#their faces keep moving and its even funnier

[arctrooper69]

As Iron Sharpens Iron

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17

Beta-read by @dragonrider9905

Chapter 1:

Previous // Next

Warnings: Jealousy. Brief mention of blood. Canon violence.

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You couldn't even look at her.

That thought alone made you sick to your stomach. The fact that you couldn't bear to look at a woman simply because she was interested in the same man that you were, made you want to cry.

Am I really that shallow? You thought bitterly as you slammed the hydrospanner into the damaged component of the landing gear you’d been trying to dislodge.

I can’t believe I was so stupid! You jammed the point of the tool violently into a crack, trying to pry it out. Of course he’d go for her. She was prettier than you - funnier too.

You closed your eyes, taking a deep breath.

Hunter is his own man. He likes someone else. Not a big deal.

Except for some reason, judging by the heavy ache in your chest, it was a big deal, no matter how much you tried to fool yourself into thinking that everything was fine.

The landing gear piece was still stuck fast. You set down the hydrospanner and picked up the plasma cutter.

This better kriffing work or I’ll have Tech up my ass for a month about it. Not to mention having to tell Hunter that I broke the ship. Again.

You ran your fingers over the healing scar on your cheek and looked at the carbon scoring around the piece that stuck fast, fused in place by laser fire.

A smile made its way across your face as you remembered how it all happened. You were providing cover fire so they'd have time to escape - more exposed than you'd like to be, but it wasn't anything you couldn't handle - until a stray shot hit the ship at just the right angle.

Hunter had tackled you to the ground, shielding you from the blast with his own body.

Despite the chaos around you, being in his arms felt safe.

“Don’t ever do that again!” It was meant to be an order but it felt different than any of the others he’d given over the past year. The way he’d taken your face into his hands, carefully examining the small, insignificant wound on your cheek. His face was unreadable but as you’d looked closer, his eyes were a whirlwind of relief that you hadn’t been hurt worse. There was something else there too - something that fed the hope hidden away in your core that your feelings toward him were reciprocated. He’d kept his hand on your arm as you stood up. They were strong, steady hands that kept you warm and stayed on your arm seconds longer than the moment demanded.

But then you’d found him in a closet with Phee’s sister only hours later at Cid’s parlour.

I’m so stupid. How could I have read him so wrong? What made me think I’d ever have a chance with a man like Hunter? You shook your head, angry at yourself for letting your guard down. For the first time since the beginning of the Clone Wars, you’d felt alive in a way that didn’t involve throwing yourself into violently dangerous situations. You felt at home with this band of misfit clones. You had finally allowed yourself to feel and acknowledge the emotions that came with it. Now you remembered why you hadn’t done that before. It was stupid and you would make sure that it wouldn’t happen again.

Finishing with the plasma cutter, you brought a wrench down hard with a loud clang. The piece barely moved an inch and you threw the tool down with a frustrated groan.

“You okay over there?” Phee poked her head around the corner, eyebrow raised.

“I’m good!” You grinned, hoping the faux smile would keep her from asking anymore questions. “Just trying to get this stubborn kriffing piece out so Tech can replace it when he gets back.”

Phee chuckled as you glared at the offending part. She walked over to the side of the ship, looking up and down at the stripped landing gear.

“Damn… what’d you guys get into this time?”

It was your turn to chuckle, grateful for the distraction from your spiraling negativity.

“That is a very complicated story,” Tech answered for you as he rounded the corner, “However, I do not currently have the time to tell it. We have another mission from Cid and should be leaving as soon as we’ve made our repairs.”

Good, you thought. Another mission might be just what you needed to get out of your head and back into the groove of things. Back to normal.

Tech stopped next to Phee in front of the landing gear, surveying the mess of tools and ship components. He frowned. “Although, it seems as though that may take a bit longer than I originally thought.”

He grabbed the hydrospanner from the ground by your feet and began prying at the piece you’d been working on. “I will fix this. You pick up the tools and get that carbon scoring off of those panels.”

Phee grinned as she began helping you scrape. “I love it when you get all bossy like that, Brown-Eyes.”

Tech’s cheeks darkened, the only indicator that he’d heard her at all.

You smirked. Tech and Phee were so different from each other. Her carefree sense of adventure and aptitude for playing fast and loose with the rules seemed opposite to Tech’s academic personality and rigid structure. But despite their differences, they seemed to bond over an innate sense of curiosity and wonder. They belonged together.

Like Hunter and I should be, you thought bitterly.

The silence that fell on the group as you worked was deafening. Every so often you caught Phee pausing to watch as Tech worked his magic with the repairs.

Tech remained oblivious, but found himself sending subtle glances towards her as she worked. Every glance felt like daggers through your chest. A reminder of what could have been yours.

“How’s it looking, Tech?” Hunter walked around the corner, setting a crate of explosives down for Wrecker to load onto the ship.

The knife you’d been using to scrape the panel suddenly felt heavy and clumsy in your hand. It slipped through your fingers as you frantically tried to catch it but failed as it hit the ground with a dull thud.

You gasped as a thin line of blood blossomed across your pointer finger and the palm of your hand.

“Kriff!” you grumbled under your breath. Hunter stepped forward quickly only to be intercepted by Phee who grabbed your injured hand, inspecting it.

“Eh, you’re fine,” she pulled a bacta patch from her pocket, quickly wrapping the injury as though she’d done it more than her fair share of times. “Be more careful with that next time,” she chided. You looked up expecting to see Hunter but he was gone.

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@zoeykallus @ttzamara @nahoney22 @merkitty49 @viva-la-whump @agenteliix @dumpsters-little-matchbook @nekotaetae @ladykatakuri @loverofclones @heyitsaloy @padawancat97 @jambolska-grozdova @flyingkangaroo @melymigo @rain-on-kamino @jiabae @my-own-oracle @dragonrider9905 @queenofspades010 @ordinarylokix @jupitersaturnapollo @queencousland101 @vampire-rogue @southernbaguette @staycalmandhugaclone @dalu-grantkylo @dangraccoon @aconstructofamind @sev-on-kamino @kixs-husband @pb-jellybeans @atomickidsoul @caitnotfound @temmiegailg @skellymom @freesia-writes @trixie2023

If you want to be on my taglist, feel free to send me a message! Also, asks are open! Reblogging is very much encouraged and it makes me do a happy dance every time any of my writing gets reblogged 😂❤️

#hunter x reader #hunter x you #tbb hunter #the bad batch hunter #tbb hunter x reader #tbb hunter x you #the bad batch hunter x reader #the bad batch hunter x you #sergeant hunter #the bad batch #clone force 99 #tbb tech #tbb wrecker #tbb echo #tbb crosshair #tbb omega #star wars #star wars the clone wars #clone wars #swtcw #sw tcw #sw tbb #as iron sharpens iron #arctrooper69 #bad batch #hunter tbb #star wars the bad batch

[ferrstappen]

Hello! So while I’m procrastinating and ignoring the book in front of me, I got this quick idea and I hope you like it! Remember you can send me ideas or prompts to write blurbs 💘

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x fem!reader

Warnings: maybe a swear word and nsfw mentioned if you squint.

AirPods and princess George (Charles Leclerc blurb)

Charles was playfully rolling his eyes at you and Joris the entire walk from the gate to the flight taking you to Miami, neither of you could contain the laughter of seeing your boyfriend trying to pick up his AirPods with a couple of tweezers like he was playing Operation.

Whenever your or Joris calmed down, images of Charles trying to pick up the dirty case between the tiny space was enough to bring the tears back to your face while clutching your stomach.

“It’s not that funny, it could’ve happened to any of you!” Charles playfully complained while placing his carry-on bag on the overhead compartment.

“Sweetheart, if it happened to me I would’ve cried, but kept my dignity and buy a new pair. I know you can afford them Mr. Ferrari,” you teased him as he accommodated your carry-on bag. “Window or aisle, babe?” You asked him, leaving the teasing aside.

“Aisle please, you know I like to pretend it’s my side of the bed,” he said accommodating his belongings on the big first class pod, carefully pulling down the partition separating both of your seats.

“I don’t think we’re going to sleep much, though. It’s pretty early,”

“I know, but I was thinking we could catch this new show I downloaded, Citadel I think?” He said and you smiled, leaving a shy peck on his lips, knowing that even if it was first class, people were watching and could easily snap pictures. Fans knew you were Charles’ girlfriend, but he was constantly protecting your privacy and keeping everything between the both of you.

And his jpg Instagram account, of course.

“Hey, i’m right behind you so don’t you dare on joining the mile high club or whatever,” Joris warned the both you as he adjusted his eye mask, ready to wake up when they already were in Miami.

“What makes you think we haven’t joined the club already?” You retorted, followed by a gagging sound from Joris, and a blushing Charles who placed his hand very low on your back.

A few hours passed and while the series that Charles downloaded was good, he failed to notice it only had two episodes, leaving you with only the in-flight catalogue and unstable wifi.

Charles noticed you yawning and eyes fighting to stay open, so he called the flight attendant to help him turn the seat into a very comfortable bed, doing the same on his seat as Charles placed his arm under your neck and your head found its natural place on his shoulder, with your hand draped on his waist.

Suddenly, your arm was moving and no, it wasn’t because of the plane, it was being moved by something shaking. As you came to your senses, noticing the cabin lights were turned off, you also became aware of your boyfriend trying to suppress his laugh while looking at his phone.

“What’s so funny?” You asked him nuzzling into his side, his arm instinctively tightening around your shoulders.

His green eyes were shining even under the dark lighting of the cabin, “sorry, bebe, did I wake you?” He asked leaving a kiss on your hair.

You stirred on his arms, “no, it’s fine. Now tell me what’s so funny”

This time Charles couldn’t hold back his giggles, but still careful not to disturb the other passengers, but his low giggles music to your ears. “Look, its a meme of me playing Operation with the tweezers” he put the phone in front of your face.

“Baby, I told you that’s exactly what it looked like when you were pulling them,” you joined him with the quiet laughter, but then he found something even funnier.

He snorted.

“Charles!” You laughed just by seeing the reaction of your boyfriend, who couldn’t contain his laughter while clutching his stomach, but still aware of the sleeping passengers close to you.

Even Joris who both of you were sure was snoring while wearing the most ridiculous eye mask and special compression socks.

“Babe, I mean look at this!” He again placed his phone in front of your eyes, and you had to admit it was pretty funny. “It’s Max and George! Ah, I think I’m crying”

And you quietly laughed, but saved the sound of his carefree giggles and disheveled hair, but with his arm never letting go of you.

#charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc fluff #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x female reader #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc blurb #f1 fic #f1 x you

[ickaimp]

[BotW] Excuse Me While I Kiss this Guy (discontinued)

My SidLink fic, ‘Excuse Me While I Kiss this Guy’, has been getting a lot of attention on Ao3. It’s two parts, and I tried to write a part three from Link’s POV. That was back in 2018, and I’ve since moved five times. Needless to say, it never got past the WiP stage and the HTTYD fic, ‘Coming Down is the Hardest Thing‘ ate our brain instead. But in honour of Tears of the Kingdom, figured I’d put everything in roughly a chronological shape and post what got written. It’s not complete, prolly never will be, but hopefully it’ll give a couple chuckles. 2900 words. There is also now a bonus scene at the end of Excuse Me While I Kiss this Guy on Ao3.

+++ He didn’t mean to return to the Zora Domain.

Death Mountain lived up to its name, Vah Rudania had been freed from Ganon’s touch, and all Link wanted to do was go somewhere cooler where he could relax and recoup from climbing over a moving metal structure that was standing over gigantic pools of lava. So his duty done to the Gorons, he’d pulled out the Sheikah slate and hit the first shrine that looked near water.  Finding himself facing a handful of angry armed Zora guards had been a bit of a shock, but he’d honestly been too tired to care. Getting the helmet off and breathing the cool humid air of the Zora domain helped, more so when Sidon arrived. The shock on the prince’s face was comical. Even more so when he told his guards to stand down and offered Link a bath. +++ The kiss to the top of his head was unexpected, and made his chest feel light and fluffy. The gesture was as unexpected as it was confusing, but not in a bad way. Sidon’s explanation, his offer of kisses, just made it funnier. +++ Kisses. Link reminded himself as he struggled and fought his way through the shrine. Sidon believed in him, and when Link finished, he could see Sidon again. And get another kiss. +++ He didn’t know how to pay back Sidon for the encouragement. For the kisses. And he wanted to. He wanted to show Sidon how much it meant to Link. How much Sidon himself meant to Link. Armour was important to Zora. Milpha had made him armour. He was pretty sure there were books in the library that explained how to make armour. And armour would keep Sidon safe when Link wasn’t around. He could do that. He had gems and supplies from his travels all over Hyrule. He could make armour. +++ He couldn’t make armour. He could, but not armour for Sidon, who was much larger than Link, or the average anyone. The armour came out the same every time he tried, just the right size for him to fit in to. This was a problem. +++ “You’re making something entirely new.” Rhondson said, shaking her head over Link’s confusion. “You and your magic have seen jewellery and many kinds of armour and know what shapes to make things it has seen before. But to make something new, you’re going to have to do it the hard way.” Link looked down at his hands. Well, it wasn’t as if he didn’t have the time to learn something new. 

+++ Zora made their armour from scales, but Link didn’t have scales. Which meant that he needed to get scales somehow. What had scales? Fish, of course. Zora, but he couldn’t ask them for scales, not for this. Dragons. He had a small collection of their scales and horns. Not enough for armour. Which meant that he’d have to get more. 

“I’m gonna go fight a dragon.” Link declared, anticipation singing through his body. 

“Link? Is everything okay?” Zelda looked worried as she peered into his face. “You’ve kind of got your crazy eyes on.”

He just grinned at her. 

“Okay then.” Zelda sighed and shook her head. He knew that he worried her, that before the Calamity he’d been raised to be a knight, with all the genteel manners and stuff, but he didn’t remember any of that. 

And really, it sounded completely boring and dull. He liked who he was now, he couldn’t go back to whatever he’d been before. Zelda had accepted that, but she still fussed at him. It was kind of... nice, in a strange way. 

She kissed him on the cheek. “Go do your thing. Try not to come back all bloody.” 

He appreciated the fact that she never referred to the castle as his home. It was hers, certainly. And while he didn’t mind staying here, it didn’t feel like home to him. 

His heart called him elsewhere. 

‘No promises.’ He agreed, kissing her cheek as well. Her kisses weren’t like Sidon’s. Still sweet, in a different way. Softer, for one thing. And not as varied, she liked to kiss and be kissed mostly on the cheek.

He liked Sidon’s kisses better. The feeling of rough scales on skin was more welcoming to him than that of soft Hylian skin. Kissing Zelda didn’t leave his heart fluttering and skin tingling and wanting more. +++ The dragon scales were too large and unwieldy to just make into armour. Especially for someone who was as streamlined as Sidon. Cutting them down with normal tools didn’t work, they shattered swords and shears alike. The only thing that seemed to be able to cut dragon scale was dragon scale itself. Link growled to himself, realising that this meant he needed to get more scales, some for the armour, some to use as tools. Which meant more time away from Sidon. He sighed. He could do it. +++ ‘Think it’ll work?’ Link signed, as Bazz looked contemplative, looking over the scales Link had harvested and started to cut into shapes based off the books and patterns he’d found. 

“It should.” He agreed. “My biggest concern is what are you going to attach it to? You’re going for shock resistance, so metal is out, which means some sort of really heavy duty hide or cloth. If you use leather, you could boil it, making it harder and shape it, but I don’t know what would be thick enough.”

That was a problem. Monster hide might work, but he’d killed most of those. 

And he wanted something for the shock resistance too. It was kind of worrisome that Zora couldn’t even touch shock arrows, leading Link having to collect them from the Lynel....

Link paused, looking up towards the tip of Shatterback Point. ‘Be right back.’ He signed, and took off running. 

“Wait! No!” Bazz hissed. “Link! He’ll kill me if you come back dead!” 

Link laughed as he jumped off a balcony, his hang-glider snapping open and catching the ocean breeze. The breeze wasn’t strong enough to get him all the way to the top, but it’d get him part way there. 

+++

A few hours later, Link pulled the fresh Lynel hide out of his pack and set it in front of Bazz. ‘Think it’ll work?’

Bazz made a sound like he couldn’t decide if he was laughing or crying. “You’re certifiably nuts.” He said, shaking his head. “The two of you deserve each other. Yeah, I think that’ll work.” 

Link tilted his head to the side, wondering what Bazz meant by that. 

“We’ll have to sit down sometime with a pint or two and I’ll tell you some of the things our Prince has gotten up to in the past.” Bazz grinned, his sharp teeth glinting. “You heard about him being eaten by the Octorok and going up against Vah Ruta on his own? That’s nothing.” 

Link grinned. He knew he liked Sidon for a reason. +++

“Link, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about your new habit of carving dragon scales during meetings.” Zelda’s lips pressed together in a disapproving line. “It’s scaring some of the Council.”

Link grimaced. It was about the only time that he sat still long enough to get any carving done, he was constantly interrupted otherwise. ‘You want me to stop?’ He offered. He’d just have to figure something else out. 

“Oh good heavens, no!” She beamed at him. “Could you please sit next to Councillor Tyrol? We might be able to get some work done if he stops sharing his ‘hunting’ stories. He’s quite terrified of you, you know.”

+++ Zelda glanced around before tugging on Link’s arm and pulling him closer. She had a mischievous curve to her lips and he leaned in so no one else could overhear what she was saying. “Some of the Council thinks you’re dating a Gerudo woman.” She whispered, then covered her mouth with a hand to contain her laughter. 

It made a certain amount of sense, he was in Gerudo town a lot. … He also wore the clothing a lot while coming back. Did they think that he was dating himself? Or someone else? He paused, eyes narrowing as he remembered the inquires to the Gerudo Chieftain's health. “Riju’s twelve.” He deadpanned. She may have been the steadfast leader of the fierce Gerudo, but she was also a kid who loved soft plushies, especially those of Sand Seals. 

Zelda nodded with barely repressed glee. “I know that and you know that, but how many people here do you think have meet a real Gerudo in their lives? Much less know who the Gerudo chief is?” 

That was a good point. They should probably fix that, get more of all the various tribes together more often. ‘Should I start mentioning Isha more?’ He offered. 

She thought about it, then giggled. “You should invite her to the castle as a merchant.” Zelda grinned. “Plus, I’d like to meet her.”

+++ ‘You need a break.’ Link signed with a frown as he looked Zelda over. She looked kind of like she wanted to punch something then take a nap. “I can’t.” Zelda closed her eyes, looking frustrated. “There’s no where in the castle I can go that someone won’t find me with some sort of emergency. I feel like all I’m doing is putting out fires.” 

Link pulled out a bomb and offered it to her. She stared at it for a moment, which he was starting to think was the default reaction to being offered a bomb. Although it wasn’t like he offered them to just anyone, but Sidon always looked so surprised and confused by the bombs. 

Zelda looked like she was contemplating using it. 

“No.” She shook her head, pushing the bomb away. “Thank you, but no. That’d just undo all the hard work we just finished constructing.” Which was a pretty good point. With a shrug, he put it away again. A thought hit, and he looked her up and down, silently measuring her with his eyes, a smirk growing.

“Link.” Zelda crossed her arms, turning her body away, looking uncomfortable ‘We’re almost the same height and size.’ Link grinned at her. He was a little broader in the shoulder, she a bit broader in the hip, but still about the same proportions. Well, given his lack of height.

“And?” Link bounced a little on the balls of his feet, feeling pleased with himself. ‘That means you should fit my clothes.’ He explained. ‘And I should fit yours.’ She stared at him for a moment, her mouth agape. “There’s no way it’d work. I mean, you don’t talk, that’s easy for me to mimic, but the ruse would be over as soon as you opened your mouth.” 

That was easy enough too. He held up a finger, silently motioning for patience, then rubbed his nose vigorously, until it was red, then coughed a couple of times. “I’m sick.” He rasped, trying to pitch his voice slightly higher. “I need to stay in bed.” 

Then he fluttered his eyelashes at her and grinned. 

Zelda gaped at him. “No.” She said, then immediately wavered. “I mean. No. It couldn’t possibly work.” He shrugged. ‘I need to finish carving some scales, I could do that while you go on a ride, get some fresh air. Wear the champion tunic, everything'll run as soon as they see you coming.’

