collagedormparty

[shimmershy]

Hiya, random bs question, Any advice for writing fanfics? Thunderstorm has quickly become on of my favorites so I wish for advice please!

Wow ha ha, I'm really glad you liked it! Unfortunately I'm....horrible at advice, especially when it comes to art and writing. Mostly because I've just been doing it for pretty much my whole life so I kind of just... do it and try to make it look/sound right as I go. Plus there's just a lot that goes into it, so it'd probably be easier to answer like a specific question or something.

I guess one thing that's good to keep in mind is to vary your sentence structure throughout the story because it makes it more interesting to read. Like, have a variety of long and short sentences, and change up the way you phrase things a bit. You can break traditional writing rules too, especially in fanfiction where it's easier to get away with, and use sentence fragments for effect, for example.

Another thing I love doing is giving a line that's supposed to have a lot of impact its own paragraph. Like, you have this really long paragraph explaining a character's feelings or something, and then there's this one sentence that gets broken off from everything because it's meant to be impactful. That's just a lot of fun to me. And then, of course, you have the ellipses (...) with their own paragraph when there's a lot of tension or just a pause. Or just...regular ellipses hehehe. I rely on that way too much to help with pacing and stuff.

If you have a lot of monologuing/character thoughts/dialogue in one place, it helps to interject a sentence or two that keeps it grounded in the present moment. Just take a moment to describe something the character's doing while they're saying/thinking these things because they're probably not going to be sitting still as a statue the whole time. (And if they are....mention it!) Maybe they glance to the side or brush their hair behind their ear or walk over to the cabinet to get a cookie. It just helps with pacing and also to make sure things are still happening, I guess. I tend to struggle with remembering to do this so I always kind of have it on my mind. I get caught up with explaining things a lot and forget about the "things happening" part. For example, Thunderstorms had a lot of paragraphs of Chara just thinking about stuff so it felt really clunky to read through, I guess? So from time to time I tried to add in a description of them doing something, like pulling their blanket tighter around themself. When I was first writing this, they were just going to stay in their room the whole time, but then I was like, that's boring! Boo! Make fun stuff happen! So yeah. I don't know, it's kind of hard and it's more something you just have to feel out.

And I guess, just generally, it helps to know the characters you're writing really well. I feel like the fact that I've been hyperfixating on Undertale, particularly Chara and Frisk etc., for years has something to do with how well I write them lol... But yeah. I don't know, when it comes to fanfiction, the most important thing is to have fun with it. :) And usually if you enjoy writing it, surely there will be people out there who enjoy reading it.

[luveline]

What about Eddie comforting sunshine reader? Like she’s worried they’ll break up bc of how different they are

thank you for your request! —you worry that you and eddie are too different to last. he changes your mind. fem!reader, fluff + hurt/comfort, 1.3k

"Can I turn this?" Eddie asks. 

You look up from your nails as soon as you can, meeting Eddie's eyes before following his hand and gaze to the rearview mirror. 

"Yeah, 'course you can. I'll turn it back." 

Eddie nods appreciatively and turns your rearview to face him in the passenger seat. His van can't make big trips without blowing a gasket or springing a leak, leaving you behind the wheel of your slightly less dilapidated Escort for tonight's excursion. 

You tear your attention from him to put the brush back into your precariously balanced nail polish and crank down the window, airing out the fumes. Eddie hasn't complained about the smell. He complains about lots of things, but never you. 

That doesn't mean he isn't thinking those complaints, though.

The longer he goes without chastising you, the more you worry. Eventually, you're going to irritate him. You'll be too loud, too saccharine, too much. 

"Got your glitters?" he asks, pulling down the soft skin under his eye, eyeliner pencil poised at his waterline 

"What?" 

Eddie pencils eyeliner under his bottom lashes. "For your nails." 

You watch him draw a messy line. He knows what he wants and after a handful of seconds he's rubbing it out with his pinky fingertip and moving to his other eye. 

"Sweetheart?" Eddie asks. 

"What?" 

Eddie stops drawing on his eyeliner to look at you with fond puzzlement. "Is something wrong?" 

He looks casually cool in his way. Dark hair darker in the evening light, pale skin blown out and his eyes big and sugary. You look at him and feel melted by your affection for him, wanting to reach out and wrap a ringlet of his hair around your finger teasingly, or pet the slope of his cheek with the back of your hand. 

Especially when he's asking you questions like that, delivered without any grandeur. 

"No, I don't think so. Why, is something wrong with you?" You lean back in your chair and close your eyes. "I'm tired already. We need to stop making late night plans." 

"We could get a motel if you don't wanna drive again tonight." You don't see Eddie turn back to his make up, assuming he does when the weight of his gaze is alleviated, and his words come out distractedly slow, "I know that there's… something bothering you. Tell me what it is so I can kiss it better." 

"You'd like that, Munson," you tease. 

"I'd really like that. It would be the highlight of my night." 

There's a wooden plink of the pencil being dropped and the plastic sound of the glove compartment being opened and quickly closed. You spy through barely parted lashes as Eddie leans across the console, eyes widening to look down your nose while he draws ever closer. 

He kisses you quickly, misaligned but well-meaning. 

"Tell me what's wrong and I'll make it worth it," Eddie promises. He's flirting now, the cadence of his voice rougher, his brows lifting ever so slightly. "Is it something serious?" 

"Not really," you say, leaning back as his hand finds your hip, and his index finger slides under the hem of your t-shirt. 

He draws a ticklish circle. "You know I wanna hear it? Whatever it is…" His middle finger joins his index, then his whole hand is under your shirt and sliding across your naked stomach. 

You laugh and clamp a hand down on him. "It's stupid, and it'll sound stupider out loud." 

"Nice, I like stupid shit. If you don't tell me we'll just have to play hooky in your cold car all night and miss the show." He says it like that's more than alright in his book —he makes playing hooky sound like staying at the Ritz.

He pulls you as close to him as he can considering your impossible seats and brings his free hand to your neck. "If you tell me, I'll give you one of those massages you just hate," he offers quietly, the slightest dip of salaciousness all but smothered in concern. 

You won't torture him, even if admitting what's wrong will make you feel like you're standing naked by the side of the I-64. 

"Do you ever worry that me and you are too different?" you ask. 

"Too different?" he repeats, giving your hip a mindless squeeze. "I've never worried that, no." 

"Just 'cos, you're all– you like rock shows 'n' macabre movies. You hate the radio, you say that the colour yellow gives you a headache–" 

"I don't hate yellow." 

"You squint when I wear my yellow sweatshirt." 

Eddie nods severely. "Well, you figured us out. We should break up now, before we get any more serious." He lifts your chin with his thumb and guides your face to his for a kiss. "You don't mind rock shows," he says against your lips, tip of his thumb stroking a short, soft line. 

"I like 'em 'cos they make you happy." 

"That's why I don't hate the radio, either. I don't like half of the stuff they play, but I leave it on because I," —his lips move to the corner of your lips, dipping in for a kiss and then sitting back in his seat— "love to watch you." 

"What, when I do my Madonna impression?" you ask jokingly. 

Eddie's answering smile is far from joking. "I love all your impressions. I love everything you do, all that shit that makes us different are just reasons I like you. Your long stories, your magazine quizzes, your glittery nails. I really like your nails." 

"You do?" you ask. 

"It's nice when you ask me what colours to use, and you make a really cute face when you put the glitter on with a toothpick." He scrunches his eyes. "Like this." 

You laugh, startled. "That's me?" 

"That's you." Eddie brings both hands to your face and presses his thumbs to the apple of your cheeks. He turns your head gently from left to right. "Do you think we're too different?" 

"Kind of. What if you get tired of it, you know? What if one day you look over and you think, fuck, I wish the radio would just break already?" 

Eddie laughs with a giggle bordering ecstatic, a matching smile playing over his pretty mouth. "That's not going to happen!" he says through it, thumbs rubbing a steady back and forth into your cheeks. "I'm never going to look at you and think that. The only stuff I think about when I look at you is how I fucking worship you, baby." 

You turn your cheek indulgently into his hand, like the girls in the chick flicks with the handsome movie stars. He doesn't look like the average leading man, but all the things that disqualify him for pop movies are the things that drew you in —his unruly curls, his dark tattoos, the funny way he smirks like he's the only one who knows a scandalous secret. 

He smiles at you now like you know the secret too. 

"Let's stay different," Eddie says, hands falling to yours to give them a shake. "We only need one thing in common." 

You lean over the console. He's right, you decide, as his soft lips press against the seam of your own, encouraging you to part them gently. Your noses press together, Eddie's hand sliding up your forearm, that common thing sewn into each millimetre of movement and every second of his kiss. The only thing you need to be the same between you is how you feel about one another. 

Plus, he worships you? 

You hook an arm behind his head and pull him closer. Your twin smiles make it hard to kiss, but you keep trying.

[imaginespazzi]

Part 7: Home

Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6

These hands had to let it go free and this love came back to (us)

(In which with bittersweet feelings, a nostalgic writer, finally writes the end of the story)

Pairing: Paige Bueckers X Azzi Fudd

Themes: Angst and Fluff

Words: 7.1K

TW: Swearing, Alludes to Sexual Content

A/N: Hello my loves! I can't believe we've actually reached the end, who would have thought huh? I'm not sure if there will be an epilogue, mainly cause I don't know what I'd write but never say never. I don't really know how I feel about this chapter and if I've done the end I pictured justice but I really hope y'all like it anyways. There's a fair amount of creative liberty taken with WNBA logistics but please just accept it for the plot. Per usual, did I edit? Yes. Are there grammar mistakes and typos anyways? Yes. As always, let me know what you liked and disliked. And finally, to all my lovelies who have liked, reblogged, commented, sent in an ask, dm-ed me or simply just silently read this fic, I just wanna say thank you guys so, so, much, y'all have made writing every word worth it and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much I enjoyed writing it <3

August 2018

Paige swears, tonight, there are stars in the Minnesota night sky she’s never seen before in her life. The summer sky has darkened with nightfall, yet the shine of the moon and its companions make it still seem ever so bright. Or maybe, it’s just the girl lying next to Paige that makes tonight feel luminescent, sparkling with the promises of something not quite like friendship that Paige has never felt before. She’d spent the whole day with Azzi at the Minnesota State fair, trying to suppress these new butterflies in her stomach that seemed to have taken birth over their time in Latvia. Or well, maybe they’d been there from the start, but they’d really only started this dance of theirs, the one that makes Paige feel all tingly when Azzi smiles, over the course of this summer. 

“Paige it’s cold, stop hogging the blanket,” Azzi chastises, breaking Paige from a trance, as she tugs on the pink and purple blanket covering the two of them, “I knew we should have brought two of them.”

“It’s barely on me” Paige argues for the sake of arguing but she shifts anyway to allow the younger girl to pull the blanket, so clearly meant for one person, a little more towards her, “besides, it’s about sharing body heat.”

“You’re not even warm enough to share body heat,” Azzi mocks as she makes a show of tracing a finger down Paige’s arm and everything in the blonde feels like it’s been lit on fire at the touch. And she wonders if Azzi feels it too, the electricity, the sparks of this could ruin me that scatter through her veins before finding themselves setting her heart ablaze. It’s too much and Paige shakes Azzi’s hand off with a little more force than she means too. 

When Azzi sends her questioning look, she splutters through an excuse, “your hands are cold too. Can we just do the boring shit we’re here to do.”

"Stargazing is not boring,” Azzi says indignantly, opening the little stargazing booklet she’d brought with her, flicking through the pages looking for something specific. 

To be honest, sitting still in an open field and squinting at the sky trying to figure out a distant constellation isn’t really Paige’s brand of entertainment. She’s a fidgety person by nature, constantly embroiled in the urge to be moving. But Azzi had brought it up the other day, with pleading eyes and a hopeful grin and well, sometimes it felt sinful to deny Azzi of anything she wants. And that’s how they’d ended up at a campsite, not too far from the State fair, lying on the grass, heads tilted towards each other, with a single blanket shielding them from the summer breeze. 

“Okay,” Azzi says after a while, using her fingers to point out a pattern in the sky, “I think that one’s Cassiopeia.”

“If you say so,” Paige nods, not really sure what she’s supposed to be looking at. 

“Paaaaige,” Azzi whines, “focus.”

“Dude I can barely see anything, the fuck am I supposed to focus o-”

Before Paige can finish her sentence, she feels herself being pulled by the younger girl, the side of her body fitting into the crook’s of Azzi’s like a perfect puzzle piece. She looks over at the brunette, and the protest dies on the tip of her tongue, as she realises just how close Azzi is to her now, all semblance of air leaving her lungs. Paige gulps, eyes tracing every inch of her best friend’s face, stopping of their own accord at Azzi’s lips, before guiltily flashing back to meet the younger girl’s eyes which are just as focused on Paige. And it feels like there’s no force in this world right now that could make either of them look away. Except maybe the force of friends don’t do this. 

“Just focus,” Azzi breaks contact first, turning her face back at the stars, before gently grabbing hold of Paige’s hand so she can guide it in the pattern of the constellation. And Paige still doesn’t really see it, doesn’t even particularly care about seeing it, but if it gets Azzi to hold her hand, soft skin putting light pressure against her palm, she thinks she’ll try to see some random lines in the sky forever. 

“It’s pretty.”

“You don’t see it do you?”

“Nope,” Paige’s grin widens when Azzi chuckles, shaking her head fondly. Something in her blooms, delighted at being the reason for that. And she’s always prided herself in being funny, she thinks of herself as a little bit of a comedian really, but she’s never wanted to make anyone laugh quite as much as she wants to make Azzi laugh. 

“Well that’s enough stargazing for us then,” Azzi rolls her eyes, closing her little booklet and making a move to sit up but Paige is quicker, pulling the younger girl back down and interlocking their fingers. Her own overeagerness causes a tinge of embarrassment to race up her cheeks, and she hopes it’s dark enough that Azzi won’t see the pale pink blush taking over her face. 

“It’s peaceful out here,” she says quietly, sounding shy even to her own ears and she can’t help but wonder when the hell that happened, “you wanna stay a little longer?”

“Yeah okay let’s stay longer,,” Azzi agrees  and sometimes when Azzi speaks like that, her voice lyrically soft with a secret smile hidden in it, Paige wonders if maybe it would be okay to hope for, to feel something more because maybe, just maybe, Azzi feels it too. 

“You know you should come to the state championship,” Paige says after a second of silence, trying to keep her voice nonchalant but she can hear the wishfulness bleeding into it anyways. 

Azzi raises an eyebrow, “isn’t that in March? That’s like months and months away.”

“Yeah but- well-” Paige shrugs, cheeks burning just a little bit, “you probably wanna book in advance cause like tickets and stuff you know?”

“You don’t even know if you’ll be in the state championship. There’s still a whole season to go.”

“Oh I know. I know we’re definitely gonna be there.” Paige smirks, cockiness back in full-fledged form. 

“Then I’ll be there,” Azzi says, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world, “you better win though Bueckers.”

“Watch me,” and she’s jutting her chest out in arrogance sure, but really everything inside her is swelling with something else, a feeling she’s starting to understand a little too well, a feeling that terrifies her, a feeling she doesn’t think she’s quite ready to let herself feel yet, “it would be nice you know, to win a championship together at some point.”

“I don’t think my parents would be on board with moving to Minnesota.”

“I’m sure I could convince them,” Paige feels a little giddy at the thought, “but I meant more like college, like UConn.”

It’s a topic they’ve stumbled upon a couple of times, with each other, and with the other girls at Team USA. And as much as Paige would love for her other teammates to follow her to her dream school, she’s practical enough to know they might have other priorities. But the thing is that with the rest of the girls, it’s just something she’d like to happen but with Azzi, now that Paige has said it out loud, she’s beginning to realise how desperately she wants that, her and Azzi, on the same team, fighting the same battles and winning the same wars, together. 

“Don’t think you can win a national championship without me Bueckers?” Azzi smirks, twisting her head towards Paige, eyebrows cocked in arrogance. 

