#they’ve been winning and i can’t jinx that

[cinnamostar]

colors of you

pairing : felix x gn!reader

summary : skz, semi pro league of legends team, now has a new competitor to face in the scene in the upcoming regional tournament, but after a few practice matches, felix knew he hated you and thought you were a complete asshole.

wc : 5.8k

cw : not proofread (i am lazy), collegiate esports au, very competitive rivalry on one end, unrequited love, enemies to a secret third thing i won't disclose, cursing, some angst, sadness, fluffy feelings, and y/tn = your team name + y/ign = your ingame name/username.

a/n : this fic was inspired by league of legends worlds 2023, except not as hardcore. i didn't write tooo much on the gameplay so anyone who didn't play league would also be able to enjoy and follow the story well. likes, reblogs, and feedback is appreciated as always

⌲ SKZ - semi-pro league of legends team

member profile

⌲ channie - in game leader, mid laner, azir + zed main

⌲ dwaekki - adc, caitlyn main

⌲ hyune - supp, pretty girl supp main (everyone has to beg him to play anything else)

⌲ miniverse - top laner, sett main

⌲ sunlixie - jungler, diana main 

* currently undefeated in collegiate regional cup, three year streak

⌲ Y/TN - up and coming semi-pro team

member profile

⌲ y/ign - in game leader, jungler, briar + kindred main

⌲ nyangknow - adc, kaisa + jinx main

⌲ jone - mid laner, ahri main

⌲ bibibread - supp, renata + rell main

⌲ some guy - top laner, yone + aatrox main **

* has won smaller level tournaments, gained entry to collegiate regional cup through these wins

**(a/n: some guy is literally some guy lmao sorry i did not feel like adding some random idol to the story)

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Felix clenched his jaw as flames of anger flickered within him, the obnoxious, classic, yet familiar, league of legends red defeat screen only fanning the resentment that burned hot through his veins. He ripped his headset off as he swallowed down the third bitter loss his team faced that day, his face glaring down at your username that seemed to mock him in every post-game lobby chat. 

y/ign: GG! Thanks for the skrims :) Same time tomorrow?

He rolled his eyes at your message, trusting Chan to coordinate with your team for the next matches as he closed out the client while reaching for his headset once more, letting out an exasperated groan. 

“Well… that went as well as it did last time, huh?” Chan’s lighthearted laugh rang through Felix’s ear which only irritated him more, unsure how he was able to remain so positive after three soul crushing defeats. “Overall, their team is really solid and versatile. I can see why they’ve been dominating the lower tier teams and why they’re in our division now, but those games definitely helped us understand the skill of each of their players and what champs we need to ban.”

Changbin hummed in agreement gloomily, “Man, I don’t wanna play against them more, that y/ign guy is fucking annoying to play against. I can’t even farm properly without them ganking my lane every few minutes.”

Felix scoffed, “Yeah, imagine being counterpicked by them and having them take your jungle camps every game,” frustration colored each of Felix’s word a bright and gaudy crimson as he spoke through gritted teeth, taking a swig of water hoping it would somehow cool down the unbearable rage he felt bubbling inside him.

“I’m sorry, man, I know those games were especially rough on you,” Chan mumbled apologetically, carefully choosing his words to avoid hitting a nerve, “But we now know what champs to ban for them, we know to ward your camps early game, and to change our approach.”

“Yeah, I guess we can try out a more dive heavy comps and try to get early picks so they can’t shut us out of the game so quickly,” Seungmin suggested with uncertainty as he weighed the options his team now had, “Or more tanky… Maybe we need more CC?”

“Ah, well, it’s hard to say because god knows what other champs they can play. Each game they had an entirely different comp, so I guess we can try to prepare for every scenario we have seen so far, but we will still have to stay wary during the champ select process,” muttered Chan as he reflected today’s matches, trying to formulate a game plan for the team, “All good though, let’s just rest up for today. Skrims at the same time tomorrow, but log on an hour before so we can review our vods and discuss what we wanna try out in our games, alright?”

With that, the team grumbled a disheartened goodbye as Felix exited the call, once more tossing his headset in annoyance while he rubbed his face, clicking his teeth as he replayed each death from today’s games and how it was always you flashing your mastery after each kill. 

Felix had no idea who you were, but your team had randomly emerged into the scene these past few months, quickly making themselves a well-respected and feared team as you dominated the lower tiered scene which now meant SKZ, a team well known within the semi-pro scene had no choice, but to take your team as a serious threat. Chan had reached out to you via discord, asking if your team was interested in a few practice sessions against his, which leads us to today.

There was no mistaking that your team was extremely well-versed and had done their research against SKZ, promptly banning each of their signature mains during the champ select process while picking characters that were either, quite frankly, annoying to deal with or countered their own. Felix should have known it was a bad omen when your team banned Chan’s Azir and Changbin’s Caitlyn, but once he saw you pick Briar against his own Diana, he knew he was in for a rough day.

You were perhaps the most annoying person Felix has ever had the misfortune to go against, somehow knowing just how to piss him off as you counter jungled him throughout the game and took every opportunity to gank his teammates, ultimately ruining their chances to catch up to your team’s gold. You even stole Baron from them, which ended up costing them the second game after your team immediately wiped his. He was filled with vengeful rage each time he saw your character on the screen, cursing internally whenever you made a good play, not even giving him the chance to trash you because you seemed to never make a mistake.

After today, Felix knew he hated you with all his being and made it his personal mission to give you a taste of your own medicine, swearing up and down that he would make sure that any games he played against you were absolute hell. He had a month to prepare for the next LAN tournament, where he would embarrass you on stage and disgrace the newly-founded prestige your team name had earned this past year. y/ign would no longer be the latest jungler breaking into the scene, you’d no longer be the new talent to keep an eye out. He wanted to make sure you were nothing but an utter disappointment to everyone who looked forward to your next performance.

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When the next day came, Felix was brimming with confidence after spending last night researching your team, but with extra attention focused on you and your playstyle. Felix looked through your team's past matches and if he was lucky enough to find an old broadcast of the games, he’d scrub through them to gain a better understanding of your jungle pathing and how it differed by each character you played. Today, he refused to be caught off guard by your skill and would not give you the chance to gain as much map control as you did yesterday. 

When logging onto his PC, Felix noticed a notification on his discord:

✩ y/ign sent you a friend request!

hey! wanted to thank you for the games yesterday and look forward to playing you guys again today :) 

While you probably had the best intentions in mind, Felix immediately felt the scorching, yet thrilling, heat of competitiveness settle into his body as he scowled at your message. “Fucking asshole,” he mumbled under his breath in disbelief, assuming you sent that as a way to get under his skin before today’s skrims. 

sunlixie accepted y/ign’s friend request! 

sunlixie reacted to y/ign’s message with a thumbs up!

Great, not only are you extremely talented at the game, but turns out you’re an incredibly cocky person! Anything Felix had ever learned about you, aside from his research last night, was completely against his will and it was only making him despise you even more. He hated how easily you ticked him off, how easily you filled him with unbridled rage by doing the absolute bare minimum, and he hated how sour the taste of anger was. He hated this feeling, as it always ended up clouding his perception and made him an absolute hellish person to be around, but it was also one of the most driving forces behind his competitive nature. 

Despite his huffing and puffing, Felix decided to close his eyes for a brief moment, as if he was meditating away all the negative emotions you so effortlessly planted within him with a simple message. After taking in a deep breath, Felix joined the discord call with the rest of his team, greeting them with a cheery ‘hello!’

“Felix! You sleep well? Sounds like you’re feeling better from yesterday,” asked Chan, the smile in his tone was impossible to miss.

Felix nodded before responding with a “Yup, got my eight hours and feeling a little more confident after some research.” 

“Good, good, that’s what I like to hear.”

Before Chan could continue with their pre-match meeting, Hyunjin piped up a question, “Did anyone else get a message from y/ign?”

Just hearing your username was enough for Felix’s entire mood to deflate as he sunk into his chair with furrowed eyebrows. He was about to open his mouth to tell everyone how rude you just are, but to his surprise, Changbin beat him to it, “Dude!! They are so nice!” a giggle escaped Changbin as he recalled the message, “They said my Draven was pretty good and that Hyunjin’s Lux had their bot lane nervous!”

Now that was not what Felix was expecting to hear from anyone as his jaw dropped, completely shocked to hear just how sweet your messages were to everyone else and how downright rude yours was to him. What the hell is your problem? Felix hadn’t realized how tight he was gripping his mouse til he felt the plastic material slip from under his fingers, landing on desk due to all the force applied.

“Right! It’s nice to know we had them sweating even though they looked so composed,” Hyunjin eagerly added.

“They’re super kind and humble, which is refreshing to see in this scene,” laughed Chan, “Maybe I gotta play a little better today to get my own compliment, but they did thank us for playing against them and for agreeing to not post the vods. What about you Felix? They say anything to you?”

Felix was still recovering from shock after processing the information he just learned, stammering in both surprise and upsetness, “Dude… I… I don’t know what to say because they were a straight up asshole to me.”

“What?! No way!” gasped Changbin, “Maybe it’s because you’re their match up in the game, but that doesn;t sound right…”

“Yeah, that’s weird,” Seungmin added, “What did they say?”

Felix then pulled up the message you sent, reading it out for the rest of his team to hear, adding an annoyed “Can you believe the nerve of this guy?” 

.

.

.

A few moments had passed by where no one had said anything, the call remained dead silent as everyone tried to figure out how to gently inform Felix that he was being an idiot and turning a very friendly message from you into an ill-intended one.

Chan cleared his throat, holding back a laugh as he realized your performance yesterday really struck something in Felix, “Bro, I hate to break it to you, but that was definitely a nice message… I don’t really see where they’re being rude at all.”

This time, it was Felix’s turn to stay quiet, a perplexed look overtaking his features after hearing the rest of his teammates agree with Chan. Maybe if he squinted really, really hard he’d be able to find a hint of kindness in your message, but Felix had already convinced himself you were his ultimate rival who was trying to throw him off a game. There is no way you’d ever send him a nice message just because, right? 

“Well, I don’t know… Maybe you guys are right,” mumbled Felix, not completely convinced by his friends, which prompted Hyunjin to chuckle.

“Lixie, I have never seen someone get to you so easily before! Those games yesterday must’ve done a number on ya, huh?” 

Felix rolled his eyes as he let out a peeved exhale through his nose, unable to deny any of what Hyunjin had said, “Yeah, yesterday was rough, but surely today will be different, yea?”

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Luckily for the SKZ boys, today was different from the day before. This time, the boys were able to secure a win in the first game, while the second game was a very close loss due to Changbin being caught out, but this just called for better positioning and map vision, all things that could be easily resolved by being more mindful. 

Despite the major improvements in the SKZ team’s gameplay, your performance did not fall short from yesterday’s as you still managed to be a threat SKZ couldn’t ignore. Although Felix was able to maintain control of his side of the map and trade some camps with you, you were still able to fill him with rage by somehow targeting him every fight, which made it nearly impossible for him to play the game. Luckily, Seungmin ended up using his Mordekaiser ultimate on you, which gave SKZ a chance to focus on the rest of your team while Seungmin did his best to tank your damage in his realm. This strategy definitely led them to their first win against your team, but as soon as the second match started, your team switched up to an entirely new comp, which SKZ struggled to answer.

Unfortunately, your team wasn’t able to stick around for a third game due to some prior commitments, so there was no decisive winner for the day.

y/ign: GGs! sunlixie, you really were sweating today on that diana jg kek

nyangknow: if i ever see you irl, its on sight, sunlixie… targeting a poor lil adc like me? 

nyangknow: lol but gg! y/ign slammed their desk when u stole elder last game kek

y/ign: shut up before i expose ur government name

nyangknow: …

channie: haha, sunlixie wasn’t gonna let u guys embarrass us again 

channie: GG! dm me on disc if you guys wanna set up some more skrims 

dwaekki: :3 gg!!! u guys did great, heh ty for games!

Once again, Felix found himself frowning at your message in the post-game lobby, irritation bubbling up in the pit of his stomach as his knuckles turned white from clenched fists. “Dude, I don’t get what their problem is with me,” whined Felix as he closed out the client once more, not even bothering to send a message in the chat.

Seungmin snickered over the mic, finding Felix’s one-sided rivalry hilarious, “That was definitely a compliment, don’t take it the wrong way.”

“Whatever,” he mumbled snarkily at Seungmin’s response, not being able to find any of the validity in his comments, “Just felt like they were poking fun at me.”

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The weekend of the Regional Collegiate LAN tournament had finally arrived, and luckily for SKZ, they didn’t have to worry about traveling since their university was hosting the event. This event did hold some importance, but it mostly helped determine seeding for the next tournament with only a few teams at risk for elimination. Due to SKZ’s skill level, elimination was the least of their concern with them being favored to win first place. First place did receive a cash prize to help cover travel costs to nationals, but it also helped any team gain more support and made the pro scene more aware of potential candidates for their team. 

SKZ was getting set to prepare for their first match of the weekend, but had some time to kill so they settled on roaming around the venue to catch up with some friends from other teams and greet any fans that approached them. In this world, it wasn’t uncommon for any of the more popular teams to have fans, as some people were either fans of individual players, their skills, or they were a fan of the entire team. 

Today was no different as Felix walked through the venue on his own, chatting with friends from other teams and meeting any new recruits while he was at it. Frustratingly enough though, your team and you had been quite the topic amongst his friends, each of them expressing concern at how intimidating and difficult your team seemed. Everyone in the scene knew that SKZ and Y/TN had gone against each other in a few practice matches, meaning everyone was swarming to them like flies, trying to extract as much information as they could against your team. Although, you and SKZ had an agreement to not leak out any team comps or skrim information before playing, so Felix had to deal with a whole lot of begging while trying to skirt around the subject.

Felix had finally gotten a moment of peace as he excused himself from the last interrogation, deciding it was time to group up with the team seeing that their match was in about an hour from now. Before he was able to get far, he heard a voice behind him call out:

“Yo! Sunlixie, is that you?”

Well, he was wearing a jersey with his name on the back of it, so it wasn’t weird for fan interactions to go this way. He put a smile on his face and turned to greet the owner of the voice, who he honestly thought was a little too cute to be wandering around the convention center on their own, but nonetheless he pushed the thought away and decided it was best to maintain a level of professionality when interacting with fans. 

“Hi! Yup, that would be me!”

The mystery person had a smile stretching across their face reaching out to shake Felix’s hand, which he took politely. He had no idea who this person was and it didn’t look like they were part of any teams since they weren’t wearing a jersey, so it was safe to assume this was just another fan.

“Wow, it’s so great to finally meet you! I’m y/ign, or you can just call me Y/N if you prefer.”

Felix eyes widened in pure surprise when your username left your mouth, not expecting the human he was talking to was you of all people. He did his absolute best to maintain his composure, but the sound of your name dampened his mood in the blink of an eye, his shoulders visibly tensing as his smile fell into a more awkward version of it. 

“Oh, sorry! You aren’t wearing your jersey, so I didn’t realize it was you,” he forced an uncomfortable laugh, but you had already picked up on the stiffness Felix was now carrying in his shoulders, “But, uh, you can call me Felix.”

Ever since you became acquainted with SKZ through your skrims, you could tell that Felix definitely wasn’t your biggest fan. Maybe you had gotten off on the wrong foot, but other than playing the game, you weren’t sure what you had done to make him dislike you so much. You had quickly befriended everyone else on the SKZ teams, even going as far as playing other games outside of league with them or meeting up with them to get food, but Felix was the only member who was uninterested and incredibly dry towards you. 

You had done your best to reach out to him and try to get to know him a little better, thinking maybe he just needed time to warm up to strangers, but that theory was quickly disproved when you found out Jeongin and Jisung had played some ARAMs with him and even met him in real life. Apparently, he was the sweetest and most pleasant guy to be around, yet you never had the pleasure to be met with his warmth. Instead, all you knew was an icy and cold exterior that pushed you away at every corner. At some point, you had been discouraged to attempt to be his friend, but you still thought it would be best to remain as cordial as you could with him, which meant greeting him and inviting him to any events your team hosted.

Not everyone was going to like you, that was a lesson you had learned long ago and you weren’t going to let it get to you when you had other things to focus on. You didn’t need to be his friend, anyway. 

“Yeah, my team isn’t scheduled to play til way later, so didn’t really need to wear it,” you smiled at the boy, nervously playing with the hem of your shirt as you watched Felix’s expression slowly drop, “Well, uh, I’ll let you go back to your team. Good luck in your games!”

Felix raised an eyebrow as you hastily turned away, surprised at how different your demeanor was in person compared to his initial impression of you. 

Online and through your varied interactions, Felix had pinned you as some overconfident, cocky, and disrespectful asshole who was purposefully targeting him. While everyone around him insisted that was not the case, he couldn’t help but feel the burning flames of hatred burst in him every time he received a message from you, each seemingly mocking him for whatever play he made that day. 

However, this version of you was entirely different than what he had imagined this whole time. You didn’t ooze out that same confidence he had pictured you to have, but instead you seemed a lot more timid and welcoming in person. There was a gentle shyness that accompanied the warmth of your aura, golden and bright hues of yellow radiating off you as you smiled with not a single hint of malice in your eyes. When he met your gaze, he thought he would be staring right into the same sweltering, scarlet fury he had become so familiar with, but while searching your eyes, all he found was the brilliance of your tender-hearted benevolence, only rays of sunshine and light coloring the bright green meadows that expanded across your being.

What was this? This wasn’t the scorching, volcanic, blindingly red world he had been living in the past month, yet he still found himself melting under the comforting warmth, wanting nothing more to bask in your glow and forget the blistering one-sided rivalry he had imagined. For a moment of time, he felt the amber light you emanated was slowly turning his ugly red into a more placid orange, one akin to the sky’s palette during sunset. 

Maybe the boys were right, maybe you did mean well. Maybe he was the asshole, not you.

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The crowd cheered loudly as the announcer’s voice boomed over the intercom, officially declaring SKZ as the victors of the regional collegiate cup for the fourth year in the row. As soon as the blue victory screen popped up during their 5th game against Y/TN, the boys quickly stood up from their seats as they huddled into a group hug while gleefully jumping up and down, ecstatic screams and laughter leaving them as they celebrated their win. After an intense final match where SKZ and Y/TN had traded wins, in the very last game, SKZ was able to pull out with the third and final win needed to end the tournament. That was perhaps one of the most difficult finals SKZ had to play in a long time and for the first time in years, they were afraid that their reign was coming to an end, but luck was on their side today and all the skirms against your team had come to fruition. 

Across the stage, your team stood amongst the chaos erupting throughout the venue, you remaining still in your seat as you watched the defeat screen go through its animations, tears pricking the corner of your eyes in humiliation. Second place was nothing to be ashamed of, but you couldn’t stop the overwhelming rush of emotions that filled you, the blinding stage lights causing your vision to go blurry as the feeling of failure took hold of you. You enviously watched SKZ celebrate their win as you wiped away your tears, standing from your seat with the rest of your team as you headed to congratulate the opposing team.

As your team approached SKZ, Felix immediately noticed the shift in your emotions and saw through the fake smile you forced onto your face as you congratulated each of them. All he could see was the bleak tears that clouded the brightness that once occupied you, the golden aura of yours being overtaken by the blues of sorrow and disappointment. The sun that once gleamed through your entire being had been replaced by flooding waters from a relentless storm of emotion, the cerulean raindrops overtaking the shining yellow hues of your personality. 

As the colors of your emotions blended, Felix swore he saw the slightest tinge of an ugly green forming as the two aforementioned colors danced with one another. Was that jealousy? Although, as soon as he took note of it, the color instantly melted away as you shook his hand, a sincere ‘congratulations, you did amazing,’ leaving your mouth despite the tumultuous storm that dampened your conscience. Somehow, even as the bitter taste of failure lingered on your tongue, your genuinity never once faltered.

The vengeful, piercing, crimson rage Felix had felt for you weeks prior had dulled out as your sadness bleed all over him, guilt now washing over him as he had realized how sorely mistaken he was about you. The burning competitiveness and hatred that once fueled him had been put out by your misery, a deep violet now painting over him as the heavy hands of culpability dragged him down into numbing darkness of shame.

For some unknown reason, Felix felt the urge to run after you as he watched your figure shrink off the stage, wanting to apologize for his unwarranted attitude towards you this past month and bring you back to the warmness he had just learned about to revel under it once more. He remained unmoving as his teammates dragged him into another celebration hug, insisting to take a photo to remember this moment, yet Felix wanted nothing more to forget the sight he had just witnessed. Even though his wish had come true, he couldn’t bring himself to savor this victory against you.

