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#when i was marginally happier
bklily · 1 year
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Harveston was a very fun event (that I really wanted to post about before lmao life got in the way)
I never expected this wacky group of individuals to have such a fun dynamic but then again, such is the nature of TWST innit
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transearlgrey · 8 months
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i guess its good my blog is wholly separate from my main cause there sure is a lot of not great things some of my mutuals rb abt stuff that affects me!
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woso-dreamzzz · 5 months
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Kid
Arsenal Women x Teen!Reader
Summary: You join Arsenal Women at age sixteen
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Moving to England hadn't exactly been your plan when you started to play football.
To be honest, there hadn't been a plan at all, seeing as you were four when your parents first signed you up for your local academy in Sweden. It was just an excuse to keep you out of the house, so your parents didn't have to take time off work to look after you when school finished.
It helped that your school was partnered with the academy so a representative would come and walk all the academy students there and back.
Football may have been a convenience but it was clear to everyone that you were somewhat of a prodigy. Linköping Fc signed you as soon as they could, forcing you to make the move from your tiny town to the city.
Your parents were more than happy to finance the move - the kind of parents that happily parent from a distance but brag to all of their friends about how smart, how talented their daughter was.
You were happy to be rid of them.
You were even happier to get the callup for the National Team for the World Cup.
Your chest thudded in your throat when you received the call. You hadn't thought you would get the call-up, not when you were so young, so you had been at a café with some of your school friends when your phone rang.
You had picked it up absentmindedly and almost passed out from shock when Peter revealed he wanted you on the team.
The World Cup came and went and the bronze medal you won stayed with you. You had flat-out refused to give it over to your parents, who wanted to put it in the trophy cabinet in a house you no longer lived in.
The high of the World Cup bled into the high of getting a call to sign for Arsenal.
You hadn't even really thought about it.
You just accepted.
Which was how you had gotten here, rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet as you waited for Stina to lock her car and walk in with you.
●~●~●~●~
You couldn't help but look at your jersey in awe. Your number combined with your last name on the back of an Arsenal jersey felt like a dream come true.
"There she is," Amanda said when you finally wandered into the meeting room, free from media duty. She pushed out a chair that was clearly meant for you at the table she was sitting at.
You sat in the seat awkwardly, suddenly feeling shy and awkward.
"This is y/n," Amanda said to the others, presenting you to them like you were someone really exciting.
"Hi, y/n. I'm Jen."
You didn't tell her that you already knew who she was, who they all were. You just sat there and let everyone introduce themselves to you because that was the polite thing to do.
"Hi."
"You're young, aren't you?" Asked Kim, even though you knew that she probably already knew that.
You nodded though. "Yeah." Your voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm sixteen."
"But she's a superstar." It was nice of Amanda to butt in. It saved you from having to speak.
"I think we know that," McCabe said with an eye roll," I think we all saw that match-winning goal against Australia."
You winced slightly as you snuck a glance to McCabe's other side where Catley sat, the very defender that you megged before scoring your goal.
Your eyes widened in horror when she made eye contact. "Sorry." You looked down at your lap, hiding your shaking hands under the table.
"Don't sweat it, kid," Catley replied with an easy grin," No hard feelings. It was a good call." She smirked at you. "Though, the deer in headlights look you had after it went in was pretty funny."
Laughter rang out through the group and you relaxed marginally, groaning at the reminder. Everyone you knew had sent that picture to you and you knew for a fact that it was still circulating the internet as a meme.
●~●~●~●~
It was easy to settle into life at Arsenal.
You were still shy and awkward off the pitch but you fit in well with the other girls and Lina, Stina and Amanda were always ready to sweep you away when they noticed you getting too overwhelmed.
Somewhere along the way Catley became Steph and McCabe became Katie.
You weren't really sure when that happened but it was a welcome change from when you first joined.
"Come on, kid. You've been studying too much," Katie said as an arm dragged you away from your laptop to where the others were playing FIFA.
You were dumped between Less and Vic while Lina laughed.
"She's always studying."
You rolled your eyes. "Just because you don't have to go to school anymore, doesn't mean that I don't."
"Online school isn't really school," Cloe said before swearing when Gio scored another goal," It's like...school without the deadlines."
"Except the deadline is before Christmas," You replied with a huff," I have essays to write, Katie! Let me go!"
"Don't let her go, girls," Katie said from where she was curled up with Caitlin.
Alessia mockingly saluted as she bracketed you in her arms while Vic pinned down your legs.
"Less! Vic!" You squawked as you tried to wiggle away from them.
Their holds were unrelenting and made even worse when Kyra popped up out of nowhere, digging her fingers into your side and tickling you like you had personally offended her or something.
"Stop! Stop!" You laughed, tears running down your face as Kyra remained unrelenting. "Cait-Caitlin! Caitlin, help!"
Caitlin looked at you thoughtfully, humming to herself before giving you a faux look of sympathy. "Sorry, y/n, I can't. You see, I'm still holding a grudge against you for grabbing that bronze medal." She winked to let you know she was joking.
"Oh, come on!"
●~●~●~●~
It took you nearly two weeks of being in London to meet the ACL squad and it was only because Kathrine slid in for a tackle at the wrong time and hit your ankle.
You hadn't even been on the ground for that long but it was enough that Jonas sent Gio to take you to the physios to get it taped up with an extremely apologetic Kathrine following after you.
"I'm so sorry," She was saying when Gio shepherded you into the room," I'll make up for it. How does one of those big jelly baby packs sound?"
"I'm not allowed to eat them," You replied," Stina said that they'll rot my teeth."
"Fine, fine, I'll think of something. How about dinner? I'll buy you dinner for your cheat day. Just tell me when."
You rolled your eyes, having no intention of doing so but still nodded.
"What's up with all this commotion?"
You had to admit, seeing Leah Williamson in person made you feel a little starstruck and you immediately retreated into yourself.
Gio jerked her thumb at Kathrine. "Kuhl hurt the kid and seeing as we need the kid, Jonas wants her ankle taped."
"My ankle's fine," You said stubbornly but allowed a physio to usher you onto the bed between Goldie and Wienriother. You gave them both one of your trademark awkward smiles as you let the physio pull off your boot and socks.
You didn't want to look at your ankle, already knowing it was bruised by the way that you saw Goldie wince sympathetically at you while the physio moved away to grab some ice.
"That looks nasty," She said," Does it hurt?"
"Not too bad."
"I'm Teyah, by the way."
"y/n."
"I know." She smiled at you. "It's nice that there's someone younger than me and Naomi now."
You looked down bashfully. "Happy to be of service."
Next to you, Weinriother laughed. "Don't mind Teyah, she's just glad no one will call her kid anymore. I'm Laura, by the way."
"And I'm Beth!" She leaned over Laura to shake your hand before indicating to where her girlfriend was being worked on. "That's Viv, she's a little prickly sometimes but if you ever need some peace and quiet, I'm sure she wouldn't mind you sitting with her."
You nodded, still feeling a little awkward even though the tension had disappeared.
"You're living with Stina, right?" Leah asked," How's that going?"
"Good," You replied, focussed on the way that the physio was moving your ankle," She lets me play music on the speakers while I study."
Leah laughed. "I live right round the corner. If you ever need a break, feel free to pop in. I reckon I'm more fun than Stina anyway."
●~●~●~●~
You hated asking for help.
You hated it even more when you had to ask for help on schoolwork.
You were smart. You knew you were smart. If there were two things that a lack of parents in your life gave you, it was excellent football skills and the ability to solve your own problems.
But this maths section in your textbook was causing you more pain than a Katie tackle in training ever could.
You glanced around the room. The media room was almost always empty at this time of day - the two and a half hour window between morning training and the gym session.
Almost everyone lived close so headed back home to rest before coming back. Stina had asked if you wanted to head back home with her but you decided not to, needing to finish your maths homework.
Lina had asked if you wanted her to drop you off on her way to her own place as well but you didn't relent.
You hunkered down in the media room with your textbook and, after just over an hour, your eyes stung like you hadn't slept in three days.
You glanced around again and finally swallowed your pride.
"Frida?" You asked the least intimidating person in the room," Can you help me?"
She looked up from her phone. "What is it?" She dragged your textbook towards her. "Oh! I can help!"
Despite her optimism, within a few seconds, it became clear that Frida could absolutely not help you. The more she read through your problems, the deeper her frown got until she was holding a pencil between her fingers and mouthing the question to herself as if that would help her understand.
She looked positively ill when she looked up at you before she cleared her throat. "Lia? Do you know how to do fancy algebra?"
Lia, from across the room, sighed as she approached. "I used to be quite good at algebra," She boasted," What's the problem?"
"Algebra," You deadpanned, shoving the textbook and your notepad at her," Help."
To her credit, she got further than Frida did, jotting down her working out before falling at the last hurdle - just like you did. She frowned. "Give me a second."
She rewrote all of her work but still ended up stumped at the same place as before.
"Kim? Jen? How were you at maths in school?"
Kim and Jen tried to help as well but it was like the blind leading the blind. You were going around in circles.
"When are you going to need this in life?" Kim said, drawing a line through her most reason equation and sighing.
"Unless you want to be an engineer, never." Jen sighed and flipped the book shut. "You don't want to be an engineer, do you, kid?"
"I'm happy playing football."
●~●~●~●~
If you weren't doing schoolwork at every spare moment, it was safe to say that you napping.
Back at National Camp, it wasn't uncommon to find you curled up in bed or with your head in Frido's lap while everyone watched a movie.
It seemed that your need to nap every moment you weren't occupied had carried over to England.
It got a little embarrassing the first few times you had been caught napping in the communal space. It was even worse when you woke up to Viv staring down at you with an unreadable look on her face, taking in your form curled up under your travel blanket.
You had smiled nervously as she stood in front of you, unmoving.
When Beth appeared through the door a moment later, Viv shushed her sternly and tucked your blanket up over your shoulders again, taking a seat nearby with a book.
Beth, it seemed, hadn't been able to keep her mouth shut about it so your constant naps had just become an expected thing and, after Leah had accidentally woken you up and gotten yelled at by Viv for it, the team tended to just leave you alone.
You were slightly delirious and warm when you woke up from your nap, eyes fluttering open and then shut again.
The low murmur of chatter let you know that contrary to when you started your nap, you were now no longer alone.
You were still quite confused, brain still thick with sleep, but you could recognise Sabrina's Canadian-accented English so you gathered that the keepers had finished their morning practice and had found you asleep in the media room.
You also recognised that your head was now slightly elevated so one of them must have moved your head into their lap while you slept. That was nice. Sometimes you would wake up with a crook in your neck from sleeping on the beat-up sofa that Leah swore she was one bad back away from replacing herself.
Your eyes fluttered open again, blearily blinking.
Across from you, Naomi laughed. "The kid's awake."
"I'm not a kid," You said stubbornly even though you were," You're not that much older than me."
"Still older," Naomi replied.
Next to her, Sabrina laughed.
That meant that Manu was sitting with you, your head in her lap. She laughed as well, jolting you slightly as you clutched your travel blanket tighter around your body.
You yawned.
"How long until gym?"
"Hour and a bit," Came Manu's answer.
You hummed and yawned a second time.
"Don't tell me you're going back to sleep," Sabrina said.
"Fine. I won't tell you."
●~●~●~●~
You spent the first few matches stuck on the bench.
You were young and not as experienced as your teammates so it made sense that you would be stuck there for the time being. Besides, it made you feel a little bit better that Kyra was stuck on the bench as well so you had someone who acted younger than you to muck around with.
"Chin up," Laia said with a grin, an arm thrown over your shoulder as she walked onto the pitch with you for warmups," You're starting today. Aren't you excited?"
"You look more excited than me," You replied a little sourly," I...I feel a little sick if I'm honest."
"You'll do great."
"So long as you tie your boots correctly and don't trip," Noelle said in way of greeting.
Your cheeks lit up in flames instantly at the reminder of training a few days ago when Beth had snuck up behind you and made a stupid sound in your ear. You had jumped into the air in shock and your laces weren't tied correctly so you tripped over your own feet and went tumbling to the ground in a way that made you look clumsier than Alessia.
"Don't be mean," Lotte chastised as the four of you passed a ball around," y/n knows how to properly tie her laces." She sent you a teasing smile and a shrug. "Besides, I'm sure she'll have some of the older girls lining up to make sure they're done properly."
You huffed as you kicked the ball back to her. You spun on your heel. "You're all mean," You declared," I'm gonna warm up with Vic and Less."
●~●~●~●~
The ninety minutes of your debut match were gruelling.
The ball went back and forth between the teams. Every shot that went in was equalised quickly. Everyone was growing tired, especially when five minutes of extra time was awarded and Katie was one dirty tackle away from earning herself a yellow card.
You took a moment to catch your breath, pulling up your socks before breaking into a sprint.
The opposing team's defence was in shambles and you could see their goalkeeper getting antsy.
A long ball from Katie fell neatly into Alessia's feet and she began her run.
You followed after her quickly as the opposing defence broke their line. It was carnage for a moment as you both approached the box.
The goalkeeper came off her line ever so slightly as the defence mobbed Alessia, who passed quickly to you.
Your foot moved automatically as you chipped the ball over the goalkeeper's head and into the back of the net.
Your instincts got you the goal so when your brain finally caught up, you were sporting the same look on your face as the one you had when you won against Australia.
The final whistle rang out as you stood there in shock.
Half a moment later, the team crashed into you.
Less made it to you first, pulling you in for a tight hug before everyone else converged on you.
You felt a bit like a dog, with the amount of head pats you were receiving but the blinding smile on your face more than made up for it - especially when Viv meandered over and gave you a hug and congratulations.
"Come on, l/n!" Katie cheered as she dragged you through the victory lap. "Party tonight! I'll pay for the drinks!"
"She's sixteen," Lina reminded her.
"I didn't say we had to go out to a pub! It's legal for sixteen-year-olds to drink at home! What do you say, kid?"
You laughed. "Good luck getting Stina to agree."