“Of course I can,” Paige’s face softens, the vulnerability that only ever seems to come out around her best friend seeping on to her features, “but I think it would be fun to win one with you. Someday.”

“Someday, “ Azzi whispers back, giving Paige’s hand a light squeeze, and then her eyes widen at the sky, “holy shit is that a shooting star? Oh my god Paige look up, quick, it’s beautiful.”

In the dark of the night, a rare flicker of gold shoots across the obsidian Minnesota sky. Paige has never seen one before but it seems fitting really, that she’d see one tonight. 

“We have to make a wish,” she whispers and Azzi, never one to really believe, rolls her eyes but she follows Paige’s lead, closing her eyes. And the thing is Paige could wish for a lot of things really, but she finds herself thinking of only one word that sums up all she could ever want: someday.

***

August 2026 

They’ve been playing against each other for years now and yet the thrill of the face-off still hasn’t quite worn off. Back in the handful of games in high school, it had been quickfire friendly trash talk, two best friends going at it like the competitors they were. College had been drastically different, each game, each play, underlined with the tension of two people who still hadn’t quite figured it out. But Paige thinks her favourite version of them as opponents is definitely this one, the one where they might be on different teams in the WNBA, but off the court, they both know they’re on the same side, together. 

Their relationship isn’t quite a secret; it would have been impossible to hide if after the kiss at the 2025 national championship. But they’d kept as quiet about it as possible, skillfully dodging media questions, wanting to shelter it from the prying eyes of the public. It makes playing each other on national television, just that little bit more entertaining, trying to keep things as cordial as possible. If Paige’s hands end up just a little too close to Azzi’s waist, lingering a little longer than necessary against the patch of skin she’d marked with a hickey earlier this morning, and it makes the younger girl shiver, then that’s just a tactic to win. And if Azzi breathes seductive thoughts of what she’d like to do after the game when guarding Paige, and it makes the blonde want to turn around and kiss the smirk off of her girlfriend’s lips, well that’s just another innovative defensive strategy. 

“Be a good girl for me and move,” Paige whispers, the double entendre in her voice apparent, as she tries to dribble the ball past Azzi. There’s only a minute or so left in the last meeting of the regular season between Paige’s Lynx and Azzi’s Mystics -funny how that had worked out-  and the score is painfully close, with the Mystics closing in on the Lynx’s two point-lead. 

“Always a good girl for you P,” Azzi smirks, her voice the quietest it could possibly be, but Paige hears her next words like they’re on a loudspeaker in the area,  “it’s why I’m wearing your favourite purple panties.”

It takes a second, a second where Paige’s eyes gloss over with lust, as her mind rushes back to the last time she’d seen, the last time she’d touched the silky undergarment, for the ball to be stolen from her hands. She’s a step too slow to recover and by that time Azzi’s already scored the easy lay-up to tie up the game, a mischievous grin adorning her normally stoic game face. 

On the other end of the court, Napheesa draws a foul and Paige and Azzi end up next to each for free throws. Paige is seething, unsure if the heat curling up her spine is from the game or the girl standing next to her. 

“Sorry baby, all’s fair in love and war right?” Azzi teases, pinky brushing against the blonde’s, “I’ll make it up to you later if you want.”

“You’re such a fucking menace,” Paige practically growls. She does want, in fact she’d like it right now if it was possible. Two years they’ve been together, longer if you count the inbetween, and still, every time Azzi lights a match, Paige feels herself burn just as brightly as the first time she’d felt that magnetic pull. 

“Learnt from the best,” Azzi hums with a grin as Napheesa hits both free throws. 

The rest of the game passes in a blur of frenzied shots and hurried fouls but the Lynx pull out an eventual, much-needed win, to better their chances of clinching a higher seed in the playoffs. After missing the playoffs in 2024, the Lynx, despite having relatively low odds, had secured the no.1 pick and there had never really been a doubt that they would pick Paige. She’d helped the team get back to the playoffs last season but they hadn’t made it out of the first round. A championship doesn’t seem quite possible yet, but Paige has her fingers crossed that they’d at least make it to a semi-final this time. 

“The two of you are terrible at this,” Aaliyah’s the first person to hug Paige during the handshake line, “I thought you’d jump each other’s bones in the middle of the game today.”

“We’re not that bad,” Paige rolls her eyes at her former teammate. She high-fives a few more of the Mystics team until she gets to Azzi, who’s already smiling, despite the loss. The cameras are quick to crowd them, clearly wanting a more sensational picture than the one they’re likely to get. Still, despite the unwanted attention, Paige lets herself nestle into the crook of Azzi’s neck. 

“You owe me twice tonight,” she whispers into the younger girl’s ear, “one for the win and one for that bullshit you pulled on the court tonight.”

Azzi’s voice is breathless when she replies, “I can give you way more than two.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“It’s a promise.”

***

“With the new rules, after this season you’ll be a free agent, have you given any thought to that?”

Waiting for the Lynx’s turn in the media room, Paige hadn’t been paying much attention to the questions being asked to the Mystics players, her focus solely on how hot her girlfriend always looked post games. But the words ‘free agent’ pique her interest. The W had changed the rookie contract rules for first round draftees to two years and that meant both Paige and Azzi would be free agents after this year. But while it hadn’t reached the media quite yet, the Lynx were likely to use their core designation on Paige. Which meant the only one of them making any decision about next season would be Azzi. It was a subject the two of them were cautiously tip-toeing around, using the shield of distance to avoid talking about what it could mean for them. 

“I’m focused on the season, this team and the rest of our games. I’m not really thinking about the future,” Azzi answers diplomatically. 

“You’ve obviously got very strong ties to the DC area but you also went to UCLA, if the Sparks or maybe even the Valkyries, considering your connection to Steph Curry, were interested, and there have been rumours that they are, would you consider it?” the same reporter prods. 

“Again, I’m not currently thinking about any of that,” to anyone else Azzi probably sounds neutral but Paige has studied the sheet music of Azzi’s voice to the point where she knows what’s hidden behind every note, behind every little indent. The tinge of irritation is masked by a smile, but the line of questioning is clearly unappreciated. 

“And what about the Lynx?” the persistently oblivious reporter continues and this time Paige sucks in a breath, “you have some ties to that team don't you? Have you given some thought to maybe going there?”

Azzi’s eye twitches ever so slightly, “the Lynx just beat my team. The only thoughts I have right now are about how to beat them next time.”

That elicits a laugh from the media and finally the rather obtuse reporters seem to understand that he’s not going to be able to pry anything newsworthy from Azzi’s mouth. But even if he hasn’t achieved his desired effect, he’s succeeded in making Paige’s mind start running in circles. She hadn’t let herself think about it yet, the potential of Azzi joining the Lynx, the potential of playing with Azzi, the potential of finally just being with Azzi. Because facing the potential for all of that, facing all the things she wants means also facing the potential that maybe Azzi doesn’t want any of that. 

***

The air in Paige’s living room is thick with a suffocating tension as she and Azzi sit on opposite ends of the couch. It reminds Paige a little bit of the before, a dreaded version of them she’d foolishly thought they grown out of, until something reminiscent of their past problems had reared its ugly head, and suddenly it feels a bit like she’s playing a losing game. 

“Will you please stop that,” she bites out, referring to where Azzi’s foot is incessantly tapping on the wooden floors, “it’s giving me a headache.”

Azzi’s eyes narrow, flashing with irritation, “is it my tapping or the alcohol giving you a headache Paige?”

“I didn’t even drink that much,” Paige says through gritted teeth and Azzi scoffs. 

It’s a lie. After both teams were done with post game pressers, she, Azzi and a couple of the other girls had ended up at a local bar as they often did when the other team didn’t have to fly out til the next day. Paige had been tense the whole evening and trying to pretend not to be, especially when Azzi could see right through her façade, had only made the whole thing worse. She wasn’t one to drink too much, always happy just being sufficiently tipsy but then she’d gotten in her head too much. And when the first shot didn’t quite hit the way she needed it to, she’d kept on going, receiving worried looks from all the girls, until Azzi had finally stepped in. The ride back from the bar had been a sobering experience, one look at Azzi’s stoic face, giving away her irritation. 

“That’s why you still reek of tequila?” 

“How the fuck would you know? You haven’t come near me all night.” 

“Don’t you dare try and turn this on me Paige. I tried to talk to you all night til you decided you wanted to act like freshman frat boy,” Azzi spits out, hurt and anger colliding in her voice, “we barely get to spend time together during the season and the one night in forever that we do, you pull this shit?”

They haven’t had an argument like this since they’ve been officially together, the kind of argument that has them balancing on a delicate tight rope, too afraid to take a step backwards in their relationship, and too prideful to take a step forward towards each other. 

“I didn’t think you cared about spending time together during the season,” Paige accuses and there’s a sensible part of her, one that’s currently being held captive by the dangers of liquor, that knows it’s a ridiculous allegation. 

Azzi stares at her, lips opening and closing in disbelief, “excuse me?”

“It’s pretty simple really Azzi. If you wanna spend the whole season together, the option is right fucking there, but I- I can’t even tell if you’re interested in taking it,” Paige is pacing now, teeth gnawing at her lips like they always do when she’s nervous. 

“What- what are you even talking about?” Azzi asks, clearly confused. 

“Free fucking agency. They asked you about it and you said you hadn’t thought about it at all. That’s really great to hear Az, really great to know you haven’t thought about how that could literally change our whole fucking life,” and even as the words waterfall out of her mouth, Paige knows she’s being unreasonable, but the mix of stress and alcohol churning in her stomach is just enough to keep her from taking the words back. 

“I didn’t- that’s not even what I said. Jesus fucking christ Paige,” Azzi rubs her face, looking defeated.

“So you have thought about it then?”

“Of course I’ve thought about it, “ Azzi throws her hands up, “but I wasn’t gonna tell the media about all of that. But you- you seriously think I haven’t thought about what this means for us? You don’t- do you really think I’m not thinking about you- about us- while trying to make this decision?”

“Well you definitely didn’t think of me- of us- when you chose UCLA,” Paige’s eyes widen at her own words, knowing immediately that of all things she could have said, those were the worst ones, “I- I didn’t mean it like that.”

In front of her, Azzi has gone deathly still, face completely devoid of emotion, until the first tear drops and all of Paige’s anger dissipates, the guilt clawing back with full force. 

“I thought we were over that,” Azzi whispers, voice trembling, as she looks down at her hands, “but maybe we’ll never be over that.”

“We are,” Paige sinks to her knees in front of the younger girl, tugging Azzi’s hands into her own, “we are over it. I just- it just slipped out.”

Azzi’s quiet for a moment before she pulls her hands out of the blonde’s grip, sidestepping her as she stands up and Paige feels empty and cold and just a little bit broken. 

“Are you leaving?” she whispers, peering up at Azzi through tear soaked eyelashes. 

“I think I should, before anything else just slips out,” Paige flinches and Azzi’s expression softens, “I know- I know you didn’t mean it like that but I just- I need some space.”

Panic filters into Paige’s lungs, wrapping its dirty hands and squeezing so tight that she can barely breathe. She’s not sure when she’ll see Azzi again, now that there’s no more Lynx-Mystics games left in the regular season and it’s unlikely with their expected seedings that they’d meet at some point in the playoffs. It’s not like distance is new to them, but in the last two years, they’ve only ever said goodbye with an i love you attached to the end. 

“Are you-,” Paige gasps for air, “are you leaving me?”

And it must be written all over Paige's face, just how petrified she is of this moment, because that's all it takes for Azzi to rush back into Paige’s space, hands cupping her cheeks, “oh baby of course not. I just- you’re still drunk and I’m upset and I don’t want us to say anything we don’t mean. And I- need time to think about free agency and I think you- you need time to think about why that slipped out.”

Paige sighs, melting into Azzi’s touch as the knots in her stomach begin to untangle themselves, “you’re so logical.”

“Someone has to be,” a half-smile flitters across the younger girl’s face as she wipes at Paige’s tears, “we’ll figure this out okay? Just- just give me a little bit of time.”

Give me time. It’s a familiar line, so similar to what Azzi had asked for when she was making a decision about college and Paige would be lying if she said there isn’t a part of her that’s terrified fate is going to make them repeat the same mistakes. But part of growing up, Paige surmises, is letting time test you with the same trials and tribulations, and the next time, coming out of the other end on the right side. 

And so she squeezes Azzi’s hand, matching the younger girl's half smile, with a soothing one of her own, “okay.”

***

November 2027 

Paige doesn't know when she ended up in a love triangle with Azzi and the state of California but she wishes she was competing against an actual person. At least then she could throw a punch at the other guy. The W season is barely over and it seems like every front office has thrown themselves headfirst into convincing free agents to join their team. There’s a couple of teams interested in Azzi, but no one seems to be trying harder than the Los Angeles Sparks. Paige thinks whoever gave that city a name meaning “the angels” could not have been more wrong because really it’s a city full of devils constantly trying to steal her girl and no she’s not being dramatic. 

They’re supposed to be leaving for thanksgiving dinner when Azzi’s phone rings and Paige can’t help but roll her eyes when Cameron Brink’s name flashes on the CallerID. The Sparks seemed to have put her as head of their recruiting Azzi campaign and Cam had been diligently doing her part. 

“Azzi, Cam’s calling again,” Paige yells out to her girlfriend who’s still not quite finished getting ready.

“Can you pick it up?”

“Do I have to?”

“Paige,” Azzi whines and Paige sighs, hitting the green answering button. 

“The amount of times you’ve called my girlfriend this week, Brink, should I be concerned?”

“Jealous I’m replacing you as her favourite blonde?” Cam’s voice always sounds like she’s smiling and Paige can’t help her own smile. Goddamn Cameron Brink for always being the sweetest soul on this planet. 

“As if,” Paige scoffs, “it’s a holiday Cam, give the recruiting a rest.”

“Hey, I’m just calling to wish her a happy thanksgiving,” Cam defends. 

“Mmmhmm where’s my thanksgiving wish?”

“Oh please, the two of you are basically a unit. Wishing her is wishing you,” Cam is quiet for a second before speaking again, “the Sparks would be a good fit for her Paige.”

Paige sucks in a sharp breath, “I’m not the one you’re gonna have to convince.”

“I know but you know your opinion means a lot to her. I know you want her in Minnesota and she'd be good there too and I- I know it isn’t my place to say any of this but just- just don’t discourage her from doing what’s best for her,” there’s not a hint of malice in Cam’s words, there never is, but they pierce at Paige’s skin anyways. 

“Okay I’m ready, hand me the phone,” she’s saved from having to answer by Azzi waltzing into the living room and prying the phone from her hands. 

Paige watches silently as Azzi talks animatedly with Cam, noticing the way her girlfriend’s smile widens while talking about certain spots in L.A. They’d subconsciously decided not to breach the subject of free agency after that night. Paige hadn’t interfered in any of the Lynx’s conversations with Azzi, deciding that this time, she’d stay out of it. It hadn’t been easy, every little bit of her itching to pitch why the Lynx were the perfect fit, why Paige was the perfect fit, but she was determined to give Azzi the space -the time- she’d wanted. This time she’d leave the choice solely up to Azzi and whatever she decided, Paige would find her happiness in that. 

“Paige you ready to go,” Azzi waves a hand in front of Paige’s face, eyebrows raised in question when the older girl doesn’t make a move to get off the sofa, “hey, you good?”

“Cam says the Sparks would be a good fit,” Azzi stiffens at Paige’s words. 

“Paige-”

“She’s right,” Paige concedes, fingers fidgeting as she averts Azzi’s gaze. 

The younger girl blinks at her, clearly not having expected that, “she is?”

“Yeah. They need a shooting guard and you,” Paige smiles, reaching out to pull Azzi onto the couch with her, “you’re the best there is.”

“I wouldn’t go that far-”

“You are to me and it’s why I want you on the Lynx,” they both let out a breath with that. It’s not a secret of course but Paige hasn’t said it out loud before. 

