#i think we'd both be happier that way

[tiny-katara]

And a TON of women, especially queer women (including myself) are super uncomfortable with the concept of Zutara. Maybe, just maybe, people are just interested in different fictional relationship dynamics and none of them are inherintly bad, or could only be enjoyed by straight men. Maybe they're both fine. I get that you're bitter because yours isn't Canon, but like, who cares? Tons of great ships aren't Canon. Why can't zutara shippers just enjoy their ship in peace without needing to somehow justify that it's objectively superior? It isn't.

That's fine. You don't need to like Zutara. I'm an adult. I can accept that. If queer women are uncomfortable with Zutara and not Kata*ng, that's also fine. I personally haven't met any, but I do believe you as everyone has different experiences and lives and opinions. The women I've met in my own life and online experience discomfort when it comes to Kata*ng. It seems we simply surround ourselves with different people.

However, nowhere did I reference Zutara. I love Zutara and it's one of my favorite ships, but I didn't even care about it on my first watch through. No, when I watching through the first time I was extremely uncomfortable Kata*ng and that was my only thought regarding the ships. My anger and frustration with Kata*ng has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I enjoy Zutara. Nowhere did I say that Zutara had no problems, was better, or anything of that nature. Please don't put words in my mouth.

Also there is nothing wrong with straight men enjoying a relationship, but there is a difference between enjoying a relationship and forcing one to be canon bc the hero "needs" to get the girl and having their character act like an incel, something that is a bit of a trend with the brand of straight white men with a tad bit of a "nice guy" complex. That is how I percieve it, and if you don't think I'm right, then that's also fine. We clearly view the world through different lenses.

I hope you can block the tags that upset you, such as the ones I used in my original post, and enjoy your ships in peace.

#anti kataang #zutara #im really sorry for upsetting ppl tbh #i didnt think it would spiral like this #im just trying to express myself #in my own space #feel free to enjoy yourself in your own anon #i think we'd both be happier that way

[wingsofninewheels]

oh man i had no clue the mercury catboy suit was gleam pavilion

i had over 100 tickets saved up and 80 pulls got me two echoes...

#it's so weird to me that this is a peppermint suit. it looks like charmonroe made it. never seen peppermint make a non-pajama #and having peppermint voice lines mixed in is really jarring too #like i get that she's the creator of the character but there's only two reflections i think should have multiple characters voicing them #yuka and jax #and the twins... #it's just weird i guess. the suit is stunning and im lov him #the only way i would be happier is if we'd got *his* suit instead of what came with it #i lowkey mega need his sleeveless vest-shirt. the awakened one preferably but both are gorgeous

[boxingcleverrr]

Popular Hades & Persephone "retellings" are, rightly, getting dunked on all over the socials right now and, as a Pagan who has an altar to the Queen, I could not be happier. But also, I feel like a lot of people miss WHY they're bad - aside from just plain bad writing and lazy tropes. Which are, yeah, also REALLY bad.

Pretty much all retellings try to wave away, or excuse, or twist the whole kidnapping bit. And I actually do have sympathy and understanding for why, when speaking from a modern perspective.

But honestly...you gotta get over it. There are other stories to play fix-it with, not this one.

The Abduction is The Thing.

Were I a little more sober I could bring up chapter and verse of the Hymn to Demeter but frankly, if you know even the middle school mythology curriculum version of the story, you SHOULD know the themes. The story of Persephone was one mothers and daughters in the ancient world held dear, because it was a reality: you will, one day, be swept away from your home to go cleave to a man you most likely know nothing about. You will miss your mother, but chances are very good that he will be a good husband, once you get to know him, certainly better than Zeus or Ares, and he will make you a queen of his home.

Leaving home to marry was often scary, and violent (look up the history of the tradition of Bridesmaids, if you don't already know it - they were originally decoys on the marriage road). Centuries later we'd have tales like Beauty & The Beast serving the same function: comfort, hope, you are leaving your safe loving home to figure life out with a (often older, powerful) stranger. Your trauma over this sudden ending of your childhood made manifest in a Beast, or a God of The Underworld.

It's wonderful that we don't NEED stories like this anymore to comfort us (here, at least, in this culture). But if you try to force them into modern vernacular it just will not work, not really, because you're gutting out the whole point just to have a more tidy romantic male hero.

I have read MANY very good ...novelizations? fanfic(? however you would frame them, but they're certainly not "retellings"), etc. that simply take advantage of the blank spaces in the myth, and there are many!

It's not explicit that sexual assault happens - "The Rape of Persephone" as a title was coined in much earlier eras, when the word was just as often used to simply refer to abduction.

"She was starving!" the gods didn't need to eat. So it's easy to read her eating the Pom seeds as a deliberate choice on her part. Like, shit, people, scholars have written whole papers on the symbolism of this moment, between marriage rites and even yeah, Seph choosing both worlds with her husband's knowing consent.

And that, I think, is the real heart of the thing. People want an utterly mundane, spelled-out story here, as opposed to what it really is, has always been, just like any other myth or religious parable: IT'S A METAPHOOOOOOR.

They don't need to be destined, or meet at a goddamned BALL and then CONSPIRE to fake her kidnapping, or shit, I once saw one where Hades got MIND CONTROLLED by Zeus?! Jesus.

Persephone was yoinked into the Underworld against her will.

That's how it went.

I don't mean this in a "stay out of my belief system!" way, shit I'm a white American chick with delusions of witchery. I mean this in a "stop stressing yourself out trying to make things palatable" way:

This is a very real, very precious myth to many people, BECAUSE for at least that one event, Persephone had no autonomy, BECAUSE for thousands of years most women had no autonomy. Erasing that, sanitizing the fact that a girl is ripped out of the spring, from her mother's arms, is erasing the thing that gave comfort to women for centuries. And people can and should still find power and healing in it now!

Fill in the blanks the story leaves in whatever manner seems fit to you, there's plenty of room, but. Come the fuck on.

#blathering #truly had a ramble bubbling for weeks #just pagan things

[captainsophiestark]

Unexpected Guest

Dick Grayson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: DC

Summary: Dating a vigilante sometimes leads to a few false alarm scares, but Dick Grayson couldn't be happier with how well his partner rolls with his crazy family.

Word Count: 1,410

Category: Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

Crash!

My eyes shot open at the sound of a noise from the living room of the apartment I shared with my boyfriend, Dick Grayson. The man in question still snored peacefully next to me, annoyingly, but a quick glance at the clock told me why. It wasn't quite 5am, and Dick had been out patrolling until one in the morning. I listened carefully for any other noises in the apartment. I didn't want to wake my poor boyfriend up unless I absolutely had to.

After a few minutes of nothing, I heard another crash followed by a tense voice and what sounded like hushed swearing. This time, I didn't hesitate to roll over and whack Dick on the chest, hard.

His eyes shot open and he was half sitting up when I managed to throw a hand over his mouth to keep him from giving away that we were awake. My wide eyes must've tipped him off to something being wrong, because I immediately saw him shift from sleepy to ready for action.

Slowly, I dropped my hand from his mouth and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"There's someone in our living room. I heard two crashes and someone swearing."

Dick nodded once, then motioned with his hands while mouthing 'stay here'. He hopped off the bed, grabbing his escrima sticks from where he'd thrown them onto the dresser, then stalked towards the door with catlike grace and stealth. After a minute, I decided I couldn't just let him go alone, superhero or no, so I grabbed the bat I kept by my side of the bed and followed after him.

Dick popped out the door, and after a moment without hearing anything, I followed, bat at the ready. I found my boyfriend with one hand on his hip, weapons down, staring into the kitchen. I followed his gaze to find none other than Jason Todd in our kitchen, a mixing bowl and some eggs in front of him and a look with a significant lack of guilt on his face.

"What? I was after somebody and it dragged me all the way to Bludhaven. I needed a place to crash that was closer than Gotham."

Dick and I both shook our heads. As the oldest of a very high number of siblings, his apartment had become a second home base for every single other batkid. When we'd finally moved in together last month, he'd warned me I needed to be prepared for things like this.

"Glad you know to help yourself, Little Wing," said Dick with a sigh, waving one tired hand to Jason before turning and heading back to bed. I squeezed his shoulder and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as he passed me, then headed into the kitchen with a smile.

"My tax for you making me think I'd have to fight off an assailant with a bat at five in the morning is my own serving of whatever you're making," I said, taking a seat on one of the kitchen island stools. Jason raised an eyebrow at me.

