#i miss christmas... they are not what they used to be and im “forced” to spend them at work wearing shitty clothes my boss wants

[be-an-echo]

Merry Christmas guyyyss🎄

[rafeandonlyrafe]

christmas stocking

words: 1.3k

warnings: established relationship, reader has really good relationship with parents, implied bad family situation for rafe, christmas celebrations

taglist: @drewstarkeyslut @thelomlisrafecameron @f4ll-for-you @dilvcv @winterrrnight @drudyslut @drewsbaby @jjmaybankswifes-blog @rafescokenostril @jjsmarijuana @jjmaybankisbae @seeingstarks @angelofcigs @cece45450 @babygorewhore @vanessa-rafesgirl @michelleisheres-blog

“hey momma.” you say with a smile as you answer the phone, clicking it to speaker so you continue to work. 

“hi baby girl!” your moms voice rings out through the speaker. “did you figure out what time you're leaving?”

“looks like tomorrow at 10 am, then we should be to yours by dinner.” you hum, glancing at the clock while continuing to pack up. “oh, change of plans by the way. rafe is coming with me.” 

“oh yay!” your mom squeals. she only met rafe once when she came to visit you in the outer banks at your new house, but it was so early on in your relationship that she didn't really get to know him well, and things are a lot more serious now. “i can't wait to have my babies home for christmas.”

“does that mean andrew will be able to make it?” you ask, inquiring about your brother.

“they'll be here, but leaving the day after christmas for his wife's family.” 

“okay, that sounds good. itll be nice to have the four of us back together, plus rafe and diana.” you hum. ever since your brother went away for college when he turned 18, and you left two short years after to move to the outer banks, it was hard to get the whole family together, even for the holidays. you spent the last two christmases in the outer banks, one spent alone in your new house, the other with the camerons.

you were shocked by how different their christmas was than what you were used to. it was cold and devoid of any traditions besides what was seemingly forced on the kids of the family. you ultimately had a good time with rafe, but you missed the familiarity and fun that you had with your family. 

rafe was originally going to stay in the outer banks, not wanting to intrude on your family, but you finally convinced him last night that everyone would be happy to have him.

“okay so tell me about what i can get for rafe.” your mom says, and you just know she's bent over the counter with a notepad and pen in hand, not wanting rafe to be left out of opening presents.

--

“ready to go rafey?” you ask, looking at the back of the car, trunk filled with your suitcases, while the back seat has already wrapped presents, both for your family and ones for rafe, as well as his for you.

“i am. last chance to say if you forgot something.”

“nope.” you shake your head, “ive gone over my checklist three different times.”

“alright, off to your parents then.” rafe says, leaning over and pressing a kiss to your lips before taking off down the road.

--

“can we stop? i gotta pee.” you say, looking at the sign for an upcoming rest stop.

“again?” rafe sighs, but there's a small smile gracing his features as he turns the indicator on, pulling off to the road stop.

you hop out of the car, but rafe follows right behind you, not letting you go in by yourself, always extra cautious when you're out in public, especially away from the outer banks. 

“gonna get us snacks.” rafe says, keeping his eye on you as you head into the bathroom, only turning to the vending machines when you disappear behind the tile wall. 

--

“hey baby.” rafe says softly, stroking over your thigh to wake you up. “we're almost there.”

you stretch with a yawn, rubbing at your tired eyes. you blink them open, realizing the roads are now familiar, about to pull off the highway at your home town exit.

“thanks for driving, rafey.” you say, leaning over the center console to give him a kiss on the cheek. you clean up the car a bit while he finishes the drive, gathering up the wrappers of the chips and snacks and shoving them into a bag to throw away later.

“im so excited.” you say as rafe turns down your road, and your parents house comes into view.

“i can’t wait to get to know them.” rafe says, pulling into the driveway. you can’t help the squeal you let out in excitement as you rush out as soon as the car is in park, briefly turning your head to make sure rafe is following you as you step onto the porch, not bothering to know before flinging open the door, knowing that your parents are no doubt waiting right inside for you.

“mom! dad!” you shout, jumping into their arms as they swallow you into a comforting hug. you press a kiss to both of their cheeks before turning to rafe.

“i brought these for you.” rafe sticks forward his hand, in it a bouquet of flowers, presenting them to your mother.

“oh, rafe, darling you shouldn’t have.” your mom coos, pulling rafe into a hug before rushing into the kitchen to place the flowers into a vase. rafe gives your dad a firm handshake before offering to help carry in your bags.

you smile and look out the door as they chat casually, happy that rafe seems to be fitting in instantly.

--

“its just so different.” rafe says softly, stroking his hand absentmindedly over your back as you’re curled up next to him on the couch.

“what do you mean?” you hum, pressing your lips against his shoulder, even though you can guess what he’s talking about.

“your family is just so… easy going. and you all get along so well.” rafe says, looking around the living room at your parents sharing a couch, and your brother and his wife sitting in matching armchairs, all chatting happily amongst themselves.

“im lucky to have such an amazing family.” you say, looking to rafe. “and that you’re a part of it.” “i dont want to intrude though, baby. so if you have any traditions you want to be just amongst your-” “shh.” you cut rafe off, a smile on your face. “we all want you here. my mom was so excited when i told her you were coming. you love me right?” you ask, which rafe of course nods. “and we are planning to be together forever right? so of course my family is going to want you around, to include you in our traditions.” “sorry, dears, i couldn't help but overhear.” your mom says with a slightly blush to her cheeks. “forgive me for eavesdropping, but i actually have a gift for you rafe.”

rafe begins to say that he doesn’t need any gifts, but your mom cuts him off with a quick stern look, one he’s seen in you many times.

your mom returns to the room with a small wrapped box in her hands.

“thank you.” rafe says sincerely, setting the box on his lap. you smile, already knowing what is inside, seeing it before when andrew first brought diana to christmas celebrations.

rafe opens the box carefully, attempting not to rip the paper and make a mess, aware of the eyes on him.

“a christmas stocking.” rafe says with a smile as he pulls it out. you wait for him to notice, and you can tell from his body language the second his eyes read over his own name, hand stitched by your mother, signifying rafes place in the family. he tenses for a second before melting completely, body slumping against yours.

you wrap your arms around rafe, knowing this is an emotional moment for him, his moment where he realizes how loved and accepted he is.

“we are so happy you’re a part of our family, rafe.” your mom says, accepting his hug when he stands to embrace her and thank her for the gift, looking to the mantelpiece with all of the family stockings hanging, where his will soon join.

your dad strikes up a conversation with andrew, and you know its to take some of the pressure and attention off rafe as he ducks his head into your neck, pressing soft kisses to the skin there.

“i told you you wouldn’t be intruding.” you whisper, running your fingers through his hair.

“yeah, yeah.” rafe says sarcastically. “you’re right.” you give him a look, before he concedes with a nod. “as always.”

[anzulvr]

hii could i please request a little hurt/comfort drabble where reader feels sad during christmas season but forces herself to at least pretend to be happy because karma’s birthday is on christmas day :( but karma notices how her smile doesn’t meet her eyes and stuff and asks reader about it!

Summary: You’re sad on Christmas, Karma x reader (except it’s his birthday.) hurt/comfort GN!reader HUGE SPOILER WARNING FOR ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM

(this is so cute I LOVE THIS REQUEST thank u! Had this in my drafts for a while but waited for Christmas to post)

It had been two years since everything ended. Two years since Korosensei died and all of End class were labeled as victims with some weird-Stockholm attachment to the monster who blew up the moon.

It was strange, seeing everyone care about you when you didn’t need it and remembering how low they thought of you when you were only the reject class of kunugigaoka.

A lot happened in two years, not a long time but considering how quickly everything was moving you hadn’t had time to catch up. Like any special day Christmas wasn’t a good time anymore- something your classmates agreed on. With the impact Korosensei had on your lives it was impossible to celebrate anything without wondering what would have been if you managed to save him. That was only wishful thinking, you couldn’t change the past.

Regardless, today you tried to keep a smile on your face. It was the most important time of the year, Karmas birthday- and Christmas too.

You stared at your poor attempt to decorate the cake you baked with Karma, the frosting written birthday note was almost illegible.

“What’s with the look, you’re writing isn’t that bad.”

You looked up after hearing Karmas voice as if you were pulled out of a trance.

“What look? I know it’s not that bad I was admiring our hard work.”

“More like my hard work, you kept dropping everything! Seriously though, what’s wrong? The whole day I’ve been catching you teary eyed.”

You turned your back to the counter to face him as you set the frosting bag down “I’m fine, today’s your day I’m not going to bother you with my problems. You should enjoy everything to its fullest.”

“I’m not going to enjoy anything if you’re not happy, ‘m not budging tell me why you’re upset.”

Karma was stubborn, you knew him well enough to realized this wasn’t negotiable.

“I don’t know… I was just thinking about how Korosensei can’t spend Christmas with us, and he can’t be here for your birthday. Ever since we killed him, Ive felt so helpless.”

He nodded slowly breaking eye contact for a second, “my parents haven’t answered my call today, they’re in Italy right now, all I got was a text saying they were busy and that they’d talk later. I know they haven’t forgotten, it’s kind of impossible when it’s Christmas but still- I hoped they would have time for me today, I know they have more important things to do but It made me think about how Korosensei would’ve been here.”

you nodded in response, “they could still call the days not over… and if they don’t they’ll try to make it up to you…” You could bet they wouldn’t call until the next day but you wanted to reassure him, there wasn’t a lot you could say in this situation that would make him feel better.

“It’s fine, you’re here- and you’re the best company, I had fun today. I just meant Korosensei has done a lot for us he’s proud we pulled that off, he wouldn’t want you to beat yourself up over it.”

“I know you’re right, still I wish I could’ve done more, we should’ve tried harder to save him.”

“We did what we had to. I miss him too, there’s a lot of things I could never repay Korosensei for—”

“Like getting you through senioritis? Or always bringing money in his wallet even though he knew you’d steal it?”

“I meant setting us up together, but sure those were good too.” Karma smiles breaking tenseness of the conversation for moment, “at the time I thought he was being a hassle but without him im not sure id have you right now.”

Suddenly you felt shy laughing it off and covering your face for a moment while you composed yourself, “Yeah he did push for us a lot but I was obsessed with you for before we even ended up in 3-E so you would’ve had me regardless.”

“Yeah? Tell me more.”

“No way in hell, I don’t trust you to not make fun of me. Anyways I didn’t mean to bring up something depressing, we should be smearing cake all over your face right now.”

“Try all you want but it isn’t possible to mess up my face.”

“Wanna bet?” You shake the smile off your face.

“See that’s more I like it, we can enjoy our ugly cake now. And more importantly you can open your gift.”

“What do you mean my gift? It’s your birthday you’re not supposed to buy me stuff!”

“It’s also Christmas … I couldn’t help myself I really wanted to get you something.”

“But now I’m worried my gift won’t live up to yours!”

“[Name] you could give me rocks for all I care and I’d keep them in a safe with multiple locks.”

You gently shoved his shoulder suppressing your laughter, you leaned in to kiss him.

It was impossible to not feel better with him around. This morning you had woken up wishing time could stop for a moment and you ended the day hoping for the same thing but for a completely different reason.

