#I hope this rant is at least somewhat intelligible

[catboybiologist]

So.

Re: tumblr bans of transfemmes.

Let's ignore PhotoMatt for a moment. Manbaby tech CEO doubling down on a stupid decision and making himself look like more of an ass doing so is not a new phenomena.

Tumblr has consistently said, in both public statements and leaked internal communication, that they're essentially running a skeleton crew.

They keep saying that they don't have the resources to moderate, manually review posts, have any kind of appeal process, or anything. So, as people have widely received communications about, they seemed to have automated a significant portion of the moderation to operate solely on the quantity of reports (probably with a basic filter, eg quantity of reports regarding a certain post, within a certain timeframe) to automatically ban or shadowban accounts.

And so, they wipe their hands, both to the users, the public, and their own consciousness, and go about their automated operations.

All of this is likely true. Tumblr, at this point, is essentially abandonware internally, a kind of weird vanity project/dumpster ground for server infrastructure for Automattic. Likely, they don't want the bad press of "shutting down" fully. Or maybe the trickle of revenue they get here just barely exceeds operating costs, so why not keep it around?

Whatever is the case, the bans are a result of an automated process working in the background. I'm giving them some benefit of the doubt here, of course, we can't know anything for certain- but it seems like the individual bans are not based on any specific, manual action.

And that doesn't fucking excuse anything.

Because at some point, multiple people sat down at tumblr, and decided how to cut costs.

And they decided that the bare minimum of report abuse prevention was one of the first things on the chopping block.

Before the boops. Before GUI reconfigures.

They decided to cut something that is necessary to manage online communities.

They decided to cut something that ensures any targeted group will have any kind of community online.

And then, after all of that, the only manual intervention is doubling down on the shitty decisions that the automated systems make, and plucking reasons out of their ass for why they were the right decisions all along.

It's pure silicon valley brain. Blame the computer often and always. Use it to shield the active decisions you made when designing the computer that way. Treat it as a fact of life as opposed to something they actively made decisions for.

Is tumblr staff hitting the banhammer on each transfemme one by one? No.

Is tumblr staff deliberately crafting a system that allows TERFs and other conservative bigots to get rid of the "undesirables" for them? Yup. But they sure as hell are trying to not say the quiet part out loud. If they can always point the finger somewhere else, to the advertisers, to the automated systems, to the TERFs, then they can always have juuusssttt enough plausible deniability.

But being the "queerest place on the internet" requires concious acknowledgement that queer people will be targets of harassment, and you will have to protect against that.

Side note, this is why I do try to keep my blog at least somewhat SFW. Its one of the main reasons why I choose not to reblog all of the posts I'm tagged in- if the post is overtly NSFW, I've probably seen it, appreciated it, and consciously decided my level of interaction with it mostly based on how "tumblr friendly" it is. Is that bowing down to them? A little. It's also my choice. I value the community I have here. The pushes that y'all have given me gave me the strength to transition, and honestly gives me a lot of motivation to research HRT biology as much as I can, among many other things.

Yeah, I post pictures that are clearly meant to be found attractive in ways that are generally not socially acceptable , but never actual NSFW. I would like to think that I'm pretty safe from bans, but hey. Who knows. I don't want to lose my follower base, and the community around it.

And yeah, I'm gonna annoyingly remind you of the other places to find me, make sure to check my pin. If you don't know where to go, just find me on reddit and go from there, I'll post about it if anything happens.

[strbymacaroon]

❀ VOLUME THREE: INTERNATIONAL SUPERSPY ❀

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: DESTINY AND FATE

Eren Yeager x Reader.

Sypnosis:

An alternate universe where Attack on Titan and the Marvel Universe collide! Where the Spider-Man universes collide!

Where the new spider is the, one and only nerdy, Eren Yeager. Who happens to have a world stopping crush on you.

Genre:

Attack on Titan Marvel crossover, Spider-man and Eren Yeager crossover. Multiple parts.

Word count:

43.5k Words.

I apologize for making you read the rest on Ao3 if you strictly wanted to stay on tumblr. But, tumblr has a strict word block limit, which I have to abide by. I don’t feel like cutting this chapter up into chunks, sorry! Anyways, hope you enjoy!

『 VOLUME THREE: INTERNATIONAL SUPERSPY』: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ

Highschool.

It was a blur. Just a crazy, horrible, workfilled, blur. 

And you know, that whole identity crisis everyone goes through. As a child you imagined the freedom, and most importantly boyfriends you’d have. What ended up happening was you believed you were going to marry Kakashi Hatake, a fictional anime man. You even wrote fanfiction about him. 

Yeah… it was dark times…

Anyways, your father down your throat, constantly telling you how: You weren’t enough, the work you did wasn’t enough, the knowledge you knew wasn’t enough— you weren’t enough. You relied too much on his money, you relied too much on his power, you were a good for nothing gold digger and slacker. 

Honestly, he couldn’t even look at you. I mean, who would want someone who mooches off their hard earned money? Oh, if only he knew now…

So, you always made sure to excel. Worked your own job, made your own money, and stood your ground. You were smart, quick, and intelligent. Hell, by the time you were done with your high school junior year, you managed to publish a book!

The basics to engineering. 

However, you lacked one key thing you wished you didn’t. Looks. You weren’t the prettiest girl alive, and you didn’t have a clue on how to dress. But, you knew you had a pretty face. Although, that was hard to see with the thick framed glasses your dad bought for you. ..With the wrong prescription.. 

But, that didn’t matter! 

Your father never brought that subject up. In fact, it was always ranting about wanting a ‘natural’ girl. Someone who wore modest clothing, and no makeup whatsoever. Your father always told you, you were too reliant. Men didn’t like that, as your father would say, they liked an independant and powerful woman. Someone intelligent, soft spoken, and self sufficient. 

And, that was you! 

Sure, you didn’t have the looks. You knew you were at least somewhat pretty, just didn’t know what to do with it. But, you had the smarts. You were the ideal woman your father made you to be.

You sacrificed everything for that. You wanted to be ideal, desired, and most importantly wanted. You spent your everything into studying, giving up your youth and social life for a man your father idealized for you. You didn’t even have friends. You wasted everything for a man you didn’t even know, but were going to meet. As your Father would say. 

Eventually…

Sure, it did cause a lot of bullying and harassment by the other girls, but they were jealous of you. Jealous of your smarts. I mean, no one wanted a girl to just sit and be pretty. No one liked a bimbo. Boys wanted a self sufficient girl, one that took care of herself, and didn’t mooch off their money. Again, as your father tells you. 

And, you made it. 

Senior High School Graduation. 

Approx. 4 years ago…

You graduated top of your class, and were now the ideal woman your father shaped you into. Your mother, nothing but his shadow. Your older brothers? Nothing but a replica of your father. Spurring the same exact words he would. 

You were set. Everyone expected you to become a lawyer or doctor, you already completed almost half your college courses for both! How?! As much as your father complains about you mooching off him, he sure does love to use his power to your advantage. 

And, you were kind of a genius… not to brag, or anything.

You were finally here, at your graduation as the perfect woman. Accepted into your dream school of NYU. And about to ask your highschool crush of four years on a date. Considering you were now desirable by your fathers standards. 

So, you marched your way up to your crush. Your short heels clicking against the ground. Using your index finger to fix your glasses, and pausing. Was this a good idea? Of course it was, you were the ideal woman.. as your father tells you. You did everything he told you to. You got this. I got this. 

You sniffed, rolling your shoulder and tapping your crush’s shoulder. Your foot going behind the other as he turned to you. His friend group, which consisted of some football players, and their female friend. Annie was her name, but you weren’t completely sure. 

They were currently catching up with your brothers since they were old acquaintances, and your brothers had already graduated. 

His smile was so sweet. Porco. You got giddy at his name. You felt butterflies erupt in your stomach as you walked in his direction. Standing behind him as you hesitated to tap his shoulder, “Uhm, I—“ Why now of all times were you stumbling over your words? “I just— I really like you, and wanted to ask.. if you were free sometime?..”

There was silence. 

Before, laughter, “Oh my god!” Annie laughed, getting an elbow from your crush. Making Annie catch herself, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she whispered, trying to contain her laughter. With your brothers snickering behind them. 

Your crush forced a smile in your direction, hands going into his pockets. Fidgeting, “Look, I’m sure you're a wonderful person but..” Porco glanced at his friend, his eyes widening for a split second. “You’re just not my type.” He shrugged. 

You could feel your heart shatter. Wait, I thought Dad said–

Annine pressed her fingers to her lips, “Sorry, but his type are girls who actually take care of themselves, rather than their grades.” She laughed again, throwing a blonde chunk of hair behind her shoulder. “Weird to think, right?” She added a mocking smile, “You know, for how smart you are, you really are stupid.” 

You felt your lips part, wanting to say something only for it to get lodged in your throat. For some reason, you looked to your brothers for help. You knew they weren’t going to do anything, but you couldn’t help but hold some hope. That they may, as your older brothers, protect you. 

They didn’t. They never did. 

In fact, you parents weren’t even at your graduation. Your brothers came after the ceremony to drive you home. And, that’s when they started catching up with their old friends. 

Your crush. 

You nodded your head, turning on your heel and walking away. The restroom sounded nice right about now. You kept your eyes to the ground, blinking rapidly as you navigated to the restroom. Accustomed to the school’s layout. When you bumped into someone, making some tears fall from your eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re okay.” They replied instantly, “Don’t worry about it, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” They let out a small laugh. However, it sounded stiff– maybe even forced. Like, they were nervous. 

You don’t remember much about what he looked like, just that he was tall, and you called him ‘highschool guy.’ You awkwardly giggled, “Yeah, I guess.” You shakily said, continuing on your walk to the restroom. Pushing your glasses up. 

“You’re really pretty.” He added. 

That made you freeze. 

Your eyes glossy, tears falling down your cheeks. Eyes red and puffy, mascara smudged, and flex flushed. You, by no means, looked pretty. You shakily inhaled, looking up and smiling at him. Pushing your glasses up, and feeling your lips wiggle. “Thanks.” Then, you continued on your way. God, you would give anything to go back in time and get that guy's number. 

You really needed to hear those three words. 

Freshman Year of College.

Approx. 3 years ago…

You left as soon as your dorm was ready for you. You needed to get out of your house, and life as soon as possible. Which you did. 

And, now you had another problem. You didn’t have friends. Nor did you know how to socialize.  

Well, shit.

You first turned to anime, because… actually you don’t know why. It just seemed right at the time. You decided that watching Kiss him, not me, would somehow solve all your problems. And, it did. 

Okay, no, it didn’t.

The worst part was, you didn’t need help with schoolwork. So, that eliminated a big part of socialization in college. The study groups weren’t even worth studying for, it just ended up being a group of people who shared answers. Then, when they found out you already knew how to do the work since highschool… Well, it’s easy to assume what happened next. You didn’t even know how to say no. Let alone make conversation beyond that. 

So, you decided to take a different approach. One that would haunt you the rest of your college education. A blessing, but mostly curse. 

Thus, Bimbo Y/n was created. The version of yourself you wish you were. Witty, cute, fashionable, approachable, conversational, happy, and maybe a little stupid, but hey! It was who you wanted to be. So, that’s who you were. 

“So, you went to our high school, middle school, and elementary school with us?” Connie asked, blinking at you like you were insane. “Dude, what are the odds? Jean and I have literally never noticed you.” 

No, I’m happy you didn’t know me. I looked like Helen Keller trying to figure out what to do with my life. You thought. It was not a good time. 

Jean shrugged, “I’m glad, now we can talk shit about people, and Y/n knows who they are.” He bumped his shoulder against yours, smiling at you playfully. “And, you can agree with us.” 

Sasha brought her head up, sliding her paper towards Connie. “Finished!” She cheerfully said, placing her pencil on the table. 

Connie glared at her, “Sasha, last time I got answers from you, I ended up with a forty percent on the homework.” Connie grumbled at Sasha, tossing a crumpled piece of paper at her. “I think I’d much rather take the answers from Y/n.” 

You looked up, blinking at him. “For the.. uhm–” you pressed your finger to your lips. “Math with like letters right!” Was that too stupid? You pushed your curled hair behind your ear, your finger awkwardly catching inside your hoop earring. If it wasn’t obvious, you weren’t used to wearing them. Wait, did they see that?

Sasha's heart melted, “Bless her soul. She’s so cute, but doesn't have a single thought behind her eyes.” She hugged you, “I love you so much, Y/n. Literally marry me, and have my babies.” She shoved her face in your curly hair, enjoying all the lotions, and perfumes you wore. “I promise to take care of you.” 

Take care of me? Huh, ironic. You wished you could record the amount of times you’ve been told that, and send it to your Father. In all honesty, it really confused you. Maybe, that’s why you weren’t keen on the idea of a full term relationship. 

Jean pushed Sasha away from you, “I’m trying to teach her how to do this, I can’t have you distracting her Sash.” He scooted closer to you, “Okay, back to what I was saying, Babe.” 

You blinked, processing what he called you. Was that normal? Calling your friends nicknames? Mental note, give everyone cute nicknames. You nodded eagerly at Jean, looking back at his paper. “We were like–combing the letters, right?” You leaned on your gloved palm, tilting your head at the paper. 

Jean laughed at you, “Yeah, sure.” He said with a smile, “Uhm, well. Then, you check if the equation is right by solving for it.” 

You nodded your head softly, “Oh, I totally get it now!” Which would be fine if he did the equation correctly in the first place. You learned this stuff back in highschool, in fact–you already learned everything they were studying right now. If anything, you should be tutoring the three of them.

“Oh shit! What time is it?” Connie shouted, pulling out his phone and checking the time. You flinched at his abruptness, taking your eyes off your paper. Connie looked around frantically, “Why didn’t my alarm go off?!” He opened his bag, and slid all his paperwork inside. Which was an impressive skill, since nothing fell out. 

Sasha grabbed her phone, “Why? What time is–” her eyes widened with fear, “Shit! Our job!” She also shoved all her things into her backpack, just without the skill and grace as Connie. “I’ll see you guys when we get off.” 

You smiled at them, waving goodbye. Sasha grabbed Connie’s hand squeezing it. “Ugh! She’s so cute!” Connie tugged Sasha out the room. 

You giggled, grabbing your Starbucks drink and taking a sip. Enjoying the tasty refresher. “I like her,” you looked at Jean, “She’s fun.” Your eyes moved briefly over the door again, smiling to yourself. 

Jean smiled, “She likes you too.” He laughed briefly, “In fact, they both like you.” He leaned on his palm, “I like you, too.” 

You blinked a few times, I know you like me. I just don’t want you to. “Oh.” What do I even say to that? “Uhm, thanks?” You softly replied. 

Jean pushed a strand of hair from your face, “You’re really pretty.” 

You forced a smile, you wouldn’t think that if you first saw me in highschool. Which.. you have. We’ve literally gone to the same school since elementary… “Thanks, I think you're pretty too.” You leaned your face into his hand. I did not just say that. “But, I think I should be getting home. I have one of those video call thingies in an hour.” That was a lie, you just had something else to do. 

“Oh, uh. Okay,” He stood up, closing his laptop. “Do you want me to walk you?” 

You shook your head, “No, s’it okay.” You started putting your things away, “I’m probably going to get some snacks on the way.” You smiled at him, placing your bag over your shoulder. “Bye bye, Jean.” You pressed a kiss to his cheek, then left the room. Closing the door behind you, and sighing out. 

You were never going to date, let alone fuck that man. No matter what anybody thought, or said. Even if Jean claimed it himself. But, you were going to be polite. Because, you were classy, and didn’t believe in being rude. Unless deserved. You loved Jean in a platonic way. You really enjoyed hanging out with him, but that's how far things would go. 

Anyways, you had a few things to do before going home. Like changing your goddamn heels into something you could walk in. You praised women who wore heels everywhere, you had only been wearing them for three hours, and wanted to die. Worst of all, you were sitting down for the majority of it. 

Walking outside the building you changed your shoes into some comfy converse, placing your heels in your bag, and continuing on your adventure. Pulling out your sketchbook and pencil, holding onto it as you walked into your favorite sweet spot. 

The door rang as you opened it, you smiled at the cashier. Gwen. 

She screamed when she saw you, “Y/n! Oh my god, you look so sexy right now.” She grabbed your favorite sweets, stuffing them into a small bag. “What’s up with the sudden aesthetic change? Have you been taking my advice?” 

You giggled, running your hand over your beige trenchcoat. Underneath a black turtleneck, decorated with a gold necklace. You pulled out your credit card, handing it to her, “Maybe,” you bashfully said. 

Gwen pushed a strand of hair from your face, “Ah! I can't wait for the day you let me put makeup on your pretty face.” She tilted her head, admiring you for a moment. “Awh, I wish I had a pretty face like you.” 

Which only recently happened, very recently. You giggled, “Gwen, you already do.” 

Gwen squealed, taking your card and ringing you out. “Ah! But, that makes me so happy, Honey.” She leaned forward, handing you your bag and credit card. She stayed there, “Guess who called me last night.” 

Your eyes widened, “No.” 

“Yes.” She smiled, “Harry said he wants to take me out on a date.” She pouted, “Which is weird, because I thought he had a thing for you.”

You cringed, “Ew.” You shook your hands. “I mean, I don’t even know Harry, so I can’t–” you shook your head, “Anyways, I– I’m not looking for a relationship right now.” I have a hell of a lot of online courses to finish. 

Gwen's eyes softened, tilting her head to the side. “Awh, you’re so strong for that.” She placed her hand to her heart, “Couldn’t be me though.” 

You snorted, placing your hand over your lips. Trying to cover your loud laugh, “Gwen I– just shut up.” This is why you love her. 

Gwen laughed with you, pushing your shoulder softly. “Anyways, are you going to the spot?” She leaned on the palm of her hand, adjusting her earring for a second. 

You took your things from her, “You mean my dorm’s roof?” You rolled your eyes playfully, “I wouldn’t call it ‘the spot,’ but yeah. That’s the plan.” You placed your things into your purse, giving her a final wave. “See you tomorrow.”

“Or, in a few hours if you get hungry again.” Gwen stuck her tongue out at you. 

You rolled your eyes as you left the building. Almost bumping into a male as you did so, “Oh, I’m sorry.” You quickly acknowledged, trying not to be rude. 

He smiled at you, before waving his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it.” 

You could feel your heart flutter with his soft tone. “Uh– I– yeah.” You watched him walk inside the sweet shop, making eye contact with Gwen. 

You gave her the look. She returned one. 

He’s so cute.

Right?! Should I talk to him?..

Yes?! He’s so your type Gwen.

Okay, okay, okay, let me get his name.

Gwen looked away from you, turning her attention to the male. She pushed a strand of white hair behind her ear, leaning forward at the male who just walked in. “Hi, can I get the name for the order?” 

He nodded, “Yeah, Peter.” Peter smiled, before quickly adding— “Parker. Peter Parker.” You could tell he was nervous. It was honestly really cute. 

Gwen giggled, “Okay, Peter Parker, what can I get for you today?” She tilted her head, her eyes glancing at you for a moment. You just gave her a thumbs up, then left. 

You didn’t want to be a third wheel. 

Skipping along the streets of New York, you were still getting used to walking everywhere, since you didn’t want to get caught in traffic. It was a weird contrast to constantly being driven everywhere back in California, but you can confidently say you preferred it. Even if your feet burned. Maybe, that’s why you liked staying with your Mother rather than your Father. 

It felt nice to get some fresh air. Even if it was the blistering cold of the merry holidays. Which means you have to visit your family for Christmas in a few days. You could already feel your body regressing. 

Your Mother and Father in the same room. What a nightmare. 

When you arrived at your dorm building, you could feel your shoulders get heavier. You didn’t like that stupid place, it was loud and your roommates weren’t any better. But, you couldn’t afford an apartment, and asking your Father for money didn’t sound too appealing. In fact, you couldn’t recall the last time you spoke to your dad. 

It took some time before you reached the door of your room, pushing it opening and walking inside. Shutting it behind you, and dropping your purse on your bed. Grabbing your things along with your computer, placing it inside your bag and walking to your window. Pushing it open. 

Then, climbing up the latter escape, trying to reach the roof. You sighed, finally reaching the top and sitting on your blanket. Something you set up a few days before. 

“Karen?” You waited for a moment, before your computer lit up. 

“Good evening, Y/n.” A robotic, male voice spoke back. “What seems to be– crack-a-lackin.” 

