#i want us both to be less miserable so together we can be happy!! but why am i keeping him from doing things he likes...

[prettyfastcars]

rumours about you | Mob!Lando

Summary: You’re not necessarily happy regarding the announcement your family just made – about how you would be marrying one of their allies’ sons in order to unite forces and what not. You had multiple issues with your family making major decisions about your life just like that, but the main one was that you disliked the one they chose for you to marry. Lando. So you decided to confront him, thinking the two of you would work together and find a way to call off the wedding. But Lando has other plans. 

Themes: arranged marriage, smut, explicit language, enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies ish, degrading kink, dom!lando, slightly bratty!reader

“I’ve been waiting for thirty minutes.” 

When you showed up to his house – or mansion rather – earlier, his butler told you to wait for him in his study room. The butler also said that Lando would be home soon. You were not very patient at the moment given the unsteadiness of your life, so waiting for half an hour was driving you insane. 

Had it not been for the multiple bookshelves to explore and inspect, you would’ve surely lost it. 

Lando paused briefly at the doorway upon hearing the sound of your voice. Then he walked into the room in that arrogant manner of his, that maddening smile on his face, and shut the door behind him. 

The bastard knew he looked good and he flaunted it always. Nice and muscular, that tailored, dark suit looked damn good on him. Little bit of facial hair, brown curls on his head and those damn pretty eyes. Not to mention those natural, extra long lashes that would make anyone jealous. 

He smirked when he caught you checking him out. “Apologies,” He said, “But your future husband is a very busy man, you might wanna get used to it.” 

You scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest as you leaned against the large desk, watching said future husband as he walked straight toward the mini bar and began making drinks. You noticed he grabbed two glasses so at least he was polite. But you weren’t here to have drinks and chit chat. So you got straight to it. 

“I want you to call off the wedding.” You said. 

“This is the third time we’re having this conversation.” Lando sent you a look before turning back to focus on the drinks. “And I’m asking you again, why would I do that?” He asked.

You were quiet for a moment. You two had had this conversation twice already. And each time, Lando would just send you home without listening to what you had to say. 

“Because…” You trailed off, then tried again, “Because we would be miserable together. I mean,” You chuckled humorlessly, “Marrying to unite forces? Really?” You sounded disgusted, “That’s so old fashioned.” 

Lando finally walked away from his minibar with two drinks in his hands. He sipped on one and when he made it over to you, shamelessly letting his eyes roam all over your body before he handed you the other glass. You accepted it and took a sip as well. It was some kind of spiced whiskey, and you welcomed the burn. 

He shrugged, sliding one hand into his pocket. “I see no problem with it,” He said, looking you deep in the eyes with his bluish green ones. “It’s been happening for decades in both our families. It’s made us strong, powerful, and wealthy.” 

You closed your eyes and sighed, “Then go find someone else. I don’t want to marry you.” 

Truth is, you’d known Lando and his family since you were a kid. Dinner parties, galas, birthdays, family vacations, he was always around. And you disliked him even as a child. He was too loud, too popular. Then he got older and got hot, then slept around like it was his job. The rumours that circulated around about him were… not very pleasant. 

Lando raised an eyebrow at you. “Why not?” He teased. “I’m perfect.” 

You gave him a fake smile and said, “I would rather marry someone who is less of a manwhore.” 

He chuckled. “That just means I have more experience.” He stated, then leaned closer and whispered into your ear, “Experience that I can use to turn you into my perfect little wife. Both in and out of the bedroom.” 

You scoffed, “You’re disgusting.” 

“I’ve been called worse things, princess.” 

You rolled your eyes at him. “Look just… call it off.” 

He asked, “Why don’t you do it?” 

“You think I haven’t tried? They won’t listen to me. They say I’m just throwing another tantrum. Like I’m some kind of child.” You stated, finishing your drink and leaning against the desk again. Lando stepped closer, invading your personal space, looking at you like you were some kind of oddity. “What are you doing?” You hissed. 

He finished his drink and said, “Just thinking about how I’ll handle your tantrums in the future. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours, I’m very good with brats.” 

You should’ve known this would be useless. So instead of arguing, you said to him, “If we ever get married, I will never let you put a finger on me. You hear me?” 

The asshole smiled like he was looking at a little puppy. “You’re cute when you try to stand your ground, princess.” He said in a lowered voice. “But we both know you’ll turn into a puddle the moment I touch you.” 

Then his hands were on you, holding you by the waist as he pulled you into him. Chests pressing together, you were speechless for a moment as you stared into his pretty eyes. He smelt so good too. 

Fuck. This wasn’t supposed to happen. 

Lando smirked, “What did you think you were doing, huh? Showing up at my house in a tiny little dress, asking me to call off the wedding, accusing me of being a whore too.” He chuckled. “You’re a mess, babygirl. Don’t you see it?” He asked. “A complete brat who needs some taming.” 

He also noticed the way you clenched your thighs together, like you were craving friction down there. 

“Don’t you see you need me?” His voice was softer now, and still condescending. He leaned in and whispered, his lips brushing against the side of your mouth as he did, “I can help. I can make you the most perfect wife for me. Obediently, polite,” He chuckled, “And dirty, but only for me. I’ll handle all your tantrums in private, and I’ll be so, so good to you.” 

You couldn’t help the soft whimper that escaped your mouth at the sound of his words. They should’ve offended you, they would’ve if it wasn’t for the wetness gathering in your flimsy underwear. 

He was so close, his lips just an inch away from your own. His scent was driving you insane. You knew whatever was gonna happen from now on would change everything. But you couldn’t stop, you didn’t want to. 

So when he brought his hand in between your legs and slid it up your dress, you let him. You let out a gasp when he cupped you down there, instinctively rubbing his fingers against your dripping wet folds. 

Lando scoffed, “See? Told you you’d turn into a puddle.” You whimpered as he lazily circled your clothed clit, smearing your wetness around. “Filthy, little brat.” He chuckled, then pushed your underwear to the side to touch you properly. You let out a loud moan and he smirked, pressing his lips against yours but not kissing you yet. 

“Please…” You begged. 

“Please what?” He scoffed again as he slid a finger inside you and felt you clenching hard around him. “Still want me to call off the wedding?” He teased, slowly pumping his finger in and out of you. “Answer me, what do you want? Hmm? You want to come like a good girl or do you want to be a haughty brat and cause a scene?” 

He stroked you so perfectly, so slowly that it made you lose your mind. “Please, Lando…” You gasped. 

He added another finger as he chuckled darkly. “Look at you,” He taunted, “Showing up here again and again, acting all tough and assertive. Thinking you can tell me what to do? Hmm? You think this is how it’s gonna work?” He pulled away a little to look at your pleading eyes. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll teach you everything. I’ll worship your entire fucking existence. I’ll fuck you until you forget your own name. And in return all you have to do is be a good girl, and eventually, my wife. Yeah?” 

You nodded a little too quickly. He laughed. 

“No more of this call off the wedding nonsense. You hear me?” 

You nodded again. 

“Good girl. See? You’re learning already.” He removed his hands from in between your legs and said, “Get naked, and bend over my desk.” 

As if under some kind of spell, you obeyed immediately. You took the dress off, then removed your underwear and dropped all your clothes into a little pile. You took one look at him and he pointed at the edge of the desk, so you did as he asked. 

As your cheek pressed against the cold surface of the polished wood, your hands laid palm down on each side of your head, you could hear him behind you as he took his suit jacket off and probably also rolled the sleeves of his button up shirt to his elbows. 

Then you felt his hands on you again, rubbing up and down your sides, your hips, your back as he pressed his clothed erection against you from behind. Another whimper escaped your mouth when you felt it. Warm, and hard, rubbing against your wetness. 

He bent down and whispered into your ear, his chest pressing lightly against your back, “You see how nice it feels when you’re obedient, baby?” He trailed his fingers down your spine and in between your legs again. 

You squirmed under him, against the desk. Breathing heavily as he took his time and touched you like he was in no rush. You whined as he touched a sensitive spot inside you, “Please… stop teasing me,” You sounded just as desperate as you were. 

He kissed your ear, making you shiver just at the mere touch of his lips, before saying, “Well, since you asked so nicely.” 

The sound of him undoing his belt and lowering his zipper made your heart race. You felt his rough, but warm hands on your body again as he grabbed you on either side of your hips before pressing the tip of his cock against your hole. But he didn’t slide his cock inside of you yet because of course, he wanted to make you suffer some more. 

“Are you gonna behave from now on?” He asked, sliding the tip of his cock up and down your slit, making you whine and cry out in desperation. 

“Yes…” You whispered. “Yes, just please–,” 

The sound of his hand slapping your thigh cut you off. Followed by a slight sting which made you squirm and whine some more. Lando’s voice was deeper now when he spoke, “What did I say about ordering me around? Hmm?” 

You tried to push back into him but he pulled away chuckling each time you did. So finally you said, “I’m sorry.” 

“Good girl,” He whispered, slowly pushing inside you until he filled you up, feeling your walls tighten around him immediately. “Ah fuck, I knew you’d feel like fucking heaven.” He groaned, muttering under his breath as he fucked you with shallow thrusts. 

Lando grabbed your wrists and pinned them down at your lower back, using it as leverage to fuck deeper into you, harder, faster. He laughed when you began whining even louder, mumbling incoherently as he fucked you. 

“Sure you wanna give this up, baby?” He questioned, gradually building up his pace. “You sure you don’t want this little pussy to be full of me each night? For the rest of your life? Huh?” 

The sound of of you two fucking was driving you insane. 

“You’re gonna be addicted to this cock now, you’re gonna want it all the time.” He boasted. “But you can only have it when you’re a good girl, you hear me?” 

His breathy moans, his raspy voice, your body bumping against the desk with each thrust, the sound of metal from his belt clinking together, it was all too much, too good. 

“Please…” You whimpered, begging for more. 

“Yeah? This is all you needed, isn’t it, baby? Acting like a disobedient brat, thinking you make the rules, all of it just because you needed to be fucked and put in your place, huh?” He growled, tightening his grip on your wrists as he fucked you harder, feeling your walls getting tighter around him. 

You whined, “Lando… I–” 

He cut you off quickly, “Hold it, don’t come yet.” 

He thrust his cock harder into you, making your eyes water and your heart race. Then he just stopped, abruptly. Pulled out and pulled you up from the desk, turning you to face him. 

“You didn’t think it was gonna be that easy, did you?” He grabbed you by the chin as he spoke, staring deep into your eyes. You could barely form a thought. Lando just scoffed and leaned in to kiss you, hard, before pulling away and saying, “Get down on your knees.” 

Lust-drunk and under his spell, you did. You got down on your knees in front of him. You watched how he grabbed his cock at the base and guided his tip over to your already open mouth and said, “Now be a good girl, and suck.”  

You opened your mouth wider as he slowly pushed himself deep into your mouth. He grabbed the back of your neck and gently guided you. 

“That’s it. See? You’re learning already? That’s how a good wife sucks her husband’s cock,” He hissed in pleasure. You looked up and met his pretty eyes. He looked down at you like you belonged there, kneeling before him with his cock in your mouth. 

You felt his smooth skin along your tongue, tasting his precum as he groaned and hissed in pleasure. You whimpered, circling his tip with your tongue before sucking on it gently. 

“Look at me.” 

When you looked up at his handsome face, he said, “Fuck… you’re so beautiful, you know that? Come on now. Up.”  

Lando had you sit on the edge of the table again before he stepped in between your legs. Your arms wrapped around his neck immediately, fingers sliding into his curly hair as he leaned in to kiss you again. It was a deep kiss again with him growling into your mouth with impatience. 

He kissed his way down your neck as he aligned his cock to your core again. He slipped inside you with ease this time, making you gasp at how good he felt as he began fucking you. 

“You feel that?” He asked, as he grabbed your thighs and pushed them further apart so he could fuck you deeper. “This cock can be all yours, baby.” He whispered, lips brushing against your own as he spoke. “You can have it anytime, all day, every day if you want.” He fucked you hard, fast and deep. Your body would’ve fallen on top of the desk had he not wrapped his arms around you to keep you close. 

You moaned incessantly, not caring if his butler or housekeepers heard. “Lando …” You gasped, “I’m so close…” You whimpered. 

He chuckled. “Are you now?” He teased. “Your little pussy feels so good… so fucking tight like it was made for me,” He whispered against your skin and you barely heard him given your heartbeats echoed in your ear, you were breathless, you wanted more. 

You whined as you felt yourself getting so close to the edge again as he pounded into you relentlessly. You felt a familiar pressure in between your legs, all of it getting too much to handle.

“Lando, please,” You cried out, looking into his eyes and silently pleading. “Please, can I come?” 

He smirked, feeling your walls clench violently around him. “See I told you I was very good with brats. Look at you no longer complaining, no longer whining about wanting to call off our wedding.” His voice sounded deeper when he spoke. Then he saw that look in your eyes, you were close to losing your mind so he finally said, “Come on then, baby. Come all over this cock.” 

You didn’t need to be told twice. You came with a loud cry of his name, walls clenching around him and milking him so perfectly that he followed shortly after, coming undone while he was buried deep inside you, gripping your thigh tightly and holding you close. 

You rested your forehead on his shoulder as you both caught your breath. He wrapped his arms around your shaking body, caressing up and down your back while you held on to him like he was your everything. 

“So?” He asked in that mocking tone of his. “Still want to call off the wedding?” 

“I hate you.” You mumbled, voice muffled given you’d shoved your face into the crook of his neck. You hated how comforting his body heat was. 

Lando chuckled. “Of course you do.” He taunted. Then leaning down to get closer to your ear he whispered, “Your pussy just strangled my cock so hard I’m pretty sure it left bruises on it. But sure, you hate me.” 

You whined, squirmed a little because his words made a weird wave of pleasure wash over you. 

Lando laughed and said, “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up, princess.” 

#lando norris #lando norris smut #mob!lando #lando norris x reader #lando norris x you #lando norris fanfic #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 #f1 imagine #lando norris imagine

[ghost-recs]

can we get some bakugou recs 😊😊 (written and smaus pleaseee)

hello hellooo! oh man do i ever have some! you have no idea the can of worms you are opening my friend.

but first i am so sorry for how late this rec is! i wanted to get this done days ago, but the semester has been crazy packed. i'm going to get through all my asks one by one. thank you for your patience! anyways let's get into this !!

Bakugou Recs

Garden of Lungs (Hanahaki) by oweCrew [ao3]

synopsis: you have your whole life ahead of you, a promising future and jobs lined up after UA...but these stupid flowers are going to be the death of you, literally.

i flew through this fic so fast. it was the first time i had every heard of hanahaki disease and oof to my heart. i loved it!

Late Night Calls by fictionpls [ao3]

synopsis: much to bakugou's disdain, you skipped your meals again. tch, he's basically taking care of you at this point.

cute lil fluff oneshot with bakugou as your best friend...maybe more.

Nothing More, Nothing Less by @dekustowel

synopsis: bakugou made a big whoopsies. the only way to get out of it? fake date you, the internet's sweatheart, duh!

this smau idea has a hold on me. i'm a sucker for the fake dating trope. and i mean seriously, it's bakugou! [ongoing...]

Nerd (Affectionately) by @oniku-niku

synopsis: you're in love with bakugou, have been since you were kids. there was no use in hiding the truth. but did he have to be so rude about it??

most of this smau is a big ouch to the heart. but the drama gets heavier as the story goes on and i'm here for it! happy soft ending! :)

Speak by Kikyo851 [ao3]

synopsis: you could not believe that your soulmate was such a crude and violent person...just to spite the universe and him you decide not to say a word to your "soulmate."

soulmate au in which the first words that your soulmate says to you is written on your wrist. this fulfilled my needs of a bakugou soulmate au! so cute and it is complete!

Of Snowscapes & Explosions by sugarbun [ao3]

synopsis: you've been categorized as second to shoto todoroki ever since grade school. after a frustrated vent to bakugou and a few of his cracks revealing some of his own frustrations you realize that maybe you and him aren't so different after all.

guys....when i tell you this fic is the slowest slow burn. i feel like it's so accurate to how bakugou would actually fall for someone. sadly, this fic is unfished tho and hasn't been updated in a couple years😭 but you should read it anyways.

cover shot (through the heart) by @andypantsx3

cross posted on ao3 here! cover shot (through the heart) by andypantsx3

synopsis: you're the only one who can deal with bakugou's attitude in the industry. he hasn't found something that bothers you...until he starts flirting with you, hello??

model/celebrity au. super cute fic. i'm warning you this is much spicier than some of my other recs. mdni. (also check out this author's other works. they have a lot of top tier content!!)

Motherly Love by @kweenkatsuki-fics

synopsis: bakugou gives his mom a late night call to thank her. the reason why softens her heart greatly.

super soft lil drabble that just about brings me to tears everytime i read it. in love with bakugou fr.

déjà vu by @cashmoneyyysstuff

synopsis: bakugou thinks back to some oddly familiar memories with you. and one thing always stays the same, you both are together.

oneshot the made my jaw drop. hit me hard in the feels.

untitled oneshot by @honeypirate

synopsis: being paired with your number 1 enemy for a group project proved that the universe hated you. well might as well have some fun with this and make bakugou's life just as miserable.

college au oneshot. i am always down for a good enemies to lovers trope!

risky by @kusaka6e

synopsis: moving from another country to work as a pro hero in japan was not the easiest. and a certain hot headed hero only adds to your frustrations.

oneshot about the obvious grown tension between you and pro hero dynamite.

i hope you find something you like! sorry for the late rec, have a lovely day/night!

