#And once again Most people aren't bothered by this because they don't know but she knows

[jestingher]

Sometimes I think about wether Toritsuka really has privacy like ever?

I mean ghosts kinda perpetualy watch people and they're basically everywhere, but he actually knows they're watching, if he wanted to do something kinda awkward or the like he probably couldn't just shoo them away, just had to do it with company, on full display all the time

I think this also reflects in his attitude towards Saiki being able to read his thoughts, giving full honesty 'cause Saiki will know anyway, he's already sorta used to that

[mayullla]

Quest: Clear out the slimes in grandmother's garden.

Character(s): Slime Monster (Oc / Original work) Summary: You are an adventurer, taking up missions and quests in the guild. You didn't know that your choices all have unfair consequences. You thought of the slime more as a pet while it thought of you as a mate. Tags/warnings: Yandere!monster, fem!reader, non-consensual kissing and touching, possession (not the reader), taking a bath in front of a 'supposed' pet if that is a warning needed

{ - JRPG Quest masterlist - }

You took a simple mission, help an old grandmother clean out the slimes that have been eating all her crops and vegetables in her garden.

Clearing out the slime with your sword you noticed a smile, a little lighter blue than the other slimes. Weakly moving around while others jumped in panic at the sight of your sword. You should have killed it then and there, but you left it.

The old lady was kind and gave you your reward for clearing out the monster yet she could not help but question if it was really all right for you to hold such a dangerous creature in your hand. "Are you sure it would be okay to keep such a thing? I know some people keep them as pets but aren't they still wild creatures?" You tried to calm the worries of the grandmother stating that you will only release the slime out to the wild.

Walking deeper into the forest you gave it some food to eat that you have brought with you. You watched as the sandwich slowly disintegrate inside the slime's body. You wondered why you let this one go, really while most slimes are harmless too many also cause trouble for the ecosystem. Maybe it was because of its unique color, you never saw such pink slime in your life.

"Don't come back if you know what is good for you." You mumbled poking the little slime on your hand. The gushing sound it made in delight perhaps because it finally ate made you smile. When you thought you were far enough from the place you tried to place the slime down. "There you go- huh?" You were supposed to plop the slime onto the grassy floor instead the slime continued to cling to your hand refusing to let go. "What the..."

No matter what you did, the slime did not let go. As you scoop the slime from one hand it started to cling to the other when you tried to remove the creature from your hand with your boots. It still didn't let go instead choosing to stick to your boot's ankle making it hard for you to walk.

After trying to get this thing off from you and failing miserably you had no choice but to take the thing back home as the sun slowly goes down and the day ends. "What am I supposed to do with you." You mumbled scratching the back of your head as you glance at the thing on your arms giggling in happiness that you weren't trying to throw it out anymore.

The little thing had become a pet of sorts for you. It followed you around the house everywhere you go. When you finish eating, the remaining food and plate you would feed it to the slime where it would eat all the leftovers and clean the plate and then give it to you. (You thought it the little thing could become your dishwasher with how clean your plates look but at the same time the idea that it was not washed by water and soap and instead slime doesn't sit right with you.)

It would follow you when you get ready for the day and follow you to the bathroom and even when you shower. The slime had at one point crawled into your bathtub once joining you in your soak. You didn't think much of it really, the thing didn't have eyes nor a mouth or anything it was just a blob really.

"Hmmmm" You poked the floating slime that did its best to get on your bathtub. The slime clinging to your finger at that moment and started crawling closer to you till it reached your shoulder nuzzling itself on your neck.

It followed you to your bed when you went to sleep. The thing tried to cuddle next to you again, and while it didn't bother you while in the bath it bothered you now. It was a weird feeling! How were you supposed to sleep went it feels like one side of the bed was wet. Too uncomfortable you grabbed the slime and placed it on a pillow that you tossed to the floor.

"That will be your bed from now on all right?" You told it satisfied when you saw the curious motion it was doing looking at you and then at the pillow. Too tired you were soon fast asleep.

You woke with the thing right on top of your chest as if it had sneaked up when you were sleeping. And the next time it happened again and again, you tried to put the small slime outside your room but it seems that since it didn't have any bones it was able to slide on the crack of the door and place itself again close to you.

You had gotten so used to this slime being in your life thought of it nothing more than a pet unknowing that in the end it still was a monster. That pink slime grew so attached to you, unknown to you its attachment was somewhat an obsession than something cute.

In a sense, it thought of you as its mate. Your affection for it was a courting ritual for the pink slime as it returned your affection with rubs in your hand almost as it was a puppy when all it wanted was to merge with you. Yet it can't. Slime went the smartest yet they pick up fast as it watched you interact with a man. You wondered what the slime was thinking when it watched you as you talked to your crush. You have fallen in love with another adventurer for a while now and while you two aren't partners sometimes you would join with him on a quest or two if you happen to bump into each other.

But you weren't able to dwell in those thoughts anymore when the adventure called your name wondering if you were okay or not as you seem to zone out a bit. "Are you okay? Want to rest somewhere?" "O-oh no! I am completely alright!"

You wondered where that slime had gone after the quest, disappearing near the end. You called out a small nickname you have given to it yet no blob of pink appeared in your vision and after trying to search for it for a while you returned home thinking that it finally returned back to the wild. You felt everything was odd at first there was no squishing sound of slime following you and when you tried to reach out for something you realized it was there anymore.

After staying in your life for more than 2 months you have grown used to the little guy that you can't help but become a little solemn at the thought.

Yet you didn't want this... You certainly didn't want this...

It was a rainy night when you got a knock on the door. It has been two weeks since the pink slime left but it also has been two weeks since you last saw that certain adventurer that you have in mind. You gasp when you saw him all drenched from the rain standing right in front of the door. "H-hey... It seems that i have been caught in the rain... Sorry, can I stay at your place for a little till the rain stops..." He told you having an awkward smile on his face.

You have given him the shower while finding clothes that he could wear. You let him stay for a while, thinking that he would leave the moment the rain stopped but it didn't as your heart beat with how close the man that you liked was as if the man was unconsciously nuzzling you on your neck as the two of you waited on the sofa for the rain to stop.

When you realize that he was that slime that you once cared for it was too late when he forced you down on the sofa his hand slowly changes to something more slimy texture yet still strong enough to pin your arms down. The smile he gave was so lovestruck and goofy as you could see specks of pink in his eyes.

When he forced a kiss something that the slime has saw all the other couples would do, you could taste and feel the texture of slime on your tongue as the slime on top of you curiously explore your mouth. His eyes were sickeningly sweet... you now knew you make a mistake in bringing the slime in.

[syndrossi]

I am so, so sorry to bother you, but I am so far behind on the different Aus, and I was wondering what the story for Jaehaerys "Jon" Royce and Laena is? Again, I'm very sorry to bother you.

Also, not to sound weird, but I wanted to say that I've been following Resonant since Chapter 1, and it's awesome to see how much traction and praise it's gotten since then because I know it got hate in the beginning simply because of you using Rhaegar's character, but your writing is wonderful and you're genuinely just a really nice author to interact with.

Aww, thank you! I will say that most of the very occasional hate I've received is just trolls trolling, easy to delete/ignore, while the vast majority of people who aren't into the premise click the back button like actual adults. Ironically, it came more after Resonant started becoming popular. Early on, I think only people who were actually on board to try a Jon + Rhaegar + Daemon adventure signed on.

The Rhaegar stuff is mainly directed at poor Rhaegar himself for daring to grieve or feel emotions.

That particular AU you're asking about we've taken to calling the vet!Jon AU, and the basic premise is that 14-year-old Jon and Rhaegar are summerhalled into the twins, but 19-year-old Jon was separately summerhalled as Rhea's and Daemon's legitimate firstborn child, who mysteriously disappeared (or died, haven't nailed down his backstory) when he was a baby. Given his age, he would have likely been a consummation baby, like the twins in Regnal. He was actually kidnapped by Volantis, and raised there, with a dragon egg of his own hatching for him.

Once older!Jon wakes up, he smashes through the brainwashing, overhears the plot to kidnap his twins brothers from the Vale, and busts out on his dragon to rescue them. Things happen a little differently with the twins, since it's 14-year-old Jon rather than his Lord Commander incarnation, so they don't send the letter in time. Daemon has no clue about the twins OR his firstborn son being alive, until Jon has rescued the twins from the warlock + Crayne and crashes in on him in the Stepstones, giving Daemon a heart attack by riding bareback.

Everyone assumes that Rhea, who dies the same, intentionally hid the twins because she feared something happening to them, aka that they were trueborn and hers. Still treason, but slightly more sympathetic in the eyes of the realm.

Laena, meanwhile, having no luck with a very frazzled Daemon after she's freed from her betrothal, hits it off with Jon and they decide to marry.

It's one of the wilder premises, but it's a fun one! You can read the much longer/in-depth ideation of it here.

[artemistorm]

Here is my late rambling analysis of the new LU update:

I love Wind's face and posture. He's just like "Challenge accepted!" Hyrule and Wild my beloveds <3

A lot of people saw this sequence and went "oh no something bad is going to happen to Epona!" but I took it to mean that Epona doesn't want to go in the dungeon and that Twilight knows that Epona will be just fine hanging out outside (tasty snack time ehehehe).

I can't put my finger on exactly what's changed about the coloring but WOW it is popping. So vibrant. I love it. Made my eyes happy.

Also I love it when Jojo draws the gang in lines like this. It makes me think that she's doing it for fun (just like when you draw your OCs in lineups a million times cuz it makes you happy), that she still loves and takes great pride in showing off her blorbos.

Also, Wild is taller than Legend (and Hyrule) >:)

I love that he spelled this out to the others. Makes so much sense. In Lord of the Rings terms, most of the other Links are like Frodo and Sam running around to secretly bring the ring to Mordor, while Warriors is like Aragorn who straight up charged the Black Gates of Mordor with an army.

It's so funny how all the other heroes automatically assumed that Warriors' Hyrule had dungeons and that he just didn't bother to go through them. XD

So this implies that A) that comic where Wild and Hyrule met the wallmaster happened recently and B) it was sometime when Wars wasn't there with them, which makes me think that the wallmaster comic happened at the same time as this comic:

And then there's this:

I can't remember where I read it but I seem to remember Jojo saying that Legend was the most likely to prank others and this is an example of that. This is a characterization that surprised me at first (I would have expected Wind or Hyrule to be more of a prankster) but if you think about Who Legend Is, it actually makes a lot of sense.

I was trying to figure out which game this skulltula is from and my conclusion is that I think it is most similar to skulltulas from OOT 3D / MM 3D. I wonder if that means that they are in or near Time's time. Either that or this is a case of monsters getting mixed up between Hyrules like we saw in the Threatening Shadows story arc.

Time is clearly very wound up still over what happened to Twilight. While all the other heroes have seemed to pretty much bounced back after that harrowing incident and are caught up in youthful optimism and the excitement of a new dungeon, Time hasn't forgotten and he wants to make sure the heroes don't forget the seriousness of their situation and their enemy. Just because the Shadow was defeated once doesn't mean that they can do it again so easily (not that it was easy before).

My writer brain immediately interpreted this as foreshadowing that they aren't going to even make it to the central chamber before the group gets involuntarily broken up (trap doors my beloved mwahaha). Of course that may not end up being the case, they may make it the central chamber without incident.

I figure that ideally the group will split into 3 groups of 3, each group having at least one older Link (Time, Wars, Twi, Sky) and one younger Link (Four, Legend Hyrule, Wild, Wind). How much you wanna bet that Time wants Twi with him in order to keep an eye on him/protect him?

Anyways, that's all I got. Bye!

[canirove]

The invinsible princess | Chapter 8

“Royal wedding?”

Chapter 7 | Chapter 9

Masterlist

“Oh my God, not this again!”

“What happened?” Irene says.

“The press” I sigh. “They are back to writing articles about me and who is going to be my prince.”

“Why would they… Oh. Leonor.”

“Yep” I say, throwing my phone to the other side of the sofa.

The English press had caught her in London with an old friend she had met years ago while she was finishing her studies in Scotland, the heir of a very famous and kind of powerful family among the British nobility. And since over there the press doesn't respect us the way the Spanish one does, and we don't have the sources we have here that allow us to stop things before they are published, the photos were shared by an English tabloid and there was nothing we could do about it. 

