#oof i couldn't stop myself it had to be said

[all-chickens-are-trans]

It has come to my attention that some people in the Ted Lasso fandom are not aware of the importance of rainbow captain’s armbands in football, and I have too many emotions about those to not make a post. Keep in mind that I’m mostly familiar with the German Bundesliga and don’t know much about the Premier League, so if any people want to share more on that, feel free to add on to this post!

 Where it started

around two months ago, some of the cast and crew of Ted Lasso played a charity match (see here); actor Joe Street, who plays Paul Reynolds on the show, wore a rainbow captain’s armband. this, among other things, has led to some speculation that there will be a queer storyline in s3 (see here and here).

Why it matters

If you’ve followed the women’s Euro 2022 tournament recently (see here) or seen some pictures at least, and if you take the general culture of representation in media as an indicator, you might be led to believe that the rainbow armband doesn’t mean much - that it’s just a nice, but ultimately meaningless gesture of virtue signalling. And I wouldn’t even completely disagree with that. Most of the time, when players or teams give statements on the meaning of that rainbow armband, they describe it as a symbol against homo-/queerphobia in their sport - but most of them are pretty quick to add that it also symbolizes the fight against racism, sexism, discrimination based on religion, nationality, etc. The message gets watered down into a nice little message of ‘diversity’ and ‘equality’, often paired with the slogan “football is for everyone.” The rainbow in its original meaning for queer struggles and queer life is made into a non-threatening thing that’s supposed to be palpable for most people.

BUT --

But I’m begging everyone to look deeper, because there’s a reason for that. And the reason is - you could have guessed it - queerphobia in football. (I will now especially talk about men’s football because that’s what the show is about and it’s also my area of expertise. if you add women’s football into the conversation, you gain important insights, but this post is already going to be long enough, so maybe someone else will have to do that, either on this or another post.)

The reason the rainbow gets so watered down as a symbol in football is BECAUSE there’s still an unlimited amount of fear to be perceived or outed as gay/queer if you’re a professional male football player. Do you know how many active professional male footballers there are currently in the top leagues, worldwide? Two. Josh Cavallo came out in October 2021 in Australia (see here). Jake Daniels came out in May 2022 (see here) - he plays for Blackpool F.C. in the Championship League. Before Daniels, the only football player who came out during his career in the UK (and as far as I’m aware, in any major league anywhere) was Justin Fashanu in 1990. I will not link to articles or go into details, but please be aware if you google this, most articles will discuss racism, homophobia, sexual assault allegations and suicide. With a precedent like that, it took more than 30 years before any other active player dared to take that step. No matter how open-minded you think society has become over the last decades, you have to keep in mind that, despite all its claims towards the opposite, football is still one of the last safe spaces for both subtle and rampant homophobes.

Back to the rainbow armband

As far as I can tell, it was merely six years ago when the first rainbow armband appeared on a football pitch (see here) - in 2016, in the aftermath of the Pulse shooting, US-American team captain Michael Bradley wore one in a match against Ecuador. In Germany, it was especially the 2017/2018 and the 2018/19 seasons that popularized this as a regular practice for certain teams in the Bundesliga, starting with St. Pauli in 2017 (I couldn’t find an english source for this) and VfL Wolfsburg in 2018 (and initiated by their women’s team captain the previous season, see here). From there, it spread over to various other clubs like SC Freiburg, who announced in early 2021 that all team captains would wear the rainbow armband for all matches from now on (see here).

But just because this is becoming more common, doesn’t mean it’s losing it’s meaning. Just last year it became clear how very politically charged that symbol still is when German team captain Manuel Neuer wore a rainbow armband for several games in the men’s Euro 2020 (see here). The UEFA started a formal investigation against him because they prohibit ‘political symbols’ on the armband. Even though the investigation was dropped, the UEFA prohibited a request to light up Allianz Arena in rainbow colors just a few days later in the match against Hungary because it was seen as too politically charged in the current climate of queerphobic laws passed in Hungary at the time (see here). It remains an open question how the rainbow armband will be handled in the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar where homosexuality is illegal. If rainbows are ruled as ‘too political’ against Hungary, who knows what the rules will be in Qatar.

And what does any of this have to do with Ted Lasso?

Frankly, I don’t know. I just made this post because the rainbow armband in the charity match got me very excited for the possibility of seeing Isaac McAdoo in one for s3. Could you imagine Isaac choosing that kind of gesture to show his support for Colin? (If that’s what’s going to happen - at this point, it’s all still speculation.) With that history, with that storyline, and with the way this show usually approaches such topics?? That feels immensely meaningful to me.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk

[arklay]

tagged by @florbelles @denerims @jillvalcntines @jendoe @leviiackrman @aceghosts @indorilnerevarine @swordcoasts @nuclearstorms & @morvaris to do this quiz for some of my ocs, so have the horror girlies – thank you all so so much ily guys! ♡

tagging: @aartyom @aelyosos @brujah @cultistbase @faarkas @girlbosselrond @lightwardens @liurnia @narshadda @nocticulas @prometheas @reaperkiller @risingsh0t @shadowsofrose @snowthroat @solasan @steelport @stormveils @voerman & you! if you've already done this, my bad, just ignore me. but as always, no pressure to do this, of course! ♡

TRAGIC HORROR TROPES.

— the final girl.

the final girl comes out the other end of trauma alive – or, they were supposed to. honestly, you're not so sure you're really alive anymore. you saw the same hurt take those you were closest to while everyone paraded your bruises and bravery, as strength, as if you're the hero. and it hurts. you're tired and you don't want to have to be brave anymore. whatever you went through, it changed so much of who you were that you're still getting used to the person you see in the mirror. you didn't have a say in any of it, but you're here now, and that's gotta count for something. you'll make it count for something. but first, you need to let yourself find rest.

— the witch.

people need to find blame wherever they can; it makes the bad things in their life feel just a touch more bearable. the witches are so often blamed for the curses others are under that no one even questions it anymore. you point to a supposed witch and everyone else prepares the stake, no matter their innocent. to be born and believed a witch is one of the worst curses of them all – you can have friends and family, but there's always a dread that someday, someone will point to you, and everyone you once trusted will throw you into the pyre. if you're here, reading this, you've probably been burned before. and i don't blame you for wanting to hide away, to really become the witch they all say you are, to curse them. but to be a witch is to brush your fingertips over the bark of a tree and watch it grow a touch stronger. keep that in mind.

— the vampire.

it is the loneliest day of a vampire's life, the first time they look into a mirror and see their reflection missing. drinking blood sucks too, don't get me wrong, but as a vampire you had to learn to hide from the sunlight, from your family, all your friends, because you were unavoidably different now and you didn't know how to explain that to them in a way they would understand. you could get stranger's blood in bursts, but what is life when you can't know someone for longer than the night lasts? you left everything behind because it was easier than trying to tell them. i just hope you know you're not the only vampire out there, and that there exist people who will understand your situation without a word. they'll sit with you in the dark for as long as you'll need them to.

— the mummy.

here's the thing about mummies – why the hell is anyone opening up their tombs? you were resting. you were peaceful. but someone intruded, barged in and broke down your walls and stole all the parts of yourself that you cherished, and then blamed you for being angry. blamed you for chasing them down no matter how fast they ran and how many obstacles they put in your path. and you know what? they deserve your rage. they destroyed something sacred. they didn't give a shit, and they wouldn't ever have lamented their actions had it not been for you – the real hero – getting up and showing them that they don't have the right to destroy and pillage as they please. that is your home. that is your body. nothing they do can take that from you. if not for you, they probably would've kept breaking into tombs and disturbing restful lives without a second thought. you won't be repaid for your good, but i hope you know you are a saviour in your own right.

[burntheedges]

caught in the rain

Marcus Pike x gn!reader | gen | ao3 word count: 1.1k

summary: you get caught in the rain with a handsome stranger. a/n: this is for @undercoverpena's April Showers Challenge! It's been pouring all day so I couldn't resist posting. tags/warnings: flirting, rain, touching, fluff, no use of y/n, reader has no description, reader walks quickly, not beta-ed

...

Boom.

You were digging through your bag for your map when a thunderclap seemed to shake the air around you. Foolishly, the first thing you did was tilt your head back to take a look.

That was when the skies opened up.

The downpour obligingly hit your face first on its way to drenching you before you could so much as get your bearings.

“Shit,” you cursed as you looked around desperately. The people around you started moving more quickly in whatever direction they were heading and umbrellas started popping up around you. You heard more than one low, irritated grumble in italian. The tall stone buildings to either side of the narrow road you’d been walking down didn’t have much in the way of awnings or overhangs, it seemed. You spun around and looked behind you, and–

There!

Back the way you’d come, about 50 feet behind you, was a recessed doorway. It looked like it was just big enough for one or two people to step into to hide from the rain.

You walked quickly back towards it, dodging around people and umbrellas.You barely looked at them, keeping your eyes locked on your goal.

It wasn’t until you were just a few steps away that you realized someone else had had the same idea, but you were moving too fast to stop.

The two of you stepped under the shelter of the doorway at the exact same time. 

“Oof.” You couldn’t help but make a noise as your shoulders knocked into each other, crowding into the small space.

“Shit,” the other person said, and you finally lifted your gaze to look at his face. You froze, but he frowned softly and continued, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t even see you coming.” His distinctly American voice was deep and warm and extremely apologetic. 

You felt your mouth drop open slightly as you took in the extremely attractive face that was connected to the broad, sturdy shoulders you’d just become acquainted with. He was gorgeous. Dark brown eyes, scruffy beard, hair that curled a bit at the ends from the rain. His regret was painted all over his expressive face, which was just as wet with rain as yours. You watched a raindrop slip down his temple and onto his cheek and blinked. His hand had come up to steady you by the elbow and you belatedly noticed that you could feel its warmth around the soaked sleeve of your coat.

You realized you’d been quiet for too long when his face started to fall. “Oh! I’m– I mean, no, it’s ok.” You felt your cheeks heat at how flustered you sounded. “Er, no problem. We fit. Um, here, I mean.”

He cleared his throat and his frown started to turn into something more like a smile. “Great. I realized the moment it started raining that I’d forgotten my umbrella.” He winced. 

You shrugged. “Me too. Not sure what I was thinking. Probably wasn’t, I was too excited this morning.” You smiled, sheepish.

He smiled, too. It was extremely attractive. You tried not to watch the way his mouth moved when he smiled. “Well, rain buddy, since we’re stuck here for the moment, I should probably introduce myself.” His hand fell away from your elbow as he leaned back into one of the pair of wooden doors and you briefly mourned its loss. “Marcus. Nice to meet you.”

You leaned against the other door and smiled at him again as you introduced yourself.

Marcus eyed you for a moment before leaning in a bit. You tried to look normal about the way you could feel the warmth of his body in the narrow space of the doorway.

“So, what were you so excited about that made you leave your umbrella?” He raised an eyebrow at you.

You felt your cheeks heat again and looked out at the rain. “Oh, well, I’m going to the Uffizi today. I’ve been wanting to go for years and today is finally the day, and there are so many things I want to see, so many I’ve been dying to see in person, and I was just–” You cut yourself off abruptly, aware you were starting to ramble. You darted a quick glance back at Marcus to see if he looked bored, but you were surprised to find that he was staring at you, absolutely rapt with interest.

When you didn’t continue, he prompted, eyes locked on yours, “you were just what?”

“Oh! Um,” you started, turning your body slightly towards his. “I was going to say, I was just thinking about all of the pieces I know they have and trying to decide where to start. That’s all.” You weren’t sure how else to explain it without starting to list every piece of art you were excited to see in person.

You watched as a grin took over his face and your breath caught.

“That’s what happened to me, too,” he murmured. 

“What?” You weren’t sure what he meant.

“I was also in a rush, thinking about how excited I am to go to the Uffizi today.” He reached into his back pocket and produced his phone and quickly pulled up his ticket to show you. “Paid extra for the 11am entry.”

