#or whatever. which yeah so what. let me live my lie alright?

[cryptidscries]

// vent post

its really frustrating to me that people dont understand the attachment i still have to him. Yeah so what if its been almost two years since ive talked to him. Idc, i still have the worst connection to him and i would still drop everything and everyone for him if he asked. And its frustrating that people dont understand why i would do that. Like theres only one other person that i would do that for. Idk its just UHGHGKJHG its so frustrating that i cant talk about this to people, and its so frustrating to me that i cant talk to him. its frustrating to me that he makes me uncomfortable and that im scared of him but i still want him here Idk man i just miss him. and i know i'll get yelled at for saying that but omg i miss him so much man

[thebearer]

if you lie down, lie next to me |carmen berzatto x reader|

prompt: you and carmen are newly weds, moving into your forever home.

inspired by @carmybears fic assembly required which has been SO heavy on my mind lately mixed with lana del rey's "if you lie down, lie next to me" <3

contains: fluff. just fluff newly weds, alludes at smut, some language, but tooth rotting sweetness and fluff.

“Carmen, I’m not even kidding. Where the fuck did all of this stuff come from?” You groan, collapsing another cardboard box with a huff, shoving it into the pile with the others by the door. “Our apartment was, like, one-fifth the size of this one. The living room was like our whole apartment. How do we have this much shit?” 

Carmen snorted lightly, grinning and unpacking the various pots and pans. New pots and pans- wedding gifts.Your wedding came with an influx of appliances and cookware, gadgets for the kitchen that Carmen bubbled with excitement about. And a margarita maker- for you, of course- courtesy of Natalie Berzatto herself. The old apartment, you barely had space for the dishes and pots you had, let alone new ones. 

So Carmen kept them tucked away, until he got the new place for you. He didn’t have a clue at the time he’d be buying you the Brownstone you were in now, nestled in the heart of Old Town. A good neighborhood, close-ish to the restaurant, zoned in a good school district- a forever home, for the two of you. 

“I mean, most of it was wedding gifts.” Carmen shrugged. “The rest are your shoes.” He teased, a playful glint in his eye when he looked over at you. 

You rolled your eyes. “Ha-ha,” You said sarcastically, bumping him with your shoulder. “Seriously, though, I’m never doing this again. We’re here for life, Berzatto.” 

“That’s the plan, Berzatto.” Carmen nudged you back lightly, leaning to press a sweet kiss to your blushing cheeks, a loving squeeze to your ass when he passed you that left you squealing. 

“The good news is,” Carmen paused, sliding the pot onto the hanging rack over the island, stepping back to admire it. “The kitchen is unpacked.” 

“The most important room.” You hummed playfully. Carmen nodded in agreement, arms slipping around your waist, pulling you into his chest. 

“Think we should celebrate?” Carmen grinned. “Christen it?” 

“We already christened it.” You rolled your eyes at him. “Twice- no, three times, already.” 

“Yeah but now it’s done.” Carmen countered. “No more boxes in the way.” 

“I think you can only christen something once.” You give him a pointed look, ignoring the way his crotch is rubbing against your hip. You were still sore from the celebratory round of “putting the coffee table together” from earlier. 

“And I’m starving. Should we order in again?” You hum, looking at the fridge. Nothing but a bottle of champagne and leftover takeout Chinese food. Your stomach turned at the thought. 

Carmen caught your grimace, a hand running soothingly down your back. “If you want. I can run to the store, too. Grab some things for dinner. Break in the kitchen now that it’s done.” 

“I think I like that idea better.” You nod, leaning against his chest, feeling his chain through his t-shirt- the same chain you had tucked between your teeth earlier. Your knees wobbled at the thought. “What are you making?” 

“What’re you in the mood for?” Carmen tilted his head back to look at you. “Can make you whatever, baby, just lemme know.” 

“I am down for anything that doesn’t come out of a box.” You giggle, nose snarling at the Chinese food. “Surprise me, Chef.” You grinned smugly, content at how Carmen’s cheeks flushed with heat. 

“You wanna come with me?” Carmen asked, reaching over to swipe his keys off the kitchen counter. 

You rolled your lips in thought. “I need to shower.” You blink at him sweetly. “I feel all sweaty and gross.” 

“Alright. Need anythin’ else, baby?” Carmen is looking for his phone, patting his pockets and turning in a semi-circle to look around him. 

You roll your eyes, plucking the phone off the coffee table in the living room, passing it to him. He was always losing his phone. You’d begged him to get an Apple watch but he swore it got in the way of his cooking, so you took to texting Nat or Richie- who always had their phones- when you needed him. 

“Something to drink? Unless you want champagne because I’m pretty sure that’s all that’s in there.” You giggle, looking at the fridge. 

Carmen smiled, pulling his hat over his tousled locks. “I got it.” He muttered, leaning to press a sweet, soft kiss to your lips, hands splaying over your hips, pulling you closer and closer into him. 

He always managed to make you swoon like that, cheeks rushing with heat, dizzy and light with love. You hoped you’d always feel like this. Even when you were old and wrinkly and wobbly, you hoped Carmen would still kiss you like that- in this very spot, in this very house. 

“Oh, Cass Elliot?” You grinned, spinning with the vinyl in your hands, brows raised playfully at Carmen. “He has taste.” 

Carmen snorted lightly in laughter, dishrag slung over his shoulder, spooning the sauce over the chicken in the pan. The kitchen was warm, smelling heavily of spices and a dash of citrus. You’d set up the vinyl in the corner by the nook, an old school record player passed down from Carmen’s grandmother. His Nonna Berzatto, who he adored. He had told you about how he’d always go over and help her make Sunday sauce. She had that same vinyl in her kitchen, next to a picture of her parents, and a prayer candle of Mary. It was all he managed to get, keep after she passed and his parents sold everything else that they could. He’d even snagged a few records, though the one you held looked new. 

“Yeah. Thought you liked her stuff?” Carmen muttered, eyes cutting to yours gently. 

“I do.” You grinned, slipping the record out of the protective paper. “How’d you know that?” You lifted the arm of the record player, slipping out the old disk and sliding in the new one, careful of the bouquet you’d just placed by it. Carmen had snagged one at the grocery earlier, surprising you with the beautiful bloom when you’d gotten out of the shower. 

“Because, you told me.” Carmen said simply, checking the asparagus inside the stove. Your heart fluttered. “When we were comin’ back from that trip… The, uh, the one we took to Detroit, remember? You played it on the way back.” 

Your chest soared, filling with that warmth that made your body tingle from head to toe. “You remembered that? That was… two years ago?” 

“Of course I remembered that.” Carmen scoffed lightly, shaking his head at you like he couldn’t believe you’d say something so ridiculous. “You said that, uh, that one song was like the love song to you. So I-I started listening to it because… ya know, it reminded me of you and stuff.” Carmen muttered, cheeks heating at the omission. 

You beamed, lifting the long arm of the record player, letting it softly come to life with a scratch of static before the slow melody filled the room. “You’re sweet.” You hum, arms wrapping around his torso, swaying gently to the familiar medley. “Never would’ve guessed you woulda been this sweet.” 

“Yeah? I’m given’ off asshole vibes?” Carmen laughed, hips turning slightly to face you. 

“Not at all.” You shook your head. “Gave off recluse vibes.” 

“Recluse?” Carmen turned to you. 

“Yeah, like… quiet, shy boy vibes.” You giggle. “You barely spoke to me when I started… and you hired me!” 

“I thought you were pretty.” Carmen shrugged boyishly. “And I thought if I talked to you, I’d throw up or embarrass myself. Also thought there was no way you’d be single. Too pretty and funny and… I dunno, thought you’d never go out with me.” 

“Little did you know.” You grinned wickedly. “I had been stalking you in secret.” Carmen laughed at you. “I thought you were pretty, too.” 

Carmen blushed at your omission, lips twitching in a smile. You swayed lightly, cheek pressed to his chest, letting the soft melody lull you. You remembered the car ride back from Detroit. Carmen was going to some chef expo there, trying to network and get Sydney the star she deserved. You’d agreed to go along. Things were far enough along it was stable, but still new and exciting. Your first real trip as a couple. You’d stayed in a hotel, gone to Carmen’s colleague’s fancy restaurant, went sightseeing and shopping hand-in-hand. You couldn’t help feeling so romantic, shuffling songs from the playlist you listened to when you were getting ready for a date. Old school tracks, filled with symphonies and ballads of love. 

“I think this is almost done. D’you want to grab the glasses and I’ll-” 

“-Let it sit for a minute.” You sigh contently, turning down the heat on the stove top. 

“What’re you doin’?” Carmen huffs in laughter, turning while you pull at him, your hand lacing through his own, tugging him to the open space on the other side of the kitchen island. 

You just smile at him, pulling him close to you. Your hand in his, the other wrapped around and settled on his spine. His free hand followed, sliding down your back. You leaned towards him, chin tilted towards his face, his curls tickling your forehead. You swayed slowly, nothing elaborate or coordinated, just a soft shuffle type sway, Carmen pulled close to you. 

“‘M not good at this.” Carmen’s breath hitched, hand squeezing yours, his thumb gliding over your wedding rings. 

“Yeah, you are.” You hum, nose brushing his. “Best dancer I’ve ever seen.” You mutter, your lips slotting over his sweetly. Carmen’s hand left yours, cupping your jaw and pulling you closer, his lips soft against your own. Your head found his shoulder, dipping into his collarbone, arms wrapped around his torso while he rocked you gently. The sound of Cass Elliot’s voice humming out of the record player Baby, I’m Yours fading into Words of Love. The fan from the stove still buzzing with life, wafting out the steam from the pans, rhythmically merging with the sounds from the street. A relatively quiet neighborhood, filled with quiet cars and the occasional children’s screech from their strollers that pushed by. It was all so calming, the sound of your new home. Sounds you hoped would become familiar overtime and still shared with Carmen.

[stxneflxwers]

hardest of hearts.

⋯⁂ summary. zhongli is at last free from his duties as archon, but it doesn't keep him from thinking of little doubts about if he had should committed to all of this...

⋯⁂ a/n. may be some errors regarding this part of liyue's archon quest but whatever, we're gonna have to live with it. 👍 this idea also went all over the place but pls try to enjoy it 🙏

⋯⁂ characters. zhongli. gn adeptus reader.

⋯⁂ cw. partially OOC zhongli. reverse hurt/comfort. takes place during the liyue archon quest. FIRST KISS WOO YEAH ⋯⁂ wc. 700+

coming over to your home in the harbor the night of his faked death, zhongli feels a smallest bits of adrenaline coursing through his veins. such a strange feeling. a feeling he's never really gotten used to, even after so many years later. he's more often cold and calculated than warm and pliant when it comes to his own emotions.

he doesn't notice his breaths are rather labored until you open the door and point it out with worry on your features and in your voice. but you don't give him time to react to his own "mistake." instead, you tug him into your house and swiftly shut the door behind him...

"you look a little fatigued. what's wrong?" you ask, guiding him to the kitchen before sitting him down at the table.

so forceful, he thinks, but he doesn't mind one bit - even when you grab him by the shoulders and push him down to sit.

"oh, that's right, today's that day..." you whisper to yourself, "sorry, i didn't mean to forget, m'lord—" "zhongli." he corrects softly, his laden eyes looking up at you with a strange sleepiness to them.

"heh, seems i'm full of mistakes today, hm?" you snort at your second mistake, "anyway, zhongli... you look very tired. would you like some tea?"

"yes, please. i've hardly had the chance to indulge in some today." he cracks a smile.

"any flavor you want?"

"...surprise me."

"hehe, will do!" you nod and stride over to the kitchen counters and stove nearby, beginning to prepare the "surprise" tea.

he watches you, but he refuses to admit to even himself that he's mostly dissociating from reality right now. his hand props up his head, his gilded eyes glued to you, but not registering any of your moving or humming.

you catch glances at him, but never say anything - waiting for him to open up on his own terms. with the fifth glance at him - when you turn back toward him after facing the oven - you finally notice his thousand-yard stare. you smile wearily.

striding up to him, you - with some initial hesitance - run a hand along his back, rubbing softly. this helps him a little bit, barely managing to snap him out of his daze.

"ah..." he flusters a little, blinking on repeat for a few moments, "my apologies. did you need something?" he glances up at you, his voice eerily quieter than usual.

"no. but it sure seems like you need something." you raise a brow as your head tilts. your hand stays flat against his back, halting its rubbing except for your thumb - which draws circles against him.

"hardly..." he clears his throat with his obvious lie.

"riiiight." you shake your head, "let me guess..." you hum in thought, "you're not sure if this was a wise choice to go through with. am i right?"

"...you are as perceptive as ever, i see." he mumbles, glancing away. "but, yes, i suppose that's the case."

"if it's any consolation, i believe you're doing your best. only time will tell if this is what's best for you." you advise, voice soft and sweet as powdered sugar.

