#he literally said our friendship is over yesterday

[pippin-katz]

The Awardist - Nicholas Galitzine & Taylor Zakhar Perez

I have to write down the best bits and record my thoughts while listening to this because I am completely losing my mind over what is our first real interview with the boys that was recorded in real time.

27:55 - right off the bat we got a great inside joke/reference from the host that had me cackle

28:19 - taylor being happy to see their faces and nicholas immediately shutting him down like "well i'm not happy to see taylor's face"

28:40 - taylor joking about putting a post-in note over nick's face lmfao

29:30 - the way they don't want to talk over each other, it's giving alex's bedroom flashbacks

29:40 - nick being like "oh! oh, it's good!" when dipping into the online response when the movie released lmfao 😆

30:33 - the silence following the social media question where they were apparently nodding followed by taylor saying they were texting each other like "mate" "mate" back and forth

31:20 - THEY TALKED ABOUT THE SIGNING WARS

31:44 - nicholas calling taylor "this little fucker" had me dying cause me and @meraki-yao were literally referring to him as that in our conversation on ig yesterday

32:00 - nicholas genuinely asking taylor "what possessed you to do this?"; it's giving storage closet in the children's hospital vibes when henry's like "why do you dislike me?"

33:04 - "take it nick" immediately upon being asked the dense question regarding fans reacting to their portrayals of henry and alex, and the way that nicholas laughs and stutters makes me think that taylor totally did that on purpose to mess with him lmfao

34:00 - taylor stopping to talk to fans regardless of where he is or where he's going and specfically mentioning how meaningful it was that people have said *TW* they were contemplating suicide when they read the book/watched the movie and that it helped them 🥺

35:40 - the host referred to the film as "a coming out story", which i don't really agree with as a label because the coming out portion is an added piece of their relationship as two public figures, but their love is the actual story

36:40 - nicholas referring to the film as "wholesome and funny" made me smile so much because it truly is wholesome

37:18 - not the host making the "top to bottom" joke 😭

37:58 - nicholas and taylor have talked about their friendship with each other and how they instantly clicked; nick knew within a few minutes of rehearsal that taylor was "his buddy" 🥺

38:41 - catch me squaring up with everyone who has made nicholas self conscious and self deprecating about doing so much intimacy work on the screen that he refers to it as "basically his thing" like that's all he's recognized for; i am so ready to punch some motherfuckers 😡

39:10 - "it's so fun now, seeing my mate at all these awards and stuff"; catch me fucking crying

39:24 - not taylor misremembering the "nicholas or joey" question as "who was the better kisser"; he totally combined the "is nicholas a good kisser" question with the "who has your heart tonight" question

40:05 - taylor talking about matthew's background in theatre and how they got to actually rehearse with each other; i will never stop being insanely grateful that matthew is a theatre guy

40:55 - the way i said "oh my god" out loud because i was so excited by the question

41:14 - improvised the "physicality" of the store room; i.e. they just fell on top of each other and clamored around 😂

41:32 - the way i literally gasped so hard that i started coughing when nicholas called taylor "tay", i am not even fucking joking, that was so fucking cute 😭

43:42 - fucking wheezed upon realizing where the question going

44:02 - the knowing way taylor was like "i will take this one" lmfao

45:10 - not me going so red from second hand embarrassment 🫣

45:44 - taylor bringing the jockstrap that nicholas wears in bottoms, and nicholas immediately adding "i won't even go into mary & george" 😂

47:51 - taylor finishing nicholas' sentence about matthew's direction for the cake scene; sharing a braincell lol

48:36 - taylor's dog passed away the night of the first day of filming like wow, that fucking sucks 🥺😭

49:05 - "everyone's looking at me with these sad eyes" made me so sad but then taylor said "do you want some tea?" in a terrible british accent lmfao

49:50 - nicholas complimenting and boosting taylor's performance while having such a hard time emotionally 🥺

50:49 - taylor bringing up running through the museum; i can hear the smile in his voice while talking about it 😭

51:28 - they filmed the kensington palace fight and the red room the week after nicholas got covid

52:40 - oh my god, the way you can hear nick grinning as he throws taylor under the bus for the sequel question 😂

53:30 - taylor wants a second book to base the sequel off of

54:03 - taylor used they/them pronouns for casey!! see? he knows, it was totally nerves

55:20 - it felt like it was over too soon, i desperately need more of them PLEASE 😭

This is the greatest thing that's happened in like, a month for me lmfao I am literally begging for more people to interview the boys about RWRB, I am so fucking desperate for more content of the two of them together. They are everything to me 🥺

#the awardist #red white & royal blue #rwrb #rwrb movie #matthew lopez #rwrb book #casey mcquiston #rwrb interview #alex claremont-diaz #taylor zakhar perez #henry hanover-stuart fox #henry fox mountchristen-windsor #nicholas galitzine #firstprince #history huh? bet we could make some #Spotify

[hamiltonaf]

bestfriends to lovers lewis?🥹

Wingman | Lewis Hamilton

Pairing: Lewis Hamilton x BF ! Female Reader

Word Count: 2.6K

Warnings: Slow burn

A/N: Hello loves ! Sorry for the delay, I believe I re-wrote this like 5 times because I had so many different scenarios in mind. I was so overwhelmed and finally settled on this. Nonetheless, I hope you babes enjoy. Requests are still open .xx

(Y/N/N) - Your Nickname

Nothing is harder than trying to hide your true feelings from your best friend. Well, theirs nothing to really hide considering how our relationship is, definitely not the same as my other guy friends. I’m fully convinced that everyone cracked that I have feelings for Lewis, except Lewis himself. Whoever said that guys and girls can be friends…they LIED.

Our friendship started about 2 years ago when Miles had introduced Lewis and I at Coachella. Miles and I go back a long way through our parents, we’ve been close ever since but just friends, nothing more. Miles knew about my love for F1 from early days and especially being a big fan of Lewis, he made sure that we’d meet some day since that’s his best friend after all.

I distinctly remember what felt like yesterday, we had the best weekend at Coachella and I was quite surprised how quickly Lewis and I grew on each other. Unfortunately, I rarely saw him since I had studying and work to do at the time, however that didn’t stop us from texting and video calling almost every day. That all changed earlier this year when I was done studying and I had a remote job so I had a lot more free time on my hands. I actually shared the news with Lewis first when I got my new job, he was so thrilled that he insisted that I now have no excuse not to attend more races.

What started off as friendly banter turned into flirting and teasing from time to time, if a total stranger saw us together they’d assume we’re a couple. Lol I wish. I have no clue what I’m doing wrong for him not to take a hint, unless he’s not interested in being in a relationship or worse case scenario… he has his eyes on someone else, but surely he’d tell me right ? I mean we’re best friends… or are we ?

That brings us to the present moment. It’s the Monaco GP weekend and you can imagine that almost every A list celebrity is here. Besides my love for F1, I’m a football fan as well - you can only imagine what would happen to my heart if I spot footballers in the paddock. Friday and Saturday are always quiet of course until Sunday strikes and the paddock is packed.

I was staying over at Lewis’ place for the weekend - no joke when I say we had a full on argument about me staying at a hotel when I can literally walk to the paddock since Monaco is so small. Of course he won the argument. Get my point when I say that people would think we’re a couple ?

It’s race morning, Lewis and I were getting ready not knowing what was going to occur the minute we’re about to leave. “(Y/N/N) are you ready ?” He called from the lounge. “Yep ! Just give me a sec” I yelled as I grabbed my phone and bag. I stopped in my track the second I saw that we were both wearing purple. “Are you kidding me ?” I said to myself. “You stole my look” he accused. “Excuse me ? I literally didn’t see what you’re wearing until now” I said defensively. “I’m just playing. You look beautiful and it’s cute that we besties are matching” he smiled. “Aww thanks Lew, but I have to change because everyone is going to think that we planned this” I said as I rushed back into the room to search for something else.

“Just forget about it, I’m changing as soon as I get to the garage in my team shirt and besides that we’re running late” he said as he grabbed me by my hand and pulled me along with him out the door to the elevator. “But Lew” I whined. He cupped my cheeks as he said, “Stop worrying about other people, focus on the positive..you got me and I’ll always have your back no matter what.” He gave me a quick wink and dropped his hands when we reached the ground floor. Not gonna lie that I had literal butterflies for those few seconds.

We drove to the paddock which didn’t take that long. I don’t know why I suddenly felt nervous, my hands started to feel clammy and I could already feel my body temperature rise. “Soo..you go ahead, I’ll meet you at the garage as per usual” I said as i stepped out of the car. “I was thinking we just go together” he smiled as he held his hand out for assistance out of the car. “Uhm are you sure ? People can be quick to assume things and start rumours..” Why can’t I shut up ?

“So what ? I don’t care, as long as you’re by my side” he shrugged. Aww. “Someone is being particularly nice today” I raised a brow at him as we walked towards the paddock entrance. “Pft..I’m always nice” he laughed. “On a normal day you test my patience to the limit with your banter, looks like someone is in a good mood. Don’t worry I won’t spoil it, I’ll make the most out of it” I smirked. As soon as we entered the paddock, we’re flocked by photographers and some fans taking pictures. In the moment I was so overwhelmed, luckily I had my sunglasses on the entire time so I actually ended up walking ahead of Lewis just to get to the garage faster.

I greeted a few mechanics, as well as Bono and Toto. We were lost in conversation that I actually forgot about Lewis coming back. Our conversation came to an end when all of our heads turned to Lewis greeting Neymar and Kylian. Oh my god. I was fangirling internally.

“No frikken way” I lowly said to myself. I started day dreaming and didn’t even realise that Lewis was next to me until he shut my mouth closed. “You’ll catch fly’s love” he half laughed. “Oh my god I can’t believe Neymar and Kylian are here !” I squealed. “You’re into football ?” He furrowed his brows. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t know - you weren’t the only athlete I kept tabs on” I lightly hit his chest. “That hurt my heart” he pouted. “Mine too considering you didn’t introduce me” I scoffed.

“No biggie, we’re meeting them later tonight” he said casually. “Say what now ? You’re lying” I rolled my eyes. Ain’t no way. “I swear” he said in all seriousness as he held out his pinky. “I’ll take your word for it” I linked my pinky with his. “In that case, do you think you could be my wingman ? I wanna know what the hype is about being a football wag” I teasingly suggested. “Uhhh..no” he straightforwardly said. “And why not ?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Because then I’ll have no best friend” he lied as he walked ahead. “Don’t worry, if you be my wingman then I’ll be your wingwoman. I’ll find you a new best friend or better yet, a girlfriend !” I enthusiastically suggested.

“I don’t trust your taste” he said as he entered his drivers room. “Okay then let’s forget about me being your wingwoman. Put in a good word for me” I winked as I took a seat on the couch. “Yeah sure” he sarcastically said as he shook his head.

The day went by so quickly after that, before we knew it the anthem was over and Lewis was already heading out to line up on the grid. Just before he could leave he was talking to Toto for a while, then finally turned to me. “As per usual, I hope you have a safe race. Best of luck bestie” I said first. “And as always..thank you for your support. I really appreciate you coming to races (Y/N/N)” he smiled before pulling me in for a hug. “You could thank me by being my wingman” I played along. “Not this again” he said annoyed as he broke away from our hug. “Don’t let it distract you from racing” I joked. He rolled his eyes at me with a serious look before breaking into a smile, “Bye (Y/N/N) !” He trailed.

The race went by so quickly, pun intended. Lewis finished at P4, we’ll take it as a win considering the performance of the car this year.

Didn’t see much of Lewis after the race since he had media duties. Once he was done, we spoke about the race in general on our way back to his place. “Soo what are our plans for the evening ?” I asked as I laid on the couch. “Are you forgetting the part when I told you earlier that we’re meeting Kylian and Neymar ?” He raised a brow. Realisation hit me in the face. “Oh my god I need to find something good to wear” I squealed as I rushed over to my bag.

“It’s in a nightclub, they’re not going to see you” he laughed. “They will when you play wingman and I’m leaving with one of them. Mainly Kylian, Neymar is off limits because he has a girlfriend” I said as I continued searching through my bag. “How are you so sure about leaving with Kylian” he laughed. “Well obviously that will happen after you put in a good word for me about my love for football” I said in an obvious tone. “Hmm okay” he said with a smirk.

As Lewis got ready, I decided to do the same, I had a shower and sat in my robe as I did my makeup, and hair. Once I was done, I slipped into my dress and heels. “(Y/N/N) you ready ?” He called for me. “I’m just putting on my heels” I said whilst holding onto the bathroom counter top for support. “Wow” I heard him say from behind me. “You look- wow.. gorgeous” he said softly. “Aww really ? Thank you Lew” I pouted as I looked at him through the mirror. “Your rizz is literally showing through your outfit” I said as I turned around to face him. “I guess I should take that as a compliment ?” He asked with furrowed brows. “Of course it’s a compliment, I basically said you look so fine that you could pull anyone you wanted tonight” I admitted. I mentally slapped myself for telling him he looked fine out loud.

“If I heard correctly, almost sounded like you were hitting on me ?” He raised a brow. “In your dreams babe, let’s go” I said as I tapped his chest and walked past him.

When we arrived at the club, Lewis handed the keys over to the valet, that’s when we spotted Daniel or otherwise known as Spinz. We greeted each other as we all walked over to the doors of the club. “I won’t remind you again what the plans are for tonight” I mentioned to Lewis. “Don’t worry, I didn’t forget” he said with a grin. He’s acting sus.

As soon as we entered the club, we were escorted to the VIP area and that’s when I spotted Neymar, and Kylian. Oh my word.. unreal. Both of them spotted Lewis and walked over to us to greet him. I stood behind Lewis with Daniel, eagerly waiting to hear what Lewis has to say.

Lewis shook their hands and made some small talk before moving aside to pull me forward by my waist. It’s hard to hear over the loud music, but i oddly enough heard clearly every word Lewis said. “Boys, this is (Y/N), my girlfriend” he smiled. Sir, I beg your pardon. Girlfriend ? I knew he was acting sus. “Hey ! So nice to meet you both, I’m a big fan” I yelled over the music as I hugged them both.

“Great to meet you too. Lewis is a lucky guy” Kylian smiled. “Aha well, I’m a lucky girl” I joked. All of the build up to annoy him just died down. I really pictured having a full on conversation with both Kylian and Neymar but that also went out the window when I started to get frustrated yelling over the music.. I was actually starting to lose my voice. Besides that, I was itching to leave this place so I can have a talk with Lewis. Quite a relief that Daniel was with us so i had someone else to talk to in the mean time.

After about a whole hour, I started to get a headache and just felt the need to leave. I was seated in the VIP area with Daniel whilst Lewis was catching up with Kylian and Neymar not so far away. I walked over to him and tapped his shoulder, “I wanna leave” I yelled. “What ?” He asked as he leaned in closer. “Can we please go ?” I yelled once again. He nodded his head in reply. He briefly greeted them goodbye as I I did the same.

We walked in silence to the car until the car doors slammed. “Uhm care to enlighten me on what happened back there, boyfriend ?” I emphasised his new title as he then sped off. He stifled a laugh, “Well I got a bit- cough”. “What was that ?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Can we just talk about this when we get back home ?” He asked as he looked over to me for a second. I didn’t answer back, just looked out the window. When we got back to his place, I jumped out the car and walked ahead of him to the elevator. “Can you stop giving me the silent treatment ?” He said as he stood across me.

I remained silent until we were in his apartment. I sat on the couch and crossed my legs over, “Was that really necessary ?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Well I thought it would be funny” he smiled. I took a deep breath, “I- do you want me to be single and lonely for the rest of my life ?” I faked a smile. “Oh my days (Y/N)…can you not take a hint ?” He said annoyed. I stood up from where I was seated, “I assumed you were just trying to annoy me like you always do and tonight you did exactly that, but worse.” I walked past him as he then caught a hold of my wrist. He pulled me back and twirled me to face him.

“(Y/N), if it isn’t obvious enough..I love you.” I was left speechless. “I’ve fallen for you since we first met at Coachella. You caught my eye and I knew then that I always wanted you by my side. You made my day when you shared the news with me that you were finally able to come to more races, I thought it’s now or never. I thought I was pretty obvious about how I felt about you, even Miles knows this” he softly smiled. “That idiot knew all this time and didn’t tell me even after I told him how I felt about you. Anyway, never mind him. Why didn’t you say anything earlier after I told you to be my wingman for tonight ?” I furrowed my brows.

“Because I wanted to wipe that smirk off your face” he said as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer against his chest. “To me it just sounds like you were jealous” I pursed my lips as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I wasn’t jealous” he scoffed. “So then why did you call me your girlfriend ?” I raised a brow. “Okay fine, you win that, but… will you be mine ?” He asked nervously. “I thought you’d never ask” I said as I closed the gap between us, placing my lips on his.

