#i wish people wouldn't just vote for the ones they know/like more!!

[handwrittenhello]

Tbh I think Dream should have won if people were honestly being subjective/knew the source material :'( I know every single fandom on the list and Dreams not even my blorbo and I know he invented poor little meow meow

i know it's you neil gaiman

[outsideratheart]

Too Much Teasing (Mapi Leon x reader)

A/N: You guys voted for the Mapi fic so here it is. I hope you like it!

Based off this request.

Life worked in mysterious ways and the past couple of years proved that. In a shock transfer you left Arsenal, your childhood club and the team that brought you up through the academy, for Barcelona.

The Spanish game came very easy to you but life off the pitch was more of a challenge. You are naturally a guarded person but there was one girl that managed to knock down your walls within the first few weeks. You and Mapi bonded over your shared love of tattoos, art and late night walks around the city.

You would see each other everyday which made being back in England for the Euros that much harder. Due the Barcelona's schedule you left for camp the morning after the Copa De La Reina final and you wouldn't be returning to Spain till August, should the tournament end with the Lionesses lifting the trophy.

But the thing about playing in Spain is that it sometimes felt like you lived two lives. For example, your England team mates had no clue you were dating the Zaragoza native. You were planning on telling them during the Arnold Cup but it was your first tournament as Captain and Mapi wanted you to focus. You were keeping the most important thing in your life from some of the most important people in your life.

You missed your girlfriend dearly and whilst you wanted nothing more than to drive to Marlow to see Mapi on your days off you know you couldn't so you settled for phone calls, more specifically late night phone calls. You walk aimlessly around the Teddington compound talking to Mapi about everything and anything. The sound of your girlfriend's voice had the power to distract you from the pressure that came with being the home favourites.

"Te quiero mucho baby"

You end the phone call and try your best to enter your room quietly as not to wake up your room mates.

"I take it i'll meet your secret girlfriend when I come to Barcelona?"

Lucy's voice makes you jump in your spot. Like every other night, you expected her to be asleep. You decide to ignore her question, choosing instead to get ready for bed but the defender continues her questioning whilst you’re in the bathroom.

"Will I meet her over dinner or at a team meeting?"

"Team meeting. Now no more questions" you warn her but she doesn't care.

"Am I going to be playing against her on Thursday?"

You freeze. Yes you were aware that England would be playing Spain in the quarter finals but what didn't register is that you are going to be playing against, and possibly beating, some of your closest friends.

"No way! You're dating Alexia!"

"What? No"

"It's just that you didn't answer"

"Because i've just realised that the next game we play will destroy mine and your team mates dreams of winning the euros"

"I thought you knew that. Isn't that the reason why you have been sad when you don't think people are watching?"

"I miss her a lot. This is longest we have been apart in a while and i'm finding it hard not being around her" You felt lighter having said out loud what you have been feeling for the last week.

You really wished that you could see Mapi before you play each other in Brighton. The fact that you wouldn't led to you being in a sour mood the next morning and it seemed to give the some of the players the perfect opportunity to make your mood worse.

"Hello grumpy, did somebody not get enough sleep?" Meado pokes your cheek as she sits down next to you.

"What can I say, Lucy snores like a pig" you know it wasn't your best work but hopefully it would change the direction of the teasing.

"No I don't!" Lucy argues "your grumpiness has nothing to do with me, it's because you miss your girlfriend"

"LUCY!" you glare at her from across the table.

"What?" the defender is no where near awake enough to realise what she has just said.

"Y/N has a girlfriend" Ella sings

"Who?"

"Is she english?"

"No she'll be Spanish"

"Is she hot?”

"Of course she is, look at Y/N" Alessia casually says.

"Lessi, you think i'm hot?" you ask the blonde knowing that she will get embarrassed.

"What, no" her response earns a scoff from you "no, I didn't mean that. I mean that you are, well you're you, we all see the way the fans obsess over you and some even flirt with you even though you don't back which I think is strange"

"It's because she has a girlfriend" Georgia turns the attention back to you.

This time instead of them asking questions they start guessing who it could be. They name the entire Spanish national team as well as the more known players in the league. Hempo is the one that guesses correctly but no way are you letting her know that.

In the end you walk away from the table, not that any of them have realised. Their attention was now on the non Spanish players playing in Spain. You make yourself another cup of coffee hoping that it will do one of two things, wake you up and ease the interrogation that you will be returning to.

"Y/N"

"What!" you snap.

When you turn around you are met with Ellen who has your phone.

"Your phone kept going off" The older forward passes you your phone. When you glance at your screen you see the name and a photo of the two of you which was taken over the Christmas period in Zaragoza.

"Mapito?" Ellen question.

"I called her it once, she changed the name of the contact" you explain.

The look on Ellen's face isn't one you recognise. It's similar to when she is happy about something but this expression has a hint of something else.

"I'm proud of you Y/N. I used the think you would never allow yourself to have a life off the pitch"

It wasn't what you were expecting her to say but you feel a warmth grow inside of you. She was right, for a long time you was solely focused on your career and everything else came second to that. Now you have someone who you will happily spend the day with and not give football a second thought whilst you are with her.

"Oh and one more thing" Ellen says "You don't have to worry about me telling them but please make sure you don't let it cloud your judgement during the game"

"Thank you Ells and you don't have to worry about that, I won't let them go back to Spain with bragging rights"

You try and think of the best place to call Mapi back, as you wander the ground you choose the garden at the front of the hotel. Butterflies flooded your tummy as you wait for her to pick up.

Mapi picks up but before she acknowledges that you have called her, you hear her shouting at Leila, then the other defender's voice comes through the phone.

"Y/N, you need to sort your girlfriend out. She is a sexually frustrated mess and only you can give her the pleasure she needs" Leila blatantly tells you.

"Yeah Y/N" your hear Pina's voice "Mapi is so in love with you that she seems to hate all of us when you're not here"

You found a tiny bit of comfort knowing that your girlfriend was subject to the same teasing you were getting.

"That's not true. She just loves me more now please give her the phone back"

You hear the sound of the line change and you know that one of them has put the phone on speaker.

"She's counting down the days until she can kiss away your sorrows when we beat you" Patri joins in.

"I admire your confidence or maybe it's your stupidity. Besides from what Mapi has told me, Jorge has been working you to the bone so it will be my pleasure to send you home so that you can all have some time off before pre season"

"I hate it when you do that"

Now you heard the voice of the woman you originally wanted to talk to.

"What's that maps?" you ask her.

"You say something mean but you do it in the nicest way possible"

"It's one of my many skills"

"I prefer your other skills"

"Mapi! There are kids around" you say referring to her younger team mates, who you happen to be close with as well.

"I'm alone now and I really wish I wasn't" you could hear the frustration in her voice.

"Maria Leon, do you always have sex on your mind?" you tease her.

"Sex, no. Sex with you, yes. Can you honestly say you don't miss me or that you don't crave my touch?"

"No, I can't. I miss you and everything that comes with you"

"We are not leaving our apartment for a week when we get home" Mapi's promise was something you looked forward to but it was also unrealistic.

"I wish that was true"

"Me too"

The line goes quiet and for a second you think she has hung up but then you hear her breathing and it worries you.

"We'll be ok after the game won't we? I know one of us will lose but it won't affect me and you will it?"

"You mean our relationship?"

Mapi hums in response.

"Of course not. I love playing football but nothing in this world means more to me than you. Is that what's got you so stressed out?" part of you knew something bigger was going on with your girlfriend. To most of the world she has this tough exterior but it couldn't have been further from the truth.

"The girls keep saying that if we beat you then you will break up with me"

"Which girls?" you asked the question even though you had your suspicions.

"Leila and —“

"I'll speak to her" you hated that the girls were teasing Mapi despite knowing how sensitive she can be "As for me breaking up with you, well the chances of that happening are lower than you beating us and that is very low"

"You know that playing against me will be harder than playing against any other team"

The cockiness in her tone was back and although you knew you could beat her, doing so would be very difficult.

"Oh yeah, why is that?"

"Because I know how you think and how you play. I know your mind and your body"

You hated thinking about the power Mapi had over. She was right when she said you knew your mind and body, at this point it practically belonged to her. Your mind was at it's calmest when she was around and your body yearned for her whenever you were away.

A short distance away you see Ella and Alessia hiding, no doubtedly eavesdropping on your call and whilst most people would end the conversation you are about to have or at least steer it in a different direction, you saw the chance to teach the young forwards a lesson.

"You do? What is my body thinking right now?"

Their eyes widen at your words but they don't move. It's as if the stare you give is causing them to be frozen in place.

You try to keep the rest of the conversation as vague as possible but Mapi makes it very difficult because for every reply you give she responds with a suggestion that makes you want to drive all the way to Marlow.

In the end Mapi gets called away which ends the call a lot sooner than you wanted but you know you are in for quite the teasing, that's if Ella and Alessia have the guts to share details of your call with the rest of the team.

"My little devils, what am I going to do with you?" you put an arm around each of their shoulders.

The three of you walk back through the hotel in silence. It is clear the younger girls don't feel comfortable discussing what they heard on the phone. That is until you reach the breakfast room where some of the players are still lounging about.

"Y/N was having phone sex with her girlfriend" Tooney shouts.

"Ella!" Me and Alessia say in unison.

It wasn't that you didn't expect her to say anything, it’s more so the fact that she announced it to the whole room as soon as she entered.

"And you did it in front of the kids?" Jill jokes.

Jill then proceeds to console a scared Ella but you couldn't care less.

"The kids happened to be eavesdropping and I was enjoying my phone call way to much to stop on their behalf"

Some of the younger players fake gagged at the thought but the older players knew you wouldn't have said anything that bad given that you had kept your relationship a secret, so your sex life wouldn't be any different.

"Give me three clues" Leah asks when you take at a seat at her table, which also sat Lucy, Keira, Georgia, Millie and Rachel.

You expected better from your co captain but you knew the clues you would give and your friends would hate them.

"Fine" you reply much to the table's surprise "3 clues. She's from Spain, she speaks Spanish and she plays for Barcelona"

The first two are obvious but the third clue let’s them narrow down their list of names.

"Did you really have phone sex knowing they could hear you?" Millie asks.

"God no. Do you really think I'm going to have that kind of conversation in public where everyone can hear me and where I can do nothing to satisfy the urges that come with it?"

"Y/N!"

"Just saying"

When the team arrive at the stadium a few days later, they watch you and wait to see if you will give away the identity of your Spanish girlfriend. You on the other hand start to get nervous about what this game means and what it will take in order to reach the semi finals. You would have to outplay the people who you, for the most part, train with every day.

You wanted nothing more than to skip right through the pitch inspection. Since finding out you were dating a Barcelona player, the team have been teasing you relentlessly and you didn't have the energy to go toe to toe with them today. When you walk out onto the pitch you see that the Spain team are already there and when you see a certain defender you remember that you need to talk to her. The team watch as you and the Spanish national walk away and you can hear them shouting things but given the eyes around them the don't say that much.

"Y/N" Leila wraps her arms around you "I've missed you chica"

The conversation you had with Mapi kept replaying in your head. The seeds of doubt that her friends had planted began growing and you couldn’t doing anything to stop them, not right now anyways.

"Leila"

"Am I in trouble?" you nod your head "Why?"

"Do you know why Mapi is worried i'll break up with her?" from where you stand you can see your girlfriend bent down at the centre circle doing her own inspection, something that is part of her pre match routine.

"It was a joke which now that I see your face I realise isn't funny"

"She is one of your best friends, you know how sensitive she is. Just think before you say things that will stick in her head. Now we're going to see her so that you can apologise"

"You just want me to come with you so that your team doesn't get suspicious"

There’s no need for you to respond, she is right and she knows it.