Things have been a bit crazy since then, paparazzis following us all trying to get more information about Leonor and her first known boyfriend. But the thing is that, even though you can see them kissing and holding hands in those photos, they aren't dating. According to what she's told us, it was just a fling because they happened to cross paths after a long time. 

But now, because of it, the press is back to bothering me and writing articles about my love life, making bets about who I will end up dating and shipping me with whoever I'm seen with, something that almost ended my real relationship once. 

“I mean, if you had made your engagement official already, they would not be writing those things” Irene says. “It's been almost a year, Sofía.”

“I know. But we still haven't found the right moment to do it.”

After Pedri and I got engaged, my parents suggested that it was best to keep it private for a few months so we could enjoy it and have enough time to tell our friends and family. But once those months passed, Pedri was playing football again and things weren't the best at Barça, so we decided to postpone it until the end of the season so it wouldn't add more pressure to him and the team. The press would go nuts with the announcement and some of them would not be nice, their headlines definitely blaming me for how bad they were playing, or saying that since he was going to be a prince, he didn't care about playing football anymore. 

“The season has basically ended. Why not now?” Irene says.

“Because he still has to play the Champions League final, the most important game. We can't just drop the bomb before it.”

“And after? You could make your relationship official by doing a Casillas and Carbonero on the pitch while celebrating that they've won. If they win, of course. Though maybe you can also do it if they lose. The princess comforting the football star” she says with a teasing smile.

“Idiot” I reply, hitting her with one of the pillows. “But we can't do that either. I mean, if they lose, it would be a way to distract people from it. But they would probably also blame me for the loss.”

“That's very likely, yes... How are you going to do it, then?”

“I don't know, Irene. I don't know” I sigh.

If only we could just get married like normal people do and don't have to make any official announcement about anything…

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“I'm sorry” I say, taking Pedri's hand on mine.

“It's ok” he says, resting his head on my shoulder. 

“You played really well, you know? I know you gave it all out there.”

“But it wasn't enough.”

“It was” I say, giving his hand a little squeeze. “It's not your fault your teammates are useless.”

“Sofía!” he laughs. “They could hear you, you know?”

“They all are too gutted to care about what I may say.”

Because Barça had lost the Champions League final. It had been a really tough game, one of the toughest this season. And when you make it to penalties, anything can happen.

“Besides, I made you laugh and smile, and that's all I care about right now” I say, caressing his cheek.

“Thank you” he says, curling up against me. 

“Why don't you try to sleep for a bit? We still have a couple of hours left until we land in Barcelona.”

“I don't think I can” he sighs. “I can't stop thinking about the game, about things I could have done differently.”

“Then let's make you not think about the game.”

“How?” he chuckles.

“By talking about something else. For example… Our holidays.”

“With your family, mine, or on our own?”

“Well, the ones with my family may be the important ones. Because…” I say, biting my lip.

“Because?” Pedri says, looking up at me.

“Because now that the season is finally over, we could… You know. Make it official.”

“Urgh, that” he groans. “Why can't we just get married and not tell anyone? Like you've told me many times, you aren't the heir. Why is it so important what you do or don't do?”

“Good question” I chuckle. “But that's how the protocol works.”

“Fuck the protocol” he says, lifting his head from my shoulder. “Let's get married, Sofía.”

“What?” 

“Let's do it. This summer.”

“Pedri, you know that we can't. We have to…”

“What did I just say? Fuck the protocol, Sofía. We want to get married, don't we? It is what we keep dreaming about since we got engaged.”

“It is.”

“And we want to do it in Tenerife.”

“Yes” I nod.

“Then let's do it. Let's invite our families and closest friends to our house there with some excuse, and let's surprise them by getting married.”

“Pedri, are you sure they didn't hit your head during the game?” I laugh.

“I'm serious, Sofía” he says, now being the one who gives my hand a little squeeze. An encouraging one. “Let's get married and don't give a shit about the protocol, the press or whatever.”

“You are being serious, aren't you?”

“Deadly” he says. “So, my lady… Do we elope to Tenerife?”

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was telling Irene I wished we could do this. Just get married and ignore everything else. And now, Pedri is telling me we should do exactly that. By the looks of it, he actually seems to have it all planned already. 

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes” I repeat. “Let's elope to Tenerife.”

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“You are crazy. You are fucking crazy.”

“Leonor…”

“No, Sofía! No! Have you lost your mind?”

“Leonor, listen…”

“No!” she says again. “You can't just get married like that! There is a protocol and traditions to be followed! You are a fucking princess!”

“I know, Leonor. But we want to get married and are tired of waiting and postponing everything.”

“And I'm tired of having to attend boring dinners with men who could be my father, yet I do it because it is my job! My duty!”

“Yes, your duty as the heir to the throne. But that's not me, Leonor! Or have you forgotten that once you are queen, I would become even more unimportant than I already am?” I say, also raising my voice. 

“Please don't start with that invisible princess bullshit, Sofía. Playing the victim doesn't fit you anymore.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Girls, I think we need to calm down a bit” Irene says.

“I am calm!” both Leonor and I yell at the same time.

“If you say so…” she says, sinking a bit on the sofa where she is sitting.

“Leonor…” I say, taking a deep breath. “Put yourself in my shoes for just a minute, please.”

“I'm trying, Sofía. I swear I am” she replies. “But this idea of yours… it's crazy. It's fucking crazy! Mum and dad won't like it, and if he doesn't like it, you know what the Constitution says. You would not be part of the succession anymore, Sofía. If something were to happen to me and I still don't have kids, the crown would pass to our unruly cousin. Do you seriously want him to be king?”

“Leonor, you are being dramatic and you know it. Nothing is going to happen to you, and dad isn't going to exclude me from the succession just because I don't want to get married in a cathedral.”

“He sent grandad away, tho” Irene says.

“Yes, but grandad did many things he shouldn't while he was king, and I'm just choosing to marry the man I love in a different way because our relationship isn't the usual one due to who we are.”

“Because you are a princess and he is a footballer?” Leonor says. “Aunt Cristina married a handball player and they followed the protocol and the tradition.”

“And things worked out so well for them… Sorry, Irene.”

“It's ok” she says.

“And you can't compare the fame he had back then with the one Pedri has right now. He is known worldwide, Leonor. He is more famous than all of us together!”

“Oh, so we should throw away our traditions and who we are just because of his fame?”

“Yes! I mean… No! But maybe we should start doing some things differently, it is the 21st century!”

“Sofía, are you calling me old-fashioned?” she laughs.

“What? No! I just… urgh” I say, sitting down and trying really hard to not start crying.

“Leonor…” Pedri says, daring to join the conversation. Because Leonor, Irene and I aren't alone in the room. Him, Fer and Ferran also are with us. They are the people we trust the most and we wanted to tell them about our plan, to have them on our side and help us with everything. And even though they all were kind of surprised when we first shared the news with them, they said they would support us. All but my sister, who just started shouting. “We wanted to do things the way they have been done for centuries, to follow the protocol, the tradition. We truly wanted to. But my career keeps getting in the way, and we are tired of waiting. Sofía and I love each other and just want to get married. Is that so difficult to understand?”

“It isn't, Pedri. It's just…”

“Wait” Ferran says, also joining the conversation. “You aren't rushing things because she is pregnant, are you?”

“What?” everyone says at the same time.

“People used to suddenly get married because having a baby outside marriage was seen as something shameful. And since you are royals, maybe you still do those things? I don't know” he shrugs.

“I'm not pregnant, Ferran” I say. “Like Pedri said, we want to do this because we love each other, want to get married and are tired of waiting. Just that.”

“Ok… I just had to ask” he shrugs again.

“Leonor…” I sigh. “Leonor, please. I know it sounds crazy, that it is a crazy idea… But it is what we want” I say, Pedri reaching for my hand and giving it an encouraging squeeze. “Say that you will help us. That you will support us. I want my sister with me on the most important day of my life so far. I… I can't do this without you.”

“But Sofía, no one has done something like this before. Like… It'll be a scandal!”

“I think people are more than used to our family being involved in scandals” Irene chuckles. 

“And maybe scandal isn't the right word for this situation” I add.

“Ok, fine” Leonor says. “But if your relationship going public already is something that will definitely make people go nuts, imagine if what they get to read is that you are already married after years of dating in secret!”

“Well, you all have always joked about us breaking the Internet the day we make it public, so let's go big or go home” I shrug.

“You… urgh” Leonor groans. “When they named you after grandma they also passed her stubbornness onto you, didn't they? Because I'm not going to change your mind about this.”

“You are not, no. So… am I going to have my big sister with me at my wedding or not?”

“I… Yes” she sighs, finally giving up. “You will have your big sister with you at your wedding. But…” she says, stopping me as I'm about to throw myself at her and hug her. “I still think this is the worst idea ever and that mum and dad are going to kill you both. Maybe all of us too for helping you.”

“They won't, you'll see” I smile. “I love you, Leonor.”

“And I love you too, you crazy woman” she says before hugging me.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“This house is beautiful, Sofía. And the views? Breathtaking” my grandma says. “No wonder you and Pedri come here so often.”

“You are invited to come whenever you want, grandma” I smile.

“But only if I'm gonna be surrounded by such handsome men” she says, nodding towards Ferran, Fermín and Gavi.

“Grandma!” I gasp.

“It isn't my fault that your future husband has such handsome friends, darling” she shrugs. “And I'm gonna go get some more of those chips you are serving. Where did you say they are from? They are delicious.”

“They are from a local business.”

“As in from a restaurant?”

“More like a food truck.” If you can call Paco's old van like that. 

“Interesting… You'll have to take me one day.”

“Yes, of course” I smile.

“Great” she smiles back. “Now I'm gonna go get those chips. I can see your cousin Pablo and that Fermín boy walking towards them, and they eat for five or six people.”

“They do, yes” I chuckle as I watch her walk towards them.

“Bo!”

“Bloody hell, Pedri!” I yelp when he suddenly shows up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. “You scared me!”

“Sorry” he says, kissing my neck. 

“Was that really necessary?”

“The kiss or scaring you?” he says, now kissing my cheek. 

“What do you think?”

“I think that both were necessary. The kiss because you look stunning, and the scare because you need to relax.”

“I'm relaxed."

“Sofia…” Pedri says, moving me until I'm facing him. “You are not.”

“I am” I say, focusing on my hands resting on his chest.

“Sofía…”

“Ok, fine. I'm a bit nervous.”

“Just a bit, uh?” he says with a teasing smile. “But that's normal. We are about to… get married” he whispers. “I also am a bit nervous.”

“Really? You are mingling with everyone and enjoying the party as if nothing was going on.”

“That's on the outside. But on the inside… on the inside I'm shitting myself. Maybe a bit literally too.”

“Eww, Pedri!”

“Sorry” he shrugs. “But everything is going to work out, you'll see. In an hour, you and I, my lady…” he says, pulling me a bit closer. “You and I are going to be husband and wife, and that's all that matters.”

“Sorry to interrupt, lovebirds” Leonor says when we are about to kiss. “But it's time.”

“Shit. Ok. Umm… Ok” I say, taking a deep breath. 

“An hour, my lady” Pedri says, kissing my hand. “Just an hour.”

“Just an hour” I repeat before following Leonor. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Oh my God, Sofía. You look gorgeous!” Irene says.

“And that dress is so you. Maybe you actually were right and marrying here and not in a cathedral was your thing.”

“Thank you, Leonor” I reply, rolling my eyes but also smiling. “And you too, Irene. Pedri and I could not have done this without your help.”

“You're welcome, cousin” she smiles. 

“Yeah.”

“Leonor, did I just see you wiping away a tear?” I chuckle.

“What? No, no. It was just something in my eye.”

“A tear.”

“I wasn't crying, Sofía.”

“If you say so…” I tease her.

“Yes, I do” she says, sticking out her tongue. “Now, let's make sure that you have everything.”

“Oh, yes!” Irene says. “Something blue?”

“The sapphire on my engagement ring” I say, lifting my hand.

“Something borrowed?”

“Mum's wedding shoes.”

“You know, if she doesn't kill us because of the wedding, she may do it for taking those and not telling her about it” Leonor chuckles.

“When I was a kid she once told me that I could wear them on my wedding day, so” I shrug.

“What is your something new?” Irene continues.

“The lingerie set I'm wearing. And don't make any comment about it.”

“I wasn't going to say anything.”

“Then why did I catch you smirking?” 

“It wasn't a smirk, Sofía. It was just a smile” Irene shrugs.

