#unless Noah worded it wrong

[bananasbyler]

“Left up for interpretation” - Noah

Oh no.... my hope went down a little—

Please tell me he just used the wrong words 😭

[READ TAGS]

#meaning it won’t outright be confirmed #sigh #here we go again #unless Noah worded it wrong #idk #byler s4 #mike wheeler #will byers #byler #michael wheeler #william byers #stranger things #stranger things s4

[uglyducklingofthe2000s]

hi lovely x could you write something about you being lando’s comfort person? like he just comes to you when he’s feeling off or something is wrong and you cuddle and talk and that makes him feel better? thank you if you do xx

Just You. Only You. - LN

Complicated friends to soulmates lovers trope coming in strong.

Also just for a bit of timeline context, this is after the Qatar race weekend.

The whole race weekend felt deflating and exhausting.

When he arrives home in Monaco the apartment feels eerily empty and being there without someone there to come home to, honestly he feels hallow. He tries to ignore the attack of his own thoughts, but just having finished things in Qatar where he was incredibly hard on himself, the media and fans rip into him for simply being jealous of Oscar for the Sprint win.

He stay in his apartment just long enough to shower, change and grab a small bag of stuff before heading out. Not wanting to be surrounded by the reminders of why he feels so shitty in himself.

Heading to another part of Monaco, he finds himself at a door, pressing the buzzer. He knows y/n is there.

"Hello?"

"Hey, y/n."

There's not even a response, just the clicking of the door unlocking allowing him to get through and move to the lift. But eventually he gets up to her door which is dangerously always unlocked but since she lives in Monaco where crime isn't really an issue unless it's white collar, he guesses she doesn't care that much.

"Hey." Y/n smiles lying on the sofa. "What bring you to my humble abode?"

Usually he'd make a joke questioning just how humble her abode is. When he doesn't, she frowns then opens her arms allowing him to move and immediately move over to her. His body lies heavy on top of her.

"What wrong, Lan?" Y/n asks softly, that gentle tone that wraps him in cotton.

"The race...the whole weekend...everything." Lando lets letting out a heavy breath that unknowingly earns a frown but she doesn't let it show for long and he doesn't see it as she plays with his hair.

"You're going to be ok." Y/n whispers, her words washing over the young man who just sinks down against her. "I wish you saw yourself the way I see you. You are so amazing, I just...I really wish I could just force you to see yourself the same."

Lando's face flickers with a smile but it's only temporary.

"I'm not winning...I'm not getting the rewards everyone else that is so great is getting. Charles got two wins in his first year with Ferrari-"

"And then none for the two seasons that followed...You are too hard on yourself. You shouldn't compare yourself to others, Lando. It's not healthy."

"My entire career is based on comparing myself to others."

Y/n remains quiet making Lando feel a tug of guilt that leaves him nuzzling down into her. He loves y/n, she is the only person who makes him feel safe like this.

Their friendship is complicated because of these moments. Their time alone with each other is always like this, but when they're around others it's like these moments don't exist.

One day Lando knows he's going to marry her. It's just going to be a matter of time before he finally makes his move. But for now he'll settle for these late nights and private moments. Just for them to enjoy each other.

The soft music suddenly fills the silence and Lando smiles hearing the gentle song that so perfectly suits y/n while Lando prefers techno, you'll catch her listening to Hozier or Noah Kahan. Something that doesn't has so much of a deafening club beat.

"Can you come to the next race?" Lando asks not looking up in fear of her answer but with where his head is placed. He finds her heart thudding all of a sudden under his head. "Your heart is beating so fast. You're not about to die underneath me."

"You're such a muppet." Y/n scoffs then rubbing Lando's back. "I love coming to races with you, if you invited me more often, I'd be there all the time."

"You have an open invitation. It's you attending university that is the problem here."

"It's not a problem. You're just jealous that I'm smart enough to actually get into university." Y/n jokes then sighing. "It's Austin next isn't it?"

"Yeah, then Mexico where you're going to come join us too. And obviously Vegas! You have to come to the last race in Abu Dhabi too." Lando smiles while y/n laughs at his growing excitement.

"Sounds like my calendar is full. I'll have to inform my professors that my best friend takes priority when it comes to social life vs school grades."

"I'll compensate you for it."

"Well now I just have to accept it." Y/n giggles before she sighs. "I have to be there for my only therapy client."

"You do." Lando confirms grinning at her. "Can I sleep here tonight?"

"You know you can." Y/n states before she swallows thickly then yawning as she shifts. "You have too options. Bunk in with me, or I'll see up the sofa?"

"Stupid question."

"Alright, come on." Y/n laughs patting him in gesture for him to get up.

They both get up and while she goes about her usual skincare routine, throughout which she feels Lando's eyes burning through her being all while she tries to ignore the feeling of his eyes just on her constantly.

"Come here, Casanova. We're going to give your skin some well needed attention." Y/n smiles making him get up looking genuinely excited as he jumps up from her bed and moves to sit on her drawers. Thankfully they're stable enough to not just fall over from his rapid movement.

"Why am I Casanova?" Lando asks with his eyes closed as she cleanses his face.

"Sorry?" Y/n frowns confused by the question.

"You called me Casanova, I just...I'm confused why."

"Oh...I mean you don't have any shortage of interested women. I don't even think you have to try most of the time, right?" Y/n smiles while Lando opens his eyes. "Don't look at me like that. Max has told me you've got no shame about it."

Y/n can tell she might've just undone all the comforting and mood improving. Until...

"Are you one of the interested women?"

She actually chokes on her breath and splutters for a moment looking shocked that he just came out and said it.

"We're best friends-"

"Not what I asked." Lando cuts in while she bites her lip and suddenly his ego gives him a boost of confidence. "I'm taking that as a yes."

"You're so annoying."

"Because I'm right." Lando smirks then wasting no time getting to do something that he feels he's waited far too long for. He kisses her, a smile nearly fighting him on being able to actually do it. "Fuck. I wasted so many years waiting to do this...You'll still be my personal therapist?"

"Of course I will." Y/n smiles before tilting her head a little and grinning at him. "I don't think I'd be able to live if the job passed onto someone else. But...I will have to go back to university at some point. I'm not paying for this degree to get nothing in the end."

#f1 #fanfic #formula 1 #lando #lando norris #lando norris imagine #lando norris x reader #lando norris x y/n #lando x reader #norris #lando norris fanfic #ln4 fic #ln4 fluff #ln4 imagine #ln4 x reader #ln4 #mclaren f1 #mclaren #mclaren formula 1

[emblazons]

Honestly there will never be ANYTHING realer than the clip where David, Finn, Winona and Caleb all just flat out deny any possible romantic undertones for WillEl's relationship while confirming they're set up as siblings and heavily insinuating that Will is in love with Mike...before S4 even dropped. Like?

Finn's dead eyes with the 'wow' shaking his head and trying to smile as Winona is like 'oh my god?! WHAT" while Caleb goes wide eyed and David says 'WILL and ELEVEN?'

—and then David and Finn laughing while David says "if you've been watching the show, you know that Will isn't interested in El—he's interested in someone else in the group" with the "you'll see, you'll see soon, that he's interested—HE'S VERY INTERESTED" + Winona yelling " THATS JUST WRONG" kflkdsjfd add in David being like "Will wants to be in the basement playing DnD with Mike FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE" with Finn's "AND HE SAID THAT" and there's not a single way you could miss the insinuation unless you were being willfully obtuse ☠️

Even now though...at this point Noah has confirmed it and the Duffers have even giggled about it...but some people still act like it isn't obvious or canonical fact because no one used the word "gay" out loud to describe him? Just...someone take this show away from at least half its audience, because if the most basic subtext confuses you, its probably not the right fit ☠️

also love that Finn and David are both "they haven't set it up in the show or narrative, pay attention" truthers just like me LOL

#I really just needed this on my blog for posterity LOL #byler #willel #st cast #st interviews #finn wolfhard #david harbour #caleb mclaughlin #winona ryder #my st commentary #stranger things #the come back tag

[dozing-marshmallow]

Heyo! Just asking

Would you mind writing Yandere Noah Vs Yandere Mike from total drama? Thankssss! :>

Hellooo! Thank you so much for this fun request, so happy I was finally able to get this out! Also, I loooove your Radlynn theme, I loved playing the Papa Louie games so much growing up ^v^ enjoy !

YANDERE! NOAH VS YANDERE! MIKE HEADCANONS

Two guys fighting over you? My! How would that turn out?

Well, Noah would try to impress you with his intellect, Mike tried wooing you with his natural sweet personality.

Of course, you never thought these gestures had a bigger meaning than what met the eye.

Typical (Y/N).

A few months after the...season of All Stars aired, Chris wanted to throw a celebration reunion party for both casts before the brand new cast of Pahkitew Island was publicly introduced.

Noah and Mike were two of the many that didn’t want to go, but having the fact they were obliged to attend by their contract megaphoned, they soon put together that if this whole thing was mandatory for everyone, you would definitely be there.

Even if it wasn’t, you were a sweetheart, so you would’ve attended anyway.

Everyone was there alright, around their respective friend groups, and there Mike was, suspiciously having an exorbitant smile on his face for someone who wasn’t accompanied by anyone.

Noah knew the cause all too well, and takes it to confront him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Still a coward, huh?,“Ohh wow, that obvious lie came with that gap in your teeth? Take this as a warning, Mike. Unless you wanna make that gap bigger, back up trying to test your mediocre pick up lines on (Y/N) and you won’t have any more problems than what you already have to deal with.” his finger spiked into the taller male’s chest,“You have no chance with a girl that’s out of your generation, let alone out of your league.”

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, Noah!" said guy’s attempt at intimidation massively backfiring with Mike putting a hand to his own burning chest,"See, even though I'm Mike first and personalities second, the...feeling (Y/N) gives me is so intense, it's actually taking a better effect on me than the medication my psychiatrist prescribes me!"

How lame.

The high IQ rolls his eyes at Mike’s pathetic attempt at love,"You know your identity disorder soooo well. You of all people should know that's illogical, but I was right. (Y/N) really does have a moron lusting after her."

"Wow! Can't believe you finally got around to realising how dumb you are!"

Noah’s glare deepens in his face as Mike’s smile grew. These conversations were getting boring,"Why don't you go back to nosebleed hair? I'm sure she's missing you terribly bro." Surely that would kick some alarm into him. That desperate friendless girl had to be looking for him.

Strangely, he was still all happy,"Oh! I called things off with Zoey!” Oh. No wonder why he’s not slighted.

Damn your humanity, Zoey. You couldn’t entertain this idiot for another season?

He takes out his hideous handmade accessory,“I took my necklace back, so I can cherish it to (Y/N) instead!" Poor girl.

No way you could love someone that lacked the decency to reserve his affection- I mean, Noah loved you from day one,"Gee even I'm offended you think a second hand thing is the best you can give to my (Y/N). You are so totally rich. Medication funds put you in debt much?"

"Actually, they were free, but you are right about one thing! Not fair to give something someone else had. I'll make her another! Bigger and better! Like my love for her." he kept getting more and more ideas.

Can he afford to keep up?,"Don't go over budget."

"Hah! Seems like you suffer from a memory disorder. Thanks to my win, I never have to worry about budget again!... How many seasons did you win again?" Mike asks, his smirk still the same, but his words this time around were coiled by a pleather of travesty that had forced Noah to face a stinging truth he hated to admit, hissing a response in avoidance.

“Cram it, blockhead.”

Mike was about to blow a comeback, when suddenly your goddess figure graced both of them with your presence, switching their rivalry selves to civil friends.

"Enjoying yourself over here, boys?"

"Oh, totally." Noah waved, that totally being true for once.

"Never been better (Y/N)!" Mike threw you a thumbs up.

“Aw! Great!” you gushed in delight at the two,“It’s so heartwarming to see you guys getting along so well especially since we come from different casts!” You’re...happy. 

You’re happy at them... Them...getting along? Yes... Yes, we do get along! Mike wants to be the one to amplify your joy by encompassing Noah’s neck around his arm, a perfect time to suffocate him, yet so far,“Oh, yeah!” he could feel the malice blaze in Noah’s eyes, but he wouldn’t dare try breaking out his grasp if it meant keeping you happy. It was just as despicable for him,“It’s real nice speaking to the competitors from earlier seasons! You can learn so much.”