“Paige-”

“But it’s okay if you don't wanna be on the Lynx, if you wanna be on the Sparks or stay here with the Mystics or on any other team, if you think it’s the right move for you and for your career then that’s fine. It’s okay and you don’t- you don’t need my permission or anything of course but I just- whatever you decide, I’ll support it okay? What I said that night about UCLA-  it wasn't- it wasn’t about you. I thought about it like you asked me to and it’s me. I was scared that I would fuck it up again and I’d lose you again-”

“You won’t,” Azzi grabs Paige’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze,  “I won’t let you.”

“I know. I know now that whatever happens, we’ll be okay. And so you can choose whatever team you want and it won’t- it won’t affect us, I promise. It won’t be like last time I swear. When you make your decision- I just- I don’t want you to make it for me or for us, cause you and me? Baby we’ll be just fine no matter what. Wherever you go and wherever I am, we’ll make it work, just as we have for the last two years,” Paige smirks, “besides I kinda enjoy kicking your ass.”

Azzi lets out a snort as she climbs onto Paige’s lap, thighs straddling her hips, “you really had to ruin it with that last part huh?”

“Was getting a little too sappy for me,” Paige mumbles and when she looks up, the emotions floating in Azzi’s eyes make Paige’s heart stutter. Because no one else gets this Azzi. This Azzi, who wears her heart on her sleeve, who lets her walls down, only for Paige’s eyes to see, only for Paige’s mind to memorise, only for Paige’s heart to keep. 

“You mean it?” Azzi whispers, brushing a strand of hair out of Paige’s face, touching lingering, “you’d be okay with anything?”

“Yeah, yeah I do,” Paige cups Azzi’s cheeks, brushing her lips against the younger girl’s, “whatever you choose, we’ll be fine. No matter what, I believe in us.”

***

January 2028

Paige groans when her phone rings at 2 a.m., fumbling around in the dark trying to answer it. 

“I swear you better be dying if you’re calling me this late,” she grumbles into the phone, voice scratchy with sleep. 

“Not quite,” Azzi says, and Paige’s eyebrows furrow at the amount of background noise she can hear behind her girlfriend. 

“Dude where the hell are you at 3 in the morning?” she asks, now a little more awake as she sits up. 

“I uh- I had a bit of a revelation,” and Paige can practically picture Azzi, wherever she might be, fidgeting with her fingers and biting her lips. 

“That doesn’t explain anything.”

“I know. I know. Shit, I was supposed to do this in person. I had a whole plan but apparently being with you has made me impatient,” Azzi rambles. 

“You’re still not making any sense,” but Paige’s heart is starting to beat erratically fast in anticipation. 

“I had this realisation while I was in the gym today, it was really quiet and peaceful and I was fine you know- all day I was fine- just doing daily routines and then I just- I missed you. I miss you all the time do you know that?”

Paige does know, knows it far too well. Sometimes she thinks missing Azzi comes as naturally as breathing, an innate part of her day to day, a constant ache that she’s felt since she was 15. 

“I miss you too,” she whispers. 

“And I’ve learned to survive with that feeling, with missing you constantly. I mean it’s been more than 10 years at this point, how could I not? But what I realised today is that just because I can- just because I can live missing you- doesn’t mean I want to.”

“What are you saying Azzi?”

“DC is my childhood. My family is close to there, it’s part of where I grew up. It’ll always be my first home. And LA is where I found myself, my identity, and for a while it felt like home too.”

“Azzi,” Paige breathes out, hands gripping the phone as tight as possible, wrapping that one syllable in emblems of give me forever. 

“But my forever home isn’t in DC or LA and it’s not really in any other place either because-  Jesus this might be the clichést thing I’ve ever said but-,” Azzi lets out a chuckle, “my home is wherever you are Paige. Wherever we’re together, that’s home.”

It feels a little bit like the end of a drought, the wetness on Paige’s cheeks like the rain that comes after. In the pitch black of her room, phone clutched closely to her ear with Azzi’s words floating through it like a swan song, Paige swears she’s never felt the world glow quite like this before. 

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Beating your ass has been fun as hell but I think we’d make a pretty good team Bueckers.”

And it’s a good thing Paige’s walls are soundproof because the delighted whoop she lets out practically vibrates around the room, all previous wisps of tiredness completely gone from her body. Azzi lets out a tearful laugh and Paige wishes they were together right now so she could tattoo this happiness onto both of their skins. 

“The greatest team ever,” Paige affirms, “When are you com-”

“Attention passengers Delta Airlines Flight 1248 to Minneapolis will be boarding soon, please have your passport and ticket ready to check at the gate.”

“About that,” Azzi says shyly as Paige’s mouth drops open at the announcement, “I uh- I had a moment of spontaneity.”

“Who the hell are you and what have you done with my overthinking girlfriend?” Paige demands and Azzi giggles on the other end of line.

“I know it’s last minute, like really last minute and it was meant to be a surprise actually but I just- I really wanna see you. Is that okay?”

“Is that okay? Fuck Azzi, it’s all I want. Baby,” Paige breathes out softly, “come home.”

*** 

Time isn’t going nearly fast enough Paige thinks as she checks the arrivals board for the nth time. She’d tried for about four seconds to fall back asleep after hanging up the phone but her entire body had been buzzing with excitement. And so she’d gotten to the airport far earlier than necessary, and had maybe one too many cups of coffee if the jittery shake in her left hand is anything to go by.

She swears she feels her before she sees her. The air is electric as if the whole city, the whole state is waiting for Azzi too, for them to get their elusive forever. This moment feels like years in the making, and Paige is ready, ready to grasp it and make it hers. And then there’s Azzi, a clearly chosen-at-last minute wrinkled t-shirt, eyes drooping from the tiredness from not having slept all night, baby hairs in a frenzy across her forehead. To Paige, she’s still the prettiest girl in the entire universe. 

Azzi’s eyes scan through the airport until they land on Paige, a dazzling smile illuminating her exhausted features. It’s the exact same smile that Paige had first elicited from her on the flight back from Argentina when she’d told Azzi she had a feeling they'd make great friends. It’s her Paige smile. The world is still for a second, everything melting away except them and the whispers of the journey it had taken them to get to this point. Every delicately placed step towards each other feels like an ode to every year they’d spent apart. And then Paige is running, not caring about everyone else around her. She jumps into Azzi’s arm, all 6 feet of her, tangling her legs around the younger girl's waist while her arms fasten around the neck. It forces Azzi to let go of her small carry-on, not caring that it falls to the floor with a thud, as her hands wrap around Paige’s back, steadying her girlfriend’s weight on top of her. 

“You’re here,” Paige whispers, still a little in disbelief, “you’re really here.”

“I’ve been in Minny plenty of times before,” Azzi quips, adjusting her balance to properly hold the girl clinging to her like a koala. 

“Shut up you know what I mean. You’re here forever this time.”

“Well I don’t know about forever- OW,” Azzi shrieks, as Paige pinches her arm, “do you want me to drop you woman?”

“You’re never allowed to leave.”

“That sounds vaguely threatening.”

“Good because it definitely is a threat,” Paige says before pulling Azzi into a searing kiss, “welcome home baby.”

***

October 2028 

There are moments in life you remember forever. Sometimes you know they’re going to happen, sometimes they take you off guard and sometimes, it’s a combination of both. The Minnesota Lynx’s journey to the WNBA finals this season had always felt inevitable but the journey there, for a team that had unexpectedly fallen to the 4-seed despite pre-season clamour of them being number one, had been filled with bitter losses and moments of pure uncertainty. In a way, it perfectly mirrors Paige and Azzi’s relationship. 

There’s 11 seconds separating the Lynx from their 5th championship trophy as they lead the Sky by two points. The crowd is up on their feet, ready for their cheering to turn into roars the minute the final buzzer rings. Paige has the ball in her hands on the inbound, Coach Reeves yelling at her from the bench what to do, as she makes eye contact with Azzi. There are no words, not even a gesture that the other team might be able to interpret, but they know exactly what play they’re about to run.

Truth be told it hadn’t been the seamless transition the two of them had expected when Azzi joined the Lynx. They’d been naive to think years of not playing together wouldn’t have affected the backcourt chemistry they’d had almost instantly once upon a time. The first few games, there had been an embarrassing disconnect between the two of them that had resulted in a nasty berating from Coach Reeves and a subsequent argument between the two of them that had lasted into the next morning. It had taken several more practices, and a couple more games of flailing around, for them to finally become the duo Paige had always known they would. 

The game buzzer beeps and Paige throws the ball to Azzi who immediately returns it back to her, and then she’s running off screen after screen to get herself open on the wing, her sweet spot. Paige dribble penetrates into the paint, dragging an extra defender with her as they try to prevent her from getting a layup, the other defender blocks her from stepping back into a pull-up. Azzi’s defender has a momentary lapse in judgement, falling for the age-old trick of thinking she should help on defence, and that’s all it takes. A second for Paige to see Azzi open on the corner and pass it to her. A second for Azzi to shoot it. 

The three-pointer falls through the next with a perfect swish. Dagger shot. 

A small smile flits across Azzi’s face, the only emotion she’s shown all game and Paige can’t help the much larger grin that starts to flash on her own face. She can almost taste victory on the tip of her tongue, the two seconds left in the game are the only thing separating her from finally getting her version of the things we live for. Behind her she can hear Coach Reeves yelling at them to not foul, the 5-point lead enough of a cushion for them to withstand a last minute shot. But the Sky barely make it over midcourt and when Marina Mabrey heaves up a last second prayer, Paige doesn’t bother to see if it goes in as the buzzer sounds throughout Target Arena. The Minnesota crowd explodes in noise and colour as confetti falls from the sky. 

Despite the chaos of everything, Paige has never seen Azzi clearer than in this moment. Since she’d met the girl, in all of Paige’s prayers about winning a championship, one thing had always been constant, that when they’d come true, they’d come true with Azzi by her side. And she had been. The high school state champion, the college national championship, Azzi had been there for both but on the bleachers, as a spectator and as Paige’s biggest fan. But this, winning a championship with Azzi as her teammate, as her ally, as her partner, means something more. This win is theirs. 

“Do you remember when we saw that shooting star?” Azzi says softly, as they find their way into each other’s arms, not caring that there’s a thousand cameras capturing their every move. Paige pulls Azzi closer to her, every inch of her body pressing into the other girls until she’s not sure where she begins and where Azzi ends. 

“That was years ago,” Paige remarks but she can see it clearly, two young girls underneath the stars, unaware of what their future would be but sure that the other would be in it. Those girls would probably laugh at how long it had taken Paige and Azzi to figure out what had seemed so simple back then. 

“Yeah, yeah it was. Do you remember what you wished for?” Azzi asks, smiling when Paige nods, “do you wanna know what I wished for?”

“What did you wish for Az?”

“Before we saw the star you- you said it’d be nice to win a championship together someday. And so I-,” Azzi looks down shyly, “so I wished for someday. I wished for today.”

Paige stares at Azzi, drinking in the sincerity on the shooting guard’s face, silently letting herself absorb the meaning of Azzi’s words. And then she lets out a laugh because of course of course. 

“I didn’t realise I’d said anything funny for you to be laughing at me,” Azzi scrunches her nose, looking slightly offended. 

“God baby no,” Paige cups Azzi’s face, and she thinks this smile on her face will last forever as long as this is her reality, “I’m not laughing at you. I just- do you know what I wished for?” 

Azzi shakes her head. 

“This. The same exact thing you did. For someday.”

It’s not quite the shade of blue Paige had imagined them in, the Lynx blue its own shade, something inbetween UConn’s navy one and UCLA’s sky one. But it’s perfect nonetheless. And when Azzi crashes her lips against Paige’s, someday feels a lot like forever and always.

[ettawritesnstudies]

Etta's Guide to Writeblr (March 2023)

So you fled here from Twitter/TikTok... Where to start?

Welcome to Writeblr! Pull up a chair, open those documents, and pour yourself a cup of your favorite tea, coffee, or cocoa. The first thing you'll want to do is start following other writers. Check out this post for recommendations! Search through the notes to find hundreds more. Since I made that post, a bunch of people mentioned they're lurking and still trying to figure out tumblr, so I thought I'd make this post to help people get settled.

How to set up your blog

Make your blog name something not resembling a pornbot - it can be whatever you want, anything fun goes, just not [name###]. If you include "writer" or "author" somewhere in the url it makes it easier to spot writeblrs at a glance but it's not a requirement

Change your profile to something that's not the default, Make sure you have a blog title, and add a little description in your blog header if you feel like it!

Make a pinned post introducing yourself (pls don't use your real name or any IDing information for privacy's sake, this isn't facebook), a short summary of your WIPs, and links if you have an author's website/newsletter/ao3/etc. You can check my pinned post for an example

Make intro posts for each WIP! You can spruce these up with graphics (canva and unsplash are both great free resources to make edits/moodboards), excerpts, lists of tropes, character intros, etc. Link to the WIP intro in your pinned post so it's easy to find! You can update these as often as needed

If you want to make character intros, go wild. If you can't draw, piccrew is a great option. Just start talking about your WIP!

Come up with a tagging system to keep your blog organized. I recommend individual wip tags or at least one for your original writing in general so it's easy to search for your work on your blog

Keep track of Taglists for your WIPs. Whenever you post a new thing about your story, tag the people who asked to be notified to make sure they see it! Only tag people who ask to join the taglist, but it's a good way to keep track of interest. It's normal to have multiple taglists for each story+ one general writing taglist.

How to make writer friends

Reblog their work and add nice comments, either in the tags, comments, or the reblog itself People notice regulars in their notes and appreciate the attention. I promise it's not weird to compliment a total stranger

If that's too intimidating, community events are your friend!

Weekly Ask Games: These are weekly events that are loosely themed where writers send each other asks about their WIPs! The most common are Storyteller Saturday (about the writing process), Blorbsday (aka Blorbo Thursday about characters), and Worldbuilding Wednesday (about the setting of your story). If you answer these late, nobody really cares, but it's a fun way to receive prompts and learn more about other people's stories.

Ask Games/Memes: These are posts with lists of questions you can reblog from other people, sometimes themed or listed with emojis. It's common courtesy to send an ask from the list to the person you reblog it from, then people can send you questions as well, so you can talk about your stories! You can search for dozens of them

Tag games: There's a ton of different types of tag games, but basically someone @s you with a challenge/question, you reblog with your answer, and then @ a bunch of other people to continue the chain. Some common ones are Heads Up 7s Up (share the last 7 lines of your WIP), Last Line Tag (share the last line you wrote), and Find the Words (ctrl+f the given words in your doc and share the results, then give new words).

Formal events: These are community wide participation challenges organized by certain blogs! @writeblrsummerfest is every July?? August? I think? It's run by @abalonetea a few years strong, and there are daily prompts and ask games! @inklings-challenge is a month-long short story entry for Christian writeblrs. I think there was a valentines event in February. @moon-and-seraph is hosting a pitch week soon! Since these are more organized, it's very easy to find similar blogs and support!

Misc. Notes on using Tumblr

Follow the tags #writeblr and #writeblr community to find other writers, as well as other tags that interest you like #fantasy for example

If you want to bookmark a post to read later, you can like it and/or save it to your drafts

The queue/schedule function is very useful if you want to space out posts or have a backlog to keep your blog running when you get busy. This is good for the community because it gives older posts a chance to be rediscovered! You can change the posting frequency in the settings.

REBLOG YOUR OWN STUFF. People aren't always on at the same times and so it's the best way to account for people with different schedules and timezones. If you're worried about being annoying, you can tag those #self reblog or something similar and other people can filter the tag, but otherwise it's a welcomed and accepted practice.

If your excerpt is pretty long, put it under a cut. On desktop you can do this by selecting the squiggly button on the far right when you make a new paragraph, on mobile type :readmore: then hit enter.

It's polite to add descriptions to images and videos for visually or auditory impaired people. If you don't know how to write descriptions, here's a good resource

In your dashboard settings, it's best to shut off the options "Best Stuff First" and "Based on your Likes". These function as the website algorithm and suppresses the blogs you actually follow, which defeats the purpose of the site, letting the dash be in reverse chronological order. Also turn off Tumblr Live because it's malware as far as anyone's concerned.