"You're not going back to bed?"

"Nah. Unlike Dick, I got to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour last night, so the adrenaline dump isn't threatening to put me to sleep. I'd rather hang out with you, especially since you're a better cook than Dick and I combined. I'm not missing out on that."

Jason snorted, cracking an egg and resuming his cooking all the same.

"Dick contributes nothing to your combined cooking score," he said. "I'm pretty sure he's burned cereal before."

I laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're right. He's gotten better though. We watch the Food Network and look up recipes to make together, and I can trust him with way more than I used to be able to."

"If you could teach him anything it'd be a miracle," said Jason with a snort. I just hummed, trying to pick up some new skills of my own as I watched Jason cook.

"To be totally fair to him, I once forgot what I was doing and strained soup because I was on autopilot for pasta."

Jason barked a laugh, unable to hold himself back, and looked at me with a grin and a raised eyebrow.

"Really?" I nodded. "That's pathetic."

I just shrugged. "Yeah. But at least there's not a lot of places to go but up, after that."

"I guess so."

Jason and I chatted as he cooked and I watched, keeping our voices low so Dick could sleep—although, after the night he'd had, he'd probably sleep through a train in our living room. After breakfast, Jason decided to go down for a nap on the couch, passing out almost as soon as we'd put the last few dishes in the sink. I just smiled, threw a blanket over him, and wandered back into the bedroom to find Dick.

It was late enough in the morning now that my boyfriend was officially up and about, stretching by the bed with his hair still a little messed up from sleeping. I grinned and flopped down against the headboard as he crossed the room to the dresser to pull out clothes.

"How's Jaybird?" he asked. "Still a good cook?"

"Still a great cook. And he's good. He seems a little wiped out from patrols and stuff, though. He's taking a nap on the couch right now."

Dick smiled and shook his head. "I get up and he goes to sleep. Typical."

"Clearly he's avoiding you."

"Clearly."

Dick and I shared a smile, and then he sighed.

"I'm going to take a shower. Hopefully Jason will be up by the time I'm out, because I actually have things to do today."

I smiled, shifting on the bed to pull the covers over myself. "I'm sure you can be quiet if he's not. Wake me up when you're out of the shower, okay? A post-breakfast nap sounds too good to resist right now."

My boyfriend laughed. "Alright, will do. I'll wake you and Jason up when I'm out."

"Mhm. Good luck with him."

"Thanks, I'm gonna need it."

I closed my eyes, getting comfortable and ready for my nap, but before I drifted off I heard Dick's shuffling footsteps crossing the room to stand by my side of the bed. A second later, he sat down next to me, the bed dipping under his weight. I cracked an eye open to squint at him.

"What do you want?"

He grinned at me and chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to interfere with your nap. I just... I wanted to say how much I appreciate you, and how good you are with my family. They mean the world to me, but I know having vigilantes dropping in at all hours of the day and night can be a little much to deal with. So thank you for being so wonderful about it, and about them."

I sighed, sitting all the way up and propping myself up on my hands to look Dick in the eye.

"Dick, I love you. And I love your family. Sure, it took a little getting used to some of the vigilante stuff, but the longer I know them the more I love them. You don't have to thank me for anything. They're my family too."

Dick absolutely beamed at me, wrapping one arm around my back and pulling me in for a kiss. I immediately reciprocated, tangling one hand in the hair at the nape of his neck. I smiled into the kiss and a moment later, Dick deepened it. We were right on the edge of escalating into something more, but both thought better of it at the last moment.

"I should take a shower," he said, still looking a little reluctant as he pulled away.

"Yeah, and you should stop interrupting my nap."

Dick snorted, rolling his eyes as he finally stood and headed for the bathroom. I grinned after him as he went, flopping back down onto my pillow only as Dick closed the bathroom door.

I took a deep breath and sighed, a smile on my face, as I closed my eyes for the second time. I heard the water start in the bathroom, and a faint smell of breakfast still hung in the air. I was surrounded by people I loved dearly, and who loved me right back. No matter the scare Jason had given me when he'd shown up, I couldn't ask for a better start to my morning than this.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

DC Taglist: @luv-ghostie

#sophie's year of fic #dc #dick gryason #dick grayson x reader #nightwing #dc x reader #batfam #dick grayson oneshot #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson fanfiction #dc fanfiction #dc imagine #dc oneshot #nightwing x reader #nightwing fanfiction #jason todd #red hood #bludhaven #the wayne family #batfam x reader

[lowkeyerror]

Comfort

Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Word Count: 1.3k

Notes: High school Au, fluff, comfort, 1st person

Summary: Reader is dragged along to a sleepover at the Maximoff's house. However when she gets there Wanda isn't her usual happy-go-lucky self. She seeks comfort in the reader, which is a shock to the entire group.

Masterlist | Pt2 | Pt3

" Y/n?"

I pulled my gaze away from my phone only to be met with my whole friend group staring at me.

" Hm," I gave them my attention.

" Sleepover at the Maximoff's, you're going," Natasha told me rather than asking.

" What if I had plans?"

Tony laughed," We are the only people you interact with."

Tony's words cause me to roll my eyes," By choice, Richie Rich."

I didn't have a problem staying at the Maximoff household. In fact, they had the second-nicest house in the group (only second to Tony). I just had to keep my mean streak alive.

" So we'll see you there?" Wanda asked enthusiastically.

She was my polar opposite in the group. While she was the popular, bubbly, cheerleader; I was the sarcastic, yet quiet, pessimistic one of the group. She was the yin to my yang in a way.

Before I could answer, Natasha stepped in again," I'll pick her up at 6."

Wanda was still waiting for my own confirmation. I nodded and let out a heavy sigh," I mean, it doesn't sound like I have much of a choice."

A smile presented itself over her features," Good, it's not the same without you."

I looked away from the group to hide the light blush on my face from Wanda's kind words.

" Yes, because Y/n has so much budding personality," Clint chimed in.

" Clint, all of your personality comes from Laura, maybe we should invite her instead?"

Bruce broke out in laughter," You poked the bear and got the claws, my friend."

" So what time? What should I bring? Will there be adult supervision or?"

I tuned out the conversation as Steve began to ramble. My eyes unintentionally shifted over to Wanda. She was beautiful, way out of my league. Even just for friendship.

I had a crush on her for about as long as I could remember. No one knew about it, thankfully. I'm sure Natasha had her suspicions, but she never brought it up. Besides, Wanda had a boyfriend, his name was Jarvis, but everyone called him Vision. Football players and their weird nicknames, right.

He made her happier than she already was, which made him alright in my book.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the free period. I reluctantly let Steve drag me to put the next class together. He was still talking a mile a minute, trying to figure out what he was bringing to the Maximoff's.

When school was over, I went home and threw some clothes in a bag. Natasha ended up coming by early, and we hung out for a bit.

" So, I saw you blushing early today."

" I don't know what you're talking about," I brushed her off easily.

Natasha smirked," You know I've had my suspicions, but I think that I've found concrete evidence."

" Evidence of what exactly?"

Her eyes twinkled with mischief as they met mine," You like Wanda."

" Of course I do. In the same way, I like you or Steve or any of our friends."

Natasha shakes her head," You know that's not what I meant."

Before she could go any further, both of our phones went off. It was a message to the group chat, but without Wanda.

Pietro had texted an S.O.S for everyone to come early. He didn't explain himself, which made me worry.

Natasha and I left as soon as we got the text. The red head was speeding, but I didn't care. I just wanted to know what was going on. The faster we got there, the sooner we'd know.

It seemed like we were the last to arrive, as our friends' cars were parked in the driveway.

When we finally entered the house, the men were on edge. They looked relieved to see us walk in the door.

" What's going on?" Natasha spoke first.

They all moved out of the way so that Wanda was in our view. She was not the happy ball of sunshine that she usually was. She was curled up in a ball on the couch, in a hoodie that engulfed her. I could hardly see her face.

Pietro spoke softly, but his eyes burned fiercely," Jarvis broke up with her. Over text."

I could feel my jaw clench involuntarily. Natasha sprang into action and went over to comfort the girl. Wanda looked up at Natasha, but wasn't engaging with her.

