#truly had a ramble bubbling for weeks

[boxingcleverrr]

Popular Hades & Persephone "retellings" are, rightly, getting dunked on all over the socials right now and, as a Pagan who has an altar to the Queen, I could not be happier. But also, I feel like a lot of people miss WHY they're bad - aside from just plain bad writing and lazy tropes. Which are, yeah, also REALLY bad.

Pretty much all retellings try to wave away, or excuse, or twist the whole kidnapping bit. And I actually do have sympathy and understanding for why, when speaking from a modern perspective.

But honestly...you gotta get over it. There are other stories to play fix-it with, not this one.

The Abduction is The Thing.

Were I a little more sober I could bring up chapter and verse of the Hymn to Demeter but frankly, if you know even the middle school mythology curriculum version of the story, you SHOULD know the themes. The story of Persephone was one mothers and daughters in the ancient world held dear, because it was a reality: you will, one day, be swept away from your home to go cleave to a man you most likely know nothing about. You will miss your mother, but chances are very good that he will be a good husband, once you get to know him, certainly better than Zeus or Ares, and he will make you a queen of his home.

Leaving home to marry was often scary, and violent (look up the history of the tradition of Bridesmaids, if you don't already know it - they were originally decoys on the marriage road). Centuries later we'd have tales like Beauty & The Beast serving the same function: comfort, hope, you are leaving your safe loving home to figure life out with a (often older, powerful) stranger. Your trauma over this sudden ending of your childhood made manifest in a Beast, or a God of The Underworld.

It's wonderful that we don't NEED stories like this anymore to comfort us (here, at least, in this culture). But if you try to force them into modern vernacular it just will not work, not really, because you're gutting out the whole point just to have a more tidy romantic male hero.

I have read MANY very good ...novelizations? fanfic(? however you would frame them, but they're certainly not "retellings"), etc. that simply take advantage of the blank spaces in the myth, and there are many!

It's not explicit that sexual assault happens - "The Rape of Persephone" as a title was coined in much earlier eras, when the word was just as often used to simply refer to abduction.

"She was starving!" the gods didn't need to eat. So it's easy to read her eating the Pom seeds as a deliberate choice on her part. Like, shit, people, scholars have written whole papers on the symbolism of this moment, between marriage rites and even yeah, Seph choosing both worlds with her husband's knowing consent.

And that, I think, is the real heart of the thing. People want an utterly mundane, spelled-out story here, as opposed to what it really is, has always been, just like any other myth or religious parable: IT'S A METAPHOOOOOOR.

They don't need to be destined, or meet at a goddamned BALL and then CONSPIRE to fake her kidnapping, or shit, I once saw one where Hades got MIND CONTROLLED by Zeus?! Jesus.

Persephone was yoinked into the Underworld against her will.

That's how it went.

I don't mean this in a "stay out of my belief system!" way, shit I'm a white American chick with delusions of witchery. I mean this in a "stop stressing yourself out trying to make things palatable" way:

This is a very real, very precious myth to many people, BECAUSE for at least that one event, Persephone had no autonomy, BECAUSE for thousands of years most women had no autonomy. Erasing that, sanitizing the fact that a girl is ripped out of the spring, from her mother's arms, is erasing the thing that gave comfort to women for centuries. And people can and should still find power and healing in it now!

Fill in the blanks the story leaves in whatever manner seems fit to you, there's plenty of room, but. Come the fuck on.

[highvern]

Baby Blues

Pairing: Kim Mingyu x fem!reader

Genre: fluff, domestic!au

Warnings: gross tooth rotting fluff, dad!gyu mom!reader.

Length: ~500

Note: Drunk Goggles couple is back! for a moment! I'm in a bit of a slump and needed something easy and they're so near and dear to my heart. I saw a tiktok of a baby refusing to say dada and i couldn't let it go. threw in some speech development bc im annoying (babies use their lips to say M and B sounds and their tongues to say D which is a skill they develop later)

also GIRL DAD MINGYU SUPREMACY

read more here

“Say da-da.”

“Mama!”

“Your daughter hates me.” Mingyu huffs, head falling to the kitchen table with a thunk. 

Hana delights in her fathers dramatics, squealing her joy while yogurt goes flying. Her chubby fists clap against the plastic table of her high chair and little legs kick out. Mingyu smiles through the pain, never able to truly be annoyed with his favorite person in the world.

Mingyu had been trying to get her to say dada for the better part of an hour. So far each request was either answered with "mama", bubble noises, or unintelligible baby gibberish. You'd simply watched the entire thing unfold from behind your coffee cup, smirking into the rim at Mingyu's desperation.

“Our daughter doesn’t hate you." You say, rolling your eyes. "She’s a baby.”

“No, she hates me. Watch. Say dada, Hana.”

Hana doesn’t pause before shrieking, “Mama!”

“See!” He argues, arms out towards the babbling baby like she's torturing him on purpose.

“She just loves her mama, don’t you Hana?” You coo at her, stroking the top of her head covered in wispy hair as you wipe the mess of drool and her breakfast away.

“Ggggh!”

“Daddy is silly, isn’t he?”

“Bfffff.” Hana spits, ungracefully wiggling in her seat.

Eyes wide, you agree with her ramblings. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

“Hey! Don’t talk about me like I’m not here.” Mingyu pouts.

“We would never!” You give Hana a cartoonish wink that sends her into a fit.

Returning to the sink with dirty dishes, you listen to your husband try desperately to get Hana to say the words he’s been begging to hear since she called you mama for the first time a week ago. Hana humors him, pure sunshine under Mingyu’s constant attention; giggling at his crestfallen face every time like its new.

Deciding to take mercy, you approach Hana’s chair and lift her into your arms. “Gyu watch this. Hana, where’s baba? Baba?” You ask, pointing one of her pudgy fists directly at Mingyu.

“Bah…Bah?”

“She—she said—I’m baba!” Mingyu repeats dumbstruck, staring at your smiling face.  “LETS GO!” He whoops, rising to bolt around the kitchen. Jumping around the room like he won the lottery, fists punching the air in victory. 

It’s the same way he reacted when he found the positive test waiting for him on the bathroom counter almost a year ago. Unfiltered, unadulterated joy. Except there were far more tears when he found out he was going to be a dad, a broken lamp, and a broken couch.

Now, he grins like a mad man, chest puffed in pride that his daughter finally recognized him. As if it was ever a question despite Hana being a spitting image of Mingyu except for her nose which clearly comes from your gene pool. How she screams when he gets home from work and immediately picks her up for smothering kisses like he’d been gone more than a couple hours. Or when you’re all curled up on the couch and she falls asleep on his chest, her mouth open wide as she snores just like the man holding her. And the times all the boys visit to coo over their niece, bribing her with funny faces and silly voices to let them carry her, but the only person she reaches her little arms for his Mingyu.

Hana is Mingyu’s mini me, attached to his hip since her first day. But she's already learning how to get the best of him, no doubt a skill she inherited from you.

You and your daughter cackle in unison as Mingyu sweeps you both into a bear hug, alternating kisses between your lips and Hana’s almost bald head. 

“My girls,” he says with a squeeze, content seeping into his words.

“Mama!”

There's a sigh of resignation, and a nod of his head. “We’ll work on it.”

[pedgito]

how about eddie teasing the reader about squirting until he realizes she never has and makes it a mission to fix that?? bonus points for a clueless eddie also, he’s just really determined to please his partner

author’s note: fair warning i have no idea how this truly works so it may be all wrong lol, but i tried

cw: 18+ (minors dni) teasing eddie, implied cluelessness for both eddie/reader since they’re newly not virgin anymore, established relationship, oral (f receiving), protected sex, intense orgasms/squirting, lmk if i missed anything!

word count: 1.5k

The topic came up randomly one night when you were stretched out on the couch, legs draped over Eddie’s as he rambled on about his day, endless conversation about his favorite song of the week and what Dustin had done to get under his skin for the umpteenth time. Yet somehow, things always lingered into sex—Eddie couldn’t help it.

“Don’t look at me like that.” You shove Eddie gently, pouting in response to his bereft expression, not believing you for a second.

“Say that again.” Eddie asks, head tilting forward slightly as if it would make him hear better—not that he didn’t hear you loud and clear the first time.

“Eddie, it’s not funny.” You scold him and Eddie laughs, running his hands along the thighs placed over his lap, squeezing gently. “I don’t even think I can.”

“You can.” Eddie says, knowing look on his face.

“And how would you know?” You ask, forcing him to prove whatever point he was trying to make.

“Lover’s intuition.” Eddie shrugs. “Come on, seriously?”

You nod just as fervently, bordering on a deep annoyance that Eddie couldn’t just take you at face value.

“Come on,” He orders, lifting himself up off the couch and slipping his fingers under your palm, pulling you with him. You dig your heels in slightly, adding resistance, “baby—“

Eddie can see the crease in your brow, frustration and bubbling annoyance now obvious. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to do anything, you just didn’t want to disappoint.

“You always say you’re okay with trying new things, right?” Eddie asks, “so, why not this?”

“It’s not gonna work.” Eddie’s used to the stubbornness, using his finger to poke at your cheeks until your lips turn up into a smile, feebly shoving his hands away.

“Look, I’m pretty damn persistent.”

“Yeah, clearly.” You tell him lovingly, letting him drag you along into his room.

“Feel anything?” Eddie asks with a huff of a breath as he pulls away from your cunt, curls ticking your thighs as you squeezed at him tauntingly.

“Not if you keep stopping every five minutes to ask.” You retort, “—but no, nothing.”

Eddie sighs thoughtfully, not upset or frustrated—just confused.

He wasn’t going to admit it, but he hadn’t done much reading up on it—surprise. He’s also never caused it firsthand, so he was going in blind. It couldn’t have been a myth, he’s heard of it—seen it in those shitty pornos he snuck out of Family Video during Steve’s shift, knowing Steve was too caught up in his own tales of women to care—and outside you, he was clueless.

“Maybe—maybe we do need to have sex.” You tell him, glancing down at him from between your legs, “If you want.”

“You don’t even have to ask.” Eddie laughs, somehow removing his underwear without you noticing, shifting himself between your legs. “Condom?”

“Shit, right—“ You stammer, leaning over at an uncomfortable angle to fetch the small foil package from his bedside, shoving it at his chest, “there.”

Eddie slips the latex on silently, eyes squinted in concentration.

“Um,” You pause, hesitant to add considering how shy you were on the subject, “maybe we could try something.”