Curate your experience, block the trolls, and be nice

Update for March 2024

How to shut off AI Scraping on your blog

Go to settings and find the Visibility tab

Scroll down to the tag that says "Prevent Third-Party Sharing"

Turn that knob over so that Automattic can't steal your work for their language training model databases >_<

The other settings will just hide your blog from search engines so they're useful for hiding from nosy parents or other Tumblr users but if you're trying to build an author platform you can leave them off.

Again, welcome to the community! I hope you have a ton of fun!

[angelicpoison12]

freeing Angel ღ ✧₊⁺

MFM/MFA, TOOTH ROTTING FLUFF, BONE CRUSHING ANGST

you want nothing more than to take Angel away from Valentino’s grasp. but you have to get through a few glued ties (and make some of your own) before restoring his dignity.

fluff, you make a deal with Alastor im sorry bro, a small argument, purpose avoidance, you kinda hurt Angel's feelings but its for the greater good i promise

— ❤︎︎ — 

there was always a perfect edge to your friendship with Angel. he never asked for anything less than what you could give him: a shoulder to cry on every once and a while, some fond memories to drown out the sorrows of his work, and maybe put up with some horrendous flirting.

but you didn't understand one thing. how could he continue to work for someone as ruthless, cruel, and cold like Valentino?

one night, you and Angel were laying in his bed, watching TV. you were curled up in his side, Fat Nuggets rolled on his back at Angel's feet. you were both in your cozy pajamas, and Angel was half asleep.

quietly, you asked, "Angel? are you still awake?" you watched as he let out a soft nod. you sighed, deciding that you might as well just get it out. ".. if Val is so terrible, why do you continue to work for him?" your question caught Angel off guard for a second. he was so used to bitching and moaning about Val for no reason; never giving context about his situation or the fucked-up relationship he had with his boss.

Angel swallowed, and he responded in a soft voice. "well, he's got me under contract, toots. there ain't much i can do."

your eyes widened at that. contract? like a deal? you looked at Angel, sitting up as you asked, "can't you just break it off?" "oh, i wish it was that easy, toots... no, i can't. unfortunately, i'm kinda stuck with him. i sold my soul, sugar." "but.. why?" "he promised me fame, a better life-he.." Angel sniffled, and you swore you could see his eyes grow glossy. "he promised me love."

you were quick to cup Angel's face, bringing him closer to you. you whispered, "Angel... that's not love. if his so-called 'love' made you feel the way you say it does, then Hell, i'd rather be hated." your words made Angel smile a little. he shrugged and said, "yeah, well, it's my fault anyways. you can't break off a contract, toots. so uh.. moral of the story-don't sell yer soul. you'll fuckin' regret it,"

deciding not to ask any more questions was the wise decision here. you didn't want to upset Angel any further, so you kept your mouth shut, and tried to fall asleep.

there had to be some way to get Angel his freedom back. there was no way he was stuck in Val's grasp forever, right? the thought alone was downright depressing. you vowed to yourself that you'd try and find a way to free him, even if it costed your own soul in the end.

— ❤︎︎ — 

the next morning after Charlie's exercise, you found yourself at Alastor's door. most of the time you avoided him, not wanting to accidentally upset him, or possibly something worse.

you knocked on the door, the heavy wood making soft echoes. you stood there, shaking before you heard the all-too familiar radio static call out, "come in, my dear!" slowly, you peaked your head in, looking around. there wasn't a bed in Alastor's room, just a deep red velvet loveseat couch, lots of books around, a desk with some radio equipment and what appeared to be old scripts, a coffee mug that read 'Oh Deer!', and some other miscellaneous items.

you saw Alastor. he was on the loveseat, reading a book, his cane by his leg. "come on in, dear! don't be shy, i won't bite you." Alastor said with a teasing voice. you smiled bashfully, coming in and closing the door behind your frame. you sat next to Alastor on the loveseat, making sure to still keep a distance since you knew he liked to refrain from physical contact if possible.

"now, what can i help you with, my dear?" Alastor asked, glancing at you with his usual yellow grin. you looked deadpan at him and said, "Alastor, can a contract be broken?" you heard some fizzle and pops in his voice, kind of mimicking a hum of thought. he tapped his finger on his chin before replying. "it depends, my dear. if there aren't any terms or agreements broken, then it's a little trickier to say whether or not it can be broken. why do you ask, my dear?" before you could open your mouth to respond, Alastor put his hand up, being a cocky son of a bitch and asking, "it's Angel, isn't it. you want to free him, don't you, my dear? now i must ask... why do you wish to go through such trouble for him? he's merely a friend."

Alastor's question made your jaw grow tight with anger. you took in a deep breath, trying to calm yourself. ".. yes, it's Angel. and i want to free him because i care about him. is that a good enough reason?" Alastor hummed again, his eyes lazy as he met your gaze. all he did was shrug and say, "i suppose it is." "great." "now, i would have to look at Angel's contract to know whether or not if it can be broken." "so how are you going to do that?" "i'll need your help."

Alastor's hand glowed a soft neon green. he then looked at you and asked in a sinistar voice, "let's make a deal, Y/N."

your eyes widened. quietly, you said in a near whisper, "you.. you want my soul, Al? but why?" Alastor chuckled, the static gone from his throat. "you're a pretty thing, dear. you have innocence and charm. say, once the contract is broken, you'll get your soul back. this is just in case if any... hm. if any 'funny business' strikes. understood?"

you thought about it for a second. i mean, it didn't seem too bad, right? but Angel's words echoed in your mind. "so uh.. moral of the story-don't sell yer soul. you'll fuckin' regret it," yet you still took Alastor's hand. "it's a deal."

stitches of green flooded Alastor's face, his smile almost wicked with how wide it was. a sea of neon green flashed across the room, and you swore you could hear screams of those who had wronged the Radio Demon from the past.

you nearly fell off of the loveseat, gasping and shaking. you glanced down, seeing glowing green chains connected to a collar around your neck. you quivered, glancing up at Alastor as you swallowed. you tried to calm yourself, your mind telling you how this was merely temporary. you'd be free once Angel was free, right?

right?

— ❤︎︎ — 

you thought the hardest part of this whole ordeal would be getting inside Valentino's club and getting access to the contract. in reality, the worst part was having to avoid Angel.

your movie nights with him evaporated like water, and whenever you saw each other in the bar after work, you'd flee like a stray cat. he tried to talk to you, only to be reduced to shitty small talk that left you both feeling empty. you couldn't go on like this, but Alastor promised you that it would be worth it.

eventually, you found yourself outside the big doors of Valentino's club. you looked around nervously, trying not to seem suspicious as you stepped inside.

you sighed as you caught a glance of the environment. there was hazy red smoke everywhere, sweaty bodies pressed together in lustful dances, but your eyes caught the moth man himself. he was sitting in a luxurious leather couch, smoking a cigarette, two imp girls sat at his sides.

quickly, you tried to scurry out of anyone's vision, but you saw Angel on the stage, and it made you stop to lose your breath. he looked so beautiful on the stage, and you wished to stay and see his performance. but you knew that you had work to do.

moving in a haste, you managed to sneak to Valentino's office, seizing the contract. you tried to rip the paper, only for your attempts to be futile. you growled, attempting to bite the contract, your teeth stinging. that wouldn't work either. you knew you had to be fast, and smart about this. you looked and scrambled, nearly tearing apart Valentino's office. you knew there had to be something here that could break the contract, right?

there was no fine print on the contract. only Valentino's ownership at the top, and Angel's name at the bottom. Anthony. his name was Anthony. fuck, you felt a tug at your heart and belly when you saw that. your eyes grew cloudy, but you blinked them away, not wanting to lose hope.

then you saw a bright red pen.

you grabbed the pen, making a large X over Angel's name, and the ink seeped into the golden paper, a heap of red smoke flowing out of the paper. you shrieked and threw the pen down, running out of the office, only to feel a chain at your neck.

this chain was red.

you choked and gasped, eyes wide. you were stuck in the red smoke, but it wasn't coming from the paper. "you fuckin' bitch.. thought you could escape my grasp, no?" you heard a deep, Latino voice chuckle. the chain whirled you around, and you were face-to-face with red stained teeth, a gold tooth glittering back at your wide, fearful eyes.

Valentino's brow quirked in amusement. "oh? you're not Angel.. hm, what are you doing here, little one? lost?" he asked, the chain releasing from your neck, allowing you to breathe. he didn't seem to see the ruined contract. god, his vision must've been so shit. using your most innocent, nonchalant voice, you said, "i was just looking for Angel, actually. i'm his friend." Valentino looked down at you, contemplating whether or not if you were telling the truth. all he did was say, "he's in his dressing room. it should be room 420, okay?" Valentino said, pressing a wet, red-soaked kiss to your cheek, making you grimace. you were quick to get away. when his office door was shut, you swore you could hear him shrieking in a mix of dismay and anger.

you knocked on Angel's door, rapid and without a pace. as soon as he opened the door, you grabbed him by the chest, dragging him out. "what-hey! what're you-!?" Angel squeaked, but you shushed him with a kiss. you felt him fight for a second, but the moment he realized it was you, he was kissing back like a starved man. his hands were all over you, your fists in his hair as you felt yourself lose control in his lips and fluff.

pulling away with a huff, your hands were clutched in his chest that was covered by his pink robe, his fingers in your hair. you managed to gasp out, "c'mon.. lets get you out of here." "but schnookums, i'm workin-" "not anymore." "but i-" "just shut up and let me explain when we're back at the hotel, okay?" Angel nodded, letting you lead the way.

— ❤︎︎ — 

"you need to explain what the fuck is goin' on right now, toots. you're scarin' me, and you're definitely gonna get me a beatin'." Angel's brash words made you wince a little. you sighed, feeling guilty. you were both in your room, sitting up, legs crossed in your bed. your eyes were soft as you looked at Angel, cupping his face. you hadn't even realized you were crying until his thumb reached to brush away the tears on your cheeks.

"i.. i'm so fucking sorry, Angel.. i should've told you what was going on." you admitted, sniffling. "shh, shh, toots.. whateva's going on, ya know you can tell me about it, right? i won't tell no one, i promise."

you swallowed, chuckling dryly before you warned, "you won't believe me." "try me, toots." you looked Angel in his eyes, brows raised as if questioning him. well, what was the worst thing he could do, right?

you brushed some hair out of his face, rubbing your thumb along his jawline as you said, "i freed you."

Angel stood up suddenly, upset as he said, "that ain't funny, toots. you tryna pull my dick or somethin'?" Angel asked, his tone laced with irritation, and a little bit of venom if you looked close enough. "Angel, i'm not lying-!" "bullshit! Val said that contract can't be broken-" "Angel! listen to me!" you nearly cried, your hands gripping his shoulders to look at you. both of your bodies were burning with distrust. after you both shared some deep breaths, you repeated, "i freed you. i ruined the contract with red ink.. you're free, Anthony."

hearing his real name, and not the one he used as a facade onstage, was what broke Angel. he began to quietly sob, his head falling into your shoulder. all you did was hold him close, wanting to make him feel safe in this moment.

you could still feel Alastor's invisible chain around your neck, but you decided, fuck it, it was worth it.

— ❤︎︎ — 

[floret-affini-research]

RESEARCH LOG 009

RESEARCHER M. Florez

AUDIO FILE DETECTED, LOADING TRANSCRIPT...

"There, it's on. I don't understand why you wish for our final correspondence to be recorded in this way, but once we finish here, I am departing."

Thank you for respecting one last wish my little researcher.

"Not yours, so stop saying that already. Anyway, what is it you wanna say?"

Well, I just wish to tell you how wonderful it has been to have you here in my lovely home. You've been so very kind to my dear Marianna, and you have truly brought a wonderful joy to us both.

"Th-thanks I guess. I will admit, it has not been unpleasant to be here, as I know you have done your best to both provide information for my research and allow me comforts while I have been here. However, I hope you do understand why I must take my leave."

I'm afraid I still don't quite understand. I truly do feel that I could make you feel wonderful and comfortable here.

"W-well, you did a decent job. But I cannot ignore the fact that you hid information from me regarding biorhythms. Important information."

Would it really have changed so much if I had told you?

"Of course it would! I wouldn't have stayed so long if I knew the risks I know now. It's dangerous for my research."

But wouldn't that mean you would have learned so much less? If I had told you on the first day of your arrival about the biorhythms, you probably would have left immediately and not learned anything significant about the Affini.

"W-well-! I-I probably would've still learned something or other..."

But you would not know nearly as much.

"...I guess."

And besides, I'm not the only one who's withholding important information from you~

"...what're you talking about? This better now be another trick you have to brainwash me!"

Oh ho no no, it's that you're hiding something from yourself~

"N-no I'm not!"

Oh? Would you like to put that to the test?

"H-how would you even know huh?! Just gonna ask me random things and trust my word?!"

Well, there is one way~ You see, one of the xenodrugs we are able to produce causes sophonts to be unable to lie to anyone, even themselves~

"I-I am not letting you inject me ever again!"

Please? This will truly be my final request for you~ I'll only ask one question to you under the effects of the Class-D's and then you are free to leave~

"...th-that's all I have to do and then you'll let me go?"

Of course, and I shall promise to keep my word~

"...fine, just hurry up with it..."

Perfect~ Now just hold still and let it course through you, it will only take a few seconds~"

"...can you just hurry up please? I must leave as soon as possible."

Of course, just a question first~ Now, tell me, do you have to leave at all?~

"Of course not, I'd much rather stay here for the rest of my days continuing my research with Marianna and Mistre- W-wait, what?"

Oh? Go ahead, continue speaking~ You look so cute and flustered~

"Y-y-you can't m-make me! I-I am a terran who wants to be a good pe- I-I mean I am not an indepe- W-what is happening!?"

That would be the Class-D's in your system~ I told you, they don't allow you to lie~

"H-how dare you!? This is exactly what I wante- I-I can just let myself speak freely without having to thi- J-just stop!"

Hmm, I think I'll go ahead an allow you to speak as you wish again, but only if you answer one more little question~

"...what is it?"

Do you want to stay here with me~

"..."

Well?~

"...yes..."

Yes what?~

"...yes Mistress..."

Good girl~

"...T-terminate audio recording..."

[mncxbe]

Hello! I was wondering if I could request the Hunting Dog Bois (Jōno, Tecchou, and Tachihara) reacting to their SO saying that they want a baby?

Thank you for your time! :)

Omg yes absolutely this was so nice to write. I hope you like it and thanks for requesting♡ I got a bit silly at Tecchou's part hehe

10:23☆

𝑱ō𝒏𝒐, 𝑻𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂, 𝑻𝒆𝒄𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒙 𝒇𝒆𝒎!𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: fluff♡/ implied smut?/ comfort

○☆° // 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: season 4 spoilers

𝑱ō𝒏𝒐

he teases you so much at first but when he realizes you're serious he's a bit reluctant

it's not like he doesn't want to have a kid with you, but he doesn't get to spend much time with you as it is. the kid would only make things more complicated // also doesn't think he's ready for such a responsibility

if he agrees I feel like he'd be more excited about the process of making the baby than the baby itself

Your partner didn't have many free days, but when he finally got one he always spent it with you. Fancy dinners, coffee shop dates, simple hangouts at home you name it; Jōno didn't care what you did as long as you were together. He adored your high spirits and was so smitten with you that only hearing the fast thumping of your heart when he hugged you made him forget all his worries.

But recently he started noticing a strange change in your behaviour: whenever you passed by a crying baby your breath would hitch. Jono didn't pay much attention to this since he assumed that you were simply annoyed by those little creatures. Well, that was until you popped the question.

"Hey Sai, I want to have a baby" you said one day. You were both laying on the cushioned couch in your shared apartment, your head nestled against his chest.

"What's that?" he asked, raising a brow in confusion.