The broken-hearted girl got up from the couch. She began walking in the direction of the boys and I. I watched her curiously and felt surprise overtake me as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

My eyes shot up to look at my friends. This was new. I had no idea what to do. They looked just as wide-eyed and confused as me. Natasha was the one to signal that I hug her back.

So my arms awkwardly engulfed the girl. My hold on her was loose, but I was combatting a shock of my own.

'Take her to her room' Pietro mouthed to me and I nodded.

" Wanda, let's go to your room."

I didn't get a response from the girl. Instead, she surprised me again by wrapping her legs around my waist. I was quick to support her so that she wouldn't fall.

I looked at my friends again, but they all shooed me up the stairs. I was careful as I walked with Wanda in my arms. When we got to her room, she unattached herself from me.

I had planned on standing there awkwardly, but Wanda had a different idea. She led me to her bed and lightly pushed me until I was lying down. She climbed on top of me.

I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. Her head rested closer to my shoulder. My hand found its way into her hair. I dragged my fingers through it, more to calm myself than her.

" Wands," my voice came out as a whisper.

" I don't want to talk about it," her voice was hoarse from crying.

I chuckled a little bit," Is that why you picked me?"

She lifted her head so that her eyes pierced through mine," I picked you, because you give me the most comfort."

A blush spread across my face, I couldn't necessarily hide it with Wanda on top of me. I saw a small smile take over her features as she noticed my newly pigmented face.

" I don't think I know how to comfort anyone," I tried to avoid her gaze.

She laughs lightly," I don't think you give yourself enough credit, Y/n."

" I honestly feel like you're giving me too much."

Wanda moved to my side, I turned to face her. She began to lightly draw patterns on my hand.

" I remember the way you ran onto the field when Piet got injured during the soccer game. You were down there before the medics. You were mad that they didn't let you ride in the ambulance."

" I was scared. I'm scared now, but this is different."

" How is it different?"

I wasn't looking at her but at the ceiling,"I felt like being there was enough for him, but it doesn't seem like enough for you. I feel like I'm supposed to say something to make you feel better, but I don't know what to say."

She briefly stopped tracing patterns on my hand to hold it. My gaze dropped to her eyes," Being here is enough. You are enough, Y/n."

" You have to stop being so nice to me," my free hand went to cover my face.

This caused Wanda to let out a real laugh," I like seeing you blush, it's cute."

This only caused me to turn a deeper shade of red. " Are you ready to go back downstairs?"

" If you promise to stick by my side."

I got out of the bed and extended my hand towards her," As long as you'll have me."

She took my hand and we went downstairs together. She didn't leave my side the whole night. I don't think my friends had seen me smile so much.

I knew that she was heartbroken, but the thought that I brought her comfort made me ecstatic. I knew that I liked her, but having her this close made me realize something. I was completely in love with Wanda Maximoff.

#lowkeyerror #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff imagine #natasha romanoff #tony stark #bruce banner #clint barton #steve rogers #pietro maximoff

[edgarbright]

I've been trying to write a quick summary of Ellis's story event route, but I'm having trouble not just quoting everything because I honestly love this entire story so much?? Like love is in the details and the little details are so perfect in inching the reader closer and closer to the heart of things! (And the heart of this beats a beautiful red!) Ellis is kind and wonderful and earnest in his unique cursed way, his MC is intelligent and thoughtful and shows him proper kindness in turn, and I want more of them, please and thank you!

Wrapped in Wicked Romance Story Event: Ellis

The quick summary without spoilers:

MC reveals Victor tasked her with a fake dating mission with a Crown member and Ellis asks--not offers, but asks!--that she pick him. And he owns it to the point you'd think it was his idea! He makes sure that MC is safe and comfortable (here is a wheelchair he made since she hurt her ankle) and that they do something MC would enjoy (a picnic for the girl who loves delicious food). He's kind and thoughtful and seems very interested in her happiness--to the point his earnestness becomes a little alarming... as though his arms, should they wrap around her, might ensnare her like ivy should she give in... But she's a smart girl and Ellis wouldn't do anything to make her unhappy, right? (Right!)

Please read his route! My summary can't compete with the real thing and his route has no content warnings because he's a good boy who just has a few harmless little red flags (for now)!

The extended summary with spoilers:

Victor gives MC the task with fake dating a Crown member for the day. Before she can even begin to pick someone, she sprains her ankle while dodging a carriage in town. Limping back to the castle, she comes upon Ellis. He is very kind and gentle as he helps her home, bandages her foot since Roger is away, and asks her about what happened. When he hears about Victor's task, he asks that MC pick him. She agrees with some hesitation, but Ellis has been quite gentle towards her even if this is the same guy who suggested they kill her in the prologue. In order to plan the date, he asks her about herself, and he suggests a picnic date since she likes delicious food.

Fake dating, go! Since wheelchairs are rare, he makes MC one over night so she won't have to hurt herself walking on their date. They proceed into town to purchase food for their picnic. There, it's revealed he's quite friendly with and well acquainted with much of the townsfolk, all of whom he makes happy with his history of acts of service, remembering things they need, and just generally being "a good boy" (their words, not mine!) MC is also awed by all the new shops he shows her that she herself didn't know about despite having lived there.

MC straight-up confesses her heart feels warmer when Ellis catches her smiling at him for seemingly no reason. You and me both, MC!!

Loaded up with their purchases and gifts from appreciative shop-owners, they have their picnic in a flowery meadow.

The conversation which next occurs between Ellis and MC is the bread and butter (pun intended) of everything. Please read it and enjoy it! The crucial part of Ellis's entire motivation in everything he does, however, is probably thus:

Ellis: "Have you ever felt so happy you wished that time would stop?" Ellis: "You feel like a certain moment is perfect and complete, so much so that you don't even need the future. Like that moment's enough."

Their conversation is simultaneously incredibly wholesome as well as setting off some warning bells. MC thinks some of Ellis's sweetest lines are him just pretending to be her lover, so she returns his kindness with kindness of her own. The back-and-forth is effective! Such as when he asks to become her boyfriend for real, because wouldn't a real boyfriend make her even happier than a fake one?

He spoke as if we'd had some sort of unrequited love that had gone on for years. And even though it was clearly a lie, his twilight-colored eyes were tinged with a strange heat, as if he were telling the truth. Something feels strange… His arms were placed on either side of my face, creating an illusion that felt like he was trapping me in a cage. It felt if I said yes, I would be trapped there forever.

He smiled calmly at me, but… the disturbing illusion I'd just felt wrapped around my body like ivy.

But the picnic actually finishes up pleasantly with casual conversation despite the odd middle. On their way home, they are accosted by some bad guys and MC gets to see Ellis in action. She also gets a reality check on the dangers of her getting involved Crown, how she can become a target now, and how differently Ellis treats the life and death of other people who are not MC.

Since the bad guys were targeting MC, Ellis asks what he should do with them: should he kill them or let them go? "Either way is fine," he says.

His calm demeanor reminded me of when he said "Shall we kill her?" that night. He'd spoiled me with his kindness so much today that I almost forgot about it. There was a sense of unease around him, like darkness threatening to swallow a pool of sunlight. MC: "What do you want to do, Ellis?" Ellis: "They tried to hurt you. They're our enemies. I think it would be better to kill them. But I don't want to make you said, either." He talked about people's lives and deaths as if he were choosing which jam to put on his bread. (Although he could be a pit pushy at times, he's also kind, considerate, and puts people's happiness first. No… He's asking me because he put my happiness first.) I just didn't know that having someone killed could be a way to make someone happy.

MC says she doesn't want Ellis to kill them, that it wouldn't be right to kill them, and also that, "I don't want you to get your hands dirty."

I didn't want him to have his hands stained with blood for the sake of my happiness.

…This route knows I'm an Edgar girly LOL

Ellis returns MC to her room, where he tends to her injured ankle again... and where he asks if he can kiss her... and where he tells her she can just push him away if she wants...

(Because he only cares about her happiness...)

Right! OK! This route has delightful scenes where Ellis is so incredibly earnest in his requests to become MC's real boyfriend, to continue fake dating tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that, to kiss her (as real couples do)... But MC senses something strange is going on even if she can't figure out what it is, because she doesn't know Ellis all that well. It's a wonderful introduction to him and certainly left me wanting more!

In the epilogue, after a perfectly spicy kiss scene, we later see MC going down to breakfast where she comes upon Jude reading the newspaper.