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aphroditeinthesea · 1 month
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this was a request from @annaizcool44 but i accidentally deleted it when i tried to post it
“ safe in my garden, an ancient flower blooms ”
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jason grace x daughter of demeter ⚡️
reader expresses her feelings to the son of zeus through a shared love of books
tw none
⋆ ˚。 ⋆୨💐୧⋆ ˚。 ⋆
“Whatcha reading?” Y/N jumped at the sound of the voice behind her. She was sitting on the porch of the Demeter cabin when she noticed the blond approaching her.
She looked up and smiled, “Little Women,” she scooted over for him to sit next to her, “ever read it?”
He shook his head, sitting beside her. He leaned over her shoulder at the page she was on, “what’s it about?”
She felt her ears warm at the closeness, “these four sisters during the Civil War, and their dad’s fighting in the army so they're trying to adjust to their life now… I guess.”
“Can I borrow it sometime?”
Jason heard a knock at his door in the early morning. He yawned and rubbed his eyes as he stood up, walking to open it. He found on his doorstep a copy of Little Women with a sticky note on top that read “For Jason, with love Y/N” and he couldn't help but notice the fresh flowers that had sprouted around his cabin.
He smiled and looked around. He saw the girl peering from behind a nearby tree. She turned away, giggling, when he looked her way.
His heart warmed. He stepped back into his cabin and flipped through the pages, he found little notes in the margins and underlined quotes.
For the rest of the day, the book never left his hands. During breakfast, during training, his eyes were glued to the pages.
Just before the campfire, Y/N peeked into his cabin, “Jason?”
She noticed him wipe his eyes, “oh, uh, hey.”
She smiled and walked over to his bed, “Beth?”
He nodded, “yeah. Why would the author write that?”
She bit her lip, “Jase, it’s a true story.”
His eyes widened, “no.”
“Yes.”
Tears began pricked out of his eyes, “that makes it so much worse.”
She sympathetically laughed, wrapping her arms around him. He nuzzled his head into her neck. She couldn't help but smile at how the usual tough guy was now crying in her arms over a book. A book she had gifted him.
He pulled away, “your little note made it better though,” he grinned. He opened the book to the last page he had read, “Jason, when you get here, come to my cabin, I know you’ll need to.”
She laughed, “I think I know you too well.”
He nodded, “I think so.”
“You wanna read Pride and Prejudice?” she asked, “one more sister, happier ending.”
He chuckled, “might as well.”
She showed up to his cabin just before curfew, “the Bennett sisters, Jane, Lizzie, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, search for love in 1813 England,” she announced in a pretend professional voice.
“No scarlet fever?”
She shook her head, “no scarlet fever. Jane gets a cold, but it's nothing serious.”
He hesitantly grabbed the book from her hands, “thanks, Y/N.”
“No problem, Jason, it's nice getting to share these with you.”
“Yeah, it's nice for me, too,” he trailed off, looking away, “I should get to bed.”
“Right, yeah, of course,” she smiled, “goodnight.”
“‘Night,” he replied, closing the door.
“Oh, uh, one more thing.”
He slightly opened the door again, “hm?”
She took a deep breath and placed a kiss on his cheek, “see you in the morning.”
He stuttered, trying to suppress his blush, “yeah- yeah, see you,” he awkwardly smiled, closing the door again.
The next morning she watched him sit at the Zeus table, reading the book. Her heart raced as she knew he was getting closer to the last annotation she had written. She started to regret it, what if he thought the books just made them closer friends? Of course they were friends, she cursed herself for thinking he could see her differently. He glanced up at her, he flashed a smile and a nod her way. She turned pink, looking away.
“Y/N!” the all too familiar voice called to her as she sat by the dock, watching the sunset later that day.
She turned around, “Jason, hi,” she shyly smiled.
He took the spot next to her, handing the book back to her, “I finished the book.”
She nervously looked into his eyes, “and?”
“It was great!” he beamed, “everything about it.”
She furrowed her eyebrows, “even the ending?”
“That was the best part.”
“Jason,” she laughed, “did you even read the annotations?”
He squinted his eyes in confusion, “of course I did.”
She opened the book to the back cover. She folded it open and showed it to him. There was written in pink ink, “Will you be the Darcy to my Lizzie?”
“I know it’s cheesy,” she muttered, closing the book and turning away.
“Yes,” he paused, “wait, no. Yes to the question, not to it being cheesy. Well, it is cheesy but it’s cute. You're cute.”
She giggled, “thanks, so are you.”
He held her cheek in his hand, their gazes met before their lips crashed into one another. She placed her hands around his neck as he now held her face with both of his hands. When they pulled away, their foreheads leaned against one another and they could feel the other’s breath against their lips.
The next morning, Jason walked out his cabin to find a field of multicolored roses had encompassed him. He looked around just to find the girl responsible standing in the middle of the flowers, holding a book. He breathily laughed and made his way over to her.
“Here,” she smiled, handing him the book.
He took it, “Mansfield Park?”
“Jane Austen, she wrote Pride and Prejudice, too.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her into a kiss, “sounds perfect.”
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frownyalfred · 1 year
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not to get back on my eldritch wagon again so soon but I 100% believe when Bruce leaves Gotham, it gets upset. Furious, even.
It’s pretty bitchy even when he returns, though. Like a cat. Never happy you’re gone, and only marginally happier than that when you’re back.
Bruce can’t leave Gotham. Not if he wants the careful homeostasis he’s managed to stay in place. Even on short off-planet excursions to the Watchtower, he’s counting down the minutes until he has to return.
The JL thinks Batman is obsessed with his city. They’ve got it completely wrong. It’s the other way around.
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ddoxhan · 6 months
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say that it's love
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on a day when stars pour down, so precious and rare I'll listen to every word you say, especially when it's love
word count : 4.8k words
genre : fluff and a sprinkle of appreciation for the people around you; you've been planning to confess but end up failing and you finally realize plans don't work; florist!hanni x fem!reader (a year older than hanni); girlfriends for the win !
t/w : none :) mentions of murder but jokingly?? (i fr dk how to t/w stuff)
a/n : hello everyone ! i present to you the final chap for 'baby's breath and lemon candies' series :D i hope this was a good wrap up for the short series :) enjoy !
taglist : @keiji-jin
you've been telling yourself that you were going to confess to hanni. and that has been the seventh time you've told yourself that after making up your mind. thinking and imagining about it was the easy step of the plan, but as you try to move onto the next stage of actually carrying out the confession, you just can't find the right timing to do it. (or more like you were just second guessing everything and maybe, you misunderstood her actions and she doesn't actually like you)
your attempts to confess ended up futile. the first time was very ambitious, as you were overflowing with passion to make it the best (and last) confession hanni would ever receive in her entire life. but that passion was met with the 'closed' sign on blooming potion's front door. a small note in the owner's cute handwriting, indicated she had closed early for personal reasons. (you forgot that hanni told you she was going to close early that day for a high school reunion dinner)
and that fact made you feel a little disheartened as it meant that she was going to be meeting her acquaintances who might possibly take the initiative to hit on hanni. to be fair, she's so beautiful that if they were to find out she was still single, your chance would be out the window that very second. (in the near future, you will come to know that all this worry was all for nothing because this certain someone had already fallen down the rabbit hole of love so deep, and she's happier than ever to be there)
since your plans were technically ruined (by yourself), you trudged your way back to blue rain in hopes that your beloved bosses were still in the middle of cleaning up the cafe. lucky for you, they were and you offered to close together. chaewon and minju noticed that you were looking unusually down hence they invited to go for a drink at downtown. technically, you had nothing to do so why not take up the offer? (safe to say, those two had to carry you back to your place and throw you onto your bed cause you drank till you were wasted)
the following attempt had a small margin of success but you were being a coward during the walk back home with her. fidgeting with the bicycle handles, kicking the small pebbles by the road, looking up into the sky, you name it. you tried so hard to shake off the nervousness and fear of getting rejected if you were to confess at that very moment. and by the time you thought you were ready, hanni had already walked up to her doorstep, waving goodbye with that smile you love. (which had you waving back at her awkwardly, as if you weren't so close to shout across that you liked her. which you didn't because that wasn't the best way to confess, obviously)
many more attempts had similar outcomes — failure. you weren't sure why it would end up being bad timings, or your cowardice getting the better of you. or sometimes, the thought of the confession flew past your head because you were too busy admiring hanni as you adore the way she puckers her lips every now and then when she talks about something, and the way her eyes sparkle when it comes to a topic she is interested in. (you were a simp for her, and you loved every second of it)
"you know, just standing by that counter every day at 8 won't get you a girlfriend."
chaewon's voice broke your trance as you tried to figure what went wrong with the last time you tried to confess.
"and you say that because you confessed to minju-unnie on the third date."
"no, I'm saying that because your ass needs to get moving before someone else stumbles upon your crush and makes a move on her."
you slouched on the counter with your arms, running your hands through your hair in frustration.
"it's not that I don't try, unnie. I've been attempting to for the past seven times."
the older girl gave you a skeptical look before standing from her seat by the window, placing her book down next to her cup of iced tea. (it wasn't peak hour so the shop didn't have any customers for the time being, therefore chaewon took the opportunity to laze around as she sent minju out to deliver the online orders)
"I don't know how you've attempted the past seven times, but have you ever considered not planning ahead?"
you looked up from your slouched position to find her leaning against the counter, eyeing you from above before she made her way into the working station.
"I've known you for three years now, and I just know that you would plan things ahead, a little too much ahead."
all you could do was stay silent and chuckle awkwardly because whatever chaewon had said was undeniably true.
"you love things to be perfect, just like how you would want the confession to be the most special, wonderful and extravagant experience for hanni."
"but you missed out on the part where it needs to be heartfelt."
with that, something rang within you. the bell of realization. you realize you weren't able to bring yourself to confess or carry out that plan in your head as it made things artificial. telling hanni you liked her had to come from your heart, not your brain. (during these kind of times, you thank chaewon for not roasting your dumb ass)
"and with it being heartfelt, it can also be simple."
while the older had hit you with words of wisdom, she had already finished brewing up a fresh cup of ice americano for you. it was one of the easiest to make on the menu and also a staple drink for customers in this season of summer.
just like this cup of ice americano, your confession could be simple and straightforward. no public stunts, no sparkles and party poppers, no surprises that would ruin the mood. just you, yourself, would bring out the best confession that only both you and hanni would ever know.
chaewon could only chuckle at your face of astonishment and enlightenment from her words. if she were to be truthful, although she had confessed on her third date with minju, she had also struggled to confess a lot of times before saying sike by kissing her. she had long noticed her on campus before they had officially met through the arranged date. (therefore she was speaking from experience)
she handed you the cup of coffee before leaving to finish that book she left on the table. as you drank your dose of caffeine for the day, you were motivated to just let that confession come naturally, just like how your feelings for hanni fell upon you.
the day went by rather quickly compared to the previous days where you were racking your head over the confession. before you bid farewell to chaewon and minju after closing up, you felt the urge to throw those two into a bear hug, and you did.
"what's with the sudden affection? are you going to kill us and take over the shop?"
minju thought you were going through late puberty these days, so she just went with the flow of whatever you did. including squealing like a lovesick high school girl swooning over a hot guy, which wasn't too far from where instead, you were just squealing over how cute hanni looks when she's asleep. (you went over to blooming potion as usual to walk the florist home but was met with a breathtaking sight of her asleep on the counter. therefore you couldn't help but take approximately 100 photos of her before she woke up naturally)
"maybe, who knows?"
and your playful reply earned a smack on your back from chaewon. but you just laughed it off, knowing that she rolled her eyes at your antics.
"okay, I'm not going to kill you but I am going to thank you for always being here for me, like older sisters."
"you guys just know what to say and when to say it, and I just felt like I wanted to thank you for it."
chaewon and minju exchanged glances and soon tears filled their eyes as it was their turns to bring you into a bear hug.
"you're growing up so fast."
"our baby is so mature these days, I feel so sad."
"why the hell are you talking like you raised me or something?"
they actually do treat you like their baby, especially when minju is giving you butt pats and squishing your cheeks right now.
"technically we sort of did throughout university until we graduated, and we're still raising you through your uni days."
"alright moms, I think the affection session has ended, so I will get going."
as you squirm out of their tight grips, they each gave you a ruffle on your hair before they walked hand in hand towards the opposite direction. (those two act more like your parents than your actual ones)
when you turned around, the familiar sight of blooming potion filled your heart with warmth and love. the thought of being this in love with someone would have never crossed your mind even if just a year ago. it's about time you knew, maybe, you don't like her.
maybe, you love her.
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"need help with that?"
the soft ring of the bell on the door accompanied with your voice was something hanni could never get tired off. instead, it was more than she can ever ask for to have you by her side every day as you two walked home. all the days throughout spring into summer this year was special to her. (when she turned over to her left, you came into sight, smiling at her, and that's when her day is complete)
"unnie, I'm pretty sure you're shorter than I am."
she whipped her head towards the sound of your voice while she was arranging some stocks on the top shelves. your offended face had her burst out in laughter but thankfully, she was careful enough up there to not drop anything.
"you're lucky I'm in a good mood today, so I'm letting you off the hook."
it's been months since you've met hanni and came over every evening to walk her home. you oh so naturally walked over to the counter to close the cashier, followed with cleaning up the flower remnants on the countertops.
"what put you in a good mood?"
hanni came down from the ladder before walking over to you by the countertops.
"I don't know, I just feel happy and all that. just not in a bad mood, I guess."
you actually didn't know why. perhaps, you woke up on the right side of the bed, the cafe didn't have any nasty customers with complicated orders, and chaewon wasn't roasting your ass for once. maybe all of these combined made you a better day than the rest, which were undeniably good days too. (you had a hunch that something good was going to happen but couldn't pinpoint on what it was exactly)
"then that calls for a celebration!"
seeing the girl being happy on your behalf, although it was something so trivial. it warmed your heart a little, reminded that you have someone who cherishes you more than yourself.
"for my good mood?"