Your eyebrows met together, “Eugh, ew. Who the hell taught you that, Karen?” You said with a giggle. Grabbing your sketchbook, and flipping to an unfinished sketch. Continuing to finish the drawings design. 

“....” 

You giggled, shaking your head, Maybe you accidentally programmed him to say that. 

“Gwen.” He quickly said, his voice almost sounded guilty. 

Your jaw dropped, “Gwen?” You accused. Since when did Gwen even talk to Karen? He’s probably lying. “Well– then, don’t be listening to what Gwen says, she’s unfiltered.” You smiled, “She’s not good for your pure, untainted, soul.” 

“Who would be good for me?” Karen asked.

“Me.” You responded coolly, “I’m the goodest person for you.” You tapped the pencil on your paper. “That’s why I’m your mother.”

“Goodest isn’t a word, Y/n.” He lectured, “You’re searching for the word– best.” He laughed, “And, you are not my mother. You are my creator.” 

You rolled your eyes, “I was trying to be funny, Karen.” You turned away, “And, I am your mother.” 

“Well, you’re not funny.” 

Your jaw dropped, before shaking your head. “Karen, just do your goddamn job, and find me some parts for my design?” You tapped your pencil against your lip. “And, make it something accessible. Maybe… from like Home-Depot?” You looked at the screen, “Oh, and if pink is an option, add that.” 

“No. Pink is a horrible choice. But, searching for; suit parts.” 

I can’t take this assault. You glared at your screen, grumbling, “Pink is a good choice.” You finished the eyes of the drawing, and observed the final product. You grabbed a sharpie, and quickly added your signature on the bottom of the leg. “And, when did you get so mean?”

Karen cleared his throat –which you didn’t even know he could do– before speaking. “Here is what I found on; suit parts.” 

You pulled your computer over your lap. Scrolling through the links Karen found for you. You pressed your lips together, I thought I said cheap. You pouted, looking at your design, then the computer screen. You couldn’t afford any of this. “Goddammit.” Why can’t I just make a super high tech supersuit for five bucks? 

“Are you allowed to be up here?” 

You jumped, shutting your computer, and sketchbook. Before snapping your neck back to look at the person behind you. The only way to get on this roof was to climb up the later escape, was this person here this whole time?!

He laughed to himself, “Because, last time I saw an unwanted stranger on a roof, I got thrown off it.” 

You could feel your Jaw drop. “Of course I’m allowed to be up– Wait, thrown?!” You took a deep breath, clasping both your hands together and collecting yourself. “That– what are you?–” Tony Stark, the Tony Stark was standing in front of you. No way. You could feel your mind blanking. 

“I thought you were going to jump, so I decided to stop by. Or, you could be a highly intelligent villain from another planet, with this thing called ‘The Scepter,’ so–” He said, clicking his mask and revealing his face to you. “Kinda traumatized. Or, I could be saving a life.” Tony flashed you a charming smile, clicking his chest and removing himself from his suit.

Holy shi– Your eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, before you cocked your head to the side. “Really?” Tony thought you were going to jump?

“No.” He replied nonchalantly, then looked at your computer. You followed his eyes and internally cringed. “Karen? That’s his name right?” He took a step in your direction. “Does it stand for anything?” 

You looked to the side, almost embarrassed. “No.” You looked at your computer, placing your hand over it. “He just likes the name Karen.” For some reason, you were embarrassed to say that. 

Tony let out a brief laugh, “He named himself?” He smiled, “And, he likes it?” He reached his hand out, wanting to hold your computer. “Did you program him to have emotions?” 

You grabbed your computer, standing up and handing it to him. “Kinda, I programmed him to have thoughts that could contradict mine, and to build himself off that.” 

“Nice. I created something like that too back in elementary.” Tony cocked his head to his suit, before opening your computer, “Suit parts?” He suppressed a smile, trying not to be rude. “And, from Home Depot?” 

You could feel your face burn with embarrassment, “Well, I just like looking at—“ 

“Suit parts.” Tony finished, his head tilted to the side. He looked amused. 

You cringed, before reaching for your thick sketchbook. “Okay, it sounds weird but–” you opened up the book, handing it to him. “I absolutely adore all the designs of the super suits, and was inspired to make a drawing of them. Then, that's when I realized, wait, if I have the intelligence to design a fully functional suit on paper.” Tony looked up at you, opening the sketchbook. “What’s stopping me from actually making the suit?” You took a deep breath, pointing at your computer. “That’s when I made Karen, he was basically me making the suit digitally. So, I had to make a whole program for that, and that wasn’t even the trial and error for making sure the application worked. Then, once–“

“Jesus kid, what the hell.” Tony continued flipping through the sketchbook. Your computer supporting your thick book underneath. He stopped on the drawing you finished not too long ago. “You made all this?” 

You blinked at him, almost offended he cut you off. “I mean, yeah. My signatures on the leg.” You softly grumbled. 

Tony looked back at his suit, gesturing to his suit to come close. “Garvis.” 

“Sir.” 

Tony lifted the sketchbook, “Scan this. See if it’s functionable.” Tony’s suit, who was supposedly named Garvis, flew closer. Propping himself right behind Tony and looking at the sketchbook. Taking it from Tony’s hands and flipping through the pages. 

Your eyebrows furrowed, “Garvis?” You looked around, before your eyes landed on Tony’s suit. Was the suit Garvis?.. Okay, maybe Tony Stark was insane. You took a step back. 

“Sir, all this information adds up to a fully functional suit.” 

I mean, I did make a whole application to see whether or not it would work, so… You thought silently. 

“In-fact, it’s put together so well– it could be something you made, Tony.” 

Wait. He’s british?!

The suit– Garvis, looked at you, “This is incredible, Ma’am.” 

You couldn’t help but smile, nodding your head at the suit. Butterflies erupting in your stomach, “Thank you Garvis.” Wait, did you just get butterflies from a suit A.I? Jesus, Y/n.

Garvis nodded, taking a step in your direction, lifting his hand, but Tony cut him off. He reached for the helmet, and removed it, placing it on his face. “Can you give me a visual display?” He placed his hands on his hips. Tony was so.. “Wow.” He removed his face mask, looking at you. 

“What?” You raised an eyebrow. 

“You made this.” He acknowledged.

You threw your hands in the air, “It’s not like that’s what this whole conversation is about.” You grabbed your sketchbook from the suit and your computer from Tony. “Yes, I made this.” 

Tony looked at his suit, and his suit looked at him. “No need to be a smart-ass about it, but what’s your name?” 

You suppressed a smile. “Y/n L/n.” 

Tony’s eyes widened, “L/n?” He leaned his head back, thinking to himself. “Is your father–” 

“Yes.” You replied, placing your things into your bag. 

“I’ve worked with him.” 

“He wouldn’t stop talking about it.” You looked up at Tony, “He’s a horrible partner. Even though everyone thinks he’s so smart.” 

“But, all he does when speaking to someone is repeat their words with bigger ones.” Tony rolled his eyes, smiling at you. “Sounds about right. It’s why I don’t work with him anymore.” 

You nodded, “Sounds like my Dad.” You rolled your eyes, sighing out dramatically. “It’s nice to hear someone doesn’t like him either.” You always hated hearing praise about that man. He was everything, but praise worthy. 

Tony bit the inside of his cheek, thinking for a moment. “Okay, how about this.” He pulled Jarvis closer, clicking a button on his face. Making a blue holographic display appear to you. It was your suit. “I’ll provide you everything to make your suit, and I’ll even help you with some elements to enhance the product.” 

You raised your eyebrows, placing your hands at your hips. “Really? And, how much is this going to cost me?” 

“Nothing,” Tony shook his head, “Completely free.” He gestured with his hands, “And, how about this. I get you a job right under me at Stark Industries, it pays well, and I’ll get you an apartment somewhere nice.” 

You looked down, “All this for some stupid A.I, and cheap supersuit?” 

“Kid, that ‘stupid A.I’ could have payed off your entire college experience if you sent it to the right people.” He pointed at your computer, “It’s self sufficient, disciplined, compiles information over the web, is intelligent enough to compile its own thoughts, and emotions.” He shook his head, “And, that’s not even half of it.”

“You made one.” 

“Yeah, but I have the money to make them. You made it inside your cheap chrome computer.” 

Okay, ouch. It was the only thing I could afford. You placed your hands behind your back, placing a foot behind the other. “Okay, fine. If I accept your offer, what’s the catch?” There’s always a catch. 

“No catch.” 

“I don’t believe you.” You accused.

“I hate that, but I don’t blame you. In fact, I respect it.” He turned to Garvi– his suit, –this was already getting confusing– and entered it. “Here’s what I need. You, and your suit.” Tony’s voice had an augmented tone to it now. He placed his feet on the floor, no longer flying. “I could use your help with something that’s happening here, in New York.”

“The bombings?” You said, before adding. “The Mandarin.” 

Tony was quiet for a while before responding, “Yeah, that.”

You took in a deep breath, butterflies swarming your stomach. “So, you’re asking for my help with a mission that could potentially kill me?” 

Tony’s head tilted to the side for a moment, “Well, when you put it like that, I guess it does sound a little weird.” 

You looked out to the city, walking to the ledge of the building. “What if I say no?” 

“You won't.” Tony stood next to you, “I’ll even let you wear the suit during the mission, you— you just would..” He sighed, moving his hands in a circular motion. “Need to work out. A lot.” 

You glared at him, a little offended. “I do work out.” Sometimes…

“Good. We just need to get you strong enough to stop a bus.” He lifted his hand, turning it so his palm was facing down. Displaying a miniature version of your suit, “And, you’ll have the help of your own design.” 

You remained quite looking back at the city. “Do you even have a Stark Industries here in New York?” You glanced over the area, enjoying the sparkling lights. 

“You a senior?” 

You shook your head, “Freshman.” 

Jesus you were young. “We’ll have one built your Junior year.” 

You laughed, nodding your head. “That’s great to hear.” You turned to Tony, collecting your hair all together and flipping it over your shoulder. “And, is anyone going to know I’m working with you?” 

“Do you want people to know?” He asked sincerely. 

You shook your head, sighing softly. “Just no one in my school.” You rubbed your shoulder soothingly, “I just made friends with people who like me.” Being this random genius would only repeat what happened in high school.

Tony's eyes softened for a moment, but he didn’t comment on it. “Then, no one will know. No one has to know.” Tony smiled, nodding his head. “So, c’mon.” He sighed, “I have to let Levi know about your involvement.”

You could help but blinked a few times in confusion, “Levi?” Who’s Levi?

Tony tilted his head, before responding. “You don’t?– Oh, uhm, Levi’s my brother, he just likes his privacy.” Which Tony was going to change if Levi took the job as the Iron Patriot. 

You could feel your jaw drop, “You have a brother? Is he as smart as you?” You whispered, like Levi was in the room with you. 

Tony laughed, “Smart? Maybe a little less? Rich? Absolutely.” You placed his hand behind his neck, “And, I would say his way stronger than me.” He shook his head, “Not by choice though.” 

“Was he forced?” You cautiously asked, placing a hand over your chest. 

“No, he just wanted to be the stronger one.” 

You laughed, before flashing him a smile, nodding your head. “Fine, I’ll help.” You took a step backwards, twisting in a circle. Your skirt kicking up in the wind with you. “Where's our first mission?” You asked excitedly, your hands clasped together. 

“I’m flying you to California.” Tony placed his hands on his hips, flying up slightly. Making your hair flutter, “You got a passport?” You nodded excitedly, “Great, let’s go make your suit.” 

You bit your bottom lip, jumping up and down. You smiled, nodding your head. Jumping up and down excitedly, “I get to be a superhero!” 

“Slow down, Y/n. Baby steps.” 

Freshman Year

Beginning of Second Semester. 

Approx. 3 years ago…

You giggled, “Jean, if anything happens I’ll call you.” You pressed your hand against his chest, pushing him away. “Now, go find Sasha and Connie, I promise you they’re probably like—wandering around.” 

Jean gave you a strained smile, “Uh, are you sure?” He looked to the side, “Because, I’m sure we can just look around together–” 

“No!” Your hands came out, expressing your distress. You blinked a few times, before clearing your throat. “I mean, no thank you.” You flashed him a kind smile, “It’ll be better if we split up.” 

Jean nodded his head slowly, alarmed by your distress. But, not questioning it further. “Okay, well, call me if you get lost.” 

You nodded, immediately walking off. Making sure Jean was out of sight before falling to the ground, tears pearling in your eyes. “Holy shit, these heels are killing me.” You groaned, massaging your ankles. Which wasn’t really helping considering how you were wearing boots that reached your knees. 

The worst part was, with the skirt you were wearing, you couldn’t even sit down properly without flashing someone. You blamed Gwen, she was the one who picked out your outfit. In fact, as of now, Gwen was your main source of inspiration for clothing. With all the jewelry, and make-up. The only thing that was original was– your black gloves. 

Your phone rang, and you checked the caller I.D. 

Tony S. 

You rolled your eyes before sliding your finger over the screen, holding up the device to your ear. “Tony.” You greeted, standing up and suppressing a pained groan. Curse these stupid heels, you’d give anything to know how to walk in them. 

“Bambi, how are you doing?” Tony greeted. 

You could feel your eyebrows mush together in distaste, “If you call me that one more time, I swear to god, I’ll find a way to destroy my suit.” You threatened. He was calling you a bimbo, Tony thought the words were similar enough. “But, I’m good. The bruise is healing nicely.” 

Tony huffed, “I can’t believe that was the only thing you got, I thought the guy killed you with that punch.” Tony laughed, “You should’ve seen the look on his face when you got back up.” 

You laughed, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear. “It was Karen who did that.” You don’t know how, but that’s what happened. “Anyways, I still have some adjustments that would make the suit better. As well as flexible.” 

“We’re starting the construction of a Stark Industries building here.” Tony informed. 

Your eyes widened, “Oh, that’s good. Makes it easier to upgrade suits.” You looked around, a skyscraper in the distance catching your attention. Oscorp. “Aren’t you scared Oscorp is going to start rivaling you, or something? I’ve heard they’ve got some shady stuff going on behind closed doors.” 

“I’m not too worried.” Tony sighed, “I know ways to keep it nice.” 

You laughed, “Alright, Tony.” You walked down the sidewalk, enjoying the college scenery. A field of green grass and a beautiful, large, flower tree. It was pretty enough for a picture. If only you had a camera. “Just, fix up my suit please. I plan on wearing it again.” 

“Oh, not happening.” 

You mushed your eyebrows together, utterly confused. It was your suit? “What?!”

“I thought I told Happy to tell you about it.” 

“Happy’s in the hospital.” You bluntly replied, wanting to kill Tony. There was no way he was revoking your suit privileges. 

“Actually, he just got dispatched. He’s doing well.” 

Your eyebrows raised with delight, “Oh, that’s good– Wait, what do you need to tell me?” You shook your head, trying to stay on topic. “Is it something bad? Did the suit malfunction.” Did I do something bad? 

“No, your suit’s fine. We just–can’t have you running around playing superhero.” You could tell Tony was smiling, “That’s for us adults. The big kids.” 

“I am an adult.” You shot back. Opening your purse and searching for your favorite pink hair tie. Tying your hair up, so it was out of your face. 

“You’re barely an adult, but I still have some plans with you.” Tony sighed, “For the time being, I’m putting a mini mechanic shop in your apartment. So, do what you will with that.” 

You smiled, nodding your head. Tony already managed to get all your things moved into your new apartment. You did a small circle as you continued to walk around. Today was so pretty, you wished you had your camera. “Oh! And, I sent the new bomb designs over to you.” You slowly twisted around, walking backwards. “It follows the target, and once it’s made contact it—“ 

“Blows up.” Tony finished, “It’s perfect. Love the creativity.” 

You didn’t know if he was being sarcastic. “Wonderful.” You brought your body forward again. It was silent for a moment, “So, is this it?” You softly said, almost hurt. 

“Oh, no. I need you around.” Tony let out a small, ‘ah,’ “Actually, I have another assignment coming up, and I could use your help.” 

You eyes landed on a tall male, holding– 

A camera. Perfect! 

You walked up to him, pointing at his camera. Smiling at him sweetly. He just blinked at you confused. You mentally groaned. You cut Tony off, “Let me call you back, Honey.” Before ending the call, placing your phone in your purse. “Your thingy,” you said, pointing at his camera. “Are you one of those people who take the cool snapshots?” 

The man let out a small laugh, “My camera.” He corrected. 

You could feel butterflies erupt in your stomach from his voice alone. Even if you couldn’t see his face, he was weirdly cute. Maybe, that’s why you approached him. Along with the camera. 

You could already tell, you liked this guy. 

Even if you never got his name. 

Senior Year. 

Middle, First Semester

Current time…

“You know, I miss talking to Karen.” You rolled your swivel chair back, “Before, he became the Spider-man suit.” You pouted, “And, before you rest him.” 

“Ah! You mean her.” Tony corrected, hiding the smile on his lips. “And, I didn’t mean to reset her. I just— accidentally reset her programming.” He quickly said. 

“Accident my ass.” You grumbled, rolling back to your desk. Grabbing your keyboard, and opening a small compartment hidden underneath it. Grabbing the small key from inside, and opening your desks drawer. Reaching for the microphone you left inside, and typing something on your computer. “The button clearly said reset.” You grumbled, looking at the text on the screen. He was my best friend. 

You haven’t even gotten to meet the new Karen. It made you sad. You slammed your drawer shut, locking it up again. Placing the key where it belongs. 

“Graduation is in a few months.” Levi voiced, leaning on the wall window. Looking outside, a cup of coffee in his hand. His foot resting behind the other one. “Are you excited about that?” He took a sip of his coffee. 

You sighed, stretching out your neck. “Yeah, it’s exciting and scary.” You peered over your shoulder, “Like, I want it to be over. But, I’m scared of growing up.” 

“Don’t be, Bambi.” Tony added. 

You just glared at him. “Thanks.” You grit. 

Levi shook his head, trying to ignore the laugh bubbling in his throat. “We’ll be there, Y/n.” Levi lifted his glass to you, making you turn your attention away from Tony. “I wouldn’t want to miss you finally becoming an adult.” 

You softly smiled, your eyes softening. “Good.” You turned back to your screen, “I would’ve quit if you didn’t, and we all know you need me to function.” 

Levi felt his eye twitch, “On second thought.” Tony just softly laughed, giving you a discreet thumbs up. 

Levi rolled his eyes at his brother’s encouragement. Before looking at your screen, “And, what are you doing?” Levi doesn't remember assigning any work to you?

You leaned your head back, “I’m working on my personal project.” You responded, “It’s a gift.” To yourself..

“You’re making a gift for someone?” Levi asked, pushing himself off the window. Walking behind your chair, and looking at your screen. “A suit? Y/n, you can’t give a random person a suit.” 

You threw your hands over the screen, trying to hide it from him. “Don’t snoop, Levi.” You scolded, “And, it’s a graduation gift to myself! I’m jealous that Spider-Man gets to use my suit.” 

Levi shook his head, “Well, it is my company. I would like to know what’s being made.” 

“It’s actually mine.” Tony cut in. 

You giggled, “Sure, sure. I forgot.” You clicked a different tab, grabbing the microphone and holding it to your mouth. Glancing at the phrases displayed on the screen. 

“Don’t tell me you’re using your own voice for the suit.” Levi groaned, taking a sip of his drink. 

You blinked a few times, “No..” 

Tony twisted his body around, pointing at you. “That’s genius.” He stood up, dramatically pushing his swivel chair away from him. “Someone get me a microphone. Pepper?” He called, walking out the room. 

You giggled, nodding at Tony. “See, Tony gets it.” 

Levi placed his hand to his face, sighing slowly. “I swear, you two are so full of yourselves.” Levi looked at you through his fingers, suppressing an amused smile. 

You shrugged, clicking the record button. “Good evening, I’m Y/n. And, you are?” You hit the pause recording, waiting for the next phrase to pop up. 

“When do you think you’ll be done with the suit?” Levi looked at the screen. 

You tapped your lips a few times. “Uhm, it should be done by the end of the month. Maybe the beginning of next month, the latest.” Your eyebrows came together, “Wait, why did you give my suit away?” 

“A kid got bit by one of our radioactive spiders.” Levi cringed the moment he said it. You weren’t supposed to know that. 