The hidden venom irked the trapped male, making it ten times harder to hold back his sly tongue. But you were there... (Y/N), too pure to taste any hate, had rewritten the entire muscle of his jaw. 

“Yeah, what...” for (Y/N), for (Y/N), for (Y/N),“He said. Guy’s more lovable than Owen.” Big fat lie. But you were pleased.

“Aww! Well, I’ll leave you two be. See you later!” even when you had rolled the distance, your words were still as sweet as blood itself.

How caring you are.

Mike makes the immediate move to aggressively shove Noah away from him. 

An awkward silence sits in as the ugly nature of their opposition unravels in the air, Noah being the first to emerge,“You’re still here?”

Mike’s smile finally drops in a confused line,“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Dunno. Thought after seeing for yourself that (Y/N) has zero interest in you, like none whatsoever, you’d get going.” His blood vessels bloated in hatred under his skin.

How come? I’m the one that made our “friendship” more believable to her,“How could I after she gave me that smile?” saying that revived his one.

“Mhmm, that smile was totally for you. Get realistic!” No amount of verity could crush that delusion Mike had, which increasingly agitated Noah,“(Y/N) will never love you. Never.”

“There’s no never in that smile, Noah! The way you cope with denial is really cute!” See? This freak was enjoying it.

Noah sighed. Guess it’s what you have to do when you lose a game of love. Really unfortunate for him, this was very rewarding.

The man with sarcasm for a name turned his back to take one of the knives available from the cutlery table. He slid his finger up and down its shiny blade, remembering all about why he stayed in this meaningless party for this long. His chagrin is cut short.

At the same time, Mike discreetly checks his blazer pocket to ensure he still had his one occupying within. A similar sick with the strings of heart quivers its way onto his reddening lips.

(Y/N)...(Y/N)...

Things were about to get interesting.

#request #total drama #tdi #tdi x reader #tdi noah #tdi mike #tdi noah x reader #tdi mike x reader #tdroti #tdroti mike #td noah #total drama noah #total drama mike #total drama mike x reader #total drama noah x reader #yandere x you #yandere x reader #total drama headcanons

[hadesforpreswrites]

dirty laundry, pt. 3

a/n: here's part 3! "death of peace of mind" came through my airpods at the exact right time while writing this. i hope you enjoy! if you want more, let me know by reblogging, liking, commenting, vibes, whatever. i love this couple so i'm willing to write more!

pairing: noah sebastian x reader

genre: idiots-to-lovers

warnings: praise; oral (m. receiving, f. receiving)

word count: 3,787

summary: noah spent the night, it's the next day. what will these two do?

part one part two part four

noah was the first of the pair to wake up. he first noticed the lack of warmth that he had when he had fallen asleep. he turned his half-awake eyes to the other side of the bed and saw she was curled up on her other side. he smiled to himself as he rolled himself over and pulled her back to his chest. she made a small mewling sound as she snuggled in closer to him. 

“what time is it?” he heard her sleepy voice ask him.

“i have no idea. you keep the windows covered so i’m not even sure it’s daytime right now,” he said with a playful tone. 

she giggled. “sun’s too bright.”

“i know,” he said. “if we get up now though, i’m sure we could locate somewhere that has pancakes.”

“tempting,” she said thoughtfully. “but i’m pretty comfy.”

“then we’ll stay here,” he kissed the back of her neck. 

a couple more hours passed as they laid there. he dozed back off to sleep after a few minutes of listening to her heavy breathing.

when he awoke again, he realized he was alone. the sheets were still warm where she had been laying so he hadn’t been alone for long, he concluded. the door to her bedroom was slightly open, allowing the morning sunlight to stream in. as if on cue, her shape darkened the door and pushed it open more. 

“oh, good, you’re awake,” she said, still sounding slightly tired. 

“just barely. whatcha got there?”

“iced coffee,” she passed him a cup as she sat on the bed. 

“doll, there’s no ice in this,” he chuckled.

“okay, so it’s cold coffee,” she laughed. “you don’t get hot coffee cause that’s scarlett’s and she might disown you for drinking it without asking.”

“that’s fair. she’s so touchy,” he said as he took a drink of the coffee.

“truly,” she said as she brought the blanket over her legs again.

“is she home?”

y/n looked over at him with raised eyebrows. “what do you think?”

“good for her,” he mused, earning him another laugh. “so what’s the plan for today?”

“well, it was wallow in self-pity but i guess that’s canceled.”

“definitely canceled.”

“so nothing planned unless you want to be bored while i knock out some homework.”

“oh, i’m sure i could find something to keep me occupied,” he wiggled his eyebrows at her, causing her to lightly shove him. “can i play your xbox?”

“that i will allow,” she said, passing him the controller. “only if you try dragon age though.”

“deal. you do your homework, i’ll age some dragons.”

“that’s not-” he shot her a look that told her he knew and she nodded with a smile. 

a few hours passed of her reading over articles and typing god knows what at the speed of sound. he opted to start with the first dragon age game in the series, a game that he realized came out in 2009 and looked like it. but after getting some tips from her on character creation, he played while she worked. 

eventually, she shut her laptop and set it on the side table and threw her backpack back to the floor before slumping against the pillows in exhaustion. 

“you know,” he said, saving the game and exiting. “you look really hot while you work.”

she shot him a look that told him he was being dumb.

“i’m dead serious. especially when you pulled your hair up to get it out of your way, peak sexy academic.”

“you’re so weird,” she said, shaking her head, amused. 

“and yet,” he said leaning over her. “not wrong,” he moved a stray piece of hair that had escaped her bun. 

there was a sudden knock on the bedroom door, “lovebirds, are you decent?” scarlett’s voice sing-songed through the wood.

noah groaned and sat back against the pillows as y/n answered in the affirmative. scarlett sauntered in, freshly showered and wearing different clothes from the night before.

“when did you get home?” y/n asked, patting the space in front of her on the bed. 

“like an hour ago. wanted to be clean before i told you about my escapades.”

“should i leave?” noah asked. 

“depends on a couple of factors, my dear noah,” scarlett answered. “one, has anyone in this house eaten lunch? and two, do you want to hear of the sex life of your closest lesbian friend?”

“one, no. and two, i don’t even want to hear of the sex life of my closest straight male friend,” he answered. “i’ll go get us food after i get dressed.”

“i thought you said you were decent,” she shot an accusing glance at her friend. 

“i have shorts on,” he confirmed by standing up from the bed. he grabbed a shirt from the bag by the bed and slipped it on over his head. “what do you want to eat?”

“olive garden,” y/n said with a smirk.

“i only do olive garden in the restaurant,” he chided.

“for the soup, ya know,” scarlett explained to y/n as though she didn’t already know.

“right.”

“something close,” y/n said thoughtfully, not wanting him to have to drive all over town to find something.

“honestly, taco bell sounds good,” scarlett said.

“taco bell always sounds good,” y/n said.

“text me what you want,” noah said to scarlett, leaning over the bed to give y/n a quick kiss.

“ew, pda,” scarlett jokingly said.

“pda?” y/n started. “we’re in my bedroom.”

“you win this time. why don’t you need y/n to text you her order?”

“he has a list,” y/n looked up at him standing by the door with a smile. he shot her a wink and took off toward the restaurant. 

he heard scarlett yell down the hall, “he should have one for me too!”

he didn’t know exactly what the two were talking about as he drove the approximately 10 minutes to the closest taco bell. he ordered in the drive-through and waited in line and all the while he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. once the food was secured, he drove the 10 minutes back to the house.

the girls had relocated to the living room and were trying to decide what to watch when he walked in and kicked his shoes off. he sat the bag of food and drinks down on the coffee table and took a seat on the couch next to y/n. 

“noah,” scarlett started. “tell her we can’t watch our show with you because it’s a) ours and b) you would be lost.”

“i’m not getting in the middle of this,” he said as he handed y/n her drink.

“fine,” she drawled out, taking a drink from the soda. “then since i have the remote, i’m picking avatar: the last airbender and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“since when am i not okay with avatar: the last airbender?”

“the movie.”

“you wouldn’t.”

“i would.”

noah decided now was the time to step in. “doll, you know that movie was garbage.”

“yeah, but it has jackson rathbone in it,” she countered.

“who?”

“jasper from twilight? guy with dissociative identity disorder on an episode of criminal minds?” scarlett supplied.

“the one who looks constipated?”

“that’s the one. she has a very miniscule celebrity crush on him,” scarlett confirmed, dodging a pillow that came flying toward her.

“i thought i was your celebrity crush?” playfully upset. he was secure enough in himself to not be completely jealous of people she’d never met.

“a girl is entitled to multiple celebrity crushes,” scarlett said, defending her friend.

“oh look, it’s not streaming. you’re saved again,” y/n said, ignoring the two of them talking about her crushes. “cartoon it is.”

the three of them ate and watched the show in relative peace. after they had finished eating, noah moved so his head was in y/n’s lap and she stroked his hair as they watched. it was peaceful until scarlett’s phone started ringing. 

“do you want me to pause it?” y/n asked as her friend stood to take the call in another room.

“nah,” scarlett answered before walking to her room.

“multiple celebrity crushes, huh?”

“a couple.”

“who?”

“none ya,” she said, poking his nose.

“fine, keep your secrets,” he stuck his tongue out at her. 

“does it actually bother you?” she asked after a moment.

“no, doll. it doesn’t. they don’t have you, i do, and” he tilted his head to make sure scarlett wasn’t coming back down the hall. “they don’t know the face you make when you come.”

her eyes widened and blush rushed across her face. she smacked him on the chest. “noah,” she whisper-yelled. 

“just sayin’,” he said, turning a triumphant look back at the tv. 

another full episode later, scarlett emerged from her room, dressed in scrubs.

“where you going?” noah asked as he watched her slip her shoes on. “it’s family time.”

“sorry, dad. a damsel in distress needs me,” scarlett winked. 

“she means work,” y/n translated. “you’re supposed to be on days off.”

“yeah, well,” scarlett started. “at least it’s overtime pay. i’ll be able to take you on a nice date soon, my love.”

y/n rolled her eyes. “try not to catch anything.”

“no promises. love you two. no fucking on the couch,” she said as she shut the door.

“you two will be the death of me,” y/n said, covering her face in her hands. 

“at least when i said it, we were alone,” noah defended himself.

“true,” she sighed, turning her attention back to the tv. 

“hey,” he sat up and faced her. “you okay?”

“i’m just tired,” she said, giving him a small smile.

“doll,” he warned. 

“i am tired. but i’m also upset because she’s been working a lot of overtime. yesterday was her first true day off in like two weeks.”

“fuck,” he said. “no wonder you were so worried about her getting to go out.”

she nodded. “can we take a nap?”

“if that’s what you want.”

“i think so. if you’re not tired, you can continue saving ferelden.”

“you’re so cute when you say nonsense words,” he said, standing and pulling her up. he kissed her quickly before gathering their trash from lunch. 

“it’s the country you’re in in dragon age: origins! it’s not nonsense!” she said, incredulously. 

“i know, doll. i’m fucking with you,” he shook his head as walked to the kitchen. 

“rude,” he heard as she started toward her room.

when he finally made it to her room, he closed the door and climbed in bed beside her. she was scrolling on tiktok, laughing. he just watched her, smiling fondly. 

“hey, look, it’s you,” she said, showing him the screen of her phone. sure enough it was him performing.

“it is me,” he said, nodding. “and that’s folio. and ruffilo, and jolly.”

“jerk,” she said, laughing. 

she put her phone on the side table and turned to look at him.

“no, no,” he said.

“what?”

“last time you looked at me like that, you didn’t sleep.”

“i’m not looking at you like anything!” she said defensively.

“sure,” he said, trying to hide his smile. “so if i do this,” he kissed her forehead. “or this,” her nose. “or this,” her lips. “you’ll still sleep?” he said against her lips.

“yep,” she said, her eyes closed from the contact. 

“what if i don’t want you to?”

“then i guess you’re s.o.l.,” she said, suddenly turning around.

“baby,” he said, pulling her back to his chest.