"yup! we can head to town for this really good ramen place, and right opposite it is a bakery I've really wanted to try."
whenever hanni talked about food, especially bread, her face would literally light up. the next thing you know, you'll have her ramble on about what bread she's into right now and what new stores she's discovered. (you found it really adorable, very endearing as all you do whenever she does that is stare and nod because whatever she likes, you will also)
"sounds like you're eager to go more than I do."
you couldn't help but let a chuckle escape your lips as her cheeks are painted with a light shade of pink. her attempt to hide by turning around with her back facing you let you know you were bullseye. (not sure if it's because you two spend so much time together, her ears turn red when she's shy or embarrassed, just like you do)
"alright, let's close up real quick and head over. hope you don't mind my driving."
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renting a car definitely wasn't within the budget. it simply amazes you every time when you find yourself doing the unimaginable for the love of your life.
"two bowls of regular pork bone soup ramen, with an agedashi tofu side. thank you."
the place was rather quiet, despite being in the always bustling town. you wonder how hanni had found such a place, and before you could even look over to ask her, it's as if she read your mind.
"actually, an old friend of mine owns this place. she's currently out right now so maybe later, I could introduce you to her."
"I haven't even asked you, yet you just know what goes on in my head."
"perks of spending time together every day? you know how much we talk throughout the walks and those calls."
"well that, I can't deny."
curiosity about this friend of hers occupied your mind, which had you shoot your question.
"who's this old friend by the way? high school acquaintaince?"
"mhm, we reconnected after losing contact with each other at the reunion dinner the other day."
a nod was your only answer, because what else could you have done? imagine being so young and already running a whole shop on your own, you could never. not when you're only a struggling university student. (to be honest, you were slightly jealous of this old friend of hers before coming to know that she was already dating someone)
before you could create the worst scenarios of hanni and her friend in your head, the food arrived quicker than you expected. maybe god was also trying to save you from unnecessary heartache and worry about those two because really, there was absolutely nothing to fret about.
you tried your best to tell yourself that, but you just couldn't shake off that feeling of uncertainty which began eating you up. rather than eating up the bowl of ramen in front of you. even the younger girl felt it in the air around you, constantly eyeing you as you looked troubled, contradicting the very reason why you were here.
"hanni?"
"jen!"
an unfamiliar voice uttering her name had your head shoot up so fast, you almost choked on that piece of meat that you were swallowing. your eyes followed hanni's movements before it stopped upon a figure a lot taller than her. that was when your head short-circuited before it proceeded to run on that energy drink you had earlier.
"why didn't you tell me you were gonna drop by?"
"it isn't a surprise anymore if I just tell you."
their banter seemed so natural that it made you feel a little out of place. but you kept a façade that you believed wasn't too easy to see through, that you were making this stranger who is an acquaintance of hanni, your competition. (as you relived these memories in a very near future, you wished to smash your head into a wall, hoping to get a wake-up call because you were an idiot for even thinking)
but that didn't last long as your date tiptoed to whisper into jen's ears with the latter bending down a little to match their height. you had no right to be fuming but you did, internally and discreetly. (however, that was when you didn't know that hanni had been asking for advice from jen about her extremely obvious crush on an extremely obvious someone. what she whispered was, 'that's the girl I like by the way, so don't do anything stupid')
the two walked back over to your table before jen flashed you an unsettling and mysterious smile that had some meaning behind it, offering her hand along.
"nice to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you from hanni."
"jennifer, or yunjin. if you prefer korean."
her glance over to the said girl earned her a smack before you stood up to accept the handshake politely.
"nice to meet you, yunjin. although she hasn't told me anything about you, I did hear that you own this place."
"yes I do, along with my girlfriend. I hope you like the food so far, they're century-old recipes passed down from my girlfriend's family so I can guarantee it'd be the best ramen you can have in town."
although yunjin was explaining about the restaurant, you blanked out after hearing the word 'girlfriend'. it would have been great if you could just dig up a hole instantly and bury yourself in it cause oh boy, why did you put yourself through so much agony only to find out this rival of yours wasn't even competing with you in the first place. it was as if you were putting up a fight with an inflatable balloon, if that made sense.
"are you okay?"
the concern laced in hanni's voice dragged you out of your daze.
"yeah, I'm fine. sorry about that, just had a little something going in my head. not the best first impression, I know."
"don't worry, we all have those times. I'll take my leave first, I hope you enjoy the rest of your dinner."
as yunjin excused herself to tend to the restaurant, the two of you resumed with your meals. hanni's eyes never left you the entire time which made you a little awkward before malfunctioning altogether. her undivided attention on you made you wary of everything you did, including the way you chewed on your food or how big each bite was. it was making your heart pound a little harder than usual, but the thought of that didn't cross her mind as she was genuinely worried that you might have been uncomfortable with something.
alas, she was put to ease when you started to regain that playful demeanor of yours towards the end of the meal. you also let your guard down a little when hanni gave yunjin and her girlfriend, kazuha, a hug before leaving the restaurant. the two owners were bigger lovebirds than you expected, ultimately letting out that breath you were holding unknowingly. (honey, loosen up because no one's gonna take your girlfriend away from you)
initially, you were to drive back after dinner and drop your date off before heading back to your place. but seeing how there probably won't be another chance like this (a car you meant) with her, here goes nothing.
"would you mind if we headed south to the beach?"
you suggestion was either a hit or miss, and you could tell hanni loved the idea from the way her eyes shimmered a little at the thought of the calming ambience and scent of the sea. (it's been a while since she visited and she had always loved the sea more than mountains. it oddly felt like home, and so did you)
"of course! after all, I'm not the one driving."
she tried to play off her excitement nonchalantly, earning a chuckle from you.
"alright, let's head off then."
"oh, and we can even have those pastries by the beach."
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perhaps because it was a weekday, there weren't many people by the beach. and you weren't complaining as that meant peace and quiet from potential screaming children. (you don't despise kids, but sometimes they can really get on your nerves)
you used to come to the beach back in your hometown as a kid with your parents and sister. your mom would enjoy the sun under the parasol while your dad went to fetch some drinks from the nearby store. you and your sister would build sandcastles and occasionally fight over who made a better one. (your dad would usually be the mediator, critiquing both sandcastles as if they were one of his projects)
the visits slowly died down as you grew older and you were convinced that your sister studying overseas contributed to it. but you do agree that the beach visits need not be so often, especially when your parents were getting old. (it was much better when your mom started reconnecting with her school friends and your dad going for golf with his retiree partners, enjoying the personal time they finally have after you moved out too)
"there's a really nice gazebo over there."
hanni pointed over to the lone gazebo sitting in the middle of the sand. it was a really odd place to see one but you did not question further as she pulled you along. (it would have been nice if she gave you more time to grab the box of pastries cause you almost shook up everything in it)
"hanni, slow down! the pastries are gonna get ruined!"
sometimes, you wonder if she loved bread more than she loved you. that does not sound right. hey, as a friend. (but not for long)
"my pastries!"
she came into an instant halt, making you almost squashing your face against her shoulder. the halt was necessary, with you by the gazebo already. it was a lot more cozy than you had expected, still a little chilly from the night breezes but it was just nice.
you knew she was very impatient ever since you had mentioned the beach. from the way her fingers kept fiddling with the hem of her shirt and how she struggled to conceal a wide grin from being plastered across her face.
hanni couldn't even wait for you to take a seat next to her as she opens the box, revealing the pastries that you and her had chosen before having dinner. even after a bowl of ramen, she still had more space for dessert. (you know what they say, people have a second stomach for desserts and hanni was not an exception)
the food you had earlier was finally easing down from potential indigestion. so you decided to watch the way her cheeks are puffed up from being full with pastries, the way her hair fluttered along the wind, and that cream below her mouth. (you found it adorable which had you leave it there for a while before doing something about it)
"you got some cream there."
pointing at your own to show her, hanni's eyes bore into yours as she attempts to wipe it off. she misses by a margin before trying again, and fails to locate it.
the smile on your face never left while she struggled, rummaging your pocket for the packet of tissue you usually carry along with you. pulling a single piece out, you folded it properly before facing her.
suddenly, you felt yourself break down. not emotionally, rather physically. you know when you see something so entrancing and mesmerizing, you just stop doing whatever you did and changed your course of action according to the visual info? yeah, that was your exact response.
the moonlight cascading on hanni's face, how her eyes glisten, as if she was looking at a person she cherishes a lot. perhaps she does cherish you a lot. and the proximity between your faces was a lot to take in (at this very moment, there was only one thing in your mind, and it sounds absolutely amazing)
your hand holding that tissue dropped down as you dived in to kiss the cream off of hanni's skin. it was a quick peck, your upper lip lightly grazing her lower lip as you pulled back to see her frozen. (big doe eyes, stiff body, mouth agape. if someone happened to walk past at that timing, they would've thought she saw a ghost)
you didn't know where that immense courage came from, and you were pretty sure even hanni was taken aback by your bold move. usually, she would be the one giving you cheek kisses for walking her back.
the grin that was already sporting on her face was replaced with a wider one if possible, and a different one at that. something about it told you that she was more than okay with what you had did back there. and maybe, it caused something to click in your head, figuratively and perhaps literally as if a switch had flipped on.
.
.
.
'confess.'
this very thought caused the adrenaline to course through your system, driving you into an overdrive of emotions. feeling that this was the timing to do it, you take a deep breath as you opened your mouth.
"I like you."
did you already say it before you actually thought you were ready? but that didn't sound like your voice. by the time you had snapped back from your questions, you felt a pair of hands cupping your cheeks before pulling you in closer.
everything went by like a flash and before you could comprehend things properly, hanni's lips on yours was the only thing that mattered at that moment. you could feel chills run down your back before leaving a tingling feeling across your whole body, contradicting the warmth that filled your insides. you weren't making any sense with your descriptions but whatever. (it might have been because of the wind but you knew better that it was hardly cold on summer nights)
'so this is how kisses feel like,' as you thought to yourself. the quick peck wasn't quite similar with this. you could feel hanni's feelings in that kiss, as if she was trying to tell you that she had been in love with you ever since she met you. (technically she did, but it was that she took approximately a week after to admit)
the kiss didn't last very long, considering how you practically broke down as your hands not knowing where to go. if anything, you were sure you looked like an absolute idiot in love with the person right in front of you, which was perfectly accurate.
"so.. do you like me too?"
maybe something about kissing hanni had a certain effect on you as you proceed to nod to her affirmative question, totally forgetting how to make up words to answer her. in a simple conclusion, your brain crashed and automatically had 404 error windows popping up, like how it usually does when she gets too close to you.
"gosh why are you so cute."
the compliments didn't help either with your crimson cheeks as they soon spread through your entire face. the sight of you being embarrassed than ever created the urge for her to wrap you in her arms as she coos at you, which she gladly succumbed to.
although you hadn't said much since, the reciprocated hug consisted of a thousand words of reassurance that you felt the same for her, if not more. as you remained still, listening carefully to your heartbeat and breaths slowly matching hers, your heart swelled when you realized that you found someone to love and that someone loves you very dearly too.
"you know, actually."
hanni's voice pierced through your attention on the everlasting moment. she pulled away slightly from the embrace, yet still holding onto you, before gazing into your eyes and saying the words that you didn't know you wanted to hear from the person you have met accidentally in spring, which was your most hated season.
"I love you,"
"and I will for as long as you and I are here."
every moment spent with hanni felt like a dream, even now. countless times, you had felt that you weren't someone who deserves such an angel in your mundane days, but she reassures you that you are someone who's deserving of all the nice things that exists in the world. (which she hates about because you were more than deserving of love and warmth, and she had been ready to be the one who gave those to you for a long time)
your hearty laugh wasn't something she or anyone in particular got to hear often. it was as if you were content with whatever that life was, for the first time. for the first time that you received the love that you had always wanted. and also because hanni stole your confession right out of your hands.
"you know, that was kinda my line, but I'll let it slide because I am in a good mood today."
"but also because it's you. you're my only exception, pham hanni."
"if I can, I'll say it over and over again until you get tired of me."
.
"I love you,"
"like baby's breath and lemon candies."
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avonne-writes · 22 days
Note
In real life Buck did Advanced Calculus classes at the Stalag. Can you imagine Bucky just going there to look at Buck talking about math or just to annoy Buck with stupid questions like “Professor Buck does 2+2=7?" and Buck just ignoring him and all the others that don't know them being like ?? and the people from the 100 being like 🤦‍♂️. But when Alex gets to the camp and start asking smart questions and start debating with Buck and Buck is so excited about talking about math and physics and he tells Bucky how amazing Alex is and Bucky gets more and more jealous (maybe he will at one point push Buck in a room and kiss him) or be like ohhh Alex you new best friend
Calculus classes in the stalag?? This needs to be a fic yesterday! 😍
Bucky dutifully attends every class, both to support Gale and to see him at least marginally happier than he usually is in the camp.
Hahaha, jealous Bucky is always a classic! I love the friendship between Alex and Gale but I imagine it might take some time for Bucky to realize Alex isn’t a threat to his spot in Gale’s life.
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Text
A Fresh Start [9]
Din Djarin x F!Reader
Warnings: a bit of a longer one, sorry if that’s not your forte, reader has nightmares involving being attacked, traumatic past, scar, fake name mentioned
Word Count: 6,275
Summary: When   you made plans for your future they never involved being hired by a  Mandalorian to baby-sit his adorable, green gremlin of a child.    However, after your life fell apart in the span of one disastrous   night,  you found it to be the only feasible option you had left. Nevarro was a  far cry from Coruscant, but the thriving community  turned  out to be  exactly what you needed. Every day you spend in Nevarro you  fall more  and more in love with your new life, but when  your past rears  its ugly  head you find that perhaps peace wasn’t meant  for everyone.
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Ch. #09: BUIR, GROGU, MA
Chapter Summary: ‘There is no one else, there will be no one else, it’s only you’.
     “Have you ever noticed how  
     wanting  
     burns you up  
     from the inside out?  
     Like one moment I am whole,  
     but then I hear  
     your voice on the phone  
     and I swear to God  
     three blocks away from here  
     they can smell smoke.”  