･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･

A few days had gone by since your team had lost the tournament, suffering from what you had considered a rather embarrassing loss. While the games were incredibly close, you were sorely disappointed in your own performance, as you felt that you made too many mistakes that had cost your team the game. After walking off the stage, you succumbed to all the emotions you felt in that moment, letting your body tremble as tears rushed down your cheeks, choked sobs escaping your mouth. You remember how hot your face grew as the rest of your team turned to console you, feeling self-conscious how you were supposed to be the leader, yet you allowed your emotions to get the best of you. 

Despite that, you had managed to get over the brunt of your emotions after a few days, but the message you found waiting for you today on discord had taken you by complete surprise:

✩ sunlixie sent you a message!

hi y/n! i wanted to reach out and apologize to you for how rude i’ve been to you. i’m really sorry, there’s no excuse for any of it. to be honest, i kinda just got rlly tilted from when we played our first skrims, and i guess i ended up taking anything you said the wrong way. again, there’s no excuse for this and i apologize for being that way, but i’d like to have a fresh start and be friends if you are ok w that!

oh, also, you did really great during the tournament! don’t beat yourself up for it, that was the first time we had to play all five games out in the finals, so you guys had us nervous!! 

Well, that was entirely unexpected, but as soon as you read the message, a smile broke out on your face while letting out a sigh of relief, happy to know that it had all been a rather strange misunderstanding and not something you had done. With that, you hastily wrote out a response to Felix, letting him know that all is forgiven and that you would love to be able to finally form a friendship with him. Well, maybe something good did come out of this loss.

･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･ ✩ ･

After playing a few league games with Felix, you both began to develop a close friendship with each other. You finally began to understand what everyone else meant when they described Felix, you were beginning to see why his username was sunlixie. The coldness you had come to know him as melted away as the days past, only to reveal that under that hardened exterior was a boy filled with so much love and gentleness, that it’d blind anyone who stared into his soul for too long. The deep tone of his voice only added to this inviting warmth, adding a layer of comfort and safety that could lull anyone in a peaceful sleep, it was no longer a scary sound that reeked with hatred. 

Eventually, you and Felix had decided to go on small outings together, usually opting to grab a bite at your local coffee shop as either of you would ramble on about a new game to try out or discuss practice for nationals. On the occasion, one of the SKZ boys would tag along or Minho, a member on your team, would join you both, but every time this happened, Felix always felt disappointed that he would miss out time with just you alone. 

Truthfully, he wanted you to himself during these rare moments, wanting to be the only one who made you laugh and be the center of your attention. Jealousy would inevitably creep up behind him, pointing out each and everyone of his insecurities while he watched you interact with the others, it whispering in his ears that you’d never look at someone like him romantically, that he’d never have a chance with someone like you. He hated how much time he had missed out on getting to know you and being your friend due to this childish rivalry, feeling jealous over how much closer you were with everyone else, especially Minho.

Of course your bond with Minho was deeper than everyone else, you had known him longer than Felix and the other SKZ boys and were teammates. Yet, the pangs of insecurity would hit his heart directly each time he’d watch you laugh at a joke Minho made, always playfully slapping his arm in a fit of laughter. 

All Felix could ever think was how much he had wished that was him, how much he wished he’d be able to make you laugh to the point of tears as the unpleasant color of green slowly festered within him, becoming more vibrant as time passed. He was crushing hard on you and he needed to do something about it before it became unbearable to deal with because he hated the unsettling feeling of jealousy.

Thus, Felix decided to finally bite the bullet and asked you to come out for some coffee today, but letting you know he needed to talk about something personal, so he’d prefer if you came alone. 

As you approached the coffee shop, you wondered what Felix could have possibly needed to discuss with you, but you were honored to know that he felt comfortable enough to reach out to you and confide in you with something so personal, which only goes to show how much closer you two have gotten. Upon entering the building, your eyes searched for Felix, finding him seated in a more secluded corner with two coffees waiting on the table. Once his eyes met yours, you waved from the entrance with a smile on your face as you skipped over to the table.

Sliding into your seat, you caught onto Felix’s jittery energy as his legs bounced while his fingers anxiously tapped against the table. His body stiffened as he met your eyes with a nervous smile. Your eyebrows furrowed upward in concern, as you never seen the boy in this state before.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

Felix’s eyes widened at your question, his body completely stilling, not completely aware of how on edge he looked from the outside. He felt a familiar warmth rush to his face as a gentle pink dusted across his cheeks and ears, the rosy color of shyness making itself nestling itself in his stomach. The buzzing flutters he had felt in his stomach earlier sped up with the drumming of his heart, his head feeling like it was about to explode as he scrambled to find the script he rehearsed last night.

“Uhm, yeah, everything’s okay. I just wanted to talk to you about something,” his voice trembled meekly, cringing at the sound of his voice.

You nodded at his words, a panicked look overtaking your face, “Oh, no, did I do something wrong? Did I upset you?”

The blonde haired boy shook his head vigorously, finding your worriedness a bit charming, “Ah, no, not at all! It’s nothing like that!”

The tension in your body dissipated, as a caring smile returned to your face, “Oh, okay. Thank god, I was scared for a bit. Then what’s up? What did you need to talk about?”

“Well, I don’t really know how to say this…” he mumbled quietly, but just loud enough for you to hear. He felt himself shrink under the intensity of your gaze, surprised to see an overwhelming amount of concern etched on your features. 

“That’s okay. Sometimes, you just gotta say it.”

He exhaled nervously, nodding in agreement with your words because he was freaking out on the inside, unable to recall any of the words he had prepared for this moment. Right, at this point, he should just say it.

“I… I like you, Y/N. I really, really like you and-”

Oh, that isn’t the reaction he thought he’d get.

You were never good at hiding your facial expressions, and this moment was no exception as your face morphed into a surprise expression, your mouth dropping as the words left Felix as the warmth you once held paled into white cast of shock and confusion. As soon as you processed his words, you bit your lips while trying to find the words to respond to the sudden confession.

“Ah, wow, thank you, I’m really flattered, but…” you paused for a moment, confusion and uncertainty laced in your voice, “you do know I’m dating Minho, right?”

#cinnamostar writes #skz #fanfic #skz angst #skz x reader #skz fanfic #stray kids #stray kids angst #stray kids x reader #stray kids fanfic #lee felix #lee yongbok #skz felix #stray kids felix #felix x reader #lee felix x reader #lee yongbok x reader #skz imagines #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines

[reine-du-sourire]

The #cringefail of Dorian Gray

Chapter 1, Part 4

"Dude, you just don’t get me,” replied the artist. “Obvs, I’m not like him. I know that, okay? Honestly, I wouldn’t want to be like him. What, you’re giving me that look? I’m being real with you. Being different, whether it’s physically or intellectually, it’s like this curse that follows you around. It’s like some kind of jinx that’s been around since forever. It’s better to just blend in with the rest of the world. The ones who are ugly or stupid, they’ve got it easy. They can just chill and watch life happen. They don’t need to worry about winning or losing because they’re not even in the game. They just live their lives, unaffected and not caring. They don’t bring trouble to others, nor do they ever have trouble themselves. You with your money and status, me with my talents, and Dorian Gray with his lewks—we’ll all suffer for what we’ve been given, suffer bad.”

"Yo, what’s his name? Dorian Gray.”

“Yeah. I wasn’t gonna tell you,” replied Basil.

“Why not?”

“Can’t explain it. When I really like someone, I don’t @ them. It’s like giving away a part of them. I’m into keeping secrets these days. It’s the only thing that can make life interesting or mysterious. Even the most basic stuff is dope when it’s kept hidden. When I dip out of town, I don’t tell my fam where I’m going. It kills the thrill. It’s a stupid habit, I know, but it adds some romance to my life. You probably think I’m hella dumb for it, huh?”

#the cringefail of dorian gray #tpodg #lord henry wotton #basil hallward

[papermoonloveslucy]

TV on TV!

Part 1 ~ The TV Shows of the Lucyverse

Although it may seem redundant, the worlds created by Lucille Ball on radio and television frequently created and mentioned other TV shows!  Here are a few. 

“Television” (1949)

Liz and George’s visit to their next-door neighbors, the Stones, turns into a disaster when George tries to repair the Stones’ new television set by himself.

“Television throws ‘My Favorite Husband’ for a loss, and the whole neighborhood into night courts.” ~  Mason City Globe-Gazette radio listing

“Too Many Television Sets” (1949) 

Liz (Lucilll Ball) can’t get George (Richard Denning) interested in buying a television set, until they spend an evening at the Atterburys, who have one. With his interest piqued, George arranges one be sent over on trial. Little does he know Liz has done the same thing - as have the Atterbury’s!  

LIZ: “I never know who won the fights or what Kukla and Fran are doing to Ollie.”

“Kukla, Fran, and Ollie” was a children’s television show created by Burr Tillstrom that aired from 1947 to 1957. Kukla and Ollie were puppets and actress Fran Allison interacted with them. The show won a 1949 Peabody Award and went on to win two Emmys.

IRIS: “I did my knitting last night with Ed Wynn; I had breakfast with Tex and Jinx; and this afternoon I took a bath with Hopalong Cassidy!”

“The Ed Wynn Show” was a variety show broadcast from September 22,1949 to July 4, 1950 on the CBS Television Network. Comedian and former vaudevillian Ed Wynn was the star of the program. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz made their television debut as a couple on the show on Christmas Eve 1949, just a few weeks after this episode of “My Favorite Husband”.

“Tex and Jinx” were Eugenia “Jinx” Falkenberg and her husband John “Tex” McCary. The couple were popular radio hosts who began on television in January 1947.

“Hopalong Cassidy” made the leap from books and movies to the small screen on June 24, 1949, kicking off the legacy of the Western on television. These were not new, but simply cut-down versions of the feature films that were in cinemas from 1935 to 1948. 

Joe warns the Coopers not to sit behind Iris because they only have a ten inch screen. (Liz adds that Iris has a 16″ neck.) He advises that they visit the Schraders who watch “Pantomime Quiz” and serve sandwiches. “Pantomime Quiz” (later titled “Stump the Stars”), was a television game show hosted by Mike Stokey. Running from 1947 to 1959, it has the distinction of being one of the few television series to air on all four TV networks during the Golden Age of Television. Lucille Ball is reported to have been on the series in December 1947, which would make it her television debut.

“Liz Appears on Television” (1950)

Liz and Iris (Bea Benadaret) make an appearance on a television show celebrating Friendship Week. Their friendship is tested, though, when they discover they've bought the same dress for the occasion. The name of the show is  “Love Your Neighbor” the host of which is played by Frank Nelson. The episode mentions two of the same television programs as “Too Many Television Sets” a year earlier. 

GEORGE: “I can see it now: ‘Kukla, Fran and Lizzie!”

LIZ: “Try Hopalong Cassidy. He looks good next to a horse!”

“Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (1952)

RICKY: “You’ve never even been on a television show!” LUCY: “Maybe not, but I’ve watched them a lot.”  

Lucy gets hired to do a TV commercial on Ricky’s new show, not realizing the health tonic she has to consume is full of alcohol!

LUCY: “When Ricky comes home tonight you’re going to turn on that television set, and you know who’s going to be on it?”  FRED: “Well, I can only hope it’s Faye Emerson.”

Faye Emerson was a very glamorous stage and screen actress turned TV hostess who had her own variety show. She wore low-cut gowns bedecked with jewelry and had bleach blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun.

The TV show Ricky hosts is titled “Your Saturday Night Variety”.  You can see Lucille Ball waiting in the wings, with the living room set behind her!  The TV camera has had its identifying information redacted and replaced by TVC (Television Camera)! 

“Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio” (1952)

When their TV breaks down, the gang tunes in to a radio quiz show. Surprisingly, Ricky correctly guesses the answers to all of the questions, so the next day Lucy signs them up to be on the show. Sitting the radio atop the malfunctioning TVV set, the gang stares intently at the radio, just as they would television. Before the TV breaks down, the foursome are watching a movie, despite poor reception. 

LUCY: “That little girl is Margaret O'Brien, isn’t it?” RICKY: “Look again - it’s Shirley Temple.” FRED: “Look again - it’s Mary Pickford!”

“New Neighbors” (1952)

“That’s pretty corny dialogue, even for television. Well, it’s a living!”

New neighbors have just moved in to 323 East 68th Street. When Lucy gets stuck hiding in their closet, she overhears the couple practicing their lines for a TV show and jumps to conclusion that they are foreign spies! Hayden Rorke and K.T. Stevens play the acting couple. 

“The Handcuffs” (1952)

To keep Ricky home, Lucy handcuffs them together - but then doesn’t have the key. Ricky needs to host a TV show that evening - “Your Favorite Celebrity Guest Stars on TV”.  Lucy has no choice but to be part of the act - if only her left arm!

Ricky is interviewed and introduced by Veola Vonn, real-life wife of Frank Nelson.

“Readers keepers, losers go look at television!” ~ The Black Eye (1953)

“Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans” (1953) 

Lucy and Ethel feel the boys are ignoring them to watch the fights on television. They go to elaborate lengths to stop their obsession. The championship boxing match that Ricky and Fred are watching pits 'The Kid' against Murphy. A heavyweight boxer named Irish Bob Murphy famously fought Jake LaMotta in June 1952. Kid Gavilán was a welterweight boxer from (unsurprisingly) Cuba, who was world champion in 1952. Naturally Ricky bets on 'The Kid', while Irishman Fred is in Murphy's corner.

“Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (1953)

“We have a whole half hour on television!”

Lucy and Ethel are excited to appear on TV with their club, until they buy the same dress, which tests their “Friendship”.

Ricky’s solo on the TV show is "Vaya con Dios.” When Ricky is introducing his song, he says “It’s become quite popular in the last couple of months.”

“Baby Pictures” (1953) 

Trying to impress the Ricardos about his TV station’s offering of motion pictures Charlie Appleby says:

CHARLIE: “We’ve got the newest moving pictures in town. I bought a block of films yesterday, and I want to tell you that they’re going to make television stars out of some of the actors. Now, just remember their names: Conway Tearle and Mabel Normand.”

Both were silent film stars and died in the 1930s! 

“Million Dollar Idea” (1954) 

Lucy bottles her own salad dressing, then she and Ethel go on TV to sell it. 

They appear on “The Dickie Davis Show,” a four-hour daily TV program produced at the station run by Caroline Appleby's husband, Charlie. Frank Nelson plays Dickie Davis. 

“The Charm School” (1954)

The episode opens with a party where the men are in one room and the women in the other. At the party, the men talk about how soon color might be introduced on television. 

BILL: “Well, there are two schools of thought on that matter. Some people think it’s just around the corner. Others think it’s gonna be a year or two.”

In reality, it was just six months away - but not on CBS and not on “I Love Lucy.”  Ricky says he read an article by Harry Ackerman, a  TV producer who supported the filming of “I Love Lucy” in front of a live studio audience.

“Home Movies” (1954) 

“If I want to see old movies, I’ll watch television.”

When his feelings get hurt that no one is interested in his home movies, Ricky refuses to include Lucy, Fred and Ethel in his new TV pilot film. Lucy, however, has a plan to get into the action anyway!

“Ricky’s Hawaiian Vacation” (1954) 

Lucy plans to win a trip to Hawaii on a television quiz show so that she can go with Ricky on a work trip. 

The TV show is called “Be A Good Neighbor” and it is hosted by Freddy Fillmore, who has finally made the leap from radio to television. In reality, many radio shows made the transition to television during the early 1950s. 

“The Black Wig” (1954) 

When Ethel tries on Lucy’s wig, Fred says it looks more like life with Luigi. 

“Life With Luigi” was a radio comedy that transferred to television. It premiered on CBS one season after “I Love Lucy,” but was not a success, lasting only a year before briefly returning to radio. One of the 'Italian' characters was played by Alan Reed, who later voiced Fred Flintstone. Two years earlier, both “Luigi” and “Lucy” were part of “Stars in the Eye”, a 1952 CBS special that celebrated the opening of Television City Studios.

“Tennessee Ernie Hangs On” (1954)

The gang and Ernie sing on television to make money to send him home. 

“Millikan's Chicken-Mash Hour” was a fictional country music TV program, but there were real-life examples as well, the first ever called “Village Barn,” broadcast from 1948 to 1950 from a New York City nightclub. Others included “Hayloft Hoedown,” “ABC Barn Dance,” “Saturday Night Jamboree,” “Windy City Jamboree,” “The Old American Barn Dance,” and “Midwestern Hayride” - all on rival networks. The most famous entry into the genre, “Hee Haw,” did air on CBS, but didn't come along until 1969.  

“Mr. and Mrs. TV Show” (1954)

“This is going to be one of the biggest television programs to hit town in years!”

Ricky has a chance to do an ‘at-home' TV breakfast show, and naturally Lucy wants to be in it. Things go well until Lucy discovers Ricky only let her do the show because the sponsor insisted. Then revenge is what is served for breakfast!  The live show is named “Breakfast with Ricky and Lucy.” 

“Breakfast with Ricky and Lucy” was inspired by "Breakfast with Dorothy and Dick."  This daily radio chat show aired from 1945 through 1963, and starred Dorothy Kilgallen, journalist and reporter, and her husband Richard Kollmar, a Broadway actor and producer. There was another popular husband and wife radio breakfast show called “Hi Jinx” that starred model and actress Jinx Falkenburg and publicist Tex McCrary, which made the leap to television in 1948.

“Bullfight Dance” (1955)

When Lucy is asked to write an article for Photoplay about what it's like being married to Ricky, she uses it to blackmail him to get to perform in a TV benefit for the Heart Fund.

The scenes of the benefit television show "Coast-to-Coast" for the Heart Fund, hosted by Ricky and featuring Lucy in the bullfight number of the episode's title, are introduced with an establishing shot of the newly-opened CBS Television City building at 7800 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Although “I Love Lucy” was one of CBS’s strongest shows, Desilu was already happily ensconced at Ren Mar Studios.

“Face to Face” (1955)

Lucy and Ricky appear on a TV interview show from their apartment. But his new agent says the apartment is a dump, and urges them to move into ritzier quarters. The agent tells Ricky that he thinks he’s got him “planted on the Sullivan show next month”.  “The Ed Sullivan Show” (aka “Toast of the Town”) was a Sunday night staple on CBS. In addition to hosting performers on the stage of their New York theatre, celebrities would also be in the audience, and get introduced by Sullivan to get camera time. This is what is meant by “planted” on the Sullivan show.

Ed Warren (Elliott Reid) is a parody of Edward R. Murrow (right), who hosted the interview show “Person to Person” from 1953 to 1959. Just like Murrow, Warren signs off by bidding the audience “Good night, and good luck!”

“Lucy Meets Charles Boyer” (1956)

Lucy thinks every man she sees is film star Charles Boyer. When she spots the real Boyer, Ricky convinces him to pretend to be a second rate actor who just happens to look like the star. Boyer mentions “Four Star Playhouse” (1952-56), an anthology series sponsored by Singer and Bristol Myers. The premise of the CBS series was that Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes.

“Lucy and Superman” (1957)

Lucy brags that she can get Superman for Little Ricky’s birthday party. When he isn’t available, Lucy dresses up as the man of steel instead. 

As the episode opens, Ricky and Little Ricky are watching “Adventures of Superman” on TV. Superman fans have said that this excerpt was not from the original series, but created for “I Love Lucy” using Reeve’s double. The wires holding Superman up are clearly visible in the shot and it was commonly known that Reeve disliked using wires because of an incident early in the show’s creation.  

“Lucy Gets Chummy with the Neighbors” (1957)

When a misunderstanding about the between Betty (Mary Jane Croft) and Lucy spreads to the boys, Ralph (Frank Nelson) rescinds his offer for Ricky to appear on one of his advertising agency's TV shows, saying “We'll get Cugat!”  For Ricky, this is the ultimate insult. In the early days of television, advertising agencies could dictate whether a show would be aired or not. Such was the case with “I Love Lucy” in 1951. Biou Advertising represented Philip Morris, the show’s sponsor during the first several years. 

“Lucy Goes To Sun Valley” (1958)

When Ricky, Little Ricky and Fred have to stay home to work on a television show, Lucy reluctantly takes Ethel to Sun Valley. 

“Lucy Goes To Alaska” (1959) 

The Ricardos and Merztes go to Alaska where Ricky and Fred have bought some land and Ricky is doing a TV show. When Red Skelton’s partner fails to appear, Lucy is recruited to perform with him. 

“Lucy Wants a Career” (1959)

“I can’t believe it!  Lucy on television!” 

Looking for fulfillment outside the home, Lucy takes a job as a Girl Friday for Paul Douglas on the morning TV show “Early Bird.”  

The first morning news program on television was “Three To Get Ready,” a local show hosted by comedian Ernie Kovacs that aired in Philadelphia from 1950 to 1952. Although it was mostly entertainment-oriented, the program did feature news and weather segments. Its success prompted NBC to look at producing something similar on a national basis and in January 1952 the "Today Show” premiered. CBS (Lucy's network) entered the field in 1954, but was never able to compete in the ratings. 