Link could see her visibly waver. “Oh.” She glared at him, stamping her foot in irritation. “This is a horrible idea. Give me your tunic.” Link grinned and tapped the Sheikah Slate, switching clothing until he was wearing the Champion’s Tunic, pulling it off over his head and tossed it to her. Zelda wrinkled her nose, holding it away from her face.  “When was the last time you washed this?” He gave her a puzzled look back. He never washed any of his clothes, any rips, tears, burns, or other assorted damage were gone whenever he dismissed them and put them back on. “Nevermind.” She shook her head, pulling the tunic on. It was a little big on her in the shoulders, but nothing too obvious. He pulled off his pants and handed them to her as well, before wandering over to her wardrobe and sorting through it before finding a long nightgown, pulling that over his head. This method of getting dressed was such a hassle, it was so much easier to get dressed via the Sheikah Slate. Less fabric to get tangled up in. “You’re hopeless.” Zelda informed him sounding amused and fond as he felt hands tug the fabric down over him. He gestured his thanks, smiling a bit to see her in his clothing. It was kind of strange, seeing her dressed like this. He reached up, undoing the pins in her hair, fingers quickly undoing the braids and messing up her sleek smooth strands. He could never get his hair nearly as soft and nice. The thought of if Sidon liked his hair, so different than the Zora’s scaled flickered through his mind, then he dismissed it. He was pretty sure that Sidon liked him, scales or no scales. Pretty sure. “Gah.” Zelda batted his hands away, stepping backwards out of reach before moving towards her vanity, checking her hair in the mirror. She made a face at seeing it so disordered, then grabbed a tie, pulling it back in a messy pony tail, then teasing the hair out on the sides of her face a bit. “What do you think?” She asked, looking up at him. Link walked over so they could see each other in the mirror. They looked disturbingly alike. They could almost be siblings, possibly even twins. He nodded, and she echoed the movement. “Okay.” She agreed. “This’ll work.” He gave her a thumbs up. +++ A knock on the door interrupted Link’s concentration and he growled in annoyance. He stood up, detouring long enough to grab a blanket from Zelda’s bed and tossed it over his head, wrapping it around himself like a cocoon before opening the door. “What?” He snapped, his voice low and rough. “n-Never mind.” Councillor Tyrol scurried off. Link huffed, shutting the door with a slam and went back to making smaller scales out of larger scales for armour. +++ “Got any clothing in red?” Bazz inquired, idly twirling his trident in one hand. It immediately put Link on edge, because there was something a little too casual sounding to the warrior’s tone. 

‘No.’ Link signed, confused. Almost all of his clothing was blue, unless he took the time to dye it. ‘Why?’ “Could you get some?” Bazz asked. Link shrugged. He didn’t have any at hand, but it’d be easy enough to swing by the Hateno Village and talk to Sayge at the Kochi Dye Shop. He could spare five rupees for payment, and a few extra apples or spicy peppers he could use for red dye. ‘Yeah. Why?’ 

“The next time you come to see the Prince, you should wear something red.” 

This was starting to sound really suspicious. ‘Anything specific I should wear?’ 

“Doesn’t matter. Just something bright red.” Bazz shook his head. “As a favour to me?” He asked, attempting to look as sweet and innocent as a kitten. It didn’t quite work.

Link did kind of owe Bazz for his help in making the armour, making sure it’d fit the prince and keeping it a secret from Sidon. “Okay.” He agreed. It was easy enough. 

“Thanks.” Bazz gave him a bright grin, full of razor sharp teeth and Link wondered just what he’d gotten himself into. 

++++

“Link! My Dear!” Link had just enough warning to brace himself before he was picked up and pressed against Sidon’s ginormous chest. “It is such a pleasure to see you!”

“Sidon!” Link wrapped his arms around Sidon, pressing as close as he could. Sidon smelled like he usually did, water and musk, something always made Link relax. 

It meant safety, comfort, and laughter.

He kissed the nearest part of Sidon he could reach, his jaw just below the fin that framed his face and felt a small shiver run down Sidon’s frame. 

Sidon eased his grip slightly, pulling back so he could look Link over. “It’s so good to see you healthy. No new scars?” 

Link smiled and shook his head. Sidon beamed in delight, taking Link’s hand and kissing the palm. “I’m glad.” 

Seriously, Sidon was the only person who worried if Link could take care of himself. Well, maybe other than Zelda, but she was more likely to laugh at him for it. 

“Is this new?” Sidon asked, peering at Link’s shirt. It was just a basic tunic, but he’d dyed it the bright red of fresh chillies, as Bazz had requested. 

Link shrugged. Honestly, he couldn’t remember where he’d picked the shirt up from. 

“I like it!” Sidon beamed at him, and Link wondered how he could contain such joy in his face. “We match!” 

… They did. He looked at the shirt against Sidon’s scales and realised that they did, the dye almost the same colour as Sidon. Anyone seeing them together would probably assume they were a matched set. 

He didn’t know whether to be grateful or to strangle Bazz for his meddling, when Sidon barely set him down for the remainder of the day, almost always keeping in contact with Link. He also made a note to wear more red, if this was Sidon’s reaction. 

-fin- -And that’s all folks.

#legend of zelda #prince sidon #link #sidlink #breath of the wild #botw

[tired-biscuit]

What would Kiba do if we would tell him how handsome he is but in a coo voice, just straight up petting his face and patting his head telling him what a pretty boy he is.

18+ fem!reader // cw: praise kink, very soft and cute. modern AU, established relationship.

he’s unsure about it at first.

this man is just so unapproachable-looking at first glance, you know? he’s dark, all sharp features, crossed arms over a wide chest. he’s heavy boots, anger issues, fed up eye rolls and impatience. the persistent scowl that he’s always wearing on his face doesn’t help his case either. just by looking at him, people get the feeling that he’s going to be a bitchy cunt the moment he opens his mouth.

and kiba likes that just fine. he likes being intense and perhaps even a little bit intimidating because it leaves a lasting impression, which is what he’s always strived to achieve anyway. he likes that when he steps into the room, people’s eyes flicker in his direction. that they turn a bit wary. that he provokes a reaction. that he can’t possibly be overlooked.

so for you to step onto your tippy-toes and pull him closer because of the height difference, smushing his cheeks until his lips are pursing, gushing and cooing what an absolute cutie he is; what a pretty boy he is, definitely catches him off guard at the start of your relationship.

i mean, he tries so hard to look like he’s this big, cool badass who does not give a single flying fuck about anything or anyone, just for you to come skedaddling his way; flipping that image right on its head with all your empathy and lovey-dovey gestures.

nevertheless, i think he secretly feels flattered by it, though it does take him a long while to start to wilfully show and actually admit to how much he appreciates all your doting in reality. you already know it, of course — how endearing he actually finds your actions — from how the tips of his ears flush a faint red each time you get sugary with him, and how his eyes start to flicker onto just about anything in the room but you.

it’s always the same reaction. you go all “ooh, you’re my baby! my lil’ baby!” on him and he grumbles something under his breath; telling you to “c’mon, stop that” while his face gets so warm to the touch that it makes the tips of your fingers tingle. what’s even funnier is that he doesn’t even think of moving away despite all the fuss and protesting that he’s causing. and it’s so adorable, how vividly flustered he gets by it every single time!

so months pass one after the other, and slowly, ever so patiently, you lure out a praise kink out of him that he never even knew he had.

because all of a sudden, your grumpy boyfriend catches himself preening — yes, actually preening — just so that he can receive more of your little compliments. catches himself helping you with little, mindless chores just so that you have a reason to thank him and give him your approval afterwards.

he sighs to no end and mopes in bed until you lean over and give him his goodnight kiss. whenever he comes home from work, feeling tired as hell, he just plops down on top of you while you’re watching tv on the couch, and lets you wrap your legs around him and stroke his back until he feels better.

he actually likes all the cooing and babying. he likes the sweet little pet names that you call him. he likes the cutesy text messages and the matching bracelets and the fact that you insist on getting matching t-shirts whenever you go on vacation together. he likes taking pictures with you, even if he never posts anything on his instagram. he’s so down bad that he even wears your initial around his neck.

he likes how you take care of him when he gets sick, even if he starts acting dramatic about it; whining and complaining like he’s about to die from a simple cold. he likes how you cheer for him whenever you have a lazy day and choose to spend it by playing video games on the couch — you make him keep trying to beat the stupid level even if he lacks the patience for it. as a matter of fact, he’ll win it just for you.

and he also likes that you keep steady eye contact whenever you clamber on top of him in that clumsy way that he thinks is oh, just so goddamn cute, and how you ride him in that slow, passionate rhythm he’d never pick himself before meeting you. he likes how you smile and caress his face when his lips part and he moans in pure bliss at the feeling of your sticky cunt squeezing around him so, so tight; finally submitting to the feeling and allowing himself to be vulnerable. he likes how you call him beautiful, then. not handsome, not hot; beautiful.

it’s the little things. sometimes they’re cute, like holding his hand when you’re out and about, and sharing the leftovers from your plate with him because you know he wants them even if he never asks for them. other times they’re dumb, like when you convince him to let you pamper him with your vast collection of skincare products, and how you get matching tongue piercings just because you’re curious what it’s like to kiss with them as soon as the swelling goes down.

he’s fond of it all as long as it’s with you. because unlike with other people, you don’t just look at him; you make him feel seen. with you, love grows.

you see the layers and all the gooey softness that hides underneath. you see his heart. the twinkle of kindness that appears in his dark brown eyes. how careful and gentle he is with animals. the playfulness in his grin, even if it’s sharp and rare.

you see him.

but you best know that he’s fighting for his life in the groupchat the moment his friends find out how much he actually loves it when you baby him!

#he’s such a cutie i will sob!!!!! #kiba x reader #kiba smut #naruto smut #naruto x reader #biscuit drabbles

[onestepbackwards]

Self aware genshin of just them crying and begging for you to show up in front of them, and not be kept between a screen.

But what’s infinitely funnier is them making the game easier for you, just to keep you coming back.

Perhaps your main doing moves they normally wouldn’t have, cause you didn’t press any button, but yet not only landed a hit but a crit.

Or them panicking when they hear your frustrations with something and glitch the game themselves, just so you can be happy.

- Jes (my brain is dead but I hope this made sense.)

Self aware Genshin my beloved 😩

Everyone in genshin becoming aware and attached to you. You are different. You aren't tied to these invisible strings of code. You are an outlier.

But you are also special. Whatever you are, you are different. You care about them.

You level them up, talk to them, tell them how proud you are when they land a crit.

They don't know who or what you are, but its clear you have no malicious intentions. Even if you are taking control of their bodies on occasion.

But how can they hate you when you get so excited seeing them in a story or event? How you make whoever you are controlling do a lil spin or jump in excitement? It's clear you love them all. When you get a letter, you seem so happy too. You happily put the letter away and accept the gifts. Or how you work hard to get them good artifacts to make them all stronger.

It's hard to be mad at you when you care so much.

Many of them grow attached to you, the one pulling some strings.

So if they learn you are having a bad day?

Suddenly your team is getting crits almost all the time, even those that have a low crit rate.

Leaving them on idle? Some of them smile for you without having to open the in game camera, their faces following your mouse as you move it.

It takes effort for any of them to manipulate the code. They have to be careful, after all. One wrong move could have the game crashing, and they would lose their connection to you. Or worse, risk accidentally getting you banned.

But when they get the chance, they will manipulate the code just to help you out, to keep you coming to see them.

Sometimes you'll get letters. It's a garbled mess of code at first, but one thing is always the same. The character that sends a letter to you always gives you their specialty mean and extra materials, since you seem to like it.

Even if it confuses you to know end why your game continues to glitched out letters.

