#she did say if i'd known this was the situation i would have told you

[monstermoviedean]

hahaha my boss' incompetence screwed me out of 2k and she's acting like it was my fault ha Ha HA

[ladyloveandjustice]

To give my Real Opinion on the whole Clark vs Lois issue (since people are giving me theirs), I'm surprised it is an issue, since it's very clearly supposed to be an conflict where both people made decisions that made sense from their point of view but still hurt each other. It makes sense that Clark would be insecure about telling Lois this when she's acting distrustful of Superman, and it makes sense he'd freak out and not handle a situation where she was putting a lot of pressure on him well. It also makes sense that Lois would be angry (and probably humiliated) and upset that Clark not only lied to her face when she was begging him to tell her the truth, but left her where she couldn't help him when she was worried sick about him.

Honestly, I think a lot of you aren't being honest about how you'd feel if you had a friend who disappeared every time something dangerous happened, you spent a lot of time frantically searching and worrying about that friend each time, only to find out oh hey, your friend was well aware of how worried you were and was actually right there but they were pretending to be someone else instead of letting you in on what was happening. You'd feel played with.

And Clark also KEPT lying when she was basically saying "hey stop lying to me. I know." He did it instinctively. She was begging him to tell her, and he didn't. That's going to hurt, and that's going to be galling. She definitely felt she had no other choice than to do something drastic, because she can't enter a relationship with someone she knows is lying to her and here he is, refusing to come clean. She's a reporter, the need to know drives her.

"Lois isn't entitled to Clark's private information, they haven't known each other that long", sure, but Clark vanishes in dangerous situations and causes real distress, Clark has been discussing Superman with Lois and unconsciously trying to manipulate her feelings on him while not telling her the whole truth, and you'd feel weird if someone did that, you'd feel kinda violated! And even if someone told you they weren't doing that to laugh at you, wouldn't you be hurt and humiliated?!

When exactly IS Lois entitled to Clark's info? When they start dating? How many months is it okay for him to date her without him telling her he's actually the guy she spends every waking minute trying to interview? Would he have told her as their relationship got serious? Not knowing that is probably scary and if I was Lois I'd think twice about if I wanted this either!

And what's especially scary is that yeah, he did leave her behind to so he could possibly go get killed when she was begging him not to. That's terrifying. She was probably terrified the entire time she waited. He was able to take her choice away from her, and Lois does not like feeling helpless. Clark was scared of her getting hurt, so he enforced his will and so shewas scared for HIM. and then he refused to talk about those worries!

It's also pretty galling when she's already helped him out in several fights- she's proven she can be useful and helpful! I'd be mad too! I'm sure there was a little vindictiveness in her actions- you see how you like it when someone takes your choice away too.

At the same time, Clark is clearly not comfortable showing people his whole self. He still doesn't know who he is, and he goes into panic mode about it. He's very scared of people being hurt because of him. What he did made sense from his point of view. And I'm sure he's not happy to be forced to reveal his secret.

It doesn't matter 'who's more right'. It's not a game they get to win! They both violated each other's boundaries. Their feelings both make sense from their perspective, and interesting conflicts are complicated. And I like it when characters don't just react to everything flawlessly. There's a lot of drama in secret identities, and sometimes stories have conflict.

I do agree this should have happened later in the season or as a season 2 thing, but that's sadly just life in this streaming hell era. They didn't know if they'd get a season 2 to tell the story they wanted. We have to take the conflict as it is. And let's face it, if Lois had taken longer to figure out, y'all would be making fun of her for being dumb. Lois is for some reason always the butt of that joke even though nobody else can see Clark is Superman either- and when she does figure it out (as she usually does!) and has anything other than positive feelings about it she still gets blamed. Just enjoy having a character who can have complex feelings.

If you hate relationship conflict, there's stuff for you out there! Read Superman Family Adventures by Art Baltazar, it's very cute low stakes low conflict stuff and has an actual Himbo Clark.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for indulging in my boyfriend's cuck kink?

Alright, so for some background, both me (25, M, panromantic asexual) and my BF (28, M, bisexual) live in a VERY conservative rural area, literally NOBODY knows we're together even though we've been dating for years and the community is pretty tight-knit, that's how much effort we've put into hiding ourselves. We've thought about moving out but honestly other than the constant threat of being found out our life here is pretty great, we know everyone in the community and are on very friendly terms with them, we were both born and raised here so we're honestly kinda scared of losing everything and starting over in a new place, plus I really want to stay to support my dad because I know he can already get pretty lonely as is (mom works out of town, only visits for holidays if even that, plus I don't have any other siblings to keep him company) and me moving away would hurt him a lot.

Now, with that out of the way onto the actual situation: the cuck thing is something me and my boyfriend have discussed about at length, he's not shy about it to me and I'm always glad to make him happy so I'd be open to trying it if the opportunity arose. The thing is- I never really thought there WOULD be an opportunity for it due to the circumstances described above. Well, that was until a girl we both know confessed to me on Christmas Eve. That girl- let's call her Ellie (23, F, straight(?))- is someone I've actually had feelings for a while now (my BF knows and told me he'd be fine with me dating her as an 'official' relationship, but only if I keep us a secret), however I never did anything about those feelings. I was honestly kinda shocked when the confession happened, but in a good way, and I ended up accepting in the heat of the moment, so now me and Ellie have been 'officially' dating for about a month.

Here's where I think I might be the asshole: since that happened my BF has started to hang out with the two of us while we're acting like a very lovey-dovey couple and he's obviously been getting off on that (as in, it's obvious to me, doubt anyone else picked up on it) and I've been having mixed feelings about this. On one hand we did talk about it and agree to it, but on the other I do think this is unfair to Ellie in a way that I didn't realize previously because I never realistically considered this happening. My BF is reassuring me, saying that it's best we keep hidden anyway and that so long as nobody finds out no harm is done, but I still feel kinda bad about it, yet at the same time I don't really know what I should do in this situation to make it right. The whole thing only gets even more complicated when you account for the fact that Ellie is our pastor's granddaughter and as such comes from a very well known family in our community, a family that has a reputation to uphold, and if the thing about me and my BF came out it would surely impact her badly in that way as well. On the other, she really gets along with my son (8, M) and I really think that she'd make a great mother to him so I don't want to deprive him of that and break things off just because of my own personal drama. On the other OTHER hand I also don't want to break up with my BF because it would feel cruel in my opinion, especially when I very much still love him.

So, AITA for keeping my promise and just going along with this and keeping quiet to save myself and my BF?

What are these acronyms?

[lillchris]

You With The Dark Curls; You With The Water Colured Eyes (Two Shot)

Chapter Two: I'd Start a Riot Word Count: 2.2k

a/n: Title inspo from BANNERS song "Start A Riot" I will try and make this chapter, and future ones longer :) Anyway, enjoy this chapter! Stay Safe love you all <3

BANNERS song below in case you haven't listened to it, or want to! ;)

Start a Riot

TW: Angst, Swearing, anxiety and panic attack

Luckily when Paige walked back inside, Drew wasn't right there carping her with questions, which she was currently thankful for. 

In fact, she didn't know what exactly to think of at the moment. All she could think about was everything Jalen had said in the course of their heated conversation. Even though she was angry with Jalen at the beginning of their discussion, she had tried to keep it civil.  But screw it, it had escalated to anything but a civil conversation by the end of it all. 

The fact that Jalen had the audacity to bring up her parent’s divorce was a very low blow, but yet in all the years that Paige had known him, it didn’t surprise her too much that he would make a comment like that, and it gave Paige yet another reason to never speak to Jalen again.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the couch, Azzi was consumed in her own pool of thoughts. 

She mentally kicked herself for not being able to give Jalen her full what for. She knew that if she somehow did now, it would make the situation worse, and that was the last thing Paige needed.  However, in her mind, she hoped that sometime in the very near future the situation would arise where she could.  She made a mental note and added Jalen to the list of people she wanted to bitch slap. and yes Azzi had a list, and by all means, he deserved it. 

Azzi rose from the couch, silently, walking into the kitchen, eyeing her parents, who were still cleaning the kitchen.  She kept her presence brief as she filled a glass with ice water, as she felt Tim and Katie’s eyes on her.  She said nothing, only glancing at them as her parents frowned.  It was one of those eyes that spoke more than words moments.  Azzi’s expression and demeanor told her parents pretty much everything.  They stayed quiet, as they watched their daughter walk away, before having a conversation of their own. 

Azzi crouched down in front of Paige meeting her eye level with the couch as she handed her the glass of water. 

Their eyes met, and something in Paige softened, as her best friend watched her face relax. 

Azzi was always the one who could do that, no one else.  She somehow made her feel at peace, even in moments when she felt like everything around her was crashing.  She was there for her when she injured her ACL, there for her when she wanted to give up, physically and mentally in rehab, every time. She was there for her when Jalen had broken her heart, letting her cry. Azzi was her safe haven.  Azzi had told Paige once, that she saved her, but in reality, it was vice versa.  To her Azzi was the one who had truly saved her.

Flashback… (November 2022)

Why did this injury even have to happen? One season, please, an injury-free healthy season, that’s what she had hoped for. Longed for, Prayed for, asked God for, but He had different plans. Through the constant painful days of rehab Paige was really starting to wonder what that plan truly was.

“Six months” “Nine months” “Possibly up to a year maybe more.” That’s what she had heard over and over again from Orthopedic Specialists and doctors. “Oh your young and healthy! It might not take that long for recovery!” They’d say or “You should be thankful it isn’t worse.” She didn’t want sympathy or pity, she wanted to be out on the court, playing. Instead she had to watch from the sidelines as her teammates played games she would have been in too if it hadn’t been for this.

She fucking hated it. Being away from the court, being resentful towards her teammates, the jealousy, the envy all of it! She knew she shouldn’t feel that way, but the jealousy always crept in somehow.

Most of all she missed the court, even the sound. The way her shoes would squeak against the hardwood, or the way the rubber and layers upon layers of fiber felt in her hand as she gripped the basketball.

Ball was life, who was she without it if she couldn’t play? She didn’t mean it, but she also didn’t want to lie to herself and not acknowledge that half of that statement wasn’t true, because it was.

Paige mentally cursed herself as one of the therapists aided her in the usual “daily walk” they called it. It was supposed to be a towards the end of the day type of casual walk, but to Paige it was anything but casual. The walk was a fucking menace, as Paige felt every muscle in her right “good leg” burn as it tried to compensate for her bum left one.

She was about to curse out loud but the sound of Azzi’s voice stopped her from doing so. As she glanced over toward the hallway entrance she saw Azzi, her Azzi. Even though she had seen her two days prior, something in Paige always skipped when she saw her. She didn’t know what to root it to, the fact that she missed her or something else. All Paige knew was the she was elated to see her best friend, as even the presence of her encouraged Paige to keep going.

———————————————————————

“Paige! It’s your turn to give me my gift!”Drew said excitedly, snapping his big sister out of her daze, and back into the present moment.

“Oh uh yeah right!” Paige said with a slight smile as she got up from the couch and handed Drew his present.

Paige was trying to be as enthusiastic as she could that evening as everyone opened presents, but her efforts were in vain.

Azzi glanced over at Paige. She knew that the events from this morning were effecting Paige more than she knew, physically Paige was there with everyone, but mentally she was in another place.

Azzi said nothing, as she silently intertwined her fingers with Paige’s, in hopes to help keep her grounded in the moment despite the fact her mind was spiraling.

“Yes! This is exactly what I wanted! Thank you!”Drew said happily before engulfing his big sister in a tight embrace.

Drew was ecstatic about his present, due to the fact he now had a PlayStation Portal. He could easily play Fortnite virtually anywhere, without being tied to his console. Which in turn didn’t help his video game obsession, but Drew was happy and to Paige that’s all that mattered.

“You gotta open yours now.” Azzi said mustering up a smile as she handed Paige a small velvet box.