“Of course it was.”

“A smile of we know Pedri's jaw is gonna be on the floor the moment he sees you taking off your clothes before you jump his bones.”

“Leonor!” I gasp. “Not you!”

“Couldn't help myself, I'm sorry” she laughs. “Anyway, you have something blue, something borrowed, something new, and you are just missing something old, right?”

“Not really. This dress is vintage, it counts as something old.”

“That's not old enough, Sofía. This, on the other hand…” she says, giving me a little box.

“What is this?”

“Open it and you will know” she smiles.

“Leonor!” I gasp even louder than when she made her comment about Pedri and my lingerie. “Are these… are they…”

“The earrings your beloved queen is wearing on that painting you love so much.”

“No way!” Irene says.

“But how… How did you get them? Don't they belong to the Victoria and Albert museum?”

“They do. But I happen to know someone who works there, and he did me a favour.”

“What? Who?” Irene says while inspecting the earrings.

“Max?” I ask my sister.

“Who is… Wait. The guy the paparazzis caught you making out with in London?” Irene says.

“Yes, him. I got the idea of the earrings after Pedri chose the ring and told me about proposing in front of the painting, so I texted Max, we started talking, and when they caught us I had gone to London to meet with him and pick them up.”

“Leonor, I… I… I don't know what to say. This is too much, like…”

“Sofía, you are my little sister. I would do anything for you, and you should know it already just by the fact that I'm here today and have said yes to this crazy idea of yours.”

“Yes, but…”

“Now who is the one crying?” she says with a teasing smile.

“Oh, shut up” I reply, giving her a little push and making her laugh.

“C'mon, let's help you put them on. Fer may text us any moment now telling us that everything is ready.”

“Urgh, Sofía. Now you look even more gorgeous than you already did” Irene says when they are done. “That queen from the painting is nothing next to you.”

“Pedri's jaw may hit the floor earlier than we thought” Leonor smirks.

“Yeah, well” I say, looking at myself in the mirror. I actually do look beautiful. I feel beautiful.

“Just remember to take the earrings off before your wedding night starts. You two are too feisty, and I need to give them back to Max in one piece” Leonor says. 

“We aren't feisty” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Sofía, both Irene and I have heard things we didn't want to hear, so don't try to deny it.”

“Whatever” I reply. “But are you seeing Max again? I thought it had been just a fling.”

“Well…”

“Well what?” Irene asks her. “Leonor, you are blushing!”

“I'm not! I mean… Maybe… Urgh!”

“Oh my God, Leonor. Have you fallen for Max?” I say.

“What? No! But maybe…”

“Maybe?” both Irene and I say. 

“Maybe I am falling for him, ok?” 

“Aww, Leonor” I say before hugging her, Irene doing the same. “I am so happy for you!”

“Same” Irene says. “Can't believe the three of us are in love at the same time!”

“I'm not… wait, what?” Leonor says. “You are in love? With who?”

“I… umm…” Irene says, taking a step back, her cheeks bright red. 

“Did you know about this?” Leonor asks me. 

“I had no idea, no” I reply. “I thought we could tell everything to each other, Irene.”

“And we can, but…”

“But?”

“But how am I supposed to tell you that I'm seeing your boyfriend’s brother?”

“What?” Leonor and I say at the same time.

“Yeah” Irene shrugs.

“How did that happen? And since when has it been happening? And…”

“And that must be him” she says when someone knocks on the door. “I'll tell you everything after the wedding, ok? I promise.”

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“This is such a lovely party, Pedri” the queen says. “And the idea of having us all here together in Tenerife before the summer ends is perfect.”

“Thank you” he smiles.

“But where is Sofía? Her dad wanted to make a toast in your honour, and I can't find her anywhere.”

“She's upstairs with the girls, I saw them earlier” Pedri's mum says. “I think something happened with her dress, that she spilled something on it.”

“And they still haven't come back? I'm gonna go check on them, maybe something happened.”

“No!” Pedri says, definitely raising his voice too much. “I mean, if they've been gone for a while, they are probably about to come back, right?” 

“I guess, yes. But isn't it weird that it is taking them so long?”

“Oh, you know them. They probably are gossiping about something” Pedri's mum chuckles. “And speaking of gossip… Is there something going on between your brother and Irene?”

“What?” he says.

“I saw them chatting earlier, and the way they were talking and looking at each other… I don't know” she shrugs.

“Well, you can ask him now. He is coming” the queen says, smirking the same way Sofía does when she's plotting something.

“Ladies… brother” Fer smiles. “I hope I'm not interrupting anything.”

“Oh, no, don't worry. Just your mother wondering if you are dating Irene” the queen says, still smirking.

“What?” he laughs. “Me and Irene? That's… I mean…”

“That's true. Look at your face” Pedri says. “I can't believe neither you or Irene have told Sofía and I anything.”

“We… I… Umm…” he mumbles. “Oh, that must be your last guest” Fer says when someone rings the doorbell. 

“Last guest? What last guest?” their mum asks.

“One who just saved my dear brother from doing some explaining” Pedri says. 

“Umm… boys?” their dad says, joining the conversation. “Why has Don Alberto just arrived?”

“Don Alberto? Who is that?” the queen asks.

“A priest who is friends with the family.”

“A what?” she says, looking at everyone with a confused look.

“I think it's time, Pedri” Fer says.

“I think it is, yes” he sighs. 

“Is anyone going to tell me what is going on here or…?” the queen asks.

“If I may get your attention, please” Pedri says, raising his voice so everyone at the party can hear him while moving to a spot in the room from where they all can also see him. “Thank you” he smiles once everyone has gathered around him. “As you know, Sofía and I invited you to come here today because we wanted to be in our favourite place in the world with the people we love the most and celebrate the love we have for all of you. But we also want to celebrate our love, the one she and I have for each other. Because after being engaged for a year… we've decided it's time we take the next step and seal our love in front of those we love the most. Welcome to our wedding” Pedri smiles as murmurs start rising around the room, everyone looking at each other with a mix of confused and surprised looks. “I know you all are probably thinking this is a crazy idea” he continues. “Some of you may even be disappointed at us because this is not how we should be doing things, that there is a protocol and traditions to be followed. But this is what Sofía and I want. This, with you all and in this house, is how we want to get married. Not at a cathedral surrounded by people we don't know. And we want to do it now. Today.”

“Pedri, this��� this…” the queen mumbles, the king standing next to her looking extremely confused.

“This is perfect!” Sofía's grandma says. “Oh, I love it! I love love love it!”

“Mother, this is not right” the king says, finally reacting. “They can't marry here.”

“Why not?”

“Because this is their house!”

“And?”

“And they can't get married in their house!”

“Can't they?” she asks, looking at the priest.

“They can, your majesty” he says.

“But… but Sofía is a princess! And we haven't made the engagement public yet! What will people think? What will other royal families think?”

“They'll probably be jealous of them because they've gotten to have a normal wedding instead of all the pomp and circumstance they have to suffer and deal with on theirs.”

“But…”

“Nothing” she says. “Your daughter has decided to get married here today, and we have to support her decision. Their decision” she says, smiling at Pedri.

“Thank you” he replies.

“So, what do we have to do now? Do we have to go somewhere?”

“We… Umm… Fer?” Pedri asks his brother.

“Oh, yes” he says, moving to stand next to him. “Sofía is upstairs getting ready, so while she finishes with that, I need someone to help me and Ferran carry all the flowers and take them outside to the garden. Boys?” he says, looking first at Pedri's teammates and then at Sofía's cousins, who all nod in agreement. “Great” Fer smiles. “We also need someone to help us arrange them properly and make them look nice, so maybe… grandma?”

“Why me? Is it because I'm the one who has been to the most weddings due to my age and I've seen it all?” she says, arching an eyebrow.

“We thought you could do it because you have the best taste. I mean, look at the gardens at your house” Pedri says with his best smile.

“Oh, you cheeky little thing” she laughs. “I can't say no to you. I'll do it.”

“Thank you, ma'am” Fer says. “Dad, we'll need you helping Don Alberto with everything he may need, and mum, I need you helping Pedri get dressed. You know how much he struggles with his ties.”

“And us?” the queen asks.

“We thought that maybe you would like to check on Sofía” Pedri says. “She wants you to walk her down the aisle” he says, looking at the king.

“Me? Dressed like this?”

“Oh, you look perfect” his mother says. “Now go congratulate your daughter, and don't yell at her. Or at Leonor.”

“But…”

“Chop chop, everyone!” she says, clapping her hands. “We have a wedding to organise!”

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Mum? Dad?” I say when Irene opens the door. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, Sofía” my dad says. “You look… you…”

“Breathtaking” my mum says, running towards me and hugging me.

“Oh” I say. That's the only thing that comes from my mouth while she hugs me and… cries? Is she crying? What?

“Look at you” she says, moving to cup my face. “You look so beautiful, Sofía.”

“Thank you, mum. But what are you doing here?”

“Pedri told us to come see you” my dad says.

“He did?” We had not agreed on that.

“I think I'm going back downstairs to see if Fer needs my help” Irene says. “Leonor?”

“I…”

“Go” my mum says. “You and I will talk later.”

“Ok” she says before following Irene.

“I'm sorry” I say once they are gone. “I'm sorry about lying to you all and about not following the rules. About disappointing you. But we were tired of waiting and just wanted to get married. Not because I'm pregnant or anything like that. It's just…”

“You love each other and want to be together. Properly and officially” my mum says.

“Well, properly, properly…” my dad says.

“You know what I mean” my mum replies.

“Then you aren't mad at me? At us? I know this isn't what you wanted.”

“Sofía” my mum says, taking my hands on hers. “All we want is for you to be happy. I mean, yes. We may be a bit shocked.”

“A bit, she says” my dad chuckles.

“Yes, a bit” my mum says. “But not angry or disappointed. If this is what you want and what makes you happy, then we will support you. Like I said when Pedri asked your dad for your hand, we are in the 21st century. There are some things we can and should change. And since you aren't the heir and Pedri is who he is… maybe this is for the best. Maybe doing things privately is what works the best for you two.”

“Thank you, mum” I say, trying really hard to not cry and ruin my makeup.

“You must have to promise us something, tho” she says.

"Ok" I nod.

“You will allow us to throw some kind of reception to introduce you and Pedri officially. One where we'll get to invite all the people who should have been at your wedding if you had done things following the traditional way.”

“Though first we'll have to make it official that they have gotten married. Preferably before the season starts and we find ourselves with the same problem again” my dad says. “If we wait for the next summer, we may be announcing a relationship, a wedding, and a baby.”

“Oh, no, no. It is too soon for babies ” I quickly say. “But yes. We will do that reception, and we will announce that we've gotten married. Maybe when Barça comes back from the pre-season?”

“That could work, yes.”

“Ok. Then… All good?” I ask them.

“All good” my mum smiles. 

“Even if I I'm wearing your wedding shoes as my something borrowed?”

“You what?”

“You once told me that I could wear them, so...” I shrug.

“I… Ok, fine. But you better take good care of them.”

“I will, I promise.”

“Good” she smiles.  

“Urgh, my little girl is getting married!” my dad says.

“And you are walking me down the aisle, aren't you?” I ask him.

“It'll be my honour” he smiles. “But wait. Are those… Are those the earrings from…”

“Yep.”

“Weren't they at the Victoria and Albert museum in London?”

“They were. And they still belong to them.”

“Then how…”

“I'll tell you later. Now can I please get one of those hugs you give me when I'm feeling nervous? I could really use it right now.”

“Come here” my dad chuckles.

“We love you, Sofía” my mum says, joining our hug. “We love you very much.”

“I love you too” I reply, hugging them a bit tighter.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

“My lady” Pedri smirks, wrapping his arms around my waist and leaning me back before kissing me, everyone cheering for us. 

“Here is to the bride and groom! Princess Sofía and Prince Pedro!” Fermín says.

“You were looking forward to saying that weren't you?” I laugh.

“Since the day you two met” he smiles. “Something that would have not happened without me since I was the one who got the idea of going to talk to you and save you from your misery, so here is to me!”

“To Fermín!” everyone laughs while he bows in front of us as if he was the star of a musical or something like that.

“Now that you've had your moment of glory, can we please focus back on the people we are celebrating today?” my grandma says, making Fermín’s face turn bright red. 

“Sorry” he says.

“She's just teasing you, bro” Pedri chuckles. 

“No, I'm not.”