#bakugou #i come back to you every time #mha x reader #mha #mha bakugou #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #katsuki bakugou #bakugou x reader #bakugou x you #bakugou x y/n #bakugou katsuki #bnha x reader #bnha #bnha x you #bnha x y/n #katsuki bakugo x reader #bnha bakugo katsuki #bnha bakugou #katsuki x reader #katsuki x you #katsuki x y/n #ghost rec

[the-case-book-of-fanfiction]

Rain-Soaked Kisses

Ship: Steve Harrington x fem!Mayfield!reader

Summary: Steve hates storms but loves the rain—just another oxymoron of his life, like the secret the kids are trying so very hard to dig up.

Word Count: 6,582 words

Warnings: fluff!!!, sappy & romantic Steve, scheming Dustin & Max, healthy Mayfield sibling relationship, Billy mention, lumax sprinkles, secret relationship, friends to lovers, byler sprinkles, jancy sprinkles

Note: Told in part from the perspective of the kids! Written because it's storming where I am, and I love this weather so much.

☟ Continue below the fold ☟

"Who could he possibly be dating? There's not a girl in Hawkins that wants to go out with him!"

"Well, clearly one of them does!"

Dustin sighed, taking in Max's exclamation. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Steve had stopped complaining about bad dates and girls who left quickly; Robin reported he'd completely stopped talking about Leah and Heidi and Helen and the five other girls he'd been on-and-off again with; he walked around with a dopey, happy smile on his face all the time; and he was less and less reliable for rides, instead going on dates with a girl who's name he always pretended to forget.

As impossible as the idea seemed, Dustin had to admit it was a logical conclusion.

But who?

"Robin?" Max suggested.

Dustin shook his head. "Impossible. Steve steadfastedly refuses to date her. It's not Nancy again, is it?"

"Nope—saw her with Jonathan yesterday." Max huffed a sigh. "Maybe we have to...think outside the box more?"

"Who's outside the box? Who hasn't he already tried to date and failed miserably at dating?" Dustin demanded.

Max was silent for a moment too long. Then she said, "Alright, I don't know. I can't think of anyone who would actually go out with him."

"Exactly, neither can I," Dustin said. "We've got to watch him. We need to know who this is."

~❊~

But tracking Steve and his mystery girl down was much, much harder than either Dustin or Max had anticipated.

Without Steve driving them around, getting around town took twice as long as it needed, either in the attempts to find someone to drive them or in walking themselves everywhere. Nancy was either busy or with Jonathan most of the time, which ruled out Jonathan as well, and Robin still didn't have her license.

During yet another slow afternoon of trying and failing to put together the pieces of where Steve was going and with who, the phone rang. Dustin and Max both looked up quickly, scrambling over furniture and Dustin's new cat to beat each other to the phone.

Dustin got to it first. "Hello?"

"Hey, Dustin? It's Robin."

"Yeah, I know it's you, Robin, I can recognize your voice."

"Now's your chance."

"What?"

"Steve just left work—he said he's going on a date. Now's your chance to go find out who he's going out with!"

"Oh, shit!" Dustin turned to Max. "Steve's going on a—"

"I heard," she said. "Does she know where he's going?"

"Where's he going, Robin, did he say?"

"A restaurant, and he changed into a really nice outfit before he left here. And by nice, I mean really nice. Like fanciest restaurant in town kind of nice. Whoever this girl is, he really wants to impress her. And he's obsessed with her, too, he's been smiling all day from excitement."

Dustin scoffed. "And you didn't call us before he left?! Now we have to find out where he's going and how to get there!"

"Well, it's not like I could call you talk about him in front of him! Besides, we do know where he's going. What's the fanciest restaurant in town?"

"Enzo's," Dustin realized. "That's where he's taking her."

"I can guarantee it. If you go to Enzo's, he's going to be there. I'd go myself, but Steve and I'll both get fired if at least one of us isn't at the store right now."

"Thanks, Robin!"

"Good luck, guys!"

Dustin turned around to give Max the details, but she cut him off. "I heard. Enzo's."

"All we have to do is catch them in the middle of their date, and we know exactly who Steve's dating," Dustin said with a grin. "Easy!"

"Yeah, easy," Max snarked. "How are we supposed to get there?"

Dustin paused before he sighed. "Start calling everyone we know with a car, I guess."

Max rolled her eyes. "Like that'll ever work. Nobody's been willing to drive us around so far!"

"Can't hurt to try," Dustin insisted.

"No, Dustin, we'll be wasting time! We should just start walking now!"

But Dustin was already dialing the number to the Wheelers' house. It was answered by Mrs. Wheeler.

"Hello, Karen Wheeler speaking!"

"Hi, Mrs. Wheeler, could I talk to—"

"MIKE!" Dustin flinched at the volume from the other end. Max cringed, hearing the shout from where she stood. "Dustin's on the phone!"

A few seconds later, Dustin heard Mike's voice. "Yeah?"

"Is Nancy there?"

Dustin could see Mike's frown. "What do you want Nancy for?"

"Mike, I don't have time for this—"

"What. For? If this is Keith trying to get a date with her again, I swear that I'll—"

"Oh my God, Mike, no! Steve's going on a date and we need to catch him to figure out who he's going out with! We need Nancy to drive us there."

"Dustin, do you realize how idiotic that sounds? Nancy's not gonna drive you to go spy on her ex and his new girlfriend!" Mike hung up without another word.

Groaning, Dustin tried to call again, but he was met only with the dial tone.

Max rolled her eyes. "I told you it wouldn't work."

"I'm calling the Byers," Dustin grumbled. He dialed the number, but when Joyce picked up, she was talking to someone else in the house and by the time Dustin had gotten out "Is Jonathan there?" he heard the click of the receiver being put back.

"Try my sister," Max said.

Dustin dialed the number to Max's trailer, but no one answered. He shook his head.

"She's probably out running," Max sighed.

"Another run? Isn't that all she does now?" Dustin asked with a frown.

Max shrugged. "She says it helps her...deal with things."

Dustin sensed a can of worms—the kind that most people would avoid, the kind that Max clearly wanted to talk about anyway. So he asked it, when most people wouldn't. "Things?"

Max nodded slowly. "Yeah. You know...the Upside Down, Eddie..." She hesitated. "Billy."

Dustin glanced down at his feet. There was blood associated with all of those memories. He knew they plagued all of them, those who'd survived Vecna and his creatures, and he knew that they all had different ways of coping. Dustin's was research, Max's was music, yours was running.

"She's more like him than she wants to admit," Max said. "At least, she is with the running. Billy, he...he used to exercise to distract himself. She runs."

"Is that a bad thing?" Dustin asked.

"No, it's just... She needs someone in her corner is all. And I don't...I don't think that person is me anymore."

Dustin's heart squeezed in his chest. "Max..."

She shook off his concern. "Come on—we'd better start walking, or we're never going to make it to Enzo's on time!"

~❊~

It started to rain halfway through their walk to Enzo's.

The storm didn't start gently. There was no warning before it started to pour, no flash of lightning or boom of thunder. Just a steady downpour, hard and fast and painful against the skin.

Dustin and Max hid from the weather as much as they could, ducking under store awnings and hiding under outdoor umbrellas as they came across them.

After getting turned around at least twice, they spotted the restaurant's glowing sign. They ran toward it, stopping at the bay windows peering in. They scanned the tables inside. From the parking lot behind them, there was laughter and the slamming of car doors.

"Do you see them?" Dustin hissed. He looked at every face he saw, overanalyzing the back of every head that looked like it might be Steve.

"Are we sure they're still there?" Max said. "It's been, what, almost an hour and a half? Who eats for that long?"

Dustin shrugged. "Enzo's is a fancy place, they've got designated courses and shit. They could still be there."

A car engine revved. "Are you sure?" Max took Dustin by the shoulders and spun him around. "Is it just me, or does that look like—"

"Steve's car!" Dustin hissed. "Shit!"

They raced after it in the rain, Dustin catching sight of Steve through the driver's side window, his hair perfect and a huge grin on his face.

"Is he wearing a suit jacket?" Max asked.

"Did you see who was in the passenger's seat?" Dustin demanded.

Max didn't answer, still staring after the car, her face fixed into confusion.

"Max?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I...I couldn't tell who it was."

Dustin groaned. "Shit! That was our one chance!"

"We'll get another one," Max snapped. "He's been going on dates a lot, right? Robin said so, and he's always gone because he's been on a date. He'll go on another one with her soon."

Dustin sighed. "Good point. Now we just have to wait. Come on—we should call Robin."

~❊~

Max walked home in the rain by herself, hearing her mother fuss that she would get a cold if she kept walking around in the rain without a jacket, but not caring. Louder than her mother's voice was El's: friends don't lie.

Should Max have told Dustin what—who—she saw in Steve's car? Or the fact that she'd seen them going into Steve's burgundy BMW in the parking lot while he'd been focused on the store?

No.

Yes?

It was too late now. Besides, was she absolutely sure of who she'd seen?

Well, yes, she knew you better than anyone. You'd been by her side her entire life. There were pictures hanging in the trailer of Mom in the hospital bed after she'd given birth to Max, but it was you who was holding her, sitting in the plastic chair next to the bed.

The lights of the trailer were on when Max reached it, but only your car was in the driveway.

She pushed the door open. "Hey, I'm home!"

You poked your head out of the door to your bedroom. Your hair was just as drenched and stringy as her own. "Max! There you are, I was worried— Why are you soaking wet?"

"I walked home," she said, shrugging.

You hurried out of your room. "Come on, we need to get you out of those clothes. Mom will kill us both if she finds out we've both been out in the rain in the wrong kind of clothes."

"Where were you?" Max asked as you brought her into the bathroom.

You glanced up at her but didn't meet her eyes. "You couldn't get a ride home?" You left her in the bathroom, running into her room to grab her some dry clothes.

"No—Steve's the only one who will drive us anywhere, and he's unavailable most of the time."

Guilt flashed over your face. Max narrowed her eyes, watching you closely. You didn't seem to notice. "We'll tell Mom we took showers if she gets back before our hair dries." You paused. "You could have called me, you know."

"I did," she said. "You didn't answer."

Your face fell. "Max, I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"Are you dating Steve?"

The question stopped you in your tracks. "Max, I..."

"Are you?"

You sighed, wiping a a hand over your face. You sighed. "Yeah."

Max sighed. "Hand me a towel, please." You did so silently, taking one of your own to towel-dry your hair. "Why didn't you tell me?"

You shrugged. "At first, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. I mean... I knew I liked Steve, but his track record with girls hasn't been good lately, and I..." You sighed. "I wanted reassurance he wouldn't be gone after a week."

"And after that?"

You groaned, putting your head in your hands. "This is...gonna sound stupid, but... Steve has been everything for you guys. For you, for Dustin, for El, everybody. He's saved you countless times, I watched him stand up to our brother to protect us, even though Billy beat him bloody for it. I didn't...I didn't want to feel like I was taking him away from you all, but I also...kind of wanted him to myself sometimes. And he seemed to want time alone for the two of us, too, so..." You looked up at Max. "And I didn't...want you to feel like I was taking away from you. After Billy..." Your voice caught in your throat.

There it was again. The silence that surrounded death.

"Died," Max whispered. "After he died."

You nodded. "After he died, I know Steve kind of...stepped up for you. I didn't want you to feel like he cared less about you just because I was in the picture now." You laughed shakily. "I know that kind of, uh, backfired. I'm sorry to keep him away from you guys for so long."

Max shook her head. "Stop apologizing for wanting someone that's yours." She breathed out a laugh. "I was just telling Dustin that you needed someone in your corner. I should have known it would be Steve. I mean, he's always been there for the rest of us, why wouldn't he be there for you?"

You looked over at Max. "Just how mad is Dustin that I'm dating Steve?"

"He doesn't know," Max said. "We've been trying to figure out who Steve's mystery girl is for months. He won't tell anybody, so Dustin wanted to try and see if we could figure it out ourselves." She glanced at you. "We saw you guys last night. At Enzo's. Or rather, I saw you. Dustin was too busy trying to peer inside the restaurant to even notice Steve's car."

You made a face. "How can you not notice Steve's car? It's a burgundy BMW for Christ's sake."

"I know!" Max giggled.

You laughed with her for a minute. The lightness in her voice—it had been a while since you'd heard her laugh like that.

After a moment, you said, "So...nobody else knows that it's me Steve is dating?"

Max shook her head. "Not even Robin."

You whistled. "I'm surprised Steve's capable of keeping a secret from her. It's gotta be killing him, I just know it." You giggled. "However...we could have some fun with this."

Max raised her eyebrows.

"If Dustin wants to know who's Steve's dating, he can keep digging as much as he wants." You grinned. "That's gotta be amusing, surely?"

~❊~

The storm that had swept in over a week ago had lasted the whole week, turning Hawkins into a mud patch and its roads into rivers. It let up briefly, leaving behind perfect spring days, only to return with a vengeance the next week—randomly on a Thursday afternoon.

Thursdays had become movie nights at Steve's house, and Dustin had concocted a plan to trick Steve into telling him who he was dating.

Max knew it wasn't gonna work. She had been present when you told Steve about Dustin's snooping and the both of you had decided to continue yanking Dustin's chain. Steve had seemed more excited about it than even you had.

While Steve set up his house for the group of rambunctious teenagers for movie night, Dustin explained his plan to Max in whispers.

"So, I'm going to try talking about Suzie for the first few hours," Dustin started, watching Steve like a hawk while he moved about in the kitchen, making popcorn for the group. "Get him thinking about his own relationship, you know? And then you know how he gets—" He cut himself off abruptly when Steve came into the living room with bowls of popcorn, setting them on the coffee table.

"Any idea when your sister's supposed to be here, Max?" Steve asked. "I thought she was driving you."

Max shook her head. "She said she'd come after she got out of work, but I don't remember when her shift ended."

Steve nodded. He disappeared up the stairs in the next moment.

"You know how he gets when it gets late into the movie and its dark and he's focused?" Dustin continued, picking up immediately.

Max frowned. "Like when he's so focused on something you can ask him a question and he'll either go 'huh?' and make you repeat it or he'll just answer without thinking?"

"Exactly like that," Dustin said. "That's when I'm—"

Steve returned with a stack of blankets. "How many of us are there, again? Twelve?"

"Thirteen," Dustin and Max both said.

Steve tossed the blankets onto the couch. "Go grab five more. Up the stairs, closet on the left."

They went up the stairs, Dustin whispering again before they'd even reached the landing. "I'm gonna ask him who he's going out with when he's like that."

Max rolled her eyes. "You don't know that'll work. He could say 'huh?' and make you repeat the question, like I just said."

Dustin shrugged. "Then I'll ask him something different, wait a little bit longer, and then ask again. He can't do that the whole night. Can he?"

"How should I know?" Max picked up the blankets and started back downstairs. Steve was whistling in the kitchen. "This whole plan is so stupid, Dustin. It's hardly a plan!"

"Do you have a better idea?" he hissed.

Max stayed silent. Of course she had better ideas, but those might make Steve actually tell Dustin.

"That's what I thought," Dustin said, clearly on the wrong path. "We'll stick with my plan." He glanced at Steve's back in the kitchen. "Unless your sister knows who he's dating? They're pretty much best friends now, right?"

Max nodded. "Blame Robin for that," she said, praying her poker face held. "I don't think she knows. I can't see Steve telling her if he hasn't told Robin."

"Fair point," Dustin decided. "Even more reason to rely on my plan."

She rolled her eyes. "Your plan is just going to annoy him until he kicks you out of his house."

"He likes me too much," Dustin said, with confidence Max wasn't sure he should possess—not about this, at least.

When they reached the first floor again, Steve was pacing around the living room, double checking he had everything set up. Max had to admit she liked the set up he had for movie night: the coffee table was set up with bowls of popcorn and a drink tray, there was a cooler next to filled with water bottles and soda cans, he had dragged every pillow in the house to the couch and floor, a fluffy winter comforter spread out on the carpet to make the floor more comfortable, and an egregious number of bagged snacks in a wicker basket.

"I think we're all set, guys," Steve said, surveying the room with his hands on his hips.

As if cued by Steve's motherly behavior, the rain outside grew louder, falling fast against the AC unit in the window. Steve winced.

"Looks like we're going to have to have the volume up high to hear the movie over the storm," he said.

"What are we watching?" Dustin asked.

Steve shrugged. "I dunno. We've got a couple choices in that cabinet over there, plus the stuff Robin's bringing. I think Nance had a movie she wanted to suggest, too, but I can't remember what it was..." His eye caught on the stack of blankets, leaning down to count them.

Dustin dug through the movie cabinet. "Come on, Steve, what are these movies? Why are they all romantic comedies?"

"Because they're my mom's favorite, dipshit," Steve said with an affectionate roll of his eyes.

"There's nothing of value here!"

"Well, I'm not watching Star Wars again, so—"

"It was Star Trek last week!"

"Even worse." Steve looked up at Max and waved her over. She glanced at Dustin, but he was too busy judging Mrs. Harrington's taste in rom-coms to notice her get up.

"Would it be too obvious if I gave your sister my blanket? I miscounted and we're short one."

Max bit back a laugh. "I think Nancy might notice, Robin would definitely notice, but Dustin's still a little too oblivious for that."

Steve huffed a sigh. "Can't have one of them letting it slip. Alright, fine, I'll use mine and give her a different one." He glanced at his watch. "Her shift ended almost an hour ago, she should be here any minute."

Max frowned. "Why do you know her work schedule better than I do?"

He shrugged. "In case she needs a ride to or from work. Can't leave her stranded if her car breaks down again."

A knock sounded at the door. Steve grinned at Max, both of them knowing you had arrived. He rushed to the door, slowing down only when he was within Dustin's sightline again.

You were hugging your arms when he opened the door, your hair wet and stringy, your clothes soaked through. "What took you so long, Stevie?!" you demanded, hurrying through the door. Max pointed to Dustin before you could kiss Steve's cheek.