The content of the box contained a small sliver ring with the wording engraved on the front “My Ride Or Die”. Their initials ‘P&A’ engraved on the inside.

Paige smiled, and chuckled lightly before handing Azzi a slightly bigger velvet box.

Azzi gasped slightly, before laughing a little and smiling upon seeing the item.

Unironically enough, inside was an identical silver stylish bracelet with the same wording on the front and their initials, this time on the back.

"They really are soulmates." Jose whispered to Drew with a laugh making a heart hands toward the two girls jokingly.

"Now we're matching." Paige stated as she carefully placed the bracelet around Azzi's smaller wrist.

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

"Alright that's it for me I'm done, I already lost five hotels four houses, and seven hundred dollars. I'm practically broke." Paige says laughing as she sets her play piece on the Monopoly board.

"Yeah, I guess I'm out too, Drew drained me of all resources." Azzi says as she noogies Drew's head jokingly.

"Oh come on it's only 3am. You two are dropping out and going to bed like an old married couple." Jose teases as Paige and Azzi roll their eyes, and walk down the hall toward Azzi's bedroom.

Later that night, silence filled the bedroom as Azzi and Paige lay opposite the queen-sized mattress. They always shared a bed whenever Paige visited the Fudds, so it wasn't out of the norm for them to share a bed, but tonight something was different.

"You awake Paige?" Azzi asked curiously as she lay on her side, before glancing over at Paige who had her back facing her.

"Yeah, um I'm awake." Paige said vaguely not even turning around to face Azzi.

Tonight Paige was closed off like a butterfly, sheltered in the cacoon walls she had put up to protect herself, and no matter what Azzi did she couldn't get through to her. Azzi didn't blame Paige at all for being closed off, but she just wished that Paige would let her carry her burdens; together through all of this.

"You don't have to say anything but, if you do, I'm here to talk or just listen. I'm here; always."

Paige said nothing, but internally she felt like she was on the brink of drowning. All the air left her lungs as she felt as though she was barely keeping her head above water. Her ears felt as though they were burning, her mind was screaming at her. Paige felt as though her heart was beating out of her chest, feeling the ever-looming feeling of nausea rising in her throat. She didn't know what was happening to her. Her senses were shot through the roof, and it was only then did she realize her labored breathing could be heard by Azzi.

"Paige." Azzi's voice stretched out to her, but at this point, her friend was unreachable, as something threatened to pull her under. Take her away from the only thing, the only person who could possibly pull her from the waves she was being taken under by.

"Paige, it's me, Azzi, You're here with me, whatever you're experiencing right now, I'm here with you in this moment." Azzi said softly holding Paige's hand in a desperate attempt to somehow bring her back to this moment.

In Paige's mind, she could hear her best friend calling out to her, but the thoughts and dread that had surpassed her earlier in the day had become all too much for her.

"Paige, can you hear me? I need you to slow down your breathing, long inhales, and exhales."

Paige made slight eye contact with Azzi, despite her eyes still being hazy and glazed over. Her vision was blurry and she could barely make out the shape of Azzi's face, as her fast spurts of breathing threatened to cause her blackout.

"Paige, I can't have you hyperventilating do you remember the grounding techniques we learned in psychology class?

Azzi firmly set both hands on Paige's shoulders, Azzi was damn determined to bring Paige out of this.

"Whatever is happening to you right now, whatever you're thinking it isn't true, none of it is. Whatever Jalen said to you isn't true. Your are an amazing person, you are smart, and kind. Who you love or how you love does not make you less. Your my best friend, your beautiful, and more than deserving of being loved, and to love. Your past circumstances do not define you.

Those words seemed to break through to Paige, as she slowly came back to the present moment. Her vision cleared and she was finally able to see Azzi clearly, as her chocolate brown, gentle eyes stared back into Paige's blue ones.

"I-I." Paige started to say, but Azzi gently shushed her, and she practically collapsed into Azzi's embrace. Paige's walls fell down, and Azzi was there to catch her.

"Shhhh I know, it's okay. I've got you, it's okay you can let it out. "

It made Azzi's heartbreak knowing Paige probably had kept this, and a lot of things pent up for a while now. Paige was always the tough one, the strong one, the leader. She was always there for others, but no one was there for her, not truly at least. She never really had any way or anyone she could talk to about everything.

Don't get Azzi wrong, she loved Paige's family, but she always wondered why her parents split when she was so young. She knew it was a very sensitive subject for Paige, and she respected that, but her mind always wondered. Azzi recalled when had taken Psychology I, that the earliest a child could remember things was age three. While it was often spotty and vague, a child would start to remember.

Azzi hated the fact that Paige had no one to talk to about this matter and everything else in between. From that moment on, Azzi made a promise to herself; that she would be that somebody.

Paige's sobs subsided, as Azzi looked down at her, realizing she had fallen asleep in her arms, utterly drained and exhausted.

Azzi sighed, laying Paige in her bed again as she climbed in beside her, thankful now that she was finally sleeping peacefully. It was only when Azzi heard Paige's snoring that was she satisfied.

Paige cuddled up to Azzi, as she softly planted a kiss on Paige's forehead. Usually, Azzi would be annoyed by her snoring, but tonight it was a more than welcome gift.

a/n: That's it, I know that this chapter was a bit deeper, and had some sensitive topics, but I promise to have more fluff in the future!! As always I would love to hear what you all think! <3

[purplecoffee13]

The Fake Girlfriend - pt. 1

Summary: “Y/N hates Harry, but fake dating him for a while seems to benefit them both, and she wouldn’t pass an opportunity to torture him, of course. But the lines drawn are blurry, and the tension is high…”

Wc: 3.4k

Tropes: semi-enemies to lovers (she doesn’t like him)

Warnings: jealousy, (slight and mentions of) violence, sexual tension

"Okay, just let me see if I got this right. You want me to be your girlfriend during the wedding of your cousin to get your parents off your back about another girl?"

"Fake girlfriend." Harry corrects me. "But yeah, that's basically the gist of it."

I stare blankly at him before letting out a scoff. This must be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard, and I've had a guy call me 'daddy' before.

"Why don't you just reject the poor girl? I'm sure that message will get to your parents."

"Do you seriously think I haven't tried that?" He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I was just saying.." I raise my brows. I don't get why he's acting so frustrated, he's the one asking me for help. Which reminds me...

"Also, why me? You don't even like me."

When Harry and I first met, he was dating my old best friend, Marie. One night, he tried to kiss me while we were all out on the town, and I flipped out at him for betraying my best friend like that, and thinking I would ever go along with it.

The next day I told Marie about it, but she accused me of seducing him and we stopped being friends. Ever since then, I've hated Harry Styles. I hate him for creating that mess, for thinking I'd do something like that to my friend and I blame him for losing my best friend.

We never really spoke much to each other after that whole situation —besides the occasional forced conversation or collaboration during a project — so naturally I was surprised when I heard someone knock on my door and it turned out to be him.

"Because I don't want to go through the hazard of leading someone on, and all my other girl friends are taken and Leila's gay." He explains with a shrug.

"You won't lead someone on who's gay." I reason.

"My parents know Leila, so that wouldn't work." He counters, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "So, do you want to do this or do have any other burning questions?"

As a matter of a fact I do, ass.

"What makes you think I would help you?"

Harry clears his throat, shifting on my bed until he's seated with his body towards me. I get a bit nervous with how serious his face expression is.

"I've heard the stories about Malcolm, how he's trying to get you back." My face falters once the sentences leave his mouth. I didn't know it was that obvious. I know that Harry senses my uneasiness, but he goes on anyway. "After what he did, I understand that you don't feel the same as him, and this way we can get him off your back."

I frown, because he's right. It would benefit me too, and I hadn't even realized it until he pointed it out.

I caught Malcolm cheating on our six month anniversary, which was about about two months ago. I immediately broke up with him, and blocked him on everything. Unfortunately, Malcolm had somehow divulged himself into the delusion that he could convince me to get back together and he has been annoying me ever since. And while fake dating Harry seemed like absolute hell, it would be the perfect opportunity to send Malcolm the message that I’d moved on.

Malcolm disliked Harry too. I’ve never known why and I don’t think I ever will, but I didn’t question it at the time because I didn’t think very highly of Harry anyway, and assumed he’d pissed Malcolm off during a project or something.

I let some dramatic silence flow over us that consists of me frowning very deeply as if I'm working everything out in my brain, but I quickly open my mouth to avoid drawing it out too long. I have to say that it sounds like it could be fun, and an opportunity to embarrass Harry in many ways, in front of his parents.

Now that's tempting.

"Fine, I'll do it." I give in, secretly getting more excited as I make up ways to torture him in my head. "Anything I need to be aware of?"

"Wedding's in Italy, so you'll have to fake a stomach flu." He casually remarks, as if it isn't something he should have clearly mentioned before asking this loaded favor.

"What?! I was going to spend spring break at my moms!" — not that I was looking forward to that — "And how in the world am I going to pay a ticket to Italy? You know what, maybe this isn't such a good idea—"

"The ticket has already been paid, you don't have to worry about that. But if you'd prefer to be with your mom instead of a hotel in Italy, that's your call."

Harry's face stays neutral, but I can see in his eyes that he's hoping for me to say yes. I'd be lying if I said I was excited to spend a week at with my mom and her new husband; Italy sounded way more appealing. So, that—along with the whole Malcolm situation—was the only reason I said

"Okay, I'll go."

*****

"Oh my goodness, how romantic! When do I get to meet him?" My mom chirps over the phone. Her voice has raised two octaves since I told her that I'd started dating someone in secret about a month ago, and that it was getting pretty serious and he was now taking me to Italy for his cousin's wedding.

It was a bit weird to lie to my mom, but most of what I was telling was actually the truth, so that made the lie a bit easier to keep up.

"Oh I'm sure you'll meet him soon. Sorry I won't make it during spring break, though." I feel the need to apologize anyway, we hadn't seen each other in quite some time and she'd really forced me to take time off from my life here and work on our relationship.

"Yes, well it would have been good to see you, but you're young and these are the adventures you need to go on!" She encourages me as kindly as she can, and I fake a smile, even though she isn't there to see it.”

"Thanks for understanding mom."

"Of course sweetheart. As long as you take lots of pictures, we're good." She jokes. After that, we just say our goodbyes and I hang up.

I'd been running around so much to try and find outfits for Italy that I'd forgotten Harry and I were launching our fake relationship at a party tonight. We didn't really set that many boundaries yet, but I was quite okay with anything. It had to be believable, and my hatred didn't make me blind. Harry was hot and I knew it, everyone knew it.

He was at my door at nine on the dot, which I hadn't expected. We drove to the party because Harry wasn't in the mood to drink, giving me a free pass to get wasted. However, I made a promise to myself not to get too drunk tonight and accidentally slip out the truth.

By the time we arrive it's around nine thirty and the house is already filled with people. Since I broke up with Malcolm, I haven't really been to a frat party anymore, I've grown to dislike them actually. However, this is the perfect place to be seen, and our friends were going to be here so our 'relationship' would be picked up on soon.

Harry and I agreed on the friends with benefits to lovers story, and that's what I start telling my friends while they look at me as if I have grown a second head.

"But you hate the guy, you just complained about him last week." Zoey, one of my friends, remarks, making my stomach drop.

Fuck, I did talk shit about him last Wednesday.

"Uhm– yeah, that was just to keep up appearances." I quickly manage to make up. They all hum in understanding, which is quite surprising to me. From the looks of it, I know that they're not fully convinced, but I hope they'll just see it as my crazy rebound phase and leave me alone.

"Well, as long as he makes our little Y/N happy, right?" Natalia throws her arm around me, raising her brows at the rest of the girls, and they all agree with her.