"Hi"

Mapi's head snaps up at the sound of your voice.

"Hola bonita" she stands up and gives you a hug, one that doesn't last no where near as long as she wanted.

No words are exchanged, both of you break out in a smile, just being within touching distance is enough for now.

"Is this my punishment? Being made to stand here whilst you eye fuck each other?" Leila groans. She is used to be the third wheel in Barcelona having joined you and Mapi on date night more than a few times but the tension between the two of you makes her feel a little uncomfortable.

"Punishment?" Mapi looks to see you with a smug grin plastered across your face.

"Right, yes. Leila is there something you would like to say?"

"I'm sorry for saying Y/N would break up with you when we destroy the lionesses"

"Destroy?" you laugh slightly at the defender's optimism.

"You know I love your confident side but Leila's right, we will go back to Spain victorious"

"I know don't what's worse, the fact you think you're going to win or that you just said Leila's right"

Leila asks if you'll walk back with her stating that she had something she wanted to talk to you about. The conversation ended with you walking back into the tunnel with your arms wrapped around her shoulder whilst your hand rested on her waist.

Your team mates takes you spending most of the time with the brunette as confirmation, they are determined that you are dating Leila Ouahabi. In the locker room you got question after question about how your relationship starting and it didn't both you in the slightest, how could it, they had the wrong person. Once you re entered the locker room after warm up the teasing stopped and the game faces appeared.

The match ended with England going through to the semi final but you couldn't bring yourself to celebrate. This would go down as the worst win in your career but being the captain came with duties that you couldn't get out of. You thanked the fans and did your interview but neither of those could keep your focus because no matter where you were on the pitch you could see your friends in red consoling each other.

"Aren't you going to console your girlfriend?" Lucy asks.

"You know what, yes I am" you had watched from a distance for long enough.

Lucy who had been joined by Keira watches are you walk towards the group of Barcelona players. Like Lucy expected you went to Leila first but for you it was because she was the closest person to you, funnily enough Mapi is the last person. You had seen her wear a brave face for the sake of her team mates but it is only when she is in your arms does she drop the facade.

"I'm sorry" you subtly kiss her neck.

The embrace between you is different than the one you shared with your other team mates. When you lift you head up you see Lucy watching with shocked expression. When you unclasp your hands that are settled on the small of Mapi's back, you send Lucy the middle finger. The action let's her know that she was wrong and in doing so you tell her who you're dating.

"What's that about?" Keira asks.

"You'll find out when you join me in Barcelona"

"Shhh" Keira shoves her girlfriend "I told you it was a secret"

You stay out on the pitch as long as the Spain team does. You have no intention of celebrating the win and you hoped the fans and your team would understand this. When the stadium starts to empty, the players leave the pitch.

"Do you they know about us?" Mapi asks as she walks in sync beside you.

"Ellen does but the rest think I'm dating Leila"

This causes Mapi to stop in her tracks. Her eyes go wide in shock and she finds herself getting angry. She didn't like the act the world didn't know you were hers but your team mates thinking that you were with Leila, that she really didn't like.

"I'm not ok with that"

At this point you are practically in the tunnel so you grab her hand and pull her into one of the treatment rooms. You were grateful for the privacy it gave you and under any other circumstance you would be up for having a little bit of fun but you can tell by Mapi's face that she is very serious about this.

If her face didn't give it away, her choosing to pace the small room instead of sitting with you on the physio bench with you did.

"You're my girlfriend, not Leila's, and I don't want your team thinking you are dating my best friend"

To see Mapi care this much about people, who to her are strangers, is a rarity. You didn't care much for other people's opinions so whether the team knew or not, didn't matter. This was something you thought Mapi agreed with you on but her reaction tells you otherwise.

"Mapi" you voice is soft as you try to get her attention.

"I know that it's me who chose not the tell them at the beginning of the year but that was a mistake. They should know that you are mine and not hers"

Now she is getting territorial, a side which rarely ended well in the past. Mapi didn't like to share but this isn't sharing, your team don't even think of Mapi when they think of your relationship which makes it worse.

"Maria" you hope using her birth name will make her stop but it doesn't.

"Y/N I love you and I don't want them thinking you love Leila. You love me"

"Yes, I do"

Fatigue was beginning to set in. After playing 120 minutes of football your legs were getting heavy and given that Mapi had the job of keeping up with you for the game, you knew she would be feeling the same yet she continues to pace back and worth as she worked through her frustrations.

"Do they think Leila makes you happy? That she can love you the way I do? Make you feel the way I do? That—"

"Maria Pilar Leon Cebrian"

"Yes" she stops pacing when she is in line with you.

Using your index finger you signal her to come close to you. Her face changes and you know it's because she has finally noticed you are in a room together, alone. When she is close enough you take a fistful of her shirt to close the remaining distance between the two of you. Mapi’s hand cups the back of your neck as your lips crash into each other. The time you spend away from each other never get’s easier and it makes the reunions that much more intense. Nothing else matters in that moment other than to rid Mapi of the insecurities she is clearly feeling. When you pull away it is only for a second to catch your breath and then you are leaning back in, hungry for more and by the way Mapi mouth moves in sync with yours she obviously misses the connection you shared just as much as you did.

You are so caught up in the moment that you don’t hear the door open, nor you do you hear the voices that belonged to your team mates. At first they say nothing, they simply stand there and watch the two of you. They didn’t know what to do, they didn’t want to move in case they made a noise and it was clear that the two of you didn’t plan on stopping any time soon.

It is only when you start to lift Mapi’s t-shirt do they make themselves known.

“Sorry to interrupt but this is the treatment room and some of the others are on their way here” Chloe gives you a heads up.

What they didn’t see is that you already have your shirt off and Mapi being mapi, she didn’t bother putting hers on fully, instead it stays hung around her neck.

Just then another door open, one that you didn’t even notice was there and given the commotion that you can hear on the other side let’s you know it connects to the lionesses locker room. Your suspicions are proven true when you see Ella and Georgia, their eyes widen at the sight in front of them, you half dressed and Mapi not that much better

“Hempo!” Georgia shouts “You were right. Y/N’s secret girlfriend is Mapi Leon” 

Mapi still stands in between your legs and shows no sign of moving. You rest your head against her chest hoping that if the two of you stay still and quiet then the team will leave you alone but that doesn’t happen.

“How do you know?” Beth comes into the small treatment room followed by a couple more of your team mates.

You thought the teasing was bad before but now they know the identity of your girlfriend they have a lot more material to use against you. Something that is surprising is that a few of them tease Mapi even though they haven’t really met her other than on the pitch.

You tap Mapi’s sides indicating her to move away so you can stand up and put your shirt back on and help her with hers. You quickly peck her on the lips before taking her hand and dragging her into the Lionesses locker room. If you introduced her properly then maybe the night back at the hotel won’t be complete torture.

“Mapi meet the lionesses, girls meet Mapi my girlfriend”

You can see the grin that spreads across Mapi’s face upon hearing you officially introduce her as your partner. She had been waiting for this for months and you had too.

“Wait” Rachael interrupts the questions that the girls have “I thought you were dating Leila Ouahabi, their number 15”

“No, she is not’ Mapi corrects her rather abruptly “She is my girlfriend” 

You had just managed to settle down her territorial side and now, without knowing, Rachael had woken it back up.

“But Y/N spent all her time pre match with her, not you” Millie joined in and by the smirk of her face you know that she, for some reason, felt confident enough to tease the spaniard.

Mapi is ready to fight for you even though it is unnecessary and you really didn’t want her going back into her changing in a foul mood given that most her team will be feeling rough because of the final score.

“You sure you want to tease her millie?” You know Mapi wouldn’t hurt a fly but there is a reason why she got ‘looks can be deceiving’ on her neck.

Mapi picks up on the game you are playing and she changes her face. Safe to say Millie steps back without saying another word.

You lead Mapi out of the changing room but one of your team mates can’t help themselves. They had to tease your girlfriend on last time.

“Sorry we beat you and sent you back to Spain” Alessia says confidently.

Mapi knew she was one of the players you had taken under your wing but she can’t let the young forward get away with it.

“It’s ok. We’ll beat you in the champions league. Oh, wait, no we won’t. You didn’t qualify” 

At the mention of United Ella stands up ready to defend her club and after the game you had just played you really didn’t have the energy to play mediator between your girlfriend and the devils.

You push Mapi out the door but pull her back for one more kiss.

“I’ll see you tomorrow for breakfast before you go back to Barcelona” 

Mapi deepens the kiss and you don’t have the will power you push her away, not at first anyways. It is only when you hear a mixture of wolf whistles and fake gagging do you end the kiss. 

“I’ll see you in the morning. Te quiero Y/N”

“Yo también te quiero” 

Upon re-entering your locker room you see all eyes on you. Let the teasing begin, again.

[runnning-outof-time]

Don’t Turn Into Them | Tommy Shelby x Reader

Request: yes by anonymous

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x reader

Summary: Tensions escalate when (Y/N)'s worry of Tommy becoming something he's not gets miscommunicated and blown out of proportions.

Warnings: language, smoking, mentions of drinking

Word Count: 3644

A/N: bit of a disclaimer, I’m not the best at writing arguments…I also wanted to pick a fight about something that isn’t one of the normal topics. With that being said, I hope this makes sense. Enjoy! :)

A/N 2: I’m adding this in late because I completely forgot to give a big thank you to @thesoldiersminute for making this gif for the story. Idk what I’d do without your amazing talents.

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future stories similar to this one!

———

Everyone was in high spirits as the poll master read out the votes. Tommy won the open seat in Parliament by a landslide, as was expected. (Y/N) slipped out of the main polling area just before pandemonium erupted. She knew that her six month old daughter, Ruby, wouldn't react well to the excitement, so she wanted to get as far away from it as possible.

She stood on the landing of the steps with Ruby in her arms and waited for her husband and his family to emerge after all of the well-wishes and procedural things were finished. She couldn't help but breathe out a sigh of relief as she got away from the crowd.

There was such an uneasy feeling surrounding the other men in the room; the men that Tommy would now be working with given that they were politicians as well. They all wore smiles and chatted as if they'd been friends for the majority of each other's lives, but (Y/N) knew that it was fake; that they were only doing that so that they could advance their own agenda when it came down to it. The fact that Tommy was one of them now worried her...she didn't want to see him turn into one of them.

These worrisome thoughts were pushed aside when the two men standing guard opened the doors and Tommy became visible. His eyes locked onto (Y/N) and Ruby immediately, and he couldn't stop the smile that formed on his face as he accepted his gun back from one of the men. His family filed out behind him as he tucked the firearm back into its spot in the holster under his coat. Tommy didn't stop for the people shouting about taking photographs, and instead he kept his eyes locked onto his wife as he walked down the steps.

"I didn't see you in there at the end, love," he whispered as he stopped in front of her.

"Had to get out...Ruby would have freaked," she answered, smiling at him. Tommy noticed that it didn't quite reach her eyes. Something seemed to be bothering her.

"Lemme see her," he said, his eyes focused on Ruby as he reached out for her; his smile widening. "Come 'ere, Ruby girl," he spoke to the child, who happily reached out for her father and let him take her into his arms. He lifted her in the air, smiling widely as she cooed with excitement, her smile matching his. (Y/N) smiled as she watched Tommy interact with their daughter.

"Mumma," Charlie, their four year old son, called out, making her look from Tommy and Ruby to the boy.

"Come here, Charlie," she called him over, reaching her hand out for him. Upon seeing this, he happily let go of Polly's hand to make his way over to the rest of his family.

