#i wasn't ready emotionally for the endgame back then

[bananami]

husband material

a/n: I make no apologies, I made fun of Gojo a lot but I can't help making fun of the characters I kin ok...as you can tell I am unwell and clearly in love with one Nanami Kento. Please enjoy this purely self indulgent one shot that is just me ranting about how Nanami is the perfect man. n e ways- cw: some language and it eludes to sexual content, so you know the drill

"If you had to choose any sorcerer, who would it be?"

"Any sorcerer to what?"

"Like to date. If you had to choose," Gojo was leaning over the couch in the Jujutsu High lounge, wearing a smirk like he was confident in what your answer would be, "who would it be? And why is it me?"

You let out a laugh that's more mocking than genuine. "It would definitely not be you."

Gojo's jaw drops, like he can't believe it. For a very long time he's quiet - very unlike him - in utter disbelief. It had been a joke, but he was your best friend. If not him, then who? He needs to know.

Again, he asks. "So...who then?"

"Easy. Nanami."

"Nanami?!"

"Nanami."

"Why?"

"You're telling me you wouldn't date Nanami if given the opportunity?" You put your cellphone, giving up on the game you were playing seeing as Gojo was not going to let this go.

"That's not what I said." Gojo plops himself down at the opposite end of the couch, looking eager and ready for any new gossip he could wring out of you. "But I can't date myself, so therefore I would pick the next best option."

"He's definitely the best option."

"Respectfully disagree."

"That's fine." You shoot back. "Everyone is entitled to their wrong opinions. Especially you."

Gojo is once again silent. Until. "I hate you."

You can't help the chuckle that escapes.

"Why?!"

"Why what?"

"Don't be coy. Why Nanami?"

"I'm sorry," you give him a genuinely confused expression, "have you met the man? He's incredibly good looking, financially stable-"

"I'm also those things."

"Emotionally competent enough to hold a relationship for longer than three weeks-"

"That's...yeah ok, that's-"

"Is the type of man who gets along with both of your parents, so much so that they ask you every week when you're on the phone with them why the two of you aren't married or at the very least engaged yet-"

"This is getting very oddly specific."

"Radiates an aura that subtly screams 'I have a huge dick but I don't brag about it'"

"Clearly you've thought a lot about this."

"Somehow explains things without mansplaining them to you. Like if you were to ask him to explain how the stock market worked he would sit you down and make economics sound like the sexiest thing in the world while still remaining respectful."

"That's not fair. You know I'm bad at economics."

"I'm serious. He's like a total catch. Husband material. Dating isn't enough. If you date that man, it's endgame. He's already picked out the perfect ring and planned the entire honeymoon."

"Perfect is a strong word. Some would say it's too subjective even."

"He's the type of man to slow dance with you at 3 am in the kitchen of your upper class suburban home that he probably paid for in cash, while your two kids sleep soundly in their little bedrooms upstairs all tuckered out from your weekly family outing."

"Again. Very oddly specific."

"Face it, Gojo. Some men are just walking green flags." You stand and pat him on the shoulder, comforting him as he pouts. Clearly this wasn't the conversation he was hoping for. "But I have to get to my next class before my students get started without me, or Maki might accidentally give another kid a concussion. And I don't feel like explaining that to Yaga again."

Gojo waited until you were out of the room to huff in exasperation. "Psh. I'm a green flag."

"Yeah, if you're colorblind."

The sudden voice on the couch at the back of the room makes Gojo startle and jump in his seat.

Nanami lays just out of direct line of sight from the couch Gojo is sitting in, the one you were previously lounging on as well - so much so that Gojo has to lean over to see him lift the small folded towel from over his eyes.

This only sours Gojo's mood even more. "Well, I bet you're just so impressed with yourself right now."

Nanami lets the towel fall back over his eyes. "Don't feel bad Gojo," he can't contain his smirk, "not all of us can be husband material."

#nanami fluff #nanami x reader #nanami x y/n #nanami x you #jjk x reader #jjk fluff #jjk headcanons #nanami kento

[ravendruidreads]

A Vicious Game - Review

Author: Melissa Blair Saga: The Halfling Saga Date Read: February 20, 2024 - February 24, 2024 Format: Physical Pages: 458

Characters: 8/10 Atmosphere: 7/10 Writing: 7/10 Plot: 8/10 Intrigue: 8/10 Logic: 7/10 Enjoyment: 8/10 Rating: 7.5/10 (4 stars) Spice Level: 2/5

The review is hidden below due to spoilers.

What changed from the previous books:

The first thing I can think of to mention is the main plot. I am a sucker for nature-based quests, so as soon as it was clear that Keera was going to have to travel around Elverath to unlock the seals, and that they would unlock possible nature-based powers, I was hooked. I even made a list of locations where I thought the seals would be, based on the map and the hints provided (my theory was that the seals were connected to the different woods, so I looked for water bodies near them. I only got one location right tho).

Despite this, there were some plot parts that I disliked or that confused me. One of them being Killian's presence in Myrelinth because I was 90% sure Damien had ordered him to be locked his in room in Koratha, and even more because no one (particularly Keera) seemed to ask any questions about this. Of course this would be answered toward the end of the book, but I'd still have preferred if there had been some sort of explanation or mention.

Another part I didn't like (as I mentioned in the review of A Shadow Crown) was the possibility of a love triangle with Killian, Keera and Riven (if only I knew...), so when Keera kissed Killian (and he kissed her back) because she was hellbent on pushing Riven away, I was so angry I almost stopped reading the book. Props to the author for writing the chemistry between them so well (again, if only I knew) that it made me question if Keera and Riven were endgame or if Riven was going to die and she would end with Killian.

However I wasn't just upset with the relationship side of this scene, but also with Keera's dumb behavior, which brings us to...

Even though there is a content warning list at the beginning of the book and I clearly read 'relapse', I was not emotionally ready to read about Keera's relapse. The first few chapters were hard to read, but I'm glad Gerarda was there to get Keera's head out of her ass (I cannot believe I'm saying this!).