 As if you hadn’t already felt at home with Grogu and Mando, by the end of the month you couldn’t fathom how you once lived without them. The places you’ve lived prior— Coruscant before and after the incident, Tatooine where you chose to hide— you realized now you’d hadn’t truly been living. Even at your prime, a young recently out of training physician with the world at her fingertips, there had been a hole. You spent so much time busy, trying to reach your goals, that you let other aspects slips away. You didn’t regret the work you put in, you didn’t regret being independent, but you didn’t know a home could feel so… perfect. And, that’s what your life in Nevarro was. It was perfect.
 Grogu was thriving in school. Every day he seemed to know a new word in Basic and he had made so many friends. The routine of your life would look repetitive to someone on the outside looking in, but by the Maker did you adore every second of it. Mando had permanently decided to change the time he went into work. He assured you it had nothing to do with not trusting you and him just wanting to be there for Grogu. So, every week day morning the two of you would walk Grogu to school and then you’d walk Mando to work.
 And Mando was…
 You loved Grogu. Arguably to a fault. You weren’t sure how the ‘nanny rules of professionalism’ worked but growing so attached to the child in your care had to be frowned upon in some way. Crushing on the child’s father was also hugely frowned upon you’d guess, but it hadn’t stopped you. Mando was… Mando.
 It was hard to put it into words, or maybe you were just too scared to try, but something about him spoke to your soul. Before coming to Nevarro, you had never put much thought or faith into soulmates. Even now the idea made you marginally cringe with how cheesy and dorky you sounded, but it was possibly the simplest explanation. There was something about the make up of your cells and atoms that just called to him. You felt better in his presence. Happier. Safer. Cared for. Seen. Mando listened when you spoke, truly listened, and he seemed to remember every detail you offered him. Food preferences, favorites, old memories, fun facts. The heavy beskar seemed to soak up every detail and though he may not have been a man of many words, he was a man of action.  Mando didn’t hesitate to show you how much he appreciated you, and with every kind action you were falling harder and harder.
 You had it bad.
 Nima teased you relentlessly about him, and you constantly reminded her that this was as far as it could go. A simple crush. A longing. At the end of the day, though your feelings had evolved, he was still your boss. Mando was paying you to watch Grogu, paying you to live in his home, paying you to be present. The fact that he was willing to cross that line and be friends was blessing enough. You couldn’t push any further and risk ruining what you had. If you lost Grogu and Mando because you were too stupid to swallow your emotions you’d never forgive yourself.
 It was a fact you constantly had to remind yourself of.
 “Why would you come hang out with me only to sit there and daydream about the Marshal?” Nima complained. You glanced her way to see her wearing a comical pout.
 “I am not— ” You began, but Nima stared you down with a knowing look. You shifted in your seat and moved on from the flimsy excuse. “Shouldn’t you be working?”
 Nima was seated on the floor working on some kind of engine looking machine while you sat a few feet away on a crate. She shrugged. “Yeah, but you were supposed to keep me entertained while I work.”
 “Well, sorry to disappoint.” You rose from your seat as you noted the time. “You’re really gonna pout now since I have to go.”
 “What, why??” Nima asked. You pointed to the large clock on the garage wall that indicated it was nearly 3PM. She startled. “Oh kriff, Peli is gonna kill me. I was supposed to have this done half an hour ago!”
 You laughed at her panic and tossed her a half hearted goodbye before walking out of the garage. Mando was able to walk Grogu to school everyday with you, but you were primarily in charge of pick up since he couldn’t always get off of work for that. Rarely ever.  
 As you waited for the kids to get out, you casually held conversation with the other parents standing near you. You had gotten to know a few pretty well. Especially the ones who Grogu had befriended their kid. Another person you had gotten to know was Grogu’s teacher. Ms. Wynn was sunshine personified and you assumed that helped in her role as teacher to a class of rowdy, small children. Grogu loved her and when she asked for volunteers around class or with extra work you stepped up. Partly to be more involved with anything surrounding Grogu, and also because you sure as hell had the time.
 Ms. Wynn stepped out to release the class and you drifted closer to say hello to her while also picking up Grogu. Grogu, realizing you were coming closer to do so, didn’t bother checking with his teacher and instead leapt toward you as soon as you were close enough. You pulled him into a tight hug that he returned with gusto.
 “How was school, baby?” You cooed.
 “Fun! Play with Poe!” Grogu chirped. Poe was his favorite friend in school. You had the little boy over for play dates a few weekends alongside his parents.
 “Good.” You peppered light kisses to his face to make him squirm and giggle at the onslaught. Ms. Wynn stepped closer and greeted you. “Hey! How’re you?”
 She chuckled. “I’m doing well thank you for asking.” Ms. Wynn raised an eyebrow at Grogu. “Grogu, what are the rules about leaving the line? You’re supposed to check with me first, aren’t you?”
 Grogu nodded. “Sorry.”
 He still had a hard time pronouncing the letter ‘R’ which had the word come out sounding like ‘W’s but he was improving. Though he apologized, nothing about the way he bounced in your arms was apologetic.
 “That’s probably more my fault.” You winced. “My bad.”
 “It happens.” She shrugged. “There’s a little activity I put in his bag for him to do. We’re discussing families so I asked the kids to draw their own families.” Ms. Wynn tickled his belly. “Grogu told us all about his Uncle Boba and Aunt Fennec.”
 Those were names you vaguely recognized when Mando pointed out the figures in Grogu’s drawings. Maybe you’d ask for more detail tonight and where they were specifically. The two of you said goodbye to Ms. Wynn and you began to walk away from the school.
 “Hmm, I’m thinking that a good boy like you deserves a treat.” You hummed and his ears perked up. “Wanna stop for some ice cream?”
 “ ‘lek! ‘lek! Please!” Grogu went ecstatic in your arms as he tried to crawl out of your grip to beat you to the small shop you’d have to pass on your way home. You sighed contentedly and didn’t bother trying to mask the wide grin on your features.
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 Din Djarin was happy. More than happy, he was at peace. He spent so much of his life traveling alone, keeping to himself, and trying not to want for more. He had been so focused on earning credits from bounties to pass along to the Armorer as offering to the foundlings at the covert that he didn’t let any other want or need enter his mind. It wasn’t until Grogu came into his life that he began to realize how much he wanted a family. He was tired of being alone. His earliest memories were of his parents. Flashes of a life on Aq Vetina before the world around him crumbled to ash. Memories of his mother holding him, singing him to sleep, and of his father playing with him, holding him on his shoulders so he could reach the sky. That’s what Din wanted more than anything. That was the deep secret he had buried years and years ago and refused to think about.
 When Grogu became his, Din had let himself dream of a better life. That better life didn’t involve anything further than being a father though. Realistically, he couldn’t imagine finding anything more. Being Grogu’s father was already more than he deserved⏤ Din thought it foolish to think he’d want for anything else. He was settled. Content. Then, as if to specifically prove him wrong, the universe led you into the station that first day with Nima.
 Din had no idea, no way of knowing, how important you would grow to be to him. With every single day that passed, every single moment, he found the roots of your presence twisting deeper and deeper into his soul⏤ twisting into every aspect of him. Suddenly, Din didn’t want some vague white picket fence life. No, he wanted you. The Maker could appear before him and offer him the galaxy on a platter, the supposed picture perfect life, but if it didn’t involve you he didn't want it. Din was falling for you more and more every single moment of every single day, and as if he didn’t have it bad enough watching you with Grogu melted him into a puddle.
 Din would cross the universe, fight any adversary in the galaxy, for the honor of coming home to you and Grogu every night for the rest of his life. The thought of calling you his⏤ Maker, Din didn’t have the strength to stay on that line of thought for very long. Not publicly at least. He could only afford to give into weakness in the dead of night. Din would let you flood his thoughts when he was alone. It was all he could afford. It was all he could do. You were only in his life because he was paying you. That’s what he kept reminding himself of. Sometimes it was the only thing that kept him from giving in⏤ from pulling you into his arms so he could feel how soft your skin felt, what sounds you’d make, rather than just imagining it in a moment of weakness alone in the shower.
 However, Din would never put Grogu’s happiness at risk. He loved you, you loved him. Din wanted you to stay in his son’s life for as long as he could have you, and the idea of ruining that made him sick to his stomach. Din had never been in a real relationship. He had been with others in the past, but nothing serious or long lasting and that’s what Din wanted from you. Not just sex, not just a fling, he wanted a life. He wanted everything. And, as if the fact that he was your employer wasn’t enough, Din didn’t trust that he could do that right. You deserved the entire world, and Din wasn’t sure he was capable of giving that.
 The point was that he would do anything and everything to keep his life exactly how it was right now. He wanted no sort of change, no risk of it even, which was exactly why he didn’t hesitate before telling Greef Karga no.
 “Mando,” Karga shook his head, “You didn’t even pause to think.”
 “I don’t need to.” Din shrugged. Karga had called him into his office to discuss matters. While Karga sat at his desk with wide and confused eyes, Din simply leaned against the wall resting his hands on his belt.
 Karga rose from his seat. “The bounty pucks I’m offering you are beyond⏤”
 “I don’t care.” Din said. He tilted his head, “I didn’t know you were still involved with the guild at all, High Magistrate Karga.”
 “Not like before, nothing like before!” Karga waved away his words. “Just passing out a few pucks here and there. Only to the best that I know.” He motioned his arms out to him. “And that’s you, Mando!”
 “You offered me the position of Marshal here.” Din argued. “It’s difficult to be Marshal when I’m on a different planet.”
 Karga shook his head. “The bounties would be short term. Just here and there. You recruited Dune and Mayfeld. They can keep an eye on things while you pick up a bounty or two, surely?” Din didn’t bother offering a response. He had made himself plenty clear. Karga stepped closer. “It’s simple stuff for high value. I’m talking about someone who skipped bail for a price you wouldn’t believe. A man who⏤”
 “No, Karga.” Din replied. “Now, are we done?”
 “I suppose.” Karga sighed and threw his hands up in defeat.
 Din nodded once before pushing off the wall and making his leave. He had taken a lot of risks throughout his life as a bounty hunter, but this was one risk he was not willing to make. You and Grogu were much, much too important to him.
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 You leaned against the island counter reading the assignment Ms. Wynn had told you about. It was simple enough. She just wanted the kids to draw out their family and label them. Thinking it over, you may have to find some larger poster of some kind for him to use. Grogu may not have had a lot of immediate, blood related family, but he had no shortage of people who loved him. He had aunties and uncles galore.
 “Fruit!” Grogu was holding his stuffed frog to his chest as he waddled into the kitchen. You glanced down at him with a smile, and he began to jump around your legs. “Fruit, fruit, fruit.”
 “Okay, okay, you little womp rat.” You laughed and wandered to the fridge. There were already some cut up pieces from this morning that you could hand over to him. You pulled it out then dug a small bowl out of the cabinet to transfer it over for him. After grabbing a fork, you turned back to him. “Alright, I’ll trade you. You give me froggie and I’ll give you fruit.” You were attempting to keep froggie from needing another wash knowing Grogu would get the sticky fruit juice all over it. “Deal?”
 “Mhmm.” Grogu nodded and held up the frog. You knelt down to take it and handed over the fruit. Grogu took it happily, then titled his head at you. “V’ore, Ma!”
 Your brain began to short circuit as Grogu just waddled away. Had he just⏤? ‘V’ore’ meant thanks. You knew that. You racked your brain for a Mando’a word that sounded like ‘Ma’. That had to be Mando’a, right? He couldn’t have possibly just⏤ You scrambled around the kitchen island to reach Grogu who had settled on the floor amongst his toys and drawings to eat. “Grogu, Grogu, baby.” You sat in front of him. “What did you⏤ I⏤” How did you even phrase this question? You shook your head. “Who am I? I’m Soran, right? Soran.”
 You said the name slowly to try and get him to repeat it, but Grogu just stared up at you like you were actively losing your mind. Maybe you were. Maybe you had misheard and this was just⏤
 “Ma.” Grogu blurted. “You Ma.” You blinked in shock. Denial still swirled in your head, trying to find some kind of reasoning, but Grogu set down his fruit to dig through his piles of paper. Some had drawings and some had letters in Basic and Mando’a that you had been practicing. He dug out a picture where he had obviously scribbled Mando holding him while you stood beside them. It was absolutely adorable, but your eyes stared wide at the labeling. Above Mando’s head he had written the word ‘buir’ in Mando’a, you recognized the lettering, above his own head he had scribbled his name, and above you he had written two simple letters. ‘MA’. Grogu offered you the paper with a happy chirp. “Buir, Grogu, Ma.”
 The first instinct you had was to smile and take the paper. You were honored that this small, precious child would see you in that kind of light. That he cared for you⏤loved you⏤ enough to give you that important of a label. The second emotion to overcome you was pure, absolute panic.
 “Oh, Maker.” You blurted. Slowly, as to not cause the boy to feel the nervous energy threatening to radiate off you, you stood and walked back to the kitchen with the picture in hand. The moment you reached the island counter, you used your communicator to reach out to Nima. She needed to be here. Now.
 It took ten minutes before there was a knock at the door and you jumped off the couch so fast that it caused Grogu to look up from what he was playing with. You yanked the door open to see Nima and Cara standing on the porch. “Cara?”
 “Is everything alright?” Nima pushed past you.
 Cara followed. “Grogu okay?”
 “He’s fine.” You shut the door and followed after them. When they saw Grogu playing in the living room they seemed to relax, and when the boy realized they were here he began to rush over to greet them excitedly. They reacted accordingly.
 “Hey, little guy!” Nima picked him up. Cara tickled him with a grin. They both turned to you and Nima was the first to question you. “What’s going on? Your message seemed panicked and you’re never panicked.”
 “Cara, why are you here?” You ignored Nima’s question to ask one of your own. “Did you guys tell Mando⏤”
 “Relax.” Cara held a hand up as if that would put a halt to your fried nerves. “It’s my day off. I was with Nima when you called.” You let out a sigh of relief, and Cara narrowed her eyes at you curiously. “What is going on, Soran? Did the kid eat another critter?”
 You shook your head. “No, it’s⏤”
 “Ma!” Grogu held his arms out to you.
 Nima and Cara both stared at Grogu in surprise.
 You sighed, “That.”