Cameras were going off like crazy now, and (Y/N) tried her best not to bother with them. Tommy didn't seem to care as he brought Ruby down to rest on his hip. She felt like she needed to be more like him at the moment. But she couldn't seem to shake the incessant pestering coming from the people behind the flashes. "Didn't get my kiss yet," Tommy's whispered words brought her out of her thoughts, making her look over at him again. His smile made her smile as she leaned in and kissed his lips quickly.

"Mr. Shelby! Mr. Shelby, look over here!" one of the photographers called out after Tommy and (Y/N) pulled back to look at each other again.

He gave her a look, as if to ask her if she was ok with it, and she nodded before turning slightly to face the people calling for them. She placed her one hand on Charlie's shoulder and her other on Ruby’s back as she smiled for the picture with Tommy by her side.

The family then came to join in on the picture, filling in around Tommy, (Y/N) and their children. After several flashes, Arthur stepped forward and began waving his arms. "Alright, alright! You've got enough photos to go around now!" he called out as he continued with his attempts of clearing the photographers away from the steps. Everyone followed him once the path was cleared, and made their way out to the waiting cars that would take them to the ball that was being held in Tommy's honor.

——

"Mr. Shelby, congratulations," Frances said with a smile as she opened the door to greet the family that she worked for.

"Thank you, Frances," Tommy smiled at the older woman as he allowed her to help him out of his coat. He'd had a long day and was ready to unwind with some whiskey in his office.

"Frances, would you take the children up to bed?" (Y/N) asked as Frances helped her out of her coat while Ruby stayed sleeping in her arms.

"I can, Mrs. Shelby," France nodded after putting their coats in the front closet. She then accepted Ruby from (Y/N)'s arms and placed her comfortably on her hip.

"Goodnight, Charles," (Y/N) smiled down at her sleepy son, ruffling his hair as he smiled back up at her.

"Come on, Charlie," France said softly, her hand falling to his shoulder as she ushered him to the steps so that they could go up to his room.

(Y/N) watched her children until they disappeared down the hallway before she turned to look at Tommy. It surprised her slightly that he was still there. "I'm going to the reading room," she told him, a dismissive tone in her voice.

Tommy furrowed his brows at his wife, confused by the sudden shift in the tone she was using. She seemed so upbeat the entire night, but now she was acting like she wanted to get as far away from him as possible. He couldn't let her get away without saying something about it.

"Something wrong?" he decided to stay simple with the question, an inquisitive tone present in his voice.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" (Y/N) spun around to face him, a glare on her face.

Her response made him even more confused, "yes, I would...that's why I'm asking," he pointed out.

She huffed at his answer. What he thought was a straight-forward response, she perceived as sarcastic. "You've not noticed at all this entire night?" she asked him, her eyebrows raised.

"Noticed what?" he still had not a clue what she was getting at.

"See that's the problem!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide as she threw her arms up, "you let it go; you don't notice things until they're about to blow up in your face!"

Tommy dropped his gaze to the floor, running a hand over his face before he looked up again. "Would you please just tell me what the fuck you're trying to get at here, (Y/N)?!" he explicitly asked for her to explain herself, his voice raising to meet hers now.

"It's right in front of your face...it's practically screaming at you!" she raised her voice even more, showing him that she was still in control. "I can't believe that you're too blind to see what's going on," she then bit on her lip, her emotions starting to mix in with the adrenaline she was feeling. She was always an angry crier...tears were expected to fall no matter how hard she tried to keep them back.

"What's going on?" he held his confused stance, and that seemed to infuriate (Y/N) even more.

"Just stop, Tommy!" she exclaimed, feeling like she wanted to pull her hair out. She felt like he was backing her towards the edge of a cliff, and she had no choice but to fight back or else she'd fall off.

"Stop what?"

"That! This act! You're questioning…everything you're doing right now, just stop it!" the only thing keeping (Y/N) from full-blown screaming at this point was the fact that the kids were upstairs.

"You know, if you're looking for a fight..."

"I'm not looking for a fight," she was quick to cut him off, leveling her voice once more.

"Then what the hell is this?" Tommy's eyes were wide and serious.

"I don't like what you're doing, Tommy!" (Y/N) blurted just about the second after he finished speaking. It was one of those utterances where she closed her eyes as she said the words as loud as she could; hoping that her doing so would make him forget what he was going to say in response.

Tommy paused after her admission, which meant that her plan was working. He blinked a few times, staring at her with his mouth slightly agape. "What?" he finally asked, his voice low now, noticing the stark drop in intensity after she said what she needed to.

"I don't like that you've been elected to serve in Parliament. I don't like that you've accepted that seat. I don't like that you're going to be rubbing elbows with those back-stabbing bastards..." she paused, her eyes locked onto his. She was ready to continue her monologue after a deep breath, "I don't like how you're going to learn how to play their game, where you say one thing to someone at one point and then turn your back and go completely against them the next. I don't like that you're going to be one of them," her volume had escalated slightly as she finished her statement, her emotions so obviously running high.

"I...I don't understand what you're trying to get at here," Tommy still had a hard time seeing the reasons behind her worry-driven, angry outbursts.

"Of course you don't," (Y/N) sighed, dropping her gaze to the floor as she shook her head.

"Well then fucking explain it to me so that I can understand it!" Tommy raised his voice once more. The fact that she was so quickly putting him off while speaking in veiled statements irritated him, and he was to the point where he couldn't continue anymore.

"These men are the worst of their kind...don't you see that?!" (Y/N) answered him like it was the most obvious thing in the world...well to her it was. "They're the worst of their kind and somehow they managed to sneak their way into these positions of power where they get to say how the people who have nothing should live. They get to play God and give ultimatums and use these helpless people like they're fucking chess pawns in their grand scheme," she kept her eyes locked with Tommy's as she spoke, hoping he'd recognize how terribly she felt about his choice.

"That's why I've taken this position," instead of recognizing, he insisted that there was a reason behind him doing this.

"To join them?!" (Y/N) asked incredulously.

"No, not to fucking join them," Tommy shut down her statement, "I aim to tear them down from the fucking inside. People like Mosley, and fucking Riggs...it's easy to get them to think that I'd stand with their bullshit, but I'm not going to," he then explained what his reason behind this move was.

(Y/N) wasn't pleased with his answer. She couldn't help but snort when she heard it. She shuddered at the mention of Stephan Riggs’ name…he was one of the fakest men in politics, and (Y/N) couldn’t bear to watch him act like he cared only to do what solely benefited him when it came down to it. "You say that now, but then you'll be singing like a fucking canary for them on the floor," she finally said, her words coming out with a tone of disgust laced into them.

"You think that I'd be their pawn?" Tommy raised his eyebrows.

"Yes I do," (Y/N) doubled-down on her statement.

"And why is that?" Tommy asked, incredulousness present in his voice. He waited a moment for her response, but continued when he got none. "Eh? Why do you all of a sudden not have any trust or faith in what I'm doing?" There was another pause with no response. It felt like his blood was starting to boil now. "Fucking tell me, (Y/N)!" he exclaimed, finally letting the pent up emotion out.

"Because you'll be good at playing their game!" she was now ready with a response the second he stopped talking, "you'll be good at the game, and who's to say that you won't start buying into and believing the shit that they're trying to shove down the throats of the unsuspecting people who will then have no choice but to follow along with it. These bastards are evil, Tommy. They'll hurt innocent people and I won't have you joining in on it." she ended when her voice wavered, finally showing that she was holding back all of these overwhelming emotions. She hated it, and she tried to keep a steely gaze on Tommy as she waited for his response.

"These bastards are gonna do it anyway," he insisted, his voice dire as he kept his eyes locked on hers, "I'm putting myself in there to try and stop it."

"All feats start out with good intentions," she reminded him.

"You must not know who the fuck I am then," he disagreed with her.

"I guess I don't..." she trailed off.

Tommy didn't know what to say in response to her statement. He blinked a few times and pursed his lips together, hoping that these extra few silent seconds would reward him with the right words. But they didn't. He pressed against his temples with his thumb and middle fingers before he shook his head and exhaled a sigh. "I'll be in my office," he told her then, a dismissive tone now in his voice. He then walked past her to the steps and began walking up them.

"What about your family, Tommy?!" (Y/N) called after him, unhappy that he was walking away instead of continuing to talk to her; to sort this out. She still felt like she was fuming. She couldn't believe that he didn't consider what his family would have thought about this. "What about Ruby and Charlie? What about me?" she continued when she didn't get a response from him, desperation present in her voice.

Tommy kept walking up the stairs, and her anger was rising with each step he took. She added more onto her statement after a few more silent moments passed, "you always say that you think of us when you make decisions such as this, but I can't seem to recognize where we fall into it this time."

This statement got Tommy to stop. He was at the top of the stairs at this point. He looked down at (Y/N), who now looked absolutely wrecked by everything that had been said between them, before glancing down at the floor. "Nothing good's going to come of this if we continue," he told her then, his dismissive tone still present.

"Then go," (Y/N) told him, biting back her tears that were now threatening to fall, "go to your fucking office and drink your fucking whiskey and forget about what I even said," she told him, her words dripping with venom.

Tommy looked at her one last time before he turned and began walking down the hall to his office. (Y/N) let out a shudder of a sigh, finally letting her tears fall before she turned and walked into the front room. She decided that she would sit in there for some time before going up to her room for the night.

——

It wasn't until much later in the evening that Tommy finally entered the master bedroom. (Y/N) was still awake, sitting up on her side of the bed while reading a book. She glanced over at him as the door shut before focusing back on her book. Tommy didn't say anything either, instead focusing on getting himself undressed and ready for bed.

(Y/N) tried to continue reading her book until she couldn't anymore, finding herself more focused on her husband's night time routine than the words on the page. He remained oblivious to her watching until he happened to catch her eyes in the vanity's mirror while he was placing his pocket watch down.

Instead of joining her in bed, he sat down on the vanity's bench and picked a cigarette out of his tin. (Y/N) placed her book next to her before she slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed, sitting up completely. She watched Tommy for a few moments as he quietly smoked before finally standing up and making her way over to him.

She sat down on the empty space of the bench and hesitantly wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind so that she was able to lean against his back. Neither said anything as they sat there. (Y/N) was content with feeling his warmth and breathing in his scent.

Then Tommy spoke up: "I'll turn down the seat in Parliament if it's what you want," he told her. There was a hint of a conceding tone in his voice that she picked up on. She also didn't miss the fact that it sounded like he was saying this reluctantly.

His surrender caught her off guard, and it made her sit up straight again as she came to grips with it. "Why such a sudden change?" she asked him, having an inkling of the reason behind it...she wanted to hear it from him though.

"You've voiced your concern about me doing it," he answered her, discarding his cigarette in the ashtray on the vanity before he turned to face her, "I can't be doing something that my wife doesn't like."

(Y/N) had to stifle her giggle as she heard the second part of his statement. "This wouldn't be the first time you've done something I don't like, Tommy Shelby," she reminded him, smiling slightly as she spoke.

Tommy couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her words. "I know...I'm guilty of that," he admitted his defeat, "but this time seemed different. You've never been that quick to express your distaste in the past," he pointed out.

"I didn't think you'd listen," she said then, trying to keep her happiness pushed down. Right now she was feeling like a child who was told they could stay up past their bedtime.

"Figured it's time I'd changed that," he told her, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he looked her in the eyes.

(Y/N) couldn't stop the smile that formed on her face as he said those words. She reached out and grabbed his face, her hands resting against his cheeks as she pulled him closer to her. "Thank you, Tommy," she breathed, her forehead resting against his briefly before she leaned in and kissed his lips.