“hmm?” is all that came out of her.

“look at me,” he coaxed.

she turned her head and looked at him.

“such a good girl,” he whispered, capturing her lips in his again. she sighed into him, starting to angle her body back towards him.

he let her move so her back was to the bed and he was hovering over her, much like the night before. he kissed her deeply, parting her mouth so his tongue could take up residence. their tongues fought for dominance, this time she did not give in so easy. she licked the roof of his mouth and he moaned at the feeling. her hands were roaming up and down his covered chest before she moved her hands under his shirt. he shivered at the feeling of her hands on his bare chest. 

“god,” he breathed. “i love your hands on me.” he kissed down her neck and sucked on the hollow spot at the base, causing her to moan out his name. “i love the way my name sounds on your lips,” his hands were making their way under her shirt. “i love when you wear my clothes.” he let his hand roam her torso, “i love what’s under them.”

he pushed the bottom hem of the shirt up, revealing her stomach and then her breasts. he kissed the valley between her them before bringing one into his mouth. her breathing became more rapid as he sucked on the skin and nibbled lightly on each nipple. he kissed down her stomach and stopped at the waistband of her shorts, looking up at her through his lashes. 

“baby,” he started. “please, can i taste you?” he’d never been so desperate in his life.

“are you sure?” she asked.

“i am more than sure. i’ve never been more sure about anything in my life,” he nipped at the skin by her waistband, causing her to shudder. “but i’ll only do it if you’re okay with it. i’m never gonna do anything you’re not okay with.”

“i’ve just never..i mean i’ve read about it but..” she trailed off. 

“remind me to have you tell me more about what you read later,” he said, still looking up at her from between her legs. 

“oh, no. that’s between me and my bookshelves.”

he chuckled darkly, “guess i’m gonna start reading.”

her eyes widened, “that’s okay. you really don’t have to.”

“oh, i think i do,” he kissed the hollow spot on her hip. “but right now, i want-no, i need to taste you.”

“okay,” she breathed.

“don’t just agree to make me happy, baby.”

“i’m not. it’s okay.”

he hooked his fingers in her waistband and pulled her shorts and underwear down together until she was bare to him. he leaned back down and hooked one of her thighs over his shoulder, giving him better access. he kissed her inner thigh until his mouth met her core. he licked a stripe up her folds, stopping to circle her clit. he moved his tongue to her hole and started his ministrations, nose nudging her clit with every move he made. 

her fingers wove through his hair, tugging at the roots, causing him to moan into her. the moan sent vibrations through her, causing her to moan as well. her breathing was picking up as she felt his tongue working her into oblivion. 

he replaced his tongue inside her with a finger and continued to suck and kiss at her clit. the onslaught of both his finger and tongue was almost too much for her. “god,” she breathed out.

“my name is good enough, baby,” he said, only stopping for a moment, the quip earning him a smack on the head, causing him to chuckle. 

he went back to his work, inserting a second finger and continuing his attack on her clit with his tongue. 

it came like a sneak attack, his name fell from her mouth like a prayer. 

“that’s it, baby, let go,” he continued to lap up the juices flowing out of her, not wanting to waste a drop.

when he came back up, his lips and chin were glistening with her release and he wore the biggest smile she’d seen on him in a while. he rested his chin on her stomach and looked up at her. “next time, i’m having you sit on my face,” he said matter-of-fact.

she laughed.

“i’m dead serious, doll. i want to drown in you, difficult to do that when gravity’s working against me.”

he slid up her body, coming face-to-face with her. he rubbed his nose against hers. “do you want to taste yourself?”

she nodded, a blush creeping up her face.

“you’re so cute. you’re practically completely naked under me and you’re embarrassed about this,” this caused her to smack his arm, which caused him to laugh before kissing her fully on the mouth. 

he moaned as her tongue immediately darted into his mouth. he felt her hands tugging at his shirt and quickly discarded it before reattaching himself to her.

“noah,” she breathed as she pulled back.

“hmm?” he asked as he attached himself to her throat.

“teach me how to make you feel good.”

“fuck,” he groaned before looking at her in the eye. “you don’t have to,” he said.

“you promised,” she reminded him.

“you’re right, i did.”

he slid off her, pulling her up by her arms, the shirt she was wearing dropping to cover her once more. he started to pull his shorts down and noticed she was looking away and chuckled. when he was sufficiently disrobed, he turned her head to look at him in the face, kissing her deeply. “are you sure?” he asked when he pulled back.

she nodded.

“we’re gonna have to get you used to using your words, baby.”

“i’m sure,” she said in answer.

he pulled her hands to his chest, palm down, wanting to start her in familiar territory. he ran one of her hands slowly down his chest, stopping at the dip in his hip. “last chance. you can back away and everything will be okay,” he said, looking directly at her.

“i’m not backing away from you,” she said, looking directly back.

he nodded and continued moving her hand toward his length. both of their breaths hitched when she grasped him. he moved her wrist at the pace he liked and let go, letting her take over. his breathing was becoming shallower as she continued. “just like that, baby. look at you, such a good girl.”

she kissed his chest as her hand pumped him. he held her head to his chest and kissed the top of her head. “i’m close, baby,” he whispered into her hair. 

she stopped her movements and he let out a small whine when she removed her hand from him. he looked at her in confusion as she put her hands on his shoulders and pushed.

“sit down, dammit,” she said. he obeyed, wanting to see where this was going.

he groaned at the sight when her knees hit the floor in front of him. her hands spread on his thighs as she confidently brought her mouth to him. her tongue licked up his length before she took him in her mouth. she took as much of him in her mouth as she could, until he felt the back of her throat, causing him to moan. his hands went to her hair and his fingers wove themselves in it. he gently bucked into her as she bobbed her head up and down. he knew he wasn’t going to last long, his release right on the precipice. 

“baby,” he breathed. “y/n,” this time it was her name falling from his lips. 

she didn’t pull away and instead used one of her hands to pump the rest of his length that didn’t fit in her mouth. when he came, she let it fill her mouth before swallowing.

“where did that come from?” he asked as she pulled back from him.

“i told you, i read a lot,” she said.

“i’m really gonna have to start reading,” he said, more to himself.

“come here,” he said to her. 

she stood and let him pull her to him, his hands going to the back of her thighs. “sit dammit,” he mirrored her words from earlier.

she sat, knees on either side of his hips. her drenched core hovering over his length, that was already starting to harden again. he pulled her lips to his, tasting himself on them as he deepened the kiss. he fell to his back, legs still over the side of the bed, her hovering over him now. her hair formed a curtain around their heads. 

“y/n,” he said softly, placing a hand on her cheek. “i love you. i love you so much.”

“i love you, noah. more than words can say,” there were tears forming in her eyes. 

“c’mon, doll. let’s get you cleaned up,” he slowly sat them up and stood, carrying her. 

he sat her on the closed toilet before turning to the shower knobs. “stay with me,” she said, softly.

“if i do that, you can’t commune with satan in your lava,” he said, causing her to laugh.

“that’s fine. don’t wanna talk to him anyway.”

when the temperature was just right, he helped her pull her shirt over her head and stepped in the shower behind her. 

“you know,” she started. “the shower feels bigger when i’m alone.”

“i can leave,” he said, starting to pull the curtain back in jest. 

“don’t you dare.”

after they washed, they walked back into her room and got dressed. he started stripping her sheets as she dug for clean ones in the chest at the foot of her bed. 

he smiled to himself as he threw the soiled sheets in the washer and walked back to see her struggling with the fitted sheet. 

“the bed is a rectangle, but the sheet is a square,” she said, grumpily.

“i think it’s more like an oval,” he said, thoughtfully.

“not helpful,” she huffed as she found the corner.

after the bed was made again, they climbed into their spots. “i think you earned your nap,” he said.

“oh, was that tax for napping?”

“100%.”

“i’ll remember that.”

after a few moments he said, “tell me the author who taught you how to give head. i owe them a thank you note.”

she shook her head. “bold of you to assume it’s just one author.”

“bold of you to assume i won’t write multiple personalized notes.”

turning more serious, “it was okay, then?”

“okay? you think it was just okay?”

“i don’t know, i mean it was my first time.”

“trust me, doll, it was great. especially for a first time.”

she smiled.

“oh, she does like praise, doesn’t she?” he quipped.

“she likes peace and quiet too,” she countered, laying with her back to him, still smiling.

he brought her to him, kissed the back of her head, and held her tightly. 

#bad omens fic #noah sebastian #noah sebastian fic #noah sebastian x reader #bad omens fanfic #bad omens #noah sebastian smut #bad omens smut

[stupidfuckingwindow]

Smile At The Moon // Noah Calhoun

Warnings/content: Dubious consent, but no actual penetration. Generally more angst than NSFW- Dead dove, do not eat. Noah is fucked up and, essentially, a zombie. He hurts both you, and gets injured himself. Blood mentioned.

Notes: Stag Noah idea came from @uncleclam, but I came up with the Chronic Wasting Disease au idea. Title is a lyric from Werewolf Heart by Dead Man's Bones. This is a part one.

Word count: 1.5k

Something was wrong with Noah. He had been much too quiet for weeks on end, up until this point. You'd found him staring at the ceiling, restless, at night, and glaring wordlessly at the wall during the day. No longer did he look at you with anything short of indifference, or confusion. Your husband sees through you, now, with soft brown eyes turned cold grays. In the two years leading up to today, nothing seemed out for sorts. He wasn't distant, and rut went on as normal. The endless fucking until the season was over never stopped back then, but now it's like a switch has been flipped. The rug had been pulled from your feet, and you hadn't even noticed at first.

Behaviors that were new and been brushed off, now seem like an early warning, looking back. His strange, found distance away from your comfort only registered when half of his right antler broke off one day, and he didn't say anything. Usually, he would have reassured you. Told you it's alright, and that it'll grow back. This was natural. But Noah said nothing, this time. He didn't turn to look at you, and his head had only turned towards the snapped off bone structure on the floor before he left, and went into the backyard.

It was then, that you realized your husband terrified you in this new state. Noah doesn't tell you anything, anymore. You don't know where he is out of the house, what he's doing, or what's wrong with him. He doesn't eat, or sleep, or take care of himself unless you help and do it for him. And now he's gone. It's midnight, and he wasn't in bed when you awoke. Somewhere, in or outside the house, there's a crash that you don't want to get up and check on, but you force yourself to. Slipping out of bed, cold air washes over your skin and makes the hairs on your arms and neck rise.

There's an open door or window, you realize. He's gone, you think to yourself, pulling a blanket over your shoulders. Someone has to shut things and lock up after him, though. Don't let him back in, and go back to bed. Hope that Noah isn't still in the house, that maybe he's no longer in your hands and you won't have to watch him lose the rest of his thoughts and mind. That's selfish, you tell yourself. Who wishes for their lover to be dead?

You do.

The kitchen is eerily silent and empty. The backyard door is open, and all that's fallen is the cutting board you'd been using earlier and forgot to put away. Picking it up, off the ground, you set it in the sink and close the back door. He's not in the yard anymore, from what you can see. Footsteps in the snow leading away from your previously shared home. He'd built it, and now he's just gone, drawn to the forest and the wilderness.

You wouldn't see him for another few months.

You were sure he'd died that night. At least, you were sure some part of him already had. Maybe he was dying, in some cruel twist, and slunk off like some sickly cat so you wouldn't find or look for him. The town agreed with your notion, sending out unsuccessful search parties before finally relenting and carving out a gravestone for him, even despite the lack of a body. But you couldn't be more wrong, unfortunately. Today was the start of rut, and he'd turned right back up at midnight. Noah drew you out with a sharp sound, akin to an elk's bugle, which woke you with a start.

He's in much worse condition, standing in the backyard and panting through phlegm-coated lungs. Scratches littering his forearms from running through brambles with no care or worry for his own safety. His eyes are lined with visible dark circles, and his complexion is paler, as if he were the dead walking again. Finally, he looks back at you, but he's still not there. Noah Calhoun's husk doesn't see you, and you're not sure he ever will. He's dirt covered and worn through, clothes torn and leg bleeding, bent. He broke it, possibly hit by a car and ran before anyone could check on him. Both of his antlers have heavy damage, adding to your theory, and a couple of the points are gone completely.