#f1 #formula one #formula 1 #f1 fic #f1 imagine #f1 oneshot #f1 x reader #lewis hamilton #sir lewis hamilton #lewis hamilton imagine #lewis hamilton x reader #lewis hamilton x you #lewis hamilton fluff #lewis hamilton oneshot #f1 fluff #lh #lh44 #ricciardoaf oneshots

[livlaughloveluke]

𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲- 𝐞.𝐥

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: ethan’s mysterious sickness leads to an unexpected confession

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: sickness, pills (advil)

𝐚/𝐧: was kinda rushed and also tumblr was acting up when i was trying to write this, but i hope you enjoy!

ethan woke up to a sudden feeling of nausea, and a headache that pounded relentlessly. you and him were supposed to go study in the library later that afternoon, but there’s no way he would get anything done in this condition.

he managed to lift himself out of bed, feeling extremely weak. he trudged to the bathroom, every step seeming to add exhaustion to his already tired self.

he arrived, and lazily opened a cabinet to grab the thermometer and some advil. he reached to the back where the medicine usually was, only to find nothing. he looked around, searching for something that would bring relief, however nothing was there.

in the meantime, he grabbed the thermometer and stuck it under his tounge. he waited patiently, as the numbers kept going up. 

103 degrees fahrenheit. a decent fever, and if he didn’t take medicine soon, it might go up. he exited the bathroom, hoping to find chad. 

ethan was too sick to go out, so chad would have to pick up some advil for him.

unfortunately, chad was nowhere to be found. ethan pulled his phone off the charger to call him. he clicked on chads contact, and waited as the phone ringed.

chad picked up shortly. ethan was more of a texter, so he knew something must have been wrong. before chad could mutter a word, ethan began talking.

“hey man, have you seen the advil?” ethan grumbled, sounding sickly and sleepy. 

“i just finished off last week. midterms had me stressed, man. it should be on the grocery list. are you sick?” chad responded. ethan looked, and it was in-fact on the shopping list, next to the goldfish. 

“yeah i feel like shit and have a fever. where are you?” ethan asked, hoping chad was near, and could run by the pharmacy and pick some up. 

“dude, i told you this last week. me and mindy drove up north to visit some family this weekend. im sure y/n would gladly pick some up for you, though.” chad replied, and ethan could sense his smile through the screen. ethan thanked chad, before hanging up. 

you and ethan were good friends, although he wished you were more. he was talking to chad one night, when he accidentally let it slip that he had a huge crush on you.

chad, being the blabbermouth he is, immediately told tara. when tara found out about ethans crush, she almost overflowed with joy. she knew the feelings were reciprocated, as you talked about him all the time. ever since that night, tara and chad had been trying to get you together. 

however, every time tara mentioned you asking ethan out, you shut her down. you told her that he probably didn’t feel same, and that you valued your friendship with him to much to ruin it. tara fought the urge to tell you about what chad had said, but she promised she wouldn’t say anything, so she kept her mouth shut. 

ethan felt bad, but he knew he had to text you. you were curled up on the couch, watching netflix, when a notification popped up on your phone. 

ethan 🪼

hey! im think im sick, 

so im going to have to cancel 

on our study sesh :(

you read his message, and your heart filled with worry.

you 

im sorry you don’t feel good,

eth.

do you need anything?

ethan 🪼

actually if you don’t mind, 

could you pick me up 

sone advil? we ran out and 

i was supposed to go the 

grocery store today.

you

of course

send me your grocery list and I’ll pick everything up 4 you

ethan 🪼

you really don’t have 

to do that y/n 

you

seriously, it’s nothing. plus, i was at your dorm yesterday and there was literally no food

ethan 🪼

thank you so much

*one image attached*

you rush and throw on some baggy grey sweatpants, pairing it with a navy blue sweatshirt that drapes over one shoulder. you throw your uggs on, and rush out the door. you try your best to be as quick as possible, knowing of ethan’s poor condition. 

the grocery list was filled with mainly junk food, so you decide to buy some fruits for the roommates. you also buy ingredients for your homemade chicken noodle soup, hoping it will help with his health. 

you pay and head to his dorm, while you stress over his condition the whole ride. you park your car in the parking garage, and carry the several bags of groceries up to his floor. ethan had given you a spare key a couple weeks ago, so you fumbled with your keychain until you found it and unlocked the door.

the door flung open, and you found ethan on the couch, looking like a zombie. a show played quietly on the tv in the background. you rush to the chaotic kitchen, and set the items down on the counter. you fish around in the bags, looking for the meds. you found the bottle of pills, and set them down beside the groceries. you open the cabinet and find a large water bottle, and fill it up to the brim

you take the water and the advil over to him, placing it on the coffee table. he’s half asleep, so you shake him a little, so he is aware of your presence. 

“hey. take your medicine, and make sure to drink some water. i’ll clean up around here.” you whisper to him quietly.

he groans in response and swallows the pills, before laying back down on the couch. you head back to the kitchen, and start putting away groceries and cleaning up his previous messes. you wipe every surface down, until everything is completely spotless.

then, you move onto his room. you rip the sheets off his bed so you could wash them, and grab the spare ones from his closet. you neatly make his bed, and fluff up the pillows. besides his bed, almost everything else was put away and it looked nice. you disinfected his table and all of the door knobs, then went back to the living room.

you shook him a little again, waking him up, and you led him to his bedroom. he immediately plopped down on his bed, chasing sleep. you grabbed his phone and the water bottle from the other room, and placed them on his nightstand for when he woke up. 

you then went to clean up the living room, which surprisingly wasn’t that messy, besides a few pillows and blankets scattered across the floor. 

it was around one pm, so you started making lunch, and it would probably be dinner, too.

you poured the chicken stock into a pot, and then placed it on the stove, heating it up.

you swiftly dice some vegetables, and throw them into the pot, along with some shredded chicken. you seasoned it to perfection, and then added the uncooked pasta once it was boiling. 

while it was cooking, you cleaned up the mess you had just made, and did the dishes. it was weird how easily and efficiently you tightened up his apartment. normally you would dread doing these chores, but since it was for ethan, you didn’t mind. 

you turned down the heat once the noodles were fully cooked, and tasted your delicious creation. just on time, ethan woke up from his nap and entered the kitchen. he looked a lot better now, not nearly as delirious. 

“seriously y/n, you didn’t have to do any of this.“ he says, yawning a little.

“like i said, it was nothing. are you feeling any better?” you respond back, now ladling the soup into a bowl for him. 

“a little. thank you, really.” ethan said. you handed him his lunch, while reassuring him that it was no big deal.

you made your own portion, making sure to turn off the stove once you were done. you took your bowl and sat next to him at the table. 

“wait, i might get you sick.” ethan warns. 

“we’ve spent every day for the past week together. if it’s contagious, i probably would have gotten it by now. also, i don’t mind getting sick if it means i can spend this time with you.” you respond, looking at his gorgeous coffee brown eyes. you needed to tell him how you felt.

“ethan, i care about you so, so much. way more than a normal friend should.” you say to him, but he just tilts his head in confusion. 

“what im trying to say is that i really like you. i want to be more than friends. i know you haven’t dated anyone before, and i’m perfectly okay with taking it slow. if you don’t feel the same way, please just tell me now.” you confess to him. now it was ethans turn to spill his guts.

“i’ve liked you since the day we met in econ, y/n. i want to be with you, no matter what happens. would you wanna go out sometime, officially?” 

“more than anything.” you say, a smile now plastered on your face.

ethan drags you back to his bedroom so he can take another nap, and you decide to read. you sit crisscross on his bed, back leaning on the bed frame. he cuddled up to you, laying his head in your lap. a couple minutes later, he was fast asleep. you pull out your phone to snap a photo, them text tara. 

you

turns out you were right

#ethan landry #jack champion #ethan landry angst #ethan landry smut #ethan landry x reader #jack champion x reader #jack champion x y/n #fanfic #jack champion x actress! reader #liv’s writing !

[enkas-illusion]

One of Your Guys

One of Your Guys - Part 1/3

Fandom / Pairing: Jujutsu Kaisen / Choso x f!reader

Rating: NSFW/Explicit - MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Content Warning: Fluff, kissing, language, hurt/comfort, slight make out

Chapter Summary: You rant to your friend Choso about your crush and things take an unexpected turn when he confesses something that catches you off guard.

Author's Note: Hello, this is my first attempt at a short story. All characters are in their mid 20s. This is a pure cheesy, sappy, in-your-feelings vibe condensed into a 3-part story. If you enjoy it, feel free to like, reblog or comment; I’d love to know your thoughts. Thank you for reading! 

~ Eren's Birdie

Song Dedication: One Of Your Girls by Troye Sivan

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

“I really hate to be that person but… I told you so.” 

You look at your friend with narrowed eyes, fighting the urge to roll them at him. If you knew you were in for a talking-to when you called Choso over to rant about the shit-show that you call your love life, you would’ve reconsidered it.

His face shows no sympathy for his poor heartbroken friend as he leans against your kitchen counter with his hands crossed at his chest. And rightly so, why would he anyway? Afterall, he’d told you to confess your feelings to your crush before it was too late and now here you are, admitting that ‘too late’ had arrived sooner than you’d expected.

“I know but I was scared of ruining our friendship, okay?” You sigh as your shoulders slump down. He simply shrugs at you as he walks towards the microwave when it beeps. His back is turned to you and a few seconds pass as you observe him following the usual routine.

You wonder whether making hot chocolate can be fixed into one's muscle memory. In that moment, you believe it might as well be the case for Choso as he takes the hot milk out, pulling the spoon out of the drawer while simultaneously grabbing the cocoa container from the shelf above him.

You want to laugh at how ridiculous it all seems. It’s not just the ritual of making hot chocolate, but the ranting sessions along with it that have turned into a daily occurance. How many times have you made your poor friend listen to you crib about your unrequited, unnoticed love for your best friend, Satoru?

In your defence, Choso was the one who’d initially annoyed you to death to get the info out of you. The genius that he is, Choso had figured out that you liked Satoru based on the way you interacted with the latter at a common friend’s house party. If someone were to ask Choso, he would tell them that your eyes would quite literally turn into heart shapes whenever Satoru talked to you.

“I’m sure you’d understand how I’m feeling if you were in my shoes.” you add as he stirs the spoon in the mug. He stills for a split second before continuing the movement. 

“Chosoooo say somethin-” you trail off when he turns around to look at you as if he’s fed up with your bullshit.

He walks towards you and hands you one of the mugs before making his way to the living room. You mutter a small ‘thank you’ as you follow behind him. When you’re settled on the sofa, you sit with your legs folded on the seat to face him as he leans back on the opposite end.

As he takes a few sips of his hot chocolate, he can see your brain working overtime to come up with a summary to explain all that you’re currently feeling. He almost finds your struggle to speak up adorable, when usually you always have 10 things to say and then some more.

“Fine, tell me exactly what he said.” Choso breaks the silence to give you an opening.

Your eyes soften with relief at his statement as you take a sip from your mug, “So… yesterday Satoru had invited me to a common friend’s house party but I had declined since I wanted to sleep the weekend away. And when I woke up in the morning, I opened Instagram to scroll a bit as usual and saw Satoru had added to his close friends’ story. I figured it’d be the usual party snaps… I was already feeling the fomo of not going so I clicked on it right away… and what do you know??? THE FIRST FUCKING PHOTO is of this pretty girl on his lap and he’s kissing her cheek. I swear it felt like my heart had dropped to my stomach.” you pause to take a few sips.

“Wait so based on a single snap, you assumed he’s dating her?” Choso frowns, visibly confused.

“No, of course not! Since Satoru often does get touchy like that with me as well, I did not want to assume so I replied to the story. I said something on the lines of ‘congrats on getting the girl big man, don’t forget about me though ahahaha.’”

This time you pause to observe Choso’s expressions and he’s visibly cringing hard. “Don’t say it… I’m aware how pathetic it is.” you pout as you fidget with a thread that’s sticking out of the sofa pillow. 

Choso swats your hand away to stop your fidgeting before he gently squeezes one of your feet with his free hand that isn’t holding his mug. “Poor baby,” he teases as he rubs circles over your skin, “Go on, I promise I won’t tease you.”

“Well, he read that within seconds and I got a call from him. He sounded a bit reserved at first as he broke the news to me… apparently, they’d been talking to each other for about a month… I had no idea,” you take a deep breath as it pains you to say the next sentence, “Last night, Satoru kissed her and confessed his feelings. Turns out she feels the same way for him so now they’re together. I said congratulations and cut the call… he sounded so happy.”

You turn your face to avoid Choso’s gaze, trying hard not to let the tears slip from your eyes. He moves closer to you as he places both of your mugs on the coffee table. He pulls you by your wrists, guiding your arms around his waist as his own wrap around your shoulders. As your face rests on his chest, you start sobbing silently.

“Shhh, it’s okay, it’ll pass.” he tries to console you, brushing his fingers through your hair.

“What if I don’t want it to pass? I should be happy that the man I consider to be my best friend has found such a perfect girl for himself, but here I am, wishing it were me instead. Am I a bad friend for feeling that way?” you look up at him, still teary eyed.

“No, you’re not a bad friend. Your emotions are all over the place because something unexpected has happened. You weren’t anticipating this so you’re hurt and it’s okay to feel sad. You’re here crying in front of me instead of trying to sabotage his relationship or whatever… that is proof enough that you’d rather deal with the hurt than hurt other people.” you sigh as you listen to your friend’s soothing words. 

You rest your head on his shoulder as you close your eyes. Choso rubs your back gently before adding, “You’d only be a bad friend if you refuse to wipe your tears and snot off my t-shirt later. I’m not even kidding, I want this shit washed with that soft fabric conditioner you have, all crisp and ironed to perfection!”

You slap him where your hands were resting on his lower back, causing him to let out a tiny wail. It causes you to laugh for the first time after having been sad all day long.

Choso moves away, breaking the hug to create some space between as he hands your not-so-hot chocolate back to you. His knuckles rub your cheek to wipe the wet trail that had been left behind by your tears. He opens the palm of his hand to rest it against your cheek gently.

“I know you may not feel like it now, but you’re going to be fine.” he smiles as he reassures you.

You place your hand on top of his as you lean further into his touch, finding it a little too comforting. In an attempt to take the focus away from your problems, you ask him, “Have you ever liked someone who didn’t like you back?”

“Hmm…you.” he nods. You smack his hand away as you sit up straight.

“Choso! Be serious! You never tell me anything about your love life! You’re always joking around.” you complain.

“That’s because there’s nothing there to tell! I tell you about all the other aspects of my life cause they’re much more entertaining than my love life.” he answers with a tone of sincerity. You pout, not convinced.

He rolls his eyes at your persistence and adds, “Well what do you want to hear about? Would you rather have me talk about all the Tinder dates I fuck and never see again?”

You scrunch your face at the crudeness of his words, “Nope.”

“My point exactly… anyway do you want to watch something?” he asks as he grabs the remote. You nod as you both gulp down the remaining of your drinks. You get up and take the mugs to the kitchen to wash them while Choso scrolls away on Netflix.

When you return to sit next to him, his arm grabs your waist to pull you in closer to cuddle as he presses play. You rest your head on his shoulder as it begins. When you realise what he’s playing, you tilt your head up to look at him. “Really? Bridgerton?”

“Yeah… and season 2 cause it’s the better one. We literally have the whole evening to binge” he states, unprovoked by your almost condescending tone. You decide not to tease him about it. 

Before you realise it, hours pass by and you’ve binged half of the show. As the characters were introduced, Choso filled you in on the details and it almost felt like you hadn’t missed season 1 at all. There was additional unnecessary commentary that came along with his explanation of plot points, but you weren’t complaining.

Spending time with your friend like this, where the heartache you felt this morning seemed dull in comparison to laughing at his lame jokes, is exactly what you needed to relax. You let the chatter in your brain melt away and instead focus your awareness on the present moment – a task that had almost felt impossible before you’d asked Choso to come over in the afternoon. 

Cuddling so close to him, you notice the smell of his perfume is a lot stronger. You breathe in his scent, a smoky wooden smell with just a tiny hint of something sweet to it. It’s a distinctly familiar scent you’ve grown accustomed to ever since the two of you began cuddling together during your frequent movie nights. The dynamic you shared with Choso was similar to your relationship with Satoru, minus the romantic feelings you had for the latter. 

Choso’s right arm rested around your waist while the other rubbed lazy circles on your knee, whereas your right hand was resting on his chest with your torso leaning into his side. And while there was an unspoken agreement that even cuddling with Choso was platonic; your flatmate, Mia, was certain that it was only a matter of time before something would happen between the two of you.

You’re grateful she’s not at home for the weekend to tease you about tonight. If she saw the two of you right now, the teasing you’d have to endure would be insufferable. You smile to yourself when you think about it.

When you get to the scene where Anthony goes feral over Kate’s scent, you joke about how you feel the same way about Choso’s perfume.

“You like my perfume?” he asks, surprised, making sure he heard you right.

“Always have.” you admit, “I know it’s oud, but what’s the sweet floral scent with it?”

“Jasmine.”

“Oh… I like it. It’s perfect, not too sweet, not too harsh.” you say, trying not to be too obvious as you try to sniff at his t-shirt. Before you get a chance to do so, he leans back and shifts his torso to lean in closer to your neck instead. 