Your eyebrows flew up in surprise. “Seriously? I mean, me too! 11am.” You patted your bag where you knew your phone was safe and dry.

Marcus blinked, clearly surprised at the coincidence. “Well, rain buddy, that feels like fate. What do you think about waiting for the rain to clear a bit and then seeing if we make good museum buddies, too?” He winked at you and you grinned.

“I think I’d like that, Marcus.” He reached out to squeeze your elbow again and you wondered if getting caught in the rain might turn out to be something good after all.

…

Two years later, Marcus tugged you along that same street through more rain, hands laced together tightly this time. You were breathless, laughing at his eagerness to get somewhere, smiling as the rain poured down around you.

When he stopped suddenly and pulled you into that exact same doorway where you’d first met, you felt the swell of warm emotions inside of you that you associated with Marcus Pike and grinned.

And just a moment later, when he dropped to one knee and told you how he’d thought you were so beautiful and wonderful and interesting from that very first moment, right there in the doorway, drenched from the rain, and that you’d swept him off his feet with your smile, well. 

You knew exactly what you were going to say, when he asked.

...

tag list (and some Marcus Pike enthusiasts I know): @harriedandharassed @jeewrites @katareyoudrilling @islacharlotte @maggiemayhemnj @fluffygoffpanda @secretelephanttattoo

[ilovebokutokoutaro]

Covet

Hyunjin x reader

Warnings: blood, angst, addiction, drinking, abusive, not proofread and angst

Overview: as hyunjin's addiction to alcohol grow so did the space between him and his girlfriend.

"y/nnnnn" he slurred barely able to keep his eyes open as he was dragged home by his friend....again. He drank..again after promising you with his life not to. But here you were standing with the door wide open as his friend dragged your half asleep boyfriend and put him on the couch with a loud oof.

"babbyyyy" he whined loud and you sighed, the dull ache that has settled in you heart ever since his addiction became worse increasing to the point your breathing naturally turned into silent gasps of air and loud puffs of exhale.

"thank you chan.." you smiled and he gave you a pained smile having encountered hyunjin crying a lot more times over your fights about his addiction than he had realised, the exhaustion was so visible in your eyes at this point that you couldn't even try to hide it anymore.

And as you watched chan driving his way out again...the 4th time this week you feared this was almost all you could endure, confirming it when hyunjin dropped his weight on you with a backhug.

"i love drinkingg~ it takes all the pain away y/nn" he confessed and you sucked in a sharp breathe tears bubbling up in your eyes for the nth time when you realised nothing you could ever do would ever be enough for him to try to leave his unhealthy obsession with drinking.

You looked up trying to stop the tears as if looking up would suck them right in and gasped softly with every breathe as he mumbled how he'd never stop drinking and how good he felt when he drank how NOTHING could compare to the relief he feels with his drinks, failing to suck the tears in as they fell right through your eyes.

"you need to sleep hyunjin" you muttered trying to keep the tremble in your voice to the bare minimum and hyunjin froze behind you. "No." He uttered sounding completely sober all of a sudden. "Please" you whimpered as his words pierced right through your chest.

"why are you like this?!" He asked rather aggressively as he pushed himself off of you, stumbling a few steps back and you shut your eyes trying to stop your brain from registering anything because you could feel the rage bubbling up rather soon.

"why....why am i like what?" You asked pretending to be as calm as you could. "Like this! Ruining everything for me....you- i- y/n you make my life so miserable i was so happy but you just had to mention i need to sleep so i could get those terrible nightmares so i won't be happy anymore. You want me to always be- upset don't you?!" He accused and you chuckled turning to face him.

"you don't realise what you're saying hyunj-" you started but he let put a loud yell, "NO! No i get it i get it you're- you want me to always be sad so I'll be with you- so I'll follow you around like a abused puppy SO YOU CAN KEEP ME ALL TO YOURSELF- YOU'RE SO SO SELFISH Y/N" he yelled and you couldn't stop the way your vision suddenly got blurry, how the wetness on your cheeks increased to the point you couldn't see even if you blinked all the tears away.

"how could you-" you sobbed "HOW AM I SELFISH WHEN ALL YOU DO IS DROWN IN ALCOHOL WHEN I GET TO SEE YOU ONLY AT NIGHT WHEN YOU'RE SO HIGH YOU CAN'T EVEN PRONOUNCE MY NAME PROPERLY OR WHEN- OR WHEN YOU'RE SO SOUND ASLEEP STINKING OF ALCOHOL ON THE COUCH EVERY OTHER DAY, WHEN ALL YOU DO IS TELL ME HOW I'LL...never be enough..how hyunjin how the actual fuck am i the selfish one!?" You sobbed and it agitated hyunjin more than it should've.

"that's what i said, you only want me to leave the only escape I've because you only want me to yourself!!" He cried and you felt your knees getting weaker but he didn't stop, he didn't stop as he uttered the cruelest words you've ever encountered, how he told you "i was not happy ever untill i found how to get myself high! And you want to take that away too...you YOU WANT TO TAKE THAT AWAY TOO!" he screamed, punching the glass of the small table that he gifted you for your 2nd anniversary, knowing how much you liked home decor.

And he continued shattering everything in his sight along with your heart. Pieces that won't join together with the sorry's you know he'll utter the next morning.

Your heart felt like it had been ripped out as the only thing you did for his 2 hour tantrum was sob into your hands, trying to fix yourself enough to at least walk out of the house.

And before you knew, your sobs were the only thing echoing in the house, the room scattered with broken pieces of everything you collected and he gifted to you, with him passed out near the couch with bloody hands.

And you couldn't help as you walked slowly to your room grabbing your phone to call your best friend. "Please come pick me up" your voice was hoarse and she didn't ask for anything else as she sucked in a sharp breathe and answered a small okay.

With the time you had as she came you grabbed a first aid box, patching up your lovers bloody hands as you kissed him a last goodbye with a small note before walking out of his life for good.

The light blinded hyunjin as a splitting headache that he was too used to made him feel too dizzy to sit up. And as he took in the fact that he was in fact drowing with the stench of alcohol again suddenly all the hangover rushed down panic settling in his heart as he remembered the way he had promised you not 2 days ago to quit it for good when you had sobbed out all the insecurities in his arms.

"Shit! Shit! Fucking hell!" He cussed as he tried to stand up, hands burning the moment he settled them down to push himself up, "ugh!" He groaned as he sat up, looking at his hands then the mess the room was in and a the haunting reality of yesterday slowly burned up in his mind, hazy but enough to make him realise he has fucked all of it up.

"Y/N!" He cried hoping he'd get an answer back but the silence was more haunting than he had realised. "No no please" he cried, the anxiety making him want to throw up, "no!" He cried as he read the small note you had left for him.

"I'll come back to get my stuff soon, if you're wondering why because you can't remember anything i hope your hands and the mess in the room explains it all. Thank you for everything hyunjin...."

And the way a few words were smudged he could tell you had cried and the sudden blurred vision had him realising he too was in fact crying, hard.

The reality of everything sinking in fast as he came to terms with everything he had ruined, said the worst things he could to you after promising to love you till the end of world. And here he was sobbing loud because he knew you wouldn't come back again...he did not deserve it either way. The only hope he held in his life walked right out because he made her believe she was the worst person he could have. It was all his fault and he realised he had a knack for drowning in damaging liquid, first alcohol, now tears.

------

Why am i so obsessed with break up ff nowadays😭😭 anyway hope you enjoy....the tears hahahahahaha.

[batneko]

Another look into the Knight and Lord AU! This time, let's see which other roles have been swapped...

Luigi had been… well, brooding was probably the correct term, wandering the grand hall and looking at portraits of kings past. He was examining a ruling queen and wondering if she'd fought for her position or simply been the only available head to put a crown on, when he heard the patter of running feet and the door burst open. From the corner of his eye he noticed Bowser straighten up and his hand go for his sword, but both of them relaxed when they saw the slim figure in yellow and orange barreling down the hall.

“Daisy!” Luigi exclaimed, a second before she grabbed him in a hug. "Oof! You're- Is it good news?"

Her face stiffened as she pulled away. "I missed you. Isn't that good enough?"

Luigi forced a smile. "It's good to see you too."

He tried not to be disappointed. If they'd found something he would have heard before she showed up in person. He knew that, and yet…

"So then why are you-"

Suddenly Daisy stepped past him and stretched her arm out, as if blocking him from view. "Prince Luigi, stay behind me."

"What?" Luigi said. He looked around her shoulder to see Bowser, still standing next to the marble pillar he'd chosen as his leaning place while Luigi brooded, though now with his arms crossed across his breastplate.

"How did you get in the castle?" Daisy demanded. "You're lucky I'm the one who came back, if Peach saw you-"

Bowser ignored her. He unfolded his arms (making Daisy put up her dukes) and pressed one fist against his chest, keeping his eyes fixed dead ahead.

"Sire, your permission to make a patrol?"

He was never that formal unless he was making a point.

"Yes, Sir Bowser," Luigi said. "You're excused."

Bowser bowed, lower than he needed to, and marched past them and out the door Daisy had left standing open.

It wasn't even shut before Daisy leaned over to Luigi and hissed, "Him?"

"Yes," Luigi said simply. "Daisy-"

"You knighted him? You remember who that is, don't you?"

Luigi couldn't stop from rolling his eyes. "Of course I do."

"Why would you knight him? Did he do something like- like saving your life?"

"Actually-"

"Because he probably set it up to get close to you!"

“I asked him,” Luigi said. “Personally.”

“You asked? And he said yes?” 

“It’s already been three months, if he was going to try something he’s had plenty of opportunities.”

“He might be getting everyone’s guard down!”

“He’s been nothing but loyal! He saved my life twice!”

“But why him?” Daisy demanded. “Why him, out of all people? After everything he’s-”

“You were gone!” Luigi exclaimed.

For a moment she stared at him, silent. He hadn’t meant for it to come out accusatory, but… it wasn’t exactly wrong.

Luigi swallowed down his feelings and tried to explain things calmly. “My brother disappeared, and the kingdom’s famous heroes are away looking for him,” Luigi said. “I can handle myself in a fight, but I don’t look it. People tend to think I’m a pushover. it’s better for the kingdom to avoid fights, so I needed someone who could stand next to me and look like too much trouble to be worth starting any.”

“So… you wanted a goon?” Daisy said. She, too, was making an effort to keep her voice calm and steady. “You could find plenty of people who fit that description. Why this one?”

“Not a goon,” Luigi said. “Well, not just a goon. I wanted a ‘loyal opposition.’ Someone with a different opinion about the way things should be done.”

“You knighted him to disagree with you?”

“Pretty much,” Luigi said. “As a leader, it’s always valuable to listen to the people that disagree with you. Usually they just want someone else - like themself - to be in charge, or to go back to what they think were better times, but sometimes they have valid points. Sometimes they’re closer to the common people, sometimes they’ve thought of things you haven’t…” Luigi smiled to himself. “Bowser… He cares about this kingdom. He never left, you know? And he could have. But he stayed here, even after being declared an enemy of the crown. He cares more than he hates.”

Daisy shook her head. “If you say so…”

“I do say so,” Luigi said. “And besides-”

He stopped.

“What?” Daisy asked.

“No, it’s nothing. Nevermind.”

“Tell me,” Daisy said, with a smile. “Come on.”

Luigi took a breath. “I kind of feel bad about this, but… After Mario disappeared, Bowser was the first one we looked at, remember?”

“I remember,” Daisy said. “He’d been seen around the city every day, he couldn’t have done it.”

“Yes, and… that got me thinking. Bowser was the most likely person to come for the throne now that only I was standing in the way. If I got him on my side, I’d eliminate the biggest threat and protect myself from the rest in the same move.”

Daisy’s eyes widened. “That is cold.”

Luigi hunched his shoulders. “I’m king now, I have to think practically.”

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” Daisy said. “And if you’re right and he’s loyal, your plan worked perfectly.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better about it,” Luigi said.

Daisy clapped him on the shoulder, hard enough that it stung. “You’re sure though? I mean, really? You’re certain he’s loyal?”