That was another pleasant twist I wasn't expecting. Gerarda turned out to be a character that I grew to love and admire, and I was especially happy to see her as another symbol of representation.

Let's now address the elephant in the room, the plot twist to rule them all. I felt like I hit a brick wall headfirst. It was one of those plot twists where I had to close the book and take a moment to gather my thoughts before I could proceed, because all I could think about was EVERYTHING that happened in the other two books, and how much foreshadowing I missed (I can't wait to reread the saga with a different set of eyes.

I always had a feeling of suspicion about Killian, but honestly, I thought it was because he was going to turn out being a spy to the crown or something. I am very pleased with the plot twist, although it was a bit hard to read the spicy scene the way it happened.

Two honorable mentions before I move on to the theories:

Keera's depression is so relatable. How many times did I have the same thoughts of "The time of easy days is gone, but perhaps they would be easier without me"? For the same reason, "Your mother felt everything as deeply as she could. it made her a fierce leader and a loyal friend, but it also made her lonely" is also something I relate to a lot.

Keera holding lightning was hot. When I read "You will be able to call storms and lightning at will" I almost died. Give me as strong, powerful woman who can wield lightning and I will fall at her feet.

Theories:

My theory of the lock of the power being connected to the King proved itself wrong, but I don't even care because I preferred the way it happened. I figured early on in the book that Riven's power was connected to the seals and he was going to die when the last seal broke, so I wasn't expecting him to actually survive, nor that he would become a Halfling, which I guess makes sense.

Because of this, I think that the reason why Riven was the way he was (Fae and Mortal) was because of his miskwithir connection to Keera. Like he was born with this power because Keera would need it in the future, and once she "siphoned it" (which is not confirmed but it's my theory), Riven no longer needed to be Fae.

Based off on that, I think Keera's blood is no longer Amber, because she went through a reverse transformation. Which means she's no longer Halfling but full Fae.

Let's talk about Collin (again). I should really trust my instincts. I had a feeling from the first moment that he was the mole, and turns out I was right, just... not in the way I wanted to be. Damien is a psycho and the way he used Collin is disgusting. I love it.

A quote that stayed:

A person only has as much power over our minds as we allow, Keera.

#raven's reviews #the halfling saga #a vicious game #melissa blair #4 stars #this review contains spoilers

[pinkheichou]

Troubles

I decided to post the first chapter of my on-going Itafushi fic on tumblr as well! ^^

Ships: Gofushi (Gojo x Megumi), Itafushi (Itadori x Megumi)

Endgame Itafushi

All characters are 18+

College/University AU. Gofushi includes age gap. Rating for chapter 1 is 'Mature'

Read it on Ao3 or under the cut

Chapter 1: First Awakening of Want

“He's done a lot as a doctor, that's why it's a good idea if you get to meet him and have a little chat with him. He can give you valuable advice, if you ask him for it.” Dr Suguru said—Getou.

“I see.” Megumi answered.

For some unknown reason, Dr Suguru preferred being called by his first name. Even when talking to adults much younger than him. Megumi was certain that Dr Suguru didn't want to accept the fact that he was getting older. But he never openly questioned his preference and thus always called him Getou.

Laughable.

Getou was guiding Megumi Fushiguro through the hospital floors. Megumi had graduated from high school last year, but hadn't managed to enter med school right after. That’s why he'd decided to do a gap year in a hospital to have better chances in getting accepted. It actually worked and Megumi was set to start med school next month.

It was his last day at the hospital he’d worked at. Actually, he’d been ready to leave after having bid every colleague goodbye, when Getou got a hold of him last second and offered him to meet with Dr Satoru before he’d leave. That meet-up hadn't been planned, but since Megumi had nothing better to do for the rest of day, he agreed on it. Luckily, he was given valuable insight into the life of essential hospital workers – especially doctors – so he didn't mind getting to know about one more doctor. 

Megumi watched Getou from the back. A tall, dark-haired figure with long hair tied to a half-bun and in a white coat. He was dressed the same as always. Megumi wasn't wearing his work attire anymore. He had on an over-sized dark hoodie with black pants and converse. That was his go-to outfit for almost everything. He tightened the grip on both straps of his bag as he sullenly followed Getou.

So this was it, huh? Megumi thought, running a hand through his black spiky hair, Just like that, one year comes to an end and I didn't make any memorable experiences outside of work. Life will be dead serious from next month on.

“There’s an after-work party today. Wanna come?” Getou asked casually, as they rounded a corner. “I’ll be there. The one you’re about to meet, as well. And lots of other people you already know.”

“I’m not interested.”

“Alright.”

Megumi sighed inwardly. Not even an after-work party can make up for the things Megumi had felt dissatisfied about.

Megumi Fushiguro was gay.

It hadn't been because of a single, life-turning moment in his life that he had realised that one day. It was just that, slowly and steadily, Megumi had grown to accept that girls never stirred something inside of him. He would look at them, no matter their appearance or personality, and feel nothing. His thoughts would always bury themselves in a void.

But when he had casually observed boys his age throughout high school, thoughts of arousal would float in his mind. When he was watching them, he would think about what it would be like to be sexually devoured by a guy. He didn't want to take the initiative. He wanted to be touched, kissed, fucked, ruined.

He had already jerked off to the thought of guys he found attractive. But nothing serious ever happened.

No one had seriously interested him so far. Not emotionally and especially not physically. 

He would have loved to lose his virginity to someone who could make him strongly feel something. Who would make him feel things he’d always wanted to feel while sleeping with another guy.

But nothing of that kind had actually happened. Megumi wasn't the outgoing type and didn't have the patience of a saint and didn't like overly cheerful people and would sometimes get annoyed quickly, but, still, he didn't turn his back on everyone approaching him privately. There had been a bisexual dude, a nurse, who had made hints towards Megumi about being interested in getting to know him more. It wouldn't have had to end in a simple friendship, he haid said. He would be open for more even.