“Are you wearing any right now? I never really noticed your scent.” he speaks softly and you can feel his breath on the side of your neck. You pull back instantly, feeling flustered and hot. You blink a few times before you shake your head side to side. He chuckles as he goes back to his original position, his focus shifting back to the TV. 

Is he seriously oblivious to how close you two just were or does it simply not faze him at all? 

You mentally slap yourself for misinterpreting his seemingly innocent actions. He leans back comfortably with one hand on top of the headrest and you shift back into his embrace. A few minutes pass before his hand behind you moves closer to caress your neck, you feel goosebumps rise on your lower spine as you move away from his touch.

“What?” he asks, confused.

Either this man is an idiot, or he’s fucking with you to rile you up. 

He pauses the show to hear what you have to say. “Don’t do that. It feels… ticklish.” you choose your words wisely. 

“Well, it wasn’t my intent- aww, are you ticklish?” he inquires mischievously as he raises an eyebrow. Before you can answer, he grabs one of your feet as he roughly yanks it, making your back fall flat on the sofa. You let out a shriek as he moves on top of you and cages you between his arms, ready to tickle you. 

You start yelling at him to stop, laughing hysterically as he tickles you. You try pushing him away but fail to do so as his muscular figure leans even closer to yours. You have tears in your eyes from laughing and after a while, you’re basically begging him to stop.

When he finally stops, he looks at you with a smug smile of victory on his face as your laughter slowly dies down. There’s a moment of silence when your eyes meet and you get a strange feeling in your stomach. Maybe butterflies, but possibly anxiety for what your instinct tells you is about to happen.

You notice Choso’s gaze move down to your lips and you mimic him. He involuntarily licks his lips as your breath hitches in your chest. He lowers his head till your faces are just inches away from each other and he gently nudges your nose with his. 

His left hand moves up to the side of your neck and he caresses your jaw with his thumb. You lift your head up at the same time when he leans down and your lips meet. His lips feel plump and wet as you close your eyes. 

Who kissed who first? You wonder but all of your thoughts keep getting lost before they have a chance to rise to the surface. The only thing occupying your mind is the way his lips feel on yours, your skin burning where he’s touching you.

His right hand grips your hip to push it down further into the cushions of the sofa. His hand on your neck moves down to your throat as he chokes you slightly, as if to test the waters. He smiles into the kiss when he hears you moan.

He takes the opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth. The way his tongue moves has you entranced. His movements feel languid, yet they contain enough force to convey an intense passion. 

Your hands move of their own accord as they make their way to hug his shoulders. He breaks the kiss as his lips leave a trail of quick pecks down your neck. Your head tilts back to give him better access. He sucks on the spot just below your ear and your palms bundle up his t-shirt, creasing the fabric. 

You moan louder than you’d intended to when he bites the spot and his fingers dig into the meat of your thigh. You feel the heat rise to your cheeks as he licks a strip up along the front of your neck. He hooks your leg that he’s holding around his lower back and presses his hips down to grind against yours.

“Fuck… Choso-,” you say, out of breath. You can feel how hard he is through his sweatpants. He lifts his head up and his hair is all messed up, the smaller strands have escaped the bounds of his hair tie and frame his face in a way you can only describe as delicious. He kisses you on the mouth once again and you have to close your eyes shut to regain your composure. 

As much as you don’t want him to stop, you know better than to let the situation escalate even further. Your hands move to his chest and you firmly place them there but don’t push him away. 

Fuck. About time you tell him to stop.

You move your head to the side as you try speaking softly, “Chos-”, but he grabs your face to turn it back to him and bites your lower lip, continuing the kiss. You’re pretty sure he can feel your wetness as he grinds his hips, pressing against you. You groan at how good it feels.

You kiss him back, pulling him impossibly closer by his t-shirt. He pulls your bottom lip with his teeth again before releasing it. “Fuck… baby, you feel so good,” he groans as his hand pulls your t-shirt down and his face moves to your collarbone to leave another hickey. 

“Ahhh… Choso, please,” you moan at his touch. He comes back up again as he stares down at your neck, proud of the light mark he knows is going to turn dark purple later. He kisses you on the lips once again.

Before your desire wins over the rational part of your brain, you press your hands firmly to his chest. He leans back a bit as he understands what you mean. He reluctantly moves away from your face but his hands still hold you in place. His eyes look hazy and full of lust. By the way he looks at you, you’re certain yours don’t look any different either.

So much for not wanting to fuck up another friendship.

“We can’t...” you mumble, but clear your throat to speak up clearly, “Choso, we can’t do this.”

“Why not?” he retorts softly, his thumb moving across your bottom lip. You sigh as you grab his wrist to remove his hand. He moves his hand through his hair to push back the stray strands as he sits back up to create space between you two.

For a split-second, you find yourself missing his warmth before you sit up straight to look at him. You envelop his hand into yours and you hold it like that as he waits for you to speak up.

“This feels strange… I don’t want to make you feel as if I’m just using your body to get over Satoru. It already feels like I’m gonna lose him as my best friend, I don’t want to lose you too…” you trail off as you lower your head with shame. 

“What if I didn't mind you using me to get over your stupid crush?” he replies. It was the last thing you’d expected him to say. Your eyes widen in surprise as you look up at him.

“I think it’s pretty evident that I have a thing for you,” he continues as he looks down at his crotch. Your eyes follow his and you can see the imprint of his hard on over his sweatpants. You look away quickly, not wanting to ogle at the sight.

“It’s just your dick talking…” you almost whisper, not wanting him to hear your accusatory tone. He pulls his hand out of your grasp before running his fingers through his hair once again in frustration. 

You know you hit a nerve when he groans slightly as he speaks up, “Far from it… I’ve liked you for a while now. But you’re so blinded by your crush for that blue-eyed snowflake fuck that you can’t see anyone else. Least someone who can treat you far better than he does. Anyone can tell that you have a crush on him… Satoru knows, your eyes tell, he just conveniently ignores it. I’m not sure why you’re so crazy over him but it hurts me more than I'd like to admit when all you care about is Satoru this, Satoru that. Fuck Satoru! What the fuck is it going to take for you to finally see me?”

You’re speechless. Your brain feels like it has stopped computing altogether. 

What the fuck?

Even if you want to say something, you fall short of the right words. Your lips part to speak but close again. Choso notices this and his jaw tightens. He mumbles a ‘be right back’ as he gets up abruptly and makes his way towards the washroom. 

You’re still sitting in your place when he returns after a few minutes. The edge of his hairline is wet but he’s dried his face. As if washing his face had washed away his agitated state of mind, he looks more composed now.

“Choso..” you get up quickly and walk to him.

“It’s getting late, I better leave. I’m sorry.” he interrupts you. He turns away from you and walks towards the apartment door. You follow behind him quickly as you call out his name again. He knows how much you hate leaving things hanging in a limbo till the next meeting.

He turns around and cups your face with both his hands. They’re cold now. His eyes meet yours as he speaks, “It’s okay… I shouldn’t have sprung that on you like that. You’re going through your own shit. I shouldn’t add more onto it.”

He smiles and leans down to kiss your forehead. You try speaking up but he interrupts you once again. He does not want to give you an opening. He wants to leave things in a limbo tonight. He wants to remember the way your lips felt and not let it be overshadowed by your rejection that came after.

“We’re okay,” he presses and you know he’s not going to listen to you tonight. “Goodnight.”

You put your hands on top of his to hold them in place when you sense him pulling them away. He moves them away regardless and instead squeezes both of your hands. His touch feels so different from how it was just a few minutes ago and you want to cry.

You can’t help but feel as if you’ve ruined your friendship and you feel him slipping away. Maybe you’re being a bit dramatic but he’s being so formal and indifferent that it almost makes you feel sick.

“Hey,” he stops your train of thought, “I’ll see you later, okay?”

No, please stay. You want to say but you don’t dare to. You can’t… not with everything that just happened.

“Goodnight.” you force a smile at him and he squeezes your hands once more before leaving.

You stand there, staring at your closed door for a good few minutes before you turn the TV off completely and retire to your bedroom. Every single scenario and all the endless outcomes play in your head but above everything else, Choso’s confession of his feelings for you plays in your head on loop like a broken record.

You’re still unsure of how you feel about it as you fall asleep an hour later, still thinking about him. You hope in desperation that come morning, you’ll be wiser at deciphering the mess of your emotions a bit better.

MDNI banner: @benkeibear

#erensbirdie #jjk x reader #jjk x you #jujutsukaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen choso #choso kamo #choso x reader #jjk choso #choso #choso smut #choso x you #choso jjk #jjk #jujutsu kaisen

[babydollmarauders]

MINE — TREVOR ZEGRAS

request: “Hi! I love your work! <3 Can you make a little comfort fic with Trevor? Like someone said something nasty about the reader and Trevor's relationship like he's not good enough for her and that he couldn't please her like he could, so Trevor gets all protective and fights him and when he comes home, he's all cuddly and clingy because he's scared that the reader is gonna leave him?”

summary: in which y/n sees two new sides of Trevor: protectiveness and fear.

warnings: profanity, fighting

notes: i don’t really know how i feel about this one. i definitely don’t think angst is really my strong suit, but i tried! p.s. i drew a very minimal and light inspiration from Mine by Taylor Swift for this one.

at this point i feel like it’s a universal experience among girls to have a guy friend with an obvious crush on you but you don’t like them that way.

for me, that guy is my friend, Drew. he and i became friends in high school, and when we both enrolled in the same college, i was excited to have a close friend there with me. but in our freshman year things started standing out to me more, the looks that Drew sent me from across the room, the way that he would glare down any guy who so much as looked at me, the way he was quick to drop any other plans in order to hang out with me. and then in sophomore year, i noticed the continuous compliments, the increased touching, and the way that he would start commenting about how ‘special’ our friendship is.

suffice it to say that i was hoping he would get the hint and back off when i started dating my boyfriend Trevor. but now it’s been a year and he’s only gotten more obvious with his advances.

which brings us to tonight. my friend, Lila is hosting an early graduation party at her house and of course our entire friend group is here, including Drew, who’s already drunk, an hour into the party. i’m standing in the living room in a circle of my close friends, all talking about how glad they are to be free from college. we all worked hard to graduate a semester early, and we may have only gotten associate’s degrees but it doesn’t change how done we were with school by the time we got out of our last ever class yesterday. my gaze bounces between my friends and the front door, waiting for my boyfriend to arrive. he just got back from a week long roadie yesterday and i’ve yet to see him since arrived back in town, so he agreed to come and stay an hour before taking me back to his apartment.

“girl, you look like a crazy person with your eyes twitching back and forth like that!” Lila laughs, nudging into my shoulder with her own. “calm down, hun! i’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

“yeah, i know. i’m just excited. i haven’t seen him in eight days.” my smile is weak and it only dims when i catch sight of Drew rolling his eyes. he’s never been one to keep a filter when he drinks. but it’s forgotten when i glance back towards the door and my eyes lock with the subject of our discussion. i bounce on my feet a couple times, waiting for him to make his way over, but i eventually lose my patience when i see him get stopped by a guy. who, based on his passionate gestures, i’m assuming is a fan of the Anaheim Ducks. i watch as Trevor smiles and nods, exchanging words with the random who holds his attention, and i know if i don’t get over there soon it could potentially never end. Trevor could talk about hockey all night if someone would let him, which i have on numerous occasions. sending one more smile over to my friends, i step towards my boyfriend, but i’m rooted in place by a hand wrapping around my wrist, pulling me back.

“what are you even doing with him y/n/n?” i spin back around at Drew’s voice.

“what?” i pack a mighty bite into my one worded response, but Drew obviously doesn’t seem to catch it.

“he’s not good enough for you. you literally just said he left you alone for eight days.” he looks up and scowls over my shoulder, probably looking at Trevor. “i could treat you so much better than that pretty boy does.”

i’m stunned into silence at his outburst. my lips open and close, and i’m begging for something, anything, to come out. he’s never been this up front about his feelings for me, and i had naively hoped that he never would be. taking my silence as an invitation to keep going, Drew speaks once again.

“could definitely please you better than he could too.” my blood boils, and i swear i see red. but before i can jump to the defense of my boyfriend, i’m lightly pushed to the side and i look over in time to see Trevor barreling past me, straight to Drew. He shoves him but Drew’s hand is still gripped on my wrist, making him pull me forward when he stumbles.

“get your hand off my girlfriend before i remove it for you, asshole.” Trevor’s voice is low and he speaks between clenched teeth. “i’ve put up with your pining glances and your barely subtle remarks for this long, because she’s too nice to say it to your face, but i will. she’s not interested in you. she never will be. and the fact that she’s made that clear multiple times and you still won’t back off doesn’t make you ‘persistent’. it makes you a creep.”

Drew lets go of my arm but it only takes one look at him to guess his next move, and before i can warn Trevor or pull him out of the way, Drew’s fist connects with his face. i gasp, my hand flying up to cover my open mouth, and feel myself being pulled back from the brewing fight by dainty hands. Lila’s, i assume.

Trevor doesn’t go down, instead he just laughs, like Drew’s punch was nothing but a bee sting. Drew’s face pinches in confusion at Trevor’s reaction, but he doesn’t get much time to ponder it before Trevor throws his own punch directly at Drew’s nose. i hear the crunch before Drew’s body crumples to the floor in two seconds flat. my wide eyes scan the scene in front of me, my boyfriend shaking out his hand, no doubt bruises will line his knuckles in the morning, and blood dripping down Drew’s face.

“you can talk your shit about me, you can curse my name, hit me, i don’t care. but you keep your hands off my damn girlfriend.” Trevor spits out, looking down his nose at my now ex-friend, before he turns around. he takes ahold of my hand and marches out of the house with his head held high. i glance back at my other friends, my eyes still as wide as saucers and my lips mouthing silent apologies. Lila waves her hand in a dismissive motion, shrugging her shoulders, shaking her head, and mouthing her own words of ‘it’s okay’.

Trevor leads me to his car, opening the passenger door for me as if it’s just another date night, before jogging around and sliding into the drivers seat.

the drive back to his place is done in silence, and i make no attempts to break it. i can feel the energy radiating off of him. no longer hostile, but still tense. when we arrive, i trail behind him into his apartment. Trevor walks into his bedroom, mumbling something about getting changed and grabbing me a change of clothes, and i stand in the living room. his friend/teammate/roommate, Jamie, sits on the couch, locked into a video game but spares a quick glance at me.

“hey, you guys are back early.” his focus is immediately turned back to his game, and i’m not sure he expects a response but i reply anyways.

“yeah. it’s, uh, been a night.” Trevor is back quickly, handing me a pair of sweats that i left here and one of his t-shirts.

“you can go ahead and get changed and then we can watch a movie in my room.” he plants a kiss on my forehead, his lips lingering for a few seconds before he pulls back. i nod and walk down the hallway to his room, closing the door behind me. i take a couple minutes to change before opening the door and peeking my head out.

“you can come in, Trev.” i call down the hallway, and it’s not but a second before i see him jogging down the hall. he enters the room and jumps onto the middle of the bed, patting the space beside him.

“come cuddle with me. tell me everything i missed while i was gone.” i crawl up the bed, snuggling close into his arms and he tightens them around me, pressing my face to his chest.

“we talked every day.” i laugh. “i think you know more about what happened while you were gone than some of the people who were actually here.”

Trevor chuckles for a few moments before he speaks again, his voice somber.

“you know i hate having to leave you, right?” i look up at his face, about to make a joke but see the guilt-ridden expression on his face.

“yeah, no, i know that. it’s your job, Trev. does it suck being away from you? sure. but you’re good at what you do and the team needs you.” i raise my hand to his face, brushing my thumb against his cheek.

“are you upset? about what i did?” he looks so fragile, like my next words could make or break him.

“what? punching Drew? no. honestly, it brought me some relief.” i confess. “i’ve always been too afraid to outright reject him. i never gave any reason to think i liked him, so i thought maybe he would take the hint that i didn’t have those kinds of feelings for him. but obviously i was wrong. i feel way more guilty than i am upset. if i had just told him i didn’t like him, there wouldn’t’ve been a reason for you to have to fight him.”

“don’t.” the word comes out stern. his voice dropping into what almost seems like a growl. “don’t blame yourself. you may not have explicitly stated that you didn’t like him like that, but you showed it over and over again in your actions. i’ve seen the way you pull away from his touches, how you make up excuses to distance yourself when he says something too romantic, the faces you pull when he talks about how ‘special’ your friendship is. not to mention the fact that you have a boyfriend, and yet he still pulled that shit.”

i nod along to his words and press my head back onto his chest.

“so, you’re really not mad at me?” he asks.

“i’m really not mad at you. why would i be? you protected me. i’m grateful for you.” he gives me a brief squeeze, laying a kiss on the top of my head.

“i know how long you guys have been friends. i don’t know, i guess i thought maybe you would be mad that i may have ruined your friendship with him. i know you’ve chosen me before but-” his drops into a whisper before he speaks again. “i thought you might choose him over me this time.”

i pull back, shifting up in the bed more so that my face is directly in line with his. cradling his face with my hands and placing my forehead against his, i look into his eyes.