“Grandma…” I say.

“Fine, yes, I am. You actually are my favourite of all of Pedri's friends” she says, squeezing Fermín's face like only grandmothers can do, making him blush even more. 

“I thought I was your favourite” Ferran says.

“It's a different type of favourite” she winks.

“Ok, time to take some photos” I quickly say when I notice her checking out Ferran. “Carlos, are you ready?”

“Yes, ma'am” he smiles. He had kind of become our own personal photographer since our engagement, and surprisingly, he had been on board with our idea of celebrating our wedding like this since the moment we told him. We just couldn't organise everything and keep my bodyguard out of the loop, he is too clever. 

“Have I told you yet that you are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen?” Pedri whispers while everyone tries to decide who will be posing with us first. 

“A few times, yes. Or have you forgotten how Don Alberto had to scold us during the ceremony because you kept whispering it among other things and making me giggle?”

“Yeah…” he smiles. “But I just couldn't help myself. I can't help myself, my lady. You look gorgeous.”

“Well, you must. And same goes to your hand” I say, when I feel it moving down on my back. “It is too soon for that.”

“Maybe we can sneak out later while they all are busy eating and drinking.”

“We can't…”

“C'mon, Sofía.”

“No.”

“C'mon… Afterwards you always are the one who says we should do it more often.”

“That's not true.”

“It is and you know it” he whispers before kissing that spot on my neck.

“Pedri…”

“Yes, my lady?” he smirks. 

“I… I…”

“You… you..."

“Guys, can you please make up your mind with the photos? I really need to use the bathroom” I blurt out, everyone looking my way.

“Use the bathroom for what, my lady?” Pedri whispers in my ear while my parents finally decide they will go first.

“For putting this thing between your legs” I say, quickly moving in front of him to touch him without anyone noticing, making him grunt. “And those lips of yours that were made to kiss and be kissed, to good use.”

“Bloody hell, Sofía” he whispers. 

“It sucks to be turned on in front of everyone, doesn't it?” I smirk. “Welcome to the club.”

“All good, guys?” my mum says.

“All good” I say as I turn around and give her my best smile. If only she knew…

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“We did it, my lady” Pedri says while we watch all our friends and family mingling in the garden, the sun setting behind them.

“Getting married or our little bathroom rendezvous?” 

“Both” he chuckles. “Can't believe we finally are husband and wife.”

“Me neither” I smile. “Though now that we are married, you can start calling me wife instead of my lady.”

“Oh, no. No, no, no. My lady has been my nickname for you since the day we met, and it will stay like that until we are really really old, your hair has gone silver, I am finally bald, and we are surrounded by all our grand and great children. Some great great children too.”

“You and your obsession with going bald” I laugh. “But do I seriously have to deal with you for that long?” I tease him.

“And longer, my lady. That's what this ring means” Pedri says, lifting his hand. 

“I thought we promised that until death do us part.”

“Only an idiot would stop loving you after death, Sofía” he says, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer towards him. “And I am not an idiot even if you sometimes call me that.”

“I'm not being serious when I say it. At least not always.”

“And when you tell me that you love me?” he says, moving until his nose is brushing against mine. “Are you always serious when you say that?”

“Always. I was serious the first time I said it, all the times that came after, and will keep being serious every time I say it in the future. Like right now. I love you, Pedri.”

“I love you too, Sofía” he says before kissing me, everyone clapping and whistling when they notice, someone (Fermín, probably) shouting “get a room”. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Sofía! Sofía, over here!”

“Sofía, can we take a photo?”

“Sofía!”

That, and some other not so nice comments, are what I have had to listen to every time I go to the Camp Nou to watch Pedri play. Sometimes even on the street when I leave the office or I'm out and about and someone recognises me, Carlos having to go full on bodyguard. Because, as expected, the official announcement of us being married had broken the internet, our faces being not only wherever you looked on social media and magazines, but also opening the news all over the world.

The first few days had been a complete chaos, paparazzis spending the night outside any place where we could be seen and following anyone related to us. At one point it had gotten so bad, that Barça's security had had to intervene because Pedri's teammates were being harassed by the press, and the palace had had to release an official statement asking people to be respectful and to basically let us breathe. 

But once the season started and the initial shock of Pedri now being part of the royal family and of seeing me on the stands supporting him passed, things have been a bit more normal. Having people shouting my name as if I was some superstar like Taylor Swift still feels weird, but I know I can deal with it. I know both Pedri and I can deal with it.

“You know, I liked it better when you were the invisible princess” Irene says when we finally make it to our seats at the Camp Nou.

“Sure” I chuckle.

“I'm serious. Watching the game was easier when we didn't have people constantly looking our way and taking photos of us. Do you know how hard it is to stay focused on not doing anything that could look like I'm picking my nose?”

“Irene, you spend most part of the game looking at your phone or kissing Fer” I chuckle. 

Oh, yes. Because those two were a thing now. Officially. Which made the press write some not very nice articles about Pedri and his brother, calling them gold-diggers and similar things. As if Pedri didn't own a fortune on his own, you know?

“That's not true. If they score I celebrate with everyone else” Irene says.

“Last week you celebrated a goal by the other team, tho” Fer says with a teasing smile.

“Oh, shush!” she says, hitting his arm and making him laugh. “But Sofía… Don't you miss being as anonymous as you used to be?”

“Sometimes. But I was calling myself the invisible princess not because of the attention I was getting from the press. I mean, maybe a little, not gonna lie” I chuckle. “It was more about… you know. The people around me. And I stopped feeling like that when I met Pedri. When he made me see that I wasn't invisible, that I mattered and that people did care about me.”

“Something that we always told you. Though I guess it is not the same hearing your sister and your cousins telling you about it, than when a hot Canarian boy does it, uh?”

“I don't know, you tell me” I chuckle, nodding towards Fer.

“Yeah” she smiles. “Does this mean that the invisible princess is dead?” 

“Part of me will always be the invisible princess. Now she's just grown. Evolved.”

“Like a Pokémon?” Fer says.

“Something like that, yes” I laugh.

“Then what should we call you now? Mrs. González?” Irene asks me with a teasing smile.

“Idiot” I say, giving her a little push. “But Sofía is fine” I smile as I watch the players jump onto the pitch, Pedri turning our way and doing a little curtsey, his way of telling me he is thinking of me. Of that girl he always saw when not even I could see myself. 

Sofía.

[amostimprobabledream]

You know, I know people like to meme on Homelander like "bro is beefing with a baby haha", but with S4 Ep4 revealing more context to his backstory, it's really not surprising and adds an extra tragic layer. (Note this isn't excusing him, it's just a little analysis.)

We already know early on that Homelander's childhood is a public fabrication and that he was raised as a lab rat, with Vogelbaum being his primary father figure. Despite raising John from birth, though, Vogelbaum has never seen him as a son or even a child - he's a product, an experiment that needs to be managed. Every day, Vogelbaum would go to work, do experiments on Homelander with his team of scientists, Stan Edgar, Barbara, and then go home and play happy families. Billy Butcher manages to get Vogelbaum to give him intel on Homelander specifically by threatening to hurt Vogelbaum's daughter if he doesn't comply. Once again, Vogelbaum puts his biological child over the one he spent most of his time with, and doesn't bother warning him or Madelyn of what's coming.

We also know now that the scientists who tortured him also had families - Frank is forced to go in the oven because Homelander overtly threatens to burn them too if he doesn't. We don't know about Marty or Barbara but it's easy to assume they do too. But none of them thought anything of sticking a little boy in an oven or testing nuclear weapons on him.

Then you have Madelyn. And we don't know exactly how long they've known each other, but it seems like it must be a long time for Madelyn to be in the position she is in Vought and by how well she knows Homelander. She's the closest thing to a mother figure he's ever had, and his unofficial handler/mentor. Whatever Madelyn thinks of him, Homelander is close to her.

And then Madelyn gets pregnant.

Something that always stuck out to me in Season One was when Homelander comments that Madelyn's baby is just a prop to make her feel like a good person. This always seemed like a really astute and oddly specific, personal observation, because mostly Homelander seemed pretty selective with Madelyn's unsavoury qualities until she lies about something too major for him to ignore anymore. But it does seem, to me, that he was right - whether Madelyn felt genuine love for Teddy or not, it does seem like these scientists and other people who work at Vought use their loved ones to convince themselves that they aren't really bad people - look, they have a good relationship with their kids! They're happily married! Yes, they experimented on a child, but that was just a job. It's what he was made for. But that's not who they really are, right? In particular, Madelyn's determination to make Teddy breastfeed from her seemed less because it was what's best for him, health-wise, and more because she saw it as something she was failing at as a mother so early on, and because she wasn't happy about her motherhood plans being derailed by her baby's refusal to comply with them. I feel like down the line, Madelyn would have probably ended up being emotionally abusive or at least extremely manipulative as a mother - loving your child and being a controlling parent aren't mutually exclusive, after all.

Vogelbaum's affection for his daughter doesn't change what an awful person he is. Stan Edgar adopting and grooming Victoria into being, well, Victoria, doesn't mean he isn't a sociopath - he's fond of Victoria because she's a successful project he raised. He still fucked her up and turned her into a serial killer and Victoria has now demonstrated she's willing to violate Zoe's bodily autonomy if she thinks it's necessary (or rather, convinces herself it is.) Frank was a family man 'just doing his job', but that didn't save him from Homelander's wrath. Did their families know about the atrocities they were committing? If they didn't, would they be able to look at them the same way?

So no wonder Homelander hates Madelyn's baby - he finally had a parental figure in his life who didn't have a family taking away what he saw as the love and attention he deserved like Vogelbaum did, and then she goes and has a baby anyway, and once again, someone else is receiving all the affection and care that Homelander has never, ever been given by anyone.

tl;dr: Homelander hating Madelyn's baby makes perfect sense and makes me sad. EDIT: If I've made a some mistakes in this post it's because I haven't watched S1 & 2 in a while so my recollection is a bit fuzzy, excuse me for that lol.

[diegoshako]

Still in Bloom

pairings: blair waldorf x male oc

summary: blair waldorf and luke humphrey have always liked one another, but never took the chance to admit the truth of it.

notes: friends (sorta) to lovers, no blair/dan, no royal wedding, chuck is a red flag in himself. luke humphrey is fan-casted by me by tom welling, but picture him as you want. fan-edit is on my tiktok (diegoshako) if you want to see that! this is a little short, but it's my first tumblr one-shot so i'll get used to writing rather than in fic-chapters blocks!

"I don't know," Dan complained, the empty coffee cup remaining in his hand as they walked up to V Magazine. "Just count yourself lucky you're not working with Blair Waldolf. We cut a deal, but she's going to find a way to sabotage me, I just know it."

Tugging his gloves up a little from where they sat snugly on his wrists, Luke glanced at his slightly younger brother as he ranted.

"Isn't this your third day interning at V Magazine?"

Dan's hand came out in a dramatic gesture as if Luke was supporting his point, "Exactly." His fingers then click, "I have got to sabotage her before she does it to me. For once, it would be nice to not be on the losing side, you know?"

But, the thing was, Luke didn't know. Not really. He'd never been made a target of Blair Waldolf, the woman most famous for her take-downs.

Luckily for him, he'd always been on her. . . good side. Better words, she'd always liked him even before she knew that she did.

And even if she hadn't, Luke hadn't really ever thought about making enemies with her.

He'd fancied her since the moment they crossed one another in the school corridors. She'd flashed some small, semi-sarcastic smile after he'd opened the door for her to the courtyard where they sat for lunch, and he'd been hooked ever since.

Luke Humphrey was well aware how pathetically hopeless he was.

He was just thankful of how little people knew of that fact.

"Or maybe you can leave the scheming behind you and act like adults that you are?" Luke suggested, leaning forward with a raise of his eyebrow.

Dan scoffed as if that idea was pitifully idiotic. "Come on, Luke. This is Blair Waldolf we're talking about. Scheming is second nature to her."

The cold air tinted his cheeks a rosy colour as Luke glanced around, moving out of the way to avoid bumping into a lady walking toward him. It was his day off, and Dan had asked him if he wanted to walk to work instead of staying in, and Luke somewhat regretted saying yes.

Though, it was nice to see Dan for longer than a minute or two this past week. The Humphrey twins were so used to being one another's closest friend that it felt as if they were missing limbs to not be around one another lately.