"Jesus, you're soaked," Steve said, taking in your more than damp appearance. "Did you walk here?"

"No," you said, pointing out the still-open door to your car. "It's just raining hard enough that I got drenched on the run from my car to your door."

Steve slammed the door shut before more water could get inside. "Uh, okay, come on, I think I've got something for you to change into."

You blinked at him, gaze flicking briefly to Dustin. "Oh, no, that's alright, I'll just—"

"I'm not letting you stay uncomfortable and catch a cold in these clothes," Steve insisted. You nodded, all too ready to curl up in one of Steve's sweaters. "Come on—you two, we'll only be a minute. Answer the door if anyone else comes while we're gone."

Steve ushered you upstairs. Max waited a few minutes before telling Dustin she'd be right back, using the bathroom as her excuse, wanting to keep an eye on the two of you and stop you from any funny business. She followed the damp footprints you'd left behind, slipping into the bathroom across from Steve's room and peering around the door. She smiled at what she saw.

You had ditched your wet pants and shirt and were pulling on a pair of Steve's jeans. Steve had his back turned as he dug through his dresser.

"Um...do you need a different bra? I'm pretty sure you left one here last time..." Steve glanced back at you and smiled. "God, you look cute."

You looked up at him, cheeks pink. "You're just saying that because I'm half-naked in your bedroom and the clothes I'm wearing are yours."

Steve shook his head, still smiling. "I'm sayin' it 'cause you're cute." He walked over to you, sweater in hand, and kissed your nose. "You are beautiful, Miss Mayfield." He brushed your wet hair out of your face. "Arms up, honey."

You lifted your arms for him and he tugged his sweater over your head. He pulled you to his chest as soon as it was on, holding you like it was the last time he ever would. Max watched your hand go into his hair, pulling a soft sigh from him.

"Kiss me, Stevie," you whispered, coaxing his head toward your own with your hand.

Eyes closed, Steve obeyed, kissing you softly, chastely. Max heard the movie-perfect sound of your lips parting before you tugged him back down for a second kiss, deeper than the first.

"I love you," he whispered.

"And I love you," you said back. The two of you smiled at each other, sickeningly sweet, and Max wondered if the look on your face was the same one on hers whenever she was with Lucas.

Steve adjusted his sweater on your body one more time. "We should get back downstairs," he said. "Dustin might get suspicious."

You fell back into his arms for another hug. "Okay."

Steve took your hand and slowly lead you out of his bedroom, though he seemed just as reluctant as you to have to let go and pretend to just be friends. "Your sister thought it would be too much to give you my blanket during the movie, but I think I like having you in my clothes more."

You smiled. "If it's anything scary, I'll jump a lot and cling to you and we can blame it on the movie."

Steve grinned. "Let's hope Robin brings a good scary movie, and that Eddie wins the vote tonight, then."

Max shut the door before you could see it was open, making sure it closed quietly, quickly flushed the toilet, and turned on the sink and made a show of opening the door to see the two of you. She glanced pointedly at your hands.

"I thought we were still making Dustin guess," she said.

Steve sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He brought your joined hands to his mouth and kissed the back of your hand before letting you go. "Alright, I'm done now."

The three of you headed back downstairs, Max at the lead and you just behind. Max knew Steve had let you go down the stairs first just so he could watch you prance around in his clothes and run his gaze over you again, but she'd give him a pass, just this once. You did look rather at home in his clothes.

Max watched you while you made yourself at home in your usual spot, in the middle cushion on the Harringtons' couch. In fact, she realized, you looked more like yourself, the happiest you'd been, since Billy had died—maybe even since you'd left California.

Credit where credit was due, Max would have to thank Steve somehow (without it seeming like she was thanking him for bringing you back).

"You want anything?" Steve asked you, tossing you one of the blankets. He set his down on the cushion next to you, then the blanket Robin had claimed on your other side.

"I'm all set," you promised. "Anyone else here yet, Dusty?"

Dustin rolled over onto his back from the place on the floor he'd claimed as his several months back, which he said was the best place to watch the movie from, but Max knew was his spot because it was still close enough to Steve, too. The middle, which was hers, was definitely a better view than Dustin's righthand side.

"Not yet," he said. "Hi."

You smiled. "Hi. Find a good movie?"

"No," Dustin said. "Steve's taste sucks."

Steve narrowed his eyes, picking up a piece of popcorn and throwing it at him. "For the last time, it's my mom's rom-com collection!"

~❊~

Max lay in her spot between Lucas and Dustin, Erica on the other side of Lucas, only half-paying attention to the movie while she braided El's hair, Will and Mike snuggling on the opposite side of Dustin. Max was sure Dustin felt singled out, being boarded by two couples, plus Nancy and Jonathan sharing a blanket and a lounge chair just behind him. Eddie had curled himself up on the chair on Steve's opposite side, covering himself in his blanket to protect himself from the blow of the AC unit.

Robin had managed to snag a new release that had just arrived at Family Video—Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, a movie that had only been out for a few months in the theaters. The kids on the floor had propped themselves up on their elbows, drinks and half-eaten bowls of popcorn in front of them.

Every so often, Max faked a yawn to duck her head back to glance at her sister and Steve. Robin was stretched out across both your laps, and the two of you had leaned together to share both of your blankets after Steve had muttered something about the AC being too cold, only for the others to shout for him not to touch it.

And judging from the way you and Steve occasionally exchanged a look, Max guessed you were holding hands beneath the blanket.

Max turned her attention back to the movie, lifting a small handful of popcorn to her mouth. Not so subtly, Lucas fake-stretched and laid his arm over her shoulders. Giggling quietly, Max snuggled into his side. She heard your amused hum behind from behind her, followed by a small chuckle of Steve's.

As it had the entire movie, thunder crashed outside. While the rain had lightened up enough not to be distracting, the flash of lightning visible through the curtains and the boom of thunder had been frequent and often made the room's occupants jump in fear.

Another boom of thunder announced the power flickering.

Dustin looked back at Steve. "Uh, Steve?"

"We've got a generator," Steve said, but he had sat up straighter and had pulled away from you, his face uneasy.

With the next flicker of lightning and crash of thunder, the power went out.

The group of thirteen sat in the pitch-black room in silence. Lightning illuminated faces briefly, showing Max that Robin had sat up, and that you, Steve, and Eddie were all on your feet.

"There are candles in the study," Steve said, breaking the silence. His voice was wavering, and Max remembered you saying something about cutting a date short due to the storm earlier that week. Was Steve...afraid of storms?

"I'll get them," you said.

"Matches in the drawer next to the sink and lanterns in the sunroom storage cabinet," he continued. "Eds, come on, let's go see if we can get the power back to the fridge and a few lights, yeah?"

"After you," Eddie said and followed Steve out the front door. The pattering rain grew louder as the door opened, revealing a world in grey scale, but still lighter than the inside of the house.

Dustin sat up. "Candles? Why not just use flashlights?"

"Steve only has two flashlights," Robin said. "Working ones, at least. But candles? The Harringtons have plenty of those."

Max followed you around the house, lighting the lanterns as you found them and helping you carry the candles back to the living room.

With the room now illuminated by flickering flame, it was easy to see the worry on people's faces.

"Do you think the whole town's out?" Mike asked.

"No, it can't be," Nancy said, but she didn't sound sure.

Will wriggled out from under his blanket. The look he exchanged with Jonathan was concerned.

"Everybody keep calm," you said, setting a lantern down on the floor at the center of the group. "Steve and Eddie will get the generator running in no time."

Silence fell, still and eerie. You sat beside Max and Lucas, and Max laid her head in your lap, trying to smile up at you. It only took a look for her to know you were lost in your head, in memories of the night Billy went AWOL and had been controlled by the Mind Flayer.

Max took your hand in hers. "It's okay," she promised.

"Mmm," you hummed, but your gaze was fixed on the door; you wouldn't relax until you saw Steve walk back in, unscathed.

The AC kicked back on. A few lights flickered to life and the low hum of the refrigerator filled the room.

Relief filled the room with the sound of an audible sigh. Moments later, the door opened and a waterlogged Steve and Eddie stepped back in.

"Did it work?" Steve asked. Then he heard the AC. "Alright, good." He looked around. "Turn the lights back off—the candles will do until power really comes back."

"Steve, you're drenched," Nancy said, "you're going to catch—"

"A cold, I know," he sighed, glancing over at you. You fought a smile. "Sorry about movie night, guys."

Dustin shrugged. "It was only a matter of time before we lost power. The size of the storm—"

"Oh, shut up, nerd," Erica said, rolling her eyes.

Dustin leaned around Lucas. "Do I need to remind you of the vents?" he hissed.

Erica narrowed her eyes at him.

"Children, children," Eddie admonished with a shit-eating grin that said he knew his chiding was only going to rile them up more.

"Eds," Steve warned, opening the curtains to look outside.

Eleven craned her neck to peer outside. In a small voice, she asked, "Can...can we dance in the rain?"

Nancy hesitated, then said, "I'm not sure that's the best idea, the weather isn't exactly kind at the moment."

Steve looked back outside again. "It's not raining too heavily right now."

El wrung her hands. "Joyce says it's...fun and romantic to dance in the rain."

Robin leaned forward, gasping. "You've never danced in the rain before?"

El shook her head. "Only biked in it."

"We have to go dance in the rain!" Robin insisted, jumping to her feet and pulling Eleven up with her. "It's a...a...a cognitive milestone!"

"I don't think that's the right phrase, Robin," you laughed, but you were also getting up. "Still, I think it's a good idea. Good way to pass the time until the power comes back."

"Come on, Nancy," Jonathan said softly. "Let her have fun. Mom's right. It's fun in the rain."

You took one of Robin's hands and one of Steve's and dragged them into the rain. Robin created a chain by grabbing El, who grabbed Max, who grabbed Lucas. The small group raced out into the street, running through puddles and spinning through the falling rain.

Dustin appeared at Max's side, his hair matted to his face. "It's like the time they were drugged by the Russians," he said, staring at Steve and Robin, the latter of whom was trying to taste the rain.

Max did a doubletake. "When they were what?"

"Don't ask," Erica suggested.

Laughter filled the air as the group danced around each other, twirling each other and splashing through the current of water at the side of the road. Steve tripped through puddles with Robin; Jonathan convinced Nancy to dance in the driveway; Will and Mike splashed each other in the puddles.

"May I have this dance?" Lucas asked, holding his hand out to Max and trying his best to look gentlemanly, which was ruined by the water running into his eyes and making him squint.

"You dork," Max laughed, but she took his hand anyway and let him pull her close, guiding her in a slow dance through the rain. She rested her head on his shoulder and watched as you went over to Steve and Robin.

Steve stopped his fooling around, watching you approach with a dopey, lovesick smile. He held out his hands to you and you took them; he twirled you in the rain, catching you and pulling you close before you could fall in the wet road.

"Careful there," he laughed. Even with his hair plastered to his head, his clothes heavy and hanging off him, you were still looking at him like he was the most beautiful creature you'd ever seen.

Max watched the time slow around the pair of you. She knew you were both completely oblivious, cut off from the company around you, even from Robin's stare as she took in the way the two of you gazed at each other.

Steve swayed you, getting himself lost in your eyes. He cupped your face with one hand, running his thumb over your cheekbone.

Lost in your bubble, neither of you noticed that the others had all stopped to watch, unable to speak and break the spell—not even Dustin, whose mouth hung agape.

You were lost in Steve, Max could tell. Close enough to the pair of you now, she could see you drinking in every detail: the water droplets hanging off Steve's hair and eyelashes, the amazed curve of his open mouth, the gentle swipe of his thumb, the lovestruck look in his eyes, his rosy cheeks so stark against his otherwise pale, cold, and wet skin, the reassuring hold of his arm around your waist.

Max knew what Steve was going to do before it happened, before even you had caught up. He bent his head, slotting your lips together.

Like some magic, divine will, the rain fell a little faster, distant thunder boomed, and lightning splintered through the sky, lighting up the clouds above you and Steve, a dramatic backdrop to a kiss so similar to a first kiss.

Robin whooped first. You and Steve smiled into each other, but neither pulled away, and Max realized you had been aware of your audience the entire time; but keeping it a secret hadn't been worth skipping out on a spectacular rain-soaked kiss.

Mixed in with the cheering was Dustin's incredulous cries of "What?! Max, did you know?!" that she pointedly ignored.

Steve swayed you while the kiss continued, embarrassingly long but adorably sweet. When it finally broke, Steve pressed his forehead against yours.

"I love you," he said, loud enough to be heard over the storm. (Robin shrieked.)

"I love you, too," you giggled. (Robin shrieked louder.)

Steve pushed your wet hair behind your ear and kissed your forehead, then shoved his hand through his own hair to get it out of his face.

"Not what you were expecting, huh, Henderson?" he said with a cheeky grin.

Dustin looked flabbergasted. "How did you know I was— MAX!"

You and Steve burst into a fit of giggles. You snuggled into his chest.

"How is that comfortable? I'm soaked!" Steve asked you.

"Yeah, but it's you," you said. A soft, sweet smile pulled at his lips, barely distracting you from his quiet moan of relief. He squeezed you tight.

"You're going to need to borrow more of my clothes," he said.

You grinned up at him. "I'll happily live in your clothes, Stevie."

A few feet away, Mike sneezed violently.

"Alright, back inside," Steve decided. "That's enough rain for today. I don't need you all getting sick and still needing me to drive you everywhere."

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Are you actually gonna drive us again?"

"If you give my girl the front seat and behave when she's in the car with us," Steve said. "Inside, come on. Go, shoo."

He wrapped an arm around your shoulders, watching the others flee to the safety of his house, then following them in with you. You kissed his cheek as you walked. Max hung back with Lucas, wanting to know what you said about the sudden rain kiss.

"You are perfect, Steve Harrington," you whispered. His cheeks darkened.

"Says you," he said, nuzzling his nose into your hair. "Hey, um... You wanna stay the night?"

"Gotta take Max home," you said. "But...I can come back?"

"I...I'd like that," Steve said. Max wondered if he'd ever been this shy with a girl before.

"Me too," you whispered. Steve squeezed your hip.

Dustin rolled his eyes from the doorway. "Get a room," he groaned.

"Oh, shut up," Max teased. "You're just annoyed you couldn't figure it out!"

Dustin scowled. "You knew! You knew and you were hiding it from me!"

Max shrugged, fighting a giggle.

Steve passed out towels with a warning not to let them get close to an open flame. Halfway through his warning, the power flickered back on—and so did the movie.

The group cheered, but Max watched you and Steve sneak upstairs and come down a few minutes later in dry clothes, hand in hand. She smiled before shaking her head and turning back to the ending of the movie.

And if—no, when—Steve asked her for advice on how to propose to you, Max was going to tell him to do it in the rain.

☞ ❊ ☜

Stranger Things // Steve Harrington

Taglist: {comment and let me know if you'd like to be added to the S.H. taglist!} @ohatropa@nix-rose@live-the-fangirl-life

#steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things au #steve harrington x reader #steve x reader #king steve #steve the hair harrington #summer #stranger things summer #joe keery #max mayfield #dustin henderson #robin buckley #platonic stobin #stobin #platonic with a capital p #post stranger things #post season 5 #post season 4 #steve harrington x mayfield!reader #steve harrington x fem!reader #billy hargrove #eddie munson #ignore the end of season 4 #season 4 never happened #lumax #secret relationship #friends to lovers #steve and dustin #byler

[nightgoodomens]

Can you elaborate your opinion on the coincidence of that BI with DT being in CA, Michael's PR explanation and miserable pics? The fact that Enty picked this very specific Disney story out of all the sus recent accidents sounds like a choice. Or jumping on MS's answer in less than 24h. AFAIK, Enty also gets info from reliable sources, could someone in CA participate in an "act of self-sabotage" to catalyze things? It sounds unlikely cause on the other hand it wouldn't be a good look to coincide coming out with breack ups and I think they know that. It's obvious whatever unhappiness there is between 2 couples( which is being put out, deliberately by themselves) has nothing to do with DT/MS, being poly and happy is a common thing. However, there seem to be separate conflicts between couples which we're not pervy to their nature but they're out there. (G admitted in a written press that she found an identity via social media and now she complains... says something.) As for media picking things up, I'm not sure what it'll take. If it was a hetero situation with 1/10 of the material we have from those two, surely it was the #1 hot gossip everywhere, years ago. I just hope whatever solution they come up with, doesn't smear a beautiful love with unrelated breakups.

Okay so what exactly is going on nobody can say apart from them but let’s just look at the timeline

(This is loooooong)

Since the beginning of GO there has been clear hints that something happened between Michael and David. Then it was made clear that they have gotten much closer during Staged. And then we saw them going a little insane over each other after lockdown all thorough GO2 promo including Michael not stopping on Twitter.

Then GT posts about the child being a drunk accident and MS goes a little nuts on Twitter telling people he sets David on fire fairly regularly, tells one of the major accounts to ask David face to face which part of him is 2% WELSH, and likes half naked GO fanart.

Then he goes dead quiet which was sudden and clearly related.

Then comes back only the moment David is on stage in New York. Quite obviously.

Goes quiet again, we start getting a lot less Good Omens and David content until the unfortunate moment where trolls made him basically quit Twitter for a while.

The answer to his 2% was that David is still thinking about it and he will let him know…

Then this timeline begins:

The infamous Macbeth look of love between the two of them in a room full of people

David arranging Lapland and takes a couple picture with Michael

David arranging BAFTAs to be about him and Michael, making a point of wearing a kilt that’s the main point of focus during the sketch and uses Gaiman’s infamous “wait and see”, from Good Omens, that brought him and Michael together.

Michael making this face after BAFTAs and later stating during his interview “He did good, the boy did good! And he looks good in a kilt doesn’t he?!”

