#like i dont care about my life enough so go ahead take me . i have nothing going on and i DONT WANNA HAVE ANYTHING GOING ON

[dirt-str1der]

I literally had a dream about reading the worst fan fiction like fucking ever kiryu was just randomly a yandere and nishiki was trying his best to survive also kiryu turned into a dragon (deez nuts) halfway and let nishiki kill him for being a bad boy but he was so upset about having to kill his bro that he just lay in the corpse for a bit and thats when i decided to stop reading and i literally opened tumblr in my dream to complain about how bad it was like the writing went back and forth from being terrible to incredible and i found myself enjoying some parts and despising others. I skipped the first few chapters so i had to tab back out and read the summary like why are they in a beach resort and the summary didnt just tell me nothing but it was also double spaced between each line and very fucking irritating and while reading it i kept thinking this is extremely ooc and boring like they would not fucking say that

[punkstatikparanoia]

does anyone else have any trouble picturing themselves as a functioning alive human being or is that just me >_-

[girasollake]

everything i wanted

ꨄpairing: neteyam x fem!omaticaya!reader / jake sully x reader(platonic)

ꨄrequested: no

ꨄtype: mostly angst, some fluff

ꨄsummary: you always wanted to feel appreciated, neteyam always wanted to be the best warrior; in short: u seek validation in older men cause you dont have family and because you are the best warrior, neteyam is jealous of you, the whole fic roughly follows the plot of atwow!!! ummmm kinda enemies to lovers?????

ꨄwarnings: SPOILERS AHEAD, DONT READ IF U HAVENT SEEN ATWOW, mentions of being shot, angst, my bad writing cause i havent written anything since september, reader is a year older than neteyam

ꨄa/n: i feel like this is so bad i am sorry

ꨄword count: 3,402

‘How could you both be so stupid?’ You threw your hands in the air and shot a glare at Neteyam. ‘You could’ve died! Does that mean nothing to you? Your father explicitly told you to observe, not engage! You are like a child Neteyam, both you and Lo’ak!’

‘I wanted to stop him, he’s just too disobedient.’ He avoided your eyes.

‘And you had to take the blame again? He’s never going to learn if you keep doing that.’ You shook your head and sighed.

‘Can you stop? I’m the oldest and I need to protect my siblings.’

‘No. No, Neteyam. I am the oldest. I may not be your sibling but I am the oldest and, believe it or not, I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to them.’

Especially you.

‘You can protect them, be a big brother, but don’t take credit for every stupid thing they do!’ You moved closer to him and snapped your fingers in front of his face to get his attention. ‘I know you want to prove your father you can be a warrior, but it doesn’t mean that you have to put your life at risk when Lo’ak does something stupid.’ You huffed. ‘Just be careful next time.’

Neteyam felt jealous of you, of the way his father trusted you enough to put you in risky missions because he knew you would survive, of the way he praised your fighting skills and of the way he put you on a pedestal. You were born during the first war with the sky people and both of your parents had died fighting. The clan surrounded you with love when you were growing up, but you had never had anyone to call a mother or a father. You were just an orphan trying to find a place alongside everyone that you crossed paths with. So, when Neteyam was jealous of you having his father approval and trust, you were jealous of him for having a real family. When you were younger you would hide behind the trees and watch them cuddle underneath the night sky, your little heart breaking and longing for this kind of comfort and love. Even though you were Omatikaya by blood you still sometimes felt like an outsider. You occupied your time with training, flying, shooting arrows and that’s why Jake was impressed, that’s why you were one of his favorite warriors and he knew he could trust you. He even got you your own gun, which Neteyam and Lo’ak were especially jealous of.

Deep down you knew what this was about. Jake cared about you, but not like he cared about his own children. That was the real reason you were sent on those missions, the reason he took you everywhere with him on fights. He just didn’t want to risk his sons life's. You knew that and you still took part in everything because those were the moments when you felt like you belong.

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 °

‘Can we talk?’ Jake asked from behind you.

‘Of course, sir.’ You nodded your head and stopped sharpening the spears.

He sat down next to you and sighed.

‘We are leaving tomorrow.’ He said firmly. ‘This is not a safe place for my family anymore.’

‘Oh, I see.’ You whispered, a wave of sadness ran through your whole body.

‘I want you to come with us.’ Your ear twitched and you looked up at him with hopeful eyes. ‘And I want you to promise me you will protect my children when I won’t be able to do it myself.’

‘I promise.’ You answered quickly. ‘I’ll do my best, sir.’

He smiled at you and stood up, ‘Tomorrow after the ceremony. Be ready.’ He shot you one last glance and walked away.

The next day you were waiting for the Sully family by the ikrans, your thoughts were interrupted by a loud shriek of Tuk.

‘Are you coming with us (Y/n)?’ She asked after she ran up to you.

‘I am.’ You smiled at her and after giving you a hug she ran back to her mom in order to get on an ikran with her.

While you were checking your bags attached to your own animal, you felt someone intensely staring at the back of your head. You didn’t have to turn around to know it was Neteyam. You never knew why he gave you those weird glances, a part of you wished they weren’t that hateful. At first you tried being friends with him, but after a while his behavior towards you had changed. While you were getting along with his younger siblings, he was always staying away from you, watching your every move. The relationship between you felt like some sort of rivalry, but there was always this warm feeling you couldn’t shake off when you knew he was nearby.

After a long, tiring flight to the Metkayina clan you were exhausted, the thought of laying down was the only one in your head. You made the appropriate gesture towards the Tsahik and the Olo’eyktan when they arrived and you suddenly felt really small under Ronal’s gaze. She started walking around you all, examining your tails and postures.

‘Is this also your child, Jakesully?’ She asked, you could feel her judging eyes on you.

‘No. She’s not my child, but she is the best warrior in our clan and she is important to my family.’

‘Is that true?’ She moved to look into your eyes.

‘Yes, Tsahik Ronal.’ You gave her a long nod and felt the warm feeling spreading in your heart after hearing that you were important to the Sully’s.

She whispered something to herself and went back to her husband who a moment later agreed that all of you could stay with them. You smiled to yourself when you were walking through the village following Tsireya, everything felt so fresh and untouched by war, those people didn’t live in fear unlike your clan. You dropped your belongings on the floor and went over to Neytiri to help her.

‘It’s okay, you can go with others and learn the Metkayina ways, I can handle the unpacking.’ She told you and put her hand on your arm.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, go.’ She smiled sweetly and playfully pushed you towards the exit of your new home.

You ran towards the shore and started looking for your friends. When you finally spotted them you quickly jumped into the water and swam quickly in their direction.

‘Can I join?’ You asked Tsireya when you emerged from the water.

‘Of course!’ She gave you a smile. ‘Follow us everyone.’

After swimming for a while she took all of you to meet the ilu’s and learn how to ride them. You were scared of failure, especially after seeing how fast Lo’ak let go of his ilu. Tsireya helped you get on the animal and told you that you’re gonna be okay, you just have to hold it tight.

‘How could she not be fine? She’s the best warrior after all.’ Neteyam muttered with annoyance.

‘Stop it.’ Kiri smacked his arm.

‘What? She shouldn’t be here, her place is with the clan. I don’t even get why she’s here with us in the first place.’

‘It’s not my fault your dad values my skills more than he does yours.’ You replied harshly and then without a second thought told your ilu in your mind to go forward.

You felt angry at Neteyam, rage was filling your body. You were the best for a reason and you would prove that to him. You tightened your grip on the handle attached to the animal’s body and took the biggest breath in your life before diving into the depths of the ocean. The speed was horrible and you felt your hand slowly relaxing.

No. I won’t give him the satisfaction.

You tightened your fist and held the handle even harder than before. After readjusting your position and squeezing your thighs to feel more steady you felt the oxygen slowly leaving your lungs. You shut your eyes and rode upwards, soon emerging from the water and jumping with your ilu only to dive again. You rode over to your friends and smiled at Tsireya. Everyone was impressed, because this was your first try and it definitely required special skills to get it this perfect. Annoyance was written on Neteyam’s face, he scoffed and started swimming away. You sighed and got off the ilu.

‘Neteyam, wait!’ You screamed and swam towards him.

He didn’t even look back and you reached him after you both got out of the water.

‘Neteyam, what happened?’ You touched his arm and he immediately turned around to face you.

‘You happened.’ He scoffed. ‘I am tired of you taking my place all the time. I try so hard to meet my dad’s standards and it’s never appreciated because of you!’

‘It’s not my fau-‘

‘It is. It is your fault.’ He interrupted your sentence and walked away quickly.

And there it was again. The feeling of loneliness consumed you once again, when the boy you adored walked away feeling only hatred towards you. Sure, you were often picking fights with him, replying to his comments with the same energy, but maybe this time you really did take it too far?

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 °

You were helping Tsireya with some of the duties one day and Neteyam was far from you, but still in your sight. You were stealing quick glances at him so that your friend wouldn’t see it, when suddenly he quickly swam away and you couldn’t see him anymore. You excused yourself and left Tsireya by herself to go and see what had happened that made him go that fast. The closer you got to the direction he swam towards, the better you heard voices screaming and sounds of fighting. You came over to Kiri, she was softly laughing at the pile of boys in front of her. You had to admit it was funny, but at the same time you were all supposed to be on your best behavior. Because of that, you walked over to them and hissed loudly, their heads turning to face you.

‘Enough.’ You spat and looked over at Lo’ak and Neteyam. ‘Both of you.’

They stood up and walked towards Kiri, you hissed at the Metkayina boys once again and turned around to join the Sully’s.

‘It was going well, you didn’t have to-‘

‘Was it, Lo’ak?’ You stopped and looked at him. ‘You were supposed to be on your best behavior, what were you thinking?’ You turned to the older boy.

He didn’t reply to you, he just took his brother by his arm and walked away.

‘You are both unbelievable.’ Kiri whispered making you turn your head in her direction.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Just tell him you like him already.’ She whined.

‘You know I can’t.’ A sigh escaped your lips. ‘He hates me, Kiri. He sees me as a rival, he despises me.’

‘He doesn’t.’

‘He does.’ You said louder. ‘I don’t want to talk about it anymore, let’s go.’

‘Lo’ak was the one that started that fight, he was just helping him.’

‘I know.’ You replied and looked down, soon arriving at your home.

‘And you? Why weren’t you keeping an eye on them?’ Jake turned to you when you entered the shack.

‘I’m sorry, I was helping Tsireya.’ You avoided his gaze. ‘Next time I won’t let anything happen to them.’

And you were right.

You jumped down from your ikran and landed on the sky people’s ship. Neteyam found his way to his siblings and Tsireya as fast as you, jumping onto the deck from his ilu. You shot your arrows towards some sky people coming towards you.

‘Cut the handcuffs!’ You told him when he reached you.

‘Come on, bro. Hurry up!’ Lo’ak screamed at his brother.

You turned around and saw Tsireya and Tuk jumping into the water, ‘Go! Both of you!’ You yelled at the brothers.

Neteyam started dragging the boy away, ‘They have Spider! We have to help him!’ Lo’ak tugged on his brother’s arm.

You locked your eyes with Neteyam, ‘Shit!’ He hissed. ‘Okay, let’s go.’

‘No, you are not going anywhere.’ You stopped both of them. ‘Go back to your father, right now.’

‘We have to help Spider, please (Y/n).’ Lo’ak looked at you with terrified eyes.

‘UGH!’ You shook your head and hang your bow on your body. ‘Just stay close.’ You told them and ran towards the inside of the ship.

You were quietly moving on the big pipe on the ceiling when some people started walking your way, Spider was surrounded by them in a circle. All three of you jumped down at the people and freed your friend, but then a pure moment of joy was interrupted by gunshots firing your way.

‘Go! Go!’ You screamed and pushed the boys towards a wall that would hide all of you.

Neteyam snatched the gun from Lo’ak and started shooting at the enemies, you pulled out the gun Jake had gifted you and helped him.

‘I’ll tell you when to jump and you jump!’ You shouted and looked over at them, they were rapidly nodding their heads. You gave a few more shots towards the enemies and took a deep breath. ‘Now!’

Lo’ak and Spider jumped quickly into the water, you pushed Neteyam first and jumped as the last person. For a second you felt relief when you heard their happy screams, but it was washed away when you started struggling with keeping your head above the water. Adrenaline started coming down and you felt your lower abdomen on fire.

‘Yes! We did it bro!’ Lo’ak hugged his brother who was laughing softly.

‘Come on! We need to go!’ Neteyam yelled when Tsireya came up from the water riding her ilu.

‘Nete…Neteyam…’ You coughed.

His smile faded and he rapidly swam towards you.

‘I’m shot you skxawng.’

‘Shit! Shit!’ He cursed. ‘Just hold on a second!’ He held you tightly and sat you down on the ilu. ‘It’s okay, just hold on.’ His panicked voice echoed through your ears.

He saw his father standing on a rock and everyone started screaming for him. A worried expression came up on his face when he saw his son holding you tightly.

‘She’s shot, dad, help her!’ They started pulling you up to rest you on the wet rock.

Jake inspected your body only to see a big wound on your lower stomach which was quickly bleeding out.

‘Take her to the village, right now.’ He told Neteyam and helped put you on the animal again.