“Wait, Spider-Man was directly caused by you?” You thought he just happened to be one of those people born with powers. You looked back at your screen, “Why didn’t you tell me about that? I could’ve made a better version of the suit.” You saw Levi cringe again, and you smiled cheekily to yourself. “Unless, you weren’t supposed to tell me.” 

“I wasn’t supposed to tell you.” Levi followed. 

You giggled, “Don’t worry I won’t tell Tony.” Levi let out a breath of relief, while you looked at the text on your computer. Reading it in your head, and readying your microphone. “Just as long as you help me make my suit.” 

Levi hated you.

-ˋˏ★ [ Location: Your comfy, comfy, bed… ]ˎˊ

Dawn was rising, around 6 in the morning, and drawings upon drawings scattered your room. You phone softly playing your favorite song, Amor Eterno. While your hand moved across the paper with an outliner pen. Adding the final details to the improved suit design, before sighing, sitting up from your bed and stretching. 

Harry’s words bouncing in your head like an over inflated ball even if the date was over a week ago. Let me take care of you. You loudly laughed, like you even wanted that. Hell, you found the irony of it. The very thing your father supposedly hated you for, was the very thing men of wealth wanted to do.  

Honestly, whatever. 

It’s not like you wanted them anyways. But, it was always so satisfying knowing that you’d never give them a chance. Were you fake? Maybe? But, that’s what shitty Dads can do to you. 

And, Daddy issues.

You adjusted the strap of your crop top and stood up. Ripping the page out of your thick sketchbook, and adding it to your billboard. You threw the book behind you, hearing as it loudly crashed against your bed. 

That’s what four years of college sketches, and suit designs sound like. 

You grabbed your glasses and took a step back, then placed your hands on your hips. Nodding at the outcome. You liked this upgraded design. Nanotechnology was definitely the way to go. If you go to Stark’s place today, you should be able to have the suit finished by—

‘Knock, knock!’

You looked at your window, eyebrows mushed together. It was silent for a minute, making you think you made up the noise in your head. You know you’re crazy, but not that crazy. “Did I just hear a knock?..” 

“Yes, you did.” 

You shook your head, suppressing a smile. Biting the corner of your lip, and shaking your head, mumbling– “Don’t tell me I need to get the bug spray.” You grabbed your pink curtain, and pulled it back. Tilting your head and smiling at the male on the other side of the clear glass. 

He was crouching on the railings of the fire escape. His head tilted to the side, looking into your room. His eyes widened for a second, “You’d ruin the treats if you did.” Spider-man raised the bag, shaking it lightly. Allowing you to get a better view of what he was holding. 

A bag from your favorite sweet shop. 

You laughed, biting your lip and raising the window. “Okay then, next time.” And, believe me, there will be a next time. 

-ˋˏ★ [ Location: Your Apartment’s Fire Escape… ]ˎˊ

You giggled, taking a bite of your macaroon. 

“You’re kidding?” You questioned, “And, he just walked away?” You scoffed, “I swear, the fucking nerve of some people, right?” You took a bite of your strawberry macaroon. Your favorite upon favorites of flavors. 

Spider-Man nodded his head, his mask above his mouth as he took a bite of his sweet treat. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, getting a loud– ’Ew!’ from you.

You pushed his shoulder playfully, scrunching your nose at him. “You’re disgusting, Spider-Man.” You pushed your glasses to the top of your nose. 

He laughed loudly, “What? You took all the napkins, what am I supposed to do?” Him wiping off the junk off his face with his hand wasn’t even the worst of it. You should’ve seen him last night. Eren was losing his mind over a picture he found of you in his camera. He completely forgot he even took it, on top of that— it was a picture of you smiling. Cutest and purest thing he’s ever seen. 

Soon enough, his mind wasn’t so pure. His back to the bed, eyes screwed shut, while his hand slowly moved up and down his fat dic—

You scoffed, grabbing a few napkins and tossing them at his face. “I don’t know? Ask?! Like a human.” You looked to the side, rolling your eyes. “Idiot.” 

Spider-Man shook his head, cheeks tinted red. Thank god he had a mask on. “Ugh, get over it, Y/n.” He pressed, “Anyways, then the dude walked away like he didn’t slap me.” He shook his head, his eyes squinting. “And, then– And then, He walked to a police officer who watched the interaction and snitched on me.” 

You snorted, tilting your head back and laughing. “Seriously? Jeez.” You looked back at him, tilting your head. “Then, what did you do?” 

Spider-Man laughed. Looking away for a moment before shaking his head, eating the rest of his macaroon. He was embarrassed to tell you what he did next. “I—“ He laughed, shaking his head, bringing the mask over his lips again. “I— I swang away.” 

You coughed, “Pussy.” You taunted, hitting him with your shoulder. A real smile on your lips. Your eyes glancing down to where his lips would be. Only to look back at his eyes. 

Spider-Man visibly tensed, pulling back from you. A shiver shot down his spine, “Well, I– I– can’t get in trouble.” Mr. Stark would kill me if I got in trouble with the police. He almost killed me when I wanted to go save you.

Eren was grounded from the suit for a week. 

You shook your, “You’re such a goodie-goodie, Spidey.” You said, tilting your head and looking at him through your lashes. “You know that.” 

Spider-Man tapped his fingers against himself, “You always call me Spidey, I feel like I should be giving you a nickname.” 

You shrugged, looking to the side thoughtfully. “I thought my nickname was beautiful?”

Spider-Man shook his head, “Not at all, I call you beautiful, because I’m complimenting you.” 

You wrinkled your nose, “You compliment me too much then.” 

“I don’t think I compliment you enough.”

You could feel your face slowly burn, you turned away in embarrassment. “I– whatever.” You played with the fabric of your top, keeping your eyes diverted from Spider-Man. 

Spider-Man laughed, “I want to give you a nickname exclusive to me. Something only I would know.” He tapped his finger against his lip, “What about princess?” 

You snapped your head in his direction, “Ew. Don’t ever call me that again.” You shook your head, a shiver shooting down your spine. “I hate that.” 

“Okay, so, not princess.” He looked to the sky, blinking a few times. In clear thought, “Do you have something in mind?” 

You hummed thoughtfully, trying to think of a name. “I don’t know.. Nothing’s coming to mind.” Your ears picked up on the sweet melody playing from your room, damn, you forgot to turn off your phone.

Spider-Man looked at your room, his ears picking up on the song. He looked at you again, “What song is that?” He tilted his head, genuinely curious.

You smiled, keeping silent for a moment. “Uhm, it’s my favorite song.” You wrapped your arms around your body, almost in a self soothing act. “Amor Eterno, my mom introduced it to me. And, it’s been my favorite since.”

Spider-Man nodded, listening to the melody for a second. “I’ve never heard of it.” He looked back at the room, “I like it, your mom— you have good taste.” He quickly corrected.

You shrugged, “Maybe, it’s just.. yeah.” You laughed.

Spider-Man tapped your shoulder, “Should I call you that, Amor?”

You giggled, tapping his shoulder in return. “You don’t speak Spanish do you?” You laughed again once he shook his head, “I can tell.”

“Hey..”

You pulled your hand away, “Maybe, when you can speak Spanish, that can be my nickname. But until then, pick something else.” Your eyes flickered to the bag that Spider-Man got your sweets from. 

‘Angel Cakes.’ 

Spider-Man followed you line of vision, landing on the bag. He smiled, “Angel?’ He asked, “Is that okay?” 

You laughed, “I mean, it’s not horrible.” You poked his shoulder, “Just, don’t say it in front of people. That way it’s like a secret between the two of us.” You lifted a finger above your lip, smiling cheekily. 

Eren could feel his heart burst out of his chest, “Why did you give me a nickname in the first place?” 

You blinked a few times, your bright eyes innocently looking at him. “Hm?” You laughed, shrugging. “I don’t know, I give nicknames to people I like.” You tilted your head to the side, your glossy lips forming a smile. “I like you Spider-Man.” 

Spider-Man shook his head, looking to the side. He was so lucky there was a face mask covering him. If not, you would’ve seen the massive blush on his face. He just liked the way you looked. Visually pleasing. “Shut up, you’re literally just saying that, so I’ll buy you more sweets from your favorite place.” 

You giggled, leaning to the side. “Maybe.” Your eyes widened in realization.  

Spider-Man had the exact same realization. “Shit! I mean!–“ 

Your eyes were wide, your mouth parted open. “Are you following me?!” You shook your head, “Gross, you’re like my stalker.” You teased. Spider-Man was going to defend himself when you raised a finger, cutting him off. “Ah! No, I don’t want to hear it.” You said, leaning in close. 

“I don’t tell anyone that’s my favorite spot. And, call me selfish, but I don’t tell people because I don’t want anyone else to go there.” That’s why you didn’t tell anyone about it. “I guess, now you know my secret.” You poked his side, watching him flinch. Jeez, was Spider-Man always this ticklish?

He pushed your hand away. Finding the fact that you gate kept a bakery very childish, yet cute. He shook his head, titling his head at you. “Fine,” he said, outstretching his pinkie. “It’s our secret now.”

You giggled, nodding your head. Interlocking your pinkie with his. “Yes, our secret.” 

You and Spider-Man turned to the sky, watching the run rise. A comfortable silence falling over you two. You abruptly laughed, placing your face into your hands. “Oh my god, you’re totally following me.” You mumbled, leaning into him. 

Suddenly, his hands were waving around. Panic shooting through his body. “Y/n, it was only once–I swear.” 

You laughed, shaking your head, leaning it on his shoulder and looking at him. “I don’t believe you, Spidey.” 

“I’m so sorry, if there’s anything I can do to fix it, believe me! I’ll do it.” His eyes were wide, showing his expression. You always loved how expressive his eyes could be, it was an aspect you loved about your suit. 

You let out a brief huff, and outstretched your hand. Waiting for Spider-Man to grab it. He did, his gloved fingers intertwined with yours. You smiled at it, sighing softly. “Just kiss me.” You softly said, keeping your head on his shoulder. “And, maybe I’ll forgive you.” 

You could feel him stiffen. An amused grin shaped on your lips, “You did say anything, Spidey.” 

“I did.” Spider-man confirmed.  

You turned to him, watching as his hand came to the bottom of his mask. But before he could even take it off, your lips were already on his covered ones. You smiled, into the ‘kiss.’ Before, pulling back. “What? Don’t tell me you were expecting more?” You swiped your tongue over your glossy lips, looking at his. “Oh you got a little–“ You pointed at his lips. Trying to help him remove the lip gloss that was smeared over his mask.

“Oh fuck off, Y/n.” He placed a hand on your face, and shoved you playfully. Using the other one to wipe away your gloss. 

You loudly laughed, turning away. “Oh shut up, you love me.” You said, grabbing his hand and holding onto it. 

Spider-Man’s ear perked to the sound of your front door opening. He looked back at you, “Expecting guest?” 

You tilted your head, looking into your room. “No?” Your eyebrows came together, “Why, is someone at my door?” 

Spider-man nodded his head, “Yeah, I heard someone knocking.” 

You shook your head, rolling your eyes. “It’s probably Gwen or something, I gave her a spare key a few months back.” You sighed, your lip jutting out dramatically. “Looks like we have to cut our playdate short.” You let go of his hand, jumping off the railing and going towards your window. 

Spider-Man smiled, his eyes squinting for a second. “I'll see ya’ later then.” 

You looked back at him, grabbing his hand. Stopping him from swinging away. “Oh, and Spidey. It doesn't—it’s fine..” You softly mumbled, “You literally saved my life, I owe you everything.” You bit your lip, “I trust you, you saved me once, I'm sure you can do it again.”

His eyes softened, and you could feel your heart burst. “I’d give you my life, if it came down to it, Y/n.” You could feel your walls fall down for a moment, but you quickly shook it off. 

You walked to your window, propping it open. “I don’t mind someone like that watching me when I’m on the streets.” You snapped your fingers at him, “but, just remember. I’m fully capable of taking care of myself. I don’t need you to completely take care of me.” It's just nice to relax for a while. 

Spider-Man’s eyes squinted, indicating his smile from behind the mask. “Of course, Y/n.” He shot out a web, “I’ll see you later, Love.” He gave you a quick wave, “Oh, and I love your glasses, you should wear them more often.” Then, swang away. 

You felt your cheeks burn from the nickname and compliment. Maybe you should wear your glasses more often. You went into your room, and closing the curtain behind you. Walking towards your room door, flinging it open and walking out. “Gwen!” You shouted, “If you plan on visiting you need to text me!” You pouted. I was busy.

“No, I told him I wasn’t going to do it today. I told him I was drained from the last task, but he insisted..” Someone groaned. 

“Well, he did double the amount he was paying us.” Someone responded, “That’s why I said, yes.” 

“It isn’t about the money, it’s about— Mom.” They sighed, “I still can’t believe you answered for me. We should’ve talked about it more, I can still feel the way she was looking at me with fear from the last time.” 

That doesn’t sound like Gwen?..

You laughed, “Bertolt? Reiner? What are guys doing here?” You rushed over, engulfing them in a hug. “I thought you—” 

“Are you dating someone?” Reiner asked, pushing you away, and crossing his arms over his chest. “Or, was that a friend you were talking to?” 

You blinked a few times, “Were you listening to my conversation?” You assumed, “And, how the hell did you get into my apartment? I didn’t give you the key?” Suddenly, your mood was souring. 

“Dad did.” He responded, lifting his hand and rubbing his chin. “Now, who the hell were you talking to?” He was getting closer to you. 

You scoffed, taking a step back. How did your Dad even get your key? In fact, there was no way for him to get your address. You pushed the thought away, “Of course he did, I forgot how close you two are.” You mumbled, glaring at him. “Don’t do this Reiner, you just got here.” You muttered, “We just got to see each other again.” 

Reiner’s face softened, only for a moment. “That doesn’t matter, I still need to protect you.” He argued. Pushing through you and walking into your apartment. 

Was he going for your room?!

You could feel a panic shoot through your body, looking at Bertolt and silently telling him to stop Reiner. He just gave you an apologetic look. Which made that panic spiral. 

Your room was a mess!

You quickly rushed after Reiner, trying to stop him from reaching your room. “C’mon Reiner. Don’t be like that, I don’t need you babying me anymore.” You pushed your back to the door, a way of blocking your room. “This isn’t highschool.”

Reiner scoffed, “Yeah, that doesn’t matter, in my eyes you're still my baby sister.” He smiled, but it wasn’t comforting. It was mocking, “And, on top of that, what have you been doing since you got here?! Fucking around with shitty men?!” 

You flinched when he raised his voice, opening your mouth to defend yourself but he cut you off. “Partying, drinking, drugs?!” You didn’t do drugs.. “I thought you hated doing shit like that! I thought you hated parties!?” He looked at the way you were blocking your room, “Y/n, I swear to fucking god if they’re is a boy in there, I’m going to kill him.” 

Bertolt placed a hand on Reiners shoulder, suddenly appearing behind him. “I think we should calm down, Y/n is old enough to—“ 

Reiner shoved his hand off his shoulder. “Yeah, but she still is stupid enough to get involved with Har—“ 

“Can you not!?” You sighed loudly, “I moved over here to get away from—“ you gestured your hands to the three of you. “This!” You placed your hands down, pushing your glasses to your face. Feeling them slip, “I’m so fucking tired of you guys. Just get out. Please.” You placed your face into your hands. “I’m not going through this again.” 

Reiner pressed his lips together, his hand instinctively reaching out for you, but he stopped himself. “Y/n, look, that’s not what I meant..” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “You know I do everything for you.”

You shook your head, looking up at him. “Really?” You asked, “So working at my rival company is the way to do that?” You pointed at the Oscorp symbol on their shirt, “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that little thing.” You watched as the both of them cringed. 

Bertolt sighed, “Y/n, just know we love you.” He added behind your shorter brother. 

Your eyebrows mushed together, anger slowly building in your body. “You love me?” You mocked, “Oh yeah, I forgot. You were the one defending me when Father was absolutely torturing me.” You could feel it boiling up your throat. “You guys were the one who defended me, not the ones who stood by his side instilling what he said.” 

Reiner’s eyebrows came together, expressing his disdain coming over his face. That anger returning, “Y/n, is there a boy in there?” He asked again. 

“No!” You shouted, “There isn’t a fucking boy in my room, and even if there was— it’s none of your business!” You could feel tears pearling in your eyes with anger. You hated that about you, how sensitive you were. 

“I swear if Harry’s in there.” Reiner whispered to Bertolt, “I’m going to kill her.” He wouldn’t doubt it, and with the way Harry had been flaunting over his crush. Reiner’s suspicion had been raised when some factors rang too similarly to you. You shouldn’t be around Harry, he wasn’t a good person. Reiner was going to kill you if you were so much as dating him. 

You felt your jaw go slack, eyes widening ever so slightly. “You’re going to kill me? And, not the boy in my room?!” You rolled your eyes, leaning back. “I don’t even like Harry, he’s a huge dick that I want nothing to do with.” You crossed your arms over your chest. 

Bertolt grabbed Reiner, a way of trying to calm him down. “See, calm down, Y/n doesn't even like him.” Bertolt looked at you, “Look Y/n, we promise to never hurt you.” 

You could feel your lip wiggle, the words bubbling in your throat. You couldn’t stop them from spilling, “You already have.” You muttered, “Even before all this.”

Reiner scowled, his hand reaching for your doorknob. Trying to push it open. 

“If you open this door, there’s going to be no trust left between us.” You whispered, eyes boring into his body. “Just trust me, Reiner.” You were challenging him, something you’ve never done before. 

It made Reiner mad. And, he pushed the door open. Walking past you. You stared blankly at the wall, waiting for him to come back out of your room. 

Reiner glanced around, eyes dancing over your billboard, bill board, open sketchbook, messy clothes, open window, and stuffed animals. Why would you leave your window open? It was freezing. And, with the outfit you were wearing, it didn’t really make sense. 

Reiner sighed in defeat, walking back outside the room. Glancing at you. Seeing as your eyebrows were furrowed, tears slowly falling down your cheeks. Bertolt rubbing your shoulder comfortingly. 

Reiner sighed, “Look, Y/n. You’ll understand when you’re older, we just do this because we’re worried about you.” He softly said, but not looking at you. “Just give it time.”

“When are you going to stop saying that?” You whispered, pushing Bertolt's hand off your shoulder. Glaring at him with red eyes. “When I’m one hundred, when I’m dead?”

Reiner was going to speak, when you cut him off. “Huh?! Answer me!” You shouted, “I’m going to be way more successful, and famous than both of you combined! Am I still going to be your naive little sister you constantly berate then?!” You could feel your throat hurt, squeezing. 

Your brothers were silent. Which made you even madder. “You guys don’t want to protect me, you just see me as less than you! I’m just the stupid little girl who needs a man to take care of her!” You pushed Reiner’s chest, feeling that he didn’t even move. He was just letting you rant. 

Bertolt felt tears pearling in his waterline, looking away and blinking rapidly. While Reiner’s eyes softened, his hand brushing against your shoulder. “That’s not what we’re trying to say, Y/n.” He muttered. 

“You guys just feel guilty over the way you treated me back in highschool, and want to fix your guilty conscience now.” You seethed, “It pisses me off. The guilt is messing with your head, I get it.” 

“We’re sorry, and you don’t have to forgive us.” 

“Enough!” You shouted, trying to push them to your front door. They let you push them, “You guys are so suffocating. I’m so tired of it!” You yelled, “It’s always, ‘I’m so useless, this,’ and ‘I’m so sorry, that,’ when will you give it a break.” You gave them a final shove. 

Bertolt and Reiner looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Apologizing probably wouldn’t be ideal as of now. They’re just treating you the way they learned too. 

Which, you couldn’t even blame them for. You almost hated girls that weren’t like you, because of your Father. 

“Is this how you treat Mom? Or, am I the exception?” 

Reiner and Bertolt tensed, eyes going wide. “Don’t.” Bertolt whispered, “Don’t talk about her.” 

You mushed your eyebrows together, “Why wouldn’t I be able to talk about my Mom, Betolt? Oh, wait.” You glared at him, “She is currently in no form of contact with you, or our Dad.”

“Stop.” 

“I wonder why.” Because of this exact treatment. 

“Why are you talking about this?” Reiner asked, looking away. 

“Because, you need to stop acting like this.” You gestured between the three of you. “It makes me want to go no contact.” 

“Don’t say that.” Reiner sighed, “What can we do to fix this?” 