MC, despite being quite astute when talking to Ellis, is sloppy when she asks Jude the rather sensitive, or at least personal, question on what the promise is between Ellis and Jude that makes Ellis continue to work for him. MC quickly apologizes over her insensitivity but that doesn't save her from Jude's sneer. Instead of responding to any of that, however, he instead asks her question with another question--

Jude: "Did he ask ya how happy ya were yesterday?"

MC recalls the picnic.

MC: "Yes, he asked me that. What about it?" Jude, no longer sneering: "Figured. Good thing ya made it home alive." MC: "What's that supposed to mean?"

But Jude proceeds to ignore her and Ellis arrives shortly thereafter with some delicious breakfast (he remembered what MC said she wanted from their picnic discussion!)

And Ellis proceeds to ask her how happy she is. MC replies blissfully that she's the happiest she's been all week.

It touched my heart and nagged at me. But the butter and cranberry jam quickly made me forget all about it, melting away into sweetness.

That Ellis's MC is basically Ikerev's Alice in a new dress makes me feel rather exposed lol But also makes me feel right at home, in a way.

#my ikevil #ellis twilight #wrapped in wicked romance story event #ikevil spoilers #ikemen villains

[burst-of-iridescent]

atla live action thoughts: episode 6

SPOILERS AHEAD

tw: opinions

things i liked:

love the moment where roku tells aang friends can be a liability and you can see in his face that he's thinking of sozin

koh lore is interesting. funnily enough i've also written koh being the son of the mother of faces in a fic before so i see netflix has been hitting up ao3

(for legal reasons, that was a joke)

i like zhao forcing zuko to turn aang over more than him capturing aang with the yuyan archers himself like in the original. this 100% feels like something animated zhao would do and it really drives home how much of a disadvantage zuko's at. this is the dynamic i wanted to see between the two of them

lmao @ zhao wanting to get every detail of his capture of the avatar in writing, and aang blowing air at him to send him falling over himself. they pulled that right from the original and it's great

BLUE SPIRIT TIME BABY

this fight (well the parts of it that i can see) is SO GOOD. pretty sure it's almost a shot for shot remake of the original and zuko and aang are working together seamlessly

oh i fucking LOVE that zuko and aang are trapped together and get to talk. zuko smiling despite himself... aang trying so earnestly to get through to him... the way zuko actually seems to be listening to him before he hears the word compassion... chef's kiss this was an INSPIRED change

"do you think we could've been friends too?"

the transitions from younger, happier zuko to older, traumatized zuko are fucking painful. the one where he looks into the mirror to see his unscarred, smiling self for just a moment before it flashes to his present reality... next time just shoot me netflix

"he will recover" "but he will never heal"

young zuko lying in bed sobbing as he's banished by his own father what if i killed myself

HIS CREW BEING THE 41st DIVISION HE LOST EVERYTHING TO PROTECT whichever writer suggested that needs a raise posthaste

"our prince" who is cutting all of these fucking onions

things i disliked/am conflicted about:

this is where the show suffers as an adaptation, because if the animation didn't exist, the agni kai would've been fine. zuko trying to dodge, having the chance to hurt ozai yet actively choosing not to out of love, being beaten up, pinned down and brutally burned as he whimpers in fear - all of that works on its own. it conveys zuko's compassion and ozai's brutality just fine, but not to the level that the cartoon does. the scene is brutal in both versions but animated zuko not even trying to fight, sobbing and begging on his knees, and being maimed anyway just hits harder than the netflix version

not sure if i saw it right but it seemed as though there were tears in ozai and azula's eyes??? i can maybe see it for this version of azula but in no world would ozai be crying over burning zuko. it feels like they're trying to make this version of ozai more complex but he was FINE as a classic villain

that being said, i do like ozai holding zuko's hand to his heart as he burns him. the symbolism of zuko trying to reach for his father's love while ozai permanently brands his cruelty on his son... ate

i don't even like roku in the animation all that much but his presence has been weirdly reduced in the show, even though he's the avatar aang is closest to. aang having to take on the burden of redeeming roku's failure is a significant part of their dynamic and i want more of that

hollywood i'm begging you to shoot night scenes that people can see because parts of the blue spirit and aang fight sequence were so dark i looked like the squinting lady meme

i really wish we'd still gotten the moment in the storm where zuko saved the helmsman. i know they kinda replaced it with the crew realizing they were only alive because of zuko's sacrifice, but they could've done both to show how much zuko still cares, even if he can't show it

how are we 3/4th of the way into the season and aang is STILL ONLY BENDING AIR

overall rating: 9/10. definitely the best of the series so far and i love how they expanded on zuko's backstory and his relationship to aang

#atla live action

[astridhoff03]

The little sibling:

@simon-white-blog

The contiontion to the First Hiccstrid married Couple Story i did.

The freshly fallen snow shimmers silvery in the light of the full moon on New Berk. Zephyr and Nuffink take advantage of this opportunity to have a snowball fight. The two children scream happily in their wild chase around their parents' house. Hiccup was throwing some logs into the fire when his wife stepped out the door, a white fur coat wrapped around her shoulders. In her hands she held a tray with sandwiches and a single salad plate filled mainly with cucumbers. His eyes slid over her beautiful appearance, the long blonde hair that fell in soft waves over her shoulders like a golden veil. Her unfathomable ocean blue eyes glowing in the glow of the flames. Right down to the little bulge in her stomach where a little baby was growing inside her. Smiling, he stood up and took the tray from his wife's hands. “May I?” Astrid rolled her eyes with a smile. "Hiccup, I'm not seriously ill, I‘m just pregnant." In response, he just gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before placing the tray on a small wooden table in front of the fireplace. “I know, Astrid. But still."The two sat down by the fire and then watched their children playing happily in the snow. "Ready to tell them the news?" Astrid nodded, then called out, "Zephyr! Nuffink! Please, both of you, come here!” The siblings immediately came running and quickly climbed onto the bench next to their parents, where they immediately cuddled up to the two of them. Astrid lovingly ran her fingers through her little daughter's hair, and Zephyr giggled under the touch of her mother's gentle fingers. "We'd like to tell you something," Astrid began, giving Hiccup a quick smile as he sat Nuffink on his lap. “And it is very important to us that you listen carefully,” he continued. The two children nodded in joyful anticipation. Hiccup placed his hand on his wife's thigh and looked at her invitingly. Astrid ran her hand over her stomach. “So dear ones, you will soon have a little sibling,” she announced. Zephyr and Nuffink exchanged a quick look. Astrid bit her bottom lip, a quick glance with her husband was enough to see that he was thinking the same thing. Had her children taken it the wrong way? Did they think they would love them less now? But Hiccup and Astrid could hardly think any further when their two children happily jumped up and hugged them. “This is the best Snoggeltog present ever,” Zephyr exclaimed, wrapping her arms over her mother’s stomach. "And don't worry mommy, I'll take good care of you and the baby," Nuffink announced proudly, fiddling clumsily with his toy sword. Hiccup stroked his son's shaggy hair. “And I will take good care of you all. A Chief protects his family.”His gaze slid from his pregnant wife to his two children, who were carefully stroking their mother's stomach. At this moment he couldn't be happier. A smile appeared on his face. “Then let’s eat to celebrate the day.” Astrid and the children didn’t need to be told twice.

After dinner the children decided to build a Dragon out of snow. Astrid was leaning on her husband's shoulder and watching her children. Hiccup's hand slowly stroked her shoulder. Lost in thought, he watched as it started to snow again. Small white flakes trickled down in the glow of the northern lights and glittered in the glow of the colorful natural spectacle. Astrid noticed his look and stroked his chest so that his eyes fell on her again. “Is everything okay?” He sighed heavily. “No, it’s not Astrid. I'm looking forward to the baby but...I'm scared...for you and the baby." "You're afraid it'll be like when Nuffink was born?" He nodded. “I almost lost you back then. I don’t want to lose you this time.” He took both of her hands in his. "Astrid, I can't imagine a world without you." She ran her hand over his cheek. “I can’t imagine a world without you either. But I promise you, everything will be okay. You will not lose me. Never!” With these words, Hiccup wrapped his arms around his wife’s body and hugged her tightly and then gave her a kiss on her temple. “I love you, Astrid. I love you."