“Lucy Meets the Mustache” (1960)

Near the end of the episode, Ernie Kovacs tells Ricky to "take a good look" at Crandall (aka Lucy in disguise). 

“Take a Good Look” was the name of a TV quiz show Kovacs moderated at the time. It involved a panel guessing answers based on short skits.

#Lucille Ball #Desi Arnaz #Desilu #Vivian Vance #William Frawley #Frank Nelson #Ernie Kovacs #Charles Boyer #Paul Douglas #I Love Lucy #The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour #TV #Red Skelton #Mary Jane Croft #Edward R. Murrow #Superman #Hayden Rorke #CBS

[survivorraccooncity2]

Episode 2: "This round was literally determined by Rock Paper Scissors" ~ Els

LINKS:

Challenge: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/survivorraccooncity2/686258095295528960?source=share

Results: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/survivorraccooncity2/686348384424099841?source=share

Tribal Council: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/survivorraccooncity2/686440161313259520?source=share

~

CONFESSIONALS:

Adeline

Once again, i pregame and think I’ll stay UTR but the game starts and i get impatient and just want to do something. so i volunteered for the summit/hero challenge. And my arch nemesis Ava is there too....

Zukiswa

Today was a quiet day. Nothing major happened. I was so happy that my tribe won the challenge and the plan with my alliance worked. Clefford has really come through and I now trust him. Looks like me, MJ and Clefford are my ride or die in this game. I am also making very interesting connections with Jinx and Ava. These are that at a human level. We have not even spoken about the game yet in our one on ones. It's just very exciting. 

Julia

I confess, the relief at not having tribal tonight, is palpable. I almost got 'tripp'ed up but plans have not been derailed. However, they have changed a little bit. I was trying to save Tony and i dont know why. He dissed me, so ok Tony, dont come looking for my help later.... these boys dont wanna play with me... their loss...im used to being underestimated. Thats one of my superpowers, so im throwing my hat in the ring like a boomerang baby

Ariel

I am writing a confessional early because waiting for the challenge result is making me nervous, and there is nothing I can do about it. So MJ is trying to form an alliance with me and Navi which I am actually really excited about. We all came from different tribes and have different time zones. So yaaaaay! This is actually makes me excited to merge. Hopefully the 3 of us makes it to merge. Speaking of merge, I still have to put myself in a good position within our tribe for me to Survive. And honestly, I have no idea what's going on with our tribe. I have a good talk with all of my tribemates but that is all I got. I don't know who is close with who. I hope Adeline trust me enough to keep me. I feel like I could work with Dj and even with Jinx and Dominique. But my main priority for now is try to work with Adeline, so I can connect to Ava and Els at merge as well. Idk, I am just hoping we will be safe again. I don't want to go to tribal council. Agggh By the way, Survivor SA just dropped the cast and trailer for their newest season Survivor: Return of the Outcast and it looooooks a FIIIIIIIIRE. Go check it out if you haven't. That's all. Bye, amping!

Cliftone

Waking up to a new day after the first Tribal was CANCELLED. Boyyy did we get so lucky! Especially me being that I actually missed Tribal. I would've gotten my first strike had it not been for Brandon being booted. Going forward I really have to be on top of things!

MJ

Yayyy! I eventually created an alliance with Navi and Ariel and we now have an alliance chat. I’m still on the look out but they seem sweet. Hopefully we all make it to the merge cos that’s the whole essence 😂

Adeline

Been way too tired to make video confs. But basically i volunteered for the summit. Ava was there 😡 nemesis. And then we all started the challenge and all couldn’t do it. So we negotiated for a bit and decided to go with rock paper scissors between the three of us. Ava won first, i won’t second, tony last. And we bribe the hosts so that they would tell our tribe that we gave up on the actual challenge LOL. Gave my coins to jinx and els

MJ

Hahahaha I probably the happiest girl in “Fiji” right now 🤣😂😅🤣 my tribe won immunity again! Whoop whoop! We’re giving the “Taku vibes” from survivor US season 42. Ava is really a useful tribe member and they’ve proven that twice. They also gave me a coin which means they trust me enough or like me at least. Everyone in my tribe says we should keep winning till merge! Yes I wish so too but I can’t stop thinking , what if we find our selves at tribal pre-merge. I don’t want that to catch us unaware so right now , I’m trying to make the best possible safest and wisest alliances ever. I’ll make Ava a very good friend but not an obvious ally except if they propose it. I think I’m just still trying to wrap my head round a-lot of things which is okay. Lastly, I need to check up on my one world ally (Navi) and make sure she isn’t gonna home. Ariel and I need her. That’s all for today. I slept of twice typing this. LOL

Zukiswa

Today was not so loud. I think I've made some connections with people outside my tribe though. Jinx feels like my first born. But I know this is a game and I can't play it like a Mom. 

Julia

I am kinda bummed out that we lost the challenge and going back to tribal council to vote someone off. While i think our orig plan - with 2 variables will hold, and neither involves me, anxiety, never far away, IS nibbling at my fringes.... the member that lost the challenge would not engage in a alliance with lil 'old' me the day before and now its too late as ive solidified a connection in an interesting way.... tsk tsk... im glad i understood the assignment ahead of time, as in.... if you accept the challenge and fail, you gotta start dog paddling... now had that member been willing to form an alliance, Id be trying to save his arse... instead now i may be helping to orchestrate his virtual demise mwa ha ha ha ha

Evangelina

https://youtu.be/lCM9_bTdIzE (1 of 2) https://youtu.be/xBrIDtSQsGo (2 of 2)

Navi

Alright so it turns out we didn’t have to go to tribal for the first round… But then we still lost and we’re gonna lose a person regardless this round (yay…) So much for making the most of an opportunity, eh? Well I reached out to Els since they’re the person I trust the most at this point. They asked what I thought about the vote, I pitched Tony since he was one of the targets last round. I’m not super married to the plan, and I let them know that I’m will to hear out any ideas they have. They haven’t responded back yet. Everyone else has been radio silent except for Tony. We’re just talking about Canada lol. This vote is gonna be tough to coordinate on my end since I’m gonna be busy tomorrow (yay work 🙃), so hopefully we can get a plan going and get the pieces in place before I get really busy. But knowing my luck it’s going to be the most arduous process of all time 😭 Oh also, I’m now officially in an alliance with MJ and Ariel. I’ll try to update if anything major happens.

Ariel

Am I toast or am I f*cked? Shooooot, this definitely is not the best thing to happen to me right now. I feel like, Jinx and Adeline definitely is working together either with Dominique or Dj. Adeline and Jinx, both did not give me any coins. So that sucks. It means I am definitely not on their good graces, which I don't really know why? Is this about the time zone thing again? Is this about my past gameplay? Cause that sucks if it is.   Anyway, there's nothing I can do about it. I guess I am just here waiting for my slaughter day. Erst, swap when??? Bye!

DJ

Adeline got us safety! That is a relief, but I am a little worried about how difficult the second challenge was! The difficulty level went up so drastically from the first round to the second round. I need to work more on my social game if the challenges are going to get more difficult like that.

Tony

https://youtu.be/40x8kmATL5M

Clefford

I can now say that the game has really started. I am that kind of person who is organized and want to see things my way or atleast have a control of it. I tried my best to control where coins would go. I had to give 4 coins to Els to prove my alliance with her and 3-3 for me and Jinx. I distributed m coins to MJ and Zukiswa, which both are in alliance, and to Ava since they got the highest score on our first challenge. As the second round started, Ava volunteered to be our Hero in the next challenge. We were all curious on how it will go. They also represented our Tribe at the Summit. When the challenge results been released, I was so proud of Ava for being the number one in the challenge and managed to secure our back-to-back immunity challenge wins. They are so great! BUT, I didn't received any Summit coin from her. I was so confused, because she should've reciprocated my gesture by giving her coin when I gone to The Summit. I felt like I lost control at that moment. I only got 5 coins for these rounds. I got scared of my position in my tribe, even though I'm in alliance with MJ and Zukiswa. I spend all of my coins at the Merchant's Emporium and got an Extortion Advantage where I can extort coins from someone. They must give it to be before tribal or else, they'll lose their vote on Tribal Council. I was so happy, because it was well spent! Now, I'm making observations on who have the most coins, so I can use this advantage. 

Ava

https://youtu.be/oeIOvJkpcbM

Moth

My confessions have been boring and I apologize. I did not expect to be this busy X I hope it’s Tony. I’m happy it’s not me

Els

Hiiii, I bring you another confession that I should’ve done way sooner! This round was literally determined by Rock Paper Scissors It’s rock paper tribal Anyways Julia and I got on a call and rlly bonded, she revealed that she originally wanted me out bc she saw me as a threat and I was like omg but now she wants to work with me until the end bc she didn’t want to lie to me! Summit gave me 4 coins, assuming 2 from Adeline 2 from Tony, I think it’s best that we keep Tony and vote moth out bc I love moth but they haven’t been active at all I wish Tony had trusted me enough to tell me abt the Rock Paper Scissors but hey he gave me tokens so I’m not complaining!!

Jinx

im so fucking stressed right now 😭 and i have to make a confessional? *nancy wheeler vc* ITS BULLSHIT

Dom

So far I'm working on getting in the second person in my 3 person alliance. If this goes well and we all stay true and confident we will be good until the merge as we have pulled in over half the tribe. In this game you can never be too sure so I'm always on the skeptical side, no not paranoid. We will see how this plays out. 

Cliftone

Tribal tonight!! I cannot wait to see how this all goes down (being that it's my first ORG and all) Even tho it's our second time having to head to Tribal, it'll be our first time actually voting someone out. I'll be submitting my vote right after this confessional.

Hunter

I honestly think these ppl r odd i like the els person and Adeline 

~

GAME ROUND NOTES:

Ava, Tony, and Adeline volunteer as Heroes and Summit leaders

Ava volunteers without discussion with their tribe

During the challenge, the participants give up trying to do the challenge. They negotiate that they will pretend to have done the actual challenge, but will decide who wins by Rock, Paper, Scissors, Tony lost, sending Tricell to tribal council.

MJ, Navi, and Ariel form an alliance

Els and Julia grow incredibly close. Julia admits to Els that she wanted to target them, but this only brings them closer together

The Summit distributes their coins as such: Ava with 3 coins gives to Hunter, Moth, and MJ; Tony with 6 coins gives 2 to Evangelina, 2 to Els, 1 to Navi, and 1 to Julia; and Adeline with 3 coins gives 2 to Els and 1 to Jinx

Ariel freaks out because he hasn’t been given coins

Clefford feels betrayed by Ava because he didn’t get a coin from the Summit

MJ has figured out that the Summit  gave coins to Hunter, Evangelina, and herself. They assume that Ava was responsibility for all of these (even though, they only gave coins to Hunter and MJ)

Clifford received the Extortion Advantage

Future Legends decides its better to get rid of Moth than Tony because the latter is more active

Els gave their 4 coins to Adeline

Adeline purchases the Heart Key which is an Alliance Revealer

Els doesn’t trust Navi because Julia told them about her telling Navi about voting out Els. Els is suspicious of Navi not telling them that Julia tried to target Els

~

EDGIC:

Clefford: MORP4 Ariel: UTRM3 Dominique: UTRP2 MJ: UTRP2 Zukiswa: UTRP2 Ava: MORN3 Julia: CPN3 Adeline: MORP3 Els: MORP4 DJ: UTRE2 Cliftone: UTRP2 Evangelina: UTRP2 Navi: MORP3 Jinx: UTRP3 Hunter: UTRM2 Tony: UTRM3 Moth: UTRM2

Raffy’s Winner Picks:

Navi, Els, MJ, Clefford

Amy’s Winner Picks:

Navi, Clefford, Adeline, Zukiswa

~

POWER RANKINGS:

Umbrella

1. Clefford 2. MJ 3. Zukiswa 4. Evangelina 5. Hunter 6. Ava

Tricell

1. Els 2. Navi 3. Julia 4. Cliftone 5. Moth 6. Tony

Progenitor

1. Adeline 2. Jinx 3. Dom 4. Ariel 5. DJ

[himbodiaz]

i haven’t watched a single habs game all playoffs and at this point i’m too afraid to start

#they’ve been winning and i can’t jinx that #so i just doom scroll on twitter and hope for the best

[loveyouhomex]

I have this sudden idea of Seb and Lewis watching EURO today and they fight bcs they're rooting for opposite teams but they cuddle and apologize bcs they were both intense and maybe they end up doing makeup s*x

Ahhhh oh god yes, I love this. So I think Lewis is back in Monaco (at least it looked like that in his Insta stories), but I'm sure he just threw Seb out of bed on Monday, took advantage of sleepy Seb and got him, Bruno and Roscoe on a plane to Monaco with him.

So then today, obviously, they're watching the game. And where Lewis is usually really chilled, he's not that much into football anyway, Seb gets riled up reaaaaally quickly and he starts shouting at his own team, the English team and of course, the referee. Because the referee is always in the wrong (i mean every referee is always against us Germans, right??). And well, he just loves to be vocal about his opinions and Lewis absolutely loves an annoyed Seb, sitting crosslegged on the couch, leaning back into the cushions, a pout on his face with the occasional obscene hand gesture towards the TV. And the thing is, that's just our German genes - we can be as sweet IRL as a sunflower, but when it comes to football we go mad 😬

And so Lewis just loves to egg him on, loves to get Seb to the point where he's just angrily shouting at Lewis and Lewis has like the hardest time stifeling his giggles and Seb KNOWS that, which makes it like ten times worse. And even if Germany leads with like 2:0, Seb will be pessimistic, and only when the referee finally ends the game ("Two minutes more than what was on the clock, Lewis, TWO MINUTES MORE!") he can say one nice thing about his team.

But if in the end England wins (oh god, anon i swear if I'm jinxing anything here it's on you 😂 jk) he's all pouty and doesn't want to look or speak to Lewis, because Lewis can't keep that laughter in anymore and he keeps telling Seb how adorable and sweet he looks when he's mad, with that frown on his face and the furrowed eyebrows, and Sebastian is anything BUT adorable and sweet. So when Seb stands up to get a beer, because he can't believe they've been beaten by ENGLAND out of all countries, Lewis holds him back by curling his hand around Seb's wrist and pulls him on top of himself. Seb still acts all mad, but then Lewis just gives him a look with those big brown eyes of his and asks in the sweetest voice if he can make it up to Sebastian, while already sticking his hand into Seb's pants and that's where it's over for Seb and all of his resolve vanishes in a second, because after all, that's Lewis.

And if, after both of them come and they cuddle on the couch, Lewis starts to sing "football's coming home" no one is around to see how Sebastian pushes Lewis off the couch.

Okay, this got wayyyyy out of hand, and I love this so much that I might actually wanna write that if I've got time (and the mind) after tonight's game. Also, if there is a football god out there: I DIDN'T WANNA JINX ANYTHING WITH THIS; PLEASE LET GERMANY WIN

#thank you for this anon ❤ #sewis #anon #asks

[monster-bcrn]

SPOOKY’S 100 FOLLOWER SHOUTOUT!

Okay for real this is the fastest growing blog I’ve ever had hehehe. Never expected Grundy to get this popular this quickly!

Freaking love this zombaby and I’m so glad y’all love him too! As promised, gonna shout out some fantabulous bloggos that helped get Grundy to where he is today. XD

@akasupergirl/ @azombieme (I FREAKING ADORE GRUNDY AND KARA AND LIV. I swear Grundy’s loyal to Kara like he was to Shayera and Jade and Liv is totally his baby sister and is gonna protect her from.....everything. :P

Even pigeons, because they’re legion.)

@thecatgoddessbast (A blast from the past! Glad to see you again after I rampaged and caused chaos as a certain deranged pincushion of a mushroom way back in the time before present. XD

Now I get to do that as a zombie. :D Win/win!)

@starcityvigilante (OLLIE. FFFFFF-okay for real I’m HYPED to plot wacky ideas with you. Grundy has a MASSIVE grudge against Green Arrow and I’m like......*push these two together* you both get along right now.)

@folcire (We literally just started talking and I’m loving your Ivy already! Can’t wait to see how Grundy grows to see her the more he talks to her because they’re both sassy plant people that way. XD)

@themartlans (FFFFFF-J’ONN. Everyone’s favorite green uncle :D I freaking adore him and I HATE how the most he ever interacted with Grundy was him being tossed into the bay. >_<

They really need to talk more, and MAN! That Injustice verse of yours is SICK. Definitely hyped for making Grundy into an insurgent and a good zombie instead of Supes’ lapdog.

( Look at this face....LOOK AT IT.)

@blackwingsbluedings (One of the best Dick Grayson’s out there and definitely loving seeing Grundy be less smash and more “......hug?” They both need hugs I swear.)

@marvelousdamsels (We haven’t talked much but I adore your muses and I just hope Grundy doesn’t come off as too weird or clingy.......wait.......that’s......literally Grundy.....

:D)

@theirfirstexperiment (GRUNDY ON A RAMPAGE YOOOOOO! Better run fast. XD)

@amazonexile/ @gothamprens/ @captainstevertrevor ( Freaking love your muses and I love seeing Diana and Bruce actually WANT to help Grundy. It’s too easy just beating on Grundy and I love seeing them actually bother to try to get to the gentler side of the Hulk’s crazy cousin. XD)

@justiceebound / @nighttfight ( *slams fist on the table* YOU ARE AWESOME! Your Shayera is awesome, your Bruce is a national treasure and I can’t wait to throw Grundy at Supes and Diana, because these guys need a big reconciliation thing after all the chaos from literal years of slugging it out.

And I LOVE it. >:D)

@ofamazonia 

@theamazondiana   (Both of you are AWESOME Wonder Women and MAN I love plotting ideas. I’m tired of seeing Diana being turned into too much of a warrior while negating her role as a peace-maker and y’all NAIL her kindness and wisdom and need to give everyone a chance. Freaking LOVE IT!)

@raininginkyxto (LOL I always love imagining Grundy in Marvel and now poor Weasel is kind of stuck with him. XD Man, if the Hulks meet Grundy then that poor bar is going to really get smashed.....)

@notatomo (GIANT. Man I loved that movie as a kid and I LOVE the subsequent giant robot and tiny kid works inspired from it (example being the CRIMINALLY under-appreciated Sentinel series by UDON.) Can’t wait to see what happens when Grundy talks more to someone bigger than him. XD)

@liminalstctic (GRUNDY HEARTS TINY GIRL. XD Yeah he’s trying his hardest to help her. ;A;)

@dolceclavier

@gobsnacc

@adrenalinesaint

@ninelivesruined

@yellowskinnedwackyman  (CREEPER! I’ll forever ADORE these two butts because they’re team Tree Lobsters.)

@collidingxworlds/ @thecursedhellblazer (I. Love. Your. Constantine. I swear I have so much fun writing Grundy trying to get drunk (and failing) and learning to cuss up a storm while still being a mad lad ready to throw down with mega-zombies to protect his tiny friend.

DC, make this friendship canon or so help me Grodd...)

@chaosmultiverse (I love your Klarion so much! He’s so much fun! XD And Teekl for the epic win!)

@raichoose (Herbert West and Solomon Grundy? THAT aIN’T GOOD! D:>)

@gctjinxd (Freaking LOVE your Jinx! LOL how she manipulates Freeze and how Grundy isn’t even REMOTELY phased by her powers. Like he is TOUGH. Even bad luck won’t stop him.)

@killcrcroc (BIG BAD KILLER CROC! I love your Waylon and I adore how he has a collection of watches and that awesome suit. XD Croc definitely deserves more love since he’s much smarter than he looks, and tough enough to even get Grundy to back down in a serious fight.)

@babydxhl (Baby Doll is criminally underappreciated and I love how she’s the opposite to Grundy. She looks child-like but is very crafty, mature and knows how to get what she wants, while Grundy is physically strong and big enough to bully his way into anything he wants, but is very simple and child-like and would rather watch the birds. XD)

@theednygma (An awesome Ed Nygma and I love how Grundy is so unsure of everything yet still goes along for the ride as a support. XD)

@sleightlyoffhand (BUNNY MAN! Okay the idea of Josiah monching on carrots in Grundy’s pocket makes me smile so much. XD)

@thanagrian (BIRD-NOSE! Honestly every time I think of Grundy and Shayera I get the feels big time. These two definitely deserved more than just two episides to give them a unique friendship.

(I love that STAR Labs mission so much in Injustice. XD)

@the-arkham-librarian ( I love Eliza so much! She’s crafty, stubborn, sweet and kind and just cares about everyone so much when few don’t. Grundy grew so attached to her I swear she’s like his little sister at this point. XD And he’s totes the best uncle along with Eddie.)

@fatherdamned ( I LOVE YOUR RIDDLER OMG! He’s so snarky but man he is SO DAMN FUN to write with! Grundy is there for his green friend, no matter what!)

@fartemis-crockpot

( I freaking LOVE Artemis and Grundy, especially in the Injustice Society stuff. Yeah Grundy’s been a butt before but he genuinely likes and cares about her and the rest of the team and I’m like....