Neteyam held you in his arms as he tried to ride the animal as quickly as he could without causing more damage to you.

‘Hold on, okay? Don’t you dare die on me!’ He yelled to you.

‘But I am so sleepy, Nete..’ Your voice was weak, but he still heard you.

‘No, don’t sleep, we’re right there, just…Just hold on..’ He finally saw the village and hope filled him up. ‘We’re here, it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.’ He looked down at you to check if your eyes were still open and he saw you slowly blinking. ‘HELP! I NEED HELP!’ He screamed as loud as he could which caught the attention of some people by the coast, they quickly ran to get the Tsahik who was helping other wounded warriors.

‘Neteyam..’ You coughed.

‘We’re here, hold on for me.’ He looked down at you again.

‘I see…’ Your voice was getting weaker. ‘I see you, Neteyam.’ You whispered and closed your eyes.

‘No. No, no, no. Help! I need the Tsahik!’ He got off the ilu holding your limp body in his arms.

Ronal emerged from behind the people and told him to put you in one of the shacks. The Tsahik pushed him outside and covered the entrance with a curtain made out of big leaves and seaweed. Neteyam finally felt the tears on his face which previously were washed away by the splashing water. He didn’t know what to do, fear, sadness and adrenaline were running through his body. He waited for what felt like hours and when he felt Tuk’s arms around him all of a sudden he felt safe. His whole family was okay and when he came eye to eye with his father, he broke down crying again. Jake hugged his son and caressed his hair with his hand. A sudden rustle made Neteyam break the comforting hug. Everyone turned towards the sound, Ronal was standing in front of the shack, her expression was unreadable. She locked eyes with Neteyam.

‘She’s alive. Barely.’ She stated.

‘Thank you, Great Mother.’ Kiri whispered and hugged her brother from the side.

‘She needs a lot of rest and I am not certain if she will survive the night.’ Ronal said and started walking away. ‘Do not bother her. Now it is all up to Eywa.’

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 °

Your nostrils were filled with a disgusting smell which made you slowly open your eyes. You saw Ronal putting some type of paste on your wound and you hissed.

‘I guess this means I’m not dead.’ You whispered, your voice hoarse.

‘No, but it was close.’ She replied and wrapped some bandages around your stomach. ‘Rest, my child.’ She whispered and walked out, leaving you alone once again.

After a while the silence was interrupted by Jake, ‘Hi.’ He said as he sat down next to you.

‘I told you I’d keep them safe.’ You weakly smiled at him and he let out a soft laugh.

‘Yeah, I knew you would.’ His smile quickly faded. ‘I.. I wanted to thank you. For protecting them. And I’m sorry for using you so much, on all of those fights… I forget that you are still young, god… You’re only a year older than Neteyam and I’ve never thought something like this would happen to you…’ He paused. ‘You have a whole life in front of you, I’m sorry for trying to take that away and not protecting you.’

‘It’s okay.’ You whispered. ‘I know you only wanted to keep your family safe.’

He nodded and stood up, a tear fell down his cheek. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but nothing came out, he gave you one last smile and walked outside. After a while you closed your eyes because the light started bothering you, but you immediately opened them when you felt someone put their hand in yours. You looked at the way your fingers were intertwined with Neteyam’s and gave him a soft smile.

‘I’m so sorry.’ He whispered.

‘You have nothing to be sorry about.’ You coughed out.

‘I have. I am sorry for getting angry at you, for getting jealous about my father and for..’

‘Hey, it’s okay.’ You whispered and stroked his hand with your thumb. ‘And I’m sorry too, I shouldn’t be taking your place by your dad’s side.’

He nodded and squeezed your hand, ‘It’s okay, I know you just wanted someone to be proud of you. Kiri told me how… How you feel like an outsider all the time, because you don’t have…’

‘Parents?’

‘Yeah.’ He looked down at the floor.

‘After all these years I got used to having no one, but when your dad and other warriors from the clan were so proud of me… I just felt this hapiness that I finally belong somewhere, that’s why I always wanted to be the best…I’m sorry again, Neteyam.’

‘I forgive you.’ He smiled. ‘I can’t believe you were ready to die for me.’ He softly laughed and you reciprocated the smile.

‘I can.’ You whispered. ‘And I forgive you too, for being so mean to me.’ Your smile grew wider. ‘But you were cute when you were angry.’

‘Is that so?’ You gave him a long nod. ‘And now I’m not?’

‘No.’

‘Liar.’

Your giggles filled up the space around you and you didn’t even notice when he got so close to your face. You felt his breath on your skin and he put his other hand on your cheek.

‘I always thought you hated me.’ You whispered into his lips.

‘Do you still think that?’

‘No.’ It left your lips more like a breath rather than a word.

He finally closed the gap between you and it all just felt right. His lips on yours felt so right. You finally felt like you were not alone.

‘I see you, (Y/n).’

likes and reblogs are appreciated<3

taglist: @neteyamsgirl @vviolaswrld

[fanofstuff01]

HERE I AM! Here I am with a little writing of mine!

Before we get started, this AU belongs to @woah-why-i-am-here and they have pretty cool drawings about it. GO CHECK IT OUT!

Considering the show itself is 16+, this is aswell, know it then read this, also it has Valentino.

DEAR TUMBLR! PLEASE DONT TAKE THIS DOWN!

A little summary: Adam fell to hell, needed money, and Valentino was the only one hired him. He owned his soul, and it was too late when Adam realized what he agreed to work on. He is one of Valentino’s top whores now. And of course, Adam and Angel met, in fact, more than ‘met’. Their films sure sell a lot. They slowly become friends and Angel convinces Adam to come to the hotel. This is after these happened. Also not shipping Angel x Adam.

ENJOY! (Also since you love holydust @rius-cave , tagging you!)

“And cut!” Valentino said proudly, ending the scene. “One hour break and we’re here till 8!”

Adam panted as he tried to collect his mind. He slowly backed away from the fish demon gal, wore his robes back and got up to go to his dressing room. This was the third demon he was on top of that day, and sure enough she was not gonna be the last. Today was gonna suck. Val was planning to work on eight fucking movies, not to mention six of them were gay and two of them were with Angel. He was glad the one-hour break came.

“Addie~” He heard someone behind him and felt that certain ‘someone’ gripping his shoulders.

Valentino. Awesome. Just who he needed.

He attempted to not show the fear and hatred he felt to his face and mask. Too bad the fucking thing was programmed to show every emotion on his face, and sometimes they didn’t even needed to be on his face, him feeling them was enough. Angel had a -probably true- theory about it, he thought that it was ‘connected’ to his brain when he wore it. Adam was already regretting that he put the “I will only work with a mask” in his contract. He didn’t like the idea of showing his face on films, but this was much worse. He couldn’t fucking took it off till his shift ended!

“Yes, Val?” He asked, trying to avoid the movements he was doing to his chest. Yes, prick? he corrected himself in his brain.

“You were so, so good in the last one, babe” he chuckled.

“Thank you, Valentino.”

“Go ahead. Rest, baby.” He thought he was gonna leave him, but instead, he leaned in and kissed his cheek, completely disgusting the sinner. He didn’t flinch or resist though, he knew what’d happen if he did. “Oh, I can’t wait to see you and Angie on stage together.” he let out another one of his creepy chuckles and finally let the first man go. Adam almost runned to his dressing room, closed the door behind him and threw himself on the couch.

“Fuuck.” He groaned and tried to grab his wine bottle without getting up.

“Adam?” A familiar voice came from outside.

“Door isn’t locked!” He yelled.

“Hey, dickmaster.” A pink spider demon came inside and sat down beside him, tilted his head back and watched as the demon managed to grab the bottle and drank it without standing up, like his life depended on it.

“Y’know you can choke yourself doin’ that, right?”

“Meh, who the fuck cares.” He get up dazedly and looked inside the bottle with one of his eyes.

“I don’t recommend dying on work hours, Val punishes the ones who do.”

“Unholy shit, that actually happened?!” Adam asked, his pupil-les eyes went wide.

“I saw three accidents.” Angel shrugged. “Any left for me?”

“Sorry, I guess that bitch camera guy sneaked up here again and stole my stash.”

“It’s fine. Wanna eat your food? We’re gonna need energy.” Angel asked and took out two containers out of his bag. “I made lasagna yesterday.”

“Oh, you bet I do then.” He smirked and took his own. Angel knew the best ways to make it.

They chatted together until their break ended.

“Adam! Get your ass here or there will be consequences!” A little window appeared in Adam’s mask, almost like a pop-up ad. It was their costume designer. “And bring Angel with you!”

“Fine, fine! Ugh.” He groaned, swiped the page to make it dissapear and get up. “Who’s idea was putting this shit on this again?” He mumbled to himself. “Let’s go cocksucker, we have another job to do.”

HOW IS IT!?

By the way, Adam’s mask in this is practically based on his original mask, a Voxtech product just for Adam. Like Vox’s screen, it’s like a screen-face.

I’ll continue this

[jeridandridge]

For Lovers At Night part 5

My too much gene kicked in so there’s one more chapter of this fic coming. Enjoy! Previous chapter

The text puts a knife in her chest causing her to let out a sob, hand flying to her mouth to cover it. Getting up she walks with her phone in hand out the hall through the doors breaking down only when she’s outside. Letting the sob escape her throat she doesn’t care that it’s starting to drizzle. Taking several deep breaths she tries to stop crying long enough to call you. As the dial tone rings, Melissa feels like her heart is going to fly out of her chest and not in a good way.

“Hello?” A voice on the other end sighs.

“Hon, can we talk please? I need to talk to you.” Melissa’s voice wobbles as she speaks a mile a minute.

You’d never heard her sound like this, so small and unsure of herself in the time that you’ve known her.

“There’s a lot we have to talk about apparently.” You hum. “I need a bit of time, Melissa.”

“Time?” She asks quietly, “how much time?” She’s all but pleading with you at this point and she doesn’t care how she sounds. “I can’t lose you.” She whispers.

The line goes quiet for a moment until you speak again. “I need to gather my thoughts about everything. I think you owe me that much.”

“Okay,” Melissa takes a deep breath. “Just please don’t shut me out.”

“I’d never do that. I’m not an asshole, Melissa. I’m hurt and I need time. I’ll talk to you soon.”

The call ends and Melissa brings her hands to her face holding in a scream. In a matter of hours her entire life got flipped around in a way she never thought would happen. After a few more minutes outside Melissa breathes trying to calm herself to go back to her kids. Going back inside Abbott she cleans up her desk and tucks the card you sent into her purse before the tears start flowing again.

A couple blocks over you busy yourself cleaning up the store and bar in prep for the night ahead.

“you’ve been cleaning that same spot on the bar for ten minutes.” Your friend and colleague Jacob says coming up beside you.

“I’m- yeah,” you shake your head moving down the slab of granite. “My head is in the clouds.”

“And you don’t have that dopey lovesick smile on your face.” Jacob hums, “was it too soon for flowers?” He winces.

“Considering her husband posted on her Facebook for their anniversary last month, I’m gonna say yeah too soon,” You huff tossing the rag down with a sigh.

“Oh no,” Jacob lets out slow and full of pity.

“Don’t do that, dude. I dont need that right now okay? I need to get through this weekend and figure out what the hell to say to her.”

“How did this all happen?”

Looking at your friend with a sigh you slouch forward crossing your arms.

“I looked her up because she’s so mysterious ya know? I looked and she came up, still has old pictures of him and that damn post on her wall. I don’t know what to think at this point.” You shrug completely confused and hurt.

She definitely wasn’t lying about being with women before, that much you knew and the way she looked at you felt real. She looked at you like she loved you. Talking to her on the phone and hearing the sadness in her voice made you even more conflicted.

“You have feelings for her right?” He asks leaning against the bar.

“I’d be stupid not to wouldn’t I?” you scoff.

“Theres your answer. Hear her out and talk to her when you’re ready.” Jacob advises the only way he knows how.

Thinking about your friend’s words for the rest of the day, you go through the motions at work putting on your best fake smile as you greet and chat with customers. As you cater to your patrons your phone sits on your office desk buzzing with a text chain from Melissa you don’t see until much later.

When you get up to your apartment that night you get ready for bed shuffling over to the mattress feeling almost disgusted with yourself. You slept with a married woman and you had no idea if she was telling the truth or not about how she was treated by her husband. The post you saw online rubbed you the wrong way, you were still friends with enough people from your hometown to know what a bad relationship looks like yet you still didn’t know for sure.

Laying on your back you look at the ceiling with a sigh. Now or never, you grab your phone looking at the long string of texts you have from Melissa.

I know you said you needed time but I need you to know I meant everything I said to you. About my family, work, how I feel about you.

I know I fucked up and I’m so sorry. More sorry than you’ll ever know, Amore.

Please don’t push me away.

Dropping the phone onto your nightstand you turn over curling under your blankets wanting to sleep the day away. Only sleep doesn’t come. Tossing and turning with racing thoughts of the redhead you dissect every moment carefully from when you met up until you kissed her goodbye after your date and every single moment puts a ghost of a smile on your lips. Her still calling you ‘Amore’ in the texts made this even harder for you. Closing your eyes you listen to the raindrops hit your window and thunder rumble in the pitch dark.