“i’ll never leave you alone.” i whisper. “Trev, you mean so much to me. is it gonna be different not having Drew as a friend anymore? yeah, i’ve known him since i was fourteen. but by now, with how he and i’s friendship was going, it never would’ve lasted. but you, you make me so happy. you make me feel seen, and heard, and loved. i love waking up next you, and going on coffee dates, and our movie nights. i love talking with you about stupid things, and staying up listening to you talk about your games. i love celebrating wins with you, and i love that you let me be there for you after a loss. i never loved him the way i love you. i would always choose you.”

#trevor zegras #trevor zegras x reader #trevor zegras imagine #nhl fic #nhl imagine #anaheim ducks #faithlynn’s writings <3 #babydollmarauders

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Aita for being harsh to my friend who was asking me for reassurance over anxiety

I (21F) have a friend (21m), who we'll call Sam, who is very anxious and is autistic. Sam has a tendency to take everything I do as a sign that I secretly hate him, even when it has nothing to do with him. It's honestly a bit suffocating. Previously, hes gotten upset about me not being on my phone while I was studying for an exam, he's gotten really upset with me when I said I couldn't talk right now because I was really hungover, etc. We've had discussions about this before, and I've been like "look, if I hated you we wouldn't be hanging out at all dude, please stop reading everything I do so negatively." It hasn't really improved the situation.

Two weeks ago exactly from when I write this, there was a death in my immediate family. I was there when they passed, and I've never seen anyone die before, and it really hit me hard. I want to grieve alone. I don't want to talk to anyone for a while, as I process things. I told my friends, and Sam specifically, that I was going offline for a while as I grieved. Everyone, Sam included, told me to take the time I needed.

It's been a hectic two weeks, and I've not had as much time alone to process as I would have wanted. People, including Sam, have checked in on me and I've told them im not doing good and I'm not ready to get back online.

Yesterday, Sam messaged me (all of this took place on Snapchat so I don't have the exact messages anymore) saying that he knew I said I wasn't talking to people but that he felt neglected and ignored. He said that is RSD was playing up and he was convinced that I hated him, and he wanted reassurance that I didn't.

I was absolutely furious with him when I got that message, I'll be honest. Inwardly, I was like how fucking dare you make this about you. How dare you ignore that I literally told you that I wasn't speaking to people because of MY OWN metal health and that it was nothing to do with you. I was (and still am really) so, so angry.

I knew, however, that it wouldn't do any good to say that to him. Instead, I said that my life does not revolve around him, that I hadn't thought about him once since our last text, and that we were good friendship wise on my end but that I was not ready to talk as I was really not doing well.

He said I was being mean to him, and guilted me into a 3 hour conversation to sate his anxieties. He thinks we're good now, but I'm so fucking angry with him for this. Fuck me, I suppose, my one fucking request to be left alone means nothing. Fuck my mental health. Fuck the fact I just watched a family member DIE, Sam has decided that I hate him again so I must drop everything to reassure him. AGAIN!

I'm too angry to see this situation clearly; I have no idea whether I'm an asshole or not. Was I mean? "My life doesn't revolve around you" might be mean.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[phatcatphergus]

genuine question: when tubbo is building a town based on a joke about homophobia that SURGED from the fact that he was upset about fit and pac being together.... why does tubbo get to be upset when people call him homophobic?

like. legitimately HE hurt his relationship with fit and pac. HE hurt sunny's relationship with ramón. HE put a low price to his friendship and didnt trust his friends when they tried to reassure him or reach out to him before the date.

he keeps causing his own downfall -and is unknowingly causing his daughter's- and meanwhile, tubblings are villanizing literally everyone else while saying he has done nothing to deserve the treatment???

Okay well I think that this goes back to my post about misunderstanding how people understand their characters based on who they watch.

I think the main misunderstanding comes from the fact that he isn’t upset about being called homophobic. It’s the teasing and not picking up on his actual insecurities.  Ill use the joke yesterday as an example, he wasn’t upset that fit called him homophobic, he was upset that fit asked if foolish actually wanted to make a town with him. The homophobia joke went right over his head, because all he heard was fit, asking foolish why he would want to be friends with him.

Also, a lot of the damage between his relationship with fit and pac, and Sunny’s relationship with them comes from the fact that there’s a miscommunication on both sides. Sunny and Tubbo both feel like they aren’t part of the family and things that fit and pac say reinforce this narrative for them. Tubbo lashes out out of deep seeded fear and anxiety but no one sees past the “homophobic” jokey bit because he’s afraid of what people will say if he lets them see the real reason he’s upset. In turn, fit and pac treat him with surface level concern and unintentionally push him further away. Trying to set him up with Fred to cure his “loneliness” just made him think they wanted to pass him along to whoever would take him. They wanted him off their hands.

Also, it really shows that you’ve never been in a friend group or two people start dating because it does come off very differently afterwards.  things that you used to joke about you can’t joke about anymore and it is very two against one feeling even if it’s not intended to be that way. The main reason Tubbo was against fit and pac was because he’s afraid of them leaving him behind and not needing him anymore. I have a lot of posts on this so I’m not going to reiterate what has been said 1 million times, but qtubbos problem has never been people saying he’s homophobic. It’s always been his own insecurities and fears. 

The whole thing with Ramon being upset at Sunny and Tubbo was because it was a very surface level understanding of Tubbo wanting to disrupt the date. I’m not saying that Tubbo should have disrupted the date, but they were definitely much deeper feelings behind it that nobody addressed or understood.  sunny repeatedly talks about how she doesn’t feel like fit and pac don’t see them as part of the family from her own experiences. That’s not to say, Tubbo doesn’t have some influence, but overall it’s her own feelings and experiences that cause her to be uncomfortable with fit and pacs relationship.

Also, tubblings are just like any other fan base in the way that we will defend our creator above anyone else. I’m sure you do the same for yours (or you wouldn’t be in my ask box lmaoooo) and no one really takes time to understand the other side or leave people to make angst on their own. Tw whole thing really boils down to fandoms seeing everything through the eyes of their character. You’re going to see Tubbo being upset at homophobic jokes and causing problems because that’s how fit sees it, we will see Tubbo taking offense to the jokes and jabs because that’s how he sees it.

#also this isn’t neg at you im just saying that everyone will have different outlooks on the situation based on who you watch #genuinely if you want more in depth look at to why tubbo is so upset then check out past posts I’ve made or posts other tubbo mains have mad #also I’m not saying fit isn’t joking I’m just saying fit doesn’t have the full picture #therefore his chat doesn’t unless they watch tubbos stream #also y you have to watch a lot of Tubbo streams to understand his mindset bc his rp style is very specific and long term #also I had to writ this on my phone so if you see mistakes no you didn’t #qsmp #tubbo #qsmp tubbo #qsmp morning crew #qsmp fitmc #fitmc #anon asks

[mateoluvr]

confession

gekko/mateo x f!reader 

wc: 1.3k | fluff 

a/n: currently down in a deep hole for this man and perhaps going to try writing again cuz of him!? ngl this is lowkey half-assed im srry if it sucks SOBS + not rlly proofread.. 

you and mateo were basically best friends, not a second goes by where you both aren’t making great memories with each other. but, everyone usually mistook your relationship with him and was surprised to figure out you both weren’t dating. especially his friends from his workplace, whenever he wasn’t on an assigned mission or training with harbor, he was most likely with you. reyna would always try to tell him to just shoot his shot with you, because she figured out he grew feelings for you.

“mijo, I don’t understand how you two aren’t official yet.” 

“I doubt y/n sees me more than that reyna..” he sighed.

“no estés triste, you’ll never know until you pop the question.” reyna tries to reassure him.

“sí tienes un punto.. but what if I ruin our friendship over it? I don’t want to scare-“ he gets cut off, when he feels the vibration of his phone. he pulls it out of his pocket, and it was a message from you.

[ y/n ]

hey!! r u down to grab some boba tomorrow? it’ll be a treat on me since you’re going on another one of those missions soon right?? 

he smiles at your message. reyna asks if it was you who texted, and he nodded. 

“what’d she say?”

“oh she wants to grab some boba tomorrow since brim assigned me and the others a task soon.”

“sounds like a perfect opportunity to call it a date and just tell her mijo.” she chuckles, as his face turns red at the thought. 

“but what if-“

“shh, I don’t want to hear back talk at me just do it you’ve prolonged it way too long.”

mateo sighs and accepts reyna’s words at last, and she leaves his office and wishes him good luck tomorrow. then he remembers he forgot to respond to your message oh shoot he left you on read. he immediately sends a quick message back so it didn’t look like he was ignoring you. 

[ mateo ] i’m so so sorry I didn’t respond sooner!! :( but i’d love to!! same place & time?

to his surprise, you immediately replied back.

[ y/n ]

don’t worry about it! but yeah :D

[ mateo ]

great! see u then :p

[ y/n ]

yep!! can’t wait ^-^

he hearts your message and sets his phone aside so he could finish the last few of the assignments his mentor harbor gave him. although all he could think about was seeing you again (even though you guys literally just saw each other a few days ago). hours went by, but he managed to finish, he grabbed his bag and went home on the train with his little buddies waiting for him at the door, and he told them about his day and how he made another plan with you tomorrow! they all approved, especially wingman, he’s happy that you make mateo’s day lighten up. 

then the day finally came, he woke up earlier to help his mama out with some house chores before he left the house later.

his mind kept reminding him about the words reyna said to him yesterday. he kept pondering if he should actually ask the question later when he sees you. part of him wants to do it and hopes for the best, but the other side is just scared to lose over a few words. he shakes it off, and decides to go get ready and made himself look presentable. he wore his usual vest over his black shirt and touched up his hair. he let his little fellows tag along since why not, and off they went on his skateboard. 

when he made it to the shop you both agreed on meeting at, he saw you staring at your phone, probably listening to music with some earbuds. he slowly approached you and tapped your shoulder.

“hey y/n!”

you slightly jumped from the sudden touch, and looked up from your phone screen and saw the green hair boy with wingman on his shoulder. 

“oh hi mateo! and aww wingman’s here too.” you smiled, taking him off his shoulder to give wingman a hug. 

“hey, hey, the rest is here too, dizzy, mosh, and thrash.” he chuckles as your attention was focused on wingman. he adores that his critters and you have such a nice bond with each other, it’s too much for his heart. (he’s in literal awe whenever you’re having a good time with them)

you both finally decide to enter the shop to grab some boba after having a small chit-chat outside. 

“what do you want mateo? it’s on me!”

“it’s okay y/n don’t worry about it.” he pushes away your wallet in hand, but you kept insisting. after constant bickering on who’s going to pay, mateo lost because of how persistent you were. the cashier looked so lost while the two of you were arguing and sighed in relief when you both finally agreed on something. you both got your drinks and sat down at a table, and continued your conversations from earlier. as you were both talking you couldn’t help but notice how jittery mateo was, and how he was barely making eye contact with you. 

“is everything okay?” you ask in a concerned tone, putting your drink down.

“i- uh..” he mustered, trying to calm himself down. 

“you can tell me mateo, what’s wrong?”

mateo started to panic a bit more, and then before he knew it he finally confessed. 

“i really like you y/n!” he blurts out, and when he realizes what he said, he covers his mouth immediately. you also paused at the sudden words he just said to you. it was utterly silent for a moment, both of you trying to process what just happened. he was the first to break the silence, and apologized for his out-of-the-blue confession. 

“i’m sorry y/n! i understand if you don’t wanna be friends anymore..” he puts his head down on the table in shame, face burning.

but, then the unpredictable happened, and he heard you say, “why would i think that silly? i like you too mateo,”

his head perked up, barely making eye contact with you, he asked if you were sure.

“of course mateo, i’d never think you’d ask- i’m happy you told me though i wouldn’t have the guts to confess to you,”

“i’ll tell you now y/n if you confessed i would’ve taken you in a heartbeat.. you’ve basically been there for me for the thick and thin; anyone would be lucky to be with you- soy serio,”

he grabs one of your hands, and uses his other free hand to hold your cheek, which makes you flustered. mateo still barely being able to make contact; yet still pulling off bold actions amazes you. before anything too intimate happened, wingman rushed up to mateo and pulled on his leg. he looked down, and saw wingman holding a flower, he wanted him to give the flower to you.

“gracias wingman!” he says as he fist-bumps him. mateo hands you the flower wingman picked nearby.

“thank you! that’s so sweet,” you smiled which makes mateo and wingman happy. after you finished your boba, you both decided to go by a nearby park to finalize things. (also so mateo’s buddies can have some fun) you both sat down at a bench while mateo’s critters went to play some basketball with each other. mateo tries to maintain himself so he doesn’t say anything stupid like he did before. 

“so- y/n what would you say we are now relationship-wise?”

“it’s up to you.”

“okay then.. mi cariño y/n will you be se mio para siempre?” 

“of course mateo, i’d love to.”

“i promise when i come back from my mission i’ll bring you anywhere or do anything for you!” 

his eyes light up thinking about all the plans he’d wish to make with you. he pulls you in for a hug since he’s too embarrassed to kiss you in a public place. you embrace his warm loving hug, knowing a new chapter in both of your lives will be starting soon. 

“te amo y/n.”

“i love you too mateo.”

<3

#gekko x reader #gekko x you #gekko #valorant #valorant x reader #mateo #mateo x reader #fluff

[avatarmerida]

Sorry it’s been a month since the last update! But life has been crazy but rest assured, we shall keep advancing the friendship! Hunter is searching for the perfect way to ask Willow out, but of course he must encounter obstacles. Read on AO3 or under the cut!

“I don’t know what to do!” Willow exclaimed as she frantically started pacing the room once she was sure Hunter had left. “This whole time, this whole entire time I thought he was my boyfriend! But apparently not? I mean, I guess we never said it officially or anything but still! Oh my Titan he must’ve thought I was crazy!”

“I mean, he couldn’t have been that upset right?” Amity pointed out. “I mean, he did confess to you eventually.”

“Yeah I guess,” Willow said as she flopped on the bed. “And then I basically slammed the door in his face!”

“Yeah, maybe not your best move?” Said Amity, sucking her teeth.

“I guess just… I dunno. I thought kissing him at Grom was a pretty obvious sign that I liked him. But I guess he thought it was just a Grom thing.”

“Aw Willow, he’s so stupid,” Amity said as endearingly as she could.

“I know!” Willow groaned, covering her face with a pillow. “He’s so cute it makes me furious!”

“I mean, in your defense, it definitely seemed like you were dating. I mean,just look at what he posted right before the game!’ said Amity, taking out her scroll to pull up Hunter’s latest penstagram post. “It’s a picture of you two and he wrote: ‘She’s amazing #wcw always.’ He literally just called you his crush. That’s a pretty public declaration of feelings.”

“No, he thinks it stands for ‘Willow can win.’” Willow explained with a smile as she traced the pattern on her pillowcase with her finger. “I just thought it was cute so I didn’t correct him.”

“But just look at this picture,” said Amity, turning her scroll around to show Willow. “He can’t take his eyes off you. Even with the face paint you can tell how red his face is. It’s the same goofy face he had at Grom.”

“Hmm yeah, it is pretty goofy,” Willow chuckled as her face adopted a goofy grin of its own to match. She let out an aggravated sigh as she leaned back to hide beneath the pillow again. “Ergh, but now he thinks I’m upset about the kiss,” groaned Willow. “Which of course I’m not! It was a great kiss! It was a really great kiss.”

She felt tense and relaxed at the same time thinking about the total euphoria of Hunter spinning her around in the sunshine,laughing and smiling before pulling her in and pulling away far too soon. She had been riding that high the whole night up until what she thought a spontaneous romantic rendezvous had turned into an apology. He had apologized! Did that mean the kiss didn’t make him feel the same way? He said he had done it because he liked her but what if kissing her made him realize-

“Amity, what if he didn’t think it was a great kiss?” Willow asked in a panic, shooting up from the bed. “And that’s why he came over? W-what if I didn’t let him finish and he was going to say ‘I kissed you because I liked you but now I realize I don’t anymore, sorry.’”

“Uh…”

“I should’ve just told him I liked him back,” groaned Willow. “Then we could’ve just started over but I was just so caught off guard that I just left! Ahhhh!”

Amity watched her friend scream into her pillow and knew the feeling all too well. It seemed like just yesterday she was hyperventilating about kissing Luz on the cheek outside her house. Willow had been there for her then, even though they were still on shaky terms. But now their friendship was stronger than ever and Amity was determined to be the amazing friend that Willow deserved and had always been to her.

Amity gently lifted the pillow off her friend’s face so she could hear her better. “The other day Hunter and Luz came over and we were hanging up all the photos my mom never let us display because they weren’t ‘perfect’ enough. We were going through the photos from when we were little and he found a bunch of you and I from when I wasn’t terrible yet. And he just like… stared at this one photo of you in the garden like it was the most precious thing he’d ever seen in his life. I’m pretty sure he only hung up photos that had you in them.”

