#hopefully this game is less miserable lol

[blund3r-bust3r]

think i’ll finally try playing omori now that it’s on switch i heard it’s really good

[merakiui]

What are your thoughts on reverse isekai where Azul really appears out of nowhere in the reader's world/room? It'd be funny if he just loses his mind over it because how did he mess up with his chanting of his ancient spells that he ended up (miserably) there.

And the reader finds him very pitiful and offer a temporary stay for him. He accepted reluctantly.

Omg maybe twst isn't a game in your world, so you have no idea who this strange man is and why he's waving some cane around trying to cast a spell on you LOL. ^^;;; after all of the commotion is settled and Azul stops speaking in spells and hexes, none of which have any effect, the both of you hesitantly introduce yourselves. He's Azul Ashengrotto, a mage who hails from a place known as Twisted Wonderland. That sounds positively absurd, but then to Azul the idea of a world without any magic is just as foreign. How do you possibly live? It's so strange... More importantly, if magic is nonexistent here, does that mean he can't transform back to his original form? Is he stuck in his human form? Not that that's the most pressing worry; it's actually more of a relief.

Even so, despite your reluctant hospitality and willingness to let him stay (for now), he doesn't trust you. You're right to be wary of him as well. Neither of you know the other, and the fact that he just suddenly appeared in your room all because of, in his words, "an incorrect incantation" sounds very suspicious. But he proves to you he really is a mage by showing you the strange stone on the cane, explaining in great detail its purpose and importance. You don't really understand a lot of this, but it's such a detailed explanation. Surely he wouldn't make all of that up...

Azul's ultimate goal is to (hopefully) return home. This is something he sticks with for a while, always grousing over how inconvenient it is that he can't use magic to solve such complex problems (the "complex problems" being laundry duty or washing dishes. He's gotten rather comfortable and lazy in your presence, but he adamantly denies it when you bring it up. He reasons he can be this way because you hardly know him and his achievements or pitfalls, and he'll be leaving soon anyway. There's no point in getting too friendly, and if you're letting him freeload in your home... Why shouldn't he relax in a stressful situation? He can think with his brain later!) You annoy him with your incessant questions and constant disbelief and doubt, but then he also annoys you with his grandiose ego and lofty confidence. Azul cannot wait to get back to Twisted Wonderland. This world isn't so different from his own, but it's without magic and as someone who depends on magic to do specific tasks that require magical aid... It makes his life so very difficult.

But then he actually befriends you. Suddenly, he's something of a roommate, albeit a roommate who's quite the demanding nuisance. Azul thought a magic-less world was the worst of his problems, but now he's actually getting attached to you. To you, someone he couldn't stand initially! Now, rather than being curt and distant, he sits beside you on the sofa to binge movies and shows and the two of you fall asleep together. Now he's helping you in the kitchen rather than bickering over who should cook and how "if you knew how to cast a simple spell, this would be so much easier!" Now he's learning that he's relied too much on his magical prowess. And now, unfortunately, he's not so sure he even wants to go home (if that's an option anymore).

Azul would be much more at ease to keep this relationship strictly business: you provide him with shelter and food while he works to solve this situation. In fact, he thinks he'd be better off hating you and acting annoyed because that helps him feel less attached. But he can't ignore the mounting enjoyment he feels when he's with you. This is the most fun he's had in a long time, and he likes your company. He likes cleaning the house with you, going shopping and grousing over budgets together, exploring the city you live in and seeing what it has to offer, getting to know you on a personal level... He thinks he may have gone insane because he catches himself telling you things he'd never want anyone back at NRC to know. He talks so openly about his aspirations and hopes because he's grown to trust you. He knows you're a safe friend, and it's been so long since he's had this kind of security in a friendship. And you genuinely support him! You tell him you know he can turn Mostro Lounge into a franchise, and your cheers for his success are so authentic and supportive. (And of course he can do that and more! He's Azul Ashengrotto, after all!)

Maybe, if he does find a way home, he can take you with him and show you part of his world. Wouldn't that be so wonderful?

[mugentakeda]

Do you have any fic recs similar to your take on iroh? Treating him as an actual character with some fucked up issues is SO much more fun!! I love him and I am chewing on your art

YES!!!!!!!! everytime i post about shithead iroh moments i get nervous someones gonna think i dont like him or im anti iroh or whatever but i genuinely honest to god think his less than savory past and personality traits ON TOP of the things about him that make him so beloved by the fandom makes him better. like yeah i love all parent characters that are just big softies but big softie parents that also are kinda (very much ) fucked up are even better. to ME. and i dont usually judge how good characters are on the basis of how good of a parent they are which is oddly something that a Lot of people do but. U wont find any of that on this blog which is also why i loveeeee ursa.

BUT I DIGRESS! here is my absolute favorite. its unfinished but what is there is still very loaded. digs in deep to iroh. gets pretty nitty gritty with it too. it changed how i see iroh and specifically season 1 iroh. it balances his b1 behavior with his later revealed status as a grand lotus MASTERFULLY, and puts his manipulative and cunning side on full display. might even make you mad at him a little bit

this one is less of a take on iroh as like. a general and a grand lotus and the war side of him and more of him as a father. its short and sad and i adore all of this authors fics involving iroh. it still shines a good light on the consequences of irohs own actions though because lu ten dying was literally his fault. the selfishness and the manic desperation that bleeds through this monologue is kind of scary but also is tragically beautiful.

ALSO these specific parts near the end of salvage were REALLY good. i feel like iroh is definitely the kind of guy that does a whole lot of backhanded comments as a way of patronizing without probably even realizing he does it?? i think a lot of people forget that what makes iroh being “changed” different from zuko is that zuko is still a child, and iroh is like. in his fifties or something. a whole LIFETIME of probably doing everything zuko did pre-redemption but far worse, and plenty times over. take how young azula is when ozai let her loose into the world into account. take the fact that iroh was already a general by the time he was sieging bss into account. im not gonna compare and contrast crimes here but i am trying to put weight onto how long iroh has been in the game. nasty shit like this is bound to still creep in the shadows of irohs mind and will definitely slip out sometimes.

and i know i keep bringing up that one unfinished super gnarly au fic that features azulon putting zuko into irohs care following irohs return to ba sing se (after ozai disgraced himself in requesting azulon give ozai the throne since iroh lost his only heir). hopefully one day ill find it because i hate to think the author deleted it or whatever . but out of all the fics that dig into irohs crimes id say this one does it the deepest while also SOMEHOW managing to make iroh sympathetic just by how sheerly pathetic and miserable he is the whole time. ONE DAY THOUGH. i pray that i will find it. because i have like over 200 pages of history on ao3 and i cant remember when exactly i read the fic so . searching for it has been kind of difficult but if i find it trust i will post it lol

[countessklair]

my completely arbitrary guesses at how likely it is (percentage wise out of a possible 100% chance) that taylor attends each game left in the Chiefs regular season. my experience with this is i am a casual swiftie and i was born in Missouri and raised a die hard chiefs fan and still know only the bare minimum about football.

Thursday 10/12/2023, playing the Denver Broncos in KC: like a 10% chance, maybe less. premier of Eras Tour movie is the day before, the wide release is the day after, i just don't see it.

Sunday 10/22/2023, playing LA Charges in KC: like a 70% chance, it's at home and it should be a good game, but maybe she's busy getting ready for tour/releasing 1989 TV.

Sunday 10/29/2023, playing Denver Broncos in Denver: idk man like a 15% chance? who tf would wanna go to Denver this close to Halloween and this soon after 1989 TV release when you won't even get to spend any time with Travis because the teams leave away games *immediately* after the game is over.

Sunday 11/05/2023, playing Miami Dolphins in Germany: even though this is the Big International Game (and imo the *real* start to their season), the tour starts again in four days in South America, so...maybe like a 30% chance.

Weekend 11/10/2023 - 11/12/2023 Buenos Aires Eras Tour Concert: Travis *might* be able to go, it is on their bye week, but with the season ramping up and training schedules (also depending on if he's injured or something) I doubt he'd get enough time off to go, so I'll say 25%.

Monday 11/20/2023, playing Philadelphia Eagles in KC: GOD I WOULD LOVE FOR HER TO GO TO THIS GAME but I don't think she will, she'll probably still be recovering/travelling/planning for the next show, so I'll say 15% for the Superbowl rematch of the sister cities.

Sunday 11/26/2023, playing Las Vegas Raiders in Vegas: ....are you serious?? she has a SHOW that night, absolutely **ZERO** 0% chance she will NOT be there.

Sunday 12/03/2023, playing Green Bay Packers in Green Bay: she'll be on break from tour, but Wisconsin in December? miserable. 55% chance.

Sunday 12/10/2023, playing Buffalo Bills in KC: not gonna lie to you Swifties, this is gonna be a ROUGH game even if it is at home, even rougher than the Dolphins. personally i think Taylor should come as moral support, lol, but she might be busy, so I'll say an 85% chance.

Monday 12/18/2023, playing New England Patriots in Foxborough MA: if the Patriots don't get their act together this'll be an easy game (barring injuries and stuff), but it IS in MA and not NY or KC or LA or any of her other bases, soooo i'll say 60% chance.

Monday 12/25/2023, playing Las Vegas Raiders in KC: absolutely not, it's christmas day!! she'll be spending it with her family most likely. lord knows the players would love to! 5% chance.

Sunday 12/31/2023, playing Cincinnati Bengals in KC: this one is a little more likely but (hopefully) Joe Burrow will be all healed up by this time and this will again be a big bad game, the Bengals and the Chiefs have become HUGE rivals with the Mahomes/Burrow rivalry going on. it *is* at home, but it is *also* New Years Eve, which again taylor will probably want to spend with family. i'll say 25% chance.

Sunday 01/07/2024, playing LA Charges in LA: honestly the odds of her coming to this game are pretty good! again, should be a good game, and LA is a good 'away game' spot for her too. i'll say 75% chance.

[emcscared-whumps]

31, 32, 36 for Pete

(From this post!)

Sorry it took so long to get to lol, been a busy few weeks :3 (still am but I have a spare minute) ANYWAY

i am DROOLING at the implications of previous captivity and torture and fantasy racism and everything I've ever done to Pete to make his life miserable because they're ALL my favourite--

31 - Do they have any specific comfort items (clothing, security blankets, etc.)?

Pete has his scarf! I think it used to belong to his (biological) dad, who had the same abilities as Pete, with... less of the... complications, but I think he knew, minutes before his death, that something terrible was about to happen, so he gave poor tiny Pete his scarf to protect him and keep him warm and to help comfort him.