“Other than sex?” Eddie asks with wide-eye concern, wondering what else there could possibly be to try.

“No, like—positions.” You tell him.

“Oh. Oh.” He responds quickly, he rubs at your thighs comfortingly, “What do you think will help?”

If it weren’t for you both being so new to all of it, you would’ve felt embarrassed—but you knew Eddie was just as clueless, if not more.

“Just do whatever feels right, I guess.” You suggest, “Trust me, I’ll let you know.”

Eddie grins widely, hooking your legs over his hips as he spreads his thighs wide, “I sure fucking hope so.”

Eddie glides in easily, having worked you up for the last hour with no actual progress toward the goal, but making you feel just as good as you needed, any earlier nerves gone.

“Never gets old,” Eddie says to himself, but it makes you chuckle, heel digging into his back until he falls forward, palms catching himself in the process, “—fuck.”

“Yeah,” You sigh, sharing the sentiment, drowned out by a soft moan as Eddie moves his hips slowly, relishing in the feeling of you around him, in front of him, with him. Not a day goes by where Eddie can believe it, that you chose to be with him—for whatever fucking reason that was. But, he never takes it for granted, “—faster Eddie, you don’t have to be that careful.”

Eddie grins shyly, burying his face into your neck as the movement pushes your hips, changing the angle in a way that has you gasping involuntarily.

He sucks at a tender spot under your collar, pulling your shirt to the side to hide the quickly growing bruise. “Oh fuck, that’s good.” You comment absentmindedly, his hips quickening gradually until they’re a steady sound of skin against skin, grunts and moans mixing together in the heat of it all. But, it’s still not enough.

You say it aloud, eyebrows furrowing in frustration, “I told you it’s impossible.”

Eddie pulls back slightly, his hips slowing for a moment.

“Let me try something?” He asks softly, adjusting the trim of your shirt higher up your stomach before his hands are traveling around the back of your thighs, just under the bend of your knee until they’re settled over his shoulders and—

“Oh,” You comment in shock, feeling Eddie slip deeper than you thought was possible, feeling the tinge in your gut grow stronger, “okay—“

“Jackpot,” Eddie jokes, bottom lip pulled between his teeth as he thrusts without warning and you can’t help but whimper, hand shooting out against his chest for support, “I think we have a winner.”

“Shut up.” You feign annoyance, attempting to keep your composure as Eddie strengthens the pace, thumb rubbing into the soft, sensitive spot of your ankle before leaning his head to the side and pressing a kiss in the same spot—a stark difference to the brutal snap of his hips and it’s impossible to ignore.

He’s never been this deep before, the type of yearn for release that made your body ache, feeling him aim for the spot every time, each thrust gaining more and more precision until you couldn’t hold it together, nodding in response to a question that never comes. Eddie can see the tenseness on your face and his hand comes up wordlessly, rubbing quick circles of your swollen clit until you’re a begging, mumbling mess. His hand fists into the material of your shirt, using it as leverage to force himself deeper inside of you.

“Does it hurt?” Eddie chimes in softly, your eyes squeezed shut in an attempt to focus.

“No, no,” You rush out, “It’s good, so good.”

It only urges Eddie further, teetering on his own orgasm as you squeeze around him without warning, sharp gasp pulled from your chest as you came, shudder running through your body as you felt the gush of liquid and a surprised, “Oh, shit.” from Eddie as he came with you, unable to stave it off.

It’s intense, the orgasm, his finger slowing on your clit as you come back down, only realizing after just how messy it all was.

“Fuck, thank god we put a towel down.” Eddie comments through a breathless chuckle, “It was a big one, huh?”

You nod weakly, tapping at his wrist until he gets the message, lowering your legs back down carefully, muscles aching in protest. Your legs feel like jello, involuntarily shaking as you take a breath, pushing the loose hair away from your face.

Eddie discreetly disposes of the condom in the process, waiting until you’re coherent enough to respond, his hands massaging the tender muscles.

“You made a mess, by the way.” It’s a playful jab, Eddie pulling the towel away gently to wipe at his stomach before cleaning you up just as easily—it’s a small gesture but it makes your heart swell, waiting until he’s finished before grabbing his face in your hands, kissing him fully and soundly. “What was that for?”

“Lover’s intuition, I guess.” You murmur against his lips and Eddie chuckles loudly, pulling back to press a hand against your forehead, shoving the hair away. “You were right.”

“Well, I have no fucking clue how I did it,” Eddie says truthfully, “but I’ll gladly do it again.”

“Oh, definitely.” You grin. “We’re gonna turn you into a pro.”

Eddie takes the task very seriously.

Please consider a reblog if you enjoyed this fic! It’s makes a huge difference. ♡

[tojitsukaisen]

A Medicinal Misunderstanding

obey me demons (brothers, Diavolo, Barbatos) x reader

genre: crack

warnings: TW drugs, alcohol

notes: this idea has been stuck in my head for a while now, and this has been sitting in my drafts for ages, I just didn't know how to finish it, I hope you lovelies do enjoy. feedback is super welcome!

Imagine attending a dinner party in the Demon Lord's castle and while the brothers, Barbatos and Diavolo are enjoying (maybe a little too much) Demonus, all sorts of boozy talk goes around the table. Diavolo and Satan, who are both seated on either side of you are in a heated discussion about the importance of law-restrictions concerning imported goods from other regions in the Devildom and you've been trying to block out their voices since you truly, with all due respect, cannot find it within you to give a shit considering your post-exam exhaustion. Meanwhile across from you Barbatos is indulging a drooling Beel in describing his famous baked goods recipes in detail while Asmodeus is so lost in his own reflection in his spoon his tears are freely flowing down his delicate cheeks. Mammon and Levi are currently holding a cheesy pick-up line contest, where surprisingly or unsurprisingly Levi has the lead, and even Lucifer can't hide the amused little quirk of his lips as he absentmindedly listens in on their conversation while he pretends to focus on Satan ramble on about different bills of legislation he read about the other day. And as you look down below the table you find the youngest brother happily snoring away with a 500-year-old Demonus bottle in one arm and your leg tightly in the other.

Everyone is involved in their own little world and while you love listening to everyone's drunken ramblings, you can't help but feel a little left out. Demonus doesn't affect humans, and because there aren't really many humans in the Devildom, there are no drinks that specifically cater to the inebriation of them. Not that you normally mind, but being surrounded by your second family whilst they are enjoying their lowered inhibitions and are looking a little dopey with their rose-colored cheeks and slightly lidded eyes, you find yourself sighing and off-handedly mumble you kinda miss being intoxicated and join in on blowing off some steam.

No one replies to your comment, but slowly the conversation drifts back from the little bubbles that were created to the entirety of the group and soon you're back to being part of the conversation and laughing along with the rest of them. The remainder of the evening is spent in laughter and some tears (it's Asmo, he's an emotional drunk after he hits bottle number 3), but you overall had a good time and by the time you're tucked back in bed at the House of Lamentation, you've forgotten all about your little FOMO outburst and drift happily to sleep.

There is one demon, however, that did not forget that easily.

Three weeks later, after some gruelling Student Council work that may or may not have mostly been having to deal with Beel once again eating the new common room chairs and Mammon having stolen yet another set of valuable tomes and maps to sell on Akuzon, the Prince decided it was worth celebrating your first month of being a part of the Student Council with a party at his castle.

After Asmodeus dressed you in the newest designer dress by Devildom's own Loki Vuitton, you and your seven companions arrive at the lavishly decorated ballroom of the Demon Lord's castle. You dread having to stand on a raised platform with all noble demon eyes scrutinizing your every move while Lord Diavolo gives a short speech in your reverence and applauds your dedication to RAD, but it passes soon enough (although not before you almost trip on your heels when you descend back to the dance floor, but luckily Lucifer, ever the gentleman, manages to grab your upper arm before you face-plant in front of the Devildom's gentry).

You don't really question Diavolo's enthousiastic request to follow him after the party starts to die down a bit as he mentions something about an afterparty for the nine demons and their reputable human, but some doubt starts creeping up on you as you hear the bi-colored-nailed and white-haired demon giggle behind you. You barely have time to throw them a questioning look as you're pulled into a spacious and dimly lit room with modern looking furniture big enough to seat the ten of you, resembling one of the fancier rooms of the Corvo Hotel in the human realm. As you scan the room, you have to do a doube-take as your eyes land on the enormous glass coffee table in the middle of the room.

However it is not just a coffee table. It is a coffee table covered in something you'd only think possible in Hollywood movies about mobsters and filthy rich socialites. Before you lies an obscenely large array of drugs and alcohol, enough to kill you about a hundred times over. There is nothing that can prepare you for the next thing that comes out of the red-haired Prince.

"Tadaaaaa!" Diavolo gestures with open arms to the table in front of him with his wide signature smile, a gesture that normally warms and charms you within seconds, but it's something that this time around leaves you with nothing but an open mouth and a twitch of your eye.

"Excu- I'm sorry, I- I jus-, what is 'tadaa'?!" you whisper-shout incredulously.

"I took notice of your critical assessment of the dinner party a while back, and I must apologize for my forgetfulness when it comes down to your humanity. The entire goal of this exchange is to include humans and angels alike in our cultural activities, and I was amiss in not accounting for the fact that Demonus and other inebriating substances of the Devildom do not work on human bodies. I never intended for you to feel left out, so consider this my reparations."

"M'kay. So... Okay. I- I still need more explanation." you manage to splutter out.

"Well, you see, I had Barbatos go up the human world and find the absolute best quality substances he could find, so you could have your pick. No stone was left unturned. So. Tadaa?" he gestures a little less enthousiastically, sensing your confusion.

"My lord is quite right, I did not leave anything up to chance. What you see here laid out before you is the crème-de-la crème, as the human expression goes, of human-world narcotics. I can vouch for that myself, as the contacts I have used were meticulous in their sourcing and brewing. No grimm, or rather dollar, euro or yen, was spared. You need not worry about the quality." the butler lays out his explanation matter-of-factly.

"Is that meth?!" you shout while inspecting the arrangement before you.

"The man I bought it from informed me that it was of "Breaking Bad quality." he says with his hands making air quotes, "What that particular phrase means, however, is lost on me, but he assured me it was effective."

"It's a popcultu- never mind that. Listen, not that I'm not touched how much you want to include me, I am! This is weirdly enough ...so sweet, but this is.. This is not at all what I was talking about. I thought maybe some wine...a beer? Not stuff to put me into a coma... I mean I'm pretty sure this is a horse tranquilizer... And wh- what is that?!"