“Well I was a very cute child,” Willow replied with a sly smile. She had caught him doing the very same thing at her house many times, her fathers teased her about making him copies. She wished she had a photo of baby Hunter to fawn over. She knew none existed, she had pestered Darius about it and while he was able to confirm that while Hunter had indeed been a child wreaking havoc in the castle, Belos had chosen not document this (much to Willow’s dismay.) Hunter’s lack of memories to offer any additional insight had driven Willow to imagine what them meeting earlier would be like. She imagined he always had his gap tooth, growing up with a lisp that forced him to practice his vocabulary in the mirror until he-

But why was she thinking about this when she was trying to figure out how she was supposed to be feeling about Hunter now?

“What I’m trying to say is,” continued Amity, once she was sure Willow had left the mini daydream the story had inspired. “Hunter is crazy about you and has been for a long time. He knows you and cares about you and it would take alot more than a bad kiss for him to stop feeling that way.”

Willow sat up and squinted skeptically at Amity. “Are you saying I’m a bad kisser?”

----

At school the next day, Willow was doing everything she could to fight off the vines that tried to form around her feet. She knew that their interaction would be different today; she just didn’t know how. After his confessions and her apparent confusion, she didn't know if they were on the same page about what they were. Would he be shy? Embarrassed? Would he make the assumption she had made a month ago and act like she had? Regardless, she decided that no matter how things changed, they could talk this out. Sure, it might be a tad bit awkward to tell someone you thought you were dating for the past month while they thought they were secretly pining for you, but maybe it could be something they laughed about together?

“Hey, it’s no big deal!” Amity assured her as Willow tried to summon the strength to walk into school. “Just act like you used to act around Hunter.”

“I don’t remember how I used to act around Hunter!” Said Willow in a hushed panic. “I liked getting to act like his girlfriend, I don’t know how to go back!”

“Okay, then act like his girlfriend.”

“But I don’t know if I’m his girlfriend!”

“Okay then stop asking me for advice!” Said Amity in a panic. “Sorry! I just… I don’t know what to say here.”

“Well how did you act around Luz after you kissed her?”

“Uh, not great?” Amity winced, remembering the utter mess she had been. “Maybe just follow Hunter’s lead? I mean, I don’t think you can act weirder than him.”

“Yeah, okay.” said Willow, doing the signature Park breathing technique to calm her nerves. “Yeah, sure. I’ll just see how Hunter feels and go from there.”

But Hunter never came.

At first, Willow was worried that he was avoiding her, that he had taken her reaction to his confession the wrong way. But then she found out he wasn’t in school at all, which seemed too extreme for Hunter, so she knew something else must’ve been up. He didn’t respond to her messages. Then Gus said he wasn’t responding to him either. Willow began to worry.

“Oh no, he’s at my house,” Luz said casually as she greeted them outside the school when Willow shared her concern.“Darius brought him over in a panic because he didn’t know what to do and then mama called Eda because she kind of knew what to do but it was a demon realm thing and when I left for school this morning they were all making him soup. It was very sweet.”

“But he’s okay?”

“Oh yeah he’s fine, he’s just a little sick is all,” said Luz. “He’s been sleeping all day, Stringbean cuddled with him while I was at school. Mama sent me a picture, see?”

Luz showed them the photo on her phone and Willow felt her heart flip. Was it weird that she missed him? She had just seen him and was so worried about seeing him again today but darn it when she didn’t she really missed him. He looked so peaceful and she was thrilled anytime he got extra rest, but she wished she had known he wasn’t feeling well. She wondered if things weren’t potentially awkward between them right now if he would’ve told her.

“Oh, well since he’s at your house did you wanna take his homework to him?” Willow asked, slightly downtrodden. “I know he’ll be panicking all weekend worrying he’d fall behind without it.”

“Very true but uh actually, I don’t know if I can,” said Luz, sensing Willow’s sadness. “Amity and I have plans and I might… forget the books somewhere? Sure, but if you wanna stop by… well he’s been out cold most of the day but I’m sure just knowing you came would make him feel much better.”

Willow smiled, grateful for the excuse to see him. Luz knew she would be and thought about asking the details of last night after everything that happened but felt it best to wait until Hunter was conscious so she could hear both sides. She had to assume Willow wanting to see him was a sign that things were improving and maybe the not so subtle mumbling of her name that Hunter did in his sleep meant he would be waking up in a world where he was less anxious about his future with the plant girl. Either way, it was one less task for Luz.

---

When Willow arrived at the Noceda household, she was very surprised when Darius answered the door. She knew Luz had mentioned he had brought Hunter over but she didn’t realize he had stayed. She smiled as the look on his face suggested he had slept very little, most likely in favor of ensuring Hunter’s comfort.

“I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed up,” he said with a smirk. It was the same smirk he wore when Willow would come pick him up from Darius’ house, a smirk that suggested her name often came up and he had been instructed to not mention how.

“Hello Darius,” said Willow, clutching Hunter’s books to her chest. “How are you?”

“Hmm, are you sure I’m the person whose health you came to inquire about?” he teased.

Willow couldn’t help but blush. “So… how is Hunter?”

“Oh he’s doing much better, dear,” said Camila, appearing in the doorway beside Darius. “Please come in, Willow. Can I get you something to drink?”

“I’m okay, thank you,” she said, following them down the familiar hallway. The walls were covered in newly framed photos, most of which she had taken. As saddened as she was about Hunter’s condition, she was glad she was in this house surrounded by so much love. “So what happened? He’s not hurt is he?”

“He was out late last night without his jacket and caught the common mold,” said Darius as he checked his cuticles. “Nothing overly serious, but for now he’s quarantined in the dungeon.”

“Basement,” Camila corrected him for what was obviously not the first time. “He’s doing fine, cariña, he’s just a little… loopy when he’s awake.”

“Yes, but between my knowledge of demon realm ailments and Ms. Camila’s natural nurturing abilities, he couldn’t be in better hands.” Darius said proudly, having declared himself a master of co-parenting on more than one occasion. “Plus Eda came by with a potion to ensure he’s very comfortable.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” said Willow. “I just wanted to bring him his homework and see how he was doing.”

“Of course dear, he will be so happy to see you,” said Camila as she got something out of the drawer. “Just wear a mask when you go down, okay? He still might be a little contagious.”

“And no matter how many times he asks, I will not tell him where the sewing machine is hidden,” Darius said sternly. “Not until his fever breaks.”

“Of course,” Willow said as she slipped on the mask as she turned to head down to the basement, just as she used to do daily not too long ago.

“Okay, now can you tell me how your hair does that thing?” Willow heard Camila whisper to Darius when they thought she was out of earshot.

Willow chuckled to herself, eager to talk about this new friendship developing upstairs with Hunter as soon as he was well enough to. She caught sight of him from the staircase and felt her heart melt. He was resting, a small snore whistled from the gap in his teeth as he clung to the oversized pillow Camila had given him. He looked utterly adorable and Willow did not want to disturb him. She tiptoed down the stairs to place his books on the end table beside but she couldn’t help but linger beside him to admire the unfiltered smile on his face up close.

She noticed during his tossing and turning, his blanket had fallen to the ground. She bent down to pick it up and place it back on him, but despite her best efforts, the action disturbed his slumber as his eyes slowly flickered open to find her.

“Sorry! Sorry!” She harshly whispered. “I was just getting your blanket, you can go back to sleep I-.”

“Doctor! Oh my Titan!” Hunter exclaimed as his eyes shot open, his voice bouncing and snuffy. “Did you know you have the most beautiful eyes?”

“I’m not a doctor, Hunter,” she chuckled. “It’s Willow.”

“Willow! Oh, Willow!” Hunter said it was the lyric of his favorite song. “You do have eyes like Willow! Willow has such soft eyes. They’re green. A soft green. Like a periiiidot. But those are not a soft things, they are rocks. And they’re juuuust like her eyes. Ah!” He turned his head dramatically as though the very thought of Willow’s eyes was just too much for him.

“How are you feeling?” Willow asked, her aforementioned eyes sparkling.

“I’m fiiiiine,” he sang, moving his arms in the air like noodles. “I was just out seeing Willow and then I left and forgot to remember to wear a jacket and I walked around too long. But it’s a common mold. How much can it even?”

She finished piling his blanket over him and looked down at him, concerned. She could tell the combos toon of the common mold and Eda’s ailment had done quite a number on him. He had no filter or real grasp of how to say what he was trying to say, but at least he wasn’t in any pain.

“You didn’t go right home after seeing me?”

“The healer said they didn’t know how it would affect a grimwalker but we came home after,” said Hunter, referring to Darius’ taking him to the healer to be checked out before seeking Camila’s wisdom. “But when I saw Willow I couldn’t go home because I was too much thinking.”

“Thinking about Willow?”

“Mhm-Hmm.”

She hesitated to ask specifics. “Was it good or bad?”

“She is always good,” he said, making sure to emphasize each word. “I’ve always thought that. But I just said the thing and then I was like in unbelieving of it.”

Camila was right, he was loopy.

“Is that what you were thinking about? About what you… told her?” She hoped he hadn’t been in too much distress. Hopefully not in regret.

“I was thought about … how? How is what’s next, you know? Like where do I take her?”

Willow just smiled, able to put enough pieces together to understand the gist of Hunter’s mumbles. It certainly wasn’t regret.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine going anywhere with you.”

“It’s like, I told her now I have to ask her but then my head got fuzzy and it’s been so many time since then,” he sighed dramatically, trying to focus on the ceiling. “And I’ll feel fine once the room stops moving!”

“So you weren’t… upset?”

“About liking Willow? Noooope!” he popped his “p” dramatically and chuckled to himself like it was the silliest question he had ever heard. “I mean I know I hide it pretty well, so don’t be surprised, doctor, but I like her like a lot. And I don’t wanna keep it secret ‘nymore.”

Willow was glad she was wearing a mask because she was sure the smile on her face was embarrassingly wide and she didn’t want Hunter to think she was happy he was ill, but how many girls got to say they got more than one heartfelt confession from their crush?

“She is just so…” Hunter started to say but his brain couldn’t seem to focus long enough to find the perfect word to finish his sentence. Instead he let out a dramatic sigh as his eyes fluttered, like the very thought of her made him closer to entering a dream. She remembered he had said the same incomplete wonderment that day on the flyer derby field with that same goofy grin.

Willow carefully sat on the couch’s arm, knowing she should be keeping her distance from him in his state, but she just didn’t see how she could do that. She wanted nothing more than to sit on the couch with his head on her lap and play with his hair and tell him all the things about him that made her feel goofy and dreamy as they watched human movies they didn’t really understand but she knew that would have to wait. Hopefully it wouldn’t have to wait too long.

“Oh, it seems so silly that you were walking home without a jacket when I still have your suit jacket from Grom in my room,” Willow sighed, sad she could’ve prevented this from happening as she readjusted his blanket on his chest. “I’m sorry I didn’t think to give it back to you.”

“Whaaaat? No! Don’t be sorry,” Hunter slurred, looking up at her with soft assuring eyes. “Darius says all the suave gentlemen give their dates their jacket. Plus he does not want to see that back in the house he says. He said ‘Little prince, you want her to see you as a competent suitor, not a silly clown covered in flowers.”

Willow giggled. “Well, I’ll be sure to let him know how very not silly I thought you looked,” she assured him, remembering how her heart absolutely fluttered when she first saw him in his suit, a suit she knew he had lovingly made with her in mind. How could she be anything other than impressed?

“Okay, wait, you know what is actually silly though?” Hunter said as though he was a stand up comic entering a well known bit, propping himself up on his elbows to see her better. “Is how I kissed her.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah,” Hunter chuckled at the joke only he understood. “Because like what even happened? I wanted to kiss her? And then I did? Whaat?!”

“Yeah it was uh preeeettty silly.” She said, trying to see how that was silly exactly.

“Cause like I’ve wanted to kiss her tons of other times but I didn’t, so like how did I even know how to, ya know?” He said as he rested his head back on his pillow, barely able to keep his puffy eyes open.

Her face lit up. “What?”

“Like I wanted to kiss Willow soooo many times before but I didn’t but like that’s the time I did? That’s crazy. It’s banana crazy. I wanted to kiss her that time we got bananas but I didn’t even know why. Who kisses in the banana aisle? No way!” He chuckled at his ramblings as though unaware they were occurring aloud with an audience. The audience in question was elated as these thoughts were not exclusive to the loopy boy looking up at her.

“Hmmm, why didn’t you?” She couldn’t resist asking as she leaned over the back of the couch and rested her cheek on her hand.

“I would’ve messed it up,” he said with a large sigh, sad that he was certain of it. “Luz said people are always falling over bananas, I couldn’t risk it.”

“I see.”

“Ya know we used to message all the time and I was gonna kiss her hand did you know?”

“No, I didn’t actually.”

“Yeah, it’s true,” he said with an air of cocky confidence she had not seen from him in awhile. “I was gonna. I was gonna run into her accidentally on purpose and then take off my mask helmet and kiss her hand and say something cool.”

He had never told her this before. Depending on the day he had intended on following through on this, there was a very good chance Willow would have combusted.

“What would you have said?”

“I’d say ‘oh hello’ like I was surprised and not even a little bit sweaty and walk her home or wherever she wanted and then before I’d leave I would say like ‘what a plant you are” his voice got deeper as he misquoted himself. “But I don’t know what I’d say between that, I didn’t get to practice that part.”

Willow scrunched her nose as she tried to connect why Hunter’s words sounded so familiar. Then it clicked: in his sickly state he had rearranged the words a bit,but it was like he was attempting to reenact a scene from a book they had talked about. She remembered how he was telling her his Ruler’s Reach theories and she was recommending other books he could read while he waited for the sequel.

She had briefly mentioned (mostly as a joke) one of her guilty pleasures she had read countless times when she was younger. It was a cheesy young adult book about a botanist and a cursed young noble that Willow liked mostly because of the accuracy of how rare plant care was depicted. But she’d be lying if it hadn’t formulated most of her notions about what romance was. Probably the most famous scene was when the monarch comes to the greenhouse looking for a plant that could possibly lift their curse that only the botanist could manage to grow.

“Please be careful with them,” the botanist says as he gently places the pot in the noble’s arms. “They’re very precious to me.”

The young noble pulls down their scarf that they wear to hide the effects of the curse to respond to him in a low, cool voice: “I shall, you have my word.”

The botanist looks up to them with wide, shimmering eyes. “I wasn’t speaking to you.”

They pause (this story had a lot of dramatic pauses and Willow didn’t understand them until much later when she was the one waiting on the other end) and steps closer to him, both of their fingertips lingering on the pot’s edges as they barely touched.

“It’s a beautiful flower,” the royal says quietly.

“It’s the most beautiful flower I have,” he responds, his voice quiet and raspy as his finger lovingly strokes one of the petals. “I hope it will be enough.”

“That’s not the flower I was referring to.” They slowly remove his gardening glove from one of his hands and bring it to their lips and press a gentle kiss to his knuckles, never removing their eyes from his matching gaze. “Thank you for allowing me to be the presence of such a lovely flower.”

Was it cheesey? Yes. Did she read that passage over and over again every night before bed? Yes.

She didn’t realize Hunter had taken her request, she certainly didn’t suspect he had been planning on using it to woo her. It would’ve worked too. Titan, it would’ve worked very well. Willow was thankful her mask hid her blush. She had suspected for awhile that Hunter returned her crush but she didn’t think he had liked her for that long.

“But I never got to because then I got trapped in a mind and then I saw her but it wasn’t her and then when I did I wasn’t in the mask so it wouldn’t be as cool.” Hunter continued to explain, acting as though the poorly summarized series of events was more of an inconvenience when it came to flirting with her and not a major source of trauma. Willow remembered mentioning how seeing him wearing his mask in posters around town reminded her of the noble concealing their identity. She saw now he had taken that small comment as indication that his plan had even more romantic potential.

“Ah! But then I skipped so much! I did it out of order!” groaned Hunter, flopping back onto the couch as his mind reminded him how he had arrived at this tangent.

“What do you mean?”

“Doctor, I kissed her,” Hunter explained with wide panicky eyes. “Like… a real kiss.”

“So? What’s wrong with that?”

“Doctor, you can’t just go around kissing people, what will they think of you? If I kiss Willow and Willow and I aren’t dating then she will think I kissed her because I like winning and she won. I do! I do like winning but I also like… her facccce.” He hissed the soft c on the word as though just mentioning her face hypnotized him. “But I don’t even know if she wanted me to kiss her! And also there might be a curse about kissing your captain! And then I just…ahh! How could I?!”

“But what about when Willow kissed you at Grom?”

“Pssssh, that’s just a Grom thing!” Hunter said as though it was no big deal. “That can’t count because she didn’t even know that I liked her!”

“What if… she kind of did?”

“Wha?”

“What if she did know that you liked her when she kissed you? Would it count then?”