Don't worry, they'll figure it out. The moment they can learn how to properly use the code, you'll get better letters. They all have so much they wish to tell you, after all :)

#self aware au #self aware genshin #genshin #ask #zed.talks #jes my beloved #bestie tag #long post

[sailing-through-hawkins]

saw this post and it reminded me of a snippet I wrote for a crack-ish Kas!Eddie AU idea i had a while ago ft. nobody knowing Steve has demobat venom in him that tells other democreatures he's a friend:

Imagine Eddie coming back as an undead vampiric bat person thing and he's all "oh how you left me behind" and shit and he's surrounded by demodogs and demobats and they're poised ready to strike at his command and -

"Eddie?" Dustin whispers like his heart's been broken. Steve's grip on the nail-bat (he still refuses to give it a name because it's not a person, Robin) falters but he steels himself - the kid is gonna be vulnerable, now more than ever and he's gotta keep him safe.

"Oh Henderson." The thing wearing Eddie's face grins the same way Eddie grinned, with a promise of chaos at his fingertips. "Not anymore."

So Eddie sets the democreatures to attack and Steve shoves Dustin behind him while he tries to fight them off but they overpower him until he's on the floor except -

The scratches and bites aren't happening. He's just - drowning in slobber? And very weird bits of flesh just, like weirdly pushing at him oh god, this is so weird. Steve squints one eye open and sees all the gross creatures nuzzling at his arms and chest like they're just innocent mutant hellbeasts who didn't mean to break the vase.

"Wh - I said attack, dipshits!" Kas yells out and that seems to just...make them nuzzle harder? Steve doesn't know, okay, he's been through a lot and he's just tired. So tired that he doesn't even register how one of the demodogs bumps his hand up onto its closed head (a phrase Steve doesn't and will never fucking like) or the fact that he just...pets it like it seems to ask. The other beasts apparently all really like that and run over each other trying to get under his hands.

"S-Steve?"

"What's up Henderson?" Steve tries not to laugh as one of the littler creatures topples upside down after it tried climbing his leg. He sets it right side up and gives it a big long pet along its back, holding back his shiver at the slimy skin. "Y'know when they're not trying to eat you, these things aren't half-bad."

"You always manage to fuck things up, huh Harrington?" Suddenly Kas is right in front of him, pushing him back onto the ground harshly with a hand on his throat. Steve idly wonders if the guy has a thing for necks. Maybe Steve just has a very targetable one? "You ruin everything, don't you?"

He then wonders if it's the high from not being ripped apart coupled with the excess adrenaline in his veins. There should definitely be a stinging in his chest from the words but he's just...god, he's just so tired right now. The other creatures are making weird, pitiful noises around the two of them.

"There there," Steve chokes out, raising a head to pet at Kas' very angry head. The vicious eyes go blank. "You just needed some attention, huh?"

Steve thinks he hears Dustin spluttering somewhere but his vision is already blacking out. Shit, he's supposed to take care of Dustin. Nope, no time to black out now. The hands, kinda claws really, around his neck loosen and Steve blinks the big splots of darkness out of his head just to open his eyes to Kas or Eddie or whatever staring at him with like...it's kind of what Steve thinks he looks like when Dustin tries explaining his latest strategy for a campaign. Incomprehension? But funnier because Eddie doesn't look like he's trying to understand, he looks like his head is just totally empty, no thoughts. Scratch that, this is hilarious.

"Doing alright, Munson?" Steve coughs out, his voice wrangled from the...wrangling. He continues to pet the hulking figure above him, moving his hand behind Eddie's ear. "Am I getting the right spot?"

The blankness in Eddie's face turns into a bright purplish blush (that means he's still got blood in him, right? or is it some kind of Vecna juice? Ew gross, no, don't think about that) and he scutters back away from Steve, who's once again surrounded by the various monsters as they yip or whatever the fuck sound monsters make. He finally manages to sit back up, no thanks to Henderson, the little shit just watching the whole thing in a corner with a fucking notepad are you kidding me -

"D-don't come any closer!" Eddie holds a hand out as Steve gets himself on two feet, his back against the wall like Steve's the one who was strangling him, oh fuck you Munson. "I have - I'll bring a parade of pain on you, Harrington, I swear it!"

Steve snorts as he pets one of the demodogs, hoping to god it doesn't eat his hand. "Yeah, okay, Kas, sure. You wanna do that now or after you give these guys a bath?"

And Eddie is basically half-angry because NO HE IS KAS HE IS A GENERAL HE WILL BRING HELL UPON YOU ALL, half-smitten because omg hiiii stevie wow do you feel a connection right now because i definitely do i think this is like fate or something

#steddie #au content: kas!eddie #concepts #writing #ficlet #less than a ficlet and more of an idea turned into a mini-scene #when i wrote this i forgot dart was a thing so if anybody thinks i should have mentioned him shhhhh i know #this is basically crack treated seriously so don't think about it too hard and just enjoy the ride #sailor✧scribbles

[chiffiorra]

Kinktober Day #18

Name: Size Difference

Character: Husband!Sanemi Shinazugawa

WC: 568

Synopsis: Sanemi loves the way his wife looks, sometimes he can't help it.

This fic contains: AFAB!reader, wife!reader, established relationship, size difference, reader is smaller than Sanemi, unprotected sex, dacryphilia, MDNI

Note: for @sanemisfav ♡

Ever since he met you, Sanemi couldn't help but notice how… small you were compared to him. It was adorable how you had to crane your head up a bit to look at him when talking. That sight was even funnier when you talked to Genya, or rather attempted to, knowing his brother was shy and flustered around women.

He never expected that he would marry you in the future but here you were now, as his adorable little wife.

If anything, Sanemi loved the size difference between you two. He loved kissing your forehead, carrying you, hugging you close, anything along the lines of that.

Sanemi enjoyed how small you were compared to him but what did he really love the most?

Watching you struggle to take his cock in, that was always good to watch, seeing your little cunt trying its best to take all of him in.

"Sanemi please… It's too much!" You cried out as he thrust himself into you slowly but with enough force to rock you. You already had tears running down your cheeks, which brought glee to your husband as he began kissing away your tears.

"Shhh, it's okay baby. You did this before countless times, you can do it again. Don't tell me you can't take me in anymore?" He teased, licking up one of your tear tracks.

"I can- it's just, too much for me-" you were struggling to speak, it almost felt like you were struggling to breathe as well. He was just, to put it bluntly, too big for you. It was a wonder that you could take him every time you two fucked. The stretch that came with taking him burned but it felt so right.

What made Sanemi even more gleeful was seeing that small bump that would move every time he would fuck you as deep as he could. The fact that he could practically see himself fucking you made him happier knowing that only he could do such a thing to you and nobody else.

Feeling your husband lift you up to sit you on his lap made you jostle a bit, which had him hit your spot without meaning to, but nevertheless, you let out a loud moan that went straight to his cock. He almost felt himself harden more at the noise.

Looking up at your teary face as you struggled to catch your breath, he was giving you no chance for a breather as he continued pumping into you, your wetness making it all the more easier for him.

"'Nemi, I love you," you babbled out, more tears running down your face.

He almost paused, still not used to the word "love" but it made him kiss you so hard, gripping your hips tightly to keep you from leaving him.

"I love you too," he could mutter back, just enough for you to hear him. And it made you wrap your arms around him to hold him closer to you instead of just grabbing onto his broad shoulders.

Sanemi was getting close, and he could feel it as well as your release gaining on you as well. So with angling himself, he continued hitting your spot until you came around his cock, letting out a loud cry.

"Good girl," he breathed out around a grin.

Even when he didn't always show it, he adored you so much, his tiny wife.

#kinktober 2022 #kinktober #demon slayer #demon slayer x reader #sanemi shinazugawa #sanemi shinazugawa x reader

[gokartkid]

Chalex 23!!!! Please get them wasted!!!!!!

sort of companion to my other chalex breakup

The party was shit. 

They were both too drunk coming home, Charles’ face turned into Alex’s shoulder in the back of the uber. The fabric scratched at his nose as he breathed in familiar smells; sweat, bonfire smoke, the underlying cologne that he’d sprayed on just before leaving the house. 

Charles poured himself a glass of water clumsily, tilting the glass too far to the side and making a disgruntled noise as it sloshed out onto his hand. His thoughts seemed to take a second longer to reach his limbs, fingers gummy and stiff.

Alex was already sat at the kitchen counter, one hand propping up his head and the the other patting around for his phone in his back pocket. 

“Your friends are assholes,” he said, mouth fuzzy as he finally managed to unlock his phone. His voice was on the other side of teasing; Alex always got meaner when he was drunk.

“They are,” Charles said, shrugged and laughed, breathy. They were the friends he’d had all the way from primary school; that came with all the good and bad of knowing someone for that long, “but, you know. They try.”

“Hmm,” Alex made a low disbelieving noise, eyebrows raised, “sure.”

“They weren’t that bad tonight!” 

They were.

“They so were,” Alex was looking back down at his phone, thumbing the surface, “but, you know. My turn next with Lando.”

He made a face, exaggerated, and Charles laughed. Alex’s friends weren’t much better, but they were at least funnier. Worst comes to worst, Alex could ask Lando how golfing had been and then he and George could go at it for hours. 

Charles looked out the window to the yard, dark and quiet. He could just see the orange light of the streetlamps through the leaves. 

“You’re alright with drinks with the boys next week, right? I said we were free on Friday,” Alex’s tone is casual, but he still looks up to check on Charles, quick glance at his face.

“Yes, yes. Speaking of,” Charles swayed, took another gulp of water, “speaking of babe, I have— I wanted— I wanted to ask you something.” 

“Please don’t ask me if we want to get married,” Alex said, tone warm and coloured by teasing. His eyes were soft; Charles had to push past the sudden tightness in his stomach. He wanted to ask, it was better to ask, it was. While he still liked him.

“No,” Charles felt off kilter now. His words tumbling out wrong, the cadence of too much vodka, too many glasses of cheap wine. He could still taste it, sticky at the back of his throat, “no I was— Alex what if we went on a break.”

Alex blinked.

The sinking feeling in Charles’ stomach continued, slow, buoyed up only by the fizz of cheap prosecco. 

“What do you—“ his smile was frozen in placid-turning-confused, as if he wasn’t quite sure of his own reaction yet, as if his face needed some time to load, “mean, a break? Charles?”

“Like, like,” he struggled to put it into words, his english escaping him, “Some time. Where we are not dating.” Alex still looked confused, “I am— I don’t know, I am bored.”

It was all coming out wrong. 

Alex’s face wasn’t moving as he stared at Charles, phone tilting down to the floor as if he’d forgotten its existence, fingers loose around the glass screen.

“Bored?” He sounded incredulous, disbelieving. Charles’ mouth tasted sour, bile at the back of his throat.

He tried for smiling, as if that would help to lighten up the situation.

“It’s just, we have been dating for such a long time, no? And I want to keep dating you Alex, really, but, also what if we got to spend some time apart, so that we can—“ when he’d talked to himself in the bathroom mirror — sober — this had seemed so much easier, “appreciate each other more and, of course when we are then together properly again we are happy?”

“Are you not happy now?”