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 Mando didn’t have a television in his home, but Nima had set up her communicator in the living room to play some kind of kid show. Grogu sat in front of it watching intently while snacking on more fruit. Meanwhile, you stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter while Nima and Cara sat at the barstools across from you. You had made them both a cup of caf.
 “He just started calling me it after we got back from school.” You rubbed the side of your face. The drawing Grogu had drawn sat on the counter between you and them.
 Nima nodded slowly. “Alright.” She took a long sip of her caf then narrowed her eyes at you. “And what’s the problem?”
 “Nima.” You snapped.
 The mechanic shrugged, “What? I don’t see the issue here. You’re basically his mom.”
 “I’m his nanny. There’s a difference.”
 They didn’t respond and you bit down on your lower lip. The problem wasn’t that Grogu was calling you ‘Ma’. It wasn’t even that he saw you as that kind of figure. Grogu was just a kid. Of course, he’d get confused about that. The problem was, it didn’t bother you.
 More than not bothering you, you kind of liked it.
 Cara let out a low whistle. “Well, I think we all know how Mando is gonna take this.”
 “Yeah,” You scoffed, “He’s gonna think I’m some psycho trying to steal his kid out of his life or something.”
 “Okay, maybe we don’t all know.” Cara mumbled.
 “Look, if you want him to stop you could just tell him.” Nima said. “He’s a smart kid.”
 That was probably the truth. Grogu was so smart. You were constantly impressed with what he was capable of. Even though he was only just learning how to communicate in Basic or Mando’a hadn’t meant he was capable of understanding. The problem you faced was more internal than external. You weren’t a mother. Far from it. You were a woman running from your past who fell into a situation where you got offered the job of being a nanny for a local Marshal. The job turned into so much more⏤ more than you had ever dreamed. But, enjoying a casual life with Mando and Grogu was different than how hearing the word ‘Ma’ felt to you.
A nanny was temporary, a mother was permanent.
 “I have to tell him.” You shook your head.
 “And you can in…” Nima looked at her watch, “About two hours.”
 “No. I gotta go see him right now.”
 “Why?”
 You gave them a deadpanned look, “Because I want him to know the whole story rather than him walking through the door and hearing his son refer to me as his mother. I figure a little ‘heads up’ is indicated in this kind of situation.”  Nima and Cara shared a look before conceding to your point. “Alright. Can you keep an eye on Grogu while I run out?”
 “Sure.” Nima nodded. She looked to Cara who agreed with a nod of her own.
 You gave them your thanks then hurried around the kitchen counter and into the living room. You knelt by Grogu who, at your presence, perked up and began to point to the screen. “Fun, Ma!”
 “I know, baby.” You scrunched your nose. Calling him ‘baby’ probably hadn’t helped this situation. “I gotta run out for a minute, but Nima and Cara are going to stay here to hang out with you. Okay?”
 “ ‘lek.” Grogu nodded. You started to stand, but Grogu held his hands up in a familiar way. You hesitated for a second then hated that you did. With a smile, you leaned down to rest your forehead against Grogu’s lovingly.
 When you did stand, you realized Nima and Cara were both staring at you from the kitchen and when you met their eyes they both shot you a look amusement. You huffed at them and went for the door. You needed to tell Mando about this and more importantly you really, really needed to hear what he thought.
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 Mayfeld was talking about some date he had the night previously, and if Din were being honest he wasn’t retaining a word. He wasn’t trying to ignore the man or zone out, Din just couldn’t focus. Between Karga offering him bounties as if that were still his life, and dealing with a scuffle between a handful of bounty hunters on the landing pad⏤ Din’s day had been kriffing annoying. He just wanted to be home. With Cara being off today, he couldn’t justify leaving early. Especially since Mayfeld was on call tonight so if he left now the man would be working on his own for longer than anyone deserved.
 “She was all over me, Mando. You should’ve seen it.” Mayfeld bragged.
 “I’m sure.” Din nodded plainly.
 When they entered the station, Cecilia, the human receptionist, called out to him. “Marshal.” He paused and Mayfeld did as well. “Soran is waiting for you in your office.”
 Din felt his shoulders relax. This was exactly what he needed. “When did her and Grogu get⏤”
 “No. It’s just Soran.” She said. As quickly as his ease had come, it was gone. You would never leave Grogu alone. He went with you everywhere when he wasn’t at school. “She looked kind of nervous.”
 That was all it took. Mayfeld called out to him, but Din was barreling down the hall to his office. His door was shut and it took all the self control he had to simply open it rather than accidentally break it down in the process of trying to get to you. What was going on? Was Grogu hurt? When the door swung open, you jumped up from where you sat on the couch. Just as Cecilia said, you looked troubled. Your lips were turned down in a worried frown and you squirmed in place.
 “Grogu?” He crossed the space to you.
 “No, he’s fine. I swear.” You said quickly and Din let out a breath of relief. “He’s at home with Nima and Cara right now. Everything is alright. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
 That was exactly what he had felt. Din was scared. The thought of anything happening to Grogu, anything happening to you, filled his veins with ice. Hearing Grogu was alright calmed him marginally, but it still didn’t explain why you were here alone or why you looked so nervous. Din closed the last bit of space to set his hands on your shoulder.
 “Cyar’ika,” He breathed, “What is going on? Are you okay?”
 “Yeah, I just⏤ I needed to talk to you.” You mumbled. Din nodded and waited for you to continue. “I’m just not sure… I wanted to… I needed to talk to you about this before you got home tonight, and I wanted you to hear it from me rather than…”
 You were wringing your hands and every word out of your mouth made him more and more worried. Din released your arms to go back and close the door to this office. When he returned, he carefully maneuvered you to sit on the couch again. He settled down beside you and let his hand rest on your back. Din let his thumb rub the spot where it laid.
 “Whatever it is, it’s going to be okay.” Din said as reassuringly as he could despite being on edge himself. “But you have to talk to me, cyar’ika. What is wrong?”
 You locked your jaw and at the sight of it Din wanted to lifted his hand and caress the side of your face⏤ try to soothe your tension. Finally, you shifted in place to face him further, your knee now pressed against his. “At school, the kids are talking about families. Familial roles. Aunt, Uncle, Cousin.” You twisted your lips. “Dad, mom.” Din nodded. “When we got home today, I was making Grogu a snack. He asked for fruit so I got it for him, and when I gave it to him he… he…” You paused and Din pressed his hand more firmly against your back. You sighed, “Mando, he called me ‘Ma’.”
 Din was at a loss for words. Grogu had… Grogu called you… This news should not affect him the way it did, but Maker, he felt like his temperature rose multiple degrees. He was cooking inside the beskar and his mouth went dry. The thought of his son seeing you as a maternal figure completed that family image he tried so hard not to think about. Before he could reign in his mind, he pictured crossing the room to lock the door. Everyone in the office knew not to bother him when the door was shut unless it was an emergency⏤ just in case his helmet was off. And dank farrik he wanted to take off his helmet. He wanted to rip it off, toss it across the room, and pull you into him⏤ taste you. The imagery caused Din to suck in a sharp breath. You must have misunderstood his reaction, because your panic increased.
 “I swear to the Maker, Mando, I didn’t tell him to do that.” You said. “It⏤It just happened. I didn’t really react because I didn’t want to worry Grogu, he’s so good at picking up on emotions, but the last thing I wanted was for you to come home and hear him call me ‘Ma.’” It’s funny you said that because that was ten thousand percent exactly what he wanted. “I kind of hoped maybe it was some Mando’a word I didn’t recognize and asked him to clarify, asked him who I was, but then he…”
 You sighed and shifted to pull out a folded piece of paper out of your pocket. You held it out to him and Din could see a slight tremble in your fingers. In all his euphoria of finding out Grogu saw you as a mother figure, he forgot to analyze your emotions entirely. You were nervous and scared. This had shaken you. He took the paper from you but kept his hand on yours for a second longer hoping the weight of his would ground you. When the tremble stopped, he pulled away to open the paper. It was one of Grogu’s drawings. It was of Din, his son, and you. All labeled. Buir, Grogu, Ma. Din swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.
 “I know this is a lot, and I really, really hope you’re not mad at me⏤” You began and Din stiffened at the thought. Mad at you? “But if you could say something that would be great because I’ve said a lot of words and you haven’t and the more I say the more nervous I get.”
 Din only realized then he hadn’t said a single word. As cute as he always found your rambling, he hated how worried you were. He set the drawing down on the other side of him, with full plans to hang that one up by the others, then took your hands in his. Din wanted to take off his gloves⏤ wanted to feel your skin. Even behind the closed door of his office though, he resisted.
 “You have said a lot of words.” He tried to keep his amusement of of his voice. Din didn’t want you to think you were being teased. “But, in all those words, you only said you were worried about how I would feel.” Din squeezed your hand. “How do you feel, cyar’ika? Do you… Do you not want him to call you that?”
 You blinked in surprise, as if you hadn’t expected him to ask that, “I…It’s not that. I⏤” Your face crumpled and you closed your eyes as if in pain. For the second time since you entered, Din had to hold back from cupping your face. “I liked it too much, Mando.” Din bit back another sharp breath. Dank farrik, he was trying so hard to be a good man, but you were making it very, very hard. You opened your eyes again. “You’re paying me to be his nanny, and I know neither of us knew anything about the nanny gig when I started, but this has to be against the rules.”
 “What rules?”
 “I don’t know. The nanny rules?” You shook your head. “I⏤ You and Grogu are so important to me, Mando. Maybe I’m overstepping by saying that, but it’s the honest to maker truth.” Din bit down on the inside of his cheek. “I don’t want to risk what we have right now. I love it. I was just afraid if you heard him call me ‘Ma’ you’d think I was trying to⏤ to⏤ I don’t know... steal him away or force myself into your lives more than I was supposed to.”
 Din finally settled enough that he could find his voice. Everything you said about them being important to you mirrored entirely how he felt, and some optimistic part of him wondered if that meant you could possibly feel the same way. He shoved that aside. It was too much to ask for⏤ hope for. Din, maybe being the one to overstep bounds now, slowly pulled a hand away from yours and let it drift closer to you. He moved slow enough to give you the opportunity to stop him, but when you didn’t he let his hand settled on the side of your neck, his thumb resting by your ear. “Listen to me.” You leaned into his glove and he had to take a slow breath. “I am… overjoyed that Grogu sees you that way. He deserves more in his life than just me⏤”
 “Mando⏤”
 “Cyar’ika.” Din didn’t let you interrupt him. “As long as you’re comfortable with it, I don’t want you to step outside your comfort zone, but I would love to hear him use the word ‘Ma’. If anyone in his life is deserving of that title, it’s you. I couldn’t ask for a better mother for Grogu.”
 Your eyes began to water and Din was terrified he said the wrong thing. Had he made this worse? He opened his mouth again to try and backpedal, but you lunged forward and wrapped your arms around his neck in a tight hug. It took a second for him to register the movement, but he let his own arms pull you in tightly to his chest. He wished he didn’t have his helmet on. He wanted to bury his face against the side of yours, press his lips to your temple to reassure you further, but this was enough for him. If this was all he could have, he’d treasure every second of it.
 Din felt you start to pull back and he loosened his grip so you could. When you were out of his reach, he realized the tears that had filled your eyes streaked down your cheeks. Distress filled him at the sight, but you let out a laugh that relieved it. You wiped the tears off your face with a shake of your head.
 “I’m so sorry. I’m such a mess.” You mumbled.
 “You apologize too much.” He replied and used his thumb to catch a stray tear you had missed.
 You shrugged. “Bad habits die hard.” After a beat, you frowned again. “You know, we don’t know how long I’ll be working for you,” Din held back a snort. Was ‘forever’ an option? “But, what happens when you meet someone and it gets serious? Technically she’d be Grogu’s⏤”
 “We’ll cross that bridge if we get there.” Din interrupted. It was a better answer than ‘There is no one else, there will be no one else, it’s only you’.
 Your smile returned and your nose scrunched, “Can I hug you again?”
 “You never have to ask, cyar’ika.” Din replied. You leaned forward to wrap your arms around him once more and Din didn’t hesitate to immediately pull you as close as he physically could.
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 The entire house was quiet as you laid in bed staring up at the ceiling with a small smile on your face. Ma. Grogu saw you as his mother. You hadn’t been lying to Mando when you said you liked this far too much. Speaking long term, you may have been setting yourself up for failure. Mando seemed unconcerned about the future, but what would happen the day they no longer needed a nanny? What would happen the day Mando found a riddur? Still, knowing that these were things that could blow up in your face one day didn’t stop you⏤ didn’t even slow you down. Things were too perfect now for you to give up.
 You shifted in bed and took in a deep breath. Mando hadn’t been called into work during the middle of the night since that first time. It was odd. A part of you wished he would get called away just because it meant you could sleep in his bed once more, but the idea of him being out in danger made you nauseous. No matter how bad you wanted the opportunity to lay beside him and Grogu, you’d never take it over the risk of him getting hurt. You’d sleep in your bed, alone, and just dream. Spending your daylight hours with them was more than you had the right to ask for.
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     Your throat was raw from screaming. Panic and adrenaline filled your body. Fear gripped your soul. You screamed and screamed and screamed, but nobody was coming. Why couldn’t anyone hear you? Why wasn’t anyone coming to save you? You fought. It wasn’t in your nature to give up, but you were wondering if it was worth the fight. Your hands tried to keep the blade from digging into your flesh⏤ deeper and deeper⏤ but all the blood made your grip too slick. You screamed, but you had no voice left.  
     “It was all your fault.” No, no. It wasn’t. It couldn’t be. You loved her. You loved Soran. You did everything you could do. “She died because of you.” You thought you had saved her. You thought she was going to be okay. Everything went so badly, so quickly. “You took her from me.” Your hands slipped again, the blade sunk in further⏤ it tore through flesh and muscles, it dug into bone. “You deserve this.” Maybe he was right. You had been her doctor. Maybe you could’ve done more. Maybe, just maybe, this was the universe’s way of serving justice. Soran was gone and it was your fault. You sobbed as your vision began to go dark. He lifted the blade only to dig it in once more.  
     “You deserve to die.”  