"That would be Ayahuasca, a psychedelic, some have said it connects them to a higher power, ancestors even." Barbatos explains.

"You want me to trip balls and see my grandmother during a dinner party?!"

"You could see your grandmother at any time, since she was sent down here when she died" Diavolo mutters with a frowned expression.

"MY NANA IS IN HELL?!"

"I think we might be losing track of the matter at hand" Lucifer sighs while pinching the bridge of nose and shooting a glare at Diavolo.

You almost flinch at the sound of the voice of the oldest brother. You were so lost in your shock and your whiplash you forgot they stood behind you. You quickly spin on your heels.

"You two," you point at Asmodeus and Mammon with narrowed eyes "You knew about this, didn't you?!"

"Oi, don't go accusing the Great Mammon, I dunno what you're talkin' about, human! I dunno know jack shit!" Mammon points back accusingly.

"Imagine that" Levi says sarcastically under his breath, earning him an elbow in the ribs from his white-haired brother.

"I did." Asmo smirks back at you.

"You assured me this was the right pick" Lord Diavolo looks at the fifth-born dumbfounded with a pout on his face, gesturing at the pile of narcotics.

"I'm sorry, this was way too funny of an opportunity to pass up." Asmo laughs airily. "Besides, this was the perfect chance to learn some naughty things about our cute little human~" he coos at you.

"Well, I'm really glad you didn't make this weird" Satan grimaces at his younger brother.

The lot of you spend the next few minutes so focused on the discussion, you all miss the event that is unfurling next to you. As everyone is talking and shouting over each other, there suddenly is a high-pitched screech that quiets the room almost immediately.

"BEEL, NO!" Leviathian cries out in an inhuman wail.

You look dumbfounded at the orange-haired demon that just inhaled the entire surface of the coffee table. "Oh. My. God. NO! BEEL!" You fall to your knees and try to drag him up, yet unable to do so. "Oh my god, oh my god, okay, okay, it's okay, I had a dog when I was younger and it ate a buttload of chocolate once, we just have to get him to throw up and he'll be fine" you ramble on.

"A dog? Why are you comparing him to a dog?" Mammon shouts.

"I don't know, Mammon, I don't know the protocol for when a demon eats multiple pounds of different hard drugs at once!" you bellow.

"He'll be fine, he's eaten worse", Belphie deadpans.

"I-what, are you sure?" you're unconsciously rubbing Beel's back with one hand and holding his cheek in the other. "Of course," Barbatos adds. "Human world narcotics don't affect demons. I dare say that this was better than Beelzebub eating the expensive new chairs we ordered for the common room." The butler softly scolds an apologetically looking Beel.

"Well. That solves that problem. What a night..." Lucifer sighs.

You finally calm down a bit and release the breath you had been holding and whisper:

"Yeah. After all this I could use a drink...

or something stronger."

You smile smugly when you feel every demon in the room scowl at you. (please picture that one meme with the white cat that has all the knives pointed at them, that's it, that's you)

[lunar-years]

There is literally no other way to interpret the side by side posters on Jamie's wall, the boy is bi! Roy and Keeley spend literally the whole episode thinking about Jamie, and then the end when they're all sat together? Oh my heart! Also I would love LOVE to know what Roy whispered to Jamie, but the proud looks from both Keeley and Roy at their boy during the match will sustain me for weeks

Like I'm not even kidding in the slightest when I tell you this episode was ot3 made canon for me. I don't even care what happens with the three of them in the finale, this was it. If the finale is bad for them I'm just going to forget it ever happened and pretend this was the final episode, I don't even care!!!

side-by-side posters?????? of ROY AND KEELEY?????? The reveal was glorious. I can't believe I didn't see it coming but when that door swung back, my jaw DROPPED.

Jamie getting injured on the pitch and then the drama of him getting back up and everyone thinking oh it's all right he's okay only for him to FALL AGAIN. And through all of that we got to watch the face journeys play out on both Keeley and Roy??? that was straight out of a million ot3 angst fanfics i was writhing internally

literally just, Roy and Keeley not actually getting back together (without him)...!!! dropping their hands as soon as he came in. Keeley's expression when Roy told her he didn't want to be friends. If you read my long ramble-y Roy/Keeley meta after last week's episode you'll know I've dreamed of times like these anon

something about Roy going to Keeley to ask her to fix Jamie only for her to be like "welp shit I ended up making him worse" was so glorious and funny and perfect even as it was heart-bending. I know we love to talk about Keeley's emotional intelligence compared to her boys, but at the end of the day they are truly 3 idiots 1 braincell. Keeley just gets to hold on to it the most. I love these dorks.

it was deeply vulnerable of jamie to bring Roy and Keeley with him to his house. like we're not talking about that enough, actually. It was clear he'd never brought Keeley there when they dated. Like, they didn't even know he had a Simon. And this was him completely letting them into his world in one swoop. Letting Simon give them a tour of the Jamie shrine unbothered while he cried to his mum. ???????? JAMIE

the final scene where they bring the champagne into the therapy room is everything to me absolutely everything it is the stuff of dreams and I can't believe we got an ot3 scene like that.

I think it's more fun that we don't know what Roy whispered because in our heads we now get to make it whatever we want. Like, okay, it was obviously, "we're fucking tonight," and WE all know that, but the general audience, who is largely blind, can still go on in their own little delusional bubble like "wow isn't it nice that Roy and Jamie are such good friends ! Surely Roy must've told Jamie good game :D" It was such a completely perfect way of doing it. Ted Lasso writers I never once doubted you (i lie)

there was sooooo much more I loved but yeah these are the talking points my current state of mind is oscillating between lol.

[serenit-teas]

This is the product of too much brainrot and an almost concerning level of needing to ramble.

Major spoilers for Lies of P under the cut!!

Okay but just imagine, someway somehow being young friends with Carlo, sweet and darling childhood friends. Being his partner in crime, an unwilling (so you say) accomplice to any mischievous schemes he's cooked up. Racing about the streets of Krat, dodging this way and that, weaving through the alleyways and corners with a second natured ease due to each and every prior antic you two have had.

I imagine that only after narrowly dodging the poor soul who gave chase to you both has finally given up, does Carlo turn to you, a cheeky but rosy grin thrown your way. You can only huff and turn your head, complaining at once again being dragged into another one of his hair brained plots. 'This is the final straw', you think to yourself, 'no more of these chases'. Always the voice of reason you called yourself, the only one who cares enough to keep the two of you out of scuffles and minimizing consequences. The other half of your duo would simply angle his brows, matched with a boyish smile, brown eyes warm, a teasing call of, 'Worry wart', aimed your way.

You'd stay firm in your silence.

Seconds of the silent treatment turns to minutes, and you truly could have lasted longer, but the floor is uncomfortable and your legs are going numb, and it certainly doesn't help that Carlo keeps shuffling around in the already cramped space. You know what he's doing, trying to goad you into breaking your 'punishment' and demanding he knock it off. It takes all you have not to heave a sigh. It truly makes you wonder how you've both become such good friends.

Finally having enough of your hiding spot and the scuffing of Carlo's shoes, you turn your head, relenting. And he's close. Far to close. Clearly he's never once heard of personal space, face in your personal bubble. A startled yelp is ripped from your lips and you scramble back, knocking your back into the wall.

He doesn't have the decency to even attempt to hide his snort of laughter. 

A menace to the core, mischievous Carlo.

You want to be peeved, annoyed at his inability to take anything seriously. But you see the joy in his smile and hear the way his laugh rings loud and true, gaze fond and sweet directed your way and soon enough you're laughing as well, giggling and smiling. Stomach aching, 'It hurts' , echoing somewhere in your head. It doesn't matter though, not when your head feels light and your cheeks warm. Tears welling at the corners of your eyes as you gasp for breath.

It's a simple and sweet bond, crafted out of trust and comfort, familiarity and warmth.

-

The news of his death rattles something terrible in you. A hollow, numbing feeling pools, spreading like tar, thick and heavy in your body. Fog building in your head, an anchor on your tongue. He's died, and with that has taken something of yours with him. They call it 'mourning', you've learned, something people do when a great loss is suffered. Meant to process grief and what was taken far too early. To cope, live on despite. 

Whispers of sympathy and prayers permeate the streets, details of the accident are few and talk of honoring his life are fewer. Carlo and his fate hang over the city of Krat.

Haunts you. 

Far too young are you to feel such a cruel twist of fate, the unsettling truth of what happens to everyone and everything. Something changes, curdles in your chest when made way to grieve. He's left you behind with the knowledge of the irrefutable.

Hours turn to days which bleed into weeks, and soon tragedy is washed away with the  rainstorms that berate the city. Between the haze in your mind and the bustling murmur of the crowded streets, it's a miracle that you hear the call of your name.

He approaches you in the streets little more than a month after the news broke out, a light spring in his step. For a corpse, he seems plenty lively. Bright grin plain as day on his face, freckled cheeks scrunching with that familiar mischief swimming in his blue eyes. 

But Carlo is gone. Cold and dead, mourned and missed, and you don't know who this is. You look a little harder, gaze sharper.

Blue. Wrong. Fake. 

Get away.

You reel back with your heart thumping wild, ignoring the confusion that shows on his face, tears forming with a barbed response on the tip of your tongue and an awful ringing buzzes in your ears. What a sick joke. 

Eyes still glued to the stranger, you step back. Slow at first, timid and careful, all before bolting away, ears picking up on the squawk of surprise sounding behind you.

You don't know where you're going. There's no plan in escape, you just have to get away from whatever that was. You barely have it in you to call out apologies for the people you nearly bump into. Your legs carry you between tall buildings and hidden corners of the streets, ducking and weaving, narrowly avoiding clipping your shoulder on the hard stone and splintering wood. Before you know it, you recognize the similar darkened streets that you had used in your own escapes with Carlo so many times before.

This part of the city was always dim, secluded and safe, street lights had not yet been installed around these areas, much to the frustration of those who lived in these parts. It never took long for a blanket of darkness to fall over the buildings and homes when the sun began it's descent and shadows would set just right.

Heartbeat drumming in your ears and chest aching, you reach blindly, feeling for a wall to lean your weight on. Panting, hunched over and gulping air down like a fish desperate for water. Head numb and mind humming with exhaustion.

'What was that? Some elaborate scheme? A prank?'

Any further thoughts are halted when you notice the pounding of footsteps behind you. Calculated and heavy, he, it, knows where you are. Probably followed you the whole time.