But Megumi had to decline. That nurse hadn't evoked that fire of arousal inside him. This had been the only approach he was ever met with, but it hadn't been the right one.

The gap year was over – with that his chance to lose his virginity, to explore his sexuality, to find out more about himself – and Megumi had to face the harsh reality of closing a chapter in his life he didn't want to close yet. It sucked. A sense of failure embraced him like chains trapping him and taking away the freedom that he hadn't enjoyed as he should have done. 

They've reached Dr Satoru’s office. A hand of Getou’s was on the door handle as he said, “You don't have to worry about being formal with him. It’s okay. He’ll tell you soon enough that you can call him by his first name. Just call him Geto.”

Another one with a midlife crisis, Megumi thought. 

Getou opened the door and beckoned Megumi to enter first. He did so, impassively, noticing that the doctor was sitting at his desk and had his back turned at them as he wrote something on his tablet. 

Megumi clumsily stopped in his tracks when that person turned around.

That man—doctor—Gojo swiftly turned around in his chair, instantly locking eyes with Megumi. He had silver-white hair, a very pretty face – like an embodiment of an ancient Roman gigolo carved into marble. His sky-blue – no – ice-blue eyes were hypnotizing Megumi to stay in place—like paralyzed. 

There. Megumi was feeling it. That surge of want ripping through his body. That tingling sensation bubbling under his skin, giving him goosebumps. His body stirring just the right way. His thoughts aligning sweetly. His feral desires howling inside him. All that Megumi had wanted, but had thought he wouldn't get anymore. All that he had wished for, but had given up on. All of that had come together and merged together and was now looking at him through those marvelous eyes. The personification of Megumi's wish.

Megumi was silent, his consciousness was a mess.

I want him.

No, that wasn't it. Megumi wanted one thing in particular. He wanted that chapter of his life to end in something worth reminiscing…

I want to sleep with him.

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

[All upcoming chapter will be posted to my Ao3 account: pinkheichou]

#itafushi #gofushi #itadori x megumi #gojo x megumi #fushiguri megumi #gojo satoru #lin writes

[wolkoshka]

i watched the new Gilmore Girls 2016 short season and, despite never actually finishing the actual Gilmore Girls, i still wanted to say that rory and jess are endgame

and here's why 🥰

at first, i found logans character a bit interesting, since he seemed like the person who had it all figured out and helped rory vent basically listened to her as she did that i thought maybe hed turn around and actively pursue her or make his feelings for her clear, but we don't get that, we actually get a very ugly portrayal to his character cheating and two timing his fiance, and the same could be said for rory with her boyfriend, patrick. or was it peter. i forget but suffice to say they don't bring out the best in each other in that sense, esp when it came to rorys conflicted feelings toward logan - he only managed to emotionally confuse her and have her stay in that blurred line between someone significant and being a mistress for a long while, even when he went out of his way to visit her during fall, it was nothing more than a half-assed attempt to still keep doing what they're doing and not about taking the big step and actually fight for a chance to be with her, and it showed how rory really wanted that chance with him. their scenes only managed to make me go colder and colder as they kept interacting, that aside from the sex and his rich privileges, he absolutely offered nothing else and their relationship just took up screen time more than necessary.

now the reason why i think jess is STILL the one for rory is not necessarily bcs i had a huge crush on him (n still do) in the earlier seasons of gg but simply due to the fact that scenes of him calling her out on her BS is gold tier but also once he entered the screen and visited rory and adviced her to write a book about her life and mother, she actually listened and did exactly that.

i actually expected them to just remain friends, close, but still friends who've outgrown their teenage love and eventually went their separate ways, but the fact that jess still got rory, still knew exactly which words to say and which advice to give, sth not even logan could provide despite sleeping/seeing her for MONTHS on end, made me realize jess is just on a whole another league of his own.

i think the showrunners did a good job keeping him off screen as rory got her life together, bcs he's the kind of character that can only add to her life and she wasn't emotionally ready for that and i don't think she still is, but the way she ran out and basically geeked out over the fact that she wrote the first three chapters of her book to jess and did her happy dance and ran back inside the house, just shows how much she actually values his place in her life, even if she doesn't really fully understand it yet.

a long post, but yeah, Jess and Rory for life baby.

#gilmore girls #gilmore girls 2016 #jess and rory #thoughts #rory gilmore #4am thoughts #god watching this show brought back some good memories

[nanostudies]

any marvel fans here? i finally watched avengers: endgame and binged the following movies and series and i wanna talk

#last marvel movie i saw was the infinity war when it came out #i wasn't ready emotionally for the endgame back then #idk what made me think i was ready now #so many feels #but it was exciting to see my hometown in the spider-man movie!! #i actually walked around the set before they started shooting #i also signed up as an extra #but they already had full capacity :(( #anka talks

[my-mt-heart]

Do you think there's a possibility that D0nnie will happen before we get our Caryl endgame? I mean like we had to endure the Tobin, Ezekiel and Leah nonsense? I really believe that Carol and Daryl are made for eachother, that they are eachothers soulmates and that they no matter who or what are destined to be together...

But I really don't want Daryl to be with anyone else before he will end up with Carol. I just want Daryl to have romantic feelings for Carol only. There's alot of spoilers going around and I'm trying really hard to ignore them, but one thing that got stuck in my head is a spoiler saying that Carol and Daryl will mend their relationship in ep 10... what do you think about that? I mean their fight is obviously not just based on the cave incident, it has so much more to it, so for them to mend because C0nnie is back doesn't make any sense to me.

Understand first that Daryl and Carol are different characters with different emotional capacities. Without going too deep into her reasoning for being with Tobin and Ezekiel, Carol is a little bit more traditional in the sense that she is able to be in other relationships first without it minimizing how she feels deep down about Daryl.