"my best isn't—"

"it is enough. it's time you start believing that, i think. you've done your best for thousands of years. quit doubting yourself." you scold.

"i... alright, i will...do my best, then." he nods.

"thank you. i like it when you listen to me for once."

he scoffs lightly, "is that so?"

"correct." you grin and nod before patting his back firmly. you then straighten your back and begin to move to check the teapot. he grabs your hand. "yes?" you stare at him from over your shoulder.

you hardly have any time to react before he kisses the top of your hand, "you are the sweetest treasure. and, darling, i've loved you since the start." he rises to his full height, locking eyes with you.

"m-me—?"

"correct." he smiles, "there are many words i could say that would define your person; such as perceptive, empathetic, understanding, charming—"

"...actions speak louder than words, zhongli." you smile wearily.

"of course. so, allow me to demonstrate..."

his hands slide up from your arms to your face, cradling your jaw and cheeks in each hand. he tilts your head a little bit to the side before pressing his lips against your own. while you mentally trip over your own feet, you don't resist his affections - in fact, you return them in full.

"...i love you, too, silly zhongli." you murmur against his lips, causing him to break out into a smile.

"and i love you more. thank you, my darling beloved."

[wreckedandpolemic]

white gold pregnancy scare blurb? 😍

your first pregnancy scare (i say first because let’s be real the two of you fuck raw and like rabbits) happens when you’ve been together about a year, not living together per se, but something close to it. you’re up to your neck in final deadlines for uni, and the last thing you need is your parents breathing down your neck for an entire month.

when your period is late, you aren’t that worried about it at first; you’re stressed, not sleeping super well, it happens. but then it gets to two weeks, and you start to panic, and random, freak sickness throws your world completely off-kilter. matty wakes to find you crying on the bathroom floor, in a total, uncontrolled downward spiral.

“oh, darling,” he murmurs, approaching you cautiously. “what is it? what’s wrong?”

you choke on a sob. “i think i might be pregnant,” you say quietly, deliberately staring at the floor and avoiding matty’s eyes as he wraps an arm around your trembling shoulders.

“okay,” he says after a beat. “are you sure?”

you shake your head. “no. i can’t— i don’t— i can’t be a mum. not right now, anyway. but i— i know you want kids, and it’s,” you pause, biting your lip even as you press into the soothing heat of his body. “i don’t want you to think i’m scared because of you.”

he kisses the side of your head. “we’re in this together, love. you and me, yeah? whatever you want to do, i’m right there with you, okay?” you nod tearfully, overwhelmed in gratitude for his calm, soothing presence. he coaxes you back into the bedroom, lays you down on the bed and holds you, soothes you softly. the pair of you lie in quiet, resting against his chest and clinging to his arms until your cheeks have dried and your breathing evens out. “you gonna be alright if i run out and get you a test, darling?”

you try not to spiral while he’s gone. it’s not like you’ve never thought about having kids with him; most days the thought of him cradling a sweet, squishy little baby is enough to have you in floods of tears. but in those visions you aren’t twenty-two with a dissertation due in two weeks, and it all feels too fucking real.

matty’s back shockingly fast, though. he must’ve driven at least the speed limit to have been there and back in this time. especially because he’s carrying more than just a pregnancy test, arms laden with flowers and chocolates, bubble bath and face masks. he smiles, the simple action infinitely reassuring. “called off work on the way there. whatever it says, i wanna be here for my girl.” you just melt. god, you’re so fucking lucky. “wasn’t sure which one to get, so i just got ‘em all,” he says sheepishly, producing a comically large stack of pregnancy tests, the sight shocking a giggle out of you. he looks relieved, the first time you’ve laughed all morning.

you end up taking three, leaving them face down on the counter while you wait, unable to bear the tension. matty holds your hand the whole time, kisses you, murmurs reassurances against your skin. when your timer goes off, you bury your face in his shoulder. “you look. i can’t do it,” you mumble.

you watch his face as he turns over each test one by one. he’s smiling, but that doesn’t tell you anything, because he’s infuriatingly calm in situations like this. “you’re not pregnant, darling,” he says, and you crumple in relief.

“thank fucking god,” you gasp, unable to stop yourself, and he chuckles.

“alright, angel. you can stop stressin’ so much, now. i’m gonna take care of you.”

matty runs you a bath, the water silky and scented like roses, massaging the tension out of your shoulders. “you know, i do wanna have kids. with you. one day,” you add hastily.

he smiles into the skin of your neck. “gonna be the best mum, darling. when you’re ready.”

“how about we just practice making them for now?” you tease, tipping your head back so you can look in his eyes, wide with adoration.

“i like the sound of that.”

[taurussbabe]

pregnancy scare with charles leclerc? angst then fluff plz 🫶

A Forever connection

A/n: my first fic, hope you like it 💗🫶

Please don't be a ghost reader 🏎

"Are you ok, mon amour?" Charles asked as he softly rubbed your back while you were throwing up. It was early morning and you had been like this for 2 days now, constantly throwing up and feeling tired

"Yeah, yeah, I am" you muttered a soft 'thanks' as charles handed you a towel

"Are you sure, we should check this out you've been sick for a while"

"I'm fine, it's probably just a stomach bug" you brushed your teeth while sometimes glancing at charles, only to see he was already looking at you. "Really, thanks for your concern, but I'm fine" you leaned down and kissed his cheek softly.

.

"Y/n!" Charles called out from the living room while you were in the kitchen. "I've been thinking-"

"Ah, that's new" you joke but he doesn't doesn't laugh or show any expression, which causes you to stop what you're doing to get near him. "What's up?"

"Y/n, do you think it's possible that you might be pregnant?"

"What?, no, of course-" you start to answer but freeze because when you do think about it, your period is late a few days, but you had thought it was just work stress. While you were doing all your thinking, charles was just staring back at you, waiting for you to finish processing your thoughts and you didn't realise he was calling you until he reached for you and pulled your hips slightly to him

"Chérie"

"No, Charles, it can't be, i'm not...you're not, damn it Charles we are not even togheter, we're just friends" it wasn't a lie, you had agreed from the beggining that you were just 'fuck buddies', you liked spending time toghter but both of your lifes were pretty busy, you were sort of a stress relieve to each other and now this

"Hey, hey, look, whatever happens, i'm here" he pulled you into a hug and you didn't realised you were crying until you saw charles shirt get wet

"i'm sorry, i didn't mean to-"

"Hey, no, i get it, it's scary, but i'm here, everything is gonna be alright" he softly brushes a lock of hair behind your ear

"Charles, i'm- i'm scared"

"I know, me too, there's only one way to find out, ok? You have to take a test"

"yeah, i know, can you...hm, can you pick one up, please?"

"yeah, of course, i'll be right back, okay?" he pulled you in for a kiss before grabbing his coat and keys and leaving

The time you were alone was excruciating, you kept thinking about the what if's, of course you wanted kids one day, but first you had to find your person. If only you hadn't gotten drunk months ago and slept with charles, none of this would have happened, it was supposed to be a one night thing, you respected your friendship too much to ruin it, but he's charles, in his funny charming way he stole your heart and you stole his, not that you were aware of it. You hadn't realized yet but when you thought about the future, you had charles in it, and not as a friend, you kept pushing those thoughts away because he was just your friend, your best friend even and you were sure he didn't felt the same

What you didn't know was that charles was thinking the exact same thing you were, all the way from the pharmacy to his apartment, where you were staying. It killed him every time you called him friend, because he knew he wanted to be more than a friend to you.

"Hey, I'm home" Charles called and you got up from the couch, tears threatening to fall, but you refuse to let them.

"Okay, let's do this, I'll be right back" you said grabbing the bag from his hands.

After a few minutes you showed up at the living room, finding a thinking charles sitting on the couch. "So?"

"I haven't looked yet"

"Well, let's do it together then" grabbing your hands softly he sitted you on his lap, arm wrapped protective around your waist. "Whatever happens, I'm here, not gonna leave you"

You nodded softly as you opened your hand revealing a test with one line

"What does that mean?"

"It's negative" you said and he hugged you

"Hey, it's good right?" He asks brushing you hair softly and kissing your temple

"Yeah, yeah, I don't know why I'm crying, I didn't want a kid right now, I just, it was a lot of emotions"

"I know, I know" he leaned back on the couch and pulled you into his chest. You don't know how long you stayed like that, it felt like an eternity, yet you didn't want to move. Charles was the first to break the silence.

"I can't do this anymore"

"What?" You asked confused

"I can't do this anymore y/n, I can't keep pretending that I don't love you. How know how much it kills me that I can't hug or kiss you in public, that I know that every time we are together, we're still gonna be just friends, that I can't bring you to any family dinners. Every time I talk about you, I smile, hell, every time I think about you, I smile because you're the best thing in my life. And even though none of us wanted a kid, it would be nice to know that there was something connecting you and me forever. So, no, y/n, I can't do this anymore because I know that we can't be more than friends"

You stood there looking at him as he let it all out, not saying a word, because how could you, everything he was saying was a thousand times better than all that you had dreamed about. You couldn't find the words, so instead, you kissed him, a different kind of kiss than all the other times, because this time, it was the promise of something more.

Charles took a second to realize what was happening but when he did, he kissed you right back with the same love that you did.

"I love you" you said as you broke the kiss

"Wait what? How?"

"Charles, I've been in love with you forever, you just never noticed, you idiot"

He chuckled softly before pulling you in for another kiss "Your idiot, mon amour"

"And for the record-" Charles pulled back to look at your face "-I'm in love with you too"

Much more kisses were exchanged, this time, hungrier kisses, passionate kisses, because you both knew, that this time, you weren't just friends.

Maybe some scary things happen to leave room for the best things to come.

[lilacgaby]

03 | serenity

~1.5k

chapter select!

he came home with a stupid smile on his face that would not go away.

his every interaction with her would make him smile, she just made him so happy. for so many years just because of her presence in a book she made him smile, having her here now was unreal to him.

because of her, he showed off even more in class. he pushed himself even harder than before just to show off how cool he could be.

she had only been there for about two days now, but she was settling in so perfectly.

she fit right in with the girls, who had quickly realized that [name]'s life in 'serenity' was a sore subject that should be avoided. while [name] didn't have a quirk, because of her fresh perspective on the whole thing, she came up with helpful ideas to help not only the hero course, but general studies as well.

she caught up to the class fast in their academic studies as well, even though aizawa said she could've opted out, she seemed determined to fit in.

she was living up to her reputation in the manga perfectly, but overall she'd still hang with katsuki the most, which he couldn't lie: filled him with pride.

they were back in his dorm again today, playing a board game, the game of life. since nobody really knew who'd win until the end, it was a fun game to play.

"aw no! my babies don't even fit in the car! bye dog.."

"that's just fucked up."

"a mansion or a cabin! i'm picking the mansion, the fuck?"

"you can't afford it."

"...cabin it is."

"okay, i have to sing for you to get my bonus money so listen up.. ahem. okane kasegu, watashi wa sta--"

"stop and i'll pay you."

the game revealed a lot of things about the two of them. one, that katsuki, even though smart, was incredibly impulsive which would usually get the better of him. two, that megan thee stallion existed in serenity. three, that [name] was equally as impulsive, which would lead to her getting overwhelmed easily.

after counting up the money, [name] won. "thank god i won, did you see the amount of kids i had? i needed this win."

"yeah, child support would be beating your ass regardless. so, i think i got out of this the true winner."

"so cruel katsuki." she said, her hand over her heart.

"whatever. anyways, mr aizawa wanted us to go up to U-A again later. so prepare yourself for that."

"right!"

"[name].. can i ask you some shit? you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

she mulled it over. she had been avoiding talking about her world since she arrived, but she knew it'd have to happen eventually.

"yeah, go ahead."

"can you like.. see ghosts or something? because in the recent chapters-"

"yes i can." she cut him off before he sprang into his ramble.

"WHAT? the whole damn time? wow, you just spoiled it for me."

"you asked asshole! and yes i could since i started going to that school, i just never felt the need to mention it."

"can you see any ghosts here?"

"no."

katsuki let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and smiled in relief. "phew, i don't know what i'd do if some fuckfaced ghost was hanging around here."

"yeah, yeah. well, want a rematch?"

"oh you're in for it loser!"

after another successful win for [name] since she took the college route, she let katsuki clean up the game by himself, saying it was "a punishment fit for a loser."

they hung around until meeting aizawa at the appointed time.

they walked into the U-A classroom, this time nezu, allmight, and a couple lesser known heroes were in attendance.

"[name], bakugo, these are the heroes who are going to be on the lookout for that strange man from now on."

[name] bowed respectfully, and forced bakugo down into a bowing position too. "alright, let's begin then with what we know."

aizawa recapped what [name] and bakugo had accounted for that night, however, he had new details to share.