“Yes, Daisy.” Luigi rolled his eyes. “I told you, he saved my life. Even if it’s only because it would lose him this cushy position, that’s still loyalty.”

“Saving your life is literally the least a knight could do.”

“He does more than that,” Luigi said. He felt himself smiling again. “He’s even started trying to save me from myself, lately. I’ve been working too hard. There’s a lot to do, but… mostly it’s just easier to work than think. The other night, Bowser practically dragged me to bed.”

Daisy’s eyes widened.

“That came out wrong.”

Daisy squeezed his shoulder. “Prince- I mean, King Luigi. Tell me you’re not in love with him.”

Luigi opened his mouth to deny it, but he must have been more tired of this conversation - and the dozen other conversations he’d had like it - than he thought, because what came out was, “Would it matter if I was?”

“Luigi!” Daisy exclaimed.

“I’m serious. Would it make a difference if I was- was giving him unprecedented access to the royal person every night?”

“Luigi!” Daisy said again, but this time there was laughter in it.

“Because you don’t seem to trust my judgment either way.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you…” Daisy said. "I guess… I just can't see myself making the same choice?"

“It was still mine to make.”

“You’re right,” Daisy said. “You’re right.”

They were both silent for a moment.

“So… why did you come back?” Luigi asked. “Not that I’m not happy to see you!” he added quickly. “But you’ve both been sending letters up until now. What changed?”

“It is technically good news,” Daisy said. “We were at a dead end for… longer than I wanted you to know, but we finally picked up the trail again! Peach is trying to gain the trust of some people who might know more, and that’s a lot easier for one person to do than two, so I thought I’d get out of her hair.”

“That is good,” Luigi said. “Then you’re staying for a while?”

“At least a few days. I should check on the house, stock up on supplies, but none of that will take long.”

“Great,” Luigi said, taking her arm. “I want you to tell me everything.”

“Are you sure?” Daisy asked. “A lot of it’s… frustrating.”

“Everything,” Luigi repeated, firmly.

And outside in the hallway, standing next to the door which had never fully closed, Bowser had clenched his fists so hard he was trembling.

Would it matter if I was?

Would it matter if I was?

Would it matter

[familyvideostevie]

hi can I request a steve x fem reader where Steve just noticed every single detail about reader (how she skips a commercial that has sad dogs in shelters because she genuinely suffers if she sees a sad or homeless dog, how she always picks her nails when she’s anxious, stuff like that) and it’s just so special to her because literally no one else had noticed those little things.

this is so cute i made myself sad writing this bc i want steve. hope you like it! | 0.9k, fem!reader, fluff fluff fluff

Steve isn't the fastest to the answer or the one to put the pieces together, and he knows that. But he's gotten really good at watching and paying attention. He knows that Dustin hates tomatoes and Robin never double knots her shoelaces until he reminds her. He knows that Max likes when Lucas hooks his fingers through her belt loops but doesn't make a big deal about it. He knows that Mike always calls El when it rains. Hell, he even knows which brand of juice box Erica prefers and keeps them in his fridge.

So, it's only par for the course that Steve spends a lot of time watching and learning you. He did that before you were together, but now it's different because you're his. And he's yours. And he really doesn't think it's a big deal, that it's something worth talking about until you come over one day looking sadder than he's ever seen you.

"Hey pretty girl," he says. You don't even hesitate before going in for a hug. "Oof. You okay?"

"Hi Steve," you mumble into his shirt. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." He rubs his hands over your spine. "Tell me what's up?"

"Am I boring?" Steve's brain skids to a halt. What?

"What?" He pulls back from you, hands on your shoulders. He realizes that you don't look sad, actually. You look like you're thinking hard about something, brows scrunched and nose wrinkled. You let go of him and fill up a glass of water at the sink.

"You can be honest," you say. Your hand is clenched on the counter top. "I can take it."

"I...think I'm missing something here." Steve doesn't know where you've gotten this idea and he wants to figure it out so he can hunt them down and...wag his finger in their face, or something. "Who said that? Did someone tell you that?"

"Doesn't matter who said it, Steve," you sigh. "Is it true?" Steve moves behind you and puts a hand on your lower back, fingers splayed so his pinky sneaks under the hem of your shirt to touch your bare skin. Your whole body relaxes, just a little bit, but that's all he needs.

"C'mon," he urges. "Fill me in. You know I'm slow." That gets your attention, your head whipping over to glare at him.

"Steve. You're not slow."

"And you're not boring." You roll your eyes at him and turn so his hand rests on your stomach as you lean against the sink.

"The new girl at the store was talking about all the stuff she does for fun. She's on a roller derby team, she volunteers at the library, she lived in France for a year. And I thought about what I do and what I like and I...couldn't think of anything."

"So you decided you're boring because you haven't been to France?" Steve honestly doesn't see what's happening. "Still confused over here." You groan and move away from him and he can't bring himself to be embarrassed about the sound he makes now that he's not touching you.

"There's nothing special about me!" you cry, all of a sudden incensed. You pace, hands in your hair in agitation. "I'm just...some girl. I work at a bookstore and I don't have interesting hobbies and I'm boring." Well, that won't do. Steve lets you pace, but he's not about to let you say those things about yourself.

"When you wake up you always stretch like a cat and then crack your neck," he says. You stop in your tracks and look at him like he's speaking gibberish. "You pick at your cuticles when you're anxious and you drum your fingers in a little pattern when you have a song stuck in your head."

"Steve--" He holds his hand out and starts to count on his fingers.

"You dog-ear the pages of your books but won't annotate them because it's 'vandalism,' you tug on your seatbelt just once after buckling it, and you always squat down whenever you talk to a kid."

"Are these interesting? Steve, come on --" He plows on, moving closer to you with each thing he says.

"You always know when Robin gets too nervous and you hold her hand to give her courage. You make Max new mixtapes every month. You write Will letters." He cups your face and plants a kiss for each thing he says, forehead, cheek, cheek, nose. "You eat popcorn at the movies one kernel at a time. You always smile when you see a butterfly. You hate wearing socks to bed unless they're mine. You wrinkle your nose after you sneeze like it's your first time sneezing."

"Those are just silly things, Steve," you whisper, eyes downcast.

"No, they're you," he says, tapping your chin so you'll look at him. "Nothing about you is silly."

"I can't believe you noticed all that." You lean in to kiss him just once, a sweet, quick thank you. "No one ever has before."

"Of course I did. You're interesting. Like a science experiment or something, I swear." You laugh and he relishes the sound. "Seriously. That's what makes people interesting. All the small stuff."

"I don't know --"

"I do. Everyday I learn something new about you. And I get to do that forever. What's more interesting than that?" You close your eyes and he kisses the soft skin of your lids.

"God, Steve. How do you come up with this stuff?" He smirks, pleased.

"I practice in front of the mirror." You groan at his joke, surging forward to kiss him for real this time.

tags: @cheerupbarry @srrybutno @97soroka @sunlitide @gloryofroses19 @carpediem1219 @themarvelousbee @sunshinehollandd @katsukis1wife @imherefortea @spideyboipete

want to be added to my tag list? send me a message and specify for steve, eddie, or both! reblog, send feedback, requests open, masterlist here!

[moonlight-prose]

My thought is simply a pussy drunk Bruce Wayne 🥰 I think it would be good for him (imagine him still with the makeup on too, oof)

◇◆ ── DREAM GIRL EVIL

a/n: okay but i literally couldn't stop myself from not writing this as a drabble. and you had to send THAT gif which just made the whore in me jump out. this is purely filth with a sprinkling, barely a dash, of feelings and i've set it in the blood along the mood universe. it's not edited in the slightest.

word count: 1k+

pairing: bruce wayne x fem!reader

warnings: explicit so MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, cussing, angst cause it's emo bruce, oral (f receiving), masturbation, hair pulling, biting, cum eating.

Words would have been good at a time like this. Fuck, they would have better before now, but they were stuck in the back of your throat—trapped as he continued to take you apart piece by piece. You were as much of a puzzle to him as he was to you and this was his time to finally solve you. You were almost embarrassed how quickly he managed to render you incapacitated—the sounds coming from you garbled the longer he kept going.

But there was no room for that small inkling of shame to last. Now when he was practically sucking it out of you.

“Bruce,” you whimpered pathetically, eyes rolling back when he gripped your thighs that hung loosely over his shoulders.

You were a journalist for fucks sake. Words were your life, your career, and somehow they were gone from your repertoire of skills as you were reduced to nothing but a whimpering mess of limbs. His fingers dug into your skin, blunt nails cutting into you, but that spark of pain only added to the sensations. They piled on top of one another, shoving the air out of your lungs as he just kept going.

Heat burned through your veins—the sound of him lapping up your slick audible in your already small bedroom. He was enjoying this. That’s what shoved right to the edge of another orgasm that would no doubt rip the remaining energy from your body. He sucked your clit into his mouth, scraping his teeth against it and watched your back bow off the bed. A cry of his name bouncing off the walls. You weren’t sure how much longer you would last, how much you could take, but if there’s one thing you knew about Bruce Wayne…he was determined.

“I—fuck—I’m going to come,” you stuttered, hands shoving into his already mussed hair.

“Good,” he mumbled. His voice sounded strange…off.

You made the mistake of looking down and found him staring at you, a glazed look in his eyes as he continued his ministrations. The black paint around his striking blue eyes only helped to enhance them even more and for a moment you forgot he was eating you out like you were his last meal. For a moment you were simply staring at the man you loved. Except then you saw it. The subtle move of his arm shifting and you focused entirely on what he was doing—your heart freezing in your chest when the realization dawned on you.

He was fucking his fist as he went down on you.

The sounds of his wet hand wrapped around his cock suddenly became louder the moment you figured it out. Gasping, you felt your walls clench down, suddenly reminded of how empty you were, but his tongue running over your slit—gathering up your slick—left you breathless. You yanked on his hair, falling back onto the bed while your hips rolled forwards until you were practically fucking his face. Only he didn’t mind at all. In fact, he acted like he wouldn’t be able to live until you came into his mouth again.

Groaning, his eyes fluttered shut as he shoved his tongue inside of you, hand working himself over even faster—the need to come building up in both your bodies. He was lost in you; desperate for everything you could give him and more. When it came to Bruce there was always more. After years of depriving himself of touch, turning away from the sensitivity of loving someone, you found that he wouldn’t stop until you said you were done.

“Oh fuck,” you panted, pulling at his hair even harder. “I’m going to—”

He cut you off.

Wrapping his lips around your clit he sucked it into his mouth like candy, eyes focused on you as your legs clamped around his head nearly suffocating him. The building pleasure snapped and you sobbed out something you figured was his name. It was too much. Your nerves were set on fire, vision going white, but he continued to lick at you. Until the bottom half of his face was shiny and slick with your cum. His eyes shut, a broken moan tearing from him, his tongue running from your entrance all to the way to your clit to keep your orgasm going.

It wasn’t until you yanked his head away did he stop.

His hand pumped himself faster, his teeth digging into his bottom lip and you dragged him up your naked body, locking his lips with yours. The taste of you was spread on your tongue as you licked into his mouth. It had a shiver running down your spine the more you kissed him, sucking his tongue into your mouth and biting sharply on his lip.

“Are you going to come for me?” you cooed, eyes fluttering open to see his cock red and leaking over his fist that looked to be covered in…you.

He spread your slick over his cock before touching himself. You felt your swollen clit throb the longer you watched him try to bring himself to completion. Reaching down you cupped his balls, watching his eyes roll back and the vein on his throat stand prominent against his pale skin. He didn’t even take off the suit before he was dragging you to the edge of the bed—his cock pulled out haphazardly.

“Do you want to come?”

He nodded, whining out your name. “Please—”

Squeezing him, his hips bucked into you, the wet sounds of him fucking his fist faster now echoing around you. “Come for me Bruce,” you breathed, sucking his lip into your mouth. “Come on me.”

