#so they're able to look themselves & each other in the eye and see the whole picture

[scribefindegil]

The thing about post-finale Ekurei is that they pass the "Kill Claudio" test and that's why their bickering is Good.

[p1utofairy]

PAC: “are you down to be a distraction, baby?” 🐅🖤🪄🌟

• how will your person approach you?

disclaimer ✩: 18+ mature themes. take what resonates, leave what doesn't. i’ve had trouble uploading this ugh it wasn’t coming out how i wanted but here we go <3 feels like it’s been forever 🥲 enjoy!

pile 1 ↓

“could you blame me for needing you? you’re the reason i got a weakness, oh, no you drive me crazy, still that's my baby. can’t get enough of you. baby, it's somethin' that you do.”

hiii pile 1! i'm immediately hearing that your person is enamored by you. they love the way you walk, the way you smile, the way you talk, the way you smell…quite literally everything. i see them staring at you a lot, it might not be obvious at first but they’re gonna try to feel you out/see if your receptive to their vibe. they’re like a cat lurking in the shadows i’m hearing. more than likely, you won’t even be focused on getting into a relationship or actively looking for a partner before they pop up on your radar; your person will just come to you. i see them coming up to you in a slightly crowded or busy environment and saying something sly but it doesn’t come out the way they intended lol they might stutter over their words and then kick themselves over it later. awww it’s cute, you get them flustered and nervous. you may not think that you’re intimidating (actually i’m picking up that some of you might be a bit reserved/quiet) but your presence shakes them to the core. it’s like all their calmness goes out the window when they’re face to face with you. you get their heart racing, palms sweaty and mind wandering but they’ll try to put on their brave face and act like they’re not having a whole meltdown inside. LMFAOOOOO they won’t even know what to do with themselves, you’ve got them down bad. i just heard “i’ve fallen and i can’t get up!” lol i think this is what’s gonna get the ball rolling on this new beginning with them; your humor. even if they don’t have the smoothest delivery, you won’t hold it against them you’ll just keep the conversation going and vibe with them. they’ll love this about you…how non-judgmental you are. they can be themselves around you 🥹 and as you two get more comfortable around each other, you’ll both be able to open up and talk about everything under the sun. awww so cute pile 1!

pile 2 ↓

“i'll be your groupie, baby. ‘cause you are my superstar. i’m your number one fan, give me your autograph. sign it right here on my heart.”

pile 2…when i say your person’s eyes/eye contact is gonna make your knees BUCKLE 😮‍💨 whew! my goodness, you’ll be squeezing your thighs together lol. this person is very forward and blunt, it might catch you off guard cause you wouldn't think that when you first see them. i feel like they’re very calm and collected on the outside but inside of them is a flame waiting to be sparked…and you’re the match. they'll approach you in a calculated and meticulous way i’m hearing, they have it all planned out. they might even make a cute gesture/treat you to something that will make you go “awww” internally. i feel like your body will be very responsive to them…like when you see them you might freeze and panic lol they'll think it’s cute. conversing with them is going to be so easy, you'll be able to tell that they're soaking up every word that you're saying. this is hottttt pile 2. when they first lay their eyes on you, they’ll just know they have to have you. you make their heart nearly skip a beat. some of you make look young for your age/have a baby face cause when you’re talking to them, they’ll be thinking about how cute you are. even the way you speak makes them go crazy 😩 just know that your first interaction with them will be living in their mind rent-free lol.

pile 3 ↓

“you make the confusion go all away from this cold and messed up world. i am in love with you, you set me free! i can't do this thing called life without you here with me.”

pile 3 i gotta start by saying you and your person are absolutely adorkable. lmaooo that was so corny but i feel like you two will be very silly with each other from day 1. you both share some similar interests — possibly watch the same shows/like the same music…something of that nature and that’s how your person is going to shoot their shot. shot clock by ella mai just came to mind, “twenty-four seconds, yeah, you better not stop. you got twenty-four seconds, can you beat the shot clock?” lmfao they might feel like the pressure is on with you. you won’t necessarily be pressuring them, but they’ll feel like if they don’t make their move now someone else might swoop in and grab your attention. they don’t wanna waste your time or time in general, and trust me when i say that they’re gonna put a lot of effort into getting your attention and keeping you entertained. you and/or your person may have some gemini placements. you'll think that they're very cute and sweet <3 they have little quirks about them that you'll pick up on and think to yourself “awww i love them 🥹” very much peter parker vibes like yes peter might be a bit clumsy, awkward and quirky but he's an absolute sweetheart (and heartthrob) so you'll really love spending time with this person pile 3.

[enden-agolor]

Thingy I did for the Admins AU 🩵💚

Context:

Basically the context of this moment is it takes place a week or something after Jesse and Lukas get their powers. Lukas is far more contained with his. He controls them quite well but Jesse on the other hand.. struggles a *lot*. And the townsfolk see it too. They see how when Jesse gets high up in his emotions, he changes, and his irritation with not being able to control his powers only stresses him out and frustrates him more and that causes like the complete form shift and that puts Jesse through like, the worst stress imaginable. Is knowing he's changing in front of people and not being able to control it and he doesn't feel like the hero he once was at all. He feels like a monster.

Anyways there's a point in time where Jesse just doesn't show his face out in town as much because he's terrified of the judgement. He gets the same strange looks he did before he ever became a hero, back when he was a nobody, so he hides from those interactions. Well Lukas definitely notices, and he ends up taking Jesse out somewhere alone, just the two of them. He takes them both somewhere away from civilization, so Jesse can really practice his stuff.

The big thing that has Jesse losing control of his powers is all of his negative emotions towards himself, so it's definitely going to be a "love solves the problem" kind of deal. I like to think one of the big things they practice is Jesse's ability to fly and stuff, and Lukas, regardless of how much Jesse tries to find a different way, decides that the best way for Jesse to really learn is by letting him hold onto him. Because Lukas is a person with a fragile body that he *knows* Jesse would do everything in his power to keep safe. Jesse though, in his admin form, is very cocky despite his sad feelings so he's kind of a brat about it but Lukas is extremely patient with him, and uhh. Jesse reluctantly holds onto Lukas while he lifts up into the air. He's really huffy and embarrassed about it too because after that whole incident in the cave where Lukas took half of Jesse's powers so he could live, Jesse has developed an unimaginable crush on Lukas. Like he already liked him before but now he's sure he loves him, and he's scared of showing those feelings because of well, how he views himself now. So he's really scared of messing this up or making himself look like a fool in front of Lukas.

But! The plan kind of works, because Lukas talks to him while he flies and since Jesse is focused on his conversation and not his emotions towards the powers themselves, it eliminates that stress and has him calmy maintaining a steady control over his flight. And eventually they're just kind of lazily drifting over the landscape, Lukas holding onto Jesse, them both focusing on the scenery as the late evening arrives and the stars begin to shine.

At this time, Jesse is still in his full admin form, he's blue and his eyes glow an eerie turquoise. But eventually Lukas has him stop and Jesse and him come to a stand in the air, Jesse holding Lukas against him and they look at each other. Lukas tells Jesse that he's so proud of him, and to look and see how much he's grown in such short time. Jesse looks around and, though his face still looks so grumpy, he does realize that they've been flying for a long time with no mistakes.

They share some really kind words to each other, Lukas praising Jesse and Jesse very quietly mumbling his gratitude for Lukas and his patience with him.

And uhh for the first time since the cave, Lukas gives Jesse a nice sweet kiss. Jesse doesn't remember it in the cave. He doesn't remember Lukas kissing him, so this comes as a complete shock (he was suuuper out of it) but quite literally every ounce of negativity drains from his body and he slowly begins reverting back to his original self. In the picture he's still in his admins clothes, but his body looks normal, aside from the crazy messy hair which is an admin trait.

Anyways yeah this is the moment Jesse realizes he for sure loves Lukas. And that kiss, and the kind words they shared, immediately calmed him. But uh. They calmed him so hard that when they kiss again, they both actually start falling out of the sky, and Lukas falls away from Jesse's arms in shock and that's when Jesse gains full control of his flight ability and swoops down to grab Lukas up bridal style in his big strong arms.

Lukas is all like "my hero" (he has the ability to fly too, so he was in no real danger, but the moment caused Jesse to take action instantly and use his powers for good).

That alone helps Jesse realize that these powers *can* be used for good. He's still a big grumpy butt in this form, but he still is that same gentle and loving Jesse deep down.

[bookishdaze]

Noa and Mae as Romeo and Juliet in the Next Planet of the Apes Movie?

Here's why a potential "love story" between Mae and Noa, whether explicit or simply implied, may not be such a terrible idea.

Why? Because Shakespeare told me so, that's why.

"When in doubt, it's from Shakespeare....or the Bible." At least according to a book I had to read for high school, lol.

The biblical references in Caesar's trilogy have been pointed out multiple times already, and these movies have also been described as Shakespearean tragedies. So I thought, 'ok, what kind of Shakespearean tragedy will we have this time around?'

I'm first gonna start off with Hamlet in the Caesar trilogy. I'm also gonna mention other popular movies that are based on Shakespeare's plays. Not necessarily because it's concrete proof that this is what will happen in future POTA movies. This is me simply picking up certain storytelling beats and patterns I've noticed in some of my favorite movies.

It's not 100% the same, but there are some similarities. Also, this isn't anything new. Many have pointed this out before, but I love talking about this stuff!

The Lion King, Black Panther, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are loosely based on Hamlet. A king or rightful heir is killed. Usually by an evil uncle, cousin, or family member. For some reason this always results in them falling off a very high cliff.

Everyone thinks they're dead, the evil relative takes power, and everything kinda sucks. There is not enough food in the Pride Lands under Scar's rule. Killmonger burns the heart-shaped herbs. Koba leads the apes to war against the humans.

The rightful ruler spends time in exile, recovering from their wounds and trauma. They might even get a visit or have a recollection of their dead father.

Then the rightful ruler comes back from the dead, challenges the usurper, and regains their rightful place upon the throne.

Now lets take a look at their sequels.

The Lion King 2 and Wakanda Forever share some similarities. They both follow another one of Shakespeare's popular plays, Romeo and Juliet.

Like the Montagues and Capulets, we have two rival kingdoms in both movies. We got the Pridelanders and the Outsiders. We also got the Wakandans and Talokanils.

The two heirs/rulers from both kingdoms meet. They hate and don't trust each other at first, but then they start to have compassion for the other. In Kiara and Kovu's case, they fall in love. Namor and Shuri don't fall in love, but after Namor shows her his underwater kingdom and what he has to protect, she softens and begins to understand him more. (They even got the whole Hades and Persephone thing going on, who are a couple in Greek mythology, by the way).

There are losses on both sides. Kovu's brother was killed while going after Simba. One of Namor's people was killed when Shuri was rescued by Nakia, and Shuri's mother, Queen Ramonda, died after Namor's attack on Wakanda. (Starts nervously eyeing Anaya here...)

These losses make things worse, by the way.

In the end, both pairs are able to bring the fighting between their people to a stop. The Outsiders are welcomed into Simba's pride. The Wakandans and Talokanils stop fighting after seeing their leaders return together.

In the end, they realize that they're the same. That they can't let hate and fear of the other side cloud their judgement.

Kiara tells her father, "A wise king once told me we are one....Look at them. They are us. What differences do you see?"

Shuri tells Namor while she spares his life, "Vengeance has consumed us. We cannot let it consume our people."

And I think this goes well with one of the core themes of these POTA movies. The apes are a mirror to humanity. We the audience are seeing us through them, and the characters in the movies themselves must come to the realization that they're the same.

Like when Caesar tells his son, "I always think ape better than human. I see now how much like them we are."

Maybe something similar like this will happen with Noa and Mae and whatever fight will happen between apes and humans. While I'm all for a good romance, it may end up being more like Namor and Shuri's case. There's something there. The tropes are present, but they don't fall in love. (At least not yet. Please Ryan Coogler, give me Nashuri endgame in Black Panther 3, hehe).

This is just a theory, by the way. This doesn't have to happen, but I just think it'd be neat. There would be differences though. What those differences would be, idk, but whatever happens in the next one, I can't wait!