"we have done some digging on the villain, he's dubbed himself '2-D', and mostly commits petty crimes. the worst crime he committed was robbing a bank, where he was caught on camera controlling characters from a superhero comic to clear the way into a vault. if you'd all look at this footage here..."

aizawa played a video on the screen. it showed the same man who had attacked bakugo outside a bank. after a few minutes, he had thrown the book into the air and zapped it with his ability. the same poof that brought forth [name] was shown in the video, except something was different. the characters answered at his beck and call, destroying the quirk-proof glass and robbing the bank easily. the cover of the book was left blank as he used the characters to his will.

notably, once the robbery was finished, 2-D zapped them once again, and put them back into the book, as evident by the way the cover turned back to normal.

"now, this confirms something very important while also showing something quite confusing. 2-D seems to posses the ability to bring the characters back into whichever world he took them out of, which is great news for [name] here. however, why isn't [name] being controlled by 2-D?"

the heroes all looked around the room as they consulted eachother for their thoughts. however, none of them had clear answers or claims on what the cause could be.

"maybe it's because of the type of books he used? [name] is from a romance novel, she doesn't have a fighting ability." bakugo said.

the heroes pondered over it. "that seems like the most logical response for now. however, please all of you, keep a look out for 2-D, and bring them into custody alive and healthy. we need to get [name] home safely."

"thank you all, i apologize for all the trouble."

"no, no don't worry young [name]. we are heroes, this is what we're made for! ha ha ha!" all might said.

"ok.."

bakugo guided her out as they exited. "so, you happy? once they find that idiot you're out of here." he said, failing to hide his bitter  tone.

"well, no, i don't know what i feel now. being here, even for a short while, has been fun. and even when i do leave, ill miss you all. so, cheer up katsuki, it's not like im gone yet."

"right, you're still here." he said, grabbing onto her hand."

"mhm. and when i leave you'll probably be there right?"

"right."

"so, stop being a loser and cheer up! let's go get food together again though, i'm starved."

"right, did you like the place last time?"

"yes! aww, maybe we'll look like a real couple today too."

"cut it out!"

"come on katsuki, i know you like me, i saw all those figures--"

"please die." he said, letting go of her hand and storming off without her.

"wait, come back! i was half-joking! i'm sorry!"

they had eaten at the same spot as they did before, and even managed to get a free couple dessert. katsuki flushed at how embarrassing it was that they shared a heart shaped straw, but he secretly.. was enjoying it.

after they finished up there, he took [name] to the manga shop to show her just how popular she really was. posters, art books, pens, sketchbooks, pencil packs, and.. was that a body pillow? she was everywhere, it was as flattering as it was shocking.

"wow, i'm so famous, huh?"

"yep."

"why's there no books though?" she said, eyeing the empty shelves under the mountains of endless merch she had.

bakugo sighed. "they sell out quick."

"wow! i'm so cool!"

"don't let it get to your head." he said, flicking her forehead.

"ouch!"

when they finally left the store, they admired the sunset. they walked side by side down the path, this time [name] initiating the hand hold as they saw the view. but when she saw the glow of the sun sending its goodbyes, he saw her.

his hands moved before he could process it, softly cradling her face in between his pointer finger and thumb as he turned her gaze towards him.

"katsuki?"

"[name], i--"

he was cut off by his worst enemy. a love interest with such idiotic hair and an even worse personality type, as he ran up behind them and put a hand on [name]'s shoulders.

"[name]?"

bakugo released his gentle hold on her face as he glared holes in the guys head. as she turned, she finally realized who it was.

"...

shinto?"

prev | next!

[satureja13]

After Ji Ho opened his Pandora's Box stuffed with all the feelings he'd hidden deep down inside to survive, they all got kicked out of the game. After Vlad and Kiyoshi, who hadn't been ingame, helped them up and checked if they were unscathed... Vlad: "Where is Ji Ho?!" They couldn't ask Tiny Can - the overload has blewn his circuits ö.ö Saiwa: "Gods - is Ji Ho stuck ingame? How are we supposed to get him out when Tiny Can's broken?" Jack was shaking: "It's all my fault. I wanted the investigations to continue."

Before Vlad could take something - or someone - apart in his grief and anger, they heard an incoming call from the computer, which luckily hadn't been destroyed, like poor Tiny Can. It's Noxee! And Greg. Noxee: "Babies! Ji Ho is save! Don't worry, he'll be fine. We need you to leave Tomarang for a while. Pack your stuff together and take the train tomorrow. I'll send you the tickets."

And - as always - before they could ask or say anything: Noxee: "Huh, already that late! We have to... prepare *winks*. Bye Babies! See you there!" Jack: "Argh! Can't they keep their hands to themselves! Turn that off! He stole my girl in this world and even ingame!" As if things weren't worse enough!

So Ji Ho is safe. But Noxee said he will be fine. Means he isn't fine right now? Vlad was still raging. He wasn't even able to feel Ji Ho through their bond! But Noxee wouldn't lie to them. Ji Ho is safe. Even though Jack was at the verge of loosing it himself, he dragged Vlad (and Kiyoshi - as counsel ö.Ö) over to his houseboat, to watch a Star Wars movie. This always calms them down and distracts them - at least for a while. And Jack hopes Diety Kiyoshi has one of his 'here' days and could cast a little soothing aura on Vlad... or whatever he was able to do. Little Goat: "I wonder where we are going to go?" Kumo: "Who knows? The poor Boys." Little Goat: "Who could have forseen that, though..."

When they entered the houseboat, Jack's TV was running? Jack: "Huh, I don't remember leaving it on. And I never watch the X Files..."

Skully: "Hey, Buddy! Come join us!" Skully? How the hell did he make it out of the game! ö.ö And what is Malfoy doing here?

Jack isn't able to deal with anything else today. So he just shoved in a bigger sofa and they watched the X Files together... Skully: "Everything's gonna be alright, you'll see."

'Good friends we have, oh, good friends we've lost Along the way, yeah In this great future, you can't forget your past So dry your tears, I say, yeah'

Bob Marley - No woman no cry

Leaves Saiwa and Jeb, alone together for the first time since... uh it's been months! To make it less awkward - and because Jeb knows that it helps Sai to run when he's upset (usually Jack says/does something stupid so Sai runs after him ^^') - he urged Sai to accompany him. It's raining, but they didn't bother.

Saiwa looked at Jeb and he was thankful he was acting somewhat 'normal'. They ran quietly for a while. Even though Jeb must hurt from their separation just as much as he does, and must be upset about the latest happenings - he's Ji Ho's best friend after all -, he's still solid like a rock and devoted to him and tries to help him where he can. And Sai remembered of one of their happier days, running together through the rain... How he wants those days back. Jeb: "Look forward or you'll trip ^^' We can't have another of us injured." Right, forward it goes...

Sai couldn't stand going home yet - back to all the madness that awaits them there, so they went to the Night Market. Sai: "I'm going to ask Ms Coombes to replace me. I failed utterly as our leader. I'm too weak for this - even broke down." Jeb: "None of us could have avoided what happened. And no one else could have brought us this far. Look at all the things you've already achieved, hm? How well you did. And we already promised we'd carry the burden together with you. Just let us. We need you." He wanted to add 'I need you' but it's neither the right time nor the right place for this.

Jeb: "Van... (It's not the right time and place to call Sai 'Vanië', Jeb's nickname for Sai, either) uhm, I don't want to upset you any further, but the monolithic figure on the platform Jihovere stood on and raised the storm - it was the same as in the cave Ji Ho's grandfather held him capture with his brother... I noticed it when I freed him." Sai: "What? No way he made it into the game, did he?" Jeb: "I hope not. We'll have to discuss this tomorrow with the elders from the Resistance. Even if it 'only' was a 'reminder' for us from Tiny Can to finally start to learn how to protect ourselves against the Siren's Spells. It's too severe to ingore it any longer." Sai: "I'm not sure if I can lead you through all this, Jeb." Jeb: "I know you will. Together with us, hm? Don't give up on us." He also meant Sai shouldn't give up on them - and their love. But he didn't say it out loud either.

No one noticed yet, but Skully wasn't the only thing that made it out of the game. The sword Jihovere pulled out of her King's statue's heart was lying on Ji Ho's memorabilia rack ö.Ö'

This is the last post from the 'Who killed Jack?' chapter! 🗡 I hope you enjoyed it! I had so much fun! (I already told you how much I love these Crime Games ^^') So following the Boys solving a case was the perfect combo for me :3

Does this mean game over for the Therapy Game? ö.Ö' Who knows? If you want to learn how it all started with the Therapy Game: - the development of the Therapy Game (chapter 26) -> here - their therapy sessions (chapter 27) -> here - and the Murder Mystery (chapter 28) 'Who killed Jack? -> here

The Therapy Game Master Post with the sessions and places so far is -> here

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: 'Who killed Jack?' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[beebotea]

hey, are you listening? — part 03

pairing : college au!xiao x f!reader . summary : in which uni students decipher vague tweets and emotions... + ie: second-year students y/n and xiao are forced to work through their term project (and feelings) as their friends attempt to meddle with their love lives ‘for the greater good’ . cw : swearing, slut-shaming, suggestive, reader she/her pronouns, alcohol, mentions of substance use .

[prev] [masterlist] [next]

03. into the night

act 1, scene 1

—

act 1, scene 2

Y/N watched as Xiao stood up from the table and excused himself from the conversation. It wasn’t long until Hu Tao & Venti and Yanfei & Heizou began their own respective conversations, leaving Y/N and Scaramouche to sit there in silence.

“Oh, um… is he alright?” Y/N said, as she watched Scaramouche finish sending a text from his phone.

The Inazuman ruffled his hair in slight frustration before setting his phone down. “Oh, Xiao? He said he was going to the washroom. I’m sure it’s nothing. He’s not great with big crowds unless he’s on stage with his bass.”

“I see… I thought he didn’t really like me or something…”

“Yeah, ‘or something.’”

“What?”

“What?”

Y/N took a second to take in his appearance. Delicate and soft features carefully defined and enhance by his red eyeliner and the way his fringe framed his face. He was a very pretty young man… it seemed to run in the family considering Xiao was quite easy on the eyes as well, although quite intimidating.

“So are you done admiring me yet, or…” He seemed to catch on to her spacing out, smirking at her as he spoke up.

“Oh… sorry I didn’t mean to stare.” She looked away, feeling her cheeks heat up from being caught red handed.

“It’s fine. You wanna grab a drink with me at the bar over there?”

“Oh, sure alright.” Y/N accepted his extended hand. Scaramouche helped her out of her chair, before promptly letting go when she got to her feet.

“So, how come I’ve never seen you around campus until now? It seems we have a lot of friends in common.”

“Oh, I mean I guess I only really know Aether, Childe, Cyno and maybe Heizou from your side… it’s more like we have friends of friends in common. I’m not in too many extra-curriculars either.”

“Yeah I suppose that’s true. You’re in marketing right? How’s that going for you.”

“It’s fine, I suppose it’d be a lot simpler than Mechatronics Engineering…”

“Eh, maybe. But they’re totally different so I wouldn’t try to make a comparison.” He smiled at her.

“I’m not going to lie… you’re a lot nicer than I expected.”

“Really? What makes you say that? You thought I’d be more like Xiao or something?” He raised his eyebrow curiously at her.

“No, well yes but not entirely. My friend Mona didn’t seem to excited when she saw you and Childe show up so I just got the impression you wouldn’t be so fun to talk to.”

“Is that so? Did she tell you why?”

Y/N shook her head in response and tilting her head to urge him to continue.

“Hah, we’ll do I have a story to tell you.”

“Please, do tell.”

Before Scaramouche could continue, he received slew of notifications. “Oh, sorry one second,” he pulled out his phone to respond to whoever was bombarding him with messages. Shortly after, he slipped his phone back into his pocked and looked back at her to continue where he left off.

“Sorry about that, where was I… oh right. I went to a Snezhnayan private high school for the first three years. So in my third year, Childe and I were on the soccer team and we were playing against Monstadt City Academy. She was on the cheer squad for their school or whatever and there was like a small problem with their formation or something. Anyways, long story short, she fell off their pyramid right as a break was called and Childe and I almost pissed ourselves laughing at her.”

“No way!”

“Yep, it happened. You can even ask her, although I probably wouldn’t want to be there to see you get scolded… she’s quite the prideful one.”

“Yeah… I think I’ll just take your word on it then.” The two laughed together about the memory of the great Mona Megistus falling on her ass. “You must be really good at soccer then. Are you on our Uni’s team?”

“Oh yeah, all of our band members play together often after practices. We’re all on the team. The season is over now but you should definitely come watch our games next year. Who knows maybe Xiao will finally talk to you then.” He smirked at her and nudged her with his elbow.

He was met with widened eyes and incomprehensible stammering. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you trying to talk to him~ Too bad… I was hoping I’d be the one to catch your eye. Oh look, speak of the devil himself.”

Y/N looked into the direction he nodded at and saw Aether, Kazuha and Xiao approaching.

