra. Who’d think this is what Harry would be doing between accepting awards. Everyone unassuming in the arena.

**

Harry has been four for four thus far into the ceremony. They’d only had him go up and give two acceptance speeches. His hand firmly planted on his wife’s thigh throughout. 

When he went up for his second award, the camera zooms in and the crowd coos are he plants a kiss on his wife’s lips before pulling her into a hug - whispering something into her ear the audience can’t hear.

He was much more focused on his wife. He could read her fairly well - he’d like to think. Enough to know she’s having much fun. But he didn’t want to bring it up and make her feel bad.

Harry sees the way she keeps adjusting her bra, fidgets with his rings when his hands in his lap, and not even really looking up while one of her favorite artist - Dua Lipa -performs.

Y/N loved a good party before the baby. So Harry was hoping going to the Brits afterparty would make her feel better and then going back to their hotel room for a some alone time.

**

Y/N has been increasingly quiet when they’re exiting the arena after the final award artist of the year - which Harry had also won.

He was on cloud nine and admittedly a little distracted as he joked and laughed with a small group of friends on the way out. 

“Alright, should we all just pile into a cab for the ride to the party?” Nick Grimshaw asks everyone.

Everyone is in agreement - including Harry -as he calls to order one - standing in the blocked off area away from fans and paparazzi.

Y/N wants to tell him she wants to go home to Sasha but when she hears him say, “Can’t wait to get to Exhibit - haven’t been there in forever. One of my favorite clubs.”

She bites her tongue. Harry is enjoying his night out - why can’t she?

In the taxi, she’s sat on Harry’s lap as they make their way to the club. His one hand is on her inner thigh and the other is on her waist holding her steady.

In the morning, she’ll blame her post-partum hormones and anxiety. But she doesn’t even realizing her eyes are filling with tears and when she blinks they spill down her face.

She wouldn’t feel as embarrassed if she wasn’t in the car full of literal celebrities who are filled with adrenaline and excitement. Chattering and drinking from little liquor bottles they’d snuck in their jackets and clutches.

“Y/N, are you alright?” Rita Ora asks from her seat - noticing the streaks ruining your makeup.

She nods pathetically, wiping at her eyes but Harry is turning her to face him. His bright green eyes filled with concern as he studies her face.

The previously very obnoxiously loud cab becomes silent as they try to give the couple a semblance of non-existent privacy.

“What’s happening, dove? Are you hurting?” Harry panics, coming to wipe the smeared makeup away.

“I don’t want to go to the club,” Y/N sniffles, squeezing her eyes shut at how embarrassed she is of her behavior. She would usually never act this way - especially in public. And Harry knows that so it makes him even more concerned.

“That’s okay, pet. We can go have a night in, when the cab stops - we can uber back to the hotel,” Harry soothes, surprised when that brings on fresh tears.

“N-no, I want to go home. I miss the baby, I want to- need to see our baby. I-I can’t do this. My anxiety is through the roof, Harry. What if she can’t sleep? Or isn’t taking the bottle?”

“Baby, breathe, breathe. We can go home. I miss the bub terribly too. Have been worried about her all night.”

Harry tugs his wife into his chest further - tucking her head into his neck as he shoots his friends grateful looks. They all nod, sympathetic and understanding - despite them not having kids of their own.

**

“I ruined your night,” Y/N says softly in the back of the uber home. “I leaked during the show; cried in front of all your friends.”

Harry takes her chin gentle but firm until she meets his gaze, “You didn’t ruin anything f’me. All I care about is you and the baby - not some stupid award ceremony or party.”

He continues on, “You just gave us Sasha three months ago - y’bloody amazing. Best mum, best wife. Sexiest too - know you don’t think that right now but your body literally grew my baby. I get a hard-on everytime I see you.”

They both laugh, Y/N leaning forward to capture her husbands lips in a meaningful kiss of gratitude and thanks.