To this day, Pete still holds on to the ends of his scarf when he's nervous, or fidgets with the tassels. When it's off, he feels naked and vulnerable. Sometimes, when he sleeps, he'll bundle it up in a particular way and hug it.

He doesn't quite ken his attachment to it, but he feels it none the less, and he will always keep it on his person.

This is probably another way Johnstone won the psychological game, take away his clothes, including his scarf.

(Disclaimer: clothes aren't exactly necessary for a mer's modesty).

~*~

32 - Are they likely to speak up when they feel hurt?

No.

To blend in, Pete would always keep his head down, and his mouth shut. Hopefully, people would forget he was even there. When he was younger, the school bullies quickly cottoned on and took advantage of it.

It doesn't matter what they would say or do, he wouldn't speak up, he couldn't.

This would've strictly been after he manifested though, so about 14-15. Before that, he was still a quiet, shy child, and if he got/felt hurt, he would've scampered off to his ma.

Not anymore >:3c

~*~

36 - Where do they feel most comfortable?

After his trauma, Pete feels most comfortable in small, dim, sheltered areas that are quiet. Under his bed is the prime example. I feel like he did this as a very young kid during massive storms, I'm thinking maybe <7, and both his original parents and Kate found it kinda sad but also endearing. They'd all take him out, tuck him back into bed, and stay with him.

He does that to this very day, (yes, the bed is tall enough to fit him lmfao), except no one can really get to him. Certainly not Kate, he'd go deeper under and bawl if she ever tried. Currently, only Timmy's capable of coaxing him out with food and his empathic abilities.

In general though, Pete prefers to be indoors in not-crowded places, like small cafes or restaurants, both for the food, and the shelter from the weather.

Later on, he also feels most comfortable at Timmy's side, holding on to his arm ^-^ <3

[buckys-other-punk]

 Merciless

Pairing: Asshole Ex-Boyfriend!Chris Evans x Reader

Request: Could I have a part 2 to Insensitive were the reader comes back and she’s a bad bleep?

Summary: A couple months after their breakup, Y/N has changed since the last time Chris saw her. 

Word Count: 1.3K

Warnings: mentions of previous cheating, alcohol, cussing, mentions of sex, and badass reader aka justice lol I don't know 

A/N: Hello! Thank you @vanillabqrnes​ for the request apologies for this taking forever and I hope you like this! Also sorry to those who follow me, I promised to write more and that didn’t happen, but here’s something lol. Whenever I wanna write I open my computer and then bam writers block. Also please don’t mind any minor mistakes this is unedited. Anyways hope you enjoy and I’ll meet with you at the end of the fic ; ) 

Previous Part

It had been six months since your breakup with Chris and honestly you were doing great. I mean at first after all the rage you remembered the good memories from your relationship. While recalling those “good”memories you realized that four months prior to you finding out he cheated that he had been acting strange and distant. But you’ve moved on and could care less about that asshat.

You quickly moved on and actually you’ve completely changed your mentality when it comes to relationships. You have started to become more comfortable with yourself and not let anyone walk over you. Your closest friends have noticed your change in demeanor and they love it. They have literally called you a badass heartbreaker, solely because you have turned down almost every guy who reminded you of your asshole ex-boyfriend.

With your new look and attitude you were able to find the perfect match for you. You met your boyfriend, Henry *cough Henry Cavill cough*, at a party hosted by a mutual friend. The two of you were trying to avoid the crowd which didn’t help since the two of you were seated at the bar. You both had people flock towards you offering to buy drinks, which you both rejected. The two of you noticed one another when a woman asked Henry for his number, he declined, then she started flirting with you. You shook your head and scoffed, turning her down as you stood from your seat. You walked closer to the man taking a seat right next to him. After that the two of you had a pleasant conversation about who had the most people to hit on them, you won, and then the rest is history.

Your new relationship was completely different from your previous one. Henry adores you, treating you way better than you know who ever did. Also lets just say the sex was clearly better and you learned new things about yourself with your boyfriend. You never really got to explore that side of you when you were with Chris. He would be the one to take charge and never let you try something new.

Anyways you and Henry were actually going to lunch at one of your favorite fancy restaurants. Opting to sit near the open glass window you ordered your food. You didn’t give a fuck how these rich people were staring at you because you were wearing. You wore a long leather coat showing the right amount of cleavage and thigh high black boots. Henry wore a white button up shirt that clung to his muscles and dark blue dress pants. You laughed at a joke that Henry made, you glanced out the window and your eyes widened. Henry looked outside and he felt his blood start to boil.

*Chris’ POV*

After the break up the infamous Chris Evans was having a slightly rough time. He still didn’t understand what he did wrong. Then about a few months later Brittany, his second girlfriend while dating you, dumped Chris because she apparently found a better, richer man. Chris had been miserable in his house ever since. He thought about calling you after his break up with Brittany, but then he thought a grand gesture would be better. So he ordered the most expensive bouquet of roses and had them delivered to your house. 

A letter was immediately sent back saying that you had moved out of your small apartment, but the man who lived there kept the expensive flowers. Chris yelled out in frustration which startled his maid. She tried to comfort him telling him what he wanted to hear, that you would eventually come back to him, but deep down she knew that what she said was a lie. She knew about what her boss had been doing, but Chris offered to pay her to keep quiet.

Chris never stopped thinking about you. He would walk by your old apartment, sometimes even drunk. The man who lived there always saw him through his window feeling a bit bad for Chris, but assuming he probably deserved the heartbreak. As more months passed Chris decided that drinking would help numb the pain. It didn’t, drinking honestly made him think about you even more. Thoughts and images of you flooded his head and he didn’t know if he wanted them to stop or continue.

Chris decided that going out with other women would help, the break up messed his game. He would accidentally call his new girlfriends your name and some would stare at him with a blank face and the rest would ignore it. Eventually he found a woman who resembled you to the tee. The two of them were together for a while and Chris was kind for getting tired of her because she wasn’t you. He decided to go to a fancy restaurant to make reservations for their most elegant seating to break her heart. That’s when he saw you through the window with a man.

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

Henry looks back at you, “Is that?” You nodded your head and stood up from your seat. “Be nice.” he huffed as he remained in his seat unfolding the napkin on the table and placing it on his lap.

You stormed out of the restaurant stopping Chris from entering. Chris was shocked by how you dressed, he never saw you dress like that before. You saw Chris eye your entire body looking from your head to toes stopping at your chest.

“What do you want?” you harshly said crossing your arms over each other.

“Obviously, I’m here to make a reservation.” he snarkily replied. “How was I supposed to know you would be here?” 

“Bitch, I don’t know?!” you exclaimed. “It’s not like this is my favorite restaurant.”

“Again, how was I supposed to know that?” Chris angrily replied.

“Seriously?!” you huffed. “You’re still a dick you know that?”

“So what? You gonna teach me a lesson?” he flirtatiously said.

“God, you’re disgusting.” saying as you turned away from him.

“Wait,” he stopped you, grabbing your arm and pointing to the window, “who’s that you’re with?” 

Snatching your arm back from him. “That is my boyfriend, no begone.” you said shooing him away not caring about the people who were staring.

“Boyfriend? I bet he doesn’t treat you as well as I did.” he says c, crossing his arms. You slapped his face hard and shook your head.

“Oh, you're one to talk.” you yelled back at him. “You never changed, did you? You’re still an asshole prick that just wants a nice woman by his side to make him feel better about himself.”

“That’s not true!” he exclaimed.

“Oh really? Then tell me the real reason why you’re here?” you questioned looking at the man.

“As a matter of fact I’m taking my girlfriend here.” he replied with a smirk.

“Yeah, to break up with her?” you asked, shaking your head.

“How’d you know that?” He placed his hands on his hips.

“Because that’s what you did to the girl you dated before me, asshole.” you exclaimed.

“Well, why not after I break up with my current girl, you and I find a nice place to properly talk.” he smirked at you.

You walked closer to him and he smiled as he felt your chest against his. He looked down at your cleavage and back up to your face smiling even more. You put your hand on his shoulder smiling at him and that’s when you kneed him in the crotch.

“Go find someone else to feed your ego. I’m busy.” you said as you walked back to the restaurant and your boyfriend.

As you sat down on your seat, your boyfriend placed a kiss on your cheek. “Were you nice?” he asked, taking a sip of his wine.

“I tried to be.” you huffed as you looked out the window staring at your ex who laid on the ground in pain.

“Well, looks like I need to teach you some manners then.” he smirked.

“You sure do.” you smiled, winking back at him.

A/N: Ahhh hello!! How was that? I feel like this wasn’t my best but at the same time not bad. lol I literally have no clue how to write a bad bitch reader (because i ain’t one), but hopefully I did this request justice! Thank you for reading and lemme know what you though of this. Feedback is very much appreciated and lemme know if you wanna be tagged in my stuff!

Taglist:  @lostinthoughtsandfeelings​ @sebtheromanianprince​ @aquabrie @who-the-hell-is-sebastianstan​  @anbrax5553​ @wintersoldierissucharide​ @caplanbuckybarnes​ @miraclesoflove​ @kitkatd7​ @saiyanprincessswanie​ @fandomsandxfiles​ @hailmary-yramliah​ @coffeebooksandfandom​ @thefallenbibliophilequote​

^^please lemme know if you wanna be added/removed for future tags or dm me if I forgot you^^

[jobean12-blog]

Clueless

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader (college Bucky AU) 

Word Count: 1,634

Summary: You and Bucky are kind of friends and it takes a shitty night and some soul searching on your part to make a big realization...

Author’s Note: This is for the HBC’s @the-ss-horniest-book-club​ and the Surprise Drabble Challenge: Romcoms! This is such a fun idea and took me almost all week to figure out and decide on but I went with Clueless as my inspiration because it is definintely one of my favorites. So I used some dialouge straight out of the movie- so thank you to the writers, credit goes to them- and I kept the 90′s vibe but also updated a thing or two- hopefully it makes sense and works. Also, you can just imagine Bucky and the reader know each other in the same way Cher and Josh do in the movie- or whatever you want to think up- doesn’t really matter for this. And the reader is 18 and Bucky is maybe 19-20. Hope you enjoy and thank you all for reading! Much love always! ❤❤❤

Warnings: Lots of teasing and banter, sassy talk, flirting, soft touches, lingering glances and a good kiss (and some bad and awesome 90s references) LOL :)

As you walk down the sidewalk and search your bag for your phone you keep your eyes peeled on your dark surroundings, not wanting to draw attention but also not wanting to be taken by surprise. When your hand finally closes around your phone, you let out a breath and quickly dial the last person in the world you want to ask for help.