Look at these bunch of a-holes. Yeah they’re a family and even if they’re bad.....they’ve got each other. And that’s what counts. C:)

@powerhours/ @lastofmars (Green dad? Green dad. I love your J’onn so much and I’m like *throws Grundy at green dad* Here give this disaster some love. XD)

@gothamdad (YET ANOTHER AWESOME BATMAN. :D)

@redsleuthed (TIM! I love Tim and I swear these two should talk more because Grundy doesn’t WANT to fight and I think just letting someone hear him out would help him immensely.

Plus that stuff with Freeze? Poetic cinema.)

@themusespace

@12thlevel​ (On this blog we stan socially awkward green boi with angery grandpa genius mastermind. XD)

@pluckyingenue

@seekthedarknesswithin (SHADE! I love Shade in Justice League where he constantly throws Shade at everyone so you can imagine how excited I was to see Shade on Tumblr! We haven’t done much but man.....even Grundy was excited to see an old friend from the Injustice Society/ Injustice Gang.)

@youstolemycoat (Okay, hands down, Nick Necro is so much fun to plot with. His Robin verse is so fun too and poor Grundy tries to help but a certain birdy won’t let him. XD)

@ufotm (Tiny alien baby. :3)

@thetrigonborn

@kitfreeman

@partcfyouruniverse/ @diamondcladclown ( An awesome mun and my goodness her Harley is EPIC! I love the metas about Harley too and you just GET HER. And that????? Is the sign of an excellent writer and mun.)

@bigbadkillercroc ( I love your Croc and the brotherly bond he has with Grundy! It’s so refreshing to see these two bonding instead of Grundy tearing off Waylon’s face like he did in the Solomon Grundy mini-series. :C)

@blizzardmuses (I LOVE YOUR MUSES OMG. Your Batgirl?????? I ADORE HER. I love Freeze as a member of the Birds of Prey and I love tossing Grundy at your muses because the guy needs love and an excuse to smash.....and I really love both lol.)

@starfirechan (You’re Starfire is so freaking CUTE! I love how she and Grundy get along so well since they’re kind of two misfits that aren’t very well-versed in city life. XD)

@gotham-crusader/ @maximummuses (One of the best Batman and Damian Wayne RPers out there! I have a lot of fun with our threads and even if they fizzle out there is so much heart to them that they’re some of my absolute favorites no matter what muse I put on. C:)

@teufortsquidman (PRAWN! Okay, a giant mega-zombie and an Eldritch abomination? Yeah they’re gonna be good pals lol. XD)

@tragedybcrn (Hands down one of the BEST Batman RPers I’ve talked to and plotted with. I love how Bruce helps Freeze and even Grundy try to be better than just crooks. Grundy though has had so many bad experiences that he can’t trust anyone anymore unless there is some SERIOUS help. But he’ll learn to at least try to trust Batman.....because Batman was genuinely nice to him.)

@krygothite ( I freaking LOVE your Bane! We haven’t written much but FFFFF0yeah he’s epic. XD And Grundy is kind of nervous about bringing Bane to Slaughter Swamp because Bane is tough but not kaiju-sized gators and snakes tough....

Or....maybe he is.....let’s test him. >:D)

@batvvmn

@redwinefangs (VAmpire Batman? Vampire Batman. We have an epic trifecta of vampire Bats, Freezy-wolf and zombaby Grundy and I LOVE it. These three are so much fun to plit ideas around. XD)

@bclaur

@stcrshnes

@titanicscionofthestars ( I freaking LOVE Sara! All across my blogs I love her and the way you write her! And I swear her reaction to Grundy being impaled????? MY HEART. ;A;)

@jcinthedance  (JERVIS! Okat for real I love the image of Hatter and Grundy just enjoying a tea party at the asylum and being weird dorks. XD)

@adventurepunks (I absolutelky LOVE your Zatanna! She’s so fun and I’d love to plot more with her! :D)

@shesquiinnsane

@laughter-in-white (YOU????? Are??? Like the BEST Joker. Hands down. Your Croptop J is so much fun to plot with and he’s funny and being dramatic for Bats. And Grundy is like ‘yeah he’s crazy but he’s my crazy.’)

@yourfavoritesidekick

@smartvulpix (* glomps on you for being epic*)

@thehouseofivo (Your Freeze and Julian are AWESOME! Love throwing my guys at them both lol)

@lil-miss-romano

@sweet-tea-solly

@slauhter

@occultsleuth

@wiisectrpillar

@wonderlandcarpenter

@gunborn

#Rave to the Grave (Out of Character) #TOOK ME HOUIRS BUT I DID IT #Even if I didn't mention you you are STILL VALID #Love you all!

[artificialqueens]

The Crying Reflex (Rosénali) - SnowBun

A/N: Did I use this to procrastinate from working and finishing I’m Not Into Sometimes? Absolutely. But never fear, I will finish that fic (at some point.) Posted about writing this a few weeks ago and I actually got around to it, what a shock! Idea taken from Rosé posting that Denali’s IG story made her cry.

Thank you to Hollie for always being the most amazing beta. Don’t know what I’d do without you. This is for dawningofdrag and pinkgrapefruit for making me feel like this was worth putting out into the world.

Summary: Denali always makes Rosé cry.

–

Rosé isn’t sure how they become friends. She doesn’t believe in destiny or cosmic jokes. She doesn’t think that there’s a higher being out there that writes a script to the whole universe in the stars.

Being friends with her feels more like a reflex. A meeting of the eyes across the room to stimulate, react with a friendship that feels so real she can almost hold it in the palm of her hand.

Look at me the way you do and that’s it, I’m yours.

“Can we talk?”

There are 11 other drag queens and a small but very present television crew in the room, but there is nothing else in her line of sight but Denali. All she can see is the way she dabs at her eyes and the way that they’re flitting from light bulb to light bulb in an effort to look anywhere that isn’t Rosé.

“I don’t know what it is about you,” She throws out her arms with a little laugh, like she’s about to explain that this all just some ridiculously mean joke that’s unfolding before them. “But I couldn’t even look at you. There’s just something about you.”

“You don’t have to look at me. You wanna know why?”

“Why?”

“Cause you’re going to have a lot of time to look at me.”

Every word that tumbles out of her mouth is a reaction to a tear that Denali blots away with a balled-up tissue paper in her fist. She encourages, even jokes, until she sees her crack a smile that reminds her of the way the sun breaks through hotel room curtains.

She doesn’t realize she’s holding her hand before her thumb is already stroking skin.

“I need you to do it not just for you, but I need you to do it for me; because I really need you here with me.”

Rosé is many things. She is a queen with unending wit and talent. She is that person who won’t stop toeing the line between hot mess and professional, purely for fun. She is the girl that everyone in the werkroom is eyeing with cautious curiosity.

“I know I can make it to the top.”

One thing she has never been is a crier.

“I know you can too.”

Well, at least she didn’t think she was.

Glass beads form in the corners of her eyes, so unlike the bright plastic ones that Lagoona had bought bags of weeks ago. No, these are Denali’s beads. Crystals of chandeliers draping from ceilings, as clear as the fact that she’s barely holding together.

She’s about to say something, even lets the air pass through her teeth so the words can come out; but then she feels her bottom lip quiver and she buries the reflex with things she prays she can admit to later.

“You know what to do.”

–

Denali shuts her eyes. Well, the non-prosthetic ones at least. Against the stark black of her dress, the orange hue of the setting sun washes her skin a beautiful shade of orange. Her radiance only serves to remind Rosé that she hates the way she looks right now.

“You okay?”

“Just tired.”

They lean against the wall, holding hands as they bathe in the last vestiges of daylight. She hums the disco number that’s been on repeat for the past two days if only to make Denali laugh, all low and breathy. It’s these small quiet moments that make the stamp of ‘you’re safe’ more sweet than bitter.

“You were amazing out there, angel.”

“So were you.” Denali turns her head to look at her and she can’t help herself from laughing when all eight black eyes stare back at her. “Still wasn’t enough for the judges, though.”

“Oh no, baby,” Rosé tuts. “I don’t need the judges to tell me shit. I’ll let my delusion tell me how great I am.”

They look out at the lot, watch crew members bustle about as they keep their distance. It’s simple really, how one person is point A and the other is point B. So easy to model with mathematical functions that distance is proportional to safety.

Even easier to prove that distance is proportional to the loneliness that threatens to swallow her whole when she’s trapped in her hotel room.

The thought of having to return to it in a few hours feels like a punch to the gut, the type that’s so strong that tears form in her eyes. To have thoughts, hopes, fears that she can only voice to a void sends her spiralling down.

She presses the back of her head into the concrete wall so she doesn’t cry. She still has to return to the runway after all. She blinks away her tears like the exhaustion and loneliness will disappear with them.

“Rosie?”

“Yeah?”

“Ever want something so bad it hurts?”

She knows Denali is talking about the competition. She knows that she’s talking about hearing, “condrag-ulations,” instead of, “you’re safe,” the next time they step out onto the stage. She knows that she’s talking about the things that they’ve both come here to achieve.

But then she notices that she’s been drawing on the back of Denali’s hand with the pad of her thumb this whole time. She feels the weight of loneliness lift ever so slightly off her shoulders and she knows without giving it any serious thought that she has all she wants right here. At least for now.

“Yes.”

“What was it?”

“Another cocktail.”

“I hate you so much.”

“I love you too.”

She colors those words shades of orange and black, permanent marker and invisible ink just for her.

–

“You’re going to win.”

It’s hard to be sure of things when the world is falling to shit. Being sure of things is reserved for statements like, “the earth isn’t flat,” or, “my dress is definitely a warm yellow and not orange.”

But Denali sounds so sure of it. She sounds like she’s turning theories into laws, like anything else is a deviation from the reality she’s living.

Rosé is holding a cocktail in one hand and Denali’s in the other, and the only thing she can really be sure of is that she isn’t willing to let go of either right now.

“I swear to God, if you’re jinxing this for me–”

“I’m not!”

Thank you.

It’s the first thing she writes on the skin of her hand in a code only they will ever understand. There are ancient languages lost to time, but she knows that when they leave this competition, those words etched into flesh will be a relic only she can read.

“I’m going to sue you for $5000 if I don’t hear RuPaul say, ‘condrag-ulations, Rosé’ by the end of tonight.”

“Shut up.” She giggles. “I promise that you’re going to win this. There is literally no way you won’t.”

Rosé doesn’t have to think too hard to know that Denali is right. In fact, her reflex is to believe her; but if she pauses, lets the lull of laughter set in for too long, then she hears that little voice in the back of her brain, telling her over and over again that it wasn’t good enough.

You’re right.

Of course, she can’t admit it out loud, but she knows whispers of fingertips will be enough for her to understand.

“In case I do win, I’m going to have to ask you to promise me shit like that every week.”

“Mmm, no way.” She pops the plastic straw of her drink out of her mouth, leaving a ring of black staining bright pink. “I have to leave some of those promises for myself. You know, share the love.”

The room is buzzing with nervous energy from the idea of either Kandy, Tina or Symone having to lip sync, but on the couch alone with her, it feels like a bubble. All she can hear is laughter and promises bouncing off fragile walls.

“I’m proud of you, Rosie.”

Her drink is halfway to her mouth when she says it. It takes a moment for her brain to process, but her body reacts right away. The tears in her eyes don’t come from the pain of having just laughed too hard or from the exhaustion that keeps threatening to knock her out.

No, they come from the way Denali looks at her, like her color blindness takes off the green on her face so she can see all the dreams she hides underneath.

I love you.

“Thank you, angel.” She gives her hand a final squeeze before letting go.

–

It doesn’t register that the hand he’s holding isn’t Denali’s.

Most of the queens have fallen asleep, the emotions from the long day leaving them all drained of energy. There are snores and whispers filling up the empty seats of the van, but he doesn’t notice. All he knows is that something is wrong, something he can’t quite place.

The way he writes it’s okay is more than just a habit that he’s acquired over the past few weeks. It’s become a reflex, no different to breathing. The words he writes need no introduction or conclusion. It’s something he knew how to do before he learned he was doing it.

When he turns his head, he’s almost surprised to find that it’s actually Olivia, hiding half his face in the sleeve of a baggy sweatshirt so no one can hear him sniffling. One look at him and everything comes rushing back.

Denali is gone and no one can understand the words now.

He isn’t angry at him, couldn’t be even if he tried. He sees the bloodshot eyes when they pass under a streetlamp and he knows the way it feels. He knows how it feels because all he can think about is how Denali used to sit there, buzzing with the idea of making his dream come true.

“Sorry, Liv.”

Rosé isn’t sorry that he can’t let go of his hand or that he’s caught him crying. If he’s honest, he isn’t really sure what he’s sorry for. It just seems like the right words to say to tell him he’s not suffering alone.

Is this what it feels like to lose half of something that’s still whole? Things won’t fall apart now that he’s gone. He’ll still push to get to that finish line until his lungs give out and breathing turns into a sting in his chest.

But how he wishes he could get there holding his hand.

“Me too.”

Olivia lets out a shaky breath before leaning against him. Rosé is thankful that he can’t see his face. All the easier to hide the tears that threaten to pour out of him.

–

The hotel door shuts behind him, the sound reverberating all throughout his mind, soul and body until all that’s left in his brain is a single thought:

I did it.

His reflex is to belt, “The winner is Rosé!” to his hotel room. Then he looks around, sees the grand emptiness of it all, and lets the pain in his chest shock his body, a billion volts to the parts of him that even he can’t see.

The void pokes, prods, stimulates, and his body’s first response is to turn and look for Denali. He knows that the doors are locked, that telling him he’s in the top four is nothing short of impossible when he’s probably already hundreds of miles away.

What would it be like if he’d been there?

What would it be like to see him wipe off the makeup, revealing nothing but the look of purest joy and pride underneath? What would it be like to hold his hand until the end so he can learn how the words we did it feel on his skin?

What would it be like if the vision of him that still lives in his mind actually paid its three weeks long overdue rent?

What happens when he comes home? What happens when he has to tell him that he’s achieved something that they both deserved to have?

Questions, questions, and more questions. They occupy his brain and it spins the way he does across the stage. There’s a hurricane in the room, tearing everything apart, and he can’t find his way into its eye.

For the first and last time during the entire competition, he lets himself cry. It is free, messy, ugly with its heaving sobs that wrack through his whole body. It’s the type of crying that would be a meme tomorrow if it had gotten caught on the set of Drag Race.

He isn’t sure why he cries, not when his dreams are literally coming true. He’s always known that things will never be as he sees it in his head, but he never imagined that the pleasure would come with a pain he can’t even understand.

It takes a moment for the hurricane to pass. It leaves him drained of emotions he didn’t know he had, but he’s alive and it’s all he really cares about. He lifts up the covers of his bed and crawls in, hoping that he’ll forget the complex cocktail of emotions that he’s just unearthed when he wakes up the next day.

Before he falls asleep, he rehearses his script in his head.

Hey, D. You were right, I did it.

–

It’s in the last few seconds before falling asleep and in the pauses while finishing his makeup that he spends thinking of what he’ll say to him when he gets home. When he finally gets a chance, none of what he plans ever gets said.

The first thing he does when he gets home from Drag Race is to collapse onto his bed. He fills his senses with the smell of his sheets. It’s a familiar embrace that pulls him into the deepest, most comfortable sleep he’s had in months.

When he wakes up, the room is so dark that he can’t tell he’s even opened his eyes. He drinks in the idea that he can leave it behind, that there is light beyond these walls and he can touch it with his bare hands again.

Instead, he grabs his phone off the nightstand. He forgets what he’s meant to do in the first place, but his fingers are already searching for the message that Denali sent as soon as he got home to Chicago. He doesn’t realize what he’s doing until the words are jumping out of the screen at him, breaking him until he smiles.

Denali: hi rosie! Idk when you’ll be back but since you’ll probably make it to the finale, that might be a while. Ilysm and i’m already so proud of you. Call me when you get back, miss you!

Denali: PS it’s all your fault that i keep singing pretty witty fashion clown, i hate you

The picture of Denali sitting on his couch, typing out something so incredibly sweet then following it up with his own brand of ridiculous, is so vivid in his mind that he can’t stop himself from laughing. Otherwise, he might start screaming about how the feeling of the bones caging his poor heart are breaking.

“Hello?”

“Rosie!”

Nightmares start where dreams end, and this one had started the moment she’d walked off the stage, leaving her hopes at Rosé’s feet, clad in chunky Tina Burner heels. He wakes up when he hears him say his name, even if it isn’t the real thing.

“Oh my god, you just got back. Does this mean I was right?”

“Why do you sound like you were doubting me, baby?”

If he’s honest, he’d been scared of this moment. It was an unspoken contract: we’ll be there together. It felt like breaking his end of the promise, even if it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

“I knew it!” He paints the dark of the room with the joy in his voice and Rosé watches all the colors she’s ever worn on runways tint the bare walls. “I swear Rosie, I knew from the day I met you that you’d make it there.”

I thought the same about you.

He bites back the words, swallows them like a bitter pill.

“Aww, you’re so sweet, D.”

“God, I miss you so much.”

The pill gets stuck in his throat, making his eyes water. He knows he’s been missed and he knows he’s missed him too, but to hear the words burst into a flash of light that fills up the darkened corners of his room makes him remember that everything they have is more than just an intersection of a dream and a nightmare.

What they had in quiet conversations on van rides and tipsy chats in the werkroom was real, and he had come home to it, even if it’s just a phone call that will never be enough.

“I miss you too.”

–

It doesn’t hit him how lonely he’s felt for months until he isn’t alone anymore.

After his third glass of wine, he settles on the edge of Symone’s bed. He watches his sisters talk about nothing and everything all at once. He tries to cut in every once in a while with a song or a joke or his usual mixture of both, but he’s perfectly content just to see all of them together again.

Days, weeks, months have passed and not all of them are spent alone, but loneliness still mars every interaction he has. In the middle of a world that’s going forward and nowhere all at once, he can’t help but feel like he’s in the middle of the ocean with water filling his lungs.

Then he hears them all laugh and he rises to the surface with a breath of fresh air and the sun shining down on his face.

“Rosita!”

Denali whines and immediately plops down beside him, laying his head in his lap. Rosé knows that he’s drunk or at least close to it, but he’s almost certain that he’d do this to him completely sober too.

It’s been four hours since they’ve reunited after months apart, but how they are hasn’t changed. The safety that he’d thought had just been there to shield him from the impending doom in a bright pink box is still there.

He won’t admit it to anyone, least of all to himself, but as he runs his fingers through his hair, he knows that he’s missed this the most.

“I’m going to fall asleep if you keep doing that.”

“Are you a fucking cat?”

“I’m a pussy, sweetie.”

He looks around the room again and it sinks in how lucky he is to have this. In a universe that he believes is constantly on the brink of implosion, he’s found people like them to hold on to. They didn’t know it at the time, but all the sacrifices they’ve made have led them to this.

Most of all, he’s found the living embodiment of growth and joy, and he has strands of his hair slipping between his fingers. He blames the fact that he almost cries on how Denali won’t stop making feminine moaning noises, causing everyone in the room to break into laughter.

Soon, he will have to go home to empty spaces. He will return to the loneliness, but the dullness of its knife will have faded. When it comes to him in the night, making the world stop again, he will greet it with this memory of contentment.

–

There are millions of things that she’s willing to do to make it stop. He could turn the universe upside down, inside out for him. He could yell at the top of her lungs for highways and mountains to move for him. He could fly a damn plane to Chicago for him.

Nothing is too much to stop being a helpless soul, watching him cry over Facetime calls.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s stupid.”

“Your feelings will never be stupid, angel.”

Denali tries to laugh, but it doesn’t come out quite right. It is too full of tears and fears, too loaded with emotions that Rosé begs to understand. It is the saddest sound she’s ever heard and shards of glass appear where her heart used to be.

“Everyone loves me now.” He says as he wipes his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Yeah, because your lipsync was that fucking good, diva.”

“And what happens when I disappoint them?”

Rosé takes a deep breath, lets it settle where shattered glass lies. After a long night alone, he’d once seen a video where they turn the pieces into the most beautiful new figures. He wonders if he’ll know he’s turning his heart into something new for him.

“Listen to me, Denali. You are not and will never be a disappointment to anyone.”

“What happens when I’m eliminated? What happens when people figure out that I’m not as good as they thought I was?”

They’ve only talked about it once before, while drunk in his room after a long day of promo. If the others noticed that Denali was talking to him in whispers and holding his hand too tight, they didn’t mention it.

Does he know that he cuts her fingers when he tries to pick up the pieces for him? Does he know that he believes that nothing in the world could ever be so wrong? Does he know that he loves him too much to ever think of him the way he thinks of himself?

Months ago, he’d questioned how he could ever be so sure of anything. Oh, how the tables have turned.