“Hey, Y/N! Having fun? This is Kazuha, our band mate and you already know Xiao.” The male twin waved at her as the three joined their group of two.

“It’s nice to meet you, Y/N,” Kazuha smiled as he extended and arm to shake her hand. “So what are we talking about?”

“Oh, you know, we were talking about how Y/N—ow.” Y/N elbowed Scaramouche in the side to stop his teasing before it got out of hand.

“Soccer! Scaramouche was telling me about how you guys are on the soccer team!”

“Yeah, we are!” Aether explained how Scara and Heizou played forward, Xiao and Kazuha often took up the midfield, while he and Venti usually played as part of their defense or goalie. “Some of other guys in our friend group, like Cyno and Childe, are on the team too,” Aether continued.

“Well recently Xiao has been playing forward, right?” Kazuha spoke up, patting the black and teal haired man on the shoulder to encourage him.

“Yeah, strikers are usually the fastest on the team. It’s just that I’m bad at aiming it into the net…” Xiao shyly chuckled at himself. It was a first for Y/N to see him smile, or to see any expression on him at all (other than a scowl).

“I’m no expert at soccer but I’m sure you’ll be the a pro w practice right?”

Xiao granted her another smile accompanied by a nod.

Since then, the atmosphere in the group began to change. They continued to exchange opinions and ideas during their conversations while also asking each other about their experiences with common friends and acquaintances.

Xiao had even seemed to loosen up a bit after a drink given to him by Kazuha and adding his own short quips.

Eventually, Scaramouche was called back to his table by Venti. Not long after, Aether and Kazuha also returned to their table after witnessing Xiao ask a whole conversation-starting question on his own, leaving Y/N alone with him for the first time that night. Luckily, the alcohol in their blood made it significantly easier for the two to speak to each other and loosen up even when they were left alone.

“Sorry for being a bit… uptight earlier this evening. I was kind of nervous coming to this party.”

“No worries, I get like that too sometimes. Meeting new people can be overwhelming, right?”

“Yeah… especially when they look like you.”

“What?”

“Oh I… I didn’t mean to say that our loud—like I meant—”

“I think you look great too, Xiao.”

Before Xiao could respond, Y/N got a call from Hu Tao, who was outside with Yanfei, preparing to leave.

“Sorry, I have to go now… I’ll see you in class on Tuesday! It was really nice finally being able to get to know you. Bye!”

“Yeah, no worries. You too… bye.”

He watched as she ran to their table to grab her things before hurriedly waving to everyone and made her way to the door. He was starting to wish the night was longer… or that he drank the alcohol earlier that evening.

—

act 2, scene 1

—

a/n: lots of words mb… hope you enjoyed!

—

taglist  —

@ashhh-14​  @sanghyuksgasolinestationscream​

—

[theflyingfeeling]

well said, Niko 👏

so I went to exit my emotions in Germany last weekend, details below:

we went to the shows in Berlin & Leipzig, with a VIP experience for the latter

and guyyyyyyyyssss let me tell you, BC really did not lie when they said we were there to Exit our Emotions 😩 the shows went straight to the very top of my personal BC shows list, the energy was amazing and all the new songs sounded incredible live, even the ones that weren't necessarily my #1 favourites, like Where's the Exit and Wolves in California. Especially the former sounds sooooooooooooooo good live 💖

and because I was there mainly to enjoy myself and to exit the fuck out of my stupid useless emotions, I barely took any videos or pictures (I never take pictures anyway, how do y'all manage to take such amazing shots at shows?!) despite having relatively good spots to do so. I kinda wish I had more so I could think back to the shows afterwards, but on the other hand I felt like I got way more out of the show when I put my undivided focus on it, and besides indoor shows are always challenging on that regard due to the flashing lights etc. and I felt like every time I was going to film the lighting was not appropriate so in the end I just couldn't bother 😅

I don't really have much else to report from Berlin other than that the venue was great, I had an excellent view and had the best time ever 🥰

not least because I met so many BC tumblr friends!! it was so nice seeing everyone, please come to the Nokia Arena show y'all, we'll be your host it's hocus pocus 🥺

and then there was Leipzig 🥴

I mean, this is my initial reaction immediately after it (written in my drafts):

🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈

but yeah, as you can see from this post, @exitemotions and I had bought some silly little gifts to give the guys (rock hand glass markers not pictured), and we were so incredibly chill about the whole thing, like, NO ONE has ever been as chill as we were in advance of the VIP experience, I'm tellin' ya 💅

(we were so chill in fact that when we came back to the hotel room afterwards, we noticed we had forgotten the ceiling light on. you know, because that's how chill and zen and calm we had been upon leaving for the venue 💅💅💅💅💅)

the acoustic set was fucking cute, almost like a little campfire hangout 🥺

about giving the gifts and having our pictures taken: I feel like I was working on some kind of autopilot and can barely remember much anything 🙃 which I'm kinda mad at myself about lol, but I guess the guys liked the gifts (Olli said the glass markers were important, as my foreword for them was that they'd no longer have to fight about which glass/cup was whose, and I remember Tommi saying that socks are always useful. the others are owners of feet as well, so I suppose they agree 🧦)

we had made all sorts of grand plans for our individual pictures with the band but ended up with having "regular" ones after all, because while there was no feeling of rush per se at the m&g, everything was still happening relatively fast and sort of in their own course, and if we had wanted to do any funny poses or whatever, we should've been faster and in a little...sharper mental state to ask for them 😂😭

but we were chill though, I promise 💅

(I'm just cringing at myself so hard because I look like a fucking teacher standing for a class photograph 😂💀 it's funnier if you know I'm actually a teacher lol)

during the show we were on 2-3 row because we kinda missed our cue to run and reserve our spots before the acoustic set. personally I blame Santeri the tour manager for this (and also the fact that there were so many people there who had already been to VIP on this tour before, so they knew what to do 🤷‍♀️ meanwhile we were just left standing like "...wat 🧍‍♂️")

the show was just as great as the Berlin one, I honestly can't put them in order because they were both amazing and really made me forget about my sad little life 🖤

Rock Band From Hell was also alright. the one with no shirt on was hot

Ghost Kid was cool too. the one with no shirt on was hot

...so hot in fact that I already fell in love with him at the Berlin gig, and so when we were on our way to the merch booth after the Leipzig show, we ran into him and I flirted chatted with him a bit and had my picture taken with him 🥰 he was soooooo sweet and funny and I hope he'll stay true to his promise and keep the thing I said to him ('the drummer of BC could never [swirl the drumstick in his fingers in between every beat like you do]') "just between you and me" 🤭

from the merch booth I bought the XOXO longsleeve which looks super nice (sadly the quality isn't as super though dfgdgdsdh)

the next day it was time to return home, and as @kraeuterhexchen was seeing me to my platform at the railway station, I broke into tears in the middle of an escalator and didn't stop crying until boarding my plane lol

it's just that I was really nervous about travelling back to the airport from Leipzig because I had two changes of trains and the horror stories I've heard of Deutsche Bahn always being late were only adding to it, and that stress somehow triggered some sort of emotional meltdown in me and I realised the trip that I had been waiting for 6 MONTHS was now ending?? there had been so much talk about how we'd "do this and that when we go to Berlin/Leipzig and see BC" and now it's all done and gone and ?????? how does one move on after that 😭

but mostly I've been crying about the gift I gave to Olli 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

some of you have already heard about this, but I had made Olli this pin cushion ring:

...because I wanted to "support his sewing hobby", as I told him then sdhfhdfhfhfh

he seemed to really appreciate it, and as I demonstrated how handy it was (because you can wear it and easily put the pins there while sewing instead of having to reach to a pin cushion further away on the table), he told me he only had this huge pin cushion ("a brick" he called it, the one you can see on this video), and aaaahhhhh I'M SO ANGRY AT MYSELF for not remembering much else or barely daring to even look at him to see his reaction 😭 I do remember he got very excited when he heard he was getting a sewing-related gift though ("yessss" he said, if my memory doesn't fail me too bad) 🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

and I'm so sad I didn't even get a picture of him with it, because Joona the photographer was in the possession of my phone at that moment 😔 and I also forgot to tell him I had made it myself, though I believe it's self-evident. but, you know. still 😭

and the reason why I've been so emotional about it is because I had made the ring weeks ago already, shortly after the album release event, and since then I have admired it every day (because hellooooo is it not the cutest?!) and I had imagined all the scenarios in which I'd give it to him, what I'd say about it and how he'd react to it (I wondered if he'd even know what it was, but of course he immediately recognized it as a pin cushion when I showed it to him 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭), and yesterday it just suddenly hit me that when I'd be back home, the ring would no longer be there on my table for me to admire and hold in my hands, because Olli has it now? it's OLLI'S now, as intented, and yeah idk why but even now, two days later, I'm still literally crying about it as I'm writing this because I had grown strangely attached to that silly trinket and now I'll probably never see it again 🥺😭 (I guess I should just make one for myself too lol, my old one that I made almost 17 years ago is a wee bit shabby)

anyway, if anyone sees him, can you please tell him to take good care of it 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

the world's biggest thanks to everyone who I hung out with on this trip, but especially to @kraeuterhexchen whose stunning art I can now admire in calendar form on my kitchen wall every month of the year (yes I shall keep you updated):

...and to @another-sun the organizer extraordinaire, as well as to my travelling companion @exitemotions (thanks for all the laughs with a touch of chaos in between <3)

here's me with BC again, the only other picture that's not blurry af lol

in conclusion, 🎵 never again, never again 🎵

...until next time 👀

[doubletaileddoubletrouble]

I see a lot of ppl talking about corporal punishment so let me put my input on it.

I've gotten corporal punishment (mostly from my dad) and YEAH SURE it did in fact help me learn things quickly-- but it hurt more than it helped. Recently, I've noticed that it installs fear in communicating with any authority figure. (And communication is pretty essential in terms of working out problems.) Especially when it's used on a kid that doesn't understand why exactly they're being punished. They'll end up fearing asking for help in order to fix their mistakes, and only end up making more mistakes and misunderstandings.

Now, the exception about this is that it was less of a punishment, and more of a reality check, kinda. Instead of the punching being used to reinforce an ideology that the kid may not exactly understand, it's to knock some sense into someone who seems to have gotten lost from what they already know. (and totally understands why they got punched.)

ALSO ADDITIONALLY: Corporal punishment is more constant throughout the life. This was kind of a one time thing.

Additionally, punching your loved one's is still bad. I'm pretty sure Sonic only did that spontaneously because he needed a solution, and that was the easiest one. Which brings me to ANOTHER thing which is that parents use corporal punishment instead of trying to teach their kids with less violent methods because simply, it's easier. Fear is a good motivator, no matter the context.

Sorry guys, I'm sleepy so I don't even know if my point is coming across correctly. Feel free to argue against me more and maybe I can actually get my thoughts in check ugh.

Communicating about problems- heh, who needs that?!? (<- panicking) Certainly not me. I learn from my mistakes. In "more healthy ways" or the same way I've learned my whole life. You learn not to touch the wrong wires in circuitry, or else you get shocked.

It's not just the quickest way, but it instills it for the longest. That seems like the most effective method to me.

Ooc:

Alright, let's talk about this for a moment.

There's a difference between abuse, corporeal punishment, and whatever the fuck Sonic did.

Tails very clearly was Abused, not punished. There's a main difference between the two and that's health after the "punishment." (Or maybe I'm just American and it's all abuse.)

If you are showing physical signs afterward, or they activity didn't provide you with things that are nessicary to live (when it was available to them, poverty is an exception to this one) then its abuse.

The most common corporal punishments are things like spanking, being pattled, or just generally being hit with blunt items on the arms, hands, back, or bottom. I think a belt also counts on this topic, but neither of my parents owned belts, so I never dealt with that.

Again, I could just be American, and this could all be abuse, but If you are being hit out of anger rather than punishment, you're left bleeding, they're depriving you of house, food or anything, they're breaking bones, and especially if you're told to lie about how you got any injuries, you need to ask for help. That's certainly abuse.

My childhood fluctuated between the two. My parents had anger issues, and while they'd try to keep it legal, their emotions often got the best of them. I don't wish that upon anyone.

(Yes, I put the sonic thing into its own category because it checks every box for abuse and I don't want to label it that with my whole soul)

Regardless, it's interesting seeing everyone argue against my upbringing, and uh yeah, I'm questioning a lot of things, guys, lol.