At the same time, Melissa is overtired and wanting desperately to sleep but she can’t stop the tears or her thoughts from keeping her body awake. She’s never felt like this before in her entire adult life and she knows it’s her fault. She should have never lied in the first place and she sure as hell should have never let Kristen Marie put her on Facebook.

when Joe posted that message on her page it didn’t effect her, she already knew it was for the show he constantly put on for her family of being a good husband when they are all aware he is anything but. What she hadn’t known was he made it public, and now the thought of losing you and explaining everything to her family makes her chest ache.

The following day for you is strange. When you wake at your usual ten am, it takes everything in you not to grab your phone and send Melissa a good morning text as you’d come accustom to. Instead you lay there for a few minutes enjoying the sound of birds outside along with the usual traffic. Getting up and going about your morning proves difficult for you. Once ready for your day you check the time, realizing Melissa had her lunch break in less than two hours. Picking up the device with a sigh you send a quick message.

Can you meet me the cafe near Abbott during your lunch?

In a classroom not far away Melissa’s heart jumps when she sees her phone light up. Opening it immediately she feels hopeful reading the message, glad her students were in gym at that very moment. Not wanting to test her luck too much she replies with a simple yes I can then gets up practically jogging to Barbara’s classroom.

“Hey, I have to cancel our lunch plans today. She wants to meet at the cafe.” She can’t stop the smile from crossing her lips.

“Melissa, be careful with that woman.” Her best friend warns. “You still have to deal with all the legal proceedings with Joe and your mother.”

Melissa nods shoving her hands in her pockets. “I know, I know that. I just really need to see her Barb.” She shrugs with a small smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

Barbara looks at her friend in astonishment. “You love this woman.” She comes to the realization. “Go on during lunch, you text me as soon as you get back here.” She points.

As Melissa’s break time approaches you walk the couple blocks to the cafe on the corner, wondering if you’d see her coming from the school from the window. Sitting there waiting you order a water trying to keep your cool while mindlessly scrolling on your phone. As you do you receive a text from Jacob.

Hear her out and remember she’s hurting too

Letting out a sigh you tuck the phone in your pocket. When you lift your head you’re met with the sound of the door chime and green eyes landing on you. Standing up at the table you don’t make a move, gesturing for Melissa to sit across from you.

“Hey,” you let out not breaking eye contact with the woman. Even dressed in her work clothes she was absolutely stunning. “You look as tired as I feel.

“Yeah,” Melissa takes a seat wanting so badly to hug you. “I didn’t really sleep.”

“That makes two of us,” you nod pushing one of the two coffees in front of you forward.

Melissa looks at you with a grateful not picking up the drink. Just how she likes it she thinks.

“So uh, I’ve never had to do this before.” You shrug not sure where to start.

“And I’m not good with the whole feelings thing.” Melissa adds playing with the corner of a napkin. “I know you owe me nothing, but let me explain everything?” She asks softly.

While you were upset, an explanation is exactly what you wanted. Nodding, you urge her to go on.

Taking a breath the redhead fiddles with the napkin between her fingers. “What I told you about him, everything is true. The cheating, the lying, the not caring, it’s all true. We were young and stupid when we got married, and he didn’t wanna miss out on being one of the guys.” She shrugs taking a breath.

“You’re not gonna tell me you two have kids are you?”

“No,” Melissa shakes her head immediately. “No kids, just an overbearing family on my side.” She chuckles. “In fact, my brother and cousins threatened to kill him after they found out he cheated on me the first time.”

Letting out a puff of laughter you shrug. “Can’t blame them. It’s the Italian-American way.”

Melissa ducks her head with a small smile, eyes going to the paper. “Yeah. And I ain’t saying I’m a saint, I cheated when I was a teenager but as an adult? Never did. My marriage started out fine, but a few years in he got sloppy with hiding it. I never cared enough to ask for a divorce because growing up my mother made a big deal about marriage but anyway,” She shrugs it off not wanting to get emotional. “I didn’t think any of it mattered and I wasn’t good enough for anyone else so why go through the hassle?”

Looking over the woman’s features you see a mixture of sadness and pleading in her eyes as she nibbles her bottom lip.

“What changed?” You ask quietly resting your hand on the table almost touching the redheads.

“you made me feel like a woman that was desirable and worth talking to.”

“Melissa, I can’t mess around with a married woman.” You sigh shaking your head. “I meant what I said in that card, I-“ before you can finish your sentence Melissa hits you with another bomb.

“I asked Joe for a divorce.”

Sitting stunned you just blink at her for a moment.

“He was there at the school when those flowers were delivered. Which are beautiful by the way.” The redhead gives a shy smile.

“Well fuck.” You sit back in shock taking in the information.

“Hon, It was the best thing that coulda happened to me, I finally told him how miserable I was and that’s what I needed to do,” Her eyes water, the dam about to break again as her voice turns to a whisper. “And you gave that to me even- even if that means I lose you.”

Extending your fingers you turn your hand, palm up to the redhead, your fingers entwining together a moment later. “You’re not gonna lose me, Mel. I just-“ you sigh, “I need to process everything and I bet you do too.” It had been a strange twenty four hours and you still couldn’t believe the woman you were in love with was still someone else’s wife.

Feeling the warmth and gentle squeeze from Melissa’s hand you lean forward slightly meeting her eyes. “Let’s take things slow, start over.” You suggest.

“I can do that.” The redhead nods. As long as she could keep you that’s all she cared about.

“Okay,” you give her a soft smile gently pulling away. The rest of your short time together comes easy, the awkwardness chipping away as you two sit and talk as you usually did.

Tapping the screen of her watch Melissa sighs knowing the forty five minutes she spent with you wasn’t long enough but would have to do for today.

“Back to the rugrats?” You ask knowing her lunch wasn’t very long.

“Yeah, Barb is getting ‘em from recess for me. I uh, thank you for talkin to me, hon.”

“I’d never ghost you or ignore you, Mel.” You shake your head leading her out the door of the cafe. “I really, really like you. I meant that. Now we can just pump the breaks a bit yeah? You and your family are going through a lot now.”

“Yeah,” Melissa lets out in a puff of laughter. “I can’t wait to be interrogated by my ma and Nana later at dinner.”

“In that case I’d say that’s punishment enough.” you chuckle putting your hands in your pockets, still a bit of space between you two as you stand there on the sidewalk. “Well, I’ll see you later, Mel.”

“Can- hon, can I have a hug?” She asks almost unsure of herself.

Unable to say no to the woman you step forward wrapping one arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist in a warm embrace. Closing your eyes you take in the feel of her body, her signature smell, how her hands feel playing with the back of your jacket.

“Thank you, Amore.” She whispers, most definitely needing the loving touch as much as you did. The redhead pulls back first, giving you that shy smile that has just the corner of her lips up slightly.

“I’ll see you soon.” You assure her, knowing that you really couldn’t stay away from her long, especially now.

In the Schemmenti household a weekly dinner happens at Nanas house, and this week was no different except when Melissa pulls up with a large tray of ziti she only sees her parent’s car in the driveway. Coming into the house with the tray she smells food cooking and her nana talking, that was a good sign.

“Is a hit happening?” She pokes her head into the kitchen.

“My mia Cara!”

Maria Schemmenti crosses the kitchen going right to her granddaughter kissing her cheeks and taking the tray from her. “Come sit, food is almost done.”

Even though she’s up in years the oldest redhead that Melissa took after the most in looks and actions moves swiftly going back to her many dishes on the stove.

“Hey kiddo, you okay?” Johnny Schemmenti was a no nonsense guy, always ready to jump into action for his family especially his mini me Melissa. Sharing the same green eyes the two hug and Johnny places a kiss to his daughter’s head.

“Ya know what dad? I’m better than I’ve ever been.” She smiles moving to sit back down with her dad. “Ma looks pissed.” She says quietly watching the blonde woman move around the kitchen.

“Hi, ma.” The youngest redhead calls out getting no reaction from the woman.

“Melissa I will speak to you when I’m done helping your nana.”

“Caterina don’t give that girl the cold shoulder.” Nana points at her.

“That’s okay, Nana. I’m the only one here so apparently I’m in for an ambush. Did you put the hole in the backyard, Ma or is it somewhere else?”

Johnny has to bite back a laugh hiding his proud smirk with his beer bottle.

“Melissa this isn’t an ambush. I’m only wondering why you had to cause a scene instead of telling us you weren’t happy.”

“Mi stai prendendo per il culo,” Melissa huffs.

“Melissa Ann!” Caterina snaps.

“If this is how dinners gonna go tonight I’m outta here. I don’t need all this. Nana, dad, I’m sorry I’ll see you on Sunday.” She gets up kissing her dad’s cheek, grabbing her purse as she goes.

“Sit back down, Tesoro. Your mother means well but she ain’t going about it the right way.” Maria shoots her daughter in law a look that gets a huff from the blonde.

Melissa listens to her Nana, sitting back down next to her dad. Elbows on the table she covers her face with her hands taking a breath feeling like she’s a little kid that was caught and is now getting in trouble.

“Look you wanna know what happened? Joe cheated on me for years, did ya know that? That weekend the guys had the cops called on them and I had to sweet talk the cop? Yeah, they were ready to kill him. We done here now?” Melissa lets out with a challenging look to her mother.

That night almost ten years ago had been a rough one. A bunch of the cousins rented a house in the Poconos and the long weekend in the summer heat ended with Joe taking off on a four wheeler and Johnny Junior having his hand stitched up in the cabins kitchen after a drunk Joe made a joke about another woman he was seeing. Junior and the cousins scared him good, eventually the cops came ruining the weekend for Melissa.

“The boys knew this whole time?” Caterina asks quietly.

“Of course they did. So did Barb, and Nana.” She nods to her grandmother taking a breath.

Melissa’s mother looks at the oldest woman with an agape mouth.

“Mel, we want you to be happy. You happy with splitting from Joe?” Johnny asks his daughter.

“I can’t put into words how happy I am, pops.” She shrugs with a small smile.

“See, Cat? That’s all I need to know.” He nods to his wife, getting up to get the plates for the table.

“At your wedding I knew he was no good.” Maria shakes her head. “The negativity sheds off of him like his hair does.”

Melissa chuckles staying put as her parents move about the kitchen setting the table. As they do, Maria comes over kissing the top of her head.

“Mia Cara, when we’re done you make a plate and take it to your new friend. Give her a sneak peek of family dinners.”

The redhead looks at the matriarch of the family with a warm smile knowing her Nana would understand everything that Joe told the family.

As Melissa has dinner with her family you move around your apartment cleaning up and ordering groceries as you usually do on your days off. Seeing Melissa that afternoon was nice and you knew as soon as you saw her the anger you felt would lessen. You were upset but not so much with her. Now you were upset with her husband and how he treats her.

If her being free of him and the cage she felt trapped in meant you had to feel bad for those few hours from finding out to the moment you met up with her for lunch then so be it. You were tempted to text her an invite to come over for the night to decompress and talk more. As you leave your apartment and hop down the stairs to the alleyway out back to get rid of your garbage you see a car you do not recognize parked almost blocking the alley, and a man getting out of the car.

A man you recognize as Joe.

Final chapter

[lovelytsunoda]

heart too hot to hold | clement novalak

summary: staying at campus over thanksgiving wasn’t her first choice, but it was a hell of a lot better than a $800 round trip flight back home. over that one week while the campus was empty, she meets clement novalak and a rag-tag group of other holdovers who teach her valuable lessons about life and love

or, yn gets her breakfast club moment

pairing: college!clement novalak x college!reader

warnings: its basically the breakfast club lmao if they all chose to be there instead of being sent there against their will (if romance is not like what andrew and allison had i dont want it, i could go on for hours about how that was the most pure relationship in that movie), this is going to be a long one guys, implied smut at the end but it's not written out.

dedicated to my partner in clement related crime, @httpiastri

the campus felt different with nobody on it.

she stood by the fireplace in the second-floor common room, watching the last few cars leave campus. her own inexpensive second-hand car stayed in its reserved spot, the lot almost empty around it. her parking pass dangled from the mirror behind her yankee candle air freshener to mask the old-person smell that seemed to permeate the mazda when she bought it.

its not that she didn't want to go home for reading week. she really did. she missed her parents and she missed her house, but she simply did not have the budget to buy peak plane tickets to go one province over. if she wasn't scared of her car falling apart before she got there, she was willing to make the six hour drive over the quebec-ontario border, but she just did not care enough.

and that's why she made the decision to stay on campus and take a longer break for christmas. she passed from the fireplace to the kitchen, a mug in hand and a hot cocoa packet tucked into her back pocket. the lack of kitchen in the individual rooms made cooking her own meals quite hard, so she was looking forward to having the second floor kitchen all to herself.

her phone was connected to the common room chromecast, and she was enjoying being able to hear music she actually liked echo around the room.

"mind if i borrow the stove?"

the voice from behind made her jump, hot milk spilling over the counter. she cursed under her breath, reaching to turn off the obnoxiously loud music.

"i didn't realize anybody else was still here. i expected to be the only one." she'd heard most of her floor leave that morning, and watched all the parking lots on campus slowly empty. nobody else should have been there. "go ahead, i was just about done anyways."

the boy nodded, his floppy hair falling around his face. he was wearing a sweatshirt and baggy jeans, a small coffee stain on the collar. "i'm clement, i live on the third floor."