**

Anne smiles kindly when the two of them arrive home. A very fussy, red-faced swaddled baby coddled in her arms. 

“She hasn’t settled for quite a while now - she missed her parents very much,” Harry’s mum tells them, transferring her into her father’s arms. He’s automatically rocking and running his thumb over her cheek.

“Ooh, we missed you. Was Nana nice to you?” Harry coos. Sasha has already quieted and is blinking tearfully up at her smiling father.

“Such a good girl, best girl,” Y/N sighs, leaning in to kiss her downy hair. Harry’s hand coming to wrap around his wife’s waist as they peer down at their perfect little daughter.

Anne smiles at his son and daughter-in-law fawning over their little creation with so much love and adoration.

After a minute of chatting -Harry’s mum makes her way up to the guest room after a long night with a miserable baby. They make their way to their room where Y/N strips out of her tight dress and awful bra. 

She sits against the headboard in just a pair of soft cotton panties. Harry is gently shushing her and humming a melody as his wife gets situated. He knew she was anxious to feed the baby.

“That’s it my sweet thing. Y’missed us, hm? We missed you too, bub. Nana said y’wouldn’t take the bottle. Only want your mumma, hmm?” Harry coos, kissing her chubby cheeks.

He’s then giving Y/N the baby, who ferociously latching within seconds and begins eating like she’d been starved for the last week. Making weak little rumbles as she does so.

They both giggle fondly, Y/Ns fingers come to touch her fluttering cheek - memorizing her over and over again.

Harry gets onto the bed and settles next to the both of them. Watching his baby feed in amazement at what his wife was capable of. He smears a few kisses against her bare shoulder - hand on his baby’s back.

How strong she was - as he knew it had to be at least a little bit painful with how irritated her nipples had been. He can tell when she winces every once in a while.

He plants a few more kisses to her warm skin - noticing her eyes getting a bit droopy as Sasha feeds at a slow, suckling pace.

“If I’m being honest, being with you - watching you feed our baby...I’d rather be here than at any club.” 

Y/N snorts, rolling her eyes, “Sure.”

Her husband frowns, “M’serious, this is all I need, baby.”

“I love you, congratulation on all your Brits,” Y/N murmurs, pecking at his lips.

“I love you too. I meant it, during my speeches. I wouldn’t have been able to write those songs if you hadn’t inspired me. You’ll and the bab will always be the best muse.”

[delicrieux]

☆ﾐ 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚢 “𝚘𝚑”

PART 10: BIG DICK IS BACK IN TOWN

y/n is back in brooklyn for the holidays. thinking that a stream will make her feel less homesick for cali, she starts working on her famously titled hentai.free.srv. what was supposed to be a relaxing stream turns into a special delivery about two hours in.

─���─ corpse husband x reader ─── soc. media + written fiction! ─── word count: 2.2k ─── ❥ req: Here's one... You know those apps for delivery like Domino's or whatnot... What if reader is streaming Among Us with Corpse, and reader mentions they're hungry and Corpse offers to order them food, and readers like no no it's fine... Then there's delivery at the door (Corpse ordered beforehand) 

author’s note: fucky format is also back in town baby!!! also if you find any mistakes - no u didnt <3 thank u everyone for enjoying this story sm i literally cant believe how feral yall going strawberry cow was a nuclear explosion im still recovering tbh. got an ask a while ago and decided to incorporate it into myso. happy holidays everyone! myso will continue on monday!

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Indeed, being soft on any social media platform was the biggest disgrace and needed to be eliminated post haste. Moreover, it was a slippery slope - once you start flooding your timeline with cute imagery and heart emojis, what will stop you from posting inspirational Facebook quotes? Disgusting. If Rae were here, she would chide you (not you thinking about her as if she’s dead or something). For once in your life, you feel like you deserve it. 