"But but.... aren't you forgetting something?"

What's that?

"Don't they...ya know...both die at the end?"

Besides, they don't have to die. Things can be a little more hopeful for our two heroes 🙈

[nocreativityfornames]

So I was thinking about the whole concept of souls and their purity in OM, and how in Lucifer's words, nice souls look like shiny jewels. So a headcanon came to mind.

What if animals were also able to sense someone's soul and purity? What if the brightest the soul, the more fascinating it becomes to every creature around it?

I can only imagine all different species reacting to MC's presence, to their soul. I can picture how every creature, even the ones known as the most deadly, would fold completely at MC's mercy.

How Henry will always swim to the part of the water tank that is closest to MC whenever they're in Levi's room, how the fish will happily follow their finger as they trace the glass, doing tricks even Levi didn't know it could do.

How when out of the house random cats will show up and start rubbing themselves against MC's legs, how they will look up at them with pleading eyes as they meow, eager to receive their pets and affection – something that fills Satan with both bafflement and unimaginable jealousy.

Dogs being walked by their owners will go frantic at the mere sight of the human, wagging their tails and dragging their demon towards MC by the leash just so they can get pets. Birds will randomly land on MC's shoulder and not leave for hours, butterflies will fly around them all day as long as they're out of the house. Rabbits, salamanders, snakes, sea monsters, chimeras, you name it. No matter the creature, MC seems to tame it the moment they make themselves present.

Even Cerberus – the Avatar of Pride's hellhound who's known for its brutality and horrifying appearance – will go from the scariest of beasts to the sweetest of puppies as soon as MC enters the room. The three-headed hound will cling to them for as long as they're around, and will start whining the moment they leave his side. Cerberus will even go as far as going against his owner's orders just to please MC, glaring daggers at Lucifer whenever he's scolding the human.

MC is loved by literally every creature, even the weird labyrinth that's apparently alive under the Devildom's earth ( if you read that one Diavolo card, you know what I'm talking about ). But MC has no idea why, they have been used to animals acting this way around them ever since they were a child, it's nothing new to them and they don't even question it.

But the brothers, and every being that can sense MC's soul knows why. Each one of them can see how bright and pure their soul is, how it emanates kindness and softness, how it drags the eyes of every living thing around them.

MC's soul exudes calmness, gentleness, and love. It shines like the brightest of stars in the darkness of the demonic kingdom and overflows with magic energy. MC's soul is unique, and looks nothing like any other the brothers – or anyone else for a fact – have seen. MC's soul captivates every demon and angel, every creature that lays their eyes upon them and senses how truly special they are.

[makncheese12]

Woe is me

Wednesday Addams x shifter!reader

Summary: Wednesday struggles with her feelings

Warnings: i honestly don’t know, slight angst if you squint, ooc! Wednesday Addams

A/N: the reason I posted so much today is because I probably won’t post much other than a few times so I did a few things last night and finished them up today, I will infact continue to keep updating as much as I can🫶🏻

I’m not really gonna make this into a series but more like HC’s and one-shots cause I really like the whole feel to it and I will be posting a part 3, don’t worry😭 it’s mostly because this whole thing needs a back bone.

You sat on the bench in the quad, your limbs stretched out lazily as she basked in the rare warm sunlight. This was your favorite spot in the school, and you were glad to be able to spend some time here even in your cat form.

Being a black panther was no easy feat, and you had spent many months perfecting your abilities. But sometimes, you just couldn't help but feel helpless, like you were trapped in this form with your own body betraying you.

The way your human body gave out far too quickly from sickness and had to take time to heal was not helping at all either.

You sighed, feeling a pang of frustration at it all. Your fur ruffled as you tried to shift back into your human form, but it seemed that your energy reserves were too low. The transformation process was one that required a lot of concentration, and with your body feeling so depleted, it was almost impossible.

Your eyes began to droop as you drifted off into a small nap, the rhythmic thumping of your — suddenly — tiny heart the only sound you heard. You were almost grateful for the respite, even if it was just for a few moments, as it allowed you to forget about the constant struggle to keep control of your powers.

You didn't know how long you’d been there when suddenly, you felt a loud thud rumple into the ground and your head yanks up on the ready, already being vulnerable in your position.

Noticing it was just a group of werewolves messing around and tackling each other, your small body relaxes, closing your eyes and basking in the sun.

As you continue to rest on the bench, your eyes closed and breathing steady, two gorgon girls begin to approach you, drawn to the adorable cat that appears to be taking a peaceful nap.

"Oh my god, it's so cute!" one of the girls exclaims, pointing at you as she continues to walk towards the bench.

"I know, right?" the other girl replies, her eyes glued to you as well. "Can we pet it? It looks so cuddly!"

Your ears perk up at the sound of their voices, and you open your eyes to see the girls approaching. You suddenly seem to enjoy the attention you’re suddenly getting, tail swaying back and forth as you stand and stretch your back up to prepare yourself for them.

Before you have a chance to protest, one of the girls reaches out and begins to scratch behind your ears and immediately start to purr at the feeling.

As you feels the girls start to pet you, you’re completely relaxes into their touch, loving the feeling of their hands on your fur, and can't help but enjoy the attention they're giving you.

As the first two girls continue to pet you, they're joined by other students, noticing the way the two girls are crouching down by a black fur ball they couldn’t help themselves. Before long, you’re surrounded by a group of people, all of them giving you attention and love.

If they knew you were human, they’d act differently but as of now, you were just a stray cat that occasionally wandered inside their school.

But you don’t seem to mind, in fact, you seem to be eating it up. Your eyes close again, and you can’t help but purr softly, enjoying the feeling of their hands against your fur as they pet and scratch you. You strangely feel safe and comfortable in this moment, surrounded by the warmth of these people.

As the petting zoo group continues to grow, a mixture of amazed students in awe, all drawn to the adorable black cat in the middle of the quad, you can't help but feel a sense of happiness in this moment.

As for Wednesday, she couldn’t stand what she was seeing as she stood there, feeling a strange mixture of emotions wash over her. On one hand, she was feeling a deep sense of protectiveness towards you, a feeling that she had rarely ever experienced before and only reserved for certain people — her family. On the other hand, she found herself feeling a twinge of jealousy, a feeling that she had never been comfortable with or rather no one has.

She had always tried to keep her emotions in check, to maintain a veneer of stoicism and cool detachment that had become second nature to her. But now, as she watched those around her ‘pet’ and coo over it, it was as if a dam inside her had suddenly burst, and all of the feelings that she had been trying to repress were finally starting to come to the surface.

Wednesday knew that she had to do something, to take control of the situation before it escalated out of hand. But she wasn't entirely sure what to do. She knew that she couldn't just let those people keep petting you, but she also didn't want to make a scene and draw attention to herself.

As she stood there, lost in her own thoughts, Enid appeared beside her, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Isn't that the cat that keeps coming to our dorm?" she asked, gesturing towards you, who was still purring and enjoying the attention.

Wednesday's face twisted into a scowl, but before she could respond, she was interrupted by the arrival of more students, all drawn to the adorable black cat. She watched as they continued to pet you, her eyes narrowing as she felt these feelings within her reach boiling point.

In that moment, Wednesday knew that she had to act, to take control of the situation before things got out of hand. She turned to Enid, her voice laced with a sarcasm that she couldn't mask. "Yes, that's the cat," she said, her voice dripping with venom. "And if you don't want to end up on the wrong end of her claws, I suggest you not go and pet her but rather get out of here before things get ugly.”

Enid, unphased by Wednesday's coldness, simply smiled. "Whatever you say, Willa." the blonde says as her eyes travel back to you, on a mission to get through the crowd to pet you herself.

Wednesday rolled her eyes before looking back to you, eyes narrowed as she felt the feelings within her come crashing down around her like a tsunami. She had never been so overwhelmed by her emotions before, and it was a feeling that she didn't know how to handle.

She needed to get away, to get some alone time to process everything that was going on inside her. She turned to Enid, her voice sharp. "I need to be alone right now," she said, her eyes fixed on Enid with a look that she knew would make her not question her and back off.

Without another word, Wednesday turned and stormed off towards her dorm in Ophelia Hall, her boots stomping against the tile as she went. She needed to get away from everyone, to be alone with her thoughts and her feelings.

She knew that she needed to confront the feelings that were eating her up inside, to figure out why they were there and what she was going to do about them. But she also knew that she needed some time to herself before she could even begin to tackle those questions.

As she walked out of the quad, her mind racing with thoughts and emotions, she couldn't shake the feeling that something inside her was starting to change, that the control that she had always had over her emotions was starting to slip away. And that scared her more than anything.

————

You sighed heavily, feeling the weight of Wednesday's silence pressing down on you. You knew that Wednesday was going through something, and you wanted nothing more than to help her, to be there for her. But Wednesday refused to open up to you, she seemed to get like this often so it wasn’t a surprise.

As you watched Wednesday type away on her typewriter with her characteristic focus, you couldn't help but feel a mixture of frustration and concern. You wanted to be there for Wednesday, to help her through whatever she was going through, but it was clear that Wednesday wasn't ready to share her burdens yet. And that’s was made it all the more frustrating.

So, instead, you decided to sit down next to Wednesday's chair and just be there for her and wait, in case she ever decided to reach out and talk. You let yourself be present, focusing on your breathing to not disturb her and trying to stay calm and patient. Even though you desperate wanted to know what was going on, you knew that forcing Wednesday to talk would only push her away further.

As the minutes turned into hours, Wednesday continued to type away, her nose buried in the paper she was typing as her eyes stayed on the letters and paper. You watched her closely, hoping to pick up on some subtle cue that would reveal her thoughts and feelings, but Wednesday's expression remained focused, revealing nothing of what was happening inside her head. Only fueling your concern and frustration. Wednesday always had a blank expression you couldn’t read so it didn’t exactly help.

It wasn't until late at night that Wednesday finally seemed to stop, taking a deep breath and sitting up in a straighter position. You felt a flutter of hope in your heart, thinking that maybe, just maybe, Wednesday was finally ready to share what was on her mind.

But instead of saying anything, Wednesday merely cleaned up her surroundings and put her written pages away, stretching and standing up from her chair. "I'm going to bed," she said, her voice neutral.

You felt a pang of disappointment in your chest, but you didn't want to push it. You knew that Wednesday would talk when she was ready, and you weren’t about to pressure her into opening up before she was ready.

So, instead, you simply nodded, your eyes following Wednesday as she stood up from her chair and made her way to her closet to get ready for bed. You watched as Wednesday closed the door behind her, leaving you alone in the silence of the dorm.

You let out a sigh before getting up and leaving the dorm, perhaps you would be more lucky tomorrow.

————

As you lay asleep in your dorm, there was a sudden sense of unease that settled into her before something pinches your arm gently. You snapped awake with a start, startled to see Wednesday standing over you, her eyes blank as usual.

You lay there, staring up at Wednesday, trying to make sense of what was going on. "Wednesday," you say quietly, your heart racing. "What are you doing here?"

Wednesday didn't respond, just stand there, staring down at you. After what felt like really long moments, Wednesday spoke, her voice low and slightly trembling, something most wouldn’t notice but you were quick to hear it being so used to Wednesday cold and harsh tone.

"I'm confused," she said, her words come out quick as she continues to stare down at you. "I don't understand what I'm feeling."

You felt a pang of concern in your chest, seeing the frustration and confusion on Wednesday's face. "What do you mean?" You ask, keeping your voice gentle.

Wednesday struggled for a moment, as if trying to find the right words. "It's you," she said finally. "It's the way you make me feel."

You felt a shock of something she couldn’t explain as she sat up, realizing that Wednesday was talking about the feelings she had for you, in a way? But Wednesday continued before you could say anything.

"I don't understand what this is," she said, her voice still low. "I don't understand these feelings. I don't know what to do with them. I don't know how to handle them."

You felt a lump form in your throat as you listened to Wednesday open up to you.

You had never seen Wednesday like this before, struggling with her emotions, unsure of what to do for once. It was clear that she had been internalising these feelings for a long time, and now, they were all coming out in a rush.