You looked to the side, “Just treat me like a normal person.” You told them, “That’s all I want.” And, you shut the front door before they could respond. You pressed your head to the door, sighing out.

They’re trying to be protective now, to make up for your youth with them. Unfortunately, no matter what they did, the long bridge between you three would never be fixed. 

Your phone buzzed in your pocket, making you reach for it. You could feel your heart flutter at the contact name. 

Eren. 

However, a feeling of dread crawled up your spine. The party flashing through your head, what Jean said, and the last time the two of you texted. You need to clear things up with Eren. 

Wait. What if he was calling you to cut you off?! 

You wouldn’t be able to handle Eren leaving you. You took a deep breath, your hands shaking while you moved your finger over the screen. You picked up, and put the phone on speaker. Then, placed it on the ground, giving yourself some distance. “Hey, Eren!” You tried to greet him excitedly. Disregarding the interaction between your brothers. Or, was trying to.

“Hey, how are you?” His voice was calm, but groggy. It almost sounded like he just finished working out. It weirdly sounded nice. 

Or, maybe not… “Uhm, I’m–” you thought about your brothers, “weird, but…” You leaned your head back on the door, still sitting on the floor. “It’s fine. How about you?” You still sounded sweet, like honey. 

“I’m weird too.” Eren briefly responded, a small laugh building inside his throat. “Uhm, we just got graded on our project. Do you want to come over, and see what we got?” 

You blinked a few times, feeling your brain malfunction. Butterflies erupting in your stomach, “Uhm, you mean like– a party?” You softly smiled to yourself, “Or, a cute hangout.” Some one-on-one time with Eren sounded wonderful. 

Eren didn’t like how you were still being fake with him, but he was determined to change it. He wanted to be with the real you. However, your personality was starting to peek through the cracks. “Yeah. A cute hangout. We can even walk around, and get air if you want?” He responded with a soft laugh. Eren adjusted himself, making sure he wouldn’t fall off your building—which he was currently sticking to. 

Eren couldn’t leave after how abrupt you left him. And, he was worried!

Creepy, abrasive, and corrupt? Absolutely. But, he just wanted to make sure you were okay. So, it was fine when he did it. 

Eren would let you slap him later. 

You smiled to yourself, “Yeah, a walk sounds nice.” You didn’t have the energy to worry about school. “Want to go on one tomorrow, same time as now?” You had work close to an hour, where you had to show Tony some of your designs from your sketchbook. The two of you agreed he would hold onto it for a few days to make them come to life. So, tomorrow would work better. Then, after the walk, you could just go straight to your job. 

Sounds perfect. 

Besides, you needed some time to yourself after the argument with your brothers. You probably were going to take some Nyquil to sleep tonight. You could worry about all your problems tomorrow. 

As your Mother would say— that sounds like a problem for tomorrow. 

“Okay, great.” Eren softly replied, you could hear the smile in his voice. 

You pouted, standing up from the floor and walking into your kitchen. Placing your phone on the counter. You were craving something sweet. Actually, you needed something sweet. Like, strawberry champagne. “Wait, Eren.” You paused, looking at your phone. “You want to hear the stupid thing my brothers just pulled.” 

Eren didn’t need to hear, he practically watched it unfold in front of him. There was no need for you to tell him. However, Eren couldn’t help but smile to himself, and respond, “Of course I do.” 

God, he was so in love with you.

Read the rest here! Link to Ao3: Chapter three, Here.

[caddy-crystal-queen]

Okay I totally get this is kinda counterproductive but I don't care. As a genuine question: why do people waste their lives and time on this earth just to hate things? Like...I don't get it. I just took five minutes to read this incredibly long ass rant about the complexities of a certain controversial scene in GoT and then they used it as an angle to talk about another pair in HoTD. Then said at the end they were done with the show and wanted nothing to do with it.

My girl/guy/they...IF YOU ARE DONE THEN BE DONE!

Half the stuff this particular individual posts is about GoT/HoTD/ASOIAF. If you are done, then stop wasting your own time and be done with it. The one thing a person loses that they can't get back is time. If you're gonna waste it on something you don't enjoy then I'm sorry but yes, you are wasting your time.

"Oh I need to point out all this stuff-"

Why? Why do YOU have to if you don't enjoy any aspect of the show? You have literally sat there whining, crying, and bitching about literally EVERYTHING involving this particular universe, in between posts about another particular book/musical.

Stop.

You don't need to educate fucking anybody in regards to this show. Let people form their own opinions. If you're sick and tired of the bs, walk away and don't look back. Because honestly this is getting ridiculous.

And really this goes for anyone who does this shit. If you don't enjoy something, or you're just gonna whine and cry and be a little jerk to everyone who enjoys this stuff, walk away. Enjoy the stuff you yourself want to enjoy. Stop making yourself miserable for some pretentious intelligence points or some other nonsense you wanna use to justify it. And this literally goes for any fandom: from Star Wars to fucking Avatar or whatever great animated show is IN right now.

And again I kinda get that I'm being a hypocrite here because I kinda do the same thing for my "Who in What Fandom Needs to Be Slapped" thing, but at least I try to be somewhat funny with that. Kinda like what foamy the squirrel used to be before he got annoying and repetitive.

As for me, I'm gonna watch season 2 of HoTD because I like the dragon designs. That's literally it. A few of the human characters are interesting to me but not a lot of them are. I'm really hoping they show Tessarion this season but I doubt they will...

Justice for the Blue Queen!!!!!

[publicabsent]

small drabble under here. warnings include: implied spousal abuse, physical violence, gendered language, mentions of alcoholism, death. <3

things have been normal. perhaps that, in itself, might have warned the medium that such smooth waters precede a violent storm. but normalcy is intoxicating, & leads to complacency.

the task was simple – deliver the books to the addresses, picking up any that are due, nothing complex. nothing she hasn’t done plenty of times before. (except now, complacency bleeds into carelessness, & she’s misread an address.) nothing strange till the last house. the roof of it sags, shingles missing in small patches. the lawn is somehow both brown & overgrown. the door, a light, cheap wood, sits crooked between two luan-covered windows. annette hesitates before knocking, a brief chill running down her spine.

that was her one & only warning.

delicate knuckles rap on the door, which easily opens without a sound.

“h - he-hello … ? i’m fr-from the l-li—“

a sickeningly familiar cold freezes her lungs solid as the gravelly, slurred voice of a man interrupts her.

“well, well, well. look-y who’s come crawlin’ back. surprised t’see me, ava?”

like a prey animal, annette freezes as one large ghostly arm wraps around her waist, the smell of cheap booze & decay flooding her senses. delicate frame braces itself for whatever may come next, dread stiffening bone, when she’s roughly cuffed on the back of her head & released, careening forward onto the ground. she lands with a smack, palms & knees bearing the impact.

“that’s fer leavin’ me —”

one large grubby hand jerks her up by her hair, pulling a strangled cry from the girl. now she sees the face of this spirit – distorted by anger, seemingly eaten in places by the vermin of the house. he wears a puke-stained shirt & stands so big, a hulking terror in both life & death.

an open-handed slap to freckled face disrupts her thoughts, rattling her skull.

“i-i — s-sir, i … i’m n-not —”

“shut up, you lyin’ bitch! that w’s fer lettin’ me die.”

“bu - b-but i —”

putrid hand clamps around her jaw, squeezing just tight enough to be a warning. annette closes her eyes, hoping the man at least kills her quickly.

he instead begins ranting.

his drunken ramblings are lost on the medium, interjected only with hits or shakes. he says something about losing a job, about ava’s family, something about children, all half-intelligible. he interrupts himself every so often to toss the girl to the floor, stomping at her while screaming for her to listen. he manages to catch her once or twice with his feet, though she’s hardly aware. she is far away. her mind is somewhat safer, imagining her small nook of her attic. the spirit continues to shout, striking the living girl when deemed necessary.

one sharp hit — large knuckles to fragile cheekbone, jolting her back into the present — elicits a soft whimper of a response.

“i-i … m’n-n—” she can hardly speak, her stutter working in distorted tandem with her busted, swollen lip. annette figures she must be crying, though she can’t tell. her weak attempts at speech are clipped short by two hands clamping viciously around her throat, the force pushing her harshly again a moldy wall.

“y’think i wanna hear one goddamn word outta yer mouth? shove those fuckin’ excuses aside. yer a coward! a weak, pathetic little bitch! f’you couldn’ handle me, y’shouldn’t’ve married me!”

his grip was growing tighter. it’d leave bruises, she’s sure. thin hands & short nails scrabble at the half-there hands, hoping to loosen the vice grip on her throat. the dead man continues shouting, his voice louder & the louder as his hands tighten, thumbs digging into her pulse points. the volley of foul insults never stops, even when the pressure on her neck vanishes & she collapses to the floor.

the voice, now disembodied, feels almost inside her ears, screaming obscenities at ava, who would never hear them. the small, somehow still-living girl shakily climbs to her feet, favoring one side greatly. her right ankle, clearly a victim of his stomping fits, is bulbous & a sickeningly dark purple. her every breath wheezes, but she limps out of the now-empty doorframe. his voices still screams in her mind for months.

she wears scarves to hide the slow-to-fade handprints round her throat.

she wraps her ankle.

she wakes in the night, screaming and clutching her chest.

& as always, she tells no one.

[genderisareligion]

My apologies if you have already given the answer to this before, but may I ask, do you still acquaint yourself with libfems? Why or why not?

It has always been my personal belief that in order to properly fight a battle, you must understand the arguments of all sides, but at this point I’ve grown so tired of the sheer stupidity of liberal feminism and anti feminists that I don’t think I can deal anymore. I feel bad for saying this, but in my head I can’t help but say that these people are either just stupid or being willfully obtuse! What do you mean hyperfemininity fights the patriarchy? It fucking doesn’t, not in any way! What do you mean women are too stupid to take on leadership positions, but are also somehow the masterminds behind every single fucking problem on the planet? What is wrong with these people? I don’t even consider myself particularly intelligent, but this is just utter insanity. It actually blows my mind… the arguments that the hyperfeminine genderspecial American girls in my age range throw around. None of them make sense, all of them are easily disqualified, so why does no one seem to get it still?

I went a bit off track here… I guess the question I really want to ask is, do you believe that it’s better if I still welcome my libfem acquaintances, or should I leave all of them behind? I’d stuck around in hopes that they would someday have a better understanding of how deep the patriarchy is rooted, but they’re still parroting “Trans women are women! We love girlcock!” and I just don’t know if I can take it anymore.

It's up to you whether or not to leave them behind. Solidarity with other women while agreeing to disagree is important, but can be very difficult to accomplish. You as a radical or radleaning feminist don't owe American hyperfeminine genderspecial women anything, and the worse that I see anti radfem scare tactics and lies getting over the years, the less I blame those who feel they can't take anymore.

I personally don't know many libfems anymore but I did in college; for example I could and can tolerate some level of "makeup and trendy fashion is feminist and fun for me" from friends because it's so fucking rough out here for women and real feminism is becoming so inaccessible that I'm just like "well at least they're somewhat enjoying themselves even if those actions aren't feminist," it's usually never worth it to me to try and change her mind unless she simultaneously expresses discomfort with beauty standards

My closest female friend for the longest I would say is just a general feminist, too normie and not committed to it enough to be considered liberal or radical, but believes in its most basic tenets and doesn't shy away from the word feminist. She's let me rant to her about radfem for over a decade and usually understands my point even if she doesn't 100% agree.

Those are the kinds of women I still have time for...I'm in my 30s so the genderspecial "you can be trans with no dysphoria! twaw!" free for all is like that much more concerning when I see it in my age group. Basically IRL I'm a stealth radfem unless I think someone will be open to it.

Do what's going to keep you the most sane out here

[lmamp]

Post #4

I’d like to briefly speak about a slightly disturbing trend I’ve noticed in large platforms such as Twitter and Reddit. This will be part of a string of more political posts I’ll be making (expect a post on Tiktok and Congress soon because oh boy, I got stuff to say). I just want to get my thoughts out there and I am by no means an expert. This is mostly going to be a rant about my issues with what I view to be “capitalism, but worse than usual”, aka owners of large companies screwing over users in hopes of making larger profits. Also, to be clear, while I don’t think I could call myself a socialist, I do think it’s the superior system, at least for the time being. Alas, we are stuck in this capitalist nightmare. Alright, enough waffling. Let's begin!

So, for simplicity’s sake, let's make something clear: there’s what capitalism wants to be and then there’s what capitalism is. Capitalism wants to be a merit-based system that rewards those that put in the work. On paper, this is not a bad idea. You work hard, move up in the system, and get paid more. You come up with innovative ideas, move up in the system, get paid more, and then have more opportunities to innovate. Sounds fair. The problems start with the fact that not everyone has the opportunity to enter the system. I could go on and on about the ways the system pushes down and punishes poorer people, especially minorities, but I want to focus on how it disproportionately rewards those who are born into money. Trust-fund babies can win simply by being lucky enough to be born into a family that was already rich, and these families got rich by exploiting workers and stealing resources (hi Elon Musk Emerald Mine, how’s it going? Yeah, I didn’t forget about you). 

Full disclosure, I bought into the “Elon Musk is a genius” narrative when I was younger. I have sung his praises. But now, with Tesla cars having a predisposition for catching on fire and Twitter alienating advertisers left and right, I regret everything. Elon Musk probably is a very smart person: IQ is somewhat of a bullshit metric of intelligence, but I do think that it says something that his IQ is 150-155. For comparison, Einstein’s IQ was 160, and Einstein was a genius who made leaps and bounds in his field, and to argue otherwise makes you look stupid. But god, he is an idiot businessman. His choices while running Twitter have been baffling. I’m not going to pretend that I’m a genius at business but when your main source of revenue for your company comes from advertisers and you then make choices that alienate those advertisers, I’m going to wonder what you’re thinking. The rollout for Twitter Blue was just as much of a mess. We all know what happened to Eli Lily’s stock. How this genius man (who is also very familiar with how shit-posting and trolling works) could not have predicted how this may have gone bad is inconceivable. Furthermore, the never-ending waves of bad takes from users who have bought into the blue check is at best annoying and at worst nauseating. Not only is he alienating advertisers, his main sources of income, but he’s alienating users too who hate how polarizing the site has become. I literally could not use the site without seeing something vilely misogynistic, racist, homophobic, or transphobic. I deleted the app yesterday because I couldn’t stand it anymore (Which reminds me, I really want to talk about digital self-harm at some point). 

Reddit is another good example. What the hell is going on over there? Well, basically moderators like to use third-party tools to moderate subreddits. However, Reddit is instituting changes to its API (Application Program Interface, which basically allows moderators to use third-party programs to moderate) that creates a paywall to use these tools. This completely screws over moderators and their ability to moderate. And to be clear, most moderator teams are unpaid volunteers who want to serve a community they care about. So, subreddits are going private en masse in protest. It’s pissing off users. I don’t even use Reddit and it’s making me pissed. These moderators are volunteering their time to communities they care about and Reddit, in the name of making more money, is basically cucking them. And they know this! Their API was designed to make moderators’ jobs easier because they knew that they needed tools to manage their communities. If they really cared about their platform and wanted to weed out third-party programs they would create their own tool for moderation. But no, they instead decided to put the burden, both labor-wise and monetarily, entirely on the community. This also stifles the creativity of these third-party apps which will be forced to shut down due to the monetary constraints the company is placing on its communities. “Capitalism encourages innovation!” we are told and then watch as the system literally forces innovators to shut down their projects because they cannot keep up with the increasing demands for profit. These third-party tools were created out of love for a community, and lo and behold, it all turned out to be for nothing. People play by the rules and what do they get?

This is what capitalism actually is: profit over everything. People do not matter: they are at best an inconvenience and at worst an active nuisance, but they are always a cog in the machine. Elon doesn’t care about his users. Steve Huffman, the Reddit CEO, does not care about his users. It is always about profit. This is only the beginning. The internet will become increasingly hostile to its users as companies continue to harvest data (which is an entirely different and dangerous issue) and create policies that put profit over people. Enjoy reality, for you are not a human, but a cog in a machine you cannot even fucking see.

Note: If you disagree with any of this, please feel free to give me a comment! Keep it respectful of course, but I love engaging in discussion. Also, if I got anything wrong let me know! I’m no expert and even if I was I’d still probably get something wrong. Also, a lot of the ideas expressed here were informed primarily from this article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/reddit-blackout-1.6873756. It’s a good read and tackles not just things going on at Reddit but also things happening at Twitter, Twitch, Facebook, and Instagram.

lmamp (1098 words)

[dkniade]

Genshin Impact Game Design Rant

12.11.2021.

A rant about Genshin Impact’s game design and how they do the event quests. This specifically goes into the prerequisite Quests for “Shadows Amidst Snowstorms”. Spoilers-free for the event because I never got to play it. You don’t have to agree with me, but please don’t start an argument.

I knew of Genshin Impact ever since winter 2020. A lot of my friends were playing it and I got interested in the characters, especially Kaeya. I didn’t know anything about the story. Yet I didn’t want to play the game, because I knew it had a lot of complicated battle mechanisms (weapons, artefacts, bosses and battle strategies), and I knew I’m not very strong in terms of strategic combat. Thinking that I couldn’t do the game justice, I held back from playing the game even though I was very interested in the story and characters.

Eventually, because I really wanted to learn about the Knights of Favonius and Kaeya, I convinced myself to download the game. Still, the battle aspect was confusing and frustrating at times because I couldn’t beat monsters very easily. Nonetheless, I got to know about the Prologue and the Mondstadt Archon Quest. It felt nice to experience the game for myself. I wasn’t at a very high Adventure Rank at the time.

Then came the first event I heard of as a player: “Invitation to Windplume”. I was quite excited to see what the event had to bring to the Mondstadt story. Before that, I’d heard of the event “The Chalk Prince and the Dragon”, but didn’t think much of Dragonspine. But when my higher-level Genshin friend told me it was only open to people who've reached a certain Adventure Rank, I felt rather sad that I couldn’t experience the Windplume event. There might have been a thought of “I’m not strong enough so that’s why I couldn’t get to that level”

Dragonspine. “Shadows Amidst Snowstorms”. I’m not sure what happens in the story (as I never got to play it) but it seems it has a lot of lore about Albedo, who I like very much. But again, I saw that you had to complete Albedo’s Story Quest and the Dragonspine World Quest. I was afraid I couldn’t finish them in time because I had trouble fighting in Dragonspine. That I’d miss yet another Albedo event because I wasn’t strong enough.

After taking too long to do the World Quest, I decided to at least try out Albedo’s Story Quest before the event ended. I progressed somewhat. What blew me away was the manner miHoYo wrote Albedo, and how he’s much more formal and intelligent than fandom often depicts him to be (same goes for Kaeya). It brought a new side to his personality that I wasn’t fully aware of as a writer. It was fresh. I really loved it.

Seeing that the event only had a few hours left, I thought to myself “Ah… I wouldn’t be able to finish his quest either, huh…” So when I opened the game again after the event and the Story Quest was still there, I was really happy I could still experience it. I may not have been able to do the Shadows Amidst Snowstorms quest, but Albedo’s Story Quest, I’m sure, brings a lot of insight to his personality. That, I’m glad.

Nonetheless, Genshin's game design and event quest systems are rather frustrating for players such as me who don’t play competitively. Thank you for reading up to this point. I hope you’re well.

[spicycreativity]

Fantasy au moceit fluff, for the ask thing. <3<3

Thank you for the request! And sorry it took so long to fill 😅

I went with a Mushishi fusion. The simplest explanation of Mushishi is that mushi are creatures somewhat analogous to fae/faeries and tend to cause chaos when they interact with humans. So it's Japanese fantasy, but it's still fantasy!

I could go on a whole rant about how Mushishi is such a great reflection of Japanese cultural Shintoism and how Janus as a character rejects that and Patton embraces it, which is a fun juxtaposition because Janus is the mushi-shi in this story, but I won't 😇

Anyway! It's a little under 2k, CW for very mild body/eye horror (Patton temporarily gets afflicted with frog traits that affect his skin and eyes)

The steep mountain path was neither well-worn nor clearly-marked, the ground a uniform carpet of deep green pine needles dotted here and there with pinecones. Still, it was a path Janus could tread with his remaining eye closed. A few wooden signs still stood, though they were mostly grown over with moss. Janus let them be. Very few visitors came to this tiny mountain village, at least by this particular path. He was more interested in the chorus of frog croaks that grew ever louder the closer he got to the village. He thought, though it was hard to be certain, wispy and ephemeral as they were, that the mushi were increasing in density, too. This place had always been a hotbed for mushi, even without Janus' presence to draw them near. It was unusual, he reflected, to hear this many frogs this high in the mountains. The croaks were now a maddening constant, enough to make him wish that he only had one working ear, instead of one eye.