Alex was focussing on the wrong things. Charles could feel his face heating up, red hot cheeks. 

“I am happy!” 

The volume was too much. Even to himself his voice sounded too high, insincere. He could tell Alex heard it too, face shuttering as he stood. Charles was losing him.

“I am happy but I have never— I am sure that you’re feeling like this too, right Alex? It’s not a bad thing, and we will get back together and—“

“I don’t want to have this conversation with you right now.”

Alex’s voice was firm as he squeezed his eyes shut, shoving the heels of his palms into his eyes. Charles’ hands fluttered, delayed thoughts to movement, delayed thoughts in general. He didn’t know what to do.

“And for the record, Charles. No. I wasn’t bored. Thanks for the consideration.”

Alex was already walking away and up the stairs. 

Charles stared at his glass.

“Fuck.”

#breakup prompts #TOUGH #chalex #cl16 #aa23 #my fic #asks #f1 rpf

[sunflowersandcherryblossoms]

Me: *Mentions an idea previously discussed on Tumblr about the connection between the Shiba Clan and Squad Zero*

My older son: *"Yes And..." my dumb shit...*

Because I was talking about how the transportation used by Squad Zero is the exact same as Kukaku's Flower Crane Cannon.

There was this headcanon that I really like that the Shiba Clan became one of the Great Noble Houses because of that specific contribution to the Royal Realm and Squad Zero way before the Reio's mutilation. (He was already the Soul King before Ichibei — And the Tsunayashiro Head — gave the idea to mutilate the Reio because they were afraid to lose their own power to him, I guess...)

So my son goes like:

"What if they'd started as the original Royal Guards?"

You know... Before Squad Zero starts being formed to the way we know them now...?

It makes sense that the Head of the Shiba Clan was the only one to oppose the mutilation and try to offer another way to keep the Worlds separated.

It also starts making sense that it was so easy to banish and pretty much destroy the Shiba Clan if, as another theory put it, the Shiba Clan was the only ones who tried to repeatedly try to find one amongst them worthy to become the vessel for the Reio's powers and therefore release him from that "existence"...

Let's say Ichibei held a grudge and took the opportunity to influence the outcome of events and take out the Shiba Clan almost completely...

But still, they need them. They need Kukaku and, even though the she keeps moving her house, apparently Squad Zero knows exactly where to find them to send the Tenchūren back to the Royal Realm.

Of course, because we always cannot stay on one topic... Or one aspect of the topic, I then was like:

"Hey! By the way... Have you seen Senjumaru's face?"

At first he was like:

"Her hair style kind of looks like Shinji's..."

Me: "No... Look at the face and the eyes..."

And that's when he arrived at the same conclusion I had...

Senjumaru kind of has the Kuchiki Resting Bitch Face™...

So,of course, I presented my dumb idea:

"What if she was a member of the Kuchiki Clan?"

My son: "Is that why she was the one who didn't kill herself? Because the Historian amongst the Squad Zero needs to survive to tell the story?"

Me:

I mean... Sure... It's really grasping at straws, but...

Putting it in the context of my Sunflowers And Cherry Blossoms series, it becomes even funnier...

Senjumaru was in the 12th squad — Maybe a Kuchiki...

Hikifune was in the 12th squad — The creator of the Ginkon and (in my series) the one who helped Sojun and Kaori create Byakuya through the Reishi Input Pod. A kind of Godmother figure for him.

And Byakuya fucking hates the 12th squad, mainly because of the complete lack of morals from Mayuri...

It's hilarious, actually.

There was also that thing about the Squad Zero's crest in one of the cour 2 scenes, which showed symbols for each element, and Senjumaru's needle and thread heavily evoked the Kuchiki Clan's figures of the cranes they have on their crest.

(I cannot find the picture of that Squad Zero crest... Anyways...)

I just find it interesting that there could be a possibility of Squad Zero, in its inception, having personal connections to the Great Noble Houses.

Ichibei could even be a part of that mysterious, elusive Other House we know nothing about.

My son also mentioned the hands Kukaku used to have "adorning" her house.

"Oh, like the chopped off arms of the Reio?"

And it reminded me that the Shihoin Clan became a kind of Guards Of The Heavens and the "arms" of the Reio.

Imagine if they'd taken over said responsibility directly from the Shiba Clan after their initial falling out with Ichibei?

Just you know... Random thoughts...

#bleach #bleach meta #...of sorts...? #shiba clan #soul king bleach #ichibe hyosube #kukaku shiba #senjumaru shutara #some random headcanon #stay thoughts #me and my son just feeding off each other's lunacy

[riality-check]

more bootlegging au stuff because i have the brainrot! here's the first bit, in case you missed it.

“This guy is way too heavy,” Dustin wheezes, holding the corpse by the shoulders.

“Duh,” Max deadpans, swinging its legs into the freshly-dug makeshift grave. “He’s dead weight.”

Dustin smirks at her, and regret flashes over her face.

“Did you just make a joke?”

“It was unintentional.”

“I don’t think it was. I think you’re funnier than you- oof.”

The handle of the shovel hits Dustin in the stomach before he even tried to catch it.

“Start covering him up,” Max says.

“Why can’t you do it?”

“I’m a lady. It’s not proper.”

Dustin uses the shovel to gesture at her pants. “Yeah, because you care so much about propriety.”

Even from halfway to the front gates of the graveyard and in the dark, Mike sees Max’s tiny smile. He doesn’t see much else; nothing from the trees and nothing from the road on the other side.

Dustin says he’s a great lookout. Max says it’s because nothing wants to get anywhere near him. They all know he’s the lookout because he’s the best at lying to Joyce.

Well, Will is better, but he doesn’t know anything about this. Just because he’s good at lying to his mother doesn’t mean he likes doing it. And Mike knows that if Will got involved, he’d want to do the most out of all of them, and-

Well, Mike can’t lose him again.

So, Will doesn’t know, and Max and Dustin are stuck with the second-best liar out of their little bunch. Not that there’s a whole lot of them to start.

“Keep it down,” Mike hisses. “They might not be able to see you, but other people can hear you.”

“You’re our lookout, not our mother,” Max snarks, and Dustin, the traitor, laughs.

Mike tries to hide his own laugh. As much as he and Max rib each other, and as rough of a start as they got off to, they’re still good. Most of the ti-

Something moves along the road.

It’s not a car; anyone could hear the motor from a mile away. It’s not a carriage, either, since there’s no clip-clopping or horses’ hooves. It’s smaller and slower. Probably a person.

And where there’s one, there’s many, and many means the fire of tommy guns and blood-spattered backdrops. In this case, gravestones.

“Shovel faster,” Max says, finally having joined in with her own shovel.

“Mayfield, shut up,” Mike says, still keeping his eyes on the road.

“Oh, so we’re last-naming each other now, Wheeler?”

“There’s a person on the road. Shut. Up.”

“For Christ’s sake,” Dustin mumbles, and Mike hears the pace of their shoveling increase behind him.

He still keeps his eyes on the road, on the small figure slowly approaching the graveyard. He can’t tell their gender, not with the hat they’re wearing. He can make out dark clothes and a pale face and that’s it.

He hears Max and Dustin come up behind him.

“How many?” Dustin asks, hand inside his coat.

“Just one,” Mike says. “Max, start the car.”

“Like hell,” she says, and she draws her own gun.

“Not yet,” Dustin says. “Let’s see what they want.”

“They want to shoot us,” Max says.

“Maybe not.”

“Everyone wants to shoot us.”

“Just wait,” Mike says.

In the moonlight, he can make out a face. A very feminine face, with wide, dark eyes. Her hair isn’t tucked into her hat; it’s cut close to her head, shorter than Mike’s own.

What the hell?

“Stay here,” Mike says, and he takes his gun out and starts walking forward.

“Absolutely not,” Max says, but Dustin holds her back.

“Don’t be stupid,” he says.

Mike nods and walks a few paces to meet the girl.

The unarmed girl, he notes with surprise. Either that or she’s packing her heat really well. She’s wearing a thin, light dress with a long dark coat over it, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

But the coat, clearly a man’s coat, is way too big on her. Mike doesn’t think she’s hiding anything under it.

“Awful late to be out on a walk,” he says lightly.

She stares at him, big eyes searching, but says nothing.

“Are you lost?”

She nods, then shakes her head.

“Well, it’s gotta be one or the other.”

No reaction. Just that blank stare.

Mike huffs. “Are you mute?”

“No,” she says instantly.

Finally getting somewhere, then.

“Do you speak English?” he asks, mostly because there’s something in her voice he can’t quite put a finger on.

“Some,” she replies.

“She’s a spy.”

“Jesus!” Mike swears, jumping straight back into Dustin.

“No, just me,” he says before Max promptly elbows him in the ribs.

The girl frowns at Max and Dustin, who now flank Mike, like they’re a math problem she can’t quite figure out.

“She’s a spy,” Dustin says again.

“She’s a pretty lousy spy if she’s out walking around where we can see her,” Max points out.

“Some English? She’s probably from the Russians-”

“No,” the girl says. “Not Russian.”

“What then?” Mike asks.

The girl frowns, her whole face scrunching.

“Hey,” Max says softly. “Do you need help?”

Slowly, she nods.

Shit. Mike thinks back to Max, back to what she looked like when Joyce first took her in after he brought her to her doorstep, and he knows that he can’t leave this girl behind, either.

He sighs. “Max-”

“Starting the car,” she says, and she tugs Dustin along with her.

Mike holds his arm out to the girl. She stares at it in obvious confusion, so, after an awkward thirty seconds, he drops it.

“Come on,” he says instead, and she falls into step with him.

She doesn’t say anything, so after another minute of silence, Mike asks, “You got a name?”

She points to the collar of her dress, where Mike can faintly see a tiny embroidered “11.”

As they get into the car, Max driving like always and Dustin talking like always, Mike wonders what the hell he got himself into.

Eleven. Well, at least it’s not Russian.

part 3, part 4

#ria writes #bootleggers baby #stranger things #st #stranger things ficlet #st ficlet #mike wheeler #dustin henderson #max mayfield #el hopper

[real-godzekiel]

i DONT know if you still do spookys hcs but if you have any for specimen 12 or its host........

YES OF COURSE but just keep in mind i am a little rusty when it comes to spooky lore right now. too many new games are filling up the storage space in my brain but i think i can contribute some stuff. i'll start off with the host before moving on to the Specimen itselfI must admit that when I first heard the pretty-much-canon idea of the old man being the vlogger in endless I shat myself. But then I remembered geriatric1927 and how my grandma used to play Fruit Ninja and realized my shitting of myself is probably just ageism. Old man used to film abandoned buildings and it's fucking awesome until it isn't. I think from what you can read of the vloggers' notes, he seems to have a certain attachment to having an audience. Bro really starts a note off with "Hey everybody" and "Ok guys". I don't know why he stops after Specimen 12. I guess the mansion-in-mansion has something that bears off people's coping mechanisms.