[kindestofkings]

tis the damn season

robert keating x reader (she/her)

heres the requested bobby fic! reader is bobbys neighbour in dublin and they've had a situationship thats always off again on again, which ryan is v fed up with lol <3

masterlist

enjoy and also happy new year ! forgot how much I love making these so please come with some more requests, I always love getting them xxx

yourusername posted to their story!

year FIVE of working as a waitress during silly season, people need to be KINDER

yourbestfriend not all heros wear capes yourneighbour1 god bless you ↳ its been TOUGH but neighbours christmas party next week !! ↳ yourneighbour1 UGH best part of the season alsooo did I see a certain curly haired bass player make his return to the road...? ↳ feck he's home earlier than usual 😀 ↳ yourneighbour1 time to rekindle the infamous situationship??

yourusername posted to their story!

the return of the loudest next door neighbour known to man, yay 👍👍

yourneighbour1 😏😏 bobbyskeetz get rid of that sarcastic yay ryanmcmahon_15 yay my fav idiots have been reunited ! ↳ idiots? plural? why am I an idiot ryan?? ↳ ryanmcmahon_15 hmmhmm when will yee learn

bobbyskeetz

liked by yourusername and others

bobbyskeetz home.

view all other comments

joshjenkinson_ lookin so mysterious and interesting xx

inhalerfan1 he is one of us

inhalerfan2 missed the intense staring since tour has ended, thanks mr skeetz !

inhalerfan3 christmas came early

yourusername smoking kills

bobbyskeetz excuse me?? I have NEVER and WOULD never yourusername big fat liar yourbestfriend y'all are the worst, every fecking christmas ryanmcmahon_15 what she said !

yourusername

liked by yourneighbour1 and others

yourusername the kids table at the neighbours christmas party is always the place to be <3

also slayed so hard with my kris kindle present he literally cried for hours 💅

view all other comments

bobbyskeetz I cried cause you threw it at me

yourneighbour1 weakling bobbyskeetz ugh thanks tho.... I guess

ryanmcmahon_15 bobby and yn being adults when

yourbestfriend but then what would happen to their beloved situationship? yourusername guys you know this is MY comment section right?

joshjenkson_ hahah the perfect gift for him

yourneighbour2 ugh BEST PARTY EVAAAA

yourusername

liked by ryanmcmahon_15 and others

yourusername and it always leads to you and my hometown

view all other comments

yourbestfriend ah ryanmcmahon_15 shes quoting tis the damn season by THE taylor swift, what does this mean?

ryanmcmahon_1 gasp not the sad tones..

bobbyskeetz confused we're from the same hometown...?

yourusername you uncultured swine its a lyric 😭

bobbyskeetzswife

liked by inhalerfan1 and others

bobbyskeetzswife OH MY GOD I JUST MET BOBBY, IM FREAKING OUT

view all other comments

inhalerfan1 no way what the hell !! where?

bobbyskeetzswife literally in Dingle, Kerry 😭😭 he said hes with the lads but they ran out of drink so he was forced to go to the shops 😭 😭 inhalerfan1 omg hahahah I can't believe they just played the 3Arena

inhalerfan2 no way wonder why they're in dingle, such a random Irish town...

inhalerfan3 that girl that they all follow is in Kerry aswell with grace (eli's girlfriend) bobbyskeetzswife is that yourusername? I wonder who she is, bobby is always interacting with her inhalerfan2 huh wonder has he got a girlfriend

graciebrns

liked by elijahhewson and others

graciebrns wholesome few days before what I've been told, will be the best party I'll ever attend

view all other comments

elijahhewson promise its not an oversell

joshjenkinson_ agreed yourusername throws a phenomenal party yourusername ah flattered lads thank you

bobbyskeetz the million hikes will be worth it

yourusername you said you loved going on hikes bobbyskeetz course I do love 😔 inhalerfan2 love ?? gathering evidence

inhalerfan1 wholesome band trip bless

yourneighbour1 woohoo almost time to partyyyy

ryanmcmahon_15 how did one row of houses produce so many party animals?

yourusername party animals okay old man bobbyskeetz just cause you can't ever keep up ryan yourneighbour1 its how we were raised 😤

yourusername

liked by bobbyskeetz and others

yourusername hot people have birthdays on nye 💅

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bobbyskeetz so feckin hot

yourusername baby stapppppp that

yourbestfriend was the BEST time ever

elijahhewson class night it was, graciebrns whats the verdict?

graciebrns best. night. ever. yourusername I love you thanks for having me <33 yourusername you kidding me? thank you for coming !!

inhalerfan1 oh hello inhaler spotted ..

inhalerfan2 not bobby on the decks

bobbyskeetz

liked by yourusername and others

bobbyskeetz happy birthday gorgeous, love cleaning up bottles with you on new years day x

view all other comments

yourusername ahhhh the taylor reference 😭

yourusername my favourite nosey neighbour <3

ryanmcmahon_15 I have never been so invested in two idiots getting together properly

yourbestfriend so insufferable its taken like 13 years for them not to be idiots yourusername and what about you two being idiots.. bobbyskeetz whats your favourite book trope again love? yourusername FRIENDS TO LOVERS BABY, take notes ryanmcmahon_15 yourbestfriend

inhalerfan1 sad sad day for the bobby girlies 💔

bobbyskeetzswife noooooooooo

finished xx

[alovesongtheywrote]

hiii girlie!! it’s my birthday HAHA can i please get a nightmare academia part?? thank youuu 🫶

♥ Summary: SORRY I MISSED YOUR BIRTHDAY!! iirc, i got this like. right in the middle of finals season. i am so sorry :( to compensate, i have provided a holiday update!! In this chapter of Nightmare Academia, it's the holiday season and Reid pulls a lil prank.

♥ Warnings: holidays, Wham's Last Christmas

♥ A/N: this is really just a holiday blurb im ngl. happy holiday special ig!! (also. i didn't edit this. my bad lol)

♥ Word Count: 600

Series Masterlist

♥♥♥

The winter seasons were always an interesting time to be a professor.  The campus was decorated with trees and lights.  Fliers advertised Hanukkah and Christmas gatherings.  The students were so stressed and burnt out that they moved through life with a weird sort of festive calm. 

This year, that festive calm had taken on a new feature- your students wouldn’t stop playing Wham’s Last Christmas.  

You had nothing against the song.  All things considered, you liked Wham.  You liked Last Christmas.  It just got a touch annoying when the song played on a constant loop through various shitty phone speakers.  All the time.  Every day.

You weren’t sure what caused it- what earthly force could convince a bunch of college kids to listen to that infernal song so frequently?  What could get them to set Last Christmas to their ringtones?  You were pretty sure most of them hadn’t used ringtones before December.  To put it bluntly- you were confused, tired, and suspicious.  You were also ready to scream.

So you did!

“Holy shit, if I have to hear that fucking song again, I might literally explode.”

Reid looked up at you as you burst into your shared office.  His eyes were wide, as if your pre-loaded rant about Wham’s Last Christmas had caught him off guard.  

If it had, that was honestly on him.  You were only about a week into December, and you had already complained about the thing seventy-six times and counting.  If Spencer didn’t remember that, then his special boy memory powers had clearly failed him.

“Well, you wouldn’t literally explode,” Reid corrected, clearly recovered from his shock, “That’s a common mistake.  You would actually-”

“Reid, stop it before I feed you to the ghost of George Michael.”

He held up his hands in surrender, though a smile played across his lips.  You glared at that little grin as vines of suspicion tangled with the fleshy meat of your brain.

“Did you have something to do with this?”

“Whatever do you mean, Doctor?”

“I mean,” you slammed your hands down on Reid’s desk, “Are you the reason I cannot escape that fucking song?”

He leaned back in his chair, weaving his long, slender fingers together like some fucking anime villain, “And how would I pull that off?”

“Easily.  You’re you, and it’s the perfect crime.  All it would take is the promise of extra credit, and your students would do anything.  You think I haven’t noticed that the student body suddenly loves playing Wham?  Out loud?  Without headphones?”

Spencer’s grin got bigger, “Wow.  I’m sorry that your students have been using technology in a distracting and upsetting manner.  I can’t imagine what that’s like.”

“Spencer Reid, I am going to kill you.  I’m gonna choke you out with Christmas lights.  Seriously.”

He leaned in, “Are you literally going to kill me?”

“Fuck you, Reid.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

You snorted out a laugh, “You wouldn’t survive me, pretty boy.  Now, have you seen the essays my cybercrime class wrote?  They were on my desk.”

“Here-” he said, reaching for one of the desk’s many drawers.  That ended the conversation as the topic drifted to your students and the general category of crime that involved techy-whecy bullshit.  

In the weeks that followed, the volume on Spencer’s prank was turned down.  The students played it less and less, and the campus generally hummed with other holiday themed music until the break hit.  The day after it did, a package arrived on your doorstep.

A lovely vinyl copy of Wham’s Last Christmas.  

You were gonna kill Spencer Reid.

♥ Tags: @icarusignite, @usuallyunlikelyfox, @maraudersforlife2005, @fictionalcomforts, @morgthemagpie, @iiheartbowie, @digitalhearts, @corpsebridenightamare, @ghostatrixx, @reiding-writing, @mywellspringoflife, @80katie, @ms-ks-world, @currentfications, @ilse235, @emagen, @foolishwaitersblog if you asked to be tagged and i forgot, pls let me know!! if you would like to be tagged and aren't, also let me know :D

[eureka-its-zico]

Winterfall

Synopsis: When you thought of your life, Glenview Psychiatric Hospital was the last place you thought you’d end up. What could be weirder than calling a place like this home? Finding people who remind you that, sometimes, the messiest parts of who we are can be the best parts of us too.

Pairings: Christian Yu x Reader x Jay B x Reader (It’s a love triangle, y’all) 

Series: ongoing 

Word Count: 5186

Warnings: mentions of self-harm, mental health issues, mental disorders, slight violence, sexual themes

A/N: This is a hard one to post. I’ve had this in my WIPs for over seven years. I’ve rewritten it multiple times. Consider if this was a series, I was willing to share. As someone who suffers from BPD II and PTSD, it felt strange to dive into mental health. In a way, I felt like I needed a safe place to get it out. To share. This fic isn’t meant to be sad. It’s meant to be about growth. The journey of mental health can be a messy one, but it doesn’t have to hinder our own growth. Our sadness does not define us. If I ever miss anything in the warnings for chapters, please let me know and I’ll fix it ASAP! This fic is loosely based off of one of my favorite films, Girl, Interrupted. And remember, if you you ever need to talk: Im here.

Shout out to my bestie @deadneverlander for always being the better half in our clownery. I wouldn't be able to do half of this without you.

There was something about the bleakness of winter that seemed to make countless people’s bones ache for the warmth of summer. Their loneliness is somehow made more apparent by rain clouds and negative degrees, turning thoughts into reminiscent scenes of a doomsday film. 

You’d always claimed that fall was your favorite season because the vast spectrum of your sadness didn't match the heat of summer. Sure, you loved the possibilities of hot cocoa, warm fires, ridiculous horror, Christmas films, and the first sight of snow. Somewhere along the way, however, came the anxiety of holiday dinners. Where the comfort you’d found in overcast skies turned sinister with repeated looks that reminded you that you were the black sheep; the odd man out with another year of nothing to show.

Fall no longer meant binges on shows and breaks from the endless routine that was work and school. It meant laying in the snow until your body heat forced it to melt underneath you, seeping into the fabric of your clothes to leave your nerves numb and transparent like ice. Your mind silently hoped it would be enough to extinguish the agony that blossomed in your chest. 

Jackets were no longer marked for warmth, but strictly to hide your struggle to feel anything past the chasm that’d grown in the past couple of months: to bleed out the parts of you that didn't belong. It wasn't a surprise it's what landed you a one-way ticket to the cozy room inside a psychiatric hospital. Maybe that's just what happens when you're found unresponsive with a belly housing a fifth of rum. The marks on your skin lay like a map to follow on how you got there; only being found like a frantic afterthought. 

Glenview Psychiatric Hospital, or GSH that was strategically labeled in bright crimson above the pocket of your prison-inspired sweatshirt, had been home for three months now. It was meant to be a place of healing, among the basic mood stabilizing and therapy sessions everyone held in a day. You felt further away from that concept with every group activity the doctors forced you to take part in. Your social anxiety becoming apparent each time it lands on you to speak, either to close the circle, or to be a part of the ridiculous game activities. The last time you played volleyball your face saw more action with the pleather ball than your arms ever did. 

It was currently 12:47 p.m. The clock giving you a false sense of hope that the time wouldn’t just creep by to leave you stranded the last thirteen minutes until you’d earned your freedom. There was, however, the off chance if Dr. Thompson wasn't hearing what he wanted; the hour-long group activity would be extended. 

You scanned the other six faces that made up your group: the huddled mess of piled sweaters and huddled blanket of Soomi a fleeting moment of comfort. It only took your eyes adjusting on her figure to know she didn’t have one. Her tiny body composed of thick layers of clothes to portray a false sense of shape. Her anorexia becoming so severe her family had no other option but to put her here, or watch her die. Jason’s endless finger taps on every surface he could touch the only giveaway to his OCD until he removed himself from his chair. Sejun with his alcoholism and Yuna with her acidic imagination that the wind whispered her deepest secrets out into the world. 

All this ending with your gaze narrowed on the statuesque figure of Jaebum who comically sat opposite of your current position. The two suicidal inmates that shared in the anxiousness of sadness but little else, and the usual reason why your group never seemed to end on time. 

You couldn't say it was a shame to be stuck sitting dead center of someone so attractive; as shallow of an observation as it was there was no denying how ungodly true that statement was. He held a silent attractiveness that resonated in the solitude he kept around himself, and Jaebum was indeed a solitary creature.

He preferred books over people. Usually moving away from anyone who got close to his latest reading perch without ever glancing up from his current book. Jaebum’s favorite place he’d reserved to get lost inside his fiction the seal of the window that looked out the expanse of the institute’s backyard. The entire estate currently covered in the dead burgundy and gold of a forest of oak tree leaves. 

It wasn't like you were laying avid amounts of your attention on him or anything. You didn't pay attention to how broad his shoulders looked in his old man sweaters that you could've bet money smells like mothballs. How his features seemed sharpened to match the fierceness that lived inside his eyes. The only thing that exposed his softness was the speck of a mole that dusted itself on his left eyelid. 

Jaebum just held a presence that demanded to be noticed. Whether he himself liked it or not. 

“Jaebum: do you have anything you’d like to add to the session?”

Dr. Thompson’s question made the both of you jolt in your seats. Youwere too busy staring down at your nails while you plucked away at the cuticles. Jaebum's head turned, unbeknownst to you, from looking at you to the good doctor. It was enough to make your cheeks flush hot. 