He guarded that wish carefully, in case any mushi with the power to make it come true were nearby. 

He made it into the village unscathed, pausing when he realized that the croaking had stopped. For the most part. He looked around, rubbing his face against the sharp, familiar bite of the mountain wind, cooled further still by the nearby presence of a lake. Now, only one plaintive croak reached his ears. He tried not to let his heart sink, tried not to jump to conclusions, though he set off for the house where his sweetheart waited for him with an uncharacteristic urgency in his movements. 

The life of a mushi-shi did not foster close relationships, and Janus had long since closed off his heart to new connections. Growing close was a one-way journey to becoming hurt, as he could never stay anywhere for long. Yet somehow, on a trip to a lonely mountain village, Patton had slipped through his defenses. They couldn’t be together, not the way they wanted, but they had promised themselves to each other. It was an easy thing for Janus to promise not to love another. The challenge had been in entrusting Patton with his heart. But he had gotten there in the end. In the absence of a proper wedding ceremony, they had simply taken a scrap of the other’s clothing as a token. 

Janus didn’t bother to knock on the door when he arrived. Patton’s door was always unlocked, unbarricaded. To Janus’ dismay, the croaking did not stop upon his arrival inside, and several mushi danced in the corners where the walls met the ceiling. “Patton, love?”

“Don’t come closer!” Patton’s voice was high, tight with panic. “Just wait a second,” he added in a pleading tone. “I’m glad you’re back, but--”

“Having trouble with mushi?” Janus guessed. The singular frog croaks had stopped when Patton spoke. “Please, do keep worrying about how I’m going to react.” he tugged on the scrap of cloth tied to the straps of his woven backpack. It was old and tattered now, no longer smelled like Patton or bore the pattern it had before.

“It’s just…” Croak.

Janus considered. Whatever mushi had latched onto Patton, it was probably affecting his appearance, hence the hesitancy. “Come on, love, let me see. I’ll have you cured in no time.” He paused and thought for a moment. “Besides, it’s not like I’m a paragon of good looks, either. Maybe we’ll match for a bit.” This was only partially true in Janus’ mind. His own looks were inoffensive, but strangers tended to shy away from him, frightened by the piercing gold and slitted pupil of his remaining eye.

It was silent for a moment. Then came the shuffle-scrape of bare feet on wooden floors. Patton appeared at the end of the hall with his head angled downward. Even still, Janus could see the patches of mottled brown skin on his hands and cheeks. Frog skin. “We do match a little,” Patton said, forcing humor into his voice. He came closer and lifted his head to reveal that one of his eyes was now golden, with a horizontal pupil.

“Oh,” said Janus, careful not to tease. “That’s not so bad.” He cupped Patton’s face, gently running his thumb over a slightly damp patch of frog skin. “You’re still beautiful, love.”

“But you can cure it?” Patton asked.

“Of course.” Janus smiled a little. He hoped it was reassuring. “You’ve been poisoned by a kaeru mushi.”

“Poisoned?” Patton yelped, and a little nervous croak escaped his throat.

Janus patted his cheek. “If only you knew a deeply intelligent, highly skilled mush-shi who could take care of that for you.”

“If only,” Patton repeated, widening his eyes at Janus. The effect was somewhat dampened by his frog eye, but only somewhat. It was still enough to send a wave of fondness through Janus’ chest.

"Come on," Janus said, taking Patton by the hand. He led Patton to the kitchen and set his backpack on the ground with a light thump. The tight weave was strong, but it was beginning to get creaky with age, and Janus made a mental note to see about getting a replacement. "You can take it as a tea, although the flavor is more savory, like a soup." He opened up his backpack and began to dig through it. The paper-wrapped vials rustled and clicked beneath his fingers, and a few specimens brought back memories of his recent trip. "Here we go." He held up the vial and showed it to Patton. "It does take a while to brew. I hope you don't mind being stuck like that for a bit."

Patton extended a hand to help Janus up and pulled him into an embrace, mindful of the glass in Janus' hand. "I already feel better now that you're here."

"You know me," Janus said, nuzzling Patton's forehead. "I live to serve."

It was meant to be sarcasm, though Patton refused to take it as such. "You're so selfless," he said into Janus' chest.

"Patton, love, you are the first and only person to ever accuse me of that." It was true. Janus' bedside manner was objectively abhorrent, his patience for stupidity and stubbornness nonexistent. Most villages regarded him as a necessary evil, rather than a presence to be celebrated. He pulled away before Patton could get it into his head that Janus needed comforting. "Let's get going on the antidote, shall we?"

Patton nodded. "There's a patch of snow out back," he said. "I've been fishing, trying to make the most of it."

"Fish soup?" Janus asked, putting the pieces together.

Patton nodded. "You'll have some, won't you?" He made a point of looking Janus up and down, and even the golden frog eye did not diminish his look of somewhat paternal concern. "You work too hard."

"Again, Patton," Janus said, turning to examine the cooking pot, "you are the only person who's ever said that about me."

"I think I would know," Patton said definitively, taking Janus by the hand to lead him outside.

They held each other while they waited for the cure to steep properly, Janus wrapping his arms around Patton and holding him close. He rested his chin on Patton's shoulder and watched the mushi dance around them. He found it hard to regard them as anything other than vermin, little nuisances who made his life worse. The world was cruel and arbitrary and mushi were no more than a reflection of that, but he couldn't help but resent the situation at hand. Patton didn't deserve this.

As though reading his thoughts, Patton nuzzled Janus' cheek. "Are they here now?"

"The mushi?"

"Mm-hm."

"Yes." Janus pointed even though he knew Patton couldn't see them.

"Describe them to me?" A principle difference between the two of them: Patton treasured every living thing. He never resented the bears that sometimes stole his fish, he never resented the deer when they ate the flowers he'd worked so hard to cultivate. He cherished them. He cherished mushi, too. Even now, when the poison coursing through his body was turning him into one (though Janus had decided not to tell Patton that, thinking that there was no sense worrying him when the cure was at hand).

"They're moving around a lot," Janus said, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Though he harbored no love for mushi, he loved Patton dearly. "There's one that looks like a little octopus." Patton was not very well traveled, though he had gone to the ocean once. "And a few that look like worms. They're all glowing."

"They sound so pretty," Patton said, covering Janus' hands with his own.

"I'll bring you back some candles next time I go out," Janus promised, the idea occurring to him in one lightning strike. "And some lanterns made of colored paper. You can string them up outside."

"Oh!" Patton spun around to pull Janus into a proper hug, and Janus was careful not to stare at the frog skin now slowly-advancing down his neck. "That would be lovely."

"Lanterns are better than mushi, anyway," Janus said, his resolve finally cracking a little, "because they're actually useful."

Patton only smiled and brushed a few stray strands of hair out of Janus' face. 

It was around evening when Janus deemed the cure properly steeped. Patton made him sit down so they could eat together, smiling all the while, and Janus found any protest he might have melting away in the face of Patton's innocent kindness. It wasn't like the cure could hurt him, after all.

It took effect when they were washing the dishes with water Patton had carried in from a nearby stream. He stopped what he was doing and touched his face, already turning to Janus for confirmation.

Janus nodded, privately satisfied to see both of Patton's eyes back to their rich, deep brown. "Back to normal."

"Thank you, love." Abandoning the dishes, Patton pulled Janus in for a hug. His hands were wet, but Janus couldn't couldn't bring himself to mind the icy droplets that crawled down his neck.

Janus, who was incurably given to teasing, finally let himself off the leash. "Oh, don't thank me; it was for my own benefit. People would laugh if they found out I was in love with a frog-man."

"Oh, you don't mean that," Patton said. He had known Janus far too long, long enough that Janus no longer had to beat back the urge to flee like a startled animal in the face of such intimate knowing.

"You're right," he said, and he meant it.

[thatwritingnerd]

3 for elliott/sebastian 🥺 @gendercraft

Summary: Sebastian has steadily fallen in love with the resident novelist from the moment he saves him but he would never dare confess such a thing as feelings. He wouldn't want to ruin their new relationship but he doesn't think he can silently pine for Elliott any longer.

Warnings: minor embarrassment, mentions of depression

For the prompt: I just told you I liked you but now I’m shy and say “never mind, forget it” and why are you looking at me like that?

Word count: 2k

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

It wasn’t as if Sebastian wanted to make more friends, he already had two and that was enough, right? He would curse his inability to stay away from the beach on the rainiest of days, legs tucked under himself as he sat at the end of the pier, the rain cool in the humid summer day giving some relief to the uncomfortable heat. Curse his incessant need to dwell in his own suffering and despair – and, no, he’s not dramatic, thank you. And, you know what, curse Elliott too.

Elliott and his worrisome nature, his concern and fretting if Sebastian is alright. He’s not. He wasn’t. Wet through, undoubtedly getting a cold, amid a depressive episode. And Elliott, soft, sweet Elliott, holding an umbrella over him, his own long hair dampening and coat soaking from where the wind blows the rain. And Sebastian couldn’t find it in him to deny the man his company, and that’s how he found himself in Elliott’s small and rustic yet homely, warm cabin. Then how he found his friendship starting with the older man.

He had somewhat awkwardly sat there, on the other’s bed, blanket around his bare shoulders, dressed in a pair of sweatpants that he would never have guessed that Elliott would have owned, a cup of green tea in his hands, listening to Elliott hum something whilst his clothing dried and the storm settled.

Maybe, Sebastian thinks, that was the moment he first started to fall in love with Elliott.

And he didn’t stop falling for some time.

Elliott had seemingly integrated himself into his life, at first it was the occasional ‘hello’ at the saloon on a Friday, which sparked questions from Sam and Abigail, or the brief passing conversation at a festival when they were both alone and drawn to the other. Then a meeting which turned into a conversation on the bridge to the beach on a late evening, around the side of the community centre, but the docks were still their favoured place for a chance meeting. Not that Sebastian would tell himself that he went there less to be alone now and more so for a chance at seeing the other man.

Sebastian could not lie to himself, Elliott is an attractive man, and he knows it, that is for sure, he has eyes. But he could not tell a soul. Elliott is refined, put together, well kept, gentlemanly, he is everything Sebastian is not – and Sebastian feels inadequate enough merely from their friendship alone. He is nothing, he’s a loner, a shut in, a fucking nerd who has depressive breakdowns in the rain and needs to be rescued like a damsel in distress.

Rationally, he knows that Elliott and himself couldn’t be like that. Elliott’s standards were probably too high, and for good reason, not to mention their age gap, in a town like this the gossip would spread quicker than wildfire. But that didn’t stop him, it could not stop him, falling in love with Elliott.

He fell in love with his passionate nature, his love for the sea and the sand, the way the side of his hand was always stained with ink, the way his eyes crinkled then shut when he laughed, the way he actually listened to Sebastian, or the way he did all the talking when it was clear that Sebastian did not want to talk, the way it took him almost an hour to get ready on a morning, the way he would always greet anyone with a pleasant smile, the way he made Sebastian feel like he mattered, like he actually mattered to the world, and to Elliott.

Sebastian did not just fall in love with him. Sebastian was in love with him.

The damage had been done. But that did not mean that Elliott had to know, or perhaps he had already figured it out. Sebastian hopes not, as intelligent as Elliott is he himself is more stubborn and emotionally cut-off. He is tempted to shut himself off from the world, from Elliott, physically, it would be so easy to just not leave his room ever again, never step foot on the beach.

He could have. Yet he didn’t. He couldn’t.

Even in the heat of summer, the sand scorching hot and blinding, the sun shining blinding off the turquoise sea, all too hot in his all black ensemble. Just to see him. Sebastian became familiar with the creaking floorboards, the wind against the old windows, the constant smell of sea salt and green tea, the scratch of pen against paper, the keys of the old piano, and the soft, gentleness of Elliott’s voice.

Although he didn’t feel quite at home, on Elliott’s bed with a borrowed, old book in his hands, he felt comfortable despite the nervous thrum of anxiety running through his veins constantly. Every time Elliott dared to look in his direction, to speak to him, to listen to him, it made him nervous, made him blush like a little schoolboy with a crush.

It wasn’t until he truly let Elliott in, pushed down his barriers, that his mind supplied that maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t the only one with these sorts of feelings. Maybe they weren’t one sided, and maybe he wasn’t confined to pathetic pining for the rest of his stupid days in this valley.

When he let Elliott talk to him, not merely at him, to him, about things that mattered, about Elliott’s past in the city, about Sebastian’s want to escape but maybe how he may be changing his mind as of late, about Elliott’s fear of failure, about Sebastian’s fear of humiliation. When he let, no, encouraged Elliott to touch him – not like that. But a passing touch on his arm that lingered, a hand on his shoulder as he caressed the keys of Elliott’s piano, the gentle rest of Elliott’s chin against his shoulder as they shared a book, and the friendly hugs that seemed only to lengthen in time over time until Sebastian had no second thoughts of cuddling with the other man.

It was then, once the sun was setting, soft glows of orange and red skimming through the windowpane’s and onto the older man, skin soft and hair aflame under the light. Elliott’s eyes closed, breathing shallow, and Sebastian is unsure if he is still awake, lying next to him, their legs intertwined together, Elliott’s latest literary recommendation laying open against Sebastian’s chest. He doesn’t even think, some innate part of him acting without his own attention, before he brushes smooth strands of hair out of Elliott’s face, fingers stroking over the softness of his cheek.

“You have no idea,” Sebastian whispers, barely a breath being released, “no idea how much you’ve come to mean to me, how much I like you.”

He sighs, letting his hand fall away, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden, guilty about touching him, telling him something so… important? Private? Something he maybe should have said to a more conscious Elliott in truth?

“Sebastian?”

Well, fuck.

“I, uh, don’t- yeah.”

He dares to look back at Elliott, eyes bleary and unfocused, attempting to push himself to sit upright but settle for leaning back on an arm behind himself, clearly having been attempting at sleeping at least. And Sebastian, despite himself, thinks that Elliott looks even better like this, mussed and lax, prettier than when he is all dressed up and trying too hard.

“What did you just say?” Elliott asks, voice low and quiet, as if Sebastian will spook if he speaks any louder and, honestly, he might.

“Never mind, forget it.”

Elliott looks hurt, sad and frustrated all at once, and Sebastian feels guilty all over again, flushing out of embarrassment and humiliation, not only at his admission now but at hurting Elliott. Maybe he had been completely wrong, and maybe he had ruined this for himself, for the both of them.

“No, don’t, please,” Elliott mutters out, hesitant and slow in his movement but he reaches out to take the book from Sebastian’s chest, laying it down on his side table, before taking Sebastian’s cool hand in his own, “don’t shut down again, please, let me hear you, don’t get stuck in that head of yours, please, for me, Sebastian.”

And, fuck, if that doesn’t twist on Sebastian’s emotions like nothing else, it hurts and makes him feel sick but giddy at the same time. Who knew emotions were so confusing?

“I- I can’t, not-” he stutters, defensive in his attempts to at least recover what little friendship he may have left with Elliott, but looking at him now, eyes sad and expectant. He sighs, defeated.

“I like you, Elliott, maybe too much, and I didn’t think I could like someone like this, I’ve never… you’re special. You’re just as weird as me, you listen to me, you go out of your way to talk to me. And I like it when you go on your little rants, when you tell me something reminded you of me, every book you recommend I read but not because they’re particularly interesting but because it was you that told me to. You saved me that day on the docks, not just that day but every day, you made me open up more, and I like that, I like who I’m becoming because of you, because I like you.”

It seems to rush out of him mostly as nonsense to himself but by the way Elliott looks at him, intense and enraptured, he is sure he’s making some sort of sense to him. Maybe that’s a bad thing.

“Oh, Sebastian,” Elliott says, thumb running over the backs of his knuckles gently, “how long have you kept this inside of you?”

Sebastian adverts his gaze, glancing down at their hands now intertwined, and he pulls himself up more so to sit crossed legged opposite him.

“Too long.”

“You poor thing, if I had any inclination that you felt the same, I would have told you right away but I… I didn’t want to scare you away, not after I had earned your trust, I could not forgive myself if I lost you over something so silly as my own feelings,” Elliott explains, his own gaze now embarrassed and downward turned.

And Sebastian reminds himself to actively close his mouth from gaping, “wait, you…”

Elliott laughs, a soft, nervous thing.

“Yes, Sebastian, I like you a little too much too.”

Sebastian has half the mind to swat at his upper arm for that, reiterating his previous words.

“Since when?”

Elliott smiles at him, meeting his gaze finally, thumb never ceasing over the pale skin of Sebastian’s hand, “too long.”

Sebastian laughs this time, nervousness dissipating, and maybe it isn’t exactly a dreamy love confession that he thought about in the darkness of night alone, but it’s real and enough for him.

“I think it was that day, on the docks, you helped me, and I think I started to fall for you then.”

Elliott’s smile is nothing short of beautiful, ethereal.

“Then, when you were in my cabin for the first time, wrapped in my blankets, on my bed, you looked so at home. I couldn’t help but invite you back, keep you in my life, after I saw you there, vulnerable, something other than your rough exterior, I wanted more of you.”

And Sebastian can do nothing but smile back.

Things don’t change much. Sebastian makes his way to the docks as usual, rain spitting around him, and Elliott is there, waiting, with an umbrella. He meets him with a chaste, gentle kiss, earning him a warm arm wrapped around his waist and he leans into the touch eagerly.

“Good evening, dearest, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Sebastian rolls his eyes, fondly yet teasing.

He ducks his head to Elliott’s chest, he is warm and feels like home, “missed you, is all.”

Elliott kisses his forehead, “I missed you too, dear.”

[oneboxofmatches]

Hi!!! May I request a HP romantic and friendship matchup on both eras? (Preferably male), thanks in advance! 💞

𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗦 + 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘

19, Libra, Neutral Good, enneagram is 4w5, Ravenclaw, and my patronus spirit is swan. Bi Pan Genderfluid girl using pronouns of She/Her or He/Him. A friend of mine told me that I (kinda) look like Marinette from 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝗱𝘆𝗯𝘂𝗴, Musa from 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘅 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯, and Alexandra Trese from 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲 (a Netflix animated series), but the exception is I'm short (5'1.2") plus sized Southeast Asian woman with Spanish descent that has messy/wavy brunette medium hair, chocolate brown eyes, oriental skin and a small beauty mark on the forehead. My sense of fashion is in between emo and boyish plus korean glam.

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬

Distant and shy at first cause' I dunno how to initiate a conversation, but a total opposite if I open up---friendly, ambivert, witty, laughing loudly on a daily basis, talkative, awkward, daydreamer (I got embarrassed from knocking at the door even I'm inside the classroom 😂), EXTREMELY clumsy, secretly likes affection, easily overwhelmed, prone to melt over any wholesomeness, flusters on compliments, lightly blushes on cheesy banters, sarcastic person with a lowkey crackhead energy citing meme references, and talented girl who can be your no. 1 supporter and unashamed to be true to myself. In terms of leadership, I only educate and guide than being a prefect (I might take the role seriously), and will lift my group when there's lacking/incompleteness. About doing projects in school, I become too extra and prepared for efforts, but I'll forget the process in the end.

People thought I'm a demure self-effacing woman that looks "idealistic" or "one of a kind," (due to my protective parents, a reason why I've never been in a relationship) but the truth is, I'm eloquent, warm-hearted, willig to help, kind, intelligent, supportive, nice, creative, enthusiastic, determined, tough, competitive, and feisty outside, but a real softie that can be childish and dramatic crybaby filled with doubts, frustrations, and insecurities with fear of failure that pushes off the limits to to please everyone, yet I still managed to be stronger than ever, even it's a slow burn process. I can be intimidating, sassy, and a douchebag if I receive ends. Immature, headstrong, perfectionist, demanding, hesitant, jumpy, very indecisive, overthinker, quick-tempered, sensitive, and anxious (no joke, my nervousness makes me think worse scenario will arrive or I might break a belonging due to my carelessness). Though can be procrastinator and arrogant, I raised as a religious 𝖺𝗇𝖽 diplomatic person, willing to fight what I believe (including my dreams) 𝖺𝗇𝖽 what is right. In addition, I have a habit of staying up late and doing sign of the cross to ease nervousness.