"y/n. second." she said, a little unsure as she wiped up the counter. "you're not going home?"

"nah. i'd never get any work done if i did. i'm too busy."

she snorted, taking a sip of her drink "i'm too poor. a round trip was about $800 for a flight that's just under an hour and a half. i would rather go home for christmas."

clement smiled at her softly. "i get that. do you want anything to eat? it would be a shame just to cook for one."

she peered at his stunning eyes through the fringe that fell over his face. paired with his pleading grin, it was as if the man was giving her the human equivalent of puppy dog eyes.

"yeah, what the hell. but i pick the movie. are you familiar with st. elmo's fire? i watch it every fall."

clement made a face. "never heard of it."

her jaw dropped. "you've never heard of st. elmo's fire? rob lowe, ally sheedy, emilio estevez, andrew mccarthy, demi moore and judd nelson?"

"none of those words mean anything to me."

"it's the movie that made the brat pack!" she shouted. "you have to see it, let me go grab the dvd. don't stop cooking while i'm gone!"

as she started down the hall, she heard clement shout behind her "you still have dvd's?"

"there's a dvd player in every room, almost makes it worth the crappy tv quality."

when she came back, the common room was full of the smell of fried beef, a pot of spaghetti on the stove. clement had taken his sweater off, now sporting a muscle top with the under armour logo over his heart. she paused for a moment, blinking before she walked over to him.

he was hot!

he had even topped up her mug with extra warm milk and some whipped cream. a cutting board next to the stove had a can of tinned tomatoes and a pile of chopped carrots.

"i see someone fancies himself a chef."

"yeah, its a bit of a hobby." he shrugged, a devlish smile on his face. "i'd offer you wine but it's considered contraband and i didn't want my ra confiscating my merlot, so i drank it all."

if this was the breakfast club, she couldn't figure out if he was more john bender or andrew clark. he had bender's devilish charm, but andy's reserved humor. he had a bit of a bad boy streak, but he wasn't a total dick (every time she watches the breakfast club, she becomes more aware of the fact that she would have punched john bender in his smug face already), in fact, clement seemed quite sweet.

there was a knock on the kitchen wall just then, both parties turning to face the newcomer. she was quiet, dressed in a matching sweatsuit and cubic earrings.

"room for one more? i can pay you." her voice was soft. "it saves me making a skip the dishes order. i've missed eating with people."

y/n smiled waving her forward. "come join us! i was just about to put a movie on."

while clement finished up cooking, the girl introduced herself as olivia and the group of three settled on the couches around the tv. olivia seemed sweet, as did clement, and it struck yn that these were people she never would have gone out of her way to try and meet if she had just run into them in the halls.

"woah, who's the dude with the mullet? i know he;'s like, a bad person and all but i'd let him ruin my life." olivia remarked, watching rob lowe's character on screen

"yeah, you'd be hard pressed to find a character in this movie who gave something ten seconds of thought before they acted. it's part of why i like it so much. every character is messy because real life is messy, and sometimes people we know just suck."

clement raised his eyebrows. “I’m still not quite sure what this movie is actually about.”

“it’s a coming of age movie in a different sense. it’s about the transition from university to adulthood.” she explained, twirling the spaghetti on her fork. “and it’s about having sex with judd nelson.”

"yeah, but his character is a bit of a dick as well."

"that's the point." olivia and yn said in unison.

"alright, forget i said anything." clement laughed, turning back to the screen. "when does rob lowe get a saxophone?"

the movie was about halfway through, dirty plates stacked on the coffee table when someone else entered the room. the newcomer came in a cloud of vape smoke, smelling vaguely like passionfruit.

there's our john bender, she thought to herself. we definitely can't vape in here.

on screen, andrew mccarthy and ally sheedy were making out passionately, ready to tear each other's clothes off.

"no shit, did someone find professor alonso's vintage porn collection."

"woah dude, don't talk about the brat pack like that." yn fired back, flipping the newcomer the bird. "either stay quiet and join us or take your vape smoke somewhere else."

clement laughed into his fist, trying lamely to disguise it as a cough.

the newcomer chuckled, sinking down next to clement on the ratty couch. "so what are you guys watching then?"

"we can explain later. its at a good part!" olivia shushed him.

after the film finished, as the end credits rolled with the john parr song of the same name playing in the background, clement rose to his feet and gave the movie a shocking standing ovation.

"truth be told guys, i lost the plot halfway through." he admitted. "but i had a lot of fun watching it."

"i liked it." olivia hummed, nodding her head.

"so let me get this straight," the other boy stood to stand next to clement, pausing the dvd. "kirby is basically a stalker, billy is a deadbeat, alec is just a dick and jules should probably go to therapy?"

"yes." yn answered with a straight face. "not the most charming bunch, are they?"

he shook his head. "damn. we should watch a giant shark movie next."

"yeah, mate. deep blue sea or jaws?" clement laughed, clapping him on the back. "i'm clement, by the way."

"landon. and the answer is totally deep blue sea."

yep. definitely john bender.

"alright then," yn laughed. "olivia, what would you have picked?"

"insidious."

that was so not the answer she was expecting, but it gave her an idea.

"hey, if it's just the four of us in the building, we should get together every night, one person cooks and one person picks a movie." she suggested, reaching for her phone. "everybody, give me your numbers. we can set up a group chat."

"that's actually a really good idea." clement encouraged, beginning to clear the table. "i call dibs on fast five for my night."

with all the numbers in her phone, she sent out a smiley face to officially start the group chat.

"why are we called the breakfast club?" landon asked, staring down at his phone with a confused grimace.

"because we all match characters in the breakfast club. i'm allison, clement is andrew, olivia is obviously claire and you're bender." she said matter-of-factly.

"then who's brian? there were five in the movie, and there's only four of us." olivia added

"i think we've all got a little bit of brian in us."

they spent the rest of the evening in front of the fireplace (which they were all surprised was still functional with most of the building being gone) playing a game of uno with a deck of cards that clement was sure had more pick-up-fours than a standard deck did. reruns of the big bang theory played on the tv behind them while landon and clem battled with each other to see who could pick up more of the deck before the game was over.

it was 10:30 when y/n called it quits, although she really didn't want to. she had work to get finished in the morning, and needed to decide what recipe she was going to cook the following night. she was having fun with her new friends, and she wanted to make the most of it while she could.

"that's me done for the night. i have to go grocery shopping in the morning. olivia, you have dibs on the movie. nothing that's going to give me nightmares, though."

clement grinned from across the table. "don't worry, yn. i'll protect you."

"oh, shut up." she laughed, trying to hide the nervous blush on her face as she playfully kicked at his leg

"come off it, let me walk you back to your room."

she relented, walking side by side with clement. it was awkward, and mostly silent as they walked the carpeted hall. they made idle small talk, mostly about the events that had transpired that evening. she wondered as they were walking if clement would even remember this night after class was back in session.

"well, this is me." she said idly, pointing at a door with a fall wreath on it. "my roommate went home for the holidays so its just me here." she held the key fob in her hands, trying to come up with a way to make this moment last longer.

to prolong the feeling of calm she felt when speaking to clement novalak, the elation she felt when he looked at her like that.

"well," he sighed, hands in the front pockets of his jeans as he rocked on the balls of his feet. "i'll let you get on with your evening."

"thanks. i have to head out early tomorrow to get the ingredients i need for the meal, my fridge is pretty bare. you're welcome to tag along if you want."

clement beamed at her, and she felt her stomach flutter slightly. he was smiling at her, and she never wanted him to stop.

"yeah, why not. meet in the parking lot for eight?"

"sounds good."

the next morning, clement showed up at her door at promptly seven thirty with two tinfoil wrapped bagels in his hand. he took control of the aux cord in her car, blasting an odd mixture of throwbacks and house remixes of classic rock songs. she liked the way he made her feel, hanging on to every word and letting her ramble about anything and everything. he was a good storyteller, and she found herself filled with a sense of longing as he talked about his travels and his friend group.

she wished she could be a part of it.

they were still singing along to poison when they pulled back into the residency, and y/n found that her heart felt heavy at the idea of her time with clement being over.

she was falling far too deep, especially considering that their social circles shouldn't mix.

"do you want help cooking later?" clem offered, helping her grab the bags from the trunk. "if i'm being quite frank, i enjoy spending time with you."

her cheeks heated up as she buzzed the pair into the building. "yeah, okay. there's a bit we have to do now, and i'll need some latex gloves?"

clement raised an eyebrow.

"do you want to touch raw chicken with your bare hands?"

"fair enough."

she'd never had as much fun in the kitchen as she did that afternoon. they had the radio on, singing out of key and taking twenty minutes to do a ten minute task. clement danced around the small kitchen like an idiot, singing into a wooden spoon.

after the chicken was marinating in the fridge, their phones buzzed simultaneously on the counter.

"its olivia with the movie options for later. she's giving us a choice between the crow and slender man. i'm voting for the crow. as long as it’s the original from 1994.”

clement laughed. today he was wearing a turtleneck and jeans, and why did that make her knees go weak?

"yeah, i think i am too. i don't fuck with slender man."

later that evening, as the group congregated around the large flat screen to watch their movie, yn couldn’t help but notice that clement chose to sit next to her on the large couch. their thighs were basically touching. olivia looked in their direction, a knowing look on her face as she raised an eyebrow.

her phone buzzed in her lap.

olivia: hes so into you!!!

yn; like hell he is. he barely knows me

olivia; trust me, I know that look. get that dick girl, you deserve it!

“what happens after this week?” she asked quietly, shutting her phone as she looked around at the group.

landon still had his vape pen in hand. olivia sat on the floor, back up against the couch. her plate was a cross her lap, strewn with remnants of shawarma sauce and rice. and clement, pretty perfect clement was sitting next to her without a care in the world.

outside of this week, they were not her people, and she found herself dreading returning to a world where she had to pretend she hadn’t made a fuck ton of good memories with them.

landon shrugged, taking another drag of his vape. “I’m assuming we just all go back to normal.”

“but why?” olivia asked. “why should we? I’ve had a good time with you guys, and I’d feel odd just ignoring you if we passed in the halls.”

“I’d hang out with you guys.” yn said softly. “surprisingly enough, I like you guys.”

sure, she wouldn't consider going to one of landon's frat parties, or joining olivia at a pep rally, but more nights like this were right up her alley. good food, good movies and good friendship.

"i think, after all the time we've spent getting to know each other," clement started "that it would be a pretty shitty thing to do to abandon and ignore each other once reading week is over."

they were silent for the rest of the film, an uneasy feeling falling over them. y/n refused to make eye contact, scared of being burned. out of the corner of her eye, however, she noticed that clement was no longer watching the screen.

he was watching her, with a look approaching wistful in his eyes.

soon enough, the end of the week came, and olivia and yn felt like they needed to mark the week with something more monumental than dinner and a movie. olivia's roommate had a karaoke machine, and clement had a liquor store points card. with those two facts in hand, a plan started to emerge to throw a party celebrating their last week.

"let's make a pact tonight." clement said, raising his coffee mug at breakfast. "to treasure the week we spent together, and to solmenly swear not to ignore each other in the halls. we're friends now, whether we like it or not."

“man!” landon says “don’t get all sappy on me. let’s just enjoy this last day. as pitbull once said: life is not a waste of time. and time is not a waste of life. so let's stop wasting time, get wasted, and have the time of our lives.”

“damn straight!” olivia added, clinking her mug against his. “let’s make it the best party that this empty dorm has ever seen.”

yn laughed, pulling olivia in for a side hug. “yeah. we take it day by day. let’s not think about tomorrow and focus on having a good tonight.” this is the best idea I’ve ever been a part of, yn thought later that night, curled up next to olivia in a pile of blankets, smirnoff ices in their hands as the pair watched clement absolutley butcher the hannah montana theme song at karaoke.

It had been a good week, and while she was still sad she couldn’t make the trek home, she loved her new friends and she would always treasure the memories that she had made with them.

“my turn, my turn!!” olivia insisted, making grabby hands towards the wireless microphone. “come to mama, there’s an abba song with my name written all over it!”

yn laughed, watching Olivia saunter over to the karaoke set. no sooner than she had gotten up did clement slide onto the sofa to take her place,

“so, how was I?” he asked, slightly buzzed and sporting that goofy and contagious smile. when clement novalak was in a good mood, it was hard for anyone around him not to be.

she raised an eyebrow. “miley might say you ruined her tour.”

“oh come off it.” clem laughed, playfully launching a pillow in her direction. “you did this, you know.” he nodded in the direction of where landon was trying to hijack olivias performance of dancing queen. “earlier you said that if this was the breakfast club, you’d be allison, but i don’t think that’s entirely true. I think you’re brian, because he’s the one who brought everybody together in the end.”

her heart softened, something fizzing in her chest that was either heartburn or flattery. “you watched the breakfast club for me?”

“duh,” clement laughed “I had to know if you were insulting me hen you said I was andrew.”

she smiled, curling closer to him on the couch, bravely reaching to touch his forearm. “so if you’re andrew and I’m allison, it’s only right that I kiss you right now.”

oh god, that’s the cringiest thing I’ve ever said.

she didn't have time to dwell on her choice of words before clement cupped the back of her neck and pulled her face towards his, pressing his lips against hers.

the kiss took her breath away.

her hands slid up the back of his neck to tangle in his hair, the off key singing fading into the distance.

she pulled away, fully able to hear the heartbeat in her chest.