Daryl is a bit more complex. Though there's been some debate lately, I still maintain he's a 'one love only' kind of person. Him being with Leah is still consistent with that if you consider the circumstances. Carol was absent, Daryl was lonely and grieving, Leah foils Carol. Emotionally, Daryl's heart belonged to Carol before, during, and after Leah even if he wasn't aware of it. His relationship with Leah may have come out of left field and I don't necessarily like it, but because it was so specific to a low point in Daryl's life, I can buy it. Connie, I don't buy. Not one bit because it goes against everything we can infer based on contextual evidence about his character. If Daryl is ready to embrace a future and Carol is present in his life, he's not going to test the waters with Connie first and realize down the line she wasn't right for him and he'd rather be with Carol instead. He's just not wired that way. Obviously I'm not AK or SG, so I can't say for sure what they're going to do, but if I'm following the story correctly and have a decent understanding of Daryl's character, then I say, no, Donnie makes no sense. From a marketing point of view also, why alienate Carylers by making Donnie canon if you need to keep them invested for the spinoff?

I wouldn't think too hard about the spoilers that are going around because one, we don't even know what's true and what's not for ep. 10 yet and two, even "real" spoilers can be very misleading. I agree that Caryl's fight is about so much more than Connie and because it was made to be such a huge deal for so long, that absolutely calls for payoff. Unfortunately, as much as it annoys me to no end, Kang loves her subtlety, so we might just have to look for those nuances on screen to make it make sense. For example, they may be acting like things are okay, but there's still more beneath the surface that has to come out later.

#caryl #caryl positivity #caryl is endgame #caryl spinoff #twd #twd spoilers #twd season 11 #twd speculation

[volgdemagischewinx]

I wasn't gonna talk Fate but I saw your recent tags and- yes.

Riven was literally THE angsty character in OG winx. His character was MADE to even out how wholesome and goody everyone else was. He was a deliberate use of the "angry jerk angsty friend" trope. Some of the Winx had sad or even tragic backstories, but it is Riven who was the broody one.

So, being a trusting, faith having IDIOT I AM, I expected Fate, a "gritty remake for older audiences" to suck him dry for all the angst he has.

Not only have they bastardized his and Darcy's relationship (I'll get back to that) they also ruined his character. He was portrayed as a stupid, vapid poser, a cheery weasel, literally the only 2 times he was legit angry was when he finally fought with Sky, and when Musa read his emotions (OH I JUST GOT THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT TOO*). Other times he's chill, always cracking jokes, concerning himself with weed and memes. That is not Riven. Riven, og Riven, is angry, which is important because that's the starting point from which his character evolves (ignoring the latter seasons beating it to death).

Now, the relationship part. It's all summed up in "because you're a guy and I'm hot". OG Riven did NOT get with Darcy because she was hot. He got with her because she had manipulated him into thinking she's the only one who cares about him. She manipulated him into thinking BLOOM TRIED TO KILL HIM, AND THAT EVERYONE WAS OKAY WITH THAT. HE THOUGHT SHE SAVED HIS LIFE WHEN IT WAS HIS FRIENDS TRYING TO END IT. Then, in certain dubs, she further spells him, so he doesn't have a slimmest chance of thinking his way out of her clutches. In the dub in which he remarks on her looks, is when he's spelled into loving her. He calls her beautiful AFTER he lost all agency. That is not to say he'd otherwise think she's ugly, that's to say his beauty was never something that draw him to her. Every female character in the show is beautiful. He was never the type for skirt chasing. No matter the dub, his motivations had nothing to do with sex and Darcy was never "leading him by his dick". She led him by isolating him from his friends, ostracizing him from a support system he didn't know he had and making him think she's his only friend and that no one else cared. (Which is one of the tactics used by literal cults, so there's that. Even if he wasn't spelled, Riven, an emotionally unstable teen, was being manipulated by a person who's genetically gifted for messing with people's minds). Saying he betrayed his friends for a piece of ass is both a disservice to his character, and to Darcy. I don't think OG Darcy is above using her looks to get what she wants, but mind games are her primary thing. And it is what she enjoys. Reducing her to "p*ssy gets shit done" is offending to girlbosses everywhere, if I may be a bit cheeky here.

*And, sorry for the length, but I only realized while writing this how messed up it is for Fate to have Musa be invasive to Riven's emotions and borderline thoughts when those the exact things he had to endure with Darcy, which was a literal abusive relationship no matter how you spin it. (Even the specialists saw it, with Brandon in one of the dubs warning Riven that she wasn't his friend). And Musa, in OG never got a shortcut into understanding Riven. She BELIEVED there was good in him and she worked towards him letting her see it.

So Fate, instead of exploring the abusive relationship at hand, decided to give traits of Riven's abuser to the girl he's supposed to end up with in endgame. I also find it GROSS that they made light of S/A by having Riven pressure Sam, when they could have had a serious storyline about it with Riven and Darcy. As you and other anon said, it's just sad. She'd either completely remove his consent by spelling him, or use more mundane manipulation and pressure to push him into things he wasn't ready for. Because boys need to wait until they're ready, too, and they CAN be not ready even if there's a willing girl near them. It could have been a mature and serious and grim storyline that treats the painful subject with respect, but what did we get instead? Predator Riven.

Crikey.

Nothing to add here anon. You're right they did our boy dirty

#tho i am gonna be That Person and say I would have been extremely critical of them following the route of those dubs in any adaptation #an american company throwing something in in a dub does not make it part of the source material #and fate already americanized everything too much #somewhat related: this is also why it's dumb when people complain about fate!bloom not knowing she's adopted #fate has no rights but that's accurate to the source material #sorry i do have to occassionally be a salty european about this #winx club #fate the winx saga #netwinx critical #winx riven #ask wave #anon

[jabitha-endgame]

I don't want to get my hopes up that we're getting Jabitha for the long haul but it would be a really bad look, after Vanessa's call out of the writers, if Tabitha was used as a foil or cheerleader for Jug and Betty. It has been established very early on that Jabitha are attracted to each other, Jug just said he wasn't over the break up,NOT Betty, the trauma of the betrayal, in other words I like you enough I want to work on myself first, so I can be at my best for you, that doesn't say BH to me

I have to put this under a read more because I accidently made this very long lol who knew I, jabitha-endgame, had a lot of feelings about this

I agree with all of this. Vanessa speaking up has already had a huge impact on the show, and I think Tabitha is evidence of that. I actually ranted a bit about this point earlier, so I won’t repeat all that here lol.