The man you loved is dead, and isn't this monster in the shape of him. Why is he here? He's just an animal, now. Growling lowly under his breath as you step out, onto the porch with furrowed brows. Noah's hand shoots out and grasps your wrist, tugging you closer to his form. He steps closer himself, burying his face in the side of your neck and inhaling. He smells like rot. You grimace.

Noah's tongue is wet and hot as he licks your skin, and his teeth catch on your soft flesh as he sucks on it. He huffs, peeling back to look at you. Those dull grays flit over your features, and his jaw tightens when he doesn't recognize them. His hands take each side of your face tightly, forcing your head to turn so he can better study you through cloudy vision. Noah licks his dry, cracked lips, and his brows knit together in confusion. Pulling your face closer to his, he pushes his thumb into your mouth and feels your tongue and teeth against the pad of his finger. He jolts at the sensation, eyes narrowing and his own teeth gritting.

Noah draws back, taking a step away from you to turn and limp off, towards the forest without another glance your way.

He's gone for another week before showing back up, and you can't help but wonder if he's been watching you during the day. Often, you'd hear leaves and twigs being crushed beneath something's feet, but see no one when turning to face the noise. But you never heard any steps retreating afterward, and goosebumps would always form on your skin whenever you thought you were alone outside. And tonight, he wakes you at the same time and way he did the other night. With a bang, and a shriek.

Again, he's just outside the door. This time, however, he’s immediately onto you when you come out instead of waiting. Smelling like pine and musk, Noah's warmth envelops you and forces you to sit on one of the porch steps. There's a bleeding hole in his thigh, one that goes all the way through his now ruined, stained pants. It's at least a day old, and his limping is worse, but Noah doesn't seem to care. The injury doesn't stop him from nipping at your collarbone and rutting his hips against yours, hands on either side of you. You're effectively trapped as Noah grinds himself against your lower half, seeking relief for his straining erection. Desperately, he palms at your sweater and tries to pull it off you, but fails without help. He lets out an indignant, frustrated snort, pouting and glaring at you. You relent, at least a little. Unable to resist finally getting his attention.

Noah purrs when you pull it off. Something flickers in his eyes that gives you hope, quickly fading away as soon as you notice it. Intelligence. He recognizes the action, maybe even associates it with you. His rough, calloused fingers trace the newly-exposed flesh, and he explores the familiar territory. His palm brushes over your chest, and he cups it with a light squeeze. Noah leans forward, licking a stripe up your throat, and you feel the light beat of his heart through his lips.

He's breathing. Something you find reassuring, strangely. His chest rises and falls, just as yours does.

As soon as he's pulled off the rest of your clothing, your mind goes blank, and in fades the memory of your Noah. The last time he could actually think when touching you like this, rough fingertips massaging little patterns into your skin. Often, Noah would teasingly nip at your skin. Chuckling when you'd jolt at a particularly harsh bite or suck, it took at least a good five minutes to get him back on track from teasing you. God, he'd been a menace, even if the antlers and soft ears made him look like a saint who could do no wrong.

None of the sensations you're feeling match up with what you remember, or imagine. They're too rough. Noah nips harshly at your skin, drawing blood as opposed to gentle kisses and hickies from your past. His nails dig into your skin, and it hurts. He spreads your blood over your torso with a thumb, gray eyes glazed over in curiosity as he admires the way it glistens in the artificial porch lights. He leans forward, tongue dragging over your flesh. Hot, and wet, the sensation burns as it graces your form. Noah paws at your clothes before he fully tears the rest of them off, harsh and quick in his movements. A soft, irritated growl and a huff leaves him at the sight of multiple layers.

He pauses, brow furrowing in silent conflict as he looks you over. Noah chews at his bottom lip and cheek, whining at the empty expression on your face. Arms circle your waist, and he rests his head on your chest, eyes fluttering shut.

God, he's confusing.

#ryan gosling #ryan gosling x reader #n.sfw. #the notebook #stag noah #deer noah calhoun #noah calhoun #noah calhoun x reader #cwd noah #dead dove fic #dead dove do not eat #cwd noah au

[aplaceinthedark]

UGLY human NATURE

a WITCH story

Word Count: 2.5k+

CW: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, supernatural themes, body horror, depictions of graphic violence, witchcraft, description of digging up a body, owls (listen, don't judge, those things are freaky little fucks)

Nicholas panicked as he tried to assemble the pieces of what had once been his best friend.

Tears streamed down his face as he tried to remember what his Granny taught him about healing, but this seemed to be way beyond the healing point. This was probably at the Resurrecting-The-Dead point, and he knew that there would be nothing in Granny’s vast knowledge or hex books about this. 

“What’s dead should stay dead,” Granny had once taught him, in reference to what went on in the woods behind her house. “Those who die in these Woods don't tend to stay dead.” But Granny didn’t know that his best friend, his brother, had been lost to that curse, and Nicholas was not going to lose Noah again.

But it looked like he was going to anyway.

He hadn’t meant to unleash his magic on Noah, but it had acted as a defense mechanism. And Noah… well… he still couldn’t figure out what had happened.

Nicholas had heard the sound of his name being called by a voice he hadn’t heard in a year. That should’ve been his first warning. You don’t go responding to voices coming from the Woods; that was practically Rule Number One in the Appalachian Mountains. Except he would raise hell and haint if it meant bringing Noah home. So he crawled out the guest room window of his Granny’s house and ran into the Woods.

He didn’t call out for Noah. That was a rule he wouldn’t break. But after several minutes of walking, he didn’t need to. There stood Noah, all six foot three inches of him, probably twenty feet away, looking like death. Noah smiled in relief when his dark eyes met his.

They both had taken a step towards each other when Noah had doubled over, crying out in pain, and then something cracked in him. Cracked multiple times as Noah seemed to grow even taller. His limbs snapped and elongated, like he was a tree growing in fast motion. An old nursery rhyme came to Nicholas’ mind as it tried to comprehend what was happening right before him.

The Towering Man will lure you from your home And into the Woods where deep he roams He’ll snap your bones like brittle sticks After drawing you in with his clever little tricks

If you’re good and listen to your mama You’ll have no worries, you’ll have no drama Best keep your eyes upon the beaten path, Unless you want to taste the tree man’s wrath. 

Nicholas tried running, but he knew that his legs were no match for this abomination’s long appendages. Before he knew it, he was pinned to the ground, fighting for his life to get free. He managed to get a hand behind him, and suddenly his eyes were blinded by a bright light, and he was assaulted by a splitting headache. The pressure on him disappeared, and he scrambled up onto his feet. 

But when he turned around to survey what he had released, he fell back onto his knees. 

The creature was back to being Noah, but everything was wrong. Broken limbs, some twisted and snapped clean off. Instead of bones, there were sticks. But that was undoubtedly Noah’s face, staring up at him with lifeless eyes. Play with fire and you’ll get burned; another of Granny’s lessons.

He didn’t know why he was trying to put Noah back together like some kind of twisted puzzle or broken doll. All he knew was that he had to fix this before anyone found out. Tears dripped from his face and splashed onto the mix of skin and bark of his friend.

“Please, come back. I can’t lose you again,” he said. He tried to summon something, anything, to get his friend back. And the Woods answered.

Something was shining on his face. It wasn’t until it dripped down onto Noah’s body that he realized the light was coming from his tears, and where they landed, they quickly dissolved into Noah’s skin. The tears on Nicholas’ hands started to glow as well, and then his hands began glowing. He scrambled to put them on Noah’s chest. 

The light spread through the veins in Noah’s chest and through his limbs. With cracking and rustling sounds, the skin mended together, but retained the bark texture. Noah’s iris’ glowed gold, and suddenly his head twisted with a snap to look at Nicholas. His arm shot out, grabbing a fistful of Nicholas’ short hair to pull him closer. 

A yelp left Nicholas’ mouth, and for a second he thought that he had made a mistake; that he had let Noah’s quest to kill him continue, but Noah stopped pulling when Nicholas was hovering only a few inches over him. If someone happened to see them, they would probably think that they were about to kiss. Memories of what happened between them a few years ago came unbidden to Nicholas’ mind, and he had to fight the rush of heat to his face.

“You… idiot,” Noah gasped out. 

Nicholas laughed as the golden light left Noah’s eyes, and then he fell over, passed out cold.

And that was how Nicholas Ruffilo became the Witch, the practitioner of the Shenandoah Valley.

Nicholas had only ever set eyes on one haint in his life, and that was Noah. The Black Stag didn’t count because it had been a god. So meeting Nick and Joakim was unnerving.

Especially when one was a large, mangy-looking wolf and the other was a literal naked corpse.

“I… uh… hope I’m not too late,” he said, looking nervously between the two.

A few hours ago, he had been mindlessly sketching some tattoo designs for a client, when he felt like his brain was getting lobotomized. At first, it was just one word:

HELP.

It was easy to ignore at first. Just his mind playing tricks on him, probably from the combination of lack of sleep and the blue light of his tablet. But then he heard the voice again, with less pain and more familiarity:

NICK NICK NICK HELP NICK PLEASE HELP.

And with that, he jumped into action. 

If that really was Noah talking in his head, then the first place he should look was where he last saw him: in the old oak grove.

Nicholas practically sprinted into the woods, then doubled back because he realized that he might need a shovel, and then he was back on the task at hand. He felt reassured when he saw  two figures in the hollow, because why else would two random people meet in this place? Then again, why would these two particular… beings be there at all?

That’s when the dog shifted into a teenage boy, and Nicholas’ heart stopped.

“Nick Folio, at your service,” the boy said, grinning. His teeth were too long and sharp to be normal, but that’s not what unnerved Nicholas. 

Judging from the sudden tilting of his head, Nick must’ve been close to knowing why. “Have we met before?” he asked.

“I… Umm…”

“We have a task at hand,” the walking corpse said, though it looked like he had been perfectly fine to let the wolf do all the work.

“Do you even know why we’re doing this?” Nick asked, turning back towards the man.

“I do,” Nicholas said. The two haints looked at him. “There’s someone you need to meet.”

Between Nick’s claws and Nicholas’ shovel, they made quick work of the dirt. Nicholas didn’t have a clue how deep they would have to dig, but after a few feet, he had his answer when a dirty hand broke through the dark earth.

Nicholas threw aside the shovel as Nick shifted back into human form once again, and the two grabbed ahold of the hand and pulled. Eventually, another body emerged and crawled out. It was completely caked in mud, but Nicholas couldn’t help but gape at its head.

For immense branches were sprouting from it, giving the appearance of antlers.

“W… Water,” the man gasped in a familiar voice.

Nicholas was dreading this meeting.

He was tired of Granny trying to set him up with women. Didn’t matter where they were, she would ask anyone that looked even slightly close to his age if they were single. And at the old age of thirty, it embarrassed him to no end. He was also unfortunately raised to be a gentleman to strangers, so when Granny said that there was a “poor girl living by herself who needed help,” he couldn’t help but internally scream at his nice guy heart. 

But he was more interested in the fact that this girl had moved into Noah’s old house, despite the warning signs that were placed around the property and told throughout the town. Hell, Granny even told her about the offerings, and who wouldn’t run after hearing someone tell you to chuck a few animal bones into a tithing plate?

So either the girl was stupid, or she was brave - which was another word for stupid, in his mind.

As he got out of his car, Nicholas could sense a familiar presence on the edge of the property. To the unknowing or untrained eye, it might feel like a chill going up the spine, or as Nicholas’ family would say, “like someone walking over your grave.” But he was trained and knowing of what crept through this neck of the woods.

He knew in his soul when his eyes met the creature’s, and he leveled a look that said behave. He could hear a chuckle in his mind, one that would unnerve even the bravest hiker.

GOOD LUCK. THEY’RE SOMETHING ELSE.

Noah’s voice was, of course, no comfort. Of course Noah would’ve spied on the newcomer. It used to be his house, after all. But that use of pronouns at least shed some light so Nicholas could be polite.

Nicholas knocked on the door, acknowledging the silver platter that was neatly arranged to the left of the doorway, and waited. And waited.

And then the door opened, and he realized he might need Noah’s warning.