His crossed arms gave a soft shrug, and you hated how your eyes stayed captivated by the movement. You were willing to blame it on the charcoal-worn cable knit sweater he favored. It really did smell like moth balls and age making you willing to bet it wasn't his to begin with. 

“We talked about this guys. Shrugging is not an adequate substitute for an answer.”

His tone showing his frustration more than anger at his need to repeatedly inform the group. Dr. Thompson looked at each of you individually until he stopped on Jaebum, who didn’t seem the least bit moved. 

“I have nothing to say.”

A sigh escaped from Dr. Thompson’s lips as his head shook softly. His eyes averted down to the tin clipboard momentarily before they resumed their previous position. 

“And what is it exactly you would like me to add, huh?” You felt your body tense against the chair. Your hands grasping at its edges like it would be the only thing to keep you stable against the oncoming rage that was Jaebum’s agitation. “We do these pointless sessions over and over: again and again. For what? Do you think it “saves” anyone?”

Your eyes diverted from the safety of your knees; counting every frayed piece of cloth on your jeans that hung loose from torn holes. No part of you needed to acknowledge that he was standing. The room did that well enough with the tension his power caused. The room itself swelling with anxiety that made fidgety Sera begin to rock violently against the back of her chair. Her head shaking hair into her face, like a curtain to hide what she feared was coming her way like the abusive hands of her father. 

The orderlies were already beginning to circle his chair, but Dr. Thompson held up a hand of warding. He reminded you too much of an irresponsible ring handler at a circus. Unwilling to recognize his own tiger was about to maim him. 

“No, no that’s fair enough. I see you have an issue with the way we try and help our patients.”

“Help?!” Jaebum snarled. “Is that what you call it? Like you helped Simon remember all the things he wanted to forget! Is that what you call endless therapies until he killed himself! You consider being helpful with the way you handled Ian?”

Dr. Thompson regarded Jaebum quietly, but his eyes were focused and searching the young man’s face. You watched in helpless awe as one stood like a calm in a blazing storm, while the other raged so furiously you thought the walls would come down. No longer was his voice a strong current, but now thunderous words that hurled like lightning bolts were being directed at the man before him. 

Jaebum was right. Sometimes, the doctors picked and picked a part at you until you were left bare and raw. And if their words didn’t do it their physical methods picked up where they lacked. His anger was justified, because deep down so were you. But you didn’t have the towering strength like he did to stand up to anyone. Your fear of the seclusion rooms kept you prisoner: locked in your chair as a simple flick of Dr. Thompson’s hand sent the orderlies rushing to Jaebum’s side. 

“I think that’s enough for today’s session.” 

In the back of your mind you knew that Jaebum was right. In part. Who were counselors and psychologists to tell the broken mirrors of people how to put their pieces back together? Only to end up with more blood on their hands from struggling to put sharp pieces in place. They studied people like you, Jaebum...people like Ian who were features in their college books. They themselves barely ever one to experience it themselves. 

Healing, even if unconventional, was still healing in the end. There was no right or wrong way to get there, but here, with people like Dr. Thompson, their textbook solutions were the only solutions. Maybe that’s why it backfired so terribly with Ian. 

So for once, you wanted to stand up with Jaebum. To call out the injustices of treatments forced on patients, like Ian. Treatments they’d placed on patients that only wanted to forget, because no one wants to remember traumas and everything that makes them feel like failures. 

You knew, however, if you took that chance to be brave for once you would end up like Jaebum. Uselessly struggling against orderlies who came prepared with syringes to make you complacent and an endless day being locked for god knew how long inside seclusion. 

It was cowardice that kept your mouth shut. All of you stayed quiet as an orderly you aptly nicknamed, “The Bull,” grabbed at the neck of Jaebum’s sweater. That was all it took for him to react violently. Jaebum’s elbow flew back with such force it dislodged The Bull’s grip, which only seemed to make it worse. 

“Jaebum, please do not struggle.” Dr. Thompson’s voice didn’t sound as soothing as he probably imagined. Obvious agitation outlined every word; the struggle forcing all of you up from your chairs and away from the fighting. “Everyone out. Now.” 

A part of you hated listening. For not firmly digging your feet in to stand for something you agreed wasn’t right. It was an odd thought. Since Ian was the usual instigator of the chaos of how these ended. Never Jaebum. Maybe he just felt like in Ian’s absence he needed to take over for him. 

“You play god with everyone’s emotions and leave them to drown alone in the aftermath. You are the reason Christian keeps escaping and Hyujin is gone! It’s you! It’s all of you!”

Jaebum’s rage became more apparent with each sentence and broke as his throat formed the words of his former friend. Former because he’d found himself as one of Dr. Thompson’s experimental new treatments. A treatment that brought back too much Hyujin couldn’t cope with - was forced to confront - before he was ready. 

The ward still felt hollow - missing in the sound of Hyujin’s laugh. 

You would’ve been impressed with the way Jaebum was laying into the doctor. He was holding his own against the orderly at his arms until the Bull snuck behind him and brought him falling down to the cold concrete floor. 

That was the last you saw of Jaebum as you were ushered outside the doors. You faced them for a long time. No one questioned why you stood at the entrance as Jaebum’s yelling dulled to nothing. It was too late for you to run back and play the role of knight in shining armor and standing in front of the door would only make the staff assume you were waiting to cause a scene. 

Turning on your heel you headed towards the living area. Your mind racing heavily with indecision and not paying attention to the overcrowded chairs and couches. You bypassed them all to head to your favorite window seat. It was opposite to the one everyone knew as Jaebum’s; reading a new book every week during free time. It was so engrained to the fabric of the facility that no one tried to take it from him. Not even Ian. 

You folded into yourself as soon as you sat down on the window seat. Your chin pressed into your shoulder so you could get a better look outside. The vibrant colors of changing leaves reminding you that fall was coming. Maybe they would let you work outside if you were good? You were tired of doing bathroom and kitchen duties, but because of Ian’s latest stunt no one was allowed outside. Not until the fences were made higher with wire curled along the top. 

If thoughts could be breathed into existence, you were positive you alone would be deemed responsible for Ian walking, right then and there, through the facility's double doors. Of course, Ian could never simply enter a room quietly.

Christian entered every room like a force. Wild and unpredictable. Mother Nature couldn’t compete with his massive hurricane personality. No one could come close, because underneath all that unhinged nature was a magmatism that far outreached just good looks. 

Was Christian good looking? Devilishly so. It was his way with words, however, that left many people reeling. Not just fellow patients, but staff as well. He was painfully charming and, if you weren’t prepared for his wide-set smile directed in your direction, you were going to find yourself in trouble. Deep, deep Christian-flavored trouble. The staff had even labeled him with a warning of “verbal jujitsu” - you had to stay miles ahead of the conversation or you’d find yourself like the recently fired psych tech who’d handed over the ward keys without a second thought.

Seriously. That’s how Christian escaped this time. All the other times, well, the man could be considered the second coming of Houdini. 

“How have you been, Bob? Are your feet still giving you grief, Margo?”

It was impressive how he acted like it wasn’t a big deal he’d magically reappeared. The guard and orderlies awkwardly keep watch over the double doors he’d come through like he’d disappear back into thin air. 

You hated how happy you became hearing the richness of his voice. The way his accent reminded you of the battle of wills on what was the proper way to say, “water,” and the teasing you gave him about constantly saying, “Naurr”. 

“It’s Margaret, jackass,” the older psych tech mumbled in reply. She didn’t even bother to look up from putting a new bandage on Bob’s hands.

“Missed you too, babe.” 

You watched his reflection in the safety of the glass of the window. You didn’t want to show how eager you were to see him - or to find out that every time he left the ward became almost too much to bear alone. 

In the safety of the window, you could pretend the call to freedom was what kept your eyes hypnotized. Not the sleeveless tee he’d tucked inside the waist of skinny jeans that hugged to the muscles like paint or the layers of tattoos that covered honey skin. He wasn’t tan when he’d left. Where had Ian’s adventures taken him this time? 

You would get the chance to ask him yourself. 

When his eyes caught sight of your huddled frame curled in the window seat his trajectory changed completely. He didn’t think you’d noticed him yet, but it didn’t stop his infamous megawatt smile from brightening up his features and the butterflies he’d left trapped in your gut instantly springing back to life. 

The only downside? You were more than positive Ian saw you only as a sister. If he’d thought of you in the past as anything else you would’ve definitely known by now. As much as Ian was known for his charisma and whirlwind energy, he was also known for slipping into the janitor’s closet with more than a few now-fired staff members. 

In a matter of seconds, he left the mirage of the window to become real beside you. The smell of cigarettes and his preferred cologne enveloped you, instantly turning the space intimate. You tried your best to ignore him. Ian would receive nothing but the side eye from you after the latest shit he’d pulled. 

He let out a heavy sigh as a finger playfully poked into your side. He wiggled the digit in a weak attempt to tickle you thinking it would be enough for you to finally look at him. Fat chance. Using your elbow, you pushed down with just enough force to dislodge him from your side. The act forced a heavy sigh to flare his nostrils as he leaned back against the window. 

“Come on, ‘Roo. You can’t be that mad at me?”

Of course, he would use your nickname. The nickname you earned one night when he’d tried to tickle you until you couldn’t breathe. To be honest, he thinks you’d kicked him accidentally in the chest because you might wet yourself. The truth? Ian had gotten dangerously close. A few times it felt like his lips were just a few sharp breaths away from landing on yours, and that night you’d felt hollow. So hollow. All you wanted was to burn and Ian…he was so full of fire and life and for once you wanted to know what it felt like to be filled with something other than emptiness. 

You wanted to catch fire too. 

So you’d kicked out at him in panic. Hence how you became his Kangaroo. His ‘Roo. 

“Actually,” you began, biting out the world with each syllable. “I can be upset with you and I most definitely am.”

“Don’t be like that, ‘Roo. I know you missed me.”

“No, I didn’t. It was rather peaceful while you were off on whatever antics you decided to get into.”

A tsk sent his bottom lip into a pout as he crossed his arms. His shoulders lean further down the window and slightly into your view. 

God, why did he have to be so heartbreakingly handsome? 

You refused to make eye contact with him. Don’t do it. It’s a trick. You knew it was a trick. A sneaky ploy and yet…you looked. One look was all it took and Ian knew he had you.

“I missed you.” His voice caressed your skin like velvet causing it to erupt in goosebumps. “So, I know if I missed you that can only mean that you missed me.”

A snort of disbelief left you as you finally gave him what he’d been asking: your full and undivided attention.  

“Is that how it works, Ian?”

“Ah!” He beamed. “She finally looks at me.” 

You couldn’t keep your eyes from rolling as you tried to face away from him, but Ian wasn’t having it. 

“I shouldn’t even do that.”

“Where is all this hostility coming from?” He pouted. “Did you experience another one of Dr. Thompson’s riveting group circles?”

“It’s not funny, Ian. You always leave.” You hated how your voice betrayed you. The way it cracked before you could glue it back together. “You go and leave me here, without you, all the time. One of these days you may not come back.”

All the playfulness slowly drained from his features. The sly smile wilted to a grimace as deep brown eyes scanned over your face. Calculating your words with the body language of guarded arms and saddened eyes. His hands gently grabbed at your elbows to loosen your arms before turning you to him. His head dipped down just a bit to make sure he had you at eye level. 

“Hey, ‘Roo. I’m sorry. I come back for you, you know that right?” You knew he was lying, but try telling that to the butterflies fluttering around like crazy in your gut. “These assholes could never catch me if I didn’t turn myself in, and I only turned myself in to get back to you.” 

You didn’t know what you would’ve said at that moment. Maybe something he wanted to hear or maybe - finally - you’d have the guts to call him out on his bullshit. Luckily for you, the muffled sound of Jaebum’s screaming slowly grew louder until his struggling body was brought through the double doors from therapy. 

“Let me go, you assholes!”

You’d never seen Jaebum fight so fiercely before. The way he flailed his arms to find a way to get them released along with his legs kicking out like a madman. They practically dragged him down the hall towards seclusion. For a split second, in his struggle, his eyes landed on you. His gaze held yours for what felt like a lifetime until the spell was broken. It felt like slow motion as his face turned to see Ian on your right and all the fight drained from his body. 

Did he think he was fighting for Ian? Himself? Jaebum was never much for acting out. That was usually Ian who created trouble. Maybe that was why he looked so shocked seeing Jaebum being dragged down to seclusion. 

“Oi! What the fuck is this?”

Ian was up off the window seat in seconds. A couple of orderlies were already coming out from behind the nursing station to meet him halfway. Whatever they were saying, you weren’t all too sure. Ian was doing his usual of screaming and shoving causing the orderlies to prepare for a fight. The patients closest to all the commotion desperately trying to get out of the way. 

It was all chaos. All classic Ian. The only non-classic thing was Jaebum looking at you in a way you’d never noticed before. It created a row of questions that sat heavily on your tongue and ones you weren’t sure he would ever be willing to answer. 