“Hello.” You pause at his slightly annoyed tone, pinching the bridge of your nose and smiling even though he can’t see it. “Hi Bucky. I was at a party and Brock offered to drive me home but then got too handsy and I told him no and he kicked me out of the car and left me out here all alone.” You can hear his breath hitch and the shuffling of sheets, “wait a second, hold on. Brock got handsy?! Are you ok? Where are you?”

“Downtown Brooklyn.” You suck your teeth and wait for him to unleash his frustration. “You owe me, you know that. Just find someplace to sit tight and be safe, I’ll be there as fast as I can.” With that he hangs up and you walk to the nearest gas station, standing outside the small mini mart next to the ice freezer. The fluorescent lights flicker every so often, creating an eerie atmosphere you can’t wait to get out of.

Bucky texts asking for your exact location and soon after you see his headlights pull into the station and he parks, rounding the car and rushing over to you. “Are you ok?” he asks, brushing his hand down the side of your face. “I’m fine, thank you for getting me. Can we go now?” He nods, looking you over once more before taking your hand and dragging you to the car.

He turns up the music and you make a face, earning a snicker from him. “What? You have a problem with oldies music?” Rolling your eyes, you sass back, “no Bucky, but I don’t know why you insist on making yourself seem like more of a bonehead than you already are.” He makes the music louder, completely ignoring your comment and singing along.

When you get home, you’re hungry and tired, quickly changing into less binding clothes and sitting next to Bucky on the couch. Taking some popcorn from the bowl you pop it in your mouth before snatching the remote from Bucky’s hand and changing the channel. “Hey, I was watching that.” You finish chewing and start brushing your hair, raising a brow his way, “I didn’t want to watch it. Don’t you watch anything other than the news?”

Bucky scoffs, looking to the TV then back to you. “I most certainly do, I just like to know what’s going on in the world, unlike you I don’t spend hours watching Parks and Rec.” Brushing your hair over your face you stick out your tongue, flipping your hair over and pinning it back. He throws a piece of popcorn at you, laughing when it sticks in your hair. You retaliate by taking your scrunchie and flinging it at his head, hitting him right in the ear.

“Look, I’m just curious. How many hours a day do you spend grooming yourself? He picks up the scrunchie and takes his short hair between his fingers, trying and failing miserably at putting it on. You lean over and brush your fingers through his hair not noticing how his eyes trail down your body and he takes a quiet inhale while you secure the scrunchie. “There you go,” you giggle. He pats the top of his head and shrugs, turning back to the TV.

The next day you find yourself feeling a bit down. Last night’s events catch up with you and you know the reason you had agreed to go home with Brock was out of loneliness. Brock’s advances were unwelcome, and he is the last person you want to date but as you think about at your friends, their happy relationships flourishing, you realize you want a boyfriend of your own. You couldn’t figure it out, what were you doing wrong? Were you just totally clueless?

Even after arriving home and trying to relax your mind was still occupied with thoughts from earlier and you barely heard Bucky when he walked outside to the pool. “Hey there, whatcha doin’?” You looked up, pulling your sunglass down your nose, “what the hell is on your face?” Bucky rubs his jaw and shuffles his feet. “I’m growing a goatee.” You stand and pinch his chin between your fingers, “Oh that’s good. You don’t want to be the last one at the coffee house without chin pubes.”

Walking away you feel him following you, rolling your eyes and letting the door shut in his face. “You know, you could try saying something nice for a change.” You whirl around, suddenly feeling shaky, “oh, so now I’m this awful person who isn’t nice! Can’t you take a joke?” He brushes past you and storms to the fridge, yelling, “you’re such a brat” before slamming it shut and walking out.

You’re left standing in the kitchen with an overwhelming sense of ickiness. Deciding a walk might do you some good you head outside and start down the street, no particular destination in mind. Even after you end up on 5th avenue and do some shopping you can’t shake the bad feeling. “Why should I care what Bucky thinks?” You say it out loud to no one while standing on a busy street corner, working over your thoughts.

“He listens to oldies music and he’s a hideous dancer, couldn’t take him anywhere. Wait a second. What am I stressing about? This is like, Bucky.” You’re so lost in your internal struggle that you don’t even realize you’ve walked into the street, a strong arm pulling you back at just the last moment, saving you from being run over by a cab. “Hey, watch where ya going girlie.” You suck in a breath and back up, stuttering “thank you,” as the man walks away shaking his head.

Once your breathing finally evens out the light goes on, “oh my god. I love Bucky. I majorly, totally, butt crazy in love with Bucky.” For the first time all day your head feels clear and you make your way back home. Seeing that you’re alone for the moment you head upstairs and change, hoping to have some peace for the rest of the evening so you can work through this newfound revelation.

Unfortunately, when you go to the kitchen for a snack Bucky appears to be in the same spot you left him earlier. “Hey,” you say quietly, shuffling around and opening all the cabinets. Now you don’t know how to act around him. Normally you would strut around him in your cutest outfits and send yourself flowers and chocolate, but you can’t do that stuff with Bucky. “What’s with you? You seem quiet.” Bucky’s question lays hanging in the thick air between you, your eyes wide as you search for an acceptable response.

He walks by, poking your as side as he passes and goes to sit on the couch. You bravely sit next to him, wringing your hands together and trying to think of what to say. He nudges your foot with his and you break into a smile, nudging his back until it becomes a game of footsie. He pulls the hair tie from the bottom of one of your braids, wrapping it around his thumb, “you look like pippy long stockings.”  

You turn to him and flick the brim of his hat, “and you look like Forest Gump.” His lips turn up slightly and he takes off his hat, running his hand over his hair. Without realizing it you start to take out your braids and comb your fingers through your hair to tousle it. Bucky’s gaze settles on your movements and he licks his lips, opening his mouth to say something but your phone rings.

You look at it but don’t pick up and he raises his brows, “not gonna answer? What if you miss out on something?” Giving his shoulder a shove, you let out a squeak when he grabs your wrist and pulls you closer. “I can’t believe you didn’t answer it. You must really like spending time with me. What brought on the change?” With his face only inches from yours it’s hard to concentrate but you manage to find your voice, “I always like hanging out with you.”

He shifts position so his hand cradles the back of your neck, “oh yea? And why is that?” Shrugging you say, “you’re funny…sometimes. And you have rescued me more than once…andddd…” He leans in a little closer, his breath fanning your cheek, “that’s it?” Your eyes drop to his lips, “well no, but what about you?”

His thumb gently caresses your jaw, “what about me what?” Your hand lands on his chest, fingers curling into this shirt, “why do you like hanging out with me?” His head tilts ever so slightly and his lashes lower when his nose brushes yours, “I never said I like hanging out with you.” Your hand tightens around his shirt and your lips touch in a barely there kiss, his words whispered in the small space left between, “I love hanging out with you.”

Heat rises from your stomach to your chest when Bucky’s lips press firmly to yours, the soft and warm touch making your heart skip a beat. By the time you realize it your hands are already in his hair and your legs are straddling his lap. Bucky deepens the kiss, stealing your breath, the smell of him hypnotic and the taste of him nearly silencing all other thoughts.

@aesthetical-bucky​ @auro-ora​ @bugsbucky​ @buckys-henley​ @book-dragon-13​ @buckys-broody-muffin​ @buckys-minty-breath​ @breezy1415​ @buckstaybucky​ @buckosawrus​ @chuuulip​ @eurynome827​ @hiddles-rose​ @hailmary-yramliah​ @hawksmagnolia​ @ikaris-whore​ @itsunclebucky​ @jhangelface0523​ @jewels2876​ @loricameback​ @lorilane33​ @littledarlinhavefaithinme​ @littleredstarfish​ @lokilvrr​ @mushyjellybeans​ @marvelandotherfandomimagines​ @marvelgirl7​ @nano--raptor​ @pinkdiamond1016​ @randomfandompenguin​ @sallycanwait68​ @softpeachbarnes​ @tuiccim​ @the-wayward-robot​ @this-kitten-is-smitten​ @yansi1923​

[rowanaelinn]

500 words or less ask game: the bit from the end of MMWSY chapter 3 where aelin's drunk and rowan goes to pick her up and they've been fighting all of winter break but they have a *moment* in the car

I love that chapter so much!

This was very dear to my heart to write because Rowan and Aelin are both miserable, they are both falling into unhealthy ways to cope with their pain and they don’t care until they saw each other being destroyed

I wanted to show that while they fought they still cared for each other deeply, and that whatever happened between them they would still drop everything for each other

I wrote that chapter while still planning on making Lyria and Rowan really date (that fake dating thing came to my mind like a day before I posted chapter 4 lol) and so it was all so angsty because his girlfriend was home with him but he still went for Aelin with no questions asked, asked her if she wanted to spend the night at his home…

And then Aelin told him how she felt, that she was losing her best friend (lol) and it made her want to die, and for me that’s when Rowan realized that things were really wrong for her, and that it wasn’t just his jealousy at seeing her with other men speaking when he believed he should be worried about how she lived her life

The smut was because I’m a whore and also because their need for each other was stronger than anything, they couldn’t wait for Aelin to sober up because their emotions would have changed, and maybe it’s the first time they were really honest with each other without even speaking.

Then Rowan got cold and it’s mostly because he thought he was participating in her unhealthy way to cope in the same way Sam did, and Rowan hated himself for this. His dad had a cancer, his best friend was falling apart, he was falling into an addiction… It was too much, and his first reflex was to stay away because Aelin made him feel too much

Aelin didn’t chase after him because the possibility of being rejected would have been too much. She wasn’t aware of her problem yet, but she knew that if Rowan disappeared from her life then she wouldn’t survive it, so she took the fights and anger over ignorance

You reminded me how much i loved this story!! i miss writing it so much, and hopefully this commentary was interesting ahah

[partnersatfazbear]

A Willry sketch and some updates

I still have to make a small write up about FNAF: Fury’s Rage, but most of it are just easter eggs / callbacks. I was excited to see a PizzaSim level. There is an unsurprising lack of Henry :(

I have NOT seen the 3 Star secret stuff yet! I’m waiting for Dawko or FuzionZ to upload them.

In the meantime, I had a rather relaxing day for the most part and it’s supposed to rain tonight (my state is in an ‘unusual level of drought’) and rain makes me really happy. As you can image as my state also approaches 120% humidity and 90 degrees (Fahrenheit) I am beginning to get a bit of depression. Most people get depressed around the holidays. Me? After tornado season is more or less over, summer hits with these horrible temps, higher cooling bills, and loud children at the complex pool--I will be miserable.