Alas, you hope this little chaos you’ve caused is enough to throw everyone off. The stans, especially. You know the hashtags, you’ve seen ARMY scourging for info online with the same fervor and ruthlessness 1 Direction fans hacked airport security cameras just to spy on the boys. If you had any dirty secrets online, they are out to the public now - thankfully, besides the Harry Styles stan account (with edits and all), you have nothing. Though, now that you think about it, exposed nudes would have been better than your Punk!Harry edit receiving almost a million views. God, your life’s a fucking mess.

Your fans aren’t the only ones out for info - you, too, are trying to decipher Rae’s message. Code: Barbecue Sauce. The two of you had come up with it roughly two years ago, around the same time when you promised that if you didn’t find significant others by the time you’re 40, you’ll just marry each other. It was one of the many rules found in your friendship codex. Barbecue Sauce signifies information - an exchange of information. And depending on how it ends or begins (”So I’m sitting there” alludes to Rae, “On my titties” alludes to you), secret data on that person is given away, usually free of charge. 

But why? And to whom did Rae give away what? You had pestered her mercilessly and even sent some voice messages where you were crying. You were only crying because of a video of a grandpa smiling you saw on TikTok, but you are a snake, and so you put those tears to good use. If streaming doesn’t work out, you’ll just become an actress. Hollywood would love you. Your PR firm sure as fuck wouldn’t, though.

Rae was having none of it. She said you’ll figure it out eventually. Told you to channel your superior puzzle skills. You were quick to remind her that you can barely count to ten without having an aneurysm. Oddly serious, she admitted that she worries for you sometimes. Why only sometimes?! you demanded. She merely sighed. uttering under her breath something that sounded closely to “Boke.”

You leave her for barely a week and she’s already neck deep in the gay volleyball anime, hoodie and cardboard cutout and everything. Your life is falling apart.

But Brooklyn is nice. It had snowed when you stepped off of the plane. Thousands of snowflakes sprinkling into your hair, dotting your cheeks and nose. You missed this sight back in Cali. You missed your parents, too. 

Home cooked meals, old sweaters, your old room and about 40GB worth of old high school pictures on your computer. You went through them all one night. Some were stomach churning, cringe inducing nightmares. You were especially fond of those. Texted some of your friends that were still in Brooklyn, met up, decided to bake. Bad idea, Rae was the resident chef back in Cali. Besides laughing till your stomach hurt, and almost burning down your kitchen, nothing all that significant happened. Somewhere down the line, at about 3 am, half-way through a cheesy rom-com you had the overwhelming urge to text Corpse.

That’s where the problems really started. God, you missed California, missed being in the same timezone with a guy you hadn’t even met yet, how embarrassing is that?! You missed skating around and taking pictures of the beach in the setting sun, sending it to him, silently wishing he was with you to admire the view. 

You really want to call him. And to hang out with him. But for some reason, the thought of that springs up immediate anxiety and you shy away from asking. Him sending you cute good morning texts doesn’t help, either. Maybe it’s better he doesn’t know that you’re a blushing, stuttering mess each time you read “baby”. 

Late evening. Your stream is already set up, people are slowly trickling in and you greet them with a grin and a soft “Hello! Hi hi!”. You did your best to make your room a perfectly chaotic backdrop - led lights, an embarrassing amount of anime merch and plushies. You always try to balance out your weeb side by dressing hot as fuck for your streams - today’s inspiration just so happens to be egirls. Mostly because you watched one too many egirl make-up tutorials on TikTok, and also because you’ve been listening to Corpse’s song all day.

Yeah, no, who are you kidding, you dressed up this way because you were hoping Corpse was watching your stream. You didn’t forget your cat headphones, either. You know he likes them. You want to make him suffer. Perhaps then, finally, he will ask you out, so you wouldn’t have to.