A broken shout hit your ears as you watched his balls draw up, body tensing, and he finally let go. The warmth of his release hit the soft skin of your belly and you took control when he let go to grip tightly at your hip—pumping his cock rapidly as he spilled over your fist. You’d always say the hottest thing you had the chance to witness in your life was watching Bruce come and this only solidified that statement in your head. He looked ethereal—the broken parts of his walls now falling around him with every stroke of your palm.

“There we go,” you whispered, smiling sweetly at him when his eyes finally opened. “You’re so pretty Wayne.”

His cheeks turned red, eyes shutting when his cock twitched in your palm. “Menace,” he grunted, thrusting his hips one last time.

Laughing, you brought your hand up to your mouth, licking it clean and humming at the taste of him. He watched in disbelief.

“You taste delicious.” Bruce didn’t know how to take compliments. Which only made you layer them on even more, enjoying the sight of his brain short circuiting whenever you got the chance.

Rather than let you continue, he shoved his lips on yours, licking deeply into your mouth and groaning at the taste of both of you combined. Neither of you would get used to it. The dizzying high of being together. But you couldn’t complain. Not when he looked at you like he would happily suffocate between your legs, getting drunk on the taste of you.

[teenandbeyond]

Katsuki Bakugo x S/O Reader

I'm an anime watcher who found out about the spoiler, if you know, you know.

Want more from me? Check out my second Masterlist!

☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆

💥Brings back Memories💥 (BNHA)

Warning(s): Cursing, short, angst at the end

You reminisce some memories with Bakugo.

✨✨✨✨✨

We'll be together forever.

A smile stretched onto your face, "Hey, Katsuki. Remember when we first met?"

✨✨✨

"Hey, you're that boy that was with the sludge villain, right?"

"Yeah, what about it? Got a problem?"

You gave him an assuring smile"No, it's not that, I just...that must have been really scary, huh?"

"Ain't no sludge villain gonna scare me."

"Well, that's good then. You must be pretty strong."

He scoffed, "Damn, right I am. You extra."

✨✨✨

You couldn't help but laugh, "It took you a while to warm up to me."

Biting your lip, you play with the hem of your clothes, "But I had started crushing pretty early. When you got kidnapped by the league...I was so terrified."

✨✨

"Bakugo!"

"Wha--? Oof!"

You cried into his shoulder, "I was so worried. I was waiting, waiting for them to get you out of there!"

His arms were raised at your sides, not knowing what to do.

"You...were really that worried?"

"Of course I was, I care about you idiot!"

"Oh..."

And not too long after that, you shared a kiss on the couch of the common room.

As time went by, you crumbled each other's walls, slowly but surely falling harder, but never making it official by speaking it in the air and making it a reality.

✨✨

"Also, sorry I never told you...but I heard you that day. When you thought I was already napping. When you told me you loved me."

✨

"Where's [Name]?"

"Huh? Oh, [Name] totally took a nap on the couch, dude," Kaminari answered as he passed the gruff blonde to leave off to his room.

Before you could groggily sit up, tell him you weren't asleep yet, he sighed.

His footsteps stopped in front of you, your back facing him.

"You're an idiot."

You frowned into the couch, that was uncalled for.

"...An idiot I can't get outta my head no matter how much I try. I thought feeling like this would get in the way of my goal...but you would just give me more motivation. You...make me want to be the best for you now, not just myself."

As he expects he gets no response...not that he knows it's because you were shocked to silence.

He groaned and you could hear an impact, like he face palmed, "Now, I'm the fucking idiot talking to a sleeping person. I might as well say I love [Name], too, while I'm at it, spilling my guts."

He...loved you? Even more, he said it into existence first?

You felt him get closer, his breath hitting your temple as if he was hesitaing to do something.

What was he--?

You felt him kiss your temple and mutter into your skin these three beautiful words, "I love you."

You never told him you heard him that day...you were too afraid, but of what?

✨

"I should've told you I loved you then, so you would've known," your lips tremble, "I should have told you I love you more than I've ever loved anyone."

The trembling spreads to your shoulders as tears fall from your eyes.

"I love you, Katsuki Bakugo. I love you so much, but I think you knew...I hope you knew..."

You didn't care that blood stained his lips, you kissed them anyway, "I love you so much..."

"[Name]...you have to let him go..."

You broke down, crying out, your pain so loud it even made your allies cry, their own sadness doubling from yours.

I was wrong...

[itsohh]

Talk

A/N: Female reader, I was up to like 6am last night doing an essay for uni so I’m a dat bit behind on the project I’m working on. That being said if you have sent in requests I have received them (●'◡'●)👍

Day 3: Knife play

Word count: 1533

Warnings: NSFT, Smut, knife usage

AO3

It was the split-second movement in the corner of your eye which had you on guard. Just in time for Taina's pistol to be aimed at you. Your wrist smacked against her and with a kick you sent her back. Taina let out a grunt before she came at you with lightning speed. With a knife in her hand, she swiped at you, narrowly missing you each time but preventing you from raising your rifle. No one was better than her at hand to hand. Yet that fact didn't stop you from trying. Her knife nipped the side of your cheek and you saw the slightest hesitation in her eyes, one that you used to your advantage and kicked her in the chest. She fell back but recovered, her brows narrowed when you wiped away the small trail of blood with your thumb. It wasn't deep enough to get stitches. Tania dove for cover as you fired your rifle at her but your advantage was short-lived when her grenade flew over the top of the metal table and dazed you on the ground. A groan left your mouth as she dove for you, her pistol holstered and knife at your throat.

"Where are they?" She hissed and you couldn't help the lopsided grin that appeared on your face. Taina had pinned you down, her knees on both sides of you in mount while her hand gript the collar of your shirt.

"God your so hot like this." You mumbled out and the knife pressed harder against your throat but still not enough to break the skin.

"Tell me, where they are."

"Honey I'll tell you anything you want if you do this to me later." A burst of energy shot through your body as adrenaline surged throughout you. It was what you needed to snap you out of your wounded, dazed state In the split second before she realised what had happened your fingers found your pistol and fired it twice into her stomach. "Sorry about that." You mumbled as you pushed her off of you. Her now eliminated from the match. "Finka?" Your hand went to your ear for coms.

"Speaking."

"God you're a lifesaver but she's gonna be so pissed later on." You laughed as you gathered yourself.

"Good luck." You heard a voice laugh. Tori no doubt.

"We have already lost Amaru, focus." Eliza cut through the coms. With a quick dusting off you stood back on your feet and continued onward.

When you eventually found Taina, she was in the training room. Her gear had been stripped away to her basics while her makeup had been poorly washed away. She glanced over to you before she hit the dummy. Hard. "Hey honey, no hard feelings?" She hit it twice again before she picked up her towel and started to clean up. Taina ignored you the entire time before she stormed out of the room. You followed her at a leisurely pace. She wouldn't talk now, not while in such a public place, not while she was in full control of her emotions. Taina was the one to fight with a teammate in public but not one when it came to relationship matters.

The door wasn't held open for you but she didn't lock it which was her silent invitation to let you in. "Taina-" The door was slapped closed the second you were in her door. She grabbed you by the collar and shoved you onto her bed. An oof left your lips and she pounced on your, knife once again against your throat. You dared to swallow as her eyes bore into yours.

"Did you mean what you said?" Thick tension filled the air as she waited for your answer.

"Only if you tell me why you're so angry." She huffed and leaned back, the knife dropping from her throat.

"I hesitated. I'm angry at myself." She looked away from you and then grabbed your shirt again. "And then you! Say shit like that while I try to interrogate you."

"What can I say, I'm weak to beautiful women with knives at my throat. Can you blame a girl?"  She narrowed her eyes at you.

"I can not afford to be weak nor distracted on the battlefield."

"Well, then why don't you take out your frustrations here?" You reached up to your wrist and slowly pulled it towards you. When the blade came close to your face your tongue trailed over the flat side of it. She tore her hand back before her knife slid down your chest, slowly sliding through the thin material. With the flick of her thumb, she detached the clasp in the middle of your bra. The knife trailed down between your breast, a light scrape with it.  Her hair curtained her face as she leaned down against you. "My hand could slip at any moment." She whispered against your ear. Was she trying to scare you?

"It won't."

"How can you be so sure?" Her free hand found your breast and pinched the nipple. The knife trailed from your ear down your jawline and she pressed a single kiss just below your ear.

"The woman whose job it is to perfect the blade messing up? How embarrassing." You tease and you could feel her tense up. He retreated back up and looked down at your half-bare form. The blade flicked around in false annoyance. In a swift movement, the blade slid down centimetres from your face and cut into her pillow. You looked up at her without a flinch. "You really know how to get a girl going Caveira." Her hand gript your hair as she shoved her face against yours. She bit down on the bottom of your lip and dragged back before she let go and pushed her lips against yours. Her tongue slipped in between your lips.

Taina rolled her hips against yours and parted from your lips only to remove her own shirt. "Oh, so you get to keep your shirt?"

"Stop talking." You would have responded but his lips prevented you from doing so. Just as hard as she pressed against you she ripped herself off leaving your lips slightly swollen. Taina unmounted you and tore the knife from beside your head. "Remove them or lose them." She gestured to your parents and you scrambled to remove them. She waited, tapping the blade against her cheek until you were completely bare. From your ankle up to your thigh. Her eyes flickered to yours and she lowly moved it to your core. Taina's eyes focused on the blade between your two wet lips. Your breath hitched as the point bushed them apart. She smiled at the sound and your frozen form.

She retreated the knife before she flipped it around and pressed the knife handle into you. With her hand careful of the sharp blade she gripped right where the blade met the handle. Laying down on the bed she hummed and slowly moved the handle on and out of you, watching as you squirmed in front of you. "Taina please." You whimper out, for exactly what, you weren't sure.

"Hmm, perhaps this is what I'll have to do to you next time I'm forced to interrogate you." The groves of her knife could be felt inside of you and a smirk settled onto her face. Her name left your lips and she continued to fuck you with the blade. Desperate for more, your ground down against the hilt but her free hand grabbed onto your pelvis to keep you still. The hand was pulled from inside you and she licked the handle, amused at your impatience state. Still slightly wet she hummed and drew the blade over your skin only to place the cold side of it against your breast. A hiss left your mouth from the contact.

She hummed before he placed her knife to the side. Back in front of you, she entered two fingers for only a moment before she licked them. Taina's warm breath could be felt before her mouth met your cunt, lapping at your juices. She focused on your entrance, cleaning you before she pressed a kiss against your clit. The calm before the storm. Suddenly, she gript both hands into your thigh and dived on. She licked your clit without mercy, without stop. Curses left your mouth as you rocked against her. Her grip tighten and pinned your thighs to the bed.

You changed out her name as swirled her tongue against your clit, alternating between flicks of her tongue and placing the entire base of it against you. Her eyes flicked up to you as your legs tensed and your back arched off the bed. Relaxing bliss spread throughout your core and your body fell limp against the bed and she finally let you go. Your eyes blinked a few times to see Taina at the end of the bed, examining you as she decided what she wanted to do next. "I hope you didn't have plans for tonight. If you do, well I suppose you have plenty of time to think about the consequences of running your damn mouth."

[khaleesiofalicante]

I really don't know what to say that I haven't said before, but it's worth repeating once more: This story is so wonderful and deep and so lovely and I don't think any words can really cover to how much I adore it, how much it has meant to me these past few months, and how bittersweet the fact that it's done feels🥺. The epilogue really did justice to the whole story, and I couldn't have thought of a better way of saying goodbye to it.

Max said here that to write someone's story you had to be careful, responsible but most of all gentle. And I think it's something you have shown through and through, the way you respect and love this characters and their journey just makes you love them even more.