It wasn’t until everything had settled down again that you snuck inside the room that held group therapy. Your eyes instantly homing in on Jaebum’s chair and underneath it one of his grandfather’s books. 

Before you dared to push all the way through into the room you gave one last cautious glance to the recreation room and slipped inside. You made sure to hold the door so it didn’t click into place. There was no denying if you were caught sneaking in somewhere you weren’t meant to be you’d be joining Jaebum in your own seclusion room. 

The sterile room with its egg-white walls was most definitely not your favorite. The only way to add your own source of color to its walls was to display your thoughts - projecting them out like a fucked up home movie that you’d rather forget. 

You made sure to cut across the room silently. Your legs bending at the knee to swoop down to grab the worn-down cover and secure it to your chest. 

You couldn’t explain why as you made your way out of the room towards the upper floor that held the seclusion rooms what made you want to do this for him. It’s not like he would thank you, but you weren’t looking for that. 

It wasn’t hard to notice the way Jaebum cared for his late grandfather's things. From the sweater he wore daily that was meticulously cleaned and laundered to the few books Jaebum was able to keep from his collection. He coveted them the way others valued trophies but it wasn’t praise that Jaebum found secluded inside their pages: it was peace. 

You didn’t know much about him. Jaebum wasn’t much of a sharer. He was reserved. The only way to know him was by the pages you held close to your chest. So, you weren’t terribly sure why you were doing this for him except for the fact you believed no one should go without something that they loved. 

Just as you were about to round the last corner to the hallway that held seclusion rooms 1 through 3, you caught a flash of an orderly speaking to a nurse. From the brief moment you’d caught before you found the safety of the opposite wall, they were more than likely flirting. 

Ted. That was the name written on his uniform. He’d called Ian a “Psycho,” a handful of times. You wondered if Ted knew the nurse he worshiped spent the same handful of nights sneaking inside Ian’s dorm. 

“Do you maybe want to go get breakfast in the morning?” 

Breakfast?! You mouthed to yourself before you snuck another peek around the corner. 

“Oh, I don’t know, Ted. I might have plans later.”

If your eyes could roll back any harder you would’ve seen brain cells. You knew exactly what her supposed plans were. You could already hear the moans that echoed down the halls like a haunting. The only thing haunted here would be you. 

You didn’t have to see Ted’s expression to know he was defeated. He was probably wondering how someone could refuse breakfast or maybe he was finally growing tired of being told no. The mystery of the unknown in this love triangle would sadly (not really) remain a mystery. You didn’t really care if they had breakfast together or hunted Easter eggs. You just wanted them to finish their awkward conversation and leave the damn hallway. 

A few more strangled pieces of conversation later and you could hear the shuffling of feet. Quickly, you moved inside a linen closet and quietly shut the door. Your ears straining - waiting - to hear a pair of feet move past your location so you could finish what you came to do. 

Every second you were out here and not inside your own dorm waiting for the nurses to come in and check you were there was one second too many in a chance at punishment. After a few more minutes went by and the coast sounded relatively clear, you creeped out from the linen closet and dashed towards the seclusion rooms. 

“Jaebum!?” You half whispered half yelled. “Jay!”

“What the hell are you doing over here?”

Ah, there was that condescending voice you’d grown accustomed to. Following the sound of his voice, and with the help of his fingers hanging out of the small seclusion window, you darted towards the back of the hall. Your arms still securely held onto his grandfather’s book and only began to loosen as you got closer to the door. 

“I wanted to bring you something before they placed it in lost and found.” 

With another cautious glance down the hall, your fingers wrapped around the edges of the book's spine. You offered it up to him and gently started to push it through the small window. Jaebum hadn’t spoken since he noticed what you held in your hands. His fingers overlapped yours as he took it from you. His arms immediately brought it inside with him with the sound of pages flipping while he made sure each page was still accounted for. 

“How did you-“ he began, but his words quickly died out. 

“Can you believe it ladies and gentlemen? For once, he was too stunned to speak,” you teased. 

Jaebum’s eyes narrowed in on your face. His hands wagged the book as if he was going to hit you over the head with it. Who knows, he might have if there wasn’t a 30-pound door stationed between you. 

“I’m serious. You came all this way to give me this?”

You shrugged his words off like what you’d done wasn’t a big deal. Both of you knew it was. So many factors that could lead you to where he was, or worse, if they believed you were trying to steal someone else’s property. Which, they one hundred percent would even though kleptomania wasn’t part of your conga line list of disorders. 

“I remember how much his things matter to you. I didn’t want Bull or Kojak The Great Dick to get a hold of it. I know they wouldn’t have respected it after today.”

You’d expected a lot of things to come out of this exchange. The main one? At least a thank you. All you were getting now felt like the cold shoulder that featured a very unnerving stare. With every second you were feeling more self-conscious and it took everything in you not to shout, “Boo!” in an attempt to get him to blink. 

You couldn’t take the awkwardness of the exchange any longer. Your feet were already backpedaling as your arms swung, thumb extended out, to indicate your exit before you spoke. 

“Great well, this was a fun chat-“

“He lies to you, you know.”

Jaebum’s words took you by surprise. You were sure that was the point. His face was set in deep lines of determination as if what he needed to say was something you needed to adhere to like the gospel from the Bible. 

“Okay, Jay I’ll bite: who is he?”

“You know who I’m talking about. Ian. It’s who he is. He doesn’t know how to tell the truth, and you always set yourself up for failure with him.”

Maybe Jaebum thought he was being helpful - calling to light all things you were aware of but couldn’t bring yourself to say out loud. You must have seemed too weak - gullible - in his eyes for him to believe he needed to say these things. 

You eyed him coolly through the window. Your tongue rolled around inside your cheek trying to decide what exactly you should say at this moment. Did he want recognition that you knew you were an idiot? What did it matter to him if you knew Ian didn’t give two fucks about you. 

So, the only thing you could settle on was the beginning of a long sigh before you spoke: “I know I might look like a love-sick puppy to you, Jay, but I know my place.”

He tried saying your name to stop you. You just ignored him as you shook your head and allowed yourself to begin to move back down the hall towards the safety of your own dorm. 

“It’s alright, Jay I get it. Take care of your grandfather’s things better, okay?”

You didn’t wait to finish your sentence before you were already turning to head down the hallway. The bottom of your feet itching for you to sprint in the opposite direction. Your mind raced over Jaebum’s words and matched them with the growing chasm in your chest.

So lost in your head, you barely caught the sound of his parting, “Thank you,” as you bolted around the corner. 

[a-smol-cosplayer]

more incorrect wednesday quotes bc im a heathen and clinically obsessed 

these are both wyler and wenclair friendly :) im sorry wavier you will get ur turn I promise. 

\\

Enid: you should treat spiders the way you want to be treated

Wednesday: killed without hesitation

Enid: nO-

/

Tyler: If I died, how much would you miss me?

Wednesday: It’s cute that you think death can get you out of this relationship .

/

Wednesday: My middle name is danger.

Enid: Wrong, your middle name is cutie-pie.

/

Bianca: You're really campaigning for bitch of the year, huh?

Wednesday: As defending champion, are you nervous?

\

Tyler: i would die for you

Wednesday: i would die for you too

Tyler, suddenly very emotional: please don’t do that

/

Enid: I won.

Wednesday: [raising an eyebrow] I have you pinned to the ground.

Enid: I know.

/ 

Tyler: Wednesday you listen to me 

Tyler: I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed

Tyler: But that’s why blunt force trauma exists /

Ajax: I love how unproblematic firefighters are. They just want to put out the fires.

Bianca, gazing darkly into the distance: I used to think that.

Ajax: That was so ominous? What the fuck did firefighters do to you?

\ 

Tyler: Wednessay, please, we need to take you to the hospital

Wednesday: Oh, I'm sorry, is this OUR stab wound?

Tyler: ......

Wednesday: No? I didn't think so, stay out of it. 

/ 

Xavier: What should I be for Halloween?

Bianca: A better person.

Xavier: Fuck you

/

*The squad is playing a team sport*

Bianca: Are you upset you don’t get to be on the same team as Enid?

Wednesday: Have you ever played a team sport with Enid?

Bianca: No…

Wednesday: Have you ever been trapped in a cage with a wolverine?

*Meanwhile, on the other side of the field*

Enid, chasing Tyler around the field: I SAID FASTER! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE WORD “FASTER” MEANS? IT MEANS MORE FAST!!!!

/ 

Wednesday: I have no respect for Santa. Don't sneak in through the chimney and undermine my authority by bringing my family presents.

Wednesday: Walk in through the front door and fight me like a man.

/

Bianca: You're all losers

Ajax, Xavier, Yoko and Kent: Well then why do you hang out with us?

Bianca: Because I don't have any other friends

\

Ajax: I'm a firm believer in, "if you're going to fail, you might as well fail spectacularly" 

Enid: ...that doesn't answer my question. Why are you covered in custard and glitter? 

Ajax: Because I failed spectacularly Enid 

Enid: ...okay then

/

Wednesday: I've never had a best friend before

Enid: I'll be your best friend!

Wednesday: .........

Wednesday: I've also never had a girlf-

\

Enid: Try thinking postive for a change!

Wednesday: We're all gonna die one day

Enid: N-

Wednesday: Hopefully soon

Enid:

/

Yoko: Who accidentally drops their cellphone into soup?

Kent: It wasn't an accident, I wanted to see if it would float.

\

Yoko: If somebody wants coal for Christmas, but they’ve been bad, does Santa give them a gift, or do they win either way?

Bianca: Oh, for fuck's sake.

Xavier: Hold on, hold on, she has a point.

/ 

Tyler: Are you mad?

Wednesday: No.

Tyler: So sharpening your knives at 3 in the morning is just a hobby?

Wednesday: Yes.

\

Xavier: if you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!

*silenece*

Xavier: Man, y’all depressed as f*ck.

Bianca: You didn’t clap either.

Xavier: Shut up.

/

Ajax: what did you guys do? 

The group: .....

Ajax: you're not in trouble, I just need to know if I have to lie to the police again

\

Tyler: I've been expecting you, Wednesday

Wednesday *surprised*: How did you know that it was me?

Tyler: To be perfectly honest, the first couple of people that came in weren't you

/ 

Xavier: If being hot was a crime I’d be serving a life sentence.

Bianca: For a crime you didn’t even commit?

\

Bianca: You look happy. Let me guess, your egg salad sandwich fell on the floor and they gave it to you for free

Kent: No, can you do that? Why doesn’t everyone just drop their sandwiches on the floor?

Bianca: I was trying to insult you

Kent: Instead you gave me an amazing life hack

/

Wednesday: What do you mean a stress ball isn't for throwing at people who stress me out?

\

Tyler: I wanna get run over. 

Enid: Oh come on, it’s Christmas! Get in the spirit! 

Tyler: I wanna get run over by a reindeer. 

Enid: …

Enid: Not what I meant, but I’ll take it!

\

Enid: Do you really have to blackmail me?

Wednesday: How do you expect me to get your attention?

Enid: Uh, ask?

Wednesday: And risk judgment and rejection? God no

/

Tyler: I seriously get so embarrassed doing anything. i wear sunglasses when it's sunny and i'm like "this is so humiliating"

Tyler: Walking downhill? embarrassing too. like ooooh look at me doing a little trot like a stupid horse

Enid: are you okay?

Tyler: I wish i was dead

\

Tyler: Did Wednesday just tell me they loved me for the first time?

Enid: Yeah, she did.

Tyler: And did I just do finger guns back?

Enid: Yeah, you did.

/

Enid: *calls Tyler*

Tyler, answering the phone: hello?

Enid: i'll call you back later okay?

Enid: *hangs up*

Tyler: ?????

\ 

Enid: [About Wednesday] Look at her with her stupid  straight leg pants and dumb tight fitting button up shirts. 

Enid: I have to have her.

/

Tyler, sweating: Wednesday, there’s something I need to ask you-

Wednesday: Finally! You’re proposing!

Tyler: How’d you know?

Wednesday: Tyler, you’ve dropped the ring five times during dinner.

Wednesday: I even picked it up once.

\

Wednesday: I’m still trying to figure out why you guys are so desperate to hang out with me.

Enid: Because you’re so sweet and funny, duh.

Wednesday: Well, Bianca told me that I’m spiteful and incredibly annoying, so one of you is lying to me.

/

Wednesday, holding a piece of paper: hey, what’s this? 

Tyler: my to-do list. 

Wednesday: it just has my name on it? 

Tyler: …yes. 

\

Ajax: I never had a brother, but I know four guys who did. And they would have fights and squabbles, but in the end? They would always have each other’s shells.

Yoko:

Yoko: Are you talking about the Ninja Turtles?

Ajax: Of course I’m talking about the Ninja Turtles!

/

Enid: It looks like you've got a plan. 

Wednesday: Yep. 

Tyler: ...Have you got a plan? 