Just to somewhat build upon the previous point, I want to spectulate on the old man's past a bit. The mansion controls the host to "attack with various means depending on the host's characteristics." I absolute do NOT think Protag ended up as anything near a new host instead of their own specimen, I think that theory is a bit poo poo. However, I do find it fun to compare these two ex-"typical humans" a bit. Specimen 14 is angry and stiff, at least in what most people picture them and what the Bad Ending somewhat suggests to me. Of course, most protagonists are just Like That, but from all that shit about Specimen 7 and "It Was Never A Mask" achivement name for the bad ending. Specimen 14's violence, to me at least, stems from rage and fear and the need to survive and tell these monsters who's boss based on a more stoic past personality. Old man's not like that. Maybe staying way too long in painted walls and floors fucked him up a little, but I still think that, with his vlogger persona and the way he talks, that he values his relationships with other people a hell lot. An extrovert, perhaps. I can't be sure. In any respect, this further explains how the mansion fucked him up.

Overanalyzing time, but I also find it interesting how in his Specimen 12 notes when he hears movements and voices downstairs he immediately goes: "Finally, other survivors. Ah yes. This is definitely some other survivors and it will be a Good Thing." He also acts like he's finally something to do whenever he first appears. It would be even funnier if he knows when and where you're hiding at times but just doesn't do anything about it because he deliriously thinks it's against the "rules" of the game he wants to play with you. I mean. There's this:

Old man has probably been reading "fake" books and eating "fake" food for at least half a decade. The food has probably permanently distorted his taste buds. Not sure about his speech, however. He probably tries to play pretend and conversewith the wall. or this thing. but still. the lack of another human intelligence articulating complete sentences to his face has likely signficantly deterioriated his ability to hold long conversations.

Stays in his area most of the time, but not because he likes it. He subconsciously thinks it to be a safer area than other parts of the mansion.

He is not friends with any of the Specimens. This includes Specimen 12 itself, as his possessed mind blocks out information regarding the mansion being the entity that is using him. He has no idea what has happened to him.

Old Man has never had a wife nor did he have kids. His parents died of natural causes a while after he went into the mansion. This is perfect for Specimen 12 because that means its host does not have to think too much. Yup!

Ok onto the Specimen itself

Not a spirit. Not an individual. Not a hivemind. Certainly an entity and not a natural force. Like Whiskers in Growing Your Grandpa, I believe Specimen 12 is something that grows depending on what happened in and around it. A tragedy canonically has taken place in it, and I think the vengeful souls that were lost during the massacre made it their duties to continue a cycle of violence and madness.

It has regretted the decision to move here. There are too little people and they always only come by themselves. There are not enough hosts to manipulate. To use so it can explain how they are planning to leave. Things are getting too slow and yes I am suggesting that the old man has the highest life expectancy a Specimen 12 host ever had. I think Specimen 12 used to be somewhere else, and bloodbaths were more often back then. A huge group of people would often come to investigate past atrocities or to challenge their friends, and crowds would come to be driven to paranoia and murder. After the entire area became restricted to anybody, there was no one. Specimen 12 moved to Spooky's after that, but kills are slow and scarce. It is currently stockpiling murdered souls for a trip around the world.

Flexible, but not very smart itself. Cannot quite find a balance to unnerve visitors while also compelling them to stay. It does chores. It does what it does to maintain its host and trap new victims. (UNNATURALLY GENERATED FOOD! eat it my bald middle-aged child) Not that smart about what to clean and what to keep. Sickle man's notes have been left for years and it did not ever think of cleaning them up. I think it is probably powerful enough to clean it up, but it doesn't. When you're trying to pretend to be a normal mansion so people would stay and get killed, you probably would think of cleaning that up. I think Specimen 12 a just a bit stupid, although that is partly due to it probably not having an actual mind of its own. kind of House of Leaves type shit, but nerfed (coconot make a horror-related post without mentioning house of leaves challenge)

Old Man's dislike of most other Specimens is put onto by Specimen 12, somewhat. Specimen 12 has a filter system of some kind, only letting in creatures that can either be killed by the host or become a new host. It does it by making other Specimens forget what they were visiting Specimen 12 for, if there are any possible reasons, however minute. It has to do this to protect its host, mainly. Also, some Specimens leave dirty prints and marks on the floor. There is not much it can do about what Old Man does outside the mansion, although Old Man is stuck connected with Specimen 12 until he dies. (Spooky can come, though. She does her monthly inspections and hangs up decorations sometimes. These decorations disappear about a week after they are put up, for some reason. )

Most Specimens don't want to find out what happens if they try to kill Specimen 12's host. They don't even know if it really gets angry, or just generates out consequences to further its own purposes. Nevertheless, interferring with Specimen 12 is an one-way ticket to a month of zero kills for themselves, as it will grow to lead visitors away from the offending Specimen.

The 12th key on the piano plays an unpleasant screeching sound.

So this took a few hours and I am not even close to being certain that most of this can fit the actual lore of spooky's. honestly, take it as it is. i wished i had more funny ideas, but "if Specimen 12 has no bathroom where does Old Man excrete" is not really appropriate. Not something I would want to write about. I have no more clue what to write.

Here's some silly comments in Specimen 12's Fandom Wiki page:

that's it. feel free to leave a comment if you notice anything not matching up in this list of headcanons. i am going to sleep now. yes

#sjsm #shojs #sjm #spooky's jumpscare mansion #spooky's house of jumpscares #spooky’s jumpscare mansion #sjm headcanons #shojs headcanons #sjsm headcanons #specimen 12 #long post

[night-error]

RANDOM HC'S AND ART ABOUT IRIS!!!!!

Ignore the fact that some drawings he doesn't have his coat. I wasn't bothered to draw it.

Firstly, Iris has autism but he's more on the sensory issue part of the spectrum. He gets really frustrated by certain noises and textures. (for example: paper rubbing on carpet and the texture of jeans)

He also has sensitive hearing and he has his own pair of noise cancelling headphones. Whenever it is thunder or lightning he looks for his headphones before he gets frustrated from all the loud noises. Pentellow, orange and Tsavorite all know where his headphones are and they mainly have to bring it to him whenever he misplaces it.

During a sensory overload/Meltdown Pentellow will ask iris if he wants to go to his room (Its a sound proof room with many things that keeps iris calm) If iris refuses to move then pentellow will sit next to iris and will keep his state from getting worse. When iris gets calm enough pentellow will grab a blanket and wraps him in a blanket until he eventually falls asleep. The heros still panic a little when this happens and usually go get someone if pentellow, Pyrare or cube isn't present.

He is happily a bisexual and he is intersex. Iris doesn't mind what pronouns people give him. As she/they/he/it goes by any. Well except neo pronouns since he gets confused on how to use them. But he still supports them!

Drawing is one of the many things iris does to keep him busy when he has nothing to do.

Whenever someone mentions any of iris's special interests it instantly cheers him up. Whenever he gets overly excited he stims. If he's sitting he stims with hands and feet. But, if he's standing he stims with his hands.

Iris also likes to walk around barefooted. Since he hates the feeling of socks. Although it is common for pentellow or even pyrare to accidentally stand on his feet and get a slap right afterwards.

In his coat/jacket, iris has little pockets for the heros to lay in. But, Since Tsavorite is matured now iris doesn't know how to make his coat work for him. Until then Tsavorite usually just sits behind iris neck (well where his neck should be at least-)

Iris loves to annoy cube about his height, this of course can end in a few ways with them being: 1, Cube finds it funny. 2, cube annoys iris back. 3, they both fight with eachother until they are put in air jail. 4, cube takes advantage of his shortness and speed to take off iris's coat and run (or When iris doesn't want to wear socks and shoes) cube will grabs iris ankles making him fall over and will pretend to cut of his feet as a joke. (On rare occasions cube will take a risk and just tickle iris's exposed feet. But, It only ends in 1 way. Cube gets absolutely booked in the face and he stops. Probably knocked out) Neither of them will remain serious during their brotherly like playfulness.

He has the unfortunate curse of allergies with them consisting of dragon fruit, bee/wasp stings and lemons. Luckily the lemons are only a skin allergy and he can eat them, but when any juice touches his skin it causes his skin to flare up with hives that itch alot. Pyrare and pentellow carry a epipen incase something happens to iris.

When iris hides his body, his favourite activity is rolling down hills until he stops at the bottom. He loves it, although he most always goes into a tree or a river making it funnier to watch.

Iris is left handed. Idc what you say.

I kinda hc that spheres have the opisite qualities as Pentagon's meaning iris's skin can be easily damaged and is really sensitive to touch. (Other spheres have it easier with less sensitive skin)

Lastly, Snakes are a massive no no for him. He has a phobia of them and whenever he sees a snake he stares at it, if it moves he leaves the room going to get pentellow since she isn't scared of them. Although, iris is okay with very small hognose snakes. They are the only snakes he goes near since I hc that 1 of iris's cousins has alot of hognose snakes and they keep reassuring iris that the snakes are friendly. (He still has a mini heart attack)

Thats all!!!!!!!

Repost and tell me your headcannons for this grape boi!!

#digital art #the pink corruption iris #the pink corruption #headcanon #sketch #iris is the best #lazy

[malice-death]

RWBY: Favorite Characters

When it comes to characters from Rwby, I have a small list I hold close to my hearts, in other words, people that I like seeing on screen sometimes more than others.

Now most people have watched the series for years, and have tight opinion on characters, but I love how unique the appearance characters is and how they tie to the plot.

So for this post, I thought I speak on my top five faves.

1. Mercury Black

Crazy to think that some Murderer’s son was going to be the first character that I liked.

Even funnier was, when I first watched the show, I thought that they wouldn’t put a character with some dead dad in the show, and five seconds later is Cinder and Emerald meeting this crazy boy who just straight killed his father.

What a legend in my opinion. But as soon as I saw that he was heading to Vacuo, I pretty much made the same expression as Emerald when he left, I pray that he shows in Volume 10, I don’t even care if he good or evil, I just want to see this cynical soul again.

“Ahem” Moving on.

2. Oscar Pine

This kid pretty much was the world’s punching bag, all because Ozpin lived inside his head rent free, and while I like Ozpin, Oscar stole my heart with his earnst nature and the fact that he went on to face so much to aid Ruby and her friends.

Even better was the fact that he was such a character, that Team JOYRide wasn’t just going to abandon him, even when Jaune, Yang, and Ren were all working through their own issues.

General Ironwood saw that Oscar was going to give him the information that he wanted and needed to be taken out for it, hell even Cinder said that Oscar was right at the end of Volume 8, so please come on the evidence of a great character is there.

 Finally, I also love the ship Rosegarden, and the fact that the dynamic between Oscar and Ruby is really fun to watch. The fact that they grow together as friends and characters, the fact that they both lean on each other, the fucking fumble before Oscar goes to confront Ironwood! Let me tell you, I could write a small essay, if I had the time.