“Yes, you will.” He doesn’t know how he manages to keep his voice steady for him. “One bad day won’t change how much people love you. You’re a fabulous performer and an even more fabulous friend. Don’t ever doubt it for one minute, bitch.”

“But–”

“No buts here, baby. The only acceptable one is the fat ass you’re sitting on.”

It’s only when Denali laughs that he realizes he’s been crying too. How could he not when nothing in the world could be as clear? To love him is a reflex and to stop is in the realm of impossibility.

“I’m sorry I ruined your makeup, Rosie.”

“Don’t worry about it.” It’s easy to brush off, especially when it comes to him. “Maybe the people that booked Cameos are into the smudged mascara look.”

People never told him he could love someone’s laugh so much before.

–

Denali makes him realize what it means to daydream. One minute, he’s out of his own body, watching them dance in a whirlwind of giggling grace together. He spins across the dance studio and when he opens his eyes, they’re suddenly drunk off of bad cocktails in his living room, trying to do the choreography to Phenomenon.

“Wait, no!”  He almost falls over when he throws his arms over his head. “We really have to put our whole body into the wiggle. Like this.” It takes a single demonstration for Denali to crash onto the couch, burying his face into a cushion to hide his scream from Rosé’s neighbors.

“I’m just trying to be accurate here.” He says when he plops down beside him. “Utica said wiggle to the top, so I’m wiggling to the fucking top, baby.”

“You can’t make a top out of a bottom, Rosie.”

“Well, I made it to the top four, didn’t I?”

They’re both laughing so hard it hurts. It’s the type of laughing that makes their eyes tear up and their vision blur. It’s the type of laughing that makes them struggle for breath until they can’t tell if it’s them or the room that’s spinning.

The cocktail of alcohol and absurdity settles at the bottom of his stomach and he lets the laughter die. He reaches out for his hand, writes down words from memory to flesh.

Thank you.

You’re right.

I love you.

He wonders how many new words he’ll learn during his stay in New York.

Denali writes something back and it’s all Rosé could have ever hoped for. It’s not that he didn’t know it before, but having the words burned on the back of his hand is still the sweetest sensation he’s ever felt.

It happens so quickly that he doesn’t know where it starts and ends. All he knows for sure is that Denali kissed him, a peck on his lips that feels like the quick burst of a bubble.

When he wakes from this dream tomorrow, he’s not sure he’ll even remember what it felt like. All he’ll think of is the way Denali presses into his side, like none of it ever happened.

“Maybe you really are a cat.”

“Just go to sleep.”

Rosé doesn’t find trouble shutting his eyes. He doesn’t need to see him to know he won’t leave.

–

Maybe it’s the power of TV magic or maybe it’s the wall of makeup that Tina had plastered onto his face that makes it look like he isn’t holding back a gallon of tears. Instead, he looks as happy as he always does, bouncing across the runway like seeing Denali leave didn’t break his heart right in two.

The thought of having to act happy feels ridiculous now that they’re both sobbing silently over the phone. Neither of them have said anything since Ru told him to sashay away and as Untucked starts to play, they remember that they have to breathe again.

“Are you okay?”

Denali is almost uncomfortably quiet. The streaks of foundation missing from his face tell Rosé all he really needs to know but he asks anyway, if only to make sure that he doesn’t get trapped in his own head. Beautiful minds make the ugliest nightmares, after all.

“Why do you always dance like that during lipsyncs?”

He stares at him in open-mouthed shock. After the emotional ringer that they’ve both just been pulled through, all he can focus on is the fact that only his knees move when he’s dancing in the background?

“Are you fucking kidding me, Denali?”

“This episode is way too tragic.” He’s brushing it off so easily that the concern Rosé feels grows with each passing second. “My elimination, your makeup, your weird dad dancing. We have to address those things one at a time.”

“And can that first thing be your elimination?”

Denali quits rambling when he says it. They listen to the synced buzz of their TVs, watch as Rosé writes it’ll be okay on her hand. He wonders if the words are still there, wonders if he can still feel them when he needs them the most.

“I don’t know if I’m ready for it yet.”

To love him is to accept it.

Tonight won’t be the night for them to talk about it. It probably won’t even be tomorrow; but when he’s ready, Rosé will keep his end of the promise. There will be other times to love him in the ways he knows how.

“Why won’t people just leave my dad dancing alone?”

“Oh, Rosie,” he giggles and Rosé thinks it might be the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard. “I think it’s adorable.”

–

Denali: have you seen the response online omg

Rosé: I told u so

Denali: what

Rosé: told u they’d love u as much as i do

#rpdr fanfiction #rosé #denali foxx #rosnali #canon compliant #s13 #on set fic #snowbun

[galesh]

Wish fulfillment au of Severus who was born in Albus' Dumbledore's time. I just wanted to post it as a reply on a discord server but then it got out of hand. So

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

- Two clever swots duking it out... in academics!

- Debating each other of old spells and whether or not they're dark and the librarian jinxing them out of the library with hexes for being too loud

- Albus and Sev rubbing their stung bums and arguing about the hexes the librarian used

- Albus and Sev both discovering they're poor halfbloods and railing against the arswholes in charge who think they can sting their bums and get away with it

- Them stinging each other's bums because it's a fascinating body part and maybe rubbing them with a different set of hands because maybe it'll help, and they're experimental

-Albus viewing the fascinating kid with so much dark potential with new eyes.

-Sev keeping an eye out for the twinkly eyed twit because it's unnerving, really, and because he always found the goodness in others fascinating. He doesn't believe he can emulate it, but maybe some would seep through him in osmosis. That's what that muggle book said anyway

- His ma always said he had a thing for redheads. He's starting to suspect her of practicing black magic

- Albus and Sev working on potions and transfig together because none of them can tell the other they're bloody brilliant and that they're fascinated, and could we just get to stinging bums and rubbing out the soreness please

- Sev visiting the Dumbledore's on summer break because his father is dead and his mother as good as, meeting the creepy girl creature because he's nosy and of course he'd look at the one room Kendra told him not to

- Abe running to Ariana's room because she screams bloody murder. It's only when he gets there that he realises that that bloody snake they let into their house is being accosted by a happily shrieking Arianna who wants to meet this strange new black haired scarecrow her brother likes

- The older one

- Sometimes, Arianna suspects

- Sev being horrified by Ariana's sad tale, and not wanting her to waste away, working with Albus to make sure she can get out

- Abe (begging to) help them because he really wants to, and because he doesn't trust the snake

- Sev learns Abe can't bloody spell after the third time.he has to squint if the bottle has fluxweed or filchweed (Dyslexia is not recognised yet, but it will be, in the muggle world) amd tries to help. It's more insulting than helpful, but he tries!

- Albus feverishly searching for a way to fix what those muggle boys and their mother's imprisonment and his neglect have wrought. Searching in the darkest grimoires, because really, what is honor and goodness if it can't even help his sister?

- Ariana getting her father's silver signet, carved with the runes of protection, family, forgiveness and renewal. They can't fix her magic, but the magic she once loved has caused her loved ones only harm, and really, it's time to stop listening to the voice inside her, who wants to rip her mother to shreds and burn the whole world down

- In the end it's abe, who comforted her when her mum looked at her with hate and Albus ashamed who puts her ring on as she says the words the runes describe. It's hard to forgive her mother and those muggle boys, but Arianna thinks they've suffered enough (it'll be years later that she realises that she left one person, but as she watches her daughter's delightful coo as she Dan's her nose with a glowing goden finger, she is only thankful that her lack of forgiveness didn't take all her magic away).

- She kisses her brother-in-law to be on the cheek, as is only proper for a member of family.

(Ariana has a very feeble grasp on social niceties. She tries, okay! You try learning everything from books while trapped in a cottage like a demented princess, with a brother who even she knows has an unhealthy fascination with goats who'd talk to her normally)

(Arianna's husband and her daughter, who she names Severus --because every universe must have a second child with a severusly controversial name -- would really come to fear her social skills, or lack thereof. Severus blames her godfather and her uncle with a the raging hate of a 10 year old who's been denied Uncle Sev's sweets)

- Sev and Albus competing for the top spot in the classes with professors and the bottom in the classes without

- Albus meeting Gellert in the evening he's supposed to leave for France and noticing the same dark charm. Severus noticing, but wanting to taint it than emulate it

- A black owl pooping on Gellert's golden hair because he Does Not Share!

- Albus sharing his plans to Change The World which would kill a girl with beautiful, uncontrolled magic and put a vengeful father in a prison of his own despair

- Sev agreeing to them and adding some rather inventive and cruel revenges he'd have on the Wankers who disowned his mother for following her heart

- Albus crossing out those points with eyes that twinkle in gentle admonishment, because really Severus, where would you even get a fully grown basilisk, and ignoring the calculating glitter he gets in return

- Abe following the idiots because Ari orders him to help the idiots and he can deny her nothing

- Gellert becoming a Light wizard after being at the wand end of a particularly dark spell (they teach *that* at Hogwarts, the light school!?!?!?!?) By a vengeful gargoyle after he drunkenly kisses*Bruder* Dumbledore

(years later, Headmaster Dippet can't figure out why his newest Dada teacher is so militant about students knowing everything about Dark magic and why some magics should never be studied, or why flinches everytime he sees a mistletoe. He has enough experience at 300 Not To Ask)

- Albus learning the most beautiful healing spell at the hands of a scowling-dark-phoenix with moist, angry black eyes after the 12th use of a dragon's claw soon after he discovered the 12th use of their blood

(Fawkes could never forgive Severus Snape for stealing it's thunder. Also he smells owl. They're the worst!)

-Severus stealing the Flamels' thunder by creating a philosophers stone after being at their home for a month.

(Perenelle suspects it's because Nicholas, who can be really old fashioned about these things, forbade their apprentice and that brilliant boy with no thoughts from rooming together)

- Severus lacing Albus' lemon drops with the elixir of life because clearly, that imbecilic martyr thinks dragon claw wounds are amusing

- Albus lacing Severus' tea with it because it would be such a horrible thing to live alone

(or without the one person who matters, no offence to his family. Oh, alright Abe, you're definitely not it!)

(the elixir of life prepared yearly mysteriously dissappears into tea and lemon drops. Albus stops worrying over Severus getting killed by vampires while he gets their teeth in exchange of galleons like a demented tooth fairy, and Severus stops worrying about Albus getting nicked by antsy Dragons or Phoenixes or Nifflers, or whoever Albus scraps with in his spare time)

- Albus putting his demented convoluted plans in motion by destroying wizarding currency through inflation. It somehow leads to a goblin revolution, equal rights for magical creatures, and the adoption of muggle currency. Don't ask

(Rumour has it that Gellert, Wizarding Britain's champion one look at the the scowling face of a Severus Snape and proposes negotiations.

Muggle currency was great, really. Made mathematical sense, easier to handle, and twinkly eyed not quite evil overlords can't dependably reproduce all the identifiers. They hope

Quite coincidentally, as Severus will assure you, all the pureblood families --including the Princes, coincidentally-- lose all their accumulated money in the resulting changeover.)

- Albus rules everything from behind the iron curtain with gentle fists and an open smile. Everyone learns to agree with him because behind him stands the spectre of DEATHOMgWatdidyoudo that you want to always keep happy)

- An excited Tom Riddle learns about magic from a charming Professor who's really interested in how he speaks, and who agrees that muggles are awful but keep it down will you?

- Tom Riddle learns to confide in and trust the person who introduced him to the magical world; and tells him when he accidentally discovers the chamber of secrets while hissing open at one of the taps in the girls loo that just wouldn't dispense water (he was under a lot of pressure okay! No, he's not a creep!)

- Tom Riddle grows up to be a politician with a particularly hard view on those muggles. Being backed by the Headmaster of Hogwarts helps. The society has made great strides in the concept of equality and democracy however, and most creatures really don't like him for some insane reason. Albus Dumbledore wins the elections by a landslide again. Tom is tenacious, and plots for when he'd get the position after the old man dies

(On his deathbed, Professor Emeritus of Hogwarts, Professor Tom, curses todgy old men with unnaturally long lifespans)

-Harry Potter, who grew up loved and a headmaster who didn't want to train him in any way, shape, or form (Harry was glad. Headmaster Grindenwald was nice and all, but he really didn't want to know all about the Dark arts and why not to use them kplzthnx). He went on to work at the ministry because his mother instilled in him values of fairness, kindness, and Get Out The House And Go To Work You Bum!

(He named

- Ariana's first kid is named after Abe. Her second is called Severus. Severus being a girl, never forgives her, and years later, when her son is born, names him Ariana with a vindictive gleam in her eyes.

(Ariana never really learned a the social niceties. They're horribly ineffective, and Abe tells her she's always charming in any case)

(Severus Smith is comforted by the fact that her godfather is a immortal wizard who gives her the best sweets)

- Severus and Albus never really fall out of love, even though they fall out of bed many times. They are a different breed of men, really. Eternal devotion means eternal devotion, as they find out. The Flamels' are happy they finally get to go on what the muggles call double dates.

- They also never stop stinging each other on the bum, but that is a rather more mature tale.

#pls ignore #severus snape #albus dumbledore #snumbledore #for spider #discord has a 2000 character limit #how rude

[violetteshoneybee]

Hide and kiss //

Pairing: Remus Lupin x reader

Summary: On a Sunday afternoon you and your friends decide to play a wizard version of Hide and Seek...

Word count: ~ 1.8k

Post date : 7/25/20

A/N: Well, that’s my first imagine I hope it’s not too bad. Please let me know if you liked it. Also, if there’s any mistake in English, please tell me. 🙏 Please check my Wattpad if you're interested in French fanfic :) https://www.wattpad.com/user/mysterioustruffle

Warning: My english :) ; fluff ; slight angst

♾️ REQUEST ARE OPEN ♾️

*Gif is not mine*

You groaned slightly while letting your potion book fell on your face. Sundays afternoons always have been a nightmare. It was so long and boring. Everybody were taking a nap or in deep studies even the marauders were calm. You wanted to raise and do something but the tall guy asleep on your stomach was keeping you from getting up. Remus was your closest friend. You were aware of his lycanthropy and how much he was suffering because of it. The last full moon almost four days ago had him exhausted but he was recovering.

You slowly passed your hand in his hair, letting it slide between your fingers. Remus’s arms clenched around you and you blushed at the sight of his cheeky smile.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Sirius exclaimed rising from the armchair where he was laying. “Let’s do something”

“Sirius, we’re in October. We can’t go outside it’s raining.” Lily whined, tearing her cover on her eyes.

“We could play Wizard Hunt? C’mon, we’re all bored as f-…”

“There’s first year, Prongs. Keep your swearing for yourself.” Remus mumbled against your shirt before rising his head.

“What are the rules?” You asked removing your y/h/c hair from before your eyes and closing your book. “I mean, I’ve never played it before so?”

“It’s a wizard version of hide and seek. But you can jinx the players when you find them. Also! Invisible cloak are forbidden.” Lily was giving a death glare to James as the others were gently chuckling. Remus stood up passing a hand in his hair. The light of the fireplace was highlighted his eyes and you couldn’t help but grin.

“I’m in.” Marlene barely opened her eyes before answering. 

“Too” Peter smiled while finishing one of his amazing drawings. 

“Well, it’s better than doing nothing. I’m in.” You said before getting up.

When everyone agreed to play, each of you headed to your dormitories. Lily wanted to grab some stuff and a reward for the winner while Marlene and you just wanted to ask some other girl to play with you.

After what feels like an hour of debate to know if yes or no Mary and Alice would join you, you just let go and sat on your bed. You crossed your legs watching the scene, your face reposing on your palm. You didn’t want to bring many people in that game, you knew it wouldn’t be as fun as the boys wanted it to be. And you had to admit you didn’t want other girls to come. Lily and Marlene were interested in James and Sirius and then, there was you with Remus. It became hard for you to not think about Moony. You thought your feelings weren’t shared. You fancied Remus since many years now but you never risked to tell him how you truly felt, how bad you were falling for him and how sad you were every time he was coming back of full moons with fresh new scars. Usually at this time, he would just nudged his nose in your neck and ask to cuddle. Recently, Remus began to avoid you before and after every full moon. You couldn’t help but feel hurt. Follow me I'm escaping you; escape me and I will follow you… It was making you sick. 

In the boys' dormitories, the marauders were reunited on their bed, chatting together. His head stuck between a pillow and the mattress, Remus groaned, visibly annoyed by the discussion.

“You’re being quite rude with Y/N. That’s our friend Moony, remember?” James calmly said

“I can’t just tell her: Hello Y/n, I may have a huge crush on you but whatever haha yes, of course, we can still be friends.”

“You can,” Peter exclaimed, pulling one of your letter in front of Remus nose. “So you’re telling us, you write to her every day but you can’t just tell her that you fancy her.”

“No.”

“You know what? We won't let you waste your chances. If you lose, if we find you, you’ll have to tell her everything.” Sirius’ lips turned in a mischievous smile as Remus sighed. 

"Okay," Remus removed the pillow from his face and took a look at his friends' face. "And if I win?"

James and Sirius burst in laugh. "You won't."

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

You ran through the corridor, letting your eyes travel on every door. It was almost time for Sirius to come search for you all so when you heard his voice singing that he was coming, you couldn’t help but panic. You felt a hand grabbing you waist and pulling you inside a small closet, you keep your eyes closed thinking it would be a boggart but Remus’s soft voice calling for you make your heart melt and your eyes opened wide.

“You’re fine?”

“Yes… You’re quite cute for a boggart.” You joked slightly. 

“Thanks, to be honest, you're not as bad as Filch”

You chuckled before having Remus’ index on your lips as a silencing way. You nodded before taking a step back and hitting the wall of the closet. You two were so closed you could feel his breath on your neck, the heat radiating your skin.

“Don’t move, I’m gonna give you some extra space.” You said following your instruction.

“You don’t have to.”

“Well, you’re taller than me and you’re not a contortionist, Rem.”

Remus sighed before letting his head rest on the corner, his eyes travelling around you. He was doing all he can to not look at you, he was too embarrassed and well, he didn’t know what would happen if he did look at you.

During almost 5 minutes neither of you were talking but you could swear Remus was able to hear your heartbeat. Godric, it was so fast you were wondering if you weren’t dying of a heart attack. And let’s not talk about how red your cheeks were. You were almost sure Remus could see them. You moved just a few centimetres to release the tension in your arm as Remus beat himself against the closet door.

“Ouch!” You chuckled watching him rubbing his head. You were about to talk when you heard footsteps. Remus glared at you, pulling out his wand.

You heard distinctly Sirius's voice when he opened the closet, sending an expelliarmus in Remus way.

“Well, well, well… It looks like you lose Moony. I hope you two will have a nice time!” He smirked before closing door, preventing you from exiting.

“Wait, Sirius!” 

You furrowed your eyebrows and looked at him. Again Remus was trying hard to avoid the eye contact. At this sight, you felt your heart broke a little more. You couldn’t bear it anymore. You were losing one of the most important people in your life and you did not even know why.

“What’s the problem, Rem? What did I do?” You asked softly, you couldn't help but play with your hands as all kind of answers were passing throughout your mind. "If I did or said anything that offended you, please... Please, tell me."

"It's not you."

"Oh come on, don't play this card with me..." You sighed. You never meant to hurt him and seeing him leaving your side was an awful feeling. "I don't want to lose our friendship, Remus. I-... Tell me what's the matter so we can fix it. It's... breaking my heart."

Remus sighed "The fact is, I don't want our friendship anymore Y/N."

Your eyes widened as you felt the air leaving your lungs. You desperately search Remus's eyes, analysing his face in hope to find a hint that he 's joking. Your hands were shaking like hell. You slowly swallowed, putting your hands in your pockets and taking your wand.

"Well, at least, thank you for being honest." Your voice was crackling between the words while your vision began to blurred, tears already falling on your cheeks. 

Faster than you could say quidditch, you were running in Hogwarts's corridors. They've never seemed so long for you. This atrocious feeling in your lungs did not help. You were feeling like your breath was cut by a knot in your throat. Your entire body was shaking and you didn't know if it was because of the cold or because of your tears.

Despite the mess in your head, you knew perfectly where you were heading. The cold wind hit your cheeks and your already red nose as you exited the castle. Your tears were blending themselves with the rain. When you finally reach the Black Lake's shore you felt released. You sat on the dark sand, your legs against your chest and your face buried in your hands. You weren't fully there anymore. Your brain was concentrate on the sounds of the water and trees around you. The powerful wind was lifting your hair from your shoulders.

When Remus watched you running away from him, he felt like if you were taking a part of his world from him. Your part. He clenched his fist and came out of the closet. You were already too far. Remus was cursing himself for being so stupid. He should have told you that he wanted more than your friendship, that he was actually in love with you. Then, he saw you on the shore, completely soaked. It forced a smile on his lips. 

Remus approached you, thinking about all these things he loved in you. How kind and gentle your smile was, how your eyes widened when you were talking about something you were passionate about. How you were able to see the good in people who lost hope. And your amazing y/e/c eyes which had the talent to make him melt without even a word. 