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“I feel like,” You start when you put away your phone, staring idly at the chat, “I feel like I need a new name for you guys. Calling you guys after two years of streaming is just... weird, no? I also don’t respect men so I don’t want to call you guys. Like, so many creator’s have, like, a name for their fans. Uhm, Cody Ko has the chodesters, Kurtis Conner has, uh, folks? Kurtis Town? Citizens! Markiplier has mommy issues--” You can’t help snorting, “So, I’ve been, like, thinking - I know, shocking! - so I was thinking I’m gonna name you cockroaches. Because you’re grimy little shits impossible to kill. And also then I can use the legendary Minaj meme ROACHES!”

Your stream enthusiastically echoes ROACHES, making the chat swim. Yes, if anyone would enjoy such a name, it would be your audience. You’re as equally proud as you are disturbed.

“Well, anyway.” Leaning back into your chair, you throw your arms out with a bright grin, “Big dick is back in town, baby! If you noticed the backdrops different, it’s cuz I’m in Brooklyn now. Don’t ask me when I will return to Always Sunny, I don’t plan that far ahead.”

While Minecraft boots up, you decide to answer a few questions.

r u dating sykkuno?

You want to smack your head into the keyboard, but as it is, you can’t exactly afford a new one, so you refrain, “No, Sykkuno and I are not dating, we are just good friends. Uhm, I’m not sure how much I’ll have to repeat this, but, we really aren’t, so if the roaches could chill - Oh my God, that sounds so stupid, I love it - uh, yeah, if the roaches could chill that’d be great.”

the roaches lmao sounds like we’re a sports team

“Oh shit, yeah it does, uh-- maybe I can make like, jerseys or something. That’d be cool, I think.”

how disappointed are your parents with the way your life turned out?

“My parents are actually not disappointed at all!” You say with a cute little smile, “Uhm, they’re both really proud, actually. They’re glad I found something I love doing and made a job outta it. Dad finds my Youtube videos endearing. Yes, they watch pretty much all of my videos, unless I explicitly tell them not to. And yeah, with all the fucks and thirsting for anime characters. Uhm, it was very embarrassing at first, but I mean, after a while, shame just...doesn’t exist anymore, I guess? Funny thing about my parents, actually, when they watch my videos-” You eye catches a comment, “Oh! No, they only watch my Youtube videos. They don’t know how to use Twitter, thank God. Uhm, anyway-- when they hear a name they don’t know, like, I dunno, Dabi, or something, they google--” You’re grinning by now, eyes crinkling, giggling softly, “--who that is, and buy me like, merch and stuff. It’s really cute. 

can i be adopted by ur parents plz

will you and corpse ever collab?!

You were about to answer, though the man of the hour himself decides to do it for you.

Corpse_Husband: yes.

Okay, not to say your heart skipped a beat, but it totally did. With a pleased smile, you nod, like one of those bobble head toys sold at the dollar store. The motion is oddly reminiscent of Sykkuno’s own nod. Perhaps you had picked it up from him. The chat seems to notice.

pack it up, sykkuno

More questions pile about this mysterious collab you and Corpse are planning. Yeah, you’d like to hear more about it, too, since he single highhandedly decided one was happening right now. Corpse remains silent. Fine, keep your secrets. 

“Okay, guys, oh, I mean, roaches, Oh my God--” You’re covering your mouth, giggling, “-calling all roaches, calling all roaches, calm down. Everyone grab a snack and a blanket I’m turning up the music volume so we can all chill. Entering chill zone. Entering chill zone. Roaches, prepare.”

we are prepared

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An hour or so passes and you grow hungry. It shows with the amount of cakes you had baked in your server. Currently, you find yourself throwing eggs at the wall of one of the renovated houses, your face scrunched in concentration and slight frustration. 24 of the 50 eggs have been wasted. “What’s a girl gotta do to get some chicks around here?” you had uttered under your breath, until, finally, a screech - the egg finally spawns a mob. Your mouth falls open, “Aww, look!” You approach it, so small, walking in zigzags beside you, “It’s a baby chicken! Die, bitch.” The baby chicken is no more as you swing your bedazzled (you have mods) diamond sword. You’re cackling by the time the dust settles.

y/n is a child murderer

“Roaches,” You address your fan-base, spurring another fit of laughter - you can’t get over the name, “I think I’m like, forgetting that eating in Minecraft won’t actually make less hungry in real life.”

take a break and go eat queen <3

“Fuck no, we starve and die like men. Now I actually really need another chicken.”