“Well, theeeeen it would uh…” he stopped, clearly speaking before he knew the answer. He considered it, what such an action would mean if Willow knew what he knew. “Well, then that would mean that she… uh… hehehe.” He couldn’t even finish now as he began to laugh hysterically. It was nervous and loud and full, as if it was unsure what it stemmed from, only knowing it was too bostorius to contain. “I mean if she… then we could… I mean… hehehe…”

He lulled himself into a fit of giggles as he indulged himself in the very true hypothetical. Willow had her answer, she had more than enough to reassure her. Nothing was weird between them, well no weirder than it was before their series of misunderstandings. He was still a dork who wanted to be her dork, and he was still planning on striving for that goal. She smiled wide beneath her mask, his giddiness contagious. Then she remembered that was not the only potentially contagious thing about him.

“Well, you should get back to sleep,” she said, seeing him fighting the urge to yawn. She hopped up and made haste of tucking him back in, wanting him to get better as soon as possible. “I should probably get going anyway. Message me if you need anything, okay?”

“Oh I can't, Darius took away my scroll.” Replied Hunter as he buried himself in his vast collection of pillows.

“Really? Why?” She laughed.

“Uh, because he wants Camila to think he’s a good dad,” said Hunter. “She found out how much sugar he lets me eat and she was nooot happy. No feliz.”

“Okay then, just get better soon okay?”

“Yeah, I gotta go get better so I can gotta go and talk to Willow.” He said as he tried to fight back the sleep he so desperately needed. “Goodbye, beautiful eyes. I’ll beam you up, okay… you and your eyes and your dimples and your…” sleep took hold in the middle of his sentence.

“Sweet dreams you dork,” she whispered, blowing him a kiss before heading back up the stairs.

“... who said I was bald? I’m definitely not bald,” Darius finished telling Camila as he sipped his cup of tea as she sat across from him at the kitchen table trying to surpress her smile.

“Hunter said you took away his scroll,” Willow said as she went to cover her ears beneath her hair before heading back out. “How come?”

“He kept writing novels beneath your photos on penstagram,” said Darius, summoning Hunter’s scroll to show her. “Normally, I’d try to help him save face but the little prince ratted me out to Camila and now no one is allowed to have espresso so he’s on my bad side.”

“And here I thought you didn’t have a bad side,” teased Willow as she went to see Hunter’s fever driven words.

Darius smirked. “Ah, I knew there was a reason I liked you, flyer derby girl,” he said. “Hopefully your wisdom will continue to rub off on him.”

“Darius! ¿Qué estás haciendo? You can’t show her those!” Scolded Camila, wiping the smirk clear off Darius’ face. “Ah, why must you embarrass the boy more?”

“What? You were the one who said you’d wanna see the look on her face when she saw them!” Darius countered, angrily sipping his unfortunately non caffeinated beverage.

Camila shook her head in disapproval before revealing a small grin meant only for Willow to see. She giggled. “Oh, but look! He even tried typing some in Spanish!” Camila pointed out excitedly, Willow spotted the words “bonita” and “hermosa” among a collection of usual Hunter misspellings and ramblings.

She looked at the photo he had chosen, it was one he had taken of just the two of them after he had been made lieutenant. Hunter smiled so wide his eyes were closed, his gap tooth on full display. She had her arm around his shoulder, their cheeks pressed together as her eyes were focused on him, captivated by his joy. She remembered she was fighting the overwhelming urge to kiss him and she wondered if he would ever look back and realize that. They were so happy. Regardless of what came next, Willow was certain that wouldn’t change.

—-

“So how are things going with our little plant girl?” Dell asked Hunter as he walked up the hill to his makeshift workshop.

“I mean they’re… going, I guess,” Hunter sighed as a collection of paliman hopped onto his lap, happy to see him after he had been away for so long. “I… told her how I feel.”

“There we go! That’s my boy!” said Dell with vigor and pride. “So when’s the wedding?”

Hunter chuckled nervously as his ears turned crimson. “Well I… told her how I feel but I haven’t asked her anything yet. I got sick so I haven’t been able to plan how to do it so it’s perfect and special and-.”

He was cut off by Dell laughing as he went over to water another palistrom tree. “Oh, we should start a club, you and I,”

“Really? Why?”

“We both fell for strong, vibrant women,” he said fondly. “Why, when I met Gwen I didn’t know which way was up I’d get so nervous around her. But her? Oh, she was always this bright outgoing thing, I thought there’s no way she’d go for someone like me. So one day, we spent the whole day together doing all our favorite things and I walked her home and I’m so nervous I’m sweating through my new dress shirt. I was determined to tell her how I felt if it killed me, and with the way my heart was beating I thought it just might. I’m rambling and saying too much and nothing at the same time and she just stands there, not opening the door. I know she has a curfew so I’m rushing but she doesn’t seem in any kind of hurry. And so I ask her ‘did you forget your keys?’ Thinking she left them somewhere and I’m gonna go retrace our steps and see where they might be. And she says ‘no, I’m waiting for you to stop talking to I can kiss you.’”

“So what did you do?”

“I’ve never shut up quicker in my life,” he said with a grin. “My point is: I understand wanting to do it right and make it perfect but at the end of the day, the important thing is that it happens. That’s what she really cares about.”

“Really?”

“I’ve seen the way she looks at you,” smirked Dell. “I’ve heard her talk about you when you’re not here, the way she asks about you, she’s quite taken with you.”

“Oh, well I don’t know about that…”

“While you’ve been away, she’s been coming by and singing to the trees,” Dell recalled, “There’s a new spring in her step, and given what you’ve told me I think I know why.”

Hunter’s face turned totally crimson. He had been told Willow had come to see him a few times, but his symptoms went strong for a solid three days and those days were very much a blur. Luz confirmed she had stopped by but said he had slept the entire time, but the new plant that would appear beside his bedside confirmed that she had been there. He wanted to see her now that he was well, but he didn’t want to delay this next step. When he saw her next, he wanted to be ready.

“I just… don’t know what to ask her.”

“What do you mean? You just ask her if she wants to go out with you, don’t you?”

“Okay, but do I ask her out or to go out?”

“Uh… what’s the difference?”

“Well, she knows I like her so the next logical step would be to advance the friendship past simply being just friends,” explained Hunter. “But, do we need a trial field experience before officially labeling it?”

“What?”

“Okay, do I ask Willow out on a date to see if she would be able to return my feelings or do I simply skip that and jump right into asking her to be my girlfriend?” Said Hunter as he stood up and began to pace, the paliman following closely behind. “Because if I ask her to skip too many steps too soon it may come off the wrong way. Like, if I ask her to be my girlfriend and she’d rather go on a date first, she might feel rushed but if I ask her on the date and she’d rather skip that part she might think I’m not confident in our future together.”

“Courting certainly has changed since my day,”chuckled Dell as he saw the confusion spread amongst the palisman that rested on his shoulders. “I’m sure she’ll say yes to whatever you ask her.”

“But I wanna ask her the right thing,” said Hunter in a low voice, as he sunk back into his stump.

“Ya know, you remind me of another teenager I knew who agonized over the same thing with another headstrong, mischievous witch.”

“Really? What did they do?”

---

Hunter frantically pounded the front door of the Owl House. “Hello?” he called as though it was an emergency. “HELLO!

“Hellooooooo.” said Hooty as he entered his window twisting and singing as his energy directly contrasted Hunter’s.

“Hooty!” said Hunter, trying to see past him. “Is Raine home?”

“Whyyyyyy?”

“I was hoping they could help me with something.” Hunter said, knowing it was always best to give Hooty as little information as possible.

“Tell me more, tell me more,” sang Hooty. “Knowledge is power!”

“I want their help with a song,” said Hunter, not wanting to waste any more time. “Dell told me that’s how they asked Eda out when they were younger because they didn’t know what to say and I thought that maybe they could-.”

“Oh! Are you trying to learn how to play the violin?”

“No! I want to ask Willow out!”

“Willoooooow! Hoot hoot! Bout time you two made it official, huh?” Hooty asked, raising his eyebrows and making Hunter blush in frustration. “This is a big moment! Can I sing at your wedding?”

What was it with everyone jumping to marriage so suddenly? “Look, is Raine home or not?”

“No! Sorry! Oh! But Lulu is here! I can get her! She knows eeeeverything!”

“What! No! I- er!”

A few moments later, Lilith arrived at the door.

“Oh, hello Hunter,” she said, still adjusting to using his name and not his title with clear disdain in her voice. “How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Raine because I need help asking Willow something,” summarized Hunter.

“Oh, yes Hooty mentioned you held romantic feelings for her,” said Lillith, adjusting her glasses. “When he found me he was crying about how adorable your children will look.”

“Listen, I can come back later if you can just tell Raine that I stopped by or better yet let me know where they-.”

“Well, are you two compatible?”

“What?”

“Well, I know you have some… hormone thing occurring,” said Lilith, gesturing vaguely to all of him. “Which, based on her pupil dilation when you’re around each other and the giggly suggestion of your peers I can assume is somewhat mutual. But a relationship of any sort requires structure. Romance can only last so long, I assume. But is there a base for a solid partnership between the two of you?”

“Yes? I mean, we’re good friends and I really like her-.”

“Are you aware of any allergies she may have?”

“Um… shellfish?”

“Do you happen to know the prescription for her glasses?”

“Um not off the top of my head but I have her old pair in my flyer derby bag in case the gold ones break if-.”

“And who would be her primary emergency contact?”

“Um her dads, I think I have Harvey’s- wait, what is this for?” Hunter demanded, realizing she was writing his answers down.

“Oh, for Hooty to better compose your course, of course.”

“What?”

“Well, when Luz and Amity first became a couple, Hootsipher wrote to me and explained how he was an integral part in the occurrence,” said Lilith with utter delight. “So it stands to reason that he would be the best one to assist you and Willow as well!”

“What? No! I didn’t want Hooty’s help. I came here for Raine!”

“Oh, well Raine’s not home.”

“I know that, I just-

“Well if you knew that then why did you fill out our questionnaire?”

“I didn’t want to fill out any questionnaire! I didn’t want Hooty’s help at all!”

“Oh…” said Lilltih, looking behind Hunter with a worried face. “Well, I’m afraid it may be too late for that.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s just arrived with Willow.”

“WHAT? HOW DID HE-.” but before Hunter could finish his question, he was swept off his feet by an overwhelming force. Everything went black.

When he came to, the first thing Hunter realized was that he had no idea where he was. The walls were tall and dark as though he was in a cave. The ground where he sat was cold and hard, and he could not locate a breeze which suggested they were deep under the ground. He remembered Hooty was involved so he didn’t feel as though he was in imminent danger, but he still felt uneasy.

The second thing he realized was that he was not alone.

“Ugh, what happened?” said the disoriented voice beside him. Directly beside him.

“Captain!” exclaimed Hunter in a panic, rising to his feet when he realized how close they were. When Hooty had so unceremoniously dumped them on the ground, he had placed Willow atop his chest. Hunter had no idea how long they had been here. “Willow! Hey! Hi! You’re here!”

“Hi,” she chuckled, reaching up to take his hand as he offered to help her off the ground. “So where is ‘here,’ exactly?”

“HIIIIIIII!” echoed a high pitch yet menacing voice that seemed to come from the very walls themselves.

“Oh no,” Hunter whispered. “Willow, I’m so sorry.”

“For what?”

“For this!” replied the bird tube thing, emerging from the shadows to capture them once more. He quickly ran a circle around them to wrap himself around the pair, trapping their arms at their sides and them beside each other.

“Hooty?” said Willow, his presence always offering some form of confusion.

“That’s riiight! Hooty and Hunter! Call us the H-Team!”

“Please do not call us that,” whispered Hunter.

“Hooty, what is this? Where are we?” Willow asked.

“You’re at the first day of the rest of your lives!” Hooty said with delight as he proceeded to move forward. Still holding onto the confused pair, they only became closer in Hooty’s grasp as he transported them to their destination at full speed.

“That didn’t answer my question,” said Willow, the side of her face smushed against Hunter’s. His eyes were wide in horror and his cheeks were flushed at the close proximity to Willow. He became more confused by the second.

“Oh I think you’re the one who will be answering a question hoot hoot!” Hooty said, trying to suppress his giggles.

“What? What do you- woah!”

Suddenly, Willow and Hunter were sailing back to the ground. It was just as hard and cold, but the air was different somehow. Instinctively, Willow and Hunter rose to their feet and delved into a fighting stance, ready for anything. Willow summoned a vine to guard her and Hunter as Hooty sunk away into the darkness. Suddenly, the darkness vanished into a sea of green and gold neon all around them.

CAPTAIN OF MY HEART

WILL-OW YOU BEE MINE?

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FLOWER IN THE GARDEN

“Hooty! Take us back to the Owl House, please!” Hunter called into the void, panicking at his inability to hide the drafts of his confessions from Willow’s view, unaware that she was absolutely captivated. “Now! Haha, or better yet back in time!”

“Love eternal or your money back guaranteed, hoot!” Hooty said happily from somewhere unknown, ignoring Hunter’s frustration.

“I didn’t give you any money!” Hunter insisted before turning to Willow. “I didn’t give him any money, I swear I had nothing to do with this… whatever this is.”

“Hooty’s tunnel of love has a 100% success rate,” said the bird tube, his voice moving from one side of the room to the other. “And it’s about to have 200%, hoot hoot!”

“That’s not how percentages work!” Hunter exclaimed, his face reddening.

Willow could tell Hunter’s latest attempt at a grand gesture had been hijacked by Hooty. She took it as a good sign. Not the hijacking, the fact that there was something to hijack. It meant he was ready, that she hadn’t been rushing him. He wanted the moment to be memorable, private, unique. Two out of three wasn’t bad.

As far as Willow was concerned, it didn’t have to be perfect. It would be perfect so long as it happened.

“Hunter, you don’t need to be-.”

But before Willow could finish, the ground shifted beneath their feet. It slanted, quickly launching them both down as they attempted to steady themselves and regain their balance. It was then Willow realized Clover was not with her and she could not simply fly her and Hunter to safety. She adjusted her footing and reached out to find Hunter’s hand as they helped steady themselves preparing for the impact of the incline ending.

“Well,” breathed Willow with a smile once they reached level ground again. She gave his hand a gentle squad e, as though to prompt him to do the talking before Hooty reentered the scene. “That wasn’t so bad, right?”

“Right,” chuckled Hunter, finding the strength to squeeze her hand back. “I uh, I don’t really know what’s going on.”

Willow laced her fingers through his, pulling him closer to her. “I think I do.”

He took a deep breath. He could just say it right now. Things were quiet, and peaceful. There was no reason to keep prolonging it, there was no reason not to seize this moment with just the two of them, there was no-.”

“There’s fire?” Willow said, both horrified and intrigued. Hunter turned his head and saw that she was right as a ring of fire formed around them and began to rise.

“The fires of love!” Hooty exclaimed in a dented laugh and the flames grew higher. Didn’t Amity and Luz get a boat ride? The fire was a step up, Willow had to admit.

Before she could summon a flower to carry them away or remember a spell for something to douse them, Hunter leapt forward and teleported her outside the fire wall. She heard a collection of explosions echo around them, suggesting Hooty had planted several fire pits throughout the void as she felt Hunter dodge and run between them to secure a safe spot. He stopped for a moment to check on the plant girl residing in his arms, attempting to continue shielding her from the rapidly random dangers around them as he held her in a small but secure dip.

“Are you okay?” He panted.

“Uh huh,” she said so faintly it was almost inaudible. The blaze of the fire traveling behind him made his brown eyes shine like amber embers. He held up mere inches above the ground, one hand securing her waist and the other cradled her head. Despite the chaos occurring around them, Willow felt safe in Hunter’s arms. She couldn’t help but think that if he just leaned down a little more they would be close enough to-

“Hold on, I’ll get us out of here,” said Hunter effortlessly scooping her into his arms. It wasn’t the first time he had done this but it made her heart race all the same. They way he held her like she was something precious, like he wanted her close but was afraid of holding her too tightly. She remained there in stunned silence for a moment, taking in his profile up close. She had always found his sharp jawline so incredibly handsome, and under the circumstances he was too distracted to see her swoon. There was no other word for it, his determination shone so brightly in his face and features the same way it did when he was focused on a book or match. Willow could see no higher honor than being something Hunter focused on.

She knew that despite Hooty’s… hootiness, they were most likely not in real danger. They had definitely been in deadlier situations. Or maybe that was her brain making excuses so she could ogle him without being interrupted. Or maybe this was part of Hooty’s plan. Either way, she was gonna do it.

Just as they were certain they had escaped the fire portion of it all, Hooty sent a collection of spheres hurtling towards the pair. Hunter dodge them but they seemed to come from every direction and he couldn’t focus on dodging them and looking for an exit simultaneously. Willow recognized them as grudgby balls and figured they were probably Eda’s from when she used to play. Willow had plenty of experience dodging these and leapt from Hunter's arm to summon a large flower to catch the first one before it could hit them. The balls came quicker and in larger quantities as Willow skillfully surrounded them with a garden of protection, the flowers catching them and spitting them out toward an unseen attacker. She was too focused on protecting Hunter to see him staring at her with wide, adoring eyes.

“Look for a way out!” She called, having no difficulty capturing balls but having a feeling that this could go on for hours.

