#...at the moment

[idlyfretting]

they are longing to stray

(Read of Ao3)

snippet from chap 2:

“Fuck, not again.”

Robin blinked, the smile falling off her face. 

Shit. Steve hadn’t meant to say that. He really hadn’t meant to say that. “I don’t–”

“What do you mean?” 

He shook his head. “Did you have fun? You mentioned checking out that new–”

“Steve, what do you mean?” She cut him off again. 

Steve was pretty good at putting his foot in his mouth at very unfortunate moments. But this definitely took the cake. 

“I didn’t… I didn’t realize it was getting that serious,” he tried. “I didn’t think she–”

“What? Liked me back?” 

“No,” he said quickly. And then before she could take that the wrong way and interrupt him again, he stuttered out, “I didn’t think you liked her?” It came out more like a question.

Now she looked confused. The red in her cheeks was getting brighter. 

“What are you talking about? You knew I had a crush on her. We talked about it a few weeks ago– You know I’ve liked her since before we left, Steve. What the hell?” 

“I thought it was just a crush. I didn’t realize it was bigger than that.” That was true at least. 

“You didn’t think it was real?” She was talking louder now, not quite yelling but Steve knew where this was headed. Fuck, he had fucked this up. 

“That’s not what I–”

“Nancy and I being together just isn’t a believable concept? Is that what you're saying?”

“No, of course no–”

“Because why would Nancy want to be with me, right? Dweeby Robin Buckley and kickass future journalist Nancy Wheeler, not a likely pair. That just doesn’t add up.”

“Robin, that’s not what–”

She wouldn’t let him talk. “Of course it doesn’t. Who the fuck do I think I am, trying to date her?” She threw up her hands, and looked around the apartment as if trying to find someone to answer her. Her eyes were shiny and Steve felt his stomach lurch.

He needed to fix this. He needed to fix it now .

“Robin, stop.”

“Why? You obviously don’t think I deserve–”

“Robin!” His voice felt loud in the apartment. All of their neighbors were abnormally quiet. No slamming doors echoed down the hallway. No voices or footsteps or mysterious bangs. All he could hear was his and Robin’s breathing and a high pitched ringing that was probably contained to his own head.

He waited a moment, but Robin stayed quiet. She lifted her hand to run her fingers through her hair in a move that so resembled the way Steve would do it that he felt his stomach flip again. 

“Robin, you deserve the fucking world. You deserve to be as happy as you can possibly be.” He wanted to step forward, pull her closer and make her listen. But something felt off. Regardless of how often he screwed things up, Steve was usually pretty good at reading a room. Something was wrong here, tense in a way things usually weren’t between him and Robin. He didn’t want to fuck things up more than he already had. Standing still seemed like the best option, even if he didn’t know why.

“There is no one on this planet who is too good for you.”

They both let out a simultaneous breath. He should have felt comforted by that, but the tension in the room hadn’t gone away. And looking at Robin, he noticed her hands were still clenched tight. 

“Then what–” She stopped and shook her head. “I still don’t get it.”

“Don’t get–”

“What did you mean by that? ‘Not again.’ What do you mean?” She looked at him with a strange expression on her face. Steve didn’t recognize it. He hated not knowing what Robin was thinking. Sometimes it felt like the Russians had accidentally mind-melded them together in that bunker. He always knew what she was thinking. 

“I just… I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“And you think Nancy is going to hurt me?”

Steve opened his mouth but nothing came out. He didn’t want to say it. He couldn’t, because it would come out all wrong and twisted. And he wasn’t even really sure if he was thinking right, logically at least. And was it even his place? Did he have any ground to stand on when he’d fucked up so much way back when. 

Was he even allowed to feel upset?

Robin waited a few more seconds, but when Steve stayed quiet, she continued.

“You think it’s going to be like how you were with Nancy.” Robin shook her head and looked away from him. “Steve, it’s not the same. We’re older now, not dumb teenagers dealing with shit we shouldn’t have been dealing with in the first place.” 

He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to take that. Which one of them was she calling dumb, him or Nancy? Probably both. But it felt more like him. He’d been the one who everyone else had pretty much agreed was the main fuck-up in that scenario. Steve was the douchey jock who had no idea how to date someone who wasn’t as much of an asshole as he was. And Nancy definitely had a better head on her shoulders. 

He was the dumb one.

Robin still wasn’t looking at him. 

“This isn’t some weird leftover jealousy thing, right?”

Oh, fuck that.

[thepurplepope]

saw this absolute king at the Paris Miku Expo

[EDIT] : THIS IS @funnyparadox PRESENTED TO YOU, OUR PATHS FINALLY MET

[daringdoombringer]

hi here’s a cool bird I betcha didn’t know existed, ✨the wallcreeper✨

it literally looks like a monarch butterfly it’s so cute

[macdenlover]

it came to my realization that 99% of my fandom related headaches would be cured if everyone understood this

[narwhalsarefalling]

just had a convo with my friend. she mentioned she doesnt like sake cause its sparkling.