Their dark blonde hair was half up in a bun, the lower half barely reaching their shoulders. It left their angular face on full display, big brown eyes staring up at him. He couldn’t help the thought of how much those eyes reminded him of Noah’s. 

He managed to find his words before he could choke on his tongue. “I’m Nicholas,” he said. He punctuated his words with a small lift of the corners of his mouth.

They looked like they were surprised by his appearance as well. “Taylor.”

Something was off with the Woods, and with Nicholas as well.

His body lurches, causing his eyes to pop open. He gulps down a lungful of air to still his racing heart, though he knows it’s no use. Not this again…

Taylor stirs underneath him. "Nn… Nick? What's wrong?” they ask, their voice clogged with the sleep of the dead. 

Another nightmare, he wants to say as he sits up, but his mouth is dry and his tongue sticks to its roof. He scrubs his face with a tattooed hand and then rips the hair-tie out of his half undone ponytail. He feels like he’s about to jump out of his skin. He wants to scream. “I need a smoke.”

“Nick, wait–” He doesn’t hear the rest of Taylor's protest as he scrambles out of the bed, pulls some joggers on, and all but runs out the door.

It was chillier outside, despite the sweats and hoodie he managed to pull on over his bare skin. Probably should've put on shoes, he thinks as he lights up a cigarette with shaky fingers. 

Normally he would say that the off-ness he was feeling was because of the Woods, but a part of  him says that it’s different. He can feel the pull of the Hollow calling to him if he closes his eyes long enough.

It’s only been a few months since the events with the reformed Cult of the Black Stag. Only been a few months since his grandmother was killed. Only a few months since… since he died as well.

A shiver rolls down his spine. He pinches the bridge of his nose, as if he could rid himself of that thought. He had died, but he came back. He was okay. 

“Those who die in these Woods don't tend to stay dead.”  

He shakes his head vigorously. No, not because of some weird curse like what happened to his friends. Because of his own soul magic, safely stowed away in his partner's own soul by random happenstance. That was different. He was fine. 

Ever since that night that Taylor went into the woods and Nicholas healed them, he felt like something was missing from him. He thought it would've returned when Taylor brought him back to life, but he still felt off-kilter. Like a piece of him was still out there in the Woods. And of course, there wasn't anything in Granny's hex books about why he was having these nightmares.

Nicholas looks down at the tattoo of an owl on his right arm. Owls were considered guardians of his family, and so he had gotten one tattooed on him pretty early on; before he knew about his grandmother’s practice. Granny had tutted about it, mad that he had “made a mockery of their protector”, but eventually she acquiesced.

“Really wish you were here, Gram,” he mutters to the tattoo, as if Granny was really a part of him now. She would probably have known what his problem was, let alone how to help him. 

The sound of a scream from the Woods snaps Nicholas out of his head. His eyes dart to the trees, but his brain soon catches up, recognizing the sound. He sighs in both relief and annoyance. Just another barn owl; something he's heard plenty of times growing up out here. 

But this time, the sound stirs something in him: something akin to familiarity, but unlike the nostalgia of days past. He tilts his head, trying to get a better sense of what direction the call came from, because what if it came from the Watcher's Grove? What if something was going on with Noah while he was–

"NICK!"

He snaps out of his trance, and he quickly realizes he's no longer on the porch. He's standing on the edge of the property, one foot in the woods. And he has no idea how he got there. 

He turns around and looks back at the house. The porch light is on now, and Taylor is standing on the steps, Jerry in their arms. Even from where he is, he can see the panic in their eyes.

He quickly jogs back to the house. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he says, quickly kissing them on the forehead. Except now he's slightly even more shaky than before. Jerry squirms as he’s pressed in between them, and meows angrily. Nicholas pulls away.

They both go inside and Nicholas locks the door behind him. Taylor looks up at him with dark, worried eyes, and he groans internally. 

There was no way he’s going to be able to keep this from them.

#bad omens fanfiction #bad omens rpf #bad omens au #nicholas ruffilo fanfiction #paranormal au #horror au #fic: the grove of secrets #series: lost in the labyrinth #cw: death #cw: supernatural themes #cw: buried alive #cw: body horror #cw: witchcraft #cw: graphic violence

[copperbadge]

Okay, it may be obvious by now that I'm ALREADY doing a re-read of your Askazer-Shivadlakia books (I really want it to be Ashkazer because it's how my brain first read it, but alas....)

On to Infinite Jes--when I read it the first time, I saw Noah calling Jes "Boss" because they work together. Now I realize it is, or could be, a gender-neutral word for parent.

If they didn't work together, would this still be what Noah called Jes?

As a parent myself, I think "boss" is a pretty reductive word, so I'm curious about what it means to Noah and Jes.

LOL, hey, I've re-read them a handful of times, no reason anyone else shouldn't. :D

Essentially I think of Boss as a term of endearment -- you might say "she's my boss" or "he's the boss" but you don't generally call someone just "boss" to their face, unless you have some other kind of relationship to them as well. It's a very casual thing to do, at least to my mind.

I have the process of all this written out somewhere but I think it's in bits and pieces scattered across last March or April. To summarize, I did a survey where I asked, essentially, if you're a nonbinary parent or the child of one, what parental term do you use? and I got a lot of specific terms, but also general discussion -- for example, some kids use the term of the parent's assigned-gender-at-birth, and others use a term that most fits the parent's "role" (ie, a nonbinary person who leans more masculine might be "dad" regardless of their gender identity/AGAB). Above a certain age it seems like most kids use the parent's name, but it's by no means universal.

None of the specific terms resonated for me with Jes and Noah's relationship. Some I didn't like the sound of, others just didn't feel quite accurate, especially for use by a child on the cusp of adulthood. Noah's old enough not to use a gendered term, but "parent" in direct address felt too formal, and something like "rent" or "renny" felt disrespectful in this context (to be clear I think these are fine objectively, and I'm not here to say what you should or shouldn't call a parent, but for this specific relationship it felt wrong). I felt weird making up a gender-neutral Shivadh term for parent, since then I'd have to do at least a brief exposition dump about what the term was and what it meant.

The only thing that did resonate was the idea of Jes and Noah figuring out a term together. Jes has always given Noah a lot of well-supported autonomy, so it made sense that once he was old enough, he'd have a full vote in what he was going to call them. Boss was convenient as it was evident Noah was eventually going to be working with them on the podcast, and it was catchier to my ear (and thus Noah's) than some other terms.

Within their relationship, it acknowledges that Jes has the ultimate authority as parent, but also that they aren't actually in an employer-employee situation, that there's a deeper bond between them and a more comprehensive expectation of care from Jes. It says "I know the buck stops with you, but you have a duty to look out for me and treat me like a person."

For another kind of parent-child relationship I would probably choose something different, but Boss feels to me like it suits them in the way they have of like -- obviously being a loving family, but also being very Shivadh in their trolling of each other. I think even if they didn't work together, they'd probably both find "boss" pretty apt.

But also, you know, I really think it does depend on the parent and child, so I could see how you wouldn't want your kid to call you that, which is perfectly legit. Boss is definitely not some platonic ideal, it's just what Noah and Jes cobbled together without much in the way of a handbook for this kind of thing.

Anyway if you use any term for anything long enough it starts to sound natural to your ear, and that idea is doing quite a bit of heavy lifting for "boss" -- by the time I was done with the book it sounded as natural to me as "mom" or "dad". So it could be I'm just more acclimated to it. :D

#shivadhverse #nonbinary parenting #connected-dots

[hersie44]

Old Friends (Derek Hale x Reader)

Characters included: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall, Lydia Martin, Kira Yukimura, Malia Tate, Jordan Parrish, Noah Stilinski, Chris Argent, Peter Hale, Liam Dunbar.

Requested: No

Type: Reader insert (no use of y/n though), fan fiction.

Word Count: 2315 words

warning: Strong language used.

Chapter Two.

I smiled at my phone, another message from Derek just before my classes started.

Derbear: ‘Be safe.’

I raised an eyebrow at the message, usually he would just say goodbye and that we would talk again after school. But for some reason it sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach, something so simple was now going to be on my mind the rest of the day.

I walked into my classroom and put my bags down by my desk, the bell rang, and students began filing into my class. I had now been at the school for a few weeks, and Derek and I have been getting close again. He doesn’t text me during my classes unless it’s to tell me that he was going out to look for Kate. I told him to always have his location on in case he needed help, though I’m not sure if I could help if something supernatural was attacking him.

“Now, continuing on from where we left off yesterday…” I paused as a boy skidded to a stop in front of me, nearly knocking the textbook out of my hand.

“My bad…” He stuttered out, breathing heavily as if he just ran a marathon to get here. I gave the boy a long look, I didn’t recognise him from any of my classes.

“Are you new?”

“Uh yeah! New to History! I’m Stiles, uh Stilinski.” He handed me a form, raising an eyebrow I opened it and read what was inside.

“Usually, students change their curriculum in the first week, why are you so late?”

“Uh…” He blew a raspberry, he obviously didn’t expect me to question him. That was when another boy slid into my class, holding another form.

“I’m starting to think that History is the most interesting subject in the whole school. Front row, both of you.” I sighed, taking the other form and reading the name.

“Scott, Stiles. Please see me after school, I will help you two catch up on the chapters that you’ve missed.” I placed the forms on my desk and without taking a second look at them, I started the lesson.

After School…

Me: ‘Der, I’m going to be late. I got two new students and I want to help them catch up.’

Derbear: ‘Okay, I’ll wait to make dinner then.'

I sighed, I was looking forward to another quiet night with him. It had finally become a routine, he would come over to my place or I would go over to his. He would cook when I came over or vice versa. The only time we hadn't had a sleepover was last night, he had gotten a lead on Kate and needed to check up on it. I guess it could wait, the man was worth waiting for. I sat at my desk, staring at his message as the image of him flooded my brain. We were friends, I mean we are friends, but he was just so attractive now…I mean he was attractive when we were younger too, but he always had a girlfriend, so I never thought of him beyond friendship.

A knock on my door interrupted my train of thought, my head whipped around to see who it was.

“Oh, Stiles. Come in, we’re just waiting for Scott now.” I stood up and started writing on the board, I wanted to start with the first chapter of the textbook. Hopefully, I can get through the first few chapters without boring them.

“Thanks.” He sat down in the front row, our eyes met, and he gave me an awkward smile. He kept clearing his throat and tapping anxiously on his textbook.

“Something wrong?”

“What? No, everything is totally fine.” I didn’t believe him, but I somehow knew that prying wouldn’t get any information out of him. He was definitely a smart kid, but he was a terrible liar, especially on the spot.

“Is Scott even coming?” I raised an eyebrow and he nodded, though he didn’t look convinced. That’s when he was saved by someone running into my classroom which caught my attention immediately.

“Sorry I’m late, coach uh…” Our eyes locked for the first time and that’s when I realised, I had seen him before, the night that I found out the supernatural was real.

“What a coincidence.” I looked at Stiles, “I assume that means you were there too, you know when Derek told me about you two, I somehow pictured you looking different. But that’s not important, why are you suddenly taking my class?”

“Uh, obviously history is so interesting, and we wanted to learn.” Scott gave me a smile which might have convinced me if I was a sixteen-year-old girl that melted whenever a handsome boy looked at me. I rubbed my temples and gently pushed the door closed behind him.

“Sit.” The smile disappeared from his face, and he slid into his seat.

“When Derek texted me this morning, he told me to be safe and I thought he was being sweet. Now, you two are here like guard dogs. Now that I think about it, I’ve seen you loitering around my class for the entire day, even during lunch. So, you are going to tell me what is going on or I’m going to make your grades so low that you won’t be able to play Lacrosse for the rest of your school career.”

“What!? That’s so unfair!” Stiles exclaimed, sitting forward in his seat.

“What is unfair is that Derek is treating me like a child that needs a babysitter, so you either tell me what’s going on or you can kiss lacrosse good-bye.” I felt bad threatening a sport both of them loved but they were giving up their futures taking a class they don’t need just to look after me. I know that the world I’ve now found myself involved in was dangerous, I still have nightmares about those men with animal skulls covering their faces. The only reason I’ve been able to sleep most of the night is because Derek holds me.