"It's okay," you tell her softly, reaching out to take her hand. "It's okay to be confused. It's okay to not understand what you're feeling."

Wednesday looked at you, her expression still blank, as if she couldn't quite believe what you were saying. She didn’t understand it after all.

You felt a twinge of sadness at Wednesday's reaction, but you didn't let it show. So you continue to hold Wednesday's hand, hoping to offer her some comfort and support.

"Do you want to talk about it?" You ask, voice gentle.

Wednesday hesitated, and then finally, she nodded, taking a deep breath. "I don't know what's happening," she said, her voice now full on trembling. "I don't know why I feel like this."

You feel your heart ache, seeing the turmoil and confusion on Wednesday's face. You didn’t know how to explain it to her, how to tell her that these emotions were normal and why she was feeling them, this was perhaps a parents job. You didn't have all the answers, but you knew that you could be there for Wednesday, could offer her a listening ear and a supportive shoulder to lean on.

"It's okay," you say again, voice still soft. "It's okay to feel things that you don't understand. It's okay to be confused."

Wednesday let out a deep sigh, and you could see the tension leave her body just a little bit. She was still confused, still struggling to make sense of her feelings, but at least now she knew that she had someone in her corner, someone who cared about her and was willing to be there for her, no matter what.

You knew that this was a turning point in your relationship, that this was a moment that you’d both remember for a long time to come. As you sit there, holding Wednesday's hand, you couldn’t help but smile up at her. Fangs slightly bearing as you rub your thumb gently over her palm.

And then, without warning, Wednesday leaned in and pressed her lips against yours, the kiss soft and gentle. It was a moment that you always had been hoping for, but never quite expecting, as Wednesday had never initiated a kiss before, leaving you to do all the work for her.

You felt a thrill of excitement and wonder wash over you as your lips met, your lips pressed together in a moment of rare and private affection. It was a moment that you would never forget, a moment that would forever be etched in your memory.

As the kiss came to an end you broke away, your heart racing and your mind reeling with the emotions of the moment. You looked up at Wednesday, your eyes bright with gratitude and love.

Wednesday let out a small sigh as you pulled her into bed, a small hint of annoyance lingering on her face. As you laid her down, her crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from you, acting as if she didn't want to be there.

"You should really get some sleep," you say softly, putting an arm over the smaller girls stomach that sends spiders crawling all through out her stomach.

Wednesday let out another small sigh, but this time it sounded less annoyed and more resigned. She tilted her head to the side, leaning into your embrace.

"Fine," Wednesday said, her voice softer than usual. "But I'm still not happy about it."

You chuckled softly. “When are you ever?” You tease only to earn a glare that disappeared quickly as rubbing your macabre girlfriends stomach in a gentle motion. "You don't have to be happy. Just get some rest."

Wednesday closed her eyes, sinking further into your embrace. After a few moments, she took a deep her body relaxing into the bed. You knew there was more than she was letting on but that could wait until the morning, you were just glad she opened up just a little.

A/N: please tell me if you see any mistakes or things that should be worked on!

Tagslist: @raven-ss @devarajah @natashasapphic @pamoresworld @canyonyodeler @paladinncleric @2silverchain

[ts1m1kas]

Original Ask: I was gonna request a cute little Kimi Räikkönen one-shot (Any gender is fine!) in which they're both drivers (Team doesn't matter for me, go wild!) in 2007 and after Kimi wins his first WDC they go to Finland for a holiday he promised MC that he'd take them to if he wins. During the holiday he finally gathers enough confidence to confess his love to them! ( @anicega )

Word Count: 820 words

(author's note: i hope you enjoy my loves !! thank you for all the support on my other f1 fics 🫶)

Throughout his years at Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen had made many friends and curated a large collection of achievements and memories. But, his favourite was undoubtedly his friendship with Y/N.

Y/N L/N was the other Ferrari driver who was just as successful as Kimi. Their friendship blossomed as they spent more and more time together. However, one thing that came up all the time was a promise that Kimi made when he discovered Y/N would become his teammate.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Finland. I’m jealous that you’ve gotten to experience it,” Y/N said to Kimi.

The pair sat in the Ferrari garage, waiting for their instructions on how to pose for Y/N’s announcement photos. They had been talking and introducing themselves, which eventually led to them discussing their home countries.

“Tell you what, when I win a World Championship I’ll take you to Finland. So we can celebrate.”

“Really? You’re the best Kimi! I can’t wait to be your teammate.”

That was where their friendship began.

Now, many years later, they were inseparable. Wherever Kimi went Y/N followed and vice versa. The pair knew everything about each other from their favourite colours to their favourite childhood TV show. So naturally, when Kimi became World Champion in 2007, no one was more proud of him than Y/N.

Kimi was true to his word though and as soon as he could, the flights to his home country were booked. Y/N stood in the airport, a huge smile adorning her face the whole time she was there. Kimi could practically feel the excitement radiating off her.

The flight was short and before they knew it, they were leaving the plane and Y/N was getting her first sight of Finland.

“Thank you again for doing this Kimi, it really is a dream come true.”

“I’m a man of my word.”

For Y/N, the next couple of days were bliss. She spent them exploring with Kimi and finding out new things about the country she had longed to visit. However, for Kimi, they were torture. Having to spend so much time around Y/N alone meant he realised his feelings for her weren't completely platonic.

Seeing her smiling and laughing in his hometown sparked something in him and Kimi knew he wouldn’t be able to hold back his feelings for much longer.

Y/N had woken up early that morning to watch the sunrise. She had always found comfort in watching the sun come up from behind the early morning mist, giving her time to relax her mind and body for a little longer.

She sat cross-legged in front of the big bedroom windows, her eyes transfixed on the orange hues of the dawn sky. Her face was illuminated by the warm glow of the sun as it gently rose. Kimi stirred from his sleep as the light shone on his face too. He sat up slowly in the bed and stared ahead of him, except his eyes weren’t on the sunrise. Instead, he found himself staring at Y/N, unable to pull his eyes away from her.

“You know, you’ve always reminded me of the sunrise,” Kimi stated, breaking the silence.

Y/N jumped and turned around, “I didn’t even realise you were awake she said with a smile.”

As Y/N turned around, the light behind her enveloped her body, glimmering like a halo and Kimi swore he fell in love right then and there.

“You look beautiful.”

“Really?”

“You always do. I’ve always thought you were beautiful.”

Y/N’s face flushed red and Kimi smiled at her reaction.

“Y/N, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you and I don’t know how else to say it apart from that I’m in love with you. Since we met on your first day at Ferrari I’ve known that I would fall in love with you.”

“Kimi- I- I love you too.”

They stared at each other from across the room, both unsure of what to do or say. Kimi gestured for Y/N to come and sit with him and she followed his instruction. When she sat down, Kimi brushed her hair behind her ear and cupped her face with his hand.

Y/N let out a breath she didn’t realise she was holding as she leaned in to place a kiss on Kimi’s lips. They moved in sync and Kimi moved his hand to rest on Y/N’s waist.

When they broke apart, Kimi smiled softly at Y/N, “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to do that.”

As they sat in content silence, Y/N moved to cuddle into Kimi’s side. Her eyes flicked back over to the window where the sun was nearly at the top of the sky. All she could think about was how glad she was to be in Finland.

[angelofsmalldeaath]

work song — a.h.b.

a/n: full disclosure, i've posted this before on tumblr for something else. but i love this piece very much and i think it fits for him and this song so well 🤍 (it's gone under quite a few edits too, though)

cw: mentions of death but of well that's a given

the artist flicks through the feature. 

her name is printed in big letters on the cover of the monthly issue, her face—smiling and excited—next to the centrepiece of her latest art collection: cupid and psyche. 

the painting is stunning, a riot of bold colours and patterns, but at the centre is a man, his face hidden, his red-brown curls tousled. his body is relaxed, she thinks there's an air of carefreeness about him. 

and she'd know that for sure, after all that day is etched into her memory. 

when she feels a familiar pair of arms wrap around her, she smiles. 

“you're rather proud of the feature, aren't you?” his voice holds a little teasing note. she's stared at the feature for close to thirty minutes now, discreetly pinching herself in the same spot on her arm. (it sports a tiny, barely-there bruise now) 

“good,” he nuzzles his face into her neck, softly kissing the skin, “you should be. the exhibit was fucking gorgeous.”

“mmm, because you were the centrepiece?” fondly, she teases back, but the memory flashes in front of her eyes—the bustling art gallery, him in a corner, wearing a plain hoodie and jeans and a cap hiding half of his face, absolutely brimming with pride. 

she remembers the journalists asking about the man in all the paintings, the one whose face no one can see. “he's my muse,” she says every time, “this collection is dedicated to him.” 

“someone's going to connect the dots,” he walks around her, settling himself next to her on the settee. instantly, they rearrange themselves into a tangle—her legs on his lap, his arm around her, her head on his shoulders, his head on hers. “if they looked carefully, they'll make the connection.” 

“sweet boy, we have been each other's muse for years now and no one's found out. i don't think they're going to start now. besides,” she snorts, “i think the art world thinks i've made you up in my mind. won’t be the first time an artist's gone insane.”

he laughs a hearty laugh. “maybe you have. you always say i'm too good to be true.”

when she can't think of a retort, she sticks her tongue out, shrieking away as he smothers her in kisses. 

“seriously though, it's fun writing about you. singing about you. and i love seeing myself through your eyes.” suddenly he sounds all sober and serious. she thinks his voice even wavers slightly at the end. he blinks quickly though, and just like that the brightness in his eyes is gone. 

“love it when you write about me too,” she teases, “love being told i give you a toothache just from kissing you.”

“oi! i put my heart into that! it's a precious memory for me.”

“the memory of me taking care of you when you were burning up a fever? the memory of you demanding more kisses?”

he giggles like a teenager, hiding his face in her hair. it's fun to rile him up like this, so she continues, poking him in the ribs. “oh, oh, is it the memory of you passing the flu to me?” 

“we took care of each other though!” he traps both her hands in his so she won’t be able to poke him more. a second passes, and he can’t resist kissing the knuckles. “and so you deserve to have a song written about you. or a whole album works too i think.”

he pauses for a little then tuts. “actually, no. don't wanna tell anyone it's about you, that'll ruin the magic.”

“ruin the magic?” 

“of being your muse and having you as mine. a hundred years from now, when people would see your art as the artwork of this generation, and my music as the tune of our times—”

“tune of our times...”

“yeah, quit laughing at me!” he flicks her nose, kissing it right after. “so when my music becomes the tune of our times, i think people will see it then. they will make the connections.”

secretly, she loves the idea—that their love might transcend time and space, heaven and hell through their art. that decades from now their names might be whispered together, even though they aren’t just yet. 

“of course, we'll be buried together by then. same grave by the way, very romeo and juliet of us.”

“that's morbid!” she laughs sharply, “what will the epitaph say?”

he hums for a bit, thinking. his eyes flutter shut for a second or two, almost like he needs to focus on the half formed thought until it's a complete sentence. then he excitedly clears his throat and gently holds her face between his hands. 

“here lie the artist and the muse; inspiring each other in death as they did in life.”

[theredcuyo]

You know what?

I want Tim and Damian to get along, but not because suddenly they understand each other, and magically they both get over the inherited emotional constipation

But because they are themselves and for a spare second, they realize they're brothers wheter they want to or not, and you can be an asshole to your sibblings but there's a limit to it and sometimes, they're more similar than they'd like to admit

So, a sleep and coffee deprived Tim is finally going back to his room, not because he wants to, but because Babs blocked his access to the internet and the servers. In all his devices. And his anxiety is slowly stalking him, as if it were Ra's and damn it, he just wants a cup of coffee now, because he knows he won't be able to sleep cause of it.

And he's in the kitchen, trying his best to avoid a mental breakdown while making some coffee at two am when a very angry little demon spawn enters the kitchen.