(Lil side note: there Will be another contiontions of this Story)

#haddock family #haddock family fluff #astrid haddock #hiccup horrendous haddock iii #nuffink haddock #zephyr haddock #httyd fanfiction #soft hiccstrid #hiccstrid forever #hiccstrid babies #hiccstrid week #hiccstrid deeply in love #hiccstrid #hiccstridweek2024

[songbird-sunrise]

OOC: In light of Thes and Fiona announcing casinoroyale's hiatus, I just wanna take a moment and thank them both for helping us create this wonderful story. I've never met people more dedicated, caring, and talented. Some more rambling under the cut

To give you all a peek behind the curtain, without casinoroyale, I think we would've abandoned this blog. Given our circumstances, it was near impossible to find an opportunity to really give it our all in terms of writing. We didn't have a partner to bounce off of, and there was a brief time where I considered deactivating. But, in a sort of desperate decision, I asked Thes to be our Quackity, and thus kicked off a long, winding story that takes us to today

I never thought that bedrock!tnt would get this far. We didn't even think they'd be ROMANTIC at first. We were just having fun, seeing where it all took us, and I couldn't be happier with where we ended up. It's overwhelming how much people latched on to this silly thing we were doing together

To the people that read along, liveblogged threads, made art, etc.: thank you. You guys made this better than we could've ever imagined

And we'd like to thank Thes/Fiona for sticking along for this ride as long as they have. We couldn't have done any of this without them. You should follow them at @cquackity, by the way. They just posted a really good exile fic, and there's gonna be more amazing writing on the way. They're astonishingly cool, and awesome, and talented, and...yeah. Don't tell 'em I said that lol

As for us? I'm not sure. Maybe we'll keep posting on here occasionally, but. You know. A lot of the admins have been taking steps back, so I can't forsee us doing much. But, I can forsee some collaborative writing with Thes/Fiona in the future ;3. Don't count bedrock!tnt as over just yet. We did still have a lot of plans, after all

I think that's everything we wanted to say. Just...thank you all, again. The past two years of my life have been...a lot, for sure, but this all has been one of the highlights without a doubt <3

#ooc

[chaotic-archaeologist]

I feel a little silly asking for advice about this, but how do you deal with not doing a hard science? I do literature studies and meta-studies and I like the heritage side of archaeology too, but I've internalized the idea of non-STEM not being science so much that I feel like a fraud, who is not actually doing an academic thing and I hate that I can't be proud of my work and accomplishments, but I also don't know how to fully let go of it. Any tips?

Listen, I don't think this is a silly question at all! And my advice for you more or less boils down to:

You gotta stop caring about what other people think.

That's it. There's no winning this rat race. We live in a society which has (over) prioritized what it defines as "hard sciences" and it sucks. I could write a whole essay on why it sucks—and plenty of people both more educated and eloquent than I already have.

Give yourself the freedom to stop comparing yourself to other disciplines. Find the joy in what you do, and pay attention to that. Celebrate the ways in which your discipline is changing the world, even in the smallest of ways. That stuff matters!

Humanity needs experts of every shape, size, and kind—we'd be in a world of trouble if people only ever became physicists or chemists biologists. Thank goodness some of us grow up to be art historians or sociologists or music theorists or any one of the thousands of jobs that aren't an academic field but are nonetheless incredibly important!

Because, also—c'mere, lemme whisper something in your ear: academia and "academics" are kind of bullshit. It's a made up system based on made up constructs that has been given made up meaning and yet manages to manifest itself in very real ways. What is a real academic anyway? Ask a hundred different people and you'll get a hundred different answers.

Sure, your brand of academia (and mine) might not involve a particle accelerator or a dissection lab or a genome sequencer, but that's fine because it's all made up anyways! And just like players on team sports, our positions all look different because we're performing different functions.

Let your own preoccupation with the hard sciences go. Focus on your own work and passions. I think it'll make your life a lot happier.

-Reid

#he speaks #academic advice #life advice #internet brother

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

was ita for ghosting/cutting off my ex girlfriend after our junior year?

i (currently 17, trans M) knew this girl (currently 17(?), F) from around 7th grade [middle school] to 11th grade [junior year of high school], so five school years/ten ish years total, give or take. we just graduated this year so this is kind of old drama, i was happier not talking to her but i always kind of regretted not giving her like. the reasons why

we dated from i wanna say. the middle of 7th grade to the middle of our freshman year. she broke up with me because her other boyfriend at the time was jealous she was dating another person [both of us are polyamorous]. we stayed in contact but i got a bit distant during lockdown because my mental health was going down the drain fast and i was just kind of isolating myself from Everyone, but got back into regular contact at the beginning of junior year because of our schools dungeons & dragons club.

she was running basically a continuation of the campaign that had been cut short because of lockdown and i didnt know any of the other campaigns DMs so i decided to join her campaign again since i had been missing my character anyways. at this point id been out for about three years i think? and made a point of introducing myself to the group with my chosen name and he/him pronouns. i dont pass very well, but i usually had a trans pride flag and pronoun pin visible on my outfit whenever we had sessions. my character was also a trans man, only using he/him pronouns as well.

whenever she addressed me or my character, she defaulted to using she/her and my deadname, despite my constant correcting her and the other party members. the only people in the party that used both the right name and pronouns for me and my character were the only other trans person (currently 18, F) in the group who she also constantly misgendered, and a guy (currently 18, M) id become pretty close friends with, since we'd accidentally started a running joke about my character being his characters dad.

i started to kind of resent her and the other party members for the constant deadnaming and misgendering and honestly was just waiting for the campaign to be over. it wrapped up at the end of the year and i just took the opportunity to stop interacting with her entirely. i had made other friends that year, and had a few from the old friendgroup we had both been part of, that respected both my name and pronouns with no issues apart from the very rare accidental deadname.

senior year passed without me talking to her a single time, only really seeing her in the halls like. once a week. now that we've graduated i doubt i'll see her all that much except the way you sometimes see a kid from school at the grocery store or the mall or wherever, so theres not really anything i can do to get back in contact or make amends or whatever, and even if i could i dont think id really want to unless she showed she could handle actually using the right name and pronouns for me.

shes shown she can use them for a mutual friend of ours (currently 18, trans M) that passes really well so it just always made me feel like she didnt give enough of a shit about me or respect me enough to actually see me as the man i am. so. idk. was ita?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[yandere-wishes]

With who would you ship yourself in MHA? 👀

@yandere-romanticaa

Omg, it's been a hot minute since I dabbled in MHA… But let me crack open the vault real quick.

So first off, and this should be obvious…

Dabi! The reason I started the show in the first place!! This boy's Frankenstein aesthetic had me swooning from the moment I saw a GIF of him!! And unconventional colored flames that probably symbolize a deep-seated trauma!! YES!! I honestly think we would make a good couple, kinda like Frankenstein and his bride (in a romanticized way), we'd have the Goth BF x Lolita GF vibes which are a bonus. I also get the inkling we'd share the same taste in music (Chase Atlantic, Neighborhood, Mr.Kitty)

Shigaraki is next and tbh I don't really know when I feel for him. Just that at one point he was all I could think about. I think it's something about his twisted legacy and conflicting nature that has rendered him into a decaying amalgamation of hate and misplaced ambitions, that really gets a girl's heart beating out of her chest, you know? He was always like an odd species that I came across in the backyard one day and had to analyze under a microscope. Desperate to learn his fundamentals, to unravel his soul. Understand him in the same way an archaeologist longs to understand the past.

I think our love is something like that of an obsessive scientist and her new discovery. Chaotic and all-consuming yet so frail and feeble to onlookers. A tame fire that leaves one utterly devoured, yet still longing for more. I think we'd be pretty good for each other.

NINE! He appeared in one movie and I was SO obsessed with him!! I had a countdown for when his movie would release. I remember for my 16th birthday we went to the fancy movie theater in town just to watch this guy on the big screen. And then all my friends burst out laughing when he died at the end. Ultimately my 2 month long craze over him died in that dark movie theater. TBH I don't really think we'd make a good couple, maybe just a casual fling or some hookups when life gets tough/boring. Nothing serious yet still a fundamental part of each other's lives.

Finally, we have Bakugo, the love-hate relationship I had with this guy was crazy. I was so madly in love with him one minute and the other I just wanted to suffocate him!! IDK what it was he was just so irritating and lovable at the same time. Another relationship that wouldn't work out. I don't even think he'd notice me in school and I'd just be in the corner secretly hating him because he has the perfect life. Popular, lots of friends, good grades. Even if we were in UA together I still don't think we'd end up together. Maybe a slight nod of acknowledgment in the halls one time when he's in a particularly good mood. But that's about it.