"You need to give her more credit than that," Luke sighed, though he didn't really blame Dan's doubt — Blair's kindness on Luke had not extended to either of his siblings. Jenny had involved herself in Blair's world for popularity and Dan had been pulled in by the wind-whirl that was named Serena.

"I'm sorry, but are you saying that Blair Waldolf wouldn't take the chance to sabotage me?" The younger twin glanced at Luke with disbelief, finger pointing against his own chest, "You are aware who we're talking about right now, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm aware. I'm just saying, take the time to get to know her. She's not all schemes and tricks." Luke did his best to not be so on the defensive, but judging by Dan's face, he was failing miserably. Blair hadn't done anything wrong as of yet, and maybe she wouldn't.

"Am I talking to the right Luke Humphrey?" Dan peered closer, eyes narrowing. "What's going on with you?"

"Me?" Luke was glad that he was wearing gloves and his hat, because it was freezing. He didn't even bother to remove his hands from his jacket pockets as he turned his body in Dan's direction again, nose scrunched. "I'm just saying, Dan."

Dan pulled a face, not quite sure whether he believed that, but he didn't have any time to speak on it further, as they arrived at his internship.

Throwing the empty cup into the bin that was outside it's entrance, his shoulders moved up and down in a heavy motion, glancing up the building before meeting his twin brother's eyes.

"Wish me luck?" He offered for his own satisfaction.

Luke narrowed his eyes, "I think you'll be just fine."

Sensing that was all the sympathy he was going to gather from his sibling, Dan gave a light roll of his eyes and bid his goodbyes, shoving his hands into his pockets as well and making his way inside.

The taller Humphrey huffed, shaking his head. He was definitely regretting ever saying yes to this walk. Now he would have to take the entire journey back, alone and cold.

At least he'd gotten his exercise before he could spend the rest of his day off catching up with his Father, who had already demanded the length of his son's day.

But as Luke spun on his heel, blowing out a breath, his eyes met the soft, dark brown ones that he still remembered seeing for the first time. Even if that was years ago now. Nearly a whole decade, actually.

Her lips were parted, eyes slightly rounded in size for some reason, as she stared back.

Did he have something on his face?

He immediately moved to take a wipe at his cheek, self-conscious that he looked any form of an idiot in front of her.

"Hey," Luke said at the same time, greeting her with a warmth that he'd not even been speaking to his own brother with. But when she said nothing, one hand clutching the side of her bright purse, he asked with concern, "You okay, Blair?"

"Huh?" Was all she managed for a second.

The step closer that he took seemed to snap her out of her dazed state.

"Right," She cleared her throat, head coming up higher as her stare turned into an eye-ball, "What were you —" Her hand comes up, finger pointing, "Two just talking about?"

"What?" Luke asks, looking to where her finger is pointing toward the front of her work, "You mean, me and Dan? Nothing important. Just. . ." He wasn't sure how to admit that his brother hadn't been speaking greatly about her. "Just stuff about your internship, that Dan also has."

Blair furrows her brows, and just over her shoulder, he can see where her limo is still parked by the side-walk. "So, you weren't just talking about me taking the time to sabotage your brother?"

What?

That was certainly not what Luke had been saying, at least. He had said the opposite, but to admit that would be to admit that his brother had been saying that instead, and it was Dan who was working alongside her.

Her disappointment shone brightly and Luke wanted to tell the truth. instead, the silence that drilled between them momentarily made all background noise fizzle out, as if that didn't matter between them.

When her eyes glance away, Luke shifts in his footing. It's a natural instinct to do whenever he's lying and he notices immediately when her gaze pings towards his legs.

"Were you really just about to take the fall for your idiotic brother?"

This time when he looks at her, the disappointment had gone away, and there's something else there mixed with the playfulness that she owed in possession.

Blair had something about her that just radiated. Luke had always fallen victim to her charms.

"Did I really have a choice?" He jokes back slightly, hoping she wasn't too angry at him for it. By the seems of her face, she wasn't.

In fact, she even cracks a smile, stepping closer. "You defended me." Blair shakes her head slightly, "And you weren't even going to tell me that you defended me to save face for your brother."

( And there she had been, only some weeks ago, chasing after Chuck Bass.

Even though she'd been drawn to Luke since the day he held the door open for her. )

"I always knew you were the only hope of the Humphrey brood," Blair pitches in jokingly, unable to help herself. She's glad to hear his laugh at that, even though the small shake of his head disagrees with it in a serious note. "Thank you."

His shoulders come up and down in a soft shrug, not wishing for gratitude. He'd not defended her to be given something back. He'd simply down it because he believed in her growth. In the fact that she cared for her work now more than ever.

"Why don't I thank you over —"

"I don't want you to feel like you owe me something for something so. . ." Little, he cuts himself off but finishes his words in his head, unsure on how that sounded out loud. "My brother's just an overthinking idiot sometimes. He means nothing by it, really. He doesn't."

"Daniel Humphrey is the least of my concerns," Blair finalises, and Luke blinks, taken back by the seriousness of her tone. She spots his surprise, masking a gentle touch of a smile behind a smirk as her hair falls over her shoulder with the sudden movement of leaning to her side. "And I had no plans to sabotage him. . ."

The sound of beeping knocks Luke out of his amusement, head turning to the ongoing traffic, and the pick-up of business with more people travelling to their work destinations.

"Why don't we go out for a drink sometime?" Blair then blurts out, the words swirling in her mouth for a little before she can no longer hold them back or swallow the letters down.

The brightness of his blue eyes had always captured her attention, even across the room. Even when she'd tried to stick it out beside Nate, lost her virginity to Chuck, been betrayed in different ways by them, Blair had always found herself searching for Luke's gaze.

The blue of his eyes had always made her calm. Like she was capable of conversation outside of holding back or having to think of another scheme to keep one's attention.

And that smile.

( Luke thought she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. The melt of her stare, the darkness of her curls, the way she knew how to walk and talk and capture all the room's attention.

And her smile. )

The way he grins at her with a brightness has already made Blair's day.

"It's a date."

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine your ex-girlfriend Captain Marvel getting annoyed when you aren't more upset that she's married

You and Carol had a complicated history. Long story short, you met in space when you teamed up to save a planet, you got together, had a wonderful time together before Carol refused to commit and you left. Despite Carol being more powerful than use power-wise, most people said you had Carol wrapped around your little finger and it was true. Around you, she wasn't Captain Marvel but a shy infatuated girl and you loved the effect you had on her, even after you'd broken up. So when you heard Carol was in some trouble courtesy of a mutual friend, you couldn't pass up the chance to stop by and say hello.

"Oh my god it's the love of your life Y/n!" Kamala cried when you walked into the room and you could practically feel Carol holding in a scream. She always tried to have nerves of steel and acted like nothing bothered her but you could see right through that. You smiled and held your hand out to the younger girl "I like you, are you new?". "Yes! My name is Kamala Khan but I go by Ms Marvel". You nodded "oh yeah I heard about you, nice name" glancing at Carol who looked away. "Oh my god Y/n knows my name!" Kamala cried and you gave her a few seconds to fangirl, stepping away.

"Hey" you said to Carol "so Valkarye mentioned you needed me?". "I didn't tell her I needed you!" Carol said "I just...thought this could use some backup". "What could use some backup?" you asked before seeing Monica. "Hey Monica" you waved and she waved back "hey Y/n, thanks for coming. We're definitely going to need some help". You nodded "yeah that's exactly what Carol just said!" loving he way Carol's eye twitched "now just remind me what's going on here again?". "It's probably easier to show you" Monica said and she raised her fist, it lit up and then Kamala was in front of you. You blinked and looked to where Monica was now standing a few feet away "oh yeah, you definitely did the right thing calling me".

After a bit of brainstorming, you worked out how this all started, how Dar-Benn was channelling her power and more importantly what she wanted. "Where would she go to get water?" Kamala asked. "Hmm maybe Borni?" you asked but Carol shook her head "Borni is bigger but Aladna technically has more water on the surface". You thought before nodding "yeah you're right but that's a technicality. Most people assume it's Borni because it's better known, I think she'd go there". "No it's definitely Aladna" Carol said and she gave you that "just go with it, I'm right" look so you shrugged "fine, if you think it's Aladna then let's go". Carol nodded at you and then promptly rushed away which made Monica laugh. "How exactly did you leave things to make her so jumpy around you?". You smiled "let's just say, I was open about how I felt for her and wanted something she couldn't commit to. So I told her to call me when she was ready. Guess she's still working out if she's ready".

Once the ship was set with Aladna's coordinates you went to get changed into your battle gear and Carol knocked on the door. You smirked as she quickly stepped inside "are you really trying to catch me undressed Danvers?". "No of course not!" she cried and you chuckled "well that's a first" before turning back to her "so what's up?". "Nothing I just, I wanted to call you" Carol said "to ask for help. I just didn't want to...complicate things between us. I haven't seen you in nearly a year and it felt unfair to call you to help me after how things ended". You shook your head "Carol I will always be here to help you. You never have to hesitate to ask that of me no matter how things ever are between us. Your safety will always be my priority". Carol stared at you for a few seconds before shaking herself out of her thought. "Thank you" she said, coughing as her voice cracked "that is certainly good to know". You smiled "don't act like you wouldn't do the exact same for me, I know if I called you, you'd come running" and with a wink you stepped away leaving Carol stuttering after you.

There was no point arguing though, she knew you were right.

You spent the next few hours catching up with Monica and learning all about Kamala, who you'd decided you were adopting (she was very happy with this). Carol flitted in and out, and you managed to get her to join in with the festivities for a bit. You got her to smile as you told a story of how you first met and she looked like she actually relaxed for a second...until she saw Kamala was crying and she remembered she was Captain Marvel not just Carol Danvers.

Finally you arrived at Aladna and you all prepared to meet the royalty of this planet. "Y/n have you been here before?" Kamala asked and you shook your head "surprisingly not, there's a lot of planets in lots of galaxies and honest water isn't really my thing". Kamala nodded, understanding your reasons but you noticed Carol was acting more jittery than usual. She was playing with her hands a lot which was her tell for nerves and you were going to ask what was wrong when she looked at you. "Okay just don't freak out" she said and you were surprised to find she was directing this completely at you.

"Me?" you asked "what would I freak out about?". Carol winced and tried to explain before she just made a noise and stepped out the door. You laughed, shooting a "what's with her?" look to Monica and Kamala and then followed.

Aladna was a weird planet but you got into it. You could cope with the singing and found it hilarious to see Carol in the middle of it. She looked so cute in her jellyfish hat especially because she looked so out of place but was doing her best to be professional. It finally made sense when someone called her princess. You all quickly worked out Carol had married into royalty and she looked at you as the crowd swept her up in their choreography. Even as she was twirled around her eyes were fixed on you but you didn't look back at her. You just enjoyed the music and copied Kamala's lead.

When the prince appeared and made a bee-line for Carol, you worked out this was the husband. You didn't love their dance but did love Kamala and Monica's response to it and leaned into their humour to hide your discomfort. Finally Carol let go of that man and returned to you, eyes downcast.

"Nice dress Aurora" you commented and Carol looked up at you. She saw your smile and quickly waved her hands, turning her clothes back to normal. "Or is it Ela?" you asked "she's the one with magical dress-making skills right?". "Oh my god I can't believe you've watched Frozen!" Kamala cried and you grinned "I had to see what all the fuss was about plus pretty much everyone in the universe has heard that song... wait that gives me an idea. Have you guys seen Frozen?" you yelled to the crowd and 40 seconds later Carol watched as you sang Let It Go without a care in the world.

This was not how Carol expected this trip to go. She expected a lot of glares, passive aggression and maybe a few punches. She thought you'd be mad at her or upset. She thought you'd care she had gotten married but apparently not.

"Who is your friend?" Prince Yan asked watching where you were now on a table singing to the people who really seemed to like you, "That's Y/n she's my...ex...well not really..we're...". "Partners" Kamala chimed in trying to help and Carol winced but nodded "yeah something like that, she's helping us too".

"Will she need armour too?" Prince Yan asked. "No need" you said making Carol jump as you appeared behind her "I'm good". You stared at him, a casual cool look on your face and Carol's heart sped up to see the two of you standing metres apart. "Okay then" Prince Yen nodded giving you a smile which you didn't return. "Please...follow me" he said stumbling over his words a little as he turned away from you in a hurry. Carol could've sworn she heard you chuckle but when she turned around your expression was still the same didn't give a shit carefree smirk she'd seen since you got here.