My entire point of that rant/warning was to give you guys a quick Willry sketch. William has fallen asleep in his work clothes with a book on his face. Henry probably just finished nightly routine and settled down. =:3

I am treating my game like my full-time job [and for now, it is] so despite inspiration I don’t have time [for anything else]. Hopefully this changes come October.

Oh I almost forgot. Since my wife has her own Animal Crossing file, I started a character on her town. Since my other one is William-esque [with the town as all the games levels] I decided I’ll make Henry a quaint retreat on my wife’s island, on the beach, biding his time until PizzaSim happens... lol

[having-a-hyperfixate]

The Final Day’‘

This is absolutely going to be long and rambley af so I’mma just put a cut here. This is just one massive post for the entire rest of the game.

Rindo is back in the RG somehow. Which makes less than no sense. What was that crazy beam. Shibuya is GONE there isn’t an RG to send him back to, even if someone did want to send him back?

That beam reminded me of the Jesus beams not gonna lie.

But… Fret. Presumably Nagi and Beat too. They’re. Gone. Poor Rindo… That’s the worst kind of gaslighting. Reality itself is gaslighting this poor kid. ‘Your best friend in the world is gone, so gone that no one remembers him. You don’t even get to mourn properly because there is no one TO mourn.’  I am also not okay.

I assume this random talking to us at Hachiko is the dude I saw a brief glimpse of in a screenshot from the final trailer. Hazuki Mikagi, okay. Everything about this is supremely weird. 

Leading this weirdo around and he asked how we feel about emotions? Um, what?

Was he responsible for that beam of light?

This whole thing is extremely unsettling, I don’t think I like it. The music is all… serene, this guy keeps asking existential questions, who even comes up to some kid clearly having a bad day and demands a tour of the city.

He knows Rindo’s name even though we never told him. Not sure if that was a slip or an intentional nudge that Something is going on but there we go.

‘I should take this chance to apologize for Kubo. He’s a real piece of work.’ WHAT. YOU SEND HIM TO SHINJUKU?!?! IS THIS KID GOD!? WHAT!??!

‘Exorcised’. Like a demon. Which is a psychic rank you can get in the first game, and probably this game, ergo, a thing that exists in this universe.

Okay. So this Hazuki guy is Something Else. I dunno if he’s an Angel or higher or WHAT. He’s something. And he “exorcised” what Fuckwad had Fallen to when he decided not to stop at Shinjuku and continue on to Shibuya. But he only did this after Rindo faught so hard to stop it. And then he gave Rindo what he thought Rindo wanted. And now he’s here trying to understand why Rindo is miserable. Which to us, as humans, is obvious: the people he loved, the connections and family he had made through the game are all gone and worse, no one remembers they ever existed.

And now he’s being offered the chance to try again. This feels like a double edged sword. And I don’t care.

Okay I actually kind of appreciate the thing Hazuki is pulling here. He knows what it is that Rindo wants, I’m pretty sure he’s listening to his thoughts, actually, and in order to make Rindo own up to it he’s arguing the ‘no’ position. Giving Rindo someone to argue against so he can convince himself.

WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAPPEN AT UDAGAWA.

Bruh some of these clips were in the announcement trailer.

(I can’t wait to read the secret reports. That’s gonna be a wild ride.)

Oooooh that’s what ‘exorcised’ means. That is hardcore. He definitely deserved it but that is uh. Slightly inconvenient.

Can we actually contact Rhyme this time PLEASE. Oooh Rindo worked out Kaie is waiting for Rhyme. :O I’M FINALLY GONNA GET MY MASSIVE COUNTER OFFENSIVE FUCK YES. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I’M PUMPED LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOO!!!!

Who’s gonna protect them. Beat. Really. Just give them the damn pins at this point. They both know their ways around a fight and Kaie might need the backup. If we lose, we’re all toast regardless, and if we win everyone gets put back where they belong.

AAAAAAAAAAAH SHE’S HERE!!! RHYME!!!! Aw… She can’t see Neku and Shoka cuz they’re actually dead. That’s really depressing. Makes sense but like. Oof. Especially for Neku.

I love that Rhyme still has a saying for everything.

This timeline is going to be a mess by the time I get everything positioned correctly lmao

Beat’s ‘How do you know about my sister?! Right, future.’ is never going to NOT be funny. It’s very refreshing to have a time travel plot where people just listen when he tells them shit needs to happen.

Is it acutaly Shiki time ohh my god. I might cry. Please tell me she has a face now. If her face is still illegal I will actually scream.

I’m offended. We didn’t get to go see Shiki. The betrayal. OH but now we might be? Stop playing with me, game. GIVE. ME. SHIKI.

Rindo was freaking out that we weren’t gonna be able to get rid of all the Noise around the café and I definitely threw my hands up and yelled when I saw the word ‘zeptogram’. And I read it before he said it, cuz I read v. fast. Nice to see you again, idiot. Please don’t go berserk again.

I am. Very impressed that Minamimoto managed to work out where the Dissonance Noise are coming from, down to the exact energy source that creates them. He nailed it. Well done sir.

I think… he’s proposing we awaken the city and use the energy generated by the thoughts and emotions of the living people to neutralize some of the Dissonance Noise that are waiting in the pin. Erode some of its power.

“How about this: I’ll talk, you type.” Lmao.

I got denied Shiki again. Part of me is annoyed. The other part of me is like ‘are they saving her entrance for when she can see Neku again properly because I can live with that’.

OH the Hishima cutscene is voiced now OKAY. Guess that means this is the one. Rhyme is voiced too. This is gonna be it.

And she speaks Minamioto. Coo.

Huh. Neku’s power is to sync with people. Which he learned to do in the first game. From Mr H, with the harmonizer pin. (Twister is playing and I have Emotions help) And now he’s gonna do it on an absolutely MASSIVE scale. This is insane. I am 1,000% here for it. Sync, Dive, Remind. And if I had to guess, we’re doing this atop 104.

Alright Shiba. ‘Mere. Tsugumi’s eyes aren’t all freaky anymore yay. Oh snap. He’s gonna unleash the Plague Noise against the Dissonance ones. Nice. Turnabout is fair play. I’m kinda sad Fuckwad isn’t here to witness that.

Alright. Change. Our. Fate.

SHIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I gave myself a headache ow.

“07734.” “Ew. Hey! Don’t just spout off numbers and walk away, you jerk!” That was amazing.

FUCK ME SIDEWAYS. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. NO. NO WAY. I DIDN’T THINK THERE WAS ANY WAY. OH. MY. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. This is the first time Neku’s seen him since Joshua failed to stop Coco from killing him. I’m. A puddle. Help. Neku looked so happy. My cat is slightly concerned haha.

Neku still holds his hands like he’s got the headphones. The same pose as in the first game when you scan. This gives me all the feels.

“They’re just mindless thoughts” Okay so I’m mentally exhausted at this point and I processed that as ‘thots’ and it was hilarious. BEGONE THOTS.

Okay this thing right here? This is a final boss. And it is cool as fuck. Too bad it’s trying to END ME. So cool. SO. COOL. Here comes phase 2 lol. I died and had to redo it. FML.

That. Was awesome. A worthy successor to the epic final strike of the first game. 999% eh?

I continue to not like Shinjuku rules. Once you’re a Reaper, leaving means you get erased once the game ends? Disrespectfully, fuck that. Oh don’t you dare, Shoka. Don’t. You. Dare.

Oh, Joshua is here. PLEASE. Lmao Shoka’s reaction. I’m sure he appreciates that, the drama queen.

*facepalms* Joshua strikes again. I’ve missed you, you little shit. You are terrible, but I missed you. Rindo, I’m pretty sure she’s fine. I think captain helpful over here reincarnated her for you. Since you saved him and his city. I guess I’ll see though.

Uzuki and Kariya continue to be adorable. I love them. And yeah, good luck calling in that debt from Minamimoto, Coco. Gooooood luck.

I’m having a lot of Joshua centered emotions right now there is too much Joshua all at once help. “I should have known I could trust you.” You are killing me dude. You really, really should have. I’m going to turn that line over in my head for way too long, I just know it, but let’s try to get through this before my brain turns off completely. “Let’s not keep her waiting.” OKAY THANKS I’M GONNA CRY AGAIN.

What Hazuki was saying about ‘purifying’ as opposed to ‘destroying’ Shinjuku makes me think that restarting it in some form was always part of the plan, so hopefully they’ll have luck with that. It’s still profoundly fucked up that any of that happened, and even more so that it was sanctioned. I’m. Going to be hung up on that for a while once it sinks in.

This poor idiot hitting on Rhyme is about to get got oh no XD

Shiki is breaking my heart. Aaaaaaaah!!! Reunioooooon.

Ooof it’s been a month since Rindo saw Shoka. Big oof. Joshuaaaaaa.

And then they almost got hit by a car lmao. OMG HE MISSED HER FRIEND REQUESTS AHAHAHAHAH YOU GOOBER. Neku really should have warned them that Joshua is Like That lol. Even when he’s being helpful it’s in the must backhanded way possible.

I would very much like to know why on earth Shinjuku needed to be obliterated though. Like. Does that… Happen often? Maybe the secret reports say.

Speaking of, time to get those, along with the rest of the trophies.

!!!! The title screen updated, NICE. Can’t let anyone who hasn’t beaten it see that but NICE.

There’s another Another Day. Oh boy. I am not ready for that madness yet.

Random thought as I was moving this from word, where I typed it: I’m really, really fucking glad they didn’t decide to deal with Mr H the way they dealt with sleezy mcfuckwad. That would have been… I don’t have a word.

[aetm-malereaderimagines]

Hey! How about a male reader scenario where the reader has an intense crush on Sawamura Daichi and finally confesses to him ( after a LOT of struggling) only to find out Daichi was also about to confess to him on the same day. Also i love your effort to make male reader scenarios. It really makes it easy for queer males to also have the same experience as straight female fans. Keep it up!!

Firstof all, thank you for your request! Second of all, duh XD I’m a gayguy myself so ofc I write gay fanfiction! Mymain reason to start this blog was actually my frustration caused bybeing unable to find decent HQ!! reader inserts where the reader islegitimately gender-neutral. Yes, even gender-neutral. There are some nicemale reader inserts out there but they’re few and far between.So I usually end up looking for gender-neutral insterts, headcanons, and scenarios but… Some of them areblatantly meant for female readers. Some of them claim to be gender-neutral but you can clearly see they’re actually not or just employ male and female gender stereotypes I’m definitely not comfortable with. And some ofthem are female reader inserts that are tagged as x male reader… SoI decided to say “fuck it” and create some content myself that myfellow queer readers can actually enjoy! LGBT people are alreadydenied the same experience regarding love and sexuality that straight people get so if I can somehow contribute to making this world ofours a little less fucked up for my fellow queer folks, that’s all I could ever wish for!