Well time to move on again, cause I definetly don’t hve time for that.

3. Cinder Fall

Now I know that everyone hates this character, that everyone depises her, but I love the idea of Fallen characters, the fact that Cinder is the true embioment of such a complex concept.

Even though her backstory arrived late, and the fact that she had failed so many times, its the fact that Cinder is meant to keep falling, she’s meant to keep being Cinderella, even though she no longer has evil stepsisters, she traded one stepmother for another.

Cinder has earned scars, burns, even a grimm limb for all the things that she had failed to achieve. People say that Cinder has no growth, but the fact that Cinder still has to kill, still has to betray, it shows that she has change, for the worse. The fact that she changed her mindset, only to be kicked down for all that can’t do.

Emerald is one of the few characters that cared about her, and because Cinder killed the only other person that ever felt that way about her, she changed herself to never put herself through something like that again, which is why she probably treats Emerald the way she does. Its all in the sense of mentality.

Time to get to the next character, no need to drag this now.

4. Winter Schnee

God in Heaven help me, why did RT have to make such an interesting woman.

I mean I have trouble picking a character that I like in a show, but Winter fit my description of a hardworking character. She truly reminds me of Jean (Genshin Impact), a woman who goes to lengths, working far harder than she needs to.

But Winter of course is different, like her younger sister, she specializes in Glyhs and the fact that they don’t use heavy weapons. Instead going for more smaller bladed swords, and making every attack count in the long run.

She also teaches the lesson of how hard it is choose duty over family. Even though she loves her family, she still chooses her job over and over again. The fact stands that when she fought against Ironwood, and the fact that Penny chose her to take the winter maiden powers, it was easy to see how much this was going to effect.

At the end of Volume 8, she had to face everyone, including what was left of her family, seeing that Oscar, Emerald, Nora, and Ren were what was left of everyone that she knew.

I bet you she even blames herself for letting Jaune fall.

At the end of the day, she was showed to be such a regal character, that still had the flaws to balance her just perfectly.

Now time for the final faverite of mine.

5. Roman Torchwick

Surprise, Surprise.

Bet you weren’t expecting that. I have to say I wasn’t either, the earlier volumes are my favorite for the fact that I love watching the first episode over and over again for my own amusement.

My personal watching rule is “If I can watch the first episode over and over again, than its a good series”, and since this rule works for both Rwby and Ouran Host Club, I think I’m in the clear here.

So, to the point Torchwick brought something amazing to the show, showing up in all of his mysterious glory, even if early him was rough around the edges.

I liked the fact that Neo and him worked together, bouncing their attack patterns and even their team skills together.

Also the fact that him being caring about her until the end was touching.

Him coming back in Volume 9 was what broke my heart though, like it was lovely to see him doing his thing again, but at the end of the day we all knew that it was an Illusion that he wasn’t coming back to us.

But I loved every second while he was on, and the way that he left was so touching. A departure for the ages.

Well thats the end of this long post, thank you all for reading.

An here’s a final hug to all that read this post.

#RWBY #Oscar Pine #Mercury Black #Cinder Fall #Roman Torchwick #Winter Schnee

[cherryspikes]

You know you love me

‧₊˚ 📸 ✩ ₊˚ Multiple ships - EAH Gossip Girl AU

⭒ desc: After a rat infestation shuts down the school, students from Nottingham High get transferred to different schools all over New York. Sparrow and his friends ended up being part of the unlucky few who were sent to Ever After Prep. Being thrust into the world of the disgustingly rich felt like diving in head first into a pile of rocks. Tensions between the students were high enough, but after an anonymous blog starts spreading gossip it all rises to another level. Secret relationships, millions of dollars, and nosey teenagers were already a recipe for disaster. But it seems someone is trying to make every student's life a living hell.

⭒ content: this is a story with a full plotline!! please read the first chapter before reading this. you do not have to have seen Gossip Girl to understand but there are some references that are funnier if you have. mentions of drugs and alcohol. - THIS IS NOT A FULL RECREATION OF GOSSIP GIRL - its eah characters in a gg inspired universe with reimaginings of iconic gg plotlines.

⭒ wordcount: 3,645 

cross-posted on ao3 !!

⭒ note: sorry this took so long to update school is kicking my ass 😭

Chapter 1

Chapter 2: Lost in Some Tension

The loud pop music was starting to make his head hurt. It’s not that Sparrow didn’t like it. All of his closest friends knew about his secret love for Nelly Furtado. But you can only listen to so many electronic beats until your brain turns to mush. 

He was starting to get a headache, and that, with the feeling of being out of place, was not a good pairing. He awkwardly stood in the corner, drink in hand. Parties like this weren’t his scene. Social gatherings in general, weren’t his scene. Faybelle had dragged him out to an Upper East Side party because she said he needed to talk to people more. He agreed to it, thinking it would be fun to explore other sides of the city, but now that he's actually there... He kind of regretted it.

It's not like he didn’t want to talk to others; he just didn’t know how. He was a fish out of water flopping around the ground. Faybelle tried her best to include him in conversations, but whatever he did, it seemed like they just weren’t interested. So he let her go and hang out with her friends. He didn’t want to drag her down with him.

His moping was depressing. If he wasn’t going to do anything, he needed to leave. Once he mustered up the courage to leave, he immediately felt himself bump into something. Of course, he would knock into someone the second he decides to move; just his luck. He frantically apologized, but the white-haired girl he talked to shook her head. “Ah, don’t worry about it! I didn’t like this dress anyway.” She assured, looking at the stain his drink left on her white iridescent dress. Once she fully turned to face him, her hair's black and lavender strands distracted him. 

She kept on talking, but it wasn’t really a conversation. He wasn’t saying anything. She seemed to notice this and stopped talking about the fashion designers her dad had invested in or something like that. 

“I don’t think I’ve seen you before... Where are you from?” He took a second to respond, not realizing he was even asked a question. 

"Oh, – Uh, I’m from Nashville, but I, uh, just moved into my dad’s last week.” 

“Well, welcome to the city! Feeling homesick?” She asked, turning her head to the side.

“Eh, I’ve been visiting for years, so it’s like a second home.” 

She hummed in response and looked for something else to ask. Usually, this is where whoever he’s talking to would say: ‘Well, it was great talking to you! See you around!’ But it seemed like this conversation was actually going to last. He didn’t really want it to end, either. Judging by her outfit, she had money. A lot of it. He was intrigued. He needed to know more. 

“I'm guessing you’re a student, right?” He nodded. “Do you know what school you’re going to?” 

“I'm not 100% sure. My dad keeps flip-flopping between his options. But I think Nottingham is starting to win him over.” 

She flinched jokingly at the mention of the school. “My mortal enemy…” He looked confused. “I go to Ever After, Nottingham’s like our biggest rival.” 

“Rivals as in ‘we compete against each other, but it’s whatever’ or rivals as in ‘we literally hate each other’.” 

“We literally hate each other. Seniors tp’d their court right before their last game last year, and the bleachers were drenched in eggs.” 

“Wow, I never imagined that actually happened in real life.” 

“New York doesn't feel like real life most of the time.” 

He let out a small laugh. They stood in silence for a little bit. 

“I’m Sparrow, by the way.” He held out his hand. She shook it, but before she could reply, a blonde girl came and interrupted them.

“Duchess!” She screamed loudly. “I didn’t know you came back!” The white-haired girl looked startled. “Uh – Yeah! It’s nice to see you too! Listen, um, let me finish this up, and I’ll go catch up with you and Daring.” The blonde replied with a loud Okay. You could tell she could barely hear herself over the music. 

Duchess sighed. “Well, I’m Duchess, as you heard.” Sparrow nodded. “You can go with your friends if you want. It was really nice talking with you.” 

“Same! Hope to see you around.” After she walked away, another figure replaced her spot immediately. Faybelle stood behind her, mouth agape. 

Sparrow's face contorted in confusion. 

“You talked with Duchess Swan… And you gave her a handshake ?” 

________________________________________

Detention was anything but new to Ramona. Even back in Nottingham, she’d get into trouble. It has improved over the years, but her temper management still needs work. She gets passionate about little things quickly, and those strong emotions can take over. She sticks to her values and never surrenders. If you upset her about something, it’ll probably take a year for her to not be angry about it anymore. This even included teachers sometimes. If it weren’t for her above-average grades, athletic prowess, and her willingness to go through any punishment the faculty chose, she would be expelled by now.

However, her fighter spirit was starting to die down once she started high school. She was getting ready for college. She needed to be ‘more serious,’ whatever that meant. After everyone was surprised by all her honors awards at her middle school graduation, she realized she needed to change her ways. She needed to focus on school, and getting into a good college. Plus, being stuck in a classroom after school hours turned into the most tedious part of her everyday routine. 

Detention was a very new concept to Justine. Getting into trouble was very unfamiliar to her. Having a huge family of 12 siblings made it hard to hide anything. This wasn’t a problem when she was younger. What big secret are you hiding when you're 7 years old? But now that she’s 17, there were many things she didn’t want her family to know. She didn’t want them to know she had failed her chemistry test. She didn’t want them to know she didn’t get a callback for any of the Broadway shows she had auditioned for during the summer. And she especially didn’t want them to know that keeping these secrets led her to smoke weed as a coping mechanism. 

"I hope you two understand why you're here. This school takes its policy very seriously. I’m especially surprised at your behavior Justine. I expected better from you," Madame Yaga lectured while she sat behind her desk. 

The words hit her like a truck. She bowed her head down and spoke so only she could hear. “I’m sorry, Miss, it will never happen again.” 

The older woman returned to the paperwork on her desk after mumbling, ‘Good.’ “Now, normally, this situation would’ve led both of you to the Headmaster’s office.” She looked back up to both of them. Ramona was calm, while Justine looked terrified. “However, you’re both great students, and I would hate for this to damage your relationship with this Academy. Can I trust that this won’t happen again?” They both nodded. 

“Well, I have some paperwork to deliver. While I do that, you will write an apology and an explanation of your actions. Both must be done by the time I return.” 

As the teacher left the room, an uneasy silence settled. Justine tried her hardest to write her apology. But the words didn’t come to her. She didn’t know what to say. She wanted it to be simple yet genuine. Despite her reluctance to apologize, she wasn't ignorant that she was in the wrong. She just wanted to write the stupid note so this would all be over.

Justine turned around to find Ramona engrossed in her writing. With her head tilted to the side, she seemed intensely focused, piquing Justine’s curiosity.

Regrettably, Ramona glanced up, catching Justine’s lingering gaze.

"Do you have a staring problem?" Ramona frowned.

"You're the last person I want to be looking at, let alone be stuck in detention with," Justine swiftly retorted.

"Same here. If you hadn't been such a bitch, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation," Ramona reclined in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You were the one that started it!”