[livvyofthelake]

alright let’s get into it about king arthur 2004. first of all yes it was bad of course it was bad, it’s a “historical” retelling of arthurian legend and it makes arthur roman and the other knights are supposedly eastern european except that none of those men are eastern european and then also guinevere and merlin were whatever scottish people were in the 5th century but again keira knightly is not scottish. basically it’s very dense on the lore for a movie that didn’t really seem to care about accuracy to the lore. there’s like. there’s words on the screen in the beginning and then there’s also more expositional narration and then there’s also more exposition in the form of bad dialogue and genuinely it does feel like a good 40 minutes of this movie is exposition all for a nothing plot because it’s so reliant on the action scenes you kind of get nothing out of it. however EYE got something out of it because early in the movie arthur is praying that his knights make it back from their last mission so they can live to become free men, and lancelot walks in and says “why do you always talk to god and not to me?” and it made me insane for the rest of the two hour runtime. those men were gay as hell your honor. lancelot dies in the climactic battle and arthur and guinevere both kneel over his body and cry and scream it’s great. i think it was brave of them to kill lancelot before he got to steal arthur’s wife. julian murphy should’ve taken notes wtf.

also i liked that the other knights were like, fleshed out characters. maybe not gawain who didn’t talk very much or hugh dancy who i don’t remember who he was supposed to be. but like tristan was cool i liked his falcon rest in peace buddy. and the other guy with the 11 kids oh my god do i know anyone’s name from this movie. who the hell was that guy. hold on. oh ok bors. was he lancelot’s cousin in this movie i wasn’t paying attention. and hugh dancy was galahad. sorry i didn’t remember that in my defense he had like two minutes of screentime. and dagonet was cool although i think it’s wild that this movie was pulling out niche knights and not like. kay. or bedivere. sorry i’m attached to those guys because of alex that’s not my fault. anyway i liked them they were cool to hang with

ALSO i think it was surprisingly feminist for a movie that came out in 2004 about men. or maybe not feminist exactly but like. not misogynistic. there’s a moment where you think it might be with the one guy’s not-wife (she’s the mother of his 11 children but they’re not married) but it’s not misogyny they’re just toxic hets and i support them <3 and then guinevere is just such a slay but what else did you expect from keira knightly… like yeah i think it’s weird that keira was like 18 making this movie with a hoard of adult men and she’s the object of both male protagonist’s lust but at the end of the day she seems like she made it through that weird phase of her career fine so i’ll let it go for the sake of not going insane. anyway i think it was really feminist of her to want to fuck that gay man so bad. real. but no really i just liked that her character was well done and got to do things. she killed a bunch of guys it was hot what who said that i mean like it was great. and she’s the one that convinced arthur to abandon rome and fight for something he actually believed in, where rome was a lie he believed for convenience.

which brings me to my man <3 you know no critique of a king arthur movie from me is complete without me rambling for a little about how well i think they characterized my special little guy… and i think this movie did pretty good! he’s a good man who cares about people and his most defining enduring belief for the entire story is of freedom which i thought was slay even though um. he’s english. cannot imagine he’d be happy to see what his country came to yikes!! but also i think it was good to show that he also had flaws that tied directly into his strengths and his goodness. how he fought so hard for rome in the beginning because his idea of rome was this ideal society that believed in equality and freedom, and he didn’t realize that that was a fantasy because he didn’t want to realize it so he could hold on to something while he fought their wars. like i think willful ignorance is such a great king arthur flaw that not enough media wants to depict. he’s an idealist at heart and i adore him for it but it means he has a tendency to ignore reality… and then also he had a little red cape which you KNOW i am always a fan of. i LOVE it when they put this guy in a red cape!! seriously! it’s sooo stupid <33 um yeah and then also i think he could have been hotter but i’ll allow mediocrity just this once because he was gay about it. also they killed his celibacy swag which i thought was fucked up but again i’ll allow it just this once because he did think he was going to die the next morning. and they also made literally every word out of this man’s mouth the most intense thing anyone has ever said, which i think was a great choice. he’s literally just like that like he’s literally just. like that. drama queen!!

also i liked that bit of narration at the end when dead lancelot says that none of them who died really died because they live on in stories and legend passed down through generations <3 and finally here is the joke i wasted my letterboxd review on

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Heart’s Choice - Chapter 24 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

- Carlos -

With the threat of burglars assuaged, John and I enter the house and join the mysterious David in the living room.

My main concern was that the dogs might have escaped through the open door but this, too, proves to be a needless worry.

They flank David like a pair of backup dancers, attuned to his every move and obey John reluctantly when he tells them to go lie down on their beds.

Even then, they keep their eyes trained on our visitor, ears pricked forward, as if ready to leap up at the slightest hint of a command.

"Some guard dogs you two are," John mutters, casting them a disapproving glance.

"Don't be hard on them, John," David says. "You know they can't help it. Just like it seems you cannot help yourself."

He turns his gaze on me, his grey eyes flashing silver as they catch the light.

"It appears the bond is quite strong already and growing fast. And you told me there was no effect."

He shifts his attention back to John and I remember to breathe.

The guy has a presence I can hardly describe and like the dogs, I'm having a hard time taking my eyes off him.

He's taller than John and though not as muscular, carries himself with a confidence that speaks of great strength.

His hair is a light ash blond, almost silver and cut short in the back and longer in the front.

I get the sense he's old, though how old I can't guess but his skin is flawless and stretches smoothly over high cheekbones and a sharp jaw.

His tastes run expensive and while I don't know enough about clothes to guess what he's wearing, I'd wager his shirt and slacks are custom-tailored by some Italian name.

"I didn't lie," John says, glaring at David. "He's not infected."

"Clearly." David smiles. "But that is not the effect of which I speak. What symptoms have you experienced?"

John rubs his jaw and I sense a struggle taking place behind the stoic mask of his expression.

"Some synchrony of thought and feeling," he says at last. "And... maybe a little possessiveness."

David nods.

"Entirely natural. And you?"

"I don't even know what the heck you're talking about," I say.

"No?"

His smile sends a chill up my spine.

He'd taken one of the low, cube like reading chairs, representative of the house's modern style, ensconcing himself like a lord upon a throne.

John perches tensely on the edge of it's mate, while I remain standing, resting my butt on the sofa's arm.

As David rises and comes towards me, I straighten instinctively, not wanting to appear shorter than I am.

Five-nine is a perfectly respectable height... plenty of famous actors are five-nine... but next to six-six, or whatever David is, it feels small.

"John has a very distinctive scent, wouldn't you agree?" he asks.

"Uh... Weird question but sure, I guess he smells alright."

"And you are drawn to him, are you not? You feel... aroused in his presence?"

I glance past him to John, who looks as uncomfortable as I feel.

"Yeah, that's not really any of your business, is it?"

"It is my business, actually. John is very dear to me. He is the son of my blood. When he told me of the threat you pose to him, I came immediately to help him manage it or to neutralize it, if needed."

"David, please..." John rises as well and approaches cautiously.

"There's no need. I have it under control."

"So it appears," David murmurs. "But do you, really?"

John answers with an audibly strained.

"Yes. Perfectly."

"Good. Then you won't mind if I have a closer look."

Before I know what's happening, David steps forward, invading my personal space so that we stand toe-to-toe.

Instantly stripped of power, I can't move or speak or offer any protest as he pulls the band from my long hair, letting it fall free around my face and inhales through his nose.

"Ah, I see the appeal," he says softly, eyes glinting silver. "You've found something special here. A rare vintage. Of course, what appeals to you will appeal to me, we are the same, after all."

"David..." John's voice is strained to breaking and past David's shoulder 'which I'm barely tall enough to see over' he radiates tension.

"Please, stop."

"But, why? If what you say is true, this won't bother you one bit," David says easily, caressing the side of my neck.

He pulls the collar of my shirt aside and lowers his head, nuzzling my skin with his nose and lips.

I shudder with a horrible mix of revulsion and arousal as a low purr rumbles in his chest.

"Mmm, delightful. Perhaps you wouldn't mind sharing, John? We could take turns with him or even... both at once."

I feel his hot breath, the brush of his lips and then... with the startling suddenness of a lightning flash... he's gone.

A second later, the matching thunderclap arrives as he crashes into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

John stands between us, shoulders heaving, eyes blazing and a pair of fangs glinting as he speaks.

"Hands off," he growls. "He's mine."

He turns towards me and approaches and I shrink away, terrified by the look of pure hunger on his face.

Then he's yanked backwards and thrown across the room in turn, crashing into the television and knocking it off the wall.

David dusts off his hands and shakes his head disapprovingly.

"Now, John, if only you'd been honest, we might have avoided this unpleasantness. Clearly your bond is..."

John launches himself at David like a tiger leaping on prey.

The pair crash over the back of the sofa and I skittle away and take shelter in a corner.

As much as I want to help John, it's clear I'd just be getting in the way and possibly getting myself killed if I try to intervene.

Besides, this is obviously a vampire thing and I have no choice but to let them work it out in their own way.

The ensuing battle is difficult to follow.

There are blurs of motion, grunts of pain, crashes and bangs and sounds of things breaking, and finally, John on his back with David standing over him amid the wreckage of the living room.

Both of them have cuts on their faces and arms, torn clothing and mussed hair but John is definitely the worse for wear.

There's a deep gash on his cheek, a bruise darkening one eye and bite marks on his shoulder, bleeding through his shirt, though his more visible injuries seem to heal before my eyes.

"Excellent," David says, smoothing his hair back into place.

"Now that we've established dominance like the animals we are, we can deal with this like civilized people."

He extends his hand and somewhat to my surprise, John accepts it and lets himself be helped to his feet.

"Forgive me for provoking you, John but you understand why I did. What just happened would have happened inevitably, far better that it happened while I was here to intervene. I doubt it would reflect well on your career if you ripped the head off some unsuspecting fellow who happened to flirt with your man and caught you in the wrong mood."

"He's not... my anything," John huffs, nursing his ribs and leaning on a chair for support.

[fearforthestorm]

just spent a hot minute transcribing a lore scene between Legundo and Viking from Legs' stream tonight (09 Nov), so I'm gonna go ahead and post it here too! link to timestamp embedded here, or the timestamp is about 1:29:23. transcript under the cut due to spoilers :D

begin transcript:

VP: Dude, how much d'you think she'd pay for diorite? You think she'd take your word for it?

L: Oh, so we're having this conversation now. We're having this conversation now, huh.

VP: I mean, we can (have this conversation now). I'm still waiting.

L: Okay. Yeah, so let's talk about that. Cause, as I've learned, didn't you tell Fix to stop me?

VP: I- (laughs) I may have told him to do something, but-

L: Oh, Fix did something alright! You saw what happened when those diamonds got removed, and I'd warned you what could happen.

VP: To be fair, I didn't do that.

L: No, but, if I had done what I'd promised you I would do, that's what would have happened.

VP: (sighs) Do you want me to explain exactly what I had in mind?

L: Is the end of the world worth whatever you were planning to do?

VP: mmmmm well if everything had gone to plan, the world wouldn't've ended, so,

L: Well, the diamonds got moved and the world ended.

VP: Wellllll, if, if the two people you send to, to do the thing, stop eachother and no one steals the diamonds, then, it's just fun to watch.

L: ...So it was all a game to you.

VP: Isn't this all just a game? (giggles)

L: That giggle is so upsetting, I'm not gonna lie.

VP: (giggles even more)

L: So, so, then it's not about the diamonds!

VP: No, I do need them. I would have gone and gotten them myself, I have that ability of course.

L: Then you would've caused the end of the world.

VP: Well, I didn't know that at the time, and it's Fix's fault, so. It's not my fault anymore. Er, couldn't even be my fault.

L: But I know you told him to do it, so, what are you talking about? You keep talking about..."the interest rate on my word". You obviously have something in mind. Spill it.

VP: Uhhhh how long have you got?

L: What do you mean?

VP: (slightly hushed, as though more to himself than to Legs)...How long have I been on this server? In this world?

L: Ohhh, I don't know. Cause there's been - there was a time before we all saw you, right?

VP: (brief silence) I don't even know the answer to that question.

L: ...Okay.

VP: What was I before I died, Legs?

L: I dunno! You're just a ghost :)

VP: I don't even know the answer to that!

L: Maybe you were a land shark! (punches Viking and he phases into the ground)

VP: Yeah, cause you can do that as a living being, right?

L: No, you can't do that as a living - oh, yeah, that kinda doesn't track huh.

VP: uh-huh.

L: So, what do you want from me?

VP: (overlapping w Legs) I need the diamonds. I need diamonds. A lot of them.

L: Okay.

VP: A lot a lot of them. Cause...hmmmm. There's a book, there's a certain thing, there's a chapter in it that I can't - I don't remember very well but basically I need a lot of diamonds to do something similar to what we did to Jamie, and it would allow me to kind of remember things hopefully maybe?

VP: Or it would just blow me up into a million little pieces or it would just end the server or it would cause everyone on the server to instantaneously have bad gas. I'm not really sure.

L: Okay, so I'm down for like.. two out of five of those, but...

VP: Oh, I wonder which two.

L: That's for you to figure out. So, what is it? You keep saying interest on my word. If I would've done what you told me, I would've blown up the world. It would've been my fault instead of Fix's.

VP: And, guess what, we've all forgive Fix, seems like everyone's just kind of moved on from what he did. "Oh, he relapsed, oh he's a genie now, he grants wishes" like everyone's just kind of okay with it now. He built you a desert!