There's just nothing narratively indicating that Tabitha would push Betty and Jughead together, especially since she is the one who initiated her kiss with Jughead - and he kissed back! Jughead unpromptedly jumped in to dance and twirl Tabitha and dip her over the table. They both got swept up in that moment, giggling with huge smiles. Even before the kiss they are so close to each other and you can see something has changed for them both.

I don't see any reason to fear that Tabitha would be used as a prop to push Jughead to Betty. Especially in the last two episodes of this season where Jabitha have been growing closer the entire time and Bughead haven't interacted. Betty also told Tabitha that Jughead "wasn't her problem" and that he shouldn't be Tabitha's problem either. Tabitha cares so much about Jughead, why would she push him to be with someone who has outwardly shown disdain towards him. Betty has also played Jughead's voicemail in front of Tabitha and Jessica for the purpose of "exposing" Jughead to them. I know Bugheads want their ship back, but there isn't anything there for them right now. Not a single thing we have seen in the time jump episodes supports their wishful thinking that Tabitha will want them together.

1000 percent Jughead was not ready to be in another relationship, and that's not because he was "still hung up on Betty". He explains to Tabitha that the Betty breakup was rough on him, says he has trauma from it, and that his last relationship was a toxic one. That's why that conversation ends with them flirt-ily deciding to be fRiENdS 😏 and then Jughead says "as your fRiENndD 😏😏😏" before asking Tabitha his favor. They table their potential romance for the time being because Jughead isn't in the right mental space to have another romantic relationship, but their feelings for each other are still there. Heck, when Jughead disappears to go to NY he makes one phone call, and it's to Tabitha with the romantic intention to "finish that dance". Their last dance ended with a kiss! And when Jughead gets back from NY their incoming romance feels so obvious.

In 5x16 Jughead and Tabitha exchange genuine apologies - and Jughead looks shocked that Tabitha thinks she has anything to apologize for. I think the juxtapositions between the Jabitha and Bughead apology scenes are intentional. Same with the Bughead and Jabitha voicemails. By the end of the episode we get the incredible "why are you so nice to me" scene with Tabitha gently reaching out to touch and hold onto Jughead's hand as she tells him that she cares about him and he needs to take care of himself, and this is what prompts him to go back to AA. Not to mention when Betty and Jughead finally have their talk in this episode, Jughead is somehow the one apologizing and while he clearly has fallen off the wagon with his drinking right in front of her, Betty just gets up and leaves him without a word while he’s on a 2 minute phone call. There has not been anything remotely resembling Bughead reciprocation from Betty this season - she’s called his writing cringey, she hooked up with the person she cheated on him with, she told Tabitha he wasn’t her problem anymore, and she sided with his ex over him by giving Jessica the manuscript he worked so hard to write for his deadline. Betty had her own trauma she’s working through this season, obviously, and I don’t hold that against her. But her interactions with and about Jughead simply aren’t forwarding a romantic narrative anymore, that’s just not the story being told between them. 

In 5x17, it’s been 10 days and Jughead is "recovered" - not fully because that's not how alcoholism works, but for Riverdale purposes he seems ok now. And Jughead's relationship to Tabitha is developing further. When Tabitha tells Betty and Jughead that Squeaky is missing, Jughead's eyes are glued to Tabitha and he offers himself up to help her. Previously it had been Tabitha helping him out, and now that has changed. And when Tabitha gets the news in the morgue that confirms Squeaky is dead, Jughead and Tabitha turn towards each other for support, with both of them physically reaching out for the other - and Betty has no jealous reaction to this almost couply moment that happened right in front of her face. Jughead is making himself emotionally available to Tabitha now in ways he wasn't able to before 5x15, where he had to address the trauma that was still affecting him - his relationship and breakup with Betty.

And in 5x18 we get Jughead now being there for Tabitha and supporting her. This makes perfect sense for their development and anyone who is shocked by this simply wasn’t paying attention to what was happening on screen before.

Also, there is just no way that Tabitha is a throwaway girlfriend for Jughead either, because Jessica already fills that role. Tabitha is her own character, and parts of the fandom really need to stop ignoring her. Erinn is a main cast member and is a series regular again next season as well, Tabitha isn’t going anywhere.

Tabitha’s purpose in the story is not to push Jughead and Betty together or to prop them up to the other. In fact, Tabitha the one who is with Jughead during all of his emotional moments this season. She is the one who protected him from the debt collectors, she is the one who gives him a job when he needs it, she takes care of him at the key party, she goes with him to the support group and gets him to open up to her when he runs out of it, she pretends to be his current girlfriend to protect him from his ex, she helps him with the mothman investigation, she let’s him keep weird alien corpses in her restaurant, she is the one who is worried about him when he is missing, she is the one person he calls on his way out of town, she is the person Jughead goes to when he needs someone he trusts to watch over him, she tucked him in on the couch when he passed out, she is the one that convinced him that he needs to take care of, and prioritize, himself - hello?! what’s not clicking for some people? It’s all there, it’s all been there this entire time. 

GIVE ME THE MUSICAL NOW I CAN’T WAIT.

Sorry for this extremely wordy answer, but yeah I agree completely with everything you said. To me, narratively, it’s Jabitha full steam ahead.

#Riverdale #Jabitha #Jughead Jones #Tabitha Tate #ask tag #feels good to have this written out

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I A VENOMOUS INTERLUDE

Did y'all know symbrock is canon? Well, now you do. Reader's favourite deadbeat surrogate uncle is in town and he brought a... Friend. No warnings, just a boatload of crack and fluff, as usual. Reader being mouthy. Takes place a little bit into the future - around after chapter 32: spoiler alert is useless because we already know a tonybrucestrange/reader quartet is the endgame. 💖💝✨

"What," I had to pause for a second for my brain to catch up with my eyes. "The fuck?!"