"You're welcome, love," he answered her in a similar tone before he kissed her again.

(Y/N) wrapped her arms around his neck when they pulled away, and she leaned herself against his chest so that she could tuck her face into the crook of his neck. Tommy accepted the embrace and fastened his hands to her waist so that he could hold her tight against his body.

They sat silently in that position for some time, both comfortable against each other after talking through their previous argument. It was like a weight had been lifted off of their shoulders.

(Y/N) was the one to break the silence this time as she finally pulled away from Tommy's chest. She looked at him for a few moments, searching his eyes before she said what was on her mind: "I think you should keep the job, Tommy," she told him, her words making him furrow his eyebrows.

"Keep the job?" he asked her, like he was checking to see if he heard correctly.

"Yes," she nodded.

"I thought you didn't want me working with those men," he pointed out, harking back to the major point she'd made in their previous argument.

"I don't," she started off, making her stance on that point starkly clear. Tommy furrowed his eyebrows again, but let her continue, "I don't want you working with those men, but at the same time, I recognize the amount of good that you could do for the people of Birmingham if you keep that position. The people of that city need someone like you representing them...you’re one of them. You’re not one of those inconsiderate politicians who’ll run over anyone they could in order to make a gain. All I ask is that you don’t turn into them when you take this position.”

“I won’t,” Tommy’s answer to her ask was quick and spoken definitively, “you have my word, love.”

(Y/N) smiled as she heard his promise. “Good,” she said, taking hold of his cheeks so that she could kiss him again, her smile still present as her lips pressed against his. “We’ve had a long day…let’s go to bed,” she said once they pulled away.

A grin formed on Tommy’s face as his eyes matched hers. (Y/N) got butterflies in her stomach just from the look he was giving her. She knew what would leave his lips next. “I’ll go to bed with you, but I have no intentions of sleeping just yet,” he told her as he stood from the bench. He grabbed hold of her waist, making her shriek as she stood up with him. He then began peppering kisses across her skin, making her giggle as he led her over to their bed.

———

Tagged: @mgcllovdrms @the-anxious-youth @cloudofdisney @look-at-the-soul @elenavampire21 @peaky-cillian @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @lilyrachelcassidy @notyour-valentine @shelbydelrey @december16-1991 @onlydeadcells @peakyswritings @just-a-blackhole @watercolorskyy @strayrockette @peakyduchesss @alexxavicry @captivatedbycillianmurphy @yummycastiel @dark-academia-slut @tommystargirl @stevie75 @lyarr24 @signorellisantichrist @zablife @anotherblinder @midnightmagpiemama @cillmequick @rangerelik @lovemissyhoneybee @dandelionprints @letal-y-poetica @raincoffeeandfandoms @itscheybaby @gypsy-girl-08

MASTERLIST

[galactic-glamour-girl-posts]

Things I'd like to see in season 3

Slight Spoilers Ahead!

--A callback to "A Pinky and the Brain Christmas" in "How The Brain Thieved Christmas". Nothing too big, I want the two-parter to do it's own thing and not be a rehash, but it's hard to imagine that there wouldn't be a reference to it given that the reboot often references events that happened in the first show and the PatB spinoff. Maybe reveal that Brain still has the globe keychain, something like that.

--If Slappy does indeed return (and it seems like she will), for Slappy not to be softened. Not that I think it will happen, but this is their first time writing for Slappy in the reboot, so I expect her characterisation will be at least a little different. Which I'm fine with as long as they don't change her morality. I say this mostly because the last time she had dialogue was Wakko's Wish, but she felt a bit too mellow in that. She's not like the Warners who, while I won't deny often act in self interest, do tend to help people in their own zany, annoying way ("La La Law", "Hooked on a Ceiling", "Magna Cartoon", etc). Slappy, on the other hand, only really looks out for herself and Skippy, and can be way harsher because she lacks their moral code ("The Sound of Warners"). This is the same woman who tried to blow up up a critic's house whilst she thought he was inside all because he didn't think she was funny and threatened to blow up a jury if they didn't vote her not-guilty on a crime she technically did commit...and then when they did she blew them up anyway. Not that she's never justified, she keeps to herself often only does this type of thing in retaliation (the previously mentioned jury were clearly biased against her), but still, let her be mean and violent!

--Assuming Slappy comes back, for them to include Skippy. He was already in "Good Warner Hunting" and was shown to still be a kid, so aging him up isn't an option, meaning he's either gotta be left out or be re-casted. I'm really hoping they just recast him, there's no need to write him out just because his original voice actor is no longer a child. I don't like it when characters are written off or killed off just because their original voice actor can no longer do the voice, it feels unnecessary to me. If Slappy is on her own then fine (because let's be honest she's the one we watch her segments for), but Skippy brings out the best in her, I think he should be there.

--More Scratchansniff in general, but specifically him acting like a father towards the Warners (in more than one episode). Nothing too cutesy, the Warners will always find ways to stress him out, but I much prefer it when he's attempting to take care of them.

--Hopefully a satisfying ending to Julia's story, but given that they didn't know season 3 would be the last when writing this season, it's not likely. Not their fault if this one doesn't happen, I'd be happy enough to see her return.

--A FULL WAKKO SONG. Multiple Wakko songs actually, that would be great. I do prefer the other two Warners over him but they each have multiple songs in the reboot whereas Wakko only has one so far-"Gruesome Ol' Gruel"...and it's like 50 seconds long. I think he deserves more (Yakko got four in season 2 alone!) Scratchansniff has more songs than Wakko in the reboot so far. Granted, he didn't sing much in the original series so it's great that he sings more here, but him getting more new songs than a main character is kinda weird. Well, I guess you could count "Hot Washed Buns", but I don't (that one's even shorter than "Gruesome Ol' Gruel" anyway). I think this one is likely, season 1 focused a lot on Dot and season 2 focused a lot on Yakko, so maybe season 3 will do the same for Wakko!

[thinkin-bout-milgram]

Hello! I wanted to talk about Shidou's new music video with someone, and it seems like you have a bit of interest in the series haha.

I also wanted to say your analysis for his new video is very very good! I just wanted to come at it as someone from the health industry.

I am currently in medical school, which probably informs a lot of my opinions on Shidou. Initially, when I thought he was a literal organ stealer, I was adamant he should be voted guilty. However, after this video I am less sure.

So I agree 100% with the idea that his family was in an accident with him the only survivor, but I think that his child was the one to survive, and he was getting organs for his child from dying patients. I also have a feeling that his wife's dying wish was to keep their child alive in some sense, which would lead to his fervor in getting organs for him. I'm inclined to think that it was specifically a heart problem, which would force him to take another patient's life to use that organ.

My reasons for this:

Pomegranates (and fruits in general) are a pretty obvious symbol in this MV for an organ, and I think a heart specifically because of:

The way the pomegranate is demarcated is very much like a heart in a diagram:

You can see the demarcations of the chambers, with the stem of the pomegranate even resembling an aorta, and the seeds remind me of red blood cells. This could be a reach, but I thought it was too specific to not point out. Of course, there are more fruits in the shot, so there were probably other organs that his son needed, but a heart is a tricky one to get, let alone replace.

Finally, the reason I think the son is getting the organs is this portion of the video:

He's giving the tag from the fruits to his son, which, I think is pretty indicative of giving the organs to his son. The appearance of so many tags later in the video indicate that he has used a lot of people for their organs. The same sort of imagery appeared in his first video with the toe tags raining around him.

I also think that he was ultimately unsuccessful in saving his son, with the dying flowers imagery and all around, and the most indicative portion of the video being:

This image at the end, when the phone is once again having dial tones. This is a QRS complex:

Which is what you see on heart monitors in hospitals. In the end, the dial tone sounds out a long tone, showing that the person who's heart that was representing, is now stopped for good.

Overall, I think that this, and the previous video, indicate Shidou desperately trying to save his family (specifically his son(s)) by taking other people's organs, whether it was on purpose by botching a surgery or forcing his family up on the transplant list, which would mean other people who need organs would end up dying. It was ultimately unsuccessful, which means he would have used those people for nothing (I feel the latter is more likely, but only because it's more interesting to me).

I also think that he knew it would most likely wouldn't work. I don't have a direct reason for this, but if a person needs so many organ transplants, specifically with the heart...

He obviously feels incredibly guilty about this, I would too. I would think I should be guilty if this happened to me. That doesn't make it right, and if there were no other implications to it, I would vote him guilty. (This may have to do with being in healthcare and not being put in his position, though...)

There is the problem with him being necessary for the other prisoners, however. He is needed, no matter what he feels, so he must be voted innocent to continue his work. Towards the end of the video, he is coming to terms with that no matter how much he deserves a guilty verdict, he has to be innocent in order to keep helping the others, which is what a doctor is supposed to do. He did wrong in the past, he knows that, but he has a chance to make up for it here and now.

Anyways! I think Shidou is much more morally grey than I first anticipated. He did what he did to try to save his family, which was very immoral and he knows that. He feels guilty (which he should!), but he has a chance for redemption. I believe he is on the path to learning from his mistakes, but that does not absolve him for what he's done.

Hi! This is some great analysis, thanks so much for sending it in!

I definitely think it's possible that it's one of his sons and not his wife, which is why I added the note in my initial. I was commenting on the drop on YouTube and someone said that the receipt from Throwdown was marked for XX and not XY.

That's what it looks like to me? Though I don't know how these get filled out, it's definitely possible that the fact that there's writing on the XY at all indicates that it is XY.

In either case, I don't personally believe that Shidou was in the accident as well. I think that he probably just heard about it after the fact.

Update, though: the "phone call" is actually Shidou's voicemail, indicating he didn't pick up. That, combined with the shot in Triage at 1:57, indicates to me that he might've had a chance to say goodbye or something, but that he didn't take it. That's what the guilt feels like to me here, with him collapsed at what seems like it may be an empty bed?

Either way, he for sure has a lot of survivor's guilt. The line "in that case, I should have been the one" basically flat out says that.

Heart problems definitely seem viable. At the very least, I suspect that you're right that it was a problem (it's possible whoever was dying had a lot going on medically, and that might help account for how many organs he needed to take).

I want to challenge the idea that he thought it wouldn't work. I don't think he thought it through logically and necessarily thought, logically, that he could do it. I think that he was in pretty strong denial over losing his entire family, so he convinced himself he could still save them.

There's a lot of god references/imagery in Shidou's stuff. Both his audio dramas are named after gods, and the pomegranate and flower imagery links him pretty heavily to the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone.

Additionally, a lot of lyrics in Throwdown seem to indicate that he believes he's going to succeed.

"I will finally be saved once it becomes true"

"I don't feel scared because I don't know"

These, and especially the second one, indicate to me that he might have been lying to himself and convincing himself that it was still possible. He couldn't feel scared about it because he didn't allow himself to know the possible outcome.

There's also his cover. I know that the Milgram devs have said that the covers are just for fun, but I mean, come on. It's called Delusion Tax. As in, the people he killed trying to save his loved one are the tax he had to pay for being delusional and believing he actually had a chance to save them. That's why I think he believed, at least in the moment, that he could save them. Not logically, but because if he didn't believe that, he would have nothing left.

And yeah, I definitely agree that Shidou is very morally gray. I've been assuming this from the beginning, basically. I always thought that characters' crimes would trend more morally gray over time to complicate the verdict decision. Shidou's seemed too horrifying in terms of how many people he killed, so I figured they'd ease it up. Between it being seemingly confirmed that he only took organs from braindead patients and the fact that he is so willing to make amends and accepts responsibility, it seems like Shidou is in a point where people could definitely at least consider redeeming him.