"Okay... but if he hurts you I will cut off his testicles, fry them until they're crispy and force them down his throat." Zoey grunts, squinting her eyes at Harry who is standing a few feet behind us. He has his back turned to us because he is talking to his friends, but it's funny nonetheless.

I notice that Zoey's glare quickly disappears and blood starts to rush to her cheeks. Just when I'm about to ask what has gotten into her, I feel someone throwing their arms around me from behind.

By the tattoos on his arm I'm immediately able to tell that it's Harry, and my heart starts racing at the realization that this little act needs to be kept up for a month or two, and it needs to be realistic.

"Hi sugar." Harry greets me sweetly before kissing me on my head. I fight hard to keep myself from vomiting at that hideous nickname, and play along.

"Hey hot stuff." I turn around, and I catch the twitch in his eyelids as the equally, if not more disgusting name leaves my mouth.

"You want to go get a drink?" He asks after letting out a small sigh. I nod, and he intertwines his hand with mine before leading us to the kitchen.

I can see the people staring at us with wide eyes, and I don't blame them. It is a rather weird look, me and Harry. However, I ignore it and focus on the main goal, I can't back out anymore so I might as well make it as fun as possible.

When we get to the kitchen, Harry immediately nominates himself as my bartender.

"What d'ya wanna drink, babe?" He asks, observing the countless bottles on the counter.

"Something strong please." I lean my elbows on the counter, watching in silence as I see him scanning the table before grabbing a rum bottle. He fills almost half of the cup with rum and the rest with coke.

He pushes it into my hands when he's done, a bit of the drink spilling on my fingers as I take the cup from him.

"Hey! Be gentle, boyfriend." I grumble, sucking on each of my fingers to clean the rum and coke off them. Harry's gaze lingers on my mouth and fingers a little bit too long, but he is fast to regain himself. Scoffing, he leans forward until he's inches away from my face.

"I don't do gentle, girlfriend." He mocks me before backing away from me again. "Taste it."

I give him a firm glare, but take a sip of my drink anyway. My eyebrows instantly knit together at the strong taste of the drink.

"You know I asked for a drink, not a horse tranquilizer."

"You said you wanted something strong. 'S not my fault you can't handle a bit of liquor." He says as he pours himself some soda. I roll my eyes at his little jab and continue drinking the strong drink anyway.

There is a bit of silence between us, and when I feel it get awkward, I decide to speak up.

"D'you want to go back to our friends?" I propose, tilting my head a bit as I wait for an answer. Harry's eyes avert from whatever's in front of him and throws me a small smile before nodding his head. I'm about to start walking when Harry suddenly  grabs my waist, turns me around and pulls me into him. My drink nearly spills again.

"Just don't call me 'hot stuff' in front of my friends, it's an awful nickname." He pleads with a small smirk, occasionally breaking eye contact to observe the party.

"Says the one who called me sugar." The corners of my mouth start to lift too, liking this playful part of him. Because I spend most my time that I've known him hating him, I never really got to experience this side.

"At least mine is accurate." He reasons, grabbing my hips and guiding me until I have my back against the kitchen island. My heart beat picks up a bit; I'm not used to him being this close to me and I didn't expect him to be either. I remind myself that it's an act, even though we're not in front of our friends so technically there's no reason for him to get this close to me. But, I allow him, mainly because he smells so good.

"And why is that?" I ask, my eyes landing on the cross necklace dangling as he leans into me a bit. When I meet his eyes again, Harry has a smug look covering his face.

"Because I bet you taste real sweet."

His hoarse voice manages to awaken a tense feeling in my stomach. He closes the distance between us until our noses are touching, and a hitched breath leaves my mouth. He smells very intoxicating and I feel very floaty even though I've only had a couple of sips from my drink.

"You wouldn't mind if I see for myself, would you?" He pushes some strands of hair behind me ear before cupping my jaw with his right hand. I ignore the way my body is reacting. I haven't slept with anyone since Malcolm so this is the first time I've been so close to someone in a few months.

"Knock yourself out, hot stuff." I tease him. My laugh quickly fades away though, when he actually leans forward and kisses me. I didn't think he'd actually do it, I just thought he was purposefully riling me up.

I can't help myself to do anything other than go along as he deepened the kiss with the subtle entrance of his tongue into my mouth, entangling us even more than we already were.

A part of me was surprised to find out how good it felt, but something inside of me already knew. There was just something about Harry that always made me wonder. I mostly think it was because he managed to hit a nerve that nobody else could with his annoying antics and inappropriate actions, and I guess I always wondered if he would be the only one to be able to soothe it too.

This kiss makes me lean towards the idea that he indeed would be the only one to know exactly how to relieve me, just like he knows how to irritate me.

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed by how quickly he pulls away, but the smirk on his face gives me just about the same feeling as that kiss did.

"Let's go back, hmm?" He suggests, peaking his head to the side before planting a kiss on my forehead and putting his arm around me. I nod with a faint smile, my lips still tingling from that kiss and let his tight grip pull me further into him.

My smile immediately fades, though, when I see Malcolm staring daggers at Harry and me from across the room. My heart drops. I had no idea he was going to be at the party. The reason I actually agreed is because when my friends asked me to come initially, they assured me he wouldn't be there. I figured that his friends, who were here, would see us and that he’d find out that way.

There is no choice but to walk past him, and my hope for ignoring him crumbles when Harry decides this is the time to chat with him.

"Oh hey buddy, didn't see you there." He fakes some civility, and the puzzle pieces click together. Of course he wasn't kissing me because he wanted to; He saw Malcolm and wanted to piss him off to satisfy his own personal vendetta against him. I know it's what I agreed to, but it feels kind of weird anyway.

I don't want to be in the middle of whatever feud those boys have, and I definitely don't want to be confronted with Malcolm right now, so I wiggle my way out of Harry's arm and try to walk past the two. But when I do so, Malcolm grabs me by my arm and stops me in my tracks.

"Seriously? Him? Is this to get back at me?" He asks, the seriousness in his tone matching the crease between his eyebrows.

"Don't worry Mal, I'm sure there's a girl out there who'd like to settle for your small dick." Harry remarks, clearly pleased with himself.

"I don't have to explain myself to you." I growl at my ex, clenching my jaw. My second attempt to walk away fails when he tightens his grip even more as he pulls me back, which causes me to stumble backwards.

Before I get the chance to yell at him to let me go, as the painful feeling in my arm had turned into a lingering sting, his hand has disappears. When I look up from checking the fresh scratches on my arm, I see Malcolm pushed against the wall with Harry's hand around his neck.

Louis and Zayn, two of Harry's friends, are suddenly standing behind him ready to fight if necessary. I'm so stressed about how quickly this situation escalated that I don't give myself time to wonder how those two popped up out of fucking nowhere.

"Touch her again and I swear to God you'll never see the light of day." Harry threatens, and I actually find myself being kind of scared by his voice and his demeanor. He backs up, turning around with a frown that fades when he spots my widened eyes.

He pushes Zayn and Louis out of the way, his eyes and hands immediately focusing on my arm that still has a red handprint on it, along with a few scratches from Malcolm's nails.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" He tilts his head to see all the way around my arm, his fingers softly hovering over my elbow.

"'M fine." I huff, puzzled by how many sides of Harry I've seen today. "I'm gonna go home."

"I'll take you." He immediately offers, following me as I walk towards the door.

"I'll get a cab." I quickly make up, not wanting to be around him anymore. I walk out the front door at a fast pace, hoping he won't be able to keep up.

"Y/N! Stop!" Harry yells out, running until he's in front of me. "You're not going to take a cab, I'm going to take you home. C'mon, my car's across the street."

"What the hell do you care? You're not my actual boyfriend!" I say the last part a bit more hushed.

"I care because I'm a decent human being." He argues, setting me off more. I thrown my arms over each other.

"No you're not! A decent human being wouldn't use someone for the sake of their own personal vendetta!" I yell at him. Harry stifles out a laugh, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Isn't that exactly what you're doing?!"

"I'm doing this because this is the only way Malcolm will leave me alone. You kissed me because you wanted to set him off, to make him mad. What if he decides to get back at me when I'm alone one day?"

"He won't. He's too much of a pussy for that." Harry growls, but I can see that he's starting to see the logic in my argument.

"That's not the point, Harry!" I groan, throwing my head back and taking a deep breath. "Look, if we're gonna do this, we've got to set the record straight. I don't mind you kissing me, but it'll only be in public places to keep up the act, not for personal, selfish reasons. Understood?"

After some silence, Harry finally answers me.

"Yeah, okay. 'M sorry." His keys dangle between his fingers that he plays with as a nervous habit. "Can I take you home?"

I nod, throwing my arms over each other to warm myself up from the breeze that just passed over, and we start walking to his car.

Part 2 here

[inriospocket]

daisy!! how are you doing? i know you have exams so please feel free to get to this anytime. i got let out of my previous job position and i’m currently confused because of the explainatoon that was given and job searching again. would love to see how rio would act to the reader in that same scenario after he notices she’s either got too much time on her hands or just hasn’t been doing her regularly scheduled program for work. (1/2).

(2/2) also would love to know if she’d confront her boss or whomever about letting her go to begin with or would rio? i just see a ton of angst, fluff, and protective vibes from rio in my head so please feel free to do with these ideas what you will! i hope your exams good/went great 💕. you’re a stunning star ✨💖.

---

I know this is very late but I'm hoping you were able to find another job or another path you feel better on. If you're still active, let me know! I'd love to know if you're doing better. Enjoy! :)

---

Respectfully, fuck you

word count ♡ 1,036

summary ♡ You’ve just been let go from your job and Rio has noticed an abnormal amount of free time you’ve had.  

situation ♡ angst/fluff

---

“But, why? Did I do something wrong?” You asked, scanning your manager’s eyes for answers.  

You could see his cold stare shift into a look of guilt, and he looked away, keeping his hands busy with loose paperwork on his desk. 

“Please clear your things. We’ll have your last check in your account by Friday.” He said without another word.  

You hadn’t known a day without working. You could say since you were the eldest of 5, you’ve always had some sort of job. Since Rio and you got together, he had been taking care of everything which he encouraged but you wanted to work anyway. But with the excuse of the bills being paid, and you just getting fired; you had simply nothing to do but think.  

Everyone else would have been ecstatic to have a break, but it only filled you with more anxiety. Rio started his days early and almost always ended late, but he did happen to notice that you were still in your pajamas when he came home for lunch each day.   

“You’ve been calling out of work or somethin’?” He mentioned as he set a bottle of water down for you. 

You shook your head, mindlessly scrolling through the channels on the tv.  

“Wassup then?” He asked again. 

You weren’t sure why you hadn’t told him that you got fired yet. You were just so stuck in your head all this time.  

“They fired me.” You said, and you could see the mental wheels turning in his calculated head.  

You read him very well from the soft to cold stare when he turned that inner switch off. He was obviously more upset than you were. 

“Bet,” he said instantly. He didn’t ask for any explanation knowing he didn’t need one. He already had his plan together to fuck your manager up but as soon as he opened the car door to leave, he almost instantly closed it back.  

He knew you didn’t do anything wrong, but it was more concerning that you weren’t sad, or even angry. You were simply just existing. He concluded that it was no longer up to him to defend you. This was something you needed to work through on your own, but he would just have to give you a push.  

“I was hoping you’d change your mind about breaking his fingers.” You joked as you saw him come back inside.  

“Actually, his thumbs. Can’t do shit without your thumbs.” He made himself chuckle.  

You shrugged again, mindlessly scrolling through your phone now. He stood against the wall, hands in his pockets as if he was waiting for something.  

“What’s up with you, mama? Sitting around here ain’t gonna find you answers.” He said.  

You remained quiet but he knew you were listening since your thumb was just hovering over your phone screen now. 

“What do you want, [Y/N]? You want your job back? You want another?” He pushed. 

You shrugged.  

“Oh, so things get hard, and you just give up?” He pushed again. You took one of the throw pillows from the couch and flung it towards his head.  