It's close, and with dread making it's home in your veins do you realize that you've nowhere left to go, you've lead yourself to a complete dead end. That fake will round the corner any minute and you'll be a sitting duck.

The sound of footfalls slows the closer it gets, you'd almost call it hesitant if you weren't scared out of your wits. Steps echo between the corridor walls, that awful, full body shake inducing panic shoots through you once more, an ice cold fear nestling deep in your bones.

'Leave me alone. He's gone. Please stop.' Stress plucks at your fears like an instrument, each strum yanks at your heart, leaves you anxious and paralyzed.

Had your heart not been hammering in your chest and pulse thrumming in your fingertips, you'd probably feel much more self conscious about the whimper that leaves your lips, weak and pitiful. Loud. Palms fly to your mouth, your hands clamping tight with a sting. Eyes screwing shut in fear.

The steps halt altogether, the only sounds you can register is the beat of your heart and the shallow, rapid breaths leaving your lips. It's cramped and cold where you are, jagged stone digging into your back.

A few feet away you hear a breath catch in someone's throat, and like earlier, a call of your name, only this time it's said with as much tenderness as a lullaby. Gentle. Soothing. Your eyes twitch just for a moment. It's unfair, using Carlo's voice like that. You know if you look there will be no going back, no denying what's happening. 

You hear the call of your name ring out one more time, small and fragile, and you open your eyes. 

There he stands, confusion clear on his face, brows loosely raised and lips set into a small frown. Taking your subtle acknowledgment as encouragement it looks as if he intends to close the distance between you, though the hope is quickly dashed when he sees you scramble at his advance, pushing yourself as far as you can go into the corner furthest away from him. You remind him of a wounded animal, an uncomfortable feeling clambers in his chest at the thought and his frown deepens.

A different approach is what he goes for this time, slowly, at a snail's pace, does he reach his arm out. Even in your manic state you still manage to toss an incredulous look his way, taking every bit of his common sense and resolve to not laugh at the expression. He'll gladly take whatever he can get, he'd do anything to prevent that fearful gleam in your eyes, squash any chance of being the cause of it himself.

You both stay in this standstill for what feels to be an eternity, eyes locked and unwavering, waiting to see who will crack first. A genuine gasp leaves his lips when he sees you reach out, shaking fingertips lightly brushing against his own. This is your call, he will follow your lead in this dance. 

Finally, you stand to your full height and at a much slower pace does he do the same, and then you're back to staring at him, eyes flicking about his person this way and that, analysing everything. Normally he'd say you're overreacting, call you a 'worrier ' and be done with it, but he knows better. You've changed, something has happened to you in his month's absence and he doesn't like it one bit, you stare at him like he's a stranger, ran as if he'd flashed a weapon from underneath his sleeve.

So wrapped up in his own thoughts, he barely catches what you've said to him, mind struggling to put the puzzle pieces together. Ever the merciful out of your duo, you repeat yourself,

"What are you?".

'Huh.'

-

(Basically!!!! What if Carlo still perished, and P was still built to replace him, and Geppetto, in a frantic and guilt ridden haze builds a new son at an astounding speed, and with using such a, uh, 'fresh' Ergo leads to P 'waking up' nearly instantaneously. So rather than being a puppet becoming human, P is a 'human' coming to terms with what he actually is.

This is all over the place, but I imagine Geppetto would keep P's interactions with others to a definitive minimum, if P ever asked about it Geppetto would chalk it all up to his son being weakened so severely by his accident that he would need near constant supervision to maintain his health. Tells P that Ergo is what is keeping him alive, it's why his eyes are now blue and how he can wield the weighty legion arm with such ease.

Only a trusted few are allowed to know of his existence. I mean? The entire city mourned his son, he can't exactly have an almost carbon copy strolling about the streets. Reader is probs not at the top of Geppetto's 'can tell list' lol. I'm fully leaning into the idea that Carlo/P snuck out and went absolutely wild looking their bud lmao. Poor fella doesn't know that visiting reader is gonna come with a side of confusion and an unwanted existential crisis/soul searching😔

And final thing! I have not finished Lies of P, nor have I even reached a single ending (but I'm making progress every day! <:) ), so I apologize if any details are choppy, confusing, or don't align with what is canon! I don't know how Carlo died, and I do not wish to be spoiled, this was just a fun sort of AU(?) thought that just kept snowballing ^^; Thank you everyone for your time, I sincerely hope this wasn't too much of a mess, and that it was at least an entertaining read! <:) )

[cheolsfae]

𑁍SVT reaction to finding you asleep on another member's shoulder

Requested: Nope!

Genre: angst-ish?, fluff

Warning(s): Terms of endearment, slight swearing, not proof read

A/N: Got carried away with Coups! Oopsy! I swear I'm a loyal Vernon stan!

Feed back and re-blogs are appreciated! ✨️

𔘓Seungcheol (S. Coups)𔘓

He felt like he'd get into trouble if Seungcheol had walked in right now and saw that you, the leader's partner, asleep on his team member's shoulder. He was kind of nervous about it but he also didn't want to do anything about it considering you had finished rambling about how tired you were because you were not getting enough sleep. But his shoulder was tired what was he to do? He had two options: 1. Leave you here, resting on the hard bench, and have Coups get angry at him for leaving you like that or 2. Call him and risk having Coups get jealous/annoyed that you were resting on his friend. Either way, it wasn't a good outcome. Chan was so lost in thought that he hadn't realized that Seungcheol was standing right in front of him. The older of the two crossed his arms, obviously annoyed. He cleared his throat to get the younger's attention. Dino's head snapped up, "It's not what you think!" He half shouted/whispered. He didn't say anything and gave Dino the get-lost look. Dino lifted your head gently off his should and moved and made room for Coups to sit. After Coups was adjusted in the seat Chan split. He wanted nothing more than to leave.

𔘓Wonwoo𔘓

Yes, he'd seen you dozing off on the couch waiting for him to finish up his game before leaving the office but he truly thought he wouldn't be much longer. So, when he'd seen you asleep on Coups shoulder, he wasn't surprised. Last time he checked in on you, you and Coups had been laughing at Tiktoks together. Twenty minutes later, your passed out on his shoulder. Made sense. "Sorry," He whispered over to his friend. Seungcheol brushed him off, it wasn't a big deal to him. Wonwoo walked on over to you two turning around, getting low enough, "Help me get them up on my back." Coups did so and the two of you were on your way home.

𔘓Mingyu𔘓

It had been a long time since you'd last gotten some proper rest. Between school, work, and all the little things you had to do, there wasn't time for you to rest. He knew that you were pushing yourself too much. How many times had he told you over the past week to take a day or two to catch up on it? Too many to count. So, to find you fast asleep on Wonwoo's shoulder wasn't much of a surprise. He hated to admit it but he was a little jealous. Anyone who was in the proximity of the trio would know it the instant they looked at Mingyu. It didn't help that Wonwoo was also fast asleep too, his head resting atop yours. He sighed, not really know what to do when Seungcheol clasped his shoulder, "Their tired. Let them both sleep a little longer then you can wake them up." And that's exactly what he did, no matter how much that jealousy bubbled in him.

𔘓Vernon𔘓

You'd been staying up way too late, recently. Much more than usual. You'd been studying for your upcoming finals. So to see that you'd fell asleep on Mingyu wasn't that much of a shocker to him. Vernon didn't really mind it. You looked pretty comfortable. He didn't want to disturb you. Mingyu on the other had was busy taking cringey pictures of you. No, you weren't drooling or anything like that, just bad angles like the little fiend he was. Vernon wasn't stopping him, in fact, he was doing the exact opposite! He was egging him on! "Send me those! I wanna make it my wallpaper!"

𔘓Joshua𔘓

There the two of you sat. One of his earbuds in your ears, fast asleep on his shoulder with him also asleep, drooling slightly; his head against the back of the chair and his mouth slack. He quickly took a picture at the two of you. He would use it later to tease you both. He picked your head off of Vernon, putting it on his own. He plucked the ear bud from your ear, giving it back to Vernon. Feeling something land in his hand, he'd woken up looking confused and dazed. "Go back to the dorm, get some sleep." He didn't need to be told twice. Off he went, leaving you and Joshua in the lounge. Wasn't the best sleep, considering you'd woken up with a neck cramp but it was good enough for you. After you'd woken up, Josh had shown you the picture he'd taken of you guys. you'd never live this down!

𔘓Jeonghan𔘓

He sighed upon seeing the you passed out on his friend's shoulder. How long had he kept you waiting? Couldn't have been more than ten minutes. Yet, here you were asleep on Joshua's shoulder. "One minute they were talking about what you guys had planned, the next their asleep." Joshua was just as confused as your partner was. Well, you had mentioned recently that you hadn't been getting much sleep due to too much stress. "Sorry, let me get them." Joshua shook his head no, "Let them sleep." After a while, you'd woken up. Joshua had been long gone by that point. Somehow, you ended up on Jeonghan's shoulder. "Next time, tell me that you're too tired. We can just go nap instead of going out for a date." He ruffled your hair, you smiled sweetly and went back to sleep.

𔘓Jihoon (Woozi)𔘓

This was the second time this week that he had been running late on date night. So, late in fact, that as soon as he walked out of the studio you'd been asleep in Jeonghan's shoulder while he sat there scrolling idly on his phone. Jihoon sighed, "Let me get them. Sorry." Jeonghan looked up at him, "Hurry my shoulder has gone stiff. I don't know if I can move it anymore." He joked, obviously he didn't mind you sleeping on him otherwise he would have moved. Jihoon rolled his eyes, "Sorry Y/N, Jeonghan said your head is too heavy." You lifted your head, waking up, and seeing your cute partner. A sleepy smile lighting up your face. "You ready to go on our date?" Woozi chuckled, ruffling your hair. "Of course, let's go."

𔘓Seokmin (DK)𔘓

His jaw dropped at the sight of you, resting your sleepy little head on to Jihoon. You looked so cute! What was he to do with himself? He was trying his absolute hardest not to squeal at you! He didn't want to wake you up. Woozi rolled his eyes at his team mate, "They're just sleeping. What's the big deal?" Seokmin laughed, "They're drooling on you and it makes it all that much cuter!" Woozi clicked his tongue, lightly pushing you off of him.

"Let them sleep!"

"Not if they're drooling on me! Let them drool on you!"