It was truly a miracle I could say anything out loud, at all. Words weren't valid enough to describe my shock and confusion. The scene unfolding in front of me resembled and unholy cross between a B-rated horror movies about demonic possession and some deep-sea Eldritch monstrosity.

The eight-feet tall black, oozing dude in front of me? Yes, you, with the teeth. Ctulhu called, he wants his tentacles back.

The creature honest to god rippled, like some nightmare-fuel goth Jell-O, rapidly shrinking in size within seconds. As more of the black tar-like substance receded, a much more human form started to appear under it. Worn jeans, leather jacket, ungroomed beard and the look of a biker gang member coming off a serious bender.

"Uh, Princess?"

"Eddie. Fucking. Brock. Uncle Idiot." I punctuated each word with an increasing widening of my eyes. The world was fucking nuts. Two and two did not compute - Eddie might have looked threatening to some people - like white suburban Karens - even without the... Gooey squid-on-steroids thing he had going on. The man was built like a fucking brick shithouse, but I knew him way too well. Eddie couldn't be that badass to save a life.

"You two know each other?" Tony shrieked indignantly, a coarseness in his voice that indicated only one thing: my boo was well into his third drink. Hell, I didn't blame him - that gaping toothy maw was fucking gnarly.

Hands on my hips, I caught myself slipping into a mute rage, storming over to the 200lbs worth of pure dumbass and knocking him right in the face. "You! Didn't tell! ME!" A black tendril wrapped around my wrist, carefully but firmly securing it and preventing me from causing my non-related uncle any more physical damage. Although I must admit, my knuckles probably were more affected than his jaw. "You! Are! A MUTANT!!! HOW COULD YOU?! How could you NOT tell ME?"

I trusted the man with my soul and most embarrassing drinking stories. Hell, I called Eddie in a stoned haze the very same night I lost my v-card. I just thought we were bros, you know? I saw his whole fucking life implode more than once and personally flew to California to ice his injuries and his hurt ego countless times. I was done dirty in the worst way.

"I'm not-" Eddie's sigh was long-suffering. "I, uh, I have a parasite..." He sounded meek, in the same way he used to describe his drunkenly misconduct when I made our family driver bail out his ass outta jail in the morning.

"TAKE THAT BACK!" A deep gravelly voice thundered, seemingly coming out of his chest?

"Okay, okay," Eddie smiled. It was strangely soft and un-eddie-like. The only person he smiled like that was... used to be Anne. "This is Venom. They're an alien and we're, uh, a thing. It's a recent development." The tentacle unwrapped itself from me as I took an involuntary step back.

Even barring the fact that Eddie was dating an alien, this was way too fucking weird for 3 o'clock on a Sunday. I always knew the reporter was, for the lack of a better word, a little weird but he really took it to new heights. With Thor and Loki looking... Like that, I could see a human dating some sort of a hot alien. But with Ctulhu looking the way he did just minutes ago? Did Eddie seriously let all of those teeth in close proximity of his dick?

I had a "ERROR 404, common sense not found" hanging over me for the longest time. The others were quiet behind me, too, even Tony - one of my boyfriends, the most likely to cause utter chaos, was hanging back and expecting me to do something.

"Venom," I clarified, just to fill the silence with some noise while my brain processors re-synced.

"WE ARE VENOM." The tentacle that was sleek and black now had two completely white eyes and a smaller-scale version of the toothy grin that had drooled all over the common room carpet. Their voice had an interesting effect: it was so deep, the air around them vibrated slightly when they spoke.

I tilted my head examining the appendage. It was considerably less terrifying when it wasn't five times my size. "What are you?" And most importantly, are you a threat to my favourite non-related family member? I left that statement unspoken although it was obvious I was ready to fight it? Them? If need be.

"A SYMBIOTE," They replied, swaying the head-tentacle slowly. "WE LOVE EDDIE AND KEEP HIM ALIVE AND HEALTHY." So, they understood the actual question.

"Which is fucked up because Klyntar usually behave in the opposite way." Hearing Thor swear was, perhaps, even more unsettling than finding out about the symbiote-alien-boyfriend thing my uncle had going on. The thunderer himself was nursing a jug of golden liquid. The good Asgardian stuff, he must've been really fucking bamboozled.

"Okay. So anybody wanna fill me on the details before I beat up my favourite idiot?" I sighed, pointedly looking at Tony.

"I thought I was your favourite idiot!" He immediately retorted, hurt, but nonetheless opened his arms to give me a grounding embrace. We may have sucked face for a few seconds, because why the hell not, Tony was an amazing kisser and his tongue down my throat was very calming.

"Hold up, what the fuck?" Now it was Eddie's turn to act all offended. "Aren't you a little too young for him?"

"You and your most likely carnivorous goth space pudding can fuck right off if you're not going to be supportive of my very inappropriate, very polyamorous relationship with three incredibly hot boomers," I shot back, slipping into some resemblance of normalcy. Me and Eddie go way, way back and shitting on each other's bad life decisions was the founding stone of our bromance. Hell, he was the guy who showed me the wonders of sarcasm at an early age! Wonderbaum!

"There's three of them?" Eddie's voice pitched and he gaped, palming his face.

"SHE HAS A POINT, EDDIE. WE EAT PEOPLE. BEING UNSUPPORTIVE WOULD MAKE US LOOK LIKE AN ASSHOLE." Eddie's buddy stated, sounding almost fed up. So, they were sentient enough to recognize how much of a pain in the ass Eddie could be. I could work with that, disregarding the cannibalism comment, of course. What the fuck was up with that?

"Yes, Eddie, I also periodically bump uglies and trade disgustingly sweet text messages with the Hulk and a badass wizard," I rolled my eyes at the reporter's following gasp and angry muttering. "Venom, I like you."