Now that I'm revisiting my tween crushes, I got a fun little au for Bakugo.

Imagine being Pro-Hero Bakugo's mistress. Just his girl on the side. For whatever reason you can't be together in public, you'd ruin each other's images. I think the reader kinda wants to ruin Bakugo's life just because she hated him in middle/high school. But Bakugo becomes too infatuated with her to let her leave him. Somehow they both end up destroying each other's lives. Yet ultimately Bakougou couldn't be happier.

This was such a long awnser🤣🤣

#mha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #bakugou katsuki #yandere bakugou #bakugou x reader #dabi #shigaraki tomura #nine #yandere #yancore #askbox

[billthedrake]

SOULMATES

I know you're never supposed to believe a married man when he says he'll leave his wife for you. But Tim Rogers was living with me when he said it. Actually living with me, day in, day out.

It wasn't like that at first. I'd met Tim at the exurban gym we both went to. The kind of place with lots of weekend dabblers in the weight room. Tim and I stuck out as the guys serious about lifting without being outright meatheads. We became workout buddies and hit it off.

Half the time we'd lift, and Tim would come over to my place after. We'd talk. When it wasn't sports or work shit, the guy would unload his problems, and I'd listen. Tim actually could have used a real therapist, but he didn't have the money for that shit, and even if he did he would have been too proud to go.

So I heard about his shitty marriage, and I'd suck his cock. Then he'd suck mine.

I wasn't closeted, but I wasn't actually out and proud either. That worked for the ex-baseball player, who felt more comfortable coming over. More comfortable kissing and making out. He asked me to take his cherry, so I did. Tim fucking loved that. The next night he made an excuse to come over and get fucked again.

I had a great body. Being a single, gym-obsessed gay dude will do that for you. Tall and well-proportioned. But I couldn't believe I was having sex with Tim on a regular basis. He worked construction jobs, and that kind of manual labor had a way of aging you, quick. But Tim was 26 and goddamn beautiful. Blue eyes, dark brown hair, killer smile, dimples. Muscle on muscle that even the ex-jock padding didn't hide. Incredible ass that I'd bone up looking at.

He stayed over at my place whenever he and his wife had a fight. They were fighting more. We called them Doghouse nights, but the fourth was the last. Tim never went back to his wife.

I'm a red-blooded man, horny as any, I guess, but I was unprepared for Tim's amped up sex drive. I was ten years older than him, so teased me for being an old man. But I don't remember having a libido like his in my 20s. I blew him a couple times a day to take the edge off. And in the evening, every evening, I fucked him in my bed. Our bed, now.

My name is Mark, but Tim called me Cleve, after my middle name. Mostly to tease me, but the nickname stuck as a pet name. I called him Six Gun, or Gunner, since I'd once gotten him to cum six times in 24 hours.

The divorce came, finally. I found out Tim had been dragging his heels to avoid alimony. I told him not to worry about a thing. He had a place to live, and I wasn't gonna charge him any goddamn rent. We celebrated the day the papers were finalized.

The man got in shape. I mean he already had that incredible ex-jock muscle amped up from hard work and the gym. But he lost the beefy thickness and slimmed down. I didn't care, I loved it either way. But he seemed happier, more thrilled with his body and the way I pawed at him.

I don't even know why I didn't realize we were more than live-in fuck buddies, but I was watching Tim make his egg-white omelet one morning and it hit me hard. I was in love with the man. Deeply, tragically in love with him, body and soul.

I started crying.

"Cleve, what the fuck?" he asked. Thinking something was wrong.

"I love you, Gunner," I managed to say.

His concern grew to a smile. "I love you, too, doofus," he grinned as he mock punched my shoulder. "Damn you look like a wuss when you cry," he teased.

"Asshole," I shot back playfully. I knew this was Tim's defense mechanism, and it actually made me laugh.

I stood up and our bodies met as we kissed. Tim's omelet would have to wait. We couldn't get back to the bedroom quick enough. A BJ wasn't gonna cut it. I lubed up, put those strong legs on my shoulders, and entered Tim as we locked eyes.

"Love you, Mark," he hissed as I breached him. "So much."

"God, Tim," I grunted. "Gonna be hard to hold back."

I meant with my orgasm, but Tim took it a different way. "Don't. Fuck me, Cleve. Fuck me hard."

I did. Almost exploratory thrusts to see if he meant it. That ex-baseball jock did. Taking my hard shoves deep into his guts and looking up at me with a silent plea for more. So I fucked rougher. It was intense for him, but just fueled his orgasm as he jerked that thick tool. I pounded to fuck the cum out of him, then pounded to get off myself. It took seconds.

It was the closest thing to make up sex, because Tim and I never fought. He said he'd had a lifetime's worth of fights with his ex, and didn't want any more.

To the outside world we were roommates. If that was the kind of thing that bothered me, I would have moved from our town years ago.

Tim said he missed sex with women sometimes. "If you ever want to Gunner, you should," I told him. "I'm serious," I added when he looked at me skeptically.

He did, a few times. Each time he came back home, quiet. He never talked about it but the next time we fucked he'd ask me to go hard. Eventually he no longer went on Tinder and no longer hooked up with anyone else.

I got used to taking charge of things. Finances, household stuff, setting up retirement savings for Tim. So I was surprised when Tim booked a vacation for us.

"It's our fifth anniversary," he beamed as he showed off the place he'd booked. Not only a gay resort in Palm Springs, but one of those clothing optional places. "Figured we could use a little getaway."

"Anniversary of what?" I asked.

He shrugged. "My divorce papers. At least that's when I stopped pretending."

I didn't realize Tim ever pretended. Then I didn't realize he'd ever stopped.

The vacation was incredible. It was our first time having sex with others. Yeah, a part of me was nervous, but my boyfriend loved showing off his body and being the attention of hot guys. He loved looking at me with a giddy, kid like expression as some muscle dude blew him. His enthusiasm was contagious.

We went back home feeling like something had changed, in a good way.

As much as I craved routine, I had to admit it was a way Tim and I didn't deal with things. But now we mixed it up. He took on more of the household chores, and I tried to be the one to come up with the fun ideas for date night. Tim started going down on me before work, as a surprise. I asked him if he ever wanted to top me. He did, and while he confessed he preferred being on bottom, occasionally we'd switch, or even better, flip.

We were two men who weren't in touch with our emotions. We still didn't know how to talk. We got used to each other's nonverbal way of talking. That's why I wasn't surprised when Tim blurted out what had been bottled up. Out of the blue, while we watching some baseball game.

"We gotta move, Cleve," he said. Frustration in his voice, but I knew it wasn't frustration at me. It was frustration at his life, this town. "I've done the numbers. We'll probably take a hit on the house, but we can make it work."

He looked at me in a challenge. Ready for Mr. Routine to dig his heels in. Or at least ask why.

But I goddamn well knew why. "Yeah," I said.

We didn't fight, but we argued about where. Tim hated the cold, and I hated the heat. Being in construction, he'd find work more easily than me. Besides, I wasn't close to my family, but I hesitated to move too far away.

In the end, I let Tim pick. I was in love with him, now more than ever. And at 31, he was still the most goddamn beautiful man I'd ever known.

We got excited making plans, talking about our future. Then, right there on the living room couch, we made out and fucked.

#drakestories

[captainsophiestark]

Type A

Caroline Forbes x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2023!

Fandom: The Vampire Diaries

Day 29 Prompt: "That's all? Easy."

Summary: Caroline is a little overwhelmed by the amount of things that need to happen to open the Salvatore Boarding School for its first year of operation, but her SO is there to help her through.

Word Count: 1,056

Category: Fluff

A/N: Disclaimer, I haven't seen Legacies

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Oh. My. God."

I poked my head into the living room cautiously at the sound of my girlfriend's voice. I recognized her tone as the 'something has gone disastrously wrong and I'm about to have a meltdown' tone. I'd run to the kitchen to get coffee for both of us, and apparently in that short amount of time we'd encountered a new problem. To be fair, worse things had definitely happened in less time to us before.

"Babe?" I asked, taking a few more steps into the room. Caroline Forbes, my girlfriend and the love of my life, looked up at me, clipboard in hand and distress written all over her face. "What happened?"