Another twenty minutes trickle by and you’re trying to lure back a panda from the jungle when there’s a knock on your bedroom’s door. Whipping your head to the side, you slide down your headphones. At the same time, your mom pokes her head through the ajar door, “MOM!” You scream, “Get OUT of my room I’m playing Minecraft!” But your yell has no actual bite to it, as you don’t manage to hide your smile. Your mom laughs, doing some sort of sign language and motioning for you to follow her with her head. That or it’s some sort of performative dance. 

“I’m live right now,” You tell her, pointing at your screen. She knows this already, though, “do you want to say hi?” 

The roaches spam the chat with friendly hellos. You mom, quite impatient now, waves you over. 

“Sorry, roaches, mom needs something. Be back in a bit!”

Stopping the stream, you rush out of your seat and pleased she slinks into the hallway. “What’s this about?”

“Your pizza came.”

“My what now?” You echo, confused.

“Domino’s. You ordered pizza?”

“What? No? I was busy with the stream, I never--”

Thankfully, you had managed to grab your phone from your room before you exited. You almost choke on spit once you read the messages.

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You decide that it’ll be impossible to stream after experiencing what you had just experienced. You tweet out a quick apology to the roaches (God, that fucking name) and say that you had a breakdown but you’re okay. That is as a close to the truth as you managed to muster. It’s a sad sight, chewing and crying; your mom winced when she saw your state - disheveled hair and rundown eyeliner and everything. “D’aww,” She had muttered, caressing the top of your head, “don’t cry my little raccoon.”

If anyone was ever to ask you where did your chaotic nature come from, you’d answer with my mom. To make yourself feel better, you took a selfie - duck face and peace sign and the horrible 2000′s angle. Sent it to Rae. 

looking hot, her message read. 

thanks, was all you replied with.

You couldn’t just leave things as they were. Once you calmed down, you wanted to text Corpse, but how would you follow up the ungodly caps lock and screeching? Impossible. An idea sprung to mind, one that was brave. Taking the first step.

Instead of sending a text, you sent a voice memo.

“Thank you for the pizza, it was delicious.”

You voice still sounded a bit raspy. His reply was instant. Your heart skipped a beat. He sent a voice memo back.

“Glad you liked it, baby.”

He was going to be the death of you.

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tags (in italics is those i couldn’t tag! make sure all’s ok w your settings!) : @littlebabysandboxburritos - @fairywriter-oracle - @tsukishimawh0re - @ofstarsanddreams - @bbecc-a - @annshit - @leahh19 - @letsloveimagines - @bellomi-clarke - @wineandionysus - @guiltydols - @onephootinfrontoftheother - @liamakorn - @thirstyfangirl - @lilysdaydreams - @pan-ini - @mxqicshxp - @tanchosanke - @yoshinorecommends - @flightsandfantasy - @liljennyx3 - @slashersdream - @unknown-and-invisible - @sinister-sleep - @fivedicksinatrenchcoat - @mercury–moon - @peterparkerspjsuit - @unstableye - @simonsbluee - @shinyshimaagain - @ppopty - @siriuslystupid - @crapimahuman - @ofthedewthesunlight - @mythicalamphitrite - @artsyally - @corpsesimpp - @corpsewhitetee - @corpse-husbandsimp - @hyp-oh-critical - @roses-and-grasses - @rhyrhy462 - @sparklylandflaplawyer - @charbkgo - @airwaveee - @creativedogs - @kaitlyn2907 - @loxbbg - @afuckingunicornn - @fleurmoon - @yeolliedokai - @truly-dionysus - @multi-fandom-central707

more tags are in the comments bcs tumblr only allows me to tag 50 people max 💙