L: That is kind of convenient, yeah, I'm totally cool with that actually.

(Overlapping speech - can't distinguish what Viking continues to say about fix)

L: (forcefully) So what do you want? What do you want.

VP: Help. I want your help. With this. I also need to talk to a couple other people, but I want diamonds. A lot. I've been mining myself, but I need like - about how many stacks would you say were in that ritual, cause that's about how much I need.

L: About 4?

VP: Four stacks of diamond blocks...sounds about right? About one per pillar (at the exorcism). This ritual's different, but...it's a lot of netherite, too. But I can do that part. Just a lot of things to guarantee that nothing goes wrong, basically.

L: Yeah, cause we kind of skirted it just barely over the line with Jamie.

VP: Yeahh, and, well, she is still gone. Like, missing, dead, just not here.

L: Yeah, and we have no idea where she is, too. What if what you're planning to do puts you in the same position? What if she's like you were?

(Viking briefly walks around a bit, shouting about/at Jamie, as though she may be a ghost able to see them, like he was.)

VP: Anyway, ummmm...I'll have to think about that, honestly. I hadn't thought about that.

L: Cause you keep trying to be all menacing, you don't even have a plan.

VP: (noise of frustration) I have...a desire to solve problems. And that is what, that is where it lies. I don't know if I'm making any sense, but I just want to fix the problem at hand.

L: Make a shop! Start earning! Capitalism! That's how it works.

VP: (laughs) I mean I guess if I have to, yeah.

...

L: There you go, I'm helping!

VP: You're very helpful! I feel like I got cheated out of an IOU. But, well, I know never to delve in those again, cause...ah, it's too messy. It's too messy.

(They get out an enderchest, Legs shows his IOU that he got back from Viking before quickly putting it back away.)

L: Viking, I feel like that was a rare time where you were completely honest with me.

VP: Huh. (pause) Good! I felt like I was being completely honest. Is this what it feels like to be not hiding something?

L: Yeah, a little bit! Kind of warm and tingly inside.

VP: I hate it.

(both laugh.)

VP: Well, I'm, uh...I'm gonna leave now. And...thanks? I guess?

(they say goodbye, Viking leaves.)

/end transcript

[udon-udon]

2022 recap

Let’s see... 2022 was a pretty wild ride, not gonna lie

Shall we start from the beginning? Hmmmm the beginning of 2022..... SheEEEESH. It was my last semester of my final year for my bachelor’s degree in graphic design for marketing (wait, I have a bachelors? LMAOOOO I forget that I have one now holy cow wait a sec). I also remember being very very stressed out about my 3 week practicum I had to do in Feb. Alongside that were a ton of projects like portfolio making, final projects for said portfolio, the grad show etc etc. It was VERY busy and stressful. Luckily, the practicum went on without a hitch, and school projects were done with, and one of the bigger projects was well received so YAY!! And then of course, graduation rolled around in April, and I finally made it!! And then I got hired right after graduation which im still super thankful for cause I got hella lucky, really. 

So work started in around late May/early June and it took a while to get used to things. I’ve never worked full time at an office before so there were many things I had to learn and stuff, but other than that I’m just glad I’m able to deliver the things I’m tasked to do, and they seem like they like me, so :’) Of course I still have my moments where I feel like I’m not cut out for the job or I think I’m doing horribly and for some reason think they’re going to fire me any time soon LOOL...  but anywho... I started a deskmat project (which is still delayed unfortunately, i don’t want to talk about it...) but hoping that can get picked back up sometime soon... I was also rushing on new prints as well for con season so that was pretty wild. 

Summer then came and WHEW. I got covid. Luckily it just felt like a regular cold, so I might have gotten a weaker strain of it. It was quite scary though since I live with family and I was afraid of spreading it to them (of course I ended up doing so cause we share the same bathroom, but they survived) Aside from that, I tabled for the first time in 3 years! AND I DID GREAT! I really missed tabling and honestly it might have been because of the turnout at the events but damn I did better than I’ve ever did, which is crazy. It really makes me want to get better and table more, but it do be pretty exhausting. Anyway, the summer was great imo, but jesus the fall took a nosedive.

September was alright, and for the second time, I didn’t have to worry about going back to school anymore which was kind of surreal again. I was finishing up the art commissions that I paused to work on the anime convention prints. I finished those up so I can focus on the Yuri Game Jam 2022 in Oct-Nov but little did I know.............. I would not be able to make it v n v. I underestimated the time management needed while working a 9-5 job and my lack of discipline... Also cause I didn’t have a clear vision of this year’s game which made me literally go in circles until I had no time left by the time I actually kind of had something down.... I became so stressed over the story that it branched out to other bad thoughts and I just spiraled really hard. Things that I said I would not let bother me had bothered me again and god I hated it so much. Why can’t I just... not think about those things. Hoping to stop those thoughts in 2023 though. So yeah I got really stressed so sadly I had to shelve the project and not release anything for this year’s game jam. I was very disappointed in myself, and it was a very tough decision to break my visual novel streak but I had to do what I had to do. After dropping the project I felt much much much much much better. Hoping to revisit the project again sometime though, now that I decided to release it whenever it’s ready (but will i have the proactiveness to go back to it? that is another story LOL)

So November was over with and December rolled around. December itself was stressful yet okay at the same time? Stressful in terms of spiraling at work again, but I also managed to just chill out and do whatever. And of course, the week-long break from work helped a ton (as I’m writing this thinking back I did absolutely nothing that week but that’s what I wanted most) Hopefully I’ll go back to work rejuvenated again cause I was clearly burnt out from work lmao. I should make use of my vacation days more man. Anyway since it was recent, I vividly remembering spiraling again over subject that shall not be mentioned, and I had no one to ground myself with so I had to try to ground myself somehow which I do try to do more so than rely on others. Luckily I recovered from the spiraling relatively quickly, so maybe it’s an improvement and if I ever encounter that subject again it’ll be an even faster recovery and soon it will be over? That’s what I’m hoping for 2023. Definitely a goal. Please let my 2023 self not let it bother me anymore please please please please (though i think i said that in 2022 no? hahaha) i jsut want to be loved v n v and not feel like my friends are leaving me one by one :’)))))))))))))))))))))))) 

ANYWAY Thank you for reading until the end. Ultimately, I want to worry less about subjects that make me go insane and just be happier. I’m a Bocchi that needs to find a close knit of supportive friends that can make me take another step in life :’)))))) LOOOOL And of course, I would like to draw more. Planning on opening art commissions in the new year some time soon so stay tuned. Hoping to table some more too! Though I don’t have much to sell hahahaha;;; Well then, until next year! 

[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] Main Story S5CH7 ‘Wait and Hope’ - Part 2

Part 1

Chapter 3

-street, daytime-

sinju: Team K's new show will finally be opening today. Maica told me about the original text it's based on, I'm excited to see what kind of show it will become!

saki: Me too.

sinju: ...Hm?

saki: Is something the matter?

sinju: I was wondering if that person's alright. They've been glancing around a lot. I wonder if he's lost? I'm gonna go and ask.

saki: I'll come with you.

-they walk over to the man-

sinju: Excuse me sir, are you lost?

Man (Yoshino's father): Oh, what lovely timin'. There's a place I'm tryin' to get to but I can't seem to figure out where it is no matter how many times I look at this map.

sinju: Where is it?

-sinju looks at map-

sinju: Oh! Where you're going is around where we're headed. If you'd like, we can guide you there.

man: Thank ya kindly. The streets all got so complicated I couldn't understand it.

saki: There's lots of narrow alleyways around here.

man: Which way are we headed then?

sinju: This way!

-they begin walking-

sinju: Are you from the Kansai region? Visiting Tokyo for a holiday?

man: Yes, I suppose ya could call it that. I'm from Kyoto.

sinju: Is that so? I can't blame you for getting lost then. This area especially is really confusing...

man: Ya can say that again. But even so, it appears to be a lively and prosperous area.

sinju: Yeah! There's all kinds of different stores around, it's a lot of fun.

man: That's wonderful to hear. Are we close to my destination?

sinju: It should be right around this next corner.

saki: (Hm? Wait, could it be that the place this man is heading is...)

-outside starless-

yoshino: What do you think you're doing?

sinju: Woah, Yoshino!?

saki: (Yoshino-san...?)

sinju: Uhh... This man was lost, so Saki-chan and I were guiding him to where he wanted to go.

yoshino: We're not open for business yet.

man: In that case, I will return once you're open. I will be gettin’ one good look at ya performance.

sinju: Wait, huh? Do you know who that man is?

yoshino: Yeah. It seems like he caused you some trouble, I'm sorry. You too, Saki-san, I apologise.

saki: No, it's fine...

yoshino: Let's head inside, I'll escort you.

saki: Thank you.

yoshino: ...... (shaky breathing)

—end

-

Chapter 3 extra

-starless restaurant area-

saki: (Team K's opening show is today, I'm looking forward to seeing it.)

man (Yoshino's father): Excuse me young lady, could I speak with ya for a moment?

saki: Oh, you're that man from earlier...

man: So you're a Starless customer as well. Have ya been comin’ here for a long time?

saki: Yes, I suppose so.

man: Could I ask ya some questions then? Regarding Yoshino.

saki: Huh...?

man: I'd like to hear some candid impressions of him from the guests here.

saki: I think that Yoshino-san is a wonderful singer.

man: There's no need to hold back, tell me ya honest thoughts.

saki: I'm not holding back anything. No matter how many times I see him perform, that's truly what I think

man: Even after hearin’ ya say that, I don’t think a man as fainthearted as him can perform on stage.

saki: That's a bit...

man: Ah, right right. My apologies for sayin’ somethin’ so unrefined. Before long I'll be able to see for myself just what kind of show it is that he will put on.

saki: (I don't know what to say...)

-nekome and sin walk up-

nekome: Excuse me~ I'll be borrowing this guest here for a moment. Dear customer, I have a message for you, please come this way.

saki: Ah, but...

sin: I shall take things from here.

man: I don't mind Miss, please deal with whatever it is you need to.

saki: Ok. In that case, please excuse me.

nekome: Alright, to the lobby we gooo~!

-starless lobby-

saki: Um, what message do you have for me...?

nekome: Hm? I don't have any message for you. A little white lie never hurt anybody and you had a troubled expression on your face.

saki: Thank you for looking out for me.

nekome: You're here to watch the show so I want to make sure you enjoy your time here~ I'll get a different seat prepared for you, so just wait here a moment.

saki: Ok, thank you.

-nekome leaves-

saki: (I wonder what that person's relation to Yoshino-san is... Whoever he is, I hope that Yoshino-san is able to convey his talents to him...)

—end

-

Chapter 3 SideA

-backstage-

yoshino: Phew....... (shaky breathing)

sotetsu: Oi, don't tell me the nerves are getting the better of you?

yoshino: N-no... I'm fine...

-yoshino leaves-

sotetsu: Damn, he can't even joke about it.

-time pass, starless stage-

yoshino: "Wait and hope!"

-audience cheers-

female guest 1: Yoshino-kun was amazing!

female guest 2: I know right! His will was so strong, he felt like a protagonist that couldn't lose to anyone!

-starless hallway-

yoshino: Good job out there.

kei: Is that what you call learning about yourself?

yoshino: I know I'm still not self-aware enough, but... No nevermind, I'll think it over more.

-behind starless, night-

yoshino's father: That is the performance that ya wanted to show me?

yoshino: Father...!

yoshino's father: Ya acted all big... And yet all ya were doin' is bluffin' about all of it. No matter how composed ya try to look on the surface, ya can't hide what's inside. 

yoshino: ......

yoshino’s father: Your insecurities, unreliability, all of ya weaknesses still show through. Ya can't call that 'art', it's just a tool that you're usin’ to comfort yourself. Quit right away and return home already.

-yoshino's father leaves-

yoshino: Please wait!

menou: He's really riled up huh.

maica: Are you ok? Actually, who even was that? Why was a guest hanging around back here?

yoshino: It's nothing, don't worry.

maica: It obviously wasn't nothing—

yoshino: I'm sorry for the disturbance. I'll be going now.

-yoshino leaves-

maica: ...I wonder if something happened. He didn't seem like himself in the show either.

menou: You think? He used to be like that all the time though. I enjoyed his interpretation of Dantès, the way he had to encourage himself to carry out his revenge was great~

maica: You were just looking at his acting...

menou: There's no point in you worrying about him, Maica. It's Yoshino's own problem.

maica: That's true, but still...

—end

-

Chapter 3 SideA extra

-backstage-

yoshino: Thank you for coming to watch tonight, Saki-san.

saki: Your show was amazing, Yoshino-san.

yoshino: Thank you. Um... if you'd be ok with it, could we walk home together? I'd like to talk to you for a bit while we walk.