"WE RETURN THE SENTIMENT. YOUR CHOICE IN MATES IS VERY WISE, CONSIDERING YOU ARE A WEAK MORSEL. THEY CAN PROTECT YOU."

"Shut up, Squid. I'll still kick your motherfucking ass if you hurt Eddie."

The emo space goo laughed, a terse scratching noise, showing way, way too many teeth for me to feel comfortable but I allowed myself to be placed on the couch between Tony and Eddie nonetheless. The initial shock of seeing a talking octopod with fangs passed quickly - I've seen Stephen's "trophies" he brought from his otherworldly journeys and Lovecraftian horrors were, honestly, pretty low on the gross/creepy scale.

"Both of you, explain. For the love of fuck," Tony sighed, emotionally exhausted and drained of his usual bravado.

"Eddie was my dad's friend until he moved to Cali, I've know him for fifteen years, give or take. He taught me how to ride a bike and bake the best pot brownies," I shrugged. There wasn't much to say. "I visited him whenever I could but you know, with school and then you guys, there wasn't that much time to iron out the details." I have Eddie a death glare, pointing to Venom's floaty head with my eyes.

Eddie nodded. "What she said..." And then launched an elaborate tale about some company called Life Foundation, some evil dude named Drake and his own alien pudding named Carnage, who was one ugly motherfucker judging by Eddie's and Venom's combined "ew" face, their aching need for human brains to survive and other, more trivial things, like mental breakdowns in a lobster tank and getting dumped by a fiancé and eating their way through a HYDRA base after being captured and tortured. What a wild fucking ride.

"Sounds like you had a rough year," Everybody's dumbfounded silence was ended by Tony who took a slow swig of his whiskey before speaking.

"Yeah, no shit," Eddie muttered, twisting his black coated fingers in elaborate but frankly pretty shapes. His alien wrapped around his neck like a tube scarf and additional tentacles appeared between Eddie's hands, gently prying them open and enveloping them in a sort of a hug? It was hard to compute, the black mass appeared to be totally amorphous.

"How's your anxiety?" I asked, damn well knowing Eddie's mind tended to run like Tony's: zero to sixty in point five with no clear destination. Having an alien inside of him must've really thrown Eddie for a loop.

"It's, uh, better. Venom helps," The reporter admitted, still staring at his hands but the crease between his brows had disappeared and the expression he wore was kind of fond.

"Good. You know, Venom," I thoughtfully addressed the definitely sentient creature. "Eddie is a bigger dumbass than me, which is saying something. You ought to keep a really close eye on him. If not for me, he'd probably be dead from alcohol poisoning, like, years ago."

"WE ARE AWARE. WE CAN ACCESS EDDIE'S MEMORIES." A head manifested itself on a thicker tentacle, floating over to look me in the face but maintaining a respectful distance and staying out of my personal space bubble. "AND WE ARE THANKFUL. EDDIE IS THE PERFECT HOST. WE LOVE EDDIE."

I felt the corner of my mouth tilt upwards at the alien's proclamation. It was child-like in its blunt honesty but carried a certain weight with it. It told me whoever tries to separate those two in any way would get eaten faster than they could say "SIKE!". And honestly? I would help Venom hide the evidence.

"I literally had you for thirty minutes but I would kill everybody and then myself if you two got hurt. This is too soft, I can't." I snorted, extending a curious hand towards Venom. They looked so shiny. I had to touch them.

And they let me. Venom butted their head into my palm and let me gently run my fingers over their slightly cool, slippery flesh. It felt like putting my hands on a surprisingly sturdy yet bouncy piece of flubber. I purposely avoided the small maw and the endless rows of sharp teeth but managed to accidentally brush against something rough and scratchy - as it turned out, the Symbiote had a very long, very dexterous tongue. And didn't that give me a bunch of interesting mental images.

"Oh my God, NO!" Wanda moaned from somewhere, the voice mortified and disgusted.

"Why are you touching the people-eating alien?" Bruce yelped, entering the room with several people in tow. The scientist looked worried, a little bit green around the edges. The tablet in his hands beeped periodically, signifying the ongoing sciencing bender he was in process of.

"WE WOULD NOT EAT THIS HUMAN. WE ARE FOND OF THE MORSEL." Venom defended, well, venomously. Eddie wisely choose to stay silent, trading a knowing look with Tony.

Stephen Strange sighed, briefly closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose with a jagged movement. "One day, Princess, one day you will stop collecting people that are obviously bad for your health and your future. That, or space in the tower will simply run out." With a deeper, calmer sigh, the sorcerer landed in front of me on the floor, sitting cross-legged and subtly begging for a head scratch. Which meant just placing his always neatly trimmed curls under my free hand. His jealousy was about as subtle as a foot in the face.

"I'll just ask Tony to build more floors, duh," I rolled my eyes with force at the obvious solution, giving into Steph's demands, beginning to card through his hair. It was calming both of us, really.

Bruce came over to give me a kiss and my other boyfriends didn't even grumble about the scientist placing himself in my lap, crawling over both Tony and Stephen to get comfortable.

Our dynamic was unconventional and more than a little weird, but it worked for us and the rest of the team most certainly didn't complain about the vast decrease in conflict that came with the territory. Come to think of it, all of us were more tactile than just a group of friends sharing a house and I was very much on board with that. None of us except select few (looking at you, mister doctor) were hugged enough as children and we were making up for it in spades right fucking now.

"Girl has a type," Wanda remarked, like the messy little shit she was. I stuck out my tongue in retaliation.

The Avengers' brain trust began talking about Venom's slightly inconvenient diet that directly resulted in multiple felonies for one Edward Brock, and as much as I tried to follow the flow and make my own, however feeble, contributions to the scientific side of the conversation, the new life form was much more interesting. I asked Venom several questions and they deemed them acceptable enough to answer - which evolved on both of us absolutely geeking out over the differences in our physiology. The space pudding didn't hold back one bit, insulting the inferior human biology with gleeful gusto.