"Ugh, the Salvatores happened!" she cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm pretty sure they spent the past hundred years compelling anybody involved with this house, and now that new people are responsible for billing things like electric, water, gas, and whatever else you can think of, I have to deal with them all at once! And that's not even mentioning the home inspectors. And I still have to organize all the heirlooms they left laying around, just waiting to be broken. Or the fact that not a single bedroom in this place looks remotely like something a kid would enjoy living in-"

"Caroline." I'd set down our coffee mugs and now held up my hands as I slowly approached my girlfriend, stopping her spiral before it could go any further. "Take a breath, babe."

"Take a breath?" she cried, her voice actually going up an octave. "I still have to make decisions about our first class, find teachers, figure out curriculum, make sure the house is actually safe, and a thousand other things before we can open our doors, which we're supposed to be doing at the end of the summer?"

"Pft. That's all? Easy."

Caroline scoffed, her eyes practically glowing as a murderous expression spread across her face. If I didn't know her so well, I might've been worried for my safety. Instead, I closed the rest of the remaining distance between us, putting my hands on her shoulders and looking her right in the eye.

"Listen to me, right now. You are Caroline Motherfucking Forbes. You do event planning in your sleep, and I know that's a true statement, because I've heard it. This shit is right up your alley! Yeah, it's gonna be a challenge, and a lot of vampires with lazy habits are going to make it harder. But you love challenges! I've quite literally never seen you happier than when you're taking charge in the middle of chaos and pulling it all together. And we went to Paris for your birthday."

Caroline huffed and rolled her eyes, but I caught her smiling anyway. I grinned back at her, giving her shoulders a gentle shake.

"You are a force of nature, and there is literally no future where you don't pull this off. I'm not a witch, but I know it doesn't exist. Besides, you're not doing any of it alone. I'm here with you, and so are our friends. We're gonna help you every step of the way to get this school up and running. And we're gonna help you when a kid inevitably breaks some precious historic heirloom, and one of them brings home a curse from touching something they should've left alone, and every other situation you can possibly think of. We'll be here for you to lean on."

Caroline smiled. She took a deep breath, then pursed her lips and nodded, more determined than frazzled now.

"You're right. I am Caroline Forbes, and no centuries-long problem the Salvatores refused to deal with is going to get the best of me."

"Damn right."

She laughed a little, then leaned in to kiss me. We broke apart fairly quickly, since we did have quite a few things left to do, but it was enough to have a warm glow working its way through my chest.

I turned to retrieve our coffee mugs, offering Caroline's to her. Thankfully, they were still warm, and she took hers with one hand, picking up a clipboard with the other. Her eyes scanned the page for a few minutes with a critical eye. I just sipped my coffee and waited, knowing I'd need all the energy I could muster for whatever was about to come next.

"Okay... the bills are easy enough to deal with, so I'll get online and set up autopay for that. In the mean time, you're on heirloom duty. Find anything we don't want in the line of fire for kids practicing their supernatural abilities and put it in the attic."

"Yes ma'am," I said, saluting. Caroline rolled her eyes with a smile.

We started off to do our tasks, but I stopped short before leaving the room. Caroline was already buried in a task, but I took the risk of interrupting her.

"Care?"

"Hm?"

"If we get this done today... any chance we can play interior decorator for our task tomorrow?"

"Sure!" She turned around with a bright smile, a slight edge to it that I recognized and that made me immediately nervous. "And then we can deep clean all the other parts of this house that haven't been touched in years."

I groaned. "Do we have to? Can't we hire a cleaning company to deal with that?"

"Not when vampire speed will get it done at least twice as fast."

"But Caroline, there might be spiders." She crossed her arms, and I realized I was not going to win this fight. I sighed dramatically, turning to go back to the task I'd originally been on my way to do. "Fine, but if I see a spider, I'm screaming and I'm making you deal with it."

"You're an immortal vampire with super speed and super strength!"

"Yeah, and I still hate spiders!"

Her laughter echoed in the room and hallway behind me, and I smiled to myself. I loved that crazy blonde tornado of a girl, and although I complained sometimes and would continue to do so, I'd also follow her to the ends of the earth with a smile.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury

TVD/TO Taglist: @elenavampire21

#fictober23 #the vampire diaries #caroline forbes #caroline forbes x reader #the vampire diaries fanfiction #the vampire diaries imagine #the vampire diaries oneshot #caroline forbes fanfiction #caroline forbes imagine #caroline forbes oneshot #tvd #the salvatore boarding school for the young and gifted #the salvatore boarding school #vampires #the vampire diaries x reader #the salvatores #the salvatore brothers #legacies #post tvd #tvdu

[dancingskeleton-wishingiwasghost]

Bestie

Disclaimer/edit: This is my first fanfic Ever so please don't be mean. I have never played COD and I have no idea how I ended up in the fandom but I'm here now. Also I typed this on my phone so forgive me for that.

CW: cursing

The silence is... comfortable, all things considered. You, curled up in the corner of the couch with a book you finally have time to read, and Ghost, looking over some papers in the armchair that's seen better days, with a steaming "cuppa" as he likes to call it. You want to tease him about it but well... it's Ghost, your superior and probably the most intimidating person you have ever met and you'd rather not find out the hard way that he doesn't have a sense of humor.

But you two have gotten into a kind of routine where, when there was down time between missions that was just a little too quiet, you'd both end up here in the common area and do your own thing.

So when Soap does a double-take when walking through, asking "Right, what's all this then?," you knew you had to fuck with him.

A glance at Ghost before looking back, "What are you talking about?," sporting a confused look on your face.

"I mean you two hanging out. I've never seen you two together in the same room outside of briefings before."

Back to Ghost and you share a look, hoping your eyes convey that he go along with what you're about to do.

"Of course we'd be hanging out, we're best friends," you give an incredulous look.

"...fuckin' what," Soap gives an incredulous look back.

"Oi! Manage that," Ghost growls.

"Oh fuck you, I was talkin' to Gaz for 5 minutes outside that door and I haven't heard a Sound come out of this room that entire time," Soap says, becoming frustrated.

"That's because our friendship has surpassed the need for words. We're comfortable just being in each other's company," you respond, leaning back into the couch.

"I think you're full of shit 'cause I've never seen you two together or meetin' up except for when necessary," Soap very pointedly says.

"What are you, their mum?" You couldn't be fucking happier that Ghost was going along with this as Soap sends a look his way.

"Yeah! And not that it's any of your business, but we went to karaoke just last week!," bringing the attention back to you.

"Karaoke? Him!? You expect me to believe that?!" You do feel Ghost's stare on the side of your face, probably wondering how you're going to make this in anyway believable.

"Well it's more me singing and him indulging me by coming. He doesn't sing unless I have at least 5 drinks in me but I never remember much afterwards..." trailing off and scrunching up your face, hoping you look like you're trying to remember these made up nights.

Soap glares at you for a moment, trying to find some kind of fault on your face before letting out a sigh.

"Yeah, that actually sounds like something he'd do. Now what was this comment about her mum?" Soap asks, turning towards Ghost.

"I was facetiming her when he came up behind me. Scared the absolute bejeezus out of her enough for her to scold him. When he was finally able to get an apology in she started asking questions as if this was school and not the military! All 'how're they doing?' and 'they getting along with the other soldiers?' It was mortifying! I might as well not have been there the way she was talking. And then- oh and Then! She asked for His number! Can you believe that?!" You deserve a fucking oscar the way you have Soap's attention over this performance.

"'S not my fault she likes me better. Says I'm a delight." The mask gives nothing away but the look in his eyes tell you he's having the time of his life, his arms over the back of the armchair, looking more relaxed than you've ever seen him.

"Oh now I Know you're fucking with me. No offense Ghost but you're about as delightful as steppin' on a pinecone barefoot!" Soap practically spits at him.

"'S not what her mum thinks. She even sent me some treacle tarts."

"She sent you treacle tarts?! She doesn't even make me those!," you get in before Soap can say anything. Never mind that she's never made them before. Ghost gives a shrug while Soap looks back and forth between the two of you, looking like he's trying to grasp at straws.

"Bu-but you're American! You've even said before that both your parents are American!"

"And my mom could have travelled and decided she wanted to have them for the rest of her life after trying them once, you ever think of that? And really? 'I'm American' is the best you can come up with?," you give a pitying look.