Okay, but enough of myinconsistent rambling and let’s get into the actual scenario!Although I probably have a crush on every and each HQ!! character(well, maybe except some of the older guys lol), Daichi is actuallyone of those I’d probably consider the best boyfriend material soI’m really glad you requested a scenario for him! Justfyi, I made the readerKarasuno’s 2ndyear manager so that Ihave something to start from, hopefully you don’t mind. Ireally hope you’ll like it! enjoy!

Also let me apologize that it took me so long to write this but for some reason, I’ve been feeling utterly uninspired lately :/ It took the first episode of S4 and a volleyball match I watched yesterday for me to finally get some inspiration to finish this scenario XD

Pairing: Sawamura Daichi x Male Reader

Word count: 1659

告り告られ — A Double Confession

“Oh come on, just confess tohim!”

“You know I can’t!”

“You can and you will!”Yachi’s eyes bored into you and you turned your gaze away, feelingas though those two goldenorbs were penetrating your very soul. “Why do you have to make itharder than it actually is? You like him, you confess, you gettogether. Simple!”

“Like hell it would go thatsmoothly,” you scoffed. “I don’t even know if he’s gay.”

“Oh come on, have you not seenhow close he is with Sugawara-san?”

“But that’s precisely theproblem!” You looked Yachi in the eye confrontingly. “If he’snot gay, I don’t even have a chance, and even if he is, I stilldon’t have a chance since he’s probably already inlove with Suga-san.”

“…you will confess to himeventually anyways,” Yachi cut the conversation, pouting.

You looked away. You knew she wasright. You were going to confess to him eventually. It’s just… Itwas so fucking hard to work up the courage. You’dhad a crush on Daichi since your first year, since a while afteryou’djoined the volleyball club.

Atfirst, it was all fun and games. Youjoined the club simply because you liked volleyball but getting towatch pretty boys get all worked up and sweaty while playing was anice bonus for you. Once you realized you liked Daichi, it got evenmore fun… for a while. Howmany people could say they get to see their crash shirtless on adaily basis?

But the longer you watched, thecloser you got to him, the more painful it got. Daichicould look scary at first, especially during practice sessions whenhe had to rein in first and second years, but asalways, appearances couldbe deceptive. Youmanaged to befriend him, also getting closer with Suga and Asahi inthe process, but soon yourealized that being just friends was hardly enough for you. Youstill couldn’t forget that one time when Daichi said you were “likea younger brother to him” and how much it hurt.

“All right!”

What snapped you out of yourcontemplation was Daichi’s voice. Whileyou were bickering with Yachi standing on the side of the court, theboys were actually training. Shimizu was in charge of taking notestoday so you and Yachi didn’t have much to do at the moment.

You turnedyour eyes in the direction Daichi’svoice had come from. Andthere he was, looking asgood as always, with that damn smile of his he always had on his faceafter a good receive, just a few feet away from you.

So close yet so far.

It was the day. It was the dayyou were going to confess to Daichi.

It had been a month since yourargument with Yachi. Over the last 30 daysand even more late-night phone calls with Yachi, you decided toconfess your feelings to Daichi. Even if he didn’t like you back,you wanted him to know what you feel. The days were growing longerand Spring High wasgetting closer and closer. Regardless of whether you won or lost, thethird-years were going to quit the club once the tournament was over.And once that happened,you were bound to grow more distant with Daichi, let alone having achance to confess to him. If you were going to do it, you had to doit now.

The morning sun was shininggently upon you as you walked through the schoolyard withyour heart pounding in your chest andyou still had like half a day to go before the actual confession. Youreally hoped your teachers wouldn’t quiz you today. You’dprobably fail it miserably since you couldn’t focus on anythingelse but the dreadful perspective of what was going to happen thisevening.

Yourplan was simple. You were going to take alittle longer cleaningup after practice so that you end up staying alone in the storageroom. Then, Yachi was going to “notice” that you’re missing andask Daichi to go and look for you because she had “somethingimportant to talk to you about.” If everything went smoothly, youwere going to end up alone with Daichi in the storage room. That wasgoing to be your chance.

When you were going overthe plan in your head walking down the hallway, your phone rang. Youpulled your phone out of your bag to find out you had a new text fromYachi.

“I’m sorry m(_ _)m”

You tilted your head. That wasall she wrote.

“What do you mean?” youtexted back as you entered your classroom.

You spent the first periodstressing over Yachi’s message. Whatever she was sorry about, itwas bound to be nothing good.

Turnedout Yachiwas sick.

Accordingto Yachi herself, he had suddenly felt really unwell last night whichhadturned out to beonly the beginning of a long, feverish night. Whenher mom had taken her to the doctor this morning, she’d beendiagnosed with a bad case of influenza. Shewould probably be staying at home for at least a week.

Yourplan was ruined, which of course made you very upset… but somewheredeep in your heart, you also felt kind of relieved that the momentyou were going to confess to Daichi was put off by at least a week,and you hated yourself for it.

Youlet out a deep sigh as you leaned against a mop you held in yourhands. Youended up being the last one left in the gym anyways, no matter yourplan. You’dlied to Shimizu and the guys about needing to clean up the storageroom—you needed some time foryourself.

“Needsome help?”

Youturned your face up to find the source of the voice only to be facesby Daichi leaning against the door frame, looking at you.

You gulped.

You didn’t even need your planto be left alone with Daichi.

If this wasn’t the heavenstelling you it was high time you’d confessed then what was.

“Yeah,actually, I’m really glad you’re here,” you said, lookingstraight at Daichi. “There’s something I need to tell you.” Yougulped. “I like you.”

Youfinally said it.

Daichi stood in front of yousilently, as though processing what you had just said, and you justwaited. You weren’t going anywhere until you got an answer,especially given that Daichi was standing in the doorway, blockingyour way. You had quite a spectacle to watch anyways.

Thefirst few seconds, Daichi’s face just… froze, as he stared at youunblinkingly. Then came a slight blush which gradually turned moreand more red eventually taking on the color of an especially ripebeet. Hecovered hismouth with both of his hands, as though he was in an utter shock.Which he probably was. It took him like half a minute to calm down.Once his blush subsided a little bit, he lowered his hands andfinally let himself blink.

“I… I like you, too,” hesaid quietly, turning his eyes away from you.

“No, I don’t mean it likethat.” You smiled sadly. “I mean it, like, in a romantic way.”

“That’s what I mean, too.”

This time it was you that foundyourself shook to the bone.

“What…wait, what?!”

“I actually came here toconfess to you,” Daichi explained, his blush growing brighteragain. “Shimizu told me you’d said you’d stay in the gym alittle longer and everyone else has already left so I thought it wasmy chance…”

You stared at each otherwordlessly for a few seconds. You were the one to start laughing.

“Whatthe hell is this?! Whathave I even been worried about this past year?!”

“Iknow, right?” Daichi giggled as well. “Wait,you’ve had a crush on me fora yearalready?!”

“Over a year, I’d say,” youresponded. “You?”

“You beat me on that one.”Daichi’s smile was really the most beautiful thing you’d everseen. “I’d say since the previous Spring High? You remember howyou cheered me up after we lost? That’s when I realized.”

“Isee.” You couldn’t stop grinning. “So I guess we’reboyfriends now?”

“I guess so.” Daichi grabbedyour hand and pulled you toward the door. “Let’s go hometogether.

“That’s so amazing!!!!!!I’m so happy for you two!!!!!!!!! And I’m so so sorry I couldn’thelp you today T_T”

You smiled at your phone. Yachiwas really the sweetest.

“If you hadn’t supportedme this whole time, I wouldn’t have confessed to him in the firstplace!”

“Sorry you had to wait.”

You put your phone back into yourpocket as you turned your eyes to Daichi. He had to grab hiss stufffrom the club room and you’d been waiting for him downstairs.

“No problem,” you responded,readjusting the strap of your bag on your shoulder. “Shall we gothen?”

“Let’s.”

You walked down the streetleading up to the school. You were talking and laughing, enjoyingeach other’s presence. It was late and there was nobody around.Daichi grabbed your hand and you squeezed it back.

“Hey,” Daichi started, hisvoice sounding a little anxious. “Don’t you wanna come over? Myparents are at home but I’m sure my mom will be happy to have youover for dinner. We could watch some movies or something.”

“Sure thing,” you respondedwith a smile. “I’d love that.”

Daichi smiled at you again andyou couldn’t hold yourself back any longer. You leaned in placing agentle kiss on his lips.

A clap of distant thunder rumbled throughthe skies. You couldn’t know that yet but it was just the beginningof a thunderstorm that was going to force you to stay the night atDaichi’s house.

Not that you minded.

[humanlighthouse]

Opening Lines! :)

Rules: List the first lines of your last 8 stories (if you have less than 8, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 authors!

 @jockvillagersonly @cross-d-a and @foxofninetales all tagged me in this and I am so grateful?? Thanks guys?? I love you all so much???

(/▽＼*)｡o○♡

I have so very few fics compared to some of you and some of these are OLD so be indulgent ToT first four are DMBJ, one is for the Untamed, one for Anne with an E, one for Blacklist, and one for Edgar Allan Poe’s Murder Mystery Dinner Party (which you should all go watch right this instant btw). I’m also gonna cheat a little heavily and sometimes extend the definition of “first line” to first few lines aright :/

 1. (On fire from within) the moon in the lining of your skin [PangXie pwp/dick therapy 5+1, 2/6]

Among the many things Wu Xie was learning to grieve in advance Wushanju wasn’t the least, but losing his house didn’t leave him without a home.

 2. In the fell clutch of circumstance [PingXie fluff, oneshot]

Their first night alone in Wushanju saw the Iron Triangle drinking heavily, from relief and for future good luck. It was over, and hopefully never to happen again.

 3. And sleep my senses in forgetfulness [PingXie fluff and smut, complete]

Of course, there had been no warning. This was not how defense mechanisms worked after all.

 4. Feline, fearless, faithful and true [PingXie fluff and smut, complete]

“Tianzhen, why the fuck are you trying to shave that cat?”

 5. From a single seed the world was sown [SongXiao angst, eventual comfort but on hiatus]

Song Lan left Yi City with a slight bend to his gait, Shuanghua an unusual weight on his back. More than the shape of it, it was the sword’s stillness that made his body recoil, pulling left as if he could escape it somehow.

 6. A world where it's always June [AnnexGilbert, pure fluff, almost complete]

Gilbert had meant to come home for spring.