Wednesday: Nope.

\

Wednesday: I told Enid that her ears turn red when she lies.

Ajax: Do they?

Wednesday: No.

Ajax: Then why did you tell her that?

Wednesday: Because I can do this.

Wednesday: Hey Enid! Do you love us?

Enid, with her hands over her ears: No.

/

Doctor: *holds up a spine model* This is your spine--

Ajax, looking absolutel terrified: Put it back in, what the fuck?

\

Eugene: What would Enid think?

Wednesday: Ok, that’s an interesting thought, but hear me out: what if… we ran an experiment where we spent the rest of our lives finding out what happened if we never told her?

\

Wednesday: We're alive!

Enid: Good! 

Enid: Because now… I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! 

/

Enid: Did you know that when you suddenly jerk awake while falling asleep, another version of you from a different timeline just died.

Tyler: No...

Wednesday: It’s actually because your heart rate decreased so quickly that your brain jerks awake to make sure you’re still alive.

Tyler: I don’t know which one is worse!

\

Kent: *Hits Wednesday on the head with a ball*

All of nevermore hours later, trying to coax him down from a tree: It’s ok she’s gone you can come down now -

Kent, still shaking: She’s not gone, she’s waiting.

/

Xavier: Money absolutely does not buy happiness

Bianca: You’re probably just spending it wrong. Give it to me and I’ll show you how it’s done

\

Enid: I’m gonna stop being so nice all the time!

Wednesday: How are you gonna do that?

Enid: Well to start, I ate all your candy last night.

Wednesday: Wow, Enid, that’s so cold I’ll need a sweater.

Enid: I’ll knit you a scarf to apologise. 

/

Kent: Can I have some?

Yoko, blank faced with a mouth full of cheesecake: It's really spicy, you wouldn't like it.

\

Kent: You guys, this can't be happening. Maybe we're all in a coma?

Bianca: Together? We're all in a coma together?

/

Enid: Hey, do you wanna get lunch?

Wednesday: Oh, I already ate with Tyler, but what do you want?

Enid: 

Enid: Loyalty. 

\

Wednesday: I am so small and bitter, I’m like a human espresso.

//

Okay thats it :0 this one is even longer than the last one so well done if u made it to the end 

[pastanest]

if you’re wondering why I’m having to repost this, or why you were perhaps previously following me but no longer are, please refer to this post. I was able to retrieve this thanks to the very lovely friends who have relentlessly sifted through tumblr archives to recover them, thank you all so much!! ♡

Draco x Hufflepuff she/her!reader

I Always Come Back - Part One

"I dont want you to go!" You cried, clinging to your older brother's school robes as you stood by the train with your father.

Cedric chuckled and ruffled your hair. "You'll be fine (Y/N), I'll come back! You've got to keep Dad in check for me while Im gone, you're in charge now, okay?"

Your father laughed, patting the both of you on the back as you giggled and pulled away from your older brother, smiling up at him with teary eyes and rosy cheeks.

"Oh, and (Y/N), I forgot - take this! It should stop you worrying, you wont even notice Im gone!" Cedric grinned as he handed you a keychain, with a curious rectangular object attached to it.

Upon closer examination, you discovered that it was a small frame, with a picture of Cedric inside it, grinning just as he was as he stood by the train.

You sighed and rolled your eyes at him. "Cedric! A picture wont stop me worrying!"

Students began to board the Hogwarts train, and alarm flashed across Cedric's face as he tried to break free from your grasp.

"Promise you'll come back?" You asked him, holding the keychain in one of your hands.

"I always do." Cedric told you, smiling gently.

He then kissed your forehead, and hugged your father one last time, before boarding the train, to attend his first year at Hogwarts.

You smile down at your lap as you turn the keychain over in your hands, sitting on your bed in your Hufflepuff dormitory, now in your fourth year of Hogwarts. That year, you missed your brother terribly, and when he came home for Christmas, you bawled your eyes out and refused to let go of him for the entirety of his first day home. Shaking your head, you cant help but laugh at yourself, and you're quick to put the keychain back in your bedside cabinet just as Draco saunters into your dormitory, his signature cheeky grin plastered on his face.

You raise an eyebrow at him accusingly. "And what do you think you're doing in the girl’s Hufflepuff dorm, Slytherin Prince?"

Draco chuckles as he approaches you. "I seek audience with the Hufflepuff princess!"

You snort and stand to your feet. "Well, Im afraid you're in the wrong dorm, Cedric wont be back until he's finished studying."

Draco laughs and shakes his head at your joke. "I do wonder what your brother would say about you taunting him behind his back."

You roll your eyes. "What, are you gonna run and tell him, just so you can suck up to him and make him like you even more?"

Draco's jaw drops. "I do not suck up to him!"

You howl with laughter. "Oh, please! Before we even told Cedric about us, you were being weirdly nice to him all the time, he mentioned it to me almost everyday!"

Draco pouts. "Just because I didnt want him to try and break us apart."

You smile softly up at your boyfriend. "Trust me, Draco, if he'd even tried to split is up, I would've tied his spine in a knot, and he knows that, which is why he wont try to split us up, ever."

Draco laughs nervously. "You know, for a Hufflepuff who is lacking in height and appears to be the cutest and sweetest witch in existence, you arent half intimidating sometimes."

You wink at him. "Good to know I can scare you a little. Now, we'd better make it to the great hall, isnt it time for the champions of the tournament to be announced or something?"

Draco rolls his eyes teasingly at your uncertainty, and takes your hand in his. "Well remembered, (Y/N)."

You scowl at him playfully. "Im in my right mind to give you the wrong password to this common room so that you cant come in here and bother me, Malfoy."

When you reach the great hall, Draco lets go of your hand and dramatically pretends to cry as an invisible force pulls him backwards, away from you, and towards his friends, which you mirror back at him as you approach your group of friends, who all shake their heads and laugh at you. Casual conversation stirs across your table, and you cant help but glance over to Draco's group every so often, catching him doing the same to you, which causes you to both break out into cheesy grins.

"You two are too cute, it's honestly disgusting." Your friend, Hannah Abbott, sighs teasingly.

Another girl at your table, Susan Bones, nods and joins in with Hannah's teasing.

"Yeah, (Y/N), we've all agreed that you've really changed since you've got a man in your life." Susan, unlike Hannah, cant go along flawlessly with the joke, however, and bursts out laughing as soon as she gets her sentence out, making your whole table break out into fits of laughter.

As the, pretty obvious, champions are picked from the other competing schools, you and your friends roll your eyes and quietly continue your conversation. You dont have anything against the tournament itself, but the contestants do seem a little...predictable. No doubt Harry Potter, THE chosen one, will be chosen to compete for Hogwarts.

"Cedric Diggory!"

Your eyes widen, and your jaw drops so far you're sure it hits the floor as you jump to your feet, Draco appearing just as shocked as you on the other side of the room. Cedric stands, receiving cheers, and both you and Draco find yourselves clapping too, though the two of you are totally awestruck. Glancing over his shoulder, Cedric laughs at your expression, and you scowl at him.

"Ow! OW! JESUS FUCK (Y/N) LET GO!" Cedric protests as you drag him back to the Hufflepuff common room by his ear, bending his body down so that you can actually reach it.

The entire journey to the common room since the announcement has been silent on your part, the only sound being Cedric voicing his annoyance. Once inside the common room, you let go of Cedric, who immediately starts rubbing his ear.

"How could you just NOT tell me that you signed yourself up for this!?!" You hiss.

Cedric shrugs. "You didnt care about the tournament, it wasnt important, I didnt think I'd get chosen anyway, it was a bit of a joke really."

You run your hands through your hair and begin pacing the room stressfully. "A joke? A JOKE!?! People have DIED in this tournament Cedric!"

Draco suddenly stumbles into the room, panting heavily, he must have run all the way here. Usually, you'd be paying a lot more attention to him, but right now there are slightly more pressing issues.

"Uh-oh, she's pacing." Draco comments, exchanging worried glances with Cedric, who sighs.

"I'll be fine (Y/N), honestly." He attempts to reassure you, but you're having none of it.

"Absolutely not! You have to find some way out of this, there's no way you're doing it!" You think aloud as you fumble over ideas in your head as to how you're going to fix this.

Cedric reaches out to you, but you push him away, and he sighs, looking to Draco for assistance, who goes to stand in front of you and holds your shoulders, keeping you still.

"There isnt a way out of this, I have to compete." Cedric tells you, his voice careful.

You close your eyes, calming yourself down "Alright. Fine."

Both Draco and Cedric have a thoroughly confused, and understandably worried, expression on their faces.

"Uh...(Y/N), are you okay?" Draco asks as you walk away from them, heading for your dormitory.

You nod, not turning to look at either of them as you respond.

"Oh, yeah, Im fine, because I've decided that if Cedric actually survives this stupid competition, Im going to kill him myself."

For the time that followed, you completely blank your brother, because you are positively furious with his idiocy. However, you spend the night before his first challenge tossing and turning in your bed, unable to sleep because of how anxious you are. Draco waits for you outside the Hufflepuff common room, and despite him desperately trying to get you to talk to your brother, he can tell by your expression that, for today at least, your anger has been pushed aside by worry, and he wordlessly takes ahold of your hand, your other hand clutching your keychain, hidden by the long sleeve of your robe.

Needless to say, watching your brother face a dragon was not a pleasant experience. Draco kept count of every time you fainted during Cedric's challenge - it was six. But no amount of joy you had ever felt before compared to seeing the smile on his face as he held the golden egg in his hands back in the Hufflepuff common room, every Hufflepuff cheering and lifting him up, while you and Draco watch on from the doorway. Cedric catches sight of you soon enough, and demands to be put back down on the floor, before he gingerly takes a step towards you. From behind you, Draco looks at you with hope in his eyes; he knows how close you and your brother are, and he hates that there is a rift between you. Cedric opens his mouth to speak, but you hold up a hand, and he pauses, waiting for you to talk first. Only, you dont talk. Instead, you run at him, your body hitting his at full force as you wrap your arms around his middle, squeezing him tightly as he wraps his arms around you.

"So, you're not angry at me anymore?" Cedric chuckles.

You nod into his robe. "Im definitely still livid, but until you win that damn cup, Im going to be your supportive sister."

Kicking your legs off the edge of the dock, your eyes glide over the words on the pages of your book, a small smile etched on your face as you enjoy some alone time. But, at the sound of your brother and your boyfriend's laughter, you close your book and sigh. Your alone time will forever be short-lived with these two idiots in your life.

"(Y/N), I figured it out!" Cedric cheers, swinging an arm around Draco's shoulder as you turn and stand up to face them.

"He came running out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel, shouting for you, and when he couldnt find you in the common room, he went to find me, because he logically assumed I'd be with you. Of course, this was the one time you WERENT with me!" Draco laughs at the mental image of Cedric running around in a towel.

You raise an eyebrow. "Is that really what you were laughing so hard about?"

Draco shakes his head. “No, but you'll find out about that in a minute."

You look to your brother for further explanation, and he clears his throat. "The next challenge is in the lake, the mer-people are going to take something important from me and I have to go and get it back from them, which means holding my breath for an hour, apparently."

This only confuses you even more, so you turn to Draco. "And now for the funny thing?"

Draco grins. "Well, as something important to Cedric is going to be taken and put in potential danger, I have been trusted with the job of hiding you from literally everyone in Hogwarts, so that YOU arent the important something that is put in potential danger."

You throw your head back and groan in frustration. "Does that mean we have to spend the night in the Room Of Requirement like we did when the Chamber Of Secrets was opened and you both got paranoid that I'd get snatched by the child-catcher Tom Riddle?"

Draco nods, his smile widening. "Exactly!"

And so, you and Draco spend the night in the Room Of Requirement, admiring the imaginary stars that appear on the ceiling, and talking about nothing in particular, until the two of you fall asleep. What Draco "forgets" to tell you, is that he sets his watch to wake him every few minutes throughout the night, to make sure that you're still safe, and havent been taken. The next morning, Draco breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that you're out of harms way, and the two of you head to the lake to watch the challenge. In comparison to facing a dragon, Cedric going for a swim didnt scare you quite as much, but it was still a stressful experience, and even winning first place for the challenge didnt seem like enough of a reward for your brother's efforts, not in your eyes.

[kazieka]

anyway more gow ragnarok thoughts

• deimos acknowledgment :’)

• me, looking at heimdall: what the fuck. this isnt idris elba. this is an atlanta twink who’s going to rob your medicine cabinet the instant he’s alone in your bathroom

• again, extremely pleased with the amount of dogs in this game. absolutely swimming in dogs

• little tiny ui tweaks that were too small to get annoyed about in the last game! like how kratos used to kick chains off of cliffs and automatically start climbing down them? he doesn’t do that anymore!! the worlds smallest inconvenience is no more!