Stiles takes a deep breath; he taps his foot before the words spill out of his mouth.

“There is a dead pool that’s hunting supernatural people and everyone in the pack is on it including Derek, also Derek has been kind of losing his werewolf abilities and can’t heal now so he’s basically human.”

Then Scott cuts in.

“And he got hurt last night but ending up going back to the loft with Braeden so that she can patch him up.”

I don’t know remember what I said to them, hell I don’t think I said anything at all before I grabbed my bag and stormed out. I practically ran to my car, slamming the door shut before driving off towards the loft.

More lies. More secrets. Getting hurt and acting like everything is okay? It wouldn't be the first time it's happened in our friendship but I thought we were beyond that now.

My knuckles were paling from the grip I had on the steering wheel, there were so many thoughts and emotions running through my mind that I couldn’t focus on one. I felt worried, scared, betrayed, angry…

The wheels of my car screeched as I stopped in front of the loft, my door slamming behind me as I got out. I could feel my heart sinking as I climbed the stairs, what if I interrupted as intimate moment between him and Braedon? I wouldn’t be able to unsee it or live it down, but for some reason the thought constricted my heart. Was I jealous? No, no. Can’t be.

I took out the spare keys that Derek gave me and unlocked the door, my hands paused before I opened the door. It was embarrassing to say but I listened for any sort of noise to indicate I shouldn’t go in, as angry as I was there was another feeling fighting to come to the surface. Why am I like this? I was Derek’s best friend when he was dating Paige, I was his best friend when he was dating Kate. Why now…why am I feeling like the moment I see him with another woman now, I won’t be able to take it?

The thoughts continued to battle in my mind, until the door opened on its own. On the other side was a woman I assumed was Braedon, I remember seeing her when I woke up here a few weeks ago. She was beautiful to say the least, had an amazing fashion sense and looked like she knew her way around weapons.

“Uh…excuse me.” I stepped to the side for her, and she walked out, she turned her head and gave me a smile before walking down the stairs and disappearing. I raised an eyebrow at this, maybe I was just the extremely jealous type but if I saw another girl coming to visit the guy, I just slept with I’d be pissed. Even if it was just his friend.

“You’re early.” I whipped my head around at the sound of the familiar voice, and there he stood. Derek Hale. Shirtless. With bandages covering what I assumed to be wounds on his chest and torso. I dropped my bag by the door, walking over to him. I placed my hands on his shoulders and pushed him back, he grunted in surprise as he fell on the bed. His eyes widened as I stood between his legs, his hands gripping his thighs as he looked up at me.

“When was the last time you changed the bandages?” He blinked, once, twice before the question finally sank in.

“Yesterday.” With that I turned around, walking into the bathroom and getting the first aid kit. I only noticed that he had one in the last week that I had been sleeping over here, maybe that should have been a sign that he was getting hurt or at least someone who didn’t have healing abilities was. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm the sudden overwhelming rage that I felt. All the feelings from the car ride returning to me.

As I walked back to him, I noticed how his eyes followed me. He didn’t move from his spot on the bed, he didn’t speak when I kneeled in front of him. My breath caught in my throat as his muscles tensed under my touch, my hands removing the older bandage from his wounds. His eyes were on me, burning holes into my soul as I worked on his wounds.

“You’re angry.”

“No shit, sherlock.”

That was the end of the conversation until I finished rebandaging his body. I stood up and our eyes finally met for the first time I’d been there, that was when I caved. My arms found their place around his neck, hugging him tightly. His arms snaked around my waist, pulling me into his lap and holding me as close as physically possible. I breathed in his scent, a musky smell that reminded me of the forest.

“You’re an idiot.”

“I know.”

“You should have told me.”

“I know.”

“What if I lost you? I’d never be able to forgive myself.”

“I’m sorry.” He whispered to me, one of his hands moving to the back of my head. Derek was stubborn and he was never the sentimental type, but he knew when he was wrong, and when it comes to me losing him or him losing me…

“I didn’t want you to get involved, that means I could lose you.” I don’t know if I love or hate when he’s so honest, hearing him admit this made my heart ache.

“I don’t know what’s happening, I can’t shift, I can’t heal.” He pulled back, our gazes never leaving each other, “If I can’t do those things then I can’t protect you.”

“Derek…” I push him back slightly, “You can’t keep doing this to me.”

“What?”

“I…If I tell you this then our friendship is over, I’ll ruin it if I tell you.” He calls out my name softly, his right hand resting on my cheek. He’s making it impossible to look away, impossible to not tell him all these confused emotions that I’m feeling.

“When we’re together, everything is just perfect. It’s like the rest of the world doesn’t exist when I’m looking at you and it hurts, it hurts so bad because I know it’s wrong. I shouldn’t be seeing you in this light, I’m supposed to be your best friend and if I develop feelings for you and it doesn't work out then I lose you. Again. I can’t, Derek. I can’t…” I was silenced by his lips on mine, the touch setting my nerves alight. I should have hesitated, but I didn’t, my body reacted before my brain could.

My arms found their place around his neck, pressing my body into his. My eyes closed, my mouth working against in a desperate attempt to claim him. I wanted to, I needed to claim this man. His back met the soft surface of his bed, my body following his without so much as a protest. His right hand now tangled itself in my hair, his left cupping my thigh. I slipped my tongue into his mouth making him groan in approval, the muscle explored his mouth with vigor, not letting up as he flipped me over.

He pulled back first, breathing heavily as he stared down at me. He might not have been a werewolf anymore, but his eyes reminded me of one, almost like a predator staring at his prey. His hands tugged on my belt, but I grabbed his wrists.

“Nah uh…” I tried to catch my breath, “date first, then sex. I’m not easy.”

He let out a breathless chuckle, his hands resting on my cheeks.

“Fine, this Saturday?”

Who was I to say no?

#derek hale #teen wolf #derek hale x reader #teen wolf fanfiction

[kalorphic]

CHAPTER UHHH SNIPPET

I know it’s going in, but I haven’t quite worked out where yet lol. This is a phone call that takes place between Noah and K from K’s PoV (MC is mentioned). This is to give you a taste of K/Noah’s (early) dynamic.

This will always happen (because Noah is a little shit), but it won’t develop into feelings between them unless the poly options are chosen.

Warnings: swearing, threats (sort of).

$kname isn’t sure why they picked up the phone to a private number. After all, the number shouldn’t be known to anyone other than the team, who were all in the apartment with $kthem, and the agency leaders, who would never call first.

But, against logic, $kthey did.

Regret leaves a bitter feeling in the back of one’s throat.

Noah Caine talks.

Noah Caine talks a lot.

$kname is pretty sure $nthey haven’t drawn breath once since $kthey picked up the phone. And $kname, being completely stunned by this turn of events, hasn’t even thought of interrupting once.

“My sister yelled at me for buying the wrong milk, but I mean how is it my fault that she didn’t tell me she wanted oat instead of almond today?”

Why was the $nperson who was trying to take over the world talking to $kthem about milk alternatives?

“Anyway, on to the actual reason for this call,” Noah finally pauses to take a breath. “I saw your lovely handler again today.”

$kname feels as though someone has just injected liquid nitrogen into $ktheir veins.

“…excuse me?”

“Oh! You can talk. I was beginning to won–”

“Shut the fuck up, Caine,” $kname tries to keep $ktheir voice from shaking. Whether that’s from fear or from rage, $kthey aren’t sure.

“You sound like Manon. Although Manon doesn’t usually sound like she’s about to cry when she says it.”

Oh, $nthey are enjoying this.

“Listen carefully Caine.”

“Yes, dear.”

$kname’s jaw clenches.

“Don’t you ever threaten–”

Noah cut $kthem off, “I wasn’t. Threatening $mcthem, I mean. I won’t lie, I was going to use $mcthem to get to you, but that plan went out the window when I realised how cute $mcthey are.”

$kthey open $ktheir mouth and then close it several times before $kthey manage to choke out a single word.

“Cute?”

“Yeah? $mcname is really cute. Like handler, like agent, I suppose.”

Okay. This was okay. $kname dealt with flirtatious targets all the time. This shouldn’t be any different.

“You think I’m cute?”

“Duh. Have you looked in a mirror, $kname? Cute is only one of many words to describe you.”

“Are you flirting with me, Caine?”

“That kinda depends.”

“On?”

$kname doesn’t even need to see Noah to know that the bastard is grinning.

“Whether it’s working or not.”

Unhinged villain’s who think that $kthey and $mcname are “cute”, don’t even make the top ten thousand on the list of things that $kthey want to deal with right now.

So, $kname takes the only mature and logical solution to this problem and hangs up.

That makes $kthem feel slightly better until $kthey realise that Noah is probably laughing $ntheir arse off right now, and then it becomes a lesson in restraint to stop $kthemselves from redialling the number and beginning the threats again.

The phone beeped with a message, which $kname very reluctantly checked.

Private: we should have dinner ;) bring $mcname <3

The phone creaked in $ktheir grip.

“$kname, are you alright?”

It was $mcname. $kthey didn’t even hear $mcthem approach.

“I just…need a new phone.” …and a new job.

#demo snippet #chapter somethingsomething snippet #ro: k #ro: noah #the cursed poly #this isn’t the full snippet but it’s a taste

[sugdenlovesdingle]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

thanks for tagging me @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad

I love wasting time with these things when I'm supposed to be writing 😉

How many works do you have on AO3? In total 262, for tarlos 24 (and counting)

What's your total AO3 word count? 642,739 (holy shit)

What fandoms do your write for? at the moment just 911 lone star/tarlos, but I'm kind of looking into RWRB/firstprince, and depending on a certain mister R. Hawley, I might get pulled back into emmerdale/robron

What are your top five fics by kudos? I'll stick to tarlos for this or else it'll just be 5 robron fics Austin TX first responders week - TK and Carlos have to give a talk about their jobs at a school for Austin's first responders week. Filling in the blanks - a post episode/missing moment of Owen finding out what happened to Carlos in 4x04 See you later - Marjan going to say goodbye to a still recovering Carlos before she leaves in 4x05 - kind of a missing moment It started with a concussion - a meet ugly with Carlos literally running into TK while chasing a suspect Love and Lou - The Lou fic! Vet!Carlos AU meet cute with a little help from Lou I and II

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Not as often as I should. I never know what to say other than "Thank you" and i just end up reading the comments 50 times over (and i save the emails from AO3) and I'm like I LOVE YOU PERSON LEAVING A COMMENT ON MY SILLY LITTLE STORY YOU MADE MY DAY - but only in my head because i don't want to seem too weird. Idk - I overthink things.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't do angsty endings. Though PS I love you is a little bittersweet I guess. TK getting a letter from Gwyn on his wedding day.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? All of them! I need a happy ending - always. But I suppose it was 'earned' the most in California where they both Go Through It before they get their happy ending.

Do you get hate on fics? I haven't on tarlos fics but I did get a hater on one of my anti chas robron fics once. I just deleted the comment.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Not really. I've tried... but it's just not for me.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Not really. Unless you count the tiny blink and you miss it RWRB reference in Swing swing.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not as far as I know.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope but I've translated fics from German to English for a friend yeeeeeaaaars ago - for Luke/Noah from As The World Turns

Have you ever co-written a fic before? I have, several. For Luke/Noah from ATWT way back in the day. it was an Experience™

What's your all time favourite ship? I can't pick just one!

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Undercover Carlos - I really want to finish it but I'm so bad at multi chapter fics. I'm bad at planning and I lose motivation and everyone else loses interest. I'm going to try get back to it when I'm done with my flufftober fics (so somewhere next summer or so 🙃)

What are your writing strengths? Dialogue for sure. and cutesy oneshots.

What are your writing weaknesses? Describing stuff. Translating the "picture" I have in my head to words on 'paper' is The Worst. Also planning and plotting a story - I tend to make stuff up as I go (which is why I suck at long multichapter fics)

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Don't do it unless you speak the language or know someone who does who can check it for you. Google translate is NOT your friend. A few words here and there (like the Spanish terms of endearment in tarlos fics) is fine, you can't really go wrong with that, but for more than that you need someone who actually speaks the language.