“What is it you want me to say? I’m not you; I don’t want to go around fucking people up because they make me upset,” You folded your arms.  

“So, you are upset?” He asked, tilting his head even though he already knew. 

“Of course, I'm upset! I work really hard and for someone to not give a quarter of a shit to explain why I’m- you know what? Fuck this.” You stood up and went to get your keys.  

Rio bit his lip to hide his smirk, but he was waiting for you to finally get it together. Even if you weren’t going to get any answers, you were going to have the last word. 

Rio was close behind when you marched your way through the cubicles to find where your manager was. He did a double take when he realized it was you interrupting his important conference meeting.  

“Oh, sorry Rick, am I interrupting? Did you happen to get to the part where you take your sponsors money, fuck off with it and fire your best employees because you can’t afford to pay them?” You said, giving him an artificial smile.  

You figured it out quickly once you were done wallowing and it was fair enough that what you said alone in front of all these important people likely tanked his entire business.  

Rick laughed it off nervously, but cold stares were filling the entire room towards him. He cleared his throat, reaching for the button on the conference phone for security.  

Rio stood back like a dark shadow, but he didn’t go unnoticed.  

“Don’t...don’t do that.” Rio said, stopping him in his tracks.  

“You’re gonna have to get more than security to get me out of here before I’m done. Besides the fraud and theft, I really rocked with you, Rick. I mean, nothing beats stale ass donuts. The worst part about it is how loyal I was. I came in on time, stayed late and for what? For you to sit back and get sucked off on the clock by the bitch in HR? The irony.” 

Your old coworkers' heads popped up from their cubicles one by one to get a better view.  

“That’s enough!” Rick yelled, and Rio instantly stepped forward until you put your hand up to stop him.  

“Sir, respectfully, fuck your meeting,” You giggled, going around the table to push all the important paperwork on the floor. 

“Fuck your office,” You said again, taking each jellybean bowl from the table one by one to dump wherever you could. 

It seemed like you were done when you walked towards the door until you reached for the trash can. 

“And most importantly, fuck you!” You said, dumping it and throwing the container at him.  

Rio couldn’t hold in his laughter any longer, and he couldn’t have been any prouder of his girl.  

After your well needed release, you finally had a clear mind to figure things out.  

“So, what’s next?” Rio asked, planting subtle kisses on your forehead.

“I’m going to do what I want now.” You smiled.  

[gayofthefae]

Thinking again about just how MUCH "I didn't know what to say" gives us and how it can change the whole deal. Because it is the only line that explicitly tells us that he is, as of the time of saying this, still not capable of saying "I love you".

She told him directly in the moment. So he knew what SHE wanted him to say. So how, then, is it possible that he "didn't know what to say"? Unless...

Unless he's saying that telling her was always completely off the table.

Unless he's saying that he knew what she wanted to hear and he knew that he would under no conditions be saying that. "I didn't know what to say". That statement is much closer to "I didn't know how to say it" than "I didn't know why I couldn't say it".

He doesn't say that he doesn't know what would have fixed the situation. He says that he didn't know what to say.

Which means: they are not. the same.

In that moment, with stakes of emotion and heartbreak and not life and death, he would never have told her he loved her. Something in him considers that an awful thing to do. Breaking a commandment he's made to her as a friend before all else. Something in him says "Telling you I love you would hurt you more long-term than letting you believe that I don't." (hmm I wonder why. which possible commandment could that be)

In episodes 4 and 5 of season 4, he does not say "I should have told her" "I should have told her". He says "should I have told her anyways?" "But what else could I have done but what I did?"

And it's the very prioritization that contributes to his guilt now. OH.

THAT'S SEASON 4 FOR HIM:

He spends the season asking himself the question: if I knew she might die if I didn't say it, would I say it, knowing it would break her heart if she survives?

And then she might die if he doesn't say it. And he knows it. And this is the climax. The moment of decision. The "what would I have done if I'd known".

Now he knows the answer, I suppose.

[gunilslaugh]

Hello! I'm sure you get this a lot but I really love and enjoy your writing and I'd love to see how you'd write a reaction with 0t6 betraying the reader. Like a member leaving the reader over a friend or another member during an important event for the reader. Can the reader be a bit stubborn and not easy to win over but a fluff ending overall? I hope this makes sense I'm willing to explain more if needed.☺️ Hope you're having a great day.

All members << * ~ * >>

Summary:The aftermath of Xdinary Heroes leaving you during an important event. (idol/non-idol au)

WC:~2.3k

Warning: angst I guess

I'm aware the endings aren't that fluffy, but they do show that their relation is gonna be ok, so I hope that's enough.

photo not mine credits to owner.

Gunil

You searched around for Gunil in the crowd, but you couldn’t find him. Pulling out your phone you went to text him only to discover that he already sent you a text. “Sorry Jooyeon called from the hospital he’s fine but I had to go.” “I’m sure you did great though!” His first text felt like a stab to the gut and the second was a twist of the knife. Gunil left you. When he knew how important today was for you, he still left you.

“Hey darling, I'm back.” Gunil approached you trying to kiss your cheek, but you moved away. “What’s wrong?” he asked. You scoffed and rolled your eyes, walking away from him. “Ok look I’m sorry I left I know-”

“You knew how important today was for me and you still left,” you cut him off harshly. 

“It’s not like I wanted to. Believe me, but Jooyeon called me in a panic about how he had to go to the hospital and asked me to meet him there so-” 

“You couldn’t have told someone else to go meet him? Jungsu, Seungmin, Hyeongjun? Why did it have to be you?” Gunil sighs at your sharp words. He tried to approach you, again you kept your distance. 

“Ok, you’re right. I should have asked if someone else could go meet him, but he sounded like he was pretty hurt and I was worried. What would you do if your friend called you all panicked about needing to go to the hospital?” Gunil flipped his situation on you. You sighed, you do understand why he left, but it still hurt. 

“I understand Gunil, but it still hurts that you weren’t there for me,” you told him. Gunil tries to approach you again and this time you let him. 

“I am truly deeply sorry y/n. Trust me I felt horrible for leaving you. I’ll do whatever you want to make it up to you ok?” he said. 

“Ok…I’m still mad though.” Gunil smiled and kissed your cheek, feeling relieved that you didn’t shy away this time.

Jungsu

This wasn’t good. You were furious. Jungsu had left you alone at a family event that you specifically told him how much you needed him to be there. To make matters worse he left you to go help her. His friend that he always told you to not worry about, yet you just couldn’t help it. Today certainly didn’t help with that.

“I’m sorry y/n, but she called me crying and all upset. What was I supposed to do?” Jungsu says.

“I was crying and upset after you left! Plus you know how I feel about her and I told you how much I needed you!” you yelled back.

“Y/n I am really sorry. You really don’t have to worry about her.”

“Don’t I? You literally picked her over me. How am I supposed to not worry about that?” Tears filled your eyes. 

“I swear you're the one I love y/n,” he pleaded with you. 

“I’m not sure about that. I don’t know if I can do this anymore.” The tears slid from your eyes. 

“Don’t say that.” Tears welled up in Jungsu’s eyes. 

“I need someone who can be there for me when I need them. Someone who would pick me. I’m not sure if that’s you.” You looked down at your feet.

“It’s me. It’s me alright. I’ll never contact her again if that’s what you need me to do. I promise you’re the only one I want.”

“That would make me look like a villain,” you sighed. 

“No it wouldn’t. I shouldn’t have gone to her today. It was a mistake and I regret it. I didn’t think it would upset you this much, but I should’ve known better.”

“You won’t pick her over me ever again?” You had to be sure before you thought about forgiving him. 

“Swear on my life,” he stated. 

“Ok, I think I still need some time though,” you say. 

“That’s fine, but can I hug you at least?” he asks. You thought for a moment before nodding. He holds you like you're made of glass. 

Gaon/Jiseok

“You promised you would come.” You sounded so dejected as the words fell from your mouth. Jiseok promised that he would come to support you at an important event, but he never showed. It made you feel like you weren’t important to him. Not important enough at least. 

“I know. I’m sorry, but the guys needed me,” he tried to explain. 

“And what they wouldn’t have understood that I needed you?” you scoffed. 

“Y/n please I know I made you upset, but-”

“But what? Now I know that you’ll pick your friends over me? You showed me where I stand with you?” Your voice grew louder. 

“Y/n I love you so much.” You scoff again. 

“You think saying you love me is gonna magically make me forgive you? Not this time Kwak Jiseok. I’m really pissed at you.” You stood up to walk away, but Jiseok desperately grabbed your arm. 

“Y/n please don’t leave. I know I messed up bad, but please don’t leave me.” You could hear the desperation in his voice. 

“I need some space, Jiseok. I don’t want to be around you right now.” You tried to pull your arm free, but Jiseok held it tighter. Not too tight though. He didn’t want to hurt you anymore than he already has. 

“I’ll give you all the space you want, but can you please promise that you won’t break up with me because of this? I really can’t lose you y/n. I love you with my whole heart and I’m not saying that to try and gain your sympathy. I just want you to know that I do.” You took a breath, taking the time to process his words. 

“I’m not gonna break up with you. I love you too, but I really need space right now, so can you please?” You looked at where his hand was wrapped around your arm. Jiseok slowly let go, like he was still scared of losing you, but he had to trust you. It was his only option. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to talk.” Jiseok nodded. All he could do now was wait.

O.de/Seungmin

“I really needed you today, you know?” Seungmin left you right in the middle of an event. One that you really needed him at for moral support. You needed someone to lean on. He knew that, yet he still left you alone.

“I know. Jungsu really needed me too he-”

“More than me? He didn’t have anyone else that could help him?” you cut Seungmin off. 

“It was something only I could help him with,” Seungmin explained. 

“I really needed you too though. I guess it really is bros before hoes huh?” You were very clearly upset. 

“Y/n please don’t be like that. I understand that you're angry with me. You have the right to be, but you know I wouldn’t have left if I didn’t need to.” Yes, you did know that. Logically you did know that Seungmin wouldn’t have left if he didn’t need to. That since he left, Jungsu evidently did need him more than you did, but still sucks that you weren’t the one he chose. It still hurts. 

“I know, I know, but it still really hurts me that you left,” you tell him.

“I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t fix what happened, but for the record it wasn’t easy for me to leave you. I felt guilty about it- I still do. I wanna make it up to you whatever way I can.”

“I don’t know how you can,” you expressed. 

“Whatever you think about I’ll do it ok? Whether you figure it out now for five years from now I’ll do it,” he promises. You nodded. 

“Is Jungsu alright?” You could finally ask now that you were feeling more calmed down. 

“He will be. He feels bad for making me leave you too. He wants to apologize, but he figured you would be upset and need some time,” he tells you. 

“Why is Jungsu so sweet? Can’t even stay mad at him,” you grumbled. 

“I’m sorry again,” Seungmon conveys one last time.

“I get it.” Your head fell to rest on his shoulder.

Junhan/Hyeongjun

You knew Hyeongjun wasn’t the type of person to just not show up. Especially when you talked about how important today was, so your initial reaction to him not showing up was that something must have happened to him. When you found out that something did happen only it wasn’t to him, it was a friend of his. You felt relieved that Hyeongjun was ok, but then anger quickly set in over that fact he picked them over you. You couldn’t keep the thoughts away that this person meant more to him than you did. That he would pick this person over you again.

“Am I not important to you Hyeongjun?” You couldn’t help but ask. 

“What? Y/n you are so important to me. What are you talking about?” Hyeongjun responded. 

“Not important enough for you to pick me that’s why,” you mumbled. 