• just. little bits of dialogue here and there about stuff that Team Boy has been getting up to. mimir talking about how they “tried” moving him from Kratos’s back to front but there was a “viscera” issue which is totally code for “mimir got draugr blood in his mouth and freaked the fuck out”

• did i MENTION brok and sindri

• kratos last game, very emphatically: i do NOT run errands for dwarves

• kratos this game: hi sindri im home and i brought you cool stuff

• kratos: hey brok do you wanna come with me

• kratos: hello Lúnda it’s nice to meet you. if you are a friend of brok then you are a friend of mine :) do you need any errands run

• on that note

• the orb

• best quest. FUCK odin im only doing quests for Lúnda now

• faye

• we finally get to see what she looked like

• did i get a little misty eyed the first time i saw the flashback? maybe. mind your own business

• when Kratos is mad at Atreus he lifts up mimir’s head so they can both scold him. that’s coparenting

• just. just the whole crew at sindri’s house. hanging out & being pals. i would give so much goddamn money to spend a christmas there.

• sindri: shit. fuck. god damn it. i got another brother. i didn’t even really want the FIRST one

• and yet he still trails after atreus like PLEASE BE CAREFUL. THEY HAVENT INVENTED ATIVAN YET AND I WORRY ABOUT YOU

• bit by bit, the cast is dragging Kratos Lore out of him like pulling teeth. the lyre. the poetry talk. “what food do you miss most” “olives” said with Zero hesitation

• after receiving the spear from the Lady, kratos is just. so genuinely delighted. “the spear is the first weapon a Spartan learns to wield”

• my god. the whole sequence with Brok at the Lady’s Forge. kratos now willing and able to show his friend how much he respects him. just fuck me UP sir. kneeling before this little shitheel of a dwarven nobody with more reverence than Kratos has ever shown ANY god and requesting his blessing. do you think brok is aware that Kratos has not asked for anyone’s blessing for a very very long time. like do you think brok even knows the significance of having the Ghost of Sparta, the Godkiller, one of the most devastating forces of rage and destruction the world has ever seen, kneel before you and offer up his weapon and ask reverently for your blessing?? im about to roll myself into the Fucking ocean guys

[mdpikachu]

yes this is the dante theory list for those who liked this post but im also making it my pinned

First; Hi, I'm Md (they/it/she) and welcome to my autism hole. Boops you. HERE is my art blog, HERE is my eldritch sideblog, HERE is my berserkerlot sideblog, and HERE is my photoblog, HERE is my AO3, HERE is my Flight Rising, HERE is my BlueSky. Okay, now back to the actual post.

Md's hot hot list of Dante limbus theories that I've been sitting on since I started playing

ONE OF THESE WILL BE RIGHT. MAYBE. cut for length. discuss in the comments. contains ruina and lobocorp spoilers. maybe even leviathan spoilers. assume spoilers for the newest content. pinning so i can keep adding to it in the future. (edited 4/7) (up to canto 6.3)

Theory 1, from early march 2023- Dante has the option to get their head back, takes it. Human Dante is shown. except clearly hiding unfamiliarity with the sinners. The clock head is still alive. A clock doesnt need a body to live. Human evil dante uses the golden whatever to cause Problems and has the sinners chained to them. vergil is free tho so he can beat down evil dante. (this now works with a canto 5 tidbit where vergil said he'd only step in if "all sinners dead, dante is beaten, and the hands of the clock are about to be torn off".)

T2, 3/12- 9 circles of hell, Dante, and a few subsections. Dante is sinner 10. Charon is also in the divine comedy so she'll get a section. Dante are u lucifer. who is the lucifer of the setting?? i'm saying pre-dante Dante until otherwise noted. (not personally fond of this one)

T3, 3/15- iori saw limbus going a certain way and guaranteed it by making sure Dante got factory reset by force. villain to cause heroism. (dont know enough about Iori for this one)

**T4- Backwards clock relation possible. (possibly canon validated) (even more possible connection as of 6.3)

T5- Saying Dante had a significant other named Beatrice is way too low bar but It's a necessary one. ech

T6- Dante IS Beatrice and given the name of someone else. (too ez)

T7, 3/17- future Dante guaranteeing the future changes by getting past Dante's head removed. issue solved. This one is based on the opening and reading the lyrics real goodly.

T8, 3/20- Dante's head has a lil bit of angelas ai in there. or ayin data. benjamin. any of them. carmen even. fuck whatever. maybe hokma bc ticking in ruina theme. (this one lead to some Better Ideas. see later) (4/7) POSSIBLY SUPPORTED BY 6.2. WHY DID THEY SEE THAT.

T9, 3/23- The three censored letters. B E A, S I N, E G O, A L I, who knows. v e r. could be anything this one is nothing

T10, 3/26- Faust VERY SPECIFICALLY says that brains cant be replaced-- so even if Dante gets their head back, it's incompatible now. (!! this is a Top Theory)

T11, 3/28- Beatrice or someone else died around Christmas, which makes Dante sad even without their memories. The pain exists but the context is missing. (They also seem to know Christmas music without any issue, able to sing along with Charon in their head. This is not addressed in canon.)

T12, 3/30- Beatrice was one of the orphans that died in Leviathan :) the time period matches up. It was around Christmas.

T13, 3/31- HARD LOBOCORP SPOILER. Thinking about In Hell We Live (Lament). "Each loop we live/die thru"? How many times? How many times has Dante done this? Or Pre-Dante, anyway. Faust is probably in on it. The new L corp took one look at what Ayin was doing and went "we can do that too lmao". Losing their memory was a base requirement to prevent madness. I rewrote this theory on 9/19 but added "to prevent a paradox"

T14, 4/18- Less a HC and more a suggestion, just use F Corp's shit to Unlock Dante's memory. If we ever visit District F, you KNOW Faust is gonna keep them on one hell of a tight leash.

T15- Is the Star a Singularity? Did Dante STEAL it? Are THEY the singularity? The clock? This one's too easy too though.

T16, 5/8- WAT IF THE STAR IS LUCIFER. MORNING STAR. CAN MANIPULATE SOULS IN HELL. (weak but proj moon loves their Christian imagery. this will come back repeatedly) not this one

T17, 5/10- Dante is either connected to whitenight OR a jesus figure (12 apostles, sin, not dying when killed, revives people, etc. the christianity again. it will continue. i already drew plague doc dante.) (4/7, possible but carmen is the lucifer adjacent if 6-34 is anything to go by. jesus is still open.)

**T18. 5/16- Dante's clock hands are made from a Golden Bough. ez. LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOO canto 5.2

T19. 6/16- This has 0 canon basis but what if Dante was a Bloodfiend, would that be cool or what? They already don't need to eat, but is that from the clock or something else? Do they get IVs with nutrients? How does this work? Idk. I just want Dante to cut their hand open, make giant claws and rip a man apart before eating dirt. Dante can chew on a Sinner as a treat. c:

T20- Wouldn't it be fucked up if Dante found their head and it had either Distorted or was an Abnormality??

T21, 9/29- Religious Bastard Dieci Dante Aligheri.

T22- Dante has gotten Very Attached to the Sinners as their only form of contact while they've gotten themselves together. They recently realized many Sinners are doing this for the end goals, not to be a team. This seemed to upset them. UPSET THEM MORE. DISTORT THEM. DANTE REALIZES THEY'LL ALL LEAVE WITHOUT A CARE IN THE WORLD. Carmen! Come get this bitch.

T23- Actually, Dante should distort for any reason. I Absolutely Understand the Mechanics (lying). Got too depressed, hit -45 SAN and decided they're just a useless tool instead of a person? Absolutely. You're now a piece of equipment. (when Heath asks if they're okay in canto 5 bc they got injured, dante responds "the clocks fine so who cares?") (I now understand the mechanics but want it anyway) They won't.

T24- Building off the previous, they're really starting to believe they're just a tool like how Gregor thinks he's a bug. That Is Not Good For Your Mental Health (garry ib icon.png)

T25- Putting this here just before my fav one, their skin. We never see it, so a list of potential possibilities excluding Being White bc that's BORING: Any POC, ashy skin (like vergil), dark ashy (charon), pure black or close to (a lot of people do this, me included), dark and covered in stars, very tattooed, very mechanical, just outright a robot, bloodfiend again, ETC. Based on the few images we have that show anything, it's just pitch black under there unless it's a skinsuit. the rest of them may be any of the above but for now most of these are defunct.

T26- My Current Top Theory of All Time- Dante is an AI. They have never been human, just machine. At least one of their creators cared enough to do better than Ayin ever fucking did, fostering curiosity and a desire to live in the little AI. Thing is, after Angela, AI became Very Illegal. There's no way their creators survived. L Corp New got them. Old AI Dante was, at their core, still an unfeeling machine that made decisions based purely on cold logic. New Dante is a person that is learning and growing, refusing to follow the colder path at times.

Is the clock part of them? Unsure. That can work either way.

But they're definitely becoming a person who doesn't want every encounter to end in bloodshed and death. Good for them. (this part is correct)

T27- Dante is not Ruina Dante. they didn't get booked. I think they'd throw hands on sight.

T28- Verg/Dante that's all glory to yaoiville

**T29- Dante navigator skills IM SO FUCKING HAPPY I WIN FOREVER MOM HOLY FUCK

T30- I missed one! Their eyes with a human head. This has a few that rotate. Red eyes, Gold eyes, Gold with the star, heterochromia with only one gold/star and red, pitch black (pre-d), or night sky/star. mix and match. who cares?

T31- I personally like the idea of Dante being a redhead (real red not ginger like ish) but realize it doesn't make much sense. Black hair works too, esp smoky, but they need more color. maybe fire streaks? if POC, maybe dreads?

T32- I am now also accepting heathcliff/dante post canto 5.1 he care so much.... actually just sinner polycule is valid. so is sinner family. both work. the only part I dont like is dante/faust. doesn't feel right. Charon excluded. that is our child.

T33- Forgot an old one where I figured Dante was a hacker that got into a Lot of trouble and being sinner #10 was meant to be a suicide mission.

T34- Dante being an ai part 2, having been planted in a body. maybe even a body they knew.

T35- another i forgot but dante being all scarred up or stitches or frankensteiny and-- [etc]

T36- Memory loss being fully intentional to kill their previous self and only carry over the necessary. A new start.

T37- Yknow how we never SAW Dante being an upper torso and arm in canto 3? Why? What is being hidden that's so important? robot parts? are you a robot? are you a -

T38- Dante being an artist of any kind. musician, poet, painter, etc. even post amnesia. give em a hobby

T39- Somewhere else I discussed forms that'd be fun for a Dante Distortion but i cant find it so ill reiterate: coffin spider, all around helper clock, useless fucking thing. all of which have gold chains suffocating them and it doesnt fight back. give it morphine

T40- this one's insane but dante's og self being the Player. thats why they were "me" and not "dante" we're not them. but we also are.

T41- This ones a joke but og dantes name actually just being "Me". (but not pronounced that way) (alternatively it was a nickname)

T42- Dante being an interviewer or reporter- A big name one. No wonder they keep secrets like K corps singularity. They can release that publicly later... if they choose to.

T43- RECREATE CARMEN. DO IT PUSSY. That 5.5 Blade scene is Damning as all hell. That or the bough + the monolith had an Interaction.

T44- Dante's internal programming knows the City Lore but Dante isn't allowed to know. The fact so much of that scene was censored...

T45- Dante is Bongbong

T46- I haven't beaten Ruina so I don't know a lot about Constructs or Librarians but like. Maybe they were one of those.

T47- Dante is going to eventually explode (figuratively). Even they can only take so much abuse and bullshit. Self-esteem can only go so low.

T48- Dante being a disaster chimera of stuff. AI made of someone else's brain, in someone else's body, with other stuff installed, etc, etc, etc.

T49- The Star reminds me too much of Blue Star, talking about Sin and such. Maybe it's an abno relating to that. who knows.

T50- Dante is an ID and there's a mirror in their head keeping them active. I hope they do a Charon/Lapis and totally overwrite the og bc the og's an asshole.

T51- Dante's the first successful "new human"

T52- Dante IS fucked up but something in their head hides the fuckedupness from everyone else.

[lily-orchard]

I've been cut off from all other people I could discuss this with by circumstance, so I'm begging you for help here.

I had an argument with my mother on New Years Eve. My older sister, my twin 4 year old siblings and I had gone mini golfing that day and gone to see a movie. At the mini golf course, she wanted to stop and take a picture, but we were very slow on the course since there were five of us, and there were four groups behind us taking their turns. At one interval I straight up told her no and she threw a fit, at another, my baby sister was afraid of the prop Mum wanted her to pose with, but she forced her to stand by it anyways, despite my complaints, even though my sister wouldn't stop crying for the picture. At the movie theater, she asked me to get a security guard to take a picture of us standing by a nice christmas tree they had set up, and I told her I wasn't going to ask him, it was packed that night, he was doing his job, and my older sister had already talked with him earlier and found out the poor guy wasn't off till 1 am on New years eve.