I could go on a rant about the whole thing but I will refrain from doing so because it will probably be 10 pages long (trust me, I have ranted to 3 people and myself for hours, I have a lot of thoughts about it😭)

I can't even point out my favorite bits about this, because I loved every single thing!! The good and the bad days, the way they never gave up on each other, all the little steps and the love they radiated! Max writing emails!! If that doesn't shows us how much he loves David, idk what does... Lance and Arthur's own journey and how much they have grown up😭 I saw them being months old I am getting emotional don't @ me!! Chopin!! Rip to Lance but I love him with my whole heart💙. THE MF KISS ON THE WRIST🥺 I will forever be wondering about the white cover, but yes let that man keep some things to himself!! Also, Jackson>>>>

I maay have teared up s little bit on some parts and I think that's valid of me!

Just... Their love. Their whole life. A life with so much joy and so much pain and grief too, but a life they created together and are slowly but surely getting back. The way they never give up because the other one existing is reason enough to try with everything in them🥺. Thank you for sharing this story. It has become one of my favorites to go back to, and I pity the person that asks anything about a good book I've read recently because they are not going to hear the end of it...

I have no words to add, I just want you to know you are such an awesome and talented writer and you never stop amazing me with the beauty you create with words. Never forget you are amazing, please 💙

I'm just gonna add some of my favorites lines because damn they are going to live rent free on my mind for a few weeks at least:

I will do anything, however long it takes us, if I get to wake up to your smile again.

Half a life with you is worth more to me than forever with anyone else.

///

"But all the days I have left, all of it, it's yours."

///

Remember the bad times. Remember the tough shit. Remember you made it through. Remember you can do it again.

///

"You look really pretty when you smile."

///

"Because this life, however broken, is perfect because we built it together." (This lone will haunt me forever btw)

///

He wanted a love that lasted forever.

He wanted Max Lightwood-Bane.

///

All the time

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.💙

I have no words for all the love and support you show me. Also, not me trying to hack into your notes app so i can have a look at all the quotes because I'm always too tired to read the fics again (i wish i could read as much as i wrote, fam, oof i really do).

Anyway, I'm cleaning my IALS notes, and found this tiny lil thing that didn't make it to the fic so you can keep it.

"Nothing above the neck," David told him seriously as Max kissed his chest.

"Why not?" Max frowned as he pulled back from the other man, momentarily pausing his attempts to give his husband a hickey. "Your neck is pretty and long and there is a lot of space for me to cover."

"My students saw the last one you left on my neck and made fun of me," David mumbled.

"What are their names?" Max asked.

"Max," David chuckled.

"Seriously," Max said. "What are their names?"

"You can give me hickeys," David said with a soft smile. "Just nothing over the neck, please."

"Can't believe my sex life is being dictated by a bunch of middle schoolers," Max grumbled. "I'm gonna have a talk with the Dean."

"About hickeys?" David giggled.

"Don't underestimate me, sweetheart, I can talk about anything if I find the motivation."

[creepsmcstuffins]

Liu(+sully) and jeff finally deciding to talk to each other?(reunion!)

Jeff and Liu(+Sully) Sitdown

(Oof let's see if I still got it.)

A little context first, as to why they even met up

This is not an easy feat. The little meet up was actually planned by Slender, due to the eldrich creature being worried about Jeffrey's mental (and he read somewhere that humans needed blood ties to feel a bit better about living). dont quote me on that. And Slender had met Liu and Sully on a few occasions prior. Liu revealed that he was Jeff's older blood brother. He also admitted that he missed his younger sibling and the toll was racking on his mental health as well.

But Jeff was initially told to go and assault a possible proxy. But upon getting to said location, it was just Liu (and Sully) sitting and waiting for him.

"What the fuck?!"

"Jeff calm-"

There wasn't much talking done in the moment

Jeff bum rushed his brother

Sending the two rolling into the abandoned building

Knocking Liu out

But waking Sully up in the process

Who started to fight back

For a good 15 minutes it was an exchange of blows, blood being drawn and loud cursing

"He just wants to talk!" Sully for once was trying to be the voice of reason, despite the prior situations

"Fuck talking! I don't care! Your supposed to be DEAD!!"

Jeff wouldn't have any talking

It was too much emotional street on him... Even just seeing his brothers patchwork face... Almost brought tears to his eyes

But anger always boiled in his body before that could happen

"STOP! FUCK-"

A fist collided with Sully's face, waking Liu back up

"Jeff-j-just listen!"

Pausing, due to needing a breath and seeing the switch between the alter that shared his brother's body

"T... shit. Talk or I start swinging... Again..."

Liu sat up, rubbing his cheek,

"Look. Obviously Sully has been able to take over more and more"

He waved his stiched hand in the air, a string of murders had been on the TV and none of the Creeps in the Mansion knew who was responsible

Jeff let out a growl

"But whenever I come back, I... I find that I'm losing myself more and more. Thoughts of you make me..."

Jeff relaxed, only a smidge...

"I get it..."

Jeff himself had been seeing Doc Smiley, he wanted the man to help him figure out what was wrong...

The pair stared at one another for a while

"Slender thinks we could-"

Jeff looked away and waved a hand, "I know what he thinks... And the Doc agrees... And a few of the others think the same... it explains why you're here..."

Jeff had pondered what the others thought months before this

Liu had talked things over with Sully

Jeff sat, defeated, crossing his legs

"Now what?"

Liu shrugged, but felt Sully wake up a bit

"Tell him. Talk damn you, that's why we're here."

Liu frowned, "Well we talk. I'll start..."

Better to start with the root of the issues

"Why?"

A glare was sent towards him, "Why what?"

Liu rolled his eyes,

"Why did you kill us."

Jeff twitched as he eyed his brother

"You were all dead weight."

He laughed at that, then continued,

"I didn't need a family that couldn't understand my flawless beauty."

Liu could see that Jeff wasn't taking this seriously, and Sully was losing his patience

"Fuck this! Jus-"

Liu shook his head, "Jeff..."

Jeff paused his laughing, and turned an eye to his brother, the tone coming from Liu was different

It was sympathetic, pleading

"I need you to talk to me, seriously. If-"

Jeff stood up and stretched, "Fine. But not here. My ass hurts..."

He waved Liu behind him

After a bit of a walk, they finally came to tree, one that had a large hole on it

"An empty tree? Why a hollow-?"

Jeff raised a hand, and the hollow started to glow

Grabbing Liu by his wrist, Jeff dragged his brother behind him

"Its just a portal to the house, specifically my room, so we don't get bothered"

True to his word, Liu and his brother appeared in Jeff's room

"Now... i..."

Liu sat in an empty computer chair, and looked around Jeff's room

He didn't look at his brother, giving the younger Woods sibling to gather his thoughts...

"This is hard... But I killed you... And our parents..."

There really was no reason other than, "I felt like it." But Jeff couldn't say that... Not without-

"Jeffrey. It's fine. You were hurting, in more than one way... When they took me-"

"IT WAS MY FAULT! I DIDNT NEED YOU TO PROTECT ME!"

Liu stared at his brother, the others eyes glowing an unnatural neon blue hue in the darkness

"Its my job as your older brother-"

That only made Jeff snarl at him,

"Some fucking older brother. You think that made me feel good? You left me alone."

Liu looked over his brother

Jeff was shaking.

Frustration, anger, and probably the worst of all, sorrow

"Jeff... I didn't know that-"

"Of course you didn't know"

Jeff spat at his brother, if he couldn't beat Liu, he was going to be as difficult as he could

"You didn't know the shit I had to deal with when you where gone, didn't know that the assholes got worse, that dad-"

Jeff cut himself off

Was it raining?

Water was on his face, did BEN do this?

His vision blurred, and he put a hand to his cheeks...

"Sh-shit..."

He was crying... Again...

Liu stood up

"Careful."

Ever cautions Sully

Taking a hesitant seat next to his brother, and taking note of how much bigger Jeff was compared to him Liu, set a hand on Jeff's shaking shoulder

"Jeff."

There wasn't anymore need for talking

Jeff shifted away, then relaxed completely, leaning his onto his brother

Liu let him, rubbing gentle circles in his younger brother's back

After a few minutes of this, Jeff pulled away, the tears he cried were different

These one brought relief, not a crippling migraine that kept him bed ridden for days at a time...

"I hate this..."

Jeff sniffed at his brother, wiping his nose (or just the holes) with his sleeve

Liu looked at the floor...

"Still living like a slob, I see."

Jeff huffed, nudging his brother

"So? No one except BEN comes in here... Oh. And Nina... sometimes."

Liu huffed,

"Seems like you got a new family, I'm glad for you..."

Jeff laid back on his bed, crossing his arms behind his head, his Cheshire grin stretching across his face

"Yeah their pretty great... Well save for a few of em."

Jeff gave his brother a look

"Slender wants you to move here."

Jeff sat up and looked at his brother

Liu, while strong ass hell, with whatever power brought him back, was malnourished

Poking Liu's side, Jeff could feel the others ribs.

Liu slapped his brothers hand away,

"I know... but..."

Liu had always wondered what would have happened if Jeff and he had lived around one another again...

Sure nothing would be the same, but could they even get along long enough to-

"Oh my God. You think too much. Just say yes."

Liu looked at his brother...

"What if-"

"Stop with the "what ifs", and think of the "nows". What if this, what if that. You never know what the hells gonna happen, but if you always question it, you'll never damn know!"

Jeff threw his arms up in the air

Making Liu laugh

"You've got a point. When'd you get so-"

"I know. I'm a philosophy genius."

Jeff made a grumpy face,

"That old ass tree wears off on ya when your around him as much as I have to be..."

The younger Woods was grumpy about Slender being right all the time about these things...

But he had to hand it to the Eldrich being...

He was a good teacher... and "dad"

"So you'll stay?"

Liu nodded

And Jeff perked up

"Welp, let's tell Slender. And he'll get you a room. Now you can leave that empty dump!"

"Its not dump... And I have to get my dog..."

Liu knew it was a dump, but it was his dumpy apartment...

"You have a dog?"

"A rescue... well... it be longed to a victim, but to my and Sully's defense, the dog was being abused. So we killed the owner."

Hopefully that was good enough! (I let some of my A.U. lore out in this one. I'll go into it more here. I'm just tryin to make stuff a bit more concrete before doing so)

But enjoy!

[vro0m]

vro0m’s rewatch - 144/310

2014 Japanese GP

Warning : this is the race during which Jules Bianchi's ultimately fatal accident occurred.

Here are some important points before you proceed :

I put a clear warning in the review to indicate when the accident happens, so if you want to read what happened in the race before that and then stop, you can.

There are obviously no gifs of the accident, of the crash site, of the ambulance, or anything like that.

There are written descriptions of what happened in the broadcast as in all my race reviews (i.e. the events, the comments, etc.) but there is no description of the crash itself, which btw was thankfully not shown in the broadcast, or anything graphic.

At the end of this review, after another clear warning, I explained what happened during the crash (still no graphic description but a medical explanation of the injury Jules sustained), the events that occurred after it until his death, and the consequences it had on the sport

Read at your own discretion.

It's raining (as we know). 

Seb has announced that he will leave Redbull. Horner has kinda said he will go to Ferrari but it's not actually been announced yet. Eddie Jordan isn't sure it's a good move because he says that Ferrari is in turmoil with changing personnel and no clear leader (I can't believe nothing has changed in 8 fucking years, that says a lot about how bad the situation is). Seb says it's tough to go but he wants to do something new and it felt like the right time. He says he's not running away because things are difficult. 

Quali report. Lewis crashed in practice but the car was repaired in time for quali. Seb couldn't do better than 9th. Daniel outqualified him again but he's only 6th. Massa struggled all weekend but ended in 4th while Valtteri is 3rd. Lewis gave his all but it's Nico on pole this time. 

There's a whole segment about how the weather is gonna affect the race, it's really eerie. 

In an interview Nico says about Lewis that their relationship is neutral at the moment but he has no doubt there are other hard times ahead given their current battle for the title. 

Perez goes off while heading to the grid. The conditions are really really bad. There's no apparent damage to the car though. 

It's gonna be a safety car start. It's really raining very very hard. I honestly can't wait for this review to be over, ngl. I'm very apprehensive. I'm gonna check on what lap the accident happened to brace myself. 