First fandom you wrote for? Luke and Noah - As The World Turns

Favourite fic you've written? For Tarlos I had a lot of fun with my Lou fic that I mentioned earlier and The perfect costume has done some interesting things to my insta algorithm, and The power of a muddy dog was fun because I like soft!TK with Buttercup. But all of my fics have *something* that makes them *special* to me.

If you've read all this... I'm impressed lol

tagging: @noxsoulmate @carlos-in-glasses @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @lightningboltreader @bonheur-cafe @sanjuwrites and and an open tag for whoever feels like doing this because I never know who to tag!

#tag games #tarlos #tarlos fic

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

BY TIMOTHY NOAH

For years we’ve been hearing about Republican strategies to displace the Democrats as the party of the working class, but conservative efforts to define what that means have always faltered. The main strategy, dating to the Nixon years, has been to use racial and religious prejudice to drive a wedge into what’s left of the New Deal coalition. But “working class” is an economic designation, not a cultural one. In their 2008 book Grand New Party, Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam tried to argue that social issues were economic issues, but that’s too facile and sometimes plainly wrong. (What do working-class women gain by losing abortion rights?) In 2021, Representative Jim Banks wrote Representative Kevin McCarthy a memo on how to make the GOP “permanently … the Party of the Working Class.” But apart from hawkishness on trade and immigration, to which Trump had converted the GOP, Banks was silent on economic matters, relying instead on waging culture war.

American Compass was created three years ago to change that. Founded by Oren Cass, a fortyish former Bainie and domestic policy adviser to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, American Compass is a conservative nonprofit that fashions itself pro-worker. It just produced a manifesto titled Rebuilding American Capitalism: A Handbook for Conservative Policymakers that attempts to define a set of conservative economic policies to help the working class. It will host a conference to discuss these on Wednesday afternoon in the Russell Senate Office Building, with remarks from Senators Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, J.D. “Hillbilly Elegy” Vance, and Todd Young.

Rebuilding American Capitalism acknowledges wage stagnation, decries stock buybacks, bemoans financialization, and rejects “market fundamentalism.” It knocks libertarians for disdaining government and mocks Glenn Hubbard, President George W. Bush’s chief economic adviser, for stating that “the goal of the economic system [is] optimizing consumption.” It recognizes the serious problem of growing economic inequality. Except for progressives, whom it denounces cartoonishly as disdainful of the private sector and overly “eager to use public programs to provide whatever the market does not,” the manifesto is against the right things. The trouble arises when it’s called upon to be for something—specifically, labor unions.

You can’t be serious about empowering the working class unless you want to strengthen organized labor. Does American Compass want to do that? Yes and no.

Give American Compass credit for including in its manifesto a chapter forthrightly titled “Labor.” Congressional Republicans are so nauseated by this word that whenever they regain control of the House they change the name of the Committee on Education and Labor to the Committee on Education and the Workforce. This revulsion does a disservice to the roughly one-third of union members who reliably vote Republican. Indeed, there’s a conservative argument to make in favor of labor unions, and I’m pleased to see American Compass make it:

“Especially for conservatives, who cherish the role of mediating institutions, prefer private ordering to government dictates, and believe prosperity must be earned rather than redistributed, reforming and reinvigorating the laws that govern organizing and collective bargaining should be an obvious priority.”

Amen. I would add only that Republicans show their true colors by relying, whenever they control the White House, on government power to impede the growth of private-sector unions at the National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB.

Also on the plus side, Rebuilding American Capitalism calls for sectoral bargaining, in which labor unions negotiate wages across industry sectors. The United Auto Workers and the United Steelworkers established a variation on sectoral bargaining called pattern bargaining back in the 1940s, though its efficacy diminished with the rise of foreign competition. The idea, which is a good one, is that competition within an industry (or its absence) shouldn’t drive down wages.

The section heading “Guarantee Workers’ Legal Right to Organize” got me very excited. But on closer inspection, the manifesto avoided any mention of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, the only serious vehicle right now to shore up labor rights, which has two Republican co-sponsors in the House (Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick and New Jersey’s Christopher Smith), though none, alas, in the Senate. The PRO Act would reverse key anti-labor provisions in the 1947 Taft-Hartley amendments to the National Labor Relations Act, or NLRA, voiding, for instance, state “right-to-work” laws that allow union nonmembers to enjoy the benefits of collective bargaining without paying union fees, and legalizing secondary boycotts like the supermarket boycotts that the United Farm Workers’ Cesar Chavez organized during the 1960s to bring grape growers to heel. (Chavez was allowed to target supermarkets that sold grapes only because agricultural workers weren’t covered by the NLRA, and they still aren’t.) The PRO Act would also for the first time allow the NLRB to impose serious monetary penalties on businesses that violate the NLRA; right now all it can do is require payment of back wages and reinstatement of a fired employee, which is why companies violate the act routinely.

How would Rebuilding American Capitalism guarantee workers’ right to organize? By doing, to quote Jake Gittes describing his instructions as a cop patrolling Chinatown (in the great 1974 film of that title), “as little as possible.” The PRO Act would require the NLRB to seek a court injunction to reinstate immediately any employee fired for union organizing. Rebuilding American Capitalism merely advises the NLRB to give its general counsel authority to seek such injunctions—authority the general counsel possesses already, and, under General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, is applying aggressively. Under a Republican president, the energetic pursuit of injunctions is a lot less likely to occur, and a polite request from American Compass will have no effect.

Even worse than its Chinatown approach to protecting workers’ right to organize is Rebuilding America’s section titled “Get Worker Organizations Out of Partisan Politics.” Organized labor’s political influence, even in its current greatly diminished form, is pretty much the only thing it has going for it at a time when private-sector union membership is down to 6%. Unions have always been a force in politics, and it would be suicide for them to withdraw now.

Or perhaps Rebuilding America means only that unions should withdraw from spending directly on political campaigns, something they were barred legally from doing before the Supreme Court turned corporations (and labor unions) into people in 2010’s Citizens United case. “The United States should prohibit political spending by worker organizations,” the manifesto says, “comparable to the prohibition on political spending by 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations.” Spending by affiliated PACs would still be permissible. Fine by me—but only if corporations (which take much greater advantage of Citizens United than unions do) are similarly barred from political spending. Which of course would require the Supreme Court to overturn Citizens United. Good luck with that. Rebuilding America makes much of the fact that the AFL-CIO and SEIU don’t allow members to dictate how they allocate lobby resources, but neither do corporations allow stockholders to do the same. The prospect of unions disarming unilaterally and leaving politics to corporations doesn’t seem to worry American Compass.

Ultimately, Rebuilding American Capitalism, for all its proletarian posturing, can’t muster much enthusiasm for labor unions. After its very good review early on of the data on growing income inequality, and a less-good section accusing liberals of not supporting apprenticeship programs (not remotely true), the manifesto gives the game away by stating that “although most Americans … wish they had more opportunities for their voice to be heard” in the workplace, “the traditional labor union is not the model they prefer.” Oh, please. Anybody who’s paid the slightest attention knows that labor unions enjoy more public support today than they have in half a century. It’s inconceivable that the authors of Rebuilding American Capitalism don’t know this.

To justify its claim that workers don’t especially like unions, Rebuilding American Capitalism cites polling data (from a poll conducted by American Compass) that says 63% would prefer a “worker organization” (whatever that is) to be run by labor and management, as opposed to 37% who would prefer it to be run solely by workers. This is a testament not to any wariness of unions on the public’s part but to the public’s naïveté about American management’s willingness to cooperate with labor. It’s different in Europe, of course, where they have works councils and other organizations where these things get hashed out by labor, management, and the government. American corporations rejected this model after World War II, when Walter Reuther and other union leaders proposed it. If they could now be persuaded otherwise, that would be lovely. But after reading American Compass’s manifesto, I wouldn’t trust any conservative to write the enabling legislation. Rebuilding American Capitalism has some good ideas about what ails America, but it balks at furnishing the means to fix it.

#us politics #the new republic #Timothy Noah #op eds #2023 #republicans #conservatives #gop policy #gop platform #gop #American Compass #Rebuilding American Capitalism: A Handbook for Conservative Policymakers #working class #working class solidarity #workers #union workers #worker's rights #wage stagnation #stock buybacks #financialization #market fundamentalism #lolbertarians #libertarians #progressives #organized labor #labor unions #National Labor Relations Board #Protecting the Right to Organize Act #National Labor Relations Act

[just-antithings]

The warhammer artist drama is so stupid to me because the harasser tried and failed to instigate a hate mob on the artist because they posted on kiwi farms and it basically boiled down to “so I think this person works for the Chinese military and endorses slavery and sent me death threats”

1. How did you come to the conclusion they are part of Chinese military over a GAME?

2. The post went “I don’t know anything about the game but it has the word ‘war’ in it and anything about war is also related to slavery” which is so absurd that even people on KF thought it was dumb

3. The death threat was a joke about Noah’s ark which the artist made

Antis now spread biased misinfo that the artist is now trying to kill the harasser by reporting them to the police and that the artist who was harassed for months (or even years) is in the wrong for fighting back and that constantly misgendering them, posting about them on KF, doxxing them and trying to get them expelled from the school they go to “isn’t all that serious”

However both parties are from 2 different countries, I doubt anything will happen unless the harasser is from the same country as the artist

And this drama happened over warhammer porn

you know that you might as well just give up if even kiwifarms doesn’t feel like harassing the person you’re targeting

#mod erin #ask #just anti things #kiwifarms mention #slavery mention #death threat mention

[callsign-magnolia]

Lost In Translation // Confessions

MATURE CONTENT (18+)

Synopsis: Liz falls in love with her childhood best friend, thinking he is the man of her dreams. But what is she to do when the real man of her dreams comes along?

Bradley Bradshaw as Noah

Bobby Floyd as Harrison

Warnings: Angst, cursing, violence, eventual smut.

Collaboration w/: @alltimereverie

I'm A Whore? | Masterlist

This was the first awkward silence we've had. Here, in his truck, him sitting so close and yet so far. I wanted to say something but what do I say? "I'm glad you told me you slept with him." I didn't expect that. But I also never expected Noah to try and throw me under the bus for it either. But it's laughable because in reality, he's the one who's in hot water. 

I looked at Noah's face, he was lightly snoring. His arm was gently around my waist which made it easy to slip out of bed. I grabbed my shirt and leggings, slipping them back on as I turned to make sure he was still asleep. I quietly grabbed my phone, walking out of the bedroom and onto his front porch. I looked at the time, realizing it would be four in the afternoon in Japan.

I wanted to call Harrison, tell him what I did. We're not together anymore, but I wanted him to know, I felt like he needed to. I pulled up his contact, hesitating for a moment before pressing the call button. I couldn't even lift it to my ear until he answered. "Hello?" I screwed my eyes shut, questioning every decision I've made up until this moment. "Lizzy?" I sighed, knowing he wouldn't stop until I answered now.

"Hey." My voice was so quiet, I barely heard myself. "You okay? It's like two a.m. there isn't it?" I nodded, taking a deep breath. "I just wanted to talk." I said as I pulled my legs closer, leaning forward on them. “What’s going on?” He asked and tears blurred my vision. I felt ridiculous calling him now, he wouldn’t want to hear about this. “Nothing. Just missed hearing your voice.” He chuckled on the other end. “Honestly, I miss hearing your voice too.” A smile took over my face at his words. “But I know you wouldn’t call me unless you needed to talk.” I sighed, looking down at my toes where the polish was chipping off. “It’s not worth talking about.” He huffed on the other side of the line. “Lizzy.” I bit my lip, picking at my nails. “I did something stupid.” I could practically see the soft smile on his face even if he was thousands miles away. “Nothing you do could ever be considered stupid.” I shook my head, biting my lip as tears formed. “Harrison, this was really stupid.” 

“You can tell me what’s wrong, Lizzy.” I shook my head. “I never should’ve called. You’ll hate me.” I cried. I was about to hang up when he stopped me. “I could never hate you, Lizzy. I still love you.” I turned my eyes up to the sky, mainly in an attempt to keep the tears at bay, but also because I needed to debate my next words. I took a deep breath, breathing out the four words. “I love you too.” I could almost hear the grin creeping up his face. “So are you gonna tell me about this ‘stupid’ decision?” I knew he may look at me differently, but I wanted to be honest with him. “I slept with Noah.” It was a whisper, lost in the late night breeze that blew by. Harrison didn’t say anything for a long time, and I was so sure he would hang up and never speak to me again. “Did you want to?” I wiped my tears from my eyes. “I thought I did. It’s just- I miss you and I was hoping that maybe it would help me move on. But if anything, it made me realize how much I miss being with you.” I tried to keep my voice steady, but it was hard. 