𔘓Seungkwan����

We know he's a little bit of a drama queen. We love him for that though! So when he saw you fast asleep on Seokmin's shoulder, pft! It was over for you. He felt like you'd cheated on him! How could you? After you'd woken up, he was being a little curt with you. Very short. Very passive aggressive. "Come on, how was I supposed to know I'd fall asleep on him? It was an accident and I'm sorry!" You immediately knew what he was upset about. You guys had been watching a movie and you'd fallen asleep. "I was sitting on the other side of you! My lap or shoulder were free!" You sighed heavily, this was spiraling. "I'm sorry. Really." He stayed silent, he was getting sulky now. "Fine, I'll forgive you. But if it happens again, you're sleeping on the couch." You wouldn't have this pouty man any other way.

𔘓Soonyoung (Hoshi)𔘓

Shocked, he didn't know really how to respond when he picked you up from studying with Seungkwan. This was definitely not what he was expecting. Seeing you laying on Seungkwan's shoulder fast asleep with you textbooks open and splayed out in front of the two of you. "I thought you said you guys were just studying?" He asked the younger. "We were, they just fell asleep. Come get them, their killing my shoulder." And that's exactly what he did. When you guys got home that night, he was all pouty, "Sleeping on Boo...Can't believe you."

"It was a boring topic! I couldn't help that I fell asleep!"

𔘓Jun𔘓

Soonyoung had facetimed him. "Look at your partner!" He whispered, careful not to wake you up. Jun chuckled a little. You looked absolutely adorable in his eyes. "Come get them or I'm leaving them here!" He focused the camera only on himself now before quickly hanging up the phone. Jun booked it as quickly as he could. When he arrived, he was completely out of breath from all the running. You were already wide awake. He looks between the two of you goofing off. He looked between the two of you, you two looked back at him. "Hi, hon! Why are you out of breath?" You asked, with concern on your face. "Because I thought he was going to leave you here." You laughed, "No! I wasn't going to leave them here! It was a joke!"

𔘓Minghao(The8)𔘓

You'd been so busy lately with work and other things. So when you fell asleep on Jun and he walked in and saw you, he was kind of upset about it. He really wished you'd taken better care of yourself. He'd been trying to get you to take some time for yourself but you weren't having any of it. This wasn't much of a surprise. "Thank you for taking care of them while I was busy." Jun's head shot up from his phone screen, looking at his friend. "No problem. They were excited to see you and then pft." He smiled, he was happy to hear that. What had he done to deserve you?

𔘓Chan𔘓

Pouty! How could you even sleep on another member's shoulder? This was one of the worst kinds of betrayals he's felt! It was a stab to the heart! That is until...he woke up from his dream. He was still in this mood when he walked into the kitchen where you were. "You owe me an apology." He glared at you. You looked at him with complete confusion in your eyes, what the hell was he talking about? You hadn't done anything to upset him, at least as far as you knew. "You cheated on me." Again, another confused look was on your face. "You were laying on Minghao's shoulder fast asleep! How could you?" When had that happened? "Did you have a dream or something? 'Cause I'm more than positive that didn't happen."

"Yes, I had a dream."

You rolled your eyes laughing a little bit, "I would never do that! Only to you!"

He sighed, "Better not."

[17020s]

☆ THE SCOOTER INCIDENT.

You meet a certain brunet while he rides his scooter. CW: tiny injury (scratches), word vomit. 0.8k fluff.

MEGURU BACHIRA needs to pay more attention to his surroundings.

The streets of Barcelona are chilly, gust of winds come and go as he rides his scooter, which he had bought a few weeks prior. He figures that, if he's staying in Spain to train with F.C. Barcha, he might as well invest in transportation. He's always been fond of new experiences, and settling for a scooter seems a thousand times better than using the subway. Even if he takes longer. Because it's an adventure, and he thinks he should enjoy it.

He's inside his bubble, in his own world. The feeling of the wind hitting his skin and propelling his scooter even further gives him a sense of freedom. His headphones are playing some upbeat song he added to his playlist; he does this to determine whether or not he truly likes a it. If the song brings him joy while he rides, it's staying.

Meguru wonders if he likes it. Sure, it might be a little generic, but the rhythm is creative. The chorus makes him feel like he's the protagonist in some sort of movie, running wild in a field full of flowers. He wishes that the cold came to an end, for it to be replaced by the beautiful sunny spring.

He wishes the song never came to an end, because it turns out, he likes it. He likes it? It stays in the playlist then. Because music is creativity. So is F.C. Barcha. So is the scooter. Freedom is— 

Meguru thinks too much. It's a blessing and a curse.

His train of thought is incredibly interesting. It goes on and on, endlessly producing new ideas which entertain him. His thoughts are too much, and his vision worsens as he forgets where he's at. His thoughts are his priority, he sees his thoughts. Today is no different, because Meguru Bachira entertains himself with images which don't represent his environment. His internal ramblings come to a halt—as well as his scooter, and his whole body.

His scooter is on the pavement, and—wait—he's on the pavement as well? The sting from his new scratches on his cheek is what fully grounds him, as he removes his headphones and becomes aware of what happened. Meguru had fallen. He hears a groan, as well as some curses.

In front of him is a person whom he does not know, laying on the ground with their bag. He quickly stands up and offers them a hand, helping them be on their feet.

The person is you. The boy in front of you sincerely apologizes. You take a look, and damn, he is very cute.

"You okay? Didn't see you there, my bad" he smiles, his hand rubs the back of his neck. "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

Without even introducing himself, he grabs your hand and pulls it towards him. With his hand holding yours, it makes it easy for him to slowly twist your arm, his eyes scan it. He's searching for possible injuries.

He does the same to your other arm, then he lets it go. One of his hands makes it way to your cheek, making sure you don't have any scratches on your face. Which, according to him, is very pretty.

"Examination complete! Don't think you've anything to worry about, cutie" he winks.

You notice his scratches, and your hand reaches for his face. You trace his scratches, your eyes expressing worry. "Your face—give me a second."

Opening your bag, you pull out a small water bottle. You pour some water onto your hand, and gently guiding it towards Meguru's face. The water hits his skin, and your fingers caress it, slowly moving the water around. His eyes widen as he realizes what you're doing. You're cleaning his wounds. He's the one who made you fall, and you are the one pampering him. He wonders what he did to deserve such kindness.

"It's not much, but they're cleaner now. You need to disinfect them, though. I'm Yn Ln" you offer him a sheepish smile.

"Thank you, Dr Ln. You have saved my life" he chuckles, his playful self is back to normal. "Name's Meguru Bachira. I must say, Doc, I'm afraid your medicine isn't enough for my wounds."

"And what does the patient need in order to be cured?"

"Hmm, have you ever heard of healing kisses?"

"We just met, Bachira" you laugh. "Plus, I don't kiss on the first date."

A smirk plasters itself on his face. "This is a date?"

You stand there dumbfounded, trying to think of possible excuses for what you said. He notices, and laughs. Picking up his fallen scooter, he signals for you to get in with him.

"If you want it to be one, then it's a date. Let's go for a ride, Doc."

"Promise we won't fall?"

"No guarantees!"

"Bachira!"

"....Alright. Promise."

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

Hi, I have huge gratitude and admiration for your posts and updates on OFMD, I always find them so comforting and informative! Especially as I'm only on Reddit and got a Tumblr account 4 days ago to keep track of OFMD (Twitter/X is just too overwhelming for me lol). What was your take on Rhys Darby's Cameo video in regards to making you feel more hopeful/less hopeful/neither but it was still lovely? With the deafening silence from David Jenkins and worrying that the morale is dropping, it's irresistible not to start feeling a bit of doom, you know? Any response appreciated, but regardless, thank you so much for the work you're doing ❤️

Hello my dear! Welcome to tumblr, we're so glad to have you! I really should get on reddit sometime (I get notifications when certain posts get busy but I just always forget to check them). I totally get that Twitter is overwhelming, it's a tornado of information--and thank you! I'm so glad you're getting something out of the updates!

My take on the Rhys Darby cameo, ay? Well I'll be honest, I thrive on even a little bit of feedback so I was 100% pumped after that yesterday. It sounds silly but I went and cried in the shower for 20 mins because I was feeling torn between the sadness for Rhys and what he lost and was feeling and then also the beautifully kind and positive advice he was giving us.

After that-- I basically felt like someone called Gondor for aid and I was a raging pile of need for action. I actually feel more hopeful now, but I think Rhys has that affect on people. Like that man could tell me the sky was blue and I'd grin like a toddler with a lollipop and nod and feel like I could take on the day.

I do totally get that doom and gloom feeling that comes with the silence. We need that feedback from the people we're fighting for to keep morale up. That being said though--- I've noticed a trend over the past few weeks since cancellation, and that is that when we start feeling down, someone in the cast/crew starts poking their nose out. Usually its Chaos Dad (David Jenkins) but all of a sudden when things are slowing down again this week, Rhys puts himself up on Cameo, two days before the UK launch of s2? I just don't believe in coincidences in most cases, especially when we're all watching things so closely. It may make me sound like a conspiracy theorist but I do truly believe that a huge chunk of the cast and crew is watching our actions and reactions to things very carefully (Hell, Alex Sherman is over on twitter liking a bunch of fan art and porn, so at least we have our little perverted guardian angel!). They just seem to keep popping up at the exact right moments to help rally the troops for them not to be.

The difficulty with negotiations in any industry is the whole Non Disclosure Agreement that comes along with people potentially taking on new clients/funding new projects. Legitimately, there could be a contract in the works right now with a network and we already have our s3, but we just can't know about it because that would damage / threaten negotiations. It could be the other way too, but with how supportive Chaos Dad and Rhys and the rest of the crew have been just popping in and out like little bubbles of positivity, I really feel like we have still have some hope here. It's just really hard to be patient when we're all pushing so hard-- which is why breaks are so important. Anywhoooo, I've had my coffee so I'm obviously rambling at this point-- thank you so much dear for writing into me! I hope that answers your question... I am feeling overwhelmingly positive after Rhys' videos and feeling very mama bear on wanting to protect that man by doubling down on efforts, lol. So glad you're will us on tumblr friend! Always feel free to reach out :D <3<3<3 Ty!

[0celesteisthebest0]

celeste!! I am so curious to know about your wip that has these vibes - would you be willing to tell us? 💖💕 hope you’re having a good week, sweet friend!!