Happy sincere smiles from both.

David promotes Michael’s NYE twice. Shows he’s been there on the opening night - during the day before the show - as he takes a selfie in front of the theatre.

Can you see how much “content” started coming from David for Michael? Now think back to the way Michael snapped at the end of the year and asked him how much of him is his… oh wait sorry what part of him is 2% Welsh. Maybe he wanted more than 2%… maybe the snap was that he didn’t want to be so hidden anymore hence his outburst of basically telling people they’re together. Whatever it was - funny how suddenly David started controlling the narrative.

Anyway

Another selfie on the press night, this time with the “real” Michael. Over the years is a nice hint. Also it starts to become clear that these two do not have an unhappy selfie together, yet Michael makes a point to look miserable with just AL, and David is not only looking more and more miserable with GT, but GT begins post breakup songs. She’s also known for humiliating David to the point of her own kids calling her a creep on video, and we hear him saying “this will never stop” as she videos him without his knowledge again. Or later “Oh god” “no they don’t need to see that”. What a happy chap.

The kilt keeps on getting mentioned by David, after Michael made a point of stating what he thinks about it.

Michael and David keep on bringing up each other in their interviews or media asks them about each other. They’re indeed seem the happiest when it’s about the other one.

GT and AL called them husbands and boyfriends.

Meanwhile:

Now the elephant in the room - the wives.

The wives began the second AL posted her modelling pics which she automatically assured everyone of not being paid for. Darling when you scream before anyone even had a chance to say anything… but this is something about AL - she is so insecure she keeps on snapping at fans and acting defensive regarding herself and her relationship. Which makes no sense considering she’s apparently in a happy happy happy arrangement.

GT was clearly asked to do the PR for her. So what did they do? After years of showing that they’re not even close friends, they called each other wives to mirror the husbands. It was so blatant it made me cringe how quickly their fans jumped on the bullshit that even GT laughed in their faces when she sarcastically replied to the fan “sooo linked.” Fair play, GT, I’d roll my eyes too seeing people eating it up so easily.

Just them on its own wasn’t enough so obviously they based their promotion on their men. Mirroring was awkward because the reason their men are popular is because their chemistry is real which AL/GT obviously don’t have. They knew they won’t stand on their own, hence the “family” (sooo close that David nearly fell off the bench to not touch AL accidentally) and they can be called husbands and boyfriends if they can be called wives, and they can have pics together… but mostly group shops so the women get promoted with them.

Hey, if you ignored them, at least we had lovely MS/DT moments who became a little more public.

It was clear the arrangement was only until BAFTAs - because this was the end.

David did three interesting things that day.

He did massive PR for GT - both magazines and red carpet and a kiss on front of the camera, which I said then will result in a job for her - soon after she announced a new agent - his agent - ding dong.

Then the rest was all Michael and him. Go figure.

And he completely excluded AL.

Next day we learned that Michael excluded AL from The Way. A show that included GT watching an intimate scene between two men who were neighbours. Which Michael and David are confirmed to be.

AL had a bit of a mental breakdown looking for validation on Twitter and Instagram. Obsessively reposting BAFTAs, whining about The Way.

Another blow came when GT cut her out. AL tried to keep the charade going but GT was done.

When GT announced her agent, AL ignored it.

There’s no more “family” things either.

My take is that AL perhaps was meant to have something sorted out for her by BAFTAs, unfortunately her totally not paid for photoshoot that she was totally picked up for… didn’t do the trick. GT got an agent out of David’s PR though.

AL’s heart grows fonder as she realises shit is going down and she starts hardcore convincing everyone that her and MS are happy because no modelling career is happening.

Meanwhile MS stays every night with fans or at the bar to not go home as he contradicts her.

GT meanwhile gets colder regarding David, showing she basically doesn’t give a shit about his accomplishments or tries to put her attention on herself instead. It’s a cold and harsh difference compared to what he did for her at BAFTAs.

Break up songs continue.

Both GT and AL go very quiet on social media. AL posts depressing things, GT is just being an ass about DT.

Both go to separate Disneylands.

Then a few things happen at once:

Neil posts that Michael and David are still very much in love.

David looks depressed as GT posts that picture with “Breakdown” in the background, song about a break up.

Michael struggles through a question about AL - talks about them not looking for it, but -the kids- so it was worth it - refuses to say he loves AL, refuses to say anything about her personally - it’s spoken like a rehearsed statement about an arrangement that at least they both have something out of.

Michael automatically switches to David unprompted - he turns into a sunshine, goes personal about him calling him lovely and very nice, and this is when asked about the rudest actor so also an awkward Q - which he made the most affectionate thing in the world.

Michael also keeps on bringing David up. Constantly.

David still in California.

Enty releases a blind about two men who went to Disneyland separately and one wife and one girlfriend are pushing a narrative of happy families while the men only look happy with each other or while talking about each other.

AL milks Assembly to her advantage for a whole day desperately while Michael stops performing because he’s too sick.

Neil reblogs all the moments Michael spoke about David.

Michael suddenly interacts with fans avoiding thousands of tweets of people totally seeing the love between him and AL (he didn’t use that word).

So what I think… - I don’t think the family unit was ever true. That was just PR to get the women out there. Because when they didn’t need it, it abruptly stopped. Perhaps men thought if these two get work, things will get easier. Unfortunately they’re not most employable.

The problem is that it looks like Michael and David are not happy with their women anymore and it’s bad enough that they’re showing it. The women know - perhaps AL is aware things are ending hence milking it until it gets public that they’re over. GT is hinting hardcore that things are falling apart - but are they going to sort it out or not? What stage these two couples are actually at - I don’t know.

Is David so unhappy he’d tip off Enty? I wouldn’t be shocked. Especially since his and Michael’s best friend told everyone David and Michael are in love right before the assembly. Which makes me wonder whether Enty and Neil dropping a 💣 was very much planned by Michael and David. Did they lose GT/AL support and looked for it in Neil, did the women only were happy to “help” when they were getting something out of it, or is this actually following a plan since the very beginning - Hard to tell. I’m not 100% sure because with GT promoting her and him being unhappy, maybe she is on it in some way. But… it is hard to tell at this stage. Maybe DT got her his agent so the agent would make sure GT doesn’t post shit about him when/if things are over. Maybe the agent is controlling the narrative now and helping to make the breakup least damaging for both.

We will see. This can still go so many different ways… the only stable thing is Michael and David and their love for each other.

#NightGoodOmens talks PR #NightGoodOmens talks Michael and David

[callivich]

Some finale musings…

I think for viewers of the show, seeing Ian and Mickey together - happy, married, celebrating their anniversary - is a satisfying ending in a lot of ways. They had so much trauma and angst and drama over the years to the point where it seemed like they would never get a happy ending. So watching all of that and seeing them end up in a good place in canon - it’s a pleasing arc for their ship.

For people who are even more invested and involved in fandom - I think it works well. I don’t think the writers intentionally wrote anything specifically for fandom but what they did write sort of inadvertently gives both a satisfying ending and one that also allows us to keep shipping them. Their ending in the show doesn’t feel like an end of a story….more like an end of a chapter. It’s a good ending but it’s an open one.

It gives us their happiness but it also gives us lots of topics to explore too. We can see it as frustrating because there’s certain things that didn’t get explored deeply or things that weren’t written well in canon. But I like to look at the potential it gives us as fans to explore all the different possibilities for their future.

We get them living in a new place - how do they cope on the West Side? do they stay there or move back to the South Side? what’s it like for them to live together just the two of them?

We get a brief mention of kids - do they become fathers? or do they stay as uncles? how do they finally come to decision about what they want?

We see them start a business together - what’s it like for them to work together? is there business successful? do they continue with it or try other jobs?

Frank dies - how does Ian deal with it? what’s it like for them now they’ve both lost their fathers who were violent and abusive towards them?

The mention of Ned in HOS - does Ian come to terms with the abuse and trauma he’s been through? and on the subject of trauma and abuse…does Mickey come to terms with what he’s been through? they’ve had so much angst in their past which will have an effect on them for the rest of their lives but in what different ways does this impact them?

We see them navigating married life and attempting to communicate - how does this communication continue/grow? does their view of marriage and what it means for them change or evolve?

Parole is often mentioned but one day it will end - what’s it like for them to finally be free from that? how does their time served affect them? do they manage to stay out of trouble?

There’s also some less serious topics to think about - how do they end up decorating that empty apartment? what do they finally name their business? do they get a pet? does Ian start gardening?

There’s way more topics and ideas that I’m not mentioning (both serious and not so serious) but….you get the idea. There’s a lot left for us as a fandom after the finale.

I’m kinda rambling here 😅 but I like that the finale gives us all sorts of jumping off points for fiction and art and discussion and debate. I enjoy seeing everyone’s different interpretations and ideas for what the future is like for them. They don’t end up dead or in jail or separated or miserable (like some other canon ships in different shows) - we’re not left with angst and sadness….just happiness and hope for the future. We can have fun exploring all the different ways their future might turn out - we’ve got endless possibilities for them.

#gallavich #calli talks #just typed this in one go #hope it makes sense #😅

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Hi I’m the anon that asked for the Soul Eater x Twst Crossover. I really liked how you went about it plus if you’re up to it could you do a Crona!Reader x Vil, Malleus, Leona and Lilia?

I can already imagine Vil’s outrage on their lack of good posture. 🤣🤣🤣

I Love This

Crona was such an interesting character that deserves the world

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

I'm not going to include how they would deal with fighting you mostly because without the influence of a certain someone you have no reason to be fighting

plus i don't think they'd stand a chance (but if they did I'd write ab that separately) but anyway...

Malleus Draconia

“What’s wrong, are you ill?”

Your constant deprecating attitude has him pretty baffled

But you are one of his first friends ever so who is he to judge

Not to mention for you to even seek him out you’d have to have a soul connection anyway

He finds himself taking on the more active role in your friendship

“I assure you (Y/n), you are more than capable of being my friend.”

“Nooo, I’m sure I’m worse than scum of the Earth.”

“Yeah, you can say that again.”

“Silence Ragnarok.”

He makes it a point to see if he can separate the little monster from you

Mostly coming up unsuccessful

But he’s more than happy to zap him back into you when he’s being a big nuisance

And since he knows that Ragnarok only seems to bother you when your alone–

“I’ll have to stay by your side then. After all as your friend that's my goal.”

You tend to struggle with basic things even more so than him

And in the way that people are confident with their friends only he is more active with you as well

“Stop whining (Y/n) you’re so–”

“Oh my Seven! Is that–”

“Hello (Y/n), care if I sit with you?”

“I don’t know..I don't know how to handle this kind of situation.”

“ No worries, I’ll help you deal with it.”

Lilia Vanrouge 

“Oi don’t put yourself down like that!”

He still won’t mind this at all 

Because you’re less likely to put yourself out there

He can be the one to push you

Of course into situations he controls

“Ne ne (Y/n) what are you doing? Hiding over here?”

“Ragnarok was getting restless so I–”

“I was getting restless?1 You were the one wishing you could touch that stiff’s tail!”

“It was just a thought, I wasn’t going to do anything..”

“Hehe, how cute! How about we play a game! All three of us, together!”

He’s both an accessory to Ragnarok’s shenanigans and his absolute enemy

He appreciates how much of a blocker your counterpart can be when it comes to other love interests

Though he’s determined to build up your confidence

At least enough so that you’ll let him marry you in the Briar valley

“Now you can handle this can’t you?”

“No No! That’s what I’m saying! I can’t do this!”

“Of course you can, dear aren’t I with you?”

Vil Schoenheit

“What did I say about slouching?! And your head, hold it higher?!” 

“Don’t yell, I really can’t deal with that right now.”

“I’m not yelling, I’m scolding you! Fix your face!” 

You are so right 

He simply can’t stand it

Everything you do is such a waste and he can’t bare to continue his student-career with you…being you 

So forceful beauty treatments, etiquette classes, and confidence exercises

He knows you could be just perfect practically at his level if only we could get you to behave

That's not even considering the even worse behaved Ragnarok 

“Again you miserable leech!”

“Hey! No need for the names Princess boy!”

“Can we really not do this now it's only going to make him angry at me and later he’ll–”

“What did we just learn, (Y/n)!?”

“Not to mumble…”

“And what are you doing now?”

“Sorry but i just don’t think I can deal–”

“Ah ah, we’ll practice on your speech after this. No spouse of mine is going to be so deprecating.”

Leona Kingscholar

“You’re saying this is too hard for you?” 

“Yeah.”

“Too bad.” 

That's his mentality to a lot of your issues 

As long as you're able to do what he wants he doesn’t care

Or so he says 

He’ll slowly encourage you to respect yourself a bit more

And in his opinion his disregard for how you feel is better off in crushing your crappy reality

Now Ragnarok will probably have to survive multiple attempts at Leona trying to turn him to sand

“Stay still, so I can get this dirt off your back.”

“AAAA I’m  A Part of them, You CAn’t!”

“Try me.”

#yandere x reader #yandere x you #yanderexrea #lovelyyandereaddictionpoint #yanderes #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere twisted wonderland x reader #yandere twst x reader #yandere twst #yandere malleus draconia #yandere malleus x reader #yandere lilia x reader #yandere lilia vanrouge #disney twst #lilia vanrouge #yandere malleus #malleus x y/n #malleus draconia #yandere leona x reader #yandere leona kingscholar #yandere #yandere leona #leona kingscholar #twst leona #leona x reader #twisted wonderland leona #vil #disney twisted wonderland #yandere vil x reader #yandere vil schoenheit

[wisecloudnightmare]

Can we have fucked up, toxic, old man yaoi with Jack Fenton/Vlad Masters please?

It's my brainrot that I can't cut off asdfgh

They're two mad scientists, one's carelessness changing the other's life irrevocably and the other hates him for it enough for murder attempts. Come on. You guys have to see it too.

Vlad wears a mask of a generous self-made man who'd like to reconnect with his long lost friends. But he's not that careful. What if Jack picks up on it and idk, plays a psychological game with Vlad?

What if it ends up as a poly relationship where Jack and Maddie love each other, and with Maddie's consent, Jack pursues Vlad like a wolf in the golden retriever's clothing?

More ideas under the cut

You can:

1. Add identity shenanigans where Jack feels jealous of Plasmius and Vlad's relationship

2. Make Jack act like an excited puppy around Vlad but a hunting hound when sees Plasmius. Jack knows they're the same person. But the mental gymnastics Vlad has to do to keep up the act means he accidentally trains himself to find excuses for Jack's behavior. Like any slipups from Jack's part or Jack's ...advances.

3. Make Jack put up with Vlad's murder attempts because he feels guilty and wants to bond with Vlad.

4. Make him intentionally step into traps because it makes Vlad happy.

5. Make him intentionally DESTROY the traps because Vlad looks really hot (both figuratively and literally) when he's angry.

6. Make Jack play up his clumsiness. When Vlad falls into a lake alongside him and comes out wet and miserable, Jack feels ...something.

7. Make Jack flirts with Vlad but with an excuse like, he's just affectionate with his friend.

8. Add angst to 7. by making Maddie/Jazz/Danny confront Jack about his relationship with Vlad.

8. Make Vlad try to present himself as a better husband to Maddie but make Jack fall in love with him instead.

9. Make them drunk and fall into bed together (need to tag consent issues tho)

10. Adds spice to 9. by making one of them trans

11. Make Danny walk in on them doing domestic shits like cooking together and Vlad feeding Jack to taste-test the food. (Vlad doesn't understand why Danny runs off like he sees something scandalous.)

12. Make Danny really walk in on them doing something scandalous lol

13. Make Danny cock-block them intentionally because he doesn't want Vlad as his other dad

14. Make Jazz sit Vlad down for an invasive therapy session

15. Make Vlad fall in love with Jack in the college and see Maddie as the one who stole him away (make the girls fiiiight)

16. Make Vlad fall in love with both Jack and Maddie but he's a repressed gay. So he pursues Maddie aggressively. Maddie likes him but finds his affection... fake? I mean he blushes when talking to her but there's this weird energy between him and Jack

17. Make it a really dark psychological thriller where Vlad wants a perfect family, using underhanded methods. Jack is less discreet and forcefully taking what was his; his Maddie, his kiddos, his... Vlad.

18. Make both of them halfas and their violent urges need to be met. (Have you ever read fics where sex with non-human is really violence?)

19. Make Vlad unconsciously purrs around Jack. Vlad falls asleep on the Fenton's couch and Jack picks him up, moving him to a guest room? Vlad purrs and nuzzles into his hold. Jack plays with Vlad's hair? Purrs. Sitting next to each other? Purrs. Danny comes back home to see purring Vlad arching his back so Jack can scratch it better, and quietly walks back out

20. Just do it like any other ships from Danny Phantom fandom or dpxdc crossover: create as many plotless fluff or porn (pwp) as you want. I just want to advertise the ship.

#danny phantom #jack fenton #vlad plasmius #vlad masters #i just want more dimensions to jack fenton than just ignorant father or bigot scientist. is it too much to ask 😔 #Jack Fenton x Vlad Masters #Vlad masters x Jack Fenton #Jack x Vlad #Vlad x Jack #jack/vlad #vlad/jack #i see this ship before but i don't know the ship's name

[ghostwise]

Zevran is once again struck by the way people change when you leave them alone for a while.

Three times now, the Maker has seen fit to place them in each other's paths. This time, however, rather than feeling regret at all he has missed in his friend's life, he feels only awe at the ways she has grown and the ways she has stayed the same. Isabela listens with a patience he's seldom associated with her, and for that he is grateful.

Still, he's almost afraid to tell her all that has happened.

"It is a very long tale, my dear," he says when she asks. "And I'm afraid it does not portray me in a very positive light."