"They need a chemical called phenethylamine," Bruce sighed, having deduced it through discussion since Venom and Eddie both protested aggressively against any kind of invasive testing. "I can synthesize it. No more head-chomping, no more murder."

It made perfect sense. Except it didn't. "Brucie-bear, you're a brilliant fucking scientist but a shit psychologist." I interrupted whatever came next. "Venom is a person, like me and you and, yes, even Hulk. Tell me this: if you found a way to get rid of Hulk, would you stop sciencing in the gamma radiation field?" I looked my boyfriend straight in the eyes, hoping for a spark of common sense. "Do you see my point? You science, Tony engineers, Steve draws and Clint bakes. Venom hunts. It's who they are, you can't give them a pill to make it go away."

The weight of my word landed in the room like lead, heavy. The only source of sound was the TV, playing the news quietly in the background for the longest time. Those few minutes felt like hours until Thor expectantly turned towards Eddie/Venom.

"IT IS SO. WE ARE AFRAID WE CANNOT INFLUENCE OUR INSTINCT TO HUNT PREY. KLYNTAR ARE APEX PREDATORS." The little black goop sounded almost apologetic. It was hard to hear undertones with their voice being so deep and grating. "BUT WE CAN TRY." Okay, I could totally hear the hope. Finding out the Eldritch horror could make puppy eyes was... Terrifying, to be honest, because they fucking worked.

"Got any better ideas?" Tony asked me sarcastically.

"I do, actually." I leveled a look with Natasha. She understood. "HYDRA goons. The aliens that, for some reason, keep invading New York every month or so. Stephen's adventures in Hell. Do I need to continue?"

"Wait, hold on," Steve raised his palms. "We don't kill HYDRA, we deposit them in SHIELD custody."

I snorted at the naïve Captain. "And what do you think happens to them there? Did you honestly think they just let torturing, murdering, world-domination planning psychos back on the streets?"

Steve frowned in confusion. "They go to prison?"

Natasha choose that moment to step up. "It's not uncommon for them to possess certain enhancements to be deemed too dangerous to be released back into society. Some of them are low-tier mutants and inhumans. Trust me, Steve, the lethal injection is a much more humane treatment than solitary life imprisonment in a ultra-high security prison." Romanoff stated with a trace of compassion. "And some mutants, we can't contain for prolonged periods of time." She added quietly, looking away.

Rogers was staring blankly into the wall, mulling over the information in his head. His intensive thought process was plainly visible on his face. I heard about some kind of fiasco with HYDRA agents suicide-bombing a city in Europe few years ago and Steve was there, along with Wanda and Sam.

"Venom is a whole person, and even if they look like they could be the main character in Call of Ctulhu video game, we can't just disregard them like they are some kind of badly behaving pet. They're my honorary uncle's boyf-sorry-significant other, for fuck's sake," I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation. "Y'all should know I don't fuck with people who give shit to one of my own. Don't disappoint me like that." I finished, feeling more tired than I had in months. I didn't regret giving into the found family dynamic, however I didn't exactly sign up for hard choices like them vs my long lost uncle, y'know?

Great, now I had a headache and three very concerned boyfriends glaring at me for unknown reasons. The urge to pace always manifested strongly within me as the emotional atmosphere rose in the room. With Bruce dangling off my lap, I couldn't do even that and I felt the restlessness blossom into irritation more and more with each passing second of my existence.

Eddie remained silent, looking down. Venom had mostly receded into the reporter's body, save for a few tentacles tightly wrapped around Eddie's palm.

"Alright," Steve suddenly said. "We can work with that."

"Princess, you look like you're either going to cry or yell any second," Bruce said softly, squeezing my shoulder and pulling me closer.

I immediately hid my face in his chest, taking several deep, shaky breaths. "Eddie is family. Y'all are family. It's terrifying to have to choose between the two." I said, after a brief moment of hesitation.

The reporter made some sort of a choked gasp, quickly masking it with a cough - I knew him way too well to miss the way he was fighting back tears of his own. Bruce understood, he really did understand me - hopped off my lap and let me hug Eddie properly, my happy-sad tears soaking through the collar of his tee.

"You're, uh, welcome to stay. I'll have a guest room prepared." Tony cleared his throat, passing his half-finished glass to Stephen who swallowed the liquid in one gulp. My boyfriends were so fucking emotionally illiterate. Disaster humans.

Huh, I really did have a type.

Later that night, I made the mistake of barging into Eddie's room with a bottle of really fancy whiskey I liberated from Tony's overstocked liquor cabinet. Visiting my uncle and boozing and smoking on the balcony, for old times sake, was my plan and...

I failed the mission successfully.

I didn't bother knocking. As soon as I saw a pair of bare feet, my eyes traveled further up on the couch on their own volition. There were so many tentacles, a writhing, oozing silky black mass and Eddie was making sounds, unmistakable noises-

"UNSEE. UNSEE. OH MY GOD, UNSEE, UNSEE." I stumbled back into the common room shivering.

"What happened, is everything okay?" Bucky stood up as soon as he saw me enter the doorway with my face scrunched in a grimace of regret. I felt like I've gone through the five stages of grief in the shortest time possible for a human being.

Somwhere, I heard Wanda's sudden moan full of pain and misery. "Please, stop THINKING about it!"

"Brain bleach, oh my God," I cringed. "Where's the Clorox?! I have decided I don't need my eyeballs-"

"Oooh," Tony's proverbial lightbulb lit up. The engineer sounded like he was about five seconds away from building a space ship and permanently moving to another planet. "They're together-together..." Tony intercepted me nonetheless, doing the most effective thing to make me stop speaking and thinking bullshit. He kissed me. With lots of tongue.

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#party favours #bun writes #tony stark x reader #bruce banner x reader #stephen strange x reader #eddie brock #venom #stephen strange x y/n #tony stark x y/n #bruce banner x y/n #tony stark x you #bruce banner x you #stephen strange x you #venom is babey fight me