"I said I want to have a baby"

"What like buy one? Why not get a kitten instead?" he teased. Jono's grin slowly began to fade when he saw the serious look on your face.

"I'm not joking, Sai. We've been together for such a long time and I'd like us to have a kid. What do you say?"

Your partner shrugged, gently peeling you off of him. "I mean, if you really want to... To me it sounds like a bother."

"What do you mean by that?" you cried out in dismay, clearly not expecting this reaction from him.

The knot in Jono's chest tightened at the sound of your shaky voice. The last thing he wanted was to upset you. It's not like he didn't want to start a family with you, he just wished he could have you all to himself on his free days.

"Well" he began in the most soothing voice possible "I guess I don't want us to lose what we have now. I enjoy how peaceful our home is and having a baby will just stir things up and to be frank, work is already chaotic enough. I don't think I could handle being a dad too."

His confession made your heart melt, all the tension built between the two of you dissipating in a matter of seconds.

"Oh Sai." you sighed, one of your hands sliding up to cup his cheek "I know that a kid will change things, but no matter what we'll still love eachother. As long as we're together I promise, we got this. And of course we can wait a few more years if you're not ready. I just want you to be happy, my love"

Now it was Jono's turn to be emotional. He gently removed your hands from his face and gave them a little squeez.

"Thanks dear. I know it'll be alright, but I'd like to wait a few more months at least, ok?"

"Sure" you smiled reassuringly "But who knew that the strongest Hunting Dog would be scared of fatherhood." You laughed at your own remark, gaining a mischevious grin from your partner.

"Quit teasing, darling. Or we may end up having that kid sooner than planned" he said, giving you a wink.

𝑻𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂

he's surprised to say the least but also thrilled

you're the one for him and he definitely wants to have a baby with you, but he can't help but worry

the loss of his brother still affects him and he cannot help but wonder if he'll be able to protect the two of you; after all, if the Mafia finds out he's just a spy, who knows what they'll do...

long story short he worries a lot but after you talk things out and reassure him, he'll agree

he'd literally be the most caring dad ever, always taking your kid to the zoo or to ride the ferris wheel♡

"Honey, I'm home" said your boyfriend as he entered your condo.

When you heard his voice you immediately abandoned the book you were reading and rushed to the hallway; and there he was, standing in front of the door with a bouchet of light pink hyacinths in his hands. Not caring about the flowers you jumped in his arms, embracing him tightly and he eagerly returned a hug.

"I missed you so much Michi" you cooed, showering him with saccherine kisses.

"Hey, enough love" he chuckled as he gently pulled you away "How have you been? I hope my pretty girl had a great day."

"Yes I did, work was great but honestly I was so excited that you'd come home tonight."

"Me too, princess" he said as he untied his shoes and took off his crimson cape. Your boyfriend hasn't been around that much since he infiltrated the Port Mafia. He knew the job was risky and in the event he got caught, it would be best if the mafiosi didn't know about your existence; they would surely hurt you as a way of punishing him. So Tachihara had bought a second apartment where he lived during these interventions. He only came home when he was working with the Hunting Dogs.

"Sooo honey I was wondering if we could talk about something tonight." you inquired, toying with a stray strand hair.

"Of course we can. Did something happen?"

"Oh no nothing. I just had a question for you."

Your boyfriend took a step forward and seized your hips, pulling you closer to him. "Alright then tell me. What is this all about?"

"Ok so" you began, trying your best to hide the slight blush that was spreading on your cheeks "I wanted to ask you if you'd like to have a baby with me."

Tachihara's face dropped when he heard your proposal. For a second you thought he was upset about your idea, but before you could apologize the lovesick smile returned to his lips "I uh well I don't know what to say about that" he stuttered, trying to avoid meeting your gaze.

"I mean it would be amazing. I'd love to start a family with you" he continued as he scratched the back of his head. "But don't you think we're a bit too young for that?"

"Oh not now Michi. We can wait a few more years but we should start saving up for a crib and all that, you know? Baby stuff are quite expensive"

"Yea, I guess you're right" he said before going silent, a shadow of doubt clouding his eyes.

"What is it, love?" you eventually asked him.

"It may sound a bit silly but do you think I'm fit for being a dad?"

You quickly took a step back "What do you mean by that? Of course you'd be a great dad". But your words didn't reassure him too much. You could tell there were things still left unsaid so you asked him to take a seat on the couch while you made some tea for the two of you.

A few minuted later you joined your partner on your sofa, two cups of steaming orange tea in your hands.

"Ok now tell me, Michi. What's bothering you?"

He took your hands in his, his amber eyes fixated on the bamboo floor and after taking a deep breath he started talking:

"I've always regretted not being able to save my brother. If only I had been a few years older I could've joined him in the army and maybe things would've been different. I guess I'm just worried about having a kid. What if something happens and I'm not there to protect you two?"

It hurt to hear him say such things; he sounded so defeated. You gently placed your index finger under his chin, forcing him to meet your gaze. "Don't worry about that dear." you said in your softest voice "It's all going to be fine. We can have the kid after you finish your undercover mission. Plus, not only will our kid have an awesome dad, bur also a badass mom. I can kick ass too, never forget that."

Tachihara chuckled at your words "I know love, you're truly amazing. Thanks for listening to me, it means a lot."

"No problem, love"

He swiftly wrapped his arms around you, resting his head on your chest as you playfully ruffled his hair. Now that things were sorted out he could finally relax in the comfort of your embrace; his eyelids were getting heavier and he felt as if he was under a spell.

"I love you, Michi" you chanted, your voice lulling him to sleep.

He only mumbled in response, placing a tender kiss on your neck. "Love you too, sugar"

𝑻𝒆𝒄𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒖

the moment he hears your proposal he drops to his knees and starts giving one of his speeches

he promises he'll be a good father and a faithful husband and will do anything for you; he'll fight to ensure a safe future for your baby and all that

so yea he doesn't oppose to the idea, he's actually quite excited about it. He already he's going to spend the rest of his life with you so why not start a family?

you make him swear that he won't try to feed the kid his strange food combinations

You would often joke with your boyfriend about how you wanted him to give you his babies. And how could you not? He looked so attractive doing literally anything that you couldn't help yourself. You loved how caring and innocent he was, how he'd always make you dinner on weekends (actually refraining from trying any strange combinations) and plan the nicest dates; he was always there when you needed a shoulder to cry on and was eternally devoted to you. His looks were just a bonus.

But when you saw him buying an ice cream for the neighbour's kid one summer morning, you realized that you may actually want to have a kid with him.

"Say, darling, can I ask you something?" you inquired as he stepped foot in your apartment. He had just finished running and glistening beads of sweat were sticking to the tips of his hair.

"Yes, my love. What is it?"

"You know how I always ask you to give me your babies?"

"Ah yes" he chuckled, taking a sip of water from his hydro flask "You say that quite a lot"

"Yea well I think I'd actually like to start a family with you" you said coyly, flashing him your most alluring smile.

Your boyfriend, who was getting ready to drink some more water, stopped dead in his tracks. He suddenly placed the steel container on the countertop and made his way to you, holding your hands as your eyes met.

"My love, I would be honoured to be the father of your child and start a family with you. I swear on my sword that I will be a devoted husband and I will protect our child with my life."

He had such a serious expression that you couldn't contain your laughter.

"Oh Hiro you're something else, did you know that?" you teased, hoping to get a reaction out of him. But you boyfriend simply stood there holding your hands, his lips pressed in a tight line.

"I'm serious, Y/N. I know you're the only woman I'll ever love, my heart is yours. I do want to have a baby with you."

His gaze was so intense you felt your knees wobble. You opened your mouth, fumbling for words when he quickly captured your lips in a tender kiss. It felt so much more intimate than any other kiss you'd shared before.

"Did you really mean what you said?" you asked once he pulled away, his face still inches from yours.

Tecchou nodded, his eyes glimmering with adoration. "Of course."

"Well then it's settled, we'll have a kid. Let's get to it" you announced triumphantly as you began dragging him towards the bedroom. Your boyfriend tried to protest but the grip you had on his arm was unshakeable.

"But I want to marry you first." he whined, making you cease your motion. "Y/N will you be my wife?"

He spoke the words so tenderly, almost as if they were made of gold leaf. Needless to say you said yes; you've been a couple for more than four years now and you were ready to start this new chapter of your life together.

Then pulled him into a passionate kiss and he took the hint; swiftly picking you up he made his way to your bedroom, closing the door behind.

[pharawee]

Rose's Day of Asks - the sequel

Hi! My question for you... Which actors do you wish would get cast in a bl as a lead? and with what partner, if you have any in mind?

Have a wonderful night. Rose❤️

Hi Rose, thank you so much for your question! I hope you feel better already. 💜💜💜

There's so many actors I'd love to finally see as the lead in a BL - mostly solo actors because they started their acting careers as side characters, love rivals or villains so there's so much potential to pair them with other fresh faces.

Someone who immediately comes to mind (surprising, I know lmao) is Winner Tanatat because I love him dearly and he's reliably been stealing the show for me wherever he pops up. He's basically taken Big Thanakorn's place on top of the third wheel podium now that Big FINALLY got his well-deserved main role.

I also can't believe domundi have been sleeping on Poppy Ratchapong for so long. Yes, he's talented and funny but have you considered giving Poppy a boyfriend?? Maybe make it Nont Intanont because they both looked really good in Nont's MV for ธรรมดาที่ไหน:

Then again, domundi have also been sleeping on Mark Sorntast until recently when he's been looking like that FOR YEARS.

And gmmtv isn't much better. I mean, Papang Phromphiriya exists. I know I'm not alone in wanting him as the lead in a BL (or any show, really, just give me more Papang I'm begging you gmmtv 😭).

I'm also very partial to Kay Lertsittichai but gmmtv seem to have firmly typecast him as the villain now. Which is an injustice (I like his villains though - they're very pathetic and wet).

Same with idolfactory and Heng Asavarid. Someone free these men from their status as morally questionable side characters!

Unpopular opinion time but this scene with Heng and Nat Sakdatorn in The Sign stole the whole show for me. The things I'd do for more HengNat. 🫠

Then there's Kokliang Parinya who's posting the most beautiful photoshoots on his insta EVERY DAMN WEEK yet somehow he's not been the lead in a BL even once. That man's a medical doctor ffs please someone cast him as the leading man. 🙏

I also need justice for Non Ratchanon (even though he's been in a short story compilation by Director Golf and in a few other things like The Rebound but that just shows how well he can act) and I'd love to see him as the lead in a fully-fledged 12 episode BL.

The same goes for Bank Chanwut. I MEAN JUST LOOK AT HIM (and imagine what could have been if 9NAA didn't mess up Beyond the Star).

And I generally don't understand how Rossi Nonthakorn isn't everywhere after On Cloud Nine (yes technically he was playing the lead here and in another shortform series along with Non Ratchanon but that's not the same innit).

This is getting far too long already but I can't believe I almost forgot about Boss Thawatchanin who can do cute and, uh, whatever else that was with Gap Jakarin in Norrasing (but, really, I don't mind, give me more GapBoss):

And what about Na Naphat? He made me like Tawan in Kinnporsche (he did everything wrong and I love him) AND WE WERE PROMISED NA AND FIAT PATCHATA IN WISH ME LUCK!!

There's really so many other actors that I'd love to see in the spotlight in their own series. Like JJFong in a proper show where they aren't relegated to comic relief. Or JJUs now that they're freed from BOC's basement. Or PromMark because they've been trying to sail their ship for years now (and they recorded a song together that's still one of my faves) but maybe we'll finally get lucky in Jack & Joker. 🤞

[aromantic-enjolras]

This is a Drink With Me gift for @gay-rad-desert! You asked for Courfeyrac and Marius, and. Well. This turned out a little heavier than I was expecting it to go, but I hope you can enjoy it anyway! I love these boys, and I was happy to do something for them <3

Marius is a good Christian boy. He is 20 year old virgin, still does altar boy duties, helps at his local church every Sunday. One day, when he's playing waiter at a church event, a beautiful young man (everyone notices when a man is beautiful, right??) comes sauntering by and starts flirting outrageously.

Courfeyrac, who is a rogue and a bit of a fuckboy, was walking around with some friends when he spotted a cute boy at a church event, and decided it would be very fun to try and get a fling out of this. If it turns out badly, Bahorel is in the nearest bar, and they are definitely enough to rescue him should the boy turn out to be a homophobic straight dude.

But then, instead of either responding to his flirting or getting pissed off and defensive, the cute boy looks at him with scared eyes and says "I'm not- I don't- I don't do that" in a voice so unconvincing that Courf immediately changes directions. This boy doesn't need a fuck. He needs a friend.

Marius is very relieved when the pretty boy seems to back off. "Okay. You don't do that. Do you do friends? Because I'd love to have one of those," he says, and it should have felt condescending, but he has such a disarming smile that Marius can't do anything but say "I guess I can do that, yes."

They don't hang out that much at first: Courfeyrac swings by a few church events, being friendly (but not overly friendly) and charming, and Marius enjoys his company a lot, but he also conspicuously never attends any masses, and people are starting to talk...

So he asks Courf if he would be up for coffee, and that's how they end up going out more and more together. Nothing big, nothing flashy, always public places, but it's just the two of them, and it feels so nice??

Courfeyrac is aware that he is on very shaky ground. He likes Marius now, and he wants to push him into being more comfortable with being gay, but he knows a false step and Marius will bolt. So he never hides the fact that he likes boys, but he only does it in very casual ways: never draws attention to it, lets Marius ignore it for as long as he needs to.

When Marius starts asking tentative follow-up questions, he takes his chance. "My friends and I have a queer space. Do you want to come by? No pressure, we can go at a weird hour, just have a coffee, talk to a few people. See for yourself."

Marius says yes, and that's how they end up going to the Musain, collectively-owned, alternative queer bar/café extraordinaire, at 4pm on a Thursday.

Everything seems to be going well, until Marius starts getting heated about God, and he makes a little speech of his own. "What is better than being loved by God?" he asks. "To be free." answers Combeferre.

And look, he is terrified of Combeferre, but he also can't help but admire the little he saw from the man, and he doesn't want to back down. Something draws him to these people, to that place, and if he can only convince them, if he can help bring them back to the light.... It can't be a sin, now, can it?

Slowly, very very slowly, he starts loosening up. He gets more relaxed, he enjoys himself, and where Courf made him comfortable with the idea of being around gays by letting him get passively used to it, these people challenge him, questioning his beliefs to his face.

It all comes to a head when he slips out of his house on a Saturday night. Courf is performing at the Musain for a drag show, and he has promised he will be there to cheer him on! And he does, and Courf is wonderful, and he has had a few drinks, and when a boy asks him to dance he is just high enough on the magic of the evening (and Courf's enthusiastic thumbs-up) that he goes for it. And then the boy kisses him.

And he can feel the panic grow in his throat, because a boy is kissing him, and he likes it. He likes it way more than he ever liked kissing Cosette, who he dated for years, who was pretty and funny and he thought he was going to marry someday. And this kiss, from a random man he doesn't even know, in a gay bar, feels so much better.

Courfeyrac shoos the man away, also in a panic, because he can see Marius' thousand yard stare from the other end of the bar. But it's too late: all Marius wants is to go home.

And he tries to rationalize it: maybe Courf just rubbed off on him. Maybe all this talk of gay people has influenced him. Maybe if he stops talking to all of them, if he doesn't think about it, the feelings will go away. But then he goes back to the church, to his old friends, and he realizes talking to them is not comforting anymore. He can't tell them anything that's bothering him. And now that he knows what it feels like, the idea of kissing men doesn't seem to go away: it only seems to grow stronger.

At last he ends up calling Courf, asking him to come over while his grandfather is away, and unloads everything on him. "I can't do this, Courf. I can't. You can be- you can be brave, and be you, and have it all, but I can't. I can't be- gay".

And Courf's heart is breaking, but what can he do? So he holds his friend, and comforts him, and tells him he is loved and worthy and that he's done nothing wrong; and that if push comes to shove, his door will always be open. "For a day, for a month, for a year. Anything you need. I promise."