"Oh, please. Like you're the only one with a past," she teases. "Have you forgotten already how we met?"

"Never," he replies, and she's coaxed a smile out of him despite his worry. It's easy to remember why he loved her--loves her--and trusts her, too. So, having surpassed that slightest bit of resistance with her support, he lets it all pour out in a flood of words.

Everything from Rinnala's betrayal to his contract in Ferelden, to his time during the Blight and Taliesen's death. Everything from the fight against the Crows, to his year spent at Quinta de Talpa, and his travels throughout all of Antiva and beyond. He tells her everything, good and bad, without omission.

It must be some surprise to her; he’s become so honest and vulnerable. But it’s deliberate, and he barrels into it with a certain recklessness because it has been hard-won.

Most of all, he talks about the Warden, like a thread weaving through every single piece of his life. Making his story coherent. Stitching the broken bits whole.

"I must admit, I didn't think him your type then, and I certainly don't now," Isabela says when he's done.

They're lounging on the bed together, barely dressed. Her hair is fanned out across her pillow and she makes a face, features pulling into a delicate pout.

"Please tell me he's not as grim and somber as he seems. Frankly, I’m still surprised he was alright with you and I meeting. Unless..." She sits up, and peers at him, blouse falling over her shoulders. "Unless he doesn't know?"

"He knows," Zevran murmurs against her knee. “He knew who I was when he married me.”

“Good.” Content to hear it, Isabela leans back with a smile. "What a waste it’d be otherwise. I mean, for you as well. Don't change for anyone, Zevran. I mean it. There are far too many miserable marriages in the world. I should know."

For a moment both of them reflect on those words. But they speak to a life long past, and not worth revisiting. After a moment Zevran just sighs with the most lovestruck look she's ever seen him sport.

"Ah, I'd love for you to get to know him as I do..." He strokes her leg gently, hanging onto her, though it is clear his mind is drifting. "He would never ask me to change. He doesn't want to impede me in any way. He sees the depths of me, good and bad, and asks for nothing. I never imagined... Isabela, he makes it so easy, so simple and calm. So you see, because of that, I can give him everything. Because he-"

"Oh, enough!"

Yanking her legs back she tucks them beneath herself and tackles him with a hug, affectionate but very much exasperated.

"You talk about your husband too much, Zevran! No one will ever want to sleep with you!"

Zevran draws in a sharp breath, then he collapses into laughter.

As they laugh and cling to one another, he’s infinitely glad he saved her all those years ago. He’s glad she’s here now. He's glad for every note in his story, from the highest to the lowest.

"Seriously, Zev," Isabela says, as she extricates herself from his embrace and walks to her dresser--truly a vision, as beautiful as she'd been ten years ago. "I'm glad you've found someone to make you happy. You deserve no less. As for the rest, all that matters is that you've kept on living and doing your best. That's all any of us can do."

#rinnywrites #dragon age #zevran arainai #isabela #spicy zev/bela friendship <3 love these bicons #just brainstorming; i'd love to polish this up and turn it into a longer piece #there is just SO much they need to talk about #ps. zev and hamal are more or less monogamous they just don't consider sex a solely romantic activity

[if-seal]

how do you keep going with a project if you lose the motivation? i have so many unfinished stories :/ pls help, o wise seal

Dear Friend In Need of Motivation,

Did you know that elephant seals can hold their breath for up to two hours? I can't do that, though: I can do about 30 minutes.

Which is to say that not all of us are holding-our-breath-for-two-hours kinds of seals. And even if we are, we need to practise.

Friend, it is entirely understandable to have a collection of unfinished stories. I have SO many. Sometimes they feel like a great idea at the time, or we get a burst of enthusiasm at the start but then the plot doesn't make sense anymore, or we move onto the next one because it's so shiny and delicious.

Just to say that you are entirely not alone in this.

There is a bit of an overlap with yesterday's Friend With A Scene Of Much Importance so first I will point you towards the practical advice there about keeping on track with writing. In particular breaking what you need to do down into small chunks, planning it out before writing, and trying just five minutes of work may help you.

But motivation for a whole project is a bigger question.

Time to get a nice beverage of your choice - I like iced lemonade - and do some introspection about what brings you joy about your project. Is it immersing yourself in a world? Making characters happy or miserable? Surprising players with twists and turns? Whatever it is, keep it in your mind. Make a post-it. Write it on the side of the bath in bubbles.

If a lot of your joy is about getting feedback and people hyping your work, be cautious! That is a fantastic feeling but it's harder to rely on it than something within you. Chase that intrinsic motivation if you can, friend!

That said! If you're able to share your story with someone you trust, and say "I am feeling down about this and really need some cheerleading, can you tell me what's great about it" that can be a great way to boost motivation and remind you what you love about your work.

I also suggest having a document with notes about each New Shiny Idea that comes up while you're working on a long project. That way your brain will recognise that you've paid attention to the idea and will hopefully not bother you so much about doing THIS ONE NOW.

You may want to consider simplifying your unfinished game, or starting small, especially if you have never finished a game before. I know how exciting it is to find a huge squid and want to eat it all, but sometimes it's just a bit much and a dogfish is more manageable. Check out the beautiful games in the @neo-twiny-jam which have only 500 words or the original Twiny Jam, or the Single Choice Jam from @neointeractives which contain only a single choice. Making a small game is a glorious feeling because you get that dopamine rush of having completed something and it's not such a long process.

Ultimately each story you write is a story only YOU can tell. Your perspective, your experience, your skills, will bring something special and different. Your gay selkie will be different to Sealy McSeal's gay selkie even if you are both writing a similar lighthouse romance. Finishing a game, even a small one, will give you so much more understanding about how interactive stories hang together.

Now. The tricky bit.

Because sometimes despite our efforts a game just doesn't hang together and we leave it behind. If that happens be kind to yourself about it, understand that every project is a learning experience, and let it go.

Because you will have learned something - even if it's as small as "I don't want to try something that complicated again" or "I need a less sandboxy approach" or "this game would work better with storylets" or "I don't actually feel able to tackle merfolk governance in this game". It may be larger, like developing your descriptive skill, or figuring out a particular way of coding, or doing something interesting with UI, or framing choices in a way you haven't before. Either way, it does have value even if it's unfinished.

You might consider putting it in the Bring Out Your Ghosts Jam from @neointeractives so you can show off what you did and formally say goodbye so it's not hanging over you like a sinister-looking clump of seaweed anymore. You might look at it in the future and cannibalise it for other work, or enjoy your turns of phrase or the tricky code you got working; you might never look at it again.

That's all OK. Not everything gets finished.

But I believe that you can finish something. If you've done it before, you can do it again. And if you haven't yet, you've got that in your future. Good luck!

#interactive fiction #if seal: author asks #if seal #if seal: get your words out #if seal: motivation

[iwanthermidnightz]

I don’t know if you want to post this long explanation and train of thought, but thought it might be worth sending my thoughts.

I’m on gaylor twitter as much as I’m on Tumblr these days, and I watched the rise of the term LSK. Where it came from was after Taylor seemed to make it clear that Karlie betrayed her (post-folklore and through the release of ITTG and Closure, her explanation of MTR at long pond, and during the confirmation of Karlie’s first pregnancy,) kaylor as a fandom essentially died. 99% of people believed they broke up, and it was ugly. Kaylor was already on life support after the masters thing, but this period essentially killed it. Even those who were willing to consider they were still together stopped posting about it because there was no point and we got a lot of hate. It was seen as embarrassing to still believe they were together. Why would anyone want to participate in something that brings no joy? A few like you and 9wift stuck around, but I know that even you took a step back for a while.

But starting around early 2022, a few people started admitting out loud that there were a lot of clues that maybe they were together. Because the evidence for them having broken up was so strong, still very few people would entertain the idea that they never actually broke up. But it started to become clear enough that there was something going on. And eventually enough accounts on twitter who made good points (and do so in a funny, joyful way, unlike the toxicity of tumblr at the time) it became relatively popular, and more and more people became convinced. These people needed a term to separate themselves from “kaylors” who believed they never broke up, at the time were very small in numbers, and had a very bad reputation because of some personalities, particularly on tumblr. They chose Late Stage as their term. It probably was already a term used in other fandoms, but I’m not sure. In the past, we used to describe swiftgron in terms if versions (1.0, 2.0, etc) so I look at LSK as similar to this. They see LSK as a sort of kaylor 2.0. A post-breakup reconciliation.

As is the case with all other subgroups, there are various beliefs about how and when LSK happened, and some of them even go back and forth about maybe they never actually totally broke up. But even those still call themselves LSKs as a way to distinguish themselves as a new generation (who look at things differently.) One of the most obvious ways they look at things differently is they are less concerned with josh. They see him as Karlie’s gay bestie rather than calling him names and thinking he is the devil, both Karlie and Taylor hate him and he’s blackmailing them and he’s a war criminal. All that became canon on tumblr over the years (and also among the meaner parts of Gaylor twitter, much of which was born on tumblr and The Lchat and migrated to twitter.) Most LSKs don’t like josh as a person, but they don’t believe Karlie hates him. This allows them to approach kaylor with fun and joy rather than being miserable all the time like a lot of the old tumblr kaylors. I think a fair amount of this is that there is some separation at this stage from the trump presidency and some of the most controversial kushner stuff and they are young and often not Americans, so it is easier for them to not know or overlook this part of things. Also over time as joshlie continue to be married and have children and look happy together, it becomes harder to see disdain. Another part of this is that they don’t know the lore. There are some advantages to this. While they might not understand all the stuff we understand and sometimes they say incredibly dumb things, they also aren’t weighed down with the baggage that we have that is so hard to let go off. And they can look at things from different perspectives, which also can be hard for those of us who made decisions on how we feel about things years ago, and therefore developed biases that can cloud our thinking. Again, there are pros and cons and neither perspective is necessarily better. But I tend to lean toward a way for people to enjoy their experience in this fandom rather than giving in to misery and anger. I don’t understand why anyone would want to spend a lot of time on something that made them unhappy. I would simply find another hobby. So the fun of LSK on twitter is one of the reasons it gained traction and a lot of the obvious clues that have been thrown at us, especially over the last year, were caught and popularized. That’s not to say they don’t still get hate from gaylors (and swifties of course) who can’t see it, but there are enough LSKs now who support each other to cancel out some of that negativity.

Wow. Thank you for explaining it like that. This is mostly a very accurate account of things. I don’t think that term (lsk) is accurate for us in these parts but it’s interesting to hear how it came about. Personally, I think the twitter gaylors are cute, but theres a gap in beliefs in some cases for sure.

First, I think a lot of us here never felt from the songs that Karlie actually betrayed Taylor. That’s where a lot of the disconnect is. Songs deserve nuance and the situation is of course delicate. It’s obvious there have been some real hardships and tests and breaks as normal relationships have, but nothing absolutely permanent. Who knows the period of time when this all truly takes place. She may have put it out on folklore, but that doesn’t mean it was recent events. I think she dug deep/went back time for a lot of those songs. MTR for example screams Scott. I wont get into song analysis but if one wanted to apply it to Karlie sure, they could. I can see why others would come to the conclusion that they were done forever. But it’s never that simple. Maybe the point was to kill kaylor if you get what I’m trying to say.

The series of events that happened during this time were intense. There were splits in the fandom, weird, crazy and toxic rumors going around etc. To be honest, I’ve pushed a lot of this period of time back in my conscious because it was traumatic to say the least. The amount of hate and toxicity here completely changed the way I and others went about posting for sure. The threats, the hate, the gaslighting, the daily harassment… getting blamed for certain things I had nothing to do with. Yeah. I stepped back for a while and was terrified to say what I wanted. A few people caught on. Even saying this gives me anxiety. If it weren’t for few close mutuals it would have been much harder.

But still there was evidence even through quarantine that things were fact not over between them. And you’re right, it was not popular to say so at the time. It was kind of like walking around with a letter A or K on your chest… the Hester Prynne’s of the fandom if you will. So a lot of us took our thoughts underground, but were still around. There’s some delicate things I still rather not talk about, except for privately.

I think whatever people want to call themselves is fine… and that most of us have the same idea in mind as to how things may turn out. I get there’s varying opinions and thats fine too. There are bigger things to worry about as long as it’s respectful.

And tbh, my opinions on certain things have changed. Or at least how I’m willing to talk about it i.e. jk. I really don’t want to talk about him. Personally, ignoring him/making stupid silly comments about situations has done wonders for me. That does’t mean I like the dude. But to hold that much animosity continuously isn’t good for ones mental health. I don’t want to keep reliving one of the worst periods in history.

That said, we’ve all been through a lot. Like you mentioned, theres a lot of baggage. But for me, taking a different approach and making an effort to be both positive and realistic at the same time has really helped. It’s not being naive. It’s choosing what’s best for you. I don’t want to be that person spewing negativity all the time. I refuse to. I’m so thankful for the people here who choose to see the light through dark times. Sending an extra hug to everyone around 🤍

#hope this answers some questions i know some of you have #memories feel like weapons #wont be answering anything else on this tonight i’m exhausted this took a lot out of me lol #Pisces being Pisces

[ijuststareatstuffhereok89]

The Birds They Put in Cages: A One-Shot

To escape certain execution on Asgard, Loki is forced to marry a beloved Midgardian socialite in order to bring peace to the vengeful hearts of Earth on the three-year anniversary of the Battle of New York. Meanwhile, you watch miserably on the sidelines as he saves his life by forever removing himself from yours.

Pairing: Loki x Reader angst Content: angst, arranged marriage, suicidal ideation, weed use, no happy ending Word Count: 4.4k

“It seems your wedding day has arrived, brother!” Thor boomed jovially from the far end of the library in Avengers Tower. “It’s an odd place for a groom to be spending his final hours as a bachelor, though, doesn’t it?”

Thor sauntered over to where Loki sat at a small desk by the window, consumed in the second act of Jane Eyre until he was so rudely reminded of the last thing he wanted to think about. He looked up with pouted lips and a tired glaze in his eye.

“Can’t you at least wait to mock me until after midday?” he replied sullenly, his eyes quickly retreating back to his book.

Thor sighed. “I thought you said you were going to pretend this was a good thing. It is, really, even if it doesn’t seem like it right now.”

Loki snapped the book shut and looked up at his adoptive brother angrily. “How can you say that? How could I say that?”

“I take it she’s still in your thoughts.”

“Y/N understands,” said Loki, “But reasonably, I’ve considered ritual suicide in an ancient Italian crypt as a solution, among other things.”

“Oh, I get it, that’s from that Shookstick guy you like, right?” Thor asked.

“I suppose that’s close enough,” Loki replied. He looked out the window, forlorn and depressed. Well, Loki, here’s one you can’t trick your way out of, for once.

“Brother, I am sorry, but she’s gone from your life,” Thor said sadly. “You were good together, but things pointed in a different direction for you.”

“I love her still,” Loki mused quietly. “I would die for her.”

“And if you called off the wedding tonight, you would,” Thor reminded him. “But no one would benefit from that, would they? So, maybe we can sit together and have one last stein to drown your sorrows!” Thor pulled two large class beer steins from behind him, seemingly from out of nowhere, and both instantly filled to the brim with amber liquid and foam. Loki smiled in spite of himself and took one, throwing back a big gulp before setting it down on the desk in front of him.

“What’s this book?” Thor asked, picking up the tome Loki was occupying himself with.

“Jane Eyre. Its about someone who chooses their own fate, and for Norn’s sake, don’t get beer on it, Thor!” Loki snapped, grabbing the book back.

Thor shrugged and took a fifteen-second swig of beer that almost emptied his glass. “What I don’t understand is how you haven’t even tried to plan some escape with her,” he said. “It’s not like you to accept this lying down.”

Loki nodded. “Indeed, but you saw how with one sentence, Dany’s father can ruin a life. Mine. Y/N’s. Midgardians may not have seidr, but they have other ways of manipulating the mind and enslaving the soul.”

“At least, um, at least Dany is beautiful?” Thor suggested. “You’ll have the most attractive bride in the galaxy!”

Loki shook his head. “Beauty isn’t in a shape or size, Thor. I may be many things, but a shallow fop who only concerns himself with the external form? What do you take me for?”

“Sorry, brother.”

The pair sat and drank in silence a moment, Thor refilling each of their glasses.

“So, you really will never see Y/N again?” Thor asked.

“It’s part of the terms,” Loki answered sadly. “Besides, it will be enough of a pain for her to see the tabloid covers of Dany and I. The less she encounters me in earnest, the better for her to move on and recover.”

The blonde god knitted his brows in thought. “Well, that may be true, but it’s not exactly easy to ‘recover’ from true love.”

Loki looked up at Thor, a look of hope in his eyes for the first time in weeks. “You think that’s what we had?”

“My brother, you two were practically naming your children,” he replied. “I really am just trying to lighten your spirits here, but maybe it’s futile.”

“It is. It’s the most deplorable prison I’ve ever locked myself within. Please go away and leave me to absorb that in six hours, I will be permanently tethered to some show pony who blackmailed me into a Happily Ever After with her, while my twin soul weeps elsewhere and watches.”

Thor cocked his head as an idea came to him. “How far can you send projections?”

Loki gave Thor an inquisitory look. “I can call them back from anywhere, why?”

Thor shrugged. “I’m just saying, maybe you can see Y/N one more time before making yourself do this, but you have to be sneaky one last time.”

In spite of himself, Loki smiled at Thor’s hint. “Brother, did you forget who I am?”

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Loki was stuck between a vibranium asteroid and a hard place. Three years ago, under the influence of Thanos, Loki had failed to bring down the conquest of Earth, and as a result, was handed one of two sentences after facing a tribunal made of Midgard and Asgard: either accept Asgardian justice, which Loki’s oh-so-beloved father Odin had declared would mean a death sentence, or undergo indefinite probation on Midgard under the watchful eye of Nick Fury and the Avengers. Loki was no fool, so he of course chose life in exile. However, the terms of the parole were ironclad: a single violation and extradition was imminent.