"holy shit."

clement laughed, caressing her cheek with his thumb. "holy shit indeed."

"shall we take this somewhere a little more private?" she asked tentatively. "i'd love to keep kissing you, but i dont want an audience."

clem beamed, lacing his fingers with hers. "should we go to your room or mine?"

she laughed, a smile splitting her face.

she never wanted this weekend to end, but if it had to, taking clement novalak to bed was exactly the ending she was hoping for.

[elulsdr]

WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK ABOUT YOU?

PILE 1 PILE 2 PILE 3

hey guys, it's my first pac ever so i would love to have your feedback. this pac also has random messages too rather than what do people think about you.

it's mainly about the messages i got. i hope it resonates⭐️ (i swear i'm better at personal readings LMAO)

PILE 1

people think you're very self oriented and love to have the power over them. maybe you have leader qualities and they can see that. i'd say they think you're more likely to choose logic over emotions. they think you're def the overthinker one. they know you know you're worth and know when and what to say something. they can feel that you like to be seen as cold hearted and powerful. in your head being numb equals having power. people think you're very materalistic as in, whatever you wear you make it seem expensive. people think you're very soft inside but don't let a lot people in. sometimes they can sense that deep down you're really insecure and they can see the other side of you. where you're not sure of anything you do, you don't trust yourself enough. sometimes you come off as really complex and a lot. you seem to be stuck on something. you want to let it go but can't really do it cause you get used to it. so that's why people can sense your imbalance energy. you could be indecisive or air headed these days. still, people know you have the strength to get over it. you could intimidate people at first but when they see the real you -which you dont show it to many they love it. maybe you got hurt on the past, that's why you put a mask like that. you could be very obsessive, and passionate about the things you love. you come off as competitive too.

PILE 2

oooh my broken heart pile.. if you recently gone through a breakup, doesnt matter if it's romantic or friends. people see youve been thru ALOT. you show it to everyone whether youre aware of it or not. people can sense the broken energy. you keep trying to explain your feelings? or what happened between you and the other person and they're like, can she move on already?? but it's cruel to think like that. cause i feel like this relationship somehow connected to your inner child. maybe the relationship helped you with healing your inner child that's why you felt those emotions that hard. people think you're sensitive and a romantic. everything i said was in the past, your energy now seems very refreshing and stepping ahead. also i have a really bad headache rn, are u ok? take care of your health and make sure you sleep enough. you have many sleepless nights. anyways, people see your steps to a better life. although you might got addicted to the new me concept and ignore everyone who tries to help you or tries to talk to you. you're like, i don't want your help i've been by myself all this long i can take care of myself from now on. they are a bit annoyed by this. they think you're a bit stubborn. DEF a hopeless romantic. don't try to burden everything and try to move on with your life asap. take your time to heal. and take people's help -only the ones who really care tho. aww i just got the 3 of swords. pls keep your precious heart safe bby. your love is enough and you will find someone that loves you as much as you love them. (wow pile 2's photo says the exact same thing, i didnt mean to do that lol)

PILE 3

hey pile 3, why do you feel so alone even if you're out with your friends? you like to ask people for advice but somehow you don't trust them as much as you trust yourself. i mean good for you but people -maybe your friends can tell that you're faking your feelings sometimes? maybe you feel the need to be happy around everyone even if you feel like shit. they can tell that. there's this person you are stuck on. it seems like you arent able to let them go. people really wonder about you guys. you could be a heartbreaker too. you and your friends are sarcastic people. people could get annoyed by the fact that you guys have fun lol. people think you have it all and you will have it all. they dont like the fact that they cant get a piece of you, your space, your time. it's like, there are people who want you but you got someone else on your mind who you seem to cant have. you like to learn more and more. you're very smart and people like that. but there's just this unknown people love about you. you have the friends, you have the grades, you have the face but what is it that makes you sad(?) and broken? people wonder the shit out of this lmao and you don't give them a chance to understand it. you tend to zone out a lot during the day and your thoughts makes you go nuts. people just seem to curious about you. they don't know enough. the more you don't give them the chance the more they wonder. people feel that you have tons of other shit to do than answer their questions. they know they don't deserve to steal your time like that.

[minmin-vs-physics]

[11/8/24] wow, another weekend post? it's because i am in my office at 9:30pm, struggling to get work done after hanging out with people all day. the page is empty bc i am clearly distracted. i love studying to genshin ost but even that and buffalo ranch potato chips aren't helping me out of this pickle.

!! rancid vibes ahead !! idk abt this weekend bc ive been getting the quick one-two from spiraling about my future + impostor syndrome. it sucks bc i dont have enough spoons to take care of myself as a human (food+chores etc etc) AND be productive enough on a regular basis. i definitely don't feel smart enough to be where i am. it's gonna come crashing down later this year when those grad apps go out. my gpa is NOT glittering, and my research isn't anything to write home about. and since i invested so much time on this side of the postgrad life, a job doesn't even feel like a viable option. wow, Sunday scaries are something else!

anyway, peace and love! go stargazing if you can, the perseids are peaking.

[glitchdollmemoria]

do people who disregard photosensitivity realize that seizures can fucking kill or do they just not care. do people not realize that their "aesthetic" "cool" flashing lights that happen without SUFFICIENT warning... are fucking capable of killing people. i dont even care if i sound pissy right now because i am pissy, im sick of feeling like myself and others with epilepsy arent even afforded the right to be an afterthought to most people. im not even photosensitive but ffs this shit makes me so angry.

seizures themselves can be deadly if they go on too long, theyre essentially electrical overloads in the brain, you know, that organ that controls the entire rest of the body? and seizures can result in injuries or death from falls. from choking on our own vomit. from drowning in our own bathtubs, if we think we might be safe to bathe and then get proven wrong. maybe someone just wanted to watch a video or movie while they took a spa day.

did you know that epileptics are more likely to die younger than those without epilepsy, with all those risks and more? and have you heard of SUDEP? sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, death without a known cause, a rare but very real possibility for us. it kills approximately 1 in 1000 epileptics a year, if not more since it may not be accurately tracked. thats thousands of us dead a year. we do not need you to add to our death rates.

"all these things are known risks, epileptics just have to be more careful-" epileptic people should not have to be on constant fucking high alert. how about instead, people just learn to give a shit about life threatening disabilities? it takes so little effort to just offer a CLEAR and VERY OBVIOUS warning AHEAD OF TIME, for a SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME, before your stupid flashing lights. or just dont add them at all. are they necessary? are they really necessary? would you really fucking rather photosensitive epileptics have to be constantly on guard, IMPOSSIBLY on guard, rather than you just considering their safety? nobody can anticipate every instance of unexpected flashing lights they might come across. but you, creators, are able to provide warnings, and if for any reason you arent, then hire someone else to edit the warnings in or just get rid of the fucking lights altogether.

again, my epilepsy is not photosensitive, but i will never stop being protective of my photosensitive siblings. my own life is scary enough with the form of epilepsy i have, i cannot imagine how terrifying it must be to have to maneuver through the world with photosensitivity, and i dont want careless assholes to go killing my fucking community because you dont give enough of a shit to worry epileptic people. i am pissed off and emotionally exhausted and the shit with elon musk having a flashing gif on his twitter account was the straw that broke my back today so youre getting a pissed off PSA. everyone better start doing a whole damn lot better.

link to the CDC page about SUDEP

link to the epilepsy foundation site page about seizure risks

people without epilepsy are encouraged to reblog but know that i am already angry and will not tolerate bullshit on this post. give a fuck about other peoples lives and safety or im blocking you.

[vanillaxoshi]

Boboiboy Elementals Seperated - Incorrect Quotes I found on the generator edition

*The Kokotiam is about to do something dangerous* 
Ying: Shouldn’t someone give a pep talk? 
Fang: Go ahead. 
Boboiboy: Be careful. 
Qually: Don’t die?
Yaya: I think we’ll be fine!
Gopal: Great. We’re all very inspired.

Gopal: Hey Person C, can you give me the opposite of these words? 
Gopal: Always, Coming, From, Take, Me, Down. 
Solar: Never, Going, To, Give, You- 
Solar: The fucking satisfaction.

Kira’na, to Gempa and Ais:*holding the Voltra sword out in front of them* Are you or are you not an enemy of the people?! 
Ais: ... 
Gempa: ... 
Ais: That is such an open-ended question. 
Gempa: It really depends on a lot of different factors-

Adudu: You wanna fight?! You got one! 
Boboiboy: Okay! *raises fists* 
*Halilintar runs in, scoops Boboiboy up in their arms, and runs away carrying him* 
Adudu:

Adudu: What

Doctor: How the hell are you still alive? 
Boboiboy: Honestly, I’m just as confused as you are.

Blaze, trying to comfort Boboiboy: What's the problem? Anxiety? Low self-esteem? Obsessive thoughts of random arson? I've been there.

Yaya: An apple a day keeps the doctor away! 
Duri: An apple a day can keep anyone away if you throw it hard enough!

Blaze: I have an idea. 
Boboiboy: A good idea? 
Blaze: Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Gempa: I’d like to live through a week that’s not a whole new verse of “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

Halilintar: I’ve come to a point in my life where I need a stronger word than fuck.

Gempa: Everyone, calm down! We're grown-ups, let's deal with this like adults! 
Taufan: So, we're just going to wing it and hope for the best? 
Gempa: Obviously. Now, Duri, pass the shovel.

Fang: When's the last time you slept? 
Solar: Uh... a few days ago, I think. 
Fang: A few- how many?
Solar: Uh... *starts counting on fingers* I need more fingers... 
Fang: What you need is sleep!

Duri: “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy” I would.
Blaze: “I’m not gonna sink to their level” I will. Coward. 
Solar: “I’m the bigger person” I’m 150cm tall give me the gun.

Is this lore accurate? Perhaps.




I dont exactly know how to respond to this other than wonderful quotes

Wonderful fitful roles

Well from what i think

Some of these are just chaos and loving Duri being the violent one here

[evelili]

I know it’s been ages since I sent one of these, I’ve been busy and I’m still busy so I don’t have time to read the full chapter BUT!! Here’s some of my thoughts and favorite lines from the beginning of this chapter. The Final Trial.

I really love how you write the memory sequences in this story. They all flow really well and don’t feel redundant!! The reveal of these memories twilight has hidden of Luna are so good!! God!! Her devastation when she realized she had forgotten someone as important as Celestia’s SISTER her AUNT is AMAZING!!

-

her hair pulled back into a ponytail, her legs bare below the knees of a ridiculous pink-and-purple skort that she’d have been mortified to wear past puberty—eight or nine, then, she decided. It’s probably summertime, too.

-

God this mental image is so cute!! I had to google what skorts are but yeah they definitely fit Twilight and her character, especially as a kid!!

-

Twilight waited for her younger self to voice the familiar retort she thought she’d known her entire life—magic isn’t real; magic doesn’t exist; magic is fictional and fantastical and lies. But instead of a rational dismissal she heard her voice ask something completely wrong instead:

“You’re really going to show me how?”

And Twilight didn’t hear anything else after that.

-

DAMNNN this sequence is so good!! The way twilights world is just DESTROYED by this is fantastic!!

-

“Well, I wanted to check in on the two of you.” The door swung further open, and suddenly Twilight was face-to-face with the Celestia of her childhood—younger by nearly a decade and yet still recognizable in almost every way. She hadn’t ever thought time had changed her mentor much, but the contrast between present and past was far more blatant when not viewed as a gradual shift. No laugh lines. No grey hairs. No ice in her eyes.

Just a Celestia whose very presence made Someone bristle in response.

-

This description of her is DEVASTATING. She’s both somehow unhappier and so much happier with Luna in her life. The way you write her is stunning and I’m loving the conflict between her wanting Luna to focus on the future and Luna who is focused on enjoying the present. It’s a very cool conflict and I love how you’re handling it!! Them both caring more about twilights emotions than each other’s is heartbreaking

-

It did—to both the Twilight of the present and the past. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “I get it.”

-

Fuck this line is FANTASTIC. The understanding twilight finds in her memories of Luna are fantastic and I’m very curious on how this will impact how she handles Nightmare going forward. Unfortunately I can’t read anymore tonight, but I love it so far!!

STOP THE CLOCK. I FORGOT THIS BANGER LINE: “You believe in magic, Twilight,” she said gently. “And so long as you do, that’s belief enough for me.” The way you write Luna and how much she and celestia both love twilight is DEVASTATING

(combined ur two asks together) WAHHHH thank u so much for the asks!!! and no worries abt taking ur time w the story, u only get to read once for the first time after all!

this chapter is definitely Up There in terms of how happy i am with how it turned out, im rlly glad u liking it so far! i dont know how much i can say without spoiling things, but a reminder to read on fimfic to get the Full Experience (epub missing images my nemesis), a rather important section will b missing otherwise!!

i think to me a big aspect of luna and celestia's relationship in the show that kinda got glossed over was that celestia may not have realized how her actions affected luna until too late. and, it's kind of the "road to hell with good intentions" thing, bc i dont think celestia is the bad guy (at least in tte) for believing that the best way to help someone is plan, prepare, try to think ahead and look forward, etc. but, this kind of mindset can clash with someone who, at that moment, finds the prospect of thinking about the future so impossible. writing from life helped a lot in this regard :)

also, completely unrelated but also related, have a meme :D and thanks again for reading!