And I totally respect if people don't! He broke a lot of rules and he did a lot of awful things. But no matter what you believe about his end verdict, I maintain that innocent is the right move right now. He's needed to save the lives of others, and calling him guilty now would just ruin any progress we've made with him. The final verdict comes later. For now, we need Shidou alive and capable.

[firespirited]

I was wondering why Mattel is really on my using Saran or Poly hair instead of kanekalon or nylon. Is nylon no longer being used for dolls? I did see that kanekalon has health risks now, so I assume that is why it is not used anymore? I was just wondering if you had some insights/theories as to why those seem to be the only hair fiber found in their current dolls? Or maybe I completely misread the whole doll hair thing…anyways, thank you for your time. :)

Hi! in 2002 Bratz released a couple of lines with cheap Nylon or doll grade Kanekalon hair and it was speculated that it was because Mattel had bought out the stock of saran PVDC manufactured by Asahi Kasei, Bratz used saran almost exclusively until what was deemed budget lines and clear corner cutting (as evidenced by how simplified dolls were compared to prototypes).

The issue's no longer so clear-cut: multiple manufacturers create nylon in high qualities and many colours. The issues surrounding Kanekalon concern it's human sized fiber and high heat which wouldn't be a problem for doll grade kanekalon which melts on the low temp of a hair straightener if you're not really careful.

I can't explain why Mattel has chosen to go with poly hair which feels unpleasant and doesn't hold up to brushing, why Hasbro systematically undermined their own products with terrible nylon that made even Disney princesses with straight hair unbrushable. MGA seems to be favouring Qiyue Kiwi hair (but not on LOL OMGs), is some kind of exclusivity contract why other dolls don't use it? DongGang make a very nice nylon, why hasn't Mattel gone with them? None of it makes sense. Maybe there's a good reason and I have no clue.

Maybe the reason is the same as the short sack-dresses and skirts designed to fit multiple body types: they've chosen to invest in face-molds, accessories and body diversity over makeup, clothes and hair. Maybe there's been a supply chain issue or unknown chemical instability?

It's baffling that we have more direct access to designers than we have in a long time and no-one seems to know about the hair. I'm not sure we will ever get an answer, we never did about the glue-head syndrome. The disconnect between what the designers want to create for people and what a company is willing to produce is wide: we know from pleather and glue head issues that many dolls are not manufactured to be long term collectibles. Some aren't really supposed to be redressed and restyled: the clothes are sewn on and the bun comes down to reveal a nub of hair or an empty head.

I wish things looked like they did in 2002 where the excuse for hard to brush 'Style It' dolls was potential corporate meddling, by 2008 you were lucky if the doll didn't come with a rat's nest on her head. Nowadays, we have these confounding decisions to stick badly rooted coarse hair on expensive collector dolls, on dolls with an implied collector value as long-lasting items and then other dolls priced seemingly at random (collector Rainbow High ranged from $40 to $100 for no discernable reason). It's not even clear when profits are being reinvested into the toy lines and we speculate that some toy lines are operating at a loss to get a foothold in the market.

Let's just say that a bunch of companies have shown they don't even have the sense to invest in brand loyalty with quality product recently, the media companies have exhausted so much goodwill it's embarrassing to anyone who's ever cared about running a business. Even banks can't seem to think five years ahead. It's why I'm delighted MGA is getting sued, yeah it's frivolous and far-fetched but we might get some insight on how they're running things and what the design process might be. It is absolutely not the "collaborative" Monster High/Barbie mermaid "voting process" we've seen on social media and more of a "Oh shoot, we gotta make the Krystal Bailey doll darker skinned, people are furious!"

TLDR It could be that whoever's running these divisions knows nothing about dolls, let alone hair. They just look at numbers and make decisions on numbers, short term ones too, no long term projections or testing.

[linddzz]

The pottery studio I go to is in a upper middle class area, in what is known through the city as the Wealthy Christian Conservative Zone, and as such the majority of the other people are middle aged to older white women who make little things for their grandkids and talk about their Catholic Bible studies.

Which is all to say it's not my typical crowd as I'm not theirs. I at first just kept my headphones in and kept to myself. But I go multiple times a week, and conversations happen, and it's been a nice reminder to myself the value of what I like to preach about regarding talking to people outside my demographics.

Now, to make it clear, that's mostly because these women have pleasantly surprised me all around. Part of why I've kept going is I haven't heard anything homophobic or transphobic or racist. This isn't to say none of them feel this way, I don't know. But there is a lot of common ground. Hell, maybe they've been pleasantly surprised that the tattood younger woman with the purple undercut is polite and nice to them.

They find out I'm a marine biologist and ask curious questions. One asks if lobsters have feelings because she's concerned after finding out how lobsters are cooked. They're all both amused and fascinated by my answer of "if you ask two animal behaviorists that you'll get ten answers and then the behaviorists will get into a fistfight." This led to a discussion all around on the complex nuance of eating meat and trying to navigate the ethics of the horrid industry and needing to find out what companies actually have better welfare and which are lying.

One told me about her son in highschool. She explains COVID hit his sophomore year and he was so driven and outgoing but the isolation and state of the world have made it so it's hard getting him to go to highschool or think about his future. None of them judge him or blame the quarantines. They all nod in sympathy and we talk about how we don't know how we would have handled the same things at that age, and how it's so hard for kids these days.

One woman says that she's amazed at the GenZ generation. She says her generation got disillusioned but "we were weaker. We just shut it out and got morose and made existential art about how bad society was. But the millennials and GenZ kids said they wouldn't accept it. At this point I go to where the kids are going for protests. They know what they're fighting for."

One tells me about her daughter going to school for anthropology. Her kid loves learning and she herself is shocked at what she doesn't know. "Did you all know that they purposely gave smallpox blankets to Native tribes? It's horrible. I never learned that. I should have learned that."

There's a girl in college for an art degree that works there and it's obvious she feels right at home amongst these women. She talks about a shitty thing her boyfriend said and they all tell her to dump his ass. I chime in with red flags that she's mentioned and they all nod. "Don't just get married because people think you should." One tells her. "Im married now and if I could have done things differently..."

There's enough sympathetic nodding that it's distressing. I've only just started joining the conversation and wish I was at a point where I could tell them their lives aren't over. They can still leave and not settle. But it's heartening in a way to see that they don't want to pass those ideas that still hold them on to the younger women.

I don't know how all these elder, Catholic white women vote and I'm not asking. There's still value. It's good, I think, to see a bunch of women who I would usually be extremely cautious of (and who might be cautious of me) and find how much we can talk, to find they're more nuanced than I may have expected, to see that older generations can learn and do learn and could keep learning.

[666writingcafe]

Lesson 1: Welcome to the Devildom

In typical fashion, MC forgets that they had submitted an application to be a human exchange student at RAD, so of course they're surprised when they find themselves in the assembly hall at the academy. As one might expect, MC was the last one to know that they were selected, as their parents, their human school, their coworkers, and just about everyone else they knew had already been told this information in advance. It was unfortunately quite usual that people wouldn't tell MC things because they either assumed that MC already knew, or they just wanted to surprise MC. Still, it wasn't nice that MC wasn't at least given a heads up that they would be in a strange room, being stared at by strange men in strange uniforms.

MC's First Impressions of The Student Council

Diavolo: He seems nice enough. It's a little spooky that he knew my name before I knew his, but he's at least welcoming. Although something tells me I shouldn't get on his bad side...

Lucifer: I know he's obviously trying to give off an air of authority, and I do respect that, but I sense that he's hiding something. It's probably deep, deep down, and most people wouldn't be able to pick up on it, but I get the feeling that he's actually really insecure. I could just be projecting, though. I'd like to get to know him more and see if that's the case. He's also one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen, but that's beside the point.

Mammon: I can't believe I have to allow a stuck-up, airheaded demon to be my Devildom guide. He doesn't even speak properly. I just have to do what I always do: act nice to him whenever I'm around them, and then complain about him when he's not around.

Asmo: First of all, gay. Like, actually gay. Second of all, he's just as arrogant as Mammon. I doubt he's as sweet and charming as he claims to be.

Satan: Clearly the middle child. Also, he looks and acts remarkably similar to Lucifer. Too similar...

Beel: Definitely relatable in this moment in time. The only thing I've had to eat today is a bowl of cereal from this morning.

Levi: I like him already. I know it's toxic to form friendships based on a mutual hatred of somebody, but I do kinda wish I could vote Mammon to die right now.

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

Notes

MC's actually quite excited to do tasks and write a paper about their experience in the Devildom. One of the first supplies they get is a notebook to document their thoughts on things as they happen. This proves quite handy in getting to know the demon brothers and exchange students, so much so that MC collects several notebooks full of information.

When MC looks into Asmo's eyes, they immediately get nauseous to the point that they almost throw up all over the fifth born.

As soon as Lucifer mentions that the House of Lamentation was originally a cursed house in the human world, MC makes it a priority to learn as much as they can about its history.

MC does not appreciate Mammon yelling at them. At all. If it weren't for their manners, MC would have told him to shut up. Thankfully for everyone in the room, Lucifer's the one to voice those thoughts.

If any of the men in the room were to glance over at MC when Lucifer asks Mammon in an angry/nice voice if he objected to being MC's guide, they would have caught a flash of arousal in MC's eyes.

When Mammon tells MC that they better know who the boss is, they immediately think, "Lucifer."

First thing that winds up in MC's notebook: "Demons like humans with nice souls. They will use their wisdom and abilities to tempt the humans so they can get their hands on their souls. Either humans will be tempted by demons, or demons will lose against the shiny and noble soul of a human and make a run for it. This is an experiment to find out who will win."

While Lucifer's statement of MC not having any magic in them is true at the time he says it, it naturally develops inside of them the longer they stay in the Devildom.

MC makes a mental note to hit the nearest dance studio and learn some moves, because they want to eventually take part in the dance battles without the assistance of the demon brothers.

MC's thoughts as Mammon talks as they arrive at the House of Lamentation: "What's insulting is that I have to be guided by someone who won't stop talking. What am I, his diary? 'Dear Diary, today Lucifer was weally mean to me. He makes me angy. I wish I wasn't so insecure. You think I'm tough, right, Diary?' Also, who the fuck goes around calling people peons? And then you want to get on my case about stopping to read the flyer just to turn around and tell me that I can look at it myself when I ask you about it? Maybe I wanted to get a part-time job to help support myself, you nitwit!"

When Mammon states that it's been 260 years since Levi gave him money and not 200, it takes everything in MC's power to not reply, "Aren't you supposed to make that number lower than what was initially stated?"

MC overthinks about Journey to the Devildom: The Tale of a Little She-Devil and Her Reluctant Companion. Is MC the She-Devil? Does that make Mammon the reluctant companion? But Mammon's the devil, not MC, so would he be the she-devil? Would Mammon like being referred to as a she-devil, or would he bite someone's head off?

MC really doesn't care about labels or status. They will befriend people based on their personality and their actions. So, it slightly offends MC that Levi makes a big deal about otakus and normies.

MC's fascinated by The Tale of the Seven Lords not because of the size of the books, but because of the fact that there are seven demon brothers that they just met, and it can't be a coincidence that there's a series about seven lords.