All suited up, you prepared for Dar-Benn...and then got your asses handed to you royally, which honestly you blamed Carol for. She was off the whole fight, wasn't connecting well with Kamala or Monica and almost got herself killed with her stubborn determination to save the city. She got into such a state you had to pull her from the pilot seat and land it yourself. "What was all of that about?" you asked her but she shot away from you "no, I don't want to talk to you" she said and shoulder barged you as she rushed outside.

Of course, you couldn't take something like that so followed her.

"You don't want to talk to me?" you called after her "why what have I done?". "Nothing that's the problem!" she yelled and you blinked "what was I meant to do Carol?". I just thought you'd care that's all!" Carol said calmer but still heated "what have you forgotten all about me or something? You've barely focused on me since you got here and I can't deal with this right now. I'm meant to be responsible, I've got to keep Kamal alive and I'm trying to repair my relationship with Monica...all while trying to save multiple planets but all I can think about is does Y/n still care about me?".

"Do I still care about you? Are you kidding?" you asked "the ball is in your court, how are you the one insecure right now?". "Because it's you!" Carol said "you never get flustered around me, not in the way I get flustered around you and you were the one who walked away from me! I never asked you to leave, you were the one strong enough to leave me and I...I couldn't have done that" she admitted "I wanted to contact you, to tell you to come back so many times but I was terrified you'd say no. I could handle a lot of people rejecting me but not you Y/n and then you appear here, with this speech about you'll always help me but then you didn't give a crap when you found out I was married! You don't care?". "So you wanted me to care about that? To create a fuss?" you asked and Carol shook her head "no of course not...well maybe. I didn't want you to punch Yan or anything but a little jealousy would've been nice. It would've shown you still wanted me".

You shook your head taking a step back from her and as you muttered "that is the stupidest thing I ever heard" Carol felt her heart sink until you finished.

"How could anyone not want you?" you asked.

Carol blinked "what?". "Carol, to me, you are the bravest, strongest most fierce girl in the world and I cannot imagine a universe where that isn't true. So yes, of course I still want you!" you said hugging her and Carol melted into you, shedding the tears she'd been holding in for days.

When you separated and calmed her down you took her hand "so want me to tell you everything I've been holding back the past 24 hours?". Carol nodded "yes" and you smiled "I think I never should've left you, it was unfair for me to leave you alone to deal with everything plus I knew you wouldn't take care of yourself if you had nobody here to witness your lack of self-care and I'm okay with your marriage". "You are?" she asked surprised and you nodded "yeah mainly because I know I could kick Prince Yan's scrawny ass in under a minute and I'd love to show you that sometime". Carol blushed slightly "please don't" and you shrugged "fine but the second you want me to, it's done. Plus I could tell you weren't attracted to him in the slightest so I had nothing to be worried about. I know you're type and he's not me". Carol smirked "you're sounding pretty confident there Y/n, you know a girl can have more than one type right?". "Yeah but not you" you replied and then you finally did what Carol had been wanting you to do for days.

You kissed her.

"You okay?" Kamala called when Carol reappeared on the ship "did you and Y/n sort things out?". Just the mention of you made Carol's heart speed up but she managed to keep a neutral expression. "Yeah everything's fine, let's get going" and she rushed out the front door.

She knew you weren't done with her and the second this all ended you'd get your moment together...and Captain Marvel could not wait.

So guess who saw The Marvels and had to rush home to write about how amazing Captain Marvel is?

The whole film was stunning but I especially loved how human it made Carol and how she realised she needed the love and support of other women in her life.

Her being more mortal and soft made me think of how cute it would be for her to have a super powerful girlfriend she's a bashful teenager around and this was born!

Hope you enjoyed it ;)

[aeligsido]

Tell me about wolfstarjily! I already ship it (but mainly from a smut perspective 😅) so hit me with your hcs!!

HEYA HEYA THANK YOU FOR ASKING I LOVE TALKING ABOUT THEM <33333

-> to the surprise of no one, Sirius and James were together first!;

-> Lily thought she had missed her chance but James reassured her that she didn't. Sirius was perfectly alright with sharing (he always knew James was head over heels for Lily, after all);

-> Lily and Sirius weren't dating. for like, two days. then they started making out in the middle of a "passionated discussion" (= an argument). James had never been the same since. He had to go hide in the bathroom for a suspicious amount of time.;

-> it took them a long time to get Remus to join. not for like of trying on their part or wanting on Remus' part, mind you, just because Remus is oblivious as fuck when it comes to realizing people are into him. Especially people he's also into. Anyone else would have called it quit at some point, but Jilypad is Very stubborn:tm:;

-> Remus and Lily weren't dating at first either, just sharing their boyfriends. Because Remus lack interest in women rip. But they were still close friends, cuddled a lot, and then overtime started holding hands and kissing and then one day they had sex and that was it.;

-> Lily is Remus' exception. (Lily thinks it's sweet);

-> while Jilypad settles very easily into their relationship, it takes more time for Remus because he always fears/worries he's going to be a bother/too much/unneeded (skittish cat style). It takes a lot of reassurances from the others for him to grow comfortable, but it happens!!!;

-> they're pretty private!! everyone knows James and Lily are together in general, and James and Sirius co-dependency is well-known, but people hardly catch on their whole relationship lmao. and they don't feel like they have to make a show to everyone either!;

-> after school they all live together. they had to buy the biggest bed possible so they all could fit in comfortably!!!;

-> they also took care of having enough room so everyone could have their own personal space to retreat into if needed!!;

-> they have a common library and personal libraries! Because they all love to read but sometimes they like to read different things (or hide them, in some cases);

-> James loves reading about obscur facts and random subjects, like, say, the practice of one (1) specific ritual in a random european village for the two decennies it was used. He also started a whole new collection for muggle subjects and is very excited about it!! (he would love getting lost on random wikipedia pages). He always talks about it excidedly. The others aren't interested in the subject in general, but they do love listening to him! <3;

-> Sirius reads a lot of muggle sci-fi (he wrote a wizarding sci-fi book once, kickstarted a whole new genre, and then never wrote again lmao), but also magical theories!! Him & Lily talk about it often, and James sometimes join. Remus can follow most of it but always gets lost at some point, so he usually just sits and listens to them (he loves seeing them so animated);

-> Lily, funnily enough, never quite grew out of reading fantasy books, with magic and all the like. She loves the difference with what is her normal now!;

-> Remus is a sucker for romance books. Especially the bad ones (say, the Harlequin collection). He's so embarrassed by it. It's not helped by the fact that every time Sirius or James open one of them they somehow always ends up on a sex scene. He's sure they're doing it on purpose but he can't prove it.;

-> at first James is very much their sugar daddy lmao. He has the money!!! He can pay for everything!!!;

-> it would have taken him longer to convince them if he didn't have a devastating pout;

-> game night is always a disaster because they're all super competitive in their own ways. Sirius and Lily want to be first, James wants to win, Remus wants to complete everything. They still keep doing it, though (it might be foreplay for some of them);

-> after a few accidents, the last of which almost ending up with one of them losing his eyesight, it was ruled out the following: Remus, Sirius, and James can't be respectively gardening, working on his motorbike, and works out at the same time. They just can't. (they tend to get very distracted.);

-> Lily is the winner either way;

-> they all love cooking!! the practical thing would be to take turn, but they like to cook together so they don't. the kitchen is always cramped.;

-> Sirius always tries new thing and gets very creative with his cooking (it mostly is always pretty good!!); Lily is good with the homely, cheap stuff that leave you full and warm; Remus has a few recipes he perfectionned with his mother as a child; and James is a white suburban influencer mom who does everything from scratch.;

-> when they notice them getting bored, Remus and/or Lily throw puzzles at James and Sirius. It keeps them entertained and the house in one piece;

-> Sirius provides massages all the time!! To James after he works out, to Remus after the Full Moon, to Lily whenever she wants one (but especially when she's pregnant!!). he's just that good with his fingers;

-> Lily loves to lie on them! James because he runs hot, Sirius because he has the most fat and is very comfy, Remus because they like reading together sometimes!;

-> also I hc Lily's Animagus form as being a lioness. sometimes her & Padfoot curl up together to take a nap;

-> Remus takes care of the garden, often on his own. he planted everyone's favorite flower(s)!;

-> once James fell asleep as a stag and they put guirlandes on his antler and called him their new Christmas tree;

-> i hc Sirius as becoming a curse-breaker at some point in the future. So, when he has to go for a longish mission, he leaves them little messages!! For James, it's always a silly pick-up line he knows will make him laugh; for Lily, a citation that make him think of her; for Remus, it's a poem (they both love poems), sometimes one he wrote himself!;

-> they all keep the messages very preciously <3;

-> they also take a whole day to take care for Sirius after he comes back!!;

-> James and Lily gets muggle married (for her family, and also because they can);

-> all four of them get wizard married!!! it's a ceremony to unify their magic so it can work with more than one person, and there's no restriction on the gender(s) either;

-> their children are absolutely cherished and will grow up knowing they're loved no matter what.

-> (Harry gets four parents and a load of siblings.)

as a bonus, bc i was very excited about writing the hc down but also i was lazy bc i was in bed then, a page of what i wrote when i received the ask lmao:

[littlegaybean1]

Ok ok ok...

It's been almost 18 years since it aired, but who cares I'm talking about it anyway.

I've seen a lot of people hating on Cyberwoman. And yeah, I understand why. That costume choice was, er, quite something. But it's still my favourite episode and yk why? The build up. The plotline. And most of all the acting. Oh my god the acting. My favourite scene has got to be the tourist office, because oh my days have you seen the way Gareth David Lloyd plays Ianto? It gives me chills. After watching it, I rewatched Everything Changes and Ghost Machine because I never actually noticed Ianto in them, unless he's speaking. The only time you ever see him is when he intentionally draws attention to himself, which he rarely does. I watched them again, specifically focusing on Ianto. He's barely in them. He's one of the main 5 characters, but in the first three episodes he has one of the most minor roles. Like, you see him let Gwen into the Hub, delete the stuff she typed to make herself remember and see him introduced. That's it for episode one. And yes, everyone has a minor role in that, but you never actually see him as part of the team. He works alone, always.

Episode three really highlights that for me. He appears every so often with a funny comment. He has less screen time than Rhys. If it wasn't for the fact that I was actively thinking about him, I would have completely forgotten that he was there. One of his rare appearances really got to me - the ending. Jack gives him the ghost machine to put in the secure archives. That's normal, the archives are his area.

Except Jack doesn't even look at him. He just holds it out, like Ianto is a servant, not someone with years of experience dealing with aliens. Ianto worked at Torchwood One. He was the most qualified of anyone on that team when each of them joined. Owen was medically trained, but no experience with aliens. Tosh was a genius, but she had only experienced aliens through wrong blueprints of their technology, plus a charge of treason. Gwen had police training, nothing more. She got a job by being stubborn, and in the right place at the right time. Jack was reckless, dangerous, and did not want to join Torchwood. He only did it because he needed to do something in the 100+ years that he would be waiting for the Doctor.

Ianto had everything taken from him all at once, and nobody bothered to check on him. He looked fine, so they didn't give it any more thought. They of all people should know that that's not how it works. Ianto was repressing his grief, exhausting himself with the amount he worked both at his job and caring for Lisa. He never had any desire to cause anyone any harm. He was blinded by overwhelming grief. When humans experience loss, the automatic reaction is to cling to what you have. For most people, that means reaching out to friends and family, creating a support system. Ianto lost all his friends, all at once. We don't hear about his family until S3 (goddamn S3), but it's implied that they aren't close. I haven't listened to any of the audios, so if there's more to it than that then I don't know it.

Ianto had nothing, except an echo pretending to be Lisa. He did the most natural thing in the world, clung to what he had. Or at least, what he thought he had. Don't blame Ianto for the events of Cyberwoman. His actions correlate with normal reactions to grief. Yes, his actions were extreme. But so was his grief.

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

Ever since I saw that you like zhongtham... the idea has been living rent free on my head, thanks for build this roman empire in my brain lmao so...... TELL ME MORE, what are your thoughts on their relationship? how the people around them react to their relationship??