He remembered all that before removing his cloak and pulling it on you. You lifted your head, your eyes piercing through his. 

"I'm in love with you. That's what I meant when I was saying I didn't want our friendship anymore. You make my world better by just being you. You put your arms around me and I literally feel my knees buckle, this is so pathetic. I’m just not good enough." Remus revealed softly

"I love you too, Remus Lupin." You said getting up and passing a hand in his neck. 

Remus mouth curled into a smile while his eyes were travelling from your eyes to your lips, asking permission to kiss you.

“Then, may I?”

You chuckled before crashing your lips against his. You two wanted this for so long. The taste, his hands on your waist everything was overwhelming.

"I love you, Y/N..."

#remus lupin x reader #remus lupin imagine #marauders fanfiction #marauders imagine #writing #fanfic #sirius black x reader #james potter x reader #first imagine #first fanfic #imagine

[retirementhomecollab]

☾ the witching hour

☾ decision: open bedroom

☾ warnings: f!reader, mention of drinking games

☾ word count: 1.9k

At the entrance of the hallway, you look back at the living room. The party is bustling to the brim. That’s what you get with the hosts’ overwhelming popularity throughout campus. Without Hiromi by your side, you’re suddenly a tiny bit conscious, a tiny bit drained. It’s okay to take a little break from all this, right? Thinking back, this is probably the first time you’ve been in the boys’ apartment. You know Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi live together, and you’re friends with them, Akaashi’s even suffered through a few all-nighters of Russian classics analysis with you. With one of the doors opened, they probably wouldn’t mind you taking a breather in there.

“Y/n! Whatcha doin’?” 

Back at the coffee table, Kuroo has gathered a bunch of people for King’s Cup. Over by the dining table, Bokuto wraps up what has got to be the fifth round of beer pong since you’ve arrived. You raise an eyebrow in Kuroo’s direction as Bokuto hollers at another victory — he slams back a drink anyways, and you visibly cringe at the ickiness of it all — and Kuroo only gives you a what-can-you-do-it’s-Bokuto kind of shrug. Grinning at you, he beckons you over to join them. 

A small smile and a shake of your head, you mouth to him, “Headache. Later.” 

His smirk falls, eyebrows knitting together with concern. 

Having known him since he tutored you in a cursed compulsory chemistry class, you know that he’s about to lecture you. To pacify his mothering instincts, you follow up with a sleep hand gesture and what you hope is a reassuring grin.

Kuroo gives you a withering look, one reserved for Kenma, Lev, and the other underclassmen he claims maternal responsibility over, like you. You only continue to grin at him, shaking your head once again.

After a pause, he sighs dramatically, setting the last card down on the table. 

“The room with the open door. Should be empty,” he yells.

With a mock salute, you leave the party behind you for now.

The room’s lights are off, but between the brightness streaming in from the party and the glow of the moon above the windows, it’s sufficient. 

Neat and organized, you know that Kuroo must have tidied up for the party. There’s still the telltale Chair in the corner: a mountain of clothing on the chairback and a stack of textbooks on the seat. 

You give an amused snort. Good thing Akaashi had the sense to lock Bokuto’s terrestrial supernova of a room from curious eyes. And probably his own from the likes of you. 

You wonder what your fellow literature student’s room would look like, but you doubt he would ever invite you to his room anyways.

He’s never even expressed interest in having you over to his apartment much less fulfilling this kind of wishful thinking. 

You take off your cloak, not wanting to make Kuroo’s bed too dirty, and lean back down. He has good taste: plush comforter, mattress not too hard, not too soft.

Not ten minutes later, there is shouting from outside your door, and the door is flung wide open.  

“Bokuto-san, what are—”

“Akaashi, it’s for your own good.”

“Yea, ‘Kaashi, listen to your senpai.”

“Kuroo-san! You pain-in-the—”

He falls through the door frame, and you squint against the light in confusion.

Akaashi lurches forward to stop the door from slamming shut but as expected of the scheming captain, everything is well timed. 

Akaashi doesn’t even bother twisting the unlocked door; Kuroo’s already put Bokuto on door duty.

He sighs, hand smoothing over the top of his head. The lights are still off but it’s not difficult to guess who’s in his room with him. It’s someone who had inspired both Bokuto and Kuroo to interrupt their winning streaks in order to lock their poor housemate in his own room. At a Halloween party he was largely responsible for running.

“Akaashi?” You guess, very confused, slightly amused. 

In the moonlight, his outline is bulkier than usual, and you miss the mass of haloed curls around his head. But if your groggy state is even slightly reliable, it’s definitely Akaashi.

“Y/n-san,” he greets you with what you’re sure a smile sounds like.

Akaashi sighs again. This time internally. 

He isn’t dense. He knows what his senpai are planning. It’s kind of difficult not to when he has to stop Bokuto from babbling whenever you greet them on the quad or when he threatens Kuroo for inviting you to their apartment every other week, on days that Akaashi is bound to be home alone. They’ve been pestering him for weeks to ask you out, but Akaashi has kept his distance. 

And now he not only has to explain the situation but also his costume. 

“Y/n-san.”

“Yes, Akaashi?” 

His voice is serious, and you think that maybe this situation isn’t as funny for him as it is for you.

“I’m going to turn around,” he says cautiously. “Please do not scream.”

You give him a very confused frown before realizing that he can’t see that. 

So you reply with a hesitant “okay.”

Slowly, Akaashi reveals himself in the moonlight. A shiver runs through you, in anticipation? in wariness? You weren’t sure. 

But you didn’t think you’d actually scream. 

“Y/n-san.” Akaashi pads over slowly, carefully. “I asked you not to scream.”

“But, but.” You look at him incredulously, hand gesturing wildly at his head. “You’re bald.”

He chuckles lightly as his hand runs over the top of his head once again. 

“There’s hair at the back.” He turns his head to show you. “So, I’m not entirely bald.”

You look at him, jaw dropped to through the mattress, beyond the bedframe, right to the creaky floorboards. “You shaved your head for Toyotomi Hideyoshi?”

This time, he laughs an uninhibited, full bodied laugh, the heavy fabrics of his overcoat hunched over as he walks towards you. 

He makes a whole show of carefully tearing off the scalp part, and you watch in horror before Akaashi grins at you, smile a gentle white in the moonlight.

“It’s a semi-bald cap,” he clarifies, holding up the floppy rubber. The halo of lacquered curls are back in commission, and you finally relax knowing that his gorgeous hair is intact.

You sit up, scooting over when he moves to sit on the edge of the bed. The room is getting warmer.

“Though, I’m impressed you got it correct on the first try,” Akaashi smiles. “I’ve been getting either Date Masamune or Oda Nobunaga the whole night.” 

“From mainly girls?”

“Yeah, from girls and Kuroo-san.” Akaashi quirks a brow. “You don’t happen to know anything about this, do you?”

With a snort of disbelief, you look towards the door before replying loudly and clearly, “I didn’t take Kuroo for a dating sims fan.”

There is a muffled kind of shuffling before you hear a very explicit “Shh!” from not Kuroo.

You and Akaashi turn back to each other and burst into laughter. 

“There’s a dating sim for the warlords now?” He chuckles. 

You nod solemnly. “Date and Oda are the most popular characters.”

“Ah,” was all Akaashi could come up with as a reply. “I suppose you play it as well?”

There is a glint in his eyes as he watches you try to dance around the question. Eventually, you give up on any kind of vague answers, and give a small nod. 

“Who’s your favourite character?” He asks in playful seriousness, suddenly very interested in your Sengoku boy of choice. 

You’re sure that the moon turned a bright red just to highlight your embarrassment.

Akaashi sits there, pleasantly waiting for your answer. 

Finally, you muster out a small admission. Perhaps the witching hour would conjure up some magic tonight. 

“Toyotomi Hideyoshi.”

In the silence that follows, you can hear the breathing from outside the door, but neither of you spare those interlopers a glance. 

“Not Date Masamune?” Akaashi asks quietly.

You laugh weakly at this, unsure of how to tread. 

You fidget with the lace of your sleeves. “He’s too similar to Kuroo for me to take his route seriously.”

Akaashi doesn’t think of himself dense, but he supposes that self-awareness is a lifelong teaching. 

But at this stage, even he knows that this is a confession, despite it coming on Halloween with him and his crush locked in his own room discussing Sengoku dating sims. 

With her confessing that she likes Toyotomi Hideyoshi, aka him, Akaashi Keiji. 

“I thought you liked Kuroo-san?” He blurts out.

But then he asks stupid questions like these, and Akaashi wonders if you can pass away from pure stupidity. 

“What?”

“Kuroo Tetsurou.”

“I know who Kuroo is.” For you, this isn’t really the kind of witching hour you were expecting as you conduct the calmest yet most bizarre confession you’ve ever given.

“You’re very close to him.”

“We’re good friends.” You surprise yourself with your cordial, pleasant reply. Maybe it’s because it’s Akaashi that you’re like this. Despite your get up, Akaashi the Toyotomi Hideyoshi is definitely the witch of this witching hour. “Plus, that lovesick idiot probably has his own crush to chase.”

“So, you’re not in love with Kuroo,” Akaashi clarifies. In his defense, things can get weird on Halloween.

“No,” you confirm, “I’m not.”

“And you like me?” His voice raises ever so slightly, but he still keeps quiet, not for those nosy people outside but for consideration that if he says it too loudly, he might jinx the whole magic of the night. 

“Yes,” you nod. “You as in Akaashi Keiji, not Toyotomi Hideyoshi, ikemen or otherwise,” you add on for further clarification. 

“Oh.” Akaashi flops back down on the bed, and for a second, you’re worried you might’ve broken him. “I’m happy.”

You wait for him to continue. 

Akaashi pats the space beside him, and after a moment of deliberation, you fall back beside him. 

“Did you get the guy in the end?” He asks, a strange emotion in his voice, something not quite a smile but something not unpleasant. “In the game, I mean.”

“No,” you frown, “I keep getting the sad ending.”

Akaashi smiles a small smile to himself as he turns to you. Witching hour indeed. 

“If I promise you the happy ending,” he breathes out carefully, “can you not scream if I kiss you?”

Once again, the moonlit red beams upon you, and you nod, a grin gradually spreading to your lips. 

Akaashi cups your cheeks, and as he pressed his lips to yours in a simple lunar kiss, you’re very grateful that in the witching hour, he is Akaashi Keiji — not Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Date Masamune and definitely not Kuroo Tetsurou.

In the glow of the Halloween moon, you and Akaashi lie at the foot of the bed, his arms around you, wrapped in the magic of the night. 

“They’re waiting for us, right?”

“Yeah,” Akaashi laughs. “Any longer now, and Bokuto-san might suffer from brain hypoxia with how Kuroo’s probably told him to be ‘as quiet as the grave.’”

You do love an all-rounded literature student. 

“So,” you grin, already knowing the answer to your rhetorical question, “do you think it’s time to go back out? Kuroo probably wants his room back too.”

“This is my room.” Akaashi pulls away with a quirked brow. “Kuroo’s bed is unmade, and he has two Chairs.”

Once again, your face flushes red as you try to stammer out an explanation.

“You’re fine. Things have been weird tonight,” Akaashi chuckles. It’s a good thing he’s taken off the horrifying atrocious bald cap or else the beautifully mischievous expression would’ve been lost on you. “Let’s keep them in suspense a little longer. It’s Halloween after all.”

Pick a different room: > Go to the closed bedroom. > Go to the balcony. > Go to the kitchen. > Go to the hallway. > Go to the bathroom. > Go to the living room.

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x y/n #the witching hour

[twoidiotwriters1]

Written In The Stars CXIV (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

A/N: Book 6 is oficially finished but I still have a lot of editing to do bc I still don’t like it much jsdjs -Danny

Words: 3,387 

Series’ Masterlist

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Listent to: ‘Say Something’ -by A Great Big World

Chapter Twelve: The New Routine.

Mel was making zero progress on Occlumency, but she was quite good at Legilimency. 

She blamed this on the fact that she was now having one lesson every two weeks instead of once a week, which made her progress go slower.

Thankfully though, Dumbledore hadn't mentioned his brother at all, so she assumed her grandad had kept things to himself. On Monday, the girl walked into the common room and noticed a small group of her friends around the notice board.

— by order of—

The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts

All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded.

An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students.

Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge)...

Mel stormed out of the place. She didn't speak until she reached the Gryffindor table at the Great Hall. Fred, George, Neville, Ginny and Dean sat around her.

"We didn't say a thing."

"We promise, Mel."

"I know you didn't," She said. "Hermione jinxed the parchment you signed, she told me yesterday. You wouldn't be all lively have you been the ones to blame."

"What was supposed to happen?"

"Dunno, but it was supposed to hurt and it was supposed to be noticeable," She forced a spoonful of cereal down her throat, just to have something to do and calm her spirits.

"No one looks injured," Ginny looked around the Great Hall. "Most of the people that were in the meeting are here, but we would've heard if any had woken up with their faces all messed up, right?"

Mel dropped her spoon.

"I told Hermione this would happen! If my Grandfather wasn't the one–"

"Your grandfather?" Neville asked.

"–Then someone heard us, someone who clearly doesn't want us to learn," She ignored Neville's question.

Hermione, Harry and Ron sat close to the group, immediately they all dropped questions on them as well.

"Did you see it?"

"D'you reckon she knows?"

"What are we going to do?"

"We're going to do it anyway, of course," Harry looked at her. "If that's okay with you."

"Why wouldn't it be?" She asked grumpily. "Oh, how I'm wishing to vanish that silly grin of the Toad's face..."

"Knew you'd say that," George hit Harry's arm lightly.

"The prefects as well?" said Fred, looking over at Ron and Hermione.

"Of course."

"Here comes Ernie and Hannah Abbott," said Ron worryingly. "And those Ravenclaw blokes and Smith... and no one looks very spotty."

"Never mind spots, the idiots can't come over here now, it'll look really suspicious — sit down!" She gestured to rejoin their tables. "Later! We'll — talk — to — you — later!"

"I'll take care of them," Mel got up.

"I'll tell Michael," said Ginny, getting up as well. "The fool, honestly... are you all right?"

"Peachy," She replied dryly.

"I saw the way Cho and Harry were ogling at each other the day of the meeting... I'm sorry."

"I don't care," Mel raised a brow, still looking forward. "I'm actually considering asking Fred on a date, you know?"

Before she could hear Ginny's reaction, she quickly approached Hannah and Ernie.

"Morning, guys!" Mel smiled tightly, putting her arms around their shoulders. "Come, let's go to your table..."

"Mel, have you seen–?"

"I have," She insisted, turning them around gently. "Now let's go to your table so we can talk about it calmly..."

"We need permission to re-form the Quidditch team," Ron told her as soon as they sat down to hear Binn's lecture"

"I know, it said so in the parchment," Mel gave him a sorrowful look. "Don't worry Ron, she can't forbid the team to play, it would be unfair, and as long as Harry doesn't give her more reasons to punish him everything will turn out fine."

"Did Ernie and Hannah gave you trouble?"

"Not at all, they were quite understanding," She smiled softly. "I like them, they're good... Very discrete as well, promised they would let their friends know but only when they were sure they were the only ones listening, so you can cross Zach out of your list, he didn't spill the potion."

Twenty minutes into the lesson Hedwig appeared in the window seal, Harry went to get her and came back with a dreadful discovery.

"Oh, Merlin..." Mel gasped in horror.

The bird's wing was twisted in a way it shouldn't have been possible. It was obvious that she was not okay.

Harry stood up and told Professor Bins he didn't feel well, and he needed to go to the hospital wing. Most of their classmates glanced curiously at them but didn't stop him from leaving. The expression on his face was enough to break her heart. Harry was extremely worried about Hedwig, and she was too.

She wondered how was he taking all the news, must've been frustrating for him, after being so excited about standing up for what he believed in. She tried to talk to him after breakfast, but the words simply didn't come, she felt stuck, not knowing how to interact with him anymore.

"Poor Hedwig!" Ron frowned. "It's weird, she'd never been injured before, had she? D'you reckon she was attacked by another animal?"

"This is too much of a coincidence," Mel shook her head, "first the notice board, now this... they're watching us, every form of communication..."

Then it occurred to her. Not every form of communication was being watched, she still had one.

"I need to talk to Erick," She rummaged through her pockets and pulled out her watch.

"Why him?" Ron rolled his eyes. "Do you really think he has the solution for everything?"

"No you dunce," Mel scowled at him. "But for this particular problem, he does..."

She tapped the front of her watch with her wand, then she closed it and held onto it tightly.

"I hope so, at least."

"Who's the letter from anyway?" asked Ron, taking the note from Harry.

"Snuffles," said Harry quietly.

" 'Same time, same place'? Does he mean the fire in the common room?"

"Obviously," said Hermione, also reading the note. She looked uneasy. "I just hope nobody else has read this..."

"But it was still sealed and everything, and nobody would understand what it meant if they didn't know where we'd spoken to him before, would they?"

"I guess so..." Mel put a hand in her pocket and touched her watch. She was hoping her friend could make it on time. "We need to be smarter, though. She clearly has gone through it all."

"It wouldn't be exactly difficult to reseal the scroll by magic..." Hermione agreed. "And if anyone's watching the Floo Network... but I don't really see how we can warn him not to come without that being intercepted too!"

Draco Malfoy was standing just outside Snape's classroom door, waving around a piece of parchment and talking in the tone Mel knew he only used when he wanted to show off, which was always.

"Yeah, Umbridge gave the Slytherin Quidditch team permission to continue playing straight away, I went to ask her first thing this morning. Well, it was pretty much automatic, I mean, she knows my father really well, he's always popping in and out of the Ministry... It'll be interesting to see whether Gryffindor are allowed to keep playing, won't it?"

"Don't rise," Hermione whispered. "It's what he wants..."

"I mean, if it's a question of influence with the Ministry, I don't think they've got much chance... From what my father says, they've been looking for an excuse to sack Arthur Weasley for years... And as for Potter... My father says it's a matter of time before the Ministry has him carted off to St. Mungo's... apparently, they've got a special ward for people whose brains have been addled by magic... reckon the Dumbledores would feel at home there as well."

Before Mel could stop him, Neville launched himself towards the Slytherins.

"Neville, no!" Harry seized the back of Neville's robes. Malfoy could not believe his eyes. "Help me!"

Crabbe and Goyle closed in front of Malfoy. Mel stepped forward, trying to stand as tall as she could. Ron grabbed the boy's arms and he and Harry dragged Neville away.

"I wouldn't move if I were you," Mel said quietly, so calm and composed she surprised herself. "You're way slower than me even with your wands ready. Get lost."

"Not... funny... don't... Mungo's... show... him..."  She heard Neville panting behind her.

"I know, Neville," She said, though she kept her eyes fixed on the Slytherin boys. "He didn't mean to be so stupid. Right, Malfoy? Aren't you going to ask them to stop, Prefect?"

Malfoy, maybe because he could sense he wouldn't be able to win this fight, growled to Crabbe and Goyle to step back.

"Fighting, Potter, Weasley, Longbottom?" Snape walked out of the dungeons.

Mel turned to the boys and mouthed 'let him go!'. The boys obeyed her right away.

"He was feeling ill, Professor," She turned around and held Snape's sneer.

"Inside. All of you." He said shortly before entering his dungeon again.

Neville turned to look at his friends in a way he'd never done before.

"I had to stop you," Harry said slowly, picking up their friend's bag. "Crabbe and Goyle would've torn you apart."

"I would never let that happen," Mel walked up to Neville and put a hand on his shoulder. "You hear me, Nev? I would never."

Neville remained quiet, he brushed off her hand and snatched his bag away from Harry's grip. Entering the room in a flash.

"What in the name of Merlin," said Ron in awe, "was that about?"

Harry and Mel were aware of Neville's parents, but it was still a secret, much like every thing in her life right now. Harry said nothing, he was looking at her with a strange scowl, she felt like he was almost mad she had decided to step in. Mel didn't care about it, she let out a tired sigh.

"Everyone has their limits, Ron. Malfoy found his..."

She passed the table she would usually occupy with the group and instead joined Neville, thinking he would be needing extra help being too distracted to pay attention to the lesson.

"I don't need–"

"No need to act all tough and proud," Mel sat down determinedly. "I'm not here to pity you. I'm here to make sure you don't blow up anything."

He lowered his gaze to his cauldron, he didn't try to usher her away after that.

"You will notice," said Snape suddenly, "that we have a guest with us today."

Umbridge was sitting at the darkest corner of the dungeon, it surprised her how she hadn't noticed her there, even though she was wearing her usual blinding pick robes.

"We are continuing with our Strengthening Solutions today, you will find your mixtures as you left them last lesson, if correctly made they should have matured well over the weekend — instructions... on the board. Carry on."