-time pass, park, night-

yoshino: I'd like to apologise for causing you trouble a few days ago.

saki: What do you mean?

yoshino: You helped an older man in Japanese clothing with Sinju the other day right? That man was my father.

saki: Oh...

yoshino: He even went and bothered you inside the store too... I heard about it from Sin, that he went and spoke with you. You came to the store to have fun and yet he dragged you into my own mess, I'm really sorry.

saki: No, it's ok...

yoshino: I heard he tried to ask you things about me. I wouldn't put it past him to do something like that...

saki: I was quite surprised by his questions, but Nekome and Sin appeared to interject right away.

yoshino: ...In truth, I hadn't been planning to talk to you about all this. However, I would hate to cause you any more trouble than this, so...

saki: I don't mind at all... Rather than myself, are you ok, Yoshino-san?

yoshino: I wish I could say that I was... It's pitiful to admit, but once I started thinking about how my father was coming to watch, I couldn't hold it together... It's been a long time since I felt so much pressure and so nervous that it affected my performance.

saki: I think it's understandable...

yoshino: I thought that I'd gained some confidence, and would be able to overcome this but... In the end I'm still just as weak as ever. I need to get stronger, if I don't then there's no point in me even being on this stage.

saki: That's not true...

yoshino: I finally got this opportunity, and even though I wanted to show you I've grown... This is the result. It's frustrating.

saki: Yoshino-san...

yoshino: Anyways, I'll try even harder from now on. In order to put on a show even better than the last one. In order for my father and Kei to recognise my efforts as a singer...

saki: Please don't push yourself too much.

yoshino: I'm fine, don't worry. I'll do my best in order for you to recognise me as well. So please, make sure you watch me.

-time pass, outside train station, night-

saki: Thank you for walking me here.

yoshino: You too, thank you for keeping me company. See you tomorrow.

-saki leaves-

yoshino: ..."Wait and Hope". Wait... huh?

—end

-

Chapter 3 SideB

-starless alcohol storage area(?)-

sotetsu: You sure are working hard.

yakou: You say that like I'm working on a farm or something.

sotetsu: Your company job, your cast member job and your management duties, I just thought that you're handling them all pretty darn well.

yakou: Do you want to ask me something?

sotetsu: It's about Yoshino. If he wasn't here then your spot as K's singer would go unchallenged.

yakou: I'm not gonna take that bait.

sotetsu: Oh? Meaning Yoshino taking that spot doesn't frustrate you?

yakou: Yoshino's in that spot for this performance according to our leader's judgment. Our lineup always changes to suit each show, it's nothing new. I'm not going to object to the decision, however I can't say that it’s not at least a little frustrating.

sotetsu: Hahah look at you, you're all grown up.

yakou: What about you? Aren't you awfully unbothered by all this? ...I can more or less guess why though.

sotetsu: You understand me well.

yakou: You never change huh.

sotetsu: Well, either way, the end result depends on Yoshino. I'm just going to enjoy the show.

yakou: Then I'll do my best to make sure the guests are pleased as well.

-yakou leaves-

sotetsu: He really has become a fine adult huh…

—end

-

Chapter 3 SideB extra

-starless kitchen-

unei: Um, excuse me~ Do you have a moment, Kongou-san? I'd like to show you this...

kongou: Hm? Are those feedback surveys?

unei: I- I wasn't sure what to do, but I figured I should at least relay them to you...

-unei gives the surveys to kongou-

kongou: .......

ran: Hm~? Whatta we have here? "The flavour was too strong and not to my tastes." Hm, hm... "It was a menu aimed at youngsters." ...Wow. Damn you're gettin' flamed here.

kongou: ...It appears so.

unei: Honestly, I was shocked. Your cooking has always been popular, Kongou-san. I've never seen things like this be criticised before...!

hinata: What? People that don't like Kongou's food actually exist? That person has no idea what they're talking about, everything he makes is super delicious!

kongou: Thank you. However, it's reality that this person wasn't happy with their meal. They took the time to tell me their opinion, so I will sincerely accept the criticism.

ran: No way, ya don't need to do that. Old people rarely ever visit here anyway.

lico: The food targets our main customer demographic, there's nothing wrong with that.

kongou: I won't make any drastic changes, when adjusting the menu I always take into careful consideration whether or not it suits Starless.

lico: Sure thing.

ran: By the way, do we know who submitted these surveys?

lico: It's obviously that one guy, y’know, the old guy dressed in Japanese clothes. He's been coming here every day. Trying to act all posh, but if he doesn't like the place he doesn't need to keep coming back.

ran: Oh ya, I think I've seen him.

hinata: That guy is here all the time now, does someone know him?

lico: Isn't he a relative of Yoshino-chan? I saw them arguing over something. Anyways, get back to work already, I wanna go home.

ran: Got it. Here, go and take the trash out, Lico~

lico: Tch...

-behind starless, night-

lico: Must be nice, having a home you can just run on back to…

—end

-

Chapter 4

-starless office-

unei: Good work on all of your performances so far, everyone! I will announce the current audience ratings of the show— It's a great success! Yoshino-san's singing especially is getting lots of positive feedback!

yoshino: I'm glad to hear that…

sotetsu: Hey, how come you're looking all depressed despite the good results?

gui: Are you not happy, Yoshino?

yoshino: Uh no, it's not that. I'm just not satisfied with this...

kei: Precisely. Aim even higher and continue to devote yourself to your training.

yoshino: Yes, of course.

saki: (The air around Yoshino-san and Kei-san is so tense...)

unei: That is all I have to report, please do your best in the remaining performances!

-hallway-

-yoshino's phone rings-

yoshino: Hm...? (sighs)

yoshino (on phone): Hello...? What is it? ...Yes.

yoshino (on phone): Yes, I understand that. The result isn't just from my ability alone... However, I'll show you that I can get an even better result by the end. Yes, I'll be going now...

-hangs up-

yoshino: Sigh...

-gui walks up-

yoshino: Oh, Gui. You spooked me.

gui: What are you thinking about, Yoshino?

yoshino: I'd actually like to ask what your thoughts are. What do you think about my singing during this show?

gui: What do I think...? What do you mean?

yoshino: Like, is there anything off about it? Are you finding it hard to match your movements to my voice?

gui: ...I don't really understand.

yoshino: I was just wondering if my singing is restricting everyone else's movements. Even though I'm the one that's supposed to be leading you all. For example... Sorry, never mind, don't worry about what I was saying just now.

-yoshino leaves-

gui: Yeah, I really don't understand…

—end

-

Chapter 4 extra

-starless lobby-

female guest 1: Your performance today was seriously the best! I'll be coming back again!

female guest 2: I got so fired up that I've already bought another ticket for tomorrow's show! I'll be looking forward to it!

kei: Yes. We'll be awaiting your visit.

-the guests leave, yoshino's father walks up-

yoshino's father: Popular, ain't ya.

kei: Hm...?

yoshino's father: When I first watched one of ya shows here, I thought that this store didn't even know the mere definition of art. However, after I observed the audience's reactions, I started to sense that it wasn't a bad thing.

kei: Of course. I make sure the guests leave fully content. We create shows whilst keeping that intent in mind.

yoshino's father: I'd like to apologise for initially leavin’ such a critical review. 

kei: There is no need for you to do that.

yoshino's father: Is that so? But still, that boy's singin’ hasn't managed to resonate with me.

kei: Hm.

yoshino's father: I cannot comprehend puttin’ the family business aside to choose this path. You too, why have ya allowed such an unrefined man to stay employed here? It can't be profitable for your business either.

kei: I am simply selecting the best members to achieve the best show.

yoshino's father: Ya have a good eye, I can tell. That's why this store is flourishin’.  Usually one wouldn't expect someone as talented as you to be holed up in a tiny box like this.

kei: Here I am simply Starless’ Kei. Nothing more, nothing less.

—end

-

Chapter 4 SideA

-in front of starless, night-

yoshino: Are you heading home, Saki-san?

saki: Good work today, Yoshino-san. Yes, I'm heading home.

yoshino: If you'd be ok with it, would you like to walk together? I'll escort you to the station.

saki: Thank you.

-street-

yoshino: Did you enjoy today's show?

saki: Yes, of course. It was fun.

yoshino: I'm glad... Saki-san, could I talk to you about something?

saki: About what...?

yoshino: I realised I've never told you why I started aiming to become a singer. It was actually due to my uncle's influence.

saki: Your uncle?

yoshino: He's the kind of person that's always seen wandering around with a guitar in his hand. Even I don't know what he's up to these days. However, back then, I longed to be a free spirit like him. 

saki: Is that so?

yoshino: I told my father that I wanted to attend a university in Tokyo, and came here all by myself. I used the excuse that I wanted to gain more life experience in Tokyo. Once I was away from home, I aimed to become a singer, I planned to get recognised and make a name for myself. However, it obviously wasn't that simple, with my stage fright I couldn't even stand out in my university's music club. 

saki: That's too bad...

yoshino: Around then was when I found Starless, I happened to see a show and then just kept coming back... Once I joined, all I wanted was to stand on the stage, since Starless didn't send away a useless singer like me, it was a unique place because of that. 

saki: Yoshino-san...

yoshino: Even now, I'm still envious of my uncle. Our situations are different but still... I can't help but envy his freedom. Despite saying all that though, I can't just throw away my family and our business. I wonder if I can express any of this optimism in my singing. I doubt it... Even though I'm supposed to be stronger now.

saki: I think that your singing really is beautiful, Yoshino-san.

yoshino: Thank you. Hearing you say that makes me feel a little better. Sorry for talking so much, for now all I can do is try my best. Because, if I do that, you'll be watching me.

—end

-

Chapter 4 SideA extra

-break room-

-yoshino uses vending machine-

yoshino: Ah... Crap. It hasn't been messing up lately either…

maica: Coffee again?

yoshino: Well, yeah, that's what it gave me...

maica: What to trade drinks? I haven't put my mouth on it yet.

yoshino: No, it's fine.

maica: Hey, are you ok? I may be overstepping my bounds but—

yoshino: Sorry, I need to get back to practice. I'm not like you, I need to dedicate myself to practice to improve.

-yoshino tries to leave-

maica: Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?

yoshino: Nothing...

maica: Hey, you understand that I still don't want to lose to you even now, right?

yoshino: What?

maica: I can say with confidence now that I am Team P's singer. However, even now I still think that your version of 'Beyond the Rainbow' was amazing. And yet, why are you putting yourself down like that?

yoshino: Even if you say that... Cause I mean, unlike me, you're able to lead the performance with your singing...

maica: Sigh... Am I what you're worried about?

yoshino: !

maica: "Keep singing in your own voice." Aren't you the one who said that to me?

-maica leaves-

yoshino: My own... voice...

-camera pans across to kasumi watching-

kasumi: .....

—end

-

Chapter 4 sideB

-street, day time-

akira: Yaaaawn...

sotetsu: That was one big yawn.

akira: Huh? Oh it's just you, Sotetsu. If someone's gonna call out to me I'd rather it be a cute girl~

sotetsu: Sorry to disappoint.

-they walk together-

akira: By the way, is Yoshino gonna quit?

sotetsu: Rumours spread fast huh. He hasn't decided to do that yet.

akira: But he's having a fight or something with his old man right?

sotetsu: Yeah, seems like it.

akira: Fighting with your parents huh, must be quite something having a family name to uphold. I don't remember exactly but they run some kind of art related business in Kyoto, yeah? Wait, his family don't own a temple do they?

sotetsu: Who knows.

akira: If it's a temple that's rough. You'd have to become a monk. I could never~

sotetsu: I doubt the chief priest would want a corrupt monk like you in the first place.

akira: If I didn't have to go bald, I could probably pull it off y'know. A beautiful monk with a beautiful voice, I might just become a hit with the ladies. ♪

sotetsu: Yeah that ain’t happening.

—end

-

Chapter 4 SideB extra

-starless kitchen table area-

kongou: Sorry for calling you here to sample dishes for me.

taiga: Well, I was hungry anyways.

mizuki: Just serve us the food already. C'mon Heath, sit down.

heath: I don't think my opinion is necessary.

kongou: Just let me know your honest thoughts. No need to hold back.

-they all start eating-

kongou: ...How is it?

taiga: Uh... The flavour is pretty subtle?

kongou: Yes, that's what I was going for. Unlike our normal menu, I tried making a dish that suits a wider audience of people's tastes outside of our usual guests.

taiga: Ah... I see. True, even its appearance has that fancy food look.

mizuki: The serving size is way too small and it's all just grass.

taiga: Is this diet food?

kongou: That's not what I was going for, no... So it's not to your tastes then?

mizuki: Gimme the mayonnaise, then I'll be able to eat it.

kongou: That bad huh…

heath: I don't think it's bad.

kongou: I'm sorry for bothering you all.

heath: I just told you what I think...

kongou: I'm glad you tried it, Heath.