AAAAA oh my goodness J! I love you! Truly thank you for asking!!! I always love answering questions so I appreciate it! I do apologize for the ramblings tho lol, this is a can of worms I haven’t touched yet. But I just have so much vibes for the fic!! I have had these wip thoughts bubbling since last summer and AAAAA it’s a bunch of yearning!

The basic premise is it’s a supernatural/mystery and it is a Ezra from prospect x female reader fic. You travel to a very small town after a friend of a friend passed away. Confusion and despair are in the air and it seems to cloud this town. But what is most notable is the fear of what lurks in the forest…

I have small snippets I can share and I do plan on writing smut for this series? I just haven’t gotten around to it or have written an outline sooo

But here is the snippet and a little canva poster? For the fic :)

“Fucking shit,” you yelped in surprise and held your weight through the stair railing. Without your hands to protect your face, the raven continued to swoop at you and try to peck you in the process.

[spicyraeman]

This week's batch of drawings will make you coo gentlepeople! Traumatised murder Bébé Lae'zel and happy Bébé Xan will make you melt like butter in a warm croissant! You never cared for kids? Now you do!

As a french speaker, the charisma check of a froggy frog Lae'zel would probably fail tbh. But it makes me laugh to imagine her accent being 100% harsher and the words mispronounced. They really missed a comical opportunity.

"What do you mean, wizard? Why can't I say 'I want to hit the beach' in front of the hatchlings? I had my hopes to see some phoques there. WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING SHADO-ART! We need to foc-us!"

Buuuuuut in french to say "my love / 🐸 my joy 🐸" you can say "mon cœur" which means "my heart". ( Coincidence? I think not!) I can almost imagine a scene where it's softly choked in a bloody pointy ear at camp after a scary fight. Almost. So just for that I can admit it can be cute. (Want more french lessons? Scream weewoo 🚑 at 3am and I'll appear on your bed, sleep-deprived with a complotist white board ! Special discount for fanfic writers and artists)

I saw briefly the translated version of the game, it's... an experience. They translated SH literally, it really brought out the cringe I probably should've felt in English but didn't. It's wayyy to close to "Shadowcunt" too, but we have Shart here so I can't really speak up. Poor girl is taking punches in every languages 😂

Also I love how everytime I send you something stuck in my brain, you come up with the most reasonable and obvious answers. Why do I forget these characters don't live in a bubble but in a society? Ofc there are gonna be pointy ears headphones 😂🤦‍♀️ All week I imagined some designs for those, then jewelries, then piercings, then I reaaally need to stop this brain. Qquipart is right too, Karlach is def a speaker user!

I live to give you cute drawing ideas. Doing the devil's work I'm sure, adding to the everlasting pile 😈

And take all the time you need to answer, obv. I'm sending a weekly rambling letter to a friend and finding an answer randomly in my mailbox ; waiting is part of the fun.

🫀🚑

Yes! I had kids on the brain at the time! It's not something that happens often, but i couldn't resist baby Xan or Lil'zel

I find French accents incredibly endearing, not particularly attracted to them, but theres something about them i just love. An obscenely french Lae’zel would make me lose my shit, and honestly, it would fit her. I've always had the hc that lae'zels accent is waaayyy more prominent than in game and that she mispronounces words more frequently. I mean, shes probably never had to speak common to anyone before the nautiloid, how would she know how some words are pronounced?

Also bestie ya cant just drop an atomic bomb on me like that, thats too fuckin cute bro my heart 😭

As for reasonable and obvious answers, they're like that cuz ive got terminal worldbuilder disease, and as soon as you sent that ask, i took a whole day just researching headphones and IEMs. I really should draw up some designs for them 🤔 and yeaaa karlach is def bumping the speakers at full volume

It truly is an everlasting pile, i should probably actually start writing them down lmaooo

Trust me, im taking my time lol my brain works at a snails pace, but seeing an ask from you makes my week so ty <3

[r-ando-m-w-rite-r]

Distractions Are Real

-A reader asked for this, and I obliged. (BTW I tried to include some soft Revenant in this since that was what was loved most about the last post, but the real stuff isn’t until the next post WHICH IS COMING.)

-1594 words (not bad, not bad)

-I was surprised at how many people actually liked the first writing, so thanks. :)

-There’s not a lot of fluff in this one because IT’S COMING. Please don’t be disappointed, there’s another “chapter” coming after this one, there is just too much to try and fit into this one. I promise, to try and get it done sometime this week. 

-Enjoy :D

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

 Beep. Beep. Be-

You slammed your hand down onto the alarm clock beside you, shutting it up. A yawn emerged, and you stretched your arms and legs as they woke up with you. The sun was just rising out of your slightly shuttered window, highlighting the already busy city of Olympus. It was going to be a hot day. 

Sitting up from your bed, you switched on a light and began getting ready for the day. Brush your teeth, use the restroom, take a shower, change into Legends attire, eat breakfast, etc. But as you stared at yourself in the mirror, something didn’t feel right. And it wasn’t the feeling you got all week long when you realized you would most likely be paired with Octane. It was more of a..longing feeling? Had it been from last night?

You shook your head slightly as the thoughts began to bubble. Were you truly touch deprived? Had Revenant caressing your cheek made you lonely? Or was it just something else? You locked your door and began making your way down the hallway, turning left as you had done the day before. Whatever it was, this feeling wasn’t going to last long, and you were going to make sure it wouldn’t. You had a trios match today, and it was time to get your head in the game.

It was particularly quiet, despite all the Legends having to be at the loading dock within the next ten minutes. Even though you weren’t late, a spike of urgency ran down your spine. You briskly turned another corner, abruptly running into something. You tumbled backwards, falling onto your butt. “What in the worl-?” you began, but you shut your mouth as you looked up. It was none other than Revenant..again. You growled internally; you had to pay more attention from now on.

He turned to look at you, annoyance etched onto his face, but he did nothing other than growl slightly before walking off. He wasn’t in a good mood it seemed. But then again, you realized that interaction could’ve gone far worse, so you decided to drop it. 

You followed him to the loading dock, and almost all the Legends were there that you saw when you looked around. However, it was pretty quiet, other than for the occasional cough or the brief awkward conversation being held. You looked back where Revenant last was, but he was nowhere to be seen. Shrugging, you moved into a corner, leaning up against the wall as the overhead announcer came on. 

“Good morning Legends!” a female voice boomed over the speakers, penetrating your ears and making a few people in the room flinch. “Time to announce your teams for today’s game!” You rolled your eyes; the matchmaking was playing matchmaker between you and Octane as of late, so no doubt you’d be on his team.

As she rolled through the teams, your suspicions were confirmed. Octane and you hadn’t been called yet. You were waiting for Revenant’s team though. Some would say you were obsessed suddenly, but you were truly just curious. However, he hadn’t been listed off yet either.

The speaker continued rambling as the chosen teams boarded the dropship, some grumbling, some chatting away. You watched Horizon walk off, laughing with Gibraltar. You couldn’t help but smile a little; she was so friendly. “Ah, let’s see here..I have (y/n), Octane-”

You sighed, cancelling out the rest of her sentence. You were going to file a complaint to the Facility after this match, you couldn’t mentally take this guy anymore. However, you weren’t sure how he would act towards you, considering the events from the day before.

You walked over to the entrance of the dropship, leaving behind the few Legends left for picking. You took a seat near the back, Octane bounding over. “Hey chica!”, he blurted, but then shut up when you didn’t respond and continued staring forward. It was quiet for a few seconds before a more monotone voice spoke. “Hey, I’m sorry for what happened yesterday, I promise to back off.”

That voice..was Octane? It sounded so forced. You turned your head to look at him, but he wouldn’t even make eye contact with you, he just stared off to the side. And he was rubbing his neck. Weird. Grunting, you responded. “Y-yeah, it’s alright.” He still didn’t look up, so you just gave up and looked back towards the front of the dropship. As you watched the other teams, you realized that there was only two of you. This was a trios match, you were supposed to have one more, right? You began to wonder where your third teammate was...

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

Revenant shifted ever so slightly. He was currently perched on a low-hanging pipe emerging from the ceiling of the now-moving ship, staring at you. He watched you look around for him, or he should say the third teammate. Even though you had run into him this morning, he didn’t really care. He was just annoyed in general. However, he hoped that you hadn’t been rubbed the wrong way due to the incident. 

His LEDs snapped over to an impatient Octane. He was still rubbing his neck in the same place Revenant had held his blade to, making him apologize to you. Octane must’ve sensed someone watching him, because he looked up for a brief second, locking eyes with the looming Legend before looking back down again. Good, he knew his place.

His head quickly swiveled back to you, who had now gotten up and begun to stretch. Oh, you were going to be such a temptation the whole game. He had been thinking about you since the event the day before. And now you would be a sweet, little distraction to the murder bot. It was going to be a difficult game. 

He noticed you start walking towards the front of the dropship, the hatch now gaping open and teams jumping out. He figured it was time to make his appearance. After all, he wouldn’t want to keep you waiting...

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

You started walking up near the front of the ship, the air pressure causing a build-up within your ear. Where was your other teammate? As much as you didn’t really want to talk to Octane, despite the apology, you wanted to figure out what was going on. Turning around, Octane looked up at you. “Where’s our third teammate?” you asked, feeling your frown deepen. The time to jump was wearing thin, and your team would get a late start and bad loot if you guys didn’t get a move on soon.

Octane shrugged, looking back down, and you growled, frustrated. Suddenly, something, someone, thudded down right in front of you, making you stumble back. The current took control of you, and you yelped out as you were sucked out of the dropship. Metal claws grabbed onto your jacket, tearing it ever so slightly, but you were quickly pulled back into the ship. Thudding onto the ground, you panted a little, your heart pounding in your chest. You looked up, and your eyes immediately locked with Revenant’s. 

His face was expressionless, devoid of any emotions. There was a second of quietness before you muttered out, “Thanks.” He didn’t seem to register the word of gratitude, just rather lurched forward. You sucked in a breath, your arms instinctively wrapping around your head to weakly try and protect yourself. But when nothing happened, you slowly peeked out from your feeble hiding to see no murder bot. 

“Chica.” You whipped your head around at Octane, who was preparing to jump. “He went, c’mon.” Without a further word, he dived out, screaming cheers into the sky. Well, looks like he had regained his usual mood. Leaping up from the floor, you took a few steps back, preparing yourself for the launch. You looked back once, noticing that there was only one team in the back left.