The second thing that winds up in MC's notebook: "Each of the seven lords is so unique. They're all so interesting in their own peculiar way. The lords are all brothers. The oldest is called the Lord of Corruption. He doesn't come across as being so bad at first, but he's always plotting and planning in secret. The second oldest is the Lord of Fools, a scumbag who'll do anything for money. The third oldest is called the Lord of Shadow, a brooding recluse. The fourth oldest is known as the Lord of Masks. He masquerades as a high-status, upstanding member of society, but underneath it all, he's an inhumane monster. The fifth oldest, the Lord of Lechery, only ever thinks of sex. The sixth oldest is the Lord of Flies, and he only ever thinks of food. Then there's the seventh oldest, called the Lord of Emptiness. He's weird; you never know what's running through his head."

Underneath Levi's speech (which can also be found on Levi's blog, as MC discovers when they type in "The Tale of the Seven Lords" in Doogle) is a t-chart assigning each demon brother to a lord. This t-chart proves extremely useful to MC.

MC likes Henry the goldfish.

Levi may have been talking a mile a minute, but MC caught the fact that Levi described this Seraphina character as seeming to be cold and prideful at first but really wanting affection without knowing how to admit it. That also makes its way into MC's notebook.

As much as MC sympathizes with Levi's predicament with not being able to get his money back, they really do not want to make a pact with Mammon. However, Levi doesn't allow MC to say this, but instead just launches straight into his plan without any consideration towards MC. So, MC really does not have much choice but to go along with it, because the last thing they want is to experience a demon's wrath before they've even been in the Devildom for a full day.

[musekicker]

Writing Prompt: Clay chaperoning Ash, Nooshy, Johnny, and Meena at a corn maze

Not quite strictly the prompt, but the basic idea of it.

The theater group had arrived at the fall carnival earlier into the day. And while not really Clay's thing these days, he did show up. Mostly for the performance that was suppose to be put on that night. For now, he would have to deal with the sounds and actions of the place.

It was sometime during his exploring the grounds that he realized something. He had seen everyone else from the theater around except the four that were Ash, Johnny, Meena, and Nooshy.

Granted they weren't exactly little kids. And Clay knew that Ash especially could handle her own. That did not mean he did not worry about the fact that he was having a hard time finding them.

He did spot Miss Crawley however. She was giving the apple bobbing tub a wide berth. 

"Are the avoiding the apple bobbing tank thing my fault?" Clay asked her recalling the first time they had met and Miss Crawley's temporary replacement of her glass eye with a apple.

Miss Crawley shook her head.

"Oh no. It's not that. I just avoid the apple bobbing events after... that one Halloween party." Miss Crawley said.

Clay's brows went up in curiosity.

"Oh?" he said.

"I lost my glass eye in the apple bobbing tub. Children screamed, one animal fainted." Miss Crawley said.

Clay wished he had been there to witness that. 

"I can understand why you avoid it then. While I have you, have you seen the kids around?" Clay asked.

Miss Crawley nodded.

"Oh yes! I saw them enter the hay bale maze about two hours ago." she said.

That seemed like a long time to be in a hay bale maze. Surely they still wouldn't be in there? But then, he hadn't seen them anywhere else on the carnival grounds. 

He decided then that he would go and check. And seeing the rake leaned up against one of the many scarecrow decorations, he had a idea on how to not get lost searching for them.

In the maze, the four teens were not having the best time.

"I say we break down one of the walls." Ash said. "I know we're all thinking it."

"I wasn't thinking that." Meena said.

"Neither was I." Johnny agreed. "And I don't think the people who set this up would be happy with us if we go and break their maze they worked on." 

Ash sighed.

"Yeah, I know that. But clearly we are having a hard time finding out way out of here." Ash said. "And I don't know about you guys but I don't want to be stuck in here when night falls."

"Let's put it to a vote." Nooshy suggested.

"Great idea." Johnny agreed. "Okay, who doesn't want to try to break through the wall?"

Johnny and Meena both raised their hands. Nooshy and Ash did not. Instantly everyone could see that this was not going to be helpful. Johnny grew quiet,  trying to come up with another idea of how to find their way out of this maze. Thankfully there would be no plan needed.

"There you kids are." a familiar and welcomed voice said.

"Clay!" the four teenagers cried.

They hurried over towards Clay. The four were so excited to see Clay that they didn't question why Clay was holding a rake at first.

"I was looking for you kids." Clay said. "This is where you've been all afternoon?"

"This maze is a lot more confusing then it looked like outside of it." Meena said.

"We were this close to just having Meena or Johnny knock a wall down." Ash admitted.

"No we were not!" Johnny protested.

Clay looked to the wall itself, noting it's height.

"Why couldn't Johnny or Meena had just boosted Ash or Nooshy up over the maze wall and one of you could had gotten help?" Clay asked.

The silence that followed from the teenagers told Clay what the answer was.

"None of you thought of that did you?" Clay asked.

"To be honest I did have my heart set on breaking a maze wall." Nooshy said. "So wasn't really looking for not break mazes solutions."

"Maybe some other day." Ash said.

"What's with the rake?" Johnny asked.

Clay smiled and pointed the ground behind him with the rake itself. The teenagers saw scratches in the dirt where the rake had been dragging.

"I thought ahead." Clay said.

Following the path that Clay had made got the group out of the maze fifteen minutes later. Just in time for sun down and for the rest of the crew to catch up with them.

"There you all are!" Buster said. "Where were all of you?"

"Lost in the hay bale maze." Johnny said.

"We would had still been in there if Mr. Calloway didn't show up." Meena added in.

After being in the maze for as long as they had been, food and drink were high on the list of what to go to next. Apple cider and doughnuts were the snack of choice. 

"Has anyone seen Gunther?" Rosita asked not long after. 

Everyone fell silent. Long and quiet enough to hear a cry from the maze.

"The walls are closing in!" Gunther cried.

Clay sighed deeply before picking up the rake once more, having not bothered to return it to the right scarecrow yet.

"I'll get him." he said before embarking on a rescue.

[shigure]

politics readmore. talking about conservates that aren't [solely] racist fundies

if you actually listen to what conservatives say, and value (besides racism both implicit and overt), it's not a mystery why they think the way they do. they want their labor to be valued, and paid fairly. this is something anyone wants. the thing is, they believe that under socialism, their labor will be exploited without compensation to take care of people that just don't want to work. regardless of whether that's true - or which financial system it best describes - doesn't the idea suck? i'd hate that too.

furthermore, they understand that more and more of the country is voting democratic, and that they are a minority. the thing is, this doesn't make them wonder if they're wrong, because they believe most of the population is stupid. many republicans are boomers saying "kids these days," and many younger republicans are the "kids" in question trying desperately not to seem stupid like the rest of their generation. i remember being a teenager and doing horrible things in the name of being mature, because i was terrified of being disrespected and not taken seriously by adults i valued and respected. if those adults had been conservative, it's entirely possible that i would've adopted a sneering mindset, to ingratiate myself to them. maybe you wouldn't have done that. but i might have. and many people have done so. even if they're their twenties, they still value the wisdom of their family, and they disregard ideas that their family tells them are stupid.

if you go on reddit's front page, maybe 40% of the content you'll see right away is depicting people as stupid. "mildly infuriating," "am i the asshole," "petty revenge," "kids are fucking stupid," "insane parents," so on and so forth. all of these have communities built around humiliating the people posted there, with varying degrees of intensity. on subreddits like aita, you get upvotes for being snappy enough in your response, and the highest upvoted comment in the replies is given an award.

this is not, in itself, conservative propaganda. in fact, many people participating are leftists, and there are many subreddits like r/therightcantmeme that are explicitly leftist in nature, and are built around public humiliation. i don't associate this behavior exclusively with being liberal or conservative, but i don't consider it apolitical either. rather, i think it fosters a growing misanthropy within us - one that's been a part of western culture since before America even existed, but is being fed by the internet like mold on a rotting apple.

how many people do you know that have been the target of widespread online humilation? who have been the day's top idiot on the front page? i don't know anyone who has personally (and i'm grateful for that, because the long term psychological effects of that are absolutely devastating and i wouldn't wish them on anybody) and you likely know very few such people, if anyone at all. out of the people you meet, almost none are catastrophically stupid or rude enough to catch the internet's attention.

but 1% of the population is still a lot of people. if you've been conditioned to believe that that 1% represents a high percentage of society (ever heard the phrase "imagine how stupid the average person is - 50% of the population is dumber than that"?), why would you be surprised that over 50% of the country is "voting like idiots"? if you genuinely believe most people around you are so stupid they're a danger to others, why would you value their opinions, or let them tell you you're wrong about anything? hell, why would you want them to be allowed to vote at all, whether they're ex-convicts or just regular "dangerous idiots"? you comfort yourself that you're a bastion of rationality. it keeps you sane within your fear.

this misanthropy is a major part of the internet feedback loop. you're engaged by seeking negativity, and you're rewarded for being cruel in a funny way as a response. and by funding and perpetuating it, those with greater financial and political sway are able to keep a frothing, terrified base that's willing to tread the path of religious fundamentalism to protect themselves and their loved ones from what they perceive to be the greater danger.

it's part of why i hate the way many people mock conservatives. not that i pity the conservatives in question, but i know "information" (witty tweets) is being shared under the premise of enlightening people and making them rethink their positions... it's just an excuse to laugh at them and feel better about yourself. some ex-conservatives DID rethink their positions from those witty one liners, and i commend them for it, because god knows if someone mocked me for my beliefs i would just get defensive. you're not really trying to help.

the average reddit liberal has a lot of fun saying "you can't actually believe the cheeto in the white house wanted to help you. he literally made his ex partners get abortions" or whatever in the same tone that another person would use to tell me i can't possibly believe there's more than two genders. there's a difference. one is factually correct, and the other is a biological essentialist with a less-than-eighth-grade understanding of biology. but that doesn't mean it's much better.

idk. no point ranting about reddit on a different social media platform really. just. cool joke dude, you really owned them. now try saying something empathetic and kind or whatever

[imthepunchlord]

I know you've had your own opinions on the miraculous powers, but have you ever had any thoughts about their weapons? Given the chance, I'd give the rabbit a huge pestle or mallet, in reference to the rabbit-in-the-moon stories in Asia.

Yeah some tools I'd change, I'd like them to be used either for power or for over all use, like Chat's baton he uses a lot despite the power not tied to it. Also tools that also act as tails I'd just rather replace cause when that's removed to be used they just look weird.

That or I add onto their capability.

Mouse I'd change up to have a ribbon wand instead of jumprope tail. The wand is tied to French culture viewing mice as fairies (tooth fairies in particular).

TIger's weapon I'd rather be a gauntlet than bolas tail weapon. It already has a unique enough look to separate it from the rest of the costume and is tied to the power which is about punching. So just let it officially be the tool for Tiger. Especially as that'd be one of the more wicked looking tools.

Now, Rabbit's umbrella has grown on me, but if it's to be changed up, it'd depend on the power, and as the umbrella acts a sword and shield, it may be better for a more offense based miraculous as rabbits aren't known for their offensive capability. If White Magic could have a hammer that sends out a white ring that restores and heals. Or if Burrow was more teleportation, have a trumpet that you blast to open the portal, which can give away your current location but when your enemy arrives, you gone.

Dragon's sword just felt like it was done because it was planned for Kagami, and personally, I thought umbrella would've been a better fit as this is a weather related miraculous. And we see that the umbrella acts as a sword and shield and this is more offense based miraculous. And what's extra nice is that most people would look at an umbrella and not think of it as a weapon, which would have been perfect for Dragon, while it's a powerful creature, it's known to be gentle and helpful. And you're more approachable with an umbrella than a sword. And my idea of just changing Dragon to be a Carp, umbrella can still work for it.