He claims to just want some water, but that's a blant lie and they both know it, his puffy red eyes say otherwise, but none of them say a thing onto that. Damian wouldn't dare tell Drake a thing like that, no matter how much Grayson and Father keep telling him that 'anyone in the family could help him with the nightmares' on the times they've caught him because he stupidly outed himself, this his own problem, his own weakness and under no circumstance you tell your enemy your weakness.

So they stay in silence for a bit more, but before either of them take their first sip to their own drink, something finally scapes Tim's little over worked brain. "... You think i'm useless?"

And Damian is ready to answer as harshly as ever, but then, for a single second their eyes meet, and something, who knows what, really, makes sense in that very second, where both of them are in the kitchen alone, in the middle of the night, trying to act like that's completely normal and that there's not a problem at all. And he averts his gaze down and instead takes his first sip, sending them into silence once again, for a moment at least.

"You are not the greatest." Damian spits out, his tone as far away as he can from being dismissive. "But you're proven yourself to be of use, yes, no one should refused to admit there are many situations that would've reached an nearly impossible task were it not for your prescence"

"I see..." Tim mumbles, and the clock ticks marking the pass of time, and neither of them know how much it is until it's cut again, this time by the youngest.

"Am i..." Damian starts, unsure of what the word he's searching for is, but Tim doesn't pressure him into finding it. "... Unworthy?"

The silence swallows them whole, while both process the question, as Damian finds himself surprised of his own words. "Well, i wouldn't say you're worth all the money on earth..."

Damian glanzes at Tim, and he shrugs, searching for his own words. "But whatever else you're doubting about, it doesn't matter. You are who you are, wheter or not you think you should, the truth remains that it is the card you've been dealt, and if anything, you can just work 'till it feels enough"

Silence fills the room once again, as they finally finish the task they supposedly came to do, and there's no more talking while Tim cleans out his mug until Damian reaches for the door.

"Drake?" He calls, turning around just so slightly, to find the other looking his way. "Yes?"

"... You are a useful brother."

Tim blinks, half thinking that he took decaf instead, but upong seeing Damian again, he knows it's not the case.

"The one you're worthy of, demon spawn."

Damian nods at that, and Tim goes back to his own chore.

It's not like it meant anything, really, but if the next morning there are less bitter comments to each other and only a few death treats, then that's fine with them.

[logan-lieutenant]

i didn't win the wheel: episode 8

(i made a post earlier as a preface as to what to expect in this IDWTW, check it out if you missed it)

Alex [leading the intro of the video]: "....Logan and I, we're here in honor of Wimbledon to play *turns to a detached and uninterested Logan* table tennis. Because nothing says Wimbledon like table tennis."

Logan [finally looking up right at him, starting to laugh]: "I think that's like... disrespectful..."

[they both laugh]

oh, alex. alex albon. you beautiful human being you. something i've mentioned earlier that i'm going to get into now: their dynamic is fluid and compatible and gentle, but it's hard to exactly fit them into roles because they switch back and forth. there might be two primary positions, but they flip back and forth between them easily depending on what the other needs. so Role A might have this sort of gentle leadership and reassuring presence, guiding the other through the task and getting them to engage with the game even as they're unfocused and overstimulated. Role B is a little lost, too in their head, unable to focus and unable to engage until they find themselves prompted by the reminder that oh, it's not just a game, it's a game with him. but it's impossible to put either of them down as always A or always B because earlier in the series we've seen logan help alex stabilize and recenter himself through his hyperactivity and now, more and more often, we're seeing alex coax logan out of his little shadowy corner. and alex does it in a way that even though it's an unspoken but obvious instruction (get your head in the game etc.) it's so personal it actually looks intimate, even on camera. the way he waits til the end of the sentence (while logan tries to pretend he isn't there) and then turns to face logan, lifting his arm to make a point but also opening up his shoulders toward logan and straight up leaning forward with that smile. he's tilting his entire face away from the camera so he can smile it logan, so he can say with his eyes "i know we're just doing this stupid challenge but i want you to know i'm not trying to drag you through it, i know you they're making you jump through these hoops and it's not fun and it's condescending and insulting, but i'm here and we're gonna do it and i'm gonna make this fun for you." and logan looks up and meets alex's eyes and they're so on each others' levels that these connections happen within a split second, almost easy to miss but when you catch a glimpse of it i feel like i'm intruding through the lens of the camera...

no reason to include this other than i felt like citing my sources (it's written all over their faces)

generally underwhelmed by william's admin choices for these videos. not only are the challenges really unoriginal, but they're also really simple. there's not a whole lot of challenge and there's also not a whole lot to go off. even ferrari adding a blindfold to everything ends up with better content than this. it should be obvious– mclaren admin has this down– but what makes the content popular isn't the score of the stupid table tennis game, it's the interaction. it's the dynamic. one of the reasons we're seeing alex go so obviously out of his way to bring logan into the picture is because admin has given them basically nothing to work with, so there isn't a backtrack of this is fun! this is interesting! this is amusing! to distract us. there's just alex wanting logan to have fun with him and logan not being in a situation to want or even be able to have fun.

[Pretty uneventful game over, Alex wins]

Alex: "5-3, to the champion, it's the– uh, this was a great victory for me and I'm, I'm very happy, I–"

Logan 😊😊: "Does that mean you could win Wimbledon?"

sorry if you ever thought you were babygirl for alex albon, logan sargeant has blown you out of the water. this is the cutest thing i have ever seen. this is how my dog looks at me when i come home from college.

ahhh this is nice to see. these are the roles i was talking about earlier. this is a pretty good callback to episode 5, but once again vice versa– then alex was still feeling hyper and silly from the game and logan was the one both guiding the activity and kind of letting alex calm down on his own time and still engaging him, now we've swapped. logan is almost looking at the camera now– he's almost doing the actual media presentation part of his job as opposed to the cap covering his face, head down, body language less expressive than a statue. only he can't make himself look at the camera for more than a few seconds because he's looking at alex.

he isn't even moving the video along. he's just straight up interrupting. alex has to due some mental and verbal gymnastics later on to get the activity back to the wheel-spinning part but still makes a point to segue from what logan's yapping about to the wheel instead of cutting him off completely.

also, round of applause for whatever moment between this video and last video where they've both become totally at one with the "awkward slanted shoulder one arm on the table so they can inconspicuously face each other" pose because unless they're actively swinging a paddle that's pretty much their default for this video. because that's the game for them. the fact that they're with each other.

i think i have one more episode to do. i'm still going to do it, because leaving this unfinished would somehow feel worse, as if none of this ever happened. but it fucking did. it was here and it's on video and alex fucking remembers and i'm not going to give up on immortalizing these moments and what they might have meant just because james consonants somebody wants to erase them.

[m4yasnotthatcool]

one, two, three

part 1. (a/n) imma make this a series just hold on

"one dean grabs the silver knife, two sam shouts for y/n, three y/n torches the sonofabitch"

y/n is 15, sam is 12 and dean is 16 btw (its dean x reader guys, obviously)

they're not together yet, so I used this first chapter teaser thingy to kinda set the relationships the characters have with eachother, the boundaries(or lack there of) they have and stuff

-they're left alone at a motel (dean, y/n and 12 year old sammy) while John and y/ns dad are on a hunt;

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Sitting in silence at the table of the shitty motel room was one thing, but having dean winchester sitting at the other end of it was another. he was polishing off a gun, one left by his father in case they needed to protect themselves against any otherworldly creature that might be lurking the night. she tried keeping her attention elsewhere so as to not full on just stare at the boy in front of her, so she settled on mindlessly watching sammy do whatever it was that he was doing.

sam, deans younger brother was sat on one of the beds with his whole body turned towards the tube TV the room provided while eating a bowl of cereal. the heater in the damned place had been wrecked so all 3 of them were wearing whatever clothes they had been able to find around that'd keep them warm.

she was looking at sam trying to roll up the sleeves of his father's jacket as they slightly got in his way, making it difficult to eat, so she got up and silently took each of his hands and rolled up the sleeves in such a way that they would no longer come down.

"thank you" the younger boy said before getting back to his cereal and cartoons.

the girl smiled and nodded before grabbing a book out of one of the duffle bags that contained hers and her fathers clothes and laid out on one of the two beds.

After a while the soft background noise of dean polishing the gun had stopped and a faint sound of wood scratching against wood could be heard. when she looked at him, bringing her attention out of the novel she had been reading a few seconds ago she saw the older boy leaning back into the chair, stretching out his limbs and making the chair lean back along with him, now only being supported on its two back legs.

she couldn't ignore the way his groans echoed through the room or the way his shirt had ridden up slightly though she tried to brush it off. staring at him so profusely, she hadn't realised he started staring at her right back.

"so uhm..." he started. grabbing her attention and making her jump, slightly startled. "what are the sleeping arrangements for tonight? the usual ones or?..."

"oh I'm not sleeping with either of you two tonight." sam chimed in. "y/n kicks in her sleep and big doofus over there snores." he said, accentuating the last part by signalling over to dean.

just as dean was about to snap back at sam, she stopped him by saying something he wasn't expecting "well, I can sleep with you dean." she paused momentarily before adding in a muttered tone "of course, only if that's okay with you too.."

"it's okay!" he said a little too enthusiastically before stopping himself and regaining his composure. "it wouldn't bother me if you're sure that's okay with you too" he stated.

she just smiled before getting up and heading to the bathroom, grabbing some clothes along the way "okay, so it's settled then. I'm gonna go get ready for bed, be right back" she said before leaving the room.

- after getting out of the too-cold shower she wrapped a towel around her frame before putting on a pyjama that consisted of some flannel pants and a long sleeve shirt that she had taken from her dad.

after she got out, sam went in after her at deans request who said it'd be a good thing if the younger winchester went to bed earlier that night seeing as y/n was obviously getting ready to do so.

slipping underneath the covers adoring the twin-size bed she closed her eyes trying to let consciousness slip from her grasp to no avail.

so, instead, she listened to the commotion around. a siren could be heard outside on the street. perhaps someone died. or, could it be related to the job her and the winchesters fathers were working?

the shower stopped, the sound of the water turning off being a distinct one that could only be replicated by another rusted-over shower handle as the person getting ready to get out tried to stop the too-cold liquid from slipping out of the holes in the shitty shower head that seemed to have came out of another time entirely.

a gust of wind must have seeped through the cracks between the windows and the walls of the room as she could feel herself shivering even under the covers.

so she layed there until her eyes threatened to close, but just as they did she felt the bed dip beside her as a bigger, warmer form adjusted it's position next to her.

the light turned off before dean got under the cover, his side against her back in consequence of the small size of the bed.

she must have been shivering seeing as the older boy beside her kept himself up on his elbow as he leaned over her, checking to see if she was properly covered by the duvet. her breath hitched slightly as his hand tucked a part of the blanket around her body, signalling to him that she was indeed still awake.

he leaned back down, his head hitting the pillow with a small thud before she felt herself fall into blissful unconsciousness.

-

the light that entered the small motel room stirred awake y/ns sleeping form. as she adjusted to her surroundings once again she felt deans soft breathing underneath her. she had her head on his chest as their legs tangled underneath the duvet and his hand rested on her lower back, tracing soft shapes. she could practically see the smug smirk that he would have when she opened her eyes, but she decided to enjoy his warmth a little longer.

once she was semi-satisfied with the amount of time she got to feel the boys calloused hand trace lazy circles on her back, while still pretending to be asleep, she turned around, her back now facing him. what she didn't expect was feeling his arms around her waist just seconds after she turned her back to him.

well, it's not like they had anything planned that day. they were just waiting for their dad's to get back, so she allowed herself some more much-needed sleep.

-

it had been the sound of the TV that woke her up this time, and she couldn't feel deans warmth beside her anymore.

she rolled over on his side of the bed and looked over at sam who sat at the table her and dean had sat at the night before. he was bickering with the remote of the TV trying to change the channel. he smacked it with his hand a few times and tried changing the program again before sighing in resignation and getting up to press the buttons on the television.

after getting to a channel he was satisfied with, he glanced over at her to see her wide awake, flashing him a wide grin. "good morning sammy"

"hi" he said while sitting back in one of the two chairs. "it's not morning anymore, it's like..." he glanced over at the clock on the wall next to a subjectively ugly painting that had cracks and chips in the thick layers of paint. "11 30 ish.. "

she paused before replying amused "you still don't know how to read the clock?" she said containing a giggle.