(of course, only if you want to, I hope you have a nice day!!)

oh god

ultimately i think what they both need is understanding? in the sense that- both have very specific experiences in their day-to-day lives that aren't exactly the common shared experience between most other people. zhongli is a fucking eons-long being and alhaitham is not neurotypical. like he's autistic, idk how else we want to put it, that's what he is. zhongli, meanwhile, by virtue of not being a human and not having a strictly human way of processing the world, cannot be autistic since- again, not human. but this does make him autistic-coded, if that makes any sense. my man despises slimy foods on the basis of the texture (yes, this comes from trauma, but what bothers him is still the texture. that's coding). he's not human so he has different sensory experiences, probably more acute than humans. he's been described as a blockhead. he seems like he'd have a very specific routine he follows. he's very exacting on his field of expertise. the whole 'haha no mora no wallet' situation comes from the fact that his brain is still logically thinking he can just make mora (which, given everything, is a perfectly valid thing to still be hung up on), and so he forgets his money because his mind insists the way of the world is that he can just make it - but he can't anymore, and for an arbitrary reason, too. he's the literal god of contracts: what are contracts if not a parameter of very logical pre-established rules you have to follow? and he doesn't bend on those contracts, because he's of the mindset that if you made them in the first place, you knew what you were getting into, so what's the problem. all combined, and added with the fact that he's not human, and you cannot call him neurotypical. because he just does not function to match human standards of what 'neurotypical' even is.

so like- we don't know that they've met in canon, but we have decent reason to believe it's a very real possibility. the same way you could say gaming and ganyu have probably either met or seen each other at least once despite neither ever mentioning the other or appearing together on screen, because- well, he handles a delivery agency, she works for the qixing, they live in the same city, they're both familiar with cloud retainer, ganyu moves around a lot and knows a lot of people, and gaming seems pretty social. you get what i mean, right? in that same sense, i think it's perfectly possible for alhaitham and zhongli to have met at some point. granted nowhere near as probable as two people actually living in the same city, but notable enough nonetheless: alhaitham knows twenty languages, for that quota to exist i have to assume that each nation has at least their own unique language (since they all seem to speak the same thing in-game, tho, i can only translate that as all nations having their unique writing script- which they do). idk how many languages you could pull out of regional dialects in teyvat, but the most logical and easiest and obvious thing to do here if you were told to go learn 20 languages to graduate is to first go for the main most spoken languages and then fill in the gaps w regional dialects or more obscure no-longer-spoken ancient dialects. so we stand to reason alhaitham must know liyuean (?) right? and unless he learned it from within the confines of sumeru (which is possible tbf), then he must've traveled to liyue in order to learn the damn language. with liyue having quite the decently-preserved history, he might've picked other regional dialects up since they'd be easier to study next to like- idk, an obscure old language from mondstadt or smth. so if you're a student in liyue on a quest for knowledge trying to learn the language and possibly other obscure dialects, who are you going to go after? fellow scholars. what do all fucking scholars in liyue do when people have highly-specific needs and questions? point to fucking zhongli. so you get where the idea comes from. you can't tell me its completely implausible (for a headcanon) for zhongli and alhaitham to have met at some point, not the same way i'd raise eyebrows at like- headcanoning candace and zhongli having met based solely on in-game info. or- ei and sigewinne. y'know?

so like- alhaitham needs to learn liyuean (+ maybe other regional dialects bc 20 sounds like quite a lot for 7 nations, 8 if you count khaenri'ah), he goes to liyue, he gets to learning and then runs into the roadblock of not many scholars being familiar enough with ancient dialects for him to become fluent in them from their input alone, so the scholars are like 'yeah dw we know a guy, he's super knowledgable' and so they point him to zhongli, zhongli is like 'yea sure i can teach you, what do you need?'. idk how long it'd take alhaitham to learn liyuean (+ whatever else), but i'd assume he'd bunker down in liyue for most of that time. so let's say like- 6 months, and it counts as like a 'foreign languages' course where haravatat students get given money and are shipped off to learn (bear in mind 6 months sounds like stupid little to become fluent in an entire language let alone possibly a few others, but we'll just assume alhaitham is a prodigy (he seems to be) + since it's not a whole language and just a script, then it can be done).

so he stays in liyue for a while. i'd guess learning from zhongli most of that while. they're two guys who like peace and quiet and reading and investigating and they're both rather knowledgable (the gap is obviously abyssmal but still). you can imagine them just- going to a tea house and sitting down with tea for hours on end in amiable silence and quiet grammar exercises. i cannot see them not getting along. alhaitham is practical and so is zhongli, zhongli has a lot to say but it's always with purpose and informative and for a reason, and alhaitham is just happy to absorb knowledge. alhaitham is effective and to the point and zhongli (a battle general) would probably be perfectly happy rolling with it and being effective and to the point in turn. maybe they start having lunch together some days (zhongli does seem to do that with acquaintances a lot so it's not strange of him) and alhaitham just doesn't want any stewy soups and zhongli doesn't question it bc he's the one asking chef mao to dice and slice his fish into oblivion. sumeru is big on spices so alhaitham would probably have no problems whatsoever w the jueyun chilli. he'd also probably pick up on using chopsticks easily enough bc he's a perfectionist. zhongli would realise like two seconds into their introductions that alhaitham can hear him perfectly loud and clear w the headgear on and never bother commenting on it at all. alhaitham would also probably clock zhongli's more acute senses two seconds in and be relieved he doesn't have to raise his voice around people for no reason all the time. catch the patrons at the tea houses being confused and mildly unsettled by the two guys on the corner table just mumbling stuff to the other with a pile of books between them lmao

i cannot see their relationship being like- exciting in the sense that big shocking things happen. i just think they're both too smart and good at communicating w each other that shit like that just wouldn't catch them off guard. alhaitham would probably hear about legends of the adepti throughout his stay in liyue and quietly figure mr zhongli might be an adeptus but never bother saying anything because why should he care about what mr zhongli is? it's not his business, and it doesn't make him not-mr zhongli. so it's whatever. i also don't think any drama would pop up 🤷‍♂️ again they're too smart and hypercompetent for any misunderstandings to appear. by virtue of both of them being non-neurotypical they'd also understand each other in particular ways, so they'd easily be able to figure out any stuff and sand off any rough edges. it wouldn't be an exciting ship, it wouldn't be a ship full of ups and downs and drama and twists and turns and spice and oh the romance of it all. they both strike me as ace af and if not aro then absolutely somewhere in the spectrum, alhaitham more than zhongli.

but i'm an absolute sucker for non-verbal comunication and quiet understanding and an almost telepathic camraderie that would be so funny from the outside so i just think they'd be a delight. like the perfect team. they get each other, they're both smart, they're both strong (again, the gap is abyssmal). absolute academic weapons the both of them. catch someone being an ass about a contract and zhongli just staring disappointed and alhaitham next to him equally disappointed but listing off every single reason why they're being stupid about it also. zhongli's a bit too nice to say any of that stuff aloud but you can't tell me he wasn't running a constant 'chat are you seeing this shit?' in his head during his first story quest w kliment. alhaitham knows he's already got the 'freak' reputation so he just goes 'well if you want to keep digging i'm happy to hand you a shovel'.

as for other characters' reactions to them- i'd have to sit and think about them? idk how the liyue gang would react bc idk how they'd work in a canon setting? i can't see zhongli leaving liyue and i can't see alhaitham leaving sumeru either. if i had to pick one, alhaitham seems more likely for like- leave sumeru for plot reasons. and then go 'okay fuck this' and go to zhongli like 'you're the only bitch i respect in this house'. but outside of plot contrivances, hu tao does send zhongli off on random errands? so maybe he could pop up in sumeru from time to time. idk how the liyue gang would get to meet alhaitham then but if there is one character that absolutely gets to meet zhongli is kaveh bc the man is almost everywhere alhaitham is + they literally live together.

i think it would be fucking hilarious. like alhaitham: oh yeah a friend is coming over btw. don't be weird about it kaveh: why would i be weird about it what are you on kaveh: ... kaveh: ... kaveh: a what alhaitham: a friend kaveh: what alhaitham: i don't think the bimarstan is open at this hour if you got something in your ear kaveh: what friend kaveh: you don't have friends kaveh: ...you can just say nilou alhaitham: ??? zhongli: hello kaveh: who- what. what- who are you alhaitham: a friend from liyue. the one i said was coming over. like five minutes ago kaveh: what zhongli: is he alright alhaitham: he's never been alright, dw about him. the study is this way

[pruneunfair]

You wanna know what this reminds me of?

The part about Aria's past fashion taste and Rashta's current

This reminds me of those toxic stereotypes that women who dress herself "differently" are automatically dumb superficial idiots which I believe was effective on Rashta's part, I'm damn sure some idiots call her a stupid slutty bitch cuz she doesn't dress as sophisticated as our queen Navier ugh-

Yeah the whole thing about the weird bad fashion taste is the same as "Being hyperfeminine and like pink" makes you sluts and illiterate fools, which I hate, bcuz I'm a girly pink girl too!! How is liking pink makes me an idiot? Sure I understand that societal norm that it isn't a "mature color" for mature people but COME ON colors don't have age or gender, everyone is allowed to enjoy them regardless

Also the most offensive ironic thing to me is that this is set in a HISTORICAL FANTASY SETTING, like have you seen actual illustrations and images of what people wear back in the historical periods (European art from centuries ago)????

They literally dressed like they were walking human peacocks and walking overgrown flower pots, the actual fashion would make both Aria and Rashta's fashion taste from any timeline PALE in comparison, yeah I totally get that for certain scenarios like school, party and work, you should dress appropriately but in Aria's case, she was a child, I think that's perfectly NORMAL how a child should dress for the period

Also every piece of clothing always started a controversy, I'm sure the modern bra was considered as scandalous when it first came out

So this attitude where just because a Woman wears some extra frills and some extra bows, she's automatically a freak of society is terribly laughable, bcuz I remember that back in the day, Nobility literally competed to see who is better at making and wearing the most ostentatious and outrageous outfits, not to mention, in this day and age, we still have ppl who definitely dress out of the ordinary but eventually everyone is completely fine with them cuz they're having fun with themselves and aren't bothering everyone with it so what's the big deal?

Y'know I've thought of a similar scenario for my Muse OC, where she's put in a situation where she's made fun of for what she wears cuz she likes it that way and I thought "She's already restricted with so many things, now even wearing what she wants is forbidden too?" So yeah I just let her be confident about it, cuz society has worse things to care more about than a Crown Princess wearing a different style compared to others

Plus isn't wearing different things the reason why huge trends started in the first place? Again it's what I said earlier, every piece of clothing all started as scandalous

Oh I'm so glad we have this fashion talk, cuz I'm super into Historical Fantasy Manhwha fashion, I have a lot to say about it but I'll leave it here for now

Nobles in manhwa making fun of a character for wearing excessive dresses is another way on how you know the author did little research.

Most manhwa historical dresses are not accurate at all (They are almost always fantasy stories though so they can get away with it more than a historical documentary perse) and honestly the only way I could see this trope working is if it's meant to be self aware how the nobles will bully poor girls for dressing with extra frills while wearing excessive clothes themselves.

Most historical manhwa fashion and architecture is inspired by a mix of the rococo era and the Victorian era, if you know rococo, you would know how excessive those skirts were. They were known for being huge and covered with all sorts of accessories, big wigs were also popular in that time along with a lot of jewelry.

Like.. look at all these. European nobles are quite known for their love of everything at once.