[ghostcathedrals]

daddy issues toji whom you've bought lunch for because apparently him asking you to buy him lunch wasn't a joke. by a weird coincidence, you crossed the street when you saw him on your way to eat lunch during your 3-hour free time before your next class and then ofc he wouldn't reject your offer bc hey free food

the restaurant you're eating at has mostly glass pane for walls, so you have enough natural light when you study after eating. your table is big enough so it's not cramped when you're eating and studying. he steals your textbook away from your grasp bc apparently you look weird staring at your book while studying and your posture is very depressing. he's scooping food for himself while skimming through the semi-glossy pages of your textbook because he isnt that interested in reading all that shit in a ridiculously small font.

you finish eating ahead of him. "dunno why i'm still reading thick books like that when i'll amount to nothing anyway."

"you will amount to something."

"i won't."

"then you won't," he bluntly replies, skimming through your notes because somehow it's entertaining to him why you also write in ridiculously small font. "pessimism got me nowhere. besides, you're still reading this dumb book with small font. if you won't amount to nothing then you would've decided to drop out."

touché. perhaps his experience told him that. and maybe while you're still there, you shouldn't waste your opportunity like him. but he doesn't regret dropping out, it's just that his life path now would be extremely different from before. what he said rendered you silent.

but then he shuts your notebook and takes his last sip from the glass of cold water next to his empty plates. then stands up. "gotta go kid. gotta fix cars of ungrateful rich people." you look up at him, slightly dumbfounded, because you don't want him to leave so soon. you don't want to be alone for the next 1.5 hours. you guys barely talked because you were both busy eating. but you also know he has a life and you don't know him enough to demand more time with him.

what you do remember is this:

you asked him his age. "twenty-seven." you tell yours. "twenty-two."

the university he dropped out from is your university now. he didn't say anything but he did say his family hated him for dropping out esp because he's got potential and his father is current big boss of their family's business. since then, they never cared about him anymore. that's all he said and continued eating.

you asked why he's a fushiguro now and not a zen'in. he shrugged. "for the vibes." but that also meant because he didn't want to be associated with them anymore.

there's also this:

"my father left me because he said he's tired of playing the father figure as if our entire life was just a sitcom to him that he could just exit from," you told him.

he flipped a page, not looking up to face you. "i didn't ask."

rude?! you frowned. "excuse me?"

toji then looked up and even if it was merely just eye contact, you felt your gut twist. "i didn't ask you to say that type of stuff. it's personal and we barely know each other."

"you told me about your family," you retorted.

he scoffed. "because i have a habit of talking shit about them. 'bit refreshing." then he leaned back on his chair, hands on the back of his head. "and i don't care about whatever you'll do with that information."

"then that goes with my decision to open up, too."

he pressed his lips together for a brief moment and lean back closer to the table. "you're wasting your time. i dont give a fuck about what will happen about me if i share that much. you've still something for you, kid. don't trust strangers too much."

"you're not a stranger to me anymore."

"yeah?" he sarcastically smiles. "and what if i steal your shit when you go to the restroom and sell them online?"

you crossed your arms. "then i'll go to the restroom." you did without a second thought and didn't even let him react. you put your hands on the corners of the sink nervously. if he would steal your shit, then goddammit. but you were too tired for anything. same old academic burden, same old messy apartment. same old deadbeat father, same old careless mother.

with all the courage you had left, you went out of the restroom, only to see none of your shit taken and he's just reading your notes. "you can't just test someone's vanity like that, kid."

"if you're gonna be a fucking scum then, can't you just do it now just like every pther guy, just like my father?"

and before he stood up to refill his water, he replied with, "don't have the evil to do that to you, kid. i'd be fine with getting free food from you when you cry like a baby in the middle of the night."

and now he's leaving.

"do you wanna hang out again some other time?"

since he's standing up and you're sitting down. he looks down at you and ruffles your hair. "you don't deserve that. go back to your campus and study there."

as he exits the restaurant, you bite your lip in slight frustration. "he can't tell me what i deserve and what i don't."

this is gonna be a whole ass series atp.... would anybody be interested with a playlist for this

[mrstsung]

Shang tsung character analysis and hcs. Pt1

My shang tsung hcs and character analysis too.

*note this is mk11/95 movie/tagawa's shang tsung with a mix of my own verse.*

Cw:nsfw kontent ahead. Maybe some angst. Mostly hcs and fan rambling. So if you dont wanna sit here and scroll thru me rambling about my fave sorcerer sneky man. Ignore this post. If you do. Welcome to mortal kombat. 💚

🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍💚🐍

Sfw:

Shang tsung first and foremost you gotta understand is self serving and preserving. So for him to set aside himself for you,IS A BIG THING! He goes out of his way for you,makes YOU a priority,takes time for YOU. THAT IS SPECIAL,DO NOT TAKE THAT FOR GRANTED!

Secondly,if he let's you in close proximity and let's you do certain things. Like make and pour his tea or wine or drink. Or make him food or he goes out the way to make you something. If he let's you dress him or fix or put on his kombat armor. Or especially,comb/brush and style his hair. He takes pride in his appearance. Not out of vanity nessicarly,but out of a sense of personal pride. He is a man who doesn't like to live in squander. Even at his lowest,he hold himself high. He always makes sure he's presentable. Even tossed asunder in the woes of kombat. Bleeding,hair tossled,bruises,etc. He still wipes the blood from his mouth with that grin of knowing. He's ten steps ahead of you. He's got this honey. He's hundreds of years old. He's got this. Dont you worry your pretty little head.

He wouldn't go out of his way nessicarly in the beginning of your relationship at least in public,to hug or give physical affection. He wont deny it either. He'll wholeheartedly accept hugs,especially if he knows(or reads your soul) that,that is one or more of your love languages. Give him time to warm up to you. It's not out of embarrassment,or even pride. It is simply my dear because shang tsung has trust issues. He is a cautious man,he has many enemies. And being with him,may gain you some reputation. Whether that is good or bad depends entirely upon you.

Shang tsung if he had a lover would absolutely be doting,i mean after all. You captured THE MASTER OF SOUL MAGIC. the tournament master of mortal kombat. The shang tsung himself. Great tsungus. Lol. I mean you're doing something right.

He is a devil in love,doting,possessive,not in a creepy way. But in a "your soul and heart belongs to me,in every life i would find you and once again make you mine. And i am yours. We are one,with the infinite cosmos. I AM YOURS AND YOU ARE MINE, FOREVER" he is all or nothing in love. Like he if he didn't see a future or a forever. Or a spouse material from you. He wouldn't even bother pursuing you honey.

Now,how long it takes for him to warm up to you. Depends. Sometimes it's a few years,few months. Maybe even a few minutes. Shang tsung is kinda finicky like that. However....once you've captured his heart. You got it for eternity. He is absolutely a loyal lover. He doesn't take betrayal kindly. So dont break his heart... or he'll break your spine like chen. Jk,jk. Shang tsung would most certainly take it hard,so dont do him dirty ok?

Like i said this man has trust issues,his trust issues have trust issues. He's cautious. He'll test the waters so to speak with you. He'll put you in scenarios to see how you favor. Or he'll say something to see your reaction. Like he pushes buttons,nothing too harsh of course. But just enough to see your standing with him. He NEEDS to know he can rely on you,and that you're the one for him.

Shang tsung is a man of weath and taste. So you're gonna be well taken care of. Nothing is too good for his beloved. Prime sugar daddy material. Srry not srry. However,he is pampering within reason. Also you gotta give that lovin back honey. However,he loves to dress you,style your hair,and absolutely adorn you with the finest he can get his hands on. Not for any other reason than that he enjoys doing that. For you,he'd burn the realms to see you happy and content. For you,your his consort and the only person he'd even consider,an equal.

Shang tsung likes to wine and dine. He wants to enjoy himself,and for you to as well. So expect a nice lavish dinner or a relaxing evening of him reading to you. Perhaps a stroll on his island or palace gardens. His beach is absolutely breathtaking at night under moonlight. He is a romantic,I'll die on that hill (He's basically Chinese Dracula ok?).

Ok shang tsung is absolutely a good conversationalist,he knows exactly what to say,how to say it,and when to say it. He knows how to stim your mind. So if you(like me) looooove you a man who can conversate and knows his way around with words and talk deep and also even if you talk about basically nothing you're still entertained and have a great time. Like shang tsung is the man for you. Like a man who can genuinely stim my mind and heart can have my mew mew anyday. They have my FULL attention. (I have Virgo mars and cancer venus,I'm screwed with this man. Taurus moon and rising,leo sun. Cancer mercury. Yeah.....im doomed. Lol) (Speaking of which i have an astro chart for shang too so if y'all wanna read i posted it. But i can reshare it again if anyone is interested.)

Ok now nsfw kontent below cut.

Ok now for the smut. 😏💖💋🐍💚🥵

Ok shang tsung like i said knows how to talk. So...this extends to the bedroom. This man could coo,purr,and Make anybody's panties drop with his voice alone. Like he could dirty talk or whisper sweet nothings. He could gas you up like no tomorrow.

If you are insecure about your looks,he will absolutely focus on those areas. He will pay extra attention. And he will reassure you that you are absolutely ravishing. He finds every part of you delectable.

For example: if you are shy about your legs. He will stroke up and down them. Paying attention to your reaction. Kissing up and down your thighs. Or if you're insecure about your belly,he'd kiss that area and reassure you that he loves every part of you. He'd reassure you that you have nothing to feel insecure about. You're perfect just as you are. How you're so soft and cute in the lighting of moonlight. The soft glow of you is always such a wonderful sight to see. How your eyes light up. Etc,etc. He's very attentive.

Shang tsung has tounge game. He'd eat you out/go down on you. Like a man in starvation. Like you were the last thing to consume in the whole realms. Also im sorry that man KNOWS HOW TO EAT PUSSY! I WILL DIE ON THAT HILL TOO! (Honestly it's not that hard to suck cock either, But he's good in that department too). Like shang's oral game overall is OUTSTANDING.

Now as for cobra. Hee hee. He's packing,but he's not like exaggerated like some people cartoonishly wanna put. 🙄. Like i hc him flaccid is 6' or 6' and a half inches, But fully erected he's around maybe 7 or 8 depending on if he's masturbated or fucked you in a bit. The longer time has passed the bigger it can look (Talking fromExperience). Like on average shang is 7 approx. So packing,but reasonable. Like people think big dicks are all great,but in reality most people can't take big dicks and aren't able to. 6 or 7 inches is perfectly fine,becausei feel people dont even know how big 7 or 8 or even 9 inches really is,also it's about skill and pacing and lots of foreplay. But anyways,shang tsung is shang hung.

He's also really good with foreplay,he enjoys the leading up to sex more than the sex itself. Not that he doesn't enjoy that. He does. He just loves to tease.

Prt 2 coming soon.

[effy-writes]

DISCLAIMER: I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BROOK AND ONE PIECE I MADE THIS FOR A DEAL SO DONT COME AT ME FOR GETTING FACTS WRONG 😭😭 @thefoxiestboy here you go

Brook x GN! Reader: A Flustered Bet

It’s been a day since the storm dismantled your small ship. You managed to save some of the canned foods but you need to ration it. You have no idea on how long you’ll survive out here, especially not knowing if somebody can save you and bring you back to your home island.

You drifted for miles and miles, not knowing if you’re drifting closer or farther away from any sort of help. Maybe your parents were right you thought, this indeed was a bad idea.

Up ahead you saw dense fog and your heart began to race. Is this another storm? You were grateful you survived the first one, but your percentage of survival is slim from this point on.

As you drifted closer to the fog (you would fight back but you’re so weak due to the lack of nutrients and dehydration), a ginormous, vintage boat came in your line of sight. With a sudden bolt of hope you swam to the boat and called out for help. Nobody answered, so you called out even louder.

A 9ft skeleton stepped out and looked around for that pleading voice until finally noticing you.

You must’ve thought you were hallucinating from fatigue, but this doesn’t feel like a hallucination.

“Why are you screaming, dear?”

“Because you’re a talking skeleton why else?” You stammered.

“I take offense to that.”

“Can you help me or something i’ve been floating on here for a day and I’m starving.” You groaned, not caring about this talking skeleton pirate since you only care about food right now.

“Why should I?”

“Because you’re a kind person.” You sweetly smiled as you hoped he could see you since he’s so high up in the boat.

“I’m not a person.” He gave a cheeky grin.

You dropped the smile. “Oh you know what I mean.”

Brook threw a rope over so you could climb on it. At first you hesitated, is this skeleton dangerous? This debate felt like forever but really it was 5 seconds before you finally climbed up the rope.

You groaned as you made your way up to the top and swung your legs over the hedge.

“You’re very wet, dear.”

“Ew.”

“I’m serious, you’re dripping.”

“Enough, we need to get out of here there’s a storm coming.”

“Yo ho ho, that’s no storm.”

You listened (kind of impatiently) as he told you about this fog and why he’s an 88 year old skeleton. You felt awkward as the story went on and how he lost all of his crew mates. All you wanted was food.