“Y/n I’m deeply sorry about that, but I thought that you were strong enough to handle it on your own and-”

“Your friend wasn’t. Yeah I get it, but if I wasn’t strong enough. What if I felt like I was having an anxiety attack the entire time? I kept looking for you because if I saw you I knew that I would be ok, but you never showed,” you tell him. Hyeongjun feels bad, horrible, but he can’t take back what he did. If he had a time machine he doesn’t know what he would do. He was in a really tight spot today and he’s fully aware that whatever he chose would be wrong for someone. However now maybe he thinks he should’ve wronged his friend instead of you. 

“I wronged you and I’m sorry, but whatever I did I would have wronged someone. Can you try to understand that at least? Not saying that it should’ve been you. It was a lose-lose situation for me and I had to try and pick which one would be a bigger loss.”

“So your friend is a bigger loss than losing me?” Your anger flared. 

“No! No! Y/n that’s not what I meant. I thought you would be more understanding about the situation or I don’t know. I did a really bad job at explaining. I would much rather lose my friend than you. You’re the most important person to me please trust me on that. I-I-I really messed things up for us didn’t I?” Hyeongjun began to anxiously ramble.

“I am really mad at you, but I’ll be able to forgive you with time. It's just what you did today. Made me feel like I wasn’t important to you.” 

“You are so important to me, I promise. I’ll never pick someone else over you again alright? I was stupid today,” he says

“You were in a hard situation. I understand, but you also understand that what you did hurt me right?” 

“I do and I’m deeply, truly, sorry.” He looked you in the eyes and you can tell he meant it.

Jooyeon

 “Jooyeon, how could you leave me alone today! I told you how serious this event was!” Jooyeon flinched at your words. He knew that you would be upset with him for leaving, but he didn’t anticipate you being this upset. 

“I’m sorry y/n, but she really needed me. You know I wouldn’t have left if she didn’t.”

“Did she need you more than me? I really needed you!” You didn’t even want to hear about her. You know that she was just Jooyeon’s friend. You didn’t have any worries about her being more than that, but the fact that you now had confirmation that he would pick her over you hurt like a slap to the face, multiple slaps.

“Y/n please don’t do this to me. It was a hard, impossible even, decision to make,” he tried to plead. 

“Yet, you still picked her in the end and if you picked her once you’ll probably pick her again. She comes before me,” you stated. 

“No she doesn-” he began. 

“She did this time, so why not other times?” you cut him off. 

“She didn’t have anybody else,” he tired to explain. 

“And I did?” you said sarcastically. Feeling like your anger was at a max. If you were a cartoon you’d have smoke coming out of your ears. Jooyeon sighs. 

“No, you didn’t. Look, all I can do is apologize. In that moment I felt like-”

“She needed you more than I did. Yeah I get that,” you rolled your eyes.

“I may have made a mistake-”

“May?” You arched your brow. 

“I did make a mistake,” he restates his words. “Friends are supposed to be there for one another, but I get that I should've explained to her that you really needed me and I shouldn’t have gone. Looking back at the situation I see that now. I can only hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me,” he says. 

“I don’t want to feel like I’m in a competition with her,” you express. 

“You’re not. I promise you’re not. I’ll set more clear boundaries,” Jooyeon declares. 

“You can’t leave me again. I really did need you today,” you say. 

“I won’t, I won’t. I promise. I’m sorry for today.” He hugs you, rubbing your back to try and soothe your tension.

Taglist: @purplelady85 @odesonnets @gingerjunhan @chewednails @ezlynkisses @mon2sunjinsuver

[acourtofthought]

For a female that clearly had no issues asserting herself in SF, who stood up to Nesta about not being allowed to tell her what she can and can't do, who told Feyre that she wanted to join at the Hewn City despite Feyre telling her she could stay home, it's really strange how Elain hasn't vocalized to anyone that Az is what she wants.

Eluciens believe Elain is purposely avoiding her draw to Lucien just as Nesta did with Cassian, that she doesn't want to let herself want him so she's throwing herself into trying to make a life for herself. Making friends, finding a purpose in the NC, convincing herself she could be happy with someone else. We believe Elain is hiding from her truth so we're not getting the full story about how happy she truly is. Where her stubbornness over being made, losing her fiance, her insistence that she doesn't want a mate is the driving force which keeps her from reaching out to Lucien even though he's suffering. That's typically the setup for a SJM FMC and many fantasy authors.

In contrast, E/riels believe it's confirmed Elain wants to be with Az, that she's known for quite some time she wants to be with Az but....she hasn't done anything to make that known to the others. There's nothing standing in her way from being with him, no stubbornness at the hand fate dealt her, no anger that her ex fiance rejected her partially because of her relationship to Az (the way we saw with Graysens reaction to Lucien). Elain told Feyre she didn't want a male or mate which E/riels use as proof she doesn't want Lucien. So if her past statements hold true and she had no issues announcing to Feyre that she doesn't want Lucien, why does she seem to have such an issue with saying she does want Az?

Elain fought harder to search for the Trove than she's fought to let anyone know Az means something to her (nobody in the NC thinks he does) though he's supposedly struggling with her bond. Where is her consideration for his feelings when she cares so much for him already? She's so happy and content in the Night Court according to some yet we know Az avoided her for months which indicates she hasn't minded his absence though her feelings for him are "obviously" so deep. I don't know, if I was in love with someone and they chose to stay away from me I'd be hurt, not happily living my life. And if I was aware of my feelings for someone (and not hiding from them as Elucien's believe) and saw them struggling, I would be checking on them, spending time with them. She's happy and content yet Az according to the bonus isn't sleeping well and is full of negative emotions about himself. If you're a fan of e/riel wouldn't you be a little irritated with Elain for living her best life while Az is struggling and she's not shown any interest in reaching out to him when she's said to already care for him and already wants to be with him?

If Elain does have true happiness in the NC it has nothing to do with Az and everything to do with her ability to make the best of any situation. In fact, the only thing Az brought Elain in SF was one charged look after his confirmed absence and then hurt and rejection.

Despite all that, just because Elain found some happiness in the Night Court, it doesn't mean that's where she's going to truly thrive which I think is evident. Sarah laid many hints that Elain's happiness is not the ultimate in what a FMCs happiness can look like. Some people can find bits of happiness wherever they are, they're called optimists which Elain is but the current version of Elain still does not look like the version of Elain we saw at the end of ACOTAR. Sometimes people look for the good no matter what comes their way but those same people can later come to the realization that the happiness they once had can't compare to the happiness they discover elsewhere.

[liightsout]

the blue (prologue)

Hey angels!

I have had the urge to write again circling around in my head for the past month so whilst being home from work sick for the day, I did a thing...

I haven't written anything in near on 8 years, so this is probably god awful, but one of my goals for this year is to do more things I enjoy, so please be kind!

I have some plans for Mattie and Danny, so if you're interested please stick around, I'd love for you to share this lil journey with me.

Asks are always open if you wanna chat.

Love ya x

﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎

Matilda wasn’t sure how she had ended up in the situation she currently found herself. 

Cliche, right? Specifically Matilda was not sure which choices she had made in her life that had caused her to find herself standing on the doorstep of Daniel Ricciardo’s Monaco apartment, deciding whether she should knock on the door for a final time, or walk away and try again in the morning. 

When she had heard the news from Adam that morning she hadn’t second guessed the decision to buy a flight ticket to Nice for that same evening. She didn’t think about how she would get to Heathrow Airport, didn’t consider how much the taxi from the airport to Daniel’s would cost, or even if he would want to see her. He would want to see her, right? Daniel had done the same for her on previous occasions, despite her protests at the time. Doubt was creeping into the forefront of her brain the longer she stood there staring at the large oak door. 

 Shaking the thought from her head, she knocked a final time and waited. A few minutes ticked by when she finally heard it. 

Relief filled Matilda’s body as she heard movement from inside the apartment. She could picture Daniel climbing off of the sofa they had spent so many nights together on. She could hear the mumbled expletives as he neared the door, his feet dragging along the laminate in the way they always seemed to when he was tired. 

“Blake, I told you, I don’t want to see anyone right now. I’ll call you in the morning, but I just… I just need to be alone.” 

Matilda’s heart dropped. It was worse than she had initially thought. It was no shock to her that Daniel would be taking the news terribly. But to be turning away his friends was… so not Daniel.  Even when he was feeling low he had always welcomed the solace of his friends and family. She feared she had made the wrong call showing up at all. 

“Danny it’s me. I heard the news from Adam this morning. Don’t be mad, but Lando told him and he just thought I should know because he didn’t think you’d tell me yourself, at least not straight away, and he was worried about you.” Moments of silence passed by, nerves seeping into the deepest parts of Matilda’s mind. 

“Please open the door Danny, I need to see you. You don’t have to let me in or speak to me, I just want to see you and make sure you’re alright. I brought some of those crisps you like from home because I know you’ve probably not eaten anything… or maybe you have… either way, I thought you’d want some and I didn’t know what else to bring, or what else to do, I just needed to see-” 

The door swinging open cut Matilda off. Daniel wasted no time in enveloping the smaller girl into his arms. Matilda had received a lot of hugs from Daniel in the short 18 months she had known him, but this one felt different. She could feel Daniel’s hands gripping onto her skin through the sweater she wore. She could feel him burying his face into the crook of her neck. She could feel his heartbeat emitting from his chest like claps of thunder in the quiet Monaco night. 

“I’m sorry Mattie. I wanted to call you all day, but I just didn’t know what to say. I knew you had that big meeting with your client this week and I didn’t want you to be distracted, or turn up here… I guess I should have known you’d find out and turn up anyways” Daniel spoke as he slowly pulled away from her. 

Matilda took the time to get a careful look at the man standing in front of her. The usual glowing brown orbs she loved staring into, replaced with bloodshot ones, dark bags making the contrast even more jarring. His smile was empty and false. A large sweatshirt and sweatpants he was wearing made his frame seem smaller than it really was. 

Taking in his words, she frowned “Daniel, please don’t apologise. This is so far from being your fault it’s actually a joke. And don’t worry about me, my clients can wait. You’re more important to me. Always us, remember?”. 

Standing in the moonlight on the doorstep of his apartment Daniel sighed. 

“Yeah baby, always us.”

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

Episode 2 of What If Season 2 poked the Peggy hornet’s nest and did exactly what I thought it would. 

So, for context, in this reality Yondu actually handed Peter Quill over to Ego when he was supposed to, and within just 6 months Ego was able to corrupt his son into a conqueror, so they invade Earth together. Peggy is director of SHIELD at the time, and she and Howard work together to assemble a proto-Avengers team to stop them. The team consists of Hank Pym, Bill Foster, T’Chaka, Thor, Wendy Lawson (who I think is from Captain Marvel), and… wait for it… the Winter Motherfucking Soldier. 

Yes, for real.

And because I know you’re thinking it, the excuse given is that he is in the hands of the Russians during this time, so Peggy and Howard couldn’t possibly have known about it UwU. Anyway, when they see him there’s a super drawn-out moment where they both think they recognize him (and it’s while he still has the mask on, so while this probably wasn’t intentional I actually read that as yet another middle finger to Steve, as Peggy could apparently recognize Bucky even under his disguise while Steve couldn’t). And then, Howard says, I shit you not: “I'd heard the rumors, but even if they’re true, the man we knew is long-gone, Peg, and we have bigger fish to fry.” And then later in the episode, with no segway from that to this, there’s a scene where they’re all together and the Winter Soldier has his mask off, and actually speaks. 

So, at least in this universe, Howard and Peggy are 100% aware that Bucky Barnes is in fact the Winter Soldier. Later on in the episode Howard attempts to get through to him, but only when it becomes a necessity to save the world (because he is about to kill Peter Quill while Hank is trying to convince him to turn on Ego), but it’s still pretty damning. And then at the end of the episode, rather than trying to rehabilitate him, they just let him go. Like, it’s not the same situation as Steve where he was out cold and unable to do anything, they could have taken Bucky in and tried to break his programming, but they didn’t. It’s left ambiguous what will happen to him after that, so it’s not like they sent him back to Hydra, but Hydra is still out there in this universe, so my hopes aren’t high.