And they're racing going. 

Remember : no formation lap when they start under safety car. Bono tells Lewis it's much wetter than when he got to the grid as it rained even more heavily while they were on the grid waiting for the start. He's told to be careful. He answers that the safety car needs to go faster. The drivers are complaining that their brakes are cold. It's lap 2 under the safety car and there's already one spin, from Ericsson. He's pushed back by the marshals and then spins back around and goes again. Lewis asks Bono to make sure Nico doesn't do any dramatic stop because he can't see him. They're literally metres from one another, that's how bad the visibility is. And yep. Red flag. 

Weirdly the SC brings them into the pits rather than back to the grid. They line up behind it in the pit lane. All the little tents are put up. 

10mn warning. 

And here they go again, under safety car. 

And Alonso DNFs. Stopped on the track. Out of the car. Oof the crane comes out. I know it's not now but fuck.

On the replay we see his car simply stopped. 

Both Lewis and Daniel report the track is drying up well and suggest they should be able to race soon. A couple of laps later, Lewis : "Charlie, the track is fine. We've already done two more laps already. The track is good." Then a little while later he adds it's almost good enough for inters now. Jenson agrees it's pretty much inters now. And the safety car is gonna come in at the end of lap 9. No need to update you on the order as nothing as changed, obviously. 

Lap 10. They're racing now. And here you go. First Jenson and Maldonado pit. And then a couple of laps later it's Bottas, Daniel, Magnussen, Raikkonen, Kvyat, Perez, it's chaos. Then Massa and Seb a lap later. Oof it was close in the exit lane… oh. It's weirdly Jules Bianchi P3 then, as he hasn't stopped yet. Nico is called in. It's a very quick 2.6 stop. Bianchi pits. The gaps are unbelievable. Lewis is 22 seconds ahead of Nico which makes sense given the pit stop but Nico is still 13 seconds ahead of Jenson who's now P3. Lewis pits. 2.8. Here's Nico in the straight… he's just 1.8 ahead. Seb overtakes Massa for P5 and here comes Daniel, they're wheel to wheel but Massa has the pace to match him! He keeps him behind, beautiful driving. Lewis is gaining on Nico. A lap later, Daniel has overtaken Massa and Seb overtakes Valtteri for P4. It's another Williams - RedBull sandwich but it's still a Williams RedBull sandwich. And then Daniel overtakes Valtteri as well. 

It's lap 20. Bono tells Lewis the forecast says no rain to the end of the race but low certainty. He's now just a second behind Nico. Then it's still Jenson, 18 seconds down, and Seb, 13 seconds further, with Daniel not far behind him in P5. Then as we've mentioned Valtteri and Massa, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen and P10 goes to Kvyat. 3 laps later Lewis can't seem to close that gap for good. Oh he's actually losing on him now. Mmh. Oh and that's a botched pitstop for Ferrari. Raikkonen stays in his box for 11.1 seconds. On lap 25, DRS is enabled. That puts Lewis very close to Nico, close enough to attack, but the grip still isn't good. Phewww that's close racing in bad visibility, Lewis be careful please. They're half a second apart. Ooh no Lewis slips around and goes wide! Caught it but it's scary scary. It doesn't matter, he's back 0.4 behind Nico immediately and "ROUND THE OUTSIDE GOES LEWIS HAMILTON, INTO THE LEAD GOES LEWIS HAMILTON!" 

Lap 30. Seb pits. Lewis is already 3.6 seconds in the lead. 3.9. 4.4. Unbelievable. He's so fast! Jenson pits from P3. It's not a good one. Seb is ahead. 20 laps to go now, although of course they never reached the end of these laps. Nico is called in. Somehow he pits first? He's out behind Daniel in P3. Magnussen spun but carried on. Lewis says his tyres are okay. He pits not long after though. Out in P2, 3.8 seconds ahead of Nico. We hear it's starting to rain again in the pitlane. We're getting close. Magnussen unlapped himself from Daniel in a very daring way but they managed not to touch so hats off to them because it was extremely close. Daniel pits. The drivers are starting to struggle with grip again. We see replays of Magnussen and JEV going wide. I'm getting really nervous for what's to come. At the front, Lewis is flying 8 seconds ahead of Nico, with Seb P3, and Jenson split the Redbulls. Seb goes wide too. Bottas pits from P6. Bono : "Caution turn one, some cars running wide." Lewis : "It is raining more." Bono : "So we need to keep these tyres in as good a state as we can. This rain looks like it may build."

It’s lap 40. Lewis sets the fastest lap. The conditions are visibly worsening but Daniel still attacks Jenson for P4. He overtakes him. But Jenson overtakes him back. I'm stressed. It's dark and foggy now. Lap 41. Lewis is over 10 seconds in the lead. We can barely see anything from the TV broadcast, I don't want to imagine what it's like inside the cars. Hindsight is 20/20 but it's insane to let them race like this. DRS is disabled. Lewis : "It's raining more. Seems like it's getting heavier and heavier." Bono : "Yes copy that Lewis that's what we see. Seems like it's just getting heavier. OK Lewis you're still the fastest man out there, so just keep it on the black stuff." Daniel attacks Jenson again but he can't get ahead. Lap 42. Magnussen gets on the full wets. Daniel overtakes Jenson.

Warning : this is when the accident happens

Yellow flags. Sutil is in the barriers. The marshals are busy around him. He gets out. Lap 43. Ahhh my heart is beating out of my chest. The crane Jules Bianchi is gonna crash into is out now. Sutil's car is hooked on it. For some reason a marshal in a tower right behind it is waving a green flag? Lap 44. There's a safety car coming out as we see Lewis slow down. The medical car is also deployed. The journalists don't know what's happening, they thought Lewis had an issue. They wonder if Sutil is okay. Oh I'm so glad we didn't see it live, I was worried they would just show it. Tbh, they didn't really care about that for most of my rewatch, they just showed crashes as they happened. They must have known immediately it was bad. A lot of teams get ready for pit stops. We see the medical car parked next to the crane but we don't see Jules' car. Lap 45. As we see that, Brundle and Crofty start to understand something bad has happened. They go very quiet. The pit stops keep going. I wonder what the drivers saw as they went past the accident. The visibility is so, so bad. Ted is also wondering what happened, if there was an issue with the marshals there. Someone says they're seeing the doctor and a stretcher being used, but they still don't know for who it is. They say they see Adrian Sutil and it doesn't seem to be for him then. They think it's for a marshal. I'm nauseous. Brundle says "there's not another car in there is it?" and Crofty answers "well I just wondered because…" and then he exclaims a little "there's a Marussia there!" and then "Jules Bianchi is out of this race and I've just seen a piece of Marussia body work as confirmation there… uh… that it is Bianchi in that incident." Thankfully we still don't see anything. Crofty wonders if Bianchi went off as Sutil went off or if he hit the car afterwards. "Did he… has he hit the truck?" says Brundle. There's an ambulance on the track now. We see the Marussia team, they're obviously very very concerned. It's lap 46. It's really inexplicable that they kept all the others going around next to that accident this whole time. You're calling for an ambulance, you know it's bad. Stop the race. We get a race control announcement that there's an ambulance on track at turn 15. Hulkenberg has stopped at the end of the pitlane. This area of the track is incredibly foggy. Red flag on lap 47.

We don't know it quite yet but it's the end of the race. Lewis wins, Nico P2, Seb P3. None of that matters. 

The cars are back in the pitlane. We hear sirens. We hear from Ted. He speaks in a hushed hurried voice. He sprinted down the pitlane to talk to the Marussia team and he's out of breath. He says Bianchi's manager and engineer are trying to get to the medical centre but they haven't been allowed in. They didn't hear anything on the radio from Jules, he says. He says they asked if he was okay and they didn't hear back. He adds that it doesn't mean anything but he's letting us know that's the information he's received. We're informed the race won't be resumed. Ted says the medical centre is in complete chaos, the FIA press delegate having to force open the doors to let Jules' team members in. (Why would you do that, why wouldn't you think there's a reason why they're kept out?) "This is… very irregular," he says. He's still out of breath but also from the start you could hear the terrible concern in his voice. He knows, he truly knows it's bad. He says he doesn't really know what's going on and has never seen anything like it. The team is really keen to get some information. He asks if we know if the ambulance has taken Jules to the medical centre yet. Brundle says they haven't seen it yet. As he says that, Ted says he's just now seeing the ambulance come down the pitlane. They're describing its path. Ted says there's chaos and confusion and disorder at the medical centre. He speaks very gravely. He says the team members have now been allowed in the medical centre. We see Lewis out of his car walking down the pitlane. He taps his team members shoulders but does not celebrate. He does not take off his helmet. I wonder what they were told, there's nothing on the race transcript. I wonder if they knew something really bad had happened. Niki shakes his hand, Toto stops him to tell him something in his ear through his helmet. I wonder if he tells him there's been an accident. Crofty says he indeed thinks he's explaining what's happening. 

They're in the cool down room now. Lewis and Nico shake hands briefly. Oh. Nico is talking with Herbie Blash and another man and Herbie makes a gesture, with his right fist hitting the flat of his left hand. It makes me sick. Nico comes back into the room. He stands really close to Lewis and whispers something to him, he looks emotional.

Lewis looks up and says "Bianchi?". Nico nods. It's really sinking in for everybody now. Seb is still not there. Lewis stays back to the camera. He signs himself discreetly.

He heads out of the room as well and joins the officials, with Nico on his heels. Herbie closes the door on them briefly after, and they head back in. It's lasting very long. They both half smile to the camera at two different points in time but you can tell they're worried. Nico in particular looks genuinely distraught. Lewis is hiding still, away from the camera. Seb finally gets there. Shakes Nico's hand, says something to him with a very serious face. He's not smiling either. He looks very concerned as well. He sighs. He waits for Lewis to turn to him, they shake hands as well, with a nod that says "we both know".

Cut to Horner in the pitlane waiting for the podium under an umbrella. He truly looks aghast as well. The atmosphere is eerie. It's very quiet out there. Ted describes it as "stasis". He says he's had to tell a couple of teams himself what they thought had happened. 

They come out for the podium with very low-key body language. Very minimal applause. The announcer says it's time for the champagne. They look at each other.

There's no music. Oh here it comes. Eesh. They clink their bottles and drink. Nobody sprays champagne.

The faces in the crowd are sombre. They pose for the picture. 

It's Nigel Mansell doing the interviews on the podium. Lewis says it's been a very difficult weekend, very tricky conditions. "We hope that Bianchi is okay." They talk about his very good pace and him getting into a groove at some point. It's completely silent. No cheer, no shouting, no whistling, nothing. Not even a whisper. It feels extremely strange. 

Nico says it's been a great weekend for the team, he says the fans have been spectacular. Congrats to Lewis. "Of course with my thoughts at the moment I'm with our colleague Jules, because appar– well, the team's quite serious so I really wish him all the best." Nigel says that we all do and we unfortunately don't have any news at the moment. 

Seb says it was incredibly tricky but good fun, concentration was high. He got lucky getting up here because they just pitted at the right time. Great race and they had great pace at some points as well, "and last but not least best wishes to Bianchi obviously…" 

Nigel keeps interrupting them all it's extremely annoying he didn't listen to one word they said. At the end he says again "wishes to Bianchi and our thoughts are with him". And Lewis says "arigatō gozaimasu". 

Warning : further information on the accident and its consequences

All that follows is a description of what happened during the accident (no graphic details but there’s a medical explanation of the injury he sustained), what happened after that, and the consequences Jules’ death had on the sport

Jules’ car hit the rear of the crane so hard that Sutil’s car, which was still suspended from it, fell back down. According to calculations from the FIA’s world accident database, the impact took place 2.61 seconds after Jules lost control of his car, at a speed of 123 km/h and at its maximum, it generated a force of 254G. As we know from the broadcast, Jules was unconscious. He was treated at the crash site then transported to the track’s medical centre, then by ambulance with police escort to the hospital. They couldn’t use the helicopter because of the weather conditions. The Marussia CEO visited him in the hospital, as well as the team principal John Booth who stayed there even after the next GP. Ferrari’s team principal Marco Mattiacci (as it was revealed the day after the accident, Jules was supposed to become Ferrari’s 3rd driver in 2015) and Felipe Massa also went to see him.