 7. One Crisis At A Time [Lizzington sex pollen AU, pure smut, oneshot]

Summer was hot, humid, and miserable in Washington.

 8. There are forces in the world and beyond the world [LenorexHG soulmate AU, hurt/comfort, complete]

Most people had their marks deciphered by their early twenties. It’s common knowledge that you’re more likely than not to have met your soulmate before you even come of age, but Lenore’s twenty-fifth birthday was inching closer with each passing day and yet for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what the signs meant.

 Patterns I Noticed: I cannot write opening lines for shit : ) at least not as a single sentence, I tend to write two opposing ones or a short opening paragraph followed by one punch line? One of my current wips starts with: 

“The man on the ground is unconscious, a sword clutched to his chest, devastatingly beautiful despite the state he's in, and Wu Xie has the sudden urge to kiss him awake. 

He doesn't.” 

which I think is fairly typical for me? so this opening lines game came for my ass lol

Things I’d Like To Work On: Writing more in general? I had so few fics to choose from that this was harder than I expected

My Favorites: Definitely number 4! It was my first fic for DMBJ and that one sentence is what the whole idea started from. Just… the insanity of it. I still love it so much. WX has Problems and we love him for this

 As usual I am The Worst at tagging people so feel free to drop into the game if you want to ( ˘⌣˘)♡(˘⌣˘ )

[channelmono]

I dunno if I have a lot to say, but I figured that give how many people follow me, I wanna share some tips on preserving mental health during these chaotic times

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed my last story QA, which was a bit of a survey just to see how some of you lovely monitors are feeling, because I know the world in general has been stressed lately for obvious reasons. The elephant in the room is that we as individuals are all walking a tightrope of staying up-to-date about the future and how to maintain our physical health while also trying to preserve a sense of productivity and activity to sustain our mental health, the latter of which I’m noticing being especially strenuous for many of you, likely because this prolonged period of uncertainty and anxiety is highly unfamiliar. I want to disclaim right away: I am not a doctor, I am not a psychologist trained in extensive therapy who knows how to guide each and every one of you to your healthiest behaviors. However, I still wish to still help you with some advice. I do wish to see you as my friends, and as my friends, I want to ensure that you are happy and healthy. I already have a history of self-isolation, and without getting too in-depth of the exact details, this involuntarily hermit-like lifestyle we’re all being encouraged to ascribe to has been my way of living for the past several years (the involuntary-ness included). I’ve become much more acclimated to not just being alone, but stuck in a place of residence with little directive or seeming control of my own future, with a long history of trying to discern of not just what to do with my life in general, but just getting through the day-to-day. I want to discuss that day-to-day, because the month(s) away we have from returning to a normal world again is still comprised of many, many days, and if I can’t come up with a surefire long-term plan for how to deal with a future we are all in unfamiliar territory of dealing with, I can at least suggest a few low-cost stepping stones to helping you take in each day a lot easier, and hopefully help lift a bit of the collective burden over however long we may be like this. 1) DON'T LET YOURSELF GIVE UP. I feel like this is a bit of an obvious tip that might come across as “are you feeling sad? Just be happy!”, but hear me out. One of the biggest sources of human (or human-equivalent) stress is the feeling that one has no control over their life. The period where I fussed incredibly hard about the fate of my future as I was first condemned was one of the darkest, most exhausting parts of my life, as were all the times I had done before. It wasn’t merely that I was so ashamed of my failures, but it was the fact that I’d constantly and semi-consciously associate it with my entire being, to the point where I couldn’t make a casual joke in a non-depressed context that didn’t end with a side remark of how I wanted to die (now that I explained it without context… yikes.) Eventually, there was a eureka moment for me where I had enough of being tired. I’m not sure exactly what triggered it -- perhaps it was just dealing with the banality of the isolation, perhaps it was just me thinking more about how I mentally hurt myself and what I could do to stop, perhaps it was me simply deciding to find professional psychological help for it -- but whatever the case, I realized that even if the world could do bad things to me, I wanted to stop doing things that would hurt myself, as not only was being good to myself the least that I could do, but it also helped me forge a modicum of very real power for my self-esteem, giving that first boost to kickstart my life again (in part by starting this channel and making new online friends!) This wasn’t a solution to get rid of all my outside problems, but rather a means to help accept that things would be tough, but I could still live with them. Challenges will need to be faced, and there will be failures because that’s how life can be sometimes, but it also helped me better comprehend that there will also be victories, because that’s ALSO how life can be sometimes! I can’t say for sure how each and every one of you will be able to help yourself realize that negativity, hopelessness, and cynicism are not the only means to approach an uncertain and stressful future. Perhaps you already realized it! Perhaps you were in the process of realizing it but the articulation of my journey may give some guidance. Perhaps you still need some more time and thought to think about it. But whichever way, I implore you to consider that this future is not solely one to be defeated by, but one which you can fight to be happy in… and win. 2) GIVE YOURSELF A DAILY RHYTHM. One of the biggest things I see people complaining about is how without their usual daily schedule with work or school, their mental acuity is going haywire and it’s difficult to get things done. There are many reasons for why our brains are reacting to the situation the way they do: a bunch of collective trauma surrounding the pandemic putting our brains on edge for what to expect next, stress making us unable to register complex tasks, our inner survival instinct diverting away our ability to think about personal minutiae, etc. The human brain is a fickle thing doing its best to cope with the trauma it’s presented with, and first and foremost, it’s important to be patient with yourself. Going back to the “how to take on the day-to-day”, let’s talk about schedules. The truth is that many of us crave at least a mild semblance of structure and compartmentalization, and a big factor for why our minds are getting sloggy is because we’ve lost the ones we followed, mostly ones imposed onto us by our professions, and were wholly unprepared to figure out a compensation plan (as many of you students learning via Zoom conferences are aware). The practical trick I have to help remedy this is a pretty basic-on-paper one: seek out your own schedule. Speaking from my own experience, the daily grind into this miasma of a future becomes less cumbersome once you intuit what you actually define as “the daily grind”. This is not to say you need to become a rigid, Clock King-esque fanatic who plans every action by the minute, as simply understanding what you do and what you WANT to do will be of help. For me, I schedule my alarm clock to go off at 8:30. Every day I get up and make coffee or tea along with breakfast for myself and The Master. My current daily priorities are messy janitorial duties and Animal Crossing, while my personal hobbies that I’d reserve to my free time include filming content, playing video games, watching movies or Youtube, cooking, or going outside to jog. Every week or so, I go out for groceries. I do my best to go to bed and sleep before midnight. Of course, this is just MY schedule, but this is how rudimentary it can get while still giving me a sense of fulfillment when I do pass the time as I do accomplish my tasks. There are many ways to go about it, but really, one of the simplest ways to recognize them in your life is just write it out. Actually articulate it into just a really simple list that you have to transfer from mind onto paper/digital text. This is especially recommended if additional tasks or changes to your life occurs: write it down so you can remember everything! And allow yourself to do it! This is not to say you should be worrying constantly about how productive you are, as the goal is not to define yourself by how much you accomplish per day, but rather a way to give yourself that sorely needed daily rhythm we all miss, while allowing you to reward yourself when you hit your goals. And like every plan, it doesn’t need to be flawless -- there will be times where we need to relax and take a break. There might be emergencies to deal with. There may be times where things are so overwhelming where it’s like “Yknow what? I don’t wanna do anything today.” And that’s okay. On a related note: Something I’d like to place importance on with my schedule is my sleep. As someone who has experienced long periods of miserable exhaustion in my life, I cannot overstate just how important and cathartic a good, consistent sleep schedule is. I’m not joking: the night when I stopped being “insomniac” by going to bed tired but staying on my phone up until 2 AM, and instead actually went to bed at 11-ish, I woke up feeling the best I had in years. Exhaustion no longer felt like a necessary, expected burden. I felt legitimately well-rested, and discovering that I could freely feel things that weren’t depression was almost epiphanic (if that’s a word lol). I know that going to sleep and waking up on a consistent time of day might sound chore-like to many of you night owls, and there may be other concerns at play like actual insomnia, but I implore you to at least consider giving yourself a consistent nightly rhythm as well as your daily one. Being exhausted is an easy way to get stuck in your own head, and if you’re thinking dark thoughts and lack the energy to force yourself out, you can be in trouble. Don’t underdo or overdo it that you still feel like crap when you wake up. Be honest to yourself. Good sleep can be incredibly rewarding in ways that you might not even believe until you experience it for yourself.

[molsno]

I’m skipping the middleman on that trans ask game and just answering all the questions myself <3

this is long so it’s under a read more

1. How did you choose your name?

in senior year of high school, while I was in french class, I was thinking about the word vivre, to live, and how it conjugated. I forget what tense it is, but one way of conjugating it is “nous vivions”, and it dawned on me that the name vivian is based on the word vivre (or its latin origin). of course, I already liked the name due to the character from paper mario ttyd, but knowing that it means life really spoke to me, as I think the ability to live is a precious thing that shouldn’t be wasted. I decided pretty much then and there that I would name my daughter vivian some day. well... then I got the chance to play a character in my friend’s danganronpa killing game, and I thought playing a girl would be interesting. granted, I also already knew I was an egg and saw this as an opportunity to try out my favorite name, so I created vivian tamochi. as you might have guessed, I loved being her so much that I made vivian my actual name

2. What gives you the most dysphoria?

um, hearing recordings of my own voice probably. I always think that I sound very feminine but then I hear a recording of myself and it sounds like a bad impression

3. Do you have more physical dysphoria or more social dysphoria?

more social I guess? actually yeah I think all of the dysphoria-induced breakdowns I’ve had have been because of social things

4. What do you do to perform self-care when you’re feeling dysphoric?

something that helps a lot is shaving, especially when it’s a fullbody shave

5. What was the first time you suspected you were transgender?

this is a bit embarrassing but it was honestly christmas eve 2018. I saw my little cousin (I think she was 8 at the time) wearing a pretty dress and I felt sort of jealous that I never got to do that when I was her age. I was so confused about this feeling that I told my trans friend kyra about it and after asking me to clarify what I meant she linked me to the egg_irl subreddit. that was the first time I seriously considered it

6. When did you realize you were transgender?

I told my friend amanda how I’d been confused about my gender and she offered to take me to goodwill to try on some clothes. I was extremely nervous about it while we were there and I really had to work up the courage to not only pick out some clothes to try, but also take them to the fitting room with me. but once I put on a skirt for the first time I stood there for like a solid 5 minutes just looking at myself in the mirror with the biggest happiest smile on my face. in that moment I finally understood what gender euphoria was. I couldn’t deny I was trans any longer, it was just a matter of working up the courage to tell people

7. What is your favorite part of being transgender?

um, probably that I feel like a person now. also the little things, like seeing my hips get bigger or looking at how long my hair has gotten. just little things to smile about!