Mel poured her whole attention on her work, she made sure Neville could be a decent student this time as well. She would glance from time to time to Umbridge, trying to guess what she was doing.

"Well, the class seems fairly advanced for their level," Umbridge commented to Snape. "Though I would question whether it is advisable to teach them a potion like the Strengthening Solution. I think the Ministry would prefer it if that was removed from the syllabus. Now... how long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?"

"Fourteen years."

"You applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, I believe?" Professor Umbridge asked Snape.

"Yes," said Snape quietly.

"But you were unsuccessful?"

"Obviously."

"And you have applied regularly for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post since you first joined the school, I believe?"

"Yes..."

"Do you have any idea why Dumbledore has consistently refused to appoint you?"

"Because Snape's a git," Mel mumbled under her breath.

"I suggest you ask him," said Snape dryly.

"Oh I shall," Professor Umbridge smiled.

"I suppose this is relevant?"

"Oh yes. Yes, the Ministry wants a thorough understanding of teachers' — er — backgrounds..."

"Of course they cared about their backgrounds now," Mel scoffed, still talking in a whisper. "They care about their hobbies, don't they? If they have a knack for fighting governments during the weekends? What a bunch of–"

"Mel, your potion," Neville warned her, noticing the way it was starting to show a green smoke.

"Woops!" She quickly did some arrangements, and the potion was back to normal. "Thanks, Neville."

"I reckon I did well enough in today's lesson!" Neville said proudly, beaming at her. "Thank you for your help..."

"It was a pleasure," She smiled back.

"Sorry for Harry though... you saw how Snape vanished his potion again?"

"Yeah," Mel frowned. "What a twat, but Harry should really try harder..."

"It's weird to hear you talk about him like that," Neville said innocently. "You usually are the first to defend him..."

"I'm the first to defend any of you," She corrected. "I'm not going to support him blindly– I mean, you did well today and you were having a bad morning too, right?"

Neville's smile faded.

"Reckon so, yeah..."

"Hey, I know it's not my place but..." She pondered how to say it without scaring him away. "Whatever got you all worked up, well, I'm always here if you need to talk. You're my friend as much as Harry or Ron..."

When they reached the marble staircase Mel remembered she had a meeting to attend, so she said goodbye to Neville and told him she would meet him in Divination. She ran to the very back of the library and found Erick standing in the corner, peering over a shelf towards the hall. Mel tiptoed until she was right behind him and scared him.

Erick jumped, hitting the side of his face on the edge of the bookshelf. The boy cursed rather loudly and stepped back, a hand rubbing his cheek.

"What is your problem?!"

"Lower your voice!" Mel said in horror. "I'm so sorry! Let me see your face–"

"Don't–"

"C'mon, I can help!"

Mel pulled his hand away and tilted his face towards the light. His cheek was slightly red, but it was uninjured.

"I don't think it'll bruise..." She said, getting closer to him. "What in the name of Godric were you doing? Who are you stalking?"

"I'm not stalking anyone," He complained. "I was... Lately I've been– Move away, will you? You're making me nervous..."

He pushed her aside gently and moved towards the nearest table.

"Let's make this quick," He told her, sitting down. "I want to eat something before Potions, Merlin knows I need it..."

Mel quickly told him about Hedwig and how they were obviously being watched after their meeting in Hogsmeade, Erick listened so intently that he even forgot about making his usual sarcastic remarks, once she ended, he half-smiled.

"You already found a solution, didn't you?"

Mel put her pocket watch on the table and looked at him with resolution.

"We want to keep going," She pointed to the little object on the table. "And we need something like this to spread the news safely and with the certainty that only those who belong in the group are the ones getting it."

"You clever girl..." Erick supported both arms on the table and stared at the watch, his brain already going a thousand miles per hour. "What do you need?"

"Well, for starters, I need to know the charm."

"It'll be easy, you're talented enough– Protean charm, don't forget it."

"We need something like this," She lifted the watch and stared at it. "But people carrying similar watches around the school would be too suspicions... and they're not exactly cheap..."

"You don't need to buy several of the same," Erick replied. "Just reproduce one."

"What?" Mel blinked.

Erick rolled his eyes.

"A doubling charm, you goose. Learn how to do it and you'll get copies of anything in the blink of an eye."

"Oh! Okay..." She smiled.

"Tell Hermione about it," Erick peered over her shoulder anxiously. "I would help you, but we can't take risks and I rather not know a lot about your plans in case... you know..."

"Yes," Mel nodded. "Thank you."

"No problem," He nodded, the concern coming back to his features.

"It's everything okay?"

"What? Why?" He blinked, stepping away from the table. "I'm fine, just tired... haven't slept well."

"Why?"

"Doesn't matter..."

"Erick..." She insisted, grabbing his arm and forcing him to stay in place.

He looked everywhere but her, until finally, Erick let out a strange noise that sounded like half a growl and he rubbed his eyes furiously before pushing her hand away and starting to speak.

"My Grandad..."

Mel felt something heavy on her chest and nodded in understanding.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. If it helps... I'm right here."

He nodded, eyes fixed on the ground.

"I know."

Mel continued with her day, spending most of it with Neville to make sure Malfoy wouldn't take advantage of him if he were to find him alone.

Back in the common room, she saw no reason not to waste her night away with the twins, who were currently showing to a curious crowd their newest products. Her mind had started to drift to what she'd said to Ginny a few hours earlier, but was soon interrupted when she witnessed Fred vomiting into a bucket and forcing a purple candy down his throat.

She was still having fun though, collecting the money and giving the Skiving Snackbox to their new owners. Lee Jordan and George Weasley would take turns with Fred so he wouldn't get all weak from the constant vomiting. She was highly thankful for the vanishing spell, otherwise, that bucket would be beyond disgusting.

Hermione would constantly glare at her and scoff, but Mel smiled innocently through it all. It wasn't her fault what the twins were doing, and they were technically doing nothing against the rules. Her housemates needed this kind of entertainment considering the shitty year they were all having.

"Here's your part, lady," Fred held out a small bunch of sickles for her to take. The crowd had dispersed a while ago, and they've been counting their money before going to bed.

Mel frowned and pushed it back.

"What are you talking about?"

"You were the beautiful assistant back there!" Fred said. "Half of our sells occurred just because you were the one taking the money– Am I wrong, George?"

"Those third-years have it bad for you, Lady," George smirked.

"You've become quite popular overnight," Lee raised a brow. "Don't you remember what the older Gryffindors used to say?"

"Oh yes," Mel laughed. "I was the little feral thing, wasn't I? They would compare me to peeves and all... can't say I miss it."

"You were never like Peeves, though," Fred smiled. "Peeves is quieter."

"Sod off!" She exclaimed over the boys' laughter. "I've changed, haven't I? Didn't really think about it until now..."

"Well, you don't yell at strangers in the halls anymore..."

"And you don't want to fight everyone either..."

"I did all that for stupid reasons," Mel glanced towards Harry. "Really stupid reasons, if you ask me..."

The boys shared a knowing look. Everyone knew at this point that asking her about what had happened between Harry and her was useless, neither of them would say a thing.

"Time for bed, I s'pose," George yawned, getting up from his chair.

"You're sure you don't want this?" Fred raised a brow, showing her the money one last time.

"I don't need it, Fred."

"No need to brag about it," Lee scoffed, taking the money. "It's mine, then."

"Hey!" Fred slapped the back of his head. "Give it back! We're gonna split it!"

They continued their bickering as they disappeared behind the door to the boys' dormitory. Mel had a lazy smile on her face than soon worn out as she realized she'd been left alone in the room with Hermione, Ron and Harry. She got up slowly and made her way towards them.

Next Chapter —>

Taglist.

@dee123ksha @vampiregirl1797 @siriuslysirius1107 @stardusthigh @mikariell95 @vernon-dursley @thesuitelifeofafangirl @tomshollandz @kylosleftbuttcheek @reverse-hxlland @bloodorangemoonlight @omiwashere @t-rexs-world​ @sarcasticallywitty15 @21bruhs

#twoidiots writing #hp fanfic #Harry Potter #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter xoc #WITT fic

[hphmmatthewluther]

Matthew Luther and the Riddle of Easter

7th April, 1985:

It was a Sunday, and everyone at Hogwarts was either busy enjoying themselves or furiously studying for their exams. Well, almost everyone. For in the West wing of the Castle, up in Ravenclaw Tower, there was one person still in their bed. He wasn’t asleep, but he didn’t exactly want to get out of bed. Matthew Luther didn’t really feel like there was much of a point. If he did, he would either get dozens of looks for being Jacob Luther’s brother, or be pestered by the Slytherins again. As far as he was concerned, it was best to avoid all of that. For the past three years, it appeared that God had been playing an awfully long-winded joke on him. So there he laid, trying not to think about anything, forcing himself to go back to sleep.

Suddenly, there was a noise. A loud, piercing screech. It sounded like a cat of some kind. It was probably Mrs Norris, Matthew thought, covering his ears with the pillow. If he hadn’t, he would have heard several tiny footsteps moving towards the dormitory door, followed by a click. He finally noticed when the door swung open, filling the room with light.

“Gah!” Matthew exclaimed, squinting to see that the only thing in the doorway was a cat. It wasn’t Mrs Norris, that was for sure. This one had large, green eyes and ginger hair, and it didn’t hiss at a moments’ notice. It walked up to the bed, and started to mew at the first-year.

“...Oh, what? What is it?” Matthew asked, pushing himself over to see the cat. It looked at him, right at him, before glancing up at his desk. On it was Matthew’s wand, books, and his silver bracelet. In a flash, the ginger cat jumped up and swiped it, scampering out of the room with the bracelet in its mouth.

“H-Hey!” yelled Matthew, quickly forcing the duvet off of him, grabbing his wand and heading off after the cat. He followed it down the stairs and into the Ravenclaw Common Room, and into the many bookshelves that made up Ravenclaw Tower. The cat headed deep into the tower, until it came to a stop several minutes later near an alcove with several blue lanterns and cushions. It sat down on one of these cushions, keeping the bracelet under its claws. Slowly, Matthew approached the animal, now exhausted thanks to having chased it down here.

“There’s got to be a better way to do this...” he said to himself, moving closer. And then it hit him. He was going about this all wrong. I always am, he thought, stopping in his tracks. Cautiously, he moved his hand forward, not towards the bracelet, but to the cat’s head. It hesitated for a moment, sniffing the hand, before allowing Matthew to stroke its head, moving its claws away from the silver. He didn’t grab it instantly, and instead sat down on one of the cushions, continually stroking the cat. Eventually, it moved onto his lap, and Matthew finally grabbed his bracelet and put it on. He gave a sigh of relief as he felt the cold metal touch his skin.

“Ah, you’re not so bad.” he admitted, as he started to give the cat chinny rubs. It purred loudly in his lap. “I wonder who you belong to.”

“He belongs to nobody.” came a woman’s voice. Matthew snapped his head up, and the cat remained still in its lap. In front of them was a silvery figure in a resplendent dress, with long brown hair going past the shoulders. She had the tiniest of smiles on her face. Matthew gasped.

“It’s you...” he began, “The Ghost of Ravenclaw Tower...Helena Ravenclaw.” he said, remembering Chester informing him that she didn’t like the name “The Grey Lady”. And honestly, who would?

“I am glad that you solved my riddle. It’s a favourite of those eager to find a suitor who has both intelligence and kindness, and faith in their soul.” Helena explained, “Take good care of it.”

Matthew’s eyes widened. “You- You’re giving me a cat? W-What? W-Why?” he stammered, looking down at the cat’s green eyes.

“I felt that you require a companion that is immune to human inventions such as rumour, or scandal.” Helena said, gliding closer to the window. “Things that you know too well.”

Matthew nodded. “You can say that again.” The cat got off of his lap and pounced up to the windowsill. The Ravenclaw got up and moved towards it too, to see whatever it was that had caught their attention. From here, they could see a great deal of Hogwarts, including the Clocktower Courtyard. There, he could make out a large crowd of people surrounding two people. One of them was a nervous-looking Gryffindor, and the other was a wild-haired Slytherin.

“Ben and Merula!” Matthew exclaimed, “Oh no...”

“Ah, yes. I believe the Snyde girl has been one of the most eager to find the Cursed Vaults.” Helena observed. “Besides you, of course. I must ask, is this why you have shut yourself here?”

Matthew’s expression soured even more so. The cat nuzzled his shoulder. “That’s..that’s not it. It’s just...well, it’s Easter.”

“Indeed it is.” confirmed Helena, looking down at the boy.

“Well, it’s just...we don’t have an owl, so my Dad can’t send me anything, so that sucks...” Matthew explained, “But more than that...it’ll be the first time I’ve missed it. Every year, we’d go to church and they’d give us all a little chocolate egg, and we got to do colouring activities while the main service happened. I know I’m twelve now, but...it was nice seeing everyone there, you know? I just...that was how it happened every year. I miss that.”

Helena nodded. “You miss your old life. Now I must ask you something that may cause you offence.” she announced. “How does staying up here solve any of that?”

Matthew stared, open-mouthed. “Wh- well, I...I...you stay up here all the time, don’t you?!” he reminded her, suddenly very annoyed. He knew that staying up here wasn’t helping, but hearing it from somebody else was just...well, it felt awful. It then occurred to him what he had just said. “I...I’m sorry, I should go, I-”

“No. I understand.” Helena reassured him. 

“I...” Matthew began, “It’s no excuse, but...I just...I know it's wrong. But I can’t bring myself to change anything. When I was younger I’d always had Jacob to help me with that...we’d always get the same Easter chocolate, too. He’d tell me when to stop so I could space it out over the holidays, you know, to make it last. He was brilliant. I guess if I had the chocolate now, I’d eat it all in one go and feel awful about it later...I...I guess I just miss him. He was brilliant, and...I can’t stand his name being tarnished.” As he let everything out, he found himself stroking the cat again. It turned onto its back and let Matthew rub its belly. Helena watched for a moment, before sighing.

“Matthew Luther, in case you had not noticed, I am dead. But more than that, I am a ghost. I refused to let go of this world, as I did not have the faith to move on. Thus, I am trapped here, unable to truly feel the pull of the world around me...unable to enact change. You are not dead. You are alive. You can enact change.”

Matthew digested this, taking a long sigh. “You’re right. Of course you are. It’s just...so damn hard sometimes.”

“As all things worth doing are.” Helena said, “Now, best hurry. It looks like Mr Copper has been struck by the Jelly-Legs Jinx.”

“Right!” said Matthew, picking up his wand again and heading towards the door of Ravenclaw Tower, the cat following behind. “Honestly, I think I lost God’s lottery, and then there’s Ben-”

“Matthew!” cried Helena, gliding forward.

“Um...yes?” he asked. The ghost pointed at him.

“You are still wearing your pyjamas.” 

Matthew blushed. “Right, sorry, gah!” he exclaimed, heading up to the boy’s dormitory. A few minutes later he emerged, now with proper clothes on. He looked down at the cat by his feet.

“I guess you need a name.” he realised. “How about...Danny?”

Danny mewed quietly, scratching his head against Matthew’s leg.

“Great.” He said, before turning to the Grey Lady. “I...thank you. You know, I think you’re slightly wrong. You said you couldn’t change things, and now here I am, off to duel half of Slytherin.”

Helena’s smile grew ever-so-slightly. “Well...take care of that cat. It’s been in my care for a few years now, it deserves someone like you.”

“I will. I promise.” he said. Before he left, however, he turned back. “Um, Helena?”

“Yes, Matthew?”

“Do wizards...do they believe in God?”

Helena paused, then nodded. “Some do. They believe that he gave us our magic for a purpose, and...that we are destined to act as Guardian Angels for the masses.”

Matthew nodded in return. “Yeah, cool, um...see you around, Helena! Thank you for the cat! Oh, and Happy Easter!” he yelled, before dashing out of Ravenclaw Tower.

When Matthew got to the courtyard, the crowd had almost doubled. Rowan was standing nearby.

“Where were you? The Slytherins have been, well they’ve been-”

“I know.” Matthew said, scowling. He pushed his way to the front of the crowd. The group of Slytherins were hurling insult after insult at Ben, who had next-to-no chance of defending himself. Matthew sighed, and pointed his wand at Ben’s wiggling legs.

“Unjellify!” he yelled, causing them to straighten out. Ben immediately backed away, Rowan moving forward to check if he was okay. “Wait, the counter-curse is just ‘Unjellify’? That’s it?!” Merula asked, her eyebrow raised.

“Trust me, I was surprised too.” Matthew said, chuckling. “Alright then, guys, you’ve had your fun, so-”

“Oh shut up, halfbreed.” sneered Preston Crawford, another Slytherin who Matthew found to be worse than Merula. “You’ve made an enemy today, you know that?”

“Mm, and I haven’t even had breakfast yet.” Matthew said, looking up at the clock tower. “Hm. Half eleven. Guess I’ll have to settle for brunch.”

“You’re going nowhere, Luther.” Merula declared, stepping forward. “I doubt you could ever best me.”

“Is that so?” Matthew asked. “How about this, then: If I win, you can’t lay a finger on Ben Copper ever again.”

Merula snorted. “And if I win, you will never search for the Cursed Vaults ever again.”

“Fine by me.” Matthew said, genuinely smiling. “By all means, you first.”

“Flipendo!” she screamed. Matthew took it head-on. He heard a gasp from the crowd as he skidded to a halt. Matthew looked down to see Danny by his feet. Ben was nearby.

“Matthew...you really don’t have to do this...really, I..” he stammered, but Matthew just smiled, and gestured to his cat.

“Take care of my cat while I do this, will you? Thanks a bunch. Expelliarmus!” he yelled, knocking Merula’s wand right out of her hand.

“Ooh...you little...” she muttered, scowling at the cheering crowd. “You can’t do this! You can’t stop me from showing that mudblood who’s boss! I’m the Most Powerful Witch at Hogwarts, and-”

“Umm...Merula...” Matthew began, pointing behind her.

“No, I’m not done! How’d you master that spell already?! It’s not fair! Nobody can be better than me! I can do what I want, when I want! I run this school, I-”

“Merula...” Matthew tried again.

“For Merlin’s sake, what?!”

“Ahem.” said Professor Snape. Merula looked behind her and gulped. Preston and his cronies quickly scattered.

“P-Professor Snape!” she said, quickly.

“I suspect this is your fault, Luther. Are you aware of Hogwarts policy on unauthorised duelling?”

Matthew felt his stomach curl up, and it wasn’t because he’d missed breakfast.

“Sir,” piped up Rowan, “Merula hit him first, he-”

“Enough, Khanna. Is this true, Miss Snyde?” Snape asked. Merula looked as though she was going to deny it, but Danny had walked over and started moving in and out of her legs. She looked down at the cat, then up at Snape, and nodded.

“Very well. You will report to me in the West Towers to discuss this transgression.” He declared, both him and Flitwick departing. A silence hung in the air.

“Blimey, I am starving.” said Matthew, clutching his stomach. “I wonder if they do cat food...Not for me of course,” he added, looking at Merula’s bewildered expression.

“Luther...I’m getting to the Vaults first. And you won’t stop me.”

“I look forward to trying.” he said, before heading into the castle with Rowan, moving towards the Great Hall.

“See? Told you she wasn’t that bad.” he was saying as they came to Ravenclaw table.

“Matthew, she tried to jinx you.” Rowan reminded him. “I mean, I certainly didn’t expect her to tell the truth, but do you really think she’ll keep her promise to stop bullying Ben?”

“I suppose we’ll find out.” 

Suddenly, there was a loud hooting as several owls flew into the Hall. One of them flew low down and dropped a large box in front of Matthew. Attached to it was a note.

Hey Matt,

Happy Easter. I don’t know if they celebrate it over there, but I convinced your mother to let me send these to you with her owl.

Keep it up, 

Love, Dad.

Matthew smiled and opened the box. It was filled with several large chocolate eggs, and a singular smaller one, too.

“Wh-what is all this?” Merula asked, having just appeared in the Great Hall.

“I think...” said Matthew, “It’s God’s way of saying, ‘Sorry, mate.’ Why, do you want some?”

Merula scowled, then walked over to the Slytherin table. Matthew just grinned.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #hphm fanfiction #hphm mc #rowan khanna #merula snyde

[tempesrature]

50 Wordless Ways to Say “I Love You”

Pairing: Ride or Die | Colt x Ellie Summary: A highlight reel of the most important moments of their life. A/N: Highly suggest reading this in order (all even numbers for Colt). @lovehugsandcandy @dancingboba @choicesarehard

#31 Pulling out a chair for them to sit down at the table.

Ellie knows Colt to be a pretty practical and rational guy, some would even say heartless and emotionally stale but that’s only for those who've never been past the barriers and walls Colt has built over the years. 