His parents got there the next day and were joined 3 days later by his siblings as well as Lorenzo Leclerc (Charles’ older brother), his best friend. Gerard Saillant, the president of the FIA Medical Commission also came to Japan, as well as the professor Alessandro Frati, a neurosurgeon from Rome, who was called there by Ferrari. A statement indicated that Jules suffered a diffuse axonal injury. It means he had widespread injuries in his brain. It’s similar to what occurs in shaken baby syndrome. It usually causes coma and 90% of patients with severe DAI do not regain consciousness, those who do have severe impairments. For this reason, the first update the family gave stated that he was in a “desperate” condition. Doctors said it would be a miracle if he survived. While in Japan, Jules was on a ventilator. One month after that, he was taken out of his artificial coma and started breathing on his own. He was then brought back to France, to be closer to his family. In July, however, his father said the lack of progress since the accident made them lose their optimism. 4 days later, on July 17, 9 months after the accident, Jules Bianchi passed away. A lot of drivers attended his funeral service in Nice. 

The circumstances of the accident were investigated by the FIA and prompted changes in security measures, such as research on closed cockpit concepts, the introduction of the virtual safety car system, and changes in times at which races could take place as to avoid sunsets and visibility problems.

RIP Jules Bianchi

[purrpickle]

OH MY GOD please please please continue, I suddenly need the royal au more than breathing

((Can't do links because tumblr will eat this if I do, but you can search Royalty AU!Mon on my blog to find the 'verse and fic these are in reference to.))

Hah hah, thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it; I had a pretty good time writing it, myself, even if I was going, "No... Don't add a third fic 'verse to your plate... No... Don't do this, Sarah! You already have other stories you haven't started working on yet so you wouldn't do this!"

Alas, alack, I created a new fic 'verse I ideally would want to continue in some way anyway.

As it stands now, I still have a plan of either finishing the third part of my WT:TOWLSKS(WP)aCE series or my Moneung/Monsam fic before my birthday as a triumphant birthday present to myself, and I have ten days to do that. Not saying the muses won't wrench me around as they are wont to do and have me furiously type out more of Royalty AU!Mon first or during, but I am hoping to focus on my other stories more. I know I've been waiting to get them finished!

But seriously, thank you! I really appreciate the message!

(And please don't stop breathing!)

Yes, Mon definitely could have said that and gotten the exact same response! However, she had seen enough dramas and romcoms to know not to, instead having decided to try to speak from the heart as she wanted Sam to know how much she loved her and... Misjudged a bit. Just a bit. A teeny bit.

Okay, a lot of bit because saying, "I have to tell you something, but please... Please know it does not change how much I love you more than anything else in the world," to someone like Sam who already has a tendency of assuming the worst (mind you, all after Sam had found Mon crying to herself at Sir Phoom's estate followed by a silent ride home with Mon breaking down as soon as she gets inside their house before disappearing into their bedroom for a long time to speak to her parents without talking to her first...) really just threw up all the red flags Sam could ever conceivably think of, all of them aimed at her and Mon's relationship and her partner's potential worst case scenario actions.

Oof. Oh Mon. Maybe she should have waited to gather her thoughts better before throwing herself into her explanation, but (aside from being exhausted as well) she couldn't stand seeing Sam so worried and concerned for any longer that she felt like she needed to do it then. Guilt is insipid. And when that guilt mixes with her guilt of hiding her royal status, it really becomes a heavy crown to wear. Ba-dum-tss.

Anyway, ramble ramble, but thank you! I appreciate this message as well. The Royalty AU!Mon 'verse seems to have connected with people, and it's really nice to see. As I said above (and obviously show here that I'm still in its feels), I would like to continue and further explore this 'verse that's being created; I just don't know when that will be.

[psmd-lingering-shadows]

Part 0: Life In Serene Village

...

...

"...Hmm?"

...

"Zzz..."

"Oh, for the love of...Not again. This Piplup sure is something else..."

"Zzz..."

"Come on, now. It's time for you to wake up."

"Zzz..."

"Hey, wake up."

"Zzz..."

*groan*

"I SAID WAKE UP!"

"...?!"

The moment I heard that thunderous voice, my eyes instantly opened and my body shot up. However, even though my body reacted so quickly, my mind was still half-asleep. In a daze, I slowly looked around to see where I was. Uh...it looked like I was inside of a house? Then I slowly turned to the one who had forced me awake. My eyes were still blurry from just waking up, but from what I could make out, it was a big blue Pokémon with a grumpy face.

...

...Wait a minute.

A grumpy face...?

...

Oof-!

Oh, yikes. I ended up blurting that out without realizing it. I could sense the other Pokémon's irritation from what I said, but they ignored it and kept talking.

"Get up, Nozomi. You overslept."

"...?"

Overslept...?

...

...Oh.

Oh!

Oh, cripes!

At that moment, all of the drowsiness left my body and I was completely awake. I looked around once more until my eyes landed on the other Pokémon's figure again. Only this time, I completely recognized who was standing there: an older, stern-looking Carracosta.

...

POPS?!

I scrambled to my feet, then gave him a questioning look. What the heck did he mean, "I overslept?!"

"It's exactly like it sounds, child! You ended up sleeping in again!" he replied.

Seriously...?  This was the third time this week.  I've never had a problem with oversleeping before.  Why was this happening all of a sudden?

I groaned as I quickly grabbed my belongings and stuffed them in my bag. Then I turned back to Pops and asked him how much time I had until school started. He paused for a moment, then answered.

"I'd say about five minutes."

I nodded, then smiled determinedly. That was good enough for me. I could still make it if I booked it from here. After taking a deep breath and mentally preparing myself for the long run to school, I headed toward the door, but Pops stopped me before I could walk out.

"Wait. You haven't eaten yet. We still have leftovers from last night. Why don't you eat a little of that before you leave?" he asked.

I shook my head. I didn't have any time to waste. I didn't want to arrive late and have Mr. Farfetch'd or the vice principal chew me out again.

"But - " Pops continued, trying to convince me.

However, before he could continue, I reassured him that I would be fine and that I'd snack on something from my bag. Then I gave him a cheerful smile, waved at him, and gave him a quick "Love ya!" before leaving the house. I heard him let out another sigh as I started running. I felt kind of bad, but it couldn't really be helped.

I made my way to the plaza, where I saw some of the other villagers going about their day. Mr. Raticate was sculpting boulders with his son, Ratatta. Mr. Lombre was tending to his lotus pond. I caught a brief glimpse of Mr. Hippopotas relaxing at the dock. And of course, Mr. Kecleon was at his shop, like always. Now that I think about it, that's the only place I see him.  I don't think I've ever seen him doing anything else.  Weird. There was also Mr. Hawlucha, who also seemed to have a shop, but it looked like he was still setting up. I didn't have time to actually stop and chat with any of them, though. My sole focus was making it to school on time. I didn't want to be late again for the third time this week.

I dashed through the path to the school until I saw the school gate up ahead. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath.  It looked like running to school on an empty stomach took a toll on me. Which...wasn't really a surprise when I thought about it. Fortunately for me, I had just the thing to give me my energy back. I rummaged around in my bag until I found an red, juicy apple. Then, as quickly as I took it out, I managed to devour it in five large bites.

"Phew..."

I let out a small exhale. That was really satisfying. Food always tastes better when you're super hungry. Oh, speaking of food, Pops said that he was going to take care of the berries at the field again. I wonder if he'd mind if I helped myself to a few...?

...

...Gah!

I quickly shook my head. I didn't have time to think about stuff like this. I think the bell is about to ring, too. With my body full of renewed energy from the apple I just ate, I made a final sprint towards the school. Just as I had passed through the gate, I heard the bell go off. Hah! I had made it just in time! A triumphant smile formed on my beak as I looked up. However, when I did, my smile instantly turned into a frown as soon as I saw who was waiting for me.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the troublemaker."

...Vice Principal Watchog. He was standing in front of the stairway that led to the other facilities here. He was glaring at me with those creepy eyes of his and with his arms crossed.

"It appears as though you're the last one to arrive. I suppose I must give you some form of credit - you did arrive on time, after all, even if it was just by a couple of seconds.

"..."

Mr. Watchog continued to speak. "Now, as I was telling the rest of the class before you arrived, I'll be the one teaching for the day. I've prepared a special lesson for you all, so I expect you to be on your best behavior! No shenanigans from you, you got that?!" he shouted in a screechy tone.

I nodded and replied with a simple "Yes, sir". Geez, what a pain. I managed to get here on time and I still end up getting yelled at?

"Well if you understand, take your seat already! We don't have all day, you know!" he said as he pointed to my seat.

I didn't wanna hold the class up any more than I already did, so I did as I was told and walked over to my seat. But seriously...I really wasn't in the mood to deal with Mr. Watchog so early in the morning.

Once I sat down, Mr. Watchog made his way to the podium. He cleared his throat in a dramatic fashion before starting with the lesson.

The day went on with Mr. Watchog teaching his "special lesson," though I wasn't really paying attention. Every time he taught the class, I usually ended up zoning out. I prefer when the Principal or Nurse Audino taught. Heck, even Mr. Farfetch'd wasn't too bad, once you got used to his strictness.

...

Well, whatever. Nothing I could do about it. Just have to wait until the day was over. Then I could get outta this place and...hmm? What do I wanna do after school lets out? Eh, I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Hmm...Oh!

Now that I think about it, I never got the chance to speak with any of my classmates this morning. I turned to my left and saw Goomy, who seemed to be listening intently to Mr. Watchog. Heh, at least one of us was interest in what he was saying. Then I looked back at the row directly behind us and saw Deerling and Espurr listening as well, which is what I was expecting. Those two were the top students here, after all. Finally, at the very back of the class, I saw Pancham and Shelmet, who looked like they were whispering to one another. Seeing them like that caused a quiet giggle to escape from me. I was honestly sorta glad I wasn't the only one who wasn't paying attention. However, Pancham ended up catching me staring, which caused him to send me a nasty glare. Before I could react, I heard shouting from up front.

"Hey! Eyes up front, Nozomi!" Mr. Watchog shouted.

"...!"

I jumped in surprise and quickly faced forward. Yikes...looks like I got caught red-handed.

Mr. Watchog huffed in annoyance, then returned to the lecture. I internally groaned as I slouched in my seat. Please let school be over soon...

SOME TIME LATER...

"...And that is all for today. Class is dismissed!" Mr. Watchog announced.

As soon as everyone heard that, we all waited until he was gone, then sighed in relief.

"Phew, finally...I was beginning to think the bell was never going to ring," Shelmet said.

"For real. Mr. Watchog's lessons always end up dragging, don't they?" Pancham added.

Deerling turned to the both of them and furrowed her brow. "Maybe time would go by faster if you actually listened to the lesson instead of goofing off like always."

"H-hey! We weren't goofing off, we were just...chatting with each other!" Shelmet replied.

Espurr, who was listening to the conversation, turned around and chimed in. "I believe that's still considered goofing off, you two," she said with the same neutral expression she always seems to have.

Pancham then furrowed his brow and pointed at me. "Well, what about Nozomi? She was zoning out the entire time! Mr. Watchog even called her out for it!"

"...?!"

I was a little taken aback by him bringing me up all of a sudden, though I really shouldn't have been surprised. Him and Shelmet haven't exactly been the nicest to me.

Deerling briefly turned and glared at me, then back at the boys. "All three of you need to start taking school more seriously! School is important for our futures, after all!" she said.

Yeesh...Deerling can be a little scary when she gets upset. I mean, I gets what she's saying, but...It's not like I'm trying to zone out or anything. School can just be so boring sometimes...and there's tons of other stuff that I'd rather be doing!

Pancham and Shelmet both flinched at Deerling's harsh tone and nodded their heads.