TLDR; this episode attempts to handwave away the very strong possibility that the Howard and Peggy of the Prime Timeline knew what was happening to Bucky, but in doing so unintentionally made them look so much worse.

I don't... I can't even... WTF did I just read? (not you of course, I mean, what is wrong with Marvel?) 🤦‍♀️

So they use Bucky while brainwashed and/or still with Hydra's BS in his mind, and they don't even care to help him out after? They see a victim and they use him and then turn away from him, not caring about his well-being? And, I assume, Howard and Lady Brexit are still framed as good guys? And how are they any better than Hydra in that story?! The absolute nerve...

Once I read the spoilers a few days ago and saw they were going to have her as Director of SHIELD, I just knew they were going to absolve her of everything and never have her answer for any of her actions. And of course the only one who says he had "heard rumours" was Howard, not her. She's an angelic glorious being incapable of doing anything wrong. What in the absolute narrative protection is this...

Howard and Miss Brexit couldn't possibly know about Bucky... yeah, right. Except for the fact that they knew what Zola had done, because Steve told them, and they still willingly worked alongside him, even gave him a nickname. Oh Arnie, my beloved, wasn't it fun when you tortured Steve's best friend? Let's have some beer. I don't see how Miss "I shoot innocents when I'm jealous" Brexit could have recognized Bucky considering she didn't give a damn about him after Steve risked his own life against her wishes to save him, but apparently in this she can tell who he is even with a mask on? Damn girl, did you inject the serum in him yourself?

And I'm sorry but what is this... “I'd heard the rumors, but even if they’re true, the man we knew is long gone.” Excuse me? Oh, good enough to use but not good enough to save? How is the everloving hell is that even a line?! Oh my god, Marvel, just say you hate Bucky and go. I don't get it, what, he's the guy who ruins their beloved Steggy nonsense and they can't help themselves, they have to drag him through the mud for daring to be more important to Steve than Miss Brexit here? (And I say that as a non-shipper but holy crap, this is nuts.)

Not even in another timeline are these two somewhat redeemable. And Bucky is fucked up no matter what. Typical.

So the Infinity Saga had Stark as their golden boy and now it's Agent Brexit's time to shine... Will the Hero Cinematic Universe ever provide any heroes of narrative protection or are they going to choose the bad ones only? Oh, you're a soldier kidnapped, tortured and brainwashed? Go ahead and make amends, you monster. Oh, you willingly worked for the TVA and tortured and killed because you wanted to? Poor you, let us frame you as good and pat you on the back, you sweet thing.

Wow, I got mad in this one. Sorry. I have the Bucky feels right now 😜😂

[deadkidcourt]

deadkidcourt : our tale of system discovery

I've always been scared of being publicly out about my system, more posts i see from other systems has given me some courage. i like being able to see those posts and see our system or aspects of us in them. I've never publicly spoke of my diagnosis being scared that when people find out that I'm not medically recognized that the fakeclaiming will become really bad. i already deal with so much denial of my own that I've been so scared of rejection from other systems.

we have done extensive research, we have always been very self aware and would never self diagnose without a fuck-ton of research to back it up. we'd always felt like multiple people but not in the way we feel like it now. we'd always been kind of name fluid, loving trying on different names and pronouns. i thought for a long time that, that's how multi-gendered and people who used xenogenders felt.

as time went on, we would have phases feeling girly, wanting a hyperfem gender presentation, and then we would flip 100% and get highly upset even being thought of a girl. even as a child i would act completely different to how i was, and my parents would get highly upset because they felt they didn't know me. saying things like you're acting like a completely different person, but in those times i would get really sad because i was just acting how i felt.

i would often be told i was lying, because one day I'd really like something and the next i hate it with everything in me. people thought i was faking my personality to fit in, but i was just that different. as a teenager i learned about osddid but thought, oh that can't be me! I remember all my trauma! I'm just me! until i met a friend who was a system and learned that alot of how we felt and the things we did were not that of a singlet. that was in 2019, we questioned for a year and thought we were just making things up for attention and to seem interesting (it's not for attention if you're doing it when you're alone.)

i have known about maladaptive daydreaming since i was a child, it was what saved me from most of my trauma. being able to escape to a fake world, but the ‘characters’ didn't change, at least not three of them. we would have random fictional characters show up to, that we would then have a high identity kin with and could never understand why other people didn't connect with characters like that.

one was a girl that always got mad when i was hurting, i thought she was an imaginary friend. someone my brain created to help me feel better about my situation, and then when i was about nine. she would start taking over my body, fighting with our parents when they would act wrong, but after that i would be in control again scared of the repercussions of her actions. this continued for years, i thought everyone made up people in their head to help them and protect them. that's not the case.

in 2021 (roughly) we became highly obsessed with fnaf, circus baby in particular. so much so, we couldn't befriend people online with her as a profile picture. this got bad enough that when a close friend set her discord avatar as glam rock baby (fan design), we had a full breakdown.

all we could think and feel is, that is me, i am that person you cant use that picture thats me and youre not me stop stop stop. our husband has to talk us down, and we kindly asked the friend to not use that character because of the distress we felt about it. we thought that was fictionkin, but it was so distressing and upsetting we had a weeklong disassociative episode and i thought that was just normal. we know now about pur circus baby fictive and have done work to source seperate so as to not have breakdowns and episodes like that again.

now, here's where things get tricky because the memory isn't really there. but from them until this year we fought with ourselves about our self diagnosis, always discrediting our trauma, and symptoms. it wasn't until we told our husband about all of our trauma that he helped us understand how drastic that was especially to a child's mind.

then we started researching, we researched off an on for three years. sometimes noting some people in our brain that we met, but it didn't work because we weren't ready to come to terms with it. the denial was ao bad.

in january of 2024, we had what i know now as a frontstuck host that finally got unstuck and everything started to fall into place for us. we were able to integrate and lose some of our amnesia barriers and i was able to meet some of our alters. it was helpful that our husband was around, because he was able to notice symptoms and changes in our prescence that we couldn't see.

he was able to differentiate between the main four frequent fronters we had at the time and was very patient with us and did research of his own to help us. we tried keeping a notebook, able to see differences in our handwriting and vocabulary choices. the way we dress would change, one loves all dark big clothing while another alter loves showing skin with pastel colors, and another one that just wants to be comfortable. small things like that made it easy to start to see the patterns in our switching. and with learning more, i realized my amnesia is not as cut and dry as i thought it would be. i can remember the bad things but not last week, or last month or yesterday.

there's only ever been one part of our system that we can't seem to wrap our head around. our splitting patterns, and fusing patterns. we have decently good communication, very low amnesia barriers between switching, and i have low access to innerworld. that was all great, but then we started splitting alot, or discovering alot of alters. there would be like 5 alters and 15 fragments and as time went on, i noticed how easily we split fictive fragments and those fragments (usually 2-4 of them) would fuse to make a whole alter. but that alter would have several sources, that always made us feel like we were wrong or perhaps that our system has lied to us. either of which could be true, we don't really care. we just try to take care of ourselves and we try to welcome any newbies to our headspace as gently as we can. we had incorrectly thought that introjects had to have one source, and that set us back on our healing alot. that and we tend to fuse semi-easily and thought we we're lying about our system because of that.

now we just take everything one step at a time, try to meet new alters and talk to them while not forcing it a whole lot. i hope our journey can help you. I'm not the most educated person (i try tho!) so please if I'm wrong about something or something let me know, KINDLY.

- ronnie 💣 and remi 🦨

[fleursroses]

Of boys and boxes

Holy shit I reached 250 followers yesterday!! Genuinely I want to thank you so much. So, in honour of that here's finally the fic I said I'd write back in like October (whoops). It's inspired by this post by @ggomos-maribat​, so if you're wondering why you got tagged in this, it's because you asked to in case anyone wrote something for it. I hope it lives up to your expectations!!! I will also post this on AO3 and reblog with the link. But for now, enjoy <333

However Marinette thought it would be to be the Guardian of the Miracle Box, she couldn't exactly say it would even come close to reality. Sure, the whole thing surrounding Hawkmoth that got her in the situation in the first place generally sucked a lot, but in a way she knew what she could expect. Then Shadowmoth happened, and Monarch, who eventually all turned out to be Gabriel Agreste, the fucking dad of her longtime crush and partner Chat Noir. Yeah, talk about killing the mood. 

Okay, if she was being honest, at that point the feelings for either had been fading for a while, mainly due to all the stress being Guardian put on her life. Sometimes she couldn't help but resent Fu for all that he, although not necessarily on purpose, had forced her to go through, from losing her childhood so early without any guidance, to making her feel like she wasn't allowed to have feelings without putting the world that was laid upon her thin shoulders at risk. It never felt fair though, because she knew Fu had had to go through the same thing. At least she still had some sort of support network. 

Still, the whole thing left her too traumatised to really want to pursue Adrien any further, or anyone else for that matter. This was fine by her, and although he was a bit disappointed, Adrien understood and respected her feelings on this matter. She was glad she could still have him by her side, despite it not being the future they had both dreamed of. 

However, being left with a bit too much time on her hands, Marinette had decided to focus more on her duties as guardian, wanting to fully uncover its secrets without the threat of having all the kwamis being stolen from her again hanging over her head. And as much as she wished Fu had trained her more, she didn't think he had known about... certain connections the miracle box had to various organisations either. Wasn't that just her luck?

It had been 3 years since Hawkmoth had been defeated, and Marinette had spent most of that time travelling all over the world. Every so often she would return to Paris again though, to meet up with her old friends. They would go out for drinks and Marinette would tell all about the classes she followed online to get a business degree, as well as tell about where she had been and what she had done as Guardian. She had to admit, it was nice to finally be able to talk about being Ladybug, even if the group who knew was still only really small. Or rather, it was nice to have the possibility. In reality, she was so used to being secretive, out of sheer habit she sometimes forgot to mention things other people would undoubtedly have told their friends. 

It would go like this: One of the times she was back after a particularly long 5 months away, Marinette invited Adrien, Alya, Nino, Kagami and Chloé to hang out at the bakery with her. Just as she was telling a story about the crazy commission she had gotten from one of Jagged's friends, something she occasionally did to help keep her afloat while she was abroad, she got a call from an, to her friends, unfamiliar name. Apologizing to the group, who assured her it was fine, she answered. Her and the guy on the other end held a short civil conversation, ending with Marinette promising she would drop something of his by his place at her earliest convenience and then ended it just as quickly. When asked about the other guy, she just said "Oh that's just Damian, I met him in Tunisia," and then immediately went back to her story again, as if nothing had really happened.

Yet, this Damian continued to show up in conversations after that. Over time her friends gathered that although they had met in Tunisia, he was apparently American, had a big family and a preference for the same martial arts Marinette did. She didn't talk about him all that much, mostly just mentioned him every so often, like when Alya accompanied her to her favourite fabric store while she was still in the neighbourhood. 

"And so this creep comes up to me all macho like I didn't just pepperspray one of his friends right in front of him- Wait Mari check this green satin out, don't you think it would look nice on Adrien?"

Marinette came over and inspected the fabric, and while picking up the roll noted "I think it's a bit too dark for him, but I think it would look really good on Damian instead. He has this weird thing about green as a family colour or whatever, maybe I can make him something?"

Alya looked curiously as Marinette whipped out her sketchpad and sketched out a whole suit while lost in thought. She didn't take it personally, she knew this was just how the other girl could sometimes get when particularly inspired. Interested, she noted that it had been the thought of Damian that did it this time. But then again, Marinette's mind sometimes worked in the strangest ways, and Alya knew better than to pry or interrupt her. So, she just picked up the story where she had left it, knowing it would eventually find its way into Marinette's brain.