Loki knew how to behave, and it wasn’t like he was in any hurry to return to Asgard and the shame (as well as the headsman’s block) that would have greeted him. In fact, Loki quickly found exile to be a pleasant experience when you arrived in his life seven months after the tribunal, when a friend of a friend had gotten you a job as a research assistant under Stark. While you’d kept your fling on the down-low to start, it wasn’t too difficult for the others on the team to see Loki’s heart was slowly being stolen, as was yours.

At first, it was little snide comments while passing one another in the corridor. Then, you’d invited Loki to see what ‘Midgardian magic looked like,’ and allowed him to watch you as you worked with your experiments, a little flattered to see how engrossed he became in your talents. Before you knew it, Loki was sharing his heart with you late into the nights, and in spite of yourself, you fell in love, hard and fast. As much as the pair of you had initially insisted on keeping things ‘casual,’ you quickly discovered that what you had between you was much more than that.

You loved how he laughed when recalling his tricks and successes in adventures past. He fell at your feet whenever you whispered gently in his ear that you ‘needed him.’ You gave him a reason to settle into life on Midgard with contentment in spite of his nature. He was absolutely besotted with your voice every time you grabbed your favorite book off the shelf (Jane Eyre) and read a chapter out loud to him. You didn’t even mind when he stopped you to ask questions half way through a paragraph.

Once, you swore you heard Tony Stark call you “Mrs. Reindeer Games.”

Then came Danielle Ashton-Banks, the heiress to the Ashton-Banks Hotels and Suites fortune, and the world’s most eligible bachelorette. Known for being charismatic, charitable, and a big partier, it was as if Pygmalion had carved the woman out of marble. Tall, thin in all the right places and curved in all the right places, with jet black hair that shimmered in the light, and a smile that said “I have the best orthodontist in Beverly Hills,” Danielle was a catch, and she was among the world’s most popular celebrities.

You’d been with the God of Mischief for nearly a year when she walked into an investors’ party and stole the attention from everyone in the room. She, like any woman with eyes and a sex drive, fell at Loki’s feet. They did share some personality traits and got on like friends, to your slight jealousy. At the end of the evening, you didn’t think twice about ever seeing her again, as you and Loki had left the soiree hand-in-hand.

Danielle, whether she was being encouraged by unseen meddlers or doing so of her own volition, began showing up more often and attempting to cozy up to Loki. She began encouraging him to go out in public with her, and while there was never any obvious physical contact or chemistry between the pair, the public ate it up. Approval ratings for the Avengers skyrocketed, and the general populace even seemed to be willing to forgive Loki’s transgressions for the most part, if someone as perfect and wonderful as Danielle Ashton-Banks was clearly macking on him.

The only reason Loki had been polite and remained on friendly terms with her is because he knew he had you waiting for him just behind the cameras. He had no idea what was coming when Danielle came up with the ‘brilliant’ idea of marrying Loki in a grand spectacle meant to rival even the Royal Wedding of 2011.

“It will be like William and Kate, but for the whole world to cheer for!” Danielle’s father, Marcus, had said. “And if it doesn’t happen, perhaps Asgard can have the final say. I know that when it comes to a royal wedding, those guys don’t chop corners, do they, Loki? Asgardians sure know how to keep their heads about them when planning such grand events, yes?”

The God of Mischief suddenly found himself powerless as the idea was approved by the probationary board. “It will bring that last bit of approval that the Initiative needs to regain momentum,” the Head of the Probationary Board had said.

“An arranged marriage? How utterly archaic!” Loki had defended himself. “You would bind me to someone I don’t love, when you all know well that my soul belongs to another?”

“You’re having a fling with Stark’s research assistant,” Marcus had replied. “Easily fixed. She’s fired.”

Danielle always got her way, and the official engagement announcement that followed broke the internet, as well as your heart.

Nothing plucked at your heartstrings more than listening to Loki, alternating between fury and sorrow, explaining everything to you that night. You graciously accepted and understood that Loki had no say in this. In fact, it made you weep for him to see him so vulnerable. The God was caged. Gods didn’t do well under lock and key. It was all you could do for him to quietly relieve him from your relationship, kiss him once on the brow, and to look away when the entire world collectively squealed with glee at the announcement of the Loki/Danielle Ashton-Banks wedding.

You were made to pack up your desk while CNN played in the background covering the betrothal and the preparations for the ceremony, to be publicly televised. Danielle and her father had arranged it so that you were unceremoniously shoved out the door without even being able to say goodbye to most of the others.

You did manage to catch a glimpse of him as you left, his head turned away from you, his forehead against the door, as if he were hiding his face on purpose from anyone who could catch on that the great God of Mischief was finally beaten inside.

It was the worst image to be the last of your love, but it remained burned into your retinas as the days passed and the wedding day neared…

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Thor stood as Loki’s best man, and was a little too reserved as the sanctuary of St. Patrick’s was filled to the brim with everyone connected to the Avenger Initiative and the Ashton-Banks fortune. Paparazzi lined the back of the chapel, cameras and mics at the ready to record the blessed event. Thousands of fans lined the roads outside the church, and some of the Avengers themselves acted as crowd control as the wedding party arrived at the cathedral.

Loki stood at the altar, dressed in a black suit, his dark waves tied back at his neck. He looked oddly blank-faced, staring right ahead as the organ player finished warming up, ready to play the march (or, as far as Loki was concerned, the dirge).

The crowd in the pews got to their feet as the music swelled. Camera flashes started twinkling so furiously, Thor couldn’t help but try to blink them away, to no avail. Ohs and Ahs rang out as Dany stepped into the aisle to meet her husband, her satin white dress made with more material than most stories had in stock. She was a vision in cream colors, not a hair out of place or a crumb of makeup smeared. Seeing Loki, she beamed her pure-white smile, fluttering her eyes, signaling to her beloved.

Loki hardly reacted, nodding curtly at her, no sweat on his brow, no tremble in his lip, no regret in his face.

Thor had to fight back a giggle at the humorously-unbalanced scene. Oh, I hope no one figures it out. He needs a little respite today, if just for a minute.

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Jersey smells, you thought. And now I’m contributing to the stink.

There was no way you were staying in the City today, even sequestered in your loft in Brooklyn. The promo images for the wedding were everywhere, Dany’s interviews playing on every station. Hell, people had even made t-shirts commemorating the blessed event of your soul mate marrying another woman. It was all you could do to muster the energy to rise that day before dawn in order to enter self-imposed exile on your cousin’s apartment building rooftop in Newark, which had a decent view of the City skyline as early evening rolled in.

You sat on the edge of the roof, a comically large glass pipe in your hand (shaped like a green dragon winding itself around a pile of gold—a gift from Loki for your last birthday). You crammed as much cannabis shake as you could into the bowl, spilling some onto your lap.

If I get absolutely shitfaced and fall off this roof…eh, who’d care?

You knew at any moment that fireworks would be set off over Midtown, and that would indicate the wedding was signed, sealed, and delivered, and that your beloved Loki was a married god. To cope, you did what you did best: taking an eighth of Maui Wowee outside and blazing yourself into stupidity while watching the night rise and singing off-key.

Singing was your favorite way of showing off for Loki. One would think it was your research, as that was what had brought you and Loki together in the first place, but it was when you were alone, him begging you to sing a verse from a Broadway show, that you truly felt like a princess. His princess.

YOU were supposed to be his princess. Sadly, you were as powerless as he.

The air was stilled that night, so you had no trouble lighting an ember in the bowl and sucking back long and deep, the massive quantity of skunky smoke filling your chest to the point of bursting. You held it there for nearly ten seconds before slowly releasing your breath, watching your emission gather into a dusty cloud and slowly hover off into the dusk.

You sang to yourself from the darkest show you could think of, inspired by the greenish-brown cloud that hovered over New York like an unnatural mist. “Smoke? Smoke! Sign of the Devil! City on fire…”

“Well, if the city is on fire, it certainly isn’t my fault, is it?”

You nearly dropped your pipe at the soothing, incredible sound of Loki’s quipping voice. The last thing you’d expected to hear, but the most desired.

You resisted the urge to believe what you were seeing, and instead you felt yourself laughing in a wave that quickly grew out of control.

“Oh, that just isn’t fucking fair,” you muttered, taking another quick drag off of your dragon. “Tanya’s stuff doesn’t usually have this effect. I’ll kill her for lacing this.”

“Effect? Darling, you aren’t hallucinating. I’m here, well, maybe not entirely,” he answered you, smiling, dressed to the nines in what you could only assume was his wedding attire (fucking hell, he was so sexy and imposing!). “I had to see you.”

Though your brain was quickly fogging over, you chose to accept that Loki’s specter was here before you, interacting with you as if he were flesh and bone before you. “My love, you’re getting married right now,” you said woefully, placing your weed beside you on the ledge before getting up and running to meet him in the middle of the rooftop.

He nodded. “I am. We’re at the altar right now, actually, although my heart is here.”

You rolled your eyes. “I’m just waiting on the fireworks.”

“Those are merely ostentatious bombs that you are about to see. Fireworks are here with you,” he answered. “Oh, were I able to hold you now! It should be you at my side.”

You immediately felt the insides of your eyes go hot and wet, listening to Loki’s longing for you. “Hearing you say so is almost enough.”

“Yet it can’t ever be enough,” he moaned.

You shrugged. “As long as it saves you from death—”

“—it IS death!” Loki shouted, his voice sharp and loud, barking frustration into the darkness. “Had I only realized it sooner: you can’t cage a god and expect him to thrive!”

“I know that technically, I was invited, but I hope you understand why I can’t exactly watch as you declare your eternal vows for someone so beneath you,” you answered.

Loki scoffed. “’Beneath me’ is an understatement, my love. She only wants to go out and dance at clubs, or be seen on red carpets. She thought Mr. Rochester was a brand of cleaning fluid! She’s made it very clear that I am an ornament for her arm and a doll for her bed.”

You both looked at your feet, him in despair, and you in despair mixed with intoxication.

“Do you think there is ever a way we could see each other after this?” you asked.

Loki shook his head. “I think we would’ve figured it out by now, dearest heart.”

You nodded, recalling how as soon as the plans were being put in motion for the marriage, you and Loki had plotted in desperation to stop them, only to find that Dany’s loud charm (and her father’s even louder bank account) had sealed off all escape routes for Loki. Loki pleaded with Fury and Stark, which had disturbed both men to see the normally arrogant being brought so low as to beg before a superior.

It made you fall to pieces to see it for yourself.

The noose had tightened around Loki’s neck before either of you knew it, and nether of you had any cards to play in the end (especially seeing as you weren’t even allowed in Avengers Tower on Dany’s request after you were terminated). You both were forced to accept that this was it: this was how the light would leave your life. Tomorrow and the future would perhaps be bearable but hollow, and every kiss Loki shared with Dany echoed off the walls of his prison and shook his will apart at the seams.

“Arranged marriage,” you scoffed. “I thought this was 2015, not 1015.”

Loki sighed in agreement, wishing he could touch your face to wipe away your tears, and feel your warm skin against his palm. “This would happen to me. It’s almost a more fitting punishment than the death sentence.”

“I can’t bear to see you go off into this lonely life, especially without me!” you broke down, taking off in a sprint to fall into Loki’s arms, only to fall right through his projection and land up against the brick wall behind him.

“Norns, Y/N! Be careful, okay?” Loki called, turning and watching helplessly as you showed him that there was only a tiny, painless scrape on your elbow. “I could heal that, if only—”

“—no, no, it’s not the only scar I’ll keep from tonight, believe me.”

You looked into Loki’s eyes and saw where the real pain was. His blue irises stood in front of whites that were tinted with the red of sleeplessness, his eyes cradled in large, dark bags. Dressed in his best, he looked like an awkward teenager unsure of himself and just wanting to run and hide. Yet, he was such a beautiful creature, even in the depths of sorrow. “I wish…I wish we’d never met. You can’t lose what you never had,” you hissed angrily, looking over his shoulder towards the NYC skyline, now completely aglow against the black sky.

Loki shook his head and thoughtlessly reached out a hand for you. “Please, of all the pain that we are facing today, those are by far the most agonizing I’ve heard yet. Don’t make me hear those words again!”

“But why not? We’d both be so much better off!” you sighed in defeat.

“My darling, my life, if I never knew you, how could I know what love is at all? At least I can take your final words to me and let them play over in my mind’s eye like a pleasant, haunting memory.”

You bit your lip, looking against over the horizon anxiously. “Loki, my love, may I ask one last thing of you?”

“Please ask me to plunge a dagger into my throat...or more to the point, hers.”

You shook your head and smiled sadly, looking back up at Loki, hoping he would catch on for what you had in mind. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will, which I now exert to leave you."

You just knew that Loki immediately realized what you were asking for. He straightened his position and looked tenderly at you, reciting: "And your will shall decide your destiny, I offer you my hand, my heart, and a share of all my possessions."

By far, the most intimate moments you’d ever shared with your otherworldly paramour were when you shared your favorite scene of your favorite book with him, and he’d proposed that you read it to one another, acting out the roles of Miss Eyre and Edward Rochester, using the passionate recitations to ignite your own flames of affection. Tony Stark once referred to it as “foreplay for dorks,” but nothing stoked your dreams faster than when Loki pulled out the book and asked to ‘go over something’ with you in private.

Now, here you were, declaring your love for Loki from the rooftops for one last time.

“You play a farce!”

Loki’s look grew more intense as he began to lose himself in his character’s thoughts. “I ask you to pass through this life at my side, as my second self—”

“—and for that fate you have already made your choice, and I must abide by it! I am torn away now, and cannot return, for your bride stands between us.”

Loki began shaking, realizing how much he wished he could be speaking his lines in sincerity. He raised his voice, and with the most conviction he’d felt in months, Loki’s declaration boomed into the night:

“My bride is here!”

You couldn’t continue. The tears flowed freely now, and your voice quivered and faltered, bringing you back to Earth, the last place you wanted to be.

You closed the gap between you and the projection, and were Loki corporeal in your presence, your chests would’ve been pressed against one another. Looking up into his eyes again, you just wanted everything to erase. All of it.

“You really don’t…you have regrets about us?” you asked between your sobs.

“Never. Not a single one. I love you, Y/N. No matter what becomes of our separate lives, I will always imagine it’s you in bed next to me. I will pretend my children have your eyes, that you carried them inside you, and that I was at your side when you brought them forth,” Loki vowed to you. “No matter what the gossip says about us, my love, please know in your soul that she will never own my heart, and I’m longing for the day she grows bored of me and files for a divorce, so that I may run home to you.”

You felt a hopeful pang in your chest at the mention of divorce. “Do you think that could happen one day?”

“I’m afraid I’m still not clairvoyant, my pet,” he replied with sorrow. “It could, it could not, and I’m afraid if I forced it onto her myself, it would backfire and make things worse.”

You nodded. “You’re probably right.”

Loki chuckled. “Darling, we’ve been a pair of doves flying together for two years, and you only just admitted for the first time that I can be right.”

The smile Loki’s joke induced spread across your face, breaking through the pain. “Well, if not now, when?” you giggled.

That was when the first firecrackers boomed in the distance, back towards the NYC skyline. You heart fell into your abdomen. Reality sank back in.

Loki choked back a tear, trying to maintain at least a little sliver of positivity to return to the festivities with. “It appears I’ve just kissed my new wife.”

You nodded silently as the explosions increased and technicolor sparks grazed the skyline. “Mazel tov,” you whispered. “Please try to find some happiness, wherever you go from here.”

“Don’t envy my gilded cage, my love,” Loki replied. “I would rather be chasing the horizon with you.”

“I love you!” you pushed through the tears. “Forever!”

“And I love you, for always, my soul,” Loki whispered.

Before another word could be uttered, the specter of your true love faded into non-existence as he returned to where he was expected to be, leaving you standing on the rooftop, alone, listening helplessly to the matrimonial celebrations reach a crescendo behind you.

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I know the plot has ‘been done’ quite a bit. Just wanted to try it out for myself. 😊

@mochie85​

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[aesthetic-chills]

Seeing Good Omens 2 from the perspective of an abuse victim (of any kind) is even more heartbreaking. I'm in awe of how well this series was crafted.

I haven't seen actual hate against Aziraphale but I understand the frustration of the fandom, I myself want to kill him for being a fucking moron BUT, at the very start, Crowley was happy. He had pure, childlike, unapologetic joy. Aziraphale may not remember Crowley specifically, but he was smitten with him then, with this happy, gentle face among a vast emptiness of harsh people who are told not to question anything.

I don't think we have seen Crowley this happy and "pure" after the fall and I think he will never be like that again, which is something Aziraphale doesn't understand. He may not remember Crowley in particular (maybe), but he sees what happened to the fallen, he knows that they are not full of wonder and childlike happiness.

I'm not saying Crowley (or victims of abuse) can't be happy ever again, he can achieve happiness, be excited, but I don't think he will ever have the childlike happiness that comes with innocence again. What heaven did to him can't be erased.

Wanting to make everything "perfect" like it used to be (before trust was broken and damage inflicted) is literally like expecting a victim of abuse not to have changed fundamentally after what has been done to them. What happened can't be fixed, and that's what is so heartbreaking about the whole confession and Aziraphale's response.

Crowley has always being kind (not good or nice, just kind), as an angel AND a demon, which is at odds with an institution that told him that killing and doing horrible things is good because that is what God wants, no questions asked. He went to God with suggestions because he has a moral compass and he was punished for not blindly doing awful things.