Blunt but the loudest idiotic feeling-brokenhearted and bitter friend in the group who fangirl a lot, swears like sailor, will act like a silent backstabber on people that we loathe, will crack up over your stupid antics before helping, and bring gossips, but a hopeless romantic who tends to banter with sarcasms or pick up lines as an endearment (but gets grumpy if I received sappy or offensive one), still generous and concerned in a subtle way.

𝗛𝗢𝗕𝗕𝗜𝗘𝗦

My hobbies are singing, drawing, roleplaying, listening to music, chatting/browsing on social media, conceptualizing, writing, and reading some stuffs. 𝖨'𝗅𝗅 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝖽𝖾 making corniest jokes/puns, 𝗌𝗅𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗂𝗇𝗀, and dancing when nobody's around or walking like a model if I feel so bold (even I'm terrible at both xD).

𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗦

Loves kittens, eating a lot, cartoons, watching YouTube videos (mostly pageants, ASMR, edit audios, and mukbangs), also enjoys playing games on my sister's PSP. Sucker for arts, choir, night sky, makeup, fun/deep/dumb conversations, Christianity, documentaries (about saints, real crime stories, and inspirational people), reading interesting stuffs, talking about social issues, and writings, chilling both indoors and outdoors. Beside that, my music taste are like late 90s-2000s songs (mostly rock, pop, and country) sometimes kpop and ppop, chocoholic, and a sweetooth as well.

𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗦

Things that I hate are stereotyping, HUGE creepy crawlies (spiders, toads, snakes, and cockroaches), firecracker sounds, being left out, loneliness, heart break, blackout, and judgemental people. One random fact about me is, I 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 vent out EVERYTHING I despise in my entire existence---from bad soap operas to toxicity and worse scenarios in real life, because it's a big deal for me, and I consider forcing me to do what I'm not into and manipulating me as my major pet peeves.

𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗦

In terms of triggers...I only have two which are ta𝖨king about divorce/annullment/separation because I came from a generational broken family and religion/beliefs discrimination, cause' there are reasonings that doesn't makes sense because some are too hypocritical.

𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗔

My best assets are smile, eyes, personality, singing voice, artistic skills, writings, intelligence, and oratorical skills...so I can consider myself as a singer, artist, orator, and a top student who's a former active campus ministry member with three roles (choir leader, psalm singer, and reader). Currently an incoming college freshman, learning how to cook and have so many interests, to the point I don't know what I'm into because of my dreams to become a popular Filipino YouTuber, a novelist, and being part of a successful chorale competing internationally...I also consider joining pageants at school too once the pandemic ends, but maybe.

Thank you so, so much for requesting! I had a lot of fun with this one (as you can tell by some of the really long answers lol) and I hope you enjoy!!

In the Golden Trio era, I romantically pair you with…

CEDRIC DIGGORY

One of the most beautiful things about Cedric is that although he may show some introverted tendencies, he still manages to have a natural gift for connecting to others and allowing them to feel comfortable enough to open up. Really, your initial distance and shyness don't last nearly as long towards Cedric as they would with most other people.

Hearing your laughter brings the widest, cheesiest grin to Cedric’s face. Not only does he adore seeing you happy, but he also recognizes that your anxiety, insecurities, and strong emotions can sometimes cloud up your demeanor. Therefore, it brings him comfort knowing that (for the moment) you’re finding joy. He thrives when you thrive!

However, as much as he loves seeing your more energetic and happier self, it goes without saying that he’s the best comfort for when you’re not having the best day.

Cedric is an excellent listener, so he’ll most likely let you talk without interruption for as long as you need before even saying a word. He wants to make sure he truly understands your current state before acting. He may take a few seconds to process everything after you finish speaking, but then he’ll help you tackle whatever problems you’re facing. He’s especially talented at giving words of affirmation.

Cedric’s listening also comes in handy whenever you talk about your interests! He genuinely loves hearing about the things you’re interested in solely for the fact that you’re interested in them. Side note: you can count on him to be at any music performances, pageants, etc. you may have -- this guy is truly your #1 supporter.

Cedric’s a very good student (though I suspect he’s somewhat of a procrastinator himself), so I can also see you two supporting each other through schoolwork and celebrating each other’s successes.

Like you, Cedric has a strong urge to do the right thing. Talking to him about social issues stirs up a need to help, and I could see you two doing volunteer work together in your spare time.

I like to believe one of Cedric’s biggest love languages is quality time. Don’t get me wrong, this guy loves staying involved and busy. But taking a couple hours to be with you in small ways (even if that means just being in the same room while you scroll through social media) gives him a nice balance.

Overall, this kind boy will be there unwaveringly through the bad times and will laugh just as loud as you through the good!

As a friend, I think you’d best be matched with…

LUNA LOVEGOOD

You wanna talk about the best conversations, relentless support, and overall the most wholesome friendship you could ask for? Luna’s your girl.

Being unashamed to be true to yourself is one of the biggest reasons why Luna is so drawn to you. While she’s very friendly and insightful towards everyone she meets, it can get a bit repetitive for her to constantly interact with people who try to shelter their unique characteristics from the world. In her mind, these unique characteristics are what make people so fascinating! Why should anyone hide who they are?

Luna’s creativity is endless, and I can see it blending well with yours. Collaborating on a personal project outside of school (ex: novel, blog, etc.) together is definitely something I could see you two doing.

Speaking of creativity, finding creative solutions to everyday problems (both in school and in life) is your specialty as friends.

Admittedly, Luna isn’t usually drawn to louder individuals. However, the complexity behind your personality makes it easier for her to know you are much more than what meets the eye.

Speaking of, Luna has a difficult time standing up for herself -- whether it’s because she doesn’t feel a need to or she just doesn’t recognize the meaning behind certain phrases. She NEEDS a friend like you to stand up for her sometimes, and I know you wouldn’t hesitate!

Ranting to Luna is therapeutic to say the least. While her aloofness at times may make it seem as if she isn’t fully paying attention, that couldn’t be further from the truth. She’s actually catching every word, and once you’re done she’ll leave you with a philosophical solution that may seem borderline insane/irrelevant when you first hear it, but it strangely makes sense.

Overall, the lack of judgment from either of you is what draws you together. As a result, you build a unique bond that couldn’t be broken even if either of you wanted it to.

In the Marauders era, I romantically pair you with…

REMUS LUPIN

Let’s be honest, it would take you two so long to ask each other out. You were probably already really close friends, but the insecurities and “what if?” questions from both of you delayed an actual relationship.

When you finally started dating, you were both so relieved. You still share a laugh at how almost nothing changed in the way you interacted with each other.

While with mutual friends, Remus sometimes likes to sit back and just watch you, especially when you get really talkative because this is when you become the most expressive. He has the softest smile when you’re actively cracking jokes, discussing something you’re passionate about, or even calling someone out. Sometimes you may be too distracted to notice, but other times you’ll catch him.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.” (While that same soft smile never leaves his face.)

You both hold really high standards for yourself in terms of school, so expect late-night study/work sessions to be your best bet for quality time.

Though the occasional instance of walking through/lying on the grounds becomes a favorite for both of you.

Remus listens when you’re particularly struggling through anxiety or strong emotions, but he has to consciously stop himself from interrupting because he can’t stand how he feels knowing you’re going through a tough time.

All he wants to do is soothe you during these moments. If you’re comfortable, he’ll hold you while speaking to you in a soft voice. Remus, the intellectual that he is, is also your best chance at finding a reasonable solution. So if you're not in the mood for calming words, he's also a great person to turn to for answers.

As for your ambitions, no matter what you choose to pursue, you already know Remus is going to be your biggest source of support every step of the way. He’s more than happy to help in any way he can!

Overall, Remus appreciates you, and he’s always going to make sure you know it.

As a friend, I think you’d best be matched with…

LILY EVANS

Lily especially connects to you because you manage to be determined, competitive, and intelligent without sacrificing your kindness, which is something she can relate to.

You and Lily are the C.E.O.s of doing the right thing. Neither of you hesitates to back the other up when it comes to confronting someone because you know it’s justified.

As perceptive as Lily is, you never need to tell her when something is bothering you. All it takes is a quick glance before she puts whatever she’s doing on hold to check in with you.

The reverse works as well. Typically, Lily really doesn’t internally struggle too much, and when she does she tries to hide it. You’re one of the only people who can see right through whatever she tries to pull.

The constant banter between you two is unmatched, but you both know it's because you really care about each other.

Overall, you and Lily have each other’s backs through anything, even when the other isn’t actively asking for help.

[sodone-withlife]

“Truthfully, Strauss didn’t know what he meant when he hinted that he would be seeing her (and presumably the team) again soon, but she assumed it had to do with the closed meeting he was pulled into the moment he arrived at the office this morning. She may not be trained to notice the details in human behavior, but she could tell there was a peaceful ease to Hotch’s goodbye that shouldn’t have been there, in addition to the strange lack of the bitterness she knew had been there last night when they went out for drinks.”

Aaaahhh!! What was that meeting about? Why was there a peaceful ease to his goodbye? What does it mean??

Context: this is in regards to my most recent fic enough

Long rant about my thoughts under the page break

I intentionally made this last part ambiguous-

I already established that the people who take care of internal investigations into breaches of procedure and regulation are at least somewhat aware that Hotch is taking all of the blame and protecting his team, but they can’t do anything about it because that’s the story they’re being told even though they know better. The incident that I allude to being the reason for Hotch being fired is intended to be a major fiasco akin to Boston and Adrian Bale, so heads have to roll for this one (especially due to the media attention I mentioned).

Everyone involved in the internal investigation for this case is aware that Hotch is covering for his team. In general, I imagined some deal taking place- Hotch would still be the person who on record takes the blame for the incident so the team wouldn’t face the brunt of the consequences and still exist, but they would be closely watched and would probably have to justify every decision.

I included my headcanon about Hotch being quite respected in the DC area and having insane connections, so I added this bit about the closed meeting with the thought that some letter agency (let your imagination run wild- could be the CIA, NSA, Interpol, some made up clandestine agency, or just a powerful law or consultancy firm) who knows about the classified shit involved in this fiasco (including Hotch’s intention to be the fall guy) offered him a position, which is why I also added the part in which Hotch hints that he would be interacting with Strauss in a professional capacity sooner than both would probably expect. This is also why I had Hotch specify that he was “officially” cutting ties with the bureau- that’s the truth that’s going to be on record, but since he’s still technically working in intelligence/law enforcement, he’s still probably going to be interacting with the FBI.

And in regards to the peaceful ease part- when Strauss and Hotch went out for drinks, Hotch was worried about his future and Jack’s wellbeing because he’s facing unemployment. The closed meeting takes place the morning after, and that’s when I imagine Hotch accepts the job offer, so the peaceful ease is just him knowing that he will have a job and can still support Jack.

Hope this answered your questions!

[emutempo]

Strike A Pose (domestic SuperCorp one-shot)

Summary: Everyone has the day off but Supergirl. And even though it means leaving Lena home alone for much of the day, Kara's determined to make the best of it.

Posted to my Ao3 here. 

Notes: It's 4:40AM and I just couldn't sleep without getting this out of my head. And since I'm still anxious about posting any of my fics, I figured once again it'd be better to hit that post button before I get too nervous and hit delete instead. Anyway, I hope this brightens at least one person’s day.

----------

Rays from the sun pour in from the windows of Lena’s bedroom and her eyes flutter open as she feels the heat on her face. She forces her eyes open and stretches into a yawn.

She looked across the bed and first saw a mess of golden hair splayed across a pillow. Kara was still fast asleep after a long week working at the DEO. It had been a long week for both them and Lena was looking for to a relaxing Friday with no work.

 She was happy the 4th of July landed on a Friday this year. It usually meant she had a three day weekend with Kara all to herself. No L Corp, no CatCo. Except, today, Kara was on call. Even though the DEO was operating with the minimal crew, Kara had volunteered to cover for J’onn, Winn, James and Alex. They had been so accommodating of Kara’s requests for days off to spend with Lena that Lena didn’t mind.

Today would be like any other busy weekend day for them. They’d lounge around the house, playing board games, watching their favorite movies and cuddling on the couch. And when Kara was called away for her Supergirl duties, she’d give Lena a quick goodbye and take off to deal with the problem before eventually coming back to Lena and resuming their activities like nothing had interrupted at all.

For now, it was still early and the city itself was still waking up so Lena turned over and cuddled against Kara. Her head, barely hit the pillow before she fell back into slumber.

—

Later, Kara and Lena were sat up, cuddling on the living room couch, each with a cup of coffee in hand. On the TV, an episode of QI playing. Kara took a sip of her coffee before

Kara and Lena had taken to watching QI on their lazy mornings. Kara was fascinated with the random knowledge and discussion on the show and more-so with Lena’s endless intelligence. This morning, they were talking about the history of astronomy.

Kara cleared her throat, “so when did people start thinking the Earth was flat again? It’s like they’re afraid the Earth is round. They’re lucky it is or they’d be off floating somewhere in space!”

Lena loved these little conversations with Kara. No matter how long she’d spent on Earth, still so much surprised her. Lena shrugged. “You know, the only thing flatearthers fear is sphere itself.”

It took Kara a moment to realize Lena’s joke before a giggle escaped her throat, still a tinge of morning gruffness in her voice.  Lena stared into her eyes, trying to memorize the beautiful sound of Kara’s laughter. But it was short-lived as Kara suddenly tilted her head, listening.

Lena smiles, knowing in that moment that duty was calling to Supergirl. National City needed its savior. Kara looked up apologetically to Lena. “Small kitchen fire. No extinguisher. Should be quick.”

And a moment later, a whoosh fills the Lena’s living room as Kara disappears for a moment before another whoosh brings Kara back, clad in her blue suit and red cape. Lena blows her a kiss. “I’ll be waiting for you, Supergirl.”

Kara mimes catching her kiss in the air and puts it to her lips before stepping out onto the balcony. Even though Lena’s a little disappointed, she can’t help but smile as she watches her go.

Kara has the goofiest grin on her face she holds Lena’s eye contact. Lena smiles, shaking her head. She knows what’s coming and she waits for it…

Lena watches as Supergirl turns around and takes a big step away from the balcony door. She turns around in place and mimes pressing an elevator button before taking a patient stance with her arms crossed in front of her, as if waiting. A moment later, still ‘standing’ with her arms crossed, Kara slowly floats up into the air as if riding an invisible elevator until she’s out of Lena’s view. But not before giving the Luthor a playful wink.

Lena can’t hold back the laugh caught in her throat. It’s loud and she knows Kara hears it.

—

Later, they’re sitting on opposite sides of the coffee table, a chess board between them. It’s Kara’s turn but she’s gone on a rant and Lena doesn’t have the heart to interrupt her.

“I just don’t understand. Why are ALL of them so sad? Isn’t there a single period drama about two women falling in love where they get to be together? The endings are always so tragic. Unrequited love… pre-arranged marriage… and that’s only if we’re lucky enough one of them doesn’t die! Doesn’t anyone run away together? Or say ‘screw you’ to all the cranky old men?”

Lena can’t stop herself. She leans over the chess board and kisses Kara. It’s soft and sweet. When she pulls back, she gestures to the chess board and Kara finally realizes it’s her move. She hastily moves one of her pieces and by the look on Lena’s face, it’s not… the best move. But Lena ignores it.

“I think they’re just trying to be historically accurate, love. Times were a lot harder for us not too long ago.”

Kara doesn’t seem satisfied with that answer. “Well, I still don’t like it. No more sad movies like that one we watched last night. Here Comes the World… or was it… A World to Come?”

“The World to Come,” Lena reaches forward to brush a hair out of Kara’s face. “We could watch Gentleman Jack.”

Kara pouts. “That doesn’t sound promising.” Lena chuckles, about to launch into an explanation of the history behind the titular character of Anne Lister when she sees that signature head tilt again and Kara’s eyes focus into the distance. Lena’s puts her hand up over the chess board about to say, “Kara, mind the chess board—“ but it’s too late. Two back to back WHOOSHES and Supergirl is again standing before Lena, who’s eyebrow’s cocked in ITS signature position. Kara notices the chess pieces all over the floor and looks at Lena apologetically, “you were winning anyway?”

Kara leans in and gives Lena a quick peck on the cheek. “Drunken brawl. I’ll get everyone settled down and be right back.” She keeps her eyes on Lena’s as she backs her way toward the balcony door. The look in their eyes and the suppressed smiles on their faces tell us that, again, they both know what’s coming. Lena watches as Kara steps outside, her cape flapping in the breeze, and takes her superhero stance. She double taps the emblem on her chest and then puts her hands out behind her and takes off in flight… Is she serious?

Lena guffaws and yells after Kara. “Iron Man? Are you kidding me?” But Lena giggles. Kara knows she’s gonna give her a hard time for that one later. As if to dig in even more, Kara loop-de-loops and flies by the window on her way to the drunken brawl.

Yeah she definitely heard that.

—

Back at home with Lena and Kara relaxing in front of the TV. Kara channel surfs while Lena plays with her hair. She lands on a movie that’s just started.

“Oh, I love Megamind! Have you ever seen it?”

Lena shakes her head, “I think most of the animated films I’ve watched in my entire lifetime on Earth I’ve seen first with you. And we haven’t watched this one yet.”

Kara scoots up closer to Lena. “Can we? Can we watch it together? It’s one of my favorites.”

Lena puts her arm around Kara and pulls her in. “How many times have I ever said no to your movie picks?” Kara turned around, wearing a hurt look on her face even though Lena knows it’s put-on. “You keep saying no to Hocus Pocus!”

“That’s because it’s a Halloween movie and we should watch it on Halloween.”

Before Kara can protest… another head tilt and yep, a WHOOSH away and back.

“Car wreck on the bridge. Firefighters’ jaws of life aren’t working. Back in a jiffy. We’re not finished discussing this.”

Kara went straight for the balcony and Lena thought she wasn’t going to get a special send off. But, of course, Kara had something else in mind. She turns around and grabs her cape, pulling it up over her head in a somewhat childish maneuver.

What the hell is she doing this time? Then Lena gets her answer when the cape puffs up revealing Kara blowing air into it to resemble a parachute before she floats up, up, and away.

“Ok, that was a good one.”

She can picture the shit-eating grin on Kara’s face and shakes her head, turning back to the TV and hitting play.

—

Kara and Lena in the kitchen, making an early dinner. Kara’s arguing a point and waving a spatula around like a judge waves a gavel.

“You agree that Bette Midler’s amazing and this is one of her favorite roles she’s ever played. She said so herself. I know because she follows me on Twitter.”

Lena flicks a gravy-covered whisk at Kara, flinging the brown sauce onto her shirt and face. Kara mouth drops open and she freezes in place, shocked at Lena’s gravy betrayal.

“That’s what you get for showing off.”

Kara, hands and face still frozen, pivots to face Lena, “oooh, you’re going to be sorry for that.” With a burst of speed, Kara reaches out and tickle Lena’s sides. Lena squeals as she tries to escape but she knows it’s futile. There’s no way she’s escaping Kara’s grip so she does the next best thing and flicks more gravy at her. And now it’s Kara’s turn to squeal. “You are gonna HATE gravy by the time I’m through with you!” Kara dives for Lena but before she can catch her up in her arms again… you know what it is. The head tilt. Kara listens for a moment as she wipes gravy from her face and licks it from her finger. Lena takes a swipe for herself too.

Kara quickly glances at Lena before a smirk takes over her face. But Lena can’t stop her before…

“Kara don’t—“

… Kara WHOOSHES away, spinning the gravy off her body and flinging it EVERYWHERE, including Lena.

“—Do the whoosh thing.”

Lena stands there for a beat. Now SHE’s the one frozen with gravy-face. Kara whooshes back into the kitchen and licks a spot of gravy off Lena’s face.

“Break in at the pawn shop. Don’t try to sneak any kale into the fagioli ‘cause I’ll know.”

Kara makes her way to the balcony but Lena doesn’t turn around. She waits a beat for the tell-tale whoosh but doesn’t hear one. She knows Kara’s waiting for her to turn around and although part of Lena doesn’t want to give her the satisfaction of turning around, she does. Supergirl has places to be and she doesn’t want to keep Kara waiting.

Kara smiles as Lena turns around before jumping onto an invisible broomstick and doing her best interpretation of a witch cackle as she ‘flies’ off.