It was Horizon’s team. She noticed you looking and gave you a thumbs-up. You smiled back at her, but you felt your lips begin to wear as you noticed one of her teammates. Not Gibraltar, but another Legend brooding within the shadows of the dropship. The ship tilted ever so slightly as a voice came over the speakers, shedding light upon the Legend. “Last drops! I repeat, last drops!”

Your heart beat spiked as you looked upon the now uncovered Legend. Her LEDs glared at you with a malicious tint. From her stance and position, she looked like she had been watching you for awhile now. Tilting her head, Ash opened her mouth, hissing out, “Good luck, you’re going to need it.” What was her problem? Did it have to do with Octane..or was it Revenant?

Shaking your head and clearing your thoughts, you looked back at the entrance. The map was almost at it’s end, but you saw both Revenant and Octane streaking towards the ground. Taking a deep breath, you launched forward, dropping out of the ship and into the sky. You screamed at the top of your lungs, “Here I come Olympus!” before whizzing through the sky in attempts to catch up with your teammates. The words made you laugh, and you let Ash’s words fade into the back of your mind. Little did you know that later they would actually mean something.

[sterlester]

#DoctorDonnathon Part 2 - A Tangential Talk On Expectations

    Today is Thursday 2nd November. Tales from the TARDIS debuted yesterday, alongside nearly all of classic Who on iPlayer for the first time, and the latest SFX magazine has really got my excitement bubbling. Not that I haven't been actively counting down to November 23rd all year - I don't have a lot going on clearly. Or maybe Doctor Who just means that much to people. Either way, excitement is going from a consistent simmer towards boiling point. Part of my enthusiasm is driving me to believe there may be more to expect at this #DoctorDonnathon, maybe a recorded message from RTD or a preview of the Blu Ray exclusive conversation between DT and RTD, but I feel I'm getting ahead of myself. This screening will be of Series Four (plus The Runaway Bride), and that is more than enough. 

    I tend to get ahead of myself often. Always anticipating something truly extraordinary out of the ordinary. I went to see the Pixar Orchestra nearly 10 years ago at the Eden Project here in Cornwall, and there was talk of dinosaurs featuring - I interpreted this as possibility of a preview of the music from the then-upcoming The Good Dinosaur, only to be humbled at the visuals of Rex from Toy Story being shown on screen. Likewise with the release of hashtags alongside the public filming of these upcoming specials, I (alongside a few enthusiastic fans) wrongly suspected that on the heels of DT & CT's announcement to expect two hearts and a bowtie to be shared, only for the equally humbling yet intriguing reveals of NPH and YF as players in the episodes. This instinct to hope for the best is not a bad thing, but I'm learning it can lessen the impact of genuine surprises and maybe should be averted. I had a very recent example of this last week.

    One of my other non-Whovian interests is Dungeons and Dragons - I run a Star Wars-themed game and play in a fantasy game regularly (my notes for this campaign just crossed 100,000 words last night!) Part and parcel with this interest is following the adventures of the nerdy voice actors of Critical Role, whose live-streamed ongoing campaigns have lead to the creation of two Amazon animated shows to name but a few of their incredible accomplishments. I was lucky enough to secure tickets for me and my D&D party to see them live in London last week, and the show was amazing. I went in with a great sense of mystery, with no knowledge of the show's content other than knowing the characters and the rough situational context, and was blown away by the story that unravelled before us. But that was not the event that shattered my expectations of the trip - I was walking through London with my friends the day after the show, still reeling from the revelations as we went shopping for jelly beans and trinkets. We'd humoured the idea that we may bump into one of the cast members in the city, being naive little Cornish folk who see everywhere through the lens of Cornish village life where you can't go a minute without being stopped by someone who knows you or your family. So consider our shock when we bumped directly into DM extraordinaire and the incredible player Matthew Mercer and Marisha Ray. I thank my lucky stars that not only did my poor navigational skills accidentally put us in the right place at the right time, but also that my best mate was a lot more present and composed that I was. Thankfully the two were humble, generous, kind and simply as wonderful a people as you could hope for, and took the time to talk to us and even offer to have a photo with us. We apologised for inconveniencing them before letting them go (and before we crumpled into a messy pile of sweat and disbelief). 

    This was exactly a week ago as of this writing, and I still genuinely don't believe that it happened. And this is the point of this ramble - I went in with the mildest expectation, humouring the possibility but only in jest, and when the fates aligned and decided to bless me and my friends with a cartoonish accidental bumping into our heroes, the fact it was so unreal and unexpected made it so much more worth it. With that in mind, I need to go into this knowing what to expect. I have seen every episode I'm about to watch on Saturday many, many times. I've thought about this Series so much, holding it as a benchmark for other series' to aspirationally meet and exceed. By expecting more, I feel I will tarnish this experience - and why would I want that when I know how much of a joy it will be to watch with my fellow fans?

    Long story short - I am excited for this month of Who mania, ready to revisit this incredible series in this viewing, and ready to begin this journey as soon as- HOLD ON TOMORROW IS THE 3RD?! OH GOD I NEED TO GET PACKING!!!

Cornish TARDIS #DoctorDonnathon

(Picture from last week bumping into Matthew Mercer and Marisha Ray - thank you so much for your kindness, taking the time to speak with us and have a photo! And apologies for my inability to speak or react beyond shaking hands and being completely incoherent.)

[gateskp]

This is a story followers from Twitter and BSky know, but since I'm getting into Tumblr, I figured I'd share.

I'm very much in love with my best friend from college. He is the unrequited love of my life. I refer to him as The One I Love. And tonight I fell in love with him all over again.

In college, people thought we were dating because we were (and still are) so close. We did have class together every single day for a full semester and then class together multiple times a week for semesters after that. We'd hang out in the bio student lounge and watch TV on his laptop together. I made him a Pokeball birthday cake for his 21st birthday because he is a ridiculous nerd and loves Pokemon (no shade, I'm also a ridiculous nerd). When we had evening classes that ended at 9pm, I'd drive him home to make sure he got home safe and quickly. He made me laugh and smile and enjoy, y'know, living, which was something I didn't always enjoy in college.

We...did a lot of things that could definitely be construed as couple activities. But we were not a couple. Just very close, excellent complements of each other, with a hint of feelings on my part.

Side note: It's actually fairly entertaining to look back on because in our practical lab classes, our professors deliberately paired us up because we worked so well together (the assumption being because we were a couple).

Side note 2: He is a very attractive guy imo, and I semi-jokingly call him a ridiculously hot nerd. I'm queer and fall somewhere in ace land, so I do enjoy admiring him but there's nothing sexual about our relationship. Which I think has helped it in a good way.

He calls me every week and we talk. Like. For 2-3 hours *every week*. This has been going on for literally 2 years. Originally he started calling me to talk about shows we were watching, but now we talk about anything and everything. There's a lot of venting about grad school (we're both PhD-ing) and just...being there for each other. I love it. He listens to me ramble and he tells me stories and interesting tidbits and whatever. It's very give-and-take. Our weekly calls strengthened and cemented my feelings for him.

He knows my feelings because 2 years ago (?? how has it been that long) I wrote him a(n 8 page) love letter conveying my feelings and that led to a very awkward conversation about how feelings were not returned. I still think we use different language to describe similar things BUT ANYWAY. I respect that we don't see things the same way, much as it may hurt. That's what it means to love someone, respecting their feelings and experiences and personhood.

Side note 3: I have this secret fantasy about what our future could look like and I'm not going to let it go until there's no hope at all. He is one of the most important people in my world, and I truly only want the best for him. His health and happiness is tantamount to nothing, and whatever role I play in that, so be it. If he found another person who brought him even a fraction of the feelings he brings me, I'd officiate the wedding myself. What matters more than anything else is that I have my closest friend in my life and we remain close. Whatever it takes...

What's amazing(?) is that our relationship...it's gotten even stronger since then. That conversation was...A Lot...but I think it made whatever we have even stronger. It definitely didn't get worse.

I look forward to to our calls. They're part of my routine, I deliberately set aside this time on Thursday nights for him. I do not allow things to be scheduled for Thursday nights. Thursday nights are for The One I Love and no one else.

When we're talking to each other...I feel connected to another person. The world exists outside of my day-to-day bubble. I feel like...when I talk to him, I feel like there's a person who cares about what happens to me.

One night a couple of years ago I told him about my mental health struggles. It was something I don't think he fully recognised I was dealing with in college. But I was really struggling and having a hard time and I just couldn't pretend everything was okay on the phone. So I asked him if I could tell him, he said yes, so I told him everything. And it was really hard for me to do that, there was a lot of starting and stopping and stuttering (I stutter a lot anyway, this was worse). And at the end of it all, I told him that I knew what I just said was a lot and I understood if he needed some space or didn't want to talk for a while or whatever, because that's how people reacted in the past. There have been people who've decided to stop being friends with me because this is too much, and I understood if he felt that way because it's a lot. I wouldn't hold it against him.

And he just said "I'm still here." He said he wasn't going anywhere. And he hasn't.

More than once I've made self-deprecating jokes because how else does one deal with their terrible mental health and he reminds me that he cares. He has confidence in me when I don't. Once I texted him on a Friday night and told him to tell me something good that happened to him that day because I was having a really tough night and needed to hear something positive was happening in the world. He responded by calling me and being there for me.

We trust each other with things that no one else knows. It means the world to me that he'll tell me things that he won't tell anyone else, and I will take his secrets to the grave. Trust is...complicated for me. But I trust him. He won't hurt me. It's something I've had to really come to terms with, here is someone who I can be vulnerable around who won't hurt or manipulate me.

Last year I saw him for the first time since 2017 and it was like no time had passed at all. We spent 4 days together. I took him to see his first Broadway show, Hadestown, which was the only show he's ever been really eager to see. He took me to see SPACE at the Illuminarium because he knows how much I geek out over space, how awe-inspiring I find it. He talked me out of dropping $700 on a Flash comic, which was extremely wise. I tried and failed to cook, which he doesn't let me forget. He got me hooked on anime, which was apparently his deviously secret plan all along (which shocked me but I absolutely love it). I "made" him split half a gallon of Blue Bell ice cream with me because I hadn't had it in years (it took 0 effort, the man has no control when it comes to sweets and I tease him about it constantly). We helped his friend move. We sat on the couch on our laptops silently enjoying each other's presence.

It was truly the best long weekend I've had in who-knows-how-long. If the rest of my life looked like that weekend, I think I would be happy. Genuinely wonderfully happy and enjoying life.