8. How would you explain your gender identity to others?

um, I’m girl <3

9. How did you come out? If you didn’t come out, why do you stay in the closet? Or what happened when you were outed?

I mean it depends on who, but I decided to do it on national coming out day 2019, in my discord server with friends. basically I commented on it being national coming out day and reposted my intro in the introductions channel with my new name and pronouns. everyone there sorta saw it coming I’m pretty sure

10. What have your experiences been with packing or tucking?

I’ve tucked a few times in public. it’s uncomfortable for sure, but not terrible once you get used to it. the idea of it made me squeamish at first, I’ll admit. but since I haven’t had much excuse to go out in girlmode the past year or so, I haven’t tucked much

11. What are your experiences with binding or wearing breast forms?

the closest I’ve ever gotten to wearing breast forms is wearing a bra every day for..... almost a year now? it doesn’t serve much purpose other than letting me feel something there, though that is changing since I’ve been on hrt for several months

12. Do you pass?

I mean... probably not? I feel like I’m very visibly trans. there have been like two times where I’ve been gendered correctly in public (one in girlmode, one not) but those are extremely rare

13. What (if any) steps do you want to take to medically transition?

well I’ve been on hrt for 8 months now so that’s one thing. I want to get laser hair removal for my facial hair because that’s one of the biggest sources of dysphoria for me, but yknow. that’s expensive! according to my understanding my insurance supposedly should cover bottom surgery, but I’m honestly in no rush to get that. I don’t really have much bottom dysphoria, but it would be nice to get surgery some day

14. How long have you been out?

it’s been about a year and two months now...... time flies

15. What labels have you used before you’ve settled on your current set?

up until I was like 17 I was incredibly insistent on being cis and straight despite very obvious (in retrospect) signs to the contrary. around 18 I was very confused why all my friends were lgbt in some form and also I kinda started realizing I don’t mind dick, and I thought it would all make sense if I was bi. I identified as cis and bi for like 4 years or so but the longer it went on the more wrong it felt considering I had never once during that time been attracted to a man

16. Have you ever experienced transphobia?

surprisingly not really? the most transphobia I’ve experienced has been a result of automated processes like proctored testing or emails. of course, I’ve seen all the nasty shit that terfs say about people like me, but I’ve never been a victim of it directly

17. What do you do when you have to go to the bathroom in public?

if there is a universal restroom that I can lock from inside then I use that. if not, I sigh dramatically and sadly use the men’s room

18. How does your family feel about your trans identity?

truthfully I don’t know. my mom seems accepting enough, but with the pandemic going on I haven’t talked to her much. I know my sister is aware, and shockingly she seems supportive too, but we haven’t talked about it in depth

19. Would you ever go stealth, and if you are stealth, why do you choose to be stealth?

if I could go stealth I would. I’m sorry but I don’t want to be visibly trans

20. What do you wish you could have shared with your younger self about being trans?

the sooner you start transitioning the happier you’ll be. by denying this part of yourself you’re just making yourself miserable

21. Why do you use the pronouns you use?

she/her makes me happiest. I’ve (against my will, mind you) used they/them and been called molsno in a group that I wasn’t out in, and..... it made me feel..... distant, I guess? it was better than he/him, but it felt much less personal

22. Do your neurodivergencies and/or disabilities affect your gender?

I mean...... yeah? as a trans lesbian it’s very easy for me to hate masculinity given how it’s instilled nothing but negative feelings in me literally my entire life, and being autistic makes it harder to understand how the things I say about gender negatively impact the people around me

23. What’s your biggest trans-related fear?

the fear that I may never be able to believe I can be loved as a woman, probably

24. What medical, social, or personal steps have you already taken to start your transition?

coming out nearly everywhere and getting on hrt!

25. What do you wish cis people understood?

I desperately wish cis people understood even the basics of trans issues. still to this day many cis people don’t even know the right terminology to use for trans people. they think “trans man” and “trans woman” mean the opposite of what they actually mean and that’s just so goddamn frustrating. many of them think transitioning is just bottom surgery and that’s it. like, they don’t know anything about hrt. cis people please educate yourselves on trans issues I’m begging you

26. What impact has being trans had on your life?

it’s affected many aspects of my life but I think the biggest one is that I feel like a person now. I always felt like a robot, or like someone putting on a performance before, but I feel like a human being now

27. What do you do to validate yourself?

ummm... not much really. I guess one thing that has helped is making my character astrid trans? because if I ever think something bad about myself I can stop myself and ask if I would think the same thing about her, and of course the answer is no.

28. How do you feel about trans representation in media?

it’s bad. trans women very rarely get any positive representation. like the only transfem characters that come to mind that I think were handled well were lily hoshikawa from zombieland saga and vivian from paper mario (although even that’s debatable given the english censorship about her gender and the way beldam abuses her in japanese). meanwhile nonbinary representation consists almost exclusively of aliens, shapeshifters, robots, etc. and trans men get literally nothing. like. trans representation is just so abysmal it’s not even funny

29. Who is your favorite trans celebrity?

umm....... I don’t really care about celebrities lol. if I were to answer this question it would be “oh yes I’ve heard of these people”

30. Who is the transgender person who has influenced you the most?

gosh, how could I ever decide? most of my friends are trans so it’s hard to say but if I had to answer.... my friends kyra and modeus were probably the most helpful when I was figuring myself out

31. How are you involved with the trans community, IRL or online?

mostly online

32. How do you see yourself identifying and presenting in 5 years?

I’ll almost certainly still be a woman, and hopefully my transition will have gone well enough that I’ll be able to pass

33. What trans issue are you most passionate about?

healthcare. the difficulty so many people face with getting access to trans healthcare is ridiculous and discriminatory. I’ve written essays for school about this topic and they were the easiest essays I’ve had to write because of how passionate I am about this

34. What advice would you give to other trans people, or what message would you like to share with them?

pick your head up queen/king/royal, your cat ears are falling down

35. How do you feel your gender interacts with your race, disability, class, weight, etc. from the perspective of intersectionality?

well I’m white, able bodied, average weight, and I’m about to get a degree in computer science, so I have a lot of privilege that other trans people don’t have. I fully recognize that. it breaks my heart that so many less privileged trans people, particularly trans women of color, are murdered and never even get the justice they deserve. I wish there was more I could do to stop it, but privileged as I am, I’m only one person. I want everyone to be aware of who the major victims of transphobia are. look out for black trans women especially, they need your protection and support most of all

36. What, if any, is the difference between your gender identity and your gender expression?

not much. I’m a woman with a very feminine gender expression, when I’m free to be. the biggest feminine thing that I don’t do is makeup, but that’s more due to dysphoria rather than a distaste for it

37. Do you feel more masculine, feminine, or neither?

feminine uwu

38. What is your sexual and romantic orientation, and what are your thoughts on it?

I am a lesbian and that is very epic of me. I love girls and seeing girls in love makes me happy and imagining myself as a girl in love with another girl makes me even happier

39. Is your ideal partner also trans, or do you not have a preference?

I always hate admitting this, but due to personal reasons, my ideal partner is cis. this is mostly because I very much want to have biological children, and that’s simply not possible with another trans woman. I wouldn’t rule out an afab nonbinary person entirely, it just really depends on how comfortable said person is with femininity and also how they feel about dating a lesbian. if not for my desire to have kids (which is not something I’m willing to compromise on since it has been my lifelong dream) I would have a lot more options. truth be told, cis women kind of scare me, and it would be so much easier to date someone who fundamentally understands what it’s like to be trans. but biology is cruel unfortunately

40. How did/do you manage waiting to transition?

it was incredibly difficult. thankfully, it didn’t last very long. I only had to wait about 6 months, and most of that time was spent waiting until I was able to bank sperm because I didn’t want to risk becoming permanently infertile after starting hrt

41. What is the place (blog, website, forum, IRL space) you get most of your info on being trans or on trans related things?

ngl...... reddit. the trans boards have many, many helpful resources for transfem people. I don’t really go there anymore but it was immensely helpful in the early stages

42. Do you interact with other trans people IRL?

I mean..... yeah, but not very much anymore on account of the pandemic. I made a few trans friends junior year of college and we still talk occasionally, but it’s been several months since I last saw them all

43. Are you involved in any trans-related activism?

not really 😔

44. Free space! Answer any question you want, or make up your own question to answer.

“Wow Vivi how come you’re so epic?”

I was born this way <3

[hermannsthumb]

ok trying this again lol hopefully tumblr doesn't eat my message but i saw where you reblogged that halloween prompts last night and wanted to request "strangers who hooked up at a party while in costume but tbh i might be in love with you so i’m gonna walk this earth looking for the right woodland nymph" for newmann. the thought of hermann dressed as a woodland nymph is CUTE!! thank you, maria

from list of halloween prompts here

HEHE this one took me a while bc i’ve been slammed with a cold the past few days thats made me want to do nothing but like. lie in bed. HERE YOU GO ENJOY

———————————————

“Sexy fairy, huh?” Newt says.

The dude leaning against the wall lowers his drink and frowns. “Pardon?”

“Shit,” Newt says. “Hang on. Sorry.” He pulls out his plastic fangs and works his jaw a few times, then settles right back into his most charming smile. “I said sexy fairy, huh?”

“Oh,” the dude says. He looks down at himself–the illfitting white tunic, the tacky fake vines glued to it, his sandals (socks with sandals, actually, wow)–and gives a self-conscious tug at the equally tacky flower crown atop his head. He’s a real hottie. Big brown eyes, dark eyelashes, cheekbones–definitely Newt’s type. He’s surprised that no one else dove in to chat him up first. “I think it’s meant to be a nymph, actually. I bought it at the costume shop on the way here.”

He’s all posh and English. Newt wasn’t expecting that, but he thinks he can dig it. He leers. “So the sexy is all you, then?”

The nymph’s frown only deepens. “What do you mean?”

“I mean–” Newt sighs. “I was calling you sexy.”

“Oh,” the nymph says again. “Er. Thank you.”

They slip into uncomfortable silence. (Way to go, Newt. Struck out already.) “Are you here alone?” Newt tries again.

It’s the wrong thing to ask: the nymph makes a face and takes a long sip of his drink. (Purple, with weird foam on top, probably whatever’s sitting in the punchbowl marked Witch’s Brew.) “Yes,” he says. “I came with my date, but he–ah–”

His eyes drift to a guy in a semi-matching costume on the dance floor, who’s currently bumping up against some hunk dressed as a sexy pirate.“Ditched you?” Newt says.