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 You shot up in bed, panting and breathless. A cold sweat collected at the back of your neck. Your hands lifted to your chest, but you didn’t find bloody wounds. Only an ugly scar. A hiccuped sob slipped from your lips and you quickly covered your mouth to muffle the sound.
 Life had been too perfect.
 Of course, Kurt would come back to haunt you.
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foxyyaoguai · 10 months
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The antis have been all over my posts in the last few days, so I wanted to share my experiences and write a guide on how to deal with them. 
First off: Our ships and character preferences are valid, no matter how hard some people try to demonize them. We are part of fandom and allowed to post about the things we enjoy, just like everyone else. Our fanfics, fanart, video edits, photo edits, etc. are all works of love and they deserve to exist and be explored by others. 
✨ Strategies for dealing with antis ✨
Don’t engage. I have checked the bios of all the antis that left comments under my posts, and the majority of them are minors. You don’t want to talk to minors in fandom spaces!! And a conversation based on logic or reason won’t be possible either. 
Delete their comments. Tumblr, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube allow you to delete comments, DO IT!! You created something with love and hateful comments have no place underneath it. Even if the comment just makes you uncomfortable and isn’t outright hateful, it is perfectly reasonable to delete it for your own sanity.
Block generously. Not only the people who target you specifically but also anyone who engages in character- or ship-bashing. People who do that for one ship will do it for other ships too and it’s extremely bad fandom etiquette. When you see a character or ship-bashing post, block everyone who liked it and then the poster.
Report people for harassment. The rules vary by site, but especially threats of violence should be reported. Also, if someone follows you to another social media site after you’ve blocked them, that is called block evading and you should report that too. 
When you see other people getting hateful comments underneath their posts, leave a nice comment to offset some of the negativity. Your being supportive can make the difference between this person never posting again and them being motivated to keep going. People are always welcome to send me links to a post that is getting targeted by antis and I’ll like it and leave a nice comment. 🥰
Don’t let the bad comments outshine the positive ones! Every time my post gets enough traction for antis to find it, it also gets lots of lovely reactions. Many people have told me that my content and recommendations made them ship my OTP, and that is the single thing that makes me happier than anything else. Take a screenshot and look at these kinds of comments when you feel down. This is the real reason you should keep posting. 
Most hate comments are exceptionally uncreative. It helps to laugh about it, preferably with a friend. ✨ Remember, you used your energy to create something and you should be proud of it!
When you see a creator you like, but they also display obnoxious behavior towards people who like other ships, characters, or dynamics, at the very least don’t give them a platform by sharing their posts. 
Stay safe. Don’t post personal information online. 
It’s completely valid to step away from social media for some time. Private your accounts, turn off notifications, do a canon reread, read some fanfics in peace. Whatever it takes to remind you why you love the things you love. 
Bonus Tip: Watch videos of cute animals to destress. Bunnies nose-booping each other can (and will) cure anti-induced anxiety. :)
✨ Platforms sorted by least to most toxic and my advice for using them ✨
1. Discord 
Discord is great because you can join servers specifically for your favorite characters and ships. If a server doesn’t already exist, consider setting one up! Pro tip: only invite people that have positively interacted with you in the past. A small server consisting of nice people is a lot more fun than a large server consisting of members that can’t get along or are only marginally interested in the topic. 
Fandom Discord servers have clear guidelines on what you can post. As long as you follow the rules, people have no grounds for calling you out. In my experience, moderators are quick to respond to harassment.  
When you join a server and you see they heavily restrict certain types of content, it is a red flag. Proceed with caution, even if you plan to only talk about “safe” characters and ships. 
2. Tumblr
I have rarely gotten hateful comments on Tumblr, and the few times I did they were easy to delete.  
A lot of the older fandom generations use Tumblr and they are more mature and accepting of all kinds of content.
3. Twitter
Twitter makes it easy to curate your own fandom experience. You can mute words you don’t like to see on your timeline, mute and block users, and most people have their ship preferences in their bio.
4. Instagram
My Instagram posts about Jadecest get a lot of positive interaction, even more than on Twitter. There are unpleasant comments once in a while, but they are easy to delete. 
Blocking a user will delete all their comments from your posts. 
5. YouTube
People who don’t like your ship will downvote your videos and downvotes lead to the algorithm not recommending your videos. 
I have gotten a few negative comments, but they are easy to delete. 
6. Reddit 
When you post in a fandom subreddit, everyone will see the post, independent of their ship preferences. 
There are a lot of minors on Reddit. 
You can’t delete comments.
Most fandom subreddits are poorly moderated. 
7. TikTok
I have gotten the most hate comments on TikTok. They can be filtered or deleted, but antis interacting with your video by leaving hate comments will lead to the algorithm recommending your content to even more antis. It can get very ugly. 
If you post on TikTok consider turning off comments, stitches, and video replies. You can also mark your content as 18+, so it won’t get recommended to minors. (Again, antis tend to be underage.)
Platforms are more toxic the more they show your content to people outside your bubble. Discord, Tumblr, and Twitter keep your content relatively well contained to your circle of friends. Reddit, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram heavily promote your content outside your bubble, which is good, because more people are going to see it, but also bad, because it reaches more antis. 
~~~
Antis are loud and obnoxious, but it’s important to remember that they are a minority. Ship and let ship still exists, especially among the people who have been in fandom spaces for more than just a few years. Don’t be afraid to post your content and express your love for your favorite characters and ships! I, for one, would love to see your creations, and many other people would love to see them too. 
What are your experiences and strategies for dealing with antis?
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arceal-doodles · 1 year
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hi so i went ham with a new AU
Extra info below:
- Blue is MARGINALLY older by a few minutes. The twins dangle this above his head constantly and both get their asses kicked at the same time.
- Both twins are judges. Toriel had a blast with that one.
- Poor fluffy bottoms... Asgore was so confused when he met both of them. They each made him think he was talking to only one person named Pyruse through the door.
- There has only been ONE successful genocide run. Chara and Frisk had a helluva time. Never again. Both twins remember this (and secretly, so does Blue).
- Sometimes Chara calls both of them Pa-pyruse. Like a dad figure. Frisk calls both of them idiots and other profanities that they could get away with.
- Temmie still hates everything.
- Muffet can tell the difference between the two of them pretty easily so she keeps different tabs on each one. Both have yet to pay her back in gold, though favors like bringing in more customers and getting her resources keep her happy.
- Ghost!Mettaton met Pyr on the internet and became friends over the internet. Ruse met him through Pyr talking about a ghost on the internet. He’s a lot happier and a lot less lonely after Napstaton/blook met Alphys.
- Both brothers are chill with Napstaton. They like his music, sometimes humming it while Blue is running the robot’s songs in the background.
- Alphys complains to Blue how she wants to spar with the twins. They keep saying no :(
- There’s twice as many explosions in Undyne’s lab, and a sudden increase in robots walking around Hotland. No one’s really complaining, as the robots pretty much take over the guards’ patrol.
- Grillby has a secret ketchup stash for Blue when he shows up because of his brothers’ antics.
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sitp-recs · 9 months
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15 fics with Militant Harry
I don’t know you guys but I’m equally soft for recluse!Harry and for militant!Harry. Maybe because I’m a sucker for political fics? Truth is, seeing Harry get involved can be so thrilling and inspiring. He doesn’t need to be attached to the Ministry to care about people - I love it when he’s doing the good deed behind the scenes, dismantling corruption while on the run, funding charities or unapologetically using his fame and voice to leverage better policies for those who are marginalized. That’s such a beautiful and powerful Harry trope imo, and the best thing is that in many of the fics I highlight below, Draco either seduces him into joining the revolution, or is there to inspire and help him along the way. Talk about a power couple! I hope you all enjoy these as much as I did ♥️
A Little Death Never Hurt Anyone by @tackytigerfic (E, 4k)
Harry's getting good at slipping through the Veil. He's determined to win the war, even if means he has to raise the dead to do it. Draco just wants a stiff drink and a good night's sleep.
And Save Me From Bloody Men by @blamebrampton (T, 10k)
Draco Malfoy once watched others fighting to stop the world falling apart. This time, he's not just watching.
Two Zinnias and the Scent of Lemon by @the-starryknight (M, 16k)
The Ministry didn’t turn bad overnight. Harry didn’t suddenly turn rogue either. Between covert Legilimency links and Polyjuice disguises and running and running and running, Draco has forgotten what it is like to have a safe harbor that isn’t a person. If there’s an art to fighting back, then they’ll find it hand in hand.
Vortex by @xanthippe74 (T, 20k)
Ten years after that conversation, the idea of perfectly-matched soulmates feels more like a curse than a blessing to Draco. Who would want a soulmate who was a schoolyard bully, a Death Eater, and a convicted felon? Certainly not Harry Potter. And Draco is determined to take this secret to the grave.
Unfinished Business by cupiscent (E, 20k)
Ten years after the War ends, Harry and Draco still haven't got their act together. But maybe it's not too late.
Doing the Lambeth Walk by @blamebrampton (T, 26k)
There are only three traditional choices for the cashed-up hero after victory. Harry Potter is too young to settle down and provide the wizarding world with a happy ending, and has too acute a sense of humour to spiral downwards into a spectacular flame-out. That leaves a life of good works. Choosing to lead it in Muggle Brixton comes with its own set of challenges, including Malfoys in the biscuit aisle.
The Nobility of Ascent by Lomonaaeren (E, 27k)
Not even his own fame and power are enough to get the Wizengamot to pass laws protecting Muggleborn and orphaned children, so Harry swallows his pride and goes to Draco Malfoy, who can teach him how to convince the prejudiced old bastards to listen to him. And Malfoy hasn’t even named a price. Which…concerns Harry, but he’s found a cause worth living for. And maybe someone, too.
Little Compton Street (One Rainy Night in Soho) by @writcraft (E, 65k)
Draco is lonely, Harry hates the press and it won’t stop raining in London. Harry discovers a magical street that’s close to disappearing forever and Draco realises he’s one rainy night in Soho away from finding everything he’s been searching for.
A Young Radical's Guide to Love by @blamebrampton (T, 66k)
Memories of the war are still fresh, which is all the excuse Decent People need to do appalling things. In this quietly waged conflict, Draco Malfoy is happy to be on the right side of things for once, and even happier to find he’s not alone.
Dear Enemy by GingerTodgers (T, 69k)
An anonymous benefactor makes a generous donation to Harry Potter's School for Squibs in exchange for a weekly letter from the Boy Who Lived. What begins as a chore soon becomes the only outlet Harry has to talk about the war, love, life, hope, redemption, his renewed obsession with a certain blonde nemesis and how he really, honestly, believes that this will be the year Puddlemere United reclaim the Quidditch League Cup.
Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love by @aibidil (E, 80k)
In which a group of wizards' rights activists goes on the offensive after a prohibition against love potions, forcing the magical world to confront the horror of magic's role in sexual assault and the murky legal nature of consent. Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Draco are swept together to solve the case, and in the process they're made to confront their own love and lust—with and without potions.
Super Rich Kids by @thusspoketrish (E, 81k)
Draco Malfoy has become disillusioned by the glitz and glamour of the scandalous lives of the Post-Second Wizarding War Pureblood Elite. Enter: one existential crisis, one group of thieving cynical friends, and several terrible, terrible decisions.
Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them (or Draco Malfoy's Guide to Stop Dying and Start Living Instead) by nerakrose (T, 96k)
Malfoy is way too interested in coroner reports for somebody who's definitely not looking for ways to die, Harry wants to be friends with him, and Ginny wants to break up with Harry.
Who we are in the shadows by @quicksilvermaid (E, 100k)
What happens when you’re forced to become the very thing you despise? Ex-Auror Harry Potter, tossed out of the Ministry for something he had no control over, has been looking for a way back to his former life. When he comes across Draco Malfoy in the criminal underbelly of Wizarding London and in need of protection, Harry figures bringing him in to face the Ministry's justice is his ticket back to everything he's lost.
By the Grace by lettered (T, 140k)
Harry is an Auror instructor. Malfoy wants to be an Auror.
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vlrspace · 1 year
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cw: this is just a small fluff with a slightly bold! 3rd year deku. enjoyy
wc: 4.1K
an: first published fanfic ever, so i’m aware it isn’t the best but we’ll improve.
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aizawa’s voice fills the room, most focusing and actually taking down notes, while some are trying to fight to stay awake and doodle. not that you’re dropping into the latter, but lately more and more rabbit like doodles fill up the margins of your book.
it isn’t necessarily that you aren’t listening to what aizawa is actually saying and you don’t care about your grades, but lately funny emotions are erupting in your heart and you’ve been feeling a little bit off.
you are well aware what these feelings are, what more like who causes them and how they were born. however the timing was quite bad, you would’ve been happier if these feelings would’ve come later. in the future when it’s easier to get over your probably unrequited feelings for a boy everyone adores. not that it’s a problem, of course everyone is adoring him, he’s such a sweetheart with a kind nature and his aspiration to become a hero is a huge influence to those around him.
honestly, you couldn’t blame midoriya izuku for being blessed with nothing but good traits. he’s always lending a hand if you’re in need of help with school or training. he’s asking how are you doing at every chance he sees you, gives you an ear if you want to talk, and often he circles his muscly arms around you to pull you closer to him if you need some comfort.
you often wondered if he treated everyone else like this or if it’s just you? although it’s better if that question remains unanswered for your poor little heart. you are already overthinking, your brain is like an ocean, overflowing with thoughts till you zone out completely. barely realising how mina came to stand beside your table asking you if you wanted to grab lunch.
“you have been in your own world lately” tsu says with slight concern laced in her tone. you shoot her an apologetic smile.
“i apologise, sometimes i get carried away and just zone out completely. i am not intentionally ignoring you girls” you beam, hoping your answer is enough for them to not continue on pressing the topic.
maybe though, your answer had been half a lie. you are somewhat ignorant when you’re day dreaming and zone out completely, hoping that the green haired hero-in-training wouldn’t talk to you unless necessary.
mainly, since your second and now your third year at u.a. started, izuku had been through a growing spurt. he’s no longer smaller than most boys in your class but he’s 6 foot something and his hair is tamed with a little undercut. he’s more buff, broader and easily towers over most, even if he doesn’t mean it to come off intimidating. to say he’s gotten hotter is an understatement.
of course, his personality hasn’t changed drastically but he grew a bit more confident in himself and bold as well. he’s still stumbling over his words at times and gets flustered with blood red cheeks but it’s getting rare.