"I do know how to read it! it's just that the hands on this one are especially thin, I can't see them properly"

she looked over at the clock herself and saw what he had been talking about: a small-ish clock with a thin black frame that held a white background and two thin clock hands that looked to be a light gray from the way the sun was hitting the glass that was protecting the intricate mechanism.

"fair enough..." she said before getting his attention back at him "wheres your brother?"

"he went to get something to eat. I don't know why though, we have cereal and crackers and some other stuff." he replied while watching the TV with increasing interest.

with that she allowed herself a couple more moments of comfort in the bed before slipping out from under the cover and setting her feet on the cold, ugly carpet that adorned the floor. there was a part of the room in which she presumed they had ran out of the ugly thing so the wooden floors were exposed.

she went over to her duffle bag, looking for some clean clothes but all she had were t-shirts.

"sammy, do you think dean would mind if I took one of his shirts? or a hoodie or something? it's freezing in here and all I have left are short sleeves"

"what?" he said snapping his attention from the screen in front of him "oh, yea, no, he wouldn't mind. and if he says anything you can take one of mine or something, they're about the same size anyway, he's just fatter than me that's all"

the door of the motel room opened with a thud revealing a dishevelled head of dirty blonde hair with dark roots. looking at the way his hair sat you could think he just rolled out of bed, which was probably not far from the truth.

"who's fat?" he said before turning his attention to y/n "good morning sweetheart" he flashed her a smile before getting between sam and the TV, action that erupted a displeased reaction out of the 12 year old.

"hey! I was watching that!"

"oh shut up" dean said dropping two brown grocery bags on the table his brother was sitting at.

"dean, is it okay if I take one of your shirts? I haven't done laundry in a while and I only have short sleeved shirts left."

"yes, sure." he said before lifting his and sams bag onto the bed you gad shared with him the night before. he started looking trough piles of clothes on the left side of the duffle bag, and for a moment she wondered if the boys had a system of keeping their attire separate while still in the same carry on.

her train of tought was quickly interrupted by deans quiet victorious "aha!" before grabbing a shirt and turning around to give it to her.

"here, this should keep you warm."

"thank you" she smiled while grabbing the article of clothing and going to the bathroom to change.

-when they were little they used to share clothes all the time. it was funny, really, none of the clothes had been ever actually anyone's, they were just everyone's. except for one shirt that she had deemed her special going out shirt. it was a simple, short sleeved t-shirt that had once been white but had been put in the wash with something red and had turned a light pink color. the rips and crackles in the printed on hello kitty that had been slightly discolorated because of the amount of times it had been worn and washed. for a moment she wondered what happened to it, one day it was just gone.

she got out of the bathroom wearing a pair of baggy jeans and deans shirt. the sleeves were coming down over her hands and her fingers, reason to why she had to roll them up every once in a while as to not get in her way.

she was met with a pair of forest green eyes watching her carefully as she entered the room and sat down at the table next to a very focused sam. apparently he had begun to research facts about a place he found out about on the news while watching TV that he suspected could be a potential lead for a hunt.

"sam, that's not really our business" she told him as she sat down at the table in front of him.

"but what if it is? we could go check it out.. I mean, we could like ask our dad's if we can go there maybe" he said still concentrated on writing everything he had just heard about the case on the news.

"well dads supposed to call today.. maybe we can ask him about it if he does" said dean while his focus shifted between the two people sitting at the table as he sat on the bed he had shared with y/n the night before.

"uh.. you know what? sure." she said with a now much softer expression.

she could recall always having a more sibling like relationship with sam, but with dean... there was something different, that she couldn't quite put her finger on. (but i bet you'd like to lmao)

he would make her melt with the stupidest shit, like this one for example. the "if he does" he added to the end of his sentence made her weary of the position they all found themselves in, feeling stranded from the fate their guardians might have suffered while out on the job. it seemed as a sort of awakening to her made up reality where her dad had a normal job in an office and she's just waiting for him to get back. no danger. no possibility of death.

the semi sad expression his face held while talking softened her to the point where she was sure her knees would have buckled under her weight if she had been standing up. she knew about how dean tried to protect sam from any and all harm. she knew how he tried to hide any negative thoughts that might come, and he had been successful for the most part. the younger winchester wasn't stupid, quite the opposite actually, and his brother knew that, you knew that, everybody knew that. yet dean tried to seemingly protect this presumed innocence that the kid he had mostly raised by himself was still blessed with. she had listened to dean lie to sam countless times, but never to her. no, he couldn't bring himself to lie to her when he saw the worried expression her face displayed, brows slightly furrowed, trying to read his thoughts as to maybe bring him comfort.

he was still a hard one to crack, she knew that, but the relief that washed over both of them when he let himself cry in her arms was something neither of them could deny. she was always there since they were just kids, always there to patch him up after going on a hunt with his dad, always there to lift his spirits after long nights spent watching the ceiling like it was the most interesting show, focused almost as much as sam when he read his books, if not even more focused.

but right now, that wasn't the case. dean was sitting on the twin sized bed, a grin plastered on his face as he looked at his brother and the girl he sat next to. she couldn't help but smile at his appearance, spiky, messy hair that went in all directions, a wide smile spread across his face and the jeans he had been wearing for the past week still on. as her eyes travelled down his form she noticed the untied laces on his boots, the dired mud on the tips of them very obvious on the black leather. "cute" she thinks before they all hear a phone ring.

dean hurriedly gets his out of the front pocket of his jeans but it isn't the one that's ringing, so he focuses on y/n as she gets her phone out and responds to the call.

"hi dad!" she says, her words having a slight edge to them, waiting to hear if he's okay.

dean and sam hear the person at the other end of the line say something before they see the tension in her demeanour vanish, being replaced by temporary relief.

"yea, we're okay too. hey, could you put Mr winchester on for a second? he was supposed to call dean today and if he's around now it'd be a good time for them to talk."

she listened to her dad say something before she hummed in agreement.

she covered the bottom part of her phone so the microphone wouldn't pick up what she was saying "he's getting your dad right now, you can ask him about the case sam- oh!" she said, uncovering her phone "yes, hi! no, nothing happened. yes... yes, I can put him on right now... mhm..." she held the phone out to dean "take it" is all she said.

he took the phone out of her hands and held it up to his ear "hey dad. yea, were all good. what? ... no, no that's not what... no, we just wanted to ask you about... yes.... no. dad, would you just listen to me for a second?" he said and paused for a second before continuing "okay, thank you. so me and sam wanted to tell you about a lead we found in uh... sam where was that lead again?" "michigan" "michigan. Well i- I don't know all the details, but I can put him on if you want.... yea... " he held the phone away from his face "sammy, he wants to talk to you" he handed the phone over to sam who then started explaining the details of the case he thinks he may have a lead on. an apartment building in which a young girl had disappeared without taking any of her belongings. the neighbours had heard screaming but there were no signs of breaking and entering, so the police had no leads. apparently that's not the first time it had happened, and in the past 10 years 6 girls had gone missing, all around the same age.

the other end of the phone was silent as the youngest winchester explained everything he had gathered from the limited resources he had available at the motel, and after he was done there was a moment on silence in which y/n presumed John was considering if he should pick up the case himself or leave it be.

then he said something that left sam a little taken aback, which obviously sparked both y/ns and deans interest, dean leaning forward with his arms on his knees and hands interlocked in front of him and y/n reaching over the table ever so slightly towards sam.

"he.. he said he'll talk to your dad y/n... but... we can go"

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

wooooo cliff hanger

spooky scary indeed

anyway, english is not my first language so if I made any spelling mistakes feel free to point em out

I'm gonna try to put part two up as soon as possible babes

[total-drama-brainrot]

TD World Tour Alenoah AU... Where Noah is immune to Alejandro's fake charm... Instead, Noah gets charmed by the true Alejandro's quirks and dorky interests like dinosaurs and puppets... How would Alejandro feel about Noah only liking Alejandro, when Alejandro is being himself?... Especially since Alejandro's family shuns him for being himself? 🦕🦖🦕

Now you're speaking my language.

One of the most common running themes in all/near enough all Alenoah central AUs is having Noah be the first person to see past Alejandro's persona and actually appreciate the person he is, or at the very least prefer the real Alejandro to his mask of perfection. It's one of the draws of the ship itself; the idea that Noah, being the blunt person that he is, can and will wage a war of attrition against the walls Alejandro has built up around himself- not just to keep others out, but also to repress the more authentic aspects of himself to himself- in order to reveal the person beneath.

I touched on this a little bit in a previous post concerning this AU, but Alejandro and Noah both see glimpses of the other that they try so valiantly to hide- in Noah's case, Alejandro sees hints of the scheming mindset he's pretty much supressed under layers of apathy and sloth (as Noah's laziness is one of his biggest character foils, alongside his snarky attitude), and in Alejandro's case he reveals tid bits of information about the Real Alejandro, not the persona he's usually portraying himself as, which is enough to humanise him in Noah's eyes.

They both become People Of Interest in each other's eyes, because they're both puzzles to be solved. Alejandro's curious and competitive to a fault so he'd dedicate himself to unravelling the layers behind Noah's stony exterior, as he'd see Noah's continued distance as a challenge. That's a given. But the topic at hand here is Noah's interest in Alejandro.

Because Noah's not exactly competitive, so why would he be so interested in unveiling the real Alejandro? That's simple; Noah values authenticity. Look at his friendship group, it consists of people who are unapologetically themselves. Noah is also unapologetically himself, in all of his sarcastic glory. So of course he's see flickers of the real, authentic Alejandro and his natural inquisitiveness would be piqued- a novelty for him, as Noah's staunch apathy generally tends to override any semblance of curiosity.

So Noah goes out of his way to make notes of the small interests Alejandro offhandedly mentions at one point or another, like palaeontology or puppetry or even his fifteen-step skincare routine- things that Alejandro shows genuine excitement or passion over that shines through the cracks of his perfect persona. He sees the dorky giddiness Alejandro experiences when Noah lets him ramble on about how Jurassic Park was incredibly inaccurate from a scientific standpoint but monumental for people's interest in palaeontology (or something along those lines, I don't know I'm not a dinosaur nerd) and suddenly the annoyingly flirtatious faker he's spent the better half of his time on the jet is A Whole Ass Person with interests and passions and a sense of depth he's been so bereft of until now. Suddenly Alejandro's more than just the antagonist of the show Noah's working on, he's an interesting person that the bookworm finds himself wanting to know more about. And, perhaps, he finds himself growing genuinely fond of the person behind the mask.

And he uses those notes to prompt Alejandro into sharing more of himself, the real authentic Alejandro, in the privacy of their interactions.

At first, Alejandro's fairly oblivious to what Noah's doing, since he's so caught up in his own enjoyment of Noah's company plans to essentially do the same to Noah that he barely notices his own tricks being used against him.

Of course, he's also just elated at being able to infodump to someone who isn't outright penalising him for doing so; not that I think Alejandro is even aware that what he's doing is infodumping, nor the fact that he's so obviously autistic, because his family is a particular brand of awful that would never let him get a proper diagnoses and in all likelihood forced him to mask/supress his symptoms.

It isn't until Alejandro realises that he's shared a lot of information about himself that he (as a Burromuerto) is expected to keep close to his chest, and he sees the glimmers of satisfaction in Noah's intelligent eyes, that the archvillain catches on to the fact that he's been played. But the thing that really catches him off-guard isn't the trickery, it's the fact that Noah's done nothing with the uncharacteristic displays of vulnerability.

Alejandro can't understand why Noah hasn't taken advantage of his "weakness" yet. Inevitably leading to him confronting the assistant, as Alejandro isn't the type to "let sleeping dogs lie" so to speak, and he's still very much so in the one-track mindset of winning the competition- thus he assumes that any show of vulnerability can and will lead to his untimely elimination. But when he practically demands that Noah reveal what he's been planning, why he's been sneakily collecting information on him, all Noah can do is shrug his shoulders and say;

"I guess I just like seeing the real you. That's all."