She went nuts, crying and saying we never care about her and treat the things she wants to do and the memories she wants to make like garbage. My sister got pissed at being yelled at for something unreasonable and got on her case, started yelling back and telling her to shut the fuck up when she started cursing at us. Whole time my baby sister is crying, baby brother is just dead silent, literal flash backs to me and my older sister when we were younger and I hated it. Eventually she just tells us to stop talking, she doesnt want to hear anymore "bullshit". I told her later we needed to talk it out and she refused.

She hasn't talked to us since, didn't celebrate new years eve with us, yesterday she stayed asleep all day and my sister had to watch the kids, when she woke up she went to get herself food after complaining about us not feeding the babies. We gave them leftovers, so on so forth, ordered ourselves food from a gift card a friend sent my sister a while back, spent the rest of the night in my room avoiding her. Only engaged her when I noticed one of my christmas presents was missing. (a fifteen piece set of golf ball sized action figures, the kids didnt touch them i know they didnt just walk away) We confronted her about it, she denied it, but there's no trace o them anywhere in my clean room.

Please just tell it to me straight, because I'm going nuts trying to keep this family together and I don't know what to make of this situation. I had to drop out of school to babysit these kids like 7 months ago , I'm not getting paid the 100 dollars a week im supposed to be making, I clean the house too and occasionally cook. I think I've earned everything I got under that damn tree this year, so the fact that she most likely stole my gift from me because of an argument over pictures is really going to make me break down.

Am I being abused, or, as she says, are we abusing her?

You are being abused. Holy shit this woman is a fucking brat. What a fucking child. That woman needs to be fucking slapped.

[azsazz]

I know a lot of people are unhappy with the whole Nyx/pregnancy thing (personally it’s never bothered me) but I saw someone saying that basically they thought that it was actually a way for miss Maas to cope with her own pregnancy since I think she became pregnant while writing acofas and had the baby during acosf? I think the person was saying her baby was eleven days overdue and she had to be rushed in for an emergency (and that’s terrifying just on its own, let alone knowing you have a baby inside you???) so from that viewpoint it just makes me feel happy if that is right? Like being able to show that you’ve gone through something so difficult and be able to manage to articulate it in a place thousands of people will see? And she even said at the end of acosf that a lot of Nesta’s emotions are a reflection of her own which just makes me a feel a little ??? When people talk badly about it? As if there’s a correct way to experience self-destructive depression?

Idk, it’s a complicated topic and I do sometimes feel people get too caught up in what others think instead of examining the books for themselves and coming to their own conclusions? (Having said that I was so relieved to find out other people didn’t like Bryce as much—I thought I was just being a bitch 🫠)

i mean, it doesn't bother me but i do think it was a cop out? i do feel like parts of the books are def based on her own life which is fine, i totally get that and even do it myself!

and i actually just went to a writing class with an author yesterday and someone asked if certain publishers essentially force their authors to write like christmas/holiday novellas and stuff and the author said yes, it's very popular for them to ask this of their authors which i found insanely interesting.

but also, i think that obviously she knows she's going to be critiqued on anything she puts out anyway, and if she didn't want or know that to happen she wouldn't have used her own experiences maybe? im not speaking for her this is just my thoughts obvisously, i def see what you're saying, def a complicated topic for sure

lol ur def not being a bitch for disliking bryce lol im with ya

[freebooter4ever]

I dont believe in love at first sight by any stretch of the imagination, but there's something that happens sometimes when i meet a person - and i dont mean just seeing them i mean start to talk, like actually talk - that says this connection is different, platonic or romantic. (it took meeting “Paul” twice for us to even have a proper conversation and after we did we were both like why the fuck did we waste so much time not being friends)

I wish i knew what makes it different. I wish i knew why with some people silly mundane things can feel like the most exciting thing. What quirk of personality makes it more interesting with them than with anyone else? Like, say when a friend calls you up and says ‘hey i need to grb beer and snacks can you give me a ride?’ and you're like ‘fuck yeah why not’ cause you know with this friend, no matter what you do it's gonna be awesome. Or giggling in a supermarket while looking at pasta cause no reason. Or stopping a walk in the middle of a random neighborhood because suddenly in that moment the sunset and light is perfect and it must be appreciated. Or spending two hours carefully checking light bulbs to find the single burnt out bulb in a christmas light string. Or sitting in a crowded club booth knitting while everyone else dances cause your friend just isnt feeling it tonight. Or taking photos with a weird ass dolphin mural that happened to be on the walk to dinner. Or driving through snow to the end of the forest road, just because. (all of these are different people btw)

But then with other people i can do exciting planned out events with them - and its great, the best. But when we are alone the excitement fades. And something is missing. Like a gaping ache. And i can never fucking explain. 

As grandma once said - with grandpa nothing was ever ‘the usual’, even things they did every night like go to the back room and watch columb*o on tv never felt boring when he was with her. And i didnt say it but i was thinking : grandma aren't you old? Shouldn't that have faded by like the first 50 years together? 

But also, i knew exactly what she meant and i think ive been searching for a version of that for myself my whole life. Because my version of it always ends - friends move away, i move away, nick fucking rips my heart out and smashes it under his foot when he tells me he didnt say goodbye before leaving the city because he thought he wouldnt miss me at all (im not bitter) , lives drift apart emotionally, etc. And im really REALLY happy and grateful for the periods when i am feeling that platonic or romantic love.

But god i wish it happened more often. And i wish it didnt feel like nails on a chalkboard when im trying to force it. If im not always a little secretly thrilled when im with someone no matter where we are or what we are doing, i think i know deep down its not The One. and i get antsy and guilty and like an itch in the back of everything i do.

[hyunecafe]

The Boyz Ships Ao3 Fic Recommendations  ☻

❥ Lovesick Idiots Anonymous   signing off as always: a lovesick idiot, anonymous or an au where hyunjae is an anonymous blogger who posts daily love letters to his best friend lee juyeon and thousands of people have made it their mission to find out his identity.

❥ Oh Cue Our Sanity  “Hi, Detective. Did you miss me?” Juyeon freezes. It’s been two years since the last time he heard his voice. Two years since the last time he heard the Phantom Thief call him that: Detective In his playful and taunting tone. Juyeon has almost forgotten how much he hates it.

❥ Five I Love Yous, One I Love You Too “Yeah, I just like to read stories and wish for a relationship like the main characters.”

❥ Hello, My Soulmate Everyone has a soulmate, but you only know who yours is when you are 18. But Hyunjae strongly believes something is wrong when he dreams of his arch-nemesis, Juyeon.

❥ How to Cook (Easy! I Promise!) On September 16th at 3:22 PM, Jaehyun is tasked with the arduous task of cooking Christmas dinner for his entire friend group. The best part of it all is that he has literally never cooked! Not once! Luckily, YouTube - and its slew of videos made by chefs with the prettiest hands - is there to help.

❥ Never Let Me Go Hyunjae is set to inherit Seoul’s biggest entertainment firm, CRKR, and Juyeon is just the guy who used world’s worst pickup line on him in the club. ❥ I Like You (Sorry I Never Meant To) Hyunjae, adamant on not looking like a complete loser in front of his ex, is desperate for a fake boyfriend for his sister's wedding. Juyeon, his worst enemy, is ironically the perfect candidate.

❥ Valentine's fool Juyeon wants to propose to his boyfriend of 5 years, Hyunjae, on Valentine’s day. But unknowingly, Hyunjae keeps ruining it. 

❥ Room 143 hyunjae realises he can't ever escape from juyeon since their brothers were dating, their friends were marrying one another, their other friends were dating and on top of that, due to unfortunate (maybe fortunate in the end) circumstances caused by eric, they are also now hotel roomies! ❥ Get Out  juyeon keeps crashing into hyunjae and haknyeon's dorm and no one really knows why.

❥ Oops Wrong Name Story of how juyeon said the wrong name during his wedding vow.

❥ Pumpkin Pie hyunjae texts a random number he found on the walls of a vandalised toilet cubicle which may or may not just belong to juyeon 

❥ Kisses In My Dreams  story in which juyeon loves giving hyunjae little kisses when hyunjae's asleep but hyunjae wants juyeon to do it when he's awake(or that "my flatmate keeps giving me lil kisses when he thinks im asleep. how do i ask him to do it when i'm awake too" post

❥ Just An Act hyunjae gets his decade-long bestfriend, juyeon to pose as his boyfriend for a valentine's day event all for fried chicken.

❥ It Takes Two juyeon and hyunjae gets sent on a date while being in disguiseorhyunjae goes on a date as chanhee + juyeon goes on a date as changmin and they end up falling in love without knowing one another’s true identity

❥ Love Me or Hate Me juyeon, self-proclaimed president of the anti-hyunjae fanclub is forced to go to a fansign for his brother, eric who happens to be hyunjae's biggest fan.

❥ Every time I Look at You (It’s Like the First Time) “are you lee hyunjae’s first love?” eric blurts. “what?” “juyeon,” eric repeats exasperatedly, leaning over the wall to set his coffee down gently on juyeon’s desk. “are you lee hyunjae’s first love?”juyeon blinks at his coworker a few times before saying, “are you talking about… actor, lee hyunjae?” “no, i’m talking about the guy i ran into on the way out of starbucks this morning,” eric says with a sigh, before waving his phone in front of juyeon’s face. “obviously i’m talking about the actor, lee hyunjae!”

❥ Professional Comma Boyfriend When Juyeon looks at Jaehyun and says, "I'd date Hyunjae," what he really wants to say is, "Jaehyun, date me."

❥ Exhale My Name (Absorb My Soul When You Breathe In) The three times Chanhee wondered who Jaehyun's wife is, and the one time he met his husband.)

❥ It Gets Brighter Than July Jaehyun and Juyeon decide to get better at queerbaiting—without realising they're already dating, that is.

❥ You’ll Be On My Mind  5 names that Jaehyun likes, and the 1 that he thinks might be his favourite

❥ Give a Little, Get A Lot  “do i look untrustworthy?” hyunjae asked in amusement, tilting his head slightly while he watched juyeon’s expression, or lack thereof, for anything to betray his thoughts.juyeon had only been in his presence for five minutes altogether, but the smile had already begun to irk him. it was as fake as they came, without an ounce of warmth to be seen, but it wasn’t entirely forced. no, it seemed lee hyunjae liked to look conniving, enjoyed being the center of attention both good and bad. ❥ Looking Out For You (Like I Always Do) juyeon, standing by hyunjae’s desk, sets the bottle of chocolate milk down on hyunjae’s notebooks, patting the top of it. “don’t fall asleep during class,” he says, a note of amusement in his tone.hyunjae considers doing so just to spite him. ❥ Specious  “One Iced Americano and one Strawberry Ice Blend.” Hyunjae recited the order off the top of his head.Surely a person with amnesia couldn’t possibly remember such details from a forgotten period of time so well, right?

❥ The Night That Shakes Me Up Hyunjae’s the unlucky guy who picked cross-dressing for his penalty. But maybe he’ll get lucky in other ways—enter Juyeon, part-time innocent bystander and full-time horny individual. ❥ (You're the) Chef's Special Jaehyun's pouring significantly more than two tablespoons of olive oil into the bowl when Juyeon sees it. Smoke wavering in the air behind him. Jaehyun eventually sees it too in the viewfinder. "Oh god, not again!" He cries out, running to turn off the stove .And Juyeon laughs. Which causes his hand to clasp over his mouth. He has never, should never laugh at such blatant unsafe cooking conditions.  ❥ Hungover You Juyeon keeps getting drunk, and his friends have no choice but to call Hyunjae, his ex-boyfriend because he’s the only person Juyeon is willing to listen to

❥ Rhyme or Reason There's no reason for it. No purpose, Hyunjae admits, in the dark quiet.It's just love. ❥ But I'm Sure You Can Change My Mind Jaehyun thought that Juyeon was brilliant in everything he felt and possessed. No, he had said it out loud for Juyeon to hear, before telling him to kiss Jaehyun only next to his lips. Because Jaehyun couldn't see what he wanted clearly still. ❥ Lend Me Your Lips  "i'll bring it tomorrow just so you know. and we start tomorrow too. have fun visiting your brother! send him my regards... and eric's." juyeon smirked, knowing that he had won another battle between him and hyunjae - another crown to add to his proud collection of victories against the weak, defeated lee hyunjae. he turned and left hyunjae in the field by himself. ❥ My Boyfriend's Gap Moe is Unmatched! When Chanhee finds out his soft, shy, and pretty childhood friend, Jaehyun, has a bad boy boyfriend, he realizes that perhaps his darling sweetheart of a best friend could not have been as innocent as he had thought. ❥ Even In Another Universe, You Are My Home Angels and devils have been living separated from each other ever since the very beginning, but two very different beings ended up in each other's arms nonetheless. ❥ Under The Bleachers  Jaehyun and Juyeon met in high school, fell in love, and then, life happened. And years later, Jaehyun still can't forget about him. ❥ Hush, Love It's always been Jaehyun's dream to have a band with his best friends, but he didn't think it would turn into a nightmare. Or Jaehyun and Juyeon are in a band together and something happens and Jaehyun catches feeling against his will.