“ohh, what’s on your mind (y/n)? do you want to talk about it?” ochaco offered, her cheeks flushed with slight redness as always as her eyes gazed on you warmly.
“it’s just school and training i guess” you answer softly as you all make your way down to the lunch hall. “thank you though” you give the girls a side hug as you all walk towards the lunch hall.
when you got there, the girls separated to walk towards their own little groups and you cluelessly stood there, not knowing who to join, you’re friends with everyone. without thinking you grabbed mina’s arm asking if you could join her and the bakusquad. she took a hold of your hand while grinning at you, she lead you towards their table.
“(y/n), it’s so good you’re joining us, we dared kaminari to eat bakugous usual lunch” kirishima laughs with sero, wiping their tears. at least jiro covers her mouth hiding her laugh.
so this is how lunch went, bakugou smirking victoriously, kaminari chucking water after water to sooth the spice left in his throat and the others chuckling and eating. plus the nagging thought at the back of your head that a pair of eyes are watching you from afar, but every time you looked around you didn’t see anyone. bakugou must’ve noticed this sitting next to you as he gave you a look.
“are you paranoid or something, shorty?” he smirks as he somewhat softly pushes your shoulder.
“no, i’m not! just my quirk is acting up.” you mumble looking down at your finished lunch. “anyways should we head back to class? the bell rings in a few minutes” you suggest as you start to stand up from your table and thankfully the others follow.
the second you get to class and take a seat, you let out a sigh you didn’t know you were holding, and just as you were about to relax, izuku walks in with shoto, talking about something and his eyes find yours, giving you a wide smile.
oh no, now he’s walking towards you.
“are you alright (y/n)? ochaco and tsu told me during lunch that you’ve been kind of out of it because of school and training. is there anything i can help you with?” izuku stops next to your desk and gives you a wide smile, eyes bright green. why is he looking so intently in your eyes?
you swiftly collect yourself turning to look ahead of you thinking what to say without messing your words up before finally answering his question quietly.
“i’m alright, thank you” you turn to look up at him and he’s smile is smaller, eyes filled with concern. “are you okay?” you ask finally giving him a smile, but his answer goes unheard when aizawa walks in the room and izuku hurries to his seat, muttering a small sorry towards you.
for the second time today, you let out a sigh from deep within you.
nothing interesting happens after that, apart from you bolting from your seat towards the door and quickly make your way towards your dorm room. you catch up with studying and went on a small jog around campus. after a lovely shower, feeling so much better without all the sweat underneath your clothes, an empty stomach is the only thing stopping you from going to bed.
kaminari, sero, kirishima and mina are all shouting, seemingly in a harmless argument as you walk in the common room. you turn towards shoto who was leaning against the wall and ask him what is all the commotion about. he gives you a gentle smile while explaining how the four is arguing about what movie to watch, all four having different ideas in mind. you let out a small laugh, and you start engaging in a small conversation with the bi coloured boy.
the feeling of being watched is returning and you looking around, subtly not wanting to catch shoto’s attention. again, nothing seems to be out of place. maybe you are being paranoid just like bakugou said.
your conversation with shoto is cut off when you feel a presence behind you, causing shoto to look up from you and you turn around. izuku is standing behind you, he’s smiling like always but he’s eyes look a tad different, darker. but it’s probably from the lighting, he’s looking down at you and it’s his hair, shadowing his eyes. yes that’s it.
“the others decided on the movie we are watching. lets go and sit down.” izuku’s hand is already on your lower back, gently pushing me towards the sofas.
“oh okay, what movie are we watching?” you ask, turning slightly towards him, hoping he doesn’t see the slight blush on your face.
izuku answers your question, as you both sit at the edge(!!) of the sofa, ochaco turns to you excitedly, explaining how one of the actors is her celebrity crush. the lights get turned off while you’re focused on your conversation with her, mainly because izuku is sitting next to you, your heart is going wild, you hope he doesn’t hear it, the butterflies in your stomach are doing flips and you feel sick just from the sitting next to him. you got it bad for the green haired male, but you’re only just realising how bad it is.
izuku on the other hand, he isn’t any better than you. he got his eyes on you for a while now, and is absolutely smitten by you. he thinks you’re absolutely stunning, everything about you is pretty (according to him, pretty doesn’t even come close to how good you look - that’s what he said to the dekusquad), but he’s even more attracted to how amazing you are on the inside. you’re smart, considerate and kind to everyone, you’re helpful, a good listener and so on.
he loves being around you, being with you, having you around, he yearns for you, he wants to touch you, hold your hand, kiss your lips, stroke your cheeks, holding you in his arms. he wants to take you out on dates, study with you, train with you, introduce you to his mum, just spending more time with you would make him the happiest man alive.
izuku is more than aware of the fact that everyone in the class knows about his crush on you. he’s thankful that no one said a word about it to you though. what makes him a little bit worried is that no one seems to know if you got a crush on anyone, you always seem so indifferent when the topic is brought up. he would totally understand it as well if you tell him that you don’t feel the same.
at the same time, izuku knows that if he wants to get answers and even if there is a slight chance of you liking him, he needs to step up his game. so after a few pep talk with his renewed friend kacchan and girl best friend ochaco, he became a bit bolder when it came to interacting with you. hugging you, lingering touches here and there and after seeing how you reacted the first few times, he continued on.
because honestly, you look so cute with the slight blush on you cheeks and the way you shyly smile and look away from him. so when the movie is halfway in, he puts his arm on the couch behind your head, causing your side pressing against his toned torso. izuku can feel you stiffen slightly but after a while you ease up and lean back to him, not fully but it made izuku’s heart beat faster and his cheeks are slight flushed. ochaco gives him a quick look with a tiny smirk before turning back towards the tv.
izuku hopes he hasn’t ruined anything between you two with this, but he would’ve talked to you tonight either way about how he’s feeling. he also didn’t want kacchan to tell you about his feelings because the ash blonde boy was too tired of hearing about the lovesick thoughts his friend (we all know they are!!) bombarded him with. he also knows that you’ve been somewhat avoiding him for some reason, he’s not an idiot and his heart can’t take it anymore.
so tonight, izuku will confess to you and he hopes you’ll accept him.
as the movie is coming to an ending, the lights come back on, izuku’s arm is still behind you with his hand now slightly next to your face. you’re heart is beating even faster, knowing that this display will be seen by all of your classmates. on your right, izuku doesn’t seem all that fazed, talking with ochaco, tsu and iida about the movie. for some reason that makes you blush so very dark, you can practically feel your face growing hot at how he’s not afraid of others seeing you two like this.
a hand is slightly brushing against the edge of your shoulder and you turn around to face izuku, who’s looking down at you, beaming.
“what did you think of the movie?” he’s gently stroking your shoulder now, his eyes only focusing on you.
“ah uh, the movie was, uh very good. i enjoyed it a lot” you stutter ripping your eyes away from him but before you could say anything else, you hear a few snicker from next to you causing you to look around the room. everyone is looking at you excitedly, some are smirking and mina is holding her phone towards you and izuku.
oh no, she must’ve taken a picture.
you turn swiftly to look at izuku, who’s looking at you, his face calm, eyes warm and somewhat lidded, lips curled in a small smirk. your eyes are wide in contrast and your lips form a small ‘oh’. your face definitely looks like a tomato, you’re sure of that, you let a nervous laugh.
“i’m going to go to the bathroom” you excuse yourself as you stand up, already missing the warmth of izuku’s hand on your shoulder. you hear someone call after you, but you are almost running towards the elevators at this point to get to the safety of your room.
the second you walk through your door, you rush in and flop on your bed and grab your pillow, shouting into it. now for sure everyone know about your feelings for izuku and you’re even more confused about what he’s feeling towards you at this point, but at the same it felt so good being so close to him. is there actually a chance that he feels the same as you?
while you’re planning on hiding away in your room forever, a knock is heard on your door.
“it’s open” you mumble from under your pillow, not even bothering to see who came in.
“hey girl, did i take it too far?” you feel the bed dip as mina lays down beside you. you take the pillow from your face and throw it at hers, she catches it and laughs.
you turn towards her, eyes a bit glossy but you give her a smile. “no you didn’t, just…you see, uh” you trail off not knowing how to tell her your feelings for izuku. after a few minutes she starts talking.
“i know that someone is going to confess to you tonight” you sit up as soon as you hear that and look at her with the widest eyes ever “but you never told us who you have a crush on or if you even like someone, you know.” she sits up too and starts stroking your arm, it doesn’t feel as good as izuku’s. “i don’t want to put you and the other person into an uncomfortable situation so please tell me (y/n)”
this took you off guard, you never expected anything like this. someone in your class likes you, and you hope it’s izuku. you’re kind of hesitating to tell mina about your crush though. it’s not that you don’t trust her, you simply have a hard time opening up about it.
“i like izuku.” your voice is so small, she can barely hear it. mina can barely contain her smile though, she needs to go through this without letting you know anything. the others are probably having a harder time with izuku anyways, who’s downstairs having a crisis.
izuku freaked out the second you left, knowing he messed everything up and took it too far. everyone was trying to calm him down while he held his face in his hands. izuku loved having you so close to him in the past hour, you felt so warm and soft, but he never meant to make you feel like you had to run away from him because you didn’t like being around him
suddenly kirishima swings his arm around him as he plops down on the armrest. his phone is open in the messages app and shows izuku the last message. izuku reads it, his thought going wild and so is his heart, he cannot believe it.
meanwhile, mina puts her phone away, while you put yourself together a bit. you often turn to look at her and she gives you a reassuring smile. she knows you must be a little bit confused and anxious what the rest of the night will bring you, but she also knows that by the end of the night, you’ll be the happiest human alive, that alone made her happy.
“okay, i think i’m ready to go back” you stand in front of your door, fingers fiddling with the hem of your shirt. “i hope the others won’t be mad at me for storming out”
“no need to worry about that babes” mina hugs you then you two leave your room, her arm linked with yours.
when you reach the common room, everyone is talking and some of the boys are playing games, like nothing happened. kirishima came up to you two, taking you both under his arms.
“you two will miss out on the competition. we are trying to find who’s the king of mario kart-“ “it’s me you idiots” “of course you are bakubro! i feel like he’ll blow up the console if he doesn’t win” kirishima whispers the last bit to you two, causing you all to snicker.
you feel like you’re being watched for the third time today and suddenly you’re reminded about what happened not just long ago. you look around to see if izuku is still around or maybe you completely ruined everything and now he doesn’t want to talk to you or be around you. before worry could fill you up, your eyes meet with his emerald ones from the same couch you two were sitting on. you shot him a small smile and he’s eagerly sending you one back and then you turn your attention back towards mina and kirishima, trying to focus on them.
ten minutes later, you are somewhat engrossed in the conversation about music with jiro, you feel him before he makes himself known, jiro excuses herself quickly as you turn to look up to izuku from your seat. he gives you a warm smile, but his eyes are nervous, voice a bit shaky when he asks you “let’s go and talk somewhere private, yeah?”
you only nod, following him outside and into the back garden of the dorms and you two take a seat on the bench, facing the building. there is a slight tension, and it’s a bit uncomfortable for you both but then izuku starts speaking.
“i’m sorry if i made you uncomfortable during the movie or any other time” he starts of quietly “i didn’t mean any harm, ever, i just wanted to be closer to you. you always make me feel so warm and happy like i’m always on cloud nine (9). you’re so amazing, smart, kind and pretty too! “you turn towards him, indecisive if it’s a good thing that he says all of this or a bad thing and he’s about to reject you. either way your heart is in your throat “oh my, you’re so pretty, i always dream about you. i ache for you (y/n), every time we are together i feel whole. i admire you for your patience towards others, your drive to be a hero and you always know how to make someone smile. i will make you smile every day too, if you take me (y/n), i adore you so much, i feel like i’ll burst” he ends his confession and turns your way, eyes teary and cheeks red, you haven’t seen izuku like this in a while.
the person mina said will confess to you tonight is izuku, you have a fat crush on izuku! now that’s mind blowing.
your thoughts are everywhere and nowhere, and you know the longer you stay silent and the worst izuku will expect to happen. you gather your thoughts as fast as you can and turn fully towards him.
“i adore you so much too izuku” your words are barely audible, he can barely make it out what you’re saying, but when he does, his eyes go wide and you let a giggle out. that seems to bring him back, giving you a small smile. “we could burst together” it comes out more of a question, you’re returning his smile.
at that his smile gets wider and circles his arms around you, pulling you extremely close. he tucks his face into your neck and you swear you feel tears running down from his face. when he pulls away, one of his hands find the side of your face, and presses his lips on yours. your arms round his neck and fingers disappear in his curls, his hands make their way down to your hips. his tongue swipes across your lower lip, asking for permission and you gladly gave it to him.
izuku didn’t intend on leaving your lips till you both are breathless but you leave first, making him chase after your lips and you let out a soft giggle, which makes him smile. you pull away a bit to look up at him, still not believing that he feels the same way as you. you take in his face, eyes lidded and dark, face slightly red and lips plump, slightly wet. he leans in a gives you a long peck before pulling away, moving so you sit on his lap. you play with the curls on top his head, seemingly deep in thought and izuku decides to pop the question.
“i would really like it if you became mine” he whispers, one his hand finds its way to you cheek again, caressing it. the smile on your face becomes bigger, looking at those emerald eyes that swirl in nothing but pure love and adoration.