Some of her co-workers and friends sometimes, annoyingly, bring up the issue of how could she possibly love or be married to a man like Colt? That every time they’re together, all they do is fight and insult each other (which at first, felt like a total misinterpretation of their banter until Ellie realized that if she was a stranger looking in—then yeah, it does look like all they do is fight and shit on each other) and Colt, according to them, never has time for her to take her out on regular dates outside of the once a month date night. 

Yet, none of them really know the sides of Colt that he only ever shares with her. The nights where he lovingly slices up fruits for her even when he’s bone tired, the afternoons when he whisks her way to ride his bike along the coast, the mornings where he makes sure she eats her breakfast because she always forgets and the weeks, months and years where he challenges her, supports her and loves her in his own Colt ways. 

The language of love is different for each person after all, she just happens to speak Colt’s fluently. 

So sure, he isn’t going to be the type of guy to regale her with flowers and poetry and he isn’t ever going to be the guy who’ll set up a surprise romantic dinner on the beach but he is the type of guy who’ll push and support her to be the best version of herself and he is the type of guy who’ll sit with her and hold her on the rare nights when she starts to miss her dad. 

But he has been making upgrades. 

Specifically on their once a month date nights which she always looks forward to. Just because she gets the opportunity to doll herself up and actually get the chance to put on the multitude of jewelry Colt gives her. 

In the earlier versions of date night; they will take a car (usually hers, but Colt splurges once in awhile and brings out a high-end car from the shop), pick out a fancy and expensive restaurant, order their food and start their favorite game of ‘Who’s here on an affair?’ (which Colt is, annoyingly, really great at). 

For this month, specifically today, date night started out a little differently; they specifically took a car that Colt picked out as safe and secure, the restaurant he chose is now determined by menu choices and the amount of stairs it took to get to the door, and the food ordered is pre-approved and double checked with the chef. But luckily their favorite game of ‘Who’s here on an affair?’ remains the same. 

And Colt has added a new element to the routine, something that Ellie found to be quite endearing. 

After they were led to the table, Colt pulled out her chair before she sat down. She never really found it a problem before, she can pull out her own damn chair for all she cares, but she doesn’t mind the extra pampering that he has shown in the last two weeks. 

Although, sometimes, it does get a little annoying.

“Stop being so weird, you’re making me nervous,” Ellie chastises him playfully as Colt sits across her from the table, his leg bouncing nervously which makes the table shake a little too. 

Colt scoffs, trying his best to look calm and collected and not the bundle of fear and anxiety that he has been feeling in the last two weeks. 

“I’m trying El,” Colt replies, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Just. You know? I get scared, uneasy when you’re outside.” 

“Mm, so you’ve said a million times in the car,” Ellie laughs as she cuts into her steak. “I’ll be fine Colt. Nothing’s gonna happen.”

“Don’t say that! You’re gonna jinx it El, come on,” Colt scolds as he reaches out to pick up his glass of wine and starts to drink it in the hopes that the alcohol will calm him down.

Ellie chuckles at her husband, reaching out to his hand to give him a reassuring and loving squeeze and he responds immediately with his own squeeze. 

She looks at him teasingly, her lips pulled into a playful grin. “If you’re like this two weeks in, I can’t imagine how you’ll be when I actually start showing.”

“Fuck, I’ll be a mess,” Colt confesses honestly, giving her hand another squeeze. “Just—any discomfort or pain and we go home, okay?” Colt pauses and thinks. “No fuck that, we go straight to the doctor.”

Ellie lets out a burst of laughter but tries her best to tame it so she won’t disturb the other people in the restaurant. “Roger that Mr. Kaneko. Now eat your steak before I eat it for you.”

Colt pauses a little, eyeing her cautiously. “…Should we order another one then?”

“Colt!”

“Fine! Okay! Fuuuuck,” Colt tilts his head back with a groan as he squeezes his eyes shut. “I’m not handling this well am I?”

“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news baby but yeah, you’re kind of a mess,” Ellie chuckles at the weary expression on his face before she gives his hand one last comforting squeeze and goes back to eating her steak. “It’s fine, you get a pass since it’s still two weeks. But if you start to constantly hover over me like this for the next nine months, I’m seriously going to consider knocking you out,” Ellie takes her fork with a teasing grin, pretending to lightly whack his head from a distance. “Factory reset.”

Colt lets out a choked laugh, shaking his head at her as relief starts to flood into him slowly. “Thanks El.”

Ellie hums in acknowledgement before her eyes soften at the sight of her husband. Sure, of course she knows how nervous and anxious he feels—she feels it too—but she doesn’t want it all to be just about nerves and fears. They’re having a baby, a child of their own. And the happiness, love and joy should surpass all of the other pesky negative emotions of being first time parents. 

But she doesn’t tell him that, not now at least. It’s a learning curve for Colt, for her as well, and the best thing about their companionship, their friendship, their marriage and their love is that they’ll learn and get through it together—just as they’ve always done so in the past. 

“Hey look,” Ellie says, nudging her head to somewhere over Colt’s shoulder as she smiles brilliantly at him. “Woman in a red and white dress. Hair in a ponytail. Affair or no?”

Colt raises an eyebrow, continuing to stare straight at Ellie. “Is she with the guy with the green tie?”

“Yeah.”

“Affair.”

Ellie balks, looking at him incredulously. “You didn’t even look!”

Colt smirks, his demeanor finally relaxing. “Don’t need to. I overheard her talking to the valet. Seems like her and her husband are regulars here and the valet asked her where her husband was. She gave some bullshit excuse about a trip to London before she camped out at the bar waiting for green tie guy.”

“I hate playing this game with you,” Ellie grumbles under her breath, crossing her arms in front of her. 

Colt chuckles, nudging her knee playfully under the table. “You hate it because you lose all the time. If you get better at paying attention to your surroundings, then you might actually win.”

Ellie rolls her eyes but a smile tugs at her lips, happy that Colt is finally starting to relax and enjoy their date night. She quickly scans the restaurant again, trying to pick an easier target for her to win, as the rest of the night continues on with their usual laughter and banter. 

#surprise! #we got an academic pause for two days yes yes #so i actually have free time? #so i wanted to celebrate it with everyone with two posts this week! #i hope you enjoy! #this was a fun one to write #choices rod #colt kaneko #colt x ellie #colt x mc #50colt #my writing

[fillingthescrapbook]

On Series Finales, Shenanigans, and Sabotage

In this post, I talk about the end of Superstore and WandaVision, the finale of Call Me Kat, the shenanigans of RuPaul's Drag Race, and what feels like sabotage to Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.

Let's start with the good;

WandaVision delivered a great opening for Marvel's "Phase 4." While it was an amazing exploration of what it means to grieve, the series was also a great essay on what the medium of television means for so many of us who watch: an escape, and a way to process our real-life problems through characters who can have happy endings.

Of course, the show wasn't perfect. While the first half of the series took its time to set the milieu, the characters and their goals, and the tension of things not being what they seem--an impressive juggling act up until the fifth episode--the second half felt a little rushed with no room to let the supporting characters react and breathe. Which, sure, I get that the show called WandaVision would focus on characters named Wanda and Vision, but I felt like they could've given the others more to do?

Like when Wanda was fighting [redacted] and Vision tried to help out, [redacted] was just standing there. Watching. Like, [redacted] had powers too. And they didn't even attempt to do something? Really?

And that's not to mention set-ups for plots that were eventually dropped.

Although, according to interviews, the blame for some of this this falls on the pandemic. In their original timeline, the show would've finished filming and would have been editing the finale before the show premiered. In reality, by the time they started cutting the finale episode, they had already aired four episodes. Which meant they've already planted and aired a few scenes for a certain character to pay off in later episodes. Pay-off that they then decided to cut out because it ultimately felt like filler. Had the pandemic not happened, they might have had time to cut out the foreshadowing from the earlier episodes too.

But even with the faults, and the lack of accountability for certain actions done, WandaVision was ultimately a good show. One that was clearly made with love.

And speaking of shows made with love, let's talk about Superstore and its final act.

I've seen a lot of online feedback that Superstore wasn't as good with Amy gone. I don't agree. Amy (and actress America Ferrera) was the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae--or the sprinkles. She's a great part of a whole, but the product was still great without her. But I have to say: seeing her back in the last two episodes? It made the ending all the more bittersweet.

I will miss this show. I will miss its laughs, its hi-jinx, its resilience...and most of all, its heart. I've said before that if a show could survive without a proper wrap-up it would be Superstore; because it's such a perfect snapshot of real life for many of us. But I'm glad that the people behind the camera, the current show runners Jonathan Green and Gabe Miller, show creator Justin Spitzer, and returning director Ruben Fleischer, came together and gave the shows' fans a bow-tied finale that was full of hope and happiness.

I loved every single thing about the finale except the part that it was the last episode. Because even though I was satisfied with what they gave us? I still wanted more time with the staff of Cloud 9.

Now, let's move on to Call Me Kat.

I was a little iffy about the show when it started. It had some good bits, but it was also peppered with so many not-so-great ones. The pros: Mayim Bialik really made the character her own even in scenes lifted from the show it was based on; Kyla Pratt became a more and more engaging presence as the show went on; episodes that were original to Call Me Kat were both very fun and heartwarming; and it was a show that was unapologetically camp.

As the season went on, I started forgiving the show for things I didn't like (the closing goodbyes, and the imagined Brigitte) and even looked forward to new episodes. But then the season finale happened. And the show brought back one of the things I really didn't like in the first few episodes: the Kat-Max romance.

I do not have a problem with Cheyenne Jackson's acting nor his character. I think Max is great. But only as a friend. Because I just do not see any romantic chemistry between him and Mayim Bialik's Kat. I was happy that the show introduced a new love interest for Kat because I really didn't want her pining for Max the whole series. Sadly, the show switched gears and made Max pine for Kat instead.

It's still not working for me. And I really hate how it came back. Because the first time Max started to see Kat in a different way was when she started dating the new love interest, Oscar. It came off like he was threatened that his back-up plan is now desirable to someone else. And then he doubled down on his "love" for ex-girlfriend Brigitte. Which was initially played earnestly and then became a cover for Max fighting his feelings for Kat. And then the obvious deus-ex-machina in the finale where Kat had no choice but to entertain her crush on Max again.

If Call Me Kat gets a second season--which I hope it does--I hope the show runners realize that Kat and Max don't have to end up together. That they can remain friends and still have that fun dynamic with each other. Because not every friendship need to evolve into romance. (That goes for Kyla Pratt's Randi and Julian Gant's Carter too.)

Now, since we're already on the topic of plot lines being forced into being, let's talk about RuPaul's Drag Race. I started watching this show in its 8th season. It was a reality competition that was fun, funny, colorful, entertaining, and revolves around art. I got hooked. I then watched the two seasons that came after, lost interest in Season 11, and then came back for the twelfth season because of the pandemic and found it a little fun again. And then Season 13 happened. And I can't believe the show I started watching because I enjoyed the laughs became a show I now hate-watch.

I don't know what happened behind the scenes after Season 9, but there is something terribly off with how RuPaul's Drag Race has been produced since then. There's more emphasis on drama that isn't really dealt with properly, there's obvious favoritism, and there's a great disconnect between what the judges are seeing and what is being presented to television viewers. And yet I continue to watch.

Let's just say: I'm hoping either Symone or Rosé wins. But let's be honest: the producers of RuPaul's Drag Race is setting Gottmik up for the win as the first transman to compete. Which I feel is unfair. Because while Gottmik is great, Rosé has more nerve and talent while Symone has the charisma and uniqueness.

And finally: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and the sabotage, self-inflicted and otherwise, that's ringing the death knell for the show.

The first season was lightning in a bottle. While it was by no means perfect, it had so much heart that it didn't matter. We wanted to root for Zoey even when we knew that she couldn't realistically have it all. The core of the show was that Zoey cared. Too much as some characters would say. But because she cared, we cared. In comparison, Season two Zoey feels like a completely different person when her plot line has nothing to do with her father.

I can't help but feel that the show sabotaged itself by splitting the show into two: the one that's about Zoey, and the other one that's about Mo and Max's business venture. Zoey's plot lines, while not all stellar, still felt like it had the DNA of the first season. Mo and Max's feels like a completely different show that's airing simultaneously with Zoey's--with the occasional crossover when Zoey needs to talk with either one of them.

It didn't feel that way when it started though. But episode by episode, the business venture just started to separate more and more. And instead of drawing Mo and Max back to Zoey's show, the writers just kept pushing Zoey to visit their world instead.

The recent episode, where Zoey wanted to recapture the feeling she had when watching a celestial event with her dad, was the first time the show felt anything remotely like the one I watched last year. We see Zoey caring about other people, we see her struggling to balance her own needs with others--and we see her actually trying to process her emotions again. And it just had to happen in the first episode on a new time slot that's barely been promoted.

So after Zoey’s self-sabotaged, now it's their network's turn to sabotage the show by putting it in a time slot with stronger competition--while not bothering to promote the heck out of the move. This feels like the network has already made a decision not to renew the show for a third season, and the episodes left to air are the last ones we're getting. And that Zoey's not gonna get a second chance to go back to the show that it once was.

I can't even feel sad though. Because I feel like I already saw the show I loved last year slowly die right in front of my eyes.

#my thoughts #TV rant #Superstore #WandaVision #Call Me Kat #RuPaul's Drag Race #Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist

[drbibliophile]

Sunday Romance 02-28-21

Prompt: The One that Got Away 

Word Count:  1496 

Tagging:  @sunday-romance @sophiaroe @viawrites-andacts

“Penny for your thoughts?”  

Jessica glanced at her best friend before looking away.  “Not sure they’re worth that much.”  

Moira grinned.  “Now that would be true.”  

“Low blow.”  “I’m just saying.”  

Jessica rolled her eyes, but that was more habit than annoyance.  “Of course you are.”  

She pulled the blanket tighter around her.  The wind had picked up.  Soon they’d have to retreat into the house.  At this moment, though, it was still pleasant enough to be out on the deck, enjoying the view of the beach and ocean.  The occasional call of the seagulls punctuated the rhythm of the waves breaking.  She drew a deep breath. She always loved the beach.  Trust Moira to bring her out here to try and break her out of her funk.  It made missing him a little easier.  

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’re thinking about Christian,” Moira said.  

Jessica shot her a sharp look.  “Thought we agreed to not say his name.”  

“Oh, sorry.”  Her tone implied anything but remorse.  She leaned heavily back on her lounger.  “I meant to say the one that got away.”   

“Moira.”  Jessica growled out her name.  

“Well, what would you call him then?”  

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.  What would she call him?  “I don’t know.”  

“Then the One that Got Away it is.”   Jessica shot her an exasperated look.  “What?”  

“Seriously?”  

“Yes.”  

“Are you really going to keep telling me I’m an idiot?”  

“If the shoe fits..”  

Jessica scowled and pulled the blanket over her head.  “I hate you.”  

“And I love you too, but seriously, J? You were an idiot.”  She growled.  “I couldn’t abandon Nathan and the kids.”  

“He wasn’t asking you to abandon them, just spend time with him.”  

She hugged her legs.  “He was asking me to choose.”  

“He was asking you to make yourself a priority for once.”  She heard Moira sigh.  “We all can and will survive without you running our lives, you know.”  

She frowned.  She peeked out from the blanket.  “I don’t run your lives.”  

“Not for a lack of trying.”  Jessica pulled the blanket off her head.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”  

Moira turned deliberately to her.  “That means, my dear, that you spend far too much time trying to take care of other people and thus neglect yourself in the process.  This is likely your attempt to control an uncontrollable and random universe, but seriously?  Nathan is capable of taking care of his own kids and the kids are definitely old enough to last a few days without you micromanaging them.”  

Jessica drew the blankets back over her head.  “I don’t micromanage.”  

“Yes, you do, and stop trying to argue with me about it.  I’m the one with the psych degree and I’ve known you for forever.”  “I don’t micromanage all the time,” she repeated, hating the pout in her voice.  “And stop rolling your eyes at me.”  

Moira snorted.  “Fine.  I’ll concede that you don’t always micromanage, but you could’ve gone with him.  We’d have done all right.”  

Moira’s words hit harder.  She winced at the bald truth of them.  Saying no to Christian because of her family was just an excuse.  He scared her and not in a bad way.  More in a she could totally lose herself to him way that was so enticing and terrifying all at the same time.  

Jessica closed her eyes.  “Yeah, that’s probably true.”  

“Oh, please.  This self-pity is so very not you, J, so stop, or I’ll be forced to bonk you with a pillow.”  Jessica peeked out of the blanket.  “Of course we’d miss you, you idiot, but letting Nathan and the kids figure out stuff on their own wouldn’t have killed anyone.”  

“Are you sure?”  She pulled the blanket down more.  “We are talking about the twins.”  Moira settled a hard look on her.  “They’ve ended up in the ED even on your watch, so if they’re going to hurt themselves, they’re going to do it.  At least Del knows how to call 911 now.”  

Jessica suppressed a snort of laughter.  “Not sure that pointing out that the nine year-old knows how to activate EMS is a point in your favor.”  

“It shows that she knows what to do if things go south and I will point out that the twins have not been in the ED for over eight months now.”  “Don’t jinx it!”  

“I’m not jinxing anything and you know it so…”  she stopped.  She was looking back towards the road that led to the house.  “Huh.”  

“What?”  Jessica sat up, following Moira’s gaze.  There was a car on the road, coming towards them.  “You expecting company?”  

“Heck no.”  She stood, pulling her blanket closer around her.  “You?”  

“I don’t usually encourage others to come to my pity party so no.”  She untangled herself from the lounger.  “Wonder who it is.”  

Moira shrugged.  They watched the car as it continued down the road.  It was a nondescript car.  Jessica decided it was a rental.  She leaned against her friend as Moira leaned back against her.  They shuffled together along the deck to watch the car approach.  It stopped in the driveway, but no one emerged.  The sunlight glinted off the windshield, making it impossible to know who was driving.  Jessica exchanged a puzzled look with Moira.  Both kept staring at the car.  Who was in there?  Why hadn’t they gotten out?  Anyone who needed them had their phone numbers, so who?  

The door opened and the driver emerged.  Jessica gasped as Moira snorted.  “Guess he wasn’t the one who got away after all.”  She waved.  “Hi, Christian.”  He waved back, but his gaze settled on Jessica.  Moira glanced at them both before smirking.  “Think I need a drink from the kitchen.”  

Jessica reacted too late to keep Moira from disappearing.  She just hugged the blanket tighter around her.  She wanted to say something, anything, but nothing left her throat.  She just stared at him, stunned that he was here.  Why was he here?  He was supposed to be in Spain or some other place, not here.  Her heart beat faster as he approached her.  He still had his sunglasses over his eyes, but she felt them on her.  Her breath caught, still surprised he was here.  What was he doing here?  

He stopped a foot or two from her.  He pushed his sunglasses up onto his head then rested his hands in the back pockets of his faded jeans.  His gaze dropped to the deck.  He rocked back on his heels then the balls of his feet then back again before he looked up.  

“So, I, uh…”  he started.  

She didn’t let him say anything further.  She crossed the space to him, reaching for him.  Miraculously, he reached for her back.  Her mouth found his, hungry, desperate, and wanting.  God, she wanted.  She hadn’t known how much she needed him until he had appeared.  He returned her want with his own, weakening her knees, and dissolving whatever resistance she might have to him.  Tears fell from her eyes.  He was here, kissing her, loving her.  Him.  God, why and would he not stop?  

“Sorry,” she rushed when the kiss became too much.  “Sorry.  I’m so sorry.  I…” 

He quieted her with a kiss.  “Forgiven, Jess.”  He pulled her closer to her, holding her securely against him.  

Her hands held his face then rested on his chest.  Her words flew past her lips.  “I’m such an idiot.  I know.  M kept saying I was and I know I am and I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.  I…”  

“Hey.”  He pressed a finger against her mouth.  “You’re not an idiot.”  

“Yes, I am.”  

“No, you are not.”  He held her gaze with his.  “Don’t let anyone make you think you are.”  

She nodded, her voice robbed by his faith in her.  “OK.”  

“Good”  His fingers caressed over her face, brushing away what tears they could.  “I had a whole speech prepared to try and win you back.”  “You never lost me,” she rushed.  “Never.  I just didn’t know, don’t know how to leave Nate and the kids and you were offering an escape and I wanted to take it and that terrified me because of how much I wanted to go, to run, even though I can’t and…”  She stopped.  “I’m such a mess.”  

He grinned, that heart-stopping, toe-curling grin that made every part of her melt.  “Yes, yes, you are, but I love your mess.”  “You do?”  

The grin widened.  “Yes.  Without a doubt.”  

“How?”  

He chuckled.  “Because it comes with you, and trust me, darling, any mess is worth you.”  

She melted then the familiarity of the line made her straightened.  “Redemption?”  He nodded.  She laughed, her first true laugh in weeks.  “Wait until I tell M that you’re using one of her books on me.”  

He matched her grin.  “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.” 

#sunday romance #sunday love #my writing #jessica and christian #tried the new editor and had to switch back