-mokuren, qu and aogiri walk in-

qu: It sure is lively in here.

kongou: I'm having them sample a new dish for me. I'd love to hear the three of your thoughts as well.

aogiri: Whatever it is, it smells delicious.

mokuren: Oh? I'll eat it.

-mokuren tries it-

mokuren: There's not enough meat. You can't fill a stomach with this.

kongou: Ah, no, well... That's the point...

aogiri: Ooh, I see.

qu: Are you trying to get into vegetarian cooking...? It tastes great but I'm not sure if it suits Starless.

aogiri: Since our customers are mostly women I'm sure they wouldn't dislike more healthier options being on the menu though?

mokuren: Screw that. Put more meat on the plate.

kongou: As expected, I should just leave our menu as is huh...

—end

To Part 3

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

The Insiders Chapter 17: Horse Riders- Sodapop Curtis x Charlie Ikeda

Word Count: 2.4k

July 10, 1965

Soda had just finished getting ready for the rodeo. For a moment he just stared at himself in the mirror and fixed his already perfect hair for what was probably the hundredth time since he’d styled it. He was nervous, he couldn’t lie. It felt like a dream when Ruth surprised him with Mickey Mouse two months ago and offered to sign him onto the barrel racing event. Ever since then he had been practicing as much as he could when he wasn’t working. 

And now that the day had finally arrived, everything became real to him. At the very least, he was happy that he was gonna have his siblings and Charlie there to support him. And speaking of Charlie, it was time for her to wake up. He walked back over to his bed and gently shook her awake. The girl groaned quietly, though she rolled to face him and her eyes fluttered open. 

“Five more minutes,” she requested groggily. Soda couldn’t help but chuckle at how cute she looked at that moment. 

“We’re leaving soon, I let you sleep as long as I could,” he muttered softly, earning another groan from the girl before she sat up. 

“Come on, we only got a couple minutes,” he informed her. With that, he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head one last time before walking out of the room. It thankfully didn’t take Charlie long to get dressed and she walked out to the living room, where Soda was waiting for her. As soon as his eyes landed on her a smile broke out on his face.

“Pretty as ever,” he complimented.

“Thank you, sleepy as ever, too,” she joked, earning a chuckle from her boyfriend.

“Alright well let’s go before Darry leaves us,” he said as he took her hand, leading her out. Soda helped her into the bed of the truck before climbing in himself and closing it afterwards. 

“Hey, you take that back,” Dally demanded Tuesday, making the couple look at him. 

“ Make me,” the younger Curtis retorted defiantly. 

“Now you’re in for it,” Soda laughed while wrapping an arm around Charlie’s shoulders. They watched as Dally poked her side, which made Tuesday squeal. 

“Her neck is her weakest point,” he informed Dally with a smirk. Tuesday shot him a glare, though it was quickly wiped away when Dally prodded at her neck. 

“You’re mean,” Charlie reprimanded, though there was no conviction in her voice. Instead, she looked amused.

“She deserves it,” he shrugged off with a smile. Charlie giggled quietly before leaning against him, a yawn interrupting her laugh. 

“I don’t know why I’m so tired,” she muttered. 

“Is everything okay at home?” He asked quietly enough for only her to hear as Darry pulled up to the fairgrounds. Charlie nodded. 

“Yeah it’s fine. My dad is starting to lose it a little,” she answered with a shrug that was just a little too casually considering what she just said. Soda’s eyes widened. 

“Wait, is he okay?” He questioned worriedly, earning another nod from his girlfriend. 

“It’s just another episode, he’ll be okay soon.” And with that she climbed out of the truck. Soda hesitated before following her, but ultimately figured that if she wanted to go further into detail then she would. So, he hopped out and moved to stand beside her as Ruth handed out neon blue bracelets to everyone. 

“Alright guys, rodeo starts right at 8:00. Dally and Soda, you need to be with the other competitors by 7:00 or 7:30 to prepare. Horse riding comes first then bulls immediately after. Until then you guys are okay to do whatever you want. Got it?” Soda and Charlie nodded, though Soda’s attention had quickly been diverted when he heard the sound of loud laughter and excited screams from the various rides in the carnival. 

“Alright losers, get lost.” Once again Soda grabbed Charlie’s hand and led her inside. 

“You excited?” The girl asked with a small smile. 

“More than,” Soda responded with an enthusiastic nod. Charlie couldn’t help but smile at how genuinely excited he was. 

“Good, I’m glad you got Micky back.”

“Me too,” the boy sighed happily, entangling their fingers. “What should we do first?” Charlie looked around thoughtfully. 

“Why don’t we go play a game or two?” Soda nodded again and led her to the first carney game he found. It was a ring toss. Soda always thought he had good aim, so he paid for a few rings.

“Aim for the ones on the right, the ones on the left look busted,” Charlie coached from beside him. The boy nodded, taking a deep breath as he began to toss the rings directly onto the bottle necks. Surprisingly, he actually managed to get just about every ring onto a bottle, more than enough for him to win something. Charlie jumped up excitedly and grabbed her boyfriend’s arm. 

“You’re the best! I told ya!” She exclaimed excitedly, making Soda laugh as he pulled her against his side with one arm. 

“Pick a prize, doll.” The girl wasted no time in grabbing a rather large brown teddy bear, holding it close to her chest as she pressed a kiss to her boyfriend’s cheek. 

“You’re the best ever,” she gushed as they walked away from the game to allow someone else to try their luck. Soda blushed at the praise then shrugged shyly. 

“Wasn’t nothin’. You gonna name it?” He asked, gesturing to the bear. 

“Erm- I’ll name it Charlie 2!” It was meant to be a joke, but both of them had a feeling that it would stick either way. 

“Stellar name choice,” Soda laughed. He stopped when she stopped mid step, then confusedly took Charlie 2 when she held it out. 

“Hold this for a second.” The boy had no time to question her as she stepped behind him, but he instantly understood what was going on when she suddenly jumped on his back. He couldn’t help but laugh as she took the bear back, and he held onto her legs so she didn’t fall. 

“Where to next, your majesty?” 

“To the goats!” She demanded, pointing in the direction of the petting zoo. 

“Alright!” He picked up his pace as he headed to the petting zoo, making her squeal with laughter. Once they arrived at the goat pens of the petting zoo he crouched down a bit so she could safely jump off. 

“Goats as the lady requested.” Charlie hopped off then immediately plopped down and sat in the hay, beginning to coo at the animals. Soda opted to stand, not wanting to dirty himself just yet, and watched as she pulled a baby goat into her lap before looking at him. 

“Look at this one!” She squeals. A small smile formed on the boy’s face as he crouched beside her. 

“He’s adorable,” he agreed. 

“We oughta get one, one day,” she decided with a wide smile, making him chuckle. 

“Maybe.” He and Charlie spent a few more minutes with the adorable animals before the girl’s gaze fell on a nearby clock. 

“Hey, your rodeo is coming up soon,” she realized, still holding the goat. Soda followed her gaze, confirming her claim for himself, before nodding. 

“Yeah, I should be getting in there soon. Let’s go find Dally and Tuesday so you won’t be alone. I doubt he’s paying attention to the time anyway.”

“He never does, especially with her,” she retorted as she set the kid down and stood. It didn’t take them long to find the couple once they left the petting zoo. They’d just gotten off a ride and were talking with each other. 

“Having fun you two?” Soda teased as they approached them. 

“Nah, this kid is boring, we oughta take her back,” Dally responded in the same teasing tone. Charlie rolled her eyes at the boys’ antics.

“I’ll be riding for you two if we don’t get a move on.” Tuesday’s brows furrowed and she glanced down at her watch. 

“Oh yeah, you guys need to be heading in,” she realized aloud, looking between Soda and Dally. “You guys need to get a move on.”

“Exactly, which is why I am leaving Charlie in your company,” Soda responded, kissing Charlie’s cheek before letting go of her. “C’mon Dal.” Dally chuckled and followed after him, though not before Tuesday managed to place a kiss on his cheek. 

“Hey, I don’t need babysitting!” Charlie shouted after them, placing her hand on her hip. 

“Yes you do!” Soda called back without missing a beat. He could practically feel Charlie rolling her eyes at them, which made him smile. As they made their way to the arena Dally looked at him. 

“You ready to get back into it?” He asked. “Been a while for you.” The boy exhaled deeply as he nodded. 

“Yeah, yeah I’ll be fine. I’ve been training a lot these past few months.”

“Good. Mickey has been missing you too,” he chuckled. “That's one mean horse you have there.” 

“Once he’s used to you he’s a great horse,” the boy chuckled. “I missed him a lot.” 

“Good. He’ll give you a good ride tonight” Dally concluded as they finally approached the stables. He nodded with a wide smile and picked up his pace to reach Mickey Mouse. 

Only a few more minutes passed before the introduction to the rodeo began. First came the calf tying, then came the barrel racing. That was Soda’s event. He and Mickey Mouse moved to the pen and he tried to shake off his nerves as the host spoke up.

“And last but certainly not least in our lineup is Sodapop Curtis, a face we haven’t seen here in quite a while. Tonight he’s on his Thoroughbred horse Mickey Mouse” he said. A spotlight type light focused on Sodapop, who by that point was sitting on Mickey Mouse eagerly waiting for his race to start. He stood up as much as he could in the little foot holders and waves as the crowd cheered. His eyes met Charlie’s just a moment later and she stood to wave at him, a big smile on her face. That made Soda smile so widely at her and blow her a kiss before settling back into the horse saddle. 

After counting down from three the gun went off, signaling the pen to open. Sodapop was gone in a flash racing through the barrels like he belonged there. Once he finished maneuvering through them he rode back into the waiting pen in record time. Literally. 

“And with that Sodapop Curtis ends at 12.36 seconds, making it the new record!” The announcer exclaimed. For a moment Soda could barely process what he heard. He’d set a new record? 

Sodapop laughed a little in disbelief as he climbed out of the pen. Several people congratulated him or patted him on the back but he only had eyes for Charlie, who was on her feet cheering for him. In an instant he began heading towards her, trusting that the handlers would take Mickey Mouse back to the stables. Charlie jumped over a few seats and ran towards him, meeting him halfway as she jumped into his arms. 

“Look at you, cowboy!” She shouted over the excitement. The boy laughed boisterously and pulled her into a tight hug. 

“All for you, baby!” He responded once they pulled away. The girl laughed and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before her eyes drifted behind him. 

“Look who’s heading this way, Gee he looks proud,” she muttered, looking at Darry as he walked up to them. The boy couldn’t hide his smile as he let go of her and turned to face his older brother. 

“Hey Dar,” he greeted as casually as he could manage. Darry, meanwhile, couldn’t even begin to hide his proud smile. 

“Look at you!” He exclaimed, hugging him and ruffling up his hair. “A new record? Gosh, I don’t even know why I was worried, you crushed it out there, kid.” Soda laughed and returned the hug with all his might.

“Thanks Darry, it means a lot,” he responded. Darry smiled a genuine sort of smile and nodded as they pulled away. 

“I’m gonna go back to Ruth, but I’ll see you once the rodeo’s done,” he informed him, waiting for him to nod before he headed back up the stairs of the stadium. Soda watched as he took a seat beside Ruth and Ponyboy before finally sitting down with Charlie. 

Dally’s event was bull riding, which was actually the last event of the night. Thankfully everything else went by in a breeze. Once it was Dally’s turn he also surprised the crowd by setting a new record. Soda barely had time to cheer before Tuesday ran past him, jumping into Dally’s arms just like Charlie had done with him.

“Now ain’t that just cute?” He teased, glancing at Charlie. 

“No. It’s disgusting,” the girl answered without hesitation, a joking smile on her face. 

“Whatever you say,” Soda shook his head amusedly and pulled her closer to him. That, in turn, made Charlie giggle as she kissed his cheek. 

“And now to end this amazing night we’re gonna have all of our champions of tonight trot one victory lap. Champions, please find your horse and get ready for the lap please,” the announcer instructed over the speakers. Soda grinned then stood and held out his hand to his girlfriend. 

“Wanna take the victory lap with me?” 

“I thought you’d never ask,” she responded as she took his hand. They walked over to the pen hand in hand then Soda helped her onto Mickey Mouse. He climbed on and wrapped his arms around her with a soft smile. 

“You comfortable?” 

“Never been better,” Charlie said softly, resting her hands on his arms. He nodded and kissed her cheek before clicking at his horse. As they made their way around the ring the girl blinked, a little dazed by the lights and loud cheers. 

“All good?” Soda questioned loud enough for just her to hear as he followed the other champions until they reached the pen again. She only nodded, her eyes sparkling and a smile gracing her lips. 

“I think I heard Ruth say something about heading to the car,” the boy said as they hopped off the horse. “You ready to go?” 

“I sure am,” she nodded. No more words needed to be said as they headed out to the truck, which Ruth was driving this time. Dally and Tuesday were already there, so once Soda and Charlie were comfortably sitting in the bed of the truck, Ruth drove off. It had been a good night for everyone, but Soda felt like he was on top of the world.