Now Snake's lyre, I wouldn't mind if it was for a music related power, like hypnosis through music. But it's not. Alternatively, I would reveal that the lyre can have potential hidden weapons to it, just like HM's cane has a sword. Have the lyre split in half to be twin sickles to wield, or it can have an unbreakable whip between them making it a long range sickle tipped weapon that can be use in battle or getting around. Otherwise the lyre is just a weight to carry around. Maybe as a reference to Father Time, the tool could've been a scythe, which you can get elaborate with in battle. It could also match snakes have a long fanged reached.

Horse would be the one I'd vote for a sword, not only as they are commonly war mounts, but you also have the kwami named Kaalki, one of the avatars of Vishnu who was known to conquest chaos. If you wanted to keep Horse as a portal based miraculous, imagine just slicing the air and that opens your portal. Or if going off my idea of Haywire instead, manipulate and even be electricity, imagine the sword becoming a literal bolt of lightning. If keeping horseshoe, then I'd have it be like the lyre and could have hidden capabilities to it, like divide in half to be twin lightsabers.

Rooster's quill I'd keep but give it a writing power like Chicken Scratch, otherwise, what do you even do with it? Can it sharpen enough to be a little knife? Or maybe it can multiply a lot and be throwing knives? It's a possibility as concept art wise, Mayura looked like she could split up her fan to be throwing knives or darts.

And that reminds me, so I am good with Peafowl having a fan, but I wish they kept this concept art for it than soft feather tips, cause that looked more like a war fan that could have edges to it. And to give it some limit with it's power of creation, every section of that fan makes a sentimonster, and make too many you have no more fan. Otherwise it can be divide into be twin war fans to wield or come together to be a shield.

Now everything else I'm pretty ok with. Definitely prefer tools that can have a versatile use in the field or are tied to the power. And many of them can cover that.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

I don't think Charlie Crist stands a chance against Ron DeSantis, and even if he did he wouldn't be able to accomplish much, what with the Republicans controlling the state legislature; if by some miracle he wins, they'll use the lame duck period to pass tons of new laws to strip the governor of all power, just like in Wisconsin, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, etc. Democrats chose NOT to do this in Virginia last year when Youngkin won and Republicans flipped one house; they could have neutered him and prevented his party from making ANY progress, but no, they thought that would be petty and unfair (funny how Republicans never have reservations against pettiness and unfairness when they're in charge...)

What comes next for Florida? Really? Ron DeSantis gets another term, poor people and black people and queer people will continue to be fucked over, education will collapse, and then he'll run for president in 2028 (not 2024; Trump is running in 2024, and no Republican will ever challenge him because they would be thrown out of the party faster than you can say "Liz Cheney"). But what happens in 2026? Who do we get then? Rubio and Prick Scott aren't going anywhere, so DeSantis can't just run for Senate as the next rung up on the power ladder, and he can't run for a third term (unless the Republicans amend the constitution, which wouldn't even be all that hard; it requires a majority vote in a referendum, and they could hold it as early as next year, the off year, specifically to drive down turnout), but who could possibly do a worse job than DeSatan? Matt Gaetz? Just kill me now... It's gonna be someone who's batshit fucking insane, we can all be certain of that. It's a race to the bottom, everyone in the Republican party is competing to be crueler and dumber and more egregious than those who came before them with no clear end goal besides riling up the most people and fsnning the highest flames.

There is no fixing this.

People joke about California breaking away from the continent and drifting out to sea, and it really makes me wish that Florida was on a faultline so it could break off too and sink into the Caribbean. This cesspit of a state is irredeemable, inhospitable, nearly uninhabitable, what with all the hurricanes and the floods and the skyrocketing cost of living and neonazis in every single police department from Key West to Pensacola. I hate it here more than just about anything else. I'm trapped behind enemy lines. I'm a thousand miles from any semblance of sanity (not that things are much better up north, though more people wear masks, which is a big plus). There's nothing for me here. I don't belong here. I don't know if I belong anywhere... This is all I've ever known.

[victoriapedrcttis]

It's kinda amazing how taylor has built a cult basically it's no longer a fanbase. I loved her music but wasn't active in the fandom (because med school) but now after interacting w the fanbase is SO insane I want to believe it's satirical but it's not. people will go on lengths to defend a multi millionaire who Doesn't give a fuck abt them

She started this with activity encouraging parasocial relationships (stalking her fans, getting their addresses out of their social media, asking fans to post their pictures if they want to be noticed, inviting fans to her house which is sweet on the outside BUT it's gross if she's picking and choosing which is the better fan, kind of a popularity contest to see which licks her boots more, this way people who want to meet her wouldn't risk criticizing her ykwim? it's so well thought out it's disgusting)

finding every opportunity to make profit — when pride became “popular and profitable” she released you need to calm down but she is NOT queer, she doesn't face an ounce of homophobia, this is pure rainbow capitilism, you can say she wanted to get the petition signed but don't pretend she can't get 70k signatures or more if she put on a tweet or even an insta story, if she truly wanted to be an ally she shouldn't have capitilized off us.

She made TONS of people sign up for voter card just by 1 insta post, why didn't she made a mv for signing up for voting lmao? because it wasn't profitable!

the way she cried about getting cancelled in miss American is so shitty when you realize shes been encouraging swifties to go harass people like Scooter Braun or whatever the heck that was, her exact statement after crying about having her work being sold was “let them know how you (swifties) feel”. so no she didnt developed empathy after being bashed on twitter, she just pulled the same shit on someone else.

she capitilized on cottagecore/darkacademia aesthetic which is anticapitilistic to its core not to mention, went on to destroy earth which further proves she would milk every and anything that helps her make money.

all she has in her defense is she's a woman so anyone who doesn't like her or hates on her is misogynist and she's the only one who face this. Imagine what wouldve happened if she was poc or queer or both. I wish swifties see who they're willing to die for, someone who doesn't care about them, NEVER cared about them. I'm out of that fandom bye

[watermelonlovershigh]

You Get Sick in the Back of an Uber

AN: so this was a story i have had in my drafts for like three months and just never found motivation to finish it. i decided to finish this first out of my drafts because it was one of the ones that had the most already written for it. unlike some of my others that don't have much written yet. and this was supposed to be longer but i got lazy and ended the end with no dialogue and shorted the story. but i guess that's fine because the main part of this was the uber incident and not necessary the aftercare. (i just love to always include aftercare whether its with sex or getting sick. unless its a blurb) @harryhoney-bee suggested number 1. on my voting post so thank you for requesting i finish this one shot idea that was in my drafts.

This story contains: puke, drunken person, caring husband

{ husband!harry - dad!harry - Grammys 2021 Harry - 4 kids (any age you imagine) }

word count: 1765

When you drink too much at the Grammys, you end up having to get sick in the uber ride home and Harry cares for you.

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

Back Story-

After the Grammys, Harry and I decided to go to the little after party that was being held for the Grammy attendees. We knew we couldn't stay too long because we had to get back home to our kids. They were currently with our babysitter but she couldn't stay all night. She has to go home at some point. So we made sure to watch the time.

At the afterparty, drinks were flowing. I haven't drank in a while due to the fact I had been pregnant not too long ago. This was the first night I was allowed to drink and I decided to do just that. Harry was aware of me drinking and promised to watch and take care of me. Though we were at this afterparty for him, he wanted me to let loose and have some fun as well.

But what he wasn't expecting was for me to drink the amount I did. I didn't mean to go over board. It just kind of happened. People handing out drinks left and right and next thing I knew, I was drunk. Not tipsy, drunk. When Harry noticed how drunk I was, he decided it's best to go home.

And because Harry also had drank some alcohol, he wasn't in a state to drive either. By no means was he as drunk as me though. Maybe just tipsy but he didn't want to risk it. So he decided to call an uber for us.

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

Current-

We're sitting in the back of the uber on our way home. It's about an hour drive since the city is crowded with traffic due to the Grammys. Right about now is when I regret drinking any alcohol tonight. Because I haven't drank in over a year, my body isn't use to the poison running through my veins. So you could say I'm a lightweight now. My head is throbbing. My vision is blurry. My stomach is turning. Lets just say I regret all my decisions tonight that lead to me feeling this way.

"Harrrrry I don't feel good." I manage to slur out.

"You probably should have stuck to champagne instead of vodka my love." Harry responds, while stroking my hair out of my face in a gentle manner.

Another 10 minutes pass and I'm feeling very nauseous. I'm trying to focus on my breathing but it's not working.

"Harry my stomach hurts." I whisper with hooded eyes.

"Like you're gonna be sick?" Harry questions with panic.

I nod my head and hear Harry asking the driver if he can pull over.

"Can you pull over? My wife is feeling ill." Harry frantically questions the uber driver up front.

"I'm sorry sir but this freeway is packed and there is no way I can get to the side of the road right now." the driver says with a bit of an attitude.

Hearing that made me and Harry both start to panic.

"Well do you have any sick bags in here?" my husband asks.

"Sorry I don't." the driver retorts in a uncaring tone. What kind of uber driver doesn't carry sick bags for when drunks potentially need a ride but feel like they are going to be sick?

I just barley hear Harry let out a frustrated sigh and turn to me.

"Try and relax love. Take deep breaths for me, alright." Harry whispers while rubbing my back as I'm slumped over his body, too disoriented to even hold my head up.

About 3 minutes later, I feel vomit rise up my throat. There isn't much I can to do. The driver already said he couldn't pull over, nor does he have sick bags. I sit up from my slouched position and clasp a hand over my mouth. My legs are bouncing up and down. I'm trying desperately not to puke but I'm doing a poor job. Harry is sitting up with me, trying to comfort me but his words are all a blur at this point.

"If you have to be sick darling, let it out. I'll pay to get this uber cleaned, okay." Harry states in my ear. I know he'd rather not have me puke on the floor of the uber, right beside him, but he can tell I'm struggling and in discomfort.

Hearing those words was all the conformation I needed. I remove my hand from my mouth and let out a gush of alcoholic bile spew from my mouth and onto the backseat floor board. Harry gathers my hair in his hands so it's not in my face. My vomit splatters all over my legs and on the bottom of Harry's Gucci suit. I'd feel terrible about that if I wasn't so out of it, but my mind is a mushed up blur.

"Shhh, that's it. You're alright." Harry reassures me. The uber driver lets out a sigh of disgust, but this is truly his fault that I'm throwing up in his uber right now anyways.

Heave after heave, I let out more of the alcohol that was poisoning my system, right onto the floor. It's not a pretty sight. I'm having a cold sweat and my body is trembling. Though Harry has a weak stomach, when it comes to his wife (me) or his kids, he can always handle a bit of throw up. Or a lot like currently. It's like a fatherly/husband instinct that comes over him and he feels only adrenaline, not yuck.

Finally I feel my stomach relax and I sit up, breathing heavy with vomit dripping down my chin. Without thinking, I wipe it off with the back of my hand and smear it on my already ruined dress. "Feeling better?" Harry asks in a low tone.

"Mhmm." I hum, not really feeling like talking. My drunken brain has cleared up some from the majority of the alcohol being out of my system, but I still feel the after affects drinking brings. I just lean my head on Harry's shoulder for the rest of the ride home and allow the cool breeze to blow on my face. The uber driver did us all a favor by rolling the windows down so we didn't suffocate on the nasty smell of my sick.

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

After-

When we arrived home, Harry payed the uber driver, not giving much of a tip and told him that he'd have someone clean his car out in the morning. As well as a half assed apology for my incident beings it could have been prevented. Then carefully, Harry lifted me out the uber and carried me into our Los Angeles home. Good thing our kids were all asleep because they shouldn't have to see their mother like this. Covered in puke and half drunk.