“Right!” Hunter said with a nod as he tried to see past the lights of neon and fire for something that looked out of place in the unique collection of chaos. Above them, he saw a glimmer of dull light. It seemed unfitting of Hooty’s aesthetic and Hunter knew that must be the way out. He leapt forward and grabbed Willow’s waist as he laughed them into the air towards the freckle of light.

They found themselves safe and sound outside the Owl House, collapsing to the ground as they tried to catch their breath.

Willow thought this would be a funny story they told the way Amity and Luz did, a jump start

“I’m sorry Willow, this was a disaster,” groaned Hunter, much to her surprise and dismay. “I ruined everything. I had one shot and I blew it. Luz was right, I do overcomplicate things.”

“Hey,” said Willow as she say up, placing her hand atop his. “You didn’t ruin anything. I know how Hooty can be and we’re okay and I mean, it was at least interesting, right? It was a good training regime, maybe we can incorporate it into practice.”

He smiled in spite of himself. She always had a way of making him smile even when he had no right to. She was too good and she deserved the world, and he couldn’t even give her a decent confession.

“It’s just that I… wanted to ask you something and I thought that if I made a big enough display it might impress you so you would-.”

He stopped himself when he looked up and saw how close her face was to his as she clung to his words with wide eyes and baited breath. “So I would …what?” She asked softly.

“So you would… nevermind.” but just as he was gaining momentum, he lost his nerve. How could he possibly confess his adoration in the shadow of his failure? He swore the next time he saw her, he would sweep her off her feet. Instead, his feelings had nearly gotten her killed. Surely if she didn’t turn him down now it would be out of pity. Hunter stood up, fists clenched as he tried to shake his frustration enough to continue talking before he went to teleport away. “Clearly that wasn’t the way either. Maybe there just isn’t… I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow at school, Captain.”

No! He was so close! How could he not see how totally crazy she was about him? That she didn’t care what they did or where they were as long as they got to be together. But it didn’t matter how many times she said she was having a great time becuse he wasn’t listening to her, he was trapped in his own head. He was so stuck on his high expectations that he couldn’t see that she didn’t care about the bells and whistles, she only wanted him. She didn’t care if it was awkward or rushed or messy so long as it was real. So long as it happened.

She knew that getting this right was important to him. But she wouldn’t let that happen at the expense of his self worth. She wouldn’t hold her tongue a minute longer, not when the sweetest person she knew felt like he wasn’t good enough for her.

He had tried doing it in so many different ways, asking other people for advice. But at the end of the day, there was only one side-fire way to assure him this was the right time.

“Hey, you!” She called before a Hunter could get too far away. He stopped to look down at her but before he could respond, he was captured mid- teleport by a mighty vine. It wrapped around him, trapping his arms to the sides before pulling him down to earth and dragging him through the dirt before landing a few feet in front of Willow.

She had her head down, which allowed her eyes to be hidden and the light glared in the lenses making her face unreadable. Hunter prepared himself for the worst. Would she call him a fool? Would she tell him to give up?

Hunter held his breath as she slowly lifted her head, bracing himself for a swift rejection.

“Do you wanna be my boyfriend?”

#huntlow #huntlow fanfiction #toh #the owl house #winter toh #Willow park #Hunter toh

[yankpop]

Yandere Jaemin (NCT) - You go on a date with someone else

Summary: Your best friend doesn't take it lightly when you lie to him about going on a date with someone else.

DISCLAIMER: This is a FICTION work only made for entertainment purposes so please don’t take any of this seriously. I do not support or encourage any type of abusive behaviour. Please, be 18+ to read this, no minors are allowed. Make sure to read the trigger warnings before you get started, but almost everything is yandere and includes toxic behaviours.

All copyrights belong to @yankpop (aka me) so do not post/translate my works on any other platforms without my consent/knowledge.

Check more: Masterlist.

Female reader

WARNINGS: Implied kidnapping.

AN: Hope you guys enjoy this 💖

—

Jaemin merely stares at you as you keep chatting, his eyes completely fixated on you, yet you have the feeling that he’s not listening to any word you’ve said so far.

It makes you feel uncomfortable, your arm’s hair lifting up with a shiver. You try to disregard his unusual reaction, offering Jaemin a small smile that barely gets any reaction out of him.

You tense up a little, opening your mouth to say something to ease the cutting knife ambient when he beats you to it.

“Tell me again what you did yesterday.” he literally demands, his voice incorporating a robotic tone, completely different from the warm tone he usually uses with you. His question makes you a little surprised.

No way he’d know about you going on an unplanned date with your new neighbor. You didn’t tell anyone about it, much less Jaemin, already knowing how protective your friend was over you.

“Hum, I just stayed home and studied for that upcoming test-” you barely get to finish before Jaemin harshly interrupts you, his loud voice booming over yours.

“So, you didn’t go out with that miserable guy? And you didn’t stay with him for over 2 hours?” You merely stare at him, completely taken back by how he had such information when you certainly didn’t inform him of such a thing. Was he spying on you?

A pinch of annoyance burns inside of you, why was Jaemin so set on restricting your social and love life? Over the course of the teenage years, you never really minded his protectiveness as you had no wish to get closer with boys but now you’ve grown, and you need your own space and liberty.

Something Jaemin’s friendship wasn’t allowing you to.

Taking a deep breath, you prepare yourself for what is coming next, already knowing Jaemin never backs down from an argument, no matter how wrong he is.

“Jaemin, you know I love you….” Jaemin’s eyes soften up a bit, only to become chilly at the following words that come out of you. “.... as my best friend, but I also need to live my own life. So, what if I want to go out on dates? I have that right cause it’s my life. And you should understand that.”

By the time you end, you’re out of breath from the velocity you said all of that. Taking a small glance towards Jaemin, you’re surprised to see him walking back to his apartment door and swiftly locking the door, placing the key in his pocket.

Your stomach twists, an anxious feeling spreading through your body as you watch Jaemin slowly walking, a creepy serene expression decorating his face, almost like he didn’t heard what you just told him. This new Jaemin didn’t seem like the old joyful Jaemin at the slightest and it was scaring you.

He comes closer to you, the proximity making you tense up. Jaemin stands in front of you, his fingers coming to caress the side of your face and you have to stop yourself from moving away.

“I’m not letting you waste our time following some stupid guy when all you need in your life is me. And if you can’t see that now, then I’ll make you understand it.”

-

Tags:

@mwitsmejk

#yandere nct #yandere jaemin #yandere jaemin x reader #yandere jaemin drabble #@yankpop #yandere kpop #yandere nct dream

[foxes-that-run]

Walking in the wind

Harry Styles has a gift for answering a question and not answering it at all at once. In the Made in the A.M track by track he said WITW was inspired by Paul Simon’s song Graceland.

I love how Harry's solo work draws modern inspiration from his diverse music tastes and he encourages his fans to broaden their tastes. Hindsight being 20/20 you can see where he went with his debut in that short video and this song.

When Simon wrote Graceland he and Carrie Fisher were divorcing and his relationship with Art Garfunkel was bitter. Simon said Graceland was a metaphor for the journey to mend a broken heart. Much like 2015 Harry who had broken up with Taylor and was on tour as One Direction ended. Simon also went to Africa to make this album, much like Harry went to South America for debut.

Timeline

Made on the AM was written in Japan in February 2015. Harry talked being able to just write 'good songs' because it wouldn’t be toured which made space for a song like this. WITW was probably written between February and May 2015. Harry and Taylor had been close at the end of 2014, it was over on or by his 21st birthday 2 February 2015. His smile when he saw her at the start (0:29) of BBMAs showed no animosity, but it’s unlikely WITW was written after the BBMAs in May (Woman). He also started looking even sadder live then.

To rolling stone Julian Bunetta said:

“That title was born in Japan. Just the title of it and the idea of it. Everyone’s different experiences of what they’re going through, whether it’s this or that, I’d like to think that these songs can apply to more than just [one instance].”

Lyrics

[Verse 1: Harry] A week ago, you said to me "Do you believe I'll never be too far?" If you're lost, just look for me You'll find me in the region of the summer stars The fact that we can sit right here and say goodbye Means we've already won A necessity for apologies between you and me Baby, there is none

The relaxed and happy tone depicts their romantic friendship that continues. I think they genuinely cared for each other, are nice people who both prioritised their careers. To me, “the fact we can say goodbye means we’ve already won” shows that mutual respect for each other.

To me “Do you believe I’ll never be too far” is agreeing to be apart while they focus on being massively famous and together in the future.

In the context of their later work about being end game, the 1, sushi is about having only a piece of your persons life, in as it was and golden he sings about it being time or feel her taking over.

Harry does not have anyone that would never be too far in a literal sense, and although at that time he was always with 1D they have spoken in interviews that year of that not being good.

[Pre-Chorus: Niall] Ah-ooh, we had some good times, didn't we? Ah-ooh, we had some good tricks up our sleeve Ah-ooh, goodbyes are bittersweet But it's not the end, I'll see your face again

Taylor has a similar lyric in The 1 “But we were something, don't you think so? / Roaring 20s, / tossing pennies in the pool / And if my wishes came true / It would've been you” this is about appreciating the relationship.

[Chorus: All] And you will find me Yeah, you will find me In places that we've never been For reasons we don't understand Walking in the wind Walking in the wind

Where their earlier work on Red and other 1D albums sung about always wanting to be together and coping in their career by Made in the AM and Reputation onwards they started singing about being connected but apart, on faith they’d come back together.

[Verse 2: Louis] Yesterday, I went out To celebrate the birthday of a friend But as we raised our glasses up to make a toast I realised you were missing

This may be referring to Lily Aldridge’s birthday where they both were. Harry’s 21st birthday was 2 weeks later but Lily and Taylor were in Nashville. In Hunger he sang about making her cry on his birthday, if it was for Debut the 1 year to 2 timeframe line up for that. (Hunger also sings of “your stuff” as in music, doesn’t taste the same, as in Two Ghosts)

Later on 27 February he posted the overgrown winding wheel and she started dating CH.

[Bridge: Harry] And I know we'll be alright, child Just close your eyes and see I'll be by your side Any time you're needing me Oh, yeah

The bridge is similar to Fine Line, which also ends on “we’ll be alright” in Fine line he’s reflecting on being friends with someone he’s in love with. Here he is asking his muse to have faith that although they are not together he’s there for her. Also Sign of the Times "Just stop your crying / It'll be alright"

I just wanna love you leak

In September 2023 a leaked song, I just wanna love you referenced WITW with “A week ago you said to me: "We've started running out of time" / Crying over memories that we lost and cannot be found / Why don't we stop talking now? / (I just wanna love you)” which to me, in the sound and this lyric is the sequel to WITW, he’s saying it’s time. It also refers to Late night talking, and The 1 and Question…? Where they explore friendship with someone they love, in WITW they seem to agree to leave a live unresolved, on Harry’s House and Midnights they are contemplating that unresolved love.

#Youtube #made in the am #haylor #one direction haylor #one direction

[ndjournal]

Possible TW? But dw I don't talk about any specifics/details! Not trauma dumping.

So I like many others came to ND from LOA. I didn't have a ton of success with LOA, a lot of it was in vain (lol) but I did succeed in a 'major' way once, I "shifted realities" using LOA to one where a friend did not leave me on delivered for several days but replied almost immediately after I messaged him. The context is we had a falling out over a year ago and hadn't talked since and I really missed our friendship so much. So after the 'shift' we started talking again and it was really nice. Then I found ND and knew I would one day have to let go of this beloved friendship to realize Self too. Recently he suffered a personal loss and is in the process of grieving. I was really sad for him and let him know he could talk to me whenever and I'd be there for him. That was over a week ago. Then yesterday something bad happened to Vanessa. She could have fought it but she decided not to fight the dream. She surrendered and gave up. It was really unpleasant for her to feel all those feelings but I just observed..

***For clarity: I actually don't recommend just surrendering if your basic safety and wellbeing is at danger, guys. Please do use common sense. I don't entirely agree with ND teachers about surrendering when it comes to this part; literally none of the major ND books address anything about trauma/abuse. In practice, I told ego and body it wasn't real and surrendered but there was still a physiological trauma response that the body had to process, nothing was happening consciously in my mind in terms of thoughts but there were a lot of involuntary physiological responses. yes I was observing but was it necessary to watch the body to suffer immensely? I don't think so. Suffering is unnecessary for self-realization, don't impose that condition on yourself. I'm learning through personal experience to follow my own truth to Self and not just take on everything that the books teach at face value because I don't think some of their advice is all that practical***

Anyway, after what happened, I observed Vanessa and the body was really conflicted in many ways despite trying to distance Self from it. I thought of my good friend who was also suffering on his own and really wanted to reach out to him to check on him. I had held back on this because again, self-realization = letting go and letting things happen in the dream without doing anything? But how can it be wrong to have love for others and extend compassion? Vanessa didn't want to do it to gain anything, she just wanted her friend to be okay. That can never be wrong. I decided that teaching can fuck off in this case, I can do what I want so long I don't forget Self when I act.

So Vanessa reached out to her friend and he was surprisingly really open to her in ways he never was before? Something he never was before and she really appreciated it. Then he suggested catching up?? This is something that she had imagined and wanted to manifest for YEARS. And it just happened just like that? Things just happen on their own when you surrender.. Again guys, I don't recommend doing what I did for that specific scenario (I won't specify what happened). I'm only sharing to show the power of surrendering, I do NOT recommend surrendering in cases where your body's basic safety/needs are in jeopardy, that is unnecessary. PLEASE do not do that. I decided to surrender in that situation but you don't need to be in such a situation to surrender; you can surrender at any time.

Most importantly because of all that happened, I learned to listen to my own Self above any of the books. Fuck what the books/realized masters say if it doesn't sit right with you tbh; Ada said your greatest guru is your own Self and I 100% believe and trust in that above all else now. That would be my greatest advice of all for everyone from this experience. Not all of the teachings are actually practical or compassionate in taking into account any trauma/crisis management. It's fine for your body/mind/ego to protect itself as you observe, just remember you are Self and not what you are observing.

And if anyone's wondering, right now I am still observing my body process everything (mind never identified with it so mind is okay, but body stores trauma (not something I decided lol, just part of the dream) and reacted to it) but I am treating ego and body with gentle kindness and patience. *I* know all is safe, well and okay and we have learned a great lesson so it's all okay. This knowing has actually managed to speed up the healing and I don't think there's any long-lasting trauma effects either (Vanessa has used spiritual healing to help too though).

I used to keep checking for instant materialisation when I first started but I've given that up now lol. That just created too much pressure to realize Self and is backwards to letting go of desires and ego. It'll happen when it happens. Whenever that is. I just know all is perfect right now as I AM and am at peace to just be.

You said this journey isn't linear and that's true. And here's a reminder from Ada: "As long as you don't lose sight of your real self, you're always doing the right thing. When you catch yourself getting too involved with externals, just keep asking yourself ‘To whom it all happens?’. The final destination is the same, and the road there is shorter when you rely on your own inner voice."

So TRUST YOURSELVES ABOVE ALL ELSE, GUYS! And don't pressure your egos by putting time limits/deadlines on it. Just surrender and let go when it's practical and never lose sight of your real self. I'm sharing this in hopes that you learn from my experience and don't need to go through unnecessary suffering just for the sake of realizing Self.

Lots of love to you all <3

Oh anon, I'm so sorry you went through that.. :( but the way you handled everything is amazing and this lesson is so valuable. I absolutely agree with everything you said.

Ada said this to an anon who may have went through something similar:

I'm sorry such a thing happened, please do not allow anyone/anything to make you feel gross about yourself or any of your creations (thoughts/mind/body). Also don't feel like you have to live with that in any way and know you can change/revise it ever happening if it's weighing on your mind, this is your life and it's precious, and so is your body, nothing should happen against your will in your life ever, it is yours and yours alone to experience in the best ways. - 4dbarbie

Everyone please take care! Never take anything you read at face value and use it as a guide only, as a pointer. If something feels wrong, then don't ignore that. Follow and trust your inner voice above all else. Thank you so much for sharing. I'm glad you're safe and okay.

Lots of love <3

#applied #submissions

[olliedollie1204]

a winter's tale (chapter 1)

Remus goes to a winter break party... so does his love-stricken brother, his meddling roommate, his nosy-ass friends, and, oh yeah, his totally-not-a-crush. What could go wrong?

Read here on AO3

~

“You need to tell him.”

“I’m not gonna tell him. You need to tell him.”

“Well, I’m not gonna tell him!”

“Children, please,” Janus said tiredly. “Daddy’s trying to read.”

Roman glowered at his roommate from across the kitchen table. “Please don’t ever refer to yourself as ‘daddy’ in my presence.”

“Oh, can I call you daddy?” Remus asked, chipper and bright even in the midst of yet another spat with his brother over the breakfast table. He flopped over the back of Janus’ shoulders, wrapping his arms around his chest and making obnoxious kissing noises against the back of his head. Janus patted his arm.

“A tempting offer, but no thank you,” he replied. “I’d rather not become yet another excuse why you refuse to confess your hopeless crush on Logan.”

Remus gagged, moving to step away, but Janus suddenly grabbed his forearms and kept him from leaving the conversation.