"Anyway, at the end the dude was totally crying and I hadn't even done much yet, you'd totally be proud of me girl-"

In the end, Alya couldn't shake her curiosity. Trying to google the guy didn't help much when she didn't have a surname, and look, she just wanted to know the guy was alright. Not that she didn't trust Marinette's judgement, on the contrary, but it would be nice to have a bit more to go off on. Asking Marinette straight up didn't help much either, only getting her vague answers. But as she offhandedly mentioned it to her friends when Marinette was away again, she found they were also eager to bring up their curiosity. 

"We don't even know what he looks like! But she likes him enough that she makes him fancy clothes of her own volition!" Chloé lamented dramatically. Although she would never admit it, she was a bit miffed she couldn't find out anything about Damian either. Even her sources couldn't tell her anything, and they usually never failed her. 

"I think we should just be happy she is designing again, no matter the reason."

 They all fell silent at Kagami's words, remembering how bad the period after Hawkmoth's defeat had been. It was only then Marinete's cracks had visibly begun to show to all of them, partly through several months void of the usual creative outlets and other emotions in general. It had been... rough, to say at the least.

"Still though. I don't think she has designed this much for one person since, disregarding Jagged's commissions. And she doesn't even talk about him! I mean, when I'm alone with her she always talks about all of you like you hung up the moon. I don't think she has talked about one person she likes as little as... as Luka."

Nino looked at his girlfriend incredulously. "Are you seriously suggesting Marinette has a crush on Damian? She barely ever even sees him."  

Alya simply shrugs. "I mean, probably not, but it can't hurt to think of all bases, right? But okay, what do you think about this: he is a secret assassin and Marinette made him normal by the power of friendship and now she has to constantly like, check up on him to make sure he doesn't go back to the darkside. No, listen, hear me out-"

Somehow, although they didn't know it, reality had been even stranger. Or well, if they had met years ago Alya could maybe even have been right, but as it was Damian hadn't been part of the "dark side" for a very long time, nor was he in danger of going back. Maybe that would have been sort of preferable to Marinette, but she still supposed her situation wasn't that bad, even though, yes, she was technically speaking kind of stuck. Trying to explain this to her friends was... a feat. 

This is all to say they had found out. It happened when she had invited all her friends over to New York to attend a fashion show she had been allowed to design a small piece for when accidentally gaining attention from yet another designer. When afterwards they were just taking a stroll through the city, all talking excitedly, a beautiful woman had come up to Marinette and taken her aside to talk without paying any heed to her friends. For some reason, they started talking in Mandarin. It wasn't a very long conversation, which ended by the woman patting Marinette on the head and walking away again. 

When she turned around, she found all her friends staring at her, dumbfounded. 

"What?"

"How the hell do you know Talia Head?" Chloé demanded. 

Somehow, Marinette only looked at them blankly, like she had never heard that name in her life. Like she hadn't literally just been talking to the actual CEO of LexCorps. When Chloé told her this, recognition slowly dawned on the other girl.

"Right, Talia. I forgot she's doing that now. Hm. I wonder who she has designing for her, I should ask her..." 

This time, she pulled out a notebook the others hadn't ever seen before, filling it with the strangest characters. There seemed to be some structure to it, possibly making it a language, but it wasn't one any of them had ever seen before.

Later, Marinette would chalk it up to her unfortunately being distracted, but when Alya asked her how she knew Talia then, if it apparently wasn't for her currently being one of the most well known business persons in the world, she just replied "She's my mother-in-law?" like this was a known fact. 

As several voices shrieked "YOU'RE MARRIED??" Marinette suddenly remembered she had not, in fact, told her friends about her marriage yet. 

"I mean, yes, more or less? It happened when I went to China again, and I met this League of uh. League of Assassins. But their leader knew a lot about the Miracle Box and he told me he would share everything with me if I married his grandson. Also that I would probably die if I didn't, but honestly I had hit a dead end so I really needed his knowledge, you know? It's fine though, I don't even know if it's like, legally binding. Also we didn't have to do anything besides be married, so. Pretty good deal actually!"

"HE WHAT-" "ASSASSINS?" "MARINETTE"

It took a lot of time for her friends to settle down, and to accept that she was fine and not under constant threat of being assassinated. It was a whole ordeal. Eventually though, it was Adrien who settled it by quietly asking her whether her husband at least treated her well. 

"I mean, sure, I guess? He's chill. Also, I am provided with so much more knowledge now, I feel like you're not properly considering that pa-." 

She was interrupted by a strange noise coming from her phone. She glanced down, fully prepared to ignore it for the more pressing matters at hand, but upon seeing who had texted her she decided to reply anyway. 

"Hang on, he's texting me, I need to answer this."

Random American dude???

My family just found out that I got married. They're being really annoying about it.

Snorting, she texted back, knowing her friends were still watching her every move.

Vous

Funny how that works, my friends did too just now

I blame your mother tho

She then showed her phone to her friends. "See? Damian and I are fine." 

It was Alya who made the connection first.

"Wait, if you've actually been married to Damian all along, and your mother in law is Talia Head…"

"MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG DID YOU MARRY DAMIAN FUCKING WAYNE?"

Taglist:

@nerd-nowandforever @prettykittytanjiro @toughluna @meira-3919 @taewinterbear95 @maanae @hammalammadamdam @swaggermcjagger @countessdragon @starscreamlover @snorlaxly-tired @illusionwolfwriter24r8 @kaitense1 @wildcardjoey @dramatic-squirrel @leftguard66 @mimblizzy @mikami1992 @tinybrie @theg0ddesspersephone @psychicdelusionwerewolf​ @folk-ever-lore​  

[thenightfolknetwork]

I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I swear I didn't know. I just...

The town I'm from is secluded, very secluded. Still using landlines and slow and spotty internet secluded. It's one of those towns hidden away by mountains and trees that take days to get in and out of. My point is that news is slow to get in, and about half is debated as rumor and "conspiracies against the common people."

I hope im saying this right. As i said, resources are limited, so please forgive any offense. The "People of the Night" are still thought to be myth here. If there are any um "Nightfolk" here, they haven't made themselves known. Not that I'd blame them, but it would have made this a lot easier, maybe prevented it even. I'm sorry I'm rambling, I'm still a bit shaken.

I thought I was just approachable. When someone's lost or needed help, they'd always find their way to me. No trouble at all, I enjoyed it. But it happened so often, My friends used to say that I "just had one of those faces."

It felt good to be needed. I'd ask how someone was. They'd vent to me what was going on, and I listened. If I could and they wanted it, I'd offer advice, but most just wanted to be heard.

But, a couple of weeks ago, I was walking with my best friend. We were just catching up, nothing serious. It was meant to be a joke, a reference to my tendency of "being one of those faces." I asked her if she had any dark secrets she wanted to share.

She did.

You'd thought I'd told her to do it at knifepoint. Her story came pouring out like an overpowered hose. When she finished, the look she gave me. I can't unsee it.

When it was over, i tried to thank her for trusting me with such sensitive information, but she told me to save it. I don't know how, but we both knew it was my fault.

She told my friend group what happened and now no one wants to speak to me. I tried to explain myself, but they refused to listen or trust what I had to say. Out of frustration, I asked one person why they were avoiding me, and they responded, "Because I always knew you were weird."

There was no denying that I... forced them to tell me that in some way, but it wasn't on purpose! But I must have proved something because now I can't leave my house because everyone is LOOKING at me.

I've been using a paper and pencil to get by as well as trying to learn BSL because im afraid to speak again. How many of those talks that I had were unvoluntary? How many people were forced to be honest and just pretended to be civil because they were scared of me?

I don't know if this is new or something that I'd always done. I'm alone here. The only reason I know as much as I do about the Creature Community is because I accidentally stumbled across your show on my radio.

I dont know who i am anymore. I miss singing and talking to people, but I'm terrified that I'll compel someone by accident. How do I get better? Where do I go from here?

Oh, reader. This must be a very frightening, upsetting time for you. I'm so glad you felt able to reach out to us here at the Nightfolk Network for support.

First of all, I hope you are able to see the difference between taking responsibility for your past actions, and making a martyr of yourself. You have been unthinkingly, unknowingly hurting people, and you do need to recognise that before you can try to make amends. But the harm you caused was entirely accidental. Please, be gentle with yourself.

In terms of practical steps forwards, I can reassure you: you are not alone in your powers, or in finding them difficult to control. Often powers of this kind make themselves known early in an individuals life, and you can imagine how difficult it can be to control the spoken wishes of a babbling toddler.

Nevertheless, many people in your situation go on to live perfectly ordinary lives with good control over their powers. And you have the advantage over a toddler, in that you are not only fully cognisant of the detrimental effects of such powers but also already able to find alternative ways to communicate.

Your first step is to contact your GP and arrange an appointment to discuss the matter. Write them a letter explaining the situation, and emphasising your need to conduct the appointment without speech. In a small, rural community like yours, it's very likely your GP will have little to no personal experience of such cases. But they will be able to refer you to an NHS specialist with whom you can explore possible treatment options.

In most cases, those options will be either medication, behavioural therapy, or more usually a combination of the two. I understand that there is a great deal of stigma around thauma-damping medication. Please, resist this pattern of thought.

Medication is nothing more or less than a tool we might use to help us live our lives. Taking medication does not indicate a lack of effort or will on your part in controlling your powers. It just makes a very difficult thing slightly easier.

However, NHS waiting lists for this type of treatment can be lengthy. In the meantime, I strongly recommend you reach out as best you can to your community. Writing a letter, text or email to your best friend would be a good start, explaining the situation as best you can and leaving the door open for her to rekindle the relationship if she feels able.

Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to forcibly mend the relationship. You can only present yourself honestly and hope that, in time, you are able to find your way back to something like the friendship you shared before this.

In the meantime, try to connect with other people in the community if you can. The Internet can be a wonderful place to connect with others, and your local library may have information about support groups in the wider area.

Above all, reader, take heart. There is plenty to be hopeful about here. You are not doomed to a life of fearful silence, or of isolation and solitude. With a little work, and plenty of support from the people around you, I see no reason why you shouldn't enjoy a long and happy life full of genuine connection with the people around you.

[For more creaturely advice, check out Monstrous Agonies on your podcast platform of choice, or visit monstrousproductions.org for more info]

[pininghermit]

Heeey, I'd like to make an ask if you don't mind but first I just have to say that I really liked the fic you wrote on alucard, I thought the relationship dynamic was so cute *internal screaming* So I was wondering if you could do a modern au fic with a female monster hunter s/o who's like batman (uses their brains over brawn but definitely knows how to fight) and she works together with alucard on monster hunting missions(if it's possible to make it Genya Arikado version from the aria of sorrow/dawn of sorrow it would be really cool as there's not a lot of content with that but it's fine if not.)

Thanks!

Mr. and Mrs. Tepes (Alucard x Reader)

Pairing: Alucard x Reader

Word Count: 1.8k

Summary: A slightly rushed "Where are you?" greets you as soon as you plug in your Bluetooth. You hear the clang of metal followed by gurgling growls on the other end. "I am on my way," you press harder on the gas as you speed to the site of conflict.

AN: Hi, thanks for requesting such an interesting ask. I am not familiar with the Genya Arikado version that you mentioned but I tried doing some research to pull up something decent. I hope you like it and please forgive any cannon inaccuracies I'm a noob.

"It's just going to be a bunch of mindless skeletons," he said.

"I can handle it myself, he said,” you grumble as you furiously pull back your hair into a tight braid as you try to locate your crossbow.

You chuck your weapons in your trusted Audi. He better be damn grateful for this. You would have never put your darling Audi8 through this rough treatment, but alas, the situation called for it.

Giving your resort one last parting look, you speed your way through isolated roads. Speed limits and laws jump out of the window at 2 am in the morning.

A slightly rushed "Where are you?" greets you as soon as you plug in your Bluetooth. You hear the clang of metal followed by gurgling growls on the other end. "I am on my way," you press harder on the gas as you speed to the site of conflict.