And Alejandro doesn't know how to respond to that. No one's ever wanted the real him, he's always had to play the role of the perfect son, the perfect brother. He doesn't understand.

And like most people when they're faced with a foreign concept they have no basis of behaviour for, he lashes out.

[katzske]

EARTHSPARK SPOILERS ABOVE AND BELOW!

For a kids show, I'm glad that they're able to touch upon serious topics like the effect war has on individuals and, in this case, species. I think TFA is the only notable TF show that wiggled its finger and made clear yo these are fucking aliens. But even there it felt one sided, as in, robots finding organics gross.

In TFE, you get so many perspectives on the Cybertron- human relationship and I love is so much. You have people who embrace it and accept each others differences. You have those who have internalized xenophobia but don't notice. People who don't care and just wanna be themselves and live in peace. And those who outright HATE the other species.

Visuals: the first half had its animation mainly focused on action. and while there is still action here, the conclusion of the season offers a lot of cinematic shots which tbh kinda took out of the immersion but are awesome screenshot material. it gets really dark as well, and there is a shot with Bee that stood out to me, where he's hanging from a ceiling, and his expression is full of fear. It was grand.

Audio: You still have the same synth wave music (which I like) but you also get some amazing sound designs for animal based alt modes, like Grimlock and Tarantulas. Nightshade unfortunately has this repetitive sound playing whenever they fly, (hawk screech) since they don't have a motor IG??

Characters: The viewer will be introduced to Hashtag, Jawbreaker and Nightshade. They have distinct abilities and personalities. (By now, I can already tell that my favorite Terrans are Nightshade, Jawbreaker and Twitch lol). They're interesting characters and their dedicated episodes were quite entertaining.

The most notable new characters who actually have their dedicated episodes and voice lines are Shockwave and Tara. Shockwave, as you can see from my memes, is a raging classist and racist. He's pure evil. But I really enjoy him because he's so smug. Imagine TFA Shock's smugness but in higher dosage. I fucking love it. HIS VOICE HAS SO MUCH RANGE. reminds me of an evil DJ subatomic supernova. His eye also reminds me of shin godzilla's... an unrelenting blank stare, unnaturally wide. Tarantulas on the other hand takes a much different spin than his BW counterpart. I think he joined the cons and stuck with them is because he wanted equality for all (during a short convo between Megs and Shock it's implied that it was their original goal). He's sick of the war and just wants to survive. He wants to be himself. He does these typical cinema spider noises like hisses, or gargles in his alt mode BUT OH BOY in his robot mode he's one fine fella. And his voice. chef kiss. i think it's British, but can't pinpoint what region.

Plot: Earthspark is gonna build upon the concept which TFP poorly introduced: A villan human faction. TFE is building upon and further fleshing out what they tried to do with M.E.C.H. The execution so far looks very promising.

They have taken their time to introduce G.H.O.S.T for a whole season, and put a bit of effort into showing that the organization is made out of individuals who have different motivations.

Their official motivation is understandable. The "good guys" wanna protect civilians from threats, like bots who break shit. But ofc there are some nasty people in the ranks who are lowkey masochists lol

Also, since Cybertronians are known to the public, it deepens the complexity of the conflict. Xenophobia against Cybertronians ranges from this cooperation to just regular people, who are mad that their planet was turned into a battle ground.

[familyvideostevie]

ok but meeting remus lupin during the end of nov and admitting how melancholy this time of year makes u feel and that's it ur invited to all the marauders events over the holidays and spend new years together

my first attempt at remus! this really ran away from me, but i hope you like it! i am still finding my footing with him but this was great fun. | fem!reader, strangers to friends to lovers, nye kiss, 3.3k

You meet Remus at a local book club, of all places.

A flyer on the bookshop notice board tells you the group meets every other week -- a bit frequently, in your opinion, but you've got the time to read so you figure you'll give it ago. Moving to a new place means you haven't got many, or any, really, friends, and you could do with getting out of the house more. The days are getting shorter and you find yourself a bit more lonely with each passing day.

The group, when you go for the first time, consists of eight elderly women (though, they are sure to inform you, sometimes numbers swell to as many as 15), you, and Remus. They ask for your name and your age, which they all titter at.

"I, uh," you say, crossing your legs and shifting in your folding chair. "I'm really happy to be here," you say. "Thank you for letting me join." That seems to soften them, and they all are a bit more smiley as they introduce themselves.

It is clear right away that they adore Remus. It's not surprising -- he's handsome in a tired way, a ragged way. His face is a mash-up of sharp edges and tight scars that slash across his nose, but his eyes are soft and warm. You want to inspect every inch of him, so naturally you look away. 

It takes three meetings for you to say much. After four, you see Remus at the grocery store twice in one week. You wonder if he lives around here. By the fifth meeting, you're fairly sure you've got your footing. You chime in more often than not, and they're going to let you pick a book next month. It's the last meeting before you all break for the holidays and you are quite sad to not have these to look forward to for the next few weeks. But you push it down and instead focus on your impassioned defense of the unlikable narrator in this week's novel.

"It's the edge that makes the story so compelling," you say. "We get to judge her because we recognize her, but we don't know why until too late. It's because she's normal, and we're meant to see ourselves in her." You've gone on for too long, and after you finish, you don't know where to look. Remus is smiling at you, as he always does.

"Brilliant," says Florence, the bookstore owner and facilitator "What a way to end! I can't wait to see what you come up with in the new year, dear." She hands out the plates of cookies that she made for everyone and the ladies begin to go their separate ways. You're juggling your book, bag, and the plate while you try to shove an arm through your coat. A hand appears in your vision to grab the items in your grip.

"You alright?" It's Remus. He smells like chocolate and something earthier. You've spoken a few times, but not much apart from a hello here and there. He complimented your sweater last meeting and the words burned in your brain for days. You nod, quickly sliding into your coat before taking your things back. His fingers are warm where they brush yours.

"Thanks," you say. The bookshop is almost empty.

"I agree with you, by the way," he says. You've noticed that when Remus talks to you, even if he's responding to something you've said in the group, he looks at you the whole time. His attention does not waver. It's both warming and unnerving.  "What you were saying about the narrator. I hadn't been able to put it into words like that, but I think you were spot on."

You start for the door and he follows. "I just think it's easy to fall into the trap of putting every character on one side of morality or the other," you say.

"Exactly!" He nods emphatically. "With a writer of this caliber the text encourages you to read about her with nuance and to consider that she's not just one thing." He holds the door for you and you both spill out into the chilly night air. The town has wrapped every lamppost and tree in lights that cast everything in a warm glow.

"Listen," Remus says. He looks especially lovely out here. You hug your plate of cookies close to your chest before you reach out to push away the lock of hair that's fallen across his forehead. "I know this is probably not going to come out well, so feel free to tell me to shove it."

You blink at him. What?

"I've seen you at the supermarket around the corner a few times," he continues. If you didn't know any better, you'd say he's being shy. "And I figure you live around here?" You nod. You've no reason to believe he's anything but a nice guy, but you know nothing about him. Even if you have also noticed him at the same store.

"Well," he keeps going. His smile is tight, the creases at the corner of his eyes deep in a way that screams nerves. "I was wondering, if you don't have plans that is, if you wanted to come to the pub with me? I'm meeting a few of my mates and I--." He runs a hand through his hair, fixing the piece you can't stop looking at. "Well, we don't get to talk much during club and I'd uh, like to get to know you?"

"Are you asking me to be friends?" you blurt out. Probably not the best thing to lead with, but he's really so handsome and he seems nice and you haven't got much to look forward to in your empty apartment and this is just a little bit overwhelming. His shoulders creep back down away from his ears and he grins.

"Yeah," he says. "I am."

"Okay," you say. "Lead the way." Remus doesn't strike you as someone who wears his emotions plainly, but his grin softens into something lighter and you think that you want to figure out how to read him.

You fall into step beside him. "It's not far," he says. "I do want to apologize in advance for my friends, though," he says.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, they're great. Don't get me wrong. I love them to pieces." He sighs. "But they're also a bloody pain."

You laugh loudly and suddenly. It feels nice. "Well, that's a ringing endorsement. It's alright though, I could use some friends."

Remus looks over at you and tugs on your elbow just once to tell you to turn with him. "You just moved here, yeah?"

"Well, a few months ago now, but I haven't had much luck with people." Between working and trying to keep your head above water, you haven't figure out how to add socializing into that yet. "And I don't really like...all this." You wave your hands in the air, gesturing at the lights and ribbons adorning the street.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," you say. "It all makes me feel a bit sad." You start to feel embarrassed. "Oh Remus, I'm sorry. We've barely spoken and I'm being all melancholy." He knocks his shoulder with yours and you look over at him to see he's still got a small smile on his face.

"Darling," he says. "I am as melancholy as they come. You're speaking my language."

---

The pub is crowded and noisy and you like it immediately. Remus takes your hand and leads you through the throng to a back corner where two guys are taking up an entire round booth with what seems to be an arm wrestling match.

"Surrender, Potter," one of them says. He's got a knot of dark hair tied into a bun and tiny hoops in each ear and one nostril.

"Fuck off," growls the other. You can tell right away that he's tall, maybe as tall as Remus. He's got messy hair and round spectacles. He is not winning the match.

"Idiots," Remus mutters. He lets go of your hand and places his palm on your lower back. "Hey, knock it off!" This distracts the boy with glasses, allowing the other one to slam his arm down on the table.

"Shove it," he cries. Remus rubs the bridge of his nose. You don't think they've noticed you yet.

"Where are the girls?" he asks. More friends? you think.

"They're coming," says the boy who lost. Potter, you think. His eyebrows climb up his forehead once he notices you standing next to Remus.

"Marlene called and said they had to stop at home first," adds the other one. His eyes find you and his gaze is sharp. "And who is this?" he says, eyeing you.

"Uh," you say. Remus's hand presses a little harder into your back. "Remus and I do book club together?" You put the plate of cookies down on the table like a peace offering.

"Merlin's beard," glasses boy whistles. "She's real."

The one with piecing looks delighted. "James, you owe me a fiver." He holds out his hand.

"Fuck off, Sirius," says...James. "Wait are those cookies?"

"As you can see," Remus sighs, "these gits are James and Sirius. Are you two about finished?" You look at him and his cheeks are a little pink but he's doing his best to look bored. James and Sirius break into roars of laughter as they scoot to make room for you both. Remus ushers you into the booth. "I'm going to get drinks," he says. "What would you like?"

"Whatever you're having," you tell him. You tug off your coat and don't know what to do with your hands.

"I want a stout, Remus," James says.

Remus doesn't even look at him. "I wasn't asking you, dear." He winks at you and turns on his heel, heading for the bar. You feel a bit strange to be left with two guys you just met, but this is how you make friends, right?

"So what's this about me not being real?" you ask. Sirius raps a tattooed knuckle on the table before reaching for a sugar cookie.

"Well," he drawls. "Lupin told us about his book club when he started going earlier this year but we don't hear much else about it. And then a little while ago, he comes to drinks and he says there's a new girl."

James says your name in a poor imitation of Remus's accent. You twist your fingers in your lap. "And he says a few things about this new girl," Sirius continues, until James elbows him.

"Keep your limbs to yourself, Potter," he grumbles.

James leans in, elbows on the table. "Remus hasn't made a new friend since like, grammar school. So naturally we thought he was having us on when he said you two were friendly."

"Oh," you say. He's been telling his friends that you're friendly? It makes your chest tight in a nice way, like you're being hugged. "Well, thank you for letting me crash your pub night," you say.

"Are you kidding?" Sirius deadpans. "We've been begging him to invite you for weeks." Remus returns before you can reply with two pale-looking pints. He sets them down and slides in next to you, close enough that it's clear you know him the most, even if that's barely true, but far enough that you're not touching except for your knees knocking under the table. He stretches an arm across the top of the booth behind you. You hope you're not staring.