The day I had to leave, I completely lost it. He gave me a goodbye hug and I completely broke down on his shoulder because I'd just had the best weekend in living memory and was going back to my quickly-approaching preliminary exam and having issues with my advisors. He knew all of this. I sobbed on his shoulder, and he held onto me. He didn't let go until he knew I stopped crying and was safe to drive. (I cried on and off the entire 7 hours drive)

I have pictures of us from this trip on my desk in lab, and they always make me smile, they have so much positivity associated with them. They also made it onto my Christmas card.

I'm going to see him again next month when I run the marathon in his city. We have a growing list of things to do which is entirely dessert places he wants to take me to, because we both love dessert and sweets. Tonight we were talking about when I might come down. I told him it's completely up to him because he has to put up with me and my bullshit. The race is on a Sunday, so I'd come down as early as the Tuesday before.

He doesn't know his schedule yet because science and experiment timing can be tricky. But he might be taking Wednesday off. He said he already plans on spending all day Thursday with me.

Tonight I fell in love all over again.

[whompwhompwah]

Riddle, and Leona, with an Bubbly, Carefree S/O!

you are the sun in this darkened world 🌙!!

s/o is gender neutral, second person. spoilers up to ch.3

idk how it happened but leonas is sad lol

pt.2 with Azul, Vil, and Kalim will come out soon :)

//

probably did not like you at first, so carefree and bubbly all the time, you did not follow his mothers advice!

despite you not being in heartslabyul, nothing is stopping him from lecturing you when you have something on your uniform out of place. he dutifully takes it upon himself to fix your outfit while getting you stuck in 20 minutes full of rambling.

let’s just say.. not the best relationship has come from this. while you sorta didn’t mind, almost found him endearing, he didn’t like how casual you were.

post-overblot ? well, he still fusses, but for a different reason.

in reflection, he thought it was very sweet how you went through his relatively aggressive doting with a smile and occasional embarrassed giggle.

it took a while, but he found it in himself to apologize for his actions, before being told by you that you knew it was because he cared, so it’s okay! you constantly forgot to fix your outfit sometime, so it was quite a relief when he came around and did it for you!

THATS when it develops. the abnormal heart palpitations. the heating of his face, his whole body burning as if he’s on fire. the jittery attitude that occurs when he’s around you. the stuttering. the stuttering.

he’s never done that! have you cursed him?? is this a hex ??

not one to immediately jump to conclusions, he confides in trey. who laughs. in his face.

what’s so funny ??? his life could be in danger !!!

he blows up a little in embarrassment, before being calmed down by the lovely vice-dormhead, who sits him down before telling him.

he. can’t believe it. it takes a while to process what his friends words mean. he’s in LOVE with you ?? that’s crazy talk !!! but all the puzzle pieces are in place. it’s logically the only explanation. how could you have cursed him anyways, you don’t even have magic!

after he’s accepted the news, he prepares himself. what could he do to make you like him back? well.. in the most riddle way, he spends most of his time helping you academically. he’s not the best at emotions, so be patient with him!

whether it’s tutoring, letting you copy his notes (it hurts), or gifting you stationary, it’s his way of showing you love and he is doing his best.

what he doesn’t know is you’ve already caught on- and you think it’s adorable! very endearing, what a lovely sweetheart you know. but after a few weeks it occurs to you that he is probably too nervous to confess to you.

no shame, you can do it yourself! you go all out for him!

inviting him to the garden, sprinkling little rose petals onto the floor, all leading to a little gazebo.

his face is brilliantly flushed when he gets to the platform, and you’re similar, with heat radiating off of your skin. you build up the courage and ask him out quickly.

“riddle, ive had the biggest crush on you for the longest time. you’ve sucked me in with how wonderful you are, with how attentive and sweet you tend to be. you’re so caring, it’s really adorable. please, please go out with me!”

his face is all red, but for once it’s not because he’s mad. he stares for a while before nodding his head enthusiastically, not trusting himself to speak.

you audibly let out a sigh of relief, before grinning and hugging him excitedly. he squeaks a little, before hugging back with a soft smile on his face.

you truly are a thornless rose. the most beautiful in the patch.

you are the most annoying herbivore he’s ever met. period.

ever since you stepped on his tail he hasn’t stopped hearing about you. after the heartslabyuls dormheads overblot, you’re the talk of the school, along with three other idiots.

GOD he wishes you would shut up.

essentially, he hates you.

and then hates you even more for messing up his foolproof plan.

his feelings for you after his overblot..? complicated. he’s grateful you saved him (not that he would say it), but he’s also pissed you interfered in the first place.

your bond starts when you get kicked out of your own dorm by the leech twins and the damn octopus. forced to stay in savanaclaw, you two are forced to get along, much to leonas chagrin.

what he doesn’t expect is how.. utterly charming you are. you were so sweet and accepting it was honestly disgusting.

and after years of neglect, it was exactly what he needed.

he could feel himself falling, with no way to stop it. you were so kind, so understanding of his past. you empathized with how he felt, and comforted him despite his many flaws. while he initially was against it, he knew that even if he didn’t end up being your first choice, as he commonly wasn’t, he trusted you enough to not hurt him too bad.

although he manages to keep the friendship a friendship, he can gradually feel himself feeling almost pained with the secret he kept. it burned.

so, he decides to just deal with it and confess to you. he knew you wouldn’t hurt him intentionally.

inviting you to savanaclaw like most days, he lead you to his room awkwardly. noticing his fidgeting, you asked him what’s wrong, in a soft worried tone. his heart clenched.

he sat on his bed, silent, before letting out a rugged puff of air.

“.. i think im in love with you.” he knew he was in love with you. he hoped his word choice would soften the blow. “you’re, very very important to me. I’ve trusted you quicker then I’ve trusted anyone else in my whole life. youre the most special person in my life right now.”

he shifted at your blank expression (not knowing you were just processing- you felt the same, you felt just as passionately, you just didn’t expect it! with all the teasing and banter you two have, you hadn’t expected your feelings to be returned!)

he continued, with a soft voice, reduced to a timid whisper, unseen of him by anyone but you. “please tell me you love me too. or leave, I don’t want to hear you say you don’t.”

you stared, before your eyes softened, your tense figure relaxing. you embraced him in a tight hug.

“I love you too, leona. how could I not?”

with that, the waterworks began. he did not try to stop it, finally letting a positive emotion fill his body with no rejection,

no words were exchanged after that. just soft, domestic love.

you truly were like a spring in the desert. too good to be true, unbelievable. but fortunately, for him, not a mirage.

//

i don’t know how leonas got so sad haha.. im sorry

[thatoneao3author]

fic excerpt - bright as the stars

here’s another excerpt from chapter one of my au, bright as the stars. ian’s an actor who hosts a space-themed kids show called Interstellar Ian 

this scene shows svetlana’s role in this universe as ian’s hair stylist/makeup artist and establishes mickey’s existence in this universe. this is like, the end of a larger scene, but I don’t wanna give you guys too much. enjoy! 

Svetlana seemed entirely unshocked when words bubbled out of the ginger’s mouth as if he couldn’t stop them, as if he couldn’t possibly stay quiet and let the lady do her job. 

That’s something that came with spending your teenage years acting: you get used to always talking. 

“How was your weekend?” Ian questioned. Lana thought about it before answering a question he didn’t actually ask, 

“They hired a new boy to the set.” she said as if she were just remembering, “I was packing up my supplies on Friday and suddenly, this cigarette-smoking ukrainian man is walking around in blue suit much less glamorous than yours. He was rude. I didn’t like him.” 

Ian furrowed his eyebrows. He was usually informed when they casted someone new, but it sounded like this guy wasn’t an actor anyways. 

“Oh! It’s the new electrician.” The actor realized after a moment, “I heard a spotlight operator say that something wasn’t working right through last week. And they just finally decided to hire someone long-term for the job.” 

Ian remembered how whenever there were technical difficulties on set, the tech crew worked to fix it and if they couldn’t, they called whatever number they could find on local advertisements. It was always a different person that came in, unfamiliar with the wires and lights and sets of the warehouse and always one step in the wrong direction away from knocking over thousands of dollars worth of equipment. 

So, by the beginning of season eight, they finally worked out a contract with an on-call electrician that would be around to help with whatever issues arose. 

And apparently, said electrician was a rude Ukranian with a nicotine addiction. 

 “He was handsome, though. Tattoos, dark hair…your type of boy, I’m sure.” Svetlana mused, “You are still sworn off men, yes?” 

“That makes me sound like a loner or someone saving myself for marriage.” he groaned. “I’m just…not looking for anything right now, y’know? Especially not with anyone who works on this set. I can’t- and won’t, do that again. Ever.” 

“It’s not much of a problem if the man isn’t your costar or boss.” Svetlana pointed out, “Fucking writer’s room boy didn’t have many consequences, no?” 

“It’s still not a good idea.” Ian insisted, straightening up slightly when Lana tapped his shoulder. She was now adding some creamy makeup over his eyelids, glancing between the two in order to check if they were even, tapping away with brushes and the tips of her fingers.

“Plus, how do you know ‘my type’? I don’t think I’m crazy for rude electricians.” 

Before Svetlana could even try to reply, he was rambling again. 

“Men can’t get away with being broke, having a bad personality, and looking mediocre. If you check off all three boxes, you might as well give up on love, I think. Mean electrician checks off two out of three, and he’d have to be crazy hot to rebalance the scale.” 

“And what boxes do you check off?” Lana asked, sounding amused now. 

“None! I’m perfect!” Ian replied without missing a beat. He wasn’t truly that confident, but the mock-annoyed eye roll he earned from his makeup artist made his face light up. 

Even though they had grown, independently and closer, over the course of five years, it felt like their dynamic had been more or less the same since season one. It was a playful thing, where Svetlana pretended not to care for him and expressed annoyance and Ian played into messing with her whenever he got the chance. 

Maybe it was childish, but he loved it. 

“Shut up and tilt your head back, orange boy.” she ordered, tugging on Ian’s hair gently. She somehow made the motion look rough, though. 

Ian complied, smile clear across his face. 

The freckles that had once been on his face then were long faded away, but he couldn’t help but compare that moment to one from his first days on that set, when Svetlana was brand new to this career and asking him if he looked okay every few seconds. 

There was that same playfulness. That same smile. That building comfort they now had with each other. 

Ian loved being Interstellar Ian, because it lead to things- to relationships, like this. 

remember to follow me if you’re interested in this au so you know when i get around to posting the first couple chapters of this! feel free to reblog with thoughts and send any questions you have my way! thanks <3