“I’d say you got yourself into trouble the second you decided to smoke weed at school,” Ramona replied. 

Justine didn’t reply. She turned back to her paper. Deciding that was more important than arguing with her. Yet Ramona wanted it to keep going.

“I don’t get why you’re so worried over all this. Madame Yaga said you're off the hook even though you were doing drugs at school. If I were you, I would be ecstatic.” 

Ramona finished writing her apology and dropped it off at the desk. She sat on the roller chair and propped her feet on the wooded surface. 

“Well, I’m not someone like you, so I’d never do that.” Justine scoffed, slowly losing her patience. She was starting to sound a lot more conceited. 

“Someone like me?” Ramona prodded while playing with a Rubik's cube she found in between Madame Yaga's things. 

“A troublemaker, a punk, maybe even a nuisance.” The dancer listed.

“Is that what your daddy told you poor people are? Maybe you should focus all that brain power on writing your paper.” 

“Whatever, you don’t know me,” Justine argued.

“People talk, princess. I think I know enough.” Ramona challenged.

“Okay, then you should know things are rough for me right now, so I don’t want to deal with your bullshit.” Justine quickly replied. Ramona stayed quiet for a second. Looking her up and down. 

“Don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical for you to be angry that I’m making assumptions about you when you did that same thing to me earlier?” Ramona retorted.

Justine didn’t respond. 

“Yeah, I don’t know you, and I’m glad I don’t. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t even fucking be at this shit hole right now.” 

After saying that, a lightbulb went off in Ramona’s head. She walked toward her desk, grabbed her things, and left. 

“Madame Yaga isn’t here yet!” Justine yelled. 

“Who cares!” Ramona responded halfway down the hall.

Justine was left alone and confused. Looking down at her blank piece of paper. 

________________________________________

“Who the hell is this ‘Gossip Girl’?” Briar asked. Whoever they were, had contact with nearly everyone in the Upper East Side, so word of Duchess’ return spread like wildfire. Briar was supposed to be helping Apple get ready for her mom's monthly friends & family dinner, yet the sudden ringing of their phones interrupted them.

Briar’s messages were flooded with thousands of people asking her if she had any idea who it could be. So she had to type out ‘No’ a thousand times. On the other hand, Apple was trying her hardest to keep calm. Sure, her so-called BFF disappeared for a year without letting her know. She then returned without letting her know again. But the more she thought about it, she realized that wasn’t why she was worried. 

Gossip had always been a massive thing among EAP students. Rumors about students dating and parents getting divorced had all been discussed before. Gossip Girl just made it more accessible. One of the biggest rumors that floated around the school was that Daring had cheated on Apple with Duchess. No one knows exactly how it started, but someone had started saying they went on dates together at his dad’s hotel, and it all escalated from there. It wasn’t true, of course. When she first heard it, Apple questioned them both for hours. But Daring was too confused, and Duchess was too disgusted for it to be true. That’s what she told herself, at least. She told Daring the situation didn’t bother her. She trusted that he told her the truth. But deep down, she had her doubts. The day she realized Duchess had left, a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. 

The days were those rumors were the main topic of conversation at school were the most anxiety-induced days of her life. She couldn’t help but analyze everything Duchess said. Her paranoia made her want to be with Daring at all times to ensure her nightmares weren’t becoming a reality. Apple believed the rumors, disregarding everything Daring had done to reassure her it wasn’t true. She managed to find the tinniest of holes in every story he told her. She made up reasons as to why Daring didn’t love her anymore, and that Duchess actually hated her. The elaborate stories she told herself were eating her alive, but no one could know about it. Especially her parents.  

The idea of Apple and Daring being a couple existed since before they were even born. Ever since Apple understood the concept of romance, she’s known Daring was the one . Ever since she understood how marriage worked, she made moodboards of what her marriage with Daring would look like. Ever since she saw pictures of her parents dancing at the Cotillion ball, she knew she would dance with Daring when it was her turn. It was what she wanted the most and Duchess was trying to ruin it.

What did Duchess have that she didn’t? They were both beautiful. They’ve both known Daring since they were kids but Apple knew him since birth. They’ve practically been dating since kindergarten, them getting married is like a prophecy for both of their families. Why did Duchess try to rewrite it? She could (and has) have any man in the world. Rockstars, monarchs, and even unknown, average, regular people. What made Daring so enticing? Or, what made Apple so easily replaceable?

‘Is it my style?’ She could change it. She could wear more makeup and dye her hair. With all the comments made about her not looking like her mother, she has definitely considered it before. 

‘My humor or hobbies?’ She could be more reckless and be more impulsive sometimes. 

Then it clicked. That was what Duchess had that Apple didn’t. Bravery, courage, the ability to be bold and take the next step. Duchess was never afraid of ‘what ifs’. The consequences of her actions never seemed to matter to her. That’s what made being in a relationship with her so fun. Dating Duchess was like going on a roadtrip without a map, while dating Apple was like following every little detail of a recipe down to the exact utensils they use. Apple had always been more traditional. No rough partying, very focused on school, and absolutely no sex before marrige. Duchess was more “modern” in her ideals, which meant the exact opposite. That was what made Daring want her. At least according to the story Apple kept telling herself over and over again.

It died down after Duchess left. Their relationship sailed smoothly. But now that she’s back and with the ball being 4 months away, she needed to lock in their relationship before it drowned. Even if that meant disregarding her ideals.  

Frantically, she left her room. At the top of the staircase, she looked through the guests in her home. She managed to pick out her boyfriend in the crowd and ignored Briar’s warnings. She smiled brightly as she got closer to him and the other men he was talking to. They were discussing college football or something. Whatever it was, it needed to wait. 

“Sorry to interrupt, but can I borrow Daring for a second?” 

“Ah, of course! Oh, Apple, we need to talk about your next charity gala. I think I have some amazing people you’ll want to invite.” Daring’s father chimed in. 

“Oh, perfect! Can’t wait to hear all about it!” She dragged Daring upstairs. 

The second they got away from everyone, she kissed him hard. He followed along even though he was confused. It wasn’t until she locked her bedroom door he realized what was going on.

“Whoah, okay! What’s up with you right now?” 

She sat close to him on the bed. Still with a brightly fake smile on her face. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, this is so not you. You said you wanted to wait.” 

“Well,” She sat on top of him. “Not anymore.” Daring was shocked.

“Now?” Clocks ticking. 

“Yes, Daring! I'm 100% sure.”  The second her lips touched his again, there was a loud knock at the door. It startled her, and she immediately backed away. Was it a sign? Was this an omnipotent being telling her to think before she acts? To think before doing something she knows she’ll regret afterward? 

She ran up to the door on nervous, shaky legs and opened the door. It was her mom and her message was far worse than anything any deity could’ve told her. 

“Apple, Duchess is here!” 

________________________________________

When the elevator doors opened to reveal Apple’s penthouse, a wave of discomfort drowned Duchess. The marble floor, glass chandelier, and roses decorating the entryway felt way too familiar. 3 years ago she probably would’ve been excited to enter the house unannounced. A pleasant surprise for her best friend. But now, all she feels is fear. 

Apple isn’t one to confront people. If she didn’t like you, you wouldn’t know. She tries to be open with everyone and ever since she became a freshman she was set on changing how students interacted with each other. She didn’t like the name-calling and the gossiping. She tried her best to make everyone get along but some things are just impossible to change. The straight-up bullying did end, at least. But gossip was still a rampant issue. It made Apple feel like her hard work was never enough, (typical since she puts way too much pressure on herself) but she can’t be that angry about it. Sure, Apple didn’t outright hate anyone. But she also went out of her way to separate herself from those she doesn’t like. Duchess didn’t blame her though. No one’s perfect. Especially not if you can afford going to Ever After. 

But this is different. Apple didn’t confront those who called her a spoiled brat. But she might confront her “best friend” who disappeared for a year when she suddenly decides to walk right into her house like it's nothing. Duchess felt fear while walking down the hall. Not because of what people were mumbling to each other. 

“Boarding school my ass! She went to rehab or something.” 

“She definitely had work done. I mean, look at her!”

“I heard she’s pregnant…” 

That last one did give her goosebumps. But the main source of her terror was not knowing how Apple was going to react to her arrival. She knew what she did was shitty. She deserved to be the first person Apple publicly yelled at and that’s what scared her the most. 

Her legs felt like jelly as she walked up the stairs. At the top, she took a second to breathe and think. ‘What do you say to your best friend after abandoning them when they needed you most?’ She didn’t have time to answer the question because of the piercing gaze she felt on her. She turned around to find Daring staring at her. Instinctively, he fixed his messy hair and shirt. The implication made Duchess wonder what changes had happened since she left. But their eye contact was broken by the door to Apple’s room opening.

“Duchess! So good to see you!” She knew Apple could see the goosebumps on her arms. She knew she was lying to herself about not feeling the tension between her best friend and her boyfriend. Apple could swear her fake smile fooled everyone, but Duchess has known her long enough to know what her genuine smile is like. On top of that, the hug she gave her felt a little too tight. It felt less like a ‘Welcome home!’ and more like an ‘I’m watching you’. 

“Yeah, we really missed you,” Daring added. “Want to join us for dinner?”

Duchess’s face contorted in a way Apple couldn’t decipher. Shame? Embarrassment? 

“Yeah, about that. Um -  I have to get home and talk to Dad. He doesn’t even know I’m here really! So uh, yeah..” 

“You’re leaving?” Apple could hear the disappointment in Daring’s voice. 

“Sorry, I just wanted to drop by for a second to let you know I’m here. But I’ll see you guys at school tomorrow!” 

“Oh great! We have so much catching up to do.” Duchess agreed and quickly walked down the stairs. Just like that, she's gone. 

Daring kissed Apple’s forehead and mumbled something about continuing what they were doing later. She nodded even though she wasn’t fully paying attention to his words. She looked around the room while walking down the stairs, spotting Briar and Ashlynn. 

“Well, she’s back for good. She’s coming to school tomorrow.” Slightly gritting her teeth.

Briar was busy answering the thousands of messages she had received inquiring about Gossip Girl. Ashlynn on the other hand was shocked by Apple’s words. “Did she not tell you she was coming back?” Her fake smile reappeared immediately. 

“Oh, of course, she did. I just… wanted it to be a surprise.” 

________________________________________

e-blast #2: Best friends for never?

2/8/07 - 7:45PM

Poor Apple White, always trying so hard but it never seems to be enough. Wipe that fake smile off your face, boo. It’s okay to yell at people sometimes. Especially if they mess with your man. Queen D’s arrival seems to have shocked everyone. Even her so-called BFF... Wake up Apple! Broken friendships fail. Drop her before ‘MVP’ Charming drops you. 

[ click to view foto ] 

Who’s going to be Apple’s prince charming if Daring runs off to another maiden? Maybe his brother will finally have a date to the ball afterall…

                                                                                                                                                                - XOXO, Gossip Girl

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