“Truly, it’d be such a shame for yet another year of your friendship to come and go without you finding the balls to inform him of your growing romantic feelings for him,” Janus continued.

Remus hissed and struggled against the hold Janus had on him.

“Ah, yes, a perfectly mature response. I’m shaking in my slippers.”

“And it’s not like he’d get mad about it!” Roman added. “Even if Lo doesn’t feel the same way, he has the right to know how badly you want him!”

“And you have the right to ask for what you want from him.”

“Maybe he’ll say he likes you too!”

“Or maybe he’ll reject you, and you can focus your attention on rebuilding your shattered pride and redirecting your emotions toward self love instead.”

Remus stopped struggling. “Oh, I love myself plenty, thank you very much.”

“Yes, I know, we share a wall,” Janus replied. Roman gagged.

“No sex talk at the table, please?”

Remus quirked his head. “Is masturbation sex?”

“You know who would love to have that fascinating debate with you?” Janus interrupted suddenly. He twisted around to catch Remus’ eye without letting him out of his grasp. “Logan.”

Remus groaned. He dropped his head against Janus’ shoulder, banging it softly. “Why are we even talking about me? Roman’s the one who almost sucked face with Virgil last night.”

“We had a moment,” Roman corrected primly. “And… yes, perhaps said moment would’ve been nicely bookmarked with a proclamation of my long-term romantic interest in him, but a bitch is anxious, okay?”

“And if you hadn’t been so distracted eating all of the cookies I literally just baked yesterday,” Janus said to Remus, “then you would’ve heard that Roman actually does intend to profess his love tonight.”

“Bullshit! That’s what he’s said before every winter break party we’ve been to for the last two years!”

“I have a plan!” Roman insisted. “Virgil always leaves parties early, and I know he walks home because he doesn’t want to ask anyone to leave the party to drive him— I’ll find him before he leaves, ask to accompany him home, we’ll have a wonderfully romantic midnight stroll, I’ll time my confession so that I finish just as we’re arriving to his house—”

“Do not make a joke about finishing,” Janus muttered just as Remus opened his mouth.

“Wherein he will have the immediate escape option of going inside if he needs time to process my declaration!” Roman finished triumphantly.

“Is that honestly your plan?” Remus asked.

“It is exactly my plan, brother dear.”

Janus hummed. “And how many times have you attempted to initiate this plan by offering to walk Virgil home, only to chicken out halfway back to his house?”

Roman stuck his tongue out in lieu of answering. And people say Remus is the immature one.

“Well, you have fun with that!” Remus announced, finally pulling himself away from Janus’ grasp. “While you’re pussy-footing around with Virgil, Jan and I’ll be starting our bi-annual semester-ender bender.”

“Unless…” Janus started, before trailing off. Remus froze and looked at him.

“Unless?”

Janus cocked his head and gave Remus an appraising look. “Unless you… follow Roman’s footsteps…”

Remus’ jaw dropped. “Oh, fuck off.”

Janus scoffed, slapping down his newspaper. “Well, at least Roman is trying to pursue his romantic endeavors. You, on the other hand, you’d rather— what? Dance around the subject until you and Logan both finish grad school and your opportunity will be lost to the sands of time?”

“Tonight’s the perfect opportunity!” Roman added. “He’ll be so relieved the semester’s over, he’ll probably start making out with you on the dance floor right then and there. Isn’t that what you want?”

A spark of something hot and sharp burst in Remus’ chest. “You don’t know what the fuck I want.”

He knew of all people, his brother and his roommate were the least likely to be shocked by his outbursts, but even they stopped the ribbing to look at him cautiously. Which Remus hated, because cautious borders on concern which borders on pity, even though he knew that they were just trying to be respectful of his feelings. Bastards.

Because, in reality… Roman really didn’t know what Remus wanted. Remus really didn’t know what Remus wanted. He didn’t know if he wanted to kiss Logan or to hold hands with him, if his fantasies of them two of them together ending with fucking or cuddling, if he even wanted Logan to do anything other than look at him and listen to him and talk with him. That’s all he could think to ask of Logan: he just wanted to hang around him all the time.

Not like he was actually going to ask Logan anything.

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” Roman said softly, pulling Remus out of his stupor. He rolled his eyes, half on instinct and half to diffuse the tension in the room.

“Oh, don’t get soft on me, Pissy. We all know I do what I want, when I want— and what I want is to get fucking smashed at this party tonight. Not dragged down by a bunch of sappy confession shit.”

Roman snorted, raising his hands in surrender. “Message received, Gross-feratu. All I ask is that you consider your options— can you think of any better time to have an emotional conversation with Logan than immediately after his final exams are over, when his endorphins levels are at their peak?”

“And at the risk of sounding… altruistic,” Janus added, nose wrinkling with distaste, “I believe you owe it to him to tell him how you feel.”

Remus stuck his tongue out. “Since when do you prioritize other people’s feelings over your own self interest?”

“Since the two of you brought Patton home like a stray,” Janus replied drily. “Besides, the only thing I like more than deception is blackmail. Tell Logan you want to pursue a romantic relationship with him, or I will.”

“Me too!” Roman chimed in. Remus fixed him with a glare.

“Want me to snitch to Emo Nightmare about your little crush, Princeypie?”

“It’ll be mutually assured destruction, dear brother.”

“Yeah? Then I guess you won’t mind if I tell Virgil about all the poetry you’ve written for him.”

“Well, then I’ll tell Logan about the drawings you’ve done of him.”

Remus flushed. “That’s— that’s different, you piece of shit—”

“Aw, what’s wrong? You thought we didn’t notice all the times you pulled up his Instagram just to stare at his pretty face?”

“Don’t call him pretty, zit head!” Remus snapped, bounding around the table and reaching for Roman. Roman squawked and jumped out of his chair just in time for the two of them to begin racing in circles around the dining room table like a couple of cartoon characters.

Janus sighed, flipping to the next page of his newspaper. “One day. One day they’ll kill each other and then I’ll be free.”

#sanders sides #sanders sides fic #remus sanders #roman sanders #janus sanders #intrulogical #background prinxiety #my writing #my posts

[ikram1909]

gavi really is the soul and heart of barça words can't describe how thankful i am to have him in my team 😭❤ idk how to explain it but i feel like he's such a unique player even just with how strong his personality is at barely 19 years of age and he's become such an important figure in the dressing room honestly he's incredible. so loyal and selfless and always fighting for his people and protecting them ❤ a kid that will do everything to help its teammates and always showers them in love and affection 🥺

He really is the heart of the team. Xavi has said it many times and it's because he sees directly how Gavi brings the group together on a daily basis both on the pitch and outside it. He's definitely way more mature than his age suggests, he acts and carries himself like he's in his thirties rather than 19 lol. I'm still not over the report calling him the Godfather of the younger players like he's not the second youngest player in the squad still 😭 Romeu said in yesterday's conference that he's a joy to be around in the dressing room like he must be so fun even when the cameras aren't around. Perhaps even more so then. He's a good kid and he has a heart of gold La Masía just gave us the perfect future captain and I cannot wait to see him wear that armband.

There's a video going around that's compiling Gavi's interactions with Lewy and a lot of people are starting to see Gavi for who he really is rather than what he keeps being painted as which is a relief. I can't wait for them to find out that you can make a video like that of him with every single one of our players. Like literally all of them. I saw this one earlier and was like 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 he's so sweet and so are all his friendships in barça

#pablo gavi #baby waby

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 127 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: putting up a new fence.

This is the last of the Remains Trilogy! (MAG 40 Human Remains, MAG 92 Nothing Besides Remains, and now MAG 127 Remains to be Seen).

"Jonah. I must first and foremost decline your generous offer of a medical position servicing Millbank Penitentiary." / "I do not know what interest you have in the poor condemned souls within those walls, nor do I care to guess." I think this is the first time we hear about Jonah being affiliated with Millbank Prison?

"I have for these last months come to the unfortunate conclusion that our intimacy and friendship must cease immediately." Oh no!

What's up with the tree?

"Albrecht’s wife Carla" So her name war Carla, not Clara?

The fan transcript has an error in the German line, it's "Leg sie alle zurück", not "ala". "Alle" means "all". So taken super literally more of a "Put them all back"/"Put all of them back"?

"He turned back to me. 'You do not understand,' he said to me in German. 'I do not read the books. They read me.'" If anyone's curious, it would be "Sie verstehen nicht. Ich lese die Bücher nicht. Sie lesen mich." in German. Or maybe "Du verstehst nicht", don't know if they would be on familiar friendly or polite formal terms. I’d be guessing formal, but Fanshawe does call Albrecht by his first name in the statement...

"I became convinced that removing the books would go some way to addressing his health concerns. I expected some stiff resistance on the subject, but Albrecht’s response seemed closer to relief than any sort of distress." I mean, he asked him to put them back?

JON: "Disconcerting to find my namesake in a statement" Can relate. Feels like a jumpscare xD I was very surprised to find my name in a statement because I thought it is rather rare to encounter it in English-speaking areas.

JON: "Whatever is happening now has its origins two hundred years ago, in the work of an evil man." The plot of TMA without context!

JON: "Something’s coming. I know it is." Jonah must be so happy to get his little nightmare kingdom right on time for the 200 years anniversary of the Institute.

JON: (long sigh) "Just another scar for the collection." Does that count as foreshadowing? It certainly works very well to make us feel for Jon.

BASIRA: "…And what was that you were doing yesterday?" JON: "…When?" Ohhh, I was wondering last episode if he already went to get a live statement boost (because at the beginning of MAG 126 he winces, so he was still in pain, which got me thinking). I’d say it happened a day before this episode^^ And right here Jon was afraid he got busted.

JON: "It’s – hard. It’s like there’s a, a door, in my mind. A-a-and behind it is, is the entire ocean. Before, I didn’t notice it, but now, I – I know it’s there, and I can’t forget it, and I can feel the pressure of the water on it. I – I can keep it closed? (sigh) But sometimes, when I’m around p-people, or.. places, or.. ideas? A drop or two will push through the cracks at the edges of the door. And I’ll… know something." This and the bit in the S5 trailer remind me so much of intrusive thoughts/bad memories popping up again and again. You're kind of aware that they are waiting, so you have to keep control over your thoughts at all times. There can be triggers which make them seep through occasionally.

Basira getting abandoned by Martin without any explanation is vital to understand why she's so distrustful now. Plus maybe the fact, that she didn't notice Melanie being influenced by one of the Fears? So she's even more wary now.

ELIAS: "Maybe I – just wanted to have a chat." This season is peak smugness of Elias.

BASIRA: "So what’s with the recorder? Who gave it to you?" ELIAS: "Oh, no. That – that really did just appear in my cell." Elias already thought Jon coming to the Institute marked by the Web was a blessing of the Spider. Guessing this could also be a "sign" for him to carry on? He's so close to winning after all. And after this he arranges Breekon to bring the coffin.

BASIRA: "Do you know what they are?" ELIAS: "What a question." Does he? Do we ever find out? Can't remember...

ELIAS: "Possibly. Then again, you are beset by enemies on all sides, Basira. And, unless you expect John to record them into submission, it would seem you are in rather dire need of another option." Jon, next episode, does exactly that! (I know, Jon's the warlock who doesn't know he's a warlock. But right now with his current powers I rather see him as a bard because of the rather passive, supportive powers and bards are not to be underestimated!)

So, did Elias tell Basira that he’ll have the coffin delivered? She does immediately know that Daisy’s in there...

@a-mag-a-day

#a-mag-a-day #mag 127 #tma #tma spoilers

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

(tw alcohol problems)

The phrase "keep it session" has been in consistent use since the very early episodes of this radio show, I've just heard and episode in which John Robins stops to explain what it means, which I thought I'd cut out and save because I find it interesting. And by "interesting", I mean literally yesterday I was explaining to my friend how maybe I could be just fine drinking if I started doing this more, just get lower percentage beer and still drink the same amount, and it was starting to make sense, but it does seem like a less good idea when I hear it explained by a guy who has since admitted he had a drinking problem despite employing this technique. And possibly connected to it - it is a good trick to have something that seems like responsible drinking, but actually it's just that you're so attached to drinking you need to be able to do it for longer so you'll find any way to make it so you don't have to stop as early (I don't mean as early in life or anything, I mean literally if I start drinking I like to stay up until 4 AM or so because I know that when I go to bed I'll have to be sober for the next while, but as long as I stay awake I get to enjoy not being sober, and I think that is the basic concept behind the Keep It Sessions idea, not actually responsible drinking).

I'm rather upset at myself, a couple of nights ago I got properly drunk for the first time in 2024, and I didn't mean to. My best friend/roommate and I got invited by our mutual friend and his wife over for a dinner party in the suburbs where it was so awkward, they had this nice house and none of us like his wife (we're not just being terrible people or anything, I'd like to defend our position by saying she's made casually racist comments and is rude to wait staff, among other issues), and it was a reminder that we never get to see our friend anymore without his wife present which means we never get to have a proper conversation with him or relax around him, even though before he got married he was one of my closest friends in the world and we used to meet up several times a week and sit in a pub all night and could talk about anything, and it wasn't even about getting drunk, we'd often only have a couple of pints and not even get drunk (I mean I'd usually get drunk by myself after I went home but that's beside the point, the point is that it's not like I'm reminiscing about the old days because I think we have to be drunk to have fun with this friend and we can't have fun now that we don't drink together, it's not that, it's that we used to be able to hang out casually and now it's a dinner party at a house with his wife whom we don't like and we all have to be awkwardly polite and we just talk about polite company topics and then all go home at a reasonable hour and it sucks), but those are some of my best memories in the world and it's gone forever now, and I guess this is just what happens as you get older, but it made me really depressed because I miss the way friendships used to be. And then my best friend/roommate and I got out of there, and he said to me "Well that was fucking awkward, want to go to the pub", so we did, and honestly it was awesome. Had a few pints in the pub, went back to our place, got drunk in the living room while listening to music and watching match videos in preparation for the trip to Mexico he's doing next week to coach one of our team's athletes in an Olympic qualifier, it's really exciting and I had so much fun just hanging out with him all night and that did feel like old times. And then obviously I woke up and hated myself.

I was very tempted to just say well, that's it, I'm not going to be sober now. But I know that's a cop-out. I never said I'd literally never drink again, and part of why I avoided saying that is I didn't want to be able to say that was the entire goal, if I break it once then it's all for nothing and I can give up. I said I want to drink less. What I meant is I want to be completely sober, but I don't want to fall into my black and white thinking of if I haven't spent all of 2024 completely sober then I may as well give up. You know, like the thinking that if I'm already drunk on one night, then I may as well stay up until 4 and continue drinking instead of going to bed at midnight, because more drinking when you're already drunk doesn't add to your total number of drinking nights, it's just more of the one drinking night, so you may as well stay up.

Anyway. I was talking to my friend today and tried to explain that maybe there is some way that we can keep having nights like that but I can just get really low-percentage drinks and it won't have the same effect, but I did then listen to this radio episode and realize it sounds more like bullshit coming from a known alcoholic. Because aside from anything else, I don't think I'd stick to it. And I'm not sure there's any alcohol that's weak enough for it to be healthy to drink it for like eight hours at a time.

On a lighter note, I appreciate John Robins explaining what percentages do to conversions, because I've had this happen before. In 2014, this guy from NZ moved up to my city and trained with my team for a year. When we first met him, he told us that he'd often drink a 2-4 (a pack of 24 beers) in a night. We thought this sounded absolutely ridiculous, as the most accomplished drinkers we knew could do maybe 16 or so. The first time we drank with him, we were prepared to be impressed, but it turned out he couldn't really drink any more than I could. At the end of the year he moved back to NZ, and the next year a bunch of us went down to NZ for his wedding, and also went to his bachelor party and on a post-wedding trip and much alcohol was drunk at all those events, and we quickly worked out the source of the confusion. NZ beer is all really week; he was telling the truth when he said he could drink 24 cans of it in a day, but so could my friends and I. I'm used to 5% being the standard for beer, you can get light beer that's 4 or 4.5 or even 3.5, and you can get fancy beers that tend to be between 5.5 and 7, and novelty beers that are 8 or 9. In NZ, it seemed like the standard was 4%. John Robins talks about 5% beer like it's way too much for session drinking.

Anyway. That's not really the point. The point is I rather hate myself but I am going to still try to not drink alcohol. Also I hate the institution of marriage. Mostly. Some people's partners are cool. If you're reading this then your partner is probably cool (that sounds like a joke but I'm not joking, I can think of three people who are likely to read this post and whom I talk to regularly and know some things about about their partners, all of you seem to have very cool partners, I may have just got unlucky that all my friends seem to be marrying people who make friendship much more difficult). Keeping it session is probably not the solution to drinking too much. Even though it seems tempting. I mean, drinking weak sessions beers would definitely be healthier than what I did the other night. But less healthy than not drinking. My roommate might get to coach at the Olympics this summer. I am (genuinely) very happy for him and (not genuinely) completely fine with him going and achieving our shared dreams without me after I stepped away from them. Life is difficult. I'll try again next week.