“wait, sake is sparkling? what have i been drinking?” i said. because i also dont like sparkling stuff.

i look at the sake bottle ive been drinking from for fun events for the past year. its vinegar.

i’ve been drinking strawberry flavored vinegar.

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

when I was a little kid at some point I got upset with my parents because I didn't have a crucifix in my bedroom and they did- I was like why do YOU get to be safe from vampires??? you're okay with me getting my blood sucked???? so we took a little trip to the catholic store but the one closest to us was run by a group of nuns that had been moved here from romania. I got a little baby pink cross and this sweet old nun was like 'aww, is this a baptism gift?' and I was like no. I need to be protected from vampires. and she immediately got SO serious and was like 'this is the best one we've got, you'll definitely be safe' and since she was literally from vampire land I was convinced she was like, van helsing. like the whole time my parents had been laughing about how cute my fear was but she literally Knew dracula and was taking my concerns seriously I held this over my parents for so long lmfao

[her-soliloquies]

They really gave us everything though: old gay dads, cool straight (?) couple, badass lesbians, gay (temporary) rivals

+

bonus: jayvik together for eternity

I would be beaming from ear to ear if I wasn't so depressed about arcane being over for good

[fangsandthangs]

When you’re in the middle of a fic and realise you’ve missed a very critical tag

[ivyblooms]

The funniest homophobia I ever experienced was a Mormon lady at my work telling me she would accept me being gay because we have to get along as coworkers but I really should consider not being gay because gay people have sex like animals (especially gay men) and she just couldn't stop thinking about it and how gross we are. She started really getting distressed, near tears, and saying 'I can't stop thinking about it. I can't stop." over and over and miming some kind of sex acts with her hands and I was like ?????? What is happening???? One of the other Mormon ladies had to come over and pat her on the back and help her sit down to help her calm down and our boss gave her the afternoon off due to being too upset to work.

[inkskinned]

it's extremely critical that you see the photo of the perp walk for luigi mangione as being propaganda. i've seen so many people wave it off and instead fawn over his looks. and trust me, i know it ended up being kind of pathetic and weird - but please don't brush it off as a "modelling opportunity" for him. it's a fucking terrifying message the police are sending.

i want to make a few comparisons here, in case you're not from the US or familiar with why the perp walk thing is something to pay attention to. just to set the groundwork for why this is a purposeful, unusual, and cruel act by the nyc police - for why this is not a common occurrence and for why that matters.

the prosecution alleges the show of force is due to the charge of "terrorism." for comparison, in june 2015, tsarnaev was found guilty for the boston marathon bombing, which killed 3 people and injured hundreds. his actions are considered to be an act of domestic terrorism. i have spent the last hour looking through google for pictures of similar to mangione's perp walk - and so far, i have found zero. i also just do not personally remember a moment like that, despite living in boston at the time.

they allege that luigi is a stone-cold killer who carried out a longterm plan, making him particularly dangerous. again for comparison: in nyc, recently cory martin was found guilty of the killing of brandy odom. the murder was planned and premeditated to steal insurance money. and yet no staged perp walk. why didn't her life matter enough for a "show of force"?

but mangione gets paraded by a veritable army of police officers as if he is a rabid animal. for a single citizen who allegedly killed one other single citizen, the "largest perp walk ever" occurs.

so what is the "strong message" that the mayor and the police were trying to send here? the mayor speaks as if mangione is already convicted of terrorism. there is a very thin number of people who feel threatened by the CEO's death. none of us felt like mangione needs to be under massive armed guard.

the message is that you shouldn't resist. they are trying to "make an example" of him - that if you behave badly and kill a single rich person, you'll be treated as if you killed hundreds of people. you will be treated worse than a man who was found guilty of terrorism. you will be considered guilty without trial. the message is that the rich are a protected class, and you cannot touch them without massive punishment. they are trying to prevent a revolution by showing dominance and force against you.

the message is that the police are a puppet of the wealthy and that the law is not equally applied across class disparity. it is "some are more equal than others." it is "one life is more precious than another."

the show of force wasn't for luigi. it was for us. it was a warning. they are trying to remind us who is really in control.

[mearchy]

my favorite genre of fictional character is like "i am terrifying to almost everyone, i'm very good at killing, i can endure anything, i've become exceptionally good at playing into my reputation, and if you try to give me positive social interaction i will react with confusion and cower in a corner like an abused animal. and i may try to shoot you. but there is also a chance i may imprint on you like a feral dog receiving its first loving touch! good luck."

[hamletthedane]

Thinking about him (the soldier in Poynter’s Faithful Until Death painting watching an apocalypse unfold around him with horror in his eyes as he tries to keep himself standing beneath a doorway, based on an actual 19th century archeological find of a man in full soldier’s garb under a doorway at Pompeii)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Knowledge Revenge.

[hahaoatmeal]

[sleepygaymerdisease]