“Oh shit, sorry to hear that…anyway can we please head up East? That’s where I live. I would’ve done it while I was drifting around on that plank but didn’t have a compose.” You stated the obvious.

“I can’t sail.”

“Why not?”

“Don’t know how.”

“I know how.”

“You said your ship crashed due to the storm, hm?” He leaned down where his face was directly across from yours.

“Oh fuck you.”

He stood back up, “If you pleased.”

“What? Ew no just stop.”

“What? You’re getting flustered.” He said with smug.

You laughed at his attempts, “The opposite of that.”

“You’re just lying to yourself. I see the way you look at me with them seductive eyes of yours.”

“You know what? You suck at this, I bet I can make you flustered before you can make me.” You crossed your arms.

“Oh ho ho, we’re making a bet? I always win.”

“Oh really? If you get flustered first I can sail the ship.”

“And if you get flustered first you have to stay with me for the rest of your life.”

You uncrossed your arms, “Hey now that’s not fair.”

“What? Scared that I’m going to beat you at your own game?”

“No, I just don’t want to live the rest of my life with a perv skeleton.”

“Maybe I want to live with a mortal, stubborn, little pirate who gets off to me talking.”

You slowly walked closer, “Oh you would love that wouldn’t you? A stubborn pirate that degrades a skeleton who seems very into it.” You smirked.

Brook wanted to deny, but he didn’t want to lose this bet. “You’re at my mercy right now. Trying to get me flustered so you can swallow.”

You almost made a reaction, “Looks like you’re enjoying this. You enjoy when I try to flirt,” You gently caressed his hips, “Seductively.”

“Looks like you can’t keep your hands off of me.”

“Looks like I’m at the perfect height right now.” You remained eye contact with him while your hands gripped his belt.

“Oh look at you, so needy. Sorry darling, there’s nothing there.”

A wave of embarrassment flooded your face as you backed up. “Oh.”

“Does that count?”

“No! I didn’t know!”

“Oh ho ho! You were so into it that you didn’t even use context clues.”

“I was trying-”

“You were trying to suck me off weren’t you?” He leaned down as you kept silent. “Cat got your tongue, looks like I won.”

“Fuck you.”

He leaned back up, “Oh ho ho, too bad you can’t.”

At this point you didn’t even care. Maybe later you’ll start to care, but you were on a mission for some food right now. Real food, and not canned beans.

“Can I least get some food? Please?”

“I like it when you beg. Set sail, but deal is a deal, once you get your food you have to come back on this ship, forever.”

You thought to yourself how this doesn’t seem like a bad idea. You like adventure, and you really didn’t like the place you grew up at. Plus, you get to sail with a perv skeleton who is actually kind of fun to be around with. Maybe deep down you lost on purpose.

[hyunjins-orange-slice-too]

Regally Smitten

chapter 3: the sweating sickness

chapter word count: ~3.4k

synopsis: A future king and his servant are bound by their forbidden love. With the odds stacked against them, and a jealous brother out for blood, will their love prevail? Or will history repeat itself?

warnings: homophobia (specifically religious homophobia, this is a period piece so these beliefs are a reflection of the time period being portrayed, and the characters themselves, and do not reflect my personal beliefs. please read with caution and remember to take care of yourself. ily.) descriptions of violence, main character injury (no main character death), foul language, suggestive themes, brief mentions of anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. one mention of suicidal thoughts (but no action)

disclaimer: this is a work of fiction and in no way represents any member of stray kids in reality. this is a fanfiction and should be treated as such. this is not me “shipping” them, these are simply characters based on real life people. i don’t need the minsung antis coming for me.

series masterlist • main masterlist

The following weeks at the castle were.. awkward to say the least. Han continued his squire duties, but kept the contact with the prince to a minimum. They hadn’t really exchanged many words since their return to the kingdom. Han had realized he had overstepped his bounds by kissing the prince, and was just glad to still have his job. And Hyunjin was pretty upset when he found out.

"You did WHAT?" Hyunjin whisper yelled across their small room in the basement.

"I was lost." Han tried to explain. "He was so close and looking into my eyes and.. hyun, he's so handsome." Han was talking animatedly with his hands.

"I thought we agreed we wouldn’t let it get this far." Hyunjin scolded. "He’s the prince, Han. He’s literal royalty. And you’re living in a basement closet."

"I know!" Han threw himself back on his mattress, his hands balled into fists and pressed into his eyes. "there’s more.."

"There’s more? what do you mean there’s more? This is bad enough."

"He’s getting married." Han mumbled.

Hyunjin was quiet, processing. Han had been bringing Hyunjin to silence a lot these days and he didn’t like it.

"Well.. maybe thats a good thing." he finally said.

Han peeked at Hyunjin from under his fists.

"Hannie.. I know that you really like him and this is hard. I know it hurts. But this relationship between you two can’t happen. It just can’t. And if he’s getting married, then that means it will put an end to it. And that’s for the better. I promise." Hyunjin’s voice was soft. His heart really hurt for Han. And he kind of hated the prince for playing with his best friends emotions like this. How dare he kiss his squire and leave him a mess like this. Hyunjin would march up to the prince's chambers and put him in his place, but he prefered his head remain firmly attached to his body.

"He’s been talking about running away." Han said.

"Before or after he found out about his arranged marriage?"

"Well.." Han took a deep breath. "Both. Kind of." He looked over at Hyunjin. "He talked about it in length the night we were along the riverbank. The night he tried to hold my hand. And then he briefly mentioned it before he.. uh.. before he kissed me."

"Han.. I don’t like this." Hyunjin said. "I don’t think you should get your hopes up. I know it’s hard, but you just need to let it go."

"I can’t.." Han’s voice broke. Hyunjin crossed the room and pulled Han into a hug. "Go ahead and cry it all out. But you can’t entertain this idea of running away with him. He has a job to do and that’s to run a kingdom and produce little heirs to run the kingdom after him. He’s not going to run away with his servant."

Han pulled back, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "Harsh, hyune."

"Harsh but the truth. I just dont want you to get hurt more than you already are." Hyunjin wiped some of Han’s stray tears with his fingertips. "Now, pull yourself together. It’s time to go to work."

----

Han bustled around Minho’s chambers, cleaning things up. He could hear the prince in his changing room, bathing. But unlike last time, Han had filled the tub, made sure the prince had anything he could possibly need, and then exited the room before Minho entered the water.

A moment later, the prince exited the changing room. He was dressed, albeit barely. He had his trousers on, unfastened, and his undershirt on, also unfastened. His wet hair dripped onto the floor. His bare feet padded across the cold stone, before he sat on the edge of his bed to pull his boots on.

Han tried not to look too long. Tried not to remember the way the prince's lips felt against his own. Tried not to listen to his heart when it called out to Minho. He tried to hurriedly finish what he was doing so that he could leave the room, leave this awkward thick air that hung about their heads.

"Han.. I just wanted to say--" the prince started but was quickly interrupted.

There was a loud, urgent knocking on the chamber door. "Your Grace." a man called from outside.

Minho looked at Han and nodded. Han made his way over to the door, the incessant knocking never stopping, even for a second. Han gently opened the door and the man barged in. It was James. He bowed quickly. "Your Grace, I’m sorry for the intrusion. But you need to come quickly. It’s your father."

James looked worried. Minho pulled on his boots in a haste and followed James out of the room, his laces dragging the floor. Han was unsure of what to do. What was the protocol in this situation? Does he follow? Or does he stay? He decided to follow. Just in case he was needed. If they wanted him to go, they would tell him so. He pulled the door to Minho’s chamber shut behind him and shuffled down the hallway toward the king's chamber.

Everyone was gathered around Heinrich's bed. A guard was posted outside the door to the chamber, and the huge man would not let Han pass.

Minhho stood next to his brother, looking down at his father. His large, sweaty frame took up most of the bed, his breathing ragged. "It’s the sweating sickness" the healer said. Minho had known that his father hadn’t been feeling the best. He had developed a slight cough on their way back from Westwood. They weren’t initially worried, but it seems his condition had seriously worsened. The king reached for Minho.

"Son, I fear my time is coming to an end." He rasped. "Your time has come to lead these people." Minho nodded. Heinrich had always been a cruel man, so Minho couldn’t say he was terribly saddened at his fathers state, but he was still his father. And Minho wasn’t ready to be king. Of that, he was terrified.

"Father," Rian spoke up. "Minho can’t be king."

Heinrich coughed and wheezed. "He can and he will. He is ready. He has to be. He will have a queen soon enough and he will do his best not to fuck it up." The king pointed his gaze at Minho.

"Yes father." Minho said quietly.

And as the healer left the room, Han heard him mutter to the guard that the king wouldn’t make it through the night.

--

The next few days were a blur. Minho was hardly ever in his chambers. The king had a most extravagant funeral, the bells tolling for hours as the people mourned their loss. There was a large feast that night, and the following day, prince Minho unofficially became king Minho.

When Minho sat on the throne for the first time, it felt foreign and wrong. And if he was honest, it still felt that way. The council was planning his coronation and his future wife, Astrid, was on her way to the palace from Westwood. Minho had so many questions and so many things to worry about, but all he found himself thinking about was Han. How this would change Han’s life. Would Han still be his squire now that he was king? Or would he be appointed a new one? And now he had to share Han with Lady Astrid? That thought made him angry for some reason. He did not wish to share his squire with anyone. Though they barely talked these days, Han’s presence was still a comfort to Minho. And now Lady Astrid would come in and fuck things up. How was he supposed to marry a woman he didn’t know? Minho knew this was common practice. It was a marriage born out of politics, not out of love. Minho wondered if that could be his first change as king. Could he marry for love instead? He knew the answer. Even if he were able to change the practice, he would never be allowed to marry the one he truly wants to marry. The council would never allow it and neither would his people.

His thoughts were interrupted by his brother entering the throne room. His brother approached the dias, walking confidently, like the prince he is. But he walked in such a way that let everyone know he was a prince and to not mess with him. He seemed the type to fly off the handle easily. Yes, Minho knew that Rian's apple didnt fall far from his fathers tree.

"Brother." Rian said, flippantly.

Minnho was in no mood for this, already agitated about his impending marriage to the wrong person. "That’s king, to you." Minho said, looking down on Rian at the bottom step of the dais. "You would be smart to remember that."

Rian made an exaggerated show of bowing before his brother. A bow that was much too deep, his hair almost touching the floor. "My apologies, your grace." he said, before straightening and approaching the throne. He sat in the empty chair next to Minho, both men looking out upon the throne room that was bustling with servants working to get the space ready for all the royal events that were quickly approaching.

"You know you can’t handle this, brother." Rian said, quietly. "You’re too soft. Always have been."

"I will manage just fine." Minho said through his teeth. "There’s no need to be a barbarian. I will not rule like father did."

"Then you will loose this throne quickly, I’m afraid." Rian let out an exaggerated sigh. "The first brave man with half an army will take it from you."

Minho looked to his brother. "No army is greater than the royal army. They would never get past the gates."

"Ah. I guess you’re right, brother." Rian stood to leave, but not before leaning down to whisper in Minho's ear. "but what will you do if they’re already inside the gates?"

Rian trotted down the dias steps and exited the throne room, pushing servants out of his way as he went.

----

Lady Astrid's arrival was a sight to see. The townspeople gathered along the sides of the streets as her carriage made way, cheering for their new future queen. Everyone in the capital was excited about a royal wedding, having just gotten over a royal funeral. everyone was ready for a happy event. But Minho knew it would be no happy event for him. It may, in fact, be the worst day of his life.

Her carriage was pulled by four white horses, their manes woven with colorful flowers. Minho stood at the top of the steps to the palace along with his bother, his mother, and his squire. Han stood off to the side and watched as Lady Astrid exited the carriage with the help of one of her guards. Her dress was a pale pink, and long. It was backless and embroidered with flowers.

"Man they really lean into the flower bullshit, Don’t they?" Rian mumbled under his breath.

"Hush." Minho ordered.

"But she sure is hot." Rian said, choosing to ignore his kings order of silence.

Minho's future bride was indeed beautiful. He knew that. Everyone with eyes knew that. But what they didn’t know was that Minho, though he did in fact have eyes, only had eyes for one person. And it wasnt Astrid.

She slowly climbed the steps, taking in her surroundings. She stopped in front of Minho and curtsied. "Your Grace." she said, with a smile on her face. She then turned to the queen mother and Rian and did the same.

"Hello, my lady." Rian greeted her. "Welcome to your new home."

Minho knew he should say something. This is his future bride and everyone was watching. But all he could think about was Han. He could feel his presence behind him. Minho's already broken heart was shattering more at the thought of being wed to this woman that he had spent no time with at all. That he had no feelings toward at all, romantic or ill. He tried to think of something to say, but his mouth was dry, his tongue heavy.

Astrid looked at him, still smiling. "It really is a beautiful home, Your Grace."

Minho was frozen. His mind screaming at him to say something, anything, before he made a fool of himself. Though he feared that ship had sailed. What kind of king can’t even speak to his future queen? Maybe Rian was right. Maybe Minho couldn’t do this.

Minho looked over his shoulder at Han. There was sadness in his eyes but he smiled anyway, nodding at Minho, encouraging him.