"This mean you believe us then? That we're best mates?" Ghost interjects in his gruff voice. Actually hearing him actively going along with the bit and not just throwing in a line or two while you ramble gets your heart racing for some reason. You hope it doesn't show on your face.

"Hell no, do you see that look on their face?!"

Fuck.

"That's because this is the first time I've ever heard him say it and I'm trying not to get emotional, don't ruin this for me," you have no idea where that came from but you barely know what you're saying any this point, "Anyways, as much as I would love to keep listening to you doubt the validity and integrity of Ghost's and my friendship, I have this thing I need to get to that starts riiiight abouut," looking over Soap's shoulder at the clock, "now, at anywhere else but here. So I'm gonna get going. Ghost, you coming?," you ask getting off the couch. You actually feel your heart drop to your ass when he actually gets up too, gathering his things.

Soap's eyes are impossibly wide as he watches the both of you make your way out, flabbergasted. And it is taking everything inside of you to keep yourself neutral, but there's just.. one last thing you have to say before you leave.

"Honestly, I'm really disappointed in you. Acting like we'd do this as a bit just to mess with you. For shame, Soap, for shame. After you," a small smile slips as you hold the door open for Ghost. He nods his head in thanks and, dare you say, almost saunters out.

Soap's eyes widen further and shouts, "Hey!," but the door's already closed.

You and Ghost walk in silence for a period until you're sure you're far enough away.

"You think that last bit was too much?," genuinely curious to how he'll respond.

"I think it was just enough for him to question if the entire thing was a sham or not. He'll be scratchin' his head for weeks after this," his low voice giving away the smirk that's in there. You both stop and look at each other for a pause before you dissolve into a fit of giggles.

"I have - never Seen - Soap look so mad before!," you manage to gasp out, clutching your sides as you fall against the wall, "Oh my God I wonder how long I could have kept that up for! Thank you for going along with me."

"Are you kidding? That's gonna be putting a smile on my face for the next month." And that sends you into another fit, doubling over almost sending you to the ground. Entirely missing the quiet chuckle he lets out.

"I think we could milk this out for another week. What say you? Wanna keep the bit going?," he sticks out his hand, his eyes more playful than you ever knew they could be, that you completely forget to be surprised at his question. A grin creeps up onto your face and you give his hand an enthusiastic shake, wholly ready to commit to the bit.

"Bestie, I think we can make it 2."

#they actually made it to 3 weeks #price joined in on it #thought it too funny to pass up on #straight up telling soap 'yeah i see them together around base all the time. how have you NOT?? #ghost also cringed at being called bestie #told them not to do it again #call of duty #cod #cod fanfic #fanfic #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #self reblog #my writing

[alisonwritesimagines]

Goodnight n Go ~Steven Grant Imagine~

Summary: You have a crush on Steven and can't help but imagine what it would be like to date him.

Author’s Note: I've had this in my drafts for a while and I had been meaning to post this but never had time.

Song: Goodnight n Go by Ariana Grande

Reader’s Pronouns: She/Her

Warnings: none

Please do not post this anywhere!!!

Side Note: This is a secondary blog. If you comment a question down below, I will not answer since this is not a main blog. Please send the question to my inbox if you want a response back!

Tell me why you gotta look at me that way You know what it does to me So baby, what you tryna say? Lately, all I want is you on top of me You know where your hands should be So baby, won't you come show me?

You didn't know what attracted you to the sleep-deprived man but whatever it was, it worked. You were helplessly in love with Steven Grant of the gift shop.

You worked as one of the tour guides in the museum but before then, you used to work in the gift shop with Steven. That's how you met and eventually fell for him.

"So, Steven, where do you want to go to lunch?" You asked as you leaned over the counter. Your afternoon tour had just ended which meant that you were allowed to go to lunch. Normally, yours and Steven's lunch schedules were aligned which let you two hang out more than hanging out outside of your apartment.

"I hear there's this good vegan place not too far from here. They just opened up," Steven suggested.

"Okay. I can become a vegan for a day with you," you joked.

"Great. Shall we get going?" Steven asked you.

"We shall," you smiled at him.

I got you, I got you dreamin' You close your eyes and you're screamin' Play with your mind for no reason I know you love how I tease it You know that I'm playin', so don't be mistaken You already know what I'm thinkin', boy

You smiled at Steven while he told you what he read last night about Egyptian mythology.

"You're such a nerd. You know that?" You asked him.

"Oh. Sorry."

"No. I like it. You know I like it when you tell me more about Egyptian mythology," you smiled at him.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Sometimes your mind wandered to what it would have been like to just sleep with him. Is he good in bed? Is he inexperienced? It didn't matter. You were human. It was normal to have these thoughts about the man you had been crushing on for a while.

Oh, why'd you have to be so cute? It's impossible to ignore you, ah Why must you make me laugh so much? It's bad enough we get along so well

You passed by the gift shop but stopped when you saw Steven. You smiled before walking over to him. His back was turned, facing you as he stocked up the stuff toys of the Egyptian goddess Taweret.

"Hey, Steven," you greeted.

Steven jumped in surprise as he turned around to look at you. You giggled at his little jump. He held a hippo in his arm as he looked over at you.

"Hi, Y/n."

"Sorry for startling you. I just saw you in here and wanted to say hi," you said.

"It's alright. No harm done here," Steven smiled.

One of these days You'll miss your train and come stay with me (It's always say goodnight and go) We'll have drinks and talk about things And any excuse to stay awake with you And you'd sleep here, and I'd sleep there But then the heating may be down again (At my convenience) We'd be good, we'd be great together

"It's getting late again," Steven said as he looked at his phone.

"Do you really need to go?" You asked him.

You had invited Steven to a movie night since you both had gotten out of work a little earlier. The two of you were getting closer making you happier and falling more in love with him.

Yet you still couldn't help but think about what it would be like to finally be with Steven. He was everything you could ever ask for. He was nice, gentle, and perfect for you.

"Yeah. Don't want to be a bother and I got to make sure I feed my goldfish," Steven said with a shy smile.

"You could always spend the night here. I wouldn't mind you know," you tell him, trying to get confident around him now.

"I'm not sure. I don't want to make you uncomfortable," Steven said.

"You're always so sweet, Steven. But you wouldn't make me uncomfortable. Unless, I make you uncomfortable," you tell him with a small frown in the end.

"What? No! You're always so nice to me and I really... appreciate that," Steven tells you. You smile softly at him before standing up.

"I'm just saying, you always welcome here," you tell him as you kissed his cheek. Steven blushed hard as he looked at you.

"Oh shoot. I miss my train."

"Oh no. Really? I'm sorry. I can call you a cab or something," you offered.

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to stay for a night," Steven said as he scratched the back of his head a little.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I can pour us a drink," you tell him.

"Yeah. I'd like that," Steven smiled.

"Um... Y/n?" You snapped out of your thoughts to look at Steven.

"I'm sorry. What?"

"I'll see you later?" Steven asked.

"Oh yeah. Bye, Steven," you said.

Why'd you have to be so cute? It's impossible to ignore you, ah Why must you make me laugh so much? It's bad enough we get along so well

Steven couldn't help but admit that he had fallen in love with you. You were so kind to him unlike others who thought he was a clumsy idiot. Every time you walked into a room, he felt like it became brighter with you. He loved it how he could make you laugh and vise versa.

"So, Y/n. Would you like to go on a walk around the park with me?" Steven asked you.

"Yeah. Sure. I'd love that," you smile.

As the two of you walk around the park, you both decided to grab some coffee before sitting down on a bench.

"Steven, is it okay if I tell you something?" You asked.

"Yeah. Of course."

"I like you. I really like you. I understand if you don't feel the same way but-"

He didn't know what came through to him. Steven quickly leaned in to kiss you to stop your sentence.

"I like you too. I'm sorry if I rushed into that. I should've asked first and-"

It was your turn to kiss him. When you pulled away, you both were blushing hard. You smiled softly at him before leaning your head on his shoulder.

"We can take it slow if you'd like," you tell him.

"I'd like that."

"Just promise me we can go on a date this weekend okay?"

"I promise," Steven smiled as he held your hand.

#steven grant #steven grant x reader #steven grant imagine #moon knight #moon knight x reader #moon knight imagine #oscar isaac #oscar isaac x reader #oscar isaac imagine #marvel #marvel imagine #alisonwritesimagines