“Fuck. Lizzy I miss you so much.” A small smile grew on my lips. “I wish you could come home. I’d give anything for you to come back.” He chuckled. “I’d give up my entire career to come home, pretty girl.” My heart soared at the nickname, making me feel all warm inside. “Don’t do that. Not for me.” He sighed. “I’ll try to find a way to come home, pretty girl. I thought us breaking up would be a good idea. But it’s one of the biggest mistakes in my life.” I smiled, realizing I wasn’t alone in my feelings. “I wish I never let you do it.” I laughed, wiping the tears from my eyes. He laughed as well before it went silent. “Why don’t you get some sleep, Lizzy? I know it’s late, or early. Either way you should go back to bed.” I nodded, standing from the concrete porch. “Goodnight, Harrison.” I bit my lip, holding back the smile on my face. “Goodnight, Lizzy.” With that I hung up and slowly made my way back to Noah’s room. 

I was fully intent on grabbing my shoes and going home, but then I saw he was awake and sitting up. “I thought you left.” I shook my head. “Just needed some air, but maybe it’s best if I left.” He furrowed his brows at me. “Why?” I shrugged. “I don’t know. This just feels weird.” He smiled at me and motioned me closer. Once I was at the edge of the bed, he grabbed my hand, pulling me into the bed and into his arms. “It doesn’t have to be weird. We’ve known each other for years and you’ve stayed over before. Plus it’s really late and we had a lot to drink. So why don’t you stay and I’ll take you out for brunch in the morning.” He said as he wrapped his arms around me, placing a kiss to my temple. “Okay.” I agreed. He had a lot of good points. He laid back down in the bed, and held the covers up till I joined him. Once I was laying flat, he pulled me back into his chest. I thought over my conversation with Harrison, replaying it in my head. Wondering just how long it would be before he got to come home, if he kept his word. 

Communication between Harrison and I was slim to none after that. I was upset with him for a while, because I felt like he just told me what I wanted to hear. But then he slowly started texting and calling, and before I knew it he was standing on my doorstep.After we got back to his house, Harrison sat on the counter as I took a warm rag and gently dabbed at the cut on his lip. “I’m sorry.” I said and he furrowed his brows in confusion. “Sorry for what?” He asked, grabbing my wrist to stop me. “If I hadn’t been impulsive and slept with him, this wouldn’t have happened.” He gave me a soft smile before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into him. “In case you forgot, he hasn’t liked me since the beginning. So even if you two hadn’t slept together, he would’ve found another way to start a fight.” 

I nodded, knowing he was right. “I still hate that he did this though.” I said as I pulled away, swiping at his lip a little more. He smiled at me, his hand coming up and cradling my cheek. “I’d do it all again for you, pretty girl.” I grinned at him as he leaned his forehead against mine. “I really, really love you Lizzy.” I leaned up, kissing him softly. “I love you too, Harrison.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he slid off the counter, grabbing my waist gently and pulled me flush against him, his forehead still on mine. “Marry me.” My eyes below wide as I leaned back a little, staring up at him. “Wh-what?” I was in disbelief, shocked that he asked. “I love you Lizzy and I know you’re it for me. So please, say yes and marry me.” I couldn’t wrap my head around his question, but as I stared up into those bright blue eyes, I knew I wanted him for the rest of my life. “Yes.” It was a whisper, one I thought he didn’t hear. “Really?” I nodded. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!” excitement thrummed through me as he picked me up, my legs wrapping around my waist as he kissed me. “You’ve just made me the happiest man in the world. I’m sorry I don’t have a ring-” I shook my head, cutting him off. “I don’t care about a ring.” I kissed him quickly before pulling back. “Holy fuck. We’re getting married.” 

Wedding planning took up a lot of our time. We were going crazy trying to make this the wedding we wanted, and thankfully we agreed on most things. Or Harrison was just agreeing with me. We went out the day after he proposed and went ring shopping. I told him I was fine without one, but he said I just had to have one. So I indulged him and let him buy one. I insisted he buy me the six hundred dollar princess cut, but he wouldn’t give in until I agreed on the fifteen hundred dollar gold cathedral style pear cut ring that he saw me ogling at when we first got here. Once the invitations came in we sat down and started addressing them. We went through the list, and I stopped when I saw Noah’s address. “You okay?” Harrison asked, his hand on my thigh. “Yeah, I just, I was caught off guard seeing Noah’s address.” I said before tossing it to the side. “Do you want to invite him?” He asked and I furrowed my brows at him. “No. No, not at all.” I said before turning back to the envelopes in front of me. “It’s okay if you do, Lizzy.” I shook my head. 

“No it’s not, after what he did, I shouldn’t even want to invite him.” I said as I threw my pen down. “He’s been your best friend since you were five. If you want to invite him, then invite him.” I stared at the paper with his address, tears forming in my eyes. “What’s wrong, pretty girl?” He asked, standing and coming over to me. “What if I invite him and he doesn’t come?” I knew that would hurt way more than not sending an invitation at all. “Then that tells you how he really feels.” The words made my tears fall, dripping onto the dining room table where we sat. “Lizzy, this can be some closure for you. If he shows up, your friendship can still be mended, if he doesn’t, then there’s nothing there to mend.” He said as he squatted down next to my chair, reaching up and wiping away some tears. “Shouldn’t you be telling me to not invite him? I mean, he did attack you at the bar.” He just gave me a soft smile before he stood and placed a kiss on my hair. “I’m never going to keep you from something that makes you happy, and if he does I’m not gonna stop you or leave you.” God, how did I end up with someone so amazing? So, with a little encouragement from my fiance, I addressed the letter to him and sent it out with the rest. Either way, come the wedding I’ll have an answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist: @dhwanishah09 @wkndwlff @genius2050

#top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw #rooster top gun #bradley rooster bradshaw #bob floyd #robert bob floyd #lost in translation #bob floyd fanfiction #top gun bob #bob floyd x oc

[benkyoutobentou]

31 Days of Productivity Reading: Day twenty six

Before: I’m going to the bookstore today! The next volume of Guardian by Priest comes out in English today so I’ll be picking that up and using the opportunity to study some more. I should probably study Japanese today, though…

I don’t really have any other goals for today. Based on the amount of pages I have left in ベルばら, even if I only read for my minimum hour I should still have time to read some 憎らしい彼.

After: Second chamomile harvest of the season! My first harvest is still drying so I haven't had any tea from my garden yet, but I'm very excited for that day to come!

I also finally started a new anime today after feeling like there just wasn't anything I wanted to watch for quite some time. I'm watching 美少年探偵団 now! I read the book a few years back and it was honeslty a supremely bizarre experience. It was the first book I ever read in Japanese, it was extremely difficult to get through (and would probably still be hard for me, based on what others in the book club had said), and I think the majority of us in the book club, myself included, didn't realize going into it that it was a parody novel. I suddenly remembered that it had an anime adaptation, and absolutely had to watch it. Knowing the original, watching it is so much fun. It's supremely ridiculous in every single way and, personally, I find that to be a bonus, especially going in expecting it. And afterwards, I had a dog and a cat laying in my lap, so I couldn't just get up. Luckily I had planned to be trapped in my seat and wasn't caught without my book, so I also got some reading in.

I also had a bit too much success at the book store. In addition to my usual book store study time, I went for Guardian and ended up picking up A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock as well. I knew that there was a book I had looked up recently that was in stock at my store, but couldn't remember what it was. As soon as I saw this, though, I knew that that was the one for me. And while I'm thinking of it, I'm going to put some of my books on my tbr into the little free library near my house. There are a couple that I just don't see myself reading anymore, and I would rather free up that space to house books I actually want to read.

I finished ベルサイユのばら volume two today! I read 69 pages over an hour and one minute for an average reading pace of 1.1 pages per minute. So, I guess I was wrong about being able to finish the volume in under an hour, but I still have time in the day to get to more reading tonight. I think it's fair to say now that my average reading pace with this series is a page per minute, which is actually really nice in giving myself a close estimate as to how long a single volume is going to take me. Also, even with just two volumes under my belt, I'm noticing that I'm getting used to the style and vocabulary of the series. I'm looking up less words as I see the same ones appear and reappear.

I'm already thinking about what manga I want to read tomorrow, and I think I might jump ship to another series... This is why I read so many one shots and 2-3 volume series; I just can't stick to one thing long term unless I'm a little bit too obsessed. I'm a one volume at a time type of person.

Even though I didn't get a whole lot of time to read 憎らしい彼 today, I did read some! I read eight pages today over thirty eight minutes, for an average reading pace of 4.75 minutes per page. That's certainly not my best reading pace, but it id getting pretty late, so that might be slowing down my pace. My total reading time for the day was an hour and thirty nine minutes.

#im getting rid of lock every door by riley sager and of fire and stars by audrey coulthurst #both of them are genres that i just dont typically like and picked them up for one reason or another from little free libraries #i keep picking up thrillers when theyre free and i need to stop because i dont like reading thrillers! #benkyou posting #langblr #studyblr #30 days of productivity #language learning #polyglot #booklr

[irenicstars]

⋆ ˚。⋆୨୧˚ about eri !

hello ! so first and foremost, my full name is erilyn. i go back 'eri' as a nickname. i started this blog because i love to write & recently got into the marauders fandom as a joke, but now i'm emotionally attached. there's no turning back now, i suppose

this is going to sound super pick-me, but i swear it's true. normally, when i have a conversation with people, i try to keep the topic more directed toward them because i have a hard time talking about myself. so i very sincerely apologize if this post is structured weird, worded strange, or anything like that. i'm genuinely struggling suuuper badly right now #help

okay, anyway ! some of my favorite to do are read, write, listen to music, and snuggle my cats. it's a pretty short / bland list of grandma hobbies, but i love them more than life itself.

one of my favorite books is obviously atyd, it's what i read to first get involved in this little community, so it will forever hold a dear place in my heart. regardless of how basic of an answer it comes off to be. but as for physical (non-fanfic) books, my favorite is definitely powerless by lauren roberts.

i've been writing for as long as i can remember. there are pictures of me as a baby writing shit down as though it actually meant something. but when i was thirteen, i decided to actually write for a purpose ⎯ which would make my work mean something in an attempt to make baby eri proud. i've written a TON of short stories, and a few original completed books. none of which are published, of course. my imposter syndrome is far too severe for that kind of commitment..

since i mentioned music, i'd love to list some of my favorite artists (i say that as if anyone actually gives a shit). my all time, forever number one favorite is hozier. he's everything to me. his music means so much, and the poetic nature behind his lyrics is everything i strive for my own writing to come off as. a few other artists i enjoy : lana del ray , david bowie , noah khan , the weeknd , queen , mac miller , the lumineers , coldplay , benson boone , arctic monkeys , the smiths , rhcp (red hot chili peppers). as well as so so so so many more. my music taste is honestly all over the place, and i apologize, but i wouldn't trade it for the world because it's literally entangled into my soul & makes me who i am.

oh my god now i get to yap about my cats! AHH!

i have two kittens (they're over a year old now, but i will forever & always see them as my little baby kittens, fuck off). their names are indie & teeves. indie is super cuddly and loves her momma to death. she hides from everyone who isn't me, and will scratch you if you look at me the wrong way. teeves, on the other hand, is waaaay less sociable. she hides from everyone ⎯ like indie. but unlike her sister, teeves hides from me as well. nobody can ever find her unless she eating or using the bathroom. i'm a tad bit offended by her ignorance, but as long as she's happy i'm happy.

alright i'm done yapping now ! i'm honestly surprised if you made it all the way through my rambling, seeing as none of it was interesting for anyone except me. i hope you guys enjoy my page & my writing provided. if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask, my DMs are always open if you need someone to talk to. i love you guys !!!

#irenicstars ! #about me #meet the author