Honestly if you put Ariande in an actual room with women from the italian Renaissance, she wouldn't last a second

[catis15]

My Opinions/Reviews on Saphic Books:

- Bright Falls Trilogy

- All of them are cute and heartwarming and giggle worthy and shit

- It's cool seeing each of the friend groups POVs and they're all pretty relatable in my opinion

- Pretty good representation of various family relationships especially with mothers

- the various relationships are actually really well written but the stories are still very much focused on the romance, they're not sidelined persey but they're not the main focus of that's what your looking for it's very much about the couple

- I like the variety in body types through the series, there's different heights, weights, yada yada and it's nice to see and they're all appreciated

- There aren't any POC MCs but there are side characters, also lots of gender and lgbtqia+ identity representation NB characters, ace characters, lots of queer couples, I think there may be a polycule mentioned but I'm not entirely sure

- Smut? Yes there is, how much varies between book but I'd argue there's more every book with Iris's book having the most; Id also argue it gets intenser as the series continues but it's all pretty mid (not in the it's bad writing way in the I've read far worse but I've also read some relatively pg 13)

DELILAH GREEN

- I love Delilah sm she can fucking step on me and Id ask her to do it again

- It's a sorta an asshole to everyone but you between her and Claire but not in the typical way? Like it's there but it's not written the way a lot of that trope usually is, idk I just really like how these books are written I think the author does a fantastic job

- Delilah seeing Claire for who she is and like just how much emotion she has is just yes, and also Claire seeing Delilah as like a sweet person and not just an asshole is nice too

- Because I know it bothers some people, Claire is a mother and the kid is talked about, I don't mind parent tropes but ik some people just don't enjoy reading them, I thought Ruby was sweet though and Claire seeing how Delilah interacts with her is also really cute

- Delilah also providing that safe and comforting space for artwork for Ruby is also really sweet and seeing Delilah kinda give Ruby what she herself didn't have is wholesome ASF and Claire just appreciates it and shit idk it's cute

- Hating On The Straight White Man TM (because he is gross to Astrid)

- Delilah is a photographer and Claire runs a bookstore

ASTRID PARKER

- It's cool getting to see Astrid's POV compared to how Delilah (her sister) views her

- Mommy Issues TM and in my opinion it catches some of the subtleties of growing up with a toxic parent really well

- Jordans ex comes along so warning for that, ok some people don't really like that

- Also handles like not missing your ex but feeling like YOU failed because the relationship failed

- again the subtleties of so much is just so well written

- Jordan is very stereotypical lesbian and I'm here for it

- her truck is named adora, her cat is named catra (if I'm remembering correctly), she wears random button ups, got that half saved short hair going (funnily enough I myself had both Astrid and Jordans haircuts at various points in my life lmao), she's a carpenter sorta, she's got an attitude, is into taro, like I love her sm 😂 she's so me fr 😭

- enemies to lovers

- Astrid's a bitch and Jordan pretends not to be into it

- they fuck in a pantry

- it's funny

IRIS KELLY

- iris doesn't do kids and marriages and her more or less traditional family is giving her shit for it

- Stevie has anxiety and handles it the same way I handle mine so that was relatable

- handles the shit that goes along with having anxiety really well so props to the author once again

- fake dating tm

- They're basically giving each other 'classes' because they think they're bad at things; but in reality it's just them being comfortable with stuff they're actually pretty good at; Stevie helps Iris be more comfortable with everyday romance and Iris helps Stevie be more comfortable with adult fun time intimacy outside of committed long term relationships

- but at the same time in queer Shakespeare and it's beautiful

- Home Field Advantage

- will add later

- The Song of the Huntress

- Just bought it and haven't read it yet

- The Priory of the Orange Tree

- Just bought it haven't read it

- Late Bloomer

- a few chapters in

- th author notes are funny and enjoyable

- good representation of things like people pleasing, autism, trust issues due to family trauma, bad relationships that you stay in for the comfort, toxic friends

- They're some pretty heavy themes but their handled in an easy to swallow way

- while these are very present themes the main focus is still the romance, but they're handled a bit more in depth than say the Bright Falls Trilogy

[oceanamethyst]

Is this about fiction? Yes.

Is this about a fictional character, yes.

Does this still bother me? YES, BECAUSE THIS IS ONE OF MY ONLY COPING MECHANISMS FROM MY LIFE.

ALASTOR.

YEP. FRICKING HAZBIN HOTEL.

THE FANDOM'S TREATMENT IF HIS ASEXUALITY.

Look.

I know that asexuals aren't all repulsed.

BUT ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

THIS GUY IS OBVIOUSLY REPULSED.

PEOPLE SAY HIS INTERACTIONS WITH ANGEL DUST DON'T SHOW HE’S REPULSED BECAUSE ANGEL WAS STRAIGHT-UP HARASSING HIM.

What about Stolas and Stella?! Stolas left Stella, whom was abusive. Stolas is gay. But do we say that Stolas left Stella purely because she was abusive, which means that Stolas would still be fine with dating women?! NO!

In fact Stolas BEING gay was one of the reasons their relationship didn't work! Alastor BEING ASEXUAL (AND REPULSED) WAS ONE OF THE REASONS HE REJECTED ANGEL DUST'S ADVANCES.

Yes, other factors were involved in both! But their sexualities played a part in it!

Yes! I know fiction is a way for people to have fun. But what about Vaggie?! Is one of the most popular ships her with a man?! NO. SHE'S A LESBIAN.

But still, Alastor, an ASEXUAL, 90% of the time, is part of smut fics.

AND THEN THERE'S THE ACE IN THE HOLE COMMENT. THE JOKE IS THAT ALASTOR WOULDN'T DATE (specifically have sex with) CHARLIE BECAUSE HE'S ASEXUAL. PERIOD. NOT NOW. NOT EVER.

ALASTOR IS CLEARLY A BLACK-STRIPE ASEXIAL. HE IS CLEARLY REPULSED.

THERE IS A FRICKING LINE BETWEEN UNAWARENESS AND DENIAL.

MY GOSH.

I have literally been sobbing over how everybody deals with Alastor. Once again, my actual life is not the best (and me being a repulsed asexual is part of it) so Hazbin Hotel (Alastor specifically) is a coping mechanism.

[subaquatic0mess]

izzy headcanons

go white boy

Finally answering this ask!! Izzy hc let's goo!!! (Hope these make any sense it's so late from where I'm from)

Izzy clings/climbs onto the people she trustes most for fun. But she also carries them if needed. Like we saw her do with Noah in WT This means that sometimes Izzy basically jumps onto Team Escope to greet them.

Oh and Eva and Izzy sometimes fight together to train. Noah doesn't understand why.

Izzy isn't as crazy as she seems. Yes she's crazy but that doesn't mean she's not self-aware or stupid.

She's actually incredibly smart she just chooses to embrace her more ballistic side and let the others figure things out by themselves.

Izzy knows sign language and can communicate flawlessly in sign language aswell. The reason why is unknown.

Her and Chef fought a lot off camera during the show and when she discovered Noah was Chris's PA (because ofcourse she did) she used it as an excuse to torment the Chef even more.

Izzy cannot cook. At all. She once burned Eva's kitchen during a sleepover trying to boil pasta.

During total drama she actually increased her crazy persona as she used it alot for her advantage.

She's canonicaly smarter than Noah so sometimes when they hang out Izzy shares a bunch of conspiracy theories with him but somehow makes convincing arguments?

When she's bored or the mood is awkward she would just drop the most random facts ever. "Did you know a jellyfish's mouth is also its anus?" It completely baffles Owen every time.

Izzy definitely had a creepypasta phase.

Both Noah and Eva have bailed Izzy out of jail.

She knows the whole fnaf lore by heart. And she info dumps it on her friends.

She knows Spanish. And she knew about Alejandro but didn't say anything to see all the drama happening.

She made bracelets for all of team Escope with magnets inside so when they touch hands or high five (four??) they're bracelets connect. The problem with that is she used some oddly strong magnets so sometimes it becomes more of an inconvenience.

Her hair is naturally curly but she can't be bothered to to maintain it and that's why is mostly straight at the tip while the end is still curly. (Not projecting or anything oops)

Izzy loves Scary movies! (She loves the saw franchise but in all honesty she prefers psychological horror more)

She cried watching legs batman.

She dropped out of college and she almost went to MIT but chose a college closer to Canada instead. And also because she didn't want to follow specifically any of the paths they offered.

She's an expert at breaking in into things. Locks, houses, cars, etc... To a point Noah and Eva don't even bother lending Izzy a house key as they know she will always find a way in.

She is incredibly overprotective of the people she truly cares about. Which aren't any as she may like some people but perhaps not trust them.

She has trust issues. She only trusts people who can view her beyond just a crazy psychotic girl. Who actually care enough to truly know her. Which again aren't many.

She has incredible reflexes and is incredibly agile.

She adores circuses and clowns despite what others tell her. It (1 and 2) just fueled her love for them even more.

She gives Noah books to read. Except they aren't normal books.

She has incredibly sharp teeth. And she likes to bite people alot. It's basically her love language.

She can always predict the plot of the movie they are about to watch. So now she's not allowed to comment on new movies team escope watches during movie night.

Sometimes she has random urges to commit violence which make her jolt up. (Who doesn't?)

She followed an acting career and did eventually write the book she said she was in WT.

She lobes the original story of Frankenstein and even dressed up as his monster for half once. Oddly enough she relates to it. Which made Noah hug her since he found it concerning. She almost cried because of that. "Noah do you know how it feels to only be seen as the nut job? As the crazy one with no feelings? It fucking sucks."

She isn't the best at expressing sorrow or sadness but Noah and Eva help.

I might make a part 2 of Izzy hc idk. But this is it for now!!!

[missskzbiased]

Inspired by a fellow Polin Stan, I must say this here.

A lot of things bothered me in Pt.2, but one of the things that bothered me the most was the fact that Show!Colin doesn't get a chance to show Penelope that despite being mad, he still loves her.

We, as an audience, can see his facial expressions while he is ALONE and kind of follow through his journey to understanding his feelings. But he doesn't communicate. And that's a real problem.

Yesterday, while thinking about it, I compared it to what we call "Metagaming" when we play RPG. As players, we hear things and we know things that our characters aren't supposed to know, and while interpreting our characters, they shouldn't know it just because we know it.

Pt.2 felt like a huge metagaming to me because Colin (and Eloise. I have many more complaints about her) only express what is important to people that aren't Penelope, and somehow Penelope still finds it in herself to be understanding. That's not how it works.

Colin was mean. Was he right to be so? Yes, I think so. Of course, he could have handled it better were he more mature, but he's 22 and he's a man in a society that gives him much credit only for it. So yeah, I'm not mad because he said some hurtful things. I'm not mad because he wanted his space. I'm mad because they didn't allow Penelope to react properly to it.

Colin goes to Cressida and says all that stuff about the letters. Great. He doesn't talk about it to Penelope.

Colin goes with a "It's not up to you" regarding a thing that relates to Penelope a 100%. He shuts her off, and instead of starting from "You're my wife, and I won't allow anyone to harm you" (which wouldn't be my go choice either, I'd prefer him to listen to her), he goes "No one will tarnish my family's name. Oh, and no one will blackmail my wife". It's almost a second thought.

"Missy, but she has his name, and he's considering it". Yeah, but the speech doesn't FEEL like it. It feels like he cares about his family (good) and his name (good) and his pride (name and not blackmailing HIS wife). They could at least have phrased it better, they could have showed more feelings as to Penelope hear him saying "I love you and I'll protect you" instead of "I love my family and your stuff won't bring us down".

Colin goes away when he discovers she's LW. He isn't concerned about her well-being at that moment, and THAT'S OKAY. HE WAS HURT, SAD, MAD. HE WANTED TO INFLICT PAIN. Again, that's not okay nor mature, but it's UNDERSTANDABLE. That's how flawed people act, and we're all flawed. Okay.

But then they could have him showing her that he cared at some point. When they meet before their marriage, instead of letting her go alone, he could have gone with her.

"But Missy she's been doing it for years. She doesn't need it. She says so. Her book self says so too"

YES, I KNOW SHE DOESN'T NEED IT. BUT LOVE MAKES US DUMB! SURPRISE, SURPRISE!

Not once we see Colin putting aside his anger to care for her, and loving is also caring while mad. It's not only about being well while everything is perfect. It's about caring even when you're awfully awful. In any way. It could have been a breakfast tray. It could have been listening to her. It could have been sharing something.

"Missy, but they dance together at the wedding and there's the nod"

Yeah, but that's before Pen goes "I'm Whistledown and you have to come to terms with it". Up to that point, it's like Colin assumes she'll give up on herself because of their marriage. And after she says she won't, he fails to show her how much he truly loves her. We see this at the final episode, when she goes "I understand if you want a divorce, I don't want to harm YOUR family". Because that's all he showed her. And then he gets confused, because in his head it's clear that he loves her so much and nothing should keep them apart, but he doesn't translate it to her throughout the episodes.

It turns out to feel like a "Tell, don't show" kind of thing. They didn't show her that he loved her. They told her, with a confession that I honestly hated. I don't want to hear Colin say "If my purpose is to love you, then be it", I want to hear him say "That's your purpose, and I understand fighting for one. You inspired me to fight for mine, I could never ask you to not do the same, and I want us to fight for our purpose together. I'll always be by your side"

I don't know. Do better. Just do better.

Also, Penelope didn't burst even once. I can't conceive it. But this will be for another rant, cuz this is too long already and no one will read it.