Lena rolls her eyes as she wipes the gravy off her face with a towel. “Ok, ok! We can watch Hocus Pocus when you get back.”

Lena goes to the fridge and grabs the bunch of kale she’s hidden in one of the fridge drawers.

—

The evening. Lena and Kara lay on the couch, the remnants of their dinner on the coffee table in front of them. Kara swipes a remnant of gravy from one of the plates and quickly dabs it on Lena’s nose. Lena’s nose scrunches at the cold liquid as Kara fights to keep a straight face. So does Lena.

“I’m starting to understand why these witches want to eat these children.”

Kara playfully smacks Lena’s arm. She knows Lena isn’t mad in the slightest. Kara giggles as Lena tries to lick the gravy from her nose with her tongue. But her tongue can’t reach. Kara leans forward and licks it off for her.

“I could eat you.”

Lena blushes and leans in for a kiss. It’s tender and sweet. Lena pulls away to look Kara in the eyes. “Well, you have put a spell on me so I’d probably let you.”

Kara’s eyebrows perk up and she bites her lip, “is that a request, Ms. Luthor?”

But of course… Lena doesn’t get the chance to answer before Kara’s head tilts once again. A beat before… WHOOSH.

“Run of the mill creep following a woman home. Give me five minutes to set this guy straight.”

Kara plops a kiss on Lena’s nose where the gravy was before she turns and runs straight out for the balcony. She doesn’t wait for Lena to turn around but Lena watches anyway as Kara takes a running leap toward the balcony bannister and lands on top of it. She takes a few more jumps like she’s on a diving board before leaping and tucking into a somersault as she “dives” off the bannister and disappears below the balcony.

“Go get him, love.”

Lena hits pause on the movie and sits back, staring off through the balcony windows at the city, her eyes filled with a dreamy haze. She’ll wait for Kara to come back and watch with her.

—

Later that night, Kara and Lena are finally lying in bed cuddling and listening to the last of the fireworks going off.

Kara flips through Twitter on her phone while Lena reads a book in one hand and uses the other to stroke Kara’s hair. She hears a small yawn escape from the blonde’s mouth and looks at the clock.

“It’s getting late. Are you ready to go to sleep, love? Should I turn off the light?”

Kara drops her phone dramatically and tucks her head into Lena. Her arm lands with a thud across Lena’s stomach, collapsing as if exhausted.

“I’m not tired if you’re not.”

Lena strokes her head a few more times before she dogs ears the book she’s reading and places it on her night stand. She leans over to turn off the light when she feels Kara sit up. She turns and sees Kara’s head tilted, listening. Lena picks her book back up, ready to continue reading while she waited for Kara to come back from another rescue.

“What is it this time? Wild assassin penguin on the loose? Three crazy witch sisters kidnapping innocent children?”

Kara stiffens up and tilts her head the other way. “No, it’s a woman…”

Lena sets her book to the side, noticing the serious tone in Kara’s voice. “Kara, what’s wrong?”

Kara looks at Lena, seemingly concentrating on a sound in the distance, a look of concern across her face. “She’s dying… of patience.”

Lena’s eyebrows scrunch together and she squints at Kara, confused. “What?”

Kara turns to face Lena, still as serious as ever.

“She has this girlfriend who keeps rushing off all over the city, leaving her alone at home and she’s just… been so patient.”

Lena’s face relaxes and falls into a lazy grin as she catches on to Kara. Kara can tell Lena’s savvy to her playfulness but she doesn’t drop the series tone.

“See, she’s a very important and very busy lady who doesn’t get a lot of time off to spend with her girlfriend and when she does, her girlfriend always has to fly off. So, if it’s ok with you, I’ve gotta go fix that.”

Lena pulled Kara in close. She didn’t try to feign shock or surprise or play along. She was too consumed with earnest love and she didn’t want to waste any more of their time today, “so how long will it be this time?”

Kara leans in close, kissing Lena with soft lips and tenderness, “forever.”

[k7l4d4]

Owl House AU Ideas, ZA FIRST!!

Hello all, this has been a long time coming on my part. After procrastinating on the subject, I have decided to upload my personal AU ideas for the Owl House. Here’s hoping ya’ll like them, and feel free to make your own stuff based on them as you please!!

Tough Love: This AU is my own twist on the classic Siblings AU, in which I fleshed it out into my own little niche using whatever I had available in my brain.

Victoria Noceda: My name for Beta Luz, who in this Idea is the oldest of the three Noceda sisters. Brash, belligerent, always ready with a smart remark, Victoria is a tough girl who takes no crap from anyone, with her weapon of choice being a metal bat carved with glyphs. A short temper mixed with both a strict demeanor and a flippant attitude has earned her a reputation as a thug, one which she has done nothing to reject or deny. Growing up, Victoria quickly grew familiar with the uglier side of humanity, and when her sisters were born vowed to shield them from the harshness of the world, by any means necessary. She is highly cynical, yet being around Luz chips away at this persona of hers. Despite her attitude and behavior, she is highly intelligent, graduating from school as valedictorian to the shock of everyone bar her teachers. Victoria first ended up in the Isles by chasing down Owlbert after the Palisman tried (and failed) to pickpocket her. She and Eda, to their mutual surprise, hit it off rather well, with Victoria often acting as her Stall Manager, Gopher, Muscle, etc., and has amassed a large quantity of glyphic spells, which she keeps as tattoos climbing up both arms (she actually has enough to cover nearly her whole torso and part of her neck, but uses illusion glyphs to hide them so Eda doesn't ask how she discovered them... some of them were highly unpleasant for lack of a better word). Using her work with Eda to avoid getting a job on Earth, Victoria has a LOT of money, mostly due to Eda paying her with whatever bills and coins Owlbert brings her without consideration for how much they actually are worth. Offered to house her sisters so they could "branch out and get some real world experience," really an excuse to get her sibs away from the toxic environment at school. Convinced (threatened) Principal Hal to have Luz sent to stay with her for the summer. Her aggressive tendencies and willingness to use incredible violence to solve her problems has resulted in her relationship with her sisters partially atrophying, though she is unaware of it herself. Her first encounter with Boscha, in the body swap episode, is meant to illustrate this as she very clearly and deliberately tormented and ridiculed the girl for bullying Luz, refusing to let up even when Luz begged her to stop until Boscha apologized and begged for forgiveness; Luz rushing off to help bandage Boscha's nearly broken hands implies this isn't the first time she has done this, or at least something like this. Victoria has a bad temper when roused and often resorts to extreme verbal haranguing when she's cross with Luz, not knowing that this reinforces the idea that she doesn't like or care for her youngest sister, as she can't bring herself to raise a hand to her sisters. Finds Amaryllis hot and enjoys teasing her. Will answer to Victoria, Tori, or Ria, NEVER to Vic or Vicky, which will result in her threatening to break the offender's legs, THIS IS NOT A BLUFF SHE HAS DONE IT TWICE BEFORE. Mari Noceda: My name for Pilot!Luz, the middle child. Easily the most well-behaved of her siblings, though that isn't saying much. Unlike her hyper-impulsive younger, and her super aggressive elder, Mari is calm, logical, and significantly more easy going. However, she is an absolute snoop with a very poor understanding of personal privacy, resulting in her being sent to the principal for breaking into other students' lockers, on multiple occasions. After Victoria basically dropped off the map, she became hellbent on tracker her down, resulting in her discovering the Boiling Isles and magic. As is her usual, she quickly got over whatever shock she felt and proceeded to brow beat her mom, Victoria, AND EDA to let her stay in the Isles by homeschooling (Camila doesn't know she went to the Isles, just that she wanted to move in with her sister... it hurt her more than Mari thought it would), she soon set herself to studying everything the Isles has to offer, to Eda's chagrin. While her repertoire is much smaller than Tori's, she knows quite a few spells herself, all of which she has studied to a ludicrous degree. After reading up on some of Luz's fantasy novels, she has started viewing herself as an artificer, blending magic and technology together. Is VERY GOOD FRIENDS with Vela Blight (they are dating but don't want anyone to know). Often puts down Luz's fantasies as ridiculous. Luz Noceda: Canon cinnamon roll, sorta. Plucky, sweet, optimistic, and, oh yeah, Kinda mental. Was introduced to the Boiling Isles and Eda via Victoria picking her up and driving through a portal that opened up in Eda's living room. When she asked her sisters' to share what they know about magic with her, they both laughed and told her they would teach her how to use any spells she figured out on her own, and no more. Basically the same as canon, she is somewhat more fragile emotionally as a result of Mari's unintended put-downs, and Victoria's angry rants. She is convinced that part of the reason she didn't have friends was due to everyone being afraid of Victoria beating them silly, or Mari invading their privacy. While very similar to her original self, this version of Luz has a lot of repressed anger, which manifests as a slight twitch in her left eye and a compulsive hiccup when stressed. Eda: Due to taking in Victoria and Mari, she is much more in touch with her caring side earlier on than Canon, welcoming Luz easily and more willing to play the mentor role. Quickly picks up on the warning signs in the sisters' interactions but is repeatedly shut out, to her frustration and concern. King: Mellower than in canon due to having Mari, who considers him a fount of demonic knowledge, and Victoria, who appreciates his street wise wisdom when it peeks through his megalomania, to talk and interact with. Clings to Luz as a "new general in my Army! Rejoice, Mr. Ducky, REJOICE!!" Amaryllis Blight: My name for Beta!Amity, and the eldest sibling. Ruthless, ferocious, and feral, Amaryllis always possessed the hallmarks of a problem child, bucking her parents authority at every turn, which she got away with due to her immense magical power even as a toddler. Wears green hair dye to spite her parents after they virtually disowned her. Regularly forgets any and all information that she deems useless, which includes her parents' names, resulting in her always referring to them as Mr. and Mrs. Blight at all times, even in her head. Leads the Predators, an elite section of the Emperor's Coven tasked with locating and sealing dimensional breaches, as well as purging anything that crosses through. Has a severe survival of the fittest mindset; if you don't have the strength and will to survive and succeed, you are nothing. Ironically, she hates bullies, claiming them as weaklings who tear down those with true potential for greatness, and often curses herself for being too weak to separate from Belos. Her sheer power and accomplishments have forced the Blight parents to recognize her as their child, if only to capitalize on her success and prevent difficult questions being aimed their way, yet none are comfortable with the arrangement. Strongly admires Eda, genuinely believing her to be the greatest Witch of all time, which leads to her verbally, and sometimes physically, tearing a new one in anyone who speaks ill of her in Amaryllis' presence. The biggest inspirations for Amaryllis were Katsuki Bakugo from My Hero Academia, and Esdeath from Akame Ga Kill, being strangely friendly and amicable to her fellow Predators and anyone who she finds sufficiently impressive in terms of combat, though she has no ability to register those she thinks of as weak, often being incapable of recalling any real information about them beyond whatever part of their appearance stuck out most to her. She has no respect or regard for Emira and Edric, regarding them as fools and cowards, and is genuinely incapable of telling them apart, despite the fact that they are different genders, and often needs a moment to remember who they are. Often verbally scolds Vela for being weak, with the first "kind" thing she has ever said to her since graduating was congratulating her for taking the first steps to realizing her true potential. Admires Amity's dedication to be the best, but detests her kowtowing to their parents. Has a huge crush on Victoria, but is both better at hiding it than Amity, by a mile, and severely conflicted over it, due to regarding humans as "the weakest existence on the whole of the Isles." Amaryllis' animalistic mentality is considered extremely unusual, even by the standards of the Boiling Isles and results in everyone being incredibly wary of her. Amaryllis is insanely loyal to those she holds regard to and works with, viciously destroying anything that dares bring harm to her comrades, or "pack" as she insists on calling them, and has a win by any means necessary mindset, being genuinely puzzled by the crowd and Amity's distress at Lilith's cheating during the Covention, seeing the power glyph as a perfectly acceptable tactic and applauding Luz and Eda's mines to circumvent the Human's lack of spells, however even she disapproves of cheating that can result in permanent injury, which is her sole complaint about the duel. Vela Blight: My name for Pilot!Amity, and the Middle child of the Blight Triplets. Timid, meek, and polite to a fault, Vela is near totally lacking in confidence. Is hopelessly mediocre in every form of magic, despite her higher than average power, and regarded as a failure to the Blight name. Her parents disowned her shortly before Canon, but allow her to stay in the Manor as her siblings' attendant, even Amaryllis is better regarded than she is by the Blight parents. Is good friends with the Detention Track kids, and eagerly jumped on the bandwagon when they became multi-track students, joining Luz as an All-Tracker, which also exposed her immense talent for magic mixing, allowing her to merge different forms of Magic with ease and fluidity. Vela's sheer passion for learning magic exceeds both Amity and Luz combined, and is genuinely puzzled why more witches weren't trying to multi-track too. Is something of a teacher's pet, to her own embarrassment, as even with her poor abilities her sheer passion for learning has caused many of the Teachers and Bump himself to develop a soft spot for her. Has a complicated relationship with Ed and Em, as while she loves them, she envies their talent, and despises their pranks, as she is often punished for them whether she had a hand or not, and often when she tried to stop them. When her trip-mates decided to prank Amity, she lividly tore into them with a brutal "The Reason You Suck" Speech before storming off in tears, resulting in Ed and Em chasing after her and leaving Amity and Luz alone in the library. During the trip to the Knee, she was still bitter, and went out of her way to be as difficult for Ed and Em as possible, only forgiving them after took on the Slitherbeast. Vela is very close to Amity, as well as the Nocedas. Vela regards Amity as a treasure and has the healthiest relationship with her out of all their siblings, instantly pegging to Amity's crush on Luz (She ships them so hard), though she doesn't call her out on it. Vela is scared of Amaryllis. Ed and Em: Are wilder than in Canon, willing to resort to harsher pranks to meet their goals. They adore Vela, and assumed she adored them; having her verbally tear them a new one served as a massive wake-up call to how jerky they could be, and often were, provoking them to be better siblings and people all around, still tricksters though. Are jealous of Amaryllis due to her being unshackled from their parents, and are often rendered livid by her casual dismissal of them. Amity Blight: Mostly the same, but a bit more assertive against the toxic influences in her life. Idolizes Amaryllis due to her power and freedom, and trusts Vela with the same secrets as her diary. Sallix Park: Name for Beta!Willow. A maverick and an agitator, she enjoys stirring up trouble for the heck of it, but only when she's the one to cause it. Adores her little sister, but insists on her fighting her own battles, and enjoys training Willow through random plant attacks. Has been secretly gaslighting Boscha, in the hopes of the brat having some kind of epiphany and cleaning up her act, not knowing that her actions were causing the triclops to develop conflicting impulses and feelings regarding Willow, as well as an unhealthy fixation. Is good friends with both Victoria and Amaryllis, resulting in her serving as referee whenever they fight, which is often. Willow Park: Same as canon, but more assertive over her behaviors.

Let me know if any of you have any questions or opinions on it.

[ranmanjuu]

Can i request an ikesen hc, how would warlords react to a mc which is a physics major like sasuke and since they are both nerdy they spend a lot of time together and talk a lot about theories and all that science stuff. I think they'll get a bit jealous that mc is spending time with sasuke and confused as to ehat they're talking about lol

as stated before i have absolutely no idea of how physics is, much less of being a physics major. so like,,,,,,, all theories are ambiguous. they don’t exist other than that word. what are they talking about? the one who asked knows not more than the asker.

—shingen:

the first time of him seeing you talk with both such seriousness yet a twinkle lights in your eye, he can’t help but a chuckle let through.

“so, has sasuke finally found someone for himself?”

at first he plays up a bit of, “us mortals cannot understand what you’re speaking, my beloved deity, for you speak the language of the gods!” (”but sasuke can understand them though—”)

would absolutely, and constantly tease you for anything and everything. you could be talking about the inner workings of geophysics with sasuke and you’d hear the faint sound of wiggling eyebrows and metaphorical saxophone playing.

but of course, this won’t stop shingen from trying to win you over.

he does it his own style, the classical flirting with his sexy stature. yet, you always quip back in the jargon language he knows nothing about—and his several seconds of confoundment proves to be a good strategy as you flee the scene.

prior to you telling him that you were from the future, he did find it suspicious how you have so, so many “things that came from your hometown” that was painfully specific. and he’s shingen takeda, he’s known for being well-informed, so why hadn’t he heard of this before? some villages have their own tradition, yes, but it’s usually not enough to write at least twenty dictionaries about.

and even if he wants to find it, where would he go? the only two people who’ve learnt it are you and sasuke.

although he begins to pick up basic things whenever you talk to either him or the ninja. just small references that a high schooler can pick up.

for the sake of it, shingen’d probably try to do a physics pick-up line on you. but due to the lack of knowledge he has, it ends up with you on the floor laughing until you’re clenching your sides.

you can’t help it! it’s so wrong on so many levels it’s insanely hilarious while also painful.

after the laughter dies down, shingen takes it upon himself and pins you to the wall, his sultry eyes burning into yours, “well, it seems my goddess can do a bit of fixing on those, hm? please, my muse, do demonstrate how you do it properly.”

—kenshin:

(honorable mention hc: if you ever use terminology before the affectionate part of him comes in he’ll practically frown at you in deep confusion, “what are you talking about, you fool?”)

if his ninja had met you before he did, he probably wouldn’t have much of a problem. sasuke talks to someone, all he does is frown and just doesn’t care. but hoo boy you managed to slither into his heart without him even noticing it.

he’s just looking around the market for you, until he sees the sight of you chattering so brightly and passionately,,, with sasuke.

phase one: pouty mode. it lasts only for a few second, but his lips form a very strong scowl as it processes in his mind.

(phase one and a half: it’s where he glances at you and notice how you twinkle so brightly in his eyes—like a star beaming at him. except it isn’t at him. and so this honorary phase ends)

phase two: in a split second of his braincells barely managing together, he unsheathes his sword and begins to fish sasuke away from you. (”let’s duel, sasuke.”  /  “i’m afraid i was having a conversation with—”  /  “fight or i kill you this second.”)

phase three: usually it’s where you pull him away and lightly scold him, thus ending his bloodlust.

phase four: usually happens after the other party has left. pouty mode two: electric boogaloo; as he sulks like a child in envy and jealousy and you’re forced to cuddle with him and give him lots of kisses so he Functions properl after that.

of course, you can’t just let it repeat. you had a talk after some time, entailing that, kenshin, please stop chasing your vassals because they say one (1) word to me. with a lot of grumbling and reluctance, he agrees to it.

it won’t stop his lips forming into a scowl at the sight of it though.

he curses the oldened knowledge of the sengoku—he wanted you to talk to him about those big brained things. but alas, there wasn’t much he could do.

(”no, kenshin, you can’t go to the future just cause you wanna learn everything i learnt! the wormhole is gone and it takes at least 4 years—”)

—yukimura:

yukimura meets you the second time while talking to sasuke down in the market. and the decision to rebrand you from a wild boar to a witch casting spells were made in the flick of a second, just like that.

“hey, are you trying to hex my fried, enchantress?!”  /  “yukimura, they’re a friend from my hometown, it’s alright.”  /  “oh.”

as he says, a friend of sasuke is a friend of his! though he still doesn’t understand at all each time you make a physics reference, and still isn’t partly convinced you at least know an ancient language.

he doesn’t exactly buy into the whole ‘hometown-specific’ thing either, but hey. it’s sasuke and you, if you’re lying, he thinks, he’ll let you tell him in your own time.

but in the meantime, the fact you know terminology to references he doesn’t understand makes your daily bickering a lot funnier. what’s an atom and is his brain really smaller than that as you said? fun thing is he’ll probably never know if you and sasuke withhold such information.

if he ever sees you experimenting with something to examine the components, as long as it isn’t dangerous, he’d look at you in mild amusement and confusion, “what are you doing, silly?”

but if it dangerous (like guns, fireworks, etc.) he scolds you with a scowl, one born from pure worry.

once you two got together, you started going to dorky science puns. once again, yukimura doesn’t understand it, but the stupid grin you have on your face is just enough for him.

(he does ask sasuke about it later, resulting in a bright faced yuki, muttering a small “idiot,,” under his breath.)