And so, when Marius appears at his doorstep, one duffel bag on his shoulder and one suitcase dragging behind him, and says "I have come to sleep with you", he doesn't need to ask. He just smiles a sad smile, drags Marius into a hug, and lets him in. Into his life, and into his heart. Forever.

@drinkwithme-exchange

[cheritya]

[ this post can contain milgram spoilers if you are not caught up with the results of the second trial. ALSO, TRIGGER WARNING: mentions of s*!c!de. ]

GUYS. READ THE "TIMELINES." PLEASE. i posted this on youtube at first, but i decided to post it here, too.

they have been getting translated on fandom wiki ever since 2020. they (timelines) highlight the characters' dynamics with each other, and we get to see them interact over time. i just finished reading all of them. i didn't even know they existed until today - and holy shit, there are some crucial details. here is the link if you want to read them yourself (i highly recommend it):

https://milgram.fandom.com/wiki/Timelines

things are not looking great - the third trial is going to be a big shitshow. here are some developments that i have noticed (feel free to add more if you read the timelines):

1. throughout the second trial, haruka started isolating himself more and more despite being "forgiven" by us. he now spends most of his time in his cell, and muu brings his food to him. some of the prisoners are concerned about this, such as fuuta and shidou, asking muu if haruka is doing okay. shidou is concerned for haruka's mental state, but he implies that he can't do much about it (because he is busy with mahiru's treatment). he apologizes to muu for burdening her with haruka's wellbeing, which muu says that it is okay, because she and haruka are friends. shidou even thanks muu for "being there" for haruka... (oh dear.)

i think haruka starts isolating himself even with his "forgiven" verdict, because now he constantly thinks and worries about what to do if muu gets to be deemed "unforgiven" at the end of the second trial. and well, he has a plan. we all know what his plan is.

and considering the fact that muu has indeed voten "unforgiven", i am pretty scared for haruka. many people in the fandom still think that haruka was bluffing when he told es that he would commit if we don't forgive muu. i think he is dead serious, y'all. we need to take his threat more seriously.

he talked about his s*!c!de plan with kotoko and asked her not to intervene when the time comes. she was PRETTY receptive of it, telling him "if only all sinners were like you." she promised that she will not intervene with haruka's plans, and then added, "even though i'd like to do it myself, i'll leave it to you. what happens after that... depends on es, doesn't it?" so, yes. she knows what haruka might do, and she doesn't seem to care.

on timelines 2023/02/29 and 2023/04/07, haruka frantically begs es (so he is technically begging us) to forgive muu.

2. amane becomes extremely standoffish after we did not forgive her. other prisoners reported how she seems to be in her own world all the time. shidou and mahiru are pretty concerned about her behavior - mahiru even asks once, "are you actually amane-chan?" after amane goes off on one of her religious rants.

we all know that fuuta has been in a pretty vulnerable state after being voted "unforgiven" and getting beaten up by kotoko, right? we see how present his anxiety is throughout the timeline conversations as well.

amane talks to fuuta on his birthday (2023/04/19 timeline). at first, fuuta thinks she is talking nonsense, and asks her how she can be still stand after hearing those awful voices in her head, just like he hears them, since they are both voted unforgiven. we know that some prisoners are hearing voices in their heads regarding to their verdict. fuuta has been hearing pretty awful stuff all the time about his crime.

to answer fuuta's question, this is what amane tells him: "it goes without saying. because we have something more important than the incomprehensible and irrational voices. humans can stand up if they have guidance. kajiyama fuuta, it's a coincidence, but today is your birthday, isn't it? it may be a good day to be reborn. if you can break free from the temptation of corruption around you and change your ways-"

after that conversation, fuuta's behavior seems to have shifted, first reported by muu. since haruka isn't coming out of his cell and muu is the only one actually interacting with him by bringing him food, on timeline 2023/07/05, which is muu's birthday, fuuta approaches muu and asks her if haruka is doing okay. she tells him that she has been bringing him food, which means he should be fine. to that, fuuta says that he understands a bit now, and that it is nice to have someone to rely on and have them accept you. he also says that while they (he and the other prisoners) might not fully understand from their perspective, if muu is the "salvation" for haruka, then he thinks that is something. muu seems taken aback by fuuta's salvation comment, and tells fuuta that he have started saying weird things.

on timeline 2024/01/17, which is mahiru's birthday, fuuta approaches mahiru and asks her if there is any way she can get better. mahiru tells him that shidou has been taking care of her, and that she is sure that if she keeps getting treatment like this, she will get better. to that, fuuta says: "i see. continue the treatment, huh... how can you truly be saved, i wonder?" remember the choice of words he is using. mahiru doesn't think badly about fuuta's comment, and thinks that it is sweet that he seems worried about her. "……that's nice of you, fuuta-kun. just thinking that way... mahiru feels saved already." she says.

on timeline 2024/04/19, which is fuuta's birthday, fuuta approaches haruka this time. i will straight up copy-paste the whole conversation, word by word.

fuuta: "—hey, are you really okay with that? if you come with me, you might also be saved you know……haruka."

haruka: "yeah……since i already made a decision. i, have something that i must do." (he is most likely talking about his plan here.)

fuuta: "ahh, is that so…… hey, haruka, you truly are an idiot. if that’s the case, you won’t be able to be saved."

haruka: "yeah, thank you. fuuta, i’m happy that you called out to me. um, i’m happy that you were so kind to me. i mean it. but, this is the only way i can do this. i’m sorry......" (i am fucking terrified.)

so... yes. interpret it as how you will, but his fixation on "saving" might be the result of amane's influence on him. we voted both of them "forgiven" for the third trial, so i wonder how that will go.

i almost forgot. on her second trial voice drama, amane talks about how she already gave shidou a warning. and yes she did, indeed. shidou wasn't the only person she gave a warning too, though. she also gave a warning to mahiru.

this is from timeline 2023/01/17, mahiru's birthday:

amane: "happy birthday. mahiru-san. how has your condition been lately?"

mahiru: "...ah, amane-chan. thank you. yes, i'm fine. as long as i use a wheelchair, i can still move around properly... it's thanks to shidou-san's treatment..."

amane: "first, i have to give you a warning. you two are treading upon something that's forbidden. if you continue to go against the natural order, you'll just quicken your demise. think about it carefully."

mahiru: "amane-chan... are you actually, amane-chan....?" (this is heartbreaking. timelines that happened during the first trial were mostly lighthearted and happy. the tone changes A LOT with the verdicts. we need to be extremely mindful of our votes.)

i might add more to this later. also, i am sorry for my english, it is my second language.

[clavissionary-position]

Gilbert: (taps his way into the room, happy as a penguin) I have another hypothetical for you all today.

Licht: What was the last one?

Leon: What was the first one?

Jin: I locked the door. How did you get in?

Gilbert: Oh I have keys to all the rooms in this castle.

Yves: May I ask why?

Leon: (glares) May I ask how?

Gilbert: Hehe, come now. All of you would do the same thing when staying in someone else's home, no?

Domestic Faction: No.

Gilbert: That says more about you than it does about me. Anyway~

Gilbert: (pats Jin's breast pocket and pulls out a lollypop for himself) The hypothetical: What would you do if you had to fight a giant robot?

Licht: I'd kill it. What's a giant robot?

Yves: How giant?

Gilbert: (stares blankly at Yves) Giant-er than you.

Yves: :(

Gilbert: (smiles cheerfully as he looks at the other three) Giant-er than all of you. By a grotesque magnitude actually. Imagine a human and an ant, except you're the ant.

Jin: (leans against Leon's desk and crosses his arms) This robot, or whatever, could be completely docile. Why are we fighting it?

Jin: That lollypop wasn't free, by the way.

Gilbert: Oh? Of course it was? I'm a distinguished guest after all. Hmm, and a docile giant robot, you say. Is that how you see all giant things? Docile? Friendly to you?

Leon: Why's that feel like a loaded question?

Gilbert: Ahaha! How could it be? We're just having a fun little conversation about big little things? Little things that get big one day.

Yves: So this robot thing was once a small robot?

Gilbert: (doesn't even bother looking at Yves) Everything is small before it gets big. Everything except for you.

Yves: :( You're small too.

Gilbert: (points his cane at Yves' throat just as Leon and Licht point their swords at him)

Gilbert: (laughs breezily) I just remembered seeing your kitchen on fire on my way here.

Yves: WHAT

Licht: Calm down, Yves. Our kitchen is fireproof.

Licht: Well. Technically the builder promised Sariel that it's 'Licht-proof' but I'm assuming that's the same thing.

Yves: Oh, Licht...

Gilbert: Are you sure you don't want to go check? A giant robot could have set it.

Leon: We're discussing a hypothetical. Hypothetical robot. Hypothetical fire.

Gilbert: Hmph. So you're saying I'm lying.

Jin: He's saying your exaggerating the truth to suit your needs.

Gilbert: Hmmm! (toothy smile) I'm impressed. It seems I should give your little boy scout club due credit.

Licht: We don't need credit from you.

Gilbert: So mean. You know it's a big deal when your mortal enemy praises you.

Leon: (smirks) So what is it? Are you our distinguished guest or our mortal enemy?

Gilbert: (tilts his head cutely) Who said I can't be both? Ah, but this chat's getting dull. Must be the Chevalier in you all. I must be off. Thank you for all the lollypops?

Gilbert: (deposits thirty lollypops' worth of sticks and wrappers back into Jin's breast pocket) So one of you would kill the giant robot, one of you is too much of a coward and one of you is too short. What would your leader do?

Leon: He'd ask for a ride.

Gilbert: ...

Leon: Anything that's as large to a human as a human is to an ant has gotta have an awesome view.

Gilbert: ...

Gilbert: (taps over to the door, opens it, coughs as smoke enters from the hallway) Luke. I'm done here.

Lukebot: Meep morp, did the hoo-mans give a satis-factory answer? Fa-ther?

Gilbert: They said what they needed to. Bend down, will you? I feel like going sightseeing. Let's hunt ourselves a little rabbit.

Lukebot: (whirring machine sounds) Not un-til I. Receive. Ho-ney. Fa-ther.

Gilbert: (sighs) You want to end up setting fire to this room too?

Lukebot: Not. My fault. I cannot. Di-gest. Ho-ney. With-out. Explosive. Biproduct.

Lukebot: Fa-ther.

Gilbert: (sighs again) You're not wrong. You're not wrong at all.

Domestic Faction: (watches in French silence as Luke demolishes a hole in the side of the palace and the pair leave through it)

Licht: (to Jin) Hey, so what's a robot?

Jin: Our kitchen's on fire.

--- ps! inspo: @/qshara's crack ikemen posts ^^

[mariadotcom]

pennhurst - the start of going down (P. I)

hey guys, it's been a while since we last had some (or nay) interactions but life have been getting crazier by the second. i apologize since i left the blog untethered and filling with spiders and moths, but i'm (partially) back and hope you like this little romance, thrilling horror or something i've been working on on my free time. if not, dm me and i'll hear ya! xo maria

prompt: y/n is an immigrant from south america, she owns a bodyshop and there's where she meets sam and colby. as the friendship between them blossoms, other things arise as well, perhaps some of them should've remain buried. ghosts from the past, a difficult romance and a carrousel of ups and downs between them form a storm - but the living aren't the problem alone amidst this tempestuous story. WARNINGS: none, i guess. but strong language, NOT for minors, and i am a mess so god knows - and popular demand tells - when will i post the following chapter.

we promised we'd be back in full blast but not to exaggerate much and get ourselves - especially colby - hurt. since chemo ended, he's been more active and i, as friend who's been there through good and bad, think he deserves a time doing what he loves, performing his job oh so gracefully.

usually, i'm off-screen and i'm glad about it - helping the boys carring their stuff around and exploring places with friends on my days-off. this time around the only differencial would be colby's health on watch; sam was being careful and watching over him more than any of us would, despite that being expected. although something was off, i could feel it. the way colby would glare at people sometimes, with tears in his eyes. he'd be saying the most deep and thoughtful shit, but usually was hitting harder. "say what you feel to the ones you love, y/n" he'd say and i'd anwer "i love you, colby. it's never enough how much...". we met when they moved to Vegas at a bodyshop i own. they trusted their cars with me and we ended up bonding and becoming friends, colby was more standoffish at first but he came around once he learned that i was to be trusted - at least a bit.

the cancer news hit us all like a brick to the head, a cold rush of familiarity through my veins. it was all so new yet so similar. gladly, the treatment and the operation were enough, and he was never alone. not a single second. sam was alway there for him and so was i, whenever they chimed me in. anyways, on the welcome-back trip, sam thought a trip would do him good whereas i thought an exploration would serve better. combining both, for colby, was the greatest so that's what we did. sam chose the location through some people he met along the way of the chanel, i was so excited to finally know the spot i barely focused on colby and what was he saying.

"....then we could try to explore the place ourselves. what you think, y/n?" he said while scrolling through his phone. it wasn't sam and colby's first visit there, but it was mine and they wanted me to have a good time and full immersive experience. "huh?" i questioned "this whole thing is about YOU, colbert. you should be the one 'thinking' of something."

"yeah, yeah. i just want to make sure we all have fun, you know?" his pale blue eyes stared at me for a second and, as usual, i stared back. i couldn't get enough. "y/n?" he called.

"sure, colby. i'll do whatever you want me to..." i stated focusing on the pile of e-mails stacking in my inbox.

"isn't it time for you to take a vacation? some time off?" colby asked seeing how busy and overwhelmed i was. i sighned, he moved from one couch to another to sit closer. "c'mon you could stay some time with us, ditch the company for a few days..."

i cut him off before he could finish his line of thought "colby, you know i can't. the company is expanding.... i need to focus" i rolled my eyes and rested my head upon his shoulder. we watched as sam entered the room, sweaty shirt signaling he just came back from the gym "hello, lovebirds," he said jokinlgy "what are we discussing?"

"how y/n should get a few weeks of vacation" colby gently backed up, laying my head on the couch as he stood up to greet sam and the grocery bags i just now realize he had been holding for a while. "you're obviously in need of some of it, y/n. why don't we make this trip a bit longer so you can take AT LEAST a few days more to reset?" sam suggested.

"but i...." "you can't run no company if you're worn out, dude" sam cut me. "besides, it is YOURS. you're the boss! c'mon, we'd love to have you for a couple days more, right colby?"

"yeah, besides you still owe me a movie night!" colby stated. it's been months since i've been promising the movie night with thrilling and horror movies, just colby and i, to talk about how he has been feeling lately and other stuff. it's always a pleasure be around such a good friend. [wish we were a bit more than that].

"you know what, you two!" i started with and angry tone, eyes still closed, still laying on their couch. "you're right...." i cooled down. "i need to get some rest. i'll take 3 weeks off and nothing more but please, you both are in charge of me"

"couting now?" colby joked.

"no, robert, couting monday..."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°\/°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Friday afternoon after my last meeting, i was still rushing around, making sure every inch of the bodyshop was clean, organized, ready for monday morning's routine of receiving and fixing cars and guaranteeing excellence to costumers. my CEO (and godfather, altogether) made sure they'd be fine without me for a couple weeks and he'd only call in emergencies. i was hoping for little to none, but leaving for the first time in years was still frightening.

i saw the old toyota corolla make a corner, if there were a better picture than that, colby's glass were not really dark-stained so i could see through it. he was wearing, shockingly, a dark green shirt, black and green jacket and i could swear i saw someone on the backseat for a split second. knowing him, i'd be either surprised or scared the second i set foot in the car. gathering my stuff from my office quickly, i found my old devotion notebook. i remembered that work has been draining me so much i forgot i am too a sensitive religious person - but not the convetional one. the door was pushed and the fragrance that followed screamed his name, i didn't even had to turn around to recornize him but his words affirmed what i thought. "are we going?" colby questioned. "mhmm" i replied. "let me just check my e-mails one last time...."