“i would love that” you give your answer, which he was probably waiting for, quite long time. the second the words leave your lips, he stands up and twirls you two around, making both of you laugh. he sets you down on the ground and kisses you again, this time with more passion. “let’s go back inside, mina’s and ochaco’s eyes will pop if they stare out on the windows any longer” you snicker.
izuku takes a hold of your hand and you walk next to each other, both of you still trying to process everything that just happened. when you woke up, you did not expect tonight turn out this way. you look down at your fingers being laced with his, and trying not blush at the fact how his fingers were twice the size of yours.
when you two arrive back at the common room, everyone is pretending like they are doing something but when they see your hands, the girls crowd around you, all of them giving you a hug, while the boys shake izuku’s hand. the girls bring you aside, asking you to tell them everything because they did see bits, but didn’t hear anything. you gently squeeze izuku’s hand, silently letting him know that you’re leaving and he squeezed your hand back with a smile.
you’re in the middle of the story, the girls surrounded around you as you all took up a whole couch the farthest one away from the boys, when you feel like you’re being watched again and this time you found who the pair of eyes belong to.
izuku is sitting on the couch, all of the boys around him as well and they are all talking to him but his eyes never leave you. izuku couldn’t even focus on anyone else right now even if he tried, he feels like he’s high on ecstasy. the girl he’s been pining for a year now, wants him as much as he wants her. he’s yearning for real this time, and he know he won’t be able to get enough of her soft lips, gosh he’s thinking about kissing them right now. when he had you in his lap, so close to him, he wishes he could hold you just as close again. the butterflies in his stomach must be rioting because when you look back at him, he knows you feel just like how he does.
and you never felt so safe and loved under a gaze like that before.
(a few days later, izuku’s background on his phone changed from all might to the picture mina took of the two of you)
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justcallmecappy · 1 year
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The Andersmance as a narrative of hope
One thing I've noticed while in the Dragon Age fandom is the prevalent interpretation of the Anders romance as a tragedy, or a romance that's inherently tragic. Anders acts behind Hawke's back, destroys the Kirkwall Chantry no matter what choices the player makes, the player sees this as a huge betrayal, and — despite having romanced Anders, and/or being mage-sympathetic — they decide to execute or banish Anders as punishment for his 'crime'. Tears are shed; it's all dramatic and tragic and angsty.
While I sometimes appreciate tragedies, I would like to posit a different perspective: The romance with Anders is a story of hope; a story of standing up to insurmountable odds and overcoming them. The romance with Anders can be approached as one with a happier ending, where Hawke and Anders are the heroes.
Before I elaborate, a disclaimer: These are my own opinions. I understand some players prefer the Andersmance as a tragic romance, and to each player their own. I am not here to dictate the choices you should make in-game or how you approach your playthroughs, merely to present a different perspective to one I've seen very often.
Also, this post is critical of the rivalmance with Anders — more on that later.
The Andersmance as a narrative of hope relies on two perspectives:
Firstly, the Chantry is an authoritarian institution who are the antagonistic force that the heroes need to oppose and take down. There is plenty of meta that explores and supports this.
Secondly, Anders is a heroic character:
He is a healer who set up a clinic providing free healthcare for the marginalized and downtrodden people of Kirkwall who otherwise have gone overlooked by their own Chantry.
He let a Spirit of Justice into his body, simply to help Justice continue to exist in the physical world when he would have otherwise disappeared into the Fade.
He regularly risks his safety and security by helping mages escape abuse in the Gallows and have a chance at freedom via the Mage Underground.
These are all acts of someone who is kind and compassionate, and, yes, heroic.
He is not a villain who needs to be stopped. He is the hero of the story who needs help and support as he challenges systematic oppression. He's Katniss Everdeen standing up to the Capitol; he's Luke Skywalker opposing the Galactic Empire.
Hawke is that supportive pillar, that safe harbor, that source of unconditional love for Anders in his times of struggle. "The one bright light in Kirkwall" who stands by Anders' side as they face insurmountable odds together.
In World States where Leliana becomes Divine Victoria, this means Hawke and Anders' struggles were not in vain. Through their actions, they sparked a series of events that culminated in the abolition of the Circles.
Anders' prophetic speech about how, "Ten years, a hundred years from now, someone like me will love someone like you, and there will be no Templars to tear them apart" carries so much more weight, because loving Hawke gave him hope for a better future that Anders actually gets to witness in his lifetime.
Do you know how powerful such a love story is?
Their love literally changed the world for the better.
They loved each other, that love gave them courage, and now future generations of mages are free to find a love as strong and precious as the one Hawke and Anders share.
Of course, the condition of this is that Hawke loves and supports Anders wholeheartedly, meaning that this obviously takes the Friendship route for the romance. The rivalmance where Hawke downplays Anders' struggles, breaks Anders' spirit, undermines Anders' confidence, and tries to convince Anders that his cause is needless has no part in this narrative of hope; in fact, I would go so far to say that Hawke is the villain in that version of the story.
Personally, stories of hope have always strongly resonated with me. I gravitate towards stories where our protagonists are presented with challenging obstacles (whether they be internal, external, or both), and things may seem bleak at first, but they bravely carry on, and by the end of the story the characters have made themselves better people, and/or made the world a better place.
Anders and Hawke had many chances to turn away and ignore the plight of mages and just get their own happy ending, but they didn't — they carried on, because they were the heroes, and they knew all mages deserved to be free as they were.
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decolonize-the-left · 2 years
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Now is a good reminder as to why we build community. Why we share solidarity. Why it's important to have peers and be comfortable in the physical presence of them.
Mobilizing online is not safe in a surveillance state. We need to physically be with each other. If you look at any old protest or civil rights movement they knew that. They had physical meetups where phones couldn't be tapped and listening ears couldn't eavesdrop.
With Roe v Wade overturned (and Justice Thomas saying that same sex relationship/marriage and access to contraception should also be "reconsidered") I feel like it's important to mention how critical mutual aid is. How crucial it is to have allies and people you can turn to. To know exactly where to go when you need to seek out safety.
Yes protest. Yes make your voice known. Learn how to help others.
But absolutely do not underestimate the power of going to a local meet up/protest and making friends. Not just with your group of feminists or LGBTs or anti-racist action leagues either. Go to each other's events. Build supportive relationships. Build solidarity. Expand your community.
Remember whether it's our uteri they're after, our land, our oil, our kids, our marriages, or our human rights... we have more reasons to fight together than we'll ever have to tear each other apart.
Don't let them do that to us. TERFs, racists, undercover cops, the CIA, the kkk, the FBI, etc. They've all spent decades trying to cut off our communities from one another. Spent decades trying to ruin our communities from the inside out and limit our strength. We can't allow that anymore.
They are coming for all of us.
And it is all of us that they will be up against, united
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How can you help once you created a network/group of friends?
Protest. That's #1.
As an extension of bodily autonomy, allow folks to use their bodies and protest how they see fit. If someone is making you uncomfortable or doing something you disagree with, walk away.
Make sure you're prepared with the proper gear, escape route, etc. Know your rights.
There are tons of tips for this so I'll leave it at this so the post doesn't get too long.
For folks who can't protest but wanna do more than vote and don't know what to do then please check out these suggestions from another post
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Tumblr let me blaze my solidarity post so now I'm updating it to include direct action tips.
ALSO
#2 Build Mutual Aid
As in, once the systems start being dismantled a lot of us marginalized folk will still need access to things food, water, medical, etc. A lot of us already need this tbh, federal and state aid isn't as effective as most people think it is.
Start community gardens, community fridges, pantries, etc. Work with local nurses and such to set up free clinics. The idea behind mutual aid is that everyone is helping. It is not simply charity. It a chance for communities to come together and give what they can so that Everyone can be safer, healthier, and happier.
Maybe you need a hair cut and maybe your hair stylist neighbor needs their house cleaned or someone to babysit. This exchange? Mutual Aid. The aid ... is mutual. Mutual Aid can be anything also. Maybe you can't cook or babysit but you tell good jokes. Maybe you can't tell jokes but you can reach the stuff on the top shelf. Maybe you're really good at breaking the ice or lightening the mood.
Everyone has a place in mutual aid, everyone is valuable, and everyone has something to offer.
🖤 Take care of each other 🖤
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sirfrogsworth · 1 year
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I have two best friends.
Which is not an apt description.
Best friends is too small a term to describe what they are to me.
Chosen family. Ride or die. People I would drop everything for if they needed me. People I would protect with my last breath. People who know embarrassing details they will take to the grave.
Now that my mom and dad are gone, they are my lifelong companions. I trust them with my life.
I talk about Katrina all the time. But I tend to keep my friendship with Delling a little more private. I don't love either of them any more or less. There is no ranking system for my besties. But Katrina and I are basically like an old school comedy duo, so we have a lot more shenanigans to share. Shenanigans are easy content for a blog.
Delling is disabled like me. We have a lot of the same consequences from our health issues. Extreme fatigue most of all. Delling was unable to get disability benefits though, so they have to work a 9 to 5 job. And it exhausts them to the limit. They often will work and go straight to bed. If it were possible, I would talk to Delling every single day like I do with Katrina, but circumstances don't always allow for that.
So we have less shenanigans, but the same amount of love.
I'm also a little more protective of Delling at the moment. They are trans and for some reason a large portion of the "very online" people have decided to hate my best friend. And sometimes I worry about drawing attention towards Delling from the few trolls who still hate follow me.
Delling is almost always in my thoughts when I write about trans issues or argue with transphobes on Twitter. But I refuse to invoke "I HAVE A TRANS FRIEND" most of the time. For one, I don't advocate for trans people just because I have a trans friend. Though it does make the emotions I feel very intense sometimes. A lot of tears and anger. But I also don't want to sound like those conservatives who justify everything they say because they have a friend from a marginalized group.
There are certainly times people will be like, "Why would you mutilate someone and cut off healthy breasts??" and I wanna be like "Delling is much happier without boobies and I can see a huge difference since their surgery and you don't know what the fuck you are talking about with that mutilation nonsense. FIGHT ME!"
But I don't think I need to announce my bestie's private top surgery details just to win an argument on Twitter.
I'm just really happy for them and I am glad it helped. They struggled to get the surgery for so long and fought like hell to make it happen. People acting like it is this horrible thing make me so angry. When it finally happened it was... a relief. A weight lifted off their shoulders... err... chest.
After my dad died, Katrina was unable to get away from Florida to help me out. She was dealing with her disabled dog, Lucy, and her end-of-life care. That just isn't something you can ask someone else to look after for a few days. So Delling got permission to do remote work and drove down from the top of the country to help me. They came on the weekend of my dad's service and stayed a few days after to help me get the house sorted.
I'm honestly not sure I could have made it through that experience on my own. During the service, Delling just clung to my side as I tried to act normal when long-lost relatives offered similar grief platitudes over and over. And I kept introducing Delling and saying they were from the wrong state for some reason. I do actually know where Delling lives, but I guess my brain was not functioning in that situation.
Delling also helped me finish my eulogy literally hours before I gave it. And they helped me print out a bunch of photos of my dad that almost no one looked at. I'm so glad we spent all morning frantically doing that. *sigh* Though I'm hoping the photos will come in handy when I do an online memorial for my parents, so it was not all for naught.
There was a moment when a certain someone gave an impromptu speech at the end of the service about how she let my dad see his granddaughter for a couple of hours a year ago and how special that was, and Delling tightly squeezed my hand to help channel away my anger.
Ya know, those totally normal *yearly* visits all grandpas get to have.
Sometimes friends just know, ya know?
Delling and I also revamped the kitchen for my needs, which I have already turned into absolute chaos. And we had a fun shopping trip to Sam's where I bought tender beef jerky that was the toughest to chew jerky I've ever experienced. I guess the "tender" on the label was sarcastic.
All I know is that casually shopping with my friend was this beautiful bonding adventure where we just got to hang out and be together. It's weird the experiences that stick with you. Trying to pick out wholesale sushi with my bestie will be a treasured memory for the rest of my days. And I think that is kinda perfect in its simplicity.
There are not enough thank yous in the world for what Delling did for me. I wish they could have stayed a few months instead of a few days. I miss having them here in person. But they had a foster bunny to take care of and a job and a family. So I had to give Delling back to the top of the country.
I just wanted to write this in appreciation of my other best bestie. I love them more than anything. And I can't tell you all how special it feels to have someone who will drop everything, drive across the country (through tornado weather, no less), and keep you company during a very lonely time.
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winterrrnight · 10 months
Text
books
— drew starkey headcanons
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One of the biggest things you and Drew bond over is your love of books.
Drew absolutely loves to spoil you with taking you to the bookstore dates very often.
You both would hit your favorite coffee shop first and get your drinks in takeaway cups.
Then you would go to the bookstore.
Drew would follow you around as you go to different aisles of the store to see different books.
Each time he saw you being intrigued by a book's synopsis which you kept back on the shelf, he would pick it up behind your back to buy it for you.
He doesn't stop you from buying books. The more you buy, the happier he gets.
"But love I've already taken five!" You would protest when he would say these aren't enough.
"No one should ever be stopped from exploring the literature world sweets, buy some more." He would tell you.
Even though you only selected a few books to buy, at the counter you will see the amount of books have doubled.
"Where did these come from?" You would gasp at the pile.
"I saw you seeing these and having a look on your face which says 'hmmm I like this'." He would tell you, the books being the ones you had kept back on the shelves.
No doubt you were intrigued by them and wanted to read them, you didn't want Drew to spend too much on just books.
You would have to give in, because Drew is stubborn and he wouldn't listen to a single thing you'd say.
Each time you and Drew read a book, you both would annotate it.
You will tab the lines which you love, and write little notes in the margins.
Then you would give your annotated version of the book to the other person to read.
You both will then read the other's annotated books, which helps you give more insight on what the other thought.
You would add your own annotations to the books. You would run out of spaces quickly so you add the big post its to write in more content.
Once you both would be done reading the same book, you would have a massive discussion on it.
The discussion could start anywhere, at dinner, late at night when none of you can sleep, when you'd be having little drinks to relax.
It would help you understand each other's understanding about certain things more, strengthening your bond together.
Your favorite books are the classics, and the one book which you both enjoyed so much and reread it all the time is Oscar Wilde's 'Picture of Dorian Gray'.
You both emoted a lot to the book and bring it up often in your discussions.
Oh, and a little bonus: quoting your favorite lines from the books you love all the time in public when you're with friends or family, which is your own inside joke!
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