No matter what anyone does, that can't be changed and the innocence heaven took away from him can't just be restored by "making heaven better now". Aziraphale is too kind of heart too, but he is still caught in a war between what he knows is right and what he thinks he has to do to protect them both.

He didn't fall and he was not there when Gabriel told him to shut his mouth and die. In a way, he has been protected from the full truth of what heaven is like. He is not stupid, he just had the fortune of keeping his innocence more or less intact till now.

He still thinks "demons are inherently bad and angels are inherently good" because he has been conditioned to think that. He knows how badly going against heaven ends for angels. He thinks he can make heaven better with Crowley at his side, not because he wants to change Crowley into someone good (he knows Crowley is kind), but because he wants to see him filled with Innocent joy again. He knows demons are kinda miserable to be honest.

He is doing this out of love for Crowley who, in his mind, must have been his happiest during his time as an angel. He just wants them to be together without the constant fear of "when is heaven going to try to destroy us again?". When the realization of what heaven really is and has always been hits him it's going to be very painful, and it should be. He needs to realize that he made the love of his life think that he turned him down for the THIRD TIME, to chose a side who wanted them both dead, because he is not enough.

Because, after 6000 years of properly knowing each other, and of Crowley showing all the time that he is kind, at times even more than Aziraphale himself, he is still not enough. He is a demon who needs to be "fixed" before he can be loved. He basically put his heart on display and got told that everything would be better and they could be together if he went back to the place were the most traumatic event of his life took place and changed who he is because, you know, he is kind, but he is a demon.

This is why my heart actually broke when he put the sunglasses back. They hid not only that he was crying, but his most obvious demonic feature, which he has always been confortable showing to Aziraphale because he thought they were partners, together, that they always had each others back. But it turns out, at least in Crowley's mind, that Aziraphale was holding up the hope of changing him, of stopping him from being a demon, so he distances himself with the glasses, and even with that distance, he still tried, he was still trying desperately to keep Aziraphale with him because he loves him, he gave all he had in that kiss but it was still not enough.

We have the miscommunication of the century here. An angel that is giving up his freedom to try to restore the innocent joy of the love of his life -something impossible because you can be happy and live your best life after trauma but it changes you permanently and that can't be undone- and in the process, he made his partner think that he doesn't love him for who he is but for who he was or could be; and a demon who is so kind that he is giving up the being he loves the most because going back to a rotten institution like heaven would go against everything he believes in, but who is also so bad at communicating, he failed to tell Aziraphale that everyone up there cheerfully wanted him to die, that Gabriel quit because heaven wanted to destroy earth again, and that they are still planning to do so.

I'm pretty sure Crowley actually remembers Aziraphale from before The Beginning. He keeps saying that he doesn't remember all the people from the fall or from when he was an Angel but I think he's lying. He was the only one who recognized The Metatron, something not even Michael did, and he remembers his rank and the "password" for confidential stuff. It must be so painful for him to see Aziraphale choosing a side Crowley deeply knows to be rotten instead of their relationship because of a lack of understanding on Aziraphale's part.

@neil-gaiman sir, I'm screaming internally from all the pain, thank you.

#Good Omens #Good Omens 2 #GO2 #go2 spoilers #Good Omens Spoilers #Good Omens Season 2 #Aziraphale #Crowley #Good Omens Meta

[wonderloste]

DEAR ALICE ... IN SHORT , HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THOSE OF US IN WONDERLAND TO YOU , OUTSIDER ! / OH SHIT ANOTHER NEW YEARS POST FROM SOMEONE ON YOUR DASH ?! yes, that's me! i don't want to ramble too long, but i do want to thank everyone who has supported me on this blog over the past year & especially with how chaotic it's been on my end. i know my activity hasn't been great this year and i've been struggling a lot, but i still appreciate so much the people who have stuck by me & still interacted with me despite all the stuff i've been going through. <4 being here & talking to everyone & getting in interactions where i could has helped make 2022 a better and less lonely year than it would have been, otherwise.

i'm so sorry to people who i've let down when it comes to interactions & getting back to them through messages and whatnot. 2022 was genuinely such a rough year for me, but i am infinitely more grateful that in spite of those things, so many of you have still decided to stick with me. this blog was... so ambitious when i made it & i honestly didn't think i'd make it this far or that anyone would have any interest in a bunch of random furry ocs KJNEMRKHJM. i was just a fan of otome with a will to roleplay & a dream :') but you all have given so much love to these ocs and i can't thank you enough.

i hope that moving forward i'm able to interact with more of you!! and to continue interactions with those i've already started them with!! or rekindle ones that got caught up in my absence. thank you so much for your patience with me, & for sticking around! i hope you all have a HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR & that 2023 is kind to us!!

now let's point some fingers under the cut ehehehehe.

— FAMNESIA ... my little discord group clowns ! most of us have been in the discord for like, what? 6 years now? or smth? we spend pretty much every day together, both on & off tumblr rp so !

@londonfallen › ew it's my fiance AAAAAAAA MICHAEL. thank you so much for everything you do for me on this blog!! i'm so thankful to you, it's partially thanks to you this darn thing even exists. you rlly do fund so much content on here & i'm always thankful to have you participate in lore & art uwu i know this year has been especially rough on us, but hopefully 2023 will help us get back on our feet & you'll find your will to keep writing !! you've been doing so good lately look at you go <4 you rose out of the dead for silas and gave him love at first sight can u believe it... your blog & lore has so much thought put into it, i wish you'd be kinder to yourself and less mean to the things you create. your art & writing is beautiful u should be bragging on the dash 24/7 about how cool you are, actually. ily thank u for making the year better even when it was miserable on us, we're going to have the most disgusting wedding ever one day when we can afford mickey mouse wedding us before the eyes of kami-sama, our lord and savior mr. walt disney!!

@kusaranai › your ass doesn't even log onto tumblr anymore biancnya so i'll have to link this to your dms BUT I'M INCLUDING YOU ANYWAYS BC I CAN NEVER MAKE THESE POSTS WITHOUT YOU. i love u my wonderful furry waifu !! by wonderful i mean cursed and by waifu i mean the sleep paralysis demon i see when i get choked out in phasmophboia. my career on tumblr really blossomed when you came into my life and ruined it uwu and it will continue to blossom now that u are long gone and only annoy me on discord ! SOMEWHERE LIGHT AND KUMA LIVE ON. somewhere, even more importantly, i still have light telling kurisu that he loves her shoved into my drafts on an abandoned blog...

@galaxiasus › THE SMOL OF THE GROUP AAAAAAAAA LUNYA. i'm so glad that you've been around more often this year, even though it's been hard on everyone bc 2022 was phew. man it sure was huh. KJNERHKJN as always i'm so glad seeing you on my dash but i'm even more glad that you've actually remained active icb it </4 ur the only person who didn't abandon me on tumblr for 5 years until ren joined us, we were the sole beacons of rp together for a long while and we have so many good ships bc of it!! you're such a joy to write with and your writing is amazing 10/10 idc wtf you say lmfao. i'm so glad i got to rejoin famnesia and reconnect with you and i look forward to holding ur hair back while u scream cry throw up at the end of endwalker !! i'm sorry i'm so slow with dms but rest assured seeing u screaming in them always brightens my day

@zorkaya › REN REN REN REN aaaaaaaaaaaaa. did u know i used to be scared of you when i was a wee little unicorn... many blogs ago... tragic KEJRNHM. I'M SO GLAD that you joined the famnesia server and got to talk with all of us more often!! ofc we've been friends by proxy for a good couple years, but i'm happier to get the chance to talk to you more consistently / often :') you're such a sweet and super cool person, and your writing is so good !! thank u for teaching my fiance and my cohealer how to write pr0n. uwu zarina is such a beautiful & well developed character!! i'm so proud of you for picking up a strong female villain and sticking with her even though the rpc can be whiny when it comes to them. zarina DESERVES to be op and anyone who cries about it is a weak baby bitch. i look forward to writing more with you moving forward !! on all blogs !! with all my muses !!! take the whole roster idc

@eidetic187 › HI VERONICA UR ALSO NEW IN THESE PARTS, i'm just as glad to see you among our msging chaos throughout the day !! even though our schedules are different bc you're on night shift, it's always fun to wake up and see what's transpired in chat lmFAO. finally someone who appreciates the visual novel classics just like me !! kicks really cursed dating sims under the rug so that they cannot be seen. we don't look at those. we're all super glad to have you around partaking in all our discussions and i hope that the next year is kinder to you in every possible way !! also that you and your partner have a hella good new year together once you get out of work and are able to chill together :') we've been mutuals for like 500 years i feel like you were on my first follow forever tm {remember those} on monokuma and u will be on the last one when tumblr burns

@hakureimaiden › omg u came back just in time to force me to write more ppl on this post icb it /j IRMA WELCOME BACK TO THE HELLSITE i've been here on my lonesome for so long except the occasional showing of michael and luna, it's nice to see one of the og muses has survived since the disney murder game days... as always you are a pleasure on both the dash And in the chat!! you brought a lot of really neat friends together by merging our groups together and it's made things super fun getting into xiv and stuff with you!! i'm not always the most :') timely ship partner when it comes to msgs with how whack i've been this year, but i'm hoping wITH NEW ENERGY IN 2023 we can develop romesen... carmeo.... yeah carmeo, WE CAN DEVELOP THEM MORE KJERNHM. regina george is romeo's type? man. would not have guessed. UR SUCH A SWEET CHILL PERSON I HOPE U KNOW FAMNESIA FISTBUMPS WITH U.

@rotinthedark › HALEEEEEEEEEEY i know talking thru groups and stuff isn't ur thing and i'm naturally quiet on discord BUT U STILL GET TO BE HERE because :') we have worked so very hard for the sebalex ship and they are FINALLY making headway and i'm so excited for it!! alex? having a crush on seb? it is a-go, we are THERE, we have MADE IT KEJRNHM you're such a nice & fun person to talk to, and i absolutely ADORE writing with you!! sometimes our interactions are what keeps my love for stardew alive just bc i have like 500 hrs on it and sometimes i'm like broe what else can i even do... i can log on and reply to haley... that's what i can do... i had never thought of sebalex as a ship too srsly until writing with you and now it CONSUMES me i am broken. pls.

— SPECIAL ALICES ...

@dangaer › hi jupiter <4 i want u to know that your blog is one of my favs on this hellsite, i hope you know that the way you write ALL of your muses is so very pleasing to read. all their characterizations are genuinely SO GOOD. i've mentioned it before but even characters i didn't like much or just didn't consider v often are characters you've made me care about just seeing you talk about / write them on the dash!! like ofc i am so intensely biased to the amnesia muses bc that otome has... a very special place in my heart but despite what our rp history may make u think!!! i have played others!! KJNEMRH and your characters are SPOT ON, always, without fail. i love our ships & threads / interactions, even though i can be slow getting to stuff !!! the dynamic we've built up with ikki and darcy is one of my favs, i love them SO MUCH and idk i just think. they're like. kinda valid for wanting to destroy wonderland and stay together. the normal ending? a good option. i support them. i can't WAIT to see aleister and kageyuki's dynamic grow likewise, i know i'm going to love it just as much!! thank you so much for writing with me & support my dumb otome ocs :') i know they aren't a Real Otome, but it is v sweet to be indulged as if they are. i'm in tears rn actively.

@redemptioninterlude › HENLO FRIEND u might be surprised to find yourself here, but :') i do keep up with your blog quite often actually. i know that i've dropped the ball on interactions a lot, this year has been so... much for me, & my activity really suffered, but i want you to know that i LOVE your blog!! and all of what we HAVE done together! and while i love alice specifically, for obvs reasons, i do also read your other threads / dynamics that you put on the dash and pls know that your writing slaps KJNERHM literally there's never a miss, from rue euphoria to ur interesting and well developed ocs, all of them are written in a way that's so amazing to read. you take such a diverse cast & breathe so much life into them, and i'm very lucky to be able to perceive your content when it gets posted. i hope in 2023 we're able to interact together more frequently !! :squeezes my wonderlandians like they're squeaky toys: i want to get a handle on my content SO BADLY and get stuff going with you again, on god !!

@heincus › maaaaaax i already yelled as you over your muses a lot, but i'll yell again!! so help me after i get moved into my new apartment after the holidays i would LOVE to figure out some match ups / dynamics between our muses because all your ocs have so much love / care put into them and they're all SO MUCH fun!! i love how much passion you have for writing, and how boundless your imagination is. ocs are HARD to write, you have to come up with a lot and juggle world building and character building and all the things, but you make it look so effortless :') your roster is full of so many colorful and expansive personalities and stories. i want to pick them up like barbie dolls and throw them at whatever the fuck weirdos are on my own roster and simply see what sticks. the possibilities? endless. rlly though your writing is so good, you should be proud of what you've created on your blog and i am so glad that i get to interact with you during times i'm not awol lying dead in a ditch ty &lt;4

@galaxylimbs › BANGS POTS AND PANS TOGETHER AAAAAAA u may not think it because my replies are slow as hell rn, but i love our ships HI HELLO EKJNHM. from code vein to oc otome hell, i'm so glad to see you back around again!! know that even though i can take 10 years to reply to things, i do absolutely love the dynamics we have with deirdre / magnus and louis / belle. it's such a joy getting to write with you, and i am SO DETERMINED to give you more ship content this upcoming year. i'm happy as well that louis and belle are back, they're such a fantastic duo and i have... so many emotions over code vein to this day, i'm excited to get back into exploring that world with you :') just as well getting to expand on deirdre and magnus's interactions, the potential is untapped !! thank u for sticking around and writing with me friend aaa

— FLOWERS IN THE GARDENS ... i love seeing you all on my dash! it's likely i've left you on read at some point or shoved our drafts in my box, but please know there's no lack of interest on my part. perhaps we haven't interacted at all, but unbeknownst to you, i see you on the dash all the time & you've left an impression. either way, i adore seeing you around & i absolutely want to interact with you!! thank you so much for brightening up my day with your writing. although i may be quiet, i notice u, and i am a fan kjenrhmkjernhm.

@untowonder / @innocenceimpulse / @seeasunset / @snowfeathered / @starlit-heir / @vibraea / @aceparagon / @jardinae / @tvrningout / @swerte / @aetherbled / @pluviacuratio / @synthwealth / @decoresca / @wishngs / @hymnblood / @tricksheart / @strywoven / @xdcwntherabbithole / @mcmcntomorii / @frestoniia / @reapcrbunny / @double-knots / @acandlelitdeath / @jaxxmulti / @tellescope / @hiisfire / @crownedveil / @shrapnelsong / @box-of-characters / @xamassed / XOXO TO U ALL !!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

#ʚ o. out of character ɞ ⁄ otome games are my thirteenth reason.

[yellowloid]

what do u think about louise

LMAO i knew this would happen

i don't really think that much about her tbh. i mostly think that as every other girlfriend she gets a lot of hate for literally just existing which is mostly rooted in misogyny. you have to be deeply delusional as a fan to believe you could ever have a chance with your fave lmao and just because she managed to do it thanks to the right connections it still doesn't mean you get to hate on her just because she's your celebrity crush's girlfriend. be so for real and touch some grass

of course she did some problematic stuff in the past (though still """less""" problematic than what taylor did, at least from what i know), but that still doesn't justify people going on her socials and bashing on her every chance they get. you are entitled to your own opinion about her and obviously you can dislike her - but still, without sending her hateful comments/messages.

personally i don't really love her, but i don't hate her either. as i said, she did some problematic stuff in the past - although cancel culture is a problem in and of itself; she deserves at least a chance to redeem herself, and i want to give her the benefit of the doubt and believe she understood what she did was wrong and learnt from her mistakes. still, that doesn't mean we should forget about her wrongs and defend her at all costs like cringe amtwitter does

but strictly speaking of her relationship with alex... the reason i don't like them that much is that from what we've seen of their relationship it doesn't exactly seem to be the healthiest thing. first of all because of the nasty way it started, and by that i mean him cheating on taylor - which i think is safe to say is probably what happened, and if it is, then that was very very yikes of both alex and louise. also the fact that she used to be a fan and idealised him as well as his relationship with alexa (huge power imbalance + her most likely trying to hide her true personality to fit his "aesthetic") and in general the fact that they really... don't seem to have that much chemistry with each other? they look cute together, sure, but they really don't seem to bring out the best in each other, if that makes sense. there are like three (3) pictures of alex where she's in close proximity and he doesn't look like he wants to be kicked in the balls and die on the spot. they just seem very... boring. and bored with each other, also.

but then again, we really don't know what they're like in private. we don't know them personally so we don't know how their relationship with each other works. maybe it's perfect and straight out of a fairy tale! maybe they're actually in love even if they usually look miserable when close to each other! who knows, right? my point is: alex is a grown man and if for whatever reason he chooses to stay with her, then so be it, regardless of what we as fans might think. if she makes him happy, then as a fan of him that's all i care about.

#do i think he looked so much happier when he was with taylor (and miles)? yes 100% ofc #i'd do anything to go back and see him being so happy with the loves of his life #do i also believe he's a full adult capable of making his choices for himself? obviously #and whether i/you/we think said choices are right or wrong doesn't matter lmao it's not gonna influence what he does or who he dates #so yeah don't come for me if you don't agree with something i said. this is just *my* opinion. peace and love #alex turner #louise verneuil #answered

[tojikai]

I have a small message for some readers: stories and characters develop. People are going to change for the better or the worst, that’s just how it goes. Naomi wasn’t always the perfect girl (she never was), and with Gojo that’s up to you. Some people feel like he hasn’t done enough or doesn’t deserve Y/N for what he’s done to her, shit even Gojo himself feels like he doesn’t. That’s totally valid. But it’s weird when some readers are frustrated that characters try redeeming themselves or turn out to be terrible or even just make mistakes 😭 no one is perfect, that would make for a boring story. honestly this behavior happens sometimes and I just don’t get it. That anon that was victim blaming gojo for almost getting r*ped and excusing naomi really got under my skin and I felt like I had to say something. ANYWAY.