"oh fuck no!" colby shouted, running around the table and taking the laptop from me. he then locked it inside a drawer and kept the keys. "i'll give it back to you in a week or two, when we're far away from this office." he said firmly.

after a moment of silence, he said "you deserve this...." "hey! we're traveling! it'll be fun! plus, your family can handle everything else."

"and we'll call if we can't." my godfather/uncle Victor entered the room, his arms crossing in front of him once he stopped beside colby. them both being tall made a shadow fawn over me, intimidating a little. "we will miss you, but you haven't stop since forever. get some rest, kiddo" my uncle Victor said. "and you make sure she stays alright! i'll need her back!" he warned colby.

"sure thing, sir! i'll bring her back in one piece in maybe 3 weeks." colby said gathering my stuff and pulling me to the car. "maybe? it's a definitely, gentleman." Victor said. we both giggled making our way to his car.

"every time i come around to pick you up, i feel like we're 16" colby joked as i looked around in the car. [who the fuck was inside]. he arched an eyebrown confused to as why was i snooping around. "yo, you good?" he asked. i shaked my head 'yes' but there was some sinking feeling something was off.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°\/°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° the flight was scheduled to sunday morning, this way we'd be in pennsylvania by noon or so. it was still saturday morning when the first nightmare hit, it was still dark outside and the guest room in sam and colby's place felt degrees colder than usual. i guess it was so intense i screamed and sam woke me up, worried. colby followed him suit behind with flustered cheeks and heavy eyes.

"what's wrong?" sam asked, sitting in the bed beside me. his weight made the covers safer, calmer. my thoughts coming down from a high as soon as he pressed his warm hand on my forehead to see if i had a fever. "you're not hot or anything...." sam said and colby giggled.

"yeah she's definitely hot, jus not your type, bro." colby corrected and sam's cheeks brigthen up red, you could barely see through the soft and dim yellow light from the tiny lamp that stood beside the bed. "you know i don't mean that...." sam started. "you're... you're pretty hot you know. i'd rather say beautiful but..."

"romeo, i guess she just had a bad dream, right?" colby leaned on the doorframe. his white ripped tee a little too ripped and sam's soft grip on my face slowly became a light caress. "i guess i'll leave juliet to go back to sleep then." sam said giving me a concerned look. "okay?" i nodded.

"i'm sorry" i muttered, my voice coming back to me. "didn't mean to wake you up, guys" sam rolled his eyes and lightly pinched my cheeks. "stop being a dumbass..." he said getting up and making his way out. "i'll be in my room. if you need anything, CALL! don't scream. you scared the shit out of me" sam said as he made his way to his bedroom.

it was colby's turn to say something. do something. but instead, he just stood there, leaning against the door while i sat on the bed, still processing what was the nightmare about. only flashes flooding my memories, little by little. drowning my thoughts. "can i come in?" he finally asked after what felt like forever in silence. "mhmmm" i hummed.

different from sam, colby was more straight forward with whatever he wanted. this being said, it wasn't hard to agree that he, in fact, went under covers and laid beside me. "robert, what are you doing? are you insane?" i coiled beside him. my dressing wasn't very modest to welcome him in bed with me as i was using a big tee and panties. "as if i never laid next to another woman. get off yourself" he complained.

i sneakily grabbed my pajama shorts from my side of the bed and put them in under the blankets, by this time, colby had rolled over. his face turn to me but his eyes closed - perhaps privacy or just him trying to fall back asleep. i facepalmed breathing loudly trying to erase the feeling of uneasyness from my body after the terrible dream, but colby's hand on my tight and his firm grip startled me a bit. "c'mon, lay down. it's 2:30 in the morning... i'll stay here with you" he muffled in the pillows. "c'mooooooon" colby whined.

"i just...it was so vivid, you know.... these buildings, the feeling i got...." i started but my as soon as i did, my heart went racing. colby sat, his eyes barely opening, one arm around me and the other caressing my leg. "are you okay?" he asked, his hand moving upwards trying to soothe me. "sometimes reals can feel so real, right? but don't stress over it too much, i'll stay here." he said calmly. "maybe we can call sam and...."

"ugh you're such a whore, brock" i laughed as i laid in bed, him doing the same. "thanks, by the way..." he raised an eyebrown, eyes fast closed. "for the what?"

"for staying."

°°°°°°°°\/°°°°°°°°

the day went smoothly and sunday noon was approaching. pennsylvania sounded near althought a 6 hour flight separated the two states and increased in a rapid speed our hunger. i slept through most of it since the nightmares became a thing over the weekend - minus the screaming, thankfully - and sam became my personal caressing pillow. his soft words, as soft as his hands, lulled me to sleep seconds into the flight. colby was an aisle down to us and never stopped chatting with the pretty petite blonde girl sat next to him, when i finally woke, they seemed more acquainted then when the flight was getting ready to take off.

"they kissed" sam filled me in, first thing when i woke. "wow, really?" "mhmm, colby's like that now" he said turning a page from a book he was reading. "yeah i guess he always had been, but it's more of a show off about it now" i replied adjusting my messy cruly hair. "i'm glad i'll always have you, never normal sam" joking, i said. he just elbowed me lightly, giving the most warm upside down smile.

"how are you?" i asked noticing he'd been refusing to look at the notifications on his phone. he just glared. "i mean, this number must belong to SOMEONE. won't you answer?" sam sighed. "it's kat. we.... i...." his words started to crample together but luckily the pilot interrupted him with the announcement of landing. both of us releasing the air inside our lungs we weren't aware we'd been holding. "hey... i know it must be hard. i'm always here to hear you.... and maybe crack joke about it though." i reaffirmed. sam held my hand and gave it a caring kiss, leaving it as a thank you note with everything he wanted to say but couldn't right now.

the plane landed, we got our bags. sam and colby rented a car and decided this could make a video: traveling with friends, living the now, doing what they like and going old fashion - no hardwire equipments, no electronics by the dozens, no mediatic pressure and no place for nothing but good times. it came late, but it didn't fail. colby surprised sam and i at the restaurant. we were peacefully eating like dinosaurs when a pair of hands gripped sam's shoulder tight - not enough to hurt him, but enough to have him startled. sam and colby's friend, nate, stood behind sam and i while we ate.

nate is a cool guy, very chill and funny. he's always down to whatever the boys propose him to, thus incouraging me to do the same. although we have a good time together, sometimes and only sometimes, i have a glipmse of myself and feel a little unconscious. the many women approaching them - being for fame, recognition, looks or whatever - are gorgeous, the kind of girl you'd see on tampon commercials or maybe a lame movie with only hot chicks using ridiculous clothes to perform complex tasks. i'm just normal and - for a while - it's good being average, but oh boy, how i wish i was....

"hey, gorgeous!" nate complimented me as he plopped on the empty chair beside me. "how have you been, girl?" he sassed. i rolled my eyes, smile growing wider. "i've been good, nataniel." i teased back.

"what's with you and names?" colby asked downing a bit of his drinks. he had a halfway fresh oranje juice glass that i insisted he'd take instead of whatever processed shit he'd prefer. "you see, COLBERT," i emphasized before continuing, earning everyone's smile "it's funnier that way. plus, i get to tease you all about fictional names that suit you fine" i gulped my juice myself.

"well, we should think about a nickname for you to call it your own, then" nate threw his arms around my chair and said, leaning over a bit. "maybe we should call you...." as soon as nate was forming a thought, sam's phone rang. it was the person responsible for our tour and stay, so we went quieter so sam could figure whatever out. we couldn't help ourselves to kick one another under the table and whisper sweet nothings to each other while making dramatically silly faces - or copy whatever sam was saying in a husk tone, just to ease up the mood. "yeah, sure. i guess it'll be a great idea!" sam said. "i guess we can share some rooms, there's no problem with it...." finally, we fell dead silent to hear what he was saying and when sam noticed, he put them on speaker.

"i'm sure you can all share, but wouldn't it be fun if you got separate rooms?!" the person on the other end asked with a malice in their voice. you could tell it was a sllightly older man and if it wasn't from previous experience, you barely couldn't differ the amount of cigarretes he'd smoken before. "i mean, it's a haunt tour but we have buildings able to accomodate you 3 perfectly nice, and the area is still new to renovations so you guys could do some recording if you'd like"

"actually, josh, we are in a group of 4 now. a friend decided to join us, is that an issue?" sam asked. "not at all, sam! we love to have you and any friend of yours as guests! is colby coming?" the man asked "surely he is!" colby answered affirming he was part of the group listening. "well, then it'll be awesome having you guys!" "it'll be awesome staying with you, josh! see you in a bit" sam hushed and ended the call.

"well, i hope you're in for a ride," sam said. "we have the place to ourselves and...." "yeah, but where is the place? WHAT is the place?" nate asked, finally tackling our doubts. "we're going to pennhurst asylum."

author's notes: thoughts? call the roaches and complain. (kidding, leave it here under NOTES or message me)

[bookish-bi-mormon]

There's a Mormon church across the road from my house and I've been curious about attending for years but I'm also an incredibly anxious queer bean. Any advice?

Hi! I appreciate you trusting me with this question and I wish I could give you a certain answer.

Unfortunately it's really a gamble. I've been lucky enough to be in a ward (congregation/neighborhood) where I've gotten a lot of positive feedback and support. My partner and I (very visibly queer) have been going to church together for the past month+ and we've only ever had kind things said to us. I think even the members who might believe that being queer is contrary to God's will still want to be kind and help us feel at home and recognize that our journeys on earth are not really their business.

Sadly, that can't be said of everyone. I've been in Sunday School classes in the past where hurtful things were said about queer people that sent me spiraling. I've heard of church leaders who pull trans people aside and ask them to stop attending because their presence is a "disruption." It really varies and I wish I could give you something to measure it by but I've been welcomed in the same town that a friend of mine was rejected.

more advice under the cut:

If you want to learn more about the LDS church, what we believe, how we started, and the Book of Mormon, this website is a good place to start. I don't know if you're a praying type, but in this situation I'd usually recommend praying and asking God if exploring mormonism is a good path for you. If you do feel like attending services, this website can help you see what time the wards in your area meet.

Things to know about church services:

Sacrament Meeting is the meeting where everyone sits in pews and listens to talks. Second Hour (which alternates between gendered and mixed classes every other week) are smaller group discussions where people read scriptures and quotes, and talk about how the gospel fits into our lives. If you want to go to second hour after sacrament meeting, I would just kinda follow whoever looks like they're your age/gender, or if you're feeling brave you could ask someone.

Women usually wear modest dresses, or a shirt+skirt combo. Men usually wear white shirt, tie, and slacks. I personally wear colorful button ups and slacks, sometimes a tie and sometimes not, to express my nonbinary gender. But I don't mind standing out. You really can wear whatever you want, but if you are anxious about standing out, then knowing the dress customs can be helpful.

They usually sing 3 or 4 songs during sacrament meeting. You don't have to sing along, but there should be a hymn book available in case you do.

Part way through sacrament meeting, they pass the sacrament (the bread and water that represent Christ's body and blood). A small tray will be passed down the pews. You don't have to eat/drink, but you can if you want. We see it as a renewal of the promises we make when we are baptized.

People tend to be very friendly, and use the time before/after meetings to socialize. Someone might see an unfamiliar face and come say hi. I promise they mean well, but if it stresses you out feel free to excuse yourself.

[annymation]

I have a small request for you: you can write a farewell scene for the star!Asha and the human!Aster (which takes place after defeating the villains as in KOW) and the scene where our lovers reunite and star!Asha becomes human? I'm sorry to bother you with such a huge number of questions about this au, I just fell in love with it and would like to know the differences between KOW and KOW-role reversal. P.S. I will ask more questions about role swap au, but later. And by the way, thanks for the scene in the house, now I'm going to have a good dream.

I'd love to get more asks about the role-reversal AU because I've fell in love with them too, Star!Asha being a bubbly sunshine child and Aster being more mature but also a huge dork is so cute (Talking like that is almost like they weren't my idea lmao) so please feel free to ask more, though I may take a while to answer since, well, writing takes time lol

So let's see how their goodbye scene would go:

"... I must leave now" Asha voice cracked, her smile remained despite her eyes clearly welling with with tears threatening to fall.

"... Leave?" Aster watches as her star dust floats up to the sky, slowly making Asha disappear more and more... He understands what the star means, but he doesn't understand why now. "W-why now? We just WON! You should stay at least for us to celebrate..." Aster tries to convince her, but one look on her face and he can tell that's not her decision to make, she's just as heartbroken as him "... You don't have a choice, do you? Now that my wish is granted..."

Asha just nods her head "Yes" slowly

Aster looks down for a moment, til he get's an idea and his smile returns "... Hey! But that's okay! I can just wish upon you again! So you'll come back-"

"I won't be allowed to come down here again." Asha blurted out the bad news quickly like she's ripping off a bandaid, maybe if she says quickly it will hurt less... That doesn't work.

Aster's hopeful smile disappears "Wh- What!? Why not?"

"I didn't do things like I was supposed to... I was seen by other people, I helped you WAY more than any star is supposed to... I fell in love." She explained, looking at Aster in the eyes, becoming more and more transparent by the second "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before... I didn't want you to be upset." A single tear runs down her face.

"That's not fair!" Aster wailed, trying to hold her shoulders but his hand went right through her "You helped me grant my wish and now you get punished for it? That makes no sense!" He yells, not angry at Asha but at the world itself that apparently just won't let him have one happy moment.

A few people from the crowd finally notice what's going on with Asha, including Aster's friends, who quickly approach the two. They already knew this was coming since Asha told them back in the forest.

Asha agrees that it's unfair, but rules are rules "I know... But we'll always remember our time together, won't we? And we got to make the most of it in so little time" Asha tried to see the bright side, although they both know that no time in the world would be enough for them.

Aster's eyes were already flooded with tears "I... I can't lose you... Not again... There's so much I wanted to show you, so much I wanted to tell you..." Their voice is trembling, their arms wrapped around him, as if to give himself a hug.

Asha is just sketch lines now, she tries to dry Aster's tears, but the tears go right though her hand, she's translucent now and can't interact with anything. She frowns knowing that he can't physically comfort him anymore, now her body is more in the sky than on land. She doesn't have much time left, so she rushes to give him her last words of reassurance "You could never lose me... You can talk to me every night and I'll listen... I know it won't be the same thing but... I promise I'll always be by your side"

A hopeful smile grows on the boy's face "... Even if I can't see you." Aster finishes the sentence, his eyes glistening with tears.

"Heh... That's right-"

Aster goes in to kiss her. And before Asha can even react... She vanished, turning into star dust and floating back to the sky.

------------------------------------------------------------

Now them reuniting:

"I better be going now... Wouldn't want to stay here chatting till morning like last time heheh" Aster chuckled while leaving the tree branch "Oh yeah! I almost forgot, happy birthday!... Uuh I don't know if stars even celebrate birthdays but either way, I hope you had a good one heh" Aster says rather awkwardly while looking up at the sky, looking for Asha

But he suddenly realizes her star is no longer in the sky. His eyes squint as he keeps looking for it, till he hears a familiar giggle coming from the tree

"Hihih I wish we did, but nope! Birthdays are just a human thing"

Aster turns to look up at the tree branch. And there she is, Asha is sitting on the tree, kicking her feet back and forth as her golden hair and flowy cape dance in the wind like soft waves. Her radiant smile outshines all the stars above them.

The boy below is speechless, his mouth opening and shutting again like a fish out of water, unable to form a coherent sentence. He almost forgot how spellbindingly gorgeous she was after these few weeks apart, and seeing her again makes the boy completely lose his senses.

(This paragraph in a nutshell: Aster.exe stopped working)

Asha giggles as she jumps down from the tree, falling right on Aster. She embraces him, and thus the two of them are now laying down on the soft grass

Aster returns the hug, not sure if this is real or just a dream, it sure feels like one. He laughs along with her as he asks “YOU’RE BACK?!?”