"So how were the books this time?" James asks. His eyes say mischief but he seems to be willing to let you off the hook for now. You and Remus recount the drama from today's meeting. The boys ask you basic questions like what you do for work and how you like the city and what club you support, but none of it feels stale or disingenuous. In fact, it really feels like they want to get to know you.

"Well, surely you've been to the skating rink in the park." Sirius is interrogating you on what neighborhoods you've visited. You shake your head and he gasps like you've slapped him. "What about the market?"

"I don't really do the holidays very well," you say, a bit softly. He raps his knuckles on the table again and Remus presses his thigh into yours on purpose. "I just haven't got my footing yet. I haven't been here that long and I don't have a guide."

"Well that won't do," James says.

"You do now," Remus says. You turn to him and find that he's closer than you realized. His eyes bore into yours and he looks rather serious. "Have a guide, I mean. You'll just do everything with us." You blink. Is it really this easy? Making friends? A handsome boy wants to facilitate your holiday season and you don't really know what to say.

"Brilliant idea, Lupin," Sirius says happily. "I always say you're the smartest of us."

Remus kicks him. "Okay," you say. "That sounds nice."

"I'm sure Remus has your phone number," James says cheekily. "He'll sort it." Remus does not, in fact, have your phone number, but you remedy that by passing him your mobile. He taps away at it with one hand, the other still hovering just over your shoulders.

"Where the bloody fuck are the girls?" Sirius grumbles. It seems he can change moods from one moment to the next faster than anyone you've met before. "Marlene has my nice suede jacket from last week."

"And we need Lily here so James stops looking so put out," Remus says, not looking up from your phone. "Lily is his girlfriend," he adds for your benefit. "Are we not good enough for you, Jamie?"

James ignores him.

"More friends?" you say quietly. Remus nods.

"You'll like them. And they'll adore you." You've been friends with him for all of one night, but his tone is sincere. The pub lighting makes his scars softer and you fight against leaning into him as he talks.

"How do you know?"

His mouth curls up at one end in a smile that makes you shiver a little. "I just do."

__

It wouldn't do to develop a crush on your first real friend in town, so you try your best not to over the next few weeks. You fail miserably. How could you not like Remus? He carts you around the city with his friends -- your friends too, he insists -- going ice skating and drinking mulled cider and market shopping and every time you are struck by how lovely he is. He holds your hand a lot and sends you photos he manages to take of you without you noticing. You meet the rest of the group -- Lily and Marlene and Dorcus -- and you love them, too. You see lights all over the city and laugh a lot and smile so much your cheeks ache. His friends tease you and you end up in multiple group chats and things start to feel good. Even when you go back to your apartment alone, you feel warm. You are just excited for whatever you're going to do next.

And then it's New Year's Eve.

The pub you've become a regular at is having a party and Lily was timely enough to book your regular table for the whole crew. You're running a little late because you could not decide what to wear, but you make it, shoving yourself through the crowd to the back booth.

Someone -- you're not sure who -- spots you and screams your name. You recognize a lot of the people here, but it's not until James enters your field of vision that you relax.

"There she is!" he cries, looking over his shoulder. "Remus, she's here!" Remus emerges from the crowd and scoops you up, pressing his lips to your cheek in a quick hello as he grabs your coat and pulls you in for a hug. He's warm and smells like beer and something spicy.

"You look lovely," he says. He's had at least one drink judging by the color of his cheeks and his general handsy-ness.

"So do you," you say. He wrinkles his nose at you.

"Go sit in my seat and I'll get you a drink. The usual?" You nod. He gently pushes you towards the table and disappears into the crowd. You slide into a space Remus has clearly vacated next to Sirius. He's got some sparkles on his lower lids and an unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth as he shuffles a deck of cards. Everyone at the table is flushed and ready.

"Hey, you," he says. "You in?" You've no idea what they're playing.

"Next round, Sirius." He shrugs and you watch something that looks like Hearts happen in front of you.

Remus returns before the round wraps up and you stand to give him his seat. He looks at it and then at you and then back at the bench before he slides in, setting your pints on the table before wrapping his long, slender fingers around your wrist and tugging just enough so that you stumble towards him and end up in his lap. Everyone at the table is fighting smiles and Sirius wraps up the round and turns to you both. He puts the cigarette behind his ear and manages to look extremely bored with your antics.

"Now are you playing?" You nod, breathless. Remus's arm wraps around your back, hand settling on your hip so that you won't fall off of him.

A hand moves your hair off of your shoulder and you feel lips on your earlobe. "What are we playing?" You turn and all of a sudden Remus's face is incredibly close to yours. He does not move away.

"No idea," you say, forgetting that you do know what you're playing. Your brain is a little fuzzy right now. Which is probably why you lose horribly, Remus laughing underneath you as you desperately try to shove aside thoughts of kissing him so you can focus for just one second.

And then it's almost midnight. The energy in the pub changes to something a bit more exuberant and someone passes out champagne in classes of all kinds. You end up holding a whiskey tumblr of fizz and the booth around you empties as everyone gets to their feet, ready to chant in the new year. Remus maneuvers you gently so that you're no longer totally in his lap, just next to him with your legs across it. His arm is a warm band around your shoulders to keep you close. The pub increases in volume as people start to sing.

"Have you got anyone to kiss at midnight?" he yells into your ear, lips brushing your skin again.

You pull back to look at him. He's flushed, but his eyes are clear. "I think so," you say. His eyes crinkle at the corners and he sets down his own glass and grabs your jaw. His thumb rubs over your lower lip.

"Lucky bloke," he says. The countdown chanting starts around you. You cup his jaw for the first time and run a gentle finger along one of the scars on his jaw. He shudders.

You can't wait a second more so you lean in, pressing your lips to his. He gasps just a little bit before responding, tongue tracing the seam of your mouth. His fingertips dig into your party dress and you kiss him and kiss him and kiss him and everyone is cheering and you think some of it might be for you two.

You have a feeling that this year isn't going to be so bad.

thank you for reading <3 reblog, send feedback, masterlist here!

[icarusallusion]

On the kick of relationships I feel were a bit wasted on lack of expansion and fandom media literacy.

Volgin and Ocelot. While they definitely do not stem from the same problems as Kazuhira and Quiet like I talked about in my other post, I still feel they aren't explained enough, hours of exposition but nothing quite explains why they are the way they are. Part of that leads to their allure as characters, the years of character building we don't hear or see, but their subtle relationship really falls flat on a lot of gamers I've found.

Into them themselves before I get into all the meta stuff.

Volgin doesn't waste time torturing and shocking people who minorly inconvenience him. He kills Granin pretty much just for fun, shocks and sexually tortures EVA, tortures his own men from the simplest lack of respect, and nukes a facility which kills multiple of his countrymen. All of these disturb Ocelot, but he never says much about it until it comes at the pain of Russia itself. (i.e killing Granin who benefits them and Russia in turn, not truly caring about torture when he learns its for a spy, feeling bad ahout killing Russian men even those who go agaisnt the GRU, and the nukes destroying Russian soil and countrymen)

However any time Ocelot calls Volgin out on his sadistic and cruel behaviors, Volgin never says anything truly negative back to Ocelot. For a man who does awful things to everyone else the way he hesitates to hurt Ocelot whether through physical or verbal means was always interesting to me.

Especially this interaction after Granin is killed by Volgin.

Volgin speaks down on Ocelot, however this isn't done in an insulting way, it's simply the truth in Volgin's eyes. Volgin raised Ocelot since he was 16, Ocelot is still decades younger than him, and is still ranks below.

To Volgin, Ocelot needs to be weeded out himself, of the care he deeply holds for Russia. Volgin undermines Ocelot and how he feels towards the war and cruelty surrounding it, that his feelings have no place within the war and that they're a threat to their organization. While on the surface it refers to how Ocelot is too hot headed and jumps the gun, that he won't be able to focus if he is always judging others. On a deeper level, it read to me as Volgin cares for Ocelot. That the judgement from Ocelot doesn't just break the GRU's unity, it breaks Volgin's unity with Ocelot.

Volgin doesn't want to get rid of Ocelot, that much is evident when in the final boss battle when this is their exchange.

Ocelot shoots at Volgin, disobeys orders, disrespects his title, etc, etc. Despite this, they have the same back and forth they always do. Volgin simply keeps ordering him until Ocelot just leaves. It comes across as Volgin trusts Ocelot to find the bombs, either that or views him too inferior to do any real damage on his own devices. All and all, Volgin doesn't care about Ocelot's disrespect towards him when if it was anyone else they'd be dead.

Speaking of the boss fight, it really added more to their relationship.

THIS ESPECIALLY

Volgin comes so close to shocking Ocelot, but he can't, simply just a warning. Then in the next scene, Ocelot looks to Volgin for reassurance on his aid to Snake. This back and forth always ends each word from Ocelot with an obedience to Volgin.

The fact Volgin and Ocelot have whole conversations with each other from body language alone and the way Ocelot himself relies on body language really is such a good detail

The way they simply talk with one another also always felt like a parent to a child to me. (Maybe a very bad parent but still) In a way, they are a very fucked up found family.

Ocelot kidnapped by The Philosophers as a baby, sent to the GRU to be a spy at 16 and being guided through the rest of his years up until the end of teenage life by Volgin who he knew he'd have to betray at some point. Volgin who was raised by a member of The Philosopher.

While family has never been something they have been expanded on with, I think that speaks more. Neither Ocelot nor Volgin have any semblance with family. They are each other's only sense of that. Through the traitorous attitude of Ocelot and through the hedonist sadism fogging Volgin, they are the only people who get each other but ultimately are not fond of each other in most scenarios. They serve as a twisted parallel of The Boss and Snake to me.

Which sucks even more when The Boss is literally Ocelot's real mom, don't know how to thread that in either, but it's just ughhh literally custody battle between The Boss and Volgin every time they're on screen together with Ocelot

I could talk forever and ever about the analysis between them, but onto the meta. My issues are not within any prejudice or forced characterization like Kaz and Quiet. However, I feel they come from the writers thinking they were not interesting enough. They don't put a lot of their relationship on the surface and by the time players realize their relationship the game is over. MGS is really a game that always deserves a second playthrough to fully grasp its ideas and characters.

Volgin and Ocelot didn't grasp a lot of people because they weren't pushed and pushed like EVA and Snake. They were an afterthought in the game while I think they really could've been given more, considering how much of Volgin affects Ocelot. Ocelot liked torture because of how Volgin raised him, Ocelot has a complicated relationship with Russia partially due to Volgin, and Ocelot's relationships with people are forever shadowed by how Volgin raised him.

I think they really could've been something so interesting, but so much of it was swept under the rug by other relationships and topics within the game. I don't know, tell me what you think this is mostly spit balling about two characters I really like. 🐆

[wheels-of-despair]

Under Pressure | Eric x You vs. The Apocalypse | Series Masterlist

Chapter Eight: Deleted Scenes Summary: Someone may have forgotten to mention a few things... Words: 2.8k

One Month After Meeting Eric

"I want to invite your brother over for Thanksgiving."

You see Evan tense out of the corner of your eye. He's putting the finishing touches on a pasta dish he's about to bake. You're washing vegetables for a salad. It's the very picture of domestic bliss.

"Why?" he asks without looking at you.

"Because he's your brother, and he lives ten minutes away, and he doesn't have any other family on this continent. Letting him spend Thanksgiving alone would be a crime."

He heaves a sigh.

"Why do you hate him so much?" you ask.

"I don't hate him," he says quickly, sticking the pan in the oven and letting the door slam shut. He walks to the table and drops into a chair, putting his head in his hands. The salad can wait. You abandon the vegetables and silently sink into the chair across from him. "I just… we have nothing in common."

"You don't even know him," you remind him. "You only saw each other on holidays, right?"

"Yeah," he sighs, leaning back in his chair. Boarding school. His father had shipped all of his sons off to boarding school as soon as they were able to feed themselves. As children, they saw each other on Christmas and over the summer, where the older ones delighted in tormenting the smaller ones. Especially the one you married. Which is why he fled the country at the first available opportunity.