—sasuke:

the moment you saw him at honno-ji, present day, you felt there was something familiar to him. like it’s a face you’ve passed through in the bustling streets. and the moment you saw his lab coat, you just assumed he somewhat came from the same college as you.

and just after he corrected you referring to him as “that college student” being an astrophysicist, your eyes brightened a thousand times, but tried to stifle it considering you were more or less being chased. 

you listened into his explanation of the wormhole closely, processing each word in fascination and curiosity. you had enough experience to know what he’s talking about—and it gave you so much euphoria from just simply listening in.

you hope to meet him again as he disappears in the shadows.

you do, to your delight. the very first day you went out to town, you encountered him at a stall. conversation immediately took off once you re-mentioned his degree, along with yours. from there, the wormhole was the center topic again, mostly talking about how he found where it would be and when it would be. you’d never heard of such a research back then.

and slowly, you grow an admiration to sasuke’s high intelligence. all the research he’s done, he’ll definitely show a fellow enthusiast, and you’re practically beaming at the chance.

so much so that you don’t notice the weirdened stares of the ones around you.

there nights when you’d sneak into his room just to ask him about something, or propose to him a theory since he’s the only person who’d get it.

and on some sleepless nights, you find yourself lying about with sasuke beneath the stars, peering into his telescope once in a while and geeking out about the small dots in the sky.

a part of you wished you met him sooner—but you feel like you couldn’t ever ask for more.

—yoshimoto:

truth be told, he didn’t care much at first.

his somewhat apathy towards people and more towards art becomes just ever so slightly apparent; as he lets you rant your heart out to sasuke while he admires some cloth in the background. you have your preferred friends, it isn’t his place to be opposed to it.

well, that’s what he thought of it—until you slowly got closer to him.

through talks of art and the different medias from your “hometown”, he learnt more and more about you. and his heart grew fonder and fonder.

until—for whatever reason—he found himself,,, feeling some kind of upset by the sight of you talking to sasuke so brightly like that? it’s like a part of him doesn’t sit well with it.

while he isn’t quite sure what he’s feeling, he’ll try to fish you away regardless. his good looks aren’t for nothing, even still having its charming effects on you.

putting up somewhat of an airheaded act, he mindlessly pulls you out of the conversation to look at some beautiful fabric, catching you off-guard for a moment. if you try to mention your talk with sasuke, it’s as if he doesn’t hear it as he whisks you off to another store. and another, another—until you’ve gotten some distance from the ninja.

even with all that effort, he doesn’t think much into the feeling inside his heart. what then felt like a storm, was now a welcoming, warm spring breeze in him.

he’ll figure it out, one day.

[vintagedaydreams]

Knives Out Imagine Part Three

Detective Blanc x Female Reader

This is the END! Thanks so much for reading! I enjoyed this little story – hope you did too!

Warnings: Spoilers!!, mention of death/suicide/murder, language, suggestive themes at the end, innuendo and such because, I’ll say it again, suspenders!!

((On a side note, did anyone else know which Murder, She Wrote episode it was after just the two seconds on screen?? …because I did and I’m not sure how I feel about that. 😊 ))

@joalsglasses  @yo-skeletons  @elroymarvelous @bella-maria2018

  You were just putting the finishing touches on your lunch, when you heard a loud knock at your cottage door.

With an expectant grin, you headed over and opened it, revealing Benoit who looked…upset?

“That family,” he growled out, as he pushed his way into your cottage, though he squeezed your arm with a gentleness that belied his apparent irritation as he swept past you.

You felt a flush sweep across your face and you quickly shut the door before turning to face him with what you hoped was a nonchalant look.

You failed. That damn man was going to be the death of you.

Not only was he ranting about the family, his voice deepening and accent thickening in such a way that you honestly weren’t listening to what he was saying as much as how he was saying it, but he had also discarded his suit jacket and was currently rolling up his shirt sleeves in jerky, frustrated movements.

Hot damn.

If you thought you were red in the face before, you must’ve been fire engine red by now. You subtly reached up to make sure you weren’t drooling. ‘Cause you pretty sure you were.

“…don’t you think?” you tuned back in to hear Benoit ask. You blinked at him, wide eyed and quite mortified that you’d been checking him out rather than listening to what he was saying.

“I don’t...I mean, I wasn’t…I—what was the question?” you stuttered out. Benoit looked you over, brow furrowed, before his eyes suddenly took on a devilish glint and you swallowed thickly as he seemed to stalk his way over to you. You couldn’t help the way your eyes traveled down his torso as he moved, feeling your mouth dry up at the sight of suspenders.

The ‘last of the gentleman sleuths’ indeed.

“Now, I wonder what has caught your attention so much that you missed the entire conversation,” Benoit murmured, his voice a husky tone you had not heard before. You felt your entire body tingle as you realized how close he was. Every time you breathed, your chest brushed his slightly and you just knew your face was red once again. If it had ever stopped being red to begin with.

“(Y/N)?” Benoit purred, breath ghosting over your lips. You gulped, staring up into electric blue eyes, but unable to say anything. You weren’t honestly sure what would come out of your mouth if you did try to speak anyway. Probably something incredibly embarrassing.

“Well,” the detective suddenly grinned after a few more moments of silence, looking all too satisfied with himself, “since a conversation seems to be out of the question for the moment, how about lunch? Do you have something here, or should we go out?”

Benoit took a few steps back and you suddenly felt able to breath again. Nodding somewhat absently, you gestured to the kitchen and you were gifted with a dastardly smirk before Benoit brushed past you and headed into the kitchenette. 

You released a shaky breath and closed your eyes once he disappeared into the other room.

Yup. The man was going to be the death of you.

Thankfully for your already shaken frame of mind, Benoit seemed to behave himself for the rest of the afternoon.

Lunch passed pleasantly, and you were able to actually make intelligent conversation, (even with suspenders and forearms on display across the table from you), and you were ridiculously proud of yourself for that.

Instead of eating and dashing, as you were a bit worried he’d do, Benoit stayed in your cottage for hours after lunch. You both spoke through the entire afternoon, though not really about the case. Instead, you spoke to get to know each other and you found that you actually had quite a few things in common.

Which didn’t help the crush that was growing at an alarming rate.

Benoit finally called it a day when you couldn’t keep your yawns to yourself anymore. It was early, but you hadn’t slept much the night before, thanks to the man in front of you plaguing your thoughts. Ever the gentleman, Benoit left when he saw you beginning to nod off, letting himself off and locking the door behind him.

You slowly got ready for bed, before collapsing onto your mattress. You were exhausted, but exhilarated at the same time. You didn’t exactly know what was going on between you and Detective Blanc, but you were looking forward to finding out.

--------

The next morning found you once again up a ladder, but this time, you had it leaning against the house, and you were working on cleaning up some of the climbing ivy that covered parts of the building. Wouldn’t do for it climb right over windows or into gutters.

“Good morning,” you heard from the foot of the ladder and you looked over your shoulder to see Benoit standing there, thankfully all covered up in his heavy wool sweater jacket.

“Good morning,” you returned with a grin and a nod. “What brings you here this early?”

“I was hoping to steal some of your time again, (Y/N). If you can spare it.”

You turned as much of your body as you could without falling off the ladder to look down at him.

“What do you need, Benoit?”

“Someone to bounce ideas off of again. I need to talk this all out and I was hoping you could help with that. If you can concentrate today.”

You gaped at the playful smirk that stole across his face and your face heated.

“Uh,” you cleared your throat, “yeah. Yeah, I can help you out, Benoit. But if it’s okay with you, can we continue outside today? I need to get this done.”

You actually didn’t need to get this done, at least not today, but you were not going to let that man get you both inside and distract you so badly this time. You’d show him that you could still concentrate and keep up with his conversation! …You just wouldn’t mention that the only way you could do that was if he was in about three layers and outside in 30-degree weather.

You were so screwed.

“Of course,” came the amused response from below you. “Whatever you need.”

You bit your lip hard on that one. Whatever you need, indeed. Boy, was that list growing steadily and it all involved the man beneath your ladder too. But best to derail that train of thought before you lost your concentration again.

“Now, there’s a piece to this puzzle that I’m missing, (Y/N),” Benoit began, and you used all your admittedly limited concentration to follow along with everything he said. You could daydream, (and ogle the man), at a different time.

As Benoit began recapping all that had happened, both at the will reading and before, you actually stopped working and turned back to face him as best you could.

“Wait, wait, wait. So Marta was his beneficiary? Harlan left her everything?”

“Yes,” was the simple reply, blue eyes looking at you carefully. You suddenly threw your head back and laughed.

“Oh, I am so sorry I missed that! I bet that absolutely killed the rest of the family! How’d they take it?” you asked eagerly. Finally! Ol’ Harlan took his blasted family down a few hundred pegs!

Benoit gave a chuckle and dutifully played back the family’s reactions, his grin growing wider each time you laughed delightedly.

“Oh, I hope she kicks them all out and leaves them with nothing,” you sang as you turned back to the ivy. “They certainly don’t deserve any more than that!”

“I would hope so too, but I have a feeling she’ll help them out.”

You snorted as you tore off a few branches of ivy and tossed them down, “Yeah, wouldn’t surprise me. Marta is such an angel, I love her. But she’s too damn nice. But, enough about that. Sorry to interrupt. You were saying?”

Benoit kept up his talking, sometimes repeating the same thing over and over, but in different ways as you kept working, sometimes moving the ladder to get to another section. Listening to it all from his point of view, you agreed.

Something was off; there was something missing. But unfortunately, you had absolutely no idea what. When you told Benoit as much, he smiled and assured you that you were helping immensely, just by letting him bounce ideas off of you. Even if a few of them were so ridiculous, they made you laugh again. But you secretly suspected that was his ploy all along.

Benoit was right in the middle of spinning another crazy scenario when his phone went off. After a brief conversation, he raised a hand in farewell to you and started running back to the driveway, still on his phone.

You watched him go with a furrowed brow, worried. That worry increased when he practically peeled out of the driveway, but you turned back to you work once he was out of sight.

Hopefully, he’d tell you when he returned.

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

It was later that afternoon, much later, when Benoit returned, this time with Marta in her car. Neither one seemed to notice you as they went right inside and you went back to your work in the yard.

You desperately hoped that everything was okay. Neither one had seemed in a good mood and you hoped it had nothing to do with whatever made Benoit leave in such a rush that morning.

You zoned out as you worked, mind running in circles about what could have happened, and what was happening right now inside, and you jumped as you felt a hand on your shoulder.

Spinning, you saw Trooper Wagner looking at you somewhat worried.

“Miss (Y/L/N), are you alright? I called your name a few times, but you didn’t answer.”

“Sorry,” you apologized, face flushing. “I was lost in thought.”

Trooper Wagner looked like he was going to question you further, but shook his head slightly before saying, “Detective Blanc would like to see you inside, if you can.”

You blinked, surprised, but stood, brushing yourself off and followed Trooper Wagner inside and back into the Knife Room.

To your surprise, there was only Benoit, Detective Elliot, Marta and Ransom in the room. You threw Ransom a confused look, though he didn’t see it since he was sitting, facing away from you.

Why on earth was that prick here? You were honestly surprised he hadn’t cut and run. Then again, if Marta had gotten everything… Oh dear.

You tuned into what Benoit was already revealing, this time having no problem concentrating on what he was saying, though you did notice in the back of your mind that he was once again jacket-less with his shirtsleeves rolled up.

The more Benoit revealed, the more disgusted and horrified you became. Ransom…he did that? To his own grandfather? And poor Marta… He tried to frame her and then used her when that didn’t work and all for…

And Fran? He’d taken out Fran too? Because she saw what he was doing and...oh, Fran. Why didn’t you just go to the police? Ransom may have been a trust fund baby, but he was so much stronger than her. And he not only attacked her but again framed Marta? Good, sweet Marta?

You felt anger thrum through you suddenly and you desperately wished you had bashed Ransom over the head with a shovel years ago. There was plenty of property, plenty of places to hide a body and no one would have been the wiser. They would have assumed he was just off and doing his own thing, not that he’d been taken out by one of the ‘help’.

It was no less than what that bastard deserved.

A shout brought your focus back to the present and you watched, wide eyed and horrified as Ransom jumped at Marta, knife in hand. They collapsed on the floor together and you shut your eyes, sure you had just seen the only good person involved with this awful family murdered by the self-serving, greedy, pretentious little shit.

You were not sure you could take another death. Definitely not Marta’s!

Ransom’s soft exclamation made you tentatively crack an eye open and you collapsed on the seat next to you in sheer relief when you saw that Marta was alive and okay. Shook up, but okay.

Heart beating widely, you closed your eyes again, leaning back in the chair as you heard the Detective and Trooper take Ransom into custody.

This was all a bit much for you. And Marta! Poor Marta, to be going through what she did. To think that she had thought she was responsible for Harlan’s death all that time… Why hadn’t she come to you? Asked for help? Tried to tell you what was going on?

You snapped your eyes open to look at Benoit. When did he know? When had he found out that Marta was a ‘good nurse’ and it wasn’t her fault? Hell, when had he found out what had happened? As of this morning, he was apparently missing a very important piece to all this.

Benoit caught your eyes and gave a subtle shake of his head, gesturing slightly to Marta.

You nodded back. Right. Marta definitely came first. You’d, hopefully, get questions answered later.

Heaving yourself off the chair, you slowly approached her, still laying on the ground.

“Marta?” you murmured softly, registering that Benoit moved back to the other side of the room to give you two space, without leaving.

Brown eyes shot to yours and Marta was suddenly up and wrapping her arms around you, still shaking.

“I’m sorry, (Y/N)! I’m sorry I didn’t tell you! I didn’t want to worry you, and I thought maybe you might blame me, even though it was an accident and then Ransom helped me get away from the family and he tricked me into telling him what I’d done and he seemed so genuine and I thought that I could trust him, and—”

“Marta,” you interrupted, “Marta! Stop, stop talking. It’s okay. You’re fine. I’m not mad at you. I wished you would have come and talked to me, yes. But I understand. That was… a lot for Harlan to put on you, even though he meant well. It’s okay. You’re okay. Just,” you pushed her away slightly so you could meet her eyes, “know that I would not have blamed you, okay? You heard Benoit. You’re a good nurse. And even if you had accidentally mixed up the medication, it would have been an accident. You are the best thing that’s happened to Harlan in forever. Never forget that. Okay?”

Marta sniffed, nodding, before pulling you back in for a hug.

“I didn’t do anything with him,” she blurted suddenly after a few moments of silent hugging. “I don’t know why he left me everything but it wasn’t like that, not like they all suggested.”

You barked a laugh, feeling more lighthearted than you had since Harlan’s death.

“Marta, I certainly know better than to think that there was anything between you and Harlan other than friendship. He left you everything because the man knew you’d do good with it and that his family was not worth their weight in shit.” Cue a snort from Benoit’s side of the room. “Please, Marta. Don’t take anything they say to heart. They’re a bunch of jealous, selfish, greedy assholes and you’re so far above their league. You’re a good person, Marta. That’s why Harlan left everything to you.”

You gave her a smile, standing up before reaching down to help her up.

“Now, come on. Let’s go get something to drink to settle both of our nerves, okay?”

You looked over your shoulder at Benoit as you and Marta left the room and he gave you a nod and a smile.

Good. Hopefully he’d come and find you at your cottage once you had Marta all settled.

It didn’t take as long as you thought it might, getting Marta set up with a blanket and some coffee. You gave a small smile as she chose Harlan’s mug, “My House, My Rules, My Coffee”, and you hoped the rest of the family would see it. Not only was it Harlan’s favorite mug, but the house was now Marta’s. Beautiful irony.

Oh, you sincerely hoped that she kicked them all out on their rears.

You slipped out to your cottage once Marta was set. She looked like she may need a little bit of time to herself to come to terms with all that had been revealed just a half hour prior. It was a lot to take in. She had a lot of guilt that she had been needlessly carrying around, thanks to both Ransom and Harlan. She needed some time to get her head on straight.

And you? Well, you were actually going for something stronger than coffee after that.

What an absolute mess. A tragedy of errors. Oh, Harlan, you theatrical idiot.

Shaking your head, you grabbed the whiskey and a glass out of your cupboard. Usually, you mixed it but right now, you needed it strong.

You had just lifted the cup to your lips when your cottage door opened and Benoit walked in.

You didn’t have a chance to do more than blink at him before he was right in front of you, gently taking the glass from your frozen fingers and setting it down on the counter.

“What—”

Your back meeting the kitchen wall behind you cut off your sentence and you stared wide eyed at the man pressed against you, his arms bracketing you in on either side.

You were pressed so close to him, you could feel his chest move with every breath and a full body shiver ran through you. His blue eyes darkened, pupils dilating as he noticed.

Shit. And he wasn’t even showing off his suspenders this time!

“Tell me if I’m wrong, (Y/N), but I think we have some…chemistry between us that I’d like to explore further.”

Your mind blanked out for a moment as he dipped his head; you were sure he was going to kiss you. Instead, he brushed his lips across your cheek to your ear and hello, erogenous zone you didn’t know you had.

“What do you think?” he murmured, his lips barely grazing your ear as he spoke.

What did you think? You thought that your brain just short circuited, all thoughts about the case completely deserted you, because the only thing you could focus on was his scent, the feel of his chest pressed against yours, and the fact that his lips were not on yours right now. Why weren’t they on yours?

Your heart skipped a few beats as you felt his lips pull up into a smile.

“As much as I’d like to take your silence as you being swept away by my presence,” he said teasingly, and the small part of your brain that was still semi functioning scoffed – the bastard knew exactly what he was doing to you! – “I’d much rather hear it from your lips, sweetheart.”

A small sound escaped you, somewhere between a whimper and a whine. That accent murmuring in your ear and a pet name? This man was going to be the death of you!

His low chuckle reverberated through you. “Not quite what I had in mind, but I’ll take it.”

Deliriously, you found yourself certainly hoping he’d take it. And you. Here will do just fine, thanks.

Benoit pulled back just far enough to be able to see your face and he chuckled again. Probably at the dazed look on your face. Were you drooling again?

“Now, Y/N, before we go too much farther, how about dinner, hm?”

You blinked, desperately trying to get your brain to reboot. After all of that, he was suddenly talking about dinner?

“…What?” you managed to get out after a moment.

Blue eyes twinkled at you. “My momma always taught me to treat a woman to dinner first, Y/N. Preferably more than one.”

You must’ve had some doozy of an expression on your face because Benoit actually laughed and then cupped your face. “In this case, I think that Momma will be content with just the one. What do you say? Dinner first?”

Your brain suddenly jumped back into gear with a vengeance. The sooner you two had dinner then the sooner you could—

“Let’s go!” You ducked around Benoit and bolted for your jacket in the other room, the man’s laughter following you the whole way.

Sure, sure. You’d do dinner first.

But only if you couldn’t convince the man otherwise on the way into town.

[champion-prism]

🍪

So Raihan is actually so much smarter than people give him credit for, I feel. This guy’s a master of double battles /and/ weather effects /and/ he trains Dragon Pokémon, widely held in fanon to be among the hardest Pokémon to train (and in canon at the very least held to be massively powerful if trained right). Like everyone has dumb moments and Raihan definitely has an ego (which he will own up to! He calls himself out, saying he’d gotten conceited for someone who couldn’t even claim the title of Champion), but that doesn’t make him dumb! It honestly bugs me how some people portray him as really dumb (Leon too tbh Leon ain’t dumb either, how can you be the Unbeatable Champion if you’re not intelligent enough to out-battle opponents with type advantages? And Leon says that he learns from every battle he takes part in /or sees/) — what, just because he’s super into social media and can’t beat Leon and has some ego moments he’s dumb? But yeah there’s one of my mini Raihan rants I hope you enjoy

yesyesyesyesyes 

i headcanon raihan to be one of those people who’s somewhat an oxymoron: he’s a huge history buff but he’s also super tech and social media savvy; he’s both geeky and popular, takes a huge interest in the arts. that’s APART from pokemon. the idea of raihan being into arts and culture is one of my favourite personal headcanons; raihan reads jane austen okay he do he do

as for leon, i feel like he’s got super specialized intelligence as well as high general intelligence, but his “dumbness” comes from a general dreaminess that he has about him. phasing out from time to time, understanding the world in very particular terms in chunks of what you already know. unpopular opinion but i do like depictions of leon being oblivious and dense, but it really shouldnt bleed into undermining him as a whole character, uk? 

on the whole, i guess i really like the idea of very powerful and intelligent people having an innocent sort of dumbness about them; being so good at what they love and do, but invariably goofing up at things they’re inexperienced with or havent paid attention to.  i know that’s different from what youre saying, but id like to think of such depictions of characters being done properly, without doing a disservice to their overall characters.