“Sure aaaam🎶” Asha singsongs cheerfully “Did ya miss me? Hihih” She teases, knowing full well he did, and so did she

“More than anything” they replied, sitting up as he gazed upon her in absolute awe “b-but HOW?? Did the stars let you stay on earth??”

“Well, yes, but to do that, first I need to do one little thing…”

…

And then Asha sings her little “This Wish (reprise)” and kisses Aster, thus turning herself into a human

The goodbye half was pretty much the same thing that happened in the original, since I didn’t know how to make it any different.

But when they reunite though, we get to see how no matter the universe, Aster is always… A dork

Like in KOW Aster plays it cool when he gets back to earth and surprises Asha, he’s laying on the tree making a cool pose, trying to look kinda mysterious, when literally all he wants is to go there and hug her. Meanwhile in this AU human Aster just… Malfunctions when he sees Asha’s beauty, like a dork

And no matter the universe Asha is just adorable, human Asha quickly ran to give Aster a hug, while star Asha ALSO immediately went for a hug and being all cute about it

In conclusion, Asha is adorable, Aster is a dork, together they’re Adorkable.

[whiskey-bumblebee]

I'm On Fire (Chapter 4)

Pairing: DBF!Aaron Hotchner/Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2266

A/N: Fun fact! There is a coded message in a section of this (don't want to spoil anything but it will hopefully be clear which section might contain a coded message). It is incredibly niche, but it just worked so well. I doubt anyone will be able to uncode it, but I would love to see interpretations 👀

Warnings: Age gap relationship (older Hotch, younger reader), the cops are assholes (acab <3).

Taglist: @littlepeanut03 @rosaline-black @moonmark98 @yuly @jazzymariexoxoc @frogoko @morgthemagpie @laisy @whoreforhondo @ssamorganhotchner

The hard edges of the interrogation chair bite into your legs. You keep your voice measured, your responses meek, informative, but not any more detailed than they need to be.

"Were you close with your father?"

"We used to be close. He recently started seeing a new woman..." You trail off, your vision growing unfocused. "But I guess that's not true."

Sensing a spiral, the police officer cleared his throat and tried to centre your focus again. "How recently?"

"A few months, I think. He was away less at first, then more and more until I didn't see him at all."

"Could you place a date on it?"

You chew your lip. "Do you have a calendar? It might be easier if I can see everything laid out."

The police officer gestured to his partner and the second officer left the room, returning moments later with a calendar. You flicked back to December, skimming your finger over a particular week. "About here. I was at a practice and he didn't show up. It was noticeable by then."

"So it was before the holidays?"

You nodded. "I think so."

You traced your finger over the calendar again, counting the days, trying to remember what you'd been doing on each one. You tried not to let your eyes linger on the sixteenth. The day that Aaron had picked you up, the rain pelting the windscreen, his clothing warm on your body...

"I think," You cleared your throat. "He made an effort around the holidays. I definitely saw him for a day or two. He didn't give me anything, but that's normal for him."

The second officer slid a photograph across the table.

"Do you know this man?"

You nodded, fighting your body at a cellular level. You didn't swallow. You didn't blush. You tried not to look too long, too fondly.

"Aaron Hotchner," You stated. "He was friends with my father when they were younger."

"What's your relationship with him?"

You shook your head. "I don't have one. He picked me up sometime in December, it was just by chance. He saw me waiting for my dad, so he drove me home."

"Anything before that?"

You shook your head again, but this time it was the truth. "I'd seen him in pictures with my dad, from college, but we'd never had a conversation before that."

"When he drove you home, did the topic of conversation include your father at any point?"

You nodded. "Kind of naturally, I think. He asked how my dad was doing, I think it had been a while since they'd seen each other. My dad was pretty isolated from his friends. I thought it was because he was spending all of his free time with his partner-"

The police officer cut you off. "Alright. Do you think you need any additional support? You're an adult, so if you feel the need to reach out to victim services, an attorney, you can do that on your own."

You nodded, feeling kind of dazed. It was intimidating, and you thought: the system is designed to make me feel like this.

"I did have a question, I know it's an early stage in the investigations, but would you be able to make sure I don't hear more of the graphic details than I need to?"

The police officer shook his head. "No. We can't promise anything."

You exhaled uneasily. "Okay."

"In fact, there are some things I think you should know. Since you won't be able to hear them from your dad-"

___

Aaron hated the way that the cuffs felt around his wrists. He'd spent so many years on the other side of this. He felt common, hated, evil. He felt like his father.

"What was your relationship with this man?"

"We went to college together. Ran in the same social circles. I hadn't heard from him for a while, and then his name came up in a case I was working."

"Did you declare a conflict of interest?"

"I didn't feel the need to," Aaron said earnestly. "I hadn't spoken to him for a decade."

JJ shifted from foot to foot anxiously, watching through the glass. "I don't understand, why are they interrogating him? It's not the first time someone on the team has killed a suspect."

"They're trying to determine if he had a significant relationship with the unsub," Reid commented. "If he did, it could count as premeditation, and they'd need to consider his intent."

Morgan looked around the small back room, ensuring none of the local cops were around. "I've never seen Hotch like that. There was just no hesitation. But c'mon, we caught this guy in the act, and he was armed. There's no way Hotch goes down for this. It could have happened to any of us. Just a freak coincidence."

They turned their attention back to the interrogation room as Hotch's voice became heated.

"This is unnecessary. Yes, I positively identified him as the unsub, which meant that I had time to recognize him. But you can ask any of the other agents at the scene, I didn't have the time to make a different decision."

"Unsub?"

"Unknown... The suspect. I identified him as the suspect."

"So you're changing your story?"

"No," Hotch said calmly. "In our unit, we call the suspect an unsub."

"So you think you're better than us?"

"That's irrelevant," Hotch shot back.

Prentiss stifled a chuckle. "He didn't say no."

"Were you aware that the suspect had a daughter?"

One of the officers in the room slid a photograph of you across the table and Aaron's frown deepened.

"Yes," He said softly.

"What is she like?"

"We've had maybe one conversation in the time I've known about her. I wouldn't be able to say."

"Isn't it rather intimate to drive someone home?"

Hotch shook his head. "I don't think so. It was something of an emergency because it was very cold that night and her father was running late..."

"Something you're holding back?"

Hotch paused, looking the other man in the eye, his gaze stern.

"I want to be a father one day. I was thinking that if she was my daughter, I would like to think one of my friends would do the same."

That seemed to take the interrogation team by surprise, as they were all silent for a moment.

___

Unbeknownst to the both of you, Haley Hotchner was in an interrogation suite a few rooms over from the one you sat in. And she was telling a very different story.

___

A few hours later, you lay on your bed in the empty house, staring at the ceiling. You wondered what would happen. Did your father have a will? Would you inherit the house? Would you get kicked out? Where would you go? Had there ever been another girlfriend?

How long would your bed be your bed? How long would your room be your room?

You ached to call Hotch, to see if he was okay, how his interviews were going. But everything was gone. Every trace of him, especially the digital ones. Not that there had been many traces to begin with. You'd washed all of the clothes he'd ever touched. Donated all of his clothes that you had at your house. It had been weeks since you'd had sex, so you were free of his cells. You'd even cleaned your shower drain with some chemical that smelled awful, but it promised to dissolve hair. In case he'd shed even a single strand while showering at your place. You burned the contents of your vacuum cleaner for the same reason. It was cold enough that none of the neighbors questioned the smoke rising from the chimney.

No contact in your phone, no history. No photograph of your shadows. Even a burner phone was too risky. You wished again and again that he had worked for any other branch of the government. But no, it was the BAU. The FBI. And they knew how to dig.

But there was one thing. One precious, golden thing that you refused to throw out, to destroy, to disfigure. Inside a thermos. Hidden between the seal and the cap. In a tiny ziplock bag. A chain with a ring on it. They'd never find it. They'd never take it. Even if they opened the thermos, it would seem empty. It wouldn't rattle because of the ziplock insulating it from the other metal components. That was your perfect crime. Your only crime.

You were afraid of speaking aloud in case the police had bugged your house. They had no reason to suspect that you were involved, but you'd overheard some of the officers, their gossip. An older man, a younger woman. An enraged father. A staged scene. The idea circulated in your head over and over again until you almost started to believe it. Would Hotch kill your father to have easier access to you? Would he do it because your father was so absent? Had you, in some way, encouraged him to do it?

No, you thought, over and over. This was Aaron. Everything else aside, framing someone for the crime would mean that the real killer was still out there. And Aaron would not let that happen.

Your thoughts started to spin the other way, to your father, what the police had told you about his crimes. You'd tried hard to block it out, but some of the phrases they used were sticking.

Inadequate parenting, substitute child figure. Re-enactment. Failure. Punishment for failure.

You sighed, scrunching your eyes shut. You'd go for a walk to clear your head.

____

"Oh no," You heard a woman's voice say. "It looks like I dropped the mail I was carrying. I hope I'll be able to find it."

There was something decidedly odd about it, and you looked towards the source of the voice. A blonde woman in a bright outfit, walking some kind of small fluffy dog. She looked at you pointedly.

"I hope someone is able to find that mail. It would be a shame if it got lost."

You noticed a stack of envelopes on the ground, and rushed to pick them up. "Is this it?"

She walked towards you, a wide smile on her face. "You're even prettier than he said," She whispered as she took the envelopes from your hands, letting one drop to the ground, watching it fall.

She pretended not to notice, and thanked you again, walking the other direction with her dog. You picked up the envelope and tried to call out, but she put her headphones on.

You looked down at the paper, noticing that it wasn't an envelope at all, but a piece of paper roughly folded into quarters.

You tucked it into your pocket, ensuring nobody had seen your interaction. It seemed like nobody had, but then again, it wouldn't have looked particularly suspicious anyway. If it was intentional, you'd open it once you were somewhere private.

You walked until you were on the path that ran past the creek, a substantial distance into the woods. You took a seat on a mossy stump. It was slightly damp, but you couldn't bring yourself to care.

Your heart leapt into your throat. It was him. The spelling was odd, the lowercase strange, but it was him. The handwriting was also unusual, and you looked at it again. It seemed messy, like he'd written it in the dark. He also didn't seem the type to say 'I love you' so prolifically.

honey,

first things first, don't try this. it was risky enough as it is. now isn't the time to play spies, but if we did, i'd meet you in corinth. i needed to tell you that i love you. i wish you'd been a rose by any other name. stay safe. stay smart. god, there's so much i want to tell you. i'm okay. stay the course. take care of yourself. i love you, i love you, i love you. don't try and reach me. i know you're smart enough to get away with it. i know you know you're smart enough two. but don't risk it. burn this in a fiveplace

Fiveplace, you thought. Or maybe it just said fireplace. Then it clicked. You memorized the sequence you thought he'd been trying to communicate. You'd test your theory once you were home. When you looked down at your hands, you saw them shaking.

You didn't want to destroy the note, but you knew it was the most incriminating thing that either of you owned, now that you'd scrubbed yourselves of everything else.

Without letting yourself think twice, you tore it into three pieces and threw it into the creek, piece by piece.

You squeezed your eyes closed. Please, Aaron, please. I hope I read this right.

____

You walked home, trying to ease your mind. It was working until you arrived at the foot of your driveway and noticed a familiar car. Aaron's? It couldn't be.

While you tried to determine who was in the car, she stepped out of the driver's side and walked towards you. Another blonde woman. You recognized her though... From where?

"Do you know who I am?" She asked unsteadily.

You shook your head. "Is that...?"

"His car? It's actually both of ours. We bought it together."

A look of confusion must have come over your face, because all of a sudden, she was stepping closer, extending her hand for a handshake.

"I'm Haley. And I wanted to let you know that I told the police everything."

[cursedvibes]

Firstly, thanks for sharing the time period on JJK, it's really helpful. Also, do you mind if I ask a few things?

1.) In Hidden Inventory arc, is it a lie when it said Tengen need Amanai Riko? If it's yes, do they only want Riko to be dead?

2.) When Yuuji ate the finger for the first time, Sukuna is surprised cause he can supress him, did he already supect the connection to Kenjaku?

3.) "It's actually beyond thematically fitting that the antagonist (Kenjaku) who's been sneaking around in the shadows concocting his master plan for centuries got hit with the ultimate sneak move after letting his guard down and having fun for the first time in a thousand years." Do you agree with this statement? Is it true, that Kenjaku really don't suspect Takaba at all?

Sorry again, if my questions are kinda stupid, thanks if you want to answer....

Glad my timeline was helpful :) And your questions are very interesting, don't worry.

1.) Tengen does need Riko if she wants to keep her human appearance and consciousness. She can slow down her evolving process by using barrier techniques, but she can't fully stop it or reset it like what absorbing the Star Plasma Vessel would do. By that point Tengen seemed less invested in her survival/keeping her humanity than the last times the merger happened though, since when talking to Yuki she has a very "what happens happens" attitude towards it. If Riko had been successfully delivered to her, she would've likely merged, but since that didn't happen she only seemed interested in seeing how long she could hold on because especially when Gojo wasn't around anymore, it was pretty obvious that Kenjaku would eventually succeed in getting to her and absorbing her.

2.) I don't think so, at least not immediately after Yuuji ate the first finger. We don't know what kind of binding vow Kenjaku and Sukuna made, but Kenjaku likely promised Sukuna to see to his revival in a thousand years. When Yuuji started eating more fingers and was still able to suppress him is probably when Sukuna figured out what was up and he started coming up with the plan of swapping over to Megumi to be free. So by the time Yuuji died for the first time and he and Sukuna made their binding vow, Sukuna probably had a pretty big suspicion that Kenjaku was somehow involved in making Yuuji such a sturdy vessel.

3.) Eh, I wouldn't exactly call it the "ultimate sneak move", but the whole letting their guard down and that being their downfall/possible death is very appropriate. The scope isn't quite the same, I don't think you can compare this one plan to Kenjaku's entire life philosophy, but it is similar to what they did to Gojo for example. Except Gojo wasn't distracted for that long and in his case it relied more on shock than long-term personal investment. There is also much more of a connection there between Kenjaku, Geto and Gojo (everything from Geto's death onwards and even Kenjaku's history with the six eyes leading up to this) than between Kenjaku and Yuuta. Angel was the one who actually came up with the plan, but we still know very little about her and Kenjaku, just that she doesn't have a problem with them in general, but the merger with Tengen seems to go too far for her (at least I assume that's why she's helping the team take down Kenjaku). She isn't really much of a puppetmaster, she's far too direct and bloodthirsty for that usually. Still, she's at least a better counterpart to Kenjaku than Yuuta. I'd say compared to Gojo's sealing for example everything outside of Kenjaku and Takaba's connection feels very half-assed. Sure, it's "sneaky", but for a big thematic payoff I expect more. Again, Takaba's part about Kenjaku giving in to emotional vulnerability they tried to suppress seemingly their entire life is very well done, everything else not so much.

As for if Kenjaku suspected Takaba, they absolutely did. The moment he shows up Kenjaku knows that the protagonist team send him, they just can't understand why they chose him of all people and what his purpose is. They are also very aware what effect he has on them, both through his cursed technique and just general attitude. That didn't help though because in the end Kenjaku still got lost in the comedy show they were doing together. They were pushing back against it before, but while they were on stage is when they really gave into Takaba's spiel and got distracted. When asking Yuuta about the plan, Kenjaku also accepts what happened very quickly, since that was the suspicion they were having during the entire fight and they were proven right. Only that it happened after they already allowed themselves a moment of weakness.

While being beheaded Kenjaku figures out what went wrong. The wording in Japanese is ambiguous, there is no pronoun here, so it's hard to tell if Kenjaku says they didn't want the interruption or if Takaba did. Personally, I think it was a mix of both. Takaba's cursed technique cut Kenjaku's connection to their sensor curses (I assume he did that unconsciously to not be interrupted and because he wanted Kenjaku's full attention) and Kenjaku was too caught up in their show to notice. So Kenjaku did suspect Takaba had ulterior motives or was working for the protag team during the entire fight, but they had too much fun with him and that resulted in that moment of carelessness that was used against them.