The nymph makes a non-committed sound. His hand tightens around the head of his cane (which he’s also wound fake vines around–Newt appreciates the creativity). “I didn’t want to dance,” he says, and then it’s his turn to sigh. “We only met a week ago, on some moronic–dating app my sister insisted I try. I should’ve known he’d…”

That won’t do; Newt was trying to get the guy’s number, not send him spiraling into moodiness. “Hey, I’m here alone, too,” Newt says. “All alone.” He doesn’t even know the host–it’s one of Tendo’s exes, he thinks, who he may or may not have gotten sushi with one time years ago but never bothered unfriending on Facebook.

“Mm,” the nymph says. He gives Newt a long once-over. Newt wishes that he’d planned better, and worn something a little sexier than just standard vampire. (Like sexy pirate; the guy the nymph’s date latched onto instead had the right idea.) As is, he’s probably only passably sexy: his pants are tight enough, and his shirt is open enough, and he has enough glitter in his hair (because it’s fun) to light up like a fucking disco ball in the light. “I suppose you’re going to ask me for my mobile number now. Or offer to get me a drink, despite the fact that I clearly already have one.”

Newt grins goofily. “That was the plan.”

He get another long, considering stare. Then the nymph sets his drink down and clasps his free hand around Newt’s wrist. “Follow me,” he says.

“Cool,” Newt says. “Uh, are we going to the kitchen? I think it’s–”

They’re not going to the kitchen: they’re going to an empty broom closet. Newt can appreciate a forward-thinking man who knows what he wants.

“You ought to know,” the nymph gasps, tangling his fingers in Newt’s hair, “I don’t really do these sorts of things.”

“Really?” Newt says. He grins up at him, face inches from the guy’s stupid tighty-whiteys. “’Cause I do. You want me to put my fangs back in?”

“No. Ah–!”

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

Newt wakes up with a hangover (predictable), his phone buzzing off the side table with his alarm (annoying), and the strangest sensation that he met the love of his life last night (unexpected). The sensation is only amplified when he picks up his phone and sees that he’s, apparently, sent no less than five texts to his dad about it (his fucking dad, of all people, Newt needs some friends), but it quickly turns to dread when he sees the mess that is his poor forearm.

(“I’ve got a spot right here,” Newt slurred. After mutually-reciprocated hijinks in the closet, he and the nymph–who had told him his name at one point, Newt was sure, he just totally forgot–proceeded to get totally smashed off whatever the fuck Witch’s Brew was and then make out in the corner until Newt finally reminded him that he still wanted his phone number. The nymph was game. He was less game when Newt showed him where to write it in bold black Magic Marker one he rucked up his sleeve: his right forearm, between his jellyfish tattoo and his Godzilla tattoo, on a small patch of empty, freckled skin.

“Cute,” the nymph said, wryly.

He said it in a way that made it clear he didn’t think Newt’s tats were actually very cute. “I like them,” Newt said.

“Can’t I just–” the nymph was struggling with the marker, “–put it right in your, ah, phone?”

“This is more fun,” Newt said.”)

The number is nothing more than a smeary mess now–probably casualty to the massive rainstorm raging outside that, if Newt’s soaked pile of clothing on the floor means anything, has been raging since he stumbled home last night. 

He can’t even remember the guy’s name.

SOS, he ends up texting Tendo after a healthy amount of coffee and Tylenol. hooked up with super hot guy at a party last night and have no fucking clue how to see him again and i think i might be in love. help

you’re almost forty, Tendo replies, which is no help and isn’t at all the sick burn Tendo probably thought it was.

Newt resorts to stalking Tendo’s ex’s Facebook page instead. For anything, really. There are only a few photos up from the party last night (so far, anyway), and most of them are focused on the dance floor and the guy’s friends. Newt clicks through obsessively anyway. The ornate Jack-O-Lanterns that’d been on the front porch, Tendo’s ex and some chick in zombie makeup, the punchbowl of foaming purple Witch’s Brew, and–finally, in the very back corner of a shot–Newt standing with his mystery man. Tacky crown and all. He exists, at least, not some extremely specific hallucination on Newt’s part, even though a reverse image search turns up with absolutely nothing but links to buy his costume. 

He has better luck with a blurry photo of his mystery guy’s (deadbeat) date laughing in the kitchen under the bright orange string lights: Tendo’s ex actually tagged him. Probably because he wasn’t totally crashing the party after seeing a post about it like Newt was. Newt’s luck pretty much stops there; not only does the guy make no mention of the nymph Newt spent the night with when Newt stalks his page, but he hasn’t updated his status in literally six months, and none of his friends (because Newt combs through his friends list, too) look remotely like Newt’s mystery man.

So. Newt sends him a friend request.

He accepts it in the amount of time it takes Newt to take to feed his fish, heat up a tiny bowl of spaghetti-o’s, and regret sending it in the first place; he almost spills the bowl over his laptop in his hurry to send a message. Hey, weird question, but who’d you bring to that party last night?

lol why?

“I’m in love with him” is definitely a little forward, so Newt makes up a fast, and hopefully at least mildly believable, lie. He has my umbrella.

Typing for a while. tbh idrk him, we met online. his name was hermann

Then: i think hes a teacher or something

who are you anyway? comes a second later.

Hermann. Newt likes it. It also rings a very, very vague bell. cool thanks! Newt sends back, and then quickly unfriends the guy. Anyone who could possibly ditch a guy as hot and funny and, overall, perfect as Hermann (as Newt remembers him, anyway) is not worth Newt’s time.

exciting update, he texts Tendo. his name is Hermann!

Newt has a lecture to teach at six, three hours from now, so in lieu of actually preparing for it, he decides to be a creepy stalker instead. Hermann’s date said he was a teacher: none of the local public schools have a Hermann (or a Herman, for that matter) on any of their staff pages, K all the way up to Twelve, nor do the private schools. He has better luck when he pokes through staff directories for nearby universities instead: this gives him two Hermans and one Hermann, but neither of their provided pictures look remotely like Newt’s Hermann. Not even when Newt squints.

He spares another miserable glance at the smeary ink on his arm before shutting his laptop. Maybe it’s just not meant to be.

He’s walking to campus from his bus stop the following week–the day before Halloween–when the most fucking unbelievable thing in the world happens.

He sees Hermann.

Just sitting outside the campus coffee shop at a little table, sipping a paper travel mug dotted with little orange pumpkins. Reading over some notes. Newt’s sure it’s Hermann: it’s Hermann’s big brown eyes, Hermann’s long eyelashes, Hermann’s sharp cheekbones, Hermann’s cane propped against the brick wall next to him. Newt’d recognize him even with the stupid nymph costume swapped for more sensible sweatervest and tweed. “Hermann!” he shouts excitedly, waving both arms. “Dude!”

Hermann looks up. He drops his coffee.

He’s completely speechless when Newt finally manages to book it across the street (dodging traffic, including the bus he came in on) and collapse, panting, into the empty seat across from him. “I can’t believe it’s you!” Newt says. “Holy shit, dude! I’ve been trying like crazy to track you down. I lost your number, so I had to message your shitty boyfriend–”

“Not my boyfriend,” Hermann says, faintly.

“Right, your shitty date,” Newt corrects. “You look so good. I almost didn’t recognize you without all the leaves. I’m so glad I found you. What are you doing here, anyway?”

Hermann blinks a few times. Registering it all. “I work–” He says, and gestures to the stairs that lead up to the main part of campus. “Er, here. Physics. I teach physics.”

That explains why Newt couldn’t find him on any faculty pages–he just assumed that Hermann couldn’t possibly be working at the same university as him and didn’t bother checking. He though he would’ve remembered seeing a face like that around. Physics, though, makes sense–it’s not like they’d be in the same building. “I do too!” Newt says. He leans in, beaming away. “Well, not physics, biology. I can’t remember if I told you my name or not. It’s Newt. Dr. Geiszler, if you wanna be serious, but I’m pretty sure we’re way beyond that at this point.”

“Ah,” Hermann says. “No, you didn’t say your name.” He blinks a few more times before finally seeming to get over his shock, and it’s replaced with mild amusement instead. A small smile. “You’re a doctor?”

“Are you that shocked?”

“You’re not very–” Hermann does a very bad job of disguising his laugh as a cough. “Professional. You know–at the, ah, party, you really should’ve just let me–”

“I know,” Newt says, and Hermann’s smile grows.

“Writing it on your arm was a terrible idea,” Hermann says. “I was horribly offended, you know, when you didn’t call the next day.”

Newt fishes his phone out of his pocket, unlocks it, and offers it out to Hermann with a grin. “Looks like I won’t be making the same mistake twice, then.”

[she-who-the-river-could-not-hold]

quarantine tag game

Tagged by the always wonderful @lucascsinclairs!!

ARE YOU STAYING HOME FROM WORK AND SCHOOL? Yep! Originally without a job, but then the place I’d been applying to was able to work out a way for me to freelance for them since they’re currently in a hiring freeze.

IF YOU’RE STAYING HOME, WHO’S THERE WITH YOU? My roommate, and then my boyfriend spends half the week with us since he otherwise lives alone and doesn’t interact with anyone during the time he’s not here.

ARE YOU A HOMEBODY? god NO I’ve been miserable and it took me a couple weeks to get out of that slump. Being trapped inside for so long has done a number on me but glad I’m feeling better!

AN EVENT THAT YOU WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT GOT CANCELLED? Literally everything lol. On the schedule was friends visiting, a concert, a trip to Disney World (not official yet but not counting on it working out depending on how long it takes for places to recover). A wedding we were going to. Going to the movies every week, eating out, supporting local bars.

WHAT MOVIES HAVE YOU WATCHED RECENTLY? The Crystal Calls: Making of the Dark Crystal Age of Resistance, Blow the Man Down, The King, Emma

WHAT SHOWS ARE YOU WATCHING? Devs, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Mindhunter, and then hopefully catching up on Altered Carbon and continuing my rewatch of the 100

WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU LISTENING TO? Always a random group! Thundercat released a new album (he was the concert we were going to go to ughhh), and then just a whole mix of things.

WHAT ARE YOU READING? The Wife Between Us is up next on my list!

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR SELF-CARE? Playing Animal Crossing, running three to four times a week (early in the morning = less people), drawing, virtual D&D, and then doing weekly virtual bar and game nights with friends!

I’m tagging: @captainwilldameron, @maplestreet, @the-most-beautiful-broom, @dylanobrienisbatman, @wolfhardfinn!