"Uh.. come my lady." Minho managed, holding his arm out to Astrid. "Let me show you around."

----

Han followed behind the couple as they wandered around the castle. Minho felt like he needed Han there in order to follow through with this, but at the same time, that felt cruel. To force Han to watch him as he courted another. Though Minho sometimes thought that maybe Han didn’t feel the same way about his prince- rather, his king, that his king felt about him. Maybe Han didn’t care at all that Minho was getting married. Maybe Han was glad.

No, Minho couldn’t believe that. He felt that kiss too. Felt the energy between them as they held one another, heard his name fall in a sigh from Han’s lips. That all meant something, it had to. But Minho hadn’t had the chance to bring it up to Han. More so, Minho hadn’t had the bravery to bring it up to Han. He couldn’t imagine what his squire might think of him.

As they approached the throne room, Minho turned to to his squire. "Han, would you please return to my chambers and make sure Lady Astrid's things are sorted?" Minho didn’t want Han to go, but also didnt want to torture him any further.

Han bowed. "Yes, Your Grace." he said, before he quickly walked away in the direction of Minho's tower. Minho had to force his eyes away from Han’s retreating frame, and focus them back on Astrid.

"So this is the throne room." Minho said, gesturing to the large room.

Astrid clapped excitedly. "Oh this is where we will be married?"

Minho's stomach turned. But he forced a smile. "Yes, my lady."

----

Han started unpacking Lady Astrid's belongings, though she didnt have many. Han thought she was a sweet girl, and very beautiful. She was raised in a good family. She would make a great queen. She was a perfect match for Minho. The one he should marry. The perfect, doting, silent wife. And they will be happy and make lots of little Minho’s so that one day they may be king too. Han couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Han couldn’t sleep at night, thinking about it. How Minho's lips felt against his own and how he knew they would be pressed against Lady Astrid instead. This made Han jealous. But he must not give in to these thoughts. He honestly thought about asking his superior if he could switch positions. But he knew the follow up question would be, why? And what would Han say to that? Oh sorry, im just in love with king Minho and it hurts my fragile little heart to see him with another? No, that would never work. He just needed to suck it up.

Han was laying out Lady Astrid's hairbrush in the changing room when he heard the chamber door open and shut.

"I can’t fucking do this." he heard Minho say, before a sound that Han thought was Minho flopping down on his bed.

Han cautiously exited the changing room. "Your Grace?" he asked.

Minho's head jerked up. And when he looked at Han, his eyes were bloodshot. He looked broken.

"Oh, sorry Han. I thought you had gone already." Minho sat up, trying to collect himself and look more.. kingly.

"That’s quite alright, Your Grace. I’ll just be going." Han headed for the door but Minho stood and grabbed him gently on the arm.

"Wait." he said, his voice sounding unsure. And Minho was unsure. He had no idea what he was doing, no idea what he was going to say, all he knew was he didn’t want Han to go.

Han turned to him, his eyes questioning.

Minho quickly let go of his arm. "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t grab you. I just--"

He looked at Han for a moment, and couldn’t form the words. Minho sighed, exasperated. He turned and strode back to the bed, sitting on the edge and dropping his head into his hands. Han didn’t know what to do in this moment. What was the protocol here? He supposed he should just wait for further instruction.

"Han, I can’t do this." Minho mumbled into his hands.

"Do what, Your Grace?" Han asked.

Minho looked up at Han, his eyes now brimming with tears. "Marry her. Be king. Be.. away from you. I can’t do it."

"I’m afraid I don’t understand, Your Grace." Han said, quietly. He wouldn’t let himself believe the confession he was hearing right now. The king was just under a lot of stress. That was all.

Minho stood and quickly crossed the distance between them in three strides, caging Han against the cold wall. His arms on either side of Han’s head, Minho dipped his head low to look Han in the eyes. "You know exactly what I mean."

Han couldnt speak. He just looked up at his king, heart in his throat. Minho's face was so full of emotion, but unlike last time, Han knew what they were. Sadness, fear, and love.

Minho pressed his forehead against Han’s. "Say it again." he whispered.

"Hmm?" Han hummed, unsure of what the king wanted from him in this moment.

"My name." he whispered. "Say it again, please. No more of this your grace shit." Han could feel his breath on his cheek, hear the break in his voice. "Please, Han."

Han could feel his own tears flowing now, his heart aching for the king. He let out a long, slow breath. And in a hushed tone he whispered, "Minho.."

The king raised his hand to cradle Han’s face, his thumb rubbing gently across his cheek. "Minho.. we shouldn’t." Han said. "What about lady astrid?"

"Do’nt mention her name." Minho said harshly. "Not at a moment like this. Don’t let her ruin this too." And then he leaned in and softly kissed Han. And unlike their previous kiss, this one was filled with sadness. Filled with longing for something they both knew would never be. Could never be. So Han was surprised by what happened next.

Minho pulled away, his cheeks pink. "Leave with me." he said.

Han pushed Minho away just a little, so he could properly look into his face. "What?"

"You heard me." the king cradled Han’s face between both of his palms now. "Run away with me."

Han wrapped his hands around Minho's wrists. "Minho.. we can’t." he said.

"We can." the king argued.

Han looked deep into Minho's eyes. "I want to run away with you, I do. But think about this for a second." he said.

Minho pushed away from the wall, pacing the room. He couldn’t see why Han wouldn’t just leave with him. "I have thought about it!" he ran his fingers through his hair. "I’ve thought about it every second since you walked through that door." He pointed to the heavy wooden door to the chamber.

"Minho, you have a kingdom to run. Those people need you." Han pointed out.

"I don’t give a fuck about those people." he argued. But he knew that wasn’t true. And Han knew that wasn’t true. Those were Minho's people and he cared very deeply for them. They loved him as their king. And they loved Astrid as their queen. He would never leave them without a proper ruler.

"You’re just being emotional right now." Han said, approaching Minho. He ran his hand down Minho's arm. "You’re just stressed with the coronation coming. And the wedding."

Minho looked at his squire. He looked and looked and he never wanted to look away. But he knew he had to. Again the reality came crashing down, that this would never work. No matter how much they loved each other.

♡ pls reblog if you liked it! it truly helps a lot and makes me smile :) ♡

©hyunjins-orange-slice-too i do not give permission for this work or any of my work to be translated, copied, or reposted.

[t1meslayer]

Busy with important family events over the next couple of days, and so I thought it would be good to get a day-and-date release for this Debrief on the latest entry in my Sapphic Valley series, "How You Get The Girl." Be sure to read the story before jumping in!

Did you do it? Did you read the story?

Alright, I'm trusting you. Go ahead and hit that 'Keep Reading' button you scamp.

It only seems appropriate to start this Debrief off by addressing the elephant in the room. I haven't posted anything in over a month, and "By Moonlight" came about a month after its predecessor, the conclusion to "Stone-Cold Lovers."

Work, naturally, has been a major factor.

You can see me talk about that almost two weeks ago in this Tumblr post I made about writing in a coffee shop, which came weeks after I actually started writing during a trip to a friend's house.

===

Side note:

Just wanted to take a moment and acknowledge my beautiful Haley and Emily keychains. My friend who's responsible for the affairs of one ghostly farmer named Jizzabelle (Gisabelle to the laymen) got them for me! Only appropriate after I commissioned some art of her and Abigail.

Emily was my first Stardew wife, and Haley currently holds the biggest place in my heart. They make a lovely duo!

And I'll avoid any sister-wife jokes

===

While I've had some other projects like Zine writing to take care of, work and life can't explain the full absence.

The best way I can think to explain things is that:

I had the general writer's block, and

Despite the best intentions and advice of my irl friends and online pals like @alchemicallymoon and @duelbraids, I couldn't force myself to "break" that block by just... Writing something else.

This is entirely the result of my own psychosis. I have a tendency to carefully plot things out and impose a timetable that really doesn't need to exist. When I feel the cause is righteous enough, it's hard to get around that. In this case, I knew I needed to get my poll-winning idea out after dawdling for holidays like Valentine's Day, and then I knew I only wanted to post one more story before jumping on a very special event for my upcoming 30th AO3 post.

Thus, here we are: arbitrarily forcing myself into a spiral of writer's block misery because of a silly promise on Tumblr and my own sense of ordered chaos.

At the very least, this meant it's coming out not long after my AO3 pal InsertACatchyPennameHere also emerged from the woodwork to tell me they're working on something INSPIRED by my four-person friend group farm adaptations.

Much love to them, wherever they may be.

I'll probably start writing more eclectically now that my shoulders are unweighed, but don't expect my next publication to hit until I'm finished working on teasing the big event. All you Pokemon fans better get hype!

And oh how sweet this publication feels. Between my great set of recent ceramics, the figure drawing class I've been attending, and creative writing, I've felt more fulfilled than ever.

You're here to talk about Stardew, though. So let us talk.

This idea began less with any one event as it did a desire to advance the Alexis/Haley relationship, and Haley's characterization in particular. It was always going to end with watercolor painting reference, but 2 Willow Lane was what I really wanted to dig into.

As I see it, a lot of what keeps people invested in Stardew when its comfy vibes becoming routine is the air of mystery in Eric Barone's worldbuilding. Haley and Emily's parents being some world-traveling duo who left their home in the siblings' care for who knows how long (and who knows how many times over their lifetime) really piqued my interest. So much so that the new writing challenge I set for myself in "How You Get The Girl" was crafting a particularly long set of descriptions that emphasize how overwhelming the parents' influence feels — without creating an impenetrable wall of text.

Hopefully I succeeded in that. Let me know!

I tried to include some vaguely real world-adjacent references into that description of the house, as happens with the magical-realism world of Stardew Valley. For example:

The computer sitting next to their bonsai tree is an iMac G3, the kind of old 'futuristic' tech that my dad loves!

A Speedwell refrigerator is based on even more vintage tech, the Mayflower fridge, but named after a different ship ridden by Pilgrims coming to America.

That city that the family visited in an old photograph with a "monument of arching, interlocking steel" is, of course, Paris — with the statue bookends referencing any number of statues in the Louvre.

Haley's FAD magazine could be referencing any number of publications, but Vogue is probably the closest analogue to what I imagine her reading.

Furthermore, I took some notes on describing the home's layout off of my sister's apartment building, and I asked my bestie @trybard for input on what kind of hanging plant should be used in the transitional hallway. Hanging pothos, philodendron, and spider plants were the three options provided, and my response was appropriate:

They know so much about plants.

Go bug them about it.

I drew on other friends' knowledge to help decorate the house. Specifically, I asked one of my witchiest friends what kinds of protective wards someone like Emily would leave around doorways and windows. She had... A lot of reference material.

I picked Hazel given it purportedly "protects against evil; encourages abundance and inspiration." I also picked Amethyst as one of Emily's loved gifts, one that purportedly "absorbs negative energy, promotes harmony."

My witchy friend is the same one who provided the TikTok that I referenced in my advertisement post:

Perhaps the most important thing about 2 Willow Lane was the recurring motif of Barbie's Dream House.

As a surface-level reference, I think the groundwork is clear. Blondie's love of fashion and general queen bee demeanor fits comparisons to Barbie well, and she lives in a big ol' house full of stuff. We all saw Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie last year. It's still in the cultural zeitgeist.

I'm hip with the kids.

Yet, early on I also tried to make it clear that if this is a "dream" house, it's neither Haley's nor Emily's dream. Haley is a Barbie in that stereotypical sense, but also there's much to be mined from the analogy of a sort of powerless doll in an immutable house, constrained by social obligation to her family rather than literal plastic and stickers.

The cold open of Jodi and Sam was meant to stand alone, but in execution I also think drawing Kent's absence into the conversation makes for a more thematically rich comparison to these sisters who appear to have themselves more put together.

My beta reader said this wound up being one of my stronger stories because of how all of that intertwined, which I appreciated given how down on myself I was following the whole writer's block thing.

But also.

Also.

Alexis gets to be horny. She's hitting on lonely MILFs and watching girls shake their asses to the tune of bad reality TV.

We love a buff dommy mommy farm girl in this house.

Haley is probably horny too, she just doesn't realize it yet. For now I think it's fun enough to play into her being coy about building excuses for Alexis to come over, and then getting incensed when Emily barges in on their private time meant to learn more about this farm girl she just can't get out of her head.

===

Fun fact:

Every story in this series is named after a Taylor Swift song, but I know next-to nothing about her discography. All of them are suggestions by my friend whose house I was at when starting this story — the same one who controls Gardenia on the farm.

While I went with "How You Get The Girl," her alternative suggestion was "The Man."

===

All that w|w talk aside, I also want to give Sam the loveable idiot a shoutout. Had to do a fair bit of research into how skateboards are constructed for his failed ollie, and I slipped in a reference to shitty old technology that's exclusively for my beta reader to enjoy.

I also tried doing some agricultural research to figure out how the folks at Kevin Farm could have grown cucumbers so there'd be a jar of legitimate pickles... But that was getting too in the weeds.

Insert laugh track here

Decided to just go with pickled artichoke hearts to save everyone a lot of trouble.

And where does "Kevin Farm" come from, you may be asking yourself. Or the fabulous "Kevin's Special" with its definitely not innuendo tagline.

That story will have to wait for another day, my friends.