❥ Bold Much Tonight? (I Want You) assassins! jumil wherein hyunjae was paid to take out juyeon and juyeon was paid to take out hyunjae's boss. however, they come to a win-win deal with hyunjae getting his freedom and juyeon decorating it.no violence is heavily descripted, however the mention is still there and throughout the whole story, violence and death threats are present. a mental episode takes place for a short time in the story so be careful for that too when reading. ❥ Anti-romantic  Let down again and again, Hyunjae is cynical when it comes to love. However, in an ironic twist of events, his first heartbreak might just be the one to change that.  ❥ Beautiful Stranger  Jaehyun doesn't have to read too deeply into signs. ❥ Blond, Black, and Blue  Before, Juyeon was nothing but a stranger in Hyunjae's life. Someone Hyunjae didn't even notice. Someone that only existed in his peripheral vision. Now, he can see him everywhere. It’s like Juyeon refuses to not be seen once Hyunjae finally noticed him. Now, Juyeon is everything but a stranger in Hyunjae's life. He has become a steady presence, an uninvited guest that constantly occupies Hyunjae's mind. ❥ At The End Of My Winter (You Wait For Me) Juyeon wants to move on, but Hyunjae makes it impossible to let go

❥ Touchdown Lee Juyeon, the school's star football player, is undeniably whipped for the student council president.

❥ Tears Are Prettier When We're Both Happy Juyeon can’t change the way his boyfriend sees himself in the mirror in a day, can't make him feel like he's the only boy in the world in a day, but he sure as hell can try.

❥ Red String Hyunjae is the perfect student — until he’s suddenly falsely accused and faced with expulsion. He will do whatever it takes to prove his innocence, even if that means asking his number one rival Lee Juyeon for help. ❥ Falling For You Everyone with a partner must have a story about how they met for the first time. Some met when they were just students, some met when they're walking on a park, some met at their workplace, and maybe some other met in a bar. Jaehyun, though, met his now-boyfriend after saving him from falling from a 15-meter high balcony. ❥ It Was Enchanting To Meet You  He learned how Jae’s eyes light up whenever he shares something he loves, and Juyeon also learns that he likes the way those eyes light up. It’s only almost more than an hour ride back home, but Juyeon feels that he already knows who Jae is all his life, he finds out that he doesn’t hate it one bit. A fateful encounter that starts with a carton of oat milk and ends with one. 

❥ Wabisuke  But maybe, just maybe, they can find a solution to their problem—one that doesn’t involve blood, but one that definitely involves something a little sweeter.

❥ Us On A Love Letter  Jaehyun receives an anonymous love letter, not expecting it to be from his rival counselor that he's been fighting with all summer camp.

❥ ❥ My Summer With You  Sunwoo hates his new summer job. His co-worker, Changmin, is the exact opposite. They clash from the very start, but as they work together, their feelings start to change. ❥ ╰

❥ ╰

[decemebercircus]

I promised a fanfic with ortho and I akways keep my promises ireguardless of how long it takes me

Here's what I promised @ryuu-from-the-grave

This is a fanfic one-shot. Sorry if it's bad.

Ignihyde:

Vincent Orgue & Ortho Shroud (and yes Idia's here too)

(This fic is prior the events of the story)

Vincent Orgue is the vice dorm leader since I'm ambiguous on whether or not Ortho is a vice dorm leader pretty sure he isn't just like Ruggie isn't a VDL either. Before anybody asks he's based on Maestro from Beauty and the Beast II: The Enchanted Christmas.

Story:

"No no no the sound isn't perfect! It's not the lighthearted music everyone wants to hear! Why can't I get it right?" Vincent groaned irritatably as he glowered at his personally made electronic pipe organ.

The holographic notes flickering and glitching with his frustrated state. He slammed his hand on the keys, enormous jagged low notes materialising in response.

"Hello Ortho" he sighed as the door opened. "You knew it was me?" Ortho asked for some reason genuinely surprised as he floated by Vincent. "Well you're the only one who comes here, even when you don't need to inform me about the duties of the doem leader and vice dorm leader." He admitted with a small smile. "So, Ortho what brings you here?"

"Are you coming to the board game club tomorrow?" Ortho asked but his tone implied he knew what the answer already was.

"Ortho both of you know I only deal in music and mystery related games"

"So you're not coming? We're playing a new game that just arrived yesterday!" Ortho persisted his determination somewhat adorable not that Vincent would admit that.

"You're the only one who interacts with my brother and also one of the few students that willingly goes outside the dorm!" Ortho was either trying to beg or he was pulling the "im-the-cute-younger-brother-please-fall-for-my-adorableness- card" Idia said something about ortho's adorableness stats going up when they first started school but he didn't take it seriously.

He should have listened. Because now he was caving in.

"Alright. Alright I'll go"

Ortho seemed happy about it and in response to Ortho, several of the pipe organ's high note keys played.

Vincent ran a hand through his hair as his wheelchair moved out the door. The lights on the electronic organ dying down as he was leaving the room.

❦︎ ❦︎ ❦︎ ❦︎ ❦︎ ❦︎

"Is Idia busy? I have a few assignments that I need to send him Vincent asked Ortho via headset which served as a phone for the two.

"He's playing video games again. But I can use our special music code to tell you when it's a good time to send it." Ortho replied happily.

Oh alright. And ortho sorry I missed yesterday's board game."

"It's alright! There's next time!" He stated cheerfully hearing Vincent chuckle as the line disconnected.

"Nii-san... Don't you think you should take a break? When did you last eat?" Ortho nudged his brother a little noticing that yet again Idia's blood sugar was low. He better not have simply ate half a chocolate bar on Wednesday evening and then forgot. Especially since today was starting Friday morning.

Idia paused his game to think for a moment.

"I had a chocolate bar" idia resumed his game.

Ortho could automatically shut it off and attempt to force him to go to the lounge and get his lunch. But then Idia would mope about for the entire next day if his game information *ahem* work wasnt saved.

Ortho tilted his head. It would have been cuteness overload if Idia had been looking but his gold eyes stared at the screen.

"I'm going over to the vice dorm leader's room! He'll send some files soon it's important that you at least look at them" Ortho floated off fhe bed and towards the door. At the same time he sent the music file that would tell Vincent to go ahead and send the various assignments. He'll likely work on them with his brother which was fun. He wished Vincent could participate. It must be hard not being able to walk.

Ortho walked by Vincent's room he could sense any signs of a living person or any of Vincent's magic but maybe he stepped out. Or rolled out. Ortho was about to ask where Vincent was and if he could play on the electronic Xylophone again maybe he could fix it this time. It was really cool how Vincent could make all these wonderful instruments. If only he would make money off then then he'd be more confident in his legs getting repaired---

Ortho's train of thought vanished upon hearing voices in the lounge sounded like two people were talking to Vincent. Or were they ridiculing him for being in a wheel chair?

"Fine well leave! Well just get our bento boxes and leave!" One boy snapped. Ortho was told to stay out of fights but he really wanted to help.

There was a loud clatter like multiple tablets being tossed to the ground.

"Oh I'm sorry Orgue --senpai, want to get my infotablets for me?" The same boy snickered although this time Ortho could tell they'd hit a nerve.

"I'M IN A WHEELCHAIR!!" Vincent roared angrily. Pitch black jagged enormous music notes drifted through the air a sign of Vincent's unique magic activating. Ortho eyes widened in recognition at the song the notes made up. One of Vincent's favourite pieces "In the Hall of the Mountain King" but Vincent of course made it more somber and dark toned. That was bad. Very bad. Ortho forgoed the request from his brother not to jump into any fights and nearly tackled Vincent who was holding his bento.

"Ortho I thought we agreed for you not to come flying at me. You couldn't have missed me that much we spoke a few minutes ago!" Vincent chuckled wrapping a arm around the waist of the boy seemingly unaware of Ortho's real intention. The boys took this opportunity to leave. "You came here to get Idia's lunch for him so you could insist he actually eat it right?" Vincent asked and handed over a bag immediately ortho knew the contents. "Aw Nii-san.... It's a lot of snacks again." He noted dismally. So much for convincing him to eat sonething nutritious this week. Guess hell have to find the most healthy thing there which as far as he could tell was the potato chips and the candied strawberries. Hmmm...

"What's in your bento?" Ortho asked taking the bag from Vincent.

Vincent refused to meet ortho's eyes. "Food" he commented. And wrapped his arms around the bento.

Ortho raised his eyebrow so it almost disappeared in his hair.

"Ok ok it's a grilled cheese sandwich and four cinnamon rolls." His wheel chair backed up a bit from Ortho staring at the box. "....There's also a apple pie... I'm not sharing it BTW"

Ortho sighed "alright let's both go back to your room I'll send Idia's lunch to him when I go back."

"Playing on my electronic instruments again?"

"Can I? I know the Xylophone isn't yet fixed but--"

"Sure" Vincent smiled. It seemed genuine and carefree. Probably the only times he's ever smiled Ortho thought. He wondered if he could get his brother to feel like the emotions captivated in that smile. Preferably when he wasn't stsying up late to play video games.

Well just like when he first woke up in this new robotic body those years ago, it requires obe step at a time. Maybe all five of the members of the board game club will be present then.

That's right.. Vincent and Azul havent met yet... Maybe the two will have fun with Idia when a game all three can enjoy comes along.

[humanransome-note]

Today at work

let us set the scene

Michael's arts and crafts, early afternoon.

The main cashier (me) looks like he took a few laps through the lukewarm florida rain, but that is in fact not the case, the AC is on the fritz and has been so for months. And this cashier (hi, me again) has been standing in this exact spot for at least 3 hours, having barely moved since opening the register.

enter, customer. White woman, mid to late sixties possibly early seventies, looks like she has not known anything close to real joy since the moment before her torrid love affair with a married man ended and he told her he would be staying with his wife. She purchases a baker's dozen set of bright yellow party bags, and some paint. And throws onto the table, a crumpled "20% off all regular priced items" coupon. The one that comes attached to the bottom of every Michael's receipt.

her total is $13 and some change.

she gives me a $100 and three $1 s.

Now I have not just had a day... I have had a week. (my first week of work in fact!) From sunday to today (friday) I have spent no less then 4.5 hours on my feet every day,

sunday was passable because the cashier on the other register was actually helpful

monday I was alone and almost began crying at the register

tuesday i found a very painful blister that has yet to pop and an ingrown toenail that had to be removed by me with a pair of nail clippers and cheap thread snips.

wednesday my barely there afternoon plans were shot

thursday was filled with glitter and wrapping glass christmas ornaments even though halloween hasn't happened yet

and by today, I was just hoping to get through it.

all of this, mind you, was done in the exact same shirt, which I have been forced to wear for six days straight. (yes I washed it, but I feel like it adds some flavor to this story so I'm telling you anyway.)

the woman, whose total is again, $13 and like 24 cents, gave me a 100 dollar bill and some ones. (with exact change)

Now, this is a Friday afternoon at an art's and crafts store, in october. Have I mentioned that all halloween items are 60% off as well? (because of christmas. yes i know. you, me, an eight yr old girl and her little brother are all fucking mortified by the absolute ignoring of the sacred candy holiday)

so, middle of october, halloween items are 60% off, and most normal people are just getting their decorations now, meaning this art's and craft store is brimming with people trying to get what scraps of halloween decor they can, interspersed with the christmas fanatics getting a head start on that decorative shopping.

there is a line.

so I process this woman's purchase, put in that she handed me cash, check the bill for fraud on the little beeper thing that only works if you have the bill facing the correct side, and put in that she gave me $103.24. for a just barely over 13 dollar purchase

her change is $90 even

I've got her minuscule purchases in a bag, I'm asking if she wants a receipt, and she stops me.

"did you scan the coupon?"

now dear reader, I did not scan the coupon, and that was entirely on me, I will fully own up to that. and in fact I did so once I realized what I had missed.

the face this woman pulled, you would have thought I keyed her car and pissed in the gas tank.

"could you add it now?"

"Ma'am to do that I would need to void the transaction, and I do not have the authority to do that."

she somehow pulled an even worse face before grumbling and taking her bag and receipt.

if I had added the coupon?

a bit over 2.50 would've been taken off.

look, I get it, you like your savings you really do and so do i and the guy behind you.

but ma'am

there are things in this world that you can be much angrier about than the 2.50. and the fact of the matter is you handed me a crispy fresh 100, like im talking it still had that bank fresh crunch to it. and I'm being paid $11 an hour to stand in shit AC on hard tiled floors, mainlining arthritis strength tylenol because of my flat feet and it takes about $13 dollars to Uber here during the week so while it isn't a net loss, per say, the fact is a 10 minute drive from my house to work is a bit over an hour's worth of my time and the fact I am here to process your transaction in the first place is frankly a service to you.

you are not the only old white lady who shops here, you, in fact are not the first old white lady I have seen today, let alone this week, so I'm sorry you didn't save the 2.50.

choke on it.