You cross your arms and lean forward. You've been eager to know the whole story since the night you met Eric, but have been afraid to ask. Evan doesn't like talking about his family, but this is driving you crazy. He looks at you with pleading eyes… and sighs.

"Is this the part where you huff and you puff and you try to blow your way out of this conversation?" you tease.

He chuckles, and you reach across the table for his hands. He takes them.

"The only time my older brothers ever included me in anything is when we were taking the piss out of Eric."

Your heart sinks.

"Don't look at me like that," he begs. "He did it to me too. We were the youngest. The weaklings. We were practically interchangeable."

"And it never occurred to you two to join forces?"

His eyes narrow, and he pulls his hands away to cross his arms.

"They would've killed us both," he drawls. "Literally."

"They're not here," you remind him. "And neither is your old man. It's just you, and the other brother who spent his entire childhood getting bullied. Do you really think it's a coincidence that out of everywhere in the world, millions of different cities all over the globe, that he chose to go to law school here? Mere minutes away from you?"

"Father probably chose for him," he scoffs. "Consolidate the disappointments. Dash the spirits of two pathetic birds with one yearly visit from the stone."

"Shut up," you say lightly. "He's here, he's alone, and I want him to come spend Thanksgiving with us. Will you at least consider it? Just this once? For me?"

He gives you a hard stare. You bat your eyelashes flirtatiously. His cheeks twitch as he attempts to conceal a smile. You poke out your bottom lip, clasp your hands, and bring them to your chin for a proper beg.

"Oh, alright," he laughs, "but only for you."

"Was that so hard?" you tease.

"That salad's not going to make itself," he gripes.

You laugh and toss a kitchen towel at him when you get up and return to the sink.

Eric's coming for Thanksgiving.

Two Seconds After Thanksgiving

The door is barely closed when you start missing your new friend. Eric's visit went so much better than you expected.

"Did you just invite him over for Christmas?" Evan asks from the couch, lying on his back with his hands laced behind his head.

"I may have," you admit guiltily.

"Ughhhhhh," he groans, covering his face with his hands.

"Oh, come on," you laugh, locking the door and going to him. You crawl onto the couch and settle yourself between him and the back cushions, resting your head on his chest and an arm around his waist. "You had fun."

"Yeah," he admits, wrapping an arm around you. "It wasn't terrible. But we don't need to make it a thing."

"He's your brother, dammit," you argue, poking him lightly in the belly. He grunts. "That is the thing."

"Why are you so attached to him?" he asks.

You have to think about it for a moment.

"He's easy to get along with," you shrug. "He's sweet, and he's funny. Your relationship, or lack thereof, fascinates me. And the hold that your old man has over him is devastating. He's just this adorable little brown-eyed ball of anxiety, all alone in the big scary city. Sound familiar?" Silence. "That's what I thought. Can you blame me for wanting to look after him?"

Evan lets out a long sigh. "No," he admits.

"Good," you say quietly, a grin growing on your face. "'Cause he's coming for Christmas. Deal with it."

Evan retaliates with a tickle attack on your ribs, and you laugh and writhe and flail against him. When you finally get his hands pinned, in a truly impressive self-defense maneuver, you're straddling his waist.

"I love you," you say fondly.

"I love you, too," he smiles.

Three Minutes 'til Christmas Eve

"God, I thought Peter would never leave," Evan complains as he flips the bedroom light switch off. "Take a hint, man!"

"So glad that's over," you yawn, exhausted from the Christmas party you'd thrown together. Evan crawls into bed next to you.

"My brother followed you around like a little lost puppy all night," he smirks.

"The poor kid was so nervous," you sigh. "I may have undersold the crowd when I invited him to the party."

"But you both survived," he notes.

"Mhm," you hum.

"At least you'll have each other while I'm away."

You've been working so hard to avoid thinking about the fact that your other half is leaving for an entire year, the reminder almost comes as a shock. You barely remember what your life was like before he came into it. What the hell are you supposed to do without him?

A moment of silence passes.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Our first date," you smile at the ceiling.

"Oh, God," he laughs, shaking the bed. "I was in such a panic, I would've taken anyone with me."

"Wow, that means a lot to me, thank you so much," you deadpan, rolling away from him to face the wall.

"You know what I mean," he purrs, sliding an arm around your waist and holding you from behind. "I'm so glad it was you."

"Me too," you admit, reaching for his hand. "Your old man never knew what hit him."

"I've always suspected that you might've hit him if he'd kept on that night," he laughs.

"I would have," you confirm. "Nobody talks about my best friend like that."

He sighs into your hair and gives your hand a squeeze.

"How do you remember it?" he asks.

"Fondly."

"Details," he presses.

"Are you asking me for a bedtime story?" you grin.

"Yes," he mumbles, shifting to get comfortable under the blankets but not letting you go. "Proceed."

"Once upon a time," you laugh, "there was a handsome but insecure Englishman living in the big city. He was a great doctor, but he never had much luck in the romance department, so he developed this really sleazy habit of hiring beautiful women with no personalities to be his fake girlfriends when his father came to town. One day, he ran out of supermodels and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, so his entirely average best friend came to the rescue, and he had to settle for pretending to date her instead. She'd heard so many horrifying stories about what a bastard his old man was, so she came ready for a fight. They met him for dinner at a smoky shithole with really good bread, and every time that old man said something mean, she'd say something meaner. And just when she thought they were going to throw down and have a knife-fight in Soho, he laughed. 'Keep this one,' the old man said, rendering everyone speechless. And so the handsome Englishman asked for his best friend's hand each time the old man visited, and they were such a great pair, the ancient fuck never suspected a thing. The End."

"More," he groans.

"You asked for the story of our first date," you chuckle. "And I told it masterfully."

"Keep going," he whines.

"Alright, alright," you relent, pausing to plan where your story should go next. "The handsome Englishman and his entirely average best friend loved their little game so much, they started doing other things together, too. They went to museums and plays and pretentious art galleries, and she happily listened to him ramble for hours afterward. She loved spending time with him so much, she barely cried when her girlfriend of several years dumped her. Because the handsome Englishman welcomed her into his home with open arms. They cohabitated happily as the best of friends, until some ugly troll whose anti-troll procedure didn't take threatened him with a lawsuit and possible deportation. He was terrified of being sent back to England, with the rest of his awful and notably less handsome family. She was sick of friends and coworkers trying to set her up with total losers. So one day, they took a little road trip to admire the fall foliage and pick apples, and came home married. And they lived happily ever after, rotting their brains with trashy reality television and then trying to make up for it with documentaries and museum visits."

"Hm…" he hums. "Not bad. But I really think you're understating the handsomeness of this gloriously attractive Englishman."

"So sorry," you smile. "I'll do better next time."

He chuckles and kisses your shoulder.

"G'night, love."

"G'night."

Four Days After Eric's Birthday

"I've met someone."

"You're in an entirely new city," you joke, "I'm sure you've met lots of someone's."

"You're very funny, darling," Evan drawls over the phone. "But this one… this one's different."

You feel your heart sink through the floor… and several below it, then plummet into the earth. You knew this was going to happen. Your other half has been chosen for a year-long fellowship in Los Angeles, and instead of learning whatever the hell he went there to learn and coming straight back home to you... he's fallen in love.

You're allowed to see other people. Encouraged to, even. You just... stopped bothering after a while, when you realized that the best part of any date was coming home and complaining about it together. You thought he felt the same, since he'd never been out more with the same person more than once since your wedding.

"He reminds me a lot of you, actually."

Why does that make it so much worse? You reach for a pillow and hug it to your chest, hoping to stop the ache.

"Yeah?" you ask, trying not to cry.

"Yeah," he laughs. "But he's not as good at yelling at reality show contestants as you are. Your creative insults are unparalleled."

"Muchas gracias, Señor Spray Tan," you say sarcastically.

"I'm actually getting a bit of a real tan, believe it or not."

"Not."

"He's going to teach me how to surf this summer."

They're already making plans for the summer?

"That's great," you lie, tears leaking down your cheeks. "Can't really picture you surfing, though."

"Then I shall send you photographic proof!" he laughs.

"I can see the headline now: Pale British Man In Banana Hammock Gets Bullied Off Beach By Tweens."

"I'll be wearing a wetsuit, thank you very much," he says haughtily. You both laugh until it trails into silence.

"How was Eric's birthday?" he asks.

"Uh…" you chuckle nervously. "We had a lot of fun."

"Fun, in one of the most acclaimed restaurants in New York?"

"We didn't exactly make it to the restaurant," you admit, smiling at the memory.

"Why not?!" he demands.

"Some little bitch had just broken up with him. With a text. On his birthday."

"Ouch," he says.

"Yeah," you sigh. "He was pretty upset about it, so I dragged him to the arcade instead. We had a lot of fun. Ate a lot of fried food. He absolutely kicked my ass at that dancing game you used to love."

Evan laughs.

"Have you seen much of him since I've been away?"

"No," you answer. "He's busy with school and people his own age, why would he want to hang out with his boring-ass sister-in-law?"

"Because you're amazing," Evan chuckles. "And he really likes you."

"Of course he likes me," you smile, "I feed him."

"He'd like you even if you didn't feed him," he laughs. "The boy was practically glued to you at Christmas."

"Because you invited a bunch of strangers over," you argue, "and instructed them to throw their coats on his bed."

"You know, I felt awful about leaving you in the city alone… but knowing that you'd have him nearby made me feel a lot better."

"Cool, so you pawned me off on your little brother before abandoning me." Your eyes bulge. You didn't mean to say that out loud.

"No, you sarcastic ass, I did not."

A moment of tense silence follows.

"How are you?" he asks, his tone changing.

Lonely, heartbroken, miserable, would give anything to have had the hospital pick literally anyone else for this stupid fellowship and not steal your best friend away from you for an entire year and possibly forever. You hate everyone, you hate everything, all you want is for him to come home to you. Does that sound a little desperate?

"I'm fine," you lie. "It's kinda weird, though. Watching trash TV isn't fun anymore? I picked up a book the other day and read like six pages. Don't know what got into me."

Evan snorts, and the sound makes you smile.

"I miss you too, love."

A voice in the background.

"I have to go," he says. "I'll talk to next week, yeah?"

"Yeah," you breathe.

"Love you."

"Love you, too," you respond.

You end the call and sob into your pillow.

Five Minutes After Leaving Eric in the Hospital

"Hi, love."

"They're keeping him," you inform your husband, dodging slow walkers on the sidewalk on your way back to work. You've got so much to do between now and tomorrow at this time, when Eric will hopefully be coming home with you.

"Did you see him?"

"Yeah," you answer, "but not for long."

"How is he?"

"Not great," you croak, tears welling in your eyes at the memory of Eric sobbing into your shoulder. You hate that you had to leave him there, all alone.

"So he did try," Evan sighs. "Did he say why?"

"No," you answer. "The only thing he said was that your old man would probably enjoy reminding him that he fails at everything."

Evan groans.

"I think we should tell him, Ev," you say quietly.

"No."

"Evan, I'm going back to get him tomorrow, or the next day, or whenever they let me. He's coming home with me, and I'm going to take care of him for as long as he needs me to. How can I look this poor boy in the eye and ask him to tell me the truth about the worst day of his life, when our entire relationship is a lie?"

"It's not a lie," Evan argues. "We are married, we love each other, and he is your brother-in-law. He doesn't need to know anything more."

"And what if he tried to check out for the same reason you did?" you challenge.

Silence. Evan's darkest hour, now just a distant memory from med school, is rarely spoken of. You hate having to weaponize it.

"And what if he runs back to England and tells everyone?" he asks.

"Then it's the desperate ramblings of a suicidal loser trying to take the heat off himself," you spit. "Who do you think they're going to believe, Evan? Us, or him?"

Evan stays silent for so long, you hold the phone away from your face to see if the call got dropped. It didn't.

"Alright," he says eventually. "I'm going to wrap a few things up and try to get back there in the next day or two. I guess we should probably do this together."

"Good," you say, tone lightening. He's coming home. Everything will be alright when Evan comes home.

"I'll see you soon, alright?"

"Okay," you smile, feeling your spirits rise for the first time in months. "I love you."

"I love you, too."