"Alright, alright. We get it! Can please just drop this now?" Shelmet asked.

Deerling stared at the pair for a few more seconds before letting out a small huff and changing the subject.

"Fine...we should all get going soon, anyway."

Goomy, who was uninvolved in that entire conversation, finally spoke.

"Mm-hmm! We're still going to play together, right, Deerling?" he asked.

Deerling turned to him and nodded. "Of course! C'mon, let's go," she said as she and Goomy both left their seats. "See you all tomorrow!"

"See you!" Goomy added.

Once the two of them said their goodbyes, they both walked down the slope that led to the gate and left the school. When they were gone, Pancham and Shelmet left their seats and started walking to the exit, too.

"Alright, we're outta here. Let's get going, Shelmet," Pancham said.

"Y-yeah!" Shelmet replied, following closely behind.

Once those two left, it was just me and Espurr. It looked like she was about to leave, as well.

Hmm...I wonder if she'd wanna hang out with me. Probably not, but it still wouldn't hurt to ask.

I approached her while she was gathering her belongings and stood in front of her. She slowly looked up and noticed me standing there.

"Hmm? What is it, Nozomi?"

Well, here goes nothing...

...

"Oh? You'd like the two of us to spend time together?" she repeated, seemingly surprised.

I nodded my head.

She thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.

"I appreciate the offer, but I have some things to take care of as soon as I leave here. I'm sorry," she said.

I dejectedly lowered my head and sighed softly. I figured she'd say no, but it still sucks.

"But..."

"...!"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to walk to the plaza together," she said.

Wait, really?!

"Well? What do you say?"

I couldn't help but give her a wide grin as I vigorously nodded my head.

"Very well, then. Come on, let's go," Espurr said as she gathered the last of her belongings and started walking off. I eagerly followed her and the two of us walked together on the school path. We made some small talk with each other, but didn't really talk about anything in particular. Espurr seems like she'd be difficult to approach, but she's actually pretty nice. Walking with her was turned out to be fun.

Eventually, the two of us made it to the plaza. Once we got there, though, Espurr turned and looked at me.

"Well, we're here. This is where we part ways for the time being," she said.

Yeah...I guess so. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

I nodded and stood in place so I could see Espurr off.

"It was nice talking with you, Nozomi. I'll see you tomorrow," she said with a smile small.

I smiled back at her and watched her walk off, but after taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped and turned back to me.

"Hmm...?"

...Wha-?

Espurr stared at me without saying anything. I stared back at her with a combination of surprise and confusion expressed on my face. Was something the matter...?

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Espurr finally spoke.

"Nozomi? Are you...?" she started.

"...?"

Huh? Am I what? What is she talking about?

"Hmm..."

She sighed and gave me a small shrug. "Er, no, it's nothing. Never mind."

...Huh? What was that about? What was she going to say?

However, before I could pry for details, she spoke once again.

"I'll be going now. I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that, Espurr walked away, leaving me very confused about what just happened. What in the world was that about...?

...

Well, thinking about it now won't do me any good. Since school's out, I finally have the chance to actually do something fun! Let's see, what should I...

*GROWL*

...Eh?

I looked down to see where that noise came from. It was my belly. It was growling like crazy! Oh, yeah. Now that I think about it, I only ate an apple today, didn't I? In that case, I guess doing something in the village could wait for a bit. I should go home and eat some dinner. Pops said that there were still leftovers from last night, right? That should be more than enough. Alright, then. Let's get going!

With my appetite steadily growing, I ran home where Pops would be more than likely be waiting for me. I'll come inside and we'll eat dinner together. Heh, he'll probably be surprised seeing me home earlier than usual. Well, I guess it'll be a way for me to make up for rushing out this morning. I can't wait!

[alchemania]

Oh boy howdy.....hi Thomaya nation this is my one (1) short story on them that I wrote eons ago and I still like it; really stuck with me how upset she was when Thoma got taken and also just uh, I really wanted Thoma to get a big hug after the nightmare of almost dying in public, so here.

I've decided to call this one "Shielded." I hope you enjoy.

"Thoma! THOMA!"

The blond raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement and then before he could react, Ayaka was barreling into him in an uncharacteristic display of raw, unbridled relief. "Oof," he grunted, hands raising up in surrender before they comfortably wrapped around her in an embrace. "Ah, hello my lady. I take it you missed me--" Ayaka's head whipped up so fast it nearly made HIM dizzy, and he was shocked to see tears streaming down her cheeks. 

"Stop," she sobbed. "Please do not make light of this. You could've died," and his lips pressed into a somber line; the gravity of the situation beginning to set in. "I was so worried," she went on, words pouring from her lips like a river undammed. "When I heard about what was happening, I - there was nothing I could do, to save you, and knowing that, having my hands effectively tied, you, Thoma you mean so much to me and if I lost you I truly do not know what I'd do with myself." 

Thoma, for once, did not know what to say. And yet he heard himself speaking anyway, somehow. "You would live without me. You could-"

"I CANNOT," Ayaka hollered, and he blinked in alarm as her arms wrapped ever tighter around his waist (her hands were shaky, he noticed). "I WILL NOT. A LIFE WITHOUT YOU IS A LIFE I DO NOT WANT." 

"Ah, Ayaka, please... please don't cry," he pleaded, brushing away her tears with his thumbs, but new ones rushed to take their place. 

"You've done so much, for the Shogun, for the people of Inazuma, for my family, for me. And yet, notwithstanding; she would make you a public example. As if you are nothing. Do you not understand, why I am so upset?! Our Archon cares not for us. I had hoped that...there was some semblance of love left in her heart, but I see now that I was a fool to think so."

"You're not--"

"I AM," she shouted, breathlessly, burying her face in his chest- perhaps the rhythm of his heartbeat was calming? He didn't know. "I don't know what to do anymore…." 

"There is nothing to do but fight as we always have, Ayaka," he heard himself say. "Nothing will come of us giving up." His words are strong and sure and yet he feels anything but- he feels, like the ocean has clutched him in his deathly hold and carried him away, thrashing and flailing and helpless, helpless to the current. 

I could've died. I was lucky. 

"Thoma?" Ayaka called, but he did not answer, eyes hollow and yet filled to the brim with fear as he began to process what had almost just occurred. 

Was it all in vain?

"Thoma!" Ayaka cupped his face with her hands, and he was jarred back to reality with a sharp breath. "Are you alright? You're trembling. . ." Ahh….that he was. He hadn't even realized it, but his hands were shaking like little leaves and he couldn't seem to get them to stop, so he gripped Ayaka's wrists for a sense of security. "I'm right here. I'm right here with you. I'm not going anywhere." 

"I have to, though," he whispered. "The Shogun is out for me, too. I can't afford to stay here, not now." Ayaka's eyes are so broken he wants to cry, but he holds firm to his stance. "It's like you said before, Ayaka. You can't protect me, even though you want nothing more. If they find me, they may drag me back to Raiden again, and next time; I highly doubt I'll be as lucky as I was." 

Silence, only broken by Ayaka's quiet weeping.

"I'll come back. I promise. This will only be temporary," and she swallowed hard, nodding, then hesitated. 

"Thoma. Before you go -"

"My lady?" Her eyes looked to his, and then his mouth, and he blinked slowly before realizing what she was asking for, and nodded in return, afraid to speak.

The next thing he knew, her lips pressed to his, chaste and grieving, and he melted into her hold; the looming catastrophe that was the Decree momentarily forgotten. "Please be safe," she breathed when he pulled away, and Thoma brushed her bangs out of her eyes. 

"I will. I promise." 

She watched him go with her hands clasped to her breast, until he was but a dot on the horizon; and began to pray for his safe return. Already, things felt so empty. . . hopefully, this would all be over sooner; rather than later.

[inti-chan]

Title: From The Grave

Word count: 1.8k

I am a writer. And recently I've been in a situation I couldn't believe could happen to anyone..... I'm really shocked..... I wouldn't believe it even if my own best friend told me this.... Without further ado let's get started.

A month ago I started writing in an app. After uploading my first story I was waiting patiently for someone to read it and leave a comment. A week went by but there was nothing.....

One day I opened the app and checked. Still nothing but a certain writer's story caught my attention. The writer seems amazing. A lot of people reads their stories and leaves nice comments. In fact I've seen this writer giving really sweet comments to other people. I read that story and I absolutely loved it! I couldn't stop myself from commenting on it. It was just too good. All of her stories were too good.

The next day I checked the app. And today she commented on my story! I was so happy. I thanked her. And after that surprisingly my stories got some popularity too but not as much as hers. Still I was content with whatever I had.

As days went by I realized how sweet and caring she is... I really wanna be her best friend. I really do. She had provided her Id of an app (I'm not mentioning the name) in her bio. I really want to talk with her. So, despite being shy and hesitant I downloaded the app and created an account then sent her a request. I put my phone away thinking she wouldn't accept it.

Later at night I checked. Oof. Silly me! Why did I put my phone away?! She accepted my request immediately and even sent me a message. I'm really disappointed in myself for making her wait. I apologized and she said it's okay.

After that we started chatting everyday. As days went by we became good friends. She's really easy to talk to. Also she's super sweet and caring. I'm really grateful to have a friend like her. I've never met anyone quite like her. She's really special.

It's been months since we became friends. From what I heard we don't live too far from eachother. I want to meet her but I'm too shy to ask her. Now a days I type a message like that and cut it almost everyday.

It's been 2 weeks and I still didn't ask her a thing. But I will today. It's now or never. I typed a message as I thought that and this time I sent it instead of cutting it.

It's been hours and she isn't replying. At night I was checking my phone and she still didn't reply. I was starting to lose hope and was about to go to bed when I heard my phone buzz.

It must be her I thought and I was right. Our conversation went like this.

Her: Are you sure?

Me: Yes, I'm sure.

Her: I don't think you'd want to meet if you knew the whole truth.

Me: What truth?

Her: Please don't ask.

Me: Okay. I won't ask. But please can we meet?

She's not answering again.... I'm waiting but she's not answering. I guess I pissed her off. I don't know when but I fell asleep as I was waiting.

The next morning she still didn't reply. But something in me just wouldn't give up for some reason. I don't know why... But I was desperate. I told her that I wanted to meet her. And whatever I didn't know won't bother me either.

She just sent the address right after I sent the message. I told her I was going as I went out my door.

I went to the given address. The place was really quiet. There were no other houses to seen within sight. It was already getting dark when I reached there. The house seemed old and.... Abandoned......

It seems like no one was in there. I messaged her again.

Me: Where are you?

Her: Come to the backyard. And you'll find me......

I went there straight. But what greeted me was not a human but an open grave....... A bony hand was waving at me..... I rubbed my eyes.... But it was still waving. And then after a while it went down...

I was petrified. The phone in my hand buzzed. I took a peak......

Her: Now do you see me?

Me: Yes .....

Her: Do you still want to stay?

Me: What happened?

(I don't where the courage came from. But I asked. Actually now that I realize I actually knew nothing about her. We always talked about me or other stuff. She never really said much about herself and I never asked. I'm honestly feeling guilty now.)

Her: They buried me alive.......

Me: Why? And when?

Her: I was 15 when that happened and now it's been almost 2 years now.......

I was waiting for her to say more but she was quite.

Me: Continue.

I tried to encourage her.

Her: My parents....... They did this to me. They were foster parents...... They wanted the whole property to be theirs I guess...... That's... why......

Me: Oh my goodness.........

I was out of words and on the verge of tears....

Her: I'm so lonely.......

I felt her soul call out to me. After I don't know what happened but I'm heading towards her grave as if I was hypnotized or something.....

Her rotten body greeted me. She's smiling at me and I smiled back. For some reason I'm not scared. She raised both of her hands towards me like a baby who wants her mother to sleep with her. I too like a loving mother joined her. After that I buried us both into an eternal slumber.

Now both of us are here together writing this story for all of you to read. We've been here for 2 years and I must say that the dark grave is so comfy......