Harry took me to our bathroom and quickly ran down stairs to pay our babysitter, hoping she didn't question my appearance when she saw my state as we came through the front door. She didn't thankfully and left soon after her check was handed to her. Harry came back up to where he left me and helped me clean up and get ready for bed.

He stripped us of our vomit covered clothes and helped me into the big walk-in shower we have in our master bathroom. Then after he delicately washed our bodies along with my hair, he helped us out and dried us off. We brushed our teeth, me with the help of my husband because I was still a bit dizzy. After we're clean of sick and smelt fresh, he helped me put some panties and a t-shirt over my nude body and boxers on himself; just incase our kids woke up and needed us for whatever reason.

Harry helped me into our large bed and tucked me in, bending down to kiss my forehead. Then he walked down to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water and a bucket incase I needed to be sick again at some point through-out the rest of the early morning. When he had all the items he intended to grab, Harry came back to our bedroom where I was already passed out with sleep.

So he just set the water on my night stand and the bucket on the floor, beside my side of the bed. Then Harry quietly exited our room and went to each of our child's bedrooms to make sure they were fine and still asleep like they should be, which they thankfully were.

When everything was done and taken care of, Harry turned the bedroom lights out and slipped in the covers with me. He helped my body scoot over and I cuddled into his warm body. I didn't realize it in my state of sleep but I knew when I awoke, I'll be thinking about how grateful I am to have a wonderful husband like Harry.

He takes such good care of me. He didn't get upset that I drank too much on his special night and accidently got wasted. He never once got upset that I basically got throw up on his expensive suit tonight in the uber. He didn't get annoyed that he had to shower both me and him past midnight, though he was exhausted. Harry loves taking care of me (and our kids) and wouldn't wish for any other life. Even when his life becomes chaotic and stressful. Harry loves his family dearly and his family love him just as much or more.

Masterlist (regular smut, fluff & sicfics)

My Favorite Harry Styles Fics MASTERLIST

Harry Styles Series - One Shots & Blurbs Masterlist

Harry Styles blurbs, concepts, & short stories Masterlist- (short writing with little to no dialog)

[nightswithkookmin]

Jungkook couldn’t choose between angry hobi or angry jimin😭 🤭😆that sigh was something

They look so fluffy tho. I honestly can’t imagine jimin going off like that unless he feels great injustice in a situation. I wish I could see all of them at their reallist more this is so interesting

I'm sure if he had responded with a simple text like uhmm or none or neither the fake OT7s would be having a field day by day🤡

Dude prolly having war flashbacks to the trauma he experienced when Jimin almost left his ass😩

I know it's that one for him

Personally it's his death stare and intimidating look when he's quiet. Makes me anxious for no reason.

Prolly humming Shawn Mendes' Mercy to himself to self soothe too

The PTSD is real lmho

Yet these people think he can disrespect Jimin and get away with it cos JM a simp for him. Speaks to Just how much cocky arrogant and presumptuous people really are. They give us access to their lives and we think we know them🤡

Really all we doing is peaking in through a cracked window.

More than anyone he's experienced first hand the intensity of Jimin's love and his anger and it affects him in ways we can never comprehend looking in from the outside.

As much as he is traumatized bearing the brunt of Jimins anger, he is healed and replenished by his affections first hand.

One time my ex stonewalled me and wouldn't pick my calls for a day I ended up in the hospital. It's the uncertainty and inconsistency it triggered my anxiety I started having panic attacks and what was akin to a mild heart attack.

Jungkook knows what he is talking about and I believe him. Between angry Jimin and Hobi, Tae and Jungkook, I'd choose angry Namjoon deadass💀

Jimin has been voted the scariest when Angry- not sure if someone snatching his beanie counts as a great injustice but he looked pretty scary. Bloodshot eyes and everything.

Saw the look he gave some asshole for disrespecting his sister??? Well that's justified but Kook missed a high five once and he hulked out on him🤣

Also, I'm waiting for the fandom to tell me his response to this comment was a clap back at delusional jikook or hopekook shippers. Oh no he wouldn't choose either, he wants neither. Kikikikiki he nuh claiming Jimin or Hobi, buhahahahahaha their ship is dead.

People hate Jikook so much they dying for the least opportunity to invalidate their relationship claiming they are platonic yet feeling very threatened by them. Their insecurity is showing lmho

[kakiwrites]

this is going to become a shin tsukimi acc now bc of anons HAHA can i request shin x AI reader? like after their death and he sees their AI or something and gets to talk to it

an AI reunion

Genre: angst to fluff-ish

A shin tsukimi x reader

a/n: okay, anon, your wish is my command! I decided that this was entirely separate from the 3 part story. Hope that's okay anon! Without further ado, let's get started!

He was a failure.

He had the key to unlock you from your chains. If he just moved a second quicker, been just been a tad bit braver, he could've saved you.

But instead, he had to witness you getting ripped apart by the chains that bind you.

If that wasn't bad, as soon as he stumbled out of the room, he was shown his fate. there in a dark room with the blackboard, a mysterious girl showed him a mysterious percentage right beside his name.

0.0%

Shin sat at the bottom of the hole just above him, his eyes drained with all light as he watched as other people began to emerge from the openings. He didn't dare to stand up, his legs refused to carry his weight.

In his mind, a thought began to form.

If Sou was here, would he had able to carry this weight on his shoulders? Would he had been able to save the person in front of him?

If he were Sou, he might've found the courage to put the key in.

Shin rubbed his eyes and stumbled up to his feet, forcing himself to take a step into the light.

If only he were Sou...

Shin was quick to adapt, that was what you loved about him.

He forced on a front, a personality that only he was familiar with. He needed to do it to fool everyone so he doesn't die. So he doesn't get picked on and voted out by the strong vultures.

He embodied Sou. He took on his name and his personality. He acted as close to his old friend as he could and he hated every second of it. He hated to manipulate others, especially naive children, but what other choice did he have?

He needed to live.

He needed to live to keep your memory alive.

But he knew that you wouldn't be happy if you found out what he'd done.

his little personality change wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. He became a target. He got hit in the head twice, once with a frying pan for trying to look through the laptop in the secret room, the other with a thick plank of wood as soon as he got to the next level.

It wasn't so easy being the rational one, especially since Sara was even more suspicious than him. her name was mentioned a lot in Kai's emails.

He groggily woke up to see Kanna standing over him with a worried glint in her eye. "you were knocked out with a plank. everyone was really worried. Are you okay?" she asked, twiddling with her fingers in nervousness.

He faked a smile before pushing his body to sit. "of course Kanna. My head kind of hurts but I'm fine." he cleared his throat, changing the subject. "where's Sara and the others?"

"running around doing attractions."

Shin tilted his head in confusion. "wait, what are attractions? Is this our new game?"

Kanna nodded. She began to explain the game and the clear conditions. Shin began to realize something. Kanna stayed here and watched him even though she could've begun collecting clear chips. Despite manipulating her, Kanna still cared enough to stick by his side.

Shin didn't know if Kanna was just sympathetic or stupid.

And he didn't know if he should be thankful.

"you haven't played anything yet, right?" Shin pushed himself out of bed. He stood in front of Kanna, bending down to meet her eyes. Kanna nodded. "well, we better head out and play something. We don't want to fall behind now, do we?" he said, his hand reaching out and ruffling her hair. Kanna smiled, a renewed, more child-like one.

This was what he almost broke and tainted.

Shin stepped out and waited for Kanna to do the same. He let her walk ahead and take the lead.

If Kanna was willing to give him another chance then Shin was willing to make it up to her. He was willing to actually work together instead of using one another.

Because he was sure that was what you wanted him to do.

The floor was quiet by the time Shin and Kanna went out.

"it seems like sister Sara and the others are still doing attractions." kanna chimed in, walking into the main lounge area and sat down. She looked at Shin expectedly. Shin smiled at her before he deciding to look into one of the opened doorways. It was a room filled with monitors and a big control panel in the middle.

Shin stepped into the room with his hands in his pockets. He observed the control panel from a distance. This was a device that even he wasn't familiar with. If he was going to help the group then he better start figuring out what it does. Shin was only able to take a step forward when one of the monitors burst to life. He looked up and stumbled back in shock.

there, on the screen, was you.

"shin! Hey!" you exclaimed, your usual smile on your face. Your face dropped when you finally see the silent tears that began to stream down his cheeks. The AI wanted so desperately to reach out and wipe those tears away. "come on, shin, Don't cry... You know how i hate seeing you cry." you tried to console him.

Shin wiped his eyes only for new tears to replace the old ones. He slowly took another step closer. Was this a dream? No, this isn't a dream. Why were you smiling? He killed you. You were supposed to be angry or disappointed.

What did he do to deserve this?

"do you remember?"

"Remember what?"

"what I did to you..."

"oh..." you let out an awkward chuckle. "no... Not exactly. I remember waking up in chains but the rest is kind of a blur." you told him. Shin wasn't letting up. "why? Did you do something?"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"you're supposed to be mad at me!" he yelled, his voice filled with sorrow. He gripped his hair harshly. "I killed you! I could've saved you but I couldn't. I was too scared to put the key in the lock and now you're dead!"

"I'm supposed to be mad?"

Shin looked up at you in disbelief. Yes, you were supposed to be mad. You were supposed to resent him, to curse him out. To blame your death on him.

Why aren't you doing that?

"How can I be mad when you're right in front of me, alive and well." you let out a watery laugh. "look, I might've died and I know that must've sucked but look where that got you. You're still here, fighting. I can tell it wasn't so easy to get here but I'm so proud that you're able to stand here and talk to me."

Shin felt a ghost of a smile begin to appear on his face.

"But you have to move on."

His jaw dropped. What the hell are you saying now? "i-i just got to see you again. W-what do you mean by move on?" he asked, his voice cracking under his emotions.

"your thoughts of me being angry at you must've weighed you down so much. You don't need to feel that guilt anymore. I can assure you, I'm not mad. " you said. before Shin could open his mouth again, you continued. "but clinging onto this AI version of me is going to hold you back even more. You're gonna ruin all of the progress you've done without me. that's the last thing I want. I'm sure the thing you've built for yourself is more than enough to get through this hellhole."

"b-but-"

"let me go, shin. I've forgiven you. So you're free to move on without any regrets." you said, laughing bittersweetly as tears began to pour down Shin's face once more. "if you come here, I'll sure be angry and you wouldn't want that, do you?" Shin shook his head. "good."

"sou?"

Shin turned back to see Kanna's eyes going back and forth to look at him and the AI. Your eyes widened at the name. "so that's your plan..." you mumbled to yourself. Shin looked back to defend himself only to be met by your palm. "I get what you did. No need to feel anxious about what I feel, okay? Now go!"

If you were truly there, you might've pushed him but you didn't need to. The will of your words did it for you. Shin felt moved like he was pushed in the right direction.

he knew what he needed to do.

"sou, who's that?"

"Just someone I loved." Shin took one last glance at you before he walked over to the girl and playfully nudged her back out the door.

Shin's chest felt lighter. Nothing was weighing him down anymore. He knew what to do now. He needed to protect the people he cared about. He couldn't do it with you but he was sure he can do it with Kanna.

And that was more than enough.

Shin brought Kanna closer to him. His smile couldn't come any easier. "now come on, we have a lot more things to do."

And that is all! I'm so sorry this seems rushed or kind of disrupts the storyline but I hope you still enjoy it anon! Requests are open so please don't feel shy to leave more requests in my inbox! Love you guys 💕❤️❤️

General taglist (don’t be shy to comment your tumblr @ below): @tokyoghoose @macaronnv @reogou @midnightangelfox @wumboho @seiijixcia @tessabrown101