One thing I wanna say is, good for his dad. He’s finally doing what he should’ve done earlier. Staying together for a kid is never a good idea, they can always tell and it’s better to live with two parents that are happier apart than miserable together. Satoru probably saw how his father tolerated his mother and it skewed his view on relationships. But not anymore, I hope they both cut that parasite out of their lives for good. I hope that they can both go no contact easily but poor Satoru is gonna need years of therapy to undo the damage she’s done.

I’m so nervous about what Toji is going to say to Satoru. I’m actually feeling like Toji might tell him that he wants to give Satoru another chance with Y/N. Another reader pointed out that Toji had the luxury to live out their happy family and I know he would want Y/N and Yui to have that opportunity. Toji has his faults but he’s a good person and I said a couple chapters back he wants Y/N to be happy.

I DO THINK he should be letting Y/N make these decisions to be honest but I don’t even know what Toji is gonna say so let me stop before I get ahead of myself LOL

Satoru was too lenient on Naomi but it’s his decision to make on what he thinks should happen. A legal battle would just put the entire situation at the forefront of his life for months, maybe years and he just seems tired of it all. I just hope she leaves and doesn’t ever come back, she’s done enough.

Through it all, I wonder what Y/N wants. Would she be willing to give Gojo another chance? Does she even still love him like that? We’ve been a bit in the dark about her actual feelings for him, we just know what she’s been thinking. She’s a very reserved protagonist, even to us as readers I think. Toji can make her happy, I think she knows this too. So if a decision was to be made by her, I wonder what she’d choose.

I’m hoping that this zoo hangout can give them some peace and clarity for their future. Whatever it is, I know you’ll do it justice. This next chapter is either the final one, or the second to last one and I’m so excited!

Thank you so much Kai, this chapter was incredible and I hope uni is treating you well 🥰 much love to you and I appreciate your work so much. Be well!

hiiii, this is so on point. just like real people, these characters change depending on the situation they go through and information they acquire. i feel like some readers wants someone perfect, but having perfect characters could literally end an angst story in a chapter or 2 so that's less fun 😭 as for toji, he really wants yn to be and he can make her happy, it's just that their situation isn't really helping or allowing it to happen smoothly 🥹 satoru was being a soft about what he wants to happen to naomi for the sake of peace. man's just tired and other than that, he's blaming himself for it too. it's like he's thinking that it wouldn't have happened if he didn't drag it long :(( As for yn's feelings, i hope chapter 8 can deliver it well, it's in there !! anw thank you so much for this, im grateful for all of your support to me and this story<3 i hope you're doing well~

#🍭—kaitalks #f: sundered

[chicgeekgirl89]

Chapter 6: Truth

Read on AO3

T.K. doesn’t go dancing with them. There’s on odd, strained look on his face when he and Iris come back from wherever they’ve been hiding. He looks shut down, moody, completely different from the bright, sunshiny human Carlos has gotten to know over the past couple weeks.

When Tommy, Judd, and Dave announce that they’re heading back to the boat because they’re ‘too old to be out dancing all night long,’ T.K. is quick to claim exhaustion and jump into the van along with them. 

Carlos knows it’s his fault.

He’s been a dick all night, practically ignoring T.K., keeping him at arm’s length, offering politeness in lieu of warmth, and he feels really shitty about it. But after what happened in the galley, when Mateo almost caught them together…he’d needed to protect himself. To protect both of them. 

He won’t survive if what happened on the Precinct happens again here.

Pulling back is the right thing to do.

He tries to convince himself of that as he follows the group along the busy street toward their favorite late-night hang, but he can’t stop thinking about how miserable T.K. looked. Not when they enter the loud, bouncing club. Not when he gets a drink from the bar. Not when Nancy grabs his arm and pulls him onto the dance floor. All he can see is the sadness in T.K.’s eyes, the hunch of his shoulders as he slid into the van. And Carlos hates himself for being the cause.

After a few songs he heads back to the bar for a second round. Maybe whiskey or gin will help him to feel less shitty about his choices.

“Hey,” Iris says as she joins him. “I want a Shirley Temple.”

“Sure,” Carlos says, relaying her order to the bartender.

“What’s wrong with you tonight? You’re being weird,” she says, leaning back against the bar so she can look at him.

Carlos sighs. “I think I fucked things up with T.K.”

“Oh! Me too!”

He wrinkles his forehead at her. “What did you do?”

“I punched him in the chest at the restaurant.”

“You punched him in the chest?!”

“He ambushed me outside the bathroom,” she says, her tone indicating that she feels this was fair retribution. “He said he wanted to talk about you.”

“About me?” Something warm curls through Carlos’ center, the feelings he has for T.K. slowly starting to re-ignite and push through the awkwardness of the last few hours. “What did he say?”

“He said he knew you were my ex-boyfriend and I told him that you’re actually my ex-husband.”

Dread. Horrible, awful dread immediately douses the spiral of T.K. light. “Iris,” Carlos says in horror. “Why would you tell him that?”

She gives him that look like he’s an idiot. “Because it’s the truth. We were married. We got divorced. You’re my ex-husband.”

“Iris.” Carlos tries to remain calm and not completely freak out on this preciously obtuse human being that he loves to death, but who is currently driving him crazy. “That’s not the whole story. Did you tell him why we got married and divorced?”

“No, that’s not what he asked,” Iris says. “Oh my drink!” She happily takes it from the bartender and takes a sip. “Besides, that’s your story to tell.” She eyes him suspiciously. “Is he mad at you because you were being a dick to him at dinner?”

Carlos feels like he needs to sit down. Fuck. Fuck. This is even worse than he’d thought. “I…we—“

“You banged,” she says. “I know. I could tell as soon as I saw you this morning. You were all happy and smiley. And now you look like your lover has gone off to war, never to return. What happened?”

“Mateo almost caught us together in the galley and I—I panicked.”

Her face softens. “Carlos, I told you, nobody onboard is going to treat you the way your last boat did.”

“Iris, you don’t always know what people are going to think.”

“Paul is trans.”

His head whips up. “What?”

“Yeah. Nancy is bi. T.K. is gay. And I’m,” she mimics the sign for crazy. “Judd, Tommy, Mateo, and Marj are tragically straight and mentally stable, but they support all the rest of us. It’s a tight boat. We don’t really keep secrets. Everyone knows and nobody cares.” 

“I didn’t know,” he says.

“Well now you do.” She reaches over and squeezes his arm. “You’re safe here Carlos. It’s time you start letting yourself believe it.”

Then she’s gone into the crowd, leaving him to sit with the mess he’s made. How the hell is he going to fix this?

When they finally get back to the boat he bids a quick goodnight to the rest of the group and hurries down to his cabin. Easing the door open he deflates a little bit when he finds the light off and T.K. fast asleep. Although as he listens, he realizes he can’t hear the deep breathing he’s come to associate with a sleeping T.K. It’s possible he’s faking, but he’s turned away from Carlos and doesn’t move at all, so Carlos just prepares for bed and readies to spend a long, sleepless night thinking about the heart of the man beneath him.

When he wakes up in the morning, T.K. isn’t in his bunk, which is shocking enough to send a bolt of panic through his chest. “Not a morning person” T.K. Strand being up bright and early on his day off doesn’t seem like a good thing.

Carlos pulls on his clothes in a rush, stubbing his toe on the door to the bathroom in his hurry, which causes him to utter a few choice swear words as he limps out to the crew mess in search of his missing roommate. Nancy is sitting at the table, coffee in hand as she looks over something on a laptop. “Morning,” Carlos says. “Have you seen T.K.?”

Her brow furrows. “He’s not in your cabin?”

Carlos shakes his head in response, which makes her frown deepen. “That’s weird, he’s never up early on days off.”

In a brief moment of insanity Carlos wonders if T.K. might have run off and left the boat completely. Is it possible that Carlos has really hurt him that badly?

There are footsteps down the stairs and Paul enters the mess. “Hey, morning you two. Everybody recovered from last night?” he asks.

“All good,” Nancy confirms, toasting him with her coffee. “Have you seen T.K.?”

“I think he’s up top,” Paul says. “Catching those early morning rays or something.”

Carlos immediately heads for the stairs, not stopping until he hits the warm morning sunshine. The dock is quiet at this hour, just a few workers scattered here and there and the sound of seagulls crying out over the gentle waves that rock the boat slowly back and forth.

T.K. is lying on a lounger in a flamboyantly colored bathing suit (blue with pink flamingos on it). He’s shirtless, the medallion he wears around his neck flashing in the sunlight, a pair of dark sunglasses perched on his nose. He’s the perfect combination of sexy and adorable, and Carlos is briefly distracted before remembering that T.K. is likely very, very mad at him.

“Hey,” Carlos says, trying for light and friendly even though under the surface he’s terrified that he’s ruined things between them before they even really started.

“Hey,” T.K. says back. His tone is ambiguous, giving away nothing about his mood.

“I was thinking of heading to the market in like half an hour,” Carlos says, wincing at the tentativeness in his voice.

T.K. brings a hand up above his head as if he’s attempting to be even more relaxed. “You should ask Judd to take you. He’s been here longer than I have. He’ll know where to go.”

“But I want you,” Carlos blurts out before he can think about it. “I—I want you to come to the market with me. Please?”

T.K. shakes his head. “You sure you don’t want your ex-wife to come with you?”

The words gut him. “It’s not what you think.”

“Listen, I don’t need to know what it is,” T.K. says, a tinge of bitterness in his tone. “But I can tell you I definitely don’t want to be in the middle of it. I don’t know if you’re trying to mess with Iris and get revenge, or if this is some weird attempt at getting back with her or if you’re just having some kind of sexuality crisis, but whatever it is, I’m not into it. I won’t hurt Iris by fooling around with you behind her back. I deserve better than someone who’s going to—“ He hesitates then shakes his head. “Let’s just…chalk it up to being a mistake and move on.”

“I’m gay,” Carlos blurts out. “I’m very, very gay. What Iris said is true, but there’s a reason for it and it’s all because I’m gay.”

Wow, he’s doing a tragically terrible job at this.

T.K. slowly lifts his sunglasses and sits up. “Congratulations” he says dryly. “That doesn’t explain why you were being a complete asshole to me last night. Actually, that doesn’t really explain anything.”

“It’s a long story,” Carlos says. “And not something I’m proud of. I can explain it. I can explain all of it.” He shifts back and forth uncomfortably. “If you’re willing to listen.”

He’s going to die if T.K. doesn’t want him anymore. He’s actually going to die. It would be his own fault, he should have just come clean about the whole thing from the beginning instead of being such a coward. He’s desperate to try and explain, to repair what he’s broken.

He waits, heart in his throat as T.K. sits there, unable to guess what’s going on inside the other man’s head. Finally he stands and turns away, heading for the stairs. “T.K.?” Carlos asks timidly.

“I can’t go into town in a bathing suit,” T.K. calls over his shoulder. “I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.”

Carlos sags in relief. Thank god. He has a chance. 

“And I need coffee!” T.K. yells back up the staircase. 

Carlos meets him at the end of the passerelle fifteen minutes later, a disposable cup of coffee in his hand. He holds it out like a peace offering as T.K. walks toward him, sunglasses back in place, looking like a dream in a wildly printed shirt and a pair of pink shorts. He accepts the coffee wordlessly, then strides past Carlos, hopping down onto the dock and slipping his flip flops on.

Carlos follows, trying to figure out what he should say or if he should say anything at all as they walk along the sidewalk, the day slowly heating up as they go, the breeze the only thing keeping them cool. 

“So you were married,” T.K. finally says.

“Yes,” Carlos admits. “Iris and I were married. But it wasn’t a real marriage.”

T.K. raises his eyebrows above the sunglasses. “You’re going to have to explain because I don’t know what the fuck that means.”

Carlos lets out a mirthless laugh. “Sometimes I don’t either.” He spots a bench in the shade and nods toward it. “Can we sit?”

T.K. follows him willingly and takes a seat next to him, but he keeps his distance, making sure there’s a sizable gap between them. Carlos rubs his hands over his shorts, taking a deep breath as he tries to figure out where to begin. 

“I grew up in Texas,” he finally says. “Austin, but still Texas. My family is traditional; Mass on Sundays, family dinners, football games, all of that kind of stuff. No one ever told me that being gay was bad, but nobody ever said it was okay either. Coming out to my parents was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and they were…not wildly supportive. They just sort of said okay, told me they loved me, and then we all moved on with our lives like it had never happened.”

“That must have been hard,” T.K. says, sincere and kind.

“It wasn’t great,” Carlos admits. “Iris and her sister, Michelle, they lived down the street from us, so they were always hanging out with my sisters and me. Our families even did vacations together a couple times.” He clasps his hands together tightly, the next part digging its claws in as he struggles to pry it free. “Iris was my best friend. She was the first person I told about being gay and she supported me more than my family ever did. But her mental health…things got tricky there for a while. You know she has—“

“Schizophrenia. She told us,” T.K. says.

Carlos nods. “It was really hard to get her a diagnosis and the bills were piling up. She and her mom and her sister didn’t have the money for the help she needed. I had just graduated from culinary school, gotten my first job and the benefits were decent. So I—“ Carlos clears his throat, the feeling of that moment so vivid it’s like he’s back in it again, “I asked her to marry me. It solved so many problems. She could get on my health insurance, I didn’t have to deal with everyone in my family trying to set me up on blind dates with women.” He shrugs.

“You committed insurance fraud,” T.K. says, sliding his sunglasses off.

“Not technically. Insurance companies don’t care why you get married as long as it’s legal, which it was,” Carlos says sheepishly. “It felt like the right thing to do. It was the right thing to do,” he amends. He’s ashamed of the personal reasons he’d felt the need to marry Iris, but he’s not ashamed of how it turned things around for her. “We were married for almost two years. Long enough for her to find a good psychiatrist and therapist, get on the right medication, and get her own job with benefits. And long enough for me to finally grow up and stop being ashamed of who I am.”

“And then you divorced,” T.K. fills in.

“We tried to get it annulled since it was never a real marriage to begin with, but Texas state law doesn’t allow that,” Carlos says. “So yeah, we got divorced, Iris moved away and started working on boats, the rest is history.” He looks T.K. in the eye. “It was never real. Both Iris and I know that. I love her so much, but not like that. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about it.”

T.K. sits quietly for a moment as he processes that information. “I appreciate the apology,” he finally says. “Still doesn’t explain about last night.”

This story is slightly easier to share, but Carlos still hates that he has to. “So, I think I’ve mentioned my last boat was pretty bad,” he says.

“A couple times, yeah.”

“The crew on that boat, they weren’t welcoming and accepting the way this crew is. And my roommate was…he was not a good guy,” Carlos says. “The racist comments started almost immediately. The kind where it always ends with, ‘I’m just kidding bro.’ And then he found out I was gay and…” His shoulders slump as the memories replay in his mind. “He refused to bunk with me anymore. Literally took his mattress and put it on the floor of another cabin so he wouldn’t have to sleep in the same space as me. And the jokes and comments after that were worse. Way worse.”

“Did you speak to your captain about it?” T.K. asks and Carlos finally meets his gaze. His face is tense, his hands balled into fists in his lap.

“Yeah. He didn’t care. Told me it was just locker room talk kind of stuff and I needed to toughen up if I was going to stay in the business.”

“Fucking asshole,” T.K. mumbles, looking like he’s about to explode with fury.

“When Iris called, I jumped at the chance to get out of there. It was the worst experience I’ve ever had. So when Mateo saw us in the kitchen—“

“You freaked out,” T.K. says.

“Yeah.” Carlos hangs his head. “It wasn’t the right thing to do. I was just so in my head about it and the only thing I could think to do was to try and put some distance between us. I messed up. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry T.K.”

His eyes are burning with unshed tears. Hearing it all, every terrible detail, coming out of his mouth, it all sounds like hollow excuses. He lied, he was an awful person to T.K., all to try and spare his own image, his own feelings. He can’t imagine T.K. ever wanting to speak to him again, let alone form any other kind of relationship.

So he’s shocked when a hand reaches over and covers his own. “Everybody makes mistakes Carlos,” T.K. says softly.

“Yeah well, I seem to have made pretty much all of them,” Carlos says with a wet laugh. “Which sucks because I really, really like you T.K. You don’t have to—we don’t have to be anything together if you don’t want. I totally get it. But I hope we can at least be friends, because I can’t stand the thought of you hating me.”

The next thing he knows T.K.’s lips are on his, soft and inviting, and it feels like something inside of Carlos knits itself back together again. “I don’t want to be just friends,” T.K. says when he pulls back. “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to be friends with someone less in my life Carlos.” He squeezes Carlos’ hand. “You’re not the only one with a past and secrets and insecurities. I get wanting to protect yourself.”

“I should have told you from the start,” Carlos says, still feeling guilty. 

T.K. quirks a smile. “I’m not sure when you would have . One minute we were putting out a fire and the next you were in my pants. We didn’t exactly have a lot of time discuss our histories.”

He’s moved closer to Carlos, their thighs are touching now and Carlos feels that spark light inside of him again. “I’m…pretty sure you were in my pants first,” he says, heart finally lifting a little bit. 

T.K. tilts his head, his smile becoming a full on smirk. “And you loved every second of it.”

“I did. I really, really did.”

“Then we should definitely do it again,” T.K. tells him. He stands, extending a hand. “Come on. Let’s get to the market. And while we’re there, I’ll tell you about New York.”

#911 Lone Star #Come Sail Away #Chapter 6: Truth #Tarlos #Tarlos Fic #911lsfic #Yachting AU