It had been a no-work vacation that you had somehow convinced Adrian to take. After weeks of pleading, he agreed to spend a week of nothingness except for relaxing spas and soothing hot springs in Hokkaido.

You should have known better. Honestly, you had no idea when he snuck out to 'explore' the land. In his plan to be discreet, your very smart fiancé thought it wise to venture into an unknown territory without appropriate weapons or ammunition.

It had been too late by the time you caught on, and your dampir fiancé replied with cryptic texts that told nothing about his whereabouts. While you were busy freaking out about your missing fiancé, Adrian was out there living his best life, scouting Japanese forests.

Giving up on the cocky bastard, you resorted to destressing through the amazing bath at your disposal. And he did text you about how he did not need help fighting mere annoyances.

Next thing you know, just as you undress to hop into water that is just the right temperature, Adrian hits you with a "Need backup" text with the coordinates of his location.

Now here you are, very much away from your therapeutic bath and herbal tea. Parking your baby outside the forest parameters, you double-check your Bluetooth. "Take cover, I'll be there soon," you speak into the mic as you huff with the weight of weapons on your back.

In a matter of seconds, you transform yourself into a killing machine loaded with weapons of every kind at your disposal. Pulling Adrian's location on your watch, you start your trek through the forest or, to better phrase it, through the trees.

While Adrian fought head-on, you preferred to catch your opponents off guard. You lingered in shadows, waiting for a chance to strike. Maybe it was a habit from your past as an assassin that never left you.

Long ago, before you met Adrian, you fought for people who bought others' lives with the money they were born into. You sliced throats, spiked drinks, sniped unsuspecting targets, fabricated accidents. Adrian wasn't in your life back then. It remains a past you wish to forget, but you don't deserve to forget it, not after all the blood you have on your hands. This is your penance, to remember and live with your dark past.

But now, as you blend into the cover of the trees, your past helps you spot Adrian faster than ever. You find him crouched behind a rock. Great, he actually took cover. It must be pretty serious then. As if on cue, he looks up, and you see relief settle into his features.

From your vantage point, you spot about two merman and around twenty skeletons. Adrian could have dealt with this mix... if only Mr. Smartass had enough weapons on him. You could shoot some from your spot, but first, you need to equip Adrian with some ammunition. So, you soundlessly make your way to join Adrian behind the abnormally large rock.

The first thing you do after reaching him is to look for any possible injuries on him. Adrian, for once, lets you do your job with the patience of a saint, at least for him. After making sure that your fiancé won't bleed to death as you fight, you wordlessly hand him refills and the crossbow.

Neither of you speaks about the atrocious number of daggers in your pack. From the look on Adrian's face, you're pretty sure he's dying to present his reasons for the adventure, but it will have to wait.

Adrian feels all the exhaustion leave his body as his senses focus on your hands tying a bandolier around his waist. Your movements are efficient and quick. You separate the poisoned dagger from the normal ones.

Even in such an unexpected situation, you remain undaunted. You scheme and plan, but you do not cower. That's what Adrian loves about you. You're brave. Brave enough to accept your past, your flaws, and live with them.

It's easy to forget the hideous monsters on the other side of the rock as you both huddle close under the clear skies. The cool night breeze sways a wayward strand that escaped your braid, a sign that you probably rushed on your way here.

"Eeek," Adrian squeaks as you pull him closer by the grip on his collar. He's seriously too old to blush like a schoolgirl, but his cheeks heat up when he realizes how close your face is to his, and his eyes meet yours.

"You better make it up for all this," you whisper next to his ear, and Adrian feels the warmth of your breath against his skin. Barely holding back the shudder that runs through him, Adrian nods silently.

With a satisfied smile on your face, you pull back, only to lean in again and steal a kiss before disappearing into the cover of the trees. Your message is clear as Adrian tightens his grip on the gun in his hand. Reeling from the distraction, Adrian tries to focus on your concealed footsteps and the obnoxiously loud monsters on the other end.

Adrian steps into the clearing where the monsters stand, waiting for him. Hidden in a tree, you provide cover as he approaches the two Merman. It's a well-practiced dance, a complex routine of taking the lead and handing it off to the other when needed.

As he fights the monsters, who seem to follow a repetitive pattern of overused attacks, Adrian reminisces about the first time he met you.

It was a grand hall, and he was disguised as Genya Arikado. It was the birthday celebration of a powerful politician's son. The most prestigious individuals in town had gathered to celebrate the man-child's twenty-seventh birthday.

Genya Arikado had been invited by a colleague who he worked with under his disguise's alias. The party had reached a point where Adrian was trying to discern possible faces and shapes in the botched ceiling paint.

Lost in thought, he was looking up when he bumped into another person, causing them to fall upon the impact. "Oof!" Adrian snapped back to reality and quickly apologized, his eyes landing on you.

Red. He saw red when he saw you. Dressed in the deepest shade of red, you sat there, glaring at him. "Watch where you're going, will you?" you muttered as you stood up, ignoring the hand he offered you. In a flurry of motion, you disappeared, blending into the sea of bored people.

Throughout the rest of the evening, Adrian searched for you or any sign of your red dress, but he failed. It was as if the entire interaction, lasting only a few seconds (though it felt longer to Adrian), had never happened.

Adrian's mind was consumed by thoughts of you and the fleeting encounter. Doubt gnawed at his thoughts. Had he truly imagined you? Had his longing for companionship manifested itself in a vivid yet illusory encounter? He replayed the interaction in his mind over and over, dissecting every detail, desperately trying to grasp onto any evidence that would confirm the existence of that brief connection.

The memory of your delicate fragrance lingered in his senses, adding to his confusion. It was a fragrance unlike any he had encountered before—subtle yet captivating, with floral and citrus undertones that momentarily transported him to a world beyond the confines of the party. The scent became intertwined with the image of you, deepening the mystery surrounding your presence.

As the night wore on, Adrian's frustration grew. He wondered if he had been destined to cross paths with you only for a fleeting moment, forever chasing an apparition that could never be captured. The questions echoed in his mind, haunting him with the possibility that he might never find the answers.

Yet, despite the uncertainty and the absence of tangible evidence, Adrian couldn't shake the feeling that the encounter had been real. The emotions stirred within him, the electricity in the air, and the inexplicable connection he had felt—all pointed to a profound encounter that defied rational explanation.

Later in the chaotic night, when the guests rushed out, Adrian found himself reluctantly leaving the hall. Throughout the night, he had been unable to find you. Even his enhanced senses had failed to spot any sign of your presence. The party ended abruptly when the politician's son had to be carried out on a stretcher due to an allergic reaction to a shellfish starter.

Waiting for the valet to bring his car, Adrian paused as the valet got out to offer him the keys. A familiar fragrance flooded his senses. Standing in front of him was you, dressed in a valet uniform with a seamless disguise. Smiling with a knowing look in your eyes, you handed him the keys and rushed back to work as a guy, seemingly your manager, called out for you.

Back in the present, Adrian tackled the last surviving skeleton, realizing he was almost done. From the corner of his eye, he searched for you, wherever you might have ended up during the fight. Lost in handling the final skeleton and looking for you, he didn't notice another set of footsteps approaching.

He suddenly became aware of the presence of another surviving skeleton running toward him and prepared to dodge the attack. However, it never came. The skeleton crumpled down into dust as you tackled it, jumping out of the literal sky.

Standing in the now quiet clearing, Adrian allowed his shoulders to relax. All the tension from the past hours left his body as he observed you collecting arrows from the ground.

"Make haste, Mr. Tepes. You've got a bath to run once we get back," you said, bundling all your beloved knives into their designated packs.

The slight smirk on your face revealed that Adrian would be running more than one bath. His list of chores had just increased exponentially for the week. Sighing in dismay, Adrian cracked his back as he followed you out of the forest.

[my-castles-crumbling]

Cas babe, I'm royally fucked. The drama that is surrounding me rn is so fucking unreal.

So let me start from the very beginning, so I m a 16 yr old girl and i hv this really close guy friend let's call him J, so J and I have been friends since forever, like I don't even remember when I first met him. I have known him since I was born , like I have never known a life without J. And i love him like a brother.

Ok so fast forward a few years and now we're both 16, and we met this girl, Lottie she was a transfer student and we ( J , Lottie and I) had a few classes together. And slowly we develop a friendship.

Now the thing is that J has a crush on Lottie and he told me as soon as he realised it and me being the great friend that I am have subtly been wingwomaning him .

So, last week after English class (only Lottie and I have this class) , Lottie asked me out. Yeah, and I'm straight af but I'm an ally. So I was like what? But she was like i thought u were queer coz u give very strong queer vibes which is kinda true because I have a MAJOR crush on lily Rose depp and i hv always said that she could run me over with her car and I'd thank her and beg her to fuck me, (yeah I have issues.) And I also have bi friend who i jokingly call my wife bcoz when she came out ppl were being very homophobic and i thought that was the only way to support her. (i was 14 ok i don't judge me)

So back to Lottie I wa obviously s so very awkward I was like ohhh. And i told her in the politest way i could manage that I m straight af (bcoz i am) and I'm kinda flustered that she has a crush on me bcoz she is really pretty. And she got very embarassed and started apologising and I was like no no it's fine , it's totally fine. Yeah but she also kinda requested me not to tell anyone else that she's a lesbian bcoz she's not out to everyone, and I was like Of course .And now she has been trying to avoid me for the few days which anyone in her position would do tbh, so I don't blame her for that.

Ok so now bcoz Lottie is avoiding me she's also avoiding J by extension coz we both r usually hanging out together. So i already told u that J has a crush on Lottie so he was obviously not happy that she was avoiding us and i couldn't tell him why bcoz OBVIOUSLY.

And a little note abt my best friend he is extremely fucking extra , he is the biggest drama queen in the world like Sirius Black level of drama. So now his dumbass decided that he will ask Lottie out, and bcoz he is so fucking extra abt everything he is thinking of using the help of his teammates ( he's on the football team) to ask her out after the football match next Friday.

And in trying to convince him that he should not do it, but when he asks why i don't have any solid reason because it's not my place to tell him abt Lottie. So he's really planning everything to make the proposal perfect, and I'm stressing tf out.

I love J and i don't want to see him get hurt bcoz obviously Lottie is gonna say no, and on top of that it would be kinda humiliating bcoz the entire school and another school would be there. And I'm also worried that Lottie will think that I did this in purpose to embarrass her so now I'm stuck in a huge fucking dilemma.

And ngl I find this situation extremely fucking hilarious BCOZ WHAT IN THE WATTPAD LEVEL OF SHIT IS THIS? IS THIS SITUATION EVEN REAL? LIKE DOES THIS KINDA SHIT EVEN HAPPEN IRL???

pls help me bcoz I don't know what tf I'm going to do and i hv to do something before Friday or 😭😭😭.

omg I have to say- the way I was literally gasping throughout this story because...wow

So first, I want to say I think you were really sweet with Lottie. It sounds like you're a super kind person, and a wonderful ally <3

Honestly, I would probably talk to Lottie (if possible) and tell her that J is about to ask her out in front of the entire school, and ask her if it's okay for you to tell him that she's simply not interested. The reason I think this is the best option is because, either way Lottie will find out about J's feelings, so you can't really prevent that. This way, you're preventing embarrassment for both Lottie and J. Also, you're possibly protecting Lottie from attention by telling J you just "heard Lottie is not interested" because that doesn't out Lottie. AND even if J doesn't listen to you, you've helped by both preparing Lottie for what will happen and by sort of...introducing J to the idea that she's not interested.

So yeah. I think this is your best bet.

Keep me updated, I'm dying to know what happens!

(Also I am naming all the anons who write to me in case they want to write in the future, and I am using a random positive affirmation generator to do so. So I dub thee: caring anon. Enjoy your free tag!)